It was finally the day of the job. The Commander personally held a briefing in the conference room down the hall from the living quarters. Van arrived early and watched as 3 others entered the room before the Commander and 2 guards arrived.

Van quickly stood up to match the others standing behind their seats. Each person around the table wore a customized armor set for the occasion. Van instantly recognized the military grade anti impact and anti puncture material from his time.

Van wore a grayish green vest, with 4 front pockets and padded shoulders. His t-shirt underneath also had a ribbed padded design. The pants were black cargo joggers made from the same material. The woman to his right wore a similar vest without the shoulder pads, but had a high padded collar instead. The thin man beside her had clothes identical to Van but the pants were a lighter color and his shirt was long sleeved. To Van's left was a man covered head to toe in the grayish green army fatigue padded armor. His joints were covered in a rubbery looking black material.

The door was closed and guarded, then everyone took a seat around the large round conference table. Van stiffened at the stares he got from the eyes around the table. 

To his left, his former armor instructor glared red hot beams in his direction. To his right, the day guard from the outbreak was sending him hearts with her dreamy stare. Van thought women only looked at men like that in movies. Somehow, both were equally uncomfortable, so he averted his eyes straight ahead. That's when he caught the side eye of a strangely familiar face.

" Van of the Light Variant, Mills of the Wind Variant, Juni of the Plant Variant and Kro of the Earth Variant. You have all been chosen for a task of grave importance. The lives of 9,000 settlers rest on the success of your mission." Commissioner Isaac made eye contact with each person at the table as he spoke.

"That being said, I have the utmost faith in all of your abilities. Each of you brings a unique and vital skill set to this job. Van, your Scav background will be crucial in locating and securing the parts we need. Mills you are the defender of the squad. Juni you are a natural leader and have proven your ability to stay level headed. Kro, your marksmanship scores are second only to Van's. But your true value is your subterfuge and lockpicking skills."

That's where I know him from! He's the guy who sneaks up to the shooting range  targets and fires at point blank range.

The Commander stood up just as a large hand drawn map unrolled from the ceiling.

"Now then, inside Dowanfall you will face an unknown number of undead. However, our most recent scout reports have confirmed that since the prison was sealed off, several runners have evolved into Brawlers. There is also the possibility of one Hunter on site."

The room studied the notes on the map while listening intently.

"In addition, the Prison A.I is still online. This is confirmation that the generator is operating but also that there is another layer of danger. Automated defense turrets will activate at any sign of forced entry or exit. The targeting system uses thermal sensors, so only living humans will be targets. Zombies will be ignored."

During training, Van had taken a few opportunities to check in with the Archiver. After learning of the mission, the Archiver did all he could to help prepare Van as well. Their once leisurely days of nerdy discussion had become rigorous education sessions. Van felt like he had enrolled back in college. 

Thanks to those sessions Van was not only able to keep up with the briefing but also formulate his own plan of action.

When the zombie ranks were mentioned, Van recalled the chart the Archiver made for him.

" The undead evolve just like the virus that created them. All newly turned zombies start as Walkers, 1☆ threats. These are your run of the mill undead found everywhere. Like all zombies, they don't venture out during the daytime. Sunlight and noise overloads their senses. Making them deaf, blind and vulnerable. That's why we have the floodlights and bell alarms around the settlement."

Van took notes while the Archiver taught. Essentially, weaker zombies followed the same rules as vampires but for different reasons.

"But make no mistake, a desperate animal will endure pain for a meal, and the undead are no different. When a walker can consume enough living humans, they become a Runner, a 2☆ threat. Fast and agile monsters with some regenerative power. Runners evolve into Brawlers."

"Brawlers, as seen during the outbreak are skilled combatants with all the perks of Runners plus increased strength and regeneration powers. Making them a 3 to 5☆ threat. Next comes Hunters. The main danger of this type of zombie is their intelligence. No longer a mindless monster, they learn and move with intent. Making a Hunter's threat range from 6 to 9☆'s."

" Finally we have Rulers. These zombies can control other zombies to some extent. Their base threat level is 10☆ but it can rise endlessly based on how many zombies are under its control. They are smart, cruel and powerful. There's one more rank beyond Ruler. The ultra rare Zombie Lords are said to be the unseen masters of all undead and the true rulers of this world who have divided this planet into their territories. Lords are described as sentient natural disasters. If I had to rank them, I would say at least 50☆ as a base."

