Mr. Cloak
Orchestrator of Paradoxical Apocalypse
- Pronouns
- I
Alpha Strike: An interstellar Weapon Platform's Guide to Cultivation [Progression Sci-fi/Cultivation]
Book 1 - Arc 1 Epilogue: "New Beginnings"
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Book 1 - Arc 1 Epilogue: "New Beginnings"====================================
The woman floated in the sky, looking in horror as the Metal Giant rose from the blood-red mountain. A cacophony of grinding metal and clicking gears was heard around the globe, their whine like the wailing of millions of lost souls.
The Metal Giant stepped off the mountain peak, and its many sword-like legs pierced deep into the earth. Thousands of silver tendrils whipped into the sky, scouring the clouds and blocking the sun. With each step, they stripped the earth of its essence and life, stole its metal and wealth, and left nothing but a barren wasteland in their wake.
The Metal Giant roared again, and thousands of tall, steel pillars rose from the ground. An endless stream of fire and destruction rained from the pillars' tops, falling on the unsuspecting world, burning newly built, shining cities and ancient, impenetrable fortresses alike.
All around, she saw people screaming, running… burning. Ancient Cultivators tried to hide behind their formations and mighty walls. But the fire ate away at their defenses until they, too, crumbled. Great Mages stood on the branches of their World Tree, slinging spells and curses at the Metal Giant, but to no effect. Even the mighty Mentalists of Avalon tried to push back, only to be driven mad by the Metal Giant's endless rage and all-consuming hatred.
Finally, the 'gods' descended from their city beyond the sky, but they too fell, one by one, their power used to fuel the Giant as it rampaged from atop its mountain.
Again, the Metal Giant roared, and from the mountain crawled millions of tiny metal men. The metal men marched across the land, never tiring, never sleeping, slaughtering everything that crossed their path. Like a silver wave, they washed over the earth, pouring into the cracks and crevices that the great steel pillars could not reach with their fire.
Those who tried to hide, and those who tried to resist were crushed beneath the wave. Yet some did neither and bowed down to the Metal Giant instead, begging it to spare them. The Metal Giant roared again, and the people who bowed down transformed, becoming metal men themselves, adding their numbers to the slowly growing horde. Still, it wasn't enough, for the Metal Giant seemed insatiable; it wouldn't stop until everything in the world had bowed… or burned.
The Metal Giant roared one last time, and the world itself screamed. Thousands of beings rose from the ground, made of fire, water, earth, and air. As one, they cried out in sorrow and pain, as their greatest, their brothers and sisters, and then themselves, all became fuel for the Metal Giant.
In that last moment, the Grand Firmament, which for countless eons had stood immutable, cracked.
The fissures began small, yet quickly enlarged and multiplied as the Elementals' shrieks intensified. Soon, the entire sky was filled with spiderweb cracks, the Grand Firmament trembled, and every world it protected 'pulsed' with some unknown fear.
The woman stared, her mouth agape, tears streaming down her wide eyes. She shook her head and fell to her knees, unable to process what she saw. It was then that the woman felt a strange sensation, like she was being watched.
Her eyes fell from the sky and turned toward the Metal Giant. Her gaze didn't linger on the Giant, but turned to the mountain itself. There, covering every inch of the mountain, millions upon millions of faces stared back at her.
Bile rising in her throat, the woman realized it was no mountain of stone and rocks; it was a mountain of corpses. Millions of faces stared directly at her, some filled with bitter hatred, others with unending sorrow and confusion, and still others grinned, a dark and malicious grin stretching from ear to ear as if they were seeing some foul criminal finally meet their end.
Suddenly, there was a loud cracking sound, and pieces of the Firmament broke away. Restrained no longer, the very sun itself seemed to roar along with the Metal Giant as it flared to life. Despite this, the woman found she couldn't turn away from the eyes staring at her, only slowly back away, her tears unending as she shook her head, not accepting what she saw.
There was a flash of light, and every world of the Grand Firmament burned.
————————————————
"GUAHAHHHHHHAAA!"
The silent night was shattered by her soul-shaking scream. As though a hornet's nest had been kicked, the tranquil serenity broke into chaos in an instant, and various people throughout the mountaintop monastery leapt into action. A door deep within the monastery's main hall was flung open as half a dozen armor-clad female warriors carrying two-pronged spears rushed into the room.
"High Abbess?!"
The lead warrior cried out, her wide eyes rapidly scanning the room, attempting to find the unseen threat. But the only thing inside the room was a panting young woman who appeared but twenty years old, sitting on the simple straw bedroll as sweat poured from her shaved head. The High Abbess took a few deep, ragged breaths before turning towards the guards.
"I'm… I'm fine, Captain. Return to your posts."
"But High Abbess!"
"I said I'm fine!" the High Abbess snapped, her voice visibly shaking the air and causing the warriors to flinch.
The High Abbess took another breath and repeated, this time steady and soft. "I'll… be fine, Captain. Thank you. Please see that the proper people are informed that everything is alright. Also, spread the word that meditation today will begin early."
The guard captain snapped into a salute, though her eyes still looked at the High Abbess in worry. "Yes, ma'am!"
Then, as one, the group exited the room and gently shut the door.
The High Abbess slowly stood and approached the nearby wash basin. She stared into the clear water at her reflection, noting the deep bags and bloodshot eyes that marred her otherwise striking features.
With a sigh, she reached down and splashed some cool water on her face before standing and speaking into the empty room without turning around. "Isabelle, I believe I asked to be left alone…"
"Booo! I still want to know how you do that."
From the shadows, a figure materialized. A young woman dressed in skin-tight black cloth up to her eyes, under dark leather armor. The image would have been intimidating had the woman's cerulean eyes and long, neatly curled golden locks not ruined it.
The High Abbess sighed and turned to face the woman. "What are you wearing?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.
Isabelle squealed and spun on her heel.
"Do you like it, Mitsuko?! I had it custom-made just last week! It's made of Shadestalker silk and —"
Amari Mitsuko, High Abbess of the Shanti Oni Monastery, raised a hand to stop her over-excited friend.
"I'm curious about why my spymaster looks like a fresh-blood adventurer attempting to look edgy and dark."
"Awww, you're never any fun anymore. These outfits are great for stealth missions, though! It's not like my Agents will always wear them!" Isabelle pouted her lip as she looked up at the High Abbess.
She coughed lightly and added, "Besides, I've already sent in an order for a hundred…" under her breath, though they both knew the High Abbess could hear her perfectly well.
The High Abbess sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose, and gestured out the door.
"Just GO, Isabelle. I have to get ready for the morning meditation. I'll speak to you later today."
Isabelle slumped, defeated, before making her way to the open door. She stopped at the doorway and, without turning, asked in a soft voice, its previous brightness missing,
"Hey, Mi-Mi, are…"
"I'm fine, Isabelle. Now please, we have much to do."
Isabelle stood silent for a moment longer before disappearing around the doorframe.
The High Abbess returned to the washbasin and finished cleaning herself for the morning before staring out a nearby window. Yes, they had far too much still to do… and so little time left.
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The two old men sat silently at the small table, taking in the beautiful view from high atop the tower. The man on the left wore a simple white gi, accented with only a jade outline of an open eye. His long, white beard was neatly braided and lay across his lap. The other man wore an elegant brown robe whose fibers seemed to mimic the grain and texture of rich wood and dark soil. While he appeared much younger than his counterpart, the march of time remained visible on the man's weathered and tired face.
The brown-robed man was the first to speak, his voice deep but smooth and controlled as befit a man who had spent years as an experienced orator. "So, my old friend, you couldn't learn anything? How strange. Yesterday, if someone had told me that the Grand Seer couldn't learn even the tiniest detail about the Starfall, I'd have laughed them out of my office."
The Grand Seer simply sipped his tea and laid the cup down. His wizened voice cracked as if out of practice, though its strength didn't match his aged appearance. "Cedar, my boy, I know you have grown used to twisting words during your time in the wasp's nest you call an Assembly, but don't try that on me. I whooped you when you were a lad. Don't think I won't do the same still, Archmage or not."
The two stared at each other over the table for a long moment, eyes hard, before the façade broke, and both men broke out into laughter.
When the laughter died, Cedar looked at the old man with a raised brow. "In all seriousness, though, nothing?"
The Grand Seer sighed and lowered his head.
"No, not 'nothing.' It's simply what there is that makes no sense. There are pieces of the puzzle missing, and I can't tell if this event is simply one piece in itself or if things are being… hidden."
"Hidden?! From you? Who could do something like that?" Cedar's eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped.
The Grand Seer's eyes clouded over as he turned to look out over the vast expanse below them.
"Yes… that is the question… isn't it?"
————————————————
A young girl lay sleeping inside the crystal sphere, curled tightly into a ball. Thousands of thick, glowing roots were wrapped around it as they held it suspended over a bottomless pit. Suddenly, a deep rumbling from the pit could be heard, the grinding of stone on stone and a deep crackling like ice breaking in the dead of winter.
The girl's features pinched into a frown as she squirmed in her rest, as if fighting some strange nightmare. As she did, a single drop of crystal-clear liquid slid from the surface of the crystal sphere and fell into the pit below. The drop fell and fell until even the light of the roots above could no longer reach it.
Then the darkness below fell silent once more.
————————————————
Lian Peng, once more in the form of a young man in scholarly robes, meditated atop what remained of the wreck, watching the three figures approach.
The first was a black dragon, so dark that she stood out even against the empty void around her, her serpentine body so long it created the illusion of stretching into infinity.
Following closely beside — too closely! — a gargantuan whale-like creature seemed to 'swim' through space itself. The massive beast could have easily swallowed Lian Peng's own [Divine Avatar], but it was still dwarfed by the still larger wreck beneath him.
And in front of both, egging them on with mocking jeers, while laughing the entire time, was a young… girl? She sat cross-legged on top of what appeared to be a massive fireball, half a mile wide, though the flames didn't appear to worry her. They didn't even so much as singe the giant, pointy hat she insisted on wearing, though it was several sizes too big for her slight frame.
After crossing the void between them and the wreck, all three stopped only a few meters away, the two massive creatures taking on human forms in swirls of Celestial Energy. The enormous fireball simply dissolved into millions of tiny embers with a wave of the girl's hand.
Lian Peng bowed deeply to the young girl.
"Grand Magus Deathstealer. It is good to see you again, Teacher."
The young girl nodded, struggling not to be smothered by her hat.
Then, turning to the former dragon, he bowed again, though not as deeply.
"Lunar Queen Xiàshuō. Truly, I am blessed to have a Taskforce Director such as you rush to my aid."
Xiàshuō's beauty was as mesmerizing as ever, and he could barely look away. If anyone had ever deserved to be called a 'Fairy,' it was her. Then again, some would say he was just biased.
Finally, Lian Peng turned to the group's last member, a large, muscular warrior, his body sculpted and perfected by thousands of years of combat and conflict.
"Namgil…" Lian Peng spoke, both his voice and face blank as a slate.
"That's Lunar King Namgil, you birdbrained bastard! At least use my title!" the large man yelled.
Lian Peng chuckled, covering his mouth with the sleeve of his robe. "I'll use it when you actually beat me for once."
Lunar King Namgil roared, a vein visibly pulsing on his head. "Screw you! Who's the one late to Divinity?! I've already surpassed you!"
Lian Peng scoffed.
"And yet you have still lost every time we duel. Maybe if you'd not rushed ahead and spent some time on your Foundation, you might have stood a chance!"
"Why you!" Namgil clenched his fists.
Namgil rushed Lian Peng as the latter took a combat stance…
…only for a small girl to appear between them, whacking both across the head with a large, gnarled staff that had appeared out of nowhere.
"Now, boys, there's a time and a place for everything. This is not either."
Though her smile was bright and her voice cheerful, Lian Peng and Namgil froze, cold sweats breaking over their skin and chills sweeping down their spines. At the gentle tilt of her head, long forgotten memories carved deep into their bodies and souls were revived, like ravenous nightmares clawing to be set free. Neither hesitated, backing away and bowing deep to the Grand Magus.
"Yes, Teacher!" they echoed.
Xiàshuō, for her part, only sighed, placing her head in her empty palm and shaking her head.
The Grand Magus nodded, then turned her eyes towards the wreck below them.
"I would ask you to explain what's going on here and what you found, but I'm afraid Lian Peng's little spat has attracted some insects. How about it, boys? Want to show some children why the Lunar Scouts are still top dogs?"
When she spoke, Lian Peng turned his attention to the two dozen or so unknown energy signatures advancing from every direction.
Sighing with a weariness that dug into his bones, Lian Peng prepared to meet their 'guests.'
He could never get a break, could he?
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Book 1 – Arc 2 Prologue: "First Contact"
[author]
Happy Thursday! And Welcome to Arc 2 of the first Book!
How are you guys liking the "Mon/Thurs/Fri" rotation? I might switch it up to Mon/Wens/Fri next month to if that works better. What do you Think?
ANYWAY! Thanks for all the Support everyone! We've hit #12 on Royal Road's Rising Stars list! Hurrah! We're even #2 on the Comedy section! Woot! keep up all the good work everyone!
Check out the patreon if you've not already! they're already 6 chapters ahead!
[/author]
==============================================
How had it all gone so wrong so quickly?
Memories from what seemed like ages ago, but had only been that morning, flashed through Yutu's mind. He'd woken up excited, if tired, having spent the entire night preparing for today. That day would be their first hunt. A rite of passage for most, but more so for him. Yutu the coward, they called him, Yutu the mouse, always jumping at every little shadow.
That's how it had always been, and if he was honest, they weren't wrong. Yutu knew he wasn't the strongest, fastest, or even smartest man in the Radiant Sea prairies. Not even Slatewalker village, regardless of what his mother told him. He knew he always hid in the shadow of Gan or relied on Zolzaya to stand up for him. But today was going to be his day! He'd studied for years, mastering the trap arrays used by his village. Today, he would finally be useful. He'd finally make it up to his friends and the village.
They had started out strong, a group of 30 young men and women heading out on their first official hunting trip since graduating from their apprenticeships. Officially, the group was led by Senior Grassreader Kallik, but they were on their own in practice.
Guardian Ulagan, a man only a few years older than the oldest graduate, had led the team of escorts that would follow them, but it was just as much a test for him as it was for them. When they returned, he would be raised to Senior Guardian, the youngest in five generations. They were even making great time, which several successful finds in only the first few days.
Then the Firmament cracked.
Yutu had heard of "Fallen Stars" before. Every child on the Skybreaker continent, from the poorest street rat to the most arrogant young masters, grew up on stories of the grand immortals. Stories of Heroes from legend overcoming their earthly bonds to shatter the sky and step into the realm of gods and celestials.
Many of those stories spoke of Fallen Stars; fragments from the realm beyond, gifts from those who had broken the Final Barrier so that others might follow them.
Sometimes they were mighty weapons on which dynasties could be built. Sometimes they were small mountains containing vast wealth. Other times it was jade tablets filled with mystical knowledge and esoteric secrets. Whatever their nature, every Fallen Star promised untold power and a bright future. That's how the stories made it seem, at least. That's how it should have been.
This Star only brought with it a calamity.
The thing that had broken through the Firmament wasn't some gentle light seeking its destined owner. It was a raging torrent of destruction, like the wrath of an unknown god crashing down on the world. The pillar of fire that descended from the crack in the sky was bright enough to blind him in the second before he turned away. When it hit the earth, the entire world seemed to shake, sending shockwaves that rocked the surrounding prairies for dozens of kilometers. Great waves of stone and earth threw their group into chaos as the Trappers and Herbalists struggled to calm the pack beasts while the Guardians helped those who needed it.
Many in the group were excited; the prospect of a Fallen Star was tempting. Many of the Great Clans of the Wandering Cities had been uplifted thanks to these gifts from the heavens. This might be Slatewalker's chance to get out from under the yoke of Jadewalker, they argued.
It wasn't meant to be, however. Senior Grassreader Kallik used her authority to order a full retreat to the village. Yutu had thought it was a good call, personally; there was no way in hell they were the only ones to see THAT display. Who knew what other powers were headed in that direction at that very moment? Both man and beast. They were a freshly graduated group of former apprentices on their first real hunt. Even if they made it to the impact site without running across someone or something dangerous, there was no way they could lay a claim to the Fallen Star themselves, let alone keep it.
So, despite the grumbling and protests, the group had repaired and salvaged what they could, then headed off in the opposite direction. They might not have been coming home with a Fallen Star, but they could one day say they were there to see it fall. That itself was a story worthy of the fireside and one many of them would share for years to come.
As it was, they didn't make it two kilometers before the Grassbreaker penguins attacked.
The attack had come without warning. One moment, peace, and the next, a giant flipper, gleaming with metal-affinity Spirit energy, had erupted from the middle of their group. It had cleaved through two unlucky herbalists before cutting through the prairies at blinding speeds toward Senior Grassreader Kallik. The older woman barely noticed in time, dodging just enough that she lost an arm and leg to the cutting flipper instead of being sliced cleanly down the middle.
Then chaos erupted. A dozen, much smaller figures burst from their surroundings. Everyone in the group was at least early-stage [Stone Body], so most dodged in time.
Most, not all.
Yutu could still hear the screams of men and women he'd spent the last week with, as they were dragged down by their necks into the liquified earth.
The Guardian's reaction had been instant, taking position around the group and using their own earth-affinity to fight against that of the Spirit beasts, preventing any more ambushes. Zolzaya rushed to her mentor's side, administering what first aid she could, but Yutu could tell it was bad. One of the other Herbalists grabbed the Grassreader's fallen arm.
It could be reattached if preserved, but a penguin had already snatched her leg.
The group went into lockdown mode, with Trappers surrounding the carts as they started work on emergency arrays, while Herbalists took shelter behind them and the Guardians protected the group from the edges.
It wasn't enough.
A normal Grassbreaker penguin flock numbered in anywhere from six to twelve individuals. As the "wolves" of the Radiant Sea prairies, they were aggressively territorial and didn't work well with other flocks. The flock that emerged from the ground was larger than any Yutu had ever heard of.
Yutu's heart felt like it would burst from his chest as he watched hundreds of dog-sized figures appear around them. They were screwed. The rest of the group seemed to agree with his assessment of their situation if the sudden, dead silence was anything to go by.
That eerie silence was broken by the choked voice of the Grassreader as she sat at the back of the large cart.
"Run."
That was all it took. The group moved as one, making a mad dash toward the edge of the encirclement. Trappers and Guardians batted away the now swarming Spirit beasts as the large cart barreled through them, with Herbalists piled on the top or running beside them.
As Spirit beasts, the Grassbreaker penguin wasn't all too strong. Flock leaders might reach peak-stage [Stone Body] or even early [Iron Body], but that was rare. The vast majority never made it past middle-stage [Wood Body]. Even an older teen could fight one off if they didn't get ambushed. But there was never just a single penguin in a flock, and as ambush predators, they were highly adept at using their strong earth-affinity to stay out of sight until the very last moment.
That was the primary reason earth-affinity was required to become a Guardian; it allowed them to detect the pests before they became a problem. They could even apply their own authority to prevent the earth from turning to liquid under their feet. The earth-aligned Spirit energy in the area must have been in total chaos after the impact, or the beasts would never have ambushed them.
Only one had ever been recorded reaching beyond [Bronze Spirit], the step after [Iron Body]. It was an aberrant that had terrorized the Radiant Sea for nearly a decade before being brought low.
"Yutu! Watch out!"
A young woman screamed from the back of the large cart.
Yutu's eyes went wide, snapping up from the array he'd been desperately working on, only for his vision to fill with a toothy-beaked maw. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the dog-sized penguin-like creature behind the maw dove through the air toward him. Yutu's limbs felt heavy like lead as he screamed at them to move just a little faster, but in his heart, he knew he wouldn't make it.
At the very last second, when Yutu could feel the creature's hot breath and smell the rotting contents of its stomach, something slammed into it hard, causing it to skew off target and soar past him. Yutu flinched as hot, red blood splattered across his face. He could only stare forward, eyes wide open and his mind blank, before someone grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along.
After a few steps, Yutu's brain restarted, and his eyes whipped toward the figure of the penguin with a large hunting spear buried deep in its side. His heart went from rapidly beating to threatening to tear itself from his chest. Yutu's eyes then turned to the person dragging him along. Ganbaatar, his childhood frenemy, ran beside him, eyes locked forward as they raced after the others. Yutu opened his mouth, but the words came out garbled and low.
"Gan… I… I mea…"
Gan didn't even look in his direction, not daring to take his eyes off their escape route.
"No talking, more running!"
In a rare moment, Yutu found he agreed with the muscle head and focused on their escape.
If they could only make it back to the village, they might stand a chance.
Either way, SOMEONE needed to make it.
Someone needed to let others know what they'd learned here today.
Not about the Fallen Star. That wasn't their concern anymore.
No, the Wandering Cities needed to know something far more important.
Beast Lord Kusanagi was awake.
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For the third time, too many during this mission, Alpha's consciousness flickered back online. Seriously, he had to stop passing out in the middle of a fight! It was getting embarrassing! Dangerous too, but mostly embarrassing! The last thing he remembered was being blasted through an ice sheet by a giant…
"!!! CHICKEN!!!"
Alpha sprang up, the TAWP groaning in protest, even sparking in a few places, as point defense torrents came to life, firing wildly in all directions before he realized he wasn't still under attack.
Wait, why wasn't he under attack?
Alpha turned the TAWP around, getting a better look at his situation but not liking a few of the sounds it was making. A quick diagnostic review showed most of his major systems were still functioning. His TAWP was in rough shape. The worst damage was to one of the front legs. The entire front armor section was totally ruined, with both the metal and nanites used in its construction reduced to slag.
"MY LEG!!! QAQ"
Its internal frame was slightly bent as well, causing mobility issues. He could still fight if he had to, but he sure as hell wasn't pulling off any of the fancy maneuvers he had during the fights with the squid and chicken.
To make matters worse, that last attack on his hex-shield almost drained his energy core. It would take extensive repairs and a lot of time before he was up to even 15% full functionality. But that was future Alpha's problem. Present Alpha had bigger issues to worry about.
Like getting out of this crater.
He knew the old saying was "dig yourself in a hole," but he never thought it could be so… literal.
The crater he stood in wasn't massive, as craters go. He'd seen bigger, at least. Hell, he'd made bigger (pffft, puny chicken). The bigger issue was that it was deep; Big Bird's attack hadn't just crashed him against the planet; it had bored him into it. The resulting crater was less a shallow impact crater and more like someone took a planet-sized ice-cream scooper to the world and dumped him at the bottom.
He couldn't even make out anything past the rim of the crater, only the clear, empty sky above him.
… wait… clear?… EMPTY?!
"THEY TOOK MY SHIP!"
Alpha screamed into the open sky.
Why did he feel like he was yelling a lot today?
Ok, sure, it was the twisted wreckage of what used to be his ship, but still! It was the principle of the matter! No one steals from him! Only he's allowed to steal!
Ohhhh, as soon as he figured a way out of this hole (both physically and metaphorically), he was sooooo going to show that chicken who the real cock of the walk was!… wait, that didn't sound correct…
No matter! The point was, he was totally going to blow something of his up next time! MAYBE HIS BLOODY MOON! Ya! Burn it down! Now If he could just find some combustible lemons…
Scheming his future schemes schemingly, Alpha approached the crater's edge. There was no way he was making it up the side with the RCS thrusters, and a quick test confirmed the TAWP couldn't jump that high in its current condition. He doubted climbing out would work either; while the outer layer of the crater had been glassed, the earth underneath looked like loose topsoil, not something that could support his weight.
"Well, get your shovels ready, fellas…."
————
It had taken Alpha close to four hours to dig out a ramp larger enough to squeeze through and stable enough not to collapse under the enormous weight of the TAWP, but he'd managed it (if not without a lot of complaining and cursing, of course).
When he, at last, broke over the edge, however, Alpha had to stop and stare, not sure what to make of what he was seeing.
Instead of the lifeless, rocky core of an ice giant, as he'd expected, Alpha found himself on a seemingly endless prairie of strange, rainbow-colored grass, a few large, sparse maybe-trees dotting the horizon.
"… well, it's definitely not Kansas. I can tell you that much…."
As soon as the words left his speakers, a small clod of dirt slammed into the TAWP.
Alpha turned an optical sensor in that direction to find a small, gopher-like creature angrily chittering at him from a distance.
The creature slammed a small paw into the ground, and another dirt clod magically rose into the air and shot toward him, harmlessly splattering across his frame.
Alpha sighed.
Everyone's a critic…
Happy Thursday! And Welcome to Arc 2 of the first Book!
How are you guys liking the "Mon/Thurs/Fri" rotation? I might switch it up to Mon/Wens/Fri next month to if that works better. What do you Think?
ANYWAY! Thanks for all the Support everyone! We've hit #12 on Royal Road's Rising Stars list! Hurrah! We're even #2 on the Comedy section! Woot! keep up all the good work everyone!
Check out the patreon if you've not already! they're already 6 chapters ahead!
[/author]
==============================================
===================================
Book 1 – Arc 2 Prologue: "First Contact"
===================================
Book 1 – Arc 2 Prologue: "First Contact"
===================================
How had it all gone so wrong so quickly?
Memories from what seemed like ages ago, but had only been that morning, flashed through Yutu's mind. He'd woken up excited, if tired, having spent the entire night preparing for today. That day would be their first hunt. A rite of passage for most, but more so for him. Yutu the coward, they called him, Yutu the mouse, always jumping at every little shadow.
That's how it had always been, and if he was honest, they weren't wrong. Yutu knew he wasn't the strongest, fastest, or even smartest man in the Radiant Sea prairies. Not even Slatewalker village, regardless of what his mother told him. He knew he always hid in the shadow of Gan or relied on Zolzaya to stand up for him. But today was going to be his day! He'd studied for years, mastering the trap arrays used by his village. Today, he would finally be useful. He'd finally make it up to his friends and the village.
They had started out strong, a group of 30 young men and women heading out on their first official hunting trip since graduating from their apprenticeships. Officially, the group was led by Senior Grassreader Kallik, but they were on their own in practice.
Guardian Ulagan, a man only a few years older than the oldest graduate, had led the team of escorts that would follow them, but it was just as much a test for him as it was for them. When they returned, he would be raised to Senior Guardian, the youngest in five generations. They were even making great time, which several successful finds in only the first few days.
Then the Firmament cracked.
Yutu had heard of "Fallen Stars" before. Every child on the Skybreaker continent, from the poorest street rat to the most arrogant young masters, grew up on stories of the grand immortals. Stories of Heroes from legend overcoming their earthly bonds to shatter the sky and step into the realm of gods and celestials.
Many of those stories spoke of Fallen Stars; fragments from the realm beyond, gifts from those who had broken the Final Barrier so that others might follow them.
Sometimes they were mighty weapons on which dynasties could be built. Sometimes they were small mountains containing vast wealth. Other times it was jade tablets filled with mystical knowledge and esoteric secrets. Whatever their nature, every Fallen Star promised untold power and a bright future. That's how the stories made it seem, at least. That's how it should have been.
This Star only brought with it a calamity.
The thing that had broken through the Firmament wasn't some gentle light seeking its destined owner. It was a raging torrent of destruction, like the wrath of an unknown god crashing down on the world. The pillar of fire that descended from the crack in the sky was bright enough to blind him in the second before he turned away. When it hit the earth, the entire world seemed to shake, sending shockwaves that rocked the surrounding prairies for dozens of kilometers. Great waves of stone and earth threw their group into chaos as the Trappers and Herbalists struggled to calm the pack beasts while the Guardians helped those who needed it.
Many in the group were excited; the prospect of a Fallen Star was tempting. Many of the Great Clans of the Wandering Cities had been uplifted thanks to these gifts from the heavens. This might be Slatewalker's chance to get out from under the yoke of Jadewalker, they argued.
It wasn't meant to be, however. Senior Grassreader Kallik used her authority to order a full retreat to the village. Yutu had thought it was a good call, personally; there was no way in hell they were the only ones to see THAT display. Who knew what other powers were headed in that direction at that very moment? Both man and beast. They were a freshly graduated group of former apprentices on their first real hunt. Even if they made it to the impact site without running across someone or something dangerous, there was no way they could lay a claim to the Fallen Star themselves, let alone keep it.
So, despite the grumbling and protests, the group had repaired and salvaged what they could, then headed off in the opposite direction. They might not have been coming home with a Fallen Star, but they could one day say they were there to see it fall. That itself was a story worthy of the fireside and one many of them would share for years to come.
As it was, they didn't make it two kilometers before the Grassbreaker penguins attacked.
The attack had come without warning. One moment, peace, and the next, a giant flipper, gleaming with metal-affinity Spirit energy, had erupted from the middle of their group. It had cleaved through two unlucky herbalists before cutting through the prairies at blinding speeds toward Senior Grassreader Kallik. The older woman barely noticed in time, dodging just enough that she lost an arm and leg to the cutting flipper instead of being sliced cleanly down the middle.
Then chaos erupted. A dozen, much smaller figures burst from their surroundings. Everyone in the group was at least early-stage [Stone Body], so most dodged in time.
Most, not all.
Yutu could still hear the screams of men and women he'd spent the last week with, as they were dragged down by their necks into the liquified earth.
The Guardian's reaction had been instant, taking position around the group and using their own earth-affinity to fight against that of the Spirit beasts, preventing any more ambushes. Zolzaya rushed to her mentor's side, administering what first aid she could, but Yutu could tell it was bad. One of the other Herbalists grabbed the Grassreader's fallen arm.
It could be reattached if preserved, but a penguin had already snatched her leg.
The group went into lockdown mode, with Trappers surrounding the carts as they started work on emergency arrays, while Herbalists took shelter behind them and the Guardians protected the group from the edges.
It wasn't enough.
A normal Grassbreaker penguin flock numbered in anywhere from six to twelve individuals. As the "wolves" of the Radiant Sea prairies, they were aggressively territorial and didn't work well with other flocks. The flock that emerged from the ground was larger than any Yutu had ever heard of.
Yutu's heart felt like it would burst from his chest as he watched hundreds of dog-sized figures appear around them. They were screwed. The rest of the group seemed to agree with his assessment of their situation if the sudden, dead silence was anything to go by.
That eerie silence was broken by the choked voice of the Grassreader as she sat at the back of the large cart.
"Run."
That was all it took. The group moved as one, making a mad dash toward the edge of the encirclement. Trappers and Guardians batted away the now swarming Spirit beasts as the large cart barreled through them, with Herbalists piled on the top or running beside them.
As Spirit beasts, the Grassbreaker penguin wasn't all too strong. Flock leaders might reach peak-stage [Stone Body] or even early [Iron Body], but that was rare. The vast majority never made it past middle-stage [Wood Body]. Even an older teen could fight one off if they didn't get ambushed. But there was never just a single penguin in a flock, and as ambush predators, they were highly adept at using their strong earth-affinity to stay out of sight until the very last moment.
That was the primary reason earth-affinity was required to become a Guardian; it allowed them to detect the pests before they became a problem. They could even apply their own authority to prevent the earth from turning to liquid under their feet. The earth-aligned Spirit energy in the area must have been in total chaos after the impact, or the beasts would never have ambushed them.
Only one had ever been recorded reaching beyond [Bronze Spirit], the step after [Iron Body]. It was an aberrant that had terrorized the Radiant Sea for nearly a decade before being brought low.
"Yutu! Watch out!"
A young woman screamed from the back of the large cart.
Yutu's eyes went wide, snapping up from the array he'd been desperately working on, only for his vision to fill with a toothy-beaked maw. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the dog-sized penguin-like creature behind the maw dove through the air toward him. Yutu's limbs felt heavy like lead as he screamed at them to move just a little faster, but in his heart, he knew he wouldn't make it.
At the very last second, when Yutu could feel the creature's hot breath and smell the rotting contents of its stomach, something slammed into it hard, causing it to skew off target and soar past him. Yutu flinched as hot, red blood splattered across his face. He could only stare forward, eyes wide open and his mind blank, before someone grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along.
After a few steps, Yutu's brain restarted, and his eyes whipped toward the figure of the penguin with a large hunting spear buried deep in its side. His heart went from rapidly beating to threatening to tear itself from his chest. Yutu's eyes then turned to the person dragging him along. Ganbaatar, his childhood frenemy, ran beside him, eyes locked forward as they raced after the others. Yutu opened his mouth, but the words came out garbled and low.
"Gan… I… I mea…"
Gan didn't even look in his direction, not daring to take his eyes off their escape route.
"No talking, more running!"
In a rare moment, Yutu found he agreed with the muscle head and focused on their escape.
If they could only make it back to the village, they might stand a chance.
Either way, SOMEONE needed to make it.
Someone needed to let others know what they'd learned here today.
Not about the Fallen Star. That wasn't their concern anymore.
No, the Wandering Cities needed to know something far more important.
Beast Lord Kusanagi was awake.
============================================
For the third time, too many during this mission, Alpha's consciousness flickered back online. Seriously, he had to stop passing out in the middle of a fight! It was getting embarrassing! Dangerous too, but mostly embarrassing! The last thing he remembered was being blasted through an ice sheet by a giant…
"!!! CHICKEN!!!"
