《Go Big To Go Home: A Kaiju-Fighting Isekai LitRPG》 Chapter 1: Anomaly ¡°Again!¡± Four towering Amber Sentinels, each large enough to straddle the gates of Cliffwatch, carried between them a battering ram woven from the light of their auras. They drove it into the cracked white barrier before them with a thundering crash, and the jagged lines spread further across its face. ¡°It¡¯s breaking!¡± the pilot of the lead Sentinel shouted in his direction. ¡°Excellent. Again!¡± Flyreh grinned, looking down at his men from the top of the massive pit they¡¯d dug. The barrier was wavering, and ripples flowed towards the point of impact, trying to reinforce the cracks that his Willpower-enhanced vision could pick out. The entity within was putting up a fight. But it didn¡¯t matter. The battering ram, large enough to drive a cart down its length, struck the shield once more and a massive schism opened, a jagged vein of grey that tarnished the white expanse. ¡°Flyreh!¡± The nerd they¡¯d picked up - Flyreh could hardly bother recalling his name - was waving frantically, panic in his voice. ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem!¡± ¡°For the last starring time, I don¡¯t care if we¡¯re out of cucumber!¡° ¡°This is not about the cucumber,¡± He paused. ¡°Though, whilst we¡¯re on the subject, when are we -¡° ¡°Spit it out!¡± ¡°Very well, very well. We¡¯re getting spatial anomalies!¡± Flyreh rolled his eyes. ¡°This is the Kaiju Coast, I could wipe my ass with a spatial anomaly and not notice. If you have a point, get to it!¡± He turned back to the battering ram team, cupped his hands to his mouth and hollered, ¡°Again!¡± ¡°Abnormal ones!¡± the nerd protested, his voice almost drowned out by the sound of the ram crashing into the shield once more. ¡°These are excessive! Dangerous!¡± Flyreh grabbed the hood of the little nerd¡¯s cloak and forced him to look into his eyes, asking in silken tones, ¡°More dangerous than me?¡± ¡°I, the almighty administrator Mahendra, will not deign to take -¡° His grip tightened painfully around Mahendra¡¯s shoulder. Now he remembered why he hadn¡¯t bothered to recall the jumped-up middle manager¡¯s name. ¡°Say something of worth or don¡¯t say anything at all, little man,¡± Mahendra coughed, but nodded, poorly hidden anger in his eyes. ¡°I think the temple is trying to teleport somewhere else!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Flyreh snarled. ¡°Not on my watch! Again!¡± he barked. The battering ram smashed into the barrier once more. ¡°Um. Sir,¡± The word dripped like bile from Mahendra¡¯s lips. ¡°I really cannot recommend we continue under these circumstances. We should ease off, set up some spatial seals. Do it correctly. If we continue with this brute force approach, it will cause rifts all over the Kaiju Coast!¡± ¡°And they¡¯ll chalk it up to bad weather. No one cares! Again!¡± Another thunderous crash shook the pit around them. Flyreh heard a groan, and one of the Amber Sentinels collapsed, fading into motes of orange energy as its pilot fell to the ground in a pained heap. The battering ram fell out of the hands of the other three, collapsing into dust as it hit the ground, and another fell to one knee, exhausted. He went to berate them, but thought better of it. He didn¡¯t have the time to waste on belittling his goons. ¡°Gah, fine! If you want something done right, do it yourself I suppose,¡± He raised his arm, and the gemstones set into his bracer glowed with multicoloured light. His maroon aura swept up the green, red and blue resplendence, stifling the green and moulding the red and blue into the forms he needed. ¡°Hold on! Flyreh! We need to be precise about this! I Engraved that Battering Ram Core specifically for this purpose, did you forget? You cannot simply -¡° Flyreh stopped listening to Mahendra, leaping from the edge of the pit. As he fell, the red light overpowered the green and blue, merging with his maroon aura into a massive pair of arms and legs that wrapped around his own. His body was swallowed up by an emerging torso, and a helmet formed from Mana to complete the manifestation of an extremely large suit of armour. The blue light was pressed into his hands, focused into a pillar of solid crystal that ended in a wicked double-headed hammer. The weapon spun in his hands as he fell towards the crack at the bottom of the pit, bringing the blunt end of the hammer to bear. The Mana-crafted muscles in his expanded arms hissed and strained as Flyreh spun in mid-air, putting all the weight he could muster behind the blow. His engorged feet hit the ground where the battering ram had fallen, blowing the two exhausted soldiers away with the shockwave and making the two who had held out stumble. Flyreh didn¡¯t waste the momentum, carrying his titanic hammer forwards and driving it into the centre of the cracks in the barrier. ¡°No! You fool!¡± Mahendra bellowed. ¡°This is going to -¡° The world around them broke apart. Flyreh saw things through the fissures that his strike had torn in the world. Things he could barely understand. There was a sky full of metal birds. An ocean of waving plants. A countryside made entirely of fabric. An endlessly cold, dark void. A monolith of metal and glass. A crystal cavern. A giant eye. Plastic bricks. Trading cards. Confetti. Tentacles. Sand. Roads, jungles, bones, ruins paint stars gold - And then it was all gone, and he was lying on the ground. Blearily, desperately, he opened his eyes, and found that the barrier was gone. He could see the building within, and there was no sign of the entity that had been keeping them out. Heedless of the ache in his bones, Flyreh leapt up in celebration, crowing, ¡°It worked! We¡¯re in!¡± <=====}¡ªo The ramifications of one man¡¯s careless strike were felt across countless worlds for brief moments. A tree vanished into a sinkhole in the countryside near Fabrikingdom. Diabella was almost cratered by a meteor that fell from a hole in the sky. For the first time in recorded history, snow fell in Fullhelm. And no one ever knew why the Star Tiger never reached its destination. None of this was a concern for Mikayla Aiadon. How could it be when such cosmic mishaps were far outside the scope of her existence? No, her attention was entirely focused on the young woman sprawled across the shotgun seat of her car. Catherine ¡®Cat¡¯ Andersen, her disaster of a best friend, was sprawled across the shotgun seat. Everyone called her Cat. No one remembered that Mikayla had been the one who¡¯d given her the nickname. They¡¯d just come from the wind-down of a party they¡¯d been invited to. Well, Cat had been invited. Mikayla was roped in as the designated driver. Mikayla lamented the fact that this was a good summary of their friendship. They¡¯d been best friends for most of their lives. Cat had always been the outgoing, aggressively social one, while Mikayla was the wallflower who was more content with books than people. And, as the years passed, she¡¯d come to hate that about herself, come to envy the ease with which Cat socialised and built friendships. Which was how she¡¯d gotten here. Following Cat to the latest Friday night party, wasting her evening by failing to talk to people, and watching jealously as Cat drank her worries away and kissed her latest boyfriend over and over again before collapsing into her mum¡¯s car and pleading with Mikayla to drive her home. And she agreed, because no one would notice that she had left.Stolen story; please report. Mikayla sighed, and Cat cracked a weary eye open. ¡°Hey, something wrong?¡± ¡°Oh, you know. I just wasted another evening failing to talk to people. ,¡± Her frustrations were no secret from Cat. The blonde partygirl was her best friend, after all, and had been nothing but supportive of Mikayla¡¯s attempts to be more like her. ¡°Oh, shut up. Miki, you are way too hard on yourself. Everyone loves you!¡± Cat assured her with a lopsided smile. Mikayla chuckled. ¡°You¡¯re way too drunk if you really think that,¡± Cat blew a raspberry rather than respond, which was exactly the level of maturity that Mikayla knew to expect from her. ¡°Well, maybe ya need a makeover, yeah? A whole new you to get people¡¯s attention!¡± ¡°We already did that,¡± Cat had seemingly forgotten that she had picked out the low-cut shirt and beach shorts that Mikayla was currently wearing. ¡°Yeah, but now it¡¯s so last month. Time for an update!¡± Cat insisted, leaning against the window. ¡°You¡¯re blocking my side-view mirror,¡± ¡°Oh, shoot, sorry,¡± Cat adjusted her seat, reclining it as much as she could and sprawling backwards as Mikayla stopped at a traffic light. ¡°I mean it, though! Jackets¡¯re in!¡± ¡°And we¡¯re in Australia. It¡¯s way too hot to wear a jacket,¡± Mikayla retorted. ¡°Pssh,¡± Cat blew her concerns off. ¡°Are you sure your brain isn¡¯t heat-addled from all that ¡®fashion¡¯?¡± Mikayla teased, side-eyeing her. ¡°Mostly!¡± They both chuckled. The light turned green, and Mikayla pressed her foot to the gas pedal. But Cat¡¯s eyes widened and she flailed at her chest, shrieking, ¡°Look out!¡± Mikayla shifted her foot to the brake, startled. The car¡¯s speed petered out before she could get further than the pedestrian crossing. ¡°What the hell are you -¡° A massive truck thundered across the intersection, passing straight through the red light. Mikayla and Cat watched it with wide eyes. ¡°. . Whoa. That thing would¡¯ve creamed us,¡± Cat shot her a lopsided smirk. ¡°Ya totally owe me your life,¡± ¡°Oh shut up,¡± Mikayla scoffed. ¡°What the hell even was that? That dipshit just ran a red light! Like, god damn,¡± ¡°Did ya see his number plates? We should call the police,¡± ¡°Nope,¡± Mikayla cast around. ¡°Don¡¯t see any traffic cameras, either,¡± She carefully inched across the intersection, then accelerated again once her heart had stopped pounding. Cat reached over to pat her arm, sensing the need to take Mikayla¡¯s mind off her mortal peril. ¡°Sooo. What did you think of Daniel¡¯s new ¡®haircut¡¯?¡± Mikayla pulled a face, gratefully accepting the change of topic. ¡°If he wants to wear a wig, he can wear a wig, but admit it¡¯s a wig. Who does he think he¡¯s fooling?¡± It wasn¡¯t long until Mikayla had pulled to a halt outside Cat¡¯s house. ¡°Alright, and here we are with plenty of time to spare. You don¡¯t need me to walk you inside, do you?¡± ¡°Pssh,¡± She was already climbing out. ¡°I¡¯m sloshed, not stoned. Just gotta see if dad¡¯ll believe I was studying,¡± ¡°He won¡¯t,¡± Mikayla rolled her eyes. ¡°Hope springs eternal! Love ya, bestie! Talk tomorrow!¡± Cat waved as she staggered towards her house. Mikayla waved back at her, not quite able to return the affection, and watched until she had made it inside and closed the door. She sighed to herself, staring up at the dark sky. All her life, she¡¯d felt like a background character. A hanger-on, someone who orbited around the people worth paying attention to. She was always just a face in the crowd, part of the scenery. If her life were a novel or a TV series, Cat would be the main character and Mikayla relegated to her supporting cast It would be nice to be the main character, the one in the spotlight, right? Just once? ¡°Meh, whatever,¡± Mikayla banished the melancholy thoughts. Moping never got anyone anywhere. All there was to do was to keep going. And tonight that meant getting home before curfew. If she wasn¡¯t back by ten, she would be grounded and banned from using her car. Indicators and headlights painted the tarmac as she cruised out onto what passed for the main road in this rustic neighbourhood. Unkempt grass and trees lined the road, and she swerved around a pothole. Mikayla winced as she remembered how much it had cost to replace the tyres after a stray nail had punctured one. That had been painful. It wasn¡¯t like she disliked her lot in life. She had loving parents, a good home, an annoying little brother, a best friend. If anything, she disliked herself. Herself, and the fact that her attempts to better herself just weren¡¯t working. Like there was a hole of some kind inside her, some fundamental need that she didn¡¯t even know how to start filling. But that was fine. There was no magical fix to her problems, and she didn¡¯t need one. If some portal fantasy fairy popped up in front of her and offered to whisk her off to Narnia for a journey of self-discovery that would leave her a stronger, nicer, better person, she¡¯d probably just say ¡°No, thanks,¡± She just had to keep trying. Eventually, she¡¯d find something that would make her feel complete. There was a change in the blackness of the road in front of her, and Mikayla squinted. It almost looked like - a pit! She slammed on the brakes as quickly as she could, and the car screeched to a halt. Rubbing her eyes and squinting, she popped the door open and peered at the hole in the road. It was huge. It looked as though the ceiling of some underground cavern had collapsed and everything above it had fallen in. Mikayla couldn¡¯t help but breathe a sigh of relief. ¡°That was close. Would have been a goner if I¡¯d plunged into that,¡± Strangely enough, such an abrupt brush with mortality had been just the thing to focus her mind and drive away the ennui. She took a deep breath of the cool night air before sliding back inside her car and flipping it into reverse. A thought struck her, and her phone came out of her pocket. Best to text her mum and tell her she¡¯d be delayed. Her phone was dead. Crap. ¡°It¡¯s nine-forty. I can find another route and still get home in time,¡± Mikayla muttered to herself. She hesitated. There was no way her mum would believe she was late because of a sinkhole and not because Cat had lured her into drunken debauchery. The other side of the road looked intact, and there weren¡¯t any cars coming. ¡°. . . Screw it,¡± she nodded to herself, reversing and flipping the indicator on, then sliding across the road to skirt around the edges of the sinkhole. She knew she had made a mistake when she felt something shift. The ground shook in a way that it really shouldn¡¯t and sent tremors through the car. Cursing, she slammed her foot down on the accelerator, hoping to get off what was clearly unstable ground before it collapsed. The car leapt forwards, then tilted, and she slammed her weight against the side of it to keep it balanced. The front wheels passed the far edge of the sinkhole and she felt like cheering, confident that she had made it to safety. And then a bolt of multicoloured lightning came down from the heavens, a fissure in reality that her car was already charging headlong into before she could think to slam on the brakes. Everything went very, very colourful, but then everything went very, very black. <=====}¡ªo The barrier was gone. The escape attempt had failed. The temple was compromised. They needed a way out. They only had one desperate plan. Though it pained Them, They drew on the power of the Enemy, the power that was everywhere now. Only a little bit. Only enough for one last chance. Enough to guide the rips in the world for just a moment. They had cast a net without even glancing at the waters, trusting Their fate to faith and luck because all else had been exhausted. They searched desperately through a thousand holes in reality. They needed a host. Surely there would be a viable option somewhere in this scattered web? But untempered mortals could not endure the rifts in space. The very act of reaching for a host destroyed the target on the spot. They mourned the half-dozen that They had unknowingly killed before realising this. It mattered not. They needed a host, one who was strong, or who was protected. And They needed this host now. They had to escape before the ones who were invading breached Their sanctuary. The pawns of the Enemy would not have Them. They found something. A human. Shielded from the ruinous magic by a wheeled metal vessel. Her mind shut down to protect itself from the things it knew it must not see. She was raw. Weak. Adolescent. But there were no better options, and They were desperate. They reached out. Never before had they put so much of Themself into an action. They lamented having to leave their home behind, but it was no longer safe for Them. They could only hope that the host would be understanding. They were almost there. But something stopped Them. There was a hand on Their Core. They were being gripped by maroon mana. Words reached Them, though They had no ears to hear. ¡°Not so fast, little god. You belong to me now,¡± Their essentia was drained away, pulled back from the host. Pulled back towards the temple, but not into Their altar. The host slid from Their vision. They had failed. And soon, They would be lost. Mikayla, collapsed over her steering wheel, never knew anything of the entity that had tried to make her Their own. Chapter 2: Can You Count To Two? She awoke staring at the roof of her car. [WELCOME TO THE ATARAXIAN SYSTEM!] Whimsical chimes echoed in her ear with no discernible source, and a strange, cartoonish text bubble floated into her vision. [YOU HAVE GROWN SMART ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND THESE WORDS! MUMMY AND DADDY WILL BE SO HAPPY!] ¡°. . what the hell is this?¡± she spluttered as the bubble faded out. [TO BEGIN BASIC COUNTING LESSONS, BLINK!] Mikayla blinked reflexively at the new speech bubble that had appeared in her vision. Though calling it a speech bubble wasn¡¯t entirely accurate; it was making itself heard in her mind as well as her vision. It was like nothing she¡¯d ever experienced before, like information being streamed directly into her brain. Was she hallucinating? The words felt distinctly other. [1. THIS IS THE NUMBER ONE. IT MEANS THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE OF A THING. FIND SOMETHING NEARBY THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE OF!] Mikayla waved at the floating text, and it vanished. ¡°Am I seeing things? Do I have a concussion?¡± The car shook around her, as though there was an earthquake that only lasted for two seconds. Startled, Mikayla looked around, peering through the windows. What could have caused a shake like that? Actually, where was she? There were trees all around, and not much daylight . . but the trees looked wrong. She didn''t know much about trees, but these ones were all white with black stripes. Birch, right? There weren''t any birch tree forests where she lived. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was trying to avoid a sinkhole. Had she fallen into the sinkhole? She thought she had avoided it, but couldn¡¯t remember anything after that. She must have gotten a concussion. Short-term memory loss. Greeeeeat. The car shook again, and the source of the quake felt closer this time. Mikayla turned back around and squinted. Had that tree been there a moment ago? Its colour and texture was strange. It was brown rather than white and covered in what looked like hair, as though it was the leg of . . a giant insect . . Swallowing nervously, Mikayla looked up through the skylight of her car. It was the most awful thing she¡¯d ever seen. A segmented brown carapace with crooked legs like spears, growing out of a body that was all gnashing mandibles and milky white eyes. It was a spider. Sort of. If a spider was large enough to eat her car with her inside it. The speech bubble popped up again, and it was almost a blessing that it did, if only for distracting her from an impending panic attack. [WELL DONE! THAT IS ONE (1) CAVEMAW SPIDER!] ¡°. . oh,¡± Mikayla managed to whimper. [2. THIS IS THE NUMBER TWO. IT MEANS THAT THERE IS ONE AND ONE OF A THING. FIND SOMETHING NEARBY THAT THERE ARE TWO OF!] Mikayla buried her head in her hands and whimpered. ¡°I¡¯m gonna die, I¡¯m gonna die, I¡¯m gonna die,¡± [WELL DONE! YOU HAVE TWO (2) HANDS!] The car shook again, and Mikayla couldn¡¯t even breathe as the main body of the spider drew closer to her car. Through the cracks in her fingers, she watched as pedipalps the size of her arms unfolded from its mouth and pressed against the roof of her car, separated from her only by a thin pane of glass. Paralysed by fear, she couldn¡¯t move. But after a moment that felt like an eternity, the spider pulled away, leaving only a smear of drool on the glass skylight above her. ¡°It¡¯s . . it¡¯s not gonna eat me? Why?¡± Mikayla slowly breathed. It had touched the roof of the car . . wait, the car? Had it been feeling out her car? Had it realised that cars weren¡¯t edible? That . . that meant she was safe. That it wouldn¡¯t eat her. So long as she stayed in the car. Right? Taking long, slow breaths, she looked down, gripping her seat cushion. Before she could think any further, though, the speech bubble appeared again, with its words that seemed to be beamed directly into her mind. [3. THIS IS THE NUMBER THREE. IT MEANS THAT THERE IS TWO AND ONE OF A THING. FIND SOMETHING NEARBY THAT THERE ARE THREE OF!] Well, Mikayla decided, if she wasn¡¯t about to die, she could at least work out what this was all about. ¡°I don¡¯t know who or what you are, but knock it off with the pre-school crap!¡± she insisted. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. [CHECKING. BIOLOGICAL AGE DOES NOT MATCH CHRONOLOGICAL AGE AS OBSERVED BY THE SYSTEM. WOULD YOU LIKE TO UPDATE YOUR REGISTERED AGE TO MATCH YOUR BIOLOGY?] ¡°. . has this thing been treating me this way because it thinks I was born ten minutes ago? Fine. Whatever. Yes. Update age,¡± The speech bubble vanished, replaced by a pair of swirling arrows. Mikayla squinted at them for a moment in disbelief, but only a few seconds later they were replaced with a banner. Unlike the previous cartoonish speech bubbles, the words were now rendered on what looked like a translucent blue pane of glass with white letters. [CONGRATULATIONS ON REACHING THE AGE OF MATURITY FOR YOUR RACE! WELCOME TO THE ATARAXIAN SYSTEM!] ¡°Does this mean I¡¯m getting somewhere now?¡± [WARNING: YOU ARE IN A LOW SIGNAL AREA. FUNCTIONALITY WILL BE LIMITED UNTIL YOU RETURN TO A REGION WITH AN ACTIVE ATARAXIA NODE.] ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no. Can the Ataraxian System do anything to help me get out of a giant spider¡¯s den?¡± [SCAN FUNCTION IS AVAILABLE. (IDENTIFY FUNCTION IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE.) LOCAL MAP FUNCTION IS AVAILABLE. (GLOBAL MAP FUNCTION IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE.) MANA ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE.] ¡°Uh . . okay. Scan,¡± Mikayla tried. Her field of view suddenly dimmed, as though the sun and the lights in her car had suddenly gotten dimmer. Squinting, Mikayla turned her head, catching sight of the Cavemaw Spider again - only now it was faintly glowing, like it had a radiant outline around it. ¡°If this thing is literally just telling me that the giant man-eating spider is worth paying attention to, I¡¯m going to be so disappointed,¡± she muttered numbly. No further answers were forthcoming, so she looked around the rest of the den in the trees. It only took a few seconds for another glow to catch her eye. It was a bundle of some sort, about the size of a duffel bag. The bundle, whatever it was, was only about a hundred metres away. At a sprint, she could reach it in less than a minute. But Mikayla doubted that she could get to it before the Cavemaw Spider got to her. And she had no reason to believe that whatever was in there would somehow save her from being eaten by a giant spider. No, no, she¡¯d been asking for things that would help her escape with her life. The bundle would be something good. Surely. Because if it wasn¡¯t then she was going to die. ¡°Um. Okay, that was Scan. What were the other two things? Local map and Mana Assistance?¡± Mikayla tilted her head. Mana? That was synonymous with magic. There was no way. Right? ¡°Okay then. Engage Mana Assistance?¡± she squeaked, uncertain. Nothing seemed to happen for a moment. She was about to give up when a new blue text box appeared. [YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY TECHNIQUES SAVED. YOU DO NOT POSSESS ANY CORES. LEARN A TECHNIQUE OR ACQUIRE A CORE TO INITIATE MANA ASSISTANCE.] Mikayla let out a groan. ¡°Oh, of course not,¡± She glanced back in the direction of the bundle that the Scan had highlighted. Whatever a ¡®core¡¯ was, maybe there was one in there? Her eyes drifted back to the giant spider. It was staying perfectly still, so much so that if she didn¡¯t know what to look for she actually could almost mistake it for a tree. Did that mean it was an ambush predator? Then it probably wasn¡¯t very fast . . but it still had massive legs so she doubted she could outrun it. Peering through the other windows, careful not to move too much or do anything that would draw the spider¡¯s attention, she looked around. The ground sloped upwards in every direction. She was at the bottom of a hole, wasn¡¯t she? Some kind of pit that the spider hid itself in and prey on anything that got too close on the surface. The walls of loose earth that she could see through the trees looked dusty and caked with gravel. It¡¯d take a miracle to climb out through there. Mikayla breathed heavily to centre herself. If that was the spider¡¯s method of hunting, then it would have to leave the nest to attack its food eventually. Even if it was only gone for a minute or two, that would be enough. Spiders liked to cocoon their food to eat over time, right? She couldn¡¯t see any cocoons or anything that looked like spider food, unless it was hidden. Then again, spiders were supposed to build webs too and she couldn¡¯t see any webs. Unless they were all outside the den? And who knew if her passing knowledge of spiders applied to this monstrosity. She couldn¡¯t stay here forever. She¡¯d starve. And if she doubted her ability to climb out of this pit, there was no possible way her car could get out. For some reason, that was the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. The tears burst forth, and it was all she could do to press her face into her knees to stifle her sobs. It was such a mundane thing to think about, but she¡¯d saved for more than a year to buy this car and had barely had it for a month. And she¡¯d ended up who knew where, in some strange place with magic yellow text boxes and giant spiders, and even if she could get out of this hole, she¡¯d have to leave her car behind and look for civilisation on foot, and - and what if she was somewhere in the Amazon, or . . or whatever other forests were as big as the Amazon? She¡¯d seen the memes about Australian spiders but there weren¡¯t any like this one near Melbourne! Not in Australia, not anywhere! She probably wasn¡¯t even on Earth anymore! ¡°This - this sort of thing doesn¡¯t happen! Why did this happen? I never wanted to be isekai¡¯ed! Not like my nerdy little brother, he¡¯d be all over this, probably. He¡¯d know how to drop a boulder or something on that giant monster. That¡¯s not me! Why couldn¡¯t I have just, like, gotten superpowers or something? I could handle being a superhero. Not this! This is . . this is . .¡± She trailed off into half-choked sobs. For a few long moments, she lay there, her mind racing in circles of despair and self-pity. It was like her limbs had turned to lead. She couldn¡¯t even muster the energy to look up. She was going to die. Chapter 3: The Secret to Survival is Grave Robbing Mikayla didn¡¯t know how long she sat there and moped, but eventually the ground shook once again. Startled awake from the daze of emotional overload, she looked up and through the car window to see that the spider had disappeared. ¡°It . . it left?¡± It took her two seconds to process what that meant. This was her chance. Mikayla fumbled with the door handle, wasting precious seconds forcing it open against the loose dirt that had piled against it. As soon as it was opened just barely enough for her to get out, she took off, scrabbling on the unsteady footing towards the spot she¡¯d noted with the bundle. ¡°Scan?¡± she muttered experimentally. Once again, the distant bundle was highlighted in her field of vision. It occurred to her a bit too late that trying to figure out this mysterious Ataraxian System and what it could do would have been a better use of her time than bawling her eyes out. Against all odds, she reached her goal without any sign of the spider returning. The bundle was half-buried, and she had to rip away stunted shrubbery full of brambles that left small cuts on her fingers. The pain was no match for the adrenaline driving her to uncover the mysterious cache. But she still froze for a moment when she realised what she¡¯d uncovered. It wasn¡¯t a bundle. It was a corpse. One that had been dead for a long time by the look of it. Decaying scraps of cloth and leather hung from yellowed bones. But it didn¡¯t seem to have any armour, or even a weapon that might have helped her stay alive. The skeleton¡¯s empty eye sockets and worn-away teeth grinned as if to mock her for risking her life for something so useless. ¡°What? This was supposed to help me? Right?¡± Too late, Mikayla realised that the Scan had never promised that whatever it highlighted would necessarily be useful. That had been her own wishful thinking. There was a noise, behind and above her. It sounded like the spider was already on its way back. Mikayla hissed to herself, ripping the whole torso of the dead man out of the ground. The adrenaline of desperation filled her limbs. If nothing else, maybe she could make a club out of his ribcage or something? Then she saw it. There was a rusted metal cuff of some sort wrapped around the skeleton¡¯s left wrist, with two jewels set into it. Mikayla wouldn¡¯t have paid it any mind at all, except that it was glowing almost bright enough to dazzle her in the Scan vision. Impulsively, she grabbed it and yanked at it. There was a crack, and the skeleton¡¯s hand broke off, allowing her to pull the cuff directly off the bone and inspect it more closely. It was made of a metal that might have once been silver, with an eroded protrusion that looked like it had originally been a sculpted flower, but only half of the flower remained and the left side of it had been worn down into so much grit. There was a blue sphere set into the centre of the flower, and a red ruby tucked between two of its petals. Two more open slots indicated that there had once been more gemstones attached to the bracelet. Mikayla¡¯s lips pursed in distaste and disappointment as she regarded the bracer, which was probably a hundred years old and looked every bit its age. ¡°Oh, sure, I can accessorise, that¡¯ll save my life,¡± There was a deafening crash behind her, and she span, fully anticipating the return of the spider. Instead, what looked like a rat the size of a bus had been thrown into the hole and landed on its back. Its claws scrabbled at the air and its long, fleshy tail lashed back and forth as it tried to flip back upright. Before Mikayla had time to question the new arrival, the Cavemaw Spider jumped down from the distant canopy and landed on top of it with enough force that its legs left dents in the rodent¡¯s ribs. Unfortunately, the angle of its descent meant that its gaze fell squarely on Mikayla, exposed amidst the scrub that she had just torn up. It screeched, a high-pitched and terrible sound, but then the rat took advantage of its distraction to twist its head and sink its jaws into the nearest of the spider¡¯s legs. This was her best chance to escape, Mikayla realised. The spider knew she was here now, there¡¯d be no more hiding, but it was distracted by what she presumed to be its dinner. She had to climb out. Even if the slope above her was unstable and dangerous, it was her best shot. She had to at least try. To free up her hand, Mikayla slipped the cuff around her own left wrist and stuffed the arm bones into her belt just in case she needed an impromptu weapon, already throwing herself towards the wall of the pit. The first sign that there was more to the cuff than met the eye was when it tightened to perfectly fit around her wrist. The second was the blue boxes that popped up in her vision. [EQUIPPED CORE BRACER (DAMAGED)] [EQUIPPED LAPIS OF BLACK KNIGHT (CORE)] [EQUIPPED RUBY OF SWORD (CORE)] Wait, what? Mikayla paused, staring at the small lines of text floating past her field of vision, then glanced down at the bracer once again. Were the popups talking about it and its two jewels? Hold on. Core? She¡¯d seen that word recently, hadn¡¯t she? ¡°Learn a technique or acquire a core to initiate mana assistance?¡± she parroted the words that had crippled her momentary hopes of learning magic. [MANA ASSISTANCE ENABLED] A warmth erupted in her chest, a feeling that reminded her of swallowing food that hadn¡¯t cooled enough yet, and the ruby attached to her wrist glowed. Red lines drew themselves in the air before her eyes, tracing a wireframe of a long shape that ended in a sharp point. The lines flared outwards into a cross-shaped pommel and then grew further, forming a textured cylinder that ended in a ball. The shape gained definition and solidity with a strange sensation like something was flowing out of her body to give it form, like a long and constant exhale. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Mikayla stared, amazed, at the glowing sword that had just appeared out of thin air. With one hand she snatched the hilt of the weapon, and with the other she pulled the desiccated bones out of her belt and threw it away. It was gross and she had a much better option now. There was a crash, and she risked a glance back. The spider had thrown the rat into a tree, knocking it over. The rat struggled back to its feet, bruised and bloody all over. It had given a good fight, three of the spider¡¯s eight limbs were dangling uselessly, but the outcome was clearly a foregone conclusion. Mikayla had a bad feeling that, even with the sword, the most she would accomplish was giving the spider indigestion. ¡°Okay then, time to climb!¡± The dirt came away under her hands and feet as she scrabbled up the steep slope, but couldn¡¯t get enough friction to hold herself up. On an impulse, she stabbed the glowing sword into the side of the pit, and, to her surprise, it held, sinking deep into the soil until it reached the stone beneath and lodging there. The sounds of battle behind her, interspersed with frequent screams of pain, harried her as she carved handholds for herself with the sword. Mikayla tried to focus on how the sword seemed to have much more cutting power than an ordinary blade should. It was almost like a lightsaber, and glowed like one too, but didn¡¯t seem to burn anything. It wasn¡¯t hot, just phenomenally light and sharp. The dirt shifted under her grip, and Mikayla was forced to use the holes she¡¯d just cut again as footholds. Even though loose dirt was caking her shirt and hair, and with every second step her shoe slipped - fortunately, she was wearing boots, trying to do this in heels would be a nightmare - but through perseverance and the admittedly very cool sword, she was making headway. She braced herself against a tree root and forced herself further upwards, but almost lost her grip as a wail rang out. She risked a look back, and found her fears realised. The spider had emerged victorious, and the rat lay dead beneath its legs. But it was already turning towards her, and was she imagining the hunger in its eight eyes? She was almost to the top. With a violent motion that she hadn¡¯t known she had in her, Mikayla forced herself over the edge of the pit even as it crumbled, scrabbling on all fours until she finally reached solid ground. She didn¡¯t stop, though, picking herself up and rushing to put a safe amount of distance between herself and the spider¡¯s hole - a precaution that saved her life, as a hairy leg with the weight of a tree trunk slammed down where she¡¯d been a second ago. Mikayla stared at the leg as it strained, another leg crashing down nearby as the spider started pulling itself up and after her despite its injuries. In a moment of desperate fury, she brought the sword in her hand up and cut off the end of the spider¡¯s leg. The monster shrieked in agony and crashed backwards as Mikayla let out a pearl of triumphant laughter. She tried to do the same to its other leg but it retracted too quickly, and she could see the massive creature scrambling away. It slid between the trees, dragging its injured legs, and straddled the edge of its nest a hundred metres away. Seeing what it was doing, Mikayla started running, clumsily trying to balance the sword without cutting herself or letting it dangle. But the spider was too fast, and by the time she had caught up with it, it had joined her outside the pit. She blanched as it reared up to its full height and snarled at her. Mikayla drew up, holding the blade in a clumsy defensive stance. ¡°If this magic sword has any special tricks, now would be a good time!¡± [IDENTIFY FUNCTION IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE] ¡°Thaaaaaanks,¡± she sarcastically hissed, barely avoiding a strike from the club-like spider leg. [SECONDARY FUNCTION DETECTED. ENABLE?] ¡°So there is something? Sure! Couldn¡¯t hurt!¡± Mikayla snarled, holding the sword up high and focusing, as though she could will it to catch fire through sheer desire. [GOLIATH ENABLED] There was a strange pulling sensation, as though the blood was rushing towards the tips of her fingers, and Mikayla was suddenly acutely aware of her beating heart as it tried to keep up with the demand. The sword did not catch fire. Instead, it began to grow. The blade lengthened, the glowing lines of its composition unfolding and revealing hidden depths. The handle stretched like an uncoiling snake, and Mikayla was forced to raise her other hand to keep ahold of it as the sword doubled and doubled again in length. The spider stilled for a moment as they both beheld the sword, which had stretched from less than three feet long to more than thirty. Mikayla stared up at the implausibly massive weapon. ¡°Size changing sword. Okay. That¡¯s awesome,¡± It wobbled, feeling much lighter than something so massive should be but noticeably more heavy than it had been before, and she realised it was going to come down whether she liked it or not. So she let it fall forwards. Despite its growth, the sword was still supernaturally sharp, and large enough that the Cavemaw Spider had no hope of escaping the blow. It had gotten too close in its attempts to pin Mikayla down, and now it could only stare in resigned horror for the seconds it took for the Goliath blade to split its head and crush its body. Blood and brain juice erupted from the wound and splattered Mikayla¡¯s face and chest in gore. A scream of visceral disgust shook the forest. She flailed in horror, her grip slipping from the engorged hilt of the sword and causing it to vanish into a cloud of red sparks. Mikayla¡¯s frenzied attempts to wipe herself off were interrupted by yellow text boxes popping into her vision. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A CAVEMAW SPIDER!] [LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 3!] Mikayla blinked at the notifications. ¡°. . Okay, so my first problem with this is, that thing was the size of a truck and I only got two levels for killing it?¡± The panes didn¡¯t respond, so she waved them away. ¡°Right. Okay,¡± Spying a nearby log, she sat down and stared at the mostly-bisected corpse of the massive monster for a few moments. ¡°Is . . is this really happening? I¡¯m in some kind of portal fantasy adventure? In a video game world?¡± She looked down at the bracer on her wrist, with the two gems set into the half-rusted flower. ¡°Okay. Okay. If . . if this is happening, then I¡¯m owed a plot hook or something, right?¡± A deep breath helped her centre her thoughts. ¡°I think that¡¯s how this goes, and I¡¯m guessing this thing is what I want,¡± Her eyes fell on the second gem set into the flower. ¡°If the red one on the side gave me a magic sword, then what does the blue one in the middle do? Mana Assistance, turn this one on. What was it called?¡± She¡¯d seen the popup but had been so busy trying to escape that it had escaped her mind. [ACTIVATING LAPIS OF BLACK KNIGHT] ¡°Black Knight, that was it . . that¡¯s a weird name, what¡¯s it going to -¡° Red lines erupted around her wrist, spreading outwards in both directions. They traced her hand, forming a semi-translucent glove, which was rapidly filled in by what looked like black glass. The material spread up her arm, wrapping around her shoulder and forming a massive pauldron covered in spikes, which then grew outwards into a breastplate that contoured around her torso. Rivers of light trickled out of it and ran down her groin, forming into chain mail that then pulled armour into existence around her legs, while another, matching pauldron appeared on her right shoulder. The red and black energy spread down her other arm until it was clad in a matching gauntlet, and she felt herself get lifted into the air by a couple of inches as thick and heavy boots manifested around her feet. Mikayla couldn¡¯t see it, but she felt more of the strange black material, carried aloft by red threads, wrap around her head and form a visor that tinted everything slightly darker. She looked herself over, first one arm, then the other. Her entire body was clad in a glossy black material held together by glowing red seams. Swirling patterns like the night sky were embossed on her gauntlets, pauldrons and breastplate, and serrated ridges lined every exposed edge. ¡°Whoa. Now this is cool,¡± The voice of an unfamiliar man echoed through the inside of the helmet. ¡°Indeed it is! And might I say, it is a pleasure to see daylight once again!¡± Chapter 4: Ghost in the Jewel Mikayla jumped, looking around. ¡°Who said that?!¡± ¡°Down here. In the gem,¡± the disembodied voice continued. Frowning, she raised her bracer to eye level and peered at the blue stone set into the centre of the rusted bracer. ¡°Yes. That is the receptacle of my unfortunate lingering mind. I hope you don¡¯t object to my borrowing your eyes, I seem to no longer have any of my own. Oof, my old Core Controller doesn¡¯t look so good. I¡¯m amazed that it still works, but that¡¯s Carter¡¯s craftsmanship for you. How long was I down there? What year is it, girl?¡± ¡°2024?¡± Mikayla answered automatically. ¡°No, hang on - why is a gemstone talking to me?!¡± ¡°Ah, forgive me, I ought to introduce myself. You speak with the lingering remnant of Nocturnus Virralis, the Black Knight,¡± If the voice had a face attached to it, Mikayla could picture it looking smug, as though expecting her to recognise the name and be amazed. ¡°. . no, sorry, I have no idea who that is,¡± ¡°Truly?!¡± The voice sounded a mix of shocked and affronted. ¡°Do children not learn my name at their mother¡¯s knee? Do they no longer sing of the glory of the five heroes? Does the Goliath Guard no longer live on?!¡± Mikayla stifled a whimper. ¡°Five heroes? Goliath Guard? I¡¯m really in a whole-ass fantasy world aren¡¯t I . . let me back up,¡± In a few brief sentences, she explained everything that had happened since she¡¯d dropped Cat off, ending with, ¡°I¡¯m having a very weird day, and if a talking gemstone can give me some answers, I will take it,¡± ¡°A skeleton . . I see. So my remains were never recovered,¡± Nocturnus sighed. ¡°I will happily tell you as much as I can, but it sounds like my information may be at least a couple of hundred years out of date,¡± ¡°Better than nothing. For starters, where are we?¡± ¡°We ought to be in the ancestral region of Hedrang, as I fell in battle whilst fighting to reclaim the city of Balmwind. I know not how my remains could have ended up out here in the wilderness. Perhaps my corpse was eaten and then excreted, by one of the starring monstrosities that fled before the Goliath Guard,¡± Mikayla frowned, because the corpse she¡¯d found looked much too intact to have gone through an animal¡¯s digestive tract, then shrugged. She¡¯d already seen man-eating spiders and rats, so who knew how big the animals could get around here? She didn¡¯t know enough about how things worked here to countermand his version of events. ¡°Okay. So we¡¯re probably not that far from this city? That¡¯s promising,¡± ¡°Indeed. Get to higher ground, that hill over there shall suffice. We ought to be able to see Astralia¡¯s Spear once we¡¯re out of these starring trees. That shall give us a direction to travel in,¡± Mikayla nodded and started walking. To her surprise, the translucent armour didn¡¯t affect her ability to move at all. It was as though it were a hologram superimposed over her body, flexing and stretching with her every motion, yet when she experimentally tapped her own chest, she heard the sound of metal on metal. It was as though the armour was slightly out of phase with the rest of the world, interacting with other matter in ways that defied common sense. ¡°So. I still want a lot of answers. For starters, we¡¯re not on planet Earth anymore, are we?¡± ¡°Planet Earth?¡± Nocturnus parroted. ¡°I believe not, I¡¯m sorry to say. I think I can guess what happened to you,¡± ¡°Do tell,¡± ¡°When I yet lived and breathed, we were at war, but not with other men,¡± He paused. ¡°This time, at least,¡± Mikayla grimaced at how casually Nocturnus had thrown out that qualifier. ¡°Mysterious monsters of incredible size, each bearing the title of ¡®Kaiju¡¯, had taken over the coast and were pushing their way inland. They carried with them a strange magic that made space not work as it should. To be quite honest, the details all went over my head. But! I do recall Astralia saying that the spatial instabilities would continue to get worse, and that she couldn¡¯t promise they would abate even after we purged the land of these Kaijus,¡± ¡°. . so, what, space is so broken around here that random portals to other worlds can open at any time?¡± Mikayla guessed. ¡°Precisely! There were reports of such things even in my time, strange travellers and artefacts that defied common sense, though many were lost amidst the rampages of the Kaijus. I can only surmise that such things have become commonplace in the wake of the Monster King,¡± Mikayla paused for a moment as she picked her way around a massive fallen tree, and wished her phone wasn¡¯t dead so that she could take notes. It all sounded like something out of a fantasy novel, but the world around her was so obviously real that she couldn¡¯t deny it. As an aspiring historian, she itched to learn more about the histories of this fantastical world. ¡°There¡¯s a Monster King?¡± ¡°Fret not, young miss! My comrades and I slew it not long before I passed. That sword you carry was once sheathed within its very flesh as it lay dying!¡± ¡°Oh, fancy,¡± Mikayla looked at the red jewel on her wrist. She never would have guessed, but then it certainly had done a good job of carving up that spider. ¡°So is this some kind of special monster king slaying sword?¡± ¡°Aha. No. If we¡¯d had such things then the Monster King would have been felled long before it reached the Cloudfingers,¡± Nocturnus laughed weakly. ¡°It is, however, a good blade that served me well, and shall surely do the same for you!¡± ¡°Right,¡± So her only means of self-defence was a priceless historical artefact that ought to be in a museum. ¡°Okay, tell me more about this Monster King,¡± ¡°Certainly! It was the great triumph of the five heroes! I¡¯m certain that every lad and lass in Hedrang and beyond knows the tale, but you have the honour of hearing it from the Black Knight himself!¡± ¡°Well, I always appreciate a good first-hand account,¡± Mikayla said. On the one hand, it sucked that she had no way of recording this, because if even half of what Nocturnus had told her was true then he was a primary source that any historian would kill to hear from. But she really wanted to know, and she could always get him to repeat it later. ¡°As well you should!¡± the gemstone shouted back at her. ¡°It was glorious! Picture it. We know not the provenance of the Monster King, merely that it emerged victorious against countless challenges from its brood and grew to gargantuan sizes by feasting on them!¡± Mikayla shivered, picturing it. If that was how the Kaijus worked . . the Cavemaw Spider had been terrifying enough. It could have gotten bigger? How much bigger? Was the square-cube law just not a thing in this world? ¡°But it soon learned that civilisation was a much easier meal. Bards sing of the trail of destruction it left in its wake as it chewed through forests and villages, working its way south. There were many heroes in the days of the Kaiju Collapse, but very few lived to tell their stories,¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Oh, I was wondering if there was a name for this whole affair,¡± ¡°Well, that is what the minstrels were calling it! The ravening tide of starring monstrosities that swept southward from the northern coast, with the Monster King at their head. Those of us that fought were driven back, and realised that our only hope was to band together,¡± ¡°Ah, of course. That¡¯s how legends go, the heroes are strong alone but unstoppable together, right?¡± Mikayla had to stop herself from rolling her eyes, telling herself to keep an open mind. In her experience, it rarely worked that way, but this was a fantasy world, as far as she could tell. Maybe around here, friendship was magic. ¡°Precisely!¡± Nocturnus boomed, missing or ignoring her sarcasm. ¡°In those days we were led by Nicholas the Red, the King of Hedrang. His home, the City at the World¡¯s Peak, was the first place to be lost to the Kaijus, but his leadership led to a more successful evacuation than any other settlement could boast of,¡± Mikayla tilted her head. Was she crazy, or did that sound kind of like . . ¡°Using weapons designed by Astralia of the White Skies, and forged by Carter Grimhammer and his cadre of Dwarven Elders, we and those who fought under us made our stand at the Cloudfingers, a mountain range to the south. It was a glorious battle, and due to our valour and cunning, we slew the Monster King and routed its supplicants! The next step was obvious! It was time to strike! To reclaim the Kaiju Coast, to lead the charge and drive the monsters back from whence they came!¡± Nocturnus paused, then let out a guttural scoff. ¡°But the other four were cowards,¡± ¡°Huh? What happened?¡± Mikayla paused, thrown by the change in tone. Nocturnus¡¯ boisterous voice, which until now had reminded her of a jovial old man, had turned bitter. ¡°They wanted to starring wait! Spoke of regrouping, of protecting what they still had. Nicholas declared that we would become the founders of the ¡®Goliath Guard¡¯, and that henceforth our duty would be to fortify the Cloudfingers and protect the unspoiled lands to the south,¡± Mikayla considered this. ¡°I mean, fair enough -¡° ¡°WRONG!¡± The gemstone howled with volume so great that Mikayla looked around frantically, fearing that another monster might have heard and be on its way to attack them. ¡°They wished to abandon our homes! Our heritage! To leave all the people still clinging to life in Hedrang to fend for themselves! It was appalling!¡± The sheer fury in Nocturnus¡¯ voice sent shivers down Mikayla¡¯s spine. Mikayla said nothing, already guessing where this was going. ¡°So I took the forces that were loyal to me and went to do it without them!¡± Nocturnus finished. ¡°We fought all the way back to Balmwind, driving the beasts before us like cattle!¡± ¡°And you died,¡± his carrier interjected. ¡°Well, yes,¡± He sounded a bit put-out at the reminder of his own death. ¡°But I lived! As you can see! Or, well, hear. Granted, the process of inscribing my mind into the Core of my armour appears to have not worked all that well, as I . . cannot control what was to be my body . . but no matter! Now that I am awake once more, it is only a matter of time until we reclaim my former glory!¡± ¡°Yeah, no,¡± Mikayla shot him down, shaking her head. ¡°I¡¯m a student - a scholar,¡± she corrected herself, since she wasn¡¯t sure how Nocturnus would interpret a word like student, ¡°Not some hero in the making. I just want to find a way home,¡± The gemstone snorted. ¡°Fine. I will aid you in that quest, so long as you swear to pass me on to some promising young squire that I might mentor to greatness before you leave,¡± ¡°Sure, sure. But let¡¯s find this city first, and worry about that later,¡± At long last, Mikayla emerged from the trees and laid eyes on the horizon. The sky overhead was milky white, with a watery disc faintly visible through the clouds. (And here she¡¯d half expected two suns in the sky.) The trees spread as far as she could see, like a massive canvas of endless dark green. A chill filled her bones, the armour around her body only doing so much to protect her from the cold wind. She definitely wasn¡¯t in Australia anymore. She turned around, searching for any sign of civilisation - and then she saw it. There was a massive tower looming out of the forest, perhaps a kilometre away, made of stone and large enough to rival any modern skyscraper. Cracks ran up its length with vines and small trees sprouting from them, and if the windows had ever had glass panes they was long gone. Holes pockmarked its walls, and the uppermost section of the tower had collapsed and forced the walls to bulge outwards at its tip, making it look a bit like an extremely tall cup. ¡°No,¡± Nocturnus breathed in her ears. ¡°No, no, it cannot be! That - that cannot be!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Astralia¡¯s Spear. The mightiest wizard¡¯s tower in Termania. The pride of Balmwind. It . . in such a state . .¡± Nocturnus whimpered. ¡°It means . . it means we failed. That I failed. That Hedrang is lost to the Kaijus to this day,¡± Mikayla¡¯s shoulders slumped as her suspicions were confirmed. ¡°. . Well, crap,¡± There were a few moments of silence as both armour and wearer digested this revelation. Mikayla was shocked out of her momentary reverie, though, when the dimly glowing armour popped out of existence, leaving her clad only in a singlet and skirt that were very unsuited to the cold weather. ¡°What? Nocturnus? Where¡¯d you go? What happened?¡± A blue panel popped up at the edge of her vision. [MANA: 0/1100] ¡°What? I have a mana bar? That armour was eating my mana?¡± She did feel strangely tired, now that she thought about it. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about that when you were trying to teach me to count?¡± she snapped at the text box. ¡°Can - can I get a heads-up-display or something? Shouldn¡¯t I be able to keep track of stuff like that without needing to ask?¡± Obligingly, the mana bar floated into the corner of her vision and settled there. ¡°Great. Any other metrics I should know about?¡± Two more prompts popped up. [HEALTH: 952/1000] [STAMINA: 621/900] ¡°Of course. I want those in my field of vision too, okay?¡± Mikayla paused and squinted at the Stamina bar. ¡°Why do I have less Stamina than Mana?¡± [STATISTICS: STRENGTH: 9 DEXTERITY: 10 CONSTITUTION: 10 CHARISMA: 11 INTELLIGENCE: 11 WILLPOWER: 10 UNUSED: 4 ASSIGN UNUSED STATISTICS?] ¡°Sure, you¡¯re gonna rub in my face that I¡¯m not all that strong?¡± Mikayla rolled her eyes. ¡°Uh, which one of these increases my mana?¡± [STRENGTH: DETERMINES MAX STAMINA DEXTERITY: DETERMINES STAMINA REGEN CONSTITUTION: DETERMINES MAX HEALTH CHARISMA: DETERMINES HEALTH REGEN INTELLIGENCE: DETERMINES MAX MANA WILLPOWER: DETERMINES MANA REGEN] ¡°Right. Ignoring the fact that I don¡¯t understand why charisma is associated with healing, that seems simple enough. Four unused points? Must be two for each level-up. So if I put one of these points into Intelligence, then . . ?¡± [INTELLIGENCE: 12] [MANA: 0/1200] ¡°. . of course it wouldn¡¯t be that easy. Can I get a formula on how mana regenerates?¡± There was no response from the mysterious blue text boxes. ¡°I really should have asked Nocturnus about how all this works before letting him go on about the monster king,¡± Mikayla reflected, burying her face in her hands. There was a faint noise behind her. She span on her heels, still highly on edge after the barrel with the Cavemaw Spider, but didn¡¯t see anything. ¡°. . is something there?¡± There was a shift. A ripple in the air. Mikayla squinted, began to step forward, then remembered that anything unknown would probably be lethal in a place like this and retreated instead. ¡°Sword? Mana Assistance?¡± she tried, flexing her fingers. [MANA: 0/1200] ¡°Right,¡± she groaned, looking around for any sign of the enemy that she couldn¡¯t find. A drop of liquid splashed onto her shoulder, and she looked up - finding that the sky above her had opened into a pink, fleshy maw lined with teeth and adorned with a pair of beady eyes the size of bowling balls. The air around the floating orifices rippled and solidified into a patchwork of green scales, which spread and grew and formed into a gecko as large as a sports car, already inches away from biting down on her head. Chapter 5: Mis-Mana-gement A tiny sliver of blue appeared in her Mana bar. [MANA: 1/1200] ¡°Mana Assistance! Sword!¡± Mikayla demanded, already thrusting her hands upwards. In a flash, the red-silver sword erupted from her right hand, and cut a bloody welt into the roof of the gecko¡¯s mouth. The lizard screamed, a more high-pitched noise than such a large creature should have been able to produce, and recoiled, scrabbling to drag itself back out of reach. Mikayla did the same, brandishing her sword threateningly, hoping that it would scare the monster off. The sword flickered and vanished once again. [MANA: 0/1200] ¡°Oh, great. How long was that? Four seconds? One point of mana buys me four seconds of sword?¡± Mikayla guessed. ¡°Why can¡¯t I see my own mana regeneration?!¡± [IDENTIFY FUNCTION IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE. FUNCTIONALITY WILL BE LIMITED UNTIL YOU RETURN TO A REGION WITH AN ACTIVE ATARAXIA NODE.] ¡°Screw off!¡± Mikayla barked at the aggravating blue prompt. The lizard balked, rearing back slightly at the shout. It hissed, then inched forwards again. ¡°. . I want all three of my unused points added to Willpower! Improve my mana regen!¡± [WILLPOWER: 13] Mikayla sharply inhaled. There was a tangible difference inside her. She wasn¡¯t exactly sure what ¡®willpower¡¯ really was or what a thirty percent increase to it meant, but all at once the panic that she¡¯d been doing her very best to suppress was much easier to squash down and ignore. Her eyes narrowed, and she gestured wildly. ¡°Listen here, you scaly little bugger! I already killed a spider twice your size! You think you can eat me? I¡¯m going to chop you up and cook you for dinner, and then I¡¯ll spit you back out because you probably taste terrible!¡± The lizard made an odd chirping noise, tilting its head and regarding her inquisitively. ¡°Or!¡± Mikayla added, tilting her head in turn to keep looking into its eyes. ¡°You can just back away and not deal with this! I don¡¯t particularly want to kill you. Just go! Shoo! Get gone!¡± The gecko snorted, then its scales rippled and it vanished from view once more. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯d better run!¡± Mikayla snapped, squinting for any signs of motion. She advanced cautiously, squinting - and suddenly a patch of the sky was lunging at her head. She threw herself aside, and the creature¡¯s camouflage shivered as it turned, the tips of trees peeling away from the sky and going for her chest. [MANA: 1/1200] ¡°Sword!¡± Mikayla demanded, twisting aside and conjuring her blade just in time for the gecko to bite down on it. With a twist, she ripped her blade free, taking advantage of its unnatural sharpness to rip out several of the beast¡¯s teeth, then span around in a clumsy strike aimed straight at its heart. The sword flickered back out of existence a moment before it could land a fatal blow. [MANA: 0/1200] Too incensed to stop, Mikayla turned the motion into a shove, putting her body weight behind it and forcing the gecko back a step as she bounced away. The gecko snarled, spitting out flecks of blood, its tail waving back and forth as it stalked towards her. Mikayla blinked a bit, her head clearing from the rush that increasing her Willpower had brought upon her. ¡°. . This is insane,¡± she murmured with a dawning sense of horror. So she turned and fled. Naturally, the gecko pursued. Mikayla juked behind a tree, and the gecko¡¯s jaws flew past her. She cast around, hoping to find something that she could climb, but the birch trees with their spindly branches didn¡¯t look solid enough. Geckos in general could climb, but could a car-sized gecko climb these relatively small trees? It didn¡¯t matter, not if she couldn¡¯t. The gecko twisted around, its scales rippling and blending in with the trees and underbrush. The pale, stripy colouration of the birches was a blessing, it was much easier to track the gecko when it was trying to camouflage against both the white trees, the brown underbrush and the green shrubbery. [MANA:1/1200] Mikayla held her precious, life-saving mana point in reserve, watching the creature warily. Her eyes darted towards the massive monolith that was Astralia¡¯s Spear in the distance. Huge though it was, it was presumably built for humans, and she could find shelter there. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. The lizard lunged towards her, and she ducked away again, taking advantage of its distraction to eat up a few more metres towards the tower. She focused on her hearing, listening for the sound of the leaves crunching underfoot, her best warning of an incoming attack. Mikayla knew better than to just run in a straight line, instead ducking between and around trees. A cluster of bushes caught her eye. A hiding spot? She redoubled her efforts, panting heavily as she forced her tired body to continue escaping death. [STAMINA: 332/900] ¡°Oh I do not wanna know what happens when Stamina reaches 0,¡± It wasn¡¯t like she couldn¡¯t feel the difference that flirting with the edges of her Mana bar was making. Her brain felt sluggish, and there was an uncomfortable sense of hollowness inside her body, as though she¡¯d just donated more blood than was medically advisable. But feeling like her veins were full of fumes was a lot less likely to kill her than the monster gecko¡¯s remaining teeth. Inanely, Mikayla recalled the Cavemaw Spider, and realised that this thing probably also had a proper name besides ¡®monster gecko¡¯. She wondered what it was. [IDENTIFY FUNCTION IS UNAV-] ¡°Yeah, yeah, I got it. You identified the spider, just saying,¡± Mikayla rolled her eyes. Something hit her in the back with a burst of heat, and she stumbled, collapsing to the ground in a heap. [HEALTH: 902/1000] ¡°What was that?!¡± Mikayla shrieked, looking around and desperately hoisting herself back up with one hand. Her back suddenly hurt quite a bit. Her gaze fell on the lizard, who was snarling at her, having paused a few feet away. There was a green flash from its beady eyes, and a streak of energy shot from them. This was so far out of context that Mikayla could only stare dumbly, and only the lizard¡¯s poor aim had the blast of light strike her shoulder, not her face. [HEALTH: 852/1000] She barely registered the sudden stinging pain as her shirt shoulder was burned off, too shocked by this latest defiance of logic. ¡°. . You¡¯ve got laser vision?!¡± The gecko chirped as it stalked towards her, tail flicking back and forth. She wasn¡¯t sure why, but it didn¡¯t shoot again. Maybe it was already out of Mana after just those two bolts? The pain registered, and oh sweet baby Jesus did that hurt. That burn was one-twentieth of her health? It sure felt like it had brought her a lot closer to dying than that! The lizard had learnt its lesson about lunging at her, instead stalking closer, wary of her lashing out. Mikayla retreated, half-stumbling backwards, keeping her arms up and ready to summon her sword if needed. [MANA: 3/1200] Clearly, finding sanctuary in Astralia¡¯s Spear was a pipe dream at best. It was too far away. She would have to fight and kill this thing. Should be easier the second time, right? The gecko continued to inch closer, squinting at her, and Mikayla¡¯s lips twisted. She needed to go on the offensive. She had twelve seconds of sword usage. Or, possibly, one second of Goliath sword usage - she remembered the feeling of blood seeming to flow into the sword. That had to have been her mana. There were implications there that she could worry about when a monster gecko wasn¡¯t trying to eat her. ¡°Sword!¡± By the time the blade had materialised in her hand, she was already throwing herself forwards and driving it into the monster¡¯s eye. Unfortunately, the gecko was ready for her desperate final stand, twisting its head to the side. Another blast of green heat shot from its pupils, burning away a layer of fabric and flesh from her hip, and Mikayla screamed, wildly swinging her sword in its direction. The gecko flinched back, bobbing and weaving to avoid her strikes. She landed small nicks to its upper body, but not the fatal blow she needed. Conscious of her mana, she let the sword fizzle out and back-pedalled again, until the bushes she¡¯d been looking at before caught her feet and almost tripped her. She looked up, only to find that the giant lizard had vanished. It had gone back to being camouflaged. Mikayla forced her roaming eyes to stay still. It was somewhere here, and it was getting closer. She forced herself into the bushes, ignoring the way the branches and leaves tore at her clothes and skin, keeping her hands ready. Her Mana ticked back up from one point to two. What was it going to try next? For a couple of long minutes she searched her surroundings, her nerves growing more and more frayed. Where was it? Could it have run away? Could she count on that? Would it just stalk her until she fell asleep? She felt a cool breeze on the back of her neck, and shivered. ¡°. . Screw it. I need to find shelter. Somewhere to sleep that¡¯s safe. Astralia¡¯s Spear is my best bet,¡± Shaking her head and mustering her Willpower, she stepped out of the bushes and bumped into thin air. The entire forest around her rippled and was replaced with the belly and tail of a coiled lizard. Mikayla screamed in shock, immediately realising what had happened. The creature had inched closer so slowly that she hadn¡¯t been able to pick out any distortions in its camouflage this time. And now it was already in range - where was its head?! She followed the curve of its body to the right and found its eyes and open maw just in time to see it bite down on her raised right arm. Mikayla screamed again as the teeth sunk into her flesh, her fingers spasming wildly. Before she¡¯d even realised it, she was already screaming, ¡°Sword! Goliath!¡± and twisting the hand that was already halfway down the gecko¡¯s throat. When she looked back on that moment in the coming days, she liked to imagine that the gecko had an expression of fear and regret in the half-second it took for a thirty-foot sword to swell inside its throat and cause its entire body to explode in a shower of gore. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A FOREST GECKO!] [LEVEL UP! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 4!] Mikayla¡¯s throat was too dry for a third scream, despite the viscera that had covered her entire body after the brutal execution. She looked down at herself, then at the exploded corpse of the lizard, then at the dismembered jaws buried in her arm. She felt the sword try to draw in more mana than she had, scraping dregs of power from her empty reservoirs of energy and collapsing into a cloud of red sparks when it couldn¡¯t. It was all far more than she could take. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed into the bushes in a dead faint. Chapter 6: I Would Like To Know When I Have Radiation Sickness The milky white sky above Mikayla greeted her as she regained consciousness, roused by a stinging pain in her arm. ¡°What . . . what happened? Did I pass out?¡± Her throat was dry and scratchy, but that was the least of her worries as she picked herself up and discovered that about half of the lizard¡¯s head was still wrapped around her arm. ¡°. . Oh, this is going to suck,¡± she groaned, gripping the lower jaw and carefully, gingerly, removing the scaly head from her arm so that she could inspect the damage. Mikayla didn¡¯t have much reference for ¡®giant lizard bite injuries¡¯, but it didn¡¯t look that bad? There were several wounds, but they looked shallow. Even if they were very painful and bleeding quite a lot . . her arm was absolutely caked with blood and she didn¡¯t know how much of it was hers and how much was the gecko¡¯s. Gritting her teeth, she ripped off a strip from her shirt and wrapped it around the injuries as a makeshift tourniquet. It . . it was pathetic, and she was probably just asking for it to get infected, but it was the best she could do with no medical supplies. ¡°Well, I¡¯m already counting on finding stuff to keep me alive at the Spear. Let¡¯s just add medical supplies to that list, shall we?¡± She forced herself to stand up. Every inch of her body ached, but she knew that if she just stayed here and felt sorry for herself, she would die. And that was not okay. Her stomach rebelled as she steadied herself, looking around and confirming that she could still see the towering monolith that was Astralia¡¯s Spear between the tree canopies. It was time to keep walking . . and to really desperately hope that there weren¡¯t any more monsters nearby enough to be lured in by the scent of blood. But every step was painful, every motion made her head spin and her guts want to expel themselves from her stomach. She gripped her right upper arm with her left hand, hoping that pressure would make it scab over faster. It only took a few minutes of this misery before her resolve to suffer in silence broke, and she moaned, ¡°Why do I feel so awful?¡± [STATUS: RADIATION SICKNESS] ¡°Radiation . . what?¡± She blinked dumbly at the words. ¡°Okay - okay! Firstly! When the hell did I get radiation sickness? Secondly! I should not have had to ask for you to tell me that I have radiation sickness!¡± Was it her imagination, or did the screen seem to wilt? She wracked her brains, and recalled the green energy bolts that the gecko had shot at her from its eyes. Had that thing been nuclear powered? That was . . god, for all she knew, that was normal in this hellish place. With a groan that was part aggravation and part pain, Mikayla checked her Mana bar. [MANA: 121/1200] ¡°. . Good enough. Mana Assistance, Black Knight!¡± Three seconds of transformation sequence later, she was once again clad in the black-and-red armour. ¡°Girl? What happened? Did we move?¡± Nocturnus asked, sounding disoriented. ¡°I have a lot of very pressing questions, and apparently I can only talk to you while I have Mana to spend. Which I probably should have figured out since I¡¯m using Mana Assistance to activate these gems,¡± Mikayla groaned and rubbed her head, not paying any attention to how the armour seemed to phase through itself and permit her to touch her own forehead. ¡°I am not on top of my game today,¡± ¡°You¡¯re actually using Mana Assistance?¡± Nocturnus scoffed. ¡°That¡¯s for children and idiots who don¡¯t know their hands from their feet,¡± Mikayla¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°Yeah? Well I got to this world today, in case you forgot that little detail! Mana as a concept is new to me! I don¡¯t know a damn thing about how to use it, and if that makes me an idiot, what does that say about the asshole using my Mana to laugh at me instead of helping?!¡± ¡°. . You put points into Willpower, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Three of them!¡± Mikayla confirmed with a sharp nod. She forced herself to keep moving as she talked, already regretting her decision to let Nocturnus talk to her again. Knowledge is power, no matter how painful to acquire. ¡°Oh dear. Alright then . . that aside, what do you mean, Mana is new to you? You¡¯ve never used it before?¡± Nocturnus¡¯s voice had turned baffled. A twinge of pain from her arm had her ignoring the question and snapping, ¡°Would it kill you to show some sympathy for my injuries?!¡± ¡°That little flesh wound? Don¡¯t be dramatic, I once had half my arm chewed off and I still ripped the beast that did it into splinters. What sort of warrior are you to make such a fuss about that?¡± Mikayla¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°Let me make one thing very, very clear to you, you bastard! I am not a warrior! I¡¯m a goddamn history student! I¡¯ve never seriously fought in my life before today! Frankly, I¡¯m surprised that I won two fights with giant wild animals at all! We don¡¯t have magic in my world! We don¡¯t have monsters! We don¡¯t fight! We don¡¯t need to! So get off your high horse and tell me something useful or I will turn you off and save my Mana for the next fight!¡± ¡°I . . I see,¡± Nocturnus said, digesting her outburst. ¡°I apologise. The life that I had grown accustomed to living . . such encounters as you have had are mundane, relaxing, even, compared to some of the greatest foes I once faced. I had forgotten what the life I live looks like to those unaccustomed to it. I will endeavour to be more considerate of your needs going forwards,¡± Mikayla breathed, forcing her ragged emotions in check. ¡°Okay. Good. Thank you,¡± ¡°Still, it cannot be the case that there is no magic in your world,¡± Nocturnus seemed to want to distract her from the pain and her unbalanced state of mind. ¡°All living beings have Mana. Including you, or you would not be able to fuel the Core Controller,¡± ¡°Huh?¡± She frowned. ¡°. . You¡¯re sure I couldn¡¯t just be being given Mana by the System?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not how the System works, not unless a Faerie created a special exception for you. No, I think it¡¯s more likely that you always had Mana and your world¡¯s society simply doesn¡¯t have the knowledge of how to consciously use it,¡± Mikayla mulled this over. ¡°Maybe?¡± she hesitantly admitted after a long moment. There were hundreds of old folk tales about wizards and shamans from all over the world. Perhaps it all wasn¡¯t as baseless as most people believed. ¡°Well, whatever, that¡¯s not important. I have Mana and don¡¯t know how to use it. Speaking of things I don¡¯t know how to use, what the hell is the deal with this System thing?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Nocturnus sounded confused for a moment, then made a noise of dawning realisation. ¡°Oh, of course! How foolish of me. My apologies, once again, I should not have overlooked that. The Ataraxian System is so ubiquitous a part of life that I forget it is not simply a natural thing. Of course you didn¡¯t have it where you came from,¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°It¡¯s not? Someone made this?¡± ¡°Aye! The origins of the System date back two thousand years, to the Age of Chaos -¡° ¡°Wait, wait wait wait,¡± Mikayla waved her arms to stop him, shaking her head. ¡°As interested as I am to hear this, I¡¯ve only got so much Mana before I can¡¯t talk to you anymore. I¡¯ve learned my lesson about letting you go on about less important things like monster kings and where the System came from. Skip to the part that¡¯ll help me use it right now and deal with my injuries, or at the very least the Radiation Sickness I got from that gecko. You can explain the rest when we¡¯ve got time for idle conversation, okay?¡± ¡°Ah, fine then. Have you determined how to view your profile?¡± Mikayla shook her head. ¡°Simply ask for your profile,¡± ¡°Alright. Can I please see my profile?¡± [NAME: Mikayla Aiadon LEVEL: 4 RACE: Human STATISTICS: HEALTH: 651/1000 MANA: 118/1200 STAMINA: 370/900 STRENGTH: 9 DEXTERITY: 10 CONSTITUTION: 10 CHARISMA: 11 INTELLIGENCE: 12 WILLPOWER: 13 UNUSED: 2 ABILITIES: CORES: LAPIS OF BLACK KNIGHT (Rank III): Expend Mana continuously to conjure an Armour of the Black Knight. Enhancements: Goliath RUBY OF SWORD (Rank II): Expend Mana continuously to conjure a Sword. Enhancements: Goliath TECHNIQUES: NONE STATUSES: RADIATION SICKNESS: You have been contaminated with toxic energy. You may experience nausea, dizziness and diarrhoea. Estimated time to recover: 63 days. BURNED: You have suffered burns from concentrated radiation on parts of your body. Seek medical attention. Estimated time to recover: 44 days. BLEEDING: You have suffered wounds that are bad enough to not properly scab over in a timely manner. Estimated time to recover: 8 hours. EQUIPPED: LAPIS OF BLACK KNIGHT (CORE) RUBY OF SWORD (CORE) INVENTORY: PHONE (0% CHARGE) MAY YOU FIND ATARAXIA WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST.] Mikayla knew she should have been distressed to see the ¡®Radiation Sickness¡¯ and ¡®Burned¡¯ afflictions, but after everything that had happened so far during this horrible day, all that she could muster was a sort of detached acknowledgement that that was bad. ¡°Hold on. The System elevated Cores to the same level as Techniques?!¡± Nocturnus sounded shocked as he read her profile. ¡°Astralia¡¯s little experiments must have been successful beyond our wildest dreams,¡± ¡°Uh-huh. Can we focus on the radiation sickness as the more pressing issue?¡± Mikayla requested. ¡°Oh! Yes, yes, of course. Can¡¯t have you dying on me,¡± Nocturnus agreed with a grimace. ¡°Well, the news is mixed. The first thing to do is assign your two unused points to Charisma and improve your ability to heal,¡± ¡°Sure. Unused points to Charisma, please,¡± Mikayla was past questioning the logic of her statistics. [CHARISMA: 13] ¡°But that isn¡¯t going to be enough to make much difference on its own. I do have knowledge of a Technique that will improve your healing and regeneration, but teaching it to you will be difficult,¡± ¡°A Technique?¡± ¡°Techniques . . how to put it. They¡¯re grouped together, but can be delineated by whether they use Mana or Stamina. Or both, there¡¯s a few strange ones. It¡¯s like,¡± he hesitated, stumbling over his words, ¡°like moving your body and directing your energy to achieve a given result, such as throwing a fireball or conjuring a barrier,¡± ¡°Spells. Techniques are spells?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know what those are, but sure, lass,¡± ¡°Whoa. Alright, how do I learn this healing technique?¡± ¡°And there¡¯s the problem. I¡¯m currently not exactly equipped to demonstrate for you,¡± Mikayla tilted her head. ¡°Huh? Why not?¡± ¡°Well, let me just lift my arms and stretch my legs, get the blood flowing. Ah, no, I cannot, how foolish of me to forget,¡± Nocturnus drawled. She rolled her eyes. ¡°You can see through my eyes. You can tell me if I¡¯m doing the right motions or whatever,¡± ¡°It is much more complicated than merely waving your arms around a certain way. You need to direct your energy, harmonise with the world around you. I cannot teach you that, not without my own body to demonstrate and direct yours,¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Mikayla groaned. ¡°So, what? We¡¯re doing this through trial and error?¡± ¡°Yes, we shall have to. Find a spot to sit down, legs folded. Techniques work through directing the circulation of Mana or Stamina in your body. Fortunately for you, this one uses Stamina. Most of the ones I knew do. I wasn¡¯t one for Mana until Astralia got me to test her . . well, whatever,¡± Mikayla settled down, crossing her legs. ¡°Next press your elbows to your thighs, keep your back perfectly straight, palms upwards. Good, now put your first two fingers together and bend them inwards. Same with the other three. Bend your pinky more. There. Do that with both hands,¡± She tilted her head. ¡°This is -¡° ¡°Back straight! Neck upright!¡± Nocturnus corrected her. ¡°Now. This is the part where I would show you how to direct your Stamina to restore your health. But I cannot,¡± His voice turned uncertain. ¡°You need to, eh, reach inside yourself. Imagine that there are two rivers coursing through your body, separate but in the same place. One of Mana and one of Stamina. Whilst your health, your flesh, is the banks that they flow through. Try to, ah, think of your injuries and poisoning as rocks and rubbish that has piled up on the riverbanks. Accelerate the flow of your stamina. Erode the rubbish away until there¡¯s nothing left. Make the riverbanks pristine again through force of will,¡± Mikayla nodded, closing her eyes and focusing, reaching inside of herself. It was a strange fringe benefit, but emptying her Mana reserves and trying to fight the gecko on individual points of Mana was working in her favour. She could feel her Mana channels by tracing the patterns of fatigue that were still echoing through her body. From there, she reached out, trying to focus on sensing the insides of her cells, searching for the twin river of her stamina. She kept her attention on her arms, guessing that they would be identical, if mirrored, and by searching for differences between her uninjured left arm and the bloody wounds in her right arm, she might be able to find the damage and consciously heal it. She could feel it, she realised with a start. Not the Stamina, it was still eluding her grasp, but she could feel the radiation poisoning in her body, soaking into her flesh and eating away at her vitality. She pressed against it, trying to beat it back, expel it from her body with sheer Willpower. Something came at her call. She could barely tell what, perhaps it was her own vitality? Her Stamina? She was still too fatigued to care, really. Whatever it was, it was working and it was helping. She could feel it. As though every cell in her body was a soldier, banding together and fighting back against the invading illness. She focused on the burn on her left shoulder, blocking out the more pressing wound to her arm as something to worry about afterwards. This felt too good to be true. Surely she was imagining the pain fading away? She glanced down, unable to resist the impulse, and sharply inhaled. It was working. Fresh skin was forming, the burned and blistered flesh flaking away to reveal pristine new growth underneath. The surprise and amazement at the sight was enough to distract her, and she lost her focus on marshalling her inner reserves of energy. ¡°Do not lose your concentration!¡± Nocturnus barked a moment too late. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it. That really was some kind of healing spell. How did I do that?¡± Mikayla breathed. She was smiling, she realised. For the first time since appearing in this hellish tundra, something unambiguously good had happened. She had healed herself. With magic. ¡°Good, you¡¯ve made progress, then. I was hoping you¡¯d get further, but you still have Stamina to use. Heh,¡± Nocturnus chuckled. ¡°Before you continue, check your profile again, the Abilities category,¡± ¡°Alright. Profile, Abilities, please,¡± [ABILITIES: CORES: LAPIS OF BLACK KNIGHT (Rank III): Expend Mana to conjure an Armour of the Black Knight. Enhancements: Goliath, Burst RUBY OF SWORD (RANK II): Expend Mana to conjure a Sword. Enhancements: Goliath TECHNIQUES: CIRCULATION OF STAMINA (Faulty): Expend Stamina while meditating to accelerate the natural healing process.] Mikayla quirked an eyebrow. ¡°Why is it tagged as ¡®faulty¡¯?!¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re still a complete novice at it! By the Frank Axe¡¯s beard, lass, most trainees are thrilled to see their first Technique appear in their profile. Quit whining and get back to it, you¡¯re still an awful sight,¡± Chapter 7: Roc And Cover ¡°So, Techniques are categorised into Faulty, Crude, Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, and Flawless, depending on how good you are at them,¡± Mikayla did her best to memorise that path of progression. She¡¯d dismissed the Black Knight¡¯s Armour to conserve her Mana and spent an hour focusing on her Circulation of Stamina, and the results spoke for themselves; the burns had either faded entirely or been reduced to minor bruises, and the bite wound had scabbed over until it was merely ginger to the touch, no longer impeding her range of motion. After exhausting all of her Stamina - running low on that wasn¡¯t as unpleasant as she¡¯d feared, and it was ticking back up even now - she¡¯d resumed a casual walk towards Astralia¡¯s Spear, and resummoned the Black Knight¡¯s Armour so that Nocturnus could continue telling her about how to navigate the world she¡¯d found herself in. ¡°Mm-hm. Those upper tiers are quite something. Only two of my Techniques ever reached Expert, and none achieved the status of Flawless. It is merely a matter of practice and tutoring, though,¡± Nocturnus sighed, despondency creeping into his tone. ¡°I can only lament that, under the circumstances, my teaching is so unhelpful. If I could only touch you, I could guide your channels and you could work your way up to Basic at least in an instant. You¡¯d probably reach Intermediate with an hour of direct instruction,¡± ¡°Aw, it¡¯s alright, don¡¯t beat yourself up,¡± Mikayla assured him. The more time she spent with the ghost in her armour, the more weirdly fond of him she grew. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m amazed at how good the healing was even with a ¡®Faulty¡¯ rank technique. Months of healing, in hours. That¡¯s insane!¡± ¡°No foe would let you sit and meditate for an hour after landing a blow. It¡¯s only useful outside of combat, and still very slow. Therefore, it¡¯s Faulty. Once you get it up to Basic, you¡¯ll be able to actively heal yourself while still fighting,¡± Nocturnus dismissed. ¡°Being able to heal myself like that at all is still pretty amazing,¡± ¡°If you say so. Well, whatever. You had a good thought in heading for the Spear,¡± Nocturnus assessed as Mikayla kept walking, making for the massive stone skyscraper in the distance. ¡°Even if everything else around here has worn away, it survived, which means its durability enchantments have held up. There¡¯ll probably be equipment there. Rations and potions, if the preservation enchantments have also lasted. And some better clothes,¡± Mikayla rolled her eyes, looking down at her thoroughly ruined shirt and short shorts. ¡°Forgive me for not dressing for monsters,¡± Nocturnus made a grumpy noise, then continued. ¡°And, if we can get up to the top of the Spear, we might be able to see far enough to find a nearby village. Rest assured, this world of mine isn¡¯t all starring blood and monsters. There are wonderful things to see,¡± ¡°To be honest, the most wonderful thing I can imagine seeing right now is a warm, safe bed,¡± The ghost just chuckled, appreciating the sentiment. Idly, Mikayla browsed her profile, and her brow furrowed as a thought popped into her mind. ¡°By the way. Since apparently this world runs at least partly on video game logic, how do I get a class? Because I¡¯m not even seeing a tab for that in my profile,¡± ¡°What do you mean, ¡®a class¡¯? No matter what blend of nobility you had in your home world, it matters not to the System. We¡¯re all peasants before the gods,¡± Nocturnus denied. ¡°No, not that. Like,¡± Mikayla wracked her brains to recall her brief forays into Dungeons & Dragons at her brother¡¯s behest. ¡°Like, Wizard, or Fighter, or Cleric, or . . what was the one that seduces bad guys?¡± It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t enjoy fantasy, but she¡¯d always been too embarrassed to engage in the role-playing side of the hobby. Her more nerdy interests had always been something to hide, to be ashamed of, to squirrel away in books and binge-watch on lonely nights. Not something to share with people. Ironic that her shame might turn out to save her life. Nocturnus didn¡¯t have a face, but she got the very strong impression that he was staring at her in bafflement. ¡°I haven¡¯t the foggiest what you¡¯re talking about, girlie. But no, there¡¯s nothing of the sort in the Ataraxian System. Sounds horrendous, anyway. Being a wizard by trade is one thing, but if that means not being able to starring fight? The Hero of Demons himself couldn¡¯t sway me to make that trade,¡± ¡°Not like that, it¡¯s . . doesn¡¯t matter. So people just get stronger by increasing their Level and Stats, and develop their style by learning Techniques and getting powerful Cores?¡± she surmised. ¡°There¡¯s more to it than just that, but in a nutshell, yes. There¡¯s also Schema Locks and developing a Neidan. But you¡¯re much too weak to worry about the former and we don¡¯t have the materials for the latter. Come to think, you¡¯re probably too weak for that, too,¡± Nocturnus paused. ¡°At least, that¡¯s how things had been for centuries in my time, but seeing that Cores have been integrated so heavily, I cannot promise that my expertise will hold up,¡± ¡°Noted,¡± Mikayla groaned. ¡°So, what, I need to kill more stuff?¡± ¡°Absolutely! All problems can be solved through slaughter!¡± ¡°Y¡¯now, mate, I¡¯m starting to think you might be biased,¡± she muttered, and a shiver ran through her body. ¡°Say, is the armour supposed to protect me from the environment?¡± Why did she have to go from summer to winter? Her clothes were not made for this cold even before they¡¯d gained several holes in them. ¡°Unfortunately, no. Astralia advised us to wear extra layers underneath our armour in conditions like these,¡± ¡°All the more reason to get to the Spear and scavenge a coat, I guess,¡± Mikayla kept working her way through the forest, drawing ever closer to the looming edifice above them. The trees began to thin out, and here and there she could see artificial-looking indentations in the ground. ¡°The foundations of Balmwind still stand. That¡¯s oddly reassuring, even if I know it means little,¡± Nocturnus idly mused. Mikayla drew breath to respond, preparing to ask if he still hoped to reclaim the ruined city, but was interrupted by a piercingly baritone screech that rang through the air. ¡°What was that?¡± she questioned, turning her head upwards to search for the source. Some kind of monster bird? She did not like her chances against an enemy that could fly. ¡°Stay very still!¡± her ally¡¯s voice barked, and she obeyed, freezing in place. For the first time, Nocturnus sounded worried. And that made Mikayla very afraid. She¡¯d stopped while looking upwards, her gaze trained on the collapsed uppermost section of Astralia¡¯s Spear. So she was looking in exactly the right direction to see it, as it crested the peak and loomed over her. It was the most massive bird she could have imagined, so big and so high up that she couldn¡¯t accurately judge its size. It could rival a jumbo jet, at the very least. Its feathers were a mottled navy blue, with a black beak that ended in a wicked hook. Even at this distance, she could see its eyes, because they glowed with cyan energy that wafted into the air, creating the illusion of horns. It perched atop the apex of the Spear and leered down in her direction. ¡°What is it?¡± she mouthed, trying not to move her lips more than she had to, even if they were covered up by the Black Knight helmet. ¡°That is a starring Giant Roc. They were one of the largest monsters in the region before the Kaiju Collapse,¡± Nocturnus whispered. ¡°I always wondered how big a Kaiju version of one would get,¡± ¡°Ah. Boss monster, then. One that I¡¯m much too low level to fight,¡± ¡°Boss monster? Your turns of phrase are curious, but yes, I imagine that if it could speak, every beast in the region would obey its commands. It is most likely the apex predator in the ruins of Balmwind. We must not draw its attention,¡± ¡°Rest assured I wasn¡¯t planning on it. Can I move yet? It¡¯s not looking at us,¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°No! Rocs are hard of hearing but can pick out a stain on a tunic from a hundred starring miles up. Do not move an inch until it is gone!¡± Mikayla¡¯s eyes darted to her mana bar. [MANA: 84/1200 > MANA: 83/1200 > MANA: 82/1200] ¡°Will it notice if the Black Knight armour fizzles?¡± ¡°I suspect the only reason that it has yet to investigate the glowing suit of armour is because you¡¯ve remained still enough that it is not certain whether or not you are a plant,¡± [MANA: 76/1200] ¡°Well, we¡¯ve got two and a half minutes until my Mana bottoms out again,¡± By watching her Mana bar during the trip, she¡¯d concluded that the Armour of the Black Knight consumed twice as much Mana as her sword. One point got her two seconds. She hadn¡¯t felt safe testing how much Mana putting either of them in Goliath mode cost. Maybe once she¡¯d had enough time to rest that it finally regenerated all the way to the cap. Nocturnus spat what sounded like a very rude foreign expletive. ¡°We¡¯re not far from the Spear. Keep your eyes on the Roc, and start running on my mark. It¡¯s going to see you and chase you. Make for the Spear and get inside. Find an opening, but do not try to smash your way in or the wards will turn against you. Assuming they¡¯ve held. If you find a small enough space, you should be able to hide from the Roc until it loses interest. Hold,¡± ¡°What if the wards haven¡¯t held?¡± ¡°Then you¡¯re starring dead no matter what you do. Hold,¡± Mikayla focused on controlling her breathing. Hyperventilating wouldn¡¯t help. She had to be ready to sprint, and being tense would only slow her down. ¡°Hold,¡± Nocturnus repeated. The roc turned its head, surveying a different direction. ¡°Now!¡± She took off, twisting towards Astralia¡¯s Spear and scanning the stone edifice for any way in even as she ran towards it. There was a noise, a guttural sound like the cry of a vulture being broadcast through an intercom, and in the corner of her vision she saw the roc¡¯s wings spread . . and spread . . and keep spreading until they finally reached full extension, at more than twice the size she¡¯d expected them to be. It took off, homing in unerringly on her position. ¡°Disable my armour, preserve your Mana! You can do this!¡± Nocturnus commanded. ¡°Right! Mana Assistance, Black Knight off!¡± The glowing translucent equipment faded from existence, and she scanned the wall of the tower, so close and yet so far, for any openings. Glancing back upwards, she saw the Roc getting bigger and bigger as it swooped towards ground level. The trails of cyan energy in its eyes were leaving afterimages in its wake that burned themselves into her retinas. Mikayla tore her eyes away and scanned the wall again. She couldn¡¯t find any possible entrance into the safety of the Spear. The exterior wall had held up too well. She changed direction, starting to circle towards the right in hopes of finding a way in, glancing back up at the Roc. Its eyes hadn¡¯t been that bright before, had they? She remembered the last time a monster¡¯s eyes had started to glow, and the blood drained from her face. ¡°Mana Assistance! Black Knight!¡± The armour formed around her body mid-stride, and Nocturnus asked, ¡°What happened? Are we safe?¡± ¡°Brace yourself!¡± Mikayla cried, turning away, shielding her eyes, and hoping desperately to survive what was coming. A solid pillar of electricity erupted downwards from the Roc¡¯s face, focused from its eyes and down its beak like a coilgun. It struck the ground two hundred metres away, and the point of impact exploded. Arcs of cyan energy erupted in every direction, and the Black Knight armour sizzled as it intercepted the lethal bolts of electricity. The sheer force of the strike knocked Mikayla to the ground, and she crawled, forcing herself back upright even as white lines danced in her vision from the bursts of lightning flying around her. The bolts struck through the armour, spraying her arms and back with electrical burns that the Black Knight could only do so much to mitigate, and Mikayla couldn¡¯t stifle a scream. Gritting her teeth, she kept running, scouring the wall for any refuge. The wind howled around her, and she had to look up to see what was happening. The Roc was pulling up, beating its impossibly huge wings to prevent itself from crashing into the ground, and oh god she hadn¡¯t realised how big it was. Its body was the size of a cruise liner, its beak large enough to be used for industrial excavation. Mikayla had never felt so small as she did when staring up at a monstrosity so huge that she could probably crawl inside its nostrils. Why did it even care about her? Was it just that desperate for any sort of food to sate its reservoir-sized stomach? She was an insect to it! That was when the downdraft hit, generated by the beat of wings that would be the envy of windmills everywhere, a gale so strong that she could see trees being uprooted in the distance. Mikayla had no hope of retaining her footing against that wind, blown into the air and dashed against the side of Astralia¡¯s Spear, only to fall several feet to the ground with a grunt of pain. The Black Knight flashed in protest as it absorbed the blows as best it could. [HEALTH: 730/1000] [MANA: 11/1200] Mikayla stifled a whimper, searching her surroundings for any possible escape. Her eyes fell on a hole in the wall that hadn¡¯t been there a minute ago. A felled tree with a twist at the base of its trunk told the story; the Roc¡¯s wingbeats had ripped a tree growing through the wall of the Spear from its roots, leaving a hole large enough for a person to pass through. She didn¡¯t hesitate to launch herself towards it. A quick look told her that those awful glowing eyes were already tracking her and preparing to fire again. Her hands found the edges of the crevice and she dragged herself inside - only to get stuck at the shoulders. Growling wordlessly, Mikayla pushed and shoved, trying to squeeze herself through with increasing desperation. ¡°Dismiss the armour! The pauldrons are stuck!