Necromechanical Terror

Hendrix spent a few days walking toward the village and strangely saw no monsters.

'Guide, is there a save point every time I complete a side quest?' Hendrix asked as he wondered if it would be so.

[You are correct, Hendrix. Though most don't spend much time inside their first Tribulations as you have. And almost all newly awakened don't look to complete side quests or discover them.]

'Alright, how hard is it to complete side quests on average in the first Tribulation?' Hendrix said as he felt his first side quest was arduous and time-consuming.

[They are all supposed to be impossible for newly awoken individuals. So they can focus on their main quest. You are an anomaly that Oculus didn't account for.]

[Normal newly awoken are sixteen years old in soul and body. And aren't willing to spend centuries to achieve one objective. Even among the countless reincarnated, you are an anomaly.]

'I see. Does that also mean my achievements are the same way?' Hendrix asked.

[They are, the first Tribulations purpose isn't to earn achievements and complete side-quests, but to teach newly awoken how to kill. As the crown world is a cruel place.]

'Then why is there still an option to try to complete them then?' Hendrix asked while tilting his head.

[To teach the hot-blooded individuals and the overly ambitious that sometimes things are out of their league. That some tasks are impossible, and to not die a fool.]

'Isn't it foolish not to use this one opportunity to gain as much as possible?' Hendrix asked, as there were unlimited retries.

[Says the one who rejected going to Yusriton Empire.]

'I have no trust in humanity, and I prefer to be alone. I have no need to be betrayed and tortured again.' Hendrix thought, as he never wanted to trust another person.

[Noted]

Hendrix continued to walk until he found the giant depressions in the ground. He inspected them and decided to follow them to finish this quest quickly.

As Hendrix followed the depressions, something watched him while analyzing him before walking towards him.

'What's that?!' Hendrix thought as he looked around and when he gazed up. He saw a gigantic metallic thing on the horizon. It towered above everything, akin to how a mountain did. Its color was gray and black and covered with strange symbols.

It had an upside-down pyramid-like top part which had a crystalline visor. However, the back of the top part elongated far. And just beneath the visor lay ten comparatively small tendrils that looked strangely malleable. They all had a strange grey hole on the tip of them. And they were all attached to a semi-circle attached part.

It had a long pillar-like part connected to the upside-down pyramid-like one from the bottom. As Gill-like structures also lined the pillar, a deep crimson mist expelled from them every so often. Additionally, three long and spindly limbs were attached to the bottom of the pillar and served as legs.

'What the heck is this?!' Hendrix yelled in his mind as he began to shiver and sweat intensely.

[Mysterious Disappearance Side Quest Updated]

[Emergency Quest]

[Escape!]

[Quest Description

You need to Escape the horror set on capturing or eliminating you!]

'Well, I don't think I can escape, but okay.' Hendrix thought while looking to see what the thing did.

The thing released a deep sound as many tiny red chunks sprayed out of the gill-like structures alongside the mist. After this, four tentacle-like limbs came out of its sides, with a pincer-like part on end, and it began to light up in a tan hue.

Hendrix started to run away as he felt he should get away now. As he ran, he thought about what he should do next.

The metallic thing didn't allow Hendrix to continue thinking as it shot tan beams out of an opening in the middle of the pincers. These beams cut through scores of trees and boulders and ripped them apart.

'Crap!' Hendrix thought as he dodged some falling rocks and tree branches barely. His small stature helped him with this as he continued to run.

Tree trunks and large rocks started to fall and crash into one another. More beams shot out, destroying even more and making the situation more chaotic.

Tiny monsters tried to escape as well. Some jumped from falling trees or cracked boulders. Despite this, Hendrix continued to run and evade falling debris until he was out of breath.

"Agh!" A monster yelled as a ray hit it, and its body began to boil for five seconds before dying.

As this occurred, deep sounds of the ground cracking and metallic ones emanated every time the thing moved one of its long spindly limbs as the ground shook with every step. It moved extremely fast for something its size.

'I sadly haven't lost it.' Hendrix thought as he gritted his teeth and looked back while wheezing.

