The Allbright System - A Sci-Fi Progression LitRPG Story

After grasping Morin's general plan, Thea nodded in acknowledgment.

Her attention shifted back towards the rest of the squad just in time to see Einor administering the first Focus Booster to Viladia. Fully knowing she was partly to blame for Viladia's early need for the limited resource, she inwardly cringed.

'What a stupid mistake,' she thought.

Viladia stretching her neck and, newly energised by the Focus Booster, signalled to the squad. 'Distance - 200 - Enemy - Eyes - Left - Right - We - Safe.'

She paused for their nods before adding, 'Move - Close - Distance - 20 - Morin - - - We - Cross.'

Morin quickly responded with a counter-gesture. 'Distance - 35 - We - Cross.'

Raising an eyebrow beneath her visor, Viladia considered for a moment before nodding and signalling back, 'Distance - 35.'

She scanned the squad's faces for any further suggestions or changes. Seeing none, she resumed her forward motion.

Left to follow, Thea's thoughts churned. ‘Why does Morin want us to be 35 metres out of the enemy lines to use his Ability? Does it really have that large of a range? It must be a Gold one at the very least, if that is the case. It seems so much more useful than my [Skystep]... Is there really such a big difference between Gold and Silver?’

Her face unconsciously tightened into a frown. ‘I really need to upgrade my Abilities, if that is the case. Silver won’t cut it if I want to be the best. Gold has to be my absolute minimum going into Tier 1. I wonder if Tier 2 Marines all have Platinum Abilities already…? Why am I already so far behind?!’

Thea's frustration rose. So far, she had just started feeling on-top of the curve, considering the things she had seen with the rest of Alpha Squad and during the Practical, but being confronted with full-on Privates, which were only a couple Levels above her but seemingly already possessed Abilities far outstripping her own, she couldn’t help but feel distraught.

‘The Cube Trial was locked to Silver rewards... Is this one locked to that rarity too or can I get some Gold Achievements from this Battlefield? Can I ask someone about this…?’

Morin seemed the logical person to ask, but the limited Marine sign language she knew—taught to her during Basic before she even had known about, much less had access to the System—left her with no vocabulary to frame her question.

'Is there a specialised vocabulary for System-related things? There’s got to be, right?' she mused.

After all, there had to be a stealthy way to warn teammates of a dangerous Ability, when staying quiet was critical. But for now, that line of questioning would have to wait.

Strike One's cautious advance toward the Stellar Republic's lines was excruciatingly slow and heavy on the psyche, each squad member hyper-aware that a single stray bullet or laser could end their mission—and their lives—instantly. As they neared the enemy territory, their movements became even more deliberate and slow, further amplifying the tension each of them felt.

While she had been burdened by the sensory isolation imposed by Viladia's stealth Ability, Thea now found it to be a blessing. It allowed her to focus solely on moving as quietly as possible.

She knew all too well that she would be unable to be similarly stealthy in an environment that didn’t come with such a veil, as she had been drilled to observe her surroundings at all times by James since an early age. While this was second-nature to her at this stage, she needed just about 100% of her mental capacity to make sure her body moved in just the right ways to minimise her spatial footprint.

Subsequently, observing Viladia's seamless operation was nothing short of awe-inspiring for her. While Thea herself was keenly aware of being unable to handle anything but her own movements if she intended to remain hidden, Viladia was managing a plethora of tasks.

She maintained a complex stealth Ability, surveyed the environment—seemingly able to see through her own veil just fine—and led the squad towards the least-defended paths within the Stellar Republic's lines, while avoiding treacherous terrain to make their passing easier. All the while, she moved with a silence and an absence of physical trace that made it seem as if she were a literal ghost, even though Thea could clearly see her a mere metre ahead.

Several times, Thea found herself scrutinising Viladia's footsteps, half-expecting to find that the stealth expert was actually hovering above the ground altogether. Each time, however, she could confirm that Viladia's feet did in-fact make contact with the scorched dirt below, much to her astonishment.

'How many years of training does it take to reach this level of stealth mastery?' Thea wondered. 'She must have an Ability akin to my [Agile Stealth]. She just has to! I need to find a way to discuss Abilities with her; acquiring her level of stealth could be a game-changer for both my scouting and sniping duties.'

