“Reaching Tier II seems to become a major objective as each day passes.”
- Excerpt from Lieutenant Hans Hoffman’s Journal Entries.
+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++
Ygeian Countryside
AUG 26, 1538 CE
“Bastards…”
Hans muttered those words with a tinge of satisfaction at his work. The dead group of goblins he massacred filled the fields, all of them riddled with bullet holes and the like. Their green bodies, still freshly bleeding, were nothing but a sign of Hans’ growing ruthlessness in pursuit of greater levels.
If there’s anything I can do in the meantime, it’s this. He drove his Wanderfalke forward, one of his front legs disengaging the razors it had that he used to bloodily stomp a large goblin earlier. Quite frankly, the level of Hans’ rampages for the past few days, fueled by him simply generating machine gun rounds with his auto fabricator to farm more AP by killing goblins (and farming levels) meant that the town they had been staying in had become progressively safer.
The death toll for the local monsters, however, had seen a sharp increase—as a few surviving goblins, who hid in the green bushes, cowering and hiding, watched the blood-slicked metal armor of his Wanderfalke, which drove ominously on the fields that became their tribe’s resting place.
Hans however didn’t care, as one of the other reasons he did this was that the town’s mayor specifically requested for it. That, and the road the town was situated in and the surrounding areas could be something that reinforcements going to the fight against the Calamity of Desire could use.
He continued driving forward, slowly, almost as if he was trying to attract attention to himself, as he calmly pressed buttons on his interface. Already, he reached level forty-three, a rapid departure from his previous levels. In fact, he was only a few levels away from reaching Tier II. That, and he already had good news for him.
His AP count had reached a massive eight hundred twenty points, as it seemed that the number of points awarded for him each level was increasing—and he now had a skill slot for himself (which he purposely left open) and an upgrade option open for his mech.
Hmm…, still, the options are not good. Hans thought, eyeing the [SYSTEM] screens in front of him. Once again, it’s only just the ‘Trace the Dots’ upgrade for my machine guns. Then, the skills I can unlock aren’t even open ones. It’s only going to give me a personal sensor of sorts. I mean, it’s useful, but…
Hans stopped his vehicle.
Ah, whatever! I’ll deal with it. If I can’t get an open skill yet and get actual real magic, then damn it, a closed skill it is. We’ll make do with what we have. And as for my mech upgrade.
His eyes looked at the two options.
It was either [UPG: TRACE THE DOTS I], or [UPG: SMOOTH RESPONSE I]. ‘Trace the Dots’, again, was focused on the offensive. It’d give him the ability to fire enchanted rounds at the enemy, even specialized anti-demon rounds. ‘Smooth Response’ on the other hand, was focused on giving him a new form of mech defense. A magical shield. It was a one-time use though at its tier. And the activation times left much to be desired.
Tactically, in combat, once I activate this upgrade, I only get one chance. One chance of making a mistake—and that’s it. No redos. Well…
He laughed a bit.
Except in redoing it when I died.
+++
[UPG: TRACE THE DOTS (TIER I)]
Description:
Unlocks specialized tracer MG rounds for the mech’s coaxials for anti-demon purposes. Further tier increase unlocks more specialized MG rounds.
Tier I: Unlocks ADI, MG24 (Anti-Demon Incendiary, MG24), and ADAP, MG24 (Anti-Demon Armor Piercing, MG24).
Requires [UPG: ARCANE AUTOFABRICATOR] for specialized bullet self-production. Costs arcane points during production.
[UPG: SMOOTH RESPONSE]
Description:
Summons a magical shield surrounding the mech that can block an attack capable of destroying the mech once. Increased tiers grant more chances of blocking attacks. Shield cooldown time is also reduced per tier.
Tier I:
Activation Cost: 20 AP
Activation Duration: Three Minutes
Blocking Chance: 1 (+0)
Cooldown: Four Hours
+++
It’s a strange rule though, but I suppose it makes sense. Hans thought. So this skill will only block an attack capable of, I’m assuming, one-shotting me. As in, a flying APFSDS going straight to my ammo rack type of shtick. Or…I don’t know, those demonic crap. At the very least, that means the chances won’t be used up when I get hit by something the armor can shrug off. But still…only once, and it’s four hours of cooldown?
That essentially meant that he’d need to really increase the tier a lot just to make it useful.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
I mean, cool, but, I think if I fumbled enough that I’ve been hit once by…something bad, then it’s unlikely that I’d get out in time to prevent dying from the next one. Then again…the other one is for my machine guns. It’s hard enough to kill demons with the main gun, how are the machine guns supposed to be useful even if I can fire special ammunition?
At this rate, the best he’d be able to offer Adelyn during combat would be his ability to scout and suppress. Then again, perhaps that made sense, Hans thought. Perhaps, he never was meant to be the one who would kill their opponents. It was her.
My job then…as the Vanguard…is to scan for threats. Learn what they are. And either pin them in place or distract them for the Finisher—Adelyn, to finish them off. That must be why her skills are all dedicated to killing demons directly. While mine are usually only for detection. I’m her glorified sensor.
Perhaps, that explains why I have the ability to loop through time. Each time I came back, I would always conjure a better plan for Adelyn to eliminate those demons.
Perhaps, perhaps that indeed made sense. Then should he take the skill that would give him the ability to pin and suppress demonic threats? Sure, a hail of heavy machine gun rounds designed to deal with a demon wouldn’t be able to kill it—but it would hurt it. Force it into positions it shouldn’t be in. And he could attack with impunity and rapidly.
Hmm…I’m not yet sure though. The defense upgrade, while not perfect, is still very good and something I shouldn’t just pass by without a second thought. This is after all the last upgrades I’ll be able to take until the next tier.
