4 hours later…

The army was on the move again. They had reached the edge of the forest, and apparently had opted to break formation to move through the trees. It hampered their progress, and I estimated I still had a few hours before I could attack. Suddenly, I received a notification that the gifts for Aurea were done. Considering they were quite large, I used Boar to take the biggest one and ordered a Montana to take the rest.Taking them from the fabricator, I set it to make caltrops and before heading towards the cabin.

“What in the Mother’s name is that thing?” exclaimed Aurea when she saw what I was carrying.

Setting it down with a thud, I answered, “An exo-suit, specially tailored for a stubborn bastard.”

“Ex-o-suit?” she repeated with a doubtful look on her face.

“It increases your strength and speed, while also acting as a suit of armor.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The exo-suit was 2 and a half meters tall, only slightly shorter than Boar. The exo-suit was painted a dark green color, helping it to blend into the background of the forest. Leather straps hung from various places on the inside where Aurea would be strapped in, while synthetic cushioning helped protect against chafing and collisions. The outside of the forearms had small spikes molded on the outside, designed to deter attackers or as a close combat weapon. Unfortunately, the exo-suit had to be operated through the use of manual controls. Back on Earth, exo-suits had developed to a point where they could be controlled by thought alone. Compared to those, this exo-suit was a sad piece of scrap. I tailored it to suit Aurea’s fighting styles, with loaded springs to help her stiletto penetrate through tough armor and strong structural supports for when she used a claymore. Beckoning the Montana closer, I revealed my second gift, new, larger weapons for use in the exo-suit. They were practically identical to her original armaments aside from the larger size. Aurea understood their purpose without me having to explain. I quickly showed her how to enter and exit the exo-suit. She picked up on it quickly, and before long was slowly moving in the exo-suit. The suit's hydraulics caused it to let out a low whine as it moved, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

“You have a few hours to practice. Talk to your instructor robots, they might have some useful advice on what to expect in the coming battle.”

“Thanks Evan.”

“No. Thank you.”