As Machia slept in his lap, Zach stroked her hair while staring at the iron bars in front of him. He also noticed the choker on Machia's neck, which was covered with magical script that he didn't understand at all. He touched it but didn't dare to do anything, afraid that something might happen to Machia if he was reckless.
"Hmm... how do I take this off? And what does all this writing even mean?" Zach wondered.
While he was thinking, suddenly, "Bwoong," a holographic screen appeared in front of his face. He raised his hand and waved at the screen. It turned out the screen was actually inside the helmet that had become his head. He immediately read the text. He didn't understand the language, and the only words he could make out were YES and NO. He stared at the word YES for quite a while, which made him select it. The screen immediately displayed a program, as if it were installing something.
After it finished, the screen immediately disappeared. Not long after, the screen reappeared in front of Zach. The writing was still the same and foreign to him, but this time he understood and could read it. He immediately read it because what had opened in front of him was a tutorial and explanation about himself. As he read it, Zach was shocked because he was now a mechanical golem or a robot that had a core in his heart.
The screen also displayed all the organs in his body. They all looked to be made of crystal that appeared hard and rigid, but his heart was beating like a normal human's, even though it was made of crystal. He also learned that his brain was filled with his memories from when he lived on Earth. His entire body was made of the hardest metal in this new world, called Mithranium, a fusion of Mythril and Titanium from Earth—the best of both worlds. Zach realized he was no longer human. He then looked at Machia, who was sleeping, and stroked her hair.
"Human or not, who cares, I'm already in this world. I can't deny it, I can't panic, and I have no choice but to swallow it all without protest," Zach muttered to himself.
Then he opened his "Status" to see his new body's abilities. He read it carefully:
*********************************
Status :
Name : Zach.
Body Power : 200,000
Fighting Power : 300.000
Magic Power : 100,000
Partner : Machia.
*********************************
Body Passive Skill :
1. Craft armor and weapon.
2. Martial art mastery.
3. Transformation to motorcycle.
4. Analyze.
5. Dimensional Storage.
6. Immune to abnormal status.
7. Magic cancelation.
*********************************
Active skill :
1. Flame Rocket Punch.
2. Flame Breath.
3. Flame Typhoon.
4. Crescent Wave Blast.
5. Barrier.
*********************************
Additional blessing :
Blessing from Goddess Ertona.
*********************************
Zach opened each of his abilities one by one. He looked at the description and studied it until he fully understood. When he reached the Blessing from Goddess Ertona, the goddess of technology and science, he read that his hand could cancel a curse or anything that bound a person, like a slave choker.
He immediately looked back at the choker on Machia's neck, then looked at his hand. He paused for a moment and thought, because if he acted incorrectly or misunderstood, the consequences could be fatal. He read it again, even multiple times, until he truly understood and was sure.
"Alright, let's try it... first, I'm sorry, Machia," Zach said to himself.
Slowly, he pushed the hair away from the back of Machia's neck. Then he moved his finger toward the lock of the choker in the back and pulled it back again, hesitant. Then he tried to calm himself down and "Plonk," he hit both sides of his helmet. After that, he looked at the choker lock again and once more brought his hand closer.
He could feel his crystal heart beating inside his body, even though there was no sound. His finger started to touch the edge of the lock, then he closed his eyes and shouted in his head. "Click," the choker lock easily opened, and the choker immediately glowed, erasing all the magical writing, even on the front.
"Clang," Zach tossed the choker aside, and he felt truly relieved. Then he looked back at Machia, stroked her head, and then bent down to hug her. After that, he immediately broke the handcuffs on both of Machia's wrists and ankles.
"That was truly nerve-wracking... Good grief, it made my heart beat so fast," Zach muttered to himself.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside. Zach immediately looked toward the bars. He saw three men standing in front of the bars. Two men looked bulky, like gym-goers, with scary faces and messy beards, while in the middle was a short, plump man, dressed like a merchant and carrying a half-burnt parchment. Upon seeing Zach, all three were immediately startled. Then the scary-faced man unlocked the bars, and they entered.
