Hi3rd: Achievement Hunter

Aleph's lucky streak didn't end with the events after the fifth eruption. It only took him a day to accomplish the Project ELF with Einstein. It was very different from the planned week-long schedule.

With that, he decided on the next thing to do.

"Mei gave me the details. I'll be responsible for cleaning up several cities in the Far East."

The Western Continent experienced two consecutive major honkai eruptions, and so did the Far East. Out of everyone in the Eastern Continent, they experienced it twice. 

Naturally, it made the honkai energy concentration over the said countries higher than usual. 

The counts of people suffering from honkai corruption alone numbered millions. The casualties and the likes caused by it was far more than that.

'He doesn't rest.'

Seeing Aleph this determined, Einstein could only attribute it to the institute's "curse". No personnel of the five institutes were able to have enough rest even when the situations weren't that dire. It could be seen from Einstein, Mobius, and Mei alone.

In the end, she could only say a few words:

"Take care."

*****

A night had passed. Vill-V, who was still immersed in the project given to her by Aleph, was disturbed by his sudden arrival.

"Oh? Wasn't the ELF project underway?" She asked.

"It's already done."

"Is that so?" She suddenly remembered something. "The one you asked for wasn't complete yet, though it can be worked with."

'That's fast."

Aleph was met by Vill-V's smug smile.

"Who do you think I am?"

"Alright, alright. As long as it could maneuver mid-air, it's good enough."

"Heh."

Vill-V calmly strode into one of her work benches. This project, a custom-made battlesuit, was passed onto her yesterday by Aleph. The materials were already there. The rest was up to her.

Surprisingly, she was able to finish enough of it to be able to be called 'functional'.

"Its exterior is similar to the other designs you gave me. Minimalist, fits with the issued skinsuits, and the functions you told me."

Lying in the midst of her work room was a battlesuit fitted by a mannequin. Several mechanical arms were surrounding it, automatically debugging the problems it detected.

"It doesn't have many functions for now, only three. First one…"

Click.

The moment the honkai reactor in its back was turned into a more active state, Aleph saw the distortion of its surroundings.

'Visual distortions. That's it.'

Kashimo's ability to manipulate electricity came to his mind.

"This is its active state. It can fly at an altitude of a hundred kilometers at best. Its altitude control wasn't honed yet. The EM propulsers could get fuzzy." 

Vill-V explained with a serious look. 

"This is where the second function comes to play."

Tchk-!

Suddenly, the battlesuit was flatted akin to a normal outfit.

"You can wear it beneath your iron suit. This one's made with the measurements of your Icarus."

Aleph didn't pay much attention to her words. He was startled by its other function. Vill-V noticed his silence and understood he saw through it.

"As expected of you." She praised.

"...No, I should be the one saying that to you."

Along with the flight came its ability to change its size. The metal portions could be flattened as long as Aleph wants it. That way, it ccould also be temporarily worn beneath his metal suit. That way, all Aleph had to do when disembarking his specialized suit was to jump out of it and use the battlesuit's function to fly on his own, albeit with a slower speed.

This was their patch until the battlesuit technology becomes more mature.

"I'm still finding a way to shorten the suit-up time, just like some of the ideas you sent over."

It wasn't wrong to say that the battlesuit project was born out of the Divine Key Project. Weaponizing the honkai took a step further with the Truth Arsenal's creation.

"Anyways, this battlesuit becomes tougher when supplied with honkai energy. I doubt that you need this kind of defense, but I thought it'd be of some use."

"...Thanks."

Vill-V turned and looked at him. Aleph didn't wear his usual joking expression.

"That's enough. It's not every day that I get you to owe me a favor."

Their relationship was like this—give and take. It was the same as Mobius'. Despite the teasings and such, he felt that Vill-V could cover his back. He hasn't forgotten about her stories within the Elysian Realm.

"Hm… Since when did you have a cat?"

Just then, she pointed out the elephant in the room.

"Oh, this one? I adopted it."

For some reason, Vill-V could feel a double meaning in Aleph's words.

'Something's wrong… and I can feel it.'

Unfortunately for her, the thought of a thieving cat appearing in Aleph's bedside didn't come across her mind.

She tried to touch it, only for it to nimbly step down on Aleph's head. Its sense of balance was quite exaggerated for a normal cat.

"It has a good reflex. Mobius might think of something bad to it."

Aleph laughed upon hearing that.

"We'll see how it goes."

*****

Aleph was currently flying with Icarus. The specialized transport ships were all occupied. It didn't matter much, however, as the current Icarus was already strong enough to fly at Mach 25 stably. 

The core in his chest glowed bright green. He was experiencing something similar to the GN Particles described in one of the blueprints he saw before. Not only did the suit feel lighter (mass reduction), its output increased at an exaggerated rate.

Only honkai reactors could surpass it.

Thinking of the battlesuit he wore inside the suit, Aleph felt slightly tempted to activate its electromagnetic propulsers and fly at full speed. Of course, he didn't do this in the end. The issues mentioned by Vill-V remained in his mind.

"Are they the ones you told me about before? They are very lively~"

"Hehe. That's right."

Kurumi was no longer in her cat form. Instead, she hid inside Aleph's shadow. It being able to serve as a personal portal to her City of Devouring Time was one of the few things they discovered.

Aside from it, they also found a link of sorts that enabled them to talk with each other—nothing short of extraordinary.

"But… that shouldn't be her." Kurumi kept something out. 'The threat.'

"Hm? Who?"

"Fufu, it's nothing."

Hearing Kurumi's reply, Aleph kept this in mind.

"In fact, we're going to meet with another one of my friends soon."