66 The Hole (1/2)

White led the brothers inside the shed. Inside were dozens of boxes filed neatly on the shelves. At the end of the room was a trapdoor leading to the underground basement. Once the brothers climbed down the ladder, the brothers were astonished by how many trinkets were stored underground. ”Amazing!” Stick exclaimed.

”You didn't know any of this?” Sun asked.

”No, I was too busy reorganizing up on the first floor while preparing for the trolls. I only got to check the basement only a few times, and each time I can't help but go 'wow.' I wonder if there's a sickle I can use here.”

”This way Chief.” White motioned at the brothers to follow him. ”Me found shield behind.” White pulled open the curtain revealing a large hole on the wall. Protruding through the hole was a yellow arm.

Sun walked up to the arm and examined it with his hand. The arm was made of steel coated in brass, and its fingers had tiny bumps that felt like rubber. Sun tried to pull the arm, but it did not move an inch. ”Rock, can you help me pull this out?”

”Sure.” Rock and Sun pulled as hard as they could to no avail.

”How about we dig it out?” Smoke suggested.

The brothers removed the dirt around the arm until they reached its shoulder. The arm fell on its own. Its fall nearly cracked the wooden floorboard of the basement. The arm was about four feet long, but it was as thick as a human arm. Sun crouched down and rolled the arm over, revealing its underside.

Transparent plastic glass covered the underarm. Sun could see the wires and plastic pipe running down, leaving the armpit and traveling down towards the rest of the arm. Sun tried to pick up the arm, but it was too heavy. ”Need help?” Rock asked.

”Yeah, this thing is heavy.”

The two struggled to lift the arm. ”Ok, this is really heavy. It was easier to fight the troll than carry this.”

”I guess that's our cue to help.” Stick jokingly said.

The four brothers carried the arm over their shoulders and carried it up the ladder. Once outside the shed, they dropped the arm on the snow and took a closer look at the metal wonder.

On its surface are engravings of an unknown script. Sun could not think of any language in his past life that resembled the characters, although that's because he could barely remember any of them.

Rock took out his new buckler and compared it to the arm. ”Why does something this huge carries a shield this tiny?”

”I don't know. Give me a hand.” Sun and Stick raised the arm to an upright position.

”This thing is as tall as I am,” Stick commented.

White walked towards Smoke, ”Sir Stick, what we do other stuff in ground?”

”Sorry, White, but I'm Smoke. That's Stick.” Smoke pointed at Stick holding the arm.

White's cheeks blushed from embarrassment. White could not believe he mistook Smoke as Stick. He got on the ground and apologized for his misconduct, which flustered the brothers in return. ”Don't worry about it. We don't exactly look the same as we were before.” Smoke reassured him while pointing to his red skin before dismissing White.

Sun could not blame White. Besides Rock, Stick and Smoke looked like twins. In fact, Sun would argue that they are twins. Stick was thinner than Smoke and slightly shorter, but that was the only difference between them. Ever since they turned into the red variant, their hair had the same long, silky black hair and sharp arching nose. And their lower left canine sticks out of their mouth.

”So, Stick, what should he do with the other stuff?” Smoke asked Stick.

”Just leave them be. We'll get through them eventually!”

”And if you need any help, just tell me. These muscles got your back!” Rock bragged.

Rock was taller than Sun, nearly reaching six feet and had a more robust body frame. Sun could not help but compare him to Mike Tyson, a boxer from his previous life, and he could not wait what Rock may look like if he transformed once more. While they were walking to the shed, Rock was bragging about his accomplishment. Sun was surprised to hear Rock used the Dempsey Roll to defeat the troll. The Dempsey Roll is a highly risky boxing style and best used against taller and heavier opponents. But Rock needed one more ingredient to defeat the troll, and that was mana.

Rock has no idea how he managed to accidentally use mana, while Sun had to learn it on the spot with his mom's guide. But Sun knows he could learn more from his mom, and the mysterious man he met in his dream.

While they were looking at the arm, a group of women led by Dawn and Shuja greeted the brothers. Most of them were mothers who looked up to Dawn as their leading matriarch. A single mother overcoming all odds and transformed into a conqueror made her an appealing leader, but Dawn has no desire to take such roles. She found it distracting to her real responsibility, which was to be a caring mother for her child.

Shuja had no qualms about becoming one of Sun's close aid and accepted the leadership role Smoke gave her. However, Shuja is a single lady and is comparatively young to Dawn, so she lacks the prestige that surrounded Dawn. She must rely on her strength in order to be a successful retainer. ”What are you guys looking at?” Shuja crouched down next to Sun. ”Also, who and what are you? And where is Sun?”

”I'm Sun.”

”What!” Shuja fell on her butt, ”What happened? How did your skin change color? How did you change your face to look more like your mom?”