Arthur piloted his shuttle through the turbulent atmosphere of Trakuun-5, the mining station coming into view in the distance. As the shuttle glided toward the landing pad, he leaned back in his seat, exhaling deeply.
It had been a while since he last checked his status panel, and curiosity got the better of him.
A mental command brought up the translucent blue interface, lines of data appearing before his eyes.
//--------------------//
[STATUS]
Name: Arthur Sully
Designation: ECHO
Rank: Mage Apprentice
Age: 27
Height: 6'3"
Mana: 46.7 Units
Strength: 22.45 Kilotons (1000 tons = 1 Kiloton)
Speed: 461.4 m/s
Durability: 131.3 GPa (1000 MPa = 1 GPa)
[ABILITIES]
[Reactive Evolution] [Superior Regeneration] [Toxin Immunity] [Gene Lock]
[Technopathy (Lv3)]: The power to psychically interact, communicate and manipulate technology with the power of the mind within a 8 km radius of the host. Able to understand the inner workings of any technology host interacts with.
[Energy Absorption (Lv3)]: Currently able to consciously absorb various kinds of energy (Eg. Mana, Dark Energy, Heat, Electricity) with greater capacity to hold said energy.
[EQUIPMENTS]
-Spear Of Heaven
-ECHO Armor
-Obelisk (Interdimensional Artifact)
-Shadowfang (Dark Steel Sword)
-Stormpiercer (Mithril Spear)
//--------------------//
Seeing the changes in his stats he nodded. Though he does not know what the unknown energy pulse was which created the system, considering that it had originated from within him, he was inclined to trust it. The bizarre experience and encounter before his transmigration had left too many unanswered questions, he still has so much to uncover about his powers. Was it the source of his abilities?
Arthur shook his head. There were too many unknowns, but pondering them wouldn't change anything. For now, he would focus on what he could control.
The shuttle landed with a smooth hiss of hydraulics. As the doors slid open, he stepped onto the metal landing pad, feeling the familiar rush of hot, dry air against his face. He made his way inside the mining station.
…
James was in the control room, monitoring the facility's status when Arthur walked in. The man turned, raising a brow.
"Back so soon?" James asked. "I figured you'd be out for a while."
Arthur crossed his arms. "Just came to check if anything unexpected happened here."
James let out a small chuckle. "Nothing major. The attacks got a bit more aggressive, but nothing the station's defenses couldn't handle."
Arthur gave a small nod. "Good."
With that, Arthur made his way to his private quarters.
…
After a quick bath, Arthur sat at his desk, reviewing blueprints displayed on a holographic console. These were weapon schematics from the Spear of Heaven, technologies left behind by the Krozonites.
He had initially been looking over new weaponry when another thought surfaced in his mind, the ECHO armor.
Arthur had seen firsthand how the armor wasn't durable enough. He himself had taken damage through it, and he had seen other ECHO soldiers injured in battle. While the armor's current alloy was leagues ahead of what Earth had ever created in his past life, it still fell short under intense battlefield conditions.
Arthur leaned back, deep in thought. There had to be something better.
Closing his eyes, he projected his consciousness inside the Spear of Heaven.
…
When Arthur opened his eyes again, he stood inside one of the Spear of Heaven's research labs, a pristine environment filled with holographic displays, fabrication pods, and high-end diagnostic equipment.
The Guardian AI materialized as a glowing blue construct beside him.
[Welcome back, Commander.]
Arthur wasted no time. "Give me a list of all known alloys created by the Krozonites and their production methods."
[Affirmative… Retrieving data.]
Lines of text and material compositions flooded the air around him, an overwhelming amount of metallurgical knowledge appearing at once. Arthur's eyes scanned the list, analyzing the properties of each alloy.
Titanium composites, plasma-infused hybrids, nanoweave-reinforced metals… There were thousands of options.
After sifting through the huge amount of data he noticed an alloy called Alloy-SA I
Arthur selected the file, bringing up its full specifications. As he read through the data, his eyes narrowed.
The material had more than ten times the durability of the material the current ECHO armor uses and had greater shock absorption capabilities, it has significantly higher resistance to kinetic and thermal impacts.
It even weighs only half the material used in the current ECHO armor. It would take a continuous barrage of heavy payload plasma rays to even damage it slightly.
It does not mean Humanity does not have alloys with higher durability than it, but the issue is with the weight of the material. The alloys with higher durability are extremely heavy, so they were not used to make ECHO armors to not restrict their movements.
Arthur's mind raced.
This alloy was leagues ahead of anything ECHO currently used. Plasma weapons wouldn't easily penetrate it, and even Chimerian commanders would struggle to cause damage. More importantly, it could be manufactured with existing human technology.
But there was a catch. Producing it was expensive.
Arthur frowned. It wasn't viable for mass production, but…
If they couldn't give it to every soldier, they could at least use it exclusively for ECHO units.
A reinforced ECHO squad, nearly impervious to standard enemy fire.
He turned to the Guardian AI. "What would be the estimated production cost for one full suit?"
[Calculating… With no technological improvement in the armor the estimated cost is nearly 7.5x the current standard ECHO armor.]
Arthur exhaled. "Yeah, figured it wouldn't be cheap."
