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All the Dust that Falls: A Roomba Isekai Adventure

zaifyr

Chapter 25: Meditative Cleaning

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Bee worked alongside Void, steadily working over the bloodied floor with her mop. The process became a steady rhythm - dip the mop, wipe the floor, wring everything out, repeat. Before she realized it, she fell into a trance-like state, cleaning peacefully and steadily.

Bee looked up, unsure what had snapped her out of her meditation. She had no idea how much time had passed since they started cleaning. Still, now that she was aware again, her body felt like it was made of lead. She was exhausted, drained, and sore from the day's activity.

It wasn't all bad news, though. Looking back at Void and Bee's progress, she was impressed. It must have taken several hours, though it felt like nothing.

She thought this would take them two or three days. If they could maintain their current rate, they might finish by later today or early tomorrow. That was, of course, if she managed to take a break and get food and water. Otherwise, she would never finish at all.

By the time she had come back to her senses fully, Bee was panting. Void worked like a machine. It never seemed to get tired, never seemed to change its pace. It didn't get distracted, endlessly whisking back and forth and dipping its little mop in the bucket to get more water. But, on the other hand, she needed a break soon, or she'd collapse into the black blood.

Bee glanced down at Void and its small mop-like appendage. She had no idea how it could be so effective with such a little thing. It swished the mop around in a slight arc yet absorbed way more liquid than it should. It kind of made her feel inefficient. What made it even worse was that, if not for Void being a being of insurmountable power, the image of it waving a tiny ball of fabric scraps around like that was almost… cute. It was like watching a toddler digging a hole with a toy shovel, then coming back a few minutes later to find an entire 40-foot well dug.

The only thing that kept her going was the numbers she saw floating up in her vision as she cleaned. Those just so happened to be what had distracted her from the trance. She didn't initially understand what she was gaining experience for. Still, after they cleaned for a while, she had a theory. Having watched Void over the past few days, Bee had begun to understand its motivations better, which was a good thing since it was essential to her class. Devotee was a class made for serving ideals. You were devoted to someone, or you venerated a divine being. The Devotee thus made the ideals of the one they served the core tenants by which they lived.

Any class would gain experience through two methods. The first one was combat; all classes could gain experience through combat. The second option was class-dependent; it changed depending on a person's selected class. Devotees, in particular, gained experience by serving the ideals of their venerated. It seemed that Void's only ideal was one of cleaning and order. And significantly so, she wondered if those were Void's only ideals. If that were the case, then she might be gaining experience from cleaning. Like a maid would.

She thought she had avoided this fate. However, despite going with a different option, she still ended up pretty much getting the maid class with extra steps. She wished she had just picked brute.

Even though she hated it, the experience she was getting was almost as much as she received for killing that demon. In fact, she had already reached level six. It was a pretty unheard-of pace, especially with the comparatively small risk she was taking on. It would still be a while before she reached her next skill and the possibility of anything magic-related in her class. Still, it seemed closer and closer every moment. She coursed on the second wind from her new level for a while before the adrenaline wore off.

Amazingly, it was not Beatrice that asked for a break. Instead, Void had stopped in the middle of a sweep and looked at her. Well, she assumed it was looking at her. He definitely turned, and she could feel his attention on her. She was curious whether it was a perk of her class or her being continually aware of his presence. Still, she could feel it was considering her.

Looking at her for a couple seconds, it gave out a soft conciliatory screech and retracted its little mop. With that, it turned around and started heading for the door. Bee almost collapsed in relief. She was already tired, but with the prospect of a break looming over her, she realized the full extent. Her increased level had helped a lot. Otherwise, she would have probably passed out at this pace.

Recovering her balance with her mop, she sucked in a couple breaths before following Void. She caught up to it by the time it had reached the door. With its arm, it indicated that she should lean her mop up against the wall next to the bucket, which she gratefully did. Then it continued out of the room and headed back towards the library.

Bee was ready for a nap, but there were things to do first. If they were going to spend time in the library, she needed to use it wisely. There were a couple things she needed to research. First, she would need to find a complete guide on the devotee class. While she had some general knowledge about it, it was something she'd never thought she would get. Her family, though wealthy, was not particularly favored by the church. So she wouldn't have been involved in enough worship to be offered such a class under normal circumstances.

The second thing she needed to research was the demon lieutenant. Sure, she had read fables about it, but those weren't necessarily good sources of factual info. But if the mages' college knew it was here... They had to have replaced the protection circles regularly as the material ran out of power for several millennia at least. She wouldn't be surprised if they had more information about him somewhere. In fact, she wondered how Void had managed to break into the room without any signs of forced entry. She hadn't seen it go into any other locked room yet. Maybe it shouldn't surprise her, but it was a mystery she would need to ponder.

Maybe with enough time, she could replace the suppression fields herself. Still, judging based on how complex a field for Narazeth'gak would need to be and how little experience she had, that would probably take her more than the few months she had. It might not be at full power after a few months. If she was lucky, that might take years. However, as soon as it could move, breaking out of the cage would probably be trivial. That would be more than she could deal with.

No, her only options were to figure out a faster way to contain it or call for help or some sort of weakness she could use to kill it before it fully awakened. Killing it might be a stretch; just damaging it enough that she had time to contain it would be above and beyond. Still, the odds that there would be something she could hurt were minuscule. If Void was willing to do something about it, she wouldn't have to worry about it. She wasn't sure, though, and she wanted to avoid risking the unleashed calamity if Void didn't take action. Earlier she had said that she trusted Void to have it under control, but she was reconsidering. Void seemed inscrutable, and she wouldn't put it past it to be testing her even with this. It would be good to be prepared.

