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Chapter 231

[SHORTER BURSTS, DR. MAYHEW. YOU ARE STILL WASTING NEARLY 23% OF YOUR TOTAL MANA EXPENDITURE.]

Kyle swore quietly, activating Repel again, this time at the bottom of his left foot. It was a short, quick burst, enough to keep him aloft. Unfortunately, as before, there was some leakage, causing the trajectory of Kyle’s propulsion to shift. Ignition was active, and he preemptively activated both Adaptive Regeneration and Healing Impetus as he was propelled directly into one of the stone pillars. He smashed into it, and then fell straight to the ground 5 meters below with a loud crash.

“I made it to the third step this time,” Kyle panted, standing up and dusting himself off.

[YOU ALSO THREW YOUSELF INTO A STONE PILLAR, AND FELL DOWN,] C.H.A.D.D. countered. [I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL FIND YOUR CURRENT PROGRESS SUFFICIENT, DR. MAYHEW.]

“You can’t blame me for trying, C.H.A.D.D.” Kyle grinned. “And it would be super helpful to be able to maneuver midair.”

[I AM NOT DISAGREEING WITH YOUR ASSESSMENT, MERELY THE TIMING,] C.H.A.D.D. shot back. [MUCH LIKE A CHILD NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO DRAW LINES BEFORE THEY CAN WRITE, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO WORK ON MORE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS BEFORE YOU WASTE ANOTHER ENTIRE DAY TRYING TO FLY.]

Kyle was about to say something in his defense, but stopped himself. Other than 2 initial visits to the infirmary to see the tests being run on Drokh, Kyle and C.H.A.D.D. spent most of the last 3 weeks training inside the compound. Of those, Kyle had spent the last 4 days trying to get a handle on airborne movement. Not that he would quit altogether, but C.H.A.D.D. was right that there were other things to work on first.

With a sigh, Kyle looked at the vine-wrapped pack scampering up and down one of the stone pillars. “You’ve got a good point, C.H.A.D.D. I’m going to take a minute to reset, do some work with the tomes, and then get back to basics.”

[A WISE DECISION, DR. MAYHEW.]

Settling into a nearby chair, Kyle infused his mana into the first of the small tomes. Pushing out his distractions, he focused his energy on the ink in the pages, forming words as he flipped them, as if in a trance. Hitting his limit, he moved on to the second, then the third, the exercises becoming more natural as he had more time to practice.

Finally, removing his hand from the last book, he evaluated his results. 178, 164, and 190, Kyle thought. A fairly major improvement from when he left the hub, owing in no small part to the amount of practice he’d been able to get in. With a little over 50 levels until he hit C Grade, the goal of 500 pages on each tome felt like it might just be attainable.

Kyle knew he’d need a little time to recharge before getting back to practice, and he went to grab a snack while looking for any missed messages from the Resistance. While they’d gotten some communication, the appearance of the shrikes inside the walls was significant enough to put a pause on peace negotiations while they launched a full investigation.

For his part, Kyle simply provided the slates he uncovered in the first shrike nest. He already got much more involved than he probably should have in that side of things, and he committed to seeing this leg of his job through. Joining the Resistance Shrike Patrol could be a productive use of time, but he suspected he’d get enough opportunity to fill his core doing some hunting on his own. Besides, Hanastrel and Ver’ah were both leading parties to investigate. So long as they didn’t encounter any other alphas, they’d be fine.

Kyle was just about to get back to training, when a notification rang through the house. Checking it, Kyle saw that it was from Drokh.

Courier,

Two pieces of news. First, I’m being fitted for a prosthetic leg today if you want to attend the appointment. I also received word from Her Majesty that she’ll be holding council tomorrow morning, and your presence has been requested.

Hanastrel and Ver’ah also asked me to pass along their well-wishes, as you’ll likely have departed before they return.

-Drokh

A smile grew on Kyle’s face as he read the message over. He enjoyed having some time to relax and train, but it felt good to know that the job was continuing to move forward. Looking up at the C.H.A.D.D., who was currently suspended between 2 pillars, Kyle called, “Drokh is finally ready for the prosthesis! Get down so we can go!”

