A Rabbit and His Robot: Path to Ascension Chapter 2
DanMachi Fanfiction Self Insert
Summary: Reach the end and you will receive a reward beyond your imagination. That's all I could recall before falling asleep and waking up in a new world and a new body with powers. And who am I to deny a challenge? Especially for great power as a reward? Now, just how am I going to do it? Huh, this place seems familiar. Dungeon with deadly monsters inside? Okay. Adventurers go in and make money? Mmhmm! Gods walking among mortals and making familias? Familiar. Oh? Is that a familiar rabbit themed protagonist over there? Even more familiar! DanMachi! Well? Why not! Let's shake things up!
Note: There might be some OOC-ness and some liberties I've taken.
Rated M for Mature, Gore, Blood and Adult Themes
Arc One
Chapter Two: Protect the Shounen!
After our conclusion prior, Hestia led us to her current home. The very same dilapidated church that was given to her by her friend Hephaestus. Will probably do a makeover when I can. With my untiring, strong and durable body, should be a piece of cake. Only thing was to worry about funds if I was going to do more serious stuff but we'll get to that bridge later. Right now, she led us another room in the church with a bed. She stopped before turning around to face us before speaking.
"Take off your shirt." Hestia said in a blunt manner.
"Eh?" Bell replied, confused to what she just said.
A small amused snort escaped me at that. My snort makes her blush too as she just realized what she just said if taken out of context. Bell himself was confused a bit before his brain finally connects the dots and he too begins to blush. Ah, the teenager days. Fucking hated puberty and rampaging hormones, distracting me on a daily basis. Would not want to go through again thank you very much. Bell's looking at me and I give him a smirk and a smug shrug.
"She needs direct skin to skin contact in order to give you a Falna kid." I explained. "Most Falna are placed on one's back though I have heard the few exceptions if rumors are to be true."
"A—ah! Okay then, um let just…" Bell understands and proceeds to take off his shirt.
He's then shirtless and Hestia gestures over to the bed and orders him to lay down on his stomach. He does so albeit blushing like no tomorrow and Hestia herself hesitantly takes a step forward before shooting me a look. I nod in understanding before exiting the room, letting the two have some privacy. Closing the door, I stand guard, watching the main lobby. I take note of every repair that will need to be made as I look around. Some windows will need cleaning, wooden beams to be replaced and new furniture and some sweeping. As I am putting stuff to memory, I feel my HUD pings as it picks up a surge of energy behind me.
God Magic detected!
Owner: Hestia
Non-Hostile intentions.
Continue with original duties.
My HUD can sense God Magic? That probably means all other magic as well. That will be very useful against enemies whom know magic, especially against Freya and her scrying ability. The surge of godly magic dies down and soon after I hear the door open behind me. Turning around, I see Bell putting his shirt back on as he leaves the room. I take this chance to tease him.
"So, already trying to have kids at your age Cranel? How very bold of you!" I say in a smug manner, making him let out a strangled sound.
"Guh—ah! What!? No! Nonono! We didn't do anything!" Bell says, waving his hands franticly.
*Fwomp!
My hand had already moved to intercept the incoming pillow and I let out a good-natured laugh. I give Bell another understanding head pat which makes him pout as I walk by Bell and enter the room. I have to bend down and crouch walk under the door and on the bed is Hestia with a blush and glaring pout of her own, cute! I smirk at her before handing back the pillow which she takes, still pouting.
"We did nothing of the sorts Kaz, I am one of the Virgin Goddess after all." She says to me and I gave a small snort at that, she sighs before gesturing. "Have a seat on the floor, don't want you breaking anything with how big you are. And take off your cloak."
I raise a hand and feel around my neck for something. My fingers come across a clasp of sorts and I quickly bring my other hand up to work the cloak off. A single clink later, I have it unhooked and slowly pull my cloak off, making sure to be careful due to the shape of my powerpack. I then fold it a few times before gently placing the thick and heavy article of clothing on the floor. As I proceed to sit down to the best of my ability with this new body, I notice Hestia looking at me with a curious and thoughtful look.
"Hmmmm…" She hums.
"Is something the matter my lady?" I ask her, finally managing to some extent to sit down properly, my back facing towards her.
"Just trying to figure out how I'm going to put a Falna on you. You're not exactly…fleshy to begin with." She replied, gesturing to my body.
Oh shit. Right, I'm made metal, not flesh anymore. That does present an issue for me. With mortals, skin to skin contact is all that is needed for one to be granted a Falna. Never seen one be placed on a non-living thing like me. Will it even work in the first place? Is it possible for me to even get a Falna in the first place? But I am alive in a sense and I am or rather was human to begin with. I should have a human soul or something of the like right? Do I even have a human soul right now though?
"Hmm, that might be a problem indeed." I say to her, trying to think of a solution.
"Speaking of that, while your body is that completely of metal." Hestia says before thinking a bit, she then places a gentle hand onto my back and I feel a faint warmth emit from it. "I…I feel it. A soul residing in it, a human-like soul. Were you human once Kaz?"
Hrgh, well that's conveniently one question answered and I just knew a question like this would arise sometime sooner or later. And if I recall, gods can detect when someone is lying which is a damn annoying ability. The only best way to circumvent this is to tell half-truths. Eugh, this is going to be annoying.
"I don't know my lady." I say to her before continuing. "I am…different from others of my ilk. I was…born? Created? Reborn? Not entirely sure, but I do not know."
All units are created by [REDACTED] Industries. Many were of pure machines; others were of those whom were gravely injured in the field and were converted into machines of war.
"But I have…memories. Human memories of being alive with flesh and blood once. I remember my family, their names, their faces, their voices, all of them."
Let no man go to waste, let no machine go unfilled. Let both become one in one grave. Let the cogs of war keep turning.
BELLATOR EN MACHINA!
"But I do know one thing. I gave up that old body, this body is much more desirable than whatever I once had. This one will be forever unyielding, no matter how long it goes. Forever enduring against whatever is thrown against it. Forever powerful and at its prime no matter how old it becomes. Eternal perfection."
All units are made to stand against the [REDACTED] enemies. The union between technology and magic fused into one creation. The ultimate creation of two worlds that were once separated. The flesh is weak, metal is eternal and strong!
GLORY TO THE OMNISSIAH!
I then sense a feeling of sadness come from her. I feel her hand gently trace my powerpack on my back before settling onto my back armor. Why is she sad all the sudden?
"If what you say is true…that you were once human. That you had given up your body…then I fear you fly too close to the sun." I hear her say to me quietly.
"Then I wait for the day I burn and fall then for my avarice if that's the case." I retort quietly in return.
We both sit in silence, Hestia still gently tracing my back with her hands. I hear her shift on the bed once more and I feel both of her hand gently touch my back.
"Well, we can worry about that in the future. Just know that some gods may look at you with disgust if they find out what you really are. So, for now, just say you are a construct of sorts, which is not far from the truth. Now, I can go with the tried-and-true method of usually applying a Falna…though I have a feeling it may not work." She says with uncertainty.
"It doesn't hurt to try." I supply to which she hums with agreement.
I soon felt the telltale surge of God Magic tracing over my back. It was a warm and soothing feeling. The feeling lasts for a while before I hear Hestia grunt as she shifted herself under my protruding powerpack to reach the other side of my back. The warm and soothing feeling returns. This feeling repeats itself as I feel Hestia tracing things on my armored back. The feeling stops and I take notice of Hestia's panting slightly. I turn my head enough to look at her and I see a somewhat tired visage on her face along with a bead of sweat. I guess she sensed my worry for her as she patted my back affectionately, making three small metallic pangs. I return my stare back forward and let her do her thing.
"Now…let thy soul and thine be connected…until the day you die…or released from thine services." She chants quietly.
God Magic detected!
Owner: Hestia
Intention: Form magical bond with unit.
Magical bond request pending approval…
Accept bond? Y/N
Interesting, very interesting. Best to accept it then! Yes! Accept bond! Do it now!
