Chương 34: Metal and Blood 1

Fizzy stared silently out of the stagecoach window. The lush layer of untamed greenery she'd been looking at ever since her departure from Azurvale four hours ago was slowly thinning out. As the gaps between trees and shrubs widened, they revealed distant peaks and rocky highlands with naught but moss and grass growing on them. The soil there was dry and gravelly, packed between mighty cliffs with very little room for vegetation to flourish.

Only the most basic and sturdy plants could grow there, and the wildlife followed suit. It was an inhospitable region known as Goroth's Palm, which was largely unremarkable aside from serving as the border between the Ishigar Republic and the Horkensaft Kingdom. Fizzy's stagecoach had yet to reach any official checkpoint, but it would not be long now.

"Yo, Fizzy!" the voice of Plus rang out in the golem's head.

"The girl just asked you a question!" The construct slowly shifted her gaze away from the window and looked towards her traveling companion. Jessiwick Wobblebang, or Jess for short, was a blonde-haired blue-eyed female gnome who was still very much in her prime. She had a face that bordered more on cute than beautiful, which was a bit at odds with her laborer-like attire.

The gray wool shirt, baggy burlap trousers and heavy boots were so entirely common that people on the street would pass her without a second thought if it wasn't for that face of hers. A face that was currently looking back at Fizzy with a genuinely worried expression.

"… Hmm? Sorry, what were you saying?" she finally responded.

"I asked if you're really fine with leaving so suddenly like that," Jess repeated herself.

"It's not too late to turn back if you're having second thoughts, you know."

"No, I'm certain. I need to move on." The golem leaned back into her seat, causing it to creak ominously as it strained under her weight.

"Surely you can work things out with Miss Morgana if you give it a bit of time, right?" offered the gnome.

"Leaving the country just because you had a falling out seems a bit extreme."

"Trust me, it isn't. I spared you the details, but it's bad."

"Bad enough that you can never be friends again?"

"Yes," the pint-sized Paladin returned her gaze to the window.

"That bad."

"Heh. Yeah, that's certainly one way of putting it," Plus rolled her imaginary eyes. What do you want me to say, huh?! Fizzy shouted internally. Oh hey, so my God's chosen Hero died yesterday. Also, by the way, that Hero was actually a treacherous monster and I not only knew that, but willingly assisted in its countless crimes. Whoops, my bad!

"Easy there, boss. I never said you should admit all that. I'm just saying I hope that excuse doesn't come back to bite us in the ass." What do you mean?

"We're fleeing the country the same day a big shot VIP died. That's suspicious as all hell, isn't it?" Oh, you're talking about the authorities? Those guys are a joke. I'm more concerned that whatever ended Boxxy might come after us, too.

"Oh. Huh. That's a good point, actually. I hadn't considered it." That just shows you got a lot to learn, rookie.

"Then I'm lucky to have such a great life coach to rely on!" Fizzy couldn't help but smile a bit at her alter ego's attempts to cheer her up. That only lasted for a moment before her face returned to its previous, stony expression. Both her head and the cabin remained silent afterwards, disturbed only by the gentle rattle and shaking of the stagecoach as it traveled along the paved road. However, rather than awkward, the silence felt succinctly more solemn on account of Fizzy's presence.

As a Paladin of considerable Faith (FTH), it was only natural that she would exude a subtle divine aura that promised to safeguard the faithful against harm. It was a Job she was personally given by the Goddess of Gambling herself to support the unstable deity's chosen Hero, and Fizzy had grown to enjoy that task quite a bit. She had really dedicated herself to it, body and soul.

And yet all her effort and hard work were proven to have been for naught, as that blasted box had gone off and gotten itself killed all on its own. SLAM Fizzy struck the side of the cabin with her fist in a fit of futile anger, nearly punching a hole straight through it.

"Waaaah! What was that for?!" squeaked Jess.

"Are you alright in there?!" the driver shouted from up front. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"We're fine!" the golem yelled back.

"Sorry about the racket!"

"Just don't break anything in there!"

"I won't! Sorry again!" The man let out a few more dissatisfied murmurs, though the wooden paneling between him and his passengers made it impossible to pick up on what he was saying.

"Seriously, what's going on with you?" the gnome pressed.

"I know we haven't known each other for long, but aren't you way too tense?"

"Yeah, well, you'd be on edge too if you suddenly lost something precious to you."

"O- Oh…" … Crap, did I just spill the beans? Fizzy internalized.

"I think you might have, yeah," Plus chimed in.

"Did it… hurt?" asked Jess hesitantly.

"Your arm, I mean."

"Oh! Looks like she misunderstood!" Yeah… I guess I'll just roll with it.

