Mothman was sitting on an overturned utility bucket in the dim service tunnel smoking a cig. He had somehow activated a personal uplink, and the blue light of the Forge Room was just visible behind him.
"You won't freaking believe it, folks," He took a big drag from the cig "I have arrived in the heart of the Beast Vein!" he hissed into the hidden mic on his wrist, his voice low but buzzing with manic energy. "This place is wild! I'm talking actual cat-girls, cave rave an—"
≪System Notification: Jamming Protocol Initiated. Source: Local AI. ≫
Mothman's feed instantly scrambled into static, his face contorting in surprise. A voice, clear and slightly digitized, cut across the broken transmission.
"Heads up, Xun'dral biscuit," Felicity's cheerful, fanged voice announced, relayed through Mothman's uplink. Her cybernetic eye, visible from the Forge entrance, had done the work. "Ash is throwing a team meeting at the Forge. Don't be late."Mothman cursed under his breath, scrambling to put out the cig and disconnect the device, he then hurried back toward the main cavern. In the Forge Room, I was already moving. I had the plan, and now I needed the team. I closed my eyes and focused my mind, utilizing my newest core skill.
'
''Beast Commander'' I focused my intent and sent out the gentle psychic wave "Marla, Koba. Forge Room. Now."
The command was instantaneous, clean, and entirely silent to Doctor Syn, the cost to my Orgone was negligible thanks to the new Energon Flux skill.
Within moments, two new figures emerged from the gloom of the surrounding tunnels. Marla entered first, her greenish blueish skin and glossy black armor still slightly slick with sweat, her vipers alert but entirely subservient. She took up a position near the entrance, "Don't be a stranger Marla," I waved her over. Her crimson eyes met mine and she looked down and away, she made a self-touch gesture holding her left elbow in her right hand, as she sheepishly walked forward joining me at the center Altar. Koba, a hulking figure of hardened dermal plates and bio-steel, lumbered in behind her, his enormous arms and pincers held up behead his head, which was adorned with a huge 'Y' shaped Bettle horn.
I looked around and then I remembered what was missing, I gave an orgone enhanced whistle, and moments later there was a low rumble as the colossal silver bio-steel Hand came darting along the Gutter nest terrain.
The Hands preferred form of travel was standing upright on its index finger, the bow finger, and the ring finger, while curling its pinky and thumb together while those three digits ''ran.'' In this fashion the Hand was capable of achieving high travel speeds, despite its huge size. As the hand approached me it laid down gently at my feet it's umbilical tipped spur waving like a doggy's tail. It was sorta cute. Just then I took a moment to study my team, using the new System granted by Herja to perform a quick inventory of my bonded assets. I focused my intent on Marla, and Herja sensing my intent immediately brought up the desired information of, Marla's personal stats.
Herja spoke in that comforting husky tone of hers, "Scanning Bonded Subject: Marla."
A panel instantly appeared in my inner vision, displaying her full profile.
Affinity: HP Support Type Genome Beast
Level: 5
Health Points: 25,500
Orgone: 7,500
Strength: 9
Agility: 20
Intelligence: 11
Stamina: 19
Attack Speed: 200
Defense: 125
Accuracy: 145
Resistance: 190
Estimated Battle Power: 18,000."
I studied Marla's stats, the high Health Points '25,500' and remarkable Agility '20' confirmed my earlier observations about her. She was built to survive and evade. Her low Strength of '9' felt misleading, a deception I now sought to unravel. I mentally drilled down into her detailed combat profile, focusing on her attack descriptions.
The first attack node I accessed was Serpent Flash, Marla's signature offensive skill.
"Scanning Attack Node: Serpent Flash," Herja's voice murmured, providing the technical rundown.
I read the technique, but not verbatim. ''twenty-four beams of seething green Orgone energy, two beams fired from each of the twelve vipers adorning her head.''
It was a crowd-control nightmare, a scattershot of kinetic and toxic force. It was near the end of the technical description that I made the astonishing discovery:
"Damage based on HP."
The brilliance of it astounded my mind and made me covet Marla that much more as my pet. Her low Strength stat was a complete feint. Her true damage output was directly linked to her massive HP pool. At max health, she could unleash an attack with a base value of over 25,000, allowing her to punch well above her weight class and making her an extremely deceptive and lethal asset. This build meant that any effort CENO spent reducing her HP wasn't just wearing down her life force; it was simultaneously degrading her primary offensive power. Conversely, if I could boost her HP, her damage would skyrocket. She wasn't an evasive tank; she was a Health-Scaling Striker.
