Chapter 317 - Black Box

Chapter 317

Black Box

Alexander stepped into his workshop, Droney at his shoulder, and the door slid shut behind him.

The rest of the fight between Maximilian and Caroline had gone as expected. The Tier 3 dismantled the dragon army one by one, leaving the Dragon Lord for last. What was most interesting was the steady return of Maximilian’s typical self, including the self-control and tactical intelligence he was known for, as each dragon fell.

It hadn’t helped. Caroline was simply too strong. But the fight had been educational, even if the message Julia had given him took a while to decipher.

Maximilian was afraid of the same thing he was, though perhaps fear was too strong a word.

They’d seen it in so many others. Superhumans looking down on people, thinking themselves gods among men. Not even he was immune to the growing distance between what he was becoming and what he’d been. Despite his best efforts, he still occasionally caught himself thinking of normal people as mundane.

And somewhere along the line, he’d accepted that he was becoming an actual god, even if he still didn’t understand why.

Maximilian had revealed the weakness behind his carefully maintained image of perfection. And he’d done it in front of Grimnir, instead of his own guild.

Alexander sat in the comfortable leather chair and leaned back, eyes closed.

No. That was wrong. The others were incidental. Even Caroline, though she was the most powerful person there by far.

The Dragon Lord had wanted the Machine God to see. Because of all the people who’d witnessed the battle, only he understood what might happen if a Divine lost control of themselves. They both knew the difference between the two types of threads. And how easily gold could bleed red.

Alexander blew out a breath.

He understood, but he didn’t believe it was worth worrying about. Maximilian was practically made of self-control, and eventually he’d master his unique Domain and the swarm of dragons that came with it.

It had been an impressive fight, regardless. Afterward, he’d asked Julia about the difference in strength between Caroline and those approaching the peak of Tier 2, like themselves. She’d just shrugged and reminded him that her mother, like most Tier 3s, had been superhuman for far longer than them.

Even Julia and Maximilian had been superhumans for two or three times longer than he had, and while they were both set to cross the threshold any week now, he’d likely be less than a month behind them.

Alexander had earned his growth the hard way, there was no doubt about that. But the System was accelerating things, and now the conflict was no longer just between superhero and supervillain.

With the eighth invasion having come and gone, there were now thousands of gateways spread all across the planet. As far as they knew, none of them had yet disgorged armies, but there were daily reports about individuals attempting to cross over. Humans and beasts and saurians. Most were swiftly dealt with.

Others, not so much.

Alexander wasn’t paying attention to the news himself, but it was hard not to pick up snippets from the conversations he overheard between the others. Already there was rampant speculation, conspiracy theories even, that there were tens of thousands of invaders hiding amongst the people.

They were probably right.

Few superhumans could stop someone like Artensah from crossing over and simply vanishing, either through teleportation or some sort of invisibility spell. Fewer still could stop him from simply slaughtering any defenders at whichever gate he might use.

If the Lost Prophet hadn’t gutted the United Earth Government, and AEGIS had not been the monster’s little pet project, they might have stood a chance. As it was, though, there was simply no way to guard all the gateways anymore. It was just a matter of time.

At least Talia had confirmed there were no records of any Nightmares. It was a small comfort.

Very small.

There was no doubt in his mind that they’d start coming through the gateways connected to the other realities as soon as they ran out of things to kill.

But that was a matter for later. Right now, his priority was completing the first layer of the Machine God System. After witnessing Caroline in action for a second time, he was under no illusion that he could win, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try.

After all, he had to put on at least as good a show as the Dragon Lord had.

“Which means it’s time for me to do something I’ve been putting off.”

Alexander reached into the ring with a thought and pulled two objects out. They appeared, one in each hand. On his cybernetic palm rested the phase-shift module, or the Skipper as he’d less than affectionately named it. It was only slightly larger than a playing card, and he could recall separating it from Gabriel Santiago’s spinal exoskeleton.

Readers who want to support the author can visit NovelPhoenix, where this chapter is published. The copy here was made without permission.

Even before using it in a moment of desperation, he’d been suspicious about its origin. Santiago had been Forged, the second evolutionary pathway of Earth 1, and some of the tech torn from his body was resistant to even the Machine God.

In his right hand rested the orb. It was roughly the size of a golf ball, and the smooth, featureless metal was nothing he could identify. The thing had been embedded in Santiago’s skull, and the memory of him sawing it free was about as vivid as they came.

Droney beeped. Concern.

“I know, buddy,” Alexander said, staring at the two pieces of Forged equipment.

Even now, each of his powers could sense them, and everything told him the tech was impossible. But he also knew from experience that at least one of them worked.

“That one weird message aside, the System is definitely trying to kill us, even if it is with one hand tied behind its twisted back.” He released both objects, catching them with Metallokinesis and raising them up to eye level. “But we need every advantage we can get, and I’ve argued with the System before and won.”

