“You’re scary,” I told Zuri as she dismissed her bow and smiled sweetly at me.
“Thank you,” she said, bowing slightly and walking closer.
I turned to the head with its tongue lolling out and then at the forcefield that was flickering back to life. “Are you sure that’s going to be okay?” I asked.
Zuri smirked and nodded. “I am sure. This is why I told you to lure it here. This vent here goes on for several kilometers before it has to bend. The arrow should lose most of its power by that point, so the damage will be minimal.”
“Still,” I said, “That subroutine is genuinely terrifying.”
Zuri laughed at that. “It’s meant to be. The [Hassetsu] is the set bonus of my armor and my strongest ability. But as you can tell, the “Eight Stages of Shooting” has some serious limitations.”
I nodded slowly, gratefully accepting a small bottle of [Healing Accelerant] from Zuri, who, for some reason, watched my wounds intently as I drank the bottle. “Yeah,” I said, grabbing her attention. “From what I can infer from the name and what just happened, you have to go through all eight steps before you can use it.”
“Correct,” she said, jogging over to where the Stag’s cut-off antler lay and bringing it over. “And I must remain stationary during the entire thing, making me an easy target.”
I snorted, watching as my healing points slowly climbed up to full. “Explains why you needed me as bait and distraction.”
Zuri smiled as she examined the antler with shining eyes. “There’s also the why I needed you to bring it here. It’s because of the [Hassetsu]’s greatest strength and biggest weakness. It’s power. Had we been amongst the grass blades, the destruction it would have wrought would have killed us, either through a million cuts or half a dozen shards through the head.” I shuddered at that thought. “If it hit a wall, the collateral and structural damage to the facility would have required tens of millions to fix. I rarely get to use it because of this. It’s something that I only really use in large-scale engagements before our people get involved in close-quarters combat. Still, when I do…” She trailed off, grinning at the Stag’s head.
I turned to look at Zuri with a fond smile, feeling a faint warmth in my chest.
“What?” She asked, blushing slightly.
I shrugged. “Nothing, it’s just nice to see you found your own version of your father’s path. I remember last we saw each other, you were still struggling to figure out what your version of [Hammerfall Smite] looked like. You designed a magnificent subroutine.”
Her blush deepened, and after a moment’s hesitation, she shrugged. “I owe it all to my ancestors for giving me the inspiration and my clan’s crafters for giving me the means.”
I let out a good-natured scoff. “Zuri, please. Remember who you’re talking to. I’ve seen the amount of detail your thousands of pages of notes went into. Shal had you designing every single detail from scratch. This is your creation, and it's fucking awesome.”
Zuri looked down, her hair falling to obscure most of her face, but they revealed her ears, scarlet from the embarrassment. She hesitated again and glanced furtively at me, her dark irises framed by her golden limbal rings. “It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” She mumbled bashfully.
I laughed and nodded cheerfully. “It’s very cool.”
She turned to me, her eyes full of enthusiasm. “But what about you? You managed to dodge all those beams, but I thought you were in trouble when the stag didn’t seem like it was going to charge at you! Aiming at just the right spot to shoot its antler off with that explosive bullet must have been incredibly difficult, but you did it!”
“Eh, it was a [Lucky Shot],” I said, winking at her, amused that she had no idea about that ability of mine.
Zuri took my words seriously and nodded. “Lucky indeed. If it had kept going with the beams, you might have seriously gotten hurt before I managed to kill it. I will have to think of ways to control single, powerful enemies and put them in positions advantageous to me. Maybe a combat pet.” She said, humming in thought.
I thought I saw Hob’s ears flicker in the corner of my vision. “Ah,” I interrupted her musing. “Speaking of killing it, what should we do about loot?”
Zuri looked down at the head with distaste. “You did most of the work. I just finished the thing, so I am happy to have you take the largest part of the loot. I’ll just keep this antler.
I stared flatly at her. “You just don’t want to carry around a decapitated head before you can take it for component processing.”
She froze as if she got caught with her hand in a cookie jar. She spluttered for a moment before her shoulders drooping. “If my father sees it, I just know he’ll want to have it mounted and displayed in our central hall and use it as an opportunity to brag about me. It would be mortifying. Please take it.”
I cackled at her defeated look and nodded. “Ah, I will do this thing for you. I’m a hero, I know. You don’t have to say it. I just appreciate you thinking about it.”
I looked at the head and mentally claimed the kill. As Zuri claimed the other antler, it remained in her hands, but the head rapidly dissolved in a gray cloud.
I glanced at the window that appeared and dismissed it into my unread folder. I didn’t have the time to go through all my notifications right now, what with the butterflies reactivating soon. I had seen enough anyway. Apparently, claiming everything except that one antler meant that I had also claimed the stag's body and the staggering amount of items reflected that.
