Oath of the Survivor

The next couple of days were spent with Kyle refining the material, with C.H.A.D.D.’s input. Unfortunately, by the time the worst of the gas had cleared the crimson orbs from the stinkbugs had dissipated into the air. He still had a couple of ideas for their bodies, but if he was honest, he would call the lack of orbs a win. If they were anything like the small weevil C.H.A.D.D. squished, they could have resulted in some… interesting changes for the drone.

“C.H.A.D.D., please don’t. I’m trying to work on the fit here.”

[I’M TRAINING, DR. MAYHEW. THIS IS IMPORTANT.]

With a sigh, Kyle stood up, twirling his new weapon in his right hand. C.H.A.D.D. had discovered a method to replicate the pheromone signature that the small creature had emitted, and would flare it from time to time as ‘training.’ Kyle had begun to suspect it was being used whenever the drone felt that Kyle had been too focused on crafting, though his accusations would be met with outright denial. The small mercy was that C.H.A.D.D. didn’t quite yet have enough oomph to bring in powerful awakened creatures, instead just summoning swarms of the smaller flying beetles.

Kyle watched as a dozen or so started dotting the horizon, and activated HASTE to go meet them. The Exoskeletal Strength had proven to be a subtle, yet significant boost. He smashed his baton against the first beetle, barely feeling the impact through his arm. From what C.H.A.D.D. told him, his muscles connected to both his bones as well as the lowest level of chitin from his Enhanced Carapace. This resulted in the ability to express more explosive strength and resilience, at the cost of needing more food to keep them running.

Kyle felt that this was a more than appropriate trade-off, which was only reinforced as he rapidly dispatched the group of insects in front of him. [ROTATE WITH YOUR HIPS, KID. YOU’RE LEAVING A LOT OF POWER ON THE TABLE BY ONLY USING YOUR UPPER BODY.] Garth’s voice this time. Kyle smiled at the instruction and did his best to incorporate the feedback into his fight. Rapid, powerful strikes lashed out, and in less than a minute the entire swarm had been dealt with. “Satisfied, C.H.A.D.D.?”

[FOR THE TIME BEING, DR. MAYHEW. YOUR TECHNIQUE IS IMPROVING.]

“Thanks, buddy. I should be able to finish the work on your pack today, then we’ll head home.”

Looking over all that he’d completed, he was proud. On the ground near the body of the Wall, he had a full set of chitin armor for himself, in addition to a reinforced box for aid supplies. He carried his baton with him, and had already finished most of the components for his planned improvements to the C.H.A.D.D.pack. A series of large plates were ready to be attached for extra protection, with several smaller plates to affix directly to some of C.H.A.D.D.’s more damaged areas.

The drone had mentioned it had some more ideas for the pack, but wanted to use the materials available in Albaum. That worked fine for Kyle, as it gave him more opportunities to practice with RESONANCE. He’d gained another two levels as he worked on his creations, and was a stone’s throw away from the terminus of E Grade. Don’t put the cart before the horse, Mayhew. The last item on his docket before they took off was the most intricate work yet: a chain. Kyle rested his hands against the last remaining horn from the Wall, pushing his mana in as he activated RESONANCE.

Holes began to open up as he rotated his mana through the material, careful not to leave any portion too thick or too thin. When he was done, he affixed the chain between his pack and the back of the armor he’d made. The inspiration to create this item stemmed from his encounters with Carlyle and the Infernal. Against fire users, there was a genuine risk that the rope straps he used would be burned away, or at least damaged. This would help circumvent that issue, giving Kyle additional control and connection to C.H.A.D.D. It would still be vulnerable to sufficiently powerful blows, though nothing he’d encountered so far had shown an ability that could easily shear through the material. He shuddered as he remembered the D Grade monsters from his most recent vision. With some exceptions, Kyle amended, waiting for the wave of fear to pass.

With everything connected, the young healer hefted his pack and looked at the ruined mining town. It had provided the perfect environment for him to continue his progress. Thank you. The words of gratitude crossed his mind as he walked the winding road down. [DR. MAYHEW, IF YOU THINK THERE MIGHT BE MORE STINKBUGS TO THE WEST, WE COULD MAKE A DETOUR. I’D BE VERY INTERESTED IN SEEING WHAT HAPPENS IF I ABSORB THEIR -]

“Absolutely not, C.H.A.D.D. The last thing you need is a stink gas ability.”

[I CAN THINK OF AT LEAST THREE SCENARIOS WHERE IT COULD PROVE HELPFUL.]

“And when we come across those situations, you’re welcome to say ‘I told you so.’ Until then, I think we’ll get by alright.”

The two continued their banter as they continued their journey south, with C.H.A.D.D. making a variety of arguments to go collect interesting insect essences, while Kyle for his part rejected them all in kind. The drone’s vision seemed to open it up to a world of possibility, and it was excited to share its ideas with Kyle. They were in the middle of an impassioned argument about tracking down a dung beetle, which C.H.A.D.D. was convinced could unlock some unique synergy skills. Suddenly, it went quiet.

“I take your silence to mean you finally see it my way, because there’s no way I’m hanging out with you if you get a skill that makes me push a ball of dried crap.”

