Chương 20: [b1] 020 - Mercy Killings

[PANIC> I HAVE VISUALS ON DELVERS! Fermi's TEAM IS APPROACHING!] My processors raced with relief at PANIC's message. Maybe everything was going to be okay. A few seconds later, PANIC sent another message. [PANIC> REPR12 IS NEARLY WITHIN COMMUNICATION RANGE!] More relief flooded into me, my operating efficiency soaring to an all time high. The little bot was okay, and we had delvers on the way. We weren't done with the second floor, but we could sure put on a hell of a show with the first.

I pulled up the feed from REPR13, the bot PANIC had patrolling the forest. It had a clear view of Fermi's group. Everyone looked healthy—from what I could tell—and excited. I didn't even care what caused their week-long delay, I was just happy for them to be back. As I watched the group of delvers approaching, a message came in from REPR12 as it came to a complete halt right inside the edge of the communication range. [REPR12> Threat detected. One hostile is headed to our location. ETA: 6 minutes.] Dread pooled in my circuits as I pulled up the data packet REPR12 sent along with the message. It was a series of descriptions of facial expression and body language, along with several very in depth sensor reports of roughly one meter tall grass…? I couldn't make sense of it without visual context, so I opened the video recording sent alongside the data packet. I scrolled through a very long stretch of visual inspection of specific blades of grass until I got to a video of people.

Two of them, in a building, shot from what seemed to be an open window. I recognized one of them immediately, it was Burke. I didn't recognize the person he was talking to, but he was massive. Like, two meters tall and built like a linebacker from Earth. His muscles had muscles. From the video I learned his name was Atlas. And Atlas was coming to kill us. An odd, detached sense of calm came over me and I found MAM inside my processing stack, cutting away problematic processes frantically.

[MAM> We need to prepare for Atlas.] [KLUDGE> Screw that man! Just lock the damn door. He won't be able to get in any other way, right?] I slammed the lock on the dungeon, the portal swirling a dim gray just as Atlas came into view. His yell echoed down the valley as he stood at the top of the crater.

"Fermi! What do you think you're doing?" Fermi's head snapped up, her jaw falling open in shock as she saw the looming figure above. Atlas leapt down from the top of the crater to land in front of her and I swear I felt my chassis shake from the impact.

"Where exactly do you think you're going?" He glanced at the other delvers, all huddled in a group a few paces away from Fermi.

"That goes for all of you."

"We were just exploring," Grace said, head bowed. Atlas's eyes snapped back to Fermi, ignoring Grace's not great lie.

"I could ask you the same thing," Fermi said in a shocking display of confidence I didn't know the girl had in her. Atlas chuckled, shaking his head.

"I knew I should have done this the moment the System announced its presence." He pushed past Fermi and marched toward the dimmed portal.

"What are you going to do?" Fermi asked, chasing after him.

"End this madness, before the Tress end us."

"You can't!" Laura and Grace both yelled at the same time.

"We need the core. It's been—it's helping us," Grace added and my drives stuttered.

"The core is a risk to all of us. We're better off with it dead." Oh hell no. [PANIC> KEEP THE DOOR LOCKED! HE CAN'T GET THROUGH OUR HULL] There was no chance I was opening that portal. I saw energy coiling around Fermi's fingers and braced for her to do something stupid, begging the Great Creator to convince her otherwise. A gust of wind came barreling out of nowhere and slammed into Atlas. The man barely staggered in his step. He stilled, then turned slowly to face her.

"Did you seriously just attack me?" Fermi met his question with a hard stare. I'd never seen this Fermi before, and I wasn't entirely sure I loved it. Another gust of wind hit his back, forcing him to take a single step toward her and away from the portal. [MAM> She's going to get herself killed! Do something Colin!] Before I could even formulate a plan, the scene devolved into chaos. Atlas stomped the ground with his right foot sending an actual shockwave outward, toppling Fermi.

