19-The Heavy Steelclad Juggernaut

5/1/5/4353 M.A.C - Niwut - Afternoon

Doro woke up feeling inexplicably good. Although he was lying down on a hard surface, his muscles felt loose and he could not feel pain of any kind.

Did I actually fall asleep and dream the entire encounter?

Doro tentatively opened his eyes and noticed he was still in the alleyway. He was sleeping on his side, facing the wall, on top of what appeared to be a large brown cloak. He turned gingerly, expecting to feel pain coming from his shoulder, but to his surprise, it never did. Now facing the opposite side, Doro saw a wall of steel. At least that was his first impression, but after blinking a few times he realized that what he was seeing was the back of an enormous armored man.

Is this a man or a golem? I see no exposed skin, and he is positively huge. It could be a Thermal, but they don't usually like full armor since their muscle and fat volumes change so often. They usually wear an assortment of separate adjustable pieces instead.

GRwRwRRwwwGRw

A rumbling sound came from the man's direction and resonated inside his armor. Doro briefly thought some hidden beast had growled, out of view, on the other side of the large person. After a second though, he realised it was coming from inside the armor. Upon paying closer attention, he recognized the nature of the sound.

Well, he sounds hungry, so at least he is not some form of golem or automaton. So, probably either Human or Yerkan. Maybe something else. Doesn't matter though, they saved me and it seems they kept guard over me while I was unconscious. Whatever, whoever, they are, I owe them my life.

Doro cleared his throat audibly, in an attempt to catch the armored man's attention.

"Hello. You are the one who saved me right? You have my gratitude."

The man jostled and turned around to face Doro, at a speed that seemed incompatible with the man's size and encumberment. Furthermore, his motion had been strange. He'd been sitting cross-legged on the floor and appeared to spin 180°, seemingly without moving a muscle.

"Ha! You are awake! How are you feeling? Your shoulder okay? Need a drink? Help to sit up? You were in a mighty scary situation, but you are safe now. My friend took the bad guys to the guards. Thought we'd spare you getting involved with all that stuff after what you've been through. I'm Dhruvah, Decanus of the Free Legion. Well, I say Decanus since it's my rank, but my squad just went through some *ahem* trouble and now I only have one free legionnaire under me, and well, being a Medicus, he is an irregular. That probably doesn't mean much to you though. Oh yeah! What's your name? Are your parents around? How old are you?"

The man started shooting questions like bullets out of a machine gun, leaving Doro no chance to answer any of them, and causing him to forget half of them before it was over. His voice was higher-pitched than his size implied, and Doro could hear how worried the man was from his tone.

"Sorry to cut you off but, I've already forgotten a few of your earlier questions. Maybe you could slow down a little? I'm Doro, nine years old, and my parents are at work. I don't feel any pain anywhere. Also, I feel a lot more relaxed than I have any right to be, after what just happened. Honestly? I feel as though I should be shaking, crying, or something else of the sort normally, but I feel...alright. Thanks."

"Oh yeah, that's probably because Tom gave you the works as he dealt with your injury. I also used one of my Abilities, one that helps with the physical recovery and the morale of others when I keep watch as they rest. Very useful to keep up your squad's morale up on extended missions or multiple-day battles."

Man, they could have used one of him in every Veteran care center, or VA medical center, back on Earth.

"Sir Dhruvah, I don't think I can ever repay your kindness in full, but if it isn't beneath you, I'm sure my parents would at the very least want to invite you for dinner, to thank you in person."

"Really!? That would be a lifesaver! Also just call me Dhruvah. You are not a legionnaire under me, I am off duty, and I am not a noble."

"Surely you jest. I appreciate your attempts to avoid making me feel indebted, but a simple meal can in no way make up for what you have done for me."

"Uh? You said you were nine right? Anyone ever tell you that you speak weird for a nine-year-old. I'm not exaggerating though. I don't have a squad anymore because they all just quit yesterday, and went looking for another squad to join. We took a job to protect a merchant caravan from Ashrama, but along the way, I got swindled by one of them. He proposed a deal where he would sell us some of his surplus wares for a low price, saying that we would make a profit if we sold it here in Niwut. The merchant had been really friendly during the trip, and said he was doing this for us as a favor, so I trusted him. I put in the pay for this mission, as well as the small amount of money I had saved up, to try and get us a higher payday. I should've checked up with the others first, I know, but I trusted the man."

"What happened? Were the goods counterfeit? Oh I know, he sold you stuff that would deteriorate on the journey at fresh prices?"

Dhruvah froze for almost a minute, and since his visor was down, Doro could not see the man's facial expression. Then out of nowhere, he struck his fist onto the ground to his side. Doro felt the ground below him shake. As Dhruvah lifted his hand, Doro could see a small crater had formed at the point of impact.

