After an initially awkward but eventful dinner where Animus tried to engage everyone in conversation, he and Zoe turned in for the night.
The next day, Animus decided to visit the gyms.
Morning came quickly.
Animus's eyes opened slowly. He glanced at his Pip-Boy.
It was 5 am.
'Decent.' He thought to himself.
After a quick wash, change of jumpsuits, and breakfast, Animus exited the vault for a jog. He went from Units 1 to 20 and back. Then, he took the elevator to the third floor.
Upon entering there, he quickly glanced at the signs.
←Armory
↖Game Room
↑Gym
↗ Dojo
→Athletics Room
↓ Elevator
"Let's try the gym today. Home workout is nice and all, but I need actual strength training." Animus said to himself and walked to the gym.
'And I want those stats to go up, for god's sake.' He lamented inside his mind.
Animus crossed steel double-doors and entered a large hall. It was lined with weights and machines of all kinds.
Right now, the place was completely empty.
Animus quickly dove into working out. He tried lifting various weights. Much to his immense annoyance, he could only manage lifting the 1 kilogram or 2 kilograms weights comfortably.
"Pathetic. I used to lift 20 kilos easily before," He muttered in detest.
Regardless, he kept grinding. He performed bicep curls, hammer curls, lateral raises, shoulder presses, split squats, and front raises. 3 sets of 16 repetitions each. He kept pushing even as his arms burned and cried out. He then moved to the Athletics Room. There, he worked on cardio and mind-body coordination. He would jump rope, run on the treadmill, use the bikes, practice rock-climbing, sprint in short bursts, and use the resistance equipment.
"Muscle... Muscle... Muscle... MUST. GROW. MUSCLE." He chanted between punches.
After approximately ninety minutes in the gym and athletics room combined, Animus collapsed on the floor.
"The grind... has gotten to me..." He heaved.
'Surely, my stats must have grown? I've worked out for an hour.' He thought.
Animus weakly looked at his Pip-Boy in hope.
[Stats]
[S.P.E.C.I.A.L]
[S: 2]
[P: 4]
[E: 4]
[C: 5]
[I: 8]
[A: 2]
[L: 10]
He groaned in frustration.
'Just how much more?!' He screamed inside.
Then, he quickly calmed down.
'Rome wasn't built in a day. A single day of gym workout won't yield results. I must keep grinding for proper results. Damn it, if only I could level up. I pray radioactive roaches attack the vault.' He thought with fierce determination before joking senselessly.
A man with immense luck must be careful what he wishes for.
Animus weakly got up. He quickly emptied a bottle of water on one of the stands before walking out.
"Let's check out the Dojo, and then see what's for breakfast," He muttered.
Animus exited the athletics room and walked to the Dojo. Tapping a button before its steel double-doors, he found himself in a room with a variety of equipment for practicing martial arts. A huge ring for fights took the center. Mats, boxing bags, gloves, pads, hand wraps, sticks, wooden swords, and whatnot dominated the room. A shoe rack next to the door prompted Animus to take his shoes off there.
He quietly entered the area on barefoot. Only one or two women were in the place right now. They stopped and turned to stare at him before getting back to what they were doing. Animus ignored the looks and got to work.
'I love women, but this vault is too dangerous. Sexual frustration without an outlet is lethal to decision making. It has only been a few days. In six or seven months, it may boil over soon. If not sooner.' He thought in silent worry.
He took a pair of hand wraps and wrapped them around his hands and wrists. He grabbed a pair of boxing gloves that fit him and started throwing punches on a boxing bag.
That was when he realized, he didn't know much about boxing apart from a few tips from one of his friends. But punching something felt good.
'This is nice.' Animus thought, feeling blissful. He lost himself in punching the bag. All his frustration melted away. He continued to hammer the bag for a minute before his body interrupted him.
His arms fell to the sides like lead. They turned red in protest.
Animus sighed. He sat down for a bit. Then he slowly took the gloves and hand wraps off, placed them on the rack and cupboards, and left for breakfast.
"Food calls." He said with cheer and left for his home, Unit 01.
In a short while, Animus reached his unit. Upon entering it, he washed his face
"I'm home!" He called out.
"Welcome back!" Zoe responded before appearing from the master bedroom. She was drying her hair.
"Let's go to the dining hall for breakfast. I'll just wash my face." Animus said before moving to the master bathroom.
"M'kay!" Zoe cheered.
The siblings got ready before moving to the breakfast area. Zoe grabbed the Glock and kept it in a small cloth bag. The siblings walked to the dining area on the fifth floor.
"This floor's big. Houses, library, dining hall, classrooms, and even the creepy Overseer office. I don't want to walk so much," Zoe muttered lazily.
