"Capture it alive?"
Han repeated back questioningly. According to Sergeant Red, this Elu mage was the foe that had killed all the other squads. Many second years had died as a result of the explosions.
"That's right. This is the first time that an Elu mage has appeared after the first wave of aggression. We must figure out their goal. Up until now, they had run away to avoid us, and it is uncommon for them to take the initiative to attack us."
"Minions are still out there?"
Han and Simon were not aware that minions still remained on Earth. They thought they had appeared out of thin air again.
"Some remnants of the enemy remain in the backwoods of a radioactive zone where humans cannot dwell. Other than being a psyker institution, Ark's job is to exterminate the minions. Anyway, we will continue to iron out the details of this briefing at a later time. We will be assembling again three hours from now. Follow Silence's instructions and pack your gear."
Sergeant Red glanced toward Silence. Silence patted Han and Simon's shoulders.
-Follow.
Han and Simon peered at each other for a moment, then followed after Silence.
Silence lead them to the armory. Ark's engineers moved about busily. They could hear the sound of machine gears turning from every direction.
"Silence, who are those two there? I didn't hear of new transfers."
An engineer with a face full of grease said. Silence answered through his electronic note.
-They are second year brats. Gear them.
"Is that so? Follow me."
The engineer called to Han and Simon. He pointed at various weapons that hung around the armory.
"These are the standard dragon slaying weapons used. Give them a hold and see which feels best. They each have serial numbers on them, so you must be sure to return them after you're done."
The weapons made of dragon bone glimmered of ivory light. They didn't seem dreadful at all and instead glimmered nicely. It wasn't an exaggeration to claim these as artworks.
Instead of extravagant designs, they used simple, clean lines which seemed to captivate the user.
Twitch
Han held onto a useful looking spear. The palm of his hands stung. It was as if an electric shock ran through his body. The weapon which shined of ivory light seemed to circulate with psychic energy.
"Items made with dragon bones and leather have a tendency to absorb psychic energy. This is one of the main reasons dragons are able to use an infinite amount of psychic energy. We speculate that their bodies naturally absorb psychic energy into their heart."
They hadn't asked the engineer a single question, but he went ahead giving them a full blown lecture.
"Are we able to penetrate psychic shields with these weapons?"
Han asked.
"Theoretically, that is possible. We consider psychic energy as a part our mental energy. If you clash against hostile energies, normally it would become neutralized. This is one of the main reasons only psykers are able to attack dragons. Only psykers are able to stab this weapon into their core in that short instant."
While Han asked questions, Simon went ahead trying out different swords. The engineer recorded the weapon serial number and the name of the wielder.
"Use the R-2s you have been supplied with. Psykers are equipped with a standard of two airbeats, but do you need more? Well, you probably don't. Let's see now, you also need under armor…."
The engineer took out all sorts of gears and equipments. Altogether it weighed nearly 20 kilograms.
Han equipped the under armor chest plate. He pulled a string at the back, and the under armor perfectly covered the chest area without a single opening. The material was light and thin, but created to be bulletproof and high impact resistant to increase survival rates.
"It's a bit hard to breathe in these."
"You'll get used to it soon enough."
The engineer ignored Han's complaints and pulled the string tighter.
As he had stated, he quickly became accustomed to the armor. It made him feel reassured. The helmet protecting his head was surprisingly lightweight.
Weng.
The helmet visor shut, and various stats and information popped up into view. This interface looked familiar.
'This must be linked with our data bracelets.'
He had thought the gear the second years used was top grade and cutting edge, but the actual gear that is used in real battle had surpassed Han's predictions.
The material was light and durable. The gears were made to be ergonomically comfortable so it wouldn't feel cumbersome in the least.
Weeeng.
Silence stepped out fully geared. Instead of his usual skull helmet, he wore a pure black helmet. He kept his entire face fully covered like usual. Text and emoticons blinked onto the surface of his helmet eye shield.
"This should be your first time seeing this? This is Silence's exclusive helmet. As you already know, he's unable to speak. A simple macro has been installed into his data bracelet so that he can easily communicate and convey his emotions to others. It's like the robot face displays from movies, isn't it?"
Silence was testing out the helmet by sending out all sorts of emoticons and messages.
"That is quite… cute. The messages."
Han mumbled.
They were the emoticons commonly used on the network by the youths of Ark. Silence was always dressed in all black, and faced others with a cold attitude, and it felt awkward to see Silence use such emoticons.
Hwi-ri-rik!
After fully testing out all the functions of his helmet, he spun around his twin blades.
The blades were much narrower than usual swords, but about two times longer. He wondered whether it was possible to wield such a long sword, but Silence swung the swords in absolute perfect balance. His sword movements were like art itself.
'He's agile. It's hard to believe that I won against such an opponent.'
Actual battle has an infinite amount of variables and changes. It's only in games that the strong always win against the weaker opponent.
Han didn't let the smallest chances slip in order to achieve his victory.
"I also wish for my sword to be a bit lighter than this. What if we narrow the blade like Silence's sword while maintaining the length…."
Simon said to the engineer. He had swung his sword a couple of times but could not grow to like it.
"You're so stingy over a minor detail."
Han peered over to Simon. Simon had always been arrogant and highly prideful. However, his skills were absolute. He was a trustworthy card to play in any situation.
'Simon had a tough time against opponents from time to time during the squad battles.'
Sometimes there will be those who display great tactical warfare in squad battles. Simon had been one among the few.
However, this was not the overall strength of his squad, but his personal strength that would one-sidedly crush the other squad. He was one of the few who could freely control his psychic powers so naturally.
Bi-ri.
Silence's helmet flashed. A text message flowed from his helmet shield.
-Let's go.
Han peered toward his reflection in the mirror on the wall. A fully geared soldier stood before him. This was different than when he was thrown in the dimensional crack zone without a single piece of defensive gear.
He thought of all the second years that had died. The youths of Ark all shared a common bond with one another. Many had not shared a single conversation with one another, but at some point in time they would shoulder each others' lives on the battlefield.
This unbreakable bond and sense of belonging, sets spark to a bigger flame of anger. He had a sense of duty to avenge their deaths.
'This time, we will be the ones to attack first.'