Bael is the most mysterious among the Demons of Solomon. Although the records are unclear, it is widely theorized that Bael is the right-hand man of Solomon the Evil. It has never made a contract, and those who have ventured into Zelgarad's Rift to pursue a deal with the entity have never returned. Occasionally, an attempt to summon the legendary demon has succeeded. An avatar of Bael will emerge from the ritual, causing unpredictable events. On one summoning attempt, Bael's avatar turned an entire town into mutated abominations, and attacked Idil in a full-on assault. Two Dukes were critically injured during the process, and the town was exterminated due to [REDACTED]. Another ritual resulted in the summoner being turned into a mass of flesh, but retaining full awareness. The most recent ritual led to the corruption of the Highland's Fey Forest, making the inhabitants hostile even to the native elves. A collective agreement between all kingdoms and major organizations to outlaw and persecute any who try to summon Bael passed almost a century ago. Currently, the ritual's requirements have been shown to vary; from the residents of an entire village to a simple pastry. Bael has been shown to be very inconsistent and highly unpredictable.

~ Who is Bael? An In-Depth Essay by 'Boney'

“Aura of Vitality.” A circle of green light about two meters in diameter spawned, accelerating the three’s recovery.

You have entered the Aura of Vitality’s spell radius.

HP, MP, and Stamina regeneration are increased by 250%.

Chester could immediately feel his stamina begin to recover and his breathing become less heavy. Although it didn’t provide a great amount of healing in an instant like the priest’s other spell Cure Wounds, he assumed this wasn’t meant to be used during battle. It was almost identical to the circle of healing inside of the church. A steady pulse of warmth helped speed up his recovery by a significant amount.

"Oh, don't you usually go all insane when you're in a fight? 'Cuz you're a vampire and all? How come nothing happened this time?"

Damien rolled his eyes at the man's blunt question. "Do you see any blood here that would trigger that? We're fighting golem constructs."

Although he got the same notification as Damien that confirmed the metal monster was dead, he didn’t level up. Chester calmed down since he had already leveled up a few days ago before they reached Stillwater. Not to mention it was a joint effort. He was fairly sure that triple-teaming a monster split the XP evenly between them. The illusionist wondered if it split it evenly no matter how each person contributed, or if it depended on a person's accumulated damage dealt. Chester recognized that if splitting XP evenly no matter the contribution was the case, it would be an extremely large exploit.

He fantasized about the ideas that came with such implications. Chester could run a business relying on power-levelling up a bunch of weaklings. By picking a fight with a mildly strong monster, and letting his clients get a couple hits in, they could level up comfortably for exorbitant prices!

'I would've been a great entrepreneur in another life. Hell, I can begin now! Charge those weaklings in Stillwater for some more cold iron so they can fend for themselves! If it's not split automatically I'll figure something out.'

Emboldened by his new business model, he found even more motivation to get out of this underground tunnel.

“Let’s rest up and get the hell out of here. How are we going to take that?” He gestured to the massive Scrap Bot they had slain. They sat at the center of the room, clearing out any scraps and corpses that littered the area as they rested. Even though it was heavily damaged, the magic metals it was composed of would easily go for hundreds, maybe thousands of gold.

“We can likely carry it piece by piece inside our bags. But the entrance is still blocked.”

“Simple. We’ll break it down. Christopher, do you think you can use your hammer thingy to help us knock it over?” The illusionist asked, rummaging through his pack to get some dried rations and water.

He shared it amongst the group, who accepted the offer graciously.

“Yes, I’ll give it a try.”

Damien’s mind was focused on the implications of the Scrap Bot. He turned to the priest, wanting to clarify his worries.

“Priest Engel, do you think these monsters are the result of a dungeon formation?”

Christopher crossed his arms, deep in thought. “It is possible. But the problem with that is dungeon monsters almost never leave the premises of their home.”

“Woah, those things are from a dungeon? Why do you think so?” Chester perked up. He had learned about dungeons primarily through Damien, and was interested in their discussion.

“Maybe. Golems are not rare, but ones that give XP mean they have some form of sentience and life. When necromancers reanimate the dead, their summons don’t give XP nor can they level up. That would either mean there is a sentient dungeon like the The Monolith Mind-”

“-Or there’s someone powerful enough to grant robots an ego letting them run amok underground.”

