Chapter 240: How Much Longer?!
"So, what do you want me to do, boss?" Erik asked.
Akira pointed up to the ceiling. "Can you get up there?"
"Of course."
Then she pointed to the part of the ceiling supporting the mechanism. "And how close are you willing to get to that?"
"As close as you want, boss." Erik answered, his grin still shining through. "So, what’s the job?"
"Do you have a spatial ring on you?"
"Would you believe me if I said no?"
"No."
"Dammit." Erik looked genuinely pained, before the expression was wiped off his face. "So, what do I do?"
"I’m going to give you as many Automaton corpses as you can carry. I want you to use your vines to hang them from various positions above the lake."
"Some would be held tightly against the ceiling, especially close to the centre, and others would be hung so low, they’d almost be touching the water below. Can you do it?"
"Of course!" Erik puffed up his chest. "I swore on my honor, and on my honor I shall prevail!"
"Oooookay?" She had a frown on her face. Was this his actual personality? Or was it all just an act?
Well, it didn’t really matter to her which one it was. As long as he got the job done.
"So..." Erik clasped his hands behind his back, his grin somehow widening even more. "Let’s talk payment."
"What do you want?"
"Money. As many coins as you have."
"I see." Akira nodded. "That would be a bit of a problem."
"What do you mean?"
"I don’t have any gold coins on me."
"That’s no problem at all." Erik retrieved a payment terminal from his spatial ring. "I accept cards too."
Akira raised her brows in surprise. "Does that work in here?"
"Not in the way you’re thinking of." He chuckled. "While the card and the terminal would work, no signal would be sent outside of this dungeon."
"So, what’s the point of using it?"
"It’s actually quite simple. Although no signal would leave this dungeon and the money would remain untouched, both my terminal and your card would record the transaction, locking up the funds in place."
"The moment either of us gets out, whether your card or my terminal, and the signal is established, my money would naturally find its way into my bank account."
"I see." Akira nodded. "And how much would this job cost me?"
"A million gold coins."
"What the..." Akira blinked. "That’s too high!"
"Not necessarily." Erik grinned. "There’s not too many people willing to work close to death, and of course, you’re also paying me to keep your little plan quiet too. I’m sure you don’t want too many people learning what you’re doing here."
Akira stared at the man for a few seconds before nodding. "Alright."
She retrieved her bank card from her spatial ring. "One million gold coins it is."
***
"How much longer?!" Lukas yelled as he stepped forward, bashing the layer of [Hex Shields] into the Automaton.
The beast was sent stumbling backwards, and before it could do anything more, three [Smites] descended in quick succession, blasting it into scrap metal.
Three beasts slammed into the shield before Lukas could regroup, shattering most of the upper layer of the shields.
He activated [Smite] on instinct, and the beasts moved. Two were able to dash backwards and dodge the descending pillar of golden energy, but one was unlucky.
The blast slammed downwards, and without two targets to hit, slammed directly into Lukas’ shields and destroyed them.
The two Automatons dashed in without hesitation, straight into Lukas’ sword. He bashed them with the flat of the blade, sending them flying.
In a second, he had several shields up, focusing on reinforcing them as [Smite] continued to rain down outside their protective shell.
"Karrakas!" He yelled. "How much longer?!"
The guide released the arrow in his bow, with the projectile blurring through the small hole in the shields and slamming into an Automaton.
Then he raised his head, looking this way and that as he tried to find a landmark. Anything to tell him where they were as they ran down the street.
"I... I don’t know!" He yelled. "I don’t know where we are!"
"Goddammit!" Lukas swore, not stopping in his running.
Ever since they’d entered the center section, it was as if the dungeon had gone crazy.
Unlike the previous section, where the beasts had come in the form of patrols, that wasn’t the case here.
They simply swarmed from everywhere, as if trying to drown them with quantity instead of quality.
And Lukas couldn’t help but wonder if something was wrong or this was the dungeon’s way of giving them a challenge.
Karrakas didn’t know either, but this was their cross to bear.
"Lukas!" Melody yelled from behind.
"On it!"
Immediately, they switched positions, and he turned to look behind them. The swarm had increased, threatening to overwhelm the shields.
Lukas slammed his boot onto the ground, activating [Bone Wall].
Pale white bones erupted from the ground, fusing together into a wall. He snarled as he manipulated it into an enclosure, trapping the Automatons inside. And before they could jump out, he activated [Smite].
A pillar of golden energy descended, bigger in size than any he’d ever done before. It slammed into the enclosure, followed by two more for good measure.
[You have killed a C-rank Clockwork Automaton(x16).]
"There!" Karrakas’ voice finally reached him.
He turned to see the man pointing at a side street.
"That’s the way to the main clock!"
Without waiting, the three of them began sprinting down the street, with pillars of golden energy descending on any beast that tried standing in their way.
Not all the attacks hit, but it was enough for them to make it to another large courtyard, and this time, another Guidebot was waiting for them.
In that split second that Lukas caught sight of the courtyard, his brain went through his options.
He couldn’t just deploy the Spiked Turtle here. It would be a waste. The Automatons were too numerous, and would overwhelm it.
They would tear the beast alive, and he wasn’t sure where he’d have to go to get another creature quite like it.
So, they’d have to do this on their own. And since [Smite] was already doing the heavy lifting, there was no reason to stop now.
But before he could do anything, the world exploded.