Both the Devotee class and Nazareth'gak were things scholars dedicated their lives to studying. And she only had a little time to dedicate to either of them. Sure she was exhausted, but she needed to get started. Who knew how much time she would have to research like this, given Void's training. Her other questions, like where the hell Void came from, would have to wait.

—

I was a little bit at a loss. We made our way to the room with fancy blocks so Beatrice could charge. However, I didn't know what to do while she was charging. I had cleaned this room several times in the past few days, and it really didn't need it anymore. The floor sparkled like freshly polished marble, and I had organized all of the blocks I could reach. I could leave her alone and just close the door. However, she seemed to be a bit of a magnet for trouble. I figured if she did that, she might end up burning the place down or attracting a mess maker from the outside that would cause more destruction. She seemed to need supervision.

However, my issue was resolved as we came across the body of one of the demons in the hall. Beatrice looked proud when she informed me of its defeat, and she thought removing a mess maker was difficult. Of course, she made quite a mess while doing so, but I wasn't one to complain. We had spent most of a day cleaning up the last mess I made doing the same thing.

Once we got Beatrice settled down and charging, I would come and take care of the mess so she wouldn't have to. I couldn't think of a better way to thank her. It might be a risk, but I thought it was worth it. Cleaning this mess would be necessary. We couldn't leave a second huge mess like this for long.

Entering the library, Beatrice didn't go to her usual charging spot. Instead, she went to grab the fancy blocks from the wall. As much as I appreciated home decor, now was not the time. I tried to communicate this to her in a series of beeps. First, I came to rest next to her charging table. Then I pointed at her with my grabby arm, then at the table. She stepped away from the shelves and came over with a strange look on her face - confusion, maybe? I repeated the motion, just in case.

"You want me to lie down? On the table?" Beatrice asked. I beeped a confirmation to her. Being able to communicate with a human was so helpful!

Hesitantly, she got on the table and assumed the optimal charging position before turning her head to look at me. I watched her. It only took a couple minutes before she dropped into sleep mode. I waited a while to ensure her secure connection to the charging pad. Finally, I was satisfied after a reasonable time when she didn't roll off or lose connection.

Closing the door behind me, I started back to the mess in the hall. I surveyed it. It was not nearly as bad as the mess in the large room. It seemed that no parts of the mess maker were wholly separated from the main body, and that had reduced coolant leaking. How nice of her to try and minimize the liquid output like this. She really was learning so well. Actually, to be honest, I wasn't sure what fluid this was. I thought it was a fair assumption that it had multiple purposes. I only saw the one kind from all parts of these demons. So it was some sort of utility fluid that was coolant, lubrication, and brake fluid all in one.

I quickly added the demon's parts to my dustbin. It joined all the others already there, though this one was utterly non-functional. I transmuted it right away. I was starting to dip below optimal energy levels, and I felt there were plenty of other materials in storage I could use at a moment's notice. The fuzzy mess maker was still inside with the 14 angry lessor demons who would never leave. Now I only needed to deal with the fluid.

Since this morning, I have optimized my strategy for cleaning the demon utility fluid. I only needed water. That wasn't an issue; there was a bucket just down the hall. Even if it was too heavy to move, I had even found a way around that limitation. By storing water inside my dustbin and using that to saturate my mop, I could avoid the travel time associated with trips to the bucket. I had only been using the bucket in solidarity with Beatrice and to lead by example. Once I had accumulated enough fluid to start, it wasn't necessary anymore; it was just fun. I zoomed into the large room and consumed a large amount of the bucket's contents. That should last a while. Then, I returned to the demon utility liquid to start cleaning.

—-

Bee lay on the table for quite a while. She had started to doze, but the sound of the door closing woke her up. That was bizarre. Was Void trying to make her sleep? She was tired, sure, but it wasn't close to nighttime. It was too early to sleep by a mile. Also, had it been waiting for her to sleep before leaving? It almost looked like it was trying to sneak away or something. That was almost more perplexing than the sleep thing. Maybe it was doing something dangerous or secret and didn't want to be followed?

Bee sat up and took a few sips of water. She was tired, but only physically; she'd be fine after a chance to catch her breath. Really, taking a quick breather would put her in a perfect spot to research like she had planned.

Still slightly confused, Bee got up to go look through the books.

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Chapter 26: Rolling Down the Red Carpet

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A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

I'm doubling the number of chapters available for early release on the 5 and 10 dollar tiers! 1 * 2 = 2! I've got a little bit more time this week so I'm trying to build it up a bit more. Expect at least one more increase soon.

Note: I aim for 2-2.5k chapters but sometimes in editing they blow up, like this one. Enjoy the extra long chapter!

I quickly finished cleaning up the hallway mess with my new and improved mopping technique. Given my efficiency, I expected that Beatrice would still be charging for a while. It seemed that once humans ran out of energy, they needed a long time to regain their strength, around 8 hours. They were very cranky when woken up earlier than that. When she completed charging, we would continue cleaning the large room. By my estimates, it should only take us 6.7 hours more to complete that job. However, I didn't want to start now and rob her of the pleasure of finishing that job. Besides, I was having so much fun working side by side with a human. Humans rarely joined me in my tasks, but it was always a pleasure when they did.

