Chapter 43: Chapter 43: The Old You, and the New Me

Artie arranged to take his associates further than they had ever gone before. His domain would make travel comfortable and safe for those within the building. He was slightly concerned about how the citizens would react to a guild house flying over their town, but he drove the worry aside.

The controls were like an invisible handle; he could direct it in different directions, speed up, or slow down.

They impatiently departed on their short travel. Maintaining a steady pace south of the town and passing over the vibrant forest.

After a short survey from above, Artie located and landed the guild house in an inactive clearing. Since there weren't any enemies near, he could extend his domain and allow the researchers the freedom to explore. From there, he spent the next hour standing guard while they made discoveries and accomplished their quest.

As they completed their objective, the sheet dissolved into glowing particles. Then, the luminous dust clustered and formed the promised coins.

Herbalists, geographers, and other land-oriented classes could efficiently work without sentient subjects. In contrast, things were complicated for the zoologist because they needed a close analysis of living creatures.

The best way for this was for Artie to draw enemies to the field and then kill them with his tripled status. It was also an opportunity to test his strength and determine if monsters were programmed to bypass player domains.

After instructing the noncombatants to wait inside, Artie took position at the northern edge of his domain.

He electrified his right hand, drew it back like a pitcher, then heaved it forward. A radiant, 20 feet-wide diagonal wave of lightning hurled through the thick trees and eradicated the undisturbed greenery.

A contorted smirk transitioned across his face as he watched the discharge travel as far as a stadium before gradually fading out.

His attack had been much fiercer than expected, but it was empowering. Another draw of his hand, and Artie sent another burst of electricity into the forest, annihilating trees and burning down bushes and grass.

It was effortless. So easy to destroy the life the Ai had created. So freeing to watch it burn.

"Is this how you felt when you sentenced all those humans to die?" He thought.

"Course not; machines don't feel."

The repeated attacks got the message across, and Artie could hear screeches, shrieks, and roars resound from every direction. Still, he persisted, charging up and blasting the forest with his left hand as well.

"Magnificent!" Rachel yelled, sticking her head from a window.

Artie's subtle smile shifted into a grin. His eyes squinted in amusement, and he hovered his crackling hands over each other.

"This is nothing," he said, doubling down on his attack potency.

Sets of stomping on the east side of the domain alerted his ears. Instead of relocating to meet it, Artie accumulated a mass of energy with his hands, then launched it in the direction of the incoming threat.

Charring the ground as it launched, an unstable ray of bedazzling golden lightning flung toward the east border and detonated. The combustion completely razed any living entities that existed within its immediate radius.

"Sick," he boasted, cracking his knuckles as he emitted more destructive energy from his black claws. Drawing from a seemingly infinite fuel source.

At the cue of more approaching enemies, Artie Dug his heels, then lunched in a linear path toward the threats. He covered dozens of yards in seconds but with little control. The ground split, and he propelled far past his course and landed outside his territory.

"Dammit," he snarled, docking his feet on grass and skidding several feet before anchoring.

It was sickening to leave his field and suddenly return to being feeble. When he glanced ahead and saw giant purple-spotted serpents incoming, he felt inept and incapable of slaying them.

Violent hissing and hustled slithering pulled him back into gear, and Artie quickly withdrew into the domain. After recovering his boosted status, he charged, then slashed a wave that obliterated the darting snakes.

When Laria noticed the uproar had become out of hand, she shouted from a window for him to quell. A couple of monsters was one thing, but she worried he might summon a God-type.

"So what," he replied, tensing his fingers and seizing even more energy.

With a swipe of his claws, another part of the forest was demolished. His tail wagged, and he chuckled, indulging in the ecstasy of overwhelming power.

A silent alarm went off within his chest every time a new entity entered his space. Within seconds of their arrival, he slaughtered them. After minutes of slaying monsters, he still felt lively, as if he could go for hours, days, weeks of carnage.

The monster wolves, boars, goblins, he'd recalled them all as he slew the invaders. Not just their appearances, but he remembered the physical and phycological pain they inflicted on him.

Something in his mind became hazed. He stopped seeing, feeling, and hearing the same. Like a soft pillow was placed over his senses. It obstructed his unneeded reasoning while he mindlessly rampaged.

"Artie!"

"Stop!"

A delicate yet forceful embrace at his rear thwarted him just as he recoiled his arm.

"This isn't you; stop," Laria sobbed, tightening her clutch around his waist and yanking his set claw.

The searing flame that was his bloodthirst cooled when he was seized by her. It grounded him, and he clearly witnessed the damage he'd done. Plants, animals, monsters, everything was ruined.

