After going through my notifications, I exited my system and sat there for a sed and suddenly felt my senses bee clearer than they had ever been prior to this level up.

  Damn, Cautious provides a surprisingly rge enhao my sehey're improved to su extent right at this moment that I literally feel the vibrations my robots are produg each time they take a step all the way in the loading area... Oh, and that's not all it seems. My perception field has also bee clearer than before, along with my ability to sense mana in my surroundings. That will definitely be incredibly useful ter on.

  Sitting there for a few seds loo adjust to my improved senses and take everything in, I started moving, losing Cautious effects temporarily, till the ime I stopped. From there I got up from my seat and walked over to the table I had in my level up cell, one of the few pieces of furniture within this small reinforced roht as I reached it, I took hold of a skill book sitting oop of one of the stacks and ope up.

  [Do you wish to use this skill book?]

  [Yes] - [No]

  Having held off long enough to use my stock of skill books, I showed zero hesitation aed yes immediately, receiving 10 skill points in the book's associated category. Once I was done abs the small bit of information and skill experie impnted into my noggin, I sat the book off to the side si had been used and tagged as such.

  I don't know if it's worth keeping them after they've been used, but I'll hold on to them just in case a use for them appears iure. It's not like I'm g in terms of ste space, anyway.

  Leaving that book there, I picked up the one ahrough the same process again and then again and then again. I kept this up until I spent every skill book I had in my possession. What I gained from my patient h was a total of 40 ballistic on points, 30 energy on points, 20 explosive points, 30 heavy on points, 40 leadership points, 30 lockpick points, 30 medie points, 20 melee on points, 20 piloting point, 30 repair points, 30 sce points, 30 speech points, 20 stealth points, 30 survival points, 20 trade points, 20 unarmed points, and 10 points for every skill.

  Level up pleted and skill books spent, I flexed the muscles all ay body to make sure I had a good grasp of my increased strength and capabilities.

  I'm not feeling off like I did years ago in my earlier level ups, so I should be good in terms of trol.

  tent with the amount of trol I had over my body, I opehe hefty metal door that had kept me sealed in my own little space for the prote of those around me and stepped out. Leaving the fines of my personal level up space, I left for the armory and headed there at a quick pace pumped to get out and begin my adventure in the chaotic world above.

  Once I arrived at the secure and locked down location that possessed mass amounts of ons anized and strewn about its fines, I began loading my item box with heavy ons and ammo. So I could take proper advantage of my huge carrying capacity and all the weight redu perks I possess.

  Abs one on after the , the weight that was beied ay entire frame rapidly rose at an expoial rate. The pressure kept piling oill it was beginning to bee too much, so I adjusted my felt weight to something not ridiculous.

  No lged down, I tio store away more and more ons and ammo until I was carrying a brigade's worth of equipment. Carrying a massive armament securely in my item box that none could touch, I exited the armory whilst my robots tio shuffle bad forth through the Genesis Foundry, delivering increasingly more items and materials to the loading area in preparation for my expansion into the wastend.

  Passing by them as they busied themselves, I made my way to the loading area myself to meet up with my crew and the robotic forces that would be ing with us. Which was most of them since just about every one of my manufacturing maes was fully automated and required very little input from workers besides the feeding of pos and materials.

  Several mier, I came into the loading area and what entered my sights were three lines of Buffalos being rapidly filled with an assortment of different items and materials that I had prepared for my pns. Along with them, there were 4 Wolverines in front of them, ag as the vanguard, 100 Hauling Bots loaded to the brim with cargo located right behind the armored big rigs followed by 2 Retrievers, and 4 more Wolverines right behind them ag as the rearguard of our voy.

  Satisfied with the progress my robots were making, I directed my attention elsewhere and walked over to my non meical panions who would be joining me on my crazy adveo the wastend.

  "You guys ready to go, or do you o make some st-minute preparations?" I asked the boys mainly since I already knew my womens' situation.

  "he man of few words Takeshi answered covered head to toe in a form fitting sleek night colored ballistic full body suit and wielding a TSS 338 Sniper Rifle, a semi-automatiiper rifle chambered in the beefy .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge.

  "Nah, I've already said my goodbyes to my family." My bro Big Tom responded simply, excited to venture from the safety of the uy into the desote wastes beyond to get into the thick of it and put his Heavy Trooper Armor and M56 Minigun through actual battles and tributions.

