The soldier's posture stiffened, his eyes narrowing as he scrutinized Theo.
"You're an AMS? Did you sign up for AMSO?" His grip on his rifle loosened slightly, but his tone remained skeptical. "We weren't informed about any AMS arriving. Where's your authorization?"
Theo's pulse quickened. He had no intention of joining AMSO, at least not yet, but he needed to get inside.
"I'm a volunteer AMS," he stated firmly. "I haven't signed up because my priority right now is securing my mother. You can check with the team that cleared Metro Doctors Hospital. They have my record and can confirm I'm an AMS."
The soldier's expression remained unreadable, but his grip on his rifle relaxed slightly. "No authorization, no entry even if you're an AMS," he said flatly.
Theo clenched his jaw, taking a deep breath before softening his tone. "Please. I'll help with the clearing if needed, but I need to get my mother out first."
The soldier exchanged glances with his partner, who frowned but didn't immediately reject him. "Tell us your name."
"Theodore Luther."
The first soldier relayed the name over his radio. A tense silence followed. Theo's fists tightened at his sides. If they turned him away, he'd have to find another way in.
Moments later, an older officer emerged from a nearby tent, his sharp eyes locking onto Theo. "You're claiming to be an AMS but haven't signed up yet?" His deep voice carried clear skepticism. "You expect us to just let you in because you say so?"
The officer turned to the soldier with the tablet. "What do we have on him?"
The soldier quickly checked the data and nodded. "Confirmed, sir. Name: Theodore Luther. Unregistered AMS. He was at the Metro Doctors Hospital incident. Assisted in killing one Meteorborn alongside another AMS."
The officer exhaled heavily, rubbing his temple. "Dammit. We don't have the manpower to babysit a loose AMS."
Theo stepped forward, determination in his voice. "Sir, my mother is inside. I need to get her to safety. I'll cooperate and assist the military in clearing the area if needed, but please… just let me get her out first."
The officer narrowed his gaze. "Listen, kid. There are over twenty AMS inside, all of them signed up with AMSO. They're working with the military, currently clearing the thirteenth floor. Only two more floors remain."
He then gestured toward a designated area where rescue teams and civilians were gathered. Theo recognized a few as family members waiting to claim their loved ones.
"Go wait over there," the officer said. "Survivors will be released shortly."
Theo barely had time to process the soldier's words before a deafening explosion ripped through the air.
"BOOM!!!"
The ground trembled beneath his feet as a shockwave sent dust and debris flying. Shouts erupted from the soldiers, their radios crackling with urgent commands.
Theo instinctively ducked, his eyes snapping toward the source of the explosion. Smoke billowed from the upper floors of the hospital. People in the waiting area screamed, some running for cover, while others froze in shock.
"That's the thirteenth floor, what the hell just happened?!" the officer barked into his radio.
"We need reinforcements now! We've got casualties! Many of my men are down, and some of the AMSO recruits are a pain in the ass! They're not following orders, just charging in on their own!" a voice yelled through the officer's radio. "There are still survivors trapped upstairs, most of them ran to the higher floors when the dead started attacking from the morgue level!"
Theo caught every word. His eyes locked onto the officer's. "Now are you going to let me through, or waste more time while people are dying? I can help. I can clear the area and control the situation."
"Shit," the officer muttered, clearly torn. He grabbed his radio and barked out a request for reinforcements. After a pause, he turned back to Theo. "Come on. Follow us in."
One of the soldiers hesitated. "Sir, are you serious? Letting him in would be against protocol."
"I'll take responsibility," the officer snapped. "We need the manpower, and right now, this AMS is our best shot."
He turned to a group of soldiers. "You four… hold the perimeter. No one else gets through."
Then he faced Theo again and offered a rifle. "You need a weapon?"
Theo glanced at the officer's name tag. "No need, Sergeant Jones. I've got my own."
He walked over to his Hummer as if retrieving a weapon, and then, with a sharp breath, he summoned directly from his system. One he saw became available after he killed a Meteorborn Terra.
A clean double-sided axe materialized in his hand, glinting with faint kinetic energy.
"I'm ready," he hummed as he walked back towards the Sergeant.
The soldiers around him stared in stunned silence as Theo adjusted his grip on the weapon.
"Let's go," the Sergeant ordered.
Theo followed the soldiers through the barricades and inside the hospital. It was in disarray as expected with tattered walls, and debris scattered across the floors, and the sharp scent of smoke and blood filled the air.
The sounds of gunfire and screams echoed in the distance as soldiers and AMSO recruits probably tried to contain the situation.
Then a sudden notification appeared in front of him.
[Ding! Special Quest Available: "Heart of the Meteorborn"
Objective: Eliminate Elemental Meteorborn with active meteorite cores.]
'Huh? Then how am I supposed to know which one has an active meteorite core?' Theo frowned. 'Wasn't that Meteorborn Terra I killed before an Elemental Meteorborn? Didn't it have an active core?'
Theo's brows furrowed deeper as he opened the system file for the Meteorborn Terra he had killed earlier. He scanned through the data, hoping he had misunderstood.
'No active meteorite core?' he mused with a frown. 'Then how am I supposed to find the ones that do have it?'
The system responded promptly.
[Elemental Meteorborn with active meteorite cores are far stronger. Their abilities are linked directly to their glowing hearts, which beat in sync with the meteorite's energy.]
Theo's jaw tensed. 'Right… the Meteorborn Terra before didn't seem to have a heart. I only managed to kill it by targeting the pulsating flesh through the cracks on its body.' He recalled how its rocky exterior had split open under pressure, revealing rhythmic pulses of corrupted flesh, just raw mutation.
[Primary Reward: Ability and Power Extraction (Host can extract and use the ability and power from each Elemental Meteorborn with active meteorite cores defeated)]
[Bonus Reward: +10000 EXP, +1000 Gold Coins]
The temptation of unlocking powerful abilities was too great to ignore. Theo was determined to claim those rewards, but just as he thought to accept the quest, another prompt appeared on his screen.
[Warning: If you accept this quest and fail to eliminate at least one Elemental Meteorborn with an active meteorite core within sixteen hours, you may suffer Mutation Corruption. Proceed with caution.]
'What?!' he thought, his pulse quickening.
The system's prompt blinked, awaiting his response.
[Would you like to accept this quest? YES / NO]