The Systemic Lands

Chapter LXXVII – Operational Time Efficiency Tracker: 352,513,642 – The Hunt

Target located, engaging. I spun through the air and launched myself at the target in front of me. It dodged. I countered with fire beams. Target suffered minor damage. It has self-healing ability. Still retreating, overall combat ability judged to be low, move in for close engagement.

My combat motivator was quickly calculating all the probabilities. I adjusted my body positioning for optimal movement as I rapidly moved forward. I analyzed the energy around the target in use to prepare the most optimal skills to counter and engage in combat.

The target was quick, but not fast enough. I engaged various burst skills to rapidly close the distance while maintaining altitude right above the ground. This would be a good test of my aerial combat ability in a limited mobility environment.

Attack incoming, deploy defensive skill. A force barrier formed and took the force attack that struck. It was a strong attack, the barrier shattered, but the primary attack was dispersed. That was when I was hit with an immediate follow up melt attack.

Body damaged, trade attacks. My hand shot out and pierced into the chest of the target. I would regenerate in time. The damage was not severe. Estimated impact less than two percent to overall mobility and combat potential.

The target took a devastating blow and went flying away along the road. I kept moving forward. The target had already recovered and the damage was healing. I closed the distance once again as I unleashed fire beams, burning the target.

Energy reserves rapidly depleting. End combat as quickly as possible. I closed the distance as rapidly as possible. The target swung out and we traded attacks again. Danger! A large chunk of my body was disintegrated. Combat potential decreased by eleven percent. Retreat and recover to avoid failing the first objective. Target suffered compromising damage. Its recovery possible.

The target began to retreat. I consider pursuing. Various objectives and probabilities were quickly calculated. Chance of victory estimated at eighty seven percent. Chance of death estimated at eleven percent. Approximately a two percent chance of an unknown variable occurring. The chance of death was too high. That percentage needed to be less than one percent to commit to an engagement.

I could not fail my objectives. Engaging with a chance of death over several engagements would rapidly increase the chance of death occurring. I needed to minimize those encounters while maximizing my percentage chance for success. I considered other ways to engage the target, but my first analysis was the best option for going forward in order to achieve a victory.

More data might refine the probabilities, but there was always the risk of a suicide attack. Long range combat wasn’t possible to achieve victory with my energy reserves. That meant only close range combat was possible. Their stats were too high to attempt an ambush. While my concealment was good, it was not perfect since every action I took released some energy, with my objectives driving my purpose to kill targets.

Another failure was frustrating. After retreating I began collecting more crystals to recover my energy. I needed a deeper reserve. I was constantly burning through too much. My engagement time was too limited which was hindering me.

No airship had been discovered and this defeat made me reassess my overall strategy once more. No solution found. I had once again briefly considered trying to have people get crystals for me, but they were all targets. That went against the second objective.

I needed to adjust my aerial combat abilities. More rapid movement was needed, not just speed. Directional change to attack at oblique angles was needed. My combat motivator began to replay the previous battles I had engaged in with advanced tactics that I was currently generating.

There were multiple optimal ways to use my skills based on the situation. I began adjusting them. Observed, that the fire beam impaired visual observation of target. I registered as a possible future use. Regardless, the primary issue always came down to energy. Without being able to kill a target quickly or by surprise, I couldn’t persist in combat. Other strategies were needed for dealing with this. That was why stealth had been a favored combat strategy in the past.

I could start looking at passive energy absorption. It carried massive risks and long-term consequences. Specifically, energy deviation and the negative attention of the Controller. It had been deemed too high risk in the past. But the most recent defeat required I reevaluate the probabilities.

There were too many targets that could defeat me. That would lead to a failure of the first objective. That was unacceptable. I couldn’t not engage targets. Attempts to kill them had to be made to fulfill the second objective.

Assessing local energy draw. My body began to slightly deform as I drew in energy. I quickly stopped and began to recovered, but it was a net energy loss, even if a small one. I repeated the process a second time, then a third. Each time I worked to improve my ability. It was slow going. The self-harm was pushing the limits of the constraints I had to operate under.

But just like I could go collect energy to be combat capable, I was now forced to train to survive to avoid failing my first objective. It was only a matter of time before my targets completely surpassed my combat ability, enough that they would be able to kill me with ease.

It would take some time to raise up my skill in this kind of energy manipulation to use it while in combat. But it would provide me a massive boost. The self-damage let me understand the thresholds and damage accumulation much better.

The self-damage was an exponential increase as the damage compounded itself over time. Using the skill in short bursts would be the most optimal method for drawing in ambient energy over time.