"HHHAHAHHA.. GREEDY HUMANS, YOU FELL FOR SUCH OBVIOUS TRICKS. THAT'S BETTER, YOU JUST MAKE MY WORK EASIER."
The Mechanical Bot laughed out loud in its mechanical voice, the sound sharp and distorted as it echoed across the enclosed space, while its golden eyes glowed brightly before being engulfed by a swirling layer of golden energy that pulsed like a living current.
'Fuck...' Mr. Jaggers muttered under his breath as he sped towards the golden array, his boots striking heavily against the ground as he flung one of his axes before him with precision.
The axe rotated violently in the air, slicing through space as it traversed towards Socrates' location, but just before it could get into the array, a metallic hand shot out and grabbed it mid-motion, halting its rotation instantly before flinging it back towards Mr. Jaggers, who had to react immediately, raising his other axe to block it before regaining control of the weapon.
The bot then stepped forward and stood right in front of the electric array, its towering frame acting like an impenetrable wall, while the crackling bolts of golden lightning continued tearing down Socrates' HP as his screams burst out of the array at intervals, raw, hoarse, and filled with agony.
'Boy. Hang on.. I must defeat this obstacle before I can get to you..' Mr. Jaggers gritted his teeth as veins bulged faintly across his forehead, and in that moment, he released all his energy at once—the spiritual energy of a Peak Apprentice Realm Cultivator bursting outward in a fierce surge.
Green energy wrapped around his body, flowing like a violent current as it extended towards the battle axe, coating it completely in a dense, glowing layer that crackled with power.
"How dare you harm my Partner?" Mr. Jaggers cried out as he took a step forward, his figure blurring as he arrived in front of the Mechanical Bot in an instant, both hands raised high as the twin axes came crashing down toward the bot's head with overwhelming force.
The Bot raised both its arms to catch the strike, metal grinding against metal as it successfully intercepted the blow, but what it didn't expect was for the green energy to surge past the point of contact, phasing through its arms before erupting violently, blasting them into pieces as sparks and fragments scattered in all directions.
It quickly activated an evasion skill, its body becoming wrapped in golden electric bolts before it shot backward at a terrifying speed, leaving behind streaks of light that flickered and vanished.
"You can't run away.." Mr. Jaggers cried angrily as he followed the bot immediately, his movements aggressive, his anger and energy burning wildly as he gave chase without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Socrates was almost dead inside the golden array.
He had screamed, cried, shouted so much that his voice had given out completely, leaving behind only dry, broken sounds that barely escaped his throat as the relentless assault continued without pause.
In the very first moments, he had managed to survive by deflecting the attacks using the Exoskeletal hands, raising them again and again against the descending bolts of lightning, forcing his already strained body to endure the impact each time the energy collided with him.
But the intensity only increased.
The lightning grew denser, heavier, more violent with every passing second, until even the reinforced Exoskeletal hands could no longer withstand the pressure.
They exploded.
Fragments scattered in every direction as the force tore them apart completely, leaving his hands exposed to the full wrath of the golden lightning.
His body followed soon after.
It became riddled with wounds, burns tearing through his flesh as the smell of scorched skin filled the air, and the monocle he relied on shattered under the overwhelming energy, its fragments dissolving as though it had never existed.
Everything he had—
Was gone.
He had expended everything in his inventory.
Every Gloo Wall.
Every defensive material he had tried to use in desperation to protect himself had either melted under the heat of the electric bolts or been destroyed instantly upon contact.
Nothing lasted.
Nothing worked.
At that point, his HP was barely holding on as he lay at the center of the array, his body twitching weakly, his vision blurred as he watched the golden lightning gather above him.
It condensed slowly, pulling itself together into a single concentrated mass, humming with destructive intent before descending all at once toward his head.
'So this is it.... This is where I die...'
Socrates closed his eyes, accepting his fate as he braced himself for the pain that was about to come, his body too broken to resist any longer.
AHHHH...
