novelraw Chapter 55: Swarm Protocol
Chapter 55: Swarm Protocol
Daniel looked at the far end of the cavern. The tunnel continued, leading deeper into the dark heart of the Verge.
"Let’s see what else you built," Daniel said grimly. As he walked deeper, the environment changed again.
The walls stopped looking like random piles of scrap. They became organized. The tunnel turned into a long, straight corridor.
Thick pipes lined the ceiling, leaking steam. Cables ran along the floor, sparking with that dangerous blue energy.
The heat down here was literally competing with hell fire.
Daniel moved carefully. He kept his back to the wall. He used his enhanced [Omnivision]. Since he had assimilated the Verge Control Shard earlier, his senses flowed in sync with the environment.
He could feel the pulse of the facility. He sensed something ahead. It wasn’t one big life force like the Golem.
It was many small ones. They were moving fast. Very fast.
Daniel slowed down. He reached a corner and peeked around it. Ahead of him was a room that looked like an old control center. Consoles were smashed, and wires hung loose. In the middle of the room, there was a glass cylinder glowing with bright blue light.
It looked important. Maybe a power source for this sector. But Daniel wasn’t looking at the cylinder. He was looking at the guards. There were close to a dozen of them.
They weren’t flesh and blood creatures. They were machines. They were sleek, black discs hovering in the air.
Each one had a red sensor eye scanning the room and a small laser turret mounted underneath.
Of course, Daniel decided to scan them immediately with his Databand .
[Forbidden Survey Drone (Black-IX) - Level 3]
[Stats: Low Strength, Low Vitality, Very High Agility, Moderate Spirit.]
[Abilities: [Laser Cutter], [Swarm Protocol], [Evasive Flight].]
[Threat Assessment: Agile mechanical units. They rely on swarm tactics and laser fire. Weak armor, but hard to hit.]
"Great," Daniel muttered, pulling his head back. "Flying laser bots."
This was dangerous. His D-Grade Deflector Vest was tough, but it was made to stop claws and teeth. Concentrated heat from ten lasers? That would burn right through him. He couldn’t tank this.
If he stepped out, all ten would lock onto him. He would be cooked in seconds.
"I need to thin the herd," Daniel thought. "I need to separate them."
He looked around. He saw a long hallway branching off to his left. It was dark and empty. An idea formed in his mind.
He unslung his C+ Skyreaver Bow. He didn’t aim at the drones. He aimed down the empty hallway, targeting a loose metal panel hanging from the wall about fifty meters away.
He pulled the string back. He didn’t use a regular arrow. He channeled his mana into it.
"[Mana Bolt]," he whispered.
The arrow glowed with purple energy. He released it.
TWANG!
The arrow flew silently down the dark hall. It smashed into the metal panel with a loud explosion.
BOOM!
The sound echoed violently in the metal corridors.
In the control room, the swarm reacted instantly. Their red eyes snapped toward the noise. They let out a series of high-pitched electronic chirps.
Seven of the drones broke formation. Their engines whined as they zoomed out of the room, rushing down the dark hallway to investigate the threat.
"Seven gone. Three left," Daniel counted. "That, I can handle."
He didn’t wait. He put the bow away and drew his Twin Fang daggers. The dark metal blades felt light in his hands.
He took a deep breath and exploded into motion.
ZHOOM!
The three remaining drones were still scanning the room, confused by the split in their ranks. By the time their sensors registered the intruder, Daniel was already in the air.
He leaped off a broken console, launching himself at the nearest drone.
The drone beeped an alarm and tried to back away, but Daniel was faster. He slashed his right dagger in a horizontal arc.
SHING!
The C+ Grade blade sliced through the metal casing like it was cardboard. Sparks showered down as the drone split in half and crashed to the floor.
"One," Daniel counted.
The other two drones reacted fast. They scattered, flying higher to get out of melee range. Red laser sights swept across the room, searching for him.
Daniel didn’t stop moving. He landed and rolled.
ZZZT!
A red beam scorched the floor right where he had been standing a second ago. The smell of burnt metal filled the air.
"You’re fast," Daniel grinned, sweat running down his face. "But I’m faster."
He pushed off the wall, using his momentum to close the gap to the second drone. It tried to fly up toward the ceiling pipes.
Daniel threw his left dagger.
It spun through the air, a deadly silver disc. It slammed into the drone’s central red eye. The machine spun out of control, crashing into a wall and exploding in a small ball of fire.
"Two."
Daniel caught the dagger on the rebound as he sprinted past the wreckage. He was in the zone now.
The third drone locked onto him. It didn’t fire a burst, it fired a continuous beam.
Daniel twisted his body to dodge, but he was a fraction of a second too slow.
"Argh!"
The laser grazed his left arm. It burned through his uniform sleeve and seared his skin. The pain was sharp and burning.
It hurt, but it wasn’t deep. Daniel gritted his teeth. He ignored the pain.
He lunged at the third drone. He didn’t slash this time. He stabbed. He drove both daggers into the drone’s chassis, pinning it to the ground.
CRUNCH!
The drone sparked and died.
"Three."
Only seven left. He turned to face the door. But then, his [Mental Echo] screamed in his head.
"Danger! Behind!"
The seven drones that had left were coming back. They had realized it was a decoy. They were rushing back into the room, their engines whining in high-pitched fury.
They flew in a tight formation, blocking the doorway. Seven red eyes locked onto Daniel.
They charged their lasers. A humming sound filled the room as seven beams prepared to fire at once.
There was no cover. There was nowhere to hide.
Daniel stood his ground. He sheathed his daggers quickly.
He planted his feet on the metal floor. He stared at the wall of machines.
"Come on," he whispered. "Group up."
The drones clustered together at the door, aiming for the kill shot.
"NOW!"
Just as the red lights on their lasers flashed, Daniel thrust both palms forward. He poured every ounce of his kinetic energy into the strike. He didn’t hold anything back.
"[Forceburst]!"
BOOOOOM!
It wasn’t just a shockwave. In the confined space of the metal room, it was like a cannon blast.
The invisible wall of force slammed into the volley of lasers, scattering the light. Then, it hit the drones.
The formation shattered instantly. The drones were agile, but they were light. They had no mass to withstand the impact.
The shockwave swatted them out of the air like flies in a hurricane.
They were thrown backward, slamming violently against the metal walls of the hallway. They crushed into each other.
CRASH! SMASH! CLANG!
Metal crumpled. Sensors shattered. The drones sparked and fell to the floor, reduced to twitching piles of scrap metal.
The room went silent, save for the crackling of broken electronics and Daniel’s heavy breathing.
He stood there, his hands smoking slightly from the discharge of energy. He checked his arm. The burn was ugly, a red line across his muscle, but his high Vitality was already working to dull the pain.
"Got you," Daniel said.
He walked over to the pile of destroyed drones. He kicked one to make sure it was dead. It didn’t move.
A series of notifications flashed in his vision, glowing blue in the dim light.
[You have slain: Forbidden Survey Drone (Level 3) x10]
[EXP Gained: 800 EXP]
[Level 4: 1280/1500 EXP]
Daniel let out a long breath. He was close. So close to Level 5.