"Is it going to be dangerous?" Victoria asked Cain as they walked towards Jared and Jacob. The party slowly shifted into their single file formation. "Maybe. I don't know what your guys' skill level is at so I can't say for sure." Cain replied while anticipating the next room. This would be the first time he's seen the party fight, something he was looking forward to.
The party steadily descended the stairs, keeping their senses alert for any surprises. When they reached the second basement floor, Jacob lifted his hand near his head, signaling for the party train to halt. Jared squeezed his head in between Jacob and the small gap between the doorway, attempting to assess their surroundings.
"Shit…" Jared muttered then retreated back to the staircase. Veronica and Jared stood underneath the upper set of stairs that connected to the intermediate landing; the platform that allows the stairs to change directions. Catherine, Victoria, and Cain stood on the lower set of stairs connected to the landing. Jacob remained unmoving in the doorway, but had his ears perked so he could listen to the meeting.
'...It's like an elevated huddle.' Cain thought to himself when he saw everyone gather around the railings. "What did you see?" Veronica nervously asked Jared. "It was hard to make out with all of the flickering lights, but it appeared to be a shiny drake." Jared cooly stated, attempting to keep his calm. "Shiny…? Do you mean metallic?" "Yeah, that." Jared agreed to Victoria's correction, his hands fiddling nervously around his daggers.
"A drake?! That's way out of our league. I'm—" Catherine freaked out, about to ditch the raid, but she was stopped by Veronica's retort. "Going to pussy out again like you did with the wolves?" Catherine grit her teeth, trying to hold back her anger. She knew Cain looked upon Veronica favorably and thus hesitated to snap back, afraid that might jeopardize her chance to ask for a favor later.
At this moment, she remembered Cain's words, "Pretend like I'm not here." 'He wants us to act as if he wasn't around, right? Then so be it.' And with that thought she harshly assailed Veronica, "At least I don't prantz around with one element thinking I'm strong when I just hold the party back." Veronica averted her eyes, gripping her bow in fury. Catherine had obviously hit a nerve without mercy.
"Hey. At least she knows how to use that one element better than you know how to use all of yours combined." Jared berated while lifting his sleeve to show a burn mark. "Do you know how many times you nearly hit us with your magic? You're just a spoiled bitch who has no experience." Jared's harsh words shattered Catherine's ego faster than a certain squirrel shattered glaciers.
'...I can't believe I forgot the popcorn.' Cain thought as he watched the ongoing roast fest. "I can't believe I even liked you. You—" "Jared, that's enough." Victoria interrupted Jared's roast, reaching down from the railings to put her hand on his shoulder. "No, she went too far with my sis–" Jared stopped himself abruptly, then started pacing around the limited space he had, trying to calm his nerves.
'Interesting… Jared thinks of Veronica as his sister.' Cain enjoys the show from the side, he lowers his breathing until he couldn't hear it anymore, a trick he learned that made others forget him if he didn't make a sound. Although it was unknown if it'd work in this world, thus Cain performed another spontaneous experiment.
"Let's just take a moment to collect our thoughts. Cain wouldn't have allowed us to come here if we couldn't face it." Victoria attempted to calm everyone's nerves down; successfully doing so by saying something implausible yet believable. Victoria looked up at Cain and gave him a wink, suggesting that this was a part of her plan.
'She knows I don't know how dangerous this is for them and yet she still said something like this… Either she puts too much faith in me or she's very clever. And experiment failed, rip…' Cain analyzed Victoria's behavior and methods to bring the party back together. Veronica loosened her grip while Jared's pacing slowly stopped. Catherine scoffed then walked over to the corner behind Jacob.
The party took a few moments before everyone was able to talk without grinding each other's nerves. "So, what's our battle plan?" Jacob asked when he sensed the tension ease up. "How big is the room and the drake?" Victoria asked Jacob shortly afterwards.
"It looks like a 30 meter cube. There's nothing in here apart from the drake at the far left corner, some flickering lights, and a door in the far right." Jacob reported what he saw with rough measurements. "Any chance we can sneak past the drake?" Victoria suggested, attempting to get a grasp on their options.
"I'm not sure… It looks like it's staring directly at the door, so there's a good chance we won't be able to." Jacob reported in response to Victoria. "Hmm… Jared, we'll have you use your shadow element and try to sneak over to the door. Veronica, you follow after him if he succeeds. We'll be close behind if both of you succeed.
"If you don't, then Jacob, we'll need you to get the drakes attention and take the hits. Jared, lurk in the shadows and look for an opening. Veronica, help Jared keep it busy and continuously bombard it with arrows. Catherine, you'll be our main damage dealer since we don't have many options that can deal with a metallic creature. I'll heal anything major so retreat towards Jacob if you need some healing." Victoria explained their usual battle plan with some parts modified according to the current situation.
