by Han Yang
I’m lucky I didn’t land on the bag. That would have been an… explosive way to go out.
One thing stuck out to me as I checked on each weapon.
Every single one of them was brimming with power.
Sure, I had charged up their steam capacitors before I jumped… er, tripped into the abyss, but that didn’t account for the energy each one now had.
The steam pistols were at exactly two hundred percent capacity, while Darcy Sr. was close to three hundred. At that level of charge, I should have been little more than a smear on the wall after their storage tanks failed and the condensed Hydrox obliterated the weapons along with my comparatively fragile body.
Just to make sure I wasn’t going insane, I checked on my own statistics.
Name: Bradley
Origin: Ocarna
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Residence: Norn - Baron Lord
Rating: 21.4
Strength: 14
Endurance: 17
Perception: 15
Burst: 200
Luck: 24
Reflex: 19
Charisma: 31
Charge: 500%
Healing: 5
Intelligence: 29
Melee Combat: 21
Crafting: 32.2
Aim: 23
Dexterity: 14
Steam-bot Mastery: 299
Leadership: 68
Construction: 35
Farming: 16
Tree harvesting: 23
Gathering: 15
Fishing: 9
Skinning: 15
“What in the blazes is going on?”
There were so many things I wanted to comment on, but I decided to push away the least pertinent of lines. All of the utility skills had shot up, but those could be explained by the ever-expanding venturebot workforce beavering away in the underground lair.
But my charge showed as five hundred percent. That… scared me.
Going anywhere near two hundred usually didn’t end too well for the person in question and trying to push it past that point was suicide as far as I could remember. Then I saw the burst skill.
From twelve to two hundred, an increase of over fifteen hundred percent. Probably.
I had never been the best at math.
The burst skill was a measure of how well you could utilize your overcharged energy, and it was a multiplicative increase on that value.
Five hundred percent which, minus the base one hundred, left four hundred to be scaled up by my insanely enhanced burst skill of two hundred.
Numbers. Numbers. Numbers.
Still, I didn’t need to know the exact math to understand what the statistics page was showing me. I had more energy than ever before, and I should be able to use it with far more precision and efficiency too.
But how had-
My thoughts shot back to Ginli and the diagnosis she had received from the elderly doctor. Didn’t she have a constant overabundance of energy much like I had now?
Did that mean that, if I couldn’t clear it off, I would soon develop a similar condition to hers?
“No!” I slammed my augmented fist into the side of the pipe, denting the thick metal slightly with my blow. “Screw that, screw this, and screw you! I’m getting the hell out of here!”
My yell echoed down the pipe as I pushed myself upright. Though the overcharge mostly affected my augments, the remaining energy also enhanced my natural, fleshy body as well.
The first few steps were hard as I tried to keep my balance and avoid tripping as I moved forward. Control was important as I reigned in my strength again and again until I reached the point where I was walking rather than hopping my way down the pipe.
Still, I moved far faster than before, so it didn’t take long for me to finally reach a bend in the long, metallic tunnel.
And then I saw… it.
The pipe opened into an enormous room, easily twice the size of the entrance hall far above, but the sheer scale of the place wasn’t the thing that caught my attention.
A steam automaton stood in the center of the room. Glorious brassy pipes lined its arms and legs, each of which repeatedly sent small bursts of steam out as its internal engines churned away incessantly.
Even idle, the din it created was deafening.
But I knew that the massive steam-bot was my target, thanks to one simple fact.
The golden glow that hovered just above its skull, right between the things enormous, glowing eyes.
Eyes that turned in my direction as I completed my inspection.
“Oh no...” I muttered as the instinct to flee clawed its way up my spine. I was about to give in before I heard a distant whining coming from the pipe I had just traveled down.
And I knew exactly what that sound meant.
With moments to spare, I leaped from the entrance and rolled aside as an intense wave of super-heated water scoured the area where I had stood moments ago. Even though I had avoided the main surge, my skin still tingled as the steam heated up the air before it rose into the open space before me.
“Are we going to be friends, then?” I slowly shifted my shoulder and raised a hand to Darcy Sr.’s stock as the behemoth before me jerked and juddered as it stared down at the intruder in its domain. “I’m not here to hurt -”
The light in its eyes flicked from pale blue to a dull, deadly red as it raised its arm and pointed a single finger in my direction.
To which I responded by fully activating my augmented leg and leaping aside with all the strength I could muster.
Crack!
The ground beneath my foot broke apart as I rocketed into the air, but the damage I had dealt was nothing compared to what happened next.
BBBFFFFSSSSHHHHHHHH!
A large bluish ball of concentrated Hydrox slammed into the spot I had just vacated, melting through stone and metal alike as it turned the floor to glass. The explosion wasn’t even that loud, but the intense heat and pressure it created was nothing to laugh about.
“Playing it that way, huh?” I shivered at the thought of what a direct hit by that amount of power would feel like, but I managed to keep my voice cool as I shouldered Darcy Sr. “Bring it!”
