As a Level 59 Vigilator, Kaelen's DEX of 100 was a nightmare for Gerhard as he didn't use Mana Reinforcement. She closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, her Executioner Greatblade slashing through the air in a diagonal cleave. Gerhard's muscle memory unfolded as his mind processed the trajectory, but his physical DEX of 76 was a bottleneck.
CLANG-
Gerhard parried, the force of the blow being absorbed by his Boneswords. Kaelen didn't overextend; she transitioned instantly into another position, her attack speed rising as she unleashed a flurry of three rapid stabs, which were performed beautifully in Gerhard's eyes.
He twisted his torso, the blunt tip of her blade glancing off his ribs, before he swept his own sword in a low horizontal arc.
Liora Thorne, the Witchseeker, moved to flank him. While Kaelen was a whirlwind of precision, Liora was a specialist when it came to denying an enemy space to move. She used the length of her blade to herd Gerhard, cutting off his escape routes. Her strikes were designed to keep him off-balance and funnel him back into Kaelen's reach.
Gerhard gritted his teeth. He felt slow. To his 237 INT and thanks to his newly created skill [Battle Plan], their movements were clear, but his body was a fraction of a second behind what he wanted to do. He ducked under a strike from Liora, his [Sword Mastery] guiding his hand to catch her hilt with the flat of his blade, redirecting her momentum into Kaelen.
The two Sisters of Silence synchronised perfectly, splitting around each other like water around a stone and attacking from different angles, trying to throw Gerhard off.
"You're both holding back," Gerhard panted. "Attack me like you mean it!"
[VIT has gone up by 1]
Kaelen's eyes sharpened. She used her warrior instincts, which she had honed for decades. Her movements became unpredictable, her footwork silent and faster. She feinted a high strike, then dropped her centre of gravity, spinning the massive sword in a 360-degree whirlwind, using the heavy weight of the Greatblade to her advantage.
Gerhard didn't retreat, however. He stepped into the spin.
He caught the middle of her blade with the middle of his sword, locking the weapons. At the same moment, Liora lunged from his blind spot. Gerhard didn't look; he relied on his danger sense to tell him the direction she was attacking from exactly. He pulled his hilt a bit towards him, forcing Kaelen to follow, and front-kicked her. Then he threw one of his Boneswords into the air, pivoted his sword behind his back to catch Liora's blade and then caught the other one just in time for Kaelen's next attack.
SHIIIING.
The four blades were locked. The silence in the room was absolute, save for the heavy breathing of the three combatants. Gerhard's muscles were trembling, pushed to the absolute limit of his unaugmented 85 STR.
[STR has gone up by 1]
For the next twenty minutes, the hall was a racket of clashing steel and groans as Gerhard was hit over and over again and fell one after another. But he never stayed down long, pushing himself off the ground and getting back into the fight.
Gerhard stopped thinking about "stats" and started thinking about "flow." He began to mimic Kaelen's weight distribution and the way she used her hips to generate immense speed. He adapted to Liora's ground control, learning to turn the "Dead Zones" into traps.
[STR has gone up by 1]
[DEX has gone up by 1]
[Sword Mastery has levelled up]
In the final exchange, Kaelen lunged with a high-speed thrust. Instead of parrying, Gerhard performed a counter. He slid his blade down the length of hers, the friction throwing off sparks, and twisted his wrist at the last second to tap her shoulder guard with his blunt tip.
Liora's blade stopped a hair's breadth from his throat, and Kaelen's sword was pinned under his arm.
Gerhard exhaled, his sweat dripping onto the cold floor.
"Haaa... you two are insane."
'Not as insane as you. How long have you been training?'
"I'm self-taught. Like... a year? Something like that."
'A year?'
'Seems like you got all the talent.'
"Hey, I worked hard for this. I fought an entire Genestealer Cult. That counts, right?"
The two looked at one another, then started ranting in Thoughtmark about the horrors they had experienced so far in their lives.
'And that was my first year.'
"Wow, you ladies sure are intense."
.
'What do you think of him?' Hestia signed to Lencillus as they were watching him from the side.
After creating the Mana Core, Gerhard had asked the Sisters of Silence and Lencillus to spar with him. He wanted to improve his [Sword Mastery], martial arts and physical stats, and they were the best way to do that. He needed a break between dismantling and improving what had been the Land Raider and a Sanctioner Pattern Automaton.
"I think," Lencillus began, keeping his voice low, "that we have witnessed the birth of a living paradox. He possesses the psychic grace of a Saint, the cold void of a Pariah, and the mind of an Ancient Human. Those 'songs' as he calls them... they're old. Depending on who you ask and where you find yourself in the galaxy, he has committed so much heresy that we would have to execute him on the spot."
'Only that we already tried that,' Hestia signed, with dark humour.
