Chapter 355 - A Metallic Monster...?
"Hoh-oh! Hoh-oh! Hoh-oh," The Ogres chanted with an increasing pace as the meat turned from its previous pink color to a dark brown. The aroma of the spices covered the whole cliff, making each Ogre drool as they stared at Arthur.
Like a conductor in the middle of an orchestra, Arthur waved his hand, and the meat danced around him. The flames surrounded him in a circle as the Ogres waited for their meal.
When they were done, meat slabs descended from the sky and landed in front of the Ogres. They were gleeful and began clapping and stomping their feet on the ground. Arthur took it as a standing ovation and bowed after his performance.
"Eat to your heart's content." He said and returned to his seat as the Ogres began eating. Their expressions said it all: the pure delight they felt. The Ogres looked at Arthur as if he was their savior in the apocalypse.
"Ju ku Guni!" The Leader roared toward Arthur with a grateful expression, and Rosa hurried to translate.
"He says you're a brother now," Rosa said with a smile, and Arthur gave the Leader a thumbs-up which he clumsily returned. Then, the Ogres continued eating, and the meal was over.
"Ask them something for me," Arthur turned to Rosa. "Tell him if there are any metallic monsters around."
"Metallic monsters..." Gruen flinched and turned toward Arthur, who nodded at him with a smile. "Seika, how about we find another way..."
The dwarf pleaded as the Ogre's Leader stood up and began to guide them. He took them toward a cave at the top of the mountain, where Arthur felt a strong presence.
"Tell him I'm sorry about his son," Arthur said to Rosa, who relayed his message. The Ogres' Leader nodded at Arthur and pounded his chest with a shout.
"He says that Ogres are born for battle, and it's an honor that they die in it," Rosa said with an uncomfortable expression that piqued Arthur's interest.
"Do you disagree?" Arthur was curious.
"No one is born for battle; the circumstances dictate it," Rosa said with an expression of distaste. "There's no honor in dying."
"I hope you didn't say that in front of him," Arthur said with amusement. "Let's just be grateful he didn't try to kill us for revenge." Rosa paused and nodded with a serious expression.
They followed the Ogre toward the top of the mountain, where a desolate cave with a big entrance existed. The Leader stood a distance away from the cave with a wary expression.
"He says that a monster of metal was inside, but it was too dangerous to step inside," Rosa explained.
"I understand. Thank the Leader and tell him that we'll send people to collect the ores after a while. When they do, roasted meat will be brought as well."
Rosa told him, and the Ogre had a happy expression as he went back. Arthur looked at him with confusion, as his attitude wasn't something a father who lost his son should show.
"Familial ties are stronger in civil societies than the wilderness. From their conversation, I knew that there were a lot of sons of the Leader, and the one you killed might have been evolved, but in no way that special."
"That's sad in a way." Arthur sighed as he walked toward the cave.
"Do you prefer that he wept and wanted to behead us?" Gruen asked as he followed after.
"Maybe, that would make him more than just a monster," Arthur muttered as he tried to sense what was within the cave. What he felt surprised him: runes.
"Seika, how about we take it slow? This place looks scary."
"I think appearances can be deceiving, but it will do for your awakening," Arthur said as he walked toward the cave. He had a certain suspicion, but he wanted to confirm it.
"Is it going to hurt?"
"You're presented with the ability to be the Ruler of Metal, and you're afraid of getting hurt?" Arthur was speechless. "Just imagine how much Aimee would love you after you get such cool powers."
"She already loves me a lot,"
"Sounds like it's bothering you." Arthur smiled. "How about I tell her for you?"
"No, it's not bothering me!" Gruen looked more scared by the prospect of her knowledge than the process of his awakening.
"Seika, do I need to go in too?" Rosa looked at the cave with a wary expression.
"If you want me to protect you. I can't be in two places at the same time."
The two followed after Arthur with reluctance as they dived into the darkness. They walked through the rough terrain in the creepy cave. As it became too dark to see, a flame appeared beside Arthur to light up the cave.
"Am I going to fight it with my fists?" Gruen began stretching with a resolute expression of someone who's about to die.
"If that's your style, sure. If you want a weapon, I'll help you." Arthur shrugged. "I think you're imaging something different from what we're about to face."
"A metallic creature with no face and blades for limbs," Gruen said with a frown. "That's the only metallic creature I can think of."
"Well, that's because you never heard of mechas," Arthur said with a grin.
"Mechas?" Gruen repeated with a frown. "What is that?"
Arthur stopped walking and turned toward the dwarf, who looked at him with confusion. His line of sight turned from the dwarf toward something beyond and above him.
"That," Arthur pointed with a grin. The dwarf turned around slowly with a stiff expression as Arthur's flame split into many pieces and lit up the cave.
On the far end of the cave was a humanoid giant of metal that consisted of different plates held together by chords and screws. In the center of its chest was a giant cog that connected to several smaller ones.
"Did we find... a god?" Gruen muttered as his face paled. Arthur was sure that if he didn't correct him, the dwarf would fall to his knees.
"No, just an old model of a mecha," Arthur looked at it with interest. "I don't know how this got here, but it has been here for a few hundred years."
"Can it move?" Gruen asked as he looked at its design. "If it was truly here for a hundred years, how can it have no rust?"
"This is not a normal piece of metal, but a mecha," Arthur said with interest. "It's a runic device that can move and fight. Prepare yourself, Gruen!"
"Yes!"
"Raise those fists!"
As Arthur finished his words, the giant cog in the mecha began to turn. A bar of light on its head lit up as the metal plates slid off each other.
"It's moving!" Rosa shouted and retreated.
Arthur walked toward the dwarf and placed his hand on his shoulder. Gruen looked up at him with a pale face, lips trembling.
"I'm going to give you a little boost that should make you awaken easier. This place is filled with ores, and this machine consists of nothing but metal. If you don't awaken, we might as well have you bake us cake from now on."
"Yes, yes. I'll bake the machine, yes!" Gruen nodded and mumbled incoherently. Arthur gave him two quick slaps before filling his body with the mana of creation.
"Focus! You're beating the mecha. Otherwise, you'll be baking cake!"
"I'll beat the cake!"
"..." Arthur couldn't bring himself to see this anymore and simply pushed the dwarf toward the giant mecha, who was already swinging its fist.
The fist was as big as Gruen himself, and it struck him away like a golf ball. The short dwarf flew across the cave and slammed to the wall, destroying it.
Arthur and Rosa blinked their eyes as they slowly turned toward the destroyed wall. A dust cloud rose from the wall as debris kept falling under the dumbstruck expressions of the two.
"Why didn't he just... dodge?" Arthur muttered as the attack wasn't even that fast. However, Gruen just stood there as it struck him. "Well, it's not an awakening if he doesn't get hurt, teehee~."
"Don't teehee me, Seika!" Rosa looked at him with shock. "What if Master Gruen died? We'll lose the only connections we have with the Ghost Runemaster!"
"You're so cold, Rosa. Is that all Gruen means to you?" Arthur shook his head with disapproval. "Gruen is a friend and a pillar of our city."
"And he's dead!"
"Oh, of course not." Arthur grinned. "I'd say he's the liveliest he ever was."
"You bastard!"
A roar shook the cave as a cannonball shot out of the dust cloud toward the mecha. Gruen, whose body was exploding with overbearing mana, darted toward the mecha.
He flexed his arm as the mecha swung its fist again toward him. Finally, the two met, and the result was...!
There was a distinctive breaking noise as Gruen flew again and slammed to the wall, creating another large crater in it. The dwarf fell to the ground anticlimactically under the blank gazes of Arthur and Rosa.