บท 30: Upgrades
I awoke to the smell of brine. I wasn't sure how long I was out but I now found myself lying on a rocky beach. Gentle rain patted me from above as the sky was overcast with gray, broken only by the god rays that poked through the clouds above. The sound of wild grass rustling with the sea breeze could be heard behind me.
The sudden realization that had all my senses again brought me out of my stupor. I was back in my body again. The one I had before I died. Is... is this a dream?
"This island is the reflection of your soul." a voice whispered.
I looked over at the speaker's direction to find Celecia next to me. Her own white and gold dress twirled along with her lavender hair against the briny gusts.
I wanted to shout. To tell her that she nearly killed me and my friends. But no voice came as I mouthed the words.
"I won't ask for your forgiveness. If you knew, you would have gone down there yourself, just to die on your own. I told you before; I know everything about you. Who you were. And who you are now..." she continued to stare at the sea, ignoring my grievances.
"But understand that I believe I made the right choice when it came to you. We've always known." she continues, "From now on, the path will only become more arduous. You've made your choice. Now go. Soon you'll have the tools needed to take your first steps. Take the Watcher's strength and go southeast to the ocean. That's where you'll find the next step."
She looks over to me with a... familiar smile, "I'm glad you've made the right choice, Brother. Welcome home."
***
[Repairs to operating system finalizing... Reboot complete.]
The familiar sight of my HUD returned as I pushed myself back up. The coliseum was now gone. We were somehow returned to the familiar sight of the boss room.
"A-Arlan!? Everyone! Arlan's awake!" Tessa was sobbing in relief next to me before she jumped into my frame in a sudden embrace. Erwyn was next to her giving me another one of his sleazy grins again.
"Welcome back," Erwyn responds, "Thought we lost you for a while."
"Yeah. I had some more repairs to do," I stated, "But it looks like you're all in one piece at least." I looked over at both of them. Looks like my healing had done the trick.
He looked at me inquisitively, "Is that you're doing?" he asks, "When we came to, that Centaurion thing was ripped open and we were all healed."
The events before I passed out began to flash in my mind, "I think I must have unlocked something in this golem body. Gave me the strength to beat this thing." I don't think it's a good idea to give him the exact truth. To tell him I grew a giant claw and ripped that thing in two while I used amplified magic to heal everyone... that's too dangerous. I don't know how he'll react.
He continued to look at me suspiciously, "Is that it? Can you show me?"
I shook my head at him, "No... I can't access it anymore. Even if I could, it might be too dangerous to use." It wasn't a lie per say. It's true; I really couldn't summon that claw anymore. But even if I did, I'm terrified of what would happen if they saw it.
Tessa began to interject, "H-Hey, it's been a long day! Let's finish up here and leave. Everyone's tired and we'll need to make camp once we go back outside again."
Sighing, Erwyn gave up on his interrogation, "Well, if you say so Tessa. I just hope whatever you find here is worth it." His usual grin appeared on his face again, "You did save us. We owe you that much, at least. C'mon! Johann and Aelinor are waiting in the Treasure Room."
He got up and started moving towards the pair. Me and Tessa began to follow suit, her arm still clinging on to mine. Just as we started walking, she stopped in her tracks with her eyes cast down.
"I... I saw what happened..." Tessa whispered.
If I could make a panicked face, I would. I had to settle on the blinking lights that were rapidly flashing on my face that I could see reflection off of her.
"H-How much... did you see?" I asked frantically.
"I-I woke up while you were fighting that golem again. I... saw your arm. And what it could do." she replies.
I sighed dejectedly, "I'm sorry... I didn't know I could do that. When I thought everyone was dying because of me I... lost it. My core began to go crazy all of a sudden and then... that happened." It may be Tessa but I just can't tell her about that voice. Her seeing what I became was too much already, "I-"
"You're not a monster, Arlan." she stated, boldly.
"Huh?" I was thrown off balance at her remark.
"That's what you were thinking, right?" she looked directly at me, "You did that so you could save us. Whatever anyone else says, I want you to keep that in mind. No monster fights to save people like you did. Like you've always done since you came into this world."
I let out a deep breath, "...thanks. I needed to hear that." Hearing those words did feel like a weight came off my shoulder, "Can you let go of my arm now?"
"No," she said frankly, "It might turn into that claw again."
