All of a sudden, several footsteps made Samantha look up. The tent flap was pushed aside, and Lucas and Chloe entered with grins on their faces.
“Greetings, Madam Samantha!” Lucas cupped his fists dramatically at Samantha.
Chloe, mimicking the gesture, cupped her fists and smiled. “Someone said they wanted your baby, ma’am. That’s outrageous! Should I cut their tongue out?”
“Shut up,” Samantha rolled her eyes, kicking two stools toward the couple.
“Thank you for your generosity, ma’am!” Lucas bowed, taking his seat on the stool.
Samantha turned to Flynn and said, “Flynn, can you give us a moment? Thanks.”
Flynn nodded without hesitation. “Of course, ma’am. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be waiting outside.”
Flynn understood how strong Chloe was, not to mention Lucas, who could mysteriously force everyone to their knees and was Samantha’s apparent leader. He realized he wasn’t fit enough to join their conversation.
Watching Flynn leave, Chloe sat down while giggling. Picking a slice of apple and munching on it, she asked, “Lucas said you cleared a quest when we were gone. Tell us about it!”
***
Sipping on the herbal tea, Chloe grumbled, “So while we were inside the dungeon, a monster horde invaded Mount Mor, and you stopped them. How can you leave us out of this?!”
Samantha growled, “Me?! Who’s the one that entered a secret dungeon without me?!”
“I also want to fight a monster invasion!” Chloe whined loudly, downing the herbal tea.
Meanwhile, Lucas chose not to join in the conversation. If he did, he would likely be chopped into pieces. Thus, he opted to drink his cup of herbal tea silently. Sipping the tea and watching the girls bickering, Lucas thought to himself, ‘This tea is good, I should ask for the recipe.’
However, before he could enjoy the tea any further, Samantha shouted and pointed at him, “What about Lucas?! He gets second place even though he wasn’t even here!”
“That’s right, Lucas!” Chloe slammed the table. “Why are you in second place?! Are you hacking or something?!”
‘Why?’ Lucas sniffled mentally. ‘I just want some tea.’
“Say something, Lucas!” Chloe lunged at him, strangling his neck.
Being strangled, Lucas squeezed out, “Jager and… Manuel. Go ask them…!”
“Huh?” Chloe let go of his neck..
Even Samantha was surprised by Lucas’s answer. “What do you mean by them?” Samantha questioned.
Stroking his neck, Lucas sighed, “Didn’t you say Jager sprouted a pair of wings and Manuel summoned a lizard and wolf?”
“Those two skills are something I could choose from my reward. So I figured Jager and Manuel are also able to choose a skill for themselves since the System recognized them as ‘Players.’ However, they were under my command, so the System showed my name instead of theirs,” Lucas explained, continuing to sip on the herbal tea to ease his throat.
Samantha frowned at Lucas’s explanation before adding, “So Jager and Manuel fought in your stead during the invasion, and that’s why your name popped up on the System. Is that right?”
“Basically. I suppose. There could be other factors in play, like my passive that’s constantly affecting them. But that’s the whole gist of it,” Lucas nodded.
Chloe rubbed her chin, trying to process it all. Her eyes brightened suddenly, and she exclaimed, “Hold on! The System recognized them as ‘Players,’ so that’s why they could choose a skill, right?”
“Yeah?” Lucas and Samantha turned to Chloe.
“Doesn’t that mean you received your reward three times?” Chloe exclaimed.
Hearing this, Lucas and Samantha exchanged a glance before widening their eyes. Lucas immediately shouted, “Jager! Manuel! Come in for a sec!”
The tent flap was pushed aside, and Jager and Manuel entered. “What can we help with, Master Lucas?” Jager asked with a slight bow.
Samantha interjected before Lucas could speak. “Did you receive a reward for the monster invasion quest?!”
“We did,” Jager nodded.
The trio exchanged glances before grinning widely like a bunch of fools. Just as they were gloating over discovering a bug in the system, Manuel stroked its head and interjected, “Yeah, uh, slight bummer, though. We didn’t get the ring or anything fancy. Just the skill.”
“Eh?” Lucas was stunned.
“But the big S hooked us up with some stat boosts, though, so it’s kinda lit,” Manuel patted its chest.
Jager added, “That’s right, sir. We received a window stating, ‘Due to your special circumstances, physical object rewards will be converted into Free Points.’”
Sighing out loud, the trio slumped onto the table as if their souls had escaped their bodies. “Come on!” Chloe groaned.
“Sorry?” Manuel scratched its head, apologizing sheepishly.
Out of curiosity, Lucas checked his mechanical soldiers’ stats.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
<>
Jager
Level 17
Race: Automaton
Class: Assaulter
VIT - 35
POW - 55
AGI - 60
INT - 47
SYS - 38
Talent: None
Class-Exclusive Skill:
Thoughtblade - Lv 3
Hawkeye - Lv 1
Smart Algorithm - Lv MAX
Realsteel Frame - Lv MAX
Psyform - Lv MAX
Skill:
Winged Descent - Lv 1
<>
<>
Manuel
Level 17
Race: Automaton
Class: Bastion
VIT - 70
POW - 55
AGI - 35
INT - 33
SYS - 42
Talent: None
Class-Exclusive Skill:
Thoughtflare - Lv 2
Warrior’s Cry - Lv 1
Smart Algorithm - Lv MAX
Realsteel Frame - Lv MAX
Psyform - Lv MAX
Skill:
Dual Beast Assault - Lv 1
<>
<>
Hawkeye
Rank: Class-Exclusive
Active
Increases sniping precision, ensuring accurate shots against high-speed moving targets within a specified range.
