Chapter 4: MicroCell Active
"What is that…?"
His eyes widened slightly.
The school's main hall — once a place for assemblies — was now filled with alien creatures unlike anything he'd ever seen.
The creatures were slightly larger than an average human. Their bodies resembled beetles, with elongated heads, slightly stretched necks, and thin horns curving backwards. Their skin was brown with a faint shimmer under the light coming through the shattered windows.
"There's so many…"
Ajuka stepped back slowly.
The creatures stood still, moving slowly — as if waiting for orders or simply resting.
Ajuka observed from a distance, hiding behind a cracked cement wall. His aura blade was already in his hand — but not for attacking.
"There's way too many… I can't fight them…"
He crept silently, checking each hallway, classroom, and the underground levels. He wanted to make sure there were no dwarves around.
"If there were even a hundred dwarves here, I should've seen at least one… but I haven't."
"Empty. All empty."
"I can't waste time. I need to get to Mount KIR now."
He retreated from the hall, moving quietly toward the school's partially collapsed main entrance.
Suddenly—
Bezzz… bezzzt... bzztz…
That sound again.
The same one he'd heard earlier — and it was getting closer.
Ajuka turned.
"Damn it!!... Not now…"
From the side corridor, six of the creatures emerged. Their eyes glowed deep red.
They had detected Ajuka.
One of them raised its head and shrieked — a harsh, high-pitched cry signaling the others to attack.
"Tch. Crap!!"
Ajuka backed up and scratched a small wound into his arm. Blood flowed, thickening immediately.
"Blood Shield Form."
A curved shield of blood materialized in front of him, blocking the first creature's charge.
BAMM!
Ajuka held firm.
ZAAAASSSHHH!!
But the creature's claws tore into his arm, drawing blood.
Without hesitation, his aura blade slashed the first creature's head.
The second and third lunged at him from both sides. Ajuka leapt back, and as his fresh blood dripped mid-air, he formed two sharp spears — one pierced into a chest, the other into a knee.
Then—
Shakkkk!
His blade swept clean from the creature's right flank to its left, slicing it in half.
The blood dripping onto the floor pooled right beneath the fourth and fifth creatures.
"Blood Cage!" Ajuka shouted.
The two were instantly trapped in a solid blood cage.
Ajuka was already at his limit — he could barely control his BloodCaller powers.
With quick steps, he dashed toward the sixth creature and slashed — but it dodged. Ajuka rolled, flipped behind it, and—
Shakkkk!
His blade pierced its skull.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Ajuka panted, exhausted.
He turned to the cage. "Thorny Cage."
The blood bars suddenly elongated, transforming into spikes that impaled the trapped creatures.
"Huff... huff..."
He clutched his chest — his heart felt like it would burst.
His vision blurred, his throat churned...
"Bluuekkkk!"
He threw up.
The fight hadn't lasted long — but it drained him. He'd used too much strength: shields, traps, blood spears — all in rapid succession.
One by one, the creatures had fallen.
"I have to move fast… Wait for me, Sei…" Ajuka wiped his mouth.
He quickly swallowed his second emergency pill.
Standing tall, he caught his breath. Though his stamina was recovering, he still couldn't move quickly — the price of using four BloodCaller skills.
Then he saw it — a faint yellow-green glow inside one of the creature's torn bodies.
"So these glowing stones… they're inside dangerous beasts!"
Ajuka grabbed the stone from the creature's body.
Suddenly, the yellow-green stone flared brightly.
A strange voice echoed inside Ajuka's body:
MicroCell Gen-10 Charging.
Charging: 5%... 10%... 20%... 30%...
Then, silence.
"Huh… Charging?" Ajuka froze.
He checked the other bodies — and was shocked.
Each of the creatures had a stone in their body.
Same color — yellowish green.
The second stone lit up:
MicroCell Gen-10 Charging.
Charging: 30%... 40%... 50%... 60%..
Then the third:
MicroCell Gen-10 Charging.
Charging: 60%... 70%... 80%... 90%...
Then the fourth:
MicroCell Gen-10 Charging.
Charging: 90%... 100%...
The fourth stone's glow didn't fade — only dimmed slightly. Then the voice returned:
MicroCell Gen-10 Fully Charged.
Synchronizing with full body…
"Huh…" Ajuka was stunned.
The voice… was inside his head.
---
Back to Aisei
After storing all the snake parts he harvested, Aisei continued his journey. On the way, he encountered two more giant snakes — but strangely, no new Quests from Chamber.
Still, he collected their fangs, skins, and flesh into his Chamber. To his surprise, he found two glowing stones inside the snakes.
First Stone:
MicroCell Gen-9 Charging.
Charging: 40%...
System Error...
50%...
System Error...
60%...
System Combine...
70%...
System Synchronize...
Second Stone:
MicroCell Gen-9 Charging.
Charging: 70%...
System Synchronize...
80%...
90%...
100%...
MicroCell Gen-9 Fully Charged.
System Combine Complete.
Aisei closed his eyes and entered the Chamber.
"Hello?"
[Hello, Master.]
Aisei flinched.
For the first time, Chamber spoke like a human.
"Master? Who are you?"
[I am MicroCell Gen-9. A creation of scientists from KIR Lab.]