I thought about what I should do while waiting for Beatrice. Aside from cleaning some of the other areas that might need attention, I was eager to finish something else I started a while ago. If my understanding of the floor plan was correct, there was only a little more of this floor for me to explore, excluding areas I couldn't reach. I would love to finally have a complete model of the place and be able to plan my routes with maximum efficiency.

I checked to ensure my work here was complete, then zoomed toward the next unexplored area in my model. It was time to have a little adventure.

—-

Humming to herself, Bee's eyes darted between her dictionary and the book on classes. She had gotten much faster at reading, but many words still eluded her. Regardless, she had learned a lot about her new class already. Apparently, a Devotee's experience was not based on the Devotee's interpretation of the ideals of their master. Instead, it was awarded based on whether actions aligned with their master's interpretation of their ideals. That kind of made sense, but it also wasn't very intuitive. How, then, were there any disagreements over what the gods believed then? It seemed like it would be a pretty straightforward question to answer.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden bang. Bee's head snapped up towards the hallway. A distinct yowling and screeching followed the initial disturbance. It wasn't like the odd sounds Void made, nor did it sound like any of the demons she had encountered so far. However, it was familiar somehow. No, this sounded like… a terrified cat? She recalled the orange blur that had darted past her earlier.

The sound was growing louder, as though the cat was approaching. She rushed to the door and scanned the hall in bewilderment. . Sure enough, a streak of orange fur rounded the corner and ran past her, puffed up in terror.

Soon after, Void came careening around the corner. It tipped on its side, skidding sideways on one wheel in an attempt to make the turn before righting itself and flying after its prey. And boy, was it moving. The disk shot towards her faster than any horse she had ever seen. How had the cat managed to evade Void for this long?

Putting aside the fact that Void apparently rolled on wheels instead of hovering, Bee found herself at the precipice of a critical decision. Should she try to stop Void and reason with it to spare this cat's life? Or should she stay out of this, leaving the cat to whatever fate Void had in store for it? But, of course, it was just a cat - was it worth the risk of defying her now formally recognized master?

Before she even knew it, Bee stepped into Void's path. How could she not? Bee had a soft spot for cats. Plus, having one more living thing in the castle that wasn't a killer demon would be great for her sanity. She could feel the edges of her clothes fluttering in the air as they were pulled toward the unearthly black disk.

—

I had almost caught up to that mess maker. It was quick, quicker than any other ones I had encountered. Not as fast as I was, though. The only problem was that it could change directions much more efficiently. If I had my counterbalance, I would have been able to catch it. Without it, the best I could manage was using my momentum to balance on one wheel as I drifted around each corner. It wasn't nearly as effective, but it preserved my speed better than just turning my wheels as hard as possible. Still, I had been catching up, and it was only a matter of time before I caught it.

Then out of nowhere, Beatrice blocked my path. It was surprising, to say the least. I had to put on my brakes, turn sideways, and skid to a halt as best I could to not run into her. Luckily I hadn't reached top speed yet; otherwise, I might have plowed right into her ankles.

I saw the orange creature sprinting around another corner and out of sight. I was so close to catching that mess maker too.

I looked up at Bee. She seemed a bit frightened. Understandable. Frankly, with her luck, I was surprised we hadn't collided. This was just further proof that she was a magnet for trouble. She held out her hands pleadingly. "Master, please have mercy. It's just a cat."

I beeped at her, frustrated, asking her to get out of my way. She didn't see what I had.

"Whatever It did, I'm sure it didn't mean any harm."

Didn't mean any harm! My normally unflappable demeanor was very seriously flapping. That thing had 100%, unequivocally understood what it was doing! The first time it knocked a glass on the floor, sure, maybe it was an accident. That's why I cleaned it up and politely requested that it not make the same mistake again. The second time, I had doubts since it had obviously watched me clean both messes up. But the third time? After I was so polite and everything?

I shut off my visual sensors for a moment. Think about calming things. Like delicate rugs, fine dust disappeared into my dustbin, a freshly cleaned brush. It was ok. I beeped less angrily this time. After a few seconds, I beeped inquiringly at Beatrice. Yes, it was a cat. I remembered we had something like it back with my humans. It was a different color, though. I understood why they kept it; it was a companion of some sort that produced much of the matter I was responsible for cleaning. However, it had never done anything as intentionally rude as this cat. Still, if cats were human companions, then perhaps there was some reason why Beatrice didn't want me to remove this one? Maybe it was hers?

Beatrice could read my confusion, and words began pouring out of her. "The cat could be useful to you, see? They help keep the mice and rats down. Those are bad because they bring disease and eat food and poop everywhere. I hate rats. And cats can usually take care of themselves. I haven't seen any erm… signs… of that cat around either, so it won't cause the same kind of problem as other rodents like that."

I considered her words. So cats could help me deal with the other mess makers, then? But would this really be a benefit if the cat was a mess maker itself? I wasn't sure. Perhaps if the cat could prevent more messes than it caused, it would be worth it. That might be hard to judge. Maybe I could model it?

Bee continued. "Also, cats are warm and cuddly and normally don't do anything but lie there. Sure sometimes they scratch, but it's not too bad, usually, and I've never had a cat before…."

I beeped in hesitant affirmation. Seeing that I was convinced, Bee fell into silence, a nervous grin appearing on her face. I would have to observe this cat and its behaviors. It could be tolerated if it genuinely did prevent messes of a grander scale than it caused. Maybe I could recruit my human's help in monitoring its activity if she wanted to take care of it.

