Adventuring rule #1: never underestimate a goblin.
Alpha Strike: An interstellar Weapon Platform's Guide to Cultivation [Progression Sci-fi/Cultivation]
- Thread starter Osamaru
- Start date
- Original Novel Sci-Fi
- Location
- Missouri
Dovetails nicely with Goblin Rule #1: Never underestimate anyone.
- Location
- Earth: Universe Meta - 1
This is why they're criminals, not true adventurers. Chasing an enemy through their own home is a good way to fall into traps, or be lead to something far worse.
That's doubly true, since it's obvious these goblins are members of society. I mean, one of the first serious considerations was to get the authorities involved. Even for criminals, that's a stupid amount of heat to be bringing down. Wiping out a village random for no reason is just moronic. This attack alone could easily end up with the entire criminal organization being hunted and destroyed.
That's doubly true, since it's obvious these goblins are members of society. I mean, one of the first serious considerations was to get the authorities involved. Even for criminals, that's a stupid amount of heat to be bringing down. Wiping out a village random for no reason is just moronic. This attack alone could easily end up with the entire criminal organization being hunted and destroyed.
B2 - Lesson 13: "Don't leave loaded weapons around small children... even ants"
————————————————————————
B2 - Lesson 13: "Don't leave loaded weapons around small children... even ants"
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
B2 - Lesson 13: "Don't leave loaded weapons around small children... even ants"
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
Alpha frowned down at Alphantonso V as it slowly made its way through the obstacle course he'd set up in one of the side rooms. The ant brain was still struggling to adapt to its body, and Alpha was starting to wonder if he would have to scrap this design and return to it later.
Sure, it was making slow progress, but not enough. It wouldn't do to have every antborg take weeks, or even months, to be ready for use. That would force him to either greatly slow his plans or waste resources on more IV-2s that he would eventually replace, anyway. Neither option was optimal.
There was another solution—
"Though, there's no guarantee that it'll work…" Alpha muttered to himself.
He pulled away from the [Wasp] drone that was watching the antborg and delved into his core world. Alpha pulled up the schematics for Alphantonso V and the Full Body Augmentation model he'd used as the base for the design.
The issue was that the ant and the augmentations didn't yet know how to 'talk' to each other. It was the same problem that the humans from Old Earth had when they were just starting to develop their neural interface technology. The brain and the machine spoke different 'languages' for lack of a better term, and mistakes were made, as the machine had to learn what the brain wanted.
This was a slow process; even in the Federation, it could take a patient up to a month to sync with their new body. However, there was a way to speed up the process, especially in younger patients whose brains had yet to fully develop.
A process called 'Controlled-Replicated Artificial Muscle Memory.'
Simply put, the CRAMM method involved another person's repeated, remote operation of the augmentation, effectively teaching the argument and the host brain what to do in tandem. It was the equivalent of two students hiring a tutor rather than studying together and trying to figure out the work independently.
The problem was that this was typically only done with smaller augments, such as artificial limbs or organs.
As far as Alpha knew, it had never been tried with an FBA. It would have been like being a puppet, trapped in your own body while someone else controlled what you did.
On the other hand, that's exactly what the antborgs were designed for.
"Hmmmmm, maybe this could work…"
———————————————
"Weeeeeeeeeee!" Alpha cried as he lept from tree to tree while controlling Alphantonso V. A thin webbing between the antborg's legs helped him glide the short distances between the trees.
Okay, so this technically wasn't 'natural' from the ant's perspective, but boy, was it fun… for Alpha, at least.
More importantly, the strange movements let him test the antborg's specs and make sure it was working properly. So far, everything was working well, which was good. But it also confirmed that the problem was with the ant's brain.
Lucky for Alpha and the antborg, their brief field trip was showing results. The idea was simple: Alpha would take control of the antborg and perform some basic actions. Then the ant would take over and repeat the action, reinforced with a shot of dopamine. The monitoring systems reported new neural connections forming with each iteration, meaning the ant was quickly catching on.
Alpha had been slightly worried, if he was honest. The last time he brought an antborg into the forest, it hadn't ended well. With that in mind, he ensured Alphantonso V was a little more protected this time.
An angry chittering from above told Alpha he wasn't alone. The antborg turned its head, and Alpha spied a large squirrel sitting on a branch a few meters above them. The cat-sized squirrel creature with fangs like small daggers shook a furry fist at Alphantonso V and chittered some more.
Alpha, not speaking tree rat, obviously ignored the creature in favor of planning his next gliding jump.
That, apparently, was a mistake, as the squirrel seemed to take offense and screeched. It then lept from its perch and dived at Alphantonso V. The top of the antborg's thorax bubbled, and something pushed itself out of the insect's carapace.
Bang!
The next instant, the squirrel creature exploded into a dozen tiny chunks.
"Well, glad to see that's working," Alpha said, mentally grinning.
When considering defensive options for the antborgs, Alpha went through several iterations. The biggest issue was that messing with the antborg's profile too much would draw suspicion from the colony. Their eyesight was far better than typical ants. At the same time, the current model antborg wasn't large enough to store anything complex inside its body. Not without removing other equipment, at least.
Eventually, Alpha settled on a similar solution as the TAWP.
Nano-Skin.
This moldable, versatile 'skin' could be shaped into various devices and tools. The only problem was it was relatively expensive to make. To cover even a single antborg the size of a worker in nano-skin would be an enormous investment.
Thankfully, he didn't have to. Instead, Alpha designated spots along the antborg's carapace that could be replaced with nano-skin. These 'hotspots' would be more limiting than something like the TAWP, but for the cost of covering one antborg in nano-skin, he could give a dozen more antborgs hotspots instead.
With how strained for resources he was at the moment, it was by far the best option.
As for what they could be used for, lots of things! For instance, the new and improved [Crystal-rail!]. Alpha still didn't have the infrastructure to produce proper ammunition. Not the kind his weapons could use, at least. So, instead, he'd turned to the project he'd been working on in the prairies. The newly designed [Crystal-rail] had several marked improvements from the older versions, most notably in its more compact design. As Alpha's array work had improved, so had the efficiency of his 'batteries.' He had gotten them small enough that they could even fit in the antborg, neatly taking up the space the creature's hearts would have naturally been.
As for the ammunition, the ant colony stockpiled the cores from the creatures they killed in a few chambers. What they used them for was hard to tell, but Alpha wouldn't say no to free loot. Occasionally, an IV-2 would sneak into one chamber and collect a few. Never enough to be noticed, but lucky for Alpha, ants didn't keep inventory records. This meant that some of the cargo space in the antborgs would be taken up by ammo, but that was an acceptable price.
Alphantonso V seemed to enjoy the show, too, as the antborg clicked its mandibles at the sight of the squirrel rain in a way that Alpha translated as contentment. Unfortunately for Alpha, he forgot one important rule for Simon Says.
Don't leave loaded weapons around children.
Bang! Bang, bang, bang!
Alphantonso V wildly fired the [Crystal-rail] in random directions.
"Alphantonso V no! Bad ant! Bad!" Alpha yelled as he wrestled control of the weapon from the ant and quickly dissolved it back into the nano-skin. Okay, that one was on him. He had just been teaching the ant to copy his actions. Though that it had even interfaced with the nano-skin at all was a surprise. While most of the ant's body had been made to be as close to its biological body as possible, the nano-skin was something wholly foreign to it.
There was… potential here. He just had to figure out how best to use it.
"Chunk! Chunk! What happened?!" unknown voices called from below.
Alpha mentally flinched as he was pulled from his scheming and turned his attention to the forest floor. There, at the base of a tree some distance away, stood three figures.
Well, one was standing. As for the other two, they were lying on the ground. The sole standing figure, a creature Alpha could only describe as a bipedal cougar in rough leather armor, knelt beside the largest of the fallen figures.
The one on the ground, a human named Chunk if Alpha was a betting man, didn't answer. Instead, the human moaned lightly and rocked back and forth, clutching their gut as a small pool of blood formed under them.
The last figure lay off to the side. At first, Alpha thought it might have been a child, but on closer inspection, Alpha saw it was, in fact, one of the goblin creatures he'd spotted in the forest a few times.
The goblin looked like it had gotten into a fight with a boxer… as the punching bag.
The creature was in such a terrible shape, Alpha would have assumed it was dead if it wasn't for the goblin's slow, one-handed crawl away from the other two.
The goblin came down on a twig a little too hard and snapped. The cougar man's ears twitched, and his head snapped to the goblin.
"You! What did you do to Chunk?!" they snarled, revealing a mouth full of dagger-like teeth. The cougar man drew a long mace from their belt and slowly approached the goblin.
High in the treetop, Alpha considered the scene.
On one hand, this wasn't any of his business. He'd already seen how sticking his nose into things could turn around and bite him in the exhaust on this planet.
On the other hand, it was kind of his fault.
On the other other hand, so what? If Alpha went around dealing with the consequences of his actions, there would be no time for anything else.
On the other other OTHER hand, this was a unique opportunity to find out where the goblins came from and maybe find the bastard who'd stolen Alphantonso IV's remains. It wasn't even about the materials at this point. It was the sentiment of the matter!
"Hmmmmm…" Alpha weighed his options as the cougar man drew closer to the goblin.
The cougar man raised his mace high, fire in his eyes as the goblin fell to the ground limp, seeming to accept their fate.
"Ahh, Screw it… BANZAI!" Alpha yelled as he leaped from the tree.
———————————————————————————————————————————
———————————————————————————————————————————
Banzi!!! Honestly Alpha is so relatable, I kinda hope he gets a humanoid form, so he can do and elbow drop.
ScottotheUnwise
Verified Crack (fic) Dealer
- Location
- Mulberry, Fl
And now he is a Bullet Ant. I am feeling okay about this.
He needs to make an array on the crystalline ammunition that absorbs energy from the target --sudden power draining bullets. Eat power-sucker, sucker!
He needs to make an array on the crystalline ammunition that absorbs energy from the target --sudden power draining bullets. Eat power-sucker, sucker!
Love how Alpha thinks he has self restraint, when we all know he is going to do something as long as it sounds exciting (especially if it is something stupid or spontaneous).
B2 - Lesson 14: "Keep an ear out for all the juicy gossip."
————————————————————————
B2 - Lesson 14: "Keep an ear out for all the juicy gossip."
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
Pop Quiz!B2 - Lesson 14: "Keep an ear out for all the juicy gossip."
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
What happens when a 400-lb, dog-sized cyborg ant glides into a 5'11" cougar man in leather armor at 40 miles per hour from 50 meters in the air?
10 seconds ago, Alpha's answer would have been "a cougar-man-sized splatter mark across the nearest tree." But, as was becoming typical of this hell planet, Alpha's expectations were shattered. Instead, the cougar man turned toward the antborg at the last possible second, crossing his wrists and blocking the literal flying tackle as a green, head-sized barrier formed between them.
The cougar man's eyes bulged in his head while two small gems embedded in their vambraces cracked. The next moment, both Alphantonso V and the cougar man were thrown away from each other. Alphantonso V twisted in the air and landed nimbly right-side up. The cougar man rolled for several meters, then somehow ended their tumble in an upright, crotched position, their blade held at the ready.
The cougar man narrowed his eyes at Alphantonso V and hissed (literally hissed!) before they got a good look at the ant and perked up their ears. The cougar man sneered and stood straighter.
{Was it just one ant? What am I worried about?} Alpha could almost hear the man thinking.
The man bent his legs and lept forward with surprising speed, reminding Alpha of the pouncing animal he so closely resembled. In the blink of an eye and a single stride, the man cleared half the distance between himself and Alphantonso V.
BANG!
Alpha fired the newly formed [Crystal Rai] atop Alphantonso V's back. Once more, the cougar man displayed those oddly keen reflexes and nimbly twisted their body in a way that shouldn't have been physically possible while in the air. The result was the shot that should have struck their sternum, instead hit their shoulder.
Nonetheless, the cougar man's charge was stopped short. They spun several times in the air by the force of the blow before falling to the ground with a thud. The cougar man rolled around on the ground, clutching their bleeding shoulder.
Only when Alphantonso V walked closer did the man seem to remember he was in the middle of a fight. He froze, stared up at the dog-sized ant and gave a loud hiss, their ears folding back against their head like a scared cat.
"Dodge this!" Alpha said as he pointed the [Crystal Rai] at the prone man. The cougar man's pupils dilated, and a ring on his finger flashed. The ring lit up like a flashbang, temporarily overwhelming Alphantonso V's semi-organic eyes.
Alpha fired, but the distinct sound of a bullet hitting the ground told Alpha that the man had, in fact, 'dodged that.' It only took a second for Alphantonso V's eyes to recover, but when they had, both the cougar man and their companion were gone.
Alpha cursed to himself and dissolved the weapon on the antborg's back. No reason to make that mistake twice. He then sent several of the accompanying [Wasps] into the area to scout. Whether the men had run or were lurking in the area, Alpha didn't want to be surprised.
That done, Alpha turned his attention to the goblin. Only to find that the goblin had somehow crawled several dozen meters away during Alpha's brief fight with the cougar man. That couldn't have been pleasant if the creature's injuries were as bad as they seemed on the surface.
The antborg slowly approached, and Alpha called out to the goblin, "If you keep that up, you're not going to make it much further."
The goblin paused, their head snapping to Alphantonso V as their already large eyes grew wider.
Alphantonso V and the goblin locked eyes for a silent moment…
Until the goblin turned and started crawling away with renewed vigor.
Ok. That was fair. Alpha assumed that was the rational response to a giant talking ant.
Even so, he couldn't help but feel a little offended.
Bang!
A bullet dug into the soft ground a few inches away from the fleeing goblin. Once more, the goblin froze, their heart racing. They might not have known what the strange weapon the ant was using was, but they had seen what it had done to the cougar man.
Alpha slowly walked the antborg to the goblin's front and pointed the [Crystal Rai] at the goblin. Alphantonso V clicked their mandibles as Alpha spoke. "Hello. You can call me Alpha. You and I are going to have a little talk."
The wide-eyed goblin could only nod along.
————————
Antchaser was going to die.
Well, he was going to die beforehand, too. The Adventurers who'd come after him weren't shy about that fact. But at least against them, he had stood some chance.
Now? laying in front of the… thing in the guise of an ant (for there was no way this thing was an ant, no matter what its physical appearance might be), he knew this was the end.
Realizing there was no escape, all the energy fled from his body. Antchaser collapsed to the ground, unable to even lift his head. Slowly, the darkness crept in from the edge of his vision, and bitterness welled up in his heart.
{In the end, I couldn't even help them… maybe this is a fitting end for me.}
A sudden, sharp pain in his thigh made Antchaser yelp, and he felt a chilly something flood his veins. The darkness receded, and his head started pounding as renewed energy swept through him.
The not-ant spoke again, "Nope, no dying on me yet. I said I have questions for you."
Antchacer turned to see the tip of the not-ant's leg sticking into his thigh.
With a voice still raw and bloody, Antchaser only barely croaked out.
"What… What kind of deal with the devil is this? Who… are you? What… do you want with me?"
The not-ant audible gasped and held a leg to its thorax. "Devil!? Why I never! I've been called many things: menace, madman, a danger to myself and others, but never a devil!"
{Great… it's insane, too. Just my luck,} Antchaser thought to themselves.
The creature continued in its strange dialect. "As for what I want from you, my good man, the same thing any up-and-comer wants. Information. You see, one of your people took something from me. Something important."
To Antchaser's amazement, a beam of light erupted from 'Alpha's' ocelli. The light then formed into a spinning image. An image of a familiar shape. The metal vine.
Antchaser's eyes went wide, and cold sweat formed on his brow.
The not-ant clicked its mandibles, and Alpha spoke. "So you do recognize it. Good. That means you know where it is. Tell me. Or bring the one who took it to me. With the item in tow, of course."
Antchaser dry swallowed and asked, "What… what do you plan to do with them?" He tried to keep his voice as calm and steady as possible, though he was unsure how well he did.
The not-ant tilted its head and answered. "If they behave? Nothing. They return the item, and we go about our ways. I can't rightly blame someone for picking up something they found on the ground. More so when its previous owner was… indisposed."
Internally, Antchaser sighed in relief. Not that he had any reason to trust the strange creature's words, of course. But he'd learned long ago that it was far better to deal with a being who was at least willing to put on a show of civility.
He swallowed again. "And… if they refuse?"
The not-ant chuckled, a sound accompanied by the clicking of its mandibles. "Well then, we'll have an… issue. And if there's one thing I'm good at, it's fixing issues."
Antchaser turned his head away and looked in the direction of the village. His body still ached, and he could barely move, but whatever the not-ant had done to him, it left his mind clear. Well, as clear as it could be, given the situation. So Antchaser considered his next option carefully.
Whatever he said next could mean salvation for him and his people… or it could invite an even greater demon into their midst. The question was, was it worth the risk?
After a silent moment, Antchaser turned back to Alpha and whispered. "Yes. I know where your vine is… but there's a slight problem… and you're not going to like it."
The not-ant tilted its head once more and asked, "Oh? What problem?"
————————
"Bosco! We have a problem!" Seeker said as he barged into the goblin longhouse. Bosco frowned as he lowered the chunk of ironfur roast and stood from the table two sizes too small for him. He waved away the attending goblins and made his way toward Seeker.
"What is it now?" he said with a frown. "What is the point of having underlings if you have to come to me every time there's an issue?!"
Seeker crossed his arms as he spoke. "The men you sent after the runaway are back. It's… not good."
Bosco's frown deepened. He pushed past the smaller man and stepped out into the courtyard. Many of the adventures had gathered together in the square and were circling something.
Bosco forced his way through the crowd, eliciting a few minor complaints before they realized who had pushed by. All it took was a glare for any more to die in their throat.
When he reached the center, Bosco found an awakened beast of the cougar clan sitting on a small bench. A healer stood by the man as she worked on a vicious-looking wound on his shoulder. Bosco marched forward and lifted the cougar man by his wounded arm before either the healer or the awakened could register he was there.
The man screamed, of course, but Bosco paid him little mind as he dangled the man like a child and stared at the large gaping wound.
It looked like someone had taken a large spoon to the flesh and shoved a burning iron inside for good measure.
Bosco then dropped the man, eliciting another cry of pain as the healer rushed to his side.
