The chaotic mana-engine of the Compactor hummed in Kieran's metal grip. It was a jagged sphere of leaking batteries and spinning gears, glowing a sickly, radioactive green.
Kieran didn't hesitate. He held it up to his mouth—or rather, he smashed it against his face.
He bit into the casing.
CRUNCH.
Lithium grease and acidic mana sprayed over his tongue. It burned like swallowing boiling oil.
"You have zero table manners," Spam observed, hovering at a safe distance to avoid the radioactive splatter. "Also, that is 40% toxic waste. You are going to get heartburn. And by heartburn, I mean organ failure."
"Fuel," Kieran grunted, swallowing a mouthful of wires and glowing sludge.
The reaction was instant.
The green energy didn't digest; it detonated. It flooded his system, racing down his titanium spine and into his new Piston Arm. The heavy yellow metal of the arm vibrated, the hydraulic lines pressurizing with a distinct KA-CHUNK.
[Consumable: Chaotic Mana Engine.] [Energy Absorbed: 200 Bytes.] [Integrity Restored: 15% -> 45%.] [Side Effect: System Toxicity Rising (5%).]
Kieran dropped the empty casing. He wiped his mouth with his left metal hand. Steam hissed from his pores.
He felt... heavy.
His right side was weighed down by three hundred pounds of industrial steel. If he relaxed his back muscles, the Piston Arm would drag on the floor, scraping deep furrows in the concrete. To stand straight, his new titanium spine had to lock into place, bracing against the weight.
He took a step. CLANG. The piston arm swung like a pendulum.
"It's unbalanced," Kieran muttered, fighting the momentum.
"It's a demolition tool grafted to a skeleton," Spam corrected. "You are not 'unbalanced'. You are a walking physics violation. Try not to spin around too fast, or you will launch yourself into a wall."
Kieran tested the hydraulics. He flexed his shoulder muscle—the stump where the flesh met the machine.
HISSSS.
The piston extended. The three-pronged claw shot forward with enough force to punch a hole in the air.
CLICK.
The claw snapped shut.
"I like it," Kieran said. A dark smile played on his lips. "It solves problems."
He began to walk deeper into the Undercroft. The terrain was changing. The piles of loose trash were giving way to structures—huts and barricades built from crushed cars and welded scrap.
Something lived down here. Something intelligent enough to build a nest.
"Kieran," Spam whispered, dimming his light. "Audio sensors picking up heavy movement. Multiple signals. Ahead."
Kieran stopped. He crouched behind a wall of compressed tires.
In the center of the clearing was a fighting pit.
Surrounding it were dozens of Scrap-Thralls—humanoid skeletons animated by stray wires and desperate, glitching code. They were cheering silently, banging rusted pipes together.
In the pit, two monstrosities were fighting.
One was a Fused Abomination—a creature made of six different torsos welded together, wielding a buzzsaw. The other was... a man.
Or he used to be.
He was massive, standing seven feet tall. His skin was gray and leathery. His lower jaw was missing, replaced by a metal grille. And his arms were massive wrecking balls chained to his shoulders.
[Entity: The Scavenger King (Undercroft Boss).] [Class: Brawler (Corrupted).] [Status: Undefeated.]
The Scavenger King roared—a sound of grinding metal—and swung a wrecking ball. It smashed the Fused Abomination into paste. The Thralls cheered, their static screeches filling the air.
The King raised his arms, basking in the glory of the trash heap. Then, he stopped.
He sniffed the air.
He smelled the Chaotic Mana Kieran had just eaten. He smelled the fresh, premium Code.
The King turned. His eyes were red spotlights. He looked directly at the tire wall where Kieran was hiding.
"He sees us," Spam said.
"Good," Kieran said. He stood up, kicking the tires aside.
The Piston Arm hit the ground with a heavy THUD.
The Thralls fell silent. The Scavenger King stared at the intruder. He looked at Kieran's small, broken frame. Then he looked at the massive, yellow Piston Arm dragging on the floor.
The King laughed. It was a wet, metallic gurgle.
[Enemy Status: MOCKERY.]
The King pointed his wrecking ball at Kieran, then slammed it into the ground, challenging him.
"He wants a duel," Spam noted. "He thinks you're a runt. A scavenger trying to steal his scraps."
Kieran stepped into the pit. The sludge squelched around his metal boots.
"I'm not here for scraps," Kieran whispered, dragging the heavy claw forward.
He triggered the hydraulics. HISSS. The arm lifted, hovering at waist height, poised like a cobra.
