Stanley sat on the porch of his house and meditated. From deep within that soothing void, he watched the Souls all around him.

  To the north were the Humans, almost exclusively gathered in and around the fortified base.

  Further to the north, near the edge of the Dungeon wall, was a herd of average Souls led by a lone strong Soul. Stanley had checked them out when they first arrived, just in case they needed killing. But it was only a herd of Moose, which Caffeine made friends with, Of course.

  To the south was said pug, playing with the Wolves. Both packs, wolf and moose, constantly circling the purified zone, hunting and being hunted.

  Surprisingly, or maybe not so much given how things had changed, but the moose would hunt the Wolves on occasion. A circle of life… around the Human's base.

  But Stanley was content to let them be because in his time spent meditating he'd uncovered another interesting tidbit. The people here were being protected. From a lot. The Wolves, Moose, and various other smaller players were constantly attacking and killing the invading monsters, corrupted and uncorrupted alike.

  While that was good for the weaker humans, Stanley suspected that it would make the people here complacent, and vulnerable if their guardians ever quit. Or lost…

  But for now he was focused on the two Souls bouncing around the clearing that used to be a street in front of the senior home.

  Zeke had come far since that day a week before. Between the Cores and Nate's training, the kid was turning into a true fighter. Of course Zeke had refused to use all the Cores… sharing them with the people that Stanley had brought back. Stanley tried to argue but Zeke had countered. "You gave them to us. Eve said I could have them and so it's my choice."

  Stanley had retreated into [Soul Meditation] to avoid an outburst. The thought of giving Cores to people that had refused to fight… but Zeke hadn't been all wrong. Some of them had stepped up after the gift and were joining chicken hunts and patrols around the Purified area.

  Plus a part of Stanley hoped to see Zeke get strong enough to deal with the Undead himself and let him avoid them altogether.

  Another small part did not want that at all. It wanted to Rip Them Into Screaming Pieces With My BARE HANDS!

  Stanley reactivated his meditation and slowly relaxed again.

  Zeke was improving. The last time Stanley had watched in person, the boy had been glowing with a nonstop golden light as Nate forced him to retreat from his powerful punches. The healer dodged what he could and blocked the rest, each landed blow sending a jolt of pain through his Soul. He took it though and healed himself every time mid-fight. "I misjudged you…" Stanley thought.

  Skill [Soul Awareness] Level Up. No Evolutions Available. Rank up Available.

  Procced? Y/N

  "Finally! Yes."

  You do not hold full Dominion over your Soul. All Parties must Agree.

  "Oh right…" Stanley thought and then felt something behind him. He dropped the Meditation and turned inside his Soul space with a smile. "Lee!"

  "Good to see you brother." Stanley could feel the smile coming from his twin and ignored the Notifications about the upgrade.

  "You feel like you're doing better lately." Lee continued.

  "I… am." It felt like Lee was seeing more than Stanley would have chosen to share with him.

  "We got another attack over here." Lee said and continued quickly when he felt Stanley's anger rising. "We beat them! Easily."

  Stanley tried to smile but couldn't muster it. "I'm Still trapped."

  "I've got everything nailed down over here so just worry about yourself!" Lee said quickly as they both felt the almost immediate ending of their reunion and impending separation. "Just survive and get home!"

  Then he was gone.

  "I Will." Stanley told the void. "Be careful brother."

  He settled back into his meditation after a small smile. It Was good to 'see' his brother and despite the angry frustration, he felt a bit lighter after that. "It looks like Lee is doing well… but what if something like this appears over there…" Stanley mentally sighed and looked at the upgrade they had just received.

  [Soul Awareness(Apprentice I)](Rare)

  Effects:

  Knowledge Is Power. Know yourself and know your enemies.

  Users Strengthen and Solidify their Soul.

  Skill increases the difficulty for others to detect or gain information from the User's Soul.

  Still your Soul, Focusing Inward on the incoming Emanations of Souls allows the User to Detect and Examine other's Souls nearby while still Protecting their own Soul from Retaliation.

  Range and Sensitivity Increased with Skill Level and Soul Strength.

  "It didn't change?" Stanley paid closer attention to his [Soul Meditation] and thought he felt the difference. The Souls around him were a bit brighter, and the range… "I can definitely sense Souls further away now. The noise is easier as well…"

  He checked on the Soul Wound and couldn't help but feel good about his progress. It was 'visibly' better than before, all of his effort had paid off, even his status agreed.

  Status

  Name: Stanley Cascade

  Race: [Psionic Source-Touched Human](E Rank)

  Traits: [Adaptable] [Source-Touched] [I Made My Choice] [Ruthless Soul]

  Titles: [Solo Hunter]

  Class: [Soul Psionic(Apprentice IV)](Rare)

  Class Skills: [Mind Over Matter(Apprentice VIII)](Epic) [Soul Meditation(Initiate IX)](Rare) [Psionic Soul Shield(Initiate IX)](Rare)

  Attributes:

  Strength: 45

  Vitality: 49

  Dexterity 48

  Perception 47

  Intelligence 55

  Willpower 75

  Twin-Soul 204

  Non Class Skills: [Still Mind of the Psionic Beast(Initiate IV)](Rare) [Soul Awareness(Apprentice I)](Rare)

  [Source Regeneration]

  [Heat Resistance I(Passive)]

  [Cold Resistance I(Passive)]

  Buffs: [Soul Support Tether] [Walter's Gratitude]

  Debuffs: [Critical Soul Wound(Patched)(Shielded)]

  "Only 'Critical' now!" No longer 'Deadly' and another step closer to being healed. He had spent the majority of his time for the past week meditating and working on their Soul when it felt stable enough. Stanley was also pretty sure that Lee had changed something in the Soul patch but the symbols all still looked like gibberish to him.