A body was laid out to the side of the circle, a crude blanket covering it fully. Bosco walked over and pulled the blanket off the body. What was revealed was not the body of a goblin but one of his own men, their pale, lifeless face, cloudy eyes staring into the sky.
Bosco knelt down and observed the wound in the dead man's stomach. It was similar to the awakened's, though far worse, likely because of the location. Whatever had hit the man had scooped out a chunk of flesh the size of a normal human's fist, then minced their insides. The man's death had not been quick or pleasant.
Bosco's frown deepened, and he stood, turning back to the awakened, the healer having helped them back into their seat. The cougar man bared a mouth full of fanged teeth at him and hissed softly, but Bosco's intense glare made the man pull back, and their long ears lay flat across their head.
"What is your name?" Bosco rumbled at the man.
The man responded, though refused to look Bosco in the eyes, "M-my name i-is Ki'tan, sir. Though t-the boys just call me Kit, sir."
Bosco folded his arms. "Well, Kit. Mind explaining to me how one goblin managed to kill one of my men and maim another?"
Kit snapped his eyes to Bosco and whispered, "It… It wasn't no goblin, sir! It was a demon!"
That got the crowd muttering.
Bosco raised a hand to silence the gathered adventurers, then commanded, "Explain."
Kit's eyes darted as if afraid something would jump from the shadows before continuing.
"Me and Chunks—" he nodded toward the body, "—that's him, by the way. Well, Chunks and I went and did what you'd told us to. I'mma right fine tracker, and Chunks has been… interrogating people for Icefinger for years. We've been partnering up ever s—"
Bosco glared at the man. "I said explain what happened, not give me your life story."
Kit turned away but moved on. "Right, as I was sayin'. Me and Chuncks tracked down the goblin. Gave us a right run-a-about he did, too. But we caught um nonetheless. He wouldn't talk, though, no matter how many bones we broke. We's were about to pack him up and bring him back to Seeker, but… something happened."
Bosco rolled his wrist as if to say, 'Hurry up,' but Kit's eyes became distant, and his words softer. "It started with the sound of thunder. That's the only ways I can explain it. Then Chunks… Chunks started screamin'. Tryin' to hold his insides in and all that. I… I didn't know what happened. Thought the goblin had triggered one last trap or somethin'. The bloody little thing had led us into some crude ones during the chase. Nothing really bad, but I don't know; I thought maybe this was its last ditched attempt. So I drew my sword and moved in for the kill. Figured it was safer if the bastard was dead. Didn't want him triggering somethin' else on the way back… That's… that's when it appeared…"
"When what appeared, exactly?" Seeker asked, having stepped up beside Bosco.
Kit turned to him and whispered, "The Demon. It flew at me from the trees, taking the form of a giant ant—"
"Hold up," Bosco interrupted him, the large man's face furious, "You're telling me that two of my men were taken down, not by a goblin… but by an ant?!"
Kit turned to Bosco and stared at him, unblinking, the cougar man's eyes glazed. "That was no ant. There's no way that… thing was an ant. It came from the trees. Swooped in on me with enough force that it broke my shield bracers." Kit held up his good arm to show the arrayed leather bracers, fragments of the cut core still clinging to their socket.
They weren't of the best quality, but the very fact that someone of Kit's station had decent arrayed equipment in the first place was enough to drive the point home. These had been emergency items, bought with money saved over a period of years… and they had failed, partly at least.
Kit continued. "When I recovered, I saw it was just an ant. Just one monster ant, like one anyone here, has killed dozens of before. I… I let my guard down… and this happened." He waved to the hole in his shoulder, the healer still working on it.
Bosco scoffed and dismissed the man's story. "In other words, you screwed up, then came running back."
Kit stood, his eyes wild and voice frantic as he yelled, "You don't understand, Bosco! That wasn't an ant!" Kit grabbed onto Bosco's arm and shook him as if to get him to understand. "Ants don't move like that! Ants don't fly! Ants don't speak! That… thing… it's still out there! And now it knows we're here too! We have to get out while we still can! We have to—"
WHAM!
Bosco's fist slammed into the awakened's face with the sound of breaking teeth. The man fell backward and rolled a few feet. The healer rushed to his side and breathed a sigh of relief. Kit was out cold, but he would live. Though he'd need another round of treatment. That was fine by her; Icefinger paid her by the injury.
Bosco tsked and flicked the blood off his fist and muttered to himself. "Talking ants. Sure. Someone throw this fool in with the goblins when he wakes up. We'll drag him back to Icefinger when we're done here."
He then turned around and walked away.
The crowd of adventurers slowly dispersed, save for Seeker, who stared down at the unconscious awakened beast with a frown.
- Location
- Earth: Universe Meta - 1
Hah, antchaser has no idea. Alpha is going to absolutely love this.
B2 - Lesson 15: "Negotiations are the key to any good business deal"
Ooooof, I've been stuck in bed all day... orz
Alpha only hoped what information he could extract from the creature was worth using Alphantonso V's emergency dose. Medical nanites were still expensive to make, and it didn't help he needed to tweak them enough to be compatible with the antborg's faux-flesh. With production of the IV-2s ramping up and plans to grow V-2s as well, Alpha would have to solve that problem soon.
When they could finally speak, Antchaser told his story. Alpha listened, recording the entire thing, of course, but grew more agitated with each passing moment.
{Why the hell do these things keep happening here?!} Alpha internally complained.
This wasn't his first time in a lawless world. The 'lost worlds,' those worlds from the Second Federation that had been isolated from the greater galaxy, sometimes devolved into dystopia hellscapes or segmented feudalistic states. One constant throughout the galaxy was that power abhorred a vacuum. And just like any good collapsing vacuum, the damage left in the Second Federation's wake sometimes didn't heal, even after thousands of years.
Or at least not until someone with a bigger stick came along and beat things back into place.
Alpha was the Third Federation's 'stick.'
Alphantonso V tilted their head as Alpha thought on the matter. Eventually, he turned to the goblin and spoke. "So now your village is being held hostage, in effect?"
Antchaser nodded and looked away and nodded.
"Well, that's none of my concern, if I'm honest," Alpha responded.
Antchaser's eyes snapped to the ant, and the goblin bared its teeth in a snarl, but the man quickly deflated. Alpha could imagine what was going through their head. Maybe they expected some kind of sympathy. Or maybe for Alpha to offer help of some kind. After all, he had just saved them from certain death.
Well, too bad for them; Alpha was tired of helping for free. That's how he'd gotten into this situation in the first place. Granted, helping civilians was part of his job, but not if it interfered with his overall mission.
{If I'm jumping at every group of bandits on this cesspit of a planet, I'll never get any work done,} Alpha thought to himself.
What the goblin did next surprised even Alpha, however.
With their body still broken and enduring what must have been horrific pain, Antchaser pushed themselves up and repositioned until they were sitting on their knees. Slowly, the goblin lowered themselves onto the ground in a kowtow.
"Sir, I beg you. Lend this one your support. Whatever you ask of me, I will repay you if it is within my power."
Without eyelids to narrow, Alpha tilted the antborg's head and asked, "Why should I? Don't mistake my saving you for generosity. You had the information I wanted, and now I have it. I'm a busy… ant. What could you offer me that it would be worth my time?"
Antchaser paused, and without looking up, said. "The adventurers have made a mistake."
"Oh?" Alpha responded. "Go on…"
The goblin spoke a little louder, a little clearer. "They raided the village to gain information about the area. They seek the treasures of this land for their own means. But the villagers seldom leave the village surroundings. At most, they'll travel to the river and back as a group. This cavern is as dangerous as it is bountiful. The villagers aren't the ones who know the secrets of this land."
Antchaser paused before looking up at Alpha, a sparkle in his eyes, and finished, "The hunters are."
{Oh? I see…}. Alpha was putting together where the goblin was going with this.
The goblin lowered their head once more and continued. "Not just me. The other hunters, both those still in the forest and those trapped in the village, all of us have been slowly gathering information about this place in our own ways. You ask what I can offer you? The same thing you desired originally. Information."
"Hmmmmmm," Alpha considered. That was a tempting offer. It would save him weeks, maybe months, of scouting and research on his own. While he doubted that some dinky village in the middle of a literal cave held much information, Alpha was sure he could find other uses for them as well. "So you're willing to freely offer what these… adventurers are looking for? Why? Isn't the entire point of your village's resistance so that they won't lose these 'treasures,' as you call them?"
The goblin sighed and responded. "That's not untrue. But what use are treasures if you're dead? That is the difference here. Adventurers… adventurers are like locus. They sweep in and strip the land, leaving scraps for those left behind. That's what adventurers do. If they have their way, this cavern will be barren in a decade and take centuries to recover. Even if they don't slaughter my people for sport, they will leave us with nothing."
Alpha nodded but asked. "What makes you so certain I won't do the same?"
"Because I've watched your people," the goblin said. "I've seen how the ants treat the forest. You bend it to your will, but don't destroy it. I never thought I would be… speaking to one of you, but I will also be the first to admit that life has proven me wrong before. Even so, I'm willing to take the chance."
Alpha nodded again. When confronted with such a situation, the goblin had chosen the lesser of two evils. Commendable wisdom, even if the man had made a fundamental mistake about who he was. Not that Alpha was about to correct him, of course. Not yet.
He did consider what the goblin had said, however. If it was true that these adventurers were as… opportunistic as they seemed, that could cause trouble for him later. Not even considering the loss of potential resources, if they decided they didn't want to share with the ants and came after them, it would throw a wrench into Alpha's plans.
The question was, was it a problem for future Alpha? Or was this something that he needed to nip in the bud before it grew?
Antchaser had gone silent while Alpha thought, and the minutes stretched on. After a time, Antchaser started sweating, and his breathing became labored. No doubt the awkward position wasn't doing any favors for his condition.
Alpha sighed, taking one last look at the man kowtowing in front of him.
He really was too soft at times.
The goblin gave a yelp as nanite tendrils wrapped around his body and pulled him atop Alphantonso V. Alpha turned and made his way back toward the base, his 'cargo' tied down secure. By the time Alpha had reached the ant's clearing, the goblin was already unconscious.
———————————
When Antchaser came to, it wasn't in the forest as he had expected. Instead, he found himself floating in… something. He could breathe perfectly fine despite being fully submerged in the strange liquid. Was this a dream? His mind was still foggy, and it was hard to form complete thoughts.
If he was dreaming, it would also explain the weird distortion in his vision. Like everything was stretched and bulging from the center point. Slowly, his mind started to clear, and memories tricked back. Antchaser's eyes bulged as he realized this wasn't a dream, and he tried to sit up, only to smash his head against a clear barrier. The pain wiped away what fog remained, only to replace it with panic.
Antchaser struggled in what he now realized was some kind of liquid-filled glass chamber. It was then that he also noticed the various strange vines attached to his body. His struggling intensified as he began to pull at the vines invading his body. He banged on the glass walls as the clear liquid surrounding him took on a slightly red tint from the blood spilling into it.
A voice suddenly spoke, and Antchaser froze. "Good, you're awake. Now stop pulling out your IVs, and I'll drain the med-pod."
The glass chamber rumbled slightly, and Antchaser felt the surrounding liquid slowly drain. A few seconds later, the chamber was nearly empty, and the top portion of the chamber slid away with a hiss. Antchaser shot upward and pulled himself over the edge of the chamber, his lungs emptying themselves of the strange liquid with wracking coughs.
The voice called out again, and this time, Antchaser recognized it as the mysterious' Alpha.' "Careful now. Your body's healed, but adjusting to the implants might take some time; you'll be sore for a few hours."
"Im-cough-implants? What are you—" It was then that Antchaser got a good look at one of his arms. While most of the flesh seemed normal, a thin strip had been fused… no… replaced by a metal band running up the length of his forearm. Several strange protrusions stuck out from it, a few of which were still connected to the vines he had yet to pull out.
As he stared, said vines fell out with a pop, and the protrusions folded into the metal strip until they were perfectly flush. His heart racing, Antchaser glanced at his other arm only to see the same thing. Further inspection revealed similar strips on each of his legs, one over his chest and two more on the back of his neck.
Antchaser tried to stand, only for a wave of dizziness to overtake him as he fell onto his back.
"What…what did you do to me?!" the goblin asked as he clutched his head.
Again, Alpha spoke from somewhere Antchaser couldn't see. "Your injuries were worse than I thought. Those 'adventurers' did a number on you. I'm honestly surprised you hadn't collapsed beforehand. Unfortunately, I designed the med-pods for the ants, not humanoids. That meant I had to make some rushed modifications. To the machine and you."
Anchaser pushed himself into a sitting position, still rubbing his pounding head. "I don't understand. What happened? What does that mean?"
Alpha laughed. "For you? Nothing. They're minor things any Federation civilian already has. Technically, I'm not allowed to do that kind of modification without your consent, as you're still a civilian, but extraneous circumstances forced my hand."
A large ant walked through a nearby opening and pushed itself up against Antchaser. The man pressed their hand against the insect's bumpy carapace and stood on shaking legs.
When he was standing on his own power, Alpha continued. "At most, it'll mean you have access to any Federation med-pod in the galaxy if it's needed again, so that's something, at least. The medication will wear off within the hour, while the synth-skin will finish growing in a few days. After that, you'll likely forget you even have them."
Antchaser found he barely understood half of what Alpha was telling him, but from what he could, it was clear enough that the strange being had saved his life. At what cost would have to be seen later.
Antchaser turned to the ant and asked, "How long have I been out?"
The ant tilted its head and responded. "Roughly 18 hours. It would have been quicker, but again, modifications had to be made. Now that you're awake, we can finally have a nice face-to-face talk and work out where we go from here."
Antchaser tilted his own head and raised a brow, his mind feeling less sluggish with each passing moment. "Aren't we already talking?" he asked.
Alpha laughed, and the ant turned away, not bothering to answer. It then quickly walked back out the way it had come.
Antchaser hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should follow. Too much of this didn't make any sense. From the talking ant, to the strange glass chamber, to the other strange artifacts, he spied around the room, not to mention whatever the hell it had done to his body. Seeing no other option, however, he quickly followed after them.
Alpha led Antchaser down a series of hallways that struck Antchaser as oddly… well, he couldn't quite place what felt so off about them. At the very least, they felt nothing like he imagined the ant colony to be like, despite the occasional ant they passed by. The other ants never even gave Antchaser a second glance as they went about their way, which he felt was also strange. Demon Ants were highly territorial, and to see the creatures so… apathetic to his presence sent chills up his spine for some reason.
Eventually, the hallway turned into a new chamber, and Antchaser was struck by how alien the room seemed. It was filled with dozens of strange artifacts, some that seemed to move independently as they sparked and whirled. Dozens of black vines covered the area, linking all the machines. As they walked deeper into the room, Antchaser followed the black vines to their source, only to freeze, his eyes wide and mouth agape.
There, at the origin point of all the wires, sat a large pillar. And atop that pillar sat what Antchaser could only describe as a giant metal orb.
As he stared, Alpha spoke, his voice not emanating from the ant this time but the orb. "You'll have to excuse the mess. I wasn't expecting visitors so soon. Mind the wires; we don't need you tripping and ending up in the med-pod again."
Of course, Antchaser immediately tripped over one of the larger 'wires,' having never broken eye contact with the giant orb.
The sudden fall was enough to break the man out of his daze, though, and he quickly scrambled to his feet, still staring at Alpha.
Softly, he whispered, maybe more to himself than Alpha, "It-it all makes sense now… you never were an ant. You… You're a Dungeon Core!"
————————————————————————
B2 - Lesson 15: "Negotiations are the key to any good business deal"
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
It took roughly ten minutes for the medical nanites to heal the goblin, who'd called him 'Antchaser' for some reason, well enough to speak. He still wouldn't be moving by his own power anytime soon, but at least he wasn't at risk of dying anymore.B2 - Lesson 15: "Negotiations are the key to any good business deal"
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
Alpha only hoped what information he could extract from the creature was worth using Alphantonso V's emergency dose. Medical nanites were still expensive to make, and it didn't help he needed to tweak them enough to be compatible with the antborg's faux-flesh. With production of the IV-2s ramping up and plans to grow V-2s as well, Alpha would have to solve that problem soon.
When they could finally speak, Antchaser told his story. Alpha listened, recording the entire thing, of course, but grew more agitated with each passing moment.
{Why the hell do these things keep happening here?!} Alpha internally complained.
This wasn't his first time in a lawless world. The 'lost worlds,' those worlds from the Second Federation that had been isolated from the greater galaxy, sometimes devolved into dystopia hellscapes or segmented feudalistic states. One constant throughout the galaxy was that power abhorred a vacuum. And just like any good collapsing vacuum, the damage left in the Second Federation's wake sometimes didn't heal, even after thousands of years.
Or at least not until someone with a bigger stick came along and beat things back into place.
Alpha was the Third Federation's 'stick.'
Alphantonso V tilted their head as Alpha thought on the matter. Eventually, he turned to the goblin and spoke. "So now your village is being held hostage, in effect?"
Antchaser nodded and looked away and nodded.
"Well, that's none of my concern, if I'm honest," Alpha responded.
Antchaser's eyes snapped to the ant, and the goblin bared its teeth in a snarl, but the man quickly deflated. Alpha could imagine what was going through their head. Maybe they expected some kind of sympathy. Or maybe for Alpha to offer help of some kind. After all, he had just saved them from certain death.
Well, too bad for them; Alpha was tired of helping for free. That's how he'd gotten into this situation in the first place. Granted, helping civilians was part of his job, but not if it interfered with his overall mission.
{If I'm jumping at every group of bandits on this cesspit of a planet, I'll never get any work done,} Alpha thought to himself.
What the goblin did next surprised even Alpha, however.
With their body still broken and enduring what must have been horrific pain, Antchaser pushed themselves up and repositioned until they were sitting on their knees. Slowly, the goblin lowered themselves onto the ground in a kowtow.
"Sir, I beg you. Lend this one your support. Whatever you ask of me, I will repay you if it is within my power."
Without eyelids to narrow, Alpha tilted the antborg's head and asked, "Why should I? Don't mistake my saving you for generosity. You had the information I wanted, and now I have it. I'm a busy… ant. What could you offer me that it would be worth my time?"
Antchaser paused, and without looking up, said. "The adventurers have made a mistake."
