Chương 16: Ch. 14 - Ticking Clock

[3rd Floor] [Bosses: 0] [Time to Reset: 03: 16: 14] The forever expansive ocean was a welcome change after the grind of the last floor. The dagger leveled up to 5 and I felt like I killed dozens of giant bugs, golemns, prehistoric flying alien dinosaurs and all matter of baby kaijus. I was pushing my Frame to it's absolute limit, each use of the thruster and arm swing purposeful. My integrity bar was sitting somewhere around half and that was after using two repair cells.

And on top of that, I kept bottoming out the energy of the Frame, which according to Caddie had earned me an achievement. Each dagger implosion cratered my mana but it seemed so worth it. I made sure to pick the isolated targets. If it was a pack, I would be a goner. I also had to make liberal use of the implosion effect on the second floor. Even though it was dealing supposedly double damage, they were still protracted battles that lasted longer than four minutes at a time.

I needed to get to the third floor and open some caches. But I couldn't leave without getting the loot to sell. A difficult balancing act. Once we did hit the 3rd floor, Caddie was all relative smiles, even though we ended up someplace entirely different than when I first visited. The map was grayed out, clearing only the places I had been to. And to top it all off, Caddie fancied himself a pirate now.

"Ahoy! I detect land." My minimap was still grayed out and there was nothing on the horizon. I kept it steady to just above sea level.

"Where?" I asked, filling my screen with the map and zooming out as wide as I could. The island cluster from my previous visit was six territories away. It would take north of 3 hours and I just had to get out.

"That's what I will say when I find something! Or would you rather, 'Land Ho!' It seemed too on the nose."

"I'd rather you not say anything until you actually see something. We have three hours to get out of here."

"Understood. I'll surprise you." A smiley face emoji pinged on my screen. That was new. As we flew, I tried to remember everything the academy said, but the lectures were so verbose and texts so meaty, it felt easier to just ask in the moment.

"Caddie," I said.

"Yes, Captain," said Caddie.

"I'm not a captain. So…I've been meaning to ask. Why does the dungeon provide weapons and frames. It's been an ongoing debate for a while but I'm just curious."

"I am unable to answer that question. Refer to my last that it would be genocide, otherwise."

"Okay, yeah. Sure. So, how do I get you to have access?" When Caddie went quiet after a question, it was easily interpretable as it processing an answer. It was quiet a long time.

"I suppose you could find an item companion augmentation called 'Overwrite.' It's probably the easiest." Like the message I saw when I first arrived. When it hijacked the on-board computer of the Gatherer. The message? It played so fast but was there a way to see it again?

"Theoretically then, if it's found. What could I make you do? Do you know how the item works?"

"Certainly. It provides three overrides to the Cradle AI on very specific triggers for activation. The more complex the override, the more specific the trigger has to be."

"And how would I find one? Is it on this floor?"

"Unfortunately, no. The soonest you may find one is on the eighth floor as it is a Secret Rare Cache."

"Who knows, maybe I can get enough good stuff to go down there, alone."

"Doubtful. Unwise. Arrogant and dismissive. They all describe your obvious disregard for safety. You have proven you can survive higher level enemies. But you will not thrive. Not alone. And my existence is tied to you. There are more choice words but I feel I've made my point." I paused, reeling. It's true that solo delving was fine in the first floors. But in the next few floors… First of all I didn't have good equipment. Secondly I had never been there. I stopped to think, who would want to squad up with me?

I was last in my class, just like how Caddie noticed. Other's wouldn't dig deep like Jacob. And would a new team leader want to have the lone survivor of his previous squad… Probably not. The tranquility before me was starting to catch up to me. I needed food. I needed sleep. I needed a bathroom. All these compounded thoughts swirled in my mind and I didn't notice the tentacle wrap around my frame, dragging me down. A thought invaded my memories as I sunk further down.

One from the academy for new pilots and a warning to the third floor. Don't fly too close to the water unless you have to. A mix of adrenaline and fear surged throughout my blood stream. A tentacle of the Kraken squeezed against the leg and the warning was flashing red on my screen. The thruster stopped responding and the shell of the leg cracked with ease. The dagger was caught in it's compartment and I couldn't squeeze it out. The light from the sun vanished over the waves and panic was setting in.

The crunch of the leg stressed the joints as it kept further wrapping itself. I kept slamming the button for the dagger but it didn't budge. The Frame creaked and groaned from it's lack of mass as I tried to push the appendage away. I pressed the dagger again and again, but it wouldn't dislodge. My breath was quickening and my thoughts were racing. Caddie was oddly quiet. I pressed every button on my hotbar in rapid succession. Caddie spit them out onto the mech as it ran down the mech.

The water had no effect on it. All the bars rose at roughly the same rate. The viscous goo reached the dagger compartment and on a push, gave way. Ever so slightly, but it did give way. I slammed the button again, creating a small gap where the door was slightly ajar. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Crunch. The leg the dagger was connected to crumbled in on itself. But it created just enough of an opening to yank the dagger free.

Another tentacle was reaching around the arm unit closest to it. Pulling. With the free arm, I unsheathed the dagger from the leg unit compartment and stabbed at the flesh holding my arm, pressing the button twice in rapid succession. A sound erupted from below me and my flashlight caught sight of the monstrosity before me. [lvl 45 Crystaline Kraken]: This monstrosity usually spends it's time sleeping. But occasionally, something will stir it awake enough for it to get hungry. In your case, it's the reset.