  And yet despite all that time spent meditating the damn Skill wouldn't level anymore… He'd been hoping that it would let him do more while meditating if it Ranked up, but he also had a bad feeling that it was the opposite. He would have to 'learn' to do more before it would Rank up. "Stupid Skills…"

  At least his stats were still going up. A few Lairs had helped with Cores but none had been as lucrative as the rats. Lots of point ones to point fives with only bosses giving a full point. He'd also brought back another few dozen surviving humans. It was getting crowded at Nate's base and there were plans to build some add-ons and expand the wall.

  A sudden spike of pain from Zeke's Soul renewed Stanley's attention. It looked like they were back to group training, with Zeke's group fighting against Nate. It was good training for the group because they could go nuts on Nate and not hurt him. Good for training but bad for their chances against the monsters… they would just have to learn the rest in action. Hopefully without losing anyone.

  The rising anger from behind him would have made Stanley sigh, but he couldn't do that while meditating. Eve was in the garage of his house… "I just got my own place and already have a roommate…" The attempt to teach her a Soul Skill had gone… poorly. Between angry, profanity filled tirades and angry storming off or Meditation on his own part, she had given up. Instead she decided to work near him to raise her Soul Stat by enduring his leaking Soul. She claimed it was working… but he still had to endure 'her' presence.

  The anger behind him peaked and sank back into the usual low hum of focused concentration.

  Stanley didn't sigh and started another round of his training. First he stretched his mind out until he could feel the porch beneath and directly around himself. Then he pushed further in every direction, through and below the wood, reaching for the dirt beyond, the wall behind and the roof above.

  He touched the dirt and the wall but didn't make it to the roof before his focus failed. Trying to keep the Meditation going while touching everything around him was… annoyingly difficult.

  Next he focused on and let [Soul Awareness] flood him with all it could. It was easier to bear with meditation activated but he still had a limit. He was pretty sure he felt the tower before it became too much and he was forced to pull away.

  Then he activated the other part of [Soul Awareness], as he thought of it at least. He wrapped his Will and Soul around his… Soul. He didn't exactly squeeze his Soul, but it was close to that. Though maybe more of a hug. He was hugging his own Soul…

  Stanley didn't like the descriptions that he had but nevertheless it worked. The condensing and solidifying of his Soul was giving him increases in the Stat, and until he figured out a better way, this was all he could do. He did do it gently though, not wanting a repeat of the still mind incident, and didn't push too hard with each rep.

  With that completed, Stanley settled more fully into his [Soul Meditation] and rested. He wanted to also practice using his [Still Mind of the Psionic Beast], but he only did that while Caffeine was next to him. Likely Caff could still stop him from afar… but he didn't want to risk it. What he practiced instead was trying to activate Still Mind while maintaining Meditation. He was still struggling enough with it that he didn't feel any danger from the attempt.

  Both Skills involved a flow of the same energies. Meditation was basically a simple flat circle compared to the three dimensional cube that was Still Mind. Learning the Skill had taught him to do it and do it without thought, but trying to modify it into any other configuration felt like he was learning from scratch all over again.

  It was like writing something with his right hand… He could write without focus or attention, even with his eyes closed. Each of the two Skills felt that easy by themselves, but trying to do both at once was like picking up a pen in his left hand and writing something else simultaneously while still writing with his right hand.

  Something flickered into his Mental sight where it rested just above his skin, then fell away and Stanley realized that Eve had left the house and was in front of him.

  Something else appeared in the area just above his skin and Stanley caught it. "A stick?" He let the [Soul Meditation] end and blinked at the sudden rush of light, sound, smell and touch.

  Eve was standing a good ten feet away from him and looked wary as he blinked and then rubbed his gritty eyes. She had a lot more metal… armor? Aside from her gauntlet guns, she now wore a belt, breast and back plate, boots up to her knees, and something strapped to each thigh, all of it metal. Plus a helmet, a very crude but durable looking helmet.

  "Don't meditate with your eyes open." Eve said. "You look like a moron… freak."

  "I didn't realize I'd done that." Stanley smiled at her. "How's the training going?"

  "Done for now." She said and looked away. "I'm heading back to see if Zeke is ready for the Lair."

  "Need a lift?" Stanley asked while eyeing her equipment that had to be heavy. Though with Attributes…

  "Don't fucking touch me!"

  Stanley held his hands up in surrender even as he felt her anger drop into embarrassment and regret, before jumping right back to anger.

  "See you there." He said and she started stomping towards the base. Literally stomping with her heavy duty steel or whatever kind of metal they were, boots.

  Stanley flew ahead, she could handle anything that showed up. At least that's what she claimed… As he went he put his [Psionic Soul Shield] back up. Now that Eve didn't need to train her…

  Skill [Soul Shield] Level Up. No Evolutions Available. upgrade to Apprentice Available.