Lencillus allowed himself a small smirk. She was right; they had already theoretically tried that. Whether or not they would succeed a second time was questionable. Lencillus was more powerful, but Gerhard surprised them over and over again, and had endless aces up his sleeves. And even if they could, they couldn't refute that he was now effectively a Saint.
"He might be what the Imperium needs. I am unclear what it is, but there is a spontaneousness to him that allows him to think outside the box, and since he is the closest existence to immune ot corruption, I find myself increasingly eager to see what he will do next."
'No one is uncorruptible,' Hestia signed. 'We already suffered for such a belief.'
"The Traitor 16th took us by surprise. But Gerhard will not. You have seen it yourself, he is as much a Pariah as he is a psyker. A living Paradox, as I said."
'I don't trust him.'
Lencillus looked at her from the corner of his eyes.
"Are you sure you're not saying that only because he is clearly interested in you?"
Hestia looked at Lencillus sharply. Her presence seemed to become even harder to bear for a moment, and Lencillus deduced from that what he did. They both turned to look at the group again, who had stopped sparring by this point. Now, Gerhard was showing off two new weapons.
"There had been a time when I despised mortals," Lencillus said. "Long ago and sometimes still today. Ironically, it was when I had achieved physical perfection and knew little of the galaxy's more profound truths. I saw them as irritants, impediments, ever apt to stray into corruption or futility."
'...'
"But after laying down what I loved so much and became one of His eyes, I have changed my thoughts."
'And now?' Hestia asked.
"Now, I see them essentially as children."
'Children?'
"Yes. Children have so much potential to be almost anything, to be more than what they have turned into in these dark times. But seeing this anomaly in front of us, I wonder..."
'Whether you have found the one who has realised that potential.'
"Precisely. There seems to be nothing he can't do, and no matter what he went through, it is remarkable that he can still smile through it."
'Unless he has lost his mind, as I suspect.'
.
"Sera, Kaelen, Liora, I have something new I want to show you," Gerhard said.
He walked over to a velvet-lined case on a blackened workbench. From it, he took out two pistols. They were masterpieces of Gerhard's current level in engineering and weapon creation. One of the pistols finished in a matte, obsidian black, the other in a brilliant, polished silver.
Gerhard knew what he had done.
"Meet Ebony and Ivory," he said.
[Ebony & Ivory – "Twin Execution Pistols" – Rank: Legendary]
- Durability: 3,300/3,300 (each)
- Damage: 1100 (per shot)
- Critical Chance: 88%
- Fire Rate: Extremely High (Dual-Wield)
---
Special Effects:
Twin Weapon System
| High-impact shots
| +60% stagger power
| High-speed burst fire
| -50% ammo usage
-
Hyper-Fire Control
| +150% fire rate
| No recoil
| Perfect accuracy during movement
Dual Targeting Logic
| Can fire in separate directions simultaneously
| Independent targeting per pistol
Rainstorm Protocol
| While airborne:
| → 360° firing radius
Mobility Enhancement
| +40% movement speed while firing
| +30% dodge effectiveness
Style Amplification
| +200% effectiveness in continuous combat flow
| Increases performance the longer combat continues
---
"Are those pistols?" Sera asked.
"Indeed. These two are quite some moody girls."
The three women raised their eyebrows at him, as if he were the dumbest man they had seen. And in a way, he was. If they knew he had created these two weapons solely because of a fictional character, they would call him insane.
"They don't seem as impressive as basically all other weapons you created until now," Sera said.
"Huh? Not impressive? Allow me to demonstrate TaciCOOL RELOADS, à la 'Corridor Digital'."
Gerhard shook his head.
"Hans, play 'Murdergram Deux' from LL Cool J and EM."
> As you wish.
He stepped into the centre of the firing range he had set up for Sera to practice. The air shifted as he got into the mood.
Then, Gerhard jumped into action. He started by twirling both pistols in a high-speed circular motion around his trigger fingers, the heavy slides clicking in a metallic rhythm that set the tempo.
With a sharp flick, he ejected a live round from the chamber, watching it fly into the air before catching it between his teeth. While holding the bullet, he ejected the magazine behind his back, making it fly through the air with enough force that it bounced off the wall.
As the magazine ricocheted back toward him, he spat the bullet directly back into the chamber of the open gun.
Bang--
He then fired the shot at the returning magazine at a perfect angle, sending it into the air. He rotated the gun at precisely the right moment so the magazine inserted itself perfectly into the mag-well as it descended.
Once reloaded, Gerhard enters a high-speed twirl, unleashing a barrage of perfect shots at the targets.
Bang--Bang--Bang--Bang--
He maintained this rhythm, punching large holes through the targets until the magazine was empty.
Click
To swap the empty magazine, he performed a sharp, stylish flick to eject the spent casing. He pulled out a fresh magazine at the same time, and he hurled it into the air, followed immediately by throwing the gun into the air as well, just because he could, but not as high.
