《A Candidate in the Gods' Game》 Chapter 1: Awakening as a Candidate It was the first time I had seen my oldest friend ¨C or really anyone ¨C in almost a year. I was finally returning home after a long week and she was there, sitting on my porch. I brought her in and we sat down at the table. It was awkward. My displeasure was settling in openly on my face, I sat arms crossed on my singular dining chair as my unwelcome visitor fidgeted awkwardly on my bar stool. She crossed her legs and then uncrossed them, adjusted her position and sat up tall. Her slender and tall figure could¡¯ve been mildly intimidating if she hadn¡¯t lost her confidence and posture when she attempted eye contact again. I rubbed my temple and ran my hands through my hair with a sigh, she flinched ever so slightly. ¡°Why are you here Caroline?¡± It was strange seeing her act that way and although I hadn¡¯t seen her in a year she had always been cool, confident, but today she was unnerved. ¡°W-well,¡± she winced as she stuttered out her response. ¡°I just had to come and make sure you were alright.¡± She followed her words with a smile that was strained briefly before it naturally settled into a more genuine one, if I hadn¡¯t known her most of my life I wouldn¡¯t have noticed it. I sat in silence, I was unconvinced. Things had been uncomfortable between the two of us for a while sure, but not to the point of her acting shady like this. I looked her over, she¡¯d gained some weight on her skinny frame and she was nicely toned. At first glance she looked put together, but I could tell she must have been having a rough time. I sighed, stood up and grabbed a couple glasses from my cupboard. ¡°Water or juice?¡± ¡°Water¡­ please.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t look like yourself, have you been having a hard time? Did you borrow Reid¡¯s clothes?¡± I tried to ask casually, despite myself I was worried about her. A small ember of anger echoing She just shows up on my doorstep like this after a year? As if nothing happened? In my head as it was fanned into a small flame. ¡°How has this last week treated you, things have been a bit crazy right?¡± I asked. Silence. ¡°God, I nearly killed myself trying to grind some levels in the Underhollow.¡± I paused to give her a chance to jump in, wondering if she just came to listen to me talk. I tried to make conversation. I was doing my best to ease the awkwardness and she wasn¡¯t giving me anything. ¡°What? Why are you acting like this? I¡¯m trying to be nice despite everything. Did you just come here because you and Nicole had a falling out or something? Like seriously this is-¡± Caroline¡¯s hands came crashing down on the table suddenly as she nearly lept off of her perch on the stool. Her pale face was getting more and more red as she screamed. ¡°You are so stupid! I knew you were reckless, but seriously Mia! What the hell? A week? It''s been a day! We became Candidates this time yesterday, and the first thing I did-¡± she choked as her words got caught in her throat. I stared, blinking a few times as I tried to process what she was saying. Yesterday? There¡¯s no way it¡¯s been just a day. I thought, but Caroline wasn¡¯t the type to lie about something like that. I pursed my lips as I pondered over the events I¡¯d been through that past week, or day¡­ ~~*~~ I had gotten caught up in painting again and a notification from an idle farming game on my phone brought me out of it. ¡°Your animals miss you!! - 2:48 A.M.¡±, before I knew it the early hours of the morning had crept up on me. With a sigh my brush found its home in an old stained plastic cup of water. My head cocked to the side as I studied the piece, yet again I failed to bring out her likeness. Defeated, I changed into a different old t-shirt and went to brush my teeth and clean my supplies before flopping into bed. It didn¡¯t take long before I was out. I looked bleary eyed at the system window that had suddenly appeared. It was floating in mid-air, just a few inches from my face. The words ¡°Congratulations! You have been selected as a Candidate.¡± were displayed in bold, white letters on it. ¡°What the¡­¡± I muttered to myself, as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. When I opened them again, it was still floating there glowing slightly. As the grogginess from sleep began to lift I had to admit to myself that this strange occurrence wasn¡¯t a dream. I sat up again and looked at the window bewildered. Without thinking about it I instinctively reached out to touch the window in front of me, and as soon as my hand made contact with it a heavy pressure hit me. It felt like the earth was trying to swallow me up, as if its gravity was consistently increasing on my body. As my vision began to blacken, I wondered if I was going to die. Gasping, I woke up looking around in a panic. A completely empty white space surrounded me, though rather than feeling sterile and cold like a hospital it was warm and comforting. It was strange but being here actually calmed me down. As I searched for a landmark of some kind or another window I noticed I was floating. It was a strange feeling, not being grounded at all. No pressure on my body to indicate being held up off of the ground; it felt like being in space drifting aimlessly, but somehow I could tell I wasn¡¯t drifting or moving at all, just hovering there in an endless white void. I tried to concentrate on moving or flying but only ended up flailing around. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± chuckles stating that they knew the Candidates would want to fly.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± encourages you to be patient as not every Candidate has connected yet.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± states that adding flying functionality to the candidate room would be a waste of resources.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± scoffs, reminding ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± that they had advised adding flight in this space.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± rebuts saying that this is a very briefly used space and does not warrant that ability.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± reminds them that the space has already been constructed so changes are not possible at this point.] Several windows began to appear in succession before me each with different designs to them, the windows that belonged to ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± were a light green decorated with wildflower adorned borders, ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡¯s¡± windows were a dark blue with an elegant design reminiscent of a theater from the early 1900¡¯s, lastly ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡¯s¡± windows were off white with only a small single line border in each of the corners. A chat room? And it seemed like whoever they were they could see me. How long had they been watching me? As I read through their conversation my opinion of what was happening shifted and ended up on the fence between death and some sort of supernatural selection, for what? I had no clue. The window had mentioned being a candidate so it seemed that they brought me here for a reason, but at that point they were just rambling amongst themselves. ¡°Hold on, stop, stop, can you guys explain what¡¯s going on here please?¡± I ran both of my hands through my hair as I asked, as I usually did when I felt overwhelmed or exasperated. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± touches their chin as if considering what to say.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± considers for a moment then lets you know that soon you will go through the process of becoming a Candidate and advises you to wait for the prompt to show up on the system window.] If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. After waiting for a bit I decided that the other chatter wouldn¡¯t be chiming in on my question and posed a new one, ¡°So what am I becoming a candidate for? What does a candidate even do? Why did I get selected?¡± a pause as I looked down at my floating body yet again, ¡°Did¡­ Am I dead?¡± [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± taps his notebook and asks his friends if the long or short version would be best.] Long or short? Can¡¯t you just answer at least the last one with a yes or no?! [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± and ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± share a look before telling ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± to keep it short.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± replies with a sigh and explains that after you go through the Candidate class selection you will be sent back to your world. He adds at the end that you will need to work hard and level up so you won¡¯t die.] Class selection? Leveling up? I groaned inwardly with frustration, why couldn''t they just give me a straight and complete answer? Well, while I don¡¯t know exactly what is going on at least I¡¯m a Candidate? Clearly some sort of danger was going to befall the world, not that I was too worried about that; there were plenty of hero types, they¡¯d handle the saving and lap up the attention while they were at it and I¡¯d take advantage of that to stay out of their limelight. The thing that concerned me most was that I would have to work hard to not die. Working hard itself was already bad enough but with the goal of survival I would have to actually be diligent. As I dreaded the undoubted grueling days ahead of me, the system window finally made its appearance. ¡°Please tell us about your preferred abilities, classes will be offered based on your explanation¡± A long pause of silence followed the appearance of the window, while I stared at the words dumbfounded. I¡­ I get to choose?! A sigh of relief escaped that I was unaware I was imprisoning. ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡±, ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡±, and ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± began encouraging me to start and giving suggestions on what I should ask for. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± excitedly states that becoming an archmage is a respectable path with many practical uses.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± suggests plant magic or healing abilities.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± says the most practical ability for a world containing humans is psychic abilities, like mind control.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± admonishes ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± for their evil intentions.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± argues that evil is subjective and psychic abilities have many uses.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± questions the specificity of mind control if Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡¯s intentions were innocent.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± states that their moral compass is irrelevant and that it was up to how you chose to use your skills.] The two of them continued to argue while I was considering what to ask for. ¡°I like time abilities, uhh psychic abilities would be nice too like mind reading or telekinesis. Oh also the ability to summon creatures or make familiars or something like that would be awesome, really would take a load off me. Using magic would also be good or being able to copy or steal abilities or stats. Uhh yeah¡­¡± ¡°Processing your preferences, while your skill options are being generated feel free to look over your status window¡±, beneath these words on the system window was a spinning white loading wheel. Hesitantly I squeaked out a ¡°status window¡± aloud, I felt a little silly and fought the urge to scan the surroundings for people. Of course no one else was there but me, well¡­ me and the mosaic of chat windows where ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± and ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± continued their argument. My status window was blue and plain like the system windows that I¡¯d seen up to this point, and contained several details about myself.
