The air in the training ground. Lencillus stood at the centre. Even without any armour, he was a statue of biological perfection. Even without his Auramite or Terminator armour, he ruled the room. He held a replica of a Guardian Spear in a relaxed, low guard.
Opposite him, Gerhard felt the disparity in their presence like a gut punch. His senses warned him even without any skill. Without his active reinforcement skills, he would be akin to a fly compared to the living engine of war before him. But this wasn't about who was better, for it was obvious; this was about training and using this engine as a whetstone. He gripped the single Bonesword, its organic hilt warm and pulsing slightly against his palm.
Lencillus didn't wait for a signal. In a blur of motion that belied his massive frame, he closed the distance. He didn't use his top speed, as doing so would make the sparring useless. The Guardian Spear's blade whistled through the air, a horizontal sweep aimed at Gerhard's midsection.
Gerhard's mental stats allowed him to see the move, but his body struggled to keep pace. He didn't try to block. Parrying a Custodian's blow without reinforcement was a recipe for shattered wrists, which translated into damage. Instead, he spun backwards, the tip of the power blade missing his body by a hair's breadth.
"Too wide, Gerhard", Lencillus said. "You trade ground for safety. In a corridor, you would already be pinned. You need to be proactive."
Gerhard lunged, attempting a feint toward the Custodian's lead knee before snapping the Bonesword upward. It was a clever move, born of his high INT stat, but Lencillus didn't even move his feet. He simply rotated the haft of the spear, the Auramite catching the Bonesword's edge with a dull thud.
With a flick of his wrist, Lencillus used the spear's leverage to shove Gerhard's blade downward. The butt-end of the spear whipped around, catching Gerhard in the ribs.
BANG--
Gerhard gasped as his HP dropped. The blow was pulled, but it still felt like being hit by a speeding train.
Gerhard rolled, coming up on one knee, his breath ragged. He could feel the strength difference. A casual 185 against his 92. It felt like a canyon. But it also bothered him greatly.
Defying what he felt, he pushed through the pain and attacked Lencillus again and again. He was cut, his health dropped, and he was hit in dozens of places. Lencillus always used slightly more strength and speed to be beyond Gerhard's limits, forcing him to take damage and grow stronger in the process.
[Martial Arts], which was a new skill Gerhard had unlocked thanks to the sparring with Lencillus and the Sisters of Silence, [Sword Mastery] and [Physical Endurance] levelled up multiple times.
Lencillus could observe Gerhard improve and grow in real time. Years of training and recuperation were shoved into the Gamer within days of sparring, and the more he pushed Gerhard, as long as he didn't die, the stronger he would become.
"Show me your will, Gerhard. You still lack the right mindset to be a true danger."
"Urgh..."
Gerhard groaned as he lay on the ground. He used his [Iron Will - Lv. 4] to push his body off the ground for the 138th time. His health had dropped to just below 100, but his body didn't show any of it.
Lencillus couldn't help but nod his head in respect at the sheer tenacity of the mortal. It seemed that he was the image of what He had in mind when creating his Custodes—a man of unrelenting, unbreakable will, with endless potential and talent.
In Lencillus's mind, Gerhard would have made the perfect Custodian, had he been found earlier.
"I know you have it, Gerhard. Show it to me. That drive. You need to be able to be willing to kill if you want to grow further. I don't sense this from you. Release it."
Gerhard didn't really know what Lencillus meant, but he naturally didn't want to kill him. Not that he could do it while they trained physically, but still. However, he nodded and thought about it, how he would kill Lencillus and just as he did that, his stance and presence changed.
Lencillus felt it right away and nodded.
[A new skill has been created through a special action]
Killing Intent (Active) Lv. 1
| The manifestation of the user's killing will.
| Affects the mental state and reactions of nearby enemies.
Effects:
| +15% intimidation effect
| Weak enemies hesitate or panic
| +10% damage against mentally weaker targets
| Releases killing intent in an area
| May:
| - stun weak enemies
| - slow reactions
| - disrupt focus
| +20% damage for a short duration
| MP: 50
---
"That's enough, Gerhard. Let's stop here."
"Oh?... had enough already..."
...
BANG--
Gerhard found himself on the ground for the 139th time, looking at the ceiling.