But on normal circumstances, a loud enough noise will have it investigate for it's next prey. It doesn't kill fast. It just pulls you down until you get tired. Or crushed. A massive head of an octopus with crystals encrusted on it's head leered it's yellow eyes at me. It moved with the ocean currents, it's large bulbous head jiggling to conformity. I sliced at the gaping wound the implosion had left. It continued to below out in pain. I pushed another mana cell on the hotbar and it refilled faster.

It would be another ten seconds before I could press the trigger again. It's grasp on my arm loosened with the loss of it's appendage. It swung me. Thrusting it's tentacle towards the sky and above the currents. The sun blinded me as I surfaced. Wham. I slammed back down and the bar was dropping further. The thrusters on the leg unit it had were gone. I stabbed at the flesh again and again, hazarding a glance at the creature. It's health was still very much in the green.

It was attempting to wrap itself around me again and it sounded like it was laughing. A gurgling laugh from the depths. I slammed the dagger onto the flesh again, slamming down on the trigger. I was still short on mana, barely. It wailed but it's grip didn't loosen. Slicing it off would take too long. I closed my eyes and slammed the dagger onto the leg of my mech and twisted. I pressed the trigger and the leg was gone. As soon as it was free, I pushed the throttle on the remaining thrusters to max.

It was like moving in slow motion. Time moved slower and slower. It was like it was moving backwards. The distance to the ocean surface seemed so far. I was eating energy faster than when I was carrying Phil. I held my breath as the light got brighter. The Kraken was racing with me. Reaching out to stop me. The water broke like from an explosion. I didn't stop. I rocketed up and kept going. The energy bar came back to something manageable. I was still catching my breath.

The thrusters and panting was the only noise for a minute. I didn't say another word, I pushed forward on the throttle that had become a proverbial limp. The timer kept ticking down faster than my energy bar. The repair cell wasn't going to rebuild a new leg and thruster unit. The only saving grace was it was a "below the knee" amputation. The sheath for the dagger was still intact, but I couldn't bring myself to put it away. Eric's words rang in my head like a warning.

He gave me two warnings actually, and I ignored them both. Thinking was getting hard after the adrenaline dump. My stomach rumbled in protest. The scene of forever ocean has a way of making the serene more peaceful. I had to fight back against exhaustion. Blinking myself awake. Until I couldn't keep them open anymore.

"Captain!" yelled Caddie, startling me awake.

"I see land Captain!" I brushed my hands against my eyes and blinked at the screen. [Reset Timer: 00: 14: 29] I cussed, slamming the throttle to get any more forward momentum. Just barely faster.

"Caddie," I said, still in a fog.

"How long until we get there?"

"Roughly six minutes. Luckily this is a smaller settlement with asphalt as opposed to Cardamas Island where you nearly collapsed after a leisurely stroll."

"I am not out of shape!" I yelled. The island grew larger and the bubble formed well before I got close. I didn't slow down until practically slamming onto the ground. I didn't care about moving the Frame after, letting the momentum carry me a few feet forward and closer to the village proper. [Indigo Island] [NOTE: FRAME WILL LOCK SHORTLY FOR NPC SAFETY] [THIS SETTLEMENT DOES NOT HAVE A REPAIR BAY] [YOU ARE IN A SAFE ZONE] Aegis crashed onto the ground, landing on it's side. Everything shook.

I slammed open the cockpit and jumped out, ignoring the zip-line. I ran, passing through the elves of the island that looked at me with confusion. The general shop was in some shack made of blue clay and a thatched straw roof. It was the only store here. I didn't wait for an introduction and slammed my hands on the table.

"I have stuff to sell! And I need an exfil." It was an elf man, slender form and short hair. He gave a curious look. [Reset Timer: 00: 03: 56]"Elvian custom demands we exchange names before engaging in commerce. It seems you lack proper decorum."

"I'm Stefano. A Delver. I'm in a hurry!"

"I am Kacinian Elder. My current title is Elder of Indigo Island. In Elvian custom, what you refer to as a surname is my occupation. I am the youngest-""Great story my guy. I really need to buy an exfil stone and get out of here."

"Youngest of my kin. I bid you an excellent morning, Stefano A. Delver. Your words are unknown to me. But I thank you in kind." He bowed. I was tapping my fingers on the counter at the same rate my foot kicked against the flooring. He produced a tablet and I snatched it from his hands. The inventory was loading. One second. Two seconds. [Reset Timer: 00: 02: 24] It loaded and I threw it back at him, yelling, "Exfil stone!"

"Of course. It appears you don't have enough credits-" I stopped him there. Grabbed hold of Caddie and yanked anything I could think of on the ground. I pulled faster and faster. Each crash was another precious second. Caddie flew from my grasp and muttered, "you look like a crazed animal."

"I'll trade all this in for an exfil stone!"

"That's too much. Are you sure?"

"Yes! Give me the exfil." He reached under his desk and was barely able to pull it up before I was already running towards the Aegis, Caddie already sucking it into the inventory. [Reset Timer: 00: 00: 58] I launched myself into the seat. I didn't even bother sitting down, slamming my hand onto the throttle to form the link. The cockpit closed and the screen popped into view. [Reset Timer: 00: 00: 08]"Caddie!" I yelled. I didn't have time to look through the inventory for it. It crashed onto into the Frame.

"Caddie!" I yelled again.

"This is so exciting!" yelled Caddie. [Reset Timer: 00: 00: 03] The world shook and my heart was at my chest. It pounded a thousand miles a minute at my rib cage. [Reset Timer: 00: 00: 02] Blue filled the screen. I couldn't tell what was the Aegis and what was the world. I couldn't breathe out the air I was holding in. Caddie said something. I didn't know what. I couldn't hear. [Reset Timer: 00: 00: 01] I braced for whatever came next.

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