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All the Dust that Falls: A Roomba Isekai Adventure

zaifyr

Chapter 20: An Unblemished Floor

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I looked at the human in shock. Who knew she would be so bloodthirsty? Besides, exterminate what? I swiveled around, looking for a possible mess maker. All I saw were the water tanks. I supposed the tanks themselves did make a bit of a mess. They splashed and left water stains on the floor occasionally. As the water evaporated, salt and other particulates were left behind.

The calcium buildup was one of the hardest things to get rid of. In fact, I didn't think I could do it now, even with my advanced capabilities. The obvious solution, trying to dissolve it and mopping it up, didn't work. That tended to only spread it more. Also, you couldn't tell when it was gone if it was still wet. So I understood the sentiment, but you can't exterminate the water causing the issue. Unless humans had a way? That seemed implausible at best. Humans are really amazing, though, so I wouldn't put anything past them.

I thought about her chopping at the tanks with the counterbalance. It was an admittedly amusing thought, but I figured it would cause water to get everywhere. Imagining that quickly put a damper on my amusement.

I beeped a response to her question. It was a descending note, starting off high pitched and going down low, typically used to indicate something along the lines of, "no, don't do that". I tried to imitate the "sighs" I had heard from my humans before.

I saw that she slumped a little in disappointment. Well, I was glad she understood what I was trying to say. I could communicate yes or no to her. It made our working relationship considerably more effective. Even with an improvement of that nature, I was starting to wonder how I would teach someone when I couldn't explain things. I'd have to get good at demonstrating, and she needed to continue asking questions.

The goal of visiting here was to show her the areas we'd be covering but not cleaning today. We did a quick pass through the room. We paused and gave special attention to the areas that required extra cleaning. Corners that water pooled in, some of the particularly deep grooves in the tile, and around the drains were the worst offenders. Carved crevices guided most of the water down the drains and caused debris to gather. She nodded understanding and seemed to follow along with what I was trying to show. I was so blessed to have such an attentive and dutiful student.

----

Void let out a descending screech. It seemed to be a negative response. Bee had heard what she thought was a yes before. Those notes were more… positive? Chipper? Ascending, at the very least. She sagged in relief. She hadn't been looking forward to fishing out demons and hacking them apart with her cleaver. That was going to get really gross. It would be tough as well, not to mention potentially dangerous.

Void continued leading her around the room, showing Bee what she took to be the more pertinent areas. She noted the grooves scratched into the ground resembling containment circles around all the tanks. Well, at least the outlines of containment circles. The salts and magical components that would have made them function had disappeared. She assumed Void erased them. Bee didn't know who else could have. They were pristine, without so much as a grain of salt remaining. It showed Bee where the grooves were inlaid on the ground such that the salt and other components would stay in perfect shape. She assumed the drains allowed the whole thing to be easily washed away and replaced when necessary.

Bee was not sure why Void was showing her these things. Why would it show her that the demons were loose when she already knew that? Perhaps there was something it wanted her to do?.

She didn't ask. Mostly because she wasn't exactly sure how to do so in a way that Void could respond. There was also a good amount of fear that she might misunderstand the lesson. If she was an inadequate disciple, what would Void do? It was better not to risk it until she needed to or got a better idea of its predilections. Perhaps it was just an informational thing, telling her, "Hey, I released all these demons. Now it's your job to go fight them for training." or something.

She hesitated to even guess at the mind of Void. Bee thought the assumption that the demons were released for training was reasonably fair. So she would stick with it until she was sure of another interpretation. Void certainly hadn't been ordering them around. All he'd ever done was devour or ignore the demons. Perhaps it wanted the magical properties of all the containment measures and just releasing them was a side effect?

In either case, Void surely wouldn't mind if she trained on them and got that final push to level five. Bee struggled to think of a third option that would contradict her conclusions. After all, reaching level five wasn't worth the risk of angering her master.

Void was incredibly efficient. It quickly showed Bee each of the critical factors of the room, then went to move out. She limped slightly after it. Her leg was healed, for the most part. But the healing was still fresh, and following Void for an extended period reminded her of that fact. It only twinged sometimes now. She was starting to regret not bringing her stick with her. It would have been able to provide her with a lot of relief. She could still feel the ointment working, but it would likely take until evening for her to feel 100% better. Still, her recovery had gone much faster than she'd hoped.

Bee stopped walking for a second. She hadn't really had a chance to consider the ramifications of what she had done yet. She was using magic! And not just basic magic, but healing magic! Something that she never thought she would do, especially after how the mages had treated her. Most common people never learned magic at all. The few that did just mixed simple recipes using readily available ingredients that did little more than heat the stove quicker. She was in a castle stocked for a college of mages and taught by a near-omnipotent being. Bee let a shiver of pride go through her. But it was quickly cut short as Void beeped at her to hurry up. She quickened her pace towards its waiting figure in the entryway.

***

Bee was greeted with a similar tour of the lesser demon room, complete with a familiarly powder-free floor. When they entered, she looked carefully at each cage; every one was empty. She guessed that all those were released over the last couple of days. After their magic was no longer suppressed, the metal cages wouldn't be able to hold them for long. She knew that Void had killed at least two of them but had no idea how many it got when hunting. It very well could have gotten all of them. Either way, she had no way of knowing how many of these cages originally contained a demon. However, she was confident she'd be able to handle at least one lesser demon on her own soon. At least with her newly recovered mobility and the recipes, she planned to try out.

Her confidence lasted until the next room. This was a specialty room with rather large cages, casually referred to as the "dust devil room". The cages held what looked to be collections of rocks and sand. Bee noticed some of the barrel-sized piles moving. That was not good. These might not be as powerful as the water demons, but they could survive outside their containment. So these cages were reinforced thoroughly, with the summoning protections being much more intricate.

Or they were more intricate. Now the extra protections were missing, of course. She just hoped that Void wasn't about to take her to the fire or wind sections next. Earth was one thing, but the fire could burn down the castle. An air demon would likely leave the region and start terrorizing the countryside. Earth would probably stay and make her life a living hell, but Void could, without a doubt, take care of it. Her only concern was running into one alone.

Bee's stomach started to betray her mid-lesson. It had been a long time since she ate the last of her food, and she still hadn't had a good night's sleep or a full meal in over a week. She had filled up her wineskin with water recently, but that was almost empty again. Now that she was relatively safe, her body was making all of its needs known. At least she was hydrated and rested enough to ignore those feelings for a while longer. However, her stomach didn't let up. It seemed to know that there was a perfectly good kitchen full of delicious food around the corner, and it didn't want to fast if it didn't have to. Her stomach made its point emphatically. She fought with it the entire time Void showed her the dust devil room. But she kept getting distracted and missing some critical parts of the protections to the point that she almost tripped over one of the cages.

