Derek’s axe came free of the fallen monster’s chitinous hide with a crunch. He studied the green ichor dripping from the blade of the weapon for a moment. A thin river of magical energy entered his body. It was barely enough to chew on.
A small frown pulled the corners of Derek’s lips downward. The strength he’d gotten for killing the spider monster had barely even been worth the effort it had taken him to kill it. Then again, that really wasn’t saying too much. It had only taken him a few seconds to cut the beast apart.
It hadn’t been particularly smart. Or strong. Or tough.
Really, it hadn’t been too much of anything.
It hadn’t even been tasty.
Derek had checked.
“The Mirrorlands really is a pretty lame place,” Derek said to himself, shaking a few drops of the green fluid off his weapon. Then he spun it around and brought it down on his shoulder. The axe blade drove deep into his flesh and embedded itself firmly in place, conveniently freeing his hands up. He brushed them off against his tattered pants. “I really need to get back to hunting Anomalies. They’re worth way more than random monsters are. And I already filled all my Harvesters, so I can’t even snag a core from this one…”
Derek heaved a sigh. Then he strode forward, walking across the surface of the cracked black chitin beneath his feet. He dropped to his backside and slid down the glossy material toward the reddish-purple grass below. He landed without so much as a grunt, then glanced over his shoulder.
A hideous spider the size of a large house rested behind him, its legs curled up over its body and huge gauges covering its form. He’d hoped that the beast would have been an interesting fight because of its size. Unfortunately, that had just made it a bigger target.
Guess that’s why it’s out in the grass rather than next to some city with a bunch of… whatever it is that makes the strong Mirrorlands monsters come together. Maybe they’re throwing parties and the weak guys aren’t invited.
Derek grunted. If Alex started throwing parties, he hoped he would be invited. There weren’t all that many things more fun than fetching and killing Anomalies. But parties were probably one of them. Derek got the feeling they were, at least.
He’d never been to one.
That wasn’t exactly for a lack of trying. Back before the Apocalypse, he’d tried his best to get into quite a few. He’d been denied entry. They’d slammed the door in his face.
But Derek didn’t mind.
If he’d been let in, there was a pretty good chance he’d have ended up eating something he wasn’t meant to. It had been a bit of a problem before the Apocalypse had arrived.
It really isn’t my fault that so many things looked tasty. Society is the one at fault here. Why create something that looks tasty and then make it unacceptable to eat it? Ridiculous, really.
Derek shook his head. He looked around in hopes that another monster might have been waiting around for him to finish his fight. Unfortunately, there was nothing there. He was alone. Derek blew out a small sigh. Then he strode off, making his way around the dead spider.
I wonder how Aaron is doing. He headed back to meet with May a day or two ago. Honestly, I thought I was getting better at hunting alone… but it really isn’t the same as doing it with someone else. Maybe I’ll bring them both next time.
Derek nodded to himself. That would be fun.
He paused for a moment as he circumnavigated the huge monster. Then his nose wrinkled. There was a rather… earthy smell in the air. Derek glanced over his shoulder.
The left half of the dead spider was completely ruined. Chitin hung in ragged strands, aged and cracked to reveal rotted innards within. It looked more like a hideous bug-cavern than it did a living being. The whole monster had been devoured from within.
“Hm,” Derek said. He pursed his lips. “Maybe I didn’t need to hit it on the head after all. What a disappointment. It was even weaker than I thought.”
Then he turned and set back for Mirrorwane, whistling to himself.
Hopefully the others were having more fun than he was.
***
Mite wiped his hands off on his pants. Bone dust tickled his nostrils and he sneezed into the crook of his elbow. Then he wiped his nose with the back of his hand, squinting through the small cloud of debris at the wriggling chunk of semi-animated… substance.
Calling it flesh wouldn’t have been right. There were far too many bones, scales, and other assorted objects sprouting from within it like a trashy porcupine. But the amalgamation had enough rotted flesh within it to qualify as at least slightly organic.
“Hm,” Mite said. He rubbed at his nose. “I don’t think this is quite right.”
The blob gurgled.
Mite glanced over to his puppet. Then he looked back at the blob.
It gurgled again.
He sighed. “Okay. Kill it.”
The puppet jerked forward, metal screeching as a hidden blade carved out from its arm. There was a squelch and a thunk. The blob deflated like a popped water balloon, spraying guts out in a wide arc as it sank down into the earth in a bubbling pink puddle.
Mite stared at the mess of bones and materials suspended in the goop for a second. Then he cleared his throat. It would probably be best if nobody saw this particular attempt. They wouldn’t understand the vision. Making living guardians was just considerably more complex than he’d expected.
