Chương 5

Chapter 5" I can only reveal so much information here,"the drone began, relaying the words of [Technomancer]." There are ears spread throughout all biomes, watching us at all times." Oliver had to admit that made sense if they were meant to be subjects in some sort of sick experiment. But that hardly convinced him to blindly follow after the metallic device. He crossed his arms and gave the drone a skeptic look.

[Technomancer] clearly had some sort of visual camera attached to his machine because he responded to the change in posture." Yes. I understand your reluctance. Please hear me out. I cannot reveal everything; however, I can say a few of the broadstroke bullet points of my plan.

"The drone whirred and shifted in the air." I believe there may be a way in which to boost our levels quickly. A way that does not result in the deaths of other innocent experimentees."

"You have my attention."" Each biome is equipped with a special, hm, let's call it an 'artifact.' However, some of these artifacts are more accessible than others. It just so happens that you are the closest experimenter that fulfills the prerequisite skills to access your biome's area where the artifact is stored. While some of the other experimentees I've noted are close and likewise follow the theming of their biome's unique flavor, none quite fit my needs.

You are by far the best suited for recovering your artifact.

"There was a pause that Oliver took for a space for him to consider what was said. But Oliver remained silent and the drone continued, in a quieter, almost indiscernible mumble." Well… besides one. But my drones are not waterproof." Before Oliver had a response ready, a hand broke free of the soft dirt nearby. A zombie pulled itself out of its shallow, unmarked grave, gasping sightlessly in Oliver's direction. He spun on his heel and stabbed downward with his shovel, severing the undead's hands.

The silver edges of the shovel seared through the flesh with ease and the area was immediately coated in the scent of cooked flesh. A kill notification popped up. Apparently, despite not dealing a killing blow, his new skill let silver infect the lower leveled undead and drop them swiftly. Useful. He was pondering on that when another hand broke through the soil. And another. And another. Dozens. In moments, well over a hundred zombies had clawed their way out of their resting places."

Unfortunate,"[Technomancer] said through his drone." Judging by the few files I have on your biome, I believe the influx of nearby death has created a necromantic surge in the area. Does this match your experience?"

"They say death attracts death," Oliver muttered. It was a common phrase across this land. Before today, the largest hoard he'd witnessed had been a score strong. That had required every shred of talent and skill from him to defeat. This was already multiple times that number and the hoard's number continued to expand. And yet, Oliver felt confident he could take them all on. The destructive power of his new skill and his blunderbuss increased his odds against the hoard substantially.

He pointed his gun forward and prepared to fire. Then he hesitated. His bullets were a finite resource. His strength was a finite resource. All it would take is one mistake that could snowball into his death. The drone beside him buzzed, then a beam of light shot out and incinerated a zombie reaching for Oliver. Nothing but flakes of ash was left of the undead." I have 23 more shots remaining. If you wish, I will keep my drone here and assist you.

I can have another of my patrolling drones here in approximately seven minutes."

"No." Oliver sighed. He chopped downward, splitting open a zombie's skull.

"Let's do it your way. You want to speak in private. Then take me to your base." He repositioned himself and the drone's blades began madly whirling again as it prepared to carry his weight.

"Quickly," he encouraged the drone. A zombie lunged at him. One hand still on the drone's skids, he quick drew his blunderbuss and fired at the undead's head. Between the sudden shift in weight, and the recoil of his gun, the drone tilted to the side and zipped forward, dragging him diagonally. His legs slammed into three different zombies, the third one managing to grab ahold of his pant leg. It was dragged along the dirt, other zombies attempting to crawl over it to get at Oliver.

He frantically kicked with his free leg at the zombie clinging to him, the heel of his boot knocking out the majority of the undead's teeth. That, at least, made the subsequent bite into his calf hurt a great deal less. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The drone managed to right itself and started ascending. As it did, Oliver finally accomplished jerking his leg free from the undead's grasp. The stowaway fell onto its brethren below.

The fragile, half-rotted body fell apart on impact." Please refrain from any more sudden movements. My drones are not designed for this carry capacity." Oliver chose to respond to the sass with only a grunt. Instead of engaging in conversation, he watched the hoard of zombies as they chased after him. The swarm piled onto each other, trying fruitlessly to reach his height. There were hundreds of them risen from their graves. As they left behind the hoard, they flew past the Vampire Lord's castle.

