Chương 62: Here's the plan

Benkay clapped his hands together.

"Well, now that that's over with, I'd like to tell you all the plan for RobogeneX." He extended his hand. Several chairs lifted off the ground and sailed across the room. Everyone scrambled to grab a seat before it flew past them. Benkay stood at the front of the room, waiting until the last chair had landed.

"So, as you all probably know, RobogeneX isn't one singular being. It's actually three separate entities." He raised three fingers.

"However, all three of them share the same goal." Benkay's expression turned serious.

"They want to become one." Ace leaned forward.

"And how exactly are they planning to do that?" Benkay pointed toward the center of the room.

"The only way they can merge is by absorbing magic." Amelia's eyes widened.

"They absorb magic?"

"Exactly." Benkay nodded.

"And that's where things become dangerous." He pointed toward the windows.

"Since we evacuated all the citizens, we're currently the only people left in the capital. That means RobogeneX has no easy source of magic to absorb." Thomas nodded slowly.

"So if we fight them..."

"We risk giving them exactly what they need." Benkay's smile faded.

"Every attack we throw at them could potentially give them more energy. So we need to be extremely careful." Ace frowned.

"So we're supposed to fight three monsters without feeding them magic?"

"Precisely!" Benkay grinned.

"Sounds simple, right?" Everyone stared at him in silence.

"No." Benkay laughed.

"Worth a shot." He reached behind him and pulled out three sheets of paper.

"To make the three RobogeneX units easier to distinguish, we gave them names." He held up the first picture.

"This one is RoboX." The picture showed a heavily built robotic figure, its frame dense with plating and reinforced joints.

"RoboX appears to be the leader of the three. He's the strongest physically and seems to be responsible for most of the heavy hitting." Ace crossed his arms.

"So he's the strongest."

"Correct." Ace smirked.

"Perfect." Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Benkay immediately held up another picture.

"This one is RoboY." The second robot appeared on the paper, leaner than the first, built more for speed than brute force.

"RoboY seems to be RoboX's closest companion." King raised an eyebrow.

"So basically the kid in class who's always standing next to the bully?" Benkay pointed at him.

"Exactly!" King nodded, satisfied with himself.

"I knew it." Benkay continued.

"His personality is similar to RoboX's, but he isn't quite as dependable in one on one combat. He seems to rely heavily on RoboX." King smiled.

"So he's the sidekick."

"Pretty much." Benkay held up the final picture.

"And then there's RoboZ." The room grew quieter.

"This one is... strange." Benkay studied the picture for a long moment.

"Unlike the other two, RoboZ doesn't seem to enjoy violence. When left alone, they'd rather avoid conflict altogether." Amelia looked surprised.

"They don't want to fight?"

"Not unless they're pressured into it." Benkay nodded.

"RoboZ is the most docile of the three. However, whenever RoboX or RoboY orders them to fight, they obey." Thomas leaned back in his chair.

"Interesting." Benkay placed the pictures side by side.

"Three completely different personalities." He studied the three images for a moment.

"Yet they all have exactly the same goal." Thomas rubbed his chin.

"I wonder if the doctor did that intentionally." Benkay shrugged.

"Who knows?" He turned around.

"It's not our job to figure out what was going through that doctor's head." He pointed toward the pictures.

"Our job is to get rid of them." Benkay glanced toward Mochi, who remained unconscious on the far side of the room.

"Unfortunately, with Mochi out of commission for a while, someone is going solo." Thomas casually raised his hand.

"Ah, don't worry about that." He pointed toward Tony.

"Take Tony with you." Tony's ears shot up.

"WHAT?!" Thomas looked at him evenly.

"You're becoming lazy. Go outside." Tony stared at him in disbelief.

"Go outside?! Go outside and die, more like! Are you crazy?!" Thomas looked away, unbothered. Benkay smiled.

"So then, nice to have you along for the ride." Tony's jaw dropped.

