Biter

The coastal capital, Disel had several rural cities that surrounded a bustling metropolis made up of congested metal buildings that had cracked paint layers atop of rusted foundation that protected the shore-dwelling coast-bound homesteads. Adjacent sky-reaching buildings within the smoothed rock underfoot made up the trees of the city forest, every block a small business interrupted the multilayered windowed buildings.

Sebas hung his head outside of the back of the carriage, looking at a small palace that sat upon a hilltop, segregated by a 10 foot iron bar fence, to keep out the poor people presumably. The dozen blocks later made up more inhibiting and claustrophobic stonework and metalwork buildings that hid the horizon from his gaze.

Sebas saw a pair of thugs attempting to mug someone in an alleyway, the victim appeared to be a high class individual, based on the threaded xrest embellishments that were hidden beneath golden jewelry that decorated silken chests and necks, that would probably look interesting if they were to kiss a guillotine.

Sebas made no effort to hide his gawking from the crime, as a non-local he had no intention to get involved with the local riff nor raff. The slender woman with a massive black face tattoo that covered the left side of her face stared back at Sebas, as if asking a question he didn’t know the answer to.

He shrugged at her.

As the carriage passed the alleyway’s visibility, Sebas could hear violent strikes that were familiar, bodies hitting brickwork. He assumed that she won.

“Where the hell do you need to go anyway?” Ito asked from the front of the drab carriage. “I forgot to pay attention during my character upkeep.”

“Yes yes, your amazing facade,” Sebas said while shoving his head through the flaps of cloth that obscured the interior of the cabin bow, he recoiled at the foul scent coming from the burning stick in Ito’s mouth.

“Want one?” Ito held back a small stick that appeared paper thin, Sebas groaned with disgust plaguing his expression, “suit yourself, what’s the placed called, I need to know where to drop you off in the city, and knowing you I’ll end up bailing you out of a jail cell when you end up biting out someone’s throat, or at the very least I’ll bring the arm bits back to Jenva to get a few silvers out of her.”

“You probably piss her off with your false self.”

“I just don’t lie, unlike one of us, focus or else I’ll start hitting you every time you change the subject.”

“Magic society headquarters,” Sebas said while covering his nose and placing his chin on the jockey seat, “do you have anything to prevent robbery? I’ve seen two muggings and one robbery.”

“You know the difference?”

“Just a guess, I didn’t see who she mugged, so it’s a guess.”

“Hmm, I should be alright, after all, the adventurers guild is a safe haven for slaughters and saints alike, they kept you after all.”

“Ha. Ha.”

“Plus it shouldn’t be too expensive to rent a stall, five silvers if I’m unlucky.”

“Jeez, that’s a lot… wait, you can just rent one?”

“Yep, and if you slip them a few more silver they won’t Check how many wares you are.”

“I can’t believe the snake’s head is telling me it’s special merchant secrets! How exciting.” Sebas deadpanned his tone and laid flat against the floor of the carriage.”

“You know there are benches back there for a reason right?”

“Something about laying on pelts in a pile on the floor feels comforting to me is all.”

“You little prick did you go through the chests?”

“I would never!” Sebas lied.

Thrown out of the back of the cart by an unreasonably strong, two-faced merchant, Sebas sat outside on the fake-cobblestone brick footpaths. The crowd of individuals who previously gathered around him were chased away by negative looks and threats of violence that he boasted. He dusted himself off and looked up at a plaque near the ornate wooden door with a golden handle.

”Magic Society Disel Branch”

- Professor Quent Iritem

-Dr Ksee Vor”

The door opened with a small music chime that announced his entrance to the girl at the front desk. She looked up, smiled, and looked back down at a small object obscured behind the partition.

Wooden furniture and small tables with square shade lamps atop of them, a long pile-woven carpet lay across the ground in front of the partition.

“How can I help you today sir?”

“Sebas Aren for Quent, through the recommendation of Gis?”

“Do you have the recommendation letter?”

