Retrieving The Javelin

'That's what you get for not making me your partner...' She pouted internally.

She quickly stopped herself and began wondering why she wanted Dennis to be her partner in the first place.

She remembered walking out on him and felt bashful.

The javelin she threw earlier was caught by another Modified Combatant in an eight-foot-tall suit. Somehow, his suit looked larger than a lot of others.

"That's Regory..." Malik voiced with a tone of wariness the moment he spotted the UVS suit up ahead with yellow glowing lines all over it.

'The third strongest?' Dennis instantly realized who Malik was referring to.

"Why would he team up with her?" Malik was still in disbelief.

Dennis recalled just how strong Regory was. The white-haired kid would have been the highest in terms of compatibility if Dennis wasn't in the picture.

Besides Dennis, he was the only modified combatant who had a nearly 80% compatibility rate.

'That explains why his suit looks much different from the other guys... better assimilation,' Dennis thought as he sprinted forward.

"We're going after them?" Malik voiced the moment he noticed Dennis charge forward.

"Of course. Let's get our Javelin back," Dennis replied instantly.

"Let's do it!" Malik roared in agreement as he sped forward to catch up with Dennis.

"Haha, that's if you can catch us," Lara said before turning around swiftly and dashing forward as well.

Regory, who was up ahead, didn't say a word. The moment he caught the Javelin, he had already disappeared into the forest.

To Lara, it didn't matter. So long as one of them got the Javelin back to the starting point, both of them would move to the next stage.

"You're also from squad one... Yet you decided to hassle us about it instead of finding your own Javelin," Dennis shook his head as he closed in on her.

"I'm low-key disappointed too," Malik voiced out, although he was quite surprised that Lara managed to get the third strongest to team up with her.

Not to mention that this was a challenge where the UVS was in use, so he was even more powerful than everyone else in that state except one person...

Swwowoohhhhh~

Lara's suit adapted to her physique in a type of way that boosted her agility so much that she was quicker than everyone.

She was beginning to give them a huge gap as she made her way through the forest.

'I'll have to crank up my speed if I want to catch them... she's fast, and so is he since his compatibility rate is higher,' Dennis analyzed internally.

"Malik, I have to go faster... Will you be okay handling her yourself?" Dennis inquired.

"Sure thing, partner. Leave her to me and get our Javelin back," Malik nodded from the side.

Dennis gave him a thumbs-up before increasing his speed.

Twwwhoossshhh~

A small steam erupted from Dennis's suit as he instantly shot forward, reaching Lara's position.

The ridiculous outburst took both Malik and Lara by surprise.

"I won't let you pass!" Lara yelled while a blade phased out from her left arm.

Swwwhiii~

She swung it sideways.

Dennis reacted by jumping forward and landing on a tree branch up ahead.

Thwihhh~

He leaped from branch to branch, causing the trees to quake intensely as multiple branches got lopped off.

Lara's jaw dropped as she witnessed it.

'What is up with this dude? I can't let him get past me,' Her face lit up with determination as she raised her UVS arm.

Light beams began to gather around her fist as she prepared to fire a projectile.

"Not on my watch," Malik closed in from behind with his UVS steaming as his AI spoke.

[Activating Longe Range Weaponry]

A panel opened up from the middle of his chest and fired red beams.

Twii~ Twii~ Twii~

[Incoming Projectiles...]

Lara AI warned her, and she proceeded to swifly jump out of the way.

The light beams pierced through the trees ahead, leaving visible holes in them.

With Lara doing her best to evade Malik's assault, Dennis was able to speed faster away.

[Target Is Moving At A Speed Of Forty Feet Per Second]

'High compatibility truly helps...' Dennis noticed that no other modified combatant who had equipped the upgraded prototype was able to move this quickly.

"How fast am I moving?" Dennis inquired.

[Operator Is Moving At 38 Feet Per Second ]

"Not enough... I need to release more..." The major reason Dennis had held himself back since the start of this challenge was because he knew how his body was.

