Chapter 10: RAN Unit

The sun has set while the moon has risen. Moonlight shines upon the association while Rhian just now leaves the simulation, sitting on the ground completely spent.

"Rate.. Rate my performance." She released a heavy sigh of relief before looking at Kouki.

"Well. You were smart. You adapted quickly. And you were very sloppy with the sword." He gave a mischievous smirk upon the last comment. "But, you did well." He complimented Rhian, giving her a thumbs up, which cheered her up.

"Alright. Seeing that you've gotten this far. I'm going to bring you with me on a mission." 

"A... mission? What are we going to do?"

"I received a call from Dyeus when you were in the simulation. He requested everyone meet with him. He says it's something related to a Catalyst."

'A Catalyst...' Her eyes reflected a sense of longing, slowly standing back up to face Kouki.

"So... what do we do now?"

"Sleep," Kouki said with a smile, walking out of the room, leaving Rhian by herself.

The women's rooms were parallel to the men's. Though she was expecting two different beds on each side of the room, she was pleasantly greeted with a living room with more doors leading elsewhere. 

" 'Enter without my permission, I'll have you become a fork for a day. Kindly, Athena.' And a smiley face." Rhian was in front of a door, reading a sign left by 'Athena' with a rather terrifying threat.

Shaking off the idea of becoming a fork, she continues to another door with nothing on it. She assumed it had been there for a while now but there was no sign of wear and tear. Probably because the other squad members care for cleanliness.

The door was unlocked, so she let herself in.

It was nothing much: A bed, a cupboard, a desk, an air conditioner, and a bathroom. For the size of the room, it was considerably empty, but Rhian liked it. 

'I have no other clothes..' She looked around the room, searching the cupboard with nothing gained. So, she gave herself two choices: to smell bad tomorrow or sleep naked.

'... No one's here anyways.' Sucking up her dignity, she took off the clothes she 'spawned' with and hung them on the cupboard, planning to have them cleaned in the morning.

'Hm.. not so bad.' Rhian had tucked herself into the bed, finding it very comfortable, before falling asleep quickly.

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'Wonder why we're back here.'

The duo spent their morning, eating, bathing, and going to the RDD. Specifically to meet Doru.

"We're here for our RAN units." Kouki knocked on the door.

"..What are RAN units?" Kouki knocked on the door aggressively, explaining to Rhian. "Rune Amplification Nexus. A sort of exo-suit the Director and Dyeus founded using Elen Dyeus's Paragon form as a base."

Her mind was cluttered with new words, but she refrained from asking any more questions, wanting to just experience them instead.

"HOLY SHIT CALM YOUR ASS DOWN!" Doru bursts from the door, slamming it off its hinges as he startles the both of them.

"I- we came.. for the units?" Kouki stated hesitantly, taking a few steps back along with Rhian.

Doru glared at the both of them with his visibly tired eyes, taking a few breaths to calm down as his perked-up feathers relaxed. "I was up the entire night, lower your voices, or else I'll skin you alive," spoken with venom, he let go of the door handle, letting it fall onto the floor as the two follows Doru into his room.

It was messier compared to yesterday. Scrap metal was littered all over the floor, tools somehow puncturing the walls, and even signs of blueprints being ripped to shreds.

"CATCH!" The sudden exclamation startled Rhian. Upon turning around, she saw a book glowing purple heading towards her at thunderous speed, nearly decking her head if it weren't for Kouki quickly swiping the book away with his cane.

"Seriously? You want to take her out to the Shatterwilds and she doesn't even have the reaction time to catch a book." Doru had a disappointed look, shaking his head as he sighed.

"You augmented the speed. That isn't necessarily fair." Kouki planted his cane on the ground, walking over to the book before picking it up as Doru started mocking him in annoyance. "He made this for you." He gave it to Rhian, who was confused.

' 'Brief vibrations for Rhian Smyra.' Why.. why is there a pointing finger on the cover?' It was just a brown book Doru tailor-made for Rhian. She looked through the book, skimming past it as she flipped, relieved to see a lot of diagrams.

"Your units are over here." Doru tapped a button on his computer, causing the back wall to suddenly open to show five different compartments with three empty and the other two filled with, what Rhian assumed to be, the RAN units.

One of them had a 'blank' texture. It was akin to a latex body suit, except it seemed to be made of metal, but no light reflected off it. The suit seemed flat, looking like a 2D image. "That is my unit, designed like that to be confusing for any Abberants I battle," Kouki explained, walking closer to his unit before slowly taking it off with both hands, settling it against the wall. "And that one is yours." Kouki had picked up his cane, pointing at another unit.

It resembled a knight's armor. The helmet had an apex on the back, with a mask and visor hiding her face at the front. The unit had a cuirass that had several circular grooves embedded on its chest plate and back plate, while several lines led to the arm plating.

"So.. it's just armor?" She was intrigued, but still had no idea why this was something mandatory.

" 'Just'? Do you have any idea how much a RAN unit helps a mage?!" Doru was agitated at Rhian's blissful ignorance, snapping his head toward Kouki as he asked, "DID YOU NOT TELL HER ANYTHING?!" Kouki's denial seemed to have angered him even more, but he calmed himself.

"Alright. RAN units, or Rune Amplification Nexus units, are an exo-suit that helps mages minimize the needed energy to use magic. It acts as another Rune. Thus, doubling a mage's magic potency and reducing the energy needed to use their magic." Veins started to bulge over his forehead as he explained, clearly annoyed.

"So.. it's like a cheat code?" Doru's eyebrow raised, confused, but he understood what she was referencing. "I- I guess so?" Doru was unfamiliar with games, desiring to advance his academic prowess during his childhood.

However, Rhian was impressed. Perhaps because magic is infinite, such things that can yield only benefits can exist.

"Put your unit on, Smyra. We have to go," Kouki was already suited up, looking incredibly out of place as he hurried Rhian.

And she did. Carefully, she took down the armor pieces of the unit before putting them on. 'This is oddly comfortable.' She noticed some purple glyphs pulsating hidden inside the pieces of armor and some on the outside, surrounding the grooves as she donned the final piece.

"This feels.. good." She sprawled out her fingers before clenching them, feeling accustomed to them.

"I made it." Her attention was directed to Doru. "Your unit works as a second heart. So, it would be less dangerous for you to use your magic,"

'Oh? That's what he meant by doubling potency. Hm.' She slowly closed her eyes, focusing on her heartbeat as she realized it sounded louder.

BADUMP!

The arcs shot out, covering the room in crimson as they followed the circular grooves on her cuirass, circling in it as some even slithered throughout her body instantly, taking position where the grooves were carved out. 'It- I feel amazing!'

Her body was vibrating softly, and so was the air around her.

"Alright. You can stop getting accustomed to your unit. Let's get going." Kouki clapped his hands as he talked, having his cane hung on his back. 'Wait, he can walk now?' Rhian observed the equipped Kouki, noticing his right leg was now suddenly glowing red with numerous Runes around it. But she decided to ignore it.

"How.. will we get to this Catalyst?" Rhian questioned, raising her metallic arm.

"Terrestrials."