[Chapter 299. Carrier]

Golden light enveloped Searanox's gauntlets as the Gear Voucher began to dissolve in his grip, its steel-like form crumbling into countless shimmering particles that coalesced like fireflies. The fragments swirled in a miniature vortex above his palm, gradually taking on substance and structure as the System's fabrication process kicked in. First came the outline of a pair of long, armored boots, their edges forming in brilliant strokes of gold against the darkness. The metal plates began to fill in with an iridescent black material that seemed to drink the ambient light, leaving only the glowing seams and edges to mark their presence. The boots extended upward in a seamless design that matched perfectly with his Gauntlets, their form continuing the angular, aggressive lines that ran all the way up to his shoulder armor. As the boots solidified, their weight settled onto his palm with a satisfying heft that belied their size.

Once they were fully formed, they vanished in a blue flash of light as he pulled them into his storage ring with a practiced flick of his will. In the next moment, his legs flashed with the same pale blue as the new pieces replaced the simple armored boots on his feet, the light resolving first around his ankles and then climbing upward with methodical precision. The new armor locked into place with a series of soft clicks, the joints aligning perfectly with his movements. He could feel the connection to his other pieces of Experimental Magitech Version VII armor establishing itself.

"A thousand Coins!? Holy shit, that's expensive," Searanox called out as he read the System window, his voice echoing slightly through the night air. His fingers instinctively tightened on the handlebars of his Travel drone, the cold metal biting into his palm as he stared at the astronomical cost before him. He could feel a slight tremor in his hand, a physical manifestation of his shock at the price tag attached to what might be his most powerful advantage yet.

He focused on the skill, bringing up the information that the System forced into his mind, the knowledge flooding his consciousness. The details unfolded behind his eyes with crystal clarity.

`It's a D-Grade skill... That creates a permanent summon after its construction. Its range is listed as autonomous and it does support its own drones that are given to it. There is no mention of any cost to sustain it anywhere. `

Searanox thought, searching his mind for everything he knew about the skill, his thoughts racing through the tactical implications.

`Ah, never mind, there it is... Ten coins a day and its own regen. Please tell me it can enter dungeons.`

The strategic potential was staggering: a mobile command center that could patrol vast territories, deploy forces instantly, and potentially revolutionize how he approached both exploration and combat.

His eyes darted to the corner of his vision where his Tech-points counter glowed with a soft blue light, the numbers dancing before his eyes as he calculated the expenditure.

`This will drain my TP for the next half hour.`

The thought brought a slight frown to his lips as he considered the vulnerability such a depletion would create, the temporary weakness that would follow this expenditure. Yet the potential rewards outweighed the risks, especially with the looming threat of the Empire's advance and the unknown dangers that Stage 2 might unleash upon them all.

With a mental tug, he willed the skill to activate, his consciousness stretching outward as he channeled the required energy. Instead of the blue flash of light that normally appeared when he summoned his drones, the blue energy gathered for a moment before it began slowly constructing a large object next to him in the air.

It looked almost as if the System was printing the construct on an invisible 3D printer, layer by layer of material manifesting in meticulous succession. The process was mesmerizing to watch—each new segment appeared with such precision that it seemed less like magical summoning and more like technological fabrication at its most advanced. The air shimmered around the forming object, tiny sparks of energy dancing along its edges as the construct took shape before him, growing steadily from a small seed of light.

The shape expanded with inexorable purpose, each layer adding bulk and complexity as blue light traced skeletal frameworks and filled them with solid matter. Within minutes it had surpassed his Air Drones, and then the Travel Drone's dimensions, the growing construct casting an elongated shadow across the ground beneath the pale moon.

What began hovering silently beside him was a sleek arrowhead of matte black metal, nine meters long. Its angular lines were broken only by violet energy conduits that pulsed beneath overlapping, hexagonal armor plating. Each hexagon seemed to breathe with contained power, the violet light within expanding and contracting in a steady rhythm. The overlapping design created no visible seams, giving the impression of a single, flawless piece of technology rather than assembled components.

