CHAPTER 205: CHAPTER 205: THE SECOND TRIAL – MECHANICAL COMMANDS

The energy sword and energy cannon both required energy cores to operate, but Johnnie could use all of them.

He gathered them up, feeling his combat power surge once again.

"Let’s keep going!" Johnnie, confidence renewed, continued patrolling the outskirts of the forest, doing his best to avoid the Battle Mechas and hunt down as many mechanical dogs as possible.

Time passed quickly. Within an hour, he had taken out a huge number of mechanical dogs and even managed to destroy two more Battle Mechas. In total, he racked up 10,000 points of Mechanical Perception, which translated into a 1% increase in mechanical talent.

[Ding! You have survived for one hour. The first stage of the Mechanical Survival Assessment is complete. Mechanical talent +5%.]

The notification flashed before his eyes, and Johnnie’s Mechanical Perception instantly increased by another 5%.

He stood there in stunned silence.

Was the Mechanical Race really targeting him? Or were they actually helping him grow stronger?

Improving mechanical talent was no easy feat—10,000 Mechanical Perception points were required just to gain a single percent.

)

Yet by surviving for an hour, he’d just earned an instant 5% boost.

Then again, maybe it made sense.

In this world, with its oppressive special powers, there was no way he’d have lasted even an hour without the Skye Shield in his hands.

Now, his mechanical talent had reached 9%. Just one more percent and he’d be able to further refine and absorb energy cores, pushing his power to a new level.

He just wasn’t sure if the power he gained in this world could be brought back to the Universe Continent.

It should be fine, though—after all, he was strengthening himself.

[The Mechanical Race PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Second Stage: You may use your own weapons and gear. Survive for ten hours; death means total erasure.]

The prompt appeared again, but this time the required survival time had increased to ten hours.

Still, Johnnie was finally allowed to use his own weapons and equipment.

Void Sword, Dragon Patterned Sword, Seven Sword...

These weren’t just ordinary weapons—they were artifacts, each one massively boosting his stats.

And with the Technique of Swordsmanship for Controlling Swords, he didn’t even need to rely on bullets anymore.

Even if he faced a Battle Mecha, he might not be able to take it down easily, but at least he could put up a real fight now.

For Johnnie, this place was practically a paradise for leveling up.

But he couldn’t afford to get stuck here. The suppression on Universe Continent was about to lift, and once the Divine descended, it would bring an even greater catastrophe.

He had to merge the fragments of the Map of Heaven and Earth from this place as soon as possible.

"Coco, can you refine the Map of Heaven and Earth fragment here yet?" Johnnie asked in his mind.

He gave it a try—now that he could use his own weapons, but even so, the spatial suppression still existed. He couldn’t summon Maiev.

Coco’s voice echoed in his mind, "No. I suspect there’s some special spatial artifact sealing off this space. Only by destroying it will I be able to refine this area."

A spatial sealing artifact?

Johnnie frowned. Coco definitely wasn’t talking about something simple like a spatial binding scroll.

Vmmm...

Suddenly, powerful energy fluctuations swept through the area, and several energy cannons came howling in his direction.

It was three Battle Mechas!

Johnnie’s expression shifted as he quickly raised his Skye Shield in front of him.

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out as he was blasted backward, his blood surging from the impact. Even with all his gear boosting his stats, facing three Battle Mechas at once was no joke.

Without wasting a second, Johnnie sent the Seven Sword and the Dragon Patterned Sword flying out. With a thought, he unleashed the Technique of Swordsmanship for Controlling Swords, sending both blades whirling toward one of the Battle Mechas in a savage assault.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal crashing echoed through the air. Even with his artifact-level weapons, Johnnie’s attacks weren’t doing enough damage—honestly, they didn’t even pack as much punch as a bullet explosion.

"This isn’t working?" Johnnie muttered, frowning. In a flash, he recalled his swords and switched back to controlling bullets to strike at the Battle Mechas.

Boom! Boom!