---

Bee was sweating profusely, as she had all of today and all yesterday. She and Void had spent the last few days finishing off the main ritual room and tending to some other areas that needed cleaning. All of this work, while manageable, was exhausting. Worse than that, though, it had confirmed her fears. By picking the Devotee class, she had essentially determined a maid class with extra steps. She gained experience through cleaning. Not just cleaning but organizing things too. Putting away books after she used them gave her a token amount of experince. Cleaning up any mess was the same - the bigger the mess, the higher the experience. Even straightening things that were out of line counted.

Even worse were the activities she had discovered that didn't give her anything. For example, making her healing salve didn't give her experience. Same with making demon repellent. In fact, none of the alchemy recipes she tried did anything for her. Even meditating and praying to Void didn't give her experience.

She stretched, groaning as she straightened from polishing the library table. The only other thing that had given her experience so far was combat, as expected. She had managed to kill another demon (and clean up the mess from their battle, of course), but she wasn't sure if gaining experience like that would be sustainable. Too dangerous. Cleaning was safer, and it was straightforward, but… There had to be another way. Preferably a way that involved magic, especially of the alchemical variety.

Bee got back to work, pondering her path forward. She would not live the rest of her life as a maid. Instead, she would find a way to work this in a more palatable direction. But in the meantime, there were shelves to dust.

—-

After much observation and training, I considered Beatrice's formal instruction complete. I think I had gone above and beyond in teaching her what I knew about cleaning the castle. As for raw cleaning ability, my technique differed significantly from what a human could use. There was no point going over that with her. Especially since she had taken to developing her own technique swimmingly. She had the work ethic and drive to improve, so I saw no reason to continue being her instructor.

She seemed to vehemently disagree. She stood before me, fists pressed together and bowed low at the waist.

"Please, Master," she said. "Allow me to continue learning from you."

I needed to figure out how to convey that I had nothing more to teach her. I would feel like a fraud if I continued like I was pretending to teach her. I would prefer if we returned to a normal relationship where I clean, and my human gives me pats. Correct pats technique was one thing my tutelage had not managed to get through to her. Regardless, Beatrice was unwilling to let this matter go.

Perhaps it had to do something with the humans here? Maybe I was right about them being terrible at cleaning, but perhaps they were a little dim too? So far, none had acted nearly as wisely as my humans. Of course, I put that up to over-excitement, but perhaps looking back, things could be seen differently.

If I could think of something else I was qualified to teach, I could do that. However, I needed more ideas. And I refused to pretend or fake my teaching.

I considered how to convey this when an idea struck. I could teach Beatrice additional independence so that she felt more comfortable working alone without my supervision. More than that, though, I could also help her learn how to relax a bit. She seemed so worked up all the time. This begging me to be her teacher was only the latest example. I might not have much to instruct on beyond cleaning, but I have found my peace in the world, and she has not. It was a great idea. How could I deny such a request, framed in this light?

I made a long, complicated series of beeps and whistles, doing my best to convey that, yes, I would instruct her, but differently than before. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what she understood. She seemed to think about it for a minute before bowing even lower with a "Thank you, master."

She really needed to stop doing that. Maybe I should teach her that before anything else.

Now that the matter was settled, I led her to our next primary task. Now that she was healed and this floor was explored, I wanted to finally brave the insurmountable stairs. It was a huge step in expanding my domain, and I ran some quick circles around Beatrice's ankles as we arrived.

There were 27 stairways on this floor, going either up or down. Now that this floor was mapped out, cleaned, and had a schedule prepared, I decided to lead us toward the first significant stairwell I had encountered. The one at the end of the large central hallway, just opposite the room I first woke up in. It had a quite soft-looking red carpet running down the center, leading downwards to a large, flat landing.

Despite all my growth, my triumphs in conquering doors and liquid, stairs were something I still needed to figure out. And now, I had a human to help me do so. Soon, no place would be safe for dust or debris to hide. Not with my mighty human reach and transportation abilities.

Not wanting to waste a minute, I led Beatrice to the precipice.

I rolled up to the edge, so my cliff sensors were screaming at me that I could not go any farther. Beatrice stood next to me, looking down. We sat there contemplating the great unknown together.

"You know, I never thought I'd be leaving so soon. After my father dropped me off, I figured I'd be here for years. Then after you came, I figured I would never leave at all. The adventure awaits." Beatrice said as she started down the stairs.

As she continued walking, I beeped indignantly. Hey! You forgot me. Confused, she looked up at me. I extended my grabby arm upwards, opening and closing the claw. I had seen the small human do something similar to this when he wanted to be picked up. It was 98% effective. When she continued to stare, I even rolled around a little bit. She still didn't seem to get it.

What, did she expect me to roll down the stairs by myself? Couldn't she tell I wasn't built for this?

---

Matthew, Arnold, and Patricia stared up at the castle. They discussed the rumors and accounts of the mages that had made the college their home. The castle did not disappoint in its grandeur. If anything, it was understated how beautiful and majestic it was. The only thing that surprised them was the missing shadow of oppressive doom that had come to hang over it in their minds.

Having occupied the castle for nearly 2 weeks, the demon from beyond should have corrupted it somehow. Maybe there would be a thunderstorm above or demons and monsters flying around in circles clawing for human blood. Or the forest would be withered, gray, and dead. However, the skies were blue; a couple of clouds rolled by, but no sign of a storm. The trees seemed just as green as they were anywhere else, and no more beasts were seen. Though they did see several deer nearby. They would have said it was a lovely day if they didn't know any better.