And the automaton, as requested, brought it.
After seeing its first attack had failed, it raised its other hand and shot a second Hydrox shell at me. Again, I dodged, but then its first finger lit up as it unleashed another shot.
Crack!
BBBFFFFSSSSHHHHHHHH!
Crack!
BBBFFFFSSSSHHHHHHHH! BBBFFFFSSSSHHHHHHHH!
Then another, and another.
Energy surged through the gears and steam pipes of my augmented limbs as they worked overtime to allow me to dodge through the rain of deadly projectiles. A few skimmed close, singing my hair and clothes as I waited for the opportune time to strike.
“Now!”
BBOOOOM!
Darcy Sr.’s barrel sizzled as it let loose a full payload at the steam powered monstrosity. The bot watched on as my shot flew directly toward its head-
Only to be dodged at the last second.
“Oh, come on! That has to be cheating!”
A quick check showed that Darcy Sr. was passively recharging her reserves so I switched to the steam pistols as I tried to make some space. Though their power wasn’t anything close to a blunderbuss, I still found that several shots were enough to shatter one of the steam-bot's shells before they impacted my area.
But it was firing way more than one at a time.
Even though I was managing to keep myself from taking any serious damage, I knew I’d eventually mess up. If even a single one of the balls fired by the behemoth even glanced against my body, I knew my chances for survival would drop to almost zilch.
How could I hit something which could dodge with such accuracy and speed?
There was one answer to that question, but I didn’t like it.
“Damn it.”
I dropped my steam pist
ols back into their holsters and checked Darcy Sr. once more. She was fully recharged so, without any other plans in mind, I dragged the bag from my back and reached inside.
All three of the damaged Hydrox containers simmered with power at the bottom as my various leaps and dodges jostled them about. A single direct hit would be enough to release their power, but I didn’t know if I would be able to survive that exchange.
Then again, eventually, I was going to die anyway. Might as well take the metallic tosspot along for the ride, right?
The steam automatons assault continued unabated as it let loose shot after shot in my direction. The floor was riddled with steaming craters and sizzling gouges, but I could still see a path toward my new goal.
So, after using the last charge of my steam pistols to clear the way, I readied myself-
And charged toward the towering machine.
The closer I got, the harder it was to avoid its attacks, but I somehow managed to skirt past by the skin of my teeth as I reached the enormous foot.
As I had guessed, it wasn’t too happy its long-range barrage had failed to take me down, so it fell back on more conventional methods.
The stone floor shattered as it raised its foot high, ready to stomp down on the annoying insect below it. Even in the heat of the moment, I managed to note its whirling gears in the heart. The way it loomed with a menacing appearance.
Unfortunately, I moved too fast for it to react as I dashed forward and caught hold of one of the large pipes laid into the side of its leg.
My vision blurred as I raced upward for several seconds before the machine slammed its foot down again. The impact almost shook me loose but, after taking a moment or two to gather myself, I started my arduous journey up toward my goal.
The creation’s huge, armored helmet.
My climbing frame wasn’t too happy with the turn our battle had taken. Its huge palms swept down as he tried to brush me off like an irritating bug, but each time I managed to barely avoid the strikes as I climbed higher and higher.
And then I reached the next stage.
I had clambered up the things back. Climbing up the chest was a no go given how smooth it was, relative to the rest of the body, but there were more than enough exposed steam pipes, valves, and gauges along its rear side for me to reach my destination.
But then the thing’s head spun on its axis with an extremely disquieting screech as it turned to face directly down its back.
“Just you wait!” I threw a rude gesture up toward its glowing red eyes as I started the next stage of my climb. Though it could glare down at me angrily, the joints of its arms weren’t articulated well enough to allow it to sweep me off as it had tried before.
So, it tried another tactic.
At first, I thought it was trying to shake me loose as it raised each foot and stomped back down, but then I noticed how we were moving.
It was walking backwards.
To be more specific, it was making a beeline for the closest wall.
“You tried to swat me and swipe me, and now you want to squash me!?” I used my augmented hand to crush one of its pipes as I did everything I could to speed up the climb. “I am not a bug!”
The steam running through its pipes burned my flesh, but I ignored the pain as I rushed up toward my goal. Second by second, I climbed higher and higher. I was almost there! I could see the end!
And then, the mechanical behemoth slammed into the wall.
CRAASSHH!
Chapter 31
Aftershocks from the collision echoed through the room as the huge automaton slowly pried itself free from the wall. Its burning eyes scanned back and forth as it searched for the thin red smear that should have been all that remained of its pesky intruder.
Fortunately, it was so distracted it didn’t spot me as I sneakily made my way onto its shoulder.
I knew it wouldn’t search forever, so I tugged open the bag and checked the contents once more.
Three large cracked Hydrox containers, each one brimming with the power they had absorbed from the surrounding energy rich air, along with an odd assortment of random Hydrox shapes ranging from cubes to a single glimmering hexagon.