"Wait, what?!" Benkay picked up the three pictures.

"Here are the teams." He pointed toward the first picture.

"Ace and Max, you're going after RoboX." Ace nodded.

"Fine.." Max cracked his knuckles.

"Sounds good to me." Benkay pointed toward RoboZ.

"Amelia and Krystal, you're going after RoboZ." Amelia nodded.

"Okay, we're on it." Krystal smiled.

"Understood." Finally, Benkay pointed toward RoboY.

"And Tony and King, you're going after RoboY." King looked surprised.

"You're mixing the guilds?" Benkay grinned.

"Yep!" King blinked.

"Why?"

"For bonding of course!" Benkay spread his arms wide.

"You all need to get to know each other better!" King looked at Tony. Tony looked at King. Neither of them looked particularly thrilled. Benkay smiled.

"Have fun!" Faesha's hand shot into the air.

"Uncle!" Benkay looked over.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Faesha wants to go too!" Benkay shook his head immediately.

"No."

"But why?!"

"Because you're staying here." Faesha puffed out her cheeks.

"But Faesha wants to help!" Benkay crossed his arms.

"You're going to get your butt handed to you even worse than my trio did last time." King, Max, and Krystal all turned to look at him.

"We can hear you..." Benkay froze.

"Ah." He looked away slowly.

"Anyway!" Thomas walked over to Faesha and gently placed a hand on her head.

"Wanting to fight isn't necessarily a good thing you know, Faesha." Faesha looked up at him. Thomas smiled calmly.

"A strong person doesn't fight because they enjoy hurting others. They fight when there is something worth protecting." Faesha fell quiet. Thomas glanced toward Mochi. Then toward Ace.

"But there are some lunatics who seem to enjoy fighting." Ace's eyebrow twitched. Thomas pointed toward him.

"Don't grow up like them okay?" Ace clicked his tongue.

"Whatever." Faesha looked down.

"Okay..." She nodded.

"Faesha will stay." Ace stood up.

"Alright. Can we just go already?" Meep bounced up and landed squarely on Ace's head.

"Meep!" Ace looked upward.

"Get off."

"Meep!" Tony pointed at Meep.

"I think he likes you." Ace sighed.

"Unfortunately..." Benkay smiled.

"Alright, good luck, you guys. And be safe." He pointed toward King, Krystal, and Max.

"My guys know where each RobogeneX is located, so just follow them." King nodded.

"Understood." Benkay's expression turned serious again.

"One more thing." Everyone stopped.

"You see, RobogeneX isn't an organic being like us. Their magic is artificial." Amelia frowned.

"So we can't sense them."

"Exactly that..." Benkay nodded.

"That means you won't be able to rely on sensing their magic to find them." Ace looked toward Max.

"So we'll have to keep our eyes open." Max nodded.

"Pretty much." Benkay stepped aside.

"Now go." The group turned toward the door.

"Got it." Faesha waved enthusiastically.

"Bye bye! Stay safe!" King waved back.

"See you later, Faesha!" Krystal smiled.

"Take care." Max nodded.

"Stay here and listen to Uncle Benkay." Faesha smiled.

"Faesha will!" Ace stepped outside, Meep still perched contentedly on his head. Tony trailed behind King, looking deeply concerned.

"Why do I feel like I'm about to regret this?" King laughed.

"Well, you'll be close as long as you stay close to me." The doors closed behind them. For a moment, the guild house sat in silence. Benkay looked toward Thomas.

"Well..." Thomas nodded.

"It's time to see what these kids can really do aye Benkay?" Benkay gave a confident nod..

"Yes.. we shall see.." Far away, deep within the abandoned capital, three mechanical figures stood scattered across the ruined streets, motionless beneath the gray sky. Their artificial magic gave off no trace, no signature, nothing for a sensor to catch. And none of them knew what was coming. The hunt for RobogeneX had begun.