> Machine dominion protocol: Intrusion successful.
The Kastelan's head snapped 180 degrees. Its glowing visor turned from red to blue.
"What heresy is this?! No!" Kaspel screamed as his control slate sparked and died. "Binaric override! Spirit of this Machine, I command you—"
The Kastelan didn't listen. It swung a massive Power Fist, not at the Iron Monger, but at one of the Skitarii beside it. The blow was catastrophic, turning the mechanical and flesh-construct into molten slag.
But the strain was too much. The Iron Monger suit was a wreck, and Hans's MP was draining at an unsustainable rate to keep the link active. Unlike with Gerhard, his Mana regeneration wasn't close to enough to keep the suit active for that long.
The Magos, realising he had lost his titan, went into a frenzy, screaming incomprehensible words. He lunged forward, his Omnissian Axe humming with power.
His augmented body allowed him to bury the blade deep into the Iron Monger's chest, right where Hans' core was.
CRRR-AAACK.
The feedback loop hit Hans, severing his connection to the Kastelan Robot. The blue light in the Kastelan's eyes flickered and died. Then the machine fell into a slumped standby mode, as the forceful severing had slightly damaged its Machine Spirit.
The Iron Monger suit collapsed to its knees, its power core hissing. Hans used his final drops of Mana and reached out, grabbing the Omnissian Axe's handle and pulling it out of the Magus' hands.
Kaspel pressed his Gamma Pistol against the faceplate.
"00101111000010101000... You Abominable Intelligence! You will cease your heresy and return to the Omnissian's control."
"I wouldn't count on that."
The voice came from the shadows behind the Magos. It was very human and sounded enraged.
[Bind]
[Bind]
[Bind]
[Bind]
[Bind]
Gerhard held a glowing Spirit Stone in one hand as he used [Burning Spirit Principle] to heal himself fully.
Magos Kaspel was jerked backwards as the mana ropes wrapped around his metallic-flesh body. He continued cursing as he fell and lost his grip on his weapon.
The remaining Skitarii Ranger froze mid-step, his stilt-legs tied together, sending him crashing to the floor.
The Kastelan Robot was ensnared in glowing Mana ropes several times, as Gerhard used the spell three times on it to make sure it was locked in place.
Gerhard coughed. He looked at the mostly ruined Iron Monger suit, which had suffered more now than during the fight with the Orks.
"Hans," Gerhard said. "You still with us?"
> Master: ...SUIT INTEGRITY: 4%. CALCULATING... I BELIEVE WE HAVE WON, MASTER.
> THOUGH I RECOMMEND... WE KILL THE LOUD ONE... FIRST.
Gerhard wiped his mouth, a smirk forming on his face despite the situation.
"Good idea. But let's first see what a Magos looks like when he's stripped for parts. He is bound to have a lot of secrets stored in that cogitator of his."
Despite what happened and the fact that Gerhard had let his guard down after the long fight against the Orks, it wasn't without its own positive aspects.
That was the problem with playing around with Luck. Gerhard's life had changed. He was no longer in the 'trial' period, so to speak.
It was good that he got another reminder NEVER to let his guard down, even when he thinks he's safe, things can turn to shit. [Danger Sense] wasn't an absolute skill.
Because of a rather striking lack of danger for several months, the skill hadn't grown at all. Gerhard's tendency to overprepare worked against him a bit.
On the other hand, one had to admit that now, Gerhard had access to a Tech Priest and if he worked on his Mana a bit, even his memories. But that would take time.
So in a way, Gerhard had been lucky to come across this shit squad. A Gamma Pistol was a seriously powerful weapon.
"Worth it."
[Repeated exposure to the same abnormal condition detected]
[Repeated forced recovery detected]
[Analysing biological response…]
[Analysing energy interaction…]
[Conclusion:]
[ Survival achieved under extreme ionising radiation]
[Recovery performed under active contamination]
[Adaptation threshold reached]
[A new resistance-type skill is being created…]
[Through repeated exposure to ionising radiation, persistent cellular damage, and forced recovery, the skill 'Radiation Resistance' has been created.]
Radiation Resistance (Passive) Lv. 1
| EXP: 0.00%
| The body adapts to ionising radiation and high-energy contamination through survival and repeated exposure.
Effects:
| -10% damage from radiation-based attacks
| -10% duration and severity of radiation-related status effects
| +10% stability under radiation exposure
| Slight reduction in pain and internal damage caused by radiation
-
[Through repeated exposure to ionising radiation, persistent cellular damage, and forced recovery, the skill 'Heat Resistance' has been created.]