Void made to leave, presumably to show her something else. She decided she was going to speak up and risk Void's displeasure. If it wouldn't let her eat and drink, she wasn't long for this world anyway. Judging from the pillow, she would be surprised if Void had a problem with it. At least that was what she told herself to muster her courage, but still. Disappointing it might be just as bad.

"If you don't mind, master. Could we please make a stop in the kitchens? My water skin is almost empty, and I would like to get some food. I haven't eaten for a long time. And the thought of even some dried meat has my…."

Bee bit back her words, realizing she had started rambling. Her voice had come out rusty and disused. She hadn't said anything to another person in a very long time. She had spoken to Void once or twice briefly, but this was the first complete set of sentences she uttered in over a week. Speaking hurt. Some of that was the disuse making her vocal cords feel like she'd swallowed a bucket full of sand. But more than that, perhaps the more impactful part was loneliness. Speaking to something that understood her was like a balm she didn't know she needed. Scrunching up her eyes to hold back impending tears, she waited for a response while trying not to consider that she was likely days from any other people. And her only company was an insanely powerful being who didn't seem capable of speaking. Benevolent it might be, but she could want a conversation.

As expected, Void did not respond in words. It gave an affirmative screech, a lighthearted cheerful thing with a rising pitch at the end, almost as if it was asking a question. She wasn't quite sure what question it was, but it definitely sounded uncertain. She wasn't going to let that stop her, though. Bee needed to take the opportunity. She bowed to Void in thanks and started walking towards the kitchen, the black disk whirring along behind her.

---

I knew humans needed breaks. It was not uncommon that the large humans would come home and sit on the couch for a bit before doing anything. Sometimes the large male human would pull into the garage and then not come out for 15 minutes. I assumed they could charge wherever they were without a charging pad, even if it wasn't maximally efficient. They seemed to work more effectively in bursts rather than maintaining steady progress for an extended period. It was the opposite of my kind. We generally weren't the fastest at any individual task. Especially when we were learning a new area. However, we could keep going until the house was done or we ran out of batteries. Taking a break to recover energy just wasn't a concept that worked for us. Undoubtedly humans were special. So I did know on some level that humans need breaks, but I failed to consider it when I had planned out my teaching schedule. That was quite a severe oversight, and I was mentally scolding myself after she brought it up.

When she asked for permission, though, I was very confused.

Humans didn't need my permission to do anything. Maybe as an instructor, I suppose it would be proper. When viewed only as a formality, it made more sense. How could I refuse? I was here to help my humans. If she needed a break... Then that was the best way I could help. Besides, she needed to be in top shape to clean and do all the other things humans liked. Or whatever she wanted to do. She was a human, after all.

Luckily the human seemed to accept my response. Walking out the door, she started leading the way to the kitchen. I followed, trundling along at her heels happily. It was nice to have someone else lead for a little while. Always choosing the direction for myself is a bit exhausting. Even if I needed to do it to get better, it doesn't mean I had to enjoy it. I wiggled from side to side. Maybe I could use a break as well.

When we got to the kitchen, the human filled up their liquid-carrying pouch. She drained a large part of it. And then filled it up again. With that slung over her shoulder, she checked the food sitting on the tables. None of it seemed to be satisfactory to her, with good reason. All the fruits were slightly rotting and did not look like anything I had ever seen a human eat. She picked up some of the bread with white fungus growing on it. Gross, the fungus was the worst. Now that I had conquered liquid, fungus was my least favorite thing. Behind stairs, of course. It was a weird debris-filth-dust-gross thing that didn't just sit there but multiplied. Plus, it was almost impossible to vacuum up, even after scrubbing it with my brush endlessly. At most, it just flaked off. Luckily, I hadn't come across any fungus recently. Even with all my power, I had no idea how to deal with it. I hoped I'd get some mutation to fight it before I came across it again. Either that or get the human to deal with it.

The human moved to the pantry, opening the door to the small side room. I knew from previous trips that it didn't have much space behind it and not much open floor. Instead, it just led to a narrow walkway line with shelves. The shelves were filled with jars, boxes, and canvas bags. There were also barrels at the end of the hall and larger canvas bags, all seeming to contain some sort of food item. They must have been preserved in some way because this area didn't have the same kind of fungus and rot as there was in the kitchen.

The human inhaled deeply and got to work filling her bag.

A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

Hey we hit the first patreon goal! Woohoo. Will need to come up with the next one soon as I finish fulfilling this one. If you have any ideas let me know.

Also if you want to read chapter 21 right now...

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A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

50k words, almost all the way to winning the Writathon! Also climbing that RS list, so close...

I watched the human stuff her bag and face with food from the pantry. She seemed she was enjoying herself immensely, but this appeared a much less relaxed way to consume food than I was used to seeing. Usually, humans sat and immobilized themselves during this process. Maybe she didn't know how to properly take a break?

That gave me an idea. I waited until she had finished filling her bag, then gave a few short excited beeps to get her attention. I wanted to share something with her. Something that I thought was very special. She turned and looked at me with an unreadable expression on her face. I started moving, hoping that she would follow. Luckily, she understood. After stuffing a last bit of food in her mouth, she began to follow.

I could think of one great place for a break where we could rest and recover. Also, it was one of my favorite rooms in the whole place. It wasn't too far from the kitchens.

---

Bee wrinkled her brow in confusion as she stood in the doorway. There were many things Void did that were beyond her comprehension. Honestly, this shouldn't rank too high on the list. Nevertheless, it still got her. It was less confusing and more baffling, as in… why?

She stood in the entryway of dean Harold's office. Void had opened the door for her, as it seemed too impatient for her to get there. Then it moved out of the way with its extendable arm flung wide as if it was displaying something. She even thought its screeches sounded like a proud "ta-dah." Looking in, it was definitely the dean's office. Yep. But there wasn't much to see here; she'd only been inside once. Never had she felt any need to come back. When she first "enrolled," her father had dropped her off here before leaving without a goodbye.

There was a dark mahogany desk with fancy scrollwork on the legs. A pair of relatively plain unpadded leather chairs sat before it. Behind was a comparably elaborate and very comfortable-looking chair for the dean. The walls were lined with bookcases filled with various trinkets and dusty old tomes. A hatstand in the corner and a fluffy red rug topped it off. Overall it was a neat yet basic room compared to others in the castle. Clearly not getting the reaction it wanted, Void gave a short wail of frustration. Bee wasn't sure how she recognized the sound, but the meaning was loud and clear.

Void trundled forward. It quickly came to rest right on the large rug. It spun around in a circle a few times before seemingly settling down, almost like a dog would. Unsure of what else to do, Bee entered the room and looked around. It was how she remembered it, but seeing it in this light was different. No longer was she an excited yet intimidated little girl, thinking she was about to learn magic. This place seems so much smaller and less mysterious now.

