The Drip Buff

Back when I was still a rookie, every Ravager should undergo an intensive course of theory and historical learning, before we were allowed to finally take the practical lesson of combat.

No, not only us Ravagers, but all of the SKEF members know the basic categorization of the entities or Kaijus that have been rampaging our world since hundred years ago. No, it's not based on race like in fantasy stories; goblins, orcs, vampires, or comically large insects. Something more refined origin-wise.

Stellarean, also known as the sky ruler. Usually comes in the form of winged wyverns or dragons. I remember the time not so long after I was dragged into becoming a Ravager, a Bahamut tore apart the sky like a glass window with its boney jaw. Swift and powerful as it may be, it was taken down by Juggernaut in a single blow.

Oceanicean, entities in the shape of sea creatures or based on myths related to the ocean. It might not be able to fly around the entire continent, but the regenerative power that it possessed surely is troublesome. I heard SKEF even used a Lunar Shot to take down a Leviathan, along with the continent with it.

On the other hand, for this one…

*BAAM!*

The tail suddenly swung down right onto me. I quickly jumped to the side. Seems like I took too long to reminisce about my lessons from back then. Before long, a voice enters my comms transmitter.

[Vanguard-6, units are on standby. Waiting for order.]

"Order? Come on, we got this by ourselves, Dani!"

From up above, a huge shield is suddenly thrown at Kaiju's top. Pushing it down with the sheer explosive power that it used to propel. The shield then dissolves into red synapses. The wielder changed it into a bayonet cannon directed straight at Kaiju.

At that moment, I knew who it was.

The Juggernaut.

*KABOOM!*

A fiery explosion covers the whole scenery of the beast. I cough up from the small particles and smoke flying in the air. Yet for not so long, it starts moving again. Wiggling its body and throwing off the person on it.

"Argh!" A feminine voice came from the body that landed next to me.

"You know it so well, Mia. No matter how hard you try to blow off a Subterranean body, it won't do a thing against the thick armor skin." I put on a poker face looking at her on the ground.

"If you had time to give me a lecture, why don't you help me instead?" She said lying on her face. Stealing glances at me. Begging me to when she is PERFECTLY FINE to stand up.

"Come on, help yourself!"

"Ack!"

I kicked her thick suit, and Mia immediately sprung back up. No, I don't feel guilty at all despite her impulse to gouge my heart simply from the look of her crimson eyes.

The break is over, the Kaiju started to relentlessly stab its claws at us. Ground cracking up after each missed attempt to land a hit at us.

We don't have any problem dodging any of those, or even the underlings crawling all over the place upon spawning from Kaiju's belly.

The infantrymen positioned on the walls of the buildings are acting like a siege to hold them off from us two. The low-level Ravagers took care of the finishing blow with their preferred weapon, either sword, hammer, axe, portable cannon, or even piloting Crawler.

However, the spitting sting of Kaiju is the real deal here.

Despite our attempt to evade every drop of its venom, the spitted acidic substance covers its own underlings on purpose. Corroding their bodies. Turning them into a ticking bomb before we even realize it.

*Boom! Boom!*

They exploded simultaneously, one by one after rapidly rushing at us as close as possible. Their blasts cover a wide radius, even reaching the drones above and troops anchored on the wall with burning sticky slime.

"Tch, everyone, retreat all at once!"

Mia shouted at the top of her lung when suddenly the brood mother rush forward. Charging straight at the main force stationed behind, away from the confrontation zone as I ordered before. Trampling at the fallen troops. Sweeping the street clear with its hideous tentacle wreaking havoc.

A big intersection is unveiled behind us. I command the force to split into four groups, blocking the path for Kaiju to escape. They swiftly follow the order, replicating what Mia does to block the entire road.

"Quick, behind me!"

With the same shield she used to bonk the hell out of the Kaiju before, Mia planted the shield onto the ground. The shield scattered into three parts, reaching out to the sides before a thick forcefield wall close the gap between them.

Between offense and defense, Juggernaut excels in both. The ability to wield heavy weaponry is what makes it advantageous for the user to alternate between both aspects. One of the crucial assets in group operations.

Note the keyword I mentioned, the user.

It all depends on the USER. This is Mia we're talking about, of course, she'll bring out the BIG GUNS like a Juggernaut should. Like how she single-handedly took down a Bahamut before.