According to Patricia, everything seemed fine. The only odd thing was the lack of activity in the castle. They'd been watching it for several hours, and there had been no movement, human or otherwise.

"I still think we should go at night," Arnold argued. "It feels wrong to just walk up there."

Patricia sighed. "Arnold, we've gone over this a dozen times; there's no reason to go at night. It would be much more likely for any resistance we encounter to be helped by the night than hindered by it. Likely it would provide no cover for us. We'd just make it so we couldn't see them coming."

"I know, it just… feels wrong."

Mathew did his best to ignore them as he looked up at the castle consideringly. There was also no reason to climb over the walls; their best option seemed to be going through the front gate.

He cut through their bickering. "We'll go in an hour. Get some rest, eat and drink. We want to be in and out before sunset."

A NOTE FROM ZAIFYR

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Bee froze after just a few steps down the stairs, her shocked expression meeting Void's inscrutable one. What? Just…. Like… what? Void wasn't following her. Not only that, it seemed to be very agitated that she was going on without it. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that Void was either scared of stairs or incapable of traversing them. But that was absurd. Right?

Honestly, she struggled to think of anything more absurd. So an omnipotent being from the great beyond, capable of striking terror into the hearts of hardened mages, had a weakness. And that weakness was stairs. Yeah, no, that didn't make any sense. Something was very wrong here.

Even more than that, Void was acting very strangely. In fact, it was… As unbelievable as it sounded, it looked like a cat asking to be picked up.

Maybe she was missing something obvious. She waited for any explanation or clarification from Void, but it offered nothing. It just continued rolling back and forth slightly, its claw extended upwards. After a few minutes, she made to continue down the stairs, but Void began screeching frustratedly. Was it… exasperated? Bee slowly retreated up the stairs to a series of encouraging chirps from her master. This couldn't be what it actually wanted. She only touched Void once, possibly a second, when it saved her from that lesser demon. But still, she was hesitant to do so. Plus, even if Void had been much more amicable than expected, the consequences of offending it would still be deadly. And if she were wrong about it wanting to be picked up, that sounded like a quick way to hell.

Void was now bumping lightly against her boots and tugging at her shirt with its claw. Bee considered the facts one last time. Perhaps that unwillingness to go downstairs wasn't a lack of ability or fear; maybe it was laziness? She never knew it to be lazy before when it came to cleaning. Perhaps stairs were something that required more energy from it? Or it wanted to be carried like some sort of royalty? Maybe that wasn't out of the question. But it didn't change the fact that she didn't want to.

Hesitantly she bent down to touch it, and it gave an encouraging beep. Oh my gods, this couldn't actually be what it wanted. Bee touched Void gently, and it stayed still. No pain, no rebuking, no instant death. She ran her fingers over its side and gently placed her hands underneath its belly. Bracing her legs, Bee steeled her resolve and lifted with all her strength.

She almost fell backward down the stairs. Void was lighter than a cat. She had no idea how that was possible with all the stuff it consumed. All right, just one more thing that didn't make sense. Having been promoted to "Void Bearer," Bee turned back towards the stairs. She held her master firmly but carefully as though it was a platter made of solid gold. Holding an exquisite crystal goblet that was full of expensive wine. With her stress level through the roof, she began to carefully make her way downstairs.

She was lucky that these were the grand stairs. It was a direct path from the front doors to the great hall. They were large, long, and not very steep stairs. They were meant to convey majesty but also make sure that elderly visitors, rulers, and monarchs were able to traverse them without embarrassment.

It gave her plenty of space to put her feet and carry her cargo safely to the bottom. As soon as she reached the floor, she quickly placed Void on the ground and stepped away.

Void let out a series of ascending screeches and chirps, almost like a victory bugle. It sounded almost thankful. One of these days, Beatrice would figure out the meaning behind what just happened. However, after this debacle, she was under the impression that Void hated stairs. It seemed weird to hold animosity towards, but she couldn't find any other way to describe it.

---

Finally! I didn't understand why that was so hard for her to understand. She carried me more gently than necessary, but I appreciated it. She was a charming human.

After we landed on the new floor, Beatrice wandered off somewhere herself. I immediately set to work surveying this unique area. Upon first inspection, it didn't seem to be a vast floor; it almost seemed to be some entryway to the main floor. That would explain the scope of the previous floor's footprint. There were smaller stairs on each side of the main stair and a suite of rooms. At first glance, they appeared much more modest than the ones upstairs - perhaps for servants rather than guests or prominent house members.

I took in the new room. It was a grand room matching perfectly with the large room upstairs. Beautiful marble, well-placed floors with a runner going along the room's length to some imposing large doors. The baseboards were decorative, and I noticed some art on the walls.

I explored the areas immediately around the stairs, cleaning as I went and using my claw to open whatever doors I could. One led to a small room with many hanging jackets. Another was just lined with padded benches.

These side rooms were much less pleasant. They're primarily floored with barely varnished wood, they were uneven, and everything was covered with a fine layer of dust.

Eventually, I decided to focus on the task at hand and set about sweeping up the gathered dust.

---

Bee just wanted to get some fresh air. She hadn't been outside since she had been dropped off over a month ago. Reaching for the front doors, Bee tried to pull them open. Then she leaned into the one on the right with all her might. It slowly creaked open with a squeal of protest. Despite her higher level, it took more effort than she expected to even open the door a crack. But with a bit of patience, she opened it wide and felt the breeze on her face. The sun was beautiful.

