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|Name: Gerhard
|Class: The Gamer
|Level: LV42
|Title: The Grinder
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|HP: 1900/1900
|MP: 1651/1651
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STR: 72
VIT: 76
DEX: 64
INT: 131
WIS: 80
LUK: 20
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|Points: 146
|Money: 0
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MP Regen:
→ Passive: 784.37 / min
→ Passive + Iron Will: 1372.64 / min
MP Cost:
→ 72% of normal
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Gerhard looked at his status window and nodded. This wasn't bad. It was still nowhere what that Patriarch cunt was, but that didn't matter. So far, Gerhard hadn't been as strong as the enemy he had fought and killed. He used tools and skills to help him. And that was more than fine.
Because this time, he was more prepared than ever. Or so he believed. You never knew with the Orks. But he was looking forward to it.
Gerhard hadn'd spent a lot of time in dungeons and power levelling. Not because he couldn't. Because he didn't want to. He took a break for a few weeks initially to calm himself down. Not his mind, as that was always calm and collected by [Gamer's Mind]. It was more like buried stress and the weight of his new existence in this reality. One had to remember that he was playing the most dangerous game he could imagine.
He took some time to play around with his skills for once. He went back to the Planting Pots and tried to make better ones, since he now needed them. Gerhard was convinced they would come in handy as quick HP boosts during later fights. He even created an electric guitar and learned to play it.
For a few weeks, he only enjoyed himself. Something impossible in this galaxy, unless you were an Ork.
After that, it was time to get back on track, though. Gerhard fully immersed himself in his Grinder mindset and researched anything he could to advance his technology. He had superficial knowledge of the Iron Man suit, the MJOLNIR, the Doomslayer armoury, and, of course, Astartes armour. But that wasn't going to help him, not really. He needed to start from scratch, and so he did.
That was the beauty of being the Gamer. Even research was, in essence, a game for him to play. He could simply grind himself through it. And by the throne did he grind.
That MF grinded the shit out of that research and testing until he finally managed to create something that looked like what he was going for. That was the MK. II.
However, Gerhard didn't like it.
So what did he do?
He decided that, instead of trying to get both a bulky, powerful tank and a fast, swift speeder in one, he would simply make two. That's when he started to see real progress. He didn't bother too much about the decrease in DEX, as it wasn't the focus of his heavy bulwark armour. And after months of doing it, he had created two Powered armours that were quite impressive.
The first was the MJOLNIR knock-off, which wasn't quite there yet but would, in the future, surpass its original by leagues, and the second... well...
---
[MK III-H "Iron Monger" Siege Plate – Rank: Special]
| A big, mobile engine of war inspired by the brutal silhouettes of ancient Terran comic "Iron Monger" designs.
| Constructed almost entirely from Polymorphic Alloy and reinforced with Diamantine strike plates, this suit is designed to ignore the laws of the Imperium. It utilises the former Men of Iron's self-repairing and slightly adaptive logic to weave metal back together in real time, drawing on a wide range of energies.
Stats:
| MP: 730/min (Enhanced by Sanctioner capacitors)
| Durability: 7,500/7,500 (Rapid Auto-Repair: 200 Durability/min base)
| Energy Core: Hans (Upgraded Logic)
| Armour Class: Heavy Siege Suit
Defensive Effects:
| +100% Mid-Class Physical Resistance: (Virtually immune to small arms and mid-tier melee)
| +90% Mid-Class Energy Resistance: (Multi-layered Ceramite and Armaplas coating absorbs heat)
| +40% Mid-Class Shockwave Resistance: (Internal inertial dampeners)
| +95 STR
| +70 VIT
| -40 DEX
Specialised Layers:
| Diamantine Bulwark: The outer shell is lined with Diamantine, reducing the "Critical Hit" chance of enemies by 50%.
Thermal Regulation Layer
| -70% heat generation
| Reduces plasma/energy damage
Polymorphic Alloy Structure
| Minor adaptation to repeated damage types
| Grants +5% resistance to a specific damage type every time it hits the suit (Stacks up to 75%).
