First chapter of the week. Like all of you wanted an epic base for the crew to live on has been made.

Brock PoV

After the recent events i saw that my own usefulness was real tiny compared to the others. I can gather ore from the earth and use earth magic but it’s not really powerful since most of the monsters we have faced have all been earth based creatures.

It’s because of this that i was in the clearing where Menthol rose up out of the ground.

Brock: ‘Hey Menthol! Can you hear me?! I need to ask you something!’

I yell that and wait a bit. Soon i feel the ground shake a bit and at the center of the clearing a black golem appeared. It was much smaller and my sized with the same kind of model which was the human like golem.

Menthol: ‘You called me young golem. What is it you need?’

Brock: ‘Well...i don’t know if this is rude or not but can i have a small part of your guardian's body or your core? I want to get much stronger but i don’t know how.’

I bow deeply in a perfect ninety degree angle.

Menthol: ‘...So it was this huh, heh. It’s been a long time since a golem asked for it. You know that golem couldn’t handle the change that happened to his body.’

I lift my head and lookup. He was smiling while looking at me.

Brock: ‘Others?’

Menthol: ‘Yes, I’m sure you know this but I’m probably the oldest mortal being on this planet. The only older people are the gods and they were all sealed up after the war because everyone feared their power after the human goddess went wild. Now as for those who asked me before. They became abominations and i killed them because they couldn’t handle it.’

Brock: ‘What happens when a golem takes in a part of you?’

Menthol: ‘They become like what you're standing on, a sky whale. It’s an ancient race of earth elemental and it’s a form of golem that isn’t for the evil. Anyone who has malice in their heart will be consumed but those who don’t hold it will gain power. For an awaken like you, it would destroy your body to the point where you can’t return in this body to our world.’

My eyes grew wide hearing this. I gulped at the prospect. I wouldn’t lose in either cases really. Me and the guys gave up a long time ago of getting away from Nova but in this case i can bet on either change. If i survive i get power and if i don’t I’m free.

Brock: ‘I’ll take my chances.’

Menthol: ‘I see, well I hope you’re ready for a world of hurt. The pain you will feel will never have an equal.’

He puts his right hand to his chest and then slowly raises it off his chest. In his chest i see the core appearing. It was large, huge even. Bigger than a handball. He touched flicked the core and a crack appeared on it. Then he flicked it in two other spots and a triangular pyramid shaped piece with four triangular faces fell down. The cracks completely closed up after that. The piece was as big as the pinky digit of my hand.

Menthol picked it up in his hand and walked over and placed his left hand on my shoulder. I suddenly felt something bad about to happen.

Menthol: ‘Good luck boy. You will need it.’

He smashed his hand into my chest but it didn’t penetrate because his palm was open. What did penetrate was the broken core piece and that flew straight into my body close to my core. From the impact i flew halfway across the clearing and slid on the ground. The pain was already intense but the chest pain began subsiding after a bit. At least until i finished reading this window.

Mission: Sky Whale Evolution

Because you have requested Menthol to give you a piece of his core he has done so. Because of this you are undergoing the transformation into an ancient breed of earth elemental called the Sky Whales. A being comprised of two separate bodies, one which flies in the skies and one guardian to protect its main body.

Time until Transformation is complete: 23:59:34

Difficulty: C

Reward: New sub race

Success: You survive until the timer ends

Failure: You can’t survive until the timer ends

Warning: This quest will disable the pain limiter and you will feel 100% pain during the change. Should the system see that you are in danger you will be ejected and your quest will fail. Your character will be destroyed and you will have to start over.

As soon as i read the final word my body was wrecked with pain like i never felt before.

My vision went black and i couldn’t help squirm on the ground until i felt powerful hands hold me down.

From there it was a nightmare of pain.

Techno PoV

The morning after I was finally forced to accept those two as crew mates i was standing over Nova who was sitting down in a chair having a tantrum.

Nova: ‘NO~~! I WON’T DO HOMEWORK!’

Techno: ‘Your punishment for not listening to me is that you won’t be allowed to play with ANY of your toys, the robots, Proto, any of the toys on the ship and you WILL be doing homework and studying for a whole month before i THINK about letting you use them. I will only make an exception if we really need to use them.’

I had absolutely no intention of going easy on her this time. The best part about clockwork is that we can’t cry or show blushing or any clear emotions that cause the face to change color. Her face did contort because of how it was built but it didn’t have the same effect.

She suddenly got up and tried to run only to be caught by Asura and placed back in the chair where i lectured her again about being rude and running when things weren’t going her way.

When i was done i connected to the app that was attached to the bookshelves in Virtual City. Two folders appeared. On had Nova’s real name under it and the other mine. I pressed on her folder and then a list of books appeared. I looked at the selection and pulled several textbook ranging all grade schooler’s classes which she was missing. I force connected to her systems since she was blocking me and uploaded the text books.

Techno: ‘You WILL work on all these. You can ask for help but YOU need to resolve them. Don’t try to be sneaky i can see you all over the ship.’