“I assumed he sent it, to Quent“

“Let me check some things, you can have a seat in the lobby.”

Sebas looked around the room, and up at the orb shaped magic ball that floated in an upside down glass bowl in the ceiling, the wooden floor seemed to be less real than its design would suggest, probably something cheap to make someone think it was a real wood floor.

We’re too rich to actually pay for wooden floors.

Sebas went through his magic bag, and pulled out the small ball Ihta generously gave him in exchange for the skin of an owlbear.

She can probably still hear me… so I’ll… not shit-talk her right now.

Sebas looked around at the human dwelling, used to mainly cottages and straw barn floors. It was an enjoyable improvement.

[ Ihta’s Blessing ]

{ Legendary Elixir }

“Through your exploits, the Goddess of the Hunt has blessed your hunting, and you will be able to gain an attribute of the hunted monster upon consumption.”

“Player’s constitution is too low to properly intake attributes of: Owlbear Juvenile”

Suddenly, a man came bounding through a white door and pulled up Sebas’ sleeve, Sebas stared at the brown mop haired man with glasses that was removing his shirt.

“This was done to you by a Behemoth?” The crazy lunatic asked Sebas, “How amazing! How did it feel when your arm was obliterated?”

“Should I just punch you or should I go all the way with my effort to maul you?” Sebas asked, eyes still focused on the man who prodded his half-healed stump of a shoulder.

“Tell me! Was it thrilling? Was it amazing? Was it perfect-“ the man was cut off by a woman who yelled at him from across the building.

“PROFESSOR IRITEM, ARE YOU QUITE DONE?”

The professor placed Sebas shirt down, and turned around to look at the woman who had clearly learned how to reign him in.

“Dr K! How nice of you to see me! This man is my client!” He said, before looking at Sebas with a desperate expression that said “go with it, please.”

Sebas raised an eyebrow at the man, and looked at the woman behind him, she had a dainty figure that stayed hidden beneath a white coat. She had dark skin and gorgeous chestnut hair that curled around her shoulders.

“…Which one of you is Quent?” Sebas asked eventually.

She held a finger out at the man, who was climbing atop of Sebas, he grimaced and looked at the man.

“Gis sent you a letter?”

“He did?”

“How did you know about my arm?”

He held out a small device while crouching on a chair next to Sebas. Sebas didn’t recognize what the strange object was, it played the video of him getting his ass kicked by the behemoth rodent.

“You’re the lunatic pugilist who fought a behemoth! You’re perfect for my studies!”

“But I have other things important to me, I don’t give a shit about your studies”

The strange professor seemed to be off put by his blatant truth spouting, the doctor behind him seemed to be grinning at the adventurer, and took a sneak peak at his ID.

“Sebas?”

“Yes ma’am? Doctor? Uhh… you?”

“Just call me K.”

“Okay…”

“You know Gis?”

“Do you?”

“Blacksmith? Reasonable?”

Sebas murmured something before saying “half right” to her.

“Quent, he’s the magic prosthetic you need to do, he gets to come with me for a small operation to attach it.”

Quent looked back at his colleague, K, and back at Sebas with crazy eyes.

“Where? Give it up boy, give me my stuff!”

“You sound like an addict trying to mug him, Quent,” she yanked the man off of the boy, and Sebas slowly relaxed himself in the wooden chair when his personal space wasn’t being invaded. “What he means to ask is if he can kindly, and if you’re okay with it, get the design manual and the prosthesis plates.”

Sebas nodded and flinched when the strange man lunched at him, held back by his associate, when the arm pieces in a bundled cloth came out of his magic bag, Sebas threw the small notebook at the man like one might a rabid dog when walking home with raw meat, he began flipping through the pages, at a rapid pace. Sebas was unsure if he was even reading the pages at the rate he flipped through the book.

He handed over the arm bundle to the Doctor, who motioned for him to follow her back. A long trek throughout claustrophobic beige painted hallways led him to a room with a large bundle of hooks and an angled cross, something that looked like a serial killer’s den.

“You going to kill me?”