Status
Candidate Mia Burke Level 1
Title -- XP 0/100
Health 60/60 Mana 70/70
Strength 4 Dexterity 5
Constitution 6 Intelligence 7
Unallocated Stat Points 0
Skills -- Passives --
Titles --
There¡¯s less here than I expected, it seems like my strength is pretty low, no surprises there. I wonder- my thoughts were cut off when ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡¯s¡± dark blue chat box caught my attention. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± smiles and nods praising your base stats.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± snickers while pointing out that your strength is below average.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± shoots a look at them and says that the skills you requested aren¡¯t strength based anyways.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± jeers at ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± stating that strength is still important even if it isn¡¯t the main stat you¡¯ll be using.] Before they could begin another argument I had to jump in, ¡°So if 4 is below average, what''s the average?¡± [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± states that the average for any stat is 5, but it is not the norm for people to have 5 in each stat and having two stats above average is rare.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± reminds you that you have the right to be proud of your status window.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± sighs complai-] Before I could read the rest of what ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± had to say several windows appear detailing various generated options, above all of them is a window that read ¡°Please select a class below:¡± I skimmed through the various windows: time manipulation, psychic abilities, summoning, skill copying, magic and various windows with a mixture of the original abilities either with two or three skills from multiple categories. It was a little overwhelming how many options there were. The classes were catered towards what I asked for but none of them felt right. The main thing I was looking for in a class was ease of use, flexibility, and survivability. If the class isn''t flexible enough it would make it hard for me to exploit any loopholes I found. I couldn¡¯t help but feel like the options I had either had low early combat power or wouldn¡¯t have much room for growth later on. ~~*~~ Familiar Master Skills: Familiar Creation: User is able to create familiars that will obey them. The user and familiars all share a soul bond and can communicate through it. The familiars will have their own soul and are independent living creatures with their own skill progression. User can view familiars¡¯ status windows by saying ¡°familiar status window¡±. Familiar Evolution: Alternative to Familiar Creation. User manually evolves a familiar, giving it a boost in stats by 3 points and acquiring a new skill. Description: Every 50 levels the user is able to create a new familiar or can choose to evolve an existing familiar. The familiar will take shape based on the user¡¯s preferences. Experience is shared between user and familiar. The familiar does not need mana to maintain its form as it is a living creature, if the familiar runs out of mana it will substitute the user''s mana. Familiars cannot be revived upon death, a new familiar will be created when activating Familiar Creation again. ~~*~~
Base Familiar Status
Familiar Name Level 1
Experience 0/100
Health 30/30 Mana 30/30
Strength 3 Dexterity 3
Constitution 3 Intelligence 3
Unallocated Stat Points 2
Skills -- Passives Continuous Evolution
My eyes must have lit up when I read through this class, most of the other classes were not well rounded at all. Some people might prefer to be excellent at one thing, but that just really wasn¡¯t attractive to me, trust some people I barely know with my life? Die because I focused on one role? No thank you. ¡°Hey, isn''t this a little lacking compared to the others? The rest of them get three or more skills but this one you only really have one skill and it''s just getting a new familiar every 50 levels?¡± I asked half expecting a response and half not. After a moment a new window popped up in front of me. [ Processing Request. ] A small loading wheel displayed under the text. Chapter 2: Awakening as a Candidate Part Two Satisfied they were looking into it I turned to ask something I¡¯d been wondering for a while, ¡°So who or what are you guys?¡± [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± grins devilishly and proclaims that they could tell you but then they¡¯d have to kill you.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± rolls her eyes calling ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± immature.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± informs you that they are celestial gods, and adds that other candidates might not have gods to converse with during this process.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± states that the three of them are friends and chose to support you together.] I pondered on their responses for a moment, I never expected to be chatting casually with celestial gods, or well any gods except after I died maybe. The concept of them just deciding to support me together made me a little wary though. I was a pretty normal woman, I had an average life and I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be much more interesting than anyone else. For a couple seconds I wondered what their criteria was, and how it led them to me. ¡°So why me?¡± I asked. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± states that you were the best candidate, somewhat isolated so there would be less interference from other humans, not particularly too kind or mean.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± disagrees, saying her reason was that she thought you were cute and nice.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± states that you¡¯re interesting, and occasionally surprise them.] Well, those are definitely decent reasons. I¡¯m glad it¡¯s not something like they want me to rule the world or kill someone or something. Low expectations are good. ¡°So then¡­ what is happening now?¡± [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± states simply that you¡¯re a candidate.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± tells you that you¡¯ll be participating in the game.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± says that the other two aren¡¯t detailed enough and you are bound to have more questions if they explain it that way. They continue saying that gods can sponsor candidates or contract with them. Sponsoring is basically just gift giving, while contracts can come with very substantial rewards and restrictions.] The Playwright¡¯s explanation both resolved my curiosity and stirred it up more. I was thankful for the details, but now I had new questions about sponsorships and contracts. What would they be giving in both of these situations, and what would be expected in return? I assumed that sponsorships were basically like donating to a stream because you enjoyed the content, but what could humans give to celestial beings? [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± recommends you not enter into contracts and reminds the other two of their previous agreement.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± complains that they don¡¯t need a reminder since contracts aren¡¯t any fun and they prefer to watch the decision making processes of humans naturally.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± calls ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± a liar and declares that they have already formed contracts with several humans.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± grins as they say oops you caught me! While lightly bonking their own head and pulling a face.] ¡°APPROVED¡± a large system window materializes in front of their argument with the updated details of the Familiar Master class. There weren¡¯t really many changes, the existing skills were adjusted and a new skill was added. ~~*~~ Skills: Familiar Creation: User is able to create familiars that will obey them. The user and familiars all share a soul bond and can communicate through it. The familiars will have their own soul and are independent living creatures with their own skill progression. User can view familiars¡¯ status windows by saying ¡°familiar status window¡±. (Level 1, and every 50 levels after that) Familiar Evolution: Alternative to Familiar Creation. User manually evolves a familiar, giving it a boost in stats by 3 points and acquiring a new skill. Familiar Skill Sharing(Growth type): User can learn skills their familiar uses and execute them to the degree that they understand them. (Level 20) ~~*~~ I sighed and went to war in my head over whether or not to choose this option; it was vague compared to other classes but realistically it was compatible with my personality. The idea of having teammates that I could wholeheartedly trust as well as the ability to ask them to level up on their own, it was all very tempting. Plus there weren''t any real limitations other than how often I could create familiars. The one thing that gave me pause was that it almost seemed too good. Where was the catch? The thing about them never reviving sucked but as long as I played it safe that wouldn¡¯t be an issue. Also familiars using my mana once they are out of theirs is better than the summoning and necromancy options where they¡¯d be draining my mana consistently. Though I would lose the numbers advantage. ¡°Ah, whatever. I''ll choose this one.¡± I tapped the select button at the bottom of the window containing the Familiar Master class. There was no going back now. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± loses their composure laughing heartily; they manage to say through the laughter this is how it should be, how entertaining. They proclaim that they like humans like you.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± is excited saying he is looking forward to the new data he can study from your class.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± congratulates you on your choice and asks if you have a familiar in mind.] If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. A new chat box appeared among the familiar three, a dark gray box with angular black border, the text read [¡°General among Flames¡± offers a contract.] The other three boxes filled with words of protest and complaints. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± complains that ¡°General among Flames¡± has awful manners.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± grumbles that if you sign a contract it will interfere with his research.] Why would that affect the Seeker¡¯s research? Bad manners? I ultimately came to the conclusion that the General was stepping on the other gods¡¯ toes. They had staked a claim in me and he was messing with whatever plans came along with it. The gods had mentioned some sort of agreement earlier, likely that none of them would try to contract with me, so this rogue god appearing and offering a contract probably wasn¡¯t in their plans. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± encourages their friends to be more colorful with their insults. They suggest calling ¡°General among Flames¡± a bunch of redacted text.] [¡°General among Flames¡± questions the three¡¯s reason for getting so upset, if they wanted this human they should have claimed you with a contract.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± rolls their eyes and spits out curses, not all of us are selfish little bitch boys like him being a snake in their garden and treating humans like cattle. Coming in here and trying to interfere with their plans. One or two more swears here.] ¡°How do I look at the details of the contract?¡± I asked, I wasn¡¯t really considering accepting it, but reading through it might glean something interesting. The word contract began to glow slightly and I clicked on it in response. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± yells that you really shouldn¡¯t sign one, expressing that they can help you with anything you might need.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± chastises ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± and tells you that they cannot help with anything you might need.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± adds that you will have to do things on your own, they weren¡¯t planning to pamper you.] [¡°General among Flames¡± ignores them adding that you should feel honored for getting an offer from him.] Skimming over the contract I could see why ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± described contracts as rewarding and restricting, while the conditions seemed good the requirements that would be put on me were unclear and could easily be exploited at a later date. I would get an initial boost of stat points as well as a class related to ¡°General among Flames¡±, but would also be expected to obey orders given by him and raise his prestige. Particularly there were some portions of the contract that required me to provide tributes to him in the future once I¡¯d reached a ¡®certain status¡¯. They also required me to publicly praise him as my Patron god and there were specific requirements on how often I would have to appear publicly as a representative of him. It also required me to participate in events related to him, but left out the specifics about what the events would be or what I would be required to do in them. It was way too vague, and basically seemed like a glorified slave contract to be his lackey and mascot. Not to mention the class was basically a glorified flame elemental swordsman so there were little benefits for me. I could just create familiars with these traits if I wanted these skills that badly. Once I finished reading it I considered rejecting it, but thought I might as well take advantage of the situation to get a few answers. ¡°Excuse me, ¡®General among Flames¡¯ I have a couple questions. Is there any room for negotiation on the terms of the contract?¡± I asked. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± whines that you have no reason to sign it anyway.] [¡°General among Flames¡± expresses that the terms are pretty strict but if there is a specific thing you¡¯d like you could request it. He offered, maybe a cosmetic change or a basic skill like tracking or enhanced vision.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± asks if those would be significant enough to sway a decision.] ¡°Hm¡­ then could you expand on what it means by ¡®certain status¡¯?¡± [¡°General among Flames¡± frowns saying that the terms are as clear as possible.] ¡°It¡¯s difficult for me to sign something I don¡¯t understand though. What about the tributes, if you can¡¯t explain the status portion, at least what I¡¯d have to provide would make me feel better.¡± I waited for half a minute, there was no response. I assumed that was all I would get out of him unfortunately. I regretted not asking questions I was more curious about first. Things about how the world was changing, why, and if we were even going back to earth after the place I was in. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± agrees that transparent contracts are safer, stating that they would never trick anyone into an unfair agreement. They always put all the details in plain words.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± rolls her eyes at them, saying that just because you wrote it plainly doesn¡¯t mean you aren¡¯t tricking naive and ignorant humans.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± agrees that writing it plainly in clear terms is fine, and doesn¡¯t understand what ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± is complaining about.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± smiles triumphantly.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± explains that ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± isn¡¯t using it in the way ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge" thinks though.] I watched the three of them argue for a moment about contracts and ethics. Watching the Painter call humans stupid in the politest way I¡¯d ever seen made me feel gross. The Seeker seemed to just not understand the nuances of contracts and how they could be exploited, while the Playwright was stating strongly that they were always fair in their contracts. Strangely enough, I didn¡¯t believe for one second that the Playwright had ever written a fair contract. Ultimately after a minute of letting them stew I just shrugged and refused the contract. [¡°General among Flames¡± voices disapproval saying you will regret it.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± taunts ¡°General among Flames¡± calling him a typical villain that disappears in the first half of a plot.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± asks if ¡°General among Flames¡± knows anything about his contractors and complains that you and him aren¡¯t compatible in the first place.] [¡°General among Flames¡± argues that having many contractors is beneficial and looks down his nose at them as he leaves.] ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t expect him to be so upset that I rejected him.¡± I said nervously as I rubbed the back of my neck. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± curses ¡°General among Flames¡± while telling you not to mind that scoundrel.] ¡°So¡­ uh the Playwright likes to trick people into unfavorable contracts?¡± I asked, mainly curious on what is offered and required in their contracts. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± grasps at their chest, pretending to be emotionally wounded by your comments.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± glares at them before agreeing with you.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask'''' protests that they explained their contracts plainly, it wasn''t their fault if the person didn¡¯t know how to spot a bad deal.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± crosses their arms, stating that they have not done anything wrong.] ¡°Okay. Sure, but outside of that, what are we waiting on? Why are we in this area anyways?¡± I asked, sweeping my arms out gesturing at the empty space around me. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± explains that we are waiting on all humans to complete the awakening process and the changes to be applied to your world.] ¡°Changes? What changes?¡± [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± tells you that you¡¯ll find out soon and asks you to be a little patient.] I grumbled, patience had never been my strong suit. ¡°Wait, so why do we need to wait for all humans to finish their awakening? Can¡¯t I just go back once I¡¯m done and the world is¡­ ready?¡± [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± expresses it wouldn¡¯t be fair for some humans to get a head start.] ¡°That¡¯s not a head start. It¡¯s just a reward for making your mind up quickly.¡± [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± agrees with you stating that it would be more fun if people returned at different times.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± expresses that it would have been best, like he¡¯d said in the first place, to have humans go into an unconscious state until everything is ready to start.] ¡°You know, I think I agree with you, Seeker. I would have been bored out of my mind if I didn¡¯t have the three of you to talk to.¡± A loud ding rang out and the heavy pressure returned. Rather than fighting it as I did the first time I tried to relax and accept it naturally. It was still uncomfortable but this time I felt like I was sinking slowly into the ocean. My consciousness slipped away as I sunk deeper and deeper. Chapter 3: The First Familiar I woke up to the familiar sight of the popcorn ceiling in my bedroom, a relic from the fifties. A spot of soft morning light was slipping off of the bright peachy wall onto my wooden drawing desk. Cold sweat had accumulated on my forehead and slid down my face as I sat up. I untangled my legs from blankets that had retreated to the foot of my bed during the night and got up. The cold laminate wood flooring was littered with my collection of pillows and stuffed animals, casualties of my restless sleep throughout the night. For a split second I considered the possibility that it was all a vivid dream.¡°Status window¡± I called out to the empty room.