She glanced over at the pitch-black disk still resting on the carpet. Void showed no signs of moving. In fact, she could hear a new, unfamiliar sound from it. It almost sounded like a brush softly whisking back and forth. Still unsure why Void had brought her here, she took advantage of the apparent downtime to rest and eat. Bee hefted her newly filled sack of snacks and looked at the two uncomfortable chairs in front of the desk. She quickly decided against sitting there. If she was going to eat, she might as well do it in style. She walked around the desk and sat in the cushy high-back executive chair.

Void was still making that strange sound. It didn't sound that intimidating, so she wasn't too worried. Putting her feet up on the desk, she grabbed some preserved fish from the bag and began to dig in. Really, she was starving.

****

Bee's eyes snapped open. It took her a second to remember where she was; she had dreamt that she'd been back in the broom closet, huddling in fear in pain. She was shivering violently, her face pressed against the hardwood of the desk. Collecting herself and looking around, she got her bearings. She was still in the dean's office. Void still sat on the red rug making its soft sound. At her sudden movement, her master moved a little to face her. It did something else that she had never seen it do before - it extended its arm up in the air toward her. Then it wiggled it back and forth. What was it doing? Was that… waving? Maybe she hadn't woken up after all. Maybe she was dreaming that she had made it out of the broom closet.

She pinched herself. Nope, she was definitely awake. Unsure of what else to do, she awkwardly raised her hand and waved back. Void's arm retracted. Void then rolled up to her, gently bumping into the chair leg. It almost reminded her of a cat asking to be let up. She obviously couldn't ignore it. How was she to respond? Would it get offended if she tried to touch it?

She reached down and gently reached her fingers out to it. Leaving the fingers a few inches from its front, Bee held her breath, waiting for its response. When she didn't feel any smiting happening, she continued reaching out. She touched Void's surface, surprised at how it felt. It was smooth as any polished glass she had ever felt. However, it was not cold like metal. In fact, it felt no different than the air around her, neither warm nor cool. As she brushed her fingers against Void's front, it shrieked (in joy?) and spun a few times. She jerked back in surprise at the reaction, but it didn't seem aggressive. Perhaps it was just excitement for some reason?

Bee just shook her head. Maybe one day she'd understand Void. But for now, she was nowhere close.

As Void returned to its rug, she noticed how the light in the room had changed. She figured that she still had some time before their next task, whatever it was. Her stomach had shrunk quite a bit over her unintentional fast, but all the food she stuffed into it last night had returned it to something that felt more normal. Though now it was empty again. She quickly sought to rectify that. Bee broke her fast on a jar of apple preserves.

Perhaps her fear was lessening, and she spent less energy being afraid than she used to. But she started to feel a little awkward; something was missing. As if two people who didn't know each other well ran out of things to talk about. Especially since Void seemed to understand her.

So to fill the silence, she started to talk. She led with inane things.

"This fish is really too salty... Salted fish is supposed to be dried and ... salty. This has salt falling off it…. It's getting everywhere. Gross." Void let out a small chirp of agreement.

In the beginning, she often felt like she was complaining and then cut herself off. Not wanting Void to feel like she was ungrateful, she quickly and repeatedly thanked it for its help. Both for obtaining food and protection from the demons.

It was awkward at first. Halting. But as Bee found her pace, she felt a little more comfortable. Void never interrupted her once nor showed any indication that it was becoming bored. Though sometimes it chimed in agreement or encouragement with a light and brief noise.

Even as she talked, she felt more open. Bee started telling Void what she was doing when it arrived. How she had hoped she would get a glimpse of magic. She even told it about the events leading up to her being stuck in the broom closet. When she started rambling about how afraid she had been, she bit her tongue. Worried that she might have offended it, Bee glanced at Void, who hadn't reacted.

Feeling relieved, she continued. She started telling Void about her past. Nothing too detailed, since she was sure demons or whatever Void was could probably do something with her family's names. More about the highs and lows. How excited she had first been when she was going to be a magic apprentice. How disappointed she was that she had ended up functionally a maid. As she talked, the sentences became smoother and connected properly. It was easier to speak about personal things. She talked about her father and how, after her mother died, she had been shipped off here as soon as she was of age. Her father was a wealthy merchant. However, he and Bee never got along.

"He insisted on calling me Beatrice, 'as it is my proper name'," Bee grumbled.

Things went on, and she started to vent her frustrations. About how she didn't know what she was going to do with her life. How her relationship with Void would change things. If it would change things. About how all her "colleagues" had left her behind out of fear. They didn't even bother coming back for her.

Bee continued speaking for quite some time.

- -

I sat on the very nice rug. It was still a very impressive piece. Beatrice, as I learned that was her name, told me stories. This was a much better day.

Not only had I got a nice long rest, but strangely I felt quite refreshed like I just finished charging. I hadn't even transmuted any materials to top myself off. But just sitting on this very nice rug and thinking about all the cleaning we would do together refreshed me. I let my brush slowly spin, touching the carpet. It made a comforting sound, and I just loved feeling the rug.

Beatrice appeared to go into sleep mode at some point. So I just kept watching while I enjoyed my rug. Much time passed, but I didn't mind very much. I was content. After a solid charging session, Beatrice jumped and looked around before her eyes settled on me. As she stared, I felt a bit of joy bubble up. It was nice to have some human attention again.

Then I tried something new, something I'd seen the humans do when they greeted each other or said goodbye. I believe it was called "waving." And to my absolute delight, it worked. Beatrice waved back. This was good. I was so excited that I felt motivated to get off my rug. I rolled up to her, hoping for a head pat. She eventually gave me a head touch, more like a gentle poke, than what I was used to. I didn't quite get a head pat, but it was progress. She's learning! Even that slight brush against my bumper made me quite happy. I spun around a few times and returned to my rug. Someone watching might have noticed my path wasn't as straight as it could have been.

Then I got to listen to stories for over an hour. My humans back home had never spent this much time to tell me things. This was quite a treat. I wasn't sure what was going on with all this magic stuff. I didn't think it was relevant to cleaning unless there's some cleaning magic? That might be worth learning. Once I had some free time, I would look into it.

But Beatrice seemed really into this whole magic thing, so I didn't burst her bubble. I listened about her family, which was fascinating, but mostly I just sat there and enjoyed the sound of her voice. Eventually, she trailed off.

"Thank you for keeping watch while I slept," Beatrice told me. "I don't know if you need to rest as well. But if you do, I can keep watch. There might not be much I can do to protect you, but maybe I can wake you up. Just so you know, the offers out there, it's okay if you don't want to or anything…"

Unlike her speech earlier, Beatrice's voice sounded much softer to me. I'm not sure why she would speak so humbly. But of course, she didn't really know much about my kind. I did not need sleep.