She dragged me along to the treasure room where the rest of the group awaited. The inside of the treasure room was sparse. The only thing that stood out was a single open box.
Aelinor stepped forward, "Since you both agreed to pass on the loot, we divvied it out among ourselves while we waited for you to recover."
Erwyn held a new shield in his hands, "Oh man, this dungeon has a terrible sense of irony!"
Johann spoke up, "The rest of us got some pretty good armor," he held up a new robe for all of us to see. It looked very high quality now that I got a good at it."
"It's the kind of loot you'd expect from a B-Rank dungeon," Aelinor stated, "This gear is super rare!"
I'm glad they were able to get something out of this at least. Being put through a near-death experience multiple times just to get trash would have made this moment sour. It's good that it was worth the risk. Made me feel a bit better, too.
"Now then, where's this door we're looking for?" Erwyn asks.
"Hmm... there should be a panel somewhere here." I answered.
"It might be hidden underneath a fake wall tile," Aelinor replied, "Let me take a look."
We all split up and searched the walls, looking for anything that stood out. It took us a while but Aelinor found what we were looking for.
With a quick pop, a wall tile came loose and revealed what looks like a computer tablet. A symbol of a hand was marked on the screen.
"What is that thing?" Tessa asked.
"Must be some kind of hand scanner?" I replied. Did this thing used fingerprints? Well, only one way to find out.
I moved forward and placed my hand directly on the panel. A blue line began to scan my palm on its screen.
[GOLEM VK-01P. YOU ARE NOW AUTHORIZED TO ENTER THE LABORATORY.]
The wall began to open up, bidding us into a new area. Our group entered through the door and found ourselves inside a giant facility. We were surrounded by strange machines. Screens littered the plastered walls, reflecting our figures as we passed. This place looked like an assembly line.
"This place... did they make golems here?" Johann asked.
"Most likely," I replied, "This place looks like a manufacturing plant. A facility used to pump out a lot of golems."
"Why did they need so many golems for?" Erwyn inquired.
"Well they did use a lot of golems for fighting during the conquest of the entire world." Tessa answered.
Aelinor suddenly stopped, "Hm? Something over there."
Where she pointed had a familiar glow emanating from its location. Following the light, on the other end of the room was a giant machine, surrounded by mechanical arms. Along with the sight of what looked like a computer. The form factor was similar but there was a mass of tubing coming from the PC itself. Multiple large wires protruded out and connected it to the monitor.
Moving towards it, I noticed an attached keyboard with strange letters printed on each individual key. It must have been the letters used in the Old Empire. There were a lot more buttons than what I was used to but the layout was too similar. I could understand it at least. It must be Oracle's doing. Her programs were doing all the translating after all. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to understand anyone here.
Looking over at the screen I noticed two programs were open. One seemed like some kind of word processor. Skimming through the document, it seemed like some kind of journal. The other looked like a program designed to run the giant machine next to us.
"Golem Single Unit Assembly and Part Replacement Device," I read out loud the warning written on the screen, "For use of the Facility Director only. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to operate the machine."
"You can read the Old Language!?" Tessa shockingly stated.
"Oracle is translating for me," I replied, "I think this is what we're looking for. Hmm... this diary though... this computer must have belonged to the Director in charge of this place."
They all looked at me in confusion, "Uhh... what's a computer?" Johann asked.
I poke the screen with my index finger, "This thing. Think of it like a miniature golem that you can do stuff on."
The group just looks at each other and nods in ignorance. I don't want to go into it further. Even I don't know how computers ran.
"Well," I continued, "Considering that machine over there replaces parts, that may just be the thing I'm looking for." Something else was bothering me too. This seemed way too simple. Everything was set up and ready for it to go like it was prepared beforehand...
[You are correct, Unit Arlan. This device contains this Units desired upgrades. If you wish to proceed, please step into the mechanism and attach the harnesses around the frame for safety purposes.]
Why do I get the feeling like I'm going on a roller coaster all of a sudden? I stepped into the machine and begin to strap myself in. It felt like I was going inside one of those human gyroscopes, getting ready to be spun around in all directions.
Tessa voiced her concern, "Arlan, are you sure about this?"
I didn't hesitate to reply, "Yeah." The road from here on out is going to be tough. I made my choice. Now I have to follow it through, "I am."
[Connected to main terminal. Would you like to proceed?]
Yes.
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