"Alright... let's call it a draw..."
Lencillus smiled at his words. What a ridiculous man he was. He looked up and saw Hestia watching them. He had seen the very slow change she had gone through ever since they had arrived. The feeling of loss and failure at losing 2 of her sisters had gradually made room for other things. She was still the same person and still hated that the two had to die to get to Gerhard, but she wasn't hostile towards Gerhard anymore.
Martial Arts (Passive/Active) Lv. 38
| EXP: 0.00%
| A refined combat skill that enhances unarmed fighting, movement efficiency, and combat awareness.
| The body and mind begin to act in unison, allowing fluid, adaptive combat without conscious thought.
Effects:
Passive:
| +56% unarmed damage
| +48% reaction speed in close combat
| +42% movement efficiency (footwork, balance)
| +35% dodge and counterattack timing
Active:
| +112% unarmed damage
| +75% attack speed
| +70% reaction speed
| +25% damage reduction in close combat
| MP: 20/min
--
"Urgh, what did Erba Tom say? 'I move weight like a freight truck, build the muscle. You can′t escape your fate, we ain't scared to tussle I put the pressure on your offence, you can′t advance...'"
"So, how are things coming along?" Lencillus asked.
"What things?"
"The Land Raider. You have been rather absorbed lately."
"Oh, I'm finished."
"You are? Why didn't you say anything?" Lencillus asked.
"I was going to. There are a few things here and there, I'm still adding, and the energy core has to be added to make everything perfect."
Lencillus narrowed his eyes at Gerhard. He knew him well enough by this point to know that if it took him this long to finish, he had created something ridiculous. The 'Hulk Buster', as he called the Power Armour, was already beyond ludicrous, but what had he done with the Land Raider?
...
Lencillus, Hestia, Kaelen, Liora and Sera followed Gerhard into the Instant Dungeon, which he had managed to connect to a door. And in his workforge, stood the monster.
It was the only way to describe it.
A monster.
"May I present: Gustav!"
Hans stood to the side, his logic core calculating everything at insane speeds. He had helped Gerhard bring this 'thing' to life. The five people, seeing the former Land Raider, stopped dead in their tracks. Sera Vahl even dropped her jaw.
She had seen a tank in her life. A Leman Russ, sure, and she had also seen the Land Raider when the Rogue Trader had brought it to fight. What they were seeing now didn't have much to do with a Land Raider anymore.
"What have you done?" Lencillus asked. "Where's the Land Raider?"
"This is the Land Raider," Gerhard said.
"That's NOT a Land Raider, Gerhard. It even has a turret."
They looked the tank over and walked the length from the front to the back. It was long, longer than a Land Raider was, by at least 10 feet (~3 meters). And it had a turret, and a lot of extras.
"So you built a Baneblade," Lencillus stated after a moment.
"Well, not really a Ban--"
"It's a Monster Baneblade. It has a literal Baneblade Cannon on it. It's also roughly the shape and size of a Baneblade, and although you combined the looks of the Land Raider, Predator Annihilator, with the Baneblade, it is clearly visible. Only that is considerably larger and most definitely heavier. Can you even transport people with this monster?"
"Oho, but of course. Not as much as I could with the original Land Raider, which was 10 Space Marines, or 5 with Terminator Armour, but there is still space," Gerhard beamed.
"You managed to make space for people to be transported?"
"Indeed. Which is why it is this large. It's also roughly 90 tonnes heavier than a normal Baneblade and bigger overall. I had trouble finding enough space for all the weaponry, but then stopped since... well, at one point, it was enough. I still need to check out how the Mana core works."
He was far too happy with what he had created. He had taken the title of Lord of War and dialled that up by turning it into a peak Legendary item. The Gamer system was fucking overpowered. But only Gerhard showed how OP it was through his actions.
But why was even the former Custodes finding it hard to believe what he was seeing?
--
[Super Heavy Battle Tank - Rank: Legendary]
Vehicle Name: Gustav – "When ze Heavy Flamer just won't cut it."