Warrior’s Cry
Rank: Rank-Exclusive
Active
Unleashes a powerful battle cry that boots ally morale while drawing enemy focus to the user.
<>
“Huh, some useful skills you’ve got,” Lucas chuckled, bouncing back up. Looking at the girls, he slapped the table, “Stop being dramatic. That’s my job. Now get up.”
“Come on, it’s been a stressful day. Let me sleep, pretty please!” Chloe snuggled into Lucas’s arms.
Patting her head, Lucas smiled. “Yeah, sure. We ought to take some rest because we’ll be going for high-intensity farming.”
“Farming?” Samantha arched her brow. “Where are we going?”
Lucas took out a map and pointed at several marked locations. “I told you earlier that Harold had a map with Mophalite locations, right? These three places are the closest to us for now. We’ll head to these places tomorrow first.”
“I see. So we’ll be heading there to clear dungeons,” Chloe nodded, rubbing her face against Lucas’s chest.
Lucas stared at Samantha as if waiting for her to say something. However, Samantha frowned at him and snorted. “What? I don’t have any cash with me. Ask your wifey.”
“Oh. I thought you were going to ask me whether to bring that Flynn dude along or not,” Lucas raised his brows.
“Hah? Why would I?” Samantha was baffled. “I can’t even keep my own butt safe, why would I add another one?”
Lucas smirked. “I thought he’s your new bestie.”
Samantha waved her hand dismissively. “Meh. He’s just some guy I’ve known for two days. Why would I be bothered about him?”
“Alright then,” Lucas shrugged. “If you say so.”
***
Sitting in the driver’s seat, Lucas yawned as he watched Bryson talking with Samantha.
“Ma’am, thank you so much for these past two days. Although we started off on the wrong foot, you saved us all. On behalf of everyone, I thank you,” Bryson said, bowing deeply to Samantha.
Samantha shook her head with a smile. “It’s nothing. We were just passing by. Sorry for stealing your dungeon.”
“It’s nothing compared to your deeds, ma’am,” Bryson replied, extending his hand.
Seeing this, Samantha smirked and shook his hand firmly. Turning to Flynn, she added, “Goodbye, then. I hope we meet again, Flynn. You’re a nice guy.”
From the passenger seat, Chloe whispered to Lucas, “Holy! Look! Samantha just gave him the nice-guy card!”
“Well, that’s a shame. He’d probably be a great addition to the team,” Lucas shrugged.
“Wait. I thought you were against adding people to our group?” Chloe said, surprised.
After a moment of thought, Lucas replied, “You’re right to a certain extent. But that dude’s a Healer. That’s not exactly an everyday commodity.”
“Do you want to invite him now?” Chloe asked, glancing at Flynn chatting with Samantha.
“Nah,” Lucas shook his head. “But I’ll place a bet on him. If he survives, he might be a great ally for us in the future. If he doesn’t… well, it’s a good reminder that gambling is bad.”
Rolling down the car window, Lucas gestured for Phillip to come over. Phillip trotted up to the car, hauling Manuel on its back and towing a large cargo container behind it.
“Sup, Boss Man?” Manuel greeted, patting Phillip’s head. But Phillip snorted, shaking its head as if displeased by the touch.
Manuel sighed and slumped onto Phillip’s neck. “You’re hurting me, my man.”
Since Jager and Manuel were too large to fit inside the car, Lucas had built a cargo container for Phillip to tow. The container was spacious enough to house both mechanical soldiers and was equipped with mounted turrets on the roof and sides for defense in case of enemy attacks. However, for some reason, Manuel insisted on riding Phillip, so Lucas decided to just let it be.
“Just grabbing a couple of things,” Lucas said as a thin metal rod and a fragment of Mophalite floated out from a small opening in the container’s side.
Under his Psionical Force, the metal rod and the Mophalite fragment began to bend and twist. The two materials coiled together in a helix pattern, fusing seamlessly to form a bracelet.
He carved three symbols that he recalled from Harold Mopha’s research notes onto the bracelet’s inner side Each symbol roughly meant ‘Shield’, ‘Sword’, and ‘Heal’. However, Lucas wasn’t a magician and he had no proper way to enchant something magically. He was kind of hoping the System would work its magic.
Soon, a grey and blue helix-shaped bracelet was complete.
<>
Graublo Bracelet
Rank: Uncommon+++
A bracelet crafted and enchanted by a Talented Crafter with no formal knowledge of magic. However, the high-quality magic crystal woven into its design compensates for this lack of expertise.
Special Effect(s):
Rune Command - Energy can be channeled into any of the rune symbols to activate its corresponding effect.
Restoration - The bracelet absorbs ambient Mana Energy from its surroundings, gradually restoring the wearer’s Mana Energy and vitality.
<>
As soon as the bracelet was finished, Samantha got into the backseat. “Alright, I’m done. Let’s go.”
Lucas nodded, gesturing for Chloe to roll down her window. “Hey, Flynn. Catch,” he said, tossing the
Flynn caught off guard, fumbled but managed to catch the bracelet. He glanced at Lucas, then down at the bracelet. His eyes widened in surprise. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Lucas cut him off.
“Good luck,” Lucas said with a nod, driving away with the three robots in tow.
Flynn stood frozen for several moments before eventually putting the bracelet on. He nodded in the direction of the vanishing group. “Thanks.”