"Oh?" Alpha responded. "Go on…"
The goblin spoke a little louder, a little clearer. "They raided the village to gain information about the area. They seek the treasures of this land for their own means. But the villagers seldom leave the village surroundings. At most, they'll travel to the river and back as a group. This cavern is as dangerous as it is bountiful. The villagers aren't the ones who know the secrets of this land."
Antchaser paused before looking up at Alpha, a sparkle in his eyes, and finished, "The hunters are."
{Oh? I see…}. Alpha was putting together where the goblin was going with this.
The goblin lowered their head once more and continued. "Not just me. The other hunters, both those still in the forest and those trapped in the village, all of us have been slowly gathering information about this place in our own ways. You ask what I can offer you? The same thing you desired originally. Information."
"Hmmmmmm," Alpha considered. That was a tempting offer. It would save him weeks, maybe months, of scouting and research on his own. While he doubted that some dinky village in the middle of a literal cave held much information, Alpha was sure he could find other uses for them as well. "So you're willing to freely offer what these… adventurers are looking for? Why? Isn't the entire point of your village's resistance so that they won't lose these 'treasures,' as you call them?"
The goblin sighed and responded. "That's not untrue. But what use are treasures if you're dead? That is the difference here. Adventurers… adventurers are like locus. They sweep in and strip the land, leaving scraps for those left behind. That's what adventurers do. If they have their way, this cavern will be barren in a decade and take centuries to recover. Even if they don't slaughter my people for sport, they will leave us with nothing."
Alpha nodded but asked. "What makes you so certain I won't do the same?"
"Because I've watched your people," the goblin said. "I've seen how the ants treat the forest. You bend it to your will, but don't destroy it. I never thought I would be… speaking to one of you, but I will also be the first to admit that life has proven me wrong before. Even so, I'm willing to take the chance."
Alpha nodded again. When confronted with such a situation, the goblin had chosen the lesser of two evils. Commendable wisdom, even if the man had made a fundamental mistake about who he was. Not that Alpha was about to correct him, of course. Not yet.
He did consider what the goblin had said, however. If it was true that these adventurers were as… opportunistic as they seemed, that could cause trouble for him later. Not even considering the loss of potential resources, if they decided they didn't want to share with the ants and came after them, it would throw a wrench into Alpha's plans.
The question was, was it a problem for future Alpha? Or was this something that he needed to nip in the bud before it grew?
Antchaser had gone silent while Alpha thought, and the minutes stretched on. After a time, Antchaser started sweating, and his breathing became labored. No doubt the awkward position wasn't doing any favors for his condition.
Alpha sighed, taking one last look at the man kowtowing in front of him.
He really was too soft at times.
The goblin gave a yelp as nanite tendrils wrapped around his body and pulled him atop Alphantonso V. Alpha turned and made his way back toward the base, his 'cargo' tied down secure. By the time Alpha had reached the ant's clearing, the goblin was already unconscious.
———————————
When Antchaser came to, it wasn't in the forest as he had expected. Instead, he found himself floating in… something. He could breathe perfectly fine despite being fully submerged in the strange liquid. Was this a dream? His mind was still foggy, and it was hard to form complete thoughts.
If he was dreaming, it would also explain the weird distortion in his vision. Like everything was stretched and bulging from the center point. Slowly, his mind started to clear, and memories tricked back. Antchaser's eyes bulged as he realized this wasn't a dream, and he tried to sit up, only to smash his head against a clear barrier. The pain wiped away what fog remained, only to replace it with panic.
Antchaser struggled in what he now realized was some kind of liquid-filled glass chamber. It was then that he also noticed the various strange vines attached to his body. His struggling intensified as he began to pull at the vines invading his body. He banged on the glass walls as the clear liquid surrounding him took on a slightly red tint from the blood spilling into it.
A voice suddenly spoke, and Antchaser froze. "Good, you're awake. Now stop pulling out your IVs, and I'll drain the med-pod."
The glass chamber rumbled slightly, and Antchaser felt the surrounding liquid slowly drain. A few seconds later, the chamber was nearly empty, and the top portion of the chamber slid away with a hiss. Antchaser shot upward and pulled himself over the edge of the chamber, his lungs emptying themselves of the strange liquid with wracking coughs.
The voice called out again, and this time, Antchaser recognized it as the mysterious' Alpha.' "Careful now. Your body's healed, but adjusting to the implants might take some time; you'll be sore for a few hours."
"Im-cough-implants? What are you—" It was then that Antchaser got a good look at one of his arms. While most of the flesh seemed normal, a thin strip had been fused… no… replaced by a metal band running up the length of his forearm. Several strange protrusions stuck out from it, a few of which were still connected to the vines he had yet to pull out.
As he stared, said vines fell out with a pop, and the protrusions folded into the metal strip until they were perfectly flush. His heart racing, Antchaser glanced at his other arm only to see the same thing. Further inspection revealed similar strips on each of his legs, one over his chest and two more on the back of his neck.
Antchaser tried to stand, only for a wave of dizziness to overtake him as he fell onto his back.
"What…what did you do to me?!" the goblin asked as he clutched his head.
Again, Alpha spoke from somewhere Antchaser couldn't see. "Your injuries were worse than I thought. Those 'adventurers' did a number on you. I'm honestly surprised you hadn't collapsed beforehand. Unfortunately, I designed the med-pods for the ants, not humanoids. That meant I had to make some rushed modifications. To the machine and you."
Anchaser pushed himself into a sitting position, still rubbing his pounding head. "I don't understand. What happened? What does that mean?"
Alpha laughed. "For you? Nothing. They're minor things any Federation civilian already has. Technically, I'm not allowed to do that kind of modification without your consent, as you're still a civilian, but extraneous circumstances forced my hand."
A large ant walked through a nearby opening and pushed itself up against Antchaser. The man pressed their hand against the insect's bumpy carapace and stood on shaking legs.
When he was standing on his own power, Alpha continued. "At most, it'll mean you have access to any Federation med-pod in the galaxy if it's needed again, so that's something, at least. The medication will wear off within the hour, while the synth-skin will finish growing in a few days. After that, you'll likely forget you even have them."
Antchaser found he barely understood half of what Alpha was telling him, but from what he could, it was clear enough that the strange being had saved his life. At what cost would have to be seen later.
Antchaser turned to the ant and asked, "How long have I been out?"
The ant tilted its head and responded. "Roughly 18 hours. It would have been quicker, but again, modifications had to be made. Now that you're awake, we can finally have a nice face-to-face talk and work out where we go from here."
Antchaser tilted his own head and raised a brow, his mind feeling less sluggish with each passing moment. "Aren't we already talking?" he asked.
Alpha laughed, and the ant turned away, not bothering to answer. It then quickly walked back out the way it had come.
Antchaser hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should follow. Too much of this didn't make any sense. From the talking ant, to the strange glass chamber, to the other strange artifacts, he spied around the room, not to mention whatever the hell it had done to his body. Seeing no other option, however, he quickly followed after them.
Alpha led Antchaser down a series of hallways that struck Antchaser as oddly… well, he couldn't quite place what felt so off about them. At the very least, they felt nothing like he imagined the ant colony to be like, despite the occasional ant they passed by. The other ants never even gave Antchaser a second glance as they went about their way, which he felt was also strange. Demon Ants were highly territorial, and to see the creatures so… apathetic to his presence sent chills up his spine for some reason.
Eventually, the hallway turned into a new chamber, and Antchaser was struck by how alien the room seemed. It was filled with dozens of strange artifacts, some that seemed to move independently as they sparked and whirled. Dozens of black vines covered the area, linking all the machines. As they walked deeper into the room, Antchaser followed the black vines to their source, only to freeze, his eyes wide and mouth agape.
There, at the origin point of all the wires, sat a large pillar. And atop that pillar sat what Antchaser could only describe as a giant metal orb.
As he stared, Alpha spoke, his voice not emanating from the ant this time but the orb. "You'll have to excuse the mess. I wasn't expecting visitors so soon. Mind the wires; we don't need you tripping and ending up in the med-pod again."
Of course, Antchaser immediately tripped over one of the larger 'wires,' having never broken eye contact with the giant orb.
The sudden fall was enough to break the man out of his daze, though, and he quickly scrambled to his feet, still staring at Alpha.
Softly, he whispered, maybe more to himself than Alpha, "It-it all makes sense now… you never were an ant. You… You're a Dungeon Core!"
And once again, everyone misunderstands what Alpha is, and there is nothing he can do to prove otherwise.
B2: GRIM Adventures - 8
————————————————————————
B2: GRIM Adventures - 8
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
Jill sat on the large boulder, massaging her temples with both hands. The building headache and the freezing energy permeating her body made everything hurt.B2: GRIM Adventures - 8
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
She took a moment to process the story the strange creature calling itself 'Grim' had told them. Then, with a sigh, asked, "Okay, would you please explain this one more time? I feel like I'm missing some important context here…"
The floating metal creature wobbled in the air in a way Jill had come to interpret as excitement, but before Grim could speak, Jack did. "It's easy. She's an artificial spirit created by another artificial spirit who's come to conquer the planet on behalf of an advanced civilization from beyond the stars."
Jill turned to her brother and frowned. Jack wasn't even looking their way. Instead, he was staring up at the fiery tree, taking as many notes as possible in the old notebook he carried around.
She narrowed her eyes at the man, asking, "And you actually understood any of that?"
Jack laughed and shook his head. "Nope! Not a thing! You didn't ask what it meant, only what she said."
Jill stared at her brother in silence for a long moment before placing her head back in her hands. She loved her brother. Truly, she did. Yet, sometimes, she honestly worried about him…
Such concerns were as old as the siblings were, however. Right now, she had other issues to deal with. Things like what to do with their companion. Jill might not have fully understood what the creature was saying or the full impact of her story, but she could deduce enough. Enough to be worried.
Either the creature was telling the truth, which would have far-reaching implications that Jill didn't have the energy to consider.
Or Grim was totally insane, which would come with its own headaches.
Once the pounding in her head eased slightly, Jill looked up at Grim. "Ignoring the details, which I really feel like is a bad idea, you're saying you're on a job for your boss. Correct?"
"Yep!" came Grim's response.
"To retrieve his… arm?" Jill followed up.
"Yep!" Grim repeated.
"So… where is this arm?" Jill asked.
"No idea!" Grim said cheerfully.
"…. and your 'Boss'?" Jill asked, already suspecting she knew the answer.
"No idea! The last time I talked to him was when he sent me the lexicon of the local language. That's the thing that lets me talk to you!" Grim responded, bobbing up and down in the air.
"… Right…" Jill sighed. Of course she didn't know. That would have been too easy.
In many ways, speaking to Grim felt like Jill was speaking to one of the small children in the clan compound. If the creature's story was true, that might not be too far off, either.
"What about the gopher? How does he play into all of this?" Jill asked after a moment to collect her thoughts.
"Mr. Gopher? Oh, he attacked the Boss and me shortly after landing! It was a grand battle where I heroically sacrificed myself to lead Mr. Gopher away while the Boss escaped! That's also when I… uhhh… 'misplaced' the Boss' arm."
Grim turned to the gopher and waved.
Said gopher, who was currently sitting on the top-most branches of the tree in a lotus position, opened one eye and peered down at her, then returned to their meditation.
Jill looked up at the gopher and shook her head. Of everything in their story so far, Jill found this was by far the most believable part. The gopher had a mean streak, that was was for sure. She wasn't sure if she should be worried about that or not…
She turned back to Grim. "So let me get this straight. You got attacked. Separated from your… Boss? Then decide to follow your attacker around?"
Grim looked away, tapping the fingers on her small arms together. Her small, chubby limbs, especially compared to the rest of Grim's massive body, only heightened the illusions of a young child in Jill's mind.
Jill absently wondered if that was an intentional design choice by Grim's creators, or if it was simply Jill projecting that image onto the creature.
She tried speaking to Grim like she would one of the clan children. "Look… Grim. You can't just follow random people around. What if… Mr. Gopher—" Jill sighed again…"—had been a bad guy? What if he'd tried attacking you again?"
Grim gasped, "Mr. Gopher wouldn't do that! Right?!" She looked back up the meditating gopher. The gopher didn't open their eyes this time, only wiggled their hand back and forth as if to say he'd thought about it.
Grim sunk to the ground in defeat.
"Moreover," Jill continued, "why did you follow us?" she pointed to herself and Jack. "We could have been just as bad."
Grim raised her hand in the air and waved it around. "Oh! Oh! I know this one!"
Jill raised an eyebrow, and Grim continued speaking as if she was reading from a document. "Federation regulation requires all operational AI to be under the care of an Overseer. If no overseer is available, operational AI are to seek the nearest qualifying sapient to act as an intermediate overseer until such time that proper control can be passed on."
(Author's Note: As a reminder, operational AI is the Federation term for non-sapient AI, compared to Sapient AI.)
Jill raised an eyebrow at that. "And we qualify for this? Why?"
Grim folded her arms and bobbed up and down. "All Federation civilians without a criminal record qualify as intermediate overseers until a federal employee can be located."
Jill rubbed the bridge of her nose and responded. "Grim… I hate to tell you this, but neither I nor Jack are… Federation civilians. We live in Halirosa, an independent city-state. I've never even heard of this 'Federation' of yours."
Grim shrugged in a way that Jill instantly knew she had stolen from Jack. "All non-hostile civilians of a world on which an Annexation Unit lands, are automatically registered as Federation civilians."
Jill wasn't sure if she should be worried about how smug the AI sounded about that, or about how she was learning its mannerisms enough to tell.
She shoved the worrying implications of Grim's claim away and instead chose to play along for now. "Then tell me, little miss, if we're 'new civilians, how would you know if we had a criminal record or not?"
Grim raised an arm, but paused. "That's because… ummm, I mean… that's… actually a… good… point…"
Again, the AI sunk in defeat.
Jill rubbed her temples, feeling her headache intensify. Grim floated over and patted the woman on her back. Jill glared up at Grim, and the AI slowly floated backward.
After another long moment, Jill finally spoke. "Here's the problem, Grim. Jack and I are on our own quest right now. One of utmost importance. While I'm sure your… boss would appreciate his arm back, we can't just stop what we're doing to help you go look for it."
Grim froze, then softly asked. "But what am I supposed to do? I need to get Boss' arm back…"
"Jill…" Jack said, glancing up from his notebook.
"Jack, I know. But we can't just wander off looking for this arm, especially when we do not know where it is. You know what's at stake if we can't find the [Pure Water] spring."
Jack tucked the notepad into his robe and nodded. "I haven't lost sight of what we need to do. Nonetheless, you can't deny how much help Grim—" angry chittering from above cut him off. Jack looked up at the flaming gopher and smiled. "—and Mr. Gopher, have been on that quest. Even if we don't find the spring this time, what we've gathered is more than enough to hire a team of seekers for the next attempt. The least we can do is keep an eye out for anything suspicious and arm-shaped. Besides, it sounds like she'll just go find someone else if we turn her away. You know what kind of people adventurers are. Do you really trust them with her? Knowing the things she can do?"
Jill frowned. Jack wasn't wrong. Where before they were in a desperate time crunch, Grim's storage ability and the gopher's nose for treasure meant that wasn't necessarily true anymore. Their troubles weren't over. Not by a long shot. Yet, now they had wiggle room, in no small part thanks to their two companions. It would be a shame to lose them now, and a part of her was reluctant to admit they had been growing on her. Even the bloodthirsty gopher.
Jill grumbled, but after a moment, thinking things over, her shoulders sagged, and she sighed. "Fine! Fine. We'll keep an eye and ear out. But no promises! The [Pure Water] spring comes first. We might not be in such a tight spot anymore, but that doesn't mean we can change course all of a sudden."
"Yaaaaay!" Jack and Grim mirrored each other, high-fiving each other in victory.
Jill pitched the bridge of her nose. Sisters above, there were two of them now…
She pointed at them both. "Look, just because I said we would keep an eye out, doesn't—"
ROOOOAR!
Jill was cut off by a massive roar from around the bend of the mountain pass. Both Jack and Jill turned around, eyes wide and weapons at the ready.
"What was that?!" Jack asked,
"Not a clue, but it sounded big. And close. I told you we should have left before the tree attracted something!" Jill responded.
Grim raised her hand and waved it in the air again. "Oh! I know this one, too! That sounded like Little Red!"
Jill paused and turned to look at Grim. "… Little who, now?"
ROOOOAR!
As if in answer, another roar echoed off the cliff walls, this time much closer. Jill could even feel the ground tremble slightly as something rushed up the path. Both siblings tensed as, the next moment, an enormous figure rounded the bend.
"Is that a Lykos?!" Jack yelled.
"I've never seen a Lykos that big!" Jill yelled back.
'Big' was an understatement. The drolling, snarling creature that had shot around the bend was several times larger than any Lykos either of the experienced adventurers had ever seen. If a common Lykos stood slightly shorter than an adult human man, this creature easily topped six meters while on all fours.
At the same time, it somehow looked emaciated, like it hadn't had a good meal in months. The dripping blood and bits of gore clinging to its muzzle told a different story, though they only added to the creature's savage look.
When the giant creature rounded the bend, it skidded to a stop and growled, taking in the surrounding scene. The ruined 'building,' the withered body of the old woman, and the giant, burning tree. Finally, its eyes locked on Jill. Little Red's pupils dilated, and it growled a deep, rumbling growl before roaring one more and charging.
Dozens of thick, woody vines erupted in its path as magic circles surrounded Jack. They surrounded Little Red, arresting its charge, but not for long. The massive creature strained against the vines with surprising strength, given its emaciated form, and soon they broke one by one. The spell had bought Jill some time, and she took a heavy step forward, punching the air in front of her.
A chilling wind blew, and hundreds of needle-thin shards of ice formed in the air, shooting toward the Lykos at high speed.
As the rain of ice needles approached, countless red tendrils, as fine as a hair, erupted from Little Red's shoulder blades. They quickly wove themselves into the Blood-Cloak's signature cloak, which moved to block Jill's attack.
That wasn't good. A Blood-Cloak's power was said to be proportional to the size of their cloak. A typical pack member might only reach a few feet when at rest, while an alpha's might stretch to the middle of their back.
This thing's cloak billowed behind it for meters, like a conquering general's.
Where the hell had something like this come from?! There's no way it was natural.
