"So, he took down an entire deer, huh?" The rugged man asked contemplatively.
"You want to see it, we still have some meat and hide left." Markell grinned as he eyed his guest.
"Are you going to invite me to have a taste too?"
"You know what a taste will cost you."
"And here I thought I was shameless. You take it to a whole new degree!"
"I am just a beginner in the game, you are the master."
"What you need will cost you more than just meat though," The old man's face became complicated and then he said, "I need the boy's help with something."
"What do you need him for?" Markell was shocked.
"There's a new vein in my mine. Normally that would be good news, but in this case, something sinister lurks in there."
"What, like a monster?"
"Exactly like a monster!"
"So what do you need the boy's help with? What you need is a monster hunter, not a blacksmith."
"I heard about his bow. Made of pure metal. Heard it was pretty good too. Plus, monster hunters are very expensive, I figure all you'll need is just some bit of ore."
Markell and Mienie, nicknamed the Bear, went ahead and held some bit of negotiations. Then Markell stood up and made his way to the smithy, looking for his favorite employee. This time, he wondered if he was asking too much of the boy.
"Alright, let's do this!" Barda said with giddy optimism which even made Markell take a pause, and 2 days later, he had his trusty bow and arrows, headed towards the mine.
Mienie and Merkall had known each other for a long time, and their past was full of hate and love. For starters, none of then had a likable personality, and they were particularly salty towards each other. However, they were faced with an obstacle, and they were each other's solutions.
Mienie was generally very cheap, and he'd do anything to save a quick buck. Usually, when a monster was discovered in a mine, there were specialized mine hunters, people who would go into the mine and kill the monster. However, they were expensive, and not anyone just went in there. As such, Mienie had little choice, until he heard about the boy.
Maybe the boy could do it, maybe he couldn't, all Mienie could do was hope for the best. If the boy failed, then Mienie could always get a real hunter. Seeing the boy come, Mienie took a moment's pause before rushing up to him. He had a few men prepared to guide the boy, and as soon as he got there, they set off.
"This is as far as we go." One of the guides said as he pointed at a clearing. "The vein starts from there."
It was dark and moist down there, some underground river flowing where the vein began. Deeper underground and one would encounter the beast. Barda nodded at them and proceeded forward. The guides were surprised that he didn't even take a torch. The lead guide, Misa, wondered just how confident the guy was to venture deep without illumination. He was not going to stick around and watch happens.
Barda activated his night vision. With the powerful lenses in his eyes, Barda picked up all the ambient light in the cave, and with it, he could see much better than if he had a flaming torch. Moreover, he had heat-vision. With it, he could spot anything that gave off any heat signature.
Barda moved so quietly. Given that he was an android, he didn't need to breathe. His movements were well calculated and precise. No trail was left, no branch broke, no twig snapped. Anyone seeing this would be awed by the precision of the machine.
The problem with the mine was that it was more of a tunnel. Not much had been dug before the beast had been discovered. Since then, no man had dared go any further for fear of upsetting the unknown down there.
From his viewpoint, Barda noticed that the vein extended to form a huge underground cave. From where he was standing, he saw the entire cave unfolding before his eyes. A sour acid-like smell wafted in the air, making Barda feel as though his inner parts would get corroded. Interestingly, the corrosive air was being absorbed by his android body, becoming some sort of energy source.
As Barda moved, his eyes were like a HUD, constantly feeding him inputs from the scans. His ears were sharper than sonar, picking up any sound within a 1-mile radius. If anything was alive down there, Barda would find it.
Suddenly, something moved. It was only for a second, but from the edge of his eye, Barda caught the movement. What surprised Barda more was the fact that the creature had been able to conceal its presence despite all the scans he had running. Luckily it had moved.
Not one to let his guard down, Barda remained where he was at. He wasn't sure what he had seen. It looked like an ant but it was 1 foot long. It had 3 body parts and 6 legs, a typical insect, all except the size. Aiming, Barda let loose an arrow. A shriek followed, as though to report the deed as done.
Barda couldn't help but feel his kill had been too easy, so he remained where he was, watching.
Another movement.
Suddenly, it seemed as though the entire cave was moving. From all over the cave, Barda noticed that there were more and more of these beasts swarming him, much like ants. He had just stirred an entire nest, and they were coming at him hard.
Barda's first thought was to run, but he couldn't do that. Honoring the deal notwithstanding, he doubted any of the miners in the cave had what it took to deal with the swarm of ants coming at him. The bugs were fast and their mandibles were raised. They looked ready to consume him alive.
Barda still had use for the city. Letting the ants out seemed like it would cause a disaster at the scale of a natural calamity.
While creating the bow, Barda had factored into consideration the fact that it was a long-ranged weapon. It was extremely useful from far but a waste up close. Therefore, he had made some modifications in his bow.
The cable was built to be like a sharp edge, acting as a cutting tool. When Barda swung it, it would tear the insects' bodies apart. His swung on the blunt side felt like the swing of a hammer, decimating anything in its wake.
Barda was a killing machine, chopping down every insect that got close to him. He was like a stone in the river, standing strong as the beasts swarm all around him, undevoured. No matter how many came out of the cave, Barda did not tire, as he continued to swing his bow.
Within no time, Barda found himself surrounded by carcasses of the beasts, each one leaking the corrosive substance he had smelt before. If a normal human was standing there, they would have long died, but the android body's durability didn't even take a hit, as Barda converted the corrosive air into energy to power up his body.
After 1 hour 23 minutes and 34 seconds, the last of the beasts fell, but Barda had an odd feeling, as though he was being looked at. It was wonderful to see that even after becoming a machine his instincts were still there, present with him. He knew this was far from over.
Suddenly, the second wave began. Numerous beasts crowded the cave as they furiously made their way to Barda, murderous intent leaking from them. This new enemy was considerably larger than the previous beasts. It was almost 2 feet in length but what stood out about them was their bulkier stature. They were even more ferocious looking.
Barda swung his bow over and over again, undeterred by the ferociousness on display. Barda was faster and stronger than the attackers, and he could keep this up all day. Every strike tore up an insect. His power seemed infinite while the insects were expendable. An unstoppable force had met an immutable object.
Five hours and 2 waves later, Barda crushed the last of the beasts that were coming at him. He was not even out of breath, nor had he broken a sweat. If anyone saw him now, they wouldn't believe he had been fighting non-stop for hours.
Barda didn't relax. He knew he was not out of danger yet. He continued eyeing the cave, wondering what would come out of it. He could hear movement, so something was definitely there. Whatever it was, it didn't move like the others. This one projected a sense of confidence and a measure of control, not just scurrying mindlessly.
Barda nocked an arrow and waited for his enemy to emerge.