Everyone nodded to the new adjustments, then adjusted their gear and made sure there was no room for errors. Jared tapped on Jacob's back, he nodded and slowly walked forward, then sidestepped to his left. Jared cloaked himself within the shadows, lowering his breathing and heartbeat's volume as low as possible. He took each step carefully, avoiding the broken glass from the shattered lights while also staying within the shadows.
⁅Warning: Unknown heat signature detected. Scanning for lifeforms… 7 unknown lifeforms detected.⁆ A robotic voice shrilled to life, echoing in tune with the flickering lights. The eyes of the drake hummed vibrantly, slowly lighting up its dark red casing until it glared a shimmering red at Jared.
⁅Error: Main power source compromised. Switching to standalone batteries. Switch successful. Current operation time: 23 minutes. Warning: Mana Density abnormally high.⁆ The robotic voice thummed loudly into the party's ears. Numerous pipes disconnected themselves, sending an eerie hissing sound slithering towards the party. 'So, it can detect my Mana Zone…' Cain thought while anticipating the battle.
The drake slowly walked away from the corner and turned towards Jared. It leaped towards the center of the room, releasing a powerful roar. The lights flickered rapidly, some even shattering due to the volume. Jared's partial shadow form resonated with the lights flickered, then dispersed shortly afterwards.
"Well fuck…" Jared muttered as he regrouped with Jacob who had taken a few steps forward. "Did anyone understand what that thing said?!" Jacob yelled behind him as the party rushed into their formation. "Something about 23 minutes?! It sounded like Psachnokory from the Techne age, but I'm not sure." Victoria shouted back immediately.
—Dms: Can and Dresil— (9ms)
Cain: Do you understand what language the mechanical drake said?
Dresil: Nope.
Cain: …then how is it being translated right now?
Dresil: Rex is manually doing it.
Cain: :sus sip:
Cain: What did he do wrong?
Dresil: Nothing that I know of, but I shall find out.
Dresil: :salute:
Cain: Wait, no, that was supposed to be a joke.
Dresil: Ah. I'm still going either way.
Cain: :facepalm sigh:
--------------------------
"Get into formation!" Jacob yelled as he charged the drake that also charged towards them. Jared immersed himself into the shadows and flanked its left as Veronica flanked its right. Catherine slowly walked towards her right to find an opening, the same side Jared stalked the drake on. Victoria took a few steps forward and prepared to heal Jacob.
Seconds before Victoria could get into position, Jacob and the drake made contact, the clang of his armor and the drake's armor caused some dust to fall from the ceilings. "Are you crazy Jacob?! Why didn't you wait!" Victoria yelled at him as she rushed forward and began healing his fractured arms, which he had crossed to withstand the impact.
"There was no time to cast enchantments! The drake had already started to move!" Jacob yelled back while cycling his mana through his limbs and chanting spells to increase his defense. Jared emerged from the shadows, striking its hind leg as arrows flew towards the base of the drake's neck.
The drake swung its tail. Jared nearly avoided it like one would a limbo stick. The drake knocked Veronica's arrow aside with his head during his spin, speeding up in the last moments. Jacob put his arms to his right side and leaned into the impact, bracing to nullify most of the force. Victoria immediately jumped backwards to avoid getting whisked by its tail.
The drake's tail rammed into Jacob's side, sending vibrations throughout his body. Veronica and Jared sped up their attacks, not caring about being exposed. The confused Jacob quickly looked behind to discover why they had abandoned the plan. He saw multiple different plates held above the sides of the tail, as if something emerged from the tip. When he felt the hum travel through his arms, he realized it was an attack aimed at Victoria.
'Shit! The drake's true target was Victoria!' Jacob thought while grabbing the drake's tail and trying to force it to miss Victoria. But no matter how hard Jacob forced the tail to budge, it refused to give a single millimeter. He looked towards the drake's feet, the dim light revealing they had dug into the stone tiles. 'Fuck…' Jacob thought as he felt the tail heat up, signaling it completed its charging.
He looked back once more hoping Victoria would have at least moved out of the way. Despite knowing it to be unlikely since only a second or two had passed since the tail rammed into his side and her physique wasn't the greatest.
Low and behold, Victoria stood hugging her staff in fear, panicked by the unknown and sudden attack. Yet the fact she still stood there astonished Jacob. Shouldn't the drake have already shot her? Jacob punched the base of the tail profusely, each punch heating it up even more. He couldn't miss this chance to divert the aim.