Status
Candidate Mia Burke Level 1
Equipped Title -- XP 0/100
Health 60/60 Mana 70/70
Strength 4 Dexterity 5
Constitution 6 Intelligence 7
Unallocated Stat Points 0
Skills -- Passives --
Titles --
Immediately after I opened the status window I got bombarded with messages from gods, some familiar and some not with various requests. Some were asking me to summon my first familiar, others wanted me to go look for enemies to fight, and a few new gods were offering contracts. I ignored them all. With a sigh of relief I grabbed an old shirt from the top of my laundry pile to wipe my face, although I yearned to take a shower I was much too impatient to wait any longer to use my skill for the first time. The instructions in the skill for summoning a familiar weren¡¯t that clear, I already had an idea in mind for the familiar but wasn¡¯t sure how to ¡®activate¡¯ the skill. The gods were complaining since I wasn¡¯t telling them what my plans were for the first familiar, but a part of me wanted to keep it secret. Maybe to take back control of a fragment of my privacy again, or to get even these gods that refused to answer my questions. At that point the gods seemed to have grown tired of asking questions directly and devolved to chanting. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± chants tell us!] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± chants tell us!] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± chants tell us!] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± chants Chug! Chug! Chug!] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne" chants tell us!] I looked at the Playwright sideways before saying ¡°Just wait a moment and you¡¯ll see!¡± smiling to myself when my small revenge was met with complaints from the gods. Concentrating on the idea of my new familiar I shouted ¡°Familiar Creation!¡±. When I opened my eyes I found a ball of light about the size of a basketball suspended in front of me. A cacophony of messages erupted in the space behind it and my ecstasy about my new familiar quickly fell to embarrassment. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± falls to the floor laughing hysterically and occasionally shouting Familiar Creation before collapsing into laughter again.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± covers her smile with her hand and advises you against shouting the skill name.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± chuckles and says that shouting the skill is common among humans and tells you not to worry.] My face flushed and I was never more glad than I was at that moment to live alone in the middle of the sticks. Don¡¯t get me wrong I loved living away from people, life out here was serene and almost no one ever bothered me, save for an old friend who couldn''t get the hint that I wasn¡¯t interested in that relationship anymore. I was about to defend myself when the light radiating from my new familiar changed from white to a warm gold. Excitement and anticipation filled my chest as the ball began to take form. Its vague limbs and body started to become more defined, it was chubby with a large head, small frill lining its back, a set of wings that it had wrapped around itself and a fat tail with a rounded tip. The light subsided and it began to uncurl, reflexively I lurched forward to catch it. Clutching it, arms extended like picking up a house cat, its back legs hanging loosely while its arms were draped over my own with gecko-like sticky pads gripping me. However its limbs resembled mammals like dogs or cats more than lizards. Warm gold scales enveloped the majority of its body, they weren¡¯t quite rose gold but it would be hard to categorize them as typical yellow gold either. A rounded bronze line colored the frill and surrounding scales on its back as well as two shorter lines parallel on either side while its belly was white from its chest tapering to a thin strip under its tail. Large round eyes reminiscent of molten silver were set front facing into a wide rounded head that tilted slightly when we made eye contact. Oh my god! So cute!! What a fat head! So plump! I heard a young voice reply, I stopped myself just before I started to look for the source of the noise, it was in my head. Good, I¡¯m glad my master is also aware of my greatness. I am a dragon, I¡¯m attractive, intelligent, talented, and strong. Well¡­ master is also intelligent for creating me. The dragon adjusted awkwardly in my hands as if to sit up tall and pointed its nose in the air confidently flaring its wings out to the side. Oh so this is what it meant when it said we could communicate through the soul bond. I thought as I sat the dragon on the bed and squatted in front of it, as I was thinking about it the familiar status window appeared above the young dragon''s head.
Status
Familiar Name Level 1
Experience 0/100
Health 30/30 Mana 30/30
Strength 3 Dexterity 3
Constitution 3 Intelligence 3
Unallocated Stat Points 0
Skills Basic Elemental Attack Passives Continuous Evolution
This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Okay, let''s start by allocating your extra stat to intelligence since you¡¯ll be using magic. That way you¡¯ll have 40 mana, what do you think?¡± I asked, lightly pinching at the dragon¡¯s pudge. I was making the assumption about intelligence and mana being intrinsically linked like that but I thought it was highly likely. I had 70 mana and 7 intelligence and the familiar¡¯s mana was 30 with 3 intelligence, it tracked. Of course as a dragon I must have an unmatched amount of mana! The dragon proclaimed happily. As I added the point into intelligence I continued making conversation, ¡°Well you know you have slightly more than half the amount of mana I do?¡± Yeah?! Well¡­ well so what? You¡¯re my master of course you¡¯d have more mana! They stuttered grumpily and turned away. Smiling, I clicked on their Basic elemental attack skill. ~~*~~ Basic Elemental Attack Description: Creates a projectile that is 2.5 inches in diameter, costs 5 mana. Projectile is made of an element depending on the user''s intention. Available Elements: Fire, water, wind, earth Mastery: 20% ~~*~~ ¡°Huh, you already have a 20% mastery over this skill. As expected of a dragon.¡± I said sweetly and patted the dragon¡¯s head. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± mutters under his breath 20% how interesting, must compare to future familiars and Mia¡¯s skill sharing in the future. He trails off talking about statistics and race buffs.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± stops scribbling furiously in his journal and asks if you would go outside so the dragon can demonstrate the skill.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± advises you to find a worthy enemy to fight, she asserts that fighting with your life on the line is the most efficient way to learn skills.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± expresses concern over your safety.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± agrees with ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡±.] I had been inspecting the dragon as they talked, playing with its toe pads, squishing its fat in various areas, scratching along its jawline, and opening its wings. As I did it made a low thrumming sound, it almost felt like I could feel it within my own chest. I couldn¡¯t help but think that it didn¡¯t seem built for battle with how soft it was, it didn¡¯t have horns or claws like typical dragons. I do have claws! The dragon protested, lifting its front paw as it brandished retractable claws. They¡¯re sharp too, watch! ¡°Wait! No-no need I believe you.¡± I exclaimed and scooped up the dragon to protect the bed. ¡°Well before we do anything else we should decide on a name for you don¡¯t you think?¡± Yes, I need a fitting name for a noble being like myself. Its words and actions didn¡¯t match, as it looked more like an excited puppy than a noble dragon. ¡°Hmm¡­ okay what about Sunspot?¡± No, absolutely not! Its sentiment was echoed by the gods, I never had a good naming sense. Usually I would spend time researching names, but I couldn¡¯t put off naming this pup til then. ¡°Saffron?¡±, the dragon¡¯s eyes narrowed, ¡°okay then Talon? Tawny?¡± The dragon shook its head and wriggled out of my arms and onto the floor. I briefly considered waiting for some time before naming it but just couldn¡¯t when I looked at the disappointed dragon making its way to the door. ¡°Oh! Actually there was something¡­ when I was¡­ oh where is it?¡± I was noisily searching through the papers in my desk drawer, making a mess and throwing some of them on the floor behind me when they got in the way. ¡°Ah ha! Here it is! How about Aureus?¡± I asked, holding a paper that was filled with notes written in various directions all over it. I didn¡¯t plan to admit that the name was one I came up with while researching for a character I created for fun. While I enjoy the distance from the rest of humanity, I still miss some of the comforts that they provided. I enjoyed detailed story based games and every time I decided to start a new game or campaign I spent hours fleshing out a character before starting. It helped curb the loneliness since I didn¡¯t have any pets to comfort me anymore. Aureus? Hmm yes, I think Aureus is an excellent choice. Aureus perked up and spun around to look at me while praising the name I picked out. ¡°It means golden in latin. It suits you.¡± I kicked some laundry out of the way and opened the door into the living room. Wow there''s so much space in here! Aureus exclaimed darting under the couch. It really wasn''t a large room, it was just mostly empty, I didn¡¯t receive guests so other than the couch and the coffee table I really didn¡¯t need anything else in there. Aureus subsequently emerged tripping and adorned with a forgotten scarf that must have been under it for at least half a year. I should help him out of that so he doesn¡¯t destroy it out of annoyance. I thought to myself while unwrapping the scarf from Aureus¡¯ legs. I¡¯m not an animal, I won¡¯t just destroy your things for such a petty reason. Aureus states matter of factly. Ah, now that I think about it I never asked about Aureus¡¯ gender. Mia paused looking down at Aureus who was rolling the scarf into a ball. Of course I¡¯m male didn¡¯t you already consider me one? He remarked as he awkwardly tottled on his hind legs to place the scarf ball on the coffee table. I wasn¡¯t originally, but now I¡¯m male. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± asks you to read Aureus¡¯ passive.] ~~*~~ Continuous Evolution Description: The familiar will constantly evolve based on multiple factors, mainly according to its masters preference, its own preferences and personality, and first hand experience. It will also evolve as it levels up and gains more power, this will mainly result in physical and skill changes. ~~*~~ ¡°Huh, so I think that his gender was determined because I saw the name Aureus as masculine. Maybe¡­ Probably?¡± [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± says that this is an interesting development and asks Aureus if he feels any different.] What do you mean? I feel great, I''m with my Master. He responds sitting back and looking around towards the sky. A smile unfolded on my face, I could barely contain my joy, my familiar was likely the cutest existence ever. Forgotten emotions of familial love surging back to the surface. I cradled Aureus as I made my way towards the door, but stopped just short. ¡°Wait, my phone¡± I trailed off as I patted the place where my right pocket should be and realized I was still in my sleeping shirt. ¡°Ah well I guess I need proper clothes.¡± I grabbed a t-shirt with the words ¡°Stanley¡¯s Carry Out BBQ¡±, it was speckled with pink, blue and green paint spots from art projects done throughout the years. Pulling on some slightly oversized cargo pants I slid my phone, a water bottle and a couple granola bars into my pockets. I cinched the pants at my waist, tied my sneakers and grabbed my hiking bag that I rarely used on the way out. As I closed the door behind me I paused again, ¡°Wait, I still don¡¯t know where I¡¯m going.¡± Chapter 4: A Long Hike and an Unexpected Opponent I stood at the base of a mountain, craning my neck and shielding my eyes from the early morning sun as I examined the steep slope. The mountain was wrapped in a thick blanket of trees seemingly to spite me. As far as I could tell there was no trail in this section of the mountain. I had never been to this area, so I wasn¡¯t really familiar with it either. I had already walked half a mile from home and was sticky with sweat. Suffice to say I was dreading the daunting task of hiking off the beaten path to find the entrance to the Underhollow that ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± led me to. Well led was a bit inaccurate, it seemed we were skirting around the rules as we found it mainly by playing hot and cold, or maybe they just wanted to mess with me either way its location was so inconvenient. The Underhollow as explained by the gods was a complex cave system they added in the earth¡¯s crust to contain monsters, puzzles, dungeons, and treasures. Every god added whatever suited their tastes wherever they wanted, as long as it wasn''t within the territory of a dungeon. Dungeons had more structure, there were dungeons spread throughout the Underhollow and at the center of every dungeon was a tower that Candidates like me and Adventurers could challenge in exchange for larger sums of experience. The gods didn''t say explicitly that the tower itself was more dangerous than other areas, but that was what I was assuming anyways. Dungeons were often found in huge caverns that can span hundreds or thousands of miles, however not all of the huge caverns contained dungeons. The deeper one ventured into the Underhollow the more higher level and difficult enemies they would face. Though going down into lower elevations would yield significantly more dangerous areas than just various exploration further away from the entrance. I asked about the difference between Candidates and Adventurers but was only met with some basic information I could¡¯ve guessed on my own. I guess I really wasn¡¯t going to get much out of them about it. To sum it up, Adventurers don¡¯t have the right to be sponsored by gods, but they can get contracts. They also get skills that they can level up rather than actual classes. Some of the gods suggested I go ¡®collect¡¯ some Adventurers as ¡®lackeys¡¯, it seems like there¡¯s yet another hierarchy among humans. Out of everything the gods explained the thing I feared most was losing my way while in the Underhollow. Groaning, I began my trek up the mountain. Aureus had taken up residence on my shoulder, standing occasionally and grabbing my head for balance. I wondered how trees were even able to grow with the ground at such an angle. It didn¡¯t take long for me to get irritable. A toddler in the form of a dragon pulling my hair and asking question after question about the world and me and him and everything! That¡¯s not even mentioning the livechat that was constantly prodding at me whenever there was a chance. ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask '''' making jabs about how the strength stat was clearly important. ¡°Traveling Spring Painter '''' meant well but her fussing over my health was driving me up the wall, er or mountain. After what felt like four hours I finally gave in to frustration and exhaustion and collapsed on a rock. I laid back and closed my eyes to rest a moment. The light behind my eyelids disappeared as a small paw stepped onto my face, its toes pressed into my mouth and I sat up sputtering. ¡°Aureus!