He cried out loudly as the searing pain tore through his skin like a hot knife slicing through butter, the electric bolt ripping into his forehead, tearing it open before continuing downward toward his neck as blood gushed out, only to be immediately scorched by the current that followed.
The pain was overwhelming.
It spread across his entire body, forcing every nerve into overload until numbness took over, not as relief but as a consequence of the unbearable intensity.
His HP dropped rapidly, falling from 9 to 8 and then to 7, each decrease accompanied by the feeling of his life slipping away piece by piece.
Then another impact struck him hard in the chest, the force so violent that it caused his entire body to jerk uncontrollably, and in that instant, it felt as though all his internal organs had failed him at once.
His legs stopped responding.
His hands went limp.
His stomach twisted violently.
His vision dimmed further.
Everything in his body began to shut down, leaving behind only a faint fragment of consciousness that clung desperately to existence.
Above him, another electric bolt condensed, heavier and more final than the last, gathering power as it prepared to descend toward his forehead and deliver the finishing blow.
But before it could land—
Mr. Jaggers stepped in.
He moved into the array without hesitation, placing himself directly between Socrates and the descending bolt, his body acting as a shield as the lightning struck his back with a deafening crack.
The force caused him to convulse violently, his muscles tightening under the surge of energy, but he forced himself to endure it, regaining control in that same instant through sheer will.
"His HP is just 2..." Mr. Jaggers exclaimed, urgency filling his voice as he acted immediately, not allowing even a second to pass.
He grabbed Socrates' jaw, forcing his mouth open despite the stiffness, and shoved the energy core he had looted from the Mechanical Bot straight into his mouth.
At that very moment, Socrates' HP dropped again, falling from 1 to 0.5 as his body teetered dangerously at the edge of death.
0.3..
0.2..
0.1
At that critical moment, when it seemed as though all hope had been exhausted and death had already laid its claim, Socrates' body reacted to the foreign energy forced into him. A golden glow began to emerge from within, faint at first, almost overshadowed by the damage that had already been inflicted, but it did not fade—instead, it spread steadily, threading through his ruined body like a controlled current.
The glow seeped beneath his skin, traveling through torn flesh, scorched veins, and failing organs, forcing a reaction in places that had already begun to shut down completely. His body, which had moments ago surrendered to collapse, responded as though something deep within it had been forcefully awakened.
Little by little, his body system started returning to life.
The bleeding that had poured out of his wounds began to slow, then gradually stopped as the golden energy reinforced the damaged tissues, pulling them back together with unnatural precision. The torn flesh along his forehead and neck began to close, the charred edges smoothing out as though the damage was being reversed from within rather than treated from the outside.
His internal condition followed the same pattern.
The organs that had failed him responded sluggishly at first, as if resisting the sudden influx of energy, but the golden glow did not relent. It pushed forward, stabilizing their function and forcing them back into operation, one after the other, until his body no longer lingered on the edge of complete shutdown.
His HP, which had nearly vanished entirely, stopped decreasing.
Then it began to rise.
The increase was steady and visible, climbing upward from the brink of nothingness as the golden energy continued its work without interruption. Mr. Jaggers, who had been watching closely despite the strain on his own body, released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, a faint sense of relief cutting through the tension that had gripped him.
It was then he noticed something else.
The golden array that had trapped Socrates and nearly taken his life had disappeared completely, the crackling energy fading from the ground as though it had never existed, leaving behind only scorched marks and the lingering scent of burnt air.
Mr. Jaggers forced out a weak smile, though exhaustion was evident in every part of his body.
Had he been even a second late, Socrates would have died without question.
He had gone all out, pushing his limits to destroy the Mechanical Bot within a minute, a feat that had drained almost all of his spiritual energy. His body could no longer sustain that level of output, and so he allowed himself to drop to the ground beside Socrates, his breathing heavy as he leaned back slightly, keeping his eyes on the boy who was now being healed by the energy core working within him.
That was the core Mr. Jaggers had pulled out from the mechanical bot.
The only loot that had dropped from it.
