Alpha Strike: [An interstellar Weapon Platform’s Guide to being a Dungeon Core] (Book 2 title)

Grassreader Kallik of the Slatewalkers was getting too old for this crap.

Not that she was old by Cultivator standards, of course. Many would call her a still chipper youth, despite how her joints popped now and again. She blamed the “kids” of Slatewalker, always getting into some new trouble or thinking of some new way to test her patience. Each generation seemed to get worse and worse, even!

Despite looking only 40, she’d been the apprentices’ examiner for 60 years now. And in that time, every group had found new and interesting ways to both amaze her and make her worry deeply about the future of their village. Then again, she wouldn’t change jobs for the world. There was something fulfilling watching a new batch of apprentices take charge and return to the village with their hard-won spoils and their heads held high.

There would be no victory march today, however.

She should have known something was wrong with the prairies. Kallik was an Elder Grassreader; she’d been doing this for literally decades! Be it the lack of wildlife or the strange fluctuations in the grasses, she’d found excuses for each one.

It made sense that the animals were scarce; it was almost Abditus Apex. Like the human villages, they would all need to prepare for the Darkest Night. The weirdness in the grass was just their proximity to the Earth temple. That unease in her gut was just worry for the new group.

The Fallen Star had been the grain that tipped the scale, though. Kallik had never been one for omens, but it was hard to argue with the sky cracking open and a pillar of divine fire blocking your path. She’d given the order to retreat to the village, despite still having over a week left in the trip.

That’s when everything had gone to the nine hells.

Maybe if she’d been a little more attentive and listened to her instincts earlier, then the slaughter that followed could have been avoided.

Maybe she’d have led the Beast Lord right to the village and caused an even greater tragedy. Yet, she had learned over her long life that you couldn’t dwell on “what ifs.” Cultivators thrived on “what is” not “what could have been.” Reflection was important, but questioning every action would only make their Path shaky and twisted.

The choices Kallik made were her own, and she would have to live with that blood on her hands for the rest of her life. However short that might be.

So she had to watch as young men and women were snatched from them, one by one, as their group dwindled. Some fled, while some were taken before anyone could act. But others… others stayed behind to stand and fight, to widen the gap between the enemy and their friends by just a bit more, even at the cost of their lives. Kallik had never been prouder of a group before, and she resolved to carve every name deep in her soul.

Several times she’d thought to do the same. Kallik was still a [Silver Spirit] Cultivator, even injured as she was. Maybe she could stall them long enough for some form of help to arrive, for the enemy to lose their trail. But she was the only Grassreader left. Her oldest apprentice had been one of the first to be taken, and Zolzaya, while promising, didn’t have the experience to guide them in such a stressful situation. Without Kallik’s guidance, they’d have never made it far, either plunging into a Radiant Abyss or crossing paths with something more dangerous.

The Radiant Sea was a land where plant life was just as likely to kill you as the fauna was.

Zolzaya’s breakdown had been especially hard to watch. Kallik didn’t blame the girl, but seeing such a calm, levelheaded woman turn into a raging, malice-filled beast was hard. That’s when Kallik slipped up. The Myriad Death Tanglevine was one of the more common dangers in this area of the prairies. Their name came from their ability to adapt quickly to the area where they were found, much like the Seven-Radiance Spirit Grass. Outside of the Radiant Sea, the two were often found together, in fact.

Yet, where the spirit grass was passive and mostly harmless, Myriad Death Tanglevine was notorious for its sly nature. They would trap large and small animals the moment they entered their range. The fate of such victims depended on where the plant had taken root. Some would stew the target with fiery energy, and others would poison or crush them. One rare variant could even create pockets of “dead” air that would lull the victim into a deep sleep from which there was no waking.

The chaotic nature of the Radiant Sea’s spirit energy made them especially dangerous, as one could never be sure of what they would encounter.

So when the cart had become tangled in a crushing vine that had slipped by her notice while she comforted the girl, Kallik knew this was the end of their chase. The others only saw the flock as it emerged from the grass, but Kallik could sense the rest surrounding them. Hidden, waiting to pounce, when the humans gave in and fled.

So be it.

She didn’t care how powerful the Beast Lord was; if he thought a [Silver Spirit] would go down easy, she’d make the vile creatures bleed for every bite of flesh. Every Grassbreaker they killed would be one less minion for the Beast Lord and one less enemy to harass their people.

