Chapter 279
BANG!
Kyle winced as another of the razorpine seeds struck his shoulder, exploding with dozens of sharp, thorny needles. They drilled ineffectually against his skin, before falling to the ground. Without hesitation, Kyle activated Parasitic Resonance, connecting to the fallen seed and funneling its mana into C.H.A.D.D.
“And you’re sure you don’t want to practice flying?” Kyle asked, bracing himself as he felt mana gathering around another of the seeds.
[PERHAPS IN A LESS… HAZARDOUS ENVIRONMENT. IN ANY EVENT, I HAVE GOTTEN QUITE ACCUSTOMED TO BEING CARRIED. IT ALLOWS ME TO DEDICATE MORE ATTENTION TO MY OTHER WORK.]
Kyle grunted as he was hit yet again, with one of the drill-like needles managing to find momentary purchase in his chest before falling. This one was consumed, too, as had become habit over the past couple of weeks. Kyle’s suspicions were proven correct; the subterranean ecosystem was lush, with colonies of mana-rich algae slowly drifting along currents just beneath the stony surface. The razorpines detected these rich sources of mana, and launched their seeds with the intent of planting them in a nourishing environment. Interestingly, the flow of mana and water beneath the surface appeared to have regenerative effects on the stone itself, which would slowly regenerate, absorbing the fallen needles and cones that failed to root.
The ecosystem was fascinating, and Kyle was extremely curious about how exactly the trees detected the right places to launch their seeds. At the end of the day, though, the razorpines were still just that; trees. And the presence Kyle gave off was of far more interest to them than the algae; his mana on a qualitatively different level. And so, their days had been spent with Kyle taking leisurely walks through the forest and funneling energy into C.H.A.D.D. while he got bombarded with razorpine seeds. The drone was having a delightful time, if Kyle was beginning to grow a little bored. With a little luck, he would change that today.
“Are you finally ready to go look at one of the big ones?” Kyle asked.
[IF POSSIBLE, I WOULD PREFER TO GET ANOTHER FEW HUNDRED SETS OF SAMPLES FROM THE ORANGE AND GOLDEN VARIANTS FIRST. I DO BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE EXHAUSTED THE USEFULNESS OF THE YELLOW ONES, IN ANY EVENT.]
“C.H.A.D.D., you literally have thousands of samples by now. The orange ones are the only type we’ve found that still hurt; can you imagine how much more useful the crimson trees will be?”
[AS A POINT OF FACT, DR. MAYHEW, UNDERSTANDING THE TREES AT VARIOUS POINTS OF DEVELOPMENT IS CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT FOR MY RESEARCH. EVEN THOUGH THE CRIMSON TREES ARE UNDOUBTEDLY THE MOST POWERFUL, THAT DOES NOT MAKE THEM INHERENTLY MORE VALUABLE FOR MY PURPOSES.]
“And what exactly is your research for, C.H.A.D.D.?”
[I AM WORKING ON THE NEXT VARIANT OF C.H.A.D.D.LINGS. I BELIEVE THAT I SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN UP TO FIVE AT ONCE, AND HAVING A RANGED OPTION TO SUPPORT THE MELEE-FOCUSED ONES WOULD BE HELPFUL.]
“C.H.A.D.D., we haven’t even combat tested the melee variants yet.”
[IT IS ALSO USEFUL FOR ME TO CONSIDER SEED DELIVERY MECHANISMS IN THE FUTURE. THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS RATHER NOVEL COMPARED TO THE RATHER MUNDANE MEANS OF PLANT LIFE ON EARTH.]
Kyle snorted. “Says the drone who’s connected to a World Tree Seed; after absorbing all sorts of natural treasures.”
[AS A POINT OF FACT, NONE OF THE PLANTS ON EARTH HAD D GRADE ABILITITES; THE WORLD TREE SEED EXCEPTED. THE LARGEST RAZORPINES DO. IF I WANT TO CONTINUE TO ELEVATE THE QUALITY OF THE PLANTS I WORK WITH, THE WHOLE PROCESS IS IMPORTANT.]
“Then how about this,” Kyle countered. “Let’s at least go take a look at the more powerful razorpines, and we can evaluate from there. Otherwise, I’ll go investigate, and you’re welcome to fly around here and continue collecting data.”