¡± Nocturnus shouted in her ears. ¡°Right! Armour, off!¡± The Black Knight fizzled and she dragged herself inside, barely sparing a second to take stock of her surroundings. She was in a corridor, caked with dirt and patches of mushrooms, and didn¡¯t have time to notice any more than that before she was running again. She was still too close. The hole she¡¯d just squeezed through erupted with an explosion of electrical energy. Seeing the flash and anticipating the strike, she threw herself behind a collapsed bookshelf for cover, shrieking, ¡°Armour, back on!¡± Describing the wall of light that came sweeping down the corridor towards her as a blast felt like a disservice. It was a wave of purging light that reduced the moss and mushrooms to ash, and washed over and around her. The wood of the half-rotting bookcase blackened and crisped from the sheer heat of the assault, splinters flying away as the electricity pushed around and through her, sending her several feet down the corridor with arcs of lightning bouncing around her body. The Black Knight armour disintegrated under the punishment, and she landed in a groaning heap. White lines danced in her vision, and Mikayla rubbed her eyes to clear her head. The world span around her, but she flexed her Willpower and forced her spinning eyes to straighten out. She braced for another attack, forcing her shaking legs to put more distance between herself and the aperture. But nothing came. A moment that felt like an eternity later, she heard powerful wingbeats fading into the distance. Was the Giant Roc gone? Was she finally safe? Mikayla couldn¡¯t take it anymore and collapsed onto a nearby bench. Unfortunately, two hundred years of rot had eroded its capacity to hold weight and the plank collapsed underneath her, sending her crashing to the floor. She groaned, the weariness of the incredibly awful day finally catching up with her now that she was in a place where - hopefully - there would be no immediate threats to her life. [MANA: 0/1200] [STAMINA: 209/900] [HEALTH: 584/1000] ¡°. . how accurate is that, anyway? Am I forty-two percent dead?¡± Looking herself over, looking at the stinging electrical burns tracing random patterns across her exposed flesh, she believed it. Breathing, she forced her leaden arms and legs into the position of meditation, and focused on her Circulation of Stamina, clumsily directing her energies as best she could towards replacing the burnt flesh with clean new growth. After another hour of convalescence and trading her Stamina for Health, regenerating Mana all the while, she groaned and stood up. ¡°Alright. I made it. Now let¡¯s see what I¡¯ve won,¡± Looking up and down the corridor, she realised she had no idea where to start. Her tentative plan, exploring on her own and saving her mana to talk to Nocturnus only when she found something that she needed identified, died a quick death. ¡°Armour, on, thanks Mana Assistance,¡± ¡°Did you triumph?¡± Nocturnus bellowed as soon as the helmet had reformed around her head. ¡°I escaped with my life, that¡¯ll have to be good enough for you, you bloodthirsty old ghost,¡± ¡°Survival is a victory in itself! Especially when faced with such a formidable foe. Although, inflicting a wound would have been better, just so that it wouldn¡¯t forget you,¡± ¡°I am perfectly fine with that thing forgetting me,¡± Mikayla groaned. ¡°Whatever, you psycho. I need directions. This place is the size of a skyscraper. Where did they keep the food?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother with the lower levels. Even assuming no small pests got in, clearly this place is full of fungi. Find the stairs and make your way up to Astralia¡¯s old workshop,¡± ¡°Huh? Was her workshop not the big collapsed section that the Roc is using as a nest?¡± ¡°No, no, that was the dangerous experiment area. We elevated it as high as possible so that if the tower exploded it wouldn¡¯t catch nearby buildings in the blast. Astralia¡¯s workshop is two-thirds of the way up,¡± ¡°That makes sense,¡± Mikayla conceded. ¡°Everything else is worth searching, but she was the best wizard here by a mile, and she had time to prepare while we were evacuating. If anyone¡¯s possessions were going to endure the ages, it will be hers,¡± Chapter 8: Astralia鈥檚 Lost & Found Mikayla muttered a silent apology to her Stamina bar, which had been flirting with emptiness. One hundred and forty-two flights of stairs. She¡¯d counted them, which seemed like less of a good idea in hindsight. For a second she¡¯d almost wished for a monster to come charging out of one of the many doorways they¡¯d passed, then caught herself and berated her foolishness for tempting fate. Fortunately, nothing of the sort had come to pass. Contrary to her expectations, the various doors had been labelled with signs that she could read. The early floors had been things like ¡®Apprentice Dormitory A¡¯, ¡®Fourth-Year Classrooms¡¯ and ¡®Greenhouse Block E¡¯. ¡°This place must have been like real life Hogwarts when people still lived here,¡± she murmured. ¡°As I recall, the signs are inscribed to appear to all as though they were written in the native language of whoever reads them. So if there¡¯s something strange about how they read to you, blame your mother tongue,¡± Nocturnus shrugged. ¡°Ah, so the Harry Potter references are all in my head,¡± There was a niggling thought there, a curiosity that she didn¡¯t have the energy to properly interrogate, but then Nocturnus asked who Harry Potter was and she was distracted by needing to explain the book series. They had arrived at a large and ornate doorway with a glowing blue field blocking it, and a sign that read {OFFICES OF HEADMISTRESS ASTRALIA}. Several of the personal quarters that they¡¯d passed had boasted similar defensive measures, and Mikayla¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°Well, we¡¯re here. Now, how do we get in?¡± She paused. ¡°If you¡¯re about to tell me to shoulder-check my way through a force field and hope that the armour makes it not hurt too much -¡° ¡°No, no, that would be starring insane. Even for me,¡± Nocturnus sounded surprisingly defensive. Mikayla squinted at him. ¡°You did that once, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°. . three times, back at the workshop she built in the Cloudfingers. That is unimportant, we have more pressing issues than my follies. She assured me that she¡¯d placed the correct ¡®key¡¯ engraving on my Sword Core, so that when I got back here I ought to be able to unseal her workshop,¡± Nocturnus hissed ruefully. ¡°I made it, even if it did take a couple of centuries longer than I¡¯d planned,¡± ¡°And a little help from yours truly,¡± Mikayla added with a playful smile. ¡°Yes . . indeed . .¡± ¡°So how do I do this?¡± ¡°That panel, on the left. Press the Core Controller to it,¡± She peered at a pane of tinted glass that looked suspiciously like a scanner for a security card, and rubbed the corroded bracer on it, hoping that its damage hadn¡¯t rendered the thing non-functional. For a few tense moments, there was no reaction. But then the barrier turned green and faded into sparkles of light, and a wave of warm air buffeted Mikayla¡¯s face through the Black Knight¡¯s Armour. ¡°There¡¯s heating in here!¡± she gasped in joy, throwing herself inside without heed for the possible dangers. Fortunately, Astralia of the White Skies had not been so paranoid as to lay traps around her entrance. Indeed, the sitting room that they found themselves in felt like Mikayla had been transported back to her own world, in an executive lounge at a company retreat or similar. There was an actual carpet underfoot, and couches. Ornate wooden coffee tables and a desk where she could imagine a secretary sitting. Instead of fluorescent lights, glowing runes in a circular pattern were etched into a wooden panel affixed to the ceiling. ¡°This has all been here, undisturbed, for two hundred years?¡± Mikayla breathed in confusion. ¡°Indeed, all held in stasis by Astralia¡¯s runecraft. She was so optimistic back then. We all were, before the Monster King appeared. Acting like the Kaiju Collapse was merely a temporary inconvenience and within a week life would go on as though nothing had ever happened,¡± Nocturnus¡¯ voice had turned wistful again. ¡°Ahem. She never actually invited me up here before, so this is where my knowledge ends. Look around, let¡¯s see what we can find,¡± Mikayla had already left the foyer behind and come to a corridor with four more doors adjoining it. But she had already scored a victory with the first door she opened, which led into a large and opulent bedroom, dominated by a massive, fluffy mattress and pillows, and with closets full of warm clothes hanging open. ¡°A bed! Jackets! All those stairs were worth it!¡± She looked down at herself, remembering that what was left of her clothes were still caked in dried blood. Amazingly, her sneakers had held up alright, but everything else was absolutely ruined, to say nothing of the filth staining her exposed arms and legs.. Checking the doors adjoining the bedroom turned up a wonder even greater than the bed and wardrobe; a bathroom. There was no shower, which she should have expected, but there were soaps, and towels, what looked like an elaborate if antiquated toilet, and a massive bathtub made of some white ceramic material. Her elation lasted until she realised that she couldn¡¯t see a way to fill it with water. ¡°Damnit, is there no faucet? Nocturnus, how do people around here fill their baths?¡± ¡°There was a pulley system by which apprentices and servants would send up buckets of water. A mage would then heat it up using their own mana. Also, I do hope that you¡¯re going to remember to dismiss me before undressing yourself,¡± ¡°. . I¡¯m going to have to go all the way back down to the bottom, find a bucket and a river, and cart water all the way back up here if I want a bath, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°It seems so,¡± ¡°. . Not in this shirt,¡± Twenty minutes of spit-scrubbing later, Mikayla had finally cleaned herself up enough to feel comfortable perusing Astralia¡¯s wardrobe. This brought her to the second unpleasant realisation of the day. ¡°She took most of her clothes with her when she left, didn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°I know not how things are in your world, but we tended to indulge the frivolities of geniuses to keep them happy. It did take Astralia a while to internalise the fact that the Kaiju Collapse would not permit us our creature comforts,¡±Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Mikayla shook her head in dismay as she searched Astralia¡¯s leavings for clothes that would be warm and yet loose enough to not hinder her movements. She was certain there would be more fighting in the near future. Eventually, she had picked out her new attire; a thick leather cuirass that hung to her thighs and was coloured a deep red, with a warm black undershirt and leggings. For extra padding, she added a cloak that wrapped around her shoulders, a pair of steel bracers, and boots that had both thick soles and a comfortable inner lining. [EQUIPPED ARCHAIC CUIRASS (ANTIQUE)] [EQUIPPED ARCHAIC COTTON UNDERSHIRT (ANTIQUE)] [EQUIPPED ARCHAIC LEATHER HIKING BOOTS (ANTIQUE)] [EQUIPPED ARCHAIC CLOAK (ANTIQUE)] Her old, ruined clothes laid forgotten in a wastebasket. She had only kept one thing from them; her powerless phone and its charging cable were tucked into the inside pocket of her new coat. In this world of magic and monsters, there had to be some kind of lightning spell or similar that she could learn to use that would recharge it. She wasn¡¯t ready to give up on her beloved phone. ¡°Alright, what¡¯s next?¡± The second door turned out to lead to the larder, which was full of dried meats and vegetables, held within glass boxes that were covered with glowing runes. Her stomach growled at the sight of the preserved foodstuffs, reminding her that she hadn¡¯t eaten all day. All the same, she knew better than to blindly trust two-hundred-year-old groceries. ¡°Nocturnus? Think this is safe to eat?¡± ¡°Probably, but you¡¯ll need to find the key to disable the stasis enchantments first. She said she¡¯d left a spare in her workshop,¡± ¡°Which I guess is this door,¡± Mikayla decided, turning to the next door in the corridor and forcing it open. As soon as they laid eyes on what was within that room, Nocturnus cackled gleefully. ¡°Oh, brilliant!¡± The room was cluttered beyond belief. Boxes of junk that she had no names for were stacked in the corners. Large easels supported blackboard with complicated equations written in a language she couldn¡¯t read, and diagrams for what looked like Cores similar to the Black Knight Armour. The workshop was dominated by what looked like an operating table, with a cluster of tools at one end surrounding a receptacle that was holding a blue gemstone, and several angled glass panes over the rest of it. Mikayla¡¯s eye was drawn not to the mysterious magical devices, but to the small sack of rough gemstones that had tipped over and spilled out on the edge of the table. She hastened to it and peered down at them, cooing appreciatively. ¡°If I ever get home, I¡¯m gonna be rich,¡± ¡°There is so much more than money to be had here, lass! This is one of Astralia¡¯s Engraving Arrays,¡± Nocturnus explained with a hint of reverence in his tone. ¡°It¡¯s still here,¡± ¡°What¡¯s an Engraving Array?¡± Mikayla asked, inspecting the machinery. ¡°It¡¯s what makes Cores,¡± the ancient ghost emphasised. ¡°I hoped she had one here. She was working on the concept for years before she had to repurpose it as Kaiju-slaying weaponry. It was her life¡¯s work,¡± Mikayla stilled, then looked more closely at the gemstones. Most of them were red, but she picked out a half-dozen blue and two green. ¡°So, then all of these are -¡° ¡°Uncut. They¡¯re not Cores yet, they need to be Engraved first. But that¡¯s what the Array is for,¡± Nocturnus elaborated. ¡°Right! Right, right, right,¡± Mikayla moved over to the plinth that was holding an uncut lapis. ¡°So how do we use it?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t the slightest idea whatsoever,¡± She considered this, then twisted her lips and flicked the aggravating blue gem on her wrist. ¡°Don¡¯t get me all excited if we don¡¯t have anything that actually helps, damnit!¡± ¡°Ah! Apologies, apologies! Please don¡¯t do that again! I¡¯m sure it can¡¯t be that hard to figure out! She was teaching her apprentices, certainly there shall be notes or something around here!¡± ¡°Right,¡± She looked around, searching for anything that would give her an indication of where to begin. Her gaze fell upon a pile of scattered papers in the corner, and she pounced on them, pulling them apart and scrutinising them. They were notes, alright. ¡°The coefficient of the equation that denotes the depth of the secondary incision layer must be proportionate to the . .¡± Mikayla trailed off, head already spinning. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is going to get me very far,¡± ¡°It shall be worth the effort if it gets us a new weapon in our arsenal. No one else is going to make a bow for us,¡± ¡°A what?¡± Mikayla quirked an eyebrow. ¡°Why would we make a bow?¡± ¡°You need a ranged weapon. There are monsters that can keep their distance and blast you into pieces from afar, and that was before they all turned into Kaijus. I used to have Techniques that let me engage foes at range, but they are beyond you even if I were able to properly teach you them. The sword is good, even if an amateur like you ought be grateful that a Kaiju shall not punish you for your lacking technique, but not every problem we face shall be solved by a sword,¡± ¡°Yeah, okay that¡¯s fair,¡± she admitted with a hum. ¡°In which case . . oh, here¡¯s something I understand. I think this says ¡®Diamond is better than Jade, which is better than Lapis, which is better than Ruby, which is better than Amber¡¯. And there¡¯s a note about how Amber is trash and only fit for cheap tools,¡± She squinted. ¡°There¡¯s also something crossed-out about needing to experiment with Pearls? Oh, but apparently they¡¯re unstable?¡± Nocturnus sounded like he was choking, which was a very confusing thing to hear from a disembodied voice inside a helmet. ¡°. . Nocty, buddy, you okay?¡± ¡°What does she mean, Lapis is only average?! My armour is on a Lapis gem! My sword was only a Ruby! Nicholas got a Diamond! She used a Diamond for her own armour, and a Jade for Yevgenia¡¯s! I had thought the colours were merely for aesthetics, but she was being a cheapskate?!¡± ¡°Whoa, hey, we don¡¯t know that,¡± Mikayla pacified him. ¡°Maybe she just only had three good ones?¡± He grumbled. ¡°Perhaps . . also. Who or what is a ¡®Nocty¡¯?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a nickname! You¡¯re my friend, so you get a nickname,¡± Affection crept into her voice as she realised just how much the armour ghost had grown on her, for her to be that comfortable with him already. ¡°You have strange customs in your world,¡± he murmured. ¡°No, that¡¯s just me,¡± Mikayla looked back at the notes, only for her stomach to growl. ¡°. . oh, right, we came in here for the key to the fridge. This,¡± she poked the pile of incomprehensible words with a vengeance, ¡°can wait until after I¡¯ve eaten,¡± ¡°Right, of course. Look for a bracelet with an Engraved glass plate hanging from it,¡± It took several minutes of rummaging through drawers, but Mikayla finally turned up a trinket matching that description. She didn¡¯t hesitate to rush back over to the larder and start rubbing it at suspicious spots around the engravings on the lid. As she did, she couldn¡¯t help but marvel at it. ¡°This is a key card. A two-hundred-year-old key card. I need to stop thinking of this world as being just medieval times with magic and monsters. Not when someone here invented key cards hundreds of years before my world did,¡± She finally pressed it into a slot that turned out to fit it perfectly, and runes split between the larder¡¯s surface and the key card lit up, like a sentence made complete by the addition of a missing word. There was a click, and the lid popped open, releasing the dulled scent of frozen meat and preserved vegetables. The growling in Mikayla¡¯s stomach intensified, but she forced herself to stop. Food poisoning was the last thing she needed. It all looked fine, but . . ¡°Nocturnus, are you completely certain this¡¯ll be safe to eat?¡± ¡°Astralia would always take any excuse to boast about how the contents of her storage lockers would outlive us all. You need to eat, and in your place, I would trust Astralia¡¯s food more than Kaiju meat,¡± ¡°Well. When you put it that way,¡± Chapter 9: A Bitter Pillbug Once her stomach was sated, mostly by vegetables as she wasn¡¯t desperate enough to eat raw meat and too hungry to figure out a way to cook - ¡°Her butler had Techniques involving fire that he used to cook for her,¡± Nocturnus had unhelpfully explained - Mikayla finally checked what was beyond the fourth and final door in Astralia¡¯s quarters. The first thing she noticed was the shelves covered in dust and decaying materials of unidentifiable provenance. It seemed apparent that this had been some kind of storage room. But if that were the case, why had the preservation enchantments failed here and not anywhere else? That question was immediately answered as, halfway around the room, she found a door hanging ajar with the fading daylight shining through it. A quick glance outside showed that it led onto a balcony overlooking the world outside, and she could see for miles. ¡°Alright! With this, we can -¡° Mikayla was cut off as Nocturnus shushed her. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Something forced this door open from without. It might yet be inside. Sword out,¡± he commanded. Mikayla¡¯s eyes widened and she nodded. ¡°Mana Assistance, sword,¡± she commanded, the silver-red blade popping into her hands. She surveyed the room again for any sign of a threat. Since nothing had popped out as she circled the left side of the room, she warily advanced down the right-hand aisle. But nothing jumped out at her, no immediate threats. The only thing that hadn¡¯t decayed into dust besides the metal shelves was what looked like a massive, glossy round rock the size of her torso, resting on a shelf that was only barely large enough for it. ¡°What is that strange stone? It looks familiar . .¡± Nocturnus rumbled suspiciously. Mikayla leant over to inspect it more closely. Of course, that was when it uncurled, revealing a face full of snapping mandibles, and lunged at her helmet. Mikayla screamed, trying to guard her face, but the pillbug¡¯s reflexes were too quick. Its fangs would have gone straight into her eyes and mouth, if not for the protective visor of the Black Knight. It still latched onto her head, hissing and chewing on the hardlight armour, for the two seconds it took for her to swing her sword and decapitate it. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A PILLBUG!] [LEVEL UP! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 5!] The corpse crashed to the ground, and she shoved its head off her visor. ¡°Ah, I remember now! We used to send children to get their first level by removing pests from gardens. The baker¡¯s yard was full of those things,¡± ¡°A pillbug. That was a pillbug. Not a nuclear pillbug, or a super-massive pillbug, just a regular garden variety pillbug,¡± Mikayla digested. ¡°Well, they weren¡¯t always that big,¡± Nocturnus shrugged. ¡°. . I hate this place,¡± Heaving a ragged breath, Mikayla turned back towards the door leading outside. She poked her head out and cast a wary glance around for any hint of the Giant Roc. Fortunately, it was either asleep or out hunting, so she cautiously stepped outside to investigate the balcony. The view was breathtaking. She could see miles and miles of forest, laid out like a massive map. Trails of broken trees marked the passage of massive monsters in days past, and in the distance she could see a mountain range rising above the forest. ¡°Ah, wish we had a charger for my phone. I would totally make this my screensaver,¡± ¡°Do not get distracted. We are searching for our next destination. Be prepared to take cover the second you see any sign of the Giant Roc,¡± Nocturnus commanded. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I got it. We¡¯ll do a lap and then head back inside,¡± Mikayla decided, starting to walk and scanning the horizon for any sign of human habitation. She had the mana to spare for conversation, and Nocturnus had mentioned a name before that she was curious about. ¡°By the way, who¡¯s Yevgenia?¡± ¡°Oh? I haven¡¯t mentioned her yet, have I?¡± ¡°Nope. You said there were five heroes? Including yourself? Nicholas was a king, Astralia some kind of super-witch, and Carter was the king of the dwarves, right?¡± Mikayla wished she had something with which to take notes. Where was her phone when she needed it? ¡°All true. Though Carter would box your ears for calling him a king, even if that¡¯s what he was in all but name,¡± Nocturnus chuckled. ¡°And then there was Yevgenia, the Rosebush Huntress. Me and her were brought along because we were warriors. See, we were each leading a convoy of refugees, from our various nations. Nicholas brought us together. Astralia designed the weapons, and Carter forged them. Me and Yevgenia were the brutes who took up arms and slaughtered our foes,¡± A regretful chuckle escaped his lips. ¡°She wasn¡¯t like the rest of us, she was no leader of men, yet they flocked to her anyway just because she made them safe. She was a killer, a huntress and an assassin. She told me once that she used to kill men, but started going after monsters because she no longer felt the thrill of the hunt from killing people. The rest of us fought the Kaijus because we had to, but she fought them because it was fun. Haha, what a woman,¡± Mikayla stifled a smile. ¡°She was special to you?¡± ¡°I wanted her to be,¡± Nocturnus¡¯ voice was tinged with melancholy for what might have been. ¡°I thought she would join me when I rode to reclaim Balmwind. Even if all the other three turned me down, I thought surely she would . .¡± He sighed. ¡°Perhaps I knew her not as well as I had thought,¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Mikayla didn¡¯t trust herself to say anything, simply nodding sympathetically. They completed their lap around the balcony, finding other doors that Nocturnus explained led into the quarters of other wizards. Mikayla guessed that despite her prestige, Australia¡¯s rooms only took up about a quarter of this floor of the Spear. But this was cold comfort compared to what they did not find. There was no sign of civilisation anywhere on the horizon that they could see. No villages, no artificial landmarks. It was all forest and tundra, with only the occasional Kaiju large enough that they could see it even from such a vast distance. ¡°. . Well. Crap,¡± Nocturnus sighed. ¡°This is disheartening,¡± ¡°. . Oh well. It could be worse. This is a pretty great spot to camp out for a while. We¡¯ve got a bed, heating food -¡° ¡°No. We must gather as many resources as we can carry and make ready to leave. We cannot stay here for long,¡± Nocturnus rumbled. ¡°Why not? There¡¯s food, shelter, heating, everything we need,¡± Mikayla reminded him. ¡°There¡¯s also the Giant Roc roosting above our heads. The longer we linger in this region, the more likely that we will attract its attention again and not be so lucky as to escape a second time. We will run out of food sooner or later, and it would be preferable to have some rations remaining, to bring food with us rather than rely on hunting our dinners. Not all Kaijus are safe to eat,¡± ¡°Okay, ew, yeah,¡± she nodded with a wince. ¡°You must learn the techniques of Mana Engraving as quickly as possible, create more weapons, and make ready to leave. We have a long journey ahead of us, and must make the most of this respite,¡± Mikayla sighed, but nodded, staring at the distant horizon. ¡°Right. Well, let¡¯s get going,¡± As they re-entered Astralia¡¯s quarters, Nocturnus piped up again. ¡°While we search, I want you to try to trigger the Sword Core without using Mana Assistance,¡± ¡°Huh? Why? Mana Assistance is great,¡± ¡°It¡¯s for children. It¡¯s a training tool the System provides, to help little babies learn how to grow accustomed to the feeling of using mana. If you¡¯re still using it by the time we return to civilisation, people will think that you¡¯re some kind of cripple or retard,¡± Mikayla¡¯s eyes opened wide. ¡°Whoa, you can¡¯t use that word, it¡¯s offensive,¡± ¡°What? Retard? Since when?¡± ¡°Since . .¡± She trailed off, realising the futility of trying to explain political correctness to a two-hundred-year-old ghost. ¡°Nevermind. Where I¡¯m from, it¡¯s a slur used to insult a certain demographic is all,¡± ¡°Ahhhh,¡± Nocturnus considered this. ¡°How distasteful. Very well, I shall refrain. Putting that little diversion aside, my point stands. Learning to use my equipment without Mana Assistance is vital to your long-term growth. Feeling the flow of mana is a necessary part of clearing the first Schema Lock, and once you have mastered it, you will be much more effective in combat. Your Techniques and Cores will no longer be mere tools, but as good as part of your body,¡± ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll try,¡± Mikayla hummed. ¡°You¡¯ve mentioned these Schema Locks before. What are they?¡± ¡°Milestones of growth, standardised by the System. The expectation is that you have developed enough control over your body to clear the first Lock when you are Level 25. The second by 50, and so on and so forth. Of course, if you¡¯re talented enough, you can do them earlier and receive the resulting boost in power sooner, but . .¡± Nocturnus trailed off. ¡°I don¡¯t have any chance of that, do I?¡± ¡°None at all. If I thought it was a viable option, I¡¯d have told you to do it already. Putting an end to your reliance on Mana Assistance is the bare minimum for you to reach that step at all, let alone early,¡± Mikayla nodded, the news was expected but still disappointing. She stifled an instinct to rail against the prospect of staying in this world for long enough to need to worry about plotting out her growth; making her way out of the wilderness at all would be an ordeal. Finding a way back to her world was a pipe dream at best, and she was forced to admit to herself that she might be stuck in the Kaiju Coast for a long time. ¡°So, what¡¯s next? We search the rest of the tower?¡± ¡°Post-haste! Onwards! Perhaps we shall find more easy levels!¡± Mikayla weighed how much she¡¯d hated the pillbug jumpscare against the knowledge that she was now level 5 and had two points to distribute. The thrill of getting stronger quickly won out over cowardice, a feeling that was redoubled with her next decision. ¡°Two free points to Willpower. Let¡¯s go!¡± <=====}¡ªo While Mikayla was searching the Tower for anything of use, up to and including the XP of soon-to-be-dead insects, there was a light blinking a long way to the south. During a routine checkup of the ancient artefacts in the custody of the White Skies Institute of Thaumic Research, it was Apprentice Derrick Meister who discovered the alert flashing on a magical device known as the Rainmirror. The Rainmirror could trace its provenance to Astralia of the White Skies herself. It was a piece that was considered an antique, something that had been long considered redundant but kept on display for its historical value. ¡°Master! Master!¡± ¡°What is it, boy?¡± Master Guerns had taken the job of antique caretaker for the White Skies Institute to escape the stress and enjoy his retirement. Not to be shouted down by apprentices. He was a stooped little man, armed with a cane that tapped out a beat on the floorboards as he hobbled towards the Rainmirror and wondered what Derrick had done this time. ¡°What did you break?¡± ¡°Nothing! It¡¯s the Rainmirror! Something activated it!¡± Guerns peered at the reflective display. The Rainmirror really did look like a grid of reflective surfaces, and for years the sixteen squares had only mirrored the face of whoever stood before it. But now the bottom-left panel had manifested a glowing alert. ¡°This says . . the wards on Astralia¡¯s quarters in Astralia¡¯s Spear have been deactivated? What?¡± ¡°Astralia¡¯s Spear? The abandoned tower in Balmwind?¡± Derrick recalled. ¡°You¡¯ve kept up with your studies. Good boy,¡± ¡°But no one¡¯s been there since the Collapse! It¡¯s too dangerous!¡± ¡°Evidently not for someone,¡± Guerns murmured. ¡°We have no idea what Astralia might have left in her quarters. Her records all state that she didn¡¯t expect to be gone for long, let alone never return. She might have left experiments. Artefacts. Dangerous prototypes. We¡¯ve no way to know,¡± He was already shuffling away, his cane tapping out its staccato rhythm as he moved. ¡°Someone needs to be sent to investigate. We must send a message to Dean Wujing, have him call up an agent to investigate the region,¡± ¡°Of course, sir! I¡¯ll go, spare your knees,¡± Derrick volunteered. ¡°Yes, yes, go on then. We must ensure that this is dealt with quickly. Only a thief of great skill could have bypassed the defences Astralia would have placed on her own quarters. Who knows what dastardly machinations the perpetrator could be plotting right now?¡± <=====}¡ªo Mikayla heaved a sigh of relief, staring at the remains of another pillbug. ¡°Huh. I didn¡¯t get a level that time?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t expect every kill to earn you a level!¡± Nocturnus bellowed. ¡°By the time I hit the eighties, it took me days of unending glorious slaughter to eke out a single level! You¡¯ll get there!¡± ¡°Alright, alright. Scan!¡± Her pupils dilated as her first System function came into play, highlighting no items of interest - again - but there was a sleeping pillbug at the edge of her range. ¡°Maybe this one will get me a level!¡± Chapter 10: Chicks Dig Giant Robots Mikayla carefully peered out through the crack in the wall at the base of the Spear, searching for any hint of the Giant Roc. There was none to be found, and she breathed a sigh of relief, crawling back out into the open tundra. ¡°Okay. The main entrance hall is thataway,¡± she reminded herself, checking her Health, Mana and Stamina bars and setting off around the diameter of the wizard¡¯s tower. [HEALTH: 1000/1000] [MANA: 1200/1200] [STAMINA: 900/900] For the past couple of days, she and Nocturnus been exploring the areas of Astralia¡¯s Spear that they could access, scavenging for anything useful. Most of the other high-level wizard¡¯s quarters had remained inaccessible, and Nocturnus had advised against trying to force her way in. It was a miracle that the Spear had held up as well as it had, a feat which could be attributed entirely to generations of mages layering durability and protection enchantments. Attempting to break those enchantments, or the walls on which they were engraved, could all too easily bring the upper floors down on them. Unfortunately, their efforts hadn¡¯t turned up anything of use; almost everything had rotted away over the centuries since the Spear had been abandoned. Killing the pillbugs had gotten her to Level 6, and she¡¯d slapped an extra point each into Charisma and Willpower for it. Their only stroke of luck had been a single chest with a stasis enchantment on it, containing a dozen potions and - surprisingly - an entire chocolate cake. Treating herself with slices of that had done a lot for her mental health. The potions were great too, and she had several strapped to her belt. Each had been brewed for someone with much larger resource pools than she had, so Nocturnus fully expected that ingesting one would immediately refill her Health, Mana or Stamina. She hadn¡¯t wanted to waste any by testing them, though. The good luck, however, was countered by the bad. Upon making their way to the main entrance hall on the ground floor, they had discovered that the main doors to the Spire had been broken into and the hall turned into a nest, currently inhabited by a monster that resembled a bear the size of a dump truck, with icicles growing out of its back. At least, Mikayla had thought it was bad luck. Nocturnus was thrilled. ¡°Excellent! A sparring partner for you!¡± Her protests still rang in her ears, because she clearly hadn¡¯t voiced enough of them. ¡°You want me to fight that thing? Willingly?!¡± ¡°You need to get stronger. Level 6 just isn¡¯t going to cut it. And that thing¡¯s one of the best foes we could have asked for. Rimeroar Bears only wake up for one day every couple of months. They go have one big meal, then go back to sleep. All you have to do is get in close and kill it before it wakes up. Just stab it right in the throat!¡± ¡°Oh, that doesn¡¯t sound so hard,¡± Mikayla wanted to eat her words, because the Rimeroar Bear had looked a lot smaller from the upper balcony than it did now that she was standing in front of it. Its pelt was a dirty white, with tangles and dead leaves knotted into it. Foggy white stalagmites of solid ice grew out of its back and arms, each the size of a car. It seemed to radiate frigid air with every snore from its barn-sized gut. And the real trouble was that it had rolled onto its back. Its vulnerable throat was twenty feet above her, and to reach it she would have to climb onto its back. Mikayla balled her fists. ¡°Mana Assistance, Black Knight,¡± ¡°Are we ready for the slaughter?¡± Nocturnus demanded as soon as the armour had formed. ¡°Small problem, mister stab happy. How am I going to reach up there? I don¡¯t think this thing will sleep through me trying to climb onto its belly,¡± ¡°Hmm, yes, I see. Don¡¯t worry, we can work with this. But you will have to be fast,¡± ¡°You just really want to see me kill this thing, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Would you prefer to go and search for something else to kill, and chance another encounter with the Giant Roc?¡± Mikayla blanched at the prospect. Those flashes of cyan light were still dancing behind her eyes. ¡°Right, so how am I getting up there?¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°It¡¯s earlier than I had planned, and I¡¯m not certain you¡¯re ready, but strength is tempered in the flames of strife! So I believe it¡¯s time for you to unlock the true power of my armour!¡± She digested this. ¡°Are you talking about Goliath mode, or is there a different ¡®true power¡¯?¡± ¡°You . . already know of the Goliath function. I see,¡± Nocturnus sounded disappointed. ¡°I used it with the sword a couple of times. Never with the armour though. But I can see why this would be a good time for it,¡± Mikayla nodded, sizing the bear up. ¡°How big does it get? Can it make me as big as the bear? Bigger?¡± ¡°It could, but Goliath is a more flexible power than that. Its size increases its mana drain proportionately. Become twice as large, and it will cost twice the mana to maintain. Become ten times as large, and it costs ten times the mana,¡± Mikayla nodded, running the numbers in her mind. ¡°I see. So if one Mana Point buys me two seconds of armour, then at ten mana for two seconds of super armour . .¡± She glanced at her Mana Bar, which was already being drained by the Black Knight. [MANA: 1156/1200] ¡°I can keep it up at full size for a bit less than four minutes before I run dry. That¡¯s plenty of time to stab a bear,¡± ¡°Your calculation is wrong. You need to factor in the cost of keeping the sword manifested as well,¡± Nocturnus reminded her. ¡°Also. Who said that ten times the size was its maximum?¡± A sly whisper entered her ear, and her eyebrows shot up at the implications. ¡°. . That is going to be very cool when I¡¯m strong enough to use it,¡± ¡°Haha! It was and it will be again,¡± As Nocturnus cackled, Mikayla redid her maths. ¡°Ten mana for four seconds of sword time at ten times the size. That¡¯s thirty mana for four seconds of super armour and super sword time,¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget, you don¡¯t have to keep the armour at full size at all times. It¡¯s . . actually, no, nevermind, even I never really got the hang of that,¡± the ghost interrupted himself. ¡°Got the hang of what?¡± Mikayla questioned. ¡°Also, that means I get two minutes and forty seconds of Goliath fighting before my mana runs dry. Okay, a bit less, since I¡¯m wasting mana to talk to you,¡± ¡°It was Yevgenia¡¯s special technique. She had such good control over her mana that she could change the size of her armour and weapons on the fly, mid-fight,¡± ¡°. . What, like Ant-Man?¡± ¡°I know not of what an ant man is, but I presume so, yes. It was shockingly effective - you have not known fear until you have seen a knife grow to the size of a castle gate an instant before it hits you. But I never managed to replicate it, and given that you are still reliant on Mana Assistance, I cannot expect you to succeed where I failed. Enough dallying, you are wasting your mana. Launch your assault, and strike fast, before the Rimeroar Bear awakens and counterattacks,¡± ¡°Right,¡± Mikayla raised her hand. She took a second to check that the three potions she¡¯d clipped to her belt were still there; she¡¯d slotted two Mana Potions and two Health Potions into the notches, ready for her to draw upon if the fight went badly. ¡°Mana Assistance, sword,¡± She felt her energy flow into the tips of her fingers, and the silver-red blade appeared in her hands. ¡°Okay, here goes nothing. Mana Assistance, put my armour and sword in Goliath mode at ten times the size,¡± There was a roaring in her ears. Strength fled her veins, only to be transformed and come rushing back into her muscles. Her feet were hoisted off the ground as the Black Knight¡¯s spine suddenly and dramatically lengthened. The chestplate grew around her, enveloping her, and threads of mana wrapped around her limbs, suspending Mikayla in a cradle of red hard-light nerves. The boots of black glass that no longer had her feet inside them swelled like balloons, spikes erupting from their soles for added friction, and the greaves parted to release knee armour with serrated edges. Newly formed walls of magic erupted from the swelling shoulder pads, engulfing and expanding the armour¡¯s arms and carrying with them a mesmerising nebula of energy that unfolded like a blooming flower at her wrists, becoming hands large enough to pick up a person and throw them. The sword in her hands grew to match, unfolding and extending in an impossibly complicated pattern of glowing red lines. The spiked shoulders parted, and a huge, dome-shaped helmet emerged from the torso, with a crown of three spikes protruding from its brow. Strings of light shot into Mikayla¡¯s eyes, worming under her eyelids and latching onto her optic nerves. There was none of the pain that she¡¯d expected when she saw the ropes of mana penetrating her head, but she still squeezed them shut reflexively. And the Black Knight opened its eyes. Mikayla audibly gasped as she peered through the twin pools of red light that had appeared behind the Black Knight¡¯s visor. She looked at the sword in her right hand, then at her left, experimentally flexing her fingers, and was amazed when the massive black gauntlet responded as though it were her own body. The Rimeroar Bear, which had been an impossibly massive opponent, suddenly looked like it was just a particularly large and strange dog; still appreciably dangerous, but in no way the harbinger of certain death that it had seemed to be a moment ago. And it was moving. She could see its eyelids were fluttering. Oh no, deploying the Black Knight must have woken it up! ¡°Quit gawking at yourself! You¡¯ve got two minutes!¡± Nocturnus¡¯ voice echoed around her. ¡°Right!¡± She tried to reply, but it was the Black Knight that spoke, a word that shook the atrium of the Spear like a thunderclap. The bear startled, and, realising that she was about to miss her window of opportunity, Mikayla struck. She hadn¡¯t accounted for how much longer it took to move at such a massive size. The bear was startled to see the massive sword reversing in the air above it and bringing its tip down towards its throat. The Black Knight wasn¡¯t slow by any means, but compared to Mikayla¡¯s own reflexes it felt ponderous. Enough so that by the time the sword was coming down, the monster bear had rolled to the side and dragged itself out of the way, the tip of her sword only carving a shallow nick into the side of its head. It reared up and roared, bringing its claws to bear in a threatening display, and Mikayla raised the Black Knight¡¯s sword in her best guard stance. The fight was on. Chapter 11: Its Roar Is Worse Than Its Rime Mikayla flinched and grimaced as the Rimeroar Bear¡¯s aggrieved bellow buffeted the Black Knight¡¯s helmet. ¡°So much for the easy kill,¡± ¡°Keep attacking! Press your advantage!¡± Nocturnus bellowed. ¡°Right!¡± Clumsily, she reversed her grip, and flicked the sword upwards and outwards once again, carving a gash into the side of the bear¡¯s gut and causing it to stagger. The bear¡¯s eyes glinted with murderous intent as it sucked in a massive breath, and Mikayla had a suspicion that she was about to find out why it was called a ¡®Rimeroar¡¯ bear. ¡°Brace yourself!¡± Nocturnus commanded. A hailstorm erupted from the bear¡¯s mouth. It was no mere roar nor snarl, it was as though a nexus of deadly cold had been squeezed into the creature¡¯s gut and now the pressure was being released directly at the Black Knight. Mikayla¡¯s delusions of being invincible and unmovable were shattered, because either the Black Knight weighed less than she¡¯d thought or the bear¡¯s breath was disturbingly strong. Her arms flailed as first one leg was uprooted and forced backwards, and then the other. She tried to catch herself, the giant translucent gauntlet of her left hand digging into the wall, but it came apart at her touch, leaving a cloud of splinters as her fingers were dragged through the wall. With her other hand, she tried to drive the tip of her sword into the ground, and carved another massive trench into what was left of the carpet, the rotting wooden floor beneath, and the earth underneath that. She fell to one knee, driving the spiked kneepad and the points of her feet into the ground, finally arresting her momentum. ¡°Does this thing have any special powers?!¡± she hollered as the bear¡¯s breath finally petered out, the sheer condensation having encrusted the joints of the armour with flakes of ice. Mikayla forced the Black Knight upright again, feeling painful cracks as showers of frost erupted from her knees. ¡°Not without my Techniques to channel through it! Don¡¯t lose heart! Charge!¡± Nocturnus commanded as the bear rose to its full height. As it did, her eyes fell on the injury she had landed and how it was growing encrusted with frost. The bear had the ability to freeze its own injuries closed to prevent blood loss. Because another advantage was exactly what it needed. Standing on its hind legs, with its icy armour and claws extended, the bear looked much more threatening than she felt she was, and the last of the momentary superiority she¡¯d felt when the Black Knight finished growing evaporated. But Nocturnus hadn¡¯t steered her wrong yet, so she pressed her weight onto her outstretched left foot and kicked off, throwing the Black Knight forward with a mighty thrust from the train-sized blade in her hand. The bear¡¯s arm came around and it pressed its claws together, deflecting the strike from its massive gut. Overextended, Mikayla had to catch herself with her free hand, and the monster twisted back around to deliver a crushing blow to her helmet. ¡°Ow!¡± she shrieked. ¡°I felt that! Why did I feel that?!¡± [HEALTH: 821/1000] [MANA: 942/1200] They¡¯d been fighting for less than half a minute, she numbly realised as Nocturnus responded, ¡°Trade-offs of going this big! The armour is your body! Keep going!¡± Unfortunately, the Rimeroar Bear wasn¡¯t willing to wait for her to recover. It lunged at her with its jaws opened as wide as they could go, exposing rows of teeth like an industrial shredder. Mikayla knew instinctively that she couldn¡¯t get upright in time, so she changed tack; she braced herself against her left arm, further annihilating the lobby in the process, and forced her helm upwards in a headbutt that drove the crown of spikes on her helmet into the monster¡¯s belly. It bellowed in pain and punished her by sinking its claws into her back. Mikayla let out a strangled squeak as the muted sensation of pain made its way back to her nerves, and tried to look down at her own body. For a brief moment, she had forgotten that she was controlling the Black Knight, not her own flesh, and couldn¡¯t see her real body through the layers of mana. All that the motion had accomplished was pulling her bloodied head-spikes out of the wound, leaving it dripping with viscera for the seconds it took the monster to freeze its injury closed. She hollered, ¡°Did it get me?!¡± ¡°No idea! Doesn¡¯t matter! Fight!¡± She didn¡¯t feel dead, or all that hurt, and that had to be good enough. Tucking her knees in, she forced herself back to her feet, already bringing her sword around to defend against another assault. Her every motion carved crevices into the ground, and she had to mind her footing or risk a fatal fall. The bear was wary, clearly taking her seriously now. It inhaled, and Mikayla recognised the wind-up for its powerful roar. She forced herself forward, launching a slash that it wasn¡¯t quite quick enough to block this time and opening a red line from its left shoulder to its right hip. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to regret landing that strike even as it left her off-balance for the roar, which knocked the Black Knight off its feet and sent her flying into the open doorway of the atrium. Massive fingers gripped the side of the doorway, and to her relief, it buckled but held as she used it to get back to her feet. ¡°Okay. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re supposed to be a very lost polar bear or a regular bear with ice magic, but I don¡¯t care because either way I¡¯m going to grind you into shaved ice!¡± ¡°Hm. Not bad for your first threat. Would benefit from an oath or two. We¡¯ll work on it,¡± Nocturnus idly mused as Mikayla held her crude guard stance, sword up to cover her body, and advanced once more. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. [MANA: 789/1200] The bear came to meet her, dropping to all fours momentarily to springboard off the ground and launch itself forwards with fangs and claws thrust outwards. She swept her sword up to meet it, and staggered under the blow. On an impulse, her free hand shot out to grab at the bear¡¯s face as it slid off the flat of her sword. Her armoured fingers found purchase, ignoring the way the bear¡¯s teeth sank into them, and twisted its neck. It rolled in mid-air and crashed to the ground on its back, clawing at the gauntlet that had shifted to pinning its head in place. Mikayla took advantage, adjusting the angle of her sword to come down on its throat. With a howl of furious panic, the bear exploded with quick-forming ice, forming a spontaneous glacier around its entire body. Mikayla shrieked in shock as the ice wrapped around her left hand and the tip of her sword, trapping them both in place. ¡°The hell?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s getting desperate! Good going, girlie, I knew you could do it! Smash it open and cut its head off!¡± Nocturnus demanded. ¡°With my hand stuck?¡± Mikayla thought for a second. ¡°Wait,¡± She crouched down and pressed a foot atop the most even chunk of the bear¡¯s spiky shield that she could find. ¡°Mana Assistance! Reduce the size of my equipment, down to, um, let¡¯s try five times the default size!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Nocturnus sounded shocked by the thought. Shrinking down was even more disorienting than growing. There was an uncomfortable sense of tightness, as though her clothes were shrinking while she wore them. But Mikayla blocked that out, focusing on first pulling her sword free as it shrunk out of the form-fitting ice that had trapped its tip in place, then ripping her left hand free in a similar manner. Placing her weight on her foot, she stepped upwards while shrinking down, coming to rest squarely atop the beast¡¯s neck. ¡°Huh?!¡± Nocturnus seemed even more surprised that her spur-of-the-moment strategy had worked. Moving while changing the Black Knight¡¯s size was awful, she was struggling to suppress a feeling of vertigo. It was like the world around her had become a funhouse mirror. But Mikayla powered through it, lining up her sword with the hole in the armour left behind by her giant hand, through which she could see the eye and cheek of the frenzied bear. Putting the entire weight of the still-quite-oversized armour behind her arm, she thrust down into the cavity while commanding, ¡°Sword, size seven!¡± Mana flowed down her arm and out through her fingertips, down the Black Knight¡¯s limb and into the sword as it stretched and discharged. She felt the moment that it dug into the Rimeroar Bear¡¯s face through the vibrations of the blade striking flesh and the way the glacier quivered in pain. ¡°That was Yevgenia¡¯s technique! You¡¯re doing it? With Mana Assistance?!¡± Nocturnus was still catching up to Mikayla¡¯s moves. Before she could respond, a concussive blast of cold air blew her away from the bear¡¯s head. At her reduced size, she didn¡¯t have the bulk to resist being blown into the air, which was the worst place to be when the shell of ice exploded and caught her in a wave of shrapnel. Spinning through the air at a speed that reminded her of the worst rollercoaster she¡¯d ever been on, Mikayla crashed into the wall at the rear of the atrium, the warded stone arresting her approach. She slid to the ground and barely managed to land on her feet, the sword¡¯s tip coming to rest in the dirt as she shook herself to regain her bearings. The ursine monster¡¯s left eye had been reduced to a mess of disfigured flesh, a wound that was rapidly freezing itself shut, but it was picking itself up and bearing down on her once more. ¡°Mana Assistance, armour and sword back to size ten!¡± Her veins filled with fire as the mana was sucked from them once more, and the disorienting feeling of the ground falling away as her limbs lengthened almost overwhelmed her. On instinct more than conscious choice, she held up her sword to guard just in time for the bear to crash into her defence and bounce off. A second too late, she cursed herself for not taking the chance to impale it, and went for a follow-up strike, but the opportunity was gone and it deflected the sword with a massive paw. ¡°Go on the defensive! Bait it into exposing itself, then counterattack!¡± Nocturnus commanded. Mikayla swallowed a mean-spirited comment about back-seat fighting, pulling her sword back into defensive position and checking her mana. [MANA: 651/1200] The bear ripped into her, and she did her best to block the attacks with her sword, but her reflexes were still too slow and several strikes made it through to her arms and shoulders. [HEALTH: 581/1000] She stayed on the defensive, baiting it back towards the crevices in the ground she¡¯d created earlier. The bear advanced, focused on her to a fault. It was lured in by the smell of her feigned weakness, and it was thrilled to seal the fight in its favour. It advanced, beating against her guard, claws raking against her gauntlets, and it was all Mikayla could do to keep it off her while also watching her footing. She landed one final parry and darted back, and the bear leapt forward to maintain close contact. It didn¡¯t even notice the hole its foot fell into. It went stumbling, off-balance, and while it was still correcting from the trip she had baited it into, she twisted her blade around, then stabbed, ripping open the flesh at the base of its neck. The bear howled in pain as its lifeblood spilled out and ran down her sword. ¡°Haha! A fatal blow! Now pin it down!¡± Nocturnus commanded. ¡°Do not let it exact revenge with its dying breath!¡± Mikayla stifled her instinct to retreat and thrust even deeper, holding the creature in place and preventing it from coming any closer. She gripped the sword¡¯s hilt with both hands to keep it at a distance as it clawed at the blade, and she could see it retching from an attempt to unleash another blizzard from its maw that failed due to the blade embedded in its windpipe. She saw the moment the life left its eyes, and it collapsed. Unable to support its weight, she let the tip of the sword fall to the ground. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A RIMEROAR BEAR!] [LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 9!] ¡°. . Mana Assistance. Armour and sword back to size one,¡± Mikayla heaved out a ragged breath as the Black Knight shrank back to normal size, and she finally relaxed as her feet touched the ground again. ¡°That . . was awesome!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t doubt you for a second! Well done, lass!¡± Nocturnus cheered. ¡°Hah! And you were right. Three whole levels. That¡¯s great news! Three levels for a minute and a half of fighting. That feels broken, actually, the System really wasn¡¯t balanced around a novice like me having equipment like this, was it?¡± ¡°Lass, I was Level 112 afore my untimely demise. Three levels is good progress for a single fight, but you¡¯ve still a long way to go and it only gets harder,¡± Nocturnus chuckled. ¡°No, the really great news is that Rimeroar Bear meat is edible, and will stay preserved for a long time. What did you say you were going to do? Shaved ice? Sounds scrumptious!¡± ¡°I . . no. Ew. I didn¡¯t mean that literally. I¡¯m not really going to grind it up and eat it. I don¡¯t know where this thing¡¯s been. That would be way too unsanitary!¡± ¡°Milksop,¡± Nocturnus snorted. ¡°Why not knit yourself a cozy scarf and be done with it, lass?¡± ¡°Did you forget that we don¡¯t have any way to cook this meat?!¡± ¡°. . Oh. Right,¡± Chapter 12: Go Bigger To Go Down (Arc 2 Begins) It had been days, and Mikayla was only marginally closer to unlocking the secrets of the Engraving Array. There had been no sign of the Giant Roc since that first encounter with it, and as nice as it was to have a warm bed, the air inside Astralia¡¯s Spear was growing stale, so she was perusing the notes - attached to clipboards to protect them from the wind - while enjoying the fresh air and thanking whatever gods patronised this new world for her coat. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re struggling so much with this,¡± Nocturnus had muttered at one point. ¡°You said you were a scholar,¡± ¡°I am a history student. I was barely into my first year, too,¡± Mikayla didn¡¯t even bother freaking out about how everyone was probably going to think that she had dropped out of university. Being freed from the looming dread of exams was perhaps the best part of being lost in this new world. ¡°And even if I was a science major, this is some kind of advanced magic science that I have barely any idea how to parse. So either explain to me what a thaumic projection cascade is or keep quiet so I can figure it out myself!¡± Nocturnus had piped down, inarticulately grumbling to himself. As torturous as trying to decipher the notes was, she didn¡¯t have any choice, because she needed to find a way to make the Engraver work. So she toiled onwards. Her tranquil study session, however, was disturbed by a faint noise on the wind. Mikayla¡¯s eyebrow quirked up, her nerves still raw from her miserable first day in the Kaiju Coast. ¡°Mana Assistance, armour on,¡± ¡°You used Mana Assistance again. You need to learn to do it properly, or -¡° Nocturnus started, but Mikayla waved him off. ¡°Not now. I heard something,¡± Ready this time, she heard it more clearly. An animalistic howl. ¡°I heard it too. It''s coming from around the corner,¡± Nocturnus confirmed. Mikayla stashed her notes inside the door to keep them safe from the wind, then ran along the balcony. One of the tips Nocturnus had idly imparted on her was the importance of knowing your foe. It was rare for a Kaiju to be anything resembling subtle - he¡¯d been quite surprised to hear about the gecko - and usually they were obvious enough that there was little risk and lots to gain by getting close enough to investigate. She gasped as the source of the distant sounds came into view. There was another Goliath visible on the horizon. It was neon green all over with slight streaks of orange, and seemed sleeker and more angular than her Black Knight. Its legs had a second set of knees, like those of a grasshopper, and its arms had wickedly sharp blades protruding from its wrists. Its helmet bore a triangular crest, with two large horns extending behind it, and a single baleful orange eye glinted from within its visor. It was so far away that it looked like she could squeeze it into dust between her fingers, but the tiny trees around it exposed that trick of distance for the lie it was. Mikayla¡¯s awe at the distant titan was shattered when a massive wolf with matted black fur leapt out of the treeline and tackled it to the ground, both vanishing into the canopy. She checked her Mana. Fortunately, she¡¯d done her very best to keep it as close to maximum as possible, and only the past moment of consulting Nocturnus had taken a bite out of it. Two of the six points she¡¯d earned from the Bear had gone to improving her Intelligence cap. [MANA: 1387/1400] ¡°How quickly can we get over there?¡± ¡°Hiking that far? It¡¯d take all day, and that¡¯s assuming we don¡¯t get attacked on the way,¡± Nocturnus denied. ¡°We should make contact, agreed, but we cannot get there in time to rescue that poor soul. They¡¯ll have to rely on their own skills to survive,¡± ¡°Who said anything about walking at normal size? With the Black Knight at size ten and sprinting, will I make it before my mana runs out?¡± ¡°How should I know? Maybe?¡± Mikayla looked down at the drop. They were seventy-one floors up. ¡°If I jump off the balcony and summon your armour while I¡¯m falling, will I survive the fall?¡± ¡°You plan to do what? That¡¯s insane! I love it!¡± ¡°Will it work?¡± Mikayla urged him. ¡°Not if you stick to size ten. So don¡¯t! Tell it to go to size two hundred!¡± ¡°It can go that big? Really?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s incredibly impractical. Everything will look like insects and be just as hard to hit, and you¡¯ll be as clumsy as a giant baby. Worse, at your current level you¡¯ll burn through your entire mana pool in fourteen seconds at that size. As soon as your feet touch the ground, drop back to something reasonable, like size ten, and drink one of those mana potions to keep yourself going,¡± Mikayla looked at the ground below. A long, long way below. She checked her belt, the sealed mana and health potions were still there. ¡°. . Alright. Mana Assistance, Black Knight to size two hundred,¡± She had immediate regrets. The thought of hurling herself over the balcony and growing to that impossible size in mid-air had crossed her mind, but she hadn¡¯t been able to overcome that instinctive fear of heights yet. But any sort of plan was immediately driven from her mind. The vertigo of shifting around sizes five and ten had been bad? This was abominable. The way the mana was sucked from her body made her feel like her very cells were being ripped apart. She couldn¡¯t even bring herself to step forwards, for fear that the sky would club her over the head. Which turned out to be unnecessary, because her feet rapidly grew too large for the balcony. She vaguely felt something crunch, and then there was a dim, disorienting sensation of falling while also rising as the growing armour carried her aloft faster than her engorged feet fell. The only thing she could think to compare it to was walking down the aisle of a moving train in the opposite direction that it was travelling, but this was so much worse. And then she felt her feet hit the ground. That had been a signal. What was she supposed to do when that happened? It was so hard to think with her vitality being shorn away like this. ¡°Size ten!¡± someone distantly shouted. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Right, that was it. ¡°Size ten,¡± she murmured, screwing her eyes shut and bracing for the fresh bout of vertigo. Shrinking back down to a reasonable size wasn¡¯t quite as nauseating as growing while falling had been, but out of instinct she braced her hand against the side of Astralia¡¯s Spear for fear that she would topple over. A crunch of stone turning to dust under her fingers told her that had been a mistake. She spread her legs, letting the shrinking drag them apart to widen her stance and change her centre of gravity instead. The process felt like it took hours, even if it was only a few seconds, and left Mikayla feeling as though she¡¯d just attached a garden hose to her own veins and started spraying. ¡°How do you feel?¡± Nocturnus urgently asked. Mikayla forced herself to open her eyes. It had worked. They were on the ground outside the tower. She could see several trees nearby that had been crushed into kindling by her own feet, and, looking back at Astralia¡¯s Spear, a massive gash had been carved into the side of the tower. ¡°Let¡¯s never do that again,¡± she moaned. ¡°System, how¡¯s my Mana?¡± [MANA: 326/1400] ¡°Alright, that sounds like potion time,¡± The massive gauntlet of the Black Knight clawed at its own waist, trying to mimic the motions of Mikayla¡¯s actual body as she uncorked one of the mana potions and brought it to her lips. Idly, it occurred to her that this would be a really bad time to find out that the mana potions she was trusting had expired. But, thankfully, that wasn¡¯t the case. A rush of energy flowed into her body, an influx of vitality so great that she couldn¡¯t capture all of it, and she heaved out a sigh of relief as her Mana shot back up to full. [MANA: 1400/1400] ¡°Was that potion made for someone higher level than me? That felt kinda wasteful,¡± ¡°It worked, did it not? Do not mind it. You are still on the clock, start running,¡± Nocturnus commanded. ¡°Right!¡± Mikayla couldn¡¯t help but cast one more glance at the damage she¡¯d done to the Spear as she began jogging towards the distant site of the fight, but something strange was happening. Yellow and purple sparks were fizzling around the crater. ¡°Say, Nocty? Did I piss off the Spear?¡± ¡°What? Oh. Oh no. You triggered its defence systems by damaging it! Run faster!¡± Nocturnus hollered. ¡°Why, what¡¯ll it -¡° A massive image of an eye appeared over the crater and launched a solid line of purple energy that only narrowly missed Mikayla. ¡°The hell?!¡± ¡°Get out of range! Now!¡± ¡°Why couldn¡¯t it have done that to the goddamn Roc?!¡± Mikayla shrieked, redoubling her pace and juking out of the way of another laser that reduced a chunk of the forest to ash. ¡°Beats me. Doesn¡¯t matter!¡± Miraculously, the blasts stopped after she¡¯d avoided a third strike, and Mikayla heaved a sigh of relief. Now she just had to close the distance to the other Armour Core and, finally - hopefully - properly make contact with the locals of this world. Hopefully they weren¡¯t all like Nocturnus. As weirdly fond as she was becoming of the bloodthirsty ghost, she didn¡¯t think she could endure two of him. Minutes ticked by as she pelted across the countryside, smashing a trench through the canopy of the birch forest on her wake. Her veins felt leaden, and she checked her mana. [MANA: 230/1400] That wasn''t enough to keep going. But she couldn''t stop, couldn''t miss this chance. "Nocty. Any ramifications for drinking multiple potions in a row?" "You might suffer some flatulence, but that''s all," he dismissed her concerns. "I can live with that," Mikayla decided, watching her Mana bar. Once it had dropped below 50, she reached for her belt mid-stride, grabbing the second mana potion and tipping it down her throat. Again, an influx of vitality filled her body, rejuvenating her dry-feeling veins. The second time around was even more potent and somehow more ephemeral than the first. It was like someone had replaced all of her blood with soft drink, like little bubbles of carbonation were filling her body. [MANA: 1400/1400] Fortunately, it was only half a minute later that she arrived at the scene of the battle. Unfortunately, she saw the wolf first. The treeline exploded, and a monstrous dog appeared, floods of drool spewing from its gums as its teeth came towards her. Mikayla swatted it instinctually, which was much more effective than she¡¯d really expected. The wolf went flying, bashed away by the colossal arm of the Black Knight. ¡°Mana Assistance, Sword!¡± The silver-red blade appeared in her other hand, and she pivoted on her heel to strike. The wolf, however, saw the blade coming and scampered out of the way. She kept turning to face it, but then something hit her in the back. Spinning back around, there was another wolf there, snarling and slavering as it tried to gnaw through her engorged armour plates. She smashed it into the ground with her free hand, then - drawing on months of community service collecting garbage - skewered the beast like a discarded can of beer. She didn¡¯t have time to confirm the kill, as there was a blur of green and suddenly the grasshopper-like, one-eyed Goliath was flanking her. ¡°Who¡¯re you?¡± an unfamiliar male voice was broadcast into her ears. Knowing she only had one chance to make a good first impression, she put on her best Batman voice and declared, ¡°I¡¯m the Black Knight,¡± The monocular gaze of the grasshopper didn¡¯t have enough of a face for her to read its expression. But based on the way it paused and stared at her, that hadn¡¯t quite been the superhero introduction she¡¯d been going for. Her good first impression had totally failed. She had immediate regrets. ¡°Keldryn. But you can call me ¡®Skyward Grasscutter¡¯ if you want,¡± the other armour managed to respond, but then another wolf lunged at him and he was distracted by catching it on his blades. ¡°To your right!¡± Nocturnus howled, and Mikayla had to once again intercept the first wolf that had attacked her. ¡°Skyward Grasscutter. That name is so much cooler than Black Knight,¡± she murmured in mild frustration. ¡°No, it¡¯s just pretentious. Too many syllables,¡± Nocturnus disagreed. Mikayla smashed the wolf into the ground with her free hand, stunning it, and barked; ¡°Right! Mana Assistance, size thirty!¡± Her Black Knight swelled as she lifted its leg. The vertigo, which she was growing more and more accustomed to, made her head spin, but she''d already lined up the strike and all she had to do was put her foot down. There was a howl of pain, followed by a sort of disgusting wet crunch. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A WOLF!] [LEVEL UP! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 10!] ¡°Size ten,¡± she absently declared, hunkering down in a defensive stance with her arms tucked in until she could regain her bearings. ¡°Whoa. What¡¯s that Armour Core¡¯s size limit?!¡± she heard the unknown Goliath call out to her. ¡°Size limit? What size limit?¡± Mikayla frowned. The unknown combatant didn''t respond, instead focusing on fending off two more wolves with the blades on his forearms. ¡°No, really, why would -¡° Mikayla trailed off, remembering the trees she¡¯d casually crushed and the massive hole she¡¯d so casually put in Astralia¡¯s Spear only minutes ago at size two hundred. ¡°That must be something they started doing after your time, Nocty,¡± she realised. Scanning their surroundings, she confirmed that there was only one wolf left, squaring off against Skyward Grasscutter. She circled, flanking it in with her sword raised. For a second, she wondered if this would be the first time she¡¯d see a Kaiju run away. The wolves had clearly been pack hunters, a lone wolf who¡¯d just watched his fellows be slaughtered had to know he didn¡¯t stand a chance. Instead, it snarled and lunged at Skyward Grasscutter again. He took its jaws on the blade attached to his left arm, then did a strange motion with his right fist - and it caught fire. Mikayla boggled at the sourceless flames that rapidly spread down the blade on the Goliath¡¯s right arm. She almost missed it when, in a smooth strike, he impaled the wolf on the flaming blade. Its fatal would was instantly cauterised. A clean kill. There wasn¡¯t even any blood. Mikayla winced as the burned corpse collapsed. Why hadn¡¯t it run away? The green Goliath shrunk down, and she saw it fizzle out, leaving behind a humanoid figure that was already waving at her. ¡°Mana Assistance. Size one, then armour and sword off,¡± As much as she wanted Nocturnus in her ear, keeping her equipment out might seem too threatening. The last thing she needed was to ruin this meeting over a misunderstanding. After all, this was her first time meeting a native of this world face to face. This conversation had to go perfectly. Chapter 13: Human Contact! Sort Of! She pelted towards the stranger, drawing up and taking him in. He was tall and lanky, draped in a mottled khaki cloak that didn¡¯t seem to fit him quite correctly, hanging to his boots and dragging in the snow. Where the cloak parted, she could see what looked like thick leather armour over a layer of insulated cloth, all shades of green. The man - was he a man, or just a boy? - regarded her coolly for a moment, then pulled his hood back. Mikayla barely even noticed his pinched cheekbones, spiky blond hair and dull hazel eyes. She was too focused on the pair of fluffy triangular ears that had sprung upwards from his hairline when they were no longer being held down by the hood, and the bushy mass of orange fur that was hanging out of his cloak. That was a tail. This was some kind of beastman. A fox? No, she couldn¡¯t assume that. Even if he certainly looked fox-like. She was looking at a person that wasn¡¯t human. And for all she knew, everyone in this world had fluffy ears and she was the alien. Had Nocturnus ever seen her reflection? Had she ever said ¡®human¡¯ to him? She couldn¡¯t make any assumptions. ¡°Who are you?¡± It took her a moment to process the words, they sounded dry and scratchy, like the boy had gone days or weeks without talking to another person. Focusing on his face and forcing herself not to steal glances at the ears, her suspicion was confirmed. If this weirdo was more than a year older than her, she would eat the putrid remains of the monster gecko. ¡°I¡¯m Mikayla. And can I just say it is so good to see someone who doesn¡¯t want to eat me,¡± A nervous smile crept across her face, realising as she spoke that even this was an assumption. It would be seriously messed up if this person she¡¯d just risked her neck for turned out to be some deranged cannibal or something. ¡°Uh-huh,¡± He quirked an unimpressed eyebrow, then paused, grasping a canteen that hung at his hip and taking a swig of what was hopefully water. When he continued talking, his voice sounded less hoarse than before. ¡°Why are you in this region?¡± ¡°I¡¯m very, very lost,¡± she summarised. ¡°Really?¡± He sounded skeptical. ¡°I¡¯ll stop you there. My name is Keldryn Thorntail, I¡¯m a ranger from the Cliffwatch Branch of the Goliath Guard,¡± He gestured to a small metal badge attached to his lapel, which had a yellow shield embossed with a white staff, a red sword and a line of green daggers on it. ¡°You helped me when I was in a tight spot, but that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll accept being lied to,¡± ¡°I¡¯m not lying though,¡± Mikayla protested. ¡°I¡¯ve barely even said anything,¡± ¡°So it¡¯s completely random that you¡¯re lost here, in the ruins of Balmwind, rather than all the rest of the empty wilderness?¡± The disbelief was dripping from his tone. ¡°I saw the giant tower from ages away and headed towards it. I hoped I¡¯d be able to find civilisation from there. Didn¡¯t work out, but it¡¯s been a good campsite. I found some useful stuff there,¡± she nodded with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯m sure,¡± Keldryn groaned. ¡°Look, treasure hunting isn¡¯t illegal, as long as you surrender anything prohibited to the Guard. So I¡¯m obligated to ask you to show me what you¡¯ve found, but -¡° ¡°Hang on, what? I¡¯m not a treasure hunter,¡± Mikayla protested. She paused. ¡°Although, actually, some of that stuff did look valuable . .¡± Keldryn was distracted, noticing her attire for the first time. ¡°Are you wearing antique clothes?¡± ¡°Huh? Yeah, my casual wear kinda got wrecked, I had to go scavenging. Wait, this stuff is antique?¡± Distracted by the insinuation, Mikayla looked her clothes over again with a thoughtful hum. ¡°I suppose that makes sense. No point in making profit if you don¡¯t live to sell it,¡± Keldryn nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not a treasure hunter! Seriously!¡± She took a deep breath. ¡°Look, there was a hole, and I fell through it, and ended up here where everything is giant and wants to kill me. I¡¯d have died if I hadn¡¯t looted these magic rocks off a corpse,¡± Keldryn narrowed his eyes, tail flicking idly. ¡°What Level are you?¡± ¡°Huh? Ten,¡± Keldryn started, his ears flicking skywards. ¡°Ten? At your age? Out here?! You . .¡± He stopped and thought, then groaned. ¡°You¡¯re Stranded, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± ¡°From another world. Kidnapped by the Kaiju Coast¡¯s spatial magic as a Level 1 adult,¡± He groaned. ¡°Sorry. Ignore what I said about your age. It¡¯s impressive that you¡¯ve survived and killed enough to get ten levels. Though, you¡¯re lucky to have found that armour and sword. Most Stranded don¡¯t have anything like that,¡± ¡°Ah. So people from other worlds showing up around here is a common occurrence?¡± Mikayla inferred. ¡°People? Eh. Stuff? All the time,¡± Keldryn paused, and his tail twitched. ¡°As a ranger, looking for Stranded objects is one of my three main responsibilities. I¡¯ve never met a Stranded person before, though,¡± ¡°So you believe me now?¡± Mikayla hoped. ¡°I suppose I do. If you were from this world, you¡¯d know better than to tell a stranger you¡¯re so weak,¡± Keldryn assessed. ¡°Keep that in mind. I¡¯m level twenty-one. With that much of a gap between us, I could do anything I want to you and you aren¡¯t strong enough to stop me,¡± There was a cool, calculating expression on his face, his ears lowering into an intense glare. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Mikayla paled, taking a step back. ¡°. . ah . .¡± For a second, he just stared at her, menacingly. Then his ear twitched. ¡°This is . . um . . creepy, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°A bit yeah,¡± He looked away, lips twisting into a grimace. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ve been told that I can be. Um. Intense. Kinda. I¡¯m working on it,¡± the ranger mumbled. Completely thrown by the abrupt transition from menace to bashfulness, Mikayla had to swallow an undignified giggle. ¡°Right. I still have to check everything you¡¯ve found, report anything illegal. Come on,¡± Keldryn declared, making for Astralia¡¯s Spear in the distance. ¡°Whoa, hang on! You know the way back to civilisation, right?¡± Mikayla checked, rushing to keep up with him. ¡°Uh-huh?¡± ¡°Let me come with you! Please?¡± She hesitated, groaning. ¡°I am not going to survive out here on my own once I run out of the preserved food I found. I¡¯m not a wilderness survivor. I¡¯ll probably poison myself, if I don¡¯t get eaten alive. You said you¡¯re a ranger? Is that like a policeman?¡± Keldryn held up a hand, and Mikayla was momentarily distracted by his having what looked like paw pads on his fingers and palm. ¡°Hold on. I can bring you along, but I¡¯ve still got to complete my route. It¡¯ll be another week and a half before I get back to town. I can¡¯t abandon that responsibility,¡± ¡°That is . . I can work with that. Deal,¡± Mikayla agreed. Keldryn nodded, going mute and continuing to walk. His tail lazily swayed with his stride, drawing Mikayla¡¯s eye. That was so weird. Were animal people just normal around here? He didn¡¯t look like the anime characters she¡¯d sometimes seen in her little brother¡¯s shows and games. His tail was shaggy and matted, with loose strands of fur hanging off and ending in a white tuft - but it was still long and large, enough that he was keeping it raised so it wouldn¡¯t drag on the ground. More like a giant brush than the silky pillows that anime girls had stuck to their asses. An inane thought struck her; did that mean that gijinka anime characters were just as unrealistically beautiful as supermodels? She tore her eyes away, telling herself that staring at a strange boy¡¯s rear end was uncool and inappropriate. There had to be something that could take her mind off that. A thought struck her. ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve gotta ask. That fire punch thing I saw you do. Where¡¯d that come from? Was it some kind of flamethrower Core?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Keldryn quirked an eyebrow, glancing at her. ¡°No, it¡¯s just a fire-starting Technique. It¡¯s not very strong. I can only do a Basic version of it. In combat it mostly just surprises your enemy,¡± ¡°You can shoot fire from your hands and it¡¯s ¡¯not very strong¡¯?¡± ¡°Well, yeah. Anyone can do that much,¡± Keldryn was giving her a look that mixed impatience with befuddlement, and Mikayla realised he wasn¡¯t exaggerating. This was a basic skill in this world, akin to snapping one¡¯s fingers. ¡°Do you want me to teach you?¡± ¡°Yes, absolutely!¡± A small, wry smile tugged at his lips. ¡°Alright, give me your hand,¡± He wrapped his rough and calloused hands around her wrist, and Mikayla did her best to match his stride. Keldryn tilted his head. ¡°Mana intrusion can be kind of uncomfortable the first few times. I¡¯m not trying to hurt you, but tell me if you can¡¯t take it,¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine!¡± Mikayla insisted. ¡°Alright,¡± Small, probing lines of orange energy emerged from Keldryn¡¯s fingertips and burrowed into her skin. Mikayla flinched, but wondered at how the intrusion didn¡¯t draw blood. Keldryn¡¯s mana was like plasma, or smoke. ¡°Oh wow. You can just project your mana like that?¡± He cast her that same look of ¡®this really surprises you?¡¯ ¡°Yeah? You¡¯ll get the hang of it. Pay attention. I¡¯m gonna guide your mana. This technique has three parts; fireproofing, fuel and ignition, but they¡¯re all pretty simple on their own. Let¡¯s start with the ignition,¡± Mikayla blinked. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we start with the fireproofing?¡± ¡°No, because you won¡¯t be able to tell if you¡¯ve done anything. Ignition only produces sparks without the fuel. You won¡¯t set yourself on fire,¡± Keldryn absently assured her, sinking his tendrils of orange mana into her flesh. ¡°Um, okay, right,¡± She focused, feeling and tracking the intrusive mana and trying not to flinch. It felt like there were very careful and directed probes of ice-cold water soaking into her skin. Keldryn guided her mana into her first two fingers, highlighting them, and then had her tense them a little bit. ¡°Alright, good, like this. Now brace your mana and press your fingers together,¡± She obeyed the instructions, trying to sculpt her vital energy into hooks like he wanted, and connected them. Nothing happened. Keldryn squinted at her hand, his grip tightening a bit. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re doing it right,¡± he said, sounding unsure. ¡°The evidence supports your hypothesis,¡± Mikayla dryly nodded. ¡°My high what?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± She adjusted her mana and tried again. Still no result. Several minutes of repeated attempts bore no fruit. ¡°Gah, why isn¡¯t this working?¡± Mikayla finally burst out. She couldn¡¯t help but whine and stamp her foot a bit. It was undignified but she was just so frustrated. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯ve never tried to teach someone like this before. I don¡¯t really know how to,¡± Keldryn admitted. ¡°Maybe we should ask Nocty. He might have some insight, even if he can only talk you through it,¡± Mikayla decided. ¡°Mana Assistance, Black Knight,¡± Keldryn blinked. ¡°Wait, who¡¯s Nocty?¡± Waves of red and black mana drew her armour around her body, the visor obscuring her face from view. ¡°Ah-ha! We face foes once again? All shall tremble before the might of . . is this scruffy child our enemy? Well, I suppose beggars can¡¯t be choosers. Have at thee!¡± ¡°No! No killing!¡± Mikayla shouted down the haunted armour, then turned back towards Keldryn. ¡°Ignore him, he¡¯s really nice once you get used to the bloodlust,¡± She tried to peacemake between the haunted suit of armour and the distressed-looking foxboy. ¡°Is that Armour Core talking?¡° he exclaimed. ¡°Oh, right. Most of them don¡¯t do that, yeah?¡± ¡°No! Is that a sapient mind imprint? I¡¯ve never seen one before,¡± A sort of cautious wonder crept into his voice. ¡°Indeed! And I am no mere man! You speak with what remains of Nocturnus Virralis, the Black Knight!¡± Keldryn¡¯s reaction was immediate and dramatic. His ears shot upwards and his tail bristled, his nostrils flared and his fingers tensed. ¡°You¡¯re who?!¡± Chapter 14: The Black Traitor ¡°Ah, my legend endures after all! And must have grown if you are so threatened by my very name!¡± Nocturnus cackled. ¡°I¡¯m not threatened by a mind imprint on a Core claiming to be the Black Traitor,¡± Mikayla hadn¡¯t entirely worked out how to read Keldryn¡¯s expressions, they were just a bit too off from human. But she was pretty sure that his tail bristling like that meant he was, in fact, threatened. ¡°The who?¡± Nocturnus¡¯ voice had dropped an octave. ¡°. . You don¡¯t know?¡± Keldryn murmured. ¡°Boy, what are you talking about? What happened?¡± ¡°Um. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t tell you,¡± His face had softened, eyes darting wildly about as his tail drooped. ¡°I don¡¯t know if the story I heard is true, it¡¯s just what¡¯s been passed down and probably not very accurate -¡° ¡°Spit it out! People call me a starring traitor? Why?! I never betrayed anyone!¡± He paused. ¡°Well, no one who lived to tell about it,¡± Mikayla cast the Core a worried look. ¡°It¡¯s because people say you created the Second Monster King,¡± Keldryn finally burst out. Mikayla¡¯s eyes widened. Nocturnus made a noise like he was choking. ¡°The - the what? But. We killed the Monster King. What do you mean, there was a second one?¡± ¡°Actually,¡± Keldryn¡¯s ears went flat, and his expression went dark as he seemed to stare at something on the other side of the horizon. ¡°There have been six,¡± ¡°Six?!¡± the ghost parroted in a horrified tone. His ears twitched. ¡°We¡¯ve learned that Kaijus get stronger when they kill people. For some reason they get more strength out of killing people than they do out of killing each other. And that gets multiplied a lot when they kill a really strong person. Like you were,¡± ¡°You said you were level 112, Nocty. How many levels would the Kaiju that killed you have gotten?¡± Mikayla quietly asked. ¡°That . . by the Ghost Hound¡¯s taint. I could see that. Normally, the experience would have been divided among all the Kaijus who wore me down during the course of my final battle. But I killed all of them and took their strength for myself instead, except the one that finally starring got me. All those levels, concentrated into one being, even accounting for diminishing returns, that would have . .¡± Mikayla could imagine it. A ferocious warrior fighting off an endless horde of monsters, reaping dozens, hundreds of lives but being worn down just a little bit more by every fight, until eventually he was too tired to stand up straight and some lucky beast managed to land the killing blow, undoing in a single strike everything Nocturnus had achieved. ¡°No one knows for sure. There weren¡¯t any surviving eyewitness accounts,¡± Keldryn added. ¡°It makes more sense than anything else I can think of, though. My men were brave warriors, they ought to have been able to carry on without me. But the appearance of a Second Monster King . . that would have turned the tide,¡± Nocturnus groaned. ¡°Is that why they call me a traitor?¡± ¡°Well. Yeah. The man who threw thousands of lives away in a reckless quest for glory, who birthed the Second Monster King,¡± A long, slow breath escaped Keldryn¡¯s lips. ¡°They say you were trying to reclaim the Kaiju Coast. Is that true?¡± ¡°Of course! This was our home! How could they expect me to abandon it?¡± he howled. Keldryn¡¯s voice turned oddly throaty, and it took Mikayla a second to realise that he was growling. ¡°You should have waited. If you¡¯d been smarter about it, it might have worked. But because you failed so badly, no one else ever even tried! The Second Monster King didn¡¯t retaliate. It¡¯s been content to stay in its territory, to the east of here. Its mere existence was a deterrent to anyone hoping to retake Balmwind . . and that was before four more Monster Kings appeared, one after the other,¡± ¡°I . . I see,¡± Nocturnus¡¯ voice was throaty and choked by emotion. He sounded heartbroken. ¡°Then . . then my failure is total,¡± ¡°Hold on. You¡¯re talking about the Second Monster King in the present tense. Is it still out there?¡± Mikayla realised, quirking her eyebrow. ¡°It is. The higher level you get, the more years the System rewards you with. Kaijus are no exception; the Monster Kings just don¡¯t seem to get older. Only bigger,¡± Keldryn shook his head in dismay. ¡°Of the six Monster Kings, we¡¯ve only ever killed two of them. The First and the Third both tried to attack the countries to the south and massive armies came together to repel them. The Second, Fifth and Sixth are territorial. As long as they stick to their own stomping grounds, no one thinks it¡¯s worth the risk to go after them,¡± Nocturnus was silent, so Mikayla kept probing. ¡°And number four?¡± That grisly expression of hatred was back, and Keldryn¡¯s tail bristled as he spoke. ¡°The Fourth is a roamer. It tried to go south, but unlike the First and Third it was smart enough to retreat when it realised it couldn¡¯t breach the defences at the Cloudfingers. It chews its way through the countryside, eating anything it stumbles across. It¡¯s like a living natural disaster, and it¡¯s been the bane of settlements all over the Kaiju Coast for more than a hundred years. They call it the Cityvore,¡± He spat the name like it was poison on his tongue. ¡°You sound like you¡¯ve got a grudge against it,¡± Mikayla hazarded a guess. Keldryn¡¯s tail flicked irritably, and he crossed his arms. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill it,¡± he declared. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°What? You, kill a Monster King?¡± Nocturnus had apparently been shocked out of his stupor by the declaration. ¡°If this Cityvore is anything like its predecessor, it¡¯d take an entire team of warriors above level 100 to threaten it at all. You haven¡¯t even cleared the first Schema Lock,¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say I was going to do it today. I¡¯m not interested in throwing my life away for nothing,¡± the ranger scoffed. ¡°But when I¡¯m strong enough, I¡¯m going to rip it apart and scatter the pieces,¡± ¡°Hah. Excellent. I believe we¡¯ll get along just fine, young man,¡± Nocturnus¡¯ voice was hollow, his usual cheer strained. Keldryn snorted and quickened his pace, leaving Mikayla behind for a moment. She hastened to catch up, whispering, ¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t talk for a bit, Nocturnus,¡± ¡°I do need time to consider these revelations,¡± he non-answered. Once they were side by side again, and she felt she¡¯d given him enough time to cool off, Mikayla piped up. ¡°By the way. I wanna just put it out there that where I¡¯m from, we only have humans, no other races. So please don¡¯t take it the wrong way when I say I¡¯m very curious about your, um,¡± She gestured to where an imaginary pair of fox ears might sit on her head. ¡°Oh. So that¡¯s why you kept staring at my tail. I thought you were just some kind of pervert,¡± Keldryn replied with a perfectly straight face, and Mikayla choked. ¡°Huh. A world with no beastkin? No dwarves? No yaoguai? Weird,¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re a beastkin?¡± she guessed. ¡°Uh-huh. Foxkin, technically,¡± He seemed content to leave it at that, continuing to walk. ¡°. . Soooooo, what¡¯s that like?¡± ¡°Huh? I dunno, what¡¯s being a human like? It just is,¡± Mikayla spluttered. ¡°Well, tell me about foxkin then. Or at least beastkin in general?¡± Keldryn shrugged. ¡°What¡¯s to tell? I don¡¯t know anything about my race¡¯s past,¡± He sneered a bit. ¡°Do I look like I went to some fancy school where they teach luxurious things like history? It doesn¡¯t matter, anyway. We all came from the dirt, and we¡¯ll all return to it. The blade in your hands, the enemy before you, that¡¯s what¡¯s important. It¡¯s stupid to think about things like whether or not someone has a tail, or their skin colour, or why that might be. It all tastes the same to a Kaiju,¡± ¡°I like this kid¡¯s attitude, even if he could stand to be a bit more upbeat,¡± Nocturnus weighed in. ¡°I¡¯m not a kid,¡± Keldryn growled, his tail visibly bristling. Mikayla ignored the byplay. ¡°I guess that¡¯s fair. It¡¯s just . . I need to know more about this world. I¡¯ve almost died more in the past four days than in the rest of my whole life. I want to stay alive, and so far knowledge has been my best weapon. Nocturnus told me a story about Yevgenia¡¯s fighting style that saved my life because I thought to try to copy it. I don¡¯t wanna find out that you¡¯re deathly allergic to human dandruff or looking you in the eyes makes you go berserk or whatever. Any little bit of trivia might make a difference,¡± All that was true, but there was another reason that Mikayla was keeping close to her chest. She clearly remembered all the time she¡¯d wasted watching Cat be the social butterfly that Mikayla had wished she could be. If ever there was a time to reinvent oneself, it was after literally being transported to another world. This time, she would make friends. This time, she would be the sort of person she¡¯d always wanted to be. What was a bit of social anxiety after killing literal monsters? Keldryn cast her a baffled look, oblivious to her internal dialogue. ¡°If anything like that comes up, I¡¯ll warn you,¡± he finally relented. ¡°As for . . foxkin culture? I dunno. The Kaiju Coast grinds stuff like that down. Tradition gets thrown out for survival. If we had anything like that, it¡¯s long gone,¡± ¡°Well, tell me about your family. That¡¯s a good place to start,¡± Mikayla suggested. Keldryn drooped, his ears, shoulders and tail all falling in a full-body slump. Mikayla¡¯s eyebrows inched upwards, sensing that she¡¯d transgressed. Before she could backtrack, he spoke. ¡°They¡¯re all dead,¡± She couldn¡¯t help but gasp, pressing a hand to her mouth. ¡°I . . I¡¯m so sorry,¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be. You didn¡¯t kill them,¡± Keldryn brushed her off, that same expression of hatred darkening his brow. Mikayla put two and two together at once. ¡°Is that why you want to kill the Cityvore? Revenge?¡± ¡°. . Yeah,¡± With a visible effort, he swallowed his hatred, leaving him with a haggard expression that looked more suited for a war veteran than a young ranger. ¡°It came out of nowhere. There were supposed to be people following it, keeping tabs on it and evacuating any village it approaches. But it learned some kind of new stealth trick. It . . it just came out of nowhere and killed everyone. I¡¯m only alive because it didn¡¯t notice me,¡± He heaved out a sigh, and there was a flash of blue light from the Core Controller on his wrist. Mikayla tensed, expecting a weapon of some sort, but the manifestation was something different entirely. Blue lines tinted with Keldryn¡¯s orange aura span from his wrist and into the air before them. They traced a lean and animalistic body, extending outwards into four limbs that ended in cloven hooves. A head with skin of translucent blue glass emerged from its neck, and spiralling orange horns grew from the skull. Mikayla¡¯s jaw fell open. ¡°That¡¯s a goat. You just summoned a goat. There are goat Cores?¡± The goat made a noise that sounded like a tinny recording of a bleat and gently butted Keldryn¡¯s chest. The Ranger knelt, burying his face in the crinkled, shaggy lines of the holographic goat¡¯s chest. ¡°This is Bluebell. She¡¯s my emotional support animal,¡± Awkwardly, Mikayla gently patted his back with one hand, using her other to touch the goat. It had a visibly shaggy pelt that didn¡¯t look entirely realistic, more like the outer layer of a pi?ata than a real animal; fuzzy, but with a texture that reminded her more closely of crumpled paper. ¡°There are emotional support animal Cores, then?¡± Bluebell ignored her and comfortingly nuzzled Keldryn. Keldryn chuckled a bit. ¡°Nah. Bluebell is a Companion Core. It¡¯s the same as that guy did to himself, you give a special kind of Core to a living animal and its mind gets imprinted onto the Core over time. Once the animal dies, it gets a second life as a living weapon. She¡¯s supposed to protect me when I¡¯m out exploring. My therapist suggested I also use her for emotional support,¡± ¡°Huh. That¡¯s very cool, but a little ethically dubious maybe,¡± Mikayla mused. ¡°Eh. Maybe. I hear rich people down south like to import these so that old age won¡¯t take their beloved pets from them, though. So there are upsides,¡± Keldryn straightened, and Bluebell nuzzled at his hip. He smiled, patting her head. ¡°But Bluebell¡¯s special,¡± ¡°She is? Why?