My vision flashed with blinding light.
It was the kind of light that appears when something is being downloaded.
I wondered what was being downloaded. I didn’t recall any titles on my mind recently, and I had already purchased most of what I wanted.
Was it the nagging notification to update the high-level standard OS again? Right around that thought, I snapped back to reality.
Ah, that’s right, the casing had been spectacularly destroyed.
Generally, the engineers at home tend to make some crazy stuff occasionally, following the philosophy of “as long as it’s interesting, anything goes!” But with a motto of cherishing life, and a distaste for the cats that appear at the scene, the survivability of their creations is quite trustworthy.
Hence, the skull casings were built tough, designed to function maximally to maintain self-continuity. The fragile prosthetic body hosting such a robust brain casing must have gone into lockdown mode, predicting the loss of everything below the neck as fatal damage.
The fact that it rebooted meant some kind of life-saving action had been taken. But still, why so many drivers being downloaded?
“Hey, Selene?!”
“Glad you’re awake, Captain.”
My enquiry was met with an extremely sharp response.
Ah, Selene, I know you’re mad just from the tone, don’t I?
“Hey, what’s going on? What’s happening?”
“Irritated? You bet I am.”
“Please stop emphasizing with homonyms! I’m scared!”
Whatever it is, she’s really, really mad! Logs… logs before the casing got smashed.
Ah… so this is bad. It seems my luck is truly terrible—I saved Galatea, and then my head was cut off by the thrashing claws of a dragon right after.
I hope I didn’t implant any strange traumas in her.
“You did quite a number on the prosthetic body that I spent two thousand years reconstructing!”
“Not intentional! It wasn’t intentional, so please forgive me!”
“Nope, not forgiven. So, no sympathy for a guy just waking up. Now, read this manual.”
Specifications…? Thinking what it could be, I hurriedly processed the several terabytes of documents streamed into my cybernetic brain, realizing it was the operation manual for the Titan-2 TypeG.
The ecliptic republic’s adopted general-purpose mass production weapon. It excels in everything from extravehicular work on large ships to close-quarter combat—well, they asked us to create something versatile—producing a masterpiece that, even in export specifications, was purchased by some high-end civilian security companies.
“Huh? Wait, is my braincase inside that thing now?”
“Exactly, it’s the one abandoned and covered in moss in the suburbs.”
“Does it still move?!”
Despite the shock, I had to ask—look, it was clearly abandoned for eons and covered in moss, giving off that ‘warrior who has finished his fight’ vibe. Any sensible person would think it shouldn’t work or shouldn’t be made to work.
“Frankly, I don’t know why, but it works. I don’t know why, really.”
“Are you serious? Are you serious? I just read the specs—it states a 150-year lifespan! How can it still function without maintenance, covered in moss?”
“I want to know that too. But when the giant dragon showed up and we were frantically searching, it worked, so we used it.”
Since the drivers are installing right now and I’m not directly interfaced, I’m clutching my head in the avatar space of the cybersystem.
Yeah, okay, so maybe it’s some sort of landmark where people come to worship regularly. Perhaps it’s a commemorative event annually or monthly like a monthly memorial.
It moving? Come on! Eight hundred years! Respect science at least!
“Sorry for my outburst, but are we nearing the end of the driver installation? Are we firing up the mainframe soon? The auxiliary core is already warming up.”
“Wha—wait!”
“All manual operations, please. You’re a Major with a Class-A mobile weapon insignia and over two hundred thousand hours of total piloting experience, so it’s doable, right?”
Whoa, she’s seriously mad! Yeah, I could probably handle it, despite being annoyed. This Titan-2’s straightforward human form with only slightly wider joint range than a human makes it relatively easy to operate.
“The mainframe is almost at critical in five seconds of base time.”
“Wait, hold on! Alright, auxiliary core, go! All hydraulic systems, good! Artificial muscles also, inexplicably, good! Neural link construction… good! IFF is active, FCS… also good!”
I know there’s a remote link for the co-pilot, but it’s odd to carry out the pre-start checklist while the main pilot is asleep. That’s somewhat concerning in my view.
“Good job with the checklist. Just a note, the standard weaponry has been depleted, so be careful. Four seconds remaining.”
“What? Oh no, shoulder missile pods are detached, and I lost the railgun from the right arm? Where’s the super-hard axe for close combat? …Damn, we’re practically unarmed! What happened to the knuckle guards!?”
“That must have been quite the intense battle. Three seconds.”
So effectively, we’re bare-handed, got it. Losing deterrent weapons for dealing with smaller enemies and anti-air weaponry is tough but inevitable.
What can I do? My speciality is swordsmanship, but my “hand-to-hand combat badge” covers unarmed fighting too. Bare-handed constraints? No problem.
Besides, our opponent is a dragon. I’ve hunted them to death in VR games endlessly—probably even longer than my total piloting hours for mobile weaponry. If we look alike, the actions can be reasonably anticipated.
“Syncing completely with the unit! Pseudo-sensory simulation, good! All sensors, surprisingly, no abnormalities!”
“Engage in battle upon activation. Things are pretty dire out there right now. Two seconds.”
What’s dire? I understand the situation is bad since my head got cut off, but is a dragon really coming this way? Selene wouldn’t rush me so much otherwise.
“Alright, let’s go! Three Saints, lend me your protection!!”
“And to all warriors under the name of T. Osamu, good luck! One second… Activating.”
In an instant, the medium-sized fusion reactor, warmed by the battery-powered auxiliary core, reached its critical threshold, surging with power through the entire unit.
