There was only one thing to do, to fight it and defend himself.
He squinted his eyes and crouched slightly, holding tight his hands like he was about to engage in a fistfight.
He looked inward, and with his mind's eye, he envisioned his system, having it appear vividly in his mind.
[Ability] [Skills] [Map]
[Affinity] [Stats]
[Quest]. [Inventory]
"Inventory," He muttered, and the tab opened revealing the items he had stored in there.
Rows of gold took a large portion of his visible inventory but he couldn't care less about that now, his life was at risk.
With a mental command, he summoned his large pointy stick. First, it materialized as a rod of light, then the light burst into smaller fragments, disappearing, and in his hand was the stick.
He took a hold of it in his hands and held it forward at the looming robot.
Its eyes flared up in response and it zoomed, increasing its pace.
It appeared before Mark in almost an instant, raised its dagger hands, there was a thrum, whirr, and the arm extended, springing up and then, swung down at full force.
Mark didn't know when or how, but his body sprang into motion, he threw up his hands holding up the thick wood, horizontally absorbing the strike.
PA!
The machine's hand sunk into the stick but not through it, it went just halfway, stuck within it.
Mark's legs absorbed some of the shock as his knees bent, positioning him in a crouch.
The point of collision was too close to his chest, just a little above it. The dagger only stopped halfway through the thick mass of wood and both weapons hung dangerously above Mark's chest.
Mark's face was tensed and it reddened, his veins bulged under his skin. His arms ached, the robot was much too strong and the stick began slowly descending.
Mark quickly caught on, he went for a strong kick not caring for his exposed foot and the harm that might come to it.
His kick connected, striking the machine's chest and pushing it over a meter back.
It looked at the spot it had been struck and back at the man, perhaps it hadn't expected such a response.
Mark's sole hurt from the kick, he was certain that he had bruised it, but his situation, the palpable tension had made his foot hurt less.
He saw his chance, and he swept a foot forward and threw himself, thrusting the stick at the machine's chest.
The end of the stick wasn't sharp by any means, frankly it was blunt, but the force Mark exerted and the thickness of the stick itself exerted a destructive force that burst the chest of the automaton halting it.
It mechanically moved its head down to the crack and the wood in it and back at Mark. Its eyes flared up once more.
A chill ran through Mark's spine, he wanted to pull out the stick for a second strike but it didn't budge.
The robot ignored him momentarily and struck the stick with a chop cutting it into half–half falling to the ground and half stuck on it.
Mark suddenly dashed to the left, the machine whirred, turning its head at an angle impossible for a human.
It lunged its arms extending them to grapple the man, but he had gone out of reach.
The door was under ten feet away. The Automaton's eyes flared even brighter and redder as if it was bursting with rage.
Its legs then sprang into motion, going faster than it had since trying to kill Mark.
Mark got to the door–bronze colored and dense, his eyes searched for a handle, but there was none, only dark shallow slits spread randomly.
He turned, the machine was just three meters away, it could lunge its arms and extend them and he would be done with but it didn't and it approached with frenzy, if one could say that of an emotionless machine.
The machine closed up on Mark and thrusted an arm in extension. He immediately jumped out of reach scarcely missing the blow.
A cut went across his outfit and a line of red filled the slit.
Mark winced from the pain, but he couldn't stop there, the fight was far from over.
He rolled, evading yet another blow from the raging robot.
'Withdraw Silverine Fanged Spider legs, All!'
The system heeded his command and rods of light appeared above, just slightly away from him, and where the robot now came.
The legs materialized and descended, stabbing the ground. A few fell upon the rat-like automaton but with its logical predictability, it evaded the stabby legs with ease, shifting from side to side as if it were in a dance.
Mark's hands went for the legs in his front, he took them, criss-crossing them in defense. They were surprisely light, yet very sturdy.
The automaton crossed the little field of legs and came afront Mark executing its very predictable patterns.
Mark swung the legs swiftly in defense, his performance a stranger to his body.
CLANG CLANG CLANG.
An awkward dance and clash, Mark successfully stopped the blows.
He beat the legs on the robot's head once he was done blocking its attack, disorienting it a little.
There was his chance, he dropped the legs and held the wood, driving it into its chest once again, this time with all of his weight against it.
There was a loud crack that reverberated across the room and then the tumbling of gears from within.
It raised its arms to the side to strike but suddenly, the whirring sounds that accompanied its movement stopped and its arms hung in the air, its eyes went dark and all movement ceased.
Mark breathed heavily in exhaustion, the wood had gone through the machine's chest and inflicted great damage, he had won.