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TtOW! - Chapter 2: Terminate the Other Dungeon!
🕑 Added 2022-10-31 13:27:54 +0000 UTC“Observation: Neutral entity: slime detected. Proceeding with route…Hostile intent detected! Engaging termination protocols.”
[You have slain Slime (Level 2)!]
[Gained 2 XP!]
“Observation: Potential hostile entity: slime detected. Recommending caution. Proceeding with route…Hostile intent detected! Engaging termination protocols.”
[You have slain Slime (Level 4)!]
[Gained 3 XP!]
“Observation: Hostile entity: slime detected. Engaging termination protocols.”
[You have slain Slime (Level 1)!]
[Gained 1 XP!]
“Hostile terminated. Proceeding with route…”
And so NSLICE-00P made her way through the forest, vaporizing every slime in sight. At first she had attempted to continue on her way, seeing no particular reason to interact with the creatures. However, every single slime she encountered attacked her the moment she came within a certain distance of them, without exception. At this point she had classified all slimes as hostile entities designated for immediate termination upon detection.
Some scorched earth and notifications from the foreign program later, NSLICE-00P encountered something different. She detected a higher concentration of mana in the distance, something that caused her core to vibrate slightly. As when she first detected the slimes, she decided to investigate.
She found a small cave, brimming with mana. The cave was wide open, with no apparent barriers or defenses, yet her sensors couldn’t read anything inside of it. She scanned for jamming signals or other countermeasures but found nothing in place. Whatever was interfering with her sensors must be a natural characteristic of the cave.
Her helmet engaged and her eye turned red, her weapon systems activating. So far every animate entity she had encountered had proven hostile. Her calculations indicated there was a high chance she would encounter more of the same.
And so NSLICE-00P began walking towards the cave, ready to activate termination protocols on a moment’s notice…
***
At the center of the cave was a stone throne room, its master seated upon the throne at its heart. He wore a red cloak, a golden crown upon his head. The hairs on his body were immaculately groomed. His eyes were sharp as daggers as he surveyed his realm.
This was His Royal Majesty, Excellion Formantus Rattingtale the Third. The Great-High King over all the land.
He was also a rat.
Said rat squeaked as the royal records appeared before him, declaring a visitor to his realm.
“What-what?”
His Majesty Rattingtale opened the royal records. He selected the sacred Analyze skill, the great power bestowed on him and him alone to gaze upon all that intruded upon his realm.
“An intruder-rebel? Yes-yes, a man-thing? It is…level 1?”
His Majesty Rattingtale began to chitter. Level 1? Seriously? This man-thing would lose to even a handful of his minions! He doubted it would even make it past the sacred pit, the devious defense that had felled many a wild beast.
In other words…
“Yes-yes, excellent. This man-thing will be-become the first victim-sacrifice of my new empire!”
His Majesty Rattingtale gleefully turned his gaze upon the man-thing, eager to view his prize.
He calmed down a bit.
The man-thing was quite large. He knew man-things were supposed to be big, but seeing in person was…
And that was a lot of armor too.
He shook his head.
It didn’t matter! No matter how much armor the man-thing wore, it was still just a measly level 1!
He gave the command.
“Go-go, my minions! Kill-slay the man-thing!”
***
NSLICE-00P made her way into the cave. Suddenly she found her sensors cut off from the world outside the cave, instead now displaying the caves interior. Her robotic eye spun and flickered.
The data indicated the cave was bigger on the inside than should have been possible from its exterior. NSLICE-00P reran her scan and the resulting calculations several times, but the result was the same.
So either she was damaged and in serious need of repair…or this cave did not follow the normal rules of physics.
And given the heavy concentration of mana she was detecting in the walls all around her, her calculations indicated a significant probability of the latter.
But that would have to wait, as she was detecting lifeforms on approach.
[Diseased Rat (Level 1)]
[A simple rat, hardly different from its mundane counterpart. The only difference is the mana flowing through its body allows it to survive despite a truly foul mesh of plagues dwelling within it. Wouldn’t threaten a child on its own, but its poisonous and diseased fangs can bring down even the heartiest man if unprepared.]