Lost in her thoughts and hyper-focused on perfecting her own steps, Thea almost overlooked Viladia's abrupt halt. It was only thanks to Viladia's raised fist, the universal signal for an immediate stop, that jolted Thea back to the present, alerting her and the rest of the squad to freeze in place immediately.

The atmosphere within the veil became thick with tension as Viladia's fist remained raised, a silent command for absolute stillness. Each member of the squad held their breath, straining to stay as motionless as possible despite their blindness to the threat that had prompted such caution. Viladia herself seemed like a statue, her arm unwavering, her body frozen in intense concentration.

For Thea, the situation was especially challenging.

Caught off-guard by Viladia's abrupt stop, she had found herself in an awkward position—mid-step, one foot hovering uncertainly above the scorched and glassy terrain, the result of devastating Blue Flame Rockets that had melted the earth beneath them.

In a supreme act of willpower, she fought to maintain her awkward, half-step stance.

A bead of sweat broke free from her nose, tracing a slow path down her face before splattering silently onto the ground below. As it made contact with the earth, Thea couldn't help but think of how that single droplet felt like a metaphor for their perilous situation—a fragile moment, hanging in the balance, just waiting for the wrong move to shatter their collective security.

The stray thought nearly shattered Thea's fragile focus. Mentally rebuking herself, she thought, 'Get your shit together, Thea! Now's not the time for these strange thoughts!'

The tension in the air grew thick, almost suffocating, as the squad continued to remain motionless. It was as if time itself had come to a halt, every tick of the clock stretching into an eternity.

Thea could feel her heartbeat pulsing in her ears, each thump a loud drum that she feared might give them away. And yet, no one, aside from Viladia, knew exactly what they were even hiding from. The silence was downright unbearable, the unknown enemy lurking just beyond their sight; an ever-growing dread that gnawed at her nerves.

A reckless thought flashed across her mind: 'Should I try taking a peek through the veil?' But she immediately interrupted the thought, berating herself for her renewed lapse in judgement. 'Are you trying to get everyone killed?! No more stupid ideas, Thea! What the fuck is wrong with you?!'

She cursed her foggy mental state, a precarious mix of focus and impairment due to the drugs in her system. To peek through the veil would undoubtedly jeopardise their entire operation—considering Viladia’s already severely strained body language—something she had already come perilously close to doing earlier.

Every ounce of her being screamed to do something, anything, to break the paralysing tension. Yet she knew she had to fight against every impulse that wasn't governed by reason and training. And so she stood there, precariously balanced on one foot, waiting for a signal, for anything to release them from this agonising stillness.

At that moment, Thea's desire for a resolution was met, albeit in the most nerve-wracking manner. The piercing sound of a single high-calibre bullet shattered the stifling silence, zipping perilously close to Einor's head. Thea's breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening in shock.

Contrary to any expected reaction however, Viladia agitatedly shook her fist, signalling for the team to maintain their absolute stillness, despite the immediate danger.

Thea felt immensely thankful for Morin's earlier suggestion to leave their backpacks behind. Balancing mid-step for such a prolonged period would have been impossible had she been burdened with her cumbersome pack.

'What the fuck is happening out there?!' she thought, her mind teetering on the edge of complete exasperation.

Another crack reverberated within the veil, as a high-calibre bullet sliced through it from the opposite direction. Thea's eyes widened in horror as the projectile flew dangerously close to Morin's shouldered weapon, missing it by a mere fraction of an inch.

As she saw the bullet tear through the veil, coming from the direction of the UHF side, Thea's mind scrambled to piece together a plausible explanation. 'Isolated high-calibre shots... Are there snipers duelling each other, and we're caught in the crossfire?! But if that's the case, why would Viladia have us halt here? It doesn't add up... unless there's something even worse ahead?'

Frustrated by her helplessness in the current situation, Thea focused on staying as still as possible. Silently, she vowed to find a way to be more proactive in similar situations going forward. She couldn't bear the idea of being this powerless again; it was excruciating.

A third crack echoed through the veil as another high-calibre shot from the Stellar Republic’s lines pierced through their bubble, this time missing all of them by a wide margin.

Much to Thea’s surprise however, shortly after, Viladia’s fist changed into an open palm, signalling that they were good to relax a bit, but remain stationary.

Carefully, Thea lowered her suspended foot to the ground and shifted her weight, mindful of the awkward position she had been maintaining. While the drugs coursing through her system numbed any sensation of discomfort or pain, she knew the physiological strain her body had been under.