Origin: Gerhard
Known Patterns: Singular (Land Raider + Baneblade variant)
Crew: Commander, Gunner, Comms-Operator; (AS-controlled)
Powerplant: 2x Heavy Prismatic Mana Reactor
Weight: 400 tonnes
Length: 16m
Width: 11m
Height: 8m
Ground Clearance: 1.4m
Fording Depth: Unlimited (Fully Sealed)
Max Speed - on road: 95 mph
Max Speed - off road: 65 mph
Transport Capacity: 6 Space Marines, or 3 Terminator Armoured SM
Access Points: 1 Reinforced Multi-Seal Hatch
---
Main Armament:
#1: Mana Baneblade Cannon
| -> Designated as a type of battle cannon, each Baneblade Cannon has a ten-metre-long barrel that fires rocket-assisted shells capable of hitting targets many kilometres away.
| -> Each shell, usually adamantium-tipped, but now fully adamantium, allows it to penetrate through the thickest armour easily, and is packed with high explosives, producing a vast explosion upon detonation.
| -> The shell is a metre in length and contains a small amount of solid Mana-powered propellant, shaped in such a way as to control its time and rate of burn, thereby controlling the rocket's thrust and duration, while rear-mounted fins stabilise its flight.
-> This version is capable of firing [Mana Shells]
-> Yield equivalent to hundreds up to thousands of megatons of impact
-> Leaves large-scale annihilation zones
#2: Mana Demolisher Cannon
| -> The Demolisher Cannon is a short-range, large-bore direct fire cannon.
| -> Primarily designed with siege, urban, and bunker-busting warfare in mind, the cannon is also known to be of great use against enemy vehicles and infantry, destroying both with equal ease.
-> This version is capable of firing [Mana Shells].
#3: Twin-linked Assault Rail-Cannon
| Located in the small turret on the front hull.
| -> Hypervelocity, internal liquefaction
| -> Effective vs super-heavy armoured targets
---
Secondary Armament:
#1: Plasma Incinerator
| On the very top hatch.
| -> Any explosion involving plasma is a thousand times stronger than a conventional nuclear explosion because super-energised plasma is, per ton, a thousand times more powerful than conventional nuclear fuel.
| -> This weapon is powered and cooled through Mana.
#2: 4x Lascannons
| -> Long-range anti-armour laser weaponry
#3: 4x Twin-linked Heavy ManaBolters
| Below the Twin-linked Lascannons
| -> For the serious firepower.
| -> See [Mana Bullet] skill for damage output
#4: Smart Mana Missile System
| -> Guided, high-yield Mana-powered explosive payloads
---
Traverse:
360° (All weapon systems independently stabilised)
Elevation:
From -5° to +45°
---
Main Ammunition:
#1: Mana-Based (nigh Infinite via Mana Core)
Baneblade and Demolisher Shells: Depends on MP
Heavy Mana Bolter shells: Depends on MP
#2: Adamantine shells: 240
---
Secondary Ammunition:
Assault Rail-Cannon: 100,000 (auto-generated)
Bolter Ammo: Mana-Based
Smart Missiles: 480
---
Armour:
Superstructure: Reinforced Adamantium-Auramite Composite (422mm equivalent)
Hull: Multi-layer Polymorphic + Diamantine (240mm equivalent)
Gun Mantlet: 320mm equivalent
Turret: 280mm equivalent
---
Special Systems:
Two Prismatic Mana Reactors
- Nigh Infinite energy generation (As long as Gerhard is connected to it, or in the general area) - safety measure
- Powers all systems simultaneously
Polymorphic Adaptive Armour
| +5% resistance per hit (stacks to 90%)
Void-Hardened Plating
| Extreme resistance to plasma, melta, and warp effects
Machine Spirit (Golem – Gustav)
| The original Machine Spirit has been turned into an artificial spirit by Gerhard the Gamer.
| Name: Gustav
Kinetic Nullification Field
| Converts 25% incoming damage into dispersed energy
Auto-Repair Systems
| Regenerates structural integrity in real-time
Advanced Targeting Systems - Gustav
| +99% accuracy
| Weakpoint prioritisation
Reality Stress Field
| High energy output destabilises nearby matter
---
"What a ridiculous thing this is..." Lencillus said.
Gerhard had taken the broken and previously cursed Land Raider, taken it apart, created new resources thanks to his [Legendary Creation] skill, used those resources to create Legendary grade resources and then turned it into this.