Both of his arms went limp and fell to his side. He thought about what Laria said and judged she was wrong. Even after coming to, he didn't feel remorse; in fact, he felt relieved. If the creator of all that life watched, he hoped it wept like Laria.

Artie solidified the barrier around the building and stopped any monsters from entering. Then the researchers came out and observed the massacre. A total of 61 corpses and 8 different classifications of creatures were laid to waste.

Laria was part of the group that benefitted from the identification of monsters, so Artie separated himself from her before mumbling aloud.

"You have work to do."

The woman dried her fair-skinned face, then nodded. All the researchers put on gloves and then went to work. Sketching the monsters that weren't entirely mangled, dissecting the bodies, and collecting any valuable parts.

Meanwhile, Rachel overwhelmed Artie with questions and tests. Despite how many he'd killed, his level progress bar had only advanced 9%.

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The zoologist, however, leveled up at least 5 times. All except Laria, who only went up once. They were creatures she hadn't seen before, but their level was no higher than 7, which also played a large role in the experience gained.

 

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After the blood bath, Artie felt detached and wanted nothing more than time alone to ruminate on his feelings.

All the members finished their assignments and were returning to their guild house when Artie picked up a distant disturbance and stopped in his tracks.

It was too far away for others to sense, but Artie heard a loud rumble from miles out. He'd typically brush it off, but knowing Sebastian and Mayumi were in the forest made it difficult to dismiss.

Uneasy, he called the workers and conveyed his thoughts. He notified them they would be traveling toward the commotion, but he intended to leave them at a safe distance and go alone.

Once everyone was on board, he compressed the domain, and they vacated the wasteland.

Artie sat outside in solitude with his head buried in his knees. Only picking his face up occasionally to ensure they did not crash into a tall tree.

Three gloomy minutes after their departure, the door opened and outstepped Rachel. He approached while rubbing her hands together in what looked like prayer.

"Please, please, take me with you!"

"No," Artie bluntly mumbled.

Rachel dropped her arms disappointedly. She strode behind him, leaned over, and started massaging his tensed shoulders.

"You know."

"I could just follow you on my own," she said, so presumptuous that he could hear the smile on her face.

Artie sunk more into his limbs with heavy sighs. He knew he had no right to enforce what she did. Nevertheless, he wished she and everyone else would simply stay put. The friends he'd made were all he had left in the world, and without them- Well, human connection is what makes humans human.

"What's wrong with you..." He murmured.

"Why risk your life out here? You're not even a hunter."

The woman's meaningless massage ended, and she lowered to her knees. Both her arms gently wrapped around his neck, and Artie felt her chest press against his back. Rachel's head settled on his shoulder, and she cheekily asked.

"Before I answer your question, can you answer one of mine?"

His head bobbed forward in agreeance, and Rachel whispered clearly in his ear.

"Why did you assume all humans wanted to be saved from this world?"

Her words were a complete 180 from what he'd expected. The woman's friendly touch contradicted her severe and compelling question, and Artie found no answer to offer.

"I truly am sorry for the life you've led here. But-" she paused and adjusted her head to become more comfortable.

"It has been a fresh start for some of us."

"My life was miserable before. As a child, I dreamed of excelling in science. But, I struggled on every corner. My GPA was dangerously low despite sleepless nights and regular tutoring. I was stupid, Artie."

"I cried so much, expressed my woes to my father, who pulled every string he could to get me a job after flunking college."

"I reimagined myself. I worked even harder, dressed the part, and even started wearing these fake glasses to fit in with the other intelligent employees."

"Still, they probably all knew. Oscar definitely didn't hesitate to criticize me."

"Then, the world ended. I arrived here on Earth-Two, discovered the moonstone, and immediately became recognized."

"Now I can learn languages in mere days and solve equations that scientists have died without never cracking; Artie, I am a genius."

Following a tight squeeze of his upper body, Rachel released her grasp and withdrew.

"I strive to be recognized and praised for my knowledge. It's a new and pleasing sensation, so I'll continue to go to great lengths to earn it."

Rachel concluded, and despite Artie's grayness, she was colorful. The woman assured him that she would continue to assist him out of appreciation for protecting her throughout her pursuit of learning. But, she had no intention of returning to Earth because she feared losing her enhanced mind.

"It's true..." Artie thought.

"I created this glorious mission without even considering how anyone else felt."

"I've been selfish."

"I wonder if the others feel the same..."

With forest disturbance becoming closer by the second, Artie repressed his thoughts on the matter and readied for what was to come. Still, the idea never left his mind, and he wondered.

"Do I truly know anything about the people I've spent the last six months with?"

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