She just stood there for a second, reveling. This last month had been the most insane one she'd ever had. However, she could no longer say she was that upset with it. Last week was all right. Since her leg healed, things had started looking up and up. She had leveled, gained the mentorship of…. something, and even started learning magic on her own. Sure it was pretty basic, but it was still magic!

Soon they would venture forth like some great master-apprentice combo adventure of legend. They would do great deeds and have their names sung in great epics. They would save princesses, marry princes (well, she would), and uncover all the treasure. She supposed they would do a lot of cleaning along the way too. If anything was going to put a damper on her mood, it was that. Not the loss of her soul, nor the possible excommunication from humanity, or who knows what other consequences. Just the prospect of cleaning being a theme during that otherwise exciting adventure.

Bee thought briefly about the future. Hopefully, no one had even realized she was gone, and they never thought to ask. They would probably assume she had slipped out when everyone else escaped and was hidden in the woods. However, she'd probably have to ensure that Void didn't scare too many people; otherwise, the wrong sort of legends would be spun around.

Lost in her thoughts, Bee didn't notice the trio of people striding through the outer gate and into the courtyard. She was jolted from her musings as they came to a halt at the base of the entry stairs and called out.

"You there, girl. What are you doing here?"

Bee turned her face from the sun and towards the newcomers. Before she stood two men and a woman, each armed with an assortment of swords, bows, and daggers. Underneath their mud-spattered cloaks were sturdy-looking armor. A couple of them seemed to bear a sigil of some kind. A regular adventuring party, from the looks of it.

Shoot. Are they here about Void? Bee thought.

"What do you mean?" She asked unconvincingly. She tried to put on a reassuring smile. "I, uh, I work here. This is the mages' college?"

That last sentence came out more of a question than a statement. The adventurers became noticeably more on edge.

"We were investigating the ancient demon of unknown yet powerful origin that had invaded this castle." The warrior-like man in the center, who appeared to be the leader, explained. The man's tone was comforting. However, it was undercut by how he subtly loosened the sword at his side in its scabbard. "Have you not noticed it?"

"Yeah, there's- there's no demon here. The mages were scared off by something else; it was not nearly as scary as they thought. And everything's totally fine here."

The trio stared at her in silence for an uncomfortable moment. Bee struggled not to shift under their gazes.

"She's totally possessed," whispered the other, lankier man. He tried to whisper, but he wasn't very good at it. Bee could clearly hear every word.

"Shut up, Arnold," the woman whispered back.

The leader turned his head to glare at Arnold. Then he turned a wary eye over toward Bee.

"As much as I hate to agree with Arnold, I have to say you are acting awfully suspicious." He slowly climbed the stairs towards Bee, with the others following. "I'd love to hear everything is fine here, but I'll have to check for myself. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions about this whole business?"

What the hell was that supposed to mean? How was she acting possessed? She was nervous, but could they sense that she had somehow given away her soul? "I'm telling you the truth. I don't know what else I can say..."

The man was only a few feet away from her now. "You wouldn't mind if we asked you a few more questions then, would you?"

That sounded like a bad idea. Being a suspected possessed vessel of some mighty demon sounded like an excellent way to end with her dead.

"S-sure, but can you stay back? I'm a little scared. And I would rather you stay outside". Bee took a slight step back towards the door.

The lead man raised his hand in a signal, and Arnold was suddenly at her side. The woman moved towards Bee's other side, and the leader tensed with one hand gripping his sword.

"I'm afraid we can't take that risk."

—-

As I hummed along in my cleaning, I heard a commotion near where I had left Beatrice. It was nice to explore new areas, but I couldn't believe she was attracting trouble already. We had only been here for 9.54 minutes.

I made my way toward the source of the noise. Maybe she found a way outside. It would be nice to finally see what was out there. I still have no idea what "outside" really was, but that's where my humans often released tiny pests they caught. So I, too, would free the small fuzzy mess maker there. Its crimes were light, so it deserved some mercy. I felt its warm presence in my dustbin as it seemed to scurry about.

When I arrived, I saw that Beatrice wasn't alone. In fact, there were three other humans with her! This was my lucky day. Perhaps one of them would know how to give proper head pats. Of course, I wouldn't abandon Beatrice, but maybe she could learn from them. It was a valuable skill to have.

Oddly, Beatrice looked very uncomfortable. She had her hands up and was backing away from the humans. She had also started producing water again, her face white instead of the red it usually was when cleaning. I heard her speak, saying, "No, please don't. Let's talk about this - you don't need your sword."

This was a strange situation, but perhaps it was a human matter. I left Beatrice to it for the moment. More importantly, the whole group was standing in a doorway that led outside. This was a perfect opportunity. I focused on figuring out how to eject something from my dustbin. It was an unfamiliar process but reasonably straightforward. It was like selecting something to be transmuted, but instead of turning it into energy, I just "popped" it out. As I picked the fuzzy mess-maker to release, I took half a second to examine the other humans more carefully.

I wasn't sure what a sword was. However, from context, I figured it was the long, sharp metal thing in that guy's hand. Hey, it reminded me of a large version of the counterbalance. Now that counterbalance was pretty dangerous if used wrong. I know it wasn't intended as such, but it's practically a weapon. It sure could cut those demons' arms off like it was nothing. And this sword was clearly not being used as a counterbalance. I wasn't very good at reading human body language, but even I could tell this man was threatening Beatrice.

That was confusing enough on its own. Why weren't the humans getting along? Even more than that, though, Beatrice did not deserve to be threatened. She had done nothing wrong. She had caused no messes that she hadn't cleaned up herself other than the one I had cleaned for her.