Affirmative.
Negating absorption on Falna…
Integrating Falna into system…
Magical bond forming…
Initializing connection please wait…
Connection successful.
Proceed with original duties.
I let out a held breath and I turn my head again towards Hestia. I see that she was panting hard, more sweat on her head, in one of her hands was a sheet of paper. She winces a bit before trying to lean back However she must've underestimated how tired she was as she began to fall back. I quickly however turn myself on the spot and use my long limbs to quickly and grasp her small body.
"Are you alright?" I ask her gently as I held her.
"Agh—y—yes. Sorry, just tired." Hestia assures me. "I had to use a lot of my God Magic to apply the Falna. Your body…it was…absorbing it, so I had to keep supplying mana to keep the Falna intact and form the bond. I just need to lie down a moment. Help me?"
"Sorry about that Lady Hestia." I said with a nod as I held her.
I proceed shuffle closer to the bed and gently set her down. She sighs in relief as I set her down and prop her up against some pillows. After a moment of relaxing, she looks at the piece of parchment in her hand. She is silent as she gazed at the parchment and I simply wait. She hums with interest before finally setting it down beside her. I look it briefly before looking back to her.
"May I?" I ask her.
"Go right ahead." She replies as she settles herself on the pillows.
Reaching over, I gently grab the parchment and bring it up to my level.
Kaz
Level 1
Strength: I0
Defense: I0
Dexterity: I0
Agility: I0
Magic: I0
Magic: None
Skills: None
Development Abilities:
The Atronatch: Is extremely resistant against magic and has a large pool of mana to utilize. However, one's own magic cannot be regenerated normally as a result. So, it must be absorbed or siphoned from a sustainable source. Examples of acceptable sources are mana potions, magic-rich zones, or direct contact with spells of either hostile or non-hostile intent.
Living Metal: An advanced metallic substance that increases this unit's survival capabilities when deployed. Any damage sustained will be repaired overtime and restored to perfect working condition, this includes equipment. Detached limbs can be simply reattached. Lost limbs can be recovered by consuming any kind of metal until limb is fully rebuilt, the lost piece is then destroyed in the process.
Wow, I already had some impressive stuff available. Good to know and interesting, very interesting. Atronatch huh? A passive buff from the Elder Scrolls series that was pretty OP if built around correctly despite the mana regen issues. Those hundred percent spell absorption builds literally broke the game as any magic thrown at you was absorbed, refilling your mana instead of dealing damage to you. And Living Metal, that sounds like something from Warhammer, it's what made the Necrons hard to kill. Those fuckers won't die unless you destroy their entire body, coming back from even the most grievous of wounds. I wonder…are these the gift from my…benefactor?
"Hmmm…" I hum as I hand the paper back to her to which she takes.
"Very…interesting abilities you have Kaz." Hestia remarked as she looked at me with curiosity. "I assume a lot of it has to do with your…body."
"You would be most correct my lady." I concur as I stand back up. "I assume we are done for now then?"
"Yes…that should be all." Hestia replies before humming. "Maybe you should ask Bell, see if he needs anything. He told me his funds were running low. Perhaps you two should go dungeon diving today to fix that."
"I suppose, the day is still young after all." I agree with her. "Will you be fine?"
"Yes." She replies with a nod. "I just need to rest for a bit, then I'll have to go do some paperwork at the guild and whatnot."
"Alright then, have a good rest my goddess." I say to her as I pick up my cloak and begin to leave.
"And Kaz?" I hear Hestia call just as I reach the door.
"Yes, my lady?" I reply, waiting.
"Stay safe…both of you." She said in a worried tone.
"Have no fear, we'll come back. Don't you worry Lady Hestia. I'll make sure of it." I say before leaving the room, I look back one last time to see Hestia snuggle herself onto the pillows before closing her eyes to sleep.
Closing the door, I then look around in the church lobby for Bell and I spot him examining some old tapestry and stained glass. Hearing commotion, he turns his head in my direction and spots me as I was slinging the cloak back over my body once more.
"Mister Kaz! How did it go?" He asks me as he walks over to me.
I gesture for him to follow and we walk towards the main doors of the church.
"It went fairly well, turns out she had to use a lot more god magic to apply the Falna on me though. Turns out I'm naturally resistant against magic of all sorts due to my nature, I can also absorb it if I come into contact with magic as well. So, it was a bit of a struggle for her to apply the Falna on me." I answer his question before continuing. "Right now, she just needs some rest before she'll head off to do some paperwork at the guild and whatnot. Said that we could go dungeon diving today if we felt like it."
"Ah, I see then." Bell says, adopting a thoughtful look. "I suppose we could go into the dungeon today."
"Well, the sooner we get to that, the sooner we can start bringing in funds and help you get some experience." I say to him. "You up for some diving?"
"Aye sir! Ready when you are!" Bell says with an infectious smile making me smirk.
"Good, very good." I say before asking. "You got a weapon?"
"Aye!" He replies, showing me a dagger.
Eh, it was pretty basic thing. A hilt, a decent guard, two-sided edge with a very good point for stabbing. All in all, pretty basic but that will change in time as we start racking up money to get Bell better equipment. And—oh, he's talking.
"What about you Kaz? Where's your weapon?" Bell asks me curiously.
"Well…I uh…" I began lamely. "…I don't really have one Bell."
"You don't?" He says, an incredulous look slowly forming on his face. "Why not? We can't go dungeon diving if you don't have a proper weapon!"
"Uh…Bell?" I say before pointing at myself and bluntly stating. "Last I checked, I'm a metal giant amongst you meatbags. Secondly, when meatbags and metal go head-to-head, metal tends to come out better in the end. Thirdly, a lot of weapons tend to break when I use them. I'll probably have to make a custom-made one for myself specifically. Most aren't really made for the amount of stress I put on them. Fourthly, I'm rather strong so I've been resorting to…well…uh…some up-close and personal combat that includes a lot of ripping, crushing and tearing."
Bell gives me another confused look at my ending words. A moment later I see the look of realization overcome his expression. My eyes pick up a shiver of fear go through his body. His facing paling at what I meant by rip, crush and tear. I quickly give him a placating look.
"Hey! I don't have much choice and besides, I only reserve it to enemies only!" I assure him.
"That still doesn't make it any easier." Bell says in a nervous tone.
"Well until we can get some funds into our little familia, I'll have to make do with what I got." I bluntly state.
"Right. Sorry sir." Bell apologies.
"It's no biggie kiddo." I say as I throw my cloak back over myself, covering my robotic body once more. "Now if that's all, let's get to diving."
"Yes sir!" Bell says with a smile.
Heh, good kid. Good kid indeed.
"It's a lot bigger than I thought." Bell remarked as we approached the Tower of Babel.
"Well, the gods of Tenkai did rebuild it to their fitting. I assume the original was smaller than this one. This one is big enough to seal the dungeon beneath it." I added to his remark before stopping, getting Bell to stop as well.
"Uh…what's wrong Mister Kaz?" Bell asks me as I turn to him.
"Just wanted to lay down some stuff before we go in." I replied before continuing. "You do know the risks of going down the dungeon, yes?"
"Yes sir." He quickly replies.
I hum before kneeling down to a squat, bringing my eyes closer to his level to stare at him.
"Okay, you can say that. But are you really sure you're up for it though?" I implore my voice taking a more serious tone. "I won't judge if you want to back out. But it's not going to be like those games you probably played with other kids back where you came from. The danger is real and there will be real consequences if you mess up. It will be a fight for life and death down there."
Bell is silent for a moment; he has a thoughtful look on his face. Another moment passes before his face toughens up and he gives me a confirming nod as he speaks.
"Yes, I—I'm fully prepared for the risks and dangers we will face in the dungeon." Bell assures me. "Though I will admit I am nervous at the prospect of…killing and fighting for my life."
