Upon closer inspection, Quinn realized that it was more like a large container. He walked up to it, and saw a single, steel door with a passcode device mounted to the side of the wall the door was built into. The door was military-grade, meaning that even Abilities would have a hard time breaking it down.
Perhaps that was the reason why no one had been able to enter it, including the Beasts.
However, one thing was clear to Quinn. Whatever was in the container had yet to be destroyed. And most likely, whatever was inside was something worth locking away.
Quinn narrowed his eyes.
"Should I try the Hammer Strike?" Quinn muttered. He then looked around the hanger. The ceiling was high, and the entire thing was made of metal. If he was to perform the Hammer Strike here, the resounding "Bang" that accompanied the Skill would echo out. However, Quinn didn't want to give up that easily. All that stood between him and his new-found treasures was a single, steel door. There must have been a way inside.
Quinn then glanced over at the passcode machine built into the wall. He reached over, and punched in a random, four-digit code, before pressing the "enter" key. The screen flashed red, and three resounding, electronic "beeps" were heard. Quinn grit his teeth.
"Of course I'm not that lucky!" He muttered. Right now, Quinn was desperate, and he wanted to try everything at his disposal.
'Maybe the Inspect Skill.' He thought. He thought about using the Skill while looking at the steel door. Instantly, a System screen appeared.
[Name: Military Storage Container
A steel door with an electro-magnetic lock linked with a passcode machine. Entering the right combination will successfully disengage the electro-magnetic lock.]
'You don't say…' Quinn thought with a deadpan look on his face. However, a moment later, a new System screen appeared in front of him.
[Congratulations, Skill Inspect has Leveled Up. Skill Inspect is now Level 2. Skill Inspect will now display more information about inspected objects, people, and items.]
Seeing the new System message, Quinn smiled. Even since his Blood Swipe Skill had leveled up during his fight with the group of Rattaclaws, Quinn was sure that his other Skills could Level Up, as well. However, he never thought that his Inspect Skill also qualified. Realizing this, a slight smirk crept across Quinn's face.
'I guess that's an advantage of it being a Skill instead of a System Function.' Quinn thought.
Tsukuru's System had an Inspect Skill built-in to it. But since that wasn't a Skill, Quinn took that to mean that Tsukuru's version of his Inspect Skill couldn't Level Up. In a way, this made Quinn's Inspect Skillbetter than Tsukuru's "Scanner"System Function.
Quinn turned back to the door, and used the Skill again. The System screen popped up once more, but this time, there was more information.
[Name: Military Storage Container
A steel door with an electro-magnetic lock linked with a passcode machine. Entering the right combination will successfully disengage the electro-magnetic lock. The correct combination is 2536725364.]
'Ha!' Quinn thought. 'Let's see you do that, Tsukuru!'
He then punched in the given combination, and hit the "enter" key. The screen of the passcode machine flashed green, and a "beep" was heard. The sound of a locking mechanism coming undone could be heard, and the door then swung open on its own.
Seeing it, Quinn smirked.
'Eureka!' he thought.
***
Seeing that the Scordana was patrolling around the storage building, Ian and Vorden had decided to go to a…different part of the shelter. Like Ian had said, it was unlikely that the Portal was in the storage building in the first place. The Portal had to be placed somewhere safe, to make sure a Beast wouldn't wander though the Portal. Or even worse, destroy it.
Of course, a party or group could always bring a Portal with them in order to get back, but Portals like this were expensive. Someone at Ian's level wouldn't have one of these devices, as once they were used, they couldn't be used again. They were strictlyone-time use devices.
Vorden turned to Ian.
"Any idea where the Portal might be?" He asked.
Ian narrowed his eyes.
"My guess is that it's stored someplace underground." He replied. "It's the safest place that way, so Beasts can't get it. They probably have a special building that's disguised to look like an ordinary one, with a secret entrance."
Vorden raised an eyebrow.
"Wait, so you're saying that we just have to keep going into random buildings?" He asked.
Ian glanced back at him.
"Well, we can rule out all of the residential buildings." He replied. "They wouldn't be able to build enough room under them, and any of the smaller buildings and more dangerous areas can be ruled out, as well. There are only so many big buildings that would be large enough to store a big base under."
***
On the other side of the base, within the crumbling remains of what might have been at one point a lush park, a Rattaclaw was splayed on its back, a large gash across its neck. It let out a scream, as a figure approached it. Instantly, Tsukuru plunged his Intermediate-Tier Knight Sword downwards though its chest, killing it.
"And stay dead." He muttered. Subconsciously, he rubbed his hand against the left side of his face, right by his eye. Three shallow gashes could be seen.
Tsukuru grit his teeth.
'Sneaky little shit.' He thought bitterly.
A few minutes prior, he had entered this area. Despite him seeing a red dot in his System's "Automap", he had expected to find the Rattaclaw crawling on the ground. Not scurrying along the broken wall like a damn squirrel! The thing had lunged at him, claws extended from above. If Tsukuru had been any slower, the damn thing would have taken his eye out! Instantly, a System message popped up in front of him.
[You have killed a Basic-Tier Rattaclaw. 100 XP received. XP: 2636/3200.]
As Tsukuru reached down to extract the Rattaclaw's Beast Crystal, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Moving towards the trees in the outskirts of the shelter, he spotted something that looked like a white, humanoid individual.
Tsukuru narrowed his eyes.
He abandoned extracting the Beast Crystal, and made his way towards the forest on the outskirts of the shelter.
***
Back with Ian and Vorden, the two of them continued to systematically search through building after building. But there was no sign of a secret room. Eventually, the two stumbled across what appeared to be a library. Although, most of the books had been destroyed, and several of the bookcases had fallen over.
That's when a loud, grumbling noise could be heard from Vorden's belly.
Ian turned to him, a gentle smile on his face.
"Well, I guess we have been traveling for a while, haven't we?" He replied. "Let's rest here for the night. It doesn't look like there's any Beasts here, and we can build our own little fortress."
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, making it easy for Beasts to attack them. Once the two had reached the second floor, they started lifting up a few bookshelves. It seemed like Ian had the Ability of Super Strength, seeing how easily he moved the heavy bookshelves.
However, Vorden knew that wasn't the case. The reason why Ian seemed like he had extra strength was the same reason Vorden did. Beast Gear. However, Vorden could see that Ian was still struggling. Most likely, due to his injuries procuring that Advanced-Tier Crystal. There was no way that Ian would be able to move the heavy bookshelves so easily. So, Vorden decided to help.
He began clearing a space, moving all the books and piles of rubbish out of the way. After about an hour or so, they were done. Ian had moved the bookshelves to create a small type of fortress around them.
"It's a nice home, isn't it?" He asked, proud of his work. He then turned to Vorden. "Well, what are you waiting for?" He asked. "C'mon, let's go inside!"
As Vorden walked inside, Ian followed him from behind. Ian pulled one last bookshelf around them, sealing them up in a cube-like shape, surrounded by bookshelves.
The room they were in was now pitch-black. Ian then punched out part of the bookshelves with his fists, creating holes in all four directions. It let in a bit of light, but more importantly, it let them see through like windows, allowing them to see if any dangerous Beasts was heading towards them.