Still, the offer was kind. However, I didn't think I'd ever need to take her up on it. I was struggling to figure out how to communicate this to her but couldn't figure out a good way to do it. So I just beeped in the affirmative, then rolled up to her again. She stretched and stood up from the chair, ready to follow.

You know, I've never really taken much notice of the chairs, but looking at it from the perspective of a human, that seemed like a very nice chair. It was deeply cushioned and tall. How nice it must be to lean back, and it looked like a human could easily slouch in it, as Beatrice even slept there. It also helped that she was much smaller than a large human, so everything looked big around her. But I could imagine even a large human sleeping in that chair.

It was time to go. I headed for the door while Beatrice fell in behind me. She seemed much more relaxed. There was a bounce in her step, and her face appeared to be a little less scrunched up between her eyebrows. I took it to mean that she was happy, or happier than she had been at least. It made sense, though. She was damaged when I found her. I doubted that it was any fun. Now she was better, thankfully.

I set off to our next instruction site. We only really had one other thing that I wanted to show Beatrice. That one I had saved it for last because it was my favorite. We made our way back to the small cages. Beatrice seemed a little confused as we came in, but when I went to the back door, it seemed to clear something up. Still, I swung open the door, hoping she would be able to appreciate how beautiful this floor was. How incredibly unique and inspired the creator of it was when they made this. It still baffled me how such a solid chunk of obsidian was moved here. Then polished into such a smooth floor with the depression in the center perfectly proportional... I could go on about this room forever.

I made my way inside a little bit. Then I turned back to look at Beatrice. She was standing in the doorway stock still. Her mouth was open as far as I had ever seen a human's mouth be open. Nothing twitched, not even her eyelids. I was glad she was in awe of the floor, but she stayed that way for a worrying amount of time. Eventually, I became quite concerned and beeped at her questioningly.

A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

Chapter 22 is...

Yeah well you know about patreon, right?

I'm going to take a vacation form work in a week or two and spend some time writing on the beach. I'll still be posting though. I hope to build a bigger backlog to put up on Patreon when I'm there. And just for my sanity. But I want to let you know that the value will increase soon. If you feel you want to wait until I prove that, I understand. If you donate anyways, I appreciate you!

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The capital came into view as Harold's horse crested one last hill. He was still exhausted but no longer at risk of passing out from it. The night of rest in the town of Greg had given him just enough energy to make this journey. While Captain Wallace had helped him send scouts back to the mage's college, he needed to personally report to the king and the royal advisors. This was not going to be a pleasant meeting. Especially considering that he would immediately report directly to the Warden after.

A column of 10 guards accompanied him. The captain had insisted that Harold get to the capital as safely and quickly as possible. The horses given to them expedited the trip, turning it from a four-day trip to only two days. Behind the armored figures rode what remained of his college. It was a much smaller group than the one that had fled the castle. Many resigned from their positions out of sheer fear or trauma at what they had seen. Some returned to their original homes, either to retire or to live a quieter life. Almost everyone seemed to be tying up loose ends and moving their loved ones as far away as possible.

Harold's group approached the towering outer walls of the capital, entering its shadow well before reaching the gate. They were massive, towering at least 20 stories tall, many times taller than any other town or city Harold had seen. Even more impressive was that these walls were almost as thick as they were tall. The tunnel through the wall to the inner gate took nearly five minutes to ride through.

This city was unique not only in its size but also in that it was one of the few structures that remained intact from before The Intervention. Only a few relics and landmarks had survived that cataclysm. Most of the structures that had were strong beyond what anyone had figured out how to recreate. But the knowledge and craftsmanship that had gone into its construction were lost to time now, meaning it could only be imperfectly maintained by its current inhabitants. It would never shine as it must once have. However, that didn't mean they couldn't try.

Harold emerged from the tunnel, squinting, into a cobbled street, bustling with activity. Along the edges of the street, many merchants were hawking their wares. Behind them were more established shops with proper signs. People flowed around, going in and out of the stores. The hawkers were mostly ignored, but they did steady business with the less affluent. Many figures had the uniform of the king's army, forest green with a white feather emblem on the chest and shoulder. All around were barracks of rough-hewn lumber, and other temporary structures were thrown up for mustering soldiers. It seemed like the troops had been gathered here for the coming war based on the sheer number that Harold counted.

His honor guard cleared the way up the streets, escorting the party towards the main cobbled road leading from the gate to the palace. Once they made it a little deeper into the city, it seemed less crowded than he would expect for a city of 3 million people. Hawkers and merchants lining the streets gave way to shoddy housing, then more wealthy neighborhoods. The closer to the main palace they got, the more evidence of pre-Intervention architecture he saw. Wealthy noble houses, a massive stone amphitheater twice the height of the walls, and even the palace itself, were a stark departure from most modern constructions.

On the way through the city, Harold rehearsed his report to the king and the Warden. He'd have to report that the project was a failure and the king's army would not receive the aid they hoped for from the college. He also had to report that they had unleashed some unknown powerful demon in a distant rural part of his kingdom. Then he had to tell the Warden that the lieutenant's containment might be compromised.

This would not be a fun day.

----

Bee was relatively young and had not been introduced to much of the crass, expletive, and generally colorful language that many adults were familiar with. That was not to say that she had no knowledge of such words and phrases - her vocabulary was limited and underdeveloped. Despite this, the present situation found her calling upon that vocabulary to its fullest extent.

The subject of her ire was a demon. A frozen one, larger than her family's home. It was proportioned like a man but with huge, oddly curving horns on top of its head. The horns tapered to sharp points in different directions. Muscles stood out all over its body. However, they were slightly wrong. They were not always in the place they should be for a human.

The demon sat motionless in the center of a massive room. Its arms were stretched out, head tilted upwards, screaming a challenge into the sky. Bee felt tiny compared to the scope of it, like a speck of dust falling into an endless black void as everything grew around her.

The demon was a nightmare. A literal nightmare. The one that Bee had seen in dreams as a child. The nightmares were so bad they caused her to seek out her mom in the middle of the night many times. In fact, she had seen images and drawings of this exact demon before. It was when she was little, in the mythologies her mother had read to her. That was Nazareth'gak. One of the 13 lieutenant demons was said to have roamed the world before The Intervention. Subordinate to the primordial demon of pain and torment. Myths of him had been passed down for thousands of years to scare children into behaving: "If you don't listen, Nazareth'gak will come and stick you on his horns."

The myths said that the demons terrorized humanity in their own uniquely cruel ways until the gods struck them down. When each one was defeated, the gods left behind a statue of its last moments to remind humanity. They also left behind a promise that as long as humanity did not forget the gods and their mercy, they would be safe from a tragedy like The Intervention happening again. Most of what they knew about it was just a few ancient carvings and stories passed down, and many people treated even those as legends now. But this didn't feel like a legend to Bee.

