Book 6: Chapter 11 - Apex (RAW)

“Whether spontaneous Homo Metavariatus or the covert result of Project Iasis’ Type-VII incubators remains unverified; access to the birthing logs is still classified above Omega-Clearance. What is measurable is Apex’s capability profile: sustained flight, compressive strength sufficient to shear military-grade HEA or Hex-steel alloys, and a mental defence that nullifies nearly all Esp-active intrusions. Field Test 12-Delta further recorded dermal integrity under Draconic plasma exhalant, with no observable tissue damage—an outcome unmatched by any other registered Meta. Statistically, Apex is the sole operative able to neutralize a mature Dragon-type Invader unaided. If we could fully decipher his Life-script, we might replicate it, creating copies and rendering traditional combined-arms doctrine obsolete. I advise that strategic planners must treat him as both an asset and an existential threat variable.”

- Analysis of Apex by Voss Heavy Industries’ GAI.

I kept my mouth shut, allowing the heavy silence to add weight and gravitas to my presence. The quiet stretched like a bowstring, taut and trembling with tension.

Suddenly, from beyond the crest of a distant dune, emerged a tall figure—a construct forged of metal, armor, and war. A billowing cape, shimmering strangely as though refracting sunlight, cascaded dramatically from its shoulders. Instinctively, I prepared myself, readying to strike as I had with the others of its kind, but a familiar voice crackled urgently in my ear, halting me mid-step.

“Looks like the target has been acquired... let's move!” Solarin chirped, her voice edged with barely concealed urgency.

My tension eased fractionally as recognition dawned—it was Solarin standing before me, her posture confident despite the chaos around us. I allowed myself a brief exhale of relief.

“Sending coordinates for a new extraction point,” Casia interjected abruptly, her voice thin, almost trembling.

Was that fear? Casia, who had always seemed unshakeable? It didn't bode well.

Solarin wasted no time, her powered Nex suit humming as she surged forward across the dunes, eating up the distance effortlessly. It was difficult—even for me—to match her pace as she swiftly navigated the shifting sands.

She slowed briefly, and the head of her cybernetic construct looked over its shoulder. “Need a hand with the package?” she teased, amusement sparkling through the urgency in her tone.

“If you are offering such generous aid, I would graciously accept,” I replied with dry formality, passing over the small, enigmatic child-Variant.

Solarin’s suit hefted the girl easily, giving me a curious glance. “You know, this can’t be it, right? You're kidding me?”

“That is indeed the target,” Casia confirmed sharply, her voice firming up again.

***

We raced onward, urgency and purpose pushing our pace until the sandy wasteland beneath our boots slowly transitioned to patches of rough scrub. The chaos above intensified, drawing ever closer as dragon cries split the sky as they clashed fiercely with the technological defenses that Inner. Explosions bloomed violently above, punctuating the deafening drone of missile fire. They were getting too close for comfort.

Gradually, the desert gave way to sparse, twisted scrub. Further beyond the scrubland loomed towering sentinels—a primordial forest of giant trees whose ancient branches stretched skyward as if to pierce the heavens themselves.

My comm crackled sharply. “You've reached the designated coordinates. Transports inbound—less than three minutes away.”

That was odd. Why weren't the transports already here, waiting? Suspicion flickered at the edges of my consciousness; something felt distinctly wrong. 

With a sliver of time to kill, I went over what the recent gains the slaughter of the research facility brought to me.

[STATUS] Calling: Gilgamesh lvl.25 Paladin/Reaver

Strength: 48[53]

Dexterity: 45

Constitution: 68

Intelligence: 33

Wisdom: 37

Charisma: 28

Luck: 28

Entropic Mimic [Creature of Entropy - lvl.29] 

Health: 843/884

Stamina: 73/88

Mana: 2/2

Adaptive Defense (lvl.5)

Shield Form (lvl.5)

Absorb (lvl.5)

Perception (lvl.4)

SKILLS & PROFICIENCIES

Improved Pain Nullification (lvl.1) 

Improved Power Strike (lvl.5) 10

Advanced Endure (lvl.1)

Stealth (lvl.3)

Advanced Rest (lvl.1)

Backstab (lvl.4)

Improved Dodge (lvl.4)

Advanced Polearms (lvl.3)

Improved Dual Wield (lvl.3)

Improved Critical Hit Mastery (lvl.4)

Advanced Unarmed Combat (lvl.4)

Advanced Hammers (lvl.1)

Improved Flails (lvl.4)

Improved Maces (lvl.2)

