I was in a dark void.

I tried moving my limbs, but I couldn't feel them move.

I tried to move my eyes and look around, but I couldn't feel them.

All I could do was float around in this black nothingness.

How long have I been here? If I could answer that question, I probably wouldn't have been here.

Worst part is I don't even know who, or what I am.

Well, doesn't matter. It's not like I need that, or any kind of friends.

I am my own company, after all!

...

Is this purgatory?

To float around, losing your mind, not knowing what day it is or even what you are?

If so, then I will prove myself worthy of overcoming this arduous challenge, and finally see the light!

My first mission, will be to count, as long as I can, starting from 0!

1! 2! 3...

________________________________________________________________________________________________

...

I stopped counting at 100.

There is no way a good God would do this to me.

What did I ever do, eh?!

Why did you have to send me to this wicked hellscape, huh?!

If you're such a cruel God, then come over here and fight me!

Do anything, something to make this change!

Give me a sign, ya damn Old Man!

<Requirements fulfilled. Unlocking sealed skill 'Articulation'>

...

That actually worked?!

What even is this 'skill' anyway?

Woah! I can actually feel my limbs.

I can move them! They look weird though, my arms look like arms, and my legs look like legs, but they are white, and don't have skin.

That skill that voice said was unlocked, Articulation, must be the reason for this.

Oh! I can see it now! A text box with Articulation appeared! Weird, there is a line attached to it, and it leads to a white dot. That wasn't there before. It must have appeared due to the skill.

Hm, so maybe if I get more skills, something will happen with this dot? But...How do I get more skills?

<Requirements fulfilled. Unlocking sealed skill 'Appraisal'>

...

I am not going to question the logic, so let's just see this new skill.

Appraisal: Analyze Items or Living Creatures.

Hm, It seems quite useful, I will keep it in mind. There is another line here, leading again to that white dot - oh! It grew!

<Requirements fulfilled. Unlocking sealed skill 'Magic Sense'>

Huh? I just got one, and it's still giving me new ones. Come to think of it, I can feel more and more of my body.

<Requirements fulfilled. Unlocking sealed skill 'Area Sense'>

The white dot's getting bigger too, It's almost as big as I am!

<Requirements fulfilled. Unlocking sealed skill 'Magic Rejuvination'>

<Requirements fulfilled. Unlocking sealed skill 'Language Mastery'>

So many things appearing so soon...

Oh! The skills are coming closer. Are they...merging?

<Requirements fulfilled. Combining unlocked skills...Confirmed. Formed Spirit Skill 'S̷̡̧̟͌ơ̵̹̙̍͊̈̂ŭ̶̮̙̭̜͂͒͐̐͐̕ͅl̵̲̯̽̎̎̽́͛͑͠ ̸͓͖̖͎̐͒͑̎̕͠A̸̢̱̺̬͋̒͝'>

Woah! Something's not right with this one. It's getting chaotic!

<Awakening process begin. 1%...>

Awakening? Wait, that means I am gonna get out of this place!

<15%...32%...58%>

Ah! That weird skill is getting brighter, I can't see!

<82%....100%. Awakening process is done>

I-Is it over?

...

Is that, a door?

Well, God, if that was you, Thank you.

And then I went through the door.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After going through the door, I found myself in a room. There were bookshelves on the walls, a table with lab equipment, and a door. Even though it was dark and a closed space, It was far better than what I had experienced before. It is a bit small for some reason... I thought.

After examining my surroundings, I checked my own body, for something was quite weird. First thing I did was check my hands. They were big, but what caught my eye wasn't their size, but the fact that they were mechanical. And, sure enough the rest of my body was mechanical too.

I had then noticed that my body was a little rusty, which means that I wasn't recently created. How long was I asleep? Well, that answer will have to wait, it seems.

"W-woah...an Automaton!" -I heard a voice. It was high pitched, and sounded like it came from below? I looked downwards, only to find myself... something I didn't expect.

