Chapter 236: Better Than Expected (1/2)

Knowing Hod, it could be pretty bad. I calmed myself down as I sent messages towards the guild.

The Living Multiverse(Lvl 10,250 | Guildmaster: The Harbinger's Legion(S-) | Titles: The Harbinger of Cataclysm, The Cleanser of Polydra | Cities: Mt. Verner, Elderfire) - I'll be arriving in a few minutes. I need to meet with Hod and Amara. I won't be there long, but it'll be nice to see Earth again.

After sending the message, I took a deep breath. I gave a thumbs up to the Sentinel's guarding the warp drive, and they activated the teleportation device. Electricity rang in my ears as a blinding light encompassed my vision.

I blinked away the blindness as sights of my base splashed in my eyes. They put this teleporter inside the second layer of the mountain where industry thrived. As I remembered it, machines bustled in the background with welders hard at work. At the center, a pillar of stone acted as the heart of the floor.

Surrounding it, a variety of different departments exposed themselves. Aiming to inspect them further, I stepped out, shaking off the rematerialization. I'm guessing that's what teleportation was. Either way, it made me woozy for a few seconds. Glancing around, the room's machinery and welding stopped. I found a factory floor full of people gawking at me like a lion walked inside. I raised a hand,

”Uhm, hello.”

The crowd exploded with activity, swarming me from all directions. They reached the height of my waist, so they stared up at me. A cacophony of questions burst forth from all directions. The attention caught me off guard, overwhelming me for a moment.

I lifted my hands, saying over the crowd's rumble,

”Everyone, one question at a time.”

I answered a few basic questions about Giess and my adventures there before a familiar face walked up from the crowd. I raised a hand, ”Hey Diesel. How've you been?”

The inventive engineer squeezed past two people lifting up a grimy hand. Several people backed off from the guy, giving him some space. I stepped past the onlookers, reaching him and reaching out a hand,

”Good to see you. Have you come up with any new blueprints lately.”

He shook my hand with a bit of gusto,

”I've got a few new designs lined up.”

I turned towards the crowds, spreading my arms, ”Everyone, I've just come back from Giess. I'll be looking around to make sure everything's running smoothly. Get ready for that.”

I clapped my hands for some emphasis, ”Alright, let's move.”

The crowd rustled into activity, everyone moving towards their allotted stations. Diesel walked off and gestured for me to follow. Past the metal girders and steel piping, I found myself squeezed into a cubbyhole Diesel used for his diagrams. The guy worked with me on creating Althea's new cannon models. Now he worked on designs that might help the entire colony.

I glanced around, impressed by the sheer complexity of a few of the inventions,

”Damn...this is good work.”

Diesel scratched his chin, a five a clock shadow covering it,

”Heh, that's rich coming from you.”

I turned to him, my helmet peeling off my face,

”Hm?”

”Oh come on. Everybody saw your fight at Polydra. Talk about crazy.” Diesel gestured with a swing of his arm, ”I could hardly believe when you punched through a ship's barrier. My favorite part was when you stood over the evil guy and said-”

Diesel put on a serious face,

”You've done well in creating this hell. Now let's see if you can fight here, where the monsters come out to play.”

It had been a while since I'd been embarrassed on any level. Having Diesel fanboy over my own fight like this, it would've made me redder than a tomato. Right now, my gray skin and metal body prevented that, but the shame still stung all the same.

I raised a palm, ”Please, stop. Mercy.”

Diesel blinked, ”What? Oh, sorry. I don't know what it is, but when you showed up, I feel full of energy.”

I raised my hands, ”That's an aura I have. It's called Rise of Eden, and it boosts your stats.”

”Ah, that's why it felt like I leveled up. Here I thought you were just that inspiring.”

I rolled my eyes. At this point, Diesel was just teasing me. It felt good having someone feel at ease around me, though. I wasn't some deity, and it grounded me when someone talked to me like this. After joking a bit back and forth, Diesel turned severe as he crossed his arms,

”So, why are you back?”

