[Chapter 19: New Drones]
Searanox jolted upright in his seat, the translucent blue System windows snapping into place and moving in perfect sync with his sudden motion. He threw the car door open and jumped out onto the damp forest floor, his pulse hammering against his ribs as pure instinct took over. The air was cool, but his skin felt electric. With a single, sharp thought, he reached into the void of his sub-menu and summoned one of every newly unlocked drone type.
─ [+6 Active Drones]
Six distinct mechanical constructs shimmered into existence around him, their metallic hulls gleaming under the filtered sunlight. They didn't just appear; they pulsed with a sense of purpose, a compact fleet of death, support, and logistics.
The Assault Drone hovered low to the ground, its dual red lenses glowing ominously beneath twin-mounted magic cannons. It looked just like the basic air drone made of matte-black metal.
[Assault Air Drone]
─ Tier: Basic
─ Summoning & Upkeep: 8 TP to summon / 5 TP/min
─ Size: 30cm diameter
─ Range: 800m x Level
─ Speed: 20km/h
─ Weapon: Twin Magic Cannons
─ Extra: Burst Fire Mode
─ Stats: 15% of Summoner
─ Purpose: High-damage frontline combat.
Floating slightly higher was the sleek Offensive Drone. Its single violet lens was fixed forward, steady and unblinking, like a sniper lining up a cold-blooded shot from a mile away.
[Offensive Air Drone]
─ Tier: Basic
─ Summoning & Upkeep: 7 TP to summon / 4 TP/min
─ Size: 30cm diameter
─ Range: 1,000m x Level
─ Speed: 20km/h
─ Weapon: Focused Magic Beam Cannon
─ Extra: Armor-Piercing Focus
─ Stats: 12% of Summoner
─ Purpose: Precision damage and priority target elimination.
The Defensive Drone manifested as a heavy, vertical oval. It was bulkier than the others, a faint translucent light blue barrier rippling across its surface like oil on water.
[Defensive Air Drone]
─ Tier: Basic
─ Summoning & Upkeep: 6 TP to summon / 4 TP/min
─ Size: 50cm diameter
─ Range: 500m x Level
─ Speed: 10km/h
─ Weapon: None
─ Extra: Barrier Projector
─ Stats: 12% of Summoner
─ Purpose: Protection and damage mitigation.
The Reconnaissance Drone was the most unsettling of the bunch. Small, pitch-black, and slightly translucent, its presence was easy to miss if one didn't know exactly where to look. It seemed to swallow the light around it.
[Reconnaissance Drone]
─ Tier: Basic
─ Summoning & Upkeep: 5 TP to summon / 2 TP/min
─ Size: 15cm diameter
─ Range: 3,000m x Level
─ Speed: 40km/h
─ Weapon: None
─ Extra: Stealth Mode, Enhanced Sensors
─ Stats: 8% of Summoner
─ Purpose: Scouting, surveillance, and intel gathering.
The Healing Drone gleamed in a pristine, clinical white. Its teal lens pulsed with a quiet, restorative energy that felt vaguely like the hum of a hospital waiting room, yet far more potent.
[Healing Support Drone]
─ Tier: Basic
─ Summoning & Upkeep: 6 TP to summon / 3 TP/min
─ Size: 40cm diameter
─ Range: 300m x Level
─ Speed: 10km/h
─ Weapon: None
─ Extra: Regenerative Pulse Beam
─ Stats: 10% of Summoner
─ Purpose: Healing and sustain support.
The Travel Drone hovered as a flat, disk-shaped oval, humming softly with a low-frequency vibration that Searanox could feel in his marrow.
[Travel Drone]
─ Tier: Basic
─ Summoning & Upkeep: 7 TP to summon / 5 TP/min
─ Size: 60cm diameter
─ Range: 2,000m x Level
─ Speed: 60km/h x (Level/10)
─ Weapon: None
─ Extra: Anti-Gravity Lift Field
─ Stats: 10% of Summoner
─ Purpose: High-speed traversal.
Finally, the bulky Cargo Drone loomed behind the rest like a floating vault, its chassis thick and reinforced.
[Cargo Drone]
─ Tier: Basic
─ Summoning & Upkeep: 6 TP to summon / 4 TP/min
─ Size: 50cm diameter
─ Range: 1,500m x Level
─ Speed: 30km/h
─ Weapon: None
─ Extra: Dimensional Storage: 100kg x Level
─ Stats: 10% of Summoner
─ Purpose: Logistics and heavy transport.
They hovered in an eerie, disciplined silence. Iris was instantly awake, her silver eyes widening as she stepped out of the car and took in the sight of the metallic swarm.
"Iris, I got a System Boon, and it changes everything," Searanox said, his voice coming out in a breathless rush. "It multiplied the effects of my summoning skill by ten and removed the TP cost entirely until the Descent."
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He looked like a child on Christmas morning, circling the drones with barely contained excitement. He examined every curve, every sensor, and every glowing lens. He ran a hand along the cool, smooth surface of the Travel Drone, a grin spreading across his face.
Just as Iris began to respond, she froze. Her gaze went unfocused, her eyes becoming blank and glassy for a brief moment. Searanox recognized that look instantly—he had just worn it himself.
"Did you just reach Level 10?" he asked.