  Procced? Y/N

  "Yes, and it's about time…"

  [Psionic Soul Shield(Apprentice I)](Rare)

  Nothing in the Skill description changed and Stanley simply assumed that it had gotten better. Though it still felt the same as it had before the notification… "I must just be using it better." But he had a feeling that the lack of changes meant that he wasn't pushing the limits and figuring out ways to do it better. "How do you learn to do something if you have no idea what…"

  He approached the base slowly from just above the treetops and slipped in among the spectators to the mock battle between Nate and Zeke's group. Three of Zeke's team held metal shields and swords, though one did have a sledge hammer instead of a sword. "Did Eve make those or do we have someone else that can make that kind of thing?" Another man held a spear in both hands while the other two were throwing magic at Nate. One sent red beams at the man, while the other was firing off small but brilliant balls of white light.

  Nate was a monster and they barely touched him with sword, spell, or spear. He danced and weaved around them, darting in to punish anyone who wasn't protected by the shield bearers. And judging by the occasional screams and more common grunts, he was making sure they felt the pain. He would even grab onto them and start pulling them away if the defenders failed to react fast enough. Whereupon he would break a leg and leave them stranded away from the group until either the whole team pushed forward to rescue them or Zeke would use his ranged healing.

  Everytime Zeke healed, Nate would attempt to reach him, forcing the defenders to protect him and forcing Zeke to be more judicial in his attempts to save the 'lost' members.

  All in all, it was impressive and yet… Stanley wondered how they would handle some of the things he'd seen out there. "That 'is' the point of today's excursion."

  The fight eventually ended and Stanley only then noticed that he had a decent sized area around him that was clear of spectators. "So much for blending in with the crowd. Though to be fair…" He looked down at his suit.

  Walter hadn't been happy with the destroyed suit when Stanley went back after the Rat Lair. Instead of repairing it, the man had given him a different one. An almost white pinstripe suit that Stanley felt was a bit too much even on top of it already being a terrible outfit for the apocalypse. He was pretty sure that Walter was punishing him for destroying the last one… He was tempted to destroy this one as well but feared what Walter would come up with next time… plus it really was a great set of armor.

  Stanley had actually tested it this time and even if it hadn't been for the passive Soul Shield effect, he still would have worn it just for the protection. It even blocked magic! At least the Magic that people here could use… as for whether it would block the Raid Leaders…

  He felt a specific Soul approaching and closed his eyes while he debated leaving. It was the priest he'd saved from the church. The one who thought he was a demon.

  The man had a Soul somewhat similar to Zeke but rather than gold it was more bronze or copper. What that meant, Stanley didn't know. Maybe it had to do with Faith? Nevertheless the man had been fearful and hostile to him since they met and Stanley didn't want to deal with him if he didn't have to. He sighed when the Soul stopped right in front of him.

  "Mr Stanley? Do you have a moment?" Surprisingly his Soul didn't have the usual hostile tint, though it was still fearful and hesitant.

  "Don't worry." Stanley said, still with his eyes closed. "I'm not staying." Having to look at the man, who was still walking around in his priest outfit, glaring at him with those judgemental eyes wasn't something that he needed to suffer. Plus without meditation going, Stanley could 'see' him just fine.

  "Actually. I am here to apologize." The priest said.

  That got Stanley to open his eyes. The priest met his gaze but only for a second before looking down.

  "I have been listening to the people here." He said. "And I am sorry for my early judgment of you."

  Stanley didn't say anything, only watched the man and his Soul. "What is his game?"

  "While many here fear you… they also are grateful and speak of what they have seen you do. How you have saved them from the horrors of this new world. The young Ezekiel had many good things to say, more so than the others even." He smiled and met Stanley's eyes again. "I am sorry for speaking ill of you. Please forgive me."

  Stanley felt extremely uncomfortable at the older man's words and looked away. "Sure. Now go and sin no more or whatever." Though technically or maybe sorta, Stanley was the older man…

  The priest laughed. "Thank you. These are trying times that we find ourselves in and I believe we should all be more understanding of each other." He shook his head. "I honestly do not know what to make of this… maybe we are now in the great tribulation and being tested for our faith…"

  "Hah!" Stanley laughed. "Just don't call me the Antichrist when I conquer and rule the world." Stanley joked.

  The priest didn't laugh, only looked sad. "I don't know that I could condemn anyone who could put an end to all of this suffering and madness…" Then he laughed, a slightly bitter laugh. "What does that say about me?" He shook his head again. "I can only do what I may to help people that need it, as our Father asks us to."

  "Save your sermons for the gullible." Stanley said.

  "Don't worry." The priest said with a smile. "I am not here to convert, only apologize. Now I must get back to learning this 'magic' and doing what I can to help these people." He made air quotes on the word magic. "And pray to the Almighty that I am not damning my soul by doing so."

  "Good." Stanley said. "I'm glad you aren't an idiot."

  The priest only smiled at his remark and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Go with God my child."

  Stanley started to roll his eyes and stopped in surprise.