I pointed around at the base, ”I'll be needing to install some defenses. I've made some enemies on Giess, and I don't want them attacking Mt. Verner.”

Deisel raised an eyebrow, ”I've actually got a few turret models you might want to have a look at. Not all of them are great, but I could show you the best of them and see what you think.”

”Sounds good, though I probably don't have time at the moment. I'll get someone to review it for me though...” I peered around at the walls of stone, ”It's good to see things have been moving well without me here. Of course, I still miss Earth sometimes.”

Diesel took a deep breath, ”Man, I couldn't even imagine staying at Giess. That's like...lightyears away. Literally and figuratively.”

I cupped a chin, ”What is life like here, anyway?”

”It's bland, I guess. Ever since you guys left, there hasn't been the same kind of grind there was while you were all here. Everyone's sort of laid back. That could just be things settling down, though. We can't stay in do-or-die mode forever.”

I raised an eyebrow, ”Yeah, that might be asking for a bit much.” I saw the sheer volume of activity around Diesel's cubbyhole,

”At least people are still alive. I half expected Hod to have already killed everybody.”

Diesel scratched the back of his head, ”Hah...yeah...”

I narrowed my eyes at him, ”What's that supposed to mean?”

”Look, man, I'm not supposed to be telling you this, but some of those intelligent eldritch escaped.”

I gritted my teeth, ”Really now?”

Diesel raised his hands, ”They found all of them and got rid of them before they became a problem. I'm just letting you know security wasn't airtight. We were able to handle it, but we lost a few people.”

Diesel narrowed his eyes, ”If I'm honest, I think we should get rid of Amara. That monster couldn't give two fucks for any of us...Not to question your judgment sir.”

”Where is she?”

Diesel scratched the side of his head, ”Hm...I think she called Hod in from Giess to guard her as she talked to someone.”

”Alright, thanks. I'll check it out and make sure the situation is stable. A reminder of who Amara's working for might be in order as well.” I rolled my shoulders, ”I can be intimidating when I want to be.”

Diesel scoffed, ”That's an understatement, sir.”

Being called sir still weirded me out some, though not to the extent it used to. I pointed at the designs, ”I'd love to talk more about this stuff, but I have to head out. It was good catching up.”

Diesel stepped back, giving me some space to move out of his workspace,

”Sure thing, sir.”

I stepped out onto the second floor. Here the merits of industry shined. We developed some laser and plasmic weapons while I left, several individuals using them on a shooting range. The plasma, in particular, looked useful against eldritch. It clung onto whatever it hit, singing and melting until nothing remained but a puddle. Considering how virulent eldritch could be, that thorough destruction was invaluable.

It kind of disappointed me finding only a few elemental weapons left. Their designs mustn't have been very efficient when weaponized, considering no one used them anymore. For the most part, the main difference in their weaponry stemmed from a shift in mentality.

All this gear worked against eldritch. Acid, plasma, and kinetic firearms were the name of the game. Our soldiers used these in conjunction with each other for maximizing their effects. I learned these tactics while walking towards a few darkened rooms with chairs for sitting.

These dark lit rooms made the perfect places for sitting down in an obelisk. Those devices encompassed their users in light. The dark made them easy to spot, so you didn't run into them. Using a preloaded program, they built a few simulations for testing these weapons out.

I found a line of people running through artificial dungeons. Above them, a screen exposed their current positions and POVs. These soldiers worked together, tossing out grenades and using harpoon cannons. The ballistic weapons left massive wounds on the eldritch. They would heal these quickly if not for the backup troops behind them.

This other set of soldiers behind the ballistics corp fired the acid and plasmic weaponry into the wounds of the monsters. This halted regeneration while inflicting massive internal wounds. The strategy seemed sound, safe, and sane when compared to my own methods.

At the same time, this teaching method wasn't without its problems. I watched one of the procedures from start to finish. A few of the troops goofed around, teabagged the eldritch, and took it as a playful exercise. That kind of attitude resulted in death further down the line. They also ran the same simulations with only subtle variations in it. That wouldn't work in the real world.

