It didn't even take the bugs three minutes before holes started appearing all over the mine walls. Burrowers poured out first, followed by a swarm of flying bugs, all of them charging at Rex like ants drawn to sugar.
["Activating combat mode, activating melee combat assistant, ready to engage at any time."]
"Thanks for the backup, Cleo!" Rex shouted.
Cleo had everything online in under two seconds, and it was just in time. The first burrower lunged at him, but with his newly upgraded body and Cleo's assist, Rex could now predict where the attack was coming from, though with a small margin of error. As the creature leapt, Rex dodged, his reflexes kicking in almost automatically.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the burrower by its tail. Using his enhanced strength, he swung it around like a club, smashing it into the other bugs charging his way. The thing's body hit the flying bugs with a sickening thud, knocking several of them out of the air.
"Hahaha! Come on, then! I've got plenty for all of you!"
["Host, I recommend switching to the combat machetes. While using the bug as a weapon is effective for crowd control, it won't kill them."
"Cleo, you really need to learn how to have fun," Rex grinned, still swinging. "But yeah, you're right—this isn't playtime."
He dropped the battered bug and pulled out two machetes from the scabbards on his hips, instinctively falling into a combat stance that felt strangely familiar, like he'd done this a thousand times before. Meanwhile, the swarm of flying bugs kept coming, but now he was ready.
As soon as they were in range, Rex started slicing through them like they were nothing. With his heightened senses, he could pinpoint the weak spots, cutting through their soft tissue with minimal resistance. He focused on the flyers, slashing them down with fluid, deadly efficiency, all while dodging the burrowers that tried to crush him.
While Rex was busy tearing through the bugs, the elevator finally reached the first floor of the mine. The automatic doors detected its arrival and began to slide open with a quiet hiss. Standing just beyond the doors were a few survivors from another company that had been sent to this world.
At first, the survivors flinched, their hearts pounding as they saw the swarm of bugs just outside. These were the same creatures that had massacred their team only a few hours ago. And now, right in front of them, more bugs swarmed, ready to attack.
"Look over there! There's someone!" one of the survivors shouted, pointing with trembling hands.
The rest turned to look where he was pointing, and that's when they saw him—Rex. He was in the middle of the chaos, moving like a whirlwind of steel, slicing through the bugs with terrifying precision. His movements were effortless and fluid, like he'd done this a thousand times before. The finesse with which he wielded those blades could only be compared to a master swordsman.
"It's a noble! A noble's here!" someone gasped.
"A noble?!" another echoed, sounding both awed and terrified.
"How do you know he's a noble?"
"Come on, think about it; swordmasters are all nobles, and look at him! He's got bionic implants all over his body; that's why he's so strong!"
In this galaxy, the nobles were descendants of the megacorps, and they were the only ones who could afford the kind of high-grade bionic implants that Rex had. Implants like that weren't just rare; they were exclusive to the elite, practically a symbol of their status. So, seeing someone with that kind of tech was a dead giveaway that they were dealing with a noble.
It was hard to miss, too. Every so often, a faint green glow would pulse from Rex's body, lighting up the parts where his enhancements were most active. The glow appeared on the visible areas of his skin, reinforcing the belief that they were in the presence of someone incredibly powerful and incredibly dangerous.
"If he's a noble... and we're just standing here, watching while he fights the bugs..." one of the survivors muttered, panic creeping into his voice, "wouldn't he... I don't know... kill us for not helping?"
The tension in the air spiked.
"T-that's right!" another stammered. "Guards! Go help him! We can't just stand here—what if he turns on us?!"
"Y-yeah, go! Do something!"
Under pressure from the terrified survivors and the overwhelming presence of what they assumed to be a noble, the guards hesitated for a moment before finally giving in. They raised their weapons and began firing at the burrowers creeping too close to Rex, hoping to avoid any potential wrath.
Rex was too busy dealing with the bugs to notice the elevator doors opening behind him and the conversation that the surviors were having. But Cleo did, quietly storing away the data about nobles for later. When the guards started firing, Rex's instincts flared, and he spun around, momentarily thrown off.
