Chapter 17 – Looks Shifty to Me
Matt and Tobias secured the area as best they could, thankfully the fight with the plant monsters had left a large swath of the brush burned down. Matt told Tobias about his plan to do the level 25 evolution and pick his skills. Neither knew what to expect from the evolution process since the books Tobias had gotten didn’t mention anything. Crouching down in the mech, Matt pulled up the System message again.
Class: Pilot – Construct is level 25
Class evolution available
Evolve now? Y/N
Matt selected the option to go through the evolution and a system screen popped up with a series of class choices. He read through them, seeing a trend to them like he did with the skills.
Construct Pilot -> Marksman (Rare)
The Marksman sub class specializes in medium to long range combat. Adept at taking advantage of long lines of sight to methodically lay fires onto targets from extended ranges. This class falls behind in melee, preferring to engage at range whenever possible.
Stats per Level:
Strength: +4
Dexterity: +6
Endurance: + 4
Constitution: +4
Perception: +6
Intelligence: +6
Wisdom: +4
Free Points: +8
Construct Pilot -> Gladiator (Epic)
The Gladiator sub class specializes in close range combat. Adept at closing with enemies to engage them in brutal melee fighting, this class is considered the epitome of shock troops, disrupting the enemy from within their lines.
Stats per Level:
Strength: +8
Dexterity: +8
Endurance: + 8
Constitution: +5
Perception: +1
Intelligence: +2
Wisdom: +2
Free Points: +8
Construct Pilot -> Gun Fighter (Epic)
The Gun Fighter sub class specializes in fast paced combat using a wide variety of means to engage enemies. Adept at utilizing terrain and structures to keep situational advantage. This class utilizes movement with bursts of overwhelming firepower to dictate the terms of the fight.
Stats per Level:
Strength: +5
Dexterity: +7
Endurance: +7
Constitution: +5
Perception: +6
Intelligence: +7
Wisdom: +5
Free Points: +8
Matt read through the choices, immediately discarding the Gladiator class. It was a poor fit for what he wanted to do, he only engaged in close combat when necessary. He did consider the Marksman class but the lack of skill points and the possibility to limit him in close combat was not ideal. He had done some time on a fire support team and knew they could be devastating in a combined arms strategy. He picked the third choice and felt it lock in, a golden glow covering him before he heard a brief yelp.
When The glow receded only a moment later, Matt was confused. He had been in his mech with Tobias sitting in the seat behind him but that was no longer the case. Now he stood next to the mech, and Tobias was sprawled on the ground in front of him. Another change was the mech itself, while having the same appearance, it was now larger. Matt asked Van to stand at full height and noticed it had grown another 2 meters now topping 9 meters in height.
Matt looked at Tobias as he stood up. “Umm, what happened here?”
Tobias brushed himself off and huffed at him. “There I was minding my own business while you stared off into space doing your… whatever it was. Then there was that warm golden glow, and everything phased out of existence for a second before snapping back in.” He was brushing the charred remains of vine monster off himself as he recounted what happened. “Thus, I fell a couple meters and landed flat on my ass.”
“Well, that’s weird. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting to literally disappear for a couple seconds.” Matt said as he helped brush off some ash from Tobias’ back.
“It’s fine. Anyway, what happened with the evolution?”
Matt had to stop and refocus on what had originally led to his fiend being covered in ash. What had changed besides some words and numbers on a screen? The mech had grown in height and a little bulk but still had the same outward appearance. He would have to investigate that more after he found out what was going on with himself.
Closing his eyes and focusing internally, Matt tried to sus out what had changed. He could feel that same energy behind his heart, stronger and more defined than before. Unsure of what that meant he moved on to a more physical inventory of his status. His limbs felt stronger, like there was more power in them but wasn’t sure. Also, the slight fatigue that he usually had was gone, leaving him feeling more energetic than before. Matt wasn’t sure anything beyond that had changed and he opened the system message that was nagging at the edge of his mind.
Prime Apprentice evolution successful.
Title Gained: Prime Evolution.
Trait Enhancement Completed
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. Detect the aura and intent of others in your vicinity. Dictate your surroundings with your will.
“My Trait finally upgraded.” Matt told Tobias. “I’ll tell you about it in a minute, I have a skill to choose.” He finished before Tobias could even get a word out.