[IN A MOMENT, DR. MAYHEW.] With those words, the vines suspending C.H.A.D.D. let go of the pillars they’d wrapped around, leaving the pack to plummet toward the hard ground. Kyle felt mana flowing for a moment, right as a nest of springy roots emerged from the cocoon-like shell surrounding the C.H.A.D.D. pack. The impact was almost entirely nullified, and C.H.A.D.D. scuttled forward on a dozen small vines as the longer vines and roots began to retract into the body of the pack.

He knew it would be a while before the drone was able to retract all the vines and roots, so he took the opportunity to freshen up and get ready to visit Drokh. Just as C.H.A.D.D. was finishing up, Kyle walked over, giving the drone an unimpressed look. “You realize that your pack is made of D Grade metals, right? There’s no way a fall from that height would be dangerous.”

[ALL THE BETTER REASON TO TEST WHEN THE RISKS ARE LIMITED, DR. MAYHEW.]

“But the risk of dying from old age increases when it takes you that long to retract your vines,” Kyle shot back as he shouldered the pack.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

[THAT IS IN NO WAY A RISK, DR. MAYHEW.]

Deciding not to continue antagonizing the drone, Kyle stepped out of their temporary home to see a vehicle already waiting, with a well-dressed ogre standing beside it. As soon as he saw Kyle approaching, he bowed deeply. “Greetings, Courier. I’ve been asked to provide transport to the facility where Lord Drokh is being treated, if your intent is to visit.”

Kyle nodded, stepping into the open carriage. “Thank you for your help.”

The carriage left the residence, capturing a lot of attention as it did. By now, the locals heard that an alien from the stars above was living in the guest quarters. As such, more than a few were very interested in trying to catch a glimpse, even going as far as to linger around his area in their down time. The Resistance put out communication that he was to be left alone, but a memo could only do so much.

Despite the delays caused by crowds of onlookers, the carriage arrived at the medical facility in reasonable time. Kyle thanked the driver before walking in the side entrance prepared for him. He was ushered past the security checkpoint, and then guided up to the operating room, where Drok’s medical team, led by a D Grade troll Healer named Pi’cott, waited.

“Ah, here comes the Courier now,” Dr. Pi’cott said, her smile spreading ear to ear. “It’s so nice to see the young take an interest in our work, humble as it is.” She was a diminutive troll with a pronounced hunch in her back, who apparently had been working for the royal family of Er’Mithren for the better part of the past century.

Kyle smiled in reply, offering a slight bow. “I appreciate you letting me come observe. It’s a valuable experience for me to learn.”

Her smile managed to grow even larger. “Well, let’s make use of the time while we wait for Lord Drokh to arrive. What do you remember from his chart?”

“You were able to remove the remaining shards of stone, got him started on manual exercises with an emphasis on core strength. If I understood, your goal was to help him with balance and strength before getting the prosthesis done,” Kyle said.

Pi’cott nodded her approval. “Quite so. Of course, as strong as he is, it makes little practical difference, but even small miscalculations can cause headwinds. The real treatment will start after we get his new leg attached.”

With that, she led Kyle over to a table covered by a cloth. She removed it, and Kyle’s eyes were immediately drawn to a pale violet crystal in the center. Even though it wasn’t leaking any mana, Kyle didn’t need Identify to understand that he was looking at a rare natural treasure.

“What is this?” He asked, not taking his eyes off the crystal.

“This will be the core of his prosthesis, and what we’ll be fitting him for today,” Dr. Pi’cott said proudly. “Ordinarily, even for our elites, we wouldn’t have access to resources like these. Her Majesty made an exception for Lord Drokh, and let me tell you, this was a treat to craft.” She paused for a moment, gesturing to a group of goblins standing nearby. “They certainly enjoyed it, at least. Tell me, what do you think this does?”