  That big lug sure has grown a shit ton in size these st few years. That fucker Tom stands at a height of 7 feet and weighs nearly as much as me now. If I didn't know aer, I would say he's part Brute.

  Imagining those sickly green colored humanoid mutants that looked like they were something straight out of a ic book standing beside my buddy Big Tom, Bob spoke.

  "I've already taken care of everything on my side, so I'm good to go whenever." The former little nerd, Bob, followed up stly with his FBPMG-9 Psma Mae Guing against his chest and the rest of his frame decked out in a suit of Heavy Trooper Armor, just like Tom and I were. Minus the spikes since he didn't quite like the brutal and visceral feeling of poundial spikes into flesh, that I had us all experience via my molemen guard test subjects that had loed from this world for the afterlife.

  Having heard the boys' response, I asked my neife Alid my girlfriend Rei. "And you girls?"

  "I'm ready when you are." Rei answered first, kitted out in a simir suit of armor to her brother's that atuated her curvature. The only real differeween hers and his suit was that hers featured additional modur armor pting across it. But in addition to her unique up armored form fitting stealth suit, she had a X-50 Anti-Material Rifle slung on her back more than ready to provide over watch with spicy 50 caliber rounds.

  "Me too." Aliswered with palpable excitement, wearing a female version of the Heavy Trooper Set that aodated her full figure and armed with a FBLMG-9 Laser Mae Guing against her front, and a FBARC Rifle slung on her back. She also had a War Belt ed arouight waist full of T-4 Psma Grenades, a sidearm, and a bat knife like most of the group here.

  "You kids do? I'm not getting any younger over here." Gramps half jokingly said from the driver's seat of the rear most Wolverine of the vanguard.

  "Yeah, yeah, hold your horses old man, we're ing." I replied to my grandfather, who robably the most pumped one amongst us to get out there.

  Nearly ready to go, I withdrew my war belt that I had stocked with pouches of different greypes, AP-6 Speedloaders, and one ando Knife holstered on both sides of it and wore it. I then followed that up by holstering my AP-6 Hand on on my right hip and my FBPMP-11 Psma Mae Pistol on my left hip. After that I took out Mulcher, wore the 10,000 round armored backpack ected to it, threw the heavy on sling over my head, aed the hefty multi-barreled on against my abdominal region.

  Finished equipping my kit that was all enhanced a ton by my two new perks Armor Smith and on Smith, I turo my squad mates. "Let's go guys."

  Whilst everyone loaded up into the rearmost Wolverine of the vanguard via the deployed armored ramp entrance of the bat vehicle, I went towards the optimal position and climbed inside of one of the Buffalos. The ohat would allow me to cover the front of my voy in my stealth field ability. Once we were all aboard, we waited several more minutes for the robots to finish filling up the little remaining space that was left.

  The moment they pleted their task, the ohat were ing with us, which again was nearly all of them, streamed over and got into formation. The well over a thousand robots formed one lier the , and as soon as they were all in position, I plopped my ass down in the back of the big rig's and had the voy start leaving the facility.

  We quickly exited the Genesis Foundry via the many big rolling industrial garage doors in the loading area and got on the road that was blocked off specially for us because Alice's dad wao turn our departure into a sort of parade that's supposed to be about reg the tial Uates. It was a slight invenience, but it was one I was willing to put up with since my father-in-w, the governor, said it would increase my favorability aation with the hundreds of thousands of uy residents. The very ohat will bey own citizens one day in the hopefully not too distant future.

  tinuing along the crete road, we passed through the industrial area, got onto the main road that cut through the ter of the uy, and begaering ercial and urban residential districts. As we encroached o metal and crete ten-story buildings, I took a look around and saw that the sidewalks were covered with crowds of residents that all got the day off for this particur event.

  Most of them looked on with curiosity, excitement, and many other emotions that I didn't really care to dis. So, needing to py my part, I got up, swung the driver side door open, climbed onto the roof of the vehicle, and took a seat up top waving to the crowds we passed by as we slowly made our way through the city.

  ...

