Chapter 276
The mechs attacked Storm Shelter twice more, heavy impacts crashing against the barrier. Sharpening his focus, Kyle detected more presences closing in on his location. Three of them gave off powerful D Grade auras, while the fourth was much less pronounced. Of course, given that the sniper and club-wielder had virtually no aura at all, Kyle wasn’t about to trust his impressions of their power.
It was clear that Marcus had put quite a bit of work into the mechs; the force behind the club-wielder’s strikes only slightly weaker than the attacks from the abominations on Er’Mithren. Of course, these constructs had one distinct advantage when compared to the abominations. Parasitic Resonance wouldn’t work.
Unless they had biological components, which Kyle highly doubted, there would be no mana networks for his skill to connect. He’d known his reliance on Parasitic Resonance carried risks, though he didn’t expect to face the reckoning quite like this. Of course, there’s not really a better time than this, Kyle thought. Who’s to say that the test was only for the security drones?
Dropping Storm Shelter, Kyle dropped low as he dashed forward. The baton sliced through the air above his head, the wind from the blow rushing above his head. From his vantage point, he raised his left hand to its chest and activated Repel. The blast caught the club-wielding mech at an angle, blasting it skyward with all the force that Kyle could muster. He tilted his head to the right as another bullet grazed his cheek, though the sniper was forced to move as the other mech flew right toward it.
With a moment to breathe, Kyle continued his mad dash toward the destination. His reprieve was short-lived, however, as a sea of flames erupted between him and the central tower of the installation. A resplendent crimson mech flew out from around a nearby corner, wielding a glowing blade. Twin arrows arced toward him through the flames, as he felt another presence approaching him from behind.
Worse still, the security drones he’d sprinted past were entering formation, Auric Perception warning him of mana accumulating in the air above. And the longer he waited, the more time the club-wielder would have to reenter the fight. To top off his list of problems, there was still the matter of the sixth presence, which hadn’t yet entered the fray.
Needless to say, this test was far more difficult than any Marcus had put forward so far. In a straight fight, he fully expected that he would lose. Without Parasitic Resonance, he would only feel confident in fighting a couple at a time, and even then it would be a stretch.
Fortunately for Kyle, he didn’t need to fight to complete his objective. Just as the mech approached from behind, Kyle activated a blast of Repel from the center of his back, blowing his opponent away as he launched himself directly into the flames. Wrapping his arms around the package, Kyle focused on expanding his Ferric Augmentation while pumping Healing Impetus through his body.
The fire licked at his skin, though after all the tempering in the forges, his Enhanced Carapace barely took any damage. Kyle sidestepped another arrow, accepting a gunshot to his left shoulder as he barreled forward. The blow staggered him for a fraction of a moment; buying enough time for the crimson mech to close in. Its curved blade sizzled in the air as it lashed out toward Kyle, seeking an opening. With his clothes all but burned away, the weapon scored thin lines across Kyle’s body, which closed as fast as they opened.
Taking a glancing slash to his shoulder, Kyle kicked forward, unleashing a blast of Repel from his outstretched leg, as well as his lower back to help him balance. The balance wasn’t quite right, but the shockwave was enough to scatter the nearby flames and launch the crimson mech flying backwards, just long enough for Kyle to pivot and block a series of strikes from the mech that was flanking him earlier.
Powerful jets of water blasted him, obscuring his vision as a rain of punches and kicks crashed into him. Each blow lacked the destructive power of the club-wielder, but the speed of the assault was overwhelming. Worse still, the jets of water allowed the strikes to move at odd angles, while also knocking Kyle’s guard out of the way and threatening the package he still had nestled against his arm.
Damn, he thought, feeling a presence closing in on him from behind. Mana in the air above was reaching a fever pitch, and with no other choice, Kyle activated Storm Shelter. Against the barrage of punishment, he didn’t know how long it would last. Not that it mattered. If he didn’t activate it, he would be overwhelmed. I just need some space. His intent was clear; rejecting the flames, the gravity, and the endless streams of physical attacks.
Kyle felt something in himself stir as the skill took form, power rushing out of him as the skill took form. The fire around him was snuffed out; the shockwave of pulverizing gravity failing to move even a pebble under the aegis of Storm Shelter, while the concrete around the barrier was reduced to dust. And, in the middle of it all, Kyle stood, singed and bewildered. Before he could even process what transpired, the club-wielding mech returned.
It flashed with power, launching a heavy smash against Kyle’s shield. It was joined by gouts of flame, high-pressure water jets, and a stream of projectiles from the other mechs. Each attacked with the force of a high-tier D Grade. And still, Storm Shelter stood, unshaken by the assault.
What happened? Kyle wondered staring at his skill in awe.
~~~
“Well, would you look at that,” Marcus said, a broad smile on his face. “It looks like your boy has gotten a new trick up his sleeve.”
C.H.A.D.D. didn’t respond, allowing its sensors to analyze the incredible outpouring of mana that Dr. Mayhew released. After its upgrades, C.H.A.D.D. was able to get accurate scans of the entire testing area, combining a standard mana scan with an enhanced sonar wave. Even the mechs without a clear mana signature were plain as day to C.H.A.D.D., though it was focused on something else entirely.
The drone was no stranger to Kyle’s Storm Shelter skill, but this use was unlike anything C.H.A.D.D. had seen before. The sheer amount of mana involved was staggering. Moreover, courtesy of the new instruments, C.H.A.D.D. could tell that there was something different at a qualitative level.
Storm Shelter was always a bit of an odd skill; its defensive properties beyond what they should have reasonably been, even at an early level. Dr. Mayhew’s personal power certainly contributed, but the key factor had always been the simple but effective concepts at play behind the skill itself.