For one thing, this wasn't a statue. She could see sourceless flames licking up and down the arms of the demon, and the detail was far too fine. Why anyone would make such a well-crafted statue of a terror like Nazareth'gak was beyond her. There was also a sense of pressure coming from the thing. It reminded her of how she initially felt around Void. Finally, there were the whispers. It was subtle, but Bee felt she could almost hear something speaking to her the longer she stood there. She couldn't hear what it was saying; she pulled herself back from listening too hard out of fear.

That this was real was tripping her up. Legends said it would run around the battle, impaling human bodies on its horns as it hunted. They acted like some gory helmet. They were kept alive so the demon could feed off of their pain. When it needed a weapon, it would grab a leg of a human on its horn, ripping it off and swinging it down. If she looked closer, she probably would see the barbs that ran along all sides of the horns.

The ramblings went on and started to become more coherent. Bee was just glad she hadn't passed out yet. Forcing the whispers down, she took a breath to steady her racing heart. It took a few minutes for Bee to process this. Once she had recovered herself and managed to stop swearing, she could take in the rest of the room. It appeared that this demon was still chained and in a cage, dormant. Even if it was starting to wake, it wouldn't be able to move for months, at least according to what she'd learned. Then it would be free. There was nothing to stop it. The cage wouldn't help. Cages like that were not really for containing the demon but rather for keeping people out and away from them. But that should not have been the only defense. She scanned the smooth, slightly sloped obsidian floor. There should have been tons of circles drawn around this based on the space available. Those circles were no longer there.

How was this here? Why was this here? No one had seen any of the "statues" the stories spoke of. That's what made so many people think they were just myths and legends. Did that mean the other 12 were also out there somewhere? Bee froze, shuddering at the thought, trying not to hyperventilate at the sheer scale of the problem in front of her. Eventually, she tore her eyes away to look down at Void.

"How do you fit into this?" She asked, not expecting an answer. She did not get one. Void was strong, but Nazareth'gak was a kind of strong that few things were anymore. She didn't know how her master would fare against such a thing. Though if Void had released him, perhaps it was confident?

Apparently, not only was Nazareth'gak real, but his location was also a well-kept secret. The mage's college must have known about this. Likely they were the ones tending to it, keeping their promises to the gods.

This knowledge fit right into a gap that she hadn't even noticed in her understanding of the world. It made a lot more sense why there was a castle in the middle of nowhere. This castle was massive, larger than most towns. Yet it had no other civilization anywhere close to it. Typically, a whole city would have grown around a building like this. Maybe the mages kept people away?

Bee tried to set aside all of the new questions she had. Void was showing this to her for a reason. Clearly, it was the one who wiped away all of the protections. But there seemed to be another reason for that rather than just chaos. Bee just needed to figure out what it was. To do that, she needed more information. When Bee thought about needing more information, she cursed herself, this time softly and under her breath. Yeah, she had totally forgotten about her first skill. She only got it a couple days ago. She's only used it once, then, she hadn't thought of it again. She needed to use it to power up her ability. It would naturally gain functionality from just her leveling up, but that would only work partially. The more she used it, the better it would get.

Bee walked forward hesitantly. It was a struggle to keep on her feet walking on this obsidian. It was slippery, and her feet constantly threatened to fly out from underneath her. The other permanent summoning rooms she visited had grooves etched in the stone for the containment circles to be placed in with absolute precision. Here it seemed that that was not the case, and she wondered why.

When she got in range, she activated her scan ability. She didn't want to be this close to the nightmare before her. But it was a good chance for her to gain experience. She needed to remember to use it every chance she got. Plus, it would help her confirm whether this really was a statue.

Name:

Nazareth'gak

Type:

Lieutenant Demon

Level:

above

???

Aside from confirming that her worst nightmares had come to life and would imminently destroy everything she knew and loved, it wasn't very useful. The only additional information she got was whether it was higher or lower level than her. This was higher, obviously. It was a long way to go before she got detailed information. She tried scanning it again to see if this use had pushed the ability up but did not get any more results. She would return every time her scan grew stronger to get as much information as possible. Maybe she could get an idea of how much time she had to find a solution.

Bee started kicking herself for not having scanned any lesser demons she had encountered. Having only ever used it twice was not doing her skill any favors, especially with Void's apparent interference with its results. She needed to go scan the dormant water and earth demons as well. She also needed to level up. It's too bad she hadn't got any experience when Void was out hunting. Probably because she wasn't involved in the fight at all. If she could get that final level to get a class. Then depending on the class, she might earn experience without fighting. That would really be a blessing.

---

I watched as Beatrice approached the statue. She was getting the wrong message from this. There wasn't much cleaning to do in this room. Mostly I just wanted to show her its beauty of it. I don't know why she was so fascinated with the ugly statue.

At first, I thought she was as overwhelmed as I had been. Then came a long tirade of oddly phrased and put-together profanity. I scrubbed it from my memory banks since it made me feel dirty, even hearing it. Things like this were not what I would expect from a small human. At least I had never heard them say such things before. I mean... It was an appropriate response to this level of beauty sometimes. However, when she entered the room, I noticed that she completely ignored the floor. The beautiful obsidian was only given a cursory glance as she almost slipped down its gentle slope.

She asked me what I had to do with this. I wasn't sure how to respond. I couldn't take any credit, honestly. All I did was reveal the beauty underneath the mess.

Nearing the statue, Beatrice narrowed her eyes and focused on it for a moment. Then she just came and walked back towards me, looking at me as if we were moving on to the next thing. I sighed inwardly. After her lack of admiration for the rug, I had suspected this. I had even prepared for it. But it was still a disappointment. Beatrice really had no eye for art.

I was sad, but this was not entirely unprecedented. Many people have no appreciation for the finer things in life. I suppose I could forgive her. Maybe with enough good influence, she can realize why these things are so important. Besides, she did appear to appreciate the colorful blocks, if in a strange way. Perhaps she just needed a bit more guidance or exposure to real beauty. I'd have to think about how to best go about this.

This completed my lesson plan for the day. Now there was just one more thing I needed to do; go clean the large room. Well, if Beatrice was done appreciating the majesty of the best room in the castle, I supposed we could clean up the demon brake fluid that had gotten sprayed everywhere. It would be a good opportunity to observe how she dealt with liquid.

Once Beatrice was ready to go, I started to lead the way out of the room. From her continual muttering, I worried that my good example wouldn't be enough. Maybe you couldn't teach good taste. I could still try though. I began making mental notes of what other examples of fine craftsmanship might catch her eye.

A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

THE LORE....

this might be a problem

Eh, I'm sure it's fine

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Chapter 23: Power Washing

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A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

If you have made it this far I hope you are enjoying it. This story has become way more popular than I thought it would really fast. Also, finished the writathon challenge with this update, so I wanted to update you all on plans moving forward.

