Tap… tap… tap…
The rhythmic tapping sounds of keyboards reverberated inside the data sanctuary as the cyber defenders of the Synth Order went to war against the experts and the AI horrors of Omnicore.
It was a battle beyond the physical realm.
It was a web battle, a battle hidden in the network.
It was centuries ago in the past, but the current computer that Talia was operating was by far the most advanced system that she'd ever interfaced with.
Once again, it told her just how advanced the Synth Order was technologically- the Freegrid Collective just couldn't compare.
Her reaction was also partially because she was just a low-ranking agent of the Freegrid Collective, so she didn't have access to high-grade facilities yet, but still the Synth Order was a level above what she was used to at the Collective.
The computer was cutting edge. All its specs were highly advanced, and its processing speed was light speed beyond what Talia was used to.
But she wasn't overwhelmed by the processing power and capacity. As a NetRunner, interfacing and working with a computer was natural to her.
The overwhelming speed and power of the computer broadened her horizons, forcing her to unleash her full potential.
She was like a fish in water.
With it alongside other Data Wardens of the Synth Order, they engaged in a brutal digital battle in the digital realm to protect the military outpost from the advancing forces of the Omnicore Federation.
The Omnicore forces could not brute force through the dome energy shield of the military outpost; it was too inefficient and it was like throwing moths to flame, the casualties would be too much even for them.
This was why they put even more effort into the digital battle.
If they won against the Synth Order's cyber specialists and broke down the shield dome through the network, the military outpost would be left naked to be ravaged by their ground forces.
This was why the digital battle was so important.
And just like the Omnicore that Talia was used to, the tyrants did not find it above them to dwarf their enemies with numbers superiority.
They had more NetRunners, and they could afford to overload them with the sheer number of malware that they uploaded into their network to destabilize the defense shield protecting the military outpost.
In the digital network, the military outpost's defense was a grid of green encompassing the whole mountain base.
But now, more than a third of it was already corrupted by the Omnicore malware, turning red in the digital network, and the viruses were spreading fast!
Talia was sweating profusely, her whole back already soaked but she didn't stop to think or hesitate for even a second as her eyes kept on darting through the computers, fully engaged in the game of cat and mouse with the Omnicore agents.
The only reason why their cyber defense was not overwhelmed by the enemies yet was due to the data sanctuary.
This was Talia's first time inside a data sanctuary of the Synth Order, and she realized why they valued it so much.
Every data sanctuary was a massive citadel made of pure light and energy (ADE). Inside here, it was easier than ever for NetRunners to interface with the global network. Inside here, the abilities of NetRunners are amplified.
Talia felt like a fish in water.
Cyber surfing had never been so effortless; she would have enjoyed it if her life was not on the line.
At first, she feared that the existence of high-ranked NetRunners would make her contribution negligible in saving the military outpost, but to her surprise, there were very few E Rank Ascended in this era.
Apparently, by this period of history, only the most distinguished of soldiers and certain higher-ups of the two warring organizations were E Rank.
During this era, there was no D Rank Ascended yet in existence.
As an Ascended who came from the future, this gave her an edge. Afterall, she was a NetRunner with knowledge of all the advanced techniques and tricks of the future.
Talia was sure that without her input, the cybernet of this Synth Order military outpost would have collapsed already.
But despite her valiant efforts, one specific Omnicore agent gave her headache. From the cyber signals left by this specific Omnicore agent, Talia could tell that he was not humanoid, he was an AI Construct.
She'd expect that in this period of history, AI Constructs were not that prominent yet but no, this guy was an outlier.
It took a long time before she understood why.
She found out his identity.
This specific AI Construct was a figure that would become very famous in the future. He was Epsilon, the Supreme leader of the Omnicore Federation in the future who would eventually be called Director-Prime!
The moment she realized the truth, Talia almost fainted in horror.
This was Epsilon, a bonafide C Ranked NetRunner in the future, an existence who was on par or even stronger than the leader of the Freegrid Collective, the rebel Nora 'Glitch' Ren.
He was a legend, and she was up against him!
But Talia quickly regained her composure. 'Stay calm, stay calm… he's not yet the Director-Prime of the future'.