Silo charged in and swung his shield at the massive man's back. I think he was aiming for his head but couldn't reach. Atlas turned and kicked Silo square in the chest. He went flying and landed against the closed portal with a thud. Grace started throwing out heals as Fermi got to her feet. She let loose a scream of rage and threw attack after attack at Atlas. He growled and lunged, grabbing her and tossing her to the side. I couldn't see health bars with them outside the dungeon.

I tried to order REPR12 to attack and got an error message in return. Combat Attempt Denied ✕ ERROR: This creature is not a dungeon created monster and therefore cannot be sent into combat on behalf of a dungeon core. ✕ ERROR: This creature is outside of the dungeon and therefore cannot engage in combat. Since when could the System tell me how to control my bots? Laura started firing arrows as Fermi got back to her feet. Atlas roared as several arrows pierced his thick skin, still, it looked like it barely hurt.

He stormed toward Fermi who ran, circling around a large piece of debris and racing toward the dungeon entrance.

"Your father made me swear to him I'd keep you safe. How dare you make me break my oath!" Atlas roared.

"Get in the dungeon! Get in the dungeon!" Grace yelled, motioning everyone toward the closed portal. [MAM> Open the portal for them then close it right behind them!] I could see the rage in Atlas's eyes. I couldn't let him catch them. I opened the portal as Grace, Laura, and Silo ran in. Fermi was racing toward it, but Atlas was right behind her. The second she was through I closed the portal. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

On the other side, inside the Communications Center, all four delvers appeared. A fraction of a second later, Atlas did as well. I played back the feed—he'd thrown his weapon into the portal as it closed. How that counted as him being inside, I didn't know. Immediately I launched an attack with the Ankle Biters and Rammers that were in the room. Atlas sighed, the sound rumbling through the walls and shaking my drives. He picked up his spear and stabbed through three Ankle Biters.

He kept them on his spear like a kabob as he slammed his spear down on top of a Rammer, kicking the second one. The fight was over in under ten seconds. [KLUDGE> What the hell was that? What level is this guy?] We'd never found a way to use Identify, so I had no idea. Safe to say however, it was far higher than anyone we'd fought so far. Fermi's team pushed to their feet, weapons drawn and pointing toward Atlas. He rolled his eyes.

"Just stay down and let me do this. I don't enjoy it any more than you."

"I'm not letting you hurt the core," Fermi said. Silo grabbed her am and pulled her back but she shrugged him off.

"You can be upset with me for not letting you become a Guardian. You can shut me down, cut me out of your life. But I draw the line at letting you put yourself in harms way. You father never would have wanted this," Atlas said, his voice almost creaky from strain.

"He wouldn't have wanted you to kill our core, either."

"This isn't our core. It's an abomination. A test, by the Goddess to see if we will falter on our path."

"That's not true. It cares about us," Grace said. Just then I got the option to reward loot. I was going to go with System coins, but an idea came to me. We had just unlocked a new Consumable—Satiating Bread. It kept you full for a full day, and restored your health if you sat while eating it. On a whim, I made twenty of them which took more Anima than I would want, and rewarded them to the group. A pile of bread fell to the ground at Atlas's boots.

He stared down at them, thick frown lines forming across his forehead.

"See?" Grace said, jabbing at the bread. Silo shuffled forward and nabbed a slice, sticking it in his mouth as he backed away. Atlas stared at the bread, the gears turning in his mind. Then he closed his eyes and spoke.

"Full stomachs will not defeat the Tress. They're here. You all know that. They will kill us and this core if I don't get rid of it first." Atlas ignored the bread, pushing into the Mission Control room. Atlas made quick work of the monsters in the next room, though a small part of him was surprised by the variety. For such a young core, it had done a good— no. He forced the thought from his mind. He hadn't been lying when he said he didn't want to do this. There was nothing more he loved than delving.