Herja immediately went back to the ''Symbiotic Enhancement branch,'' specifically the ''Regenerative Synergy and Orgone Transfusion nodes.'' "If I could keep her HP topped off during a fight, I would constantly be resetting her maximum damage potential." With this information that Herja had just laid out, I now understood Marla's true strategic value Marla wasn't just a guard; she was a volatile, high-damage weapon disguised as a frail speedster.
I dismissed her stats and looked at Koba the War Bettle next. Without missing a beat Herja pulled his information up to view. "Scanning Bonded Subject: Koba."
"Affinity: Defense Support Type Genome Beast
Level: 5
Health Points: 12,000
Orgone:2500
Strength 10
Agility: 8
Intelligence: 7
Stamina: 25
Attack speed: 80
Defense: 638
Accuracy: 124
Resistance 225
Estimated Battle Power: 5,000"
I drilled down into Koba's attack description nodes, seeking the same deceptive mechanic I found in Marla. I found it immediately. The description for Koba's primary attack confirmed my suspicion: ''Damage is based on defense.'' The base strength of his attacks was calculated not by Koba's Strength attribute, but by 75% of his current Defense attribute, plus a fixed base value. The brilliance of his build was instantly clear. Koba wasn't just built to absorb damage; he was built to turn that absorption into offense. Every defense augmentation, every temporary buff I gave him, would not only make him harder to kill but also dramatically increase his attack power.
This was a highly desirable trait for a defensive type, as it allowed him to deal decent damage while also absorbing it. He was a perfect synergy of tank and retaliator. Combined with my 'Catalytic Bond' skill, I could drain his excess Stamina and still have a defensive beast that hit like a truck thanks to his high Defense rating.
My two bonded assets were custom-built weapons: Marla was a striker whose damage scaled with her HP, and Koba was a sentinel whose damage scaled with his Defense.
"We're ready to rumble" I thought, a predatory smile forming. "The CENO Black Site is about to meet a coordinated assault from two customized monsters. Now, let's see about the Hand."
I looked at the assembled group: two highly specialized, mind-controlled fighters, a legendary piece of bio-tech, a brilliant but desperate scientist, a highly armed fugitive, sassy Felicity and of course my right-hand man-The Hand. Speaking of 'the hand' I decided to look at its stats next!
I focused my attention on the colossal silver structure resting patiently at my feet. The Hand lay sprawled on its digits, its umbilical spur waving gently through the air—a legendary piece of bio-tech reduced to an obedient pet.
"Scanning Bonded Subject: The Hand," Herja's voice announced with a noticeable rise in reverence, as if even the AI recognized the unique nature of this asset.
A new, massive panel sprang up in my vision. Unlike Marla and Koba, the Hand's classification was unique:
"The Hand: The Living Siege Engine
Affinity: Mount/Siege Type Genome Construct
Level: 7
Health Points: 35,000
Orgone: 1500
Strength: 35
Agility: 12
Intelligence: 5
Stamina: 30
Attack Speed: 90
Defense: 450
Resistance: 300
Estimated Battle Power: 48,000."
The Hand dwarfed my other assets. Its Health Points were immense, its Strength unmatched, and its Estimated Battle Power was nearly twice that of Koba and Marla combined. It was not merely a fighter; it was a mobile fortress.
I noted its low Orgone and Intelligence—it was a powerful, mindless machine that relied on simple commands and raw power. "Ash," Herja elaborated, "note the Mount/Siege Type classification. This creature is designed for transport and overwhelming physical force. Its high Stamina of 30 allows for sustained travel and tunneling operations. Its primary abilities focus on terrain alteration and devastating area-of-effect damage."
I grinned. A Mount creature. It wouldn't just carry me; it would smash through walls and tear up fortifications. This changed the nature of the CENO raid entirely. We didn't need to sneak in the front door; we could bring our own entrance.
"Alright," I said, leaning my hands on the console, my voice ringing with renewed confidence. "The plan is simple. Doctor Syn, show us exactly where Black Site Onyx is located. We're not going through the air. We're going through the ground. The Hand is going to dig us a new entrance."