  This parade we were obligated to take part in took around an hour and a half before we arrived at our destination, the uy's o besides the ones I made. What came into view was a massive bst door that was literal stories i, specially designed and built to protect the people of this st refuge of prewar human civilization from nukes and all manners of dahat lurk outside. Together with the gargantuan bst door, the surrounding area was covered in military fortifications, turrets, security personnel, all kinds of onry, and many other security measures and defenses.

  Wowed by the setup, we closed in on the only thing standiween us and the wastend and found our families not so surprisingly waiting there for us, ready to say o goodbye before we leave. So we exited our vehicles a up with our families to have this final goodbye.

  ...

  "Make sure you e back alive, sweety. You have a lot of people that 't live without you." My mother Jaold me, beginning to tear up.

  Smiling, I responded while keeping my owions from running amok. "I will, mom. I'll be baatter what."

  Sharing a few words with my grandparents, dad stepped up. "I'm sure you'll be ba no time. Stay safe out there, son."

  "Will do, dad."

  Sharing a few hugs with everyone while making sure not to ihem with my spiked armor, Bel, the now 12-year-old blowin tailed girl, made her way over to me, practically on the brink of tears.

  Plopping my hand oop of her head, I asked. "What's wrong, Bel? Sad to see me go?"

  "Yes." She answered simply and directly with a couple of tears running down her cheeks.

  "Awe, it's not like we'll be gone forever, right?"

  "I know, but that still doesn't make me feel aer."

  "Well, how about this, I'll be sure to e bad visit you as frequently as I and when you reach 18, I'll take you out to e adventuring with me? How does that sound?"

  "Really?"

  "Of course, anything for you, Bel." I answered, ruffling the quickly growing rascal's hair.

  Hearing my response, she extended her right hand and presented her pinky finger, and gazed at me ily.

  Knowing what she was waiting for, I presented my own pinky finger and ed it around hers, sealing the deal and causio dispy a bright, toothy smile. Sharing a hug with her, we all ed up oodbyes soon thereafter, so I put my Heavy Trooper Helmet on and loaded into our transports again along with my panions for the sed time today.

  Waving everyone goodbye one final time, the massive bst dan its opening procedure. And after several seds had gone by, a number of slowly spinning yellow lights activated around the door along with a loud siren announg to the general area that the door was either opening or closing. Waiting patiently, the metal door slowly began moving, produg a stant grinding and screeg metal sound as it opened. When it had slid and locked into pce, the voy that was made up of dozens of autonomous vehicles, a small army of robots, and several humans moved beyond the uy's safety.

  We collectively tinued moving forward and the mihe st of roup ast the enormous opening, it slowly started to close behind us as we kept proceeding through rge spaiunnels. With nothing much to do for the time being, I passed the time by managing the less than a hundred robots I left at the Genesis Foundry with my many thought processes. As for what I did with my main one, I watched the surroundings as the oved up one level after another, nearing ever closer to the surfad the actual wastend.

  ...

  The miicked on by and before I k; I saw the sunlight entering the tunnel from up ahead. And As we closed the distaween us and the Adaven Mirance, I toggled on my stealth field. The instant I willed it to activate, it covered myself and a sizable portion of the voy in a 139 meters sphere that bent light perfectly and made everything within its area of influence appear as if there was nothing there and out of the ordinary.

  From there we swiftly departed from the mine and as soon as I was out, I took in the sights of the old Adaven mining town that was left to rot. Sing the surrounding enviro for any potential danger, I found nothing but a bunch of dipidated ruihered by the passage of 200+ years and arid mountainous terrain dotted with all kinds of mutated pntlife with various small mutated creatures scurrying about in the distance, for the most part.

  Even though I found nothing of any real , I stopped the fleet and got up from the back of the fortable air-ditioned of the Buffalo and climbed up on top of the tracked big rig to ensure I could react to any situation we enter with immediate lethal firepower. Whilst I took my spot up top with my 7.62 minigun at the ready, the fleet of autonomous vehicles ahemselves into two lio take proper advantage of the two-ne road that we will be taking to the Cyberdynamics Robotics Facility.

  My robots, oher hand, surrouhe vehicles and tried to fit as many of themselves as best they could into the stealth field's cover. Sadly, its area of effect wasn't rge enough to cover them all, henly 60% of them were able to hide within. Just about as prepared as we could be, I signaled for everyoo move forward. Thus, the voy started to move at a speed of 15 miles per hour upon the broken and scarred sun bleached asphalt.

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