The wind from the bottom of the ravine wasn't just a gentle breeze. It was a roar of air rising vertically, carrying cold water droplets from the rushing river down below. Dayat stood at the edge of the cliff, the tips of his shoes hanging slightly over the void. His legs trembled, not from the cold, but from the primal human instinct screaming: DON'T JUMP, YOU IDIOT!
The distance to the other side was about twenty meters. For a bird, it was just a fleeting flap of wings. For Dola, it was probably a simple parabolic calculation. But for Dayat, it was a death sentence.
"Dol..." Dayat's voice sounded small, drowned out by the roar of the water. "Are you serious? We want to play on a swing here? What if the rope breaks? What if the tree roots over there are rotten? What if I have a heart attack halfway through?"
Dola stood beside him, calm as an ice statue. Her silver hair fluttered wildly in the wind, but her eyes remained focused, scanning the large tree on the opposite cliff.
"Probability of structural failure on the target Ironwood tree is 0.02%," Dola replied without turning. "The main problem is not the tree, Master. It is the tool. And... Master's courage."
Dayat swallowed hard. "Okay, the tool problem I can handle. The courage problem... that's currently out of stock."
"In that case, let me hold the controls for courage for now," Dola turned to face Dayat. "Master only needs to manifest the tool. I will execute the jump."
"The tool..." Dayat closed his eyes, trying to imagine the grappling hook he often saw in Batman movies or the Just Cause game. Nail gun, steel cable, retraction motor. "Okay, I'm imagining a rope gun. Simple, right?"
Dola shook her head. "Visual imagination is insufficient to hold our combined weight—approximately 130 kilograms—against gravitational and centrifugal forces during the swing. Master needs technical specifications."
Dola raised her index finger. "Ready to receive data package?"
Dayat winced. He had memorized this procedure. "Take it easy, Dol. My brain is still throbbing from yesterday's cassava recipe."
"This will be more complex than cassava. Hold your breath."
ZING!
Dayat recoiled. This time the sensation wasn't cold, but hot and sharp. It felt like a mechanical engineer was drawing blueprints directly behind his eyelids.
[DOWNLOADING PACKAGE: PNEUMATIC GRAPPLING LAUNCHER MK-II]
[Components: Air Compression Canister, Nano-Weave Steel Cable, Spring-Loaded Tungsten Hook.]
[Physics: Rope Tension Mechanics & Launch Kinetics.]
Dayat clutched his head, groaning long. "Ugh... crazy... did you just send a Mechanical Engineering thesis into my head?"
"Only the summary," Dola replied casually. "Now, manifest it. We don't have all day. The sun will soon dip, and the ravine winds will get stronger."
Dayat shook his head, trying to chase away the dizziness. He looked at his hand. He focused. He no longer imagined a "toy gun." He imagined the air pressure tank. He imagined the coil of thin but unbreakable steel wire. He imagined the hard trigger mechanism.
The Mana energy inside his body—which he now realized felt like a warm flow in his stomach—flowed into his arm. Purple light glowed, brighter and noisier this time. The sound of metal click-clacking assembling itself from thin air was audible.
Vwooom... Clank!
In Dayat's right hand, he now grasped a device that looked futuristic yet rugged. It was shaped like a large pistol with a double barrel, made of dull gray metal. There was a canister underneath hissing softly, and a wire coil at the back.
"Heavy..." Dayat complained. The tool probably weighed five kilos.
"Good," Dola commented. She took the tool from Dayat's hand, checking the mechanism with rapid movements. "Material density: Alloy steel. Air pressure: Optimal. Tungsten Hook: Sharp. Good work, Master."
Dola handed the tool back to Dayat.
"Huh? Why give it back to me?" Dayat was confused. "Aren't you the one jumping?"
"I will be jumping while carrying Master. But Master must do the shooting. My hands must be free to... secure the cargo."
"Cargo? You mean... me?"
"Affirmative. Now aim for the thickest branch on that tree across. Elevation angle 45 degrees."
Dayat raised the grappling weapon. His hands shook. He aimed at the giant tree branch across the ravine. It was far. If he missed, they were finished.
"Focus, Master," Dola whispered in his ear. "Inhale... Hold..."
BOOM!
Dayat pulled the trigger. The recoil was strong, almost dislocating his shoulder. A metal spike launched out with the speed of a bullet, dragging a thin steel cable behind it.
CLANG!
The sound of metal piercing wood rang out clearly, echoing off the canyon walls. The hook embedded itself deep into the branch across the way.
"Pull secondary trigger to lock," Dola instructed.
Dayat pressed a small button on the side. Zrrrt! The wire went taut. Dayat tugged on the tool. Solid. The tree didn't budge.
"Strong," Dayat said, a little proud. "Okay, now what?"
Dola didn't answer with words. She stepped forward, wrapped her strong left arm around Dayat's waist, and pulled his body until it pressed against hers.
"Huh? Hey!" Dayat was startled. His face crashed into Dola's shoulder.
"Hold tight onto my neck, Master. Do not let go of the launcher no matter what happens. Lock your thighs around my waist if necessary."
"T-this position is a bit..." Dayat stammered. Their position was incredibly intimate. Dayat was like a koala clinging to a tree, and the tree was a beautiful girl.
"No time for human embarrassment. Ready?"
Dola took a few steps back to get a running start. Dayat squeezed his eyes shut, hugged Dola's neck as hard as he could, and prayed to God.
"Start!"
Dola ran. One step, two steps, three steps.
And they jumped.
The sensation of falling made Dayat's stomach feel like it rose to his throat. The wind slammed into his face. For one second that felt like forever, they floated free above the ravine of death.
Then, the rope went taut.
Swooooosh!