Neither of those possibilities inspired a lot of hope for the group. Chester, unaware of the repercussions that came with either option, asked a simple question.

“...So we can’t stop the infestation?”

Damien shook his head. The boy looked pained to admit it. “A dungeon is nothing to be taken lightly. If it’s anything like the Monolith Mind we’d die instantly. The stories I've heard..”

Christopher agreed with the vampire, although he didn’t suffer any wounds during the battle, he looked very fatigued. His hair was a mess, and he had to constantly readjust to keep it from falling on his forehead. “The idea that there’s someone who could make golems like this is bad news as well. They’d likely be beyond our paygrade. Most likely a subjugation force on par with Idil's finest task forces would have to be deployed.”

The illusionist scratched his head. Accepting their information as fact, he decided to move on. They had helped the village plenty. Even if they couldn’t liberate the mines, they would have enough funds to get themselves together. He was content with getting the corpse of a mithril-orichalcum robot.

‘I’m not a hero. No need to get myself too involved anyways.’

Chester got up. “Well, okay. I’ll go get started and see if I can clear up the wa-”

Some more clanging footsteps from deep in the tunnel could be heard, interrupting the man’s words. Unlike the previous ones from before, this one sounded like dozens of steps at a time; several times more than anything they had encountered.

Knowing there was no time, Chester led them to the side of the wall and formed dirt that looked inconspicuous to everything around it. He had the inside of the wall formed to be see-through, so that the two could see everything that occurred. It barely fit the two, and there wasn't enough for Chester to squeeze in due to the two cubic meter limit.

“Do not touch anything! Don’t even breathe.”

He cast Invisibility on himself, and tensed up, waiting for whatever was coming into the tunnel.

One Scrap Bot entered. Similar in shape to the one they defeated, but composed of slightly different metals. A second entered. Slimmer in design, and with only sharp implements as limbs. It looked like a deadly, metal spider with a humanoid upper body. The third one was massive; with the same general template of three arms, four legs and a human upper body. Except everything looked thicker. Chester was horrified to see three of the same machine that took their all to defeat. What was worse is that they all seemed stronger than the one they had fought previously.

They poured into the massive room, looking at the battlefield with blank expressions on their metal faces.

Two dozen lesser robots, the ones that gave no XP, followed behind them.

“General 08 is eliminated. Shall we pursue the invaders?” The bulkiest one said in a monotone voice, inspecting the corpse of their own kin with indifference. Its body was mostly composed of orichalcum, and every step it took rumbled the earth.

As they talked, the robots behind them were completely still as if waiting for a command. Chester tweaked his Minor Illusion and created a small sound in the camouflage to whisper his instructions to the two. It took a lot of focus to have two parts to his illusion, but he managed while keeping an eye on the three. Although having multiple illusions at once was possible, his mind didn't have the processing power to do so.

“Walk slowly towards the other tunnel. Stick to the wall, the illusion will move with you at one step per second.”

He slowly began to manipulate the spell, watching as the illusory wall subtly changed shape and moved along the perimeter. His transition from wall to illusion was impeccable, and it would take keen observation to notice the slight shifts in texture and shape.

It took his all to keep the focus on the illusion while also eavesdropping on the Scrap Bots’ conversation.

“It is imperative. To report this to Elric. Two of us shall give chase. While the other. Sends the remains to. Base for repair and recycling.”

The illusionist froze. When they said their creator's name, it was in a completely different language; yet Chester understood what they were saying. He hadn't heard English from anyone in this world up till now, and he physically recoiled like he had been slapped.

'Elric?! Some British dude or something?'

Chester wasn't familiar with the name. Questions upon questions descended upon his mind, and he knew that someone from Earth, or a person who had connections with Earth, was responsible for this robot infestation.

“We have lost a significant. Amount of forces in this area. We must proceed with caution. To further provoke a third. Opponent while we. Are already in a war. Would be impractical.”

Thankfully they went unnoticed. It took about a minute for Damien and Christopher to successfully reach the other tunnel, and Chester continued the next phase of his plan. The robots were beginning to collect the pieces and had their backs turned.

He dispelled the illusion camouflaging the two, and immediately summoned one where the entrance was blocked. A similar clone of his appeared from the shadows, immediately provoking the dozen robots which noticed his presence.

“Come get me, suckers!” His illusion stuck its tongue out, running away into the shadows, where he promptly dispelled it as soon as the figure vanished.