Advanced Shields (lvl.1)

Improved Medium Armour (lvl.3)

Advanced Heavy Armour (lvl.1)

Improved Axes (lvl.4)

Improved Daggers (lvl.5)

Throwing Weapons (lvl.5)

Double Throw (lvl.5) 5

Improved Shield Bash (lvl.3) 10

Riding (lvl.4)

Improved Riding (lvl.1) 

Advanced Swords (lvl.3)

Crossbows (lvl.5)

Blind-Fighting (lvl.4)

Improved Rush Strike (lvl.4) 20

Tracking (lvl.1)

Trap Detection (lvl.2)

Improved Frenzied Strikes (lvl.3) 30

Monster Taming (lvl.4)

Lotus Palm (lvl.2)

Manticore Claws (lvl.3) 15

Bows (5)

Shield Crash (1) 10

Vorpal Slash (2) 30

SPELLS & MAGIC

Heal (lvl.5) 5 

Rust (lvl.5) 2

Identify (lvl.5) 1

Silent Casting (lvl.4)

Advanced Mana Regeneration (lvl.1) 

Purify (lvl.4) 3 

Greater Heal (lvl.5) 10 

Holy Aura (lvl.4) 2 

Decay (lvl.4) 1

Greater Drain (lvl.4) 2 

Improved Entropic Aura (lvl.2) 2 

Inferno Bolts (lvl.4) 2

Sage’s Sight (lvl.4) 2

Freezing Aura (lvl.3) 2

Holy Strike (lvl.2) 1

Entropic Strike (lvl.2) 1

Aura Manipulation (3)

Overboost (3)

GIFTS

Curse of Entropy: -20% to all starting attributes.

Mark of the Paladin:  10% resistance to Dark/Holy magic. 5% resistance to Physical.  

Embrace of the Void:  15% reduced resistance to Holy/Fire magic, 35% resistance to Mental Effects, 25% immunity to Mental Effects.

Mark of the Adaptive Helix:  15% resistance to Physical, Regeneration.

Mark of the Mantis: 15% greater affinity with all weapons.

Entropic Gift: 10% lowered experience gain, 10% greater affinity with all Entropic spells.

Heavenly Gift: 5% extra experience gain, 10% greater affinity with all Holy & Divine spells.

Gift of the Mother: 5% extra experience gain, 5% resistance to all negative magical effects, 5 bonus to Constitution.

Experience to next level 4500/9539

Health: 1181/1181

Stamina: 115/117

Mana: 23/25

There had been so many notifications that I had dismissed outright. Nonetheless, the improvements across the board pleased me greatly, though gains only to my Improved Endure and Improved Dual Wield skill tempered that satisfaction somewhat. Still, Improved Endure had grown into Advanced Endure, so there was that. Maybe that had something to do with my ordeal in the gas chamber? My Mimic, too, was growing steadily alongside me; I could not help but wonder what powerful skills it might acquire in the future.

Still, I had to escape this place, slay Alexandros, and continue the relentless march toward my quest. I needed immortality, the ultimate tool to beat the Divines at their own game. Every instinct, every fiber of my being, screamed that this Trial of the Goddess, this dungeon, held no secret potent enough to fulfill my ambition.

My thoughts scattered as an unmistakable hum reverberated through the heavens. I tilted my head skyward, eyes narrowing against the glare, witnessing the rapid, menacing descent of the Deucalion and an imposing sister vessel. Their VTOL engines roared, venting fierce jets of orange flame, dramatically arresting their plunge. With almost regal grace, they danced delicately in mid-air, a surreal juxtaposition to their formidable, armored bulk.

“You’re late,” Solarin snapped into her comm device, her irritation sharp enough to slice steel.

“We’re precisely on time and within mission parameters,” came the pilot's clipped, dispassionate reply.

With an ear-splitting crescendo, both ships touched down, engines howling defiantly against gravity. Hydraulic ramps hissed, and the doors opened. From within, armored soldiers surged forward, bearing the unmistakable insignia of Voss Heavy Industries. Their black armor gleamed darkly, as if absorbing all available light, a squadron of shadows materializing into menacing reality.

They lined up in a half-circle formation. Then, instantly and unprovoked, their weapons snapped upward, aiming squarely at me.

“What treachery is this?” I hissed, the words laced with venom and disbelief. My voice carried my deadly intent. “You would dare raise your weapons against me?”

“Step away from the bio-weapon and hand her over,” demanded the leader, stepping forward, his gruff voice distorted into something inhuman by his helmet’s speakers. The winged insignia on his shoulder gleamed in the sunlight, marking his rank.

