The Ghost Shepherd

The First Enhancement (part 3)

Sly’s hand trembled and he just stood there with an unfocused gaze as he saw the Core spinning and changing from black to ethereal blue while the power lines coming from the core compartment were firing on all cylinders.

“I guess… I am a range fighter?” 

“DNA Mapping still needs to be carried out, you are delaying the schedule,” said the voice on the intercom.

“WAKE UP!!” 

“Novice Hunter 3965742 . Please proceed with DNA mapping through a blood signature “

Sly was in a dazed thanks to the unexpected situation but quickly responded, “I don’t know how”

The weapon stood on his own from the metal box and before Sly knew it, it lay in his hand comfortably.

swoosh

From the handle, spikes that penetrated through the palm of his hands and absorbed his blood came out before quickly withdrawing in one swift motion.

FUCKK!!!

Sly saw what happened and screamed but it was more from the visual shock than from the actual pain he felt. Blue smoke started coming out of the wounds and they closed in real time leaving behind only a little scar.  

This new healing process was a testament to the power of the enhancement using Argonian genes and in turn to the fearsomeness of their enemies. Sly looked at his hand over and over without paying attention to the weapon that was changing into the very double sided Scythe he used in the simulation.

“What the…”

Sly almost drop his weapon as the voice of his trusted assistant came like a devil’s whisper “It is one of the few weapons that can mount a double core but since there is no second core, you can use with a single blade for now ”

The Nanotrons forming the side without a core disappeared into a black cloud before joining the other side reinforcing the other edge.  

“HA HA HA... Did you see his face? Priceless ” said Zero to the mother AI.

“Maybe we should send a shadow to protect them, they are one of a kind after all” Said the Mother AI.

“That would interfere with the data gathering of the units, besides, he is not that bad and aren’t you confident about your babies, KC is almost a copy of yourself and the NZ are just as impressive”

“The problem are not my creations but that human… he has less than 10% chance of surviving his first encounter”

“Then we can just have the shadow collect the pieces after”

Agreed…

DNA mapping was a very important safety net for every new hunter and the process was very simple.  All Sly had to do was prick his finger and allow some of his blood to reach the core of his weapon so that nobody else could use it.  It was a lock that could only be removed by the government and that was to be performed when the Novice Hunter became fully fledged and moved to a real zone of conflict. 

The safety measure made it impossible for the Head Hunters to get anything out of killing novices for the core acquired on their first enhancement.  

Head Hunters were the bane of all the E.F.S users, they usually killed other people and stole their weapons in order to sell them in the black market.  The problem they generated to the Umdali government at the beginning of the experiment was huge since they were killing their little turtles before they were able to reach the sea.

Zero had seen the same behavior in many of the races that had joined in the fight against the Argonians but it was way more pronounced in humans.  Human’s ability to move for profit by disregarding morality was second to none, all one needed to do was to offer a high enough price and they were bound to find somebody willing to perform the deed.  

The weapons used in the E.F.S were made by the individual Nanotrons using Varanium as a frame, selling one brought great profits and even bigger ones if it had been upgraded multiple times before.  

The Head Hunters were despicable but they also had a purpose, they were the antagonist that helped the alliance build deadlier fighters through survival of the fittest.  The problem was that the novices weren't even given the chance to get their feet wet before getting killed so it was necessary to protect them until they gained some experience.    

Any weapon sold with DNA Mapping still running through the core had to be confiscated and the person selling it was to be killed immediately.  Failure to do so would cause the whole organization receiving it to be wiped out by the government overnight.   At the beginning, many dark organizations didn’t pay attention to the warning but that quickly changed after a few of them disappeared in a short period of time leaving behind fear and a ton of advocates of the new law.  

Planet Alpha was an introductory level zone relatively small in size that was thought of as a petri dish by both alliance and Argonians alike. There was a tacit understanding between the two forces about the usage of the small worlds as a breathing ground for fighters and anyone above a Commander Level that wanted to get stronger and continue fighting was forced to leave to a new battlefield or removed from the frontlines and placed into administrative work.  

Organizations looking for new members would send representatives to the introductory zones while those threading in the dark seeked to make profits in a low level zone that had very little chance to be overrun by the enemy.

The Majority of the cities functioned very much like they did on planet earth except that the most profitable industry was related to the war effort.  The cities were highly advanced so they functioned pretty much on their own and used the materials gathered from the Argonians and the planet itself for its development.  Interplanetary trade drove the economy with a high risk, high reward model in which the best resources were gathered from places that high ranking Argonians called home. 

The stronger one was, the richer one could be and the best way to get there was through Cores and Argonians DNA.  The core gave individuals access to the Argonian’s abilities while the DNA gave the hunter access to Physical development.  The Strongest person in the alliance, the leader of the Mystical Order, was able to withstand the punch of a 150 ft Giant with his Varanium shield, all thanks to the DNA enhancements he had over the years.

When the DNA mapping was done, the Scythe became a giant cloud of Nanotrons which burrowed inside Sly bringing the core along and smashing it against his body.  

UGHHH

Sly felt a weird sensation when the core took its place right in the middle of his chest.  On the outside it looked like a rhomboid crystal but on the inside, the nanotrons created connections to the heart making it almost like an external organ.  The moment the Core finished connecting, Sly felt that the changes that were supposed to take a long time to manifest had started to take place.

A hologram of zero appeared beside the metal box where his weapon had been previously and started to talk in a very monotonous way.

“Allow me to introduce myself, My name is Zero.  I am the creator of the Evolutionary Fighting System (E.F.S) and I am here to congratulate you on becoming a Novice Hunter.  Today, you have taken your destiny into your own hands, the Argonians are a savage race that seeks to destroy and consume everything that stands in their path, that includes our families, our resources and our own lives.  I hope that the System I developed helps you protect our way of life. Make the alliance proud, Hero.”

“As a token of our appreciation, we the Umdali have prepared a little gift.  The Weapon Box is actually a portable space called a Space Folder.  It will allow you to store items that can fit in the space you see at this time, around 7 ft by 4 ft.  All you have to do is press the symbol of the Umdali on it and allow it to sync with your chip and Nanotrons. Once this is done, it should become a bracelet and taking items in or out should be as easy as thinking about it” .

The Hologram flicker and the image in it smile at Sly, “Don’t Disappoint Me, Sly”

“WoW, talk about realism... ah K.C… That was awesome” 

“Sure” answered K.C

Sly put his new bracelet on and walked out of the center with a smile on his face.  The trip to the Military Facility was not as scary as he thought it would be, and the most important part of all turned out to be that his Chip and Nanotrons were not defective and in a pinch they did their best to help him.  

The problem Sly faced now was himself, the simulation was very realistic, he had practiced using a similar system during his studies at the school but the ‘beasts’ were a lot smaller and there was no smell.  The School simulations behave more like a game and he could move with ease while fighting, the test at the military center was different, It was too realistic.  Just seeing those razor sharp teeth and those lizard eyes that stare at him like he was a piece of meat and nothing more scared him.

Sly looked at the streets full of people and said to his chip, “Let’s go eat”

“Draco Burger?” said K.C

“You know me so well, might as well enjoy the meal coupons while we still have them”

“You know the meat comes from the monster you fought in the simulation, right?”

K.C sent a picture of a real Draco hanging upside down in a hook at a butcher shop causing Sly to shiver.

“See... you’ve been eating them for years.  They are worth 1000 Ethereal Coins” 

 “Are you Serious?”