The Scavenger King charged.
He was fast for a giant. He swung the right wrecking ball in a low arc, aiming to sweep Kieran's legs and crush his ribs.
"Jump!" Spam yelled.
Kieran didn't jump. He couldn't jump with 300 pounds of arm.
He planted his feet. He locked his titanium spine.
[Skill: Anchor.] [Source: Titanium Spine.] [Effect: Immovable Stance.]
Kieran caught the wrecking ball.
He didn't catch it with his hand. He caught it with the Piston.
He swung his massive right arm to meet the attack.
CLANG!
The sound was deafening. The wrecking ball slammed into the side of the Piston Arm. Sparks showered the arena.
Kieran slid sideways three feet, ploughing up the mud, but he didn't fall. The Piston Arm absorbed the kinetic energy, the hydraulics hissing angrily as they compressed.
The Scavenger King's eyes widened. He tried to pull the ball back.
"My turn," Kieran snarled.
He fired the piston.
KA-CHUNK.
The arm shot forward. The three-pronged claw slammed into the chain of the King's weapon.
SNIP.
The hydraulic force sheared through the heavy iron chain like it was string. The wrecking ball fell to the mud with a heavy thud.
The King stared at his severed weapon. Then he roared in fury and swung the other ball, this time aiming for Kieran's head.
Kieran didn't block this time. He ducked—a sharp, mechanical drop. The ball whistled over his hair.
Kieran stepped in. He was inside the King's guard.
He jammed the massive Piston Claw into the King's stomach.
"SQUEEZE."
The claw clamped shut.
The metal prongs dug deep into the King's leathery gray flesh. Blood and black oil sprayed out. The King howled and hammered his remaining fist onto Kieran's back.
BAM. BAM.
Kieran's titanium spine rattled, but held.
[Damage: 5.] [Integrity: 40%.]
"Is that all?" Kieran yelled, blood leaking from his nose.
He grabbed the King's metal grille jaw with his left hand to anchor him.
Then he unleashed the stored pressure in his right arm.
[Ability: Pneumatic Impact.] [Force: 50 Tons.]
He triggered the piston to extend while still clamped onto the King.
It was brutal.
The piston drove forward, pushing the King backward. Kieran ran with it, driving the giant across the pit. The King clawed uselessly at Kieran's face, his heels digging trenches in the ground.
They hit the arena wall.
CRUNCH.
The King was pinned between the wall and the Piston.
Kieran didn't stop. He kept the pressure on.
WHIRRRRR.
The hydraulics screamed. The King's torso began to buckle. His ribs snapped. His metal implants popped out.
[Target Critical.]
The King locked eyes with Kieran. The mockery was gone. There was only fear.
Kieran leaned in close. His violet eye flared.
"You're obsolete," Kieran whispered.
SQUELCH.
The piston crushed the King completely. The torso exploded in a shower of gore and spare parts. The massive body went limp, sliding down the wall.
[Target Neutralized.] [Boss Defeated: Scavenger King.] [Data Absorbed: 500 Bytes.] [Level Up!]
Kieran released the pressure. The claw opened, dropping the mangled remains.
He turned to the crowd of Scrap-Thralls.
They were silent. They looked at their dead King. Then they looked at the small, broken man with the monster arm.
One by one, they dropped their rusty pipes. They bowed.
"Congratulations," Spam drawled, though his voice sounded impressed. "You are now the King of the Sewer. Long live His Majesty, Lord of the Garbage."
Kieran ignored the thralls. He walked over to the King's remains. He scavenged the metal grille from the jaw and a few servos.
"I need a way up," Kieran said, his voice cold.
He looked at the back of the arena. Behind the King's throne was a heavy blast door. It was marked with a symbol—a triangle inside a circle.
[Mark of the Architect.] [Sector: Maintenance Elevator B.]
Kieran pointed his bloody Piston Arm at the door.
"Spam. Can you hack it?"
Spam scanned the door. "That's a developer exit. High security encryption. But... seeing as you just murdered the key-holder..."
Spam hovered over the King's corpse and scanned a chip embedded in the spine.
"Access code acquired. Opening the gates to Hell... or in this case, Layer 0.5."
The blast door hissed. Ancient gears ground to life. The heavy metal slowly began to rise.
Beyond the door, there was no sludge. There was a clean, white corridor. And standing at the end of it was a single, pristine Mirror.
Kieran stepped over the corpse of the King. He dragged his heavy arm across the threshold.
"Let's see who's watching," he said.