The impacts from the dead wolf bodies almost knocked his BBQ down, but fortunately it had enough momentum to catch the remaining attacking wolf with its tail that followed behind the claw swipe. The hit didn’t do much damage, but it was flung backwards into some sharp exposed roots and impaled. Stuck through multiple places in its body, even the agile spider legs weren’t strong enough to get it free before it died from its wounds.
With most of its pack dead, and one still impaled by a spear, the last wolf – the one that had jumped back from the fake-out swipe – took off into the forest, abandoning its comrade to its fate. His BBQ didn’t hesitate to take out the struggling recipient of the makeshift spear, ending its suffering with a quick slice of its claws.
Congratulations! Your Combat Unit has defeated Spider-wolf X8! You gain (8x1000) 8000 experience!
For defeating many enemies in a short amount of time, you receive a combo bonus!
Bonus: (5x500) 2500 experience!
Congratulations! You have increased your Combat Level!
Current Combat Level: 13
Experience: 135760/216000
By raising your Combat Level, you can choose to prioritize the development of certain statistics. In addition, your Combat Units will receive a 2% (per Combat Level) increase in their own attack and defensive abilities.
Current Points to Allocate: 13
Current Combat Unit A/D Increase: 26%
Congratulations!
You have upgraded the skill: Overdrive (Level 2)
This skill allows you to assess the battlefield to quickly create a defensive strategy while safely hiding behind “time”. This affect lasts for up to 35 seconds, is usable once a battle, and can be cancelled before the time limit is reached. Additionally, until your Processing Speed/Agility is fully repaired, you will be unable to directly order your units until after the battle is complete – they will still follow all previously given orders, however. Upgraded levels in Overdrive will increase the time limit, allow for multiple uses, and provide additional bonuses to units.
Time limit at current level: 35 seconds
Congratulations!
You have upgraded the skill: Primitive Defensive Weaponry (Level 2)
Allows the design and creation of primitive defensive weaponry. Further creation of different types of weaponry will upgrade this skill, giving access to additional weapon features.
Instead of spending his available points, he saved them for when he had a better idea of what was going to be needed to prepare for the inevitable invasion from Cordpower. It was only when it was quiet in the surrounding forest and Milton had read through all his notifications that he remembered why he was there in the first place.
He had been so caught up in the battle that he had forgotten about Whisp and her questions, gene mutations, and status screens. Before she got too impatient, he divided his concentration to let the Proctan woman know that he was working on something that would hopefully answer her questions and that he would get back to her in a moment. Instead of impatience, which he was expecting, she told him she would be back as well because she wanted to check on Brint to make sure he was okay.
Now that he could put his undivided attention toward his battered-but-victorious Combat Unit, Milton connected back with it and brought up its status screen.[6] Comparing this screen with the one from his Blood-thirsty Squirrel, he was able to determine a few things. First, and most obvious, was that his BBQ was much more powerful than the squirrel – even at level 3, it had 150 Strength, 300 Constitution, and 240 Agility – worlds above the furry rodent. Even the traits that he had designed from combining the Quizard with the Clawed Badger and Scaly Bear were listed; an increase in Constitution from the bear, the razor-sharp badger claws that gave an increase in attack damage, as well as the sedimentary rock dietary restrictions and its sensitivity to light.
As for what each statistic meant, he concentrated on each of them and saw that they were reminiscent of the games he used to play. Unlike his Station Core stats, the Combat Unit stats were better suited for “biological” life forms. He quickly glossed over the obvious: Strength determined how much attack damage it did in combat, Constitution represented how much health and defense it had, Agility demonstrated how fast it was, and Perception allowed it to spot, smell, and even hear danger before it was too late. After he found that these different statistics were what he had expected, he focused his concentration on the remaining ones. Charisma affected how likely it would be attacked by a hostile enemy – a higher value meant less chance of being attacked. Milton thought it was a relatively useless statistic, but upon further thought he could see some potential for high Charisma values.
However, what he was really interested in was how the Intelligence and Wisdom were affected by “power”. He looked first at Intelligence in greater detail:
Intelligence: The purpose behind this statistic is now two-fold. Previously – before the addition of “power” from a Station Core’s radiation leakage – Intelligence was only used to calculate how well the Combat Unit would perform in battle. Higher values mean that the Unit would be more likely to use strategy and tactics in combat. Lower values mean that the Unit would use predictable, repetitive attacks.
Now that Combat Units have access to this unique “power”, Intelligence is also used to determine the effectiveness of using said “power”. Higher values mean that less “power” is used to complete an action that requires it. Lower values mean that the “power” used is closer to its base cost. Note that the base cost will never increase based on a low Intelligence value – it will only decrease with a higher value.
