Chapter 6: Heavy Artillery
We spent the rest of the night huddled near the base of the tree. Well, I huddled. Bee just stood there like a four-foot-tall, golden-yellow bouncer, his green optics piercing the darkness as his turret-like head swiveled, constantly scanning the tree line. I didn't sleep a wink, but knowing I had a tireless, heavily armed rhinoceros-beetle bodyguard made the creepy forest noises a lot more bearable.
Eventually, the two moons dipped below the horizon, and the sky began to bleed into a pale, misty grey, then a hazy morning blue.
"Alright, Bee," I groaned, stretching my stiff back and popping my neck. "Time to move. We need water, and we need to figure out where the hell we are."
Bee gave a sharp nod, his heavy mechanical joints clicking softly, and took point.
We trekked through the dense woods for what felt like hours. I kept my newly forged Soul-Steel sword in hand, ready for anything, but the forest was surprisingly quiet. Bee was on high alert the entire time, his left-arm Gatling gun tracking every snapping twig or rustling bush.
Eventually, the sound of trickling water broke the silence. We pushed through a thick patch of ferns and found a small, crystal-clear stream cutting through the dirt.
"Finally," I sighed. I didn't have a canteen, so I just cupped my hands and drank. It was freezing, but it tasted amazing. "Okay, rule of survival: streams lead to rivers, rivers lead to lakes or oceans, and water usually means civilization. Let's follow it."
We tracked the stream as it widened, the trees slowly thinning out until the woods broke open entirely. The stream fed directly into a massive, slow-moving river. The banks were wide and grassy, and for the first time since I woke up, the world felt peaceful. There were no roads, no buildings, no signs of people at all. Just a few deer-like animals with strange, spiraling horns drinking at the water's edge. They looked at Bee and me for a second, then completely ignored us and went back to drinking.
I slumped down on the grassy bank, planting my sword in the dirt next to me. I just needed a minute to sit and not think about being a cosmic kidnap victim in a magical wilderness.
I gazed out across the rushing water, taking in the view. That's when I saw it.
Standing on the opposite bank, half-shadowed by the tree line, was a wolf. But calling it a wolf felt like an insult. It was massive—easily the size of a Clydesdale horse—with a coat that seemed to physically glow with a faint, ethereal white light.
I froze, my hand instinctively reaching for my sword. Bee shifted beside me, his Meta-Revolver arm raising slightly as his optics locked onto the beast across the river.
The wolf didn't growl. It didn't posture. It just looked right at me. Its eyes met mine across the rushing water, and I swear on my life, the giant glowing murder-dog looked amused. The corner of its snout hitched up in what was undeniably a smirk. Then, without a sound, it turned around and melted effortlessly into the shadows of the woods.
I sat there, utterly befuddled, my hand hovering inches from my sword hilt.
"Did that thing just judge me?" I muttered to the empty air. "Why does it feel like local wildlife just took a shot at my ego?"
I shook my head, deciding I didn't have the mental bandwidth to unpack getting mocked by a magical wolf. "Anyway. Let's get moving, Bee."
We started walking along the riverbank. We walked for miles, following the curve of the water until the spot where we had stopped to rest was completely out of sight. My legs were starting to burn, and the sheer scale of how lost I was started settling heavily onto my shoulders.
"This is such a mess," I sighed, kicking at the dirt.
As my foot scattered the loose soil, a flash of catching light caught my eye.
I stopped. I looked down at the riverbank. Half-buried in the mud and smooth river stones were several flat, shiny rocks. They were huge, easily the size of dinner plates. I crouched down and dug one out, brushing the wet dirt off its surface.
It was definitely metal. It was smooth and a brilliant, pristine silver, but it had a strange, iridescent shimmer to it that seemed to catch the light and hold it. I pulled up my system to check.
[Item: Unrefined River-Silver Ore]
[Properties: High magical conductivity, extremely low physical density.]
My mind started racing. If this stuff had high magical conductivity and low mass, it would pair beautifully with my lightning magic. I set the heavy slab of silver metal on the ground and pressed my hands flat against it, calling on my Imagination Manifestation. I pushed my mana into the ore, testing its resistance.
The silver warmed instantly beneath my palms, softening and yielding to my will.
A massive grin spread across my face. Oh, I had an idea. I looked over at Bee, who was dutifully standing guard. My heavy, golden-yellow brawler was great for artillery, but this silver? It was light, fast, and sleek.
I knew exactly what kind of golem I was making next.
My mind immediately jumped to the perfect design. I thought of the massive, glowing wolf that had smirked at me earlier, and I blended that image with one of my favorite childhood anime monsters—a legendary, missile-launching cyborg canine.
"Okay, rule number two of survival: style points absolutely matter," I muttered, crouching over the River-Silver.
I placed my hands flat against the metal and activated Imagination Manifestation and Golemancy together. The mental load was immense, but I tapped into the roaring furnace of my Gemini Soul and forced the liquid metal into the shape of a massive, sleek predator. I reinforced the core conduction pathways with dark Soul-Steel to act as the inner frame, and shaped stylized, segmented armor plates out of the brilliant River-Silver.
I stepped back to admire my work. It was incredible, nearly five feet tall at the shoulder, looking exactly like a high-tech robotic wolf had crossed over into a dark fantasy world.
But I didn't have a core. My masterpiece was going to have to wait.
"Alright," I sighed, looking at Bee. "We need a base camp."
We spent the rest of the afternoon securing a spot near the riverbank. Since I couldn't activate the new wolf, I used my remaining mana pool to meticulously refine the empty chassis, ensuring every silver plate and Soul-Steel wire was flawlessly integrated by pure willpower.