"KIR Lab? That's where my parents worked…"
"So… they created you and everything inside this Chamber?"
[Do you mean all the items inside this Chamber, Master?]
"Yeah. Did they create it all?"
[…]
[Searching data…]
[Chamber is not a creation of KIR Lab. Original identity: unknown. During charging, I merged with the Chamber system. Chamber is a separate entity from me.]
Aisei stayed silent.
(When the MicroCell charged… I did hear "System Combine". Hmmm…)
"So why did they put you inside my body?"
[Searching... No data, Master.]
He asked more: who implanted the MicroCell, what caused the Cataclysm — but all he got was:
[No data.]
"So what do I call you?"
[MicroCell Gen-9. Created in KIR Lab.]
"That's way too long. Since you've merged with Chamber, I'll just call you… Chamber."
[Okay, Master. Name updated to Chamber.]
---
Aisei returned to the real world.
[Master, would you like to activate night vision mode?]
Chamber's voice spoke directly inside his head.
"Night vision?"
[This mode allows you to see clearly in the dark.]
"Oh… Nice. You're pretty useful, hahaha. Okay."
[Night Vision activated.]
Now Aisei could see in the dark. His journey was smoother. He continued searching for the dwarves.
After countless wolves slain, Aisei finally spotted something between two hills — a large settlement.
But… not humans.
Strange creatures — Lizardmen — crocodile heads on human bodies, walking upright in armor, wielding weapons.
There were too many.
No way Aisei could fight them all.
[Master, would you like a user manual?]
"User manual? Uh… sure."
[User manual has been uploaded to your brain.]
"Bluueekkk!!"
Aisei threw up — overwhelmed suddenly.
"-_-" ...
Now Aisei understood how to use Chamber properly.
"Chamber, scan for dwarves."
[Scan complete. None detected, Master. Only Lizardmen present.]
"Aishhhh…"
(If the Lizardmen are here… the dwarves can't be far.)
---
He ventured deeper into the forest. Eventually, Aisei saw a group of dwarves working in a mine.
"Faster, you shorty! Gegegege! Stack it up and pull!!"
A Lizardman barked orders at the dwarves.
"Tch…"
A dwarf scowled.
(Wait… they can talk?)
Aisei watched from a tree branch. Suddenly—
[Object detected, 10 meters.]
Chamber had sensed something.
Aisei swiftly swung his blade behind him.
"CHANGG!!"
Two blades clashed.
It was Ajuka.
"Nice reflexes, Sei! Hahaha!" Ajuka laughed.
"Damn it! You scared me… But wait — how didn't I detect you?"
Aisei was always sharp with sound. How did Ajuka slip past?
"I told my Gen-10 to suppress all sound around me. But still — impressive that you detected me within 10 meters." Ajuka grinned.
"Gen-10? Hmm… What was our family even trying to do…" Aisei rubbed his chin.
"Were they… experimenting on us?" Ajuka raised an eyebrow.
"No point guessing now. We've got no answers anyway."
Ajuka nodded. They stopped overthinking. Focused on the now.
---
They sat in the tree, sharing their stories.
"Juka, come here. Let me hug you."
They hugged on the tree branch.
"-_-" Ajuka blushed.
[Telecommunication connected.]
"Now we can talk long-distance! Hehehe!" Aisei grinned.
"Not sure a hug was necessary though. A fist bump would've worked…" Ajuka muttered.
"Hehehe… I'm just glad you're alive, Juka." Aisei smiled.
---
Ajuka asked how much time was left on the Quest.
"8 hours."
Aisei explained there were two mines nearby — one gold, one iron — separated by a hill. The dwarves were split between them.
"You take the gold mine. I'll handle the iron one. Security's light because the dwarves are all chained."
"There are 10 Lizardmen in the gold mine, 13 in the iron."
"We don't know how they fight. Saving dwarves while fighting could get dangerous."
"What if we create a diversion? Draw their attention away — then rescue the dwarves during the chaos."
Ajuka agreed. They split up.
---
Gold Mine – Aisei
Aisei planted smoke bombs near the Lizardmen's base. On his way down, he encountered a lone dwarf.
"Shhhh…"
Aisei raised a finger to his lips.
"Who are you?" the dwarf asked.
"I'm Aisei. A hunter from this region."
"Huh… whatever. Get back to work!"
The dwarf snapped — assuming Aisei was a prisoner too his name is Zito.
(This little guy… I swear…)
"I'm here to rescue you all. I'm not a prisoner!"
"Hahaha! Save everyone? Don't dream. See this shackle on my foot? You need a key to open it." Say Zito
"I can cut it." Aisei raised his blade.
"Cut it? With that thing? These shackles are made of the strongest iron—"
Without another word, Aisei sliced through the shackle.
"No way… no way!!"
The dwarf was stunned.
"Do you believe me now?"
His eyes locked onto Aisei's sword — he saw the black aura along its edge.
"I want to see that sword…" he said, excited.
"Can I rescue you all first? We don't have time."
Aisei had already set traps. In 15 minutes, fire would spread.
"Wait! I need to tell my chief first!"
The dwarf rushed into the tunnel and returned with their leader.
"You're a big human!!" the dwarf chief exclaimed.