Synthetic Survivor: Machine Age - Chapter 130

It was a few hours after sun down. The streets of the Fortress City were now deserted save for a few patrols here and there. The fields beyond the walls were full of crops, if things worked out for the farmers then they’d have more than enough food in store for the winter months to come.

One was standing just outside the eastern wall that was undergoing rapid reconstruction thanks to his improved construction methods and devices.

He had spent the last few days making tools and teaching the head workers how to operate said tools.

It was tedious work but One pulled through. If he could handle an entire planet of machines, handling a few humans would be a piece of cake.

Or so he thought.

After interacting with the locals, he had come to the realization that may impede his plans.

Humans can actually think in magnitudes better than animals.

They complain, they get hurt, they feel pain, they have so many needs.

It was enough to make One question for a second his overall goal of restoring Earth.

Are humans even necessary?

Nature itself could survive and evolve well without any human intervention and quite possibly flourish even more without human intervention.

But still, humans were a special kind of life. Although he massacres them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, he still keeps his killings in check if they’re really necessary or just not worth the blood being spilled.

It also wasn’t helping that he felt a sort of small amount of sympathy towards them.

He was still the cold-hearted machine that has killed hundreds of thousands directly and indirectly.

As the winter breeze drew near, One felt the cold wind blow through his neck.

“Maybe a temporary peace afterwards would not be such a bad idea after all?” One whispered to himself.

He was watching over the fields that were growing the crops at a faster rate than normal.

“Magic can do too many incredible things, if exploited correct, even the rudimentary advantages of science won’t be able to counter it,” One said as he turned his back from the moonlit sky in front of him that gave light over the fields.

One walked back to the safe confines of the outer wall and was greeted by a few knights that were ȧssigned night duty.

One saluted them as if they were in a modern military, the salute, as expected, was not something the knights were familiar with.

The knights themselves were just conscripts but One was going to change that. He was going to form a standing army as soon as they defeat the Imperial Army sent against them.

A standing army of a thousand men would suffice. Proper discipline, proper pay, extensive combat exercises featuring modern techniques would make a thousand conscripts into an elite force that could rival an entire army by themselves if maneuvered correctly.

As he reached the castle, William was there to greet him.

“Greetings, sir, how was the inspection?” William asked as the knights opened the castle doors.

“The fields are growing the crops faster than anticipated. At this rate, the farmers will be able to harvest the crops earlier and I believe another harvest can be achieved if this keeps up,” One said.

Hearing what the man in black said, William smiled. The other knights that were there were also overjoyed at the news that there would be more than enough food for the winter. One’s promise of big meals for all was becoming a reality.

One navigated through the castle’s interior, walked up the flights of stairs and entered his room that was just below King Wog’s residence.

William was with him all the way, as One entered his room, William closed the door behind him and bid him goodnight.

One’s room was rather luxurious, a large couch in the middle with small couches to the side, purple curtains over the windows and the entrance to the balcony and a dimly lit chandelier.

His bed was a queen-size wooden bed with a touch of gold and silver here and there.

But One knew he wasn’t alone inside the room.

Although the entity erased its presence, One could still sense the concentration of magic of the entity’s body.

One walked towards his bed and sat on the side.

He then peered towards the position of the entity.

The room was dimly lit and so his eyes glowed, a stream of blue light would follow.

“So you can see me?” The voice of a lady sprang out.

One nodded.

The lady then removed her magic that made her impossible to perceive. She slowly faded into One’s point of view.

“You’re Stacy, what are you doing in my room?” One asked.

Stacy, on the other hand, only smiled and took out a dagger.

The dagger, was poisoned.

“What are you doing in my room?” One asked again.

“You gotta survive this first!” Stacy then jumped forward and thrusted the dagger into One’s ċhėst.

But the dagger did not impale him.

It shattered into a thousand pieces.

Stacy then jumped back.

“Aren’t you supposed to be a mage?” One asked as he stood up.

“Aren’t you supposed to be a human?” Stacy clapped back.

One seemingly sighed and walked towards her. Stacy, sensing no killing intent from the man in black, or otherwise known as ‘Ben’ stood her ground and looked him directly in the eye.

Bear in mind that One was tall, 6ft 5 tall to be exact while Stacy was a beautiful lady with a height of 5 flat.

“Does anyone else know?” One’s eyes glowed brighter.

“Don’t worry I was just testing if you were the real deal!” Stacy said as she placed her right hand over One’s left cheek.

“Metal man,” Stacy whispered.