Simultaneously, she couldn’t help but feel distraught. On one hand, she was happy that it seemed like the situation was slowly dissipating, but on the other, she was fairly certain she knew the reason for it as well. ‘Shit… That probably means they got our sniper, doesn’t it?’

After enduring several more minutes that felt like an eternity, Viladia finally lowered her hand and shook it vigorously, presumably to restore blood circulation. The rest of the squad inhaled deeply in unison, a palpable sense of relief washing over them.

Moments later, they resumed their painstaking advance toward the Stellar Republic's lines. Though the unsettling episode still loomed in the back of their minds, everyone understood that now was neither the time nor the place for questions, much less a comprehensive debrief. They had a mission to complete.

At last, after what felt like an eternity to Thea, Viladia signalled that they had arrived at their designated location.

'Ahead - Enemies - 0 - Distance - 35 - - - Left - Right - Enemy - Squad - Distance - 10-25,' she gestured.

Without wasting another second, Morin quickly stepped forward, gesturing for the rest of the squad to retreat to a safer distance. He then knelt and placed both hands on the ground in front of him, just barely outside the veil.

Einor sidled up to Thea and whispered, "Don't worry, there will be more than one."

Confused about the content but grateful for the heads-up, Thea nodded in acknowledgement.

Moments later, Morin's preparations culminated in a dramatic upheaval. The ground beneath them roared and convulsed, causing the glassy, scorched soil to fracture and shatter.

As if answering to some arcane summons, the scorched earth began to move. Shifting, stirring, rising—a mesmerising ballet of soil and shattered glass unfolding in real-time. Then, almost as if a dormant titan was awaking beneath their feet, the ground swelled upwards. Coiling and twisting, earthen tendrils fused together to form the structural bones of what seemed to be the beginnings of a naturally-formed bridge.

Composed of the same scorched, glassy dirt that made up the battlefield, its arch was an indicator of the raw elemental power Morin had just harnessed. Intricacies started appearing on its surface; fractal patterns that seemed almost deliberate, like the strokes of an artist's brush, lending an unexpected elegance to the otherwise rugged formation.

What caught Thea's attention the most was how the bridge seemed to expand beyond their immediate view, its full length and grandeur concealed by the limits of the veil's area of effect.

There was something almost surreal about watching the earth itself bend to the will of a single man; it filled Thea with both awe and a newly invigorated sense of wonder for the sheer power and depth of the Allbright System’s Abilities.

She now also understood Einor’s prior words.

Their entire stealth operation would have been for naught, if Morin’s earthen bridge merely originated from their current position. After all, there was no way to hide such a massive and rapid change in the battlefield’s terrain.

The fact that there were supposedly multiple bridges that had sprung up, meant that the Stellar Republic had no way of knowing where they had originally come from or which one, if any, Strike One would use to cross.

Visibly taxed by the exertion, Morin struggled to regain his footing, only to find Viladia suddenly materialising beside him to offer support. Her movement was so fluid and quick that even with Thea's heightened Perception, she had difficulty tracking Viladia when she wasn’t actively focusing on her.

Witnessing Viladia's effortless skill only deepened Thea's realisation that she had merely skimmed the surface of what the System could truly offer. 'She's on a completely other level,' Thea thought, a shiver of dread coursing through her. 'Someone with her abilities could single-handedly kill all of Alpha Squad before we'd even register her presence at all.'

Viladia gave a thumbs-up, signalling that Morin was stable enough for them to proceed.

Morin, for his part, turned his attention to his belt of grenades, silently motioning for Thea to prepare her own. A spark ignited in her eyes, and a feral grin stretched across her face. 'Finally, time to unleash some chaos,' she thought, reinvigorated by the prospect of some much needed action after such an arduous and tense journey.

Thea had come equipped with four grenades, two of which were designed for utility rather than destruction. With only her left hand free to deploy them, she stood ready, awaiting Morin's signal as they advanced along the elevated earthen bridge that crossed the Stellar Republic's defensive lines.

As they moved, Thea pondered the level of disruption their sudden appearance must have caused. The bridge they were traversing was a sizable construct, at least two metres wide and approximately 50 metres long, designed to easily bring them past the enemy's initial fortifications. With there being at least a handful more of these bridges suddenly springing up and blocking their lines of fire, the Stellar Republic’s defences had to be in utter turmoil.