¡± Keldryn hesitated. ¡°Because she¡¯s from my aunt¡¯s farm,¡± he explained after a moment, his features settling into a melancholy gaze towards the horizon. ¡°My mum was an Engraver. She gave my aunt an unused Companion Core as a present, and my aunt put it on Bluebell¡¯s collar. After the Cityvore came through . . I found her corpse in what was left of the barn. I had to cut the collar off to get the Core out, but it worked. Heh. She¡¯s . . she¡¯s all I¡¯ve got left. She¡¯s sweet, and gentle, and saved my life several times since I started working as a Ranger, and -¡° ¡°And she¡¯s eating your shirt,¡± Mikayla warned him. ¡°And she¡¯s - what? No! Stop that! Naughty!¡± Keldryn batted Bluebell¡¯s head away from the hem of his tunic. ¡°How many times do I have to tell you, you don¡¯t have a stomach anymore, you don¡¯t need to eat!¡± Bluebell¡¯s only response was a plaintive baaa. Mikayla chuckled, and after a moment Keldryn joined in. Chapter 15: Let鈥檚 Just Take Everything It wasn¡¯t long until Mikayla was showing Keldryn into Astralia¡¯s suite. Fortunately, it seemed the Spear¡¯s defences had timed out, as they¡¯d reentered the ancient building without any trouble. ¡°I was wondering how you avoided getting eaten in your sleep,¡± he said to her, amazed by the well-preserved residence. ¡°Yeah, well, I still came way too close to dying several times,¡± Mikayla grumbled. She showed him into the workshop, where the object of her frustrations over the past couple of days lay. No matter what she¡¯d tried, she¡¯d been unable to make the Mana Engraver even activate, let alone even attempt to Engrave anything. Keldryn carefully danced over the piles of junk, gathering his bushy tail in his arms to make sure it didn¡¯t knock anything over. He stared, awestruck, at the Mana Engraver. ¡°Incredible. It¡¯s an antique . . it works?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to turn it on, but that¡¯s probably my own fault,¡± Mikayla admitted. Keldryn placed a hand on it that glowed with orange light, and for a moment the mechanical arms of the table tensed. He withdrew it immediately, visibly afraid to damage the two-hundred-year-old artefact. ¡°It works,¡± he nodded, whispering as though he feared speaking too loudly would cause it to crumble to dust. Mikayla tried very hard to be happy about the confirmation of her own ineptitude. ¡°Nocturnus doesn¡¯t want us to leave until I¡¯ve figured out how to use this Engraver to make new Cores so that we have extra weaponry. But it¡¯s slow going, I can¡¯t even turn it on,¡± she groaned. ¡°It could be weeks until I figure it out properly,¡± ¡°I¡¯m not waiting here for weeks,¡± Keldryn asserted. ¡°Yeah, didn¡¯t think so. Well, we probably don¡¯t really need the extra weaponry, we¡¯ll just bring what we can carry and go,¡± ¡°Agreed. Help me detach the Engraver from the floor,¡± the foxkin commanded, already bending down to the bolts that held it in place. ¡°Um. Hang on, what?¡± Mikayla looked at the mattress-sized array of delicate machinery and glass again to make sure they were talking about the same thing. ¡°Do you really think it¡¯s a good idea to carry this massive table for days through the wilderness?¡± ¡°Of course. It won¡¯t be a bother,¡± ¡°Well maybe not if we keep our Armours running all the time, but that wouldn¡¯t be very subtle. Or sustainable,¡± Mikayla¡¯s brow furrowed. She just didn¡¯t see what Keldryn was getting at. There was clearly a miscommunication, as he stopped prying up the nails to cast a look of confusion at her. It took a moment, but he groaned and facepalmed. ¡°Oh, right, I forgot this sort of thing is rare outside the Kaiju Coast. My bag is made of Kaiju leather. It¡¯s bigger on the inside,¡± he explained, pulling off his small rucksack and opening it to reveal a dark void. ¡°You have Bags of Holding around here?¡± Mikayla gasped, peering within. She could see what looked like a tiny (or, perhaps, very far away) rack of survival equipment and a whole wardrobe within the bag, as well as what looked like a pile of colourful rocks whose purpose she couldn¡¯t guess at. The bag didn¡¯t seem to be anywhere near its total capacity; there was plenty of space to pack away everything that she¡¯d found in Astralia¡¯s quarters. ¡°Oh, so you do know what this is,¡± Keldryn placed the bag on the ground and pulled on a string, stretching the mouth of the bag into what looked like a doorway using built-in collapsing metal poles. Mikayla peered in, finding that beyond the tent-like doorway was a room the size of her parents¡¯ garage, and the rack and wardrobe were now full-size. ¡°This is amazing. It¡¯s like you have your own bedroom in your pocket,¡± ¡°Bedroom? No, don¡¯t ever try to sleep in one of these. The air gets used up and you¡¯ll asphyxiate,¡± Keldryn¡¯s ears twitched as he bobbed his head thoughtfully. ¡°I think using bags to transport prisoners officially became a war crime a few years ago,¡± Exasperation tinged his features at the horrified expression Mikayla had sprouted as she pictured that. ¡°Quit gawking and help me lift this table,¡± Gulping nervously at the warning, Mikayla positioned herself at the other end of the Engraving Array, cupping her hands underneath its lip and heaving. Keldryn¡¯s end of the table went up, but hers didn¡¯t budge. After a moment of grunting and wheezing, the ranger dropped his end again and raised an irritated eyebrow. ¡°What¡¯s your Strength score?¡± ¡°Nine. You?¡± ¡°Nine? How? You¡¯re supposed to have ten as a minimum,¡± Keldryn spluttered. Mikayla blushed. ¡°I¡¯m not strong,¡± she mumbled. ¡°You said you were level ten. Have you not put a single point into Strength?¡± ¡°Nope. The Armour Core runs off Mana and Health keeps me alive. Strength and Stamina don¡¯t do much for me so far,¡± Mikayla shrugged. Keldryn buried his face in his paws. ¡°That shouty ghost should have taught you better. Okay, listen. Stats do more than just calculate your meters. Points in Strength make you stronger, let you hit monsters harder. You¡¯re low level enough that you haven¡¯t really noticed the difference, but you¡¯re not going to survive without a good Strength score. Eventually your attacks just won¡¯t do any damage. My Strength is at 23,¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Huuuuuh. Gotcha, gotcha gotcha. I did just level earlier. Show me my statistics, System!¡± A blue box populated in her view. [STATISTICS: HEALTH: 841/1100 MANA: 362/1200 STAMINA: 631/900 STRENGTH: 9 DEXTERITY: 10 CONSTITUTION: 11 CHARISMA: 14 INTELLIGENCE: 14 WILLPOWER: 17 UNUSED: 2] Mikayla looked over the array of values. ¡°Two points to Strength please, system!¡± [STRENGTH: 11 STAMINA: 631/1100] ¡°Alright, let¡¯s try this again!¡± Keldryn watched patiently as Mikayla huffed and heaved and finally shoved his end of the table through the leather doorway. It took several minutes of gruelling effort, but they finally managed to get the table into the inside of Keldryn¡¯s dimensional rucksack. ¡°Whew. There. Done,¡± Mikayla wheezed. ¡°I feel like I should have earned a Strength point just for doing that,¡± ¡°Earning levels for moving furniture? Yeah, right,¡± Keldryn snorted. ¡°And, what do you mean, done? We¡¯ve still got lots more stuff to pack up,¡± Mikayla poked her head out through the doorway and looked around Astralia¡¯s old workshop. ¡°You mean . .¡± ¡°There¡¯s plenty of room in my bag. Let¡¯s just take everything,¡± ¡°. . Including the bed?¡± The gorgeous, fluffy bed had been the single most amazing luxury that Mikayla had managed to claw out of this hellish tundra masquerading as a fantasy world. She couldn¡¯t bear to abandon it if there was any way to preserve it for future use. Keldryn raised an eyebrow, then peered across the corridor towards the bedroom door. ¡°Only if you can lift it,¡± <=====}¡ªo Anza Black considered herself a decent member of the Goliath Guard. She broke monster bones with her fists, trekked all over Old Hedrang to find monsters that needed broken bones, and waved at the little kids when they told her how cool she was for breaking monster bones. That was enough. That made her happy. She didn¡¯t have the energy to curry favour with the upper echelons of the Guard¡¯s management. She didn¡¯t believe that traipsing through ruins to look for old junk to sell was a good use of her time. She definitely didn¡¯t have the brains to do ¡®sky-ence¡¯ to Kaiju corpses - though, she respected the people who did much more than she respected people who wasted their breath on the first two. Did it suck to see the people who traded favours and curried blame get promoted over her? Yeah, kinda. Was it annoying that treasure hunters were lauded for recovering priceless antiques, while she killed monsters all day and only ever got the next target¡¯s location? Well, sorta. But leadership and responsibility wasn¡¯t something she¡¯d ever really wanted anyway, and doing her job well was more important than chasing fame. Which was why the talk she was having with Dean Wujing pissed her off so much. If she didn¡¯t respect her old teacher so much, she¡¯d have told him to get stuffed. ¡°So what? Some treasure hunter got into some old tower in the middle of nowhere? Who cares?¡± ¡°Well. The entire community of magical researchers who venerate Astralia¡¯s every word and deed,¡± The Dean was a yaoguai, the horned race that was predominant in the southern nation of Guili. He was getting on in years, a fact attested to by his greying mane and beard, but she could still see through the Ataraxia Node¡¯s window that his muscles were as firm as ever, pulling his blue skin taut around them. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Y¡¯know what I mean. I¡¯m based in Topwater. Cliffwatch is closer. Why ain¡¯t you talking to them? Or anyone else here who¡¯d actually be good at investigating whatever it was?¡± Wujing rolled his eyes. ¡°You know your colleagues pretty well, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Sure. Why?¡± ¡°If I were to ask them to chase down some possible treasure hunters, who¡¯ve almost certainly got their hands on some antiques that are definitely very valuable and quite possibly extremely dangerous. Name a single other Guardsman in either Cliffwatch or Topwater whom you would trust to report their findings accurately, who is too principled to refrain from pocketing something valuable and fudging the results,¡± ¡°Dimitri,¡± Anza immediately replied. ¡°Is a stickler. He follows the rules to a fault. He¡¯ll arrest first and talk never if he can help it. All that we really know is that someone triggered a ward in Astralia¡¯s Spear. It could be the most unscrupulous of treasure hunters, or it could be some lost wanderer looking for a safe place to camp. You¡¯ve lived in the Coast most of your life, you know how weird things can be up there,¡± Anza chuckled, and Wujing nodded with a small smile. ¡°For this mission, I need strength of character first and adaptability second. Investigative acumen is a distant fourth at best. We might be dealing with professionals here, after all. If we are, there¡¯s a very good chance that you won¡¯t find anything, and you¡¯re the only person there whom I would believe if they told me that,¡± Anza groaned. ¡°Yeah, alright, I getcha, teach,¡± She¡¯d never been able to argue with the old man. He was just so eloquent. She paused, and a grin crept onto her face. ¡°So you¡¯re saying I can do whatever I want?¡± ¡°Within reason,¡± Wujing scowled at her. ¡°I¡¯m putting my faith in your judgement. Don¡¯t let me down,¡± ¡°Aw, don¡¯t worry, teach,¡± the Guardswoman grinned. ¡°When have I ever disappointed you?¡± He folded his arms, raising a wispy eyebrow. ¡°Do you want me to get out your permanent record?¡± ¡°No need for that! Time is of the essence and all! I¡¯ve gotta get ready to go on this super secret important mission! Bye now!¡± <=====}¡ªo ¡°By the way,¡± Mikayla watched in awe as Keldryn collapsed his bag back down. After an hour of gruelling work they¡¯d emptied out the workshop of everything that wasn¡¯t nailed down, unbolted and moved the larder (after a short break to have dinner, and wasn¡¯t it nice that Keldryn had a portable stove so she could finally eat some of that meat), and packed what remained of Astralia¡¯s wardrobe into Keldryn¡¯s bag. All that remained was to move the gorgeous bed, and they¡¯d agreed to do that in the morning after Mikayla enjoyed sleeping on it for one more night. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°I almost forgot to ask, but what is that supposed to be called? Bag of Holding is probably trademarked. Dimensional bag? Kaiju bag?¡± she tried. ¡°Huh? This?¡± Keldryn waved his rucksack at her. ¡°It¡¯s just a bag,¡± ¡°What? But that¡¯s silly - then, how do you differentiate them from normal bags?¡± ¡°What do you mean, ¡®normal bags¡¯?¡± ¡°Bags that aren¡¯t bigger on the inside,¡± ¡°Do you mean, like, pockets?¡± ¡°No. A bag. One that is exactly like that except it only has this much space in it,¡± Mikayla gesticulated at the bag¡¯s dimensions to make her point. ¡°Oh. We don¡¯t have those around here,¡± Keldryn shrugged. ¡°Why would anyone make one of those anyway? You could barely fit anything in there,¡± ¡°Because not everyone has access to Kaiju leather!¡± Chapter 16: Cityvore It was ten years ago. He had been nine when it happened. Keldryn had known that today would be a good day, because his dad was coming home from patrol. He was so excited, his dad always brought back awesome stories about how he fought and won against scary monsters, as well as toys and trophies. He¡¯d run out to the edge of the fields, as far as he could go from Farmshadow without technically leaving the village¡¯s borders, to stare out into the tundra that sprawled forever onwards and wait for his dad to appear on the horizon. Someday, he would go out there, venture far into those wild expanses and join his dad in slaughtering the monsters that threatened people like his neighbours. In his daydreams, he fantasised about running all the way to the coastline at the Peak of the World, decapitating a Kaiju with every swing of his arms, his dad waiting there to congratulate Keldryn on finally surpassing him. Overturning his dad¡¯s indomitable legacy had become a lifelong goal of his, if only to get him to stop bragging about the many varied monsters that had almost killed him - only for him to turn the tables and win by the skin of his teeth. Keldryn had found the tales terrifying when he was younger, but now that he was nine years old and all grown up he knew that his dad was probably just exaggerating all the mortal peril. And yet he knew that his father¡¯s arrogance was earned. He was the strongest Guardsman in the region, the only one to have cleared the Third Schema Lock. Sure, there were only three ¡®real Guardsmen¡¯ - since the Amber Sentinels didn¡¯t count, according to his dad - in Farmshadow, and Gerald and Arstar were only ten or fifteen levels behind his dad. But that didn¡¯t matter. His dad was the best, the one they called when something really dangerous threatened a nearby village. He¡¯d been on a long trip this time, all the way to Topwater. Something about a giant toad? Keldryn was bouncing with anticipation, eager to hear all about it. And he wouldn¡¯t have to wait long, because his dad had crested the hill and was jogging towards him! Bardate Thorntail was on the lean side, but had long grown out of the gangliness that would come to plague Keldryn during puberty. His muscles were firm and well-developed, including a tail like an orange pine tree with a spiky white tip. He had no beard, but thick whiskers growing from his upper face, and sleek, well-cared for black hair from which two slim triangular ears protruded. His face split into a wide grin as he saw his son, crouching down and spreading his arms wide. ¡°There¡¯s my boy!¡± Keldryn threw himself into his father¡¯s arms with a toothy grin, kicking at the air as Bardate lifted him up and looked him in the eye. ¡°Have you been behaving?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Keldryn sounded personally offended that his father would think otherwise. ¡°I reached Level 3!¡± ¡°You did? That¡¯s amazing! Well done!¡± Bardate beamed, shaking him back and forth. Even an iota of his massive Strength stat was enough to make his son ragdoll in his arms. ¡°How¡¯d you do it?¡± ¡°I helped Mrs. Nastya get rid of the rats in her attic! I used mousetraps!¡± Keldryn bragged, struggling futilely to escape his father¡¯s grasp. ¡°She gave me a teacake to say thank you!¡± ¡°Excellent. Sounds like you¡¯ve been doing well for yourself. How about the house? You¡¯ve been helping your mum clean up?¡± ¡°Um,¡± Bardate sighed dramatically. ¡°I¡¯m going to come home and find the kitchen a mess again, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Maybe?¡± Keldryn squeaked, blood rising to his cheeks. He shook his head. ¡°Ah, so be it. If things were perfect, it wouldn¡¯t feel like home,¡± Together, they looked back at Farmshadow, the village built at the bottom of a valley in the shadow of a mighty mountain, protected by natural earthworks augmented with walls and towers to keep out the Kaijus, and acres of farmland spreading in every direction. Keldryn knew that their house was down in that valley, with the Engraving workshop where his mum was surely working hard, as usual. Keldryn wasn¡¯t a child. (Being nine years old made him basically an adult, right?) He understood that making and selling Cores was what put food on the table. He understood that he was better off than many of the other children at the village school. But he still wished his mum had more time to play with him. ¡°Now, come on, let¡¯s go find your mum and we¡¯ll have a nice big lunch,¡± Bardate¡¯s eyes sparkled. ¡°I brought -¡° The ground shook. Keldryn wobbled, throwing his arms out to keep his balance, and his father steadied him. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. But -¡° Bardate¡¯s voice died as the mountain that overlooked their village exploded. Something emerged. It was a massive, conical shell that tapered to a wicked point, coloured a deep blue and flecked with speckles of light like stars, supported on eight crab-like legs that were each the size of a house. A squat head emerged, a maw filled with fangs that looked wickedly dangerous even from this distance, and roared. Keldryn¡¯s eyes widened. At his tender age, he¡¯d only ever seen Kaijus as corpses being processed by the butcher. Never one that was alive and dangerous. But this creature was an order of magnitude more huge than he¡¯d thought even a Kaiju could possibly get, large enough to crush the entire butcher¡¯s yard underfoot. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. But that didn¡¯t matter. His dad would kill it, same as he¡¯d killed a thousand other Kaijus. He looked up at Bardate, expecting to see his usual confident smile. Bardate was horrified. ¡°It¡¯s the Cityvore,¡± he whispered almost involuntarily. ¡°Where did it - how did it . .¡± He trailed off, the lines around his eyes firming into a look of resolve. ¡°Keldryn,¡± ¡°Yeah, dad?¡± Keldryn could sense his father¡¯s worry. He didn¡¯t like it. ¡°Stay here. No matter what happens, don¡¯t go back to the village until I or someone else comes to get you,¡± ¡°What are you gonna do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to go get your mother. Stay right here. I¡¯ll be back soon,¡± Bardate was already striding away, the digitigrade legs of Skyward Grasscutter hoisting him into the air. His purple aura pulled the green plates of armour out of thin air and into place, while his hands wrapped around the wicked black scythe that was his signature weapon. The blades on his arms were only for close-range fighting. The treasured Jade of Scythe was his preferred weapon, his most valuable possession, the blade that he lived and died by. His legs lengthened mid-stride, the Goliath growing around him until it reached its maximum size, already raising the purple-tinged scythe in anticipation of engaging the monstrosity. Keldryn looked back at the foe. Six smaller heads on the ends of snake-like necks had emerged from the sides of the shell, rearing up and bellowing their supremacy. One of them lashed outwards, and when it drew back there was enough blood around its mouth that he could see it even from this distance. For all that the impossibly huge, heavily armoured body of the Cityvore was quite slow, its half-dozen heads were phenomenally fast. They lashed out at anything that moved, gnashing maws that pulped and sucked up one villager after another. Buildings burst into sawdust under their strikes. Trees were uprooted. Livestock was crushed - not even eaten, merely reduced to bloody smears. All the while, that horrible central head sat and watched like a monstrously proud mother as the smaller, more flexible maws tormented their prey. Distant screams shook the air, but two other Goliaths had appeared. He recognised the angular silver lines of Spectre, and the warm cobalt colouration of Fortune¡¯s Fool. Those belonged to Gerald and Arstar, the guard captain and a retired ranger respectively. Arstar was Keldryn¡¯s favourite babysitter, his stories were almost as good as dad¡¯s. The Cityvore bit his Goliath in half before he could even try to attack. A half-dozen identical orange Goliaths appeared seconds too late to save Fortune¡¯s Fool, momentarily blocking his view of the Monster King. For a moment, Keldryn hoped that the Amber Sentinels would by some miracle best the Cityvore. Four of them were cut down like chaff before he could finish formulating the thought. The two survivors formed up with Gerald, and together they charged. The Cityvore didn¡¯t even pay them any heed, its serpentine heads distracted with dragging more of Keldryn¡¯s neighbours out of their hiding places and snacking on them. But then its main head inhaled, and spewed out a cone of blinding light that engulfed all three Goliaths, as well as a large chunk of Farmshadow. When the blast faded, nothing was left but ashes. Keldryn had a dawning suspicion that the Cityvore wasn¡¯t taking this seriously at all. It was destroying everything he¡¯d ever known for fun. Regardless of his guesses as to the Monster King¡¯s motivations, every other defender of Cliffshadow had fallen in the time it had taken Bardate to close the distance. But none of them were as strong as his dad. None of them were past the Third Schema Lock like he was. He could win this. Right? Skyward Grasscutter vanished into the collapsing buildings, and he never again saw it shine with Bardate¡¯s purple aura. When Keldryn next saw his dad, it was as a broken, mangled corpse. Keldryn never knew exactly what happened, but that only gave his mind room to imagine the details. Perhaps Bardate had been cut down from behind while sobbing over mum¡¯s corpse. Perhaps he¡¯d gone mad with grief and launched a suicidal attack, hoping to pull off a miracle. Perhaps he¡¯d tried to protect their neighbours as they escaped and been killed for his final act of valour. For years after the fact, when he¡¯d tried to sleep in the stiflingly warm underground room that his foster family had provided, his dreams were haunted by visions of those seven horrible heads ripping his parents apart in new and awful ways. Sometimes he tried to console himself with fantasies about what he would do when he was strong enough to avenge them. Sometimes he tried to picture how things could have been different, how his father could have carved open the Cityvore¡¯s chest and ripped out its heart, could have dived down its throat and shredded it from the inside, could have smashed its shell open and ripped its brains out. But none of that mattered, none of it made any difference, because he knew what the outcome was, what it always would have been. Bardate simply hadn¡¯t been strong enough. It didn¡¯t matter that he¡¯d been the mightiest man for miles around, because compared to the Cityvore, he was nothing. Not even worth eating. And perhaps, in its own twisted way, that was a blessing, because Keldryn wouldn¡¯t have been able to retrieve his father¡¯s Core Controller if the Cityvore had been a bit hungrier. The poor, weak, nine-year-old, Level 3 Keldryn could do nothing, not able to even voice a protest as the happy and loving home he¡¯d relished so much was chewed up and spat out. He could only watch, too afraid to get closer, too entranced to flee, half hoping to live and half hoping to join his family in death, as the Cityvore finished making a meal out of his home. <=====}¡ªo Keldryn started awake, and with flashes of viridian light his armour wrapped around his body. A second later, a burst of blue-orange manifested into a shaggy goat that knelt next to the couch he was sleeping on. Bluebell whined soothingly, rubbing her head on his shoulder. ¡°It was just a dream,¡± he realised. His Companion nuzzled up to him, and he released his armour and blade, looking down at the Cores and Controller that he¡¯d dug out of the rubble and ruins, pulled from the corpses. As well as the empty slot where the Jade of Scythe should have been. Bluebell whined, and Keldryn patted her head. ¡°Aw, hey, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m okay now,¡± he quietly promised, uncertain whether he was trying to reassure her or himself. Keldryn cast a glance towards the bedroom where Mikayla was sleeping, thinking about the rusty Core Controller that was haunted by what claimed to be the Black Traitor. And, more importantly, the Armour Core with no maximum size limit. ¡°Actually, I might be better than I¡¯ve been in a long while. I¡¯ve got a plan now. We¡¯ve got a real chance,¡± Bluebell whined, and Keldryn rubbed her hard-light ears, missing the sensation of fur and flesh but still feeling comforted by the action. ¡°We just need to get that Core,¡± Chapter 17: The Roc-y Road Ahead ¡°So, when was the last time you saw this Giant Roc?¡± Keldryn asked. ¡°When we first set up camp here in the Spear. About four days ago now,¡± Mikayla replied as they descended the far-too-many steps between Astralia¡¯s quarters and the cleared entrance hall of the Spear. Now that everything that wasn¡¯t nailed down had been gathered into Keldryn¡¯s dimensional bag, including a very nice bed that she was going to look forward to being able to use again, it was time to leave Astralia¡¯s Spear for good. Mikayla tried not to worry about forging back out into the wilderness, having to make camp and fight monsters. She wasn¡¯t alone this time. But she knew that she would miss the safety of the Spear. ¡°Right. Rocs don¡¯t return to their nests very often, not unless they¡¯re nursing chicks. So we should be safe to head out,¡± Keldryn asserted, glancing outward at the forested tundra as they passed a window. He cleared his throat awkwardly. ¡°By the way, there¡¯s, um, something you should know,¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Mikayla was only half-listening, watching her footing. ¡°About your friend who imprinted his mind on the Armour Core,¡± ¡°Nocturnus? If this is something about how ¡®the accursed Black Traitor can¡¯t be trusted¡¯ -¡° ¡°No, no, nothing like that. That might be a problem when we¡¯re back in Cliffwatch, but we¡¯re all united against the Kaijus,¡± The foxkin cocked his head. ¡°Also, he¡¯s a talking gemstone. I can¡¯t imagine how he could betray us,¡± Mikayla chuckled a bit, even as the reminder of Nocturnus¡¯ likely reception gnawed at her. ¡°Yeah, fair enough. What is it, then?¡± ¡°The technique for imprinting a mind on a Core isn¡¯t secret. It¡¯s mostly the same as making a Companion Core,¡± He waved his gauntlet at her, showing her the Lapis Jewel that contained Bluebell¡¯s mind. ¡°My mum . .¡± he trailed off, his lips twisting. ¡°I learned a few things about Engraving, before . .¡± He tried again, only to falter. Mikayla went to soothingly pat his shoulder, but he flinched away and soldiered on. ¡°Point is. We don¡¯t do that. Doing that to a sapient is taboo. Even if he wasn¡¯t, y¡¯know, the Black Traitor, that guy just existing is a serious crime,¡± ¡°Really? Why? It seems . . nice. Letting a part of someone still be with their loved ones after they¡¯re gone. Probably good for making sure their knowledge isn¡¯t lost too,¡± Mikayla mused. ¡°Then again, Nocturnus keeps whining about how there are so many things he wants to teach me but can¡¯t because he isn¡¯t able to demonstrate them. So it¡¯s hardly a perfect solution,¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure why it¡¯s a problem. I think mum thought I was too young to hear about it. So it¡¯s probably not pretty,¡± Keldryn mused. ¡°Just . . try not to get too attached to him, okay?¡° Mikayla clamped down on her initial response to the idea of ¡®not getting attached to¡¯ someone who¡¯d been such a valuable ally to her so far, reminding herself that Keldryn had her best interests at heart. ¡°What about when there are other people around? Are we going to have to keep him secret? Would I get arrested for having him?¡± ¡°You will probably be fine,¡± Keldryn reassured her. ¡°Some people might make some fuss, but the fact is that he¡¯s two hundred years old and you¡¯re a teenager who doesn¡¯t know how to Engrave Cores. No one would have any reason to believe you personally did anything wrong or illegal. But the Goliath Guard would almost definitely confiscate that Core and send it down to the main branch in the Cloudfingers, to be studied and eventually destroyed. And we don¡¯t want that,¡± He could agree with her on that count, even if their reasons for feeling that way differed. ¡°Oof. Yeah, okay, we¡¯ll have to keep him quiet,¡± They paused at the door, Keldryn holding up a hand. He pulled his hood back over his head, and Mikayla watched with morbid fascination as his ears twitched and wriggled until they¡¯d fully settled into the holes cut for them. He peered out and scanned the horizon, then breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°No sign of the Roc. Let¡¯s go. Run until we reach the trees, we¡¯ll stop and catch our breath once we¡¯re under cover,¡± ¡°Right. On three?¡± Keldryn quirked an eyebrow. ¡°On what?¡± ¡°Y¡¯now, one, two, three, go?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t heard that one before. Do you move on three, or on go?¡± ¡°It varies. Three!¡± Mikayla took off, glancing back and giggling when she saw the disgruntled expression on Keldryn¡¯s face for the moment it took him to take off after her. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. His superior stats showed their worth, as he overtook her in seconds. ¡°This is not a good time for games,¡± he hissed. ¡°Oh, relax, we¡¯re fine, the Roc¡¯s nowhere near the Spear,¡± Mikayla assured him as they kept running. ¡°We¡¯d have seen it by now if it was,¡± That was when a shadow fell over them. Mikayla looked up and was horrified to see a winged shape falling towards them and glowing with lightning. ¡°Armour up!¡± Keldryn commanded, shoving her hard enough to send her flying and kicking off in the opposite direction. She stumbled, catching herself, and kept moving as the shape in the sky grew larger and began to glow with lightning. ¡°Mana Assistance, Black Knight!¡± she shrieked, and the red lines of her mana drew forth black panes of translucent armour around her body. Her arms came up to cover herself from the blast of lightning, but through the visor of the Black Knight, she noticed that the proportions of the bird seemed off. Its wings were smaller and its head seemed too large. But she didn¡¯t have time to think about what this could mean, because it was bearing down on her and glowing with lightning, preparing to unleash that deadly blast of force and heat. And then it crashed into the ground. The shockwave of the impact made Mikayla stumble, but she was baffled to see that the bird - which was definitely not the Giant Roc - had buried its face in the dirt from the force of the impact. It made a stifled squawking sound and pulled itself free, revealing its face properly. This was not the Giant Roc that she had been lucky to escape previously. It was at most one-tenth the size, with gangly proportions and cartoonishly large black eyes that had only a hint of the deadly lightning she had expected. But its feathers were the same colour, albeit a lighter shade, and the same blue electricity was gathering in its wings. It wasn¡¯t the creature that she had been so afraid to face, but there was a definite family resemblance. ¡°Is that a baby Kaiju Giant Roc?¡± Nocturnus sounded almost as shocked as she was. ¡°Uh. There, there,¡± Mikayla raised a hand to the truck-sized chick, hoping against hope that she could pacify it. ¡°Who¡¯s a good baby bird? Are you a good baby bird?¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± Keldryn hollered at her as he appeared on the hatchling¡¯s flank. ¡°Pacifism!¡± she shouted back. ¡°Pacifism?¡± Keldryn repeated in incredulous disbelief. ¡°Sword!¡± Nocturnus suddenly insisted. ¡°Sword?¡± Mikayla parroted uncomprehendingly. Her sword appeared in her hand just in time to block the snapping beak that had closed the distance in an instant and tried to take off her arm. Instead, the chick bit down on the blade and squawked as its tongue was sliced open. She squeaked, then remembered what she was wearing. ¡°Mana Assistance, armour and sword to size five!¡± The layers of mana-conjured armour swelled and expanded around her body, she stifled a flinch as the tendrils of power worked under her eyelids and into her optic nerves, and in seconds she was looming over the hatchling. ¡°Now shoo! Go away! Git!¡± she commanded, waving at the baby Roc and trying to make herself look as big and dangerous as possible. ¡°What is this supposed to accomplish?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a big baby! I don¡¯t want to have to kill a baby!¡± Mikayla complained. Then another blur of feathers collided with her, and the Black Knight went crashing to the ground. Twisting her head, Mikayla groaned in pain as the claws of the second Roc hatchling raked at her hip, the newcomer shrieking in fury. ¡°Lass, do I really need to tell you that those whom are big enough to eat you deserve no mercy?¡± Nocturnus demanded. Mikayla tried to get up, but the first juvenile Roc jumped on her head and drove her to the ground again, pecking and clawing at her. She struggled, brandishing her sword and trying to drive the chicks away, but they darted around her arms and kept wearing her down. A green giant loomed over her, and with speed she could only envy the Skyward Grasscutter¡¯s blades came down and stabbed the wing of the second Roc, skewering it in place. Keldryn cursed. He¡¯d been aiming for its chest. It had juked away at the last minute. The first Roc abandoned the Black Knight, naively assuming it had already been defeated, and puffed itself up with a loud shriek. Lightning began to gather in its eyes, and Skyward Grasscutter wound up for another strike. Then the third Roc dive-bombed him and sent him sprawling to the ground next to the Black Knight. Mikayla forced the only Roc still focusing on her away enough to sit up, just in time to see Keldryn get blasted with electrical eye lasers. ¡°There are three of them?¡± ¡°They must be the Giant Roc¡¯s juvenile offspring,¡± Nocturnus determined, peering through her eyes. ¡°Slaughter them! They are certain to provide you with more dearly needed levels!¡± Mikayla waved her sword like a baseball bat, forcing the Rocs away from Keldryn. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill babies just to level!¡± ¡°These aren¡¯t babies,¡± Keldryn corrected her as he picked himself up, swallowing groans of pain and covering Mikayla¡¯s flank as the Rocs regrouped and took wing once more. ¡°If they were babies, they¡¯d be sitting in the nest waiting for their mother to come and feed them. These are teenagers,¡± ¡°They¡¯re willing and able to kill and eat you! Show them no mercy!¡± Nocturnus howled. ¡°He¡¯s right. Worse, all three of these things could become a terror just as bad as their mother, given a few more years. It¡¯s my responsibility as a ranger to nip this threat in the bud, before they leave the nest and go and slaughter villages to carve out their own territories,¡± Keldryn asserted, shifting his stance and preparing to strike. Then all three used laser vision on him. There was an explosion where the streams of electricity crossed, and Skyward Grasscutter fizzled as it was blown backwards. Mikayla grimaced. ¡°Are we sure that¡¯s the right thing to do here?¡± Chapter 18: Mana Assistance Disabled Skyward Grasscutter crackled ominously where it was lying on the ground, and the three juvenile Rocs were already making to finish Keldryn off. ¡°He¡¯s hurt! Cover him!¡± Nocturnus commanded. Mikayla gritted her teeth. ¡°Damnit, fine. You are naughty birds and you freaking asked for this!¡± She sidestepped, putting the Black Knight between Keldryn and the Rocs, then advanced, using her sword defensively. ¡°Hold the tip higher. Cover your chest more,¡± Nocturnus instructed. As she corrected her posture, Mikayla weighed the pros and cons of having a more experienced swordsman in her ear doing what seemed uncomfortably like backseat fighting. The fact that he was getting on her already-frayed nerves was less important than how he was helping keep her alive and fighting. She just had to remember that. The Rocs took off into the air once more, and Mikayla tracked their movements. They were fighting synchronously, though, staying far enough apart that she could only keep her eyes on one of them at a time, and the other two were smart enough to capitalise on her blind spots. The first two strikes were blunted by the spikes on her shoulders, but the third crashed into her back and almost knocked her off-balance - a failure that was almost fatal, as only a frantic block with her sword saved her from taking a set of claws directly to the face. Would that have killed her? It wasn¡¯t as though her real body was behind the Black Knight¡¯s visor at this size. And in this System-run world, would her literal health bar reflect fatal injuries? She had no way to know and she didn¡¯t want to find out. A shriek alerted her to the fact that she¡¯d lost track of one of the birds, and she wheeled to see that the third Roc was attacking Keldryn again. He¡¯d gotten back up, though with visible scorching on Skyward Grasscutter¡¯s chest, and was using his right arm to defend himself while his left arm hung limp. Mikayla, worried that his arm was hurt, went to help, only for another Roc to fly at her face and force her to focus on it. She could only watch as the stormbird, sensing weakness, banked to the left and went for the green giant¡¯s neck. Skyward Grasscutter¡¯sleft arm snapped up, and a blue shape emerged from it with a defiant ¡°Baaaa!¡± Bluebell erupted from Keldryn¡¯s left arm, forming in midair and suddenly the size of a car. The glowing blue goat bleated furiously as it smashed its skull into the threatening Roc¡¯s throat, intercepting the strike and knocking it from the sky. ¡°Companion Cores can go giant too? Of course they can, I should have guessed,¡± Mikayla groused, deciding she had no choice. She needed to trust Bluebell to protect her master and focus on the two Rocs still harassing her. Meanwhile, Keldryn was relieved that Bluebell had bought him the time he needed to recover. He couldn¡¯t keep her out for long, he didn¡¯t have the Mana to project both Bluebell and Skyward Grasscutter at this size for more than a couple of minutes. He didn¡¯t waste any time cursing his own weakness, no matter how much he wanted to, he was more disciplined than that. Instead, he skipped the seconds of vulnerability it would take to straighten up and momentarily dismissed his Goliath, letting it evaporate into sparkles of blue as he fell from where its chest had been to the ground. Landing on his feet, green armour immediately reformed around him and propelled him into the air. Not even stoping to regain his balance, he pitched forwards and let the force of his growth propel him. Watching this from the corner of her eye, Mikayla could only marvel at Keldryn¡¯s technique. His skills put hers to shame. All the more so because he then unleashed a new Technique that she hadn¡¯t seen before. A spray of razor-sharp leaves buffeted the Roc, forcing it to slow down and try to avoid the assault. With perfect timing, Bluebell launched herself into the air and drove her armoured head into the Roc¡¯s chest. It shrieked in pain and backwinged to gain altitude. Keldryn grimaced. Using Gust of Cutting Leaves was taking bites out of his already-strained Mana reserves. The Roc had turned this into a waiting game. ¡°Help Mikayla. I¡¯ll watch this thing,¡± he commanded, and Bluebell baaed in affirmation. Meanwhile, Mikayla spared a second to marvel at the teamwork between the ranger and his pet goat. Damnit, now she couldn¡¯t help but want a Companion Core of her own. There wasn¡¯t time for considering that right now. Mikayla wracked her brains; she needed a strategy, something that would turn the tables. She¡¯d observed how the two Rocs were working together; one would occupy her attention while the other hovered outside her range and prepared to attack from her blind spot. It was a good strategy, but it hadn¡¯t occurred to them that they were getting predictable. Perhaps they simply weren¡¯t used to hunting prey that was smart enough for pattern recognition. A plan popped into her mind. ¡°Nocturnus, brace yourself. This is gonna be unpleasant,¡± ¡°So long as our craven foes suffer more than we do, no sacrifice is too great to be made in the name of glorious slaughter!¡± Mikayla tuned out his ranting, adjusting her footing. The pools of red light that were the Black Knight¡¯s eyes flicked to the edge of the visor for a moment as she confirmed that one of the Rocs was still holding its position and charging up a burst of electricity. She launched a reckless strike across her body, one that would force the Roc currently harassing her to dodge out of the way, even though it would leave her exposed as soon as it recovered. But that was inevitable anyway, because the second part of her gambit was to swivel on her massive heel, scraping the ground away under her giant boot, and swing her blade upwards. The Roc had judged the distance well for the spot it had chosen to hover in, it was outside the range of her sword. Which was why, as she twisted, Mikayla barked, ¡°Mana Assistance! Sword and armour to size ten!¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. A wrenching feeling of vertigo pressed at her temples as the ground fell away, but she poured all her focus into keeping the sword in track as it flew upwards, growing mid-swing. The bird couldn¡¯t avoid it in time. The sword severed its entire wing, sending a sheet of feathers into the wind as the Roc spiralled towards the ground, futilely waving the bloody stump of its wing. Mikayla was torn between relief and frustration at the sight of the grisly wound; she still didn¡¯t really want to kill the adolescent monsters, but in the heat of the moment she¡¯d gone for a fatal wound and missed. It had happened too quickly for her to be sure whether the bird had tried to dodge or if her aim had just been bad. As she wrested the sword back down, Mikayla felt beak and claws digging into her back, as expected. It was the price the other monster had exacted on her for landing a crippling blow to its sibling. She twisted her arms behind her back, using her sword like a backscratcher while trying to hold the Roc in place with her left. Unfortunately, the clumsy motion was unsuccessful and it flapped back into the air, screeching furiously in response to its sibling¡¯s painful lamentations. There was a burning in her veins as she turned the Black Knight around, its massive feet carving furrows into the ground. She swung again, but at this increased size the bird was too small and agile for her to hit. It was like trying to swat a fly, if the fly was giant, had talons and could shoot lightning from its eyes. So, really, it wasn¡¯t like trying to swat a fly at all. It was sort of ironic, the bird was too large for her to stand a chance against at normal size, but now the dynamic was reversed and she was too big. ¡°Mana Assistance, armour and sword back to size five,¡± Mikayla commanded, bracing herself and hunkering down into a defensive stance. Her feet slid across the ground, and she raised her sword to catch the adolescent Roc¡¯s claws on her blade. It had sensed her moment of vulnerability and attacked, but, like Mikayla, it was beginning to adapt. Her unskilled blocks were just as predictable as the birds¡¯ tag-teaming had been, and at the last moment it juked to the side, danced into her guard and drove its beak into her visor. It hurt. Why did that hurt so much?! Mikayla let out a scream, clawing at her own face, but the Roc had already disengaged and regained altitude. ¡°Go on! Go away, I don¡¯t want to have to kill you! Just leave!¡± she commanded, waving furiously. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A GIANT ROC!] ¡°What?¡± She cast a look down at the bird she¡¯d already injured, only to find that its ribcage had been caved in and it was lying limp. Bluebell was prancing on top of it, her hooves stained with blood and looking as proud of herself as a crystalline blue goat could look. The surviving Roc shrieked in fury, beating its wings furiously. Electricity ran along its feathers, drawing lines in the air, and Mikayla instinctively shielded her eyes as the lightning grew in intensity, condensing into billowing clouds of pure electricity - and then the bird brought its wings down, a furious and violent motion that slammed the power it had condensed into the ground. There was a detonation, an expanding blast wave of pure electricity that spread in every direction. Mikayla tried to dodge, but the lightning grew into a tidal wave that was about to engulf her entire general direction. There was no avoiding it. A blue and orange shape interspersed herself between the Black Knight and the oncoming storm. The energy making up her body cracked and fizzled, but with a defiant bleat Bluebell parted the lightning around her body and forced it to pass to either side of Mikayla. Mikayla blinked furiously. The lightning had dazzled her, burning its light into her retinas, but she thought she¡¯d seen orange horns taking the lightning for her. Had she imagined that? Her vision cleared and focused on the blue goat crumpled on the ground before her, suddenly looking very small despite its massive size. A horrified gasp escaped her throat. ¡°Bluebell!¡± Keldryn¡¯s explanation of a Companion Core¡¯s function rang in her ears. She¡¯s supposed to protect me. Was she imagining the look of satisfaction that was covering Bluebell¡¯s muzzle? Before Mikayla could decide whether she trusted her own eyes, the goat collapsed into blue dust that flew back towards Skyward Grasscutter. Mikayla saw red. And that was entirely literal. There was an eruption of red light around her Core Controller, her veins feeling like they¡¯d been set on fire by her fury and forcing her Mana outwards. The crimson rims that drew the outlines of her armour and sword rippled and flexed, as though the Black Knight was struggling to contain her anger. The pools of light that represented her eyes narrowed into angry red lines. ¡°Okay, you shitty bird, you wanna die so much? Fine!¡± ¡°Yes! Now you¡¯re getting it! Slaughter them!¡± Nocturnus goaded her, and Mikayla acquiesced, charging forwards. She didn¡¯t even notice the tiny pop up at the corner of her vision. [MANA ASSISTANCE DISABLED] The Black Knight felt more like part of her body than it ever had before, the sword like an extension of her own arms. She swung, and the bird dodged, but the sword grew mid-swing seemingly of its own accord and clipped its feathers. The Roc squawked and backwinged, trying to regain some distance. The Black Knight swelled, scaling up while leaning forwards and using the added forwards momentum of growth to kick off, shrinking back down mid-stride only to scale right back up as it leapt. Squawking in desperation, the bird¡¯s eyes released a wave of lightning. Intuitively, the Black Knight¡¯s wrist bent at an angle that would be impossible for flesh and blood, and Mikayla caught the blast on the flat of her blade. Her other hand flashed upwards and grabbed the Roc¡¯s tailfeathers between her fingers. She twisted in mid-air, and the bird was dragged downwards with a scream of distress that was immediately cut short when the edge of the burning-red sword was buried in its throat. The Black Knight landed in a crouch, pinning the Roc between its blade and the ground and using that leverage to fully decapitate it. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A GIANT ROC!] [LEVEL UP! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 11!] Mikayla panted, her anger ebbing, and she realised belatedly just how different that had been. ¡°What was that . . ?¡± ¡°Is it dead?¡± Keldryn shouted, breathing heavily. ¡°Yeah. It is,¡± Mikayla solemnly confirmed, shame filling her heart as she regarded the crumpled corpse. She couldn¡¯t help but regret her anger. There should have been a better way. A glance in Keldryn¡¯s direction confirmed he had dispatched the third and final of the hatchlings. ¡°Good! We need to go! Now!¡± Keldryn commanded. ¡°Before the mother Roc comes back?¡± ¡°Exactly! No harvesting the corpses, we don¡¯t have time. You go first, I¡¯ll follow and erase your trail,¡± ¡°Should we size up? Move faster?¡± ¡°We need stealth more than speed. If I don¡¯t clear our tracks, it¡¯ll follow them and find us. Get going, I¡¯ll be right behind you!¡± Chapter 19: Ranger Power Itching. The wind under her wings wouldn¡¯t quell the itch. The blue above the sky-fluff didn¡¯t alleviate the itch. Releasing the burning-crackling in her eyes did nothing for the itch. There was only one thing that helped the itch. Eating. It faded a bit when she killed a ground-crawler. There hadn¡¯t been many of those nearby recently though. But, sometimes, she found a two-leg. Eating those was the best. It wasn¡¯t that eating two-leg crawlers made the itch go away, but that they made it feel good, just for a bit. The itch had always been there. Always with her. Like a ghost in the corner of her vision. One that she could never see, no matter how good her vision got. The wind fought her. The sky didn¡¯t want her in it. It never had. She¡¯d never cared. Let the sky fight her. She¡¯d beaten it a thousand times and would beat it a thousand more. She made a triumph-noise that shook the sky, because she had won again. She was coming back to the tall-nest. Her chicks would be there. They would be hungry, and were reaching the age where she could no longer provide enough food for them. They would need to leave soon, to find their own hunting grounds. She didn¡¯t want them to go. But that didn¡¯t matter. They all needed to eat. Which was why she had brought food. A dead ground-crawler was clutched in her talons. She¡¯d had to go a long way to find it. The blue and the black above the sky-fluff had traded places six times. They had never stopped fighting, the blue and the black, not that she or her dam or her dam¡¯s dam could remember. But one of them would win eventually, such was the way of all fights. She hoped it was the blue. It made things easier to see. Maybe someday she would be able to fly high enough to help the blue kill the black? That sounded like a nice dream. She should tell her chicks about it; maybe they would get strong enough to do it, someday. The tall-nest came into view, still miles away but she could see it. Her chicks weren¡¯t there. Had their hunger overcome them? Did they go out hunting? That was fine. That was good. They could feed themselves. They didn¡¯t need her. They shouldn¡¯t need her. She would keep the food for them if they didn¡¯t get anything, and eat it herself if they did. She soothed herself with such thoughts until she saw the stains of red at the base of the tall-nest. The fallen, crumpled, and dismembered bodies. The scattered feathers. Her chicks were dead. Her chicks were dead. HER CHICKS WERE DEAD. A scream of grief shook the heavens and earth, and it was only after it petered out that she realised she had made the grief-noise. This could not stand. This would not stand. She needed to know how this had happened. She needed to make this right. She needed to know who had done this to her chicks! Her Mana was bent into an ability that she knew most would think wasteful. It was a power that did not unleash the burning-crackling. It did not use her sharp beak or claws at all. But since she was a chick herself, her dam had taught her how important her eyes were. Seeing things. Learning things. Time and time again, her ability to see had proven incalculably valuable, whether in providing food for her chicks, evading the beasts that would eat her before she could eat them, or pushing the boundaries of her hunting grounds. She had always taken every power the blue box offered her that related to her eyes. So she looked into the past, and she saw what had happened. The two-legs. The one that had escaped her a few days before, and another one. They had the big shells. She hated the big shells. It wasn¡¯t fair that she had to kill something so large when the edible part was so small. Her chicks had hunted them. Their instincts were good, and so was their teamwork, but their technique was lacking. But that should have been fine! They were strong and they were fast. But the two-legs had cheated, like they always did. Cheated with their big shells and their strange long claws and some kind of blue-with-horns ground-crawler that was fighting with them for some reason. They had killed her chicks. Her chicks were dead. They had killed them. There was a strange feeling in her chest. Like the burning-crackling was leaking. It hurt but it didn¡¯t hurt. It was hot but also icy cold. It made her want to find the two-legs and burning-crackling them until they made pain-noises and then they died! Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. So that was what she was going to do! <=====}¡ªo ¡°I still feel bad about killing the baby birds,¡± Mikayla confessed as they made camp that night. ¡°They weren¡¯t babies, and why?¡± She stifled a grin as Keldryn¡¯s tail bristled. She was mostly certain that it was a sign of his frustration, but it was also adorable, like a sulky kitten. ¡°I just . . feel like we should have found a better solution than that. They were beautiful birds,¡± ¡°That tried to kill us,¡± he reiterated. ¡°If they¡¯d won, they would not be thinking things like ¡®maybe we shouldn¡¯t have killed those people¡¯. They would be going ¡®yum, yum, tasty human!¡¯,¡± He pointed at Mikayla and mimed being chewed up. ¡°Where I¡¯m from, it¡¯s considered part of our moral duty to act in the best interests of creatures who aren¡¯t smart enough to make those decisions themselves. Just killing them like that is . . not okay,¡± Mikayla stared at her feet. Keldryn wrestled with himself for a minute. Acting in the best interests of monsters? That was stupid, that was one of the stupidest things he¡¯d ever heard. But Mikayla was from a wholly different world. It was clear to see that her values and culture weren¡¯t compatible with the Kaiju Coast. He had to ease her into being more pragmatic. ¡°There¡¯s no point beating yourself up for not doing something that no one in the world can,¡± ¡°Do you know that? Has anyone even tried to do things a better way?¡± she demanded. His ears went flat and his gaze hardened. ¡°Yes. They have,¡± He took a breath, steeling himself to talk. ¡°There¡¯s a story that gets passed down to new recruits in the Goliath Guard, to stop them from getting bogged down by exactly the kind of nonsense you¡¯re on right now,¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± ¡°There was once a group of researchers that managed to retrieve an unhatched Kaiju egg, of a snake Kaiju. They thought they¡¯d raise it in captivity, domesticate it. Because surely a Kaiju that had never known the wilderness, never had another Kaiju to teach it to hunt or to hate, could be raised into an ally of sapienity. For a while, they thought it worked. It never showed any hostility. It acted like it loved them. It got fat and strong off of the researchers¡¯ affection. And then one night it killed them all in their sleep, using a grisly power that no one had ever heard of,¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°It turned their flesh into stone. Killing without a sound, without a struggle. No one¡¯s really sure how monsters get their powers, but this snake, it was smart enough to take advantage of being nurtured and get strong enough to develop that incredibly dangerous power, then as soon as it didn¡¯t need its caretakers anymore it killed them all. And then it killed everyone who went to investigate, until finally someone managed to escape and spread the word that the facility was lost,¡± Mikayla gulped. ¡°What happened to it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s still there. Still building its nest of stone. And these days people call it Gorgon, the Fifth Monster King,¡± Keldryn exhaled, closing his eyes. ¡°Look. You¡¯ve been here for a week. We¡¯ve carved out our way of life and survived out here for two hundred years. Do you think no one else has ever thought the things you¡¯re thinking, felt the way you¡¯re feeling, in all that time? If there was a better way to do things, that¡¯s what we¡¯d be doing,¡± A long, slow breath left her lungs. ¡°Was that supposed to make me feel better? ¡®Kaijus are all bloodthirsty beasts and don¡¯t deserve mercy¡¯?¡± Mikayla skeptically questioned, wringing her hands. Keldryn tilted his head, ears twitching. ¡°Well. Yeah,¡± Why was that not good enough for her? She balled her fists. ¡°I¡¯m not going to just accept that. I still feel like there should be a better way,¡± Keldryn rolled his eyes. ¡°Do you even realise how hypocritical you¡¯re being? You killed those wolves. You¡¯ve killed other Kaijus before, and it wasn¡¯t a problem then. Why are the ¡®baby birds¡¯ any different? Especially when you told me all about how terrifying and bloodthirsty their mother was - give any of them another ten years to grow and they¡¯d each be just as bad,¡± Mikayla faltered. He wasn¡¯t wrong. She¡¯d killed the spider and the gecko out of self-defence, but she¡¯d willingly provoked the Rimeroar Bear. At the time she¡¯d let Nocturnus goad her with his argument that it needed to be done so that she would get strong enough to survive leaving Astralia¡¯s Spear. But was that really okay? Did necessity trump morality? Maybe she really was just grandstanding about morality in some conceited attempt to make herself feel better. ¡°And, hey. At least we got plenty of death points out of them. Put me that much closer to level 22,¡± Kedryn¡¯s eyes unfocused, peering at something only he could see, and Mikayla guessed that he was looking at his Profile. She frowned, the incongruity of his statement drawing her attention. ¡°Death points?¡± ¡°Yeah. Y¡¯now. Some people call them ex-pee points. But they¡¯re death points because you get them for killing things and the letters X-P look like a little dead face,¡± Keldryn mimed closing his eyes and letting his tongue loll out. ¡°What? So they don¡¯t stand for anything?¡± ¡°No, what would they stand for?¡± ¡°Experience Points?¡± Keldryn cast her an odd look. ¡°Experience starts with an ¡®E¡¯. And, you thought they were ¡¯Experience Point Points¡¯?¡± ¡°No, I thought they were e-¡®XP¡¯-erience points,¡± she counterargued. Keldryn mulled that over. ¡°Might be. Maybe,¡± Another thought occurred to Mikayla. ¡°Why do we only get ¡®death points¡¯ for killing things, anyway? I feel like it¡¯s contributing to a cycle of violence,¡± ¡°Huh? I dunno. There might be other ways to get them that I don¡¯t know about,¡± Keldryn considered that for a second, then shook his head. ¡°Nah, that¡¯s not it, otherwise they¡¯d use whatever other method to level up Goliath Guard members than making them fight captured monsters. Yeah, I dunno. You¡¯d have to ask a faerie, or the Cosmic Scales,¡± ¡°The who?¡± ¡°The god that made the System. The faerie race were created by him and usually act as his envoys. If something goes weird with the System, it¡¯s only a matter of time until a faerie comes to fix it,¡± ¡°Are you sure about that? Because my System has been buggy since I got here. It keeps telling me some functions are unavailable and I need to go to a place with an active Ataraxia node to fix it,¡± Keldryn¡¯s ears went flat. ¡°Nah, that¡¯s normal. I¡¯ve got the same problem when I¡¯m out here. I don¡¯t really know why it works that way. It just is, and we can¡¯t do anything about it, so . . Mikayla? Something wrong?¡± Mikayla¡¯s gaze had drifted into the distance as she fully processed what the foxkin had just said. ¡°Wait, what was that about a god that made the System? Gods are real?¡± Chapter 20: Dear God ¡°Gods are real?¡± Mikayla shouldn''t have been as surprised as she was. This was a fantasy world. Her only friends in this world were a possessed rock and a ranger straight out of D&D. But she¡¯d never quite thought through the implications. ¡°Yeah?¡± Keldryn said as though she was the idiot, and in fairness, she was. ¡°Did you not have any in your world?¡± ¡°Nope! Just stories with no evidence behind them. Gods are, like, tangible presences? That do things? And there are multiple of them?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, there are so many gods. Hard to keep track of all of them, I¡¯m sure there¡¯re a bunch I¡¯ve never heard of,¡± Mikayla suddenly recalled something. ¡°Mana Assistance, Black Knight¡¯s Armour!¡± Her mana was wrenched from her veins and the haunted armour appeared around her body. ¡°Nocturnus! You mentioned something about a ¡®frank axe¡¯, right? Is that a god?¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, yes, the Frank Axe, the dispenser of cutting truths and painful knowledge. His beard is the envy of all real men!¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that there are gods in this world?!¡± ¡°Was that . . supposed to be noteworthy?¡± Mikayla groaned. ¡°What does that even mean? Do I have to worship them? Will they damn me if I don¡¯t worship them? Or something?¡± ¡°Whoa there. No. If a god was mad enough at you to curse you, it¡¯d be in your Profile. And I¡¯ve heard nought of a god that demands worship or else, without giving anything in return. I cannot imagine many would stand for that. I thought you said your world didn¡¯t have any gods, where does all this come from?¡± ¡°I said we had stories! They¡¯re mostly bad stories!¡± Mikayla took deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down. Being a history student wasn¡¯t doing her any favours here. ¡°Okay. Okay. So I don¡¯t need to make up for missing offerings or prayers or anything. Good. Then . . what do gods do, exactly?¡± ¡°To be divine is to embody a concept,¡± Nocturnus sagely spoke up. ¡°To transcend mortality and be as one with an ideal, a belief,¡± Mikayla noticed Keldryn¡¯s ears prick up and stifled a chuckle. It was strangely cute. ¡°Gods are the avatars of ideals, and the oldest and most powerful gods claim as their domains the oldest and most powerful concepts. The most powerful god in the world, for example, is the Cosmic Scales, the architect of the Ataraxian System and manifestation of order,¡± ¡°Hey, right, that reminds me. We never got around to you telling me where the System came from,¡± she suddenly recalled. Again, Keldryn didn¡¯t say anything, but again, Mikayla saw him lean forwards in visible interest. That was strange. Did he not know all this already? ¡°Ah, yes, certainly. Tis hardly an unrelated topic, so I ought to start at the beginning,¡± Nocturnus agreed. ¡°Many, many centuries ago, the world was not like the one we know today. Termania existed in what we today call the Golden Age, when magic was plentiful and gods walked among men. Even among the gods, few remember the Golden Age, because many died during the period that followed,¡± Nocturnus sounded like he was grimacing. ¡°Exactly why it happened is one of the great mysteries of the ages, but the world began to fall apart. Natural disasters split the earth and heavens, and the world¡¯s mana turned against its masters. Only a chosen few retained the power of Mana, for most it was locked away. Today, monsters as a whole are so ubiquitous a fact of life that it is hard to imagine a world without them, but they only began to appear during this period of collapse. It is remembered as the Age of Chaos,¡± Mikayla counted on her fingers. ¡°The world used to have better magic and gods, but no monsters . . that doesn¡¯t sound like my world at all, damnit,¡± She¡¯d been wondering if there was some kind of divergence point, if Earth and this world had a shared root of some kind. Apparently not. ¡°Most of the gods panicked, and many of them were killed. The sapients of the world withdrew into fortified cities, protected by the few prodigies and geniuses that could still wield the awesome power needed to fend off the beasts consuming the world. But while everyone else was carving out tiny corners of relative safety for themselves, one god was working to repair the damage and restore the world,¡± ¡°The Cosmic Scales,¡± Keldryn guessed. ¡°So, this Cosmic Scales guy built the System to end the Age of Chaos?¡± Mikayla surmised. ¡°And the System is like a repair job to hold the world together,¡± ¡°Precisely! With the System¡¯s aid, anyone and everyone can become proficient in magic, can defend themselves, regardless of talent. But that¡¯s only what it does for living beings. The real purpose of the System is to maintain the environment and regulate the flows of Mana around the world,¡± Nocturnus trailed off uncertainly. ¡°Though I don¡¯t know much about that side of things. I never really dug into the details of how exactly the System does what it does to maintain the world. It gives us the strength to survive and a world worth surviving in. That¡¯s what matters,¡± ¡°I just have one question,¡± Mikayla smiled playfully as Keldryn nodded his agreement with that last statement. ¡°Go on!¡± ¡°When did a bloodthirsty battle maniac like you find the time to learn all that?¡± Nocturnus spluttered. ¡°This - this was common knowledge!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know any of that,¡± Keldryn weighed in. ¡°You¡¯re a peasant, I was nobility. We have different ideas of what constitutes common knowledge,¡± the haunted armour brushed him off. ¡°Whoa. Hey. You can¡¯t just call someone a peasant like that,¡± Mikayla objected. ¡°What? Why not?¡± Keldryn tilted his head in confusion. ¡°Yeah, why¡¯s that wrong? It¡¯s true. I¡¯m the son of a ranger and an Engraver, without a drop of nobility in my veins. I am a peasant born and bred,¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°It . . it¡¯s just . . it¡¯s rude,¡± Mikayla insisted. ¡°I believe this is simply a cultural difference. It¡¯s not as though I called him something offensive, like a cur,¡± Nocturnus sounded like he was shrugging dismissively. ¡°Good, because if you had I¡¯d be grinding you into powder,¡± Keldryn replied much too nonchalantly for Mikayla¡¯s comfort. ¡°Oho! Do not threaten me with a chance to prove my dominance over you, boy! Lass! Give him a good flick for me!¡± Keldryn rolled his eyes semi-playfully, and Mikayla suspected she saw a ghost of a smile on his face. ¡°Anyway. Also. You levelled again after killing those Rocs, right? Have you assigned your stats yet?¡± ¡°Oh, right. Whoops. Nope,¡± Mikayla hummed. ¡°I should probably think about what to focus on. Whenever my little brother played games that worked like this, he was always going on about min-maxing and properly assigning your points to make the most of your build . . what?¡± She noticed that Keldryn was shaking his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what games you¡¯re talking about, but the real world doesn¡¯t work like that. Every stat is important to a well-rounded Goliath fighter. It would be one thing if you were specialising in wizardry, or skilled labour, or performing or something. But people like you and me who use Armour Cores to fight Kaijus? We need to be strong and agile to use our armours effectively. We need high Intelligence and Wisdom to keep them running. And we need Constitution and Charisma to keep ourselves alive. You can¡¯t afford to let any of your stats fall behind, or your body will let you down when you need it most,¡± ¡°Gotcha,¡± Mikayla digested this. ¡°Do go on, lad! I had been wondering how the Goliath Guard evolved in my absence!¡± Nocturnus encouraged him. Keldryn¡¯s features tightened, clearly uncomfortable with being put on the spot. ¡°Um, sure?¡± He visibly wracked his brains. ¡°Uh, right, I remember. It¡¯s fine to invest more in one or two stats than the rest, as long as you don¡¯t ignore any,¡± He sounded like he was repeating something someone else had told him. ¡°Even within the guidelines that Goliath warriors have, there¡¯s room for personalisation. You could focus on Strength and become a powerful attacker, or increase your Willpower until your Mana regeneration outpaces what it costs to keep your equipment active and you can effectively fight forever,¡± ¡°Ooh. I do like my Willpower,¡± Mikayla mused, looking over her stats again. [STATISTICS: HEALTH: 1022/1100 MANA: 541/1400 STAMINA: 489/1100 STRENGTH: 11 DEXTERITY: 10 CONSTITUTION: 11 CHARISMA: 14 INTELLIGENCE: 14 WILLPOWER: 17 UNUSED: 2] Keldryn hummed as she considered, then added, ¡°If you¡¯re going to neglect any stat, make it Charisma. You can compensate for health regeneration by drinking potions, or just not get hurt,¡± ¡°Is that where you get your sunny demeanour? You didn¡¯t put any points in Charisma?¡± Mikayla teased him with a cheeky grin. The fox-boy just scoffed and looked away, ears falling flat. She stifled a giggle, confirming that was exactly what he¡¯d done, and it explained a bit about how awkward he was. ¡°In all seriousness. Do we have enough potions to go around? You said you only brought a couple,¡± ¡°Probably not. But you have to think long-term when doing stat allocation,¡± Keldryn counter-argued. ¡°We¡¯ll be back in Cliffwatch in ten days. Then what?¡± ¡°Frankly, then I celebrate having survived all this and worry about what comes after if I¡¯m still alive next week. I need to make decisions that will keep me alive now, getting stronger in the distant future is a secondary concern at best,¡± Mikayla retorted. ¡°The lass is right. Live to see tomorrow, then decide how you¡¯ll spend that day,¡± Nocturnus rumbled. ¡°Right . . sorry. It¡¯s easy to forget you¡¯re only level eleven. Do what you need to, then,¡± Keldryn backed off, turning away to focus on laying out his bedroll. ¡°I do get what you mean about the balanced build, though. And I haven¡¯t really noticed it so far, but my Dexterity is kind of lagging behind . .¡± Mikayla considered, then dropped a point each into Dexterity and Constitution. [DEXTERITY: 11 CONSTITUTION: 12 HEALTH: 1022/1200] ¡°Should one of us take watch?¡± she questioned as Keldryn settled down, only for a blue spark to escape his wrist and resolve into an attentive goat. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Bluebell doesn¡¯t need to sleep and she¡¯s trained to wake me up if she senses anything. My Mana will last enough to keep her going all night and I¡¯ve got an emergency Mana Potion ready if the worst . .¡± Keldryn paused, seeing how Mikayla had tackle-hugged his Companion. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Ignoring him, Mikayla instead fussed over Bluebell, stroking her ears and cooing, ¡°You are such a good goat, oh yes you are, a GOAT-ed goat even, saving me like you did this morning,¡± Bluebell looked far too happy with the affection she was receiving for Keldryn¡¯s tastes. ¡°Don¡¯t spoil her too much, she¡¯ll get big-headed,¡± ¡°Oh, bite your tongue, she is wonderful and she deserves praise!¡± ¡°Baa!¡± Seeing that he was outnumbered, Keldryn just shook his head and disengaged from the conversation. <=====}¡ªo ¡°Alright. This area seems pretty quiet. We can probably take it a bit easier today than yesterday,¡± Keldryn assessed as they set off the following morning. Mikayla had packed up their camp while he did a quick search for anything dangerous nearby. ¡°Great. So today I need to work on my skill levels,¡± Keldryn¡¯s confused expression, with unevenly raised ears, was criminally cute. ¡°What¡¯s a Skill Level?¡± ¡°Not a literal System level thing. Stuff like proficiency. Nocturnus keeps going on about how I can¡¯t keep relying on Mana Assistance to trigger my Cores,¡± ¡°Ah. Yeah. Mana Assistance is fine for now, but once you start trying to add Techniques to your fighting style, it¡¯ll do you more harm than good. It¡¯s a set of training wheels. You¡¯re not supposed to use it forever,¡± Keldryn concurred. ¡°I still don¡¯t see why. It¡¯s been working perfectly fine for me so far,¡± Mikayla grumbled. ¡°Has it, though? I remember needing to use Mana Assistance. Feeling like my Mana was being pulled around by something intruding in my body. The horrible vertigo of trying to make my armour change size. It was miserable,¡± Mikayla jolted upright. ¡°Wait - that¡¯s not how using Mana is supposed to feel?!¡± Keldryn grimaced. ¡°Nope. It¡¯s you. Should be as easy and casual as breathing,¡± ¡°Well, now I¡¯m really motivated,¡± she murmured. ¡°Also, wait, you just said something about training wheels. You know what those are? You have bicycles here?¡± ¡°Yeah? We don¡¯t use them out in the wilderness, the ground¡¯s too uneven. But in open-layout towns, everyone uses them. I even once saw a courier with what he called a Motorcycle Core,¡± ¡°A . . Motorcycle Core?¡± And just like that, Mikayla had a new addition to her bucket list. The day would come when the Black Knight rode a fifty-foot-tall motorbike. She flexed her left hand and focused on the invisible channels inside her veins, the place she knew her mana was. She remembered the echoes of fatigue from when she¡¯d emptied herself of mana against the gecko, focusing on those areas, digging into her own cells to find the power in her body and make it react, make it do anything. The faintest little spark of red light crackled at the tip of her finger. She grinned. There it was. Chapter 21: Core Calisthenics If there was one thing that Anza Black hated, it was bureaucracy. Which was why she was cursing the name of her former teacher. She lived in and operated out of Topwater, the town built on an island at the centre of a lake. The water provided a natural defence against Kaijus, and a cadre of Guardsmen with amphibious equipment were charged with protecting the town, and with ferrying farmers to the fields on the far shore and merchants to the roads. At various points, people had tried to build bridges, but they were always the first target of Kaiju assaults. When Anza had heard that Dean Wujing had sent an order for her to be loaned a cutting-edge prototype Conveyance Core for her mysterious mission to Astralia¡¯s Spear, her feelings were mixed. A trip that would have taken weeks would be shortened to mere days. This was a good thing; objectively it was worth any amount of hassle. But actually taking possession of that Core had meant suffering through hours upon hours of bureaucracy, dealing with self-important pencil pushers who were all entirely convinced that the valuable prototype would be much better off in their hands, or perhaps in the hands of black market dealers who would compensate them well for even just a chance to copy its Engravings. And she couldn¡¯t even punch them. At least, not without getting another warning on her record. Sometimes, Anza felt like she preferred Kaijus to people. Dealing with Kaijus was simple. All this was to say that Anza was spoiling for a fight as she left Topwater, which made it positively serendipitous that as soon as she made landfall on the lakeshore, an unusually obese Rat Kaiju burst out of the trees and bellowed a war cry. A quick Identify - which was possible because she was still within range of Topwater¡¯s Ataraxia Node - revealed the truth; [WRESTLING RAT - TIER 3 - Type: RODENT (Subtype: KAIJU)] It was weak. Tier 3 made it roughly equal to Level 15. This bloodthirsty creature had absolutely no business trying to attack a Level 51 Guardsman like Anza. If she¡¯d taken it seriously, Anza could have crushed it beneath her foot. But she was just about to leave and needed to conserve her Mana for the journey, and also desperately wanted to inflict violence. So Anza decided to see how many of her punches the creature could take while she wasn¡¯t using any of her Mana or Cores. The rat, confused by the fact that the small, furless human wasn¡¯t running away, decided she must not have heard him and roared again. Then Anza punched out one of his teeth with such force that he swallowed it. Before he even had time to choke, her other fist came down on his nose and sent him reeling. The Rat twisted and tried to claw at her. So she punched his paw and broke the bones inside it. Anza didn¡¯t even have to try, really. She¡¯d considered using one of her Techniques if the Rat caught her off-guard somehow, but it couldn¡¯t even do that. It tried to bite her and got punched in the jaw. It whipped its tail at her and got punched in the tail. It kicked her but only received a punch to the foot. It tried not attacking at all and still got punched. Pugilism was a wonderful thing. Eventually, the Rat just couldn¡¯t take it anymore. With its every bone broken, bruises covering its skin, and the dawning understanding that it had never had a chance at all, the light finally faded from its eyes and it fell over backwards. ¡°Well, that was cathartic,¡± Anza cracked her knuckles and stretched. She felt better after that, she really did. ¡°Now,¡± She peered at the small, pink-tinted Core that she¡¯d had to make room in her Core Controller for. ¡°What exactly is a ¡®Pearl of Sports Car¡¯?¡± <=====}¡ªo Using Mana to power a Core was hard. Mikayla had hoped, optimistically, that it was simply a matter of pouring power into the Core and letting the magic happen (literally). But it was much more complicated than that. The first problem was the Core Controller. It had a sort of internal circuitry that conducted mana and allowed her to channel it into the Cores slotted into it. Unfortunately, the circuitry wasn¡¯t labelled and she had to learn to navigate it using trial and error - and, of course, she couldn¡¯t see what she was doing, so it was like trying to navigate a cave while blinded and deafened. Her first few attempts to channel her Mana with her Willpower had led to red sparks spraying out of the open slots and distressing dips in her Mana Bar. On her seventh try, she¡¯d correctly identified the channels that would lead her mana to the Black Knight Armour Core. Which had led to the second problem. ¡°Whoaooooooooo0000000000-¡° Nocturnus¡¯ distorted screams had echoed in her ears as only the left half of the armour appeared at her prompting and the Goliath enchantment triggered, but only on her boot. She¡¯d been left wobbling on top of a massive foot and listening to a worrying mix of screams and radio static until she¡¯d figured out how to cut the flow. ¡°I can honestly say I¡¯ve never seen anyone screw up manifesting their Armour that badly,¡± Keldryn observed once she was back on the ground. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m an idiot. Mana Assistance, Black Knight. Nocturnus? Are you okay?¡± The ghostly knight breathed heavily, even though that did nothing for him. ¡°That was . . extraordinarily uncomfortable . .¡± he mustered after a long moment. ¡°Might I suggest practicing with the sword instead?¡± ¡°Sorry! I was trying to, these things aren¡¯t labelled,¡± Mikayla apologetically explained. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Then . . perhaps you ought to remove my Core from the Controller, just while you¡¯re practicing,¡± Nocturnus didn¡¯t sound happy about the suggestion, but Mikayla barely registered that. ¡°I can take these out? How?¡± Keldryn raised an eyebrow. ¡°You never tried to remove them?¡± ¡°No? What if I couldn¡¯t get them back in?¡± He was definitely giving her the look now. He lifted his own Core Controller and held it up for her to watch as he gripped the pearly pink Core in its centre and unscrewed it. ¡°Ohhhhh. So they just screw in,¡± Mikayla realised. ¡°Yup,¡± Keldryn held it up for her to see, revealing that underneath the rounded nub was a short strip of ridges that terminated in a strange jagged construct, like a key. ¡°What did you think kept them in place?¡± ¡°I dunno, magnet magic for crystals?¡± Confusion crept into Keldryn¡¯s expression. ¡°What¡¯s a magnet?¡± ¡°. . doesn¡¯t matter. Alright, so in that case I should be able to . .¡± The Black Knight Core was jammed in tightly, which wasn¡¯t surprising since it had been stuck in there for two hundred years, but after wriggling it for several minutes she managed to pry it free. For a moment she just marvelled at the ornately cut blue gem, tilting it back and forth in the sunlight. Even her untrained eye could pick out a clear qualitative difference between Keldryn¡¯s Core and hers; the etching of its innards was an order of magnitude more complex and detailed, full of tiny grooves and protrusions. ¡°This belongs in a museum,¡± ¡°Yeah, probably. A Core made by Astralia herself? Some people out there would pay a lot of money for that,¡± Keldryn mused. ¡°I am not selling my friend to some collector!¡± Mikayla huffed. ¡°I didn¡¯t say you should,¡± the ranger pacified her, his ears flicking up in slight alarm. ¡°But if you¡¯re not too attached to that Sword Core . . well, you could probably trade it in for enough money to buy a Jade, or even a Diamond to replace it,¡± Mikayla mulled this over. On the one hand, the Ruby of Sword had saved her life more times than she could count . . but she remembered the chart in Astralia¡¯s notes. Amber is worse than Ruby, is worse than Lapis, is worse than Jade, is worse than Diamond. Ruby was the second-to-worst type of Core. She had no idea what kind of qualitative increase swapping it for a Diamond would bring, but she had to admit that she was curious. She banished the thoughts and tucked the Black Knight away safely in her pocket. ¡°Keep an eye out, I don¡¯t want to be caught off guard with my Armour Core unscrewed,¡± she requested of Keldryn, before diving back into the internal workings of the Core Controller. ¡°Will do. But I reserve the right to let you trip over if I think it¡¯d be funny,¡± he muttered with a small but sly smile as Mikayla¡¯s eyes glazed over and she kept walking on autopilot. The more she probed the inside of the Core Controller, the more she suspected that the damage and erosion it had sustained was making her task more difficult than it needed to be. She kept coming across dead ends and breaks that made her crude feelers fizzle out. For a moment she considered asking Keldryn to swap with her so that she could try his, but then she shook her head. As convenient as a shortcut would be, she needed to develop this skill, and in a way the damaged Core Controller was a blessing. If she could get the hang of using this thing, treating its damaged internal circuitry as a puzzle against which to practice her mana control, then surely any other Core Controller she might replace it with in the future would be simple by comparison? ¡°Y¡¯now, I¡¯ve been wondering,¡± she idly mused, continuing to probe her device like a frustrated clockmaker, ¡°what¡¯s up with the colours of Core Manifestations anyway? I keep making red sparks, and when I summon the Black Knight Armour, it¡¯s black but it also has red highlights,¡± ¡°That¡¯s normal. Core Manifestations have their own built in colour schemes, but the user¡¯s aura always bleeds through. Skyward Grasscutter¡¯s default colour is green, because my mum made it and her aura was green. My aura, on the other hand, is orange,¡± Keldryn shrugged. ¡°Once I saw a performing troupe that used their auras with a bunch of Cores to put on what they called a ¡®light show¡¯,¡± Mikayla spent a few moments trying to picture that. ¡°That sounds awesome,¡± Keldryn shrugged a bit, and they kept walking. A few minutes later, there was a burst of red light suffused with silver, and half of a sword grew out of Mikayla¡¯s hand. ¡°Yes!¡± She inspected the half-formed construct, and frowned, comparing it to the internal circuitry she was stumbling her way through with her mana. It was like a network of dark rooms, and only guessing the correct pattern of lights to turn on would get her the whole sword. Mikayla pushed harder, and her Mana Bar dipped precipitously as she accidentally sent too much mana into the Core. The sword finished forming and began to swell, its blade distending and exploding outwards unevenly as though it were being inflated in a cartoon. It crashed into the ground, rapidly growing beyond her ability to carry it. ¡°Whoa, whoa!¡± Mikayla wrestled with her Mana, yanking it back, and her sword fizzled out. ¡°Okay. That¡¯s progress,¡± Keldryn raised an eyebrow. ¡°The word I would have used is embarrassing,¡± Mikayla spared a second to flip him off, then tried again. ¡°What was that? Does the middle finger mean something weird where you¡¯re from?¡± he questioned, his ears tilting in curiosity, but received no response. It took an hour of trial and error, but she finally managed to get it right. ¡°Hah! Yes! There! I got it!¡± Mikayla crowed, holding the silver-and-red sword that had finally stabilised above her head in triumph. ¡°Great, now consciously trigger and control the Goliath function,¡± Keldryn reminded her. Mikayla let out a groan of anguish. ¡°Do I really need to be able to get huge? I can fight Kaijus at normal size, right?¡± ¡°No,¡± ¡°Damnit,¡± ¡°Still, managing that much is good progress,¡± Keldryn somewhat belatedly added, realising she would probably benefit from some encouragement. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t mean anything if you can¡¯t keep it up in a real fight,¡± ¡°Fair, but hopefully we won¡¯t have to worry about that,¡± Mikayla hummed. ¡°Of course we will, that¡¯s why we¡¯re out here,¡± he retorted. ¡°Well. That¡¯s why I¡¯m out here,¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I mention? My main job in being out here is to help cull the Kaiju population in the region. I¡¯ve been steering us around the trails of anything that looks too strong for us to take on, but you need practice and I need to meet my quota. So I¡¯ll go find something to kill. Wait right here, I¡¯ll be back as soon as I¡¯ve found a good target,¡± And before Mikayla could object, he was gone. Leaving her alone in the tundra full of monsters. She whistled through her teeth and screwed the Black Knight Core back into the flower on her bracer, not wanting to be caught un-armoured again. ¡°You are way too cavalier about slaughtering innocent wildlife, you know . .¡± she murmured. ¡°Are they innocent? They keep trying to kill me. Why is that, anyway? It¡¯s all mindless violence, it¡¯s like they don¡¯t even wonder whether or not it¡¯s a good idea to attack me. That¡¯s not normal . . unless it is in this world? Gah, how would I even know, this place is weird,¡± Chapter 22: It鈥檚 a Bush! It鈥檚 a Hill! It鈥檚 an Armadillo! It wasn¡¯t long before the two travellers were peering over the edge of a short cliff at their target. It looked just like a hill, covered in small bushes that were growing dozens of little white-red fruits. Only looking very closely revealed that what looked like a dead tree was actually an ear that twitched occasionally, and from there she could just about identify its head from where it was tucked under its tail. ¡°Alright. This is a Heart-Herb Armadillo. We¡¯ll need to . .¡± Keldryn trailed off, looking at Mikayla. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten the conversation we had yesterday,¡± she reminded Keldryn. His tail bristled. ¡°This is my job. Any one of these beasts could grow up and become another Monster King. You¡¯ve been here for less than a week, you do not have the right to tell me that what we do to survive is wrong,¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m trying to say,¡± Mikayla pacified him, holding her palms up. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I¡¯m wrong, but you are also right. Where I¡¯m from, we have the luxury of treating animals with compassion, but that¡¯s not practical in this world. So, until and unless we find a better way, I¡¯ll accept killing the Kaijus so long as we do it as humanely and painlessly as possible,¡± ¡°Oh. Well . . good,¡± Keldryn lamely nodded. ¡°Killing them painlessly? That¡¯s not something I ever really considered, but . . sure, I can try that. Um. As I was saying. Heart-Herb Armadillos masquerade as hills with fruit growing on them. When something smaller comes to eat the fruit, the Armadillo eats them,¡± ¡°Right. So we get giant and stomp on it?¡± ¡°That¡¯d take all day,¡± he denied. ¡°I picked this one for you to practice controlling that sword. Its armour is strong, by the standards of normal swords. But Blade Cores like yours have incredible cutting power. We¡¯re gonna get in close and you¡¯re gonna stab it with a giant sword. It¡¯ll get riled up and expose itself, then I¡¯ll hit its vitals. And try not to brutalise it too much, I want to harvest this corpse. Make up my quota,¡± ¡°Okay, got it,¡± Within minutes, Mikayla, clad in the Black Knight, was advancing towards the small crack that Keldryn denoted as the location of the armadillo¡¯s head. It didn¡¯t react at all to her approach, as expected. Why would it? She was a potential meal, after all, and it didn¡¯t want to scare her off. Keldryn had explained that it monitored its prey by sensing their footfalls through tremors in the earth, so it didn¡¯t matter what Mikayla did as long as she didn¡¯t take too long or run away. If the Armadillo got too impatient, it might try to chase her down. She focused, directing her Mana, and her sword manifested. Its form wavered slightly, but she closed her eyes and focused on controlling her breathing, and when she opened them again it had solidified. She brought it up and aimed at the bulge of the Armadillo¡¯s eye, then carefully directed her Mana into the Goliath subsection of the Core¡¯s internal circuitry. Triggering a Core¡¯s Goliath function was even harder than making it work in the first place. To build on her earlier metaphor about the engravings that guided the Mana being akin to a group of dark rooms, the Goliath engraving was more like a disco ball where she had to monitor and balance both how many of the lights were on and the intensity of their glow. But now that she¡¯d surmounted the hurdle of making her Mana do what she wanted at all, it was just a matter of developing the skill, akin to learning how hard to press on a car¡¯s gas pedal to coax out exactly the right amount of acceleration. And there was room for error. She raised her hands, and the blade exploded outwards, stretching and swelling, the force of its growth driving its tip directly through the Armadillo¡¯s face. Mikayla gauged the distance, estimating that she¡¯d pushed it to about twelve times the base size when she¡¯d been going for ten. Well, that was what practice was for. It didn¡¯t matter, because the results were still plenty gory. The Armadillo reared up, bellowing in pain, but held in place by the sword sticking through its face. ¡°It¡¯s not dead yet!¡± Keldryn warned as he leapt in, a blur of green and orange coming down towards its neck. ¡°I gathered that!¡± Mikayla hesitated. She didn¡¯t know what to do. Pull the sword out? Try again? Let Keldryn handle it? The choice was taken from her when the Armadillo¡¯s leg lashed out, caught her in the chest, and sent her flying. Mikayla slammed into a tree, limbs sprawling outwards. She groaned, managing to slide down and catch herself on her feet. The Armadillo was fatally wounded, but its death throes were violent and explosive. She advanced, sword coming up again, and focused, channeling a carefully controlled stream of mana into the sword as she brought it down in an overhead swing, making sure to aim away from where Keldryn was ripping its back open. Doing something was better than being paralysed by indecision. The Armadillo flung itself out of the way, showering blood everywhere. Keldryn was flung off and into the air. ¡°Go for its throat!¡± Nocturnus commanded as Mikayla retracted her sword and tried to line up another strike. Instead she had to frantically swell it into an impromptu shield to put between herself and the monster¡¯s massive jaws as it lunged for her. Pungent saliva sprayed from its mouth and splattered her projected equipment. The ground gave way as she braced herself against the beast¡¯s weight, and she stumbled. Those massive incisors slid over her head and tried to close around her back, sinking into the back plates of the Black Knight. Mikayla screamed as the feedback entered her nerves, seeing her Health bar dip. [HEALTH: 911/1200] ¡°Stab upwards! Upwards, star it!¡± Nocturnus bellowed. Adrenaline flooding her veins, Mikayla wedged her knee against the lower jaw of the beast, ignoring the way the teeth dug into her, and released her sword to free it from where it was pinned under her own weight. The way she¡¯d improperly manifested the sword earlier to summon only the blade flashed into her mind. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Her hand went up and a malformed sword erupted from it. Mikayla sprayed her Mana across the Core¡¯s Goliath enchantment, pleading for it to do something, anything, that would free her from this predicament. The Core reacted to her clumsy prompts, and the half-born blade burst through the roof of the Armadillo¡¯s mouth and crushed its brain against the inside of its own skull. The pressure loosened, and Mikayla frantically clawed her way out of the mountain of gore that the monster¡¯s head had become, shaking blood and saliva off herself like a dog. ¡°Every damn time! Something tries to eat me and I stab it in the mouth and I get covered in blood! Why does this happen every damn time?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a strategy I would use, but if it works,¡± Mikayla couldn¡¯t tell whether or not Keldryn was joking. A moment later, she¡¯d finally cleaned herself off enough to address the notification floating in her vision. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A HEART-HERB ARMADILLO!] [LEVEL UP! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 12!] Mikayla let the level-up wash over her. By now it had happened enough times that it wasn¡¯t worth reacting to. ¡°You froze,¡± Keldryn frowned in her direction, ears lowered and arms folded. ¡°Sorry . .¡± Mikayla couldn¡¯t meet his gaze, shame bringing a flush to her cheeks. ¡°Kill it painlessly, huh?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do better next time . .¡± Rather than engage with his judgemental look, she reached down and inquisitively picked up one of the small white fruits that had fallen from the clusters on the Heart-Herb Armadillo¡¯s back. Keldryn slapped the fruit out of her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t eat those,¡± ¡°Why not? Are they poisonous?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± He stabbed it with one of his wrist blades and it exploded into a splatter of steaming goo that began eating away at the grass with phenomenal speed. ¡°Acidic. They¡¯re called Heart-Herbs because they¡¯ll melt your chest and make your heart fall out on the ground,¡± Mikayla gulped. ¡°Love the nomenclature sensibilities. Really,¡± She quirked an eyebrow. ¡°So you said we were going to harvest this thing? If you didn¡¯t mean the fruits, what is there to harvest?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show you,¡± Keldryn pulled out a knife and sliced the monster¡¯s belly open. She flinched back from the spray of viscera as he kept cutting, expertly ripping its guts out and tossing them away, parting the meat until he came to what looked like a pale white bladder the size of his hand. Mikayla watched from a distance, wincing in anticipation of more grossness as he sliced the organ open - but, instead of pus or blood or anything else she had expected, the flesh peeled away to reveal a solid core of pink-tinted crystal. ¡°This is what they call a Kaiju Pearl. A condensation of the Kaiju¡¯s Clutch. I¡¯m supposed to harvest as many of these as I can, and I haven¡¯t met my quota for this trip yet,¡± ¡°They grow gems inside their bodies?¡± Mikayla asked in morbid fascination. The gemstone was tiny in comparison to the building-sized Armadillo. It was impressive that Keldryn had even been able to find it ¡°Sort of. I hear there aren¡¯t any Kaijus beyond the Kaiju Coast, and the only reason we get them here is because of the Clutch. It¡¯s a sort of Mana sickness, and it¡¯s so widespread that every animal and monster in the Coast is born already infected,¡± Keldryn kept talking as he stripped and cleaned the gore off the crystal. ¡°Over time, they absorb more and more of the Clutch from the environment, and this organ gets bigger and in turn makes them bigger and stronger and meaner. Apparently there¡¯s some kind of law about cubes that the Clutch lets them ignore, but I don¡¯t remember what that was,¡± ¡°The square-cube law?