Right, he's still a new blood. Someone who has yet to actually kill anything living. This will be his first kill, his first time getting his hands bloody. Thinking about that brings up old memories. Me holding a sharp knife and farm animals for religious sacrifices. Clansmen and shamans thanking the animals for their sacrifice of blood and flesh. Shaman's chanting a prayer and performing ceremonies, asking the animals spirit to protect a family or person. And when their time comes, leading the souls of the sacrificed animals to the next life in the cycle of reincarnation, hopefully to become one of us in another lifetime. Then the darker ones came to mind. Many standing figures, all of them wearing a black and blue band around their arms or neck. Many fallen bodies not wearing the band and covered in blood. Lots of blood…blood that stained my human hands, a blue and black band wrapped around my arm…and the rush and thrill that followed for more fighting…for more…conflict.
"We will always be brothers…" A voice whispered in my mind.
"Alright then Bell." I said to him, burying those memories. "I'll trust your words then. So, I'll say this then. Trust in your own capabilities but be wary. Do not overestimate yourself, nor underestimate any foes you encounter. Understand?"
"Yes sir." Bell says with a nod.
With a nod back to Bell, I stand back up and we continue our approach to the Tower of Babel. I spot a large looking entrance that led into the dungeon, I could see adventurers going in and out. As we got closer, I looked upwards on the tower in question. I give it the stink eye as I had a feeling a certain goddess of love might be up there. She was somewhere up there, hiding like a rat with her lovers—ahem—I mean trophies. Thinking of said trophies makes me subtly glance at Bell whom had his eyes focused on the entrance to the dungeon. I give a small sigh and shake my head, knowing that keeping him away from her was going to be a pain in the ass. Well…I'll do what I can to the best of my abilities. The entrance to the dungeon is soon upon us, me and Bell coming to a halt as we look at each other.
"Well…here it is." I said rather lamely.
"Y-yeah." Bell stuttered nervously. "The dungeon…"
"Last chance to back out Bell." I said to him and he quickly shakes his head.
"N-no! No. I'm ready!" he assures me and himself.
"Let's do this then." I say with finality and he nods again.
We both enter and enter into a monolithic lobby of sorts with two staircases. One leading upwards to the upper floors, the other down towards the dungeon with various glowing stones and runs of sorts. We make our way to the one going downwards and quickly descend, passing by adventurers returning from their own trips. I get a wide berth as I descend the stairs, getting a few hushed whispers and Bell hurries to catch up to me. I glance over the edge all that greets me is a pitch-black hole. An image of a crow mask pops up, two glowing purple eyes staring me down. I shake my head to rid the thought and I begin my descent down the new stairwell, Bell quickly following. We both keep going down the well, passing by a few more adventurers coming back up. I feel their eyes on me as me and Bell keep going. It takes a while, I estimated about thirty minutes to reach from the overworld down to the real entrance to the dungeon, but we eventually come across a final lobby area of sorts. There were adventurers milling about, setting up plans, checking their equipment and supplies or resting up. My presence is immediately noticed as me and Bell come off the stairwell. I ignore the silent stares but I can tell Bell is a bit nervous by the other adventurers looking at us. I get his attention with a snap of my metal fingers and I nudge my head towards the true entrance to the dungeon. He nods and I let him take lead before following. Just as we were about to leave the lobby, I stop and slowly turn around and give all the adventures a long unblinking stare of my own. They get the hint after a few minutes and quickly go back to what they were doing, making me snort in annoyance.
"Annoying meatbags." I mutter as I quickly catch up with Bell.
The brickwork around me soon becomes that of rocks and caverns. The footing slowly becomes uneven as we both progress further and further into the labyrinth. Oddly enough, despite being underground the lighting stayed the same. Regardless, I kept my eye sight on the lookout, scanning for targets and any possible traps we may run into. We keep going, traversing various tunnels of all sizes and directions. Twenty minutes in and we've yet to encounter any opposition yet which makes me even more cautious as the dungeon might just sprout out monsters as it wishes.
"It sure is quiet." I hear Bell remark as we walked.
"The lack of any action is making me a jumpy right now." I concur as I look behind us to make sure nobody was sneaking up on us. "Stay vigilant, the dungeon might just decide to ruin our day if it chooses."
It takes another ten minutes before our luck in not encountering any foes comes to an end. I hear them before I see them, the cackling and snarls of beast and monsters. My HUD flares to life in my vision, a small radar to the left and it notifies me.
*Beep! *Beep!
WARNING!
Dungeon lifeforms detected near vicinity!
Proceed with extra caution!
I grab Bell which gets his attention and I do a shushing motion with my fingers. He quiets and I slowly move forward, taking the lead. I hear another cackle which was followed by a snarl and try to the best of my own ability to stay low. I sneak around some convenient stalagmites and use them to try and hide behind. I peek out and I see a large group of small humanoids. From a distance they would look like large hunched over children but my enhanced sight easily identifies them. There are fifteen of them, small green goblins garbed in rags of cloth and leather all wielding crude knifes and clubs. I wave Bell over and he silently makes his way to my side. I motion for him to look and he peeks out from cover and he spots our soon to be foes. He ducks back into cover and I see a nervous look appear on his face. I give him a reassuring look before speaking to him.
"Alright, there's fifteen of those little green bastards." I began. "I'll take the initiative and go in charging; it will get their attention focused solely on me and they probably won't notice you. Use the distraction to sneak around the other stalagmites and flank them. Get any straggler's you come across. Easy plan, got it?"
"Yes sir." Bell replies, and I pat him on the shoulder to give a boost of confidence.
With a small breath of preparation, I stand up fully and then jump out of cover.
Hostile lifeforms confirmed!
Threat level to Unit: 0.01%, insignificant threat level to unit.
Threat level to Primary Objective: 33.72%, minor threat level but dangerous.
Activating combat protocols!
Terminate all hostiles in vicinity!
Engaging combat!
My HUD marks my targets and a heat builds up through my body, making me thrum with repressed energy. My metal feet clank loudly against the rock flooring as I begin my charge, behind me I can hear the pitter patter of Bell's boots slinking off into the nearby stalagmites. The large group of goblins cackle loudly in alarm as they spot me. My longer strides helping me close the distance and they just begin to brandish their weapons when I'm already upon them. First plan of attack was to pull back my leg and proceed to punt one of the little bastards while yelling.
"Oi! Itz a GuD Dai FuR sum FooTie init?!" I yell out in a Scottish accent.
"Yaaar—blagh!" The goblins stop its cry as my metallic foot smashes into its small frame.
*Squelch! *Splat!
My fucking kick completely obliterated the fucker's chest, I can feel my foot cave in his bones before it keeps going. The act completely bisecting the upper portion off the body, sending it into a wall. Blood and pieces shower my leg and my foes. I'm already turning towards another foe, my arm swinging out with a backhand. My hand smashes into a goblin's face, turning it a full one-eighty degree's, killing it instantly. I feel two bodies jump onto my back, their weapons trying to cut through my thick cloak to no avail. I ignore them and settle on simply bringing down a fist on a goblin's head, destroying it and splattering more blood onto me. I then reach back; my arms joints allowing me an even greater degree of rotation than flesh, to grab my climbing attackers on my back. Hefting them by the skulls, I simply smash them together with great force. Crushing both skulls beneath my hands, a shower of blood coats them as I drop the now headless bodies.
"Eaaaaagh!" A goblin screams to my right.
I feel a dull knife hit uselessly against my armor and I simply reach down and grab the goblin by the legs and proceed to use it as an improvised bludgeon.
"Fore!" I say and proceed to smash my weapon into an unfortunate victim.
*Smack! *Crunch!
My victim is sent flying and hitting the side of a random stalagmite, breaking it's back rather loudly. I spot a nearby stalagmite and I jump over and proceed to swing my prisoner onto the point, destroying their chest via impalement. I hear two goblins cry out behind me and I turn around to see one gobbling jumping at me with its knife raised in a stabbing motion while the other ducks low and tries to go for my exposed legs.