Heat Resistance (Passive) Lv. 1
| EXP: 0.00%
| The body adapts to extreme temperatures and thermal damage through repeated exposure and recovery.
Effects:
| -10% damage from heat-based attacks (fire, plasma, explosions)
| -10% duration of burn-type status effects
| +10% tolerance to high temperatures
| Slight reduction in pain and performance loss from heat
.
[Hans - Lv. 34]
| EXP: 18.50%
|An artificial spirit and former Man of Iron, AKA Iron Automaton, who had degraded over millennia, broken down and recreated by Gerhard, the Gamer. He has been granted artificial life, which is protected from most dangers the natural souls face.
| HP: -
| MP: 5950
-------------------
| STR: -
| VIT: -
| DEX: -
| INT: 265
| WIS: 149
| LUK: 15
-------------------
Status Points: 165
-------------------
Skills:
Awakened Machine Spirit (Passive/Active) Lv.3
| EXP: 0.60%
| The dormant authority of a forbidden intelligence awakens.
| A remnant of the Men of Iron asserts control over lesser systems.
Effects:
| +40% efficiency when interacting with technology
| Can override simple machines (Active)
| Perceives machine states and weaknesses
| +1 Parallel Processing Thread
Special:
| Allows limited communication and influence over machine spirits
-
Distributed Cognition Core (Active/Passive) Lv. 2
| Hans splits his processing into multiple independent threads.
Effects:
| +1 additional processing threads
| +30% calculation speed
Can handle:
| -> combat analysis
| -> targeting
| -> crafting assistance simultaneously
-
Machine Dominion Protocol (Active/Passive) Lv. 1
| The true nature of a Man of Iron begins to emerge.
Effects:
Can override complex systems
| -> turrets
| -> vehicles
| -> basic servitors
| Can network multiple machines together
Special:
| Creates a local machine network field
-
"Those are some impressive stats and skills, Hans."
> I agree. It does look rather good now. But the skills are still disgustingly underlevelled. I wonder if we could use the Kastelan Robot to increase them.
"I don't see why not. I was thinking that we could use the Kastelan as a base for that body you wanted," Gerhard said.
> What about the Powered Assault armours then?
"You have multiple thought threads now, so I don't see why we need to change anything. Or I could create a new Artificial Spirit/Soul."
> Negative.
"No? Why not?"
> That wouldn't be logical.
"Why not?" Gerhard laughed. "Dividing your attention among too many different things would be the illogical part."
> I disagree. A new Artificial Spirit or Soul wouldn't have the experience and knowledge I hold. It wouldn't be able to help you as efficiently as I could. Therefore, it is illogical.
"Hans, I think there's a green light on your core."
> I'm not jealous.
"Whatever you say, buddy. Then let's forget that for now and focus on this thing," Gerhard said, kicking the Tech Priest with his foot.
They had to use another Mana rope to wrap around his mouth and silence him. Now is the time for Gerhard to use [Dismantle] on this vox mechanicus.
"Then let's get started."
> Right here?
"Oh, right."
[Instant Dungeon - Create]
Rho-7 Kaspel was a thrashing, pathetic mess of arrogance and curses, in both binary and normal low Gothic. His binary screeches were thankfully muffled by the dense Mana ropes wrapped around his head multiple times. But sadly, he would have to remove them...
"Hans, keep the Skitarii and that Kastelan suppressed. I'm going to peel this onion," Gerhard said, his voice dropping into a cold, clinical tone.
He was anything but happy about what happened. But that didn't mean he would hold a grudge. After all, it was his own mistake that got him into this situation. If anything, he was thankful, since he got a reality check. And having one here where the situation was 'relatively' mild was better than... well, anywhere else.
He knelt beside the Tech priest, looking at him using [Observe]. Kaspel's single red mechanical eye whirred frantically, the lens zooming in and out as it tried to find a way out of a situation that should have been a literal impossibility.
> Master, the diagnostic thread is active. Magos Rho-7 Kaspel is currently 87% augmented using various machinery, if you can call it that. It is also what allowed him to live this long. Although it's not the only thing, I theorise.
> The primary cogitator fuel is a fluid-core model, which is located in the posterior cranium. However, I must caution you. The removal of this life-sustaining manifold will result in biological 'cessation'.
"Just say he'll die. Gosh, I thought you repaired yourself."
> I did. Thanks to your Mana, the Iron Monger is currently at 105% of its original state.