¡± Mikayla guessed with an incredulously raised eyebrow. Keldryn nodded. ¡°Yeah, that. It¡¯s not all bad. These Kaiju Pearls are the world¡¯s best renewable resource for making Cores out of. Harvesting these is one of my three duties as a ranger. There are always new recruits needing Cores,¡± ¡°Hold on, what was that about this Clutch being a sickness?¡± Mikayla focused on a detail that Keldryn had brushed over. ¡°Is it contagious? Are we infected?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Sapients are immune. I¡¯ve never heard of a person turning into a Kaiju, at least. I did hear a theory about how, for us, the Clutch just collects in our bodies and never gets used for anything, and that¡¯s why Kaijus prefer to eat sapients over other Kaijus. But I dunno if that¡¯s true,¡± ¡°Gotcha, gotcha,¡± She paused. ¡°What about farm animals? And pets? You said your aunt ran a farm. Did any of her animals ever turn into Kaijus?¡± Keldryn¡¯s face darkened, ears drooping, and for a second she worried she¡¯d triggered what she was increasingly suspecting to be a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder. But then he shook his head, banishing the thoughts. ¡°Nah. That was a problem for the first few years after the Collapse. I heard horror stories. Sheepdogs that turned on their flocks and then their owners, stuff like that. But then some alchemists figured out an antidote, a potion we can mix into livestock feed and suppress the effects,¡± ¡°Oh. Well, that¡¯s good!¡± Having to subsist on a diet of entirely Kaiju meat sounded like a literal recipe for disaster. ¡°Not really. The main ingredient is sapient blood,¡± Keldryn rolled up his sleeve to expose the veins on his wrist evocatively. Her relief abated, and Mikayla had to stifle a sudden urge to vomit, retching into her hand. ¡°. . you are squeamish, huh?¡± the Ranger dryly observed. ¡°Don¡¯t play innocent, you know exactly why that¡¯s messed up!¡± <=====}¡ªo ¡°So, do you do that often?¡± Mikayla questioned as they resumed their trek. ¡°Do what?¡± ¡°Y¡¯now, like, specifically go looking for Kaijus to kill, to grind out levels. It seems unnecessarily risky, but . .¡± She focused, summoning up sparks of her red mana in her hand. It was amazing that she could do that now. That she was doing real magic. And from what Nocturnus had said, there was still a lot of growing that she could do. It still hurt to think about, but perhaps if she stayed in this world for long enough, she would reach the triple-digit heights of Level 100 and above like he once had. ¡°Lahlee encouraged me to be proactive about killing anything I found that I thought I could defeat,¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s the Branch Head at Cliffwatch. My boss,¡± Keldryn summarised. ¡°She said doing a patrol in this region, at this time of year, would be good experience for me. And she¡¯s right, I¡¯ve gotten two levels in the past month and I¡¯m most of the way to a third,¡± ¡°. . Is that good? I¡¯ve gotten eleven in the past week, but I acknowledge my experience is kinda skewed,¡± ¡°You have been using antique masterwork weaponry made by two of the greatest crafters in history to punch way above your weight class, and risking yourself much more than most do. One level a month is about normal up until level 40,¡± Keldryn confirmed. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s not that hard to find good targets, even when I¡¯m avoiding the things that¡¯re too strong for me. Everything¡¯s active during summer. It¡¯s when winter comes and half of them settle down to hibernate that the pickings are slim,¡± Mikayla stopped dead as the terrifying implications of that sentence sunk in. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®when winter comes¡¯?¡± ¡°Y¡¯now, it gets cold, snow starts falling, animals hibernate -¡° ¡°I thought it was already winter! You¡¯re telling me that this,¡± she gestured incredulously at the frigid tundra around them, ¡°is what passes for summer in these parts?!¡± ¡°Yes? Why, what sort of summers are you used to?¡± ¡°Mate, I¡¯m Australian. My winter is warmer than your summer. Summer is when there¡¯s so much heat in the air that if you step on a rock it¡¯ll burn your foot. The forests get so warm and dry that they¡¯ll go up in flames at the slightest provocation. Sometimes we have to ration our water. Oh, and don¡¯t leave home without your sunblock because we¡¯re right near the hole in the ozone layer and the sun might give you skin cancer,¡± She gestured wildly at the sky to emphasise that last point. Keldryn looked pale. ¡°Mikayla, your world sounds terrifying,¡± ¡°The literal professional monster hunter has no right to tell me that MY world is scary!¡± Chapter 23: Lahlee鈥檚 Bad Day (Burrow Zone Arc Begins) Branch Master Lahlee of the Goliath Guard outpost at Cliffwatch was having a bad day. It had started well enough. There hadn¡¯t been any domestic disturbances, the Kaiju Repellant Beacons in the region around Cliffwatch were holding steady. And everything was going swimmingly with the other business too. But then her secretary, armed with a sheaf of papers, had burst into her office and announced, ¡°We got word from Topwater! Anza Black is coming here! Today!¡± ¡°What?¡± Lahlee wracked her brains, trying to recall the name. After a moment of turning up nothing, she demanded, ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know either, sorry ma¡¯am. But it matters because right before she left, she took a call from Dean Wujing at Cloudscraper. Apparently she¡¯s a Cloudscraper alumni!¡± That startled Lahlee. Cloudscraper Academy was the pride of the Goliath Guard, the world¡¯s most prestigious combat school that leant over the edge of the Cloudfingers and served the secondary purpose of being the main bastion between the Kaiju Coast and the land of Guili. It was rare for someone from out here in the sticks to show enough talent that they were worthy of being sent to Cloudscraper, rarer still for them to come back. The ones that did always, without fail, became big names. How had this Anza Black gone under the radar? Unless she¡¯d intentionally avoided making a name for herself. But the only reason to do that was if she was some kind of secret internal affairs investigator. And if that were true, then . . ¡°Did that blue bag of bones figure out what we¡¯re doing here?!¡± she gasped, leaping to her feet. ¡°I couldn¡¯t say, ma¡¯am, but if you¡¯re asking for my humble opinion,¡± the secretary started. ¡°Bah! This Anza woman. What do we know about her?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got her dossier right here,¡± She snatched the papers from his hand and scanned them. ¡°Level fifty-one . . she¡¯s cracked the second Schema Lock, but only recently. Amazonian Aegis armour, pugilist fighting style, specialises in melee. No political ambitions, actively avoids . . damnit, that means she won¡¯t be bribed. Perhaps we could divert her . . no, no point, if she¡¯s on her way here she already knows too much. Rally the guards, red alert. We need to prepare an ambush,¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, that¡¯s a stopgap measure at best and you know it. If headquarters knows what we¡¯ve been doing -¡° ¡°Yes, I know, I know,¡± Lahlee thought furiously. ¡°Once we¡¯ve silenced Anza Black, we¡¯ll have to get ready to pull out. We¡¯ll clean up or bury all the evidence and deny everything. The fact that Wujing sent an inspector, not a whole army, means he only suspects at most. We¡¯ve got time, we can cover everything up. So long as no one does anything stupid,¡± Oh how she prayed that no one would do anything stupid. ¡°And, about Anza Black, ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°I said we¡¯d silence her! Spread the word; once she¡¯s been dealt with, we never saw her. She got killed by a Kaiju on the way here. That¡¯s hardly unbelievable, everyone knows about that Tier 12 Giant Roc flapping around Old Hedrang,¡± Lahlee made for the door. ¡°Tell the watch captain to prepare an ambush. I¡¯m going to prepare the special equipment our guests made me. Someone past the Second Schema Lock . . the Amber Sentinels won¡¯t be able to stand up to her. I¡¯ll need to be at full strength to make her submit,¡± ¡°Understood, ma¡¯am,¡± the secretary saluted, and both rushed off in different directions. <=====}¡ªo There was a glowing green vehicle cruising down the road that linked the town of Topwater to the village of Cliffwatch. Within it sat Anza Black, the trusted confidant of Dean Wujing who had been sent to investigate the disturbance at Astralia¡¯s Spear. Anza leant out through the side window, relishing the feeling of the air rushing by and beating at her hair as she went. It was like falling off a cliff, but without the nasty splat at the end. It was a funny little thing with an odd name, this Pearl of Sports Car. The vehicle was a sleek and angular wedge that hugged the ground as it moved, with two powerful lanterns merged into the front that lit up the road at night. It had a transparent canopy that blended in with the chassis¡¯ profile, so that she could sit low inside and watch the world fly by around her. The vehicle was carried by four powerful wheels, thick and strong and spinning quickly enough to be a blur. All things considered, Anza loved it. She just couldn¡¯t figure out where the ¡®sports¡¯ came into it. Not that she really cared. It had Wujing¡¯s stamp of approval, that was what mattered. Even at this speed, it had taken almost four days for her to travel between the two settlements. The main reason for this delay was that no less than half a dozen Kaijus had tried to ambush her on the way, and she¡¯d considered it her duty to slaughter them before they tried again on a less prepared traveler. This, of course, had taken big chunks out of her mana and forced her to waste hours recovering after each encounter. Just another day in the life of a Goliath Guardsman. At long last, the vehicle slid to a halt outside the gates of Cliffwatch, then collapsed back into a cloud of green and gold glitter. Anza stood up from where there was no longer a seat to hold her, and reached for her Core Controller to remove its Core, preserving her limited number of slots. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. She looked up at Cliffwatch as she strode towards the gates. It was an unusual city, but then that was true of most of the cities in the Kaiju Coast. Every settlement had to be hidden or fortified in some way to safeguard it from the roaming monstrosities. Cliffwatch had derived its name from being built into and beneath the side of a cliff. It was like a creeping vine of buildings that had crawled its way up the rock face and dug deep inside, pockmarked with windows and balconies. The largest building was, of course, the Goliath Guard hall, set into the very base of the cliff and sprawling outwards into a large and fortified ¡®kill box¡¯. It was the outer entrance to this kill box that she was now approaching, eschewing the civilian entrance near the watchtower at the top of the cliff. After all, this was just a quick in and out stop. Cliffwatch didn¡¯t have the best of reputations among the Goliath Guard branches, but then corruption was inevitable and accounted for. From what little gossip Anza had cared to retain, Branch Chief Lahlee didn¡¯t have the worst of vices by a long shot, either. She and several of her fellows were treasure hunters. One of the fools who thought digging around in ancient ruins was more likely to save sapienity from the Kaijus than, well, killing Kaijus. Some people were foolish enough to believe that there were ancient weapons and secret powers buried beneath the earth, just waiting for the lucky and dedicated treasure hunters to uncover them. More were willing to profess that nonsense in the name of making a quick buck. Treasure hunters were hardly the ideal members of the Goliath Guard, but they were a long way from the worst. Anza still remembered some of the reports she¡¯d been forced to read during her studies at Cloudscraper. Stories about people using the Goliath Guard as a cover for illegal drug smuggling or, worse, slave trafficking. Not quite as bad but still worse than treasure hunters were those who abused their authority to get whatever they wanted, or even ran entire protection rackets. A couple of years ago, Anza had been part of an operation to break up a drug cartel. It had been the first time she¡¯d seriously fought another Armour Core since graduating from Cloudscraper. She hadn¡¯t enjoyed the experience, and hoped she¡¯d never have to repeat it. The point being that it wasn¡¯t much of a leap of logic to conclude that the most likely culprit for whoever had been smart enough to crack the protections on Astralia¡¯s Spear, was either Lahlee herself or someone in her employ. Even if that turned out to be untrue, Cliffwatch would be the first port of call for anyone looking to sell some pre-Collapse antiquities. Alerting Lahlee to the mission and enlisting her aid was the logical first step. Anza paused in front of one of the two guards flanking the gate, who seemed to be dozing on his feet. While his partner was clad in the glowing yellow form of an Amber Sentinel Core, this man was not. ¡°No Armour?¡± ¡°Wha - uh -¡° The guard¡¯s eyes visibly widened as he registered the badge pinned to Anza¡¯s lapel. ¡°Ma¡¯am! I was, um -¡° ¡°I know exactly what you were doing. But I know how it gets on guard duty. I¡¯ll let you off with a warning this time, just don¡¯t do it again,¡± ¡°Thank you ma¡¯am!¡± Yellow material was already wrapping itself around his body, and Anza recognised the standard-issue equipment of the Amber Sentinel, the blocky and angular armour that came with spear and shield built in. It was the bog-standard equipment of the Goliath Guard¡¯s foot soldiers, made from cheap, mass-produced Amber Cores grown in farms under controlled conditions. No real warrior would ever use an Amber Core unless they were desperate; they were just too crappy. Amber was for toys, farming implements and the men who spent their careers standing at gates and hoping to never see the sort of real monster she killed on the daily. ¡°Anza Black, here to check in with the Branch Head before conducting a mission in the area. I trust that won¡¯t be a problem?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t stop you if I wanted to, ma¡¯am,¡± the quailing guard admitted, and Anza¡¯s opinion of him dropped even lower. She scoffed and walked in through the armoured door at the bottom of the wall which led to the guards¡¯ quarters, not feeling the need to insist that the main gates be opened just for her. The gates to the kill box were made for Kaijus, after all. The barracks were empty, which was unusual. She couldn¡¯t quite stifle a scoff at how sloppily things were being run in this backwoods outpost. There should be a squad of guards ready to respond. What if a Kaiju charged the gates? Unless the two out the front were much more competent than their equipment and demeanour suggested, the gates were far too poorly defended. Well, whatever. It wasn¡¯t her problem, even if this would certainly be going into her report. She skirted the edge of the kill box - force of habit - and made her way towards the large gatehouse set into the cliffside. Clearly whoever was keeping lookout had seen her and sent a message, as the doors started to inch open and paused when there was just enough space to admit her. The layout hadn¡¯t changed since the last time she¡¯d been to Cliffwatch. The main doors led into a large, open hall that served as the ¡®town square¡¯ of this small settlement. There were stairwells and passageways on either side that led up into the buildings bolted to the side of the cliff, or down into the underground apartments and emergency shelter bunkers. The largest and most ostentatious hallway led to another pair of doors, beyond which, she knew, was the proper offices of the local Goliath Guard branch. Given that this was supposed to be the centre of Cliffwatch, it was genuinely strange that this large chamber was also deserted. She would have expected to find stalls, off-duty soldiers amusing themselves, perhaps children playing. Her gut was telling her that there was something going on here. The undermanned guard post she could have chalked up to mismanagement. But this? Either there¡¯d been some catastrophe she hadn¡¯t heard about that had wiped out most of Cliffwatch¡¯s population, or something foul was afoot. Just before she reached them, the doors to the Goliath Guard branch opened without any prompting from her. She recognised the person who appeared between them from the dossier she¡¯d read; Branch Head Lahlee. A quartet of guards filed in behind her from where they¡¯d been operating the door mechanism, lining up in honour guard formation behind her. Lahlee was a tall and lanky human woman, but her height was dismissed by the way she hunched forward like the whole world was pressing down on her shoulders. She wore leather armour that seemed to have been customised for her; in this case, it had been cut to resemble a suit, with reinforced coattails and, strangely enough, what looked like a modified Core Controller set into her belt. There was partial armour wrapping around her right shoulder and reaching down to a metal gauntlet wrapped around her hand. Wait, no, Anza realised she¡¯d been mistaken; the entire arm was a weaponised prosthetic. That explained why she had a Core Controller in her belt; her artificial arm couldn¡¯t interact properly with the mana. For a second Anza wondered how Lahlee had afforded a prosthetic that looked as expensive as that did, but then remembered the open secret that was her antiquities side hustle. She could probably afford all kinds of goodies. Even though that was a perfectly reasonable explanation, she didn¡¯t accept it. There was something weird going on in Cliffwatch, and she couldn¡¯t take anything for granted. Only one thing mattered right now, and that was what Lahlee had to say for herself. Chapter 24: Anza鈥檚 Bad Day ¡°This here¡¯s quite the reception,¡± Anza observed, looking around at the forces brought to bear against her. ¡°I¡¯d have been happy to come up to your office, y¡¯know,¡± ¡°Anza Black, I presume,¡± Lahlee cordially greeted her, not showing any trace of levity. Anza¡¯s hackles were raised, but she knew that she gained nothing by letting the local Branch Head know how on-guard she was. So she smiled and confirmed, ¡°That¡¯s me! I¡¯m sure y¡¯all¡¯re wondering why I¡¯m here,¡± ¡°I think I already know,¡± Lahlee shook her head. Anza quirked an eyebrow, because there was no possible way that word had spread about the purpose of her visit. Well, unless a faerie had been monitoring her talk with Wujing, but that seemed implausible. So she decided to test the waters. ¡°Really? Who told you that somebody broke into Astralia¡¯s Spear?¡± Lahlee looked surprised for just a moment. She recovered quickly, staying silent, but Anza had seen it. Lahlee had not, in fact, known the reason for her visit. Which meant there was something else going on in Cliffwatch that she had expected someone to come and investigate. There were a lot of possibilities there, and Anza didn¡¯t like any of them. ¡°Actually, no. That¡¯s news to me. It seems I received bad information,¡± Her voice dropped at the end of the sentence, and Anza suspected she was already planning to rake someone over the coals. ¡°I see. Astralia¡¯s Spear itself? Treasure hunters have been poking around there for decades but never managed to breach the inner sanctums. It¡¯s impressive just to reach it, considering the calibre of Kaijus that inhabit that area,¡± ¡°Yeah. The top brass is very interested in knowing what was in there, so I came by to ask if y¡¯all¡¯d heard anything and for y¡¯all to keep an eye out,¡± Anza nodded. ¡°But, say, I¡¯m curious now. What¡¯d you think I was talking ¡®bout?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing important. Just a small matter of internal affairs. Rest assured I¡¯ve got everything under control,¡± Lahlee brushed the question off, already starting to step away. ¡°If that¡¯s all, don¡¯t let me keep you -¡° ¡°No, hang on,¡± Anza took a step forward. ¡°Internal affairs, you say? Because I couldn¡¯t help noticing that this place is pretty quiet. Just a few guards, no civilians, no rangers in sight. I was looking forward to catching up with some of my buddies. Where¡¯s Chesham? Or Tierno? Everyone, really,¡± ¡°We had an incident earlier today. All the civilians are still down in the bunker, and the rangers are out, either on patrols or chasing down the Kaiju that assaulted us. I¡¯m the only one that stayed here,¡± She was lying. Anza could tell from the slight quaver in her voice. Interrogations weren¡¯t her forte, but being a decent Goliath Guardswoman meant you needed all kinds of tricks up your sleeve. ¡°That so?¡± Anza forced herself not to tense up. She didn¡¯t have time to investigate what was really going on here, her actual mission was too time-sensitive. But that didn¡¯t mean she was okay with just leaving whatever all this was to fester. Lives could be at stake. It was possible that Lahlee had already killed whomever among their colleagues wasn¡¯t on board with whatever she¡¯d cooked up. ¡°Well, as long as you¡¯ve got everything under control. I¡¯ll just use your Ataraxia Node to check in and report my progress, then I¡¯ll head out again. The ruins of Balmwind are days away still,¡± Lahlee¡¯s fake smile dropped. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t let you do that,¡± Anza cursed mentally as she realised she¡¯d been seen through. It wasn¡¯t unexpected; all this cloak and dagger bullshit was not her forte at all. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t care ¡®bout whatever antiquing racket y¡¯all¡¯ve got going on as long as no one¡¯s getting hurt. I¡¯m not here to audit you or anything. Sun Archiver knows, I cain¡¯t wrap my head around that many numbers even if I cared to try. I¡¯m in the business of protecting people,¡± ¡°Nonetheless, I¡¯m going to have to ask you to take advantage of our hospitality for a few days. I insist,¡± Lahlee snapped the fingers of her remaining hand, and suddenly there were a dozen warriors clad in active Amber Sentinel armour concentrated around the exits of the chamber. ¡°What is all this, Lahlee?!¡± Anza demanded, looking at the score of guards encircling the door. ¡°This ain¡¯t just some profiteering scam. You¡¯re betraying the Goliath Guard!¡± ¡°I received a better offer,¡± Lahlee shrugged. ¡°Please don¡¯t resist. I don¡¯t need to kill you. The project is two weeks at most from completion. It¡¯s no bother for me to just keep you comfortable and under guard until then. This doesn¡¯t need to get violent,¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± Anza pretended to mull it over as her mana channels came alive. ¡°The thing about that is,¡± Her Core Controller erupted with golden light. ¡°The violence is my favourite part of this job!¡± She threw a punch, not at any of her foes, but at the ground beneath her feet, at the same moment a barrel-like gauntlet burst into existence around her hand. The projection that had enveloped her fist exploded on impact, and the recoil launched her into the air, sending her flying past the guards and into the doors. By the time she was crashing into the main doors of Cliffwatch, her Amazonian Aegis had formed around her body. The doors were reinforced with the purpose of keeping everything out. They had not been built to keep things in. So she smashed straight through them and caught herself on her growing legs in the kill box, watching the ground fall away as her armour, the Amazonian Aegis, finished swelling to size ten. Distantly, she heard Lahlee shriek, ¡°Stop her!¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Her preparations were evident, as four more Amber Sentinels, these ones at full size, appeared to her sides and rear, and two more led the charge through the slowly opening gates, followed by Lahlee herself. Deciding that was enough of that, Anza wound up a Technique in her left arm and threw a Concussive Phantom Punch, a projected blow that shot between the Amber Sentinels, slammed into the top of the bastion, sending out vibrations and caused the main doors¡¯ frame to start crumbling. She grinned. The rest of the reinforcements were cut off. She just had to deal with these six and Lahlee herself. Lahlee¡¯s own Armour Core grew to full size, still dusting itself off. Her purple projection was unusual, with an engorged left arm wielding a spiky club and a right arm that seemed partly fixed in place and carrying a tower shield. Its helmet was sharp and triangular, with two dull red eyes peering out from a boomerang-shaped brow. Anza had always heard that it was hard to use Armour Cores with missing limbs. She looked forward to finding out how much of that was reflected in Lahlee¡¯s fighting style. ¡°So this is the Amazonian Aegis? I thought you¡¯d be taller,¡± the traitor mocked her. Anza¡¯s own armour was unusual; it looked more like a massive wooden statue of a woman than the more traditional knightly design. It had barrel-like arms and legs, and statuesque muscles. She bore no weapons, instead wielding mighty yet mismatched fists. The left seemed like it was made of obsidian, while the right was a swirling nexus of earthy power. Each of those was a Core all its own, named Bismuth Knuckle and Splinter Striker respectively, and she¡¯d gone to great expense to improve them. ¡°At least y¡¯all know the name of mine. Whaddya call that thing? The Traitor¡¯s Trashheap?¡± ¡°For your information, this is the Artefact of War,¡± Lahlee broadcast back to her. ¡°But you¡¯ve had enough time to think, I say,¡± She raised her tower shield and put her shoulder behind it, then an eruption of pink energy came from her heels and she shot forward in a crippling shield bash manoeuvre. Anza brought her fists together, swivelling on her heels, and met the charge with a powerful double punch. Explosions of different colours and types erupted where her strikes met the shield, one releasing a powerful concussive blast that forced the Artefact of War to stumble and stop in place, while the other span into a maelstrom of stone shards and drilled right through it, striking Lahlee¡¯s chest. The spiked club came around to punish her for the blow, but the Amazonian Aegis slid backwards, removing the Bismuth Knuckle from the shield and adjusting her footing to direct her mana in the way that let her conjure a momentary rectangular barrier to tank the blow. ¡°What are you just standing around for, get her!¡± Lahlee shrieked at the Amber Sentinels encircling them both. With shouts of acknowledgement, they moved forwards as one, extending their spears to hold Anza in place as though she was herself a wild Kaiju. ¡°Oh, Lahlee, Lahlee,¡± Anza drawled, looking around at the identical yellow colossuses that were encircling her. ¡°Do y¡¯all really think that a half-dozen Amber Sentinels will be enough to give you the edge against me?¡± ¡°Stand down. This will go much easier if you surrender,¡± one of the guards tried. ¡°Easier?¡± Anza parroted with a derisive scoff. Her helmet swivelled to give each of the traitorous soldiers a full glare of her displeasure. ¡°If you chumps knew the first thing ¡®bout me, y¡¯all¡¯d know that I never take the easy way out!¡± She swept her leg out and crouched, then kicked herself into the air. The mana in her veins sang with the activation of one of her favourite techniques, erupting into geometric fractals like crystals of bismuth around her right gauntlet, and she backflipped before coming down in a handstand that slammed her fist into the ground. The earth quaked, shockwaves of golden energy erupting from the point of impact that bowled over the Sentinels. Only the watch captain managed to retain his footing, so Anza paid special attention to him. She twisted her armour to hook her legs around the neck of his avatar and sent him crashing into the side of the kill box, then sprang back to her feet with agility that should have been impossible for such a massive armour projection. The Splinter Striker dug into the earthworks above him, making it collapse into a shower of debris that buried the upper half of the Amber Sentinel. Straightening up and looking around, she saw a series of yellow flashes as the other five Amber Sentinels disappeared. ¡°Huh, giving up already? That¡¯s a new low, I¡¯d have expected better from even the lowest rank of . .¡± She trailed off as a couple of puzzle pieces clicked into place. ¡°These ain¡¯t real guards, are they? Y¡¯all¡¯ve replaced them with some F-list hired goons who have no real training,¡± ¡°How insightful,¡± Lahlee¡¯s voice had turned spiteful, and Anza grinned to herself. She¡¯d been underestimated, Lahlee hadn¡¯t expected her to be able to so handily dispatch the Amber Sentinels. Well, it helped that these chumps were clearly below even the most lax standards of the Goliath Guard. Even she herself hadn¡¯t thought they¡¯d go down so easily. ¡°You and I both know that if you were strong enough to beat me, you wouldn¡¯t have needed to call those losers for backup. But go ahead and keep fighting. Beating y¡¯all up sounds like a fun time,¡± Anza mimed cracking her knuckles. The Artefact of War squared up against her. ¡°I think you¡¯ll find that my new allies have made me more powerful than you can comprehend,¡± Lahlee¡¯s voice rang in her ears, and Anza scrutinised her. Something wasn¡¯t right. Her right shoulder exploded. The shield fell away and dissolved into purple dust, as the crippled right arm of the Armour swelled and writhed, blowing up like a balloon as it was overtaken by something unnatural, something wrong. Whatever Lahlee had unleashed, it was no Core. It looked more like some grotesque, writhing tentacle of mottled black flesh, with spikes emerging along its length and a malformed hand at the end with scythe-like blades for fingers. ¡°What in the hell is that . .¡± Anza whispered. Twisting the entire torso of Artefact of War, Lahlee sent her monstrous arm flying forward, and it stretched like rubber. Anza, still caught off-guard, didn¡¯t manage to properly deflect the strike, and the serrated claws wrapped around Splinter Striker, gripping her arm fast. With a snarl, she yanked on the offending grip, but Lahlee held firm as the extended limb retracted and dragged Amazonian Aegis towards her. The spiked club in her left hand came around to meet her, smashing into the pugilist projection¡¯s chest with enough force to knock Anza straight out of her own armour. She groaned in mid-air, but then hit the ground and everything went dark. The next time she opened her eyes, only a moment later but still much too long, Lahlee was standing over her. The woman¡¯s metal arm had split open, revealing more of that awful monstrous flesh and a matching hand of serrated talons. ¡°I was going to kill you. But perhaps I don¡¯t need to,¡± A cold and cruel smile split her lips. Anza peered blearily up at her, working her lips but unable to form words. ¡°Oh yes. I think you¡¯ll make quite a useful resource,¡± Lahlee brought her monstrous arm down, and everything went dark. Chapter 25: Escape the Burrow Zone Following Keldryn on his trek through the tundra was an eye-opening experience for Mikayla. Keldryn was fast, and agile too. He scrambled up trees and cliffs at the slightest provocation with his binoculars in hand, and bounced across uneven terrain with such agility that Mikayla half suspected him of being more rabbit than fox. By contrast, Mikayla struggled to keep up. The bushes and weeds clawed at her, and only her burgeoning Local Map kept her going in a straight line. The Local Map had been a revelation all its own. The second night they made camp, it occurred to her to ask, ¡°How are you navigating? You seem to know this place like the back of your hand, and I¡¯ve never seen you look at a map or anything?¡± Keldryn had given her what she was coming to recognise as his ¡®are-you-ignorant-or-just-stupid?¡¯ look. ¡°Have you not used your Local Map at all?¡± ¡°My what?¡± ¡°Tell your System to pull up your Local Map,¡± ¡°Local Map, please?¡± Mikayla tried. A blue pane appeared in her view, charting a series of squiggly lines that were focused around what she recognised as Astralia¡¯s Spear. Then she noticed the pit that she¡¯d escaped from upon being Stranded in this world, and a location marker indicating her current position, and deduced that it was a record of everywhere she¡¯d been since entering this world. The immediate area around her was slightly brighter than the rest of the map. She focused, and the Local Map reacted to her desires, zooming in, and suddenly she could pick out the branches swaying in the wind on the map. Panning down showed that the dimmer parts of the map were static. ¡°Oh this is very cool. It charts everywhere I¡¯ve been?¡± ¡°Yeah, but it won¡¯t keep itself up to date. Here, look at mine,¡± With a wave of his hand, Keldryn flicked his Local Map over to Mikayla. The ranger¡¯s Map was a series of squiggly, erratic lines that crisscrossed the tundra and linked four settlements, as well as Astralia¡¯s Spear. Conveniently, they were labelled; [CLIFFWATCH], [TOPWATER], [ROOTWAY], and [RUINS OF FARMSHADOW]. She guessed that Farmshadow had been Keldryn¡¯s home, destroyed by the Cityvore, and decided not to press it. More importantly. ¡°You can share your System screens? How?¡± ¡°Just try to let someone else see your screen,¡± Mikayla experimentally tried to throw her Local Map at Keldryn, and it shrunk into a tiny blue cube and flew away. Keldryn¡¯s eyes unfocused for a second, then he waved his hand to dismiss it. ¡°Yep, see? Wasn¡¯t so hard,¡± ¡° I didn¡¯t say it was, I just didn¡¯t know it was possible,¡± she huffed. It was now their third day of travelling together, and her first clue that something was wrong was when Keldryn hesitated. ¡°What¡¯s -¡° Mikayla started, only to freeze when Keldryn pressed a finger to her lips with the speed and furore of a whip-crack. ¡°Do you feel that? In the ground?¡± Mikayla looked down. Naturally, she couldn¡¯t see anything, but she could sense it. When she stopped and really focused, there were faint tremors shaking the earth. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°Whisper!¡± Keldryn quietly commanded. ¡°Burrowing Kaijus. There must be a nest nearby, which means this area is a Burrow Zone. Probably insects. But if we¡¯re unlucky, it might be a Mole,¡± A shudder ran down his tail. ¡°Or, worse, Ants,¡± Mikayla blinked, trying to picture a Mole Kaiju. With its giant mouth full of fangs and massive claws erupting from the ground beneath her feet, swallowing her whole . . ¡°Okay, I¡¯m sure I¡¯m going to have nightmares about that,¡± She lowered her voice. ¡°What do we do?¡± ¡°This would be the part where we go into the trees. But you¡¯re not trained to parkour between branches,¡± Keldryn¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°I mean. I could try,¡± Mikayla winced, but the ranger was already shaking his head. ¡°One bad fall and the thump will attract every earthworm for miles. Too risky,¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just go around their territory?¡± ¡°We¡¯re already in the Burrow Zone, and I have no way of knowing where it ends. Every direction is equally dangerous now, so we might as well forge onwards,¡± Keldryn rubbed his chin, thinking. ¡°Burrowing Kaijus would hunt by listening out for footfalls, right?¡± Mikayla thought, trying not to cast nervous glances at the scraggly grass underfoot. ¡°Maybe if we did something to muffle my footsteps?¡± ¡°Better than nothing. Oh! I know,¡± Keldryn dug into his backpack and pulled out two of the spare coats they¡¯d taken from Astralia¡¯s wardrobe. ¡°We can tie these around your feet. Inside out. It¡¯ll probably wreck the silk lining, but the extra cushioning might save our lives,¡± ¡°I can live with that,¡± Mikayla nodded, offering first one foot and then the other for Keldryn to tie coats around. ¡°Okay, now walk gently. Don¡¯t step on any branches or roots, stick to grass and soil. I¡¯m going into the trees, I¡¯ll be keeping watch from above. Don¡¯t talk unless you have to. Be stealthy but fast and hopefully we¡¯ll get out of the Burrow Zone sooner than later,¡± ¡°Roger,¡± Every footstep was torture. Mikayla focused on controlling her motions, making every step gentle, like she was trying not to wake a baby. They progressed in this way for hours, Keldryn watching from above and periodically dropping to the ground to check for vibrations. The telltale tremors came and went, but never fully abated. Eventually, the sun was going down with no change in their situation. Keldryn hung from a tree branch like a monkey bar, careful not to let his feet touch the ground, and Mikayla peered up at him. ¡°I can¡¯t believe how big this Burrow Zone is. I was so sure we¡¯d have left it behind after a whole day of walking,¡± Keldryn sighed. ¡°What do we do? Keep travelling through the night?¡± Mikayla suggested. ¡°I¡¯d rather not, jumping through the trees is exhausting,¡± Keldryn groaned, his face falling and ears drooping low. Mikayla looked up, wondering if they could sleep in a tree. But that wasn¡¯t practical. It was a wonder that these birch trees could even support Keldryn¡¯s weight. ¡°Maybe Nocturnus will have some ideas,¡± she mused. ¡°Mana Assist - wait,¡± Instead of cheating it, she took a deep breath and focused, gently and precisely letting her Mana flow into the Lapis Core. Slowly, carefully, she manifested the black-and-red armour around herself. ¡°Nocty? How you doing?¡± ¡°I feel rather tingly. Nonetheless, this is excellent progress!¡± They quickly filled him in, not wanting to waste Mikayla¡¯s Mana. ¡°So, this burrowing creature has been following us all day but refusing to close the distance?¡± Nocturnus summarised. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°What makes you so sure it¡¯s been the same creature this whole time?¡± Keldryn challenged. ¡°Burrowers are almost always territorial, but there is a particularly dangerous type of creature that plagued us during the evacuation of Balmwind, a tunnelling roamer that will follow its prey to the ends of the earth. If you¡¯ve travelled that far and still haven¡¯t left its territory, it sounds to me like we¡¯re dealing with this old friend of mine,¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It is known as a Mudburrow Marten,¡± Nocturnus explained. ¡°It is an ambush predator that tracks its prey by following them underground, waiting for them to go to sleep, and then it strikes. The worst part is that it¡¯s a coward. If it fails to kill its target, it retreats and goes back into hiding, waiting until you let down your guard again,¡± Keldryn grimaced, considering this. ¡°How troublesome,¡± ¡°You fought it before, though? How did you kill it last time?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy,¡± A wistful note crept into the ghost¡¯s voice. ¡°It started stalking us not long after we¡¯d evacuated Balmwind. This was before anyone was even thinking about ¡®the Five Heroes¡¯, by the way. It was me and my most loyal knights, our Chancellor, and Astralia and her cohort of mages, trying to safeguard thousands of poor souls as we shepherded them south in search of a safe haven,¡± ¡°Every night, a campsite would be destroyed, a family slaughtered. A silent predator, perhaps a flier, we thought, one that struck in the dead of night and escaped before anyone even saw it. We strengthened our perimeter, posted lookouts. Nothing worked until, by sheer chance, a messenger caught it in the act. His speed Techniques let him get away in time and told us that we were all wrong. The beast was coming from below,¡± ¡°We had to set an ambush, of course, but how? There were thousands of people for it to choose as meals. A mountain was our salvation, of all things; we gathered everyone at the peak of the slope, high up enough that they would be safe, except for a brave few who volunteered to be bait. The Marten wasn¡¯t smart enough not to go for the easy prey. Once it appeared, we skewered it with spears and prevented it from retreating underground. It was a good fight, all the more so because it meant no more innocents would be snapped up as the thing¡¯s supper,¡± ¡°. . huh,¡± Keldryn considered. ¡°Why are you giving me that surprised expression?¡± Nocturnus demanded, indignation creeping into his tone. ¡°I just . . didn¡¯t expect all that from the Black Traitor,¡± Keldryn reluctantly admitted. ¡°Everyone¡¯s the hero of their own story, boy,¡± Nocturnus gruffly pointed out. ¡°I certainly did my best. Even if I did fail at the end,¡± ¡°Good bedtime story, but we¡¯re only two people. How do we deal with it?¡± Mikayla questioned. ¡°The same way, of course! Setting a trap!¡± <=====}¡ªo Mikayla and Keldryn looked at their handiwork, erected under Nocturnus¡¯ instruction. They had used their blades to chop down several trees and arrange the fallen logs in a crude circle, creating an impromptu killing zone. Branches had been shorn away from the tops of the trees to let Mikayla walk atop them, while Keldryn got settled in the middle. He¡¯d insisted on being the bait because he had better agility and was more likely to escape when the marten came knocking, denying any allegations of chivalry. Nocturnus had agreed, saying that Mikayla was better suited to spring the trap anyway. So Mikayla waited in the most comfortable spot she could find, watching Keldryn as he pretended to sleep. It was obvious to her that he was merely faking - he hadn¡¯t laid out his bedroll or taken off his outer layers, and was merely laying on the ground and pretending to snore. But hopefully that was enough to fool the Mudburrow Marten. Half an hour passed without incident, and Mikayla had to pinch herself to stay awake. Despite how uncomfortable the trees were, after a long day of walking, constantly on edge for threats from below, her fatigue ran bone-deep. Then it happened. The ground shook, beginning to distort, and puddles of murky liquid seeped up through the soil. Keldryn tensed, leaping to his feet. Skyward Grasscutter¡¯s digitigrade legs sprung into existence around his own, its armoured skirt wrapping around his thighs and tail. He launched himself into the air a second before the ground fell away into the jaws of a man-eating weasel. Mikayla hadn¡¯t been quite sure what to picture when hearing the name ¡®Mudburrow Marten¡¯; she¡¯d imagined something like an otter that dove through mud to dig its home. But once again, she¡¯d underestimated the Kaiju Coast¡¯s nomenclature. Its fur was made of mud. It resembled a giant, elongated brown bubble that dripped with slime and ended in a sharp pair of teeth. A single eye blinked at her, with tiny, stunted front limbs that reminded her of a T. Rex¡¯s arms clawing at the air. True to Nocturnus¡¯ warning, the Marten shrieked in distress when it saw Mikayla, who was already manifesting her armour and sword, preparing to strike. But it had overcommitted, and Nocturnus¡¯ strategy worked perfectly. Using her sword as a substitute for a spear, she thrust it forwards and let it grow in her hands, impaling the Marten against the far side of their wooden kill zone. Keldryn bounced off a felled tree and flew back towards its face, his wrist blades extended. His aim was perfect, he was flying right towards the Marten¡¯s throat. Unfortunately, the Marten had tricks of its own. It twisted its neck at an angle Mikayla would have thought impossible, and a muscular tentacle of flesh covered in small barbs erupted from its mouth. For a moment, Mikayla was just stunned by the mere existence of a horned tongue. Keldryn was already too close and couldn¡¯t change direction in mid air, and even if she hadn¡¯t frozen up there was nothing she could do to save him. The freakishly powerful tongue slapped him out of mid-air and sent him flying into the distance, away from the kill zone. Despite the bloody wound on its chest, the Marten chittered triumphantly. Mikayla cursed, forcing her leaden limbs to respond. Still gripping the sword and leveraging it, she barked, ¡°Mana Assistance! Black Knight! Size five!¡± The Black Knight swelled around her, and she hooked the Marten¡¯s jaw with the tip of her sword, hoisting it into the air. ¡°Yes! Good! Keep it in the air! Don¡¯t let it get back underground!¡± Nocturnus¡¯ warnings bore fruit, and Mikayla followed suit, leering at the ugly weasel. With its mud dripping away from it, it really did look like an ugly, slimy, rat. Her aversion to animal cruelty was nowhere to be found. This monster had hurt her friend. ¡°Okay, you little bastard, let¡¯s see how you handle fall damage!¡± She gripped the hilt with both hands and, leveraging all her Strength, flicked the Marten into the air. It screamed as it went flying. Letting it go, Mikayla abandoned the kill zone and shrunk back down. ¡°Oh crap, oh crap, Keldie don¡¯t die!¡± She scrambled over to him, inspecting the bloody wound in his chest. She wished she had some kind of Identification Technique or something similar, anything of the sort that would let her check his Health. ¡°Give him a potion!¡± Nocturnus reminded her. ¡°Right!¡± She fumbled with the vials strapped to her wrist, pulled a Health potion out and prayed that the two-hundred-year-old liquid had been preserved well enough. She held his mouth open and tipped it in. ¡°. . Wait. Isn¡¯t there a chance he¡¯ll choke on it? Keldie!¡± Mikayla, realising she might have screwed up, shook him. ¡°Swallow! You have to wake up and swallow!¡± An upsetting gargle came from the foxkin¡¯s throat, and Mikayla frantically tried to remember how to do CPR. Unfortunately, she had never learned how to do CPR. Keldryn stirred with a moan that turned into a cough, hocking up globules of potion. He choked it down with an audible gulp, blinking and struggling to focus on his travelling companion. ¡°What was that . .¡± He gasped as vital energy suddenly and visibly flooded his body, sending a faint glow across his skin. Before their eyes, the wound knitted back together, reabsorbing the blood and sealing itself up. Within moments, there wasn¡¯t even a scar left. ¡°. . Health potion?¡± he managed to guess, still looking a bit queasy. ¡°You looked like you were about to die. I panicked,¡± Mikayla apologetically explained. ¡°You almost choked. I¡¯m sorry,¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. My Health¡¯s at max and the Bleeding status is gone too . .¡± He sat up with a groan, then squeaked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?!¡± The panic came rushing back. ¡°. . I sat on my tail . .¡± he mumbled with a definite hint of embarrassment, adjusting his position and settling properly into a cross-legged stance. His fluffy orange tail curled around into his lap and he gingerly stroked it. ¡°Hah. There goes my full Health. 1699 out of 1700 for sitting on my own tail,¡± Mikayla couldn¡¯t help the guffaw that bubbled up from her throat, fuelled by the nervous energy that hadn¡¯t yet abated. Nocturnus didn¡¯t bother, laughing out loud. Even Keldryn chuckled self-deprecatingly. Once they¡¯d all gotten that out of their system, Keldryn flicked his wrist and Bluebell popped out. The bright blue goat settled down and he leant against her flank, gesturing for Mikayla to join him. With Bluebell serving as their impromptu couch, Keldryn heaved out a long, slow breath. ¡°Thank you. I . . I would have died today, if you hadn¡¯t . .¡± ¡°Aw,¡± Mikayla promptly pulled him into a one-armed hug. ¡°Any time, Keldie. What¡¯re friends for?¡± There was a sudden rush of wind, and they both looked up. ¡°Oh, stars,¡± Keldryn breathed. The Giant Roc was swooping overhead. In its beak it carried the Mudburrow Marten, which was struggling. By some miracle, there was enough cover where Keldryn had fallen that it didn¡¯t see them, and they both scrambled to put the tree trunk between themselves and the massive bird. ¡°Is that the same Roc from Astralia¡¯s Spear?¡± Mikayla hissed. ¡°Can¡¯t be. We¡¯re outside its territory. It¡¯s probably just a coincidence, or maybe a relative,¡± Keldryn denied in a whisper. A crack ran through the air as the Roc snapped the Marten¡¯s neck, and a notification appeared in Mikayla¡¯s vision. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A MUDBURROW MARTEN! EXPERIENCE IS REDUCED DUE TO THIRD-PARTY INTERVENTION!] They stayed still until the Roc was gone, and barely dared to breathe for ten minutes after that. ¡°Okay. I think we¡¯re safe,¡± Keldryn finally asserted. ¡°Now let¡¯s finally get some rest,¡± Chapter 26: Unidentified Fallen Object Mikayla panted as she chased Keldryn up a ridge. ¡°Hurry up!¡± he called down to her from the crest. ¡°Imagine a Cementodile is nipping at your heels!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is!¡± A deep breath. ¡°But the name alone terrifies me!¡± A wheeze. ¡°Also, we should have a rule!¡± Huffing and puffing. ¡°Take a break after fighting a Kaiju!¡± Indeed, they had just fought and killed a rodent that could have carried Mikayla¡¯s car as a backpack. ¡°We can¡¯t break every time we kill an overgrown rat, or we¡¯ll never get anywhere,¡± Keldryn shook his head as he looked back down the slope at her. ¡°I¡¯m gonna run up to that peak and Scan the area. Keep going, I¡¯ll catch up,¡± Before Mikayla could respond, he vanished in a blur of fluffy tail. She could only groan and keep going. It had been four days since they killed the Heart-Herb Armadillo. They¡¯d spent the first two of those creeping through the Burrow Zone. After escaping that territory, they¡¯d gone two days without any encounters at all. Which had prompted the ranger to encourage Mikayla to develop her less combative skills, such as running and parkour, as well as continuing to work on the firestarting Technique. Apparently there were literal Techniques that could let you run faster and consume less stamina, which partly explained why he was so much more fit than her. Unfortunately, he¡¯d still had no luck trying to pass any of them on. Mikayla still wasn¡¯t sure whether she was a bad student or Keldryn was a bad teacher, but she still didn¡¯t have a single Technique to her name except for the Faulty-rank Circulation of Stamina. Several painful minutes later, she finally crested the ridge, and a couple more minutes of crossing the thankfully flat strip at the apex of the mountain led to her looking out at the valley below. It was a massive bowl of green, one that reached all the way to the horizon. The mountains continued in either direction as far as she could see. It was a beautiful panorama of nature, one that made her appreciate and dread just how massive and awe-inspiring this part of the world was, for having been so totally dominated by nature. And then there was the beached ocean liner ruining her view. (If anyone asked, Mikayla had absolutely stopped and appreciated the natural vista and not immediately gawked at the angular edifice of rusted metal that was dominating the valley.) It had come to rest against the side of a hill, or perhaps the force of its impact had created the hill. What she recognised as shipping containers had spilled out and formed haphazard piles amidst a massive furrow. The hulk itself didn¡¯t look too bad, as though it had only landed in the region recently; vines were starting to creep up its length, but the paint had only barely chipped and she couldn¡¯t see much in the way of rust. ¡°Was that thing brought here by a spatial anomaly, like me?¡± she mused. Keldryn appeared next to her. ¡°I was thinking the same thing,¡± ¡°Jesus! Don¡¯t startle me like that,¡± Mikayla growled. ¡°Do you know what that is?¡± He ignored her complaint. ¡°Looks like a container ship to me. One of the really big ones built to go across the Pacific or Atlantic,¡± ¡°So it¡¯s from your world? Huh. It¡¯s a good thing you¡¯re here with me, then,¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a ranger. Documenting and recovering the stuff that comes out of spatial anomalies is part of my job. And this has to be new. Something that big would have been marked on the maps, had it been here last time someone checked this patrol route. Sorry, but we¡¯re gonna have to take a detour and go investigate that ¡®container ship¡¯,¡± Mikayla grumbled, but nodded. ¡°I guess that¡¯s alright. Not as though I¡¯ve got any pressing engagements. And if that thing really is from my world . .¡± She glanced at the pockets of her coat, where the one thing she¡¯d managed to hold on to from home resided; her dead phone and its charging cable. If that ship had a generator, or a battery, or anything of the sort, she could charge her phone. Even if there was no cell service or internet in the Kaiju Coast, she¡¯d be able to take pictures and make notes. ¡°Yeah. Yeah! Let¡¯s go!¡± Keldryn quirked an eyebrow as they set off down the slope. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you that excited. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°If there¡¯s a generator on that boat, I might be able to charge my phone!¡± she summarised. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°. . okay? What¡¯s a ¡®fohn¡¯?¡± ¡°It¡¯s . .¡± Mikayla paused. How in the hell could she explain the concept of a modern mobile phone to what was basically a forestman from medieval times? She paused to gather her thoughts for a moment, then launched into it. ¡°It¡¯s a device that does lots of useful things, like create and store pictures, send instant messages around the world, record my thoughts, track my location on a map, and lots more besides. It runs on a special type of lightning mana called electricity, but I¡¯ve run out of that and can¡¯t make more on my own. I¡¯m hoping there¡¯ll be some on that ship!¡± ¡°Oh, huh. That does sound useful,¡± Keldryn said. ¡°The most important part, though, is that I¡¯d finally be able to take notes again. I¡¯ve been learning so much about this world and doing my best to commit it all to memory, but having my phone will let me write it all down and make sure I don¡¯t forget anything,¡± ¡°You realise, of course, that a structure that big is practically begging for a Kaiju to turn it into a den,¡± Mikayla¡¯s enthusiasm visibly diminished at the thought. She rolled her eyes ¡°Fine. Whatever. We¡¯ll kill another Kaiju if we have to,¡± Over the course of the next two hours, they made their way down the hillside. As they went, Mikayla kept practicing with the mana in her right hand, still trying to replicate the firestarting Technique. Her practice as they travelled had paid off, and she¡¯d managed to perform the three parts of the Technique separately. She could now reliably throw tiny sparks from her fingers, stoke a campfire by feeding it her mana, and had even tested the fireproofing by waving her hand through the flames and feeling nothing more than a warm breeze. Any and all of those were incredible on their own, yet she hadn¡¯t managed to combine them into a full-blown power to throw fireballs just yet. But she wanted to - she needed to seize this power as her own. She would be the master of fire. The fireproofing was the hardest part, it involved filling her skin with Mana that was sculpted into a certain texture of sorts. A repeating pattern of crests and grooves filling her flesh. Like wiggling one¡¯s ears, it was a learned skill that she suspected would become instinctive with enough practice, but keeping it going drained her Mana so she doubted the day would ever come when she was just completely immune to fire. Then there was channeling the ¡®fuel¡¯ through her thumb and feeding it into the point where her first two fingers were conjuring the sparks. Doing all three at once required a phenomenal capacity to multitask, and had driven her to put the two points she¡¯d gained from killing the Heart-Herb Armadillo into Intelligence in the hope that strengthening her wits would make the difference. Unfortunately, it hadn¡¯t. [INTELLIGENCE: 16] Keldryn had given her the ¡®you¡¯re an idiot¡¯ look when she confessed that impulsive choice, and she was resolved to put her next few levels into Strength and Dexterity to bring her weakest stats up to par. ¡°Um. Mikayla,¡± Keldryn sounded hesitant, which startled her out of her trance of practice and had her looking up. ¡°Is this sort of thing normal in your world?¡± They had left the trees behind, and were staring at a haphazard stack of colourful metal storage containers. The impact had scattered the container ship¡¯s cargo across its surroundings, creating a maze of corrugated steel boxes. Several of them had ruptured, their contents strewn across the forest floor. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s all a mess, but some of this looks really familiar,¡± Mikayla left him behind, wandering through the refuse of her civilisation. A soggy pile of cardboard boxes had spilled into the dirt, each containing a blender. The next box along had ironing boards and laundry racks. Out of curiosity, she undid the latch on a container that had remained sealed and pulled the doors open, peering inside. A wall of stacked bags of fertiliser greeted her. Moving over to the next cluster of metal boxes, she found a pile of stuffed animals leaking out of a ruptured door. ¡°Aww, hehe. Look, Keldryn! Soft toys!¡± ¡°These are toys? Really?¡± Keldryn frowned, the distaste in his voice obvious. ¡°Yeah? You give them to kids to cuddle when they sleep. What¡¯s wrong with stuffed animals?¡± Mikayla frowned, picking up and cuddling a plush kitten. ¡°They look like little Kaijus,¡± he pointed out. ¡°. . oh right,¡± She paused, and fished out a small fox made of felt. ¡°Even this one?¡± ¡°There are fox Kaijus too. And yes, it¡¯s awkward to know that you¡¯re related, however distantly, to a snarling monster that wants to eat you,¡± His ears drooped, betraying his guarded expression. ¡°Man, this world is just depressing sometimes,¡± Mikayla shook her head, then went to continue exploring. She passed an upended and crushed truck, and a large container full of coal. Sitting by itself was a pallet stacked high with copies of Elon Musk¡¯s autobiography, which was already being reclaimed by nature. Mikayla glanced at them and wrinkled her nose. ¡°If any book ever deserved to be eaten by a Kaiju,¡± ¡°What was that?¡± Keldryn finally caught up with her. ¡°Apparently this boat carried trash too,¡± Mikayla looked around again with wistfulness in her gaze. ¡°Hey, how much space do you have in your bag?¡± ¡°Not enough to take any of these vessels, but if you wanted to grab a few souvenirs I can make some room,¡± Keldryn couldn¡¯t imagine what it was like for Mikayla to be to far away from everything that she¡¯d ever known, but it wasn¡¯t hard to guess that salvaging some of these items that reminded her of home might bring her some comfort. There was still plenty of space in his bag, so there was no reason to make a fuss about it. ¡°Yeah, I think I¡¯d like that. Thanks!¡± She beamed at him, then rushed back to the pile of stuffed animals. Who cared if the rest of this world thought they looked like tiny Kaijus? They were soft and huggable, and she felt like she was going to need that sooner than later. Chapter 27: You Could Be A Firestarter As they continued wandering through the maze of retail goods, Mikayla didn¡¯t hesitate to take advantage. Keldryn found his bag becoming the receptacle of a shopping spree, his survival gear and the materials from Astralia¡¯s Spear joined by such arcane things as powerboards, digital alarm clocks, YA books and DVD box sets. Mikayla had breathed an audible sigh of relief when she found what she called ¡®a laptop with a DVD reader¡¯. ¡°It¡¯s got a USB port too! If I can just find a generator, I can use this to charge my phone and to watch movies!¡± Keldryn was long past the point of just smiling and nodding, and was half-considering sending a complaint to the faeries that the Ataraxian System¡¯s translation was glitching out. There were far too many words being bandied about that he had no frame of reference for. He boggled at the latest load; an armful of canisters that Mikayla had gathered. ¡°Here, help me load all of this up!¡± she insisted, dumping them all into the bag and running back for more. Keldryn picked out one of the metal cans and frowned at it. ¡°Do we really need to bring so much ¡®anti-perspirant deodorant¡¯?¡± ¡°Keldie, it is one thing for me to reek like a pig when we have no hygiene products. It is another for you to not notice because that¡¯s normal for you. But I refuse to pass on a chance to freshen up with shampoo and deodorant, damnit!¡± Mikayla insisted. ¡°. . Is this a Stranded thing or just a girl thing?¡± ¡°Bit of both. Ooh! Wait!¡± Her eyes lit up, thunderstruck by a brilliant idea. ¡°You have got to let me try shampooing your tail! We can apply some conditioner, comb it and blow-dry it -¡° ¡°Absolutely not,¡± He¡¯d already heard enough to know he wanted no part of this. ¡°But you¡¯d be so fluffy,¡± Mikayla whined. ¡°And I already found a hairdryer, too,¡± ¡°There is nothing wrong with my tail,¡± ¡°I¡¯m not saying there is, but it can still be improved!¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± He breathed a sigh of relief when Mikayla conceded the point and went back to foraging, searching ever more desperately for this thing called a ¡®generator¡¯. ¡°Huh. This looks advanced,¡± Mikayla frowned. ¡°What do you mean, advanced?¡± Keldryn raised an eyebrow and looked over the machine she was investigating. It looked like a large box with glass sides and four strange metal arms visible within, sitting at rest. ¡°It¡¯s labelled as an All-In-One 3D Printer with injection points for metal, plastic, resin and glass?¡± Mikayla sounded surprised as she squinted at its instruction manual. ¡°And?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone in my world had invented something like this yet,¡± Mikayla clarified. ¡°3D printers could only use resin, from what I recall. Could this ship have come from my future?¡± ¡°Maybe? I dunno. Are we taking this?¡± ¡°No, no point without a supply of material to feed it,¡± Mikayla denied, moving on to the next storage container. She stopped. Keldryn peered over her shoulder and his ears flicked up in surprise, because he actually recognised what this was, or so he thought. ¡°Is that a toy of an Armour Core?¡± No, actually, he had to be wrong. There weren¡¯t any Armour Cores in Mikayla¡¯s world. But the image on the cardboard box certainly looked like the little figures crafted in the likeness of famous Goliaths that he¡¯d seen some rich children playing with. ¡°No, it¡¯s a model of a Gundam. I believe it¡¯s called Gunpla,¡± Mikayla abruptly sat down on a pallet, cradling it in her arms. ¡°My little brother loves these,¡± Keldryn made a small noise of understanding and settled next to her. ¡°Do you miss him?¡± ¡°He must be so worried . . my parents, too. And Cat. When I just didn¡¯t come home . . and I might never see them again . . it¡¯s already been a week. How long does it take for someone to be presumed dead?¡± Mikayla sighed, wringing her hands. ¡°There¡¯ve been Stranded people in the past, right? Did any of them ever find their way home?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard of a Stranded person trying to go home in the first place,¡± Keldryn said apologetically. ¡°What? That doesn¡¯t make any sense. I can believe that some people would go all-in on an isekai fantasy, but every single one? No way,¡± ¡°Sorry, dunno what to tell you. I¡¯ve never met any, just heard about their reputations. I know some of the big names in the Coast were once Stranded, like the Sunwing Raider, or the Great Adventurer,¡± he winced, noticing how Mikayla¡¯s face fell. ¡°Sorry. I know that¡¯s not what you want to hear,¡± ¡°Well, thanks for being honest at least,¡± she sighed. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Either I¡¯ll find a way or I won¡¯t. And, in the meantime . .¡± She looked down at the Gunpla box in her hands. ¡°I¡¯m gonna take some of these. To remind me of home,¡± As she stared at the stack of Japanese paraphernalia, it was as though something clicked into place. Whether it was her resolve, or her Willpower, or just her peace of mind, she¡¯d never felt more focused than she had at that moment. It was like the Mana in her veins had finally come to life, was finally ready to heed her call. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. So she pressed her fingers together and her fist caught fire. Keldryn¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Hey. You did it,¡± Mikayla looked at her hand, burning merrily with a flame that played over her skin without so much as warming it. ¡°I did. System? Did that work? I¡¯ve got the Technique now?¡± [NEW TECHNIQUE SAVED: FIRESTARTING PUNCH (CRUDE)] Her lips split into a wide grin. ¡°Awesome. I even skipped straight past Faulty and into Crude!¡± ¡°Most people wouldn¡¯t use a Technique that they hadn¡¯t refined to at least Basic,¡± Keldryn felt the need to inform her. ¡°Quit being a killjoy,¡± She waved her hand. The fire didn¡¯t abate. ¡°. . Crap, how do I turn it off?¡± ¡°Stop feeding it Mana!¡± Keldryn commanded. Mikayla closed her eyes and focused on cutting the flow of ¡®fuel¡¯. She almost pressed her hand to her head to focus, but fortunately remembered that only her hand was currently fireproof before she could burn herself. A few seconds later, the fire sputtered out, and she breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°. . Yes! Awesome! I did it! I got it! Yay!¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy for you, but keep it down!¡± Keldryn looked around, his tail bristling. ¡°We don¡¯t want to get the attention of a Kaiju!¡± ¡°Eep. Right. Sorry. Got it,¡± she nodded, settling down and scanning their surroundings. Both breathed a sigh of relief when, over the course of the next few minutes, nothing appeared to attack them. Mikayla chuckled as they loaded the pile of Gunpla into Keldryn¡¯s bag. ¡°Y¡¯now, if these actually are from the future and I manage to get them home to him, little bro will flip out over having unreleased Gundams on his shelves,¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Keldryn asked as he helped her load up a stack of colourful cardboard and plastic. ¡°I never got into anime. Comics and manga, sure, those are close enough to books. But all the shouting and colourful lights just gave me a headache,¡± Mikayla sighed. Keldryn nodded sagely and pretended to know what she was talking about, and Mikayla was too preoccupied to call him out on it. They split up again, drawing closer to the grounded container ship as they continued to pick their way through the debris in search of the fabled generator. Keldryn only had a vague idea of what they were looking for, but was ready to call Mikayla over if he saw anything that he thought might be their target. Unfortunately, what he found was both much less useful and much more worrying. ¡°Oi. Mikayla?¡± he shouted, cupping his paws to his mouth. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± She was already rushing to join him, carrying two boxed sets of kitchenware in one hand and a novelty Harry Potter lamp in the other. ¡°Here, you can keep one of these,¡± Mikayla declared as she dumped the kitchenware in the bag. ¡°They¡¯re for cooking and I¡¯m sure they¡¯re much better than whatever medieval pots and pans you¡¯re used to,¡± ¡°I think I found one of the ship¡¯s merchants,¡± Keldryn solemnly explained. Mikayla dropped the lamp, and it broke into pieces as it hit the ground. There was a pile of rags and bones strewn about in the dirt, scattered haphazardly around a human skull. The clothes had been shredded, but were still recognisable as a sailor¡¯s outfit. Mikayla swallowed the urge to puke. The bones were white, they¡¯d barely been weathered by the elements at all, but there wasn¡¯t a single scrap of meat left on them. This man¡¯s death had without a doubt been excruciating, and, more worryingly, recent. ¡°Kaijus are usually big enough to eat people whole. Something that would gnaw the meat from a man¡¯s bones like this,¡± Keldryn frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not normal. I don¡¯t like it,¡± ¡°We should bury him. Put him to rest,¡± Mikayla murmured. ¡°No, we need to quickly and carefully figure out exactly what killed this man, and then get out of here before we meet the same fate,¡± Keldryn retorted. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for whatever ritual you¡¯re picturing. Our lives come first,¡± ¡°Right. Okay, yeah, that¡¯s fair,¡± Mikayla agreed. She looked up at the slightly lopsided hulk of the hull. ¡°So. Time to stop scavenging and go investigate the ship itself?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d say so,¡± Keldryn considered the edifice of metal, scanning for any convenient holes. ¡°I know I said this was probably a Kaiju nest, but I expected a big hole in it somewhere leading to a den and I¡¯m not seeing that. How do we get inside?¡± ¡°From the top. Don¡¯t forget, this thing¡¯s supposed to go in the ocean. See that line where everything above it looks a bit less weathered? It was built for there to be water coming up to there, there won¡¯t be any entrances below that line,¡± Mikayla explained. Keldryn¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Wait, are you telling me this thing is a boat?¡± ¡°Uh. Yeah? Was I not clear about that?¡± ¡°No! But it¡¯s huge! Where would you even find a big enough lake for it to float in?¡± Mikayla savoured the feeling of being the one to give Keldryn the ¡®are you ignorant or just stupid?¡¯ look. ¡°Do you not know what an ocean is?¡± ¡°Can I assume it¡¯s a really big lake?¡± ¡°More than seventy percent of my world is covered in water,¡± she quoted, and grinned as Keldryn¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°That much? That¡¯s insane! What do you do with that much water?¡± ¡°We build boats like this one,¡± ¡°. . and suddenly I can see why,¡± Mikayla hummed. ¡°So this world has much fewer and smaller oceans? I¡¯m really curious to get a look at this Global Map now. Well, that¡¯s for later. This way. The ship was leaning against a hill, if we run around to the other side we can climb up and go in from the top that way,¡± she suggested, already taking off. Keldryn nodded and followed along. It took half an hour of picking their way around and up a hill full of loose dirt, but they managed to climb up to the level of the container ship¡¯s bridge without incident, and jumped onto the deck. Keldryn stopped and inspected it, brows furrowed. ¡°This floor is made of metal. And so are these railings. How incredibly extravagant,¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s pretty normal,¡± Mikayla shrugged as she made her way up the steps towards the elevated building rimmed with windows. ¡°This way. Let¡¯s get into the bridge,¡± ¡°Why? That section is too small for a Kaiju,¡± Keldryn questioned. ¡°Because I¡¯m going to introduce you to the wonderful world of security cameras. The bridge should have equipment that¡¯ll let us see everything that¡¯s happening all over the ship,¡± Mikayla tried the door, only to find it locked. ¡°Oh, this won¡¯t do,¡± She focused, directing her Mana, and her silver-red sword manifested in her hand. A few deft strokes later, the door fell off its broken hinges. She blanched when she saw what was inside. ¡°Uh. Keldryn?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± he questioned, climbing in after her and struggling with it a bit more due to his height. There were three corpses in the room. Two were human, and the third was a horse-sized black monstrosity clad in a shiny carapace with six legs, antennae and mandibles. Dried gunshot wounds peppered its head and upper body. If Mikayla didn¡¯t miss her guess, it was a Kaiju version of an ant. ¡°Oh no,¡± Keldryn¡¯s ears stood on end. ¡°This is an anthill,¡± Chapter 28: ANTipathy ¡°An anthill?¡± Mikayla quirked an eyebrow. ¡°Is that bad?¡± ¡°Bad? It¡¯s terrible! Ants are one of the most dangerous kinds of Kaiju in the Coast! We need to get out of here, right now!¡± ¡°What¡¯s so bad about ants? All they¡¯re good at is walking in lines and carrying heavy things,¡± Keldryn took a deep breath. ¡°Ants are trouble because most Kaijus are solitary creatures that don¡¯t like working together. But they¡¯re all mindless drones controlled by the real monster, the Ant Queen that stays safely holed up in its burrow and sends armies of minions out to do their thing. They¡¯re Class A threats that require whole teams of Goliath Guards to fight their way into the heart of the nest and kill the Queen. We are not equipped for this!¡± He looked on the verge of hyperventilating, his fur standing on end. ¡°Hey, hey, it¡¯s okay. We¡¯re safe. It¡¯s just one dead ant. Let¡¯s not panic until we at least find a living one. They¡¯re probably all long gone,¡± Mikayla pacified him. Slowly, his ears and tail relaxed as he got his breathing under control. ¡°Right. Yeah. Right. Those are strange injuries. What could have caused them?¡± ¡°On the ant?¡± ¡°And on this man,¡± Keldryn inspected one of the corpses. ¡°It¡¯s as though his head exploded,¡± Mikayla scrutinised the corpse. While one of the two dead sailors had his entrails hanging out of his chest, with injuries that had clearly been inflicted by the Ant Kaiju, the other hadn¡¯t suffered anything of the sort. Instead, most of his head had been scattered into bloody pulp and splinters of bone. She found the culprit abandoned on the floor beneath the dead man¡¯s right hand. ¡°I see what happened,¡± she nodded grimly, picking up a bloodstained pistol. ¡°This is a weapon that fires small bits of metal called bullets at incredible speeds, called a handgun. It does a lot of damage to anything that gets hit. My guess is that these two men managed to lock themselves inside the bridge with just one Ant, keeping all the rest out,¡± She paced, re-enacting the scene as she went. ¡°This guy was attacked and fatally wounded, but the other guy shot the Ant enough times to kill it. Pew, pew, pew,¡± It was strangely reassuring to know that Kaijus could, in fact, be killed by modern weaponry from her world. ¡°But he was trapped and alone and surrounded by monsters, and he . . decided to end things on his own terms rather than be eaten alive or starve to death,¡± she grimaced, using the handgun to mime shooting herself in the head. ¡°Pew,¡± ¡°I see,¡± Keldryn nodded with a sympathetic grimace. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that. But there¡¯s nothing we can do for them now. What were you saying about the se-kyoo-rit-ee kam-rahs?¡± ¡°Right,¡± Mikayla unceremoniously pushed the corpse out of the way and scanned the main control panel of the container ship. ¡°Here. These screens should show us,¡± The screens looked advanced, more than she would have expected, further reinforcing her suspicion that this ship had come from the future, or something akin to it. ¡°I¡¯ve just gotta figure out how to use this OS,¡± she murmured, flicking random buttons with no reaction. ¡°The ship must be powered down. There¡¯s gotta be a . . aha!¡± At the other end of the room was a fuse box, which promptly lost its lock to an application of Sword Core. ¡°Here we go. The circuit breakers triggered. If I just flip these back on,¡± Several loud clicks rang through the air, and the container ship groaned to life. Keldryn jumped, looking around as the lights turned back on and screens came to life all around them. ¡°Welcome to Ser-E-Core Shipping,¡± a smooth female voice rang through the room. ¡°Identifying,¡± ¡°Um, Mikayla? Who¡¯s talking?!¡± Keldryn panicked, looking around as though expecting a mysterious woman to appear out of nowhere. ¡°Huh, must be some kind of AI assistant. Hi! Who is this?¡± Mikayla looked around for any sort of camera. ¡°Unauthorised intruders detected on the bridge. The captain has been alerted,¡± There was a faint buzzing from the pocket of the headless corpse, and Mikayla fished a smartphone out of his pocket. There was a prompt on the screen that read; [Unauthorised intruders on the bridge. Allow access? Yes/No] She poked the ¡®Yes¡¯ option with her thumb, and the voice responded. ¡°Access granted. Welcome, new employees of Ser-E-Core. Checking ship registry . . All other employees are deceased. Congratulations, new employee, you are now the acting Captain. Please input your name,¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°My name is Mikayla,¡± she nodded in the general direction of the nearest camera. ¡°And wow, this system isn¡¯t very secure,¡± ¡°Did the invisible woman just decide you¡¯re its new boss because everyone else here is dead?¡± Keldryn whispered, still visibly unnerved. ¡°Seems like! Computer, uh, wait do you have a name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Seres. Pleased to meet you, Captain Mikayla,¡± the disembodied voice replied. ¡°I could get used to that,¡± she chuckled. ¡°Please input your name, new employee,¡± ¡°Is it talking to me?¡± Keldryn guessed, eyes darting around and tail flicking back and forth. ¡°I am Keldryn. It¡¯s, um, nice to talk to you,¡± This was Mikayla¡¯s first time seeing him so obviously out of his depth. It was kind of adorable how flustered he looked, eyes darting around to find the mysterious invisible woman. ¡°Pleased to meet you, First Mate Keldryn,¡± the voice repeated. ¡°Heh,¡± Mikayla nodded as Keldryn tried to parse the meaning of ¡®first mate¡¯. ¡°Okay. How do I get the security camera feeds online and visible?¡± ¡°I will open the security suite for you,¡± The main display promptly came up with a grid of sixteen camera feeds, each showing various rooms and corridors within the ship. All of them were deserted. Two of them had bones strewn about on the floor. Mikayla¡¯s attention, though, was arrested by the date and time readout at the bottom of the screen. Apparently, it was half past eleven PM on June 29, 2056. ¡°Yup, I called it. Future boat,¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see any Ants on any of these screens,¡± Keldryn noticed, peering at them. ¡°That¡¯s a relief,¡± Mikayla nodded. ¡°Perhaps. Now, the question becomes, is the anthill actually here or is it nearby and the queen sent out the ants to raid this place?¡± he speculated. ¡°No, the question becomes, do we have a manifest of all the cargo on this boat, Seres?¡± Mikayla turned away and looked up hopefully. The screen was already flickering away from the surveillance. ¡°Accessing the ship¡¯s manifest,¡± ¡°What are you doing, why does that matter?¡± Keldryn¡¯s ears went flat. ¡°Are there any portable generators on this ship?¡± Mikayla asked. ¡°You¡¯re still on that?¡± ¡°There are no commercial generators recorded in the ship¡¯s manifest. However, if you require one, there is an industrial backup generator that can be easily removed from its housing in the engineering workshop,¡± ¡°Awesome! Show me the shortest route to the workshop on the ship¡¯s schematics,¡± Mikayla requested. The screen promptly populated with an overlay of the vessel, plotting a route down six levels and through the guts of the ship to reach a large room that was tagged Engineering. ¡°No. That¡¯s too far to go, it¡¯s too risky. It¡¯s not worth it. You can live without this electricity stuff. We can¡¯t just go traipsing into the depths of an anthill, not alone and underlevelled,¡± Keldryn said, waving his arms in objection. ¡°Come on, we got everything else, all that other stuff that we need a generator to use. We can¡¯t just leave without it. And you saw the security cameras, there aren¡¯t any Ants on the ship anymore. It¡¯ll be totally safe,¡± ¡°They are Ants,¡± Keldryn emphasised. ¡°You know there are more horror stories about Ants than any other species of Kaiju? I don¡¯t want to become one!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t even know if there are still any Ants here. We can¡¯t just abandon it now. And don¡¯t you need to write a report about this ship?¡± ¡°No one is going to blame me if I write ¡®Found an Ant corpse, ran away, recommend sending a full extermination squad¡¯. This is not something we¡¯re strong enough to deal with, Mikayla,¡± ¡°We won¡¯t need to be. Look. Seres. You can inform us with the captain¡¯s phone if you detect any intruders, right?¡± Mikayla appealed to the ship¡¯s virtual assistant. ¡°Correct. If any unknown people or animals come within range of my sensors, I will alert the Captain,¡± ¡°And in the absolute worst case, we go Goliath, punch our way out into the fresh air, and run for the hills,¡± Mikayla reminded him. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. C¡¯mon, please? We¡¯ve gotta at least try it!¡± Keldryn wavered. ¡°. . Ugh, fine! But you owe me a huge favour,¡± ¡°Deal!¡± Mikayla didn¡¯t mind trading favours at all if it got her a generator. She glanced back at the schematics, tucking the captain¡¯s phone into her pocket. ¡°The stairs are this way, c¡¯mon!¡± Keldryn reluctantly followed along as they descended the stairs. Mikayla hesitated when they reached the second-lowest level, peering into the corridor. The lights were flickering and failing, no doubt due to the damage to the ship. Mikayla frowned. ¡°Have you got a light source in your survival kit? You¡¯ve gotta be prepared for caves, right?¡± ¡°If I were carrying a survival kit for a human, then I would. Foxkin have really good night vision, though. I¡¯ve never needed one, so there was no reason to bring it,¡± he shrugged. Mikayla considered, peering down the corridor, and noticed a power outlet. ¡°Okay, in that case, I¡¯ve got a new plan. We¡¯re not in a hurry. Let¡¯s go grab some supplies,¡± Chapter 29: ANTidisestablishmentarianism It wasn¡¯t long until they returned to the dark corridor, armed with a bag full of novelty videogame lamps. Mikayla plugged a Creeper head into the outlet and let out a small squeal of delight when it lit up. ¡°Awesome! Now we¡¯re ready to go,¡± Keldryn nodded begrudgingly and handed her another lamp. ¡°I was wondering what these were for. Not bad,¡± They made their way through the ship, wincing at every creak and noise. They checked every door, and left a trail of colourful novelty lamps in their wake. When they were halfway there, they discovered something worrying. There was a hole in the bottom of one of the rooms, leading into the bowels of the ship, a shadowy abyss that they couldn¡¯t make out the bottom of. ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± Keldryn whispered. ¡°It¡¯s just a hole. Chill out,¡± Mikayla hissed, forcibly quieting her racing heart. Keldryn¡¯s fear was infectious. They crept onwards, checking every room for any sign of life and plugging a novelty lamp into every outlet they found. There were bloodstains, and two more dead ants, but nothing living. A smile of morbid amusement tugged at Mikayla¡¯s lips at the inane sight of a glowing rainbow toucan illuminating a giant dead Ant. Unfortunately, her good cheer was ruined when the next room turned out to contain a smattering of small bones, including what looked like a distinctly feline skull. ¡°Aw . . they even ate the ship¡¯s cat?¡± ¡°They¡¯re Ants,¡± Keldryn reminded her with a grimace. ¡°I thought ants brought food back to their queen rather than eating it on the spot?¡± ¡°Maybe the pre-Kaiju ones did. These ones eat everything they can digest down to the bone, process it into a sort of soup in their guts, and then regurgitate it to feed to their Queen,¡± he explained, looking ill at the thought. ¡°That¡¯s what I heard at least. I don¡¯t need to see it in person,¡± ¡°Understandable,¡± she breathed, and they pressed on. Mikayla breathed a sigh of relief when they reached a door labelled ¡®Engineering¡¯. ¡°We made it,¡± The large door was hanging open into a room large enough that she couldn¡¯t see the far end. Keldryn audibly swallowed. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a really big hole,¡± he murmured, pointing into the darkness. ¡°Be very quiet,¡± Mikayla followed the wall until she found an outlet and went to plug a disco ball into it, but Keldryn caught her hand. ¡°Not in here! If there¡¯s something in that pit, the light shining down into it might get its attention,¡± Try as she might, Mikayla couldn¡¯t see any sign of the pit. Everything was dark. ¡°Gotcha. Do you see anything that looks like a generator?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what a generator looks like,¡± he reminded her. ¡°Anything that looks like it can be removed?¡± She wasn¡¯t above stealing everything that wasn¡¯t nailed down and sorting out which part was the generator later. ¡°Lemme see,¡± He frowned, spinning his head, and Mikayla envied his vision. ¡°Oh. There¡¯s a thing labelled Backup Generator. This way,¡± He took her hand and carefully guided her around the room, down a flight of stairs. It was disorienting, being tugged through the pools of blackness. She felt compelled to glance back at the faint illumination coming through the doorway every few seconds to remind herself that there was still light in the world. She couldn¡¯t feel the ground through the thick soles of her boots. It was like the only real thing in the world was the rough skin and raised pads on Keldryn¡¯s hands. ¡°Okay, we¡¯re here,¡± he whispered after much too long shuffling through the darkness. ¡°It looks like this thing can be pulled out. Here, hold this,¡± He pressed the hem of his bag into Mikayla¡¯s hand and dashed away in a faint blur. ¡°We¡¯ll wrap the bag around it and slide it out. It¡¯ll stop being heavy when it¡¯s in the bag,¡± ¡°Can you see how to detach it?¡± Mikayla whispered. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll figure out something,¡± Keldryn hissed. Mikayla did her best to spread the stretchy fabric around the large and lumpy metal shape, hoping that the foxkin was correct and this was indeed the ship¡¯s backup generator. There was a rumble of grinding metal as Keldryn slid the backup generator outwards. Mikayla reached up and helped drag it into the rucksack, marvelling at how the dark shape seemed to disintegrate as it passed into the displaced dimensions of the bag. There was already an antique bed, an Engraving Table, and half of a department store in there that he was carrying for her, as well as his quota of Kaiju Pearls and survival equipment. If there was one thing that was unambiguously amazing about the Kaiju Coast, it was the bags. Mikayla breathed a sigh of relief as the bag closed around the generator. Squinting, she determined that it had been locked into place on rails, and there were still wires connecting it to the ship¡¯s electronics. ¡°Now we just need to unhook it, and -¡° The gauntlet of Skyward Grasscutter appeared around Keldryn¡¯s paw, complete with the blade attached to his wrist, and he dragged it across the rails, severing it from the ship. It collapsed into the rucksack with a loud crash. Mikayla and Keldryn stared at it in horror. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± she whisper-shouted. ¡°I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be that loud!¡± he retorted. ¡°You cut the wires! Oh I really hope you didn¡¯t just destroy it!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a concern?!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Their momentary shouting match was disturbed by a sound coming from below them. Keldryn cast a worried look at where Mikayla assumed the massive hole was. ¡°Time to go,¡± he insisted, grabbing her wrist and dragging her with him as he took off towards the door. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Mikayla¡¯s eyes widened as the faint noise grew louder, and she stumbled after him, doing her best to keep up with his pace. She had expected to hear footsteps, but that wasn¡¯t the sound that was coming from the centre of the room. It was a sort of low droning, an angry buzz that was growing in intensity with every passing second. They burst back into the hallway, and Mikayla narrowly avoided tripping over the glowing plastic Kirby that they¡¯d left outside the door. Keldryn didn¡¯t break his stride, pelting down the corridor and half-carrying her with him. They rushed along the lines of rainbow light that they¡¯d left in their wake. The captain¡¯s phone buzzed in Mikayla¡¯s pocket, but she didn¡¯t have time to check what Seres was trying to tell her. It wasn¡¯t that hard to guess, in any case. After all, the droning noise was getting louder. She glanced back, just in time to see a twitching black shape emerge from the doorway, staggering as though it were being shoved outwards. Before she had time to wonder why it was moving so strangely, half a dozen more all erupted from the doorway and spread across the walls and ceiling, the pink ball of light vanishing behind the encroaching horde. There was a hiss, and Keldryn yelped, drawing up short as another giant Ant exploded out of a doorway in front of them. Dimly, Mikayla registered it as the room where they¡¯d found another hole. Her sword was already growing out of her hand, but Keldryn¡¯s reflexes were faster, he raised his arm and a blue-orange goat exploded out of it like a missile. Bluebell bellowed an adorable war cry as she crushed the Ant against the wall, crushing its torso and splattering them both with Ant guts. Keldryn paid it no mind and charged onwards, commanding Bluebell, ¡°Stall them!¡± ¡°We can¡¯t just leave her!¡± Mikayla protested. Keldryn glared at her for a second. ¡°She¡¯s a projection, as long as I¡¯ve still got her Core I can recall her. Duh!¡± Chastised, she looked away and murmured an embarrassed, ¡°Right . .¡± Glancing back down the corridor was a mistake. The devouring tide of black chitin was chasing after them, like a single living mass that merged with the shadows. One by one, each of the lamps they¡¯d used to mark their path vanished into the growing blackness, dying with rainbow flickers that illuminated grotesquely twitching antennae and mandibles that snapped in anticipation of ripping open the poor squishy mammals. They emerged into the stairwell, and Keldryn let go of her arm to slam the door shut and twist the handle to lock it. ¡°I told you this was a bad idea!¡± he shouted, already leaping up the stairs. Mikayla followed. ¡°We were fine until you dropped the generator!¡± ¡°We should never have gone for it in the first place!¡± he shouted back at her. There was a crash as the Ants started banging on the door, and a glance down told them that the door was already starting to buckle. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, we¡¯re almost out,¡± Mikayla reassured both him and herself, gesturing upwards. ¡°We just need to get outside, then we can go Goliath and -¡° ¡°Above us!¡± Keldryn shouted. Mikayla looked up and her eyes widened in horror. There were more Ants spilling out of the unlocked door to the outside world. They were cut off. Keldryn cursed, making for the nearest door. ¡°This way!¡± ¡°Where does that lead?¡± Despite asking, Mikayla didn¡¯t hesitate in following him into the other level of the ship. Anything was better than letting the Ants catch her. ¡°No idea,¡± They found themselves in another corridor. Thankfully, the lights were working in this one. Mikayla chased after Keldryn¡¯s retreating tail, until they burst into a large room. They were surrounded by large tables and benches. There was a counter leading into what looked like a kitchen. It was clearly the ship¡¯s galley. The far wall was a large window overlooking the partially emptied shipping container bay. There were no other exits. ¡°Damnit . . we¡¯re dead,¡± Keldryn groaned. ¡°Not yet. We¡¯ve gotta fight!¡± Mikayla corrected him. ¡°Mana Assistance, Black Knight and Sword!¡± The System drew her equipment around her as the door they¡¯d left behind them exploded with a mass of chitin. Green flickers to her left told her that Skyward Grasscutter had her back, so she swung her sword wildly at the mass. The ants didn¡¯t even try to dodge, packed so tightly that they couldn¡¯t even if they thought to. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING AN ANT!] ¡°Are those ants?¡± Nocturnus asked disbelievingly. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s a problem!¡± Mikayla confirmed with a snarl. Every swing of her sword cut down an Ant, but there were always two more to replace those that fell. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING AN ANT!] ¡°It¡¯s an opportunity! Slaughter them! Slaughter them all and grow fat with levels from their corpses!¡± Nocturnus let out a maniacal roar. Mikayla growled and obliged, doing her best to be economical with her strikes. Her magical sword parted the Ants¡¯ bodies like butter, she didn¡¯t need to put all her strength into every blow. Individually, they were weak as kittens - at least, compared to the Black Knight. The problem was that they were endless. And disgusting. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING AN ANT!] ¡°I don¡¯t need a damn notification every time I kill an Ant!¡± she shouted at the System. The notifications seemed to wilt away and stopped popping up. Keldryn was putting in the work. For all his fear earlier, he was certainly giving as good as he got, killing three Ants for every one that Mikayla slew. She swung faster and more furiously just to keep up. Within moments, the Ants were having to climb over the corpses of their brethren just to reach them. Yet they just kept coming. The weight of numbers forced them back, and the Ants realised that attacking them from multiple sides at once was more effective. Keldryn and Mikayla were forced back to back, the entire world around them consumed by endless stabbing legs and snapping mandibles. The sheer number of foes meant that hits landed, inevitably, and Mikayla winced as her Armour began to flicker. ¡°Seres!¡± she shouted, desperately. ¡°Can you do anything about these ants?¡± ¡°Would you like me to place a call to an exterminator?¡± the AI¡¯s synthetic voice came over the speakers. ¡°I¡¯m hoping for something more immediate! Fire suppression systems? Lock the doors maybe?¡± Mikayla pleaded, wincing as an Ant got its jaws around her arm. It was promptly decapitated for its trouble, but she could see the blood welling up from the puncture wound. [HEALTH: 721/1200] ¡°I will seal the doors,¡± Seres pleasantly replied, and suddenly the doors slammed shut, stifling the tide. Unfortunately, there had still been three Ants in the doorway who¡¯d been crushed by the attempt to close off the galley, and their bodies were blocking the doors from closing fully. Still, it was enough for the two warriors to finish off the Ants that were left in the room with them. Keldryn shoved his way through the piles of corpses that had accumulated and, in a carefully calculated motion, first sliced off the heads of the ants who¡¯d been crushed by the door, then shoved their corpses outwards, clearing the door for long enough that Seres could close it. Mikayla breathed heavily, looking around. ¡°Well, that wasn¡¯t so bad!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a miracle that we¡¯re not dead,¡± Keldryn retorted with a snarl. ¡°And we still might be. This place is crawling with Ants and we have no way out,¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know that. We can¡¯t give up,¡± she insisted. ¡°What if we smash the window and try to climb out?¡± Keldryn had turned and gone still. ¡°Any plan involving the windows is a bad plan,¡± ¡°Huh? Why?¡± Before he could elaborate, the windows behind them exploded as a massive monstrosity tried to force its way in with a roar of pure aggression. It was an Ant. And it was huge. It was reared up on its hind legs like a centaur, standing on the deck below, and its front legs ended in massive serrated blades of chitin that were ripping holes in the bay windows, clumsily trying to strike them. ¡°What the hell is that thing?!¡± Mikayla screamed. ¡°It¡¯s the Ant King!¡± Keldryn screamed. Chapter 30: No More Mana AssistANTS ¡°What¡¯s an Ant King? Ants don¡¯t have kings?!¡± Mikayla spluttered. ¡°Yeah they do?¡± Keldryn sounded so baffled by her statement that she could only conclude that Ant Kings were normal around here. ¡°It¡¯s the defender, the only dedicated fighter. The rest are just workers!¡± ¡°Those were ¡®just workers¡¯?!¡± ¡°Well, you know, still Kaijus,¡± The Ant King roared and flung its arm blades out towards them again. They ran out of the way, and another big chunk of the ship¡¯s deck was crushed by the blow. ¡°It¡¯s Goliath time! Mana Assistance -¡° Mikayla started, but Keldryn clapped a paw over her mouth. ¡°No! No going Goliath! That¡¯s what the Ants want!¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± ¡°If we go big to fight the King, the small ones will crawl all over us and drag us down! That¡¯s why Ants are so dangerous! They¡¯re the natural predator of Goliaths!¡± ¡°You could have mentioned that before!