¡± Quiet! There¡¯s something here. Aureus was flying in place looking behind me and slightly to my left, this was the first time I saw him so serious. My anger was quickly chased out by anxiety. His pupils were narrowed to a slit and didn¡¯t waver. I followed his gaze, but was unable to see anything amiss. ¡°I don-¡± SHH! Stop talking Okay, sorry but Aureus I don¡¯t see anything, maybe you heard a raccoon or something? There really shouldn¡¯t be any dangerous animals around here. My gaze wandered from him to the area he was focused on, and I saw it. A pair of amber eyes slowly gliding between the trees, just twenty feet away. Panic was settling into my bones. A mountain lion? Why is a mountain lion this far east? What was the saying what do you do when you see a mountain lion play dead? No that was definitely for a bear- Master, calm down, it''s just a single animal. Does it have a pack? Will it call them if we attack it? A pack? Hah, no mountain lions hunt alone, there won¡¯t be anything coming to attack us even if we make a lot of noise. Probably. I really didn¡¯t expect to see a mountain lion here. Then, can I engage in battle? What? Oh yes, but you shouldn¡¯t use fire. It may be difficult to do a lot of damage without the use of fire though master. It¡¯s fine, it would be more dangerous if we got caught in a forest fire. Or well you might be alright since you¡¯re a dragon but I definitely won¡¯t. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± informs you that killing wildlife will not grant you any experience.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± suggests you scare it away.] The lion had closed the distance and I finally saw it clearly, it was clearly underweight. Which explains a lot, mountain lions rarely approach humans and it is out of its typical habitat. Aureus, use a basic earth elemental attack while I yell at it to scare it off. But we can definitely win if we want to. There¡¯s no need to waste mana on something that won¡¯t get us any experience. I don¡¯t know how far the entrance to the Underhollow is but I¡¯d like to be prepared just in case. Plus they told us about the Underhollow but they refused to answer when I asked if the monsters could leave it so it would be bad if we met actual monsters with low mana. Okay I understand. I stepped forward and threw my hands up in the air trying to appear confident and big and just, well, not worth the risk. I started yelling ¡°Just go away! Get out of here! Get-¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. A baseball sized chunk of earth and rocks whizzed past my ear and slammed against its shoulder as it flinched away from me. On impact it fell on its side and rolled a few times down the side of the mountain, as it got up it hissed at us and limped away. We remained static for a while until the receding silhouette of the lion had completely disappeared on the horizon. As the tension was released from my muscles I exhaled deeply, apparently I had been holding her breath. ¡°You did an excellent job!¡± I praised Aureus and pulled him into a hug. I gazed up at the mountain ahead wondering where that stupid entrance was, nevertheless we had to march on. The rest of the hike was mostly uneventful, outside of Aureus discovering a new pastime of terrorizing squirrels. After an hour we ended up at a tall cliff face, if she followed it to the left the trek up the mountain would continue and to the right the cliff seems to continue for tens of feet. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± says that you should not at all look for a hidden entrance since there aren¡¯t any.] Exhausted, sweat covered and weak legged I collapsed and gulped down water. ¡°Aureus, can you look for the cave entrance? It might be disguised in some way on this cliff.¡± I asked as I leaned my head against the rocks behind me. The sun had already risen high in the sky and though it was September it was still sweltering. The air was thick, and humid. The mountain abuzz with the sound of insects and song birds. With a lullaby of nature''s own making, I drifted into a light sleep. ~~*~~ I woke up with a start, shocked by a slimy dead squirrel that Aureus had apparently dropped in my lap. Aureus looked up at me expectantly. Picking up the animal with two fingers by the scruff of its neck I returned it to him. I wiped my hands on my pants, patted Aureus and stood up trying not to scowl. ¡°So you hunted that all on your own huh? You¡¯re getting better.¡± I brought it back for you, aren¡¯t you hungry? He asked, teetering on his hind legs as he held it up in his paws, he was innocently asking me to eat a spit covered dead squirrel. It was upsettingly cute. I¡¯m still unsure of what my expression was but I tried to smile as I responded, I can¡¯t eat that, humans don¡¯t really uhh eat squirrels. Well I mean some... but that isn''t the point, it''s got your saliva all ove- Ah, I mean I already brought some food for myself. Do you want it? Are you sure? It was hard to catch. I don''t know how long it would take me to get another. He asked with a concerned expression, he hesitated for a moment but I think he saw that I was clearly not interested in eating it so he gobbled it down happily. ¡°So did you find the entrance?¡± Aureus¡¯ eyes widened and then darted downwards as he pushed rocks around with his feet. Uh well I uh¡­ No, I haven''t found it yet. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± assures you he searched the front of the cliff while you slept.] ¡°Okay well then let''s at least walk the full length of it, did you go around the bend at all?¡± Ah, I didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t want to go too far. ¡°Well then let¡¯s start there.¡± I said as I grabbed my bag and water bottle from the ground where I¡¯d slept. As we rounded the corner it was immediately obvious that this was the entrance to the Underhollow. An alcove enclosed by foreign symbols carved into the rock was only a couple feet from the edge of where the two cliff faces met. The archway was wide enough for several people to enter abreast, stairs descending into the darkness within it. I ran my fingers across the carvings and they lit up with a faint purple glow. It was beautiful, it reminded me of the aurora borealis. Aureus smacked a symbol at the bottom which glowed brighter as the light rippled through the surrounding symbols with a slight low wheeenngg. The purple light particles were awe inspiring and starkly contrasted the dark stairwell behind them, just looking into it gave her an eerie feeling of unease. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± congratulates you on being the first one to find this entrance, while he collects some ???????????????? from other gods and distributes it out to others.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± smiles as she says she knew you could find it!] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± states that what she actually meant was that she knew Aureus wouldn¡¯t find it first.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± ignores "Whispering Playwright behind a Mask" and encourages you to go in.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± curses and throws her glass at the wall.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± complains that he really thought the dragon would be able to find it. He exclaims that it was so close!] ¡°Wow¡­¡± my fingers traveled along the arc of the opening purple symbols lighting in my wake. I definitely would have spent a good bit of time playing with the light and inspecting the entrance had it not been for the uproar of complaints to go down quickly. I took a faltering first step down onto the stairs, rows of purple flames flared along the walls one after the other. I flinched at the sudden change. The stairs that seemed to descend forever were made from perfectly cut square bricks. Bricks also made up the walls and ceiling, but were cut into more organic shapes. All of the bricks in the stairwell were made of a different kind of rock than the cliff it was set in, rather than a pale gray they were medium gray with a slight tinge of blue. Condensation dripped down the walls despite the dry chill in the air and was lapped up by deep green creeping vines that sprawled across them. In some of the corners of steps there were carpets of bright blue moss soaking up any moisture that managed to reach them. And all of it bathed in a light purple light from the simple black sconces that lined my path forward. [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± whistles at the sight asking "Whispering Playwright behind a Mask" how much time they spent on this.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± straightens their suit pointing their nose up into the air, but doesn''t respond.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± pulls out a notebook flipping through it before saying they spent quite a sum of materials and several days just setting up the aesthetics of this entrance.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± begins chasing ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± snatching at his notebook.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± continues while evading ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± saying that several spells were put in place to insure the ambiance was to their preferences, including spells for the runes at the entrance and a chilling spell to make you feel cold without changing the temperature.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± finally steals the notebook but gets tackled by "Seeker of Magic and Knowledge".] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± separates the two of them and smacks the backs of their heads.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± glares at ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± as he tucks his book safely away.] ¡°Do you guys usually fight like kids?¡± I asked when the chaos in the chat windows subsided. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± clears his throat and apologizes for exposing you to something unsightly, but also blames ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± for being petty.] ¡°So how does this compare to other entrances? Is this one really that nice?¡± I continued the descent while pondering on the quality of the entrance. I mean the construction is nice and I was pleasantly surprised there were light sources but it''s damp and chilly and looks a bit unkempt. Well I suppose it is wild in a beautiful way. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± scoffs and in a mocking tone repeats, is this one really that nice before calling humans shortsighted and ungrateful.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± states that it is a much nicer entrance compared to others and wonders aloud if she should send her contractors here.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± sulks in the corner mumbling about color schemes, ambiance, and theatrics.] ¡°No I, I mean I wasn¡¯t saying it like that! The entrance really surpassed my expectations, the purple flames are such a nice touch!¡± I was looking at the chat windows waiting for a response when Aureus roared OOH! The bottom! Finally we can see the bottom of the stairs! As he jumped over a couple stairs at a time on his way down to the landing. I was shocked at how fast we reached the bottom, sure we had been walking for a while but it looked much deeper than this. I followed Aureus down, quickening my pace as my curiosity pushed me further. From the semicircle of bricks that made up the landing I stumbled forward spinning around mouth agape at my first taste of the Underhollow. Chapter 5: The Underhollow No matter how I thought about it, the description the gods gave of the Underhollow didn¡¯t do it justice. Blue-green grass brushed against my knees, the curled tips snagging on the pockets of my taupe cargo pants as a gentle breeze turned the field into an ocean. Its waves crashed into hills in the distance, and on the right was a rainforest and to the left there was a river and further behind it a waterfall. The cavern was so vast I was unable to see any of the walls aside from the one we just exited from. Above me was what looked to be a pink sky, even though I knew I was still underground it was difficult to really believe it. They must have used a portal or something to send me somewhere else. This can¡¯t be under the earth. I was still staring dumbstruck at the scenery when I was knocked off balance and fell into the grass. Sorry master there was an enemy. Aureus said, adjusting his position in her lap, his eyes darting as he tried to catch sight of it. You know I¡¯ve been meaning to tell you, just call me Mia. Calling me master feels too distant. I thought while scrambling to grab the pocket knife from my bag. I took the best defensive stance I could, my heart was in my throat and my mouth had begun to dry up. Several feet away a white furry creature caught my attention, it looked like¡­ a horned rabbit? It was attempting to sneak towards us when I made eye contact with it. This must have set it off, because as soon as our eyes met it dug its feet in and jumped towards me. A wave of panic hit me, why did I never learn how to fight? I was still trying to prepare myself when a fireball hit it. It screeched loudly, my ears felt like they might burst and thankfully the shock helped me get it together. The creature flew to my right, missing me by only a couple inches, a gross burn was taking over its left flank. It stood with little difficulty, but it scrambled, running back the way it came. ¡°Don¡¯t let it escape!¡± I shouted. ¡°Attack its legs!¡± Aureus shot multiple fireballs at one of its front legs, the first and the third hit their mark; it tumbled over itself and before it could regain its bearings I dashed towards it. Unfortunately, when I got there I hesitated while I pulled my knife above my head. My arms reached their apex, I willed myself to plunge it in the monster¡¯s neck, but it never came down. A flash of gold and a splash of red and it was all over. It wasn¡¯t a clean kill, the fur was singed and blood was splattered onto my arms as it thrashed about. Aureus smiled at me while I sat expressionless in a pool of our kill¡¯s blood. I was shaking a bit as I pet Aureus praising him for his heroics. There were mixed responses from the gods, ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± was very concerned and even gifted me a bow telling me not to get my hands dirty. While ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± and ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± complained that I¡¯d have to get used to this soon. I agreed with the latter more than the former. Unfortunately the world is not kind and especially after the Underhollow popped up mercy was a luxury most could not afford. Though, despite my cynicism my mom instilled a strong sense of trust and humanity into me throughout her life. So even when my mind told me ¡®humans are awful¡¯, ¡®they¡¯ll stab you in the back¡¯, ¡®kill or be killed¡¯, she was there in my heart reminding me that everyone had good in them and if you gave then they would give back. I¡¯d spent a good portion of my life reminding myself that my mom was, pitifully, very wrong about that. This time, the cynic side won. I cleared my head and finally got a good look at it. It was about the size of an adult capybara with a 4 inch horn in the center of its forehead. Sharp claws were hidden under tufts of fur on its feet and its slack jawed mouth revealed pointed dagger-like teeth rather than the iconic rectangular rabbit teeth I was used to. Although its ears were still what you would expect of a rabbit, I was shocked both at the size of the beast and the swiftness with which Aureus took it down. With one swift bite he had cut deeply into its neck it quickly bled out after, and there I was just holding a hunting knife unable to attack it or defend myself. I was frustrated with myself. It wasn''t even an animal, it was a monster. Why did I hesitate? What if I had gotten injured? I tried to wipe the blood away but it really just smeared around. The river wasn¡¯t too far away, it¡¯d be good to wash myself off and cool my head a moment. I checked our status windows as I headed towards the river bank, we both had 10 xp. Already, with one kill we were a tenth of the way to level 2. I glanced back at Aureus who was dragging the corpse along behind me and back to the window in front of me. If things continued to go on like this we would level up very quickly, but what about when the enemies get harder? Ah, actually I should¡¯ve checked the horned rabbit¡¯s status window too.
