UFF: Chapter 43 (Patreon)

Chapter 43

There are times when you do something stupid. The most prominent moment that I can think of right now that relates to my current predicament was the time when I wanted to go sledding, but was grounded and that I “would not leave these doors under any circumstance.”

That was when I thought I had found a clever loophole, as my window in my second story room, was a window and therefore not part of the same door banishment. So like any teenager wanting to both sled and get as close to breaking the rules as possible, I did what any kid would do, I jumped. Then while falling, I aimed for what I thought was a decent pile of snow, only to find out it was the trashcans covered in a thin layer of snow, resulting in my breaking a leg.

One would think that such an event would be a wake-up call, and not the standard, but here we are and here I am falling into a burning red pit. A pit filled with mechanical monsters that all seem to see me, and spot the apparent threat coming down, and are waiting with an anticipatory gleam in their mechanical eyes. Meanwhile, the machines that I have managed to convert, the eight ultra-golems and dozen or so mining golems have their eyes glowing a refreshing green. Creating what could best be described as a wintery seasonal mixture of violence, as red and green flashing lights seem to fight for dominance.  

It is only once I realize the seasonal nature of the flashing red and green lights that I make the mental connection that my subconscious had earlier. My mind instantly noted the coloration of flashing wintery lights and associated it with the same falling, and wintery mishap that caused my twelve-year-old wintery season to be the worst imaginable. Stuck in a cast, while I got to see my friends play in the snow all season, while I watched from the kitchen window.

Once again, I was falling, into what I knew would be a bad time. However, unlike before, where all I had to do was try to aim for the patch of snow and wait for the neighbor to see me. This time things are different.

This time, I have not one, but three giant mechanical death machines that were designed after metallic giraffes aiming different forms of death at me. I have serrated triangular floor tiles closing in and trying to clip me as I didn’t quite jump far enough away to avoid the bit, after my Factory Reset was cast, forcing the floor to close. All while falling to what had to be the worst assembled blender that utilized both red and green lights to show different chopping motions.

Then just before I hit the opening, I feel a surge of healing energy flow into me and coat me like a softening green blanket of light. Feeling the warm glow, I am relieved that Marie did her part, as she began to stack the same exact regeneration effect. Which was great, as it meant I might not die when I land. Or rather, as long as I survived the landing, I would be fine as the not one, but three stacks of High Regeneration would all kick in a tick after I landed and provide much needed healing.

However, this also meant that when I landed I would be vulnerable for that brief second, while I waited for the waves of healing energy to kick in, as I need to cast my Disruption Field. Which not only stops these mechanical death machines from spinning to life, but it also disrupts all magical effects in place.

Also, it should be noted that Disruption Field should also cause the ground to stop rising up, in what could only be described as an elevator lift that would elevate itself into and then likely through the ceiling, if given a chance.

Yeah, this was dumb, on so many levels. If I landed, I needed to let the healing magic click into place, to begin to heal the damage so I could move on my own.

“Get back Lady Marie!” Octavia’s voice cries out, and that is the last cause of action, the last thing I need to let me know I needed to move. For that was the cry that told me Octavia was now doing her part to grab Marie and hide behind the control thrones.

By now, I was thinking this task was ridiculously stupid and was almost willing to quit, if it meant that the three of us would be released. Even if it meant I would forever be noted as a usurper, that is someone who tried to take control of an Ancient facility and failed. A status that would follow me through any and all ancient facilities that I went to. I might be safe at the places I have already been to, but that would be it, no more Ancient bloodline stories. No more Ancient storyline, just me stuck with the what I already had access to, and the remaining storyline at the love academy.

Ultimately, it wouldn’t be the best, but I would have to swear my allegiance to one of the other families. Maybe the Drakertons would take me in? These thoughts of defeat flow past me, then I realize, “screw that.”

Disruption Field.

As I fall, I feel the distance to the closing floor above me, get far enough away that I cast my Disruption Field. I cast on instinct, knowing that I am just outside of where my sphere would influence the closing floor in any way, shape, or form.  Why is this important? Simple, that floor, and its serrated triangular death spikes are the only chance I have of completing this mission and getting out of this Impossible Death Trap alive.

I cast, and suddenly the glowing red and green lights that had caused an eerie look, like I was falling into some wintery themed hellscape suddenly blinked off, causing what had already been a tense moment into an absolutely frightening moment. As I suddenly found myself falling into darkness. Darkness filled with death machines that had swords, spikes, and pickaxes ready to tear into me.