By the time evening rolled around, I was practically useless magically. I managed to shape a tiny sliver of scrap metal into a fishing hook, tied it to some tough river reeds, and actually caught a few weird, multi-eyed fish. I sparked a fire with a tiny snap of Thunder Surge before my headache flared up again, cooked the fish, and passed out leaning against Bee's legs.
We stayed at the camp through the night and most of the next day, letting my body rest and my high Intelligence stat slowly pull ambient magic from the air to refill my massive mana pool.
It was mid-afternoon when the peaceful vibe shattered.
A deep, wet roar ripped through the tree line. Bee instantly stepped in front of me, his green optics flaring. Bursting from the brush was a bear, easily the size of a minivan, covered in thick, matted fur and heavy plates of bark-like armor.
It had smelled the leftover roasted fish. And now, it was looking right at me.
"Incoming!" I yelled, scrambling to my feet and drawing my Soul-Steel sword.
The bear lunged with terrifying speed. I drew on Thunder Surge and threw an arc of blue lightning straight at its face from my left hand.
The bolt connected with a loud crack, but it barely even fazed the monster. The electricity just scattered across its thick, bark-plated hide. It swiped a massive paw at me, and I threw myself backward just in time, the wind from the swing ruffling my hair.
"Bee, suppress!" I shouted.
Bee planted his bipedal legs firmly into the dirt. He raised his left arm—the rotary Gatling gun—and the barrels spun to life with a mechanical whine. Thwip-thwip-thwip! Bee unleashed a rapid-fire volley of pure kinetic energy. Drawing directly from his core, he rapidly synthesized glowing, heavy-impact energy constructs, firing them like hard-light bullets.
The heavy rounds hammered against the bear's bark armor, kicking up dust and wood splinters, forcing the massive beast to stagger. But the bear was just too big. It shook off the barrage, dropped to all fours, and prepared to completely trample my golem.
Bee wasn't going to be able to stop that charge with just suppressing fire. He needed a bigger gun.
"Bee, brace for charge!" I shouted.
I scrambled up behind him, channeled a massive amount of mana from my chest, and slammed both hands against his golden, armored back. A blinding, roaring torrent of sapphire lightning erupted from my palms and flooded into the golem. The Soul-Steel inner frame handled the violent energy flawlessly, acting as a perfect superconductor. Bee's entire body lit up like a blue sun as he routed all that electrical fury directly into his right arm—the Meta-Revolver.
But a charge that big wasn't instant. The heavy hum of the cannon spinning up filled the clearing. He needed time.
I gripped my Soul-Steel sword with both hands, letting the residual lightning crackle down the dark blade, and sprinted out from behind Bee.
"Hey, ugly!" I yelled, slashing the lightning-wreathed blade in a wide arc.
The glowing sword caught the bear's attention just as it was about to charge. I didn't try to block—blocking a minivan with a sword was a great way to get crushed. Instead, I ducked under a massive, sweeping paw, pivoting on my back foot, and drove the super-heated edge of the sword into its flank.
The bear roared in fury, spinning to face me. I backpedaled frantically, my heart hammering in my chest as I dodged another crushing strike, weaving around the massive beast to keep its focus entirely on me. Every near-miss sent a rush of pure adrenaline through my veins. I was basically playing matador with a tank.
I took one more wide step to the left, pulling the bear completely around.
"Bee, now!" I screamed through our tether, diving out of the way.
With me out of the line of fire, the bear had a clear line of sight to the golem. The beast froze. Its instincts finally registered the massive, lethal hum of energy radiating from Bee's right arm. The golem was glowing with so much volatile lightning that the air around him was visibly warping. The bear realized exactly who the real threat was, let out a deafening roar, and charged straight at the artillery bot.
Bee didn't flinch. He locked his heavy legs into the dirt, leveled the Meta-Revolver directly at the charging bear's chest, and chambered a hyper-condensed slug of pure kinetic energy.
Then, he fired.
It broke the sound barrier. The supercharged electrical power grabbed the heavy kinetic construct and instantly turned the revolver into a railgun. A massive, concentrated beam of solid blue energy tore straight through the bear's armored chest, blowing out the other side and vaporizing a tree thirty yards away.
The massive beast's momentum carried it forward a few feet before it completely dissolved into swirling pale light, leaving a sudden, ringing silence in the clearing.
[Target Defeated: Ironbark Ursid (Level 6)]
[Experience Gained: +400]
[Level Up: Level 2 Reached]
[Stat Points Available: 2]
[Construct Level Up: Bee reached Level 2]
I dropped to my knees, gasping for air, the smell of ozone heavy in the clearing. Bee stood over the scorch mark, venting a massive cloud of steam from his right cannon barrel, his golden frame perfectly intact.
I pulled up the glowing blue interface mentally. A mobile artillery type like Bee was incredible for dealing damage, but that bear fight proved I was entirely too squishy and way too slow. If I hadn't dodged that first swipe, I'd be a smear on the riverbank.
I focused on my stats, mentally tapping the holographic plus sign next to Agility twice.
[Attributes Updated]
[Agility: 12 -> 14]
A sudden, sharp rush of energy cascaded through my muscles. When I rolled my shoulders, I felt noticeably lighter. The sluggishness in my legs vanished, replaced by a coiled, spring-like tension. My reflexes felt dialed in.
Next, I glanced at Bee. He didn't have stats like I did, but as he leveled up, I could see his golden-yellow armor physically settling, the metal darkening and hardening slightly from the combat experience.
Lying in the dirt right where the bear had been was a massive crystal pulsing with heavy earth energy.
"Bee," I panted, pointing a shaky finger at the loot. "Go grab that."
As Bee walked over to retrieve the Level 6 core, I caught my breath. I had survived my first boss fight by the skin of my teeth, and I finally had exactly what I needed to wake up my silver wolf.