"EWW! DIE YOU FREAKING BUGS! DISGUSTING! EWW!"

At this point, I don't even have any idea how she's able to decrypt a fudging anti-aircraft gun from her cache and mount it on her forcefield wall. Ratatat-ing like a true maniac would.

This woman…

"Knock some sense, would you?" Her moment of enjoyment is disturbed by a flick of my finger on her head. "Let us think for a moment instead of spitting out useless bullets."

"Tch, this shield won't last forever. If you want to think up a plan, then hurry up!"

Yes, yes, I know that better than you. Don't act as if you're not the one who has been haphazardly shooting even though it won't do a thing to it.

But, she's got the point. If even the shield made by the strongest Juggernaut won't hold up that long, I don't know how with the one made by weaker Ravagers on the other groups.

See? The other's forcefield wall has begun to dissolve along with the slime, while Mia's is slowly cracking from the constant impact of its claws.

"Mia, you have spare shoes, right?"

"Come again?" Mia turned with the most confused look in her eyes.

"Lend me your shoes. There's no way you don't have a spare pair amongst those useless weapons of yours."

"You…! Do you have a death wish!?"

*Dun!*

Just now, the impact on the shield was harder than before. Even shook Mia's footing off the ground.

"Fine, but this is the last time, got that?"

"…You never even lend me once before…"

Regardless of the dead look in my eyes and Mia's rambling, a fully decrypted and constructed pair of cybernetic shoes are already on the ground.

It quickly latches onto me. Infusing with my feet up to both knees.

Well, I'm still in my shorts, but with the mobility modules online, this is what I need.

Not giving any care to her, I asked for a flame shotgun. To hell with how Mia will give me a death stare for every single thing that she gave me today. I keep on pressuring her, pushing her arms and ruining her accuracy until she's all irked.

In the end, she amenably obeyed my request, with a sour face not to forget.

"Vanguard-6 going in for direct contact. Juggernaut-3 and the remaining units on standby for support."

[Affirmative. Permission granted.]

The shotgun is loaded. Without a second thought, I jumped high onto the wall of a building. Planting my toe and attaching the magnetic field on my left hand to the wall. Wall maneuvering my way out of the forcefield without a backward glance at my group.

As expected, as soon as I leave the forcefield, Kaiju noticed my appearance. Swiftly shooting a high-pressure acid at me, along with behind it the sting stabbing straight at my position.

I quickly initiated the decoy module. Releasing a mirage and activating the invisibility cloak. Slipping through between the incoming attack.

As soon I part ways with my mirage, the Kaiju chase off the decoy. All the while I push myself across the intersection to set up a high vantage point, on another building.

The mirage dodges every single attack from both the brood mother and the underlings surrounding. Perfectly replicating my muscle memories during training.

The other troops slowly come pouring into the intersection, carefully managing their movements against the underlings. Mia comes in leaping straight with her bayonet cannon, staggering the sting before taking it down with a gigantic rocket axe.

"Secure the tail!" I commanded, observing.

The surviving drones approach the Kaiju and quickly shoot their harpoons. Impaling the tail and its feet. Pinning it down limply to the ground.

"Mia!"

"Oh, shut up! I know it already!"

The tentacles went for her, and she reacted quickly with a missile pod already in her hands. The barrage of missiles covers the sky, as Mia is already back with her rocket axe. Hack and slash against the powerless tentacles, like cutting through the dough.

This is it, the momentum that I've been looking for.

"Overclock."

As soon as I said it, the gushing energy rushed through my vein. The flowing energy in the suit creates thin wind currents. Merging with yellow impulses all over my body.

A system notification suddenly appeared on my display.

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<Overclock initiated. The Limiter has been temporarily removed>

<Current exertion rate: 500%>

<Time left in Overclock state: 59 seconds>

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I took a deep breath before jumping down. The ground underneath cracked as I landed, even tearing the building's foundation behind. Slowly crumbling apart. With the target in sight, I dash forward rapidly.

Even though the Kaiju has been seized, it won't stop producing underlings, even more than before. They quickly crawl all over the place, including in my direction. Getting in my way. A path suddenly appears on my display, showing the most effective way to reach the Kaiju between the underlings.

