SSS-Tier Extraction: From Outcast to Overgod!-Chapter 73: Harmonizing Victory

Ryan moved through a world of frozen chaos. The Apex War Golem was a giant, unmoving statue of rage, its two cannon arms pointed at a slow-motion Jennifer who was gracefully diving out of the way.

Scarlett was a frozen comet in the air, a bolt of energy halfway between her pistol and the Golem’s massive head. The air itself was thick with shimmering, slow-moving distortions. It was like running through a photograph of a hurricane.

But inside his personal bubble of normal time, Ryan was a whirlwind. His feet ate up the distance to the central pedestal. The Spatial Harmonizer, the beautiful orb of pulsating white light, hung in the air just ahead of him.

It was so close he could almost feel its strange, calming energy.

He was just a few feet away when the Golem’s giant red eye, which had been locked on Jennifer, twitched. Even with its focus completely on her, its advanced systems sensed a new, fast-moving threat. It couldn’t turn its body or change its main attack, but it could use its secondary defenses.

A small panel on the Golem’s shoulder slid open. A thin, red beam of light shot out, not at Ryan, but at the space right in front of him.

The air warped violently. It was like a piece of the world had been crumpled up like a piece of paper. A wall of twisted, broken space appeared directly in his path. It was a dead end. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Ryan’s mind didn’t even have time to panic. His instincts, honed by countless battles, took over. He couldn’t go through it. He couldn’t go around it. So, he would go over it.

He planted his feet and jumped, pushing off with all the strength in his legs. He sailed into the air, right over the top of the shimmering, broken wall of space. For a heart-stopping moment, he was flying, suspended above the deadly trap. He could see the artifact just below him, so close.

But as he reached the peak of his jump, gravity reasserted itself. He was going to fall short. He wouldn’t reach the pedestal. He would land right in the middle of another nest of spatial traps.

"Not today," he gritted out through clenched teeth.

He activated his Phase Gauntlet’s "Short Blink" skill. In a flash of blue light, his body teleported forward just one single meter while he was still in mid-air. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. His feet landed squarely on the edge of the pedestal, just inches from the floating orb. He had made it.

He reached out his hand, his fingers brushing against the smooth, warm surface of the Spatial Harmonizer.

The moment he touched it, the entire vault seemed to sigh in relief. The violent spatial distortions all around the room lessened. The air grew calmer. The orb itself pulsed with a welcoming light, as if it was happy to finally be held.

A message blared across the system, a sound of pure victory.

[UNIFICATION CHALLENGE UPDATE]

[Outpost #7 has secured Artifact 2: The Spatial Harmonizer.]

[Current Score: Outpost #7: 2 Artifacts. Outpost #21: 1 Artifact.]

Back in the main chamber, time snapped back to normal. The Golem’s massive attack, slightly weakened by the Harmonizer’s calming effect, slammed into the wall far behind where Jennifer had been. Scarlett’s energy bolt fizzled out against the Golem’s thick armor. The immediate danger was over.

But their victory celebration was cut short.

BOOM!

A massive explosion blew the main doors of the vault chamber off their hinges. Standing in the smoke and fire, silhouetted against the light of the hallway, was Ilsa "Steelheart" Varkov.

Her heavy armor was even more dented and scorched than before, and she was breathing heavily, but her eyes burned with a furious, unstoppable rage. Her few remaining Iron Wolves stood behind her, looking exhausted but just as angry.

They had finally smashed their way through the last layer of defenses. And they had arrived just in time to watch Ryan steal the prize from right under their noses.

Ilsa saw Ryan standing on the pedestal, holding the glowing orb. She saw his team, scattered but alive. Her face twisted into a mask of pure fury.

"STONE!" she bellowed, her voice echoing through the massive chamber. She didn’t care about the giant Apex Golem that was now turning its attention towards her. She didn’t care about strategy or tactics. All she saw was the man who had defeated her commander and was now humiliating her.

"YOU WILL NOT HAVE THIS VICTORY!" she roared. "IRON WOLVES, CHARGE! TAKE IT ALL! LEAVE NOTHING BUT SCRAP!"

The Iron Wolves let out a collective battle cry and charged into the room. They were a wave of pure, unthinking aggression, a final, desperate attack.

Ryan, still holding two of the three precious artifacts, knew they couldn’t stay and fight. They were in the middle of a room with a very angry Apex Golem and a fresh squad of even angrier enemies.

"Time to go!" he shouted to his team. He signaled them with his hand, pointing towards the maintenance tunnel they had come from. It was time for a fighting retreat. "To the extraction point! Now!"

His team didn’t need to be told twice. Scarlett swooped down, grabbing Emma and pulling her towards the tunnel entrance. Jennifer was already a blur of motion, heading for the exit. Chris "Boulder" Magnus, ever the protector, turned to face the oncoming charge, his shield held high.

"I’ll hold them off!" he yelled. "Go!"

The Apex Golem, meanwhile, was having a very confusing day. Its programming was simple: protect the artifact in this room. First, Ryan’s team had tried to take it. Now, this new, loud group was trying to take it. And Ryan, who was currently holding the artifact, was running away.

The Golem’s giant red eye swiveled back and forth. Its logic circuits sparked, trying to decide which threat was more important. Who was the bigger problem? The people charging in, or the person running away with the thing it was supposed to be guarding?

It made a decision. It raised its cannon arms and fired a volley of gravity blasts, not at the charging Iron Wolves, but at Ryan. To the Golem, the person holding the stolen property was the number one target.

The retreat became a mad scramble for survival. Ryan dodged and weaved, the Golem’s attacks tearing up the floor around him. He could feel the power of the two artifacts in his hands.

The Chronal Regulator made time feel slightly syrupy, giving him a split-second more to react. The Spatial Harmonizer made the Golem’s space-bending attacks feel less violent and more predictable.

The two artifacts were helping him survive.

They reached the tunnel entrance, a small, dark hole in the wall of the giant chamber. It was their only way out. Behind them, they could hear the terrible sounds of the Iron Wolves crashing against Chris’s shield, and the even more terrible sounds of the Apex Golem laying waste to the entire room in its fury.

They had the lead, but the race was far from over. They still had to make it to the extraction point in one piece.

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