Chương 39: The GPS Box

Recap: You ate a Sub-Core Fragment and gained Core Touched status. The prisoners are carrying you into the tunnel. You voted to SIGNAL DANGER (WARN). Being carried is undignified. Being carried by a sixteen-year-old boy who smells like fear and sweat is worse. But being carried into an ambush while unable to move? That was just insulting. Renn was struggling under my 120-pound Ironband weight. His boots scuffed against the smooth tunnel floor. Kara led the way, staff ready. Torin watched the rear. I was just…

luggage. But I wasn't blind. The Core Touched status wasn't just a buff; it was a map. I could feel the mana flow in the walls. I could feel the hollow spaces where traps were set. And I could feel the heartbeats ahead. Thump. Thump. Thump. Six heartbeats. Hidden in the shadows above the tunnel. Bows drawn. Arrows tipped with… poison? No. Mana-disrupting steel. They were waiting for us to pass under the choke point. Fifty feet ahead. I had 1 Stamina. One. Just enough to make a noise. Just enough to say Stop.

If I stayed silent, they'd walk into the kill zone. Kara would die. Torin would die. Renn would drop me. And I'd be alone with six archers and 0 Stamina. Sorry, Renn, I thought. You're about to get a workout. I flexed my internal muscles. I vibrated my iron bands against my wood frame. I made the hinges scream. SCREEEEEEEEE. SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONSkill Used: Vocalization (Improvised)Cost: 1 StaminaCurrent SP: 0/24Effect: Alarm Renn stumbled.

"Whoa! Did you hear that?" Kara spun around.

"What?"

"The box!" Renn said. He nearly dropped me.

"It… it screamed!" Torin raised his sword.

"Ambush! Above!" He didn't hesitate. He shoved Renn behind a stone pillar. Kara raised a shield spell with her staff. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Twang. Twang. Twang. Six arrows flew from the darkness. CLANG. CLANG. THUD. Two hit me. SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONDamage Taken: 0 HP (Arrow 1)Defense Applied: -13 DRDamage Taken: 0 HP (Arrow 2)Defense Applied: -13 DR They bounced off. My Ironband Defense was ridiculous. I was basically a tank made of furniture.

The other four arrows hit the prisoners. One grazed Kara's shoulder. Two hit Torin's shield. One missed.

"Contact!" Torin roared. He charged forward, into the dark. Kara shouted a spell. A burst of light illuminated the ledge above. Six figures in cultist robes. They were reloading.

"Kill the box!" one shouted.

"It's the anomaly!" Great, I thought. I'm the priority target. I lay on the ground where Renn had set me down. 0 Stamina. I couldn't run. I couldn't bite. I could only sit there and be incredibly durable. Torin engaged the cultists. He was good. Level 4 Warrior, maybe. He cleaved through one. Kara supported him with magic. Renn… Renn was hiding behind me.

"Sorry!" Renn whispered. He used my lid as cover. Use me as a shield, I thought. Fine. I'm basically a barricade anyway. A cultist jumped down. Level 3 Assassin. Dagger in hand. He ignored Torin. He came straight for me.

"Die, monster!" he yelled. He stabbed downward. Into my lid. SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONDamage Taken: 1 HP (Critical Hit on Lock)Defense Applied: -13 DRBase Damage: 14Net Damage: 1 HPCurrent HP: 6/19 Ow. The lock. That was a weak point. He found it. He tried to pull the dagger out. It was stuck in my iron band. I wanted to bite. I wanted to Slam. But I had 0 Stamina. I was a sitting duck. But I had MP. And I had a new skill. Taunt. It cost 3 MP. I had 6 MP. I could use it. If I Taunted him, he'd focus only on me.

He'd stop attacking the prisoners. He'd try to break me. And while he was focused on me… Torin could kill him. But Taunt meant taking more hits. Could my Defense hold? The assassin wrenching at his dagger.

"Stupid… box… move!" Current Stats (Level 3 - Ironband Mimic): HP: 6/19 (Critical Lock Damage) Mana: 6/14 (Undead Flesh Penalty Active) Stamina: 0/24 (DEPLETED) Inventory: 2 Pebbles, Metal Items (Fused). Mage Staff (Loot). Status: Immobile, Core Touched, Assassin Engaged. What do you do? A) USE TAUNT (AGGRO) Force the assassin to focus only on you. Save the prisoners. Tank the hits. (Cost: 3 MP. Gain: Ally Safety. Risk: More Damage to Lock/HP.) B) REGURGITATE THE STAFF (DISTRACTION) Spit the Mage Staff you looted earlier. Hit him in the face. Maybe he'll drop the dagger. (Cost: 1 MP (Internal Move). Gain: Disarm. Risk: Lose Loot.) C) PLAY DEAD (CAMOUFLAGE) Stop vibrating. Hope he thinks you're broken. Maybe he'll leave you for later. (Cost: 0 SP. Gain: Stealth. Risk: He might finish you off.) D) WAIT FOR STAMINA (REGEN) Do nothing. Wait 1 minute for 1 SP. Then Bite. (Cost: Time. Gain: Attack Option. Risk: HP might drop too low.) VOTING CLOSES IN 24 HOURS. Reply with A, B, C, or D. Most votes wins. [Author Note] Thanks for voting on Chapter 38! Option D (Warn) saved the party! Your Defense stat proved invaluable against arrows, but the Assassin found your lock weak point! You're at 0 Stamina again!