"Affirmative, you understood it correctly, Master Trosso. The core chassis is built with an Adaptive Synthesis mechanism, allowing for rapid assimilation and utilization of compatible energy matrices," the drone replied without inflection.
A short silence followed as Trosso processed the implications. In his understanding, a drone capable of modifying and optimizing its own structure is no less than another intelligence creature… such a wide technological gap compared to the previous life technology he has encountered as a technical expert. He clenched his fist around the crystals, a cold calculation replacing the wonder.
"Drones with such capabilities are really dangerous… Anyway, it still asked for my permission without concealing anything, which means he is sincerely thinking about helping me. I don't have any other option beside accepting such help… I would rather surrender in front of a fellow over dying. I just want to find and meet my family at any cost."
He nodded firmly. "Proceed with the optimization. Also, you have my permission to proceed with any future adaptation. Now go and scan the outside area and find any high-level magic signature nearby."
As Trosso finished his command, all ten RDI Units performed a seamless, synchronized action. A dedicated, thin-lined rectangular compartment slid open in the central section of each drone's sleek spindles, revealing a small storage area within the core. The lead drone's voice sounded again.
"Optimization protocol initiated, Master Trosso. Please distribute the identified Magic Crystals equally among all ten RDI Units to provide the required material baseline for the energy network upgrade."
Trosso immediately complied. He divided the remaining crystals, placing them into the open compartments of the hovering drones one by one. The moment the last crystal was placed, the compartments slid shut with a soft, final click.
A faint, strange whirring sound… the first noise the drones had made… spread throughout the cave, a high-frequency internal vibration that felt like atoms rearranging. It lasted for only a few seconds before being replaced by the familiar silence.
Simultaneously, the tablet in Trosso's hand flashed a notification, and the metallic voice of the intelligence confirmed the critical upgrade.
"Optimization successful. Secondary energy source… Magic Crystal… added to the internal network. Dedicated magic energy network established."
Immediately following the success notification, the drone intelligence provided the updated operational parameters, projecting a clean table onto the control pad.
Combined Magic/CFC Energy Storage
Adequate for 34 Tier 3 Plasma Strikes
Combined Magic/CFC Energy Storage
Adequate for 500+ Tier 2 Plasma Strikes
Combined Magic/CFC Energy Storage
Adequate for 10,000 Tier 1 Plasma Pulses
Trosso's after seeing the total attack capability nodded in excitement. His meager handful of crystals had transformed a defensive unit into a formidable strike force. Thirty Four Tier 3 strikes was enough to eliminate an army.
He turned to the cave wall, raising his hands, his fingers writhing with faint yellow energy. With a short grunt, he focused his sand control talent, and a round, meter-wide cavity opened silently in the rock, the sand collapsing inward to create a smooth tunnel entrance.
"Go," he commanded.
The ten RDI Units moved with silent, fluid grace, passing through the newly created tunnel one by one. As they cleared the opening, their dark, sleek surfaces flickered. The Integrated URS and lenses projected the surrounding scenery onto their bodies, causing the drones to instantly shimmer, rendering them perfectly invisible to the naked eye with their advanced stealth function.
Trosso closed the cavity with a quick motion of his hand, sealing the cave once more. He immediately put the control pad on the ground and focused on the projections released by its lenses in the air above, which now showed the ten live feeds from the deployed drones.
He watched the projections: a vast area was quickly covered, mapped, and rendered in high-definition 3D. The complex terrain of the Dark Continent outside, the sparse, dark trees, the jagged black mountains, and the endless rolling hills… unfurled before him.
In just a few minutes, the geometric map expanded, and the inevitable happened. The URS feed of RDI-Unit 04, scouting near a cluster of low hills a few hundred meters away, highlighted three live figures in vibrant red.
'It's them.' Trosso's heart tightened in his chest.
The intelligence voice sounded instantly, its tone measured and urgent. "Magic Energy Signatures detected, total three entities located four hundred and thirty meters North-West of Master Trosso position."
