Combat Modifications
As I approached, the android—scanned my entire body with the sensors mounted in its eyes—spoke in a clear mechanical voice. “Welcome, Elisha Drivyk.”
“Good work.”
I patted the shoulder of the rarely male-configured android and stepped inside, where I met the researchers studying full-body prostheses. “Ms. Elisha, you’ve arrived. It’s been a while.”
“It has. I’ve been here quite some time now.”
Busy with various matters, it had been months since my last visit. They surrounded me with eager faces, touching and recording every detail while chattering excitedly.
“This is truly an exceptionally refined prosthesis, no matter how many times I see it. And that tail I saw in the footage—it’s this one, isn’t it?”
“I can’t wait to study it.”
Neither I nor they paid any mind to my nudity. To them, my body was merely a research subject and an object, so there was no sexual excitement. Watching their eyes gleam with research fervor, I felt a slight thrill at being treated as an experimental specimen.
“You mentioned receiving the dairy cow procedure—your breasts have grown a little larger.”
“Ah, they have grown a bit, haven’t they?”
“Even accounting for the milk, they’re noticeably bigger. It seems the slime and mammary tissue have developed further.”
“This tail feels just like a snake.”
While one researcher lifted and examined my breasts directly and others touched my tail, I spoke. “By the way, Elisa told me to get combat modifications, so here I am.”
“Ah, yes. She instructed us to install the new combat weapon modules. This way, please.”
Only then recalling the purpose of my visit, I followed the researchers into the lab and sat on the examination chair. They bustled about preparing various items and displayed screens of information before me.
“First, you’ll need to select a few options. Female full-body prostheses have volume limitations, so we can’t install everything.”
“Let me see.”
The first thing that caught my eye were three arm models, each with a different built-in weapon. The first featured an outer shell that transformed to extend a long blade from within—an oddly familiar weapon form. Hmm… I’ve seen something like this before. Where was it?
When I tilted my head in confusion while examining the arm weapon, the researcher, assuming I didn’t understand, explained directly. “This is a built-in plasma blade. It’s not just a metal edge—the blade is formed by generated plasma, capable of slicing through any alloy that isn’t exceptionally thick. Its operational time is short due to the energy cell’s capacity limit, but its offensive power is top-tier.”
“Ah~ This is similar to that one….”
It resembled the weapon the cyborg had drawn when Ruya and I were attacked in Korea by what seemed to be Japanese Empire criminals. This one uses a plasma edge, so direct comparison is impossible, but outwardly it appears to be the same type of weapon.
“Hmm… the other weapons….”
Shifting my gaze to the next, I saw a long-range weapon-integrated arm that fired bullets and grenades from the transformed limb. “This doesn’t seem much different from just carrying weapons around.”
“Outwardly it appears unarmed, but the advantage is always having a ranged weapon on hand. That said, it’s true there’s nothing particularly outstanding beyond that.”
Hmm… I’m not particularly drawn to it either. Moving on to the next weapon, I saw one with the function to extend thin wires from each fingertip. “Does this just shoot out wires?”
“It’s a weapon that deploys high-tensile wires made of special materials to wrap around or slash targets. It can also deliver high-voltage current through its built-in generator to electrocute enemies. As an additional option, the wires can be coated with poison to cause lethal toxicity in living beings. It’s a special weapon I can confidently recommend.”
“Heh… how interesting.”
But could all these weapons be installed in a male body? “You know that man, the one called God?”
“Yes, I know him.”
“His arm volume is more than twice yours. Of course, he has that much more artificial muscle, but even so, it’s possible to mount two different weapons in one arm simultaneously. Compared to your body, which can only equip one, he’s inevitably stronger.”
Already at a disadvantage due to muscle mass differences in output, and now weapons twice as many— the gap between male and female forms is unreasonably large. Well, I suppose choosing between the blade and the wire would be best. Ranged weapons can be carried separately, so the two close-combat options appeal more.
“Please install those two on each arm.”
“An excellent choice. Next, I’ll explain the new material application methods to increase the currently vulnerable abdominal defense.”
