Chapter 11- Reaching out.

Matt stalked his way deeper into the rolling hills that bordered the forest, looking for some golems and their larger colossus brethren. He hoped that there would be more since he wanted to get some more levels. It was part of their new plan that they had concocted in camp the night before.

Matt had spent a great deal of effort trying to improve his mana sense and found some success. He didn’t quite manage to sense any more of his own, but he was much more sensitive to the mana around him. Through some experimentation, he was able to sense Tobias up to a couple hundred meters but nothing from Van unless the cockpit was open. It seemed that his mech was sealed up tight against any mana leakage.

Skill usage had been a little trickier. Matt could sense mana and where it was but, given that it was within a person, it took him a while to notice the patterns. Tobias used his new skill from his latest level up called intercept. Basically, it allowed him to pick a target coming toward an ally and then use mana to fuel a charge to get there first. It would make a great skill if they fixed his problem of being a little squishy compared to Matt. After getting body checked way too many times as he “attacked” Van, Matt was able to pick up as the slight surge of mana before it dissipated after use.

It turns out they didn’t have to venture very far into the hills to find more of the stone monsters. Walking along a ridge, Matt was able to spot dozens of them in one of the valleys he overlooked. They were sitting in the open doing… whatever it was golems did. Only problem was the range, they were nearly 2 kilometers away and the valley was moderately steep walled, preventing an easy approach or retreat. On the other hand, this might be a golden opportunity for more testing.

Matt crouched down, leveling his autocannon, and doing some slight calculations for range. His estimation was that the golems were just at the 2000-meter range so that’s what he held for. One final look at his surroundings, and he fired an imbued round. Boom…thunk. He saw the tracer effect and watched the flight as the 25 millimeter round split the air on its way to the golem. He saw a flash and watched the golem fall to a pile of stone before finally hearing the sound of the impact.

The other golems all paused and looked around, not seeing where the shot had come from. Matt switched targets and fired again, once more seeing another fall. He repeated this for every golem in the valley, netting a level in the process.

“How accurate is that thing?” Tobias asked from the back seat. “I don’t remember them being that accurate back on Earth, even the mounted ones.”

“I’m not sure. We could test it sometime, but I don’t have a giant piece of paper to make a target on.” Matt was also impressed; it wasn’t exactly rapid fire but still. “Maybe the System doesn’t account for shot dispersion?” Tobias didn’t know the answer to that, and neither did Matt so they kept on hunting the golems, after collecting the loot from this first batch of course.

“That’s what, 70 or 80 of these things?” Matt asked as they picked up cores and ore from another group with an average level of 18. They hadn’t had much in the way of long-range practice since the first group, so it had all been much closer. Matt had even taken to practicing with his tomahawk on some that got close enough. Still 2 more levels was progress. Only one more to go before his next skill.

“I, for one, have about had enough of them.” Said Van. He had been getting a little restless.

“We can move deeper in.” Tobias suggested. “Maybe there will be another colossus or something.”

Matt liked the idea and since they had decided to stay here until the next day, they had some time to explore a while before moving on. He pushed farther into the hills, keeping to one of the ridgelines so he could see into the near by valleys. In the far distance he could see the ground rising up into what looked like mountains. He would have to keep it in mind for exploring later.

Another 5 hill tops later, and they found something worth hunting. It was not just one but 2 of the colossus creatures. A long way off again, 2500 meters by Matts guess. After a brief conversation about trying to take on 2 at the same time, they decided to go for it. Matt settled into the crouched position, his mech resting on its haunches while he lined up the shot. He went for the lower level, thinking that it would be the best to take down fast and get it out of the fight first.

Plains Stone Colossus. Level 32

Bang…thump, Boom. This time the round hit in the creature in the lower abdomen. Matt had been aiming for the head but guessed the range wrong and oh boy did it go wrong… for the colossus. The imbued bullet penetrated like always but before the golem could even react to the shot, it detonated. A mushroom cloud of that same brown mana grew from the blast, ripping through the surrounding grass and knocking over the colossus that had been next to it.

Matt watched as the shock wave rippled through the grass in the valley. It was still an impressive explosion even from this distance. He must have gotten a lucky shot and hit the core with his first round. After a brief conversation they decided to close in on the second one. It had only just picked itself up, suffering only some grass stains for its trouble. It looked around and saw the mech charging toward it before moving to intercept.

