Chapter 14: Chapter Fourteen: Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto

            What came around the curve of the hall wasn’t a lot of rats—it was a giant, disgusting rat amalgamation. As if someone had taken hundreds of rats and fused them together in the vague shape of a giant rodent—and since the component rats were all the size of small dogs, the combined monstrosity had to weigh nearly a ton.

            Leo used a touch of essence on it, reaching out with his Mind magic ability, analyze.

Blood Amalgarat
Level 7	Entropy	Health: 60	Stamina: 10	Essence: N/A
Physical Attacks: Bite: Damage 1-8 + 1-2 (1-10 times), bleed effect per bite (Toughness check +4) Claw: Damage 1-6 + 1-2 (1-6 times), bleed effect per bite (Toughness check +4) Tail: Damage 1-6 +1-2 (1-6 times), bleed effect per bite (Toughness check +4) Magical Attacks: N/A			Defenses: Cold: 10 Entropic: 4
Special Abilities: Thel’s Rot: Any target that takes actual damage must make a +2 Toughness check or suffer Thel’s Rot.			Awkward Amalgamation: -20% accuracy
The previous demonic rats weren’t enough, so you just had to go find more, huh? This idiocy is why no one likes you.   This is just a lot of said rats squished together, like a conjoined twin if there were a hundred and it had been fed on evil the entire time it’d been in the womb.   Try not to let in sit on you. It would be like that scene in 1984 when they put the cage on the guy’s face and let the rats run at him. Only without the scathing social commentary.

 

            “It’s Level Seven,” Leo said, readying himself. “And it has a ridiculous amount of health.”

            “So, we run?” Hugh asked, stepping back.

            “We can’t run if we have a chance to win. We’ve covered this. We need to get down there now, before all those other cities and nations and powers arrive. And this thing is occupying the main entrance tunnel—it’s a non-optional encounter.”

            “Leo, this is higher level than us. We could die.” Hugh’s voice quavered. He took another step back.

            “I know you’re young, buddy, and I’m sorry you need to deal with this. But it’s time to put your big boy pants on. We must become reapers of rats.”

            “Was that supposed to sound inspiring?” Lily asked as she stepped to his side with a flip of her hair. “I suppose it did do its job of dispelling fear by amusing me.”

            Despite her bravado, Leo heard the tightness in Lily’s voice as well.

The rat slowly and ponderously moved forward, its hundreds of jaws all slavering.

            Leo motioned Lily back. “I appreciate the bravery and commitment, but this monstrosity’s main attack hits multiple times for low damage. Armor will be unusually effective against it, and without armor, you’ll be instantly toast.”

            Leo turned to Hugh and nodded him toward the rat blob. “That also means that if you’re completely covered in scales as strong as plate armor, you have a great match-up against the beast. This thing has a very poor matchup against the armored tank types if my analyze is anything close to accurate.”

            Hugh stopped backing away and took a step forward. “Thanks, Leo.”

            Leo nodded. As for me, I need to avoid getting hit. It’s already slow and I’m crazy agile, so hopefully, I can use that to my advantage.

            The amalgarat continued slowly making its way down the tunnel.

            “Go left, Hugh, and I’ll go right.”

            Hugh nodded, and then charged as Leo did.

            Stay mobile, stay mobile, Leo chanted to himself as he ran. The creature reared back, lifted its paw, and brought it down, hard, at Leo.

            But the attack was telegraphed, and Leo moved to the side easily. As he did, he slashed the beast across its flank, nearly gagging as he cut apart the numerous smaller rats that made up its body. Tiny little rat organs and limbs fell from the gash he’d inflicted.

            He noted and dismissed the seven damage notification.

            He ran with the rat as it circled toward him, striking it again for another six damage. Then tens of little rat mouths all screamed and it circled in the other direction, away from Leo. Hugh must have hit its other side. We’re going to win!

            He’d forgotten the tail, which whipped out and slammed him across his chest, wrapping around. The hit did light damage through the armor as a bash, but the rats managed a bite on his exposed underarm as well. Leo began bleeding again.