"Sorry! Didn't mean to scare you. It's just that this really hits home. See, my squadmates left saying I was unfit for a command position outside of war. That I was too gullible, and that I didn't think things through enough before making important decisions. When deployed as part of a Century or Legion, where I have superior officers, I do very well. Not boasting, but if it were just based on combat potential, I would have been made a centurion long ago. Tom is the only one who sticks with me long-term when doing off-duty missions, but that's because he is a friend and independently wealthy. The only reason he enlisted was so he could travel to help the sick and wounded. That's why you shouldn't expect him to make you pay for the healing he performed. In fact, he might feel insulted if you offered actual payment."

"I'm sure your squad mates were too hard on you. You made a mistake but people in leadership positions often do."

"Nah, they were right. The proof is that the only thing I did was check that the goods were actually at market price, or lower, and that they were in good condition when I bought them. The reason I got angry was that none of the other possibilities you mentioned even crossed my mind. He could have tricked me with any of those. In this case, though, it was a different one. "

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The armored man took a few seconds to compose his thoughts before continuing.

"He officially made the deal with me in an area that only had imperial tax applied, at the border between Ashrama and Manzat. Then he sold me the goods at the low end of their market price in Niwut. What he didn't tell me was that I would need to pay local taxes, at the checkpoint, before we entered Niwut officially. After that, we ended up in a situation where we would need to sell four for the price of five, just to get back our investment, and that is if we sold at the high end of the market price. In the end, we weren't able to make our investment back. Because it was my mistake, I split the money we made between everyone, except me, and it covered just a little under what they should have normally been paid. I also made other smaller mistakes in the past, but this one turned out to be the final one for them."

"What a bunch of whiners! I'm sorry Dhruvah, but you didn't get any of them killed, injured, or even destitute. You may not have been great at making them money, but you were willing to forego your own share, as well as the money you had personally invested, to apologize, and they still blamed you before leaving. Give me their names so I can give them a piece of my mind if I ever come across them."

Doro stood up as he defended his savior's honor. He puffed his chest out and put his fists on his hips in a power pose. Dhruvah guffawed loudly before pulling up his visor to wipe away a tear.

Huh, thick eyebrows and facial hair, and this hard-to-describe skin tone? Dhruvah is definitely human, and probably from Ashrama. Back home I would probably think he was a mix of Pacific islander and south-eastern Asian, not quite sure what countries though. Humanity seems to have developed quite differently from back on Earth. I mean, I have features that look Northern European, and skin as dark as any sub-Saharan African I've ever seen. No established cultural group looks quite like that back there. Taking that into account, he'd fit in a lot better than the current me.

"Thanks, kid. I needed a laugh. You may appear in good shape and all, but I wouldn't recommend confronting any adult with fighting experience. You nearly managed to escape this time. Lucky you did though, because that is the only reason I noticed you, when you were pulled back into the shadows. Don't get me wrong, I don't think my old squadmates would do much to you, certainly nothing like the trio from earlier, but better not tempt fate. Use the scar as a reminder before the next time you decide to do something dangerous ."

"Scar?"

Doro tried to inspect where the wound had been, but it was just out of sight. When he stretched his neck as much as he could, he noticed the pointed end of three greyish lines extending further than he could see.

"How bad is it?"

"Don't worry, it healed up well. You should be able to pass your hand over it and not even feel as though there was anything there. Visually though? It looks impressive!"

Dhruvah gave him the first gauntleted thumbs-up that Doro had ever seen. Between the friendly gesture and the even friendlier smile, Doro could not help but grow fonder of the man.

He is like a giant nervous teddy bear. Or like a naive kid in an adult's body. Well, he could also blow my head off with a single punch. Wait, he finished both dudes with one punch each! Has he been doing a hundred situps, pushups, and squats every day for three years? The ten-kilometer run too? Heh!

"The hook didn't quite cut cleanly and tore at your skin. It kinda looks like you got mauled by a three-clawed beast. Or a very enthused three-fingered lover!"

Dhruvah laughed for a second before stopping abruptly.

"My bad I kind of forgot you were only nine because of how you express yourself. To tell you the truth, if you were to tell me you were an adult of some new shorter race I didn't know about, I might just buy it. Huh, well crap. Maybe my squadmates were right when they said I was too naive."

"Don't worry, my mother will probably make the same joke within minutes of seeing the scar, she deflects with bad jokes. Also, wait until you see my dad then. He is a full-grown adult who often gets mistaken for a younger teenager, due to his height and youthful face. I warn you though, if you tell him I said that, I will deny it. Whether you are my savior or not!"

Doro flashed a mischievous grin at Dhruvah and the large man started laughing again.

