Marisol’s stomach clenched as she tore into the Mutant-Class crab carcass, her hands slick with its gelatinous innards. The initial revulsion had faded, replaced by a strange sort of rhythm—rip, chew, swallow. Rip, chew, swallow. It wasn’t entirely pleasant even after cooking because she had no seasoning, but hunger gnawed at her, and the Archive’s promise of lots of points was too enticing to ignore.

  When she finally finished, she let out a ragged breath, kicked a puddle of water into the campfire to extinguish it, and collapsed onto the floor. Her back pressed against a cold, crumbling wall as her status screen popped up next to her.

  [Points: 1,046]

  Her lips twisted into a weak smile.

  Worth it, she thought.

  Her body would disagree. The world swayed as she pushed herself to her glaives, her legs trembling under the strain, but she steadied herself against the wall and wiped her hands on a torn curtain. She’d deal with the food poisoning at a later date.

  “Old man?” she called out, her voice hoarse.

  The only answer was the steady drip of water leaking from the cracked ceiling. She stepped out of the building through the broken wall, faint moonlight casting the abandoned district in dull grays and blues. Puddles glistened on the uneven streets, rippling faintly as the night wind whispered through the alleys.

  The old man wasn’t above her anymore.

  She frowned, scanning the rooftops. She swore he’d just been there earlier, watching her with that inscrutable expression of his, but now… he’d vanished.

  Well, she couldn’t say it wasn’t typical of him to just disappear after he felt his job was done.

  … Alright, Archive.

  Lead the way.

  A glowing silver arrow appeared in her vision far overhead, cutting through the maze-like streets. The directions were clear enough, but the world around her felt anything but. Ruins loomed high on either side, jagged edges silhouetted against the murky sky, and she could barely tell if she were making any actual progress towards the Symbiosteel factories. She simply trusted the Archive’s navigation feature to not fail her.

  As she skated slowly, the Archive chimed in again.

  [You have enough points to unlock another tier five core mutation. Normally, I would tell you to consider your options, but after unlocking the essential stamina-boosting ‘Rapid Rehydration’, I feel your next choice must be ‘Hydrokinetic Redirection’ considering the situation you are in.]

  Hydrokinetic Redirection. Marisol mulled about it, tilting her chin back. What’s it do?

  [I assure you it is the strongest tier five core mutation you can unlock right now. It is better if I show you what it can do instead of telling you or letting you read its brief description.]

  Alright then.

  Unlock ‘Hydrokinetic Redirection’ for me.

  [T5 Core Mutation Unlocked: Hydrokinetic Redirection Lvl: 1]

  [Brief Description: Your chitin plates have evolved reflective properties, allowing you to absorb kinetic energy while you are standing on water and redirect it elsewhere to mitigate impact damage. On water, you can absorb and redirect kinetic energy up to fifty percent of your strength level. Subsequent levels in this mutation will allow you to absorb and redirect kinetic energy up to your strength level. There are no branch mutation options available for this mutation]

  [Aura: 8,627 → 9,627]

  [Points: 1,046 → 46]

  A subtle warmth spread through her body like stepping into a sunlit pool. She flexed her fingers, noting the faint, almost imperceptible shift in her chitin plates. This was another one of those mutations that showed no obvious signs that it’d been mutated. She didn’t really feel any different after all was said and done, but the Archive had pushed for her to pick this, so… she patiently awaited its ‘demonstration’.

  What’s it mean that I can ‘absorb and redirect’ kinetic energy on water?

  [It is better to show you practically.]

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  The sound of machinery jolted her from her thoughts.

  She finally reached the factory district, and the scene that lit up before her was a stark contrast to the desolation she’d just left behind. Massive buildings lined the streets, chimneys belching thick plumes of smoke into the air, and the ground vibrated faintly under her glaives. She hadn’t seen or felt anything from afar. She hadn’t even heard the workers bustling about inside and outside the factories until she was right in the heart of the district, their muted shouts barely audible over the clanging of heavy metal and the hiss of steam.

  I ain’t seen no plume of smoke from afar. How’d I miss this entire district?

  [That is because you are only perceptive when you are not sulking.]

  Hey.

  [I thought you liked me being mean to you.]

  At the gates before the largest factory at the end of the street, a few Harbour Guards in heavy armour stood watch, their eyes scanning her with practiced vigilance. She wasn’t really looking at them, though. Standing on a stack of crates just beyond the gates, with her back turned to Marisol, was a familiar figure—one with a clipboard in hand, making wide gestures and movements as dozens of factory workers ran up to her every second or so, asking for instructions.

  Maria.