  Buff Gained. [Bless] +5% Effectiveness of All Base Attributes. Duration 59:59

  The priest winked at him, turned, and walked away. "Not bad…" Though he did notice that the priest seemed a bit drained afterwards. "He needs to get stronger. Everyone does…"

  "Stanley!" Nate called and Stanley turned to see him approaching with a white haired older woman beside him. "This is Maribel Underwood and she is in charge here when I'm away." Nate turned to her and gestured to Stanley. "This is Stanley, a grouchy old man and our strongest weapon at the moment."

  Maribel smiled with kind eyes at him. "I know him." She said. "Good to meet you."

  She held out a hand and Stanley shook it after a moment of hesitation. "Hi… have we met?"

  "Not as such, but I have seen you in action…" She said without fear or hostility, only admiration. "Okay… that's new. Not sure if I like it. Feels weird…"

  Stanley glanced at Nate. "Is Zeke's team ready?" He was ready to be somewhere else himself.

  "Yea. They are eating and then we'll head out. Where's Caff?"

  "Playing." Stanley said with a smile. "Don't worry, he probably heard you mention eating and will knock down the wall again." Nate actually looked slightly alarmed as he glanced back at the wall. Stanley just laughed.

  Eve showed up about when the others were ready and Stanley lifted all of them together, with lots of low grumbling from her about being carried. As he approached the edge of the Purified zone Stanley felt Caffeine start rapidly approaching.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  A sonic boom was all the warning the others had before the pug was in Stanley's lap and happily licking his face before he started jumping through the air to each of the others. Stanley was surprised and happy when almost everyone lifted their legs in the air and greeted Caffeine with welcoming laps and enthusiastic pets. Even Eve was smiling and friendly!

  He didn't know why people were so nervous to be carried, he hadn't dropped anyone yet. Not all the way to the ground at least… He did carry everyone just above the tree and rooftops. Just in case. Any E Ranks would survive a fall like that.

  They didn't travel far from the edge of the purified zone, maybe a mile at most.

  You have entered [Lair of the Roach Swarm]

  Stanley set everyone down in the dim lobby of the hotel and Caffeine immediately tried to charge off exploring. Stanley held him back. "Stay Caff. Let them have some fun." He gave the pug some head scratches while Zeke and his team fell into formation. Eve stayed behind the group, now carrying something akin to a metal briefcase in her hand and another similar box attached to her back.

  They had barely gotten into formation and a ball of white light floating above their heads, before a few cockroaches came charging through a doorway. They stood nearly to the Humans' waists but the training must have been working because the team all reacted smoothly to the attack. Two of the shield bearers stepped forward and slammed into the bugs while the third held back closer to Zeke and the Magic users.

  The spear wielder tried to stab the lone roach that skirted the shields but his spear slid off its carapace and he stumbled forward, overbalanced.

  Stanley was ready to stop the roach, after it took a bite at least. He knew the roaches had some nasty jaws, but nothing that would kill the man before he could be healed. In the end he did not have to intervene.

  Eve's shoulder cannon fired a blast of energy into the monster's face, stunning and halting it for a second. Meanwhile the shieldbearer swung his shield wide to the right, knocking back the roach in front of him and continuing on to completely flip the stunned one onto its back.

  "Don't overextend, Simmons!" Nate yelled. "Nice assist, Mathew!"

  Simmons had already recovered and his spear was glowing with a blue light as he spun and this time it penetrated, a little too well as it drove clean through the roach and into the floor, pinning the bug and his weapon in place. The maneuver put his leading leg too close to the jaws and he leapt back with a yell, leaving the spear behind. As soon as he was clear the casters blasted the bug with exploding orbs and searing beams.

  The tanks kept the other two well contained while Zeke quickly healed Simmons and the man reclaimed his spear. While that happened Stanley was watching the two roaches on the ceiling and wondering if any of them had noticed yet.

  The casters started taking shots at the two remaining bugs on the ground but Eve stayed further back and was cursing under her breath while replacing something on her right gauntlet.

  The roaches on the ceiling dropped down, directly above Zeke.

  Eve was already lifting her right hand and Zeke leapt aside as they descended. "I guess they did notice…" There was a crack and one of the bugs half exploded into a shower of goo. Zeke exclaimed in disgust but still executed a sweeping kick that caught the remaining ambusher midair and sent it over the tank's heads to join with its rapidly dying comrades.

  "Very well done, Zeke!" Nate was beaming and full of pride for his students while obviously holding himself back from the fight by how he kept twitching.

  The bugs all died and the team continued after claiming the Cores. Zeke complained to his sister while trying to remove as much goop as he could. She only grinned and promised to do it again. Lovingly promised, of course.

  They cleared the entire bottom floor and went up the stairs. Floor after floor, room after room, they hunted and killed the bugs until finally they all agreed that rest and food were required. They claimed a room near the stairs and started unpacking the chicken that they'd had stored.

  All but Eve, she hadn't participated after the first kill and she didn't settle down to rest. Instead she headed for the stairs, alone.

  "I'll finish this myself." She said, when Nate tried to stop her. "I haven't been sitting on my ass this whole time you know! And I'm tired of wasting my time here. I'm going to absolutely fucking wreck this Lair!"

  "Eve!" Zeke jumped to his feet. "Let me come with you!" He looked from Eve to Stanley, worry plain on his face.