Ammunition Generation:
| By using the [Special Creation] and the specially mana-conductive materials used, it is possible to spend MP and convert it into Beginner-grade ammunition.
| Bolter rounds, Autogun rounds, Assault cannon rounds, Power Packs
Flight:
| Capable of using powered turbines, which compressed ambient air into incandescence to generate thrust, thereby enabling the suit to fly up to 275 mph
Weapons:
- Storm Bolter (Lightning Claw-mounted)
- Lightning Claw
- Repulsor Ray (Laser technology)
- Power Sword
- Energy Shield
- Smart missiles
-
"I know we're in the grimdarkness right now, but the thought of me going against an army of Orks in that does put a smile on my face."
"Yeah, you have that stupid grin on your face."
Gerhard turned around and saw a woman walking towards him. A woman with a confident, composed demeanour. She had short, asymmetrical blond-ish hair, mostly platinum blonde, swept to frame her face. Gerhard had cut her hair and given her the clothes she wore. Also, one of his new hobbies...
This was Lieutenant Sera Vahl, the last uncorrupted human on the planet. Gerhard didn't count, as he was something else entirely. After clearing out the last Genestealers, Gerhard was alerted to her as she was taking on the entirety of the Nurgle cultists on her own.
Yeah, Sera Vahl was built different.
Her eyes were hard and cold, calculating, with a striking teal. What was most striking, though, was Vahl's size. She was a strong woman, that much was clear, and she didn't fear men or much of anything, really.
When Gerhard arrived, she had a grin on her face, had cut off her left arm, which had been infected, and was holding an autogun with her right arm, which was also infected and slowly spreading towards the rest of her body. She was about to kill herself and decline the disgusting Nurgle her soul, when Gerhard intervened.
How had she survived, one might ask?
Funny story.
Khorn champions get blessings from Khorn, and killing them awards you that blessing. Unless Khorn or the greater demon who gave the blessing changes it. In most cases, the blessing giver, when not busy fighting, takes a look at how you fought, and the more brutal and honourable you did it, which was not mutually exclusive, the greater your blessing.
It turned out that cutting off your own arm because it was infected by Chaos plagues and still diving headfirst into battle, warranted a blessing. Especially since it was against a rivalling faction.
That was the reason she was still alive, but also in a terribly fucked up state. In more ways than one.
"Sera! Nice to see you still lingering around. How's the arm?" Gerhard asked.
"You mean the one you cut off? Fucking splendid."
"That's good to hear. I healed both of them afterwards, didn't I?" Gerhard said as he assembled some things and loaded several of his weapons.
Naturally, that wasn't all that Gerhard had done. He had cut off her entire arm to stop the spread, similar to how she had done, but was aware that it wouldn't be enough. Afterwards, he used [Burning Spirit Principle], his healing skill, in combination with dozens of spirit stones, unlocking a far more valuable skill.
Remove Curse (Active) Lv. 9
| EXP: 2.23%
| MP: 500
| Using various energies like Mana, Ki or even Psionics, it is used to remove any curse on a target. As an experienced Mana user, it is used to physically remove the curse using Mana.
Effect:
| Able to remove Medium or higher grade curses with Spirit/Soul Stones
| Able to remove Medium or lesser grade curses without Spirit/Soul Stones.
-
Removing the curse on Vahl levelled up Gerhard's skill to level 9! That's how tenacious it was. What Gerhard didn't realise was that his accomplishment didn't go unnoticed. Who would have thought that you couldn't just remove a Chaos curse and go about your life with no one noticing?
"I'll pay you back for that. Now, the Inquisition will come for me and see me as a heretic, since you used your sorcery on me."
"It's not sorcery. It has nothing to do with the Warp. It's called Mana, as we discussed hundreds of times already. No one will do anything to you, since no one has to know what happened."
