"The Beowulfs, here too, huh?"
On the Gyanland's bridge, I was briefing Vindel on my recent battle.
I kept the Einste's regeneration under wraps, of course.
"Here too?" I asked.
"Yeah. In the past few days, several allied rebel units have been wiped out. The culprit? Your Beowulfs," Vindel replied.
"Why the sudden surge? They attack friend and foe alike—hated by the rank and file, even if the brass tolerates them."
"Seems the higher-ups are forcing them into action."
"That's… something."
The Beowulfs' deployments wreak havoc on allies as much as enemies. No commander in their right mind would want to fight alongside them, so their appearances were rare, limited to specific battlefields. Until now.
"We've been winning too much," Vindel said.
It's been months since Shadow Mirror's rebellion began, and the Federation's frontline failures must've pushed the brass to desperation.
As Vindel and I mulled over countermeasures, Lemon stepped onto the bridge.
"Got a minute? I need to talk about the Grow Savior's repairs," she said.
"Sure. How's the unit looking?" I asked.
"The biggest damage is to the left arm and Chronos' Linear Railgun, but we've got spare parts, so swapping them out's no issue. The Phantoms just need routine maintenance, but can I have a few days?"
"A few days? Sounds like there's no major problems."
"It's not that you can't fight the Beowulfs as is, but it's tough, right? I want to make some upgrades. The Grow Savior's been in its current form for a while, and with the tech we've developed since, we can boost its performance."
"Hm. Axel, what do you think? If you're good with it, we'll proceed," Vindel said.
I nodded without hesitation. I'd barely scraped by this time, and with the Beowulfs likely to reappear—especially at Tesla Labs—more firepower was a no-brainer.
"Sounds great. Do it," I said.
"Got it. Look forward to what I've got in store," Lemon replied, a sly smile playing on her lips. Normally, that grin would spark unease, but today, it felt reassuring.
"Now that Lemon's here, let's move to the next topic," Vindel said.
"Next topic?" I asked.
"Yeah. Between the Beowulfs and Cry Wolves giving Barison's team trouble, we need to discuss. Lemon, tell him about that."
"Right, it's about the Rykeios," Lemon began. "As you saw with the Aguieus experiment, its teleportation device enables interdimensional jumps. The Rykeios, a sort of downgraded version, has similar capabilities. We can't fully control the Aguieus yet, but the Rykeios should allow stable dimensional transfers."
So, it's come to this. From Vindel's tone, we're starting to lose ground. This plan makes sense in that context.
"Apparently, since we're planning to steal the Aguieus, the transfer destination is likely the world where Helios Olympus ended up," Lemon added.
"Steal?" I asked.
"Yeah. A device for spatial and dimensional jumps is a game-changer if used right," Vindel said.
"The Aguieus seems tied to Helios Olympus in some way," Lemon explained. "That connection makes it likely we'll transfer to his location."
"But this is a last resort," Vindel stressed. "I'm not planning to lose to the Federation, so consider this insurance. If we execute this, Axel, you'll lead the assault on Tesla Labs. Keep that in mind."
Tesla Labs, huh? That means facing Fiona and Raul. I'd rather have them on our side, but…
"We're calling it Operation Endless Frontier—Plan EF," Vindel said.
"Got it. If Plan EF gets the green light, I take Tesla Labs?" I confirmed.
"Exactly. But, as I keep saying, Plan EF is just a fallback. If we topple the Federation, it's irrelevant."
With that, the discussion ended, and we left the bridge. Exhausted, I headed to my quarters to rest.
Lying in bed, I recalled absorbing Britt and pulled up my status. The Psychokinesis skill caught my eye, and I nearly leapt off the bed in shock.
"Psychokinesis Level 10?"
I'd assumed the system, based on Super Robot Wars, capped skills at Level 9. Apparently not. A perk of my high-growth reincarnation, maybe? It was a shock, but with the Beowulfs looming, it was a welcome one. No complaints here.
Clearing my mind, I let sleep take over to shake off the battle's fatigue.
Days later, after Lemon's call about the repairs and upgrades, I stood in the Gyanland's hangar. The Grow Savior looked pristine, restored to its pre-Beowulfs state.
"Lemon, you said the upgrades were done?" I asked.
Indeed, it looked untouched, no visible signs of modification. The only difference was the Phantoms' color, now silver instead of blue.
Lemon, grinning like she'd pulled off a prank, didn't miss my confusion.
"Upgrades aren't always obvious, Axel. Check the Grow Savior's manipulators."
"…Huh? They do look slightly different."
"From what you said, facing a Gespenst Mk-III solo is tough, right?"
"Not impossible, but yeah, it's rough."
"So, teaming up with a high-firepower unit would make it easier, no?"
She had a point. A unit with the Halberd Launcher or Phantom-level firepower could deal efficient damage to the Gespenst Mk-III. The problem?
"It's gotta hit first," I said.
Echidna's Laz Angriff and Lamia's Anjurg both pack serious firepower. The Anjurg's Phantom Phoenix might even outdo the Phantoms. But, as a certain red comet would say, "If it doesn't hit, it's meaningless."
"Which brings us to upgrade number one," Lemon said.
She pulled up the Grow Savior's manipulators on the hangar's computer monitor. Thin additions on the back of both hands confirmed a change.
"I read a Tesla Labs report about an Extreme East base unit using Psychokinesis Fields as weapons via the T-LINK System. I applied that to create the Gleipnir."
"Gleipnir? From Chronos' Greek mythology to Norse now?" I muttered.
Ignoring my quip, Lemon continued.
"Simply put, the Gleipnir lets you manipulate Psychokinesis Fields as threads. Their length and strength depend on your psychokinesis. In theory, with advanced psychokinesis, you could make them sharp enough to cut. It's not guaranteed—psychic weapons lack precedents—but that's the idea."
So, steel threads from Psychokinesis Fields, like the R-1's T-LINK Sword but in thread form. With my Psychokinesis at Level 10 from absorbing Britt, this was perfect. It's like an upgraded Spider Net from the original, reducing enemy mobility. But a question lingered.
"Sounds like you're aiming to immobilize enemies with Gleipnir for heavy hitters to finish. Couldn't the Adaman Halberd do that?"
"It could, but using the Adaman Halberd to restrain leaves it unavailable as a weapon, right?"
Fair point. Tying up enemies with the Adaman Halberd would limit my options.
"And upgrade number two—though this one's more of a bonus," Lemon said.
The monitor showed the Phantoms, their silver hue catching my eye. I'd thought it was just a paint job.
"The color change is from coating their surfaces with laser-reflective material."
"Laser-reflective? So…"
"Exactly. You can bounce Phantom lasers off other Phantoms for ricochet shots to catch enemies off-guard."
Reflector Bits, basically. A huge tactical boost.
"Thanks, Lemon. This helps a ton."
I thanked her and headed to the simulator to get a feel for the new gear.
Character Stats: Axel Almer
Level: 24
PP: 35
Melee: 202
Ranged: 220
Skill: 212
Defense: 209
Evasion: 237
Accuracy: 259
SP: 334
Ace Bonus: SP Boost (Consumes SP to enhance Slime performance)
Growth Type: All-Rounder/Special
Terrain Adaptability:
Air: S
Land: S
Sea: B
Space: A
Spirit Commands:
Accelerate (SP 4)
Effort (SP 8)
Focus (SP 16)
Direct Hit (SP 20)
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Skills:
EXP Up
SP Boost (SP Up Lv.9 & SP Recovery & Focus)
Psychokinesis Lv.10
Attacker
Gunfight Lv.9
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Kill Count: 82