Status
Monster Horned Rabbit Level 1
Health 0/50 Mana 0/10
Strength 4 Dexterity 5
Constitution 5 Intelligence 1
Skills Charge, Headbutt Leap, Swift Claw Passives --
¡°Wow this horned rabbit had a decent amount of health compared to you Aureus! You took down a powerful enemy!¡± No, we took down a powerful enemy! [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± agrees and says that you both did a great job.] ¡°You¡¯re right! We got our first kill! We should celebrate and play in the river, right Aureus?¡± We can¡¯t yet, there¡¯s still many more on the way ¡°Many more¡­ we used 15 mana on just the one, we won¡¯t have enough mana for all of them if we aren¡¯t careful. But, we have to make it work, let''s do it!¡± I was trying to be optimistic but the vague mention of many set me on edge. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± is cheering you on.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± is cheering you on.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± notes that it''s common for animals to live in groups.] Aureus, are they close by? Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I lost sight of them but they should be here any second. I nodded at Aureus as I awkwardly notched my first arrow into the new bow I was gifted. I¡¯d never held a bow before this moment, my hand shook as I prepared to fight with everything on the line. A wake formed in the sea of grass, there you are I thought as I pulled the bow string back aiming as best as I could then loosed the arrow. I waited and watched intently but the speed of the beast creating the wake didn¡¯t falter and no noise rang out. I must have missed. I grabbed another arrow and tried again. As I pulled the string back I saw something white growing in my peripheral vision. Panicking, I spun around aiming at the monster who was bounding towards us. Aureus, they¡¯ll probably come at us at the same time so keep an eye out for another one I¡¯ll figure things out over here. Luckily this time I had a much closer target, but I was unable to notch the arrow properly before firing. The arrow glanced off its chest causing a minor wound. It was only a couple feet away, I was hastily trying to notch the next arrow. It grew closer and I gave up on the arrows for now, it wasn¡¯t time to learn to wield a new weapon. I pulled out my knife again. Aiming for a weak point is the only thing I can really do at the moment, I¡¯m not strong enough to fight it head on. As it leaped towards my chest I dodged to the left, we traded wounds, its front claws caught my right shoulder and my knife cut through its abdomen. Unfortunately, the wound I inflicted on it was shallow. I decided that it was likely due to the fact that it was a weapon from earth. Staggering I clutched at the wound, the rabbits gave me no time to rest as two came charging out while the first was slowed by its injury. Aureus! I had no time to explain, but it didn¡¯t matter. The rabbit that was approaching behind me was hit square in the jaw with a ball of earth, it slid a couple feet and thankfully there weren¡¯t any signs of it getting up after that. That time I just dropped to a kneeling position as the monster leaped over me and it swung its claws narrowly missing my face and sent a lock of my hair fluttering away with the wind. As I fell I swung wildly at its stomach, hoping for any sort of damage. I never had been lucky. The knife did plunge itself into its stomach, but it was slick from blood and the knife was ripped from my hand. As my grip failed I watched in horror as the rabbit and my only effective weapon soared past me. Damn it! I was already panting heavily, and I was struggling to use my right arm properly. For a moment the rabbits that I could see weren¡¯t on the offensive, the first that I''d attacked was watching intently while the rabbit that had stolen my knife was struggling to stand a few feet behind me. I knew I had to take advantage of its weakness or we might die. Another arrow flies, thankfully it met its mark, the rabbit that escaped with my weapon collapsed with it protruding from its neck. Master, there are more coming. Seriously?! How many? I don¡¯t know, I think, six? Ok¡­ Ok. Just... Don¡¯t use magic if possible, just attack it directly. Maybe we can conserve mana... Let¡¯s prepare to greet our new guests. Yes Master. Quickly I ran to the weapon thief, my hands shook as I pulled the slick dagger from its stomach. Rolling backwards just in time to avoid getting impaled by the final rabbit of the original trio. It didn¡¯t take long for six more rabbits to appear from the grass, I was surrounded. Two of the three that we had been fighting were down, but fighting just those three was already hard enough. Now we had to face seven. It felt like hours of barely dodging while the rabbits systematically charged at me. They would attack in intervals so that if I dodged one the next would be there to slice through me wherever I dodged to. It didn¡¯t take long for surface level cuts to accumulate on my arms and legs. I had no choice but to dodge and wait for Aureus to kill them, there was no chance for me to notch an arrow or aim or even try to slash at them as they attacked. One by one Aureus picked them off, we adopted a strategy of attacking with magic just before they landed when they jumped at me. They had numbers and strategy, but they were just monsters and the formation became predictable pretty quickly. But even though we were reducing their numbers I was running out of stamina and struggling to dodge their attacks. Once we had gotten down to four, they changed their tactic and two of them suddenly rushed me. I jumped hoping they would run beneath me, but a searing pain caught my leg. Shit, another one charged? I looked down towards my injury momentarily, but just as I looked back up I was greeted with another rabbit, inches away from my face. My blood ran cold, right when I was expecting death, a hard thump hit my head and shoulders. Followed by a sharp pain and a thud as I landed on top of the two I¡¯d attempted to jump over. Master! Are you alright? His eyes popped into view, it must have been Aureus that pushed me back to the ground, the floor beneath me began scrambling to get out from under me and something yanked back on my left leg. I looked down to see a horn impaled through my calf, it was odd I couldn¡¯t feel any pain from it. Numbly I grabbed my knife, swinging it down on the rabbit lodged in my leg. It didn¡¯t do much, I lost rational thinking and just grabbed the thing by the back of its neck and yanked it from my leg as I stood up. My legs were caught by its claws as it struggled to free itself from my grip. I threw it down as I put my foot on the back of its neck. Aureus was behind me slicing through the two I¡¯d crushed under my weight. Not long after he was there tearing into the animal I had been glaring down at. Unfortunately this caused me to relax for just a moment, and all the pain and exhaustion hit me at once. The shadow of something I had forgotten loomed over me. A pit formed in my stomach as I looked up to find the last rabbit before me, readying itself yet again. Gritting my teeth through the pain, I pulled out my bow and arrows yet again, there weren¡¯t many left. The first rabbit, surprisingly enough, ended up as our final opponent. Its comrades laid dying at my feet. Blood slid down my face and into my left eye, that rabbit must have cut my forehead. I fired the few arrows I that were remaining and of course only two met their mark. My legs ached, screaming at me that they couldn¡¯t go on. I desperately tried but couldn¡¯t move them and I was beginning to feel faint from the blood loss. The grass around us had flattened due to our battle and both sides were running out of steam. I glanced quickly at our status windows. We had 15 mana. It had to be enough. I looked at Aureus, he was flying to my right, panting heavily. He looked as though he may burst into tears, and for the first time I noticed there were four gashes in his chest. My heart sank, he¡¯d taken that attack for me earlier when he pushed me out of the way. He could''ve died, he doesn''t have enough health to do stuff like that! I pushed the thought down, it wasn¡¯t the time. This is it, it''s all or nothing. When he charges in for the last time, aim for his left foot, he always jumps off of that one. If we can disrupt his momentum we can get him. Once he falls, aim for the spots where he''s injured. Shape your shots as something pointy if you can. It''s okay! We got this! Truthfully, it was a coin toss. We could very easily die here, but I wasn''t about to give up without a fight. This asshole injured my precious baby, even if I went down he was going to be coming with me. My grip tightened on my knife and I lowered my stance. My legs would give out any second, ¡°Come on! You stupid rabbit coward!¡± I taunted, it worked. He dashed towards me preparing to jump, and tripped over the wind ball Aureus shot. He conjured up a fireball, but didn¡¯t shoot. It was still growing in size. He needed time, so I had to buy it for him. My left leg failed me, I sank to one knee and prepared myself for the end. It was me or him, or both. He struggled to his feet while I tried to do the same. I couldn¡¯t. My body refused to listen to me. I looked up at Aureus, his face stiff with concentration. We can do this. We have to do this. With one final push of effort our enemy hurled himself at me. The only thing left I could do was avoid a fatal injury and wait. I lifted my arms in front of me and pushed against his charge, I liked to think it slowed him some. Not more than a second after my knife pierced his chest, his horn sunk into my abdomen. Desperately I gripped the creature''s fur as I wrestled my knife from it''s flesh. Once it was free I brought it down multiple times, but I had no strength left, the injuries I could inflict with my shaking arms and that old knife were all superficial. Just as I thought I was done for, a ten inch spear of fire skewered the horned rabbit. I fell backwards, I knew I¡¯d likely die from the injuries I¡¯d sustained, but I got him, that bastard died too. My head was swimming, and tears mingled with the sweat and blood on my face. I lie on the grass, wondering what would happen to Aureus. Our souls were linked, but he was his own life form so would he live on? Can he heal from his injuries? I closed my eyes and my mother¡¯s smiling face greeted me, and I thought to myself that it wasn¡¯t the worst death I could¡¯ve ended up with. DING! A system window brought with it freedom from the injuries and exhaustion I was suffering from. I laughed and a couple tears made tracks through the blood on my face as I held a sobbing and shaking Aureus. Did it hurt? I''m sorry. Everything''s okay. I told you, we got this! I had my work cut out for me wiping snot and tears from his face. He was proper open mouth bawling, for a moment I¡¯d worried he would attract more enemies. I banished the thought quickly though, since if there were enemies around they would have been attracted to the sound of our fight much earlier. Everything is not okay! You almost died! It seemed like he was going to continue, to say something else, but he didn¡¯t. I sat with him for a long time, caressing his back until he finally calmed down. Chapter 6: Level Up! Laying in my enemies and my own blood felt uncomfortably morbid, so I looked for something to busy myself with as I came to terms with my near death experience. Glancing around at the bodies strewn about in all directions, I wondered if I needed to loot anything. The fact that I didn¡¯t know much about looting or butchering these creatures bothered me though. Before I could get up, I suddenly realized it felt like hours since I had checked up on the GGC. That''s what I¡¯d nicknamed it, the gods group chat. Part of me wanted to scroll through the older messages that I missed, but I lacked the energy. I was physically fine, but mentally I was exhausted. So I decided not to read through the history and just start with what they were saying at the moment. [¡°Gentle Autumn Breeze¡± sighs with relief, saying that you were close to death.] [¡°Lazily Reaping Souls¡± clicks their tongue, complaining that you¡¯ve done something they didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be able to.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± smiles saying she never doubted your success.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± scoffs at the others, saying that there wasn¡¯t a chance you wouldn¡¯t succeed.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± says that actually you beat the odds, since the chances of your loss were greater.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± complains that facts aren¡¯t always beneficial, stating now is a time for celebration and support.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± expresses that facts are even more beneficial for the celebration because they show how great of a feat it is that you¡¯ve accomplished.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± sighs, saying that he should just say that outright then, if not it might be misinterpreted.] I suppressed a smile, but the pride welling up in my chest made it difficult. ¡°Thank you, thank you.¡± I said theatrically while more and more messages accumulated. Sighs of relief, cheers for what they considered an impossible feat, complaints that said I was lucky, and three gods who had been there since the beginning expressing their pride that they picked out such a human to support. I considered asking them if I should collect any spoils of war, but figured I would learn more from their reactions to seeing me try to collect materials from the corpses. Either way I put it aside for the time being yet again, because I wanted to look at our status windows. I opened my status window and along with it came several system notifications. [Level Up!] [Your Familiar Leveled Up!] [You have earned the title ¡°Unflinching Resolve¡±.]
