System, scan it. ———————————————— /// Cultivation level: [Gravity Forging - 5] Talent: [None] Talent Fragment: [None] /// ———————————————— Hector frowned as he read the system readout. A Gravity Forging-Five, and not a mana beast, but it wasn't human either.

"Do you think we have to fight it?" Marcus asked from behind.

"I don't think there's any other way to get past it," Hector said. He pulled on the [Mana Forge] Talent, static crackling to life as identical purple copies of the blades at his hip fell into his waiting hands. He gripped the shafts tight, eyes narrowing. "I don't think we should hold back against something like this."

"I don't either. Lincoln, do you want—"

The boy took a step back, the tip of his spear glinting as he gripped the shaft. "I'll stay here and protect Marcus. You two should handle this."

Jodie practically scowled behind her mask, her eyes narrowing at Lincoln. This was just more cowardice, but not unexpected. The creature before them was Gravity Forging-Four, and even if Lincoln didn't know that, the boy most definitely knew that this thing was dangerous to him.

"Ready, Jodie?"

"I'm ready," the girl said, drawing the sword at her hip and levelling it before her.

The two then launched forward, racing across the carpet and closing in on the beast. Its wide smile somehow widened even more, and its neck cracked, head rotating ninety degrees to the side, eyes locking onto them.

Creepy didn't even describe it. Raising both his daggers, Hector leapt and slashed down. A clang echoed as a clawed hand blocked him. Fast. Perhaps too fast. Letting out a hollow chuckle that practically shook Hector's bones, it swung its hand to the side, pushing him back.

He tumbled through the air, then slammed onto the carpet with as much grace as he could manage. The thing had some strength behind it. Jodie darted in, unleashing a flurry of slashes, metal meeting claw in clangs that bounced off the wall.

Hector stepped in, crossing the space in a breath, raising his daggers, and slicing them at the creature. A clang echoed through the hall again as it blocked it. A ball of fire gathered at its grinning mouth.

Eyes widening, Hector jumped back, opening a space between him and it before a fireball tore loose, darting straight for him. He waited. Dodging too early would mean a burn if this thing hit hard. As it closed in, he leapt.

But his heart froze as the fireball duplicated itself mid-air, one shooting for him, the other for Jodie.

"Watch out!" he yelled as the ball careened towards her.

Jodie twisted her body mid-air, the fireball shooting past and slamming into the wall behind her, flames exploding across its white surface. At the creature's mouth, another fireball gathered.

Hector couldn't let it keep firing those things.

He pulled on his [Vault Runner] Talent, static crackling down his legs as his body churned with energy. The static field bubbled to life around him, snakes of energy coiling through the air.

With a shout, Hector exploded forward, slicing towards the creature. It raised a hand to block, but this time it was slow, easily tracked. Hector stepped, navigating around it, and dragged both his daggers into the creature's side, cutting deep.

The blades left a long gash across the creature, but no blood flowed. Instead, the wound simply closed back up, the creature cackling as its head clicked slightly. Its gaze then moved to Hector and released another fireball. He launched back, and the ground where he'd been standing exploded in flame.

Jodie darted in from the creature's side, kicking forward, but another clawed hand stopped her. A fireball tore free from the creature, whizzing towards Hector again.

He prepared for it to duplicate, but it slammed home, straight into his daggers, fire exploding in the air before him. The impact sent him hurtling back, his feet skidding along the carpet, leaving deep scuffs as the flames before him fizzled out.

Another clang split the air, this one grating and sharp, as another click came from the creature in front of them. Jodie landed at his side, one hand a scythe and her other holding her sword.

"It's a stubborn bastard, isn't it?" she spat, eyes darting around.

Before Hector could reply, two more fireballs shot free from the creature's mouth. Would they both duplicate?

One slammed into the ground as Jodie leapt above, fire exploding underneath her.

The fireball duplicated, splitting and soaring straight past him. His eyes widened as he spared a glance back before fire consumed his vision, launching him into the wall of the hallway.

He smacked against the stone and bounced off, slumping to the ground before scrambling to his feet, eyeing the other end of the hall.

A plume of smoke consumed where Lincoln and Marcus once stood. But slowly it faded, with a mud wall becoming visible, shielding the two.

Hector sighed. When had Lincoln gotten that up?

A magma pool bubbled to life at Hector's side, singeing the carpet as it grew. It was time to return fire. Hector pulled on his own talent, summoning the [Blazing Arsenal]. A second pool of magma bubbled to life in front of the first, snakes of flame shooting from it and coiling into a fireball above it.

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Hector didn't linger, though, darting forward towards the creature again.

He skipped its claw, raising his daggers above his head and slashing them down at the creature's face. The blades clanged against a clay-like material, bouncing off and sending vibrations through Hector's arms as the force repulsed him. Flipping through the air, he landed on the ground, and the creature's neck clicked twice more.

What is that incessant clicking? Does it mean something?

Hector gritted his teeth, raising his blade before him. Before he could move, fire tore past him—two glowing fiery balls sizzling through the air as they shot towards the creature.

For a moment, it looked as if the smile on the creature's face dropped an inch. It raised its claws before it, flame meeting metal in a groaning explosion.

Wind whipped around the hallway, buffeting Hector and causing his cloak to flap through the air. A soft mist slipped by Hector's feet, and he frowned, sparing a glance at the wall, behind which Lincoln and Marcus stood. Thick mist gathered at the front of it, obscuring the likely cowering occupants.

Nodding, Hector charged forward.

