Mutagen

<strong>Day 253 - 8:52 AM - Mountainous Crater, Municipality of Viga, Province of Catanduanes</strong>

A [Mechid] that wielded a melee weapon was not new, and there was a wide variety that these robots had used before. Most of these varieties involved blades of different sizes, like mounted daggers or even some sort of laser-bladed weapons.

Nonetheless, this was the first time Mark ever encountered a [Mechid] that wielded a whip-blade.

A whip-blade was a rather unusual weapon. It had an advantage over range and unpredictability compared to regular swords and lethality over whips. However, it was a weapon that no one would basically use. After all, it was never a user-friendly weapon. It was a weapon that would take years to learn and master. Furthermore, one slip-up in using this weapon could cause more damage to its user than the enemy. It also had a disadvantage when used in narrow places, and getting its blades entangled around obstacles was a problem too.

It was unless one was cheating when using it, pretty much like what Mark did with his whip-blades. After all, Mark could control the movements of the [Slicer] and the [Divider] using his blood, removing most of the disadvantages when using them. It would have been nice if Mark could move it magically like a certain red-haired Shinigami with his snake Zanpakuto.

Still, magical or not, seeing a [Mechid] use these weapons was pretty unusual.

But then, these [Mechids] were not from Earth, in the first place. Who knows what they could be capable of?

Mark never let the humanoid [Mechid], no, the [Fighter Mechid], out of his sight. Whether things could have become more dangerous or not would depend on how this [Mechid] would use its current weapons.

And not only did Mark raise his guard higher, but now that he had gained some distance from the [Mechid], he prepared to use the crystals. At the same time, he noticed a sort of invisible barrier around the [Mechid] after seeing something flash before vanishing. It must be how the [Mechid] remained unscathed after Mark's bombardment.

Then, as if trying to match the red glowing veins on Mark's body, the [Fighter Mechid]'s body began to glow in the most sci-fi style possible. It was as of the [Mechid] had geometrical veins on its body, glowing bright blue.

Mark braced himself. After all, he was not new to that glow that the [Mechid] was emitting.

<strong>THOOOM!</strong>

From the ground it crashed unto, the [Fighter Mechid] zoomed up to the sky. It flew faster than before, creating a shockwave as it launched.

Aware of the sudden increase in the [Fighter Mechid's] speed, Mark dodged.

The [Fighter Mechid] zoomed past Mark, and he even evaded the whip-blade that passed where his neck was before.

That bluish glow. It was not the first time Mark had seen it. It was the very same glow that the [Strange Mechid] used the other day to increase its speed. A trans-am of sorts in Gundam terms. However, it was not the same since the boosters the [Mechids] used only increased their movement speed from what Mark observed. Of course, their attacks would also become faster if the booster was located within their attacking mechanisms. The arms and legs of the [Mechids], for example.

From the looks of it, the boosters were integrated into the whole body of the [Fighter Mechid]. If this was the case, the overall speed of this [Mechid] was increased substantially.

As its attack missed, the [Fighter Mechid] quickly turned around. It held both its whip-blades in a certain position before it charged at Mark, about to wave its weapons.

Mark's eyes dilated after seeing that action.

The whip-blades were swung horizontally at Mark, stretching out their length to the fullest.

Mark flipped his body mid-air, then kicked the two whip-blades at a certain angle as they were about to hit. It made the two weapons miss the attack, passing over and under his body as he somersaulted before making a hasty retreat. This way, the two whip-blades would likely stretch around the [Mechid's] body, possibly restricting it in the process.

However, things did not go as Mark wanted. The whip-blades of the [Fighter Mechid] suddenly retracted after missing its target.

Mark frowned but did not waste the chance.

<strong>SHOOOM!</strong>

Mark shot the [Shadow Piercer] towards the [Fighter Mechid] as the two whip-blades retracted. It was a well-placed and well-timed shot.

The possibility of the [Fighter Mechid] also having a [Kinetic Shield] was rather high. However, the [Kinetic Shield] was not without weakness. It was like how it would not properly activate if a foreign object that the shield could not cover entirely was present. It happened with the [Strange Mechid] the other day when Mark locked weapons with it.

And from Mark's thoughts, another possible timing was when a part of the user was outside the radius of the shield.

In this case, the whip-blades that had yet to retract were clearly outside the radius of the [Kinetic Shield] if this [Fighter Mechid] had one. The shield it used to block Mark's magic attacks might not activate either.

The only thing that the [Fighter Mechid] could do was evade. However, doing so while its whip-blades were in the process of retracting would leave it open for another attack since its movement would delay the weapons' retraction for a bit.

And as Mark thought, the [Figther Mechid] evaded.

Mark flapped his wings quickly and charged at the [Fighter Mechid] while he charged another shot with the [Shadow Piercer]. He moved to where the [Mechid] was evading and shot his railgun at shorter and harder to evade range.

<strong>SHOOOM!</strong>

Mark fired his next shot. He was confident that it would connect. Although the chance of it piercing through the [Fighter Mechid's] body was low, it should at least leave a good amount of damage.

But as Mark thought that he succeeded in this move, the [Fighter Mechid] made an unexpected move. The final floating bit behind the [Fighter Mechid] flew into the trajectory of the projectile while changing its form instantly.

