The upper levels of the Primary Control Spire were even more sterile and unnerving than the lower sections.
According to Daniel's map, the Central Hub was just ahead, on the Spire's apex level.
He ascended the final ramp, his B-grade daggers held loosely at his sides, his C+ bow ready on his back.
He felt coiled, alert, every sense heightened by his Level 5 status and ridiculously high attributes.
He reached the top. The ramp opened onto a vast, circular chamber beneath a domed ceiling that pulsed with soft white light.
This was it, the Central Hub. In the center of the room was a complex console array.
Thin conduits of light connected this central console to nodes embedded in the walls all around the chamber.
This was clearly the Spire's brain, the objective mentioned in the assessment update: Access Central Hub. Initiate System Purge Protocol.
It looked… undefended. No crystal guardians, no shadow ninjas, no turrets. Just the humming console.
Daniel felt his suspicion spike. Too easy. Way too easy. The Verge, the Labyrinth, the Spire, they didn't do easy.
He scanned the room meticulously with [Aura Sense+]. Nothing. No hidden entities, no energy traps he could detect.
The only significant power source was the console itself, radiating strongly but calmly.
He cautiously stepped into the chamber, his enhanced boots making zero sound on the polished floor.
He circled the central platform slowly, examining the console from all angles.
The holographic petals displayed information in a language or code he couldn't comprehend, but the overall impression was one of immense processing power and control over the labyrinth structure and its defenses.
The objective was to initiate a 'System Purge'. There had to be an interface, a way to interact.
He stepped onto the platform. Still nothing happened. No alarms, no guardians materializing.
He approached the console. One of the holographic petals brightened slightly as he got closer, displaying a simpler geometric pattern, maybe a prompt? Or a request for authentication?
He reached out tentatively towards the glowing petal.
The moment his fingers brushed the holographic surface, the entire chamber flashed red!
Klaxons blared, not audibly, but directly inside his head via some kind of energy transmission!
[INTRUDER DETECTED! UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS ATTEMPT! INITIATING CENTRAL HUB DEFENSE PROTOCOL: OMEGA GUARDIAN ACTIVATION!]
"Knew it was too easy!" Daniel swore, leaping back from the console just as the floor beneath it slid open.
Rising silently from the opening wasn't a construct or an energy being. It was a fusion of both.
It looked vaguely humanoid but was clearly artificial, standing easily four meters tall.
Its body was forged from the same seamless black material as the Spire walls.
Instead of a head, it had a single and large, multi-faceted eye that pulsed with intense white light.
Its arms were massive, ending not in hands, but in complex weapon arrays.
In one arm was what looked like a heavy plasma cannon, the other in a rapidly rotating assembly of kinetic shard projectors.
Daniel scanned it immediately, his Interface struggling against the sheer power output.
[Omega Hub Guardian - Final Defense Construct]
Level: 6 (Peak Elite)
Stats: Extremely High Strength, Extremely High Vitality (Integrated Energy Shielding & Reinforced Structure), High Agility (Surprisingly Fast Movement), Peak Spirit (Direct Hub Link).
Abilities: [Heavy Plasma Cannon (Charged Shot/Sustained Beam)], [Kinetic Shard Storm (Rapid Fire/Area Saturation)], [Integrated Omega Shield (Adaptive)], [System Link (Draws Power/Repairs from Hub)], [Execution Protocol: Overwhelm]
Threat Assessment: Apex Spire Guardian. Possesses overwhelming firepower and adaptive defenses. Physical and energy attacks face significant resistance. Speed deceptive for its size.
Disrupting its Hub Link or identifying structural weaknesses is paramount.
Recommend immediate tactical retreat... or unprecedented violence.
Level 6. Peak Elite. Reading its stats felt like reading his own death sentence.
Extremely High Strength and Vitality, Peak Spirit, heavy weapons, adaptive shields, and it could repair itself using the Hub?
The final recommendation from the scanner felt grimly appropriate.
The Omega Guardian wasted no time. Its crystalline eye fixed on Daniel.
Daniel didn't need [Aura Sense+] to feel the terrifying power building.
"BOOM!"
The floor cracked as he launched himself forward.
The Guardian fired a substantial beam of white-hot plasma, thick as a tree trunk, aimed to intercept his charge!
Daniel reacted instantly, pushing his Level 5 Agility to its absolute limit.
He didn't try to dodge left or right; he ran straight up the curved wall beside the beam.
He kicked off the wall mid-run, flipping over the beam, and landed silently behind the Guardian.
He immediately targeted the thick cables connecting its back to the floor plate it had risen from, its Hub Link?
He lunged, B-grade daggers, infused with [Venomous Strike+].
Clang-FZZZZT!
His daggers hit an invisible barrier just inches from the cables, the [Integrated Omega Shield]!
Sparks flew, and the shield flared brightly, absorbing the impact and the venom energy harmlessly.
The Guardian spun with surprising speed for its bulk, its other arm whirling. [Kinetic Shard Storm]!
Hundreds of razor-sharp black shards erupted from the rotating assembly.
No time to dodge! Daniel threw up his forearms, activating his projected [Energy Shield] with [Energy Shield Manipulation].
Fwoosh!
The C-grade shield materialized, larger now thanks to the skill upgrade.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-CLANG-CRACK!
The shield held for barely a second against the sheer volume and force of the shards before shattering!
Shards ripped through the remnants, peppering Daniel's C-grade vest.
Sparks flew, fabric tore, but the armor, combined with [Grit Guard], stopped penetration, though the impacts felt like being hit with a sack of hammers.
