Shocking Encounter

[Hey, you have left the radiation zone, Judas.]

The sun had long since fallen as I journeyed towards the town Velantra had told me to head towards. The chilly rain pelted against my armor as the dark sky lit up from the dancing streaks of lightning. It was hard to see anything whenever the lightning was not around, and I felt my body slowly become tired from walking for so long. I needed a place to rest, but with no food, even resting will be a challenge.

"Is that…" I muttered to myself in an attempt to keep focused. Near the side of a road that led into a forest was a cave. I could use that as shelter from the rain and to rest for the remainder of the night. Mustering my strength for a dash, I made a beeline for the cave.

POWER: 20%

TIME: 21:43

TIME LEFT: 26,271:37

Five hours in the downpour felt like hell, not that I had any room to complain after all the blood I helped pour today. Maybe something above was trying to punish me, or was simply weeping for the loss of so many lives. I gently placed my hands on the side of my helmet and removed it. The powerful scent of rain mixed with rot filled my nostrils.

[Are you gonna waste time resting here?] Velantra spoke in a sleepy voice. I guess she can get tired too. [That town should be nearby.]

Her voice played from a small earpiece that I had surgically implanted into my ear in cases where helmets could not be worn. It functioned both as a communication device and a hearing aid to help prevent a sneak attack.

"I don't know if you demons know what sleep is, but we humans need it."

[I know what it is, you cretin. I was asking if that is what you should be doing right now?]

She spoke coldly, but I did not let it bother me. I was too tired to really care. I exited my armor. My clothes, which should have been torn to shreds, were intact, just like my body. I was dressed in a black, green, and grey camo soldier's uniform that was currently soaked with my sweat. While removing my clothes, leaving only a white undershirt and black underpants, Velantra spoke in a less-than-pleased voice.

[I hope you are content with assaulting my eyes.] She let out a yawn, [I shall leave you for the time being. You'd better not die while I am away.]

"Leave for the time being?" I guess she needs to sleep, given her yawning. But more importantly, "How did you know what I was doing?" I said with a somewhat shocked voice. There was no response, just the sound of rain falling onto the rocks. "Okay…" I turned towards my helmet. I had placed it down with the visor facing towards me. Maybe that is how she was able to see what I was doing.

With that in mind, I turned it over so that it could face the wall and grabbed my weapon from the back of my armor. Its glow died after I removed it from my suit. The weapon felt heavier in my hands than it did in my armor. As much as I wanted to sharpen it up, sleep was more important, so I placed it down near my armor. When I dropped my weapon, I noticed something strange on my arm. It was hard to see clearly, but there were weird black markings on my upper arms. Without proper lighting and a mirror, figuring out what was on me would be a difficult task.

*Grrrr*

My empty stomach pulled me from my thoughts. Food will have to wait until morning. I stretched out across the chilly stone floor and closed my eyes. Memories of those I once trusted filled my mind. Their piercing eyes and wicked smiles. Each of them ripped me apart in that room. While my body was physically intact, I could still feel the pain of my body being ripped in half. Eventually, their faces faded from view, and I drifted off to an uncomfortable sleep.

*Grrrr*

"Ugg…"

Bright rays of light filled the cave, beaming straight onto my face. With heavy eyes, I sat up and stretched my aching back. Sleeping on stone had been a terrible experience.

"Grrrrr…"

"Damn…I get it already." I said in a tired voice. "When was the last time I ate something with a sound like…that…" Something was not right about that sound. While I could feel my stomach eating itself, that sound had not come from me.

Carefully, I turned around and, sure enough, I was eye to eye with a creature I had never seen before. A face of brown fur with a snout stained with dried blood. The smell of rotten meat filled my nose as the creature made a low growl.

"Grrr…"

It took a step back and stood on its hind legs. The creature had the appearance of a brown bear with blue scales armoring its neck and legs. Its hungry eyes sized me up. Thick saliva dripped from its fangs as it let out a small grunt. It raised its arm and bared its claws. Electricity danced between each claw.

"GRRRRRAAAAA!!!!"

The moment it made that sound, I felt my skin crawl. I leapt to the left, rolling on the ground. The bear's claws had gouged out a section of rock where I had just been. It turned around, its eyes angrier than before. Behind the bear were my armor and weapon.

"Hey there, buddy…" I said to the bear while trudging around it. "It's too early in the morning to just choose violence." It let out a low growl in response. "Whoa!!" It leapt towards me, slashing at the air. I lowered myself and ran through its legs. After grabbing my weapon, I spun around. "Ngh!!" Its claw slammed into my upper blade, forcing the lowered blade to stab the ground. Electricity flowed from the bear's claws through my weapon, giving a jolt that locked my arms and legs in place. "Shit—" Its other claws slashed at me. Rather, it was due to luck or poor visibility deeper in the cave, it missed.

I did not let that moment go to waste. With a shout, I dashed forward and slashed at its open arm. The dull blade failed to make a clean cut, leaving it stuck in the beast's scaly arm. The bear let out a screeching roar and lifted its arms, dragging me up into the air along with my weapon. It flailed wildly until the moment my blade had been freed.