[I KNOW YOU ARE TRYING TO MANIPULATE ME, DR. MAYHEW.]
“Is it working?”
[YES. HOW MUCH LONGER DO WE HAVE HERE?]
“Our permit extends for another eight days.”
[EXCELLENT. AFTER WE INVESTIGATE THE D GRADE PINES, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOW THE C.H.A.D.D.LINGS HANDLE THE FIRE FROM THE SMALLER TREES, WORKING UP TO THE D GRADES IF THEY PERFORM SUFFICIENTLY.]
Kyle grinned. “That’s something I can work with.”
Without another word, he took off toward the nearest crimson crown, all but ignoring the smaller bombardments. The intensity of the blasts increased as he moved past some golden and orange trees, though the environment changed notably when he approached the outer zone of the crimson tree. Despite the regenerative abilities of the stony ground, deep scars and craters remained around the area.
“Are you ready?” Kyle asked.
[I BELIEVE THE BETTER QUESTION IS, ARE YOU?]
Seeing no reason to delay further, Kyle took a breath and stepped closer to the tree. Immediately, he felt a surge of mana through Auric Perception. Power gathered in the tree’s limbs, and Kyle dodged out of the way on instinct as pillars of destructive energy launched from a dozen places, crashing into the spot he’d just been standing. The ground was pulverized, and Kyle saw lingering energy crackling in the newly-formed crater. No seed, though, Kyle realized.
A moment later, another pulse of destruction converged on his location, and this time he elected not to dodge. Crossing his arms and bracing for impact, he met the attack. His shirt, predictably, was shredded by the blast, but other than some light scorch marks, his skin held up well. The same could not be said for his muscles. The attack included immense pressure, and his muscles screamed in protest as they strained against it. Adaptive Regeneration and Tenacious Vigor went to work repairing the damage, and Kyle looked up with anticipation as a seed nearly a meter long was blasted in his direction.
Kyle gritted his teeth as Healing Impetus coursed through his body, and he met the seed head-on. He was knocked back nearly a dozen meters, the seed managing to penetrate nearly an inch into his chest. A moment later, the seed exploded. Needles shredded his skin as the force of the explosion knocked Kyle off his feet, though C.H.A.D.D. activated the flight mechanism of the pack to stabilize him mid-air.
Catching his breath, Kyle pulled the remains of the seed, now only the size of his palm, out of his chest. The wound was already closing, but it had done significantly more damage than Kyle expected. Other than perhaps the abominations, Kyle wasn’t confident that any other D Grade he’d met so far would have escaped from the combination attack without major injury. Of course, most people that come here are working on refining their skills, not standing around to get blown up.
It was both a humbling and important reminder of his own limits. Part of him had begun to grow confident that he could handle most any attack thrown his way by anything short of a C Grade. And with Storm Shelter, that was potentially true. Still, hubris could be deadly. This razorpine gave off a powerful D Grade aura, and it was specialized to do one thing and one thing only; plant seeds in the incredibly durable stone. That level of specialization meant that it could be dangerous, even for somebody like Kyle.
[DR. MAYHEW, ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO ANYTHING WITH THE SEED? IF NOT, MIGHT I REQUEST THAT YOU DRAIN IT?]
“Sorry, C.H.A.D.D. Just a little lost in thought.” With a quick application of Parasitic Resonance, the seed crumbled to dust in his hand as C.H.A.D.D. absorbed the energy.
[IT IS INTERESTING THAT THE TREE USES A MULTI-STEP APPROACH TO TRY AND PLANT. I AM GOING TO PERFORM A SCAN OF THE STONE HERE, BUT I BELIEVE THAT IT MAY BE OF HIGHER QUALITY THAN THE STONE PRESENT IN OTHER AREAS.]
“Feel free. Give me a couple of more minutes to recover, and I’ll go in for another sample.”
The attack from the razorpine got Kyle’s wheels turning, and as the next blast of energy came at him, he activated Repel, lashing out at all angles. The incoming pressure attack was almost entirely disrupted, and as the next of the razorpine seeds came careening toward him, he extended his arms toward it, unleashing a focused Repel directly at the seed.
