(Ruins Exploration, Ellipsis Base)
The good gods would never bestow anything to a sinner like you.
- Loading Blurb
While my other self is playing hooky with a woman and drawing, I will do the manly stuff! We are the second of the controller/agent forks dedicated to this game.
After the previous level, I got teleported back to base, beaten and bruised. I dragged my battered body, one limp at a time and tossed myself into the synthesis pod. Then I give the order to take it apart into constituent molecules and put it back together again, as good as new. Then I emerged and without dressing, went into one of the other rooms before jumping into a bath.
Ahhhhhh!!! Bliss!
As the warm water heated my body, I started thinking about my next move. Crossing my slender legs outside the tub, I relaxed and with a mental command, brought up the interface.
> EBA: Congratulations for your mission success, mistress!
> Level Selection
> Loadout (80/200)
> Database (29 new!)
I hadn’t had time to check out the mission rewards yet, and I do so now.
* Symbiotics Base Battle Gauntlet A-5 (rank 2.1)
* Symbiotics Base Combat Dagger A-6 (rank 2.0)
* Symbiotics Base Short Sword A-8 (rank 2.0)
* Symbiotics Base Long Sword A-9 (rank 2.1)
* Symbiotics Base Great Hammer A-10 (rank 2.2)
* Symbiotics Base Handgun B-8 (rank 2.2)
* Symbiotics Base SMG C-2 (rank 2.2)
* Symbiotics Base Combat Shotgun D-5 (rank 2.3)
* Symbiotics Base Assault Rifle E-15 (rank 2.3)
* Symbiotics Base Battle Rifle E-16 (rank 2.3)
* Symbiotics Base MG F-14 (rank 2.3)
* Symbiotics Base Remote Grenade Launcher G-0 (rank 2.4)
* Symbiotics Base CGR Launcher H-0 (rank 2.4)
* Symbiotics Base Remote Grenades (rank 2.3)
+ Fragmentation I-0
+ Smoke I-1
+ Incendiary I-2
+ Acid I-3
+ Flashbang I-4
+ EMP I-5
+ HE I-6
* Symbiotics Base CGRs (rank 2.4)
+ Fragmentation J-0
+ Smoke J-1
+ Incendiary J-2
+ Acid J-3
+ Flashbang J-4
+ EMP J-5
+ HE J-6
* Symbiotics Base Autocannon L-6 (rank 2.4)
* Symbiotics Base Sniper Rifle S-11 (rank 2.4)
“Hmmm, hmmm, hmhmhmh!” I started humming cutely in the bathroom in order to please the viewers. A beauty like myself doing this in the bath would surely make those watching my anime happy.
Let me think about the haul.
The gauntlets are pretty wicked. They come with forearm protectors, as well as spiked knuckles. Wouldn’t want to get punched by those. The combat dagger was the same one as I used during the Lightning Wild test. Much like the short and long sword it is made of some kind of composite steel that has an interesting wave pattern.
The great hammer is something else. Rather than being a lump of steel like the blades, it has a rocket propellant in its head, greatly amplifying its destructive power. On impact or mental command the explosives stored in the head would detonate to crush anything underneath. I’d need to train a bit to master it, but I bet this weapon would be great for sneak attacks against those armored robots. I can just imagine using a single powerful overhead strike to turn one of those heavily protected machines into crushed tin cans. The great windup and a great release of power would be required to do it, and I bet it would feel great to smash it down on an enemy. But I can also imagine the robot just turning around while I am winding up my swing and turning me to swiss instead. Hence, it would be smarter to just use the Computer Guided Rocket Launcher since the cost is not an issue for me.
I spent a ton of chips at the time, nearly going broke at Eloe’s shop, to just get the basic firearms from the Symbiotics family, but now I have those and more just by clearing a single level of Ruins Exploration. Still, I do not regret it as putting myself out there got me a connection with Eloe and Lightning Wild.
The launchers will come in handy and since I’ve been fighting robots the EMP variants caught my special attention. EMP grenades can also be hand thrown as well. The frag variant I already bought from Eloe.
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The autocannon is 120kg and is too heavy for me to carry, so that is out right now, but if I got a better body, it might be a viable weapon in some situations. Plus I can always synthesize it on the spot instead of carrying the huge load everywhere. I’d have to do it, since given its weight there is no way I could load it out.
