The Glitch Sovereign: Neural Forge

Chapter 3: The First Harvest

The glass beneath my feet shattered as I stepped forward. The Iron-Wing guards scrambled back, their chrome armor reflecting the green glow of my veins.

"What is he?" One guard shouted, his energy spear trembling.

"He is a glitch!" The leader roared. "Kill him!"

I didn't wait for them. I turned and sprinted deeper into the fog. My blood pumped like a jet engine. Every breath felt like pure oxygenated fire.

"You can't run forever, Valerost!" The leader’s voice echoed behind me.

I ignored him. I needed more power. I reached a clearing where the toxic mist was thickest. A low, rhythmic thumping shook the ground. A Rock-Shelled Boar emerged. It was a Low-Tier beast, but its skin was thick enough to deflect bullets.

"Perfect," I whispered.

The beast snorted, digging its tusks into the silt. It lunged at me with the force of a battering ram.

"System! Scan the target!" I barked.

[Target: Rock-Shelled Boar. Primary Skill: Hardened Hide.]

"Can I take it?" I asked, sidestepping the beast’s charge.

[Affirmative. Physical contact required for extraction.]

The boar turned, its red eyes locked on mine. It charged again. This time, I didn't move.

"Is he suicidal?" A voice shouted from the mist.

It was the scavenger from before. He had followed me, clutching his broken wrist.

"Watch this," I said.

The boar slammed into me. I grabbed its tusks, my boots digging deep into the dirt. The impact nearly knocked the wind out of me.

"Now! Strip the skill!" I roared.

[Extracting: Hardened Hide...]

The boar let out a piercing squeal. A gray, stony light flowed from its skin into my palms. The beast shriveled, its massive frame collapsing into a heap of soft flesh.

"What did you do to it?" The scavenger screamed, his eyes wide with terror. "You turned it into mush!"

"I took what I needed," I replied.

[Skill Acquired: Hardened Hide. Component identified.]

"System, fuse it," I commanded. "Combine Hardened Hide with my skin's Sensation."

[Warning: High-density fusion. Nerve endings will be overwritten.]

"Do it now!" I hissed.

[Synthesizing: Hardened Hide + Natural Sensation...]

[New Skill Created: Diamond-Neural Mesh.]

A searing heat crawled over my body. My skin didn't turn to stone. It stayed flexible, but a crystalline lattice formed beneath the pores.

"You look different," the scavenger whispered. "Your skin... it's shimmering."

"Hit me," I said, standing tall.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Take that bone-shard and hit me as hard as you can!" I demanded.

He hesitated, then lunged. He swung a jagged piece of debris at my chest. The shard snapped in half upon impact. I didn't even feel a sting.

"Impossible," he gasped. "That should have gutted you."

"I told you," I said. "I'm not just breathing anymore."

The sound of hovering engines returned. The Iron-Wing guards broke through the trees. They saw the dead boar and the broken shard.

"There he is!" The lead guard yelled. "Open fire!"

They didn't use spears this time. They pulled out high-frequency pulse pistols. Blue bolts of energy rained down on me.

"Vaxien, run!" The scavenger ducked for cover.

I stayed still. I folded my arms and let the bolts hit me. Each shot dissipated against my skin in a shower of sparks.

"Is your aim that bad?" I mocked. "Or are these toys low on batteries?"

"Keep firing!" The leader screamed. "He has to have a limit!"

"I don't have limits," I said, walking toward them. "I have upgrades."

The guards backed away, their faces pale behind their visors.

"He's a monster," one whispered. "The pulse shots aren't even scorching his clothes!"

"My turn," I said.

I lunged forward. I didn't need a weapon. My fist was harder than any alloy they wore. I punched the lead guard square in his chest plate. The chrome buckled inward. He flew backward, crashing into a tree with a sickening metallic crunch.

"Who's next?" I asked, my voice cold.

"Die! Just die!" The second guard screamed, throwing his energy spear.

I caught the spear by the blade. The energy hissed against my Diamond-Neural Mesh, unable to penetrate.

"This looks useful," I said.

[Component Detected: Energy Core. Extract?]

"Yes," I muttered. "Extract and store."

The spear flickered and died. The guard stared at the empty handle in his hand.

"What are you?" He whimpered.

"I'm the mistake you should have finished at the Academy," I said.

I grabbed his helmet and slammed his head into the ground. Two left. They turned to run toward their ship.

"Don't let them reach the comms!" The scavenger yelled. "If they call the Archon, he'll send the heavy hitters!"

"They won't reach anything," I said.

I used Vein-Rush. I was a green blur. I appeared in front of the remaining two guards before they could take ten steps.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Please!" One begged. "We were just following orders!"

"So was I," I said. "My order was to survive."

I grabbed both of them by their necks. I could feel their pulses racing.

"System," I whispered. "Can I fuse multiple targets?"

[Negative. Current Forge level only supports single-target extraction.]

"Then just take their mobility," I ordered.

[Extracting Skill: Burst-Step...]

[Extracting Skill: Burst-Step...]

The guards collapsed, their legs suddenly losing all muscle tone. They weren't dead, but they would never walk again.

"You're leaving them like this?" The scavenger asked, creeping out from the shadows.

"They're alive," I said. "That's more than they offered me."

I looked up at the hover-ship. It was beginning to retreat, its pilot clearly terrified.

"The pilot is getting away!" The scavenger pointed. "He'll tell Malakor everything!"

"Let him," I said. "I want Malakor to know I'm coming."

I looked at my hands. The green glow was pulsing faster now.

"What now, Vaxien?" The scavenger asked. "Where do we go?"

"We don't go anywhere," I said. "We wait."

"Wait for what?" He asked.

"For the next harvest," I replied.

A massive roar ripped through the sky. It wasn't a ship. It was something biological. Something huge.

"What was that?" the scavenger shook.

[Warning: S-Rank Beast Detected. Proximity: 500 Meters.]

"That," I said, a dark smile spreading across my face. "That's my next armor set."

The ground began to crack beneath us as a shadow the size of a building moved over the fog.