"Yes. Yes, I did, Searanox," she replied, her voice steadying as the light returned to her eyes. Her tail swayed slowly behind her, a faint smile touching her lips before her expression shifted back to its usual tactical mask. She began to study the six drones floating in their loose formation.
"The System has granted you a tremendous advantage," she said, her voice dropping into a calculating purr. "This fundamentally changes our operational parameters. We no longer need to limit ourselves to a single farm or a single building. With these numbers and the lack of energy constraints, we can wage a multi-front war of attrition against the region's livestock. Our objectives can be achieved in a fraction of the expected time."
She stepped closer, her amber eyes sharp as she analyzed the Reconnaissance unit. "The Recon drone alone allows for the full mapping of farms and potential targets within kilometers. We can plan with surgical precision, minimizing our exposure to the authorities while maximizing our efficiency."
Searanox sighed, the excitement in his chest cooling into a grim, analytical chill. He shook his head.
"I hate to burst your bubble once again, Iris, but even this... it doesn't take us high enough." He pulled out his dog-eared notebook and flipped through the pages he had covered in frantic, scribbled math. "Even if the System doesn't reduce experience gains further at Level 14—which is a big 'if'—we are still talking about roughly 2.2 million kills for each of us."
He snapped the notebook shut with a sharp crack.
"There are not four million chickens in this district, Iris. Nor are there enough wild animals worth hunting to bridge that gap before the clock hits zero."
He stepped closer to her, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I’m sure you unlocked something impressive at Level 10 as well, but for now, the grind is dead. In four days, the System officially descends. After that, we use what we have to survive. But until then..."
He paused, a flicker of his old self returning. He reached out and gently 'booped' her furry snoot before turning back toward the car. Before he could reach the door, however, he stopped dead and looked at the drones again. A dark, intrusive thought began to take root.
"That could work," he murmured. "It just has to be a target that is large enough."
With a flick of his wrist, all but one of the drones vanished into a cloud of blue sparks. The disk-shaped Travel Drone remained, humming softly as it stabilized in the morning air. Searanox walked over to it, his fingers tracing the shallow indentations along its topside. As he touched it, the modified stats surfaced in his mind, boosted by the Boon.
[Modified Travel Drone]
─ Tier: Basic
─ Summoning and Upkeep: 7 to summon, 5/min (0 to summon, 0/min)
─ Range: 20km (200km) ─ Speed: 60km/h (600km/h)
─ Weapon: None
─ Extra: Anti-Gravity Lift Field
─ Purpose: traversing long distances
He knew exactly how it was meant to be used. Leaning forward, he pressed his body onto the disk, fitting neatly into the shallow concave indentation. His hands found two recessed grips near the leading edge, designed specifically as handholds for a rider.
It was surprisingly comfortable. The sensation reminded him of lying on a foam kickboard in a pool or a small, high-tech surfboard. His grip tightened as his feet left the forest floor. The drone lifted smoothly, carrying him up through the canopy and above the treetops.
There was no jolt. No vibration. No staggering G-force.
The sensation was strangely calming. Due to the anti-gravity field, it felt as though he were lying on solid, unmoving ground, untouched by the physics of motion.
`Forward.` He commanded.
The drone responded instantly, moving even before the thought had fully formed in his mind. It turned and accelerated effortlessly.
`These drones are incredible, he thought, a sense of awe washing over him. There is no need for manual instruction. They are an extension of my own will.`
The world beneath him became a green and brown blur as the drone picked up speed, hitting its staggering 600 km/h cap. Yet, within the field of the drone, nothing changed. There was no wind whipping at his clothes, no biting chill, no pressure against his face. If not for the landscape streaking by like a time-lapse video below him, he might have believed he was standing perfectly still.
Searanox spent several minutes testing the limits of the craft. He dove toward the tree line, banked hard around a hill, climbed until the air grew thin, and twisted through the sky. Through every maneuver, his body never shifted an a millimeter unless he willed it to move.
Perfect stability. Perfect control.
Below, Iris watched the retreating form of Searanox as he vanished into the open sky, her gaze lingering on the empty blue long after he had disappeared from sight.
He returned soon after, the Travel Drone descending through the canopy with a ghostly hum before lowering him gently to the ground. Blue sparks erupted as he dismissed the unit. He looked at Iris, his face set in a mask of grim determination.
"Iris, change of plans. We aren't going to miss the opportunity the System just dropped at our feet. We're done with the farms."
Two Travel Drones materialized in front of him. "You watched me earlier, so you should know how to lock in. Get on."
In one smooth motion, he grabbed hold of his disk, and the drone shot skyward, carrying him into the vast white and blue expanse. Iris mimicked his movements, mounting her drone with the grace of a natural predator. Within seconds, they were gone, two streaks of black against the morning sky.
Searanox knew that what he was planning was anything but humane. It was monstrous. But he needed millions of kills to reach his true potential before the world ended, and there was only one way to achieve that kind of scale. Only one place where millions of 'Level 0' lives were stacked in an area dense enough to make the math work.
What he needed was a metropolis—one that wasn't yet defended by a mobilized military force.
His drones flew south, carrying them toward their destination at nearly 600 km/h. They bypassed small towns and winding rivers, the landscape of Europe unfolding beneath them like a map.
Nine hours later, the horizon began to change. The green of the countryside was devoured by a sprawling, grey cityscape that spanned as far as the eye could see. Millions of lives, millions of souls, all oblivious to the two predators descending from the clouds.