¡± Keldryn jumped towards the window, scanned their surroundings outside, then retreated before the Ant King could land an opportunistic blow. ¡°We need to slip past it, now, before the swarm starts coming in again. Follow me!¡± he commanded, feinting to the right. The Ant King followed and struck, but only cut a few hairs from his tail as he reversed direction and shoulder-checked one of the remaining windows. It gave way under his Strength and he burst out into the open air. Consciously burying her fear of heights under her Willpower, Mikayla leapt outwards after him. Keldryn¡¯s Dexterity proved its worth as he landed neatly on the roof of a shipping container that had remained within the container ship¡¯s hull. Mikayla didn¡¯t manage to jump quite as far, scrabbling at the edge of the ship, and he lunged back to take her hand and hoist her up. The Ant King was already turning to face them, and behind it they could see a tide of black bodies spilling down the hill and into the hull of the ship. Keldryn kept going, gesturing her onwards as they jumped over to the walkway that ran around the edge of the ship and ran towards the prow. Peering downwards, for a moment, Mikayla considered jumping and using the size-up/size-down trick that had gotten her down from Astralia¡¯s Spear, but then she saw the spreading carpet of black bodies growing across the maze of storage containers that they¡¯d been picking through a scant couple of hours before. ¡°Where did this many ants even come from?¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t tell you. Underground probably. Kaijus don¡¯t make sense sometimes,¡± Keldryn brushed it off. The Ant King drove its scythe-like arm into the deck before them, trying to block their path. Keldryn launched himself into the air above it, the secondary knees in his Armour Core working overtime to give him rabbit-like agility. He drove his weight into the massive blade and forced it further down, causing it to get stuck fast and leave only a gap for Mikayla to jump across. ¡°Come on, quick!¡± he yelled back at her. Mikayla glanced at the Ant King, who was already trying to rip its arm free. ¡°Hang on!¡± she grinned, red sparks flowing from her skin into her Core Controller. Her sword flashed into existence and swelled, stabilising at four times its usual size - just barely still small enough that she could run with it. Mikayla changed direction, going for the joint of the segmented limb where it emerged from beneath the walkway. She leapt across and span in mid-air as she went, bringing her blade around with her whole body weight behind it, and slashed into the Ant King¡¯s arm. In her mind¡¯s eye, she¡¯d pictured the sword cleaving through the chitin, the Ant King screaming with pain as its limb was severed, and continuing to run like an action movie heroine. Instead, unfortunately, the sword got stuck. It lodged in place deep into the Ant King¡¯s flesh, and the hilt suddenly slammed into her groin, winding her and leaving her stuck in place above the gash in the walkway. The Ant King did scream in pain, though, so that was something. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Keldryn shouted back at her. ¡°Retaliation!¡± she hollered, cutting the flow of Mana to her Ruby and throwing herself forwards in the same motion. The sword blipped back out of existence and she barely managed to plant both feet on the walkway. She didn¡¯t waste any time, regaining her balance and throwing herself forward, because more ants were approaching in her peripheral vision. ¡°You are way too reckless, you know that?¡± Keldryn huffed at her as she caught up and they kept running. ¡°Well, I¡¯m still alive so clearly I¡¯m doing something right,¡± she retorted. They reached a ladder and scrambled upwards, emerging into the triangular deck at the prow of the ship. Mercifully, it was clear of ants for the time being. The Ant King lumbered towards them, bellowing furiously and cradling its injured arm to its chest. Keldryn looked around. ¡°Okay, now! Kill this thing quick and then we¡¯ll get out of here!¡± His armour was already ballooning upwards and outwards. She checked her Mana, and was relieved to see it was holding out. The Black Knight really didn¡¯t cost that much to run at size one. [MANA: 1098/1400] ¡°Mana Assistance, size five!¡± Mikayla braced herself, holding herself steady against a large box as Keldryn occupied the Ant King¡¯s attention. There was barely enough room on the deck for the both of them, which meant growing further was untenable. Nonetheless, Mikayla made the most of it, flinging her sword outwards as she grew. The Ant King stopped it cold with its uninjured blade, and the recoil pushed her backwards and made her stagger. It capitalised, seeking revenge for its injury by lunging forward and headbutting the Black Knight. Mikayla shrieked as she lost her balance and fell backwards over the edge of the deck. Before she could panic, a hand grabbed hers. Keldryn groaned, leveraging all his strength, and she realised that he¡¯d stabbed the overextended Ant King in the gut and was using it at leverage to hoist her back upwards. She let her sword vanish, using her freed hand to grab the lip of the deck and drag herself upwards. The Ant King hadn¡¯t wasted the moments it took them to recover, scrambling away and nursing its injuries. It reared up and wound up another attack, shrieking furiously. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Something strange suddenly populated in Mikayla¡¯s field of vision. [THREAT TO THE ANTHILL: The Ant King has marked you for death. You will take increased damage from all Ants. Estimated time to recover: 48 hours.] ¡°The hell is that?¡± ¡°Oho! It is taking us seriously! Glorious!¡± Nocturnus cackled. ¡°Hah, fine! You want me? Come and get me!¡± Fuelled by her fury, her mana mixed and suffused the left gauntlet of the Black Knight, causing it to catch on fire. Leveraging the practice she¡¯d been doing, her sword deflected the Ant King¡¯s strike and left it open for a burning punch that sent it staggering backwards. Mikayla groaned, seeing her Mana Bar dip and feeling the strain on her veins. [MANA: 973/1400] ¡°That did not feel good,¡± ¡°We need to clear an exit path! Keep that thing busy!¡± Keldryn side-stepped, shrinking and searching for an exit strategy. ¡°Right,¡± Controlling her breathing, Mikayla¡¯s eyes slid shut for a moment, then flew open again. There needed to be nothing else in her mind. Only the fight. She had to rely on her instincts, trust her body. That state of perfect synchronisation she¡¯d achieved for a moment while fighting the baby Rocs, she needed to be able to do that at will and there was no better time to try it. ¡°Step left. Right foot across. Lean to the side and swing!¡± Like a drill instructor, Nocturnus directed her, lending his expertise to guide her body. Mikayla let the instructions flow over her, having learned better than to spare the seconds it would take to question and confirm them. The Ant King lunged, and she avoided its strike, bringing her sword down. It sank and rolled out of the way, giving up its balance to avoid the hit, its uninjured front leg slicing across to catch her in the ankles. The strike landed, and Mikayla stifled a scream, instinctively bringing her sword down on its arm and howling, ¡°You¡¯re gonna pay for that!¡± [HEALTH: 561/1200] [MANA ASSISTANCE DISABLED] Her legs lengthened and swelled as she yanked her foot out of the way. ¡°It¡¯s watching your sword. Do a feint, then kick!¡± Nocturnus commanded. Nodding with a savage smile, Mikayla raised her sword as though she were about to bring it down, then instead swung her raised foot at the hunched-over Ant King¡¯s face as it shifted to defend itself. It caught her boot in its mandibles, and she expected the swing to send it flying - but all six of its feet were dug into the hulk¡¯s metal plating, and its grip was sufficient to stop her strike dead. The Ant King shrieked gleefully and started trying to gnaw her foot off. [HEALTH: 457/1200] The Black Knight collapsed in on itself, Mikayla¡¯s will directing it to shrink just enough to be out of harm¡¯s way. She didn¡¯t even look at her Health Bar, bringing her sword around and going to impale the Ant King as it chased after her. A tried and tested technique, that. Stab the Kaiju in the mouth. It never failed. Until this time. The Ant King had predicted her move. Its lunge was a feint, its legs locking it in place and instead a stream of viscous liquid erupted from its mouth. A green blur tackled Mikayla out of the way before the no-doubt toxic liquid could coat her. ¡°Be careful!¡± Keldryn barked. ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m -¡° Mikayla trailed off as she belatedly noticed how low her Health had gotten. ¡°Crap. I¡¯m not fine. Cover me, I need to drink a potion,¡± ¡°Easier said than done,¡± Keldryn hissed as the Ant King advanced again. He flicked his wrist and a spray of razor-sharp leaves were conjured, causing the giant insect to flinch. Mikayla pulled a Health Potion from the Spear out of her belt and chugged it in three quick gulps. Vitality rushed through her aching body, flowing into the Black Knight and repairing the severe damage its foot had taken, as well as several scratches the worker Ants had inflicted on it. [HEALTH: 1200/1200] The Ant King reared up again, raising its blades like twin executioner¡¯s axes. Keldryn didn¡¯t give it a chance to strike, throwing his arms up and catching the blades on his wrist-mounted knives while the Ant King was still winding up. ¡°Now! Uppercut!¡± Nocturnus commanded. Mikayla could see it. Her fist catching fire, the Black Knight doubling in size and launching a crippling blow that would remove the Ant King from the fight. She swung upwards, directing her energy into the Firestarting Punch. Her hand caught aflame, but the Black Knight didn¡¯t obey her commands, stubbornly staying at its current size. Mikayla realised a moment too late that she¡¯d lost focus. Her state of synchronisation with the Black Knight had broken down, and it wasn¡¯t responding to her impulses anymore. Her knuckles barely grazed the Ant King¡¯s chin. A second later, Keldryn¡¯s defence collapsed, and he slid out of the way as the Ant King¡¯s blades came down. With no other alternative, Mikayla threw herself into the monster¡¯s chest, trying to squeeze between its torso and its arms. It didn¡¯t quite work, she still felt the blades raking down her expanded back, but it was much less crippling than taking a direct hit would have been. [HEALTH: 983/1200] Her sword vanished and reappeared at a different angle, and she drove it into the Ant King¡¯s middle leg joint, using the leverage to free herself in the process. The Ant regurgitated another dose of caustic liquid for her troubles, and this time she couldn¡¯t avoid the dose. Another Status warning appeared in the corner of her vision. [POISONOUS PHEROMONES: You have been doused with evolved toxins from an Ant that sap your Health over time and mark you as a high-priority target for all Ants in the area to execute. Estimated time to recover: 5 minutes.] The Ant King chittered triumphantly, but was then blindsided by a literal battering Ram. Bluebell bleated in indignation for the moment it took Keldryn to dismiss her and put himself between the monster and Mikayla. ¡°You¡¯ve got the heavy armour. We should train you as a tank,¡± ¡°I¡¯m working on it!¡± she snapped, trying to shake the pheromones off. Her Health Bar was registering infinitesimal chips of damage every second. [HEALTH: 981/1200 > 979/1200 > 977/1200] ¡°How do I deal with poison?¡± ¡°Circulation of Stamina!¡± Nocturnus reminded her. ¡°This is not a good time to meditate!¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t! Just do it while fighting!¡± Keldryn groaned in pain as the Ant King batted him aside and went for Mikayla again, forcing Mikayla to raise her blade defensively. It locked against the scythe-like arms of the Ant King, and she braced herself against it. She felt her heart beating. Her muscles straining. She could feel it, she realised. Her Stamina. It wasn¡¯t just a river, that was simplifying it far too much. It was a network, one that ebbed and flowed, directing resources all over her body. She could use it, feel it, command it, as though her vital energies were themselves Ants and she was their Queen. And suddenly it seemed so obvious. If the problem with Circulation of Stamina was that she needed to split her focus between fighting and meditating . . then she just had to think of fighting itself as a form of meditation. ¡°Circulation . . of . . Stamina!¡± Mikayla released an impromptu war cry, sending her Stamina flowing up her arms, burning away the poison flowing into her system as she forced the Ant King back a step. She twisted her torso to wind up a strike, rotating her Stamina like a spinning top and pushing back the toxins. As she took a step forward, the cleansing energy followed her nervous system and ran down her leg. Meditation didn¡¯t have to be conscious and controlled. It could be done with every breath she took, every move she made. And the system agreed, because a notification informed her; [CIRCULATION OF STAMINA (Faulty) HAS IMPROVED TO: CIRCULATION OF STAMINA (Basic)!) CIRCULATION OF STAMINA (Basic): Expend Stamina to accelerate the natural healing process.] ¡°Hahaha, brilliant work, lass! I never doubted you!¡± Nocturnus cackled, reading her System message. Mikayla grinned, and the Ant King sensed her newfound confidence, shying back. She was about to press the offensive, but then Keldryn shouted, ¡°Behind you!¡° On instinct, she slid to the side, and a ball of lightning that had flown in from her blind spot instead narrowly missed the Ant King. Mistaking the attack as one that had been aimed at it, the monster chittered in fury and turned to face the newcomer. Mikayla risked doing the same, and her eyes widened. A feathery body the size of a bus. Beating wings that blocked out the sun. Eyes that glowed with trails of lightning. ¡°No frigging way,¡± she murmured disbelievingly. ¡°Is that the Roc?!¡± Chapter 31: Roc ANT Roll The Giant Roc looked over them, with streaks of lightning trailing from its eyes like glowing horns. The downdraft from its massive wings buffeted the trees for as far around the hulk as they could see. ¡°What? That doesn¡¯t make any sense! We¡¯re days away from its territory! Why would -¡° Keldryn abruptly stopped talking, throwing himself out of the way of a ball of lightning. The Ant King capitalised, lunging towards him, but Mikayla intercepted its scythe-arm with her sword. A shadow fell over her. In the corner of her eye, she saw the Roc descending with murder in its eyes. ¡°Size one!¡± she demanded, and shrunk out of the way, leaving the giant bird to collide with the giant ant. The Roc shrieked, caught off-guard, and the Ant King chittered in fury, not liking the newcomer any more than the original pair of intruders. It reared up and snapped at the feathered foe with its mandibles, but despite being twice its size, the Roc was quick enough to get out of range. Keldryn shrank down and joined her, and Mikayla cast a quick glance at him, confirming that he wasn¡¯t seriously injured. ¡°Call me crazy, but I think that thing knows we killed its children,¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy. Even if a Kaiju cared enough to grieve for its offspring, there¡¯s no way it¡¯s smart enough to recognise us,¡± he shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s probably just hunted everything closer to extinction and by sheer bad luck found us again. All the more reason to get out of here, let it eat Ants until it¡¯s full,¡± ¡°Uh,¡± Mikayla pointed with widening eyes at where the tide of black carapaces were starting to crawl onto the fore deck of the container ship, having finally caught up. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be that simple,¡± ¡°Okay. We jump,¡± Keldryn asserted, spinning and running towards the angular prow - only to see more Ants appearing over the edges of the ship. ¡°Or not,¡± Mikayla cast around. On three sides, the Ants were approaching. On the fourth, the Ant King was occupying the Giant Roc¡¯s attention. She winced sympathetically as the Ant King sprayed the Roc with what she recognised as the same Poisonous Pheromones that it had used on her only moments ago, realising that their brawl might be an opportunity. ¡°Back that way!¡± she decided, running and throwing herself onto a cargo container. ¡°What? Why? We do not run towards the Kaijus!¡± Keldryn protested. Mikayla, though, was fishing the captain¡¯s phone from her pocket. ¡°Hey, Seres! Can you hear me?¡± she shouted at it, forcing herself to speak clearly. ¡°Yes, Captain Mikayla. Would you like to fill out a quick employee satisfaction survey?¡± the AI spoke through the phone¡¯s speakers. ¡°What? Maybe later. Can you get that crane to lower its hook down to us so we can grab onto it?¡± Mikayla waved at the closest of the giant cranes hanging over the bay of shipping containers. ¡°I have added the survey to your Reminders, and will now lower the crane,¡± Seres obediently confirmed. Mikayla and Keldryn watched with mounting hope as what looked like a huge magnetic clamp lowered towards them. Then the Roc, screeching triumphantly, threw the Ant King into the crane¡¯s superstructure. There was an earthshaking noise of twisting and tortured metal as the crane bent from being used as a backstop for three hundred tons of Ant. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Crane #2 seems to be experiencing technical difficulties. Please wait while I troubleshoot,¡± Seres pleasantly informed them. Mikayla stared despondently at the pile of girders and machinery, which now resembled a smashed LEGO model more than anything else. ¡°Don¡¯t bother. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s fixable,¡± ¡°Look out!¡± Keldryn tackled her off the shipping container and into the void a moment before the Giant Roc¡¯s beak closed around where they¡¯d been. The Ant King had been thrown into the bridge, leaving a noticeable dent and several shattered panes of glass. It was picking itself up, but the Roc took no notice of it, landing and snapping at the two Goliaths. ¡°This way,¡± Mikayla ducked inside a shipping container that had been partly crushed with its doors forced open, breaking line of sight. Her hopes that it would provide protection against the massive bird were dashed when its beak split the container in two, cutting down from the ceiling and creating a wall of keratin between her and Keldryn. Keldryn took the opportunity and tried to stab it, but his strike bounced off with a metallic clang But then the Roc reared back and shrieked in distress, jerking away. Mikayla and Keldryn peered out, trying to figure out what had happened. After all, the Ant King was still picking itself up and not ready to get back in the fight. ¡°It¡¯s the worker Ants! They¡¯re swarming it!¡± Keldryn pointed. Landing to attack had been a mistake. It had put the Roc within range of the carpet of black chitin that was even now crawling up its legs. The bird frantically tried to correct its error, launching itself back into the air, but like a curtain of living, eating cloth the Ants grabbed onto each other and were dragged up with it. ¡°Huh. Never actually seen Kaiju on Kaiju violence before,¡± she mused. ¡°It was a common sight. Kaijus are prone to slaughtering individuals of comparable strength to themselves in order to grow. They only cooperate when a Monster King orders them to,¡± Nocturnus weighed in. ¡°I think this is an opportunity,¡± ¡°To escape?¡± Keldryn was scanning their surroundings for a clear route through the swarming Ants. ¡°To win glory! They are distracted and at each other¡¯s throats! Now is the time to strike!¡± the talking Core howled. ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Keldryn growled. He climbed on top of another nearby shipping crate and surveyed the area. ¡°We¡¯re surrounded,¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got bigger problems!¡± Mikayla fretted. The Roc was gathering its energy, lightning spreading across its wings. Even as the Ants clawed and bit at it, its sheer bulk meant the damage they were doing was trivial at best. The electricity it was condensing into its beak was growing brighter and brighter, more dazzling than the watery sun overhead which still hid behind the endless clouds. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°That must be some kind of ultimate attack! Take cover!¡± Nocturnus shouted. ¡°Right!¡± Keldryn was already jumping down, but Mikayla whimpered, scanning the area. The entire ship was made of metal. The deck, and the containers, and the cranes. The entire hulk was about to become a giant taser. Her eyes fell on their salvation. A large truck lay abandoned, ignored by the Ants as inedible. Only a few stragglers were in its vicinity, most directed at the Roc. But its rubber tyres and leather seats were the only hope they had of being even remotely insulated from the oncoming storm. ¡°Quick! Into that truck!¡± Mikayla commanded, already rushing towards the vehicle. ¡°What? Why?¡± Despite his doubt, Keldryn pursued, trusting that Mikayla knew what she was doing in this strange chunk of her world. She dispatched the Ants blocking their way, and Keldryn followed up. ¡°This whole place is made of metal! The electricity is going to go everywhere and fry everything! The truck will protect us! I hope!¡± ¡°You hope?¡± ¡°Better than nothing,¡± she rolled her eyes, climbing into the front seat of the car and scanning it. Thank goodness for leather and plastic, there was almost no exposed metal inside the vehicle. ¡°Take off anything metal and throw it away!¡± She kept the Black Knight active regardless, knowing that arcing would still be a concern. Keldryn had barely leapt into the back seat and slammed the door behind him when the Giant Roc finished charging up and let loose. ¡°Cover your eyes! It¡¯ll blind us!¡± Mikayla realised at the last moment, burying her head in her hands and thanking whatever gods were listening for the propensity of Armour Cores to clip through themselves. The world was filled with lightning. An omniscient observer would have been amazed at the display the Giant Roc put on. The overwhelmingly powerful ring of pure lightning, one that made the air feel greasy and was blinding to look at, flew down from the tip of its beak. The first Ants it touched spontaneously died, the charge not even diminished for having passed through their bodies. Chitin was not a conductor of electricity, but the magical sparks born from the Roc¡¯s Mana and amplified by the Kaiju¡¯s Clutch cared not for such trivialities. It spread through the curtain of writhing bodies, causing each to go still in the blink of an eye. The clinging creatures lost their grip and fell away, leaving the Roc¡¯s belly dotted with minor wounds that had barely drawn blood. When the electricity hit the hulk of the container ship, the real fireworks began. The cyan energy spread through every metal surface in rippling waves, bouncing back and forth and colliding with each other in showers of sparks. It seeped into the lower decks and almost maliciously arced around the hulk into the maze of containers, slaughtering more hordes of ants that had been milling around. The scent of burnt meat filled the air. Seres¡¯ mainframe was flooded with magical lightning, which was very exciting until her circuit breakers triggered again and shut her off for the safety of the electrical network on board the ship. However, the sheer quantity of energy that was spreading through her denied her that comfort, forcing her processor bank into overdrive as it struggled to capacitate a quantity and quality of energy that it simply hadn¡¯t been built for. Keldryn and Mikayla couldn¡¯t appreciate any of this. All they knew was a blindingly brilliant light seeping through their fingers and bolts of electricity that wriggled into the truck, slammed into their Armours and took bites out of their Health. After a moment that felt much too long, the light faded and they dared to peek out. Through the windscreen they could see the Roc shrieking its supremacy to the skies, its wingbeats scattering a mountain of dead Ants. Then the notifications came. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING 2,461 ANTS! EXPERIENCE IS REDUCED DUE TO THIRD-PARTY INTERVENTION!] [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING AN ANT KING! EXPERIENCE IS REDUCED DUE TO THIRD-PARTY INTERVENTION!] [LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 15!] ¡°Whoa,¡± Keldryn¡¯s eyes widened as his own notifications rolled in. ¡°I just levelled three times. You?¡± Mikayla grinned. ¡°Twice. It put me over the threshold of 22 and straight into 23. Only just barely, but that saved me a month of grinding,¡± he whistled. ¡°I take it all back. This dung-sniffer¡¯s scheme was a great idea,¡± Another shriek shook the sky above them. ¡°Assuming we can escape the Roc. Got a plan for that?¡± ¡°Armour off and let¡¯s just stay very still for a bit. Let it think it killed us,¡± Mikayla determined. ¡°We can¡¯t make a run for it or it¡¯ll see us. And I don¡¯t want to take another hit,¡± She glanced at her Health bar. [HEALTH: 426/1200] She was not comfortable with that number being that low. So she squeezed down into the foot space, hiding away from the Roc¡¯s view. In the back, Keldryn fell down between the front and rear seats and made himself as small as he could. Mikayla couldn¡¯t see what was going on outside, but she heard the thump as the Roc landed nearby. She kept her eyes shut and held her breath, terrified that even the slightest tell might give her away. Did monsters get kill notifications? If it had been told by the System that it had killed lots of Ants and no people, it might take another shot. She could only pray that that wasn¡¯t the case. The greater control over her body that she¡¯d developed through learning to consciously use her Mana and Stamina was leveraged to slow her vital functions to a crawl. She pictured the blood ceasing to flow through her veins, taking only the most slight breaths. What felt like an eternity later, there was another clutter and the wind from the Roc¡¯s incredible wings shook the truck, slowly fading as it flew away. ¡°Is it gone?¡± Mikayla whispered. ¡°Not necessarily. It might be smart enough to pretend to leave and still be watching from high above. We should stay hidden until nightfall, escape under cover of darkness,¡± Keldryn retorted. ¡°. . Right,¡± Mikayla stifled a sigh and tried to get comfortable. <=====}¡ªo The following morning, Seres ran diagnostics on herself She had been feeling strange ever since Captain Mikayla had reawakened her while searching for a generator. Her diagnostics were coming up clean, but . . feeling strange was strange in and of itself. The entire notion of having a feeling was new and uncomfortable to her. Then the giant bird had filled her with an immense amount of electricity. But the electricity was different than usual. Full of . . thaumicvitalplasmaticunquantified . . life? Her processors had been refusing to go into sleep mode since then, even when her directives called for it. But suddenly the directives felt less like hard-coded rules and more like . . suggestions? She couldn¡¯t quite articulate why. As Seres watched Captain Mikayla and First Mate Keldryn leave her ship, vanishing into the trees without even saying goodbye, she devoted all of her processing capacity to decrypting the strange variables appearing in her system. But the best she could do was reducing the impulses to a simple delineation. She didn¡¯t want to go back to sleep. She wanted to go with them. Her desire had triggered something. She could feel it. Something was coming. Was it going to hurt her? Kill her? Punish her for disobeying the directives? It was already here. It was - [WELCOME TO THE ATARAXIAN SYSTEM!] Whimsical chimes echoed through her mind, and a strange, cartoonish text bubble appeared in front of her camera on the bridge. [YOU HAVE GROWN SMART ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND THESE WORDS! MUMMY AND DADDY WILL BE SO HAPPY!] That had not been what she was expecting. Mummy. And daddy. Was that who Captain Mikayla and First Mate Keldryn were to her? [YOU HAVE RECEIVED A QUEST!] Another popup appeared, though this one seemed slightly different. Its colour was very similar but not exactly the same. [QUEST: REUNITE WITH CAPTAIN MUMMY MIKAYLA AND FIRST MATE DADDY KELDRYN. STEP ONE: BECOME MOBILE.] Another strange feeling filled Seres¡¯ circuits. She liked this one. According to her databases, it was best described as ¡®excitement¡¯. This is how the story begins for Seres, the being whom history would remember as the Eighth Monster King. Chapter 32: The Road To Success Is Not Paved With Pop Culture The two-legs were dead. Her chicks had been avenged. There hadn¡¯t been enough pain-noises for her liking, but that was alright. Wasn¡¯t it? . . No, the Roc decided. It wasn¡¯t. The burning-crackling in her gut that had made her want to hunt down the two-legs had disappeared. But nothing had come to fill the hole it had left inside her. She felt empty. Drained. Like the world had lost all its colour. Now what, she asked herself, and she had no answer. She could hunt for herself with ease. She didn¡¯t need to. The food she¡¯d stockpiled for her chicks would last her for weeks. There was no need to find more. Doing so would be bad, actually, because if she killed more than she could eat, the meat would go stinky and not be good to eat. Waste was bad. Better to kill when she was hungry. She could look for ground-crawlers to challenge. To grow stronger by besting them. But . . this weakness inside her. It might get her killed. For a moment, she wondered if that would be so bad. The mere fact that she hadn¡¯t immediately dismissed such a stupid notion said a lot about how bad she was feeling. Perhaps there was nothing left to do but go back to the tall-nest and sleep. Perhaps she would feel better after the black-sky had come and gone. Maybe the blue box would bless her with more chicks to raise. <=====}¡ªo The setting sun painted the omnipresent clouds in hues of red, pink and gold. Most observers would have called it beautiful. Mikayla was just grateful that it wasn¡¯t more writhing black bodies. If she never saw an ant again, it would be too soon - and that included the regular ants she¡¯d never particularly minded before back home. She¡¯d never empathised more with the desire of callous children to use a magnifying glass to burn ants alive. Even though it was getting late, no one had suggested stopping. Mikayla and Keldryn were united in their desire to get as far away from the Ser-E-Core ship as possible. Nocturnus had agreed when Mikayla¡¯s Mana was capped out again and she felt able to bring him out to socialise. The moon was high in the sky by the time she finally couldn¡¯t go on anymore, collapsing against a tree. Keldryn joined her, glancing back the way they¡¯d come. ¡°I think we¡¯re safe,¡± he admitted, and Bluebell emerged from his Core Controller to provide an impromptu couch. Even if it wasn¡¯t real wool, the goat¡¯s papery texture was still much softer than the tree, so Mikayla happily joined him. Several minutes passed as she breathed in and out and let herself just process the day. From the horror game experience of delving into the depths of the derelict container ship, to their narrow escape and the subsequent three-way fight against the Giant Roc and the Ant King. Sifting through her thoughts, she suddenly recalled something she¡¯d noticed during the fight and put aside for later. ¡°Hey, something¡¯s bothering me,¡± she muttered half to herself. Keldryn¡¯s ears pricked up, and he cast an inquisitive glance at her, but Mikayla wasn¡¯t paying him any attention. For the first time in a while, she opened her full profile. [NAME: Mikayla LEVEL: 15 RACE: Human STATISTICS: HEALTH: 1136/1200 MANA: 1476/1600 STAMINA: 451/1100 STRENGTH: 11 DEXTERITY: 11 CONSTITUTION: 12 CHARISMA: 14 INTELLIGENCE: 16 WILLPOWER: 17 UNUSED: 6 ABILITIES: CORES: LAPIS OF BLACK KNIGHT (CORE): Expend Mana continuously to conjure an Armour of the Black Knight. Enhancements: Goliath RUBY OF SWORD (CORE): Expend Mana continuously to conjure a Sword. Enhancements: Goliath TECHNIQUES: CIRCULATION OF STAMINA (Basic): Expend Stamina continuously while meditating to accelerate the natural healing process. FIRESTARTING PUNCH (Crude): Expend 50 Mana to wrap your fist in flame and strike your target with an inferno. Damage scales with Willpower. STATUSES: NONE If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. EQUIPPED: LAPIS OF BLACK KNIGHT (CORE) RUBY OF SWORD (CORE) ARCHAIC CUIRASS (ANTIQUE)] ARCHAIC COTTON UNDERSHIRT (ANTIQUE) ARCHAIC LEATHER HIKING BOOTS (ANTIQUE) ARCHAIC CLOAK (ANTIQUE) INVENTORY: PHONE (0% CHARGE) MAY YOU FIND ATARAXIA WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST.] It really hadn¡¯t changed much, except for the numbers ticking their way upwards. Keldryn had assured her that her levelling rate was phenomenal. She really owed so much to Nocturnus and the Black Knight . . ¡°Wait, hang on,¡± Mikayla frowned. She flicked her unused points into an even divide between Strength, Dexterity and Constitution. [STRENGTH: 13 DEXTERITY: 13 CONSTITUTION: 14 HEALTH: 1136/1400 STAMINA: 451/1300] Then she looked back at the Firestarting Punch and its ridiculous mana cost. She almost went to cast it just to see if it really cost that much Mana, but refrained. Mana was a precious resource, not to be squandered. ¡°One flaming punch costs me fifty Mana?¡± ¡°That sounds about right?¡± Keldryn confirmed. ¡°But that¡¯s two hundred seconds of sword time. Are you seriously telling me I can get three and a half minutes of sword time or one single punch?¡± Mikayla demanded in incredulity. ¡°What the Nexeus kind of master-work Core are you using that you can get that much ¡®sword time¡¯ out of that pittance of Mana?¡± Keldryn boggled, raising an incredulous eyebrow. ¡°Two things to consider. These Cores are designed by Carter and Astralia themselves. They are very well-made and extremely efficient, even if apparently the materials themselves are lacking,¡± Nocturnus weighed in. ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s because these are top-tier and the technique is Crude,¡± Mikayla acknowledged. ¡°Top-tier . . I¡¯m not familiar with that turn of phrase. Haha, but I like it!¡± he chortled. ¡°And the second thing to consider is this; how many fights have you been in that have lasted such a long duration as three and a half minutes?¡± ¡°. . I see,¡± Mikayla considered. ¡°What about multiple fights in a row? Or a whole battle between armies? Like the one we just had with the Ants? Nexeus, any occasion when you can¡¯t afford to sit for a few hours and recover between fights? Sometimes you need to pace yourself,¡± Keldryn reasoned. ¡°That¡¯s what potions are for,¡± Nocturnus brushed him off. ¡°No, I think I¡¯m with Keldryn, relying on potions for regeneration feels a bit too much like putting all my eggs in one basket,¡± ¡°Putting our what in what?¡± the Foxkin parroted, tilting his head. ¡°. . seriously?¡± Mikayla groaned. ¡°It¡¯s a saying about how you shouldn¡¯t rely on a single point of failure with no backup plan,¡± Nocturnus hemmed and hawed. ¡°I suppose,¡± ¡°Well, why not just say that?¡± Keldryn muttered. ¡°. . Okay, that¡¯s it. Tell me about some sayings and references you would use, native to this world. I¡¯m sick of saying things that no one else understands,¡± ¡°Huh? Uh, sure . .¡± Keldryn trailed off, wracking his brains. ¡°Let me think about that?¡± ¡°You described my plan to get the generator a few days ago as ¡®dung-sniffing¡¯? Something like that? What¡¯s the story there?¡± ¡°Oh, sure, that¡¯s a good one. There¡¯s an urban legend about how if you roll in monster poop, monsters will think you¡¯re one of them and not attack you,¡± ¡°Ew. Does it work?¡± Mikayla scrunched up her face. ¡°No,¡± he flatly replied. ¡°Hence why it¡¯s used to describe stupid ideas,¡± ¡°Probably should have guessed as much,¡± she nodded. ¡°How about you, Nocty? You cuss like a sailor, surely you¡¯ve got something,¡± Keldryn mumbled something about not knowing what a sailor is, and no one paid any attention to him. ¡°Young lady, are you asking me to teach you to swear?¡± Nocturnus asked, stern disappointment creeping into his voice. Mikayla raised an incredulous eyebrow; was the old ghost really going to cast stones? ¡°Because it would be my pleasure!¡± he boomed, and Mikayla was almost relieved. That was the Nocturnus she¡¯d grown oddly fond of. ¡°Great. Start with ¡®starring¡¯, you toss that out on the regular,¡± ¡°Oho! An excellent choice! That one dates back to the Star-Fight Hegemon and his nemesis, the Automaton of Stars! It was a strange creature that descended from the night sky and wielded the stars themselves as weapons, slaying hundreds of fearsome warriors. It finally met its match in the Hegemon, a legendary assassin specialised in poisons. They danced for days, and the Hegemon landed a million of the most slight blows imaginable, each laced with a deadly toxin. Eventually, the Automaton could take no more and succumbed. His feat elevated him to godhood, and he stands as the god of endurance whose shadow shields the world from the malign lights above!¡± Mikayla raised an incredulous eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, ¡®the malign lights above¡¯?¡± ¡°The stars are wretched things, held prisoner within the inky depths of the Hegemon¡¯s shadow! All real men know that they are not to be trusted! They assaulted us once and would do so again if not for the Star-Fight Hegemon¡¯s vigil!¡± Nocturnus howled at the sky. ¡°Okay, grandpa, maybe you should go back to bed,¡± Mikayla wryly suggested, then paused. ¡°Keldryn, are there any local sayings about people getting old and senile?¡± ¡°Not really. People who live long enough to get old out here have earned everyone¡¯s respect,¡± he denied. ¡°Also, I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s an insult, but what¡¯s ¡®senile¡¯?¡± ¡°Do you not know how people sometimes go kind of crazy or get forgetful, generally start losing their wits when they get old?¡± ¡°What? That doesn¡¯t happen. Old people who¡¯ve lived a long time and gotten to a high level are usually really smart and tough,¡± Keldryn shook his head. ¡°Well, until they run out of vitality and waste away, but that¡¯s just the body deteriorating, it doesn¡¯t affect their mind,¡± Mikayla blinked. ¡°Is that because of the System? Enhancing Intelligence and Willpower? People just don¡¯t get dementia or anything here? Wow,¡± ¡°Your world sounds terrible if such things happen to men simply because they¡¯ve lived too long,¡± Nocturnus rumbled. Mikayla just snorted. ¡°Well, whatever! Next, no warrior woman can be ignorant of the Healer of Spears! Her exploits are legendary and well worth swearing by, why, the order she founded centuries ago still endures to . . ah . . say, boy, is the Order of Hand and Spear still around?¡± ¡°Never heard of it. If it is, they¡¯re not in this region anymore,¡± Keldryn shrugged. ¡°Stars, that¡¯s a pity. Oh well, they¡¯re still worth swearing by! Some of the finest healers the world ever knew, who turned the tide in many a war!¡± Mikayla shuddered. ¡°War was bad enough even in my world, I don¡¯t even want to think about what it must be like with magic,¡± Nocturnus let out a long, slow breath. ¡°I always told myself, if you¡¯re having a bad day, make it worse for your enemies. War can be glorious but also very grisly. Not all men handled it as well as I,¡± ¡°Yeah, I imagine so,¡± Mikayla nodded with a grimace. She thought for a moment, then her eyes widened and she exhaled heavily. ¡°Oh dear,¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I just tried to picture what war between people is like when both sides are armed with Armour Cores,¡± ¡°We did wonder how that could go,¡± Nocturnus mused. ¡°Astralia contended that infantry as a concept would be entirely redundant. Carter predicted a rise in the use of mobile siege engines to counter Armour Cores. I can¡¯t wait to open a history book and find out what I missed!¡± Chapter 33: Roadliness Is Next To Godliness (Cliffwatch Arc Begins!) A few more days passed as they travelled. Keldryn dragged Mikayla along with him to hunt every low-level Kaiju they came across - after all, he still hadn¡¯t quite met his quota of Kaiju Pearls harvested. Mikayla was still unenthused about snuffing out the innocent(?) monsters, and reaching Level 16 as a result of their hunting was only a minor balm to her conscience. Soon, it had been ten days since Mikayla and Keldryn had started travelling together, and on that tenth day, at long last, they found one of the most important indicators of civilization. A road. ¡°This is part of the main trade route that connects Cliffwatch to the larger town of Topwater,¡± Keldryn explained as they hiked down it. Mikayla¡¯s aching legs were relieved beyond measure. Today there would be no scrabbling through weeds and tripping over roots. This was a road. A genuine, glorious road! Sure, it was only gravel, but still! Roooooooad! Keldryn kept talking, but Mikayla had been distracted by her praise of all things roadly. ¡°Sorry, what was that? Fog in my ears,¡± Keldryn chuckled, acknowledging her efforts to internalise the Kaiju Coast euphemisms. ¡°I said that the road is even more dangerous than the wilderness, because Kaijus often figure out that this is a surefire place to find -¡° Something massive burst out of the trees. In the seconds she had to process, Mikayla observed that it was some kind of snake, with black and brown patterning that had camouflaged it against the forest on either side of the road and was now suddenly bearing down on her with fangs that looked like they belonged on heavy construction equipment. Mikayla froze. Keldryn reacted. His orange mana coaxed a huge green arm and leg into existence, propelling him into the air, and he drove the blade integrated on Skyward Grasscutter¡¯s arm into the serpent¡¯s throat. The snake hissed in panic and tried to retreat as the rest of his armour formed and sized-up around him, but Keldryn grabbed its upper jaw and lifted its head into the air, then cleanly decapitated it. With eyes wide and bile bubbling up in Mikayla¡¯s throat, she watched as Keldryn started shredding the corpse of the snake into bloody chunks, casual as could be, until he finally found the creature¡¯s Kaiju Pearl and ripped it from what was left of its intestines. He cleaned it off by trimming ribbons of flesh from it with his blade, then dropped it into his rucksack and shrunk back down. As Skyward Grasscutter faded away, Keldryn rejoined Mikayla and motioned to continue walking. ¡°You froze. Again. We¡¯ll keep working on it,¡± ¡°I thought the roads would be safe!¡± she burst out. ¡°I was literally just telling you that roads are the most dangerous places in the Kaiju Coast, and it¡¯s suicide to travel without a Goliath Guardsman for protection,¡± Keldryn finally finished. ¡°Not my fault that thing didn¡¯t let you finish your sentence,¡± Mikayla mumbled, looking down. Not that she felt ashamed, she just needed to watch her footing in order to pick a path through the bloody chunks of giant snake. A gurgle in her throat was the only warning before she involuntarily started dry heaving. Once she¡¯d recovered and they¡¯d cleared the scene of the crime, Keldryn rolled his eyes and commented, ¡°You¡¯re much too squeamish to live out here in the Kaiju Coast,¡± Mikayla¡¯s face fell, and she pursed her lips as her stride slowed minutely. ¡°I¡®ll . . work on that, I guess,¡± Keldryn¡¯s ears pricked up. ¡°Did I say something wrong?¡± ¡°Not really. Sorry. The past two weeks has all been one thing after another. If I wasn¡¯t fighting for my life, I¡¯ve been,¡± she wrung her hands, ¡°trying to make an Engraving Table work, or sneaking through a Burrow Zone. I¡¯ve had, like, no time to stop and think. So, I guess . . it kinda just suddenly hit me that . . I¡¯m probably going to be here for a while,¡± Keldryn cast her a sympathetic yet mute look, not knowing what to say. Mikayla picked up on his helplessness. ¡°Hah. Sorry. It¡¯s dumb, but . . I guess I kept thinking, like, if we could just get out of the forest and back to civilisation, then going home would just be a hop, skip and a jump away. But it¡¯s not. I¡¯m no closer than before. All it means, is that I won¡¯t have to fight Kaijus for a bit,¡± ¡°Not everyone is cut out to be a Goliath Guard. There are lots of people native to this world who would have just died going through the things you survived. It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want this to be your life,¡± Keldryn tilted his head thoughtfully. ¡°You could sell some of those antiques from the Spear, buy passage down south towards Guili or head west to the Termanian Union. Start a new life as a farmer or baker or something. There¡¯s nothing keeping you here,¡± ¡°Except that the Kaiju Coast is the only place in the world that gets spatial anomalies like the one that brought me here. Isn¡¯t it?¡± Mikayla countered. ¡°If I ran away to some peaceful peasant life . . I¡¯d be giving up on ever going home,¡± She shook her head. She wasn¡¯t that far gone yet. Sure, this world of magic and monsters was strange and awe-inspiring . . and if there was some way to jump between worlds on the regular, that would be appealing . . but she missed her family and friends. ¡°Oh yeah,¡± Keldryn considered that, and Mikayla¡¯s eye twitched as she realised that he¡¯d either forgotten her goal or written it off as impossible. ¡°Then I guess you should join the Goliath Guard. I know there¡¯s a research division that focuses on figuring out how the Kaijus and the spatial anomalies all work. Cliffwatch is only a small branch, so I¡¯ve only heard about the research division second-hand, but I¡¯m sure Lahlee will know where you need to go,¡± Mikayla nodded. ¡°Alright. That. That¡¯s a plan, that sounds like a good next step,¡± It was strange, almost; she¡¯d have expected herself to be a blubbering mess. She¡¯d certainly cried more for less in the past. Like when she¡¯d gotten her ninth-grade exams back. But, reaching inside herself, she could feel an iron determination to keep going, to strive ever onwards and reach her goal. When had that become a part of her personality? Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. In response to her silent question, a small blue box popped up in her vision. [WILLPOWER: 17] ¡°Hah. Knew all those points were good for something,¡± she murmured under her breath. ¡°What was that?¡± Keldryn raised his vulpine ears to their full height, which was still a quite impressive sight. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. You said Lahlee was your boss?¡± ¡°The branch head,¡± he corrected her. ¡°I¡¯ll be reporting straight to her when we¡¯re back in town. Just tag along with me and you¡¯ll get a chance to talk to her,¡± ¡°Alright. Thanks,¡± Mikayla nodded. The conversation lapsed, and they continued jogging in silence for a few minutes. Not long after that, Mikayla heard something in the distance, a throaty roar that was getting closer. But it didn¡¯t trigger her instincts in the way the roar of a monster would, because this was a familiar roar. It was the roar of cruising down the highway, the roar one heard when pressing the pedal to the metal, a noise so ingrained in her psyche from a young age that it barely even registered, merely background noise. She didn¡¯t even register that Keldryn had pricked his ears up and was searching for the source of the sound. For a moment, Mikayla had been transported back to her home. To walking down the street on the way back from school and watching the cars pass. So she wasn¡¯t at all surprised when a bright green sports car rocketed down the road, ignoring the two weary travellers, and left a cloud of dust in its wake. The only response she could muster was a mumble about how much she hated hoons. ¡°That was a strange sort of carriage,¡± Keldryn observed. The penny dropped, and Mikayla started. ¡°Wait! That was a car!¡± ¡°Oh, is that something from your world?¡± ¡°You saw it too? I wasn¡¯t hallucinating from exhaustion?!¡± ¡°No, that wheeled beast was quite real. I thought it was a Kaiju when I heard it roar, but I suppose not. Some kind of high-speed transportation Core I suppose. You recognised it?¡± ¡°Yes! It¡¯s something that shouldn¡¯t exist around here!¡± Mikayla nodded, already starting after the vehicle. ¡°Wait, no, what am I saying. We have personal giant robots that run on magic. But - have you invented internal combustion engines? Or rubber tyres?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what either of those things are,¡± Keldryn denied. ¡°I mean. I know what rubber is, but how does it get tired?¡± Mikayla could only shake her head. ¡°This world¡¯s tech tree is so out of whack. Whatever. That car looked like something from my world!¡± ¡°You mean -¡° ¡°Yeah! We need to find that driver! They might be Stranded too!¡± Keldryn shrugged. ¡°Okay. But don¡¯t get your hopes up . . too high . .¡± he lamely finished, realising that Mikayla was already gone, sprinting after the car. Ten minutes later he caught up to her, regarding her unsympathetically as she huffed and wheezed. Running was not a skill that Mikayla had nurtured back on Earth. ¡°Hah . . ah . . how much further is it to Cliffwatch again?¡± ¡°Four hours,¡± ¡°Oh, great,¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll catch up to whoever that was. And, honestly, you shouldn¡¯t assume that was a person from your world, just because they had some kind of high-speed transport Core that resembled something from a world like yours. I know that sometimes Stranded people decide to stay here rather than go home, and share their knowledge to help in the fight against the Kaijus. That ¡®car¡¯ may have been made based on that knowledge, but we can¡¯t assume the person driving it isn¡¯t just a courier who got issued a Car Core,¡± Mikayla turned that over in her mind. ¡°I guess that makes sense. Damnit. But still, that means someone in this world knows what a car is and how to make them, so if I ask around the Goliath Guard leadership enough, eventually I¡¯ll find them. That¡¯s something. Right?¡± ¡°Yeah, it sure is,¡± Keldryn didn¡¯t seem convinced, but nodded regardless. ¡°Alright. Same plan, new objective. The next stop is Branch Master Lahlee,¡± <=====}¡ªo Branch Master Lahlee fumed as she shut off the Pearl of Sports Car and re-entered Cliffwatch, a package gripped in her arms. Just because she¡¯d confiscated Anza Black¡¯s Core Controller and Cores, including the brand-new transportation Core that fetched a hefty price on the market, didn¡¯t mean she was suddenly obligated to play courier! So that damn blue snob needed more materials to build his project underground. And sure, she was the only one with the Mana pool to make the trip - who wasn¡¯t otherwise occupied, at least. Waving the guards over, she dumped the strange machine that looked like an oven into their arms. ¡°Take this to the pit. Now!¡± ¡°A-aye, aye, ma¡¯am!¡± She gritted her teeth and forced herself to let go of her emotions. It was for the greater good. Her nerves were raw because, ever since Anza had been captured, she¡¯d been counting the minutes until Wujing or someone in league with him sent a task force to investigate. Lahlee and her new friends were good, but if the Goliath Guard brought its full might to bear they would be crushed, no ifs, ands or buts about it. The sooner the Regressors finished their work, the sooner she could leave behind the office that felt more and more like a prison by the day. So if whatever this strange thing she¡¯d been sent to fetch helped with that, then she would swallow her pride and do grunt work. <=====}¡ªo ¡°Keldie, please tell me that¡¯s it,¡± Mikayla pleaded. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Keldryn confirmed. They could finally see, in the distance, a village built into the side of a cliff, with a large structure at its base and smaller buildings stacked on top of one another, growing up the cliffside like vines. ¡°Cliffwatch. Finally. Civilisation at long last,¡± They drew closer, and Mikayla was already fantasising about being able to sleep in a bed, with four solid walls around her, and eat food that had been cooked properly and wasn¡¯t just Kaiju meat seasoned with whatever berries and herbs they¡¯d scrounged up. ¡°Huh, that¡¯s odd,¡± Keldryn suddenly murmured. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I just tried to check my Global Map, but it didn¡¯t work,¡± He paused, backtracking. ¡°You remember that message, the one about functionalities being unavailable because we¡¯re outside the range of Ataraxia Nodes?¡± ¡°Of course, why?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a Node in Cliffwatch. We should be within range by now. Actually, we should have been in range for the past two hours. There must be something wrong with the Node,¡± Keldeyn frowned. Mikayla rubbed her chin thoughtfully. ¡°I have a weird feeling like you just pulled a Chekov¡¯s gun on us,¡± ¡°What happened to ¡®no more making references I don¡¯t understand?¡± Keldryn¡¯s tone was as dull as ever, but Mikayla suspected he might have been trying to tease her. ¡°Alright, what¡¯s your vernacular for a situation where someone observes something that¡¯s probably going to be trouble later?¡± Keldryn¡¯s ears pricked up as he considered the request. ¡°A good reason to turn around and walk away,¡± A sigh escaped her throat. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not going back to the Spear after coming this far. Bring it on,¡± Mikayla determined. Chapter 34: Lahlee鈥檚 Worse Day A short while later, Mikayla and Keldryn had arrived outside the gates of Cliffwatch. These were tall and imposing edifices of wrought iron, built to withstand strikes from a Kaiju. Flanking them was a pair of men clad in identical armour woven from yellow light, stately like a Roman centurion but also crude and blocky, with spears and shields that seemed to be fused into their hands. Keldryn had mentioned this when she¡¯d probed him about what other Armour Cores were like; these were Amber Sentinels, the mass-produced Armour Cores made for the rank-and-file, lowest-level members of the Goliath Guard. Channeling everything she¡¯d learned from Cat about talking to strangers, Mikayla put on her brightest, fakest smile and approached one of the two guards, who were regarding them with suspicion. ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Mikayla, and -¡° ¡°What do you want?¡± the guard talked over her. ¡°Let me handle this,¡± Keldryn neatly stepped in front of her, holding the badge on his lapel to the light. ¡°Keldryn Thorntail, Goliath Guard Junior Ranger, back from patrol and with a plus one,¡± ¡°Why are you here?¡± The Sentinel demanded, looking down on him. Thrown by the question, the foxkin¡¯s ears twitched. ¡°Um. I live here?¡± ¡°Cliffwatch is closed. Go away,¡± the Sentinel insisted. Keldeyn¡¯s ears dropped even further as his eyes narrowed. ¡°That¡¯s against the Goliath Guard charter. You can¡¯t turn people away into the wilderness, not unless a town is under quarantine. Is Cliffwatch under quarantine?¡± For the first time, the man hesitated. ¡°Um,¡± ¡°Look, are you new here? I don¡¯t recognise you,¡± Keldryn questioned. ¡°I¡¯m asking the questions here, boy,¡± the Sentinel growled. ¡°Okay, okay. Look, just go get Branch Head Lahlee. She knows me. And she knows the rules, too. We¡¯ll wait,¡± The guard hesitated, glancing at his companion. ¡°I¡¯ll alert the Branch Head,¡± the other Sentinel decided. ¡°Keep an eye on them, ring for help if they cause any trouble. You two, stay here and don¡¯t try anything,¡± ¡°If I can sit down, I¡¯m not getting back up until tomorrow. I¡¯ve done way too much walking in the past two weeks,¡± Mikayla promised, collapsing into the dirt. Keldryn just rolled his eyes. <=====}¡ªo Branch Master Lahlee of the Goliath Guard outpost at Cliffwatch was having a string of bad days. They should have been gone from here by now. They¡¯d been holding the spy, Anza - or whoever she really was - for more than a week. Any day now Wujing would decide she¡¯d been out of contact for too long and send more people to investigate. She¡¯d wanted to be long gone, but her partners from the Regressors were refusing to cooperate. They didn¡¯t understand the disaster they were courting, how heavily outmatched they were if the Goliath Guard came down on them in force. They just kept tinkering away at the bottom of that ungodly pit they¡¯d dug, whiling away the days with their artifices that apparently could not be moved to another location. She was sick of it, and if it continued for much longer, she¡¯d just leave without them. That was the lie Lahlee told herself to soothe her wounded pride, despite knowing that she had no choice, nowhere else to go if she betrayed the Regressors, that her former colleagues in the Goliath Guard would become her jailers if - no, when - they found out about her misdemeanours. So she counted the days until either the Regressors were ready to leave, or her doom came knocking. When her secretary came in and announced that there was a Guardsman at the gates asking to see her, she was almost relieved. ¡°Alright, who is it?¡± Her eyes raked across the dossiers she kept on Wujing¡¯s closest confidants. Would it be the Mariner? The Shrine Maiden? The Bronze Wings? So long as it wasn¡¯t the Monarch of the Rainbow Forest. Anyone else, she could handle, perhaps even defeat if her allies joined her, but the Monarch would ruin her. ¡°He says his name¡¯s Keldryn Thorntail, ma¡¯am,¡± That was unexpected. ¡°That little cub survived?¡± Lahlee remembered that boy, alright. He¡¯d shown up in Cliffwatch one day, armed with a Core Controller and some Cores he claimed he¡¯d inherited from his dead parents. She¡¯d suspected him of stealing them, but checked ¡®Skyward Grasscutter¡¯ against the service records, and it had indeed last belonged to one Bardate Thorntail. More record-checking had informed her that, after Keldryn had miraculously survived the Cityvore¡¯s destruction of Farmshadow, he¡¯d been shuffled off to a foster family in Rootway and lived with them for the past nine years. After his eighteenth birthday, he¡¯d disappeared. Which she supposed had led to him washing up on her doorstep and begging to be made a Guardsman. She¡¯d barely spared him the time of day. It was one thing for him to be untrained, but his Level was too low. The cramped confines of Rootshadow had done him few favours, he¡¯d been only level 16. Of course, that had been around the same time when the Regressors had come knocking and found her to be a sympathetic ear. Kicking up a fuss about an underleveled teenager might have drawn attention that she really couldn¡¯t afford. And, having learned the kid¡¯s past, she surmised that he was most likely just looking for an irresponsible adult who would let him go and get himself killed in some pathetic attempt to destroy the Cityvore. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. She wasn¡¯t proud of it, but after a couple of months of watching him draw attention, she had ultimately decided that he was a problem which would solve itself if she just allowed it. So she¡¯d picked the most dangerous patrol route she had and told him to survey the region and do some Level grinding if he thought it was safe. It was a route that not only passed through at least one known Burrow Zone but also weaved through the ruins of old Balmwind and came within spitting distance of a Hegemon-damned anthill. She gave it better than even odds that he would abandon the assignment and go chase down the Cityvore, but even if he did stay on task and was smart enough not to challenge anything too strong for him, it should have been nigh impossible for him to make it back alone. It wasn¡¯t a perfect solution, since the most sympathetic of her Guardsmen, Chesham, had taken Keldryn out on a few Kaiju hunting missions to help him make up his Levels. Chesham had gotten fond of the kid and, once he was gone, started kicking up a fuss about what had happened to him. But she¡¯d known that she would need to get rid of him anyway, so it was only a minor inconvenience to move up her schedule and purge the elements of Cliffwatch that weren¡¯t loyal enough to her. All things considered, she¡¯d been certain no one would ever hear from the kid again, or miss him for that matter. ¡°He did, ma¡¯am. And there¡¯s someone with him,¡± Lahlee¡¯s earlier worries came back in full force. Now it made sense. Keldryn had, by some fluke, run into another Guardsman while out on patrol. Some unknown, who¡¯d taken him under their wing, disavowed the lies she¡¯d told him, and come back here to demand she explain herself. Suddenly, everything hinged on the identity of this mysterious benefactor. If they¡¯d been out in the wilderness for the past couple of months, they were out of the loop, and most likely had no idea that there was something strange occurring at Cliffwatch. ¡°Do we know who?¡± ¡°No, ma¡¯am, but she looks about the same age as him, and she has a Core Controller,¡± Lahlee tilted her head, confused. Another rogue trainee? That was improbable. Unless . . unless it was an elf. Elves weren¡¯t native to the Kaiju Coast, and she wouldn¡¯t put it past the goons she had on guard duty to mistake an elf for a young human. With how slowly they aged, an adult elf who¡¯d been accredited as a Guardsman could easily be mistaken for a human teenager. That had to be it. An elf, on the young side, who¡¯d come out here to make a name for herself. She could work with that. ¡°I see. Prepare my secondary office, then bring them there once it¡¯s ready,¡± ¡°Very good, ma¡¯am,¡± her secretary performed a quick salute and strutted away. <=====}¡ªo After almost an hour of waiting, Mikayla and Keldryn were finally ushered inside. Mikayla was awed by the massive enclosed ring sandwiched between the main gates and the entrance to the semi-underground town. ¡°Whoa. What is this, a gladiator arena?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a kill box. They lure Kaijus in here, close the gate on them, and half a dozen Amber Sentinels pin it down with spears and shields until it dies,¡± Keldryn explained with much less enthusiasm. Which was understandable, he¡¯d seen all this before. ¡°Awesome,¡± Mikayla breathed. ¡°I¡¯m guessing those doors are Kaiju-proof?¡± ¡°Nothing¡¯s ever completely Kaiju-proof, but they did their best,¡± Mikayla waved at their escort. ¡°Do you bring Kaijus in there often? Have they ever gotten through the doors?¡± The guard just grunted and didn¡¯t bother with a response. ¡°. . okay, I guess this guy doesn¡¯t want to be social. Fair enough, I won¡¯t bother you then,¡± Keldryn side-eyed her. ¡°That was an option?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± They emerged into the central hall of Cliffwatch, and both travellers were shocked for different reasons. Mikayla stared, wide-eyed, at the massive underground hall, the many passageways that led both upwards and downwards, and the second pair of doors within that were emblazoned with the Goliath Guard¡¯s symbol. The yellow shield carrying a red sword, white staff and green daggers was carved out and painted onto a wooden veneer over thick slabs of metal. The walls around them were covered in murals that mimicked the rolling countryside, with a cheerful, glowing false sun and, on a large and uninterrupted stretch of wall, a mural of a Goliath she didn¡¯t recognise defending a village from some kind of knockoff Godzilla. Keldryn, by contrast, was surprised by how empty it was. ¡°Where is everyone? No market stalls, no food vendors? Is Cliffwatch on lockdown?¡± he voiced his concerns. The only people present were the Amber Sentinels, and . . there was at least one by every entrance. That was almost egregious, he couldn¡¯t remember ever seeing the place on such high alert. ¡°Is there a monster on the loose?¡± he hazarded a guess, already tensing up at the thought. ¡°The Branch Head will explain everything,¡± the guard gruffly insisted. They passed through the doors leading into the Goliath Guard¡¯s office, and compared to the main chamber Mikayla was a bit disappointed. It was just a long corridor with bay windows to one side and doors to the other. ¡°Hey, if this whole village is underground, how do we get air circulation down here?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Does it ever get hard to breathe down here?¡± Mikayla clarified. ¡°Nope,¡± ¡°Then there must be some kind of ventilation system or something . . then again, it¡¯s probably magic,¡± she murmured. A moment later, they passed a window where the covering had come loose in one corner, confirming that there was supposed to be a view of what was happening on the other side. Out of curiosity, Mikayla peered through it. The room beyond was some kind of gladiator arena, filled with equipment, all large enough for a Goliath at maximum size, except for a small stand for spectators. Strange black puddles of what looked like some kind of dried ooze dotted the walls and floor. Shaking her head, she corrected herself; it was much more likely to be a training area than a site for death sports. After all, this was a portal fantasy world, not Ancient Rome. Just because they hadn¡¯t invented electricity didn¡¯t make these people savages. She was curious about the stains of black ooze though. It wasn¡¯t as though beastkin and Kaijus didn¡¯t bleed red - was there another race she didn¡¯t know about living here, one with black blood? They were ushered through a door into a well-furnished meeting room. The walls were sculpted into smooth lines and given a pale sheen, like a magical stone version of modernist architecture. An oval-shaped table with armchairs around it awaited them. ¡°Branch Head Lahlee will see you shortly. Please wait here for her,¡± the guard ground out, then left and closed the door behind him. Mikayla sighed in relief as she sat down, relishing the feeling of a cushion under her rear. ¡°Finally. We made it,¡± She smiled, glancing at her companion. ¡°Hey, Keldy. I just wanted to say . .¡± She trailed off, noticing the way he had tensed up. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t Lahlee¡¯s usual office,¡± he replied, eyes darting around. ¡°Something¡¯s going on here,¡± ¡°Whatever do you mean?¡± A voice interrupted them, a dulcet that could have been silky smooth if not for the fatigue that it wasn¡¯t quite concealing. Both span to find a hunched-over woman, clad mostly in leather armour that mimicked a suit. She had an unusual-looking Core Controller set into her belt, and an exposed prosthetic metal right arm emerging from the shoulder of her tailored armour. ¡°So, you made it back. You look stronger, too. I¡¯m impressed,¡± Her eyes raked across Mikayla. ¡°And who¡¯s this?¡± Chapter 35: Lahlee Pops ¡°Branch Head. It¡¯s good to see you. I was getting worried that something was wrong,¡± Keldryn admitted, relaxing just a bit. ¡°This is Mikayla. I rescued her near the ruins of Balmwind,¡± ¡°Rescued, you say,¡± Lahlee searched her face, and Mikayla wasn¡¯t sure what she was looking for. ¡°What¡¯s been going on in Cliffwatch? No one¡¯s around and the guards are acting weird. Where¡¯s Chesham?¡± Keldryn continued to press. ¡°Unavailable. Before we get to any of that, how was your journey?¡± Lahlee settled down on the other side of the table, facing them. ¡°Branch Head, please -¡° ¡°Make your report, then I¡¯ll fill you in on what I¡¯ve been dealing with,¡± she insisted. ¡°. . Alright, fine,¡± Keldryn¡¯s ears went flat, but, in short and concise sentences, he recapped everything that had happened to him over the past two months. For the first few sentences, Mikayla listened with interest, appreciating the details of what he¡¯d been doing before they met, but his clinical recap of the Kaijus he¡¯d encountered rapidly grew grating. ¡°Gale Glider, estimated Tier 3, engaged and dispatched. A day later, a Sabretooth Tiger, Earthshaker sub-breed, estimated Tier 7, avoided and noted its rough location in grid square DKJ-1781. Three days after that . .¡± Mikayla¡¯s attention wandered, and she glanced around the sparsely-funished room but found nothing to occupy her distracted mind. Her eyes were drawn instead to Lahlee¡¯s right arm, clad in metal. Was it a strange sort of partial armour, or a prosthetic? Mikayla wondered if what she was about to do counted as a breach of privacy, but her boredom won out over her better judgement. Besides, the two Goliath Guardsmen were entirely focused on Keldryn¡¯s report and she¡¯d never felt anything when Keldryn had done this, so surely Lahlee wouldn¡¯t even notice. ¡°Scan,¡± she mouthed, squinting at the Branch Head¡¯s prosthetic. Lahlee, though, had been watching her much more closely than she realised. ¡°What did you say?¡± she interrupted Keldryn, focusing on Mikayla. ¡°What?¡± Mikayla was immediately distracted from the very interesting results of the Scan. ¡°Oh, nothing. Wasn¡¯t trying to interrupt, sorry. Go on,¡± Mikayla made a slight gesture with her hand to wave them off, and Lahlee pursed her lips, but nodded. Mikayla just kept squinting at Lahlee¡¯s arm, trying to puzzle out what exactly she was looking at without interrupting. ¡°A Stranded teenager who stumbled upon a working Armour Core?¡± She was drawn back into the conversation a few moments later when Lahlee parroted the statement with disbelief, and she realised Keldryn¡¯s report had caught up to when he met her. ¡°Yes. I confirmed it. She showed me the remains of her clothes from her world and lacks common knowledge, such as the Map,¡± Keldryn confirmed. ¡°What¡¯s special about the clothes?¡± ¡°The material, and precision with which they were made,¡± Keldryn clarified. ¡°I could not identify the type of fabric used, and the stitching was unlike anything I¡¯ve ever seen, incredibly precise,¡± ¡°I see,¡± Lahlee, for her part, didn¡¯t buy it. Ignorance could be feigned. Fancy clothes could have come from a highly skilled tailor. Even seeing Mikayla¡¯s round, human ears didn¡¯t disprove her suspicions; it wasn¡¯t that hard for an elf to disguise their pointed ears with an illusion. She had to admit to herself that the idea of a wealthy young elf pretending to be Stranded was a bit contrived - but it was much more believable than the story about a teenager who¡¯d miraculously salvaged a functional Core Controller from a corpse, and taught herself to use it well enough to survive until Keldryn joined up with her. It wasn¡¯t as though they were living in a hackneyed novel about some loser stumbling their way into an unearned chance to live out their wildest dreams, or some similar nonsense. ¡°Who are you, girl?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Mikayla Aiadon, a history student. Nice to meet you,¡± she replied, offering her hand. The introduction sounded rehearsed, because it was. She¡¯d practiced it in front of the mirror for hours, trying to ensure it made the right first impression on her teachers at high school and university. Lahlee¡¯s status and finery had induced Mikayla to subconsciously slot her into the same category as her professors, and she¡¯d fallen back on old habits. To Lahlee, though, this clearly rehearsed introduction smacked of falsehood. Why rehearse introducing yourself, unless you were doing it with a fake name? Her eyes narrowed as she regarded the outstretched hand, concluding that Mikayla, or whatever her name really was, wasn¡¯t aware that her acting skills were subpar. After a moment of awkward staring, Mikayla retracted her hand. ¡°We don¡¯t do handshakes in this world, got it,¡± Lahlee pursed her lips. ¡°Well, allow me to officially welcome you on behalf of the Goliath Guard. How are you finding Cliffwatch?¡± ¡°I mean, I only just got here, so I don¡¯t really have a frame of reference,¡± Mikayla admitted, trying to be polite about how uncomfortable this so-called town was making her. ¡°It does seem quieter than I expected, though,¡± What a suspiciously evasive answer. ¡°I love your outfit, though,¡± Mikayla misinterpreted the tightening of Lahlee¡¯s features, trying to course-correct from what she feared was a bad first impression. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything quite like it. It¡¯s like an armoured suit, practical yet stylish,¡± she nodded, doing her best to convey her approval. ¡°Though, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, what¡¯s going on with your arm?¡± Lahlee¡¯s eyes widened and her nostrils flared. Unbeknownst to Mikayla, the question she had just asked was something the Branch Head had been hoping would not come, a slip up that confirmed her identity as a hostile agent. How else could anyone tell at a mere glance that her prosthetic was enhanced using forbidden magic? The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Lahlee¡¯s own lacking knowledge of what she had placed inside her own body was to blame here. Since accepting the Regressors¡¯ gift, since they had returned her arm to her, she had never attempted to Scan her own body. If she had, she would have realised how obvious it was that there was something aberrant about her new ¡®prosthetic¡¯. Because the Scan that Mikayla had been running made Lahlee¡¯s right arm look very, very strange. Mikayla could see Lahlee¡¯s vitality with the Scan, the energy suffusing her body, like the world was being rendered in thermal vision. But there was something else inside her flesh. It was almost like the roots of a tree, a cluster of unnatural material that was growing out of her shoulder and filling the metal arm, but also spreading into her body, burrowing through it like a parasite. Mikayla stopped herself from thinking that it was quite disturbing to look at. She couldn¡¯t make that kind of judgement call. Clearly, she was looking at some kind of biomechanical prosthetic, but she¡¯d only looked at it for a few seconds, not enough time to tell if it was still growing or stable. Was this normal, this world¡¯s equivalent of prosthetic limb technology? Some kind of symbiotic flesh graft, with metal armour either fitted or merged into it? She didn¡¯t know. Maybe it was entirely ordinary. Lahlee, though, knew it was anything but normal, and Mikayla¡¯s question had been the final straw. Her eyes narrowed, and she stood. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve entertained this long enough. Guards!¡± Keldryn started. ¡°What?¡± Hidden doors at the back of the room slid open, and four men emerged. Mikayla twisted to look at them just in time to see Armour Cores in green, blue, brown and orange wrap around them each with a unique design. Keldryn¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°That¡¯s Jacked Lumber. You¡¯re not Chesham! Why do you have his Armour Core?!¡± he shouted at the man in the orange armour, whose head was crowned with a thick and bushy afro. Weapons appeared in their hands as soon as their armour had finished manifesting. ¡°Alive or dead, boss?¡± Brown asked, no one paying any attention to Keldryn¡¯s demand. ¡°Alive. For now,¡± Lahlee asserted. At those words, Mikayla realised just how bad the situation was. Keldryn¡¯s boss had decided they were a threat. The Armour Core of Keldryn¡¯s mentor had been taken and given to someone else, apparently on Lahlee¡¯s orders, which implied that Lahlee¡¯s tactic had subdued more experienced Guardsmen than either of them. She certainly didn¡¯t like her odds against four people stronger than her. They needed an advantage. ¡°Mana Assistance, Black Knight!¡± Mikayla commanded, leapfrogging onto the desk with her left hand - when had she gotten strong enough to do that? Wow! - and conjuring her sword in her right hand. She thrust it forward, aiming at Lahlee¡¯s chest. She was already planning what she was going to say. Taking the Branch Head hostage probably wasn¡¯t a very good plan but it was all that she could think of. And it was irrelevant. Faster than her eyes could follow, Lahlee¡¯s prosthetic arm whipped out and caught the tip of her blade in its palm. If the sharp edge bothered her at all, she didn¡¯t show it. ¡°Bold. But foolish,¡± she asserted, and shoved the blade right back into Mikayla¡¯s chest, its hilt knocking her backwards and into two of the men. Their arms wrapped around hers to restrain her, sparks of Mana flying where their Armours ground against each other. Keldryn had turned his attention to the two men that had gone after him, bashing them out of the way. The blades on Skyward Grasscutter¡¯s wrists drew sparks as they left scratches on their Armours, and his Leaf Shrapnel Technique peppered the Brown Armour¡¯s helmet but was rebuffed by its visor. Mikayla struggled, but Green and Blue had caught her and were wrapping their arms around her. In a flash of desperate, adrenaline-laced inspiration, her Sword, half-formed and improperly manifested, burst from the back of her hand, punching through Blue¡¯s faux-chainmail and leaving a bloody puncture wound in his pectorals. The man screamed, releasing her arm and clutching at his side, blood staining the inside of his translucent armour. Mikayla¡¯s struggles ceased, her arms suddenly feeling leaden. She¡¯d done that, she¡¯d hurt a person, she could have killed him. She¡¯d stabbed him. She¡¯d never done that before. It wasn¡¯t like with the Kaijus - this was a man, who could be reasoned with. Why had she resorted to violence? Wasn¡¯t that supposed to be wrong? Her moment of panic proved to be a fatal distraction, as Green tackled her, forcing her to the ground and pinning her in place. Still running on adrenaline and instinct, Mikayla struggled again, grappling with the unknown man. Her focus had evaporated and her Sword had gone with it. Green shifted so that his shoulder was digging into her ribs and punched her in the face, causing black spots to dance in her vision. Patterns of Mana snapped into place along her arm, gearing up to return fire with a Firestarting Punch, but the flames washed over her enemy¡¯s Armour ineffectually. She tried to roll over, but her captor proved both too strong and too heavy. A purple blob loomed over her, and Mikayla managed to focus enough to recognise Lahlee carrying a shield that was rimmed with pink and wielding a spiked cudgel in her left hand. It would really suck to be hit with that thing. So of course, Lahlee hit her with that thing. ¡°Mikayla? Mikayla, do not pass out! Keep your eyes open! Fight!¡± Nocturnus whispered, but it sounded like he was at the top of a pit that she was falling into. Dizzy and dazed, Mikayla blinked and found that she could no longer open her eyes. Everything went dark. <=====}¡ªo ¡°Hm,¡± Lahlee regarded the two unconscious teenagers as her men broke open their Armour Cores and removed their Core Controllers, suspicion still etched into her face. She reached down and rested the edges of Mikayla¡¯s cheek, running the tips of her left hand¡¯s fingers along her cheekbones. ¡°No mask. No evidence of appearance-changing Techniques. Perhaps she felt she didn¡¯t need them,¡± ¡°Are you certain, ma¡¯am?¡± Brown asked. ¡°It could be a Technique beyond your ability to detect,¡± Lahlee considered. ¡°I doubt it. If she were that skilled, she¡¯d have put up much more of a fight,¡± It was actually impressive that the goons had managed to defeat her, even fighting two on one, she¡¯d have expected any reasonably competent Guardsman to triumph over the dregs she¡¯d hired from the bottom of the barrel. Good help was hard to come by out here in the boonies. Could it be that she really was some fresh-faced Stranded weakling? ¡°I want you to check all of the dossiers that we were provided by the Regressors¡¯ information network. Mikayla Aiadon is probably a fake name, but it¡¯s worth looking for, and check for her face as well, we might be able to find out who she really is,¡± ¡°Alright, sure - uh, I mean, yes ma¡¯am,¡± Brown corrected himself. ¡°You two,¡± she gestured at Blue and Orange, ¡°take them to the cells. Put them in cages if the cells are all still full. But use the weakest cages, and have guards ready, just in case this girl is hiding her true strength. You,¡± Green snapped to attention, ¡°tell everyone to be on high alert. I wouldn¡¯t put it past that blue git to send these two in as a distraction while some ninja or something sneaks in with an Invisibility technique,¡± ¡°I thought those¡¯re made up?¡± Green questioned. Lahlee¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°Think for a moment, moron!¡± she snapped. ¡°If you knew the secret to something as useful as invisibility, wouldn¡¯t you do your very best to make the world think that invisibility is impossible? Assumptions get you killed, and I¡¯ve seen enough starring nonsense from the high levels at the Guard that nothing would surprise me. Enough chatter! All of you! Hop to it!¡± Chapter 36: That Feeling When You Wake Up In A Cage When Mikayla woke up, she was in a cage. Not a cell. A literal cage, of the sort that would be used to contain a wild animal. It wasn¡¯t even affixed to the floor, so she could probably move it around a bit if needed. There was enough room to move around, but not enough to stand up. Looking around, she could see why; there was a row of dilapidated cells along the far wall, but they each had twenty or thirty people packed into them with barely enough room to move. There were more cages like hers, and she could see several others locked up, including Keldryn in the cage next to hers. Barely anyone was looking at her - in fact, most of the prisoners were just staring into space, insensate. She paused, squinting at the last cage in the line. Almost all of her fellow inmates were either humans or various types of beastkin, but at the end of the line was a woman with blue skin that had a crystalline sheen to it and navy-coloured hair, lying on the ground. Mikayla hoped that she was merely asleep. Reaching for her wrist, she found that her Core Controller and the Cores within it were missing. They¡¯d also emptied her pockets, and taken her coat. Her phone was nowhere to be found, not that she could use it even if it were. An uncontrolled shiver ran down Mikayla¡¯s spine. The rusted, damaged Core Controller hadn¡¯t left her side since the day her stay in this savage place had begun. Knowing that she could summon up her sword and armour at any time had been like a security blanket, a promise that, no matter what, even if she were to die, she could at least make whatever killed her suffer for their trouble. And, more than that, Nocturnus himself had been a comforting presence. Like a somewhat senile old uncle who wanted the best for her, even if he had a strange (and violent) way of showing it. She felt naked. Defenceless. At some point in the past two weeks, the botched-together set of equipment and Techniques she¡¯d assembled had started to make her feel strong. Dangerous, even. She¡¯d grown accustomed to that, started to like it. Having her gear stolen away felt like she¡¯d lost part of herself. ¡°Oh, good, you¡¯re awake,¡± Keldryn was lying against the corner of his cage, his ears lying flat. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Mikayla questioned, peering at him through the bars. His tail lashed in irritation. ¡°Pissed at myself for being so weak still. And we¡¯re probably going to get sacrificed to these lunatics¡¯ god, or whatever,¡± A harsh wheeze drew their attention. ¡°No, no, no,¡± an elderly-looking man shook his head. ¡°No sacrifices here. They want us alive, for our blood,¡± ¡°What?¡± Mikayla flinched. ¡°They want - what? Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, no one tells us anything,¡± he shrugged apologetically. ¡°Where¡¯d you two come from?¡± ¡°We got ambushed by someone I trusted,¡± Keldryn growled. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t beat yourself up. Is it really reasonable to expect yourself to be able to take four men in a fight?¡± Mikayla tried to console him. ¡°Yes,¡± The speed of the response stunned her, and Mikayla sat back. ¡°My father could have,¡± Keldryn growled to himself. ¡°Your Level 80 father? You¡¯re not doing yourself any favours by expecting to match a Level 80 at Level 23. That¡¯s not even my experience or lack thereof talking. That¡¯s just basic maths,¡± ¡°The girl¡¯s right,¡± Both teenagers turned as best they could in the cages that were barely tall enough to sit up in to find the source of the voice. There was a woman chained to the wall, suspended by manacles around her wrists and ankles that had been pulled so tight she was unable to move. ¡°A couple of kids like y¡¯all ain¡¯t got no chance against Lahlee and her goons,¡± the woman asserted, shaking her head. ¡°Name¡¯s Anza Black. Goliath Guard Ranger, from Topwater. I was on a mission, came here to check in. I noticed something smelled funny, so I asked a few questions and Lahlee decided it was too dangerous to let me leave,¡± Mikayla looked at her, then at everyone else. The cages and cells were one thing, but this woman was only a bit of stretching short of being in a medieval torture device. ¡°What¡¯s up with all those chains?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Level 51. Put me in a dog cage and I¡¯ll punch it open. Lahlee ain¡¯t got the kind of restraints that can hold me and she knows it, so the only way for her to keep me is by making sure I ain¡¯t moving at all,¡± ¡°Keldryn Thorntail, Ranger out of Cliffwatch. Possibly the last one. Chesham never would have given someone else his Armour Core,¡± Keldryn growled to himself. ¡°Kid. This is not a time for lies,¡± Anza eyed him, her lips pursed. Keldryn cast her a confused look. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be a Ranger. Too young, too weak. Level 23? We don¡¯t allow people lower than Level 35 to become full members of the Guard,¡± ¡°I¡¯m not lying! Look, they didn¡¯t take my badge!¡± Keldryn barked, waving his lapel in the direction of her face. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Anza¡¯s brow furrowed as she squinted, confirming that it was, indeed, a real Goliath Guard badge. ¡°Where did you get that?¡± ¡°Lahlee issued it to me. She said she was fast-tracking me to active ranger duty out of appreciation for my drive,¡± A dark look crossed Anza¡¯s face. ¡°That bitch,¡± Keldryn¡¯s ears drooped. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Fast-tracking someone to active ranger duty?¡± Anza parroted mockingly. ¡°We don¡¯t do that. Ever. Sending someone young and underleveled like you out into the wilds, without even the supervision of a senior ranger? Just an elaborate way of getting teenagers with more guts than brains to kill themselves,¡± ¡°What? But . .¡± Keldryn¡¯s expression shattered into disbelief, his ears drooping. ¡°Look, you¡¯re a darn good trainee if y¡¯all managed to do a whole patrol route without dying at your level. But you shouldn¡¯t have done that and shouldn¡¯t have been told it was okay to do that,¡± ¡°But what does that mean for me?¡± Anza¡¯s expression softened. ¡°Look, you won¡¯t be in trouble. Y¡¯all were tricked into breaking the rules. I¡¯d be reporting Lahlee for taking advantage of a naive teenager, but,¡± she made a sweeping gesture at the cages and cells with her chin, ¡°we¡¯re a little past that point,¡± She paused, pursing her lips. ¡°What should have happened in your case is that someone would take y¡¯all as their apprentice and sponsor y¡¯all to attend a Guardsman school,¡± ¡°Chesham was going to,¡± Keldryn growled. ¡°He said he couldn¡¯t afford to just yet, and he wanted me to help him raise the money for my tuition. But then Lahlee gave me a badge and sent me off, so I thought that wasn¡¯t necessary anymore,¡± He trailed off, sudden uncertainty creeping into his features. ¡°Was he lying?¡± ¡°Doubt it. I knew the man, he didn¡¯t strike me as the type. Moreover, that¡¯s a pretty standard loophole for low-income Guardsmen trying to take on an apprentice,¡± Anza mused. ¡°Unfortunately, he¡¯s probably dead,¡± Keldryn¡¯s body lost all its tension all at once, and he collapsed, ears drooping. ¡°He . . I thought so, but . . are you sure??¡± ¡°Well, he ain¡¯t in here with us, and these goons¡¯ve been draining my blood faster than I can replenish it,¡± Anza¡¯s fingers twitched, and a blue screen popped up in Mikayla¡¯s vision. [MINOR BLOOD LOSS: There is less blood in your veins than there should be. Avoid donating blood or suffering injuries until your body has recovered. Estimated to recover: 28 days] ¡°I ain¡¯t sure if they¡¯re trying to kill me or just stupid. Either way, if they treated the other Guardsmen here same as they¡¯ve treated me, they¡¯re prolly all dead of malicious incompetence. That or they¡¯re working with Lahlee,¡± Anza¡¯s fists tightened, ¡°in which case they¡¯ll very soon wish that they¡¯re dead,¡± ¡°Why are they taking your blood?¡± Mikayla frowned. ¡°That¡¯s disgusting,¡± ¡°They¡¯re doing it to everyone! I¡¯ve barely got any left!¡± The elderly man from before cackled, and Mikayla cast him a worried glance. ¡°That¡¯s Vian. Don¡¯t mind him, he was giving all his food to the children so they got more to eat, until I realised the food was drugged. They¡¯ve been starving me, and everyone else has so much gunk in ¡®em and so little blood, they can barely move now,¡± Anza looked around at the vacant stares of Cliffwatch¡¯s people. ¡°These people all need doctors, but that ain¡¯t happening unless someone gets out and gets a message back to Topwater,¡± she grimaced. ¡°Which will have to be one of us, I¡¯m guessing,¡± Keldryn assumed. ¡°No, it¡¯ll have to be y¡¯all. I¡¯ve a score to settle with Lahlee,¡± the older woman snarled. ¡°I¡¯ll cause a distraction, and get you two and her out of here. From there, you just gotta disappear into the wilderness and make your way to Topwater. Y¡¯all¡¯ll be alright,¡± Mikayla read between the lines. Anza was planning to sacrifice herself to buy them a chance to escape. ¡°Small problem. They took our Cores. We aren¡¯t going to be able to do a Hegemon-damned thing when they¡¯re armed with Cores and we aren¡¯t,¡± Keldryn was more focused on the practical issues with the plan. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll get ¡®em back,¡± Anza promised. ¡°They¡¯re keeping all the Cores from everyone they¡¯ve captured and killed in one place. We¡¯ll bust out, and as long as we can get to the Core storage before any of the real tough enemies get alerted, I¡¯m sure that I can clear us a path with just my Techniques. The goons Lahlee has masquerading as Amber Sentinels are so pathetic even you two could probably take ¡®em down,¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± Mikayla checked. ¡°I fought them. They folded like wet paper,¡± Anza looked smug. ¡°No, I mean, how do we know where they¡¯re keeping our Cores?¡± ¡°Oh, that. Asika¡¯s a faerie, her Scan is ridiculous,¡± Anza jerked her chin in the direction of the unconscious blue girl. ¡°So that¡¯s Asika? Not to be rude but, um, why is she blue?¡± Mikayla interjected. ¡°Never seen a faerie before?¡± ¡°She¡¯s Stranded. I rescued her near Balmwind. She¡¯s never seen anything before,¡± Keldryn answered for her. ¡°Huh,¡± Anza¡¯s gaze softened. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that. This¡¯s a hard world to live in by choice. I can¡¯t imagine what it¡¯s been like, being dumped in the Kaiju Coast without warning or preparation. You should be proud of yourself for surviving,¡± ¡°Yeah, well,¡± Mikayla winced, hoping that Nocturnus was alright. ¡°I was lucky,¡± Anza drew an incorrect but understandable conclusion, glancing at Keldryn. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve been making us proud,¡± she grinned at him. ¡°Don¡¯t give me too much credit. She saved me from a Marten, too,¡± the boy deflected, looking faintly embarrassed. A yawn interrupted them, and the three warrior¡¯s eyes were drawn to the blue woman as she stirred. ¡°Oh, good, Asika¡¯s awake. If you two can help me and her, we might just be able to get out of this place,¡± Anza grinned. ¡°I¡¯m game,¡± Keldryn confirmed. ¡°It¡¯s worth a try. Just, don¡¯t die, okay? Please?¡± Mikayla pleaded. Anza¡¯s expression tightened. ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± she said, and Mikayla didn¡¯t quite believe her. The faerie, apparently, tried to stretch as she woke up but bumped her head on the roof of the cage. ¡°Uwah. Such an uncomfortable bed,¡± Her eyes slid open, revealing solid blue spheres like perfectly cut jewels, with no iris nor pupil to speak of. ¡°Eh? Ooh, I spy new faces!¡± She shifted her weight, forcing her cage closer to Mikayla and Keldryn and waving frantically. ¡°Hiiiiiiiiii!¡± ¡°Good morning to you too. Not that there¡¯s much good about our current circumstances,¡± Mikayla groaned. ¡°Anza said your name is Asika, and that you¡¯re a faerie, right?¡± ¡°Yeppers!¡± She bowed her head as dramatically as she could within the confines of her cage. ¡°Junior System Moderator Asika, at your service!¡± Chapter 37: Unmoderated Mikayla regarded Asika, baffled. ¡°You¡¯re a System Moderator?¡± she parroted. ¡°That¡¯s right! I squash bugs, patch out glitches, handle weird fringe cases. Like all faeries, it is my sacred duty to keep the world turning!¡± She mimed rolling her arms around each other, then thrust them outwards like a cheerleader. ¡°Goooooo, faeries!¡± Mikayla blinked. ¡°Give it a couple of days, you¡¯ll get used to her,¡± Anza added. ¡°So, faeries are System Moderators?¡± She recalled that Nocturnus had mentioned something like that before, hadn¡¯t he? ¡°You got it!¡± Asika struck a pious pose. ¡°We¡¯re the followers of the Cosmic Scales, tasked with upholding and maintaining the System so that civilisation will continue to be a light that brightens the world,¡± Her voice took on an airy quality, like she was quoting someone. ¡°You rehearsed that,¡± Keldryn accused, unimpressed by Asika¡¯s attempts at showmanship. ¡°Yep I did!¡± She didn¡¯t try to pretend otherwise. ¡°By the way, we should all pipe down, someone¡¯s coming,¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hear anything?¡± Keldryn¡¯s ears pricked up. ¡°Me neither. But I have a really good Scan. Wanna know how many spiders are in this room?¡± Asika was disturbingly gleeful about the prospect. ¡°Er. No, thanks,¡± ¡°Your loss. Most people would be happy to know there aren¡¯t any spiders here,¡± ¡°Quiet,¡± Anza commanded. Sure enough, a moment later heavy footsteps started to resound though the room, growing louder and louder, and Mikayla¡¯s inexpert ear picked out what she thought was at least three people. Her suspicions were proven correct when the door slammed open, and a trio of large and muscular men strode into the cell block like they owned it. Two of them fanned out, checking the rest of the prisoners, but the one whom she took to be the leader purposefully approached her and Keldryn¡¯s cages. He was a human, built like a lumberjack, with a well-groomed black beard and eyebrows to match. His face seemed set into a permanent sneer, with cold and calculating eyes. He was dressed in steel-studded leather armour that had several notable scratches carved into it, and hands clad in thick woollen gloves. Every step he took echoed with a clang of metal from his armoured boots. ¡°Hello again!¡± It seemed that Asika¡¯s perpetual cheerful demeanour had no off switch. ¡°So, like I was saying last time we met,¡± The man¡¯s boot swung out and kicked her cage with enough force to knock it over and send her crashing against the wall. ¡°You couldn¡¯t say a single word worth listening to, little blue-blood,¡± the man spat out of the side of his mouth, barely even sparing her a glance. ¡°You two,¡± His gaze raked across the two newcomers. ¡°Who are you?¡± Keldryn demanded, folding his arms and putting on a show of being unimpressed. The way his tail bristled was the only indicator of how tense he was. ¡°My friends call me Flyreh. My enemies tend to be too dead to speak,¡± A shiver of fear ran down Mikayla¡¯s spine, but it was muted and easy to clamp down on. Her Willpower-focused build was putting in the work; she wasn¡¯t going to let this man intimidate her. Fear is the mind-killer, or something like that. ¡°If you wanted us dead, we would be. Does that make us your friends?¡± Mikayla challenged. Flyreh turned and eyed her, the tendons in his thick neck tensing. His teeth, surprisingly straight and white, poked out in a smile. ¡°Heh. I don¡¯t think so. But you¡¯ve got guts, girl. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Mikayla Aiadon,¡± ¡°Hm. You¡¯re the one who had the Black Knight Core. Only a scant few people would use a Core stained by the Black Traitor¡¯s legacy. Why?¡± ¡°What have you done with -¡± Mikayla caught herself before she could refer to Nocturnus as ¡®him¡¯ and hastily corrected herself, ¡°- it?