The Archiver paused as he put away the chart.

"Oh yeah and there's also Crawlers, which are just weakened Walkers. Slow, dumb and weak. Pretty harmless so they're not on the chart. You'd have to be an idiot to get bitten by a Crawler." 

Van fought the urge to get annoyed by the last bit of the Archivers lesson and focused back on the briefing.

The rest of the briefing went on over the entry point and a possible route that avoided the more evolved undead. Facing off against a zombie of advanced ranks could mean the end of the mission. Even if they survived, there is no guarantee they would make it in time.

The briefing ended, and Van was left with a feeling of immense pressure mixed with confidence in the plan. Everyone returned to their rooms for final preparation. Van took the opportunity to return to the Innermost Light.

…

[New Skill Unlocked: Reflex ]

[New Skill Stat Bonus: DEX + 3]

[New Skill Unique Unlocked: Martial Arts ]

[New Skill Stat Bonus: DEX + 5 ]

Van had earned these skills and bonuses after his hard fought training with Isa. He took the opportunity to check his growing list of skills.

[SKILLS

Survival (⁴/⁴) Master- Use of techniques to sustain life in any environment. Passive.

Sprint (¾) Expert- Run with a burst of speed. Toggle. Cost: 1 SP Per Second.

Athletics (¾) Expert- Move with precision and efficiency. Passive

Danger Sense (¾) Expert- Perceive threats and enemies within a wide range. Passive.

Psyn-Sense(¼) - Detect sources of psyn energy including Undead and Unturned in a small radius. Passive.

Scan (¾) Expert- Highlight valuables, clues and detected enemies. Toggle. Cost: 1 EP Per Minute]

Grit (¼) Novice- Allows conversion of SP to be used in place of HP when taking damage. Toggle. Cost: 1 to 1.

Sneak (²/⁴) Adept- Move silently and stealthily. Toggle. Cost: 1 SP per second.

Focus (¾) Expert- Gain extreme perception and slow down time to 1/10 normal speed. Toggle. Cost: 60 SP per second.

Tracking (²/⁴) Adept- See a scanned targets trail. Scan must be active. Active. Cost: 5 SP per scanned target.

Willpower(¾) Expert- Possess a strong mind that can resist fear and illusion. Passive.

Force (¾) Expert- Charge up your strength to deliver a powerful strike. Active. Cost: 10 SP.

Melee (¾) Expert- Improved close range weaponry efficiency. Passive.

Resolve (¼) Novice- Allows conversion of HP to be used in place of SP when insufficient. Toggle. Cost: 1 to 1.

Persuade (²/⁴) Novice- Bring others to your point of reasoning with words. Passive.

Armorer (²/⁴) Adept- Wearing armor properly decreases incoming damage and lessens movement restriction. Passive.

Marksman (¾) Expert- Improve the accuracy and power of projectiles. Passive.

Critical (¼) Novice- Strike quickly at a weak point. High probability of missing target. Active. Cost: 50 SP.

Martial Arts (¼) - Increase all attack damage. Improve proficiency with armed and unarmed combat. Passive. 

Reflex (¼) - Increase success of all defensive and evasive maneuvers. Passive. ]

[STATUS

HP 520/520

SP 610/650

EP 280/300

Level 29--[1,004/6,000]--Level 30

(STR)ength: 84

(END)urance: 55

(DEX)terity: 53

(PER)ception: 101

(INT)elligence: 42

(CHA)risma: 30

Points: 0]

[VARIANT

Element: Light

Abilities:  Lux [x2] available. Please select an ability to unlock (*) 

Charge (lvl)

System (lvl max) ]

Resistances:

Physical  52%

Infection 100% ]

I should spend this Lux while I can. Hey, um, voice lady. Can you show me the pathways like before?

Without warning Van was lifted into the darkness and facing the crossroads once again.

Wait. I can't keep calling you voice lady. Do you have a name?

"Please think of me as an extension of your Variant, a subconscious guide to aid in your growth."

But you do have a name right?

"I do, or rather I did."

"Well? What was it?"

"Long ago, I took the name Metatron."

Metatron. Cool name. Seems familiar. Where did you-

"I would be happy to discuss such things with one as inquisitive as you, but right now I suspect we do not have the time. As you may have noticed, time does progress more slowly here, but we must focus on the task given to you at the moment."

Your right, it's almost time to depart. 

With 2 more paths lit up on the crossroads Van had to use his time wisely to make a decision.