As Matt closed, he fired a few rounds at the second colossus, non-infused since they wanted to try and harvest the core from this one. It took some time, but he was able to find the rhythm and his explosive rounds began impacting on its stone body. Each impact staggered the level 35 creature a little as they closed. When they were within 500 meters, he changed magazines and put a few imbued shots into its leading leg, seriously crippling it.

The colossus was not to be out done apparently. It summoned a boulder in its hand before hurling it at Matt. The move was surprising because he hadn’t seen any of these monsters use skills, but it was also heavily telegraphed. Matt dodged to the right as he closed in, putting a few more rounds into the creature other leg, effectively locking it in place. A few more boulders were thrown while Matt circled it, but none connected at this range.

Matt targeted the shoulder joints next, warry about hitting the core on accident again. He did have to change magazines a second time since the stone body was amazingly resilient. After one arm was hanging limp, he put a few more into its head. One of the last few headshots must have found the off switch because it crumbled so fast a stray imbued round went into the hillside behind the colossus. After a quick search of the surrounding hills, they hopped out and went to collect the spoils of the battle.

The dynamic duo would find that hunting the colossus variant of the golems was much more profitable. The remains were packed with ores and the core was the size of a volleyball. Matt also got his needed level from the creatures, another thing to look forward to after they harvested the valuables. This particular one also had a number of gems in it. Small amber ones no bigger than Matts thumbnail but a couple dozen of them to go into the storage rings.

Earth Attributed Gemstone (Common)

A small gemstone holding earth attributed mana. Useful for many creations and can be used as either a mana source or focus.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Loading back into the mech, Matt went off in search of other things to fight, finding another group of the golems but not much else. Deciding to call it a day, they returned to camp and Matt finally opened his System message for his Skill selection.

Class Pilot – Skirmisher is level 15.

Skill selection options available.

Nimble (Common)

You are steadier on your feet over varying terrain.

Charge (Common)

Gain enhanced momentum and attack power when charging.

Long Shot (Uncommon)

You deal increased damage on enemies beyond 1000 meters. Enemies are more likely to be crippled at range.

Choice Target (Uncommon)

More easily identify the biggest threat among enemies that are in a group. Damage is slightly increased on the Choice Target.

Run and Gun (Uncommon)

You have increased accuracy when moving quickly over any terrain. There is no penalty for range when using this skill.

This set of choices wasn’t as good as he hoped, no rare skills but he did see one he wanted. Matt immediately picked the Run and Gun skill, a slight coolness filled his mind as he absorbed the information. The skill didn’t only work when he was in his mech, it also transferred to when he was on foot. He thought this would be nice to have since he didn’t always have cover available thus making movement even more important. He would have to test it later, hopefully before he needed to use it. As nice as the skill was, Matt had another skill he wanted to work on, or rather, his trait.

“I’m not sure I feel anything.” Tobias said. “There might be an aura, but I can’t sense it right now. Maybe it’s something that strengthens over time.” He finished, speculating at Matt’s unique trait.

“Maybe. Hey Van, is there anything you can pick up on?” Matt said to the mech kneeling a few meters away. Perhaps the core could feel things differently than the humans.

“Nothing more than what our bond should convey.”

Matt thought about it, trying to remember all the different ways aura had been described to him. He eventually settled on reviewing his trait description. Maybe the key to it was somewhere in that.

Aura Dominance

You have complete control over your aura and its emissions. With the simplest urging, your aura can go from completely contained to a widespread cloud of oppression. Influence your surroundings with your will.

Nothing changed as he had leveled but Matt wasn’t sure if he should have expected it to or not. He did zero in on the second line, the part about urging his aura to do… stuff. Matt wanted to test it and decided that an unaware Tobias would make a good test subject. Van was clued in on his plan, but Tobias had just returned to his books and tablet, lounging against the trunk of a tree on the other side of the clearing. Matt focused in on how annoyed he felt at Tobias who could just casually devote himself back into a task like that when they had been talking just a minute ago.

Matt thought back and remembered how Tobias always did things like this, instantly hopping from one thing to another when it caught his fancy. It was incredibly annoying since he often became so focused on a task, he blocked out the world around him. Matt could smack him for his borderline ADHD. After thinking about it, this time he actually would smack him. A shudder ran down Tobias’ spine and he flinched, ducking his head forward before he looked right at Matt, eyes wide open.

