Deus in Machina (a Warhammer 40K-setting inspired LitRPG)

Angar had heard of Saint Hidetada before, but as Saint Ash, the Star of Fate, shed for his family name once crippled, probably so his legend wouldn't be dimmed.

Whatever he called himself, the man was a brilliant negotiator.

By the time Angar had scratched his name onto the Smallest Spark's roster, he barely knew what he agreed to.

Angar's new master had imposed one unwavering condition – absolute obedience, as mandated by the Third Edict. This decree eclipsed even Angar's Crusader oath, demanding he entrust its sanctity to Hidetada's higher authority and greater understanding of the oath.

He chafed at yielding his honor so completely to another's grasp, recoiling at the vulnerability, but it'd be the same in any other chapter, and the Saint pledged vast sums of wealth into Angar's own plans.

He prayed Hidetada wasn't so different than Saint Ash, the Star of Fate, whose honor had burned brightly, at least in legends.

Knightly Chapters didn't hand new members prior Tier awards, but Hidetada had granted all the concessions Angar planned on demanding of any chapter he'd join, plus some extra.

All the benefits given by chapters underscored why so few Crusaders struck out as Free Agents. Chapters offered free armor, weapons, sacred rites, slot items, implants, and mods.

A fresh Crusader joining a chapter received Tier 1 Crusader Armor and a weapon tailored to their role, a handful of items, and, more importantly, two sacred rites deemed critical, withheld from the Grim Ordeals to make joining chapters so enticing.

At Tier 2, the armor and weapon got upgrades, alongside a few more slot items, two additional sacred rites, and an implant. Tier 3 brought the same again. The second and third Realm worked a little differently, where normal chapters had Templar Companies.

Free Agents, though? They were on their own. Every scrap of armor, every sacred rite, every blaster, they paid steeply to gain what chapters gave freely.

And not freely, as imperial taxes paid for what chapters handed out. Usually. Hidetada made it clear to Angar that Holy Theosis covered none of the Smallest Spark's expenses, as the chapter lacked an approved focus and received no imperial reimbursements.

This chapter's independence, however, granted Angar greater freedom in choosing his gear and equipment, beyond the limited options of mods and implants offered to other Crusaders.

For every Rank attained in a chapter, a mod and implant point were given equal to the Rank, with the third Rank giving 3 mod and implant points, and so on.

The Smallest Spark had a similar system devised for all gear, and with Angar being a Knight-Adept, he had 6 points to spend in every category, but he also got additional points in categories for handing equivalent loot over to the chapter.

His agreement stipulated half of all future loot and credits went to the Smallest Spark. This was a significant improvement over other chapters, where members surrendered nearly everything.

Since Angar had defeated Vexn prior to joining, he kept all the credits found on Vexn's body and the proceeds from selling his possessions.

Crusader armor types varied by Tier and role, each designed with distinct strengths, and generally provided the following benefits by most manufacturers at the standard quality level –

Tier 1 Strider (Light): 1 Adroitness, 2 Body, 4 Spirit, 28 Toughness, 6 Cognizance, 1 Resilience, and 1 Mod Slot.

Tier 1 Armiger (Medium): 1 Adroitness, 4 Body, 1 Spirit, 36 Toughness, 4 Cognizance, 2 Resilience, and 2 Mod Slots.

Tier 1 Cataphract (Heavy): 0 Adroitness, 8 Body, 0 Spirit, 52 Toughness, 2 Cognizance, 3 Resilience, and 3 Mod Slots.

Tier 2 Strider (Light): 1 Adroitness, 6 Body, 5 Spirit, 39 Toughness, 7 Cognizance, 2 Resilience, and 2 Mod Slots.

Tier 2 Armiger (Medium): 1 Adroitness, 8 Body, 2 Spirit, 52 Toughness, 5 Cognizance, 3 Resilience, and 4 Mod Slots.

Tier 2 Cataphract (Heavy): 0 Adroitness, 14 Body, 0 Spirit, 76 Toughness, 3 Cognizance, 4 Resilience, and 6 Mod Slots.

Tier 3 Strider (Light): 1 Adroitness, 8 Body, 6 Spirit, 52 Toughness, 8 Cognizance, 3 Resilience, and 4 Mod Slots.

Tier 3 Armiger (Medium): 1 Adroitness, 12 Body, 3 Spirit, 68 Toughness, 6 Cognizance, 4 Resilience, and 6 Mod Slots.

Tier 3 Cataphract (Heavy): 0 Adroitness, 20 Body, 1 Spirit, 100 Toughness, 4 Cognizance, 5 Resilience, and 8 Mod Slots.