Every dungeon was different. Learning to adapt to wildly varying scenarios was the name of the game. Besides these trainees, an instructor dripped cold sweat. I turned to him,

”You oversee this?”

The mustached man stood up straight, giving me a salute, ”Yes, sir.”

I waved a hand at it, ”This is a great strategy. It makes killing certain eldritch a cakewalk. At the same time, this might be too easy. What kind of other simulations are there?”

The officer waved his hands, ”The technology department hasn't made any other virtualizations since this is relatively new. We're working on a few other scenarios as we speak.”

”Good. I'd recommend giving the troops a scenario without weaponry. Avoiding the eldritch or learning to compete against weaker ones without weapons is essential over the long-term. Otherwise, they're very dependent on their gear to survive.”

I counted on my fingers, ”If they run out of ammo, someone sneak attacks them, or any number of situations occurs, these guys are dead. Not every fight will be clean and dry like this. Some are messy. They should be ready for that kind of a mess. Otherwise, they'll die.”

The officer blinked, ”Uhm, yes sir. Of course. I'll pass it along to the tech department.”

”Overall, you're doing well. Keep it up.”

The officer nodded, ”Thank you, sir.”

I waved a hand, ”Uh, as you were.”

The officer turned towards the people in the simulation while shouting, ”Get to work maggots! I want to see some sweat.”

I walked off, not sure if I helped the situation. After passing the weaponry department, the construction portion of Mt. Verner revealed itself. The implementation of mana changed every aspect of technology. With a reliable, clean energy source at our disposal, power constraints like batteries ceased existing. Instead, runic inscriptions allowed the conversion of mana into electricity. They used all kinds of methods for this conversion to handle a lack of skill on the user's part as well.

Some worked like engines, converting mechanical force into electricity. Others required the direct input of lightning, using discharging overloaders to redistribute bursts of power. As complicated as that sounds, it only held an overabundance of energy to prevent the circuitry from frying.

Past these smaller devices, the larger vehicles and power armors lined up. A few of the vehicles mirrored the machinery on Giess, using crystallized mana of some sort. After sending a few messages, I found the head of the vehicle department.

A chubby, rotund man wobbled up out of his office using an uncomfortable jog. He reached out a hand as he neared me, ”Hello there sir. I am Mike Mcgusto.”

I gave him a handshake using two of my fingers, ”I'm Daniel Hillside. I wanted to talk to you about these new vehicle designs. How do they work?”

Mike jimmied a fancier uniform that still carried a layer of oil and grime on it,

”We've been experimenting with the use of external mana outputs you see. These here are some of the prototypes for that very design. While not perfect, they might allow us to use vehicles that don't strain a person's mind while driving them.”

I put a hand on his shoulder, ”I'm halting research and development of this technology in the guild. Immediately.”

”W-w-what sir? But these will make transport simpler, and there's plenty of mana to be found in the dungeons we've conquered. Why would we abandon something that could revolutionize our lives forever?”

I stood up straight, ”I've visited Giess, and I've learned that using that mana creates mana pollution. It's hard to get rid of, and nasty creatures can feed on it. If I had time to go into detail about it, I would. Suffice it to say, this will cause more harm than good.”

”I...I” Mike's arms flopped against his sides, ”Understood, sir.”

I pointed at the tech department, ”This is all very impressive. I'll have Torix increase your funds to compensate for the wasted research and development. That should make this setback easier to tank.”

Mike nodded, his mood reversing the moment money was mentioned,

”Of course sir. That would be amazing.”

”Alright. How about two million credits yearly?”

Mike took a step or two back before falling backward. I caught him with a gravity well before he busted his ass. I raised an eyebrow, ”Are you ok?”

”Y-y-yes. Very.” He got back onto his feet, ”That's simply quadrupling our funding. It took me by surprise.”

I shrugged, ”I'll pay for it personally. Also, increase Diesel's budget. He gets one-tenth of that.”

