My Tribrid System: More than a Monster-Chapter 140: A Calculative Monster

Chapter 138

"Am I paying you all to stand like statues in front of a mere child?! Fucking silence him forever for me, you nincompoops!" Bryce snapped venomously, his face contorting as he glared at his subordinate guards.

Immediately, the unit moved as one.

Well, not quite all of them.

The three sentries who had conjured the shimmering barrier to protect the leader remained at his side, acting as a final line of defense.

That left a total of nine guards, clad in their heavy green armor, who stirred from their positions and began rushing toward the small figure of Van in the center of the room.

’Ten degrees to the right, aim...’ Van calculated inwardly, his eyes tracking the first guard who was rapidly closing the distance.

His breathing remained calm and composed despite the chaos, and then—

Boom—!

A brilliant beam of concentrated light erupted from the palm of his gauntlet, streaking through the air toward the lead attacker.

Unfazed by the luminous projectile, the guard charged head-on, the beam striking him squarely in the chest.

While the energy didn’t penetrate the reinforced, sturdy armor, the raw kinetic force behind the blast was enough to shove the man violently backward.

’Ten-second cooldown.’

Even in the heat of a life-or-death struggle, the boy was still running numbers, his eyes darting frantically around the environment for any advantage.

But unfortunately, before he could capitalize on his first shot, one of the guards moved with a burst of speed faster than his eyes could effectively track.

A heavy fist smashed into his face, snapping his head to the side and sending his slight frame tumbling across the floor in a cloud of pain.

Crimson blood immediately began to trickle from his nose—the primary point of impact where the man’s knuckles had connected.

Seeing Van sprawled on the ground, Bryce’s irritation vanished, replaced by a wide, predatory grin.

He watched eagerly as another one of his men dashed toward the fallen boy, who appeared to be struggling just to regain his footing after the devastating punch he had swallowed.

However, the next moment, Bryce’s grin froze on his face.

He watched as Van executed a desperate roll across the floor, slamming his hand onto a cluster of wiring connected to a discarded, experimental machine.

Instantly, the device hummed to life.

High-velocity bolts began firing from its housing like rounds from an automatic weapon.

The metal projectiles slammed into the approaching guard at bullet-like speeds, causing his protective armor to spiderweb and crack under the continuous barrage.

A few stray bolts grazed the man’s exposed face, drawing thin lines of red.

Elysa stood by, stunned by the spectacle unfolding before her eyes.

’How is he even doing this?!’

A second guard lunged forward with immense velocity, but in a heartbeat, Van’s eyes snapped toward the threat.

His gauntlet-clad hand pointed forward, and another bright beam discharged, catching the man mid-charge and sending him skidding several meters away, his body wracked with numb pain.

Van panted heavily, the exertion weighing on him as he scrambled back to his feet.

But before he could fully steady himself, an invisible string suddenly manifested around his ankles, wrapping tightly around his limbs.

With a sharp, violent tug, he was yanked off his feet, crashing back into the hard floor.

A spray of saliva burst from his mouth as his eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head from the agonizing impact.

Yet, he fought the encroaching darkness with every ounce of his willpower.

Through his now-blurry vision, he could see a guard hoisting a heavy table, hurling the furniture toward him at an astonishing speed.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Van forced his body to move, rolling frantically to the side just as the table pulverized the spot where he had been lying a second prior.

Pointing his palm toward his own legs, a small energy beam lanced out, severing the translucent strings that restricted his movements.

But he had no time to recover. Before he could even begin to stand, one of the guards was already looming directly over him.

Wam—!

A crushing kick smashed into his face with the collective force of a swinging baseball bat, causing his head to snap backward as a spray of crimson erupted from his nose.

The impact sent his slight frame skidding across the tiled floor like a skipped stone.

"Ugh..." Van groaned, the sound thick with the tremendous pain radiating through his skull.

He clutched at his head, his vision swimming in a sea of static.

Before he could even attempt to stabilize his footing, his collar was roughly seized.

He looked up into the cold visor of a guard who hoisted him clean off the ground.

’Shit. This mechanical gauntlet is devouring my meta-force with every beam I discharge. Between the weapon and the mental strain of manipulating the other machinery in this room, I’ve only got three minutes of power left at best.’

Unfortunately, he wasn’t granted the luxury of a tactical retreat.

His body was violently hurled across the laboratory, sending him crashing through a heavy table that toppled over on top of him.

Whatever equipment had been resting on the surface came raining down, adding searing jolts of agony to the pain already ravaging his nerves.

Tak. Tak. Tak.

The rhythmic sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the room.

The guard who had tossed him aside like trash now towered over the wreckage, peering down to confirm the boy’s condition.

But in that moment, a stray wire was flung upward, snaking toward the man’s face.

The guard caught the cable reflexively, only to find himself staring into a defiant smirk on Van’s bloodied face.

The boy’s fingers clamped down on the exposed copper of the wire.

Instantly,

Zap—!

A lethal current began coursing through the guard’s frame.

Despite the insulation of his advanced armor, it offered no protection against the raw magnitude of joules surging through the wire.

The development was instantaneous; the guard began convulsing violently, shaking like a fish hauled out of water.

A thick, pulsing vein appeared on Bryce’s forehead as he bore witness to the humiliating scene.

"Aren’t you all ashamed of yourselves?! I asked you to dispose of a single child, and you’re being dismantled piece by piece?!"

Elysa stood paralyzed, taken aback by the sheer unpredictability Van exuded.

He was effectively turning the entire room into a weapon, manipulating the environment to his absolute advantage.

’Wait. I was certain he was just a weak Grade 1 human without an active ability. Where did this come from? It’s as if—as if he’s physically interfacing with the machinery to fight for him.’ She narrowed her eyes, observing the way he moved.

’There’s a limitation. He seems to only exert control over what his hands can physically touch...’ She trailed off as a terrifying realization settled in her mind.

’If he ever hones this power to its limit, he could become a monster in the future.’

Her theory was immediately put to the test.

A second guard darted forward, a green blur aimed straight for Van while the boy was still occupied with the wire electrocuting the first man.

Driven by pure survival reflex, Van pointed his right hand forward.

He concentrated with such immense intensity that a fresh trail of blood began to leak from his nostril.

Then,

BOOOM!

A beam, far brighter and more concentrated than the previous shots, erupted at such velocity that it was a mere blur.

In the blink of an eye, it struck the charging guard’s unprotected head, lancing through the air with the lethal precision of a high-powered laser.