Chapter 40

“Mother…!”

Edward, who had suddenly become filial, seemed like he would continue to carry on in this state if left alone, so I quietly called Jack over.

“Jack, can you help Edward come to his senses?”

“Got it.”

Jack nodded and approached Edward.

“Edward, pull yourself together.”

“Pfft! Be quiet, Jack! It’s obvious that I’m going to die soon, can’t you just let me have this moment to myself!”

“Isn’t that a bit extreme?”

“Extreme?! Are you high, Jack?! On Earth?! What do you even mean by Earth?!”

Edward turned his head, gave Jack the side-eye, and raised a pointed finger.

“Mechanical killers attacking people, this alien empire forcing humans into slavery, and mutants roaming everywhere—that’s Earth now! Don’t you understand that we’re as precarious as a lamp in the wind?!”

“Umm… I kind of get what you’re saying, but let’s at least hear what Edu has to say….”

“Whaaat! Stop talking nonsense! I’m the ark—!”

“Hmm….”

At that moment, Jack relaxed his body. A loud crackling sound of muscles and bones echoed, and Edward swiftly turned toward him.

“Calmly thinking about it, I feel like maybe it would be fine to listen to the story first.”

“Good thinking.”

Edward quickly shifted his stance, and Jack looked at him with a small smile. Confirming that Nisia was also looking at me, I cleared my throat lightly and began speaking.

“Alright, I imagine all three of you have been shocked. But we didn’t come to Earth completely unprepared, so don’t worry too much.”

“…Are you serious, Edu? This vast, desolate wasteland has no place to hide, so there’s no way I can feel safe. At least if we had some form of transportation—”

Cutting in immediately after Edward finished his sentence, he began to spout off with all sorts of details.

Seeing that Jack’s (physical) persuasion had worked and that it might be better to just show them rather than explaining, I started.

“Disable collection, nearest empty location.”

– Collection function disabled. MBT-4S Saver tank extracted from collection and placed at the nearest empty area.

A white light appeared, revealing a tank with a sleek brown camouflage finish as it materialized on the ground.

Boom.

“Wha—?!”

Edward’s surprised cry.

“Huh?”

Nisia’s slight surprise.

“Nice.”

Jack’s admiration.

Everyone had different reactions, but none of them were far from what I had expected.

“Hey, a tank?! Did you just summon a tank?!”

Edward approached and examined the tank’s armor, even tapping on the metal plate in disbelief.

“Huh…? It’s real?! How in the world…?!”

Edward stared at me in astonishment, while Nisia circled the tank and let out a soft exclamation of admiration.

“Edu, how did you pull this off? Weren’t you a summoner? Are you able to summon these kinds of things?”

“It’s a bit different, but just think of it as this tank being something I can deploy and retrieve at will.”

“Okay, got it.”

Nisia readily agreed with my explanation, Jack nodding silently.

“Alright, Edward, feel better now?”

“No, it’s just….”

After taking a short moment to ponder, Edward let out a sigh and slumped down.

“Okay, I get that we have a sturdy vehicle. What do you plan to do next?”

“Well, now that we’re on Earth, what else are we going to do? We need combat experience.”

“Combat? Are you telling me we’re heading straight into battle against enemies?”

“Not quite. I’m not trying to get us killed,” I firmly cut Edward off.

“What I mean is, we should gradually grow our skills by engaging in combat scenarios against small-scale enemies. You know, like the outposts or small forts run by those fallen guys spread out across the surface.”

“Hmm, is that what you mean….”

Edward fell into deep thought.

“It’s true that we’ll eventually need real combat experience at some point, so it might not be a bad idea to get it out of the way now.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

As expected—once Nisia was mentally settled, she understood perfectly.

“But, can we really handle this? Edu and Nisia, you both have combat experience against invaders, but Jack and I are amateurs with no experience.”

“That’s true. Are you both okay with this?”

Upon hearing Edward’s affirmation, Jack nodded. His expression seemed less about lack of confidence and more about not wanting to be a burden.

“Look, I’ve already factored all that in, so you don’t have to worry. Did you bring the necessary gear?”

I quickly checked the state of the Nightmare I brought with me while asking the group.

“Of course.”

“Yeah.”

Edward and Jack both answered and pulled out their gear.

Jack held the same longsword type with supplementary equipment attached—a massive shield—just like he had before.

Edward also carried the same cylinder-shaped gear resembling a revolver, but this time he held two of them, one in each hand.

The same equipment he had used during his first lesson with Airina; apparently, he had chosen what was most familiar to him back then.

“Alright, good balance. How about you, Nisia?”

“It’s this.”

Nisia pulled out her gear from her waist, showing me a one-handed sword with a round shield in her other hand, indicating her preference for close combat battles.

“Close-combat gear? Really, isn’t this well-suited to you?”

“Yep, I feel unfamiliar with long-range combat….”

Nisia said, trailing off. Thinking back, she had even used an assault-type gear for close combat during her lessons with Airina.

“Gear preference is important, so pick what feels best to you.”

“Okay!”

“Alright, let’s get on the tank. We can discuss the rest while we’re moving.”

“Sure.”

“Alright.”

“Yeah.”

The group headed toward the tank as they agreed. Just then, I remembered I hadn’t mentioned something important.

