Chapter 805 T.D.O.N.B: The Brain Of The Operation

Obviously, I just smashed, them reaping the metal apart like it would be plasticine. You could hardly even call it a battle, since I was destroying the golems one by one, while they couldn't even land a single hit.

I cleaned them all up, damaging part of the factory in the process. It was inevitable since I didn't really care plus my hits were so strong that even stuff begin my target got usually smashed too.

I collected the crystals, having a good look around to choose where to go next. Since I noticed another hole in the ground, with a protective railing around it, the direction was obvious.

The next floor was also well illuminated by the same blinking laps. Out there few also were throwing sparks while they emitted this characteristically crackling sound.

It was almost completely empty space, if not count rows of golems waiting there, seemingly asleep. Hundreds of them, judging just by a glance. And you know what? They, as I said, were only seemingly asleep, because the very moment I landed, all of them woke up. At first, their eyes were glowing, blue, but as they turned to check who was the one to wake them up, they became red.

I had to smash my way through, which was;t that hard, but consumed some time because of the sheer numbers.

There was no passage further below, which I noticed while fighting. I also noticed some symbols on one of the walls, among them the very well-known symbol of the world tree. Below it was a rather simple door.

When I finally was able to approach it, it opened with a loud hiss of released steam. Inside I found well lighted up round chamber filled with bog consoles that had rather impressive buttons and levers. Like some old-school control room.

There was somebody out there too. A small creature, humanoidal. Shorter than me by probably 20 centimeters. Very busy faking that it was actually doing something. I watched it from a distance, to first find out what it actually was, before smashing it to pieces.

It was a brain in a glass capsule with many wires connected to the tissue. The biological matter was kept in some sort of liquid, which I was able to notice because of occasional bubbles.

The rest of the body was mechanical. Nice and polished, with elements that made it quite confusing if actually, some parts weren't biological after all. It had pants, and the shapes under the fabric looked as they were supposed to in a biological creature. There weren't any sharp elements that would immediately point at the machine being under.

It also had gloves on its hands. Hands identical to a human.

I spent a moment just looking, catching every detail. I even used 'Eyes of the Void' to confirm some stuff, and the conclusion was as I wrote before. A brain inside a mechanical body.

Then I attacked and had to face a really annoying, nimble machine, which could fly using some type of engine built into its legs and back.

I smashed the ground with my fist, then straightened my back to look where the boss went. A few pieces of metal hit me, but I ignored them. It was a mistake since those were rockets, which exploded immediately.

For other people it could be a big deal, I just stepped out of the flames, dragging some of them behind me. I had a massive grin on my face, and my eyes already were black, thanks to the 'Eyes of the Void' being still active.

More rockets shot me, so I used the 'Control flame' skill, to extinguish them, but halfway in I decided to actually redirect the fire at the creature. So, from half-killed clouds of flames, emerged a raging dragon in the western version, with his mouth open wide, and more fire coming out of it, as it flew around the walls of the chamber to sink its teeth into the boss.

He shot some blobs at it. Maybe it was plasma, I'm not sure, but it did create holes in the body of my new pet. The dragon got his revenge, as it turned and chased the strange creature, who kept shooting at it. It looked like the fight would continue for quite a moment, so I just put a barrier around myself, for a good measure, then detonated the living flames.

Suddenly everything became white, and my barrier got surrounded by this strong light. Then it turned orange, still completely enveloping my position, until it vanished, revealing partially ripped apart, and partially melted machinery. Some stuff was still white hot. Other elements are completely black already.

In the middle of the mess was left the crystal. I picked it up very happy, mainly because of the class I just unlocked having a high chance of being what I really, really wanted to get.

- Never fuck with the dragons - I whispered to the gemstone, as the boss could still hear me through it.

Then I left, quickly getting outside of the trashed factory.

According to my calculations that was the last spot in the vicinity, so I went towards the forest will all the fake animals, and beyond it. Flying in the sky not only made my travel faster, especially when I cheated to shadow walk to the closest anchor I had left there, but also allowed me to have a good look from above.

My next destination was quite obvious when I was looking from a place so high up.

A lightning bolt, reaching all the way from the dark clouds to the ground, and thin whirlwinds were like a glowing sign 'The quest is here'. For a moment I felt like a player in an RPG game.

It made me smile from the sheer ridiculousness of that very thought. In a weird way, it also made me motivated to finish my exploration. I needed it because I had a very strong urge to go to the city and just check the class I unlocked. It would probably end with me in the workshop trying to make a golem, instead of hunting, so it was a good thing.