The pair made their return trip and reported what they retrieved. The tower was setup inside the science center area, but it proved unable to function underground. Major Blade had doubled the guard and maintained sniper coverage on the tower for two weeks. The attacks on the base camp had ended and were not repeated during that timeframe.
The supply Sargent managed to craft most of the replacement parts for the gate repairs. They were only missing one item to get it running again. A dragon's eye gem with one hundred carats need to be cut to fit into the heart of the gate. They could be found naturally occurring on the planet and there was a gem cutter that could shape it available. Finding one however, wasn't easy at their current location. The gems could be fabricated on Earth but, that took ten years. The other issue was, they couldn't send a message back to notify people on Earth what they needed.
The Major shifted personnel to enlarging the cave network. He was gambling on finding a rich gem mine in hopes of finding one that would fit their need. This only effected Braxton once a week. His scouting abilities were used extensively to track enemy movements and offered him more freedom than most of the residents of the base camp.
Blackjack taught him how to extract and process blood from the creatures he had in his storage space. He started on the rats he had collected. The blood was removed and boiled for an hour. Then it had to be filtered and put into the vials and allowed to cool.
When he drank blood, the nanites could only process one vial at a time. The process took around eight hours. Gaining skills from the blood was totally random as far as he could tell.
After processing the five rats, Braxton started drinking one a day. After consuming the last rat blood he heard "Level increase, level 1 reached. Nanite population increased by fifty thousand. Skill Burrow level 1 acquired. Combat Camouflage sub skill mirage at ten percent."
"Alpha review stats." Braxton activation his system interface.
Braxton Ace age fifteen.
Strength 3
Agility 5
Vitality 6
Constitution 10
Intelligence 4
Skills: Combat Camouflage (Mirage 10%), Knifehand thrust, Skullcrusher heel stomp, Shadowstep 10 feet, Burrow 5 feet
"Alpha review sub skill Mirage details." Braxton ordered.
The UI display flashed the following message; Mirage create holographic images to distract. A video played, showing a man running away from a person wearing a suit of combat armor. It looked like it created a mirror image that could be used as a distraction.
"That looks useful. How do I finish unlocking it?" Braxton inquired.
"Mirage will unlock at level 10." Alpha responded plainly.
"Alpha display details on Burrow skill." Braxton requested.
The UI listed, Burrow up to 5 feet underground. Only functions in dirt or sand. The video playing along side displayed a man sinking into sand without displacing any soil.
"That looks like a neat trick. How long can I stay underground? Breathing could be an issue." Braxton thought.
"Time underground is tied to your constitution. You can remain below the surface for ten minutes per ranking. Your current stats would allow 100 minutes of breathing air provided by the combat suit. The air source also functions in toxic environments or underwater." Alpha notified dutifully.
Braxton contemplated the new information he had acquired for a few minutes. He had one vial of nightstalker blood and four of the blood lizard men prepared. He would continue consuming them. The results of the last batch had wonderful results and he was eager to see what else he might gain.
He summoned the journal he had taken off Rascal. He had learned a lot of valuable lessons from Blitz. Blitz had only been here for two years. He wasn't sure what information he might glean from this journal but, it was bound to have something worthwhile. He wasn't sure how long Rascal had been here. Rascal was said to be one of the best snipers they had here. The information contained in this journal could be of incredible value to him.
When Braxton opened the cover, he discovered a hand drawn map. At the center of the map he saw base camp written above a small square. A small scale showed one inch equaled a mile. He also saw the blood lizard tower indicated. The tower was two miles east of the base camp. "Well it's already been helpful. Got my bearings on where I am." Braxton mused.
He continued reviewing the details of the map and heard, "Ground map data uploaded." Play in head with Alpha's voice.
Then he turned the page again. Much of the book was filled with research notes. Some of the data pertained to purifying the blood samples taken off creatures. It appeared Rascal was trying to refine the process to improve skill and stat increases. Better than that, his research seemed to show some success. He had developed two separate processes. One increased the odds of getting stats and the other increased stat acquisition. This had a downside, no stats were received from the blood processed to gain skills. He also noted no stats received after gaining five from any type of creature.
Rascal also detailed many different monsters on the following pages that he had hunted. Hand drawn illustrations annotated weakness to exploit with attacks for each. He also wrote down what stat increases and skills he received from each one. There were a few drawings that didn't have specific data like that and were only drawings.
One drawing was of a humanoid ant species he labeled Hazuls. The notes listed; friendly and trade meat for processed blood vials. The drawing showed a four legged ant lower body with the upper body of a hairy mammal. They were black in color and another note confirmed this. Their faces were human-like, but with very sharp jawlines and scale like plates covering their cheekbones. Their heads looked like they were wearing helmets and had two antennas. The mouth on the one in the picture reminded Braxton of a Jack-o-Lantern carving.
The journal was a treasure trove of information. Just when he thought it was done yielding information he skimmed through empty pages and reached the last one.
The back page was titled "Acquiring Combat Armor Skills."
If you find abandoned armor, it is possible to teach your nanites to acquire new skills. You have to equip the armor and wear it until the skill is downloaded. It is time consuming, as damaged armor requires repairs prior to being able to impart skills. The skills learned may not be compatible with other armor types.
There are four types of battle suits that I've found. First, light combat is more geared for snipers or scout trackers. Second, heavy combat is frontline fighters. Third, support armor these are for medics and medical staff. Some of the skills can be compatible with the previous two, but more likely with light armor. The last type have building type skills or mining talents. They work with some heavy armor types. If you download these skills don't tell anyone. The Major will put you in a hole under the ground digging tunnels forever.
The back cover had a note. Dragon's eye gem likely available for trade with Hazuls camp. It had grid coordinates that indicated it was approximately fifty miles northeast.
Everything in the book was written by hand. It had been done in pencil and many changes had been made over time. It seemed like it was a well kept record and mostly very neat. It was clear Rascal used the information and cared for it. He may have not had the best memory, Braxton speculated.