novelraw Chapter 53: The Graveyard!
Chapter 53: The Graveyard!
The air that drifted out of the hidden tunnel was different. The main hallway smelled of dry dust and ozone.
This new tunnel smelled... old. It smelled of rust and oil. It smelled like an old factory that had been left to rot for a thousand years.
He activated [Omnivision]. He pushed his senses down the dark corridor. He didn’t pick up any life forms immediately. But he picked up vibrations. Heavy, rhythmic vibrations.
THUD... THUD... THUD...
It felt like giant footsteps, but they were too heavy to be flesh and bone. They felt like metal striking stone.
Daniel looked down at the floor of the tunnel entrance. The dust here was disturbed. He crouched down to get a better look.
There were marks on the floor. Deep, parallel gouges cut into the stone. They looked like claw marks, but they were too clean, too precise.
"Metal claws," Daniel analyzed. "Something dragged itself through here. Or something dragged a heavy object." Next to the claw marks, he saw a piece of debris. He picked it up.
It was a piece of torn metal plating. It was twisted and scorched, as if it had been ripped off by brute force. He turned the metal over in his hand. It was high-quality alloy, better than anything he had seen in the Academy armory.
This wasn’t natural armor. This was technology.
"Robots?" Daniel wondered. "Or someone in power armor?" Whatever was down there, it was big. The vibrations were getting stronger, shaking the dust on the floor. It was definitely larger than the Lithovore Stalkers. And it was definitely more dangerous.
A normal aspirant might have turned back. A normal student would have taken the loot from the Stalkers and gone back to safety to rest. But Daniel wasn’t normal anymore.
He dropped the piece of scrap metal. He drew his Vibro-Knife with his right hand and unslung his Skyreaver Bow with his left, holding it ready.
Daniel took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the scent of oil and danger. He stepped across the entrance, leaving the blue-lit hallway behind, and walked into the darkness of the hidden tunnel.
The darkness of the hidden tunnel felt different from the rest of the Astral Verge.
He walked carefully, placing his boots on the metal floor plates that lined the center of the passage.
Daniel kept his eyes on the wireframe map floating in his mind. The shard he had assimilated earlier was guiding him. It showed the path ahead, a straight line that led deeper into the earth.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The rhythmic vibrations grew louder with every step. Dust fell from the ceiling in small, grey showers.
"Whatever is down here must be scary," Daniel thought.
He pushed his [Omnivision] forward. The tunnel opened up ahead. Daniel reached the end of the tunnel and stopped behind a pile of rusted pipes.
He looked out into the cavern. His eyes widened. "A graveyard," he whispered.
The cavern was enormous. It looked like an underground junkyard. There were mountains of twisted metal, broken gears the size of houses, and shattered plates of armor.
Wires hung from the ceiling like dead vines. In the center of the room, amidst the chaos of scrap, was the source of the noise.
It was a giant. It stood at least fifteen feet tall. It wasn’t a creature made of flesh and bone. It was a construct, a monster built from the very junk that filled the room.
Its body was a mismatched collection of metal plates welded together.
Its head was a small armored dome with one glowing blue eye.
One arm had a huge spinning drill, and the other had a giant hydraulic clamp.
Blue electricity crackled around its joints, holding the scrap metal together. It walked with a heavy limp, bending down to grab pieces of metal and shove them into a furnace-like opening in its chest.
Daniel raised his left arm. He needed intel.
[Scrap Golem - Verge Guardian Prototype Mk. II (Level 5)]
[Stats: Devastating Strength, Extreme Defense, Very Low Agility, Low Spirit.] [Abilities: [Overclock Charge], [Seismic Slam], [Drill Pierce], [Scrap Repair].]
[Weakness: Unstable Energy Core (Back Casing). Damaged Right Leg Hydraulic.]
[Threat Assessment: Heavily armored juggernaut. Slow movement but lethal impact force. Do not engage in a contest of strength.]
"Level 5," Daniel noted, his grip tightening on his bow. "Same level as the Fenrir." But this was different. The Fenrir was fast and magical. This thing was a walking machine.
It had ’Devastating Strength.’ If that drill hit him, even his upgraded Deflector Vest wouldn’t save him.
However, Daniel saw the weaknesses. The Golem walked with a heavy limp on its right side. Sparks flew from the knee joint every time it took a step. And on its back, a metal casing was glowing bright blue, venting steam and heat.
"It’s leaking energy," Daniel analyzed. "If I hit that, it might overload." He needed the element of surprise.
The Golem was busy scavenging, its back turned slightly toward Daniel. Daniel unslung his C+ Grade Skyreaver Bow. He pulled an arrow from his quiver. He didn’t just nock it, he prepared his magic.
"[Mana Bolt]," he whispered. He channeled the purple magical energy into the arrow. The shaft hummed, and the tip glowed with a dangerous light.
He aimed carefully. He aimed right for the sparking casing on the giant’s back. He took a deep breath, held it, and released.
TWANG!
The arrow flew across the cavern. It was a streak of purple light in the gloom.
KA-BANG!
The arrow struck the energy core dead center. The magical energy exploded on impact. The metal casing dented inward, and a jet of blue flame shot out.
"ROAAAAR!"
The Scrap Golem let out a mechanical roar that sounded like grinding gears. It stumbled forward, almost falling over. It spun around, its single blue eye turning a furious red. It scanned the room. It saw Daniel standing by the tunnel entrance.
It didn’t hesitate. It activated its ability. [Overclock Charge]!
The blue electricity around its body flared up. The gears inside it spun faster. The massive Golem charged, moving surprisingly fast for something so big.
The ground shook violently.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Daniel had anticipated this. He knew he couldn’t block it, so he had to move.
"[Shadowsteps]!" His body blurred. He leaped to the side, running up a pile of scrap metal.
The Golem couldn’t turn fast enough. It slammed into the tunnel entrance where Daniel had just been standing.
CRASH!
Stone and metal shattered. The entrance collapsed, burying the spot in rubble. If Daniel had been there, he would be flat.
The Golem pulled itself out of the rubble. It turned its massive head toward Daniel. It raised its drill arm. The drill spun up with a high-pitched whine.
It swung. Daniel jumped back, doing several backflips off the scrap pile and landing a few meters away.
"Too slow," Daniel taunted. He landed in the open space of the cavern. He needed to keep moving. He needed to kite it. He drew his bow again while running sideways. He fired three regular arrows in quick succession.
THWACK! THWACK! CLANG!
Two arrows hit the armor and bounced off harmlessly. One arrow managed to stick in a gap between the plates, but the Golem didn’t even notice. Its Defense was too high for normal attacks.