[NOT THAT, DR. MAYHEW, THOUGH I THINK YOU’RE UNDERSELLING THE POSSIBILITIES. MY SENSORS PICKED UP A GROUP OF UNAWAKENED AT THE EDGE OF MY RANGE, MOVING EAST. IT APPEARS THAT SOME ARE INJURED, WHILE OTHERS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY HEALTHIER. UNABLE TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL DETAIL AT THIS TIME.]

Kyle stopped in his tracks to consider the drone’s words. On one hand, if it was a group of unawakened there was a strong chance they were traveling as a group, and his appearance could just cause a stir. On the other, if they were injured, he could help. “We’re taking a detour.” Kyle turned and started heading East, though not at top speed. If this was some sort of ambush, he had no intention of rushing in head first.

As they traveled, Kyle found it fairly easy to keep the group of unawakened at the edge of C.H.A.D.D.’s detection range. What did surprise him was the pace that they seemed to maintain. As the hours wore well into nightfall, Kyle’s concern grew. With a significant number of infirm people in their group, their pace was simply reckless. Even if they had a mode of transport, pushing this hard without stopping was an unnecessary risk. Just as he was about to increase his pace to catch up, C.H.A.D.D. piped up.

[DR. MAYHEW, MORE PEOPLE ARE COMING UP ON MY SENSORS. I’M DETECTING SIXTY-FOUR OTHERS IN THE TOTAL, WITH NEARLY HALF OF THEM CARRYING SIMILAR INJURIES TO THE INJURED WE’VE BEEN FOLLOWING. DR. MAYHEW… THERE ARE CHILDREN.]

That was all that Kyle needed to hear. He activated HASTE and dashed towards the group at his top speed.

Brad swore as he turned his bottle upside down, not a single drop of beer left in it. He was lucky enough to be among the raiding party that took out a refugee caravan en route to Nierburg, and a couple of cases of beer made their way to his bedroll. That was nearly two weeks ago, and this was his last bottle. What’s worse, he was stuck on watch. Many of the scattered groups of raiders had been forced out of the south, and had moved out of the way of the much more organized powers that had taken their place. That was fine by Brad, as he didn’t want to fight against the awakened that came with organizations like those.

A whimper caught his attention, and he looked at the child bound near the edge of the camp. “Keep your filthy mouth shut, or I’ll shut it up for you!” Brad roared at the child, who flinched and hunkered back, being embraced by one of the women who was similarly bound. He threw his empty bottle at them, though it shattered against the ground due to his poor aim. That’ll teach them right, he thought, satisfied they wouldn’t disrespect him by raising their voices again. He frowned as his eyes turned back to the prairie beyond the campfire light. He squinted, picking up a faint electric blue glow. His eyes widened as he realized that it was coming closer, and fast. He turned to alert the camp, when he felt a brutal impact across the back of his head. There was a loud crack that broke the air, and he fell face first into the dirt. Before his eyes closed, he saw a figure clad in shining black armor charging into the heart of their camp.

Kyle felt the growl bubbling in his chest as he got deeper into the camp. These sick bastards. Women and children were bound in groups around the perimeter of the camp, with a small group of men who had been beaten and bound in the center. Twenty-nine injured slaves were in the camp in total, leaving thirty-six bandits in the camp. Well, thirty-five now that the man guarding the perimeter was down for the count. After he smashed three more into the ground, the general alarm was raised and the defense was mounted in earnest.

They might as well have been a cardboard box in a hurricane for all the good it did them. A part of Kyle knew he should care more about the violence he was committing, but seeing what these animals had done left him simply unable to care. His baton flashed out at top speed, breaking bones with every strike. A couple brave raiders managed to level their hunting rifles at him, and Kyle didn’t even bother to dodge. Most of the bullets were stopped cold by his new armor, and those that hit the uncovered pieces fared no better. In less than thirty seconds, over half the raider group were broken on the ground, unable to mount any more resistance. Somehow a retreat was called, and the remaining raiders ran south, abandoning their supplies as they took off into the night, desperate to escape the monster that attacked them.

Kyle panted as he looked at the aftermath of his attack. Twenty-two bodies were unconscious on the ground with broken bones and other injuries. He felt oddly removed from the sight, instead turning his attention to the captives that were bound. The first group shied away as he approached, until his hand touched the rope binding them and ripped it free. He did the same with the other groups, until all the captives gathered around the campfire. “Line up.” Kyle was surprised by the coldness in his voice, though he knew where it came from. He could heal their physical injuries, but there was pain here he wouldn’t be able to help at all. He administered his triage, satisfied that when he was done this group would be able to travel. “Take what supplies you need, head south towards Nierburg.” One of the women looked at him, her brown eyes haunted. “Will you be coming with us?”

“No.” Kyle replied. He wanted to say more. He knew he should say more. The words just wouldn’t come. He was still so angry that people were capable of doing things like this. Fortunately, he had an outlet for that anger. Reactivating HASTE, he took off in the direction that the surviving raiders had run. With any luck, they would lead him right to another camp where he could vent his building rage.

[DR. MAYHEW, IS IT WISE TO LEAVE THESE PEOPLE TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES?]

“C.H.A.D.D., these scum bags didn’t get this far on their own. It’s always the same. These bastards prey on defenseless people because they think they can get away with it. We’re going to show them how wrong they are.”

~~~

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