IDLE Database - Chapter 79

‘He’s not among these trainees.’ Carlos concluded after observing the five young Energy Refiners who were eagerly waiting for the lesson to start.

Although he’s confident that he could identify the one hiding behind the ruined wall from back then, there’s no guarantee that he’d meet him easily. He even checked twice but the trainees from Block I were not even close to what he remembered; a weak fluctuation of refined energy that could be compared to someone who had just awakened.

He did factor in the week that passed but even so, no one in this group of trainees came close to who he’s looking for.

‘There are nine more blocks… I don’t have the time to wait for that. I’d look for that bastard myself after this and plan how to eliminate him.’

Having decided that, his mind geared back to play the role of a guest Energy Refiner and began sparring with the trainees.

–

–

Similar to what’s happening in other blocks, while Janet discussed to them how the NQL worked for every Energy Refiner, Irina was already inside one of the Training Metadomes as the first one to try it out.

The girl even almost tripped herself from the excitement exuding from her body as she ran towards it.

As for the guest Energy Refiner for their Block, he had long climbed up the other Training Metadome, ready to spar against Irina.

After listening to the lesson that only took around 20 minutes which told them how they should proceed after using the NQL, Aldrin took his time to analyze the following sparring matches prior to his turn.

Furthermore, he also took the time to check on IDLE Database to see the current state of his Dimensional Clones as well as the Idle Storage.

With the 8x efficiency booster activated, a little more than three hours was enough for the Essence Storage to be expanded to 800.

Since he thought of speeding up his progress, he extended the 8x efficiency booster to three more hours, enough to expand the Storage to 1000. Furthermore, he bought ten more of the cheapest Worker Bots to keep up with the boosted efficiency.

Despite how automated it looked, seeing the actual process inside the Idle Storage made Aldrin also put into account the Worker Bots’ efficiency in throwing the corpses inside the Essence Furnace.

It’s common sense that with continuous use of a booster, which in actuality was just melting the corpses faster than normal, the corpses thrown inside wouldn’t be able to keep up with it resulting in a waste of the said booster.

Moreover, it’s also a way to prevent the storage from being full. It’s still a long way to expand the Idle Storage so managing its contents to make sure that nothing could go to waste was something he had to do from now on.

In a way, that’s how every idle game with resource management as its theme goes on in its early stages or even up to its end-game contents. To those with a shorter attention span, they’d most likely get tired of it in just a few hours but for those enthusiasts who wanted to consume everything the game has to offer, they’d pour in hours playing it, even creating schedules or setting up alarms just to make sure that nothing would go to waste.

Two hours later, Aldrin’s turn arrived. Just like yesterday, he chose to become the last one among the five. He familiarized himself with the minute differences on how the other four in his group operate their Metadome compared to manual control yesterday.

And there’s no doubt, even if it’s their first time using the NQL module, their movements and techniques went up more than a notch. In his observation, it’s like he’s watching them in person rather than the clunky operation yesterday.

Irina managed to at least hit the guest Energy Refiner when her Concept manifested itself, slowing down her opponent’s reaction speed.

However, that’s all she could do in the entirety of her turn.

Frederic, on the other hand, became like a berserker again as he kept on closing in on his opponent, throwing the same punches and kicks from the combat art he trained in.

However, because of how close he was, the guest Energy Refiner easily turned the tables on him as the same scene during the duel with Aldrin happened. He was sent flying away more times than everyone could count.

‘That guy can be likened to a punching bag by now.’ Aldrin couldn’t help but comment upon recalling that.

As for the other two, Clark and Caroline focused on being on the defense rather than doing the same during the duels. They played into their Combat Assessment result. Defense-types.

Because there’s no other module installed to the Metadome, they could only rely on counterattacks. Caroline deflected the guest Energy Refiner’s attacks using her shield Concept before throwing a punch or a kick, banking on the momentum she gathered from that deflection. Clark, on the other hand, limited his use of Concept because it’s not perfect yet. Only when he’s going to counterattack would it manifest in either of the Training Metadome’s hands.

With that kind of display by the two, Janet and the guest Energy Refiner commended them.

“I see. So, this is how it feels to operate a Metadome using the NQL.” Aldrin muttered under his breath as soon as he put on the NQL module and activated it.

When he settled the visor-like equipment on his head, Aldrin felt himself sinking into the darkness, giving him the slightly familiar sense of his consciousness being sent to the Lower Dimension.

However, that didn’t last long as his vision returned almost instantly. From the corner of his eyes, system messages from the NQL informed him of his successful linking to the Training Module.

[Booting up the Neural Quintessence Link]

[Please remain standing and don’t move unnecessarily until the Scan and Calibration are completed]

[Operator Scanning Complete]

[Calibrating…]

[Operator to Metadome movement calibration has been set to 95%]

[Linking Operator’s Neural Functions and Energy Quintessence…]

[Neural Functions has been successfully linked]

[Energy Quintessence has been successfully linked]

‘95%, huh? That means this Training Metadome cannot mimic my movements completely.’ Aldrin was satisfied with what he got.

It’s actually not hard to get 100% as most Energy Refiners are perfectionists and… life-and-death hangs on that balance.

Like Janet explained to them earlier, one can achieve that by fine-tuning the Metadome using an advanced calibration module.

However, considering that they’re still in the training camp, letting them get used to operating a Metadome with less than 100% calibration could help enhance their judgment and reflexes.

At the moment, Aldrin’s vision was split between what his Metadome can see and what he can see in front of him. It’s giving him a more realistic sense that he’s one with the Metadome unlike when he just had to stare into a screen during manual control.

Furthermore, the NQL Module provided him the option to move his body freely or let it rest comfortably as it’s enough for it to only pick up his brain signals that will make the Metadome move according to his wishes.

There were also certain parameters located in the corner of his vision, indicating the current state of the Training Metadome. Each part was labeled with its name and its current durability.

Since it was already used by four others before him, all of its parameters were already below 70%.

There’s no fuel gauge since every Metadome was being manufactured to utilize Dimensional Energy as its fuel. It’s automatically absorbing the ever-present energy. Instead of a Fuel Gauge, there’s the Core Engine’s status. It’s located right below the cockpit.

It’s to minimize a Metadome’s fatal weakness. The two were the most vital parts of it, after all. If either the cockpit where the Operator was located or the engine that’s making the Metadome run got destroyed then it would be instantly incapacitated.

Most Rift Monsters didn’t know so Metadomes was highly efficient in fighting them. It’s another story when it’s a battle against another Metadome, Energy Refiner or even normal soldiers wielding weapons that could damage it.

“Greetings. Tell me if you’re ready. It’s your first time operating using an NQL so take your time to familiarize yourself.”

After a while, the voice of the guest Energy Refiner reached Aldrin’s ears. Like yesterday, they’re in open communication since it’s not only going to be a spar, it’s a practical lesson.

Instead of Janet, the guest Energy Refiner would point out his shortcomings in this spar.

“Thank you. I have finished familiarizing myself. We can start.” Aldrin responded calmly.

Following that, the Training Metadome whirled into action.

With the link in place, he’s aware that the Metadome had already mimicked his combat stance, ready to take on his opponent. From his Energy Quintessence, his refined energy also woke up from its slumber as if a dragon being disturbed from its sleep.. It went through his Energy Channels and poured into the NQL module, ready to be utilized at any moment.