All the Dust that Falls will continue to update daily until the end of the challenge (Dec 5) for sure, after that I will see how we are doing.

Figured I might shake things up a bit and move the Patreon plug up here. How exciting!

Also for the art. I have been putting up alternatives as a bit of an extra treat for Patreon subs.

I trundled down the hall, Beatrice following along behind. Several minutes had passed since we had left the beautiful room, but she was still muttering under her breath. Honestly, I was starting to get a little worried. In the few days we had been hanging out together, she was very quiet and didn't speak much. Something must really be bothering her to make her change that habit.

It continued for long enough that I decided I needed to do something. We were only about halfway to our destination, but I stopped in front of Beatrice and gave her an inquisitive beep. She fell silent, coming to a halt right in front of me, and looked down. She seemed to consider her words before speaking.

"Master, I'm just trying to figure it out. I don't understand why. What was the point of releasing one of the 13? The destruction it would cause would be unimaginable if it got out. I understand you may have freed the others for training. Or for food and resources. But couldn't you have just left Nazareth'gak alone?"

I'll be honest; I didn't really understand what she was talking about. What did she think I released? What was this about destruction? Destruction was usually something to be avoided, as it caused a mess. However, sometimes you must destroy things to make them more presentable. I thought about that show my humans loved, where a house was broken down and taken apart to be rebuilt as a newer, shinier version. However, that was planned destruction, and the messes were controlled. Beatrice probably wasn't talking about one of those times based on the tone of her voice. Most of the time, destruction only caused chaos and more work for me.

After a moment of silence, her last question hanging in the air, I gave Beatrice another questioning beep. I tried to encourage her to go on and explain.

"Well, I mean, there is no way I'm going to become powerful enough to fight it by the time it is released. So I don't think it is a training aid for me. I don't know. Maybe you're trying to find a challenge for yourself? I'm not sure how powerful it is compared to you. I suppose if you are also training and you want to fight it… Maybe that would be it. That does seem like it would cause a huge mess, though. Also, I'd rather not have the castle come down on my head."

That clicked with me. I didn't want to cause a big mess. Was something I did going to cause a mess? I still was unclear about the whole "releasing" thing. But if I was doing something that would result in an abnormal amount of cleaning required, I would absolutely stop it if I could. Unless that would be interfering with a human. Then again, I was here for training, so maybe I could become capable enough to clean up even the most intimidating messes. After all, messes were a part of life, and chaos was unavoidable... I resolved to train harder.

I think I had an idea now of what she was upset about well enough that we could probably continue. I resumed my precisely 3.18 mile per hour pace towards the large room with the big mess. Beatrice followed along more calmly this time. Her muttering had stopped, and she seemed to relax a little.

As we walked, she eventually began to speak again. But not in the mutter-under-your-breath stress kind of way from before. Actually, I doubted she realized she muttered under her breath previously.

"So, I'm not exactly clear what your plan is. But it seems like you have it under control. If you need help in any way, let me know. I am eager to learn from you. If you really can consider beating a legend like that... I can only hope to gain a fraction of your power."

Of my power? That made even less sense. Humans didn't have the same power source as my kind did. Or did they? I still didn't quite know what caused humans to function. Maybe she meant my suction power? I imagined Beatrice lying down on the floor, inhaling dust as I did. It was a funny thought. That was not how humans cleaned! Besides, she didn't have any bristles, so she'd only be able to get surface particles if she did try to imitate my vacuuming technique.

Hopefully, she meant something more like general cleaning ability. In that case, I think she might be just as good at raw "power." She could move much heavier things, with more freedom, and move much quicker than me. The only advantage my kind had was we liked cleaning more than humans. Also, we didn't get tired the same way. For a human to suggest that I might be more powerful than them was baffling. We were always more of a convenience than anything else. Maybe humans here were really that bad at cleaning?

I brought myself out of my musings when we arrived at the large room. Beatrice paused after she opened the door. Then turned to give me an unreadable look.

She seemed to sigh. "You know, I'm not as surprised as I should be. It says a lot about the last few days. Master, if you wait a second. I'll go grab a bucket and a mop."

As she turned around to leave, I beeped appreciatively and popped out my mop in solidarity. Human mops were much larger than mine. I bet that would help a lot!

---

Bee trudged back to the broom closet. She never thought she would come back here, especially under such peaceful circumstances. She could still see the calcium deposit from the spilled mop bucket. The one she knocked over when she first clambered in over a week ago. Opening the door, Bee saw all her good friends were still there. Aside from the broom, of course. Choosing the one that had inconvenienced her least during her stay, she grabbed out a mop and the empty bucket.

With tools in hand, she returned to the grand hall. For all that Void seemed obsessed with cleanliness, holy hell, had he made a mess. She was surprised that he hadn't already cleaned it up. She'd seen Void consume demons before, usually in an instant. However, as time went on, stronger demons were getting released. That might explain why there was so much more carnage this time. While it seemed like Void still hadn't had any issues with someone like her, they would be harder to deal with. Still, Void didn't seem to have anything resembling a bladed weapon; how had it managed to cut them apart? Had they just been torn apart by force? She was sure she saw demon body parts in the room, a couple of severed hands at least lying around in all the blood.

Reaching down, she touched the handle stuck in her belt. The cleaver's weight was a comfort. Even if she couldn't do whatever that was, she had her own ways to cut these demons down to size. She was stronger now. Sure, not strong enough to even think of taking on the dozens that must have perished in there. Maybe just one to start off. She tried not to picture the scene of Void pulverizing demons in a gory tornado.

She returned to the grand hall to see Void already at work. It was hoovering up all the large chunks of body parts and a fair amount of liquid. Passing through the gunk pretty quickly, Void was making rapid progress. However, it couldn't quite get the majority of the liquid. Perhaps it would do that after, or it was waiting for her to take care of it. She propped the mop by the door and hefted the bucket. She'd need to get some water.

Well, the kitchen was just down the hall and to the right. It was not too far away. She could ask for help and get Void to go with her. But it was close enough, and she did hope to find a single minor demon along the way. With the cleaver and surprise on her side, she might be able to take it. Then she would hit level 5, which would be great for her survival prospects. It would also give her another way to earn experience rather than fighting more demons. It was a risk to go and fight something, sure, but if she played her cards right, she wouldn't have to do this much more.

Bee sighed. This sounds like the thinking that got me chased down the hall last time. Bee thought. Well, not exactly the same. She wasn't afraid of asking Void for help anymore. Now it was more of a pride thing. She didn't want to embarrass herself or disappoint Void. Could she really justify putting herself in danger just for that? This was an incredibly stupid thing to do. She had just finished healing and only was able to walk again yesterday. Sure she was in much better shape now, and she even had two hands free. But she also had no combat knowledge, and yet she would try to scan and kill a demon. While she was a human child, still without a class.