“After him!” The slimmer one declared. Half of their total forces had rushed off in an effort to chase the illusion, leaving only lesser robots to pick up the remains of the battlefield.

“Go, go, go!” Chester hissed as the two stared at his successful distraction. They ran as if the hounds of hell were nipping at their feet, knowing that facing any number of those forces would be a death sentence.

They went deeper into the tunnels, which gradually went further underground at a slight downhill slope. When Christopher began to fatigue after minutes of running, Chester lifted the man and continued to run with the priest in a princess-carry. The blonde priest cast Greater Haste in order to go even faster.

The illusionist knew that staying and fighting was a stupid idea. He didn't know where the path led, but it was between uncertainty or a guaranteed death.

After some time, the tunnels began to diverge. They were larger, more spacious, and had metal supports that prevented the paths from caving in. The group had encountered another group of robots, an army of machines without the four-legged ones leading them.

Seeing them as no particular threat, the group engaged in battle. Even with the lethargy from the Greater Haste spell, they weren't much of a threat.

Chester now knew how to dismantle these automatons with ease. He sacrificed the size of the striking head in order to lengthen the chain, whittling them down with pinpoint accurate strikes to the head before wrenching limbs and heads off with brute power.

Damien ducked past the swings, using the robot’s momentum against them and getting the robots by the neck. Christopher supported them from behind, seeing that there was no need to use any of his offensive spells and conserving his mana. The blonde man kept an eye behind them, trying his best to hear if there were any robots trying to return.

Within a few minutes, they eliminated the robots without any trouble. Damien’s armor was worn down, and his plate armor suffered from some damage after being caught in the Scrap Bot’s grip. He hoped it would hold on until they successfully escaped the tunnels. The boy wanted to ask Christopher if he could repair his items.

“Should we keep going deeper? What do we do?”

“Well, there’s no chance we can go back up the way we went. Let’s try to find a path that goes upwards, and see if we can dig through the rest of the way up.”

Damien gawked at the man’s idea. “We’re probably a kilometer deep underground. You want us to tunnel through all that?”

The man glared at him. He didn't like the vampire's tone. “I don’t see you contributing any ideas, twerp. You pale, sassy, son of a-”

Before it could escalate into an argument, Christopher put his hands up between the two. “Why don’t we first see if there’s any tunnels leading upward? Hopefully there’s one that goes long enough that we might not need to dig through as much.”

The two backed off, deciding to go with the man’s idea. Chester marked the very top of the tunnel they came from with an ‘X’.

“I don’t know how good you guys are with memorizing, but try to remember that this is the way we came out.”

Every time they went inside of a new, diverging tunnel, Chester would carve out a tiny symbol to signify that they already entered it. It was small enough to be unnoticeable except to those who knew what they were looking for.

Thirty minutes passed, and they cautiously entered down a second tunnel. It was promising, seeing that the path was on an upward tilt. Unfortunately they encountered a small problem. Similar to the large room they had encountered the first Scrap Bot, it was home to another mechanical monster.

“Three targets confirmed. Initiate: Extermination Mode.”

They fought against another Scrap Bot. With experience under their belt, they knew what to do. Chester wrapped his chain along its arm, but was quickly met with an unwelcome attack.

“Blast Rod.”

The humming noise of electricity, along with bluish arcs of lightning coursed through its arm and into the metal chain, electrocuting the illusionist. Unfortunately, the Attainium was a conductive metal, and began to heat up a considerable amount, giving him burns along the palm of his hand and a painful shock.

You are paralyzed for 5 seconds.

His entire body froze up, and he collapsed to the floor while being continuously damaged. Twitching uncontrollably while being burnt from the inside by hundreds of volts, Chester was helpless. Christopher reacted and immediately cast Superior Weapon, striking the limb attached to his chain. The robot's shocking attack stopped, and it moved towards them before being blocked by Damien. His shield seemed to be resistant against the shocking effects thanks to the padding on the interior, insulating it from the lightning. His sword pierced it in the eye, black and blue energy radiating from his body.

“Greater Restore. Cure Wounds.”

Paralysis has been removed.

HP has been restored. +72 HP.

Chester let out a sigh of relief, but groaned in pain after being subjected to such a painful attack. He got up and decided to use the only ranged spell in his arsenal while he was being healed.

