Chapter 10: Refuge and Freedom
The guardsman and blade caster remained at the front of the formation as usual while the mage and marksman walked on either side of the cart. The formation was tighter than usual, each member slightly anxious without the backup from their two injured allies.
They moved slower as well, stopping constantly to have the blade caster scout ahead whenever they thought there could possibly be something lurking in the shadows. They weren't taking any chances until they absolutely needed to. Slow and steady was the name of the game...
"It should be around here..."
A second leather-bound book floated alongside the little mage's custom grimoire. This one contained a copy of records they had gathered from the Adventurer's Library. It was similar to Elaine's grimoire in that it contained extensive information on the deeper levels of the Ruinous Dungeon, but different in that it was actually a normal book with limited pages, which primarily focused on safe havens and places to find valuable resources.
Pages would occasionally flip on their own as Elaine read. The party came to a stop and quietly waited for her to finish reading.
The dungeon was famous for being a massive cave system which connected numerous underground regions which didn't seem to belong there. There were entire cities in this dungeon, each of them demonstrating a different form of architecture and way of life. Archeologists had studied many of the safer cities which reside closer to the surface and made many discoveries, but the full truth and history of the cities' inhabitants were still unknown.
There were many theories as to how the Ruinous Dungeon came to be.
The most popular theory was that the cave system was made by a civilization which was constantly digging downwards. When they had finally dug away enough room to start building a new city, enough time would have already passed that their methods and technology were entirely different, making each city distinct and unique.
However, some of the lower cities were more primitive than those higher up. This seemed backwards, but there were several possible reasons for it. Several tunnels connected each city to many others. It was possible the civilization didn't just dig down, but instead moved in any direction and later connected each city with more tunnels. Or perhaps different portions of the original civilization split up and went separate ways. But once again, there were no concrete answers.
In fact, the whole idea about the civilization digging around was nothing more than a theory. There was a possibility that the dungeon was formed by some other method entirely...
The only thing everyone knew about this place for sure was that every city was in a state of ruin. In fact, that's how the Ruinous Dungeon earned its name. Each city was abandoned and most showed signs of some ancient cataclysmic event which eliminated the original inhabitants.
However, there weren't only ruins in this dungeon. There were also places of great space which were often theorized to have been farmland or pastures for raising livestock. The party was currently located in was one such place.
A wide field of black grass stretched on for at least fifty acres. However, it was difficult to tell how far the field reached since the party's lanterns didn't cut too far through the darkness. The party searched the field while still remaining close to each other, some members of the party collecting samples of the strange black grass for future research.
It didn't take long before the burly guardsman tripped over the very thing they had been searching for.
'Oh shit!'
His typical stern expression was replaced with a much more silly look as he flailed his arms around to try to keep balance. He was falling forward but heavily stomped several times to try to keep upright. He awkwardly ran several steps like that and for a moment it looked like he would catch himself, but he kept tripping over the uneven terrain. He stumbled several meters before inevitably diving face-first into the ground.
He immediately stood straight up, brushed the dirt from his beard and furtively glanced around to make sure no one saw his embarrassing episode. So far it looked like no one had seen it. He felt relieved... until his eyes reached the cloaked blade caster who immediately turned away before their eyes could meet.
The guardsman watched the blade caster's shoulders tremble as the scout struggled to hold down his laughter. At least he was trying to contain it. Most of the others would have burst out laughing with no restraints had they seen his blunder.
Dismissing his embarrassment, the guardsman walked back to see what it was he tripped over in the first place.
"...eh. Elaine, I think I found it!"
The whole group was soon gathered. There, hidden behind the dark blades of grass was a large cellar door. The door itself was made from a dark, polished wood while the frame was made of stone and protruded slightly above the ground. Small inscriptions were written on the stone frame in an unknown language, perhaps as a prayer of protection to ward evil entities.
This was the entrance to their refuge, the place where they would stay until their team was back to full strength.
As soon as the doors were pulled open, the inscriptions on the stone began to glow. For a moment, Elaine saw stairs behind the door leading down, but soon her vision was obstructed by a platform of light which formed perfectly within the frame of the cellar door.
Elaine was curious about the stairs descending behind the door, but that wasn't why they were here. The burly guardsman was the strongest, so he held the injured duelist in his arms before stepping onto the platform.
After about one second of standing on the platform, a light flashed and they gone, sent to a safe haven. The carriers went next, carrying their bags with them but leaving the cart since it was too big to bring through the transporter. The little mage was next, following them through while helping to carry a couple of smaller items the carriers had wanted to bring along.
Lastly, the cleric was supported as he walked from the cart to the magic gate. The marksman was under his left arm while the blade caster was under his right. Out of habit, the cleric made an effort to talk with his companions, but quickly rediscovered how he had lost his voice and could now only whisper. The final trio barely fit on the platform, but it functioned properly and sent them off to the safe haven in a flash of light.
