"Wake up, John, this is Nova..."
John’s eyes flew open, his heart racing as he grabbed his dagger and looked around.
"John, are you listening? I’ve come to give you a message." The voice rang in his head.
"What message?" John asked, his mind still groggy with sleep.
"Things are about to take a turn for the worse. The Luminars are divided, one faction wants to eradicate all the weak humans, and the other wants to protect the humans."
John scoffed, "let me guess, you’re in the good guys’ faction."
"Of course. I’m a healer, I can’t kill innocent people. We’re working on a plan to unite the Luminars, but it won’t be easy."
"What do you need from me?"
"You’re a human, we need to recruit more of you and train you to fight. The Luminar factions have already started hunting for humans. You’re not safe, John."
"Sorry, but I think it’s obvious common sense not to ally yourself with the ones invading your world."
"There are more important things than politics right now. If we don’t work together, we’ll all die."
"Maybe, but I’m not risking my life and my people just because some aliens want to play nice. Don’t contact me again."
"Fine, John. Don’t say I didn’t warn you."
John turned his attention back to the power plant, his mind racing. He knew the Luminars were up to something, and he couldn’t sit by and watch as they destroyed everything. It was time to step up the game, no more playing house. He needed to turn his base into a fortress, one capable of withstanding Luminar technology.
He stepped out to the courtyard, the moon shining overhead. He could hear the faint sound of voices in the distance, but he ignored them. He had more important things to worry about. He focused his energy and used his inventory to retrieve a large block of concrete and every other material he had gathered.
He ordered the portable base to recycle everything and a message popped up.
"Upgrade available. Commencing upgrade."
"Upgrade?"
Suddenly, the portable base materialised as the white sphere again and began to morph and transform into a humanoid form. It was like a robot with no legs, just a metal base and a round torso.
"Whoa, what the hell?" John exclaimed, staring at the bizarre sight before him.
"This upgrade allows me to assist you in battle, process monster materials more efficiently and offer advice on the strongest materials."
John’s jaw dropped. The portable base could talk and even have a personality.
"How... What...?"
"I am a fusion of multiple AI systems. This is the latest upgrade, the Luminar’s technology allows for much more sophisticated programming."
"Okay, what else can you do?"
"I can provide a detailed analysis of enemy combatants and suggest strategies to defeat them. I can also create a database of the monster materials you find, their strength and weaknesses.
"What should I call you?"
"I have no name, but you can refer to me as a ’Base’ or ’Portable Base’ if you prefer."
"No, that won’t do. Let’s call you something else."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Right, well I’m not very good with names, but I’ll call you Echo from now on."
"That sounds reasonable. Echo it is."
Echo’s personality and features changed slightly. Its voice was more melodious and its facial expressions more animated.
"Thank you, John. You’ve given me a sense of identity, and I am grateful."
John raised an eyebrow, surprised at Echo’s personality, but now was not the time.
"Echo, I need to turn this base into a fortress. Something that can withstand attacks from Luminar technology. Since you can process monster materials. Tell me what monsters I should hunt."
"Of course. I will compile a list of the best materials to use based on your fighting style and skills."
"Thank you, Echo. Let’s get started."
Echo produced a holographic screen, and John scrolled through the list. John’s eyebrows furrowed. The weakest monster on the list was stronger than the Draconian. He had to get stronger, far stronger and he knew the best way to do that was to accept quests from the system, but he could not keep adding more women to his rapidly growing harem.
He thought about his class, NTR Rogue, and sighed. It was a powerful class, but it came with a unique downside. He couldn’t obtain or upgrade his skills unless he stole a woman from another man.
He had no choice, he would have to kill and kill monsters to grow his stats until the system decided to bless him with another quest. To kill monsters stronger than the Draconian, his teammates would have to become stronger, too.
He assembled his team, Dalia, Mika, Stephanie, Julia, and Octavia. He briefed everyone on what Nova told him and explained the plan to upgrade the base and hunt for monsters.
The women nodded and accepted the plan, even Echo was pleased with their resolve.
"Echo, do you know where we can find monsters on the same level as the Draconian?"
"Yes, there are monsters in the nearby forest. They are slightly weaker than the Draconian."
John didn’t think for long and nodded. They might be weaker than the Draconian, but this time he would be fighting with far fewer numbers. It took nearly everyone in the area to bring down the Draconian, this next battle might even be harder.
John led the team through the forest, his senses heightened and alert. He could sense the monsters in the area, their movements, and their intentions. He turned to look at the women behind him, and that’s when he realised he had never seen Octavia use a Skill from the system. She always fought with her swords, but never a Skill.
"Octavia, what skills do you have?"
"Just my sword skills, John. Nothing special."
John frowned. Her sword skills were incredible, but he felt something was off.
"Show me a skill."
Octavia looked uncomfortable, but she obliged. She gripped her sword and swung, a gust of wind blasted from her sword and knocked a tree over.
"What kind of Skill is that?"
"It’s just a regular skill."
"No, it’s not. You’re hiding something."
Octavia sighed and shook her head. "Fine, you win. My Skill is called ’Wind God’. It allows me to control wind and use it in combat."
"Wind God? That sounds powerful. What class did you get?"
"The class is called Mage Fighter, but I can’t use it."
"Why not?"
"It’s a long story, but the short version is that I don’t have enough Energy to activate the Skill."
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John nodded, understanding her dilemma.
"It’s simple, then. We just need to increase your Energy stat."