Braxton took Vixen back for the surgery. He dropped her off in the clinic. Then went up to talk business with his father.
"Hello dad. I was wondering if there is an advanced team. A group of people who have found different levels and stuff like that. We killed a creature. The UI told me the name of the creature. That seemed odd to me. Then we entered a new level and got a welcome message." Braxton inquired.
"Remember when I told you I needed to make money? That it was a matter of life and death. The government sent a team in. We get data from time to time. We got data from their team even when I couldn't get anything from our people. They review the user suggestions and make updates. The access they have can make changes. Rumor has it, they have a clone ninite. If they want to spread information they populate a host with clones. Then they release it into the world by contact. It downloads information to the next user and creates more clones using your nanites. Before long everyone has the update." Braxton Sr replied.
"Sounds pretty complex. The rumor mill around this place is pretty creative." Braxton caught on to the fact his father was speaking in vague terms and not directly answering him. It was a cleverly concocted lie. If he told his son the truth they would both likely die.
"It is, they come up with some whoppers. Then I task them with trying to make it happen. Sometimes we get results." Braxton Sr responded.
"When you get a chance stop by the apartment. I've got some stuff that needs researched. I would've brought it with me but we didn't have time. We ran into some creatures and my partner was wounded. It was something the nanites couldn't fix." Braxton wanted to say more. He needed to look into better weapons. The armor took damage but, it did its job. They survived the encounter. Weapons weren't as effective as they needed to be.
He had better weapons. New weapons would be needed to replace his current ones, before he reached the next level. Braxton wanted to get his father's researchers assistance. Now he wasn't sure it would be safe. If he could get their research, Alpha may be able to make another breakthrough.
"The creatures on the second level are stronger. You may be able to make money selling better gear when people find the entrances to the next level. I've got a couple corpses. One had nasty quills. I'm going to take them to a friend and see if he can turn them into crossbow quarrels. Another one had arms like sword blades too. Those should get me by for a little while. It's food for thought." Braxton told his father. He hoped he would read his underlying request for technical data.
"Thanks son. I'm always looking for new ways to turn a dollar off this money pit. I'll make some time to stop by. I'll call first to make sure you're on Earth." Sr stated thoughtfully.
"Yeah, it can be hard to catch me. Speaking of that I need to go see how my lady is doing. She should be out of surgery by now. Until next time father." Jr left abruptly following their brief conversation.
Braxton took Vixen back to the apartment to rest. He drained the blood and prepared it. While he was waiting, he made a nice meal with the meat of the armadillo. Then he chilled the blood. He got twenty vials from that creature. He took his time and plated everything like a professional chef on a cooking show. Then took a tray to her with a vial of blood and a glass of wine.
"Your revenge my lady. My father used to tell me it was a dish best served cold. So, I chilled the blood for you." Braxton said as he set the tray down over her lap.
"How thoughtful. I have something to tell you. I won't be able to drink blood for a while. If you recall, I was a bit emotional when you went missing while making the armor. I was starting to cycle. I'm pregnant now." Vixen paused.
"That's great news. How did it happen?" Braxton queried.
"Well you see, when a boy and girl like each other... How the fuck do you think it happened." Vixen said rhetorically.
"I mean what changed." Braxton clarified.
"When I stopped drinking blood to upgrade my Alpha system, my body returned to normal. I didn't lose any strength or anything. My normal body functions started again. I can't drink any blood until the baby is born. If I breastfeed it'll be longer. Half of all the blood you gather needs to be set aside for me. I want the option to catch up quick." Vixen informed him.
"Absolutely, I'm not sure what we will do with the kid if we are both gone. We can cross that bridge when the time comes. Eat up, maybe this meal saved our child's life. It would be a shame to let it go to waste." Braxton responded.
During dinner they worked out the plan on how often he needed to try and return. The discussion carried on long into the night. The basic gist was, his job was in the Blood Furnace. He enjoyed it and she wanted him to be happy. Having a child was something that she wanted.
Braxton was getting ready for his first solo excursion in a long while. He still wanted to establish a safe base camp. He prepared the second batch of blood while he cooked up his plans. He needed a construction suit for carving out a fortress in the cave wall. He could grab land mines and claymore mines from the hanger. He had another idea too. He wanted to see if Celious might be willing to loan him a guy or two. He wanted help crafting weapons and armor form the creatures he killed.
After he got his basic plan concocted his called his father. It was a short call and the suit he wanted arrived the next morning. He finished prepping the blood and got another ten vials of blood. He drank his first vial of blood from the armadillo. It was also the first vial he had from the Blast Furnace.
"Blast Armod Blood consumed, processing." Alpha stated.
Braxton's heart rate skyrocketed. The blood absorption was different than before. He went and took a seat on the couch. The blood was surging rapidly through his body. It felt like his skin was on fire and hot lava was running through his veins. He wasn't sure if he had done something wrong when he cooked it or what the issue was.
Eventually he went and soaked in a cool tub of water. It helped cool him down. He fell asleep soon after. He woke up some time later. Alpha's voice sounded in his head. "Blast Armod Blood absorbed constitution increased +1. Armored Flesh skill acquired. Body adapted to blast furnace blood. Warning do not drink blood from Blood Furnace in the future. Side effects include death."
"At least the list of side effects are short." Braxton thought.
He decided to talk with Celious before he tested another vial. It would be a week or more trip for them to reach the site. That was if he could convince Celious to loan them to him.
They took a while discussing the cost. The area was dangerous and only his strongest warriors had the slightest chance of surviving. It was also possible they would have a similar reaction with the food as Braxton did with the blood. If that happened they would be unable to return to the tribe at all.
In the end one man decided to go of his own accord. His name was Ickthous. He was skilled in weapons and armor crafting. He was older than the others. The chance of not being able to return wasn't the best. He wanted to be the test case. It would also allow him to make weapons and armor that were far superior. He could increase his tribe's power before he died. Braxton had brought the materials from the first two bodies for them to look at and test. It was enough to convince them of the potential. They could make armor strong enough to protect them from most of the weapons their enemies would have.
The bargain they struck did not land in Braxton's favor. He would only get one in four of the crafted pieces. It was better than nothing. Braxton gave Ickthous a map to reach the place and told him about the cliff. Then he went into the portal and returned home.
Braxton had to see what would happen next time he drank blood. He couldn't have the same kind of reaction in the Blast Furnace alone.