Arthur was just about to open his upgrade menu when Athena landed on top of his turret and squawked. According to his skill, that noise didn’t mean anything important, so he only spared her a confused glance in his spirit form and moved back to the task at hand.
Only the little bird wasn’t willing to leave him alone just yet. She cawed again and pointed her wing toward the corpses littering the path to the ruins. This time, there was no mistaking what she wanted.
Arthur would have rolled his eyes if he had any.
So impatient. I was going to recycle them after the upgrade… but fine. Armory, go.
Smoke filled the battlefield, and in less than a minute, all of the bodies were gone. He wanted to check whether those inside the fort had been claimed as well. But that could wait. New engine first!
Come to me, my sweet, beautiful upgrade.
There was no hesitation when Arthur opened the upgrade menu and made his choice.
Upgrading Engine to Tier II. 10 UP consumed. Stand by…
Unlike with Mobility, there was barely any golden light visible from the outside. No surprises there, as after all, his engine was hidden inside his vessel. Still, he managed to spot some glow escaping through the few gaps and vents in the back. That, and he also felt the change happening, both in his Core and metal body.
Some time later, the process came to an end.
Upgrade finished successfully. Engine has been returned to Pristine condition.
Arthur ignored that and pulled up the description of his new part.
[Engine (Tier II)]
Type: Mana-Enhanced Diesel
Power: E-
Special Effects: Perfect Cooling
“A redesigned and reworked version of the old V12. By infusing it with one of the weaker mystic energies during its production, it’s more efficient and consumes less fuel. Some would call it the industry standard. Not Vanguard, though.”
Arthur hummed. Now this looked pretty damn good. Power jumped right into the next rank, and based on the much longer description, it should work better, too. At the very least, he may no longer need to suffer his engine dying every few minutes.
Then there was the special effect. It didn’t take a genius to understand what it meant, but he checked its description anyway. Better safe than sorry.
[Perfect Cooling - No matter how hard you push your engine, it will never overheat. Not even being on fire will stop it from working. Disclaimer: This doesn’t mean your vessel is now immune to fire.]
Yep, exactly what I expected. Nice. One less thing to worry about.
Before he dismissed both descriptions, Arthur’s gaze lingered on one line.
“Weaker mystic energies.”
If Mana, something even he remembered from almost every fantasy fiction, was considered weak, what did the higher tiers look like? His Ether? Something else?
Another question to save for later, he thought, finally focusing on the present. He glanced at Athena and called out. Watch this.
The bird chirped, and Arthur took it as his cue to fire up his engine.
At once, a raw, mechanical roar filled the area, then settled into a deep, slow rumble. Smoke again billowed from his exhaust, but it no longer looked toxic and as dark as night. No, now it took a more gray hue.
Arthur chuckled.
This sounded good. No longer a dying tractor, but a proper machine of war. Sure, it was a bit quieter now, but he didn’t mind that at all. Hell, he preferred it that way. The closer he could get to demons without alerting them, the better.
What do you think? he asked his only companion.
Athena did the bird equivalent of a shrug and spread her wings, looking more than a little bit smug.
Arthur huffed. Well, excuse me for being happy. Not all of us can fly. Maybe in the future though…
That was a dream worth chasing. The freedom of flight… he had tasted it for a moment when he shared Athena’s body. And it was wonderful. To go wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted, without any obstacles in his way.
He wasn’t sure how he could achieve this goal as a tank, but maybe the System would offer him some alternatives. He definitely wouldn’t mind becoming something like a fighter jet. That could be fun, even if landing anywhere in lands like those could be difficult.
Stolen novel; please report.
We will see, he thought before shooting Athena another glance. Ready for more hunting?
The happy chirp was all he needed to hear.
The difference between his new and old engine? Like heaven and earth.
Before, in the span of just an hour, his engine could die about ten times while moving his vessel slower than a person could casually walk. This was no longer the case.
He had been driving, killing, and exploring for over two hours now, and not once did he have to restart the engine. Better yet, he could climb out of holes or scale small hills without his Hook. It was glorious. As was his new top speed.
About thirty miles per hour, according to his strange instincts.
Not much compared to the cars of his old world. But Arthur didn’t care about that. He could finally move faster than a god damn snail. It made reaching the demons Athena scouted so much easier.
That said, his hunt was still far from efficient.
Even though he had managed to slaughter three more groups in the last two hours, that was still too slow in his opinion. And no, it wasn’t his impatience talking… well, maybe not.