The thing that let out that voice was a small child, a girl from what I could tell. She wore dirty leather clothing, boots and all, and was carrying a backpack. What most weirded me out was her defining feature, of a tail and ears. She looked to be a cat, I think that's what they were called. Her fur was white, with a pattern of black dots. She did not possess a snout, which was odd, and her ears were longer, pointier. She had round, hazel eyes. In reality, the girl would be considered quite adorable, perhaps even growing into a beautiful lady, but that did not concern me.

We continued to stare at each other, until a great banging could be heard from the other side of the door. "Kya!" the little girl gasped, falling back on me. She then proceeded to hug my leg, looking up to me. She was crying, whatever the thing outside the door was, it must have really scared her.

"P-please help me!" -She shouted out loud. She had looked utterly broken. I couldn't really continue hearing this and staying silent, so i tried to talk to her.

"What... happened?" -I said, my voice being much louder than I expected. I did just wake up, but how come I never heard how loud I was?

The girl looked at me surprised, as if she had seen a pig fly. She called me an Automaton, so I am guessing that I am not alone, but it does seem that they aren't...quite like me. She seemed to have gathered her bearings, and wiped her face clean of the tears.

"I-We were investigating these Ruins... but we got ambushed by Little Devils." -she said, with a mournful look.

"Little... Devils?" -I replied. I didn't want to try and bring up painful memories by asking who are 'we', so I asked the next thing that interested me.

"Y-yeah... they are evil monsters, they look weak and thin, but are actually strong and fast." -She described the 'Little Devils'.

"...How many are there?" -I said, my speech becoming better.

"I didn't count, but I think there are about 30 of them alive, with one right outside the door." -she said.

I then thought about what to do. I knew how many of those monsters were out there. I knew that they were fast and deadly, but they were thin, meaning they couldn't be too durable. The last thing I didn't know was what the Ruins we were in actually was. How deep underground were we? How long would it take us to the surface? All questions that needed answering. But that damn banging is getting annoying. I need to deal with that first

"How did you open the door?" I asked the small cat.

"I put my hand on that small window thingy next to the door" -she said, and then pointed to the screen next to the door. The door is glowing a deep red color, probably rejecting the Little Devil, after the kid went inside. If I'm lucky however, she can open the door again, and I could take this monster out. First however, I need to determine the usefulness of the skills I had gotten. I tried thinking of the skill in my mind, and focused on it.

<Appraisal>. I wanted to check how it worked, and first I used it, while focusing at the young cat that was next to me. And then it appeared.

                                 =========================================================

                                  Name: Unknown                                                                        PL: 7

                                  Race: Beast-kin, Cat                                                                   HP:100%

                                  Gender: Female                                                                          MP:70%

                                  Age: 13 years old                                                                         Status: Healthy, Tired                                                                          

                                  ========================================================                              

                                   Power: 30                                                                                     

                                   Strength:15                                                                                 Toughness:9

                                   Endurance:12                                                                             Intelligence:16

                                   Speed: 20                                                                                    Dexterity:18

                                  ========================================================

                                  Skills: <None that could be seen>

 

This <Appraisal> skill, truly is useful. While some details were obscured, Stuff such as how much damage can she take, or how much she can deal, were shown. I was underestimating the potential of this skill, by a longshot. I can assume due to the skills I have and the way this looks, HP should be Health Percentage, while MP should be Magic Percentage. Don't know what 'PL' means though. Now, looking at her stats, she doesn't seem weak, just not ready. She is a teenager after all, can't believe anyone would send a 13 year old to her death.

"Uhh, why are you staring at me, Mister Automaton?" -the girl said. I only then realized that while i was focusing with my skill, I was staring at her.

"It's nothing to worry about." -I said. I didn't want to make an awkward atmosphere, so I hid my appraising to myself. She looked at me confused.

Now then, let's see about me... I thought. I now focused the appraisal on myself.

