As Wyrstriker's Company of Goblin Wyvern Knights were sortied out into the airspace, Jin was in the Dungeon Maker to start with the augmentation process. Since this would be the first time they would experiment with this type of strengthening, a small portion of Goblin Technicians were also stationed nearby in case of sudden breakdowns of the equipment as a result of the process. To lead by example, Forneus volunteered to go up first.
"Since you are the leader, I guess we've got to make you extremely flashy." Jin smiled and Forneus was remarkably delighted by his new Master's comments.
"If it is possible, I want some firey-" But Jin cut him off before he could continue.
"When I said flashy, I meant the useful kind of flashy. We've got to be pragmatic first and foremost. If it turns out to be a success, you are free to choose your own cosmetic look for fun and decorations." Jin promised him as he used his phone as a remote control to activate some of the consoles.
Forneus and his Devil Dragon were then surrounded by a multitude of screens as images of armour pieces were flashing around them resembling some gambling casino roulette (only lacking the lever). As for the last step, Jin placed an energised sludge crystal which he infused with more of his Maqi and the sludge liquid into the centre of the augmentation circle before it flashed in his eyes.
There and then, the System started its 'magic' and suddenly metallic tentacles appeared all over that particular portion of the Dungeon Maker, equipped with drills, pluckers and all sorts of mechanical attachments for all kinds of jobs. Forneus was picked up like a rag doll while his Devil Dragon was chained to the ground with flashes of light were seen repeatedly over and over again. (Only his legs!!) There was no screaming or whatsoever but somehow it reminded Jin of those magical girl transformation scenes. The fact that they were all oblivious about it, only made it funnier.
Jin giggled to himself as he imagined the System's magic rendering his minion 'naked' with their important bits being protected by a shining light until new armour would magically be placed on them. Only then he realised that he might be in that same position with his System Rider belt and nearly wanted to transform to make sure that was not the case for him. Yet, the System reminded him to stay focus in case the augmentation process went weary. (Though Jin felt it was unnecessary since the whole procedure was managed entirely by the System and there was nothing much he could do.)
Yet the reality was not that fantasy-ish and when the augmentation process was done, Jin was surprised at Forneus' new look. Even his soldiers were shocked by the all new transformation. They all thought that the augmentation process would merely be something like fixing a new slab of armour on to their body but no, there was sadly zero to none magical girls vibe from them.
Forneus' Devil Dragon turned from a Beast of Nature to a Metal Killer Machine. It was apparent that the Devil Dragon turned robotic in nature, with its legs, neck and tail connected via multiple metallic joint parts and visible metal tubes running under its metal scales. The Devil Dragon tried to spread its wings, but instead of the usual wing membrane, something similar to a sheet of malleable carbon metal appeared. Each digit and fingers on its wings seemed to be attached with air boosters. While its tail had become something akin to a vertical stabiliser and rudder for the dragon.
As for Forneus, he too grew metallic wings since he was part of the Dragonlite races and his horns doubled in size. His face was protected by an air resistance faceless helmet with holes to allow his horns through. (In fact, they were the only factor distinguishing him in this form). Most importantly, his left arm had been replaced with something awesome. At first, he thought the augmentation had caused him to lose an arm seeing that there was a hole in his wrist. But before he could panic, the System quickly explained that he should try focusing his magic to his left arm that he realised the magic energy subsequently turned into a blast of energy when it reached a critical mass. (Cough like a certain 'M' man with a blue helmet on.)
"Holy Shit, Boss. You sure, I cannot keep this augmentation? It feels great! Those Goblin Wyvern Knights are going to be so jealous that they will demand the same treatment!" Forneus was excited as he pet his Devil Dragon and the System allowed the Dragon to shoot a blast of energy out of his mouth. The hyper beam was intense and the size of circumference would depend on how much magic the Devil Dragon wished to use.
"I was totally not expecting this too. This goes beyond my wildest imagination on how the augmentation process could go. Isn't this already something akin to a type of evolution?" Jin queried.
"The System underestimated the effectiveness of the mix between a sludge crystal with the inclusion of your Maqi and User's latest type of sludge. We thought that the augmentation required more energy but it appears that System's calculations were off by a huge margin. Needless to say, it's a positive boon and System excitedly awaits the results, the period Forneus can stay in this form as well as the plausible side effects of the augmentation process, both during and after."
"The only side effect I can think of is you not granting me this as a permanent upgrade!" Forneus noted as he took off first with his Devil Dragon to make sure the rest of the Dragonlites under him would be ready for combat. After all, who else was going to save the Goblin Wyvern Knights' asses when the going gets tough?
With the augmentation process confirmed, the System relayed a bulk of its computing resources to duplicate the augmentation process so that multiple Devil Dragons and its riders could be augmented at the same time. Jin, however, warned them that they might not have something as great as Forneus since lesser resources were used but most of them understood.
They knew it was an emergency deployment and thus there were limitations if Jin was to mass augment the entire Devil Dragon Company in a very short period of time. But to their surprise, most of the Devil Dragons managed to come out similar to their leader except they were a mix of Biological and Metal parts together unlike Forneus's Dragon who was completely metal clad.
As for the Dragonlite riders, they did not gain any metal wings but their skins grow flexible metal platings which helped resist certain attacks. Yet, the System was not comfortable with the process seeing that the Phoenix or the horde under her might have lightning attacks which could disable the dragons. Thus it added a layer of special lacquered coating to reduce the electrical contact to all the Devil Dragons.
Ironically, the only one who did not get that treatment was their leader and yet he would require it the most so the System tasked the Devil Dragon's vice captain to bring a bottle of self developing coat to make sure Forneus would be protected as well.
With this upgrade, the Devil Dragons were ready to bring a good fight against the Flying Horde!
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