The Pilot of Wrath

Chapter 6 – Crushes and Traps

Matt stumbled to his left as the beast rammed him, half skidding, and half stepping. He didn’t get a good look at it but saw a smooth surface rising up to the mid chest of his mech, the surface made up of octagonal plates. He managed to stay upright but lost his auto cannon in the scuffle as he kicked away. He soared back a dozen meters, powered by the powerful legs of his mech, and got a good look at the thing that nearly steamrolled him. It looked like a giant turtle, but with longer legs that let it stand at 5 meters tall. he used identify on it.

Tortoise Crusher. Level 18

So, he wasn’t far off in his first guess, but it didn’t solve his issue of being separated from his primary weapon. With no other options he reached down to the giant tomahawk in his thigh holster, hoping that it would be enough to pierce the hide, or in this case the shell, of this beast. The Tortoise realigned on him and pulled its head back into its shell. With the head now protected by the horns coming off the top and bottom shells, it charged.

The tortoise was surprisingly fast in the charge, but Matt backpedaled at an angle away from the beast. He managed to get out of the charge path, despite the slight course correction the tortoise made. As it passed, he lashed out at its front leg with the bladed side of his weapon, he hoped it would be able to bite in and… Crunch. The blade separated the flesh easily but lodged in what had to be an incredibly dense bone. With a jerk, Matt was able to free the weapon from the leg, immediately side stepping toward his auto cannon. The turtle hobbled in the direction of its charge for a few more steps, blood gushing from the half meter long cut in its right leg.

The tortoise rotated around again, trying to line up on Matt who was still backing toward his primary weapon. This time instead of charging right away, it paused and eyed Matt, looking for a weak point. It was a bad move on the tortoise’s part as Matt finally came within arm’s reach of his autocannon again. Matt transferred the tomahawk to his left hand as his right found the grip of the cannon. He raised it with the stock again couched under his arm, not waiting for a perfect firing solution, he flipped the selector to auto and pinned the trigger back.

Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang… Matt dumped half his remaining magazine into the beast at less than 100 meters. Some shots hit the shell, either clanging off or blowing chunks out of it, but there were a few that found the gaps. Those shots that found the opening in the shell were for lack of a better term, highly effective. At least 5 found flesh and delivered their payload directly into the depths of the beast. The tortoise continued on for a couple meters just from momentum before falling to the ground, blood and viscera spilling from the wounds in rivers of red.

You have Killed: Tortoise Crusher. Level 18

Experience Earned.

“Fuck, that was brutal.” Matt said, almost gagging at the sight.

“You’re telling me.” Tobias said as he rustled around behind Matt doing, something. “I only had my lower restrains on when the turtle hit us. Way to inter-. Awe damnit all!” he said. As Matt turned around to look at him. “My book is torn up.”

“…” Matt just looked at Tobias, his disappointment nearly equal to his relief at the problem only being a book. He just turned back around, switching his attention back to the outside and taking a look at the status of his mech.

Horizon’s Vanguard (Van)

Class: Skirmisher

Armor Points: 875/1100

Energy Points: 807/1300 (1150/2500)

Matt reached out to Van mentally while Tobias got right with Jesus or whatever he was doing back there. “Van, are you ok? We took quite a hit and I’m not sure how Armor Points work.”

“Yes, I am fine, the mech exists separately from me. It is essentially just a shell that I occupy. The core of my being can not be damaged in that way.”

Matt was relieved, he went on to learn that there was a display option showing which parts of the mech were damaged. It unfortunately wasn’t color coded, but it did have tags describing the extent of the damage.

Construct Damage:

Left upper leg armor – Crushing.

Left lower torso armor – Crushing.

Left lower arm armor – Piercing, crushing.

While the damage was not very widespread, it was limiting him. He could feel the armor plates rubbing against each other through the link. His mobility was also slightly impaired, having only noticed as he resumed less frantic movement. Thankfully, Van explained that he wouldn’t need a trip to the repair shop and some quality time with power tools and probably a welder to fix the mech. The armor would slowly repair itself over time using mana or Energy Points as it was called when converted for the mechs use.

Matt reloaded the autocannon and stored the expended magazine in his expense pouch using this as a perfect time to find out how much it would cost to create a new one. He channeled Energy points into the ammo pouch and was shocked to see the reserve plumet by 200 points. After the cost of repairing his armor, and replacing the magazine, he was down to less than 400 Energy Points. There was nothing he could do about it at the moment, he had additional magazines, 5 to be specific so he had some sustainability. Matt would need to have a long think over how to handle energy management in the future.

Moving back to the intersection where the ambush had taken place, Matt inspected the hole that the tortoise had ambushed them from. It had been dug into the canyon wall under a natural overhang. The tortoise was nearly the same color as the walls and floor of the canyon, creating a perfect environment for it to lay in wait. Matt peeked into the mouth of the hole but didn’t see anything inside besides scrape marks from where the creature had dug in. Looking up, Matt considered the sun and how long they had been moving. Perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad idea to stop for the night.

