Chapter 267: Steelwing Armor

Kothar strained his arms, pushing them out toward his back as hard as he could, and it was only then that they moved through the air, causing Kothar to slowly arc, and Kothar heaved his arms back to his sides once he was flying horizontally through the air.

Flying through the skies over Atla in the suit of armor was a completely different experience to when he had used the ship.

He was no longer separated from the sights below him by a viewing window, and additionally, he could look around freely in every direction.

Far below, the stream that Kothar's hideout was situated next to was now a thin line, almost completely obscured by the green circles of the tree tops.

Out towards one side, Kothar could see the palisade of the giants' village, and as he flew along, he spotted more clearings, seeing the dots that were the giants moving to and fro inside.

Kothar shuddered in mid air as he flew, he remembered the enormous dragon that he had come across during his last flight though the skies of Atla. As if running from that memory, Kothar pushed one arm out away from his side, turning in a slow arc, heading back towards his hideout.

Now that Kothar understood the amount of sheer strength that he needed to apply when steering himself, he easily spun, turned, and even flipped as he flew back toward the hideout.

As he grew more and more confident with the armor, Kothar even started moving his legs, directing the stream of air that flowed from them to make even sharper turns, spinning himself almost so fast that he couldn't keep up with it.

Slowly, the large willow tree swam back into sight, Kothar had enjoyed his short flight through the air, but this suit of armor wasn't the only thing that he wanted to create, there were many other projects that he couldn't wait to get started on.

Kothar thought to himself, that it had been far too long that Silane had been cooped up inside his head, doing nothing but providing the occasional analysis, translation or guidance.

Her abilities were being wasted, she had always been an asset on the battlefield, concurrently remotely controlling weapons systems, drones, and ships, all to support Kothar as he fought.

Now that they had the robotic arms, as long as Kothar wore the helmet, Silane could begin constructing all manner of things that would allow her far more independence.

[The first thing I'm going to do is streamline that helmet, and turn it into a below the skin implant. With that, you won't need to constantly shave your head, and I won't be trapped inside that boring mind of yours.] Silane said, as Kothar carefully maneuvered down toward the entrance of the hideout.

Kothar slowly decreased the strength of the Lightning Aura spell, he could have added some sort of throttle to the armor, but as the saying went "the less moving parts, the fewer things to break." and besides, he could control the strength of the motor, and in turn the turbine, by manipulating how much mana he sent toward activating his Lightning Aura spell.

[Alright, I've got no complaints, as long as you don't leave me with an enormous antenna sticking out of my scalp, you can do whatever you like.] Kothar said, half joking, half serious, he wouldn't put it past Silane to add an antenna 'to enhance signal reception.'

[Tha does sound tempting, but I wouldn't do that to you, I know how you value your handsome appearance.] Silane laughed a little, as Kothar shook his head, muttering a curse in response.

Kothar reached back to his back, flicking the switch that engaged the motor with the mesh of wiring that ran through the armor. The purpose for that switch was that, since Kothar often cast Lightning Element spells, it would prevent the turbine from being accidentally activated when Kothar didn't intend it to.

[Well, have you thought of a name for it yet?] Silane asked, as Kothar marched inside, removing the helmet and tucking it under his arm.

Kothar was silent, removing the armor piece by piece, deep in thought. 

[How about the Steelwing armor? I know it's not technically made of steel, but Titanite, but it has a nice ring to it, and it's less of a mouthful than "Residual Electric Energy Powered Armor Unit.] Kothar said finally, deciding against the more direct and descriptive names he had given to the rest of his equipment.

[Steelwing, hmmm, I like the sound of that.] Silane muttered, before continuing. [Well, I guess it's time for you to start gathering materials again. Otherwise, we'll have nothing to craft all these potential upgrades with.] 

Kothar sighed out loud, and removed the boots of the armor, carefully stacking the pieces away in one of the many alcoves that surrounded the cavern.

[Maybe I'll wring up some kind of makeshift trailer for the Hoverbike, one that's powered also, so I can move more material back and forth.] Kothar murmured and immediately, a blueprint appeared before Kothar's eyes.

[Alright, alright. As soon as we get enough material, I'll make the trailer.] Kothar sighed with resignation, realizing that Silane was going to be working him to the bone for the foreseeable future.

[It'll all be worth it once you're finished Kothar. You won't have to rely on that Mana Sensing Lens as much if we have a couple of reconnaissance drones flying above you, and I could even outfit some drones with weapons.] Silane muttered, and then continued. [Soon enough, we'll find a material strong enough to start replacing your bones, but for now, it seems that utilizing mana is more than enough to strengthen your body.] 

[Well, that's a relief. I'd like to keep my flesh and blood for as long as possible. And besides, whatever it is, it needs to at the very least be powerful enough to challenge the attacks of an Ascendant, don't forget, I need to be strong enough to weather the Devourer's attacks. And I'm sure it's an Ascendant, how else would it be roaming in the Alliance, appearing out of thin air.]