Now, however, there was something… more. The barrier felt different to C.H.A.D.D.’s sensors, radiating power and some concepts that the drone couldn’t quite make out. What was quantifiable, however, was the sheer amount of punishment the barrier withstood. The attacks were all of exceptional quality, with the club-wielding mech striking being noteworthy even among them.
C.H.A.D.D. had coupled its recorded empirical examples with several mathematical models, and had a strong sense of how resilient Dr. Mayhew’s defensive skill was. With some exceptions when Kyle infused particularly powerful intent into it, Storm Shelter’s power level fell within fairly predictable ranges, gaining power as the Survivalist accumulated more and more levels. Given that, per C.H.A.D.D.’s calculations, the barrier should have been able to withstand approximately four seconds of the combined assault, give or take a percent or two of standard deviation.
Yet now, nearly twenty seconds later, Storm Shelter stood. It was unmarred by damage, rejecting attacks that would have shattered it several times over. At first, C.H.A.D.D. attributed the increase in resilience to the additional mana infused into the skill, but that didn’t feel correct. Even if the drone assumed a linear relationship between the amount of excess energy fed into Storm Shelter, the math didn’t add up using any of C.H.A.D.D.’s existing assumptions.
Instead, the most likely explanation was tied to the strange concepts that were tied into the skill. Some aspects represented felt familiar, while others were bafflingly foreign. Thankfully, C.H.A.D.D. had a resource it could reference in a situation like this.
[MR. KULHAVEY, WHAT IS YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHANGE IN DR. MAYHEW’S SKILL?]
“Looks to me like he supercharged it,” Marcus said, staring at his tablet. “Damn impressive, too. From what I can see, the barrier is entirely self-sustaining. For now, at least.”
[I DISAGREE. MY CALCULATIONS INDICATE THAT A SIMPLE INCREASE IN MANA INFUSION SHOULD BE INSUFFICIENT TO ACHIEIVING THE RESULTS HE IS CURRENTLY DISPLAYING. CAN YOU IDENTIFY THE CONCEPTS AT PLAY?]
“Do you really think I’ve got tools handy that can try to quantify something like that?” Marcus asked, raising an eyebrow.
[YES?] C.H.A.D.D. offered.
Marcus chuckled at the response, shaking his head. “This is a few steps beyond a basic manifestation of a concept. If it was something simple, like hardness or sharpness, that would be one thing. Whatever’s at play here is a whole different tier of complexity. Not that I couldn’t figure it out, mind you. Just that it’s a lot harder to do.”
C.H.A.D.D. accepted the response, watching as the barrier around Kyle began to show signs of instability. The skill’s deactivation was inevitable, even with the empowerment that Dr. Mayhew was able to incorporate. Soon, it would be time for the test to conclude, one way or another. Still, C.H.A.D.D. had one final order of business to discuss with Marcus before that happened.
[MR. KULHAVEY, THE SKILL SETS OF THESE MECHS APPEARS TO BE QUITE DIVERSE. AM I CORRECT IN ASSUMING YOU CREATED EACH OF THEM?]
Marcus’s expression changed, hardening slightly. “That’s right, I did.”
[UNLESS I MISS MY GUESS, THESE ARE AMONG YOUR OLDER CREATIONS. COMPARED TO THE SERIES I HAVE SEEN SINCE ARRIVING, THEY APPEAR TO BE MORE PRIMITIVE IN FUNCTION.]
“If you have a point, C.H.A.D.D., make it.”
[IN YOUR CREATION OF THE C.H.A.D.D. SERIES, I AM AWARE THAT YOU COLLABORATED CLOSELY WITH CENTRAL HEALTH FOUNDER AND YOUR FELLOW ORIGINATOR MEILIN HUANG. IN REVIEWING SOME OF THE RECORDS THAT WERE LOCKED AWAY, I CAME ACROSS SOME RATHER UNIQUE PROFILES THAT APPEAR TO MATCH THE SKILLSETS I SEE BEING DEPLOYED HERE.]
“And what might those be?” Marcus asked, a note of tension in his voice. The older man seemed to know what was coming, but didn’t tell C.H.A.D.D. to stop. So the drone didn’t.
[CRANSTON THORNE, A C GRADE FIGHTER-TYPE KNOWN AS THE CALAMITY. MUSA OKORO, A C GRADE RANGER ADEPT WITH BOW HUNTING AND CLOSE QUARTERS COMBAT. ARJUN ADVANI, A C GRADE FIRE MAGE KNOWN AS THE CRIMSON BLADE. MARIA PEREIRA, A C GRADE FIGHTER CALLED THE RAGING STORM. YAMADA HANA, A C GRADE RANGER AND CRAFTER KNOWN AS THE SILENT DEATH. MEILIN HUANG, A C GRADE HEALER KNOWN AS THE SAINTESS. AND, OF COURSE, YOU. MARCUS KULHAVEY, A C GRADE CRAFTSMAN KNOWN AS THE ANNIHILATOR.]
Marcus had a faraway look in his eye, his hands trembling slightly as he held his tablet. “It’s been a long time since I heard those names, C.H.A.D.D. Even longer since I heard the titles. Some things are best left forgotten.”
[IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEN WHY ARE THE MECHS ON THE BATTLEFIELD EXHIBITING SIMILAR COMBAT CHARACTERISTICS TO THOSE UPLOADED IN THE FILES? WITH THE NOTABLE EXCEPTION OF YOU, OF COURSE. TELL ME, MR. KULHAVEY, ARE THESE MECHS TRULY DESIGNED TO IMITATE THE ORIGINATORS?]