Martial Era: Starting With The Strongest Talent

Chapter 245: The Greatest Artisan!

Back in Gridlock, Cornelia arrived at Orion with Ivy close behind, Remedy’s unconscious body draped over her arms. Her voice came out tight, but edged with pressure.

"So what do we do now?"

If anyone had witnessed a monarch asking guidance from an expert-ranked martial artist, they would have questioned reality itself. But neither woman cared. Titles meant nothing here. Remedy had trusted them with this, and that alone mattered.

Technically, the plan leaned more on Ivy than Cornelia, but the distinction was irrelevant now. Ivy was already moving, her focus absolute. With a quick motion, she projected a full blueprint of Orion into the air, lines of data forming a rotating hologram.

Cornelia’s steps slowed for half a second, her eyes narrowing at the projection. That level of access shouldn’t have been possible. Before she could question it, Ivy spoke without looking up.

"Place her on the platform. We’re running out of time."

Cornelia didn’t argue. She adjusted her grip and pushed forward into the vault. Orion loomed ahead, buried inside layers of cracked concrete, its massive frame resembling a predatory ray. Its metallic wings stretched wide, but its incomplete nature was obvious. It had missing plates, exposed wiring, and an unstable structure.

The central spine rose above everything, leading to a single elevated platform lit by flickering emergency strobes. Each flash cast sharp shadows across the machine’s matte-black surface, making it feel less like equipment and more like something waiting.

Her footsteps echoed through the hollow space as Cornelia carried Remedy up the ascension ramp. The unconscious girl didn’t react, her body completely limp. The silence around them only made it worse.

At the base of the structure, Ivy was already at work. She leaned over a terminal, fingers moving rapidly across the interface as streams of diagnostics flooded the screen. Her expression stayed calm, but her speed betrayed the pressure building underneath.

Ivy’s fingers moved rapidly across the terminal, but her breathing was uneven, her focus sharper than it had ever been. She had worked on complex systems before, but this... this was different. The pressure felt heavier than anything she remembered.

Usually, something like this would excite her.

Machines, systems, unknown technology, this was her escape growing up. While others avoided reality, she had buried herself in creations like this, fascinated by every mechanism, every possibility. It wasn’t just interest. It had become who she was.

Then she re-awakened.

Her talent had turned that passion into something real. Something powerful, it had pushed her even further. She wasn’t just someone who understood machines anymore, she could see them.

Understand them completely.

But that same talent had nearly cost lives before.

People she cared about caught in the consequences. It hadn’t been intentional, but the result had been real. Damage didn’t care about intent.

Ivy clenched her jaw.

She wouldn’t let that happen again.

Cornelia’s footsteps echoed behind her as she reached the platform, carefully laying Remedy onto the machine. The girl remained completely still, her body unresponsive, her condition unchanged. The urgency in the air only grew heavier.

"I’ve placed her in," Cornelia said, her voice controlled but tight.

Ivy didn’t turn.

Instead, she nodded once, her eyes narrowing as a faint glow began to form. The pink light in her pupils deepened, shifting into a darker shade as her focus sharpened beyond normal limits.

"Simulate."

The word left her lips quietly, but everything changed.

In an instant, the machine unfolded in her mind. Every layer. Every connection. Every flaw. The incomplete blueprint Remedy had provided aligned perfectly with the structure in front of her, filling in the missing gaps.

Then the possibilities appeared.

Dozens. Hundreds.

Different paths formed rapidly, each one a potential solution. Each adjustment, each recalibration, each risk calculated in real time. Her mind processed them all at once, rejecting failures, refining successes.

This was her true talent.

Originally, it had been called Play—a rankless ability with laughable potential. But after awakening again, it had evolved into something far more dangerous. Something precise. Something absolute.

Simulate.

As long as she had complete information, she could recreate outcomes before they happened. It turned her thoughts into a testing ground where failure didn’t cost lives.

And Ivy had taken it further.

Her obsession with machines had refined the ability beyond its limits. She didn’t just simulate outcomes, she optimized them. Pushed them. Perfected them. That was why she stood where she was now.

One of the greatest artisans alive.

Her fingers accelerated, matching the conclusions forming in her mind. Adjustments were made instantly. Systems recalibrated. Energy flows redirected. What would take an entire team hours or days, was happening in seconds.

Cornelia watched in silence.

Even without understanding the process, she could feel it. The overwhelming control Ivy had over the machine. And right now, Ivy was doing what entire upper-region companies had failed to achieve.

Alone.

Her eyes burned brighter as another set of solutions collapsed into one final path. Her hand paused for a fraction of a second above the interface, her breathing steadying as the answer locked into place.

She had it.

Now all that remained... was to execute.

Everything she had simulated had been applied directly to Orion. There were no new materials, just pure refinement of the original design. The machine now operated exactly as it was meant to.

Ivy turned slightly, her glowing eyes settling on Cornelia.

"I’ve gotten it to work," she said, her voice steady but firm. "But I’ll need your help."

Cornelia didn’t hesitate, even though the request caught her off guard. She shifted her stance beside Remedy, her grip tightening slightly as she focused fully on Ivy, ready to act without questioning.

"What do you need?"

Ivy raised her hand and pointed upward toward the ceiling. A large gem was embedded above the structure, pulsing faintly with energy, feeding power directly into Orion’s core systems.

"On my signal," Ivy said, her tone sharpening, "destroy that."

Cornelia’s eyes narrowed instantly.

She recognized it. The power source. The very thing keeping the entire system running. Destroying it would shut everything down, or worse. Her instincts told her this was dangerous, possibly catastrophic.