A row of thick wooden spikes broke out of the ground along its path, angled like pikemen attempting to spear a group of charging calvary. The Lykos didn't even slow as its cloak reached out and cut through the wooden spears like butter.
Jill's eyes went wide, and she turned to Jack. "This isn't working! Head of the pass further up! We need to limit how it can move!"
The narrow pass would be their only chance. They just had to limit the space the creature had to attack, or better yet, collapse the pass on top of it.
Jack nodded, and both turned to run in the opposite direction.
Little Red, perhaps seeing this as his prey fleeing in terror, howled in delight and sped up, chasing after the fleeing pair in large, bounding strides.
As Little Red passed under the branches of the burning tree, something happened that none of them had expected.
A flaming meteor dropped from the sky and slammed directly into the Lykos' head.
Little Red yelped in pain as the meteor drove the massive creature to the ground, redirecting all of its momentum into a forward slide. Jill skidded to a stop, turned, and stared as the 'meteor' rematerialized into the form of a… gopher?
Mr. Gopher stood atop the Lykos' head, smirking, their arms folded.
The next moment, the burning gopher was thrown off as Little Red pushed themselves out of the small crater that had formed. The Lykos shook their head, and their glowing red eyes locked onto the much smaller form of Mr. Gopher. Little Red growled, then roared, producing a shockwave strong enough that Jill was pushed back several feet.
Mr. Gopher only narrowed their eyes and raised a small paw.
In the same motion, a gargantuan hand of stone, laced with burning lines of magma, erupted from the ground beside Little Red and slammed into the Lykos' head.
Once more, the giant creature was driven into the ground as it skidded across the pass floor and hit the cliff wall.
As the dust settled, Mr. Gopher calmly walked toward the prone figure of Little Red as the Lykos struggled to stand.
Jill's eye twitched slightly as she watched. The way the gopher walked and the evil smirk on its face reminded her of some of the gang enforcers back in Halirosa. It was the overconfident stride of someone who knew they were stronger than their prey.
Little Red's ears pressed flat against his skull as it bared blood-covered, broken fangs. The Lykos tried to back up, but it was blocked by the cliff face behind it.
In one last attempt to intimidate the approaching foe, the Lykos' cloak unweaved, turning into a swarming, writhing mass of waving tendrils as Little Red roared.
The gopher only smirked and flared their aura.
Between the one blink of an eye and the next, the world took on a red hue as the temperature jumped to uncomfortable levels. The once-dying fires scattered around the ruins of the house flared to new life, and the burning tree swayed in an invisible wind.
A firestorm surrounded the gopher before resolving into a pair of massive burning… wings? Ones far larger than even the Lykos.
Then, as quickly as it had begun, the world returned to normal.
Jill blinked and shook her head. The memory of the strange phenomenon felt like a misty dream, even though it had only been a heartbeat prior. When her head felt a little clearer, she turned back toward the gopher.
Little Red was pressed up against the side of the cliff, their body shivering intensely as they tried in vain to hide beneath their paws and cloak. All signs of the fierce beast were gone, replaced by a whimpering animal trying its best to pretend it was anywhere but here.
"Is it over?" Grim called, emerging from her hiding spot behind the large tree.
Mr. Gopher glanced over at Grim, then back to the cowering Little Red, and frowned. After a moment, he sighed. His form flickered, and the gopher reappeared atop Grim. He then reached inside and pulled out a large [Fourth Circle] beast carcass and tossed it across the pass with a heave. It landed with a thud and skidded to a halt before the Lykos.
Little Red's ears perked up, and it lifted its head, its large eyes instantly locking onto the dressed carcass. The creature began drooling almost immediately as it lunged to its feet, jaws opening wide enough that Jill could have sworn they unhinged.
Before it bit down, though, the Lykos froze and pulled back, its ears flat against its head. Nervously, it glanced toward Mr. Gopher, its emaciated body shaking. Mr. Gopher narrowed his eyes and nodded.
The Lykos pounced on the carcass with all the fervor of a starving man. Which, in retrospect, Jill thought, was a likely thing.
Jack slowly walked up beside his sister, neither able to tear their eyes away from the primal sight.
"So… that just happened," he said.
"Yep…" came her response.
"Do you think…" he asked.
Jill sighed, "The only thing I'm thinking is that we should get out of here before 'Little Red' over there finishes."
Jack flinched at the sound of squelching meat and breaking bones before nodding in agreement.
The pair turned away and quickly made their escape up the mountain pass, Grim and the gopher riding atop her, joining them as they walked by.
———————————————————
The group made it halfway through the pass on their way toward the next mountain when the sound of heavy footsteps from behind caused them to pause.
Jill pinched the bridge of her nose, part of her knowing what she would find if she turned around, but the rest of her desperately wishing it wasn't so.
Even so, the soft whimpering eventually forced her to turn around, and she sighed in defeat.
There, a hundred meters back, trying to make themselves look as small as possible, Little Red crouched in the shadows of the cliff face. The rest of the group turned as well, with Jack breaking out into laughter at the sight.
Knowing it was caught, Little Red pressed itself against the pass floor and whimpered louder, its ears flat against its head.
As one, Mr. Gopher, Jack, and Grim all turned to Jill.
Jill paused, her eyes growing wide. "No! Absolutely not!"
"Oh, come on, Jill! You've always wanted a dog!" Jack moaned.
"Yes, a dog! Not whatever the hell that thing is! I'm not even sure it can be called a Lykos anymore!" Jill yelled back.
"Bah! Semantics!" Jack dismissed her concern. "Besides, it's not like either of us will be the one to watch him, anyway. Right?" He continued, turning to Mr. Gopher.
The gopher gave an evil grin, then turned to Little Red and whistled.
When or where he'd learned to do such a thing, Jill hadn't the slightest clue.
Little Red perked up at the sound, their tail wagging. The enormous creature stood and raced toward them. It stopped just short of the group and sat on its haunches, tail wagging and tongue flapping. Little Red gave a sharp bark, doing its best impersonation of the friendly neighborhood dog…
If said dog was six meters tall, walked like a gorilla, and would happily use three out of the four of them as chew toys. Jill glanced at Grim and her heavily armored body. Well, maybe two out of four.
Grim, totally oblivious to the hungry look the Lykos was giving her, threw her arms up and yelled "Yaaaaay!" before floating forward and giving the massive creature scratches atop its head.
Mr. Gopher nodded sagely and hopped from Grim's back to Little Red's head.
Jack turned to his sister and smiled widely.
He laughed and said, "Oh, stop worrying. I'm sure it'll be fine," before confidently walking toward the creature that had tried to eat him no less than an hour before.
Jill threw her hands into the air and turned away, once more walking toward their next destination.
"You know what? Fine! I give up! I'm not worrying about it anymore!" she called behind her.
Jack gave her a thumbs up and responded. "See! That's the spirit!"
———————————————————————————————————————————
———————————————————————————————————————————
- Location
- Earth: Universe Meta - 1
And now we see what a true Progenitor can do, and why people thought Alpha was one. It's funny, since Jack and Jill are actually the least powerful of the group. I almost feel sorry for any bandits they run across.
B2 - Lesson 16: "Good allies; oil to the machine."
————————————————————————
B2 - Lesson 16: "Good allies; oil to the machine."
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
B2 - Lesson 16: "Good allies; oil to the machine."
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
"Dungeon Core?" Alpha asked.
Antchaser's eyes widened, and he fell to his knees, placing his head against the stone floor.
"I apologize, your eminence! I know that is the more… crude term used by the adventurers; this one is but a humble hunter from a small village. The proper terms elude me," the cowering man said.
"Hmmmm…" Alpha considered. There was an opportunity here. The goblin's change in attitude between when he thought Alpha was 'just' a talking ant and this 'Dungeon Core' was extreme.
After a moment's pause, Alpha spoke, "Stand. Tell me what you know of 'Dungeon Cores,' as you call them."
Antchaser paused and stood, though his brow furrowed in confusion. After all, why would a dragon ask a human about dragons? However, their eyes widened after thinking over the question for a moment.
Could it be… a test of sorts? That made some sense to Antchaser. After all, he'd just admitted to not being very knowledgeable on the matter.
Antchaser straightened his back and tried to look as professional as possible before speaking. "V-very well, your eminence. Though, I beg your forgiveness if what I say isn't completely accurate. Much of what I know, I have only heard from stories. After all, what child didn't grow up on such legends?"
"Yes, yes, continue," Alpha said.
Antchaser coughed into their hands and did so.
"Thank you, sir. As I understand it, despite their longevity, even [Firmament Breaker] or [Magi] are not immortal. Eventually, they must either test themselves against the Firmament… or face Heaven's wrath. When the time comes, many wish to leave something for their descendants so that others can follow in their footsteps. Or should they fall, that their legacy isn't lost. To this end, they can portion off a part of themselves into an artificial core. This core then becomes the guiding intelligence for these gifts. Whether they're called Mage Trials, Cultivator inheritances, or, as the adventurers call them, simply 'Dungeons,' they all refer to the same thing. Places of trial and testing to find those worthy of what was left behind."
Antchaser paused and glanced up at Alpha. The AI said nothing to dispute the goblin's claims, so he continued with a bit more confidence.
"These 'Dungeon Cores', again, I apologize that this one doesn't know the proper term, set trials, create treasures, and choose those that are worthy to serve them. All toward the aim of uplifting those who come after. As for the unworthy…"
Antchaser swallowed hard. What he had said was the truth, as well as he knew it. Everyone grew up on stories of Dungeons, just as much as Fallen Stars and Dragon Hoards. Every child, even those from a small village like his own, dreamt of one day stumbling across some unknown dungeon and being deemed worthy of the gifts inside. But as much as such places were filled with artifacts and treasures beyond imagining, so held they dangers that filled those same children's dreams with nightmares.
After all, regardless of what they were called, one theme rang true through all the stories.
Power unearned was far more dangerous.
"Hmmmm…" Alpha waited, but the goblin seemed to be finished. Not as much as he had been hoping for, but he could work with this. It helped the goblin's explanation was oddly… fitting. Alpha made a note to look for more information regarding these 'Dungeon Cores.' If such places truly existed, they sounded like literal treasure troves.
Alpha's favorite kind!
"Good enough, 'Antchaser,' was it?" Alpha said.
The goblin breathed an audible sigh of relief, the slight trimmer in his body easing. "Y-yes, sir. My second name even!" the goblin responded, puffing out their chest slightly.
"Oh?" Alpha asked, not out of genuine curiosity but more of a passing thought.
Antchaser seemed to take that as an invitation, however, as the goblin grinned from ear to ear in response. "Yes, Sir! I earned it not too long ago. A pack of Ironfurs had been terrorizing the forest, and I devised a way to pit them against the Demon Ants. For my success, the village elders granted me…my… new…"
The goblin's voice slowly softened, and his eyes grew a size wider, likely realizing what he had just admitted to. Antchaser's wide eyes slowly tracked a few of the IV-2s wandering through the chamber, performing various tasks.
A smirk crept into Alpha's voice. "Oh? So that was you, was it?"
Antchaser immediately threw themselves back to the ground and cried out. "I apologize, your eminence! I was unaware the ant colony belonged to your grace! If I had—"
"It's fine." Alpha cut the man off. "I can appreciate the wisdom of using the resources available to you. Even if those resources are not strictly your own."
Alpha was an expert in such things, in fact!
It wasn't like he'd lost anything in the attack, anyway. It had been before the antborg project had really kicked off. Not only that, but he'd gained some important information in the process.
"That said," Alpha continued, "You've given me some ideas to our little… problem. You mentioned other hunters, yes?"
Sure, Alpha could swarm the village with [Wasps] or send the antborgs to take care of the adventurers. But that would be a waste of resources. Besides, the current drones and IV-2s were being used for other projects, while the V-2s still wouldn't be ready for a few more days.
"Haha, haha haha, Hahahahhahahaha!" Alpha laughed out loud as the framework of a plan started forming in his mind. If he was going to play the part of the wise old taskmaster, he might as well go all in, right?
Antchaser laughed nervously along, a cold sweat dripping down his back. Internally, he wondered if he was making a terrible mistake…
—————————————————
————————
16 Hours Later
————————
Boarslayer roared as she swung her axe into the magical construct, dissipating it into stray mana with a single swing. Not before the marionette-like construct drew another bloody line on the large goblin's chest, adding to the patchwork of existing wounds. The iron armor she'd always been so proud of lay scattered in pieces around the battlefield. Some of it destroyed by the enemy attacks, others discarded to save stamina or ease movement.
Boarslayer backed away, panting. Her thick arms felt heavy as iron, and she'd lost count of how many times she'd swung her axe by that point. Not that she could count very high in the first place. She was a hunter, a warrior! What need had she of larger numbers than what she could count at a glance?
A magic circle carved itself into the ground before her, and another puppet began to rise out of the earth. Boarslayer had been called… slow, by some. Borish even. But she wasn't stupid. Not where it counted. She'd been observing the puppets over the course of the battle and knew they would take a few seconds to fully form.
She had been using that time to rest and recover some… and to lead the enemy into a false sense of security. If she kept it up, though, she really wouldn't be able to do anything. It was now or never. Her frown deepened, and the grip on her axe tightened as she gathered spirit energy into the soles of her feet.
Boarslayer roared, then did what she did best.
She charged, stepping over the rising magic circle and almost teleporting across the dozen or so meters between her and the puppet mage. The scrawny human's eyes went wide as 6'7" of goblin muscle and rage appeared in front of him, her axe raised high in a downward, two-handed swing.
However, the mage's surprise was soon replaced by a smirk as the monstrous blow met a solid field of shielding mana. Boarslayer roared louder as she strained against the energy shield, and it cracked under the pressure… only to explode outward the next moment.
Boarslayer was thrown backward, and she hit the ground hard, coming down on her arm at a bad angle. A sharp pain caused her mind to flash white for a brief moment. Long enough that she barely had time to roll away before a thick arrow slammed into the ground where she had just lay.
"Hey! This one is mine! You had your fun!" the mage called to one of their two companions. Both were leaning against a nearby tree, watching the show.
The offending archer tsked and lowered their bow. "Well, hurry up, mage boy! We're already late!"
The mage sneered back, "Screw you! The Hob is a tough nut, and Bosco said he wanted as many hunters alive as possible! You already killed one—" he gestured to the half a dozen goblins lying on the other side of the clearing, one of whom had an arrow sticking out of their eye. The rest were in various states of injury, with only Boarslayer able to still fight. The mage continued, "—and this one looks like she'd know where the good stuff is."
"Besides," said the third, a large man in heavy armor, a bottle of whisky in his hands, "I'm looking forward to having my own… fun with her later."
The archer gave the armored man a disgusted look and shook his head. "I'll never understand your tastes."
The armored man grinned and took a deep pull from his bottle before responding. "What can I say? I like them feisty."
The mage sighed and turned to Boarslayer, his arms outstretched as he spoke. "He brings up a good point, though, goblin gal. How long are you going to keep this up for? We both know you've already lost. Just surrender now; I can promise the Boss will let you live. As long as you answer his questions, that is. If not…"
The mana puppet, now fully formed, turned. Not toward Boarslayer, but toward the other goblins lying on the other side of the clearing. "I might not want to kill you, but I'm sure whatever information you have will more than cover for any that your friends could provide. It would mean an easier time dragging you lot back to the village, too."
Boarslayer stood on shaking legs and snarled. No, she wasn't stupid. She knew this wasn't a fight she could win. It never had been. But dammit, her pride as a warrior wouldn't let her surrender like this. If she couldn't save her people… then maybe she could do the next best thing.
The puppet slowly walked toward the goblins as the mage spoke, "Last chance." Boarslayer gave the trio one last seething glare before she pulled out the large carving knife strapped to her leg.
Then she placed it against her own neck.
Maybe she couldn't beat the adventurers, but she could ensure these bastards didn't get what they wanted, either.
The mage's eyes widened, and he raised a hand. "Wait, hold on just a minute! No need for that!"
The ranger started laughing hysterically while the armored man simply shrugged and took another swig.
Boarslayer's glare morphed into a sneer as her bulging arms tensed.
Bang!
Thunder echoed through the forest, causing all four to freeze. In the same instance, the mana puppet exploded, seemingly for no reason at all.
"What the hell?!" the mage called.
"Enemy attack!" the ranger responded, grabbing his bow and quiver and taking a low stance.
"About time! I was getting bored!" the armored man roared, throwing away his bottle and picking up the heavy mace on the ground beside him.
Boarslayer only stared at the spot where the mana puppet had been, her eyes wide, the knife still digging into the flesh of her neck.
"Where did it come from?!" asked the armored man.
"No idea! I didn't sense any mana or spirit signals at all!" said the mage.
"Stay together! They're using the forest for cover! Keep an ey—"
Bang, bang!
The ranger's words were cut off as twice more thunder sounded. Blood spurted from the man's chest as he was knocked to the ground. The ranger struggled to sit up as he coughed up a mouth full of blood, two large holes appearing in the leather armor on his chest.
Bang!
The next instant, the man's head exploded in a gory fountain. His hand grasped at the empty air for a second before his body realized it was dead and collapsed to the ground.
"Nine Hells!" the mage cried, his voice cracking.
"There!" the armored man yelled, pointing into the forest with his mace.
From the tree line, a figure emerged. No… two figures. Not one any of them had been expecting, however; for out of the forest walked an… ant?
And atop the ant stood a small humanoid figure. The figure wore strange, black armor, vaguely reminiscent of the ant's own carapace, with segmented plates along the vitals, but with a thin, silky-looking material covering the rest of their body so that no skin was exposed.
The 'helmet,' for no creature could have a head like this, was just as strange. It was a sleek, almost smooth-looking ovaloid, with no distinguishing markings past the lightly glowing, horizontal band separating top from bottom. A single, bright red 'eye' glowed menacingly in the middle of this band. The 'eye' flickered back and forth between the three remaining figures, shrinking and expanding in odd ways.
Two long lengths of strange black rope extended from the base of the figure's neck and connected to the ant they stood atop.
Finally, in their arms, they held a strange item that none of them could place. The long, sleek-looking weapon was held with both arms, but not in the way one would a sword or axe. Instead, the figure held it in the crook of their arm, like it was a small child or staff.