Status
Candidate Mia Burke Level 2
Title -- Experience 0/400
Health 70/70 Mana 80/80
Strength 5 Dexterity 6
Constitution 7 Intelligence 8
Unallocated Stat Points 2
Skills Familiar Creation, Familiar Evolution Passives --
Titles Unflinching Resolve
It was so worth it! All of my stats went up by one and I¡¯ve got the 2 unallocated stats from the level up, I didn¡¯t risk my life for nothing. The extra stat points were added in intelligence bringing my mana up to 100. I clicked on ¡®Title¡¯ to see if I could view the new one I got, and it pulled up a list of titles I could equip. Or what would be a list when I got more than one. ~~*~~ Unflinching Resolve Description: You have taken a fatal blow, but continued to live. Your resolve in battle is unmatched. Others may wear down as a fight continues, but you remain steadfast. Passive: If health falls below half, the amount of damage you take will be reduced by half of the percent you¡¯ve lost and all stats will increase by the percent you have left. Active: Once health falls below half, damage output and damage your defense ignores will increase by percent lost. Once health falls below 10% damage output will increase by twice the percent lost. ~~*~~ This is insane! Not only did this title give me an all around stat boost just for acquiring it, but it also gives such generous rewards? It is a bit of a strange distribution, if I don¡¯t have it equipped I will take less damage as the fight goes on but I won¡¯t be able to do as much damage in return. I can also equip it if I need a damage boost. Jeez, putting my life on the line like that was more than worth it. I winced at the thought as I looked down at the dragon napping in my lap, I hoped he hadn''t heard that comment. My heart still ached, he was just sobbing uncontrollably not long ago because I got hurt. I¡¯d have to do better in the future so I don¡¯t worry him. The rewards were worth it but I could still improve without dancing with death like I had. I gently placed him into the grass and proceeded to attempt to butcher the monsters we killed. [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± asks if you have butchered animals before.] ¡°Ah, no I¡¯ve never really¡­¡± I trailed off as I held one of their corpses by a back and front leg. This was almost certainly not the correct form. At the very least I need to drain the blood, right? Making an incision was harder than I expected, I pressed harder and inadvertently stabbed much deeper than I meant to. ["Seeker of Magic and Knowledge" states that he''s pretty sure you aren''t doing it right.] "Well, have you ever butchered an animal?" I asked, pushing down the annoyance in my tone. ["Seeker of Magic and Knowledge" furrows his brows asking "Whispering Playwright behind a Mask" why you got upset when he said it the way "Whispering Playwright behind a Mask" suggested. He then mumbles to himself, why would I ever butcher an animal.] ["Whispering Playwright behind a Mask" rolls their eyes, explaining that "Seeker of Magic and Knowledge" pointing out something you already knew would not fall under saying it the way they''d suggested to.] With a huff I pulled the knife down through its chest and up to its neck, its mutilated organs spilled out onto the grass. Well, other than the hide and maybe bones none of this is going to be useful. I''ll try to grab most everything anyways. ["Traveling Spring Painter" curls her lip in disgust asking why you¡¯re making such a mess like this.] ["Whispering Playwright behind a Mask" says that "Traveling Spring Painter" doesn''t understand humans need to collect things, even nasty things.] ["Abandoned Bloodied Sword" snickers saying that there wasn''t much point in asking if you''d ever butchered animals, since if she''d waited your skill would''ve made it obvious.] I was not very skilled at this and the GGC continued to let me know as much. The entire time I was clumsily collecting materials they heckled me. None of them commented on what I was doing outside of making fun of my poor skill. At some point I expected them to tell me I was doing something useless and just to leave it with how they were acting. My mood soured with every comment and each corpse I dissected. How was I even going to carry any of this loot anyways? I¡¯d have to ask directly if I¡¯d want to find out what this junk might be good for. As I was cutting into the last rabbit, the one who nearly killed me I found a small red crystal in its chest. It was a few inches tall, with points on either end. It resembled an uncut gem. The surface of the crystal was moderately clear, but the center was hazy and dark when held up to the light. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± laughs yelling that you are the luckiest person they''ve ever seen.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± agrees and adds that this is a very good find.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword'''' looks at you with greedy eyes. She urges you to quickly-] I erupted in complaints before I could finish reading, ¡°I literally almost died and y¡¯all are saying I¡¯m lucky?!¡± my grip on the crystal tightened as I glared down at it, these gods really were just playing around weren''t they? I fought tooth and nail just to survive in this awful place they sent me and would have died if I hadn¡¯t leveled up at just the right time and they say that I¡¯m lucky. Sons of- the crystal in my hand shattered. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. My body began to go numb from shock, they just said it was valuable and I broke it in a fit of anger? The shattered crystal had turned into almost powder and began to glow, it floated from my palm circling around me. The crystal''s glow pulsated as the clumsy circle became more defined, and then it suddenly shot towards me in a bright flash of red light. I flinched, guarding my face instinctually, but nothing happened. I looked up at the windows swarming my vision. [You have earned the title ¡°Lone Pioneer¡±.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± scoffs and states that you must secretly be the contractor of a god of Luck.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± says that he was surprised that you used the crystal correctly without instruction.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± complains that you think they would let you die.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± says they understand your feelings but expresses she definitely would take care of you while shooting an accusatory look at ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡±.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± feigns shock wiping a nonexistent tear at her comment and states they wouldn¡¯t possibly do that since it would be boring if you die this soon.] ¡°Uh huh¡­ sure, can you answer my questions? The extra points in all my stats is that from getting the title?¡± [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± confirms you are correct.] ¡°Then the second title ¡®Lonely Pioneer¡¯, what did I do?¡± [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± tells you that most likely you are the only person in the world who has seen that item just now.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± exclaims that he knew you would be the first one, he has a smug look on his face as he states that you also are likely to be the first one to get a title, if not there is an extremely high likelihood that you are the only person with two.] ¡°Really? I mean the first title was definitely a reward for nearly killing myself but the second was really easy to get. Can¡¯t I just keep getting titles if I just do whatever at this rate?¡± [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± disagrees with ¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± proposing that you might just be a descendant of or even secretly just a god of Luck!] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± grumbles an agreement while asking you to meet his contractors and share your luck.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± explains that titles are usually extremely hard to get and very helpful. Adding that there are some titles that are easy to get, but rely on random chance or luck.] ¡°Alright then what does that crystal do?¡± [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± smiles and asks you to open your status window, but states they cannot answer the next question you¡¯ll ask.] ~~*~~ Lone Pioneer (Unique) Description: You have achieved a feat that no other human has accomplished, and better yet you have achieved it alone. As a solitary trailblazer you flourish when exploring alone, allowing you to get back to your peak state much quicker than others. Passive: When you are not in a party your Health Regeneration Rate and Mana Regeneration Rate will be increased by 100%. When this title is equipped the percentage will increase by 300%. If you are in a party, the effectiveness will be reduced by half. ~~*~~
Status
Candidate Mia Burke Level 2
Title Unflinching Resolve Experience 0/400
???????????????? 1/???
Health 80/80 Mana 120/120
Strength 7 Dexterity 8
Constitution 9 Intelligence 12
Unallocated Stat Points 0
Skills Familiar Creation, Familiar Evolution Passives --
Titles Unflinching Resolve, Lone Pioneer
I flopped back into the grass, these gods were frustrating. They wouldn¡¯t give straight answers and I almost died listening to them. Briefly I considered asking if the crystal had given me the extra boost in stats as well, but decided there wasn''t a point in asking. I covered my face with my hand in time to hide my lips curling up. It was hard not to jump up and thank them for such an amazing title. It was almost as if it was tailored to me, but I doubted they set this up since they were acting like kids who found a rare trading card. There was no way I could act like I was indebted to these gods. I had to maintain nonchalance, anyway I could I needed to keep their attention, to make them need to keep sponsoring me. From what I¡¯d seen so far I decided that the Painter would dote on me even if I didn¡¯t do much, but even more so if I was pitiful. While the Playwright would just want something entertaining to happen and the Seeker, well it seemed he just wanted me to do many different things so he can study me. It was doable but if I acted like I needed them and am too grateful it would make treating them as equals difficult. I really didn''t want to grovel for benefits. I decided I should give them the silent treatment for a bit while I opened up Aureus¡¯ status window, I still needed to allocate his level up stat points.
Status
Familiar Aureus Level 2
Dragon Experience 0/400
Health 30/30 Mana 30/30
Strength 3 Dexterity 3
Constitution 3 Intelligence 3
Unallocated Stat Points 2
Skills Basic Elemental Attack Passive Continuous Evolution
Even though it made me a little worried for his safety I put the next two stat points into intelligence as well. He would prefer that, and since I have been the tank shouldn¡¯t he become my glass cannon? Though I really didn¡¯t have the stats to become a tank, I was much closer to one than him. I could always beef up his other stats later if I need to. His mastery over Basic Elemental Attack increased and the description changed a little. ~~*~~ Basic Elemental Attack Description: Creates a projectile that can change in form, size and element depending on the user''s intention. No flat mana cost. Available Elements: Fire, water, wind, earth Mastery: 70% ~~*~~ This fight really brought us a lot of benefits. I was briefly pissed at the gods earlier, but it was difficult to stay angry when following their advice brought me so many benefits. Well I could only get the benefits if I struggled and nearly died. But it really did seem like they wanted the best for me. Being the only person in the world to have found that item was a significant leg up on the competition, probably. Not to mention the titles I got came with extremely good perks. Things were really looking up, so I decided to stop giving them the cold shoulder and obliged them with conversation. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± cries we really did our best to help you!] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± makes fun of the three gods for being so generous to someone who isn¡¯t even contracted to them.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± gasps and says that you¡¯re looking at them again.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± smiles and asks if you have any questions.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± claims that you likely have the best stats of anyone at your level.] ¡°Ah, so there are people who are leveled higher than I am.¡± [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± scoffs and states that it is so conceited to think that you¡¯re the highest leveled human.] ¡°I mean I guess you¡¯re right, do you think I¡¯ll fall behind since I have to share XP?¡± [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± disagrees. He theorizes that you currently have an average leveling speed, since many Candidates and Adventurers form parties to hunt they get an even lower percentage of experience than you do. He adds that the reason you aren¡¯t surpassing others however is that your fights drag out since there are only two of you.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± exclaims that there is nothing wrong with leveling at your own pace, and states that you won¡¯t fall behind others if you work hard since your class is unique.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± mentions that you should raise your stats naturally as well by exercising since you may end up with a slow leveling speed.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± asks why ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± is being generous to someone who isn¡¯t even contracted with her.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± flushes and complains that she is rewarding a good warrior for such an impressive battle. She adds that she thinks the titles you received were well deserved.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± states that the battle was impressive but unnecessarily reckless and implores you to never do such a foolish thing again.] ¡°You¡¯re right, but this time it worked out exceedingly well. At least taking risks has good rewards.¡± Chapter 7: GGC and Reality TV Part One I got up to go take a bath in the river. My hair and my clothes were becoming crusty with blood, sweat and Aureus'' tears. I got about 3 steps away from Aureus and he flew up in a panic, however when our eyes met his expression softened once he realized everything was just fine. Where are you going master? I¡¯m going to bathe in the river, you can come if you call me Mia like I asked you to. His snout scrunched up at this request, briefly it seemed he was considering it. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to do that. I will follow from a distance then. He trudged along slowly about 5 feet behind me, clearly moping about me prohibiting him from joining the bath. ¡°Uggghhh, fine. You can join me, but I won¡¯t carry you.