            Frik! And at this point, I’m nearly a petri dish for Thel’s Rot to boot, which is just gross.

            Leo stumbled back, blood pouring from under his left arm. I wonder if it’ll make the same attack again? Leo pricked the rat in the same place, prepared. When the tail came around again, exactly as before, he brought his sword down on the single-rat-thick tail and severed it. That weapon is gone—its rear is defenseless.

            That’s what he said? Leo laughed at himself awkwardly, even during combat.

            The rat stayed focused on whatever was happening with Hugh, and Leo slashed it across the haunches, cutting apart more of the component rats. His sword rose and fell again and again, the tiny mouths screeching non-stop now in a disturbing chorus of animal screams, his attacks more like butchery than combat.

            Finally, the rat blob slumped to the ground.

That was level. Leo dismissed the notifications. The monster being higher level made a pretty big difference—that was a huge chunk of experience.

Hugh was fairly battered, scales cracked in places, and he was favoring his right foreleg. Lily came up and healed first Leo and then Hugh. “I leveled and I’m going to take capacity again, so I’ll have one more heal and the mushrooms—then we’re out.”

Leo nodded. “How much farther to the vault?”

With a sigh, Lily motioned away from them. “It’s still a fair distance.”

“Hooray!” Hugh said, his voice absolutely dripping with sarcasm.

            Lily crossed her arms. “Well, I made Three, and you guys are about to make Level Four and Six respectively, right?”

            “I mean, I’m close,” Hugh said. “Plus, remember, it’s just Level One for me even if I’m treated as Six.”

            Leo held up a finger. “Actually, I made Level Four. And I had a thought.”

            “Hooray,” Hugh said again sarcastically. “I can’t wait for your thought. I’m sure it’ll save us all.”

            “I can take Regeneration, Rank I. I can use it to heal myself, which eliminates bleed damage, right?” Leo shot his companions a smile.

            Lily nodded.

            “So, I avoid the bleeds, and Lily can save her remaining essence for healing Hugh, who doesn’t take as much damage anyway. And I can heal people if there’s an emergency with you two as well.”

            Lily stared at Leo with suspicious eyes. “If you’re going to be focusing on a telekinetic build, this hurts your long-term chances. But I have a more pressing question. You’ve already acknowledged Mind and Wyld magic. Now you’re claiming a Body magic ability… and you asked about how many items a five-magic person could use. So…”

            “So?” Leo asked to buy a tiny bit of time for him to think, even though he knew what Lily wanted.

            “So, how many magics do you have? Is it five?”

            I need to trust her and have her trust me. Even if it irritates her, I need to tell her the truth.

            “Yes, five.”

            “Which?” Lily asked, her voice soft.

            “Body, Mind, Soul, Metal, and Wyld,” Leo said.

            “Not even an Elemental magic among them,” Lily muttered, then, louder, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

            That was the question Leo had dreaded. “Well, you never asked, and honestly, I thought it might upset you if I had five magics. You’ve seemed touchy about your status once or twice.”

            Lily frowned. “I’m not touchy about my status, just aware of it and the burdens it carries. Also, Hugh said you came from a non-magical world. Was that a lie?”

            “No, absolute truth. There is literally, one hundred percent totally, no magic on my world.” He shrugged afterward.

            “So you really are a dirt grubber?”

            “No. We have extremely advanced versions of what this world calls the ‘Natural Sciences.’ We have carriages that move themselves through mechanical and”—there’s no word for ‘chemical’ in Middle Averian—“alchemical means. I was an expert in two separate forms of those natural sciences, which is why I was so educated. But not an ounce of magic, I promise. Also, as much as I’d love to discuss all of that, we really, really need to complete this quest. I’m going to weaken my build just to pull it off, so let’s get that done, okay?”

            Lily hesitated but nodded. “Very well. But afterward, I want to question you about your world and knowledge extensively. I’m sure the reborn Averian Empire could benefit, and I confess a burning scholar’s passion as well.”