"They always find out. Me being with you is probably already heresy. And I don't even know what kind of tech heresy you commit constantly. I should kill you to save myself."
"Ah, yes. And then they'll torture you for decades to be sure you're not tainted by the Warp, only to turn you into a Servitor then. Is that really the way you want to pay me back?"
Sera narrowed her eyes.
"Oh? I thought you said you didn't need compensation."
"I know. It's just funny to bring it up and stop you from continuing with this pointless dialogue. If you want to leave, you can do that at any moment. You're not a prisoner."
"So you said."
Sera was suspicious, to say the least, of Gerhard. She observed him closely these past months, and while she wasn't allowed to enter his workplace, which was located inside a separate room, she got to see him do his 'testing' of the weapons and armour he created.
She saw his sorcery. And she hated it. She didn't scream heresy and attack him, since she knew he was the only reason she was still alive, and there was nothing she could do to him. But as time passed, she noticed that Gerhard was always the same. He never acted differently and seemed as open as he could be.
Not that he told her everything, no. That would have been folly. She still knew nothing of Hans, and that wouldn't change for a long time. Gerhard didn't trust her yet either. She was no threat to him, and her attitude towards him was gradually changing. But some things took a lot of time.
"So what's got you all excited?" Sera asked.
"My newest creation. A weapon to fight the Orks."
Sera grimaced and raised an eyebrow. She turned to Gerhard and looked at him like she would an idiot PDF youngling—pure disgust.
"What?"
Gerhard didn't answer and instead took out the MK. III-H from the inventory. Vahl's eyes went wide instantly at the almost 10-foot, or 3-meter, tall armour. There was a magnificence to it, she couldn't explain. She took a moment to catch her bearings.
"What... what is this?" she stuttered.
"This is the MK. III-H heavy power armour. I call it the 'Iron Monger'. For... reasons."
"You... you built this?... how?"
"Well, I could go into detail on engineering, physics and all that fun stuff, but I don't think I have all that time. So let's just say with the scrap I found and salvaged all around. I got to know Carapace armour and its components, Ceramite and Armaplas."
"But.. the Mechanicus, this will--"
"Don't worry about that. We have bigger problems now. Like, if this doesn't work, I'm going to have to try again, and that would take a while. But I think it will... No, I'm certain it will. Together with my other abilities, I'll show the Orks the true meaning of dakka."
"So much heresy, that I can't even describe it..."
"Eh, whatever."
Gerhard didn't bother with Vahl, since she was still too indoctrinated into that 'normal' Imperium-thinking process. To get her out of it, she would need several heavy shocks from Gerhard and at some point, she would either go nuts or adapt.
The suit opened up for Gerhard and welcomed him, as Hans was loaded into the centre of it all. Ready to go to war once more.
He got in.
"Alright, Sera, here's what will happen. I'm going to 'introduce' myself to the Orks and start the first stage of the extermination plan. But I can't have you come along, as you would be a liability. I suggest you stay here and wait for me to return. You still have the Lasgun and the Bolter Pistol. I have some ammo for you in case it gets bad.
Now, if you do choose to come, I won't help you if something happens. I saved you once, but I won't do it again if you willingly expose yourself needlessly to such danger. Do you understand?"
Vahl nodded, understanding that what he was saying was correct. Gerhard had shown her more kindness than she had ever experienced in her entire life. Such generosity. He even gave her a Novice-grade Lasgun and Bolter Pistol with ammunition. This was the weakest grade, but even that was like a superior version of the standard weapon she was accustomed to.
Gerhard's lack of cruelty or fanaticism and his generosity were what made her so suspicious in the first place. As ironic as that was. But Gerhard had no interest in that. All that mattered was that she didn't cross him or try to go against him.
If she did, she would be dead quicker than she could realise.
"Good. Then I'll see you when I return."
The helmet closed, as did the rest of the armour.
"Are we ready, Hans?" Gerhard asked once everything was secure.
> More than ready, Master. I'd say eager.
"You got that right."