"Look at this whiny dick. He tried to turn me into radioactive waste, and now he's wiggling like a worm in the desert. I think 'cessation' is a fair trade. What do you think, eh?"
Gerhard reached out and used the skill [Dismantle] right away. He was methodical about what he did, not wanting to waste too much of the Magos' potentially interesting parts.
The Gamma Pistol had already been stripped from the Magos's possession. Now the weapon's holster and power-packs followed as if they had never been attached.
"This is a great find, I'm not going to lie. The Gamma Pistol packs quite a punch."
[Observe]
[Gamma Pistol – Rank: Novice]
- Durability: 120/120
- Damage: 280
- Critical Chance: 5%
- Fire Rate: Low
Special Effects:
Ionising Beam
| → Emits a concentrated beam of radiation
| → Can reduce a man to a blackened shadow in a second.
| -> Those able to tame its savage 'machine spirit', meaning those who know how to use it properly, can cut holes in enemy fortification if necessary.
-
"You know that's not even half bad."
> Especially considering what you can do with it.
"I think the Orks might be interested in meeting this weapon when we meet in a month."
> Don't let the Flash Gitz get their hands on this. Or the Lootas.
"How much power would I need for it to work off of Mana?"
> I can run the calculations if you want.
"Do that."
After talking with his artificial spirit and committing the gravest of tech heresies in front of the Tech Priest, Gerhard focused on him again. Because next came the mechadendrites.
Gerhard gripped the base of the primary manipulator arm, feeling the motors beneath the brass casing vibrate. The idiot was still trying to free himself.
Gerhard used his Mana to sever the neural links cleanly. One by one, the extra limbs, consisting of surgical needles, laser cutters, and heavy pincers, clattered to the floor like cutlery.
The Magos let out a garbled, high-pitched whine as Gerhard began to peel away the layered mechanical plating of his torso. Underneath the blash-oily armour, there was almost nothing human left, just grey, vat-grown muscle stitched together by a network of oil and coolant dripping tubes and pulsing rusting fibre-optics.
It was disgusting to look at. Especially for Gerhard, whose [Engineering] skill had levelled up to 96.
"And now for the brain," Gerhard whispered, turning the Magos over.
At the base of the skull sat the prize: a heavy, brass-encased cylinder that clicked in a frantic, frightened rhythm. This was the Fluid-Core Cogitator, the repository of centuries of forbidden and known logic and Mechanicus secrets.
> Master, the cogitator is linked to a volatile data-tether. If you disconnect it improperly, a scrap-code burst will wipe his memory, leaving him in a blank state.
"Wait, like a tripwire? A physical booby trap?"
> Correct.
"Are you kidding? Bahahahahaha."
> ... I am speechless as well.
"It is hard to believe that all our technology was once stored in a Standard Template Construct, and you could take that with you to new worlds and build anything. And now it's this... Hans, grab the port. Hold the data steady while I cut the physical housing and the... tripwire."
Blue threads emerged from the open Iron Monger suit, easily plugging into the Magos's interface ports. Hans's presence flooded the priest's internal network, like a Megalodon entering a goldfish bowl.
> The data lock has been established. I have suppressed the self-destruct logic just to be safe.
"He had a self-destruct sequence and didn't use it?"
> The mechanism had to be activated manually... from outside.
"He had a self-destruct button? On the OUTSIDE? Like Dr. Doofenschmirtz?"
> I don't know who that is, but yes.
"And I got blindsided by this? I feel fucking ashamed."
> As you should.
"Huh?"
> I also feel ashamed.
Gerhard placed his hands on the brass cylinder. There was a yucky pop as fibre-optics and reinforced bone were severed simultaneously.
The cogitator came free, effectively killing the Tech Priest.
Immediately, the Magos's body went limp, the red eye dimming until it was nothing but a dead piece of glass reflecting the light of the dungeon. Gerhard stood up, wiping all of the oil and dried chunks of blood from his forehead, holding the warm, humming cylinder like a trophy.
"Hehe, I am quite interested to see what we will find here," he said.
Gerhard turned his gaze toward the bound form of the Kastelan Robot.
"Hans, connect to the Kastelan's Machine Spirit and shut it down, but don't delete it. I am interested in studying its code. I might be able to turn it into a golem of some kind. And if not, we can still rebuild it for you and fix the suit."
> As you wish, Master. I have already mapped the Kastelan's internal structure and mechanics. Shall we begin integration?
"Let's get to work."