The armored human snarled at the unknown figure and raised their massive mace. Then, with a charge that, in any other situation, would have impressed Boarslayer, he rushed the ant and its rider.
The mage didn't stand still either. They raised their staff as a dozen spell circles filled the air and tiny fireballs raced over the armored man's head toward their target.
The ant moved in a way Boarslayer knew ants shouldn't be able to, as it nimbly dodged the fireballs. At the same time, the figure atop the ant's back raised its strange weapon and pointed it at the armored man.
Bang! Bang, bang!
The armored man's charge stopped short as something slammed into him, ripping open gaping holes in their thick plate armor. He stumbled, then fell to his knees, spewing blood. The mage paused their assault and stared, mouth agape. The armored man struggled back to his feet and raised his mace. He spit out a mouth full of blood and charged again, but it was no use. Another round of thunder echoed, and the armored man fell backward, several more holes in his armor appearing from seemingly nowhere.
He didn't get back up this time.
"Auuuagh!" the mage yelled, panic filling his eyes as he turned and ran toward the clearing's edge.
The mysterious figure raised their weapon again, but this time, nothing happened. Seemingly confused, the figure turned their strange weapon in their hands before gesturing to the ant. Though if something was said, Boarslayer was too far away to hear it.
Not that it mattered, though. Snarling, Boarslayer grabbed the axe at her feet and stood. Then, with the last of her strength and a bellowing roar, she threw the axe toward the fleeing mage.
The axe whistled through the air, spinning head-over-handle fast enough that it became a blur.
The mage turned around at the last moment, their eyes wide.
Then, one mage became two halves.
The blood-soaked axe continued on before sinking deep into one of the massive trees of the forest.
Boarslayer grinned from ear to ear before collapsing to her knee.
The world around her buzzed, and everything sounded muffled for a few moments. A combination of blood loss, exhaustion, and spirit deprivation she was well familiar with. She soon sensed someone approaching her and, with a snarl, she turned, holding the carving knife out.
As expected, the mysterious figure had approached. They were no longer standing on the ant, which was several meters away. Their hands were also empty of the strange weapon. Instead, they raised them in the air as if to show they were unarmed. Where it had gone, she didn't know.
Not that Boarslayer thought she could beat whoever this stranger was. She'd seen the way he'd wiped the floor with the adventurers. No, she was simply tired of all this. If she was going to die, then she was at least going to do some damage, no matter how small.
"Hey now, Boarslayer, no need for any of that. We're here to help," an oddly familiar voice said from beneath the strange helmet. Not that she could place it; the blood loss was starting to make her brain fuzzy.
Slowly, the mysterious figure reached up and pressed the side of their helmet with two fingers. There was a hiss, and the helmet folded back strangely, like plates sliding over one another, and the figure's face was revealed.
A… goblin? How did that make any sense at all?!
Not just any goblin, either. Antchaser. That scrawny bastard who was always trying to poke his nose into her hunts! Hadn't some hunters said he'd got caught trying to sneak into the village?! What was going on?! Boarslayer tilted her head and furrowed her brow.
Antchaser only grinned ear to ear at the look on her face.
Before he could say anymore, however, Boarslayer's eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she collapsed in front of him.
- Location
- Earth: Universe Meta - 1
Hah. Alpha's shtick really is giving gifts to the natives, and letting them do the dirty work for him.
Kids and the ones with mental flexibility get awesome powers. The rest get PTSD from his antics. Especially since there's zero requirement of actual responsibility for them to get that power.
Kids and the ones with mental flexibility get awesome powers. The rest get PTSD from his antics. Especially since there's zero requirement of actual responsibility for them to get that power.
Important Announcement and going forward. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR FEED BACK IN COMMENTS!
PLEASE LEAVE YOUR FEED BACK IN COMMENTS!
Its important that I hear from readers and get feedback on what you would want seen done and how.
———————
While I know that Vets, Adventurers and Free Readers have yet to see the latest chapter, it includes a part I'm calling "The Alpha Logs"
These are small, first-person journal style entries by Alpha I'm hoping will help to smooth out the pacing between the shorter time skips. Think of them as Alpha writing reports for the general to be read later.
I have to admit, I really like the idea, as they serve several purposes.
———————
1). They give a better sense of the passage of time. A big complaint I've had from multiple people.
2). They offer a better way to explain some concepts and events without having to resort to exposition.
3). They give a clearer view of Alpha's thought processes and why he does what he does. This would be a good way to show the progression in Alpha's soul damage in the first book as well.
———————
There are more, but these are the three big ones I'm my option.
I'm strongly considering going back and retconning these into a lot of the chapters.
Examples of sections likely to be replaced with Alpha Logs (not a full list).
- The first part of Alpha's section of Lesson 7: "Beware of Chicken."
- The last bit of Arc 2 Prologue: "First Contact"
- Parts of Lesson 25: "Taxi Services cost extra."
- Alpha's sections of Lesson 51: "Often, the best solution to a roadblock in life, is through it"
- Latter half of B2 - Lesson 3: "Greet the neighbors."
- Parts of B2 - Lesson 10: "Mourn the fallen, but march ever forward."
Essentially, if its a narration to explain events that happened off-screen, It'll likely get an Alpha Log instead. Not all of them, but definitely where appropriate.
This is NOT going to full rewrites, and not every chapter is going to get them. Instead, think back to a few sections where it felt like it was just one long narrator exposition explaining this or that.
Those are the target sections for these "Alpha Logs."
That said, here's the part some people aren't going to like. This is going to be a lot of work.
So much that I'm going to take the next few weeks off to really do this right.
Unfortunately, that means no new chapters until this project is done.
On the flip side, since this isn't full rework of the chapters, and only certain chapters will see it done, It won't take nearly as long. I can easily get 3-5 Alpha Logs added in a single work day. Maybe more, if they're smaller ones.
I'm still debating whether or not I should focus on getting Book 1 finished and to amazon, or if I should just add these to Book 2 right now, and do the editing for Book 1 in my free time.
THE CURRENT PLAN Is to go week by week, with regular updates, posted to Patreon before becoming public.
Thanks for everyone's understanding in this, and wish me luck!
Its important that I hear from readers and get feedback on what you would want seen done and how.
———————
While I know that Vets, Adventurers and Free Readers have yet to see the latest chapter, it includes a part I'm calling "The Alpha Logs"
These are small, first-person journal style entries by Alpha I'm hoping will help to smooth out the pacing between the shorter time skips. Think of them as Alpha writing reports for the general to be read later.
I have to admit, I really like the idea, as they serve several purposes.
———————
1). They give a better sense of the passage of time. A big complaint I've had from multiple people.
2). They offer a better way to explain some concepts and events without having to resort to exposition.
3). They give a clearer view of Alpha's thought processes and why he does what he does. This would be a good way to show the progression in Alpha's soul damage in the first book as well.
———————
There are more, but these are the three big ones I'm my option.
I'm strongly considering going back and retconning these into a lot of the chapters.
Examples of sections likely to be replaced with Alpha Logs (not a full list).
- The first part of Alpha's section of Lesson 7: "Beware of Chicken."
- The last bit of Arc 2 Prologue: "First Contact"
- Parts of Lesson 25: "Taxi Services cost extra."
- Alpha's sections of Lesson 51: "Often, the best solution to a roadblock in life, is through it"
- Latter half of B2 - Lesson 3: "Greet the neighbors."
- Parts of B2 - Lesson 10: "Mourn the fallen, but march ever forward."
Essentially, if its a narration to explain events that happened off-screen, It'll likely get an Alpha Log instead. Not all of them, but definitely where appropriate.
This is NOT going to full rewrites, and not every chapter is going to get them. Instead, think back to a few sections where it felt like it was just one long narrator exposition explaining this or that.
Those are the target sections for these "Alpha Logs."
That said, here's the part some people aren't going to like. This is going to be a lot of work.
So much that I'm going to take the next few weeks off to really do this right.
Unfortunately, that means no new chapters until this project is done.
On the flip side, since this isn't full rework of the chapters, and only certain chapters will see it done, It won't take nearly as long. I can easily get 3-5 Alpha Logs added in a single work day. Maybe more, if they're smaller ones.
I'm still debating whether or not I should focus on getting Book 1 finished and to amazon, or if I should just add these to Book 2 right now, and do the editing for Book 1 in my free time.
THE CURRENT PLAN Is to go week by week, with regular updates, posted to Patreon before becoming public.
Thanks for everyone's understanding in this, and wish me luck!
- Location
- Earth: Universe Meta - 1
Remember, depending on how you do it, Amazon has an exclusivity contract that requires you to remove Book 1 from all these sites. So, while you may get a larger audience on Amazon, it immediately stops new readers everywhere else.
If you could find a way to avoid the exclusivity contract for Book 1, you could use sites like this as a "free preview". Which is similar to what David Webber does for the Honor Harrington series. Where the first E-Book is free.
If you could find a way to avoid the exclusivity contract for Book 1, you could use sites like this as a "free preview". Which is similar to what David Webber does for the Honor Harrington series. Where the first E-Book is free.
ScottotheUnwise
Verified Crack (fic) Dealer
- Location
- Mulberry, Fl
Liking the story. I think Antchaser would make a fine local resource. If he could be fitted with an armor that was ant-shaped --or perhaps think vehicle-- he could be used as a teaching tool to the operational AI running the antborgs. Then he could go from Antchaser to Antfacer.
drooling
Editing Update + Check In.
Hey everyone! Hope you all had a good Christmas Break and New Years! It's been crazy for me! Not just because of Holidays, either. The last three weeks have been busy, as I've been working on the edits for book 1 Hurrah!
So far its been going well, with Arc 1 (before planetfall) finished and part of Arc 2 done already.
That said, Its going slower than I expected. Arc 1 was mostly grammar and structure overhauls. Rewording a few things, trimming others down. Overall its a lot cleaner and than before, hurrah!
To show you a bit of how things are going, I've updated the Half of Arc 1 with the finished, Edited Chapters on Royal Road! Hurrah! This includes the first "Alpha Log" at the end of Lesson 5!
As of right now, I'm ONLY updating chapters on Royal Road. Why? This way you guys can see the progress as I work, and I don't have to worry about updating 5 sites on the chance I have to go back and edit something again after the fact. Once the project is totally finished, I'll be able to go back and edit everything all in one go.
If you want to see it, I'll leave a link below. Go take a look and tell me what you think and how its progressing so far.
—————————
Book 1 - Lesson 5: "Do What You Must; Ask Forgiveness Later."
—————————
Arc 2 is proving to be a bit more difficult, and there's some major changes in the works. Nothing that would count as a rewrite, instead its mostly some reshuffling and pacing. I've taken a lot of the reader's feedback into consideration and trimmed down some of the fluff, while streamlined the issues with the shifts in perspective some.
We're still seeing events from multiple viewpoints. As I said before, this isn't JUST Alpha's story, but the story of the people around him and how he affect them. but you're less likely to get narrative whiplash this time around.
That's mostly where I'm at now. That said, I'm thinking of doing these updates more frequently, maybe twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. This would not only give you all better look at the process, but keep my head in the game as well.
I'm currently not sure if I'll be posting these "blogs" on all the sites or just Patreon though, so If you want to be kept up to date, head over to the patreon and join as a Free Member!
As a reminder, Patreon paid membership is still currently Frozen, so paid members don't end up getting charged while I work on this project.
So far its been going well, with Arc 1 (before planetfall) finished and part of Arc 2 done already.
That said, Its going slower than I expected. Arc 1 was mostly grammar and structure overhauls. Rewording a few things, trimming others down. Overall its a lot cleaner and than before, hurrah!
To show you a bit of how things are going, I've updated the Half of Arc 1 with the finished, Edited Chapters on Royal Road! Hurrah! This includes the first "Alpha Log" at the end of Lesson 5!
As of right now, I'm ONLY updating chapters on Royal Road. Why? This way you guys can see the progress as I work, and I don't have to worry about updating 5 sites on the chance I have to go back and edit something again after the fact. Once the project is totally finished, I'll be able to go back and edit everything all in one go.
If you want to see it, I'll leave a link below. Go take a look and tell me what you think and how its progressing so far.
—————————
Book 1 - Lesson 5: "Do What You Must; Ask Forgiveness Later."
—————————
Arc 2 is proving to be a bit more difficult, and there's some major changes in the works. Nothing that would count as a rewrite, instead its mostly some reshuffling and pacing. I've taken a lot of the reader's feedback into consideration and trimmed down some of the fluff, while streamlined the issues with the shifts in perspective some.
We're still seeing events from multiple viewpoints. As I said before, this isn't JUST Alpha's story, but the story of the people around him and how he affect them. but you're less likely to get narrative whiplash this time around.
That's mostly where I'm at now. That said, I'm thinking of doing these updates more frequently, maybe twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. This would not only give you all better look at the process, but keep my head in the game as well.
I'm currently not sure if I'll be posting these "blogs" on all the sites or just Patreon though, so If you want to be kept up to date, head over to the patreon and join as a Free Member!
As a reminder, Patreon paid membership is still currently Frozen, so paid members don't end up getting charged while I work on this project.
Arc 1 has been updated to its Final Draft!
Quick update for those who haven't been following the news on Royal Road, I'm still working on getting the Novel into working shape for Publishing on amazon. Progress is going well, but I'm trying to keep updates as minimal as possible and limited to big things, so the sites don't just get flooded with news posts.
That said; Arc 1 (Arc 1 Prologue - Arc 1 Epilogue) as been updated to the final draft.
Most of the changes for this first arc are grammatical, and focus mostly on standardizing some of the weirder things I was experimenting with in the beginning.
The most important changes are;
———————
1 - An up to date, and more detailed description of the TAWP (chapter 3)
2 - The addition of 'Alpha Logs' to chapters 5 and 7.
3 - The splitting of chapter 11 into 2 'parts' to help the narrative flow better (because of site restructions, both parts of chapter 11 share the same post, currently)
———————
Over all, I think the Arc has seen a great improvement, and I'm currently working on Arc two, which will see even more changes.
I'll make another post once I've got more to share!
That said; Arc 1 (Arc 1 Prologue - Arc 1 Epilogue) as been updated to the final draft.
Most of the changes for this first arc are grammatical, and focus mostly on standardizing some of the weirder things I was experimenting with in the beginning.
The most important changes are;
———————
1 - An up to date, and more detailed description of the TAWP (chapter 3)
2 - The addition of 'Alpha Logs' to chapters 5 and 7.
3 - The splitting of chapter 11 into 2 'parts' to help the narrative flow better (because of site restructions, both parts of chapter 11 share the same post, currently)
———————
Over all, I think the Arc has seen a great improvement, and I'm currently working on Arc two, which will see even more changes.
I'll make another post once I've got more to share!
B2 - Lesson 17: "Be your own Hero."
Annnnnnd We're Back!
Thanks for all the support so far, everyone!
(Before the chapter, a quick News post in case you missed it on RoyalRoad or Patreon)
First off, the biggest thing Is that chapters are starting up again! Hurrah!
"Osa, does that mean you're done Editing?!"
NOPE! NOT EVEN CLOSE QAQ.
The Editing is taking a lot longer to do than I anticipated, mostly do to having to restructure certain parts of the story. It IS progressing, just not at the rate I was planning for.
That said, I've made you all wait long enough!
So to compromise, I'm starting up chapters again this Monday! Hurrah!
Now, don't go celebrating so soon though. As part of the compromise, I'm afraid I have to shuffle the schedule around for a bit, so that I still have time to edit.
What this means is, releases are going down from 3 chapters per week, to 2.
Before you lynch me, I'll state this is a TEMPORARY arrangement, and once editing is finished, the schedule will return to the old 3 times a week one.
Until then, you can expect chapters on Tuesday and Thursdays!
"But Osa, I thought you said Monday?!"
I did! Surprise! To celebrate chapters starting back up, I have a special treat for you all!
I'm dipping into my Backlog and releasing a chapter a day next week. Monday to Friday!
Not only that, but I figured now would be a good time release the T4 ($10) "Field Commander" patreon rank, as voted by the Patreon Subscribers.
Like other ranks, this will be 3 chapters (a normal week) ahead of the previous rank, putting it at 12 chapters total ahead of the Free readers. This will drop on Monday, along side the first Bonus Chapter!
Looking forward to getting back to writing!
————————————————————————
B2 - Lesson 17: "Be your own Hero."
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————Alpha sighed in disappointment. He'd been hoping to capture the so-called 'mage' and… interrogate them. Jīshí had mentioned them before, but this had been the first time Alpha had seen one at work. The strange circles that had appeared in thin air reminded him of arrays, and he was eager to have a new reference point to study. More so since his own array-work had stalled.
Sure, he knew how to capture, store, and direct the environmental energy, but putting it to work was a whole other matter. Most of his experiments so far have been… explosive. Fun, sure, but not productive.
Unfortunately, it seemed the goblins were a bit trigger-happy. Axe happy? Either way, it meant Alpha would have to hope another 'volunteer' was waiting for them in the village. Not that he blamed the goblins for their reactions. One thing was abundantly clear between what Antchaser had told him and what his [Wasp] scouts had gathered.
These 'adventurers' were violent, cocky, and almost sadistic in their treatment of the goblins. Even each other in some instances. They reminded Alpha of the pirates that wandered the less patrolled parts of Federation space. If what Antchaser had told him was correct as well, then their modus operandi wasn't too different from each other, either.
That was fine by Alpha!
Federation military law gave Alpha full clearance to deal with pirates as he saw fit! That meant no need for pesky things like 'fair chance' warnings, 'right to trial,' or 'universal sapient rights' getting in the way.
Nope, the Federation held the firm stance that the moment a pirate or bandit decided to point their ship weapons at a civilian vessel, they lost all rights to any kind of fair treatment. Sure, they could always surrender or turn themselves in. Federation courts could be lenient if someone could prove extenuating circumstances. Sometimes, it was 'die at the hands of the pirates who boarded your ship'… or join them.
Though that meant surviving the initial encounter in the first place.
Besides, from what Alpha had observed, he doubted any of those particular laws applied here.
As for Antchaser, the goblin's training had gone surprisingly well. Training within a translight bubble was a tricky thing. Pushing the time dilation up to the level where it would be effective required huge amounts of power. Power Alpha was still working on. Currently, everything in the base was hooked directly into Alpha's power core.
