《Biofuel》


 Chapter 1

    Chapter 1


    Lent Strength.


    A grove of dead machines and thriving plants.


    That¡¯s the scene Spring walks up to. The kid with blonde hair, blue eyes without pupils. He lives the peaceful, simple life of an artifact hunter. The job title was a great description of itself: a person who hunts for magic items. It was surprisingly dull, however.


    There was barely any danger, and it was always environmental hazards. Spring simply wanted to have a more exciting job, like being security for a convoy in the wastelands. Yeah, then he¡¯d get all the monster fighting action he wanted.


    As he was sifting through a pile of tank wreckage, he found a small, onyx charm, shaped like a beetle. It was about 2 inches long, and 1 inch tall. It had runes inscribed along its back.


    He decided to keep it, but he didn¡¯t know why. Maybe it was the way it looked when the light hit it, but he thought that maybe -just maybe- it made him feel powerful when he had it. He decided to keep it just for himself.


    He saw that the wreckage was mostly just junk, so he left for the day.


    As he walked home, he saw that the sky was clearing itself of clouds. He looked to the horizon and saw the Everest Wall. A 1 kilometer tall wall, made to separate the country of Everest from the seas of Melsoes, as well as its pirates.


    It was a sight to behold, as it was higher than the storm clouds. So when a storm passes, they float off like crows in the fall. The clouds that floated off now were the storm clouds that had been in the region for a couple of days.


    When he got home, he sorted the pile of artifacts he had found. One pile for junk, and another for things that were still good. It looked like enough to last him for about 2 more weeks. He kept the onyx beetle for himself, though.


    He walked to the merchants guild, which was just a small house with a warehouse connected to it. It looked like something straight out of a catalog for terraformers. Small, blocky, and grey, with minimal flair besides its window in front.


    Spring walked in and asked the attendant where to put his wares. He was pointed to a room in the back, where the appraiser was.


    He entered and noticed that the appraiser was a short, plump old man. He had on nothing more than a basic suit. It reminded him of a mix between Santa and a hermit, who was at the top of the corporate ladder. He carried an air that far overestimated his actual job.


    ¡°Good morning, Spring,¡± he said in a way that implied that it was not, in fact, a good morning. ¡°Well, do you have anything today?¡± he asked as if it wasn¡¯t obvious.


    ¡°Well, I found a couple of things,¡± Spring said as he pulled out a duffel bag full of things he had found. ¡°I have this scroll, as well as a couple of capacitors, and I think this is a gun from one of the wars before ¡®54.¡±


    The appraiser was impressed by the old gun more than anything else.


    ¡°I¡¯d say this came from before ¡®27!¡± he replied in astonishment. He quickly searched for the weapons make and model, and found it to be a very rare model from 2026. It had a very limited production run.


    He quickly tallied everything up, and back with 500,000 credits. ¡°Have a nice day!¡± he exclaimed with a very quickly improved mood. Spring made his way out of the guild, completely blindsided by the money.


    ¡°Well, guess I¡¯m eating good for a while,¡± he remarked as he headed to the nearest gear shop. He could use a new tool belt, and a vest too.. hell, he could buy a couple more things, why not?


    On his way home, he noticed that the air was stifling not just his lungs, but it felt like it was trying to smother his brain as well. It was much, much too hot for this time of year. It was supposed to be fall.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    He saw that it was already getting dark, and that phobos was setting again. No better time to head home than now. He decided to stop by a convenience store and buy a couple of things he needed.


    He noticed that his head started to spin after passing the subway, and grew worried. Did he breathe something in while he was scavenging? No, and even if he did, he should be immune, right? He was sure that his half accursed soul was good enough to tank damage from even bioweapons. What was happening?


    When he got home, he found that he could barely make it to his bed before his legs stopped working. He started panicking. But he only got as far as saying ¡°Oh, sh-¡± before he was out cold.


    ¡ª


    Spring woke up to find that he could move again. He was relieved, but that was quickly replaced with confusion and worry. Whatever had happened last night, he was sure it was magic. There wasn¡¯t a thing that was not considered a war crime that could do that to him, he was sure of it.


    So, The only conclusion was that it was the work of a magic user. This was bad news. He had never even gotten the hang of sorcery, how was he supposed to fight someone with enough power to overpower his soul?


    He broke out in a cold sweat. This was the worst possible situation he could be in. He paced frantically around his room until he got an idea.


    The onyx beetle. It was risky, but he thought that it may give him power, since he felt more powerful when he had first held it. He just had to activate its power to get it himself.


    Thinking back, he remembered something about activating artifacts by ¡°becoming one with them.¡± He decided to try it out by pushing his ¡°will¡± into the beetle. He felt something, but ultimately it refused him.


    He kept trying to use it, but ended up failing each time. As time grew, so did his panic. No matter how many times he tried, he always failed.


    Then, he felt a rumble beneath him. It grew until the things on his shelves started to slide off. The floors were shaking so much that Spring lost his footing, and fell down.


    As he fell, something burst through the wall to his right. It sped right past his face, grazing his nose with pain.


    It hit the wall without remorse, shattering it. It sped toward him again. He only barely dodged it. He saw that it was a robot of some kind, with a wide, glowing visor, and a slim, long body.


    It cut him with a grazing punch to his left shoulder. He countered with a kick straight to its torso. It was stunned by the kick, so Spring launched himself through the hole it made.


    He realized more than ever, at that moment that he lived on the second floor. He landed safely however, thanks to low gravity.


    He was running as soon as he hit the ground. He was stopped short by the war bot catching up to him. He was hit in the ribs, and was sent flying onto the rooftops.


    Landing on his feet, he saw someone on top of another building holding their hands up to the sky, holding them in an awkward position. Spring realized they were casting a spell using somatic components.


    Spring darted towards the building, dodging the war bot all the while. He found out that it was easily surprised by counter attacks. Clearly, it wasn¡¯t made to fight him.


    After that, it was trivial to find its attack pattern. Just like a game, he thought to himself. He started to amp up his attacks after he found the pattern, and found strike after strike landing.


    Soon, the bot began to slow down, and then, Spring chained hit after hit on it. It wouldn¡¯t fall, so Spring reached into himself, and drew on his power as much as he could.


    He focused on his power, and flooded himself with his ¡°will.¡± He felt something change inside himself. He flooded his soul more and more, until he felt the rush of battle.


    He started to hit harder and faster than he thought possible. Soon, the bot was starting to get cracks in its armor. His strength grew until he saw that the bot started to pick up speed, and then he did too.


    They raced across the rooftops at inhuman speed. The bot activated the boosters on its back. It began to gain speed yet again.


    Spring saw this and decided to go after the sorcerer instead. He noticed that when he changed direction, the bot did also. Spring quickly got ready for its next attack, but something was off.


    The bot dodged his counters, and started to land hits on him. He took one to the left arm, and it broke. He ignored it however.


    The bot tried to attack him again, but Spring dodged it. He had to keep dodging and blocking for the rest of the bots attack series.


    Spring then got his feet swept out from under him, and he was gut punched off the buildings into a nearby store.


    Spring tried to get up, but he fell instead. He collapsed onto the ground, and started to feel his wounds.


    Then, he heard a voice.


    ¡°Are you seriously that weak?¡± It seemed to come from his pocket. He realized it was the brooch speaking to him.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll lend you strength.¡±