Kallik gathered herself and prepared for their last stand, but fate seemed determined to mock her resolve as a miracle occurred the next moment.

Something burst from the grass from the direction they had come. The new intruder had mowed down the surrounding Grassbreakers in what felt like the blink of an eye. For one harrowing moment, Kallik feared they had wandered into the lair of an Apex. But once the penguins were dead, no further attacks came. When their mystery savor emerged from the grasses, Kallik was thoroughly confused.

Being almost 100 years old, Kallik had seen nearly all of the Radiant Sea, from the Grand Scar to the Harlequin’s Heart. In only a few decades, she might even reach the point where it was time to bid the prairies farewell and step out into the wider world, as many had before her. Yet, in all that time, she had never seen a creature quite like this.

Its dark, blue-black shell glowed with faint cyan lines, and the armor plates along its legs and back seemed metallic, almost like something you’d see in an artificer’s forge. Its three red eyes burned with an inner light and never seemed to stop moving. What truly made the creature stand out, though, was its sheer size. Most creatures in the prairies never got much larger than the surrounding grass, making it easier to hide or stalk prey. Those that grew larger primarily comprised the prairie’s underground ecosystem and rarely surfaced.

Only a few, such as the Grassbreakers, regularly traversed both worlds.

But this metal creature cared for neither of those rules and instead towered over the landscape like a king surveying his lands. Even the surrounding primary life and earth-aligned Seven-Radiance grass that grew taller than other varieties barely reached the top of the creature’s legs.

Had some Spirit Beast from outside wandered into the prairies? Most creatures that weren’t adapted to the environment avoided the Radiant Sea for the same reason the sapient races did. But it did happen, from time to time, even if it was rare. Kallik swallowed hard; it was one thing to die fighting an enemy you knew. It was another thing entirely to be wiped clean by a mysterious powerhouse.

This could be a good thing, though. If the creature’s actions so far were any sign, it was at least intelligent and seemed to hold no love for the Grassbreakers. Despite the cold sweat and shaking hand, Kallik couldn’t stop the slight smirk that crossed her lips. If they played this right, maybe they could—

Before Kallik’s plan could move past its infancy, Zolzaya stirred for the first time in an hour. Kallik’s heart went into overdrive, and she reached out for the poor girl… with an arm that was no longer there. She could only watch, her mouth open and heart falling as the girl charged the mysterious creature with just as much fervor and fire as she had the Grassbreakers.

Kallik sunk into the cart and leaned back, her eyes closing with a bitter laugh. Well, that was it then. Life seemed intent on mocking her to the very end. At least she could die knowing something would not let the Grassbreakers run wild. Whether this new creature was better or worse for the Radiant Sea was for those who came after to decide.

The expected end never came.

Instead, over the group chatter, Kallik heard a voice he never thought she’d hear again. The next few moments were a maelstrom of emotions as Ganbaatar lept from the creature’s back, seeming to have returned from the dead. Kallik stared at the young man, eyes wide and mouth agape. By the time she made it to them, with the help of one of the herbalists, the young man was already at the tail end of his story.

“—then the array popped, and the Beast Lord fled with his tail between his legs!”. The murmuring those words caused was soon silenced as what few of them remained parted way for her. Ganbaatar bowed deep and recited the trapper’s greeting.

“Grassreader Kallik! This one has returned from the hunt successful and brings good tidings for the village!”

Kallik stood silently, staring down at the young man. He hid it well, but decades as a healer told him, the boy was standing by virtue of adrenaline and sheer grit alone. Once his mind caught up to his body, Ganbaatar wouldn’t be standing, let alone fighting, for quite some time. She could only sigh and answer.

“Welcome back, Trapper Ganbaatar. May all your future hunts be as fruitful and your homecomings joyful.”

That done, she reached out and pulled the young man up.

“Now, enough of that. Heroes shouldn’t bow to old women like me. But I will hear the rest of your story later, and in more detail….”

She paused, her eyes lingering on the man’s missing leg, supported only by a wood splint, before continuing.

“Speaking of heroes, where is young Yutu?”

Ganbaatar stood, his brow furrowing and his voice catching in his throat. Kallik didn’t miss the dead silence that had fallen on the rest, either. Her heart sank in her chest as she quietly asked.

“Did he not…”

Ganbaatar shook his head hard, but stood straight after a moment. With a face of stone, the young man turned and bowed to the strange creature who had stood silently behind him the entire time.

