Chapter 394: Combat Training! Embedded Symbiote Armor! The Mage Is Born!
With a dull thud, the sealed space capsule gradually opened. A visibly weakened Paul steadied himself against the inner wall as he stepped out.
Seeing the grim and surprised expressions on the Megacorp's research team waiting outside, he couldn't help but ask, "How did it go? Did I pass?"
Paul wasn't sure if every candidate undergoing the psionic aptitude test ended up feeling as utterly drained as he did—or if he was just a special case.
Just assessing psionic potential alone had nearly wrung the life out of him.
Dr. Ariel Hanson paused in thought before answering.
"I'm not sure if I should congratulate you… or be worried."
"Based on the data we just observed, your psionic wave peak far exceeds that of anyone in the Dominion's Ghost Program. Even among the Protoss, this kind of reading would be exceptionally rare."
As she spoke, Ariel projected a set of graphs and figures for Paul to examine.
"To be honest, I'm starting to wonder if you're even still human."
Such extraordinary psionic readings could be attributed to Paul's innate psychic gifts—or perhaps the spice had fundamentally transformed his body, reinforcing the foundation that allowed him to bear psionic power.
It was as though his very physiology had undergone a deep cleansing and refinement, akin to a total rebirth. As a result, he now displayed levels of psionic potential rivaling the inner disciples of Protoss sects.
Simply put, Paul Atreides had become an exception among the Megacorp—his physical and mental limits could no longer be measured by ordinary standards.
"Incredible," Alt Cunningham said, scanning Paul from head to toe like he was examining a rare artifact. "Whether it's the spice or Terrazine, your body shows astounding adaptability."
And with such remarkable aptitude for psionic augmentation, the Megacorp was now within reach of creating its very first psionic warrior.
"So I guess that means I've got my work cut out for me," Paul said with a wry smile.
With great power came great responsibility. The best salesman in the room was always the one out closing deals, not sitting behind a desk.
And as someone now uniquely irreplaceable, Paul had no illusions—he wasn't management material. He was the product.
"Frankly, only someone like Sarah Kerrigan—the Queen of Blades—could compare to you in terms of psionic potential," Dr. Hanson remarked honestly.
"Let's begin some basic psionic control training and see how well you handle the energy," she continued.
Under the guidance of Ariel and Alt, Paul was led into another experimental chamber.
The lab contained numerous sealed transparent compartments, each housing a psionic user undergoing a variety of tests.
Some of them were able to vanish into thin air without using optical camouflage—similar to how Blood Hunters operated.
Others could generate psionic shockwaves that vibrated nearby objects, and a few elite ones could even shatter bulletproof glass with nothing but raw psionic force.
These were Ghost operatives loaned from Tosh—veterans already well-versed in their craft, capable of demonstrating the true versatility of psionic powers.
Some of the more advanced operatives had even learned to wield Protoss weaponry.
And Paul's task today was to attempt to use a Tal'darim-style psionic blade—a weapon forged by the Protoss and wielded only through the mastery of psionic energy.
If Paul succeeded, the Megacorp would gain crucial data for developing its own psionic interface systems, enabling future use of Protoss technology and weapons.
"Begin," Alt ordered.
Having recovered his strength, Paul focused inward, summoning the power that now flowed through him.
And sure enough—the moment he grasped the hilt, a dazzling blade of energy erupted from it, extending nearly a meter in length.
"It worked!"
Dr. Ariel let out a relieved breath. Most humans could barely ignite a psionic blade, and only for a few seconds. But Paul maintained it with remarkable ease.
It was clear now: given sufficient psionic strength, humans could wield Protoss weaponry just as effectively.
Paul tested the blade with a few swings—its superheated edge cut through the air with a sharp whoosh.
This was the Protoss warrior's primary melee weapon. Its cutting power depended entirely on the wielder's psionic force.
In the hands of a powerful psionic user, it could slice through virtually anything.
"Let's test its destructive power," said Ariel.
She activated a control switch, summoning several sentry drones and modified Kerrabeasts as live training targets.