Skill selection options available
Stealth (Common)
Hide better from enemies, using your environment to remain undetected.
Tracking (Common)
Use your senses to better pick out the spore of enemy movement.
Ambush (Uncommon)
Utilize stealth while you lay in wait for your enemies. Better identify locations to set up ambush points.
Powered Displacement (Rare)
Teleport through the void to any point you can perceive within a short distance. When teleporting from one location chose to depart in silence or with a blast of mana.
Titanic Rage (Rare)
When in your construct, amplify your inner rage to push beyond your limits. Use the amplification of your core to enhance your fighting abilities.
Matt read through the list one at a time, passing on the first 2 instantly but taking a minute longer to inspect the ambush and teleport choices. He didn’t want the rage ability, perhaps if he went with the gladiator class but not for gun fighter. He would like the ambush skill but didn’t know how much he would use it unless there was a protracted ground war. In the end it wasn’t as close as he first thought, the mobility of a teleport skill was too good to pass up.
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Selecting the skill, Matt felt the knowledge impart itself on his mind again. While he would do testing, he knew that moving himself would be much easier than moving the mech. The ability would consume stamina unless he left behind a mana blast which would need mana. Looking back to Tobias, who had gotten much closer and was staring him right in the eye lenses.
“Oh buddy, you are not going to believe this.” Matt said, taking his helmet off and starting to detail everything that had happened in the past few minutes. Tobias seemed very interested in the teleport ability, wanting to study that in more detail when they had time.
After describing the events of the evolution to a near manic scientist, Matt turned his attention to Van. “Hey Van, how are you doing with all this?” The core had been silent for the conversation, but Matt could feel him much more clearly over their mental link than he could in F grade.
“I feel strange. Maybe its normal but I haven’t existed long enough to tell what’s normal and what isn’t.” There was an edge to his voice, like he was bursting at the seams with something but couldn’t let it out. “There have been some other changes to the mech. While it did grow in height, it feels like the other functions are the real changes.”
Matt was intrigued by this, not expecting any changes and the book didn’t say anything about them. He moved to climb into the cockpit, and now it truly was a climb. Where before he could take a large step and get a foot on the lower hatch, when the mech was crouched down. Now it looked like he would need to jump up to land on the lower hatch. Seeing the problem, Van moved the mech to couch with the autocannon resting butt down in one hand. The hatch opened and Van placed his other hand halfway between the ground and the open hatch, so Matt had a step to climb up.
Immediately Matt saw the cockpit was bigger, not just in the way the whole mech had grown either. It was at least double the size, with 2 narrow walkways about 2 meters in length running on either side of the seats. The rear seat had moved back, no longer having the co-pilots legs straddling the pilot seat. All the manual controls remained within arm’s reach of the seats but seemed to have some articulation to reposition them as needed.
Matt looked at the space inside, then at the size of the torso, then back inside. He dismounted and moved to get a side profile of the mech. Trying to rationalize what he was seeing inside with how physics was supposed to work. “Van, is there something going on here? There’s no way that cockpit fits in this space.”
“I will push the changes to your display for review. If you think this looks odd, imagine how it feels. I am still trying to come to terms with having a space inside the mech that doesn’t actually fit.” Van partly lamented over the seeming incongruity.
Tobias had climbed up and was hanging halfway inside, calling out to Matt. “Hey, let’s load up and get this show on the road. You can have your mental breakdown later.” As usual he was excited about the nature of the ever physics denying system.
Matt followed his friend into the mech, taking his seat in the pilot’s chair and linking with the internal systems. The process was faster than it had been, which was saying something because it was very quick before, taking less than 2 seconds. Now the connection was almost instant, only a short blink before his consciousness merged with the mech. He was surprised that he could still feel his actual body and move it independently to some extent. Another change to him and the mech after the evolution, he pulled up the system window Van had sent to review the other changes.
Van had been thorough in his evaluations, detailing all the changes that had occurred. The changes were grouped in categories with headers above descriptions. Matt wasn’t sure every description was absolutely necessary, but he appreciated the attention to detail. He picked out the key changes and read into those more.
Interior:
Space has been expanded to approximately 3 times original size. Internal storage lockers have also been expanded but remain ancillary when storage devices are available.