He was thrown back, skidding across the floor.
This thing was insane!
Its defenses were adaptive, its attacks overwhelming.
Daniel scrambled to his feet, watching the Guardian lumber towards him, plasma cannon charging again.
He couldn't keep dodging and blocking; he needed to inflict real damage.
He focused, gathering power in his fist. He dodged another plasma shot, then darted in close again, aiming not for the body, but for the rotating shard projector arm. "[Kinetic Hammer]!"
BOOM!
His fist slammed into the weapon assembly.
The Omega Shield flared, absorbing some force, but the C-grade kinetic punch still made the arm seize up with a horrible grinding sound!
Shards flew off erratically. He'd damaged the weapon!
The Guardian retaliated with a backhand from its massive plasma cannon arm, moving with deceptive speed.
Daniel tried to duck, but the blow caught him a glancing hit across the shoulder.
WHAM!
Agony flared. He felt bone grate. He was thrown sideways, crashing into a wall, his left arm hanging uselessly, shoulder almost certainly dislocated or broken.
[Warning: Severe Left Arm Trauma Detected. Combat Effectiveness Reduced.]
"Okay," Daniel gasped, forcing himself up, vision swimming.
"Unprecedented violence it is."
He couldn't win a straight fight like this. He needed to break its defenses or disrupt its power source.
He looked at the damaged shard arm, then at the charging plasma cannon.
An idea, born of desperation and his ridiculously high stats, formed.
He activated [Ghoststeps+] again, ignoring the screaming pain in his shoulder.
He didn't dodge away; he charged straight towards the charging plasma cannon!
The Guardian hesitated for a microsecond, likely confused by the suicidal tactic.
Daniel reached the cannon's muzzle just as it prepared to fire its main blast. He couldn't stop it. But maybe… he could redirect it?
He slammed his good right fist, empowered by [Kinetic Hammer], directly onto the side of the plasma cannon's barrel!
BOOM-CRACKLE!
The cannon shuddered from the massive kinetic impact! The internal focusing lens likely cracked or shifted!
The plasma beam fired, but not straight. It erupted wildly, slightly angled downwards!
ZZZZZZZZZZAP-KRAKOOM!
The beam missed Daniel entirely but slammed directly into the Guardian's own leg and the floor plate connecting it to the Hub!
The Guardian roared, a deafening screech of tortured metal and energy feedback!
Its leg plating melted, fused to the floor! Its Hub connection sparked violently!
It was damaged, immobilized, and its connection was unstable! This was his only chance!
Daniel ignored his shattered shoulder. He focused all his remaining strength, all his kinetic power, all his Level 5 fury into his good right fist.
He leaped onto the Guardian's damaged leg, scrambled up its torso, reached the pulsating crystalline eye, and punched it.
"[KINETIC HAMMER]! MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The resulting explosion wasn't just sound; it was a physical wave of force that slammed Daniel backwards off the Guardian, hitting the far wall again.
The entire Spire seemed to shake. The Guardian's crystalline eye didn't just crack; it imploded, shattering into a million glittering fragments.
The white energy lines across its body flickered violently and died.
The massive construct slumped forward, sparking feebly, then went utterly still, deactivated.
[You have slain: Omega Hub Guardian (Level 6 Peak Elite)!]
[EXP Gained: 1000!]
[Level 5: 1276/1800 EXP] (Big jump, but L6 still far)
Daniel lay slumped against the wall, adrenaline the only thing keeping him conscious.
His left arm was useless, pain radiating through his body. But he'd won. He'd actually beaten the Level 6 monstrosity. He managed a weak, bloody grin.
Time for the real harvest. He pushed himself up, staggering towards the silent guardian, his Assimilation charges, ready.
This one had to give something good. He focused.
The energy flow was immense, overwhelming, a torrent of structured data, raw power, and defensive protocols.
[Soul Assimilation successful on Apex Construct: Omega Hub Guardian (Level 6 Peak Elite).]
[WARNING: Assimilating Apex Tier Construct Essence! Extreme Cognitive Load! Adaptability Check (80+) Passed! Spirit Check (80+) Passed!]
[Significant System Integration Achieved!]
[Gain: Strength +30]
[Gain: Vitality +25]
[Gain: Spirit +30]
[Gain: Adaptability +20]
[Skill Enhanced: Kinetic Hammer upgraded to Kinetic Overdrive (B-Grade)!]
[New Skill Acquired: Omega Barrier (A-Grade)!]
[Item Acquired: Inert Omega Core Fragment]
[Assimilation Charge Consumed (16/25 Remaining).]
Daniel's eyes widened as the notifications flooded his interface, the sheer power flowing into him momentarily overriding the pain.
B-Grade Kinetic Overdrive? An A-Grade Omega Barrier skill? This was beyond bountiful. This was game-breaking. He quickly checked the skills before exhaustion claimed him.
[Skill: Kinetic Overdrive (B-Grade):] Active Skill. Infuses limbs/weapon with exponentially amplified kinetic force. Impact generates localized shockwaves.
Significantly increases striking power (+500% Force, ignores 40% physical defense). Higher mana cost. Cooldown: 2 mins.
[Skill: Omega Barrier (A-Grade):] Active Skill. Project a highly durable, adaptive energy shield around the user or a target location.
Absorbs/Adapts to energy types. Strength scales with Spirit. Significant mana cost & upkeep.
He had done it. Defeated the final boss, gained incredible power.
Now… just needed to push that button on the console before he passed out.
He stumbled towards the crystalline flower, reaching out with his good hand…