With that i left in my Yasha body and sat the Asura down and had it go to standby but could still hear things.

I had drones all over the place so i was watching Nova even without Asura being active.

I was up on the top deck thinking of something while looking at the open sails of our ship. What was going through my head was that the ship looked kind of bland. Just a basic ship taken from Gaia. Not much was changed and i don’t even think a name was given to the ship like those from pirate anime I watched.

As i think a bit, our situation and the condition of the world comes to mind. Even after the Beta, it’s still like a survival of the fittest because you never know when something powerful will appear like Menthol.

With that in mind i take search up out to make paint and with some plants and stuff found around here i make some red paint. With it I write on the largest sail of our ship, K.O.D.

It stands for Kill or Die which is our situation. I guess if we were a mercenary group it would also work. But i feel we are more of the anti-social vigilantes.

Not like i want to be one. I would say fate makes things happen around us and has started to create that image.

Anyway after drawing the three letters it felt much better. The ship gained a bit more of a personal touch.

It was then that the two fire golems came up on to top deck in their wisp forms. They looked around before coming to me.

Ena: ‘Hey Techno! Have you seen Brock?’

Blaze: ‘We were with him in the morning but now he is gone.’

I think trying to remember if i saw the golem. I then shake my head but pull out several drones and toss them down below.

I then took them to a monitor inside the control room so they could see my text since they can’t wear helmets.

Techno: ”I’ll help look. I’ll call if i find him.”

Blaze: ‘Thanks!’

I nod and the two fly off.

It was a bit strange. Besides during a fight, I’ve always seen those three together so for one of them to be gone is a bit strange.

Well i leave that to the drones. I set them to alert me when they spot the golem. I was already thinking of several upgrades. Because most of us were almost level 70 already so our gear and bodies can already be upgraded.

It was simple gear rearranging to work better.

I open my status window to see my stats how they are now.

StatusNameTechno Gear (Yasha)RaceClockworkClassMechanicLevel:65Free stats points144Durability1375/1375Energy400/400Strength88Agility68Dexterity115Toughness105Intelligence89Wisdom95Charisma30Leadership20Luck50

StatusNameTechno Gear (Asura)RaceClockworkClassChaos KnightLevel:65Free stats points144Durability1510/1510Energy400/400Strength118Agility91Dexterity106Toughness132Intelligence89Wisdom95Charisma30Leadership20Luck50

With 144 extra points i had a lot to work with. I think about all the benefits of each one. For both bodies they work with different specifications. Yasha was much weaker and slower and not really built for combat. Instead for crafting. I think my stats are all linked so only the body stats change.

I go through a lot of thinking and looking through the stats to see how i should make it agility was the lowest stat by far because of my size. Strength was important to lift stuff and attack power in close combat but with ranged weapons that is less important. Dexterity worked both for crafting as well as using ranged weapons and toughness was self-explanatory. It increased my health and defense stat.

I first start by adding 44 to agility. I do that in Yasha i watch the Asura stat and sure enough it rises to 135 while Yasha goes from 68 to 112.

With 100 points left i went ahead and split the points in 4 and added them evenly to all four changeable stats. Charisma, Leadership and Luck can’t be altered by adding stats so only Strength, Agility, Dexterity and Toughness can be altered.

Both my stats ended up like this.

StatusNameTechno Gear (Yasha)RaceClockworkClassMechanicLevel:65Free stats points0Durability1500/1500Energy400/400Strength113Agility137Dexterity140Toughness130Intelligence89Wisdom95Charisma30Leadership20Luck50

StatusNameTechno Gear (Asura)RaceClockworkClassChaos KnightLevel:65Free stats points0Durability1635/1635Energy400/400Strength143Agility160Dexterity131Toughness157Intelligence89Wisdom95Charisma30Leadership20Luck50

I smile looking at my stats. Though i went with the balanced distribution it’s still rather intimidating seeing all four stats in the three digits. Not only that my stats will get even better when i upgrade my bodies. Clockworks really are an unbalanced race. Thinking closely what balances us out is that we need fuel to operate and we don’t regain our health naturally. Eventually i can get rid of the fuel problem if i can become a Synthoid but the natural healing will probably never happen.

As i finish the alarm from one of the drones goes off and i pull up the image in my left eye. What i see is the Golem being held down by several other golems when he roars in pain. All over his body were black marks. The glowing green lights in his eyes and in the cracks that appear on his body were glowing bright. Menthol was watching him intensely.

I get Asura up and send him down to see what's going and while some drones go and find the fire elementals.

That screaming was unnatural for a player. We have a limiter so we don’t feel pain. Those screams were of someone being put through torture or a never ending nightmare. A humans mind can only take so much.

I jump down with Asura and start running towards the clearing as fast as i can to see what was going on.

Menthol PoV

My what strong will power the boy has. It also seems he doesn’t have malice in his heart because he wouldn’t have lasted 12 hours of nightmarish pain like this if he did. The glow around his body was still a natural green which is a good indicator that he is still sane to a certain degree.