The drake's tail gave way to the increasing heat and constant onslaught of Jacob's punches. The tail pivoted along Jacob's waist, tucked to his side with his right arm. He had successfully torn the drake's tail off before the laser could fire at Victoria. Or so he thought.
Jacob tossed the tail to the side, noticing cavities left behind by the melting parts and numerous dents near the tip and some inside of it. He saw those same marks at the base of the tail. He quickly glanced towards Catherine then punched the hole left by the torn off tail.
He smiled slightly at the sight he saw before he thrust his arm into the new hole. The sight of Catherine panting heavily, seemingly from casting so many spells at once. It didn't take a genius to figure out she had casted multiple fireballs to prevent the laser from firing and to help Jacob tear off the tail.
Sparks and wires flew around Jacob's metal bracer. The lack of convulsions or any other signs of being electrocuted from Jacob surprised Cain, who watched everything near the entrance with his back against the wall. He quickly used his Mana Zone to figure out that the layer of leather armor acted as an insulator to prevent the electricity from infiltrating Jacob's body.
Instead, whenever Jacob's bracer made slight contact with the metal parts of the drake's chassis, some of the charge traveled to it. Only a few minutes had passed since the confrontation started, most of which was occupied by Jacob's and Catherine's successful efforts to tear the tail off.
⁅Error: Center of balance compromise. Changing form…⁆ Jacob, Veronica, and Jared ceased all attacks and retreated a few meters away from the drake when it spoke once more. "What did it say?!" Jared yelled from the side. "I don't kno…w" Victoria's yell drifted off when she saw movement coming from the drake.
The outer plates popped out, shifted directions, then merged on top or below the stagnant plates. The drake performed this operation multiple times at once, shrinking its neck into its body. It now looked like an oversized metallic dog, rivaling Sinclair's size. Its talons retreated from the crevices it made within the floor to root itself.
Some outer plates replaced others at the base of the now small neck, causing a wave of plates to travel down the drake's body. The extra plates swiftly covered the hole that once mounted the tail. The drake disposed of cut wires and needless parts before the last hole vanished amongst the outer armor.
⁅Self repair: Done. Optimization: Complete. Detecting electric charge within the outer armor… Redirecting the charge… Charging batteries… Current operation time: 22 minutes.⁆ The drake's robotic voice sent shivers down the party's spines. They didn't understand what happened, but they knew things took a turn for the worse.
⁅Revising battle plan… Changing form…⁆ The party tensed up once more, suspecting things were about sour once again. Two turrets slowly emerged behind each front shoulder of the drake. Catherine saw the transformation and panicked, casting the fastest spell in her arsenal, in terms of casting speed and travel time: Lightning Bolt.
"Hmm… I guess this was too much for you guys afterall…" Cain said while opening a portal using SRI to intercept Catherine's lightning bolt. The drake's turrets hummed to life, rotating parts echoed across the floors. Cain responded in kind by revealing his mana zone and concentrating everything on top of the drake. Cain used the mana to suppress the drake's movement by locking its joints while crushing the barrels of the turrets.
⁅Error: Combat prowess of an unknown lifeform spiked. Reevaluating mana levels… 10th, 11th, 12–⁆ Cain leaped from his spot and slammed down on the drakes head with his fist. He followed the remaining momentum of his arm, tucking his body into a ball then unfolding it with a slight twist to land sitting on the edge of the drake's back.
Cain looked to his right to observe the damage he caused. The drake's head laid implanted in the ground, sparks fluttering outwards from the base of its neck. "Can't have you exposing my secrets now, can I?" Cain muttered while thinking, '...guess I used too much force, I seem to have knocked its head clean off.' The party stared at Cain, flabbergasted. Although none of them could hear what Cain said, Victoria could roughly understand what the drake said.
'Was the drake estimating Cain's power level? Would that mean he is at the 12th circle? But he swore on his mana that he didn't have a circle… Is it possible that he's able to control mana without it?' Victoria began to ponder what she heard, completely absorbed in her thoughts.
"Is… is it over?" Catherine asked while plopping down on the ground. '...well now it's not bc you said that.' Cain thought then looked around where he sat, expecting something to come to life. 'It's a shame… such a beautiful piece of machinery…' Cain thought while Jared quickly snapped at Catherine, "Don't jinx–"
⁅Assessing damage… Changingzbwttzwtbwztbwtbzwt⁆ The drake's sporadic shrill was replaced with fritzing after Cain slammed his fist on its back. "Shut up, will you? You're ruining the mood." He said while hopping off its back, its lifeless body fell to its knees then remained kneeling in that awkward position while the party gathered around Cain.