About the four armed doll. It has light armor a human would wear, made of light and thin materials that weren’t crushed even after receiving Lucky’s attack. I think I could wear it if I had it adjusted, so I’m taking it back with me.
I also retrieve the mana jewel I find upon removing the armor from its chest. A mana jewel is worth half a million yen. It feels like this four armed doll is like a bonus enemy that yields more than half a million if it’s defeated.
Still, this isn’t a magic beast. I think it’s some sort of guard robot made by people of this world. If I think of it as a type of magic item, if I do a good job capturing one, I might be able to operate it. I don’t know if there are more still active, but I would like to capture one undamaged and take it back.
―――――――――――
Yes, I got one.”
“Fu…”
“It’s okay Lucky, it can’t move.”
I found two more after continuing to walk forward. They really do run at me the moment they detect me, but I used Slow and crushed the head and four… I mean, six limbs of the first one with a rock cannon. Then I surrounded the other one with Storage Gates, and had Lucky rip the armor off its chest to remove the mana jewel. My hypothesis was correct, they do stop operating once their power source is removed.
I’m having Lucky carry the captured doll, but Lucky looks wary of it, like it’s wondering if it will start moving again. I can’t see that happening, but it might have a spare battery or something, so we should be cautious.
We also have to consider what we will do when it’s time to go back up. It will be hard to carry it up that vertical pipe. Maybe I should go back and get a long rope to pull it up. At times like these, I envy ones who have a normal Storage skill, but whining will get me nowhere. I hope I can find a path that will take us to the ruins.
“Fuh, kyuru.”
“Ah, yes Lucky. I should focus on what is ahead of me.”
Lucky scolds me for thinking about what will come later.
Yes, letting your guard down can mean a seeker’s life is over. That said, I really wonder what this place truly is. I can see inside the rooms through the glass, and it seems those rooms were made to be observed… Then there are the skeletons in them. Were they human test subjects or something?
We find more for armed dolls, but they all go down without much effort on our part. They always run at us, so we can use the same tactic as long as we don’t get careless.
I got nine mana jewels and thirty six knives. Since the dolls themselves and their armor would be cumbersome, I left them. I will return for them once I figure out a way to take them back.
Also, part of the passage has collapsed, so I can’t advance through there, and I don’t want to look at those creepy observation rooms. There is nothing in them that catches my eye anyway.
Could there be a laboratory or an equipment room beyond the collapsed passage? Thanks to the four armed dolls, I have over four and a half million yen with me, so there is no problem either way.
“Kyuru.”
“Ooh, Lucky. Yes, it is open over there.”
Lucky is ahead of me, and it found a room with an unlocked door. I can’t see through the window because it’s completely dark, but it’s not because the room is hidden. Are those tree roots? It feels like the door is unlocked because it was pried open by the roots from the inside.
I cautiously go in, and see a room that’s about as wide as a gymnasium, and also has a pretty high ceiling. And there’s a big tree in the center. What is…
“Fuu…”
Lucky is cautious, and the searcher drone is reacting to something over by the big tree. Since receiving the awakening surgery, I am somewhat sensitive to the flow of magic energy, and I can feel it coursing towards the flower bud at the heart of the big tree.
And as I stand here confused, the tree starts to wither, and its dry leaves fall like rain. At first I think about shooting the flower bud, but stop. I don’t feel hostility from it.
Then it opens. What is inside it? A demon? A snake?
“********?”
It’s a fifteen centimeter tall girl with wings that remind me of a butterfly. Is that a fairy?
She’s talking to me, but I can’t understand her at all. Is this… French? (*It isn’t)
The big tree has fallen.
Deep in a land facing destruction, on the verge of death, Zenjurou faces a fairy.
What is the newly awakened girl thinking? What does she want from Zenjurou?
The time limit is almost…
Still, this isn’t a magic best
Beast*
Is that fairy a friend or foe? 🤨
Thanks for the treat.