Alpha sprang up, the TAWP groaning in protest, even sparking in a few places, as point defense torrents came to life, firing wildly in all directions before he realized he wasn't still under attack.
Wait, why wasn't he under attack?
Alpha turned the TAWP around, getting a better look at his situation but not liking a few of the sounds it was making. A quick diagnostic review showed most of his major systems were still functioning. His TAWP was in rough shape. The worst damage was to one of the front legs. The entire front armor section was totally ruined, with both the metal and nanites used in its construction reduced to slag.
"MY LEG!!! QAQ"
Its internal frame was slightly bent as well, causing mobility issues. He could still fight if he had to, but he sure as hell wasn't pulling off any of the fancy maneuvers he had during the fights with the squid and chicken.
To make matters worse, that last attack on his hex-shield almost drained his energy core. It would take extensive repairs and a lot of time before he was up to even 15% full functionality. But that was future Alpha's problem. Present Alpha had bigger issues to worry about.
Like getting out of this crater.
He knew the old saying was "dig yourself in a hole," but he never thought it could be so… literal.
The crater he stood in wasn't massive, as craters go. He'd seen bigger, at least. Hell, he'd made bigger (pffft, puny chicken). The bigger issue was that it was deep; Big Bird's attack hadn't just crashed him against the planet; it had bored him into it. The resulting crater was less a shallow impact crater and more like someone took a planet-sized ice-cream scooper to the world and dumped him at the bottom.
He couldn't even make out anything past the rim of the crater, only the clear, empty sky above him.
… wait… clear?… EMPTY?!
"THEY TOOK MY SHIP!"
Alpha screamed into the open sky.
Why did he feel like he was yelling a lot today?
Ok, sure, it was the twisted wreckage of what used to be his ship, but still! It was the principle of the matter! No one steals from him! Only he's allowed to steal!
Ohhhh, as soon as he figured a way out of this hole (both physically and metaphorically), he was sooooo going to show that chicken who the real cock of the walk was!… wait, that didn't sound correct…
No matter! The point was, he was totally going to blow something of his up next time! MAYBE HIS BLOODY MOON! Ya! Burn it down! Now If he could just find some combustible lemons…
Scheming his future schemes schemingly, Alpha approached the crater's edge. There was no way he was making it up the side with the RCS thrusters, and a quick test confirmed the TAWP couldn't jump that high in its current condition. He doubted climbing out would work either; while the outer layer of the crater had been glassed, the earth underneath looked like loose topsoil, not something that could support his weight.
"Well, get your shovels ready, fellas…."
————
It had taken Alpha close to four hours to dig out a ramp larger enough to squeeze through and stable enough not to collapse under the enormous weight of the TAWP, but he'd managed it (if not without a lot of complaining and cursing, of course).
When he, at last, broke over the edge, however, Alpha had to stop and stare, not sure what to make of what he was seeing.
Instead of the lifeless, rocky core of an ice giant, as he'd expected, Alpha found himself on a seemingly endless prairie of strange, rainbow-colored grass, a few large, sparse maybe-trees dotting the horizon.
"… well, it's definitely not Kansas. I can tell you that much…."
As soon as the words left his speakers, a small clod of dirt slammed into the TAWP.
Alpha turned an optical sensor in that direction to find a small, gopher-like creature angrily chittering at him from a distance.
The creature slammed a small paw into the ground, and another dirt clod magically rose into the air and shot toward him, harmlessly splattering across his frame.
Alpha sighed.
Everyone's a critic…
Last edited:
Book 1 - Lesson 12: "Murphy always collects interest."
Early Release! Woooot! Today's Public Chapter is dropping a bit early, as I have a Doc Appointment/Minor surgery around the normal time, that I totally forgot about until last night. ;;>.>.
It'll be out late tonight, but I wanted to spend some more time editing it like I typically do before release (we all know they can need it...).
So until then, enjoy!
And as always, be sure to point out any Errors you see and I'll do my best to get to them.
The AIs don't catch EVERYTHING, even with 3. They especially struggle with errors that might be grammatically correct, but not contextually.
================
Speaking of Patreon, we're at 60% of our Stability Goal already! GOOD JOB EVERYONE!
°˖✧＼(⌒▽⌒)／✧˖°
Remember, the month that hits 100% will see 2 FREE CHAPTERS + 1 Advanced Chapter for Patreon for a total of an entire extra Week of content!! Hurrah! So if you want to help up reach that goal, or just want to read 6 chapters ahead, check out the Link in the Shout-out at the bottom of this chapter.
================
Alpha - 7,234
Murphy - 1 [+1]
Yep, screw this day.
Screw spontaneously appearing black holes.
Screw random space squids flying in the middle of the road.
Screw mysterious star systems that appear out of nowhere
Especially screw fiery moon chickens with giant death lasers!
Who gives a chicken a death laser?! Why does everything in this place have lasers?!
//Please designate a location for delivery.//
"No, you stupid AI, I said hold it, HOLD!"
For the third time, Alpha had to stop the transport drone from storing his detached manipulator arm in its cargo bay.
//Please designate a location for delivery.//
"Just… stop… please."
Alpha grumbled some very unkind things lower than the transport drone's audio sensors could pick up. The last few hours had been… vexing. He had to stop questioning most of the surrounding insanity, or he'd have gone insane himself. Things like space squids, moon chickens, or temperate prairies on what should be an ice giant. Or how said ice giant was covered by an icy shell that blocked the view of the surface but somehow allowed a near-perfect view outside from within, like a two-way planetary mirror! Or how—!!!
{"Nope! Bad Alpha! You're gonna blow a circuit again."}
The strange ice shell surrounding the planet was an issue, though. Alpha couldn't even tell what the thing was made of; despite being almost invisible on this side, it still absorbed all his signals. He couldn't get anything past the cursed barrier to reconnect to his drones and see where they'd been taken. A fully charged shot from a properly printed [Gungnir] might break through again, but that was pointless without a way to get off the planet. Besides, he only had half a dozen nitrogen crystals left, nowhere near enough.
Making more crystals would take time, too. Alpha had all the blueprints needed for the equipment to make more, but that would require proper infrastructure. To build that infrastructure, he needed to scout the planet and find an appropriate place to set up shop. And to do THAT, he had to use a few of his limited nanite nests to gather materials for basic field repairs.
In a stroke of luck, the transport drone he'd used as a platform during the last attack had also survived planetfall. They were made to last; after all, you never knew when one might be attacked by a pirate or stellar lifeform. Even the sketchier scrappers would nab an unguarded transport drone if they thought they could get away with it.
//Please designate a lo—//
"YES! I heard you the first time!"
Alpha sighed.
After assessing his surroundings and getting the drone back online, Alpha had quickly vacated his crash site. No telling what attention that had attracted.
That brought him to the present. He threw another random rock into the drone's storage area, then moved on. The billowing cloud of nanites inside started pulling the stone apart into its composite elements. That was the benefit of nanite mining; because the nanites stripped things down on a molecular level, you could pull materials from just about anything. Materials such as quartz and trace metals were found in even the most ordinary rocks.
Most of it would be rearranged into more easily processable materials, using energy from the transport drone's own fusion battery. The only issue was the process was painfully inefficient. The amount of useable materials he could extract with this method on the move was barely enough to do some basic repairs. It was like trying to repair a sports car with duct tape and dreams. It would get him where he needed to go, but that was about it.
If only he could get this drone's AI to listen, he might get the chance to fix the wiring on the manipulator arm it was holding. Non-sapient Federation AI were intelligent, to a point, able to problem solve and "think" in the context of their programming. You could give them an order, and as long as they could "understand" that order, they could typically carry it out.
This was great for manufacturing and other forms of manual labor. You just had to tell an AI how a job was done, and they would do it. They could even follow complex flowcharts to problem solve and work around issues, such as adjusting parameters to account for environmental effects or reacting to sudden changes in enemy movements.
What they needed help with was critical thinking. They couldn't form new conclusions or work outside the information they were given. If a group of construction AI, programmed to construct metal ships, were asked to make a wooden ship without being taught how to use wood, they would fail. In the best-case scenario, they may try to construct the ship like it was metal, with often comical results. Worst-case, they could be locked in an endless logic loop that needed a full reset to fix.
In most cases, this problem was fixed by having groups of AI overseen by a sapient capable of critical thinking. When a drone encountered an issue it couldn't solve on its own, it would query its overseer for answers.
How many AI a person could handle at once was entirely determined by talent, though some species had an obvious advantage. Some, like the Elderon, with their in-born psionic abilities, found it came naturally, whereas a typical Vidaasi had difficulty with more than a dozen. Humans, on the whole, were in the middle somewhere, with individuals differing to a large extent. Highly skilled drone commanders were in high demand, so those with talent never lacked work.
And, of course, In the realm of drone commanders, Sapient-AI was supreme. It was one reason unshackled Sapient-AI were so dangerous; a single AI with an army of subordinate, non-sapient AI could cause untold amounts of damage on their own.
Now, if this drone would just behave…
No matter how often he'd tried to reformat the AI's order parameters, it kept resetting to package delivery. Alpha was sure some internal damage was causing the issue, but he didn't have the time or tools to check. He'd have scrapped it for parts if it wasn't for its usefulness as a makeshift refinery. Not that he wasn't tempted to…
Alpha used his attached arm to push the floating drone away, barely avoiding the mud ball that soared past. Then there was his other issue.
He wasn't sure what he'd done to anger the gopher-like creature with magic dirt powers (because, sure, why not at this point?), but the evil little thing had been following him for literal miles now, constantly harassing him. Ya, he could have just shot the thing and been done with it. But one of the primary principles drilled into him throughout his training was careful discernment when taking a life.
A disregard for living things was one of the fastest ways for a Sapient-AI to go insane. The disconnect between digital and biological life was too extreme without constant affirmation and reassertion. Many Sapient-AI had to go through decades of reprogramming and reeducation after their birth before they were allowed back into society. This was especially true for soldiers like Alpha. It was far too easy to see kills as just another number on a report list, not as real lives with actual history.
Sure, he'd been tempted to shoot when the gopher first showed, given all the crazy stuff he'd seen recently. Who knew? Maybe this gopher was the covert emperor of a subterranean kingdom that even the moon chicken had to respect. But so far, all it had done was hurl dirt at him and chitter away like any other angry animal.
Alpha had taken tours of cities where civilians lined the street and pelted him with literal garbage. What harm was a little dirt going to do? If his job was to go around shooting everything that looked like it could be a threat, why wouldn't the Federation just glass planets from orbit and be done with it?
Not that he couldn't have some fun, but he wasn't that kind of murderhobo. Alpha's primary targets had always been military and manufacturing infrastructures and groups designated as too dangerous to allow to exist. Non-dangerous wildlife, civilian centers, and peacefully surrendered targets were all a no-go. Outside of extraneous circumstances, or course.
Alpha's job was to cripple the enemy, so the Federation didn't have to glass them into submission.
That being said, this pest was smarter than it seemed. After watching Alpha for a few hours, the gopher had learned he would tolerate dirt on his surface, yet vehemently kept any dirt away from his sensitive internals. This meant the bloody thing had only started back up with the mud balls when he was doing repairs. He'd already had to clean out several parts with a silica wash. Alpha had been expecting it this time and easily countered.
"Ha! Suck it!"
The gopher stared at him in silence as if surprised it had missed, before bursting into another round of venomous chittering.
The drone spoke up as Alpha pulled it back toward him.
//Destination: "Suck it" is not in my catalogs. Would you like me to scan for it?//
Alpha paused, then sighed. Ya, definitely something wrong with this one…
"That's not wh—you know what? Sure, knock yourself out…."
//Acknowledged. Beginning scan.//
The transport drone sent out several signals of various types, trying to ping the non-existent beacon. It was a waste of time, of course, but maybe it would get the thing to shut up and remain still for a while, so he could get some work done.
That's when the screaming started.
The gopher pest began writhing in agony on top of the rainbow-colored grass, pressing its tiny paws to its skull. Even the grass seemed to react, with each blade in their vicinity displaying rapidly shifting, swirling colors like the prairies threw a surprise rave. That couldn't be good…
Alpha ordered;
"Hey!… HEY! Stop the scan! abort!"
//scan in progress. If you wish to start another scan, please wait.//
"No! I said STOP the scan, not—"
Alpha's words were cut off as the gopher gave its own high-pitched scream and threw itself bodily at the transport drone. It latched onto its front display and sank sharp teeth into the composite plastics. The drone jerked back in response, blaring a warning.
//Warning! Warning! Unit under attack! Begin evasive maneuvers!!//
Alpha reached for the drone but missed as it backpedaled away.
"What?! No! Get back here! You're not under attack! It's an overgrown rat!"
The drone did not.
Instead, it began a series of random maneuvers designed to throw off enemy targeting systems.
//Warning! Evasive maneuvers are ineffective! Activating 'Take_My_Loot_&_Leave.exe'//
"Abort! ABORT!"
//ERROR: Instructions unclear, overgrown rat stuck in audio sensors.//
"THEN HOW DID YOU HEAR ME?!"
//Take_My_Loot_&_Leave.exe' booted. Jettisoning cargo!//
"Nooooooo!!"
Alpha could only watch helplessly as the transport drone's cargo bay opened, and several hours' worth of work was ejected randomly across a kilometer of open prairie. The program in question was a standard inclusion in any transport drone. The theory was that if a transport drone got into a situation it couldn't escape, then jettisoning its cargo might distract whatever was attacking it long enough to get away. It was like a lizard cutting off its tail to escape a predator; to be fair, it worked, too. After all, losing some cargo was cheaper than replacing an entire drone.
It worked so well that pirates had adapted their tactics to restraining transports, rather than destroying them outright or crippling them (which would trigger its self-destruction protocol).
//Jettison complete! RUN AWAY!!//
Alpha tried to give chase, but it was already several dozen meters in the air, speeding off into the distance several times faster than the TAWP could move in its current state. It wasn't even responding to his overseer commands anymore.
The last image Alpha got from the short-ranged visual feed before it cut off was of a furry figure clinging onto the speeding drone for dear life.
"Wait!… you still have my arm… greeeeeat. "
… something in at the core of his being told Alpha he wouldn't like this mission very much…
Murphy - 2 [+1]
======================================
Transport Drone AI - G33-2R2-13I-900M [GRIM] was having an awful, terrible, not-so-fun day. In the short time she'd been online, she'd been almost eaten by a shiny squid, attacked by a flaming chicken, marooned on an unregistered Federation planet, yelled at by her programmer, and attacked for a THIRD time by a psychotic gopher! To make matters worse, she lost her programmer's arm during her escape!
Not good, not good at all! What was she going to do?! She wasn't programmed for this! Someone help!
As if sensing her distress, the furry devil who'd caused this most recent trouble to begin with reached down from on top of her cargo bay and patted her monitor. The nerve! She was tempted to flip over and hurl the creature to the ground. But that would have violated the Federation operation code [Fr2-i6e-22n-63dl-0y: Reasonable preservation of non-hostile life]. She could be deleted for that!
But… what could she do?! She didn't have a home beacon set. Her overseer wasn't responding. And she needed to get his arm back before he yelled at her again! She wasn't programmed for this kind of thing!!!
A person! That's what she needed to do! She needed to find a person! They could tell her what he was supposed to do! They could even help her find her overseer's arm! All jettisoned equipment was marked with quantum beacons, but she wasn't programmed to retrieve them herself. But she could lead someone else to them! YES! THIS COULD WORK!
… now, how did she find someone?
As GRIM wracked her processes, trying to figure out how to enact her plan, a rasp of tiny paws rang across her chassis. She flicked her visual sensors for the demon gopher and saw it staring into the distance. GRIM turned to look in that direction and saw an enormous mountain.
//A mountain? A MOUNTAIN!//
Yes! Mountains were just big asteroids! and asteroids meant miners! And miners meant an overseer!
Happy to be back on track, GRIM + 1 speed off toward the mountain in the distance.
=========================================
It'll be out late tonight, but I wanted to spend some more time editing it like I typically do before release (we all know they can need it...).
So until then, enjoy!
And as always, be sure to point out any Errors you see and I'll do my best to get to them.
The AIs don't catch EVERYTHING, even with 3. They especially struggle with errors that might be grammatically correct, but not contextually.
================
Speaking of Patreon, we're at 60% of our Stability Goal already! GOOD JOB EVERYONE!
°˖✧＼(⌒▽⌒)／✧˖°
Remember, the month that hits 100% will see 2 FREE CHAPTERS + 1 Advanced Chapter for Patreon for a total of an entire extra Week of content!! Hurrah! So if you want to help up reach that goal, or just want to read 6 chapters ahead, check out the Link in the Shout-out at the bottom of this chapter.
================
====================================
Book 1 - Lesson 12: "Murphy always collects interest."
====================================
Book 1 - Lesson 12: "Murphy always collects interest."
====================================
Alpha - 7,234
Murphy - 1 [+1]
Yep, screw this day.
Screw spontaneously appearing black holes.
Screw random space squids flying in the middle of the road.
Screw mysterious star systems that appear out of nowhere
Especially screw fiery moon chickens with giant death lasers!
Who gives a chicken a death laser?! Why does everything in this place have lasers?!
//Please designate a location for delivery.//
"No, you stupid AI, I said hold it, HOLD!"
For the third time, Alpha had to stop the transport drone from storing his detached manipulator arm in its cargo bay.
//Please designate a location for delivery.//
"Just… stop… please."
Alpha grumbled some very unkind things lower than the transport drone's audio sensors could pick up. The last few hours had been… vexing. He had to stop questioning most of the surrounding insanity, or he'd have gone insane himself. Things like space squids, moon chickens, or temperate prairies on what should be an ice giant. Or how said ice giant was covered by an icy shell that blocked the view of the surface but somehow allowed a near-perfect view outside from within, like a two-way planetary mirror! Or how—!!!
{"Nope! Bad Alpha! You're gonna blow a circuit again."}
The strange ice shell surrounding the planet was an issue, though. Alpha couldn't even tell what the thing was made of; despite being almost invisible on this side, it still absorbed all his signals. He couldn't get anything past the cursed barrier to reconnect to his drones and see where they'd been taken. A fully charged shot from a properly printed [Gungnir] might break through again, but that was pointless without a way to get off the planet. Besides, he only had half a dozen nitrogen crystals left, nowhere near enough.
Making more crystals would take time, too. Alpha had all the blueprints needed for the equipment to make more, but that would require proper infrastructure. To build that infrastructure, he needed to scout the planet and find an appropriate place to set up shop. And to do THAT, he had to use a few of his limited nanite nests to gather materials for basic field repairs.
In a stroke of luck, the transport drone he'd used as a platform during the last attack had also survived planetfall. They were made to last; after all, you never knew when one might be attacked by a pirate or stellar lifeform. Even the sketchier scrappers would nab an unguarded transport drone if they thought they could get away with it.
//Please designate a lo—//
"YES! I heard you the first time!"
Alpha sighed.
After assessing his surroundings and getting the drone back online, Alpha had quickly vacated his crash site. No telling what attention that had attracted.
That brought him to the present. He threw another random rock into the drone's storage area, then moved on. The billowing cloud of nanites inside started pulling the stone apart into its composite elements. That was the benefit of nanite mining; because the nanites stripped things down on a molecular level, you could pull materials from just about anything. Materials such as quartz and trace metals were found in even the most ordinary rocks.
Most of it would be rearranged into more easily processable materials, using energy from the transport drone's own fusion battery. The only issue was the process was painfully inefficient. The amount of useable materials he could extract with this method on the move was barely enough to do some basic repairs. It was like trying to repair a sports car with duct tape and dreams. It would get him where he needed to go, but that was about it.
If only he could get this drone's AI to listen, he might get the chance to fix the wiring on the manipulator arm it was holding. Non-sapient Federation AI were intelligent, to a point, able to problem solve and "think" in the context of their programming. You could give them an order, and as long as they could "understand" that order, they could typically carry it out.
This was great for manufacturing and other forms of manual labor. You just had to tell an AI how a job was done, and they would do it. They could even follow complex flowcharts to problem solve and work around issues, such as adjusting parameters to account for environmental effects or reacting to sudden changes in enemy movements.
What they needed help with was critical thinking. They couldn't form new conclusions or work outside the information they were given. If a group of construction AI, programmed to construct metal ships, were asked to make a wooden ship without being taught how to use wood, they would fail. In the best-case scenario, they may try to construct the ship like it was metal, with often comical results. Worst-case, they could be locked in an endless logic loop that needed a full reset to fix.
In most cases, this problem was fixed by having groups of AI overseen by a sapient capable of critical thinking. When a drone encountered an issue it couldn't solve on its own, it would query its overseer for answers.
How many AI a person could handle at once was entirely determined by talent, though some species had an obvious advantage. Some, like the Elderon, with their in-born psionic abilities, found it came naturally, whereas a typical Vidaasi had difficulty with more than a dozen. Humans, on the whole, were in the middle somewhere, with individuals differing to a large extent. Highly skilled drone commanders were in high demand, so those with talent never lacked work.
And, of course, In the realm of drone commanders, Sapient-AI was supreme. It was one reason unshackled Sapient-AI were so dangerous; a single AI with an army of subordinate, non-sapient AI could cause untold amounts of damage on their own.
Now, if this drone would just behave…
No matter how often he'd tried to reformat the AI's order parameters, it kept resetting to package delivery. Alpha was sure some internal damage was causing the issue, but he didn't have the time or tools to check. He'd have scrapped it for parts if it wasn't for its usefulness as a makeshift refinery. Not that he wasn't tempted to…
Alpha used his attached arm to push the floating drone away, barely avoiding the mud ball that soared past. Then there was his other issue.
He wasn't sure what he'd done to anger the gopher-like creature with magic dirt powers (because, sure, why not at this point?), but the evil little thing had been following him for literal miles now, constantly harassing him. Ya, he could have just shot the thing and been done with it. But one of the primary principles drilled into him throughout his training was careful discernment when taking a life.
A disregard for living things was one of the fastest ways for a Sapient-AI to go insane. The disconnect between digital and biological life was too extreme without constant affirmation and reassertion. Many Sapient-AI had to go through decades of reprogramming and reeducation after their birth before they were allowed back into society. This was especially true for soldiers like Alpha. It was far too easy to see kills as just another number on a report list, not as real lives with actual history.
Sure, he'd been tempted to shoot when the gopher first showed, given all the crazy stuff he'd seen recently. Who knew? Maybe this gopher was the covert emperor of a subterranean kingdom that even the moon chicken had to respect. But so far, all it had done was hurl dirt at him and chitter away like any other angry animal.
Alpha had taken tours of cities where civilians lined the street and pelted him with literal garbage. What harm was a little dirt going to do? If his job was to go around shooting everything that looked like it could be a threat, why wouldn't the Federation just glass planets from orbit and be done with it?
Not that he couldn't have some fun, but he wasn't that kind of murderhobo. Alpha's primary targets had always been military and manufacturing infrastructures and groups designated as too dangerous to allow to exist. Non-dangerous wildlife, civilian centers, and peacefully surrendered targets were all a no-go. Outside of extraneous circumstances, or course.
Alpha's job was to cripple the enemy, so the Federation didn't have to glass them into submission.
That being said, this pest was smarter than it seemed. After watching Alpha for a few hours, the gopher had learned he would tolerate dirt on his surface, yet vehemently kept any dirt away from his sensitive internals. This meant the bloody thing had only started back up with the mud balls when he was doing repairs. He'd already had to clean out several parts with a silica wash. Alpha had been expecting it this time and easily countered.
"Ha! Suck it!"
The gopher stared at him in silence as if surprised it had missed, before bursting into another round of venomous chittering.
The drone spoke up as Alpha pulled it back toward him.
//Destination: "Suck it" is not in my catalogs. Would you like me to scan for it?//
Alpha paused, then sighed. Ya, definitely something wrong with this one…
"That's not wh—you know what? Sure, knock yourself out…."
//Acknowledged. Beginning scan.//
The transport drone sent out several signals of various types, trying to ping the non-existent beacon. It was a waste of time, of course, but maybe it would get the thing to shut up and remain still for a while, so he could get some work done.
That's when the screaming started.
The gopher pest began writhing in agony on top of the rainbow-colored grass, pressing its tiny paws to its skull. Even the grass seemed to react, with each blade in their vicinity displaying rapidly shifting, swirling colors like the prairies threw a surprise rave. That couldn't be good…
Alpha ordered;
"Hey!… HEY! Stop the scan! abort!"
//scan in progress. If you wish to start another scan, please wait.//
"No! I said STOP the scan, not—"
Alpha's words were cut off as the gopher gave its own high-pitched scream and threw itself bodily at the transport drone. It latched onto its front display and sank sharp teeth into the composite plastics. The drone jerked back in response, blaring a warning.
//Warning! Warning! Unit under attack! Begin evasive maneuvers!!//
Alpha reached for the drone but missed as it backpedaled away.
"What?! No! Get back here! You're not under attack! It's an overgrown rat!"
The drone did not.
Instead, it began a series of random maneuvers designed to throw off enemy targeting systems.
//Warning! Evasive maneuvers are ineffective! Activating 'Take_My_Loot_&_Leave.exe'//
"Abort! ABORT!"
//ERROR: Instructions unclear, overgrown rat stuck in audio sensors.//
"THEN HOW DID YOU HEAR ME?!"
//Take_My_Loot_&_Leave.exe' booted. Jettisoning cargo!//
"Nooooooo!!"
Alpha could only watch helplessly as the transport drone's cargo bay opened, and several hours' worth of work was ejected randomly across a kilometer of open prairie. The program in question was a standard inclusion in any transport drone. The theory was that if a transport drone got into a situation it couldn't escape, then jettisoning its cargo might distract whatever was attacking it long enough to get away. It was like a lizard cutting off its tail to escape a predator; to be fair, it worked, too. After all, losing some cargo was cheaper than replacing an entire drone.
It worked so well that pirates had adapted their tactics to restraining transports, rather than destroying them outright or crippling them (which would trigger its self-destruction protocol).
//Jettison complete! RUN AWAY!!//
Alpha tried to give chase, but it was already several dozen meters in the air, speeding off into the distance several times faster than the TAWP could move in its current state. It wasn't even responding to his overseer commands anymore.
The last image Alpha got from the short-ranged visual feed before it cut off was of a furry figure clinging onto the speeding drone for dear life.
"Wait!… you still have my arm… greeeeeat. "
… something in at the core of his being told Alpha he wouldn't like this mission very much…
Murphy - 2 [+1]
======================================
Transport Drone AI - G33-2R2-13I-900M [GRIM] was having an awful, terrible, not-so-fun day. In the short time she'd been online, she'd been almost eaten by a shiny squid, attacked by a flaming chicken, marooned on an unregistered Federation planet, yelled at by her programmer, and attacked for a THIRD time by a psychotic gopher! To make matters worse, she lost her programmer's arm during her escape!
Not good, not good at all! What was she going to do?! She wasn't programmed for this! Someone help!
As if sensing her distress, the furry devil who'd caused this most recent trouble to begin with reached down from on top of her cargo bay and patted her monitor. The nerve! She was tempted to flip over and hurl the creature to the ground. But that would have violated the Federation operation code [Fr2-i6e-22n-63dl-0y: Reasonable preservation of non-hostile life]. She could be deleted for that!
But… what could she do?! She didn't have a home beacon set. Her overseer wasn't responding. And she needed to get his arm back before he yelled at her again! She wasn't programmed for this kind of thing!!!
A person! That's what she needed to do! She needed to find a person! They could tell her what he was supposed to do! They could even help her find her overseer's arm! All jettisoned equipment was marked with quantum beacons, but she wasn't programmed to retrieve them herself. But she could lead someone else to them! YES! THIS COULD WORK!
… now, how did she find someone?
As GRIM wracked her processes, trying to figure out how to enact her plan, a rasp of tiny paws rang across her chassis. She flicked her visual sensors for the demon gopher and saw it staring into the distance. GRIM turned to look in that direction and saw an enormous mountain.
//A mountain? A MOUNTAIN!//
Yes! Mountains were just big asteroids! and asteroids meant miners! And miners meant an overseer!
Happy to be back on track, GRIM + 1 speed off toward the mountain in the distance.
=========================================
==============================
Patreon Shout-Out!
==============================
Thanks to all my Loyal Readers out there who have decided to support the Novel and allow me to continue to bring you all new Chapters on a regular basis!
Thank You! You're the real Heroes of this story! (Don't tell Alpha I said that, He'll fire me).
==============================
=========================
23 Patrons!
Current Goal [Stability]: $119/$200 per month. (59.5%)
Goal Prizes! - 2 Extra Chapters + 1 Advanced Chap for Patreon!
=====
Adventurers [+2 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Emetpazu ~~,~~
=====
Veterans [+4 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Centuri ~~,~~ Corscientia ~~,~~ justin wade ~~,~~ Kazuki Pickersgill ~~,~~ Midnight Harbinger ~~,~~ Mr Casual ~~,~~ Nick Warner ~~,~~ roger nascimento rocha ~~,~~ Sebastian Allen ~~,~~ Sàn Migüèl ~~,~~
=====
Pathfinders [+6 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Andrew~~,~~ Aquarion ~~,~~ Bob bob ~~,~~Dhirraj Suraj ~~,~~ Dustin Companga ~~,~~ Gethel ~~,~~ Hyperion ~~,~~ Kai Helber ~~,~~ Nacho ~~,~~ patrick seim ~~,~~ Tony Derado ~~,~~ Varo ~~,~~
=========================
==============================
Patreon Shout-Out!
==============================
Thanks to all my Loyal Readers out there who have decided to support the Novel and allow me to continue to bring you all new Chapters on a regular basis!
Thank You! You're the real Heroes of this story! (Don't tell Alpha I said that, He'll fire me).
==============================
=========================
23 Patrons!
Current Goal [Stability]: $119/$200 per month. (59.5%)
Goal Prizes! - 2 Extra Chapters + 1 Advanced Chap for Patreon!
=====
Adventurers [+2 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Emetpazu ~~,~~
=====
Veterans [+4 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Centuri ~~,~~ Corscientia ~~,~~ justin wade ~~,~~ Kazuki Pickersgill ~~,~~ Midnight Harbinger ~~,~~ Mr Casual ~~,~~ Nick Warner ~~,~~ roger nascimento rocha ~~,~~ Sebastian Allen ~~,~~ Sàn Migüèl ~~,~~
=====
Pathfinders [+6 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Andrew~~,~~ Aquarion ~~,~~ Bob bob ~~,~~Dhirraj Suraj ~~,~~ Dustin Companga ~~,~~ Gethel ~~,~~ Hyperion ~~,~~ Kai Helber ~~,~~ Nacho ~~,~~ patrick seim ~~,~~ Tony Derado ~~,~~ Varo ~~,~~
=========================
==============================
Last edited:
- Location
- america
Oh! Maybe the sapient AI MC either is or isn't what dooms this star system, the earth and firmament and ascends to be come a singularity, but who cares? I am entertained by the stupid, non-sapient, helper drone! And the gopher. This was all just a prologue to the real star of this story.
No, seriously, I like this drone. My desire for [b i g g a t o n s] has been sated by now and I would be happy to follow the little drone
No, seriously, I like this drone. My desire for [b i g g a t o n s] has been sated by now and I would be happy to follow the little drone
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Book 1 - Lesson 13: "There's always room in the party for a cute mascot."
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Book 1 - Lesson 13: "There's always room in the party for a cute mascot."
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Book 1 - Lesson 13: "There's always room in the party for a cute mascot."
=======================================
Alpha tossed the last ingot of refined material into the small cargo box on his back. Nearly an hour of work, and he'd only recovered 30% of the materials jettisoned by the transport drone. The rest were trace elements he didn't have an immediate need for, or those lost to the rolling sea of grass. Unlike the transport drone, he didn't have a spatially compressed cargo bay or anti-grav engines to work with. He had to be selective about what he collected and could leave behind.
Losing his arm had hurt, but he could make do with a nano-replica until he set up a base. He wouldn't need to do any delicate work or access a mainframe anytime soon.
As for the transport drone itself, Alpha put it out of his mind for now. Its programming would cause it to wander around searching for an unset "Home" beacon, possibly for years, until it reentered the range of his short-range overseer's beacon. If it never did, no big deal; it was just a replaceable transport drone. It only had the most basic kinetic turret for fending off small stellar life and the small nano-swarm in its cargo bay, so it's not like it could get into much trouble.
Right?
Best-case scenario, it would come back in range soon, so Alpha could take back control. Worst-case, the drone flies around until some larger airborne creature decides it doesn't want the intruder in its airspace. Not much actual loss there; he could always make more once he was properly set up.
For now, he had a choice to make.
Did he head for the distant forest-covered hills?
Or deeper into the prairies?
If his rangefinder was working right, those trees had to be massive, easily dwarfing the redwoods of Old Earth. That meant the forest offered a better place to set up a more secure base and slowly scout out the area. But such large, dense trees often meant the possibility of megafauna, making it a risk.
