Bofuri (The Strongest Shield Of Tensura)

Chapter Fourteen

"Alright Artificia, what happened back there? Loving sacrifice never did that in the game." Kaede asked, still resting beside the tree.

Kaede groaned, leaning her head back against the tree bark. "So you're saying it’s my fault for overloading it?"

Kaede rubbed her temples. “Great. So, my feelings turned a manageable skill into a near-death experience." Sigh. "Is there a way to avoid that?"

“Yeah, you're like some kind of super computer, makes sense that you can navigate that. Is all my skills going to be like this? Because I have a lot." She groaned. "Hey Artificia, multitasking is your forte isn't it,” she muttered, a smile on her face. “And I’d rather not gamble my life every time I use a skill. Can you connect to all my skills?”

Kaede exhaled, her hand sliding down her face. “Thirty-six hours? That’s not exactly reassuring if we run into trouble again. But I get it, better to tweak everything now than to blow myself up later.”

“Partial, huh?” Kaede crossed her arms, frowning. “Alright, prioritize [Loving Sacrifice] and [Absolute Defense] first. If I’m going to keep everyone alive, I can’t afford another... incident like that.”

Kaede closed her eyes, letting the cool breeze carry away some of her tension. “You know, Artificia, you’re starting to sound like my safety net. I almost feel bad for relying on you so much.”

She snorted softly. “Sure, make it sound all clinical why don’t you?”

Opening her eyes, she caught sight of the sprawling landscape before her—the dense forest giving way to rolling hills in the distance. A sharp reminder that danger wasn’t just a hypothetical; it was everywhere. And she had barely scraped through the last time.

“Alright, next question: can you track my vitals or something? I’d rather know if I’m about to keel over before it actually happens.”

“Yeah, let’s not go that far.” She rubbed the back of her neck, glancing toward the fading sunlight. Her thoughts shifted as an idea began to form.

Basic constructs can be synthesized using raw materials in the surrounding environment. Estimated setup time for a basic defensive weapon: 8 minutes.>

Kaede tapped her fingers on her knee, thinking. “That might be handy, especially if we don’t get another chance to rest properly.” Her gaze shifted to the forest around her, the shadows deepening as night crept closer.

“Alright, let’s try it. Can you scan the area for resources? I’ll need whatever we can scrape together for a quick defense line.”

A faint hum filled the air as Artificia worked. Kaede felt the subtle warmth of energy coursing through her as the skill began to map out the surrounding environment.

“Sounds... wow.” She stood, legs shaky but holding steady. “Alright, let’s do this. Show me how to—”

Kaede barely had time to register the words before faint, glowing blue lines began forming around her. Shapes materialized from the ground—metallic, skeletal frameworks assembling themselves with fluid precision. Within moments, two sleek, gun-like constructs hovered before her, their cylindrical forms humming softly as they calibrated. Above her, a tiny drone the size of her palm activated, its thrusters propelling it skyward.

The process took less than five minutes.

“Okay, that’s... a little terrifying.” Kaede stepped back, holding the very dangerous guns with a mix of awe and unease. “You weren’t kidding about the whole machine overlord thing.”

Kaede exhaled, the weight of her exhaustion settling in once more. “Good enough for now. Thanks, Artificia. Looks like I’ll actually get that rest after all.” she looked at the guns. "Where do I keep this?"

The weapons vanished from her hands.

"Huh. Neat." She sank back down against the tree, the soft hum of the constructs lulling her into a strange sense of security. Her lips quirked into a faint smile.

“Maybe this world isn’t ready for me.” she muttered before falling into a rythmic sleep

Artificia’s voice whispered Although it went unheard. @@@@