His skill took a bite out of the seed’s velocity, causing it to detonate early. The blast wave and barrage of needles still stung, but they were nowhere near as deadly as the last seed that he handled. Stepping back to relative safety out of the razorpine’s range, Kyle considered his next steps. He’d progressed leaps and bounds in his application of Repel since unlocking the skill, but he felt that there was much more room for refinement.
He had no issue with using the larger-scale blasts with the skill; Kyle’s challenge was making small, precise applications. If he could detect a projectile or weapon approaching him and deflect it with an instinctive use of Repel, his already impressive defenses would be improved even further. The problem was getting the right amount of force to release from the right spot on his body.
Conceptually, he found it easiest to use the skill with his arms and legs. It just made instinctive sense that the limbs he used for mobility would extend that purpose with Repel. Similarly, he had no trouble visualizing a boost from his back or his shoulders, almost viewing it as if he was being pushed. As the same natural flow of mana became instinctive across his body, Kyle was confident that the more nuanced applications of the skill would follow suit.
The next several days were spent with Kyle testing his theories and defenses against the crimson razorpine, while C.H.A.D.D. happily drained as much mana as he could from both the plants and the hapless Kyle, who had promised to help refill the World Tree Seed’s reserves as best he could. A task that proved difficult, as C.H.A.D.D. was actively incorporating much of its mana in the next iteration of the Knotted Vine Core.
Finally, it was time for C.H.A.D.D.’s ultimate test. The drone had selected a golden razorpine as the target, and the goal was simple; navigate the C.H.A.D.D.lings all the way to the trunk of the tree. The drone had four melee variants ready to go, with its newest creation prepared for ranged support. They had all been outfitted with mana-reinforced bamboo armor over the dark gray stonebloom shell, the bright green equipment standing out in the otherwise gray environment.
The ranged C.H.A.D.D.ling was an odd sight to behold, almost looking like a tree stump set at an angle. Unlike the thin vines that the melee C.H.A.D.D.lings used to move, the ranged variant had thick, wooden legs, moving on them like a crab. The top of the “stump” was hollow, covered in a honeycomb-like pattern. A quick use of Identify made Kyle smile, as he got a sense for what C.H.A.D.D. stashed away.
“Let me know when you’re ready, C.H.A.D.D.,” Kyle said. He’d agreed to help retrieve any of the plant soldiers that were in danger of being totally destroyed.
[NOW!]
To C.H.A.D.D.’s credit, its creations were quick. Unlike the crimson razorpines, which preferred powerful single shots, the golden variants launched a steady stream of seeds at the approaching C.H.A.D.D.lings. The bamboo shields and armor were slowly worn away as the explosions and needles caught them with glancing blows, but there were very few direct hits.
Once the ranged variant got in position, their advance improved even more. While C.H.A.D.D. hadn’t exactly been able to replicate the seed launching abilities of the razorpines, it had been able to incorporate some of their traits. Namely, the midair explosions.
Each volley from the ranged C.H.A.D.D.ling launched bundles of acid-coated needles into the air, which then exploded and rained down in front of the melee line’s advance. The attack completely neutralized the bombardment from the tree, forcing the projectile seeds to explode before they could get too close to the mana-dense C.H.A.D.D.lings.
Kyle felt waves of pride from his drone companion, and he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. While they were far from an elite combat force, the C.H.A.D.D.ling force was something to be reckoned with. E Grade forces would stand very little chance, with weak D Grades also being hard-pressed against the growing formation.
He watched as the units made a regimented retreat, before being returned to the space within the World Tree Seed. Just as he was about to make a quip about how unfair he found it that the drone had a spatial storage, a message came through on his nav bracelet.
Mr. Mayhew,
I hope you have found your stay on Filmir to be a productive one.
Overseer Soffrinax would like to formally invite you to his chambers as a guest to make an introduction, and to discuss a potential joint venture, which his eminence believes you will find interesting.
I will have an escort sent your way in four hours’ time.
Sincerely,
Eileera
Looking down at the tattered remains of his shirt and the dried blood on his skin, Kyle sighed as he turned back toward his lodge.
“Unfortunately, it looks like we need to get cleaned up. We’ve been invited to a meeting.”
[DR. MAYHEW, I FEEL AS THOUGH IT IS PERTINENT TO MENTION THAT VERY LITTLE GOOD SEEMS TO COME FROM YOU ATTENDING MEETINGS.]
“You’re telling me, C.H.A.D.D.”