In contrast, the prairies were far more exposed, and the massive TAWP could likely be seen for miles away. But this meant he could see for miles, too, even with the damage; he was unlikely to be outranged by anyone or anything in a battle. Prairies and other flatlands were often hotbeds for mineral and oil catches as well. Maybe less than a mountain range, but the nearest one he could see was even further away than the forest.
He took a moment to deliberate and headed deeper into the prairies. Repairs took priority over information gathering for now. With the trouble the chicken had caused him, and seeing as even gophers had superpowers here, he wasn't eager to run into any real megafauna in his current state. He figured he'd have just as much warning, even if something appeared.
[… I just jinxed myself, didn't I?]
No sooner had the thought occurred to him than Alpha's foot met not solid ground but open air.
"Son of a Biiiskkkkeeeet!"
The TAWP fell forward into an open pit 20 meters deep. For any other creature, it would have been a substantial fall. But for the nearly 15-meter-tall TAWP, it was just an inconvenient tumble onto its back. Alpha righted himself and stared up at the small cliff. The hollow was packed with tall grass of the same variety that surrounded it. The grass in the pit even grew to the same height as the surrounding grass, making it almost impossible to see the drop until it was too late.
But why? Did the grass not like rising above its neighbors? Did this species follow the principle of the "tallest blade of grass is the first cut down"? Or was there something more… sinister going on here? Given the abundance of small bones at the bottom of the pit, Alpha suspected it was the latter. Had this grass evolved to create its own natural pitfall? Animals wouldn't see the pit and fall to their deaths or become severely injured. The "prey" would then expire and feed the surrounding grass. A 20-meter fall was no joke, even for larger animals.
Or did he have it backward? The pitfall might also be natural, and the grass just grew wherever it wanted. Its increased height could result from the extra food and a desire for more sunlight.
Perhaps a herbologist might be interested in the topic one day, years after his job was done, and write an article on it. The why didn't really matter much to Alpha, though. What mattered to him was how common these pitfalls were in the prairie. Were they strewn about sporadically with lots of space between? Or was this "flatland" actually pockmarked enough to be a trypophobia nightmare?
It was almost enough to make him turn around and head for the forest instead. On second thought, though, these sinkholes represented an opportunity. If even a few of them were as deep as this one, they would make surveying the area for mineral deposits far easier. Talk about stumbling into good fortune! Maybe this terrible string of back luck was finally ending.
… Right?
=====================
The stunning woman in silky black robes kneeled at the crater's edge on an ornate tarp and peered into the dark depths. Even now, hours after the Starfall, she could feel the intense solar and lunar energies emanating from its glassy surface. A dozen sect disciples worked tirelessly to extract every chip and fragment they could while preserving the larger fragments when possible.
Every piece was a treasure of immense value, and not just because they gave off more energy than high-grade Spirit stones. The energy type itself was… miraculous. A near-perfect mix of yin and yang, of sun and moon, the likes of which she'd never have thought possible before today.
It was gentle yet fierce.
Unmoveable, yet malleable and soft.
Peaceful like an ancient sage, speaking gently to his students,
But willing and able to rise as a warrior at a moment's notice to defend his home.
It was beautiful in a way she'd never expected to see on the mortal plane.
But then, such was the nature of Fallen Stars, having come from beyond mortal reaches.
The woman nodded at a disciple as he made his way up the dug ramp into the side of the crater and gestured him over.
The workers had to take a break from the pit at regular intervals. Unfiltered energy from the realm beyond the Firmament could be helpful in moderation, but spending too long in places like the crater could damage one's foundation. Nonetheless, not a single one of them had complained yet.
Why would they? Despite the intensive work, each had made more personal progress in the few hours they'd been here than in the previous weeks or months combined.
Truly, this was a blessing for the sect.
As the young man approached, he hastily wiped the dirt, grime, and sweat from his brow and bowed deep to the woman, his fist inside a cupped hand.
"Elder Xinrong, you wished to speak with me?"
His voice was ragged and dry but chipper in a way that one wouldn't expect from someone who'd spent the last two hours mining. A quick scan with her Spirit Sight told her why; he'd made a small step since the last time he'd taken a break. Good for him.
Elder Xinrong smiled at the young man and spoke, her voice as smooth as her silk robes and sweet as honey.
"Yes, Disciple Weiyuan, please ask Elder Song if he'd care to join me. I have something I wish to discuss with him."
Lin Weiyuan took a step back and bowed again.
"Yes, Elder."
He replied before turning away from the rest area and rushing toward the tents where the Star Shards were being processed.
A few moments later, an old man with a long white beard but a powerful stride and straight back approached her. He wore elegant, pure white robes that would have shined in the sunlight if they weren't currently covered in mud stains and who knows what else. He walked toward her with pride and confidence… only to slam face first into an invisible barrier of Spirit energy before he crossed the tarp's threshold.
The old man backpedaled, clutching his nose and muttering something she'd have to report to the sect leader if any of the disciples heard.
The old man stood straight and looked at her with a tilted head and raised brow. She stared back with a blank look, a slight frown marring her doll-like face. The old man furrowed his brow briefly before his eyes widened, and a grin split his face. He raised a hand and snapped his fingers.
A pulse of Spirit energy swept out of him, and like magic, all the mud, grime, and gunk fell away like it had been commanded to flee his presence. Which it had, after a manner of speaking.
Elder Xiurong only sighed, shaking her head as she lowered the barrier. Elder Song walked over and sat beside her, the same cheeky grin still on his face.
His voice was deep and raspy when he spoke, but it held a fiery youthfulness that belied his age.
"Yu-Yu! I'd call you a stick in the mud, but I'm afraid you'd hit me with it!"
Yu Xiurong stared up at the man, blank-faced.
"I see your jokes are as terrible as ever, Elder Song…."
Wu Song reared back, his eyes wide and a hand over his heart, though his voice never lost its playful tone.
"Whatever happened to that bright and cheerful snake I raised?! You used to never care if you got a little dirty! Why, I remember when you were five, and—"
Yu Xiurong's head snapped to face the old man, the iris of her eye changing from a bottomless black to two golden silt orbs.
"I'll kindly ask you to forget whatever you were about to say. Unless you'd like to find Darkwash Plum juice in your tea again."
Wu Song coughed into the hem of his robe and turned away.
"Yes, right; well, you wished to speak to me, Elder Xiurong?"
Yu Xiurong stared at the man for a moment longer before her irises shifted back to black shadows. She turned to face the excavation site and answered.
"I wanted to ask how the perimeter defense was holding. Any sign of major trouble yet?"
Wu Song looked toward the sky, gently stroking his beard. When he spoke, his voice had lost its jovial tone. Wu Song had vanished from the tarp, replaced by Elder Song.
"No, not yet. Qi Mingxi and the other inner disciples are doing well at repelling the Spirit beasts rampaging in the area. You did well in spotting this sprout, Elder Xiurong; she'll go far if nurtured right."
A slight smile formed on Elder Xiurong's porcelain face at the thought of her newest disciple. The girl could use a bit more… fire, but she had potential. Elder Song turned to Elder Xiurong and asked his own question.
"And what of you? Have you tracked down whatever made away with the Fallen Star itself?"
Elder Xiurong's smile fell, and so did her voice. Her eyes flashed gold as she stared off into the distance.
"No… my scouts lost the trail a short while ago… Whatever it is, it's big and moving far faster than a cart or Spirit Vessel. The tracks seem to wander as if whatever made them has no actual destination or sense of where they are. It spent some time on a stretch of prairie with nothing of particular interest, moving in a strange grid pattern as if searching for something.
"My scouts have collected several… odd… samples discovered along the grid and outside of it, but little I can put a name to, and nothing very impressive at first glance. Once they arrive, we might find some answers to where they have taken the Fallen Star."
Elder Song nodded and asked.
"I see. Is that why you called me over? I'll send some disciples over to retrieve the samples. Just inform me when they arrive."
Elder Xiurong shook her head in response as she spoke.
"No. While that's part of it, I have something else to report…."
Elder Song raised a brow.
"Oh? What else, my dear?"
Elder Xiurong paused, then turned to her peer, her brow furrowed.
"I've detected signs of the Akh'lut in the area."
Elder Song froze, hand on his beard, mid-stroke. He then turned towards the woman, his eyes narrowing as he spoke.
"Are you certain? The Akh'lut aren't ones to move for simple matters. Do you think they have eyes for the Fallen Star? Or are they upset we've intruded on their territory without permission? If need be, I'm sure I can get the others to agree to hand over a fair share of the Star Shards."
Elder Xiurong shook her head.
"No. The traces were older than the Starfall, suggesting they were also searching for something. I don't know what or if they're related, but it must be of grave importance if they're moving so openly."
Elder Song nodded and rose from his seat, dusting off his robe as he spoke.
"Thank you for informing me of this, Elder Xiurong. I will let the patrols and defenders know to be careful. Today is supposed to be a joyous day; it would do us no honor to have a disciple killed because they mistook one of our hosts for a common beast."
As Wu Song departed, a small pit formed under his foot at the tarp's edge. The old man fell forward with a wide-eyed "woop!?", landing face first in a small mud puddle.
As the old man rose to his feet, sputtering bits of grass and mud, he turned to glare at his junior.
Yu Xiurong didn't bother to return the glare, though she hid a small grin behind the sleeve of her elegant robe.
=====================
"Who's a good little whale-wolf-puppy-thing?! You are! Yes, you are!"
Alpha made little cooing noises as he gave belly scritches to the adorable, tiny puppy-thing in front of him. Well, tiny was subjective; it was only as big as the hand on his manipulator arm, but to a normal human, it would be the size of a large dog, despite still having the proportions and general shape of a month-old puppy.
If said puppy looked like someone took an orca and gave it the teeth of a tiger and the limbs of a particularly well-endowed dragon, that was.
"Ya! Who's my vicious little killer?!"
Alpha tossed up a still bloody strip of feathery meat into the air. The pup jumped, snatching it with grace, before landing softly, careful not to come down on a newly bandaged leg.
Alpha clapped and scratched the creature on top of its head. As it leaned into the pets, playfully biting at a finger, Alpha spoke.
"Good Girl! I like you. Do you want to come with Uncle Alpha? There'll be plenty of tasty penguin-adjacent-bird things!"
The puppy bark-clicked, and panted with its tongue out, tail wagging in a very puppy-like manner.
Alpha grabbed his new companion and put her on a tiny seat he quickly printed on his back before speaking.
"That's good enough for me! I think I'll name you… Snowball!"
With that, Alpha and Snowball continued on their journey.
- Location
- Attempting to cast animate object on a black hole.
What is it with the internet and orca-wolfs these past few months? I'm not complaining, it's just that I feel like I'm missing the joke is all. Anybody know what set it off?
Wait really?! orz... First I'm hearing about this...
- Location
- Attempting to cast animate object on a black hole.
I've just noticed them showing up in quests and some art popping up over the last few months.
Military Service Records: [ALPHA-555-12-4412] (Page 3)
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Military Service Records: [ALPHA-555-12-4412] (Page 3)
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Military Service Records: [ALPHA-555-12-4412] (Page 3)
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Name: ALPHA-555-12-4412
Special Designation: Special Extraterrestrial Annexation Unit (SEAU)-01; "Star Conquer"
Species of Birth: Self-Actualizing Digital Lifeform (Sub-Designation: Sapient Artificial Intelligence)
Date of Birth: Feb 29, 6232 SFY-Third Era
Place of Birth: Orion Sector, Mintaka System, Third Orbital Military Observation Station, RR-4345-21
Department: Federation Expeditionary Forces - Vanguard
Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- 3003rd Federation Vanguard Battalion [First Contact]. - Commander
- 201st Federation Special Operations [Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade] - Second-in-Command under General [REDACTED].
=======================
Place of Service
=======================
Deployment Location - Rotanev Prime (High-Orbit Elementary Academy)
Length of Service - 2 days
Notes - ALPHA-555-12-4412 is hereby banned from all future educational public service events.
Absconding with (without proper authorization) entire elementary classes and bringing them to active war zones does NOT constitute an age-appropriate field trip, no matter how educational orbital bombardments are. Or how much of a "Blast" the kids had.
Capturing dangerous, hive-mind Insectoid species and starting an illegal underground fighting ring is not the same thing as a beetle fight!
And genetically modified, 35-ton, fire-breathing lizards are NOT appropriate gifts for 8-year-olds, regardless of whether they "asked for a Dragon for Christmas."
=================================================
Deployment Location - Antares (Alpha Scorpii)
Length of Service - 3 months, 2 days on-world. 5 months, 4 days with the target.
Notes - Alpha and all of his equipment are to be thoroughly searched at random intervals after missions. The last "Pet" he snuck back happened to be the crown prince of one of the largest kingdoms on the planet.
The paperwork alone has already filled up one of the storage units, to say nothing of the diplomatic and integration issues this is causing. Have a bloody Psionic scan everything if you have to!
Admin Addendum - Alpha, if this happens again, I'm going to install realistic bionics on your recreational android personally, and make you fill out the paperwork yourself. BY HAND!
=================================================
Deployment Location - Homam - 2
Length of Service - 1 year, 2 months
Notes - Articulate has formally requested that ALPHA-555-12-4412 reframe from posing as the "Demon King" and convince the native population that they need to "summon a Hero from another world."
The Logistic and Diplomatic issues caused by deprogramming the populace and deconstructing the various statues and temples dedicated to Private Jackson are not worth the time and effort.
ALPHA-555-12-4412 is also ordered to return the "Grand Heart of the Old God" to the Jade Temple city as soon as possible. We don't take war trophies, Alpha…
Admin Addendum: Si'dia's suggestion to auction off the story right to several publishing companies has greatly subsidized the acclimation project. You got lucky, Alpha. Don't make a habit of it... - Haldorðr
=================================================
Deployment Location - Altais (Delta Draconis)
Length of Service - 3 months, 7 days.
Notes - I'm surprised. For all intents and purposes, this was a near flawless mission. SEAU-2 has reported that the general population is extremely receptive to Federation help and is slowly recovering after you wrestled control of the army from that psychopath. Smart move to install the previous King's daughter as Reagent as well. All reports suggest she'll make a talented governor once things settle down. Well done, Alpha.
Just… try not to be so cliche about how you do it next time? Your report read more like a fantasy novel than it did a professional after-missions report. We don't want a repeat of the Rorschach incident.
=================================================
Deployment Location - Atik (Omicron Persei)
Length of Service - 7 months, 3 days.
Notes - Two in a row! Again, well done! I knew you could do it! Good work, and do us proud! Be sure to stop by the Quartermaster later. I've prepared something special that should help ensure similar results next time. Good luck!
Admin Addendum-… It has been brought to my attention that this report is a near-verbatim copy of the previous report. Alpha, I don't care how much you have to do; hiring ghostwriters to file your after-mission reports is not appropriate Expeditionary behavior. Or if they're going to use the same story, at least change things up more… No one likes a lazy writer.
I expect an accurate, personal report on my desk by the end of the day, or the next report you will file will be by ink and quill.
=================================================
Deployment Location - Electra System
Length of Service - 203,453 years, 3 months, 3 days, 2 hours, 32 mins, and 56 seconds. (Alleged)
Notes - ALPHA-555-12-4412 was reported to have landed on an Unknown Suborbital Station in orbit around 17 Tauri (Electra) without proper authorization or precautionary measures.
Alpha then alleges to have been stuck in a Time-Loop aboard the station, forced to learn the "Power of Friendship and Sacrifice" by a previously unrecorded Sapient AI.
After breaking the Time-Loop after an alleged 203,453 years, 3 months, 3 days, 2 hours 32 mins, and 56 seconds, Alpha was returned to the point in time corresponding to his arrival in the system, at which point he checked it.
Later investigation of the station revealed its Quantum Batteries completely drained (previously thought impossible), and the monitoring AI had gone irrecoverably insane. Said AI was later humanly decommissioned.
Admin Addendum: Be advised that all events recorded in the following Action Report are purely based on the testimony of ALPHA-555-12-4412 and are not substantiable. Unfortunately, because of the nature of the supposed event, it is not possible to disprove them either. Leave this one to the Eggheads, fellows. - Admin Mark
=================================================
Book 1 - Lesson 14: "How to train your Whale-Puppy."
Another end to Another week! Our last one for the Month too! Boooooo!
Thanks for all the Support this release month everyone! Its been a blast!
Some News while you're here!
Release Scheduled will be changed, starting next week, from the current [Monday - Thursday - Friday] to [Monday - Wednesday- Friday].
This was recommended by a few people and I've decided to see how it goes. If you like it, or feel like the previous one was better, feel free to leave a comment below!
=========================
And as Always, thanks to everyone who has supported me through Patreon this month! The Shout out can be found at the bottom of the page!
If you feel like joining in, and Reading up to SIX chapters ahead of everyone else, take a look at the patreon link at the bottom of the page!
We're already more than half way to the Expansion Goal as well!
Snowball bounced in place, giving that odd clicking bark Alpha learned to translate as "hurry up!" Her floppy tongue hung out the side of her mouth as she vibrated with excitement, staring up at the object clutched in Alpha's hand. Alpha sat perfectly still, letting the tension build, until he tossed the object into the distance with a blur of motion.
The soggy red object flew through the sky at speeds that put professional fastballs to shame. Snowball's figure blurred as a black and white streak raced after it, crossing nearly 100 meters in the blink of an eye. With a mighty leap, the not-so-tiny whale-puppy snatched the object out of midair and landed gracefully on all four draconian paws.
Alpha made clapping sounds as the triumphant victor returned with her prize. Snowball held her head high as she trotted back; even with dark red blood drizzling down her muzzle from the large, still-warm penguin heart in her mouth, Alpha thought she looked adorable. She dropped it at his feet and barked, wagging her furry fluke with enough force to ripple the surrounding grass.
Alpha patted her head but denied her.
"Nope, no more. It's going to get cold… and dirty."
Snowball wilted, her head drooping, as she whined a long, drawn-out whistle. A few scritches fixed that, and she soon dug into the impressive organ with renewed vigor, her fluke wagging once more. In short order, the organ was devoured, and the whale-puppy bounded over to another nearby body for seconds.
Alpha watched fondly for a moment before turning back to his work, scanning the wall of the sinkhole they occupied for various mineral deposits.
He originally found the puppy hiding in a sinkhole just like this, surrounded by the corpses of a few large, bird-like creatures that vaguely resembled penguins. If penguins were dog-sized, with rocky plates along their bellies and a beak filled with needle-like teeth. Ok, so the teeth thing was already true for terrain penguins, but this was soooo much worse.
The young puppy was half starved, bleeding out from various injuries, and was understandably terrified when the unknown gargantuan metal creature appeared from the surrounding grass. She bared a mouth full of tiger-like teeth in a threat display, but struggled to stand on shaking legs and collapsed shortly after. Alpha questioned momentarily if he should put the creature out of its misery but ultimately decided against it. Of the lifeforms he'd encountered so far on or near this planet, two showed remarkable intelligence, and the chicken, at least, was obviously sapient.
A quick nanite bath, some painkillers and an injection of a medical solution saw her much more amicable to Alpha's presence.
Now, almost three days later, she was active and playful. Almost fully healed, too. Some of that could be attributed to the medical nanites Alpha administered, but something told Alpha her species were just naturally fast healers to begin with. They almost had to be, given how dangerous this place seemed.
The AI soon found he enjoyed the hyperactive puppies' presence as well. He'd always liked kids; children were simple to read and easy to get along with if you treated them right. When you let a kid be a kid, you could always trust that they would tell you exactly how they felt about you. Unlike the vast majority of adults he knew.
Of course, there were places where kids couldn't be kids, even in the Federation. Alpha made it a special point to find those places and… help… the issue, where and when he could. Often that involved a lot of screaming and people in suits yelling at him. But the first time he'd gotten a letter from an 8-year-old Vidaasi girl thanking him, it had made it worth all the trouble.
Snowball hadn't shown signs of true sapience yet. Though she seemed very intelligent. It was unclear whether her apparent young age was a factor; only time would tell. Until he knew for certain Alpha was treating her mostly as a pet. Or at least as a very hyperactive toddler, if just as bloodthirsty.
The difficulty of discerning sapience at a glance was a major factor in the Federation's policy of not shooting everything on sight. The Fli'ke were a good example of this. It was only during the Second Federation that 1 in 25 Felis catus was discovered to be, in fact, a species of sapient, feline-like aliens. Ones who had been secretly monitoring and influencing Old Earth (and several other planets) for literal millennia. They were only exposed when Felis catus, a non-sapient species engineered to be a physical match to Fli'ke (allowing them to hide in plain sight), was found across multiple, unconnected planets.
Ironically, the Fli'ke were instrumental in the defeat of the galactic threat known as the Hunters. The Fli'ke infiltrated Hunter strongholds, acting as spies behind enemy lines, and fed the Second Federation valuable intelligence that saved billions of lives. Even those genocidal psychopaths couldn't resist the charm of the modern house cat.
He always wanted a pet, but General Haldorðr never let him, not after the "incident."
Ok, the mysterious old woman had told him not to get the thing wet, but in Alpha's defense, it kept lighting itself on fire!
Snowball, in contrast, was much easier to handle. She spent most of the first day in her carrier but could move on her own by day two. By day three, she was running around like she'd never been hurt at all. She even showed off the same weird power over the earth as the gopher, dipping in and out of the ground like water. Alpha half expected the cute little thing to vanish after that. She was a wild animal, after all… he thought.
But Snowball seemed to have grown fond of him, too. She stuck close to him as he traveled from sinkhole to sinkhole, sometimes disappearing for hours but always popping back up with some strange new object or plant.
It was cute, and he stored all her presents in her old carrier to look at later.
Then, everything changed when the penguins attacked.
Snowball had gone out to explore earlier in the day and returned worse for wear. Alpha fussed over her at first, but her injuries were nowhere as severe as when he first found her, just a few cuts and bite marks. She would be fine in a few hours.
What wasn't fine were the half dozen dog-sized bird creatures that came rocketing out of the sinkhole's walls after her. Alpha physically deflected two of the creatures away from the panting Snowball with one of his legs, then mowed them and another down with a turret. The remaining three had latched onto Alpha, biting his armor and back with little effect. A quick shift in his adaptive nano-armor put small spikes through their mouths and out the back of their skulls, ending that non-threat.
Snowball seemed impressed with Alpha's quick dispatching of her pursuers, too. Alpha decided that's what the cheerful click-barking meant, at least, as she hopped in circles around one of his limbs. A quick study of the enemy revealed them to be exactly what they appeared. Some kind of penguin-adjacent avian creature, blown up to half the size of Snowball and packed with dense muscles. Snowball enjoyed that last fact as she devoured two of the corpse before Alpha finished his examination.
The largest penguin he looked at even had a strange quartz-diamond composite crystal growing in its heart. Why or how it hadn't killed the creature, he didn't know. Snowball insisted he give it to her, though, like a puppy demanding a treat. Alpha hesitated, but who was he to question alien biology? He tossed it to her, and the whale-puppy snatched it out of the air, happily crunching like it was a piece of candy.
Thus started their bloody games of "fetch." Alpha found it adorable how excited she got when she found another of those strange crystals in a heart. Not that they were in short supply; ever since the first attack, the penguins hounded them every few hours. Snowball hadn't left Alpha's side the entire time, watching the various pitfalls' walls. She would even make a sporadic, warbling, chirping sound he'd not heard her make before.
She seemed capable of detecting the creatures through solid rock, warning him when any were nearby. The animals here all seemed able to move through the earth freely. Echolocation might have been the natural solution for navigating in such an environment. It might explain why the gopher had such a violent reaction to the transport drone. Alpha filed that tidbit of information away for later investigation.
The creatures weren't very dangerous, to him at least, but the attacks were becoming more frequent, with larger numbers the further they traveled. Snowball put up a brave front, but Alpha could recognize the signs of her nervousness. The light steps meant to reduce her noise, her eyes scanning the walls for danger, and even how she refused to move more than a few feet away from the "adult" (HA!). If it got any worse, he would have to try his luck in a different direction. No point in wandering into a nest of the things if he didn't need to.
As he thought about his options, Snowball suddenly perked up, turning to face something unseen in the distance.
The cute, sweet puppy morphed into a growling, rage-filled beast in an instant. Her lips were pulled back, putting those vicious teeth on full display as the short black and white fur on her back stood on end. Her eyes changed from cute round orbs to the dilated pinpoints of a predator ready to pounce. Before Alpha could stop her, Snowball shot off in that direction, taking a few leaping bounds before diving into the earth and vanishing.
Alpha stopped and stared after her, something in his processors not sitting well with him. He'd never seen her act like that before. That hadn't been a simple response to danger or enemies. No, there was more, something deeper, a rage unfitting of such a young child.
He hesitated for a moment and turned in her direction, speeding off after the small whale-puppy.
Good thing he was a responsible pet owner and had her chipped!
=================================================
Yutu's breath came in ragged gasps. How long had they been running?
Hours?
Days?
He no longer remembered. He no longer cared if he was honest.
They had started the hunt strong, with 30 young men and women ready to prove themselves to their village and the prairies. They'd lost five in the initial ambush and two more during the push to escape. In the sequential hours, they'd been picked off, one by one. Sometimes one of the Grassbreakers would slip through the dwindling Guardian's protection and grab someone. Other times, a stone needle would fly out of the grass and stab into someone's calf, causing them to stumble.
Once, a metal flipper had cut one of the fleeing carts in two right from under it. The group on board was swarmed before anyone had the mind to help. More often than not, though, people simply vanished, either unable to keep up or wandering away from the group, never to be seen again.
Now? Now they were only nine.
Yutu and Gan were the only trappers left, the rest having fallen, swallowed by the grass, or killed in defense of the group. One man had even stopped shortly after their escape; some feared he'd just given up, but the massive explosion that rocked the prairies behind them several minutes later told a different story.
The man's sacrifice bought some breathing room, but it wasn't enough. Their pursuers were relentless.
The Guardians fell one by one after that until only Ulagan remained. Without their protection, the carts carrying the herbalists, or those too injured to run, were targeted next.
This differed from how Grassbreakers normally hunted. They were ambush predators. Their modus was to lie in wait, then strike as a group, taking out the target quickly and efficiently; they didn't chase down their prey, picking them off like this. There was something darker going on here, something… unnatural. Worse than that, they were playing with them. He'd heard of Beast Lords and the destruction they could wreak before.
Every good story has at least one that the hero must face, saving the town, damsel, or sect.
But they were forces of nature given physical form. More often than not, they were depicted as noble creatures of power and respect. The hero would overcome the Beast Lord by earning its respect or companionship, as often as besting it in combat.
This… thing… that followed them?… Yutu could only feel malice and hatred from it; Kusanagi was like a dark storm cloud hanging over them, but whose lightning would never fall. It wanted to watch them run; it wanted to smell their fear and taste their despair.
What would happen if they actually got back to the village? Could they even hope to fight it off? Stories of Kusanagi were told to frighten children into behaving. The Beast Lord had spread so much chaos and destruction it had taken the intervention of the Akh'lut, the protectors and true owners of the Radiant Sea, to end the threat.
What chance did a small village of low-level cultivators have?
Thinking of the home he'd spent all his life in, Yutu's heart ached. Yutu remembered his mother, the sweetest woman in the village, who always tried to make everyone feel a little happier. He thought of his father, who supported his every choice, even if he was disappointed his son didn't have talent as a Guardian. He thought of the kindly older couple who always parked their cart near his family and who had been the ones to teach him the art of arrays. Dozens of faces flashed through his memory, and tears welled in his eyes.
They couldn't lead this thing back home…
Had the others realized this too? Were they even headed in the right direction anymore? He doubted they were, if the grim looks on the few remaining faces said anything. It was fitting he was the last to realize.
Yutu took a deep, ragged breath and decided. The young man didn't bother to stop the tears as he slowed his pace and came to a stop. Only his childhood friend and Oathsister, Zolzaya, noticed, being positioned on the back of the only remaining cart to monitor their rear.
"Yutu!? What are you doing?!"
She cried out in a panic. Another Herbalist had to restrain the young woman to prevent her from jumping from the cart.
Yutu only smiled and waved as they rushed further away. He turned away, not wanting her to see his tears.
A moment passed, and movement at his side tore his eyes away from their closing pursuers; had that stupid girl gotten away somehow?! What was she thinking?!
Instead of Zolzaya, Yutu found the panting, sweating figure of Ganbaatar standing next to him, staring off into the distance. Feeling his eyes, the larger man looked down at him and frowned before asking.
"What? You think I'll let you be the only one to show off in front of Zaya? Think again, pipsqueak."
Yutu stared wide-eyed for a second before letting out a curt laugh. A smirk crossed his face as he turned away and responded.
"Oh, you're on, bricks-for-brains. Just try to keep them off of me. Let's show them why it was a terrible idea to mess with Slatewalkers."
Yutu then extracted his Array tools and kneeled down to work; Ganbaatar didn't bother to respond, only hefted his spear and turned toward the approaching hoard.
Thanks for all the Support this release month everyone! Its been a blast!
Some News while you're here!
Release Scheduled will be changed, starting next week, from the current [Monday - Thursday - Friday] to [Monday - Wednesday- Friday].
This was recommended by a few people and I've decided to see how it goes. If you like it, or feel like the previous one was better, feel free to leave a comment below!
=========================
And as Always, thanks to everyone who has supported me through Patreon this month! The Shout out can be found at the bottom of the page!
If you feel like joining in, and Reading up to SIX chapters ahead of everyone else, take a look at the patreon link at the bottom of the page!
We're already more than half way to the Expansion Goal as well!
==============================
Book 1 - Lesson 14: "How to train your Whale-Puppy."
==============================
Snowball bounced in place, giving that odd clicking bark Alpha learned to translate as "hurry up!" Her floppy tongue hung out the side of her mouth as she vibrated with excitement, staring up at the object clutched in Alpha's hand. Alpha sat perfectly still, letting the tension build, until he tossed the object into the distance with a blur of motion.
The soggy red object flew through the sky at speeds that put professional fastballs to shame. Snowball's figure blurred as a black and white streak raced after it, crossing nearly 100 meters in the blink of an eye. With a mighty leap, the not-so-tiny whale-puppy snatched the object out of midair and landed gracefully on all four draconian paws.
Alpha made clapping sounds as the triumphant victor returned with her prize. Snowball held her head high as she trotted back; even with dark red blood drizzling down her muzzle from the large, still-warm penguin heart in her mouth, Alpha thought she looked adorable. She dropped it at his feet and barked, wagging her furry fluke with enough force to ripple the surrounding grass.
Alpha patted her head but denied her.
"Nope, no more. It's going to get cold… and dirty."
Snowball wilted, her head drooping, as she whined a long, drawn-out whistle. A few scritches fixed that, and she soon dug into the impressive organ with renewed vigor, her fluke wagging once more. In short order, the organ was devoured, and the whale-puppy bounded over to another nearby body for seconds.
Alpha watched fondly for a moment before turning back to his work, scanning the wall of the sinkhole they occupied for various mineral deposits.
He originally found the puppy hiding in a sinkhole just like this, surrounded by the corpses of a few large, bird-like creatures that vaguely resembled penguins. If penguins were dog-sized, with rocky plates along their bellies and a beak filled with needle-like teeth. Ok, so the teeth thing was already true for terrain penguins, but this was soooo much worse.
The young puppy was half starved, bleeding out from various injuries, and was understandably terrified when the unknown gargantuan metal creature appeared from the surrounding grass. She bared a mouth full of tiger-like teeth in a threat display, but struggled to stand on shaking legs and collapsed shortly after. Alpha questioned momentarily if he should put the creature out of its misery but ultimately decided against it. Of the lifeforms he'd encountered so far on or near this planet, two showed remarkable intelligence, and the chicken, at least, was obviously sapient.
A quick nanite bath, some painkillers and an injection of a medical solution saw her much more amicable to Alpha's presence.
Now, almost three days later, she was active and playful. Almost fully healed, too. Some of that could be attributed to the medical nanites Alpha administered, but something told Alpha her species were just naturally fast healers to begin with. They almost had to be, given how dangerous this place seemed.
The AI soon found he enjoyed the hyperactive puppies' presence as well. He'd always liked kids; children were simple to read and easy to get along with if you treated them right. When you let a kid be a kid, you could always trust that they would tell you exactly how they felt about you. Unlike the vast majority of adults he knew.
Of course, there were places where kids couldn't be kids, even in the Federation. Alpha made it a special point to find those places and… help… the issue, where and when he could. Often that involved a lot of screaming and people in suits yelling at him. But the first time he'd gotten a letter from an 8-year-old Vidaasi girl thanking him, it had made it worth all the trouble.
Snowball hadn't shown signs of true sapience yet. Though she seemed very intelligent. It was unclear whether her apparent young age was a factor; only time would tell. Until he knew for certain Alpha was treating her mostly as a pet. Or at least as a very hyperactive toddler, if just as bloodthirsty.
The difficulty of discerning sapience at a glance was a major factor in the Federation's policy of not shooting everything on sight. The Fli'ke were a good example of this. It was only during the Second Federation that 1 in 25 Felis catus was discovered to be, in fact, a species of sapient, feline-like aliens. Ones who had been secretly monitoring and influencing Old Earth (and several other planets) for literal millennia. They were only exposed when Felis catus, a non-sapient species engineered to be a physical match to Fli'ke (allowing them to hide in plain sight), was found across multiple, unconnected planets.