  "No! Stay and eat. This won't take long…"

  Nate cast his own worried look at him and Stanley nodded slightly back. He could watch over the girl. Nate stepped aside after a long moment of studying her face. "Be careful."

  Eve snorted and headed up the stairs.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~

  Eve

  ~~~~~~~~~~~

  "Just watch me!" Eve thought. "Be careful my ass!" She left the others behind and stopped on the landing of the next floor. Another device on her other shoulder popped up and light shone from it, illuminating the stairwell. The stairs to the next floor were blocked, as they had been throughout the building. Something about how Lairs worked, no shortcuts… or no easy ones at least. Instead she would have to cross the building to the stairs on the other side where she would be able to go up but not down, and so on.

  She set down the case she'd been carrying and an effort of will parted the metal, allowing her to lift the top clear. Inside were a dozen tiny thumb-sized metal spiders. "Play time my pets!"

  The spiders didn't move as Eve held a hand over them. Nothing else happened for a moment and then a shiny liquid metal started running from underneath her gauntlet and slowly down her fingers. She touched a finger to each spider and with every touch a drop of the liquid was transferred onto them. It seemed to crawl over the tiny spiders and then sink into them, leaving the constructs once again a dull black.

  With each drop of the liquid metal, Eve sent a small piece of her Soul along and into the spiders. When she had finished with all of them the remaining metal slid back up her arm and under the gauntlet. "What did that cost me?" She thought.

  Status

  Name: Eve Mitchell

  Race: [Metal-Bonded Human](E Rank)

  Traits: [Cheated Death] [Metal Mind]

  Titles:

  Class: [Bond Metal Mage(Adept I)](Rare)

  Class Skills: [Shape Metal(Journeyman VI)](Rare) [Bond Metal(Apprentice VII)](Rare) [Mana Engineering(Adept II)](Epic)

  Attributes:

  Strength: 30

  Vitality: 28

  Dexterity 33

  Perception 32

  Intelligence 60

  Willpower 40

  Soul 40(-10)

  Non Class Skills: [Mana Drain(Apprentice IV)](Rare) [Soul Leech(Initiate VIII)](Rare)

  Buffs:

  Debuffs:

  "Almost one Soul point each… Fuck… Nevermind, I can spare that." She couldn't help the grimace that crawled onto her face every time she saw that trait.

  [Cheated Death]

  You faced Unavoidable Death and survived. Now do it again. When fully powered, your Death will instead restore you to Perfect Health. (Recharging)

  Reminding herself of that nightmare, of those eyes that promised her end… it brought the fear surging up again. Eve rallied her rage and forced the fear away. "Fuck you Stanley!" She knew that Stanley had saved her and Zeke that night but… "Fuck him!" Those eyes… unavoidable Death… "Fuuuck!" Eve managed not to scream her anger and frustration out loud when she remembered where she was. "I am not afraid! I don't need or want a fucking cheat death ability!"

  After turning off the light, Eve braced for attack and slowly cracked open the door to the next floor. Only wide enough and long enough for the spiders to crawl through, then she shut it as quietly as she had opened it. "Find me something to kill. I need something to kill."

  Eve pulled another device from the case and placed it over one eye. Her helmet shifted and wrapped enough metal around to hold it in place as a screen lit up on the inside. It showed an upside down view from a spider crawling down a hallway ceiling. Another device was slid into the helmet above her ear and a speaker started broadcasting very faint little clicking sounds of her spider's feet on the ceiling.

  More of the liquid metal slid into both the screen and speaker and with a thought she started cycling through the camera feeds, building a mental map of the next floor and where the largest concentrations of bugs were.

  While she did that, she pulled the box from her back and opened it up. Inside she removed what looked like a rifle, except the barrel that she screwed onto the other half was surrounded by a very bulky and boxy layer of metal.

  "I'd like to see you try and block my railgun so casually!" She stroked her latest creation fondly and briefly enjoyed the idea of using it to put a hole through that fucking stupid old man! "Caffeine would be upset…" She pulled what looked like a magazine from the box and looked closely and carefully at the delicate tracing of metal that coiled around and through the brightly glowing Cores that made up the interior of the thing. "Eh, some chicken would probably make up for it…."

  Eve slid her battery pack back into the gun, hiding the glow inside and plunging the stairwell back into darkness. She went over the other two still in the case with equal care and attention. "As long as I don't actually kill him it should be fine…"

  Her breastplate peeled open down the middle and she slotted the spare magazines into prepared positions. It was risky to keep the not fully stable batteries on her person but with her ability to shape metal she could ensure that the armor over them was always sound. Plus from there, they could power everything on her person. Also a touch of her liquid metal would let her easily monitor their condition. Another drop for the rail gun and she was ready to go, and almost out of Bonded Metal.

  The only downside was how slow it was to bond more metal. She grit her teeth at the memory of trying to stop that monster. Her hands rotting and metal melting into her flesh…

  "It was fucking worth it!" That nightmare had pushed her forward by leaps and bounds. A Race Evolution. A new Class, a trait. The Bonded metal had been just the thing she was missing to really progress. And the last missing piece… Soul.

  Eve only felt a tiny bit guilty for leeching Stanley's Soul. "Fucker deserves it!" He had tried to teach her one of his Skills but she had ended up with that instead. She glanced over the Skill again.