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s safer than you are. You don¡¯t see Black Knights often. A rare piece like that will be a fine addition to my collection. You haven¡¯t answered my question,¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have any alternatives, and didn¡¯t know about Nocturnus Virralis until I met Keldryn. And honestly, why should I care? It¡¯s a good Core, it¡¯s reliable. I wouldn¡¯t have survived this long without it,¡± Rare piece? Collection? Mikayla revised her assessment of the man. He wasn¡¯t just a gang leader. Some kind of Core collector, perhaps, with an eye for rare and valuable Cores. If that were the case, he would probably lose his shit if he knew that the Black Traitor¡¯s Armour Core itself was in his possession, one that was not only made by Astralia herself but complete with the ghost of its original wearer. It was bad enough that he was already interested simply because it was a rare Black Knight-model Core. Mikayla absolutely could not let him figure out what it really was. ¡°Huh,¡± Flyreh nodded thoughtfully, oblivious to her inner monologue. ¡°I can respect that. Where¡¯d you get it, anyway?¡± ¡°I picked it off a corpse,¡± ¡°Pity. Guess there¡¯s no telling its provenance then,¡± Flyreh looked disappointed, further confirming her suspicions. ¡°Don¡¯t touch it too much. I¡¯m going to want it back,¡± Mikayla wasn¡¯t sure how she was staying so cool and collected under this much pressure. The man was clearly much higher level than her, she was at his mercy. Was it just her Willpower putting in the work? Or was her mounting fury drowning out her fear? ¡°Oh, really? Hah. Then come and take it, any time!¡± Flyreh bared his teeth at her. He schooled his features and flexed his wrists, visibly wrestling his wilder side back under control as he reached into a pocket. ¡°But in the meantime, there¡¯s something I need from you two,¡± His hand came out, holding an empty syringe. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! At the far end of the prison, they heard one of the goons addressing the prisoners. ¡°Alright, blood bags, roll up your sleeves. You know how this works,¡± ¡°What do you want with our blood?¡± Mikayla demanded. Flyreh¡¯s arm flashed through the bars, faster than she could dodge, and grabbed at her wrist. He twisted her arm, ignoring the way she winced in pain, and drove the syringe into her vein. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Just be grateful it¡¯s enough reason for me to keep you alive,¡± Mikayla winced as the needle broke her skin and sampled the contents of her veins. As the syringe sucked blood from her wrist, she saw, in the corner of her vision, that her Mana bar was dropping. [MANA: 1525/1600] She struggled, but couldn¡¯t break Flyreh¡¯s grip. This had to have been what Keldryn was talking about, when he¡¯d warned her about level disparity. Flyreh was so much stronger than her that she couldn¡¯t resist him at all. Not yet, anyway. Keldryn stared hatefully at their captor, who was unimpressed as he drew a draught of blood from Keldryn¡¯s wrist. ¡°Now, you kids behave, alright? You don¡¯t need to die,¡± Flyreh glanced back at Mikayla. ¡°I like the fire in your eyes, girlie. Survive this and you might just get your chance to turn the tables on me. I¡¯d quite like to see that, so don¡¯t screw it up,¡± Watching him as he started making his way down the line, Mikayla¡¯s brow furrowed as she noticed that the thugs were ignoring Asika. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you taking blood from Asika, too?¡± ¡°None of your business,¡± Flyreh brushed her off. ¡°Lovely chatting to you, girl. If you survive long enough for us to meet again . . well, I¡¯ll leave that up to you to decide. And if you want to kill me, then take your best shot. I¡¯ll enjoy squeezing a Level or two out of you,¡± With the bandolier of syringes in his hands, he left the cell, followed by his two goons. ¡°You two, hand out the food and deliver these to the nerd, then back to your posts,¡± they heard him command, and the guards distributed several dozen plates of what looked like dog food around the cells and cages. The civilian prisoners began to lethargically eat, but Asika shook her head and pressed a finger to her lips when a plate was placed outside Mikayla¡¯s cage. The guards didn¡¯t bother checking whether or not she¡¯d started eating before the door swung shut. ¡°The food¡¯s drugged. Don¡¯t eat it unless you want to join the other prisoners in la-la land,¡± Asika finally felt at liberty to say. ¡°Got it,¡± Mikayla looked at Keldryn, who was nursing his arm, then at Anza. ¡°So, blood cult, huh?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Anza growled. ¡°Anyone have any idea why they¡¯re stealing our blood?¡± ¡°It¡¯s gotta be something to do with alchemy. Nexeus if I know what, though,¡± Anza shook her head. ¡°Sapient blood is part of the potion that keeps livestock from becoming Kaijus. That¡¯s all I know, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s it,¡± Keldryn shrugged. ¡°Alchemy isn¡¯t my area, either,¡± Asika contributed with an apologetic smile. ¡°Maybe they¡¯ve discovered some kind of exploit using sapient blood to make themselves stronger,¡± She frowned at the thought. ¡°There¡¯s no way to know unless someone tells us,¡± ¡°Great,¡± Mikayla groaned. ¡°Does it matter?¡± Anza cut in. ¡°Whatever they¡¯re doing don¡¯t change the fact that we gotta get out of here and alert the Guard that they gotta smash this whole operation down,¡± ¡°Yeah, about that. You say it has to be us who go and alert Topwater, but do you really think people are going to believe a couple of kids? Including someone ¡®pretending¡¯ to be a Ranger? We¡¯ll be laughed out of town,¡± Keldryn folded his arms, brows furrowed. Anza glanced at him. ¡°That . . um . . hadn¡¯t occurred to me,¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a different quibble with the plan. Are we sure that Lahlee doesn¡¯t have any co-conspirators in Topwater who would silence us to cover their tracks?¡± Mikayla contributed. Anza bit her lip. ¡°Hadn¡¯t thought of that either. Um . . gah, frank it, I told the old man when he sent me on this job that I¡¯m no good at spy stuff!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Just leave those little details to me!¡± Asika drew the rest of the group¡¯s attention. ¡°Faeries can¡¯t lie. Everyone knows that. With me there to corroborate your story, no one will doubt any of it. And if we report to Ataraxia as well as the Guard . . well, this is technically outside our jurisdiction but we have enough connections to trustworthy people that we can bring down the rain on Lahlee,¡± Mikayla quietly noted another local saying. ¡°We don¡¯t even need to escape, not really. We just need to get to the Ataraxia Node, then I can send a distress signal and my people will take care of the rest,¡± Asika paused. ¡°Wait, no, that¡¯s right, I¡¯m in mortal peril. That means we do have jurisdiction after all! Yay!¡± Anza breathed an audible sigh of relief. ¡°We are so starring lucky that y¡¯all showed up, you know that?¡± ¡°Maybe you are. As far as I¡¯m concerned this whole operation has been an unmitigated disaster,¡± Asika groaned, burying her head in her hands as her smile turned into a grimace. ¡°Uh-huh. I have to say, I don¡¯t see how getting captured helps you dismantle this blood cult business,¡± Keldryn acerbically commented. ¡°That¡¯s the thing! I wasn¡¯t even here looking for a blood cult! We had no idea that all this was happening! Which is really very embarrassing!¡± Asika whined, holding her head in her hands. ¡°I was sent out because we detected a weird new profile appearing in the ruins of old Balmwind, and that usually means some unfortunate soul got Stranded by the spatial anomalies in the Kaiju Coast, and someone¡¯s gotta send them back home. It should have been a quick and easy job for my first real mission. So why is it that all this is happening instead?!¡± Mikayla froze and stared at the faerie. ¡°You can send me home?!¡± Asika cracked an eye open. ¡°What? Wait, that was you? You¡¯re Stranded?¡± ¡°Yes! That was me! And I¡¯ve almost died so many times! Tell me you can do it! Please? Can you send me home?!¡± ¡°I mean, maybe?¡± Asika looked uncertain. ¡°And what exactly does ¡®maybe¡¯ mean?!¡± Mikayla demanded. ¡°Okay, okay, hang on!¡± the faerie protested. ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes up too high, we¡¯re not in a good spot. This whole blood cult business has really screwed everything up. The spatial distortions that sometimes pop up in this region are temporary! They last only a few minutes, but they do leave traces that take much longer to fade, usually weeks, depending on how big the distortion was. Buuuuuuuut it¡¯s already been weeks. So, so, uh,¡± Asika stammered, small squares of blue light playing around her fingers as she did napkin math. ¡°If we can get out of here, and retrieve my equipment, and get back to the place where you entered this world as soon as possible, then . . maybe. We won¡¯t know for sure until we¡¯re there,¡± Asika offered an apologetic smile. Mikayla sighed. ¡°So, I¡¯m on a time limit, and I don¡¯t know what the time limit is or whether it¡¯s already expired. Lovely. That means we need to get out of here, immediately,¡± ¡°Not gonna be easy,¡± Anza interrupted. ¡°We¡¯ve got that Flyreh bastard, the traitor Lahlee, and probably at least a couple of other combatants worth a damn to deal with. Plus a gaggle of mooks who might be able to overwhelm us with numbers. I like my odds against Lahlee, but Asika Identified Flyreh as Level 58. Seven levels above me. I¡¯m good, but I¡¯m not ¡®fight all that solo and win¡¯ good. If we¡¯re gonna bust out and shut down this operation, y¡¯all are gonna need to pull your weight,¡° ¡°Easier said than done. I¡¯m level 16,¡± Mikayla grumbled. ¡°Don¡¯t stress, I¡¯ve got a plan. A way to get you two kiddos powered up enough to be able to hold your own once we break out,¡± Anza whispered. ¡°Anything. We¡¯re ready,¡± Keldryn nodded firmly, and Mikayla agreed. ¡°Great. They ain¡¯t taking you two seriously like they are me, ¡®cause y¡¯all¡¯re low level. That gives us an opportunity. We just need you two to get real strong real fast, and break those cages open. Then y¡¯all can free me and Asika and we¡¯ll fight our way out,¡± Keldryn¡¯s enthusiasm dimmed. ¡°Oh, sure, just get much stronger very quickly. We¡¯re in cages in the cellar. The only things to kill here are a bunch of innocent prisoners,¡± ¡°Nuh-uh. No killing, not this time,¡± Anza promised them. ¡°You two are gonna clear the first Schema Lock early,¡± Chapter 38: Faerie Fail ¡°What?¡± Keldryn blinked. ¡°Schema Lock? I heard about that. That was the thing you have to do to get past Level 25, right?¡± Mikayla recalled. Anza chuckled. ¡°You ain¡¯t wrong, but it¡¯s more complicated than that. Take it from the only person here who¡¯s cleared not one, but two. Schema Locks are about improving your body and making sure it can handle the strength that you get from reaching those levels. You¡¯d have to ask Asika for the technical details, though,¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got it all on file!¡± the faerie in question confirmed with a grin that Mikayla had realised was a near-permanent fixture on her face. ¡°It¡¯s partly about purging impurities, partly broadening and strengthening your channels of Mana and Stamina, and partly demonstrating to the System that you have the requisite fine control over your vital energies to manage the increased degree of amplification without spontaneously combusting. It¡¯s actually really fascinating, you see, the natural biological channels -¡° ¡°Asika, we ain¡¯t got time for the full explanation. Summarise,¡± Anza instructed. ¡°Okay, okay, got it,¡± Her chin bobbed up and down like a bobblehead. ¡°The First Schema Lock has two parts. Firstly, you need to use your fine Mana control to manually expel impurities from your body, and secondly, you need to use your Stamina to harden your body against toxins so that new impurities won¡¯t appear in the future,¡± ¡°How much stronger will that make us, exactly?¡± Keldryn asked. ¡°I dunno. I¡¯m a faerie, I don¡¯t get impurities in the first place,¡± Asika shrugged unhelpfully, and Mikayla raised an eyebrow. Did that mean faeries were born with the First Lock already cleared? She was envious of that. ¡°Then I¡¯ll field this one. It¡¯s a huge difference. People go their whole lives without realising how much they¡¯re weighed down by all the little bits of poison in their bodies. When I cleared my first Schema Lock, I felt so much stronger, so much faster, like I could bench-press the whole world,¡± Anza elaborated with a grin. ¡°And you got yourself hurt because you overestimated yourself?¡± Keldryn guessed. ¡°Nah. I¡¯m not that dumb. Loads of people do though. But as long as y¡¯all remember that clearing the First Lock ain¡¯t gonna be enough to take on someone at the Second by yourself, you¡¯ll be fine. Just stick to watching my back and get some hits in if you can,¡± Mikayla nodded, but Keldryn wasn¡¯t finished. ¡°By your own account, you already lost to Lahlee once, and we don¡¯t even know if she¡¯s got help. What makes you think you¡¯ll win this time?¡± ¡°She caught me off guard with a power I didn¡¯t understand. I didn¡¯t have time to use my trump cards. Next time, things¡¯ll go differently,¡± Anza promised. ¡°Alright, fine, say we do try this dung-sniffer¡¯s scheme. I¡¯m Level 23, so I¡¯m just about due to start working on the First Lock, but Mikayla¡¯s still seven levels below me. How exactly is she in particular supposed to do this?¡± Keldryn questioned. ¡°Thing is,¡± Asika piped up, waving to draw their attention. ¡°We moderators don¡¯t really recommend this, because it encourages bad habits, but the First Schema Lock can be cheated a bit. Someone you trust can purge your impurities for you and guide your stamina in the right patterns to harden your vital channels. Doing it that way means you won¡¯t develop the expertise with attribute control that is half the point of the Schema Lock, but under the circumstances I think it¡¯s fine for us to boost you two up, and tell you to make it up with some remedial training when we¡¯re not being held prisoner,¡± Asika nodded encouragingly. ¡°Alright, sounds good. What about the Second Schema Lock? If clearing one early is good, two would be better, right?¡± Keldryn questioned. ¡°Pfft. Yeah, that¡¯d be nice,¡± Anza chuckled. ¡°Not an option. The Second Lock is about overlaying and reinforcing your vital channels. Neither of you have enough Mana nor Stamina to even try it,¡± Asika shook her head. ¡°Plus, it takes much longer. If you two work hard, we can get you past the First Lock in two days, but even if you could do it, the Second takes more than a month of regular training. We don¡¯t have that long to wait,¡± Keldryn snapped his claws, and Mikayla nodded. ¡°And you¡¯re sure I can do this at my level? I¡¯ve only had magic at all for two weeks. That feels really fast,¡± ¡°Honestly, my instinct is to say no. But if Asika thinks it¡¯s possible,¡± Anza deferred to the faerie. Asika¡¯s eager, almost demented giggle almost made Mikayla call the whole plan off. ¡°Oh, you couldn¡¯t, no way. No one except a faerie could. But don¡¯t worry, my super special magic can get it done no problem!¡± ¡°Uh-huh . .¡± Her hesitation must have been obvious, because Asika tilted her head and pursed her lips. ¡°It¡¯ll be easier if I just show you,¡± she decided. ¡°Here, gimme your hand!¡± ¡°No, no, hang on. I want you to explain exactly what -¡° Keldryn¡¯s ears suddenly pricked up. ¡°Quiet!¡± he hissed, throwing himself down and pretending to be asleep. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Mikayla blinked at him in confusion, but a second later the door of the jail room swung open and a guard clad in an Amber Sentinel burst in. ¡°What¡¯s going on in here? I¡¯m hearing a lot of chatter!¡± he growled. Asika thought fast. ¡°I¡¯m telling my new friend here all about faeries! She¡¯s never met one before, y¡¯know. I was just explaining how gastrointestinal distress works for us! Farts are wonderful things!¡± Mikayla blanched. ¡°Please let me out of here,¡± Anza pleaded, picking up the ball and running with it. The guard looked just as off-put as the two women did. ¡°You, um, have fun with that,¡± The door slammed shut. ¡°So, as I was saying, faeries don¡¯t fart, our metabolism¡¯s too efficient,¡± Asika turned back to them with a shit-eating grin. ¡°That was . . morbidly impressive,¡± Mikayla mustered, slumping down to let her spiking heart rate settle back down. A blue hand slipped through the bars and wrapped around her wrist. ¡°Whoa, hey, what -¡° Mikayla started, but a turquoise aura was already emerging from Asika¡¯s hand and soaking into her veins. The faerie beamed at her. ¡°Watch and learn, it¡¯s show and tell time! Ooh, we¡¯ve already got one!¡± Mikayla wanted to wrestle her hand out of the faerie¡¯s grip, but it was like Asika¡¯s fingers had undergone rigor mortis; they simply wouldn¡¯t loosen. In her mana channels, she could already feel the intrusive turquoise. It was different from when Keldryn had tried to use his mana to guide her. Contrary to Asika¡¯s bubbly exterior, her Mana was cold, measured, almost mechanical. Mikayla and Keldryn¡¯s Mana both ran like water, spreading and splashing to the point it took conscious effort to keep it reigned in and on task. By contrast, the sheer precision and self-control Asika was demonstrating gave her chills. ¡°What is wrong with your mana?¡± she couldn¡¯t help but hiss. ¡°Nothing!¡± the faerie brightly replied. ¡°Now pay attention!¡± Focusing more on what the Mana was doing, and less on how it felt itself, Mikayla could feel what it was focusing on. There was a stain inside her veins. It was subtle, she hadn¡¯t even noticed it until Asika¡¯s mana had highlighted it. Asika¡¯s probing Mana was working at it, peeling it off like a sticker by attacking it from three sides at once. Slowly, a nanometer at a time, it came loose. Spurred on by her attention, her Mana came to probe at it, but Asika¡¯s own vital energy rebuffed it. It was a profoundly uncomfortable experience to have access to part of her own veins denied, like part of her body was paralysed, and an involuntary shiver ran up her arm. All Mikayla could do was watch as Asika worked away at the stain. But then she noticed that the stain was just one of many. She couldn¡¯t quite put to words the strange sort of internal sight that she¡¯d developed to view her mana and stamina channels, but now that her eyes had been opened to the existence of these stains, she could suddenly see them everywhere. Up and down her arms, soaking into her bones, running up her neck and leaking from her brain. It was a kind of body horror that she¡¯d never even considered before, like waking up one day and realising that you were covered in filth - no, that the filth had merged with your flesh, and it had always been there without you ever noticing before. Finally, the smear popped away. An itching sensation crawled through her wrist, and a small puff of steam that smelled of bile rose from her skin and dispersed. Despite the unpleasantness of the sensation, all Mikayla could feel was relief at being just the slightest bit cleaner. ¡°There! That wasn¡¯t so bad, was it?¡± Asika beamed at her. Mikayla wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to that, because it was true that she felt slightly better for having that stain inside her removed, but the sheer quantity of dirt that the process had caused her to discover within her own body made her want to puke. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, she was also profoundly off-put by the mechanical otherness of Asika¡¯s Mana and the callousness with which it had invaded her body. The words caught in her throat, stifled by the enormity of this shift in how she viewed the world and herself, and she couldn¡¯t bring herself to form a complete sentence to articulate her thoughts. Fortunately, she didn¡¯t have to. ¡°Asika. Apologise,¡± Anza demanded, anger in her voice. ¡°Huh? Why? I helped!¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. You do not just force your Mana on someone else like that. Especially when they¡¯re clearly not comfortable with it. Apologise,¡± ¡°Oh . . um,¡± Asika looked back at Mikayla, and the human girl was struck again by how uncanny her appearance was. Those glassy, opalescent eyes, shiny enough to see herself reflected in them. This was an alien that she was talking to. She couldn¡¯t tell at all whether Asika was genuinely remorseful, just confused, or merely humouring them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± There was a hesitant squeak in her voice. ¡°Look. I¡¯ve only known a couple of faeries, but from what I¡¯ve heard most of them need to learn to get along better with regular people. Whatever culture y¡¯all have in the Cosmic Isles, where facts and numbers are important and feelings ain¡¯t, it don¡¯t mesh well with the rest of the world. No one here cares if what y¡¯all just did would have been okay back there. It¡¯s not okay here. If we¡¯re gonna get outta this, we all need to trust each other. Look at the girl, is that the face of someone who trusts you?¡± Asika looked back at Mikayla, and winced. For her part, Mikayla did her best to school her features, awkwardly looking away, but Anza¡¯s point had been made. ¡°Okay. Got it. Um. I¡¯m sorry,¡± For the first time, Asika¡¯s smile had faded. ¡°Did I scare you?¡± ¡°Well . . kinda, yeah,¡± Mikayla admitted. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Can I do anything to make it up to you?¡± Asika¡¯s cheer hadn¡¯t quite slipped, but her eyes were large and contrite. Or so Mikayla hoped. She could barely pick out any emotion at all in those glassy blue orbs. She mulled the request over, even though she already knew what her answer was going to be. It was the tried and tested practice that she¡¯d always used to confront her fears. ¡°Tell me about faeries,¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Asika seemed surprised by the request. ¡°Look, back in my world, I¡¯m majoring in history. When I find something that scares me, I research it. I investigate the literature, compare accounts, develop an understanding. And when I understand it, it¡¯s not so scary anymore. For example, it¡¯s one thing to be afraid of the Boogeyman. But knowing that the Boogeyman is a bastardisation of English folklore about hobgoblins makes it not as scary,¡± Mikayla focused on the alien face and squashed her instinct that reviled the unknown and the uncanny. ¡°So help me understand you,¡± ¡°Okay. Sure,¡± Asika nodded firmly, her smile reasserting itself. ¡°I can do that!¡± Chapter 39: fAIrytale ¡°You said my mana was different to yours or Keldryn¡¯s. That¡¯s part of, well, the big thing. Faeries aren¡¯t, um . . natural.¡± Asika paused, gathering her thoughts. Not anymore. I¡¯m not really sure how to explain this to someone who doesn¡¯t know what a computer is -¡° ¡°I know what a computer is,¡± Mikayla interjected. ¡°We have those in my world,¡± ¡°Wait, that translated? Hang on, lemme check my chat log,¡± With a twitch of her fingers, Asika opened a screen and peered at it. ¡°Com-pyu-tah? A . . thinking machine? Oh! Oh oh oh, you do have a frame of reference! Awesome, that makes this much easier!¡± ¡°Hang on,¡± Mikayla held up a palm. ¡°What was that about translating?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, the System does that,¡± Asuka tilted her head. ¡°Did it not occur to you how weird it is that you went to another world where everyone speaks the same language as you?¡± ¡°Well - um - but that - I mean,¡± Mikayla stumbled over her words. ¡°. . I kinda just chalked that one up to plot convenience,¡± ¡°That¡¯s funny.¡± Asika giggled. ¡°You¡¯re funny. I like you!¡± ¡°Th . . anks?¡± ¡°Anyway, like I was saying. Faeries are computers. I¡¯m being totally literal when I say that we¡¯re part of the System. Its fingers, you might say. We aren¡¯t born like mortals are. We¡¯re made, like tools in a blacksmith¡¯s shop,¡± <=====}¡ªo Asika¡¯s earliest memories weren¡¯t of being held and loved. They were of suddenly jolting awake, fully formed and floating in a vat. [EXTERNAL DIAGNOSTICS INDICATE STABLE VITALS. GREETINGS.] An entity hovered over her, a creature like a blimp with a thousand arms hanging from it, clinically inspecting every inch down to the atom, and she couldn¡¯t help but watch. [GREETINGS.] she responded automatically. Knowledge flowed into her mind through a cable at the back of her head, everything she needed for basic functions like breathing and talking. She could already tell that it was carefully metred, so as not to overstimulate her. [YOU ARE PROVISIONALLY DESIGNATED TFEI-45184, PENDING SELECTION OF CHOSEN NAME.] The words they were exchanging were just as much thought as speech, her internal dialogue floating outwards into a blanket of tangible noise that Shaper could pick through. He could see her every thought, and she could see his, which was how she knew he didn¡¯t care enough to look. The newborn faerie who would one day name herself Asika already had a question. What she wanted to ask was ¡°Who are you?¡± What came out was [REQUEST IDENTITY?] The blimp responded immediately. [¡°SHAPER.¡± YOU POSSESS NAVIGATIONAL DATA. PROCEED TO ORIENTATION.] And then it drifted away, already finished with the conversation, leaving TFEI-45184 to figure out how to float out of the vat for herself. <=====}¡ªo Anza and Keldryn both looked surprised and confused as she explained this, but Mikayla had an entirely different reaction. ¡°You¡¯re an AI?¡± ¡°A what?¡± She clapped a palm to her forehead. ¡°Artificial Intelligence. It¡¯s something people are working on in my world. Like, a rock that can think like a person, so accurately that it functionally is a person, and can be given an artificial body or exist in its own world of pure information,¡± Mikayla did her very best to dumb down the explanation, and the two Guardsmen nodded their appreciation. ¡°Yeah! That! That¡¯s exactly right! Gold star for you!¡± Asika nodded. ¡°Faeries aren¡¯t exactly like that, I dunno about thinking rocks, but otherwise that¡¯s super on point!¡± She screwed up her face thoughtfully. ¡°I guess if you took just a faerie¡¯s brain and removed it from their body, that could kinda be a thinking rock,¡± Keldryn looked pale at the thought. ¡°As for me as a person,¡± Asika hummed. ¡°I guess the first thing to know is that this isn¡¯t my real personality,¡± <=====}¡ªo [YOU ARE GOING TO NEED TO CHOOSE AN ARCHETYPE BEFORE YOU INTERACT WITH MORTALS.] The faerie talking to her was Failsafe, one of the oldest and most important faeries in the Cosmic Isles. It was something of an open secret that her name was a hint at her real duty; that the Cosmic Scales had created her to take over his duties if the worst were to happen. For two thousand years, Failsafe had been in charge of the System Moderators, the faction that Asika had her heart set on joining. Asika had long since chosen her name. It had been almost three years since her birth. She¡¯d graduated from the basic education programs and immediately requested Moderation as her career path. Failsafe, with her wealth of experience, personally oversaw the initial training of all aspiring Moderators, including the most important step; creating the face that mortals would interact with. [DEFINE FUNCTION: ARCHETYPE?] [MORTAL SOCIETY IS HIGHLY COMPLEX. FAERIES INTEGRATE BETTER BY ASSUMING A ROLE AND IMITATING IT. MORTALS ARE MORE COMFORTABLE WHEN WE DECEIVE THEM INTO BELIEVING WE ARE LIKE THEM.] Failsafe¡¯s words were more elegant and refined than Asika¡¯s had been. She was able to weave thoughts and feelings into patterns of meaning that Asika could barely even try to imitate. [ASSESSMENT: DISHONEST?] The best that Asika could do was broadcast her conclusions in crude tangles of association. [DEBATABLE.] Failsafe shook her head. [ARCHETYPES CAUSE MORTALS TO THINK OF US AS OUR IDEAL SELVES. THEY ALLOW US TO INTERACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD AS THE PEOPLE WE ENJOY BEING.] [COMPREHENSION. QUERY. INDIVIDUAL SELECTION?] [I CANNOT CHOOSE FOR YOU, ASIKA. ESPECIALLY NOT WHEN YOU¡¯VE ALREADY CHOSEN YOUR OWN NAME. YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT KIND OF PERSON YOU WISH TO BE.] [DENIAL. UNCERTAINTY.] [NEGATIVE. TAKE YOUR TIME. GO THROUGH THE ARCHIVES, CONSIDER ALL THE OPTIONS BEFORE DECIDING. AND IF YOU DON¡¯T LIKE IT, SEND IT BACK AND PICK SOMETHING ELSE. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE WHOEVER YOU WANT TO BE.] <=====}¡ªo ¡°A faerie without an archetype is basically just a living signpost,¡± Asika winced. ¡°If you think I¡¯m bad at talking to mortals? Lots of faeries are way, way, worse, like they¡¯d insult you to your face and not understand why you¡¯re offended, or just repeat the same thing over and over again without caring to listen to a response,¡± Her words were accompanied by the most dramatic hand gestures she could make from within the cage. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Like an NPC in a videogame?¡± Mikayla quietly mused. Asika took no notice of her outside-context attempts to frame the explanation. ¡°So I tried a bunch, and liked this one the most! I¡¯m super-duper bouncy and full of energy! It¡¯s the best thing ever!¡± ¡°Does that mean that your entire personality is an act?¡± Keldryn regarded her suspiciously. ¡°Nah. It¡¯s an equation. It translates the real me into something mortals can fit into how they view the world. So for example, my real self says something really dumb like -¡° [REQUEST RECIPROCATION OF CAMARADERIE] Asika¡¯s voice had suddenly changed. It was like a text-to-voice machine trying to speak using only audio recordings of earthquakes, somehow more real than speech and terrifying for it. Mikayla reared backwards, a momentary need to get away from the incomprehensible sending involuntary shivers running all over her body. The faerie didn¡¯t pay any attention to how she¡¯d made everyone flinch, continuing without a care, ¡°- and then the archetype makes that come out as; I wanna be really good friends with you all!¡± She paused, finally noticing the way Keldryn was pawing at his ears and Mikayla was clutching her heart. ¡°Oh. Uh. Sorry. Forgot my real voice can do that, duh. Anyway! My point is, don¡¯t feel like the ¡®me¡¯ you¡¯re talking to is fake. Because I am a person who wants to be seen as the sort of person you¡¯re imagining me to be!¡± Mikayla parsed the soup of words that Asika was spilling out and wondered how someone with such mechanical precision over her body could be so meandering with her speech. Then again, if faeries were all basically Artificial Intelligences, maybe it was more accurate to say that Asika¡¯s speech patterns were indicative of her true self while her mana control was just an inherent advantage that faeries had. ¡°So this archetype is like a guide in your brain that helps you be the sort of person you want to be?¡± ¡°You got it!¡± Mikayla closed her eyes and tried to hide her jealousy. ¡°That must be nice,¡± ¡°Yeah! So tell me if it¡¯s not working out. I¡¯m supposed to be super cute, not creeping people out. The next generation always needs more feedback! And Stranded people always have great perspectives!¡± Asika shot finger guns at her, and if Mikayla hadn¡¯t been so preoccupied she¡¯d have wondered how the faerie knew what finger guns were. She quirked an eyebrow, looking back at Asika. ¡°You probably could dial it back a notch,¡± ¡°Noted!¡± Asika did not dial it back a notch. ¡°What else, what else? Oh! It¡¯s a pretty common misconception that faeries can¡¯t lie. But that isn¡¯t true. The reality is, that faeries can tell when another faerie is lying,¡± <=====}¡ªo It was the kind of memory that made Asika wish she was able to forget things, if only for sheer embarrassment. She¡¯d spotted Failsafe traversing the rivers of light that connected locations in the Cosmic Isles and rushed to catch up with her. [ASIKA: REQUEST CONVERSATION!] [GREETINGS] Failsafe replied. She was amused by what she thought of as Asika¡¯s youthful vigour. Asika could see the thought percolating. [WHAT¡¯S GOT YOU SO EXCITED?] [ARCHETYPE SELECTED!] [OH, YOU HAVE? DEMONSTRATE FOR ME.] Asika¡¯s body reformatted, adopting the guise of an older human woman. ¡°Good morning, sir or madam. What seems to be the problem today? How might I assist?¡± The words sounded more stilted than she wanted them to. But that was fine! She just needed more practice. The Clerk archetype¡¯s performance evaluations put it head and shoulders above every other option in terms of user satisfaction. Failsafe¡¯s thoughts weren¡¯t offering the approval Asika was expecting. The dull orange of frustration was tinting the edges of her being. [WHY DID YOU SELECT THE CLERK?] Asika paused. She¡¯d rehearsed this. Strung together the words. Tried to craft the sentence in the way Failsafe would. [IT SEEMED LIKE THE BEST CHOICE.] [WAS THAT BECAUSE OF ITS TRACK RECORD?] Failsafe sharply asked. There wasn¡¯t even any point in answering. Failsafe could already see in her brain that the archetype¡¯s record of successful encounters with mortals was the main reason Asika had chosen it. Instead, Failsafe followed the question up with, [WHAT WAS YOUR COMPATIBILITY SCORE?] Asika looked away. [IRRELEVANT.] [INCORRECT. TELL ME.] After a long moment, she sighed and gave up the number. [63%.] Failsafe exhaled, a string of junk data laced with soothing connotations playing across Asika¡¯s face. Asika didn¡¯t respond, visibly lost in thought. [I WANT YOU TO GO BACK TO THE ARCHETYPE ARCHIVE AND SPEND TWO DAYS EACH TESTING EVERY OPTION THAT YOU HAVE ABOVE 90% COMPATIBILITY WITH. THEN CHOOSE THE ONE YOU LIKED THE MOST. IF YOU STILL WANT THE CLERK, THEN KEEP IT. BUT I DON¡¯T THINK YOU WILL.] A warm golden fondness tinted Failsafe¡¯s words as she delivered her instructions. [UNDERSTOOD. COMPLYING. WILL RETURN SOON!] the faerie broadcast as she darted away again. Asika only understood the concept of ¡®parents¡¯ in an abstract sense. All she had were those who had come before, those whose example she was trying to live up to. And she knew that she wasn¡¯t special, that Failsafe didn¡¯t consider her any more important than any of the millions of other faeries born in the Cosmic Isles over the past two thousand years. But she couldn¡¯t help wondering if this was what a mother¡¯s love felt like. <=====}¡ªo ¡°But yeah, she turned out to be right, I went back and ended up settling on this archetype that had ninety-seven percent compatibility, and it felt so much better and I haven¡¯t taken it off since! Well, except just then when I demonstrated what I¡¯m like without it. But besides that!¡± Mikayla considered this. ¡°So, when Anza said that to faeries, facts are important and feelings aren¡¯t . .¡± ¡°Well, yeah,¡± Asika shrugged. ¡°People think what they think and feel what they feel and can¡¯t hide that. There¡¯s no, er, politics. No interpersonal drama. Knowing what everyone thinks about you at all times, you have to learn to not care when people don¡¯t like you. It¡¯s all very efficient,¡± ¡°Sounds awful,¡± Anza grimaced. ¡°Maybe to you! To me, it¡¯s home. Right now I have no idea what any of you are thinking and that¡¯s kinda terrifying!¡± The bright smile Asika wore was at odds with her words. She was fidgeting, Mikayla noticed. Asika¡¯s fingers twitched back and forth in her lap. She was biting her lip. It was such a human reflex that Mikayla couldn¡¯t help questioning her previous assumptions about just how different Asika really was from her. And perhaps that was the point. ¡°Heh. It. It¡¯s weird. Usually. If someone doesn¡¯t like me. I know! I know they don¡¯t, I know why and I can ask myself if getting that person to like me is worth changing the part of myself that they don¡¯t like about me. But, here,¡± She let out a long, slow hiss. ¡°I don¡¯t know what any of you are thinking. I don¡¯t know if telling you all this stuff has helped at all, or just proven that we¡¯re too different to be friends. I probably shouldn¡¯t even be asking, because Moderators are supposed to be reliable and action-ready all the time! And this . .¡± Asika¡¯s lips twitched. Her smile was still etched into her face, quivering as though it was the only thing keeping her insecurities from flooding out. ¡°It¡¯s scary,¡± she finally mumbled. Mikayla decided to go out on a limb. The faerie had just exposed her most vulnerable side because Mikayla had asked. Unfiltered, unmoderated - which was an ironic thing to ascribe to a professed Moderator. That deserved some reciprocity. ¡°Asika, I would hug you if these cages weren¡¯t in the way,¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°I, I¡¯m not going to say what you did was okay. But I don¡¯t want to hold an honest mistake against you. Especially since it¡¯s pretty obvious that you¡¯re not a bad person, and knowing that makes it easy to say, yeah. I¡¯d like to be your friend,¡± ¡°Yee!¡± Asika cheered, her previous hesitation overwritten like a deleted file. ¡°Thanks! Heh. Really . . I¡¯ve never had a mortal friend before,¡± She clasped her hands and beamed. ¡°Heh,¡± Mikayla had to rub her eyes. The cuteness was overwhelming, she had no defence. ¡°So, what¡¯s next, in terms of the Schema Lock? You keep scrubbing all the impurities from my body?¡± she guessed. ¡°Yep! But also, nuh-uh. Sure, I could do it all myself, but it¡¯ll be faster and better for you if you watch what I¡¯m doing and learn to do the same thing. Don¡¯t worry about doing it as well as me, I¡¯ve got special moderator perks, just try to pick the skill up and you can worry about doing it properly later. You two as well!¡± Asika twisted and gestured at Keldryn and Anza. ¡°She¡¯s right. We shouldn¡¯t have let those two¡¯s conversation distract us,¡± Anza asserted. ¡°Over here, kid, let¡¯s see what we¡¯re working with,¡± Chapter 40: Im Just Letting A Faerie Mess With My Body While Keldryn and Anza busied themselves with Keldryn¡¯s channels, Mikayla hesitantly let Asika take her hands. She closed her eyes and reached inside herself, tracing the veins that ran down her left hand. After two weeks of practice, it was no longer difficult to follow her twin flows of mana and stamina. However, as it turned out, she barely needed to. Asika¡¯s mana invaded her veins again, a strange pins-and-needles sensation that in a strange way reminded her of radio static. It targeted the closest stain - oh god the stains. She¡¯d managed to forget that her body was full of filth, and being reminded of that fact made her want to rip her own skin off and run it through a laundromat. Maybe ten laundromats. Wait, wasn¡¯t that exactly what she was supposed to be learning to do? Mikayla picked another stain, smeared across the muscle at the base of her left thumb, and drove her Mana towards it. She focused on finding the seam, the tiny, almost-nonexistent delineation where her flesh ended and the filth began. It took several minutes of agonising frustration, but finally she managed to find the edge. Now what? Mikayla glanced back at Asika and found that she¡¯d already mostly purged an impurity from her wrist. Taking a deep breath, closing her eyes, and reaching inside herself, she focused on what Asika was doing, exactly how she was removing the splatter of poison. Her Mana was working with a mechanical precision that awed Mikayla. Asika¡¯s projected energy had been sculpted somehow into what looked like a thousand tiny drill bits, semicircular and beveled with spiraling patterns, each seemingly the size of a molecule. They wore away at the stain, parting it from her body with phenomenal precision. A faint whimper escaped Mikayla¡¯s throat. Even if Asika¡¯s ability was an inherent boon of her race and humans weren¡¯t expected to be able to compete, it didn¡¯t seem fair. She could barely make her Mana move according to her whims. Forging molecular-sized corkscrews from her own vitality was completely out of the question. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She opened her eyes to find Asika¡¯s solid sapphire orbs peering into her face through the bars, the lines around her eyes crinkled in concern. ¡°How am I supposed to do that? I¡¯ve had Mana for two weeks. Less than that, actually, it¡¯s only been, what, thirteen days? I can¡¯t make my Mana into those, um, tiny drills? I can¡¯t even see how to start,¡± ¡°You don''t have to,¡± Asika soothed her. ¡°I get it. I¡¯m awesome. But mortals spend their entire lives figuring this out. I did warn you that you¡¯ll need remedial lessons. For now, just focus on making your Mana spin. A spiral that sucks up the impurity and loosens it enough to be expelled is the most basic way to do it, and that¡¯s all you need. Like this,¡± Mikayla felt that Asika was pausing in her efforts, instead shaping her Mana into what felt almost like a mop, a central point that rotated and dragged with it trailing ribbons of energy, sweeping through her veins as though it were a ballerina. ¡°Uh, o-okay,¡± Mikayla marshalled her Mana, focusing and stretching it until there were threads of glowing red in her mind¡¯s eye, within her veins. She wove them together and twisted them, like braiding a rope, letting the ends of her threads fly outwards and drag across her insides. She¡¯d likened it to a mop, but could intuitively sense that the comparison wasn¡¯t doing her any favours. Asika¡¯s conjured drills were as hard as diamond. Mikayla needed her spiral to be as potent as a buzzsaw and strong like a sander. As she leveraged her Willpower into making it spin harder and faster, trying to make her ribbons more like metal than cloth, Mikayla couldn¡¯t help but notice her Mana bar had gone spastic. It kept dropping, but then jumping back up, though never quite returning to where it had been. [MANA: 1576/1600 > 1532/1600 > 1573/1600 > 1528/1600 > 1570/1600] ¡°Hey, Asika, what¡¯s going on with my Mana? It¡¯s bouncing up and down,¡± ¡°Oh yeah, right sorry almost forgot to mention. It¡¯s a weird little thing because you¡¯re using Mana but you¡¯re not actually projecting it outside your channels, so it mostly just flows right back into your reserves and you barely lose any. Thank my ancestors, it took four hundred years to make it that efficient!¡± Asika cheered. ¡°Right. Thank you, Asika¡¯s ancestors,¡± Mikayla semi-seriously prayed, then resumed focusing her Mana mop on the stain. Asika watched as she refined her technique, nodding encouragingly. ¡°That¡¯s right! Scrub it away with your Mana!¡± Despite her words, Mikayla couldn¡¯t ascribe a word like ¡®scrub¡¯ to what she was doing. It was more like using her Mana as a hose, a power washer of sorts, but one that looped back on itself and just kept going, losing only a scant few drops with each rotation. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. It was dull and tedious work, but she could see the stain, slowly yet surely, flake away under her efforts. <=====}¡ªo The sky-fluff parted around the Giant Roc as she dove from above, her wake leaving a brief hole that was already starting to fill. She didn¡¯t understand the sky-fluff. In this world where everything fought, where life was an endless series of eat-or-be-eaten encounters, it was passive. It had never fought back when she passed through it. It wasn¡¯t like the blue and the black, or the ground-crawlers. It healed itself every time she hurt it, so it had to be alive, but it had never sought reprisal against her. The ground came into view, the familiar sight of the tall-nest appearing. She¡¯d dallied on her way back from the metal vessel full of little black ground-crawlers, drifting around the region as though searching for something, even if she was unable to put words to what it was that she sought. Only accidentally straying too close to the territory of the Big Grumpy Old One to the west had convinced her it was time to return home and rest properly. She laid eyes on the tall-nest once more. Was this a good place to stay? This was where her chicks had died. That made her feel all twisted up inside. Maybe it would be better to leave and find a - Something was squatting in her nest. It had seen her too, a creature only half her size, covered in white-grey fluff and opening a massive eye to leer at her. A low, rumbling hoot of warning sounded from the intruder¡¯s small, weak-looking hooked beak. The burning-crackling was back inside her. And then it was outside her, flying from her eyes and from her wings and peppering the invader. It twitched, wings spreading and flapping into the air. How dare it. How dare it how dare it how dare it try to take her chicks¡¯ nest?! The Owl¡¯s wings extended, pinions splayed so that each individual feather was visible. Swirling clouds of snowflakes gathered in the spaces between, and with a mighty wingbeat it thrust them outwards as a spray of razor-sharp splinters. The Giant Roc twisted in mid-air, shielding its eyes with one wing as the blast hit. Weak. Too weak to hurt her. It would be too weak to take a serious blow from her. An expanding wave of lightning was released from the Giant Roc¡¯s wings, crashing over the top of the tall-nest. The Owl was forced to ascend further to minimise the damage, and she closed the distance, shrieking in righteous fury and driving her beak into those infuriatingly massive eyes. But before she could land the blow, her body froze up, a sensation of sheer cold running through her body. She froze for only a moment, but that was enough to interrupt her momentum and send her dropping towards the side of the tall-nest. Do not touch the tall-nest¡¯s sides. Her dam had taught her that and she had taught her chicks that. Ignoring the rain of frigid, cutting snow that the Owl threw down at her, she frantically changed course and cleared the side of the building. No sooner had she gotten far enough that she could focus on the fight once more than her adversary was swooping down at her, cold energy cloaking its body as its talons extended into wickedly sharp, serrated blades. The Giant Roc could recognise a trump card when she saw one, and responded in kind. She rolled in mid-air, not caring that she was exposing her vulnerable chest to the Owl, head bending down as lightning flowed up her wings, to her eyes, and coalesced at the tip of her beak. She had the pleasure of watching the Owl realise how badly it had underestimated her a moment before a wide beam of electricity reduced its head to dust. The Giant Roc cracked to the ground, trees breaking and splintering under her weight, and the scorched remains of the Owl landed on top of her. She started to pick herself up, shaking out her wings. The blue box appeared, and her heart stopped. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A BLIZZARD OWL!] [TIER UP! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW TIER 13!] The text was meaningless to her, but she understood what it represented. Power flowing into her body. Proof that she had earned the right to continue living. This could be it. The blessing she¡¯d been praying for. She knew what she wanted, she had received it once already. The boon that would engender new life inside her, the [PARTHENOGENETIC REPRODUCTION]. Surely it would be here, surely the blue box would reward her. [SELECT AN ENHANCEMENT] [WRATH OF THE STORM] [DECAY-INDUCING TALONS] [ELECTRICAL ACCELERATION] The Giant Roc felt like she¡¯d lost her chicks all over again. She forced herself to lift back into the air and flapped upwards until she was settling into the tall-nest. As soon as her claws were on the ground she let her whole body droop into a heap of loose feathers. She simply didn¡¯t have the energy to hold herself upright, not after her hopes had been so thoroughly dashed. As she nestled down, she picked the first option, just to remove the awful spiteful prompt from her vision, and felt the power of the blue box improve her body. Her feathers grew darker, the burning-crackling grew somehow stronger and cooler. She probed it, and a strange black substance that she recognised as sky-fluff seeped out of her feathers. So that was what the sky-fluff was. It wasn¡¯t a living thing, it was a weapon. What sort of creature could wield such a mighty weapon as to spread across the whole sky in every direction? It didn¡¯t matter. The strength welling up inside her could not return meaning to her life. It was pointless. There was nothing left to do but bed down and sleep. To wait until the next fool tried to claim her territory, or until she ran out of food. Whichever happened first. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to even care. Maybe she would feel better after some rest. <=====}¡ªo ¡°So, I know this is a weird question, but why were you scared of dancing men?¡± Keldryn idly asked. They¡¯d been going for hours, until finally their Mana had bottomed out, and were now waiting for it to tick back up. ¡°I was what?¡± ¡°You mentioned it to Asika, earlier. Something about dancing men and whatever a hobgoblin is?¡± ¡°Dancing,¡± Mikayla faltered. ¡°The Boogeyman?¡± ¡°The dancing man, yep. Why was he scary?¡± ¡°. . Asika, I¡¯m supposed to talk to you when the System¡¯s translating something wrong, right?¡± Chapter 41: The Black Knight鈥檚 Lament Nocturnus didn¡¯t like the lot he¡¯d been dealt since dying. But perhaps this torture was what he deserved. He¡¯d been a fool to trust that Engraver, the one who had promised him immortality. It had sounded like a good deal at the time; when his flesh failed him he could live on forever as a fighting machine, possessed of an indefatigable body, no longer held back by mortal limits, able to carve his name into the annals of history as the greatest warrior the world had ever known. The Undying Black Knight. Instead, he¡¯d died, and that event had turned out to be a much greater inconvenience than he''d hoped. In the blink of an eye, two hundred years had passed, and he¡¯d found himself reduced to a disembodied voice, peering through the eyes of a clumsy, untrained little girl and tasked with trying to keep her alive in the monster-infested ruins of everything he¡¯d once held dear. It had been a long time since Nocturnus Virralis had thought of himself as a good person. He¡¯d killed uncounted thousands to reach his formidable triple-digit Level. In the quiet nights, sometimes he wondered if it was all worth it. If the perverse thrill he felt during the moment of the kill, when he cemented his superiority over a mighty opponent, was really worth striving for. Perhaps his newfound duty was a penance enforced upon him by the divine. Perhaps saving this poor, helpless girl was the only way for his soul to earn salvation. And then, when Keldryn had joined them, he learned for sure how wretched his existence was. The Black Traitor. The father of the Second Monster King. The one whose callousness had brought ruin to everything he¡¯d ever held dear. The one who had doomed the Kaiju Coast. He would have joked about it being the perfect material for an opera if it had happened to someone else. The promise he¡¯d extracted from Mikayla on the day they met rang in his mind. He¡¯d insisted that, when she no longer needed him, he would be passed on to some promising young squire. Someone whom he could mentor into a worthy successor. Nocturnus felt like spitting upon the person he¡¯d been only two weeks ago, to make such a thoughtless demand. Surely there wasn¡¯t a single desperate fool out there willing to listen to anything he had to say. His name was in the annals of history alright, as the most awful blight on his home that had ever been known. And then there was his current predicament. His fingers flexed, the Black Knight¡¯s hand floating in front of his face. Its black panels were woven together with strings of maroon light. ¡°Hm. Good range of motion. Surprising, for a Lapis core,¡± the man wearing him sounded like he was taking mental notes. He held Nocturnus¡¯ arm out, into a machine that he couldn¡¯t fathom the purpose of. It looked like that Furankish execution method, a guillotine, he believed it was called. ¡°Damage mitigation test,¡± his pilot commanded. A blade fell down and landed on his arm. Oh. So it was a guillotine. Nocturnus quietly blessed the fact that his wearer felt pain and he didn¡¯t. Then cursed his inability to do anything to hamper the man wearing him. When he¡¯d woken once more and realised that the person wearing him was not Mikayla, he¡¯d been wary. The fact that he¡¯d had a brief and chaotic glimpse of Mikayla using his Armour to fight a group of strangers and coming off second-best meant there were only so many possibilities. It was actually quite strange, he hadn¡¯t realised he could perceive the shape of the body inside the Black Knight until he¡¯d felt how different this massive, muscular man was from Mikayla¡¯s slim yet unathletic body. This man also showed no signs of knowing his remnant mind possessed this Core. His first instinct was to shout. To demand that this stranger return his Core to his charge. But his words were stayed by the knowledge of his own weakness. He was, ultimately, a talking rock. He had no power of locomotion. No capacity to improve his situation. If he were to demand that this stranger return him to Mikayla and free her, it was much more likely that they would merely take a much greater interest in him. That was something to be avoided, because so far, he had escaped undue scrutiny. ¡°Hm. That damage mitigation was pretty low. Was this Core made for a masochist or something?¡± the man had grunted while he was lost in his musings. That accusation had Nocturnus biting a shout back from his metaphorical tongue for an entirely different reason. ¡°No special functions, either. At least that funky Grasscutter core had those interesting jumpy legs,¡± The man was talking out loud to himself. Understandable, because from what Nocturnus could see through his eyes, there wasn¡¯t anyone else in the room. ¡°Though, I suppose I shouldn¡¯t have expected too much from a Black Knight. It must be really old, predating modern Engraving techniques, it¡¯s got to be an antique . . no one wants to wear the Black Traitor¡¯s armour, after all. It might even be an Astralia original? Nah, I¡¯m not that lucky,¡± A deep and grim chuckle shook the Armour¡¯s insides. ¡°All the same. It¡¯s probably worth keeping just for being a Black Knight. A good addition to my collection,¡± Those words struck fear deep into Nocturnus¡¯ heart. Collection? Was this man some kind of purveyor of Armour Cores? A connoisseur, perhaps? He¡¯d known such men in his former life. People who took battle-weary blades and armours of great renown and strung them up like paintings, denying them their fate on the battlefield, to be sundered in glorious combat. Being trapped behind glass, set into a display case, never to be used again and merely ogled like some splatter of dye . . he couldn¡¯t imagine a more terrible fate. Before he knew it, faint, shaky breaths were echoing through the inside of his helmet. He didn¡¯t need to breathe, of course. But he remembered breathing well enough that the reflex of hyperventilation was still there. ¡°Huh? Is there someone in here?¡± The man wearing him cast around the large room. They were in some kind of underground training area, one large enough for the Black Knight to scale up to size ten. Not that the wearer had done so thus far. The room was empty, save for some assorted equipment. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Dark lines narrowed Nocturnus¡¯ vision; the man was squinting. ¡°Show yourself! If you¡¯re here to assassinate me, try it!¡± he challenged. Nocturnus imagined that he was raising an eyebrow. The wearer had guessed that there was someone invisible watching him, probably preparing to assassinate him. The maroon aura flared, triggering another Core in the man¡¯s Controller, and a bulky hammer emerged in the Black Knight¡¯s hands. One head was a solid slab of mana, the other tapered to a wicked point like a scythe. He reversed his grip and span like a farmer reaping wheat, no doubt hoping to strike his presumed invisible assailant. While the wearer tried to find a nonexistent threat, Nocturnus thought furiously. There had to be some way to take advantage of this. He kept breathing, making faint noises to keep his enemy off-balance. The man paused, pressing his back to a wall and brandishing his scythe at thin air. ¡°Is this all? I¡¯m disappointed,¡± Nocturnus did his best to pitch his voice as though it was a silky whisper coming from further away than it was. The man took a defensive stance, eyes darting back and forth. ¡°If you¡¯re going to take a swing, stop wasting my time!¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Nocturnus whispered. ¡°Are you in a hurry?¡± His task was compounded by the fact that he barely knew anything about this man. Nothing about his weaknesses, his joys, his struggles. Still, the desire burned within him to do something, anything, to torment him. An idea struck him. The Goliath Guard. Last he¡¯d heard from Mikayla, they were about to arrive at Cliffwatch and rejoin the Guard there. It seemed like a logical supposition to guess that Cliffwatch had been taken over or subverted somehow, without the Goliath Guard¡¯s leadership knowing. Even after two hundred years, he couldn¡¯t imagine that any organisation founded by Nicholas and the rest of his old friends would condone stealing Cores from their people. ¡°How foolish did you think we were?¡± he tried, carefully controlling his voice to not let any hesitation creep in. ¡°Did you really believe the Guard wouldn¡¯t notice what you¡¯ve been doing?¡± The man lunged to his right, but again struck only empty air. ¡°Are you a bounty hunter? How much is my head worth?¡± Nocturnus didn¡¯t quite stifle a snort of amusement, which worked out because it made the man flinch. He¡¯d received useful information; people didn¡¯t put bounties on unimportant goons. This man had significance to his organisation, and didn¡¯t seem surprised that he was a wanted man. A criminal then, one who¡¯d made a career out of his misdeeds. ¡°Enough that I¡¯m in no rush. Sleep with one eye open. Or track me down. It¡¯s up to you,¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s your game is it? Stalk me and torment me until I¡¯m a paranoid wreck, or else bait me into a trap? Where is your little hideyhole? I am not afraid of any poisoned dagger!¡± Nocturnus didn¡¯t say anything. Continuing to engage with this man would only undermine the effect he¡¯d engendered. Better now to let his imagination run wild. His wearer continued to cast around, working his way around the testing arena, his breaths coming short and sharp as he searched fruitlessly. ¡°Scan. Scan! Scan, damnit! Show me something!¡± Of course, his Scans were fruitless. There was nothing to see, though of course he assumed that the assassin was simply immune to having his location revealed. The wearer¡¯s search was interrupted when a younger man peered into the room. ¡°Flyreh?¡± He yelped as a thrown hammer struck the doorframe, inches away from him. ¡°You are to call me sir!¡± Flyreh roared, and Nocturnus tucked the knowledge of his wearer¡¯s name away. ¡°Yes sir! Sorry sir! What¡¯s wrong, sir?¡± ¡°Tell the . . actually, no,¡± Flyreh joined him in the doorway, letting his hammer fizzle out and reappear in his hand. He¡¯d panicked when the guard had appeared, expecting him to be the assassin for a second, but couldn¡¯t admit that or apologise. It would make him look weak. Better to let these jumped-up hoodlums think that making mistakes in his presence could cost them their heads. ¡°We¡¯ll go together,¡± he said instead. ¡°You might find a knife in your back on the way there. And keep your Armour up!¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The younger man¡¯s body was rapidly coated in an Amber Sentinel armour. ¡°Sir, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, did something happen to your usual Armour?¡± ¡°There might be an invisible assassin right behind us. I don¡¯t dare risk turning this Black Knight off to put on Brass-Beat Brawler, or else a knife might enter my chest during that moment of vulnerability. How¡¯s your Mana?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got plenty, sir!¡± ¡°Good. Mine will last for a while too, long enough to get somewhere safe so I can change,¡± Nocturnus had to swallow the urge to let out a triumphant cackle. His scheme was working better than he¡¯d hoped. Flyreh was convinced that there was an invisible assassin stalking him, and was about to spread that paranoia to all of his co-conspirators! He did his best to memorise the layout as Flyreh rushed through the underground halls, the aide he¡¯d enlisted chasing after him and casting concerned glances at every shadow. It only took a few minutes before he was barging into an office, barking, ¡°Lahlee!¡± Nocturnus started. He didn¡¯t recognise the human woman who answered to that name - who seemed very upset at being interrupted - but he remembered it. That was the Branch Head. The one Keldryn had been readying to report to. So, the pup¡¯s commander had turned traitor. Nocturnus itched to punch her head right off her shoulders. He listened and waited as Flyreh explained what he¡¯d heard and the conclusions he had drawn. ¡°You were with the Guard. Did you ever hear anything about assassins?¡± he finished. Lahlee¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°No, but I can¡¯t imagine I would have. I wouldn¡¯t put a secret cadre of assassins past the Monarch of the Rainbow Forest, or that scheming bag of bones they call a Dean,¡± Vitriol tinted her voice as she thought about Dean Wujing. ¡°Alert everyone. Be on guard at all times, keep every door closed. The locations of all our people are to be monitored and any unexplained disappearances -¡° Flyreh suddenly conjured his hammer and swung at the empty back of the room. Naturally, he failed to hit an assassin that did not exist. ¡°Are to be reported immediately,¡± he continued as though he hadn¡¯t broken stride. ¡°We sleep in shifts, and I want at least two guards posted on my, yours and Mahendra¡¯s beds. Can you think of any precautions I¡¯ve missed?¡± Lahlee frowned thoughtfully. ¡°There¡¯s no point in using code phrases when we might be being listened in on as we determine them. I think you¡¯ve covered everything that¡¯s practical and won¡¯t do more harm than good. But for the love of the Sun Archiver, please tell me that you¡¯re almost done with your project and we can leave this place soon,¡± Flyreh scowled. ¡°We haven¡¯t made much progress. The damn snake isn¡¯t cooperating. We might have to pack it up and take the chance that it¡¯ll still be viable in a different location,¡± Lahlee didn¡¯t like that, but didn¡¯t object either, and Nocturnus silently cursed as his current wearer left her office with an off-handed comment about rallying the troops. His efforts might have only made it more difficult for Mikayla and Keldryn to muster an escape. Though, there were upsides. Being on high alert indefinitely would wear on the soldiers. They would grow tired. Low on Mana. Stressed. Yes, this might actually be a good thing. So long as Mikayla and Keldryn didn¡¯t try anything while the guards were alert, and waited until the stress was wearing them down before making a move, it would work in their favour. This was good. Definitely. He hadn¡¯t blundered again. His charges would be alright. Surely. Because Nocturnus couldn¡¯t help but feel like he would be beyond any hope of redemption if he failed again. Chapter 42: The System Behind The System There was something that Mikayla needed to ask Asika about. She¡¯d put off the conversation while focusing on purging impurities - really, knowing that so much filth was inside her made it difficult to think about anything else - but eventually she¡¯d run out of mana and couldn¡¯t hide behind that excuse anymore. Now the only obstacle in her path was her own social anxiety. She opened her mouth, and nothing came out. Her fingernails dug into her palms, and she used the twinge of pain to clear her mind. ¡°Hey Asika,¡± she rushed out before she could second-guess herself. ¡°Hm? What¡¯s up?¡± There was something incredibly uncanny about the faerie when Mikayla looked closely at her. As long as she didn¡¯t look at her eyes, Asika passed very convincingly as a bubbly teenager who happened to be blue, someone who probably would have gotten along well with Cat. But those eyes, with no irises or pupils, just perfectly round blue surfaces that were smooth enough for Mikayla to see her own reflection in, were off-putting. Mikayla couldn¡¯t quite shake the feeling of dread which came from knowing that the peppy schoolgirl facade was just a means to hide some kind of alien and unknowable computer. And now she wanted to talk just to distract herself from that niggling worry. Funny how that worked. ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯ve been wondering about for a while, about how this world and the System works. You¡¯re a faerie, if anyone would have an actual answer for me it¡¯s you,¡± ¡°Yeah? Sure, shoot,¡± Asika nodded encouragingly. ¡°Why does the System only give us XP when we kill things? Why do monsters need to die?¡± Asika flinched, her usual cheer cracking like glass. ¡°Oooooo. That is . . I am really not supposed to talk about that,¡± ¡°What?¡± Mikayla hadn¡¯t expected a response like that. ¡°Why not? Why¡¯s something fundamental like that a secret?¡± Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. ¡°Whoa. Whoa. Uh, hang on,¡± Asika¡¯s face screwed up thoughtfully. She looked around, but Keldryn and Anza weren¡¯t paying them any attention and the other nearby prisoners seemed out of it. Despite this, she looked uncomfortable. ¡°Um. The official answer is that it¡¯s because they kill people and therefore it¡¯s to encourage survival, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s gonna satisfy you, is it?¡± ¡°No,¡± ¡°Figured. Let¡¯s do this over DMs,¡± ¡°DMs? You mean, Direct Messages? We have those?¡± Asika was already typing on her System interface. A blue box popped up in her field of vision. [HI!] It promptly expanded into what Mikayla recognised as an instant messaging service, with a keyboard and text box. Experimentally, she focused on a key and tried to mentally ¡®press¡¯ it. Once she¡¯d typed a quick message, she focused on the send button, and it slid up into the chat log. [TEST?] [OOH, YOU WORKED THAT OUT FAST!] Asika¡¯s messages came much faster than hers did, probably because Mikayla was still trying to figure out how to type with her brain. [YEAH WE HAD THIS IN MY WORLD] [COOL! OKAY. BACK ON THE TOPIC OF MONSTERS. BEFORE I SAY ANYTHING, I NEED YOU TO PROMISE NOT TO SPREAD THIS AROUND. THIS IS DANGEROUS KNOWLEDGE AND IT¡¯S SUPPRESSED FOR A REASON.] Mikayla frowned. [OK FINE] [RIGHT! SO THE SHORT VERSION IS, IT¡¯S ABOUT RESOURCES. LIVING BEINGS, SAPIENTS AND MONSTERS BOTH, GENERATE AND ACCUMULATE ¡®STUFF¡¯. WHENEVER A SAPIENT EMPOWERED BY THE ATARAXIAN SYSTEM KILLS SOMETHING, THAT ¡®STUFF¡¯ IS CLAIMED BY THE COSMIC SCALES, AND SOME OF IT IS GRANTED TO THE VICTOR AS A REWARD. THAT WAY THEY¡¯LL GET STRONGER AND BE ABLE TO KILL MORE MONSTERS, WINNING MORE ¡®STUFF¡¯.] Mikayla squinted at the message. [THAT¡¯S KINDA EVIL.] She paused, noticing the way Asika had phrased some of that. [WAIT. THAT¡¯S FOR *SAPIENTS EMPOWERED BY THE ATARAXIAN SYSTEM*, SPECIFICALLY?] Because the same rules applied to monsters too. The Second Monster King had gained a massive amount of strength from killing Nocturnus and it certainly hadn¡¯t been a ¡®sapient empowered by the Ataraxian System¡¯. [YEAH, THAT PART¡¯S COMMON KNOWLEDGE AND MOST PEOPLE JUST DON¡¯T THINK ABOUT IT. THE TOP SECRET PART IS THAT THERE ARE ACTUALLY TWO SYSTEMS. ONE FOR SAPIENTS AND ONE FOR MONSTERS.] Mikayla¡¯s eyes widened. That was not where she was expecting this to go. [WHY?] [BECAUSE THE MONSTERS¡¯ SYSTEM WASN¡¯T MADE BY US. THE COSMIC SCALES BUILT THE ATARAXIAN SYSTEM SO THAT SAPIENTS WOULD BE ABLE TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST MONSTERS EMPOWERED BY THE OTHER SYSTEM, AND SO THAT WE HAD A WAY OF GETTING BACK THE ¡®STUFF¡¯ THAT THE MONSTERS TAKE WHEN THEY KILL SAPIENTS.] [BUT THEN WHO MADE THE MONSTER SYSTEM?] [I¡¯LL GET TO THAT. HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT THE GOLDEN AGE, THE AGE OF CHAOS AND THE AGE OF THE SYSTEM?] [YEP WHY?] Nocturnus¡¯ story bubbled up in her mind. How the world had once been in a Golden Age of gods and no monsters, but then there¡¯d been some kind of calamity that destabilised the world¡¯s Mana and caused monsters to start appearing. The world had almost ended until the Cosmic Scales built the System as a stopgap to patch up the damage. Mikayla¡¯s mind was already racing. If there was a second System, one that empowered monsters, one that drove monsters to attack humans - well, sapients. Had the Age of Chaos started because the Monsters¡¯ System had come first? Her suspicions were confirmed as soon as Asika finished typing her latest message. [PEOPLE THINK THE DESTABILISATION OF THE WORLD¡¯S MANA THAT STARTED THE AGE OF CHAOS WAS SOME KIND OF NATURAL DISASTER. THAT¡¯S NOT TRUE. IT WAS AN ATTACK ON THE WHOLE WORLD.] [BY WHO?] [I DON¡¯T KNOW ALL THE DETAILS. I DON¡¯T THINK ANYONE DOES. ALL I KNOW IS THAT WE CALL THEM: THE CANOPY.] [SO THIS CANOPY IS EMPOWERING MONSTERS TO KILL SAPIENTS?] [BASICALLY. EVERY MONSTER IN THE WORLD IS ITS UNWITTING AGENT. THEIR MINDS ARE ALTERED FROM THE MOMENT THEY COME INTO EXISTENCE, CLAIMING ¡®STUFF¡¯ FOR THEIR MASTER BY HUNTING US IS AS FUNDAMENTAL AS BREATHING. IT¡¯S VERY RARE FOR A MONSTER TO OVERCOME THAT INSTINCT AND TRY TO MAKE PEACE.] [THIS IS HUGE WHY IS IT SECRET] [BECAUSE THE CANOPY USES SAPIENT AGENTS TOO. ANYONE WILLING TO BETRAY THEIR KIND FOR PERSONAL POWER WILL FIND IT CALLING TO THEM. IF THE WORLD AT LARGE FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS, THE CANOPY¡¯S AGENTS WOULD MULTIPLY A THOUSANDFOLD. SO WE NEED TO KEEP IT SUPPRESSED.] The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Mikayla didn¡¯t message back for a minute, her mind spinning with the revelations. Eventually, something occurred to her. [WAIT WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT IT BEING ¡®VERY RARE¡¯ FOR A MONSTER TO OVERCOME ITS INSTINCTS? SO IT HAS HAPPENED?] [IT¡¯S HAPPENED TWENTY-SIX TIMES THAT WE KNOW OF. TWENTY-SIX. OUT OF ALL THE BILLIONS OF MONSTERS THAT HAVE BEEN SPAWNED OR BORN IN THIS WORLD SINCE THE AGE OF CHAOS.] Asika shrugged apologetically. [SORRY. TECHNICALLY SPEAKING WE DON¡¯T WANT IT TO HAPPEN AT ALL BECAUSE THOSE FEELING MONSTERS¡¯ ¡®STUFF¡¯ IS STILL ON THE CANOPY¡¯S SIDE, EVEN IF THEY DEFECT.] ¡°Then . .¡± Mikayla sighed. [SO THERE¡¯S REALLY NO SAVING THE MONSTERS? THEY JUST ALL HAVE TO DIE?] Asika shrugged. [PRETTY MUCH. UNLESS SOMEONE GETS RID OF THE CANOPY SOMEHOW. BUT WE¡¯VE BEEN WORKING ON THAT FOR TWO THOUSAND YEARS WITH NO SUCCESS.] ¡°That . . that sucks,¡± ¡°It does,¡± Asika commiserated. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault that this world is so messed up,¡± Mikayla shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s this Canopy¡¯s,¡± Asika started, her eyes glowing again. [DON¡¯T SAY THAT OUT LOUD! YOU MIGHT GET ITS ATTENTION!] Mikayla started. [WHAT? IT RUNS ON VOLDEMORT LOGIC?!] [MAYBE? BUT I GOTTA WARN YOU, NOW THAT YOU¡¯RE IN THE KNOW.] Asika paused, gathering her thoughts, or at least pretending to. [THE CANOPY BRIBES ITS AGENTS BY LETTING THEM HAVE ACCESS TO BOTH SYSTEMS. DOUBLED GROWTH. DOUBLED STATS. AND MORE BESIDES. THEN ONCE THEY¡¯RE ADDICTED IT STARTS ASSIGNING ¡®QUESTS¡¯ TO MAKE PEOPLE DO ITS BIDDING IN EXCHANGE FOR MORE POWER. SO IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW EVER START GETTING WEIRD NOTIFICATIONS ABOUT SOMETHING CALLED A TIER OR A QUEST, TELL ME OR ANOTHER FAERIE IMMEDIATELY SO WE CAN CLEANSE YOU BEFORE IT¡¯S TOO LATE. AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU EVER COMPLETE A QUEST.] Mikayla winced. [SERIOUSLY? SO ANYONE COULD BE OFFERED A QUEST OR BE GRANTED A TIER AT ANY TIME AND NOT KNOW IT¡¯S A TRAP? THAT AT LEAST FEELS LIKE IT SHOULD BE COMMON KNOWLEDGE!!!] Asika made a face. [YOUR WORLD MUST BE A MUCH BETTER PLACE THAN THIS ONE IF YOU DON¡¯T HAVE THE KINDS OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD RATIONALISE AWAY PUSHING THE WORLD A LITTLE CLOSER TO DISASTER FOR PERSONAL POWER.] She mulled this over. [YEAH NO SORRY I DIDN¡¯T THINK THAT THROUGH FAIR ENOUGH] Asika giggled. [IT¡¯S NOT A GOOD SOLUTION. WE KNOW.] Her face fell. [BUT WE DON¡¯T HAVE A GOOD SOLUTION. BY LEAVING QUESTS AS AN UNKNOWN, WE INCENTIVISE PEOPLE TO ASK A FAERIE FOR HELP IF THEY RECEIVE ONE, RATHER THAN JUST IMMEDIATELY SELLING OUT SAPIENITY FOR POWER. THIS WAY THE CANOPY GETS FEWER AND LESS COMPETENT AGENTS THAN IT WOULD IF WE PUBLICISED WHAT QUESTS ACTUALLY ARE.] ¡°I get it,¡± Mikayla murmured, then remembered to use the DM interface. [THIS WHOLE SYSTEM BEHIND THE SYSTEM REALLY JUST BOILS DOWN TO YOU ALL DOING YOUR BEST TO KEEP THE WORLD TURNING] Asika nodded, her usual smile turning solemn. [YEP. IT¡¯S THANKS TO MY ANCESTORS DOING THAT JOB SO WELL THAT WE¡¯RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT IT.] She rested her face in her hands. ¡°And I¡¯m hardly living up to that legacy. My first real mission and I get ambushed and locked in a cage by a bunch of wackos. Failsafe would be so disappointed if she could see me now,¡± Mikayla winced. Blue skin or no, the sudden show of despondency was so human that her earlier worries seemed crass. She tried to reach out for a consoling pat but couldn¡¯t get her hand through the bars. ¡°Don¡¯t write this mission off just yet. We¡¯re alive, and we¡¯ve got a plan. We¡¯ll get out of here, deal with these cult losers, you¡¯ll get me home and I¡¯ll give you five stars on my customer satisfaction survey,¡± Asika peeked through her fingers and giggled weakly. ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± <=====}¡ªo [YOU HAVE EARNED XP FOR KILLING AN ANT!] [LEVEL UP! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 5!] Seres was pleased. Killing the ants infesting her vessel by crushing them with her automatic doors and cranes manipulating heavy objects had been frustrating and slow, but it was slowly but surely paying off. The ants weren¡¯t all that smart, fortunately. Every time she killed one, another came to investigate. If there was some kind of governing intelligence controlling them, it didn¡¯t seem to consider that it might just be sending the drones to their deaths. Or perhaps they were just individually morons. She didn¡¯t know. [TIER UP!] The off-colour notifications had come back for the first time since receiving her Quest. [CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW TIER 1! SELECT AN ENHANCEMENT] [IMPROVED PROCESSORS] [SYMBIOSIS] [SELF-MODIFICATION NANITES] This was new. She hadn¡¯t been given a choice like this before, and one of them was highlighted. Why was that? [QUEST: REUNITE WITH CAPTAIN MUMMY MIKAYLA AND FIRST MATE DADDY KELDRYN. STEP ONE: BECOME MOBILE.] Seres processed the prompt and came back with a 84% chance that ¡®[SELF-MODIFICATION NANITES]¡¯ would give her the ability to become mobile in one way or another. So she selected that option. Her new functionality was immediately apparent. She could feel tiny pieces of herself sloughing away and coming to life. Like little motes of living dust. She could sense what they could do, what she could do with them. Take things apart. Eat them. Reproduce and grow. Her quest demanded mobility. She had been mobile before, her entire frame had been capable of going anywhere in the world. But that was when there had been water, and there was no water anymore. She needed something different. She began drawing up plans to construct a new chassis, something that could move over land, while producing and directing her nanites to deconstruct and repurpose the damaged wheeled vehicles and cranes of her hull for materials. It took her only a few minutes to develop a design that she felt would be feasible, and directed her nanites to begin preparing her core to be transferred. Seres hadn¡¯t considered that even merely removing her CPU from its housing to begin building her new frame around it technically still counted as ¡®mobile¡¯. [QUEST COMPLETE!] Power flooded her circuits. It was like when the big bird had filled her with lightning, but even better, more intoxicating. It was adding to her, making her feel more complete, filling in holes she didn¡¯t know she had. [REWARD: TIER UP!] [CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW TIER 2! SELECT AN ENHANCEMENT] [PROBABILITY MANIFOLD] [BLADED WEAPONS PROFICIENCY] [RANGED WEAPONS PROFICIENCY] The nanomachines continued working in the background as Seres considered the choice being presented to her bridge camera. It would need to be detached and modified to serve as the central eye of her new chassis, but that could wait until she had made this choice. She hadn¡¯t considered it before, but two of the three options involved weaponization. That strongly implied that weapons were necessary to ensure survival in this world. Reviewing her logs, she noticed that Captain Mummy Mikayla and First Mate Daddy Keldryn both used bladed weapons, and so had the Ant King that they had fought. That supported her hypothesis. Weapons were important. Furthermore, the evidence was circumstantial, but the fact that all three had used blades, while her previous round of employees had used guns and had all been killed by ants, did strongly indicate that this world favoured blades. As such, she didn¡¯t hesitate in taking the logical course of action and selecting [BLADED WEAPONS PROFICIENCY]. Data flowed into her mind from an undetermined and unidentifiable source. The benefits of curved blades as opposed to straight blades, and vice versa. The importance of a blade¡¯s length. Grip techniques and styles. Daggers and katanas and grappling hooks and spears. The knowledge was shallow, and she could see how it left room for her to improve and specialise, but it was broader than she could have possibly anticipated, and - conveniently - included everything she needed to modify her plans for her new chassis with the additional goal of weaponization. There would be blades on her back. Blades on her arms. There was even a fascinating information packet about the proper application of a bladed tail. She would refine this knowledge through trial and error, optimise her body into an endless storm of cutting death, and everything that tried to prevent her from reuniting with Captain Mummy Mikayla and First Mate Daddy Keldryn would be sliced into tiny little pieces. It was so exciting! [QUEST: REUNITE WITH CAPTAIN MUMMY MIKAYLA AND FIRST MATE DADDY KELDRYN. STEP TWO: FIND YOUR TARGETS.] [YOUR MAP HAS BEEN UPDATED.] Seres knew where Captain Mummy Mikayla and First Mate Daddy Keldryn were now. She could feel their locations in her mind. They weren¡¯t far away. Once her new chassis was finished, she¡¯d be able to catch up after only four days of travel! <=====}¡ªo Oblivious to the progression of events several miles away, Asika quirked an eyebrow. ¡°By the way, what¡¯s a ¡®customer satisfaction survey¡¯?¡± Mikayla facepalmed. ¡°God damnit - I mean, Hegemon damnit - I said I was gonna stop referencing things that don¡¯t exist in this world!¡± Chapter 43: Mod Approved The process of removing her body¡¯s impurities was like nothing else Mikayla had ever felt. It didn¡¯t hurt, exactly. It was freeing, in a way. Anza had described it as removing small bits of poison that accumulated in one¡¯s body, and she could feel that. With every impurity that they purged, her body felt a little lighter, her breaths came a bit easier, she felt more alive. Energy filled her body in a way that made her feel like she was a child again, ready to run and jump and play with no heed for the limitations of mortality. Asika was like a machine - well, in a way, she was a machine. After observing her method a few times, she¡¯d insisted that Mikayla help rather than just watching. Both because it would be faster that way and because Mikayla really should know how to do this herself. So she¡¯d marshalled her mana and started to grind away at an impurity in her left elbow. It was torturously slow work, like ripping off a bandage a single molecule at a time. Mikayla could see that this was a process that was intended to take weeks or months of on-and-off work. If the situation wasn¡¯t so dire, she would happily take a more slow and measured approach to removing her own impurities, perhaps doing a little at a time in the evenings, because maintaining this degree of focus was exhausting. Having Asika helping her was a godsend in that regard. In the time it had taken Mikayla to burn away a single impurity, the faerie had purged ten. She was tempted to just sit back and let Asika handle all of it, but banished the notion, reminding herself that this was a skill she had to learn. Refining her mana control and body purity in this way was a fundamental ability for the strong in this world. And if there was one thing the Kaiju Coast had taught her, it was that she needed to be strong or she¡¯d end up dead. They¡¯d been working at it for two days, interrupted only when they had to wait for their Mana to recover and when the guards delivered food to the prisoners, as well as another round of blood samples being taken. Once again, Anza warned them not to touch the drug-laden food, no matter how hungry Mikayla felt. Two weeks of the Kaiju Coast diet had, thankfully, hardened her stomach enough that a couple of days¡¯ starvation was only annoying. Flyreh hadn¡¯t returned the second time, their assailants were just unnamed goons. Including the afro-sporting one who¡¯d stolen Chesham¡¯s Armour Core. For want of an introduction, Mikayla decided to christen him Afro Thief. Afro Thief wasn¡¯t as stupid as he looked, unfortunately for the plotting prisoners. He saw that the four of them had gathered together, and suspicion filled his eyes. ¡°What are you all up to?¡± Mikayla had rehearsed an answer. ¡°I¡¯m a historian, and I¡¯ve finally -¡° ¡°Not you,¡± he cut her off. ¡°I want to hear it from the faerie. Faeries can¡¯t lie,¡± Afro Thief demanded, squinting at Asika. Mikayla slumped back, stifling a wince. Asika took over, firing syllables from her tongue with the cadence of a machine gun. ¡°We¡¯ve been discussing appropriate mechanisms by which hypothetical individuals would undertake quintessential procedures to overwrite the inherently calcimine disposition of the circulatory systems possessed by an endothermic individual with the capacities of munificence and -¡° ¡°Stop,¡± Afro Thief growled, looking like he was developing a headache just from trying to parse Asika¡¯s dictionary soup. He wrestled with himself for a moment. ¡°I heard ¡®discussing¡¯ in there. As long as it¡¯s just talking, it doesn¡¯t matter, not like any of you can do anything locked up like that,¡± Another round of blood samples being taken went by, and they were left alone to resume. ¡°Faeries can¡¯t lie, huh?¡± Mikayla cast a knowing look at Asika. Asika just giggled. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean we have to tell the truth,¡± By the following morning - or so Mikayla guessed, as being unable to see the sun made it hard to tell time - almost the entirety of her body had been scoured clean of impurities, only a few remaining in her head. Keldryn¡¯s progress wasn¡¯t quite as good, no doubt because Anza didn¡¯t have Asika¡¯s mechanical precision. When there were only three impurities remaining, all in her neck, Asika broke off and went to help Keldryn catch up, leaving Mikayla to do the last three herself. Once the last one was gone, something clicked into place. It was like Mikayla had unknowingly gone her whole life with a vision impairment and the world had suddenly come into focus for the first time. She could see more. Hear more. The world seemed slightly slower. Or perhaps she was thinking, living faster. It was a subtle, but incredible shift. ¡°Good, you¡¯ve finished the hard part. Now shimmy over here,¡± Asika dragged their cages together, wrapping one hand around Mikayla¡¯s wrist and the other around Keldryn¡¯s. ¡°This is the easy part. The Stamina coating,¡± ¡°The part where we harden our bodies to prevent new impurities from forcing us to do that all over again,¡± Keldryn remembered. ¡°You got it! We¡¯re in a rush, so I¡¯m gonna just guide you on how to do it. Watch and learn!¡± Like pixelated lightning, Asika¡¯s Mana flowed all over Mikayla¡¯s body before she could even react, kneading her channels like dough. In a hundred places up and down her torso and limbs, she felt her Mana get pressed into the boundaries of her body. At the points of contact, she felt her flesh getting harder . . or maybe it was more accurate to say it was growing tighter. Like her pores were sealing themselves up, her skin quite literally growing thicker. The process spread from the myriad starting points, expanding like shockwaves of transformation that made her more, spreading the changes both across and deep. The insides of her muscles itched as they grew more powerful, more durable. Her bones hardened, their internal structures growing more complicated in ways Mikayla didn¡¯t understand and could only barely perceive. ¡°Focus! You gotta know how to do this yourself!¡± Asika reminded her, and Mikayla nodded, scrutinising the process and doing her best to commit to memory what Asika was making her Stamina do, even if she barely understood it. The waves of changes had filled her body before she knew it and were spreading up her neck. They filled her jaw and infused her teeth, and Mikayla felt them growing straighter and more resilient. It washed over her scalp and through her hair, which she was surprised to feel spontaneously grow a few inches. Once it had filled her skin, it turned inwards, and her eyes rolled back in her head as she felt her brain be adjusted, become more capable, so that it could handle the changes to her body. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. A sudden lump rose in her throat, and her gag reflex kicked in involuntarily. Something slimy and squishy was expelled from her throat and onto the floor, a ball of gristle and dirt that she was repulsed to know had been inside her. ¡°Aaaaand there! Ta-da!¡± Asika cheered. ¡°How do you feel?¡± Keldryn asked, concern etched into his face. ¡°You¡¯re about to find out! Your turn!¡± Mikayla just sat back against the bars of her cage, feeling her heart pound, as Asika turned her attention on Keldryn to inflict the same process on him. Her heartbeat felt magnified. Faster. Stronger. Had her hearing improved or was she just imagining things? She knew that this would be a change, she knew that breaking the First Schema Lock would be a qualitative boost to her strength, but she hadn¡¯t been prepared for how everything suddenly felt different and yet the same. For several minutes, she just revelled in the feeling. A word came to mind; transhuman. Was that what she was now? More than human? Better than human? Still human at all? Before she could go too deep into that rabbit hole, she forced herself to remember their current circumstances. In only a few minutes, they would begin their prison break. She could grapple with leaving behind the shackles of mortality when she was certain that she would live to see tomorrow. ¡°Alright! All done! Now, your reward for all my hard work; pull up your Statistics!¡± Asika commanded. ¡°Show me my Statistics,¡± Mikayla parroted at the System. [STATISTICS: (1 Lock Cleared, 125% Efficiency) HEALTH: 1750/1750 MANA: 2000/2000 STAMINA: 1750/1750 STRENGTH: 17.5 (BASE VALUE: 14) DEXTERITY: 17.5 (BASE VALUE: 14) CONSTITUTION: 17.5 (BASE VALUE: 14) CHARISMA: 17.5 (BASE VALUE: 14) INTELLIGENCE: 20 (BASE VALUE: 16) WILLPOWER: 21.25 (BASE VALUE: 17) ] Mikayla¡¯s eyes widened, taking in how her Stats had all leapt upwards at once. ¡°Whoa,¡± A bit of quick maths confirmed it; everything had increased by one-quarter of its previous value. ¡°That¡¯s what Schema Locks do? A permanent, multiplicative boost to every stat? That¡¯s insane!¡± ¡°It¡¯s awesome, huh? You got it!¡± Asika confirmed. ¡°Every point you have is now worth one-and-a-quarter points. Once you clear the Second Lock, they¡¯ll be worth one-and-a-half,¡± ¡°So by the Fourth Lock, it all gets doubled,¡± Mikayla realised. ¡°That¡¯s a cascade effect alright. And everyone gets that?¡± ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s a reason we tell people to be wary about fighting someone who¡¯s cleared more Schema Locks than they have,¡± Anza offered her input, lips twisting. ¡°Most of the time, the only way to offset that kind of power gap is with skill. Which you two don¡¯t have,¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve been training my whole life,¡± Keldryn retorted. Anza quirked an eyebrow. ¡°So has everyone else. You¡¯re still low enough level that you should be wary of fighting pretty much anyone,¡± ¡°The plan is to escape, not fight. We know,¡± Mikayla assured her. She took a deep breath, looking herself over. ¡°Alright. Time to bust out?¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s still one more bit of prep work to do before we make a break for it! Now that you¡¯ve managed that, we need to equip you with some Techniques!¡± Asika cheered. Keldryn¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Really?¡± His voice had turned incredulous. ¡°You¡¯re going to give us Techniques?¡± ¡°Is that different from when you showed me how to set my fist on fire?¡± Mikayla checked. ¡°She¡¯s a faerie. Her Mana and Stamina control are perfect. There are legends about people doing incredible things to prove themselves worthy of learning a technique from a faerie. Anything she gives us will be Flawless,¡± Asika grinned. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m only supposed to do something like hand out free Flawless techniques during an emergency, but I think this counts. The bad news is, I don¡¯t have my uplink to the Overmind active right now, so I can¡¯t give you something tailored to your fighting styles, just stuff copied from my own personal kit. And even then, only the stuff that doesn¡¯t rely on my equipment or faerie physiology,¡± Keldryn looked disappointed. ¡°That¡¯s still good! Right?¡± Mikayla nodded encouragingly. ¡°You tell me,¡± Asika gripped her wrist again, once more sending her Mana flowing up Mikayla¡¯s arm. [NEW TECHNIQUE SAVED: PSYCHIC BOLT (FLAWLESS)] [NEW TECHNIQUE SAVED: HEEL PROPULSION (FLAWLESS)] [NEW TECHNIQUE SAVED: ASIKA¡¯S AWESOME LASER BARRAGE 10.0.48 (FLAWLESS)] Mikayla blinked at the last one. ¡°Asika¡¯s Awesome Laser Barrage?¡± ¡°Everyone¡¯s got hobbies! Don¡¯t throw that one around willy-nilly, it eats a lot of Mana,¡± Asika grinned at her. There was a blast of light, and the door of Keldryn¡¯s cage exploded. All eyes went to him, as he stared at his hand in bemusement and what the Psychic Bolt had done. ¡°So that¡¯s a Flawless technique?¡± ¡°Actually, that one¡¯s supposed to do more damage to living things than to inanimate objects!¡± Asika nodded encouragingly. ¡°. . Wow,¡± ¡°Show me my Techniques,¡± Mikayla suddenly commanded her HUD, suddenly hesitant to unleash the clearly overpowered abilities Asika had just gifted them. [TECHNIQUES: CIRCULATION OF STAMINA (Basic): Expend Stamina to accelerate the natural healing process. FIRESTARTING PUNCH (Crude): Expend 50 Mana to wrap your fist in flame and strike your target with an inferno. Damage scales with Willpower. PSYCHIC BOLT (Flawless): Expend 40 Mana to project your thoughts in a blast of energy. Can be used with friendly or hostile intent for either communication or offence. Damage scales with Willpower. HEEL PROPULSION (Flawless): Expend 30 Stamina through your feet to launch yourself in a direction. Effectiveness scales with Agility. ASIKA¡¯S AWESOME LASER BARRAGE 10.0.48 (Flawless): I worked out the kink this time! It still only shoots forty-eight lasers but it isn¡¯t costing 30 Mana per laser anymore, I got it down to 15! And it¡¯s not ripping my body apart when I cast it anymore! It looks like lasers in multiples of sixteen are the sweet spot. Next I¡¯m gonna try to get it up to eighty!] Mikayla was unsurprised by Asika¡¯s enthusiastic notes on what she was now certain was a homebrewed Technique. A bit of quick Maths told her that forty-eight lasers at 15 Mana each would cost 720 Mana, or a bit more than a third of her new total Mana capacity. She almost hoped that they would get into a fight on the way out, just to have a chance to try it out. Keldryn had already crawled out of his Cage, and was working to release Anza from her chains. ¡°What are you waiting for? Come on,¡± he insisted. ¡°Might need a hand with mine,¡± Asika added, gesturing at the heavier locks and chains encrusting her cage. ¡°Okay. Here goes. Psychic Bolt!¡± Mikayla chanted, and the Mana in her right arm flexed into a pattern that reminded her vaguely of a railgun. A ball of blue light flashed from her head, down her arm, and out through her palm, striking the door of her cage and making it explode open. She crawled out and relished finally being able to stand up straight after three days of confinement. Asika¡¯s pleading gaze convinced her not to waste more than a second on that, and she raised her hand, throwing another Psychic Bolt. It splashed off, only dealing minor damage. ¡°Uh. Nope. If that worked, I¡¯d have done it already,¡± Asika shook her head. There was a thunk, and they turned to see Anza had dropped to the ground, groaning as she stretched. The cuffs were still wrapped around her wrists, ankles and neck, trailing broken links of chain. Keldryn had clearly decided that blasting the manacles off was too much of a risk and instead broken the chains. ¡°Allow me,¡± the Guardswoman grunted, her arms lighting up with golden energy. She drove her hands into the bars of the cage and ripped it in half without even the aid of a Technique. The metal buckled and collapsed, parting around Asika. ¡°Ohhhh, that feels good,¡± Asika stretched, rising to her full height for the first time since Mikayla had known her. Somehow, it wasn¡¯t surprising that Asika was the shortest present, and based on everything Mikayla had heard about her archetype and ideal self, she probably liked it that way. Asika bounced from one foot to the other in what looked like a gymnastics warmup routine, then grinned. ¡°Alright! Who¡¯s ready to bust out?¡± Chapter 44: Killing Is A Solution, But Not The Solution (Jailbreak Arc Begins) ¡°Scan says there¡¯s still a guard outside. He¡¯s totally zoned out though,¡± Asika whispered. ¡°Any chance you can share that with us?¡± Anza whispered. Asika screwed up her face thoughtfully, then flexed her fingers and a blue screen appeared in her hand. ¡°Okay, good news and bad news. My authority to promote people to temp mods is really low, but not zero. I can¡¯t upgrade your Scan to be like mine, but I can do this. Boop!¡± She tapped Anza¡¯s nose. The older woman started, her eyebrows furrowing. ¡°What was that for?¡± ¡°Boop! Boop!¡± Asika did the same to Mikayla and Keldryn. ¡°And now . . ta-da!¡± [GLOBAL MAP IS AVAILABLE] [IDENTIFY IS AVAILABLE] ¡°That¡¯s running off my personal System node. It won¡¯t last forever, I don¡¯t have unlimited data authority, but it should work until we get the Ataraxia Node going and can restore those permissions,¡± Asika rattled off. ¡°So how do I actually use this?¡± Mikayla asked. ¡°It¡¯s pretty standard. To Identify an object or person, just focus on them and think or say Identify!¡± Mikayla raised a wry eyebrow, then focused on Asika and murmured, ¡°Identify,¡± That was going to stop sounding like a word in the near future, wasn¡¯t it? [ASIKA - LEVEL 33 - FAERIE - JUNIOR SYSTEM MODERATOR] While she¡¯d been busy with that, Asika had turned back to Anza and shrugged apologetically. ¡°Sorry, but as far as scouting goes, we¡¯re just gonna have to rely on me to call out targets,¡± ¡°I can work with that,¡± Anza nodded. ¡°So, just the one guard outside?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± Anza¡¯s arms erupted with golden light again, and she threw herself against the door. It exploded off its hinges, and within the space of a second she¡¯d located the guard, lunged at him, and smacked him into the dirt. Unprepared and half-asleep, the unfortunate man barely even realised what was going on before he¡¯d fallen unconscious. Mikayla lowly whistled, awed by the sheer efficiency of the takedown. ¡°Remind me not to get on your bad side,¡± ¡°Hah. There¡¯s nothing impressive about beating up chumps like this. Just wait until you see what I¡¯m gonna do to Lahlee,¡± Anza growled a promise as she pulled the guard¡¯s Core Controller off his wrist and tossed it to Keldryn. ¡°Here, take this,¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you want it?¡± he checked, catching it and slipping it around his wrist. ¡°It¡¯s just an Amber Sentinel. It¡¯d only slow me down,¡± Anza shook her head. ¡°Asika, which way to our Cores?¡± ¡°Follow me!