He knew that despite his incredibly high compatibility rate, if he used the UVS without holding back, he risked getting himself killed.

[Operator Is Moving At 45 Feet Per Second]

"More..."

Dennis willed as he jumped from the tree branches and began propelling his body from tree to tree at a very quick pace.

[Operator is Moving At 56 Feet Per Second]

"More..."

[Operator Is Moving At 70 Feet Per Second]

Twwwhoossshhhh~

Dennis's figure was now like a streak, zig-zagging from one tree to the other.

The other combatants who were still looking for Javelins couldn't help but open their mouths in awe as they spotted the insanely fast figure that sped past them, dashing from tree to tree.

"We can move that fast?" A lot of them couldn't believe their eyes as they turned around.

Dennis, who had covered a very large distance, finally noticed a more buff UVS in his line of sight.

"There he is..." Dennis muttered as his figure streaked across the air with an even quicker speed.

Twwhooosshhh~

"Huh?" Regory had only noticed Dennis when it was too late.

The moment he turned his head around, Dennis was already above him with his hand reaching for the Javelin.

Dennis easily yanked it out of Gregory's grasp and kept running forward like nothing happened.

"You..." Regory's eyes widened in annoyance as he slid to a stop while staring at his empty hand.

"Get back here," He roared while charging in Dennis's direction.

Twwhoosshhh~

He cranked his UVS beyond his limit, pushing himself to take on a way higher speed.

Bang!

He slammed into a Modified Combatant up ahead without stopping for a second.

The MC went flying from the unexpected collision, coupled with the insane speed.

Unfortunately for Regory, no matter how quickly he moved, he couldn't catch up to Dennis.

After some time had passed, he couldn't even see the back of Dennis's suit anymore.

"Damn it!" Gregory cursed the suit's system and began to give him warning readings.

[Warning! Warning! Warning!]

[Continous Increment In Speed Could Cause Irrevocable Damage To Operator]

[Warning! Warning! Warning!]

[Continous Increment In Speed Could Cause Irrevocable Damage To Operator]

[Warning! Warning! Warning!]

[Continous Increment In Speed Could Cause Irrevocable Damage To Operator]

He finally decided to come to a stop after realizing he was closing in back on the starting point. He couldn't head back without a Javelin in his possession, or it would count as a loss.

"I shouldn't have teamed up with her," He said with a tone of regret before turning around.

....

At the entrance to the forest, Dennis stood before the General and Lieutenant Colonel. He could see the visible shock plastered on their faces.

They stared at the path that led to the entrance of the forest and then stared back at Dennis, who was standing in place with steam erupting from his UVS suit.

"You..." Lieutenant Colonel Derrick couldn't find the words as he stared back at the path behind that had a blazing trail.

"How were you moving so fast?" He asked with a tone of astonishment.

"It was..."

"Korr! korr!"

General Gustav coughed twice to interrupt.

"Good job. You and your partner pass to the next stage."

"Thank you, General," Dennis nodded while stepping to the side as General Gustav gestured.

"Erm... where are the others?" Dennis inquired while looking around.

"You're the first to arrive," Lieutenant Colonel Derrick answered.

"What...? Surely that can't be true..." Dennis voiced.

"Don't get too cocky. The groups that decided to stay close to the entrance of the forest instead of heading in are most likely the cause of that," General Gustav stated with a rancid tone.

Dennis nodded instead of responding, causing the General to stare at him from the peripheral of his vision.

'This kid is truly something...'

Dennis, who remained quiet and stood in place, recalled the bunch of people close to the outskirts of the forest fighting.

Now that he thought about it, General Gustav's words made sense.

Some groups didn't want to get the Javelin through the usual means of finding it, so they stayed close to the entry point of the forest. That way, they could ambush those who were returning with a Javelin and take the spoil for themselves without having to work for it.

At the time, he thought nothing of it and just leapt over them. He was too quick for any of them to even react before he got away.

"Why haven't you deactivated your suit soldier?"

This sudden question pulled him out of his reverie.

'Fuck... what do I tell them? They will find out that I am not using a prototype...'