“Warning: Diseased entities detected. Activating purification protocol.”
NSLICE-00P raised a hand.
A small part her armor opened up, just before her wrist.
A small tube extended from it.
And then the entire cave was filled with fire.
[You have slain Diseased Rat (Level 1)!]
[Gained 1 XP!]
The same notification from the foreign program repeated five times. NSLICE-00P dismissed them and carried on into the dungeon.
***
His Majesty Rattingtale froze.
The fire died down.
Charred ashes were all that remained of his lowly peons.
“T-To be expected of the man-thing, they are most formidable. B-But those were the weakest of my minions, yes-yes. It is fine-ok. The true warrior-soldiers of my realm shall not be defeated!”
***
NSLICE-00P continued through the cave. She found a maze of dimly lit tunnels, with rocks and ditches placed in the shadows that would easy trip the unaware, leaving them confused and disorientated in the dark. It would be all too simple for a reckless traveler to find themselves lost, unable to find their way out.
Fortunately, NSLICE-00P had low-light sensors and thermal vision, so the dark was no barrier to her. LIkewise, she was recording a full map of the location with a ground-penetrating radar, so getting lost was impossible. And finally, she had locked onto a stronger mana signature deeper within the tunnel network and had already plotted the most efficient course through the maze. So she proceeded to investigate without any hesitation.
She paused, however, as she detected a thermal signature ahead of her. She raised her arm, hand already converted to a gun barrel, as she waited for the signature to arrive…
It was a rat, but the size of a small child. And standing on two legs, with a hunched, humanoid torso. It carried a rusted dagger in its hand.
“Non-Standard lifeform detected. Determining response…Attempting diplomacy. Greeting: Hello, this unit is designated NSLICE-00P. It is nice to meet you.”
NSLICE-00P disengaged her helmet, revealing her human face as she spoke. The creature froze, staring at her for a second.
Then it let out a chittering screech and rushed towards her, holding the knife above its head.
“Hostile intent detected. Engaging termination protocol.”
She lifted her gun-barrel hand and unleashed a hail of lead, the dark tunnel lightning up with repeated muzzle flashes.
The creature fell back almost immediately, filled with holes. It then faded into light, leaching behind a small glowing stone.
[You have slain Ratkin (level 3)!]
[Gained 6 XP!]
NSLICE-00P looked at the stone, analyzing it. It seemed to contain a high concentration of mana.
She avoided it as a potential hazard and then continued on her way…
***
His Majesty Rattingtale stared blankly at what the royal record was showing him.
“A-As expected-predicted of a man-thing. T-They are most formidable opponent-foes.”
His Majesty’s ears flattened against his head as his fur stood up. The problem was not that the man-thing had defeated one of his warriors. That much was within the realm of expectation.
The problem was this man-thing had completely ignored the mana-core all monsters are known to drop.
His Majesty had never encountered a man-thing before but his sacred core had bestowed great knowledge upon him at his birth, so he knew a thing or two about them. Such as the fact that there are generally only two reasons man-things enter dungeons.
The first reason is greed. Man-things love treasure, and mana-cores, and horde them with a vengeance. Or they might be greedy for power, to grow stronger by defeating the monsters a dungeon may spawn. But in either case, they would not leave behind the spoils of their victory.
The second reason?
To destroy the dungeon.
His Majesty Rattingtale shook his head. I-It was fine. A basic ratkin is still inferior even to basic man-thing. T-That definitely could make up for the level difference, right? B-Besides, this man-thing seemed very well equipped. I-It was to be expected.
But she would definitely fall before his next minion!
Because all of his instincts, wisdom, and experience combined into a single concept epitomized by his next defense.
If the opponent is too strong…
Then attack when they aren’t looking!
***
NSLICE-00P made her way through the tunnel, approaching its end. As she did, she came to a dark stretch of tunnel, a room with almost no light at all.
She immediately looked up at the roof.
Her thermal vision and low-light sensors detected something hanging off the walls.
[Ratkin Sneaker (Level 5)]
[A ratkin who has embarked upon the path of stealth and assassination. Size matters not for the foe unseen.]