While this latest model, Gen-IV power core, was technically strong enough to power a small city or run the TAWP and all its weapon systems nearly indefinitely, he'd run into an issue.
Storage.
The above scenarios assumed highs and lows in power usage, with advanced batteries used to store excess energy while keeping output at a constant and comfortable level. The power core wasn't meant to be drawn on constantly over longer periods of high activity. It was designed to charge batteries, filling or draining as power demands rose or decreased.
It was like plugging your devices directly into a generator. Sure, you could do it, but it would be inefficient. Connecting your generator to a larger battery bank and then your devices to the bank would be far better.
Alpha didn't have any batteries. At least not at any of the appropriate level. Not yet. Batteries of the kind he would need to make any difference were still a ways away.
So, with most of his energy output already taken up by the antborg incubator's translight bubbles, Alpha had little to spare.
With some clever use of VR and a jury-rigged 'infinity room,' however, they had condensed a relative-time month of basic Federation Reserves training into half a day of real-time. It was only a fraction of the time a real Federation soldier would spend, with expeditionary soldiers, in particular, spending years of relative time in training. Yet it was enough for the basics. Part of that was thanks to Antchaser's own drive. The young (Alpha assumed) man had pushed himself to extreme levels during their training. It likely helped that all of this fell neatly into the goblin's understanding of what a 'Dungeon Core' could do.
When they had finished, and Alpha had presented the Antchaser with a suit of Federation field armor, the young man had openly wept. Then again, given that his left eye wouldn't stop twitching and Alpha could see his muscles physically writhe under his skin, maybe the goblin was simply glad it was all over.
It hadn't been that bad! Sure, 'Hell Week' was different for AI, and Alpha had suppressed most of his memory involving his "special training" with SEAU - 03. Still, Alpha was sure that these biologicals just had a thing for overreacting.
If they didn't break you down, how were they ever supposed to build you back up?! (Sometimes literally!)
The armor Alpha had gifted the goblin was standard issue for all expeditionary soldiers. Waterproof, weatherproof, climate controlled, and rated against many small arms fire, from ballistic to explosive and even energy weapons! The design was so optimized that he'd even incorporated aspects of it, such as the improved plating, into the carapaces of the new V-2s.
Of course, that meant Alpha had to modify the humanoid armor some so that it matched.
Alpha might have been stuck on a barbaric planet, but that wasn't an excuse for sloppy aesthetics!
He also chose to pointedly ignore the current state of his 'Core Room.' It was still a work in progress!
After that, it had only been a matter of scouting the forest for signs of the other goblin hunters.
Unfortunately, the adventurers were doing the same, likely realizing that the common villagers didn't have the information they sought. By the time Alpha and Antchaser set out, the adventurers were already out in full force. The goblin hunters, recognizing that the village was no longer safe, had slowly coalesced into small groups spread out through the forest.
Of the 25 hunters out of the village at the time of the attack, Alpha and Anchaser had only rescued 11, including Boarslayer's group. The rest had already been captured or had… resisted, to disastrous results.
Most of those were severely injured and would need time in a med-pod before they could begin training. That was another issue they had to deal with. While Antchaser had been rather quick to accept Alpha's training and the new ideas he brought along, the other goblins were proving to be more… stubborn.
As a tribal society, the goblins were weary of the strange and alien concepts Alpha brought to the table. They were warriors and hunters, not shock troopers. Yet, they needed to learn if Alpha's plan was to work.
Alpha had seen what trying to play the 'hero' had gotten him. So this time, they would be their own heroes, with the support of the mysterious 'Dungeon Core' backer, of course. If his plan worked well, Alpha would have time to focus on the colony and build up his defenses while gaining an extra 'arm' he could use to reach out and touch someone. One that doubled as a shield if need be.
Yep. It was the classic "arm the enemy of my enemy" tactic. One practiced and perfected by humanity for millennia.
But, of course, in any such endeavor, there was always a… problem child.
—————————————————————
The large figure roared and rushed the three blank-helmeted figures, their weapon raised high above their head, like an expensive club. Two of the enemies crouched and pointed their weapons at the charging behemoth while a third raised an outstretched hand.
A shimmering hexagonal shield flashed into existence between them.
The two kneeling figures fired, their weapons cracking like thunder as bullets pinged off the surface of the charging figure's thick, heavy armor. A few bullets landed true, striking the larger figure's less protected areas around the thigh and shoulder, throwing blood into the air. But the heavy was undeterred.
With a roar, they reached the glowing barrier and slammed their weapon into it. The barrier held, if barely, the large pack on the standing enemy's back glowing brightly as it struggled to maintain the energy field. The heavy swung their weapon at the barrier again and again; all the while, the two kneeling figures peppered their frame from a point-blank range.
The barrier cracked and shattered on the fifth strike, though so did the heavy's weapon. They gave a cheer of victory… only for one enemy with the now smoking backpack to pull out a long cylinder and roll it toward them. The kneeling figures hastily pressed their fingers against their helmets, which darkened a shade.
Boom!
The battlefield lit up in like a star as the flashbang went off.
The heavy cried out in pain and rubbed at their eyes. The kneeling figures took the opening. Tossing their weapons aside, they acted as one and charged the heavy, each grabbing one of the figure's massive legs. Then, they lifted the servos in their own armor, working overtime to amplify their strength.
Slowly, the heavy's feet left the ground, and they toppled backward.
The two enemies who'd grabbed the heavy's legs scrambled forward and used their weight and augmented strength to pin the heavy's arms while the third removed a long metal rod from their backpack. They walked forward, jammed the rod into an opening in the heavy armor, then flipped a switch.
Electricity visibly raced down the length of the rod, and the heavy convulsed.
After far longer than should have been necessary, the heavy stopped moving, and the figure with the rod removed it.
The three figures cheered at their victory, and the two pinning the heavy's arms stood up.
That had been a mistake.
The heavy's hand suddenly shot out and wrapped around the backpack enemy's neck.
Crack!
The backpack enemy fell limp.
WHAM!
The heavy backhanded one of the two remaining enemies, causing them to fly through the air for several meters.
BANG!
Thunder sounded as a blood hole appeared in the heavy's head, the remaining enemy having had the presence of mind to draw their sidearm at the last second. The heavy snarled, then crumpled back to the ground.
//TIME!// came the voice from the heavens.
The world froze. Then, it flickered, and everything reset.
The damage from the battle was gone. The blood splatters on both side's armor vanished. And all three of the smaller figures stood to one side, cheering.
The larger, heavy, now whole and healthy, roared and threw her helmet to the ground.
"This is dragon dung! I would have won if your cheap weapons hadn't kept breaking!" Boarslayer rumbled.
Alpha sighed, though he could understand her frustration. After all, This was the third time in a row she'd lost.
Alpha turned to Antchaser, who was watching the simulated battle alongside him, and asked, "Is she always like this?"
Antchaser sighed as well as said, "Unfortunately, yes. Don't get me wrong, Boarslayer is likely the best warrior with the greatest battle-sense of all of us. But she is… stubborn in her ways."
Stubborn was an understatement, in Alpha's opinion.
It had been two days since Alpha had rescued the 11 goblins, Antchaser included. In that time, they'd undergone nearly three months of intense translight training. Most of them adapted quickly and had taken to the new equipment with gusto.
After all, they were all hunters and warriors by trade. They were used to the battlefield and could understand the benefits of what Alpha offered them.
The only outlier was the largest and strongest of them, Boarslayer. As Antchaser said, it wasn't as if she was stupid. Far from it. The woman showed a knack for the battlefield to such an extent that she could make even some Federation elites look like amateurs.
No, the problem was the woman insisted that the only 'proper' way to face the enemy was in a forward charge, meeting them strength for strength. She could out-maneuver, outplay, and trick even some of Alpha's stored simulacrums of elite Federation soldiers.
But she would throw away that advantage every single time to meet them head-on.
Like some kind of berserker OCD.
It had gotten to the point the other goblin teams were learning to use it to their advantage, leading to this result.
Alpha had tried speaking to her about it, though the conversation had been… interesting.
—————————————————————
"Ranged weapons are for cowards! Real warriors speak with their fists!"
"You split a man in two by throwing your axe!"
"Yes! My axe!"
"But you threw it!"
"Because it's an axe!"
—————————————————————
Suffice it to say, they got nowhere.
"I… may have a solution," Antchaser said.
"Oh?" Alpha responded.
Antchaser lifted a small tablet and pulled up a program. Alpha was slightly impressed by how quickly the small goblin adapted to the technology. In stark contrast to Boarslayer, the goblin devoured all the information Alpha had made available almost as quickly as the Slatewalker children.
Alpha pulled up what Antchaser wanted to show him.
Then, mentally grinned.
"Interesting… Yes… yes, this might work indeed." Alpha said.
He uploaded the design and turned back to Antchaser. "I'll get working on this. Gather the teams and tell them to get ready. We start the operation tonight."
Thanks for all the support so far, everyone!
(Before the chapter, a quick News post in case you missed it on RoyalRoad or Patreon)
First off, the biggest thing Is that chapters are starting up again! Hurrah!
"Osa, does that mean you're done Editing?!"
NOPE! NOT EVEN CLOSE QAQ.
The Editing is taking a lot longer to do than I anticipated, mostly do to having to restructure certain parts of the story. It IS progressing, just not at the rate I was planning for.
That said, I've made you all wait long enough!
So to compromise, I'm starting up chapters again this Monday! Hurrah!
Now, don't go celebrating so soon though. As part of the compromise, I'm afraid I have to shuffle the schedule around for a bit, so that I still have time to edit.
What this means is, releases are going down from 3 chapters per week, to 2.
Before you lynch me, I'll state this is a TEMPORARY arrangement, and once editing is finished, the schedule will return to the old 3 times a week one.
Until then, you can expect chapters on Tuesday and Thursdays!
"But Osa, I thought you said Monday?!"
I did! Surprise! To celebrate chapters starting back up, I have a special treat for you all!
I'm dipping into my Backlog and releasing a chapter a day next week. Monday to Friday!
Not only that, but I figured now would be a good time release the T4 ($10) "Field Commander" patreon rank, as voted by the Patreon Subscribers.
Like other ranks, this will be 3 chapters (a normal week) ahead of the previous rank, putting it at 12 chapters total ahead of the Free readers. This will drop on Monday, along side the first Bonus Chapter!
Looking forward to getting back to writing!
————————————————————————
B2 - Lesson 17: "Be your own Hero."
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
Sure, he knew how to capture, store, and direct the environmental energy, but putting it to work was a whole other matter. Most of his experiments so far have been… explosive. Fun, sure, but not productive.
Unfortunately, it seemed the goblins were a bit trigger-happy. Axe happy? Either way, it meant Alpha would have to hope another 'volunteer' was waiting for them in the village. Not that he blamed the goblins for their reactions. One thing was abundantly clear between what Antchaser had told him and what his [Wasp] scouts had gathered.
These 'adventurers' were violent, cocky, and almost sadistic in their treatment of the goblins. Even each other in some instances. They reminded Alpha of the pirates that wandered the less patrolled parts of Federation space. If what Antchaser had told him was correct as well, then their modus operandi wasn't too different from each other, either.
That was fine by Alpha!
Federation military law gave Alpha full clearance to deal with pirates as he saw fit! That meant no need for pesky things like 'fair chance' warnings, 'right to trial,' or 'universal sapient rights' getting in the way.
Nope, the Federation held the firm stance that the moment a pirate or bandit decided to point their ship weapons at a civilian vessel, they lost all rights to any kind of fair treatment. Sure, they could always surrender or turn themselves in. Federation courts could be lenient if someone could prove extenuating circumstances. Sometimes, it was 'die at the hands of the pirates who boarded your ship'… or join them.
Though that meant surviving the initial encounter in the first place.
Besides, from what Alpha had observed, he doubted any of those particular laws applied here.
As for Antchaser, the goblin's training had gone surprisingly well. Training within a translight bubble was a tricky thing. Pushing the time dilation up to the level where it would be effective required huge amounts of power. Power Alpha was still working on. Currently, everything in the base was hooked directly into Alpha's power core.
While this latest model, Gen-IV power core, was technically strong enough to power a small city or run the TAWP and all its weapon systems nearly indefinitely, he'd run into an issue.
Storage.
The above scenarios assumed highs and lows in power usage, with advanced batteries used to store excess energy while keeping output at a constant and comfortable level. The power core wasn't meant to be drawn on constantly over longer periods of high activity. It was designed to charge batteries, filling or draining as power demands rose or decreased.
It was like plugging your devices directly into a generator. Sure, you could do it, but it would be inefficient. Connecting your generator to a larger battery bank and then your devices to the bank would be far better.
Alpha didn't have any batteries. At least not at any of the appropriate level. Not yet. Batteries of the kind he would need to make any difference were still a ways away.
So, with most of his energy output already taken up by the antborg incubator's translight bubbles, Alpha had little to spare.
With some clever use of VR and a jury-rigged 'infinity room,' however, they had condensed a relative-time month of basic Federation Reserves training into half a day of real-time. It was only a fraction of the time a real Federation soldier would spend, with expeditionary soldiers, in particular, spending years of relative time in training. Yet it was enough for the basics. Part of that was thanks to Antchaser's own drive. The young (Alpha assumed) man had pushed himself to extreme levels during their training. It likely helped that all of this fell neatly into the goblin's understanding of what a 'Dungeon Core' could do.
When they had finished, and Alpha had presented the Antchaser with a suit of Federation field armor, the young man had openly wept. Then again, given that his left eye wouldn't stop twitching and Alpha could see his muscles physically writhe under his skin, maybe the goblin was simply glad it was all over.
It hadn't been that bad! Sure, 'Hell Week' was different for AI, and Alpha had suppressed most of his memory involving his "special training" with SEAU - 03. Still, Alpha was sure that these biologicals just had a thing for overreacting.
If they didn't break you down, how were they ever supposed to build you back up?! (Sometimes literally!)
The armor Alpha had gifted the goblin was standard issue for all expeditionary soldiers. Waterproof, weatherproof, climate controlled, and rated against many small arms fire, from ballistic to explosive and even energy weapons! The design was so optimized that he'd even incorporated aspects of it, such as the improved plating, into the carapaces of the new V-2s.
Of course, that meant Alpha had to modify the humanoid armor some so that it matched.
Alpha might have been stuck on a barbaric planet, but that wasn't an excuse for sloppy aesthetics!
He also chose to pointedly ignore the current state of his 'Core Room.' It was still a work in progress!
After that, it had only been a matter of scouting the forest for signs of the other goblin hunters.
Unfortunately, the adventurers were doing the same, likely realizing that the common villagers didn't have the information they sought. By the time Alpha and Antchaser set out, the adventurers were already out in full force. The goblin hunters, recognizing that the village was no longer safe, had slowly coalesced into small groups spread out through the forest.
Of the 25 hunters out of the village at the time of the attack, Alpha and Anchaser had only rescued 11, including Boarslayer's group. The rest had already been captured or had… resisted, to disastrous results.
Most of those were severely injured and would need time in a med-pod before they could begin training. That was another issue they had to deal with. While Antchaser had been rather quick to accept Alpha's training and the new ideas he brought along, the other goblins were proving to be more… stubborn.
As a tribal society, the goblins were weary of the strange and alien concepts Alpha brought to the table. They were warriors and hunters, not shock troopers. Yet, they needed to learn if Alpha's plan was to work.
Alpha had seen what trying to play the 'hero' had gotten him. So this time, they would be their own heroes, with the support of the mysterious 'Dungeon Core' backer, of course. If his plan worked well, Alpha would have time to focus on the colony and build up his defenses while gaining an extra 'arm' he could use to reach out and touch someone. One that doubled as a shield if need be.
Yep. It was the classic "arm the enemy of my enemy" tactic. One practiced and perfected by humanity for millennia.
But, of course, in any such endeavor, there was always a… problem child.
—————————————————————
The large figure roared and rushed the three blank-helmeted figures, their weapon raised high above their head, like an expensive club. Two of the enemies crouched and pointed their weapons at the charging behemoth while a third raised an outstretched hand.
A shimmering hexagonal shield flashed into existence between them.
The two kneeling figures fired, their weapons cracking like thunder as bullets pinged off the surface of the charging figure's thick, heavy armor. A few bullets landed true, striking the larger figure's less protected areas around the thigh and shoulder, throwing blood into the air. But the heavy was undeterred.
With a roar, they reached the glowing barrier and slammed their weapon into it. The barrier held, if barely, the large pack on the standing enemy's back glowing brightly as it struggled to maintain the energy field. The heavy swung their weapon at the barrier again and again; all the while, the two kneeling figures peppered their frame from a point-blank range.
The barrier cracked and shattered on the fifth strike, though so did the heavy's weapon. They gave a cheer of victory… only for one enemy with the now smoking backpack to pull out a long cylinder and roll it toward them. The kneeling figures hastily pressed their fingers against their helmets, which darkened a shade.
Boom!
The battlefield lit up in like a star as the flashbang went off.
The heavy cried out in pain and rubbed at their eyes. The kneeling figures took the opening. Tossing their weapons aside, they acted as one and charged the heavy, each grabbing one of the figure's massive legs. Then, they lifted the servos in their own armor, working overtime to amplify their strength.
Slowly, the heavy's feet left the ground, and they toppled backward.
The two enemies who'd grabbed the heavy's legs scrambled forward and used their weight and augmented strength to pin the heavy's arms while the third removed a long metal rod from their backpack. They walked forward, jammed the rod into an opening in the heavy armor, then flipped a switch.
Electricity visibly raced down the length of the rod, and the heavy convulsed.
After far longer than should have been necessary, the heavy stopped moving, and the figure with the rod removed it.
The three figures cheered at their victory, and the two pinning the heavy's arms stood up.
That had been a mistake.
The heavy's hand suddenly shot out and wrapped around the backpack enemy's neck.
Crack!
The backpack enemy fell limp.
WHAM!
The heavy backhanded one of the two remaining enemies, causing them to fly through the air for several meters.
BANG!
Thunder sounded as a blood hole appeared in the heavy's head, the remaining enemy having had the presence of mind to draw their sidearm at the last second. The heavy snarled, then crumpled back to the ground.
//TIME!// came the voice from the heavens.
The world froze. Then, it flickered, and everything reset.