"Aaaaaand…interception!" I say as I grab the jumping goblin from midair by the throat.
The second goblin went for a slash but it's weapon barely even scratched my armored legs. It tried again but a simple kick knocked him on his ass before I raised a foot and brought it back down onto his skull.
*Splat! *Squelch!
"Eeeeeee!" The goblin in my hands croaked as it tried to free itself.
I grunt in annoyance and I simple point a finger at the goblin's face before impaling one of my fingers through its eye socket and into its skull. Its face is left in an open scream and its remaining eye twitches from its abrupt death. Like I said, my fingers are very pointy and are very good for stabbing things made of flesh
"That's ten…" I mutter to myself and look for more targets.
Only to see none anywhere, I drop the corpse and watch with morbid fascination as it's body slowly turns into a dark mist, leaving behind a rather small sparkling stone, a monster stone. The heat that once ran amongst my body had vanished. I then look about and notice two goblins off the side with their throats sliced open roughly, their bodies also turning to dark mist.
Scanning…scanning…scanning…
All hostiles terminated successfully.
Deactivating combat protocols.
Proceed with former duties.
My mind wakes from the recent battle-lust and I remember Bell. I think I felt my artificial heart speed up as I looked around for my companion. Worry began to enter my mind as I looked left and right. The heat from before returning as I search for Bell. Damn it, letting old habits slip back in.
"It always brings a certain thrill doesn't it?!" a memory hissed in my mind.
"Bell?! Bell where you at kid?!" I call out, shaking the thoughts.
"Over here Mister Kaz." I hear him reply.
I pinpoint the location behind some stalagmites and I maneuver around the obstacles. I find another dead goblin with many stab wounds, making me pick up my pace around the other stalagmites and rocks. I then spot him, making me sigh in relief. The heat vanishing from my body, my body relaxing at Bell's confirmed safety. Bell was currently sitting on the ground, his weapon held in his hand, looking both thoughtful and morose. Next to him was a body of a dead goblin, dark mist slowly flaking off its corpse. A bit further away was another one impaled on a stalagmite through its skull, it too was vanishing. I walk over to him and kneel down closer to his level. He looks up to me from his sitting position and I can tell he's disturbed. The first kill is never easy and he just had to kill at least five. I give him a knowing look and pat him on the back to comfort him. I feel him shudder before he calms his nerves.
"You good?" I gently ask.
"I…I don't know." He replies, unsure of his own answer. "I feel…I don't even know…"
"First kill is never easy kid." I tell him as I sit down next to him. "But know these things that you just killed are just monsters. Simple-minded beasts with no true will of their own. Their only desire was to simply kill anything not a monster like them."
"I know. I know Mister Kaz." Bell exclaims before sighing. "Does it get easier?"
"Well…that really depends on you kid. Sometimes you never get used to it, other times you will brush it away as an unfortunate occurrence." I say to him in a careful tone, burying old memories of…the less savory things I had done back then. "But as I said, only you decide that. I can help guide the way in helping you get used to it but it's all up to you whether you let it affect you or not. Dungeon diving has real risks that come with the territory. You will be dealing with situations like this on a daily basis as an adventurer whether you like it or not."
Bell falls silent as he ponders my words. He still looks conflicted for a few moments before it washes away with a sort of acceptance. He sighs before looking back up to me with a unsure expression on his face. I give him one last pat on the back before I stand up and offer my hand to him. He grabs my hand and I hoist him up to stand. He dusts himself before he gives his bloodied dagger a long look. With a small grunt, he wipes away the blood on his weapon and then closely inspecting it for any damage. I too inspect it and surprisingly it had little to no damage so far despite the messy work just moments prior. I put all other thoughts away as I then begin to search the area for our loot, the monster stones. Going to each spot that had a body prior, I pick up the stones gingerly with my fingers. It wasn't easy mind you but I managed to collect fifteen small stones. I then hand them over to Bell to which he places the stones in a sack before tying it around onto his leather belt. I quickly brush myself over and make some attempt to rid myself of any monster blood that had gotten on me, via dust bath. Not the best but better than nothing. After recleaning myself of dust he and I exchange nods before we continue our way from the previous battle area. This time I took lead and motion for Bell to follow.
"Alright then, let's keep going kid. Keep an eye on our rear as we go." I say to him as I walk.
"Will do." I hear Bell reply.
We continue our trek through the tunnels of the first floor, my eyes scanning left and right for enemies. The ground gets more uneven as we keep going further and further into the tunnels. I occasionally look back to make sure Bell is behind me and at times I have to wait for him as my longer strides easily outpace his. It was about fifteen minutes of travelling when we come across more sounds of monster activity around a turn.
*Beep! *Beep!
WARNING!
Dungeon lifeforms detected near vicinity!
Proceed with extra caution!
Me and Bell both take cover against the walls of the caves and I slowly move ahead and peek out around the turn. I spot three small furry monsters with a dog-like head of sorts, DanMachi's iteration of a kobold if I'm correct. I also spot seven large lizards with the kobolds; those might be a problem if they're fast. All in all, about ten enemies ahead of us in a tight narrow space.
Multiple hostiles detected.
Calculating threat levels.
Number of hostiles: 10.
Threat level to Unit: 0.05%, insignificant threat level to unit.
Threat level to Primary Objective: 50.22%, medium threat level to ally, terminate hostiles ASAP.
Up ahead I can spot what looked like a large open room of sorts with a crumbled brick building, perhaps something of interest?
"We got monsters, ten of them." I notify Bell as we both took cover.
"Same plane as the one before mister Kaz?" He asks me with a curious look.
"Yep, same one as before." I say before adding. "Though I'm afraid we might need to alter it."
"Why?" Bell asked me, confusing on his face.
"Look around kiddo." I replied, gesturing around us. "Small tunnel, small area, smaller than the area that we fought with the goblins. Not a lot of room to move around, especially for me but I'll make due. Not a lot of hiding spots either so you trying to sneak around is a no go. It's going to be extremely close quarter if we fight."
"How about luring them out to a bigger area?" Bell suggested to me.
"A good idea, one that I would happily agree to…if we weren't in a dungeon that was alive. Said living dungeon also wants to screw us over and kill us at any given chance. So, too risky despite being a good idea. We need to do it here and now, before the dungeon gets ideas and decides a flanking attack on us is funny." I explain back to him.
"There really isn't any other way huh?" He says with a slightly dejected tone.
"Not much choice kid." I said with a shrug. "Just stay behind me. And watch out for those lizards especially, there's a lot of them. I have a feeling they're going to be fast and nimble little bastards. They might get through my guard and go after you so you'll need to take them out if that happens. But I'll try my best to keep them occupied."
"Alright then…I'm ready." Bell says after a moment of preparing himself mentally.
Activating combat protocols.
Proceeding with termination of hostiles.
Leave none alive.
Giving him an acknowledging nod, I move away from cover and I'm immediately spotted. My mechanical heart, whirring and thrumming eagerly as conflict comes. The kobolds give a bark and they heft up some crude clubs before screaming at me. The lizards rear up slightly and hiss in my direction before bolting towards me. I click my tongue as the lizards close the distance between us. I spread my arms and stance out to cover the small tunnel as much as possible, using my cloak to hide Bell behind me and make me the only target that they can see and attack. The first lizard gets within range and it lunges at my throat area with its jaws wide open. I simply bring down a metal fist down onto its head.
*Slam! *Squelch! *Splat! *Splat!
The body falls as its head was pulverized by the blow. The second and third lizard try a different approach against me. One of them goes to my right, keeping low as possible. The other jumps onto the wall to my left and proceeds to cling onto it and race towards me. Both then attack simultaneously, a third lizard quickly hot on their tails.
"Pesky little gnats." I said with annoyance.