                                =========================================================

                                  Name: Unknown                                                                        PL: 1

                                  Race: None                                                                                  HP:100%

                                  Gender: None                                                                             MP:100%

                                  Age: Unknown                                                                            Status: Charged up                                                                        

                                  ========================================================                              

                                   Power:100                                                              

                                   Strength:59                                                                               Durability:150/150

                                   Endurance:60                                                                           Intelligence:75

                                   Speed:36                                                                                     Dexterity:49

                                  ========================================================

                                  Skills: Spirit Skill <S̷̡̧̟͌ơ̵̹̙̍͊̈̂ŭ̶̮̙̭̜͂͒͐̐͐̕ͅl̵̲̯̽̎̎̽́͛͑͠ ̸͓͖̖͎̐͒͑̎̕͠A̸̢̱̺̬͋̒͝>

                                                        -<Appraisal>

                                                        -<Articulation>

                                                        -<Area Sense>

                                                        -<Magic Sense>

                                                        -<Magic Rejuvination>

                                                        -<Language Mastery>

...Well, putting aside the fact that I still don't know my own name or how long I have been here, this is quite shocking. Comparing mine and the girl's appraised page, something isn't quite right. Despite the fact that my 'PL' is 1 and hers is 7, my stats are so far and beyond hers it's not even funny. Then again, I am much larger than her, so it's not uncalled for. Now, my skill department, I can see my skills finally. The voice of God said they were merging, but they still seem to be here. The only difference it seems is that they are compiled into this...Spirit Skill. I still can't see what it says clearly...

Anyways, with this, I think I have a general idea of what I want to do. But first. I will put this somewhere I can see my stats. Somewhere around the corner, upper right should be good. Now, to convince the girl.

"Hey."

"Yeah?" -she said, looking up to me.

"I need you to open that door."

She didn't reply. A moment of silence, as she tries to understand my words I guess. Then, she spat out.

"WHA-WHAT?!" -she yelled out. That was the most excited reaction from her thus far. "I can't let you do that, those monsters will kill us!"

As I thought. Guess I have to try real hard.

"Look," -I said as I got on one knee, so that I could match her height. "I need you to open that door, because we can't let more of those Devils hear this banging. The place would get flooded. Second, I need to have a clear grasp on my strength. Do you understand me now?"

She contemplated my words. She had a troubled look on her face, I feel a little guilty. However, as if she made up her mind, she looked at me with a serious look on her face.

"Ok, I'll do it." -she said. She continued, her face still serious, "But only if you promise me that you won't die."

This girl... I hadn't thought about it much, but she genuinely cares about other people, even for strangers like me. It's sweet, but troublesome. I guess I have no other choice, then.

"...Alright, I promise I won't." -I said. "Are you ready to do this?"

"Yes!" -She said with a smile. She went over to the door.

Now we're finally in business. I just hope my body is strong enough to beat this Little Devil.

"On my mark." -I said. She readied her hand.

"Now!" -I shouted. As soon as I did, she slammed her hand over the screen, the screen glowed, and the door's red turned into blue. The door opened, and in came...three Little Devils. Three of them?!

"Kek!" One of the Little Devils cackled. It was carrying an axe. The other two carried swords. They are smaller than me, but  they seem a lot more mobile. If they are as fast as I think, I will have to do this very carefully. First, however is to make sure the girl doesn't get hurt

I motioned to the girl to come over to me. She ran towards me. The Little Devil on the right reacted, getting on all fours and running after her. Just what I was expecting. I rushed in trying to hit the Little Devil, but it dodged me. Despite their looks, they aren't as dumb as I thought.

"Tch, missed him, are you ok?" -I asked the girl. She just nodded at me and got behind me. The three Devils were staring me down, waiting for me to attack. They are a lot smarter than what I wished for. I am not fast enough to catch them, that's for sure. To my left are bookshelves, stacked with loads of books. Since they are near me, they should serve as a weapon.

I grabbed the bookshelf closest to me and threw it at the three Devils. They jumped over the relatively slow moving thrown bookshelf, but were long in the air for me to act. I moved in, and punched the middle Devil, who had a sword. As soon as my fist had made an impact, cracks could be heard, but not from my hand, but the ribs of the Devil. He went flying into the door, which had closed. That was a lot more powerful than I had thought.

I moved back, getting into position. The Devils had looked back at their fallen comrade, but quickly looked back to me. They finally went into action, rushing at me on all fours. I knew I couldn't hit them, so I had focused on full defense.