As the smoke cleared, a thud echoed through the hall, and Jodie launched backwards, eyes glowing white and iridescent.

He hadn't seen her enter that so-called battle intent in a while, and his breath hitched. This fight would be easy once she went fully into that mysterious mode.

Landing at his side, Jodie took several steps back and then launched forward again.

"Keep up, Hector," she said.

He almost did a double-take. He'd expected the cold Jodie that would come with battle intent, but while her eyes were there, the speed and the attitude were not.

This was not her usual battle intent. Sprinting forward, he dived into a slide, slipped under a claw, and leapt into the air, Jodie at his side as the two crashed down onto the creature's waiting claws.

The beast staggered back, its head moving again with four audible clicks. They jumped back on the carpet, and Hector frowned. Its head was almost in the position it'd been before the fight started. Was that some kind of damage counter?

"Jodie, I don't think we're gonna like what happens when its head is fully correct again."

"You think?" She said, bolting off and sidestepping a claw. The wind whistled past her cloak as the claw bit into its end, ripping loose a chunk. She swivelled through, throwing a kick forward. It slammed home before bouncing off the creature and sending Jodie tumbling to the carpet.

Hector was there as a claw hurtled towards her, raising his daggers, and with a sharp clang, his knees buckled as he held off the force. "You think you could try not getting yourself crushed?" he said through gritted teeth.

Jodie hopped to her feet, and before she could move, flames arced over Hector's head, slamming into the creature's face. The force threw him and Jodie back. He tumbled along the carpet, pain washing through his body.

It was perhaps reckless to fire that close to them, but it was more than a perfect opening.

"Seems we think alike," Jodie said, struggling to her feet. "And I guess I saved you there."

"Saved? You almost killed us both."

"Minor burns at best," she said, waving her hand flippantly, her iridescent eyes scanning over him.

As the flames cleared, a final click sounded, and then a sharp cackle split through the air.

Reaching up to his ears, Hector grabbed his head in pain as the cackling shook his bones. Jodie at his side wasn't in any better of a situation. The creature took its first step in the fight and trudged forward, its cackles growing with each step.

If you're gonna use a sound-based attack to immobilise us, I should return the favour.

Power crawled up Hector's neck, coalescing in his throat in a pulsing ball, throbbing and throbbing before his jaw slackened and power ripped free, [Resonant Shout], tearing through the air and slamming into the creature.

The cackling stopped as its body shot backwards several feet, slamming into the door and shaking the hallway.

Jodie was moving before the thing could even settle, her sword slicing towards its head. With a crisp crack, the blade met the creature's mask, and it sank clean through the ceramic, coming out the other side.

A low whine then hummed from the creature as it slumped forward.

Hector's eyes lingered on it for a moment. Would it get up? After a few seconds had passed, and it didn't move, he took a tentative step forward, sandals crunching across the now-ruined carpet. Black marks scarred its once pristine features, and it crumpled in spaces where its ends had fried.

"It's dead," Jodie said, her head lolling back and her hair falling over her shoulders as she let out a tight breath, echoing the exhaustion settling into his veins. She slipped off her mask, her hand slipping down with it and hanging at her side. She took a raspy breath.

Hector eyed her for a moment. It was best she didn't keep the mask off for too long, as they never knew who they could run into down here and what they would want.

"That thing was beyond tough," Jodie lamented, wiping away sweat from the bottom of her eyes. With a sigh, she then slipped the mask on, and it slapped into place on her face. "What even was it?" She raised her sword, examined it, then slipped it back into her scabbard with a clink.

Dropping to her knees, she poked at the worn, fabric-like flesh and frowned. They were all getting a little too comfortable poking random mounds of flesh. It probably wasn't a good sign.

"It wasn't a mana beast," Hector said. His gaze wandered over the creature. No blood, barely any flesh, more fabric than anything.

"A construct," Marcus said, catching the two off guard.

Shuffling down the hallway, Marcus's gaze lingered on the creature as if it would jump at him, which made for an odd sight. Lincoln, a few paces behind, gripped his spear, not in much better shape himself.

"That was good thinking, Lincoln," Hector said. The smell of burnt carpet tickled his nose as Lincoln nodded back at him. Did he even know what he was referring to?

"Just doing my job and protecting Marcus," Lincoln said, letting out a strained chuckle. It was two parts worry and one part satisfaction. Probably more satisfaction that he'd saved himself rather than getting consumed by a random fireball.

"What's this?" Still crouching over the creature, Jodie's hand slipped between its fabric and pulled out a clay-looking tablet. Cracked and glowing at its edges—not a normal tablet at all, though Hector hadn't seen that many, one or two in a museum, maybe.

"Can I see that?" Marcus said, holding out a hand.

Dismissively, Jodie raised it to him and then shrugged, her hands rummaging through the creature's insides, looking for more. It was as if it were a sack—nothing liquid came out of it. How had the thing even been standing?

"A construct," Hector said to Marcus, raising a brow.

The long-haired boy nodded, fixing his mask as his gaze travelled over the tablet. "I've heard about them. Apparently, there's a quest in one quest hall that allows you to make your own. It's not quite a mana beast—you can use certain materials to craft them."

"Like a puppet," Lincoln said at his side. "I mean, it did kind of give that feeling. This thing was beyond creepy."

"I guess you could call them puppets." Scratching at the side of his head, Marcus flipped the tablet over and then nodded. "I think this is a map, by the way."

"A map?" Jodie asked, looking up at him. "Of this place?"

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