The right lizard lunges for my leg and I counter by kicking out suddenly, knocking out several tooths from the blow and knocking it to the side. I quickly follow up by thrusting the same leg into its throat. The lizard gives a dying wheeze as I crush its throat before crushing its neck bones. The lizard on the left jumps from the wall and manages to grab onto my left arm. It tries to bite onto my arm only to meet resistance from my armor, not even a scratch on the paint. I grab the bottom half that was hanging off my occupied arm and wrangle it off said arm. I then proceed to use said arm to jam it against the beast's throat and I proceed to piledrive myself into the wall, lizard first of course.
*Crash! *Splat!
Blood and flesh matter coat the front of my face and upper torso as I utterly crush the lizards throat and chest in. I then feel a sudden weight hit me around at my waist and I glance down to see that the third lizard had jumped onto my lower body and was now trying to bite my glowing mechanical spine. I also then notice the other monsters quickly closing the distance making me click my tongue in annoyance.
"Bell, a little help!" I call out.
"Got it!" He replies.
I feel my cloak shift and Bell is suddenly visible while still behind my body, offering him some form of protection. The lizard gives a surprised croak before it turns into a pained gurgle as Bell thrusts his dagger into its throat. Bell yells loudly as he swings his dagger to the side, leaving a large gash and a shower of blood from the monster. He stabs it again in the side in three successions, then proceeds to kick the beast down where it gurgles helplessly as its life drains away. Bell then backs up slightly as I drop the corpse of my recently slain foe and reposition myself once more. This time a kobold and lizard charge at me. The kobold goes for a simple swing at me but I simply block the attack and jam and index finger into its cranium before punching the upper portion of its skull in, a bit overkill but who cares. The lizard, in my distraction with the kobold tries to go for Bell but he takes cover behind my cloak making the lizard hiss loudly as it missed it mark.
"On your leg!" Bell yells to me as he slips behind my cloak.
"Already working on it!" I reply quickly.
The lizard beast tries to retreat but I manage to grab it by its tail. Remembering about lizards in general back on Earth, I then quickly grab a leg just in case the lizard had a disposable tail to deny it an escape. The creature hisses loudly as it tries to turn around and bite my graspers. I slam it into the ceiling before slamming into the ground, dazing it and proceed to bring down my foot down onto the skull.
*Crack! *Squish! *Splat!
"Arga! Arg!" A second kobold barks as it jumps onto my leg.
"Rah! Rah!" The third barked out after, going for my other leg.
"Back off from mister Kaz!" I hear Bell yell.
I feel my cloak shift once more and Bell lunges out with his dagger, stabbing the third kobold in the side, earning a loud pained whine. I feel Bell jerk back as the kobold tries to bite him and I return the favor with a backhand, its head doing a full three-sixty. The second kobold I quickly grab and yank it off my leg and procced to toss it at the two remaining lizards, knocking them down for the moment in a pile of tangled limbs.
"Quick! While they're down and still recovering!" I say to Bell and rush forward.
"Ah—wait for me sir!" Bell yelps in surprise.
"Full speed ahead!" I yell out a war cry.
Despite the uneven footing I still manage to build up enough speed despite the short distance. I give a long whooping cry as I bend low as I could and shoulder check the disorientated kobold that had just managed to stand back up. I feel the many bones of my unfortunate target shatter violently against my heavy bulk. In my charge I also felt my feet step heavily onto the pair of lizards, I feel chest bones get pulverized beneath my foot and a limb snap to pieces followed by an agonized wail from one of the lizards. One very dead lizard and one very crippled. Slamming my feet into the floor, I feel the rocky flooring literally break apart as I skid to a halt with a loud screech. The body of the dead kobold flings off my frame as I come to a halt. I hear a smaller war cry and look back to see Bell already getting to work on the last lizard, stabbing it quickly yet also messily. The crippled lizard tries to fight back with a sluggish lunge but Bell dodges it and finishes it off with a stab into its eye socket. It dies with a death rattle from its throat before going completely still.
All hostiles slain successfully.
Deactivating combat protocols.
Proceed with former duties.
Bell grunts as he removes his weapon from its eye and makes a disgusted sound as he wipes away the mess from his weapon with a small towel. Speaking of blood, I'm drenched in it again. This is going to be a reoccurring thing if I keep this up. Then again, it's so damn easy to kill a meatbag. One little tap from me and they go down without issue. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and a small waft of steam hisses out from my mouth, the heat immediately fading away doing so.
"All good Bell?" I asked him, curious to see if he was holding up well.
"Ah—yes sir." Bell replied after a stutter.
"Hn, good. Gather up the crystals and let's keep going then." I say to him, wiping my cloak of excess blood.
We quickly collect our loot, ten small scraps of monster stones, and move on. We enter the large open cave room area that was previously blocked by our opponents. There were other tunnels leading to this room, I assume they probably led elsewhere on the first floor. I put those thoughts to the side as we approach the crumpled brick ruins. Seeing those ruins reminded me of some dungeons in Oblivion and Skyrim, usually ruins were points of interests. Taking extra vigilance, I make sure to take lead as we come upon it, ready for anything.
"Unusual place for ruins." Bell remarked as we both curiously look them over. "It looks manmade…but I get a feeling that isn't the case."
"Must be something made by the dungeon itself then." I say to him as I walk around the ruins. "Have a look around, there might be something here."
"Will do mister Kaz." Bell replies as he begins to search about.
As we search around the ruins, I make sure to keep within eyesight of Bell. Who knows if the dungeon will throw something unexpected at us while we're here skulking around? As I go around what looked like remains of a brick archway, I immediately spot a set of stairs going downwards. Just like in those game with a stairway to the next level.
"Bell, over here!" I call out to him.
Hearing me call to him, he quickly jogs over to me and we both look down the stairway downwards. Breaking out stare down at the stairway, we then look at each other again.
"Well? Looks like these are the stairs to the next floor. Want to keep going?" I offered to him.
"Hmmm…" Bell hums, thinking it over. "Well…I suppose we can keep going."
"Alright then, let us proceed onwards or rather downwards in this case." I say in an offhanded manner.
We make our way down the stairs, our steps echoing loudly as we descended. The tight confines of the stairway soon open up to another large cave room just like the one prior. Again, there are many tunnels leading elsewhere as I look warily about. Bell hums as he looks from one tunnel to another, I also doing the same.
"Looks the same, caves with many tunnels and many paths. But from what I heard the cave environment tends to vanish the deeper we go but who knows. Where should we go next Bell?" I asked him as I crossed my arms.
"Hummmm…" Bell thought as he looked from one tunnel to another. "Let's take the center right tunnel ahead, I got good feeling."
"Alright, then away we go." I say, taking lead.
And away we went, sticking to the center right tunnel. We travel for about fifteen minutes when my advanced hearing picks up something and I give the signal to stop. I look at Bell and point to the side of my head where my ear would've been. He gives me a nod and we both begin to listen. The brief silence allows us to pick up the familiar sounds of running water. I give Bell a look and we both continue our trek, following the sound. Our trekking soon makes us come across an open and long cave system with a shallow flowing steam of water. This area, despite being part of the dungeon felt rather…peaceful surprisingly.
*Growl!
Hearing a sudden growling noise behind me, I tense and get amped up for a fight. Shit, an ambush! Thought this looked too convenient! Veering around, I raise my hands up in a pseudo-martial stance only to see a blushing Bell Cranel holding his stomach. I give a sigh before I relax my stance and give him a cheeky grin.
"Hah, jeez kiddo. You got a monster for a stomach or something?" I said teasingly.
"Ah shut it mister Kaz! You don't have to worry about basic needs like I do." Bell replies in an embarrassed voice.
"All the better why I like this body of mine. Don't ever have to worry about anything, unlike many other meatbags." I say with a cheeky tone before looking around. "Go ahead and set up camp, this place seems safe enough to rest. I'll look around and make sure the perimeter is secure."
"Aye, aye mister Kaz." Bell replied as he set down his pack and began unpacking.