[ Charge (lvl1) Channel light into hands and strike with elemental damage. Spend additional EP to increase damage. Active. Cost: 20 EP.

Upgrade: Lux x1

Requirements: Force (⁴/⁴) , Melee (⁴/⁴)

Barrier (lvl 1) Construct a hard light defensive bubble, able to block and reflect incoming attacks. Spend additional EP to increase the damage threshold. Active. Cost: 2 EP per second.

Unlock: Lux x1

Requirements: Grit (¾) or above, Armorer (¾) or above.

Laser (lvl 1) Concentrate blasts of light projectiles for long range elemental damage. Spend additional EP to manipulate the size, shape and force of the light. Active. Cost: 5 EP.

Unlock: Lux x1

Requirements: Marksman (¾) or above, Focus (¾) or above.

These are all amazing abilities, if possible I would have liked to upgrade Charge. But for now, Barrier and Laser sound good to me!

[Would you like to learn this ability?]

YES/NO

Yes and yes.

"Before you return to reality, if I may make a suggestion?"

Go ahead, Metatron.

"Since you are departing with allies, it may prove prudent to use your HUD functions."

My what!?

"Specifically your navigation and sensory radar"

A light blue navigational bar appeared at the top portion of Van's vision. A red symbol indicated Danger Sense while a blue one indicated Psyn-Sense.

Metatron?

"Yes?"

Are there any other functions or hints you want to share with me? Van didn't even attempt to hide his frustration.

"Yes."

"Navigational Bar, Danger Sense tracking, Psyn-Sense tracking, HP bar, SP bar, EP bar, Active skills, Quest Objective, Minimap, Token Display."

Each display tool popped up as Metatron said it until Van could no longer see anything.

Gahhh! Van was overwhelmed by the information overload. Turn it off!

"Adjusting HUD now. 

Van's vision returned to normal.

"Please select which components to keep from the list."

Navigational bar, HP bar, SP bar, EP bar, Danger and Psyn sense tracking.

"Understood."

The navigational bar returned to the top of his view and 3 colored bars appeared at the bottom. Red for HP, Green for SP and Blue for EP.

Perfect. Oh and, Metatron, in the future, please tell me everything about everything.

"Understood, I will share all the tools you have available, but unfortunately someone has been desperately trying to wake you up for the last 4 minutes in real time."

 For how long!? OK, send me back!

"Mister Van? Are you ok? Do you need medical attention before departing?

Van awoke to the worried stare of Juni. Apparently, the guards were unable to wake him and left his door open. Luckily Juni happened by and explained that some Unturned meditated more deeply than others. But after shaking him violently she started to get worried.

"No, I'm ok." Van arose from his bed and followed Juni out of his room. He looked back at Violet and waved goodbye before locking his door.

Before the sun had time to rise, the team was led down a secret passage under the stadium. At the end a commercial truck awaited.  Van was just as surprised as the rest of the team. He had seen the gutted and rushed remains of vehicles scattered around but none of them looked operable. Besides, without the city grid, electric vehicles and most other devices would be offline.

Van reasoned that some settler ingenuity was at work. Just like with the outer wall and power within the stadium. 

The team boarded into the vehicle that ran silently toward their destination. Once there they were guided to grappling hooks, already fastened to the roof. On the roof they regrouped on the helicopter pad. Looking around there was a door without a handle sealed closed across the way. Over the horizon the sun was just starting to show.

In the center of the helicopter pad was a series of ropes hanging from a hole overlooking a platform inside the prison. Van used Scan and Tracking on his teammates before entering the prison. 

Here we go, my first dungeon.

Within his HUD, 3 light green blips appeared. Once inside the prison Van's spine trembled much like it did during the outbreak. His navigational bar was filled with red blips.

He followed his team over to a walkway and peered over the railing. At the bottom was a sea of orange jumpsuits. Van used Scan on the horde of undead prisoners. Red highlights flooded his vision. Some of the shades of red were darker than others. A few even appeared to almost look as dark as blood.

Must be the Runners and Brawlers mixed into the crowd.

Juni called over Van and the others to go over the plan once more. Just then, a loud screeching cut through the prison.

"Ahem. Is this thing on? Oh yes I can hear myself."

A raspy growl of a voice spoke over the prison loudspeakers.

*screech*

" Welcome to all to Dowanfall! I hope you enjoy your stay, because you'll never leave here alive!"