The damage from the battle was gone. The blood splatters on both side's armor vanished. And all three of the smaller figures stood to one side, cheering.
The larger, heavy, now whole and healthy, roared and threw her helmet to the ground.
"This is dragon dung! I would have won if your cheap weapons hadn't kept breaking!" Boarslayer rumbled.
Alpha sighed, though he could understand her frustration. After all, This was the third time in a row she'd lost.
Alpha turned to Antchaser, who was watching the simulated battle alongside him, and asked, "Is she always like this?"
Antchaser sighed as well as said, "Unfortunately, yes. Don't get me wrong, Boarslayer is likely the best warrior with the greatest battle-sense of all of us. But she is… stubborn in her ways."
Stubborn was an understatement, in Alpha's opinion.
It had been two days since Alpha had rescued the 11 goblins, Antchaser included. In that time, they'd undergone nearly three months of intense translight training. Most of them adapted quickly and had taken to the new equipment with gusto.
After all, they were all hunters and warriors by trade. They were used to the battlefield and could understand the benefits of what Alpha offered them.
The only outlier was the largest and strongest of them, Boarslayer. As Antchaser said, it wasn't as if she was stupid. Far from it. The woman showed a knack for the battlefield to such an extent that she could make even some Federation elites look like amateurs.
No, the problem was the woman insisted that the only 'proper' way to face the enemy was in a forward charge, meeting them strength for strength. She could out-maneuver, outplay, and trick even some of Alpha's stored simulacrums of elite Federation soldiers.
But she would throw away that advantage every single time to meet them head-on.
Like some kind of berserker OCD.
It had gotten to the point the other goblin teams were learning to use it to their advantage, leading to this result.
Alpha had tried speaking to her about it, though the conversation had been… interesting.
—————————————————————
"Ranged weapons are for cowards! Real warriors speak with their fists!"
"You split a man in two by throwing your axe!"
"Yes! My axe!"
"But you threw it!"
"Because it's an axe!"
—————————————————————
Suffice it to say, they got nowhere.
"I… may have a solution," Antchaser said.
"Oh?" Alpha responded.
Antchaser lifted a small tablet and pulled up a program. Alpha was slightly impressed by how quickly the small goblin adapted to the technology. In stark contrast to Boarslayer, the goblin devoured all the information Alpha had made available almost as quickly as the Slatewalker children.
Alpha pulled up what Antchaser wanted to show him.
Then, mentally grinned.
"Interesting… Yes… yes, this might work indeed." Alpha said.
He uploaded the design and turned back to Antchaser. "I'll get working on this. Gather the teams and tell them to get ready. We start the operation tonight."
Dude I'm glad this is back, this legit one of my favorite stories
B2 - Lesson 18: "The Shadows Watch Your Sins."
Heads up! As a reminder, Patreon as been restarted, with even a new tier that's 3 chapters ahead of Pathfinder, putting it at 12 chapters total!
if you want to support the novel and help keeping to make this story a reality, go take a look!
And why not? It was a celebration, after all.
Not for the goblins, though. No, the various villagers acting as servers and attendants to the adventurers were dull-eyed and ragged. More than a few sported a nasty bruise somewhere, and several walked with a visible limp.
Not that the adventurers cared, mind you.
No, for them, this was a victory celebration! The adventurers had solidified their hold on the village by hunting down the goblin hunters, who had been hiding in the forest. It had taken them nearly three days since occupying the village, and they were ready for some relaxation.
Bosco had learned long ago that being an effective leader meant using both the stick and the carrot. He was well versed in the stick, but he'd learned how to use the carrot from watching Icefinger.
The trick wasn't so much dangling the carrot, as it was painting the potato to look like a carrot. Only a dog snapped at every scrap, nor did a dragon hoard every coin. If the scrubs thought what you rewarded them with held some value, they would be content and work even harder for more next time.
To that end, he'd arranged this little dinner for the returning team leaders. The table in front of them was arranged with a wide selection of exotic magic fruits and roast spirit beasts. Food of a quality that would have cost a fortune in Halirosa, but here, in the Deep Tunnels, it was just par for the course. The fact that the goblins barely understood the value of the treasures they were sitting on only solidified in Bosco's mind that he'd made the right choice in taking over the village.
The rest of the adventurers were having their own party in the village square, with less decadent fairs, of course. Yet, to the gutter rats and slum-dwelling adventurers who'd fallen into Icefinger's gang, it must have seemed like a banquet fit for kings.
Bosco took a long pull from the massive tankard in his hand and grinned. The dirty lot of them were probably singing his praises right this moment. With them spreading the good word through the gang and the high-quality treasures Bosco would bring back to Icefinger, he was a shoo-in for Capo!
Not that he hadn't thought about keeping what he'd found to himself. Icefinger wasn't a terrible boss, compared to some clans, but a place like this? This cavern was the kind of thing entire clans were built on.
But more than just Bosco's soul-chilling fear of Halirosa's de facto underworld boss kept that thought locked securely in the realm of his own fantasies, however.
Over the rim of his tankard, Bosco glanced at the scrawny man to his left. Seeker poked at the meal with a frown. Whether the man thought that the — admittedly primitive — goblin-cooked meal was beneath him, or something else occupied the man's mind, Bosco couldn't tell.
Even after all this time, Icefinger's watchdog was a mystery to Bosco.
Not for the first time, Bosco wondered if he should take the risk and… deal with the man. Also not for the first time, he quickly dismissed the idea. It wasn't like Bosco thought Seeker could win in a fair fight. He was strong, sure, maybe stronger than any of the team leaders sitting at the table, but Bosco was stronger.
No, strength wasn't what made Seeker dangerous.
Even if Bosco had caught the man off guard, Seeker would likely have escaped. If he escaped, he would report everything to Icefinger.
Then Bosco would spend the next thousand years screaming inside the frozen husk that used to be his body.
Anyone who made it far enough up the gang's ranks eventually got a peek at Icefinger's 'trophy room.' It was both a display of power… and an unspoken warning about what happened to those who crossed the man.
Yes, Icefinger's teachings had found fertile ground in Bosco; he would be content with the 'scraps' the big boss tossed him. Just like those outside had eagerly taken what Bosco gave them. That's how the gang worked. If it was you sitting at the top one day, tossing the dogs the scraps? All the better.
Bosco lowered his tankard and stared at the longhouse door, frowning, then spoke. "AYE! Any of you lot know where Team 5's leader is? They're late. Now that we have full control of the cavern, I want to go over what happens next."
The four other team leaders paused in their meal and stared up at Bosco, then at each other, shrugging. After a moment, one of them, a woman in light leather armor, swallowed her mouth full of food and responded. "Who? Burt? Who knows? That bastard probably dragged one of the goblin women into one of the shacks again. I swear to the nine hells, that man will stick his rod in anything with a hole."
The man across from her laughed and pointed a large drumstick at her as he spoke. "That's funny. Didn't you two use to da—"
THUNK!
"—Owie! What was that for?!" the man cried, cradling his head where the large goblet the woman had thrown at him struck.
"Since you can't keep your mouth shut, how about you go ask someone where he is, and we can get back to eating!" She sneered at him.
"Why me?! I'm still hu—"
"JUST GO!" Bosco roared, cutting the man off.
The team leader stood instantly and approached the longhouse door, still nursing the lump growing on his forehead.
He grumbled and pushed the large doors open as those at the table hooted and laughed and let the doors swing close behind him. The lead leader sighed and took in the party's sight before him. An enormous bonfire roared in the middle of the village square, where several slightly too small tables, packed with food, were lined up to either side.
All around the square, men and women celebrated in various states of inebriation, each in their own way. Some more… passionately than others. Not that there were many left, that was. What had started as a raiding part of over three dozen was now down to half that number at fighting strength. It would still be a few more days before most had recovered from their trek through the tunnels. Not that they needed many more to keep a goblin village this size in line.
The aptly named "cave goblins" might have been more peaceful than their mountain-dwelling cousins, but that also meant they were less likely to bite your nose off if you got too close. Keep them cowed with enough force, and even a population this size wouldn't get too many funny ideas.
The man was tempted to blow off the bastards in the longhouse and grab something off the tables near the fire, but sighed and shook his head. Bosco wasn't the kind of boss you just ignored. If he didn't find Burt quick, it would be his head on the chopping block instead of the other man's.
And hey, if he was quick enough, he might make it back in time to grab more food before the gluttons finished it all.
With that in mind, he approached the first adventurer he could find. The man leaned against an open barrel of mead, a dirty, half-filled mug listing to one side, absentmindedly spilling its contents on the ground. As for the man himself, he stared into the blazing fire, unblinking, as if it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
The team leader walked over and kicked the man in the shin as he spoke. "Yo! Have you seen Burt anywhere? Bosco is looking for him."
The man didn't respond at first, but slowly, he turned and stared up at the team leader with a blank expression. Suddenly, the man's eyes went wide, and he heaved.
"Don't you d—" was as far as the team leader got before the man retched all over his good pair of boots.
"Bastard!" the team leader yelled and kicked the man over. The drunk man didn't even respond, simply falling over in a heap, his eyes still wide open and staring into the flames.
"Bloody hell?…" the team leader asked himself, raising a brow at the sight. He leaned over the barrel of mead, and an acidic, rancid smell hit him. He pulled back and wrinkled his nose.
Bad mead, then? Ooof, he'd been there before. The poor sod would be tripping balls for hours, then spend the next week on the toilet. Now that he had a good look around, the team leader spotted a few other adventurers in a similar state. On the way back, he'd have to get one of the goblins to switch the barrel out for a fresh one. It wasn't his fault the idiots were too stupid not to drink rancid mead, but he was sure someone would still find a way to put the blame on him.
The team leader left the man to his troubles and approached another adventurer. This time, one that was actually standing and coherent, given they were chatting with a small group.
"Hey! Have any of you lot seen Burt?" the team leader asked.
The group turned to look at him, then at each other, each shaking their heads. One man looked at the team leader and said, "No, sorry, not since we left for the hunt. But you know, Burt. He'll show up, eventually."
The team leader sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He'd lose his buzz at this rate! He waved the group off. "Well, if you do see him, tell him Bosco wants him. Now."
The group raised their mugs in salute while the team leader walked away.
Three such conversations later, and it was quite apparent that no one had seen Burt or his team for several days now. Not since the hunt. A few mentioned seeing them the first day while everyone searched the woods, but after that, nothing.
Strange.
The team leader narrowed his eyes as a sinking feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. Still, before he went and cried wolf, the team leader decided he'd try his peer's advice and check the huts. Who knew? Maybe the idiot had come back, gotten drunk, and passed out in a corner somewhere. It wouldn't have been the first time. With that in mind, he turned and headed away from the village square and deeper into the village.
————————————
The goblin village was pitch black. In a normal situation, the small streets between the huts and other buildings would be lit by crude crystal torches.
Said torches had been one of the first things plundered by the adventurers. Now, the unpaved streets were lit only by the dim light from the lumoss high above. Given that the moss was currently in its 'night' cycle, giving about as much light as a star-filled sky, that was to say not much.
Not that the cavern was well lit even in the 'day,' but the inky darkness of caverns had a different feel to it compared to a dark night under the open sky. At least the team leader always felt so.
That said, the team leader's eyesight was far from mundane.
As a peak [Golden Spirit] cultivator, they were a step above the common dregs typical of the lower rungs in the gang. That was one reason they'd made team leader in the first place. Hell, he'd probably make a decent living as a more legit adventurer if he hadn't fallen on some hard times and had to sign up with Icefinger.
All that was to say, that despite the darkness, the team leader strode down the dark roads with confidence.
As he passed each hut, he scanned for any out-of-place spirit signals that would tell him if Burt or one of his team were inside. He only found goblins, however. The goblins had learned quickly that it was best to stay indoors if they weren't being used, such as the servants at the feast.
Lest they attract the attention of a particularly grumpy adventurer.
As time passed with no sign of anyone but goblins, the team leader started becoming frustrated… and worried. Had something happened to Burt and his team? The scouts had tried to find any major threats over the last few days, but had turned up little. Other than the Demon Ant colony that took up the southern wall and the Mud Drake near the river, there wasn't anything here that could threaten most of the adventurers. Not while in a group, at least.
While the team leader didn't think Burt was the sharpest tool in the shed, he doubted the man was stupid enough to mess with either of those threats. So what had happened?
So lost in his thoughts was he, that the team leader never noticed the miniscule glint of light off of an object stretching from one side of the road to the other. Not until the man lifted a foot, only for it to catch, causing him to fall face forward into the muddy road.
"Pfft, what the hell?!" the team leader sputtered, wiping the thin coating of mud off his face.
He turned and stared at the tripwire stretched across the road and frowned, his alcohol-laden mind trying to process exactly what he was seeing.
Had one of the goblin kids played a prank on them? Maybe set it up for one of the patrolling adventurers? Wait until he found out which one of the little brats had done it.
With a grumble, the team leader pushed himself to his knee, and that's when he noticed it. A shape, a dark shadow hidden under one of the nearby buildings, staring at him. It was far too dark even for his enhanced eyesight to make out much detail, but his [Spirit Sight] told him it was a goblin.
It looked like his hunch was right. Moreover, the brat had even stuck around to see him humiliate himself like that!
The team leader bared his teeth and growled, yelling at the shadowed figure. "Like games, do you? We'll see how much you like games when I'm playing ball with your head!"
The figure didn't react. Not at first. But after a moment, it dragged itself out from under the building and stood, silent. It was then that the team leader noticed something else.
The figure wasn't alone.
Slowly, more figures emerged from under the nearby houses, half a dozen of them, and stood in a semicircle a few meters in front of him. The team leader narrowed his eyes and frowned. Something wasn't right.
"Who are you?" he asked. "What's going on here?". The team leader tried to stand, only to find that the tripwire had somehow wrapped itself around both his feet without his awareness.
Suddenly far more sober, the team leader turned and stared at the original figure.
The shadowed figure said nothing in response to his questions. Instead, a single, blindingly red light suddenly bloomed to life in the middle of their shadowed head, like a demon's eye staring into his soul. Judging.
The team leader's heart pounded faster at that sight, and he scrambled backward, tugging at the strange wire that wouldn't budge, even under his cultivator strength.
One by one, similar lights came to life on the faces of the other shadowed figures, lighting the dark road in their eerie glow.
That's when the team leader screamed.
if you want to support the novel and help keeping to make this story a reality, go take a look!
————————————————————————
B2 - Lesson 18: "The Shadows Watch Your Sins."
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
The goblin longhouse was a buzz with cheer and merriment. Both the food and alcohol flowed freely, and the half a dozen men and women sitting along the central table occasionally broke into a drunken song.B2 - Lesson 18: "The Shadows Watch Your Sins."
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
And why not? It was a celebration, after all.
Not for the goblins, though. No, the various villagers acting as servers and attendants to the adventurers were dull-eyed and ragged. More than a few sported a nasty bruise somewhere, and several walked with a visible limp.
Not that the adventurers cared, mind you.
No, for them, this was a victory celebration! The adventurers had solidified their hold on the village by hunting down the goblin hunters, who had been hiding in the forest. It had taken them nearly three days since occupying the village, and they were ready for some relaxation.
Bosco had learned long ago that being an effective leader meant using both the stick and the carrot. He was well versed in the stick, but he'd learned how to use the carrot from watching Icefinger.
The trick wasn't so much dangling the carrot, as it was painting the potato to look like a carrot. Only a dog snapped at every scrap, nor did a dragon hoard every coin. If the scrubs thought what you rewarded them with held some value, they would be content and work even harder for more next time.
To that end, he'd arranged this little dinner for the returning team leaders. The table in front of them was arranged with a wide selection of exotic magic fruits and roast spirit beasts. Food of a quality that would have cost a fortune in Halirosa, but here, in the Deep Tunnels, it was just par for the course. The fact that the goblins barely understood the value of the treasures they were sitting on only solidified in Bosco's mind that he'd made the right choice in taking over the village.
The rest of the adventurers were having their own party in the village square, with less decadent fairs, of course. Yet, to the gutter rats and slum-dwelling adventurers who'd fallen into Icefinger's gang, it must have seemed like a banquet fit for kings.
Bosco took a long pull from the massive tankard in his hand and grinned. The dirty lot of them were probably singing his praises right this moment. With them spreading the good word through the gang and the high-quality treasures Bosco would bring back to Icefinger, he was a shoo-in for Capo!
Not that he hadn't thought about keeping what he'd found to himself. Icefinger wasn't a terrible boss, compared to some clans, but a place like this? This cavern was the kind of thing entire clans were built on.
But more than just Bosco's soul-chilling fear of Halirosa's de facto underworld boss kept that thought locked securely in the realm of his own fantasies, however.
Over the rim of his tankard, Bosco glanced at the scrawny man to his left. Seeker poked at the meal with a frown. Whether the man thought that the — admittedly primitive — goblin-cooked meal was beneath him, or something else occupied the man's mind, Bosco couldn't tell.
Even after all this time, Icefinger's watchdog was a mystery to Bosco.
Not for the first time, Bosco wondered if he should take the risk and… deal with the man. Also not for the first time, he quickly dismissed the idea. It wasn't like Bosco thought Seeker could win in a fair fight. He was strong, sure, maybe stronger than any of the team leaders sitting at the table, but Bosco was stronger.
No, strength wasn't what made Seeker dangerous.
Even if Bosco had caught the man off guard, Seeker would likely have escaped. If he escaped, he would report everything to Icefinger.
Then Bosco would spend the next thousand years screaming inside the frozen husk that used to be his body.
Anyone who made it far enough up the gang's ranks eventually got a peek at Icefinger's 'trophy room.' It was both a display of power… and an unspoken warning about what happened to those who crossed the man.
Yes, Icefinger's teachings had found fertile ground in Bosco; he would be content with the 'scraps' the big boss tossed him. Just like those outside had eagerly taken what Bosco gave them. That's how the gang worked. If it was you sitting at the top one day, tossing the dogs the scraps? All the better.
Bosco lowered his tankard and stared at the longhouse door, frowning, then spoke. "AYE! Any of you lot know where Team 5's leader is? They're late. Now that we have full control of the cavern, I want to go over what happens next."
