Aggressive Recycling

“So, same spot as last time?” John asked as Vivian pulled into the same grocery parking lot as before.

“Well, no point in trying somewhere else when we know a place that works,” the redhead replied as they slipped out of the car.

“Think I’ve run past this place once or twice,” Beth remarked, looking around the area. “So we just pop in here?”

“There’s an alley a little ways away,” Aeolia said from her veiled perch on John’s shoulder. “This is just the best place to park.”

“Then I’ve probably run down it too,” Beth added as the party began to walk to their final destination. “So you said we're going up against robo bugs?”

“That was the weakest enemy, yeah,” John recounted. “And since we’re going in here mainly to farm material, I think we should set the level low. No point in creating some overly complicated gauntlet.”

Beth pouted and John said, “You’re still going to get the chance to try out the whip. It’s smarter to start with something weak enough to not cause a risk if it turns out the whip isn’t a good fit for you.”

“Plus, if you are good with it, you can just go crazy on them,” Aoelia added. Beth’s expression lightened and she nodded.

“Guess you’re right,” she admitted. “Running head first into stuff is how I met you guys and that wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve done.”

“You can say that again,” Aeolia remarked with a chuckle.

“Be nice,” Vivian chided.

“Nah, it’s ok,” Beth interjected. “I was a bitch. I can admit that.”

Aeolia made an appreciative sound and John imagined she was smiling.

“Suppose there’s hope for you yet,” the unseen woman teased, prompting Beth to stick her tongue out in her general direction. “And if it means anything, it ended up being an ok thing.”

‘I’m glad what happened earlier hasn’t made things awkward,’ Senka projected to John when they noticed Beth slightly smiling at Aeolia’s remark.

‘I think your bold entrance is what could have made things awkward,’ John thought back.

‘I felt like it would be best to not beat around the bush,’ the spirit defended her action.

‘We could have done that once fully dressed,’ John pointed out.

‘I suppose,’ Senka murmured, not an ounce of regret in her tone. ‘If it’s worth anything, I wouldn’t pull a stunt like that in front of just anyone.’

‘Good to know you won’t go flashing people,’ John thought back.

‘Only to people I deem worthy of seeing,’ she replied.

“Yeah, definitely ran down here before.” Beth’s sudden declaration shook John from his private conversation and he looked down the side street, a small wave of nostalgia hitting him.

“Let’s get this show on the road,” Aeolia said.

“Hold your horses,” John chortled. “Got to set the Barrier up. What level do you think we should set it to? If I remember correctly, the Harvest Drones were level eight. They weren’t too hard to deal with so setting it there should give us a good balance of difficulty and risk. Something we’re used to but close to Beth’s level to provide a challenge.”

“Sounds good to me,” Beth said, anticipation clear in her voice as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

With no objection from the others, John cast Instant Barrier.

Alert
Dungeon option is unavailable. Recalibration of loot distribution underway.

“Huh,” John remarked. “That’s a little unexpected.”

“Do you think it’s because we got too much loot yesterday?” Vivian wondered. “We ended up with a lot.”

John nodded. “You might be onto something there. Which, if that is the case, kind of sucks. Means we're going to lose a way to get a lot of stuff quickly. Guess it was pretty generous. At least we got one run with it.”

Dismissing the alert display, John dialed in the Barrier’s settings, ‘Machine’ occupants at ‘Level 8’, and summoned the false reality. The city around them decayed as it had before and John summoned Senka.

“You know, I have a bit of a soft spot for this setting,” the spirit remarked as she looked around the ruined environment.

“A dump like this?” Beth asked, looking around the narrow alley they spawned in. “Why?”

“This is where I first gained awareness,” the spirit elaborated. “I believe I was able to manifest as a shadow for a second.”

“Right after I cashed in your Resource Points to buy ‘Dark Elementalism’,” John recalled. “I caught sight of a shadow out of the corner of my eye.”

“I remember that,” Aeolia added. “Right before we went after the boss. You made us jump a bit.”

“My apologies for that,” Senka sincerely said. “In my defense, I did, for lack of a better term, just wake up. Think of it like I was stretching.”

