The five minutes Xen allotted himself for rest inside the severed pipe section passed in what felt like seconds.
It wasn't nearly enough time to recover significant HP, nor did it alleviate the gnawing anxiety fueled by his critically low Energon reserves (EN: 28.1/150). But it was enough time to solidify his resolve.
Hiding wouldn't bring him fuel. Caution was essential, yes, but passivity was a death sentence. He had to move. He had to search.
He mentally selected a direction – roughly perpendicular to the path that had led him towards the crusher, and away from the area where he'd found the fresh tracks. A new, unexplored quadrant of this metallic wasteland.
With a final check of his status (HP: 84.0/100, unchanged as the pipe offered no [Sheltered] bonus), he slipped quietly out of the pipe's opening back into the muted gloom of the scrap heap.
The air outside felt charged with a faint static he hadn't noticed while inside the pipe. Or perhaps it was just his own systems running on edge due to the low power. He immediately initiated his planned search pattern.
Scan target: Area ahead. Focus: Energy Signatures. Maximum range.
The results painted the usual picture: [Scan Complete: No Significant Energy Signatures Detected within 10m Radius (Excluding Self)]. Just the faint
background radiation of decaying technology and trace ambient energies the System seemed to filter out as noise. Disappointing, but expected.
He began moving, covering ground cautiously but efficiently, his optics scanning constantly. This section of the heap seemed older, the wreckage more compressed, fused together by time, pressure, and rust into solid, undulating waves of junk.
Fewer distinct machine parts were visible, replaced by vast, anonymous walls of compacted metal and corroded plating. He covered roughly thirty meters, found a stable spot behind a leaning slab of ferrocrete, and scanned again.
Nothing.
He pushed onward, the silence broken only by the wind and the occasional groan of the scrap around him.
He navigated a narrow channel where water (or some other liquid – he didn't waste the energy scanning it this time) dripped steadily from an overhead tangle of pipes, leaving bright orange streaks of rust running down a sheer metal face. Another thirty meters, another scan.
[Scan Complete: No Significant Energy Signatures Detected...]
Still nothing.
The Energon counter was becoming a source of genuine dread. With each failed scan, the pressure mounted.
He had maybe enough energy for ten more scans at this rate, assuming he didn't need to use the dampener or encounter anything unexpected.
What if this entire sector was just... dead?
He continued, forcing himself to maintain the methodical pattern. Move thirty meters, find cover, scan. He passed a bizarre sight – a thick vein of purple crystal, definitely not Energon, cutting through a massive block of rusted iron like an alien intrusion.
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He mentally logged its position but didn't waste energy scanning it now. Another thirty meters, another scan.
[Scan Complete: No Significant Energy Signatures Detected...]
Frustration made his internal processors feel hot. Was this hopeless? Was he just draining his last reserves on a futile search? He leaned against a cold metal wall, considering turning back, maybe trying his luck near the crusher again despite the risks.
But no, he'd committed to this search pattern.
A few more scans.
He had to try.
He pushed off, moving another thirty meters into a slightly more open area, where a large section of curved hull plating had created a sort of overhang.
He ducked under it and initiated what felt like might be his last productive scan.
He watched the results flood his HUD, expecting the usual disappointment, but then— [Stable Energon Signature Detected - Moderate Intensity - Location Approx. 40m Ahead] [Signal Strength Increasing] [Source Analysis: Possible Crystal Cluster or Intact Power Unit?] [Analysis Update: Energon Signature located near Partially Exposed Assembly - Unknown Advanced Technology Signature Also Detected! High Energy Resonance Patterns - Data Obscured]
Yes! Finally! A stable signature, moderate intensity! Hope surged through him, a palpable wave of relief.
Not just Energon – "Unknown Advanced Technology"? What did that mean? The scan couldn't fully parse it, much like his own core, but it detected something complex, something potent, near the fuel source.
This felt significant.
And then, the System chimed, louder and more resonant than any notification before.
<+10 XP Gained! (Significant Resource/Technology Discovery)> XP: 101/100
The XP bar flashed, overflowed, and a triumphant fanfare, purely auditory within his own systems, erupted.
The effect was instantaneous and overwhelming.
The gnawing anxiety of low energy vanished, replaced by a feeling of vibrant, thrumming power flooding his systems.
His Energon gauge leaped from a desperate 23.1 to a full 150/150. His Health restored completely, the minor aches and damage warnings from the power cell jolt and the earlier scrape disappearing, leaving him feeling solid, intact, whole (HP: 100/100).
Relief washed over him so intensely it almost felt like a physical blow. He sagged against the overhang, letting the sheer bliss of being fully powered and fully repaired sink in. He had done it. He had survived the initial struggle, pushed through the desperation, and earned his first advancement.
His status window automatically updated:
-----------------------------
STATUS: Xen
LEVEL: 2 (1/250 XP)
RANK: Scrap-Tier (0)
HEALTH (HP): 100/100
ENERGON (EN): 150/150
ATTRIBUTE POINTS AVAILABLE: 3
SKILL POINTS AVAILABLE: 1
CORE STATS: [View]
SKILLS: [View]
-----------------------------
Level 2! And it required 250 XP to reach Level 3 – more than double the first level's requirement.
The progression was already steepening.
But more importantly: Attribute Points. Skill Points. The potential! He could increase his meager Strength or Vitality. Boost his crucial Dexterity or processing power (INT/CPU). Or maybe increase his Energon Efficiency? And a Skill Point! Could he learn a new skill now? Maybe [Data Port Interface] to use that artifact? Or perhaps enhance [Basic Scan]?
The possibilities spun in his mind. But first things first. Forty meters ahead lay a confirmed source of stable Energon, possibly a cluster or an intact unit, located near some kind of advanced, unknown technology. With full health and energy, approaching that target felt infinitely less suicidal than approaching the crusher had.
He took a moment, basking in the feeling of restored energy, then focused his renewed senses.
The level up hadn't just refilled his tanks; it felt like it had sharpened his processors, cleared away the fog of low power. He felt... ready.
Decision deferred on the points for now; the Energon source called.
With a surge of newfound confidence (tempered still by hard-learned caution), Xen pushed off from the overhang and began moving purposefully towards the promising energy signature, his steps lighter, faster, and full of potential.