"Kind of… Golems don't feel pain. Not physically, anyway," the construct claimed.

"But emotionally? It's been hard. Harder than I thought it might be. I just can't settle down ever since I lost it. I mean, I hoped I could put it past me like all the other bad stuff in my life, but it's never that easy. Knowing that a part of me is missing and I can never get it back is… frustrating."

"Are… Aren't you just gonna get a new one?"Jess warily asked. Indeed, getting a replacement limb was one of the main reasons why Fizzy was headed for Horkensaft's capital, where the finest golem-smiths in the world resided.

"Sure. Maybe," the Paladin shrugged.

"But like, it's just a replacement. It'll never be the same. It can't fill this void left behind, and I feel like that loss will haunt me for the rest of my days."

"Wow… I never knew it meant so much to you."

"Neither did I. I guess it's true what they say. You take the things you have as granted, and it's only once they're gone that you realize how precious they are."

"… Are you sure you're still talking about the arm?" Plus gently asked. Who knows?

"I guess I may not be able to relate, but I think I get it," the gnome nodded.

"I'd probably feel like my life was over, too, if I lost an arm. An artisan's hands are their greatest asset, after all."

"Nope. Sorry to break it to you, but if you think that, then you are wrong."

"I am?"

"While hands and opposable thumbs are definitely important, all they ultimately amount to are extremely convenient tools. An Artificer's most vital part is, and always has been, their mind."

"It… Is that how it is?" Fizzy gave her companion a deadpan look of disbelief.

"Of course it is, moron. You don't keep blueprints and schematics under your fingernails, do you? It's not your pinky that tells you how much Firedust is too much Firedust, and it's not your knuckles that turn an idea into an invention."

"Ah… I guess I've never thought of it that way. I've always been a more 'hands on' person, you know?"

"Well, you better grow out of it, and soon. You won't make it far as an Artificer unless you learn to work smarter, not harder." Jess nodded rapidly, her eyes positively sparkling after hearing such sage insights from the senior inventor.

"Just can't help but act the Mentor, can you?" the alter ego teased. Yeah, well, I guess I still have a knack for teaching. She had that talent ever since she was a meatbag, and though it persisted, her motivations hadn't survived the transition into golemhood. Before it was all about the joy of passing knowledge along and watching students improve. But now, being a Mentor was more about prestige.

Showing off her own skills and brilliance to impressionable minds was more important than passing along any actual knowledge. That was why Fizzy's current long-term plan was to aim for tenure at Horkensaft's Royal Institute of Technology, or 'the Ritz' for short. It was an academic institution that also carried out a fair amount of research and development. Participating in that second part was the golem's ultimate goal, but she had to contribute to the first as well.

This meant she'd probably be saddled with a bunch of idiots that didn't know a lug nut from a flange. Admittedly she didn't need to go through all that trouble to gain renown. Her radiant mithril frame was already blatantly worthy of worship by itself, but the woman buried deep underneath that shiny exterior also wanted to be recognized for her intellect.

"Seriously though, that was very nicely put!" exclaimed Jess.

"'Smarter not harder!' It's brilliant! Guess you really are a Fizzlesprocket!" The gnome's excited smile rapidly diminished into a panic as she realized she just uttered the F-word.

"I'm sorry!" she apologized immediately.

"I didn't mean to say that! Please forgive me!"

"Calm down, Jess. It's alright," Fizzy reassured her.

"I'll probably be hearing that a lot once we get to Gun Tarum, so I might as well get used to it. At least until I get it changed."

"Oh, right." There was a brief moment of silence as Jess worked up the nerve to speak her mind.

"Can I ask a personal question?"

"I guess."

"Why do you want to distance yourself from your clan so much? I mean, I'm sure they'll welcome you back with open arms if you just gave them a chance. You can easily get into the Ritz if you had their help."

"… Maybe, but that would defeat the purpose of the exercise."

"Huh?"

"It's like… How can I possibly hope to achieve true greatness if I'm constantly relying on others?" she explained.

"Would a soldier who readily accepts a medal he didn't earn still have the right to call himself a soldier? Would the people who climb mountains feel like they've accomplished something if someone else just flew them up to the peak?"

"Uh… No?"

"That's right - they wouldn't!" she suddenly stood up.

"Glory has to be earned, and I want to seize mine with my own hands. I'm going to climb that mountain under my own power, and I'm going to plant my flag at the top and proudly declare, 'This is mine!' I'm going to make of my own destiny instead of letting someone else hand it to me!" There was another moment of silence while Jess processed that tirade and Fizzy settled back into her seat.

"You, uh, are we still talking about the Fizzlesprockets?" The golem turned away from the gnome and rested her shiny face against the glass window.

"Who knows?"