Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System-Chapter 460: More Than One.
From the very start, acquiring Modular Bionic Interfaces instead of the standard external bionics was Volcan’s idea. Dante always had his mind set on the more common implants, like gorilla arms with thick plating and cannons, or legs with racket launchers, but according to his resident AI, not only would the barebone frame, skeleton-like set he designed work much better with the armors, but it would open up a different option for them as well.
Dante couldn’t believe they could go in that direction, but he was excited enough that he ran Volcan’s designs by Suzuka. The blue-haired genius was the only one with the capabilities to create the set.
Though it would have been preferable if he had waited until it was entirely done before testing things, the whole point of the implants was to be able to use them separately, meaning the arms alone were enough to test out the idea.
Selecting one of his armors, Dante gave the command to equip it, but it was not the usual command.
When the threads of light erupted from his chest, they spread out to his shoulders, then to his arms. They wrapped around the skeletal frame of the MBIs, quickly forming a shell around them. The room was filled with the sound of countless mechanical parts snipping into place, as if made by an assembly line putting together a new construct with calculated precision.
Everything came together with a click, and the light quickly faded.
"What in the..." Sitting at his desk, Larry stared with wide-eyed shock.
The skeletal frame of the MBI was seemingly gone, and in its place, a pair of formidable bionic arms had formed. It was covered in layers of segmented alloy plating coated in a vibrant green color, separated by glowing lines of neon light. The shoulders and elbows seemed to dip in, creating a gap around the protruding circular part of the joint mechanisms.
The wrists had smaller versions of the same design element. The arms were entirely mechanical but had a size befitting Dante’s stature, complementing his figure. Looking at his hands, he saw that they were no longer the eerie set of polished gray bones with sharp fingertips. They were still mechanical, and their edges were still sharp, but they were fuller and looked far more resilient, so much so that the fist formed from clenching them seemed far more destructive.
Staring at his right hand as he closed and spread his palm, Dante clenched his fist and then pulled it back, turning to the wall. The joints pulsed, their light they emit spreading through. The outer plating popped, and the gaps between them grew as the whole arm appeared to increase in size.
A faint hum vibrated through the room as the clenched fist seemed to charge something, causing the air around it to shimmer.
"HEY HEY HEY!!! THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING!!?" Before the gathered energy could be released, Larry quickly rushed over, yelling like never before. "NOT HERE!!! DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE PUT A CRACK ON THAT WALL!!!"
Dante turned to the doctor, his eyelids lowered. As he lowered his fist, the faint hum coming from it faded, and the energy engulfing them quickly vanished.
"Chill, doc. I wasn’t gonna do anything."
"Oh, you were! I know you were!"
"And bring down the whole building on us?" Scoffing, he held his right arm up and tapped its metallic biceps, making faint clangs. "Thanks to these guns, I’m Level 4 now. A single punch would crack the building in half, not just the walls."
"Lev-" Larry was shocked at the word, bending over as he coughed.
It was a little shocking, and Dante found it a little hard to believe, but there was no denying the truth when his Status screen was right there.
[
Name: Dante
Species: Human
Threat Level: 4
Baseline Retention: Ascended (38%)
Stats:
Strength: 130
Durability: 115
Agility: 50
Dexterity: 84
Computing Power: 50
Energy: 110/110
Implants:
Kinetic Absorption Protective Sub-Layer Generation 15 (C)
RespiraCore Series VI (C)
Overmind Cortical Interface Module (A)
Overmind Neural Response Enhancer (A)
Ares Iron Cage (A)
Ares Iron Fiber (A)
Ares IronPulse Engine (A)
NephroCore Series XI (C)
NutrimaCore Complete Series XI (C)
Voxcore Series XI (B)
Eroscore Series V (C)
Suzuka’s Modular Bionic Interface (Arms) (SS)
Suzuka’s Skull Guard (S)
Modules:
Right arm: Type 4-3
Left arm: Type 4-3
Abilities:
Force Amplification
Impact Amplification
]
Volcan’s idea changed how Dante looked at VOLCAN, the relic, entirely. According to his resident AI, the armors can be altered to fit his host’s physical makeup, and by using that function, they can be turned into something other than the power suits he has to put on to make use of their abilities.
That’s how the concept of Modules was born.
Each of the armors would have two modes: armor mode and module mode. In module mode, the armors are stripped of all parts and elements intended to make them wearable. They’re turned into pure, compact machines no different from the parts of an android, becoming custom parts that can be fitted onto the Modular Bionic Interface.
MBIs have always been intended to be a platform onto which one can attach different modules depending on the situation, and making use of that concept, Volcan had created a whole new way to make use of the armors in his arsenal.
For one, Modules are segmented, meaning some parts can be equipped without having to take out an entire armor. Sadly, that meant the energy reserves would be limited, and some of the abilities would get locked away, but the stat increase more than makes up for it, as it’s linked directly to the second thinking that makes Modules such a massive upgrade.
Since they are integrated into the MBIs, Modules are considered a part of Dante’s body. That was the reason why the increase in stats they provide is added directly to his stats instead of being displayed on the side as a buff, like what happens when he puts on armor.
Modules are considered a part of his body, and for that reason, Dante can equip armor without having to remove them. In other words, Dante has gained the ability to use the powers of more than one Type at the same time.