"OOF!" My back slammed into something solid. Pain flared through my body as the bear turned to face me with a fearful look. I could hear its stomach growl louder than mine. It let out a whimper and limped its way out of the cave like a coward. "Fleeing just because of a little boo-boo? Your intimidating looks are wasted on you." I said, getting back on my feet. "I'm hungry too, and I'd be damned if I let my food get away just because it fought back."

With its back facing me, I took in a deep breath. I positioned my legs apart and gripped my saber with both hands. Without my armor, it was nothing more than a heavy rod with two blades. But that did not matter as I was trained to use it with and without its special powers. I lifted my foot towards the wall and launched myself without as much of a sound. I drove my blade into its rear leg and poured my strength into it. Something hard slammed into my blade, but I did not let it stop me. I kept pushing until it dug through.

Blood poured out of the bear's leg as it let out a pained roar. I pulled my blade out and spun around. Using the force of the spin, I slashed at the hole I had just made and made a clean cut. The bear turned and slashed at me. It missed and fell to the ground. I ran on top of its body and drove my blade into the back of its neck. The hard scales stopped the dull blade. I pulled back and jumped off its back, towards the cave's ceiling. Using it as a launch board, I pushed my legs against it and shot towards the bear. With the blade aimed towards its neck, I once again drove my weapon into it. The bear let out a final whimper before going limp.

[So you creatures can fight without your armor?] Velantra said in a sleepy voice. I turned towards my helmet, and sure enough, it was pointed towards me and the dead bear. I must have smacked it during the scuffle.

"Why wouldn't I? It's good training to take down a tough opponent early in the morning."

[If your kind thinks a Volbear is tough, then I've got some bad news. Those things, despite their appearance, are cowardly by nature. Toss a rock at them, and they go running. They usually prey on weak things, but I suppose you do fit the bill.] Velantra spoke with a smug tone in her voice.

My eyes twitched at her downplaying my near-death encounter with a large beast that was three times my size. Choosing to keep the peace, I hung the bear's corpse from a small rock that protruded from the wall. Its crimson blood flowed out of its severed leg. Pleased, I dragged my armor out of the cave and searched for firewood.

"Ahhh…." After eating roasted bear leg for brunch, I felt the energy I had been lacking fill my body. It was a dull and tasteless meal, but it was better than starving. It was not until the sun had reached its peak that I retrieved my armor from outside. Carefully closing its solar panels, I noticed something off about it. On the back of the armor was a small black marking. A goat's skull with twisted horns covered with a thorny rose. How long had that been only my armor?

[How long are you planning on staying in the cave?] Velantra had interrupted my thoughts with a less-than-pleased tone.

"Sorry!" I gave my best fake apologetic tone. "I was still in a state where my body would have violated your all-seeing eyes. So I decided to laze around a bit."

[You've got some nerve to use that as your justification for wasting time.]

It seems she had no idea of what I was really doing. While she saved my life, every moment spent talking to her lowers any kind of trust I once felt. Being able to remotely hack into our armor was not something that you could easily chalk up to fate.

[Besides, your hideous body is nothing more than another unwelcome fact in the search for the truth. I have steeled myself to endure such horrific sights in order to complete my jo—I mean, watch you for my amusement.]

A noble born, my foot. This girl is nothing more than a loose-lipped brat who acts like she knows it all. With a silent sigh to myself, I entered my armor and grabbed my helmet from the cave. I heard a soft mumble from the intercom, followed by a sigh.

[The town should be near where you currently are.]

Saying nothing, I grabbed my blade from near the campfire. Its blades had been sharpened and cleaned up. The bear's scales had been surprisingly tougher than I had thought. I stored a few of them in my armor in case I needed them to sharpen my blade down the road.

After walking for no more than two hours, I noticed something entering my vision. Between the trees and rocks, I noticed a large sign that sat at a fork in the road. Approaching the sign, something caught my eye. Where the three paths met was a wide path paved with flagstone. Along the road was a wall of wooden spikes that surrounded buildings of weathered stone and white tent roofs. Two enormous flags waved in the air, above a makeshift gate that led into the town. Royal blue and black danced in the wind while two guards dressed in light yet durable armor stood at the entrance with metallic-framed compound bows in hand.

[This town belongs to the Elven Regime. While far from the forest where most of the Elves live, this town serves as a…safe haven from the war as well as a trade town. I say safe haven, but realistically it's nothing more than a home to the impoverished.]

As Velantra spoke, I felt the ground below me rumble. The soft humming of an engine roared in from behind me. I turned around to spot a small, beat-up-looking truck towing a trailer full of goods. The vehicle drove up to me and stopped. A man with pointed ears exited the vehicle and gave me a good look, his expression one of anger. He seemed to have started choking on his words as his skin grew pale.

"VARDAN!!! AIDE, INVASOR!!!" The man shouted at the top of his lungs in an unknown language. Before I reacted, something whistled past me at sonic speed, drilling a hole through a nearby tree. I turned, and the two guards who had been at the gate were approaching me with their bows aimed at me.