Chapter 26 – Guesstimates
Brint was phenomenal. He had marched into that cave with his Raid Group like a boss and pwned all the guards – and then proceeded to steal all their loot. At least, that’s how he saw it.
Not only had the assault on Quizard Mountain gone exceptionally well – the losses in Brint’s group notwithstanding – Milton was now practically rolling in Basic Metal Units. He already had received over 700,000 BMUs and more were most likely on the way. It had slowed to a stop at some point while his attention was focused on building up the infrastructure in his Farm, with inputs from Whisp on how to improve what he had already built.
He felt like an idiot when she asked why he didn’t just move the Power Generator every couple of hours to another spot, thereby extending the amount of grow lights that could be used. He had thought that they had to have direct light 24-7 (or whatever the day cycle on the planet was) in order to grow, but she reminded him that the sun wasn’t out all the time and grass still grew.
It wouldn’t grow quite as fast if he did it that way, but the additional fields of grass would more than make up for it. In fact, if he instructed a drone to carry it across the ceiling at a super-slow rate, he could cycle through almost four fields-worth of grass with grow lights. He further compensated for the temporary lack of illumination by adding more of the lights, which were relatively inexpensive resource-wise. By the time he had this set up, he was starting to receive some of the resources Brint was sent out to get.
Once he had a good reserve, he immediately created more Power Generators and added more lights to the Farm. With three more Generators – along with more grow lights – he was able to maintain an additional twelve fields of grass, bringing his total to sixteen. Fortunately, during the down-time when he didn’t have enough BMUs, he had already installed the “sprinkler system” along the rest of the Farm cavern. He did end up needing to create another pump to maintain the force needed to push it through all the pipes, along with moving it and the previous one to an overlapping area of Power Generators so that it would always have power.
Milton originally wanted to lead the assault on Quizard Mountain himself; however, he quickly realized that even if he theoretically could split his attention between multiple projects, he needed to be able to focus on the attack for it to be a success. With the various things going on in the dungeon, including finishing up the rooms, traps, and placement of dungeon guards (as well as setting up feeding schedules, ensuring his drones were being properly utilized, and, of course, setting up the rest of the Farm), he didn’t think he would be able to properly give it the attention it deserved. Fortunately, he didn’t have to.
Brint was proving to be a great leader. He might not have the right qualifications if he were to try to lead other Proctans – he still wasn’t confident enough around Whisp, who he had known, like, forever – but he certainly used his ability well. Sometimes, Milton grew a little worried that Brint was able to utilize neural communication even better than he could, but when he “measured” the mental strength of the Proctan he realized that unless Brint somehow became a Station Core himself, he was safe. The likelihood of that happening was so low that it was basically an impossibility.
After the attack that Brint had not only survived – but ended up with him decimating the local Quizard population – Milton began to rethink his own decision to place all his attention on things inside the dungeon instead of keeping an eye on Brint and his goings-on. He only knew about the attack after it had begun – when he started to receive experience notifications – and if he had been “present” he thought he could’ve prevented some of the loss of Combat Units that occurred.
Grudgingly, he had to admit that there was very little he would have done differently, and he may have been able to save only one or two that had perished by just changing some minor things. Overall, however, Brint did an excellent job of defending against the onslaught and renewed his faith in his delegated leader. He decided that he would check in occasionally, because he didn’t want to micromanage with his eyes over Brint’s shoulder every minute of the day.
Besides, Milton was happy enough to receive all the skill-ups and experience.
Congratulations! Your Combat Units have defeated Quizard x126! You gain (126x500) 63,000 experience!
For defeating many enemies in a short amount of time, you receive a combo bonus!
Bonus: (126x250) 31,500 experience!
Congratulations! You have increased your Combat Level!
Current Combat Level: 15
Experience: 427960/565500
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: 15
Current Combat Unit A/D Increase: 30%
Congratulations!
You have upgraded the skill: Formation Fighting (Level 6)
Bonus at current skill level: 30% additional damage inflicted to the enemy when your units are in a formation.
You have upgraded the skill: Combat Communication (Level 6)
Current # of units you can communicate with simultaneously at your current skill level: 75
You have upgraded the skill: Cooperation (Level 6)
Bonus at current skill level: 30% increased defense for Combat Units participating in a battle beside a natural enemy
You have upgraded the skill: Kamikaze (Level 6)
Damage bonus at current skill level: 700%
Congratulations!
You have unlocked an achievement:
Genocidal Novice
You have defeated more than 100 of the same type of enemy within 10 minutes
Bonus – 10,000 Experience
Bonus – +5 to Insight/Luck
Congratulations!
When you reach certain milestones in your statistics, additional bonuses can be unlocked. In this instance, when you reached 40 points in Insight/Luck and at least 50 points in Ingenuity/Wisdom, there is a 5% chance that you will receive an additional gene mutation upon analysis of additional specimens.