Aeolia waved a hand dismissively. “Nah, no harm, no foul. Can’t blame you for kicking about.”

“So, are we going to keep chatting or are we going to start looking for these robot spider things?” Beth asked. “‘Cus just standing around seems like a great way to get attacked to me.”

“Beth has a point,” Senka diplomatically said. “Are we going to set up in a central location like you did before or shall we just prowl the streets and take what comes?”

Before anyone could voice their opinion, a tapping noise echoed from down the street. Everyone turned to the source of the sound as a mechanical spider skirtered into view. As the ones from before, it was made of multiple metals cobbled together and a large pipe was grasped in its pincers.

“Same info as the one from Wednesday,” John reported, angling his display so Beth could read it. “Although, that one was from a set of five. Looks like we might have a larger group to deal with before we get the loot.”

He opened his Inventory and withdrew Thornbite, handing the whip over to Beth.

“Want to take the first crack at it?” he asked as the drone remained still at the end of the road, its lens eye watching them.

“Ya don’t mind?” Beth asked, unfurling the whip. The sight of a weapon seemed to trigger some protocol in the machine as it reoriented itself to fully face them, a flash of blue signaling it had ignited its cutting flame.

“We’ve already had a go with these guys,” Aeolia said. “Just be careful of that fire. It can launch blasts.”

“Dodge the fireballs, got it,” Beth stated and began to advance on the drone. As she approached she broke into a full sprint. Her accelerated advance flipped the drone from observation to action and it scurried to meet her, the flame under its lens flickering with greater intensity as it readied to attack.

Beth suddenly veered to one side and began to scale one of the walls, causing the drone to skid to a stop as it processed her change in elevation. Beth was quick to take advantage of the high ground and lashed out with her new weapon. Thornbite slammed into the drone right at the junction of two of the metal plates that made up its carapace, the steelwood spikes piercing through slightly.

Beth pulled the whip back, wrenching it free and ripping the puncture holes wider. She ran along the wall until she got behind the drone and struck with another attack, this one aimed at the machine’s legs. Thornbite dug into the machine’s insectoid limb, wrapping around it.

“Let’s see how you like this!” Beth snarled and she bolted up the wall at an angle, moving further down the alley. The drone was yanked up by its captured leg, its front smacking into the ground before it went airborne. After a few meters, Beth stopped and pitched forward, putting all her might into throwing the snagged robot.

The drone sailed through the air in an arc and slammed into the ground with an echoing crash. Beth slid down the wall, stopping when she was around a meter above the uneven pavement.

“Did I knock it out?” she called back to John.

“Not yet,” he shouted back. “And I have no idea how much you’ve done. I don’t get damage reports on stuff I haven’t hit.”

“So keep hitting until it falls apart, got it,” Beth said.

“It might explode,” Vivian cautioned.

“I’ll keep my distance,” Beth assured them and drew her arm back. The drone stuttered as it tried to stand up, one of its legs twisted upward uselessly, another bent in an area not designed to do so. Sparks shot out of the holes Thornbite’s spikes had made and it tried to reignite its flame, only to have it sputter uselessly. Beth didn’t wait any longer for it to recover and attacked, Thornbite’s spikes tearing into the drone’s ‘face’. They ripped into its camera lens and flame emitter before knocking it back slightly.

It teetered on its injured limbs, pincer tipped arms flailing about blindly as it tried to stabilize itself. Beth dropped off the wall and stood before it, a frown on her face.

“These things are kind of a bad match for me, aren’t they?” she asked, angling her head back to everyone.

“A bit,” Aeolia answered, taking to the air and flying over to Beth. “Whips aren’t really the best weapon against armored things. Still, you did good. Pulling it into the air and slamming it down was a good idea. Want to keep at it or are you okay if I clean up?”

Beth sighed and shrugged, “Go ahead. Doesn’t make sense to waste time on me chipping away at it. Stuff to make and robots to kill, right?”

Aeolia nodded, offered Beth a grin and swung her glaive, green wind coating the steel. Her elementally enhanced strike easily cleaved through the dinged and punctured drone, cutting it in two. Sparks shot out of the halved drone for a few seconds before it faded away.