The three figures were revealed in a clearer projection: skeletal humanoids wearing dark, tattered robes. They were slight, almost brittle, with short, pointy ears and extremely thin limbs, their tight, dark skin stretched taut over visible bone structure… Ghouls of the Dark Race, Tier 2 mages by their look. They moved with a slow, deliberate purpose, each using a staff to mark the ground near the base of the hill.
As Trosso watched, the markings began to glow with a sickly green light, forming a complex diagrammatic ring around their feet. The mages stepped into the center of the rings, closed their eyes for a moment, and then snapped them open, shaking their heads and communicating with visible frustration as they looked out over the mountains.
Trosso's expression hardened. "Detection spell," he exclaimed, recognizing the green coloration of the magical diagram. "Tier 2 spells, I didn't expect them to send three Tier 2 mages capable of using Tier 2 spells."
He knew his limits, he could defeat a single Tier 2 Mage on his own, but three would be problematic. Even if he deals with them somehow, the aftermath will leave him vulnerable to other mages lurking somewhere nearby.
His cold expression settled into resolve, 'Thankfully, he provided me with multiple units instead of one.'
He immediately issued a new command to the tablet, his voice a low, firm hiss of deadly intent.
"Immediately target these three Dark Mages. Shoot them to death, now."
The moment the command was issued, the change was instantaneous and silent. Three of the deployed RDI Units… 02, 04, and 07… separated from the group with an imperceptible, fluid motion, their dark forms slicing through the air toward the targets.
As they approached the three Dark Mages, the sleek, four-ring spindle structure of each drone performed a synchronized, internal maneuver. The seamless outer shell of the spindle opened slightly, revealing three distinct, minute metallic nozzles aimed directly at the figures below.
The holographic projection in the cave, anchored by the control pad, shifted its display. Trosso watched with widening yellow pupils as the URS feed, now focused on the three mages, penetrated their tattered robes and brittle bodies. The projection changed from a simple thermal signature to an advanced X-ray scan, exposing their skeletal structure and internal organs.
The drone intelligence was performing an on-the-fly critical target assessment. Three major points within each mage's body were instantly highlighted in a brilliant, pulsating blue: the brain within the skull (the nexus of magical and mental activity), the center of the chest (where a rudimentary heart pulsed), and the stomach (a central point for energy storage and circulation).
The internal systems of the three attacking RDI Units locked onto these three points with chilling precision.
"Target acquired. Weapon systems charged and ready to fire," the synthetic voice of the lead drone, still echoing in the cave, confirmed.
Before Trosso could even register the confirmation, three near-invisible green pulses of plasma energy, enhanced by the newly assimilated magic crystals, erupted from the drones' nozzles. The firing was perfectly synchronized, a single, silent ripple of death across the landscape.
The three Dark Mages, still looking outwards in frustration, never had time to react. Their wide, startled gazes were frozen in place as the pulses struck. A moment later, the three figures collapsed onto the dark soil. Where the plasma pulses had struck… head, chest, and stomach… three neat, sizzling, see-through holes had been burned into their forms. The smell of scorched earth and something akin to burnt meat barely registered on the drone sensors, but the visual result was absolute.
A wave of exhilarating surprise, mixed with cold, clinical satisfaction, washed over Trosso. His force had annihilated three formidable enemies in less than a second, confirming the lethal efficiency of Keon's technology.
"Unbelievable!" Trosso exclaimed, his voice tight with excitement. He immediately took a step toward the sealed entrance of the cave. "I must go out and retrieve them. I need to bring those corpses inside immediately before anyone else finds them and discovers my location!"
He stopped short, his hand already moving to use his talent to open the cave entrance, when the drone intelligence interrupted him.
"Master Trosso, physical retrieval is unnecessary. The Rapid Deployment Incursion Units are capable of external logistics and retrieval operations. The units are currently en route to the targets for secure transfer. Do you wish to proceed with autonomous retrieval?"
Trosso blinked, a slight startle crossing his face as he realized the comprehensive capabilities of the unit. He was about to leave his hiding spot to retrieve the corpses, but he hadn't even considered the drones could perform the task.
"The units are... capable of that?" he asked, a hint of awe in his voice. He immediately dismissed his previous thought process. "Yes! Bring them back. Bring the three corpses to the cave entrance."
…