Modifications

The air was mostly free from smoke now, and instead, it took on the heavy scent of damp soil and pine needles. If Berus could take a deep breath, he would.

Instead, he focused as best as he could for them to find a dry spot to lay down so Mikkah could get a good look at him. She was looking better than before, sure, but he could see the burn scars where he inadvertently had touched her.

There was nothing in this moment that he felt good about. Even when he checked in his menu, he couldn’t find a trace of Ki-Rai. She had missed the whole fight. And now he started to really miss her.

“I messed up,” he muttered.

“We all did,” Mikkah replied in a quiet voice. “You don’t have to feel bad about this.”

“...”

But he did. Still, she was right, in the sense that dwelling on what happened would do them no good. Instead, they should focus on their objective.

“So, how far is it to the castle?” he asked.

“Too far, I believe. I don’t even know where we are.” Mikkah let out a groan. “Oh, if we only had some fuel. Then at least my bike would work again.”

“Hm?”

“What do you think I was doing on that temple shard? It took the last of my mana fuel to drive there. And now… it’s basically useless.”

“Wait, did you say mana fuel?”

She shot him a confused look. “Yes, why? It’s the same type of fuel you use, so you should be familiar with it.”

He nodded. That explained why he felt so horrible when his mana reserves went down. While he looked at his reserves that were slowly filling up, Mikkah was still lamenting their situation.

Finally, he tilted his head, and asked: “So, can’t I put fuel into the bike?”

She turned to him and looked at him, horrified. “What?”

“Well, can’t you use my fuel to fill up the bike or something? Like at a gas station?”

“What’s a gas station?”

“Um, that’s not important. But if we want to travel fast, wouldn’t that help?”

She shook her head. “Even if I managed to make some sort of adapter, you’re not fast enough. And I doubt three people will fit on the bike. See for yourself.”

With that, she summoned it from her inventory, and he finally saw her beauty of a bike. And it was really beautiful. While it reminded him of the motorbikes he knew from his old world, it was still slightly different. It had all the parts he knew a bike should have, even if he had never driven one himself. But instead of the sleek metallic coatings he was used to, the metal of this bike was closer to his own mechanical body in color and form. And while it was big, he had to agree that the three of them would never fit on it. Especially not him.

And as if seeing her bike only multiplied her pain, Mikkah let out a big sigh. “It’s just so frustrating. Good Lady, I worked on this for two years by now! It really is my masterpiece.”

So they stood there. The human mechanic that pretended to be an elven priestess, together with a demonic automaton with a human soul, and a non-functioning, beautiful museum piece. It was a strange sight, but it gave Berus an idea.

“So, what if you had some more material?” he asked, vibrating with anticipation.

She could tell something was up. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve got me, remember? My metal should be compatible with the bike, no?”

She looked at him, then at the bike and back at him. She narrowed her eyes. “That’s possible, yes.”
He pointed down to his broken leg. “Because, well, I really can’t walk at the moment anyway. With only one leg I can only slow you down.”

“So…”

“So how about I finally get a modification?” He tried to hold his excitement back, but it utterly failed.

“I… what?”

“Mount me on the bike! That way I can fuel it without taking up space!”

She shook her head. “What! Why?”

“We have to go, right? Please, that would be so cool. I could become a bike-man! A mechanical centaur!”

“That sounds… dangerous.”

“Oh, please. It’s not like we have another option.”

“If we think about it…”

“Please?”

“It might not be safe.”

“But I’m willing to try. Listen, Mikkah. You’re a genius when it comes to these things. I have full trust in you.” If he had facial expressions, he would have given her an earnest smile. But since he was trapped with only an orb where his face would be, he had to nod excitedly to underline his words.

She smiled back at him, hesitantly. “We can try, at least.”

***

After some time Mikkah spent tinkering with both Berus and her bike, Iuria joined them again. She sat down a bit away from them. The rain had stopped by now, but she didn’t bother to wipe away the water that dripped from her short hair onto her face.

Berus tried not to stare at her. But he also tried very hard not to focus on his own feelings as Mikkah rummaged through his mechanical intestines. He flinched as she touched a particularly sensitive spot. Immediately, she stopped.

“I’m sorry, did that hurt?”

“Ah, no. It just felt… strange.”

“Like an open wound?”

“No. Just… different. I can’t really describe it.”

She nodded. “As long as it’s not painful for you. Tell me if you need a break or something hurts. I know I can sometimes lose myself in my work.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll yell if something’s wrong.”