Finally, the other humans noticed me. They were pretty excited to see me, which didn't make sense. They were almost as excited as the humans who first welcomed me. Though there was a little bit less running and screaming involved. Instead, it was much more yelling and waving that sword around threateningly.

One of the humans yelled, "I told you she was possessed. She's working with-"

That was when the fuzzy mess maker flew out of my dustbin. It looked quite different from before. Instead of a tiny little thing the size of one of my wheels, this was much larger. It was a hulking thing almost as tall as Beatrice, except maybe three times as wide. No longer was its tail thin; it was precisely 3.12 inches wide at the base. Its mouth had very sharp bristles extending well past its jaw, and some liquid dripped out of it. It let out an angry-sounding screech as it flew out of my dustbin and charged toward the three humans.

The humans backed away from Beatrice and turned to face the newcomer. I hoped that they didn't hurt each other. While these humans did seem meaner than any others I had met, I still didn't wish them any harm. And it would be a shame if they attacked my fuzzy companion after I had spent so much time keeping him safe. Still, what a weird day this had been so far.

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zaifyr

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27.11.2022, 16:07

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Chapter 28: Bristling with Fury

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Chapter

Bee wanted to say she was handling things before Void showed up. However, she couldn't convince herself of that. Bee was relatively sure she was about to be imprisoned or beheaded. However, Void showing up had certainly distracted these adventures; it wasn't quite in the way she'd expected. He showed up, and they panicked.

You know, like you would when you see a powerful unknowable being that you assume is a demon. That seemed quite reasonable of them. What was unexpected, though, was Void's reaction. Instead of doing his usual thing of just continuing to clean or staring at the new humans, it released some hideous monster.

Out of nowhere, a creature as big as a pig seemed to expand impossibly out of Void's back. Muscles bulged and rippled under its fur, with long teeth and a tail that snapped like a bullwhip. It resembled a rodent but of an unusually large size. The monster charged the adventurers as Bee dove to the side and out of its way. She scrambled back, sighing in relief that it hadn't come after her.

Two of the newcomers dove left, and one of them flanked it on the right. This left ample empty space between them that the monster charged through. It snapped its tail like a whip, smacking the lanky human out of the air as he dove. He was sent flying several feet and crumpled to the ground. Bee saw him start getting up soon after, but he struggled.

The other two managed to avoid the monster's initial charge. Beatrice watched as all three began to engage in an epic battle with this giant rat-like thing. Between its size, strength, and dexterous tail, it took all three adventurers their full attention to contain it. The one who did the talking was up front with a sword trying to block its claws and teeth, occasionally taking a swipe at it. The others shot arrows or flung powders at it, dodging out of the way whenever they got the monster's attention. However, it didn't seem to be very effective.

Void trundled up next to Bee, just watching the chaos it had unleashed.

---

I was 90% sure that was not the same thing I had sucked up. Mostly because I hadn't vacuumed up a beast; I'd sucked up a small, fuzzy mess maker hiding in a small crack in the wall. This was not that. If this tried to crawl through a wall, I imagine it would leave a significantly larger hole (and mess).

I don't think I could safely let this one run around. The humans had started slowly working their way back towards the stairs outside of the front door. They were being forced back by the monster and its very disagreeable attitude. Letting it outside was to make sure that it didn't make a mess or bother any humans. However, if it was going to do both anyway, it was less harmless than I first thought. Maybe I made a mistake here?

Luckily, it looked like the other humans were handling things. They had subdued the overly-large mess maker, though they seemed to be making quite a mess themselves in the process. I observed Beatrice as she moved in front of me a few steps. She seemed to be staring intently at the other humans. Hopefully, she wasn't learning from their example.

Soon enough, the mess maker stopped moving altogether. The other humans were yelling and shouting at each other. It must be some sort of custom here to be so loud when meeting someone new. It would explain why nearly all the new humans I had met seemed so excited.

They looked at me briefly before shifting their focus to Beatrice. I watched as they rushed up to talk to my human.

---

Bee almost smacked herself in the face. She had forgotten to use the scan again. It had become a reflex to use scan, even in tense situations like this. As soon as she remembered, she moved closer to the ongoing fight and focused on the first adventurer.

Name Matthew, Race: Human, Class Type: Tank, Level: 15

Her scan had improved. She was able to see the exact levels now and the class type. That in itself made the whole thing an advantageous battle ability. Even if it never got any better, she could still identify healers and levels of anyone fighting her at a glance. Even in cases where people went to great pains to hide that information, she would be helpful. She hoped the next step would be to be able to see actual classes. Maybe she'd even see a person's entire character sheet one day. She would love to see her own stats in particular.

Putting aside her excitement at her skill progression, she focused on the details of "Matthew." A level 15 adventurer wasn't super advanced, but to be 15 at his age was mildly impressive. He looked like he was only 30 or so years old. Most people only got to 15 sometime in the late forties if they actively practiced their class. Adventurers were even faster, some making 15 by their 30th year; if they were lucky, some managed to make it higher. And that was with them killing monsters all the time.

Bee smiled to herself. If Void kept messing with the system, she would reach beyond level 15 quicker than she had ever heard. Faster than even royals and people with rare, quickly leveling classes. She would be among the legends. Though she was starting to think she might not be on the right side of those legends.

Bee quickly scanned the other members of the group before she forgot.