  Marisol couldn’t help but feel a pang of admiration. Though injured, still, Maria looked like she was in her element here. She was everything Marisol wasn’t: calm, collected, and endlessly competent no matter what she tried to do. Watching her direct the workers was like watching a conductor at work.

  But then Maria’s gaze snapped around, as if sensing Marisol presence, and her breath caught.

  Damn.

  She hasn’t been fighting the past month or two, but her senses are still sharper than mine, huh?

  With a graceful leap, Maria hopped off her crates, landing lightly on her feet. She snapped her fingers at the guards to get them to open the gate, and while she waved at the factory workers as though telling them to leave her be for a few moments, she was already trodding towards Marisol and scribbling quickly in her notebook.

  When she reached Marisol, she held up her notebook.

  ‘What are you doing here?’

  Marisol shifted nervously. She felt like she was disturbing a lot of people by being here. “Uh… actually, Claudia told me to find you in the factories. Said maybe I could… get a Symbiosteel or something?”

  Maria’s response was instant.

  ‘Sure.’

  ‘Come in.’

  “Actually,” Marisol interrupted, smiling awkwardly as she did, “my Archive is kinda… well, it's really annoying right now, and it’s pestering me to ask you this. Can you pick up something and throw it at my forehead really, really hard?”

  Maria raised an eyebrow, her feathered quill pausing mid-stroke.

  “I know it sounds weird,” Marisol added quickly. “But it’s insisting you do this.”

  For a moment, Maria simply stared at her, her expression unreadable.

  Then, with a small sigh, she turned, stomped back to her stack of crates behind the gate, and grabbed a wrench from one of the open crates.

  Uhh.

  Archive…?

  Maria didn’t let her finish her thought. With a flick of her wrist, she hurled the wrench at Marisol with startling precision, deafening speed—and Marisol most certainly tried to dodge. She could easily dodge it, in fact, but the Archive’s voice rang out in her head.

  [Do not dodge.]

  [Take it head-on.]

  The Archive didn’t shock her this time, but she still froze, clenching her muscles and squeezing her eyes shut as she braced for impact. She didn’t think it’d hurt much given her toughness level, but the wrench was still being thrown by Maria, for the Great Maker’s sake. It had to hurt somewhat.

  But when the wrench struck her triangle-shaped chitin plate on her forehead, she flinched only instinctively.

  There was no pain.

  Instead, she heard a splash. Behind her. Underneath her. Prying her eyelids open and looking down, she saw the puddle beneath her glaives rippling violently, as well as the wrench lying harmless in front of her.

  Her eyes widened. For the record, her head had barely even moved as well despite being hit with such a fast-flying object.

  [... This is Hydrokinetic Redirection,] the Archive explained. [As long as you’re standing on water, kinetic force up to fifty percent of your strength level can be absorbed and redirected by your chitin to the water source you are in contact with. Basically, if you are standing in a puddle of water, any impact force that acts upon you will travel through your chitin and transfer into the puddle instead. ]

  [Obviously, this is a very useful defensive mutation all around. It can help mitigate injuries from sharp airborne debris while maintaining high-speed manoeuvres, and it is particularly effective in environments like the Whirlpool City, where rain and water is always abundant, but it is not invincible. It only works when you are hit on your chitin plates, and—this goes without saying—there is a limit to how much kinetic energy you can absorb and redirect.]

  [Fifty percent of your strength level is your current maximum limit, meaning if your strength level is ten and your opponent’s strength level is five, you will basically take zero damage from any of their attacks landing on your chitin. If your opponent has twenty levels in strength, the strength level of their attacks will only be fifteen if they hit you on your chitin—because your chitin can absorb and redirect up to five levels in strength, which is fifty percent of your ten levels.]

  [Once this mutation is level ten, you will be able to absorb and redirect impacts up to one hundred percent of your strength level, meaning as long as you are on water, your opponent would need a higher strength level than you to even hurt you.]

  Marisol stared at the rippling puddle, a grin slowly spreading across her face.

  That’s... actually pretty cool.

  Maria tapped her notebook impatiently, drawing Marisol’s attention back. Her expression was as stern as ever, but there was a faint glimmer of amusement in her eyes. Marisol wouldn’t put it past the Lighthouse Imperator to realise exactly what mutation she’d just tested out.

  “... Right!” Marisol called out. “So, uh, Claudia sent me! She said maybe I could get some Symbiosteel for a boost? But it looks like everyone’s super busy, so if it’s too much trouble—”

  Maria didn’t let her finish again. Instead, she grabbed another wrench and lobbed it at Marisol, who had to force herself to stand still as it bounced harmlessly off her head.

  With a smirk, Maria gestured at Marisol to follow her inside.

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