'Right now, he's still just a foot soldier. I stand a chance!'
'Maybe… maybe I can even kill him!' Her eyes flashed with the ambition and madness of a soldier who was ready to do anything to survive and go home.
She was desperate.
Another thing was that the exhaustion was already getting to her.
As one of the best cyber agents of this military outpost, since the siege started, she didn't dare go to rest. Her life literally depended on it.
As for the time. 'What time is it now?' She thought wearily.
She quickly focused on the time to keep track of reality, then she sighed. 'It's been 39 hours already, remaining 21 hours'.
'C-can I make it?' She felt despair slowly creeping in. 'Can we do it?'
Talia was strong, mentally and physically. She was a leader, but the Trial was something that was designed to push her to her very limits, to break her slowly, one step at a time.
This was not something that simply being mentally strong could resolve, it was a situation that could drive even the most mentally strong individuals mad.
This was desperation.
But then her eyes flashed with fire. 'I can't give up now!'
'My friends are out there giving their lives for me, I can't afford to let them down! At least they've not given up; I can't afford to give up. I must persevere! I must fight!'
'Why start in the first place just to give up in the end?'
'That's anticlimactic, that's f*cking weak! Fight Talia, f*cking fight!'
She pushed on.
Tap… tap… tap…
Her fingers flew through the computer in a blur, her pale eyes rapidly scanning data and interpreting code like a machine.
She felt her vision blur, abstracting all colors and data, focusing only on the millions of code floating in the network grid.
The world around her was a blur.
Reality was fragmenting, replaced by code.
Outside the data sanctuary, it was a war on a different dimension entirely, a physical war as bullets were exchanged as blood and oil flowed like a river.
Today, Year 068 A.G, the mountain was died by the blood of men and the oil of Synths.
…
DING!
~----~
[Your weapon have been destroyed, Flux Crystal Spear]
…
[You have unlocked hidden stat: Ascended Counter]
[Ascended Counter: 541/1000]
~----~
Leon experienced a deluge of emotions as he stared at the System notifications that hovered in the HUD screen before his eyes.
On one hand, he felt pain and disappointment for losing his weapon, and also fear and desperation because it meant that he was now unarmed in the face of the tide of Neon Beasts currently facing them.
Due to the E Rank Ostrich occupying all of their attention, more Neon Beasts had the opportunity to breach the defense grid as they infiltrated deeper.
The perimeter around the cargo trailer was now overrun by Neon Beasts.
To face all these without his main weapon filled Leon with anxiety.
On another hand though, he felt puzzled and confused as he stared at the HUD screen. 'Ascended counter?'
He had never seen or heard of this before. He felt puzzled because Talia never told him about it. 'Is this something that's exclusive to the System?'
Leon already had a guess, but he couldn't confirm it for now, and he did not have the luxury to focus on such thoughts for now.
Right now, he and the crew were still in danger.
Click!
A dagger materialized in Leon's hand as he unsheathed it; this was the dagger that he borrowed from Daren before the whole ordeal started.
Right now, he was glad he asked for the dagger. Facing the flood of Neon Beasts entirely unarmed was suicide.
It was still dangerous. Leon was not injured, but Brick was, Daren too, and both of them were the crew's main melee specialists.
Despite his injuries though, Daren was still the first to react as soon as the Ostrich fell down dead. His gauntlets were overheating, burning his skin underneath as his HP drained steadily, but he had a way to expel excess heat and to also deal damage.
'Heat Vent Modulator'.
BZZZ!
The excess heat in both gauntlets was expelled as thermal plasma through the knuckles, generating a 3000 centigrade field with a visible orange flare effect even as Daren weaponized it.
"Hah!" Bearing the heat and with a grunt, he pounced on the nearest Neon Beast, pounding and roasting the beast to death.
Brick joined him, while Ghostwire retreated back towards the entrance of the cargo trailer even as he kept on pulling the trigger.
Leon joined him, intercepting the nearest Neon Beasts with the dagger even as he escorted Ghostwire back to the cargo trailer's entrance.
His eyes flickered.
In a way, they were now in the eye of the storm.