But there was something I noticed while casting.

Disruption Field.

I cast again, in rapid succession, but this second cast was important as it both reset the interrupt timer, while sending out a thin film of energy that coated and provided a rough outline for all the murder bots that lined the floor. Seeing their shape, I twist, tuck, and try to roll out of the way.

Landing just as Lady Von’Graysing had taught and demanded I practice. That is how I only end up breaking both legs this time, after I fell.

I land, feet first, knees bent, and immediately upon impact I feel and hear a cracking sound. One that is instantly tuned out as my body is still falling, from there I do the patented roll, falling to my right side, then rolling to my left, and ending with my feet in the air.

Disruption Field. I cast before the pain sets in, before I realize how bad of a situation I am in, which is good for that next second, the pain receptors in my brain fire off, as I hear an angry mechanical grinding sound coming from over head.

Looking up, I can see that the first stage of my plan is working as the three giant beast heads are now held in place by the serrated floor. While I had hoped for a clean slice, the fact that the floor is holding the heads of the impossible to defeat monsters in place is good enough, for now.

I pause, and wait for the pain to stop, for the waves of healing energy to pour into me. Only to realize that I messed that up on my own, as the layers of High Regeneration that Lady Marie had cast, should have fixed me by now, had I not dismissed them with my Disruption Field, speaking of which, I recast. Not a second too soon, as I saw the faintest glow or red lights begin to appear a second before the spell was able to be cast and take root in these machines.

Realizing this would have to be done the hard way, I began spam casting.

Perfect Heal.

Perfect Disruption Field.

Perfect Heal.

Perfect Disruption Field.

By my second cast of Perfect Heal, I could feel my bones knitting back together. It was still bad, there was still pain, but I could at least stand up and begin to move.

Hobbling up, I cast another Disruption Field as I made my way toward an ultra-golem. As I moved, I could swear I felt the twitching of mechanical eyes that all followed me, despite their supposed inactive state.

Perfect Disruption Field.

Perfect Heal.

I again cast two spells in back-to-back cycles, not because I had excessive amounts of mana, I didn’t and this long battle was showing me that I was nearing my end. Rather, I cast as I needed to be able to move freely the moment I didn’t have mana.

Getting to the ultra golem, I did two things. First I reset the disruption field timer, before I began climbing up the back of the one large ultra golem. Having played the game so many times as Karen, I found the foot and hand holds to be exactly where I expected them to.

Then I did what had to be the hardest part of this whole ordeal. I stopped casting Disruption Field.

Instantly, the world goes from dark landscape only occasionally lit by flashes of magical light, to a bright red and green light furnace that reeks of danger.

Fortunately, aside from the three massive behemoth monsters otherwise engaged with removing their oversized necks from a serrated floor, the ultra golems are the biggest and baddest things around. Easily standing over five feet taller than the nearest monster. Which puts my sitting on the back of one, the fourth tallest structure in the room. A position I take full advantage of, as I begin raining death from above.

Perfect Arcane Bolt

Perfect Intermediate Arcane Bolt

Perfect Intermediate Arcane Bolt

Two is the maximum number of Intermediate Arcane Bolts I can cast at the moment, which is fine as I just use the lesser bolts on some of the smaller murder bots that seem to be circling behind my ultra golem mount.

All the while we are fighting, I can hear the floor grinding its way up, as it’s pushing up, while the floor above is trying to close, with the only form of resistance being the three mechanical monsters that are impossibly huge to deal with.

The result is a few seconds of cautionary resistance, followed by the grinding sound of metallic outlines bending and breaking to force, as the three death machines begin releasing sounds that could only be described as what metallic whales would sound like, if they were calling for their calf. After the first outer layer is broken, I can see the ceiling begin to get closer, a minor warning as I am raining down bolt after bolt of Arcane death from above, while my ultra golem serves as my consummate protector, slicing and slashing its long halberd through the air, slicing and dicing any robots that come from its front. With me protecting the rear, we make a nearly unstoppable team.

That is, until I can feel the weight and pressure of the ceiling getting close. For a second I panic, as I think the floor is about to crush us in some elaborate death trap. Only to realize that I am being stupid.

Factory Reset.

I cast Factory Reset, but rather than aiming at the serrated floor above, I instead cast it on the rising floor below.

In seconds, the floor stops as it begins going back to its default setting state, which is thankfully at the bottom of this shaft.

