The Supply Run Mission, which required the Guild to place 100 units of food into Guild Storage, was completed soon afterward. The reward was 50 Guild Reputation Points along with five C-Grade Energy Cores, which were particularly useful because they could help Survivors at Level 5 break through their current limit.The people who participated in the mission also earned Guild Contribution Points. Those points could later be exchanged for useful items stored inside the Guild Storage. That was precisely why Max had refused to complete the mission by himself. He wanted the others to earn Contribution Points too, especially since they would eventually need them to obtain equipment and supplies from the Guild.The Patrol Sweep, which required them to destroy ten Drones controlled by the A.I. Rebel, could be completed later. The Survivor Integration Mission, which required the Guild to recruit fifteen Survivors from Earth, could also wait.At the moment, Codebreakers only had twelve members.

Although Max tried to maintain a confident expression, his breathing became rougher as the spar dragged on. The repeated use of Spirit Pulse was eating through his reserves, while every Specter Step demanded more from his body. His Spirit Points were disappearing far faster than he wanted.[ Spirit Points Remaining: 120 ]Max clenched his fists, determined to prove that he could actually stand against Atom. Yet the longer the fight continued, the more obvious it became that Atom had not been taking him completely seriously.‘I can’t keep this up forever…’Atom moved forward again.Its movements were noticeably sharper now. After exchanging blows with Max for so long, its calculations had adapted to his rhythm, and it seemed almost certain that it had already seen everything Max could offer.Unfortunately, Atom was right.Every punch was anticipated.Every dodge was met with a response.Max suddenly rushed forward and activated Specter Step once more.[ Spirit Points: -20 ]His body di

The survivors remained quiet, listening to the low hum of the jammer and the faint scraping sounds coming from above. Nobody wanted to make enough noise to give away their position, especially when they still had no idea how many machines were surrounding the shelter.Max narrowed his eyes as he concentrated on the vibrations traveling through the walls. At first, the Swarmers seemed to be doing nothing more than searching for weak points, but then a sharper sound suddenly cut through the silence.A sizzling hiss followed, accompanied by a faint glow of heat.‘What?!’Max didn’t need to activate a skill to understand what was happening. His instincts immediately told him what the machines were doing.‘They’re cutting…’Sure enough, thin heated blades extended from the Swarmers’ appendages. The insect-like drones pressed themselves against the barricades and slowly began slicing through the defenses covering the windows and ventilation openings. Barbed wire, metal sheets, and wooden pl

Max had no time to aim properly. With the mechanical tentacle already inches from his face, he released the Spirit Pulse toward the ground instead. Boom! The blast erupted beneath him, sending a powerful shockwave through the courtyard and forcing his body backward. The attack missed him, but Max quickly realized that avoiding the first strike didn’t mean he was safe. The Hunter’s tentacle suddenly extended, reaching much farther than it had moments ago. Max twisted his body just in time. Thud! The mechanical appendage smashed into the ground where he had been standing, leaving a deep crack in the stone. “Boss!” Amer shouted. “Are you okay?” The young man had nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the tentacle swing toward Max. The other survivors had also been terrified. Their leader had come dangerously close to taking that attack directly to the face. Thankfully, there was no blood. Max gritted his teeth and nodded. “I’m fine! Keep firing!” The survivors immediately f

From the darkness beyond the shelter, twenty mechanical hounds emerged. Their red eyes glowed brightly in the night, giving them enough illumination to navigate the ruins without any obvious difficulty. Even so, the number of them appearing together was enough to make several survivors nervous.Unfortunately, the hounds were not the only problem.Max suddenly stopped looking at the creatures below and raised his head toward the sky. His expression became serious as he stared into the darkness above the shelter.The others noticed his reaction and instinctively followed his gaze.“This…”“Oh, no…”At first, they assumed they were seeing another group of Swarmers. But as their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they realized there was something much larger hovering above the pack.A mechanical unit floated silently in the sky.It wasn’t humanoid like the Hunters, nor did it resemble the floating Dragoons they had encountered before.This thing was enormous.In fact, it was slightly larger t