I; like most inventions, was created as the result of an idea. Whether that idea was a good one or not was not something I had control over, it was in the hands of my inventor. A man I only saw once in my entire “lifetime,” He stood proudly before me like a pillar. Unfortunately, his strength waned and that “pillar” came crashing to the ground. He abandoned me in the testing facility, He did it without a second thought. In that room, I waited, as the days turned to years, as the facility walls decayed and plantlife took over, as the other machines rusted, and as the world became anew. I waited for him, but he never came.

--

‘Why doesn't she just give up?!’ I continued to release kick after kick towards the girl. She narrowly dodged most, and the ones she didn't were skillfully countered away from inflicting any real damage. ‘Annoying.’ I thought with a tick of anger. ‘Even after using a skill, you still don't look too scared.’ The girl just laughed in response, “I could beat you any time I wanted. There's no fun in insta-killing after all.” “I’ll make you eat those words!”

-

[Notice: The Hidden Boss: Mechanical Masterpiece is opening its status for the first time!]

‘Shit! This system just loves to choose the most inopportune times.’

[Notice: The Personal Attribute of the “Mechanical Masterpiece” has awakened !!!!!!!!]

“Please don't do it. Please, I'm literally begging you! Don't be enough to qualify as-!!!!!

[Notice: The Hidden Boss “Mechanical Masterpiece” has exceeded the limit of “Naturality” and has fulfilled the requirements to become a Unique Boss Monster.]

“...” I sighed. “You didn't even let me finish.”

-

Vivian Veldorbell sat in her office under the guise of “Overviewing the Players first impressions'' that job consisted of watching live streams. “So, it seems the most popular starting point is The Kingdom of Magic… The testers complained about the random spawns which was unfortunate but… what can you do.” Vivian observed one of the people expected to become the “Strongest” a term which here means “He Who Stands at the peak.” and giggled creepily to herself as the players ran around the world like mice.

“Hey Hey What's this? Hey Viewers! It seems a UBM has spawned! In case you were unaware, that means “Unique Boss Monster” If you contribute the most to its death then it's said you can obtain a strong item that embodies the monster. That's what the player manual written by beta testers says anyway.”

“Huh?!?” Vivian almost choked on her own spit, “So early?! Jeez, Someone must've been reeaaally unlucky with a monster.” She mused for a second, “Who was it?”

“...”

“What the hell are the chances?”

--

Before my very eyes, the machine grew character, its plain steel-colored body gained texture, the Mannequin-Esque face grew distinct facial features, its artificial muscle mass expanded, and it gained an overall more beast-like appearance.

Mechanical Abomination: “Andromeda”

The Mechanical Masterpiece has opened its status and has fulfilled the conditions to become a UBM. Defeat it and examine its pieces.

Clear Conditions: Kill the “Mechanical Abomination” and examine its pieces.

Difficulty: C- ----> A

Rewards: Mecha-Human Core, Artificial Personality Injectors, Information regarding an estranged mechanical genius, a map to said genius’ workshop, [********** ****** ***********], New Modification, UBM reward, and MVP reward.

The Newly remodeled “Andromeda” charged at me with speed I couldn't hope to match, every kick felt like a tank shell sending immense force through my body and damaging my innards. This fight; one I was sure I could win- was already turning around on me. “Shit!” I countered its jump kick by grabbing its back leg and slamming it into the ground. The punch I aimed at its head missed as the machine rolled out of the way. “Aren't you smarter all of a sudden?” Some time passed before the machine answered, “Stop Talking.”

Before I could say anything else six exhaust pipes shot through the machine's legs. “Sh-”

“First Step Towards Hell: First Gear.”

An immense amount of energy shot out the exhaust pipes launching the monster towards me at a speed that my eyes couldn't even follow. The force produced by the engines were enough for the machine to hover for short distances.

“Second Step Towards Hell: Second Gear”

“Andromeda” kept getting faster, the speed provided by those engines let it bounce off the walls in a literal sense. “Shit! I can't even see it anymore.” I was beginning to panic. ‘No! Focus- Focus on the sound of the engines, they will have to stutter at least once, especially when that much force is being applied.’

“Third Step Towards Hell: Third Gear!”

‘Calm down and listen. When they stall is when it’ll attack- wait for that moment.’

“Fourth Step Towards Hell: Fourth Gear.”

Time seemed to come to a standstill as the machine’s speed multiplied 16x’s. ‘Come on!’ I seethed, “Sputter already!”

“Fifth Step-”

“There!”

I closed my eyes and hoped for the best.