Ironically, the Fli'ke were instrumental in the defeat of the galactic threat known as the Hunters. The Fli'ke infiltrated Hunter strongholds, acting as spies behind enemy lines, and fed the Second Federation valuable intelligence that saved billions of lives. Even those genocidal psychopaths couldn't resist the charm of the modern house cat.
He always wanted a pet, but General Haldorðr never let him, not after the "incident."
Ok, the mysterious old woman had told him not to get the thing wet, but in Alpha's defense, it kept lighting itself on fire!
Snowball, in contrast, was much easier to handle. She spent most of the first day in her carrier but could move on her own by day two. By day three, she was running around like she'd never been hurt at all. She even showed off the same weird power over the earth as the gopher, dipping in and out of the ground like water. Alpha half expected the cute little thing to vanish after that. She was a wild animal, after all… he thought.
But Snowball seemed to have grown fond of him, too. She stuck close to him as he traveled from sinkhole to sinkhole, sometimes disappearing for hours but always popping back up with some strange new object or plant.
It was cute, and he stored all her presents in her old carrier to look at later.
Then, everything changed when the penguins attacked.
Snowball had gone out to explore earlier in the day and returned worse for wear. Alpha fussed over her at first, but her injuries were nowhere as severe as when he first found her, just a few cuts and bite marks. She would be fine in a few hours.
What wasn't fine were the half dozen dog-sized bird creatures that came rocketing out of the sinkhole's walls after her. Alpha physically deflected two of the creatures away from the panting Snowball with one of his legs, then mowed them and another down with a turret. The remaining three had latched onto Alpha, biting his armor and back with little effect. A quick shift in his adaptive nano-armor put small spikes through their mouths and out the back of their skulls, ending that non-threat.
Snowball seemed impressed with Alpha's quick dispatching of her pursuers, too. Alpha decided that's what the cheerful click-barking meant, at least, as she hopped in circles around one of his limbs. A quick study of the enemy revealed them to be exactly what they appeared. Some kind of penguin-adjacent avian creature, blown up to half the size of Snowball and packed with dense muscles. Snowball enjoyed that last fact as she devoured two of the corpse before Alpha finished his examination.
The largest penguin he looked at even had a strange quartz-diamond composite crystal growing in its heart. Why or how it hadn't killed the creature, he didn't know. Snowball insisted he give it to her, though, like a puppy demanding a treat. Alpha hesitated, but who was he to question alien biology? He tossed it to her, and the whale-puppy snatched it out of the air, happily crunching like it was a piece of candy.
Thus started their bloody games of "fetch." Alpha found it adorable how excited she got when she found another of those strange crystals in a heart. Not that they were in short supply; ever since the first attack, the penguins hounded them every few hours. Snowball hadn't left Alpha's side the entire time, watching the various pitfalls' walls. She would even make a sporadic, warbling, chirping sound he'd not heard her make before.
She seemed capable of detecting the creatures through solid rock, warning him when any were nearby. The animals here all seemed able to move through the earth freely. Echolocation might have been the natural solution for navigating in such an environment. It might explain why the gopher had such a violent reaction to the transport drone. Alpha filed that tidbit of information away for later investigation.
The creatures weren't very dangerous, to him at least, but the attacks were becoming more frequent, with larger numbers the further they traveled. Snowball put up a brave front, but Alpha could recognize the signs of her nervousness. The light steps meant to reduce her noise, her eyes scanning the walls for danger, and even how she refused to move more than a few feet away from the "adult" (HA!). If it got any worse, he would have to try his luck in a different direction. No point in wandering into a nest of the things if he didn't need to.
As he thought about his options, Snowball suddenly perked up, turning to face something unseen in the distance.
The cute, sweet puppy morphed into a growling, rage-filled beast in an instant. Her lips were pulled back, putting those vicious teeth on full display as the short black and white fur on her back stood on end. Her eyes changed from cute round orbs to the dilated pinpoints of a predator ready to pounce. Before Alpha could stop her, Snowball shot off in that direction, taking a few leaping bounds before diving into the earth and vanishing.
Alpha stopped and stared after her, something in his processors not sitting well with him. He'd never seen her act like that before. That hadn't been a simple response to danger or enemies. No, there was more, something deeper, a rage unfitting of such a young child.
He hesitated for a moment and turned in her direction, speeding off after the small whale-puppy.
Good thing he was a responsible pet owner and had her chipped!
=================================================
Yutu's breath came in ragged gasps. How long had they been running?
Hours?
Days?
He no longer remembered. He no longer cared if he was honest.
They had started the hunt strong, with 30 young men and women ready to prove themselves to their village and the prairies. They'd lost five in the initial ambush and two more during the push to escape. In the sequential hours, they'd been picked off, one by one. Sometimes one of the Grassbreakers would slip through the dwindling Guardian's protection and grab someone. Other times, a stone needle would fly out of the grass and stab into someone's calf, causing them to stumble.
Once, a metal flipper had cut one of the fleeing carts in two right from under it. The group on board was swarmed before anyone had the mind to help. More often than not, though, people simply vanished, either unable to keep up or wandering away from the group, never to be seen again.
Now? Now they were only nine.
Yutu and Gan were the only trappers left, the rest having fallen, swallowed by the grass, or killed in defense of the group. One man had even stopped shortly after their escape; some feared he'd just given up, but the massive explosion that rocked the prairies behind them several minutes later told a different story.
The man's sacrifice bought some breathing room, but it wasn't enough. Their pursuers were relentless.
The Guardians fell one by one after that until only Ulagan remained. Without their protection, the carts carrying the herbalists, or those too injured to run, were targeted next.
This differed from how Grassbreakers normally hunted. They were ambush predators. Their modus was to lie in wait, then strike as a group, taking out the target quickly and efficiently; they didn't chase down their prey, picking them off like this. There was something darker going on here, something… unnatural. Worse than that, they were playing with them. He'd heard of Beast Lords and the destruction they could wreak before.
Every good story has at least one that the hero must face, saving the town, damsel, or sect.
But they were forces of nature given physical form. More often than not, they were depicted as noble creatures of power and respect. The hero would overcome the Beast Lord by earning its respect or companionship, as often as besting it in combat.
This… thing… that followed them?… Yutu could only feel malice and hatred from it; Kusanagi was like a dark storm cloud hanging over them, but whose lightning would never fall. It wanted to watch them run; it wanted to smell their fear and taste their despair.
What would happen if they actually got back to the village? Could they even hope to fight it off? Stories of Kusanagi were told to frighten children into behaving. The Beast Lord had spread so much chaos and destruction it had taken the intervention of the Akh'lut, the protectors and true owners of the Radiant Sea, to end the threat.
What chance did a small village of low-level cultivators have?
Thinking of the home he'd spent all his life in, Yutu's heart ached. Yutu remembered his mother, the sweetest woman in the village, who always tried to make everyone feel a little happier. He thought of his father, who supported his every choice, even if he was disappointed his son didn't have talent as a Guardian. He thought of the kindly older couple who always parked their cart near his family and who had been the ones to teach him the art of arrays. Dozens of faces flashed through his memory, and tears welled in his eyes.
They couldn't lead this thing back home…
Had the others realized this too? Were they even headed in the right direction anymore? He doubted they were, if the grim looks on the few remaining faces said anything. It was fitting he was the last to realize.
Yutu took a deep, ragged breath and decided. The young man didn't bother to stop the tears as he slowed his pace and came to a stop. Only his childhood friend and Oathsister, Zolzaya, noticed, being positioned on the back of the only remaining cart to monitor their rear.
"Yutu!? What are you doing?!"
She cried out in a panic. Another Herbalist had to restrain the young woman to prevent her from jumping from the cart.
Yutu only smiled and waved as they rushed further away. He turned away, not wanting her to see his tears.
A moment passed, and movement at his side tore his eyes away from their closing pursuers; had that stupid girl gotten away somehow?! What was she thinking?!
Instead of Zolzaya, Yutu found the panting, sweating figure of Ganbaatar standing next to him, staring off into the distance. Feeling his eyes, the larger man looked down at him and frowned before asking.
"What? You think I'll let you be the only one to show off in front of Zaya? Think again, pipsqueak."
Yutu stared wide-eyed for a second before letting out a curt laugh. A smirk crossed his face as he turned away and responded.
"Oh, you're on, bricks-for-brains. Just try to keep them off of me. Let's show them why it was a terrible idea to mess with Slatewalkers."
Yutu then extracted his Array tools and kneeled down to work; Ganbaatar didn't bother to respond, only hefted his spear and turned toward the approaching hoard.
==============================
==============================
Thanks to all my Loyal Readers out there who have decided to support the Novel and allow me to continue to bring you all new Chapters on a regular basis!
Thank You! You're the real Heroes of this story! (Don't tell Alpha I said that, He'll fire me).
==============================
=========================
21 Patrons!
Current Goal [Stability]: $117/$200 per month. (58.5%)
Goal Prizes! - 2 Extra Chapters + 1 Advanced Chap for Patreon!
=====
Adventurers [+2 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Emetpazu ~~,~~
=====
Veterans [+4 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Corscientia ~~,~~ justin wade ~~,~~ Midnight Harbinger ~~,~~ Mr Casual ~~,~~ Nick Warner ~~,~~ Sebastian Allen ~~,~~ Sàn Migüèl ~~,~~
=====
Pathfinders [+6 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Andrew~~,~~ Aquarion ~~,~~ Bob bob ~~,~~ Colin Ford ~~,~~ Dhirraj Suraj ~~,~~ Gethel ~~,~~ Hyperion ~~,~~ Kai Helber ~~,~~ Midnight Harbinger ~~,~~ Mr. Infinity ~~,~~ patrick seim ~~,~~ Tony Derado ~~,~~ Varo ~~,~~
=========================
==============================
Thanks to all my Loyal Readers out there who have decided to support the Novel and allow me to continue to bring you all new Chapters on a regular basis!
Thank You! You're the real Heroes of this story! (Don't tell Alpha I said that, He'll fire me).
==============================
=========================
21 Patrons!
Current Goal [Stability]: $117/$200 per month. (58.5%)
Goal Prizes! - 2 Extra Chapters + 1 Advanced Chap for Patreon!
=====
Adventurers [+2 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Emetpazu ~~,~~
=====
Veterans [+4 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Corscientia ~~,~~ justin wade ~~,~~ Midnight Harbinger ~~,~~ Mr Casual ~~,~~ Nick Warner ~~,~~ Sebastian Allen ~~,~~ Sàn Migüèl ~~,~~
=====
Pathfinders [+6 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Andrew~~,~~ Aquarion ~~,~~ Bob bob ~~,~~ Colin Ford ~~,~~ Dhirraj Suraj ~~,~~ Gethel ~~,~~ Hyperion ~~,~~ Kai Helber ~~,~~ Midnight Harbinger ~~,~~ Mr. Infinity ~~,~~ patrick seim ~~,~~ Tony Derado ~~,~~ Varo ~~,~~
=========================
==============================
Book 1 - Lesson 15: "Make friends with the fly on the wall"
===========================================
A small conclusion to Lian Peng's story! (for now!)
===========================================
Whiiiiirlll.
Beep.
//Overseer signal lost…//
//Analyzing last connection memory block…//
//Analyzes complete… Troubleshooting scenario…//
//… Scenario found: {Captured_by_Unknown_Enemy}.//
//Beginning Self-Destruct Protocol.//
//Alert! Automatic Overseer override [Alpha_says_thats_stupid].exe activated.//
//Redirecting to alternate route… Redirection successful.//
//Activating subroutine packet [Fly_on_the_wall].rar… //
//Beginning Audio/Video recording… //
============
"Why…."
DOOOOOONG!
"Won't…"
CHIIIINNNNGGGG!
"You…."
HUUUUUMMMM!
"Break!!"
//Warning! Attempting to damage Expeditionary Force properties is a Class-X Federal offense. Your actions have been recorded, and the proper authorities have been notified. Please put down your weapon and surrender peacefully.//
"AND WHY THE HELL DOES IT KEEP REPEATING THE SAME DAMN THING?!"
Lunar King Namgil threw down his massive war hammer with a heavy bang, forming a small crater in the Divinity-ranked floor. He'd always bragged that he could level any mountain with a single swing, but this abominable thing had refused to yield to his might in over a week of unrelenting assault. They'd barely scratched it, even with four Divinities attacking at once, only for it to mysteriously "heal" shortly after.
He turned to Lunar King ChickenHe—ahem, Lunar King Lian Peng, with a snarl.
"And YOU! Scholar boy! Have you made any headway toward translating it at all? Or are we just wasting our time here?!"
Lian Peng put down the notepad and turned away from the slime construct on the table. When it had reactivated, Lian Peng's instinct was to destroy it. He'd seen what these things could do and knew what kind of havoc they could wreak in such a confined space as the containment lab. It was only at the request of Array Master Igor that he'd stayed his hand.
Lian Peng narrowed his eyes and answered the large man.
"Not any more than when you asked an hour ago, Namgil. As I mentioned then, the scholars are having difficulty pinning down the roots of the language. It shares traits with many languages found all over the mortal worlds, but not with Celesti."
Namgil threw his arms into the air, yelling over his shoulder as he stormed off.
"Bah! What good are the lot of ya, then?! I'm taking a break! Have someone send word if you learn anything that will help pry these cowards out of their box."
Lian Peng let out a sigh and turned back to the slime construct. Lunar King Namgil wasn't a… bad man; no one could say those elevated to Lunar King were overly temperamental or prone to needless cruelty and hubris. After all, when your job was to acclimate people who were used to being in charge of an environment where that's no longer the case, things could get… tense.
Despite that, Namgil was not someone Lian Peng ever expected to get to know on a personal level. Lian Peng preferred the quiet of a study and the peace of a well-maintained garden. Namgil was in his element in a rowdy bar, clinking glasses and singing along with anyone who could match his volume. Though the man's affinity for sound was legendary, even among the Void Whales, so few could compete.
If it wasn't for their teacher, Lian Peng, the Moonlit Sage and Namgil, the Void Hunter, would likely have never met. Sometimes Lian Peng wondered if that was a good thing or not…
Thinking of his teacher, Lian Peng's forehead creased, and he stared at the young girl while she dozed off on the squishy surface of a nearby smile construct, snoring loudly. He doubted even she knew how she'd gotten the thing to go soft. Many would claim that the 'girl' named Sarah Deathstealer didn't deserve the title of "Grand Magus of Regeneration"; that all of her accomplishments were based on blind luck, or that she couldn't explain how she did any of the miraculous things she did.
And if Lian Peng was honest… they weren't wrong, in a way. Teacher was a genius on many accounts; arrays, alchemy, artifact creation, spellwork and countless other disciplines. But getting her to explain how any of it worked was like pulling teeth. She wasn't a terrible teacher; just the ways her mind worked sometimes felt like a mystery wrapped in an enigma… while other times it felt like a trying to clean jug of split milk with a fork. Ok, so Lian Peng wasn't the best at metaphors…
Still, Lian Peng could honestly say he'd never have made it to Lunar King without her help. He'd have likely never made it to High Celestial as quickly as he had, either.
As though she sensed his thoughts (knowing her, she probably did), the girl jolted awake, wiped away her sleep, and faced him with a question.
"Any luck? I could hear Namgil's banging in my dreams. I swear, that boy's got too much energy for his own good. He can't even let an old woman sleep?! I wish he'd settle down and find a miss already. Maybe then she could deal with all the noise instead of us!"
Lian Peng ignored his teacher's waking ramblings (those almost made sense this time!) and picked up his notepad, flipping through a few pages before speaking.
"No, still no luck. However, Igor is obsessed with studying the 'adaptive arrays' found within the constructs. He insists they're the key to understanding how they work. I'm not sure, but he's the expert."
Sarah nodded and hopped down from her 'bed', yawning as she approached.
"That makes sense. Arrays, as we know them, are… fragile… rigid. Arrays are instructions to the Celestial energy. Once an array is built, it does that one thing and that one thing only. They can no more be changed once set than the words in a letter be changed after the ink has dried. You can give many instructions to an array, but you can't change them. Half of being an Array Master is learning to predict every possibility and how to cram every scenario into your array."
She leaned over the table and tapped the active construct before continuing.
"But these? These can learn. They can be taught. They can think. That… is terrifying, in a way that's hard to put into words. Can you imagine what could be done with such a thing?"
Lian Peng sighed. He did, indeed. More than Lain Peng wished he had; his head still hurt after the several hours-long rant Array Master Igor had subjected him to. Even as a scholar, arrays had always eluded Lian Peng. They were as much an art form as they were a discipline. That didn't mean he couldn't see the possibilities, though.
Arrays, and to a lesser extent, spellwork, had always suffered from the flaw of rigidity. Many cultivators learn just enough to identify characteristics like type, triggers or size, as that was often all you needed to name many common arrays. Once you could name an array, that was often all you needed to know everything about it. True Masters could hide the intent and nature of their arrays like a scribe encoding his work, but they were still the same at their core.
If he understood correctly, these new arrays (if they could even be called that) had the potential to be improved on. They could take in new information and new instructions, incorporating them into what was already there. It could potentially revolutionize array work by… they couldn't say yet. 'A lot' was the consensus.
At least, that's what Lian Peng had been told. How Igor had come to his theory simply by watching some objects for a few hours, he didn't know. Though his teacher seemed to agree, he didn't remember ever seeing her stay this focused on one topic for this long.
Lian Peng nodded to the girl, rubbed his tired eyes, and spoke.
"Array Master Igor made sure I was thoroughly informed. But we still don't know how they work or how to 'talk' to them. The array language used, if that's even what it is, is unlike anything we've ever seen. We're working from almost zero, and—"
Lian Peng blinked as the notepad in his hand vanished. Said notepad smacked him on the head as he said at the space it once occupied. His teacher pushed him away from the table, her voice firm as she spoke.
"And, nothing. You'll only find the answers we need if you take a break and recharge. You've not stopped moving since we returned. Go, rest; Igor and the other scholars will be fine alone for a few hours."
Lian Peng furrowed his brow and protested.
"But—"
Only for Sarah to cut him off.
"Butts are for smacking. Don't think I've not noticed the damage to your [Divine Soul]. Ascension is stressful, let alone one in the middle of combat. If you don't take the time to rest, you'll damage your foundation."
Lian Peng's teacher poked him in his chest, her hand glowing a soft orange as an infinitely complex magic circle appeared in the air over her hand. Lian Peng's body went limp as a soothing warmth infused every cell of his body. Muscles he hadn't even realized he'd been clinching suddenly turned to pudding. If the control of his [Divine Force] hadn't taken a quantifiable leap with his ascension, he might have melted into a puddle then and there.
As it was, he stayed upright, if barely, as a bone-deep weariness overtook him. Teacher was right, of course; if he kept this up, he'd make a mistake, and they couldn't afford mistakes, not yet. Yet, there was still so much to do! He needed to—.
Another poke from his teacher nearly threw him off his feet. With a deep sigh, Lian Peng gave in. He turned around and headed for the lab door, calling out to Sarah as he did.
"Fine! Fine… I'll rest. But make sure Igor has an updated report for me when I wake!"
The Grand Magus just laughed and waved him on.
"Yes, yes, now GO. Or do you want me to ask Xiàshuō if she'll sing you to sleep?"
Lian Peng dashed out the door, chased all the way to his room by the echoing laughter of his teacher.
============================
Yaaaawwwnnn!!
Lian Peng awoke several days later. He was certain his teacher had something to do with that… He could deny it had done him good, though; his [Divine Soul] was mostly healed, thanks to his teacher's spell, in part. Much of the tension and stress of the last few days had also left him, though he never forgot how important their work was.
Lian Peng turned a corner and stopped dead mid-yawn. Fairy Xiàshuō stood in the observation hallway, staring past the thin, corridor-long pane of Celestial glass into the dark Void and lifeless moon surface beyond. The moonlight illuminating her flowing, floor-length silver hair and jade-like features stole the breath from his chest. She was art personified, beauty incarnate; she… was headed this way?!
Lost in her beauty, Lian Peng failed to notice when she turned his way. She was already halfway up the hallway when he snapped back to reality. He panicked, his mind flashing to the scene from the novel he'd recently started. No! He was a mess! He wasn't ready for this! What did he do?!
Lian Peng hastily smoothed out his wrinkled robes, straightened his back, puffed out his chest, and tried to appear as regal as possible before walking in her direction. He stopped a few paces away and spoke, his head held high.
"Good morning, Lunar Queen Xiàshuō. I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to attend to you. Things have been… hectic. How goes the defense?"
Xiàshuō looked up at him, a hand over her mouth as she giggled. The sound of it sent shivers up Lian Peng's spine. When she reached up and smoothed down an errant hair that stuck from the side of his head like an unruly feather, his face flushed crimson red. She paid Lian Peng's embarrassment no mind and answered him. Her voice was like a crystal bell in Lian Peng's ears.
"It goes well, Lunar King Lian Peng. Despite the commotion your 'guests' have made, most of the inquiries have been polite enough. Those who were not have been… dealt with appropriately."
Lian Peng nodded, relieved. The Lunar Scouts might have been the strongest fish in the pond, but they were far from the biggest. As the only truly neutral force under the Grand Firmament, the Lunar Scouts had to show they weren't ones to be pushed around by anyone, or they would quickly lose their place.
Lian Peng looked out the observation window and nodded.
"Good. That's good. I was worried they would push the issue, given we've yet to collect all the wreckage. No doubt some have already fallen into other hands. Keep me informed if you would."
Xiàshuō nodded as she answered him.
"I will, Lian Peng. If you keep me updated on any discoveries you make. Some of the artifacts my scouts have sent me are… strange, but fascinating."
Xiàshuō pulled a small object from the sleeve of her robe. Lian Peng couldn't place the material the object was made of, but when Xiàshuō gently squeezed it, it gave off a quiet 'quack.'
They'd found an entire crate of the objects, and no one could figure out their purpose. One scholar had noted their vague, if childish, resemblance to a duck and proposed they might be a type of Beast-taming charm. No one had an answer for why they were yellow or why each seemed to wear a completely unique hat. They were strangely popular among the female staff, though, and he'd noticed more than one desk with a fresh addition.
Lian Peng nodded.
"Certainly. I will be off now. There is still much to be done."
Lian Peng gathered his nerve and cleared his throat before continuing.
"Ahem. And Xiàshuō, I… I, hmmm. I was w-wondering if you'd like to join me for tea during our next break? I-its been too long…."
Xiàshuō leaned in and smiled, lighting fireworks in Lian Peng's brain. She laughed as she spoke.
"Why, that would be lovely, Lian Peng. It has been a while since our last talk over tea. Have your people contact mine, and we'll schedule a time. Oh! Though one more question, before I forget…."
Lian Peng grinned ear to ear, feeling 1,000 years younger and as light as if he floated in the Void. He answered without hesitation.
"Yes! Anything, Xiàshuō, what can I help you—GAUEK!"
Lian Peng was thrown against the hallway wall as a large, black dragon claw lifted him off his feet by his throat. The jade-faced woman to whom the claw belonged never dropped her bright smile, though as she spoke, all the warmth in his voice had vanished into the Void.
"Would you kindly explain to me why you have one of Great-Grandmother's fragments swirling around your [Divine Soul]?"
Liad Peng pried at the scaled claw, desperately trying to get enough breath to speak.
"Wa—wait!"
heeeeh!
"I—I can explain!"
Hrrrk!
Xiàshuō stared up at the man, the smile slipping from her face as she spoke, no longer asking but commanding.
"Go On…"
It was then that Lian Peng remembered Xiàshuō hated the title of "Fairy" that others put on her. She much preferred her moniker as Lunar Queen; Xiàshuō the Final Eclipse.
Because, if the Lunar Scout Martial Taskforce Director's shadow of displeasure fell over your world, it was the last thing you likely ever saw.
A small conclusion to Lian Peng's story! (for now!)
===========================================
======================================
Book 1 - Lesson 15: "Make friends with the fly on the wall"
======================================
Beep.
//Overseer signal lost…//
//Analyzing last connection memory block…//
//Analyzes complete… Troubleshooting scenario…//
//… Scenario found: {Captured_by_Unknown_Enemy}.//
//Beginning Self-Destruct Protocol.//
//Alert! Automatic Overseer override [Alpha_says_thats_stupid].exe activated.//
//Redirecting to alternate route… Redirection successful.//
//Activating subroutine packet [Fly_on_the_wall].rar… //
//Beginning Audio/Video recording… //
============
"Why…."
DOOOOOONG!
"Won't…"
CHIIIINNNNGGGG!
"You…."
HUUUUUMMMM!
"Break!!"
//Warning! Attempting to damage Expeditionary Force properties is a Class-X Federal offense. Your actions have been recorded, and the proper authorities have been notified. Please put down your weapon and surrender peacefully.//
"AND WHY THE HELL DOES IT KEEP REPEATING THE SAME DAMN THING?!"
Lunar King Namgil threw down his massive war hammer with a heavy bang, forming a small crater in the Divinity-ranked floor. He'd always bragged that he could level any mountain with a single swing, but this abominable thing had refused to yield to his might in over a week of unrelenting assault. They'd barely scratched it, even with four Divinities attacking at once, only for it to mysteriously "heal" shortly after.
He turned to Lunar King ChickenHe—ahem, Lunar King Lian Peng, with a snarl.
"And YOU! Scholar boy! Have you made any headway toward translating it at all? Or are we just wasting our time here?!"
Lian Peng put down the notepad and turned away from the slime construct on the table. When it had reactivated, Lian Peng's instinct was to destroy it. He'd seen what these things could do and knew what kind of havoc they could wreak in such a confined space as the containment lab. It was only at the request of Array Master Igor that he'd stayed his hand.
Lian Peng narrowed his eyes and answered the large man.
"Not any more than when you asked an hour ago, Namgil. As I mentioned then, the scholars are having difficulty pinning down the roots of the language. It shares traits with many languages found all over the mortal worlds, but not with Celesti."
Namgil threw his arms into the air, yelling over his shoulder as he stormed off.
"Bah! What good are the lot of ya, then?! I'm taking a break! Have someone send word if you learn anything that will help pry these cowards out of their box."
Lian Peng let out a sigh and turned back to the slime construct. Lunar King Namgil wasn't a… bad man; no one could say those elevated to Lunar King were overly temperamental or prone to needless cruelty and hubris. After all, when your job was to acclimate people who were used to being in charge of an environment where that's no longer the case, things could get… tense.
Despite that, Namgil was not someone Lian Peng ever expected to get to know on a personal level. Lian Peng preferred the quiet of a study and the peace of a well-maintained garden. Namgil was in his element in a rowdy bar, clinking glasses and singing along with anyone who could match his volume. Though the man's affinity for sound was legendary, even among the Void Whales, so few could compete.
If it wasn't for their teacher, Lian Peng, the Moonlit Sage and Namgil, the Void Hunter, would likely have never met. Sometimes Lian Peng wondered if that was a good thing or not…
Thinking of his teacher, Lian Peng's forehead creased, and he stared at the young girl while she dozed off on the squishy surface of a nearby smile construct, snoring loudly. He doubted even she knew how she'd gotten the thing to go soft. Many would claim that the 'girl' named Sarah Deathstealer didn't deserve the title of "Grand Magus of Regeneration"; that all of her accomplishments were based on blind luck, or that she couldn't explain how she did any of the miraculous things she did.
And if Lian Peng was honest… they weren't wrong, in a way. Teacher was a genius on many accounts; arrays, alchemy, artifact creation, spellwork and countless other disciplines. But getting her to explain how any of it worked was like pulling teeth. She wasn't a terrible teacher; just the ways her mind worked sometimes felt like a mystery wrapped in an enigma… while other times it felt like a trying to clean jug of split milk with a fork. Ok, so Lian Peng wasn't the best at metaphors…
Still, Lian Peng could honestly say he'd never have made it to Lunar King without her help. He'd have likely never made it to High Celestial as quickly as he had, either.
As though she sensed his thoughts (knowing her, she probably did), the girl jolted awake, wiped away her sleep, and faced him with a question.
"Any luck? I could hear Namgil's banging in my dreams. I swear, that boy's got too much energy for his own good. He can't even let an old woman sleep?! I wish he'd settle down and find a miss already. Maybe then she could deal with all the noise instead of us!"
Lian Peng ignored his teacher's waking ramblings (those almost made sense this time!) and picked up his notepad, flipping through a few pages before speaking.
"No, still no luck. However, Igor is obsessed with studying the 'adaptive arrays' found within the constructs. He insists they're the key to understanding how they work. I'm not sure, but he's the expert."
Sarah nodded and hopped down from her 'bed', yawning as she approached.
"That makes sense. Arrays, as we know them, are… fragile… rigid. Arrays are instructions to the Celestial energy. Once an array is built, it does that one thing and that one thing only. They can no more be changed once set than the words in a letter be changed after the ink has dried. You can give many instructions to an array, but you can't change them. Half of being an Array Master is learning to predict every possibility and how to cram every scenario into your array."
She leaned over the table and tapped the active construct before continuing.
"But these? These can learn. They can be taught. They can think. That… is terrifying, in a way that's hard to put into words. Can you imagine what could be done with such a thing?"
Lian Peng sighed. He did, indeed. More than Lain Peng wished he had; his head still hurt after the several hours-long rant Array Master Igor had subjected him to. Even as a scholar, arrays had always eluded Lian Peng. They were as much an art form as they were a discipline. That didn't mean he couldn't see the possibilities, though.
Arrays, and to a lesser extent, spellwork, had always suffered from the flaw of rigidity. Many cultivators learn just enough to identify characteristics like type, triggers or size, as that was often all you needed to name many common arrays. Once you could name an array, that was often all you needed to know everything about it. True Masters could hide the intent and nature of their arrays like a scribe encoding his work, but they were still the same at their core.
If he understood correctly, these new arrays (if they could even be called that) had the potential to be improved on. They could take in new information and new instructions, incorporating them into what was already there. It could potentially revolutionize array work by… they couldn't say yet. 'A lot' was the consensus.
At least, that's what Lian Peng had been told. How Igor had come to his theory simply by watching some objects for a few hours, he didn't know. Though his teacher seemed to agree, he didn't remember ever seeing her stay this focused on one topic for this long.
Lian Peng nodded to the girl, rubbed his tired eyes, and spoke.
"Array Master Igor made sure I was thoroughly informed. But we still don't know how they work or how to 'talk' to them. The array language used, if that's even what it is, is unlike anything we've ever seen. We're working from almost zero, and—"
Lian Peng blinked as the notepad in his hand vanished. Said notepad smacked him on the head as he said at the space it once occupied. His teacher pushed him away from the table, her voice firm as she spoke.
"And, nothing. You'll only find the answers we need if you take a break and recharge. You've not stopped moving since we returned. Go, rest; Igor and the other scholars will be fine alone for a few hours."
Lian Peng furrowed his brow and protested.
"But—"
Only for Sarah to cut him off.
"Butts are for smacking. Don't think I've not noticed the damage to your [Divine Soul]. Ascension is stressful, let alone one in the middle of combat. If you don't take the time to rest, you'll damage your foundation."
Lian Peng's teacher poked him in his chest, her hand glowing a soft orange as an infinitely complex magic circle appeared in the air over her hand. Lian Peng's body went limp as a soothing warmth infused every cell of his body. Muscles he hadn't even realized he'd been clinching suddenly turned to pudding. If the control of his [Divine Force] hadn't taken a quantifiable leap with his ascension, he might have melted into a puddle then and there.
As it was, he stayed upright, if barely, as a bone-deep weariness overtook him. Teacher was right, of course; if he kept this up, he'd make a mistake, and they couldn't afford mistakes, not yet. Yet, there was still so much to do! He needed to—.
Another poke from his teacher nearly threw him off his feet. With a deep sigh, Lian Peng gave in. He turned around and headed for the lab door, calling out to Sarah as he did.
"Fine! Fine… I'll rest. But make sure Igor has an updated report for me when I wake!"
The Grand Magus just laughed and waved him on.
"Yes, yes, now GO. Or do you want me to ask Xiàshuō if she'll sing you to sleep?"
Lian Peng dashed out the door, chased all the way to his room by the echoing laughter of his teacher.
============================
Yaaaawwwnnn!!
Lian Peng awoke several days later. He was certain his teacher had something to do with that… He could deny it had done him good, though; his [Divine Soul] was mostly healed, thanks to his teacher's spell, in part. Much of the tension and stress of the last few days had also left him, though he never forgot how important their work was.
Lian Peng turned a corner and stopped dead mid-yawn. Fairy Xiàshuō stood in the observation hallway, staring past the thin, corridor-long pane of Celestial glass into the dark Void and lifeless moon surface beyond. The moonlight illuminating her flowing, floor-length silver hair and jade-like features stole the breath from his chest. She was art personified, beauty incarnate; she… was headed this way?!
Lost in her beauty, Lian Peng failed to notice when she turned his way. She was already halfway up the hallway when he snapped back to reality. He panicked, his mind flashing to the scene from the novel he'd recently started. No! He was a mess! He wasn't ready for this! What did he do?!