Two of them are approaching, simultaneously attacking. For each one of them, I warped behind in a blink of an eye and shoved the barrel onto their body. Feeding them with marauding flame.

*Boom!*

One, two, three, five even, all taken down in under 3 seconds. After the path cleared, I dash closer to the Kaiju. Once more, I give one last order before sliding underneath the brood mother.

"All units, retreat and take cover. Initiating Dimensional Rift in minus 30."

[Affirmative. All units be advised, to empty the area around the confrontation zone in 1 Kilometer radius.]

Another slug loaded. I activate the suit's shield as I slide under Kaiju's belly with slime under it. Aiming then pulling the trigger mercilessly.

*Boom!*

*Whoosh!*

As I expected, there's a limit to the skin's heat resistance.

The already boiling-corrosive acidic slime is now combusted into a big flame. The slugs pushed it way beyond its resistance. Consuming the brood mother like a cooked ration. However, it let out a high-pitched shriek.

[Dani, we've fallen back. You're on your own now. Don't you dare kick the bucket here, got that?!]

"Roger. As if."

Mia never toned down her voice even a bit, eh? I chuckled through the comms before muting it.

Fulfilling their mother's call, the underlings quickly gather on her. I take a glance at my surrounding. Just like she said, the main force has retreated. All of them executed my order.

Now, it's just me against these annoying pests.

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<Energy charge level: 70%>

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They quickly pounce on me. I phased through all of it. Repeatedly warping a short distance to evade them chasing me without even cooling down, something that is impossible except in Overclock state. Even so, it's still not enough to drive them off.

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<Energy charge level: 80%>

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My OHD scanner projected a path amongst their chaotic movement. A perfect trail to get straight to the brood mother. I follow it without any hesitation, slipping through their enormous body. I wholly trust my life with this device.

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<Energy charge level: 90%>

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Despite all, they're quickly catching up. The harpoon holding the brood mother is coming off one by one. It still has some stamina left even after getting burned alive. I have to be quick.

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<Energy charge level: 95%>

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Leaping on its limbs, I climb the brood mother that already started moving again. The underlings follow wherever I go, obstructing me to get a clear blow to discharge my punch. Stacking on top of one another and covering the surface of Kaiju's back.

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<Charge complete. Please discharge immediately in 5 seconds.>

<Self-detonation on effect upon timeout.>

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Dammit, the countdown has started, but they still won't leave even an inch for me to land a hit. The shotgun is already run out of slugs to drive them away. Everything depends on this next charged punch after the system initiated the procedure.

You know what? To hell with it if this one misses.

Whatever happens, happens.

Endlessly warping to dodge their claws for the last time, I leap into the air. The system's HUD has gone crazy with warnings, obstructing my vision. Until I see a tiny open spot around behind Kaiju's head, between the underlings.

Found my target.

I swing down my arm. The hard impact crashed against the thick skin. The electrifying energy rushes through my right hand, then burst violently. Swirling with yellow impulses engulfing it.

The air is crackling. The suit is sizzling. The space is distorted to the point as if about to crack open from the hard impact.

And at that moment, everything becomes quiet, before a loud crashing sound echoes, like a glass is broken to pieces.

The space is shattered. The Dimensional Rift is opened. The reality is altered.

In the blink of an eye, I stand in the middle of the intersection, all alone. Still with my hand on the ground.

Everything is gone. The Kaiju and the underlings are nowhere to be found. Completely erased from this reality.

The destroyed buildings, cars, roads, and even the corpses aren't even in the vicinity. Everything is back to normal as if nothing happened on this closed road.

"Vanguard-6 to Base. Threat eliminated. Confirm extermination."

[Extermination confirmed. No Biotraces detected nearby.]

At last, it's over.

I can finally back to cooking again on this normal morning. But, I need to cooldown first, deactivating the Overclock state.

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<Time left in Overclock state: 3 seconds>

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That's a new record. I never come close to this one using almost the full extend of the suit's Overclock state. I feel kind of relieved.

*PING!*

However, a message abruptly entered the system and appeared on my OHD. Disturbing my time of tranquility. With a sluggish movement, I check the message on the communication module.

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<REMINDER: Presentation Assignment. Due Today at 10 AM.>

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Ah… I just remembered I have a class today. And I haven't done any of it.

I'm in deep trouble, ain't I?