Leaving Bell to it, I begin my perimeter check of the current area. My eyes keep a keen lookout for anything suspicious and dangerous, double checking every nook and cranny in the current area. Seeing nothing but the tunnel's we might go through later, I walked over to the water's edge and scanned the surface for anything dangerous. My scanners only go over the surface of the waters and tell me that the water could be drank if boiled first. I try again to see if there could be anything underneath the waters only to get the same result. Curious I ask my system to do a deep scan to see if I can get a more detailed look or something.
Acknowledged.
Performing Deep Scan.
Deep Scan in progress.
Scanning…Scanning…Scanning…
Deep Scan Complete!
Through my eyes, a digital wave of green emits from my location, the line going over all objects and surfaces…even underwater, giving a much more detailed and estimated depth of the stream and for danger. It would be about knee high in this body at its deepest at the furthest edge against the other side of the wall. Old memories of me travelling to the other states and to other continents came to mind, reminding me of old dangers such as hiding alligators and crocodiles or even the occasional bull shark encounter. Though the scan found no enemies, I look back to Bell and see that he's settled a good distance from the water's edge. Good, at least he has some common sense unlike some people from our world. He sitting on a puffy folded blanket to act as a cushion and a lantern to provide some extra lighting around the dimly lit area we were in. He was currently chowing down on some crackers with a canteen of sorts that he had bought some time ago when he came into the city of Orario. Grunting to myself, I make my way back over to Bell and his makeshift camp. Walking over, I find a suitable spot and sit down across from Bell.
"Well, no danger so far." I say to him as I lean back and use my arms and hands as support. "I think we'll be good for the time being."
"Okay then." Bell murmured, taking a drink from his canteen.
Now that we were in a "safe zone" at least, I can now get a better look over Bell. He had a thoughtful look adorning his face as he idly chews his food. I spot a small glint in his other hand and see him holding his dagger, unsheathed and ready to be used in the case of sudden hostiles. Good habits to build up when dungeon diving, even a supposed safe zone can turn hostile at any moment on the whims of the dungeon. That'll make my job easier in teaching and protecting him.
"Mister Kaz…sir?" Bell suddenly piped up.
"Yeah? What's up kid?" I reply, waiting for him to continue.
"I've been meaning to ask…ever since we met. Sorry if I come off as rude but…" He stops briefly, considering his next words. "…what exactly are you? You remind me of a golem from the stories my grandfather told me when I was younger. But I have a feeling you're…different."
"Eh, it's fine kid. I'd figured you'd be curious to what exactly I am." I answer lazy manner before adding. "Well…for starts…I am an automaton…or android in simple terms. However, like golems, I am created from mostly artificial parts to make up my body and form."
These units and models were created/converted for the following designations; combat, warfare, covert operations, counter-infiltration and most important of all high-priority assassinations.
"As for the golem comment…I am much more…complex than those simple golems. Unlike most golems, I have much free will than they ever will because…" I come a stop, making Bell look at me with wonder and confusion.
"Because what?" Bell implores for me to continue.
"Well…I am…or rather…was human once I think." I finish, thinking carefully how much I should divulge.
"What? What do you mean by that?" Bell says with even more confusion.
"I am saying I…remember being flesh and blood like you once. Maybe I was before I became this." I say slowly, thinking more lies before continuing. "I think…I think I was…wounded? Dying? Dead? Not sure, memory is hazy thinking back. But I know I had willingly traded my old fragile body for this durable one in exchange. But because of that, I have more freedom and free will than a golem will ever have. I am more 'alive' than they are in a sense."
All units are installed with highly advanced AI cores. Each unit is fully sentient, has free will, and the latest software and modules to increase performance, allow complex critical thinking, short- and long-term planning, massive information storage and problem-solving in order to progress and complete with any tasks given to a unit. Other models made through the [REDACTED] process have similar attributes to pre-built models post conversion.
Bell makes a noise of wonder and I take that as the cue to keep going.
"My body also has a variety of specialized features and utilities that normal golems do not have. For example, this little large spike on my back draws in the surrounding mana which in turn allows me to use mana like a living person. A second example is I can fix myself easily without much assistance."
This model is the successor to the [REDACTED] models of the previous generation. This model is built upon the [REDACTED] Framework, the first successful union of both advanced technology and the arcane, allowing these units to fully utilize mana/prana located in the powerpack. The framework features a fully modular body structure that can be upgraded, repaired and replaced more easily both on the field or respective armories as needed. The framework also greatly expands the degree of movement and flexibility, greatly increasing combat capabilities, menial labor, body part repairs and replacements, and evasive actions.
"A third example is my degree of motion is vastly greater than most golems as they are mostly restricted to a human form and its own limitations." I say before showing him, rotating my hand into a drill, I ask my system if I can detach limbs or parts at will without deactivating myself and it replies with a confirmation then get a cheeky grin on my face as I try something else. "Oh! And this too! Watch!"
Grabbing my head with both hands, Bell looks at me in alarm and I give a wink before I proceed to twist my head like a top. Bell gives a small yelp of fright as my head spins in a continuous three-sixty degree of motion. I grin widens even more as I force my head upward while it's spinning and I hear a loud metallic pop as my head comes right off my neck. Both of my hands rise up and catch my head before it flies off into a random direction. It was a very weird feeling, to be honest. My head was free yet I could still feel my body like normal.
"Eeeeee! Mister Kaz your head!" Bell yells out. "Aaaaaah! Aaaaaagh! Mister Kaz is dead! What do I do?! What do I tell Lady Hestia?!"
Caution: Head piece has been removed from body structure!
Remote control features fully initialized!
"Oi! Keep your HEAD on your shoulders!" I say, getting his attention.
Carefully grasping my head, I turn it towards him and I make a mock zombie face at him. I then proceed to make all sorts of monster-like noises at him. This act further makes Bell yowl with terror and fright at my very casual inhumane showcase of dismembering myself in a literal sense. Seeing his terrified reactions makes me laugh in response.
"Hieeeeee! Stop that!" Bell says, disturbed. "Bodies aren't supposed to do that!"
"Correction. Fleshy bodies aren't supposed to do that." I chime in. "My non-living body has no such limitations."
I then raise my head back over my neck and press it down. Hearing a loud click and clank, I give my head another spin to make sure it's back in place correctly. When my head stopped its spin, I then proceed to give Bell an impish smile and he glares at me in return.
"Oi, oi! Why the long face!? You're letting your anger get AHEAD of itself!" I say in a teasing manner.
"Mister Kaz!" Bell grouches out at me.
"Of fine, oh fine then. Spoil sport." I say with a placating chuckle.
"Don't do that again please." Bell says with a grimace.
"Okay, but no promises! Got to keep my HEAD in the game after all." I say in a cheeky manner which makes Bell groan. "Alright, alright. I'll stop now Bell. Anyways, back to topic of ole me. So, it also greatly helps that I'm made of metal. So, I tend to be more durable than your average golem, the only one that might match me in pure durability are earth golems. Mainly because they can pack themselves with dirt, rocks and whatever other earthly material they can get their hands on."
The armor, layered on top of the [REDACTED] Framework, is made from the metallic substance known as "Living Metal" discovered on [REDACTED] in the year [REDACTED]. Living Metal when damaged, repairs itself overtime like living tissue, though it does so perfectly unlike those of flesh. It can even regenerate or reattach lost limbs, modules and parts of an automaton if given enough material to work with. Durability of the armor is dependent on what metallic material the Living Metal has absorbed into it's being as Living Metal has no true durability of its own. Living Metal can absorb any other metal into it's being and forcibly change its own matter, density and properties to match the absorbed metal perfectly. How it does this is completely unknown and still in research on [REDACTED]. Lower tiered units like this one have the common yet very durable metal Geisteel absorbed as standard issue.
"So yeah, while I'm similar to those of golems but not quite in another sense." I finish, filing the information away for later.