The doctor laughed, “forgive the assumption, I don’t know you but it doesn’t look like you’ve ever had a magic prosthetic installation.”

“I’m basically all muscle, so no, not really. This is definitely a new area.” Sebas said, flicking a meat hook that hung from the ceiling, it was silver and no blood could be found, but the unsettling feeling of the room mixed with the sanitation smell put him in an off mood that nihilism would be used to cope with. He turned his head to the side to stare her down. “This really seems like one of those things that freaky adults would do if they had too much money.”

The doctor chuckled again, her voice was soft and reassuring. “I don’t blame you for your assumptions, the basic idea is that getting someone to lay down on a bed while a bunch of people reattach their nervous system to a magical conduit within a metal prosthesis… well it sounds more comfortable, however when they recover, blood flow won’t be impacted by anesthesia, blood clots are reduced… it does hurt like a bitch though.”

[You have learned minor information about ]

Sebas faked a gasp,” Doctor! You’re supposed to tell me that before you inflict pain on me, now I’m bound to run away!”

“How are Gis and Jenva?”

“What are they to you, I’ve never heard of them talking about you?”

“Call ‘em a family friend.”

“They’re alright, as you can see by my sick electrical scars… I have fucked up and they adopted me like a small dog they found wounded in the rain.”

“If they kept the dog, it must be a good dog,” the doctor smiled.

“Do you take feedback on bedside care?”

“Not from family friends,” her smile increased.

Sebas enlightened the woman… K on the past few weeks he’s been in Eruka, mostly with Gis and Jenva, but also showing her one of the small recorded tablet showing off the fight he had with the floor Midboss.

“You should consider dwelling into the dungeon fortress here,” she said, while setting up a table of torture tools.

“A fortress?”

“Yep, it’s got Seven layers, took over an apparent building and ever since people that lived there have never been seen.”

“Sounds like a ghost story.”

“You should know by now that ghosts are real Sebas!” K said to him, making a quick gesture of mock fear.

Quent kicked open the small door to the torture chamber, holding an assembled prosthetic with a ton of new engravings that fortunately avoided the his and Gis’ signatures on the palm and shoulder respectfully.

K held a ring out to Sebas.

“You’re going to want to put this on.”

Sebas didn’t ask, and focused on the ring.

[ Surgical Helper ]

{Unique Ring}

Trait: [Pain Resistance ] is created

“This is going to hurt, thankfully your doctor isn’t a sadist”

“Ominous!” Sebas said, slipping the ring on his pinky.

His body fell in temperature, before shifted to the room’s temperature. His senses felt dulled compared to with the ring off, as if suppressed by a weight that removed their ability to move.

“The only problems I had when creating the prosthetic was that I couldn’t make it look cool enough, however, if you want on later visits, we can re-do the etching of the mana circuits that shift your nerves and blood flow, and yes, this does take your blood! The high quality material allows me to create optimal pathways for you to be able to move and utilize any blood-bending powers.”

“I don’t have any blood bending powers,” Sebas said to Quent, who flipped back through the documents of the notebook, and promptly said “Ah.”

Quent looked down at the object wordlessley, then at Sebas, and slunk back out of the operating theater, K sighed and looked down at Sebas.

“Want me to go ahead and cluster your nerves in pathways?”

[You have learned minor information about ]

“You people scare me,” Sebas said flatly.

Dr. K began, with letting Sebas take his shirt off, a small marker was used to indicate something that he had no clue about on his arm, eventually Quent came back through, soldering the unneeded paths within the metal plate faux arm.

Sebas winced at the first incision, and screamed at the first time his nerves were touched with something, fortunately for Quent, who was staring down at Sebas from the opposite side, he was restrained with some sort of magic belts that dampened his , otherwise if he had it his way, the pain he felt would be shared with others.

A metal plate was shaped to the contours of his stump limb, where small incisions were made for screws to drill into his clavicle. Small bolt-like metal serrated studs were placed around his arm where nerves were coiled together. Eventually, after ten agonizing minutes of pain, a metal arm was placed against his arm socket, most of the bolts were inserted under his armpit, while two more jutted out from his shoulder.