"Dafuq—what now? Who the hell's shooting at me?"
"Answering the host: the survivors on the first floor have begun providing support in the fight against the bugs. Should we classify them as neutral?"
"Yeah, yeah, do that. Last thing I need is to accidentally kill someone who's on our side."
With Rex's confirmation, Cleo adjusted her targeting system, marking the guards who were helping with a soft yellow outline. Now, whenever Rex glanced their way, he'd instantly recognize them as non-hostile, which was a relief in the chaos.
The guards' cover fire came just in time, thinning the swarm enough for Rex to keep his focus on finishing off the remaining bugs. The battlefield was a mess of bodies and broken limbs, but finally, after a relentless back-and-forth, the last of the bugs fell.
Rex stood amidst a mountain of insect corpses, catching his breath. One of his combat machetes was in pieces, completely wrecked from fending off the burrowers' crushing jaws. He tossed it aside, figuring he'd need to find a replacement later.
Meanwhile, the survivors just stared at him, wide-eyed.
"So this... this is the power of a noble," one of them murmured, half in awe, half in disbelief.
"No wonder they can conquer whole systems. If a single noble can do this, imagine a fleet full of them," another whispered, almost afraid to speak too loudly.
Rex, hearing their words, couldn't help but smirk. "Noble, huh?" he muttered under his breath. "Guess that's what they think."
"Might as well use this 'noble' thing to my advantage and get some info out of them," Rex muttered to himself, eyeing the cowering survivors.
["I'm surprised the host is finally making sensible decisions."]
"Cleo... I'm starting to think you've got a pretty low opinion of me," Rex grumbled. "Anyway, let's give them a little show."
With that, Rex bent his knees slightly and launched himself high into the air, leaping down from the mountain of bug corpses with ease. He soared several meters up before landing right in front of the survivors, his feet hitting the ground with a dull thud as if it were nothing.
The moment they saw him land, the survivors froze. The stories about nobles being ruthless and quick to anger must've been running through their minds, because without hesitation, they all dropped to their knees, heads bowed low, not daring to look him in the eye.
Rex felt a wave of disgust ripple through him at the sight of their submission, but he kept his expression cold. If he wanted information, he had to play the part.
"Who's in charge here?" he asked, lowering his voice, making it deep and authoritative.
"T-that would be me, sir!"
The response came from one of the guards, his voice shaky. He remained on his knees, head down, speaking without even glancing up at Rex.
Rex let the silence hang in the air for a moment, letting the tension build. He could practically feel Cleo smirking in his head.
"Good," Rex said, folding his arms. "Do you have any idea what's going on? Why the bugs started pouring out and attacking the colony?"
The mention of the colony sent a visible shiver through the survivors. Their faces paled as they realized the gravity of the situation. If the bugs had reached the colony, it meant things were far worse than they'd thought.
And now it made sense to them as to why a noble had been sent to investigate. Only someone with that level of authority and power could be trusted with handling something like this, especially if it meant finding whoever or whatever was responsible.
"We... we don't know, sir," one of the guards stammered, his voice barely steady.
"A few hours ago, we were just guarding the miners when this massive earthquake hit. A few minutes later, the bugs started coming through holes in the mines. They swarmed us... we didn't stand a chance. The people you see here... we're all that's left of the survivors."
Rex frowned, taking in the information. "Hmm, fine. Get into the elevator," he ordered. "We're heading back to floor 0. I want all the miners out of here ASAP. As for you guards, you're under my command now. Also, give me some ammo clips. I'm out after clearing the way down here."
The survivors quickly did as they were told, scrambling to gather what little ammo they had left and handing it over to Rex. Their fear was palpable, especially now that they understood the full scale of the disaster. The guards handed him a few ammo clips, and without another word, they all piled into the elevator, the air thick with tension.
As the elevator started moving, a deep, mechanical hum filled the shaft. The survivors went stiff, their eyes darting around nervously, fearing that the sound would attract more bugs.
Rex glanced at them, reading the fear on their faces. "Relax. If anything comes, I'll handle it."
But despite his words, they remained frozen, the weight of their situation settling in as they rose toward the surface.