"Huh…interesting…" Bell murmurs thoughtfully.
"So…ready to keep going kiddo?" I ask as I reposition myself, ready to stand if needed.
"Mhmm! Ready when you are Mister Kaz!" Bell replies, now in a kneeling position, putting away the remainder of his snacks, canteen and cushion back into his pack.
"Alright then. I'll take lead as usual, fine with that?" I say, standing up and dusting myself.
"Yes sir!" Bell replies, standing up and dusting himself.
And again, we were on our way through the second floor of the dungeon. We kept to the bigger tunnels as much as we could, though there were slight hiccups as we were forced to trek through smaller tunnels but we managed. We were going through another large empty room until…
*Rumble! *Rumble! *Rumble!
*Beep! *Beep!
Warning!
Unusual seismic activity detected in vicinity!
Probability of being natural: 22% chance, unlikely but possible.
Probability of the Dungeon's influence: 88% chance, most possibly and source of cause.
Threat level: 50%, medium threat level to both unit and charge.
Advice: Protect charge from all forms of possible harm!
"Stay close to me Bell!" I say to him, draping my arm and cloak over his smaller frame.
"What's going on!? Why's the dungeon shaking?!" Bell asks, frightened by the sudden change of events.
I quickly usher us both towards a set of stalagmites, using them as some form of cover from debris and whatnot. I position myself facing towards Bell and my back towards the danger. I use my cloak to provide some additional cover over Bell. I also grab two parallel stalagmites tightly to support myself as I loom over him protectively.
"Stay under me and don't move." I say to him, trying to cover as much space above Bell.
"But what about—" Bell starts but I quickly interrupt him.
"I'm made of metal, you're just a meaty waterbag. I can take a hit to the head and keep going, you won't be as fortunate as me. I'll be fine so don't worry too much!" I hiss as I hear a loud crash behind me.
*Rumble! *Rumble! *Rumble!
I idly feel a few small pieces of ceiling debris hit me with a loud clang, making Bell flinch and look at me with concern but I give him a reassuring smile to ease his worries. My smile wanes as I hear the ceiling creak ominously and loud audible cracks could be heard but thankfully no sounds or signs of the ceiling possibly collapsing on top of us. My fingers are digging into the stalagmites as I try to keep calm. The rumbling keeps going for some time before suddenly coming to a halt.
*Silence…
"Is it over?" Bell asks me unsurely.
"I'll check around, stay in cover just in case." I say to him.
Undraping myself from Bell, I cautiously look about. My HUD scanning the area furiously as I take some hesitant steps away from Bell. A few stalactites had fallen from the ceiling and impaled themselves in various locations of the cave room. I halt as I feel another brief rumble go through though it left as quick as it came. Then another silence overcomes the room, my advanced hearing whirring itself to hear for anything. Seeing that the danger hopefully has passed fully, I turn around to Bell and motion for him to follow. He's quick to make his way over to me.
"That was…scary." Bell murmurs. "I never thought the dungeon did that though."
"Never heard of the dungeon doing this either. Or if it has then there's not a lot of information of it happening. It might be a rare event for the occasion." I add, trying to hypothesize why something like this happened. "Well, at least we're fine for the time being. Let's keep—"
*Beep! *Beep!
WARNING!
Dungeon lifeforms detected near vicinity!
Prepare for inevitable combat!
Activating combat protocols!
Oh fuck! Is that the dungeon's way of respawning enemies on the spot?! Shit! We're very fucking exposed right now! Bell must've noticed something was wrong as he was now looking around for danger. I place myself back-to-back with Bell as I hear the walls cracking apart. My scanner already highlighting numerous bodies between the large cracks in the walls.
"Mister Kaz, the walls they're—"
"We're surrounded! Get ready for a fight Bell!" I yell as the walls fell down with a final rumble.
Holy shit, we were completely surrounded by enemies on all sides. I counted at least a hundred of them all around us. So many enemies; goblins, kobolds, giant lizards and several new enemies that I've yet to classify were all around us. The monsters gave us one look before giving a war cry of sorts and charging at us with an unknown zeal and seething hatred. My worry for Bell in particular grew and I felt him press up against my back leg, shaking in fear. I could hear him slowly beginning to hyperventilate at the numerous foes that had suddenly appeared.
"Mister Kaz." Bell whimpered. "There's so many of them! What are we going to do?!"
"Just follow my lead kid! Don't get separated from me!" I quickly answer.
Hearing a confirming sound come from Bell I charge into the fray. The heat thrums once more as I barrel myself through several monsters, sending them flying while trampling other smaller ones beneath my feet. Bones audibly fracture and blood splatters onto my body from each now trampled beast. Bell is quick to keep up with me, slashing and stabbing at anything that came close that I could not deal with. I then curl my fingers on both hands and put my sharp digits to use as makeshift claws.
"Duck kid!" I yell, swinging my left arm backwards.
"Yaaah!" Bell yelps, obeying my command.
*Slice! *Splatter!
My sharp fingers cleave through several flying bat-things, both flesh and bone. I then quickly retract my arm back forward to slash several monsters in front, bisecting many or leaving huge gashes. I swing out with my right arm and cut down three more beasts' mid-attack. A few rodent-things manage to get past my attacks but they're introduced to my feet in exchange, punting them away and sending them crashing into their fellow monsters. Several more come to take their place and I end their pitiful existence via crushing them beneath my feet and sharp claws.
"Mister Kaz above you!" I hear Bell yell, making me look up.
"Kreeee!" A bat-thing screeches, followed by several more.
Fangs and teeth soon enter my vision, I numbly feel several bat-things trying to claw and bit my face off. The feeling of having something attacking my face makes me flinch from old human instincts despite my face being made of metal and synthetic material. I respond by batting them away with simple but fast and powerful slaps, their bones breaking from my actions. Through the swarm of remaining bat-things, I see the monsters slowly but surely overrunning us.
"Bell, hop onto my back!" I relay to him.
"Wha—"
"Just do it!" I interrupt.
"—okay!" Bell yelps as I feel him jump and climb onto my back, using my powerpack as leverage.
"Hold on tight kid!" I order and I feel him tighten his hold.
I then squat down slightly before proceeding to perform a jump. I hear Bell yelp out in surprise as we were now airborne, allowing me to get a view of our situation.
17 of 100 hostiles terminated.
Continue with termination process.
Show no mercy.
The landing is heavy and loud despite using several monsters as meaty cushions. More monsters are already swarming me, biting, clawing and stabbing at my legs and I proceed to grind my left foot into the floor and swing out with my right leg. Spinning my entire body around like a fucking top if you will. My large and armored legs making short work of their fragile bodies. I can hear Bell yelping as he clung onto me tighter as I spun. I go again with another spin, nailing more monsters. I reach back and hold Bell as I finish the spin with a jumping front flip, I feel heat surge up my legs before I smash both of my feet into the floor, creating a visible shockwave which sent any nearby foe flying or stumbling backwards. I quickly bring my arms back up and I resume slicing and dicing with them while charging forward, trampling anything in my way.
"Mister Kaz, bats coming behind us!" Bell says to me.
"Aye, aye! Hold on tight!" I reply to him.
I perform a forward hop while spinning, allowing me to turn a complete one-eighty, feet grinding across the floor as I touch the floor and knocking into a couple of monsters over while doing so. I bring up my claws and slash with them just in time to intercept a small group of bat-things. Blood and gore paint my face due to how close they were making me groan in disgust, Bell himself made a queasy sound as well. Recalling the monsters that I had just knocked over, I sweep out with a leg, catching a lizard in the face and bisecting a kobold and goblin. I then quickly hold onto Bell again as I perform the spinning top maneuver once more with my body. This time griding my other foot to allow me to move while spinning to cover some ground, cleaving several monsters apart. It was awkward to say the least but hey it fucking worked like a charm and I was going to use it when I can, just in moderation as I might make Bell puke out his snack at this rate from motion-sickness. I swing out from my spin with a powerful backhand which connects with several small bodies, followed by my claws swinging after dicing up a few more. Seeing that I had made some breathing room if temporary, I look around to get another feel of the situation.
