Tenzing.AI

Adventurer Level: N/A

Artificial Intelligence - Unknown

Despite the enchanted cuirass and helmet, the impact with the wall did serious damage to Nick's body and brain. His loss of consciousness occurred immediately following the damage to the frontal and occipital lobes of his brain. Thankfully, this meant that I didn't have to try to dampen the pain of the fractured ribs and sternum.

A quick scan of the body revealed organ damage and internal hemorrhaging, but nothing that I couldn't fix. Still, the damage to the brain would have been fatal if it weren't for my intervention. I immediately set about repairing this damage, and tried to take control of the body.

This was unsuccessful, at first. Another examination revealed that I had missed some damage to the cerebellum and medulla oblongata on my first examination. Swelling was causing issues with the spinal cord, preventing my attempts at locomotion. I focused my efforts on these parts of the brain.

'Gotta get you moving,' I said to his deafened mind. 'If we can get control of the hand and the mouth, we can get you stable faster.'

Best not to mention what will happen to our accompaniment if we don't get moving. Not for Nick's sake, I just don't want to think about it. The last scene before the eyes went dark was pretty grim. Hopefully, this vampire is a lover of monologues.

Quickly and carefully I drained fluids and repaired cells. Next was the correction of some slightly luxated bones. Finally, after jump-starting some newly formed neurons, I was able to take control of the motor functions. Still blind, I very carefully placed Nick's hand upon his chest.

"Leah tsac," I whispered with his mouth.

Magic drained from Nick's core and cells began to repair each other at a much faster rate. Thanks to the training I had been doing while Nick slept, I was able to account for this and guide those cells into healing more efficiently. Finally, Nick's sight returned and I was able to see the vampire standing over Yulk.

"Well, it would seem that I need to start over, then," the vampire said with a laugh. "Perhaps I'll spare you and your brother. You can help me make a new headquarters."

I grabbed Nick's sword and carefully stood. His body wasn't entirely healed yet, but it would have to do. Yulk watched me stand, surprise apparent on his face. The vampire began to laugh harder, and for a moment I considered a surprise attack.

Then I thought better of it. I haven't completely repaired Nick's body, so I wouldn't be able to move quietly or fast enough to overcome the vampire's situational awareness. But, if we manage to stall enough, Olmira will be able to heal as well. Three against one works better in our favor, so stalling seems to be the route to go in this case.

"No," I said.

The vampire turned to me with a look of shock and fear, which I secretly found amusing. It quickly recovered its composure, and moved to keep Yulk and I in front of it. I examined Nash using peripheral vision, keeping my eyes locked on the vampire. Yulk had healed him, but the fluttering of his eyes behind their lids indicated that he was still down for the count.

"No?" the vampire asked, seemingly offended.

"Correct."

"You're going to stop me?"

"Indeed."

"How?"

He rose to his full height and smirked, trying to demonstrate that I was no threat to him. However, his calculated stare was desperately searching for an opportunity to attack me. An opportunity that I would not grant.

"I'm going to kill you," I replied.

"Is that a fact? And how are you going to accomplish such a feat?" the vampire asked mockingly.

"Decapitation and incineration."

The vampire was indeed talkative, but it occurred to me that I was being too terse. My bid to bide time would fail if I didn't become more verbose. Unfortunately, this vampire seemed to have a propensity for asking stupid questions.

"Well, incineration you can certainly do," the vampire growled. "Decapitation is another matter entirely, though. I don't believe you're fast enough, but I'm more than happy to see who can decapitate whom."

The vampire slightly shifted his stance, preparing to attack.

"Hold on, I didn't catch your name," I said, internally wincing at the obvious stall tactic.

"I am Kirain Yith, Master General turned Master Vampire," the vampire took the bait with a wicked smile. "And you?"

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

I faced a sudden and unexpected existential crisis as I tried to decide whether to introduce myself or disguise myself as Nick. Thankfully, this crisis was resolved in milliseconds and I decided that providing an enemy with information was a bad idea.

"I am Nick Smith, an adventurer far from home," I answered. "And trying to find my way back.

"And what business does a lost adventurer have with my kin and I?"

"I need to know how to return home. The answer may lie within this dungeon, and you are currently between myself and said answer. Therefor, you must be removed as an obstacle."

"I see. And if I were to voluntarily remove myself as an obstacle?"

The healing processes completed as I gestured to the other fallen adventurers.

"I think we're a little passed that, don't you?" I asked.

The gesture disguised a shift in my stance, and as the vampire opened his mouth to reply I lunged forward, swiping at his neck. The blood-sucking creature leapt backward with a hiss, but the tip of my sword grazed his larynx. He glared at me as blood dripped from his neck.

"Raeps dniw tsac!" I shouted.

The spear of wind tore through the air toward the vampire. He fell to the floor to avoid it, and leapt at me once the spell sailed over him. I side-stepped and slashed at his outstretched hand, severing it.

"That's the second time you've... disarmed me," the vampire snarled. "There will not be a third."

"Nilevaj eci tsac!"