I turned to Zuri, my face solemn, and her expression sobered up. “You. Are. Welcome.” I said with exaggerated gravitas.
She let out an amused snort and lightly slapped me on the shoulder. “My hero. Now, shall we get out of here before the butterflies return?”
I nodded eagerly, and we set off. With our quarry dead and our task done, we didn’t need to explore more of this zone, so we headed straight for the exit at a brisk walk.
With only a few minutes left before the butterflies were reactivated, we passed through the doors into the comfortingly familiar concrete passageway. Once the doors were sealed behind us, along with my nightmares of being eaten alive by a beautiful iridescent swarm of death, we both let out a sigh of relief.
A few minutes later, we found a terminal in a depression in the wall, and Zuri contacted Fort Zuri, informing them of our success and requesting transportation. The rest of our walk was uneventful, and before long, we were relaxing in Zuri’s room, in the Lava Walker.
As I collapsed on the sofa, I turned to watch Zuri disappear behind her screen. “You examined the Ash Stag, right?”
“Yeah, why?” She replied, sounding distracted.
I felt a little confused by her indifference. “Wasn’t its name a little weird?”
“Uh… The Shardplate part? I mean, it sounded ostentatious, but I wouldn’t call it weird.”
“And the whole… ‘Alpha 2.5.3’? That didn’t get you curious?”
Zuri poked her head out from the side of the screen and looked at me with a confused look. “The what?”
“Uh… Do the words Alpha 2.5.3 mean anything to you?” I asked slowly.
She thought hard for a moment before shaking her head. “No.”
I scrambled to find an explanation, but the best I could come up with was, “Ah, never you mind then. I think it has something to do with a new implant I got. Don’t worry about it.”
Zuri narrowed her eyes at me, said, “I see,” and returned to changing her clothes.
Meanwhile, to distract myself from a thousand questions that I had neither the time nor energy to ask, I opened up my notifications.
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[KILLS]
[Shardplate Ash Stag - Alpha 2.5.3 - Level 19] x1
By defeating a creature fifteen levels above your own, you gain bonus XP.
By defeating an Alpha classification creature, you gain bonus XP.
By being responsible for less than 30% of the damage on the target, you get a penalty to XP.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
XP Earned: 321
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[Level up!] x3
Congratulations. You are level 7.
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[ATTRIBUTE POINTS EARNED]
Strength: +6 | Dexterity: +9
Perception: +3 | Endurance: +3
Intelligence: +3 | Wisdom: +3
Unallocated Attribute Points: 6
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[Skill Level up!]
[Lucky Shot] Level 2 to Level 5
[Magma Bullet] Level 3 to Level 4
[Tight Grip] Level 1 to Level 2
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[NEW PASSIVE SKILL ACQUIRED]
[Pain Tolerance]
Rank: Uncommon | Level: 1/20
Effect: Minor increase in pain resistance. Effect scales with Wisdom and skill level.
“Stiff upper lip.”
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[NEW STANCE ACQUIRED]
[Uncanny Dodge]
Rank: Rare | Level: 1/30
Cost: 3 Mana per Second
Effect: Focus your gem’s processing power on enhancing your Dexterity and Perception by 10% at the cost of 10% Strength and 10% Intelligence.
“It doesn’t matter how strong an attack is if it never hits you.”
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I grinned at my gains, the feeling of power washing over me almost overwhelming. I eagerly opened the other notification, one that I had been ignoring since I killed those two robot spiders.
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[ASSETS GAINED]
[Shardplate Chunk] x5
[Eyes of Cinder] x3
[Empty Ash Stag Core] x1
[Large Prism-Ash Antler] x1
[Ash Stag Hide (Damaged)] x13
[Ash Stag Meat (Damaged)] x 28
[Spider Bot Cortex] x1
[SynthSilk Fabricator] x7
[Synthsilk Fabricator (Damaged)] x3
[Sensor Array (Damaged)] x1
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I whistled at my haul, Hob looking pleased as punch.
“I know you’ve said I look good in this before, but I didn’t realize you liked this outfit that much,” Zuri said with a teasing smile, leaning against the screen, arms crossed under her chest, having changed into a new outfit. When we first reunited, she was all business. During the mission, she exuded an air of tradition. Now, she was draped head to toe in the Middle-Ringer cyberchic that was her regular combat outfit.
She had traded her gi for a high-hip, open-back, black bodysuit that went up her neck with a hexagonal pattern, the lines between each hexagon glowing with soft golden light, her shoulders bare. Long, fingerless gloves went down her arms and ended in three vicious-looking metal claws. Her red pants were tight fitting, and right below the waistband, they had hip windows going down until the midpoint of her thighs. On her back, she had strapped on a sleek rifle. It was a most distracting look. She lowered her shades and looked at me, taking her outfit in, her smile growing a little wider.