  [Soul Leech(Initiate VIII)](Rare)

  Leech from a nearby target's Soul to increase and empower your own. Greater gain from stronger Souls but greater risk of detection for every point Leeched.

  Chance of altering your Soul permanently or temporarily the faster you increase it and depending on who or what you Leech from.

  Effect increases with Skill Level, Soul and Intelligence.

  The bastard had failed to teach her anything and in her anger she had immediately activated the Skill upon learning it. The sensation of 'aiming' the Skill at him had been eye opening and horrible. It was like standing next to a raging bonfire and wanting to step back to avoid being burned. The immediate gains had gone unnoticed until later and the worst part was that she wasn't even sure if she had 'targeted' him! "Why is his Soul so Fucking Huge!" His 'bleeding Soul' as he put it, simply filled the area with energy that she could leach.

  "Fucking Cheater!" He never even noticed! Not even after she had leached over thirty points!

  Something was very wrong with that old man. Not counting that shit from the first night! "Bloodthirsty psychopath!"

  A quick cycle through her video feeds showed that her spiders were in position. She stuck the rifle to her back and a directed thought had the metal stick together, holding it in place. A quick scan of her wrist guns later and she stepped through the door.

  The long, straight hallway was clear of any roaches but thanks to her spies she was ready and waiting for the one that crawled through a nearby doorway to investigate. A crack from her smaller rail gun gauntlet blew the things front half into paste.

  "Room's clear." A thought sent her spider crawling away to a new position.

  She shifted to the other side of the hall and crouched down, waiting. Further up the hall, a roach skittered into view. Eve lined up her shot but held off on firing. Two more followed the first into the hall and her weapon started glowing as she lined up all three in a row.

  Crack!

  Three bugs exploded and Eve grinned. "Fuck you bastards!"

  She continued down the hall in the same fashion, each loud shot drawing more bugs out and her own spiders giving her intel on where and when they would appear. Floor, ceiling, walls, some even tried to double back through holes in the walls between the rooms but she always saw them coming.

  When the final cockroach on the floor came charging at her, Eve rotated the barrel on her gauntlet and swept a beam of energy over its legs. The targeted legs sheared off and she quickly took the other legs in the same manner. She watched the bug for a few moments to see if it would try anything new, now that it was helpless.

  It didn't and she approached slowly until finally placing a hand on it's back. [Mana Drain]

  It didn't take long to drain all of its Mana, it also didn't have very much… "Damn it." She watched her own Mana regen and missed the increased regen that came from simply being close to Stanley.

  "Fucking Damn It!" The old bastard and his cheating regen! She used [Soul Leech] as well but that had even more disappointing results. The roach's Soul was a pathetic thing. In the end she wasn't sure if the cost of burning its legs off was recouped by the Mana drain. The Cores could be used for power, but that required a bit more effort and time on her part…

  She climbed the stairwell at the end of the hall and repeated the process of scouting the next floor while letting her Mana regenerate more. The floor had an identical layout as the previous one but had much more roaches and a lot more holes between rooms that might let the bugs surround her if she wasn't careful.

  Some of the roaches were also slightly larger than the others and she noticed some antennae waving suspiciously towards her spiders. Eve pulled the spiders further away from the those bugs with a shiver. While she could reclaim her Soul and metal if the spiders were crushed or even destroyed, she still vividly remembered one of her early scouts getting eaten by a bird. "Fuck!" That had sucked. Really sucked. Something about them getting too close or worse, inside another Soul and she could lose both Soul and Metal. But now she had more Soul to spare and after that day had redesigned her spiders to be much more dull looking and easier to hide.

  The floor clearing went similar to the previous one. She leaned around an open doorway when nothing came looking for her immediately and the first shot had started the swarm.

  Eve burned the legs off of one of the new bigger roaches and got a nasty surprise when its antennae lashed out at her face. Her armor saved her from injury but she had to spend more Mana than the damn thing gave her to repair the damage to the metal. "Should have left a Mana Drain tower next to Stanley…" She thought. "No… the wireless transfer would make it almost useless at this range." And running a Bonded wire was out. Those 'Mana Drain Towers' as she called them, were a nice loophole that came with the Bonded Metal upgrade. The Bonded Metal became basically a part of her and so she could use Skills through them, like Mana Drain. Granted, draining the air wasn't much but spreading them around the base had helped her work immensely.

  The next floor had almost exclusively the bigger roaches as well as some even smaller ones that moved disturbingly fast. She happened to see a few roaches come in from the far side door and watched curiously as each time they stopped or tried to go into a room, one of the bigger ones would nip at them or bump into them. It resulted in Eve having to retreat back down the stairs and killing them when they entered the lower floor. "Do they drive the weaker ones downstairs?"

  She put it out of her mind and went back upstairs, killed them all and even drained four of the large ones before heading higher.

  The next floor they were waiting for her. She didn't see what killed the first spider through the door but was able to pull her Soul Metal back before it could get eaten. "That was too close. Fucking cheaters!"