When Matt proposed the idea to Tobias, they both agreed that an early night would be a good idea. They ended up finding a raised outcropping that they could easily climb in the mech, a good place to set up camp for the night. Matt reached down and plucked some of the shrubs that covered the area, getting several bushels to camouflage their camp but mostly to break up the silhouette of the mech. They began preparing the site, Tobias clearing an area for them to set sleeping bags and a fire while Matt started tying on the brush to the armor panels on the mech. Once they were done prepping the site, they broke out some of the rations and Tobias threw a couple books at Matt.

Matt caught the books and read the covers, only slightly annoyed at the titles. They were titled: Piloting a Construct, The System and the Higher Plane, and lastly Classes and Leveling. All the books were apparently written for “Idiots” according to the black and yellow covers. Matt had seen Tobias buying a bunch of books and while he planned on borrowing them, this felt insulting.

“Really?”

“Well, I kinda figured you would forget to get anything that would shed light on our current situation so, as usual I have to pick up the slack in the knowledge department.” Tobias snarked. It was typical of him, always invested in knowledge and the greater “Why”. Even when they were in the Army, Tobias was heavily invested in correspondence courses which had led to his success in the R&D circles.

Matt broke out a notebook and started writing a list. A list of things he would like to have based on his recent experiences and some of what he knew from Earth. “Toby, your class is all about designing and making stuff right? Like do you gain experience from designing things or does it have to be making them?” Matt had a hope and a dream that would ensure there were some levels for Tobias on this road trip.

“Not sure, it mentions it in the class description so I would have to try it.” Tobias said as Matt handed him the list. He read it over and thought about how he could actually make a design or what would count as a template to the system. “Let’s give it a shot. Can I take a look at your cannon for the sling?”

Van maneuvered the cannon over so Tobias could inspect it. He produced his tablet and stylus, taking note of the hard points on the weapon and the armor on the mech. He asked about the weight of the cannon, and any spots that had to stay clear for the action. After about 20 minutes of futzing around and circling the mech, he suddenly stopped.

“I just got a level!” Tobias half shouted. He lowered his voice before he continued. “I had everything planned out, but I only completed the design when I specified the material requirements” Tobias turned the tablet around showing Matt the design. “It’s a simple two-point sling but the front contact point is at the midpoint, just in front of the receiver. It should allow retention without getting in the way. Only problem is we don’t have the means to make it.”

“That’s not a problem, I can deal with it for now. Maybe when we get to the city, the forge will have something we can use.” Matt said, not sure what the city would actually have, or what the forge could do. “My hope is that on our way you can create more designs and level one of your classes. Put that big brain to use instead of just being a passenger princess.”

“Oh yeah? Well maybe if you…”

They bantered back and forth for a while longer before deciding on a watch schedule. They agreed to split it into 3 parts since Van could act as a sentry and would warn them of any approaching danger. Tobias and Matt also channeled mana into the reserve of the mech, planning on doing this several times over the course of the night but never letting their mana pool drop below 50%. With the watch settled and their stomachs filled, they settled in for the night.

The night ended up being uneventful, Tobias saying he heard some distant noises on his shift but didn’t see anything. The Mech had its battery almost topped off which was a relief, but Matt still added larger battery to his wish list for the future. Matt ended up sleeping in his armor, minus his helmet, not wanting to be caught out if some critter came calling. It wasn’t the best sleep he ever had but he was also used to operating on little sleep while in the field. They had a quick breakfast and then mounted up again with Matt electing to keep the bushes on the mech since they still were in the desert terrain. They had only been moving for an hour when Matt saw what could be a golden opportunity for them.

A pack or , in this case, flock of about a dozen bird like creatures. The avians stood about 2 meters tall and had large crests on their heads, which stood on long necks. They looked like a cassowary other than the coloring being more muted in color. They dug into the ground with 3 toed feet, tipped with long talons that looked like they meant business. Matt used identify on one of them.

Crested Thrasher level 8

All the birds were of a similar level, ranging from a low of 7 to a high of 9. Matt suspected they would be fast using darting, hit, and run tactics. He shared his findings with Tobias, and they decided to take this one on foot with Van acting as backup fire support incase things turned ugly. They prepared a position on the slope of the ravine wall. The plan was for Matt to throw one of his flashbangs at them then fall back to Tobias and they could set up a kill zone.

Matt crept up to the flock of birds, at the max range for how far he could throw a grenade in his armor. He could lob a frag about 100 meters with the lighter flashbang going a bit farther. He gripped the body of the grenade, thumb holding down the spoon a jerked out the pin. Without further delay he hurled it at his feathered foes. The grenade arced toward them but Matt didn’t stay around to watch as he took off, sprinting back to where Tobias was waiting. While he ran, he monitored the birds in his helmets reverse camera. The grenade smacked right into one of the level 7’s before detonating. The birds were stunned, allowing Matt to increase his lead to nearly 200 meters before they noticed him and began chasing.