The first bolt that was connected to the metal deltoid made his metal arm twitch rapidly, before smacking Quent, making Sebas chuckle evilly despite the pain he felt from the procedure.

“You may be the only person Quent let hit him, he might get you back for that later.”

“Yeah?” Sebas grunted out, the pain made his body rumble and shake, but he fortunately managed to get whole words out, “what’s he going to do to me?”

“I could take your other arm, if you’d like!” Quent said, a small drop of blood landing on Sebas face from his now bloody nose.

K yelled at him to get out if he was bleeding, and Sebas watched as the man ran out. “Protect me from him?”

“I can’t make any promises,” she said, while tightening the metal bolts on Sebas’s arm, he gripped the edge of the table, convinced it could help with the pain that told his brain his arm was inside out.

Quent, came back in, a few pieces of paper within his bloodied nostril, “now, now, it was just an involuntary muscle spasm, it’s nothing to worry about Kes!”

[You have learned minor information about ]

“Kes?” Sebas grunted a question out.

“It’s what he calls me, and what you’re not going to call me,” she said with a smile as the second of two top bolts affixed themselves into his shoulder’s new metal plate; Sebas voiced his disagreements with a fist hitting the metal table beneath his right arm.

“Got it! I got it!” He yelled.

“Good, as long as we have an understanding.” She tapped the wrench on the top of his shoulder, Sebas frowned at the pain that reverberated as the vibration echoed through his ghost limb… Metal limb?

“Oh are we done? I can feel my arm again!”

“Not quite,” Quent began,” now I get to do my part.”

Sebas grimaced, but was surprised when the pair actually unrestrained him from the vertical metal grill with multiple bloodstains that painted the cloth that separated his shirtless torso from looking like a fleshy lizard man.

“Are you sure you want an unstable cynic with a metal weapon to be out of his restraints?” Sebas asked rhetorically.

“Need you to sit still, you don’t have any net loss Mana traits do you? If your arm starts sucking out your life force it won’t feel good when I rip it out.” The cutoff from the question and the explanation floored Sebas.

“What’s a net loss mana skill?”

K chimed in, “do you have anything that would repel mana from your body, or something to fight against magic casters?”

“I don’t have any mana as far as I’m aware of, all my spirit attributes are at 1”

“Oho! Very nice, do you find yourself queasy when in the dungeon?”

“No, I’m generally okay while in the dungeon.”

“Have you been in the second floor of Eruka’s dungeon? Those dragonflies are a bitch, tell you what!”

“N-no? I though the second floor was where the underground town was? Are you from Eruka?”

“Yes sir! Born and raised, is that lord still taxing that nice old muffin lady? Her name is Gertrude, she makes one hell of a nut muffin!”

“You’re a nut muffin, stick to the diagnostic questions,” K interrupted.

“Right! A net loss mana trait or class, also known as “anti-mana” powers, usually made by the traits (Mana Resistance) or (Mana Nullification), if you have either of these, the arm will probably eat you whole!”

Sebas sat on a small bed, where he held the limp arm forward, where some sigil sat in the center of a circle that connected to all of the etchings on the metal arm, “I don’t think so, I don’t use mana…”

“Of course you do! It’s sitting inside you right now!” Quent said, and looked him dead in the eyes, before saying slowly “I can see it. Inside you.”

“What my creepy colleague means to say is that his glasses have the enchantment for (Mana Sight).”

“Everyone has mana! You’re no exception! May I say for someone who doesn’t invest in their spirit pillar, filthy casual.”

“Huh?” Sebas asked, his confusion peaking.

“Again, creepy and sometimes eccentric.”

“Now we bring it alive!!! Arise my baby!” Quent yelled, and sent some blue magic light into Sebas prosthetic, all of the microfabrications lit up with a red light, not too dissimilar to the activation of Sebas’ [Bite].