More than enough for a man to live happily for a long time.
I didn’t even think about it as I pulled one of the damaged Hydrox shapes from the bag and shoved the rest down into the ridge between the steam powered behemoth’s neck and head.
Just as I was about to prime the main charge, the steam powered behemoth caught sight of me at the corner of its eye.
“Take this, freak!”
I cut open the edge of the damaged container and tossed it down into the opening before me. It would take a few seconds for the reaction to truly begin, and I needed to make as much space as possible.
The automaton seemed to want to help me along the way as it angrily raised a palm to swat me away for good.
Luckily enough, I jumped from its body before the palm could land.
Unluckily, that move left me with nothing to stand on other than the air beneath my feet,
Before gravity could take hold and pull me down to my inevitable demise, I pulled out Darcy Sr., pointed it directly into my enemy’s enormous face, and pumped the trigger.
Shell after shell blasted out to slam into the thing’s head as the kick back knocked me away again and again. I still dropped down a little with each one, but the distance between me and the ticking time bomb I had created increased with each painful shock against my shoulder.
I had managed to move further away, but the horizontal distance wasn’t my main concern.
After my long climb, I found myself to be vertically challenged, and not in the way you would expect from the phrase.
The cracked and broken stone floor rose with increasing speed beneath my feet, so after one final wild shot at the automaton, I turned Darcy Sr. to my feet and held the trigger down.
Every ounce of power the gun still held built up within its firing chamber as I did my best to keep my composure. The barrel of my faithful blunderbuss had shattered many shots ago, but she kept going, as though she knew she was the only thing keeping me alive.
And I needed one last shot.
“Go!”
All the remaining energy erupted out, blasting a large hole in the stone floor beneath my feet. The recoil was immense, as I had anticipated, but I somehow managed to hold on as it countered the speed of my fall significantly.
I still hit the ground at a ridiculous speed.
My augmented leg took the brunt of the impact before something cracked and I tumbled to the floor. Stones and slivers of rock dug into my skin as I covered my head and rolled as best I could to dissipate some of the force from the fall.
But I knew I didn’t have the time to check myself over once my tumbling stopped.
My augmented leg hissed and whined as I flipped to my feet and dashed toward the nearest steam pipe. I didn’t much care if there was another burst of superheated water heading in my direction.
I jumped up into the pipe and staged myself away from the steam behemoth’s territory. I would take that over the explosion that would happen any second now-
BBBBBBOOOOOOMMMMMMM!
A condensed wave of pressurized air blew me from my feet as it blasted through the pipe. Metal whined and stone cracked as the sheer force of my bomb made itself known.
The heat was intense as I did what I could to hide my exposed skin. Flames flicked the walls as a fireball burned its way up the pipe before it stopped mere feet from where I lay.
And then it was over.
The sides of the pipe sizzled under my touch as I slowly pushed myself to my feet. Smoke filled the air as I gave my equipment a quick check.
The barrel of one steam pistol had fused shut while the other had thin cracks running down its entire body, but their state was nothing compared to the heap of shattered metal that remained after Darcy Sr.’s final song.
“You did well.” I smiled and gave th
e remnants of my faithful defender a gentle pat. There were still some salvageable bits, so I carefully stored them away before I turned to survey the scene I had left behind.
The true devastation only revealed itself after I had made my way back out of the scarred and cracked pipe. Luckily, the entrance hadn’t been rendered impassable, though it did look like a good number of the other vents had been blocked utterly by debris or merely melted closed by the sheer power of the explosion.
The steam automaton hadn’t fared any better.
Its head had vanished, likely vaporized as the condensed Hydrox I had jammed under it ignited, while a large portion of its upper chest had turned into little more than a pile of melted, still burning slag. Rivers of metal ran down, leaving trails like tears in the rain across what little remained of its body.
But the golden glimmer was still there, hovering near a hatch in a relatively undamaged portion of the automaton’s body. The impact had knocked it down before it came to rest, propped up against the melted remains of the wall it had tried to squash me against.
Ironic, though I wasn’t in the mood to appreciate it.
I wrenched the warped hatch aside and pulled out the object highlighted with the golden glow. Once I got it out into the light, I finally noticed what it was.
It looked like… an empty Hydrox container?
“How,” I muttered as I turned the cube back and forth in my hands. “All of that for this piece of junk -”
Then I spotted a slight glimmer of Hydrox rising within it, slowly at first, but rapidly increasing in pace until its shape changed from a cube to a pentagon, then to a hexagon, then-
My vision blurred and the container dropped from my hands as I stumbled away. Whatever that thing was, it had left my body weak and shivering, as though I hadn’t eaten or slept in over a week.
It had absorbed the Hydrox within my body. After I collected myself enough to stop seeing double, I pulled out the checker and rammed it into the socket on my leg.
Name: Bradley
Origin: Ocarna
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Residence: Norn - Baron Lord
Rating: 21.4
Strength: 16
Endurance: 19
Perception: 16
