“A delayed curse.”

While holding a handheld multi-functional tool, that was a fusion of everything needed for disassembling creations, I suddenly recalled what Geraint explained earlier. In front of me was the plasma gun placed on top of the work table, begging to be repaired. But no matter how hard I focused, my hands would always stop whenever that thought surfaced.

Even though the talks were aimed to lighten our worries about the future, a bombshell was shockingly dropped just before the end of it. Supposedly, a curse was casted on me but the effects of the said curse was delayed until the designated time limit. Geraint certainly proved that he was quite the expert when it came to things about magic but still, he failed to identify the contents of the curse.

I’m pretty sure that the lady before was the one who casted this curse.

Shortly after my encounter with that monstrosity, the curse marks appeared on my neck. Fortunately, the princess quickly noticed it and she immediately brought up the issue. Geraint, being the most knowledgeable person in the group, followed it up with his own speculations.

And I’m also pretty sure that she wants to kill me.

As explained by the attendant, curses that results in the death would usually manifest as a line that runs across the neck of the victim. If by chance the curse was triggered, the line would disappear alongside the life of the cursed individual. Seeing that the line on my neck was slowly disappearing with the passing of time, I was convinced that death was the resulting end. But still, there was a possibility that it wasn’t the case, Geraint had optimistically reminded me.

“So the one who’ll die is either me or her.”

Killing the one who casted the curse was one of the two ways to lift the curse and also had the highest probability of being successful. The alternative was to let the caster undo the spell of her own accord. But who am I kidding here, there's no way that psychopath would voluntarily lift the curse if I asked her politely. The only possible option left was to kill her in order to survive.

“Survival of the fittest.”

My will to survive fueled my mind and body. The hands that were constantly stopping, began to move deftly. Bit by bit, the state of the art weapon became a pile of metal alloys and wires. Supporting this feat was the disassembling tool and a large computer screen that was installed on the wall in front of me.

Alpha plasma rifle code: 0XRE97

Automatic and semi-automatic mode supported

Power storage: IX9D nanowire batteries

Weight: 3.5 kilograms

Rate of fire: Maximum 1 shot per second (Semi-automatic)

Maximum 5 shots per second (Automatic)

Number of rounds per fully charged battery: 2250

Effective range: up to 500 meters

Ammunition: None

Aim support: Only for generation two and above exosuits

Note: Firing continuously for 5 minutes in automatic mode will result in overheating. Immediately replace power storage for further use.

All specifications of the gun and even its own 3D model was displayed on the wide screen. It was undoubtedly a product of the Phantom Industries if the code resulted in a positive search. Despite the easy find, this record of information was still top secret and could only be accessed by the higher ups. Luckily, father gave me minor administrative privileges in the island’s intranet. Allowing me to keep offline records of every single creations that were given approval for release. Most of the members didn’t like that idea at all which resulted in me being outcasted. Even so, father’s decisions were absolute and he kept on believing that I would bring great results if I was given the necessary support.

“The battery is most likely busted.”

Almost derailing from the subject at hand, the last line of the description gave enough clue to bring me back on track. Using only my bare hands I fished out the part that the record identified as the nano battery. A cube, that was small enough to fit on my hand, was subjected to an electric current using a high voltage tester. As expected, the current couldn’t freely flow inside the power storage and was emitting an odor similar to a burned out capacitor.

“Hmmm…nano batteries are quite common nowadays.”

The whole warehouse was littered with creations that utilizes different versions nano batteries. With that being said, I got up from my seat and hastily went to the main storage area. Since the main work area was right next to it, it didn't took much time for me to arrive.

“If my memory serves me right, the 3D printer uses nano batteries as emergency power supply.”

Inside the storage room were numerous metal cabinets that reached the ceiling. Arranged alphabetically from top to bottom with each column designated for a single letter, the parts needed for various projects were conveniently stored. A complete opposite of the main work area that was always frustratingly disordered no matter how many times I tried tidying it up.

“Lets see here…..Nano………...Nano.”