The sword Devil was going around me, trying to hit me at my sides. I swung my arm around when he tried to attack, while he jumped back, circling around. Naturally, the axe Devil used this opportunity to hit my torso with his axe, doing damage, but I didn't feel it. I watched my stat page, and noticed that my HP was still at 100%, while my durability had lowered by half, now at 75. So my durability protects me fully?

The axe Devil jumped back after attacking, and the two devils continued their assault. The sword Devil went to my right and tried to hit at my leg, so I swung my arm again to shake him off. The axe Devil used this moment to attack me again. I tried to punch him, the same as I did the first. However, the sword Devil did something I didn't expect, he jumped at the same direction as the axe Devil. The two Devils then pushed each other off, making me miss the axe Devil. The axe Devil continued his attack however, hitting my torso again. My durability is now at 30 points, the Devil doing quite a lot of damage already

These Little Devils were very fast, and their coordination was surprising. Whatever move I did, I couldn't hit them, and I didn't have much time left. However, they only had one tactic, which was to let the sword Devil bait me, while the axe Devil attacked my torso, probably knowing that that's where I am most weak. But, this will prove to be their downfall.

The sword Devil had jumped back in, trying to get a hit on me. I did a kicking motion, which made him jump back. The axe Devil had then did it's attack, trying to hit my torso again. This time, I raised my arms to guard me, just as he was about to hit. The axe hit my arms, and I had heard my arms cracking. The Devil cackled, and jumped back.

Is what would have happened, had his axe not been stuck in my arm. I had noticed that my arm wasn't as durable as my torso, and had cracks in it already, so I knew that as soon as the Devil would hit, the axe would fall into the open crack. The Devil tried to pull out his axe, but this would prove to be his undoing, as I raised my arms right into the ceiling, smashing the Devil's head into the ceiling. This wasn't the end of the assault, as I then hit the ground with my arms, crushing the Devil, killing him instantly.

I pulled out the axe from my arm, and looked at the remaining Devil. He looked at the remains of his last ally, frightened. However, there was a tinge of anger in his eyes. Suddenly, it roared out in anger, and jumped straight at me. The way he was holding his sword however told me he wasn't doing a desperate move. So, instead of guarding like I did against the axe Devil, I grabbed the sword he was holding onto with my left arm. He tried to let go, but I grabbed him by the neck with my right arm.

"Trying to bait me and kill the young girl, are you?" - I said. His entire group got beaten by me, so there was no way he thought he would beat me, so instead he thought he could kill the kid. "Pathetic."

I squeezed his neck a bit, making the Devil squeal in pain, grabbing my arm, trying to pull himself free. While I am angry at the fact that these creatures are that bloodthirsty, I have a more important thing to do. Appraise.

                                 =========================================================

                                  Name: None                                                                                PL: 10

                                  Race: Magic Beast. Little Devil                                                 HP:65%

                                  Gender: Male                                                                              MP:100%

                                  Age: 20 days old                                                                         Status: Trying to breathe                                                                        

                                  ========================================================                              

                                   Power:74                                                                                  

                                   Strength:50                                                                               Toughness:45

                                   Endurance:50                                                                           Intelligence:23

                                   Speed:80                                                                                    Dexterity:53

                                  ========================================================

                                 Skills: <Swordplay>, <Fire Resistance>,<Agility>

                                  ========================================================

                                   Equipped with Rusty Sword.

Hmm, this revealed my suspicions. The Skills can be revealed by simple actions, and some skills aren't active, like my <Appraisal>. Also, these creatures aren't stronger than me, but they aren't weaker. I should be very careful around them. For now, though, let's end this miserable creature's life.

As soon as I thought that, I crushed the Little Devil's neck.

I turned back, only to see the girl staring at me amazed.

"T-t-that was so amazing!" -she said, then promptly hugged me. I was surprised at this, but I wasn't expecting the next thing when I looked down at her.

"I-I just... wish you were there with us...  w-when we fought them" -she said, tears starting to well up. She then cried. I stood there, patting her head, trying to calm her down. While doing this, I thought to myself.

How do we get out of here?