But he knew the risk was too great. It's why he was the leader of the Guardians. He had to make the tough calls no one else was willing to make. He solved the puzzle quickly and faced off against the boss. He could tell a lot of thought had gone into it, but he simply stabbed the monster through its chest with his spear and it fell over. Once again, the core rewarded him. System Coins, Experience Chips, food, and crafting materials. He didn't recognize any of the materials, but he made sure to collect them.

At the very least, the village crafters could find a use for them. With the boss cleared, a System message appeared in his interface. First Floor Cleared ►You have cleared the first floor of the dungeon and may now proceed to the second floor. Best of luck! He sighed and navigated the floor to find the stairwell, ignoring the pleas from Fermi and her group. He'd expected something like this from Fermi, but Laura and Grace? That had surprised him.

As he descended the stairs to the next floor, a distinct smell hit him almost immediately. Fresh, rich soil. The air was warm and humid, a drastic and noticable difference from the first floor. he turned the corner out of the stair well and dropped his jaw in shock. The entire floor was covered in plants. They grew from every available surface. Some he recognized, others he didn't. He approached one that he didn't and used Identify on it, suspecting it to be a monster in disguise or a trap.

Cilantro ► An herb that has a fifty percent chance to provide you with a speed buff, or slow your movement speed by 5% for 2 minutes. Curious, he pulled a leaf off the plant and ate it. He scrunched up his face, an intense flavor and unpleasant flavor landing on his tongue as a debuff flashed. He dragged his feet, chuckling to himself at the debuff. There weren't any monsters on this floor from what he could tell, which didn't make any sense. Why would a dungeon core not have monsters to fight?

The only explanation that made sense was that it wasn't done with the floor. But it certainly looked ready. Atlas paused in front a large Kheera plant with several budding fruit. He pulled one off and eyed it suspiciously, then took a bite. Fresh and perfectly ripe, the mild flavor danced on his tongue distractingly. He looked around for a trap or a monster coming his way but found none. He ate two more, then picked the plant almost clean.

Even though he was about to kill this core, he couldn't bring himself to leave the plant unable to flower new growth. That ideology had been hammered into him ever since he was a child. Always leave something for the next generation. He picked over a few more plants he recognized as edible, then made his way through a doorway at the other end. It led him down a hall and back up the stairs, but to a different part of the dungeon. At the top of the stairs he found a single room. The core room, he suspected.

Though, based on what he remembered core rooms looking like, this didn't seem right. It was empty all but for a series of large rectangular pillars with flashing lights on them. Behind them were several more small garden plots, full of Kheera and other fruit. Movement caught his eye as a metallic monster skittered down from the ceiling and into the plants. As it came out of the garden he used Identify on it, finding that it was a Non Combatant.

It carried in its arms several Kheera, the movement awkward for the small spider-like monster. It placed them on the floor in front of Atlas, then backed away. Atlas stood, arms crossed, munching on one of the fruit as his mind raced and his gut twisted. He had been so sure he was doing the right thing. The Tress were here and that only meant one thing. Destruction. As he gripped his spear, rage flowing through his veins empowering an attack, a startling realization crept up his spine. Perhaps he was too late.

If the Tress were already here, they knew where he and his people lived. What if they didn't settle for just the core? What if they retaliated against them for killing the core? Maybe he hadn't thought this through. He gritted his teeth, then let out an ear-splittingly loud roar and slammed his spear against the ground. He heard shouts and frantic footsteps on the stairs behind him, but he didn't care. Atlas leaned in close to the core, finger pressed up against its warm and buzzing surface.

"By the Goddess's grace, I am allowing you to live. Serve my people well." Fermi entered just in time to see him leaning back away from the core, her whole body trembling. He looked her in the eye, something neither of them had done in years before this day.

"I am trusting you. Do not make me regret that." He stormed past her and the rest of her little group of delvers before anyone could say a word. He walked back to the village, mind swarming with thoughts. If they were going to do this, he had a lot of work to do, starting with Burke and his little "secret" operation.