            “Heh, I knew it,” Hugh said. “Always thinking about breeding.”

            “Scholar’s passion, you filthy-minded wyrm.” Lily’s cheeks heated. She glanced at Leo, and when their eyes met, immediately glanced away again.

            “I’m just yanking your chain.” Hugh laughed. “Shall we go see how many times Leo has to get cut up and heal to get us to the vault? I mean, he does owe you for not telling you about his magics, right?”

            Dammit, Hugh.

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***

            The answer, it turned out, was nine. Nine fights that wounded Leo, and another eight he emerged unscathed from. They were all with lesser creatures, and Leo was still a touch short of Level Five despite a whole host of things dying by his blade.

Glad the answer wasn’t forty-two, Leo quipped to himself as he lay on the ground a few hours later, resting up from the latest fight and waiting for Hugh to return from a quick scouting run. He had a single essence left, thanks to healing and his earlier uses of analyze—although he had learned that the normal essence recovery rate was twelve per day. They were waiting here for him to regain a second essence so he would have a single use of regeneration during the fight.

They had delved quite deep on the path to the vault. Lily knew the routes to take, or claimed she did, but without them, Leo would have been lost forever. The undercity was massive, and the Ancient Ones had used twisting, organic paths, like a huge rabbit’s warren, for their city. There wasn’t any organization that Leo could figure out.

Audrey and I could spend forever trying to figure out the logic of this species, just as a mental exercise. Although I’m starting to sense Lily might have enjoyed the puzzle right beside us.

Leo turned sideways to Lily. “For the record, when you’re the queen, you should build a new vault, even if it has less magical juju. No amount of protection can be worth this trek.”

Lily was exhausted as well. She was almost without essence, despite making Level Four and spending even more points into capacity. And she had the weaker Stamina and Toughness of the elves, and her face was lined with exhaustion. And also covered in sweat and dirt. Her metallic-silver hair was caked to her face and shoulders as she sat against a wall beside Leo, and her blue eyes were dull.

Lily sighed. “If you’d have said that a few hours ago, I would have laughed at you, but I’m starting to perceive your plan’s merit.”

“Merit, yes, merit!” Leo said in a deranged voice, then laughed at his own joke.

Lily’s eyes widened and she stared at him, communicating that he was, in fact, insane.

“Sorry, reference to something from my childhood.”

Hugh came crawling back down a set of stairs and into the room.

“So, good news, bad news. I found the vault we want, but there’s a fifteen-foot golem, made of iron, guarding the door.”

“It won’t attack us,” Lily said. “It was put there to guard the royal family’s vault and discourage trespassers.”

“It has a red glow about it, and I smelled incense.”

Lily said something very unladylike, and Leo blinked before chuckling.

“So, anyone know how to fight a golem?” Leo asked. “Because if it’s corrupted, it’ll likely attack us.”

“Most golems have extremely high resistances,” Lily said. “They’re basically just living suits of armor. This one isn’t any different. It’ll be near invulnerable, but it’ll be slow. That’s the only advantage we’ll have.”

Hugh snorted, his scales on end. “Let me guess. We still can’t retreat?”

“You’re learning,” Leo said in a saccharine voice. He stood up just to pat Hugh on his head. Then he glanced down at Lily. “On a more serious note, I got that second essence.”

Lily met his eyes. “Same here. One regeneration each is now available.”

“Joy,” Hugh said.

Lily struggled to her feet beside Leo and dropped the magic sword in the dress-fragment sling over her shoulder again. “Well, shall we?”

Leo nodded. Hugh slowly turned back to the stairs.

They climbed the stairway and passed through a small tunnel. Hugh led the way as they exited into the underground city, like something out of a fantasy. The central plaza was wildly cracked, small fragments of stone over a dirt-filled cavern, and a few mushrooms of bizarre appearance grew in the cracks. A single fifty-foot statue in the center, of a reptilian upper body on top of a giant snake tail, held a glowing orb aloft, providing light to the entire cavern. The tail was fractured and damaged, and the statue teetered dangerously.