“Shit man, I could have sworn you were about to hit me.” Tobias said. “Like, I thought you were right behind me, and I was about to get slapped in the back of the head.” Tobias had started to get up and move over to Matt. It turns out Matt was suddenly more interesting than his designs.

The two began another round of testing. Tobias said that he could somewhat feel Matts general mood when he was standing close to him now. Matt practiced pulling in his aura but realized that unless he willed otherwise, its natural state was retracted. An unexpected bonus was that Matt could now sense Tobias who had an aura of curiosity, a desire to know things and figure them out. They tried to have Tobias pull his aura in like Matt, but it seemed that he was unable to do that.

The next logical step for Matt was to try other things besides the intent to do harm, it wouldn’t do to have only the one emotion or intent. He tried to flex his intent and will Tobias to feel something, but every attempt was a dead end. He then tried to internalize his feelings and then push them outward. He started with projecting an aura of trust with a wildly different result.

Tobias said it was like Matt became a very honest looking person, at least in his words. Tobias said that he wasn’t about to spill secrets or that he felt at all compelled to do anything, but he seemed more… likeable or honest. Tobias thought it was weird and he couldn’t pin it down.

Matt wasn’t sure about this trait, it was very abstract in his opinion and he didn’t like the implications of influencing other people like that. Of course, he wouldn’t rule it out since it could come in handy if he ever needed to do any negotiating. Either way, he was stuck with it. He ended up practicing a while longer before calling it a night.

The next day saw them return to moving through the woods again, the border of the hills falling away to the south. Aura training had only progressed to the point where Tobias tried to sneak up on Matt before he could sense him. Tobias didn’t have much success, but they found that Matt only had a range of 50 meters that he could reliably pick up on approaching beings.

The travels in the morning brought a new sight, birds, big ones. A flock of 4 birds with 5-meter wing spans soared just above the trees at one point. They either didn’t notice the mech or didn’t care as they silently glided overhead. Their feathers were a lustrous dark blue with white stripes along the leading edge of the wings. As much as Matt had wanted to watch them, the trees quicky blocked his view.

Their path brought them alongside a large lake that Matt had originally mistaken for a clearing or more grasslands till he pushed through the brush and saw the water. It was a beautiful sight stretching for kilometers out in front of them with pebbled shores bordering the water and trees. But given that the lake stood exactly in their path, they had to skirt around it. Matt chose to take the northern side of the long but narrow span of water, since it looked to have less obstructions.

The pebbles gave quite a bit under the feet of the mech, causing it to sink in and slow down with every step. Matt was forced to deploy the fold out sections on each foot of the mech to decrease his ground pressure. The effect was similar in concept to snowshoes, spreading an equal weight over a wider area. It actually worked very well, most likely due to Matt being able to fell much more with every movement than the mechs back on earth. They ended up trotting along the beaches until they came to the source of the lake and the source of a problem.

A large river was feeding into the lake, wide and flat at the mouth but reasonably slow moving. The river would not be much of an obstacle to cross but the 3 Stone Colossus on the opposite side would cause issues. Matt backed away and crouched in the edge of the tree line to observe the enemies on the other side of the river. They were in the low 30’s for levels and as he was looking for a position to fire from, all hell broke loose.

From the trees on the opposite riverbank came a grunting squeal as one of the iron side boars charged the trio of colossus’ knocking them over like bowling pins into the shallows of the water. They stood up as the boar circled and lined up for another charge, but the water had something else in it. Several tentacles shot from the water, each of the stone giants getting at least one wrapping around their mid sections. With a yank, all 3 were dragged in, barely getting a chance to try and fight back.

“Nope.”

“Nah.”

“No way”

Matt, Tobias and Val all said at once as Matt stepped deeper into the forest, making his way upriver for a better place to cross. None of them fancied being on the menu for some tentacle monster that lived in the lake, Matt didn’t even get a chance to use identify. Matt personally thought this would ruin deep water for him for the rest of his life. What did he even have that could take on something of that size while being wrapped up and submerged. The boar it seems had also decided to pound sand and get the hell out of there.

Matt was a little sour about loosing out on the experience from the colossus’ but that was made a little better when they found a place to cross. They ran right into the same boar that had started the incident at the lake, rooting around in the undergrowth. A half dozen imbued rounds to its face quickly ended the fight, a nice sized core that looked to be made of metal was the consolation prize. Matt thought the round had maybe a little more power than the last one they faced but he wasn’t sure.