Zhaeryn Vexn wore Tier 3 light armor, an unusual extra-light variant with a lot of additional circuitries never seen before, which Kong guessed added 2 points to Adroitness somehow, instead of the usual 1.

A Terran technicus obtaining Pleiadean Crusader Armor was uncommon, earning Angar 1 point for its rarity, plus 3 points for its Tier 3 status, 4 points in total. This gave him 10 points to spend on his own armor.

Since he had no intention of killing fellow Crusaders, he needed to plan ahead.

He could equip Tier 3 gear if he acquired it independently, but through his chapter, he was restricted to purchasing Tier 2, his current Tier.

Angar wanted the extra mod slots, Body, and Toughness offered by the Cataphract heavy armor, but it'd cost him a point in Adroitness, which he couldn't accept. He needed that point.

He was sick and tired of being so injured in battle too, so that ruled out the light Strider version.

So, he was left with the medium Armiger armor.

But he had enough points to get a better version than usual, still crafted from tough galvornium steel but alloyed with kryonadic vanadiumite, a crystalline vanadium form that resisted elemental and radiant damage, leaving jagged flecks glinting in the armor like frozen lightning. Tempered in a lattice of axion condensate crystals, it locked in durability under a dull-matte finish.

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The upgraded, high-quality Armiger armor granted far more Toughness, an extra Body point, and two additional mod slots. It originally cost 12 points, but removing a leg and two mod slots reduced the price to 8 points, coming with plenty of spare parts and materials for repairs too.

Tier 3 armors were much more expensive, and trading in his current set would earn him 4 points. Even without gaining more points from outside sources, he'd have at least 15 available to upgrade to a Tier 3 version when he attained that Tier.

His new armor consumed 1 Charge every three hours and 1 Energy Point per hour during normal use, or 1 every minute when sprinting, moving heavily, or, when in the void, needed the suit to provide oxygen. Some other functions, like the minor thrusters it came with, used more Energy faster.

It looked striking, with the standard Trey emblazoned on the chest and the chapter sigil, a small spark, set above the heart on the upper right. Angar didn't care much for this chapter's sigil, but it was what it was. He wouldn't complain.

The suit was much bigger than him, giving him room to grow, about thirteen centimeters too big, the inside padding filling in the empty space for now.

His main customizations were a storage compartment on the back and fold-away gauntlets, letting him wield his claws in battle. The Phasorax had noted their odd effectiveness against itself, and Doc's tests revealed Angar's leonine hands held some unusual properties, hence the fold-away gauntlets and easy access to them.

Zhaeryn Vexn's arsenal included numerous weapons, each with six mods, one beyond the usual for top-tier gear, except for his odd whip, which only had two mods, both compatible with his new weapon.

The Pleiadean's extra-light armor had just 3 mod slots. The HUD Suite, the top-tier version with all functions, was designed for Pleiadeans. The remaining mods in the suit were:

Enhanced Reactions – Doubles energy draw but increases reactions.

Cooldown Reduction – Reduce Ability cooldowns by 10%.

Both were solid and costly, but Angar preferred to sharpen reactions through training and Adroitness, and his only Ability that'd really benefit from the cooldown reduction was Tempest, and only by three seconds.

His main goals with armor were to avoid battle injuries entirely if possible, and to hold his own against higher-Tier enemies.

For his new armor's four slots, the Phasorax Core was a given, as Ground Current could only take him to spots he could see, and phasing through solid matter was a powerful effect.

Since he could trade in unused mods for additional points, he had 34 already, from selling the pistol and blaster mods.

Angar traded in the HUD suite for 5 points and spent 10 buying the Terran version, then sold the other armor mods for 16 points, leaving him with 46 points and two empty slots.

A hacking mod was necessary, so he got the best one he could for his Tier, and as nothing would help more than additional defense, he bought a shielding mod.

The Psy Crystal on Vexn's armor counted as a suit customization, and really occupied the trinket/accessory slot. Like all of them, it was a cut zimahrite crystal which amplified psychic attacks.

Vexn had to avoid excessive implants, as replacing too much of a body weakened psychic power. The alien's wrists and hands, replaced with unmodded dexterous hand implants, were traded in for 4 implant points each, netting Angar 14 points total in that category.

The implant options were almost overwhelming, divided into three types – full cybernetics, partial cybernetics, and bioware. These fell into five categories – arm/hand, head, leg/feet, torso, and miscellaneous covering Systemic, Dermal, or Utility implants.

Each implant offered numerous mod options, making the choices feel endless. Angar wanted most of them, but sorting through the possibilities took great time and wasn't simple.