Zach slowly stood up while carrying Machia. He quietly watched the three men in front of him.
"Who are you?" the plump man dressed as a merchant asked.
Zach tried to answer, but it turned out he could only communicate using a special telepathy meant for Machia. Finally, he just shrugged his shoulders. One scary-faced man stepped forward to examine Zach.
"He's a golem, Master," the man said, pointing at Zach.
"Oh, a golem. Kill him and take the little girl back," the merchant replied.
"Okay, very well," the scary-faced man replied.
But as the big, muscular man stepped forward to approach Zach and intended to take Machia, "Buaaak," Zach kicked the man's stomach, and "Clang," the man was sent flying, hitting the bars with a loud noise. Then he fell face-down on the ground, no longer moving.
The other scary-faced man and the merchant were shocked. Suddenly, the merchant chanted something, then aimed his palm at Zach, who looked a little confused. Then a portal opened in the ceiling. A stone golem descended from the portal and landed right in front of Zach.
"Kill that golem... don't let..."
"Kraaak,"
Before the merchant could finish speaking, Zach's leg shot straight up and split the stone golem's body in two. The golem shattered into pieces of gravel on the floor. Seeing this, the scary-faced man backed up, then turned and ran, abandoning the merchant.
"Hey... don't run... hey!" the merchant shouted, seeing his guard flee in a panic.
Zach stepped forward. The merchant, seeing Zach approach him, immediately fell to the floor, terrified. The roll of parchment in his hand slipped and unrolled. Zach looked at it and saw that the half-burnt parchment was the slave contract written on the choker meant to keep Machia bound as his slave.
"So Machia is free now, thank goodness," Zach said to himself.
He looked at the terrified slave merchant and casually walked out of the barred door, leaving the merchant trembling and paralyzed with fear, who could only watch Zach walk away. As he exited the basement, he arrived in a room full of cages, and inside were many slaves from various races like Elves, Dark Elves, Beastmen, Orcs, Goblins, and even humans. Almost all the slaves in the cages were shocked when they saw Zach, who looked like a robot.
"Woah... that's a lot. Should I free all of them?" Zach wondered.
"Ngg," Zach looked down. He saw Machia, whom he was carrying, starting to wake up, probably due to the jostling. Machia slowly opened her red eyes, then blinked repeatedly and looked left and right.
"Hey, are we outside?" Machia asked telepathically.
"Yes. You're free now and no longer a slave," Zach answered.
Machia immediately touched her neck, then she looked at her wrists and ankles. She turned to look at Zach and started crying, her lip trembling. She immediately got down, and Zach squatted down. Machia hugged Zach's neck, then Zach picked Machia up again and put her on his shoulder. Suddenly, "Clang," Zach turned to see a wolf Beastman holding the bars with a hopeful look on his face.
"Hey, free me!" he said.
Zach examined the Beastman's face. He saw that the man's face was a bit fierce and he looked desperate to be freed. Finally, he asked,
"Should I free him?" Zach asked Machia telepathically.
"Don't. All the slaves here are either criminals being punished, debt slaves, or ones who voluntarily sold themselves for their families' sake. Illegal slaves like me are usually kept down below, and I was the only one there," Machia replied.
"Oh, I see. Alright," Zach replied.
After that, they walked out of the slave shop, accompanied by the stares of the slaves in the cages while the Beastman man kept shouting. When he got out, Zach saw two bags of money on the merchant's desk. He grabbed them and put them into his Dimensional Storage.
"Hey... why did you take the money?" Machia asked.
"We need money, don't we? At the very least, I want to buy you some clothes," Zach replied.
"Oh... okay. Thanks, Zach," Machia said.
They walked toward the exit door and opened it. After that, the two of them casually walked out of the slave merchant's shop.