  She watched the resealed door warily as she prepared a new weapon. Nothing tried to get through and she had a new spider ready to go momentarily. It was bigger and more bulbous than previously and she tossed it through the door before throwing her shoulder into the door to close it again. An antennae lashed at her around the door but a quick slash from the blade that popped out of her gauntlet removed the blocking appendage and the door closed just before something exploded on the other side. One benefit of the doors being indestructible was using them as blast shields. "Suck on a grenade you Fucks!"

  She popped the door for another instant and a spider crawled through at the top of the frame. It moved quickly to a corner and its video feed let her observe the carnage and chaos that her first attack had wrought. "Haha! Fuckers."

  Eve followed the rest of her spiders into the hallway and they spread out, careful to avoid notice from the more observant roaches. She had a few surprises without the full scouting of the floor but nothing that she couldn't handle.

  On the next landing, Eve took some time and Cores to create a few more tools. First she used [Mana Engineering] and very tiny Bonded wires to wrap a Core into a specific configuration. Rather than turning it into a battery that could be drained for power and recharged, she instead created a little bomb. A bit more work with [Metal Shape] and she had it placed nice and snug inside a friendly little claymore. Just for emergencies, that. "Suck shrapnal you stupid bugs!" She stuck that to her leg, facing away from her, just in case.

  Then she waited for Mana to regen. "Enjoying the show?" She thought at the presence around her. "You think I can't feel you watching? Creep!" She didn't know if Stanley was aware but his 'attention' came along with faint traces of his Soul. And with 'that' Soul, it felt kinda fucking obvious. She didn't know what he could 'see' and to be fair… She ground her teeth at the idea… She hadn't felt his attention when changing or bathing with cold river water. "I'm sure he's still a fucking pervert!" Eve sniffed at her armpit and wrinkled her nose. "God fucking damn it!" She sighed. "I hate this place…"

  The next floor was okay. She got a few scratches but nothing that couldn't be regenerated. The problem was the fucking thing waiting in the stairwell afterwards.

  A huge roach had been waiting on the landing outside the next floor and upon seeing her had lifted its wings high. Eve had been expecting it to jump on her and her shoulder cannon blasted its face into oblivion. What she hadn't expected was the huge, Neverending fucking swarm of tiny roaches that poured off of the thing! Those fuckers did fly and Eve had to throw herself down the stairs as she desperately fumbled at her gauntlet.

  She hit the ground hard in front of the door and spun to her back. Her hand went up and Mana rushed from her core and into the barrel pointing up at the cloud of bugs. Fire bloomed and billowed up. Roared and crackled as roasted bugs rained down around her.

  "Fucking die!" She took a breath and immediately regretted it as hot, burning air seared down her throat and into her lungs. Eve poured most of her Mana into the flamethrower and then was forced to retreat from the heat and lack of air that filled the stairwell.

  She spent a few horrifying minutes picking the squirming, biting, Burrowing! bugs from any exposed flesh. They fucking burrow! She dripped her liquid Metal into the bigger wounds, letting it seal the gaps and stop the bleeding. It was a part of her so she didn't have to worry about the metal getting into her blood and poisoning her and it wouldn't block the flesh Regeneration either.

  She felt Stanley's Soul approaching before the door at the other end of the building opened and Zeke came running to her. Eve glared at the old man floating slowly behind him. "I can fucking do this fine on my own." She growled when they were closer. Stanley didn't say anything.

  Zeke slowed and knelt in front of her. "I know, Eve." He held out a grease stained paper bag. "I saved you some chicken… I won't bother you… but, can I heal you at least?"

  Eve sighed and took the chicken. "Sure. Thanks Zeke…" She unwrapped the bag while the Golden Light beamed through her and took all the aches and pains away in an instant. She took a bite and stopped when she watched something burst out from under the skin on her arm. "Fuck…" Eve swallowed the chicken past the nausea in her throat and closed her eyes. "God I fucking hate this place." She whispered.

  "What is that?" Zeke asked. "Are… are those eggs?"

  The light stopped and she heard Zeke gagging nearby. Eve took another bite. "Yhep." She said with her mouthful. "Fhuching Eghs."

  Zeke recovered and Eve let him keep his light going as long as he wanted to ensure they were all gone.

  "I changed my mind, Zeke." Eve said when he was satisfied with his healing. "The next floor is all yours." She grinned at him.

  To his credit, and despite looking a bit green, he nodded and formed up at the door with his team. They went through and from the sounds of it, found a few more still alive after the fire. Eve followed behind and was only a little surprised by how little damage her flamethrower had done to the building. "Lair bullshit."

  Mathew opened the door to the next floor and Eve saw the swarmer waiting just down the hall. "Wait!" She stepped up next to him and threw her new bomb down the hall. "Close it!"

  Mathew didn't hesitate and the door closed just as the cloud of bugs took to the air. A thought was all Eve needed and the building shook as soon as the door clicked shut. Almost before the echoes of the explosion ended, something slammed into the door and Mathew bounced back slightly.

  "Downstairs!" Zeke ordered. "We'll let them come to us and fight them down there!" He let the others go ahead and waited with Mathew who still held the door against the repeated pounding.

