Kaelen felt a surge of adrenaline as he steered the Iron Cradle back towards the shadowed alcove that served as his makeshift workshop. He had maybe thirty minutes, tops, before Dax, consumed by wounded pride and the lingering sting of defeat, would return to Sector 7. Thirty minutes to transform his pathetic scrap heap into something…more.
The alcove was hardly glamorous, a forgotten nook carved into the tunnel wall, littered with discarded machinery and the remnants of countless forgotten repairs. But it offered a semblance of privacy, a crucial element when dealing with secrets as explosive as the Nexus System.
The minor burst of energy from the crystal had stabilized the core, the sputtering engine now humming with a more consistent rhythm. But the Frame was still fundamentally broken, a rusted mockery of the war machines that defined the Iron Dominion. Its main weapon, the Scrap Chopper, was a testament to its inherent weakness: a vibrating slab of jagged metal, more likely to shatter on impact than cleave through an enemy.
He mentally opened his Inventory, the holographic screen shimmering in the dim light, a beacon of hope amidst the despair.
[INVENTORY]
Materials:
Iron Filings: 43x (Common)
Minor Energy Crystal: 7x (Common)
Components:
Rusted Actuator: 1x (Common)
The Rusted Actuator. The key to his immediate survival. It was more than just raw material; it was a building block, a component with inherent functionality. He focused on the Iron Cradle's primary weapon slot, willing the System to respond.
[MECHA: IRON CRADLE]
Primary Weapon Slot: SCRAP CHOPPER (Tier 0 - Broken)
[OPTION: UPGRADE/REPAIR]
Kaelen selected the option with a surge of anticipation. The System responded instantly, projecting a new window, filled with intricate schematics and technical data. He felt a thrill of understanding, a sense of intuitive knowledge flooding his mind. The System wasn't just offering an upgrade; it was teaching him how to perform it.
[SCRAP CHOPPER REPAIR (--> SCRAPPER I)]
Requires:
Iron Filings: 20x
Minor Energy Crystal: 3x
Component: Rusted Actuator: 1x
Cost: 5 Energy Units (CURRENT: 6)
Upgrade confirmed, Kaelen thought, a sense of controlled excitement tightening his chest. This wasn't just about fixing a broken weapon; it was about unlocking the potential of the System, about bending the rules of the Dominion to his will.
The System wasn't simply collecting materials; it was empowering him to perform complex, rapid engineering that would take a skilled mechanic weeks to accomplish, even with access to the Dominion's advanced facilities.
A thin, transparent Nexus Grid materialized over the Scrap Chopper mounted on the mecha's right arm. The grid pulsed with a faint green light, tracing the weapon's contours, highlighting its flaws. Kaelen watched, mesmerized, as the twenty Iron Filings and three crystals vanished from his Inventory, their essence flowing into the grid.
The Rusted Actuator, physically mounted inside the mecha's arm, began to glow with an intense, blinding white light. It vibrated violently, then appeared to dissolve, its components rearranging themselves at a subatomic level.
Rust flaked away, falling to the ground in brittle shards. Misaligned gears straightened, interlocking with smooth, precise efficiency. The jagged blade of the Chopper sharpened itself, the edges humming with a cold, focused power. The entire process took less than ten seconds, a silent symphony of metal and magic.
[UPGRADE COMPLETE. SCRAP CHOPPER --> SCRAPPER I (Tier 1 - Functional)]
The Scrapper I wasn't a masterpiece. It was still a heavy, industrial-grade vibrating blade, designed for demolition rather than elegant combat. But it was solid, reliable, and, most importantly, functional. It wouldn't break on the first hit. It would cleave, crush, and destroy.
Kaelen felt the surge in his depleted Power Core, the System automatically siphoning the required 5 Energy Units.
[POWER CORE: 1/10 (DANGER) --> 1/10 (STABLE)]
He climbed out of the cockpit, wiping sweat from his brow. The physical mecha looked subtly different, a strange juxtaposition of the old and the new. The new Scrapper I arm stood out, almost jarringly clean compared to the rest of the Frame's rusted, battered exterior.
He quickly checked the exterior, making sure the physical transformation was subtle enough to pass for a quick maintenance job. He couldn't afford to draw too much attention, not yet.
One down, he thought, a grim satisfaction settling in his stomach. Now for the Actuators.
His next priority was mobility. The mecha's legs were stiff and slow, a severe liability in the monster-infested tunnels. He needed more Rusted Actuators to upgrade the movement components, to give the Iron Cradle a fighting chance. And that meant more kills.
He felt the ground vibrate slightly, a rhythmic tremor that signaled the impending arrival of the Silver Talon. Dax was coming back, fueled by frustration and the need to reassert his dominance.
"Maintenance boy!" Dax's voice, amplified and distorted, echoed through the tunnel, laced with barely concealed anger. "The foreman says you need to check the air filtration in…" He stopped, his mecha's glowing blue eyes fixing on Kaelen.
Dax noticed the difference immediately. It wasn't just the clean blade, though that was certainly a factor. It was the lack of oil leakage, the subtly clearer hum of the power core, the almost imperceptible shift in the Frame's overall posture.
"Did you… wax that thing?" Dax scoffed, trying to mask his surprise with disdain. But there was a flicker of something unreadable in his tone, a hint of uncertainty that Kaelen couldn't quite decipher.
"Just a quick recalibration," Kaelen said, climbing back into the Iron Cradle. He powered up the Scrapper I, the vibrating blade whirring to life with a low, satisfying thrum, a sound that was pure aggression, a promise of violence.
Dax took an involuntary step back, the Silver Talon momentarily faltering. The noise was too clean, too powerful for the Iron Cradle. Something had changed, and Dax knew it.
"Forget the filtration," Dax snapped, covering his confusion with anger. "A patrol just spotted a Skitterer – a Tier 2, light-armored unit – deep in Tunnel 33. I'm taking it down. You stay here. You'd just slow me down, and I need a clean kill to get back on schedule."
Kaelen smiled inside the cockpit, a predatory grin that Dax couldn't see. A Skitterer was dangerous, a significant step up from the Rust Hounds. But Tier 2 monsters meant better loot, more valuable components, and a greater influx of energy. It was exactly what he needed.
"Lead the way, Dax," Kaelen replied, his voice now laced with a newfound confidence. He pushed the pedal, and the Iron Cradle lurched forward. It still rattled and groaned, but this time, it was a challenge, not a complaint. It was faster than before, more responsive than Dax remembered. It was hungry.
The Silver Talon zoomed off, its engines screaming, eager to engage the Skitterer. The Iron Cradle followed closely behind, its low-profile silhouette clanking through the tunnel, the newly menacing blade a silent promise of the chaos to come. Kaelen knew exactly where he was going. He was going to make Dax pay for his arrogance. He was going to steal that kill, not for spite, but for survival.