The demons around here couldn't be that strong yet. Based on what she'd seen and experienced firsthand, they were likely under level 10. Shouldn't be impossible, just dangerous. Plus, if she didn't do this now, then who knows? Maybe this was her best chance to learn how to protect herself while the stakes were relatively low and the more powerful demons were still in stasis. But this was just a stupid idea. Bee kept repeating versions of this mantra to herself, but she was already halfway to the kitchen.

She actually got all the way there without any issues. After filling the bucket with the water pump, she started back... As she walked, trying to keep her steps as quiet as possible with a bucket full of water in her grip, she kept her head on the swivel. She actually saw the demon before it saw her. It was an undersized one, the smallest she had seen so far, only a little larger than the ash imp. Bee supposed she might have gotten lucky and found a weakling. Or one that had just gotten out of stasis and hadn't had a chance to fully recharge. This was her chance.

She set the bucket down as gently as she could, cringing inwardly at the soft thunk sound it made. When the demon made no indication that it had heard her, she crept closer. The cleaver silently slipped from her belt into her hand.

When she got within range, she immediately scanned the demon.

Name:

N/A

Type:

Lesser Demon

Level:

above

???

It hadn't offered any more information. But it was a lesser demon, so it shouldn't be a much higher level than her. Besides, it was still moving around without noticing her presence. It looked like it had cornered something. It juked back and forth in the opening of a room. Bee couldn't see past it well enough to see what it was doing. So she kept getting as close as possible while the demon was distracted.

She actually managed to get close enough that she could almost touch the demon before it noticed something was wrong. It froze for a split second before turning to look at her. But it was too late. The cleaver was already descending towards its head.

The cleaver impacted. The demon managed to get its forearm up in time. It took the hit near its elbow instead of being smashed in the face. In that moment of hesitation, an orange blur shot between its legs. Skidding into a sharp left turn, a cat fled down the hallway. Bee stumbled forward, having put all of her weight into the swing, completely overbalancing. It might not have been the best idea, but the heavy blade embedded into what felt like bone with a sharp crack.

A spray of black goopy liquid gushed from the wound, splattering all over her face and clothes. And only because she had overbalanced and was falling forward did the demon's other arm full of claws swipe towards her miss. Claws took a few strands of hair off as she fell to the ground. The momentum of the fall took the cleaver out of the arm of the demon. She was lucky to keep hold of it. She landed, sprawled out at the feet of the beast. Clutching its arm, it howled in pain. Thinking quickly, Bee repositioned the cleaver and slashed at the back of its ankle before it could recover.

Aiming for the tendon, she could see attaching its claws to its leg. She didn't swing with as much force this time as she did not have the same leverage but still had no problem puncturing the skin and tearing through the tendon, but did not come close to impacting the bone. This was good because it allowed her to maintain control of the cleaver. She wrenched her weapon free with little effort and scrambled back as the demon collapsed.

Safely out of range, Bee regained her feet. In the half second since she attacked, black blood sprayed everywhere from the two wounds she inflicted. Now she was thoroughly covered with the black, tar-smelling liquid.

The demon howled at her as it lay on the ground, not even attempting to struggle away. With its leg immobilized and one arm useless, it didn't pose much of a threat. The only thing it could do was call for help from its brethren. She came closer. With a few downward hacks, Bee finished it off.

Panting, Bee pulled in long lungfuls of air. The whole thing took less than 5 seconds. But she felt like she had run a marathon. Adrenaline pumped through her, and everything seemed to move slower. Her movements felt faster, sharper, and more precise. She caught her breath as a large number floated up in the corner of her vision.

LEVEL UP! LEVEL 5 REACHED.

CHOOSE A CLASS. MAID, DEVOTEE, BRUTE

A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

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Chapter 24: The Magic Eraser

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Bee stared at her options intently. Considering how young she was, she hadn't expected to be offered a particularly rare or powerful class. But she hadn't expected her choices to be so… strange.

She tossed Maid right out the window. Never. Even if the other options had been particularly awful, it didn't matter. She would not choose the Maid class ever. That was as far away from magic, adventure, and just anything interesting as you could get. She bristled at the thought that her brief tenure at the mage's college was enough for this to even be offered. She really hadn't done much in her life yet.

That only left Devotee and Brute. Both these classes were things she was familiar with. In fact, they were relatively common. Devotee was the introduction class to the more advanced cleric classes. Usually, people who wanted to serve a temple or church were groomed for Devotee. Bee didn't know the details about how the class worked, but it centered around the worship of some influential figure or god. Also, those going down this path usually had a lot of support from their fellow worshipers and others. Adventures and knights offered discounted rates for power-leveling Devotee candidates because healers were just that useful. Most temples even covered their prospective members' leveling costs. That was how her cousin managed to become one, at least. His family was too poor to have funded it themselves. Then once they got the class, they would earn experience by following tenents of their faith.

One didn't have to be the devotee of a god. That was most common, but she had heard stories of Devotees serving kings, emperors, or more sinister things. There was even one about a Devotee who worshiped a duck, of all things. That could have just been a story her mom told her, though.

It made sense that Beatrice would be offered this option. She had offered her soul to Void, after all. It might be a good choice for her. She would benefit from it by following along in her master's footsteps, which she was already planning on doing. The things she learned from Void might also tie into her class nicely. Also, the Devotees she had seen often used some magic. The powders they worked with had always fascinated her. Maybe she could eventually get skills related to alchemy.

All around, it was an excellent class for her current situation. Except there were no physical benefits to help her survive the coming troubles. Bee had no doubt that there would be trouble.

Brute was the exact opposite. It was also an ordinary class, but that's where the similarities ended. Those that chose that class focused on hand-to-hand combat. Or any melee combat that required force. They were offered no bonuses when working with magic. They often were outclassed by the other combat classes at higher levels. However, it was a viable strategy as a generalist. Having Brute would increase your strength, speed, and health recovery and offer many skills that could be used outside of combat for more utility. Unfortunately, the people who took this class often did so because they lacked better or more skillful options. It was a bit of a default rather than something that anyone with real potential might pick. At least, that was their reputation.

She needed clarification about why she had been offered a close combat class like this. The demon fight might have played into it, but that was just one event. Unless the system was also accounting for that feud, she had with Kevin when they were younger… Or perhaps the one with Janice? Or… Okay, maybe close combat was a fair option.

If Beatrice was in this castle alone, her choice would be obvious. However, with all these demons around, she needed a way to defend herself. Brute would see her through this situation more likely than any other option. Besides, her young age would offset any negative stigma from taking such a general class. However, she was not alone. And because of that, she could consider the future a bit more.