The outer ring of the city was clearly comprised of shop fronts, most shattered. The few that remained were impressive in disturbing ways. Skull motifs, lizard-people, and depictions of sacrifices were common, and most of the statues had domineering purposes—lizard-folk towering over or slaying other races.

At the far end, almost dead across the cavern from Leo, stood a large structure of melted black stone, similar to obsidian, flush against the cavern wall. In front of it was the fifteen-foot-tall statue that Hugh had seen. It was made of iron, but it glowed red ever-so-slightly. The color didn’t imply heat—there was something sickly about it. The same glow Leo had seen in the depths of the Demon Scar ravine.

            Leo strode forward. “Stick and move, people. I’m going to try to engage its attention, since I think this is the one time that Hugh’s armor won’t help much. Rely on speed as much as possible. A hit could finish any one of us.”

            Leo picked his way forward across the ruined plaza, sword held at his side. He walked up to the golem, prepared. When he came within about fifty feet of it, the golem lurched to life, heading for him.

            “Look alive!” Leo yelled.

            “I wasn’t about to play dead,” Hugh muttered, moving to the side as Leo strode forward.

            The golem lifted its arm ponderously and swung down at Leo. He leapt to the side, easily dodging. But the blow to the ground was so hard, he felt the reverberations as he landed, and he tripped on a shattered paving stone.

            How do I fight this thing?

            He rolled, easily getting to his feet as the giant golem raised itself up again. He rushed in and smashed his sword against the creature’s shin. His only reward was a sword that vibrated so hard, he hurt his hands and almost dropped it. He saw the leg start to pick up, gears inside the knee joint spinning.

            Frik!

            The creature shifted its leg sideways, and Leo tried to jump back again. The leg clipped his left arm as he jumped back, spinning Leo around. Leo’s whole arm went numb from the blow, and he rolled across the floor. His notification informed him of his penalties and taking four damage.

            Hugh rushed the statue from behind, slamming into it while it was on one leg. The statue went down with a thundering crash.

            But it started to get up again. Hugh bit and clawed at it, obviously going full strength, to no avail.

            We are way under-leveled for this fight, Leo thought, and unprepared. I should have listened to Hugh.

            Leo pushed essence into regeneration, and his arm started to heal. He rushed back into the fight, turning his sword straight down and stabbing it into the foot of the massive statue, using every ounce of power his newly strengthened elven body could muster.

            The sword skidded out from his hands, shooting off to the side. Technically, he had scratched the golem—a tiny groove, barely more than enough to make the metal shiny again rather than dull with age.

            Okay, we’ve moved from ‘under-prepared’ to well and truly boned.

            Leo leapt aside just as the gears in the knee started to turn, and the kick missed him.

            Hugh charged back toward the golem, but it had been prepared. Its fist started down just as the dragon rushed it.

            Leo screamed, “No!” as the fist crashed down. It was just a touch slow and caught one of Hugh’s hindlegs as he rushed in. Hugh screamed as his hind claw was pulped.

            Leo grabbed his sword, his mind rushing, as the gears in the creature’s leg started to turn again.

            Wait, gears in the leg—Lily said magic items don’t decay! Maybe they’re damage resistant as well!

            Even as the machine pivoted, Leo ran up, praying to whatever gods were listening that his body’s Agility would be enough. He aimed the sword at the golem’s leg joint, altering the speed of his strike just so, and rammed the sword into the knee, sticking it through a hole in one gear.

            With a horrible screech of metal, the statue’s leg ground to a halt, unable to bend in any direction, and its attempt to smash Hugh turned into a faltering crash to the ground. Hugh squealed at an octave Leo didn’t think the dragon could reach as he barely dodged to the side, tumbling as the ground shook from the crash.

            Lily rushed over and placed her hands on Hugh, whose foot started to inflate, a notably gross sight.

