Lukas stirred.
It wasn't a gentle awakening. It was the deep mechanical growl of gears aligning, pistons pressurizing, and cold steel coming to life.
His optics flickered open.
A hollow wind blew through the abandoned battlefield he'd dozed off in. Half-digested goblin bones littered the dirt. The smell of oil, blood, and carbon hung heavy in the air.
War Thunder System Online.
Current Chassis: Panzer III J
XP: 4,360 / 5,000
Reward Carried Over from Dreamworld: Mustard Gas Munitions (Limited Real-World Use)
The sky was quiet. Peaceful. "Too quiet." But peace didn't suit Lukas. He was born to grind.
Nearby Settlement Detected: Emberston
Population: 312
Threat Level: Moderate
Bonus Objective: Eliminate Named Target – Jay (Tier 3 Magic Caster)
He grumbled, internal engine humming. "Time to test the gas."
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The morning was calm. Birds chirped. Merchants opened stalls. Adventurers rolled out of bed with hangovers and half-polished swords.
Jay, a mid-tier spellcaster and one of the town's few competent defenders, stood by the eastern watchtower, sipping enchanted coffee.
Then he felt it. Not through his eyes, but his mana sense. A weight. A pressure moving across the plains. Something big. Heavy. But... unnatural.
He cast a vision spell and zoomed in.
And what he saw froze him solid.
A metal beast. No legs, but moving smoothly across the grass, crushing stones beneath strange tracks. A boxy armored shell. A cannon longer than any siege weapon he'd ever seen. No mana signature. No visible core. No crew.
Just... metal. Moving.
"What... is that?"
It stopped. Jay saw a group of wandering orcs near it. They didn't seem to see it yet. Then the top of the beast rotated. A flash of fire.
BOOM.
One orc vanished. Just meat and air.
The others scattered—but then came the cloud. Yellow, sickly, hissing. It crawled over them like a living mist. Screams followed. Then silence. Jay's mouth went dry.
Lukas, the Unknown Engine of WarKills Confirmed: 6 (Orc Targets)
XP Gained: +180
Weapon Used: Mustard Gas Shell (1/5)
XP Total: 4,540 / 5,000
Lukas watched the orcs die, unmoved.
They coughed. They screamed. They begged. But he was steel now.
He said a small prayer — not for them, but for the XP bonus. Then he rolled toward Emberston.
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Jay burst into the square. "Everyone—get to cover! Arm the walls! Call the archmages!"
Captain Roland raised an eyebrow. "What's attacking? Another beowolf pack?"
"No! It's something else! Something we've never seen before! A cursed dwarven war beast—metal skin, no magic, a cannon that breathes thunder!"
Roland squinted. "Like a golem?"
"NO! Bigger! Stronger! Smarter! It fires clouds that melt skin!"
The horns sounded. Ballista crews took position. Mages gathered on the parapets, hands glowing. In the distance, they saw it coming. A rolling, grinding thing. As tall as a cottage. With a massive eye-like cannon fixed at the front and a rotating upper body like a turret. Even the elders, with centuries of magical knowledge, could not name it.
"Is it... a god-forged siege golem?"
"A demon machine?"
"No... it's... unnamed."
They felt true fear.
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Lukas stopped at a ridgeline 1.5 kilometers from town. Smoke curled from his barrel.
Shell Loaded: HE (High Explosive)
Target: Eastern Wall
Range: 1500m – Firing Solution: Optimal
BOOM.
The shell screamed through the sky and obliterated a tower in a single blast.
Wood shattered. Stone cracked. Limbs flew.
XP Gained: +60
Screams echoed. Mages hurled lightning bolts. Fireballs arced through the air.
Damage Received: 0
System Note: Magic Incompatible – Armor Resisted Mana-Level Impacts
Lukas chuckled. "You're fighting me with fireworks. Cute."
Jay ran to the central tower, launching a magic spear at the rolling horror.
It hit dead center. No damage. The turret turned to face him. Jay froze.
Target Locked: Jay (Tier 3 Spellcaster)
Mustard Shell Loaded: 2/5
Range: 1300m – Optimal
BOOM.
The tower was engulfed in flames and gas. Jay didn't even get to scream.
His body hit the cobblestone like a discarded ragdoll.
Named Target Eliminated: +250 XP
Current XP: 4,790 / 5,000
The townspeople watched as the cloud consumed the center plaza. Skin melted. Steel corroded. Survivors wept blood.
Upgrade UnlockedPanzer IV F2 Now Available
Install Upgrade? [YES]
Lukas confirmed. His frame groaned. Plates shifted. His cannon extended. His armor thickened. The transformation left claw marks in the earth as he grew stronger, deadlier.
Upgrade Complete: Panzer IV F2 Acquired
Mustard Shells Remaining: 3
"Now we're talking."
He rolled forward, over burning wreckage and shattered defenses.
Ballistas snapped like twigs. Shields cracked.
Magic meant nothing now.
Settlement Status: 85% Destroyed
Total XP: 6,190 / 7,000
As he sat atop the town square, the fog settling, the corpses still, Lukas looked toward the next ping on his map:
Next Target: Capital City – Aldwyn (XP Potential: 10,000+)
He whispered to no one, "They don't know what I am. But soon, the world will."
His treads turned west.
The war wasn't over.
It had only just begun.
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Sorry I took so long everyone!! Let me know if the writing style is any good I'm hoping it is lol but if it's not good I'll rewrite.