He described two methods for abdominal reinforcement. The first was replacing the abdominal artificial skin with a new material instead of human-like skin. While defense would be much higher, it would be harder and more elastic than the current soft, pliable skin, and thicker—resulting in the abdomen appearing as though it had gained fat.
The second method was replacing the abdominal artificial muscles with a new type specially developed for the mother system. “This is a new artificial muscle developed by the entire artificial muscle development team under Ms. Elisa’s special orders. It’s an innovative product with twice the elastic resistance and 2.5 times the shock absorption compared to existing materials.”
“What are the drawbacks?”
“Ahem, even minimized, it’s about 1.5 times thicker than the existing product. While not overly thick relative to its performance, it’s still quite thick for a female full-body prosthesis that prioritizes aesthetic beauty… and the unit price is also quite high.”
“Hmm….”
Looking at the simulated result he showed, I could see clear muscle definition appearing on the once-smooth abdomen. It reminded me of my human days before becoming a full-body prosthesis, stirring unexpected emotions.
“We’ve arranged the muscles with maximum emphasis on beauty, but… the muscles are still quite visible on the surface, which looks rather unsightly.”
“What’s unsightly about it? It looks healthy and good. Let’s go with this.”
“Muscles on a woman’s abdomen are aesthetically… Understood. We’ll apply it as is.”
Recently, with the popularity of mare racing showcasing healthy physiques, perceptions have shifted somewhat, but the average standard of female beauty on the Eastern Continent remains a moderately plump, soft, and smooth figure. The same holds true on the Western Continent, making muscular female bodies a minority everywhere.
Besides abdominal defense, we decided to apply the latest technologies developed so far, including joint upgrades for smoother movement and bio-circuit upgrades. The modification room I moved to for the procedure was configured with a central mechanical device surrounded by glass windows, behind which researchers observed. Once I entrusted my body to the device, it would automatically disassemble, modify, and reassemble, with researchers inspecting throughout.
Having gone through this several times before, I walked confidently to the center of the device and stood. “Please begin.”
Executing modification for Test Subject No. 1, Elisha Drivyk.
A researcher began recording and pressed the switch. Soon, mechanical arms extending from all sides began sequentially disassembling and separating the full-body prosthesis.
Whirrr. Clack.
Arms and legs detached in order, and the neck seam separated under the grip of a mechanical arm holding my head, causing it to fall away as well. The separately moved head had its facial and cranial artificial skin and outer shell peeled away for internal scanning and inspection. A glossy metal plate in front reflected my head’s condition back to me. Inspection and maintenance of the head—the most critical part of the full-body prosthesis—required ultra-precision, so the mechanical needles were thin and delicate.
Soon the cranial section protecting the brain also separated and fell away, revealing the internal bio-Abaddon brain and artificial brain. Ziiing. While a red-glowing sensor scanned my brains for anomalies, my eyeballs were extracted and my vision cut off.
After a tedious period where all senses were blocked and only empty consciousness remained, one by one my senses began returning. The first to return was hearing, bringing the researchers’ voices from beyond the glass window.
Modification process 83% complete.
“No issues with applying the new technology so far?”
“Yeah, no malfunctions or rejection reactions.”
“As always, she’s truly an outstanding test subject.”
“Compared to Test Subject 0 or Test Subject 2, she’s an angel among angels. She participates in experiments without complaint, helps with testing, and provides log records. Thanks to her, research is much easier.”
The two researchers who had been speaking continued praising me.
Modification process 91% complete.
“By the way, how’s the state of the new artificial brain we replaced?”
“It’s excellent. Response speed is fast and errors are minimal.”
“Is there no helping the error in the memory data search function?”
“It’s just so complex and vast.”
Hmm… So that’s why I sometimes couldn’t recall things properly—it was an artificial brain error. Elisa and Elsa had said my memory data was well-organized and simple, but to them, as ultra-high-performance AIs, it was simple; the data size recording an entire person’s life was by no means small.
“Even with the latest artificial brain installed, the search speed is faster than a biological brain, but if there are errors in the search itself, it can’t find things properly.”
“Everything has pros and cons.”