If any villagers still remained in this now shrunken down nation, they were likely being held inside there and being used as livestock to feed the bloodsuckers." I will be largely silent on this journey,"[Technomancer] said." It saps my drone's energy to communicate and I believe that power is best spent transporting you. As it is, I believe I will need to trade you over to a fresh drone around the halfway point."

"Fine," Oliver said. His Strength kept his grip firm as they flew over the dead trees and patches of cemeteries. Oliver marveled at the fact this might be it. After so many years of suffering, he was actually leaving this cursed land of death and decay. Finally, after over an hour of flight, they crossed over a ridge and a whole new world spread itself out before his eyes. Oliver blinked rapidly and had to resist the urge to rub at his eyes.

Instead of the tones of gray he'd become so used to over the last few years, now vibrant purples, greens, blues, and yellows assaulted his eyes. A forest made solely of mushrooms. The fluorescent mushrooms gave the entire forest an ethereal glow. Unlike Oliver's dismal biome, this place was filled with life and movement. It was a marvel. He spent the next hour staring down at the forest. The canopy of giant mushroomtops was only broken by the occasional pool of water.

A weird flock of green ducks flew up from one such pond and joined their flight for quite some time before [Technomancer] spoke again and scared them off." We will touch base on one of the flat topped toadstools. The replacement drone is inbound as we speak. It will be a wait of no more than five minutes. Please wait here and do not delay." The drone began its descent toward a massive blue mushroom spotted with yellow polka-a-dots. As they approached, the drone jerked mid-air.

Oliver kept his grip, despite the turbulence. But that was far from the end of their problems.

"What—" Oliver started to say but stopped mid sentence at threat of biting off his own tongue. Their gradual descent sped rapidly into a barely controlled fall. Oliver braced himself as they collided into the mushroom's top. Oliver released his grip on the drone moments before they collided with the mushroom. As he fell, he rolled with the collision. Between his roll breaking his fall, his Resilience, and the surprisingly soft texture of the mushroom. Oliver found himself without even a scratch.

The same could not be said for the drone." Spore… inside… tech…" the drone got out between bzzts.

"You can't get too close to the fungus?" Oliver guessed through context." Affirma- bzzt."

"Fantastic." Oliver paced and twirled his shovel while he considered his next course of action. He knew the rough direction the drone had been heading. He could probably just head off in that direction until he made it out of the mushroom forest. The drone blinked with a yellow light and was still whining and whirling. One of the blades swished in the air while the other remained solidly stuck in the meat of the mushroom cap.

"If you can hear me, then know I will be coming to you, [Technomancer]. Wait for me at the edge of this biome."" Bzzzzzzzzrt."

"Glad we're on the same page." He took a few steps back, then dashed forward. At the edge of the mushroom cap, he leaped. His Strength and Dexterity stats worked in tandem to launch him as far as possible. Which equated to about six or so times a normal human's jump. When he landed on the next mushroom cap over, he immediately began to slip, the sloped surface covered in a mucus-like substance. On instinct, Oliver jabbed his shovel into the mushroom's flesh to keep himself in place.

He hung there for a minute while his muddy, black boots struggled to find purchase.

"This isn't going to work, is it?" he said to himself with a sigh. Carefully, he twisted his shovel and let gravity slowly lower him down the slope of the mushroom cap. His weapon left a rivet along the surface, scarring the massive fungus as he descended. Once at the edge, the lowest point possible, Oliver quickly scanned his landing options below and pushed off. He aimed for a patch of violet mushrooms roughly the same size as bushes.

At first when he slammed into them, he silently congratulated himself as they softened his impact. But as they crumpled under his weight, they released a cloud of spores into the air. Congratulations! You have defeated 3 Spore Scouts, level 18. You have been awarded [8] Mel. He blinked the kill notification away the moment it flashed over into the corner of his vision. As he rolled off the crushed shrooms, he whipped a handkerchief out of his front pocket and held it to his mouth.

The cloth stank of smoke and sweat but that was definitely a superior scent to whatever those spores in the air smelled like. Once he successfully put some distance between himself and his victims he considered the earlier notification. He'd killed plenty of plants in the last five years, and never once had one given him a notification. That implied that those mushrooms had been creatures. He glanced at his current surroundings.

While there weren't any shrooms of identical color and pattern to those he'd landed on, there were still plenty of others scattered across the forest floor. If he had to fear this place's fungus, then he was in trouble. Best to move on quickly and hope none of those squashed guys had friends who could track him down. The last thing he wanted right now was to pick a fight with an entire race of mushroom creatures.