Upon reaching the peak of the bridge, Morin signalled for a momentary halt and turned to Viladia to request specific details about the locations of nearby bridges and the layout of the enemy defences below. Viladia efficiently conveyed the information through a series of swift hand signals, which Morin then used to program the timers on his grenades via his bandolier.

Viladia directed Thea to aim her two grenades to the left, pinpointing two specific areas roughly 40-50 metres away, the trajectories evident if one were to draw straight lines from her fingertips to the ground.

Silently acknowledging the directions with a nod, Thea took her position beside Morin and waited for his signal to release her first grenade. She prepared to throw two in quick succession, each activated by pressing a biometrically locked button on the top of the device.

With a clear line of sight on Morin's hands, Thea watched intently as he initiated a five-second countdown. As his fingers closed into a fist signalling zero, he hurled his first grenade with a level of force that startled Thea, nearly causing her to falter in her own timing.

Snapping her focus back, Thea activated her first grenade. Her fingers pressed the biometric lock, having her Spectre armour check for her biometric signature and authenticating it with the known UHF profiles, succesfully arming the device.

With a calculated flick of her wrist, she propelled the grenade along the precise trajectory Viladia had indicated. The act of launching such a lethal instrument into an unseen realm beyond the veil felt surreal, but her trust in Viladia's judgement was absolute by this point. Wasting no time, Thea quickly armed her second grenade and launched it toward the second designated target.

With both grenades dispatched, she immediately pivoted her attention back to the squad, eager and alert for their next move.

To her astonishment, Thea realised that Morin had already finished launching his own arsenal of six grenades and was signalling for the team to keep moving.

Mere moments after they recommenced their cautious traverse of the earthen bridge, the muffled sounds of detonations filtered through the veil. Thea noted that Morin's grenades sounded more subdued, likely because he had hurled them much farther than she had.

‘That should keep them guessing about our location...hopefully,’ she thought.

As they stepped off the bridge onto the other side, Viladia abruptly veered right, guiding them along the line of fortifications and farther east, away from their makeshift crossing. For several minutes, Strike One continued their stealthy progress, trusting Viladia's expertise implicitly until they reached a second line of defences.

Here, Viladia quietly leaned in to whisper intricate details about the situation into Morin's ear, details seemingly too complex for mere hand signals to convey appropriately. Since Morin's full helmet obscured his face entirely, Thea had no way of gauging his reaction to the information he'd just received.

After Viladia completed her briefing, Morin stood motionless, seemingly absorbed in deep contemplation. Seizing the moment to inform Einor and Thea, Viladia used a series of gestures: 'Enemies - All Directions - Front - Distance 50 - - - Cross - Difficult.'

A frown involuntarily etched itself across Thea's forehead.

‘This isn't good,’ she thought. ‘How are we supposed to get past this? We can't just build another series of bridges; Morin doesn't have the Stamina or Focus for that. He already seemed on the verge of collapsing after the first one.’

Frantic to find a way to contribute, Thea began rifling through her armor's storage compartments, her hands skimming over the various items stashed within. She was looking for anything—absolutely anything—that might provide a solution to their dilemma. Beside her, Einor was doing the same, scanning his own inventory in search of options.

Thea's eyes flicked to the two utility grenades attached to her hip, one filled with blue foam and the other with white. A glimmer of an idea began to form in her mind. She had used the white-foam grenade before to create sniping platforms; could she use it here to form a makeshift bridge?

Her mind raced through the mechanics of it, but she hit a roadblock almost immediately.

According to Viladia’s short briefing, the Stellar Republic soldiers were just about everywhere. Even if she managed to create the bridge, the act itself would be impossible to conceal.

Just as she was mentally circling this conundrum, Viladia's fist shot into the air, the signal for immediate freeze unmistakable. She lowered her body into a crouching stance, the tension in her muscles making her look like a coiled spring about to release. The urgency of her posture sent a new wave of adrenaline through Thea.

Whatever was happening, it was happening now.

Resisting the overwhelming urge to draw her Gram, Thea remained perfectly still, her gaze locked onto Viladia's poised form. 'What's going on now?' she wondered anxiously.

However, this episode of tension was short-lived. Almost as if materializing out of thin air, the bewildered face of a Stellar Republic soldier appeared at the edge of their bubble. It was evident he had stumbled into it unintentionally.