“Phew,” I let out a relieved sigh that I hadn’t expected to be holding. Then realizing we weren’t done, I began fighting and aiming at the red murder eyes, while letting the serenely green eyes of my converted army avoid my wrath.

It took a while, but over time, the ominous green lighting that filled the covered pit I was in began to slowly mellow out into a nice calming green color.

Then a mechanical thud let us know we had hit the bottom, at about the same time the last of the angry red lights blinked out of existence.

For a second, I thought I was done.

Then I looked up and saw the three behemoth class mechanical monsters still hanging in the air, their mechanical feet pumping and moving as they tried to walk their way clean of the structure that held them.

I was nearly empty, I could even feel my fat reserves being spent, but we were so close. That’s why I continued to push myself. Finding first the neck of the behemoth that was the farthest away. Not because I wanted to practice my aim, but because it gave me the best angle of attack at the exposed neck joint of the monster.

Seeing the joint, I focused and aimed my attack all at the same exact point.

Perfect Arcane Bolt

Perfect Intermediate Arcane Bolt

Perfect Intermediate Arcane Bolt

My attacks struck, hours of practice at aiming at targets at the furthest edge of visible range all paid off for this attack. An attack that landed perfectly as all three bolts hit their spot, and broke one of the three main support pillars for the neck joint.

Seeing the break, or rather the lack of overall success I sighed. It was good, we were clearly close, but there was still more. Wiping a wave of sweat from my forehead, I centered myself and then took aim at the second joint. Again there was a snap, as the second metal support beam for the neck broke, snapping down, and causing the monster to drop and dangle wildly. For a second it looked like the weight of the giant structure below would be enough to end the beast, but of course I wasn’t that lucky.

Focusing once more, on the third and final pillar, I aimed, and fired a third and final barrage of Arcane bolts.

Creaking groans, erupted almost immediately after my bolts landed. I could hear the grind of metal strips desperately trying to stay together, before snapping apart. There was a second as the body fell once more, this time, the entire bodyweight of the large elephant sized metal frame hung in place for a second, before the wires snapped causing the machine to crash to the ground.

I was excited, at first, until I realized, “that stupid machine fell on my ultra golems.”

Then as if to add insult to injury, I saw two of my ultra golems crushed and trying to desperately claw their way free from under the machine.

“You are useless,” I cried out, only to realize it was partly my fault as I didn’t tell the golems, or mining bots to move or avoid giant falling bodies. I assumed it was a given, but then again these are just robots and heavens forbid they try to use any form of analytical skills.

Realizing I still had two more behemoths to get through, and a squadron of standing targets for the behemoths to target as a final retaliatory strike, I decided to plan ahead. Realizing that my control panel was up on the throne a floor above, I decided to do the next best thing, issue verbal commands.

“All troops begin recycling processes,” I declare, while pointing to the giant behemoth corpse. Instantly the room becomes a bit darker, as green lights that had been shining in every direction suddenly turn and face the one downed behemoth.

Realizing that I am suddenly in the dark, I begin to note just how annoying this task will be.

Still we are thirty-three percent done, and I am lumbering backwards. It takes my exhausted brain to realize that I didn’t specify my mount of an ultra-golem stay. Which is fine as the movement makes the exposed necks of the other two behemoths easier to spot and target.

While it is possible that if given enough time the bodies of these behemoths will cause the neck joints to break off independently, I don’t think I have that much time. As I can only imagine the damage that these behemoths with their unique blast attacks can cause to the throne room, and to Marie and Octavia.

It is at the thought that those two might be in danger that I feel my mind reset as I suddenly feel that I can cast my spells again.

“Hey you, Mounty” I say to the ultra-golem that I’ve been riding and that is now taking me to the area with all my other converted Ancient machines. “Stop and hold position.”

As I speak, I swear that I can almost see glow from my ultra-golem’s eyes glow just a bit brighter shade of green. Then again, it might just be the fact that I am stuck in this dark cave and my only source of light and visibility comes from the golem mount I am on, and the handful of mining machines that are digging into the one downed behemoth like it is an all you can mine buffet.

Then realizing I am just wasting my own time, I begin targeting the second defenseless behemoth, hoping that it can continue to go this smoothly.

Of course, the moment that I have that treacherous thought is the moment the world seems to wake up, as mechanical structures come to life all around.

“You just had to tempt fate,” I say to myself as I begin firing a barrage of Arcane Bolts off as quickly as possible. Knowing that this is not going to end well.