ARC2/C39 – Skill learning and adaptation part 2
For some reason the word “Boss” came into Traksis’ mind when she saw the beast before her.
Making the other golems look like snowballs in comparison, this gargantuan beast towered, almost reaching the ceiling of this particular cavern. Looking up she found it hard to judge just how large it was. Had this thing been engineered by the Seracians or something? It did not make sense for there to be such a massive discrepancy between the other golems and this one.
It looked similar to the larger, fifty footers but it had even more metallic looking. This thing would easily wipe out the squadrons looking on. Probably by just sitting down.
She wish she had someway of determining the tier of these things. But then she remembered she had or rather AF reminded her. [Absorption Field Projection] labelled it as level 50.
Clearly someone else who could analyse it as the order came to retreat. But soon after it was realised that a trap had been sprung and rather than being able to retreat some mechanism had been activated forcing the tunnels closed and trapping those here.
There was no cover for the few thousand troops here, leaving Traksis with two choices. Open up the tunnels again to try and evacuate people or try and take on the beast some how her self.
She had to concede that neither was ideal as both looked like they would take far too long.
Maybe she could make her own tunnel? She used [Absorption field projection] on the solid rock of the cavern wall. This gave her no actual SP from the absorption and caused her to lose SP instead from using the skill but it worked.
So she continued to use the skill on a section of the back wall behind the mass of troops. Keeping the section about ten feet tall. She left some sections still standing to avoid possible cave in.
The troops didn’t need to be told, they as the sound of the golems slow approach shook the whole cavern. They moved quickly into the ever increasing depths of the shaft. Ten feet, Twenty feet then a hundred feet.
She didn’t need AF to tell her how much her SP had dropped she could see it. Down from 21k to 4k in under a minute. A massive depletion of her reserves. She just hoped it could keep them safe.
Immeditately she used [Absorption field projection] on the golem but it failed to activate as its level was too high. So she instead flew up behind it and used [Energy Drain] to try and replenish her SP.
She also thought it wouldn’t notice the AOE skill thus avoiding it targeting her. Other skills absorption skills also failed to activate. This was useful to know if she ever met up with Korpos again.
[Mind Dominion] seemed to slow the golem. Which was useful as she was still wary of what it could do to her impromptu shelter for the troops who were all packed in like sardines. What were sardines? Focus, focus thought Traksis.
She flew down landing on the back of one of its massive shoulders and used [Heat Absorption]. A few chunks flaked off its massive body but nothing else.
Her SP was now up to around 10k making her think that fleeing might not be a bad idea. She had stopped the troops being flattened and she felt taking on this beast would be an incredibly long and dangerous fight. And indeed quite unnecessary as AF reminded her.
She found AF had a very calming effect on her natural predatorial instincts.
Flying down to where she spotted her group leader in the new tunnel, she told him that she had spotted an opening further back that they might just be able to squeeze troops through and possibly find a way out of here. While at the same time kept using [Mind Dominion] on the golem.
AF had calculated that she would just have enough SP to continue to make several tunnels leading back up to join the original tunnel system.
After half an hour she was able to drop [Mind Dominion] as the last troops made it back into the tunnel system proper. With no control over the beast, she felt it start to move, through the shaking of the walls in the tunnels. Then an almighty crash made everyone either fall or drop to their feet as it began to hammer presumably at where its prey had escaped.
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On their hands and knees the troops scrabbled along the tunnel floors as crumbling rocks began to fall from above their heads. Worried of a total collapse, Traksis flew back down the tunnel in stealth and arrived back in the chamber with the golem again.
It had smashed through much of the rock at the back of the chamber leaving Traksis no choice but to make another tunnel with her small remaining SP.
She had no choice but to do this as using [Mind Dominion] for a prolonged amount of time on the golem would use up all her SP. She had to instead reach the golem so she could use [Energy Drain] on it to recoup some of her lost SP and power the mind control ability for long enough for the troops to get away out of the tunnels. Or at least far enough away.
In the end, Traksis decided to just stay in the chamber while her SP refilled slowly. It would take several hours but she presumed they would just think her dead and leave safely.
When she finally got to leave the MR she was glad to see all the troops had exited and had set up as massive camp outside the MR. Apparently quite a lot of troops had sustained injuries if not at this MR but at other ones nearby and were being treated here. She found her group leader eventually and expected a reprimand instead she received a commendation for finding a way out of the tunnel and saving thousands of troops lives.
She stated that anyone could have found the exit but she was commended all the same.
Ignoring the hustle and bustle of the camp, Traksis went off to find some solitude. And for the first time in weeks she slept knowing her preservation skill would keep her safe and also that if their was anything powerful she could do little about it but flee.
She was awoken by one of her group who shook her awake. He backed off quickly when he saw her look. “SS-Sorry Officer” She was an officer now, that was news to her. She hoped that didn’t mean she had even less chance of sneaking off by herself. If that was the case she would just have to uncommendate herself.
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They didn’t enter another MR for a while. They had received direct orders only to engage the enemy on the home world as the losses had been too much higher in the MR.
Settling back into a steady grind, Traksis got into her rhythm and before she knew it it was time for a rotation again. She thought to hell with it and told her group leader that she had plenty of SP left and didn’t need to rest. He eyed her sceptically but knowing how high her level was it was quite plausible. So he allowed her to remain.
But told her that where he came from it was good practise to replenish your SP even if you could go on.
As soon as his back was turned she headed off into the MR to wipe out their enemies. She wasn’t sure how the enemies tactics were really meant to work again as the same forested area appeared before her. She surmised that the same advantages of terrain existed.
This time the advantage was all hers of course as she lit up the forest with [Pyro Kinesis] just to practise the skill. Then flew through the area using [Absorption field projection] as she went, to clear out the area. It had been annoying how the skill had not even activated on a higher level opponent but she had some ideas of what to try next time. It might not work but why not try?
Moving like a human torch through the tunnels she wove in and out smoking all there. Not bothering with the smaller area of golems she sort out again the boss.
She found a similar sized one, to all intense and purposes. And immediately put her plan into action while it was still near the centre of the cavern.
Tunneling the rock had given her an idea that she intended to employ to the full.
The golem slowly, one juddering, drop at a time, begain to descend as Traksis absorbed the stone and earth beneath it. She had to do it quickly as the amount of rock was immense.
Once the golem tried to step up out of the hole it was in, she had to use [Mind Dominion] to stop its escape. She then continued to use [Absorption field projection] and [Energy Drain] at the same time.
It would have been impossible for her to actually trap the golem in a hole but she could sink both its legs up to its shins in rock. Rock that was sculpted to fit as snuggly as a pair of socks.
This of course caused the golem to fall over. But not before Traksis had taken shelter in her own specially designed pocket of rock.
To Traksis’ great delight the next part of her plan was a success. The huge impact on the cavern floor caused a large amount of the cavern itself to collapse. Raining down onto the golem, pinning it to the ground, mostly. The combination of trapped ankles and many hundreds of tones of rock on top of it, made it incapable of rising,
Now the golem was fairly stationary, she took refuge in a safe place in the chamber and let her SP recharge using [Energy Drain].
Then proceeded to phase to of her plan. She used [Absorption field projection] not on the rock and not on the golem directly but on his body. If rock could be absorbed then rock monster could be absorbed she had reasoned. AF had thought it worth a try.
Now at last she had a way of taking on something, that had a higher level than hers. Essentially a brute force attack.
Slowly, painstakingly she whittled away the golems giant frame. Aiming as near to where she imagined is core space was until it died.
How was she going to explain her absence this time?