Lone Immortus
patreon
SIS Book 4 Chapter 90: Victory and Trouble With The Trolley, Eh?
🕑 Added 2021-02-11 08:29:44 +0000 UTCA/N: Just a small note. Jorge is pronounced Hor-hay in this chapter. c:
Daz's armour slowly repaired itself as he controlled Hamson to slice right through the tentacle-wielding monster.
The armour had been pretty useless to him, in all honesty. So what if it could repair itself? What good was it if it never stopped any attacks at all? He was seriously considering abandoning the gift from Altros in favour of something with actual uses.
He did want to get it unsealed at least but until then Daz decided to shelf the outfit. After he had cleared this dungeon, of course.
On the front of his weapons, they weren't really an issue. Currently, he only using Hamson since he could dodge the creature with enough effort.
Hamson was sharp enough to cut through damn-near anything. This monster wouldn't change that Daz felt.
He was quickly proven wrong since the thing wouldn't stop flopping around just perfectly to dodge the fast and deadly red blade of doom. Quite like how he was using his Survivor's Instinct and high stats to perfectly avoid its attacks with a minimal margin for error.
'Is this thing a perfect counter to me or something?' Daz thought before firing a Death Beam its way, finally deciding to stop using only Hamson.
It seemed the eldritch horror hadn't quite been moving as quickly as it possibly could because it blurred for a moment, increasing its speed to avoid both Hamson and the grey laser.
Daz furrowed his brow as he sprinted around the room, using every inch of it at his disposal to avoid the being. 'How can it be so fast and so dextrous without a soul? It's able to avoid two quick and deadly attacks while also having room to spare to chase after me... Fuck it. Skull it is. I came here to test that too, after all. If it can kill this thing, that's a great sign.'
"Laughing Skull," Daz invoked.
Behind him appeared the skull which was half blue and half green, being split down the middle. The fleshless head was larger now, Daz noticed as he glanced at it for a split second, almost earning him a tentacle right through the thigh but he avoided it just in time.
The skull filled the entire back half of the room and was even breaking through it. Daz wondered if the reason Reika couldn't go through just simply didn't apply to the skull because it was a skill, not a person as the spirit was.
Regardless of Daz's thoughts, the skull laughed. Immediately the writhing, puss-dripping abomination froze before screeching fiercely. Daz held his hands up to his ears as he winced.
Not a moment later, the Laughing Skull disappeared and the monster died. It now lay completely still as Hamson cut into it and tore its flesh apart. Daz only stopped when it was nigh unrecognisable. He did not want to deal with a zombified version of it if that was even possible.
Once done, he returned Hamson to its sigil on the back of his palm, ready to summon the powerful tool at a moment's notice.
Exhaling a deep breath of air, Daz smiled a little. 'The skull killed such a powerful monster and with ease too. I don't think it could have done that before the upgrade. Or maybe that creature was particularly weak to the skull since it had no soul?'
Daz didn't know, but regardless, he had completed the Trial of Might with relative ease. He'd been hit once due to his negligence and had failed to really damage the creature before using the skull.
Still, he was holding back by not using his crystals, diamond needles, clones nor Rimmy. He could have also tried out his Archreaper's Aura. If was forced to fight that monster again he'd certainly use a bit more of his arsenal than he had this time.
"Statement: You have proven your might. You may proceed to Room 3."
Daz nodded and immediately pulled out his hard hat which he'd used to explore Atlantis with. He didn't turn the light on but perhaps its natural hardness would assist him in protecting his eyeballs.
His brain was less of a concern since unless it was completely destroyed, his Lifeforce Dependency paired with his Regeneration stat would keep him safe. Still, it was better to safe rather than sorry.
He also decided to bring out a chuck of diamonds from his Industrial Storage Box and cut it perfectly with Hamson into a form-fitting mask. Barely a slit was left for his eyes to see through but he preferred that over having them and the rest of his face left exposed.
He glanced at the plain-looking diamond mask and frowned. He spent a few minutes with Hamson's blade shrunk down as much as possible simply carving some designs into the thing.
[Craftsmanship has reached level 6.]
'Huh. I guess that works too for levelling the skill,' he thought before putting his shovel back into its seal on his hand. He then stepped through the door to the next room.
***
'Fuck. we're going to die here, aren't we?' Enrique thought as he watched two of his companions scream in each other's faces. 'By the time someone who can get us out arrives, we'll have killed each other.'
"Just answer the fucking question, you coward!" Selena demanded.
Jorge scoffed. "I've said it before, I'll say it again. That's fucking private information! What right does this fucking thing have to ask something like that?! To ask any of us something like that?! We'll find another way. If you're so eager, why don't you fucking answer the question first?!"
"You're our team's leader! Act like it and man the fuck up! I'll say it after you do, okay?!" Selena claimed with fury on her face.
Jorge scoffed. "As if I can trust you to do fucking anything. Stupid bitch. I am the team's leader like you said, and as team leader, I order you to answer the fucking question before I do!"
Enrique sighed and looked up at the ceiling of the glass box he was in. He was just happy that, if nothing else, he wasn't one of the shouting match's participants.
He stared off into the distant light where he could swear he could see a person softly waving at him though they were too far away to really tell.
Everyone saw something different outside of these boxes, or so Enrique had been told by his friends. Well, maybe former friends now. He'd never seen this side of them.
He brought his gaze down and sneaked a glance at the other group of people just minding their own business in the corner. They were huddled up and seemed to be hiding something but if he was being honest, Enrique didn't care.