As they descended, he grabbed the gun by the muzzle. The full magazine fell toward him, and he executed a high knee strike to bounce the magazine upward. At the peak of the bounce, he slammed the gun down with his hand, perfectly seating the magazine into the weapon the moment they met.
Bang-bang. Bang-bang.
He fired Ebony and Ivory in alternating succession, the dark pistol sounding deeper like a bass while the silver one cracked like a whip. Each shot was timed perfectly to his stride, creating a constant, impenetrable wall of lead that shredded the practice targets in front of him, which Hans was controlling to make them harder to hit.
Gerhard shifted from a walk to a high-speed manoeuvre. He sprinted, then launched himself into the air. He tucked his knees, spinning his entire body like a gyroscope. While upside down, he extended his arms horizontally, the pistols becoming a 360-degree perimeter of suppression, turning the floor into a kill zone.
Upon landing, he didn't stop. He transitioned into a low slide, sweeping across the floor.
He fired Ebony directly forward into a target's heart while extending Ivory behind his back, his head turned away, catching a flanking foe with a casual, perfect strike based on pure skill.
The sequence concluded with Gerhard coming to a sudden, poised halt. He performed a final, high-speed, synchronised spin, the barrels smoking, before stopping and holding them.
'I think,' Liora signed to Hestia, her fingers moving slowly in genuine shock, 'that 'adequate' was an understatement.'
Everyone looked at Gerhard in shock, because they knew that while it looked basic, what he had done was impressive. Not the 'TaciCOOL RELOADS', but the sheer firepower of Ebony and Ivory. The targets Hans had been controlling remotely were made of Adamantium and Auramite. They were the most powerful materials Gerhard could create at the moment, and they were punched through with each shot.
That was serious firepower.
.
Gerhard and Hans were busy working on a new weapon, which Gerhard was interested in adding to the MK. IV-H' Iron Monger'. Hans studied the blueprint of what Gerhard wanted and provided his input on energy efficiency and damage output.
> I believe this section could use more torque. If we increase it by another 74%, you could increase damage by at least a factor of 4.
"The only question is how to get that done, while making it as light and durable as possible."
> How about increasing the Iron Monger's size? With the amount of Mana regeneration you have, you can't ever run out. So even if the Mana needs for basic use of the suit rise above 1000 MP, it wouldn't even put a dent into your total amount.
"That is true. Good idea, Hans. Let me have a look at the schematics..."
> Railgun, was it? Truly a fascinating concept.
"A rotary rail-accelerator," Gerhard mused, his eyes tracking the flickering holographic projections of the MK. IV-H' Iron Monger'.
"Hans, the Imperial Assault Cannon is a masterpiece of suppressive fire, but its logistical tail is a nightmare. The friction, the heat, the barrel wear, even after improving it, it's primitive. But if we replace the chemical propellant with linear induction..."
> Logic follows, Master. By utilising standing-wave acceleration along superconducting electrodes, we eliminate the need for cased ammunition. We can fire solid slugs of high-density Adamantium, maybe even diamantine-tipped, at hypervelocity. However, the energy draw for a rotary system of that magnitude is... astronomical despite what I said previously.
> Good thing you're a walking battery.
Gerhard responded with a smirk, his fingers already diving into the wireframes.
With a practised flick of his wrist, he began to pull the schematics of the Assault Cannon apart. He kept the iconic six-barrel rotary assembly, but stripped out the firing pins and chemical chambers with speed and precision. In their place, he sketched a series of cylindrical superconductive electrodes that would surround each barrel, turning the rotating mass into a kinetic gauntlet.
He dubbed the project the Rotary Rail-Cannon. Borrowing from what he knew of the T'au Hammerhead Gunship to solve the energy spike issue, Gerhard synchronised the electric motor to massive capacitor banks, ensuring that he didn't try to power all barrels at once.
Instead, as each barrel rotated into the 'Twelve O'Clock' position, it received a massive, instantaneous surge of mana-conducted electricity.
To handle the extreme stress, he used the original cannon's heat-dispersing Ceramite-Auramite alloy as a base, reinforcing the inner rails with his new Mana-infused Polymorphic alloy. This solved the 'barrel-melting' problem that plagued the design, allowing sustained rates of fire exceeding 150 rounds per second without the crippling overheating penalty.
That's right: 150 RPS, that's 9,000 RPM. From a railgun cannon…
"Well, we're off to a good start."
> I believe that's an understatement, Master. This will be banned for being too powerful.
"Eh, we're already long past caring about that, Hans. Now, increase the torque on the rotary motor by 37 per cent," Gerhard commanded, his fingers dancing across the interface in a blur. "I want the barrels spinning so fast the air around them ionises before the first slug even leaves the rail."
> Applying modifications. Master, the recoil and forces involved will be... significant. Even for a suit of your calibre.
"Integrate the new calculations for the stabilisation needs and then apply them to this design."
> ...
> Master this...