Sensors:
Threat detection field – The field has been expanded, estimate maximum range of 1000 meters with complete resolution at 600-700 meters (Requires testing and evaluation)
Optical Sensors – Resolution of all optics has been greatly increased (Requires testing and evaluation for infrared and thermal cameras. New sensor visual sensing options may be available with use of mana sight and aura skill. Range finder is now fully operational.
Physical:
Armor - thickness remains the same but armored sections are now larger in area. Possibility of increased armor value for glancing shots.
Size – The increase in size may have positive benefits to overall speed and reach due to longer limbs. Ground pressure is likely increased due to additional mass.
Matt was still reading though some of the updates when a presence invaded his mind, then a voice accompanied it. “An excellent class evolution my prime. I established this connection so you can simply think your thoughts at me to respond.”
With a shiver running down his spine from the mental contact, Matt responded to Tori. “Thanks, the other two choices just didn’t fit and this one had the best rarity.”
“A fine enough reason. However, rarity isn’t everything when it comes to skills. A skill can be upgraded but a class cannot. You will learn about that later, on your own. Use the skills, cheat the System, and make them your own. Goodbye, Matt, keep up the good work.” After her parting words the invasive presence in his mind faded away.
“Toby, you were right.” Matt started, looking over his shoulder as he continued. “Gods randomly popping into your head to drop a knowledge bomb is not pleasant.”
“Ah, she delivered some divine wisdom I assume?” Tobias asked.
“Yeah, something like that. Mostly a congratulation on the evolution but a bit on how skills work.” Matt knew that would lead to a long conversation, so he began moving as he recounted what he learned. They had to get back on track after their extended break and Matt was eager to test the new enhancements and skills.
A few kilometers later, Matt found a nice clearing that was a couple hundred meters across. They did a thorough job in making sure the area was relatively free of threats before dismounting, Matt moving to the center of the clearing. He refreshed himself on the workings of the Powered Displacement skill, making sure he understood how it worked.
Matt envisioned a spot 25 meters away and willed the skill to work. His vision went black for a moment and while that was disorientating, the sudden lurching of his body, not once but twice, was far worse. It felt like the worst case of vertigo he ever had mixed with severe sea sickness. He fell to the ground, frantically pulling off his helmet and vomiting onto the grass. After clearing out everything in his stomach, he rinsed out his mouth with water and stood up again. He looked up to see Tobias running over to him, Van not far behind.
“What the hell was that man?” Tobias asked, helping to steady Matt when he got close enough.
“Apparently, teleporting isn’t a super smooth experience.” Matt said before swishing more water in his mouth and spitting. “Blegh, how did it look form the outside?”
“You were standing in one spot and then suddenly you were over here.” Tobias said. “That’s before you fell down and puked anyway.”
Van decided to weigh in as well. “Did you mean to end up in this spot?”
Matt looked and couldn’t really tell. The grass all looked pretty much the same except for this spot having a pile of sick now coating it. He suddenly had an idea and pulled out his tomahawk before walking a few meters away. He pushed his mana into the edge and started mowing down a patch of grass, creating a charred spot a meter in diameter. He then repeated the process in intervals of 10 meters moving out in a line from the first spot until he had a line 100 meters long. He then returned to his first circle and stowed his weapon in its thigh holster.
Focusing on the skill again, Matt willed himself to teleport to the first circle in the line. A flash of black and his vision shifted to the new location. He felt queasy again but not as severely as the first time. He looked down and found that he was perfectly centered in the circle. His stamina had dropped a decent amount but not as much as he feared, only 5% having been used by the skill. He walked back to his starting point and readied another teleport, this time aiming for the circle at the end of the line.
Another blink in the darkness and Matt arrived at his targeted destination, this time he felt that it was about the limit for how far he could go. Despite the distance, the stamina usage was the same as the first attempt. With a smile and a thumbs up to Tobias and Van, he began an exhausting session of testing. He had to take several breaks to let his stamina recharge, using the time to get input from Tobias and Van. The detection field and his helmets rear camera allowed him to use the skill and target any location he could see with those as well as his physical eyes.
A couple hours later and Matt had figured out a decent amount about his new skill. He could orient himself into facing any direction but also found that momentum could be preserved through the teleport. The addition of a mana blast when departing was hard to master, needing much more focus to make it a seamless process rather than him just using mana blast then teleporting. He then looked at the mech and decided it was time.