No sooner had the soldier appeared than Viladia simply materialised beside him in a movement so swift and fluid that it defied even Thea's Perception.

Despite having her eyes trained on Viladia the entire time, she had not detected even a flicker of motion. One moment Viladia was in a crouch; the next, she was clutching the soldier's mouth to stifle any potential scream, her other arm locked around his body to brace him. Almost in the same instant, a pitch-black blade appeared in Viladia's hand, slicing through the air with nought but a whisper of lethal intent.

The blade made contact with the soldier's neck, cutting so deeply and precisely that it severed not just flesh and muscle, but bone as well—slicing cleanly through the spine.

It was as if time had slowed for that one act, allowing Viladia to exercise her deadly artistry to its fullest extent. The soldier's eyes widened in incomprehension and terror for a split second before his nearly decapitated head lolled forward, kept in place only by a thin strip of flesh. His body went limp in Viladia's arms, the soldier’s life snuffed out in an instant.

The scene left Thea more than surprised; she was downright frightened. 'How is that level of skill even possible?' she wondered, a shiver crawling down her spine. The stark realisation that someone like Viladia could likely take out an entire platoon before anyone even knew what hit them suddenly made the stealth expert an even more unnerving enigma than Thea had previously thought.

Before Thea could fully process the chilling display of skill she'd just witnessed, Viladia was already signalling for the next course of action.

‘Morin - Carry - - - Move!’

Without needing additional clarification, Morin unceremoniously slung the lifeless soldier over his shoulder as if carrying a sack of freshly harvested produce. The squad, previously moving with deliberate slowness, now shifted into a pace that could only be described as comparatively breakneck as they vacated their prior position.

Just a few steps into their renewed movement however, Viladia held up her fist once again, causing everyone to stop dead in their tracks once again.

Thea’s anxiety made itself known, the constant lack of information taking its toll on her already strained psyche, ‘What the fuck is happening out there?!’

She had no real idea where they even were at this point, but based on the ground beneath her feet, it was likely that they had entered the Azure Forest at some stage. She had yet to see any trees, but that was to be expected, considering the small area that Viladia’s bubble covered.

Viladia assumed her coiled, crouched stance once more, and Thea found herself holding her breath in anticipation of what would likely come next.

As expected, the startled visage of a Stellar Republic soldier materialised within their bubble. Unlike the previous soldier, however, this one seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation instantly.

He instantly shifted his weight backwards, trying to flee, but much to his demise, Viladia had been waiting for him before he even knew she existed.

Thea wanted desperately to see what exactly Viladia was doing to get next to the enemy so fast, but only knew one way to do so.

‘Sensory Over—’

Before she could finish the mental command however, she caught and mentally slapped herself.

‘Thea! For fuck’s sake! You can literally just ask her after this mission. Don’t waste the precious little Focus you got, you swore to Johnsen not to waste it!’

As Thea internally scolded herself, Viladia dispatched the soldier as swiftly and decisively as the last, his body efficiently added to the grim cargo draped over Morin's shoulder. The synergy between Morin and Viladia was exceptionally fluid and efficient, requiring no verbal coordination whatsoever.

Strike One resumed its unpredictable manoeuvres, each member trusting in Viladia's unspoken guidance over the uneven terrain of the Azure Forest.

After what seemed like an eternity to Thea, the squad's breakneck pace finally eased.

Viladia signalled for a return to their earlier, cautious approach and gestured to Einor to administer the second, and final, Focus Booster. It was very evident that the recent events had exerted a significant strain on her, as Thea had started being able to discern her movements more easily than before.

‘I hope she is not overdrawing her Focus here,’ Thea thought anxiously. ‘We can’t afford to lose her veil right now and getting back with her on one of our shoulders is going to be really tough…’

When Viladia raised her hand to signal a halt, Thea snapped back to the present, bracing for whatever would come next.

‘Few - Enemies - Ahead - - - Cross - Possible’

Thea’s eyes widened at the gestures, ‘I thought the Stellar Republic soldiers were downright everywhere?! Where exactly did Viladia lead us?’

Morin gave Viladia an approving thumbs-up, clearly impressed with her performance. Glancing at the corpses slung over his shoulder, now steadily staining his heavy armour with blood, he tilted his head questioningly.

In response, Viladia simply gestured, 'Trenches - Cross - Drop,' her face wearing an expression of utter exhaustion tinged with a cheeky grin…