He didn't know exactly what it was, nor did he understand the full extent of its capabilities, but he knew one thing clearly—it was valuable. However, at that very moment, its worth meant nothing beyond its ability to keep Socrates alive.
After all, Socrates had also helped him cross a life-and-death situation earlier.
His gamble had paid off.
The energy core of the mechanical bot continued to function, steadily repairing Socrates' body without interruption, restoring what had been destroyed and reinforcing what remained.
Time passed.
In a matter of ten minutes, Socrates' body had fully healed, the golden glow gradually dispersing into the air, leaving him lying on the ground, motionless, his eyes closed as though he had simply fallen asleep after an exhausting battle.
Mr. Jaggers watched him closely, a hint of concern creeping into his expression as he pushed himself up, his legs slightly unsteady as he moved closer to check on him.
Just as he reached him—
Socrates' eyes flung open.
"I'm alive..." That was the first thing he said as he sat up swiftly, his movement sharp and instinctive, almost as if his body had reacted before his mind fully caught up with reality.
"Yeah.. You managed to survive.. You sure are tenacious, boy." Mr. Jaggers lightly punched his shoulder, but the moment his knuckles made contact, he paused slightly, his brows narrowing as he noticed how firm and sturdy Socrates' skin felt beneath his touch, far tougher than before.
Socrates' whole equipment had been destroyed during the ordeal, leaving him with nothing but his boxers, his body now exposed under the dim, flickering light of the warehouse interior.
"Seems like the danger you passed through had turned into an opportunity for you... Though I still sense no spiritual energy from you, your body is now far tougher than before." Mr. Jaggers said, his tone measured as he studied Socrates closely, observing the subtle changes in his posture and the way his muscles responded with greater efficiency.
Socrates lowered his gaze and checked his body, running his hands across his arms and chest, but despite what had been said, he couldn't visibly see anything different, nor could he clearly feel the transformation beyond a strange sense of lightness and responsiveness.
He was about to ask—
When the system notification appeared.
[Congratulations for acquiring a Token Candidate 160 and Candidate 220...]
[As the first Candidates to gain a token, you'll both be given a reward and celebrated by the system.]
[Generating rewards...]
[Candidate 220, a bronze combat suit with a Grade 1 quality Sniper Rifle....]
"I'll accept the suit but change the weapon..." Socrates muttered to himself almost instinctively, not expecting any response, but the system reacted immediately.
[Grade 1 quality Desert Eagle with 4 packet of 4mm bullets.]
"Good." Socrates giggled, a faint excitement flashing across his face as his wristband activated, projecting a soft blue interface in front of him where he could clearly see the newly added items resting in his inventory.
[Candidate 160... A skill scroll]
Mr. Jaggers nodded as he accepted the reward, his expression calm as he crosschecked his system inventory, confirming the presence of the item before dismissing the interface.
'I'll learn it later, not now....' He thought, his current priority centered entirely on recovering the energy he had expended.
[Bermutha Island Announcement; Candidate 160 and Candidate 220 is the first team to acquire a token. They acquired a golden token which comes with a bountiful reward from the system... Cheers to the team.]
At that moment, the system made the regional announcement, and in response, a brilliant golden light erupted from the token, blasting violently through the roof of the warehouse and piercing straight into the night sky like a beacon, illuminating the surroundings and cutting through the darkness for miles.
Mr. Jaggers, who had just settled into a meditative stance in an attempt to cultivate and recover, snapped his eyes open instantly, his expression darkening the moment he realized what had just happened.
"This fucking system..." he cursed as he quickly rose to his feet, urgency replacing the exhaustion that had weighed him down seconds ago.
"What's the problem, Senior?" Socrates asked, now clad in his newly equipped bronze combat suit, the metallic surface reflecting faint light as he turned toward him.
"The golden light.... The system had just released our location to the other aspirants..." Mr. Jaggers said, his voice tight as his eyes scanned the surroundings instinctively, already anticipating what would come next.
"... We need to run and fucking get out of here as soon as possible, or we won't survive being stormed by dozens of greedy aspirants..."