He slid around the incoming ice javelin and rushed me again. I prepared to parry the incoming claws, but they didn't land where I expected them to. The vampire's feint would have been fatal had I not realized it in time to leap back, but the claws still raked my face.

Healing once again, I pushed forward, slashing at the vampire as I advanced. These slashes were meant to seem wild and uncoordinated while guiding the vampire to dodge them in certain ways. The goal was to force him into a corner.

The vampire had other plans, though. A slash aimed at his regenerating chest went unanswered, and his fist met Nick's cuirass. The impact was solid enough to cause internal damage, but I managed to keep Nick on his feet while giving only a few steps of ground. Nanites swarmed around the damaged area, repairing it and preventing further damage caused by the body's immune response.

"What in the blackest of hells ARE you?" the vampire asked.

"A human," I said once I repaired Nick's diaphragm enough to breath.

"That answers nothing," he growled. "No matter, I will simply dissect you once you're dead!"

The vampire leapt forward again. I countered with Slide Slash, but took another claw to the shoulder. My slash opened the creature's thigh, which seemed to have no effect. I took this as a sign of dampened pain responses, and adjusted my strategy accordingly.

The vampire landed and immediately resumed his offensive. I triggered Preternatural Evasion, allowing me to avoid more damage while looking for an opening. Nick's body moved on its own while I examined the vampire's attacks.

Thankfully, he seemed to be martially trained, which caused a pattern to emerge from his attacks. After three attacks, he would reset his footing, which gave me an average of .25 seconds to respond. Plenty of time for a counter-attack, but he was intentionally keeping his neck as far away as possible. It would take at least .28 seconds for a blow that could cause decapitation to connect.

What can I do here? I certainly can't let him keep attacking. A spark of genius ignited within my processor. The mouth can move very quickly, and doesn't require the limbs. So if I time it just right...

"Llaberif," I said, raising my hand once the third attack missed, "tsac!"

The fireball appeared between us and connected almost immediately. The vampire roared as his flesh was once again ignited.

"AGAIN!?!" he demanded before his lungs succumbed to the effects of the fire.

The heat singed Nick's hair and caused a first-degree burn, but I pushed forward regardless. Using Dash and Power Slash, I decapitated the so-called Master Vampire.

He crumpled to the ground, and I stopped his head from rolling. The vampire glared up at me from the ground, but I met his venomous gaze with apathy. I picked up his head by the hair and tossed it on the pyre made from his own body. Then I did the same with the hand I had removed earlier.

"Yulk, it's Ten," I said.

"I know. You and Nick don't act at all alike," the orc chuckled. "I'm going to need your help to heal everyone."

"Olmira should be up soon, but Yulk... Did anyone grab that arm that he threw?"

"Arm? What ar-"

"This arm, presumably," a voice called out from the entrance hallway.

Yulk and I turned to look and immediately took defensive postures. A bejeweled skeleton wearing a flowing robe floated three inches off of the ground. Above its right hand floated the Master Vampires arm, which was already trying to regenerate.

"You missed a spot," the lich said, tossing the limb into the fire.

An ethereal screech filled the air, shaking the ground beneath us. Yulk's hands flew to his ears, but I maintained my posture, fearing what the lich may do. I did send some nanites to repair the hearing damage, though.

Once the screech subsided, Yulk dropped back into his defensive stance. The lich regarded us coldly, but with an underlying caution. We regarded it in much the same way.

"So... uh..." Yulk broke the silence. "Wha-"

"WAIT! MILORD!" a voice called out from behind the throne.

Yulk and I turned again to find the kobold that had accompanied the party. At the start of the fight, he had sprinted off behind the throne. With his return, I quickly put two and two together. He hadn't run off to avoid the vampire, he had gone to find his master.

"My lord," the kobold said breathlessly. "They's helpers! No hurts for helpers, yes?"

"Yes, very good Simeeth. No hurts for helpers, indeed," the lich replied. "So long as they remain helpers and do not become harmers."

"They won't do that," Simeeth said merrily. "They's friends. Fed me good!"

"Excellent. Remember to thank them for their hospitality."

"Oh, uh... not these ones. The ones that are-"

The lich waved a bony hand to quiet the kobold.

This turn of events has left me in an awkward situation. We really shouldn't broadcast my existence to everyone we meet, but what do I do? Nick's brain is repaired, and is currently in deep REM sleep. So if I deactivate myself, he'll just collapse.

"I thank you for your assistance," the lich turned to me. "You're quite a capable fighter."

I glanced at Yulk and back toward the lich, all the while trying to decide what my next course of action will be. It would be inconvenient to have a dialogue with the lich and have to catch Nick up to speed when he awakens. Either way, I'm going to have to tell Nick about the fight. Though we agreed that I have permission to use his body when he's unconscious, he might get upset if I were to pose as him.

Plus, once the others start to wake up they might notice something wrong as well. Yulk said that Nick and I don't act alike, which seems to be true now that I think on it. I can't quite mimic the way he holds himself or the way he speaks.

As I finished turning back to the lich, I decided what to do. As my gaze locked onto the hollow pits that the lich would call eyes, he looked at me with an aura of expectancy. With a mental sigh, I prepared myself.

Then I pretended to faint.