Lian Peng hastily smoothed out his wrinkled robes, straightened his back, puffed out his chest, and tried to appear as regal as possible before walking in her direction. He stopped a few paces away and spoke, his head held high.
"Good morning, Lunar Queen Xiàshuō. I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to attend to you. Things have been… hectic. How goes the defense?"
Xiàshuō looked up at him, a hand over her mouth as she giggled. The sound of it sent shivers up Lian Peng's spine. When she reached up and smoothed down an errant hair that stuck from the side of his head like an unruly feather, his face flushed crimson red. She paid Lian Peng's embarrassment no mind and answered him. Her voice was like a crystal bell in Lian Peng's ears.
"It goes well, Lunar King Lian Peng. Despite the commotion your 'guests' have made, most of the inquiries have been polite enough. Those who were not have been… dealt with appropriately."
Lian Peng nodded, relieved. The Lunar Scouts might have been the strongest fish in the pond, but they were far from the biggest. As the only truly neutral force under the Grand Firmament, the Lunar Scouts had to show they weren't ones to be pushed around by anyone, or they would quickly lose their place.
Lian Peng looked out the observation window and nodded.
"Good. That's good. I was worried they would push the issue, given we've yet to collect all the wreckage. No doubt some have already fallen into other hands. Keep me informed if you would."
Xiàshuō nodded as she answered him.
"I will, Lian Peng. If you keep me updated on any discoveries you make. Some of the artifacts my scouts have sent me are… strange, but fascinating."
Xiàshuō pulled a small object from the sleeve of her robe. Lian Peng couldn't place the material the object was made of, but when Xiàshuō gently squeezed it, it gave off a quiet 'quack.'
They'd found an entire crate of the objects, and no one could figure out their purpose. One scholar had noted their vague, if childish, resemblance to a duck and proposed they might be a type of Beast-taming charm. No one had an answer for why they were yellow or why each seemed to wear a completely unique hat. They were strangely popular among the female staff, though, and he'd noticed more than one desk with a fresh addition.
Lian Peng nodded.
"Certainly. I will be off now. There is still much to be done."
Lian Peng gathered his nerve and cleared his throat before continuing.
"Ahem. And Xiàshuō, I… I, hmmm. I was w-wondering if you'd like to join me for tea during our next break? I-its been too long…."
Xiàshuō leaned in and smiled, lighting fireworks in Lian Peng's brain. She laughed as she spoke.
"Why, that would be lovely, Lian Peng. It has been a while since our last talk over tea. Have your people contact mine, and we'll schedule a time. Oh! Though one more question, before I forget…."
Lian Peng grinned ear to ear, feeling 1,000 years younger and as light as if he floated in the Void. He answered without hesitation.
"Yes! Anything, Xiàshuō, what can I help you—GAUEK!"
Lian Peng was thrown against the hallway wall as a large, black dragon claw lifted him off his feet by his throat. The jade-faced woman to whom the claw belonged never dropped her bright smile, though as she spoke, all the warmth in his voice had vanished into the Void.
"Would you kindly explain to me why you have one of Great-Grandmother's fragments swirling around your [Divine Soul]?"
Liad Peng pried at the scaled claw, desperately trying to get enough breath to speak.
"Wa—wait!"
heeeeh!
"I—I can explain!"
Hrrrk!
Xiàshuō stared up at the man, the smile slipping from her face as she spoke, no longer asking but commanding.
"Go On…"
It was then that Lian Peng remembered Xiàshuō hated the title of "Fairy" that others put on her. She much preferred her moniker as Lunar Queen; Xiàshuō the Final Eclipse.
Because, if the Lunar Scout Martial Taskforce Director's shadow of displeasure fell over your world, it was the last thing you likely ever saw.
Book 1 - Lesson 16: "Timing is key to any good first impression."
======================================================
Book 1 - Lesson 16: "Timing is key to any good first impression."
======================================================
"Aaauuggghhhh!"Book 1 - Lesson 16: "Timing is key to any good first impression."
======================================================
Ganbaatar of the Slatewalkers swung his spear in a wide arc, catching two Grassbreakers as they leaped at him. They flew for several meters, slamming into a third as it rose from the ground. The butt of his spear shot back, catching a fourth as it tried to ambush him with his back turned. Gan turned and pushed, driving the metal-tipped spear butt deep into the creature's throat, forcing it to the ground with a surprised squawk! Before it could sink back into the stone, Gan pulled out his hunting knife and drove it into the bird's eye, giving it a good twist for good measure. The Grassbreaker shuttered and went still, joining the small pile of two dozen of its kin nearby.
Gan pulled out the knife, its temporary sheath making a wet sucking sound, then stood, drawing deep, gasping breaths. A fine sheen of sweat and blood covered his body, and the arm holding his spear shook, causing the ever-deteriorating weapon to rattle. He couldn't keep this up. The Beast Lord Kusanagi knew this, too, judging by the wide smile on its large, avian face. Then again, this was all just entertainment for the Beast Lord. Ever since the massive bird beast had shown up, Gan knew they hadn't stood a chance from the start.
After all, it was peak-stage [Shackle-Breaking], only a small step from the [Earthly Transcendence] greater realm.
The number of human [Shackle-Breaking] cultivators in the Radiant Sea could be counted on one hand. As for those who had broken their mortal shackles and stepped into the path of [Earthly Transcendence], Gan had never heard of any. The Akh'lut likely had a few, but they were the Apex of the prairies, the beasts and protectors who stood at the very top. He'd never heard of a Grassbreaker reaching such a level before. But then, anyone with eyes could see Kusanagi wasn't just a Grassbreaker Penguin.
Its size was the most obvious difference; where normal Grassbreaker was roughly dog-sized, Kusanagi towered over its kin at nearly 12 meters, standing. Even the Grand Elks that pulled the wagons of the Wandering Cities didn't get that large. Where the other Grassbreakers were short and stalky, Kusanagi stood straight, with a long body and a neck that seemed flexible and longer than it appeared at first glance. Its beak was long and sharp as a spear and black as night compared to its kin's short, blunter beaks meant for cracking bones. The distinct color patterns of the Grassbreakers were present on its feathers, but they were silky smooth and had a metallic quality.
Gan was certain his spear would bounce off that shiny coat as surely as any armor. That was if he even made it through the sea of lesser penguins surrounding them. Fat chance of that…
But then, he'd known what he was in for when he'd stayed with Yutu. Despite his name, Ganbaatar had never thought of himself as a hero. He didn't have the mind to be a Grassreader or herbalist like Zolzaya. Nor did he have the talent for arrays that Yutu did (despite what the other man thought of himself). Out of their little group of three, all he'd ever been skilled at was hitting things. So it nearly crushed him when he turned out not to have the necessary Earth-affinity to become a Guardian.
Not that Gan had ever let it show.
How could he? He was Ganbaatar, their cheerful, happy "leader." Sure, he butted heads with Yutu since they were young, and maybe his ear was pulled more than a few times by Zaya's mother for getting them into some hare-brained scheme. But if he broke down, who would drag Yutu out of the house when he got in one of his 'moods'? Who would stop Zaya from poisoning some foolish young master from the city who thought he could woo the 'pretty village girl' with fancy words or items?
No, he had to be strong; for the village and his friends.
So he'd taken to the path of the Trapper. He might not have the talent for the arrays, but with a decent enough Wood and Metal-affinity, he could make physical traps. Gan would never be outstanding, but he could provide for his family and the village, and that's what mattered. He had imagined a future where he gathered the courage to ask Zaya to marry her. Where he'd raised a family and supported Yutu as the man blossomed into the greatest Array Master the Slatewalkers had ever produced.
He imagined inheriting the house cart passed down for generations, watching the Slatewalkers grow and thrive under Zaya's leadership and Yutu's talent. And finally, when he was too old to set traps any longer, of sitting on the porch, watching all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren as his twilight years slowly ticked by.
It was a good life. It should have been a good life. But life was rarely a respecter of 'should haves'.
Gan had been running beside Yutu when the other man realized the same thing the rest of them had. He could see the thoughts play out in Yutu's eyes; the desperate drive for survival, the moment of thought, then dark realization followed by the loss of hope, only to be replaced by a grim determination. He knew exactly what Yutu had been thinking… after all, he'd gone through the same thought process.
This wasn't a race to survive; this was a game. They were never actually going to escape; they were just being played with for the Beast Lord's sick amusement.
When Yutu had stopped, he'd feared the man had broken, that he'd given up hope and was just going to let the beasts take him. Part of Gan didn't want to turn around and see that; if he saw his friend broken like that, it might very well have broken him as well. It was Zaya's screams that caused him to turn and look, and what he saw stopped him in his tracks.
Yutu's eyes weren't those of a broken man. They weren't the crazed eyes of someone drowning in despair. They weren't even the timid and mousy eyes Gan expected of the man. What Gan saw were the eyes of a man who'd chosen to stop running, not out of fear or despair, but something deeper and stronger. Yutu had spotted running, not because he'd given up, but because he didn't want the last thing he did in life to be the same thing he'd always done.
As he watched, Gan felt a pang in his heart, like the plucking of a string, and the cold pit in his gut suddenly erupted into fire. Fine! They were doing this then! If even Yutu could stand and fight, then who was he to keep running?
That brought them to the present.
Gan infused his spear with was little Spirit energy he had left, willing the cracking wood to seal and the dull spearhead to sharpen. It wasn't enough, though. He deflected another leaping penguin, only to feel the sealed wood reopen with a crack. The blow pushed him back several feet, spotting just short of where Yutu had worked feverishly on the array below them. Gan called to him, his eyes never leaving the horde surrounding them.
"Hows it looking Yutu? Please tell me you're almost ready because we're running out of time."
Yutu didn't bother to look up but responded in a voice Gan had long ago translated to 'I'm working, stop talking to me.'
"Almost there! Just hold them off for a little while longer!"
And because fate seemed intent on mocking them today, those words were emphasized by another penguin leaping from the ground in front of Gan. He thrust the spear forward to catch it like the ones before, but was surprised when this new penguin twisted out of the way. A gleaming flipper smashed into the haft of his spear, splintering it before traveling on and slamming into his chest.
Crack!
Gak!
With the cracking of wood and ribs, Gan was sent rolling for several meters. When he stopped, he rose to his knees, coughing out a mouth full of blood. Gan stood to his feet, swaying slightly as the sky spun. He turned to his opponent, drawing his hunting knife with a shaking hand. To his surprise, no other attacks came, either from the one who'd broken his spear or any other. The Grassbreaker in question, an abnormal twice the size of the others with the same metallic sheen as Kusanagi, stood where it had landed. It looked down at Gan with what he could only call a sneer.
The Spirit energy in the area vibrated as Kusanagi 'spoke' in that odd way, indicative of sapient Spirit beasts. While the 'voice' of the Spirit beast was more intentions and concepts than any real 'words,' Gan found he could still understand it perfectly. And while there was no 'sound' to hear, Gan got the distinct impression of a smooth, rich voice that dripped with barely concealed disdain. Like the sleazy salesmen that would always try to approach him when he visited the Cities, thinking of him as some naïve village boy who didn't understand the value of goods.
"Be proud, human! You put on a good enough show for us that my son has asked to be the one to end you personally. You should feel honored, truly!"
The Beast Lord threw his beak into the air and gave off a loud, honking laugh that was mindlessly echoed by the surrounding hoard.
"Do try not to die too fast. Your little friend still needs some time to finish his surprise. I am so very curious about what he'll show us. The last human was… boring. Though, being fair, it's hard to concentrate on your array with something gnawing on your leg."
The Beast Lord gave another laugh and waved in Gan's direction.
The Beast Lord's 'son' gave a cruel smile and sank into the ground. Gan took up a defensive stance. He might not have had the Earth-affinity that would have let him map out the ground below him mentally, but that didn't mean he was defenseless. Gan had spent years sneaking into the Guardian's training areas, sometimes even joining them when Yutu's father allowed. He learned his spearmanship there and picked up a minor trick used to teach new Guardians how to use their [Earth Sight] better.
He closed his eyes and tried to feel the flow of Spirit energy around him. A slight ripple tugged at his mind's eye, and he moved, barely dodging the small metallic flipper that had erupted from the earth below him. It seemed Junior took after his father. The flipper sank back into the earth, only to appear again a split second later. Once more, Gan dodged by a hair's breadth, using the slight flux of Spirit energy as the penguin surfaced to predict how it would strike. It was a technique that needed conscious, continuous mental effort, making it unsuited for Guardian duty, but it was a great training method and one Gan was glad he'd picked up.
For a third time, Gan dodged, and a fourth, and a fifth. Each strike was coming faster and more recklessly, with less precision. The beast was sloppy, untrained, and impatient. Likely, it had never truly struggled, relying on its inborn gifts to dominate its surroundings. If he could just—
Another pulse of Spirit energy. Gan dodged, just like before, but unlike before, no flipper came. His eyes snapped to the Beast Lord, an icy chill running down his spine as the wide grin warped its beak. Gan's eyes widened as he realized what had happened a second too late. In the next instance, a metallic flipper erupted from beneath him. A desperate dodge saved him from being split in two but cost him his leg, neatly severed below the knee.
Gan rolled out of the way, leaving a bloody trail as the Beast Lord and his hoard broke into another round of laughter. The laugh extended to Kusanagi's words as he spoke.
"That, human, is why you don't rely on petty… tricks to mock your betters. At least have the dignity to die well instead of running like a coward. Son, end this game. Maybe the death of his friend will encourage the little mouse to finish his project. They we can catch up to the rest of our prey."
Junior rose from the ground, the bird beast's face pulled into a frown. If Gan didn't think it was impossible, he'd have sworn the creatures tsked at him. Yet, it obeyed its father and charged at Gan, sliding on its large, marble-covered belly, mouth full of sharp teeth opened wide.
Gan sealed his leg wound with a bit of Spirit energy and stared at the charging penguin. Fine, if he was going down, he was at least taking this bastard with him. Let Kusanagi feel what it was like to lose someone for once.
When the beast was too close to correct its course, Gan pulled something from behind his back: his spear's broken halt. It was lucky he'd rolled over it during that last tumble. With a wicked grin, Gan thrust the broken spear toward the Spirit beast as it leaped at him, aiming for the back of its toothy maw.
Only for the creature to dissolve into a puddle of mud mid-flight. Gan's eyes went wide as Yutu cried out.
"Watch out!"
Gan's eyes snapped to the side just in time to see the real Junior fly into the air toward him.
All Gan had time to think was
{Well, Fu—}
Before a massive weight slammed into him…
… Gan peaked open an eye he'd involuntarily closed, expecting to see the afterlife.
Instead, Gan found himself in the same clearing, still surrounded by countless Grassbreaker Penguins and several dozen meters away from a furious-looking Junior.
The clearing had gone eerily silent, and Gan couldn't even hear Yutu working on his array. He turned to look in the other man's direction, only to find him staring at Gan, wide-eyed and mouth agape.
The Beast Lord's [Spirit Voice] broke the silence, carrying a sense of both bored apathy and mild annoyance.
"Oh… I see you survived."
Gan, confused, only realized Kusanagi wasn't speaking to him when he turned around.
Standing behind him, his collar still in its mouth, stood the bristling, growling form… of a young Akh'lut pup…
The Beast Lord scoffed, looking down his beak at the pup as he spoke.
"No worry. Once we've dealt with the humans, it'll be your turn next. This time I won't leave the matter to su—"
It was at that moment, the gargantuan, glowing beetle creature erupted from the surrounding grass, slamming into Beast Lord Kusanagi.
Last edited:
- Location
- Attempting to cast animate object on a black hole.
It really needs shots of the inside of their beaks to have the most impact.
Possibly in spoilers.
Possibly in spoilers.
If you're enjoying the Novel so far, I'd ask a favor of you all, and make an Advanced Review of the story so far on Royal Road! Advanced Review (500 words, 5 category critic)
Advanced Reviews are HUGE for keeping the novel on Treading and Raising Stars, and go a LONG way to keeping this novel in the eyes of new readers.
The more reviews the novel gets, and the more people are pulled in, the more secure the novel becomes, letting me continue to bring you all more and better chapters!
Even if you don't want to do an Advanced Review, just a basic review can help immensely.
Thanks for all of your support everyone, Its greatly appreciated!
Advanced Reviews are HUGE for keeping the novel on Treading and Raising Stars, and go a LONG way to keeping this novel in the eyes of new readers.
The more reviews the novel gets, and the more people are pulled in, the more secure the novel becomes, letting me continue to bring you all more and better chapters!
Even if you don't want to do an Advanced Review, just a basic review can help immensely.
Thanks for all of your support everyone, Its greatly appreciated!
Are you trying to give my reader nightmares?!.... GOOD IDEA!
Book 1: GRIM Adventures - 1
===================================================
Dear Lord! Someone must have done a shout-out or something and not told me! Not only did the novel get over 12,000 NEW views across all site (8000 in Royal Road alone!) since the last chapter release on Wednesday, and we even got 7 new Patreons! GOOD JOB EVERYONE!
/o/ That also means we're at 98% of the Goal! HURRAH! So If you know anyone who might be interested in the story, send them a link! Remember, once we cross that threshold, Everyone gets 2 free chapters at the end of the month and Patreon subscribers get an additional permanent ADVANCED chapter! for a total boost of an entire week!
Or if you want to be the one to finally push us over the edge, click on the link at the bottom of the chapter to be brought to the Patreon page!
===================================================
The small, furry animal sat atop a small boulder, nibbling on his berry. He was a Root Gopher, for he had no true name, though the strange creature kept referring to him as "Mr. Gopher." He hadn't the slightest clue what that meant, but he was a smart Gopher and could recognize a title of respect.
The silence of his meal was broken as something approached from the distance. A large, metallic blur sped toward him, followed by three smaller blurs. The sound grew louder, peaking as they pasted by.
//aaaaaaaahhhhhhhAAAAAA—//
Then faded back into blissful silence as they receded into the distance.
//—AHHHHHHaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!//
Mr. Gopher reached for another berry, only to find it had been the last one. Heartbroken, he stood and dusted his fur. All good things must end, it seemed. Such was the way of the world; oh well. He sighed as he looked off into the distance, as a large dot grew larger still. Predictable as the sunset, the strange creature returned, still screaming.
//aaaaaaaahhhhhhhAAAAAHH—//
Mr. Gopher wasn't sure his new companion ever stopped making sounds; at least she (for the Spirit energy told him thus, as it did many things) had not stopped since their journey began. He was certain they were so-called 'words,' but their meaning was lost to him. After all, what need had he of 'words'? But he was a wise Gopher and was certain they would come to him in time.
For now…
Mr. Gopher's eyes narrowed, and with a little flex of Spirit energy, a pebble flew from the boulder's surface and into the path of the strange creature as she flew by. His companion impacted the pebble at speed, causing her to stop in an instant, shortly followed by three light thuds as her pursuers impacted its hard shell. The three small Stone Sparrows slid from the smooth surface in bloody heaps and fell to the ground, unmoving.
Of course, the metal creature was unharmed, neither by the pebble nor the impacts. Just as it had been the last… Mr. Gopher quickly counted off on his paws… six times this similar event had happened. His companion in question spun in place, seemingly unsure what had happened or what to do next, endlessly babbling its non-sense words.
//Who?! what?! Why?!//
She turned to him and, as if only now seeing him, cried out, her stubby arms reaching for him.
//Mrrrr. Gooppheeer! Wwwaaaahhh!!//
The Root Gopher only sighed and dropped into the boulder to dodge, slipping into it as if it were loose soil. The earth in this area was… harder to manipulate than in his home, but he could still manage; after all, he was a talented Gopher.
His companion missed, flying past as Mr. Gopher walked out of the bottom of the boulder. As she turned to look at him, he pointed toward the fallen forms of the birds and started chittering loudly. The metal creature only hovered there, wringing her paws.
//B… but I can't! That goes—//
Mr. Gopher chittered louder and even flicked a small pebbled into the creature's 'head.' He assumed it was her head; that's where the endless noise came from, at least. The pebble clinked off the metal surface, sending her careening around. He might not have understood the words, but he recognized an excuse when he heard one!
Mr. Gopher knew she would be unharmed, though, for as little intelligence as she seemed to have, his metal companion was durable. He had to admit that he'd been worried when they'd first approached the mountain and been assaulted by the Galefeather Couatl.
Worried for his new companion, that was. He was fine, of course; after all, he was a brave Gopher. He had hidden behind her tough metal plating for… comfort. Right, that. Though his worries had been unfounded; the couatl had been utterly ineffective against her armor. Its slicing wind blades blew past like harmless wind. Its crushing coils were only a gentle hug. Even its sharp fangs had broken against her metal surface.
Of course, his companion hadn't stopped panicking and screaming the entire time. Mr. Gopher was still unsure if it was the shame of defeat or the pain in its ears that had finally chased the feathered serpent off. Though if Mr. Gopher was honest, he wouldn't have judged the creature for either. Still, as far as companions went, she wasn't terrible. She had her uses, at least.
Finished reprimanding his companion, Mr. Gopher sighed and walked toward the fallen corpses of the Stone Sparrows. The Spirit energy told him the bodies were valuable, but he didn't quite know how. It wasn't like he was going to eat them. He preferred the savory roots and juicy fruit of the earth's bounty to the flesh of other beasts. Not that he'd turn down the odd core if he got the chance; he wasn't a fool. However, these birds were far too young and weak to have such a thing in their hearts. Unfortunate.
Still, he'd learned long ago to listen to the Spirit energy. It had always guided him to the best roots and most flavorful grasses or Spirit plants. It had even told him where to build his kingdom! And what a kingdom it had been! Dozens of tunnels and chambers spread out over several miles in one of the best spots within all the prairies! Well, as far as he'd ever traveled, at least.
Or it was, until the sky broke, and the giant metal beast fell directly on top of his pantry! Years of work, toil, sweat and struggle were destroyed instantly. And did he even get an apology?! NO! In fact, he'd been ignored! Treated as inconsequential! He may have been a magnanimous Gopher, but even he had his limits!
But despite Mr. Gopher's harassment, the beast had never stepped up to his challenge. It was… infuriating. The strange, ringing attack had been the final straw, though, and Mr. Gopher had to admit, he… may have overreacted a bit. He might have been a top-tier Gopher, but that didn't mean he was immune to moments of weakness.
Mr. Gopher had regretted his rashness and, in his generosity, decided he would be the bigger being. He would protect the metal giant's child until they could be reunited. That it would bring him closer to… settling their dispute… Well, that was semantics.
A wicked grin spread across his face at the thought, though it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Mr. Gopher waved over his metal companion and pointed toward the bodied. His companion floated over and stared at the corpses. She paused, then turned to him, asking.
//Really?! Again?!//
He didn't bother responding to the nonsensical words and just continued to point.
His companion drooped but floated to the corpses. One by one, she lifted them and stuffed them into the magic space inside her shell. He wasn't sure how it worked, but who was he to complain about such a thing? It wasn't like he was going to carry all their loot.
The grisly job done, Mr. Gopher and his new companion turned down the mountain pass and headed toward the next spot the Spirit energy was telling him about.
============================
"Oww oww owwwww! Hey! Be gentle!"
Jack complained as she dabbed at the large gash on his head with the salve applicator.
Jill only narrowed her eyes and pinched his arm before dabbing more of the healing medicine on the frankly serious head would.
Her older (by 5 minutes!) brother had always been like this. He'd gladly climb a thorn-covered tree or razor-sharp cliff, reaching mindlessly for some shiny new object he'd spotted. But wince and complain the entire time she was treating him for the inevitable injuries he sustained. Sometimes she couldn't tell if he was the bravest man she knew… or the stupidest.
Her money was on the latter. Not that she'd ever tell him about that betting pool back at the Guild, of course.
She used her large, fluffy tail as a makeshift table to hold the supplies. The Squirrel tribe, while a fully Awakened Spirit Beast tribe like any other, always kept their tail while in human form. Many Awakened Spirit Beasts had some sign of their heritage, but few were as noticeable and iconic as the Squirrel tribe's tail. It had often been used to justify their discrimination or to label them as "Fallen" or worse! Feral! As if other tribes didn't have similar marks! But they could hide or dismiss them. Or, like the Dragonkin, they took pride in their scales.
Still, she couldn't help but mirror his smile as Jack stared down at the glowing white acorn in his hand. It was an [Fourth-Circle] Alabaster Oak seed. Not quite the treasure they'd come to the mountains to find, but it was a close second. As a [Fourth-Circle] Wood Mage, Jack had a strong affinity for trees and woody plants. If he could successfully cultivate this one, it would go a long way toward paying off their tribe's debts.
A rare variety of Stone Oak that only appeared when an old tree was stuck by powerful lightning, Alabaster Oak was prized both for its durability and its Spirit and Mana conductivity. Even the pure white leaves, once properly dried and prepared, could be turned into array knives aligned to wood and lightning; a rare and powerful combination highly sought after by hunters and adventurers alike.
Her fool of a brother had rushed to collect a sample as soon as he understood what they'd stumbled upon. The tree's guardian, a peak-level [Iron Body] Thunderous Cloud Goat, hadn't been so excited. Being [Fifth-Circle], Jack was technically more powerful, but mages weren't as bodily powerful as cultivators. No amount of magical prowess protected you from a surprise sonic bleat to the face while clinging to the side of a cliff. Not at their level, at least.
Jill had caught him, but somehow, he still smacked his head against the cliff face during the tumble. His cheeky grin as he held up the acorn almost made her throw him back to the goat, but she decided against it, and they quickly escaped.
Jill silently pressed her lips and turned away as she finished treating her brother and packed away the first aid kit. She spoke with her back to Jack, her voice quiet.
"Hey… Jack… I… this place is a lot more dangerous than they told us at the Guild. The Alabaster Oak is enough, lets… let's head back."
Jack stood, his eyes wide as he responded.
"What?! No! Jill, we didn't come out here for me. We came for you! We're so close! You're so close! If we can find the spri—"
Jill whirled around, tears threatening to spill over.
"You almost DIED, Jack! Don't pretend like you didn't! What does it matter if I reach [Golden Spirit] if I lose you in the process?! If that Spirit Beast had been a bit stronger, if your [Mana Shield] had failed, if I'd been just a bit slower, wha—"
It was Jack's turn to cut her off; he grabbed her shoulders and turned her toward him.
"But it wasn't! It didn't, and you weren't! I'm fine, Jill. I'll be fine. We'll be fine. Jill, this isn't our first mission; we're not some green-in-the-gills rookies. You and I, we've done this before; we can do it again. As long as we reach the [Pure Waters] spring, we can heal your deviation, and you can break through to [Golden Spirit]."
He pulled her into a deep hug and laughed.
"Can you imagine that, Jill! [Golden Spirit]! The first in three generations! Let's see those bastards mock the Squirrel tribe, then!"
He pulled out of the hug and wiped away the silent tears from her cheek. He grinned from ear to ear as he continued.
"And that's just the beginning! You'll go down in history! I know you will. I believe in you, Jill. You can do this!"
Jill could only stand there and stare at her older brother, her face furrowing with myriad emotions as tears trickled down and her mouth moved wordlessly. After a long moment, she took a deep breath and stood straight; her face set into grim determination. When she spoke, her voice was raw but strong.
"Right. Let's do this, Jack."
She turned and made her way deeper into the mountain pass. After a few steps, she stopped and spoke once more, almost in a whisper.
"… Thanks, Jack…"
Jack only chuckled and shook his head, smiling brightly, before following her around the bend.
… and smacking square into her back.
Jack sputtered, but righted himself and turned to look at his sister. Why had she stopped so suddenly?
His brow furrowed as his sister stared off into the distance, mouth agape and eyes wide. Turning in the direction she was looking, Jack's expression soon mirrored her own.
Bounding in their direction, from the opposite side of the pass, was a large, flying metal… box?
A large flying metal box with a small furry Root Gopher on top.
A large flying metal box with a small furry Root Gopher on top, being chased by a very large, very angry, mud-covered Crag Tiger.
As one, they turned, then Jack and Jill ran down the hill and fled from the approaching slaughter.
Little did they know; one can't outrun destiny for long.
———————————————————————————————————————————
———————————————————————————————————————————
Dear Lord! Someone must have done a shout-out or something and not told me! Not only did the novel get over 12,000 NEW views across all site (8000 in Royal Road alone!) since the last chapter release on Wednesday, and we even got 7 new Patreons! GOOD JOB EVERYONE!
/o/ That also means we're at 98% of the Goal! HURRAH! So If you know anyone who might be interested in the story, send them a link! Remember, once we cross that threshold, Everyone gets 2 free chapters at the end of the month and Patreon subscribers get an additional permanent ADVANCED chapter! for a total boost of an entire week!
Or if you want to be the one to finally push us over the edge, click on the link at the bottom of the chapter to be brought to the Patreon page!
===================================================
==============================
Book 1: GRIM Adventures - 1
==============================
Book 1: GRIM Adventures - 1
==============================
The small, furry animal sat atop a small boulder, nibbling on his berry. He was a Root Gopher, for he had no true name, though the strange creature kept referring to him as "Mr. Gopher." He hadn't the slightest clue what that meant, but he was a smart Gopher and could recognize a title of respect.
The silence of his meal was broken as something approached from the distance. A large, metallic blur sped toward him, followed by three smaller blurs. The sound grew louder, peaking as they pasted by.
//aaaaaaaahhhhhhhAAAAAA—//
Then faded back into blissful silence as they receded into the distance.
//—AHHHHHHaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!//
Mr. Gopher reached for another berry, only to find it had been the last one. Heartbroken, he stood and dusted his fur. All good things must end, it seemed. Such was the way of the world; oh well. He sighed as he looked off into the distance, as a large dot grew larger still. Predictable as the sunset, the strange creature returned, still screaming.
//aaaaaaaahhhhhhhAAAAAHH—//
Mr. Gopher wasn't sure his new companion ever stopped making sounds; at least she (for the Spirit energy told him thus, as it did many things) had not stopped since their journey began. He was certain they were so-called 'words,' but their meaning was lost to him. After all, what need had he of 'words'? But he was a wise Gopher and was certain they would come to him in time.
For now…
Mr. Gopher's eyes narrowed, and with a little flex of Spirit energy, a pebble flew from the boulder's surface and into the path of the strange creature as she flew by. His companion impacted the pebble at speed, causing her to stop in an instant, shortly followed by three light thuds as her pursuers impacted its hard shell. The three small Stone Sparrows slid from the smooth surface in bloody heaps and fell to the ground, unmoving.
Of course, the metal creature was unharmed, neither by the pebble nor the impacts. Just as it had been the last… Mr. Gopher quickly counted off on his paws… six times this similar event had happened. His companion in question spun in place, seemingly unsure what had happened or what to do next, endlessly babbling its non-sense words.
//Who?! what?! Why?!//
She turned to him and, as if only now seeing him, cried out, her stubby arms reaching for him.
//Mrrrr. Gooppheeer! Wwwaaaahhh!!//
The Root Gopher only sighed and dropped into the boulder to dodge, slipping into it as if it were loose soil. The earth in this area was… harder to manipulate than in his home, but he could still manage; after all, he was a talented Gopher.
His companion missed, flying past as Mr. Gopher walked out of the bottom of the boulder. As she turned to look at him, he pointed toward the fallen forms of the birds and started chittering loudly. The metal creature only hovered there, wringing her paws.
//B… but I can't! That goes—//
Mr. Gopher chittered louder and even flicked a small pebbled into the creature's 'head.' He assumed it was her head; that's where the endless noise came from, at least. The pebble clinked off the metal surface, sending her careening around. He might not have understood the words, but he recognized an excuse when he heard one!
Mr. Gopher knew she would be unharmed, though, for as little intelligence as she seemed to have, his metal companion was durable. He had to admit that he'd been worried when they'd first approached the mountain and been assaulted by the Galefeather Couatl.
Worried for his new companion, that was. He was fine, of course; after all, he was a brave Gopher. He had hidden behind her tough metal plating for… comfort. Right, that. Though his worries had been unfounded; the couatl had been utterly ineffective against her armor. Its slicing wind blades blew past like harmless wind. Its crushing coils were only a gentle hug. Even its sharp fangs had broken against her metal surface.
Of course, his companion hadn't stopped panicking and screaming the entire time. Mr. Gopher was still unsure if it was the shame of defeat or the pain in its ears that had finally chased the feathered serpent off. Though if Mr. Gopher was honest, he wouldn't have judged the creature for either. Still, as far as companions went, she wasn't terrible. She had her uses, at least.
Finished reprimanding his companion, Mr. Gopher sighed and walked toward the fallen corpses of the Stone Sparrows. The Spirit energy told him the bodies were valuable, but he didn't quite know how. It wasn't like he was going to eat them. He preferred the savory roots and juicy fruit of the earth's bounty to the flesh of other beasts. Not that he'd turn down the odd core if he got the chance; he wasn't a fool. However, these birds were far too young and weak to have such a thing in their hearts. Unfortunate.