34 of 100 hostiles terminated.
Continue with termination process.
Leave none alive.
"Eugh, a third of way but still so many." I groan quietly before looking around.
A good chokepoint would be very useful right now! Maybe one of the tunnels? Hopefully there's a small one nearby so I can use to force a bottleneck! My HUD scans look for a nearby tunnel and much to my pleasure there were, but they were too big to use as a chokepoint. I scan again and I manage to find one but it was at the opposite end of the room. I click my tongue in annoyance as the horde of monsters came upon me, but I settle in ignoring them as I hold onto Bell and charge forward before leaping through the horde. I make sure every landing has a monster beneath me just to thin them out even more.
"Do du dew do du DEW!" I uttered, a certain famous game and plumber coming to mind.
*Leap! *Splat!
"Do du…deh do du dew da du!"
*Jump! *Crunch!
"Do du deh dew deh do du dew do du!"
*Hop! *Splatter!
"Dew! Du da du da do du deh!"
*Skip! *Splurt!
"Deh! Day de deh day de deh deya day de deh!"
*Bounce! *Crash!
"Deh! Day de deg da…DE DEH DAY!"
*Spring! *Crush!
40 of 100 hostiles terminated.
Continue with termination process.
You know no fear.
Well, we made it! Now just to get Bell off…
"We'll use this spot as a chokepoint!" I say to him as I go into the tunnel.
I go some distance inside, enough that the enemies would be forced into the tight corridors rather than the opening.
"Hop off, we'll face them here." I quickly order.
"Aye sir! Eugh…" Bell replies, making a sick sound as he drops from my back. "Yuck, so much blood."
"Less of that and more fighting kid." I advise him. "Here they come! Same plan as when we were in the smaller tunnel on the first floor!"
"Okay, I'm ready!" Bell says to me, getting into a battle stance of sorts.
Nodding, I then spread my stance out to cover as much space as possible. The monsters scramble madly over one another as they run to us, cackling, whooping and yelling out. I hear Bell take a shaky breath, I idly look back to see him taking deep calming breaths and tightening his hold on his dagger. When I return my gaze towards the horde, I begin my slaughter anew, my body acting out instantly when the first monster got into range. Both hands and fingers flatten themselves before I quickly drive my left hand into the chest of an incoming kobold, penetrating with ease and leaving the corpse stuck before I yank my hand out. I then thrust with my right hand and pierce through two goblins followed by a rodent-thing, a shish kabob in a morbid way. As I'm pushing the corpses off, a bat-thing latches onto my shoulder and bites uselessly against my armor.
"I got him!" Bell shouts behind me.
I feel Bell climb back up my body, using my cloak as leverage and quickly stab my unwanted passenger off before hopping back off. I give him a brief thanks before throwing out a barrage of stabs and slashes towards the horde. Every incoming monster that came close got a nice gift via impalement from my sharp digits. Those that I didn't get Bell took care of, darting out from behind my cloak and quickly stabbing or slicing a surprised monster before quickly retreating behind. Our little kill zone was sufficient, bodies of various monsters began to pile up in the tunnel, forcing the monsters into a narrower bottleneck. The piling bodies also helped me as they had to climb over their dead brethren, bringing to a slightly higher elevation for me to kill them in various ways. And I just kept going, the heat in my chest growing even more with each kill.
*Stab! *Stab! *Slice! *Slash! *Dice!
51 of 100 hostiles terminated.
Why are they so slow? Goodness were meatbags always this slow? Or did I speed up? Oh well, the faster the better and the easier to kill!
*Tear! *Crush! *Stab! *Stab! *Slice!
66 of 100 hostiles terminated.
Still a lot but not as much as before. Almost there, almost there! Imagine the loot Kaz! For a first day, this will be a huge payoff! Imagine if I went alone! Oh, the huge amount of money I could bring in! Now just keep killing them! Just kill…kill…KILL…KILLL! He's there! There! There he is! Kill him! KILL HIM NOW!
*Swipe! *Stab! *Stab! *Crush! *Rip!
80 of 100 hostiles terminated.
Traitor! Sellout! Snake! Make him pay! Track him down! Make him suffer! Kill the betrayer! Kill the kin slayer! He was no longer one of us the moment he joined them! Fuckers exile me from the clan why don't they?! He betrayed us not me! Why?! Why!? WHY?! I DIDN'T DO IT!
*Punch! *Crunch! *Tear! *Crush! *Rip!
92 of 100 hostiles terminated.
Was it worth it?! Was it worth all of this?! Selling out all your family and clan members just for some bills they gave you?! Forcing the rest of us to run the fuck away?! Then pinning all the blame onto me?! Motherfucker! I shit on your family linage! Motherfucking clan! I shit on all of your ancestors! Gutless cowards! Just because I was the odd one out! Just because I was pragmatic out of the rest of your backwards asses! I got shit done while the rest of you twiddled your fucking thumbs!
*Rip! *Tear! *Rip! *Tear! *Rip! *Tear!
I finally found you! After all these years I've found you here! On their fucking soil of all places! You really are one of them now! Come on fucker, why are you so afraid of me?! Where's your bravado back then?! Where's the rest of your fucking friends?! Send more of them! I'll kill them all! Lead them to the slaughter like you did to ours!
All hostiles terminated.
Objective completed.
Return to previous duties.
"Mister Kaz!" a voice called out to me.
I'm bleeding, I'm fucking bleeding motherfucker! Shot me in the chest but still alive and kicking! Got you too asshole! Why you running?! Is it because you're actually fucking scared for once in your life?! I'll keep chasing you until I—I—wha—what?! What?! Huh? Who—where—huh?! What was I doing? A—ah—oh…oh! What the hell happened? I look around in a slightly confused daze before looking down at my hands. My bloody stained robotic hands, I was completely soaked in blood from head to toe. All around me laid the mangled and torn apart bodies of various monsters, their forms slowly vanishing into mist and leaving behind their stones. Shit, did I—I did, didn't I? Fuck! Fucking hell! Why did I think of—grrrrrrrgh! Calm down! Calm down! Calm fucking down! I let out a breath, I feel my armor shift and open and thick wafts of steam shoot out from my mouth and the now exposed areas of my armor. My cloak flapping wildly from the stream of hot air escaping my body. I keep going, letting out all the steam…the heat…all the hate…all those…bitter memories…everything let go. I stop once the heat is gone and I simply stare at the ground, just fucking keep staring and doing nothing.
"Mister Kaz?" Bell says again, a tone of worry and fear entering his voice.
"What?" I simply replied, my fingers twitching.
"Are you alright?" Bell continues.
I give a loud sigh and look away from the ground to stare at Bell. My mood falls as I bear witness to his face and stature. One of complete fear, ready to bolt if I did anything sudden. I roll my shoulders and turn to him.
"I'm good kid. Just…just got lost in the heat of battle." I assure him but he remained unconvinced. "Never mind that…let's…collect our loot and go back up. I think we've overstayed our welcome."
"A—ah…yes sir." Bell agrees quietly.
Bell passes me, pouch in hand and already collecting the stones from the spots where the monsters once laid. I stare at him before staring back at myself. Funny…Bell was mostly free of blood…and here I was…soaked completely in its filth. I could hear every drip and drop of blood hitting the floor falling from my soaked body. How…disgusting and unbecoming. I grunt before I got to work helping Bell in collecting the stones. It was going to be a long and awkward way back up.
End of Chapter Two!
And here it is! Chapter Two of this story! Good lord did it take forever to type up! I even had to redo it a couple times because I didn't like some things and plan for those events to happen later. But I finally got what I wanted and wrote this!
This is a large chapter so there might be mistakes and stuff despite going over it three times.
But hoped you enjoyed it while I get working on the next! Peace!