Chapter 45.1

"Oh . . . wow. Just, wow."

Alina stepped out of the elevator and paused when she caught sight of the scene in front of her. The so-called second sublevel was beyond large: it was the size of a football stadium but what was more shocking was the atmosphere of the place.

"How is this possible?" Alina muttered as warmth tickled Alina's arms when the sunlight grazed her body. Looking up, she saw a clear blue sky bright with the sun.

It's not a hologram. Can't be, Alina thought. The chirping of birds and chatter of animals greeted her as she looked around and realized she was in a field.

"What - what is this?" Alina turned and looked at Katherine in surprise and the latter smiled in a mischievously mysterious manner.

"This is an array," Katherine explained. "It's an old magick formation that allows a specific area to be enclosed in a spell for a long duration."

"How long is long?" Alina asked as she reached out and touched a deer. She could feel the pulsating, warm blood flowing underneath its skin and took a deep breath.

It's so real, Alina thought. Like it's alive or something.

"As long as it's supplied with a source of energy? Almost indefinitely," Katherine added when she saw Alina's inquisitive glance.

"But what's the point of it?" Alina asked, her curiosity soaring.

"First, it's a defensive array," Katherine answered as she gestured at Alina to continue walking. "Any intruder would see a vastly different scene. A much more scary and life threatening scene. Second, it gathers and converts the Aether and Spirit energy from the Spiritual Vein into Qi that I can absorb."

Noticing that Alina was zoning out, Katherine explained simply, "It helps me get stronger faster while keeping intruders out."

"Ah," Alina replied before muttering under her breath, "Couldn't've just said so from the start?"

"Now where's the fun in that?" Katherine asked amusedly before walking away and Alina trailed after her.

"But why have an . . . array - was it? - here at the entrance?"

"Simple," Katherine answered. "This is where we make the magic: this place holds every experimental prototype that RogueTech has ever developed, all of which are more than dangerous if they were to fall into the wrong hands."

After a few steps, the scene around Alina shimmered before fading away. She could now see that they were in a large room the size of a football field and, looking up, she realized she couldn't see the roof.

Strange, Alina thought. RogueTech isn't this large. Meaning we're under the city.

"How far deep are we?" Alina asked as she turned around to observe the array. She was surprised to see that there was nothing there; it was an empty space just in front of the elevator with no signs of greenery.

"Not too deep. Just a few meters down from the Undercity," Katherine replied while walking up to a platform. Around her holograms began popping up and she deftly went through them while organizing the schematics Alina gave her. "Alright, I've uploaded your schematics. It'll take a while to compile and create so it's better to pick one schematic."

"Uh . . . gimme a sec," Alina whose arms were crossed, thought about it as she tapped her foot. Thinking over her choices made her raise a hand to her forehead. Stun Bolas were her choice of poison, but Alina clearly remembered seeing a completed set on Jason's table.

Hmm . . . I might be able to snag some from Jason, Alina thought. But from what I've seen, he doesn't have a fully functional Anchor Grapple yet. Meaning that's the best choice for now.

"Ok," Alina replied almost as soon as she decided. "I'll take the Anchor Grapple. Only, I want a slight modification."

"Shoot," Katherine said as she typed into two separate holographic screens.

"I want the materials to be conductive and there also needs to be an accumulator attached to it. That way -"

"That way you can use your Esper ability to store and stun enemies with electricity, like a taser," Katherine finished with a raised eyebrow. "Not bad."

Keying in certain information, Katherine swiped the holographic screens away before coming down from the platform and stretching.

"Done," she said as she stretched her back. "The computer will print or cut out certain pieces but the other, more intricate, components will take some time to complete.

"In the meantime, let me show you some other stuff," Katherine smiled and guided Alina to another area while tapping on her holo-band. A part of the floor rose up and revealed a display full of weapons and gadgets. Katherine walked up and pulled a gauntlet from the display. "Can you guess what this is?"

"A flamethrower?" Alina replied and Katherine shook her head.

She pressed a button and the upper part of the gauntlet popped out revealing rows of shiny pins. "See these needles? Each of them are rocket propelled. Not only that, they have their own guidance system, meaning they're literally tiny heat-seeking missiles."

"Whoa," Alina was stunned when she heard Katherine. "What do you call them?"

"Stingers," Katherine answered with a sigh. "They were supposed to be a lethal weapon but the size and lack of range meant it was basically non-lethal."

"Size? Lack of range?"

"The Stingers are incredibly small so each one holds a miniscule amount of fuel," Katherine explained. "This meant that there was a trade-off in just how far the stingers could fly. Not to mention it lacked the power to pierce through some armor. Hence, militarily speaking, it's non-lethal."

Alina took the gauntlet from Katherine and stroked the tiny pins. Katherine noticed Alina's expression and internally sighed.

"Wanna try them?" Katherine asked and Alina's face lit up with excitement.

"Can I?"

"Sure. Just give me a moment," Katherine stepped up to Alina and calibrated the Stinger Gauntlet while instructing Alina. "Connect the gauntlets with your holo-lenses to access the guidance system."

Alina did as Katherine instructed and soon a targeting array appeared like a HUD in her holo-lenses. Katherine used her holo-bracelet to activate the field test and several dummies rose up from the ground. Alina raised her armored fist and moved it at the targets while the guidance system locked on. Once it was completed, she clenched her outstretched fist while selecting the firing mode on the HUD. Sparks surrounded her arm as the tiny pin sized missiles flew out. Each missile curved itself as it aimed for it's target. In seconds, the needle-like missiles had punctured the dummies and Alina winched.