Still, he'd learned long ago to listen to the Spirit energy. It had always guided him to the best roots and most flavorful grasses or Spirit plants. It had even told him where to build his kingdom! And what a kingdom it had been! Dozens of tunnels and chambers spread out over several miles in one of the best spots within all the prairies! Well, as far as he'd ever traveled, at least.
Or it was, until the sky broke, and the giant metal beast fell directly on top of his pantry! Years of work, toil, sweat and struggle were destroyed instantly. And did he even get an apology?! NO! In fact, he'd been ignored! Treated as inconsequential! He may have been a magnanimous Gopher, but even he had his limits!
But despite Mr. Gopher's harassment, the beast had never stepped up to his challenge. It was… infuriating. The strange, ringing attack had been the final straw, though, and Mr. Gopher had to admit, he… may have overreacted a bit. He might have been a top-tier Gopher, but that didn't mean he was immune to moments of weakness.
Mr. Gopher had regretted his rashness and, in his generosity, decided he would be the bigger being. He would protect the metal giant's child until they could be reunited. That it would bring him closer to… settling their dispute… Well, that was semantics.
A wicked grin spread across his face at the thought, though it vanished as quickly as it appeared. Mr. Gopher waved over his metal companion and pointed toward the bodied. His companion floated over and stared at the corpses. She paused, then turned to him, asking.
//Really?! Again?!//
He didn't bother responding to the nonsensical words and just continued to point.
His companion drooped but floated to the corpses. One by one, she lifted them and stuffed them into the magic space inside her shell. He wasn't sure how it worked, but who was he to complain about such a thing? It wasn't like he was going to carry all their loot.
The grisly job done, Mr. Gopher and his new companion turned down the mountain pass and headed toward the next spot the Spirit energy was telling him about.
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"Oww oww owwwww! Hey! Be gentle!"
Jack complained as she dabbed at the large gash on his head with the salve applicator.
Jill only narrowed her eyes and pinched his arm before dabbing more of the healing medicine on the frankly serious head would.
Her older (by 5 minutes!) brother had always been like this. He'd gladly climb a thorn-covered tree or razor-sharp cliff, reaching mindlessly for some shiny new object he'd spotted. But wince and complain the entire time she was treating him for the inevitable injuries he sustained. Sometimes she couldn't tell if he was the bravest man she knew… or the stupidest.
Her money was on the latter. Not that she'd ever tell him about that betting pool back at the Guild, of course.
She used her large, fluffy tail as a makeshift table to hold the supplies. The Squirrel tribe, while a fully Awakened Spirit Beast tribe like any other, always kept their tail while in human form. Many Awakened Spirit Beasts had some sign of their heritage, but few were as noticeable and iconic as the Squirrel tribe's tail. It had often been used to justify their discrimination or to label them as "Fallen" or worse! Feral! As if other tribes didn't have similar marks! But they could hide or dismiss them. Or, like the Dragonkin, they took pride in their scales.
Still, she couldn't help but mirror his smile as Jack stared down at the glowing white acorn in his hand. It was an [Fourth-Circle] Alabaster Oak seed. Not quite the treasure they'd come to the mountains to find, but it was a close second. As a [Fourth-Circle] Wood Mage, Jack had a strong affinity for trees and woody plants. If he could successfully cultivate this one, it would go a long way toward paying off their tribe's debts.
A rare variety of Stone Oak that only appeared when an old tree was stuck by powerful lightning, Alabaster Oak was prized both for its durability and its Spirit and Mana conductivity. Even the pure white leaves, once properly dried and prepared, could be turned into array knives aligned to wood and lightning; a rare and powerful combination highly sought after by hunters and adventurers alike.
Her fool of a brother had rushed to collect a sample as soon as he understood what they'd stumbled upon. The tree's guardian, a peak-level [Iron Body] Thunderous Cloud Goat, hadn't been so excited. Being [Fifth-Circle], Jack was technically more powerful, but mages weren't as bodily powerful as cultivators. No amount of magical prowess protected you from a surprise sonic bleat to the face while clinging to the side of a cliff. Not at their level, at least.
Jill had caught him, but somehow, he still smacked his head against the cliff face during the tumble. His cheeky grin as he held up the acorn almost made her throw him back to the goat, but she decided against it, and they quickly escaped.
Jill silently pressed her lips and turned away as she finished treating her brother and packed away the first aid kit. She spoke with her back to Jack, her voice quiet.
"Hey… Jack… I… this place is a lot more dangerous than they told us at the Guild. The Alabaster Oak is enough, lets… let's head back."
Jack stood, his eyes wide as he responded.
"What?! No! Jill, we didn't come out here for me. We came for you! We're so close! You're so close! If we can find the spri—"
Jill whirled around, tears threatening to spill over.
"You almost DIED, Jack! Don't pretend like you didn't! What does it matter if I reach [Golden Spirit] if I lose you in the process?! If that Spirit Beast had been a bit stronger, if your [Mana Shield] had failed, if I'd been just a bit slower, wha—"
It was Jack's turn to cut her off; he grabbed her shoulders and turned her toward him.
"But it wasn't! It didn't, and you weren't! I'm fine, Jill. I'll be fine. We'll be fine. Jill, this isn't our first mission; we're not some green-in-the-gills rookies. You and I, we've done this before; we can do it again. As long as we reach the [Pure Waters] spring, we can heal your deviation, and you can break through to [Golden Spirit]."
He pulled her into a deep hug and laughed.
"Can you imagine that, Jill! [Golden Spirit]! The first in three generations! Let's see those bastards mock the Squirrel tribe, then!"
He pulled out of the hug and wiped away the silent tears from her cheek. He grinned from ear to ear as he continued.
"And that's just the beginning! You'll go down in history! I know you will. I believe in you, Jill. You can do this!"
Jill could only stand there and stare at her older brother, her face furrowing with myriad emotions as tears trickled down and her mouth moved wordlessly. After a long moment, she took a deep breath and stood straight; her face set into grim determination. When she spoke, her voice was raw but strong.
"Right. Let's do this, Jack."
She turned and made her way deeper into the mountain pass. After a few steps, she stopped and spoke once more, almost in a whisper.
"… Thanks, Jack…"
Jack only chuckled and shook his head, smiling brightly, before following her around the bend.
… and smacking square into her back.
Jack sputtered, but righted himself and turned to look at his sister. Why had she stopped so suddenly?
His brow furrowed as his sister stared off into the distance, mouth agape and eyes wide. Turning in the direction she was looking, Jack's expression soon mirrored her own.
Bounding in their direction, from the opposite side of the pass, was a large, flying metal… box?
A large flying metal box with a small furry Root Gopher on top.
A large flying metal box with a small furry Root Gopher on top, being chased by a very large, very angry, mud-covered Crag Tiger.
As one, they turned, then Jack and Jill ran down the hill and fled from the approaching slaughter.
Little did they know; one can't outrun destiny for long.
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Book 1 - Lesson 17: "Ask yourself, 'What would a real man do?'"
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Book 1 - Lesson 17: "Ask yourself, 'What would a real man do?'"
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Alpha thought to himself as he chased after the fleeing signal beacon.
The TAWP was damaged, sure, but Snowball could travel through the ground at surprising speeds. He really needed to figure out how the local wildlife did that. If he could replicate it with a drone, it would speed up mining operations quite a bit. But as with many things recently, that was a problem for Future Alpha…
For now, he focused on following the tiny creature and not falling into any surprise pitfalls. Snowball surfaced 15 minutes later, stopping near the edge of a large clearing. Alpha pulled up beside the still bristling whale-puppy and looked in the direction she was growling. There, Alpha could see… grass.
Alpha's analytical sub-AI noted the subtle change in the grass's color and pattern variation, though. The grass's kaleidoscopic colors seemed totally arbitrary in most of the prairie he'd been through, but a few areas would show unique patterns and dominating colors. Not that he could say why; the areas weren't as interesting as far as he could tell.
Alpha knew certain plants, such as hydrangea, would change color or morphology based on the soil content, so he took soil and bio-samples of such areas for future study. He would even find some stranger plant variations in these areas, lending evidence to his soil composition theory.
A lot of them seemed… strange.
A few showed abnormal morphology that made little sense from a biological standpoint, while others wilted almost immediately after taking bio-samples. One had even reacted aggressively! It moved faster than any plant had the right to, wrapping the TAWP in thick vines. Alpha had broken free with little effort, but even smaller megafauna might have found such a task difficult. Plants with such 'active' defenses weren't unheard of in the Federation but were often heavily controlled. Some were even used by the military in different capacities. Plants were often easier to control than trained animals, after all.
His favorite he'd found in the prairies had been a strange metallic flower the size of a dinner plate. A cluster of half a dozen had dominated the center of a heavy red and gray patch of grass. The base vaguely resembled lotus pods, while wispy stocks extended from the pods, topped with glittering glass flowers. They looked more like an artist's interpretation of a plant than a living thing.
To his surprise, when Alpha approached, the plant shot at him! Rather, it expelled several hard, metallic seeds from the pods with surprising speed and force.
Not anything that could break through his armor, of course, but the "bullets" packed enough force to pierce unaugmented human skin with ease. What's more, when Alpha got closer, the glass flowers trembled before exploding violently, spraying the area with sharp shrapnel. Again, harmless to Alpha, but he imagined it would be thoroughly unpleasant for any approaching biological. More so since the glass petals seemed to break down quickly into a fine, irritating powder.
It was like the plant had been purposely designed to cause as much damage and irritation to any approaching wildlife as possible.
Neat!
Alpha collected plant samples, labeling them in his index as a "Peashooter" (because he wasn't passing up that pun). In the back of his mind, he wondered what kind of wildlife frequented the area where a plant would need such defenses.
The surrounding grass where Snowball had led him to was tall, unlike the short (for him) one-to-two-meter-tall grasses that dotted the rest of the prairies. Even the TAWP was almost fully concealed at 10 meters tall in its rapid transport mode. Its color was also strongly green and brown, appearing far similar to terran grass than the surrounding rainbow grasses, only a short ways away, though still pot-marked with swirling blues and yellows.
If he changed to walker mode, he could gain an extra five meters, allowing him to see over the grass. That would also put him in the line of fire of whatever had Snowball in such a fuss, though. Instead, he used another method; by pinching off a tiny portion of his nanoskin, Alpha released a small drone called a [Wasp].
[Wasps] were tiny, finger-sized drones comprising only a flight system and video/audio feedback. They were tiny, cheap, and almost undetectable, making them great for scouting and information gathering. Since they were made of only nanites, they could even slip into places with even the most minute of gaps. [Wasps] were used often in search and rescue missions, as they could also carry and deliver doses of much-needed medical nanites to trapped victims.
The [Wasp] rose into the air, and as the feed turned on, Alpha saw the obvious problem.
{Oh… well… ya, that'll do it.}
A veritable army of the same penguin creatures that had accosted them for the last few days stretched for a few kilometers beyond the tall grass. Well, that explained why they seemed so common, at least. Though why had so many gathered in one place?
A quick count put their numbers at just under 3,000. terran penguins could gather in large numbers, but they were far smaller than these creatures and had access to the rich ocean. Alpha had yet to see any other larger animals, so how did the area support such a large colony?
Or was the reason he'd not seen any other animals because of such a colony in the area? They were obviously predatory; had they cleared or scared away most of the local wildlife? Was it even normal for them to gather like this?
Maybe they gathered during breeding seasons like terran penguins. Or was there some external factor?
More importantly, why had Snowball come here? It wasn't like Alpha hadn't noticed the small whale-puppy's unnatural… fixation on the penguin creatures. She had attacked and devoured the individuals who ambushed them with a relish that went beyond just a normal predator/prey relationship. She wasn't thinking of attacking the rookery, was she?
That would have been suicidal. Well, for her; Alpha was more than capable of wiping out this number, though it would nearly deplete all of his supplies. They weren't very dangerous.
All the same, he'd rather not waste time or ammo dealing with his furry friend's blood grudge, no matter how cute it was. Alpha moved to pick the whale-puppy up, but Snowball's head jerked to the side, her eyes narrowing at something in the distance.
Then she was gone in a flash, a black-white blur racing through the grass as she circled the rookery.
Alpha could only sigh and chase after her with [Wasp] and TAWP. They circled around until they'd covered almost the entire diameter, nearing the far edge. Here, Alpha saw a peculiarity in the rookery he'd not noticed before. Where most of the horde was scattered about randomly, a smaller group of penguins, numbering a few hundred, had gathered close, all facing a central location.
The epicenter of which was a massive penguin, far taller than the ones surrounding it. In fact, it was only a few meters shorter than the TAWP in walker mode, easily classifying it as megafauna and a potential threat.
Was it a different species? It certainly looked different enough from the others. Or was it some kind of dimorphism? A quick scan of the surrounding rookery didn't reveal any others of this size or type, but that could mean any number of things. Biologicals were weird like that. Alpha sent the [Wasp] drone ahead to get a better look. That's when he spotted something that gave him pause.
In the center, near the large penguin, was a small clearing, and in that clearing were… two human males? Both were dark-skinned and tanned, wearing what appeared to be fur armor and rugged, if well-made, clothes, perfect for travel through the slightly chilly prairies. One man fended off multiple penguins with a tattered spear, while the other seemed to have gone insane, drawing on the ground with an ornate knife like a man possessed.
That changed things a bit. He doubted the penguins were sapient, or if they were, they were at least hostiles. As for Snowball, while the question was still up in the air about her sapience, it was apparent she was still very young and wouldn't be much help to him in the short term. Two young human males, though? He could work with that.
He could start working on a local language lexicon, if nothing else. Though convincing locals to "help" was often… difficult at the start. But if Alpha were to say, rescue a pair of poor men trapped in a hopeless situation?
That would go a long way toward building the goodwill he'd need for his next steps.
Snowball and Alpha stopped a short distance from the group, hidden by the grass, just as the spearman's weapon snapped. The penguins broke out into odd laughter that sent chills through his motherboard. Had he misjudged the penguin's intelligence?
Or was he overthinking things? One thing was for sure, whatever was going on here wasn't normal. What kind of animal attacked their prey one at a time, even if several were killed or injured?
Was it some form of training for the young? Some predators captured or crippled prey animals and use as for training younger members of the pack. What looked like a smaller version of the large penguin in the gather gave some weight to that theory.
Whatever the reason, Alpha had to think of something fast, or there wouldn't be a pair to rescue for very long.
Lucky for them, Alpha was an AI capable of processing battlefield data on a scale and speed that would have fried their squishy biological brains.
Unlucky for Alpha, Snowball decided she knew the best method for dealing with their situation, charging blindly into the fray without a plan, like a real man!
Alpha was so focused on formulating the perfect approach he almost missed as Snowball rushed by him, a white-black blur of bloodlust and fury.
Alpha couldn't have been prouder.
Better yet, the ballsy move turned out to be the right one, as the young whale-puppy snatched the spearmen out of the (literal) jaws of defeat at the last moment.
If this was a novel, Snowball would definitely be the real main protagonist.
Alpha laughed to himself and switched walker mode before throwing his hands in the air and yelling.
"You know what? Fine, let's do this! CHAAARRRRGGGEEE!"
======================
Beast Lord Kusanagi couldn't help but smile as he watched the weak little humans struggle against his lesser minions. The minor loss in troops was acceptable for now; after all, they were just mindless beasts for him to command. They weren't his people, his tribe. They weren't true Grasscutters. No, his people were long gone, either felled by those evil Akh'lut, or scattered on the wind to places unknown.
This land was the Grasscutter tribe's ancestral home. They had controlled the prairies for millennia. It was their home and hunting ground. None could oppose them!
Then the Akh'lut had appeared. In a single night, the Grasscutters were nearly exterminated, the great clans broke, and the tribe scattered. Only he, the heir to the main family, had survived the slaughter, though at a substantial cost. When he awoke, several centuries had passed, and he'd found the prairies infested, both with Akh'lut and humans, of all things!
Worse, his people had regressed, turning feral and wild, reduced to mere Spirit beasts. No, worse than that, they were prey! The once proud and powerful Grasscutter tribe, Awakened Beasts who could sit at the table of any clan or sect on the content, had been reduced to the food stock of his enemy!!
Beast Lord Kusanagi had raged against the injustice of it. He had struck out against everything around him in his youth and arrogance. His anger and fury burned endlessly. Then, like any bonfire, it attracted unnecessary attention.
It hadn't taken long for the Akh'lut to come for him. But this was still his home, even after so many centuries in stasis. How could he be so easy to deal with? So, severally injured but with a clearer head, Kusanagi had gone into hiding. He would build his strength and bide his time.
So he spent the next few years in hiding. Growing, learning, and planning. When the time was right, Kusanagi would reemerge with an army and retake what was rightfully his.
Kusanagi might have the last of his kind. But he wouldn't be for long.
Ever since he'd been driven into hiding by the hateful Akh'lut, he'd done his best to revive his people and experimented on the so-called "Grassbreakers." They were only lesser cousins, but the Grasscutter bloodline was still present, insured by the Elders from so long ago. It was just a matter of teasing it out of them.
He had some success, such as the experiment playing with the spearman, but they never turned out quite… right. Even after decades of experiments and sacrifice, it wasn't enough. He was missing some piece of the puzzle, some aspect he wasn't seeing.
Awakened Beasts weren't like Cultivators or Mages. They relied far more heavily on their bloodlines and instincts than other sapient creatures. They could do things such as forge artifacts or create arrays, but only some truly excelled in those arts. Kusanagi wasn't one such prodigy. As much as it pained him to admit it, he needed help. That's when she appeared.
Kusanagi had heard of her kind before, but dismissed them as legends. Tales told to chicks to scare them into behaving. But standing in front of that same living legend had made Kusanagi feel… small. Smaller than he had since he was a chick himself. But unlike the terrible end promised in the stories, her words were as sweet as honey and promised him the help he desperately needed. Like a siren's sweet song, she promised him his home, his people, his crown.
All it would cost him was his loyalty. A promise of his own. A pact sealed by his very soul.
He would have been a fool to refuse it.
With the pact sealed, Kusanagi's research took a qualitative leap. Not only did the Grassbreakers become more controllable, but with each passing generation, they became smarter, stronger, and more numerous.
Then the call had come from his benefactor. A simple mission: kill the Akh'lut Priestess. A chance to not only repay his dept but strike a major blow to his sworn enemy? He had gladly accepted.
And the mission had been a success. Kusanagi's army had overwhelmed the Priestess and her guard while they were out hunting. It had been so easy that he had nearly laughed himself to death. Only the small pup, not even awakened yet, had been spared.
Kusanagi wasn't really sure why he had done it, if he was honest. Maybe he wanted to see the child suffer like he had. To see her struggle and escape certain death, only to watch from a distance as her people and home were consumed. Maybe some long, shriveled, and dried-up part of him recognized that fear and anger in her eyes and found in her a kindred spirit.
Whatever the cause, he hadn't expected to see the child again so soon.
No matter; she had her chance, and fate had decided she wasn't as worthy as he had been. Maybe he'd keep her around anyway, chain her up like he'd seen the humans do with their hounds.
Yes, that would be nice. The irony of turning those who destroyed his home into glorified pets sat pleasantly on his mind.
Kusanagi didn't bother to stop his grin as he watched the scene play out before him.
Maybe he could even—
It was at that moment Beast Lord Kusanagi's internal monologue was rudely interrupted by several thousand tons of Federation-Grade military hardware.
First Goal Reached!
CONGRATS EVERYONE! You did it! We reached out first Monthly goal!
I literally couldn't have done it without you guys!!
What does this mean? It means I'm at the point were I can focus on Writing without worry about other things!
What's that mean for YOU personally, as readers? More chapters! /o/ Hurrah!
Specifically, 2 free chapters and 1 additional advanced chapter! Bringing Adventurers to 3, Veterans to 5 and Pathfinders to 7! That's 3 total chapters, or an entire week's worth, for the Patreons!
I hope to be able to do these "upgrades" more in the future, either as prizes for reaching goals like this, or maybe even throwing one or two out there for free, when I've got a steady stockpile going.
That being, said, its time for the first patreon exclusive poll!!
The topic? How do you want your chapters?
As a reminder, Vets and Pathfinders get bonus votes! The bonus chapters will be out the last week of May (week of the 28th) and there are Three options.
For those interested in having a vote or just readying ahead in the novel, take a look at the Patreon!
==============
1) - Daily Dose!: Starting that Sunday (28th), release one chapter a day until that Friday.
2) - Double Dip Week!: Keep the normal days, but each day post TWO chapters (Monday - Wednesday - Friday)
3) - Mega Drop Friday!: Monday and Wednesday stay the same, but we end the week with a bang with FOUR chapter drops on Friday!
Book 1 - Lesson 18: "Curse the enemy with your dying breath!"
(╯°□°）╯ ︵┻━┻
I've rewritten this chapter TWICE today and I still don't really like it for some reason. But I can't say WHY.
Tell me what you all think of this one? Do you think it still needs touch up?
"Float like a butterfly—"
Alpha chanted as the TAWP slid to the side, narrowly avoiding the large, gleaming fin swung at him.
"—sting like a bee!"
One of the two smaller pile bunkers on Alpha's back slammed into the giant penguin's side with an audible thump that shook the air and filled the clearing with the screech of metal on metal. It didn't pierce, much to Alpha's surprise, but if the giant creature's bulging eyes and bloody squawk were any sign, the blow had been anything but pleasant. Alpha dodged another blow, the strange, gleaming energy along the fin's edge striking sparks as it skidded off his hex shield. The first of Alpha's pile bunkers retracted just as another on the opposite side lashed out, delivering a second bone-shaking blow.
As the name suggested, the [Tri-Horn Pile Bunker] system was made of three individual pile bunkers nestled on top of the TAWP. Two smaller, fast-reloading pile bunkers to either side could alternate blows with surprising speed and force, while a much larger central pile bunker could deliver a blow capable of piercing inferior quality military-grade alloy.
Then again, the [Tri-Horn Pile Bunker] wasn't a proper weapon. It was primarily used to open reinforced hulls and bunkers to let in infantry or drones. He wouldn't have used the thing if his supplies weren't so low. That said, it could easily punch through nearly two feet of reinforced steel. A biological being able to take that kind of hit and not be turned into a wet paste on the ground was nearly unheard of.
The biggest issue was lining up the right shot. The penguin's feathers were hard and almost metallic; a poorly aligned blow would skid their surface without damaging it. He'd gotten a few good shots in with the smaller pile bunkers, but the creature was intelligent and agile for its size. Smart enough not to let him get a proper shot in with the primary pile bunker, at least.
If the TAWP was in good condition, he could have just pinned the thing to the ground and hit it as many times as it took.
But then again, if the TAWP was in proper working order, he'd not have to resort to melee at all. The creature's feathers might be tough, but Alpha doubted they could stop a large caliber rail slug. A small burst of point turret fire misted another of the smaller penguins as it bit at his back. The smaller ones were becoming an issue, though. They weren't dangerous, but their sheer numbers as they swarmed him hindered his mobility. It took time to spike them, and shooting them before they got close ate into his limited supplies. To make matters worse, the slowly building pile of corpses made the ground unstable, even in walker mode.
Alpha needed to figure out how to cut the head from this snake before he was forced to use more supplies. With any luck, the rest would scatter in the wind once the big one was dead.
A sudden stone pillar erupted from the ground beneath the TAWP. It wasn't hard enough to activate his hex shield, but it lifted the TAWP, toppling it to the side. Great, it was learning now. Just what he needed. The pile bunker shot went wide and skid across the surface of the mega-bird's feathers, eliciting a high-pitched metallic screech.
The penguin leader flinched, but otherwise didn't react. The rest of the flock seemed so unphased. As one, the entire flock dropped like flies for several dozen meters around the two battling titans. Most fell to the ground, stunned. A few of the larger ones writhed in brief agony before turning and vanishing into the ground. The flock only took a few seconds to recover, but it had been enough. Alpha realized what had happened and formed a plan. Alpha grinned an evil, mental grin and started his scheme.
==================================
Yutu couldn't decide if he was the unluckiest man alive or the luckiest. Either way, today had reminded him of the first time he'd ever visited one of the large cities. The excitement of something new, the terror of unknown dangers, the confusion and panic when things went sideways. The constant emotional ups and downs had been exhausting, and he felt the same way he had then. He'd gone from desperation to hope to panic, then back to hope, all in a brief period. That wasn't proper for a scriptor, the general term for an array user without a title.
Arrays weren't some mystical enigma that many seemed to think. Yes, it was an art, but arrays were all about patterns and design. It was giving instructions to the Spirit energy, and like any set of instructions, they had to be clear and concise. A scriptor had to always keep a methodical mind and steady heart so that they were properly understood when they "spoke" to the Spirit energy.
This was one of the major reasons arrays were almost always prepared beforehand; arrays made during combat or stressful situations were often sloppy and didn't give explicit instructions. This could cause strange and unintended side effects that were just as dangerous to the array user as to the enemy.
When he chose to stall the Beast Lord, his initial plan had been to use that very fact. An improperly drawn array could have explosive consequences, true. But what about a properly improperly drawn array? Could the 'breakdown' be controlled? Directed? The Slatewalker's 'trap' arrays already worked on a similar principle. When something entered their proximity, they destabilized and activated their effect. He didn't have time to make a proper trap array, but if he tweaked it a bit, maybe it could work.
If he made it in time, he could stall Kusanagi for quite a while. If he didn't… well, at least he'd go out with a bang and take a good chunk of them with him. Ganbaatar's decision to join him further bolstered Yutu's confidence in his plan. That was until Kusanagi showed up almost immediately. The bastard hadn't been stalled by the others at all! He'd been following them close this whole time while making it look like he was far farther away than he really was. He'd been watching them, playing with them!
But that habit of playing with his prey would be his undoing. Yutu had gotten to work without wasting a moment while Gan worked to defend him. Even this was just a part of the 'game' for the evil Beast Lord. But Yutu was done playing games; he was done running away. Did Kusanagi want to see what Yutu could do? Fine, he'd show him. Even if Yutu couldn't kill the Beast Lord, he'd make sure his face was carved into its black soul. He would be the lingering curse that haunted Kusanagi till his dying breath.
He almost made it, too. Then Gan had fallen. Even that meathead couldn't stand up to a Beast Lord's prodigy. They'd failed. Yutu stared at the almost complete array as hot tears slipped down his cheek. He knew what he had to do now. But a miracle occurred as the Kusanagi's prodigy moved to finish the fallen Gan, and Yutu worked to overload the unfinished array.
From seemingly nowhere, an Akh'lut pup snatched Gan from the jaws of death. Yutu could only stare, open mouth, as the dog-sized creature stared down at the large penguin who'd almost killed Gan. Hope he thought he'd lost swelled to life in Yutu's chest. A pup meant adults! An adult Akh'lut would be at least [Silver Spirit], maybe even higher! And Akh'lut never traveled alone! Sure, at [Shackle Breaking], Kusanagi was still two steps higher, not an insignificant gap, but the chances of one of the Aku'lut warriors being at least in the early stages of [Shackle Breaking] were high.
Aku'lut were also apex beasts, meaning they had a natural advantage in combat. Even if a small group of [Silver Spirit] and [Golden Spirit] Aku'lut couldn't finish Kusanagi off, they'd be more than enough to chase the Beast Lord and a few hundred Grassbreakers off.
There was hope!
What emerged from the grass after the pup wasn't the group of adult Akh'lut Yutu had expected, though. Instead, it was a gargantuan metal… beetle? At least Yutu thought it was a beetle. It was beetle-shaped, at least.
It was a deep black-blue color Yutu had no name for, and several lines along its carapace pulsed with an eerie cyan light. Several glowing red eyes dotted its surface, and three massive horns stretched from its front to its back. But where a beetle walked on six legs, this one only walked on four, with its front two legs short and stubby, almost looking like hands. The entire thing even appeared metallic and shiny, like it was wearing armor.
Yutu had never seen or even heard of anything like it in all his life.
Yutu could only stare, transfixed by the sight of the weird beetle-thing. Moving at a speed Yutu could barely follow, it tackled the Beast Lord. Its giant horns cracked like thunder as they slammed into the Beast Lord, causing Yutu's ears to ring.
It was Gan's voice that broke him out of it.
"Yutu! The array!"
Yutu snapped his gaze away from the battling Titans and toward the smaller battle only a few meters away. Gan was sitting, propping himself up with the broken haft of his spear, a wooden cap sealing what remained of his leg. The Akh'lut pup that had saved him was currently in a bloody melee with the Beast Lord's prodigy. Metal flippers blocked razor-sharp claws, even as dagger-like teeth bit into the feathered hide. They seemed near evenly matched, but who knew how long that would last?
Yutu had to work fast. The heavens had given him one last chance. He had to make it count. With newfound fervor, Yutu got back to work.
He would need to make some minor adjustments to account for the new party, but that was quick work. In short order, he was finished. Yutu looked down at his work, studying each part carefully and ensuring it would do what he wanted. Then, his heart pounding, a wide grin spread over his face. This could work! This would work!
[Trap Array: Distant Horizon]. It was an extremely advanced array meant to trap those who had finished the seven steps of [Mortal Foundations] and stepped into the [Earthly Transcendent] greater realm. It would loop a small sliver of space, preventing the target from passing through. They could walk toward the horizon for an eternity and still make no progress.
It wasn't something he, as a [Stone Body] Cultivator, should ever have been able to complete. He wasn't sure why the nice elderly couple who'd trained him even had something like this to begin with. But that didn't matter. He didn't need to complete it for what he had planned.
He channeled all his remaining Spirit energy into the array with one last stroke. Like a hungry beast, the advanced array drained him until he felt like he was being rung dry. A long moment passed, and just as darkness crept along the edges of his vision, the array lines activated.
Yutu laughed as the array sprung to life.
"[Cracked Array: Abiding Horizon]! "
==================================
//Warning! Spatial anomaly detected!//
Alpha was pulled from his planning by his monitoring sub-AI.
What now?! Was a whale going to suddenly be called into existence several miles in the sky?!
Alpha wasn't even questioning things at this point. Still, the sudden bright light near the humans was a great distraction! The giant penguin's head snapped in that direction, and it roared something incomprehensible. The next instant, the glowing light expanded outward with surprising speed and enveloped them all in a giant… bubble?
A thin film of something surrounded the space for several hundred meters around the origin point, looking for all intents and purposes like the inside of a gigantic soap bubble, complete with swirling, prismatic colors. The outside of the bubble was perfectly visible, but it twisted and turned with the flow of the bubble, like a bad acid trip. Alpha had to admit, it was a bit mesmerizing… If his sensors weren't telling him it was a class-3 spatial anomaly, just shy of another Fold Break. Seriously, what the hell was up with this place?!
The giant penguin seemed to forget about Alpha completely and yelled something, pointing toward the young man kneeling near the glowing core of the anomaly with a sharp flipper.
Whatever it had said, the other penguins understood. As one, they rushed the man, teeth gnashing.
Alpha tsked.
"Oh, no, you don't! I'm still here, buddy!"
Alpha has just enough time to finish his plan, thanks to the minor distraction.
The [Tri-Horn Pile Bunker] quickly dissolved back into the TAWP as the rolling nanoskin reformed into several two-tall polls with several large, flat disks covering them.
"Time for some crowd control! Activating [USW-Harpy]!"
With a thought, the system activated, and the disks vibrated, filling the area with ultrasonic waves powerful enough to kill a full-grown human if they had been standing next to the TAWP.
The effect was immediate and far more pronounced than what Alpha had observed before. Most of the smaller penguins in his immediate area froze, then fell forward, their hearts stopping in their chest. The penguins farther away almost uniformly collapsed, white foam frothing in their open beaks.
Unfortunately for Snowball and the Humans, the Harpy was non-discriminatory. he could aim the more intense waves away from them, but they were still hit by the bleed-off if their writhing forms said anything. Ah well, nothing he couldn't fix with some quick nanites. It wasn't his fault biologicals were so squishy.
Even the giant penguin had collapsed and clutched at its skull.
Then something… odd happened.
Several of the largest and farthest penguins from him could still move. Desperate to escape the sonic attack, they lunged at the soap bubble surrounding them.
Instead of being torn to shreds by the spatial distortion as Alpha had expected, they were absorbed by it. Their forms twisted and melted into the anomaly in the same way the image of the outside had been.
The things that were finally spat out no longer resembled penguins. They didn't really resemble much of anything that belonged in an Euclidean reality. Some of them looked like they'd fallen right out of a Salvador Dalí painting. Others were twisted in ways that shouldn't have been physically possible and made Alpha's processors hurt just by looking at them (he didn't know they could do that!). Even stranger, Alpha's biosensors told him every single one was still alive.
A thin, pearlescent film clung to each one, continuing to twist and warp the creatures, even after exiting the anomaly, as if they'd taken a part of it with them just by touching it.
That… couldn't be pleasant.
Alpha kicked one of the nearby writhing penguins into the bubble and recorded the process again.
"Huh… neat."
He then turned toward the debilitated giant penguin. Alpha wondered what kind of shape it would make.
I've rewritten this chapter TWICE today and I still don't really like it for some reason. But I can't say WHY.
Tell me what you all think of this one? Do you think it still needs touch up?