My hand drifted instinctively to the blades at my hip, fingers brushing cold steel reassuringly. “Do not make me repeat myself,” I warned, my voice deadly quiet now, sharpened to a razor's edge. “What betrayal is this?”

“Don’t you understand?” Solarin interjected urgently, eyes wide behind the visor of her suit. “She could get killed!”

“Indeed,” I growled menacingly, my gaze locked on the leader. “Killed by my hand before I would ever surrender her to your treacherous grasp.”

“That’s not a she,” the commander retorted sharply, voice flat and uncompromising. “That’s a weapon, and we don't necessarily require her alive. Now, please, hand her over—now!”

I raised my visor, and my smile stretched slowly across my face, dark and vicious, a predator’s grin. “You know what? Today… today, I think not. Today, I think you all shall perish.”

“This is your final chance,” the leader warned, his voice steady despite my threat. “Miss Voss offers clemency, respecting your previous contributions and stellar performance. Refuse, and you forfeit that mercy.”

I spoke in my smallest voice, whispering under my breath and hoping the device could pick up my words, “Take the girl and run.”

“Roger Dodger,” she murmured instantly. “Give ’em hell. I'll provide support when I can.”

“Just go,” I told her before I straightened, a laugh bubbling dangerously in my throat. “I do not deal in mercy—neither giving nor receiving it. My answer remains unchanged. Reflect upon your arrogance, worm. You dare to flirt with death by standing in my way?”

The voices whispered, shaping the Mana of the world, channeling power that thrummed warmly through my veins. My anticipation grew, electric and irresistible. “I will have satisfaction! I will have my experience! I will tear you all apart, limb from limb!”

Yes! Yes! cried the voices within me, their whispers growing to triumphant chants, eager for violence.

Behind me, Solarin bolted, the armored legs of her suit propelling her forward with servos whining loudly from the strain of desperate speed. “Keep running! Keep the girl safe,” I commanded, and the words felt natural, predestined. They were simply meant to be.

The soldiers hesitated for a heartbeat, fingers tightening on triggers. Too slow. My spell surged outward, a burst of power and black lightning directed with hungry precision. Rust erupted upon their weapons. They glowed white-hot, searing hands through armored gauntlets. Turned to molten metal by my magic, their weapons fell uselessly to the ground. 

Though their faces were obscured by their helms, I could read their surprise in the set of their shoulders and the rigidity of their stance. To me, their astonishment was almost comical. “Pathetic,” I sneered, voice rich with contemptuous amusement. “This, then, is how you choose to die? Any final words? Any pleas to send with you across the Shallow River?”

Slowly, deliberately, the leader’s helm unfolded, revealing a face incongruously gentle, a warm, almost fatherly smile contradicting every harsh word and violent intent he had demonstrated. His expression chilled me more deeply than a scowl ever could.

“You underestimate Voss,” he said serenely, almost cheerfully. “We are not your true adversaries. Someone stronger, someone more dangerous and powerful than you, Meta scum. He comes even now. It is amazing what the right amount of credits can do.”

“Who?” I demanded, voice heavy with suspicion and irritation.

“Oh gods,” Casia’s frantic voice sliced urgently through my earpiece. “He’s moving away from the combat zone—heading straight toward you!”

In the corner of my vision, an arrow indicated a warning, and my gaze snapped upward again, catching sight of a speck hurtling through the sky. Soon enough, it swiftly clarified into a human shape. Hovering effortlessly, a figure descended from the heavens. He floated there serenely, clothed in a form-fitting suit of silver and deep royal purple, perfectly accentuating the carved musculature of his formidable physique. A black cape billowed theatrically behind him, framing his chiseled features, his jawline strong enough to cut marble. His presence radiated supreme confidence, arrogance even, an aura befitting a self-styled god.

“I am the Apex,” he declared grandly, his voice carrying effortlessly, deep and resonant, infused with authority and undisguised power. “For I am the pinnacle of all human potential. Yet do not speak my name, unless you wish for a hasty death,” he claimed, running a finger through his dark hair.

In that moment, I understood. This would be no ordinary confrontation. This was a destiny long foretold. My heart surged, excitement igniting my veins. Facing down this living legend, this superhuman warrior who dared style himself humanity’s apex, I found myself smiling, wild and ecstatic. Here it was! A challenge worthy of saga and song.

“Finally,” I breathed heavily, my voice alive with feral delight. “An opponent with some bite.”