I scanned the column which was designated for parts that start with letter ‘N’. My line of sight naturally went up, considering that the second letter was ‘a’. But before reaching the cabinet that I was looking for, an excruciating pain radiated from my eyes up until the top of my head. Instinctively, I tried to mend the sensation by massaging my temples with both hands but it was all for naught.

Is this the mechanism of the curse? To kill me from sleep deprivation?

I had already lost count of the hours where I was wide awake. Despite all the work that I did, my body refuses to sleep. The exhaustion and fatigue, that accumulated ever since we came here, were certainly exerting their effects. There also came a point where I resorted in using strong sedatives. Nevertheless, my desire to rest was non existent.

“I just need to kill her as soon as possible.”

I gritted my teeth in the midst of the agony and proceeded with the retrieval of the required part. As much as I feared the possibility of me falling, I stubbornly used the ladder I always used when retrieving items from upper cabinets. Frustration served as my driving force. The feeling of powerlessness against such an unfair opponent gave birth to a special kind of frustration that made my aching head feel refreshed.

Mapping hourly report [Session No.56]

Mapping hourly report [Session No.56]

Scanned lifeforms: 5231

Actively moving entities: 4230

Terrain: Flat, Mostly covered in vegetation

Man Made structures: 5

Estimated map area: 16.7 km

Altitude: 1052 meters above sea level

Underground caverns: 3

Bodies of water: 25

Notable Changes: Sector from A-1 to F-16 showed substantial withering of vegetation.

“Everything seems functional.”

I satisfyingly concluded while aiming the rifle at a makeshift metal target that was placed on one of the walls of the working area. Connected to the rifle were wires that measured current flow inside the electrical system. The status panel, located at the right side of the butt stock, glowed brightly and showed an increase in digits that represented the energy levels that were stored inside the newly installed battery. Since the nano battery version I had used was more sophisticated than the previous one, the number of shots per fully charged battery had most likely doubled in number. A spare red dot sight replaced the default iron sight, further increasing the accuracy of the weapon.

“Firing in 3….2….1”

Right after I pulled the trigger, a steady stream of light came out of the barrel and intersected with the point where the red dot was aimed. It melted through the metal without much effort and didn’t stop there. Slowly it turned the concrete wall into vapor and even managed to get through it, consequently showing the evening scenery of the forest through a hole that was as big as a quarter coin.

“One hundred rounds in twenty seconds can do this much.”

I had no idea if that performance was an upgrade from its original build but it was certainly surprising to see that a portable plasma source could penetrate an object with high density and melting point. If used on a living creature, it could pretty much result in a one hit kill if I aim at an unprotected fatal point, like the bare head of a human being for example.

“This one can be considered as a success, onto the next one.”

Satisfied with the result, I placed back the rifle at a makeshift charging port and shifted my sight onto the screen which previously showed the blueprints of the plasma gun. Displayed on it was a status screen that showed the ongoing process of my next project.

Initializing the installation of Phantom OS build 98XD…………..

Found main processing hardware Quantum Core version 9.0……………

Found main storage device Atomic Data Chip build U7B1…………….

The storage device currently has 12.3 petabytes of data…………

1.1 terabyte will be allocated for the Phantom OS…………..

Beginning installation…..

Estimated time of completion: 15 seconds….

Installation complete….

With only a brief period of time, the latest version of the phantom operating system was installed on the latest hardware I could procure. My goal was to create a portable computer that could rival a quantum computer in terms of processing power in order to accomodate yet another top secret technology that I got my hands on from a year ago.

The processing hardware was a trial version of a miniature quantum processor that was envisioned to replicate the processing power of a quantum computer. While being at a size similar to an extra thick credit card, it could process unimaginable amounts of information without overheating since its surface was made from a heat resistant material. About the same size as the processor, the futuristic storage device could store a maximum of one hundred petabytes of data. Using this technology, a byte of data could be written and read on one atom. Currently, a single version of the world wide web was stored inside it.

“Moving on to the next phase.”

Seeing that everything had gone perfectly, I fished out something from my pocket. A USB thumb drive that could be considered outdated after all the futuristic state of the art technologies I showcased. It only had one terabyte of storage capacity. Nevertheless, it was the most important part of the project.