”Absolutely sir. Perhaps you'd be interested in seeing our selections of power armor?”

”Yeah.”

We walked across a series of forklifts and engineering panels. Situated into the wall, dozens of different power armors covered the walls. They used the same discharger design, converting raw mana into power using a variety of different methods. Some even used a technique I'd never heard of, the elemental muscle design. EMD for short.

It was something Diesel came up with. Specific individuals had affinities for different kinds of elements or elemental forces. By implanting those elements into the joints of power armor, a mage could use them to manipulate the suit. It acted like a muscular system and required years of training to master.

At the same time, the maneuverability and power of these devices were unmatched, at least for other armors. Even better, the user's level-ups enhanced the plate mail as well. This was because their mastery of mana and the element increased the control and force they could use with the devices. In fact, it mirrored my own use of gravity in combat.

I enhanced my movements with gravitational flows. An ice bender would do the same technique but by jerking icy blocks hidden in the armor. My method skipped the whole armor and elemental grafting part, but not everyone could use gravity like I could. This let someone cleverly overcome physical limitations.

My instincts about Diesel were right. After getting showed a few more experimental and less practical designs, I worked my way towards the eldritch holding cells. Here I found a few surprises. The first involved Amara and Hod, both of them talking with a feminine blob of sorts.

Hod reminded me of his previous self, though his demeanor changed a bit. He stood eleven feet tall, a bit of a shadowy aura ebbing from him. The birdman looked tense, ready to strike at any moment. Amara stood at ease, trusting Hod with her protection as she faced her palms to Wrath.

On the other hand, the dark, gray-blue blob spoke with quiet confidence. The humanoid figure's words echoed across the rooms with an absoluteness to them, the same as Helios or Caprika.

Yup, she was royalty. What kind of royalty I couldn't say.

As I stepped up, I analyzed her.

Wrath, Queen of Svia(lvl 12,837 | Class: Fringe Walker | Race: Ahcorus(Otherwise known as slimes)) - Wrath is the queen of the Svia sector of the slime's home planet, Slus. She earned her name by conquering several of the nests that surrounded her before Schema assimilated her planet. Since then, she's proven very effective at cleansing worlds of eldritch infestation...

They all stared at me as I walked up, each of them looking confused. I waved,

”Hey guys. I'm here to visit. Did you get my message?”

As I stepped up, I outsized them all, though Wrath carried a weight to her presence that made up for that. Well, that's not factoring in my auras. Before the queen responded, Hod raised his hands,

”Harbinger back. Hod miss buddy.”

He ran up, giving me an awkward hug. I hugged back with one arm,

”It's good to see you too...”

About seven seconds later, Hod still held on.

”So, uh, are you going to let me go?”

Hod pulled himself back, a look of satisfaction coming over his face.

”Hod understand Harbinger's confusion. Hod's brilliance hard to understand. See, Hod not know how long hug last. Sometime long hug. Sometime short hug. Always hard work telling which hug should use.”

Hod tapped the side of his head,

”Hod discover secret. If Hod hold on until ask to stop, Hod not have to tell which hug type is. Hod activate easy mode.” Hod lifted his chin, pleased with himself,

”Hod outdo himself sometimes.”

Amara stared down, even aiming her hands down as her long, wispy black hair covered her expressionless face. It impressed me that Hod evoked shame in an eldritch. Socially speaking, it was an achievement. Wrath walked up, ignoring them both. Her steps were silent, akin to a predator. She turned between the both of us,

”You must be the guild leader here? How do you know who I am?”

I pointed between us, ”We met before during my interview with Chrona. I'm the 'Gray Giant.' This is me without the disguise.”

Wrath tilted the rough approximation of a head, ”So you hide your true self in a shell, like a hatchling before birth. Why?”

I waved my hands, ”It's complicated. Thisbey used my identity for his own means. I didn't agree with those means, so I separated my personal identity from the Gray Giant. Either way, it's almost irrelevant at this point, but please, don't go spreading it around.”

Wrath lifted her arms, each of them ending with four fingers and golded claws,