That last thing probably wouldn’t help right now, but if there was a way to increase that chance in the future it could change things immensely. However, at the moment, he had a severe lack of “specimens”. But he did have 15 attribute points to spend and he took his time with his allocation because to get to the next level would take a while. Even if Brint survived another attack like the last one, it still wouldn’t be enough to get there.
In the end, since his Sensor Interpretation/Perception (32) was so low compared to the other ones he could raise (50), he decided to place all his points in it to raise it to 47.[24] His hope was that when he leveled up again he could get it to 50, which – based upon previous circumstances – usually granted some sort of bonus. He was excited to see what it would net him since he would have five of his stats at that threshold. What he didn’t expect was to achieve something when he raised his Sensor Interpretation/Perception above 40.
Congratulations!
When you reach certain milestones in your statistics, additional bonuses can be unlocked. In this instance, when you reached 40 points in Sensor Interpretation/Perception, Processing Speed/Agility, Processing Power/Intelligence, Ingenuity/Wisdom, and Communication/Charisma, you can now determine approximate stat values of targets. This ability is only available through use of your sensor orbs and not by Combat Units. Because of your discovery of Gene Mutations, this assessment will also include an estimate of Power Pools and Power Rankings, with a level of probability + or – 15%. Further specimen samples will provide more accurate readings.
Milton assumed this meant that he could get a guesstimate of people and creatures that weren’t part of his neurally-controlled network yet. The only nearby target he could think of was Whisp, so he directed one of his nearby sensor orbs to take a better look at her.[25]
W
ow! What surprised him the most was the fact that it showed that her “ranking” was already at “Apprentice, Lesser” or Apprentice Level 2, essentially. It had only been a couple of weeks since she was “reborn” and based upon what he thought he knew about the normal advancement up the ranks, her progress was staggering. I guess having regular access to my “waste water” is a real means of power-leveling.
Her other stats were pitiful, and she wouldn’t survive long in a fight; that was, of course, if she were to engage in combat. Fortunately, there was no need for her to ever get near a battle. Her Intelligence and Wisdom were off the charts compared to her other scores, but it made sense because that was what she used every day. It was basically her job to be smart.
He was disappointed when he couldn’t see her skills, but he guessed that made sense. The sensors could only detect so much, and they concentrated mostly on what could be seen, and not necessarily what could be done. Although the status screen did hint that with a higher Sensor Interpretation/Perception stat he might be able to see some sort of approximation of skills in the future.
Milton also noticed that she had a “Stunted Growth” trait, which certainly explained her diminutive size compared to every other Proctan he had observed. He wondered if he could ever fix something like that in the future without requiring her to become a Combat Unit. Once they were in a good position, he would investigate that more – potentially with help from the multiple-personalitied ALANNA.
Yet something else for another day.
Chapter 27 – Houston, we have a problem
When the cleanup of Brint’s battle site started, Milton was finally able to create and fully populate the finished grass fields in the Farm. He now could maintain dozens of his Picow Livestock, which would feed the guards already stationed in the dungeon and provide quite a bit excess for the future. He wished he could use the additional Bio Mass Brint acquired, but even with the increased amount of Controllable Bio Units (170,000) based upon his Reactor Output, he was already hitting a wall.
Between populating the first 7 rooms in the dungeon (127,430 Bio Units) and Brint’s Raid Group (39,500 Bio Units at full strength), there was only so much he could create. Theoretically he could spread the limit around so that he had defenders in every room, but they wouldn’t be as concentrated and therefore not as effective. He decided in the beginning that it would be more effective to finish the dungeon from the first room to the last, using his available resources to ensure at least half of the dungeon was complete. The last half still had traps; however, it had very little in the way of “mobile” defense. Until it was complete with defenders, as well, his quest to reconfigure and fully stock his dungeon wouldn’t be complete.
As much as he wanted to use the new influx of BMUs to create some awesome new traps (Brint had also found a large quantity of resources able to be used for focusing crystals, a required component for most of the higher-tech defenses), he needed to work on improving his own self.
Milton had neglected improving his reactor and shell, sacrificing BMUs to ensure the dungeon was protected and fully-functioning. Now that he had done as much as he realistically could – at least momentarily – he needed to work on raising his Reactor Power/Strength and Structural Integrity/Constitution. It had the added benefit of increasing his Reactor Output, which would allow him to control more Combat Units, thereby being able to populate another room with defenders.
He ended up using the majority of his available BMUs to raise both stats by two. It seemed to take more and more each time to fix them up; he hoped it tapered off soon, otherwise he worried for the future when it would potentially take millions of BMUs to raise them even one point.
With 20,000 more Controllable Bio Units available to use, he wanted to start filling the eighth and possibly the ninth room, but his Bioconversion Laboratory was still creating replacements for Brint’s group. Since that was currently more important, he didn’t want to derail that process.