Modification process 97% complete.
After hearing the mechanical voice announce 97% completion, my vision soon returned as well. The artificial eyes were automatically optimizing, going through random zoom, shrink, and color conversion processes before normal vision was restored. I could see my already reassembled body, and they were just about to connect my head.
The mechanical arm holding my head moved it into position above my neck, and fine needles shuttled across the neck connection for final finishing. Once the neck was fully attached, all the mechanical arms that had secured my head withdrew, signaling the end of the modification process.
Modification process 100% complete.
“Ms. Elisha, did you sleep well?”
“Mmm.”
I answered while moving my arms, which felt slightly different. “I didn’t sleep. Though my senses did disappear.”
“You couldn’t move anyway, so you might as well have slept comfortably and woken up.”
“Sleeping gets old after a time or two. Eventually you get tired of it.”
“That’s true as well. How does your body feel?”
“Aside from the slightly different sensation, there’s not much change.”
Other than the changed weight of my arms and smoother movement, there wasn’t much difference. “Ah, I can tell my abdomen has become firmer.”
“We replaced all the abdominal artificial muscles. Would you like to test it?”
“Sure.”
When the researcher operated the machine, one mechanical arm descended and stopped in front of me. This arm, equipped with a round sphere, was occasionally used for durability tests to withstand impacts. “As usual. Brace yourself.”
“Hup.”
The moment I tensed my abdomen, I felt power surge through it unlike before, with my abs becoming more defined. Then the mechanical arm shot toward my abdomen at high speed.
Thud!
“Mmph!”
Despite being struck with considerable speed and force, almost no impact transmitted inward. Thud!
“Hngh?”
The second strike targeted my lower abdomen. Even with the reinforcement, blocking the shock that resonated through my uterus was difficult. “Huu, the lower abdomen still has its limits.”
“Without the metal skeleton’s help, relying only on muscle, it’s inevitable.”
The researcher had me exit the modification room and head to the test room while explaining how to use the weapons mounted on my arms. Swinging the plasma blade that emerged from my transforming right arm, I spoke. “It feels good. The best part is being able to use it with my hands free since the weapon is fixed to the arm.”
“Now activate the plasma from the interface.”
When I activated the plasma through the plasma blade control system visible in my field of view, plasma appeared along the blade, scattering blue light. “It’s attached to your arm, so it shouldn’t happen, but please be careful not to cut yourself. Even a full-body prosthesis can’t withstand it.”
“I kind of want to test cutting something directly.”
“Hmm, bring one unused metal cabinet.”
The researcher spoke while pressing the communicator in their ear. After waiting a moment, other researchers soon entered the test room pushing a cart loaded with several metal cabinets. “Good work. Now, try cutting that.”
“Got it. Hah!”
I took a proper stance and swung the plasma blade at the cabinet standing on the floor. It sliced through far too easily and smoothly, revealing a clean cross-section. “Wow! I barely felt the cutting sensation!”
“Hohoho, its offensive power is the best. Though its duration is short.”
“Ah, only 5 minutes left now.”
The duration display in the corner of my vision showed about 5 minutes remaining. Since bringing the cabinet had taken around 5 minutes, the weapon lasted approximately 10 minutes.
“Next, let’s test the wires. Similarly, activate wire deployment.”
Following instructions, I deployed the wires, and ultra-thin wires smoothly extended from the fingertips of my left hand. They were barely visible to the naked eye, only apparent through the highlight lines displayed by my eyes. “If left as is, they’re ordinary wires. Wrap or hook them around a target and apply instantaneous force to pull—they’ll rewind while cutting.”
“Hmm… like this, wrap and pull!”
I wrapped a wire around one cabinet and yanked hard, rewinding it rapidly into my arm and slicing through the metal cabinet. It didn’t feel as smooth as cutting through water like the plasma blade, but it was sufficiently powerful. “You can also electrocute while it’s wrapped around an opponent’s body.”
“Since they’re hard to see, they’re perfect for traps. I like them.”
After testing the newly installed weapons in the test room and completing fine adjustments to the full-body prosthesis, I left the research institute behind.