He kicked some dirt over the mess. It didn’t really do much to hide it. He kicked a bit more. Then he glanced around. Nobody was in the area. This would probably be good enough. He’d headed a little ways outside of the city for this particular experiment.
Orchid had banned him from trying any of his more adventurous creations within the walls, which was really quite ridiculous. He just hadn’t had a chance to get a laboratory built yet. There were other things that needed his attention… and he didn’t want to build such an important building until he got a bit stronger and unlocked a few more abilities for himself to work with.
No matter. I need to adjust my strategy a bit more. I’m really not sure why the materials reanimate properly. Everything should have been there. Maybe my components weren’t strong enough? Ugh. That’s probably it. Maybe I can convince Orchid to give me some of those ridiculous plants she’s growing. They seem pretty strong. I bet one of them would be great fuel.
Mite nodded to himself. He turned back toward Mirrorwane, stepping out of the forest and striding toward it with his puppet in tow. It was only a few minutes away. He hadn’t wandered too far away from the city. Even though he wasn’t in the Mirrorlands, he didn’t want to find himself getting jumped by a bunch of unexpectedly powerful monsters.
He was only a bioengineer, after all. Fighting was far from his strong suit. Menial tasks were best left to the people who specialized in manual labor.
Fortunately, there weren’t really any monsters this close to Mirrorwane, especially topside. They’d all been hunted down. Nothing bothered Mite but his thoughts as he made his way back into the city. He passed by several other people, most of whom were heading toward the Warped Embassy to continue their training.
It struck Mite that everyone looked rougher and stronger every time he met them. Just a few weeks ago, half of the town had looked shellshocked and terrified for their lives. They’d been outfitted in random bits of armor and wielded weapons that half of them didn’t even know how to use.
None of that remained. Everyone’s equipment was, at the very least, respectable. The majority of it had come from Finley, but Mite was quite proud to see a few pieces that he himself had worked on sported on more than a few different members of the town.
Damn. Am… I falling behind?
The thought stuck into Mite’s thoughts before he could stop it. But, to his surprise, his mind didn’t immediately refute the idea. He swallowed. That was concerning.
If we get attacked, can I actually defend myself? My puppet is pretty much all my combat ability. It’s not bad… but it hasn’t really changed that much combat-wise since I left Valley Ford. I might need to start paying a bit more attention to my own abilities.
Mite grimaced.
There was only one bit of comfort left. At least he wasn’t the weakest person in Mirrorwane. He was definitely stronger than Barbara. The old woman, as eccentric and kind as she was, rarely left her cabin. She spent all of her time sewing and creating clothing for the townsfolk from the hides that everyone brought in. There definitely hadn’t been any time for her to fight.
Mite stopped walking.
Am I seriously proud that I’m stronger than an old woman?
He grimaced. Things were worse than he thought.
Well, at least there’s May and Aaron as well. They aren’t really that strong, right? I’m not literally the worst of my age bracket. I mean, May isn’t even close to my age bracket, but that counts, right?
A small commotion from beside the Warped Embassy drew Mite’s attention. His thoughts broke and he made his way over to it curiously, approaching a small crowd. He squeezed in alongside the bustling townsfolk.
Then he froze.
His eyes widened.
Aaron and May stood alongside the corpse of a very large monster that kind of looked like something between a horse and a shark. It had leathery gray skin and a mouth full of fangs so long that its lips couldn’t even touch. A single glance was all he needed to tell that the monster had been fairly powerful.
Its hideous visage also made it quite clear that it had been from the Mirrorlands.
“Holy shit,” Mite said. “You guys killed that?”
“No,” Aaron said with a small note of pride in his voice. “I didn’t.”
Faint relief prickled against Mite’s thoughts.
Whewh. I’m not actually that far behind. I really thought—
“I did,” May said with an excited grin. “Aaron just came to back me up in case something went wrong.”
Mite’s relief froze, cracked, and shattered into a million pieces.
“Oh,” Mite said. “You did?”
“We’re starting with weaker enemies first,” Aaron explained, misinterpreting the look on Mite’s features. “This one might have been a tad too easy, though.”
“Right,” Mite said. He squinted at the shark-horse. “Too easy. Condolences.”
“Thanks,” May said cheerfully.
“Yeah,” Mite muttered. “Anytime.”
I’m going to go die, now.
It was nice to see that May’s injury hadn’t held her back, though. That did bring him at least a little real relief. Mite mentally shifted the priority of the bio-mechanical eye he’d been plotting up backward in his list. Every option he’d come up with thus far had a slightly too great chance of turning itself — or its user — into a puddle of goo.
Mite repressed a sigh.
He’d been getting a bit too complacent. He’d been taking on random jobs while he waited for the components he needed to start his work on the Endbringer Culverin… but maybe it was time he took a few things into his own hands.