I sat there in the dirt for a few minutes, letting my Gemini Soul and massive Intelligence stat do their jobs. Once the pounding behind my eyes faded to a dull throb and my mana pool ticked back up into a comfortable zone, my curiosity started itching again.
I had a magic sword and a literal KBT-type robot standing perfectly still in front of me. The mental tether between us hummed with quiet, unwavering loyalty.
"Alright, big guy," I said, pushing myself up from the base of the tree and brushing off my jeans. "You look incredibly cool, but I need to know if those cannons are just for show. Let's see what you can actually do."
I pointed toward a cluster of massive, thick-trunked pine trees about fifty yards away on the edge of the clearing. "Light 'em up."
The golden-yellow golem didn't hesitate. It took a heavy, thudding step forward, squaring its broad shoulders. Through our Animus Resonance tether, I felt a sudden, sharp spike of targeting data snap into focus. It didn't just look at the trees; it locked onto them.
Bee raised its left arm. The rotary barrels of the Gatling gun began to spin, emitting a high-pitched, mechanical whine that quickly escalated into a roar.
BRRRRRRRRT.
A relentless torrent of condensed, pale-blue mana-bullets erupted from the spinning barrels. The recoil shook the ground, but the golem's wide, reinforced stance absorbed it perfectly. The barrage ripped into the timberline like a magical chainsaw. Bark exploded into the air. Branches were pulverized into splinters. In less than three seconds, two massive pine trees were chewed completely in half, their heavy canopies groaning before crashing violently to the forest floor.
"Holy..." I breathed, my eyes wide. "Okay, heavy suppression works. Now use the right arm."
The Gatling gun spun down, venting a hiss of white steam into the cold night air. The construct immediately raised its right arm—the Meta-Revolver.
Instead of a rapid-fire spray, this felt completely different through our tether. I felt the golem draw deeply from the monster core in its back. A dense, highly volatile sphere of sapphire energy began to gather at the tip of the heavy rifle barrel, glowing so brightly it cast harsh shadows across the clearing.
The golem braced itself.
BOOM.
The sound was like a cannon going off. A blinding streak of concentrated kinetic plasma punched across the clearing. It didn't just hit the remaining tree; it instantly vaporized the center of the trunk and kept going, blasting a perfectly clean, smoking crater into a solid rock face another thirty yards into the woods.
The shockwave ruffled my hair and left my ears ringing.
The golden construct lowered its arm, the barrel of the Meta-Revolver glowing cherry-red. It turned its horned head to look back at me, its green optics pulsing calmly as if it hadn't just leveled half a forest.
I stared at the smoking destruction, then down at the construct.
"Yeah, okay. Note to self: do not stand in front of the robot," I muttered, a massive grin slowly spreading across my face.
I looked at its stout, golden-yellow armor, the split rhino-beetle horn, and the sheer, absurd amount of firepower it was packing.
"You need a name," I said, walking over and patting its still-warm stone shoulder. "If you've got a Kabuto slot, a KBT-type build, and you hit like an absolute truck, there's really only one option here."
I smiled, feeling the tether hum between us.
"From now on, your name is Bee."
With a soft chime, the System projected itself into the darkness.
[Construct Named: Bee]
[Status: Bound to Nero Argentum]