The gunfire thundered as Johnnie fought while retreating, making his way back into the forest.

Rustle... rustle...

Suddenly, a wave of rustling filled the forest. All that noise had attracted mechanical dogs—not just a handful, but a whole pack, easily numbering in the thousands!

Johnnie’s eyes swept over the horde, his face turning grim. The second stage was clearly a huge step up in difficulty compared to the first.

Even with his own gear, he was still on the back foot.

Thank goodness for the Skye Shield’s incredible defense—without it, he would’ve been dead for sure.

Vmmm...

The Intent of the Sword roared to life, his flying swords flashing through the air while flickers of elemental power surged around them from time to time.

The Five Elements Technique, though, drained his magic at a frightening rate, so he dared not use it recklessly.

Johnnie used the forest, weaving among the trees to kite the Mechanical Monsters, launching wild attacks as he went.

[You killed a mechanical dog. Mechanical Perception +1.]

The prompts kept popping up.

The Technique of Swordsmanship for Controlling Swords might not be enough against the Battle Mechas, but it made short work of the mechanical dogs.

Johnnie could tell these things weren’t even as tough as the Red-shelled Beetles he’d fought before.

Boom!

Suddenly, a blast of energy sent Johnnie flying again, splinters exploding everywhere as the ground erupted in a deep crater.

Two more Mechanical Race Battle Mechas and a horde of mechanical dogs had been attracted by the commotion.

"Damn it!" Johnnie cursed under his breath. He was completely on the defensive now—five Battle Mechas attacking at once, and even the Skye Shield couldn’t block them all.

If this kept up, he was as good as dead.

He had to break out of the encirclement, fast.

Johnnie’s eyes darted around, and he quickly made up his mind. He charged straight toward the swarm of mechanical dogs—this was the weakest point in their formation.

Shield in one hand, he summoned the Void Sword in the other and unleashed the Cosmic Eclipse Blade.

Bang!

The sword struck down, obliterating a mechanical dog instantly.

[You killed a mechanical dog: Mechanical Perception +1, Cosmic Eclipse Blade passive triggered, Physical Damage +1, Attack Speed +1, Physical Damage in combat +1%, Attack Speed in combat +1%.]

Just as he suspected!

Johnnie’s eyes lit up—he’d guessed that these mechanical dogs were much stronger than his current stats, so killing them could trigger the Cosmic Eclipse Blade’s passive effects.

Hope surged in him again. He swung the Cosmic Eclipse Blade, mercilessly cutting down the mechanical dogs swarming toward him, while simultaneously using the Technique of Swordsmanship for Controlling Swords to control bullets and attack the Battle Mechas.

As the Cosmic Eclipse Blade’s passive effects stacked up, Johnnie’s damage and attack speed kept climbing, making it even easier to mow down the mechanical dogs.

The Battle Mechas, though, were still tough to handle. And all the chaos he was creating just kept drawing in more enemies.

Johnnie’s face was grim as he did his best to block the Battle Mechas’ attacks with the Skye Shield. In his other hand, the Great Sword flashed with cold steel as he tore through wave after wave of mechanical dogs.

By now, he could instantly kill a mechanical dog with a single swing. Even the Technique of Swordsmanship for Controlling Swords was starting to do real damage—enough to at least threaten the Battle Mechas.

Johnnie’s confidence soared.

[You’ve killed a Mechanical Race Battle Mecha. Mechanical Perception +1.]

A prompt flashed across his vision. One of the Battle Mechas had just had its core pierced by a flying sword, its mechanical brain destroyed.

Now Johnnie had fully taken the initiative. He ignored the mechanical dogs snapping at him, downed another energy drink, and sent his flying swords hurtling at the remaining Battle Mechas with everything he had.

Those were the real threats. If he could just take them out, the rest of the mechanical dogs would be no problem.

Eight flying swords flashed with cold light, whistling through the air as they relentlessly tore into the Battle Mechas.

Clang, clang...

The sound of metal striking metal echoed out as cracks began to appear all over the mechas’ armor.

