Giro walks through more rivers, and scales more cliffs, feeling his parts rattle and shake with each step, yet undeterred by the mechanical rhythm of all his little noises alongside the hum of his ether core coming together in musical harmony.

Giro had made it a good distance outside of the Four Cades before even seeing another living creature. Aside from foliage and shrubbery of course- That’s not the point. Where were all the mammals? The fish? Did they all just up and disappear for some reason to leave the world to him?

“Hey!” A voice calls out, it’s a boy, most likely in his teen years, reaching adulthood very soon. Turning around, Giro realized it was a young elemental boy. “An Automaton? What’s it doing out here?” He asks, walking up to the heavily damaged machine, a special sword in his hand…

Giro quickly recognized it… It was HIS special sword! The boy was holding it… But… “My uncle was talking about an Automaton he met… You wouldn’t happen to be… Giro, would you?...” He asks, and Giro nods with confirmation.

“Huh!…” He says to himself, as he looks at his sword, the hand piece that Giro had snapped off with it was fashioned into a hand guard… “So you’re really him? Didn’t think I would ever see you. The way my uncle talked about you, I figured you would have broken down by now.” He says, as Giro looks at himself, realizing just how torn up he already is…

“You wouldn’t happen to want this back, would you?” The boy asks, but this time Giro shakes his head. His gifts are not to be returned under any circumstances. “Hm. Thanks, then. I’ve only been using it for half a year now, but it’s served me well. I keep it in good condition too.” He explains, showing just how much he has improved it, after having gotten his hands on it…

“What happened to your spear, by the way? ‘Uncle said you had some weird spear with a ring for a head.” He asks, as Giro ejects his Force Cannon… He considered giving the boy something, but decided the sword was gift enough. Giro pointed at his name.

“Yes, your name is Giro. I get it.” He says, a hint of annoyance in his voice, as Giro’s frustration skyrockets- Giro composes himself, his furious emotions completely unbeknownst to this nitwit. “Anyways… You wanna join me on my little journey?” He asks, pointing a thumb over his shoulder, his stone parts sliding much like Giro’s mechanical parts do.

He moves more naturally though. He WAS born this way after all, and he was most likely raised from the day he was born as a little orb, parts being added here and there. He’s probably a sandstone elemental, but Giro wouldn’t be surprised if he could manipulate sand too as part of his body…

Giro nodded in response, not letting his anger get the better of him this time. He’s learning~ “Alright! I’m headed for the nearby dungeon. The dungeon core has been using stone golems much like us to attack this nearby town. Shouldn’t be too tough for guys like us.” He says, as Giro recalls his information on Dungeon Cores…

Dungeon Cores are the masters and creators of Dungeons, being able to superimpose their mana on an area. It’s an incredible ability they squander on simple puzzles, weak monsters, and non-lethal traps. Those golems have at worst been harassing the village for fun, if anything.

None-the-less, the town was fed up with this guy, and so Giro and his unnamed friend would have some words with it. They walked a little longer, passing by a few creatures finally, after the boy had told Giro to stop stomping so loudly…

Giro saw a rabbit, and looked at it, prompting the boy to say its name. He pointed to a pigeon, then a snake, then a bear, ran away from the bear, then, finally… He pointed at the boy, hoping he would get the hint… “Yes, I’m a sandstone elemental. I know that. I’m not stupid.” He says, and while Giro would have considered the flayer swarm…

This boy deserves worse.

Anyways, they arrived at the entrance of the dungeon, to meet a grand doorway overlooking a sword and a pedestal with a set of circles and dots, with a single gemstone in the middle… Giro grabbed the sword with his force cannon, watching it fit snugly within.

He holds it up to the sky, the sun itself, watching as the light bounces off the sword and onto the gemstone, causing the dots and circles to slowly begin spinning in place, before the pedestal lowers, and Giro spins the Force Canon around again to sheath the sword in the stone, allowing it to rest in place once more.

“Good job, Giro.” The boy said, as the doors slid open, and they walked in… They looked around an empty hallway, before stone constructs began descending from the walls… There were small weak ones, medium sized weak ones, and large weak ones. They were all very weak. Standard practice of an immature dungeon such as this.

Giro had such an easy time, he began to have… Fun. His rifle blew the heads of the large ones apart, piercing through them easily. His best score with that was around twenty with one shot. The small ones could be torn apart by his flayer swarms, and the medium sized ones could be shot in the torso.

