“Albert, stay here and watch over everyone. Get a big meal going. They will need it to regain their strength. Frank, you ready to fight some zombie somethings?” Stan asked the giant of a man who was currently tending to Ethel. In contrast to his size and usual mannerisms he was gently laying her head on a pillow and making sure she was comfortable as she slept.
“Frank is always ready to thwart those who hurt his mother!” Came his eventual answer. Stan wondered when he had learned the word thwart.
“Good, because it’s just you and me, and considering how new I am to this sword, a lot of this is probably going to be just you. Think you can handle it if things get rough?” Stan was worried about his own abilities. The mana spirits may not have come with much of a guide either, but at this point, they had enough experience to guide people through the bonding. Excalibur was brand new territory in the weird, long life their time loops had given them.
“Frank will not fall to puny zombies, but if Stan needs it, Frank will remove him to safety before returning to crush all that stand before him!” Frank dropped into one of his signature wrestling poses following the exclamation.
“Alright, big guy, but promise me you will retreat as well if things get too tough. I don’t want to have to deal with Ethel if we lose you for the rest of the loop.” The idea of her yelling at him for the next twenty years was not a pleasant thought.
“You sound like mom, but okay…” Frank’s usual tone deflated slightly as he responded.
“Thank you, let’s go smash some zombies, buddy.” Stan gave him his best smile. Even if he didn’t feel the thrill himself at the moment, there was no reason to stop Frank from enjoying himself. Frank roared in response.
Soon Stan was poking his head around the corner into the next chamber, looking for the source of their current issue. He wasn’t sure if he had spotted that exactly, but they had found something. The room had at least four large mushroom creatures. Despite being the size of Frank, they were nowhere near as humanoid in appearance. They had bright red caps on the top of their stalks and four small feet at the base of it. He watched as they shambled back and forth, slowly feeding on some of the trees. A slit opened in their stalk, which he assumed was their mouth due to them using it to rip parts of the trees off.
Unsure of whether they were hostile, even if he had his suspicions they were, he walked into the chamber and yelled. “Hello, I’m Stan, and I’ve been exploring these caves. Are you able to understand me?” He had seen plenty of insane things to be unwilling to at least try the peaceful route before resorting to violence.
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None of them answered with words. One of them rapidly shook the mushroom cap until it burst into a cloud of yellow spores that rapidly filled the air. The other three rushed towards Stan with their mouths open. A green liquid drooled out of them as they moved. Each drop sizzled when it hit the ground.
“Looks like peace is out, Frank. Let’s go.” Stan yelled as he pulled his sword free from his belt and held it in front of him.
As soon as he took a further step, one of the mushroom creatures flung some of the acid drool at him. Stan was able to defect it with Excalibur and felt a surge of energy through the sword. Whatever the acid was, the sword was able to absorb the energy.
“Stan, I need more energy to protect you from the spore cloud. I believe Frank will be okay, but it’s crucial you don’t breathe that in unless I can erect a shield.” The voice spoke in Stan’s head.
“You got it, partner,” Stan responded. He swung the sword forward towards the first of the charging mushroom creatures, slicing deep into the stalk. He then rammed his shoulder into it as he pulled the sword free, spun, and sliced back through the stalk again. This time, the creature split into two, and both halves collapsed to the ground. The greenish fluid poured onto the ground, causing the stone to corrode wherever it made contact. He hoped that meant it was dead.
“One Giant Shroom down,” Stan yelled to Frank. His happiness in dropping the monster so quickly did little to cover his confusion, though. The sword combat he just pulled off there just wasn’t something he should have been capable of at all.
“Two,” Frank yelled back. Stan looked over just in time to catch the tail end of the fight as Frank ripped the cap off the top of the stem and started stomping on both halves of the downed mushroom monster.
“Good job. Go deal with the one who let spray the spores, and I’ll handle the other.” Stan ordered aloud and then asked internally. “Hey, Excalibur, I can’t fight as well with a sword as I just did. Want to explain that?”
“I have taken the liberty of slowly imbuing your muscles with memories of my previous wielders. It still won’t be as good as actual training, but it will give you a slight edge over being a complete novice. Please do not expect it to save you in a crisis, but it should aid you for now.” The sword answered.
“Yeah, I want you to tell me in the future of any other tampering you do with my brain or body before you do it. Understand?” Stan wasn’t thrilled with the sword's explanation for his new found skill. That isn’t to say he would have been against it had he been asked, but being asked was the important part.
“My apologies. It has been a very long time since I have worked alongside someone new. In the future I will warn you of all enhancements. Currently, I am working to upgrade your reaction times by augmenting your muscles, eyesight, and hearing. After that, I planned to start strengthening your bones.” The sword explained.
“Oh, that much. Well, continue for now, but tell me when you get to the bone part.” responded, slightly more relaxed with the answer.
“Understood, partner.” Stan could swear he felt a bit of warmth with those words.