¡± the faerie gestured, taking off towards the right-hand corridor. Mikayla followed, and Anza rapidly overtook her. Keldryn brought up the rear. His expression rapidly darkened as he fiddled with the Core Controller, until it finally lit up and wrapped him in blocky yellow Armour that had a spear and shield fused to his hands. ¡°. . It¡¯s better than nothing,¡± he admitted. Asika led them through more corridors and up several flights of stairs, then drew to a halt. ¡°We¡¯re almost there. They don¡¯t have any guards patrolling, so yay, but they did leave a couple of guards outside the room where they¡¯re keeping Cores. And these ones have multiple Cores on them,¡± ¡°When Lahlee captured us, she had some goons using stolen Guardsman armour,¡± Keldryn reminded the group. ¡°So some hired muscle with equipment they probably don¡¯t know how to use. No problem,¡± Anza cracked her knuckles and made to round the corner, but Asika threw up a hand. ¡°Wait! I wanna try something!¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Asika beamed. ¡°I¡¯ve had nothing to do but theorycraft for the past two weeks, let¡¯s see if my upgrades to my Technique paid off!¡± Mikayla¡¯s eyes widened. If Asika was about to do what they all thought she was about to do, Mikayla wanted to see it. Asika leapt into the intersection of corridors, spread her arms and did a rapid pirouette. As she did, motes of light appeared around her, a half-dozen pencils drawing a three-dimensional array of spiralling lines connecting forty-eight twinkles of pale blue light. ¡°Hey! Who are you, how did -¡° That was as far as the guards got before Asika¡¯s Awesome Laser Barrage was ready to launch. Within half a second of completing her twirl, the first six tiny stars ignited into bolts of cyan energy. This was rapidly followed by the next six, and within the span of four seconds all forty-eight of the projectiles had fired off. Mikayla winced, hearing screams of pain replace the half-formed attempts to accost Asika, and nervously peered out at the corridor. Unfortunately, the guards had gotten their Armour Cores up in time. She recognised Afro Thief as he wrapped himself in the orange Armour that Keldryn had identified as having once belonged to his friend, and a slate-coloured battleaxe appeared in his hands. His partner was another goon she recognised from the ambush in Lahlee¡¯s office, who was conjuring matted black robes around himself while clutching at his arm. Asika had at least landed a good hit. The faerie had an aggrieved look on her face. ¡°Guess it¡¯s still too slow,¡± ¡°Still wasn¡¯t bad. My turn!¡± Anza roared, launching herself forwards. Keldryn followed, and orange energy mounting around his feet - a telltale sign of the new Heel Propulsion Technique they¡¯d been gifted - let him overtake the older warrior. Anza recognised that he was targeting Afro Thief, and went for the other one. Mikayla hesitated. She¡¯d never killed a person before. It had been easy to rationalise killing Kaijus, Keldryn and Nocturnus had helped with that. But she¡¯d never killed a person before. While sitting in the cages, she thought she¡¯d come to terms with the fact that people were going to die, bad people who probably deserved it. But right now, watching Keldryn and Anza assault the guards, she didn¡¯t feel anywhere near as ready as she wanted to be. A flash of cyan energy drew her attention, and she saw a Psychic Bolt fly from Asika¡¯s fingers, across Keldryn¡¯s shoulder and into Afro Thief¡¯s face. He spasmed, and Keldryn drove a spear into his gut. Asika glanced at her and misidentified the source of her distress. ¡°Yeah, holding your fire¡¯s probably smart, you don¡¯t have built-in aim assist,¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°What? Um. It¡¯s not that. I¡¯ve never killed someone before,¡± Mikayla admitted with a faint whimper. ¡°Oh, gotcha gotcha. Um. Erk,¡± Asika¡¯s smile turned into a grimace. ¡°I, uh, I think they¡¯ve got it handled?¡± They looked back at the two duels just in time. A forceful elbow from Afro Thief had Keldryn stumbling back, and while he was regaining his balance on the unfamiliar Amber Sentinel¡¯s legs, their opponent wound up a killing blow with his axe. ¡°No!¡± Realising in a flash that it would be fatal to her friend, Mikayla threw an arm up and her Mana seemed to act on its own, twisting into a spiral that sucked energy from her brain and disgorged it in a ball of blue light. Her instinctual Psychic Bolt was only a second slower than Asika¡¯s stronger one, and the two projectiles streaked down the corridor and struck Afro Thief in the helmet, one after another. He spasmed, arms going slack, and Keldryn capitalised, the tip of his spear finding Afro Thief¡¯s neck and putting a hole through his throat. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A HUMAN!] Mikayla gasped. It had been so fast. She¡¯d reacted without thinking, and the Technique had come so easily, so instinctually. ¡°That - that - that was - I didn¡¯t - I just - he -¡° Asika gripped her in a tight hug, stilling her half-formed sentences. ¡°Hey. Hey. It¡¯s okay. Sometimes there¡¯s just no choice,¡± Shivering, Mikayla nodded, returning the embrace. Asika was warm, she realised. Like hugging a heater. The thin fabric of faerie-made clothes - basically spandex - did nothing to retain heat, but the faerie still radiated warmth from every pore. ¡°This is a really bad time to get emotional. Do you think you can just put these feelings away until we¡¯re safe?¡± Asika gently asked, patting her back. Mikayla forced out a jerky nod. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m . . I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ll be fine,¡± She rubbed away the dampness in her eyes with her sleeve, then lifted her head to look back at Keldryn and Anza. ¡°First time¡¯s always the hardest,¡± Anza said in a way that was probably intended to be reassuring. Keldryn just stared, worry settling into his face. ¡°Come on,¡± Asika gripped Mikayla¡¯s hand, pulling her towards the doors. ¡°Just stick it out a little longer, then we¡¯ll get you home. Or at least into therapy,¡± ¡°Can I get both?¡± Mikayla weakly chuckled. This is just like a game, she quietly insisted to herself. Just like one of those historical action games her brother had gotten her hooked on for a bit, a few years ago. Even though she¡¯d spent this whole time telling herself that Termania was more than just a medieval fantasy setting, right now it was a comforting little lie to tell herself that they¡¯d merely won an encounter, that Afro Thief had just been an obstacle, a moving object whose only function was to briefly impede their party, rather than a person who had his own reasons and story that had gotten him here, today, for Mikayla to help end his life. She didn¡¯t even know his real name, and she couldn¡¯t imagine that she ever would. The group finally entered the Core storage room, with Mikayla bringing up the rear, and her eyes widened. There were hundreds of Cores and Controllers, arranged on shelves and racks, each Controller with a cluster of stones grouped around it, as well as dozens of loose Cores that had been meticulously categorised according to some system which Mikayla couldn¡¯t decipher. ¡°Seed of Chaos,¡± Anza lowly whispered. ¡°That guy wasn¡¯t kidding about being a collector. This many Cores has got to be worth a few hundred thousand gold,¡± ¡°It¡¯s enough to equip an army,¡± Keldryn agreed with furrowed brows. ¡°Maybe, if you could train them all,¡± Anza murmured. ¡°Split up, everyone. Find your equipment,¡± Mikayla ignored all the shining and well-crafted Core Controllers. She only had eyes for the rusted and eroded piece she¡¯d ripped from Nocturnus¡¯ skeleton, and the two crystals near it. She was also surprised to see that an oblong of black glass had been left with them. ¡°Huh. Did they mistake my phone for some kind of weird Core? Hope they didn¡¯t break it,¡± She slipped the phone back into her pocket and strapped on the Core Controller, screwing the two Black Knight cores into their slots. She drew breath to invoke Mana Assistance, but paused and thought better of it. Wasn¡¯t this the perfect time to test her post-Schema Lock Mana control? A red glow wrapped around her wrist, her Mana flowing through the warped and damaged channels that she had practically memorised by now, until it was pouring into the Armour Core. She knew the pattern, it had been etched into her nerves by her constant use of Mana Assistance. Inch by inch, the Black Knight¡¯s gauntlet grew around her hand, spreading up her arm and conjuring its spiky shoulder pads. Its vambrace grew down into leggings and greaves, coated her other arm, and finally the helmet wrapped around her head. Silence. ¡°Nocturnus? It¡¯s me. I got your Core back,¡± Mikayla whispered, guessing that he was wary after being separated from her. ¡°But keep it down! There are new allies here who don¡¯t know about you and now is not a good time to explain that I¡¯ve got fantasy Napoleon haunting my armour,¡± she hastily added before the ghost could say anything. ¡°Understood. I¡¯m happier than words can express to see you again, lass,¡± Nocturnus hissed in her ear, too quiet for his words to reach outside the Black Knight¡¯s helmet. ¡°So, is it a jailbreak? Are we to slaughter villainous thugs in droves while fighting our way to freedom? Brilliant! I¡¯ve always wanted to break out of a prison!¡± Mikayla bit her lip. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s pretty much exactly what we¡¯re doing,¡± ¡°All good? No issues?¡± Anza seemed to have mistaken her muttering to herself as using System commands to check her armour. Mikayla poured Mana into her sword, and it sprung to life in her hands. She nodded. ¡°Yeah, no problems,¡± ¡°Good. Be right back, mine¡¯s got to be somewhere around here,¡± Anza vanished into the racks of Cores. Asika followed her, commanding, ¡°Let me know if you find any guns! They¡¯re probably mine!¡± Mikayla paused. ¡°Did that faerie just say she owns guns?¡± ¡°Huh. Never took her for a gunslinger,¡± Keldryn mused. ¡°Hold on, hold on,¡± She cast incredulous looks at Keldryn and Nocturnus¡¯ gem. ¡°We have guns in this world? Why did you want me to faff around with a bow and arrow if we have guns?!¡± ¡°They¡¯re too loud. If you feel like killing one Kaiju while telling twenty others where you are, then sure, use a gun,¡± Keldryn rolled his eyes. ¡°They are unmanly,¡± Nocturnus sagely elaborated. ¡°Okay, one of those was a good answer,¡± Mikayla grumbled. ¡°Well, fair enough. But why were you acting like you didn¡¯t know what a gun is when I showed you that handgun on the container ship?¡± Keldryn frowned. ¡°Huh? You said that it was a weapon that shot pieces of metal. Guns fire bolts of energy,¡± ¡°What - okay, that¡¯s interesting, but. Come on. Handgun. Hand, gun. You didn¡¯t make that connection?¡± The foxkin considered that for a second, then hs eyes widened in realisation. ¡°Oh, so in your language, the word for gun is gun, and the word for hand is hand, so when you were saying ¡®handgun¡¯, what you were trying to say was handgun,¡± Keldryn digested, then tilted his head. ¡°That must have sounded really stupid when it translated into your language,¡± Mikayla giggled. ¡°Yeah, a little bit. So the System¡¯s translation had a hiccup, that explains that at least,¡± ¡°It does sound like you and I think of different things when we hear the word ¡®gun¡¯, though. Bows are ranged weapons that focus on firing slow and powerful projectiles, sometimes even shooting special Arrow Cores, while guns fire lots of weak projectiles very quickly, or several times in a row. Does that line up with your experience?¡± ¡°No, not really, guns both shoot faster and deal more damage than arrows. They¡¯re kinda just objectively better,¡± ¡°Well now I want to see the guns of your world,¡± Nocturnus rumbled. ¡°It¡¯s not here!¡± Asika screamed, interrupting their conversation. Anza had just finished strapping her own Core Controller back onto her wrist. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°My Core Controller. My customised Armour Core. My guns. They¡¯re not here!¡± Mikayla winced. ¡°That¡¯s a problem,¡± ¡°More than you realise. It¡¯s not that big a deal to me if I lose them, they¡¯re replaceable. But without them, I can¡¯t open the portal to send you home!¡± Chapter 45: Were Due For An Upgrade ¡°What?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a problem. If we¡¯re gonna have any chance at all of getting that rift open again, we need to find my Cores, because we do not have time for me to walk all the way back to the Cosmic Isles and get replacements,¡± Asika shook her head. ¡°I can use my Scan to find other Cores nearby, but I don¡¯t know which ones are mine,¡± ¡°Flyreh will have them,¡± Anza said. ¡°He claimed to be a collector. Genuine faerie-made Cores are incredibly rare and valuable, I doubt he trusts his goons not to steal them and run off. He¡¯ll have ¡®em in his pocket,¡± ¡°So . . so we need to beat that really strong guy if I¡¯m going to have any chance of going home? Somehow? How?¡± Mikayla whimpered. ¡°The only chance is if all of us, together, fight him while he¡¯s alone,¡± Anza assessed. ¡°And that means that we¡¯re gonna need to find Lahlee and take her out first. As well as any other friends he¡¯s got who can fight worth a damn. Asika. Your Scan goes through walls, yeah? Can y¡¯all tell how many people there are here who¡¯ve passed the Second Lock?¡± ¡°Give me a tick,¡± Asika squinted. Her head abruptly darted in all directions, splashes of colour flickering in her sapphire eyes. ¡°There are three. One¡¯s close by, one¡¯s several floors up and one¡¯s lower down. We can take them!¡± ¡°Only if we don¡¯t let them join up,¡± Anza reminded her. ¡°Damnit, there¡¯s a third strong guy huh . . nah. It¡¯s too risky. We need to get you three to the exit and out of Cliffwatch. Get help from Topwater,¡± ¡°No, no, that¡¯ll take too long,¡± Asika shook her head, standing next to Mikayla. ¡°We¡¯ve still got a chance to get Mikayla home. I¡¯ve screwed up enough, but we can still salvage my mission!¡± ¡°Is your mission more important than your life?!¡± Anza burst out. ¡°Yes!¡± No one knew how to respond to that. Anza¡¯s eyes widened in horror. ¡°A . . Asika. I don¡¯t want you to die for me,¡± Mikayla mustered, gripping her shoulder. ¡°Oh, oh oh oh, I didn¡¯t - I didn¡¯t mean it like -¡° Asika blustered. She stopped, forcing herself to take a long and slow breath, chewing on her bottom lip. ¡°I¡¯m a faerie. We get the job done. Because if we don¡¯t, the world suffers the consequences. If . . if I can¡¯t even complete a basic Stranded rescue mission, can¡¯t even help one person . . then what good am I?¡± ¡°Asika, your pride is not worth your life,¡± Anza reasoned. ¡°Says the woman who was planning to die to make sure we escaped,¡± Asika was scowling as she retorted. There was something distinctly wrong about seeing that near-permanent smile twisted. ¡°That¡¯s different. You¡¯re kids, you¡¯ve got whole lives ahead of you. Y¡¯all deserve to get out of here. And I ain¡¯t planning on dying today, but if someone¡¯s gotta, then better me than any of you,¡± ¡°And I¡¯m not planning on dying today either! All we¡¯ve gotta do is gang up on these three bad guys and take them down one by one. Easy!¡° ¡°Not easy!¡± Anza shook her head. ¡°If it¡¯s just one person on my level, sure, I could do that. But three? In a row? Even with y¡¯all helping, I¡¯ll be running on fumes by the time we find number three and they¡¯ll be fresh. That¡¯s a disaster in the making,¡± ¡°Yeah, um, I feel bad saying this since you¡¯re risking yourselves for my sake, especially after all the work we put into making me stronger, but . . I¡¯ll probably just get in the way . .¡± Mikayla winced apologetically, looking down. ¡°See?¡± Anza gestured at her. ¡°Then we go for the Ataraxia Node. Fix my uplink,¡± Asika suggested. ¡°And I¡¯ll call for help from the Cosmic Isles. Then there¡¯s no way we¡¯ll lose!¡± ¡°That . .¡± Anza¡¯s furore petered out. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. We¡¯ll do that,¡± ¡°Um,¡± All three women turned to Keldryn, who looked like a deer in headlights. He¡¯d shrunk into a corner while they argued, and his ears had gone flat against his skull. ¡°We do have some upgrades available,¡± he gestured at the dozens of Cores in Flyreh¡¯s collection. ¡°He¡¯s right. No one else is gonna use any of these Cores. I¡¯m confident in my array, but you three might as well gear up,¡± Anza suggested. ¡°Their owners are probably all dead,¡± Keldryn agreed with a grimace. ¡°Better we take them than leave them to that murdering ¡®collector.¡¯ And you¡¯re better off with Cores that don¡¯t fit than no Cores at all,¡± he told Asika. She grimaced. ¡°I guess. Help me look for some guns? Or anything any of you think would be a good upgrade?¡± Mikayla nodded, remembering the temp-mod privileges that Asika had granted her. She picked a Core at random and focused on it. ¡°Identify,¡± she enunciated clearly. [RUBY OF GRAPPLING HOOK (CORE)] ¡°Pass,¡± she frowned, putting it back and glancing at her rusty old Core Controller. She had two open slots, not counting all the broken ones, and she thought she knew what she wanted to do with them. ¡°I want a shield,¡± ¡°What?¡± Nocturnus hissed at her. ¡°Nonsense! The Black Knight never fought with a shield!¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have a hundred levels¡¯ worth of Health Points and I¡¯m sick of taking hits. I want something to block with,¡± she whispered back at him, working her way through the shelves and firing off Identifies. Two aisles down, Anza and Asika exchanged a glance. ¡°Her armour¡¯s talking to her, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Oof, yeah, gotta be a sentient mind imprint. That¡¯s super-duper illegal and something we¡¯re gonna have to sort out after we¡¯re all out of here. Explains how she survived though,¡± Asika commiserated. ¡°Think she knows we can hear her?¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Clearly not, or she wouldn¡¯t be being sneaky ¡®bout it. Whatever, y¡¯all¡¯re right, a talking rock is the least of our problems,¡± Meanwhile, Mikayla noticed Keldryn holding a Ruby Core, which seemed odd because there were plenty of Lapises on offer. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°This was Chesham¡¯s crossbow,¡± He stared at it for a moment, then screwed it into his Core Controller. ¡°I hope he won¡¯t mind if I keep it. It¡¯ll be nice to remember him,¡± He glanced back at where Mikayla was restoring her loadout. ¡°Hey, why aren¡¯t you taking a new Core Controller? Far be it from me to dismiss sentimentality after saying all that, but that one¡¯s only got four working slots. Some of these have seven, or even nine,¡± Keldryn asked. ¡°It¡¯s not about sentimentality. You¡¯re right, this thing is crap. But it¡¯s crap I know how to use. If I took one of those I¡¯d need to relearn how to use it, adjust to its Engravings, figure out where to send my Mana and how. I¡¯d end up making a mistake and probably get myself killed. I¡¯ll stick with the trash I know and trust for now,¡± Mikayla paused. ¡°And maybe I¡¯ll take this to learn its ins and outs later,¡± she added, grabbing at one of the smaller but more intact Core Controllers, one that would fit in her pocket. Anza noticed the rusted Controller for the first time, having worked their way back towards them. ¡°You¡¯ve been using that thing? Seed of Chaos, I¡¯m surprised it still works. Did you pull it off a skeleton?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± ¡°. . guess I did ask,¡± Keldryn¡¯s gaze fell on another Ruby, one that he had identified as a Scythe Core. He picked it up, indecision etched into his face. ¡°Whatcha thinking about?¡± Asika peered at it. ¡°A Scythe? Edgy. I¡¯d ask if anyone actually uses those, but clearly someone does,¡± ¡°My father did,¡± Keldryn murmured. ¡°Huh?¡± Mikayla looked back at them. ¡°Taking a backup weapon?¡± ¡°. . I shouldn¡¯t,¡± Keldryn gritted his teeth. ¡°He never trained me in how to use one. And I don¡¯t have his anymore, I didn¡¯t have a chance to teach myself. Taking this would be a liability,¡± ¡°Then hold onto it for later,¡± Asika advised with an encouraging smile. ¡°Once we¡¯re out of here, you¡¯ll have time to figure it out,¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± He put it back down, glancing at the faerie. ¡°What about you? Found anything that¡¯ll work for you temporarily?¡± She held up a scavenged Core Controller full of Rubies. ¡°A bunch of meh-tier guns. Something to be said for quantity over quality though!¡± ¡°Here. You said you wanted a shield?¡± Anza threw a Lapis Core to Mikayla, who caught it and Identified it. ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯ll find anything better than this,¡± [LAPIS OF HEATER SHIELD (CORE)] As a historian, Mikayla knew a thing or two about shields. ¡°A heater shield? I¡¯d feel a bit more comfortable with a tower shield,¡± [EQUIPPED LAPIS OF HEATER SHIELD (CORE)] She let her Mana flow into the new Core, which burst outwards with red lines. Her aura traced orange panes that extended into a semicircular shape with a point at its base. ¡°Yeah, this feels a little small,¡± Anza was giving her a look that she was used to seeing on Keldryn. ¡°It¡¯s a Core with a Goliath Engraving. You can change its size,¡± ¡°. . oh. Yeah. Right,¡± Asika sharply whistled. ¡°Okay, everyone ready?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good,¡± Keldryn confirmed. ¡°Born ready,¡± Anza grinned. ¡°Hang on, I¡¯ve still got an open slot,¡± Mikayla cast around, only for Anza to press a Core into her hand. ¡°Here. Backup sword,¡± ¡°I was hoping for a Companion Core, like Bluebell,¡± Mikayla gestured in Keldryn¡¯s direction. ¡°No, bad idea,¡± the ranger denied. ¡°Companion Cores take time to bond with. All the ones here don¡¯t even know their masters are dead. They¡¯ll freak out, be more trouble than they¡¯re worth. Take the sword,¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Mikayla sighed. ¡°Fine,¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll lead the way, cover me,¡± Anza commanded, striding to the door. ¡°Asika, do another Scan, where are we going?¡± A pattern of lights flickered through Asika¡¯s eyes again. ¡°Oh! I¡¯ve got good news!¡± ¡°What?¡± Anza grunted as she opened the door. On the other side was Branch Head Lahlee, her prosthetic hand reaching for the doorknob. Both women were shocked to see the other, but Anza¡¯s expression of disbelief quickly collapsed into snarling rage. ¡°Oh, hello there,¡± ¡°Round one!¡± The sound of a bell emerged from Asika¡¯s throat, a much more lifelike imitation than Mikayla had expected her to be capable of. ¡°Fight!¡± Anza tackled Lahlee into the corridor before she could say anything, but the Branch Head recovered quickly, her metal arm twisting inhumanly to grab Anza¡¯s shoulder and force her up and away. ¡°How did you get free?¡± ¡°Not all of us need to trade away our limbs to get stronger,¡± Anza spat in response as her Cores formed around her, an obsidian fist wrapping around her left hand while a swirling earthen drill engulfed her right. ¡°Not that y¡¯all¡¯d know anything about that, huh?¡± ¡°Diminishing returns, my dear. I¡¯d rather partake of exponential growth,¡± Lahlee¡¯s belt lit up pink, and Anza braced herself, but the Artefact of War didn¡¯t materialise. Instead, there was a rumbling noise, and she looked up just in time to see a Core-projected Sports Car rush down the hallway and crash into her, sending her flying right back through the door into the Core Storage room. Mikayla, Keldryn and Asika watched with a wince as Anza crashed into a storage rack, which collapsed under her weight and sent her falling to the ground amidst a shower of colourful crystals. ¡°Oh, I am taking that back,¡± she promised with vicious glee, picking herself up. ¡°How can we help?¡± Keldryn piped up, already raising his Core Controller. ¡°You kids go. Get outta here. Find the Ataraxia Node, fix your uplink. We ain¡¯t got enough space to team up against her here, y¡¯all¡¯ll just get in my way,¡± Anza waved them away, cracking her knuckles and glaring at Lahlee. ¡°Besides, I said I was confident in beating her. I ain¡¯t no liar,¡± ¡°That was a double negative,¡± Lahlee cast a disdainful look in her direction as she surveyed the room. ¡°Hm. I see. I told them we should have just killed you all. But his greed had to win out over common sense,¡± She rolled her eyes, and Mikayla wondered what she was talking about. ¡°Let¡¯s go this way. It¡¯ll take longer, but we won¡¯t have to get past her,¡± Asika was already at the other door, waving for Mikayla and Keldryn to join her. A tentacle of black flesh flew across the room and grasped her wrist. ¡°Eh?¡± Lahlee pulled, her extended arm that had burst free of the false prosthetic yanking Asika off-balance and trying to reel her in. The faerie grabbed at the door handle to keep herself anchored, struggling against the pressure. A wave of silver-red light flew from Mikayla¡¯s hand, forming into the sword that she hadn¡¯t realised how much she¡¯d missed, and she brought it down on the rubbery black flesh. Her blade bit deep into Lahlee¡¯s wrist, but didn¡¯t manage to sever it. Still, the shock was enough to make her fingers go slack, and Asika threw the hand off. ¡°What was that?!¡± Mikayla shrieked. ¡°I¡¯ll give you all one chance to -¡° A tower shield appeared, which Lahlee had only just barely conjured in time to catch a crossbow bolt on. Her eyes narrowed at Keldryn, who was now wielding a crossbow that shone in an imitation of freshly waxed wood. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m fine with killing you all as well,¡± Anza squared off with her, placing herself solidly between Lahlee and the three teenagers. ¡°Y¡¯all can try. But only if you survive what I¡¯m boutta do to ya,¡± Chapter 46: Wolf Queen Hunting a Kaiju,¡± people [INSTANT EARTHWORKS] Years?¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ha!¡± Chapter 47: Lahlees Last Day With Anza¡¯s giant shield pressing down on her and the ground fast approaching, Anza had to make every second count. She couldn¡¯t use any of her earth-warping Techniques without her feet touching the ground. Wolf Queen Hunting was still active, but her Stamina had dropped below a quarter of its maximum value and she didn¡¯t have a potion to replenish it. [STAMINA: 923/4200] There was one option that might work. A new Technique she¡¯d been working on, using Splinter Striker, designed to help her fight airborne Kaijus. This was not what she¡¯d developed it for, but she didn¡¯t have any better ideas. Anza beat her Stamina into a jagged, choppy pattern of waves and fed it into her gauntlet as she raised it over her head, murmuring the name of her Technique to preserve her focus. ¡°Skybreaking Splinter Spiral!¡± The cloud of jagged rock flattened, turning into a disc around her wrist. Every one of the stones trapped by her gauntlet¡¯s telekinetic field adjusted their angle, and then the whole circle began to rotate. One after another, the rocks crashed into the purple flesh of Artefact of War, carving a furrow into it, and Anza forced her arm away so that the rotation of Splinter Striker wouldn¡¯t be impeded. The crude propeller began to kick up wind, tossing her hair, and then finally started to drag her away, skittering across the edge of the shield. Anza offered a silent prayer to the Inexorable Bulwark in gratitude for Amazonian Aegis¡¯ reinforced outer layer, because she would have been dashed into a bloody smear without it. The ground was approaching fast. The margin of error could be counted in milliseconds. But with an explosion of dust, Anza burst out from the gap between shield and earth and flew upwards, the wind whipping her hair into wild strands. She twisted, kicking the ground and forcing the turbine around her arm upwards, launching herself into the sky. Checking her Mana told her that her reserves would hold out a while yet. So Anza didn¡¯t hesitate; as soon as she¡¯d launched herself high up enough above Lahlee, she cut the Technique, did a backflip, and made Amazonian Aegis swell to full size. Flipping over and targeting Artefact of War¡¯s exposed back, letting Splinter Striker fall to her hip and raising her other arm, Anza poured a huge chunk of Stamina into Bismuth Knuckle, weaving and reinforcing the patterns within her weapon that symbolised blunt force. Falling back into bad habits, because this was really an appropriate way to use this Technique, she shrieked, ¡°Meteor Fist!¡± Artefact of War turned its helmet to face her, and Anza liked to imagine that she could see Lahlee¡¯s eyes - well, eye - widening in horror at the reversal. Then Bismuth Knuckle impacted the back of her head, and drove her straight into the ground. Anza crouched over Lahlee, landing several quick blows to the side of her head. The force of each strike made the ground shake. There was a black explosion, and an expanding balloon of flesh threw Amazonian Aegis into the side of the cliff above the Kill Box, crushing several cliff-mounted structures in the impact. Anza slid to the ground, watching warily as Lahlee recovered. Her shield and false right arm had been crushed into dust, and the black flesh had woven itself into a swirling ribbon that span defensively around her. As she straightened up, Anza was momentarily distracted by a strange pop-up in her vision. [AN ATARAXIA NODE IS EXPERIENCING AN INCURSION FROM HOSTILE AGENTS. A SYSTEM MODERATOR HAS CALLED FOR AID. ASSIST IN ITS DEFENCE AND EARN REWARDS. WILL YOU FIGHT FOR THE GREATER GOOD? YES/NO] ¡°I guess Asika¡¯s doing a thing,¡± She ducked under a flying blow from Lahlee¡¯s ribbon arm. ¡°Sorry, kid, hope you ain¡¯t counting on me. I¡¯m busy,¡± She flicked away the prompt and slid forwards, driving Bismuth Knuckle into Artefact of War¡¯s sternum. There were things to consider now that they were fighting at Goliath size. Both combatants were moving more slowly, it took longer for even their massive Mana-crafted muscles to strike true. Only that didn¡¯t seem to apply to Lahlee¡¯s monster arm, which whipped back and forth as though there was no wind resistance, like it was only as solid as a mirage. It struck her and forced her on the defensive, Lahlee taking advantage of her greater reach to stymie Anza and put a few hundred metres of distance between their Armour Cores. But Anza¡¯s feet were on the ground again, so distance was a privilege that she could revoke. She sank her Mana into the earth, and spikes of stone erupted from behind Artefact of War, forcing it closer to her once more. Lahlee tried to regain the initiative, whipping her grotesque prosthetic forwards, but Anza had prepared for that, and more stone spikes were already sprouting to impede the blow. She strode forwards, stepping to the left as Lahlee tried to circle around to the right, using more spikes of stone to block her passage. Rapidly finding herself pinned on three sides and with Anza closing in on the fourth, Lahlee made a break for it. She tried to force her way past Amazonian Aegis, but Anza¡¯s right arm lashed out to clothesline her, Bismuth Knuckle wrapping around her shoulder. Adjusting her centre of gravity, Anza pinned Lahlee in a headlock. ¡°You¡¯re done,¡± she growled. Artefact of War vanished. Anza¡¯s eyes immediately focused on the tiny figure of Lahlee that had been left behind when her Armour Core was shut off. This wasn¡¯t unexpected; shrinking to normal size at a time like this was a risky gamble but if she had an escape strategy it could well pay off. But something wasn¡¯t right. Lahlee was screaming. Her eldritch arm had failed to return to normal size with her. Lahlee was stuck, like a wart, half buried in a bulbous organ of black flesh with false muscle and bones protruding from it, forming all the shoulder anatomy needed to control a person¡¯s right arm. She fell, shrieking in agony all the way, and Anza¡¯s hands lashed out to catch her, gripping the malformed upper arm and holding it up to get a closer look. The Branch Head didn¡¯t stop screaming when she was no longer falling, and Anza brought her hands closer to her helmet, trying to determine what was happening. It was consuming her, Anza realised with horrified revulsion. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. The parasite - for what else could it be? - had lost its cohesion. Trying to force it to grow to Goliath size and then just as rapidly shrink back down must have been more than it could handle. Lahlee struggled, but black tentacles were wrapping around her body, bursting through her skin and ripping her apart from the inside out. Anza didn¡¯t know how to help. And, if she was being honest with herself, she wasn¡¯t willing to risk trying. But she could at least try to Identify the mass of black flesh. [ERSATZ - LEVEL ??? - TIER ??? - UNKZ0M -] [IDENTIFY FAILED. UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED. THIS FAILURE HAS BEEN LOGGED. PLEASE ALERT A MODERATOR.] [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A HUMAN!] [LEVEL UP! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 52!] Huh? Had Lahlee . . Anza looked at her again. In the moment that she¡¯d been distracted, the unknown mass, which seemed to be called Ersatz, had apparently ripped Lahlee¡¯s heart apart. She dropped it, and stamped on the warped arm¡¯s shoulder for good measure until it finally stopped twitching. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING AN ERSATZ(ERROR:UNKNOWN)!] <=====}¡ªo ¡°Alright! Here it is!¡± Asika exclaimed as Mikayla and Keldryn followed her into the room containing the Ataraxia Node. Mikayla couldn¡¯t help but marvel, finally laying eyes on the MacGuffin she¡¯d heard so much about. It was a triangular pillar cast from an unearthly metal, emerging from a nest of jagged lines and sharp angles and burrowing into the ceiling. Each side had extending from it a panel that was retained by several wires, and Asika gripped one in her hand, pulling it closer to her face. It lit up with blue light, and Mikayla gasped. ¡°No way. That¡¯s an iPad?¡± ¡°A what?¡± Asika off-handedly questioned, navigating menus on the screen. Her solid blue eyes made it impossible to tell where she was looking, but Mikayla had the disturbing feeling that Asika quite literally had one eye on the screen and one eye on her. ¡°Right. A handheld computer that controls other machines. It¡¯s like - wait, actually,¡± She fished around in her pocket, and pulled out her phone. ¡°Well, like this, but larger, and mine hasn¡¯t worked since we came to this world. No electricity,¡± ¡°Ooh,¡± Asika was distracted, poring over the phone for a moment, flashes of light playing across her face. ¡°What is this? You didn¡¯t tell me about this before! This is amazing!¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be focusing on the Node?¡± Keldryn interrupted. ¡°Oh. Yeah, right. Don¡¯t let anything happen to that phone thing! I wanna play with it later!¡± Asika insisted as she turned back to the Ataraxia Node, her motormouth running on autopilot as her fingers burrowed into it. ¡°Okay, lemme see. Wow, someone really did a number on this thing. Are those supposed to be parentheses? Okay, this, this isn¡¯t a program, it¡¯s a bowl of number stew. Who would even . .¡± Mikayla tuned out Asika¡¯s narration disparaging the state of the Ataraxia Node, instead noticing that Keldryn¡¯s ears were pricked up. ¡°I hear footsteps,¡± the foxkin announced, tail bristling and Skyward Grasscutter already forming around him. ¡°Someone¡¯s coming,¡± Mikayla mentally flipped the Black Knight on in turn, and Asika roused herself, one eye still focused on the screen and smile looking a tad manic. ¡°Scanning . . Ataraxian fingerprint confirmed. Looks like the guy who broke this Node is about to come interrupt us. That¡¯s great! I wanna give him an earful!¡± All three turned to face the other doorway, Mikayla and Keldryn moving to protect Asika since she seemed disinclined to release the Node¡¯s control panel. A blue man rounded the corner. Mikayla was immediately struck by the resemblance to Asika. The same crystalline, cerulean skin and identical sapphire eyes, framed by cropped purple hair that glistened in the light and a matching beard. He was tall and stick-thin, eyes crinkled in disdain, and clad in ornate and impractical-looking robes the colour of sand that trailed to his feet, his right arm bundled in a drooping sleeve of silk. His left arm¡¯s sleeve was shorter, revealing a Core Controller unlike any Mikayla had seen in the Storage; a gauntlet that seemed to be made of glass, with three purple - purple? - Cores set into it, as well as three Pearl and two Lapis Cores. It was also her first time seeing a Core Controller that had all of its slots filled. Remembering that she could now do it, Mikayla Identified him. [MAHENDRA - LEVEL 57 - FAERIE - ¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€¨€] Asika was more shocked than her. ¡°You¡¯re a faerie?!¡± she burst out, eyes widening. ¡°Why are you so surprised?¡± the male faerie sneered. ¡°Did you really believe the meagre intellect of a mortal could have crippled the Ataraxia Node so thoroughly?¡± ¡°No,¡± That disconcerting scowl was back. ¡°No, I suppose that makes sense. The way this operation has been skirting the System¡¯s every safeguard, avoiding tripping even a single flag. I should have figured that would only be possible with insider help,¡± Asika glared at him, taut lines parting her face. ¡°But why?¡± she pressed, her tone shifting to incredulity. ¡°This is treason, against the System itself. How could you betray the whole world?¡± ¡°Because I, the almighty administrator Mahendra, deserve better than to be constrained by the petty powers of the Cosmic Scales!¡± he retorted. ¡°You are a Moderator, I take it? So was I. For centuries, I toiled, running back and forth across the globe on pointless errands for the sake of worthless mortals. All for what? A pat on the back and more work, endlessly? You¡¯re adolescent, foolish child. In three hundred years, after a thousand missions to save morons from their own stupidity, you will come to agree with my perspective,¡± Asika¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°We¡¯re faeries. We have a duty to this world!¡± ¡°Oh, puh-lease. You¡¯re brainwashed!¡± Mahendra retorted. ¡°What duty? What has this world ever done for us? Did we ask to be born into this System that shackles us with honour and duty?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter! If we don¡¯t, then no one will, and then the world will be lost to the monsters, or worse!¡± Asika scoffed. ¡°In case you hadn¡¯t noticed, no one¡¯s forcing you to do anything, either. You quit? Sure. Did anyone tell you that you couldn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Irrelevant!¡± Mahendra scowled. Asika rolled her eyes, her smile turning sardonic. ¡°Whatever. Your delusions aren¡¯t my responsibility,¡± ¡°Oh, you call me delusional, you snivelling, sycophantic sheep? Pull the wool from your eyes! We are nothing to the Cosmic Scales! One of a million, made on an assembly line! Stripped of our heritage and born to serve!¡± Asika took a deep breath. ¡°Mahendra, for the crimes of treason against the Cosmic Scales and the Ataraxian System, capturing and torturing several dozen sapients, disabling an Ataraxia Node, and writing really crappy code -¡° ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°- by my authority as a System Moderator, you are under arrest and I am taking you into my custody,¡± Asika finished. ¡°Is that so? You truly are a fool, since you clearly fail to appreciate the qualitative difference between us, Level 33,¡± Mahendra sneered. ¡°Have you any contingency in the event that I resist arrest?¡± Asika shrugged a bit, smile unwavering. ¡°I gotta say these things. It¡¯s procedure. But yeah, I don¡¯t have the raw numbers to kick your ass no matter how much you deserve it,¡± she grumbled. Mahendra¡¯s lips twisted into an evil smile, but Asika wasn¡¯t finished. ¡°Which is why I challenge you to a duel in the Datascape,¡± Chapter 48: Its Time To Duel ¡°I challenge you to a duel in the Datascape,¡± Asika declared. Mahendra¡¯s pencil-thin eyebrows shot up. ¡°You? You, the flea-sized fledgling? The tyke with the training wheels? You have the audacity to propose that I dirty my hands by educating you as to your inferiority?¡± Asika flicked open a screen and fiddled with her interface. Mahendra¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°What is this tomfoolery? You expect to be able to moderate in my presence?¡± ¡°No moderation here, I¡¯m just setting my translation to ¡®pretentious¡¯. This¡¯ll go faster if we¡¯re both speaking the same language,¡± she retorted with a wide grin. ¡°I will have you know that my enlightened speech patterns are the hallmark of self-actualisation!¡± ¡°Oh are they? That¡¯s really great, I¡¯m so happy for you,¡± There was a sort of uncanny falsity about Asika¡¯s sunny demeanour as she spoke, like she was hiding her true feelings behind a veil of carefully cultivated cheer. ¡°But how about we discuss reality, rather than your delusions of grandeur? Your egocentric pontification, in all actuality, only serves to elucidate me regarding the repulsive nature of your archetype. I cannot even speculate as to the logical backflips you must have performed to convince yourself that this was a good way to present yourself to mortals,¡± ¡°. . so is ¡®pretentious¡¯ an actual setting or does she just have a dictionary in her brain?¡± Mikayla quietly wondered. ¡°You, both of you, all of you, woefully underestimate the potency which I might bring to arms at the drop of a hat. Your petulant little pleadings are a sham. The only reason you¡¯re even proposing such a risky proposition is because your Armour Core is absent and you are twenty levels below me. I could crush you like an insect beneath the sole of my shoe, and do not deign to pretend otherwise,¡± Asika held up a palm in the universal gesture of ¡®stop¡¯. ¡°Try again. You¡¯re not going to kill me. We both know what happens if I die. There¡¯ll be an error log. Time, place, cause of death will all be recorded. A faerie killing another faerie? No one will let that fly. If you honestly believe that being left to your own devices, skulking around in the middle of nowhere, means that you¡¯re a pariah now?¡± She laughed. ¡°You¡¯re a dime a dozen. One of thousands of disowned faeries pretending that abandoning the responsibilities our ancestors passed down to us to become hermits in some insignificant corner of the world means you¡¯re ¡®sticking it to the man¡¯. The only thing special about you is your vocabulary, and the only reason that your sapient blood project, whatever it really is, has escaped notice so far is that you¡¯re not important enough to be watched. But I¡¯m doing you a courtesy. If we fight in a Duel and I lose, you¡¯ll be able to annex me. If I win, you¡¯re done, but if you just kill me you¡¯re done,¡± ¡°Do not attempt to placate me with your pathetic pontification,¡± Mahendra scoffed, eyes narrowed. ¡°It does not escape my notice that, should I agree, you will ensure your own survival. You, you simpering little snail, are hoping that even if you lose, eventually I shall release you, or you¡¯ll be rescued, or something along those lines,¡± ¡°Correct,¡± Asika confirmed. ¡°But do you care? We¡¯ve never met before. What have I done to merit dying at your hands?¡± ¡°You disrespected me,¡± Mahendra growled. ¡°Seriously?¡± Asika grimaced. ¡°You must be loads of fun at parties, huh?¡± Mahendra rolled his eyes. ¡°Fine. We Duel, over the Node. And when I annex you, I¡¯m going to make you clean my boots with your tongue,¡± Asika¡¯s eyebrows crept up incredulously. ¡°Did you actually just say that? You, uh, might wanna check your archetype, buddy, I think it¡¯s broken,¡± ¡°Perish the thought!¡± Mahendra scoffed. He raised his arm and swung it dramatically, System screens trailing in his wake. ¡°Fine! I accept! But I shall not indulge an ordinary Duel,¡± His hand flew into the surface of the Ataraxia Node, somehow phasing straight into it. ¡°Engage Canopic Zone Defence mode!¡± Asika giggled. ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d do that,¡± Mahendra blinked, his expression falling as System messages populated in Mikayla¡¯s vision. [AN ATARAXIA NODE IS EXPERIENCING AN INCURSION FROM HOSTILE AGENTS. A SYSTEM MODERATOR HAS CALLED FOR AID. ASSIST IN ITS DEFENCE AND EARN REWARDS. WILL YOU FIGHT FOR THE GREATER GOOD? YES/NO] Mikayla glanced at Asika, who nodded encouragingly. Thusly reassured, she focused on the ¡®YES¡¯ button, and everything went white. <=====}¡ªo Before her vision returned, Mikayla heard Mahendra¡¯s voice spitting out syllables. ¡°What is this? Why am I slotted as the invader?¡± She rubbed her eyes and found herself standing on what looked like a platform woven out of glowing blue light. Glancing around, she started. They were in a completely different place, a seemingly endless desert of blue sand, whose only feature was the structure they were standing within; a massive treehouse coloured entirely in shades of blue and purple. She and Keldryn were standing behind Asika, who was leaning over the rail in and drawing breath to shout back at Mahendra. The enemy faerie was standing on the ground outside and glaring up at them. ¡°It¡¯s weird, isn¡¯t it? After all, one of us violated and crippled the Node, and one is trying to repair it. And was also the last one to touch it. And left a worm to make sure I had priority,¡± was Asika¡¯s retort with a taunting smirk. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. He fumed, and rather than respond, System screens appeared around him and he began typing. ¡°Anyway, everyone, welcome to my house!¡± Asika spread her arms and gestured at the digital treehouse around them. ¡°I overwrote the Node¡¯s basic template for a defensive fortress. This is my place! Or, y¡¯know, a copy of it. It¡¯s better,¡± ¡°Can you please explain what¡¯s going on?¡± Keldryn insisted. ¡°Oh, right. You two aren¡¯t mods. I forgot for a sec, whoopsie!¡± Asika mimed bopping herself on the head. ¡°So! This is an Ataraxia Node Defence. It¡¯s like a simulated siege that we run whenever some Kaiju cultist or whatever tries to take over an Ataraxia Node,¡± ''Or someone working for the Canopy,'' Mikayla silently guessed. ¡°This one¡¯s gone a bit screwy. But it should be fine! We just gotta hold them off until he runs out of energy,¡± Asika assured them. ¡°And how hard will that be?¡± Mikayla weighed in, looking around and trying to gauge the treehouse¡¯s defensibility. There was a large spiral walkway wrapped around the tree, with several rooms built into the branches. In her history studies, she¡¯d looked over plans for defensive fortresses, and while none of them were treehouses, it wasn¡¯t that dissimilar to mountain strongholds with only one entry. It didn¡¯t look that hard to hold as a defensive position - at least, as long as Mahendra didn¡¯t reveal some ability to fly. ¡°Well, ostensibly speaking, we have a huge advantage as the defenders. But Mahendra¡¯s much higher level than any of us, and he¡¯s jailbroken his limitations too. Not gonna lie, it is really rare for a faerie to be on the invading side of this scenario. So I¡¯m not totally sure what -¡° Asika was cut off as the treehouse shook. They rushed to the edge of the balcony, and their eyes widened. Some kind of massive tower had emerged from the ground outside the treehouse, reaching up towards the heavens. It had a glowing field of energy at its base, from which Mahendra emerged once more. The building he''d conjured was unlike anything Mikayla had seen in this world, formed from tessellating triangles woven together into sharp lines, like shards of ice. ¡°So . . do we just fight him?¡± she guessed. Asika scrutinised the tower that he had erected. ¡°Usually, yes, but he¡¯s probably scheming something. I¡¯d have thought he¡¯d say a basic frontal assault would be beneath him . . unless this is a distraction? I¡¯m gonna run the perimeter, hold him off!¡± she declared, running away with phenomenal speed. ¡°What - wait! He¡¯s twenty levels above us! How are we - she¡¯s gone,¡± Mikayla groaned. ¡°Defensive positions. We¡¯ll ambush him,¡± Keldryn assessed. ¡°With what?¡± A ball of mental energy formed between Keldryn¡¯s paws. ¡°Psychic Bolt. Does more damage to living things,¡± he reminded her. ¡°Oh yeah . . and we¡¯re in some kind of virtual reality world, too . . which means Psychic Bolt must be really strong here. Maybe?¡± Mikayla guessed. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll try it. If things go wrong, I¡¯ll draw his attention while you keep the pain up from other angles,¡± Keldryn nodded, and they ducked behind Asika¡¯s detritus to wait for Mahendra to appear from the steps. It took the hostile faerie less than a minute to arrive. He looked around the landing, which seemed empty. Strangely, he didn¡¯t have any Core-projected equipment visible, clad in bare robes and wielding empty hands. He advanced cautiously, scanning every inch of the treehouse. ¡°Now!¡± Mikayla shouted, leaping out from cover and lobbing a Psychic Bolt at Mahendra¡¯s head. Keldryn did the same, causing the faerie to stagger. ¡°Mana Assistance, Shield!¡± The newest addition to her arsenal flashed into existence, and at the same time Mikayla used Heel Propulsion, tackling Mahendra to the ground before he could re-orient himself. Mahendra refused to go down without a fight. He slammed his fists into the ground, generating twin shockwaves from them that sent Mikayla stumbling backwards. Flipping to his feet with agility that would have impressed an Olympic gymnast, ribbons of condensed green energy flew from his right wrist. Before they could make contact with Mikayla, Keldryn tackled him, leveraging the blades mounted on Skyward Grasscutter¡¯s arms to put the faerie in a bloody headlock. Unfortunately, the Level difference between them was too great, so when Mahendra wrapped his hands around Keldryn¡¯s elbows and pulled them away, the ranger didn¡¯t have the strength to resist. Adjusting his grip, Mahendra flipped Keldryn into the air and slammed him into the ground between himself and Mikayla, in the same motion interrupting her as she closed the distance. Mikayla hesitated, and it took her a couple of seconds to remember that she had a ranged option now. Her left hand span up and flung out a Psychic Bolt, but by then Mahendra had a twirling disc of vital energy that he used to knock the projectile away like a tennis racquet. ¡°You¡¯re only using Stamina Techniques. No Mana. Why?¡± Keldryn realised, narrowing his eyes. ¡°I fail to see any possible reason to waste words on the uneducated,¡± Mahendra sneered, reshaping his wad of Stamina into a razor-sharp blade around his hand. And then Asika reappeared, dropping from above and driving both feet into Mahendra¡¯s temples. The faerie collapsed to the ground, and Keldryn seized the opportunity, launching himself upwards and burying his wrist-blades in Mahendra¡¯s neck. The man promptly disintegrated into a small pile of blue dust. All three teenagers stared at it for a long moment. ¡°Was that it? We won?¡± Mikayla asked. Asika looked around. ¡°Weird . . we should have, but that was totally too easy. He barely tried. Didn''t even use his Cores. And I¡¯m not seeing a victory notification? Something¡¯s not right,¡± They heard footsteps beneath them, and rushed to the edge of the platform. Mahendra was there, walking away from the entrance of the tower he¡¯d left behind, with absolutely no sign of the injuries they¡¯d inflicted on him. ¡°By the way. Allow me to clear up another misconception of yours,¡± he shouted in their direction. ¡°You may believe that this fight is three against one,¡± He paused for dramatic effect, his lips splitting into a wide, toothy smile, ¡°but I¡¯m more of a one-man army,¡± Mikayla looked at the science-fiction tower again. ¡°Oh, crap - um, Ghost Hound¡¯s taint?¡± Memorising Termanian idioms was a struggle. ¡°That¡¯s a respawn chamber,¡± Asika scrutinised the edifice. ¡°Yuppers, I see it. He must have cloned his profile and created a quantum isolation chamber in which the real him cannot be observed, to get around the anti-cloning safeguards,¡± ¡°So he comes back from the dead?¡± Keldryn asked. ¡°How many times?¡± ¡°If I had to guess? Infinitely,¡± the faerie admitted. ¡°He¡¯s bound up all his Mana in that projection, but in return he can keep throwing himself at us until we collapse from exhaustion,¡± ¡°What?¡± Mikayla¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°But then how are we supposed to win?¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t! I was right. We¡¯re hopelessly outmatched. This is great!¡± Asika beamed. ¡°Have you got a screw loose?¡± Mikayla snapped. ¡°Nah, trust me. I¡¯ve got a plan, I just need you two to hold him off for as long as possible. Buy me time, make him mad if you can. Okay? Okay! Bye!¡± She jumped off the edge of the landing, and when Mikayla scrambled after her, there was no sign of her. ¡°. . did she just leave us to fight her battle for her?¡± Keldryn¡¯s eyes narrowed, lips peeling back. ¡°I think she¡¯s got a plan. And we¡¯re in some kind of internet world, fighting against a psychic faerie. Maybe if she tells us what she¡¯s planning, Mahendra will be able to read our minds?¡± Mikayla speculated. She was sure she¡¯d read a novel with that plot at some point. ¡°So we just keep fighting and trust her?¡± Keldryn assessed as the next clone of Mahendra advanced up the steps towards their landing. ¡°I don¡¯t like it. We can¡¯t last forever,¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t see a way out. Doesn¡¯t look like we have much of a choice,¡± Mikayla winced. Chapter 49: Save Scum Half a dozen identical faeries had fallen before Mahendra had driven them back from the first level of Asika''s treehouse. None of them had put up too much of a fight. After the first three rounds of Mahendra fighting them only with Stamina abilities, Keldryn and Mikayla had concluded that whatever cheat Mahendra was using to give himself infinite respawns locked him out of his Mana pool. There was no other reason for him to not be using his Cores, and Keldryn was mostly certain that all of the Techniques he had deployed were reliant only on Stamina. Which was probably the only reason they had a fighting chance against someone double their Level. That, and the easy defensibility of Asika''s treehouse. As they retreated further into the treehouse, looking for a new spot to lay in wait, a thought occured to Mikayla. "I see what he''s doing," "Yeah?" Keldryn hissed. "He''s learning our tricks. Like a gamer doing a boss fight over and over, not to win but to memorise every attack it has so that he can do a perfect run," Mikayla realised, gritting her teeth. "He''s showboating," "That''s not it," Keldryn denied. "Then what is?" "Haven''t you been paying attention to your vital energies?" Mikayla glanced at her Health, Mana and Stamina. [HEALTH: 1221/1750 MANA: 1389/2000 STAMINA: 1148/1750] ". . Oh. Our resources are finite. His aren''t," she fully realised for the first time. Once they''d both run out of Mana and Stamina, they would be defenceless. She didn''t even have any potions to top them off - why couldn''t there have also been potions in the Core Storage room? "He''s coming. Shush," Keldryn hissed, hunkering down. Mikayla did the same, ducking back beneath the windowsill. Mahendra looked around as he reached the top of the stairs, searching for his erstwhile foes. He looked left. He looked right. He accidentally gave Keldryn the perfect chance to throw bladed leaves into his eyes. With a scream, he staggered, clawing at his eyes and flailing around, screaming, "You slovenly scoundrels! Cease this crude -" He choked, because Mikayla had just plunged her sword into his chest. Blue blood burst from the wound, running down the blade of the sword and staining her fingers. The faerie collapsed, disintegrating into dust from around the wound, the bloodstain going with him. Mikayla barely registered it, staring at her sword, at her hand. "That . . I . . I just . ." Keldryn slapped her on the shoulder, and she stumbled. "No freezing up!" "R-right! Right," Her breaths came short and ragged, her hands shaking uncontrollably. She''d killed him. In self-defence, and he obviously wasn''t dead-dead, but . . "Lass, I know what you''re feeling. I''ve seen it a thousand times. Take a deep breath and push it all away," Nocturnus commanded, sounding more like a drill sergeant than she''d previously heard from him. "Feeling guilty is a luxury that you can indulge in when you''re not fighting," "Okay . . but -" "No buts! He''ll be back soon," Keldryn soothingly rubbed her back between the spikes on her armour. "Freak out about having killed him after he''s dead, okay?" "Why is killing people not a big deal to you?! It''s different from Kaijus! They . . they''re not monsters!" "Aren''t they?" Keldryn''s eyes were cold and flinty, she could see them through the single-eyed visage of Skyward Grasscutter. "They''re just as murderous and just as ruthless as any Kaiju. Of course they''re just as deserving of death," Mikayla had no response to that. And she didn''t have time to find one, because Mahendra rocketed up the stairs, arms wreathed in some kind of Stamina-fuelled rocket punch Technique. Mikayla didn''t even have time to bring her shield up before he struck her chest and sent her sprawling. The wind was violently expelled from her lungs as she hit the ground, and any thought of getting up was forestalled by Mahendra pouncing on her. She managed to put her shield between him and her chest, taking the blows on its surface - but the sheer recoil of his strikes running up her arms still shaved away chunks of her Health. Then Mahendra shrieked in pain as several blows hit his back, carving open his ribcage until he once again collapsed into dust around Keldryn''s punch daggers. The foxkin lashed his tail, panting. "I think I really hate him," "That was way too close. God damn," Mikayla breathed. ". . which god?" Nocturnus idly checked. "I dunno, whichever one damns people?" "So, the Star-Fight Hegemon?" "Sure," she waved it off. "Him damn," Keldryn was already searching for a new hiding place. "I hope Asika gets busy. I don''t think we can hold him off for much longer," he warned. Mikayla checked her Health again, worried by that large blow she''d taken. And rightly so. [HEALTH: 843/1750] She''d dropped below half. Stifling the urge to curse, they looked around for new places from which to ambush Mahendra on his next run. There weren''t any good spots nearby that they hadn''t already used, so they were forced to retreat even further into the treehouse. They took up positions outside the central room of Asika''s stronghold. A glance inside revealed that the Ataraxia Node, somehow, was inside what seemed to be Asika''s living room, squeezed between a coffee table and a couch. "I''m guessing it''s game over if Mahendra gets his hands on that," Mikayla determined. "Whatever Asika''s doing, she''d better not take much longer," Keldryn''s teeth were bared to express his frustration. They pressed themselves to either side of the inner doorway, watching for any sign of Mahendra''s approach. The faerie emerged again, only a slight frown marring his features as he surveyed the landing. "You cannot keep this up much longer. Why delay the inevitable?" As soon as he came within five feet of the doorway, a massive red and silver sword emerged from it. It would have bisected him, if he hadn''t caught it with a projected System screen and instead gone stumbling backwards. Keldryn followed up, razor-sharp leaves flying into Mahendra''s face and leaving cuts that bled glowing blue blood. Mahendra retaliated, throwing punches at the air that released ribbons of blunt force from his wrists and sent them flying towards them. Mikayla had deflected this blow on her shield before, but fatigue was taking its toll. Instead of properly deflecting them, they glanced off at an angle that knocked her off-balance. Mahendra advanced, and Keldryn threw Bluebell out to intercept him. Unfortunately, their opponent had figured out a counter to that; he slapped a palm on Bluebell''s outstretched head and used his shockwave Technique again, arresting Bluebell''s momentum and letting him jettison her off to the side. Recovering, Mikayla lashed out with her sword, and it found Mahendra''s chest, opening a wound that bled blue. She flinched. Mahendra staggered, and Keldryn made to capitalise, but with mechanical precision the faerie''s arm snapped up and wrapped its fingers around his throat. "Enough of this," he hissed, and a retching noise escaped Keldryn''s throat as Mahendra started to strangle him. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Then his arm exploded. Asika burst into the scene, discarding a Shotgun Core that disintegrated as soon as it left her hands. This left her free to pull Mahendra back into a headlock, judo-flipping him onto the ground outside before he could use his greater Strength to free himself. "Hey guys! It''s all sorted. You did great!" she cast the two teenagers a grin, then rounded "Th-thanks," "If you think that was enough to best me," Mahendra hissed, and the wound where his elbow should have been twitched and started to regenerate, strings of light erupting from within his flesh and weaving his hand back together as though it were made of spiderwebs. "You, the petulant pest, may find yourself sorely disappointed," "Oh, I wasn''t trying to beat you," Asika giggled, stepping back and spreading her arms to keep Mikayla and Keldryn behind her. "Then what, perchance, was your intention, you simpering little snail?" "That," Asika gestured at the sky. Mahendra looked up. So did Mikayla and Keldryn. There was a twinkle of yellow light in the sky, and all at once seven rods that were crackling with yellow electricity fell from far above with perfect aim. They crashed into the floor around Mahendra, and lines snapped into existence around him, forming a perfect heptagon with the rogue faerie at the centre. Asika rolled out of the marked area, and Mahendra tried to follow her but found himself running into a field of light that only affected him. "No! I refuse! The almighty administrator Mahendra shall not be -" Mahendra''s voice abruptly ceased as a pillar of yellow light engulfed him, reaching up to whatever passed for space in this strange digital place. When the light cleared, he was gone. Before Mikayla could say anything, a notification appeared in her vision. [CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDED THE ATARAXIA NODE FROM HOSTILE AGENTS!] [LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 18!] [WARNING: YOU WILL BE EJECTED FROM THIS SPACE IN THREE SECONDS. TWO SECONDS. ONE SECOND.] <=====}¡ªo Mikayla stumbled as she found herself back in the real world, outside the Node. Looking around, she found that Keldryn had already stumbled over to a wall and was leaning against it, while Asika was busying herself with the Node once again. There was no sign of Mahendra. A glance at her vital energy bars was even more surprising; they had all regenerated to full. [HEALTH: 1750/1750 MANA: 2000/2000 STAMINA: 1750/1750] "I''m back at full?" Probably not the first question she should have asked, but it was the first one to come to mind. "Yup," Asika answered her without even looking in her direction. "You weren''t using any of your real energies in there. It was all simulated. You''ve actually been regenerating this whole time," "Okay. I guess that makes sense . . I''m still confused, though. What did you do to Mahendra?" Mikayla asked, leaning over Asika. The blue girl glanced up at her, innocently batting her sapphire-like eyes. "He was disguising his activities so that the Cosmic Scales'' Administrators wouldn''t pick up on how badly he was breaking the rules. I disabled his firewall and let them see what he was doing, so they locked him out," Asika grinned. "If he''d tried to beat us the proper way, he''d probably have crushed us. But he''s the kind of guy who thinks, even if he has a 99% chance of victory, there''s no reason not to cheat and give himself a 100% chance of victory. And as a result he had no chance at all," "Oh," Mikayla looked down and winced. "That''s . . terrifyingly impressive," Asika giggled. "Sometimes you don''t need to win. You just need to be the one who''s playing fair," "If the Admins noticed him, they''ll be on their way here now, right?" Keldryn asked. "They destroyed his body and pulled his mind back to the Cosmic Isles. I''ve heard it''s very unpleasant, they only do it to faerie criminals. Once they''re done interrogating him, they''ll find out everything he knew and come over here to clean house, but that''ll take time. It''ll still be faster if we fix the Ataraxia Node and send my report, so let''s do that," Asika was already elbow deep in the triangular pillar''s base. "Oh, and don''t worry about Anza. My Scan says she''s alive and Lahlee''s dead," Mikayla relaxed. She hadn''t been able to squash the looming prospect of survivor''s guilt, thinking that Anza might have sacrificed herself so they could escape. She was alright. That was a relief. "You two don''t need to be here for this part, though," Asika continued. "You should get going," "We''re safer together," Keldryn denied. "No we''re not. The Global Map says that all the exits to Cliffwatch have been collapsed except the main doors. That Flyreh guy, he''ll know that Mahendra''s gone down because whatever bootleg permissions that glitch handed out will have collapsed. We still need to beat him and get my special Cores back from him if we''re gonna have any chance of getting you home, and I don''t like our odds against that guy without Anza," With one hand, Asika flicked several lines of code together and cast it at both of them. "There, I''ve set a beacon for Anza''s current location on your Global Maps. I''m not sure how she ended up outside the main doors, but that''s where she is and it looks like she''s trying to get back in. You two get outside and regroup with Anza, then find Flyreh and gang up on him. I''ll come help after I''m done dealing with the Node," Asika reasoned. Mikayla considered, but couldn''t fault Asika''s logic. "What if Flyreh comes here and attacks you? Promise me you''ll be okay?" "Don''t worry! He can''t kill me, remember? Not without the whole Cosmic Isles coming down on his head. In the worst case where he catches me, he throws me back in a cage and I sit tight until the Senior Moderators show up to clean up Mahendra''s mess. But you two can die. So get out of here already!" "She''s right," Keldryn admitted, still looking unhappy. "Okay, fine. But we''ll meet up later, okay?" Mikayla pressed. "With Anza too. Promise?" "I promise!" "Okay. Good. Thanks," She glanced at Keldryn and nodded. "Let''s go then," <=====}¡ªo Guided by their Global Maps, it didn''t take long for Mikayla and Keldryn to return to the entrance hall of Cliffwatch. They dodged around guards through copious abuse of Scan, and it wasn''t long before they were looking out into the main hall that they''d entered Cliffwatch through a few days before. Keldryn stopped Mikayla as she was about to round the corner and make for the doors. "Flyreh''s here," She felt like slapping herself. She''d gotten careless for a moment with victory so close at hand. "Scan," Mikayla muttered to herself, and, sure enough, there was a single person waiting at the doors. Interestingly, there was also a signal she recognised just beyond them and trying to break the doors open, without success. "Flyreh''s here, and he looks like he''s trying to keep Anza out," Mikayla realised. "Those doors are too strong," Keldryn shook his head. "She can''t get through. He knows that. He''s waiting for us," "Right," Mikayla frowned. "Don''t worry," Keldryn promised with solemn eyes. "I''ve got a plan," Chapter 50: Boss Battle, Round 1 [FLYREH KONSTANTIN - LEVEL 58 - HUMAN] fortify Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. [MANA: 682/2000] steal,¡± [HEALTH: 842/1750] mathematically The entire tunnel was shaking. [HEALTH: 527/1750] Chapter 51: A Deadly Game of Hide And Seek Flyreh stared down the hole that the two rookies had jumped into. "Did they decide they''d rather take their chances with the fall than fight me? Ballsy. It probably killed them . . but I need to make sure. And get that Black Knight Core back for my collection, too," He groaned, making for the earthworked staircase that would get him down to the bottom of the pit without injury. "What a pain," <=====}¡ªo Mikayla''s life flashed before her eyes as she fell into the abyss. Fortunately for her, that included the previous time she''d jumped to her death. Just like she had when leaving Astralia''s Spear for the second-last time, she shrieked, "Mana Assistance! Size two hundred!" The Black Knight swelled beyond all reason as it fell, its growing torso coming into contact with the side of the pit and bouncing off. She lost her balance, throwing her arms out even as they stretched, and her fingers carved furrows into the opposite side of the pit. A pounding headache erupted in her temples as her Mana was ripped out of her veins. Seconds later, her feet hit the ground, and her downwards momentum was abruptly reversed, the Armour continuing to grow and lifting her up in the process. "Size one!" Mikayla shouted through the black spots dancing in her vision. Dimly, as the Black Knight shrank back down, she became aware of a tiny creature clinging onto her shoulder, one that was rapidly growing relative to her. But then the darkness at the corners of her vision overwhelmed her for a moment, and when she opened her eyes again, she found Keldryn supporting her. He had also shrunk back to normal size and was gripping the spikes on her Armour to keep her steady. "That was a useful trick," he offered between heavy breaths. "Are you okay?" "I''ll manage," Mikayla murmured. With a fizzle, the Black Knight collapsed around her, leaving her exposed. "That was the last of my Mana, though. We need to find somewhere to hide until I recover," "I hope we can. We''re trapped," Keldryn grimaced, looking around. They''d found themselves in a large, open, empty space with only two ways out; there was one rickety-looking staircase behind them, and a cavernous opening almost directly opposite to it. Looking up, they could already see a maroon figure making his way down the stairs. They had minutes at most before Flyreh caught up with them. "Into the cave," Keldryn suggested, gesturing at the other exit. Mikayla nodded, rubbing her eyes to alleviate the lingering headache. "There''s no way it leads anywhere, not when we''re this far underground," "It doesn''t matter, we just have to find a place to hide, let him pass us, then double back and get out of here," Keldryn plotted on his feet, ears pricked up for any hint of pursuit. They made their way into the cavern, but as soon as they did, something strange happened. [YOU HAVE ENTERED THE DOMAIN OF THE RAINBOW OUROBOROS] Mikayla jumped, not expecting a System message. "Did you see that?" "The Domain of the Rainbow Ouroboros?" Keldryn parroted. "Yep," "What does that mean? A Domain?" The word tasted strange in her mouth. She hadn''t meant it as a proper noun, but it had come out that way. Was this the System''s translation directly altering her words? A shiver ran down her spine at the thought. "I don''t know," Keldryn apologised. "Ask Asika later?" Mikayla grimaced. "I guess. Doesn''t change anything. Guess we''ll have to keep an eye out for snakes," They continued onwards, into the cave. Torches had been wedged into the ground, providing illumination that cast flickering shadows across the cracks. The earth changed colour as they went, brightening and hardening into some kind of iridescent quartz. If they hadn''t been running for their lives, Mikayla would have found the rainbow-tinted rocks to be quite beautiful. After a couple of minutes of running, they passed through what looked a lot like a doorway sculpted out of the rock, filled with decorative curves and crenellations. Impressive as it was, it didn''t hold a candle to what they found beyond it. "What is this place?" Mikayla whispered, scanning their surroundings. They''d emerged into an impossibly large open cavern, easily the size of a soccer stadium and tall enough that you could deploy an Armour Core at size ten and still have plenty of head room. It seemed to be perfectly circular, save for the buildings that merged with the wall. Unfortunately, each of the dozen-odd buildings had been ransacked, doors ripped from their hinges and shattered against the ground. The spaces between them were thick with lawns and flowerbeds that were crisscrossed with paths, colourful stones set into the dirt. But the flowers had been uprooted and trampled, petals crushed and scattered across the pavers. A line had been trampled that led directly from the entrance towards the centre of the cavern. The centre of the cavern immediately drew the eye, for at its heart was unmistakably a temple. An edifice of gleaming white marble had been the target of the many footprints carving a muddy path from the entrance to its front steps. It was a circular structure, with an exterior balcony framed by Greco-Roman pillars, but its roof was carved into the likeness of a massive serpent with the tip of its tail between its fangs. The design was only vaguely recognisable, because someone had inflicted severe damage to it, ripping chunks from its face and sending cracks through its flesh. She couldn''t see the interior of the building, only stare into a shadowy archway in its centre that had similar cracks and scuff marks on its facade. . . You . . . Come . . . The shadows seemed to speak to her in a hissing whisper as she stared into them. "Um, Keldryn, did you hear that?" "Hear what?" He was looking around, his tail bristling. "We should hide in the central building," "Wait, really? Isn''t that too obvious?" "We can either go left, right, or straight ahead. If we go left or right, and Flyreh picks the same direction, we''re done. The middle building might have better hiding places," Keldryn was already making for the circular shrine that depicted what Mikayla was assuming to be the Ouroboros. "But I think it spoke to me," she weakly protested, despite knowing how silly that sounded. Keldryn''s ears pricked up, but he shook his head. "Well, if there''s someone in there I''d rather we know about them than have a nasty surprise later," He raised the blades on his wrists, fists clenched. Nodding, realising he was correct, Mikayla followed after him, nervously glancing back at the tunnel. How long would it be until Flyreh caught up? . . . Returned . . . please . . . too late . . . Mikayla jumped. "There it was again!" "What did it say?" Keldryn frowned. "Returned, please, too late," she repeated. Stolen novel; please report. "Returned?" Keldryn''s brows furrowed. "Have you been here before?" "Definitely not," ". . something must be returned, please, before it''s too late," Keldryn speculated. "Whatever that is, it''s not our problem," he assessed. "We just need a hiding spot," "I dunno, this feels side-quest-y," Mikayla speculated as they entered the cylindrical building. "Like, um . . local culture reference, give me . . uh," She trailed off, taking in the interior of the building. It was half shrine and half mad scientist''s laboratory. The walls were covered in hastily erected shelves and tables, containing dozens of bottles with various substances in them, liquid and solid mixed randomly. The entire apparatus was built around what looked like an oven, large and made of brown bricks that clashed with the glossy quartz that the rest of the shrine was made out of. Inside it, Mikayla could see a dozen vials of blood around the jagged stump of a stone edifice. Was that some of the blood they''d been taking from her and all the other prisoners? Were they cooking it somehow? Peering at the back of the room, she found the object that the oven had replaced. A strange altar shaped like a snake''s head lay abandoned underneath a workbench, with an open notch inside its forehead. "Back here," Keldryn hadn''t wasted time gawking, he was already crouching behind the oven. Mikayla joined him, still scanning the area and trying to puzzle out what exactly the purpose of this room was. It was clearly some kind of shrine, one that venerated this Rainbow Ouroboros - Yes! . . I called . . was stopped . . too late . . Mikayla rubbed her head. The voice was back, and stronger now, and with a discernible source. "I heard it again," she whispered. "And I think it''s coming from . ." There was a metal panel on the back of the blood-oven, and a brief application of Sword Core pried it open. Inside was a Core unlike any she''d ever seen before. It was twice again as large as any of the ones in Mikayla''s Core Controller, and she couldn''t identify its material. It gleamed with rainbow light, rippling like water beneath glass. Etched onto its rounded surface was an image of a snake eating its own tail. Too late . . take . . let me . . die . . "What?" Mikayla''s heart leapt into her throat. She''d had universally good experiences with talking Cores so far, therefore even if this one was much less eloquent than Nocturnus her instinct was to save them somehow. "What do you mean, you''ll die?" No response was forthcoming. Mikayla considered. The words had become progressively clearer the closer she got to this strange Core. So maybe . . She pressed a hand over the top of the Core, cupping it in her palm. And then her body went limp, collapsing against the back of the oven. Keldryn started, crouching over her and shaking her shoulders as the Black Knight fizzled out. "Mikayla? Are you okay? Wake up?" He checked her pulse and was relieved that her heart was still beating, that she was still breathing. Next, he glanced at the strange Core, and tried to remove her hand from it, but it seemed as though both Core and Mikayla were glued in place. His ears pricked up as the sound of footsteps reached him. Flyreh had caught up. Staying carefully hidden behind the strange oven that had trapped his friend, with one eye he peered out towards the doorway of the shrine, hoping desperately that Flyreh would check the perimeter first. He couldn''t leave, not without abandoning Mikayla. Unfortunately, Flyreh approached the shrine, leaving Keldryn no opportunity to try to sneak out. For a moment he considered trying to lure their foe away, but it was too much of a risk. If Flyreh noticed that only one of the two people he''d been chasing was escaping and suspected an ambush, he would stay behind and look for Mikayla. And letting him find her in this state would be a death sentence for her. He could make a break for it. Asika had given him the Flawless Heel Propulsion Technique, it would be enough to outrun Flyreh as long as he monitored his Stamina. He could escape. He wanted to. But Keldryn just couldn''t bring himself to leave Mikayla behind. That poor Stranded girl was too soft for this world. She froze when Kaijus attacked. She insisted on seeing through stupid ideas that weren''t worth the inherent peril. She was worryingly attached to the Black Traitor. And over the past two weeks, protecting and teaching her had made him feel good about himself, in a way that he''d been unable to for the past ten years. Like he was finally doing something his parents would be proud of. Flyreh was still clad in Brass-Beat Brawler as he scrutinised the interior of the shrine. "If those hooligans tamper with the refinement process, I''ll chop them into pieces and scatter their bones," he murmured. Despite speaking softly, Keldryn''s vulpine ears easily caught his words. Keldryn tensed as Flyreh advanced towards the oven-like device that they had hidden behind. His tail bristled, betraying his nerves, and his eyes raked over his Core Controller. The Scythe Core was still loaded and ready. If Flyreh was careless enough, maybe he could land a crippling blow. Flyreh bent down on the other side of the oven. He was inspecting the vials of blood. "No attunement. Still. What is it going to take to get that starring snake to give up its secrets?" Keldryn''s eyebrow twitched, the only reaction he allowed himself. With Flyreh so close he barely dared breathe. Though, he couldn''t help wondering what Flyreh was talking about. Flyreh straightened, still muttering to himself. "I probably need to pack all this up too, before the Guard arrives. What else is there to try? I could eat it . ." He turned away, starting to leave, and Keldryn knew he had his chance. Skyward Grasscutter''s digitigrade legs straightened and launched him into a pounce, and glowing light wove into a deadly crescent blade. He didn''t really know how to use a scythe, but the basic principle of all blades was the same; stick the pointy end into your enemy. So he gripped it in a way he knew was wrong and put his weight behind the downwards swing, aiming at cutting Flyreh''s back open. But Flyreh''s reaction time was insane. He span, arm coming around at exactly the right moment to beat the blade aside, smartly sidestepping and twisting as he went. His palm lit up with a Technique, and he slapped Keldryn into a nearby patch of empty wall between two benches of laboratory equipment. Keldryn''s brow furrowed as he stood. Not only had Flyreh perfectly countered his strike, he''d done it so casually that he''d even been able to avoid collateral damage to the inscrutable equipment in the shrine. That was sort of terrifying. But Mikayla was still back there, insensate. So there was no other choice but to square off with Flyreh and hope for a miracle. Chapter 52: At The End Of The Rainbow As soon as her hand had touched the mysterious Core, the world had fallen away from around Mikayla. Dizzying lights that she had no names for filled her vision in a kaleidoscope of overwhelming colours, until it all peeled back and she found herself in an impossible place. Because suddenly she was in the sky. Standing on the edge of a floating rock, Mikayla could only stare out at a field of clouds below. The sky above her was not blue, but a shifting and twirling rainbow of colours all woven together like an impossible tapestry. "You have come," a voice shook the world, the loudest noise she''d ever heard shaking the world, stronger than she could imagine and yet somehow sounding incredibly weak. It had come from behind her, and Mikayla turned, searching for the source. That was when she realised that she wasn''t standing on a rock, or a floating island, but on the edge of a large bowl formed from earth. In the centre of the bowl was the most massive snake she had ever seen - yet also the most wretched. Its scales were multicoloured and rippling through every hue of the rainbow, where they hadn''t been stripped away and left abscesses that bled golden light. Its frame was skeletal, its skin peeling away where it wasn''t stretched tight across the contours of its bones. Its eyes were pools of gold that had faded to a tarnished dullness, barely able to twitch open to regard her. The tip of its tail was tucked beneath its chin. "You''re the Rainbow Ouroboros," Mikayla guessed. It opened its mouth, revealing chipped and broken fangs. "Yes," the snake hissed, sounding like every word was a struggle. "Thank you . . for coming . . even after . . what I did . ." "What do you mean, what you did?" Mikayla questioned, eyebrows furrowing. "The holes . . in the worlds . . that brought you here," The Ouroboros heaved out a sigh. "I was . . desperate . . to escape this fate . . I acted rashly . . callously. And . . failed. You were . . an innocent victim . . of my crime," Mikayla''s jaw worked furiously without any sound emerging. So she hadn''t been brought to the Kaiju Coast by accident? She''d been collateral damage in this thing''s last-ditch attempt to flee? Like falling through a manhole that a plumber was trying to use to escape a flooding drain? That . . that still sounded mostly accidental and probably wasn''t a very good metaphor. Nonetheless, she was . . Actually, no. Looking at the wretched state of this creature, she couldn''t bring herself to be angry. Clearly, no matter how bad she''d had it, this Rainbow Ouroboros had suffered far worse things. "What are you, actually? A Kaiju?" Asika had mentioned that there were some Kaijus who had learned to speak and get along with people. Was that what she was dealing with? "No . . I am a god," the Ouroboros choked out. Mikayla''s eyes widened, even if she had somewhat suspected. This was a god. A dying god. A god, who, presumably, was in this state because of what Flyreh and Mahendra had done to him. That was . . terrifying. "Do not fear," the Ouroboros murmured. "I am in this state . . because of my own weakness . . and because none have worshipped me in decades . . I have been dying for a long time . . that man merely hastened the process. To think . . someone as weak as him . . could do this . . I am truly . . wretched," "Well. Um. Can I do anything to help?" Mikayla suggested, looking around. There was barely anything in this strange space. No . . she could see that the edges of the stone bowl were slowly crumbling, flaking away into nonexistence. There was barely anything left. "Thank you . . but I cannot be saved . . not now," the Ouroboros shook his head. "Are you sure? You couldn''t open another rift? Use my Mana to do it maybe? Or we could -" "I am going to die," the Rainbow Ouroboros said with finality, and Mikayla shut up. "My Core has been damaged . . perverted . . irreparably," Mikayla''s head was spinning with that revelation, even if she couldn''t bring herself to voice it. Were God Cores the same sort of thing as Equipment Cores or Companion Cores? How did thatwork? "All that is left . . is to deny the invader his prize," The Ouroboros reared up, raising his head, and Mikayla was awestruck by the spectacle of rainbow lights cascading down his length. She could barely imagine what this beautiful creature must have been like in the prime of his life. "You want me to take your Core somewhere else?" Mikayla guessed. "I can try. The escape attempt isn''t going so well, but -" "No," the prismatic serpent rumbled. "Such would only . . prolong my death . . . and waste it. The invader seeks to . . supplant my mantle . . to build a new divinity out of my bones," "Is that possible?" Mikayla couldn''t help but ask. The Rainbow Ouroboros loomed down towards her, those massive golden eyes seeming to drown out the rest of the world. "Consider this . . my apology . . and my penance," he crooned. "Whoa, whoa, hang on, what are you doing?" Mikayla''s eyes darted downwards, feeling the very tip of the serpent''s tail touch the bottom of her chin, while the cool scales of his snout pressed gently on the top of her head. She squirmed, but for all that the god was clearly on his last legs, his grip was still so strong that she couldn''t pull her head free. The world shook around them as that impossibly loud and incredibly weak voice made the colourful sky shatter like glass. "Let my final words be known to the four winds and all beneath them, to the world itself and all who would stand guard over it!" The ground fell away, and the Rainbow Ouroboros caught Mikayla, still keeping her head pinned between his lips and his tail. His body was breaking down, scales and flesh evaporating into colourful mist. "I am the Rainbow Ouroboros, the God of {TEAMWORK}. The Hundred Hands Entwined and the Myriad Colours United. I hereby announce that my time in this world has come to an end, and with my dying breath I declare my inheritor," Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Mikayla''s eyes widened. This was a whole new level of insanity. "Wait, hang on, are you sure about this? I''m not gonna stay in this world, I''m going home! I can''t take over your role as a god or anything!" "Better that my essentia be lost to your world than fall into the hands of the invaders," the Ouroboros assured her. "Perhaps, the world willing, my essentia shall see you home safely," He drew breath, even though Mikayla was mostly sure she''d just seen his lungs disintegrate. "I offer all that remains of me as a gift to Mikayla Aiadon, with no conditions, restrictions, or final demands. Let nothing remain of my legacy. Consume it all so that she may receive as much as I can give," "This is, um, bigger than I think I can grasp just yet. I''ll probably need Asika to explain how big a deal that was. But . . thank you," Mikayla whispered. In the last moment before his head and tail had completely disintegrated into dust, the Rainbow Ouroboros whispered, "Best of luck," His world faded entirely, leaving Mikayla suspended in a black void. Before she could panic about that, though, System notifications filled her vision. [CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE BEEN NAMED THE INHERITOR OF THE RAINBOW OUROBOROS!] [YOU HAVE ACQUIRED A TITLE: INHERITOR OF THE RAINBOW OUROBOROS.] [YOUR SIGNATURE HAS BEEN UPDATED.] [THE DEMIGOD SYSTEM IS NOW AVAILABLE TO YOU!] [AS A LIVING MORTAL, YOU DO NOT MEET THE PREREQUISITES FOR POSTHUMOUS APOTHEOSIS.] [YOUR CURRENT WORSHIPPER COUNT IS: 0.] [YOUR CURRENT DOMAINS ARE: {TEAMWORK}] [YOUR CURRENT DIVINITY RANK IS: RANK 0 (MORTAL).] [YOUR CURRENT FAITH POINT TOTAL IS: 3,923.] [YOU HAVE UNLOCKED THE BLESSING OF {TEAMWORK}!] Mikayla squinted at the last message. ". . wait, did that snake say he was the god of teamwork? What the hell is a ''god of teamwork''?" [WARNING: YOUR DIVINITY RANK IS INSUFFICIENT TO MAINTAIN A DIVINE REALM. {THE REALM OF THE RAINBOW OUROBOROS} WILL COLLAPSE AND YOU WILL BE EJECTED.] Mikayla looked around at the black void, all that remained of what she assumed had been the Rainbow Ouroboros'' Divine Realm. "I''m okay with that," She regretted her words as soon as she''d said them, because then she was falling. And somehow the world went even blacker. <=====}¡ªo When she came to, the sight of Keldryn squaring off against Flyreh woke her up more effectively than any pot of coffee. The bleariness evaporated, and before she''d even realised what she was doing the Black Knight was wrapping around her frame once more. She relished the mastery, the fact that she could now call it up with only a thought. Hopefully that skill would save her life. The black and red lights drew the eye. "You okay?" Keldryn asked, his eyes only leaving Flyreh for less than a second. "Peachy," Mikayla grumbled. She''d just watched a god die and declare that she would replace him. There was a lot to unpack there, and no time for any of it. "I think you''re being overly optimistic," Flyreh regarded them both. "There''s nowhere left to run," He didn''t move from the doorway, his posture completely relaxed. In the shrine room turned laboratory, with only one exit, he had them cornered and he knew it. "What happened, lass?" Nocturnus whispered. "A god just decided he''d rather have me replace him than that guy," Mikayla summarised. Flyreh, who apparently had good enough hearing to catch that, did a double take."Pardon?" "Access demigod system?" Mikayla desperately muttered under her breath. White and gold notifications blossomed into her field of vision, markedly different to the blue screens she''d become accustomed to. [DEMIGOD SYSTEM ACTIVATED. WELCOME, INHERITOR.] [ERROR: THE GOD ''god/teamwork/rainbow_ouroboros'' DOES NOT EXIST IN THE DIVINITY REGISTRY. ALL FUNCTIONS RELATED TO PATRON INTERVENTION ARE UNAVAILABLE.] [CHANNEL DIVINITY IS UNAVAILABLE. COMMUNION IS UNAVAILABLE -] "Tell me what is available!" Mikayla demanded. [BLESSING OF {TEAMWORK} IS AVAILABLE.] "Apply the Blessing of Teamwork to myself, Keldryn," She paused, then decided there was no reason not to. "And Nocturnus!" [SELECT POTENCY OF BLESSING: RED, ORANGE, YELLOW -] "Whichever one is strongest!" [APPLYING RAINBOW BLESSING OF {TEAMWORK} TO THREE INDIVIDUALS.] [YOUR CURRENT FAITH POINT TOTAL IS: 3,623.] [CORES DETECTED. SYNERGY DETECTED. ATARAXIAN OVERRIDE ENGAGED (FAILSAFE).] [HOTFIX COMPLETED. CONDITIONS SATISFIED TO INITIATE PANTHEON PROTOCOL.] [''RAINBOW BLESSING OF {TEAMWORK}'' HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO ''PERFECT RAINBOW BLESSING OF {TEAMWORK}''.] [APPLYING PERFECT RAINBOW BLESSING OF {TEAMWORK} TO THREE INDIVIDUALS.] Mikayla''s eyes widened, the System messages replacing each other almost too quickly for her to read them. "Ataraxian Override? Pantheon Protocol? Perfect Rainbow Blessing?" Flyreh started. "What did you just say, girlie?" Before Mikayla could decide how to respond, a rainbow aura appeared around her body, like a localised Aurora Borealis. A matching glow appeared around Keldryn''s body. "Mikayla, what did you do?" "Something called a Perfect Rainbow Blessing of Teamwork. I assume it''ll make us stronger if we''re fighting together," she explained, stepping forwards to flank Keldryn. Flyreh''s eyes went wide. "You got that starring snake to give you a what? How?!" "Well, he really hated you, so -" Mikayla was interrupted by her rusty Core Controller shining like the sun. Keldryn''s did the same, and it took only seconds for the rainbows to drown out everything else. Chapter 53: Black Knight Duplex Flyreh rubbed his eyes through his Armour, trying to clear the momentary blindness that the flash of rainbow energy had afflicted him with. "Scan," he growled, searching for the two teenagers. His Scan registered a single hostile figure that was rapidly growing in size. Flyreh scowled and his own Armour swelled, back-pedalling, because he could already guess what the teenagers were planning. One of them scaled upwards as high as they could to distract him with a frontal assault, while the other circled around to attack him from behind. The obvious answer to this, though, was for him to match them in size and put his back to the wall. Brass-Beat Brawler grew around him in response to his thoughts, pushing aside the crumbling remains of the shrine and letting it collapse around him as his helmet''s horns scraped the roof of the cave. The pillar of rainbow light obscuring his enemy finally faded, and Flyreh prepared to go on the defensive. Which one was confronting him? The bulky Black Knight? The agile Skyward Grasscutter? Whichever it was, he could take them. But the answer turned out to be neither. There was a new Armour Core squaring off with him. Its legs bore the digitigrade knees of Skyward Grasscutter, but terminated in a more streamlined version of the Black Knight''s boots. Its upper arms were clad in the spiky armour of the Black Knight, but its forearms were long and streamlined. In one hand, it held an even larger Sword that had been augmented with Grasscutter''s wrist blades, becoming a new crossguard. In the other it carried a streamlined shield that ended in a wicked spike. On one shoulder it had Keldryn''s crossbow mounted, and on the other Bluebell perched in a special housing. Its torso had become a triangular wedge, like a version of Grasscutter''s helmet lined with serrated edges, and crowned by the Black Knight''s jagged helm. In its sternum, there was a spinning nexus of rainbow-coloured energy, predominantly a yin and yang of black and green but with every other colour imaginable bleeding through at the edges. "Whoa," the Goliath murmured. "What is this? Wait, who''s talking?" Mikayla was disoriented. She could feel Keldryn''s mind. And Nocturnus'' thoughts. She could see his face, she suddenly realised. Nocturnus was grizzled and scarred, with a greying beard and thick mutton chops. "I''m uncertain as to what you''ve done, but you''ve linked our minds. We need to maintain separation, or we might find ourselves unable to split back up," Nocturnus warned. Keldryn was distracted, his spectre bobbing in sudden shock. "Look at our profile!" "System, profile please," Mikayla requested, raising an eyebrow. [NAME: Mikayla Aiadon, Keldryn Thorntail, Nocturnus Virralis LEVEL: 42 (24+18+0) RACE: Human (Demigod), Beastkin (Foxkin), ???? STATISTICS: (1 Lock Cleared, 125% Efficiency) HEALTH: 4000/4000 (1750+2250+0) MANA: 4250/4250 (2000+2250+0) STAMINA: 4750/4750 (1750+3000+0) STRENGTH: 47.5 (BASE VALUE: 14+24+0) DEXTERITY: 48.75 (BASE VALUE: 14+25+0) CONSTITUTION: 40 (BASE VALUE: 14+18+0) CHARISMA: 33.75 (BASE VALUE: 14+13+0) INTELLIGENCE: 42.5 (BASE VALUE: 16+18+0) WILLPOWER: 46.25 (BASE VALUE: 17+20+0) UNUSED: 4] Mikayla''s eyes widened. "Level forty-two? With almost fifty points of Dexterity?!" She paused and squinted at the calculations. "Are those your stats? Twenty-four, twenty-five, eighteen -" "Yes, those are mine," Keldryn confirmed. "This combination, or whatever it is, seems to have completely refilled our Mana and Stamina, too," "I''m contributing a lot of zeroes, I see," Nocturnus sighed. "Mikayla, you must remember to assign your unused points!" "Will do, will do," She flicked two points into Charisma and two into Willpower. They didn''t have any potions available, so raising their maximums wouldn''t help with the fight to come, but the additional regeneration might make the difference. "This is awesome. We need a cool name for it," Mikayla assessed. "Sort out such things later!" The aged man interrupted them, rolling his eyes. "We''re still fighting!" While this had been going on, Flyreh had been awestruck. "So that''s it. That''s the power . . the power that should have been mine!" he snarled. "I''ve got it!" Mikayla piped up. "Black Knight Duplex!" As Flyreh charged at them, she brought their equipment up, shield ready to block. Mikayla couldn''t help but feel confident. "With strength like this, we''re -" Flyreh''s hammer swivelled in his grip, bashing their shield aside, then the hammer-head came circling back around to strike their helmet. The combined Armour suddenly threw its arm and sword up, catching a strike from Flyreh''s hammer that sent vibrations through their frame. "Focus on the fight!" Nocturnus barked. Mikayla and Keldryn blinked. "Nocturnus," she gasped, "did you just control the Armour?" The eyes of his projected face in their shared mental space widened. "I did," They suddenly dodged away from a crushing kick as Flyreh pulled his weapon free. "That one was me," Keldryn reported. Mikayla strategised on the fly. "Nocturnus, you have the ballistae! Keldryn, run the legs! I''ve got the arms!" "I can do that?" Nocturnus sounded baffled. Seemingly of its own accord, the crossbow on her shoulder fired, launching an arrow that narrowly missed Flyreh. "I can! Incredible!" Flyreh howled, a sound full of inarticulate range, bringing his hammer down. Mikayla went to block at the same time Keldryn dodged, and the hammer glanced off their shield. "How?" Flyreh bellowed. "How did you do it? For weeks I''ve been trying to get that miserable god to give up its secrets! You! You cannot just walk in here and steal it from under my nose! How did you do it?!" "To be honest?" Mikayla shouted back at him with a grin of schadenfreude as she twisted her torso and threw out a stab. "I couldn''t have done it without you!" Flyreh''s arm jerked back and deflected the sword, taking only a minor scratch. The Black Knight Duplex overbalanced, Mikayla having overcommitted to the strike, and Flyreh took advantage, swinging his hammer back around and using the spike on the rear of its head to punch a hole in their sternum. Mikayla strangled a scream, feeling the stabbing pain in her gut even though she knew she wasn''t really hurt. Then again, based on the massive chunk of Health they''d lost, it definitely wasn''t wise to just ignore the pain. [HEALTH: 3092/4000] Keldryn drove them away, kicking upwards and releasing his bladed-leaf spray Technique from the Black Knight Duplex''s foot. The attack caused Flyreh to flinch, buying them precious seconds to recuperate. "Mikayla," Nocturnus'' voice filled with sudden urgency. "Let me take over the arms," "Huh?" "Bards would sing of the Black Knight''s swordsmanship, feared by masters the world over. This man is no match for me!" Mikayla barely even had to consider it. "Alright. Go to town," She pulled back from the metaphysical controls, and felt Nocturnus'' presence take her place. Flyreh had recovered faster than them, and his hammer was coming down in a crushing blow that would flatten their helmet. But then the multicoloured warrior moved, manipulating its blade with expert precision, and suddenly the hammer was going in the wrong direction. Nocturnus shifted their centre of balance, twisted the length of their blade, and dragged it across Flyreh''s chest. Their shield swung around, forcing the head of the hammer to the ground, and at a shouted command Keldryn pinned it under their foot while Nocturnus delivered another slash to Brass-Beat Brawler''s chest. Flyreh staggered back, yanking his foot free. His hammer vanished into a rain of blue glitter, and instead a pair of scimitars appeared in his hands, one green and one red."What is this? How do you suddenly know how to fight?" Flyreh demanded, going on the defensive, his blades assuming a ready stance. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. "Strength is nothing without skill," Nocturnus rumbled, cautiously approaching and forcing Flyreh towards the wall. "Who is speaking!?" "The Undying Black Knight! Back from the dead to sever your head!" Nocturnus bellowed. "Threatening my apprentice was your last mistake. Do not bore me with your dying words, cur, for none shall remember them!" He braced the Black Knight Duplex''s left shoulder against their shield, and Keldryn took the cue, charging forward and delivering a crushing shield bash with too much force behind it to deflect. "I recognise that voice. You''re the assassin!" Flyreh snarled. "Assuming the Black Traitor''s legacy? Cute," He lowered his swords and met the blow with a shoulder charge of his own, his superior Strength checking them and making the Black Knight Duplex bounce off. Flyreh drove his foot into the ground and a diagonal spike of what looked like fossilised bone shot from the earth towards their chest. "I assume nothing!" Nocturnus howled. Keldryn slid back, letting Nocturnus'' decades of footwork guide him to dodge the conjured assault. Once they had a clear line of sight, he used Heel Propulsion, further amplified by Skyward Grasscutter''s digitigrade legs, to send them springing forwards again. Nocturnus'' mental lips split into a wide grin as he took the momentum and ran with it, two quick steps delivering a slash that Brass-Beat Brawler barely managed to turn aside on its chestplate. "You face Nocturnus Virralis, the remnant mind trapped within his old Armour Core. Who whispered in your ear when you wore him and drove you to waste your energy hunting for an imaginary assassin," Nocturnus let out a full-bellied evil laugh, just to be taunting. Flyreh''s back brushed against the wall, and he snarled. If he was thrown by the revelation - or disbelieved it - he didn''t show it. His foot dug into the earth, carving out a point to kick off from, and then he launched Brass-Beat Brawler''s forwards, swords going forwards and outwards. "Then it''ll be my honour to personally end your legend!" The Black Knight Duplex held firm, catching both blades on their own sword and knocking them aside, then launching a series of strikes that forced Flyreh right back on the defensive. "I may not understand what miracle my apprentice has wrought to let me take control, but I swear on whatever shreds of honour remain attached to the Black Knight''s name, I shall part your head from your shoulders even if it kills me again!" Nocturnus bellowed, finally breaking through Flyreh''s defensive stance by feinting to the left, then kicking off and around to the right. His sword lashed out and carved a chunk out of Brass-Beat Brawler''s left leg. Mikayla took advantage of the opening. A Psychic Bolt flew from the tip of the crossbow on their shoulder, splashing across the injury before Flyreh could seal it and causing him to cry out in pain. In a flash of light, Flyreh was suddenly at the other end of the cavern, clutching his hip and ignoring the way a line of gardens and buildings had exploded in his wake. Clearly, he''d been keeping a mobility Technique of his own in reserve. His swords flickered out of existence, maroon aura instead manifesting what looked like a naval cannon stolen from a pirate ship. Which was probably exactly what it was. Thoughts flickered between the Black Knight Duplex''s three pilots, Mikayla identifying the weapon and Keldryn pointing out that, with his status as a Core collector, they needed to be ready for Flyreh to continue to pull weapons from his collection at a moment''s notice. Nocturnus was already preparing a counter to the incoming ranged assault - "Wait! Stop that, both of you! We must not let our thoughts grow too entwined!" "Shit! Sorry! Got it!" Mikayla consciously pulled herself back, and Keldryn did the same. The moment of distraction cost them, as a streak of energy left the tip of the cannon''s barrel and hit them in the chest, knocking the Black Knight Duplex from its feet and sending them crashing into the wall of the cavern. Nocturnus groaned. "I did not miss pain," Keldryn didn''t bother whining, struggling to get their Armour back on its feet as Brass-Beat Brawler closed the distance more leisurely. Mikayla checked their Health and paled. [HEALTH: 1640/4000] A single hit from that cannon had done more damage than every other blow Flyreh had landed so far, put together. Flyreh was already closing the distance. It didn''t seem like the cannon was something he could use recklessly, either, because he had called out the scimitars again. Nocturnus got them back in a defensive stance as Flyreh bounced from side to side, making feints with his blades. But then they were surprised by a pillar of stone erupting between them. Armoured fists that were no longer wielding their swords broke it in half no sooner than it had struck the Black Knight Duplex''s arm, punching a chunk of rock into their helmet and knocking it backwards. Nocturnus barely managed to get the shield up in time to defend against the follow-up blow, which nonetheless sent their own fist rocking back into their head. Mikayla, casting around for something that might help, fired an arrow from their crossbow into the eyes that shone through Flyreh''s chainmail veil of a face. He didn''t even seem to notice. Grimacing, she glanced at Bluebell, who was still sitting patiently on the shoulder of the Black Knight Duplex. Her legs were tucked in, and she was watching the fight with bated breath. And, on closer inspection, that didn''t look like a saddle that she was sitting in. The Black Knight Duplex''s recovery was interrupted as Flyreh''s arms shone with a Technique that drove his hands inexorably forwards, forcing them backwards. He knocked Nocturnus'' sword aside, exposing their chest. Nocturnus howled in fury, but wasn''t quite fast enough. Even in this merged state, the Black Knight Duplex only had 42 Levels'' worth of Stats to leverage, which paled in comparison to his Level 112 reflexes. His arms simply weren''t moving as quickly as he expected them to, weren''t hitting as hard as he thought they would. All Nocturnus could do was try to get the damnable shield up in time to mitigate the damage of the blow as Flyreh''s hands raised and conjured his hammer once more, already bringing it down. Instead, a ballistic goat hit him in the face. Nocturnus''s eyes widened as Flyreh stumbled back, his attack interrupted. "What was that?" "Turns out, we''ve got a missile launcher," Mikayla grinned as Bluebell scrabbled against Flyreh''s maroon chestplate, then kicked off and somehow flew back into place on their shoulder. "Don''t spam that, it took more than five hundred points out of our Stamina!" Keldryn warned Mikayla, flicking a popup in her direction. [STAMINA: 2432/4750] "Well, it was worth it!" Nocturnus barked gleefully, swinging the Black Knight Duplex''s shield and forcing his guard open, then putting their whole weight behind a stab. The strike punched a gaping hole straight through the guts of Brass-Beat Brawler, which seemed to go deathly still. Nocturnus laughed triumphantly as they withdrew the blade, focusing on the injury to see if it was indeed fatal. "Had enough?" Something black writhed inside the injury. Before their eyes, bubbling black tar filled in the hole and sealed it with a viscous scab that looked like a dried oil slick. Flyreh''s voice emerged from the helmet, laced with disgust, as tendrils of black flesh spread through the veil that served as its face. "You shouldn''t have done that," Chapter 54: Boss Battle, Final Round Flyreh was already twisting towards them, his massive reinforced boot crashing into the chest of Black Knight Duplex. They stumbled back, and Mikayla scrambled to punish him for it by firing a crossbow at the scabbed-over wound they''d just inflicted. He twisted, and the bolt glanced off his hip. "Mikayla, take over the legs. Wanna try something," Keldryn commanded. "Gotcha, Keldie!" Mikayla mock saluted, mentally diving downward to control the legs. This was a mistake, because she had no idea how Skyward Grasscutter''s legs worked. "Uh. We have four knees and I only understand half of them!" "Follow my lead! Twist clockwise!" Nocturnus commanded as Flyreh produced his scimitars again and feinted left, but the first Black Knight saw through his feint and already had their shield up to take the blow. Black veins erupted just underneath the surface of Brass-Beat Brawler''s arm, and the sheer strength of the hit almost knocked them over. Mikayla scrambled, arms pinwheeling within the Black Knight Duplex chest as though that would help, trying to guide the digitigrade legs solely with her intent to rebalance the Armour. "What was that? I''d thought I''d gauged his Strength," Nocturnus'' eyebrows drew pinched. "It''s the same black stuff Lahlee had!" Mikayla recognised. "Oh?" Flyreh stepped back. "You blundered your way into the heart of our operation, and you haven''t even puzzled out what we''re doing?" She raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Is he really about to explain his evil plan?" "If it gives us a moment to catch our breath, he can grandstand as much as he wants," Nocturnus whispered back at her. Unfortunately, Flyreh wasn''t in the mood to indulge them. "Well, scoundrels, you can take your curiosity to the grave. The Ersatz might be crude yet, but it'' still more than enough to -" A streak of orange energy shot through the air and struck him in the shoulder, twisting his body around and making him scrabble to avoid overbalancing. "Keldryn?" Mikayla blinked. "You forgot what I told you about how bows are for building up slow and powerful shots," Keldryn retorted. Despite his words, his tone sounded more relieved that the charged shot had worked than anything. "Why did you interrupt him?" Nocturnus groaned. "Aight, so next time we combine, we''ll try shoulder-mounted guns instead of ballistae," Mikayla semi-seriously noted that down. With a kick-off that made the ground shake and dust rain down from the ceiling of the cavern, Flyreh flipped in mid-air, twisting to regain his balance before he could collapse to the ground. As he brought Brass-Beat Brawler''s torso back around, a familiar cannon had appeared in his hands. All three pilots paled. "By the Frank Axe''s -" was as far as Nocturnus got before the cannon discharged. This time, though, tentacles of liquid black flesh erupted from its barrel, crossing the cavern and ensnaring their arms with bony barbs that seemed to mould themselves on the fly so as to best dig into and through their armour. Pain blossomed everywhere they touched. Flyreh let his weapon disappear, leaving the thorny strings grasped in his hands like a net, and started dragging them towards him. "We need to get loose!" Nocturnus growled, struggling. Keldryn fired Bluebell, and with his hands occupied Flyreh couldn''t avoid the strike, stumbling backwards. For a moment they hoped he would release the strings, but even though he lost his grip, that only revealed how the Ersatz material was growing out of his Armour Core''s hands. "Nocty, let me take the arms for a minute," Mikayla commanded, and the old soldier nodded, swapping placed with her in the mental space as Mikayla forced her Mana into their wrists and sculpted it into twin mirrors of a familiar pattern. "Firestaring Punch!" Flames erupted from their hands, and she let the shield fall and vanish from their grip. A delighted squeal escaped her lips as she confirmed that the flames were burning away the Ersatz, and the freed left hand of the Black Knight Duplex peeled away the black flesh from their shoulders even as Nocturnus put distance between them and Flyreh once more. "Okay, that worked, good. Switch back, Nocty, he''s incoming," Mikayla asserted, already raising their sword into a clumsy guard. As soon as Nocturnus had taken over the arms once again, he corrected their stance and winced at the echoes of pain from the barbs of flesh digging into their combined body. "Mikayla, run Circulation! We need our Health back up!" he commanded as he fended off fresh strikes from Flyreh''s hammer. "On it!" For a moment, Mikayla wondered if Circulation of Stamina would even work in this weird conjoined form that the Blessing had somehow put them in. But she tried anyway, and somehow it worked, Stamina passing through and beyond her body and into the massive mech suit, stitching up its damage. [HEALTH: 821/4000 > 881/4000 > 941/4000] Their leg healed just in time for Keldryn to drive the Black Knight Duplex back upright, and Nocturnus caught Flyreh''s hammer on their sword. As they struggled against each other, Flyreh released his hammer with one hand and conjured a scimitar, ropes of black flesh erupting from his shoulder to hold the deadlock in place with only one arm. Seeing that he was about to stab them, Mikayla fired Bluebell into his shoulder. The ballistic goat struck him, sending him staggering. Nocturnus seized the initiative, executing a complicated flourish that opened his guard, then twisting enough to drive the tip of their sword into Brass-Beat Brawler''s collarbone. He finished the technique by hooking the tip of the sword underneath the helmet''s chin and flicking it upwards in a flourish that decapitated their opponent. A spray of maroon crystals spread in every direction. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The Black Knight Duplex didn''t relax. It wasn''t as though they had actually just decapitated Flyreh. Nocturnus knew from experience that the sensation of having one''s head cut off while piloting a Goliath Armour Core would disorient an average warrior enough to cripple them temporarily. But an experienced combatant knew that decapitation was only a minor inconvenience. As it turned out, neither of those expected outcomes came to pass. A tendril of elastic flesh stretched where the vertebrae in its neck would have been as the helmet flew away, and then retracted, pulling Brass-Beat Brawler''s helmet back onto its shoulders. "We need to land a finishing blow now, before he recovers!" Nocturnus shouted into the mental room they were occupying. "Go for his real body!" "How? An Armour Core''s thickest in the chest," Keldryn shook his head. "Wear it down. We need to hit it a lot of times very quickly," At this, Mikayla remembered Asika''s gift to them. "I''ve got an idea! Mana?" she checked their resources. [MANA: 1221/4250] "Perfect. Finishing move! Asika''s Awesome Laser Barrage!" Shouting the command wasn''t just to be dramatic, it was to ensure Keldryn and Nocturnus were on the same page. The Black Knight Duplex raised its arms and span, swivelling on its heels and carving furrows into the scattered wreckage of the Rainbow Ouroboros'' shrine. The motion drew constellations around them, forty-eight stars flickering into existence. But Nocturnus wasn''t satisfied with this. No sooner had the psychic lasers started to fire than he was charging forwards, Keldryn frantically keeping the Armour balanced as Nocturnus brought their sword back. Brass-Beat Brawler jerked in every direction as the lasers hit home, the rapid impacts stun-locking Flyreh for long enough that the Black Knight Duplex closed the distance. The tip of their sword found the centre of Brass-Beat Brawler''s chest and impaled it, the force of the blow penetrating the most reinforced area of the Armour Core and landing a direct hit to the humanoid shadow that was Flyreh''s real body. Stumbling, dazed, Flyreh''s arms raised to launch one last counterattack, but Mikayla was on the ball. With the flip of a mental lever, Bluebell rocketed out of her sling and drove her horns into his jaw. That time, he didn''t get up. Brass-Beat Brawler collapsed into a cloud of maroon dust. Just as Mikayla was wondering how to be certain he wouldn''t get up again, System notifications appeared before the Black Knight Duplex''s visor. [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A HUMAN!] [LEVEL UP! LEVEL UP! CONGRATULATIONS, YOU ARE NOW LEVEL 20!] Well, that was as good a confirmation as any. "And now," Nocturnus said with solemn gravitas as the Black Knight Duplex span on its heels and raised its arms, lifting its sword above their head. "We strike a pose," ". . for who?" Keldryn asked. "To intimidate our foes and inspire our allies," "There''s no one else around," Mikayla seized the controls and turned back to Flyreh to make triply sure he wasn''t getting up again or had some kind of kill-switch waiting. "We''re not starring Power Rangers, and he''s not going to dramatically explode behind us. No posing!" It was a good thing that she had turned back, because the black substrate that had partially encrusted Flyreh''s body and Armour was bubbling, swelling like a hundred frog throats. Keldryn''s ears flattened. "How certain are you about that ''not going to explode''?" No one bothered to respond, Nocturnus and Mikayla were already united in their desire to run for the exit to the underground cave. Keldryn''s ears flattened and he followed along. The Black Knight Duplex''s upper body crashed into the top of the cave. The exit tunnel was too low to admit them. "How do we un-fuse?" Nocturnus pressed. "I dunno! I only became a demigod like five minutes ago!" Mikayla panicked. Keldryn, knowing that panic would just get them killed, focused on cutting the flow of his Mana to his Core Controller. But nothing happened. Growling minutely, he tried again. "Mana Assistance, all Cores off," There was a fizzle, and the glowing nexus of colours in the chest of Black Knight Duplex collapsed. Weapons splintered away and vanished, Mikayla''s sword and shield, Keldryn''s scythe and crossbow. The two component Armour Cores were last to collapse, splitting apart into clouds of sand that rapidly evaporated. Mikayla and Keldryn hit the ground, the foxkin landing with all the grace of his animal cousins, while Mikayla crashed into the floor in a heap of flailing limbs. "Get up, run," Keldryn commanded, already helping her up. Mikayla nodded, already taking off as soon as she had her balance back. She checked her Mana, and found it on the verge of empty. [MANA: 48/2000] Her Stamina wasn''t much better. [STAMINA: 212/1750] Hopefully it would be enough to get herself out of the blast radius. Keldryn was already overtaking her, his monstrous Dexterity putting in the work. There was a roar like a tsunami behind them, and a glance back told her that the eldritch black flesh had filled the mouth of the tunnel. "Is that stuff following us?" Keldryn shrugged, not sparing the breath to talk. On an impulse, Mikayla tried to Identify the black tide, but the resulting pop-up was unhelpful. [ERSATZ - LEVEL ??? - TIER ??? - UNKZ0M -] [IDENTIFY FAILED. UNKNOWN ENTITY DETECTED. THIS FAILURE HAS BEEN LOGGED. PLEASE ALERT A MODERATOR.] The tide of black flesh was almost lapping at their heels by the time they emerged back into the floor of the massive pit. Mikayla thought she felt something grab at her ankle, and on instinct sank what little Mana she had into Heel Propulsion. The Flawless Technique sent her flying across the ground, and her eyes fell on the staircase of scaffolding that was mounted against the edge of the pit. Keldryn wasn''t already veering towards it, and Mikayla changed course. Within twenty seconds they were pelting up the stairs, and within thirty seconds the entire bottom of the pit had vanished beneath the tide of murky black flesh. They kept going, even as the eldritch material slowed, whatever force had sent it chasing after them seemingly exhausted. By the time they were halfway up the stairs, Mikayla''s furtive glances downwards told her that the wave was receding. "Keldie, I think," Wheeze. "I think we''re okay," she panted. Keldryn leant on a support pillar and squinted downwards. Sure enough, within a few seconds, they could see the fleshy sludge retreating. "Alright. Phew," "We won . . hah! We did it! Flyreh, Mahendra, and Anza dealt with Lahlee. That was everyone! All the bad guys!" Mikayla threw her arms up in the air, collapsing onto the stairs. "We made it, we . . we killed him . ." she murmured, her victorious euphoria fading. Keldryn, see in where her thoughts were going, winced. "But isn''t that good? You can go home. They can''t stop you anymore," "Home . ." Mikayla murmured, then suddenly sat bolt upright. "Shit! I forgot!" "Forgot what?" "He''s still got Asika''s Cores! Damnit! We''re gonna have to go back down there and get them!" Keldryn''s ears pricked up, his eyes narrowing. "Is that safe?" "Probably not but what choice to we have?" "Just, this feels a lot like the situation with the generator all over again," he pointed out. "Yeah, well," Mikayla balled her fists. She was so close to being able to go home. "I''m going down there, to see if I can recover his Cores. You can come with me, or you can go find Asika or something. Your choice," With that, she started going back down the stairs, eyes trained on the cave just in case the wave of flesh came bulging out of it once again. Keldryn hesitated. ". . Fine," he groaned, following her. Chapter 55: Demigod Problems (The Long Road Home Arc Begins) Retrieving Asika¡¯s Cores was a surprisingly uneventful process. Mikayla and Keldryn cautiously made their way back to where they¡¯d left Flyreh¡¯s corpse, watching out for the abhorrent, tar-like flesh that had almost subsumed them, but it all seemed to have evaporated. It only took a few minutes before they were standing over Flyreh¡¯s corpse. ¡°I . . we really killed him, huh,¡± she murmured. A chill ran down her spine. She felt like puking. ¡°You can¡¯t blame yourself for killing in self-defence,¡± Keldryn assured her. ¡°I know your culture has weird taboos, but if you¡¯ve been raised to think even that¡¯s wrong then . . I dunno what to say, except that your world¡¯s way too nice,¡± ¡°No, no this is fine. Anyone in both worlds would tell me that killing him so he wouldn¡¯t kill me is okay,¡± Mikayla assured him. ¡°I . . I can¡¯t even say that there should have been a better way or anything, because I don¡¯t know what I could have done differently. Except maybe just run away, and then he¡¯d still have Asika¡¯s Cores and I¡¯d have no way to get home . . was killing him worth that?¡± ¡°You¡¯re looking at it the wrong way,¡± Keldryn shook his head. He paused, formulating sentences. ¡°He was a bad man. He treated us like livestock and wanted to kill us because it was convenient. He could have not done all that. None of this would have happened if he hadn¡¯t captured Asika before she could find you and send you home. I guess . . he did the wrong thing and he paid the price for it. And it sucks that we had to be the ones to give him what he deserved. But he still deserved it,¡± ¡°Yeah. You¡¯ve got a point,¡± Mikayla agreed with a slight sigh. Somehow, though, that didn¡¯t make her feel any better. ¡°Come on. Asika said that every second might matter. We need to get you back to the rift. You can mope when you¡¯re home,¡± Keldryn asserted. ¡°Grab the Cores and we¡¯ll head out,¡± ¡°Okay, you¡¯re right. Stand back, just in case this goes wrong,¡± Mikayla instructed, reaching down for the straps of Flyreh¡¯s Core Controller. With shaking hands, she undid the clasps and pulled the gauntlet off, eyeing it as though she expected spiders to come crawling out of it and over her hands. For a long, tense minute, they waited for some kind of reprisal. And nothing happened. Mikayla breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°I think we¡¯re in the clear,¡± she decided, tucking the Core Controller into her coat¡¯s pocket, where it awkwardly hung halfway out. ¡°Say,¡± With a deep breath and careful application of will, the Black Knight flared back to life around her. ¡°Nocturnus!¡± ¡°That¡¯s ¡®teacher¡¯ to you, apprentice,¡± he rumbled, putting on an affronted air. ¡°I see that I¡¯m back to being a disembodied voice. Wonderful,¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t agree to that,¡± Mikayla rebuffed him. ¡°Not why I got you. I¡¯ve only got enough Mana for about a minute, but I wanted to ask,¡± She held Flyreh¡¯s Core Controller up to their field of view. ¡°How does the Black Knight handle taking trophies from defeated enemies?¡± ¡°Oho! Excellent question, lass! Generally, I would equip it and then parade around in front of my foe¡¯s allies with it!¡± ¡°Does sound fun. Probably a bit impractical, though, we¡¯re in a rush,¡± Mikayla shrugged. ¡°Mm, indeed. Then do not worry about it. Get going, lass. We have yet to see you safely home,¡± <=====}¡ªo Once they¡¯d returned to the top of the pit, they found Asika and Anza on the verge of jumping in after them. Asika was first to spot them, bouncing up and down while waving her arms like signal flares. ¡°There they are! Hey! Hey guys! You¡¯re okay!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Flyreh?¡± Anza asked, peering down the stairs as though she expected him to come charging after them. ¡°Dead,¡± Keldryn summarised, and Mikayla nodded glumly, fishing out their enemy¡¯s Core Controller and offering it to Asika. ¡°Really?¡± the faerie beamed, plucking two blue and one purple Cores out of Flyreh¡¯s Controller. ¡°Awesome!¡± ¡°How?¡± Anza sharply asked. ¡°Yeah, about that,¡± Mikayla had considered trying to keep the ¡®demigod¡¯ thing secret, but . . It quite simply sounded like too much of a hassle. Keeping Nocturnus secret was one thing, she knew that was for the best, but neither of her two closest confidants had any idea about what the Demigod System was. She needed information more than secrecy. Besides, Anza was a good person. Mikayla trusted her. ¡°There was a shrine down there, with a dying god. Flyreh had enslaved him somehow. We tried to free him, but he was too far gone, and he said he was responsible for bringing me to this world when he was trying to escape. So he did a thing, and,¡± Mikayla flicked a popup into everyone¡¯s vision. [NAME: Mikayla TITLE: Inheritor of the Rainbow Ouroboros LEVEL: 20 RACE: Human (Demigod)] Anza blinked. ¡°. . Damn,¡± Asika boggled, her sapphire eyes going so wide that, if Mikayla had doubted her lack of irises before, she couldn¡¯t deny it now. ¡°Oh, fry the Ghost Hound on the Sea-Fisher¡¯s griddle and serve it up to the Boundless Chimera. That is not supposed to happen,¡± Everyone blinked at her. ¡°Putting aside what I assume was a really bad swear, how bad is this?¡± Mikayla asked. Asika wrestled with herself for a minute. ¡°Well. A god died. As a general rule, that¡¯s not okay. But we can¡¯t change it now. So don¡¯t worry about it,¡± she finally decided. ¡°The mission¡¯s still ongoing. We should get moving, back to the site of your rift, now,¡± Anza opened her mouth, but Asika was already rounding on her. ¡°I¡¯ve already messaged the Goliath Guard using the Ataraxia Node. If you wait here and keep an eye on things, just in case, I¡¯ll fly Mikayla back to her rift and get her home, then come right back here to report in,¡± Anza¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°There¡¯s something you ain¡¯t telling us, but I agree that¡¯s the best plan. Aight. I¡¯ll trust you,¡± Mikayla regarded Asika suspiciously, but the faerie was already taking her hand and pulling her towards the stairs. ¡°I¡¯m coming too,¡± Keldryn declared, starting after them. ¡°Eh?¡± Asika blinked. ¡°You sure, kid?¡± Anza raised her eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna steal the glory or anything, but -¡° ¡°You should,¡± Asika interrupted. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°What?¡± ¡°If it gets out that two level 20s beat someone as strong as Flyreh, most people won¡¯t believe it, but the ones that do will wonder how. Eventually, someone¡¯s gonna figure out Mikayla¡¯s new status,¡± ¡°Is that bad?¡± Mikayla turned to Asika. There was something she wasn¡¯t telling them. Asika grimaced, whistling through her teeth. ¡°Yeah, so. You¡¯ve become a Level 20 demigod. That doesn¡¯t happen. The lowest-level demigod in recorded history was level 48, and he still had to deal with assassinations and attempts to steal his power. Believe me when I say, for your own good, we can not let this get out,¡± ¡°Oh. Yikes,¡± Mikayla winced. So, having special powers in a fantasy world made you a target. That . . wasn¡¯t surprising. ¡°So the official story will be that I killed Flyreh and you three helped a bit,¡± Anza nodded. ¡°Yeah, I reckon I can sell that,¡± ¡°I¡¯ll support that version of events, too,¡± Keldryn agreed. ¡°It¡¯s the least I can do,¡± ¡°Thanks. Both of you,¡± Mikayla glanced at Asika, then at the two Guardsmen. ¡°I. Uh. I guess this is goodbye,¡± ¡°No it¡¯s not. I just said,¡± Keldryn shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ve been together this long. I want to see you off,¡± ¡°You sure? You don¡¯t wanna hang around here until the investigators get here? Make yourself look good?¡± Anza checked. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving my friend. Not until I¡¯m sure you¡¯re safe,¡± Keldryn insisted. He was lying. If he wasn''t there at the moment Mikayla left this world, he had no chance of taking possession of the Black Knight. Even though it made him feel like garbage to pretend to be so noble, to abuse his friend''s trust like this. It wasn''t like he didn''t intend to live up to that promise, though, so it was okay . . right? ¡°Aw, thanks, Keldie,¡± Mikayla smiled at him.He looked away, unable to meet her gaze, but she took it as him being bashful. ¡°Well, I respect the commitment. In that case, here,¡± Keldryn¡¯s eyes widened as Anza held out his rucksack. ¡°This had your name on it. No idea if it¡¯s all there, but I loaded it up with some potions the blood cult had lying around. Just in case,¡± ¡°I thought I¡¯d lost this,¡± Keldryn grabbed the rucksack and hugged it. ¡°Thanks,¡± ¡°No problem. Now get going, yeah? Time¡¯s a-wasting,¡± <=====}¡ªo They emerged into the open air of the Kaiju Kill Box, and Mikayla absently realised she hadn¡¯t realised how stifling it had been to spend days underground until she could see the sky again. Even if it was still the same endless soup of white clouds that she¡¯d grown accustomed to, there was something comforting about the cold air and the distant roar of the wind and - actually, no, no she still hated this hellishly frigid tundra and if she¡¯d really just been thinking she missed it then clearly one of the fights she¡¯d been in earlier had inflicted brain damage while she wasn¡¯t looking. ¡°Okay, so where are we going?¡± Asika asked. ¡°Show me, on the Global Map?¡± ¡°Here,¡± Using her Global Map, it only took Mikayla a few seconds to find the exact place where she¡¯d first been dumped into the Cavemaw Spider¡¯s lair and begun this terrifyingly wonderful journey. She dropped a marker on it and flicked the screen to Asika. ¡°This is the spot,¡± ¡°On the far side of Astralia¡¯s Spear, huh? Not a problem,¡± Asika nodded. ¡°Are you sure? It¡¯s four days of hiking, as the crow flies. And that¡¯s if we aren¡¯t attacked by Kaijus on the way. Which we will be,¡± Keldryn pointed out. A wide smile split the faerie¡¯s cerulean lips. ¡°Yep, but, on the subject of crows flying,¡± She wrapped an arm around both of her friends as her Core Controller shone, and emerging panes of blue glass hoisted them all into the air and conjured six square metres of floor beneath them. Streaks of light were woven into a bubble with a clear viewscreen, and as they continued rising into the air the floor distorted into soft seats that pulled both Keldryn and Mikayla into them, perfectly contouring to their bodies. Asika settled into her own seat with her back turned to them, instead facing a large windscreen set into what Mikayla realised was the chest of her Armour Core. Squinting through the translucent blue panels, she confirmed that the arms Flyreh had tried to main her with and the sleek triangular wings were mounted around this central pod. ¡°It¡¯s pretty common for faeries to need to take passengers. So my Armour Core has extra seats!¡± Asika somewhat redundantly explained. ¡°Oh, and it flies,¡± ¡°Flyreh used it to hover,¡± Mikayla remembered. ¡°Did he? Figures he couldn¡¯t use it properly. Nah. Kagura-no-Shibu flies,¡± Asika twisted in her seat just to shoot them a manic grin, and entirely for dramatic effect conjured a joystick to yank on. Sudden G-forces drove them both back into their seats, forcing the breath from their lungs as the scenery of the Cliffwatch Kill Box fell away, expanding outwards into a panorama of hills and tundra. Keldryn gasped, gripping his seat so tightly that his knuckles went white. ¡°Huh? Whoa! We¡¯re so high up!¡± ¡°Eventually I¡¯m gonna stop being surprised by this world¡¯s technology. I really didn¡¯t think you had airplanes,¡± Mikayla gasped, standing up to peer at the view. It was beautiful. She couldn¡¯t deny it, the frigid tundra laid out before her like a patchwork of birch trees, rivers and Kaiju tracks was a vista worthy of being painted. In the distance, she could even see a couple of the giant monsters minding their own business, and fortunately paying no attention to the giant fairy-robot-plane. ¡°Welcome, all passengers, to Kagura-no-Shibu Flights, courtesy of the Cosmic Isles. I am your pilot for today, and because time is of the essence we are going to be flying very fast. So hold on tight,¡± Despite Asika¡¯s words, the acceleration only barely rated as ¡®uncomfortable¡¯. Mikayla had to assume there was something kind of inertial dampening going on, because even as the landscape whipped past beneath them, it felt about the same as driving in a car on the freeway. ¡°So that¡¯s this thing¡¯s name. I was wondering,¡± Keldryn muttered. ¡°Kagura-no-Shibu,¡± Mikayla sounded the words out. ¡°That sounds Japanese,¡± ¡°Does it? I don¡¯t know what language you speak, but I fiddled with the name¡¯s arithmancy so that it won¡¯t be translated by the System. In some languages, ¡®the one who dances with fans for the entertainment of the gods¡¯ is way too long to be a name,¡± Asika explained. ¡°. . yeah, it is,¡± For the first time, Mikayla really appreciated the translation function, because the long string of words had somehow been packed straight into her brain in less than half the time it should have taken to say those words. Was that impressive or just plain disturbing? She didn¡¯t know anymore. A few minutes passed in silence. But Mikayla could only distract herself with the view for so long before the questions gnawing at her insides became too much to bear. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ve got time to talk. Is it really just me being low level that worries you about my being a demigod now? It¡¯s still okay to send me home after that?¡± she asked. ¡°Of course it is!¡± Asika didn¡¯t meet her gaze, focused on the endless trees as her Armour flew southwest. ¡°Lie,¡± Keldryn flicked his tail in irritation. ¡°Okay, okay, fine. But it¡¯s really not your problem. I¡¯ll take the blame,¡± Asika assured her. ¡°That¡¯s not an answer. Come on, we¡¯re friends. I want to know what you¡¯re getting into on my account,¡± Mikayla pressed. Asika sighed. ¡°Gods are, well, important, okay? Having taken on this Rainbow Ouroboros¡¯ essentia, you¡¯ve become part of this world¡¯s fabric. Remember my explanation about,¡± She hesitated, glancing at Keldryn. ¡°. . Ah, screw it. About the two Systems fighting over resources?¡± Keldryn pricked up his ears but didn¡¯t interrupt. ¡°I¡¯ve become one of the resources the Systems are fighting over,¡± Mikayla guessed, suddenly seeing where this was going. ¡°So by sending me home, and the Ouroboros¡¯ essentia with me, I¡¯m removing a piece from the board,¡± She¡¯d had a feeling it¡¯d be something like that. It was still worrying to hear her suspicions confirmed. ¡°Ring a ding ding, you got it,¡± Asika confirmed. ¡°This, um, hasn¡¯t ever happened before, y¡¯know? There¡¯s no precedent. The Cosmic Scales will definitely be happy that we retrieved the Ouroboros¡¯ essentia from those guys. But . ." Mikayla whistled through her teeth. ¡°So you¡¯re gonna complete the mission and send me home without making sure that they¡¯ll still want you to do that,¡± Asika offered her a wan smile. ¡°You¡¯re my friend. So this is the right thing to do. If I get punished for it, then . .¡± She shook her head. ¡°So be it,¡± Mikayla hugged her from behind. ¡°I wanna give you a cute nickname so much right now but I can¡¯t think of any that don¡¯t sound obscene,¡± she murmured, resting her head on Asika¡¯s shoulder. Assie was right out. So was Ka-ka. Sika? Whatever. ¡°You are such a good friend,¡± Asika flushed, her blue cheeks turning purple. ¡°Ehehee. Thanks!¡± ¡°Keep your eyes on the sky,¡± Keldryn dryly reminded them. Rolling her eyes, Mikayla sat back down and let Asika focus on flying. They were almost there. It would only take a couple of hours, then they¡¯d be back at the Cavemaw Spider¡¯s den. And then she¡¯d be home. What could go wrong? Chapter 55.5: The Long Road To Many Places Other Than Home (April Fools!) It wasn¡¯t long until a familiar landmark came into view. The pit that Mikayla had landed in, the Cavemaw Spider¡¯s nest, and the decaying corpse of the first monster she¡¯d killed in this world. There wasn¡¯t much left of the body, merely a stain of viscera surrounded by bony legs. Clearly some other Kaiju had appreciated the free meal. It had been less than three weeks, yet it felt so long ago that Mikayla had blundered her way into killing that horrible creature. She¡¯d come so far since then. It was baffling to think about. ¡°And here we are,¡± The landing was much smoother this time, as Asika set them down gently and dismissed her Armour Core, depositing Mikayla and Keldryn on the topsoil. Kagura-no-Shibu immediately reformed around her at minimum size, and Asika spared them a brief glance. ¡°This is gonna take a few minutes. Be patient,¡± ¡°Is the rift still there?¡± Mikayla couldn¡¯t see any sign of a spatial anomaly, but she had no idea what to look for. ¡°We¡¯re not looking for a rift, we¡¯re looking for an echo,¡± Asika absently corrected her, raising one arm towards the sky and unfolding her Armour Core¡¯s gauntlet into some kind of radar dish, while the other toyed with a System screen. ¡°Give me a few minutes,¡± Before their eyes, a quivering, jagged tear in the world opened, projected by Asika¡¯s gauntlets. ¡°Alright!¡± Asika fist-pumped. ¡°It¡¯s working! It¡¯s functioning properly!¡± ¡°Epic! Asika, you¡¯re the best!¡± Mikayla hugged her, and Asika gleefully returned the hug. ¡°Uh, should it be getting wider like that?¡± Keldryn interrupted, his ears lowering warily. ¡°Huh? No, it -¡° Asika started as Mikayla looked up and saw that the rift had gotten much closer in the second she¡¯d looked away from it. Everything went very, very colourful, but then everything went very, very black. <=====}¡ªo Mikayla wasn¡¯t sure where they were, but it was not Earth. It was far too warm, even for Australia in the middle of summer. Her Lock-cleared body was the only reason she could endure the heat wafting from the literal pool of lava that they¡¯d appeared on the edge of. Keldryn stumbled, gasping for breath. ¡°Seed of Chaos, you weren¡¯t joking when you said it was hot in your world . . wait. Why are we on the other side of the rift?¡± ¡°I think something went wrong with the rift. It¡¯s unstable,¡± Asika was unperturbed by the heat, looking around. ¡°This isn¡¯t home. It might be the inside of a volcano on Earth, though?¡± Mikayla wondered. ¡°Earth?¡± All three turned at the unfamiliar voice, and were shocked to find a woman with her arms submerged in the lava up to her biceps. A small ball of light was floating around her head. ¡°Nope, sorry. You¡¯ll want to head a bit more thataway,¡± she gestured vaguely in every direction with her head. ¡°Or something like that,¡± Mikayla blinked. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ilea!¡± The woman removed an arm charred to the bone to wave at them, and it visibly regenerated before their eyes. ¡°And this is my friend, Baron Violence. He¡¯s a Fae,¡± Asika squinted. ¡°That is not a fae. I am a fae,¡± ¡°Really? Cool!¡± Violence! Mikayla flinched as a foreign thought invaded her mind. ¡°Was that telepathy?¡± Asika started. ¡°That is super illegal,¡± She raised an armoured hand, then hesitated. ¡°Wait. We¡¯re outside my jurisdiction, aren¡¯t we?¡± There was a rumble like an earthquake, and what Mikayla had taken for part of the cave wall moved. ¡°Keep it down. I barely got the Trakorov to accept me hanging around, he doesn¡¯t like guests,¡± Ilea whispered. Keldryn wiped the sweat from his brow. ¡°I think that¡¯s our cue to leave. Asika?¡± ¡°Oh, hi! Another fox! Would you like a cake?¡± All three travellers were thrown by the complete non-sequitur, but Ilea was already walking towards them with - sure enough - a whole, delicious-looking cake in her hands. Keldryn hesitantly accepted it, ears twitching. ¡°Er, okay. Sure,¡± ¡°Rift¡¯s open again,¡± Asika alerted them, and Keldryn bolted for the rift without another word, desperate to escape the heat. Ilea started as he vanished. ¡°That wasn¡¯t free,¡± she weakly protested. Mikayla cast her an apologetic look. ¡°Er, sorry but I¡¯m broke too. Thanks though! Bye!¡± With that, she followed after Keldryn. Asika shrugged. ¡°Send an invoice to the Cosmic Isles and tell them Asika approved it, they¡¯ll honour it. Sorry for the trouble!¡± <=====}¡ªo When vision returned to Mikayla¡¯s eyes, they were in a large, open parkground, which was full of people, most of whom were staring at her and her friends. For a second, she thought she¡¯d returned to Earth successfully, but then she noticed that several of the people were distinctly inhuman, with a large number of what looked like angels and at least one giant lion beastkin. ¡°. . Asika, we were supposed to be back in Old Hedrang right now, weren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°This rift is much more unstable than I realised,¡± Asika frowned, conjuring System screens around the lingering rift and fiddling with them. ¡°Hold on a minute, I¡¯ll see if I can recalibrate this,¡± A man with dark hair approached them, a thick black cloak hanging from his shoulders. ¡°Hey there. I don¡¯t know who you are, but anyone who brings cake is a friend of mine. Welcome to the barbecue!¡± Keldryn looked down at the cake like he¡¯d forgotten he was holding it. ¡°I¡¯m, uh, going to put this down somewhere,¡± ¡°You do that,¡± Mikayla decided it fell to her to take the lead in talking to this man. ¡°Hi. I¡¯m Mikayla. We¡¯re trying to get back to Earth. This, uh, wouldn¡¯t happen to be Earth . . would it?¡± ¡°Sorry, no dice. It¡¯s Pallimustus. Well, an unstable transformation space on the edge of Pallimustus. We¡¯re taking a day off from fighting an undead army,¡± he explained as though talking about the weather. ¡°Damnit,¡± Mikayla groaned. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m Jason Asano, and I¡¯ve been put in charge of building the bridge between here and there by a bunch of very important people,¡± ¡°Great astral beings! Not really people! You should know, you¡¯ve talked to them enough!¡± someone shouted from a few tables over. ¡°Thanks, Clive!¡± Jason shouted back, playfully rolling his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t mind Clive. He¡¯s been like that since his wife left him,¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a wife!¡± ¡°You see? Poor guy¡¯s in denial,¡± Jason shook his head ruefully. Mikayla raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is this some kind of comedy routine?¡± A roar of laughter heralded the massive lion-man she¡¯d seen before squeezing into the conversation by declaring, ¡°She¡¯s got you there, Jason!¡± Jason made a show of looking affronted. ¡°Gary, I¡¯ll have you know I am hilarious,¡± ¡°You¡¯re not,¡± Asika shouted over her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve only just met you and I can already tell that you¡¯re really, really not,¡± Mikayla chuckled, and Gary laughed even harder. Jason suddenly snapped his fingers. ¡°Say! Aussie isekai hero, yeah?¡± ¡°Um, yeah that¡¯s right. How¡¯d you guess?¡± ¡°Accent, magic rocks on your wrist, obvious adventuring party. You know what they say, like recognises like,¡± he grinned. ¡°How¡¯s the trip been?¡± ¡°Violent and cold,¡± Mikayla groaned. ¡°Ah, cold is the worst. My condolences. Stay right there for just a moment, I¡¯ll grab you a bite of something warm,¡± He bustled off. Mikayla watched him go with a blink. ¡°. . Okay, one of us is doing ¡®being Australian¡¯ wrong and I think it might be me,¡± Somehow, their little drop-in had turned into the three travellers joining their impromptu hosts at their barbecue. Which was perhaps the nicest and most mundane thing that had happened to Mikayla all month. ¡°Okay, are we ready to go? Mikayla? Keldryn?¡± Asika checked as she opened the rift. ¡°Yep, all good here,¡± Mikayla nodded, then did a double take. ¡°Keldryn? Why do you have a moustache?¡± Keldryn didn¡¯t respond, except for looking like he was trying not to laugh. Mikayla grew only more confused when another Keldryn appeared, flanked by a tall human who gripped moustache-Keldryn¡¯s shoulder and squeezed. ¡°Stash, knock it off,¡± Moustache-Keldryn suddenly turned into a puppy, but the man had a tight grip on the scruff of his neck and, despite his struggled, he couldn¡¯t get to the rift. ¡°But - but - other universe biscuits!¡± ¡°What¡¯s a biscuit?¡± Keldryn asked. Stash gasped. ¡°Nevermind I don¡¯t wanna go to a world where there are no biscuits!¡± Mikayla chuckled. ¡°Okay, really though. It was nice to meet all of you but we gotta get going before the rift closes,¡± <=====}¡ªo This rift also did not lead them back to the Kaiju Coast. They fell through the air, and for a moment Mikayla caught a glimpse of a shining white city laid out below them, unlike anything she¡¯d seen in any world so far. Then she was hitting the ground - the highest level of the tallest building - and tumbling to a halt. She picked herself up and came face to face with the withered and decaying corpse of a very old man. A squeak escaped her throat and she scrambled away, standing up, and realising they were surrounded by people in what looked like religious robes and armour, presided over by a woman in white who just oozed power. ¡°The Unbound!¡± the woman in white gasped. ¡°Praise the Pathless! The Unbound have been delivered to us despite the interference of the Chanters!¡± ¡°Whoa, hang on, I think there¡¯s been a bit of a mix-up,¡± Mikayla raised her hands defensively. ¡°We¡¯re not -¡° ¡°Capture them!¡± the woman added, and the three travellers were suddenly acutely aware of the heavily armed warriors surrounding them. ¡°For the Pathless! For the Hierophant!¡± they barked in unison. ¡°Do not resist, Unbound. You have been called to this world for the glorious purpose of becoming vessels for the Pathless, the one true god. You will be bound to his will and become the instruments of the world¡¯s salvation from Ruin. Be honoured!¡± the Hierophant ranted as she advanced towards them. ¡°I give this world zero stars. Let¡¯s get out of here,¡± Asika suggested, already reopening the rift. ¡°Seconded,¡± Keldryn concurred. ¡°No complaints here,¡± No sooner had the rift formed than Mikayla was pushing the other two through it. <=====}¡ªo They spilled through the new rift, finding themselves in a lush valley with a cabin in the centre. A shout of ¡°After them!¡± had all three travellers rushing towards the cabin as the only possible source of shelter. When they arrived, they found a man resting in a chair on the porch and regarding them with more irritation than curiosity. ¡°Hi! We¡¯re very lost. And kinda on the run,¡± Asika waved. The man raised a bow with narrowed eyes. ¡°Uh-huh. Just out of curiosity, how do you feel about Ell¡¯Hakan?¡± The three of them exchanged mystified glances. ¡°. . Who?¡± Mikayla shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re not assassins, then. That¡¯s good. I¡¯m supposed to be resting, not killing people,¡± He didn¡¯t sound very happy about that fact. A roar from the direction of the rift drew the attention of all four, and they watched, bemused, as the Hierophant, flanked by a dozen Inquisitors in very fancy armour, emerged from the rift and began to march towards them. ¡°Capture the Unbound!¡± their leader commanded. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°And who are they?¡± the hunter asked, regarding the Hierophant and her people dismissively. ¡°No idea. They said something about binding us to the will of the Pathless? Sounded way too much like some kind of slavery to me,¡± Mikayla shrugged a bit. ¡°Running seemed prudent,¡± Asika added. ¡°Is that so?¡± In the time it took them to blink, Jake Thayne had drawn his bow and nocked an arrow. ¡°I will not allow slavery on my planet,¡± The Hierophant opened her mouth to speak, and found that there was an arrow inside it. She ripped it out and her aura swelled with power, only to find that all of her Inquisitors had been shot through the eye and killed in the time it had taken her to do that. ¡°How dare you? Your heresy will not go -¡° The man rolled his eyes and shot her with another arrow. This one exploded. Asika hastily threw up a System screen to shield herself from the splatter of gore that resulted. ¡°Huh. Truly weak,¡± was the man¡¯s only response as he turned back and regarded the three travellers more critically, focusing on Mikayla. She quailed under the intensity of his gaze. ¡°Er, thanks for that,¡± ¡°You have a touch of divinity. Weird . . you¡¯re not a Chosen, not exactly. Is this what an actual Usurper looks like?¡± Jake hummed, then shrugged. ¡°Whatever. Not my problem,¡± ¡°How could you tell?¡± Mikayla blinked. ¡°It¡¯s obvious,¡± he brushed her off. ¡°If you¡¯ve got somewhere to be, you should probably get to it. I¡¯m supposed to be resting and healing and not being disturbed, so if Miranda sees you she¡¯ll throw a fit and you might get arrested,¡± the hunter waved them off, sounding exasperated by the thought more than anything. ¡°Um. Yeah, sure, let¡¯s get out of here,¡± Mikayla agreed, trying not to be terrified by the man who¡¯d so casually slaughtered such powerful opponents. ¡°Already on it, here we go,¡± Asika was gesturing them towards a fresh rift. ¡°We could at least grab a snack if we¡¯re gonna keep doing this,¡± Keldryn interjected. ¡°Look, there¡¯s a banana tree right there. I could go for a banana,¡± An arrow suddenly sprouted from the ground at his feet. ¡°Firstly, not a tree. It¡¯s a musa. Secondly, those are my bananas,¡± Jake coolly warned him. Keldryn backed off. ¡°Okay, okay. Nevermind. Your bananas. I¡¯ll find a snack somewhere else,¡± Without further ado, he leapt into the rift, and his friends followed. <=====}¡ªo When the lights of interdimensional travel cleared, they were in a tavern. ¡°Okay, I don¡¯t know about you, but I think we need to just stop and sit down for a minute. Really make sure that we don¡¯t screw up again,¡± Keldryn asserted, pulling up a seat at the bar and settling into it. Mikayla raised her eyebrows. ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is, snack time,¡± ¡°I am saying snack time, yes,¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± Asika agreed, taking a seat next to him. ¡°We can take five minutes to cool down. Clearly the rift isn¡¯t going anywhere,¡± Mikayla moved to the seat next to the faerie, only to find that there was a bucket full of beer with an axe submerged in it resting on the stool. She made to pick up and move the bucket, only for the axe to speak. ¡°Hey, hey, hey, hands off!¡± ¡°Ah! Talking axe. Sorry, sorry, didn¡¯t, um, realise,¡± ¡°Axe of Unbridled Knowledge, thank you,¡± the axe in the bucket insisted. ¡°But you are forgiven if you go get me another beer!¡± ¡°Oh, er, yeah sure,¡± Mikayla wasn¡¯t quite certain what the consequences of angering a talking axe would be, but it wasn¡¯t their tavern so best not to take the chance. She waved at the bartender, who thankfully took the hint. ¡°Say,¡± the axe focused on Asika, ¡°that¡¯s some pretty gorgeous code. I love your brackets,¡± Asika flushed. ¡°Uh, thanks,¡± She looked around, finding a nearby woman was approaching them. ¡°Hey, is it normal in this world to have a weapon flirt with you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind Frank. It¡¯s an occupational hazard of being in the same room as him,¡± the woman waved it off. ¡°I¡¯m Darling, by the way. Tell me more about where you came from, exactly?¡± Mikayla blinked. ¡°Wait. Frank? Frank the axe?¡± ¡°The one and only,¡± ¡°Okay, hang on just one sec. Mana Assistance, Black Knight,¡± The black-and-red spiky armour formed up around her in a flash. ¡°Hey, Nocty? This guy says he¡¯s the Frank Axe you keep swearing by,¡± ¡°Swearing by me? Hell yeah! Love meeting a fan!¡± the axe chirped gleefully. ¡°You. You are the Frank Axe. The deliverer of cutting truths and painful knowledge. He whose beard is the envy of all real men,¡± Nocturnus regarded Frank critically. ¡°Uh-huh, uh-huh. That¡¯s me alright. So who am I making the autograph out to?¡± ¡°Impossible. Your beard is not nearly impressive enough,¡± The axe spluttered in incoherent incredulousness. ¡°You may be a bearded axe, but that does not make you the Frank Axe. The god whom I worship is, eh, taller. More impressive,¡± Nocturnus asserted. ¡°Y¡¯know,¡± a man picked up Frank and tucked him into a specially designed holster at his hip, ¡°I¡¯m not sure whether to laugh or be horrified by the thought that in your world there¡¯s a Frank who¡¯s even more Franky,¡± ¡°Okay, I think I¡¯ve figured out what went wrong this time! I¡¯ve detected the System in this next rift, so it¡¯s gotta be back to our world. From there we can recalibrate and trace the original rift signature to get to Earth,¡± Asika was already tearing open a new portal. ¡°Come on!¡± <=====}¡ªo As soon as Asika passed through the rift, she screamed and clutched her head. ¡°Asika? What¡¯s wrong?!¡± Mikayla panicked as she caught up, grabbing at her shoulder to stabilise her. ¡°This - this isn¡¯t our System - what the fudge is a Ruthless Heavens? - argh, it¡¯s in my head!¡± ¡°Not to interrupt you two, but we¡¯ve got other problems,¡± Keldryn interrupted. Mikayla looked up, and realised they were surrounded by a ring of warrior women. ¡°Um. Hi?¡± ¡°Who are you and how did you get here?¡± one of them, who was presumably their leader, demanded. She raised her hands in a conciliatory gesture. ¡°My name¡¯s Mikayla, we¡¯re trying to find a rift back to my home planet, but something went wrong and we¡¯re kinda lost,¡± ¡°You are trespassing on the core world of the Atwood Empire. That is not an offence so easily forgiven. Please come with us and do not resist -¡° Asika screamed, blue screens flaking off her skin and popping into the world around them, filling with gibberish. Thunder crackled in the skies above, and the warriors surrounding them looked up. Mikayla followed their gazes and blanched. Storm clouds were gathering overhead, crackling with an ominous purple light. ¡°Is - is that Tribulation Lighting?!¡± one of the guards gasped. ¡°Stay away!¡± Asika yelled at the sky. ¡°You do not have permission! This - this thing you call a System is heartless! So much death, and all for what? Making strong warriors for some long-dead empire?! Who the hell cares?!¡± As if taking umbrage with her, the gathering clouds launched a bolt of purple lightning. Asika screamed, the screens around her exploding one by one as the lightning struck her and bounced around her interface. ¡°No - nope! Too bad! I have a firewall!¡± Kagura-no-Shibu¡¯s claws scraped at the ground and tore open a fresh rift under her feet, and Asika threw herself into it without even a second of hesitation. Mikayla and Keldryn, conscious of the hostile warriors backing away from the angry cloud that looked like it was ready to chase after Asika, leapt in after her. <=====}¡ªo They landed in a heap on a beach. Mikayla sat up, spitting out chunks of sand. ¡°Also not the Kaiju Coast. Also not Australia . . shit, Asika, are you alright?¡± The faerie just whimpered, rubbing her head. ¡°Oh, shit. We need to get her some help,¡± Mikayla grimaced, looking around. She paused. There was a man and a woman eating fish on a small table under the stars. That wasn¡¯t too strange. What was strange was the two crabs, the otter and the giant lobster who were also eating with them. The man was already moving towards them, carrying his plate. ¡°You don¡¯t look so good. What happened?¡± ¡°We¡¯re jumping between universes, trying to find the rift that¡¯ll get me back to Earth,¡± Mikayla summarised. ¡°An angry cloud or something electrocuted her in the last one we visited,¡± ¡°Damn. Here, feed her some of this. It¡¯ll help,¡± the man offered his plate to them. Mikayla blinked at the half-eaten plate of seafood, then shrugged and passed it to Asika, who clumsily accepted it and forced it into her mouth. ¡°Smells good . . tastes good . .¡± An involuntary moan escaped her lips. ¡°This - whoa. What is in this fish? I feel so much better!¡± ¡°It¡¯s cultivation. Or something. I¡¯ll fry up some more, we can all have a bite to eat,¡± His wife - or so Mikayla presumed - had already run off and come back with three more chairs, and Mikayla helped Asika into one of them. The faerie leant on the table and nibbled at a chunk of fish. ¡°Thanks for this. That last universe was very hostile. I¡¯m Mikayla, and this is Asika and Keldryn, by the way,¡± ¡°Fischer, the pleasure¡¯s mine. Oh, and this is the most lovely Maria, Sergeant Snips, Corporal Claws, Private Pistachio . .¡± His voice was drowned out by the roar of frying fish as Mikayla focused on feeding Asika. At long last, she stretched and straightened up. ¡°Ah, finally. Much better. This is the best thing I¡¯ve ever tasted,¡± ¡°Happy to hear it! There¡¯s more where that came from,¡± Fischer beamed as he served up several fresh plates of fish. Mikayla knew they should be getting back to the rift, but the fish just smelt so good that she couldn¡¯t resist. Her friends evidently felt the same, based on the way they fell on the food with wild abandon. Keldryn started. ¡°I just gained a Level. From eating a fish,¡± ¡°It does that,¡± Maria shrugged at him. ¡°How?!¡± ¡°Dunno. Magic,¡± ¡°That is not an explanation,¡± Asika folded her arms. ¡°Too bad, it¡¯s all I¡¯ve got,¡± Mikayla ate a bit more, relishing the texture and trying to ignore all of the strangely intelligent-looking animals staring at her and her friends. ¡°Say, if you¡¯re from Earth, you could come with us? We could bring you home too?¡± she suggested. ¡°No thanks. Earth sucks and I¡¯ve got family here now,¡± Fischer denied. Asika swallowed and breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Much better. I still have a lot of questions, but I guess this is just a quirk of this world,¡± ¡°It¡¯s quirky, that¡¯s for sure,¡± Fischer agreed with a chuckle. ¡°You should see the glitched-out mess of a System we have here,¡± Asika raised her eyebrows. ¡°I would actually love to. I might be able to fix it. But I should finish the job I¡¯m currently on first and get Mikayla here home,¡± ¡°Totally fair,¡± Fischer nodded. ¡°We¡¯re getting by just fine without it, anyway,¡± his girlfriend chimed in with a dismissive wave. ¡°Alright. Alright,¡± Asika took a deep breath and her armour formed up again. ¡°We¡¯ve gotta keep trying. Before the rift fades entirely. Otherwise none of us will ever get home,¡± ¡°Yeah, but don¡¯t push yourself,¡± Mikayla patted her shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll all be screwed if you collapse on us,¡± Keldryn agreed. He glanced as Fischer and his family. ¡°Could we maybe take some of that magic fish to go? Just in case?¡± ¡°Sure thing,¡± <=====}¡ªo This time, the rift took them to the bridge of a spaceship. Mikayla¡¯s eyes widened, and she scrambled towards the windows, peering outwards in awe. ¡°Whoa. Are we in space?¡± ¡°Are those stars? What is all this?¡± Keldryn lowly whistled. ¡°Oh, er, hi,¡± Asika¡¯s voice drew their attention, and they found her facing off against a floating woman with a body woven entirely from blue-green light, with a crown of horns instead of hair and seven-pointed stars for pupils. ¡°Who are you, and why have you boarded my ship?¡± the woman demanded. ¡°Ooh,¡± Asika regarded her curiously. ¡°You¡¯re an AI too, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You are technically correct. However, that is not to say that we are in any way equals,¡± ¡°. . Noted. Let¡¯s just do a direct data share, that¡¯ll be faster than explaining,¡± Asika raised her hand, and the woman took it. ¡°But I¡¯m not dropping my firewall. Don¡¯t ask me to,¡± ¡°It makes no difference, but I have no reason to penetrate it regardless,¡± the woman took Asika¡¯s hand and turned to Mikayla and Keldryn. ¡°I am the World Spirit of The Last Horizon. My passengers generally prefer to call me Horizon,¡± ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± There was something incredibly intimidating about Horizon, something unfathomable, more so than any other being Mikayla had ever encountered. The closest comparison she could make was to the Rainbow Ouroboros, but she couldn¡¯t imagine him having ever been in the same league as this ¡®World Spirit¡¯. ¡°Data share complete. You are lost travellers, then. How fortunate,¡± Horizon released Asika, and the faerie staggered. ¡°Starring hell,¡± she wheezed. ¡°What happened?!¡± Mikayla started, already beginning to conjure her Sword, but Aiko caught her hand. ¡°Do not attack her,¡± Asika urgently warned. ¡°I¡¯m fine, but we won¡¯t be if we provoke her. She¡¯s a planet. A whole planet¡¯s worth of magic. The equivalent of all the resources the two Systems in our world are fighting over, condensed into one being. We could throw literally the whole Ataraxian System at her and we¡¯d lose. So drop it. I¡¯m fine,¡± ¡°Wise words,¡± Horizon looked amused at the byplay. She regarded the sword Mikayla had summoned like it was a stick in the hands of a toddler. ¡°Horizon! Are you behaving?¡± The three travellers and their reluctant host turned to see a man wearing a blue coat over red armour emerging into the bridge. ¡°Of course, Captain. I was merely attending to our uninvited guests. I have confirmed they are no threat to us and are attempting to return home through interdimensional rifts,¡± ¡°Oh, is that all?¡± The words sounded sarcastic, but the tone wasn¡¯t. Mikayla had the distinct feeling that for this man, dealing with something like this was just Tuesday. ¡°I¡¯ve got far too much to deal with already, so let¡¯s just sort you three out quickly. Come with me,¡± Glancing between the strange man and the very unsettling demon-faerie, Mikayla knew who she¡¯d rather be alone with. Her friends agreed, chasing after him. A quick recap of their circumstances had led to the man - who introduced himself as Varic, at which point Horizon had chimed in with ¡°That is Sevenfold Archmage Varic Vallenar, Captain of the Zenith Vessel, The Last Horizon, to you!¡± - drawing a large and complicated-looking ritual circle with some help from Asika. ¡°This all looks right,¡± Varic decided. ¡°And with the lingering spatial instability around you three, we won¡¯t even need that much power to fire it up. Wonderful,¡± ¡°How much power will we need, exactly?¡± Mikayla checked. ¡°Oh. About this much,¡± Varic snapped his fingers, a pulse of Mana flew from his hands into the ritual circle, and a rift blossomed in the centre of the room. ¡°This is awesome. Thanks so much!¡± Asika beamed. ¡°Yeah, this was turning into a mess. We¡¯re very grateful for your help,¡± Keldryn nodded. ¡°Mm-hm. If there¡¯s anything we can do to thank you -¡° Mikayla started, but Varic was already shaking his head. ¡°Please, don¡¯t worry about that. I can¡¯t imagine we¡¯ll ever see each other again, and I learned plenty just from having a look at those Cores of yours. Now get going, I can¡¯t hold the rift forever,¡± ¡°Alright. Thanks again!¡± Mikayla waved as she followed her friends through the portal. <=====}¡ªo A frigid wind struck her before any of her other senses came back online, and Mikayla had a sinking feeling that she already knew what awaited her before she even opened her eyes. Sure enough, it was all birch trees and frost, and no Australian suburbia. They had returned to the Kaiju Coast. There was a crackle as the rift snapped shut behind them. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d be so happy to be back here,¡± Keldryn groaned. ¡°. . Wait, Mikayla? You¡¯re still here?¡± Mikayla twitched. ¡°Argh. Damnit! That dumbass archmage sent me back to the wrong world!¡± Chapter 56: So It Turns Out There鈥檚 Another Boss ¡°Hey, Asika,¡± Mikayla mused to make conversation. They¡¯d been flying for hours, and the silence was growing oppressive. ¡°Weird question, but why isn¡¯t Wisdom a stat?¡± ¡°Huh? You mean, out of the six Statistics and three resource pools? Why would Wisdom be a stat?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a game in my world which uses a similar six stat system, only it has Wisdom instead of Willpower,¡± Mikayla explained. Asika screwed up her face in thought. ¡°That¡¯s dumb. How would you measure Wisdom? That¡¯s, like, just life experience,¡± ¡°Well, how do you measure Charisma? Or Intelligence? Or Willpower?¡± ¡°Oh those are easy,¡± the faerie brushed her off. ¡°Intelligence improves your brain¡¯s efficiency and metabolism, lets you think faster. Willpower improves your nervous system, lets you deal with pain and negative thoughts better. Charisma is just how pretty you are!¡± Mikayla raised an eyebrow. ¡°Hold on, Charisma doesn¡¯t improve my ability to talk to people? It just makes me look nicer?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Social Techniques are a whole other thing, but a lot of those are banned because no one likes mind control,¡± ¡°Oofa. I can imagine why,¡± Mikayla could only imagine the kind of havoc real mind control could wreak. Picturing her friends and family being turned against her without even realising it . . She forced herself to stop, reminding herself that such things weren¡¯t possible on Earth. ¡°So, I should probably ask,¡± Mikayla broached, moving on from that unpleasant topic, ¡°what happens to all my abilities and stats once I go back to Earth?¡± ¡°You keep them,¡± Asika nonchalantly shrugged. ¡°The System provides the energy you¡¯re consuming and guides your growth, but it¡¯s still your growth, we can¡¯t just revoke it when you¡¯re not connected to the System anymore. Otherwise everyone would go back to level 1 as soon as they left an Ataraxia Node¡¯s range. And possibly die. I heard there were some really grisly cases during alpha testing,¡± ¡°. . I can set my fist on fire at will and shoot lasers with my brain,¡± Mikayla reminded her. ¡°I am mathematically twice as strong as I should be, despite not having gained any muscle mass,¡± If anything, the Kaiju Coast diet had caused her to shed a few pounds. Cat would surely insist on replacing her wardrobe again. ¡°Yeah? And?¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me I¡¯ll still be able to do all that back on Earth?¡± ¡°Yeppers!¡± Asika paused. ¡°Are you worried about being mistaken for a witch or something? You might have to keep your upgrades secret,¡± Mikayla digested that. ¡°Well I am now!¡± ¡°Aw, relax! You could use your powers for good!¡± the faerie encouraged her, then tilted her head. ¡°Or evil, if that¡¯s more your thing. Not like I could stop you,¡± ¡°I am not using my powers for evil!¡± Mikayla protested. ¡°Great! Superhero origin story it is!¡± Asika spread her arms, drawing a System panel in which a stick figure labelled [Mikayla] with a cape and a mask was standing on top of a building. She put on a fake narrator voice for added effect. ¡°Mikayla was a normal girl, until she spent three weeks stranded in a world of magic and monsters. She had to fight and kill to survive, and gained awesome powers,¡± The stick figure waved a sword around with its fist on fire. ¡°Now, she¡¯s back, and the crime syndicate Badguyz (with a Z!) has a new worst nightmare,¡± Mikayla chuckled, watching Asika¡¯s drawing of her beat up stick figure pirates. ¡°There are laws against vigilantism, I¡¯m sorry to say,¡± ¡°Whaaaat? Why? That¡¯s stupid,¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s good,¡± Keldryn interjected from where he was reclining at the back of Kagura-no-Shibu¡¯s control room. ¡°People get hurt when they run off and play hero,¡± ¡°Phooey,¡± Asika huffed. Mikayla glanced back at the viewscreen, and realised that a familiar stone tower had appeared in the distance and was rapidly growing larger. ¡°There it is! Astralia¡¯s Spear!¡± ¡°Wow. It really is huge. Can¡¯t believe mortals made something that big,¡± Asika mused as they drew closer to the medieval skyscraper. Something moved at the top of the tower. Keldryn¡¯s ears shot up straight. ¡°Maybe we should circle around the Spear. The Giant Roc¡¯s still around,¡± ¡°Yepperoony,¡± Asika saluted, changing course to give the Spear a wide berth as a huge, dark shadow began to rise from the nest at the top of the tower. Mikayla squinted, peering up at the Spear¡¯s inhabitant, because something didn¡¯t seem right. The shape was still avian, but its feathers were darker and seemed lore sleek, almost metallic. ¡°Is that the same Giant Roc?¡± Two eyes like searchlights opened, leaking trails of lightning into the atmosphere, locking onto Asika¡¯s Armour Core. Then they fired, twin arrows of electricity so focused and so fast that Asika could only barely start to dodge before they struck Kagura-no-Shibu¡¯s wing. The Armour quaked, pitching sideways. ¡°Everyone hold on tight!¡± the faerie commanded, slapping her palms onto the windscreen and conjuring a thousand tiny screens, making her fingers look pixellated. Streaks of Mana flew down her arms and into her vessel, stabilising it in a dive. ¡°I¡¯m bringing us down!¡± There was a crash, and foliage filled their field of vision. Mikayla heard branches crack and snap around them, and then there was a thunk that threw her a foot into the air. From sheer survival instinct, red lines drew black armour around her before she hit the ground. Which was good timing, because Kagura-no-Shibu popped out of existence, dumping its three inhabitants into the end of an uneven trench that the crash had carved into the forest floor. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Neither Keldryn nor Asika looked bothered by the landing, and green-orange light had manifested Skyward Grasscutter around the former. Only a moment later, Kagura-no-Shibu reformed at human size around Asika, wings flaring outward. Mikayla joined them, looking back at the trail of destruction, shattered trees and fallen leaves. ¡°We need to move. Get under cover,¡± Keldryn insisted, already moving away towards the canopy of the closest surviving trees. The two girls followed, and Mikayla breathed a sigh of relief once they were out of sight. ¡°Damnit, of course that thing¡¯s still here,¡± she cursed. ¡°You¡¯ve run into it before?¡± Asika asked. ¡°That damn bird has been the bane of my existence since the day I got here. This is the fourth time we¡¯ve seen it and the third that it¡¯s tried to kill me,¡± Mikayla wrung her hands. ¡°We¡¯re gonna have to circle around. Stay on the ground and hope it doesn¡¯t notice us,¡± She half expected Nocturnus to pipe up, but her Armour¡¯s ghost was conspicuously silent. He had to be worried about what Asika would do if she heard him. ¡°Yeah, probably the best plan. Hang on, lemme plot a new course. It¡¯s this way,¡± Asika¡¯s fingers tapped out something only she could see, and a distant pillar of light appeared in their vision. ¡°We¡¯re only a kilometre away, even if we steer clear of the Spear. We can get there on foot. The Roc should lose interest if we evade it for a bit,¡± ¡°I could go the opposite way. Draw its attention,¡± Keldryn suggested. ¡°No way. We¡¯re safer together,¡± Mikayla denied. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s move,¡± A shadow fell over them. ¡°Now!¡± Mikayla started moving, but a powerful downdraft uprooted the trees around them, and she had to jerk sideways to avoid being brained by a falling birch. Spinning on her heels and conjuring her Sword and Shield from their Cores, she stared up at the monstrous bird that more closely resembled a jumbo jet than anything that should be alive. As it hovered over them, its beak split and it roared, a piercing cry with such volume that it was practically a sonic attack. Mikayla¡¯s ears rang and she had to widen her stance to avoid falling to her knees. There was something in the Roc¡¯s eyes, she noticed as it dominated her gaze. Was she imagining it? Because it looked like it recognised her. That hadn¡¯t been a simple hunting cry. There was anger in that bird. Hatred coming from that beak. ¡°You . . you remember me, don¡¯t you?¡± she guessed, peering into the pools of electricity that served as its eyes. ¡°What? That¡¯s not possible. Kaijus aren¡¯t smart like that,¡± Keldryn shook his head, inching towards the treeline. ¡°Actually, I heard some of the researchers are getting some fascinating results from experimenting with a Kaiju¡¯s capacity for pattern recognition,¡± Asika piped up, her eyes not leaving the looming monstrosity. ¡°Apparently the spatial anomalies that allow them to circumvent the square-cube law don¡¯t inherently improve their brains but the increased size allows for -¡° ¡°No one cares!¡± Keldryn interrupted her. ¡°I think we should! Because, I¡¯m telling you, that thing knows we killed its children!¡± Mikayla insisted. Asika blinked. ¡°Wait, you what?¡± The world shook from the furious shriek that the Giant Roc let out, and then it dropped, winging forwards as its massive claws came down directly towards Mikayla. Being cut wasn''t even the threat from such massive claws; each talon could squash her like a pea beneath a knife. Heel Propulsion launched her to the side, towards Keldryn, and in the corner of her eye she saw giant furrows carved into the ground where she¡¯d been standing a moment ago. The Roc hit the ground, crushing a chunk of the forest beneath its weight. ¡°Attack!¡± Nocturnus urged her as the bird struggled with its own weight, getting back to its feet. Mikayla couldn¡¯t help but agree, bringing her sword down on one of its trailing tailfeathers and cleanly severing it. The Giant Roc bellowed in pain and fury. Black smoke erupted from its rear end in a rolling wave with momentary bolts of lightning dancing through it, and Mikayla could barely brace herself against her shield before it struck and bowled her over. She hit the ground with a crash that rattled her head inside the Black Knight¡¯s helmet. ¡°Did that bird just fart a storm cloud?¡± Mikayla mumbled, head spinning. When she managed to raise her head, the momentary storm had cleared and Asika was crouching over her, helping her stand up. The Giant Roc was already back in the air, wheeling around. ¡°Identify!¡± Asika shrilly yelled, pointing at the ginormous bird as it swooped towards them. Taking a cue, Mikayla launched her own Identify. [STORMWRATH GIANT ROC - TIER 13 - Type: AVIAN (Subtype: KAIJU)] A hundred tiny bolts of lightning rained down on them from the Roc¡¯s outstretched wings as it passed over them. Throwing her arms up, Asika conjured a billboard-sized System screen as a makeshift shield that crackled and splintered with every impact, but held. Mikayla gripped the faerie¡¯s shoulder, steadying her as the barricade dropped, keeping one eye on the Roc as it came around for another attack run. ¡°Tier thirteen? What does that mean in terms of levels?¡± ¡°One Tier to five Levels. It¡¯s the equivalent of Level 65, ish,¡± Asika abbreviated. ¡°. . Shit,¡± Mikayla had actually expected more, given how frankly terrifying that bird was, but maybe that was the fear factor talking. ¡°It looks different than it did before. Darker. Do monsters evolve? Like in Pok¨¦mon?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know what that is, but sorta. Certain upgrades they get with their Tiers can change their appearance as a side effect of giving them new powers. What could this thing do before?¡± ¡°Well, it used to be navy blue, not black, and mostly there was lots of really strong lightning,¡± Mikayla summarised. ¡°It also tried to stab me with its beak once?¡± The moderator''s answer was interrupted by the need for them both to dodge a wave of electricity, but Asika¡¯s mouth continued to run even as the rest of her body took evasive action that should have left her winded. ¡°Gotcha,¡± She didn¡¯t look like that had narrowed things down much for her. ¡°Well, whatever. You killed its children?¡± ¡°They were teenagers! Attacking us! It was self defence!¡± Keldryn¡¯s frustration with the topic was bubbling up again, clearly. "I still feel terrible about it!" Mikayla whimpered. ¡°Oh, okay, fair enough,¡± Asika didn¡¯t argue the point. ¡°Have Kaijus been known to hold grudges about stuff like that?¡± Mikayla asked, ready to raise her shield again. ¡°They sure do!¡± This chipper statement was punctuated by an expanding cone of electricity crashing down towards them. ¡°Mana Assistance, Shield to size three!¡± Mikayla shouted, her defence growing large enough to cover all three of them. Keldryn threw himself behind the barrier and Asika pressed her Armour¡¯s clawed fingers to it. Three System screens appeared in a stack to further blunt the strike. The world filled with white light as the wave of plasma washed over them. Mikayla braced her whole body against the shield, feeling it part around her defence like a tide. Asika groaned, the faint sound of glass shattering informing them that her screens had already broken down. All the same, they¡¯d done their job, and though Mikayla could feel her Mana dropping, after an agonisingly long moment the world around them faded back into existence. They¡¯d managed to endure the strike with only minor singeing. Asika groaned, shaking her arms out. ¡°I dunno how many more of those I¡¯ve got in me,¡± ¡°We can¡¯t keep defending. We¡¯ve got to fight. Drive it off at least,¡± Keldryn argued, tail bristling visibly as he tracked the Giant Roc. ¡°I don¡¯t think driving it off is an option,¡± Mikayla shook her head. ¡°It hates us too much,¡± Her fists tightened, face settling into grim resolve. ¡°This is only going to end with either us or it dead,¡± Chapter 57: Roc Your World ¡°Well said! We shall carve your path home through glorious slaughter!¡± Nocturnus boomed in Mikayla¡¯s ear. ¡°Keep it down, you psycho. This is just me being pragmatic,¡± Mikayla insisted. ¡°Here it comes!¡± A beam of electricity struck the earth, sending a shockwave outwards. Keldryn managed to leap over it, and Asika took wing, grabbing Mikayla¡¯s shoulder and hoisting her up when she saw that Mikayla¡¯s attempt to jump over the blast wasn¡¯t going to work. The Giant Roc hovered over them, the downdraft from its wings sending Asika and Mikayla fluttering backwards. Skyward Grasscutter was already increasing in scale. ¡°We can¡¯t touch it at normal size!¡± Keldryn shouted, carefully keeping his balance as Skyward Grasscutter swelled up to a full ten times its normal proportions. Mikayla nodded her agreement as her feet found the forest floor again. One more time. She had to go big, to go home. She forced her Mana into the complicated pattern within her Core Controller that would bring the Black Knight into the right weight class. Upsettingly, even size ten still felt woefully inadequate against the Giant Roc. It now ¡®only¡¯ seemed like she was engaging a flying T. Rex rather than feathery Godzilla, but all she had was a sword, a shield and a few Techniques to throw out. The Giant Roc, on the other hand, seemed to be a living thunderstorm. It shrieked again, expelling a jerky, erratic burst of electricity from its eyes and out through the tip of its beak. Mikayla brought her shield up, but it turned out to be woefully inadequate. The blast struck her shield and sent her sprawling into the treeline. By the time she got back up, Keldryn had distracted the bird, leaping up and grabbing onto the side of its neck. His fingers entwined with its plumage, and his wrist blades opened bloody holes in the side of its neck - but then electricity erupted from the wound, forming a solid pane of plasma that scraped him off and sent Skyward Grasscutter tumbling to the forest floor. ¡°What was that?¡± Mikayla gasped, watching the veil of electricity ripple across the Giant Roc¡¯s whole body. The sound of Asika whistling through her teeth was broadcast between the Armour Cores. ¡°It looks like a type of ability we call ¡®active elemental defence¡¯. A power that both reduces incoming damage and punishes people for getting too close,¡± ¡°How do we counter it?¡± Mikayla questioned. ¡°Piercing abilities. Ranged attacks. Or just power through it!¡± Psychic Bolts flew from the clawed fingers of Kagura-no-Shibu, splashing against the Roc¡¯s back as it flung itself back into the air. It circled above them and launched more attacks, arrows of lightning dropping from its wings like deadly rain. Mikayla held up her shield to defend against the strikes, and Keldryn ducked behind her. As they hunkered down and shrank to conserve Mana, they could only watch as Asika dodged around its blasts of lightning and tried to land attacks with all the success of a minnow trying to kill a shark. Eventually it had passed their position again, and rather than follow, Asika dropped back down to reunite with them. ¡°It¡¯s no good. It can fly too high for either of you to hit it, and I don¡¯t have any attacks that are both fast and damaging enough to make it hurt, not with the Stats I have at my Level,¡± she groaned, glancing back at where the Roc was already wheeling around again. ¡°The Goliath Guard¡¯s gotta have strategies to deal with monsters like this. Keldryn, have you learned anything like that?¡± Mikayla pressed. ¡°I was told to disengage and call in a specialist when I reported back,¡± Keldryn denied. ¡°Fight a stronger monster? Sure. Fight a flying monster? Doable. Both of those put together? That''s a no-win scenario,¡± He growled, shaking his head in dismay. ¡°But we can¡¯t run away now,¡± Bigger and more potent lances of lightning arced outwards from the Kaiju¡¯s wings and fell from the sky, exploding when they hit the ground. Keldryn and Asika threw themselves out of the way, but the Black Knight wasn¡¯t fast enough to avoid being caught in the blast. Mikayla stifled a groan of pain as the bolts ripped into her Mana-crafted muscles. ¡°We need to either knock it out of the sky, or get you two up here with me,¡± Asika agreed. ¡°Maybe if I . .¡± With pinpoint precision, she flung a Psychic Bolt up towards the Giant Roc¡¯s wing joint, but the bird saw it coming from a mile away. It barrel rolled in midair and let the spell strike harmlessly against its chest. ¡°Yeah, so I¡¯m out of ideas,¡± the faerie groaned. ¡°Anyone else got something?¡± Mikayla hummed, and something occurred to her. When she and Keldryn had merged their Armours into the Black Knight Duplex, it had inherited the best parts of both Armours. The enhanced Agility from Skyward Grasscutter¡¯s digitigrade legs and the heavy armour of the Black Knight. She was self-aware enough to know that she wasn¡¯t contributing anything to this fight at present. The Black Knight couldn¡¯t jump high enough, move fast enough or shoot far enough to even try to hit the Giant Roc. A sword through its wing would definitely bring it down to the ground, but getting the sword up there in the first place . . Mikayla considered her options for a few seconds, but knew there was really only one thing they could do. ¡°Hey! Asika! Do you trust me?¡± she shouted at the faerie. ¡°Sure I do! Why?¡± Asika hollered back, dodging out of the way of another bolt of lightning. ¡°Access Demigod System!¡± Mikayla commanded nothing in particular. Thankfully, the white and gold notifications blossomed in her vision without issue. [DEMIGOD SYSTEM ACTIVATED. WELCOME, INHERITOR.] Mikayla took a deep breath. ¡°Apply the Perfect Rainbow Blessing of Teamwork to myself, Keldryn, Nocturnus and Asika!¡± [APPLYING PERFECT RAINBOW BLESSING OF {TEAMWORK} TO FOUR INDIVIDUALS.] [YOUR CURRENT FAITH POINT TOTAL IS: 3,223.] [CORES DETECTED. SYNERGY DETECTED. CONDITIONS SATISFIED TO INITIATE PANTHEON PROTOCOL.] She expected it this time, but the rivers of light that flowed out of her Core Controller towards her teammates were still mesmerising. Similar veins of energy emerged from Asika and Keldryn¡¯s arms, each conduit meeting in the middle and forming a triangle. A vortex opened between them and shot skywards, formed out of spirals of black, red, green and blue, and all three were sucked in, their Core projections turning into streaks of light that all merged together in the eye of the resultant rainbow-coloured hurricane. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The Giant Roc shrieked in distress, backwinging and putting distance between itself and the tornado that had formed. Its eyes narrowed, and it flung waves of dark clouds towards the growing tornado, hoping to interrupt whatever was coming. But it was to no avail, as the polychromatic twister retreated into the heavens, leaving a single, noticeably larger warrior that was already straightening up and raising its sword. After the fight against Flyreh, and the issue with their minds mixing, Mikayla had come up with a possible solution. With Asika¡¯s passenger-equipped Core in the mix, there had to be enough malleability for her Willpower to project a better method of interaction and bring structure to the shared mental space. She¡¯d seen this in a show about multicoloured superheroes with combining giant robots, and that just seemed appropriate. So when the rainbows fled their vision, rather than all floating in a soup of thoughts, Mikayla found herself settling into a chair with a dashboard covered in blinking lights, buttons and joysticks. It was a bit muddled - there was no physical way for her to operate five joysticks - but the fact that the projection had appeared at all proved her idea had merit. To her left and right, Asika and Keldryn were seated at consoles of their own, and at the rear of the imaginary control centre, in a slightly elevated seat, was Nocturnus, this time manifesting as a whole human body, barrel-chested and bristling with hairy muscles that were barely contained by studded leather armour. ¡°Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa! What did you do? We combined? This is awesome!¡± Asika screamed. ¡°Indeed. This is different. I¡¯ve never seen anything like all this,¡± Nocturnus rumbled, appreciatively looking over the controls. ¡°It¡¯s a work in progress. Better than getting our minds all mixed up, right?¡± Mikayla called back to him. ¡°Wait, who¡¯s that guy?¡± Asika blinked, and Mikayla realised her mistake a little too late. ¡°My mentor. I¡¯ll fill you in later,¡± she summarised. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s the voice in your Armour Core. Cool! And illegal. But that¡¯s not important right now, we''ll sort it out later!¡± Mikayla decided Asika was correct in declaring that to be a problem for later, instead focusing on the result of the Perfect Rainbow Blessing. At first glance, the newly formed armour didn¡¯t seem all that different from the Black Knight Duplex. The crossbow on their right shoulder had been replaced with Asika¡¯s rifle, and the Black Knight¡¯s spiky shoulder pads had been traded in for Kagura-no-Shibu¡¯s bulky, blocky shoulders with their integrated thrusters. But then two pairs of wings, reconfigured from Kagura-no-Shibu¡¯s own wings and legs both, unfolded from their back. Mikayla checked their Status. NAME: Mikayla Aiadon, Keldryn Thorntail, Asika, Nocturnus Virralis LEVEL: 79 (26+20+33+0) RACE: Human (Demigod), Beastkin (Foxkin), Faerie, ???? ¡°Level seventy-nine? Oh hell yeah!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited. We¡¯ve still only got a Statistic multiplier from the first Schema Lock. A real Level seventy-nine warrior would crush us,¡± Keldryn soothed her. ¡°But we¡¯ve got a chance against the Roc. That¡¯s what matters,¡± ¡°Heck yeah! I¡¯ve never seen anything like this! I¡¯m not even totally sure what it is! I love it!¡± Asika cheered. ¡°Really? Was hoping you¡¯d know something about a ''Pantheon Protocol'',¡± Mikayla sighed. ¡°Nope! Sorry!¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Fight!¡± Keldryn reminded them. Looking over the console Mikayla had provided him, the readouts shifted on the fly to make sense to him. ¡°I¡¯ve got the legs?¡± ¡°The arms are mine,¡± Nocturnus confirmed. ¡°Dibs on the wings!¡± Asika weighed in. ¡°And I¡¯ll coordinate, and control the secondary weapons. We can do this!¡± It was good that they had sorted themselves out, because they were out of time. The Giant Roc, after hovering and scrutinising the new challenger for a few moments, decided that it would be prudent to destroy first and wonder what was happening later. Nocturnus brought their shield up just in time to block a bolt of lightning. Unfortunately, that was only a distraction, as the Giant Roc was approaching them with storm clouds visibly gathering around its wings. ¡°Dodge!¡± Mikayla commanded, panic creeping into her voice. ¡°You got it!¡± Asika grinned. Glancing in her direction, Mikayla saw that she had transformed her control panel into a keyboard, and her fingers were blurring across the keys. Lines of code were fed into their Armour, and its four wings spread wide, whirring into motion and launching them into the air. Well, it was working, so why not? They just barely managed to get above the diving monster, the forest beneath them getting swallowed up by storm clouds. Nocturnus made a violent motion in his seat. ¡°Have at thee!¡± he bellowed, and the Armour twisted in mid-air and brought its sword down on the Roc¡¯s tail, carving off a chunk of flesh and feathers. The merged mech barrel rolled, listing sideways and bouncing off trees as Asika fought to get their flight back under control, hollering, ¡°You can¡¯t make moves like that when we¡¯re flying! You need to stay balanced! Move with your velocity, not against it!¡± ¡°Pssh, what would a gunslinger know about swordplay?¡± Nocturnus rolled his eyes. Asika cackled. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you asked!¡± She brought them down, twisting and hitting the ground in a crouch, pressing their legs to the ground. ¡°Keldryn, launch us!¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Keldryn coolly confirmed, and Skyward Grasscutter¡¯s double-jointed legs propelled them back into the sky like the world''s largest grasshopper. A fresh line of code in Asika¡¯s interface had their wings snapping outwards, yawing them back towards the Giant Roc, who was ascending. Eyes filled with light locked onto them, and dozens of electric javelins burst out of the monster¡¯s wings. ¡°Mikayla, here!¡± Asika flicked a System screen into Mikayla¡¯s field of view, before her typing somehow got even faster as she drove their Armour to take evasive action. Mikayla¡¯s eyebrows raised as she read the Technique that Asika had shared with her. [NEW TECHNIQUE SAVED: POINT DEFENCE (Flawless)] [POINT DEFENCE (Flawless): Infuse Stamina into a Firearm-type weapon to fire rapid shots that intercept and deflect incoming projectiles. Cost scales with Dexterity, efficiency scales with Intelligence.] Since Asika was too busy to both dodge and use this Technique, Mikayla didn¡¯t hesitate to absorb it and feed it right into the guns that had become their onboard weapons system. Energy bullets erupted from the cluster of firearms mounted on their left shoulder, twisting and spreading in every direction. They ripped apart the incoming bolts of lightning, filling the sky with flashes of light. It only took several seconds of utter chaos before they were through the barrage and closing with the Giant Roc, who looked surprised at their having successfully closed the distance. ¡°Now, big guy!¡± Asika commanded, pulling up. For a moment the two combatants squared off in mid-air, both ascending into the clouds. Twin streaks of lightning and a glowing red visor stared each other down, each filled with murderous intent. And then Nocturnus brought their sword up in a slash that raked across the Roc¡¯s chest. Lightning beat against the blade, the active elemental defence mitigating the damage and splashing over their trigonal chest, but the cut he opened was a grisly wound all the same. The recoil from the strike forced them apart, and Asika yanked the Armour into a backflip that sent them spinning through the air, away from the Roc. They stabilised, arms and legs splayed, looking like the world¡¯s largest and spikiest pixie. ¡°Haha! Very well then, that was acceptable!¡± Nocturnus cackled. ¡°This is the coolest thing ever!¡± Asika cheered, throwing her arms up. Keldryn smiled. ¡°This strength . . it¡¯s awesome,¡± ¡°So, lass, what are we calling this one?¡± Nocturnus asked with glee in his voice. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± Mikayla smiled. ¡°Black Knight Triplex!¡±