But he believed the UFE could afford it.
Arthur turned to the Guardian AI. "Prepare blueprints for the modified ECHO armor using Alloy-SA I as the base material."
[Understood. Processing modifications…]
Lines of code and schematics shifted and adjusted as the AI processed Arthur's request. Within moments, a new armor design materialized a sleek, reinforced suit with streamlined plating, subtle energy conduits, and an integrated combat interface.
Arthur didn't make much changes in the techs present in the armor, he just replaced the material and enhanced the design for more kinetic and energy impact resistance. The new armor's outer shell was made out of solid alloy plates, but its internal circuitry was made out of nanobots to facilitate quick repair and adaptability in the battlefield.
After giving all the instructions to the Guardian he retracted his consciousness from the Spear of Heaven.
…
For the next three days, Arthur maintained a demanding schedule, splitting his time between two worlds. During the day, he remained on Trakuun-5, reinforcing the mining station's defenses, repelling increasingly aggressive beast attacks, and ensuring operations ran smoothly. But once his duties were done, he would slip away, vanishing into the Obelisk's interdimensional pathway, and emerge in Thyrandel, where time moves differently.
[A/N: I was getting A*atar vibe while writing this paragraph.]
Each visit to Thyrandel lasted a full week, yet only five hours passed on Trakuun-5. This strange discrepancy allowed Arthur to effectively live two lives, balancing his responsibilities in both realms. In total, over three weeks passed in Thyrandel while he spent only three days on Trakuun-5.
At Velcrest Academy, Arthur quickly became an anomaly. Unlike the other students, who were required to endure grueling morning exercises, he was exempt. Instructor Garrick, having witnessed Arthur's physical abilities firsthand, deemed it unnecessary for him to participate in the usual training regimen. Instead, he proposed something far more interesting - sparring. Arthur had agreed without hesitation.
…
Flashback..
The morning sun bathed the academy training grounds in a golden hue as students gathered for their daily exercises. Arthur and Finn arrived together, stepping onto the soft, compacted dirt of the field.
Leon was already there, stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders. Upon spotting them, he grinned.
"Morning," Leon greeted. "Ready for another round of Garrick's torture?"
Finn groaned. "Please don't remind me. My legs are still sore from yesterday."
Arthur chuckled. "You'll get used to it."
Leon smirked. "Easy for you to say. You weren't even sweating while running yesterday."
Arthur simply shrugged, but before he could reply, a familiar voice interrupted them.
"Alright, everyone, gather up!"
Instructor Garrick strode into the training grounds, he wore his usual combat instructor's attire, a sleeveless tunic, showing off his thickly muscled arms, and black leather bracers. His piercing gaze swept across the gathered students before he gave a small nod of approval.
"Good. You're all here. As I said yesterday, you'll be running twenty laps again. This will continue for the rest of the week."
A collective groan rippled through the students. Garrick ignored it.
"Get moving," he ordered. "Now."
The students begrudgingly began jogging, their complaints turning into steady rhythmic breaths.
Just as Arthur was about to follow, Garrick raised a hand.
"Arthur. Eva. Stay back."
Arthur turned his head slightly, meeting Eva's gaze. She, as always, remained unreadable. Her stoic expression didn't falter as she gave Garrick a nod.
Leon glanced between Arthur and Eva, then grinned. "Oho, special treatment already?"
Arthur ignored him as Leon and Finn joined the others. Though Arthut looked like he was no more than twenty years old, but his actual age is way more than that. He was at first feeling weird having to attend the academy with a bunch of kids, but he accepted it as he never got to go to a school in his previous life.
Garrick didn't waste any time. He reached into his storage ring and retrieved a set of weighted cuffs, tossing them toward Eva. She caught them effortlessly.
"Wear those while running," Garrick instructed. "You need the extra resistance."
Eva nodded again, strapping the weights onto her legs without any question. She then turned and joined the others in their jog.
Arthur raised a brow, and thought she was not much of a talker. He then looked towards the instructor. "And me?"
Garrick's lips curled into a smirk. "You? You'll be sparring with me."
Arthur met his gaze with a calm nod. "Fine by me."
Garrick nodded seeing Arthur's readiness and said simply. "I'd rather see what you're truly capable of than waste time making you run in circles."
Arthur exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "Alright, then. Let's do this."
Without another word, Garrick led him toward a corner of the training field. The other students, now running their laps, cast curious glances their way, whispers spreading as they noticed that Arthur and their instructor were about to spar. It wasn't every day someone got special training from an instructor.
While following the instructor Arthur used 'Analyse' on him to see how strong he is.
//--------------------//
Name: Garrick Glynehal
Designation: Academy Instructor
Rank: 7th Circle Mage
Age: 138
Height: 6'4"
Mana: 492,788 Units
Strength: 24.64 Kilotons
Speed: 487.2 m/s
//--------------------//
[A/N: (Strength*5*1 = Mana capacity)/5*4 = Base strength of a mage]
Arthur was amazed at Garrick's strength, mages generally have lower base strength, and still a 7th circle mage has so much strength. And he still had tons of mana, he could not imagine how strong Garrick could become if he utilized his mana, maybe three to four times.
With that both of them faced each other and started their sparring session.
***
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