(Ruins Exploration, Research Facility Zillen Outpost X-22, F1)

(TODO Image: A large gun barrel about 8m long, sticking out of a semi-sphere and mounted atop of a six-legged MWP is firing a shell below it from atop a high building. A blast of fire larger than it erupts from its muzzle as it does so. Down below, amongst the cracked, parched desert there are ruins of a small settlement that used to be there ages ago, and far at the other end of the level there are 3 spiderbots standing guard inertly in front of a black building.)

BLAM!

The whole building shook as the shot went off. For all I knew it might have collapsed from the 5 ton vehicle being suddenly pressed into the rooftop had the shot been fired in an upwards direction, but it was firing from above and leaning downward so that was not an issue. The spiderbot shook slightly from the force of the recoil, but quickly alighted itself.

When the shot went off, I was standing a few feet away and a sharp gust of wind battered me, blowing my long reddish hair around. It was quite a powerful blast, I felt the shockwave all the way to my bones.

As I watched, the rotating shell flew through the air at 3 times the speed of sound, before impacting in the middle of the group of spiderbots in front of the building a second later, exactly where I aimed it for. The shell detonated in a fiery plume of smoke, scattering debris everywhere as well as some spiderbot parts. 3.5 seconds later, the sound from the explosion hit me and the building shook a little once again.

When the smoke cleared, I could see that the 3rd spiderbot was scattered forward, while the other two who were behind the blast were scattered and had their pieces smashed against the sturdy walls of the building. The building itself was dirtied, but otherwise fully intact, obviously made of sturdier material than the robots guarding it.

[https://i.imgur.com/FIO3cHQ.png]

A large, blackened crater was left from the blast.

Next test. With a snap of my fingers, I load it up.

(TODO Image: A large missile array launcher, a metal box that is more wide than tall, mounted atop of a six-legged MWP is firing a salvo of missiles below it from atop a high building. Trailing smoke, the missiles scatter and then streak towards the spiderbots down below.)

PHIU! PHIU! PHIU! PHIU! PHIU! PHIU! PHIU! PHIU!

[https://i.imgur.com/NvKP9Yz.png]

To my side, the large warheads get released, trailing tails of fire at supersonic speeds. A second later they showered the area where my enemies were in explosive fire that turned into large dust plumes. 3.5 seconds later I felt the sound and the tremors from the explosions. The building shook lightly.

I had to wait a while for the smoke to clear, but once it did, the enemies were gone, turned into scattered scrap, leaving only several smaller craters.

Satisfied, I ran my hand through my long hair to straighten it out. Afterwards, I turned my head to the large MWP and patted its hard metallic chassis affectionately. Good boy. Some sensor lights blink in appreciation.

Anyway, these MWPs will never see use in the Heaven’s Key tournament as they and the weapons take a combined 40m to synthesize, while the tourneys are fast and furious affairs. I might find use for it in the Ruins Exploration game, if the level gives me time to synthesize it. Still, most of the time I’ll be better served with smaller, lighter drones and land vehicles.

In the real world…well, I am not going to be waging war with these kinds of machines in any case. In the real world, the smaller they are the better. So no good there either.

In summary, the reward from level F4 is only useful in specific circumstances, and not particularly good. But the reward from F5 has me salivating. The ability to give weapons to my now unused flying assault drones will cause my power to go up another step. Once I clear the starter dungeons I will go out of the Introspect, and into the Aleator range.

In terms of specs, the barrel version of the MWP has an effective range of 20km, which is actually less than real world artillery, but is lighter and fully autonomous. Real world arteries also tend to require a crew of several members to be operated and reloaded. Moreover, the artillery in my own army has a different role than real world ones.

I watched some videos of real world artillery in action, and the way real world infantry uses it is so much different than how I would use it. The most important difference is that in real world battlefields I would be fielding drones that move 100s of meters per second rather than slow moving humanoids. Long battles between infantry that would require the forward observer to call in artillery support would be done in 5 seconds by the drones. Infantry is essentially obsolete in post-Singularity warfare.

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True, so far I’ve been using land vehicles, but those were for meticulously clearing out dungeons where the space is tight. They have their role there.

The missile version of the MWP has longer range and versatility, but less busting power per single shot.

Now let me move on. I’ll clear the other F4 floors and then move on to F5. That will give me operational assault drones!

(Ruins Exploration, Research Facility Zillen Outpost X-22, F5)

[https://i.imgur.com/OzvjhCw.png]

Invisible under my stealth suit, the elevator opens, revealing a straight hallway ending in a door. The camera on its upper corner does not spot me.