“I.. Uh..” I stumbled, feeling myself blush a little. “No, it wasn’t that. I mean, yes, you look good, but I was um… Doing something else.”
Her smile grew a touch more teasing. “Sure you were.”
“Anyway!” I fumbled, trying to regain control of the conversation. “Why are you wearing that?”
Zuri’s smile turned into a wince. “I was notified that I am going on a mission as soon as we arrive in town.”
I snorted. “No rest for the skilled, huh?”
She huffed in response. “No, I suppose not.” She hesitated, her expression turning a touch bashful. “Fighting alongside you once more was not… Unpleasant. Want to come along? I promise I won’t use you as bait.”
I internally winced. Under any other circumstances, I would have taken Zuri up on her offer. But I had wasted too much time already. Aren needed me. I shook my head, giving Zuri an apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I would love to, really, but I am really pressed for time.” I paused for a moment, considering my following words carefully. Zuri had accepted all manner of peculiarities without comment, never questioning how I could do certain things. She had earned a bit of honesty from me. I continued talking as Zuri opened her mouth to speak. “A fluxborn kid is being held hostage because of his association with me. I only have about two days left to use the tokens and figure out how to rescue him. Time is of the essence.”
She let her arms drop to her sides and stood straight. “Then why in the blazes did you not say so earlier? If you had told me, I’m sure I could have convinced my father to give them to you for… I don’t know, a promise to serve in a Fist for a couple of years after you rescue the child or something!”
I shrugged at the indignant woman who was now stomping towards me. “Your father knows and was dead set on me coming with you.”
That brought her up short. “He knows? Then why?”
I shrugged again, and we both settled into a contemplative silence. A few minutes later, we stepped out into the street of Smolderhome, as I was told the town under Fortress Zuri was called.
“Don’t worry,” I told Zuri as a car meant for me pulled up in front of the building. “I’ve got plenty of time and the inklings of a plan already. Thank you for your help. This was fun.”
Zuri looked hesitant. “Fine. But be careful, okay?”
I nodded, smiling at her as I climbed into the car. “I will promise. And hey, I wouldn’t be opposed to going on a mission together, so… I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
She nodded and turned to leave as I started closing the door. “Yes, you will.” Was the last thing I heard her say before the doors closed. And with those ominous parting words, the car took off.
I spent the rest of the way to Shal’s chamber mulling over the ideas of how to rescue Aren I had in my head, trying to force them into a cohesive whole, but it was fruitless, as I was missing the most critical pieces that all my plans would hinge on. Speaking of the critical pieces, before I knew it, I stood before Shal and sent him a mission report with a swipe of my hand. He looked it over with a satisfied nod, and a window opened up in my vision.
----------------------------------------
[MISSION COMPLETED]
[The Hunt for the Ash Stag]
You have assisted Zuri in hunting down and slaying the Ash Stag and have kept collateral damage to a minimum.
Reward: [Ruby Tokens] x2
Bonus System Reward: You have gained the [Alpha Slayer - 1] Title.
----------------------------------------
[Alpha Slayer - 1]: You have killed [1] Alpha Class creature. +1% Synchronization Bonus.
----------------------------------------
“Pleasure doing business with you,” I told Shal as he tossed me the [Ruby Tokens], and I snatched them out of the air. “I appreciate you doing me this favor, Shal. I know that these things are worth far more than what that mission should have rewarded me with. I won’t forget this.”
Shall nodded and held his hand up. “Wait. Before you leave…” He paused for a moment as if considering his words. “I have an offer for you. One you must not refuse.” Shal said, looking at me in the eyes with the most severe expression I’d ever seen on the man. It raised my hackles.
“You know I don’t like it when people tell me what I must and must not do,” I said, a scowl starting to form on my face.
“I know. It is a dangerous thing I will ask of you. And Zuri must not know about this until the time is right.” That, above all else, made alarm sirens blare in my head.
“Patriarch Shal. I don’t know what you’re on about, but I have experience with keeping the sins of the father from his daughter. It never ends well. Choose your next words carefully, or I walk, our history be damned.” I said, my scowl deepening as I was flooded with memories too bitter to think about.
Shal nodded slowly. “I apologize if this conversation dregs up any bad memories. You have no idea how much I wish for this conversation not to have to happen, but it is necessary.”
Then, Shal, the Unbending Behemoth, patriarch of the Molten Fist Clan, one of the most respected Otherlords of the Outer Ring, got up from his throne, got on his hands and knees, and placed his forehead against the cold stone ground. “I beg you. Keep this between us, even if you refuse my request.”
My trepidation was replaced by fear. “Fine, fine! I’ll keep your damn secret. Shal, what is going on?”
Shal sat back on his haunches and nodded at me gratefully. He took a deep breath and stared at the floor as if he had a hard time getting the words out. Finally, with a grunt, he looked me in the eyes.
“I need you to investigate my murder.”