“Lord Protector! From the bottom heart, I thank you for what you have done for me and my people this day! I must beg your forgiveness one last time, however.”

With those words, Ganbaatar lept atop the ‘Lord Protector’s’ back and into a construct on its shell. Kallik’s heart nearly lept into her throat, but a quick glance showed the creature didn’t seem to take offense. She sighed in relief, then turned her attention back to Ganbaatar, who had returned with a limp Yutu. The young man’s skin was clammy and pale and covered in blood. Kallik would have assumed Ganbaatar carried a corpse, not a living body, if it wasn’t for the slow, steady rhythm of Yutu’s breathing.

Zolzaya, who had returned to her former self for a few brief moments, broke into sobbing wails at the sight.

Kallik’s eyes sharpened, and she sat down beside the unconscious young man after ordering one of the group to get her bag. A quick scan of her Spirit energy told her everything she needed. The wound should have been fatal; there was extensive damage to Yutu’s internal organs and meridians. Several ribs and his sternum had been shattered into pieces, and several were dangerously close to piercing his heart. Only the strange white substance sealing and spreading through the wound like tree roots held them in place.

She’d seen nothing like this in all her years. It was hard and porous, like limestone, but could flex and bend with Yutu’s body to prevent more damage. What’s more, something was slowly fixing the damage where it could. Not quickly or efficiently by some more advanced standards, but Kallik could visibly see flesh webbing back together and bone fragments realigning. It looked more like a patch job meant to keep the young man stable and alive more than anything, but it had worked.

Kallik listened intently to Ganbaatar’s explanation of the events and nodded along. When her tools arrived, Kallik hesitated for a moment but looked up and spoke to the ‘Lord Protector.’

“Your… Your Excellency. I thank you for your assistance in saving our young Ganbaatar and Yutu. I dare not doubt your intentions or ability, but is it safe to remove the top layer of—”

Unsure what to call it, Kallik gestured at the white substance before continuing.

“—I need to examine the wound if I’m to help.”

The creature stayed silent but gestured in a way Kallik interpreted as approval before she got to work. Removing the clothing and top layer was easier than she imagined it would be. Instead of the scabbed, swollen, dirty mess she had expected from a field dressing, the exposed wound was clean and pink, like it had already been healing for days or weeks. What exactly was this substance? How could it not only seal and clean such a traumatic wound so thoroughly but heal it to such a degree, with no detectable Spirit energy? If they could replicate this, they could—

Kallik shook those thoughts from her head. Now wasn’t the time for that, nor did she want to risk offending their benefactor by asking them for their secrets. She quickly dressed the man’s wound, applying a ground Stone-rank [Regeneration Pill] to the wound and wrapping him in fresh bandages.

Next came an Iron-rank [Blood Replenishing Pill] mixed with water to help it down the young man’s throat. The Healers from the Jadewalker city or other large cities would have gawked at using such an expensive pill on such a low-level Cultivator, calling it a waste. But what use was having medicine if you didn’t use it on those who needed it?

The high-level pill and lots of water would address Yutu’s most immediate need. It would be a rough ride, with weeks, if not months, of recovery ahead of him, but for now, Yutu was stable, and if he made it through the night, his prognosis was good.

Kallik told the gathered survives as much, to a loud cheer and renewed weeping from Zolzaya. The young woman took Kallik’s spot next to Yutu as the older woman was helped up. Ganbaatar kneeled beside them, a hand on Zolzaya’s shoulder.

Kallik smiled as she watched the scene but soon turned away and faced the ‘Lord Protector.’ She didn’t know the creature’s reasons for helping them so much. But she was grateful, nonetheless. That being said, she still had the duty of seeing the children back home. To that end, she had questions for the mysterious Spirit Beast, who seemed to have swooped in like the hero of a novel.

Before she could ask, however, a new player showed themselves. When the young Akh’lut pup popped out of the ground in front of her, Kallik was ashamed to admit, she almost struck out. Though lucky for everyone, she stayed her hand just in time. The young pup just sat there staring up at her with a mischievous grin and yipping happily.

Kallik shifted her gaze from the pup to the mysterious Spirit Beast, then back to the pup again, her mouth agape and brow furrowed. After several failed attempts at speaking, the Grassreader gave a tired sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.

She was definitely getting too old for this…