Milton was disappointed to see that there was no specific calculation to determine how much the cost would decrease, but he figured he would have to experiment to get a better understanding of it. Next, he looked at Wisdom:
Wisdom: Previously unused before the introduction of “power”, Wisdom reflects how much “power” each Combat Unit is capable of using before becoming “power-exhausted”. This exhaustion can lead to a temporary decrease in Strength, Constitution, Agility, and Perception if their “power” is not fully restored within 30 minutes. Once levels have been fully restored, this debuff will disappear. “Power” can be restored by an infusion of “power”-laced water, or, it will be automatically restored by the nanites in the Combat Unit’s system at the rate of: 1 “power” unit per 10 points of Wisdom per minute.
Armed with this information, he sent his BBQ back to his dungeon to get healed up. As it was the most-powerful Combat Unit he still had, he wanted to make sure it was in tip-top shape – just in case. Before it left the area, he made sure his giant lizard took as many Spiderwolf bodies as it could carry. He wasn’t about to let the free Bio Mass and new Combat Unit option go to waste.
Back in his Core, he found that his new allies were both present and sitting along a ledge near the back of the room. Brint appeared to be none the worse for wear, and Whisp was excitedly chatting away on random tangents of conversation. Fortunately, she stayed away from discussing the conversion process, so Brint looked to be able to follow what she was saying for the most part.
He interrupted their conversation and told them about what he had learned; as there were no ability “Traits” on either of his Units, he couldn’t determine how they would know how to use the power they had access to. That lack of information didn’t deter him, however.
It just meant he had some major experimentation to do.
Chapter 6 – A place to hang your hat
Brint followed behind the newly-reborn girl, his emotions still a jumble of confusion, wonder, and giddiness at her revival. When he had first seen her tied to the chair in her house, the blood congealed on the floor, and the massive wound to her neck – he thought his world had just come to a stop. Now, with the miraculous ability The Milton had at his disposal, the only person he cared about in the world was alive! He couldn’t seem to keep his eyes off her because he somehow thought that if he did then she wo
uld disappear.
He would’ve gladly exchanged his life for hers – but he was glad that he didn’t have to. Instead, they were both alive and working together like he had always dreamed about but never thought would happen. Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry about anyone from the Guardian Guild watching over his shoulder for any impropriety – which the kiss she had planted on his lips earlier certainly qualified. He could still feel a tingle on his lower lip, which solidified the memory of the quick sharing of intimacy all the sweeter. Even if nothing else happened, he would never forget it.
As for Whisp, she appeared to have taken her death and resurrection better than he thought she would. After an initial outburst of profanity-laced anger, she had calmed enough to investigate their situation and even went so far as to befriend The Milton. Brint didn’t know how she did it – whenever he spoke to or approached the “Station Core”, he could only see the giant metal egg as some sort of supreme being, God-like in nature if not in truth. The Milton was so powerful that he had trouble reconciling its near-inability to defend itself from the three bastards that killed Whisp.
He couldn’t remember a lot from the end of the fight against Glert inside what The Milton called the Core Room, but he did remember seeing an army of furry animals that seemingly came out of nowhere swarm and overwhelm the powerful Physical Augmenter. He wasn’t sure where they ended up, but Brint couldn’t help but wonder why they weren’t used at first if they were so powerful they could take down even the toughest opponent.
Thoughts of the Cordpower henchmen flared up his anger toward them, but it was muted after he had seen what had been done to their bodies earlier. Even though he hated them for torturing and killing Whisp, the mutilation and consumption of their various body parts was enough to make him lose most of the delicious lunch The Milton had provided earlier. He felt a little worried that his best friend took it in without flinching even a little – but he knew she was more fascinated and intrigued by the thought of learning something new to let a little blood, bone, and viscera deter her.
What he was most worried about now was the thought of more representatives from Cordpower coming after them. At first, he wanted to march right up to their offices and slaughter them all just like they had slaughtered Whisp. But, after listening to the reasonable explanations from both The Milton and his friend, he realized that they weren’t nearly strong enough to succeed. In fact, if they left right then, they probably wouldn’t make it to within a hundred feet of their corporate offices before being stopped.
After the realization that they couldn’t realistically fight back hit him, all he wanted to do was take Whisp and run. He wasn’t sure where they would go, but he figured anywhere would be better than waiting to get tracked down and killed by more Cordpower thugs. It was only thoughts of watching over their shoulders every time they went out in public that made him agree to defend the lair of The Milton. Well, and the fact that if either of us were to die, the only one that could bring us back was the massive supreme being located just down the hallway.
So, now that they had set a goal, they needed to start working toward it. Which was why Brint had been following Whisp down past the Core Room in a small branching tunnel that had been carved from the surrounding rock. He had witnessed firsthand how precise and efficient a couple of The Miltons’ “Drones” were at digging and creating tunnels and these looked just like what he had seen before. However, according to the “Tactical Map” that he was awed and privileged to peruse, this tunnel was designed to hold the “Industrial and Residential Complex”.
He wasn’t exactly sure what that meant – like a lot of things the strange metal egg said – but he could see that the new homes for The Milton’s various facilities were finished up, holding the newly-transported machines; however, the rest of the passageway led to empty space. Which was where they were headed.