They were Asians of some sort and any attempts to talk to them had been met with complete dismissal. 'Well, it's rare to find any Spanish speakers anymore. Shame none of us has a translation skill. I'm definitely saving up for one once we're out of here.'
He looked back at the still arguing Selena and Jorge before he smiled wryly. "If we ever get out," he whispered.
Just then, he heard footsteps coming from the other end of the glass box. Turning his head he saw a new face. Or, well, figure.
'That's a fancy mask. Doesn't fit the weird-looking helmet or raider armour though,' Enrique thought. 'I think I've seen that armour somewhere, now that I think about it... Hmm, well, it's not that uncommon of an aesthetic choice. That mask though.. diamond? Very fancy.'
"Well, I wasn't expecting this. I honestly thought you'd all be dead by now considering what I faced in Room 2," the man said in perfect Spanish, instantly brightening Enrique's mood.
Selena and Jorge immediately stopped their yelling and looked at their room's new guest. As did the group of Asians.
A few moments of silence passed before the voice of the door rang out in the room again, this time, directly at the newcomer, not as a warning to hurry up which Enrique feared was going to come sooner or later for him and his friends.
"Test of Truth phase 2: Answer honestly to progress to the next room."
The stranger nodded. "A bit disappointing but not entirely unexpected."
'Is he talking to us? No... He's talking to himself. Weird... I wonder how he'll react to the question. It's gonna be the same as ours was, right? if it wasn't the same, then why would the Asians still be here too? No one wants to answer that kind of question,' Enrique thought as he found himself holding his breath in anticipation.
"Question 1: What do you value the most?"
The man held the chin area of his diamond mask and went silent for a few seconds.
'It's obvious now that I think about. Easy questions first, the hard one last. This place was never meant to be cleared as a team,' Enrique thought. 'Anyway, I wonder what he values?'
"Currently or overall? The answer differs between what you want to know," the man asked.
Enrique and his companions' eyes opened wide. 'You can ask questions back at it?'
"Response: Currently."
Enrique glanced over at the Asians and he sighed when he saw how unsurprised they were. 'So our team were the only ones not to think of getting clarification... Well, it probably doesn't help that much since they're still here too just like us.'
The stranger nodded slowly. "Okay. That's simple enough. Peace and unity among all remaining citizens of Earth."
"Response: You speak truthfully. Question 2: What causes you the most stress in your life?"
'How noble...' Enrique lowered his head in embarrassment thinking on his own answer to the second question. He stole a peek at Selena and grit his teeth a little. 'She didn't need to laugh. It's a perfectly normal thing for guys. The next question is the one I'm worried about. This guy's answer could be amusing though. Maybe. I dunno. He seems kinda hardcore.'
"The war with the Church of Truth," the stranger answered.
'Yup, hardcore alright,' was all Enrique had to say about such a simple answer.
"Response: You speak truthfully. Question 3: If it would benefit you greatly, would you kill everyone in this room bar yourself?"
'Ah, the question's a little different. It was only 'kill your teammates' for us. Probably for the Asians too,' Enrique thought.
He quickly began thinking about what subjects he could discuss with the man. If the stranger had some sort of teleporting powers that would be fantastic.
They did need to get out of this weird dungeon after all. If they could flee, that would be ideal in Enrique's opinion. He'd much rather do that then consider the possibility of answering the question.
Either truthfully or otherwise. The consequences of either option weren't things he wanted to find out if he were being honest.
"Elaborate, please," the man asked. "Define 'greatly'. Give me an example."
"Response: Five Stars of Eternity."
'What the hell is a star of eternity?' Enrique asked himself. His companions as well as the Asians seemed just as lost. 'I wonder what they are and why it would help this guy? Better yet, what would the door answer if I asked the same question?'
The man nodded again. "Yes, I would. If only because far more lives could be saved as a result."
"Response: You speak truthfully. You may proceed to Room 4."
Enrique opened his mouth in shock. "You... You answered?"
The man cocked his head at him before replying. "What was I supposed to do? Just ignore it like you lot? I intend to clear this dungeon and rescue everyone trapped in it. On that note, all of you, answer the question. It's really not that hard."
Jorge walked right up to the man. He towered over him by a full head, tall as he was. "Oh yeah? Is it really that easy, huh? Well why don't you just kill us all then since it's so easy for you, stranger? You said you'd do as much anyway."
The man shook his head in what looked like disappointment. "Don't be such a blithering idiot. It was hypothetical. Also, it was just the truth. If I was forced to choose between five Stars of Eternity and your lives, I would choose the former."
'This guy ain't hardcore, he's a stone-cold motherfucker,' Enrique thought but not at all in a demeaning manner.
The masked man paused for a moment as if to gather his thoughts before continuing, "Think on it like this. The old tried and true trolly dilemma. Go left, you kill five old people, go right, you kill one young person. I would turn right. I value numbers over potential. Those elderly folk could still contribute to society in some manner or another. Collectively, more so than one youth in my opinion. This is the same. I'd be exchanging your lives for those of thousands, maybe tens of thousands."
'Who says that kinda shit to people? Guy's certainly decisive, I'll give him that much,' Enrique though as a shiver went up his spine.
He saw a cold gleam pass through the small slit in the stranger's diamond mask. "Now, all of you will answer the same question. It's just hypothetical. If anyone judges you for choosing the hypothetical benefits over the hypothetical choice to spare the others, then simply do not value their opinions. It is human nature to be selfish. Overcoming that selfishness is worthy of praise, admitting to it is not worthy of scorn."
Enrique stared at the man. 'This guy... He... He's making a lot of sense. Why can't Jorge be more like this stranger?'
He stepped forward and spoke up at that moment.