Gravity turned into centrifugal force. Their bodies jerked forward, swinging in a giant arc above the river.
"OPEN YOUR EYES, MASTER!" Dola shouted amidst the roaring wind.
Dayat opened his eyes slightly. The view was terrifying yet breathtaking. He saw the foaming river far below his feet. He saw the cliff wall rushing past. And he saw Dola's face.
Dola didn't look scared. She looked... alive. Her eyes focused ahead, her hair fluttering, and there was a small grin on her lips—perhaps from system adrenaline, or perhaps because she enjoyed the sensation of flying.
But trouble struck at the lowest point of the swing.
CRACK!
The sound of splintering wood came from the other side.
"Dola! The tree!" Dayat shouted in panic.
"Detected! The hook is coming loose!" Dola responded instantly.
The branch where they anchored the hook turned out to be rotten on the inside. The hook shifted, causing their swing to jerk down two meters. The jolt made Dayat's grip on Dola's neck slip partially.
"AAAA!" Dayat slid down.
With reflexes surpassing machine limits, Dola tightened her embrace on Dayat's waist. Her grip was so strong Dayat felt his ribs might crush.
"I got you!" Dola yelled. "Don't let go of the gun!"
They continued swinging, but the trajectory dipped. They wouldn't land on flat ground. They were going to crash into the cliff wall below the ravine's edge.
"Impact in 3... 2..." Dola counted.
She rotated her body in mid-air, making her own back the cushion to protect Dayat.
BAM! CRASH!
They slammed into the bushes growing on the opposite cliff wall. Dola hit the ground first, rolled twice, shielding Dayat's head against her chest, before finally stopping after hitting a tree trunk.
Silence.
Only the sound of their ragged breathing could be heard.
Dayat opened his eyes. Blue sky was visible through the leaves. He was still alive. He was lying on top of Dola's body.
"Dol?" Dayat called out in panic. He immediately got up. "Dol, are you okay? Broken? Anything snapped?"
Dola lay still for a moment. Her eyes flickered, her blue light dimming then brightening again (visual system rebooting).
"Damage status..." Dola's voice was slightly glitchy, trembling. "Back armor... minor cracks. Balance sensor... offline temporarily. Structural integrity... 92%."
Dola tried to sit up, but she winced.
Yes, she winced. Her face showed a clear expression of pain. Her hand held her left shoulder which had hit the ground the hardest.
"Hurt?" Dayat asked stupidly. "You feel pain?"
Dola looked at her own shoulder. Her bodysuit was torn slightly, revealing white skin that was scratched and leaking a bit of red fluid.
"This is... an error signal from artificial nerves," Dola replied, trying to return to her logical mode, though her breath hitched. "The system provides tissue damage notifications in the form of pain impulses so I do not overuse this arm."
Dayat didn't care about the technical explanation. He saw blood—that red fluid—and he saw Dola who had just made her body a shield.
"You saved me again," Dayat said softly. He tore a strip off the bottom of his already grimy t-shirt. "Here, let me bandage it. Don't move."
Dayat cleaned the wound on Dola's shoulder carefully. Dola stayed silent, watching Dayat's serious face. The distance between them was very close again.
"Why does Master bother?" Dola asked. "Bio-Synthetic Units have Self-Repair features. This wound will close in 4 hours."
"I don't care," Dayat answered while wrapping the cloth. "You got hurt because of me. I take responsibility. Besides, what kind of husband lets his wife get scratched up after falling from the sky?"
Dola's eyes widened slightly hearing the word "husband".
[System Log: Keyword 'Husband' detected. Data association: Protection, Affection, Long-term Commitment.]
[Heart Response: 105 bpm. Warning: Facial temperature increasing.]
Dola felt her cheeks heat up. She didn't understand why. Was her facial cooling system damaged from the impact?
"The binding is done," Dayat said, stepping back slightly to look at his work. The bandage job was ugly and haphazard, but enough to cover the wound. "How is it? Still hurt?"
Dola moved her shoulder slowly. The pain was still there, but somehow, the pain felt... sweet? No, that was illogical. Pain is a negative signal.
"Left arm functionality returned to 85%," Dola reported, avoiding direct eye contact. She stood up, brushing leaves from her hair. "Thank you for the... manual repair, Master."
Dayat smiled in relief. He picked up the Grappling Gun lying not far from them. The tool was dented a bit, but still intact.
"This tool is pretty cool too," Dayat said. "Keep or toss?"
"Keep," Dola said. "Master's Mana energy is limited. Re-manifesting would be wasteful. We can repair it later."
They stood on the new cliff side. In front of them, the forest began to thin out. Sunlight looked brighter in the distance, signaling that the tree line would end soon.
"That..." Dayat pointed ahead. "Is that the edge of the forest?"
"Based on the Sector Delta map, yes. That is the border of the forest quarantine zone," Dola replied. "And beyond that, there should be remnants of an ancient highway leading to civilization."
Dayat sighed in relief. "Finally... civilization. I miss a mattress. I miss a roof."
"Do not let your guard down, Master," Dola reminded, returning to alert mode (though her cheeks were still slightly flushed, which she hid by turning her face away). "Borders are often gathering places for predators waiting for prey to exit the forest."
"Yes, Madam Commander," Dayat gave a playful salute, then walked ahead.
Dola stared at Dayat's back. She touched the dull cloth bandage on her shoulder. Her logic said the dirty cloth was unhygienic and inefficient. But the anomaly data in her "heart" forbade her from taking it off.
"Husband..." she whispered softly, trying to taste the word on her tongue.
"Dol! Come on! Stop daydreaming!" Dayat shouted from the front.
"Coming," Dola replied, jogging to catch up with the human who was slowly beginning to hack the firewall of her heart.