Rookies and Power

[ Evolution process complete ]

"... That's it? Shouldn't this thing tell me what changed?"

Cayce had spent the last several hours wandering around the testing grounds near the hangar while waiting for the evolution process to complete. He didn't know if he would loose functionality during the process, so he chose to do it here, in the safegrounds within the walls of the city. Currently, there were around thirty armors in the main field with Cayce as he scrolled through his system logs. The others were all going about their own business, some of them testing out their armor's flexibility or practicing with newly installed flight systems.

Cayce's brow furrowed when he found a new line in his system logs.

[ Entity class: Unknown ]

Entity class? He had finally finished the file on the Greppen AI system, but it never mentioned anything like this. Did it mean his combat style? His armor configuration? Perhaps it was his mana color?

"What?! Say it again!!"

Cayce's thoughts were interrupted by the shouts of an angry contactor in the center of the field. His armor stood shorter than most and the machine's eyes glowed with a deep red hue.

Facing the red-eyed armor was a more slender armor that stood almost as tall as Cayce. It was hunched forward, giving it a villainous and crooked appearance. The head tilted to the side, seeming to sneer since the yellowish eyes were just thin slits in the helmet.

"I said you'll never amount to anything. Buying that armor was a waste and you'll likely die only a few days into the mission."

"How dare you! I'll take you on right now!"

Most of the lower level machines couldn't afford built-in comms systems, so they could only communicate using the speakers on their armor. Since they were speaking this way, they drew everyone's attention, the whole field now quiet as they spat insults back and forth. Armors of all kinds watched expectantly. For the less experienced, this would be an excellent opportunity to see what combat was like.

The first armor was notably short. Cayce felt bad that it was the first thing he noticed. Many people were self conscious about that sort of thing after all. Besides that, the armor's eyes were a deep hue of red and the surface was a scratched up silver. It looked like it had only the bare minimum for armor plating and the scratched, silvery plating was even reflective. The armor itself seemed unreliable and impractical. Everything would ride on the skill of the pilot.

The second armor was tall and slender, yet it hunched forward somewhat and had thin, yellow slits for eyes. Overall, it was reminiscent of a snake. It was even covered in desert brown scales in place of the normal armor plating. It was an old armoring technique that was quickly abandoned for a number of reasons, but perhaps this pilot preferred aesthetic over protection.

The time for words was over, both armors drew their weapons. The armor with red eyes had a short sword and a dagger while the snake armor pulled an intricate spear from his back. Both armors ran forward ferociously, apparently they really hated each other. The snake armor was the first to make an attack, his spear sweeping widely, but Red-eye moved quickly, ducking under the spear. As it swung over his head, snake realized he had made an error. His body was now sideways since he swung his spear with so much force.

Seizing the opportunity, Red-eye jumped forward and made a slash with his sword arm. The impact was powerful, but he slashed along the grain of the enemy's scale armor so it didn't break through. After all, neither of these armors were using weapons with mana blades. Snake then turned back and thrust the spear against his opponent's ribs.

Metal screeched, but the spear didn't puncture. Instead, it dug a new groove into the silver armor's chest. Both armors continued to viciously attack for a few minutes, making countless sloppy mistakes as they lost themselves to their anger. Cayce gave a sigh. Neither of these fools would last a single day of real combat. This fight was ultimately nothing more than a disappointment.

Stepping forward, Cayce pulled his rifle down over his shoulder. However, when he ignited the rings, all seven of them lit up immediately. Finally, he found something that was changed by evolution. Normally, the last two rings at the end of the barrel would only ignite after a few seconds of charging. He couldn't help but smile under his helmet. However, he didn't let his excitement show as he approached the quarrelling rookies. Pointing his rifle straight up, he pulled the trigger.

BANG!!

The supressor at the end of his rifle was immediately torn off and exploded violently a few meters in the air above the crowd. The mass of grey light tore away from it, vanishing into the sky above. The force from that shot must have been tremendous, as dust cleared away from him in an expanding circle. It was like watching water ripple away from a stone that was thrown into a calm lake. Internally, Cayce was impressed. The force of the seven-ring shot was far more powerful than it used to be and all seven rings could ignite instantly. However, he also lost his favorite suppressor just now... He would need to make some new modifications.

The sudden shockwave immediately claimed everyone's attention, making the closest armors flinch in surprise. The fight stopped immediately as both of the rookies discovered a threat far greater than their opponent. The snake stumbled backwards a few steps while the red-eye stood paralyzed in an awkward position. It was awfully quiet as this grey-eyed armor looked down at both of them. Neither of them knew what to do. When Cayce was sure he had everyone's attention, he finally spoke.

"This pitiful spat has come to an end. If either of you want to last more than a day, get some training."

With that, he turned and left. The armors standing around the field were shocked. As he walked away, everyone moved to clear a path for him. He was a walking display of power and not a soul dared to get in his way. The red-eyed armor stood there staring at his back with fascination and awe. The grey-eye was everything he wanted to become. He needed to learn more about him! Without saying a word to anyone, Red-eye rushed off to start his research on his new role model.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An armored man lowered himself to one knee in front of the throne. The spacious hall was made of modern materials, yet the whole place was designed just like a castle from medieval times. Strangely, the kneeling armor also looked just like a knight from that time period. It didn't seem to have any mechanical parts at all and a large great sword hung on his back. Beyond that, two black and ethereal horns protruded from the front of the helmet. They pointed forwards and only protruded a short distance. However, they didn't seem solid. They were more like a black flame with some structure. The ends waved about restlessly like a candle flame, yet they were certainly horns.

"My liege?"

Another medieval armor was sitting on the throne, one arm supporting his crowned helmet as he seemed to think. Or perhaps, the king was merely sleeping just now. Lifting his head, the king's eyes glowed with that same dark, ethereal flame. A pair of horns also flickered about the king's helmet, but they protruded from the sides and twisted downwards before pointing forward along the line of his jaw. When he spoke, his tone hinted at annoyance.

"What is it?"

The bowed knight didn't raise his eyes, but answered his king swiftly, as not to annoy him any further.

"The signal was triggered. We found him."

Suddenly, the dark flame in the king's eyes flashed with energy. His twisted horns darkened as well, long black streams of ethereal energy flowing up into the air like smoke.

"Bring him to me."