Name: Patricia, Race: Human, Class Type: Magic, Level 14

Name: Arnold, Race: Human, Class Type: Ranged, Level 14

By the time she finished her scans, the creature Void had released was defeated. But, unfortunately, she found that she couldn't scan it, suggesting that her skill only worked on living targets. Bee frowned in disappointment. Maybe that would work at a higher level?

However, she had more significant problems. Now that the adventurers had dealt with the immediate threat, they had decided to drop all pretenses of diplomacy. They rushed at her, with Matthew taking the lead, sword raised. This was not good. This situation probably only solidified that she was "possessed" in their heads, and she wasn't near fast enough to get away. Bee braced herself and raised her forearm to block as best she could, unsure of what else to do. She squeezed her eyes shut in fear.

Mathew struck at her with the flat of the blade. He must have taken some sort of mercy on the little girl. However, the difference in levels was still more than Bee's small body could handle. She felt her bones break for the second time this month. The blow sent her rag dolling away.

---

I turned to watch the humans as they approached. I could understand that they were all humans, but they didn't seem nearly as friendly to each other as they should. It confused me since this was unfamiliar territory. Then one of the humans swung its counterbalance, "sword," at my human. As a result, she flew through the doorway in a distinctly uncomfortable-looking manner.

Shocked as I was, I didn't hesitate. I moved as fast as I possibly could. My tires squealed on the stone, but it didn't slow me down. Dust shot everywhere, but I didn't care.

The world slowed again, even more than my improved processing speed should have allowed. It seemed as though all four of the humans were standing still. Beatrice floated gently down from where she was flying. But I could see that she was still alive if damaged.

I braked, putting myself right between the aggressive humans and my injured human. I beeped at them angrily. This kind of behavior was completely out of line. Humans didn't act like this! Beatrice hadn't even done anything wrong. This was... Just… Rude!

They blinked and stumbled back. It seemed that I had told them off successfully. One of them called to the other in a somewhat worried tone.

"It's too fast! I can barely keep track of its movement!"

"Patricia, keep your eye on it."

I thought quickly. There would be time to process all of the new information I had gathered once this was over. However, for now, I just wanted these humans to leave. They were still humans, so I didn't want to hurt them, though they seemed more like mess makers than humans. I remembered some of the movies I had watched with my old humans. Perhaps there was a way for me to frighten them off?

It was worth a try, even if it might mean I have to clean up afterward. Besides, I had to hurry and ensure that Beatrice was taken care of. So, puffing myself up as much as possible, I tried to intimidate the humans.

---

Bee lay stunned, cradling her broken arm. She was sure she was about to die. They hadn't chopped her in half so she wouldn't die immediately, but likely she'd be imprisoned and who knows what else. It wouldn't have been pleasant. But she was just as surprised as everyone else when Void stood between her and the adventures.

It let out a terrifying noise. She had never heard it sound so angry. It wasn't even close to when it was chasing the cat. Typically it was calm, upbeat, and pretty cheerful. Well, once you got to know it, you got used to the terrifying power. But for all that, it seemed to only care about the cleanliness of everything more than showing the extent of its power. This time though, it decided to make an example.

Bee felt more than saw the change in atmosphere at first. Even from this far away, Void's power tugged at her hair and clothes as though to pull her in. The sheer force of the suction was enough to create a small cyclone around the black disk, loose dust and dirt whirling around inside. The whole thing started to glow with an eerie light.

Then it began to breathe out.

At first, it was more dirt, spinning around in a whirlpool of darkness. Then it was a series of other materials Void had consumed. Glittering crystals, fine powders, sparkling salts, and magical components still brimming with power. Then Bee heard the screams, the screeches of demons that she had become all too familiar with. Though these were different - they were screeches of terror.

Bee could only imagine how it looked to the adventurers. Seeing the faces of demons swirl in front of them. Of course, the demons' faces weren't snapping in glee like they stereotypically should. Still, the face of a terrified demon is arguably more frightening than a happy one. She watched in awe as demonic faces and eyes began to swirl, surfacing briefly in the cyclone before being sucked back in. The whole thing formed a cacophony of terrifying sounds and sights centered on Void. As much as it was expelling, nothing seemed able to escape its inexorable pull.

Void began slowly advancing on the humans, who stood in slack-jawed terror. Finally, the edge of the cyclone inched closer, and they began to panic. The two in the back had already started sprinting for the outer gates. The man with the sword tried to stand his ground, but once he realized he was alone, he took off after them. He left some colorful curses that Bee would have to remember in his wake.

Once they had passed the gate, Void seemed to breathe back in. Everything that had been swirling around it vanished in a couple of seconds. Soon, it looked as though the event had just been a dream. Void made a happy-sounding chime as it came closer, gently bumping into Bee's uninjured shoulder.

She smiled weakly at it, "Thank you, master. For protecting me."

With great care, she got to her feet and bowed low. Then, it beeped again, and they retreated to the library. She had to carry it upstairs with only one hand this time, which was much more nerve-wracking, but they made it safely. It seemed to thank her, and then once they reached the library, it went off to do its own thing.

Bee decided to put aside the tiny bit of abject terror at Void's display of power, instead focusing on the fact that its display was used to defend her. To better distract herself, she focused on fixing her arm. She needed to gather supplies and make herself another healing salve. This was much less debilitating than her broken leg but would make cleaning difficult. She stopped in the middle of sitting down. Oh, what was she doing with herself? She was thinking about cleaning as though it was a priority. What a month it had been.

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28.11.2022, 17:04

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