Wind howled through the fractured steel girders of East Signal Tower. The sky overhead had darkened, not from weather, but from the thick clouds of smoke rising from battles across the zone. Distant explosions pulsed like thunderclaps. The first true siege of the season was beginning.
Jonathan stood at the central command terminal, eyeing the shifting proximity data.
> [Warning: Multiple heat signatures approaching from all quadrants.]
Estimated Hostile Players: 14–18
Tower Status: Controlled
Time Held: 0h 27m
GP Accumulated: +2.25
Defense Bonus Relic: Locked (Hold for 2 hours minimum)
"Fourteen?" Teshaal muttered. "That's more than a skirmish. That's a raid party."
Liari grinned, stretching her neck. "Then we give them hell."
Vikka was crouched beside a half-shattered window, eyes scanning the horizon with a sniper scope. "I count six directly south. Three with shields. Coordinated movement—maybe Team Red Grin?"
Shé leaned against the inner wall, polishing a thin silver knife. "They've got Drenith's scent all over them. Won't stop unless one of us ends up without a pulse."
Jonathan flexed his new Symbiote-driven limbs. Muscles coiled and released with snake-like tension.
"If they want the tower," he said, "they'll have to bleed for it."
---
> Prompt:
Would you like to review current player stats?
(Y/N)
Jonathan tapped the terminal. "Yes."
> PLAYER: Jonathan Virell
GP: 8.25
ATTRIBUTE(S):
– Retention (Unique): Allows permanent stacking of Attributes from eliminated players.
– Symbiote: Reactive movement, enhanced reflexes, muscle memory
HP: 100%
Stamina: 78%
Emeralds: 1
Inventory: Basic Blade, Climbing Gauntlet, Flash-Spike x2, Med Patch x1
Team Status: Linked
Current Affiliation: None
The others' stats flickered up briefly—none with more than 1 Emerald yet. Teshaal was near 12 GP from his previous skirmishes. Shé remained unreadable—his screen blinked "Classified."
---
They split up fast. Teshaal and Vikka rigged the stairwell with trip mines and sonic disrupters, while Liari welded metal plates over the west entry corridor.
Jonathan and Shé worked on a fallback tunnel behind the control core—"just in case," Shé had said.
And then came the first wave.
A chorus of footfalls thundered up the stairs.
Trip mines sang.
Metal screamed.
"Contact!" Vikka shouted. "South breach!"
Three players burst in—one with riot armor, another dual-wielding curved glaives, and the third hurling arcing energy discs.
Jonathan moved before thinking.
He spun low, dodging a disc, then used the Symbiote's fluid strength to vault across the room. His heel slammed into the disc-thrower's chest—ribs cracked.
> [PLAYER STAGGERED]
GP Loss: -2.00
Teshaal tore into the glaive-wielder, parrying with vicious swings. Sparks and curses flew.
Liari rolled between the armored brute's legs and drove an electro-blade into his calf.
> [PLAYER ARMOR DISABLED]
GP Loss: -3.00
They were working like a unit now. Almost effortlessly.
Shé dropped the third with a well-timed headshot.
> [ENEMY PLAYER ELIMINATED]
ATTRIBUTE AVAILABLE: [Tempest Skin]
Steal Window: 04:59
Jonathan didn't move.
He was watching something else—beneath the tower, deeper than sensors could see.
---
Outside, more players were converging. Not just Red Grin anymore. Banners shimmered in the smoke.
> Incoming Teams Identified:
– Team Echelon (5 confirmed)
– Team Drenith (4 confirmed)
– Team Crownless (1 confirmed, high GP)
Estimated Total: 19 players
Jonathan turned to his team. "We're surrounded."
"Options?" Vikka asked, reloading her rifle.
"We fight. But smart."
Liari grinned. "What's the trick?"
He pointed to the relic terminal. "If we hold for another 90 minutes, we earn a guaranteed item. Something powerful. We turn this from a siege... into bait."
"Make them fight each other for us," Teshaal realized.
"Exactly," Jonathan said. "We'll light the fire. Then disappear through the tunnel."
---
And so, they did.
At the next wave, they let the defenders breach.
Teshaal faked a fall. Vikka fled to the roof. Liari rigged explosives beneath the floor.
Shé fired shots just inaccurately enough to create doubt.
Red Grin met Echelon halfway up the stairs.
Drenith's squad arrived late—and found two teams already in full-out brawl.
The tower shook.
Screams rang through steel.
Emeralds dropped. Attributes flashed. Death-counts spiked.
And in the chaos, five shadows slipped through the hidden tunnel, leaving behind a tower soaked in firelight and greed.
---
> Tower Control: Lost
GP Timer: Stopped
FINAL GP GAIN: +5.00
You have survived a Layer One Siege.
Bonus: +1 Emerald Vision Charge
Jonathan stood in the ash-covered alley outside, breathing hard.
"You sure this game's winnable?" Shé asked.
"No," Jonathan replied.
"But I'm sure I'm not losing."