"I have an offer for you though. I have quite a bit of money I received from a family friend on my Choice Day and came here today to spend it on supplies to help me train and experiment. I think Dekt, the first man you punched, had an Ability that let him detect it. I had taken precautions against thieves, but I hadn't planned for that kind of Ability. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to hire you as a bodyguard for the rest of the afternoon, while I finish shopping, until we get back to my home for dinner. In exchange, you can pick some food from the stalls to keep you going until then, and I'll pay you enough coin for a night at one of the more decent inns around my house. Like that, you can come back for breakfast and start your search for new income well-rested and well-fed."

"Nah, I'll do it for something to eat, but I wouldn't feel right taking anything more from you."

"Nonsense! These funds were given to me to do as I saw fit, and the man who gave them to me is wealthy enough not to miss them in the least. The only stipulation he gave me was to do something interesting with them and tell him all about it the next time we met. If I hire you with part of the funds, then the attack and the subsequent rescue would fill this requirement, and I could spend the rest on stuff that might be considered boring."

Doro gave a Dhruvah a wink, hoping the man would go with the flow and not poke holes into his flimsy reasoning.

"If you don't accept payment for a night at the inn, believe me when I say that no matter how strong you are, my mother will not let you leave our house until you accept either her hospitality or the coin. However, my funds are purely extra, but the coin my mother gives you would come from our family finances. So in effect, it is more beneficial to me if you were to accept payment from me instead."

"You're as bad as Tom! Too bad he left to hand the prisoners off to the guards, you two would have gotten along. You seem to have the same tendency toward being stubborn and making up logical arguments, until one sticks, to get your way. Have it your way, I'm too hungry to waste time on an argument I probably won't win."

Dhruvah smiled and pulled his visor back down before turning towards the market street.

"If I'm on guarding duty, visor comes back down. Well until we get some food that is. Not many types of food fit through the air holes. You ready? My stomach is!"

Doro was happy that he had at least been able to cheer up his benefactor, and decided not to keep his new friend starving any longer.

"By the way, I forgot to ask, but how old are you? With the power in your punch, you must be at least level 30, or even higher, right?"

Dhruvah stayed silent for a moment, before answering with barely contained laughter almost escaping between each word. However, the sound of clanging metal coming from his pauldrons, caused by his trembling shoulders, made his amusement more than obvious.

"Level 30 or more? Ha! Let me tell you how good of a deal you made. I did tell you that if we were judging by pure power, I would have been a centurion long ago. I could probably even be a match for some of those in charge of the cohorts. For a night at an inn, and some street food, you hired yourself a 411-year-old, level 64 [Heavy Steelclad Juggernaut]."

"What!? Over four hun-"

Doro tried to take a step forward but tripped on the back of his other foot and started falling face-first toward the ground. Dhruvah spun back towards Doro fast enough to become a blur and stopped his fall harmlessly.

"Wait, what does [Heavy Steelclad Juggernaut] even mean!? That sounds like an armored vehicle, not a person. No offense meant."

"I started as an [Armored Warrior] which is pretty generic, but the name of my Choice changed after some of my thresholds. You think I like being reminded that I'm fat every time I check my Abilities?"

"Wait, you're fat? I couldn't tell with all the armor."

"Well, I've got a ton of muscle as well. It's just beneath it. I've always been rather big, so I often say that I've got a double layer of armor. The first layer to repel most attacks, the second to repel most ladies."

"Not sure whether I should laugh, cry, or pat you on the back. Not that I could reach it."

"Laugh. It's their loss. If they can't see past it, the few lovely ladies who do will get to enjoy my inexhaustible stamina instead. If I can march at double pace for hours on end wearing all of this, imagine how long I can last naked!"

"I'd rather not imagine your naked, 411-year-old, well-preserved grandpa butt, thank you! I'm still too young to be scarred for life. Well, aside from my shoulder that is. But this would be worse."

Dhruvah let out a loud laugh and a clang as he slapped his armored leg with his gauntlet.

"I like you kid, but you really have balls. Not many full-grown adults would dare tease me while knowing my level and rank. Also, did you call me a grandpa? I'll have you know that I have a descendant six or seven generations removed, somewhere, I think. I kind of lost touch after I spent a hundred or so years going on adventures outside of the empire, with Tom and some of my other old friends."

"Damn, that sounds pretty awesome. Alright, we're getting to the stalls I haven't checked yet, let's get shopping. I only have a gold mark on me so we need to make a sizeable purchase to get smaller coinage they'll accept at a food stall. One last thing though. If you like me because I've got balls, you'll love my mother. I got them from her after all. Unlike the thing about my dad, you can tell her I said that. She'll love it. Well maybe try not to say it in front of my dad though."

The pair shared a conspiratorial look before laughing together at the prospect. Well, Doro shared a look with the visor, but he felt certain that Dhruvah shared the sentiment nonetheless.