Goblin Bugbear

The sedan’s door shut as Voidborn entered, sitting right beside Derrick at the front. Rei was seated right behind Voidborn, tinkering with a glowing cube of sorts, while Jimin sat beside her, half her body sticking out of the window.

“Byeeee~” Jimin waved back at Mrs Yoo before sliding back into her seat. She leaned forward between the two men at the front, smiling like she was going for a picnic rather than a month-long journey.

She looked at Derrick, who turned some knobs and pushed some buttons on the steering wheel. The sedan cranked to life. Voidborn turned and watched Derrick’s fingers dance across the steering wheel, and with a final exaggerated button push, the sedan began moving.

“You’re not driving,” Voidborn remarked, looking at Derrick, whose hands had left the steering wheel, leaning back to relax.

“This vehicle has been modified,” he explained. “Only the coordinates of the destination are needed.”

“Yeah yeah!” Rei added. “This is another thing that was co-developed between the Machinist's Union and Spellbound. Although, they are not publicly available and are only for people with authority within the five Reborn factions.”

“How safe is it?”

“Oh, I can answer that!” Jimin exclaimed, raising her hand. Rei raised her eyebrows and looked at her with doubt.

“Come on… I’ve ridden this before, trust me!” Jimin huffed and crossed her arms, before continuing. “It’s extremely safe. Civilians or other vehicles won’t get hit since the vehicle is imbued with detection spells. Someone also explained that the detection spells link with the vehicle’s data centre which the configuration or something inside makes the decision on where to turn and what speed to drive at!”

Rei shook her head and sighed. “That’s fairly inaccurate. You missed the point about the Machine-Spell Autonomous Decision Axiom Module, or MS. ADAM for short. It is the marvel of the collaboration between two of the greatest Scholar and Machinist Rulerborns. As stated in the spec-book, MS. ADAM fuses—”

“That’s not what I’m asking for,” Voidborn interrupted. “I know that civilians and vehicles won’t get hit, since they are already approved for use. What I want to know is, are we safe from external attacks?”

“That’s what I’ll be touching on later, but since you asked, I’ll explain it first,” Rei said.

“Can you explain it in simpler terms instead?” Jimin groaned, poking Derrick’s arm from behind. “Rei always goes into the details. I just want to know what it does and that’s it!”

“Isn’t that what I’m saying?” Rei countered.

“Yes, but it’s too much unnecessary information for someone as dumb as me.”

“I can’t argue if you pull out the ‘I’m Dumb’ card…”

“Now, now. Settle down,” Derrick chuckled, turning towards Voidborn, who was still patiently waiting. “To answer your question, yes, we are safe. Mostly. The sedan is enhanced with both protective and offensive capabilities. It has been fitted with barrier constructs developed by Claustrum, as well as guns and magic modules developed by the Mechanist’s Union and Spellbound respectively. To sum it up, this is a mobile armed fortress.”

“Although, it is not a hundred percent safe. Any attack that’s strong enough to destroy the barrier will, well, destroy the barrier. The chances of that are rare though, since it has been tested to withstand any attack up to Rebirth 3 Reborns.”

“So, you’re saying Reborns stronger than Rebirth 4 will destroy this vehicle?”

“Yes, but there’s almost no chance of it happening. The number of Reborns Rebirth 4 and above are so abysmally low.”

“Why are you jinxing it?” Jimin frowned, squeezing Derrick’s cheeks.

Voidborn nodded and turned to look outside as the sedan moved, leaving the other three to their playful banter. Through the window, he watched the city pass by. Rows of brick townhouses stood shoulder to shoulder, iron balconies hanging over cobbled streets. Unlit arcane lamps lined the road as mechanical carts rattled pass horse-drawn carriages, and guards armed with rifles slung beside enchanted blades patrolled the sidewalks.

Further ahead, steam hissed from vents along the roadside as tram rails curved away and towards the industrial district. Posters fluttered on notice boards and lamp posts, some about an influx of rats in the underground sewers, others warning of goblin sightings beyond the outskirts.

The buildings rose taller, yet dirtier. The streets swelled with people. Brick disintegrated into wood; affluence thinned into poverty. The poor multiplied.

It was the same wherever Voidborn went. Whether it was right here in Knowledge Sanctum Zylos, the Empire Kandar, the City of Life Vita or the Battle Haven Fortis, the powerful ruled the weak, the rich segregated from the poor.

There was always a clear division in social construct.

In the alleyways, rats scattered at the sound of the passing engine, dragging stolen crusts of rye bread into the shadows.

A brief flicker of dull yellow stirred in Voidborn’s vision as several of them froze and turned toward the road.

He narrowed his eyes for a moment, then looked away.

Animals were always wary of loud machines.

The sedan rolled past Zylos’s toll gates and out into the grassy outskirts. Behind them, the alleyways returned to stillness.

The entire afternoon had passed uneventfully. By dusk, the sky was a wash of purple and orange as the sedan rolled into a small town, already one-tenth into their journey.

Voidborn watched the streets through the window.

The streets were bustling as workers spilled out from shops and workshops, some heading home, most grabbing dinner outside. The sedan came to a stop right in the city centre, and the group got out.

Doors to the sedan closed with muted thuds. Jimin raised her arms and let out an unholy groan. Her shoulders hitched toward her ears, her back arched at an awkward angle, and her ribcage flared as she tried to undo hours of cramped stiffness.

“Gosh, my butt hurts from all the sitting. They're gonna be squished flat.”

“The only saving grace you have is your looks,” Rei joked. “With a yawn that big, you could stuff a whole loaf of bread in.”

“Why bread? Why not meat? Isn't meat more worthy of my golden taste buds?” Jimin said, before her stomach grumbled. “I need food. What are we getting?”

“Noodles.”

Voidborn pointed to the store right in front of them. The store was packed to the brim, but a group of four stood to leave as they entered. They slid into the vacant table as a casually dressed waiter cleared the dirty bowls and handed them the menus.

“Oh… these look good. What should I get?” Jimin mumbled to herself, before her head snapped up. “Have you guys chosen?”

“I’m done.”
“This.”
“Yes.”

Three voices sounded in unison.

“What? We just sat down.”

Rei was pointing at the picture of a bowl of soup noodles with two fried battered prawns on the side. Derrick selected the same. As for Voidborn, he chose the Ultra Deluxe Protein Special — noodles tossed with chilli oil and peanut sauce, topped with two chargrilled chicken legs, sauteed soy pork slices, a breaded fish cutlet, five tempura prawns, and a soft-boiled egg.

“Holy hell. That looks like a meat platter with noodles as toppings than the other way round!” Rei laughed. “I guess you do need protein. You're a Savage after all.”

“Lady Yoo, your choice?”

“What's the rush? We have the entire night.”

“I’m hungry.”

“Yeah, unnie, quickly pick! I wanna eat already.”