“Mana Blast!”

It hit the machine and rocked its entire body. It wasn’t as hefty as the one they fought, and it sacrificed some of its durability in exchange for speed. It still wasn't enough to keep up with the boosted vampire, deftly parrying and dodging any attempts to grab or cut him. His evasive style meant that he landed less hits, but he knew that getting grabbed was a death sentence.

Damien avoided prolonged contact with the monster, seeing how it attacked with electricity. It didn’t matter much, since his style relied on dodging and quick attacks anyway. He slammed his shield into its chin, sending it stumbling backwards. Wary of the lightning attacks, Chester used his hammer form to deal blunt damage. He tore off a piece of his clothing so he could safely wield the metal hammer, insulating himself. Every hit dented the plated exterior, but they were being slowly pushed back by the aggressive monster.

“Chain Lightning.”

The lightning spread from person to person, making them wince in pain. In terms of damage, it was minor but the spells were hard to avoid. Christopher’s armor was well-insulated and prevented most of the damage from reaching him, and he let loose another floating hammer to smack the automaton in the face.

Even with the electric attacks, it could not withstand the combined force of a three-man adventuring party. Chester adjusted to the environment and used Mana Blast as an added spell to deal further damage on top of his mana-infused hammer strikes. Damien earned another level in Shield Mastery, bringing it up to level 3.

The most devastating among them was Christopher’s single offensive spell. It could be wielded telepathically and from any angle, allowing for timely interventions that let the two fighters sneak in more attacks. It was a high burst of damage that was only weakened by its long cooldown time.

You have slain Scrap Bot - Lightning (Level 38)

You have leveled up! You are now level 23.

Chester immediately put everything into INT. He needed more mana than ever, in order to cast more illusions and to compensate for the times when his physical ability couldn’t keep up with the robots they fought. Just by going off the amount of INT he got per stat point, it was the smartest decision to make himself more powerful.

Mana Blast has reached level 3.

“You guys alright?”

Damien and Christopher nodded. Chester took apart some of the machine’s plated armor and stuck it in his bag. Although he had limited space, he wanted to gain something from the battle.

Orichalcum Plate

- A thick, heavy plating from the scraps of a robot.

- Greatly reduces effect of corrosion damage.

- Greatly reduces all piercing and slashing damage.

- Slightly reduces magical and blunt damage.

A plate of pure orichalcum. He was tempted to use it as a shield, but didn’t have anywhere to grip it from the center. Hesitantly, he melded a small portion of his Attainium onto the interior, creating a handle which fit perfectly around his wrist. Chester tested it out a few times, happy with the results of his improvisation.

“Here, I have some extra space in my pack.” The priest offered his bag, and Chester broke the robot down into smaller pieces to harvest any worthwhile parts that would fit inside of the bag’s pocket. Scraps of orichalcum and mithril were deposited into Christopher's extra-dimensional storage.

Several more minutes of walking had led them into a warzone. Over a dozen of titanic insectoids battling against machines. Exoskeleton met armor as they ruthlessly fought against each other.

“Ankhegs…” Christopher whispered, watching in awe as they tore each other apart.

Even without the presence of a Scrap Bot, the lesser automatons were holding their own surprisingly well.

The insects weren’t fast, and had a hard time cutting through their metallic bodies using their mandibles. One shot out a glob of acid, but it had little effect on the robots they faced. Even with inferior numbers the machines were able to push on relentlessly, countering the major weapons of the insectoid beasts and whittling them down in a war of attrition. That's when Chester realized why the tunnels were so different. They were the product of insects and not the drill robots they faced from earlier. The illusionist quickly shifted the iridescent rings along his arm back into a flail. It was slightly shorter than he was used to, since he had separated a portion of it to be used as the handle of his makeshift shield.

“Should we join in? I mean, we can probably secure all that experience for ourselves.”

The vampire looked at him like he had gone insane.

Chester hurried to justify his plan of action. “Look. We don’t stand a chance against two of those Scrap Bots at once. Any level up we get from here on out might make the difference between life or death."

The priest seemed content with the idea. “I will keep watch from the tunnel. I trust that you can handle yourselves? My mana is running quite low.” He clutched his mithril staff, giving it a few practice swings on the off-chance that one of the ankhegs leapt at him.

Damien sighed, and readied his weapons in preparation for the battle royal that was occurring in front of them.