He would've picked a torso or systemic implant if he didn't need to lower his armor's cost, the reason why his new armor had only one leg.

Ever since he had seen Spirit flipping around so effectively in combat, he yearned to fight that way too. Even with his new Acrobatic Skill, he lagged far behind her style.

His Hand-to-Hand, Strikes, and Clawed Weapons Skills applied beyond hands, as kicks were also strikes, and one of his feet would soon have claws.

So, in the end, Angar had invested all 14 implant points in the highest quality and durability version of the Crura Agiliora leg implant, enhancing agility, jump height, fall distance tolerance, and overall mobility, with four slots he spent the rest of his mod points on filling.

As the leg was such high quality, it came with free storage compartments added onto it, which counted as customization instead of a mod.

It was a sleek fusion of polished steel and intricate hydraulics, a skeletal framework of durable metal alloy going all the way to his hip, with pistons and servos shifting as it moved, like mechanical sinews. The storage compartment surrounded the upper thigh, where the meat of it would be.

For his weapon, Angar chose the finest power-hammer maul available to him, spending 14 of his 39 weapon points.

It was crafted by Trivident Forgeworks, the same source as his armor, a corporation where Hidetada held the majority stake. Supposedly, Hidetada controlled significant shares in many such galaxy-spanning companies.

The maul had 5 mod slots, but with no points left to fill them, Angar used the two mods from Vexn's unusual whip. One mod extended the weapon's length, adding about three centimeters to the haft, a very limited effect. Kong noted this preserved the balance, as mods were meant to enhance, not hurt.

He thought about getting a pistol sidearm but decided against it. It wouldn't see much use, so he'd rather just take a decent one from a corpse instead of wasting points on it.

For slot items, Vexn had –

Back: Power Pack (Tier 3) – Energy cell rig providing 30 Energy Points and 9 Charges to imbue weapons, armor, and mods, excluding Abilities.

Necklace: Opticon – Improves ranged weapon accuracy and critical hit chance.

Ring 1: Olcinator (Tier 3) – Each initial direct damage instance has a 3% chance to reduce all active cooldowns by 1 second. (Subsequent damage of the same Ability such as periodic effects do not trigger this.)

Ring 2: Electrum Tutela – Increases resistance to electrical damage.

Trinket/Accessory: Psy Crystal, High Quality – Enhances psychic power effectiveness.

Hidetada wouldn't approve Angar's first mission unless he acquired a specific trinket, a Negatus Susurri, to help shield him against dark whispers.

This trinket wasn't rare, but was coveted, standard among all those facing the spawn of Hell, snapped up quickly by chapters, the military, and sects, leaving few available on the market, driving their value ever upwards.

He had 6 item points, and the trinket was priced at 25.

Vexn's items that interested him were the Power Pack, Olcinator, and, since he'd love to be a Psychic, the Psy Crystal.

But he wasn't a Psychic, and the Psy Crystal had to be sold for 10 points to help fund the trinket.

The Olcinator would be a great help in large battles, but no real help at all against solitary, powerful enemies. He wished he could keep it, but he needed the 6 points it sold for.

The Opticon, completely useless to him, fetched 2 points when sold, and the Power Pack, 3 points, was another sacrifice. He hadn't struggled with resources yet, but letting go of the Power Pack stung, as it would cost 6 points to repurchase if he later found it necessary.

Still, he was happy with his current back item, the Vitalulum harness, and hoped the Power Pack wouldn't prove essential down the line.

The Electrum Tutela, nearly useless due to his natural resistance to lightning damage, could still be useful as it could help counter the demoniacs' and diabolics' tactic of turning his own Ability damage against him.

Trading it would only yield 1 point, so he equipped it instead, leaving him with 2 points after purchasing the Negatus Susurri.

Zhaeryn Vexn also had a lot of other items, such as various quality levels of medkits and such, which were mostly sold for credits, though Angar did hang onto some of these items.

And, best of all, Vexn had a ton of credits on his body.

With all that taken care of, everyone boarded the Zephuros, departing for Angar's first official mission.

He loved his people, he was proud of his people, his ancestors, those that had come before him, making him what he was.

He loved his new Empire too.

There was a cost of standing alone, and Angar had long paid it. His flesh had been torn to ribbons, his mind broken over and over, nearly defeated every battle, including his last against Vexn. By maul, claw, and will, he triumphed.

So far.

But these fights had forged a truth. As the Holy Empire and the various factions proved, power came through alliance, not isolation.

Hidetada might wield him like a blade, but Angar would hone himself sharper still. And better yet, he'd reforge his home world too.