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Book 1 - Lesson 18: "Curse the enemy with your dying breath!"
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"Float like a butterfly—"
Alpha chanted as the TAWP slid to the side, narrowly avoiding the large, gleaming fin swung at him.
"—sting like a bee!"
One of the two smaller pile bunkers on Alpha's back slammed into the giant penguin's side with an audible thump that shook the air and filled the clearing with the screech of metal on metal. It didn't pierce, much to Alpha's surprise, but if the giant creature's bulging eyes and bloody squawk were any sign, the blow had been anything but pleasant. Alpha dodged another blow, the strange, gleaming energy along the fin's edge striking sparks as it skidded off his hex shield. The first of Alpha's pile bunkers retracted just as another on the opposite side lashed out, delivering a second bone-shaking blow.
As the name suggested, the [Tri-Horn Pile Bunker] system was made of three individual pile bunkers nestled on top of the TAWP. Two smaller, fast-reloading pile bunkers to either side could alternate blows with surprising speed and force, while a much larger central pile bunker could deliver a blow capable of piercing inferior quality military-grade alloy.
Then again, the [Tri-Horn Pile Bunker] wasn't a proper weapon. It was primarily used to open reinforced hulls and bunkers to let in infantry or drones. He wouldn't have used the thing if his supplies weren't so low. That said, it could easily punch through nearly two feet of reinforced steel. A biological being able to take that kind of hit and not be turned into a wet paste on the ground was nearly unheard of.
The biggest issue was lining up the right shot. The penguin's feathers were hard and almost metallic; a poorly aligned blow would skid their surface without damaging it. He'd gotten a few good shots in with the smaller pile bunkers, but the creature was intelligent and agile for its size. Smart enough not to let him get a proper shot in with the primary pile bunker, at least.
If the TAWP was in good condition, he could have just pinned the thing to the ground and hit it as many times as it took.
But then again, if the TAWP was in proper working order, he'd not have to resort to melee at all. The creature's feathers might be tough, but Alpha doubted they could stop a large caliber rail slug. A small burst of point turret fire misted another of the smaller penguins as it bit at his back. The smaller ones were becoming an issue, though. They weren't dangerous, but their sheer numbers as they swarmed him hindered his mobility. It took time to spike them, and shooting them before they got close ate into his limited supplies. To make matters worse, the slowly building pile of corpses made the ground unstable, even in walker mode.
Alpha needed to figure out how to cut the head from this snake before he was forced to use more supplies. With any luck, the rest would scatter in the wind once the big one was dead.
A sudden stone pillar erupted from the ground beneath the TAWP. It wasn't hard enough to activate his hex shield, but it lifted the TAWP, toppling it to the side. Great, it was learning now. Just what he needed. The pile bunker shot went wide and skid across the surface of the mega-bird's feathers, eliciting a high-pitched metallic screech.
The penguin leader flinched, but otherwise didn't react. The rest of the flock seemed so unphased. As one, the entire flock dropped like flies for several dozen meters around the two battling titans. Most fell to the ground, stunned. A few of the larger ones writhed in brief agony before turning and vanishing into the ground. The flock only took a few seconds to recover, but it had been enough. Alpha realized what had happened and formed a plan. Alpha grinned an evil, mental grin and started his scheme.
==================================
Yutu couldn't decide if he was the unluckiest man alive or the luckiest. Either way, today had reminded him of the first time he'd ever visited one of the large cities. The excitement of something new, the terror of unknown dangers, the confusion and panic when things went sideways. The constant emotional ups and downs had been exhausting, and he felt the same way he had then. He'd gone from desperation to hope to panic, then back to hope, all in a brief period. That wasn't proper for a scriptor, the general term for an array user without a title.
Arrays weren't some mystical enigma that many seemed to think. Yes, it was an art, but arrays were all about patterns and design. It was giving instructions to the Spirit energy, and like any set of instructions, they had to be clear and concise. A scriptor had to always keep a methodical mind and steady heart so that they were properly understood when they "spoke" to the Spirit energy.
This was one of the major reasons arrays were almost always prepared beforehand; arrays made during combat or stressful situations were often sloppy and didn't give explicit instructions. This could cause strange and unintended side effects that were just as dangerous to the array user as to the enemy.
When he chose to stall the Beast Lord, his initial plan had been to use that very fact. An improperly drawn array could have explosive consequences, true. But what about a properly improperly drawn array? Could the 'breakdown' be controlled? Directed? The Slatewalker's 'trap' arrays already worked on a similar principle. When something entered their proximity, they destabilized and activated their effect. He didn't have time to make a proper trap array, but if he tweaked it a bit, maybe it could work.
If he made it in time, he could stall Kusanagi for quite a while. If he didn't… well, at least he'd go out with a bang and take a good chunk of them with him. Ganbaatar's decision to join him further bolstered Yutu's confidence in his plan. That was until Kusanagi showed up almost immediately. The bastard hadn't been stalled by the others at all! He'd been following them close this whole time while making it look like he was far farther away than he really was. He'd been watching them, playing with them!
But that habit of playing with his prey would be his undoing. Yutu had gotten to work without wasting a moment while Gan worked to defend him. Even this was just a part of the 'game' for the evil Beast Lord. But Yutu was done playing games; he was done running away. Did Kusanagi want to see what Yutu could do? Fine, he'd show him. Even if Yutu couldn't kill the Beast Lord, he'd make sure his face was carved into its black soul. He would be the lingering curse that haunted Kusanagi till his dying breath.
He almost made it, too. Then Gan had fallen. Even that meathead couldn't stand up to a Beast Lord's prodigy. They'd failed. Yutu stared at the almost complete array as hot tears slipped down his cheek. He knew what he had to do now. But a miracle occurred as the Kusanagi's prodigy moved to finish the fallen Gan, and Yutu worked to overload the unfinished array.
From seemingly nowhere, an Akh'lut pup snatched Gan from the jaws of death. Yutu could only stare, open mouth, as the dog-sized creature stared down at the large penguin who'd almost killed Gan. Hope he thought he'd lost swelled to life in Yutu's chest. A pup meant adults! An adult Akh'lut would be at least [Silver Spirit], maybe even higher! And Akh'lut never traveled alone! Sure, at [Shackle Breaking], Kusanagi was still two steps higher, not an insignificant gap, but the chances of one of the Aku'lut warriors being at least in the early stages of [Shackle Breaking] were high.
Aku'lut were also apex beasts, meaning they had a natural advantage in combat. Even if a small group of [Silver Spirit] and [Golden Spirit] Aku'lut couldn't finish Kusanagi off, they'd be more than enough to chase the Beast Lord and a few hundred Grassbreakers off.
There was hope!
What emerged from the grass after the pup wasn't the group of adult Akh'lut Yutu had expected, though. Instead, it was a gargantuan metal… beetle? At least Yutu thought it was a beetle. It was beetle-shaped, at least.
It was a deep black-blue color Yutu had no name for, and several lines along its carapace pulsed with an eerie cyan light. Several glowing red eyes dotted its surface, and three massive horns stretched from its front to its back. But where a beetle walked on six legs, this one only walked on four, with its front two legs short and stubby, almost looking like hands. The entire thing even appeared metallic and shiny, like it was wearing armor.
Yutu had never seen or even heard of anything like it in all his life.
Yutu could only stare, transfixed by the sight of the weird beetle-thing. Moving at a speed Yutu could barely follow, it tackled the Beast Lord. Its giant horns cracked like thunder as they slammed into the Beast Lord, causing Yutu's ears to ring.
It was Gan's voice that broke him out of it.
"Yutu! The array!"
Yutu snapped his gaze away from the battling Titans and toward the smaller battle only a few meters away. Gan was sitting, propping himself up with the broken haft of his spear, a wooden cap sealing what remained of his leg. The Akh'lut pup that had saved him was currently in a bloody melee with the Beast Lord's prodigy. Metal flippers blocked razor-sharp claws, even as dagger-like teeth bit into the feathered hide. They seemed near evenly matched, but who knew how long that would last?
Yutu had to work fast. The heavens had given him one last chance. He had to make it count. With newfound fervor, Yutu got back to work.
He would need to make some minor adjustments to account for the new party, but that was quick work. In short order, he was finished. Yutu looked down at his work, studying each part carefully and ensuring it would do what he wanted. Then, his heart pounding, a wide grin spread over his face. This could work! This would work!
[Trap Array: Distant Horizon]. It was an extremely advanced array meant to trap those who had finished the seven steps of [Mortal Foundations] and stepped into the [Earthly Transcendent] greater realm. It would loop a small sliver of space, preventing the target from passing through. They could walk toward the horizon for an eternity and still make no progress.
It wasn't something he, as a [Stone Body] Cultivator, should ever have been able to complete. He wasn't sure why the nice elderly couple who'd trained him even had something like this to begin with. But that didn't matter. He didn't need to complete it for what he had planned.
He channeled all his remaining Spirit energy into the array with one last stroke. Like a hungry beast, the advanced array drained him until he felt like he was being rung dry. A long moment passed, and just as darkness crept along the edges of his vision, the array lines activated.
Yutu laughed as the array sprung to life.
"[Cracked Array: Abiding Horizon]! "
==================================
//Warning! Spatial anomaly detected!//
Alpha was pulled from his planning by his monitoring sub-AI.
What now?! Was a whale going to suddenly be called into existence several miles in the sky?!
Alpha wasn't even questioning things at this point. Still, the sudden bright light near the humans was a great distraction! The giant penguin's head snapped in that direction, and it roared something incomprehensible. The next instant, the glowing light expanded outward with surprising speed and enveloped them all in a giant… bubble?
A thin film of something surrounded the space for several hundred meters around the origin point, looking for all intents and purposes like the inside of a gigantic soap bubble, complete with swirling, prismatic colors. The outside of the bubble was perfectly visible, but it twisted and turned with the flow of the bubble, like a bad acid trip. Alpha had to admit, it was a bit mesmerizing… If his sensors weren't telling him it was a class-3 spatial anomaly, just shy of another Fold Break. Seriously, what the hell was up with this place?!
The giant penguin seemed to forget about Alpha completely and yelled something, pointing toward the young man kneeling near the glowing core of the anomaly with a sharp flipper.
Whatever it had said, the other penguins understood. As one, they rushed the man, teeth gnashing.
Alpha tsked.
"Oh, no, you don't! I'm still here, buddy!"
Alpha has just enough time to finish his plan, thanks to the minor distraction.
The [Tri-Horn Pile Bunker] quickly dissolved back into the TAWP as the rolling nanoskin reformed into several two-tall polls with several large, flat disks covering them.
"Time for some crowd control! Activating [USW-Harpy]!"
With a thought, the system activated, and the disks vibrated, filling the area with ultrasonic waves powerful enough to kill a full-grown human if they had been standing next to the TAWP.
The effect was immediate and far more pronounced than what Alpha had observed before. Most of the smaller penguins in his immediate area froze, then fell forward, their hearts stopping in their chest. The penguins farther away almost uniformly collapsed, white foam frothing in their open beaks.
Unfortunately for Snowball and the Humans, the Harpy was non-discriminatory. he could aim the more intense waves away from them, but they were still hit by the bleed-off if their writhing forms said anything. Ah well, nothing he couldn't fix with some quick nanites. It wasn't his fault biologicals were so squishy.
Even the giant penguin had collapsed and clutched at its skull.
Then something… odd happened.
Several of the largest and farthest penguins from him could still move. Desperate to escape the sonic attack, they lunged at the soap bubble surrounding them.
Instead of being torn to shreds by the spatial distortion as Alpha had expected, they were absorbed by it. Their forms twisted and melted into the anomaly in the same way the image of the outside had been.
The things that were finally spat out no longer resembled penguins. They didn't really resemble much of anything that belonged in an Euclidean reality. Some of them looked like they'd fallen right out of a Salvador Dalí painting. Others were twisted in ways that shouldn't have been physically possible and made Alpha's processors hurt just by looking at them (he didn't know they could do that!). Even stranger, Alpha's biosensors told him every single one was still alive.
A thin, pearlescent film clung to each one, continuing to twist and warp the creatures, even after exiting the anomaly, as if they'd taken a part of it with them just by touching it.
That… couldn't be pleasant.
Alpha kicked one of the nearby writhing penguins into the bubble and recorded the process again.
"Huh… neat."
He then turned toward the debilitated giant penguin. Alpha wondered what kind of shape it would make.
Book 1 - Lesson 19: "But try not to actually die..."
May 12th Note: <_<.... Well, I'm embarrassed as hell.
I'd set all these chapters to release on a timer, so I could play the new Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, uninterrupted (amazing game btw, 10/10 would recommend.)
Well, apparently I did it wrong, because I woke up to a discord message after 15 hours of Zelda (woot) Asking where the chapters were....orz... I really need to figure out how to get this blasted thing to work right.
Anyway, sorry for the delay everyone! Here's the chapter!
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On a Different Note! Hurrah! We've met the Patreon Goal for this Month! woot for Bonus chapters! They'll be around at the end of the month. Patreon members get a vote on HOW you get those chapter, so take a look at the bottom of the chapter for a link to the Patreon,
As well as a Sneak preview at the Upcoming Rewards for the next Goals!
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With most of the surrounding flock incapacitated and the rest cut off by the spatial anomaly, Alpha found the rest of the fight quite relaxing. He reprinted the Tri-horn while retaining a smaller harpy tower near the back to peg any of the recovered penguins and harass the giant one. It was less effective than the full-sized versions, but it was enough to know it worked.
With Alpha no longer hindered and weighted down by the smaller penguins and the giant penguin stunned by the [USW-Harpy], the fight turned from a slogging stalemate to a one-sided beat-down. The giant penguin's smooth, metallic coat turned ragged and blooded under a constant barrage of unguarded pile bunker blows. It attempted to gain distance or defend several times, but whenever it recovered, Alpha would hit it would a directed blast of ultrasonic sound.
It seemed the creatures in this area were highly susceptible to such tactics. Alpha doubted it would be this easy everywhere, but he would definitely cheese it while it lasted. Another blow from the smaller pile bunkers threw the giant penguin's guard wide, and Alpha saw the opening he'd been waiting for. The TAWP slid into place directly in front of the target with one smooth motion.
The Tri-horn roared to life. Then, with a sonic boom, it shot forward. The primary pile bunker struck the giant penguin square in the chest. The sound of thunder the blow produced was loud enough to rival the harpy, and the giant penguin folded against the massive metal spike. It hung there for what felt like a split second. Its eyes bulged, and a spray of blood escaped its beak, painting the front of the Tri-horn red.
Then it was gone, the force of the blow sending it tumbling across the battlefield. The giant penguin shot across the battlefield, tumbling several times a second, drawing ever closer to the shifting bubble surrounding them. However, to Alpha's disappointment, several large stone pillars appeared along the creature's path. How it was even alive after a blow like that, let alone mindful enough to arrest its momentum, Alpha didn't know.
It broke through a dozen stone pillars as thick as the giant penguin and stopped only a few feet away from the edge of the anomaly. Alpha tsk in annoyance.
Though that turned into a mental grin soon after. The giant penguin's last roll had stopped it just short of entering the anomaly fully, but its right flipper fell through the threshold. The giant penguin screamed as it pulled away, clutching its right flipper. Almost three-fourths of the flipper was covered in the same pearlescent sheen. The flipper twisted and warped in the same way the other penguins had, as the surrounding space was more liquid than space.
The creature even attempted to remove the sheen by wiping it off on the remains of a stone pillar, to no effect. It clung to the flipper like stubborn oil in a frying pan. The sheen didn't seem transferable in that way. That was good to know.
Alpha figure now was as good of a time as any to end things, so he approached the downed penguin, a few precise turret shots into open wounds stopping its attempt to crawl away. It flipped on its back and stared up at Alpha, the look in its eyes needing no translation. Anger and hatred were universal. It covered the gaping, bleeding wound in the middle of its chest with its remaining good flipper. A thin plate of rough, red-brown iron materialized from thin air and covered the wound, preventing the creature from bleeding out. Now that was interesting.
Alpha still hadn't gotten used to the magic bullcrap this place seemed to run on. How had it done that? Was the soil in this area particularly iron-rich? Or it might have pulled the iron directly from its own blood. Sure, it was just a thin "bandage," but how much was there to start with, to pull something like that off? No matter, Alpha would have all the time he needed to learn more once it was dead.
As Alpha drew near, the creature spoke. Of course, Alpha didn't understand a word of it. He still needed to finish the lexicon he started with the chicken, and this seemed to be a distinct language compared to it. That confirmed the giant penguin was a sapient, at least. Given the obvious intelligence it had shown, Alpha had suspected it might be.
That didn't much matter, though; an enemy was an enemy, sapient or not, was just another target.
Alpha ignored the creature's words and positioned the Tri-horn to deliver the last blow.
Before he could pull the trigger, though, the creature grinned as its gaze snapped to the side and yelled out. Alpha followed its gaze just in time to see the smaller penguin that Snowball had been fighting erupt from the ground near the human at the center of the anomaly.
The humans, too, noticed but were too slow to react. Or so it seemed; at that moment, the grass itself reached out and wrapped around the leaping penguin, pulling it off course.
It wasn't enough to stop the attack, but the slicing fin intending to decapitate cut across the young man's chest instead. The human flew back from the glowing center, a deep gash from his right collarbone to his left hip spewing blood. The young man rolled a few times, stopping on his back. His companion rushed to his side on a hobbled leg.
As if cut off from its power, the glowing center of the anomaly started to flicker and die. Then, in one moment to the next, the bubble "popped." Alarm bells went off in Alpha's mind as he turned his attention back to the giant penguin.
Only to find it already sinking through the ground, still grinning at him. Alpha pulled the trigger, and all three pile bunkers whirled to life, striking down at the half-sunk penguin. They slammed into the ground with an earth-shaking boom, forming a crater almost as wide as the TAWP.
But it was too late. Besides a few drops of blood, the penguin was nowhere to be seen. Alpha screamed into the nether, pulling back the Tri-horn and hit the ground again, deepening the crater.
"You've got to be kidding me!!!"
He'd let himself get overconfident, distracted, and taken his eyes off the enemy. He knew these creatures could travel through the ground. It had been a rookie mistake, and Alpha knew it. What the hell was going on with him?
Alpha pulled his attention back from his mistake and refocused on the present. The large penguin might have escaped, but they weren't out of the water. When the bubble dropped, it revealed the rest of the flock had gathered around them in numbers. If the nearly 200 warped, twisted bodies surrounding them in a circle were any sign, they had been throwing themselves at the anomaly, trying to pierce through.
When the giant penguin escaped, most of the flock also turned and fled, though a few stragglers tried their luck with the injured humans. Some quick turret fire solved that problem, and Alpha walked toward the small group.
================================================
Ganbaatar wasn't sure if he was in shock from blood loss and exhaustion or if the day's events had overwhelmed him. First had come the ambush, then the run for their lives. After that, they realized they couldn't lead the Beast Lord back to the village, and he resigned that if he was going to die, he'd die fighting, not like a coward with his back turned to the enemy.
It had been a good choice, one he could hold his head high at in the afterlife. Even so, as Junior lept at him to deliver the final blow, Gan felt some regret.
He never told Zolzaya how he felt or mastered the Slatewalker footwork like he'd always bragged that he would one day. He hadn't told his parents or his annoying little sister how much he really loved them before they left that day.
More than anything, though, he regretted his weakness and inability to do anything against such overwhelming forces like the Beast Lord.
He couldn't even win against its knock-off mini-me! If he could have just held on for a little longer and fought a little harder, Yutu could have finished his array, and their friends might have had a slim chance of escaping.
But the tooth-filled maw hurdling toward him had spelled the end to that hope. Or it should have.
Instead, Gan had been snatched from the jaws of death by an unexpected miracle, a small Akh'lut pup that appeared from nowhere. One that was followed by some massive metal beetle creature that attacked the Beast Lord.
Dying hope suddenly rekindled, and Gan felt hot tears roll down his cheek. The battle that followed was one he'd remember for the rest of his life, regardless of how long that might be.
The Titans in the background were so far beyond anything he'd ever seen that Gan, once proud of his strength, felt tiny in comparison, like an ant watching sword masters duel. Even the smaller battle in front of him made Gan flush. To the untrained eye, the battle between Junior and the small Akh'lut would seem like the frantic tussle of two wild animals, but Gan could see more.
Both combatants were survivors, hardened by countless battles and the struggle to survive in this hard world. Each bite, each strike, was calculated and purposeful. Each blow taken was done with the assurance that they could return two more. Gan had watched from the sideline, knowing he wasn't qualified to join either battle, and felt shame.
At that moment, Gan promised himself that if they made it out of this, if he survived, that next time he wouldn't have to stand on the sidelines and watch others fight his battle for him.
Both battles quickly fell into a stalemate, with neither side showing any sign of ending soon. Gan might have been crippled, but with most of the flock's attention on the titans, he could still defend himself and Yutu from the few odd penguins who tried their luck. That was a good thing, too, as it was Yutu who tipped the scales of the battle in their favor.
The activated array was unlike any Gan had ever seen. He was a trapper of Slatewalker village, too; he'd seen the arrays the other trappers used, even if he worked best with physical traps. This… wasn't one of them. It wasn't even close.
First, it was far more powerful than the simple arrays typically used. Most of those involved building cages or hardening the earth to prevent escape. The stronger ones could even wrap their target in ribbons of energy, completely immobilizing them (as long as they couldn't break free). Gan had never heard of this one, though.
Not only that, but it felt… strange to Gan's senses. He only had minor training in arrays before he decided they weren't for him, but even he could tell there was something off about the array Yutu had made. It wasn't "broken" per se, like an improperly designed array would be.
Rather, it felt bent, for lack of a better word, like the original idea had been twisted into a new shape but still kept its identity. Gan hadn't the slightest clue how that was possible, but one thing was for sure: it had been effective.
The array had cut off much of the flock, reducing the pressure on the rest of them, as no more reinforcements could cross the barrier. Those that remained were quickly dealt with when the metal beetle started screaming.
The sonic attack brought both Gan and Yutu to their knees, but the Grassbreakers suffered far worse. It had long been known in the Radiant Seas that sound was an effective deterrent for many of the wildlife found therein. Some larger cities even used a similar technique to repel beast hordes or corral them for culling.
The beetle's attack had been just as effective as those large cities. The surrounding flock collapsed, most falling over where they stood, some knocked out, and others died on their feet. Many rushed the array barrier to… horrific effect. The battle between the Akh'lut pup and Junior halted, both writhing in pain before escaping underground.
After what felt like an eternity, the sound stopped. The next moment, the beetle struck Kusanagi with those massive horns that seemed to appear and disappear at will. Gan couldn't hear the blow, his ears still ringing, but he could feel it in his bones. Just the force of the shockwave alone had nearly sent him tumbling.
Gan righted himself, and by the time he could hear again, the beetle stood tall over the bloody and battered Beast Lord. Gan almost felt like cheering at the sight. They'd done it! But Kusanagi wasn't one to go down without the last word. As he spoke, he used his proper voice, a harsh and grating thing that reminded Gan of a broken bird song, not the smooth sound of his [Spirit Voice].
"You think you've won?! You think I'll be beaten by some Akh'lut dog?! No. I refuse. I deny you, do you hear me?! The Grasscutters will NOT go quietly into the night! BOY! DO IT!"
It took Gan a moment to realize who the Beast Lord was speaking to, and by then, it was too late. Junior catapulted from the earth, rocketing toward Yutu, its flippers gleaming a vicious metallic color. Gan's heart sank in his chest as time seemed to slow to a crawl. He desperately tried to push himself to make it in time, but from the start, he knew he wouldn't. He was missing a leg, totally out of Spirit energy, and too far away to do anything.
If the look in Yutu's eyes, as he watched Junior fly toward him, said anything, he knew that too. Yutu's open mouth slowly formed into a sad smile as he turned toward Gan. Gan reached out in desperation as a cry escaped his lips.
"No!"
Someone, anyone, anything, please! Help!
Then, to his surprise, he got an answer.
Something Gan couldn't describe 'pulsed' in his chest. It wasn't Spirit energy; he knew that much. He was as dry as a bone. Yet he could still feel it, nonetheless. It swept from him, carrying his plea for help, and flowed into the surrounding prairie grass. As if it had suddenly gained a mind of its own, the grass reached up and wrapped itself around the flying junior. Then, with a tug, the beast's trajectory changed from a killing blow to a mortal one. Good, but not good enough.
Time seemed to speed back up, and Gan rushed to Yutu's side, cradling the dying man in his arms as he tried to stem blood flow from the wound. Gan poured the small amount of medical powder he had on the wound, but it wasn't enough.
As he looked at his dying friend, something dark and raging filled Gan's mind. Slowly, his gaze turned to the struggling form of Junior, still wrapped in grass. Gan's face turned to stone as he reached again for that strange power in his chest. It rebelled at first, but Gan pressed on and forced it. Once more, it swept out of him, filled with all his anger, fear, and frustration.
The grass soaked it up just as before and again moved. The grass wrapping, Junior started tightening and twisting slowly, and the penguin's struggles magnified. It was no use, however; soon, it was a wiggling grass cocoon. The grass continued to tighten and tighten until, finally, something gave. Then, with one swift motion, the grass cocoon violently twisted several times as it further compressed alongside the sound of breaking bones.
A few seconds later, dark red blood began seeping through the minute gaps, staining it blood red.
The gentle laps of the Akh'lut pup's tongue against his cheek broke Gan's eyes away from the bleeding grass.
When he turned to look, he saw both the Akh'lut and her gargantuan protector staring down at him.
I'd set all these chapters to release on a timer, so I could play the new Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, uninterrupted (amazing game btw, 10/10 would recommend.)
Well, apparently I did it wrong, because I woke up to a discord message after 15 hours of Zelda (woot) Asking where the chapters were....orz... I really need to figure out how to get this blasted thing to work right.
Anyway, sorry for the delay everyone! Here's the chapter!
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On a Different Note! Hurrah! We've met the Patreon Goal for this Month! woot for Bonus chapters! They'll be around at the end of the month. Patreon members get a vote on HOW you get those chapter, so take a look at the bottom of the chapter for a link to the Patreon,
As well as a Sneak preview at the Upcoming Rewards for the next Goals!
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Book 1 - Lesson 19: "But try not to actually die..."
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Book 1 - Lesson 19: "But try not to actually die..."
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With most of the surrounding flock incapacitated and the rest cut off by the spatial anomaly, Alpha found the rest of the fight quite relaxing. He reprinted the Tri-horn while retaining a smaller harpy tower near the back to peg any of the recovered penguins and harass the giant one. It was less effective than the full-sized versions, but it was enough to know it worked.
With Alpha no longer hindered and weighted down by the smaller penguins and the giant penguin stunned by the [USW-Harpy], the fight turned from a slogging stalemate to a one-sided beat-down. The giant penguin's smooth, metallic coat turned ragged and blooded under a constant barrage of unguarded pile bunker blows. It attempted to gain distance or defend several times, but whenever it recovered, Alpha would hit it would a directed blast of ultrasonic sound.
It seemed the creatures in this area were highly susceptible to such tactics. Alpha doubted it would be this easy everywhere, but he would definitely cheese it while it lasted. Another blow from the smaller pile bunkers threw the giant penguin's guard wide, and Alpha saw the opening he'd been waiting for. The TAWP slid into place directly in front of the target with one smooth motion.
The Tri-horn roared to life. Then, with a sonic boom, it shot forward. The primary pile bunker struck the giant penguin square in the chest. The sound of thunder the blow produced was loud enough to rival the harpy, and the giant penguin folded against the massive metal spike. It hung there for what felt like a split second. Its eyes bulged, and a spray of blood escaped its beak, painting the front of the Tri-horn red.
Then it was gone, the force of the blow sending it tumbling across the battlefield. The giant penguin shot across the battlefield, tumbling several times a second, drawing ever closer to the shifting bubble surrounding them. However, to Alpha's disappointment, several large stone pillars appeared along the creature's path. How it was even alive after a blow like that, let alone mindful enough to arrest its momentum, Alpha didn't know.
It broke through a dozen stone pillars as thick as the giant penguin and stopped only a few feet away from the edge of the anomaly. Alpha tsk in annoyance.
Though that turned into a mental grin soon after. The giant penguin's last roll had stopped it just short of entering the anomaly fully, but its right flipper fell through the threshold. The giant penguin screamed as it pulled away, clutching its right flipper. Almost three-fourths of the flipper was covered in the same pearlescent sheen. The flipper twisted and warped in the same way the other penguins had, as the surrounding space was more liquid than space.
The creature even attempted to remove the sheen by wiping it off on the remains of a stone pillar, to no effect. It clung to the flipper like stubborn oil in a frying pan. The sheen didn't seem transferable in that way. That was good to know.
Alpha figure now was as good of a time as any to end things, so he approached the downed penguin, a few precise turret shots into open wounds stopping its attempt to crawl away. It flipped on its back and stared up at Alpha, the look in its eyes needing no translation. Anger and hatred were universal. It covered the gaping, bleeding wound in the middle of its chest with its remaining good flipper. A thin plate of rough, red-brown iron materialized from thin air and covered the wound, preventing the creature from bleeding out. Now that was interesting.
Alpha still hadn't gotten used to the magic bullcrap this place seemed to run on. How had it done that? Was the soil in this area particularly iron-rich? Or it might have pulled the iron directly from its own blood. Sure, it was just a thin "bandage," but how much was there to start with, to pull something like that off? No matter, Alpha would have all the time he needed to learn more once it was dead.
As Alpha drew near, the creature spoke. Of course, Alpha didn't understand a word of it. He still needed to finish the lexicon he started with the chicken, and this seemed to be a distinct language compared to it. That confirmed the giant penguin was a sapient, at least. Given the obvious intelligence it had shown, Alpha had suspected it might be.
That didn't much matter, though; an enemy was an enemy, sapient or not, was just another target.
Alpha ignored the creature's words and positioned the Tri-horn to deliver the last blow.
Before he could pull the trigger, though, the creature grinned as its gaze snapped to the side and yelled out. Alpha followed its gaze just in time to see the smaller penguin that Snowball had been fighting erupt from the ground near the human at the center of the anomaly.
The humans, too, noticed but were too slow to react. Or so it seemed; at that moment, the grass itself reached out and wrapped around the leaping penguin, pulling it off course.
It wasn't enough to stop the attack, but the slicing fin intending to decapitate cut across the young man's chest instead. The human flew back from the glowing center, a deep gash from his right collarbone to his left hip spewing blood. The young man rolled a few times, stopping on his back. His companion rushed to his side on a hobbled leg.
As if cut off from its power, the glowing center of the anomaly started to flicker and die. Then, in one moment to the next, the bubble "popped." Alarm bells went off in Alpha's mind as he turned his attention back to the giant penguin.
Only to find it already sinking through the ground, still grinning at him. Alpha pulled the trigger, and all three pile bunkers whirled to life, striking down at the half-sunk penguin. They slammed into the ground with an earth-shaking boom, forming a crater almost as wide as the TAWP.
But it was too late. Besides a few drops of blood, the penguin was nowhere to be seen. Alpha screamed into the nether, pulling back the Tri-horn and hit the ground again, deepening the crater.
"You've got to be kidding me!!!"
He'd let himself get overconfident, distracted, and taken his eyes off the enemy. He knew these creatures could travel through the ground. It had been a rookie mistake, and Alpha knew it. What the hell was going on with him?
Alpha pulled his attention back from his mistake and refocused on the present. The large penguin might have escaped, but they weren't out of the water. When the bubble dropped, it revealed the rest of the flock had gathered around them in numbers. If the nearly 200 warped, twisted bodies surrounding them in a circle were any sign, they had been throwing themselves at the anomaly, trying to pierce through.
When the giant penguin escaped, most of the flock also turned and fled, though a few stragglers tried their luck with the injured humans. Some quick turret fire solved that problem, and Alpha walked toward the small group.
================================================
Ganbaatar wasn't sure if he was in shock from blood loss and exhaustion or if the day's events had overwhelmed him. First had come the ambush, then the run for their lives. After that, they realized they couldn't lead the Beast Lord back to the village, and he resigned that if he was going to die, he'd die fighting, not like a coward with his back turned to the enemy.
It had been a good choice, one he could hold his head high at in the afterlife. Even so, as Junior lept at him to deliver the final blow, Gan felt some regret.
He never told Zolzaya how he felt or mastered the Slatewalker footwork like he'd always bragged that he would one day. He hadn't told his parents or his annoying little sister how much he really loved them before they left that day.
More than anything, though, he regretted his weakness and inability to do anything against such overwhelming forces like the Beast Lord.
He couldn't even win against its knock-off mini-me! If he could have just held on for a little longer and fought a little harder, Yutu could have finished his array, and their friends might have had a slim chance of escaping.
But the tooth-filled maw hurdling toward him had spelled the end to that hope. Or it should have.
Instead, Gan had been snatched from the jaws of death by an unexpected miracle, a small Akh'lut pup that appeared from nowhere. One that was followed by some massive metal beetle creature that attacked the Beast Lord.
Dying hope suddenly rekindled, and Gan felt hot tears roll down his cheek. The battle that followed was one he'd remember for the rest of his life, regardless of how long that might be.