            But Leo was distracted, knowing the next move in his game against this foe that wildly outmatched him. He rushed over, ripped Hugh’s sword from Lily’s back to her yelp of surprise, and turned, rushing to the golem as it tried to rise. As it did, Leo aimed for the other leg and slammed Hugh’s sword through the gears of that one.

            The golem’s leg stopped working, and it crashed back to the ground again.

            But it swung out with its arm. Leo was off-balance and took the blow. It hit like a Mack Truck on Leo’s left side. He went careening back across the ground, eight health of ten gone. His  ribs were broken, his left arm shattered, and his left leg was also twisted in an unnatural way.

            Wiping dust and blood from his face, Leo struggled to his feet as the golem tried to struggle to its own. As Leo started to hobble backward, away from the golem, it gave up its attempts to stand and started yanking itself along the ground after Leo. The horrible screeching as it dragged its metal body across the broken stone was nearly an attack in and of itself. Hugh ran up, grabbed a loose cobblestone, and smashed it down on the creature after winding up the attack from deep in left field, but it still did nothing.

            How the hell do I defeat this Tolkien style terminator? Terrible fear joined the pain to nearly paralyze Leo. The thing is freaking invulnerable, and it won’t stop!

            Even as he hobbled backward, his leg screaming in pain, Leo desperately cast his eyes around, seeking salvation. Lily watched with wide eyes, her hands clasped in front of her, silently mouthing “no” over and over. Hugh was desperately, but ineffectually, trying to smash the golem, which now seemed purely focused on Leo. The giant statue, the shattered stone houses, the broken ground…

            Leo flared with hope. Physics. It always comes down to physics or chemistry, ultimately, when you want to destroy something. This time, it’s physics.

            Leo changed directions slightly as he continued to limp backward. “Leave off it, Hugh, and head to the center of the cavern!”

            Leo pointed.

            Hugh’s eyes fixated on Leo for a second before he bared his teeth and ran toward where Leo had directed him, his tail swishing violently behind him.

            The iron monstrosity continued to haul itself forward, and Leo continued to slowly walk himself backward. Finally, he bumped up against the foot of the giant statue of the snake person.

            “Now, Hugh, push it over!”

            Leo couldn’t see what happened, but a resounding crash and crack told him that Hugh had done what had been needed. Leo leapt to the side as the giant, fifty-foot-tall statue fell—its outstretched arm, torso, and head on a collision course with the golem.

            The world shook as the statue slammed down through the golem, the magical, glowing orb in its hand spearheading its plunge. Dust and rock exploded everywhere, and the cavern plunged into near-darkness, only a few beams of dim light emanating from the body of the golem, where the arm of the statue was now buried. Then the arm cracked, and the rest of the statue crashed down on the golem, burying it and the light source entirely.

            The experience notification box gave Leo a whopping eight hundred and thirty-two experience, pushing him up two levels.

            The world settled into a calmness that seemed unnatural after the sound and thunder of a moment before.

            Leo sneezed as the dust swirled around him.

            “By Merdrek’s Scaly Prick!” Hugh screamed from behind Leo. “You’re a freaking avatar of battle! I just made two levels! Two! That thing was so far above us we should’ve been meat paste and you murdered it like it was nothing!”

            Leo just about peed himself from Hugh’s surprise outburst, but he managed to smile. Although his two remaining health—and constant state of agony—told him it hadn’t been ‘nothing.’

            “I might just have an affinity for this stuff,” Leo said, absurdly pleased with himself despite the pain radiating from half his body.

A small pool of light approached, and Lily came out of the darkness, her lantern shining.

She smiled at him, her blue eyes shining near to matching the lantern. “It was an impressive victory. I mean, I’m impressed. Just so, extremely, impressed.”

“Are you sure you’re impressed?” Hugh joked. “I couldn’t tell from that little speech.”

Lily ignored him, smiling at Leo. “Shall we go claim our reward?”

“Yes!” Hugh cried out. “Dragon needs a new hoard!”

“I’m going to take capacity again for my level stat. Shall I use it to heal you?”

            Leo nodded so hard, he worried he might cost himself another health.

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