I think the body should almost be here. Those little robots came a while back and they seem to be of the kind that is used for scouting.

After a bit the large six armed boy appeared through the forest and walked over. In his hand was a small device with a screen. He turned it to me.

Techno: ”What is going on?!

Menthol: ‘The boy asked for a piece of my core. Now his body is undergoing a change so he can handle it. His race will probably change to a sub race of the Earth elemental race.’

His eyes grew wide and he nodded understanding what was going on. He looked at the golem boy on the ground.

Techno: ”What is the success rate of this happening?”

Success rate? Never thought of it and until now he is the first to reach this point.

Menthol: ‘Well most of the others that found me were filled with malice. Those who hold malice in their hearts will die 100% of the time but if i remember correctly the only who made me a sky whale said there was a 90% chance of dying for a person who didn’t have malice. I believe will power is a big factor. He needs to survive a full day before he successfully becomes my race.’

He frowns but shrugs. He can’t do much about it now anyway he turns around and starts walking away. Moments later the two fire elementals appear. They ask the same thing and are much more annoyed about hearing what was said. They both promised to beat him well after he wakes up.

I could only laugh at these youngsters. Still it was for the best. Children should have fun so being like this was probably for the best.

Brock PoV

I never knew i could feel so much pain. My body is constantly wrecked with waves of pain which slowly spread from my chest. The more time that passes the more the pain grows.

A box was in front of my eyes but the pain caused my vision to blur. I think it was a timer but the more i forced myself to stay awake through this pain a new window appeared.

If i survive this i know that i will never fear pain from a beat that Techno might give. No to fear pain only if i have to go through this again.

As more time passed the pain grew to its peak but then the pain in my chest began stopping and it moved to my arms and legs instead. As time passed i began feeling less pain as the chest pain grew weaker but the arms and leg pain grew more intense as it to make sure i still felt the same intensity of pain as before.

Still my vision somewhat cleared and i saw the timer for a few moments. It showed one hour remaining. Behind it was a wall of notifications but i couldn’t read them before a new more intense wave of pain covered my body again originating from my chest but this felt more like a shockwave.

It pulsed ever two seconds from my chest to the ends of my crystal like hairs. I felt it in every last fiber of my being.

Finally when one minute remained the most intense wave hit and it remained for the whole minute which felt like an eternity. After the minute my body became numb. The pain was gone and i couldn’t feel much of anything. My ears were ringing and my eyes blurred.

As time passed the ringing stopped and i lifted my head to look around. Holding me down were five large bulky golems. Each one was holding one of my arms or legs. The last was holding my head. They all looked tired but as they see me calmly move around the looked to Menthol. He nodded and they removed their hands.

Menthol walked over and crouched next to me.

Menthol: ‘Good job boy. You’re the first golem that survived having my core pushed into him. You have a strong will to live i will tell you that.’

Brock: ‘...’

I try to speak but nothing comes out.

Menthol: ‘It’s best to rest for now. Living through 24 hours of so much pain isn’t something you can simply walk off. When you wake up you will feel much better.’

He said that and patted my shoulder. My head falls back on the ground and my eyes closed. behind my closed eyelids i saw a series of windows open before i fell asleep.

Mission: Sky Whale Evolution Complete

You have lived through a near never ending hell for a day and your body has been altered to support the core of a new core. Your will to live has earned you the respect of all elementals and you are now seen as a figure comparable to nobility among your race.

Reward: Earth Elemental Sub race Earth Spirit (Sky Whale)

By surviving through continuous pain for a full day while forcing yourself to remain awake during the entire process you have unlocked the stat, Willpower.

You have earned +150 points in Willpower for surviving a race transformation.

Willpower

A stat given to those who press on through difficulty, is inflicted with pain and still survives with your mind intact.

This stat increases your strength and agility when you're in a situation where you express your will to live to its extreme.

Willpower. Incredible. It’s one of the rare stats everyone wants. To get it you must live through hell. It’s been around since the first VRMMO game but only those who truly suffer in the game can actually get it. It’s a stat that makes a huge difference in a fight. If i don’t want to lose in an important fight, it would increase strength.

I’ve seen videos of old games where someone was fighting a dragon and he had the stat. They were on a rare Difficulty A quest and it would have caused serious disasters if they lost. The guild was trashed by the dragon and it still had 25% of its life. The man who had the stat didn’t give up and got a boost from his high willpower. He gained a huge boost in speed and the dragon couldn’t even touch him while it was being chopped up. Eventually he beat it and they completed the quest but the man died soon after because of a huge rebound from the boost.

It was this video that made the stat so sought after.

To have it and gaining 150 points for it from the get go. I feel too lucky.

As i think this my mind fads and I’m forced to log off since my mental strength finally gave way. My parents were there when the capsule opened and i was taken to the doctor for a checkup.

I was only told i needed sleep and rest. Besides that nothing else was wrong.

I happily fell asleep and drifted off into my own little world.