“I still can’t believe that you can see a map of this place and you won’t show me,” Whisp snapped him out of his thoughts with her statement. Her lips were pouted in an expression of annoyance and Brint knew she was at least a little jealous of his access to the different creatures and “units” of The Milton. He had learned that he was able to see other things like this “Tactical Map” when the Station Core had given them their task earlier. Ever since he told her about it, she had been pestering him to figure out how to share it with her, but he was at a loss at how to do it. Privately, he was glad that only he was able to see it – otherwise he thought there would be less reason for her to keep him near.
He had felt next to useless during the attack on The Milton, especially when he was thrown across the room with barely any thought or effort on the part of the Physical Augmenter. He didn’t have anything showy, but just knowing that he had a valuable ability that required he stayed near the love of his life made everything he had gone through before worthwhile.
“You know I would do it if I could – but it’s all inside here,” he told her, pointing to his head. He had tried to explain what it was like to control drones and see screens in his mind, but he just couldn’t find the right words. It still felt strange, but also normal – he couldn’t imagine how he had lived without the extrasensory perceptions before this. The Milton had graciously allowed him the use of a couple of “sensor orbs”, which had been accompanying them on their foray down the tunnels. They were extremely helpful because they were able to light the way and allowed him to see further ahead when he “connected” to them. Oh, and let’s not forget the two dozen drones that I have following us.
The Milton had instructed them to start by creating their own living quarters. They needed someplace to “call home”, or at least that’s what he said. It made sense because they needed somewhere they could lay their head at night – it didn’t feel right to just sleep in the hallways. When Brint heard about how The Milton could make them basic furniture, including a bed, he had felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. Thinking about it, he realized that he hadn’t gotten any sleep over the last 36 hours or so. Whisp was displaying the same sort of exhaustion – her new “body” hadn’t slept ever.
The Milton had recalled some of his drones from some sort of “mining operation” to get this done. The two Proctans were grateful for the extra help, even if Brint thought it was overkill. He had been impressed by what only a handful could do – he couldn’t imagine what destruction/construction over twenty could accomplish.
Fortunately, despite her own fatigue, Whisp was enthusiastic about creating her new home. All Brint had to do was relay her orders to the drones and they went right to work without hesitation. He had practiced using his ability over the last hour or so and he found that he had to use very little power to order around the sensor orbs and drones. It’s probably because they were made to take orders.
If he tried to control one directly, he could feel his power being consumed at an increased rate, but not nearly at the level of what it took to control one of the giant lizards. Fortunately for them, however, the drones appeared to be smart enough to complete their work without much supervision. With the miniscule amount of power that he was currently using, Brint thought he could continue directing them for hours without having to use one of the Power Potions The Milton had provided.
“Ok, so here’s what we need. For each of our rooms, we need a 30-foot cube hollowed out separated by about 100 feet, with this “sandstone” covering the walls and ceiling. That material should work for our purposes – but I have plans for the rest of this place. For the floor, create some of the spongy flooring I saw outside of the Core Room – the bounciness of it will be pleasant underneath our feet.
“Next, have them create a 10-foot high, 8-foot wide hallway connecting the rooms together and in the middle of this hallway create another one leading to the space in between them. After 20 feet, instruct the drones to create another hollowed out room 100 feet on each side. Have them add a second floor to the room, bisecting it in half and allowing supporting columns to hold up the new additi
on. Add some stairs leading from the right side of the room to the second floor and that should be good. Oh, and make everything in what will be my Workshop out of the hardest, densest stone available.”
He couldn’t remember all of that, but he didn’t have to: the drones understood the instructions as he relayed them in his mind. Brint supposed that The Milton could have listened to the plans and did the same thing, but he thought that the giant metal monstrosity probably wasn’t even paying attention. He had informed them that he was going to be “experimenting” and didn’t want to be disturbed unless it was an emergency. The all-powerful being also gave Brint access to the “Molecular Converter”, allowing the Proctan the ability to create anything that was needed for their habitations. If Whisp was jealous of his access to the Tactical Map, she was doubly jealous when she learned that he could make whatever he wanted – within reason, of course.
The drones were working even before she had finished her instructions. Brint was surprised that she was able to concentrate on them when the army of metallic beetles started attacking the walls in front of them. Huge blocks of sandstone were removed from the walls and carried out of the way while other drones shoveled out massive scoops of dirt and rock into piles. These piles were then pushed along the hallway behind them until they reached The Milton, where they were converted into usable material. He watched all of this by tapping into the sensor orbs strategically placed all along the tunnels.
They moved out of the way of the quickly-moving drones, watching in silent wonder as the rooms and hallways were hollowed out by the crazy-digging machines. When the drones who had removed the dirt came back, they didn’t come back empty-handed. They brought with them large sandstone blocks at first, followed by small blackish bricks with small white spots covering their exterior.
The Quizard Mountains: A Dungeon Core Epic (Station Cores Book 2) Page 5