She yanked on a cable, and he really let out a small scream. “Ow!”

“By Lucine, I’m sorry. I just wanted to make sure you’ll keep your word.”

“You could have tested that in a different way,” he grumbled back.

“Really, I apologize. But… it’s just so fascinating to see how an automaton works.”

“Next time, just think about the person stuck inside the automaton before you do something like that, okay? I might be just a soul stuck inside a mechanical construct but I can still feel pain. Somehow.”

“Of course. Oh, I’m sorry. Of course you can feel pain. Oh, can I ask you a few more questions?”

He shook his head. “Nope. I’m really not feeling it right now.”
“Right. Sorry.”
She continued to work on him, but more careful now. While she did so, Berus continued to look at the trees, the grass, the animals, the insects, Iuria, Mikkah’s jewelery, and about everything he could focus on that wasn’t his own sensations. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but finally, they were done.

“Okay, I’ll connect you to the bike now. Open up your system and tell me if something is wrong, alright?”

“Sure thing.” He opened up his menu. “Ki-Rai? Are you there?”

No one answered.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” he said, even if it was just to distract him from the feeling of his lower body suddenly making contact with something similar.

“Ah!”

His menu turned red for a moment, and there she was. Ki-Rai looked as cute as always, and was just as angry as before.

“You idiot! What are you doing? What’s with this system override? I can’t–”

“Yeah, sorry, we’re kind of trying something new.”

The system menu still flashed red. “So, uh, is this bad?”

“Is this bad?” She echoed. “Of course it’s bad! That mechanic has been working on the automaton again, has she? Oh, that’s some unauthorized access…”

And then, it all turned dark.

“I think we did it,” Mikkah said.

Berus did what was akin to a blink. When he opened the menu now, it all looked normal. It was just his body that felt strange.

“Oh, yeah!”

He pumped his mana fuel through his body, and with a loud vrooom, he revved his new wheels.

“This is awesome!”

He got up. While his balance definitely needed a bit more time to adjust, he felt great.

But before he tried out the actual driving, he quickly checked in with Ki-Rai.

“Hey, are you still mad?”

“Of course I am,” she snapped back.

“You weren’t even there for the dragon. I’m sorry. I…”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Whatever. Apology accepted or something. Urgh.”

“I… I really hope I can show you. And, hey, maybe you’ll like driving as well?”

“We’ll see.” She crossed her arms.

But he was glad that she at least showed herself to him again. Now he just had to make sure to check in with her more often. But right now, he wanted to demonstrate her their newfound powers.

“Oh, I can’t wait to get more mods!”

“Uh, yeah, awesome,” Mikkah said. “Maybe we should wait with that.”

“Oh, but why?”

“You’re way too enthusiastic about that. But at least I can repair your legs this way while we travel.”

“Yeah!” He drove around in circles around his two companions. That finally got Iuria out of her rut, and she managed to smile at him. He gave her a thumbs up.

“I feel great!”

He was faster than he ever was before in his life. He could feel the wind on his skin. He was free.

And when he checked back in with Ki-Rai, she was absolutely smitten.

“Yes! That’s a good speed! But can you go faster?”

“Of course!”

“Then let’s do it!”

“Um, not that fast,” Mikkah interjected.

She clearly wasn’t a fan of his current driving style.

“I’m fast. I’m strong. Nothing can stop us now.” He wanted to grin at her.

“Great. Just… don’t forget that we’re your passengers, okay?”

“Right.”

She had a point. He couldn’t endanger her, or Iuria, by driving too recklessly.

“We’ll just go for a joyride without those two when it’s all over,” he muttered a promise to Ki-Rai.

Then, he drove over to them. Iuria looked at him with clear adoration and fascination.

“You look fantastic,” she whispered.

Carefully, she trailed her hands over the bike part o fhis body. He had to suppress a shudder. Who knew that he was so sensitive, even in his lower body?

“Well, then hop on, Iuria.” With these words, Mikkah sat down on the seat and planted her bag behind her.

“Alright.” Gracefully, Iuria sat down before he. She was squeezed between Mikkah’s front and Berus’ back.

And he was frozen. He could really feel the weight and the warmth of the two ladies sitting on him.

“Alright,” he muttered more to himself than to them. “Let’s go.”

Thankfully, driving helped him focus on the important things, such as his speed, weaving between the trees, and getting away from the sensation of soft thighs pressing against him.