Wait—
Out of nowhere, Hans’ instincts flared, and he pulled off his mech back as a glowing bullet slammed straight into the dirt. The bullet pierced through it deeply, and Hans immediately activated his ‘Eye of Paranoia’ skill as he drove into a rapid retreat, clocking twenty to thirty kilometers per hour of reverse speed with his mech’s legs in just a few short seconds.
He moved his turret left and right, scanning for anything that he could pick up. Already, he switched back to his thermals and found himself looking at an ominous-looking floating metal shaped like an X in the woods. The thing seemed to have these small things that he couldn’t make sense of floating around it, and the thing was exceedingly hot—almost a beacon on his thermals.
The floating things suddenly opened fire—which forced Hans to take cover in the hills, only exposing his turret, as more shots came from the other floating objects around it. He zoomed further with his thermals, finally realizing what it was. They were guns. Muskets. Both long muskets and pistols. Floating around a hot, metallic, floating X.
It’s a demon. Hans realized. It can’t be anything else. I thought they’d only take the form of a damned malformed creature, but this thing…
His grip on his controls tightened.
This thing is different.
“An abstract, almost alien-like appearance,” Hans said as he gave it a good look. Suddenly, it flew straight in his direction, and Hans responded by pulling the trigger on his main gun. The shot immediately whizzed in its direction, but it dodged it, as two more muskets flew and aimed in Hans’ direction.
Hans immediately pulled out of his previous position, as one shot grazed above him, and another pierced straight through his hull. He however only continued driving away, as a warning appeared on his displays. His fuel tanks were damaged—in fact, one of the hit fuel tanks already exploded into an open blaze in a split second, only ended by his automatic fire control systems.
This is bad.
+++
Hans had been parrying the enemy demon for a while now. It seemed that it was scared of his shots—taking cover whenever Hans opened fire with his main gun. But the same mentality was shared in Hans’ case. He already had himself hit by its guns a few times, damaging some of his mech’s components. Already, his engine, propulsion, and even his mech’s turret ring were struck by those fast bullets.
The damage however was limited. The advanced maintenance systems of his mech managed to mostly patch up the superficial damage that got through his vehicle’s hull. But Hans was already worried. The damage to his turret ring for example struck something bad, that his turret’s turn rate was slowed down.
He was having trouble keeping his main gun pointed at his adversary as they circled each other in the woods. But Hans had another good chance. The demon decided to expose itself to fire its floating guns—right when Hans peeked out of a boulder. In a second, his main gun was aimed, and he opened fire.
The 90mm APFSDS round careened toward his target as Hans pulled back into cover, slamming straight into one of the corners of its X-shaped body. The solid shot went through it, creating a hole that went from one side to the other. And Hans internally celebrated the small win.
But the thing glowed golden in response, changing from its gray, metallic color. As it did, Hans watched as all of the guns spinning around it flew in a dispersed manner, all of them aiming straight at his mech as it flew into a direction that exposed Hans’ Wanderfalke.
Naturally, Hans decided that it wasn’t advantageous to be targeted by that, and pulled out as quickly as he could, trying to use the woods as a way to hide himself. But, it tracked him expertly, flying and chasing him from behind. Naturally, Hans punished it for that mistake, firing his main gun again to force it to stop and duck into the cover of the forest.
But it was taking a toll on him.
Damn it. I might need Adelyn’s aid soon. I thought I could take on it alone!
Hans stopped his mech, as he pulled the trigger for his machine guns, all while tracking the demonic X object chasing him. It was already starting to fly high to chase him, about forty to fifty meters above the sky. Beads of sweat already appeared on Hans’ forehead, realizing that he was now practically exposed no matter how hard he used the terrain around him.
Damn it! It’s like an attack helicopter or something!
He pulled hard on his control stick to make an emergency turn, as the guns that floated around it opened fire, raining bullets on the place ahead of him where he would have been had he not pulled a last-second hard turn. But Hans didn’t stop. He continued driving on the deer trail that he spotted, trying to get out of the woods as fast as he could, all while his machine guns tracked and opened fire on the demonic object that glowed gold as it continued chasing him.
Already, his senses suffered an overload, as he tried to drive at high speed on one hand, and keep his turret (aimed at the sky and his rear) on the target and keep his guns firing. It was…pain. Especially when another set of shots finally rained on his mech’s rear, causing yet another fire from his fuel tanks. This time, however, his mech stopped to a bloody halt as the engines shut down.
Damn it! Damn it! Get back up!
He began tapping on his screens to get the automatic maintenance systems up into action, first engaging the auxiliary fire control systems, then trying to get the engines back on. But more shots began slamming into his unarmored Wanderfalke. One of which went straight into his cockpit, creating a hole into one of his displays as it exited.
More shots began raining on his mech, each of them disabling component after component on his mech. The engine. The autoloader. One even pierced the sensitive instruments for his thermals, essentially blinding him.
Hans banged his targeting display as it shut down dead, before grabbing his pistol and SMG, realizing that his mech was essentially dead on the ground, completely disabled by the continuous attacks. But before he could reach for his hatch and exit, a shot pierced through his Kevlar vest—going in and out of his chest.
Heh…of course…
He laughed, as he fell back into his seat, feeling the hot, searing pain flaring out as he struggled to breathe. More shots pierced his downed mech, with another one hitting his shoulder, then his legs. Blood began to ooze from his wounds.
Of course…
It was supposed to be just a hunting side job.
Of course…
He coughed up blood, as the sounds of shots continued around him.
Out of nowhere, I’ll be ambushed by a demon alone…
He took his pistol in his unaffected hand, and he slowly took his pistol into his mouth, as for the first time…he was tired of slowly dying in pain after an unexpected screw-up.
He’d be back anyway.
Screw it.
The last bang came from the Peacemaker’s cockpit.