Simultaneously, all sensors and the cybernetic brain interfaced, opening up a 360-degree panoramic view enhanced by multiple sensors, far surpassing the resolution of the naked eye.
Familiar—a feeling reminiscent of transferring from the infantry to the armored corps, and stepping into my first practice unit. Shaking with excitement, it hit me how profoundly beautiful the world could be and how exquisite it felt to have this expanded body.
“Titan-2 TypeG, activation confirmed. Full synchronization, complete!”
“Synchronization confirmed. You have control.”
“I do!”
Lifting the unit from its one-kneed stance, I assessed the situation. 200 meters away, allies were visible, and a mere 10 meters from them, the giant dragon. I have no idea why this dragon was playing with sand in the city but then came here, but if it wants to fight, bring it on.
“Selene, some uplifting music, please.”
“The usual will suffice.”
As my knees fully extended, music began to play… Wait, no, Selene, keep it in my brain, not blasting through external speakers. Sure, it might be a miraculous song salvaged from old databases, but probably everyone will just be baffled.
Ah, well, I’m up now, and the intro is already getting my foot tapping and the crowd cheering. So, there’s no choice but to fight.
The enemy dragon—approximately 40 meters long, standing around 10 meters tall, weighing roughly 500 tons.
Its build is somewhat long-necked, with a bulky torso resembling a sumo wrestler. Its wings are well-developed, too, capable of acting like arms. Brawling in close combat would be unwise.
Then again, our weapon has enough metal mass to compete.
The Titan-2, without equipment, weighs about 350 tons, making it somewhat lighter—but using a small gravity unit on the ground makes it lighter still. The physical gap isn’t that significant. The rest can be compensated with skill.
I immediately kicked all actuators to full power, sending this unit, which seemed half-dormant, charging ahead. First step, planting, second step accelerating, confirming momentum on the third—by this point, the unit’s speed had surpassed 250 km/h—before jumping into the air on the fourth step.
I stabilized the unit in mid-air, locking my core as if forming a single axis.
The blow—a perfect answer of overwhelming mass achieved through sufficient acceleration.
Mass times velocity squared remains an unchanging principle in this crazy world.
“Here I come!!”
Take that, physics dropkick!!
The technique that exploits the body mass of this giant frame best is one of those pro wrestling moves often dismissed as impractical.
Particularly, a diving dropkick is exceptional because it efficiently converts acceleration and mass into pure destructive energy. Additionally, the unit’s “bipedal upright walk” design makes it strong against vertical load, ensuring the structural integrity of the feet withstands the intense reaction force.
As I hovered in the air, bending my knee before extending it with force, I activated the artificial muscles on my back rhythmically, taking on the stance of a single rigid pillar.
Right before the point of impact, the anti-gravity unit turned off briefly, unleashing the full mass in a powerful kick that sent the dragon flying.
I felt the same level of force I just delivered reverberating across my entire body but soared gracefully higher, reactivating the unit. I spun in mid-air a few times to reduce momentum before touching down, my feet circling to dissipate kinetic energy.
A pesky control system complained about “unrecommended maneuvers” but no fragile units to worry about here. Mobile weapons are for boys, and they need to endure more.
My perceptive sensors immediately caught the voice calling for me.
The unmistakable call of my name.
Then, there’s sufficient reason to go all out.
“Did you call, Galatea?”
“Is that… Nozomu?”
“Yeah, I made it here to help, albeit a bit late.”
As I watched the dragon I had kicked sailing into the distance, I glanced down at my comrades, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
Good, everyone’s safe.
Alright, essentially no damage taken.
“The one who sinks will regret it, Captain.”
“I’m sorry!!”
I immediately bowed deeply in cyberspace as the AI scolded me. Selene had waited ages for her prosthetic body to be cultivated and completed, so she surely had emotional investment in what, though expendable, was more than just machinery.
I’ll properly apologize with actions, not just words.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, nonetheless…
“Welcome back to the real world, Captain.”
“Ah, thanks, Selate.”
I acknowledged the return greeting to my teammate, who had gone through the trouble.
I wonder if I can calm down by smashing that dragon’s noisy neck a bit?
“Alright, lizard guy, you’ve caused enough trouble. Your cronies gave me a hard time earlier.”
Striking my fists together to boost my spirit—this OS sure complains a lot about unconventional moves—the dragon, staggering but rising back up, gave a threatening roar.
“Second round!”
Warming up by rotating my arms while looking for openings, the dragon seemed to prepare either to charge at me or leap, slightly bending its knees.
Spotting an opening, I immediately ran forward, swinging my heated-up right arm like a scythe and slamming it into the dragon’s neck.
A move known as a lariat or ax-bomber in professional wrestling. Here too, with a sturdy lower structure and force efficiently transferred from solid legs, this physical technique fully leverages the arm’s hardness.
My style does not run through after impact; instead, firmly planted on the ground, it transfers power completely, suitable against an opponent like a dragon with a long neck where you don’t want to get tangled in its embrace.
Just as anticipated, the dragon is thrown off, writhing in pain.
So, it’s the first time, is it? Fighting someone roughly my weight.
The world is vast, lizard guy. This mobile weapon is a medium-class, all-purpose model, so it won’t be easy to take me down.
The second round has just begun. Show me what you’ve got, or I’ll finish you quickly.
[Planetary Exploration Footnote] During close combat between prosthetics, especially in terms of comparing the stiffness of mecha units, professional wrestling techniques are considered superior.
Though, the textbook adds a very proper note: “When you have hands, destroy with tools before it gets to that point.”
The next update on 2024/07/29 is scheduled around 18:00.
