Chapter 36: Gatecrasher!
Daniel moved like a ghost through the sterile corridors of the upper labyrinth.
His enhanced [Aura Sense+] swept ahead, constantly probing for threats, while [Ghoststeps+] kept him hidden and silent.
His agility, now boosted past 160, allowed him to flow through the environment, his feet barely seeming to touch the floor.
He bypassed two more patrols of the Custodian Hunter models, melting into alcoves or using intersecting corridors to avoid confrontation.
Fighting them was doable, but time-consuming, and the Phase Two timer was always ticking in the back of his mind. Better to save his energy and charges for bigger obstacles.
According to his map, gleaned from the Regulator and Control Shards, he was nearing the major checkpoint, a large chamber marked 'Sector Transit Hub Alpha'.
Beyond it, the map indicated passages leading towards the 'Primary Control Spire', which sounded like a very plausible objective for the Academy's assessment.
Get to the control center, do something important (download data? Plant a virus? Make coffee?), and get out. Seemed typical.
As he approached the Transit Hub chamber entrance, his senses picked up powerful energy readings.
Not multiple small signatures like the Custodians, but one large, stable, and very potent signature right in the middle of the chamber.
And radiating from the far side of the chamber, a massive energy barrier blocked the exit passage towards the Control Spire. This was definitely the next major hurdle.