Animus chuckled.
The two found Gwen, Jasmine, and Daphne already seated on a table. They seemed to be talking amicably, compared to yesterday.
"Good morning, ladies!" Zoe called out.
"Good morning, everyone." Animus said with a smile.
The girls turned to them.
"Animus! Zoe! Good morning!" Gwen smiled, getting up before scooting over to make space.
"Good morning." Daphne said, placing plates of food for herself and Jasmine.
"Good morning, Animus!" Jasmine said, smiling and getting up to make space as well.
"Come sit here!" Gwen and Jasmine said at the same time.
Quickly, they turned to stare at each other.
Zoe snickered.
"Animus, sit with me," Gwen said with urgency.
"Zoe can sit with you, Gwen. Animus can sit here." Jasmine smiled, her smile not reaching her eyes.
'What's even such a big deal regarding a single seat... Robert, help me. Send backup.' Animus muttered with a dead fish eyes look.
Suddenly, eerie sounds echoed in the pipes.
Animus' head snapped to them immediately.
A few people fell silent and stared at them.
"What was that?" Gwen asked.
"Zo. The gun." Animus said, his voice serious as he held his palm out.
"O-Okay." Zoe said and took out the Glock.
Animus took it, checked the magazine, and unclicked the safety.
Jasmine, Gwen, and Daphne got up.
"Animus, what's wrong?" Jasmine asked, worried.
"I'm not sure. My perception isn't exactly great. But that sound was unnatural." Animus said and pointed the gun at one of the vents on the wall near the floor.
"Did it come from there?" Daphne frowned.
"I think so." Gwen nodded.
The sounds echoed again. This time, they were much louder.
The dining area fell quiet.
Thud
The sound of the vent being slammed echoed.
"What is that?" Zoe frowned and quickly grabbed a butter knife. Gwen did the same, grabbing a fork as well.
Tap Tap
The sound of a critter's feet shuffling echoed.
"Isn't that one of the vents?" Gwen frowned.
A staff member of Vault-Tec approached and flashed a light inside the vault.
Animus immediately got close to see.
'It cannot be a rad roach. They take years to evolve.' Animus frowned.
The light flashed to reveal a half-burnt, blackened mole rat. It was accompanied by several others.
"Get back." The staff member said, nodding to another who arrived. "We'll neutralize the threat."
"I'll help." Animus said and cocked his gun.
"No." The other one frowned. "Animus Spero, eat your meal."
Thud
"We don't have much time, and this is just a nuisance. Think of it as me wasting my bullets." Animus shrugged.
Zoe, Jasmine, Gwen, and Daphne stepped behind Animus.
The two women looked at each other and nodded. The guard stationed at the armory would not let Animus acquire more ammunition. If he wants to waste his precious ammo like that, he could be their guest.
One of the staff members opened the vent before backing off. The other one opened fire. The mole rats desperately tried to enter the dining hall.
Animus focused on the biggest rat and the one to its right.
Bang Bang Bang
Gunshots echoed. The mole rats died quickly. Animus took down two of the seven rats. He was too tired from the workout and his body to frail to keep up with the staff member, even if his skill was superior.
Animus felt his Pip-Boy ping. He grinned.
He quickly glanced at it.
[You have killed a Mole Rat.]
[You have killed a Mole Rat.]
[You have leveled up! You have gained 1 stat point and 13 skill points.]
'Awesome!' He grinned.
He zeroed in on the skill points mention. Animus immediately began analyzing it.
'13 skill points? My intelligence is 8. Does that mean I get 8 + 5 skill points per level, scaling off of intelligence? Not bad.' Animus thought.
The staff members nodded to each other in relief. One began sealing the corpses in disposable bags while the other collected the bullet casings. They could reuse them as ammo later.
Just then, another hiss echoed.
Another mole rat burst out of the vent.
"Bro!" Zoe shouted and lunged at Animus to shove him out of the way.
Animus' body was too slow, at an Agility stat of 2. He noticed the mole rat. But he couldn't move fast enough.
A woman blurred in front of him. She quickly stabbed the mole rat in the neck, precisely behind the soft spot of its skin.
She quietly stood up.
Animus freezed. His eyes widened.
The woman carried a deadly aura.
She was tall, slender, and strikingly beautiful. Her pale skin looked delicate, yet her actions were anything but. She wore a white headband and that seemed to support her long black hair tied in a bun. She turned to stare at Animus. Animus stared back. Her eyes were ruby-red.
"Um, are you okay?" She asked, suddenly fidgeting.
"...Yes. Thank you." Animus said a beat later. "What's your name? I am Animus."
The woman smiled gently.
"I am Yor Briar. It's nice to meet you."