Athena could locate multiple demon patrols in a matter of minutes, but Arthur could only ever chase down one. It was inefficient, slow, and quite irritating. He really hated allowing his prey to escape.
So, it was time for a new approach.
Instead of chasing demons all around the wasteland, he would force them to come to him. Or rather, Athena would be the one to bait them to where he set up shop.
Would that work?
Arthur had no idea. It didn’t hurt to try, though. Besides, by giving Athena more freedom, she just might find something else he could destroy for Upgrade Points. Really, at this point, he wouldn’t even mind facing another Hell Gate. He just needed to generate more ammo first.
Let’s get to work…
Here they come.
Perched atop the tallest hillock in the middle of a vast plain, Arthur stuck out like a sore thumb. The nearby fires, rocks, or dead trees did nothing to hide him. Not that he wanted to hide in the first place.
No, this was about standing his ground. Every demon that dared to approach would die. A little game of King of the Hill. Arthur didn’t know where he got the name, but it fit.
Load, he ordered, feeling the HE shell slide into the chamber. Far away, the swarm of demons grew larger in his crosshairs. He was kind of impressed by how stupid they had to be to chase after a small red bird.
Sure, said bird always killed one of theirs in a drive-by, but still…
Good job, Athena. Grenades in five, Arthur spoke over their link, earning a sharp caw in response. Show them true hell.
The five seconds passed, then a few more, and explosions erupted among the horde. Plenty of demons died on the spot, but most continued onward, including two Cyclopes.
Arthur aimed his cannon higher to compensate for the distance and pulled the trigger. A moment later, the HE shell detonated in the middle of the hounds leading the group.
1000 meters. Reload.
With no chances for a truly precise hit at this range, another HE shell left his barrel within seconds. Somehow, it managed to make one of the Cyclops fall by exploding close to its leg. Athena finished the job with a grenade straight to the head.
Afterward, two more HEs erupted among the thinning horde before Arthur finally fired up his machine gun. He could have used it earlier, as its effective range was pretty good, but with his current aim, he would have ended up wasting a lot of ammo anyway. Better to wait until every round could equal one demon dead.
As for his cannon?
AP shell went flying next and slammed into the shoulder of the last Cyclops. The blast made it stumble and then tumble to the ground. A quick reload, one more shot, and the monster’s head caved in.
That just left quite a few Fiends, some Hounds, and bats. Arthur fired up his engine and rolled down the hill, his machine gun never stopping firing.
Most of the survivors fell to his gun and Athena’s air support, but a single Fiend and two Hounds managed to survive the culling. Arthur ordered his companion to leave them alone and continued onward at full speed.
The demons met him head-on, hoping that maybe he was just another weak bag of flesh.
They couldn’t have been more wrong.
Their blood spattered across his hull, the echo of their bones breaking filling his mind. In seconds, they were no more, crushed under the weight of his metal frame.
Arthur chuckled as he rolled to a stop in the middle of dozens of slaughtered demons.
So I can ram them now. Good. Less ammo wasted.
A moment later, Athena landed on the barrel of his cannon, her beak covered in blood. She locked gaze with his spirit form, and for a time, they just stared at each other as his confusion grew.
This isn’t your blood, right?
Athena huffed and jabbed her wing toward one of the nearby corpses.
You ate it?
She did her version of a shrug.
Arthur stifled the urge to ram his body, both metal and spirit, into the nearest rock. Nobody had told him his new companion was a flesh-eating machine. Though, in hindsight, it kinda explained why her species was called Bloodwing. He thought it was a wordplay on the color of her feathers, but well…
That said, he still had to ask.
Why?
Athena cawed once, and he understood right away.
Energy.
Just like every normal creature needed food to survive, Athena could also consume certain stuff to sustain herself. Strange that she retained that function after becoming more machine than flesh, but Arthur wasn’t about to complain. This gave her another way to be self-reliant. Who cared if she snacked on demons anyway?
Okay, you can rest or go search for more prey.
Based on how she hopped to his turret and flopped down there, she obviously chose the former. Arthur shrugged mentally and ordered his Armory to recycle the bodies. In the meantime, he summoned his notifications.
To his surprise, there was more than one.
Battle won! 2 UP awarded. Your Core grows stronger.
Feat achieved! 250 monsters slain. 5 UP awarded. New skill acquired: Power Shot.
Well hello there… More upgrades, here I come!