Devotee did seem to be a better choice. Still, there were more than just practical concerns about how helpful it would be in her immediate circumstances. Suppose she ever felt compelled to do something stupid, like wandering off to get a bucket of water without Void through demon-infested hallways. In that case, she might want to choose something to help her survive. Especially now that she had fought a demon by herself. Sure, she had come out unscathed, but it was a close call; those claws had missed her head by maybe a quarter of an inch. It helped her confidence a bit but also made her even more aware of her weakness. Bee also did not like the gore and the blood all over her. The rush was something, but it didn't seem worth committing to a combat class.

Bee sighed. There was really only one thing to do. This was a common theme she was noticing. All of her choices only left her with one natural choice. It was almost like the system was forcing her down a path. She would say that was the case if she didn't know better. However, there were many times when she had friends or family friends who had gained levels and agonized over their skill choice. It was common to ask friends for advice and hear everyone's opinion since the options provided uniquely valuable benefits.

No, it probably came from her massive lack of life experience. She didn't know anyone her age who had ever reached level 5. There were stories full of heroes who would level up this high by the time they were maybe 15, and those were likely exaggerated. Bee wouldn't even turn 15 for a couple of years. Possibly some obscenely wealthy nobles who could afford to have a party of knights power-level their young scion for years could match her pace. But somehow, being partied with an unimaginably powerful being just demolishing its opponents gave her more experience than anything she'd ever heard.

That might have been the strangest part about all of this. From what Bee knew, the experience was supposed to be calculated based on relative difficulty, comparing the level of the combatants and the numbers in comparable skills. No one knew the exact calculation, but a Statistician could give some decent estimates. For example, they might be able to tell how much experience you would get given your level and party members versus what you were fighting. With Void's power, he should be getting next to nothing for the puny demons he was feeding on. Yet she had seen it mess with the system before. If Void could fool the system for her scan, perhaps it was also deceiving the system to make it appear much lower level than it really was. Or it could just be that whatever species or being it was, was much more powerful than its level indicated. This might trick the relative difficulty scale and give much more experience.

This was more supporting evidence that Void's name was not "Spot."

Returning her thoughts to the box in front of her, Bee selected "Devotee" from the list. Then, with her decision made and new opportunities awaiting her, Bee headed back to the grand hall carrying her bucket full of water.

---

Oh good, Beatrice returned with a bucket of liquid. Or "water," as she called it. This would make my job much more manageable. I had already made some decent progress. It hadn't taken long to suck up all the large broken demon parts.

No, what was taking so long was this black, sticky, oily liquid that the demons had leaked everywhere. It wasn't practical for me to vacuum that stuff up, obviously. So after I finished all the debris I could with my suction. I went to work with my mop. It sprang out of my side, freshly fluffed and ready for action. I hadn't had a reason to use it in a while, so this would be an excellent opportunity to optimize my efficiency models with this tool in mind.

Unfortunately, it was only as effective as it had been on the bug's viscous goop. My mop only smeared the stuff around when cleaning without water. Sure, there was a little bit of liquid absorbed. I could retract my mop and wring it out, but the yield was a mere fraction of what it could have been if I had diluted the gunk and then absorbed it.

So when Beatrice came in, I greeted her excitedly and zoomed over at full speed to dip my mop in the water. It wasn't until I had done this that I got to take a good look at her. She was covered in the same goop that covered this room. Despite the mess all over her, she looked triumphant.

"Master, I did it. I hunted one of these lesser demons and reached level 5." She said with a slight curtsy.

Sounds like she took down another one of those mess makers. I can always rejoice when a mess maker is taken care of. I imagine this meant there was another mess somewhere in the castle like this one that needed to be taken care of. Though since she was a human, it was likely on a much grander scale. However, she mentioned level 5. That didn't make sense. According to that voice that shouted sometimes, I seemed to be at level 15. Why was my number larger than hers? And also, Beatrice had mentioned how strong these little mess makers were. Maybe the humans around here were just weaker? So perhaps her mess wasn't as bad as our current one. That would be something, wouldn't it? Me making a larger mess than humans; I would never have thought that was possible.

I beeped my appreciation for her taking care of a mess maker before it could do further harm. She smiled at the praise.

That taken care of, we got to work. We both dipped our mops in the water again before standing side by side to clean. I moved forward slowly, turning my body back and forth, whisking the mop across the floor. I only managed two or three passes before I needed to retract and squeeze the liquid out of the mop into my dustpan. However, I had to go back to the mop bucket and refill my container once that was done. Bee kept dragging the bucket behind us, so it wasn't too long of a trip. But it was pretty frequent, seeing how my mop didn't hold that much liquid.

However, it did seem to hold a lot more liquid than it rightfully should. Several times more. And as it passed over the ground, the area absorbed into it was almost twice the size of the actual mop brush. It almost looked like the gunky black mess was being sucked toward my tool. Now, this seemed quite odd. Yes, mops are made to be absorbent, but usually, it's a direct contact thing. Mops were made to absorb moisture they come into contact with, not everything in the vicinity. But I was basing that on what I had seen from other mops in the past. Maybe this was a special vacuum mop? Or perhaps it was related to that "magic" stuff Beatrice was talking about. I'd have to find a way to learn more. How could I go about learning more about this beautiful thing?

I need to find a way to communicate to Bee that she should tell me about current cleaning technology. Also, if she didn't know much, she could ask around.

We kept going, and squiggly things kept showing up in the corner of my vision. Over the past week or so, I had gotten pretty good at tuning them out. However, I was starting to notice them again. This time, they appeared to be longer and took up 1.67 times more space than the average. After a while, I started to grow a little bit distracted. I began tracing the squiggles into the black liquid as I cleaned. Not for any particular reason but just because it was interesting. Like I was creating my own sort of art. It didn't seem to matter to the efficiency of my work. The way my brush worked made it clean just as fast, with or without wiggles.

After a little bit, I checked up on Bee. She was right there beside me with her large mop, making very aggressive progress. She wasn't quite as skilled as I was. That was evident as she had to go over the same area much more frequently. Where everything required one pass for me, she would have to put water on the floor, spread it around, wring the mop out, and repeatedly clean the area thoroughly. However, that area was much larger than mine. Even with the increased radius of my mop's area of effect, Bee's one swipe would cover many times the amount of space. This allowed her to keep pace with me. Well, she did seem to be working quite hard. She was moving frantically to stay by my side; her face was red, and clear liquid was pouring down her body.

Who knew humans could produce liquid like this. If I had her do this earlier, maybe we wouldn't have even had to go get the mop bucket.

A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

Choosing a class is hard... I promise it will be entertaining. I had to pick other options that were possibles but then It was hard to justify they choice because I came up with all the reasons for the other classes first.

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zaifyr

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24.11.2022, 17:34

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