A raised central spine ran along its entire length, housing glowing violet energy conduits beneath translucent armored sections that allowed tantalizing glimpses of the machinery within. Two swept wings extended from the rear half of the chassis, each ending in articulated stabilization fins that moved with microscopic movements, adjusting their angles in response to even the slightest air currents. The backside contained two hangar bays with segmented doors, each segment outlined in the same violet light as the energy conduits.

The blue light intensified as the final components materialized, casting shadows that danced across the ground. Twin heavy energy cannons were mounted beneath the forward hull and remained in a dormant, recessed state, their barrels barely visible beneath armor panels. A large central sensor array sat at the front, surrounded by six smaller targeting lenses that rotated independently as they took in their surroundings, the lenses moving with an intelligence that suggested more than simple automated scanning.

When the last particle of System energy dissipated, the sound was less a hum and more a physical presence—a deep resonant frequency that vibrated through his body. The carrier's underbelly showed no signs of propulsion: no exhaust ports, no thrusters, no visible means of lift. Yet it maintained perfect altitude, its massive bulk defying gravity with the same effortless grace as its smaller kin.

"That thing is massive." His voice was barely a whisper, absorbed by the darkness of the night. "Even if it could enter a dungeon, how would it move inside it?"

As he spoke, he felt the mental connection between them establish—a surge of awareness that flooded his consciousness like a tidal wave. It was unlike the normal connection he had with his drones; there was depth to it, a presence that went beyond mere mechanical obedience. Every time he brushed against it, there was a subtle shift, a moment of resistance before it pushed back against his probe, like water yielding to pressure but retaining its own integrity. His fingers tightened unconsciously on his drone controls as he grappled with this new sensation.

With the basic drones, he had to navigate them mostly himself, like puppets on strings, their movements dictated by his every command. The Intermediate drones were different—they would react and act on their own initiative within defined parameters, showing something resembling autonomy. If he wanted to, he could fully take control of them and even perceive the world through their sensors.

But this connection was different. It was more profound, more unsettling. It felt almost alive, as if he had tapped into a consciousness that existed independently of his own will. Searanox could sense its position and intent with crystal clarity, a constant awareness of its location that required no active thought. Yet there was something else deeper inside, something lurking beneath the surface that he could not quite grasp—thoughts or purposes that remained just beyond his reach, like shadows seen through frosted glass.

Eventually, Searanox stopped poking at the consciousness at the edge of his mind, realizing his attempts to understand it through direct probing were futile. The connection remained steady, a constant presence at the periphery of his awareness that neither weakened nor strengthened, but simply existed with unwavering stability.

`Alright, let's give you some drones.`

He mentally reached out, summoning four Intermediate Assault drones, four Intermediate Offensive drones, and both of his Intermediate Defensive drones. The familiar blue light materialized beside him, resolving into ten sleek forms that hovered with quiet efficiency.

Before he could order them to accompany the Carrier Drone, there was a pulse of something foreign inside his mind—not violent, but definite, like a wave passing through his consciousness. He watched them with sudden alarm as the summoned drones began to bank toward the rear of the craft on their own initiative, their movements precise as they aligned themselves with the carrier's hangar bays. The segmented doors of the carrier opened silently, revealing spacious compartments within, and the drones filed in without any command from him, arranging themselves neatly within the interior space.

`Did it just steal my drones?`

The thought struck him with sudden urgency, a spike of adrenaline cutting through his calm. He immediately checked his drone storage, the numbers appearing before his eyes. There were now ten fewer than before, their absence confirmed as well as the cost to maintain their summoning. The carrier had somehow assumed command of his drones without his permission or direct instruction.

In the next moment, a question appeared in his mind, like a thought, but not his own. It was simple yet profound: Purpose?

The single word echoed in his consciousness, not as sound but as pure concept, emanating from the edge of his mind. It was a thought not of his own but by someone else, a query about its own existence and function that chilled him to his core.

"That's a new level of fucked up."