Finally, the field of black grass was left with nothing but an empty cart.
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'Ahh, that's much better.'
Finally, the machine was free. Shattered pieces of stone cluttered the pile of loot left behind by the party. For the first time since his reincarnation, the machine was standing on both legs. While he was stretching his limbs, he opened the interface so he could better appreciate the most recent changes.
----
[Name: -]
[Race: Haunted Machine]
[Class: -]
[Level: 6]
[XP: 44/80]
[HP: 18/20]
[MP: 10/10]
[STR: 12]
[AGI: 8]
[DEX: 6]
[INT: 9]
[GP: 7]
[SP: 2]
Skills:
[Soul Corruption]
[Active Regeneration]
----
He had chosen to spend ten SP to get the active regeneration skill. It was worth five levels of SP, but seemed like it was necessary. Just like soul corruption, it didn't have a description, but he was able to figure out how to use it without too much struggle.
All he had to do was focus on what he wanted to regenerate and essentially will it to repair itself. It cost a lot of mana, but after a few hours of regenerating and waiting for his MP to replenish, the metal stump of his leg had fully regrown and he was good to go.
'How strange. Does this mean I'm made of biological cells? Is it even possible for a cell to form metal?'
The machine regretted not paying more attention in his previous life's biology class. In any case, he was glad to see his improved stats. Once his leg had regrown, his AGI stat increased dramatically.
It made sense though. Taking damage would decrease stats accordingly until the damage was repaired. It wouldn't make sense to still have a high AGI stat if he couldn't even walk. However, his stats didn't improve any further after his HP was restored to 10. It seemed that was the point where taking damage would start to seriously affect his abilities. Me made a mental note to retreat whenever his HP got too close to 10.
He briefly inspected his body, once again admiring the quality and structure. There were still a few shallow holes and gouges which hadn't fully regenerated yet, but he was in good condition. Now he was able to move all his limbs without producing any unwanted noise. The only sounds in the cavern were from the thuds of the machine's footsteps and the whooshing of air as he explored how fast he could move his body.
He moved his body in a number of ways to get a feel for his range of motion. If anyone had been there, they would have been confused to see a demon of the Ruinous Dungeon performing squats and lunges. At one point he held his arms out in a T-pose and walked in a perfectly straight line. He did a few jumps as well as some jogging in place. Bouncing lightly from one foot to the other, the machine threw a few jabs and punches at the air as if it were a boxer. He spent a few minutes practicing whatever martial arts he remembered. He honestly didn't know much to begin with, so it was more of an exploration of what he could do.
After a while, he realized he would have to adjust to accommodate his new body. His claws were thick, but they couldn't really ball into a fist like he was used to. Punches seemed... impractical? Opening the claws up, he noticed that each appendage came to a relatively fine point. They looked sharp, but not to the point of being blades. Still, if they were moving fast enough, they could probably cut very easily.
Adjusting his combat practice, he explored what it would be like to throw his arm out with claws extended. The wind let out quiet screams as his claws tore through the air.
Everything felt smooth.
There was also the strange protrusion that extended from his back. It didn't move at all, but stayed there fixed in position as if it were an antenna of some sort. It was awfully thick for an antenna though... what was it actually for?
Giving a slight shrug, the machine focused on the world around him. He was left in a dark and mundane cavern. Nothing really interesting was here besides the loot left behind by the party. The machine crouched there and looked through the pile, using his claws to grasp items and bring them closer to the lenses on his head so he could inspect them in greater detail. Most of what he found were small items with unknown uses so he quickly lost interest. He didn't have a bag and didn't really feel like taking anything he found anyway, so he just left it all there.
Dropping an inspected item back into the pile, he stood up again and turned to look in both directions. He could either return to where the party had come from, or he could follow after them.
He took a few steps in the direction he originally came from, but soon stopped and reconsidered. Not too long ago, the party got in a scrap against three powerful lizardmen. He wasn't sure he could take any one of those things in a fight and didn't want to risk encountering one. The party moved in the other direction when they were injured, so surely that way was safer, right?
The machine produced a strange sound which chillingly reverberated through the cavern, then turned around and walked in the opposite direction. Heavy, mechanical footsteps thudded against the ground, leaving shallow imprints in the soft clay as the demon left.
For a moment, the dark cavern was left in complete silence.
Then finally, someone gasped for air. A young man wearing a cloak much like the blade caster's was hiding behind a particularly massive stalagmite. His heart skipped a few beats when that thing started coming towards him, but it turned away at the last second and left. The goddess of luck truly helped him out this time.
Sweat was pouring down his forehead and he felt exhausted from the terror he had just witnessed. He had never seen one before, but that was undoubtedly a demon of the great Ruinous Dungeon- one of the most dangerous creatures humans had ever lived to tell about.
'Too close. Way, way too close...'
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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