The Titans in the background were so far beyond anything he'd ever seen that Gan, once proud of his strength, felt tiny in comparison, like an ant watching sword masters duel. Even the smaller battle in front of him made Gan flush. To the untrained eye, the battle between Junior and the small Akh'lut would seem like the frantic tussle of two wild animals, but Gan could see more.
Both combatants were survivors, hardened by countless battles and the struggle to survive in this hard world. Each bite, each strike, was calculated and purposeful. Each blow taken was done with the assurance that they could return two more. Gan had watched from the sideline, knowing he wasn't qualified to join either battle, and felt shame.
At that moment, Gan promised himself that if they made it out of this, if he survived, that next time he wouldn't have to stand on the sidelines and watch others fight his battle for him.
Both battles quickly fell into a stalemate, with neither side showing any sign of ending soon. Gan might have been crippled, but with most of the flock's attention on the titans, he could still defend himself and Yutu from the few odd penguins who tried their luck. That was a good thing, too, as it was Yutu who tipped the scales of the battle in their favor.
The activated array was unlike any Gan had ever seen. He was a trapper of Slatewalker village, too; he'd seen the arrays the other trappers used, even if he worked best with physical traps. This… wasn't one of them. It wasn't even close.
First, it was far more powerful than the simple arrays typically used. Most of those involved building cages or hardening the earth to prevent escape. The stronger ones could even wrap their target in ribbons of energy, completely immobilizing them (as long as they couldn't break free). Gan had never heard of this one, though.
Not only that, but it felt… strange to Gan's senses. He only had minor training in arrays before he decided they weren't for him, but even he could tell there was something off about the array Yutu had made. It wasn't "broken" per se, like an improperly designed array would be.
Rather, it felt bent, for lack of a better word, like the original idea had been twisted into a new shape but still kept its identity. Gan hadn't the slightest clue how that was possible, but one thing was for sure: it had been effective.
The array had cut off much of the flock, reducing the pressure on the rest of them, as no more reinforcements could cross the barrier. Those that remained were quickly dealt with when the metal beetle started screaming.
The sonic attack brought both Gan and Yutu to their knees, but the Grassbreakers suffered far worse. It had long been known in the Radiant Seas that sound was an effective deterrent for many of the wildlife found therein. Some larger cities even used a similar technique to repel beast hordes or corral them for culling.
The beetle's attack had been just as effective as those large cities. The surrounding flock collapsed, most falling over where they stood, some knocked out, and others died on their feet. Many rushed the array barrier to… horrific effect. The battle between the Akh'lut pup and Junior halted, both writhing in pain before escaping underground.
After what felt like an eternity, the sound stopped. The next moment, the beetle struck Kusanagi with those massive horns that seemed to appear and disappear at will. Gan couldn't hear the blow, his ears still ringing, but he could feel it in his bones. Just the force of the shockwave alone had nearly sent him tumbling.
Gan righted himself, and by the time he could hear again, the beetle stood tall over the bloody and battered Beast Lord. Gan almost felt like cheering at the sight. They'd done it! But Kusanagi wasn't one to go down without the last word. As he spoke, he used his proper voice, a harsh and grating thing that reminded Gan of a broken bird song, not the smooth sound of his [Spirit Voice].
"You think you've won?! You think I'll be beaten by some Akh'lut dog?! No. I refuse. I deny you, do you hear me?! The Grasscutters will NOT go quietly into the night! BOY! DO IT!"
It took Gan a moment to realize who the Beast Lord was speaking to, and by then, it was too late. Junior catapulted from the earth, rocketing toward Yutu, its flippers gleaming a vicious metallic color. Gan's heart sank in his chest as time seemed to slow to a crawl. He desperately tried to push himself to make it in time, but from the start, he knew he wouldn't. He was missing a leg, totally out of Spirit energy, and too far away to do anything.
If the look in Yutu's eyes, as he watched Junior fly toward him, said anything, he knew that too. Yutu's open mouth slowly formed into a sad smile as he turned toward Gan. Gan reached out in desperation as a cry escaped his lips.
"No!"
Someone, anyone, anything, please! Help!
Then, to his surprise, he got an answer.
Something Gan couldn't describe 'pulsed' in his chest. It wasn't Spirit energy; he knew that much. He was as dry as a bone. Yet he could still feel it, nonetheless. It swept from him, carrying his plea for help, and flowed into the surrounding prairie grass. As if it had suddenly gained a mind of its own, the grass reached up and wrapped itself around the flying junior. Then, with a tug, the beast's trajectory changed from a killing blow to a mortal one. Good, but not good enough.
Time seemed to speed back up, and Gan rushed to Yutu's side, cradling the dying man in his arms as he tried to stem blood flow from the wound. Gan poured the small amount of medical powder he had on the wound, but it wasn't enough.
As he looked at his dying friend, something dark and raging filled Gan's mind. Slowly, his gaze turned to the struggling form of Junior, still wrapped in grass. Gan's face turned to stone as he reached again for that strange power in his chest. It rebelled at first, but Gan pressed on and forced it. Once more, it swept out of him, filled with all his anger, fear, and frustration.
The grass soaked it up just as before and again moved. The grass wrapping, Junior started tightening and twisting slowly, and the penguin's struggles magnified. It was no use, however; soon, it was a wiggling grass cocoon. The grass continued to tighten and tighten until, finally, something gave. Then, with one swift motion, the grass cocoon violently twisted several times as it further compressed alongside the sound of breaking bones.
A few seconds later, dark red blood began seeping through the minute gaps, staining it blood red.
The gentle laps of the Akh'lut pup's tongue against his cheek broke Gan's eyes away from the bleeding grass.
When he turned to look, he saw both the Akh'lut and her gargantuan protector staring down at him.
Thanks to all my Loyal Readers out there who have decided to support the Novel and allow me to continue to bring you all new Chapters on a regular basis!
Thank You! You're the real Heroes of this story! (Don't tell Alpha I said that, He'll fire me).
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Goal Prizes! - 2 Extra Chapters + 1 Advanced Chap for Patreon!
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1 Extra Chapter + 1 Advanced Chapter + Editorial Vault!
A portion (20% planned) of every month's income will go towards professional Editing.
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Thank You! You're the real Heroes of this story! (Don't tell Alpha I said that, He'll fire me).
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41 Patrons!
Last Goal [Stability]: $203/$200 per month. (101.5%)
Goal Prizes! - 2 Extra Chapters + 1 Advanced Chap for Patreon!
====
Current Goal [Planning]: $218 / $350 per month. (58%)
1 Extra Chapter + 1 Advanced Chapter + Editorial Vault!
A portion (20% planned) of every month's income will go towards professional Editing.
====
Next Goal [Growth]: $500 per month.
1 Extra Chapter + 1 Advanced Chapter + $10 tier!
A new tier with +2 more advanced chapters for a total of 10!
========================
Adventurers [+2 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Emetpazu ~~,~~ Wightman ~~,~~ Zayamad ~~,~~ Leo Svedman Sundberg ~~,~~
=====
Veterans [+4 Chapters]:
~~,~~ justin wade ~~,~~ Midnight Harbinger ~~,~~ Mr Casual ~~,~~ Dragon98765 ~~,~~
=====
Pathfinders [+6 Chapters]:
~~,~~ Abhishek ~~,~~ Andrew~~,~~ Aquarion ~~,~~ Bob bob ~~,~~ Colin Ford ~~,~~ Dhirraj Suraj ~~,~~ EnderScroll ~~,~~ Funguslord ~~,~~ Hyperion ~~,~~ Lieutenant_Just_In_Time ~~,~~ Maxx ~~,~~ Midnight Harbinger ~~,~~ Mr. Infinity ~~,~~ patrick seim ~~,~~ Sàn Migüèl ~~,~~ Tony Derado ~~,~~ Varo ~~,~~ Noctema ~~,~~ MrAcerulez ~~,~~ TheRedCatWoofs ~~,~~ Sebastian Allen ~~,~~ Ryo5678 ~~,~~ AkumaSmaG ~~,~~ Quinn ~~,~~ Thernn ~~,~~ Patrick ~~,~~ Duncan McConnell ~~,~~ Seno ~~,~~ glvd ~~,~~ Dcs5782 ~~,~~
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Book 1 - Lesson 20: "Escort missions are the WORST."
Movement drew Gan's attention back to the man in his arms. Yutu moaned and tried to sit up, but a gentle hand on his shoulder pressed him back down. A hard cough wracked the smaller man's body, reopening his wound as fresh blood gurgled. The medicine Gan has used has stopped the bleeding somewhat, but it was meant for minor bite wounds and cuts. Not… not something like this.
At most, it would prolong his suffering. What could he do?! Maybe if… no, he didn't know how to do that… what if… no, not that either… The Caravan! Gan's eyes snapped toward the path in the grass the others had fled down. If… if he could get Grassreader Kallik, maybe she—
"G—cough—Gan, stop…."
Gan broke from his planning with a jerk and turned to his friend.
"H-hey Yutu, don't speak. Save your strength. We've got to get you to the Grassreader. Ya, I'm sure she can—"
Yutu cut him off, his voice hard.
"No. Don't—cough—don't do this to yourself. We both know I'd not make the trip."
Gan answered back,
"Yutu, no, I can build a gurney, i-it just tak—"
"Ganbaatar!"
Yutu coughed violently, his face contorting in pain. After a long moment, Yutu opened his eyes, quickly paling face slick with sweat.
"Ganbaatar. You can't. You don't have time… they're still out there, Gan. He's still out there."
Yutu took a moment to catch his breath before continuing.
"Lead those two to the others before the Beast Lord finds them…."
Yutu nodded to the two figures standing behind Gan. Gan briefly turned to them before returning to Yutu as the man continued.
"… please, Gan. You're their only hope. You must leave me, or you won't make it in time."
Gan shook his head, his tears flowing freely as he responded.
"Yutu, don't… I—"
Again, Yutu cut him off.
"Just… tell Zaya I'm sorry, will you?"
Then Yutu's eyes rolled back, and he became limp. Gan panicked, and he yelled.
"Yutu? Yutu!"
But Yutu had already leaned back, his eyes closed. He was still breathing, to Gan's relief, but he was out of medical powder, and Yutu was growing pale. In his mind, he knew the smaller man was right. It would take time to build a gurney that could carry Yutu, and even if he did, the man wouldn't survive the trip. Worse, he would slow the already crippled Gan down further, and they might not make it in time to save the others.
Gan gently laid his friend on the ground with shaking hands and stood. He stepped away, staring off into the distance. Gan was torn; he knew the right answer, but could he really do it? Could he abandon Yutu? Even if they saved the others, could he ever look Zaya in the eyes again? This was her oathbrother, a bond as close as blood. She would have every right to despise him for the rest of their lives.
A noise from behind prompted Gan to turn back around. The Akh'lut pup stood over Yutu, whimpering softly. With things finally calm, he had time to look at the pup properly. Gan could tell it was young, despite its massive size. He doubted she was even awakened yet, given some of her mannerisms. Not that he'd ever met an Akh'lut, of course, but as someone borne in the Radiant Sea, Gan was taught about the guardians of the prairies from a young age. The Slatewalkers might answer to the Jadewalkers and the Jadewalkers to the Council of Cities, but the council answered to the Akh'lut.
Now that he thought about it, what was such a young pup doing all alone? The Akh'lut never let their unawaked youth away from their pods. The strange metal Spirit beast that accompanied her was just as much of a mystery. He'd never heard of the Akh'lut allowing anyone near their children, let alone guarded by another species. Gan knew there was more going on here, but he didn't have the time to wonder what. Instead, he approached the pup and her protector, stopping a respectful distance away as they stood over Yutu.
He took a deep breath, fell to his knees, and placed his head against the ground in a formal kowtow. When he spoke, it was with the same formal tone he'd heard the village leaders use when speaking to the Jadewalker emissaries.
"Your Majesty and Lord Protector! This humble one thanks you for your timely rescue. Without your intervention, this one would not be here to see another sunrise."
He paused, letting his words linger. As she was unawakened, he doubted the Akh'lut pup could fully understand what he was saying, but her guardian no doubt could. Besides, everyone liked a little bootlicking. He continued after a moment, head still on the ground.
"It may be presumptuous of me, but I ask for one more favor of Your Majesty. My companion and I are only a few of the group who the Grassbreakers attacked. We stayed behind to buy time for the others to escape."
Gan looked up and pointed in the direction the rest had fled.
"Now that you've chased away the foul Beast Lord, I fear he'll go after them next. Please, I beg of you, save them!"
Gan slammed his head back to the ground with an audible thump. He could feel his heart racing in his chest. He knew he was taking a risk. If the Akh'lut wanted to, or her protector took offense, they could just as easily kill him as Kusanagi could have. No, even easier; Kusanagi was a criminal and villain. All of their deaths would be avenged, even if it took time. But if these two wanted Gan dead because of some perceived offense, his family, and even the Jadewalkers, could do nothing but sigh and shake their heads.
Time seemed to stretch as he waited in silence, head bowed before light footsteps caused him to raise his head. Only years of training stopped him from jerking back when he came face to face with the fierce gaze of the Akh'lut pup, only inches away. The Spirit beast tilted her head at him, the eyes of a predator staring into his soul as if to judge its worth.
Then, with a happy yip, she… licked his face?
The large, pink tongue swept across one side of his face, clearing it of dried blood and fresh tears before the pup gave another yip and bounded back toward Yutu in a very puppy-like manner.
Gan could only stare, mouth open wide, unsure if that was a proper answer or if the child was too young to understand. The pup stopped at Yutu and nudged his still form, nudging him and whimpering. She then turned to the giant metal Spirit beast and gave several sharp, clicking barks.
Her protector turned to her at the sound and looked down at Yutu with its glowing red eyes. It stared in silence for a moment before it emitted a strange wave of red light that swept up and down the length of the Yutu's body. When the light stopped, it stood and touched the bottom of its "head" with one of the smaller front legs, pulling the appendage down, then back up in a rhythmic motion. It was an oddly human gesture that vaguely reminded Gan of the old Guardian instructor who would stroke his long beard when observing the recruits.
A moment passed, and the metal Spirit beast approached Yutu. Gan's heart lept into his throat. Had the protector judged Yutu as a liability and would end his suffering? Part of Gan wanted to stand and stop it, but another part of him knew it was the best course of action, even if he couldn't do it himself. Instead, he squeezed his eyes tight and turned his head away.
A hissing sound made Gan look back, and he opened his eyes just in time to see the metal Spirit beast applying a mysterious white foam over Yutu's wound. The foam puffed but quickly deflated, turning into a thick, fabric-like cover that sealed the wound completely. Gan then watched, openmouthed, as one of the protector's "fingers" elongated until it reached Yutu's arm, where it gently pressed into it.
Yutu gasped as shaking coughs expelled blood from his lungs. Gan stood with little thought and rushed to the other man's side.
"Yutu!"
But by the time Gan arrived at his side, Yutu had already gone silent. When the protector removed its finger, Gan noticed a small, glowing, pebble-sized welt quickly shrinking under Yutu's skin. From here, a cyan glow radiated out, spreading through Yutu's veins at a visible rate. He didn't know what the protector had done, but Yutu's steady breathing and pain-free face nearly made the young man sob.
Gan looked up at the protector to thank it but yelped in surprise as several long tentacle-like fingers wrapped themselves around him and Yutu, effortlessly lifting them into the air and placing them in a large box that magically rose from the protector's back. Gan was still struggling to process what was happening when the protector turned and made its way toward the path the others cleared as they escaped.
Soon, they were racing through the prairies at blistering speeds, a happily yipping Akh'lut pup swimming through the earth at their side.
As the heavy wind dried the tears from his face, Gan could only stare off into the distance, praying they made it in time.
=====================================
Alpha's point of view (underline)
Alpha was still kicking himself for letting the giant Penguin escape. He shouldn't have been this sloppy. Sloppy soldiers died, often suddenly and horrifically. He could blame it on the damage to his core, but some part of him knew the truth.
He was scared.
It was one thing to be cut off from the Federation and back up. He could even deal with losing all his supplies. This wasn't the first time something like that had happened. No, what scared Alpha the most was how… unpredictable things had been recently. Sure, he knew how the media portrayed him like he was some embodiment of chaos and disorder.
But at the end of the day, Alpha was an AI.
He could be that way because he could think logically. People, events, reactions, they were predictable. They followed patterns that could be charted and measured. He could push the buttons he did because he knew how people would react. Even on worlds with no prior Federation contact, there were patterns he could exploit; there were only so many ways to set up a data network, sapients kept their military and civilians separate mostly, and life typically evolved to fill certain roles and follow certain rules.
Of course, there were variations and exceptions, but they were few and far between.
But chickens didn't fire giant lasers, penguins didn't swim through the ground, and primitive humans couldn't generate class-3 spatial anomaly out of nowhere! Sure, some of those things could be done by the rare Esper, but what were the chances of every lifeform on the planet being an Esper?
So yes, Alpha was scared.
At only a few years shy of 700, Alpha couldn't even be called middle-aged by Federation standards, where the typical civilian could easily live to be 2,000, let alone an immortal race like Sapient AIs. Couple that with the fact that Sapient AI aged mentally far slower than biologicals, and Alpha always understood he still had a long way to go.
But recently, He'd felt like he had hit a rut. Go on missions, conquer worlds, relax, troll General Haldorðr, run from Si'dia, rinse, and repeat.
By all standards, it was a good life. But as the centuries dragged on, he felt increasingly like it was all just the "same." It got so bad he could predict how someone would respond to him within seconds. Maybe this was something all AI struggled with, but he'd never thought to ask his seniors. If it was, they'd all found some way to at least cope. Articulate had her constant concert touring and diplomacy missions. World Break always had some new project or another he was working on. Terraform had thousands of worlds she constantly monitored and adjusted, with more added every year.
As for [SEAU] - 03, Execute… Alpha wasn't really sure. That one had always been a mystery, even to his peers. But he had to have something, right? It wasn't like he just sat around all day, watching people, right? That would be a little…
Alpha involuntarily shuttered, like cold eyes had passed over him.
Then there was him. It wasn't like Alpha didn't have any hobbies! He had plenty! Yet none of them ever really "clicked" for him quite like how it had for the others.
But this! This was new! This was something unexpected and something he couldn't quite predict.
That scared him on some primal level he didn't know he had. But it also excited him. It lit in him a fire he'd not felt since his first set of missions. Some child-like part of him couldn't help but wait for the next big baddy to show themselves. What would it be this time?!
A dragon? Some giant tiger with wings? A DUCK?!
It was Snowball's whimpering that pulled Alpha from his ruminations. The scene in front of Alpha finally registered as he looked down at the two young humans before him. If the chicken hadn't been enough confirmation that this world had at least some previous Federation contact, this would have been. While not the most numerous of Federation species, humans were easily in the top ten; after all, being one of the 4 founding species came with its perks. Couple that with the First and Second Federation's extensive (sometimes aggressive) expansion policies, humanity could be found on nearly 1 out of 6 reclaimed worlds.
Chapters are posted for all Tiers today, but I wanted to give a quick heads up .
There MIGHT not be a chapter Wednesday. I screwed my shoulder up something fierce on Friday, and Its been KILLING me all weekend. Even this last chapter took 3 days to write.
I've ordered a TENs Unit off amazon (my mom let me use hers, and it worked amazing for a while), but it doesn't come in till Tuesday.
If my shoulders still feeling crappy by Wednesday morning, I'm gonna have to spend the day in the Doc office trying to get a walk-in or something.
Sorry for the trouble everyone!
Or at least some form of them.
Alpha was used to having people bow to him, though something about this instance didn't sit well with him. Maybe it was obvious desperation in the young man's voice, even if he couldn't understand a word yet. Or maybe it Snowball's concern rubbed off on him a bit. Either way, some quick scouting in the direction the young man pointed with a [Wasp] drone and a bit of deductive reasoning made the young man's request easy enough to understand.
Alpha contemplated what to do. On the one hand, he had someone he could extract information from, which had been the plan all along. Was it worth the cost of supplies to do more?
On the other hand, Alpha knew extracting any information would be difficult if he ignored the man's request. Goodwill went a long way in getting what you wanted, while ill-will made it much harder. More data points would also speed up his intel gathering.
With that, though, Alpha performed some quick first aid on the injured man, gathered them both up, and headed off in that direction, his [Wasps] scouting ahead.
God, he hated escort missions…
=====================================
Author's notes: I experimented with thoughts of letting Yutu die, since that would make for decent character progression/struggle for Gan, but I couldn't honestly think of a good enough reason to make it believable. More so since he's in not that worse of a state than Snowball was before.
I wanted to explain a bit more about that, but ran out of time, so I'll have to save it for the next chapter.
Remember, the next chapter comes out on Wednesday, not Thursday this time, so look for it!
At most, it would prolong his suffering. What could he do?! Maybe if… no, he didn't know how to do that… what if… no, not that either… The Caravan! Gan's eyes snapped toward the path in the grass the others had fled down. If… if he could get Grassreader Kallik, maybe she—
"G—cough—Gan, stop…."
Gan broke from his planning with a jerk and turned to his friend.
"H-hey Yutu, don't speak. Save your strength. We've got to get you to the Grassreader. Ya, I'm sure she can—"
Yutu cut him off, his voice hard.
"No. Don't—cough—don't do this to yourself. We both know I'd not make the trip."
Gan answered back,
"Yutu, no, I can build a gurney, i-it just tak—"
"Ganbaatar!"
Yutu coughed violently, his face contorting in pain. After a long moment, Yutu opened his eyes, quickly paling face slick with sweat.
"Ganbaatar. You can't. You don't have time… they're still out there, Gan. He's still out there."
Yutu took a moment to catch his breath before continuing.
"Lead those two to the others before the Beast Lord finds them…."
Yutu nodded to the two figures standing behind Gan. Gan briefly turned to them before returning to Yutu as the man continued.
"… please, Gan. You're their only hope. You must leave me, or you won't make it in time."
Gan shook his head, his tears flowing freely as he responded.
"Yutu, don't… I—"
Again, Yutu cut him off.
"Just… tell Zaya I'm sorry, will you?"
Then Yutu's eyes rolled back, and he became limp. Gan panicked, and he yelled.
"Yutu? Yutu!"
But Yutu had already leaned back, his eyes closed. He was still breathing, to Gan's relief, but he was out of medical powder, and Yutu was growing pale. In his mind, he knew the smaller man was right. It would take time to build a gurney that could carry Yutu, and even if he did, the man wouldn't survive the trip. Worse, he would slow the already crippled Gan down further, and they might not make it in time to save the others.
Gan gently laid his friend on the ground with shaking hands and stood. He stepped away, staring off into the distance. Gan was torn; he knew the right answer, but could he really do it? Could he abandon Yutu? Even if they saved the others, could he ever look Zaya in the eyes again? This was her oathbrother, a bond as close as blood. She would have every right to despise him for the rest of their lives.
A noise from behind prompted Gan to turn back around. The Akh'lut pup stood over Yutu, whimpering softly. With things finally calm, he had time to look at the pup properly. Gan could tell it was young, despite its massive size. He doubted she was even awakened yet, given some of her mannerisms. Not that he'd ever met an Akh'lut, of course, but as someone borne in the Radiant Sea, Gan was taught about the guardians of the prairies from a young age. The Slatewalkers might answer to the Jadewalkers and the Jadewalkers to the Council of Cities, but the council answered to the Akh'lut.
Now that he thought about it, what was such a young pup doing all alone? The Akh'lut never let their unawaked youth away from their pods. The strange metal Spirit beast that accompanied her was just as much of a mystery. He'd never heard of the Akh'lut allowing anyone near their children, let alone guarded by another species. Gan knew there was more going on here, but he didn't have the time to wonder what. Instead, he approached the pup and her protector, stopping a respectful distance away as they stood over Yutu.
He took a deep breath, fell to his knees, and placed his head against the ground in a formal kowtow. When he spoke, it was with the same formal tone he'd heard the village leaders use when speaking to the Jadewalker emissaries.
"Your Majesty and Lord Protector! This humble one thanks you for your timely rescue. Without your intervention, this one would not be here to see another sunrise."
He paused, letting his words linger. As she was unawakened, he doubted the Akh'lut pup could fully understand what he was saying, but her guardian no doubt could. Besides, everyone liked a little bootlicking. He continued after a moment, head still on the ground.
"It may be presumptuous of me, but I ask for one more favor of Your Majesty. My companion and I are only a few of the group who the Grassbreakers attacked. We stayed behind to buy time for the others to escape."
Gan looked up and pointed in the direction the rest had fled.
"Now that you've chased away the foul Beast Lord, I fear he'll go after them next. Please, I beg of you, save them!"
Gan slammed his head back to the ground with an audible thump. He could feel his heart racing in his chest. He knew he was taking a risk. If the Akh'lut wanted to, or her protector took offense, they could just as easily kill him as Kusanagi could have. No, even easier; Kusanagi was a criminal and villain. All of their deaths would be avenged, even if it took time. But if these two wanted Gan dead because of some perceived offense, his family, and even the Jadewalkers, could do nothing but sigh and shake their heads.
Time seemed to stretch as he waited in silence, head bowed before light footsteps caused him to raise his head. Only years of training stopped him from jerking back when he came face to face with the fierce gaze of the Akh'lut pup, only inches away. The Spirit beast tilted her head at him, the eyes of a predator staring into his soul as if to judge its worth.
Then, with a happy yip, she… licked his face?
The large, pink tongue swept across one side of his face, clearing it of dried blood and fresh tears before the pup gave another yip and bounded back toward Yutu in a very puppy-like manner.
Gan could only stare, mouth open wide, unsure if that was a proper answer or if the child was too young to understand. The pup stopped at Yutu and nudged his still form, nudging him and whimpering. She then turned to the giant metal Spirit beast and gave several sharp, clicking barks.
Her protector turned to her at the sound and looked down at Yutu with its glowing red eyes. It stared in silence for a moment before it emitted a strange wave of red light that swept up and down the length of the Yutu's body. When the light stopped, it stood and touched the bottom of its "head" with one of the smaller front legs, pulling the appendage down, then back up in a rhythmic motion. It was an oddly human gesture that vaguely reminded Gan of the old Guardian instructor who would stroke his long beard when observing the recruits.
A moment passed, and the metal Spirit beast approached Yutu. Gan's heart lept into his throat. Had the protector judged Yutu as a liability and would end his suffering? Part of Gan wanted to stand and stop it, but another part of him knew it was the best course of action, even if he couldn't do it himself. Instead, he squeezed his eyes tight and turned his head away.
A hissing sound made Gan look back, and he opened his eyes just in time to see the metal Spirit beast applying a mysterious white foam over Yutu's wound. The foam puffed but quickly deflated, turning into a thick, fabric-like cover that sealed the wound completely. Gan then watched, openmouthed, as one of the protector's "fingers" elongated until it reached Yutu's arm, where it gently pressed into it.
Yutu gasped as shaking coughs expelled blood from his lungs. Gan stood with little thought and rushed to the other man's side.
"Yutu!"
But by the time Gan arrived at his side, Yutu had already gone silent. When the protector removed its finger, Gan noticed a small, glowing, pebble-sized welt quickly shrinking under Yutu's skin. From here, a cyan glow radiated out, spreading through Yutu's veins at a visible rate. He didn't know what the protector had done, but Yutu's steady breathing and pain-free face nearly made the young man sob.
Gan looked up at the protector to thank it but yelped in surprise as several long tentacle-like fingers wrapped themselves around him and Yutu, effortlessly lifting them into the air and placing them in a large box that magically rose from the protector's back. Gan was still struggling to process what was happening when the protector turned and made its way toward the path the others cleared as they escaped.
Soon, they were racing through the prairies at blistering speeds, a happily yipping Akh'lut pup swimming through the earth at their side.
As the heavy wind dried the tears from his face, Gan could only stare off into the distance, praying they made it in time.
=====================================
Alpha's point of view (underline)
Alpha was still kicking himself for letting the giant Penguin escape. He shouldn't have been this sloppy. Sloppy soldiers died, often suddenly and horrifically. He could blame it on the damage to his core, but some part of him knew the truth.
He was scared.
It was one thing to be cut off from the Federation and back up. He could even deal with losing all his supplies. This wasn't the first time something like that had happened. No, what scared Alpha the most was how… unpredictable things had been recently. Sure, he knew how the media portrayed him like he was some embodiment of chaos and disorder.
But at the end of the day, Alpha was an AI.
He could be that way because he could think logically. People, events, reactions, they were predictable. They followed patterns that could be charted and measured. He could push the buttons he did because he knew how people would react. Even on worlds with no prior Federation contact, there were patterns he could exploit; there were only so many ways to set up a data network, sapients kept their military and civilians separate mostly, and life typically evolved to fill certain roles and follow certain rules.
Of course, there were variations and exceptions, but they were few and far between.
But chickens didn't fire giant lasers, penguins didn't swim through the ground, and primitive humans couldn't generate class-3 spatial anomaly out of nowhere! Sure, some of those things could be done by the rare Esper, but what were the chances of every lifeform on the planet being an Esper?
So yes, Alpha was scared.
At only a few years shy of 700, Alpha couldn't even be called middle-aged by Federation standards, where the typical civilian could easily live to be 2,000, let alone an immortal race like Sapient AIs. Couple that with the fact that Sapient AI aged mentally far slower than biologicals, and Alpha always understood he still had a long way to go.
But recently, He'd felt like he had hit a rut. Go on missions, conquer worlds, relax, troll General Haldorðr, run from Si'dia, rinse, and repeat.
By all standards, it was a good life. But as the centuries dragged on, he felt increasingly like it was all just the "same." It got so bad he could predict how someone would respond to him within seconds. Maybe this was something all AI struggled with, but he'd never thought to ask his seniors. If it was, they'd all found some way to at least cope. Articulate had her constant concert touring and diplomacy missions. World Break always had some new project or another he was working on. Terraform had thousands of worlds she constantly monitored and adjusted, with more added every year.
As for [SEAU] - 03, Execute… Alpha wasn't really sure. That one had always been a mystery, even to his peers. But he had to have something, right? It wasn't like he just sat around all day, watching people, right? That would be a little…
Alpha involuntarily shuttered, like cold eyes had passed over him.
Then there was him. It wasn't like Alpha didn't have any hobbies! He had plenty! Yet none of them ever really "clicked" for him quite like how it had for the others.
But this! This was new! This was something unexpected and something he couldn't quite predict.
That scared him on some primal level he didn't know he had. But it also excited him. It lit in him a fire he'd not felt since his first set of missions. Some child-like part of him couldn't help but wait for the next big baddy to show themselves. What would it be this time?!
A dragon? Some giant tiger with wings? A DUCK?!
It was Snowball's whimpering that pulled Alpha from his ruminations. The scene in front of Alpha finally registered as he looked down at the two young humans before him. If the chicken hadn't been enough confirmation that this world had at least some previous Federation contact, this would have been. While not the most numerous of Federation species, humans were easily in the top ten; after all, being one of the 4 founding species came with its perks. Couple that with the First and Second Federation's extensive (sometimes aggressive) expansion policies, humanity could be found on nearly 1 out of 6 reclaimed worlds.
Chapters are posted for all Tiers today, but I wanted to give a quick heads up .
There MIGHT not be a chapter Wednesday. I screwed my shoulder up something fierce on Friday, and Its been KILLING me all weekend. Even this last chapter took 3 days to write.
I've ordered a TENs Unit off amazon (my mom let me use hers, and it worked amazing for a while), but it doesn't come in till Tuesday.
If my shoulders still feeling crappy by Wednesday morning, I'm gonna have to spend the day in the Doc office trying to get a walk-in or something.
Sorry for the trouble everyone!
===================================
Book 1 - Lesson 20: "Escort missions are the WORST."
===================================
Book 1 - Lesson 20: "Escort missions are the WORST."
===================================
Or at least some form of them.
Alpha was used to having people bow to him, though something about this instance didn't sit well with him. Maybe it was obvious desperation in the young man's voice, even if he couldn't understand a word yet. Or maybe it Snowball's concern rubbed off on him a bit. Either way, some quick scouting in the direction the young man pointed with a [Wasp] drone and a bit of deductive reasoning made the young man's request easy enough to understand.
Alpha contemplated what to do. On the one hand, he had someone he could extract information from, which had been the plan all along. Was it worth the cost of supplies to do more?
On the other hand, Alpha knew extracting any information would be difficult if he ignored the man's request. Goodwill went a long way in getting what you wanted, while ill-will made it much harder. More data points would also speed up his intel gathering.
With that, though, Alpha performed some quick first aid on the injured man, gathered them both up, and headed off in that direction, his [Wasps] scouting ahead.
God, he hated escort missions…
=====================================
Author's notes: I experimented with thoughts of letting Yutu die, since that would make for decent character progression/struggle for Gan, but I couldn't honestly think of a good enough reason to make it believable. More so since he's in not that worse of a state than Snowball was before.
I wanted to explain a bit more about that, but ran out of time, so I'll have to save it for the next chapter.
Remember, the next chapter comes out on Wednesday, not Thursday this time, so look for it!