Sleep State removed.

Derus got up and out of the bed two hours before the break of dawn and checked the status of the humanoid body.

STATUS - DERUS Target Ex Machina Type Inorganic Body Status Normal E.U.R (Wh) 100 E.C (W) 93,365/100,000

'Everything seems to be in perfect working order' thought Derus who recalled the events of the day prior.

'Today I should see to making some of this world's currency. Learning about mana takes precedence over anything else.' Derus got up out of the bed and activated the energy vision to scan the general area.

The village was showing signs of minor activity  a performance of their morning activities. With nothing out of the ordinary, Derus left the sick bay room, out of the empty mercenary outpost and walked around the village observing the residents. The glowing blue eyes started some of the villagers when Derus looked at them but otherwise nothing much happened. All the shops were closed yet the doors were open and at most, everyone was preparing breakfast. With nothing else left to do other than to question the habit of people leaving their doors open, Derus went back to the outpost, jumped to the top of the roof, and stared at the horizon until the sun came up. The sunrise of this new world was nothing like earth. When the sun began its rise above the horizon, wisping traces of mana in the environment were highlighted in vrious colors that continuously shifted in color that dyed the sky a wonderous blend that melded well together despite the varying color. As the sun broke the horizon, the wisping mana began to fade from normal vision and the villagers, whom Derus noticed also looking at the sunrise, went about their own business as well.

Some time had passed and eventually the outpost began to get more active with some of the of the leather armored people leaving the inn and the outpost staff entering the outpost. Derus took this as an opportunity to find out more about the requests available in order to establish a means of earning some funds and approached the mostly empty receptionist counter.

"Excuse me, where may I find a list of available requests and how may I accept them?" asked Derus

"Near the entrance, just place your hand on the crystal and you'd be able to browse through the available requests there."

"Thank you." Derus said whilst turning to move towards the crystal and when the humnanoid placed their hand on the crystal, a system notification popped up.

Foreign energy source wishes to connect conscious region to foreign interface. Permit this action? Yes No

'Yes.' thought Derus after which the code room which Derus consciousness was transferred to the code room and at the same time, a vortext had opened, connecting Derus's mind with whatever the crystal was.

Upon willingly entering the vortex into the crystal space, Derus saw other spherical like bodies which probably represented the wills of the other mercenaries. Those spheres were seemingly hovering in space amongst some particles which were streaming into them from a core part of the crystal. Eventually, a stream of particles shot towards Derus at a pace matching those of the other spheres and from there, a menu came up.

Please Select An Option:

[>] View available requests.

[>] Make a request.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

'It's amazing that it's in a language I can read' thought Derus who selected the first option which then displayed a list of requests.

Available Requests Subjugation: Forest Wolves

Requestor: Barnevk, Saroot Village Chief

Detail: Recently, the forest wolf population has grown beyond what the forest is able to hold and the wolves have started appearing nearer to the village. A minimum of three (3) Froest wolf heads are considered sufficient to clear the request.

Note: A team is recommended as forest wolves travel in groups.

Time Limit: One Week.

Reward: 20 Copper coins per Forest Wolf Head.

Accept This Request?

[>] Yes

[>] No 

Delivery: Deliver a package

Requestor: Barnes

Detail: Deliver a package for me to the alchemist in Castle town.

Time Limit: 3 days after accepting.

Reward: 1 Silver coin

Accept This Request?

[>] Yes

[>] No 

Escort: Escort to Castle Town

Requestor: Anna

Detail: Need an escort to Castle town.

Reward: 3 Silver Coins

Accept This Request?

[>] Yes

[>] No 

(Regional Request) (Urgent Request) Subjugate: Berserker Cyclops

Requestor: Duke Protus Castle

Detail: A berserker cyclops has been sighted by many moving within duke Castle's territory. Last known area of sighting was towards the eastern forests which lie just before the boundary to Cygnus's territory. Urgent request for subjugation. Requires the forehead eye of the cyclops for confirmation.

Note: Berserker Cyclops is extremely dangerous when cornered. Use EXTREME caution. Multiple teams recommended.

Time Limit: None.

Reward: 2 Gold coins.

Accept This Request?

[>] Yes

[>] No

The request which caught Derus's attention was the [Subjugate: Berserker Cyclops]. Cross referencing system information and own personal memories on cyclops myths, Derus understood them to giant bipedal monster that contained some semblance of intelligence. Other than the team warnings which Derus didn't think applied in their case very much, Derus accepted the request and left the space. Derus then went towards the receptionist again just to confirm some details.

"Excuse me, Ms. Receptionist?" asked Derus

"You were able to go through the requests yes?"

"Yes but is there anything else I have to do?"

"Not really, the crystal sends and receives requests from the main branch in castle town so you have nothing to worry about."

"I see, what about certain locations."

"...I have a map you can view for reference." replied to receptionist who spread out a map on the counter between them and highlighted certain areas on it which Derus stored all of it in the system memory.

After that, Derus left the outpost and went towards the north west through the forest which the they had travelled through yesterday. Upon entering, Derus broke into a relatively slow running speed of 80km/hr, At least relative compared to the maximum possible speed in the humanoid body.

----------------------------------------

In the depths of the forest, the very same cyclops which Derus had accepted the request for was facing against two persons, a young girl with a shoulder length wild-style hairstyle euipped with enchanted katars and a middle aged man wielding a two-handed sword in chainmail armor.

The cyclops' skin was dyed a burning red as is its aura which flickered about like a flame. This was the cyclops in its berserk state. This was a monster that could take down an entire mercenary team of five in a wild frenzy. It was also this monster that the two, the man and the girl had the misfortune of running into.

The duo usually came to this part of the forest for training but they were unfortunate enough to run into the cyclops which had moved in the direction they were in. Seeing the two humans, the cyclops believed itself to be in an ambush and it's skin changed from its usual stone grey appearance to a flaming red. After clashing with the duo and easily overpowering them, with the man taking the brunt of the damage as the girl's protector, the two parties now face off against each other.

"My lady... I'll try to... hold it of...f" said the man who continued whilst panting heavily, "So... please... Go!..."

"If I abandoned you here, I would disgrace my father, I cannot do such a thing!" declared the girl.

However, despite their talk, the cyclops was glaring at them intensely, storing up energy for a wild frenzy. Their time for life was growing shorter by the second.