“Van, ready to try it?” Matt asked his core.
“More than ready.” Van replied as he crouched down and opened the hatch.
When Matt tried the teleport the first time, aiming at the furthest mark in the grass, it failed. Apparently, he could not go the full 100 meters like he could when dismounted and the skill didn’t activate. He started working his way back from there until it succeeded. He reset and found that just shy of 30 meters was the sweet spot. The entire time he was testing, Tobias had been watching from the sidelines, looking for who knows what.
Crouching down, Matt called out to Tobias and opened the hatches. “Toby, get your happy ass in here.”
“What makes his posterior happy?” Van asked.
“Just an expression buddy.” Tobias climbed up and took his seat behind Matt, strapping in before asking what was going on. Matt just pulled an empty container out of his storage and passed it back to Tobias before explaining. “This is for you, just in case. We are going to try a teleport with you as a passenger.”
“I um don’t think that’s a great idea.” Tobias said. He knew Matt had an iron stomach and didn’t normally get motion sick. The prospect of something that upset Matt’s stomach was not something he wanted any part of.
“That’s what the bucket is for. Alright porting in 3… 2…” He didn’t reach one, going before the count had finished so Tobias couldn’t object any more.
“Oh god, I hurgelg” Tobias started before losing it into the bucket. “I should have just made myself puke before this.” He finished and summoned a canteen out of his storage ring.
Matt opened the hatch and helped Tobias climb out and get back on firm ground. “I wanted to get it out of the way before we needed to use it in combat. The last thing I would need is to be covered in sick when I’m trying to fight.”
“I would also not be happy with you being sick in my interior.” Van added with a growl in his voice.
Tobias was finally able to get back to his feet. “Why do I assume that this wasn’t the only time?”
“It gets better after the first time, and I didn’t even feel it after the third.” Matt said.
It turned out that it took 5 more teleports for Tobias to be completely resistant to the effect. On the plus side, the makeshift bucket wasn’t needed again. They had since loaded up and moved on from the clearing that was now covered in scorch marks. It wasn’t long before they came upon some monsters that were all too familiar.
Treant Brawler. Level 32
Treant Brawler. Level 34
Matt saw the tree monsters from a few hundred meters off. The head of his mech was now at roughly the same level as the tops of their canopies. He was happy that they didn’t have a height advantage anymore but now he had the problem of staying hidden. Both monsters were standing in a stand of small trees, probably trying to blend in but failing since they were so much larger.
The threat detection field had picked up on them from a little over 600 meters out, but Matt didn’t make visual contact until much closer. He had stopped when he finally found a clear path to the treants, thinking on how to engage. After a brief deliberation, he came up with a plan and took aim at the level 34 monster.
Boom, Thunk. The imbued 25mm round ripped right through the first one and Matt targeted the second and fired again hitting it in the center of mass. Both creatures turned and began lumbering his way on their short stumpy legs. He propped his auto cannon against a nearby tree, where it would be safe, and walked forward several steps before stopping. Pulling out the giant tomahawk, he waited for them to close in. Both treants closed in, having enough sense to attack from opposite directions but before their stump like hands made contact, the mech vanished.
In the sudden absence of the construct, a wave of superheated plasma burst forth, engulfing both monsters. They recoiled from the fiery wave of mana, shielding their faces as best they could. Before either could lower their arms, a tomahawk descended from behind, slicing deep into the back of the level 34 monster. It screeched as its body locked up and it fell forward, faceplanting into the dirt with a thud. The second began to turn around but was bisected by a line of plasma fired from point blank into its back.
The second monster was dead before it knew what happened and Matt moved in to finish off the first as it rolled on the ground. The tomahawk arced down once, twice then a third and final time as the downed treant was chopped in half by a plasma covered blade. It went limp on the ground, both halves smoking from the charred cuts along what remained of its body.
“Brutal.” Tobias commented.
“Efficient.” Van rebutted.
“A start.” Matt finished. He retrieved the autocannon from its resting place and stowed the tomahawk. They looted the cores and materials quickly before moving on. Matt had just discovered a new and terrible way to wage war. His heart sang at the prospect and Van reciprocated the feeling over the bond. They stalked off into the woods, moving ever closer to their objective.