“Oh, I forgot to mention something. Don’t go to the front side of the tank—use the rear entrance.”

“The rear?”

“Yeah, the AI will pilot it for us.”

“Interesting.”

Edward let out an impressed sound and quickly headed to the back of the tank. After opening the hatch at the back, we all climbed in.

“This…!”

“Come on, let’s go.”

“Okay.”

I stopped Edward from exclaiming in admiration again and we all boarded the tank.

“Nisia, can you take care of the controls over there?”

Pointing to the tool resembling an old intercom installed between the bathroom and kitchen, Nisia nodded.

Lifting the receiver with her hands and bringing it to her ear, a sharp beep sounded, and a mechanical voice came through the receiver.

[ Welcome back, Mr. Edu. The MBT-4S Saver is awaiting orders. ]

“Oh, you know me?”

[ The indoor camera has verified your identity against registered user data. Please give your instructions. ]

“Ah, I see. Let’s try going somewhere.”

[ Let me display the map as a hologram. Please touch the locations you wish to visit, in order. ]

Apparently, understanding my intention, the AI smoothly displayed the map. It was of the wastelands near the ark, a place I’d seen often in AOE.

I confirmed the familiar terrain and landmarks and proceeded to touch the hologram a few times.

For our first day—and to not tire ourselves out—we should only visit a few places.

“This should be enough.”

[ Coordinates confirmed. Proceeding in the order you touched. ]

Woom…

The engine roared, a slight vibration rippling through the tank’s body. As the vibration intensified, I could feel my body being pushed slightly backward.

Grurr…

From outside, the sound of the tank’s tracks turning echoed, the vibrations continuously transmitting, signaling that we were now moving at a fast pace.

“Whoa…”

Edward whispered in awe. Nisia and Jack, though silent, had slightly flushed faces, clearly excited by this new experience.

“Now, let me explain our combat strategy. Nisia, take a break and listen.”

“Alright, thank you, Edu.”

After acknowledging me, Nisia crouched down on a nearby mattress. When I had all three’s attention, I cleared my throat and began speaking.

“First of all, ignoring dungeons, I’ll mostly handle most of the enemies myself—it’s more efficient this way.”

“Alone? Can you manage that?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a method.”

“Exactly what method are you talking about…?”

“You’ll see.”

Alright, let’s use this method then.

But, before that, I need to check the stats menu first, which I hadn’t reviewed properly due to recent events.

“ID, show me the stats.”

[ Code verified. Displaying status. ]

——————————————————–

LV. 11 Edu Numerusday *(■)

[ HP 23 / 23 ] *(■)

[ MP 725 / 725(+50) ] *(■)

[ ST 25 / 25 ]

ATK 25 *(■) / DEF 40 / RES 50

STR 1 *(■)

DEX 8 *(■)

INT 249(+70) *(Growth Bonus x2 / Growth Limit 1)

CHA 82 *(Growth Bonus x2 / Growth Limit 1)

CON 16 *(■)

LUK 47 *(Growth Bonus x2 / Growth Limit 1)

SP 0 /SK 14 / EXP 6629

External Traits *(■)

Character Traits *(■)

Bonuses *(■)

——————————————————–

“Got promoted?”

Due to the experience points from defeating the robot group that had attacked the academy, my EXP total has increased, leading to a level-up and the restoration of used skill points.

To be precise, SK increased by the amount used for leveling up, but regardless…

With plenty of skill points confirmed, it’s time to unlock some summoned entities.

The versatile little drone and the mini cart, capable of stealth and armed depending on modifications, are useful.

But these aren’t the mainstay of a robot summoner.

The true mainstay of robot summoners, who earn nicknames like ‘bomb squad’, ‘hot sauce’, or ‘robslam’, is responsible for unleashing devastating firepower at lower levels through these summoned entities.

“Unlock skill, Hand Glider.”

– 2 skill points used to unlock Hand Glider.

“Hand Glider armament unlock, COMP-A1(S).”

COMP-A1, also known as ‘Compo’, a military-grade explosive.

– 1 skill point used to unlock COMP-A1(S) for Hand Glider.

Now, let’s unlock some special modifications one by one.

– 1 skill point used to unlock Hand Glider’s reinforced flight wings.

This modification reinforces the glider so it doesn’t break easily under attack.

– 1 skill point used to unlock Hand Glider’s automatic detonation mechanism.

This modification makes the glider’s explosives detonate automatically if destroyed by enemy attacks.

– 1 skill point used to unlock Hand Glider’s precision guidance system.

This modification increases accuracy and allows for effective attacks from greater distances.

– 1 skill point used to unlock Hand Glider’s storage expansion.

This modification increases internal storage capacity, allowing more explosives to be loaded.

– 1 skill point used to unlock Hand Glider’s improved receiver.

This final modification extends the range of the glider’s receiver.

When all is said and done, what you get is the—Bomb Glider.

A small, 40cm flying glider transforms into a terrifying explosive weapon. In essence, it becomes a small, flying missile.

Impressed by this method, robot summoners reverently named this tactic ‘Jihad Play’, as it feels much like terrorism—blowing everything into oblivion.

[ Alert. Moving objects detected near the destination. They’re headed our way. ]

“Okay.”

Targets have conveniently shown up at just the right time.

It’s time to unleash the bomb squad.

[!– Swiper main container –]