Milton was interrupted in his musings when one of his Blood-thirsty Squirrels alerted him to something near the border with the nearby village, the one where Brint and Whisp were originally from. He had stationed quite a few of his extra scouts along the route that both previous parties of Proctans had come from, reasoning that if another group came along they would most likely use the same path. He placed more in adjacent areas in case someone came from another direction; essentially, he blanketed the area with vigilant eyes.
His precautions were warranted, because the closest squirrel to the village spotted two Proctans entering the forest with purpose behind their steps. One was a large, armor-covered male that had quick, dangerous eyes, and a bearing that bespoke extreme assurance. The full-body steel (or something similar) armor that he was wearing wasn’t flashy; instead, it looked as though it had gone through hell and came back stronger for it. Scratches and indentations marred its exterior and there was no extraneous ornamentation along its surface. Despite the wear-and-tear it exhibited, Milton could tell that it was well-loved and fit him like a second skin.
The other Proctan was female, wearing a dark robe that was tight-fitting yet modest, enhancing her curves while also providing protection and maneuverability. Unlike the other robes he had seen on Elemental Casters (he assumed this was what she was, though he could be wrong), it didn’t flow along the ground, catching on everything it brushed up against; instead, it was cut so that it ended just above the ankle, providing coverage while not hindering movement. She appeared older than everyone else that had been intent on reaching him, but in relative terms older meant more like in her 30’s.
Both walked along with an air of confidence that he had never seen before – neither here or in his old life back on Earth. The closest he could come to assessing their attitude was to compare them to an action hero like Stallone, Statham, Willis or even Schwarzenegger. They moved as if they did this every day and nothing could faze them; they also appeared to have the skills to back it up.
The armor-clad individual had his eyes focused on the pathway ahead of them as they peered out of the half-helm he was wearing, pinpointing signs of passage that even Milton had trouble following even though he knew multiple people had passed that way. He somehow moved gracefully in his armor, as if he didn’t even feel what had to be sixty to eighty pounds of heavy metal encasing his body. Everything about him screamed self-assurance and the ability to conquer any challenge with deadly intent.
Completely the opposite, the robed Proctan actually appeared to be enjoying herself as she walked along the trail. There was even one time where she closed her eyes and unerringly placed her feet along the path without fear of missing a step. She even somehow accurately pinpointed his scout high up in the trees behind her as she looked up and gave the squirrel a smile. The fact that she could do something like that didn’t bode well.
However, Milton didn’t worry too much – there were only two of them, after all.
He attempted to get a better read on their stats, but then he realized that he needed to have a sensor orb nearby to check statuses – his Combat Units didn’t have the capability to analyze targets like he wanted. He supposed it had to do with specialized technology inside the orbs; otherwise, what would be the point of having them?
He dispatched an available orb towards them, knowing that it wouldn’t be long until he had answers. Meanwhile, as the sensor orb flew quickly through the forest toward the incoming hostiles, he contacted Brint to let him know they had an incoming force and to get his butt back to the dungeon. At least, he tried to.
Somehow Brint was out of range of his neural communication. It shouldn’t have been possible, because with the advances in his stats he was able to reach even beyond the Quizard Mountains. However, he was able to reach the drones Brint brought with him (minus the one that was destroyed in the Quizard attack) and two heavy-hitting Combat Units.
They were inside a cave that was lit beautifully by familiar green-glowing rock along the walls, but there were also multipl
e conical pillars dotting the floor emitting a slowly-pulsing red light. He took control of the Qwizard that was stationed nearby the drones and used it to look around. After confirming his initial impression, he concluded that the rest of the cave was empty of any other of Brint’s group; there was, however, a tunnel that seemed to lead further into the mountain, while also taking a downward plunge.
So, either Brint was dead (he hoped not since he hadn’t had any word from him saying he was in trouble) or he had gone on ahead, leaving the drones and two guards to continue with the mining process. If he had gone down the tunnel, though, there shouldn’t be any reason why he couldn’t contact him.
Milton had a thought and tried a quick experiment while he waited for the sensor orb to get closer to the Proctans traveling toward him. He took control of the Qwizard again and had it run down the tunnel where it was possible Brint had gone. He started to get worried after about thirty seconds; his “ride” had traveled quite a distance and there was no change. He was about to turn it around and set it back to guard mode when he felt a disturbance.
The deeper he traveled in the Qwizard, the harder it became to concentrate on it. He was reminded of when he first learned about the limited distance he could travel with his Combat Units – it felt quite similar. Apparently, there was something down there that interfered with his ability to communicate, because he was nowhere near the limit he could reach now.
Before he lost all communication with it, he directed the Qwizard to turn around and get back to guard duty. He stayed near for a couple more seconds before he left them, where he then turned his attention on his rapidly-approaching sensor orb while he continued to think about Brint. He hoped that his friend would be back in range soon; although he now knew the Proctan could take care of himself, he still worried. Regardless, there was nothing he could do about it – Brint was on his own. Milton had other problems.
The Quizard Mountains: A Dungeon Core Epic (Station Cores Book 2) Page 19