Chapter 25: Meditative Cleaning
Bee worked alongside Void, steadily working over the bloodied floor with her mop. The process became a steady rhythm - dip the mop, wipe the floor, wring everything out, repeat. Before she realized it, she fell into a trance-like state, cleaning peacefully and steadily.
Bee looked up, unsure what had snapped her out of her meditation. She had no idea how much time had passed since they started cleaning. Still, now that she was aware again, her body felt like it was made of lead. She was exhausted, drained, and sore from the day's activity.
It wasn't all bad news, though. Looking back at Void and Bee's progress, she was impressed. It must have taken several hours, though it felt like nothing.
She thought this would take them two or three days. If they could maintain their current rate, they might finish by later today or early tomorrow. That was, of course, if she managed to take a break and get food and water. Otherwise, she would never finish at all.
By the time she had come back to her senses fully, Bee was panting. Void worked like a machine. It never seemed to get tired, never seemed to change its pace. It didn't get distracted, endlessly whisking back and forth and dipping its little mop in the bucket to get more water. But, on the other hand, she needed a break soon, or she'd collapse into the black blood. This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com
Bee glanced down at Void and its small mop-like appendage. She had no idea how it could be so effective with such a little thing. It swished the mop around in a slight arc yet absorbed way more liquid than it should. It kind of made her feel inefficient. What made it even worse was that, if not for Void being a being of insurmountable power, the image of it waving a tiny ball of fabric scraps around like that was almost... cute. It was like watching a toddler digging a hole with a toy shovel, then coming back a few minutes later to find an entire 40-foot well dug.
The only thing that kept her going was the numbers she saw floating up in her vision as she cleaned. Those just so happened to be what had distracted her from the trance. She didn't initially understand what she was gaining experience for. Still, after they cleaned for a while, she had a theory. Having watched Void over the past few days, Bee had begun to understand its motivations better, which was a good thing since it was essential to her class. Devotee was a class made for serving ideals. You were devoted to someone, or you venerated a divine being. The Devotee thus made the ideals of the one they served the core tenants by which they lived.
Any class would gain experience through two methods. The first one was combat; all classes could gain experience through combat. The second option was class-dependent; it changed depending on a person's selected class. Devotees, in particular, gained experience by serving the ideals of their venerated. It seemed that Void's only ideal was one of cleaning and order. And significantly so, she wondered if those were Void's only ideals. If that were the case, then she might be gaining experience from cleaning. Like a maid would.
However, my issue was resolved as we came across the body of one of the demons in the hall. Beatrice looked proud when she informed me of its defeat, and she thought removing a mess maker was difficult. Of course, she made quite a mess while doing so, but I wasn’t one to complain. We had spent most of a day cleaning up the last mess I made doing the same thing.
Once we got Beatrice settled down and charging, I would come and take care of the mess so she wouldn’t have to. I couldn’t think of a better way to thank her. It might be a risk, but I thought it was worth it. Cleaning this mess would be necessary. We couldn’t leave a second huge mess like this for long.
Entering the library, Beatrice didn’t go to her usual charging spot. Instead, she went to grab the fancy blocks from the wall. As much as I appreciated home decor, now was not the time. I tried to communicate this to her in a series of beeps. First, I came to rest next to her charging table. Then I pointed at her with my grabby arm, then at the table. She stepped away from the shelves and came over with a strange look on her face - confusion, maybe? I repeated the motion, just in case.
“You want me to lie down? On the table?” Beatrice asked. I beeped a confirmation to her. Being able to communicate with a human was so helpful!
Hesitantly, she got on the table and assumed the optimal charging position before turning her head to look at me. I watched her. It only took a couple minutes before she dropped into sleep mode. I waited a while to ensure her secure connection to the charging pad. Finally, I was satisfied after a reasonable time when she didn’t roll off or lose connection.
Closing the door behind me, I started back to the mess in the hall. I surveyed it. It was not nearly as bad as the mess in the large room. It seemed that no parts of the mess maker were wholly separated from the main body, and that had reduced coolant leaking. How nice of her to try and minimize the liquid output like this. She really was learning so well. Actually, to be honest, I wasn’t sure what fluid this was. I thought it was a fair assumption that it had multiple purposes. I only saw the one kind from all parts of these demons. So it was some sort of utility fluid that was coolant, lubrication, and brake fluid all in one.
I quickly added the demon’s parts to my dustbin. It joined all the others already there, though this one was utterly non-functional. I transmuted it right away. I was starting to dip below optimal energy levels, and I felt there were plenty of other materials in storage I could use at a moment’s notice. The fuzzy mess maker was still inside with the 14 angry lessor demons who would never leave. Now I only needed to deal with the fluid.
Since this morning, I have optimized my strategy for cleaning the demon utility fluid. I only needed water. That wasn’t an issue; there was a bucket just down the hall. Even if it was too heavy to move, I had even found a way around that limitation. By storing water inside my dustbin and using that to saturate my mop, I could avoid the travel time associated with trips to the bucket. I had only been using the bucket in solidarity with Beatrice and to lead by example. Once I had accumulated enough fluid to start, it wasn’t necessary anymore; it was just fun. I zoomed into the large room and consumed a large amount of the bucket’s contents. That should last a while. Then, I returned to the demon utility liquid to start cleaning.
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Bee lay on the table for quite a while. She had started to doze, but the sound of the door closing woke her up. That was bizarre. Was Void trying to make her sleep? She was tired, sure, but it wasn’t close to nighttime. It was too early to sleep by a mile. Also, had it been waiting for her to sleep before leaving? It almost looked like it was trying to sneak away or something. That was almost more perplexing than the sleep thing. Maybe it was doing something dangerous or secret and didn’t want to be followed?
Bee sat up and took a few sips of water. She was tired, but only physically; she’d be fine after a chance to catch her breath. Really, taking a quick breather would put her in a perfect spot to research like she had planned.
Still slightly confused, Bee got up to go look through the books.