The metallic giant thing appeared on the horizon, moving towards Hendrix. Subsequently, a hole opened above the crystalline visor, and a bright light shone onto him.

Once before him, it lowered its upside-down pyramid-like top part a little as the crystalline visor faced Hendrix. And one of its ten tendril-like limbs reached Hendrix as it tried to grab him.

'There's nothing I can do to escape.' Hendrix thought, knowing his death would occur, either now or later. So he allowed the limb to approach and grab him.

[Emergency Quest failed]

The Metallic things tendril limb wrapped around Hendrix's waist and lifted him from the ground. As he rose, the trees started to look smaller and smaller until they seemed more like tiny dots.

Once Hendrix was near the upside-down pyramid-like structure, it brought him toward the back, where there were many circular holes with strange bars.

The tendril limb brought him toward one of these. And the bars bent and let Hendrix pass through. After this happened, the limb dropped him within before leaving as quickly as possible while the bars returned to normal.

'Ugh, this hurts.' Hendrix thought as he looked around at his environment.

The entire room looked made of bone. However, it was unusually gray in hue. He saw bloody claw marks and phrases on the walls. As one of these phrases read (Help us, someone! Wait no! N-), The blood was smeared on the floor and abruptly halted near the middle of the room.

Hendrix's eyes dilated as he looked around for a way out. However, all his efforts were fruitless as he tried to hit the walls, resulting in bloody knuckles.

'This place looks like something from a horror movie.' Hendrix thought as he gave up.

The bars opened again, and the Necromechanical Terror dropped tiny monsters inside. The tendril limb threw monsters inside and only stopped when the floor was covered. They didn't attack each other but instead moved around while shivering.

'These monsters seem strangely docile.' Hendrix thought as he looked at them, crawling everywhere in harmony.

Hendrix's thoughts were interrupted by the bones at the ceiling in the middle of the room moving apart and opening up. A small metallic tentacle came out. And at the end of it, two strange eyes opened though they looked strangely dead.

Hendrix hurriedly tried to hide underneath the monsters. Completely forgetting they were dangerous as well.

The metallic tentacle ignored Hendrix and grabbed a newt-like monster. It pulled the screaming monster into the hole quickly. After this happened, the gap closed, and its cries faded.

Hendrix sighed and decided to be next. As he felt there was no use in delaying the inevitable.

About ten minutes passed, and the hole opened up again. And the tentacle came out once more. This time Hendrix stood up and looked directly at it.

The tentacle reached for him and grabbed him around the waist as it brought him up and through the hole without a problem.

'I wonder how I'm going to die.' Hendrix thought as he looked at his new surroundings.

Hendrix was taken through a sizeable long tunnel by the eyed tentacle until he reached an area covered in strange symbols. Additionally, many monsters lay restrained to large black bones.

Bone tendrils bound the monsters as their limbs were bound to the sides of their bodies. Some struggled violently to get free but to no avail. They lay on their backs as they made a cacophony of noises. However, screams of agony also emanated across the premise.

Meanwhile, dead and drained monsters hung just below the ceiling where claw-like bone tendrils sliced off flesh, skin, scales, and cartilage. And tube-like bone tendrils sucked up all the unneeded material to places unknown. However, some tendrils took the bones through holes in the ceiling.

Hendrix was laid on one of the large bones and restrained. He looked at one of the restrained monsters as a long spindly bone extended out of the ceiling. It headed towards one of the monsters and stopped above the shrew-like monster.

It opened up, and three small sharp bones covered in barbs emerged. The monster's eyes widened in fear as it tried to do everything it could to escape its bindings.

But it was all for naught as the barbs abruptly stabbed deep into its abdomen. The monster shrieked and yelled as blood dripped from its mouth and twitched violently while the spindly bones barbs forcefully sucked up their organs and blood.

Hendrix's eyes widened as this was a slow and horrible way to die. He also tried to break his bindings, but the results of his attempt were the same as the monsters.

Eventually, the same thing happens to Hendrix as he lets out a bloodcurdling yell. He knew death was inevitable, but this was nothing short of harrowing. He died after a minute passed due to the tendril draining him of blood and viscera.