The sentries were built from high-density alloy, while the altered Kerrabeasts had been engineered to have flesh as tough as Zerg ultralisks.
Ordinary blades wouldn't even scratch them. These units were ideal benchmarks for evaluating the psionic blade's effectiveness.
"Go."
At Ariel's signal, Paul took a deep breath and launched into action. With a sudden burst of speed, he struck—blinding slashes arcing through the chamber.
In an instant, both the Kerrabeasts and sentry bots were torn apart.
As the blade carved through metal and flesh alike, Paul felt no resistance—just the smooth cleaving sensation of a blade through water.
Staring at the piles of shattered parts and organic chunks, Paul realized just how fearsome the blade truly was.
Its cutting edge went far beyond anything he had imagined. This thing's power ceiling was likely higher than even a lightsaber.
With enough psionic energy behind it… it could cut through anything.
"Excellent. This proves humans can indeed wield Protoss tech. Now we just need to scale the development of psionic devices," Ariel noted with excitement.
Paul's performance left the entire Megacorp research team buzzing.
Psionics showed limitless potential—and perhaps, this was the beginning of a new technological era.
But just as the celebration began, Paul noticed something troubling—the psionic blade in his hand began to twist and flicker uncontrollably.
His energy hadn't diminished, yet the blade's stability was already weakening compared to its initial burst.
It was a clear sign: while Paul now possessed formidable psionic strength, his control over it was still unrefined and clumsy.
Like any advanced technique, psionics—just like cultivation—required more than raw talent.
Mastery would only come through training, study, and relentless practice.
And at this point, Paul was still a complete beginner.
No matter how powerful his potential, he had a long road ahead before he could match the precision and discipline of the Protoss.
"Don't worry, Paul. With your level of talent, a bit of training is all it'll take to quickly close that minor gap,"
Alt Cunningham reassured him.
After all, technique and experience could be honed over time—but raw talent couldn't be trained. So in the eyes of Alt and the other department heads, this was no real issue at all.
Paul nodded. Right now, what he needed most was just a bit more practice with the basics of psionic control. Once he got used to the rhythm, he'd be able to wield a psionic blade as naturally as breathing.
Over the next few days, Paul remained at the Science Nexus Hub, training under the guidance of Ghost operatives and with the support of various research leads. His goal: sharpen his control and deepen his grasp of psionic techniques—before the final battle began.
But the process wasn't smooth.
The reason Protoss warriors could manipulate psionic energy so effortlessly was because they'd spent centuries refining their control through Infinity training.
Even with his extraordinary gifts, Paul lacked the kind of professional tutelage that could truly accelerate his development. His progress was steady—but far from rapid.
If he truly wanted to level up, he'd need the guidance and instruction of the Templar—the elite warriors of the Daelaam Protoss.
At the moment, Paul had just finished slicing through dozens of cloned Ultralisks and Mutalisks in the training arena. He finally paused to rest, only after his psionic blade once again began to destabilize and warp.
Just over a year ago, Paul had barely been able to hold his own against Zerglings. Now he could spar evenly with high-tier Zerg like Ultralisks and Mutalisks.
He still had a ways to go before catching up with the Templars of the Daelaam, but the gap was clearly shrinking.
"At best, I'm about on par with a regular Protoss psionic warrior. Still nowhere near a high-level Templar,"
Paul muttered, giving himself a straightforward assessment.
When relying only on psionic powers, he was—at most—a mid-tier grunt.
So far, he'd learned only two basic applications: the Psionic Blade, and a basic Psionic Shield.
This was standard fare for any entry-level psionic warrior—just one offensive and one defensive technique.
As for the Templars, who could manually conjure storms and cast powerful area spells like arcane gods… Paul wasn't even in the same conversation.
He couldn't even maintain a psionic shield for long. At best, he could activate one in short bursts to absorb damage in the moment.
The problem was clear: humanity's understanding of psionics was still shallow.
Without direct Protoss mentorship, humans would be forced to explore and construct an entire psionic framework from scratch.