Gustav was the name of this bad boy. And he was Gerhard's second Artificial Spirit.
Right now, Gerhard has told it not to speak unless necessary, and if it does, to use their private vox channel. He already went quite far with Hans, who at least posed as a Tech Priest, but if the Super Heavy Battle Tank started talking, it would be a bit hard to explain.
The reason Gerhard turned the Machine Spirit into a full artificial soul was that it had been so excited and 'thankful' after being purified that it wouldn't leave Gerhard's side and physically try to move the broken tank to follow him whenever he left.
Yeah, the Gamer's skills were utterly broken, even being able to excite and elevate Machine Spirits.
At first, he wanted to destroy the Machine Spirit, since he didn't want anything close to him that could be corrupted. But then, Gerhard stopped and thought that he might as well go all the way and turn it into a Golem.
The reason he went full Artificial Soul/Spirit was that he had another idea for the tank. All he was going to say was one word...
Transformers.
Yeah, Gerhard would be hunted by the Mechanicus. That was for sure.
He planned to create a company of tanks, and Gustav would be the Artificial Spirit that would control and lead them, since Gerhard would turn the others into Golems.
'So are you ready for the final confrontation with the Orks?' Liora asked.
Gerhard only grinned.
.
As much as Gerhard thought he was overprepared, the Orks had gone through a big change themselves. The internal fighting had given rise to a new Warboss, one that didn't come from the Goff Klan and instead was a Bad Moon Big Mek with tremendous wealth, which he flaunted every chance he got.
Right now, a group of Kommandoz was discussing how best to fight Gerhard. The strongest one among them explained da plan.
"Right, Ladz. Dis' ere's da plan, an it's proper kunnin' an' morky. Da Dakka Masta is right nearby, so he's expectin' us boyz to charge right at 'im. That's... what we's gonna do, cos we's Orks. BUT... we's gonna do it, from da side."
"Ehehehe."
"He never expect da Boyzs to come from da side, see. All we need ta do, is creep up right close by hidin' n stuff."
The other Kommandoz nodded eagerly. The plan was brilliant in their eyes and so logical too. However, not all agreed. Powerful steps could be heard as a Goff Nob arrived with his mob. He looked at the metal plate the Kommando used to illustrate the plan.
"Hidin'? Dat's Grot business. We don't do no hidin'! Dat plan's stupid! I gots a betta one," the Nob said.
He punched the Kommando to the side and used his Power Klaw to illustrate his betta brutal plan.
"Right. We's got... lots of Boyz, and lots of trukks. Dere ain't enough Dakka Masters ta kill us all. In fact, dere is only one. I know... coz I counted."
"Oooohh"
"So I say, we go straight at 'im and hit 'im 'ard!! That's da proper Orky way! Lots o' choppas, lots o' dakka, lots o' WAAAGH!!"
"WAAAGHHH"
"WAAAAGGHHH!!"
The Goff Nob's roar was cut short as a massive, gold-stained shadow fell over the Orks present. Forward stepped the new Warboss, the biggest of all the Big Meks.
He kicked a scrap-bucket out of his way and stared down the Goff Nob with one bionic eye whirring in its socket.
"Na, you lot shut yer trap-holes and lissen' up! What's da Dakka Masta been doin' to us every time we charge in? He's been learnin' us a lesson, dat's what! He's showin' us da way all along, and you lot is too thick-skulled ta see it!"
The Big Mek gestured wildly toward a massive, tarp-covered shape looming in one of the spires' massive halls behind him.
"We don't need more puny Boyz runnin' into da grinder. We need fings wiff more bits! We need bigga and badder Stompas! We need Trukks wiff so much scrap on 'em dat da ground quakes just lookin' at 'em! And I's already started on da mastapiece..."
He yanked the tarp away, revealing a literal mountain of jagged iron and other scrap, smoking exhaust pipes, and a cannon barrel wide enough to fit a Squigosaur through.
"Somethin' BIG. Somethin' so loud and so stompy dat it'll make Gork an' Mork look down and give us a propa toothy grin! While you lot was shoutin', I was buildin' da end of dat Dakka Masta! Dats why I's da Boss!!"
"WAAAAAGGHHHH!!!"