NSLICE-00P lifted her gun-arm once more.
“Warning Recommendation: Stand down and cease all hostile activity. This unit will respond to hostile intent with immediate termination.”
The ratkin froze, looking about. But there was no one else in the room the man-thing could be talking to. It glanced around, its ears falling back against its head.
But its orders were clear.
And the man-thing wasn’t getting any closer, so the situation wouldn’t get any better for it.
It leapt from the wall, soaring through the air.
Muzzle flashes lit up the room.
[You have slain Ratkin Sneaker (Level 5)!]
[Gained 8 XP!]
***
His Majesty Rattingtale was trembling upon his throne.
The ultimate tactic…
The sneak-ambush…
Had failed?
“E-Everyone! Kill-slay that man-thing!”
***
NSLICE-00P came to wide open room when her sensors started beeping. A huge wave of thermal signatures was on approaching. Soon, they began to pour out of tunnel entrances all around the room. Swarms of diseased rats that covered the floor, squads of ratkin with knives in hand…
“Engaging mass-termination protocol”
NSLICE-00P raised her hands. Flamethrowers burned and machines guns roared. All along her body, small panels opened up. Missiles soared and curved through the air, explosions tossing rats into the sky.
A stream of notifications started to block her view. She reached into the program, searching for UI options. She managed to adjust it to a singular notification with a kill counter.
And soon, it was done. Smoke rose from her now silent gun barrels. She turned her head slowly, scanning the field.
Not a single rat remained.
[You have slain Diseased Rat x 200!]
[Gained 200 XP total!]
[You have slain Ratkin x20!]
[Gained 120 XP total!]
[You have slain Ratkin Sneaker x5!]
[Gained 40 XP total!]
[You have slain Ratkin Brawler x3!]
[Gained 24 XP total!]
[You have leveled up 4 times! 4 perk points gained!]
[You have accomplished the feat Against the Odds!]
***
His Majesty Rattingtale was curled up on his throne, sobbing.
“It’s not fair…it’s not fair…why do I have to lose-suffer to some man-thing?!”
The man-thing was unrelenting, ignoring the mana cores littering the ground as she continued on.
Still, there was one last card for His Majesty to play.
The sacred pit.
For who would expect that the very ground below them would be their doom?
***
“Warning: Pitfall detected. Activating flight protocol.”
***
His Majesty Rattingtale ran. He leapt off his throne, rushing towards a small corner of the hall. He passed through a seemingly solid wall.
He may have been a bit proud, but His Majesty Rattingtale was no fool. He was aware he was nowhere close to the most powerful being in this world. So he, of course, prepared a contingency for the worst case scenario.
He manipulated the sacred records and placed a beautiful, golden treasure chest before the throne. A bait and bribe for the greedy man-things. Meanwhile his actual core room was hidden off to the side, behind an illusory wall.
He could only hope it would be enough…
***
NSLICE-00P marched into the final room, where the mana-signature was coming from. Inside, she found an empty throne room with a beautiful treasure chest sitting at its center.
She ignored it.
“Scanning…mana detected. High probability of hostile spellwork. Engaging Equalizer.”
NSLICE-00P transformed one of her gun barrels back into a hand and raised it, pointing it at an unassuming part of the wall. A beam of glittering, rainbow light fired from her hand and struck the wall.
The illusion wall vanished, revealing a small circular room. A large glowing crystal sat upon a stone pedestal. NSLICE-00P approached the room, her weapons at the ready.
Another ratkin rushed in front of her, dressed in a red cape and a crown. She lifted her gun…
The ratkin quickly raised its hands over its head.
“Wait wait! I give up-surrender! Please don’t kill-slay me!”
Author’s Note:
Writathon has begun, let’s goooooooo! I shall post as quickly as I can write, without a thought to ‘editing’ or ‘quality control’ or ‘making a mess of the plot’! Because I can’t make a mess of the plot if I don’t know what it is!
Anyways!
Will NSLICE-00P accept His Majesty Rattingtale’s surrender or will he be terminated? Will she ever take a look at that foreign program plaguing her UI? Tune in next time to find out!