The birds were fast, easily half again as fast at Matt but he still had a lot of distance on them. Rounding a bend in the ravine, he ran up the trail on the sloping wall, sliding into the fighting position next to Tobias. The waist high rock wall was more for concealment than anything since the birds didn’t have anything to shoot them with. He braced his rifle on the top of the wall and watched the bend where the birds would be coming from. Tobias right next to him with his PDW, braced in a similar position. The birds started coming around the corner, slowing and looking around for where Matt had gone. Tobias waited for them to move past the base of the trail before firing his first burst, taking the level 9 in the center of mass with a quartet of bullets.

Matt started in on the lower-level ones at the rear of the group, hoping to confuse them. They dropped quickly from double taps, legs kicking as they fell to the dusty ground. Tobias had kept his bursts short, able to drop 3 of them before the birds were able to home in on them. The 6 still standing birds started rushing toward them, shrieking as they ran, but they still had 50 meters before they reached the base of the steep incline. 4 birds as they made the base of the hill. 2 birds by the time they made it to the upper slope. 1 bird, angry beyond belief, leapt over the wall and launched a kick at Matt.

The level 9 bird raked its talons at Matt who kicked away, rolling in a backward summersault as he avoided the 20-centimeter-long claws aimed at his throat. Tobias fired his last 2 rounds from behind as the bird oriented on Matt. One round taking it in the leg and the other going wide and impacting the canyon wall. The leg gave out and the bird flopped to the side, still kicking with its one good leg.

Matt stood and pointed his rifle at the thing, not firing since he wanted Tobias to get the experience. A not so smooth reload later and Tobias his PDW back in action and fired a burst into the back of the creature, ending its suffering. Matt did a quick scan over the area, seeing only a couple still twitching, nerves firing their last impulses long after they were dead. He looked over to Tobias and gave him a thumbs up, the gesture being returned, albeit a little tremor in the gesture.

“Other than the last one, that plan worked very well for you two.” Van said over their coms. He had observed the whole thing from a little farther back in the shadow of the canyon wall.

“I thought so.” Said Matt changing mags and stowing the mostly empty one in his dump pouch so it would recycle as a new one generated. He would have liked to start the engagement with a frag grenade, but Tobias had brought up that wouldn’t leave many for him. Given that the whole point of this endeavor had been to get Tobias levels, he had to agree. “How did you do?” He asked Tobias.

“I got 3 levels from that in my Defender class. Looks like the classes level separately like I thought.” Tobias said, a smile spreading across his face.

“Good deal. Now let’s load up and move on, I would like to hit the edge of the forest by the end of the day.” Matt was pleased with the results too, he managed another 2 levels and then noticed something.

You have killed:

Crested Thrasher Level 7

Crested Thrasher Level 7

Crested Thrasher Level 8

Crested Thrasher Level 8

Crested Thrasher Level 9

Bonus Experience earned for killing an enemy above your level.

Class Pilot - Skirmisher is Level 4.

Stat points awarded.

Turns out the amplification effect of the mech was a 10 times multiplier. Meaning that if he wanted bonus experience, he would have to fight enemies 10 times above his level when using the mech. It made sense in a balancing way, the power of his mech was incredible and almost made fights unfair, if fair mattered in a fight to the death. Matt would take every advantage he could get and wouldn’t feel bad about it.

Matt continued moving through the ravines, noticing that the walls had rapidly shrunk in height to the point that they were barely taller than his mech. They stumbled upon a couple more of the birds in ones and twos, but they ran off before Matt could begin to target them. After another few kilometers, the cleared the last of the now short ravines and saw the scrub plane laid out before them, the edge of the forest now visible in the distance. Before moving into the flats, he did a thorough search of the area. The mirage coming up prevented him from seeing much but the brush couldn’t be hiding anything too large, still he scanned for several minutes before committing to the open area.

Matt asked a question that had been on his mind since he took his first steps in this mech. “Van, how fast is this mech?” He had wanted to open it up, but the confines of the canyons and ravines never gave him much chance with the turns and possibility of another ambush.

“I am unsure of the exact speed but there is a way to find out.” Van said back, excitement tinging his voice.

“How do you not know?” asked Tobias. “I thought you knew everything about the mech.”

“Remember that I am 2 days old, while I have much knowledge of how things work, I don’t fully know the capabilities of this construct.” Van replied, again reminding Matt that while his mentality was mature, he had little actual experience.

Not seeing any enemies, Matt pressed forward. Moving into the short brush at a walk, then a trot, then a run, before going into an all-out sprint. The ground flew by with the slightly jarring pace. He brought up a secondary overlay to his display and a speedometer popped up. 64 kph showed in the lower left of his vision, faster than the mechs back on Earth, they topped out at around 30 on flat paved roads. He thought that was a little suspect for such a large machine but then remembered 2 things, Stats and magic. His dexterity was 32 with his armor so 320 in his System constructed mech. They would be at the tree line in no time at this speed.