Droney beeped again.

Alexander nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

He reached out with Technopathy and activated the mansion’s internal PA system.

“Attention, everyone. The workshop and testing area are off limits until further notice. No matter what you sense, hear, or feel, do not disturb me.” He paused. “That includes any minor explosions or the System’s presence descending to take a look.”

Alexander cut the connection and reached for the far wall with Metallokinesis, where a row of completed wedge-shaped drones rested. Lifting four of them free, he headed for the hallway, carrying everything behind him. Droney followed, a thread of worry sneaking its way across the bond, but the little drone didn’t argue.

Outside the workshop, he turned left, away from the stairs leading up to the main house, and made his way to the far end of the hall where a salvaged starship airlock had been set into the wall. The surrounding wall had been reinforced to match, layered with heavy steel plating that extended several meters into the earth.

Alexander placed his cybernetic hand against the surface. Technopathy and Metallokinesis worked in tandem, reaching deep into the locking mechanism, and the bolts retracted in sequence with heavy thuds.

With a push, the door swung inward on massive hinges. The room beyond was intentionally bare, just reinforced walls, floor, and ceiling. Even the lighting was minimal, a single LED strip running the length of the room.

This was where he tested anything that might blow up in his face. Or emit radiation as a result of catastrophic component failure.

The walls and floor were scorched from previous experiments, where things had, in fact, exploded.

Hopefully this time would be different.

Alexander floated everything inside, then flicked his fingers. The heavy airlock door swung closed with a reverberating thud, and the locking mechanism cycled again, sealing him and Droney inside.

He let his Domain expand, filling the room. Then snapped his fingers.

The four wedge-shaped drones came alive, the hovertech immediately taking over from Metallokinesis as the drones oriented themselves.

He waited patiently, Technopathy tracking the machines as they ran through their first diagnostics passes, ticking off each step in a comprehensive checklist. His power reached deep within the advanced components, feeling for any flaws that the safety checks might overlook.

All four drones were identical. Other than the reinforced compact fission mini-reactors from Goliath Industries powering them, and a few highly advanced chipsets, they were made of entirely custom components.

Analyzing the shield emitters gifted from the Nexus had taken a long time. Redesigning the components while retaining as much miniaturization as possible had taken even longer. The Space Force would likely advance the designs faster than he could, but for now, he possessed the most powerful shields on Earth.

Tech-wise, at least.

He had since they returned from the Nexus, of course, but at least now he could build more. It wasn’t a moment too soon, either. Astra Omnia needed them. The Compact needed them. And though part of him still wanted to prioritize selling them as well, he just didn’t have time.

Besides, money was no longer a—

Alexander paused, lifting his head to stare at the ceiling. “I might be an idiot.”

Droney beeped. Curious.

“Well, even after shopping at Goliath, it still hasn’t really settled in that I’m stupidly rich now. As in, so rich that I have to squint at the zeros and count them one by one in order to double-check how much money we have.”

Droney sent a wave of amusement across the bond. The little drone agreed.

Alexander smiled. But it was true. Valerie’s production of the modified serum had begun just over a month ago, and it had been made available to most carbon-based races through a store on the Nexus. He hadn’t actually heard from the woman himself since returning, but Talia had provided him with a report that got him up to speed.

And three percent of the billions in revenue generated from serum sales added up fast.

Grimnir would never be poor again.

Not even with the mega-corps launching their own competing versions of the modified serum, backed by Thorne and the UEG. That had been a surprise. Not that they would, but that it had happened so quickly. Valerie had done well, but she was competing with trillionaires and their deep-rooted relationships that stretched across the galaxy.

And Marcus needed their support now more than ever.

Droney tilted sideways slightly, angling the blue visor that functioned as its eyes.

Alexander was always amused by the subtle human mannerisms the little drone copied.

“The fabricators are great, but they’re not true 3D printers,” he said. “They’re more like industrial photocopiers. I can easily afford a cutting-edge, commercial-sized nanoscale printer now. Something from Zhao-Matsuura, like the NX-7000 I rented on Astra Omnia.” He grinned. “Except even better.”

He frowned. “I’d need to expand the workshop, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Most of the construction happening on the Fort and across the island is done, so it’s not like we lack the manpower.”

Droney beeped. It set a reminder for him to follow up on it when he was done here.

“You’re right. I can worry about it later.”

Alexander interlocked his fingers and stretched his arms out until his fingers cracked and his right shoulder-joint popped.

The four shield-drones shifted into position under Droney’s command, activating their half-spherical barriers. Two of them joined their shields together, protecting Alexander and Droney, while the remaining two encased both pieces of forged-tech still floating in the air.

“Let’s crack open Santiago’s brain-orb.”