The four other team leaders paused in their meal and stared up at Bosco, then at each other, shrugging. After a moment, one of them, a woman in light leather armor, swallowed her mouth full of food and responded. "Who? Burt? Who knows? That bastard probably dragged one of the goblin women into one of the shacks again. I swear to the nine hells, that man will stick his rod in anything with a hole."
The man across from her laughed and pointed a large drumstick at her as he spoke. "That's funny. Didn't you two use to da—"
THUNK!
"—Owie! What was that for?!" the man cried, cradling his head where the large goblet the woman had thrown at him struck.
"Since you can't keep your mouth shut, how about you go ask someone where he is, and we can get back to eating!" She sneered at him.
"Why me?! I'm still hu—"
"JUST GO!" Bosco roared, cutting the man off.
The team leader stood instantly and approached the longhouse door, still nursing the lump growing on his forehead.
He grumbled and pushed the large doors open as those at the table hooted and laughed and let the doors swing close behind him. The lead leader sighed and took in the party's sight before him. An enormous bonfire roared in the middle of the village square, where several slightly too small tables, packed with food, were lined up to either side.
All around the square, men and women celebrated in various states of inebriation, each in their own way. Some more… passionately than others. Not that there were many left, that was. What had started as a raiding part of over three dozen was now down to half that number at fighting strength. It would still be a few more days before most had recovered from their trek through the tunnels. Not that they needed many more to keep a goblin village this size in line.
The aptly named "cave goblins" might have been more peaceful than their mountain-dwelling cousins, but that also meant they were less likely to bite your nose off if you got too close. Keep them cowed with enough force, and even a population this size wouldn't get too many funny ideas.
The man was tempted to blow off the bastards in the longhouse and grab something off the tables near the fire, but sighed and shook his head. Bosco wasn't the kind of boss you just ignored. If he didn't find Burt quick, it would be his head on the chopping block instead of the other man's.
And hey, if he was quick enough, he might make it back in time to grab more food before the gluttons finished it all.
With that in mind, he approached the first adventurer he could find. The man leaned against an open barrel of mead, a dirty, half-filled mug listing to one side, absentmindedly spilling its contents on the ground. As for the man himself, he stared into the blazing fire, unblinking, as if it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
The team leader walked over and kicked the man in the shin as he spoke. "Yo! Have you seen Burt anywhere? Bosco is looking for him."
The man didn't respond at first, but slowly, he turned and stared up at the team leader with a blank expression. Suddenly, the man's eyes went wide, and he heaved.
"Don't you d—" was as far as the team leader got before the man retched all over his good pair of boots.
"Bastard!" the team leader yelled and kicked the man over. The drunk man didn't even respond, simply falling over in a heap, his eyes still wide open and staring into the flames.
"Bloody hell?…" the team leader asked himself, raising a brow at the sight. He leaned over the barrel of mead, and an acidic, rancid smell hit him. He pulled back and wrinkled his nose.
Bad mead, then? Ooof, he'd been there before. The poor sod would be tripping balls for hours, then spend the next week on the toilet. Now that he had a good look around, the team leader spotted a few other adventurers in a similar state. On the way back, he'd have to get one of the goblins to switch the barrel out for a fresh one. It wasn't his fault the idiots were too stupid not to drink rancid mead, but he was sure someone would still find a way to put the blame on him.
The team leader left the man to his troubles and approached another adventurer. This time, one that was actually standing and coherent, given they were chatting with a small group.
"Hey! Have any of you lot seen Burt?" the team leader asked.
The group turned to look at him, then at each other, each shaking their heads. One man looked at the team leader and said, "No, sorry, not since we left for the hunt. But you know, Burt. He'll show up, eventually."
The team leader sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He'd lose his buzz at this rate! He waved the group off. "Well, if you do see him, tell him Bosco wants him. Now."
The group raised their mugs in salute while the team leader walked away.
Three such conversations later, and it was quite apparent that no one had seen Burt or his team for several days now. Not since the hunt. A few mentioned seeing them the first day while everyone searched the woods, but after that, nothing.
Strange.
The team leader narrowed his eyes as a sinking feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. Still, before he went and cried wolf, the team leader decided he'd try his peer's advice and check the huts. Who knew? Maybe the idiot had come back, gotten drunk, and passed out in a corner somewhere. It wouldn't have been the first time. With that in mind, he turned and headed away from the village square and deeper into the village.
————————————
The goblin village was pitch black. In a normal situation, the small streets between the huts and other buildings would be lit by crude crystal torches.
Said torches had been one of the first things plundered by the adventurers. Now, the unpaved streets were lit only by the dim light from the lumoss high above. Given that the moss was currently in its 'night' cycle, giving about as much light as a star-filled sky, that was to say not much.
Not that the cavern was well lit even in the 'day,' but the inky darkness of caverns had a different feel to it compared to a dark night under the open sky. At least the team leader always felt so.
That said, the team leader's eyesight was far from mundane.
As a peak [Golden Spirit] cultivator, they were a step above the common dregs typical of the lower rungs in the gang. That was one reason they'd made team leader in the first place. Hell, he'd probably make a decent living as a more legit adventurer if he hadn't fallen on some hard times and had to sign up with Icefinger.
All that was to say, that despite the darkness, the team leader strode down the dark roads with confidence.
As he passed each hut, he scanned for any out-of-place spirit signals that would tell him if Burt or one of his team were inside. He only found goblins, however. The goblins had learned quickly that it was best to stay indoors if they weren't being used, such as the servants at the feast.
Lest they attract the attention of a particularly grumpy adventurer.
As time passed with no sign of anyone but goblins, the team leader started becoming frustrated… and worried. Had something happened to Burt and his team? The scouts had tried to find any major threats over the last few days, but had turned up little. Other than the Demon Ant colony that took up the southern wall and the Mud Drake near the river, there wasn't anything here that could threaten most of the adventurers. Not while in a group, at least.
While the team leader didn't think Burt was the sharpest tool in the shed, he doubted the man was stupid enough to mess with either of those threats. So what had happened?
So lost in his thoughts was he, that the team leader never noticed the miniscule glint of light off of an object stretching from one side of the road to the other. Not until the man lifted a foot, only for it to catch, causing him to fall face forward into the muddy road.
"Pfft, what the hell?!" the team leader sputtered, wiping the thin coating of mud off his face.
He turned and stared at the tripwire stretched across the road and frowned, his alcohol-laden mind trying to process exactly what he was seeing.
Had one of the goblin kids played a prank on them? Maybe set it up for one of the patrolling adventurers? Wait until he found out which one of the little brats had done it.
With a grumble, the team leader pushed himself to his knee, and that's when he noticed it. A shape, a dark shadow hidden under one of the nearby buildings, staring at him. It was far too dark even for his enhanced eyesight to make out much detail, but his [Spirit Sight] told him it was a goblin.
It looked like his hunch was right. Moreover, the brat had even stuck around to see him humiliate himself like that!
The team leader bared his teeth and growled, yelling at the shadowed figure. "Like games, do you? We'll see how much you like games when I'm playing ball with your head!"
The figure didn't react. Not at first. But after a moment, it dragged itself out from under the building and stood, silent. It was then that the team leader noticed something else.
The figure wasn't alone.
Slowly, more figures emerged from under the nearby houses, half a dozen of them, and stood in a semicircle a few meters in front of him. The team leader narrowed his eyes and frowned. Something wasn't right.
"Who are you?" he asked. "What's going on here?". The team leader tried to stand, only to find that the tripwire had somehow wrapped itself around both his feet without his awareness.
Suddenly far more sober, the team leader turned and stared at the original figure.
The shadowed figure said nothing in response to his questions. Instead, a single, blindingly red light suddenly bloomed to life in the middle of their shadowed head, like a demon's eye staring into his soul. Judging.
The team leader's heart pounded faster at that sight, and he scrambled backward, tugging at the strange wire that wouldn't budge, even under his cultivator strength.
One by one, similar lights came to life on the faces of the other shadowed figures, lighting the dark road in their eerie glow.
That's when the team leader screamed.
Last edited:
B2 - Lesson 19: "Don't Be Rude! Knock Before You Enter."
————————————————————————
B2 - Lesson 19: "Don't Be Rude! Knock Before You Enter."
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
The scream cut through the pleasant fog of Bosco's alcohol-soaked mind like a hot knife.B2 - Lesson 19: "Don't Be Rude! Knock Before You Enter."
————————————————————————
———————————————————————————
As it did for everyone at the table.
The more 'proper' Adventurers of Halirosa might have referred to their lot as gutter rats and gangsters, only one step removed from base thieves, but they were all Adventurers too! As such, they had all developed certain instincts and rules that everyone quickly learned to listen to.
Because in the dangerous wilds of the Crimson Mountains, those who didn't listen, often never came home.
One such rule was to never dismiss a strange noise as 'just the wind' or a 'rat scurrying about.'
And, of course, a blood-curdling scream absolutely qualified as a 'strange noise.'
Bosco stood, swaying slightly as he clutched his pounding head. The three remaining team leaders shared a look and stood as well. They each grabbed their nearby weapons and rushed toward the longhouse doors.
Bosco shoved both doors open with a heave and strode out into the village square, his axe at the ready. The sight that greeted him made the large man question if someone, or something, had raided the village while he wasn't paying attention.
Various Adventurers lay strewn about the square, some in piles, others leaning up against buildings. The acidic tang of vomit and less pleasant body fluids on the air, along with the confused look of a few still-conscious Adventurers, told a different story, however.
As Bosco watched, one of the standing Adventurers, tankard in hand, swayed and fell to the ground.
The large man shook his head, stepped away from the longhouse, and narrowed his eyes, attempting to peer deeper into the shadowed square.
{Wait...why is it so dark?} Bosco thought to himself.
There should have been a bonfire burning in the center of the square. And indeed, there was a large pile of burning, smoldering wood, but it had been mostly doused. In fact, he could see several of the servant goblins throwing dirt and water on the few remaining embers.
"You! Goblins! What do you think you're doing?! Who told you to put out the fire?!"
The offending goblins flinched, turned to look at Bosco, then at each other. The next moment, they bolted, running in opposite directions.
Bosco frowned and raised his axe to throw at the nearest fleeing goblin, but flinched as a pounded headache spiked his brain with pain. The large leader of Icefinger's Adventurers stumbled slightly and clutched the side of his head.
Bosco's instincts screamed at him that something was wrong. Everyone shouldn't be this drunk. He shouldn't be this drunk. Everyone here was at least a [Silver Spirit] level cultivator, if not higher. Coupled with a lifetime in the rougher parts of Halirosa, even the weaker-bodied mages in the group could hold their alcohol well enough.
That was to say nothing of Bosco himself. Even disregarding the fact that he was a much higher level cultivator than everyone in the group, barring Seeker, Bosco was a large man with an equally large thirst for booze.
The quantity and quality of alcohol that it would have taken to get him feeling like he did, would have floored anyone else in the group after one mug. Or outright killed a mortal.
No… something was very wrong.
A voice cut through the darkness as if reading Bosco's mind (or maybe it was his expression).
"What's wrong, Bosco? Having trouble holding your drink?"
Bosco's eye snapped to the source of the voice. A dark figure stood atop the village gate, some distance away. The dark 'night' of the cavern hid most of the figure's features, but the shadow of long, pointed ears and Bosco's own spirit sense told him it was a goblin.
"What did you do to my men, you pointy-eared bastard?!" Bosco roared at the goblin on top of the gate.
The figure gave a curt laugh and smugly answered. "You know, funny thing about spiced goblin ale, that. It's really hard to brew anything of good quality down here. But buying anything good from the surface is far more expensive, so we make do. All the added spice isn't because of preference, though. It's there to cover up the taste of the inferior quality ingredient… or anything else we decide to add to the batch."
On cue, one of the team leaders behind him swayed on her feet, then bent over and emptied her stomach of all the high-quality food she'd eaten.
An icy pit formed in Bosco's stomach. "You poisoned us?! You rat-bastard! Who are you? Tell me now, and I'll content myself with just skinning you and your family! The rest of the rats can settle for some broken bones!"
Again, the figure laughed. "What, Bosco, you don't recognize me? I'm offended. After you were so kind as to send that squad of goons after me, I thought we had something special," they said with mock offense.
Bosco ground his teeth and yelled back. "You! You're that little weasel that snuck into my village, aren't you? The one those fools Chunk and Kit let escape! I'm surprised one of the other teams didn't finish you once we started our little hunt. What, were you not content with the second chance the heavens offered you? No problem; I can help you with your obvious death wish! Don't think just because you snuck a little poison in our drink, you'll be able to take me! I am Bosco! Enforcer of Icefinger, and it'll take more than that if some puny goblin wants to put ME down!"
Bosco had been slowly edging closer to the gate the entire time he spoke. He could end this with one good axe throw if he could get close enough. However, given how bad his head was pounding, it was best to be closer than he'd liked. During the previous interrogations of the goblins, it had come up that this particular one had a predilection for traps and sneaky tactics. Something confirmed by the attempted poisoning, it seems.
Not that something like that would keep Bosco down. Yet he knew it was best to be careful around that type. He wasn't just boasting to buy time; Bosco had already identified the poison in his system and started breaking it down with his spirit energy.
The goblin's voice took on a bitter tone when next he spoke. "This isn't your village, Adventurer. Though, if you really are one of Icefinger's men, I'm not surprised you think you can just waltz in and claim it. Even we have heard about that man's… methods."
Bosco sneered up at the goblin, "Oh? So you've heard of us, have you? Then you should understand why it's best if you just surrender now and hope your death buys your people some leniency."
The figure folded their and shook their head. "No. I don't think I will. Here's a counteroffer for you. You surrender, and we'll turn you over to the Halirosa authorities with most of your skin!"
The figure paused and raised a hand to their head. Despite their hushed whispering, Bosco's enhanced hearing could still make out the words in the eerily quiet cavern night.
"What? Yes sir, I remember the deal, we won't ac—… No, I wasn't going to—…Yes sir, I understand."
Bosco smirked, then laughed with his full belly. "I see. Will you, now? You and what army, little goblin? Did you run off and cry to Halirosa? Is that where you've been? No, you couldn't have made it that far, informed someone, and made it back so quickly. So what then? Who's on the other side of that communication jade? Is it Robert? Tell that fool if he wants to finish our little feud, he can face me like a real man, instead of hiding behind a goblin!"
The goblin lowered their hand and paused for a silent moment. When they spoke, Bosco could hear the smirk in their voice. "Don't worry, Bosco. I don't need an army to fight someone like you. Or the other Adventurers."
"You don't, do you? And why's that, you little bastard?!" Bosco growled through clenched teeth. He was almost close enough to make the throw. He just needed to keep the goblin talking and in line of sight a little longer. If he rushed it, the little rat might try to escape again.
The goblin actually laughed and continued. "You see, for someone who claims to own this village, you made one fatal mistake when it comes to life here."
The Adventurer laughed and raised a brow.
"Oh? And what's that?" Bosco asked.
This should be good. Not that he cared anything about goblin customs or laws, but it was always fun to see someone make a fool of themselves.
Thunk!
Something heavy struck the thick wooden gates that separated the village from the forest beyond. The wooden gates strained against the blow, splintering slightly.
Bosco paused, his eyes widening.
Thunk!
Again, something struck the gates, causing the crude metal latches to groan in protest.
Bosco was close enough to the goblin now to make out facial features in the dim, natural light of the cavern.
Or enough at least to see the man grin from pointed ear to pointed ear as he spoke. "You see, you did the one thing everyone in the village has known not to do for the past 25 years."
BOOOOOM!
The village gates were blasted off their hinges, their shattered remains peppering a surprised Bosco with large chunks of splintered wood. The largest of such gate fragments sailed over his head and slammed into the smoldering bonfire. It caught fire and soon illuminated the village in a dim light.
Bosco could see something moving from the gaping shadow maw that was the former village gate.
"ROOOOAAARRRR!" An enormous figure, slightly taller than Bosco himself, erupted from the shadows, roaring as they charged him. The Adventurer's eyes bulged, and they raised their arm. Spirit energy flashed, and a large metal shield appeared in his hands, pulled from the storage ring on his finger.
The next moment, Bosco was driven to his knees, as the most massive warhammer he'd ever seen slammed into his shield.
The head of the hammer alone was half the size of his torso and looked more like it should belong to a giant than anyone of common blood.
The figure holding the giant's hammer was no less strange.
At 8'01", Bosco was a giant of a man himself, but if he had to guess, the enemy in front of him had an easy nine inches on him, maybe more. Moreover, they wore thick, metal armor of a make and style Bosco had never seen before. In stark contrast to what one would often see in Halirosa, it wasn't a flashy thing.
From the curves of the plate to how they interlocked and moved with each other, Bosco could tell that whoever had made this had done so with pure functionality in mind. There were no flares or embellishments to be had on the jet-black armor. Every line and curve served its purpose perfectly. And yet… it was far from a crude thing. The opposite, in fact. It was sleek and stylish in an oddly enchanting way. It was the beauty of simplicity, yet so much more.
The thing that drew his eyes the most, however, was the helmet. Like the rest of the armor, it was simple in design but cut into hemispheres by a glossy black strip. And on that strip, burning into his soul, was a single, glowing red 'eye.'
As they stared into that 'eye,' Bosco could almost feel the person behind the helmet smirking.
The armored figure's hammer suddenly hissed, and the back portion rose into the air.
THUNK!
Bosco's shield shattered instantly, as a massive force once more slammed into him, throwing him back several dozen meters. Bosco tumbled end-over-end before finally catching himself and standing. He stared down at the shattered remains of his shield. The arm that held it shook, and he could see a large bruise forming on his thick forearm. That shield was almost a month of saving! He didn't care who these goblins thought they were; he was going to hang them with their own intestines!
The bone wasn't damaged, but nine hells had that hurt! He tossed the ruined shield aside, summoning another. His eyes blazing with spirit energy, Bosco raised his axe and marched to meet his armored foe.
Antchaser, still standing atop the remains of the gate frame, laughed and finished his explanation.
"You asked what you did? I'll tell you."
Antchaser reached up and pressed a button at the base of his neck. Metal plate slide up from his back and formed into a solid helmet with a singular, glowing red eye.
"You made Boarslayer mad."
——————————
- Location
- On a speck of dust, floating through the void.
Go boarslayer!
Got to say, Antchaser and Boarslayer are the best characters yet
Got to say, Antchaser and Boarslayer are the best characters yet