Bang!

In no time, one of the flying swords pierced clean through a Battle Mecha’s head.

[You’ve killed a Mechanical Race Battle Mecha. Mechanical Perception +1.]

The notifications kept coming. Johnnie made quick work of the remaining Battle Mechas, leaving only a sea of mechanical dogs swarming the hillside.

But they were no real threat to him now.

He unleashed the Cosmic Eclipse Blade, flying swords flickering as he cut down the mechanical dogs in droves.

Wiping them out was a perfect way to boost his proficiency with the Technique of Swordsmanship for Controlling Swords.

[You’ve killed a mechanical dog. Mechanical Perception +1.]

[Your Mechanical Perception has increased by 10,000. Mechanical Talent +1%.]

Johnnie’s Mechanical Talent had finally reached 10%, allowing him to continue refining and absorbing energy cores.

Just then, a faint current of electricity surged through his entire body, and strange information began to flicker through his mind.

They were commands.

Kill this human!

It was an order from the Mechanical Race!

Suddenly, it hit him: once his Mechanical Talent reached 10%, he could actually communicate with the Mechanical Race!

If he could communicate with these mechanical beings... could he control them?

Johnnie’s eyes locked onto a mechanical dog lunging at him. He focused his mind and issued a mental command:

Stop attacking. Kill the other mechanical dogs!

The mechanical dog hesitated, its eyes flickering red.

Command error!

A message flashed in Johnnie’s mind, and the dog lunged at him even more viciously.

So it doesn’t work?

Johnnie frowned. He figured his talent level was still too low—if he could keep increasing his Mechanical Talent, maybe he’d be able to control these mechanical dogs one day.

Da-da-da-da...

A barrage of gunfire erupted as the mechanical dogs opened fire on him once again.

Johnnie stopped trying to control the mechanical dogs and went back to cutting them down with ruthless efficiency.

In the distance, more Mechanical Battle Mechas appeared—over twenty of them, by Johnnie’s count.

He had no intention of getting bogged down in a drawn-out fight. As he battled, he steadily retreated into the woods, determined to shake his pursuers and find a chance to refine the energy cores and boost his strength.

But in this second round of the trial, the Mechanical Race’s forces were even greater. Mechanical dogs swarmed the hillsides in numbers that rivaled a small-scale Beast Wave.

The worst part was the sheer number of them attacking at once—even Johnnie felt threatened under such relentless assault.

He could only rely on his shield to block the hail of incoming bullets, while stacking up the passive effects of the Cosmic Eclipse Blade as much as possible.

...

Time slipped by. Before he knew it, half a day had passed. The nonstop fighting had left Johnnie mentally exhausted.

Fortunately, he’d slaughtered almost all the mechanical monsters by now—only a handful of Battle Mechas were still attacking him with wild abandon.

But these guys no longer posed any real threat.

"Let’s finish this," Johnnie muttered, seizing the opportunity. He unleashed the Technique of Swordsmanship for Controlling Swords—eight flashes of cold light darted out, striking furiously at his enemies. At the same time, he wielded his Void Sword with powerful sweeping arcs, mixing in Rupture the Ground and Mountain Shatter for devastating effect.

There was another upside to his superior stats: Rupture the Ground and Mountain Shatter, both heavy-hitting skills that consumed a percentage of his mana, could be quickly recharged with energy drinks.

Before long, the last of the Battle Mechas were scrap, and the remaining mechanical dogs lay in pieces at Johnnie’s feet.

This battle had netted him a 4% increase in Mechanical Perception, plus over two thousand energy cores.

In the distance, more mechanical dogs and Battle Mechas came charging his way.

But Johnnie couldn’t be bothered to fight anymore. He slipped into the forest, his figure vanishing among the trees.

He weaved through the undergrowth, avoiding the occasional mechanical dog, until he found a secluded cave hidden by holly bushes. It was perfect—the shield could block the entrance, and with some leaves and dirt for camouflage, it would be almost impossible to spot.