Each microscopic cut traced paths that led from the socket of his arm down to the small ᛚ shaped rune within a circle, red lights connected around the circle and slowly glowed like an ominous demonic looking summoning circle. The light eventually settled in solid canyons, both the signatures, the cross with a G at the foot and the open maw glowed from the light.

“Demon?” Sebas asked, failing to create coherent sentences.

“Are you asking me if I placed a demon within your prosthesis?”

“Yes.”

“No, Gis told me that your skill aura is red, at least the biting one,” Quent made a biting action, clacking his teeth together, “I thought it would look good matching your color.”

“But I have other skills, some of them are blue and purple?”

“Your main skill influences your other ability colors, don’t worry about it, it was free of charge.”

“What’s the deal with the strange acute angle?”

“That’s the rune of flow! It connects your mana path to your body, so you can use it!”

Sebas moved each individual finger into a fist on the mechanical hand, something metal moving from within could be heard as each finger moves around with speed equal to his flesh equivalent.

“What’s that I’m hearing inside of here?”

”Those would be the cables I have placed inside of the metal plating that facilitate your movements, as each of them will become attached to your nerves to form movements like muscles for the outside of your Shiny new arm!”

[You have learned minor information about ]

“Metal…”

“Technically, it’s Star Iron!” Quent says with fervor that indicates another rant, however K beats him to the punch.

“How the fuck did you convince that little cheapskate to give you Star Iron?!”

“Now it’s Star Steel! It has gone through the interstitial alloy process and each of the carbon atoms have filled in the gaps to reinforce the metal!”

“Gis made you STAR STEEL?”

“Is that such a big deal?”

“Kid. There’s so little star steel in this continent that you could fill up this whole room with the stuff!”

Sebas thought to himself for a moment… and asked “do you think I could sell my pinky to get out of debt?” He wiggled his new metal pinky at the pair, however Quent took intense offense to the premise of his “Baby” being damaged.

“Your arm is probably worth twelve of your hearts plus eighteen of your lungs, it’s a bit ridiculous, kind of like some spoiled knight wannabe in one of the noble houses getting their kicks off because their daddies would buy them whatever they want,” K said while laying her chin on crossed arms on the back of a rolling chair.

“I hope my ride doesn’t try to steal it during my sleep.”

“Why's that?”

“He’s got (Valuables insight) like me.”

“Boo! We could have got you a decent insight trait!” Quent began a tirade, “every single time someone decent comes around, they always have a horrible insight skill like Valuables or Blood, blah! Blah blah blah!”

[ Sebas Aren’s Left Arm ]

{ Unique Magic Prosthetic }

+ 20 Attack with left handed strikes.

- Runs on ambient mana

“Most would give their right arm to show loyalty, you gave your left arm to defy fate, and fate left a mark on you so that you will remember. It’s made of Star iron plates, aluminum cables replicate a faux muscle structure.”

Sebas was left, as K had other appointments, and Quent was insufferable to him when it came to his limited attention span towards passionate interests, plus he didn’t want to keep his shirt off long enough for the weird man to “document” his scars.

He had a new magic prosthetic that throbbed like a motherfucker, and an entire stone forest to explore, he made his way through less crime riddled areas within Disel, finding a nice man selling some sort of seafood of a tentacled creature that turned a bright red after being boiled, it tasted good enough for him, yet he didn’t care for the chewing. He stood out and watched two-headed seagulls lift fat fish out of the ocean below the man made stone brick cliff.

A voice called out from the crowd, “Sebas?” It asked, it was a familiar voice that he dreaded, and he involuntarily turned around to the call of his name.

A blonde boy, with a white and purple dressy outfit that screamed nobility with its golden buttons that glittered light electricity. The golden-platinum color hair was put in a neat and military braided hair, a stark contrast to his loose fitting black shirt and bag pants that matched his black and red arm, he held the stick-food to the side as a piece of fin was ripped off of the flesh of the food.

“Lucas! how have you been! Go fuck yourself!” Sebas said with a smile.