  "Go!" Mathew told them both. "I'll be right behind you."

  Eve followed Zeke downstairs and partway down the hallway. Nate and Stanley were just standing there and watching. Nate looked worried but Stanley just looked bored. "Bastard!"

  Magic lights were rapidly appearing in the hall and after a yell, Mathew dropped into sight and sprinted through the doorway. Eve spent some more Mana to blanket the doorway and stairwell beyond in a heavy layer of fire, then retreated back while the other mages took up the bombardment.

  Far too many of the nasty little bugs got through when the tide of giant roaches started pouring down the hall and everyone fought desperately to kill them as fast as possible. Then it was over and Zeke took his time on each of them to ensure that no eggs survived.

  "Man am I glad you're here Zeke!" One of the other men exclaimed when some eggs burst from his skin and he stomped on them. "Nasty little buggers… and they don't even drop Cores!"

  Eve finally noticed that tidbit and added her own feelings to the conversation. "That is some Bullshit!"

  It turned out that the swarm 'hosts' dropped full plus one Cores but no one thought that was a fair exchange. Upstairs they found the source of the bugs.

  A nasty, disgusting, huge, grotesque, horrible, fucking monster!

  The thing was spitting out eggs like a damn machine gun. Splat, splat, splat. They stuck where they landed, floors, walls, even the ceiling. The group watched the eggs visibly growing and squirming as the monsters inside grew.

  Eve pulled her rifle from her back and sighted past the two extra large roaches that stood still between her and the queen. "Time to die, bitch!"

  A hand pushed her gun down and Eve stared at Nate in surprise. "What?"

  "Don't kill the queen." Nate said. "I think this place will make a better Core farm than the chickens."

  "You have got to be fucking kidding me!" A few of the others echoed her sentiment.

  "I'm serious." Nate said. "I've been thinking about setting up a forward base instead of expanding the original." He pointed at the queen. "Look how fast it is making them. If we put a base at the edge of the purified area…"

  "What a fucking let down. Can I at least kill one of those?" She waved her gun towards the two guards that still hadn't moved.

  "Sure." Nate smiled. "Just don't miss."

  "What am I an amateur?" Her railgun didn't actually have a trigger but she pulled the mental trigger and the snap crack left her ears ringing. She didn't mind, only smiled widely at the obliterated gore that used to be a giant cockroach. "Suck on that!" Eve glanced at Stanley to see his reaction and saw him nodding thoughtfully. He noticed her attention and smiled patronizingly at her. "Eat Shit, you freak!" Stanley only looked away.

  The other guard roach didn't attack like she expected it would and they all headed out before the eggs that looked ready to hatch could start doing so. They also made sure to grab any Cores that she'd missed.

  Zeke caught up to her on the way down. "Eve…" He was quiet for awhile as he walked beside her.

  "What? Spit it out!" She finally snapped.

  "We did good, right?"

  Eve glanced at him and softened her glare. "Yea, Zeke. You did great."

  "You know I'm here for you, right Eve?"

  Eve sighed. "I know Zeke, but what brought this on?"

  He looked very nervous as he opened and closed his mouth a few times. "You just seem so much angrier lately… I just want to help!" He finished under her glare. "I can help…"

  "I'm sorry Zeke." Eve sighed. "I'm okay. This is just a lot to adjust to and I Am glad that you are handling it better than me." She smiled at him. "I'm always here for you too, you know?"

  Zeke smiled and nodded but he was quiet until the next floor down. "I know you don't like Stanley…" Eve grimaced and clenched her teeth. "...But I wanted him here to…" He swallowed. "If you died… I…I was scared."

  Eve stopped and wrapped her arms around her baby brother. "I know Zeke. I know." She let him have a moment and then continued down. "You weren't there Zeke. You didn't see…" She held up a hand when he opened his mouth. "I know." She glanced around but the others were farther ahead, out of earshot. "I know what he said, about not being himself…"

  Zeke squeezed her hand and Eve sighed. "Fiiiine." She dragged out the word. "I'll try to be better." Zeke smiled happily at her. "I hate you." She said.

  Zeke shook his head. "No you don't."

  "Ugh…" Eve squeezed his hand and followed him out the front doors, into the light. She saw Nate still jabbering about his 'forward base' while Stanley nodded and listened. Caffeine was sprinting around sniffing at things and with each sniff he grew bigger and bigger, until the sound of his long inhales was almost deafening. Luckily he was moving away from them rapidly and the sound faded as he chased after the smells.

  Zeke was looking at her.

  Eve sighed and stomped over to the old man.

  "Stanley!" He looked at her. "Thanks for looking out."

  "No problem."

  Eve grit her teeth. "I'm sorry about…"

  Soul +1

  "I forgot to stop the Leech…"

  New Trait Earned.

  [Angry Soul]

  You are more prone to Anger. While angry your Soul is stronger and more resistant to attacks or damage.

  You have gained a Temporary Trait from the Skill [Soul Leech]. Continued use of the Skill may make this trait Permanent.

  "You…" Eve was staring at Stanley in shock and then anger flared up. "You Bastard! This is all your fucking fault!"

  Stanley looked surprised for all of a moment and then had the audacity to laugh in her face! "I'll fucking give you something to laugh…"

  "Eve!" Zeke grabbed her hand as she tried to pull her railgun around. "What happened?"

  "More prone to anger…" She deflated for a moment but then Stanley chuckled again. "I'll…"

  "Sorry Eve." Stanley said. "But I think I have just the thing to cheer you up." He grinned in a seriously maniacal way and she was swept into the air.

  "Put me down you Bastard!"