As the intermediate beast patrolled the storage room, Venok and Adrian decided to explore a different section of the shelter. Venok surmised that the portal was unlikely to be in the initial area they suspected.
Despite the portal's location on an abandoned planet, its counterpart needed to be placed securely to prevent beasts from the other world from entering or destroying it. Portals were costly; only a group or party could afford to bring one for a return journey. Once established, these devices were single-use and non-retrievable, a luxury beyond Venok's means.
"Any ideas where the portal might be?" Adrian inquired.
"My best guess? Underground. It's shielded from most beasts there. They probably have it under a nondescript building with a hidden entrance," Venok speculated.
"So we're just supposed to check every building?"
"We can eliminate the residential ones; they can't support a large enough base underneath. And we can disregard the smaller buildings and hazardous zones. That leaves only a few large buildings capable of concealing a substantial base."
Their search through numerous buildings proved fruitless, revealing no secret rooms. Eventually, they stumbled upon a library, its books mostly destroyed, its shelves toppled.
A loud rumble from Adrian's stomach broke the silence.
"We've been on the move for a while. Let's rest here for the night. It seems beast-free, and we can fortify our position," Venok suggested.
The two of them then went up to the second floor of the building. There were large holes and broken-down walls on the first floor which made it easy for beasts to attack them. Once they had reached the second floor, the two of them started to lift up a few of the bookshelves.
It seemed like Venok had the ability of super strength seeing how easily he moved the heavy bookshelves, but Adrian knew that wasn't true. The reason why Venok seemed like he had extra strength was actually from the beast armour he was wearing.
Certain beast armour once above the basic tier had special properties. If the user was able to activate these properties, they could increase the base strength of the user. Giving him more power, extra speed. Overall, it just improved you as a human being and almost made you seem to be a superhuman.
Adrian could see Venok was still struggling though, most likely due to his injuries but there was no way he himself could move the giant bookshelves so easily. So instead Adrian helped out in his own way by clearing a space and moving all the books and piles of rubbish away.
An hour later, their makeshift fortress was complete.
"It's quite the stronghold, isn't it?" Venok beamed. "Come on, let's go inside."
Inside their bookshelf barricade, Venok sealed the entrance, plunging the room into darkness. He then punched holes in the shelves, allowing slivers of light and a view of the outside.
Venok produced a small stone, tapping it to emit a warm, orange glow, illuminating their dark refuge.
"Take this," he offered Adrian a small, circular pill.
"A food supplement?" Adrian asked.
"Right. I figured you didn't bring any, given your unplanned arrival."
Adrian swallowed the pill, a compact source of essential nutrients, though it couldn't replace the need for water. Fortunately, the shelter's water supply was operational.
"You sleep first. I'll stand watch, then we'll switch," Venok proposed.
"Sounds good."
*****************
As Eli heard the sound of the door unlocking a grin appeared on his face that couldn't be contained.
"I love you, system. I'll never speak ill of you again," he declared, stepping into the container.
His dreams of legendary equipment or treasure vanished as quickly as they appeared; the room held nothing but bookshelves.
Yet, picking up a book, Eli's disappointment turned to excitement.
[ Earth ability book level 1 ]
[Unable to learn. Conversion to 10 EXP available. Proceed with conversion? ]
The room was a trove of ability and skill books. Unable to learn the abilities, Eli converted them to experience points.
As the book disintegrated in his hands, a sensation surged within him.
[10 exp gained]
[4360/5000 EXP]
Eli devoured book after book, gaining 5 EXP for level 1 skills and 10 EXP for level 1 abilities. Repeated books offered no additional EXP. Most were earth-related, tightly controlled by the military.
Venturing deeper, Eli discovered higher-level books, each level 2 Skill book rewarding him with 50 EXP and ability book gave 100 EXP points, regardless of previous absorptions.
After a spree of absorption, another message flashed before him.
[5000/5000 EXP]
[You have leveled up]
[Level 3]
[0/15000 Exp]
[300HP=500HP]
[55/500HP]
[Stats points: 5]