“Project Codex.”

The name that was written on the thumb drive naturally came out from my mouth. At the same time, my legs gradually brought me to the 3D printing station where I made my armor a while back. On the platform, where the actual printing was done, a figure of a human stood tall.

“You will become my knight.”

When I neared the platform, the figure became more clear. It wasn’t a human but an exact plastic replica of my body. Previously used as a mold for the Abyssal Armor, again it would serve its purpose. It wore the goggles and exoskeleton, bundles of wire ran throughout its surface. Placed on both its shoulder blades, where the majority of the wires converge, was the Quantum processor and the Atomic data chip. Another notable part was the flat black box that was placed directly on its back. A power pack that could supply the system with a day’s worth of electricity, positioned conveniently so that it wouldn’t impede movement.

I plugged in the thumb drive inside one of the ports of the Quantum processor and slowly backed off from the testing site. The large screen, that was still visible from this part of the working area, continued to project the progress. Even though the system didn’t emit any sort of heat and sound, the Project Codex was undeniably being injected inside the OS.

Installing PROJECT CODEX……

Estimated time of completion: 1 minute……

Estimated time of completion: 30 seconds…….

Estimated time of completion: 5 seconds…….

Installation completed……..

PROJECT CODEX will assimilate all stored information……

Estimated time of completion: 10 minutes……

Estimated time of completion: 6 minutes……

Estimated time of completion: 3 minutes……

Estimated time of completion: 45 seconds……

Data assimilation completed…....

All data about warfare, martial arts and marksmanship will be moved in the High Priority bracket.

There wasn’t a time when the Project Codex became functional until now. It required tremendous amount of processing power in order to become functional. Unfortunately, the Quantum Core and the Atomic Data chip wasn’t invented when the Project Codex achieved its trial phase. Instead of accumulating information throughout the year it only collected dust. An artificial intelligence that was ahead of its time, scrapped before even entering the production phase.

“I wonder if I can improve the design.”

The last phase was the printing of the armor. Even though I wanted to use the Abyssal Armor, inserting the system inside an already made armor would be difficult and time consuming. Printing another armor on top of the arranged system components was the most practical choice. Instead of being printed piece by piece, the armor will be molded as a whole. The limbs and helmet would be permanently attached to the main body. Freely movable joints were made possible by printing a structure of fluorographene that was more flexible but still possessed immense durability.

“Soundproofing, waterproofing, shock proofing, and a built in cooling system.”

Already taken a seat in front of the 3D printer’s main computer, I reviewed the already made model for my first exosuit. By filling unnecessary gaps in the design, soundproofing and waterproofing was quite easy. On the other hand, shock proofing could be achieved by adding a few more layers of loose fluorographene. As for the cooling system, a portable air conditioner inside the suit would do.

“Just a few more modifications here and there.”

With the fusion of the exoskeleton and goggles into the suit, a wider selection of cosmetics were now possible. To cover my face fully, I modified the front part of the helmet. Previously semi-transparent, it was now molded into a solid surface. A horned helmet that looked like a skull with two pairs of overgrown canine teeth, boosting the demonic-esque vibe of the already terrifying armor.

“That’s better.”

Content with what I saw from the screen, I initiated the process to start. The machine whirled in response with the probe doing its job magnificently. Bit by bit the armor began to materialize. As if weaving cloth, the printing machine started from the top of the model and continued to the bottom. While in a speed that was hard to follow with the naked eye, the probe circled around the model. For every rotation, a micrometer of armor was given life.

It would take double the amount of time compared to the creation of the Abyssal armor since it’s a one piece construction. There were numerous blueprints of commercially released exosuits inside the database but I didn’t have the required resources to build one from scratch. Moreover, making a custom build would be much more fun.

“My time isn’t over yet.”

To create a machine that could flawlessly defeat the enemy, I have fused different technologies into one. Normally, I wouldn’t bother myself with projects that had anything to do with warfare. But now, my life was on the line. I wouldn’t hesitate in bringing out all of my cards if it meant that I could live a long and fulfilling life.