Harvest Drone 1 of 7 defeated. Loot available after all drones are defeated.

“Looks like we’ve got six more of these guys,” John reported as he, Senka and Vivian joined up with Aeolia and Beth. “Plus anything else that might be roaming about.”

To punctuate his statement, the clanking sound of metallic legs began to echo around them, signaling the approach of the drone’s squadmates.

“And here they come,” John said. “Okay, does anyone have any battle strategies?”

“I think Beth should make use of her agility and the range of Thornbite to do hit and run moves,” Senka suggested. “I can assist that endeavor with Black Thorn. Vivian, do you have any particular arrays for this setting?”

The redhead shook her head. “Nothing suited for the drones, but since distorting their vision worked last time, I can do that.”

“So that leaves me and John to smash or slice anything that gets close,” Aeolia guessed at Senka’s suggestion for them.

The spirit nodded with a smile. “Indeed. Does my plan make the cut?”

“I’d say it’s a pretty good one,” Aeolia answered. “John?”

“It sounds pretty solid,” he agreed. The clanking sounds grew louder and he added, “Well, let’s get to it. Keep your eyes opened for anything amiss and don’t hesitate to bring it up. Let’s get smashing.”

Harvest Drone 6 of 6 defeated.
216(12) EXP Gained

All hostile entities defeated. Barrier will repopulate in five minutes.

John looked at the pile of loot that appeared in place of the drone Senka had taken out with her Black Thorn. A few bundles of cash, two gears and two gleaming fire crystals, which brought the grand total to seven gears, three fire crystals, one mana cell battery and two grand in cash in just thirty minutes of fighting, dealing with three waves of varying numbers.

“I wonder if Gaia retooled normal loot distribution too?” John mused as he collected the drops. “I think between what we have here and back at the office should be enough to make the beacons.”

“So we’re done?” Beth asked, as she coiled Thornbite back up.

“If you guys want to keep at it, we can,” John said. “But honestly, I’m just not feeling very smashy today.”

“Gee, I wonder why?” Beth remarked with a knowing grin, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “But I’ve got no problem callin’ it a day.”

“No complaint from me,” Aeolia said, resting her glaive against her shoulder.

“I would feel better if we crafted up everything,” Vivian added her two cents. “Just to get it done. Leaving the project half finished is giving me a bit of anxiety.”

Senka hummed thoughtfully. “We did embark on this tangent to collect the needed supplies. Now that we have the needed resources, I think it is wise to return to that.”

“Well, if we’re all in agreement,” John said, “let’s pop out, grab some lunch and head back.”

The girls nodded and a moment later they left the Barrier.

Lunch obtained and eaten back in Vivian’s kitchen, John fished out one of the gears.

“It took three units of iron for one,” he recounted. “And I know I got at least two units of material per gear last time, at fifteen mana a pop. And the beacon cost thirty-six. Might need to take a few Bask breaks to get everything done.”

He had already used the mana restoration technique and it brought his mana back to nearly full, mostly thanks to Senka offering to remain partially manifested, freeing him from her upkeep cost.

‘You could draw mana from my vessel,’ Senka intoned.

‘Yeah, that’s an option,’ he thought back, before voicing the spirit’s suggestion to the others.

“If you’ve got the backups, use ‘em,” Beth said.

“Plus, using the elemental mana might unlock something new for your skill,” Vivian mused.

“That is true,” John muttered, summoning Senka’s vessel to his hand. “I’ve got eighteen here. Best bet is to use eight of it and seven of mine to break the first gear down so we’ve got some dark left if the boost is worth it.”

John drew in eight dark mana, the cool sensation running through him as he directed it into the needed skill, intertwining with seven of his own mana. The gear vanished, and a single piece of metal fell to the table. It looked very different from what he was expecting, taking on a slightly orangey tan color.

Composite Gear destroyed. 1 unit of zilhavrum bronze produced.

Skill level up: Craftsmanship Lv. 3.

Thanks again for reading this little story. If you liked the chapter, please hit that thumbs up, and if you want to support my writing, check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/ScrapCrow. Get access to my chapters before they’re published here and join my private Discord.