Kyle took the opportunity to activate Identify, looking at the crystal with all the insight his skill could provide. Almost imperceptible runic formations crossed the plain bar of crystal, some of which looked to be some permutation of an accumulation array. These were superimposed by a set designed for containment, which is what kept any mana from leaking out of the stone.

Looking beyond these sigils, Kyle focused his attention on the energy within the crystal. It didn’t hold a tremendous amount of mana, and it took him a moment before he finally understood what he was looking at. “This is Drokh’s mana,” Kyle whispered. It wasn’t a close approximation; it was the genuine article. Somehow, this crystal was slowly producing mana with an identical signature to Drokh’s.

Dr. Pi’cott smiled at him like a teacher looking at her star pupil. “You’re exactly right. We’ve learned through the years that for awakened, particularly powerful folks like Lord Drokh, prosthetics can be a hindrance more than a help if they’re not done correctly. If somebody tries to activate a skill using a prosthesis that isn’t connected to their mana network, nothing good happens. The key is to get the right attunement so that it can integrate appropriately, and then build the rest of the prosthesis around it.”

Kyle nodded in understanding. “So, when you mentioned a fitting, you’re actually looking to ensure that the mana signatures match well enough.”

“Quite so!” Dr. Pi’cott exclaimed. “Of course, the process of removing all attuned mana from a crystal like this is arduous; to say nothing of actually inscribing it! But I think we did well here.”

“You certainly did,” Kyle murmured. His thoughts were already racing, considering how he might apply the same principle for a certain drone in his pack.

If Dr. Pi’cott noticed his distraction, she didn’t indicate it as she talked about ogre physiology, and her plan to fuse this directly to the bones in Drokh’s leg. She was just beginning a discussion of the intricacies of ogre bone marrow when she was interrupted by notice that Drokh arrived at the clinic. Heavy footfalls heralded the ogre’s approach, and a moment later the door opened, revealing Drokh’s form.

The first thing Kyle noticed was that the older ogre looked tired. Not the exhaustion from travel and combat, but rather the weariness Kyle recognized from too many hours stuck in meetings and administrative burdens. Drokh gave Kyle an appraising look, then nodded. “Good to see you again, Courier. I see you’ve already met with the medical team.”

“Good to see you, too, Drokh.” Kyle replied. “Thank you for letting me observe, all of you.” Kyle said this last part turning to the other members of the team and Dr. Pi’cott, who all nodded.

The elderly troll looked at Drokh with a smile. “Well then, shall we begin?”

Kyle watched as they ran a battery of tests to ensure the mana was a qualitative match, even going so far as to have Drokh infuse some energy into the crystal while they observed to ensure there were no adverse reactions. With that done, the ogre was given a powerful anesthetic before the crystal was attached.

The whole process took nearly 4 hours, with Kyle keeping Identify active nearly the whole time. His notes were extensive, with particular emphasis on connecting the crystal to Drokh’s mana pathways. The theories excited him, even if Kyle was still a long way from a practical understanding.

Just before Drokh was booked in for overnight observation, he asked to speak with Kyle privately. Dr. Pi’cott and her team gave their farewells, and when they were alone Drokh’s expression darkened.

“You meet with Her Majesty tomorrow. Unfortunately, I will be unable to join. Tell me, Kyle, what do you intend to do?” Drokh asked.

“I’m just here to make a delivery, nothing more, nothing less,” Kyle said.

Drokh chuckled. “If only it were that simple. Let me be clear, Kyle; the Resistance is struggling. You’ve done a service for our people, and despite my best efforts Her Majesty’s attachment to me has only further grown your esteem in her eyes.

“Though you see your role as a mere delivery person, I am of the belief that Her Majesty, and many others have read into your actions more than they ought. This is not a slight to you, but I ask that you keep it in mind tomorrow. I don’t want to see the Resistance put in a worse position because of a misplaced loyalty.”

Kyle considered the ogre’s words, then nodded. “I’ll do my best, Drokh. I meant what I told you when we met, I truly hope a peaceful resolution can be reached.”

Drokh gave a weary smile. “You and me both, Courier.”