The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 100: Proving Grounds (5)

Sentinel gave Jason two days to recover in bed. A nurse stopped by and used her Power to help in his recovery every six hours. Jason slept for almost all of this time except when he had to use the bathroom or eat. When he was finally allowed to get back to work, he raced out of his room as if his life depended on it. 

'As it is, the Infinity won't cut it in the next battle.' Jason hummed as he looked at its wreckage. He was honestly shocked that it had taken such a beating. 'Medium armour isn't going cut it any more. I need something heavier, and the lighter stuff can be used around the joints for flexibility.'

Jason studied the internal damage next and was dismayed by what he saw. 'I definitely need to increase its durability. Some of these parts are bent out of shape or have snapped.' Jason paused as he considered his options. 'It needs more powerful mechanical support that is easier to use.'

His mind then turned to analyse his battle against Dani. 'It would be good if I had some way to attack people in my blind spots. I doubt I can bring her down otherwise.'

Jason believed that Dani's team or their Captain would have shared all the information they had on him by now with anyone who had not seen him fight. 'I need to think outside of the box. I have to approach this as if I'm expecting to fight the entire platoon at once.'

'The first team was pitiful, but they'll probably join different teams next time. Even though Sentinel says I did well, I don't think so. I was brought to a halt before taking out Danis team. So any team with a good mix could do the same.'

Jason sighed as these sort of thoughts ran through his mind. Designing the next version of the Infinity had become an ambitious project. Maybe too ambitious. It was yet to be seen if he had the skills to create something that would be able to go up against the entire platoon at once.

Jason ran through every schematic that his mind could come up with. There were a few good ideas but nothing that could really give him an edge. 'I have to upgrade my skills again. It's the only choice I have.'

Jason sighed as he started to pick out a few of the more promising things. He got to work with a heavy mind. Swearing and shouts of frustration filled the hall whenever he failed. Jason barely slept over the next few days as he pushed on with his work. Eventually, he had created five new items. 

All of them reached the E rank in Syssie's evaluation. However, Jason had no need for them and immediately scrapped them. He opened up his interface and looked at the 190 PP he had gained. He had already decided to grab Journeyman Mechanics since that would be a significant part of the Infinity.

'140 PP left.' Jason sighed after he recovered from the usual painful ritual. He then turned his attention to the Heavy Armour Creation skills. Jason grit his teeth as he chose it for the first time and immediately boosted it to the Journeyman level! Spending 90 PP in the process!

He now had a tough choice to make. He was torn between upgrading either Chemistry or Welding to the Journeyman level as well. Welding would help to increase his overall protection while Chemistry had more versatile uses. 'Everything else I've chosen should cover defence pretty well. I should round it out more.'

After debating for some time, Jason finally chose Journeyman Chemistry. Blood ran freely from Jason's nose as he recovered from the final painful injection of knowledge. 'What the hell?' Jason was assaulted by a splitting headache. He could have sworn that his brain was literally falling apart!

Syssie seemed panicked as she rushed over to check his condition. "Jason! Shit! Friday! Help!"

Friday's hologram appeared next to them with a frown on his face. "Why did you summon me? I was in the middle What happened!"

Friday bent over Jason's body and looked him over. Syssie took the chance to explain what Jason had done as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Friday's expression grew darker with each part that Syssie talked about. 

"We need a doctor. The nurse won't cut it this time! I'll be right back!" Friday quickly disappeared, leaving the two alone.

"What's happening To me?" Jason gasped as another wave of pain assaulted him.

"I think you've absorbed too much knowledge in one go." Syssie's avatar had tears running down its cheeks as she stared at the blood. "I don't think your brain has had long enough to prepare itself for this amount of information."

"But, don't you Stop that from happening?" Jason groaned.

"When you unlock skills from the interface, you turn the restrictions off on the knowledge." Syssie sobbed. Even she had no idea that this was the reaction he would have. "Friday should be back soon. Just stay awake. "

Meanwhile, Sentinel was standing at an open wall of Rust's flying jellyfish. He was staring down at the border of the Lord's domain. He looked to be totally at ease despite a large army gathering.

"Another invasion attempt? When will they learn?" Rust snorted as she joined him to look at their opponents.

"You should know that the Emperor is losing support. Why do you think the Lord has been focusing on improving our troops? Everyone's preparing to seize control of the country." Sentinel sarcastically chuckled as if he thought little of these political games.

"Won't the princess take the throne once he's gone? She's still young, and her Power is still growing." Rust hummed as she thought about it. "The other Lord's won't be able to take her down."

"Maybe not personally." Sentinel nodded. "But what if nobody intends to support her at all? It'll just become an issue of a well-timed assassination to put an end to her."