<strong>BAM!</strong>

The transformed floating bit and Mark's projectile collided, causing a loud sound. However, while the transformed floating bit was pushed back, it sustained barely any damage as Mark's projectile fell to the ground.

That transformed floating bit made Mark's eyes dilate even more due to unexpected surprise. It was not because the [Fighter Mechid] managed to defend against his attack once again, but its appearance after it transformed extremely resembled his shield, the [Defier]. There were a lot of differences, Like how the [Mechid's] shield had what seemed to be a forcefield in front of it or its sleek design that was more sci-fi-like. Nonetheless, the shape was awfully the same.

There was no coincidence that this [Mechid] was using a pair of whip-blades. It was no coincidence that it made the same stance before attacking.

This [Mechid] was mimicking his fighting style.

Then, did its previous pair of claw blades also mimicked from someone? The way it attacked with its claws was awfully alive compared to what a normal [Mechid] would do.

But now, it was clear why this [Fighter Mechid] was carrying such uncanny weapons. Why mimic Mark, though? This thought was another question that popped up inside Mark's mind as he retreated due to the whip-blades finally making their next attack.

Mark flew backward and the tip of the two whip-blades pierced through where he was before. As he evaded the attack, Mark fired another shot from his weapon, but the shield flew and blocked it.

Looking at the [Fighter Mechid], Mark had a tinge of discomfort and jealousy on his mind. Mark only two hands. As such, he could only use either a pair of blades or one blade and a shield. Although Mark could use his [Blood Whips] to hold a weapon, it was inefficient as it would slow down his [Blood Whips], which had speed as their advantage.

It was totally unfair that this [Mechid] could use the two whip-blades and a shield altogether.

Worse, it was using the whip-blades far more efficiently than Mark.

It was using an improved version of Mark's fighting style using the whip-blades and the shield.

Who would not feel frustrated seeing someone mimicking his fighting style but moving better than the original? No one.

There was no need to mention that Mark's control of the [Slicer] and [Divider] was limited by what his [Blood Whips] were capable of. However, this [Fighter Mechid] had full control of its whip-blades.

It was kind of frustrating. It was like the [Fighter Mechid] was showing Mark a level of his fighting style that he could probably never attain.

Mark wanted to take out his own whip-blades. However, he went against the temptation. There would be more disadvantages for him to use his whip-blades at this moment. Not to mention that his whip-blades would not be able to damage this kind of [Mechid] and would likely end up getting entangled with the enemy's weapon instead.

<strong>THOOOM!</strong>

The two other weapons of the [Fighter Mechid], the claw blades that turned back into their original forms, pointed at Mark. Two large beams were fired at him at close range.

Mark could only evade the unexpected attack. This was the first time Mark saw where the beam attacks of this [Mechid] were actually coming from. It just meant that this [Mechid] could fire five of these beams at the same time.

Still, why did the [Mechid] fire only one beam at a time before and fire two now?

But as Mark evaded, the reason for firing two beams this time was clear. It was to make him evade in a specific direction.

The moment Mark was out of the way of the beams, he was already encircled by the two outstretched whip-blades.

Then, the encircle around Mark tightened, trying to slice Mark to pieces within.

As the blades almost touched Mark, he vanished into a puff of black mist, and the blades ended up entangling themselves in an uncanny ball. It was one disadvantage that the whip-blades had, and Mark managed to utilize the situation to cause this mess. However, it looked like the [Mechids] had foreseen this situation already and added some functions to the weapons to automatically unentangle themselves.

The whip-blades would return to normal almost after just a few seconds.

But Mark... did not appear after evading the previous attack.

Mark clearly became invisible.

The [Figther Mechid] looked around. After not seeing its opponent, its eyes changed color, likely changing the mode it was seeing into either thermal or infrared or probably something else that humankind had yet to discover. It could also be a combination of these functions.

Using its detection mechanisms, the [Fighter Mechid] spotted Mark. No, it spotted a high-temperature activity a certain distance away.

In its lens, it looked like a giant ball of flames.

And it was right.

Getting out of his [Optical Camouflage], Mark appeared along with a ball of flames twice his height. The attack was already shot, and it was already late for the [Fighter Mechid] to evade, and it could not activate its shields with the whip-blades still entangled.

The [Mechid's] shield immediately floated in front of the [Fighter Mechid], trying to block the attack. Still, even if the shield managed to block the direct impact, the explosion that would come after would engulf the [Figther Mechid] whole.

Mark smiled as the flames exploded. After all, it was not just flames that he prepared.

<strong>BOOM! CRACKLE!</strong>

The explosion was uncannily followed by a strange crackling sound that an explosion would not make. It was because inside the core of the ball of flames was a concentrated amount of Mark's [Miasmic Lightning]. The black lightning was not only destructive but had the slight properties of [Miasma] to devour energy.

An explosion of flames bloomed in the sky, accompanied by the crackles of electricity scattering about.

A figure flew out of the flames and lightning. Of course, it was the [Fighter Mechid].

However, unlike before, its body was covered with burn marks, and the bluish glow on its body along with the shield's barrier were considerably less. It was clear that Mark's attack just now caused a considerable amount of damage.

But then, seeing that it was still on the losing end, the [Fighter Mechid] let go of the whip-blades, transforming both weapons into their original forms.

And then, its bluish glow turned red.

Mark stared with annoyance at that sight. The damn [Fighter Mechid] had a third phase.