To help address these limitations, the Megacorp had been developing a new Symbiote Weaponization System, combining Zerg genetic traits with exotic materials.
After finishing his usual rounds of training, Alt Cunningham brought Paul to another lab—where he saw something entirely new:
A fully functional Embedded Symbiote Armor.
"Paul, you lucky bastard. This symbiote system was developed just for you, under Director Quintessa's direct orders,"
said Chisaji Fox, who walked up and gave Paul a friendly clap on the shoulder.
"We harvested a new batch of shape-shifting alloy using the 3.0 version of the Seed Bomb," he continued.
"By fusing those alloys with Zerg genetic programming, we created this one-of-a-kind symbiote armor."
"After extensive testing, we confirmed that this suit not only coexists seamlessly with organic tissue—it can merge with it to form new bio-integrated forms."
As he explained, Chisaji Fox pulled up a series of experimental videos for Paul to review, helping him understand the details of the new tech.
"Thanks to the functionality of the morph-metal, this armor can shift into any form you command,"
he added. "And more importantly, the morph-metal acts as a container for ball lightning energy."
"From now on, you'll be able to fire off ball lightning directly from your body, without relying on wrist-mounted devices. That means faster activation—and far more subtle deployment."
Paul could hardly believe it. Was this a dream? Could he really hand-cast thunderbolts now? He was becoming a melee mage for real.
Up until now, Paul had relied on heavy-duty power armor to fly, maneuver, and cast abilities like ball lightning.
It was functional—but clunky.
But with this new embedded symbiote armor, his movement would be faster, his strikes more fluid, and his lethality unmatched.
"There's just one small issue," Chisaji Fox said.
"At the moment, we haven't figured out how to fully integrate the psionic blade and shield generators into the symbiote system."
"We'll need more Protoss knowledge to do that. Until we better understand how their psionic devices work, it'll be hard to optimize the fusion."
He laid out all the current limitations in a clear, orderly manner. Paul nodded.
Frankly, none of that mattered to him—the armor's current performance was already more than satisfactory.
It was certainly a major upgrade from having to wear the bulky Mark X armor every day.
Without hesitation, Paul extended his hand toward the armor.
The silver-white semi-metallic, semi-organic suit responded instantly—recognizing his genetic signature.
Within moments, the armor liquefied and surged toward him, flowing over his body like mercury.
Part of it fused with his skeletal structure; the rest solidified into protective outer plating.
Compared to anything he'd worn before, this new armor was unbelievably light. It didn't hinder his movement at all.
The sensation of man and armor merging into one was surreal—it felt less like he was wearing a suit, and more like a second skin.
"It's like a part of my own body," Paul said, eyes gleaming as he admired the armor like it was a cherished treasure.
"That's because it is, technically, a part of your body,"
Chisaji Fox replied with a chuckle. "The morph-metal is encoded with your genetic markers for ID verification."
"You could say this armor was made for you—and you alone."
Paul nodded thoughtfully.
With this symbiote armor, he was more confident than ever in facing the Queen of Blades… and the final battle that awaited.
---
Elsewhere...
As the countdown to the final confrontation approached, the Megacorp's forward base defense systems were finally completed.
Through AI drone surveillance, they had confirmed that massive waves of Zerg fleets were now swarming toward their position.
In the hours leading up to the ultimate battle, the Multiverse Base Headquarters convened once more—bringing together high-level officials and frontline commanders to finalize strategies and contingency plans.
David Martinez, the top military commander of the frontlines, was the first to speak:
"Based on scout reports, the incoming Zerg horde is massive and aggressive. It's entirely possible they'll attempt a full-force assault to breach our outer defenses in a single push."
"So we must prepare ourselves mentally—and be ready for the worst."
His tone was grave. Clearly, this Zerg offensive was far beyond anything they'd faced before.
Even though the Megacorp had prepared a formidable defensive network, it was uncertain whether they could withstand the brutal opening waves of the Zerg onslaught.
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