“Hngghhh!” I give my body a stretch and lie back in the bath, sending small ripples across the surface. The bathroom is small, but is nice and warm. Let me think further.
I am done checking out my new equipment. Against the robots my hunch is that rockets and grenades will be more useful than the firearms. The spiderbots are badasses and I do not want to face them in direct combat again. They must have been designed to fight other vehicles, so in a way, I’ve been going toe-to-toe with tanks. But the firearms will be useful in the Heaven’s Key tournament.
I open the level selector and look for my next target.
(Ruins Exploration, Level Select - Adna Willin)
At first, the 3d hologram of a globe manifested before my eyes, and then its wireframe was filled with texture. It was an arid desert world, devoid of structures. There was some resemblance that the shallower parts used to be seas there, and taller ones that used to be mountains, but they have all been crushed to yellow and white powder by the Calamity talked about in the scenario description.
As I watch, the globe zooms in on an area, turning into a flat map. A square grid gets overlaid over it.
In the middle is a green rectangle signifying my own position. I focus on it, and it gets selected. It zooms into it and all I see is a patch of desert. Then the map moves into a side view. A few dozen meters into the ground, I see what should be my base.
[https://i.imgur.com/Tqinsxh.png]
> Ellipsis Base
> A resting place for a Sleeper who uploaded himself onto a brain core to escape the Calamity.
> Previously, the property of the Adna Corporation.
I cancel the selection and go back to the local area grid map. 3 red patches are around my base’s position, grabbing my attention.
I select one and it gives me an overhead view of the level I played previously.
There was a small black building, the entrance to the research output, as well as the crumbled, lifeless settlement in the desert that surrounds it.
[https://i.imgur.com/HeeXbKT.png]
> Research Facility Zillen Outpost X-22
> The Zillen research facility was Adna Corp’s minor weapons research facility before the Rank 6 Calamity struck. As such various knowledge of weaponry still remains in its data vaults, as well as in active use in its sentries. Caution is advised. Combat is not recommended.
As I focus, the map goes into a sideways view.
I see a blueprint of the base in blue. I have the option of selecting the level to go into. There are a total of 5 floors.
> Top (Rank 3.0, Cleared, Reward: Symbiotics Base Weaponry)
> F1 (Rank 3.1, Reward: Symbiotics Base Robotics)
> F2 (Rank 3.2, Locked, Reward: Symbiotics Base Ammunition)
> F3 (Rank 3.3, Locked, Reward: Symbiotics Base Robotics Sensors)
> F4 (Rank 3.3, Locked, Reward: Symbiotics Base Artillery)
> F5 (Rank 3.4, Locked, Reward: Symbiotics Base Robotics Weaponry)
Now that I’ve cleared the Top level, I have access to the other 5.
Sigh. I let myself sink into the water for a bit and blow some bubbles out. This is how a game should be. Not just staring at the golden abyss for 50 years at a time.
Anyway, the other two dungeons I can access have body enhancements as well as utility items. The robotics synthesis programs are of great interest to me here as they would allow me to scout using small drones, create various kinds of traps, as well as ground-based weapons platforms.
Consider the Top floor that I’ve cleared. As badass as the adventure was, instead of battling the bots and nearly getting myself destroyed, I could have played this much smarter. I could have baited the 3 bots to the other side of the map, while I sneak past them into the installation. I could have gotten rid of all the weight, got a clone body and have her do the baiting while I snuck from the side. Some smoke grenades for cover and the level would have been clear.
With robotics, instead of letting my clone be shredded, I could have mounted the sniper rifle on a platform and had it fire on my mental command before having it retreat behind cover. If I could get access to the robot synthesis programs, my combat power will explode. For real world uses, I really need mini and micro drones though. I am not going to be challenging humanity’s armed forces directly until much later. In order to make money quickly instead I need powers that would let me act as a spy.
Why would I even need money, you ask? Because it would be lame to spend my entire self improvement loop hiding in a garbage heap, that’s why! It is pure vanity, but there is no need to favor security to the point of paranoia.
Having thought things through I get out of the bath. I go back into the main room, step into the synthesizer pod, give it the order to get back the military style clothing that I’d lost along with the loadout. Then after I get out, I select F1 from the RF Zillen Outpost X-22 and feel the light of teleportation transporting me.
The plan is simple - before I can do anything significant, I need to check out the enemy composition and the floor layout. If it is too tough, I’ll try challenging the other levels.