I walk closer to the door, and then pick up a drone from its waist holster before releasing it. Lazily it drifts into the air. I got this new drone from the other F4 floor.

> Qubica Illusionary Fog Drone Illu-4 (rank 3.2)

On mental command, I create an illusion of an empty hallway in front of the camera and have the drone move beyond it. Essentially it is a flying version of the first two Illu devices possessing their combined capabilities, capable of emitting the illusionary nanofog and controlling it at the same time. It has a 5kg weight as a result and is larger than the scout, but still significantly smaller than the assault drone.

I scuttle back out of sight into the elevator, and safe behind a wall, I give the drone the order to open the door.

The area beyond has over a score of enemies lying in wait as far as I can see, their barrels trained straight at the entrance to the room. Numerous spiderbots are in the large room, as well as scouting drones in the air above them. Right in the middle is a large spiderbot with a long barrel that looks like artillery.

The way the layout looks from above is the starting position, which is the elevator being a small box, which leads into a narrow hallway to the north, which leads into a large semi-spherical area several times the size of the elevator in both directions, about 4 times as long and 12 times as wide.

Damn. I was awed by the welcoming party waiting for me, really glad that I took care to set up an image before opening the door.

I expected that I’d have time to make my next move, but one of the drones reacted and soon an alarm started blaring through the level.

Wiiaaa! Wiiaaa! Wiiaaa!

The enemy spiderbots start firing their autocannons into the hallway. Due to the sheer volume of the barrage, the illusionary drone got pierced and scrapped, but out of sight behind my wall, none of the bullets scratched me. While I am safe from the bullets themselves, that is not to say that I am safe to stay here.

BAM!

Just as I think that, the big artillery spiderbot joins the combat. Sending tremors from the sheer explosive power of the shot, a small fireball erupts its muzzle as it fires straight down the hallway.

It is one of those moments, where in 10 million fold slow motion, I realize that I’ve fucked up and there is nothing I can do about it. Once the shell is fired it takes less than a hundredth of a second for it to impact the elevator wall a few away from me, but I have an entire day to think about what is happening.

The shell detonates, shaking the level. Its sheer force turns me into a literal stain on the wall. Once the smoke cleared the only thing the robots could see was my unscratched brain core rolling on the floor before being desynthesized into individual molecules and scattering into the air.

(Ruins Exploration, Ellipsis Base, Main Room)

(TODO Image: Nude Eua with her eyes closed in the synthesis pod.)

> EBA: Don’t give up, mistress!

Open my eyes in the synthesis pod, and step out, going straight into the bathroom.

(Ruins Exploration, Ellipsis Base, Bathroom)

(TODO Image: Eua blowing bubbles under the water.)

Pwah, I emerge from under the water, and take a breath to relax myself.

I died really miserably that time. But in general, that is how I’d expect people would die most of the time in real life, by running into an unexpected situation beyond their power to deal with. I am mentally trying to simulate how I could go through that situation right now.

Suppose I manifested the barrel artillery MWP. I could have it fire a shot just as the door opened to clear out the big piece. I have EMP rounds, so maybe a single one might be enough to clear the whole room.

…

This would be a good idea if the elevator was a bit larger.

Damn, it is really close, but the dimensions of the hallway leading out into the bigger area are too narrow as well. This is definitely on purpose. Otherwise, I’d just be able to EMP my way out of the room. A mid-sized MWP would not be a problem, but it would not have the firepower to deal with the welcoming party outside.

It is pretty tough to get around this situation.

Even if I could extend the sides of the hallway to synthesize a large MWP, it is a really awkward spot to fight in.

One angle of attack is if I could open the door only part of the way through. The door is very sturdy compared to the offensive power available on the level. Suppose I cracked it open just to let a grenade through. I could send out toy spiderbots armed with grenades. But this plan is a double edged sword.

It assumed the enemies are stupid and would just let the minibots get close enough to EMP them. Cracking open the door would also enable them to fire inside.

Consider if the big artillery bot fired a shell inside through the opening. There is no place for me to hide from the explosion. There are also some grenade armed bots outside that could lob stuff through the entrance. Even if the frags missed me, they could switch to incendiaries and suffocate me. Or poison or acid to do the same.

The plan is full of flaws.

Therefore, if I want to get through this level, I’ll have to think outside the box. If I want my assault drones, I am going to have to work for them.