He would check on Gull’s nephew every now and then, just to make sure he was good, but it was entirely unnecessary, as the boy had started making games out of bopping them on the head. Yes, they went down that easily. Giro wasn’t lying when he said the dungeon cores squander their gifts.

As it finally came to an end, they took a look at the door, but it remained shut… Had they done something wrong? Giro wasn’t sure, so he prepared his battering ram to break it down. “You go, Giro!” The boy cheered, giving Giro all the strength he would need.

“How?” A voice suddenly asks- It was the dungeon core, it must have been watching them, as they tore apart its minions… “You tore them apart so easily… You do not look too old, yet they should have been difficult for the strongest among you…” He says, as they stare at the sky, obviously having angered the being.

“How do you KNOW we’re not the strongest of our kind?” The boy asks, as he folds his arms with a smug look on his face. “I… Suppose the proof IS right here… Do you speak the truth?” He asks, making the boy laugh.

“Nah, dude. I’m a newbie. I was sent here to talk to you, make you stop sending golems to that town east of here.” The boy explains before waiting almost minutes for an answer… But that answer would not come in the form of words, but instead in a shaking ceiling, as a super massive stone construct would descend from the ceiling, with a crystal sticking out of its head…

“Tell me the truth… Who is the strongest of your people? What are they capable of?” He asks, as he takes a step forward, making Giro and the Boy take their own involuntary step back. They were genuinely afraid of what this absolute titan could do…

“Well, I guess that would be Martial Newworld… If you’re talking about power…” He says, as the stone giant looks to the side, then back at him. “He must be the current beast king, bestowed with impossible power to protect the planet… That makes sense. He IS a god to you mortals, yes?”

The boy and Giro look between each other, and then at the stone giant again… “Well, I mean… He IS powerful… But there are others all over the world who rival him. Some of them even outweigh the gods collectively, if you don’t include Liberty.” The boy says, as the stone golem continues to stare…

“Oh.” He says, as his arms go slack, before sitting down. “I seem to… Have been misinformed… Tell your people I will cease my attacks. Tell me your names, travelers.” He says, and Giro praises the sun, he finally gets to know the boy’s name!

“This is Giro, and I’m Saullodrine. It means Destroyer of Calamitas.” Saul says… Giro was surprised, it’d completely slipped his mind that these names actually meant something… So what did Giro mean? He cursed himself he couldn’t ask…

“I see. Thank you, I’ll be… Reevaluating my decisions…” The dungeon core told them before stepping out of the way to let them through. “Thanks, dude!” Saul called out anyway, happy to get his reward without having to kill a dungeon core over it, even if the reward he would get from that alone was VERY enticing.

It was common that Dungeon Cores would build big extravagant dungeons, then be given a reality check by adventurers. Nobody was sure why the Dungeon Cores weren’t born with a proper frame of reference, but Giro was glad to help one out.

Giro stopped, looking back at the Dungeon Core, catching Saul’s attention. “Something up, Giro?” He asks, as Giro starts walking back over, not wanting to forget handing the thing a gift. “What is it, android?” He asks, being stopped halfway from climbing up.

Giro tore off the rest of his right hand, surprising the dungeon core AND Saul, before offering it to the aforementioned dungeon core… “It’s a gift, he’s very stubborn, please just accept it…” Saul explained, having already been told this same story by his uncle…

“No, I see your intentions… Giro, you are giving me your hand, as a reminder that you will forever be with me in the reconstruction of my great dungeon… An eternal aid in spirit alone.” He says, as he kneels down… “Then so be it, I bestow my own gift unto you. You will henceforth be known as: Giro: The Gift of The Machine!” He says, surprising Giro as they separate…

“Would you like to know my name?” He asks, as Giro nods once more. “I am Apollo, Giro. I accept your gift graciously. May someday I instead invite you to visit my dungeon.” He finally says, as Saul smiles and folds his arms.

As they exit the dungeon, the pedestal rises in front of them again, walking out into the open air… “You’re too good at making friends, without speaking a single word… You know that?” Saul asks, as Giro looks at him.

End of Chapter: 8 “Dungeoneers for life.”

Thank you for reading.

“Hell yeah, I’m up for that! Thanks guys!”

“Oh, I suppose a kindness is in order, thanks to my new humbling… I thank the readers of your story. For reading it. Is that good-”