¡± It was so hard to win against his cuteness. I was trying not to spoil him, especially since later on it would make it harder to control him. I felt a bit guilty for thinking that way, but at the end of the day he was my familiar and I was his master. Keeping those lines in place was probably the right decision even though it made me feel strange. We got to the river without much incident, and I began to undress. ["Reflection of an Empty Throne" whistles asking when you got a tattoo like that.] ["Traveling Spring Painter" says that it''s tasteful.] ["Whispering Playwright behind a Mask" agrees but adds that it is in a mildly sensual spot.] After I took off my shirt I saw the GGC filling up with various messages. I rolled my eyes, I had already decided earlier that I wouldn¡¯t care if they saw me like this. They were ¡®Celestial Gods¡¯ and it''s likely that, One: some of them had already been watching me for a while and saw things already. Two: there wasn¡¯t any way I knew of to stop them. I had come to terms with it, but I still felt strange being half naked while a live chat scrolled by. I definitely did not want to see any more of what they had to say. I turned away from the chat and focused as much as I could on Aureus. We played and splashed while washing our bodies and my clothes. Until something slimy touched my leg, I screamed and panicked jumping out of the water. A small blue slime followed me out, it was transparent, light blue, about the size of a watermelon and had a small piece of seaweed floating in the center of it. I didn¡¯t see any visible eyes or other features. I had always hated sticky or slimy things. My brain was telling me that this creature wasn¡¯t very dangerous and if I could look at it from a distance it was almost cute, but my heart was hammering out of my chest. The creature hopped forward and as a response my body tensed, stepping backwards and falling over a stone behind me. A scream creaked out of my tight throat, it was an involuntary and visceral reaction. ¡°Ahh! Kill it! Kill it kill it kill it kill it kill it!¡± Aureus followed after me shooting fireballs. They dissipated on its glossy surface, doing very little damage to the slime. Small dents formed on its surface only to slowly refill several seconds later. After Aureus¡¯ volley it began to hop towards me yet again. I had a moment of indecision, my clothes were just a few inches away between me and that foul creature. I needed my clothes. I stepped a little closer, crouching down and leaning back as much as possible while trying to reach and grab them. They were so close, I almost had them. When the slime hopped towards me again, I panicked, screeched and began walking backwards trying to avoid it. ¡°Aureus, my clothes!¡± I said almost immediately after the slime landed its gross, blue, bioluminescent body directly on top of them. ¡°NOOO MY CLOTHES NO!¡± I screeched. I scrambled backwards and began to throw rocks towards the evil creature, they were quite ineffective as they just bounced off of its body. One of the rocks I threw nearly hit Aureus who was channeling for some sort of spell. One I could only hope would rid the world of this blob. Throwing rocks was clearly making everything worse so I decided to just wait on Aureus¡¯ plan. I cringed inwardly as my clothes began to float up into that disgusting thing. I cowered behind a rock as the GGC began to explode with laughter and jokes at my expense. I really couldn¡¯t blame them. I was acting like this monster they created for us to kill was a spider or a house mouse. As embarrassed as I was, I couldn''t help my aversion to it. I didn¡¯t want to freak out like this either, and I hated that they were watching me panic for their entertainment. Reluctantly I had to admit to myself, that I probably would have laughed at myself too. Not that they would ever find out. [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± doubles over with laughter as he says that this is better than when you screamed your skill name in the house.] [¡°Lazily Reaping Souls¡± asks, no way, that happened, seriously?] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± snickers, explaining that you had screamed it so confidently as if it was obviously the correct way to use a skill.] [¡°Lazily Reaping Souls¡± looks down her nose at you while expressing that your behavior is a little unsightly, but entertaining.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± forces a serious face as she asks where the valiant warrior who triumphed over death went.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± asks you if you¡¯d like a broom and a kitchen chair to stand on.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± rubs his chin while jotting something in his notebook¡±] Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± offers a small smile saying that everyone has struggles, it''s okay if you have a hard time with the lowest ranking monsters as long as you defeat the dangerous ones.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± cackles at her comment, wondering aloud how both their friends are so bad at this.] I couldn¡¯t see myself but I was certain I had turned beet red. Aureus had apparently been preparing for a spell that created a large rock. I hadn¡¯t noticed at first because I was preoccupied with the GGC, but once I tore my eyes from it I watched that huge boulder falling towards the slime. To his credit, it was a very effective way of killing it, but was possibly the worst thing he could have done for my pride. Realizing that both my clothes and the slime would be stuck under the rock I screamed, ¡°Wait!¡± But it was too late, my clothes were now trapped under a giant rock. And unfortunately, at that exact moment, the slime exploded. Everywhere. Causing the slime to splatter onto my face, hair and in my mouth. I screamed, well I tried to but no sound came out. My breath wouldn¡¯t come out, I was overwhelmed by the situation. The goop, the gods, my clothes, everything had gone the worst possible way. I began to get light headed and my whole body went cold, as if someone had drained me of all my blood. For the third time that day I was swallowed by darkness. ~~*~~ The forest was hot, but thankfully it wasn¡¯t a very humid day. I was walking, very slowly for some reason, down a trail my mind just barely couldn¡¯t place. Something about it was so familiar, tickling the edges of my memory, fading in and out of focus. Scratching at something that was old and just nearly forgotten. As I was questioning why I was there I heard something in the distance. Gentle clear laughter and splashing water carried itself through the rustling leaves to my ears. I followed the sound of laughter to a creek, and there she was soaked up to her waist even though the water could only come up to the lower part of her calf. Her long light brown hair was pulled over her shoulder but was unable to escape the water she kicked around happily. It hung down to her hips wetting a long strip of her shirt as a result. I couldn¡¯t see her face clearly, but a warm smile brightened as I walked onto the creek bed. Mom¡­ a voice rang out in the back of my mind. ¡°Mia, come on and play!¡± She urged while motioning me to come over. My feet began moving without me, the horizon shifted as I tripped over short limbs. I looked down at my hands that caught me, I was quite young now, maybe 4. The water sloshed and my moms feet plopped across the creek bed towards me. I must have been crying because water was dripping onto my hands beneath me. Pale, pink hands caught me under my armpits and lifted me to her. I was settled on the opposite hip from her hair, looking up at her as the sun beamed behind her. It made it difficult to see her features, her hands appeared in front of me as I was straining to look at her face. They wiped my tears as she shushed me, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m right here to pick you up whenever you fall. Even if it takes you a while you¡¯ll still get there.¡± I was lowered into her lap as she gently brushed the dirt from my hands and knees. Her pale skin looked even lighter in contrast to my Mediterranean complexion. Even her freckles were light as if they would dissolve into her at any moment and disappear. I gripped at her shirt as she moved to take me out of her lap. Gently she caressed my hair, asking ¡°Do you not want to play in the creek? It¡¯s a perfect day for it, but if you don¡¯t feel good we can go back home.¡± My vision blurred as I furiously shook my head no, then looked down at my hands as I fidgeted. ¡°Ohhh so, you do want to play, well we can¡¯t have that!¡± she said playfully. I head snapped up looking at her with wide eyes, a mischievous grin greeted me. Before I could resist she¡¯d latched onto me pretending to eat my small fingers. I wriggled my way out of her grasp taking off towards the water. ¡°Agh, no! My lunch, it''s escaping!¡± She exclaimed as I ran towards the water. She was pretending to hurry behind me as if she couldn¡¯t catch up. My giggles echoing discordantly like I was under water as I glanced behind me at the predator after me. I splashed my way into the creek, turning back again just before she caught me. A huge wave of water splashed over me as she bent down and swung her arms through the creek. ¡°I got you!¡± ~~*~~ A vague memory of her smile swum through my head like so much fog on a windy morning. Briefly I thought I was choking up at an old memory before I opened my eyes to find Aureus on my chest and a lone notification hovering above me. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± has sponsored you.] My hands found my face faster than I could process it, there were chunks of slime still left on my cheeks, forehead, and in my nose. Flustered I sat up spitting and blowing my nose in an attempt to rid myself of the remains of that wretched thing. My throat was burning and I spent several minutes just coughing and heaving before I could get myself together. With a sigh I began to run my hands through my hair out of habit before they got caught. There was slime in my hair still too. My eyes began to well up. Disgusting. I needed to shower. I needed to go home and get rid of that awful feeling. I was halfway up when I remembered my clothes. They were still under that giant rock, I needed to get them before I could go back. I couldn¡¯t just walk around in public in my underwear. Even though there weren''t many populated areas between me and home I couldn''t just run through without clothes. I almost forgot that there was a sponsor, desperately I hoped that it would be clothes. I opened the window, but that hope immediately turned to ash and blew away with the wind. ~~*~~ Quest Name: Naked and Unafraid Description: Face your fears! Slimes might be the lowest ranking monster, but there is strength in numbers. Cull the population of the slimes in this area, depending on the quantity of slimes killed you can reach milestones and claim unknown rewards! Kill them quickly, there¡¯s only so much time to claim the rewards! Milestones: Starting with the first slime you kill, the next milestone will be ten times the previous milestone. Rewards will be given based on the level of completion. Time Limit: 06:23:59:53 ~~*~~ Rage and embarrassment were bubbling up in my chest, my eyes burned as it reached them trying to find a place to escape to. I slapped my cheeks, it wasn¡¯t the time to be emotional. I tried to encourage myself, I tried to convince myself that this was a good opportunity. More than anything I wanted to avoid those awful blue miscreants, but despite that the Playwright gave me an opportunity to bring those slimy bastards to extinction''s doorstep. Who was I to refuse such a good opportunity? Especially since there was a reward waiting, I thought that it had to be clothes. The Naked and Unafraid thing was just a joke, right? Even though I didn¡¯t believe truly that it was a joke and that I¡¯d get clothes I had to hope. I shook my head as I tried to come to terms with everything and pushed myself to my feet. I had a quest to complete. Chapter 8: GGC and Reality TV Part Two [Naked and Unafraid, first milestone rewards can be claimed.] It was confusing, I had gotten the quest after we killed the slime, so why had I gotten it credited towards it? Either way I wasn¡¯t going to complain, I had quite a few slimes to kill and not a lot of time so I shouldn¡¯t question it. ~~*~~ Bottle of Slime Pheromones Description: A generic glass bottle filled with 8 ounces of slime pheromones. These can be used to attract slimes in the vicinity of 100 feet. Must be used on a living creature, will not prevent slimes from attacking the user. ~~*~~ ¡°What kind of reward is this?!¡± The rage had returned and brought sarcasm with it. ¡°You could have given me clothes, but nooo. You just had to give me slime pheromones. I would have been happy with a shirt or maybe even some different arrows or even 5 XP. But no. Slime pheromones.¡± I kicked myself for believing in the gods, they weren¡¯t kind. This was like a game or tv for them. I was foolish. Being around Aureus was definitely part of it. I never trusted anyone anymore, but that precious baby got my guard down and I started trusting the gods that appeared alongside him. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± complains that the quest name is Naked and Unafraid not t-shirts and terrified.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± expresses that quests give good rewards and you should try it out.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± frowns and complains that it''s disappointing you don¡¯t see the value of the item you received.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± states that the three gods are to blame for spoiling you.] Their comments stung, I knew it was a helpful item. But the idea of rubbing the pheromones of those wretched creatures on my mostly nude body made me want to vomit. I had struggled a lot, I nearly died and I lost my clothes... Maybe I was spoiled, people had likely already died. I had no clue what other people had been enduring all this time after all. I looked at the quest window as the seconds ticked away. I had a whole week, really I should stop rebelling against reality and accept that this is something I needed to do. The quest¡¯s difficulty increased exponentially, so I needed to suck it up and start working immediately. Killing that one was already emotionally taxing but just to get three more rewards I had to kill 1,110 more? Plus after that I can¡¯t get the next reward without killing 10,000? There''s no way I can kill that many through normal means. Well, not in a week at least. I sighed, "You''re right, I let my emotions get the better of me. This is a good opportunity. But! You didn''t have to set it up this way! This is reality TV for you guys, huh? And you of course had to choose those disgusting things." I grumbled a few more complaints before getting up to start working. It seems I had grown more attached to the gods than I expected, I was overwhelmed with disgust and betrayal and lashed out before I knew it. I reminded myself that I was a Candidate and this was their game and that it was right to thank them for things like this even when I didn''t want to. So how did you want to hunt those creatures? I looked at Aureus, I was surprised he knew that''s what we were going to do. Well of course I know, we are soul bonded plus I can see the windows and talk to those gods too. Oh yeah, sometimes I forget you can hear my thoughts. I never expected that you could see the system and talk to the gods though. The part of me that found this unsettling was squashed down quickly, there was nothing more powerful than his cuteness. Momentarily I considered creating a cult with him at the center, I could definitely see people bowing down at his pudgy little feet. I smiled at the thought, and reminded myself that at the very least I didn¡¯t need to keep my walls up with him. It was kind of relieving to have someone to rely on after so long, someone who would always be on my side. It''s not as though I can read your thoughts though? You just talk to me. Aureus¡¯ voice pulled me out of my musings. What do you mean I talk to you? I''m not talking? Well yes, but you want me to know don''t you? I''m only going to know what you want me to and the same goes for you. So you''re saying I could look through your mind if I wanted to and you allowed it? Probably, or at least that''s how it feels. Well, either way we can talk about this later we need to come up with a good plan for killing the slimes. Sigh. Usually in games slimes are weak to ice, do you think you could practice your skill enough to add ice to the elements? I can do anything, how can a dragon be limited in ways of magic? I chuckled and scratched his chin, he lifted up his head in response and I noticed two small triangular protrusions from where his jaw and neck met on either side. They looked like once they grew more they would frame his face nicely. I poked at them mindlessly while I pondered ways to kill slimes enmasse. With our current abilities digging a pit and squishing them seemed the easiest but what if some of them didn''t fall in? I shuddered at the thought of drowning in hundreds of slimes. Still a pit isn''t that bad of an idea, the main problem is mana. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. I had no clue how much mana would be needed to dig the pit plus we had to drop rocks on top to squish them. I pondered methods to kill them for a while, freezing them and slashing, rolling a rock down a hill over them, trapping them in a pit and lighting them on fire, using wind to throw them high up and letting gravity do the hard work. I couldn''t decide, not to mention I wasn¡¯t really familiar with the limits of our abilities at the time. I wanted a quick and efficient method of killing slimes, we needed to kill as many as possible in a short span of time. Aureus, can you create like a bomb? A bomb? Like a fireball that explodes? I don''t know how to do that though? Well what if, hmm like could you create a fireball and force it to get smaller? Like create one and compress it a lot wouldn''t it kinda explode if you did that? That would probably take up a lot more mana than a regular fireball though and I can''t learn ice element magic and that at the same time if you want to be quick. That''s true. Well how about you practice with water while trying to make ice? You could do something like a water cutter right? A thin dense line of water that cuts through things? Aureus pondered briefly, turned and shot a disk of water through a rock several feet away. At first I thought he failed since the rock didn''t crumble at all, but after a moment I noticed that it had a clean cut straight down the middle. Pride bloomed in my chest, of course my familiar would create a water cutter on his first try. He was a great and proud dragon after all, this was baby stuff. I caught myself mimicking his arrogance as I beamed looking at the rock he''d sliced through like butter with a hot knife. Yes! That''s great Aureus! We should learn and fight at the same time since we have a time limit. Hopefully soon you can figure out the ice element. It''d make hunting these things easier. Aureus snorted, hunting such lower beings is already easy. I just used the wrong element last time. I chuckled to myself since my imagination of his reaction wasn''t too far off from reality. Yes, of course this is a cake walk for our Aureus. He cocked his head to the side, Cake walk? Why would I walk on cake? Hahaha! No it''s just an expression to say it''s easy. I rubbed his head as he sat up taller with pride. "Oh yeah, I want to claim that reward from earlier." I said looking at the GGC. ["Whispering Playwright behind a Mask" sarcastically remarks that it is so unfortunate, they changed it since you didn''t like it.] I rolled my eyes, "Yes I know I was wrong, how do I claim it?" ["Seeker of Magic and Knowledge" tells you that you already claimed it and to get it out of your inventory.] Inventory? Just as I thought it, an inventory window like any game I''d ever played opened before me. I frowned, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you guys tell me I had an inventory? It would have made things so much easier.¡± [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± asks what kind of game wouldn¡¯t have an inventory.] I rolled my eyes, I couldn¡¯t rely on them for anything. There wasn¡¯t much point in asking questions because they just told me whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted to. Well I really should have tried to open it before, it would make sense for there to be an inventory. I zoned out for a minute wondering how much they laughed while I struggled without an inventory. The only item within it though was the slime pheromones. I reached towards the item and my hand disappeared through the window, pressing against a cold glass bottle. I pulled it out marveling at the process. Relieved I had a place to put items I picked up my arrows and placed them into the inventory, I tried to add the backpack as well but my hand went through the window and the bag fell to the ground. I decided it was probably because it wasn''t an item created for the system and moved on to the bottle in my lap. As soon as I unscrewed the wooden cap a smell like puddles on a rainy day enveloped me. I breathed in deeply, it was a comforting smell and it almost made me sleepy. Which in turn made me wonder how much time had passed and if it was night already. I dipped my finger into the viscous substance and cringed at the texture. Once I removed it the smell changed, it was sharper and deeper. The smell became stronger and in the distance I heard a chorus of plip-plops getting closer. Before I could panic Aureus flew past me shooting water cutters at the little monstrosities. I smiled. ~~*~~ With a yawn and a stretch I looked back at the quest window, it had been 3 hours of killing slimes. I had already killed 417 slimes and leveled up once. I was grossly overestimating them before, it was probably because of my fear. I really hadn¡¯t done much these last three hours other than provide Aureus with mana. Most of my time was spent trying to remove every bit of slime from my body, and applying the slime pheromones while following Aureus¡¯ trail of gooey destruction. As it turned out killing slimes was actually a much better method of hunting for us, Aureus took no damage since he could fly and I didn¡¯t have to get injured or tired since Aureus was doing the work. We had just leveled up again. I had also received the first two milestone rewards. The first was a portable mana powered cooking fire, including a stand that held a pot, a lid, a spoon, a knife and a bowl, no food was included. And the second was an ¡°Underhollow Survival Kit¡± with a hammock, blanket, pillow, rope, mana lighter, and a first aid kit. A smile I tried to repress won its rightful place on my face as I read through the rewards. Once the two of us got into a groove it wasn¡¯t even that hard to get these rewards, I looked up at the GGC. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± furrows his brows mumbling that he¡¯ll never understand humans.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± states that common comforts like these are important for humans who aren¡¯t used to fighting and living outside.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± expresses that the other two should thank them for their suggestions since you obviously liked the rewards.] ¡°Thank you! Really, I really appreciate the rewards I¡¯ve gotten.¡± Thinking about how I was going to sleep was really bothering me but now my worries were resolved so easily. I decided to add in some flowery words with the hope of getting some other rewards in the future, ¡°I can tell y¡¯all really thought about this quest and the rewards, even if I hate slimes this is amazing! You¡¯re the best!¡± [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± states that he will add your preferences into his notes for future quests and rewards.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± smiles and says not to listen to ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± since she had a hand in the quest and rewards as well.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± rolls their eyes and accepts your thanks with a bow.] Other than clothes these sort of things were what I wanted, and killing monsters that only amounted to 2 XP each was easy. Just killing 110 of them gave me more rewards than it probably should have. Still even though they were very generous with rewards, I couldn¡¯t forget that this was entertainment for them. And a small voice in the back of my head wondered why they would be so generous and what they got out of it. The natural rhythm I fell into with them began to feel unsettling, and I wondered if I was making the right decision to play along. Chapter 9: Slime’s Natural Predator Time slipped by quickly over the last week. I hunted, foraged, and pushed myself to the limits trying to finish my quest. With every reward I ended up greedier for the next than I was the last. Finally I found myself glaring at the countdown on the quest. Time Limit: 00:01:00:06. My breathing was ragged and hoarse from running, we had an hour left and there weren¡¯t any slimes around. Only 4 slimes remained until we reached 100,000 and unfortunately I was all out of pheromones. I almost couldn¡¯t believe we made it this far, if Aureus hadn¡¯t learned new abilities and continued hunting without rest for the whole week there''s no way we would have made it. But finally it was within our grasp, I knew a reward for 100,000 slimes had to be amazing. The rewards I already got after that first day were immensely valuable. For only 1,000 I got an ¡°Underhollow Camper¡±, I was fairly certain that the Playwright named that one. It seemed more like a deployable subspace house really, and even though it was an item it felt more like a skill. It required a small consistent mana cost while deployed and the cost would increase while using the amenities it contained. Within the ¡®camper¡¯ were two rooms containing a couch, dining area, a toilet, two sinks, and a shower. Surprisingly I found that when I deployed the cooking set I¡¯d received earlier in that space it transformed into a small kitchenette. It came with a hot plate that attached to the counter next to the sink in the dining area, and a small cabinet keeping the utensils that I received with it. Thankfully the next milestone reward was clothing - it was called the Slime Hunter set ¨C receiving it brought tears to my eyes. Now I was adorned with a pale blue cloak; its fabric faded to a slightly darker blue as it approached the bottom hem. There were tassels I used to tie the cloak around my neck with two small blue angry slimes dangling from its ends that matched the decorations along the hems made in silver, little disgruntled slimes dotted the edges of the garment. Underneath was a simple silk dress that was a couple shades darker than the cloak, and dark green leggings and flats. The flats felt how I imagined spray on shoes would feel, at first I was a bit disturbed by the feeling but quickly it was almost as if the shoes weren¡¯t there at all. However, unlike spray on shoes, the flats weren¡¯t translucent nor black and sparkly and they didn¡¯t coat my whole foot. They were just a plain dark green. I had never imagined such a comfortable and practical outfit could exist. If the cloak or dress came into contact with something other than myself like a monster the fabric rippled as if it was slime itself. Thankfully, none of the clothes I received felt slimy in the slightest. When I first received the clothes I was ecstatic, I thanked the gods profusely and quickly fell in love with my new look. Not to mention it was a very valuable set of equipment, I struggled to distrust the gods at that point and had decided that other than the three I was most familiar with I wouldn¡¯t trust any other gods. ~~*~~ Slime Hunter Set Description: An outfit envied by all who hunt slimes, it was created with the essence of thousands of slimes so it provides not only camouflage but also protection from your prey. Slimes are social creatures but rather than not attacking each other they are incapable, and similarly whoever is adorned with this set will be able to repel their attacks as well. As this set allows the wearer to take upon slime characteristics you will also be able to evade certain types of damage. Traits: Slime Camouflage, Slime defense Armor: 10 ~~*~~ The camouflage skill was very welcomed, but the slime defense skill was clearly leagues better. In the future the ability to mitigate damage in the way slimes do would be very helpful. I would be able to glance attacks off of me if I got proficient in utilizing the way I dodge. Even though I really couldn¡¯t use either ability at the moment since before slimes could get within 10 feet of me Aureus destroyed them. We grew at a monstrous rate, especially after Aureus learned how to use ice elemental magic the third day. He was quite proud of himself so I had to shower him with compliments, not that I minded. Aureus deserved the praise. He had quickly become the best thing in my life, and a big part of the reason why I was still alive if not the only reason. Also at level 10 Aureus received a second skill, well it was more like his first skill split in two. The first being Elemental Attack and the second being Elemental Manipulation, the ¡®Basic¡¯ term was removed when it split. Elemental Attack was basically what he already had but with fixed mana costs in increments of 5 and increasing sizes, while Elemental Manipulation was more vague and just gave him the ability to use mana to manipulate elements as he pleased. We were now on the cusp of level 15 and just barely short of the last milestone. Master, I don¡¯t see any other slimes in the area. I looked up to see him descending towards me, when I reached out to catch him my hood was slapped backwards by the wind of his wingbeats. I smiled as I noted that he had grown so quickly in the past 6 days, soon I wouldn¡¯t be able to catch him this way. I was already struggling to keep up with his growth rate with my stat increases. Every level I had been receiving 2 unallocated stat points that I was mostly placing into intelligence, though I also tried to round out some of my other stats. I was pleasantly surprised to see that every five levels we were getting an overall stat bonus that gave me an extra point in each. Holding my breath I braced myself as Aureus crashed into my chest, I nearly stumbled but thankfully maintained my footing. Grasping him under his arms I held him away from me, he was slowly losing his baby fat much to my dismay. Aureus, I know we talked about this. You are getting too big. I can''t catch you this way anymore. He snorted as the molten silver in his eyes dulled, I dropped him as he moped to himself. I am just the right size, it''s good to grow. Yes, it is good to grow. But! Part of growing up is learning to treat others the way they ask you to. Plus it''s good to learn more about how you should interact with others and the world, you can¡¯t always act like a baby. Immediately after I said it I regretted my words, at first he was taken aback but it was quickly replaced with anger and a twinge of sadness. I am NOT a baby! I am a dragon! He took off in a huff, flying up out of view as the wind knocked me on my ass. With a groan I looked through the messages that were collecting in the GGC, they had been pretty quiet lately since I wasn¡¯t doing much but slaughtering slimes. Finally now that they had something to comment on the messages were appearing yet again. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± complains that clearly Aureus is both a dragon and a baby.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± expresses to him that the truth is not helpful in these situations.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± advises you to give Aureus some space and search for the slimes while he cools off.] If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Yes, I plan to let him enjoy his tantrum. I didn¡¯t mean to hurt his feelings, but I¡¯ve spoiled him too much. I need to draw the line now or it¡¯ll be harder for the both of us in the future.¡± [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± asks why you¡¯re letting him throw a tantrum if you don¡¯t want to spoil him.] ¡°I mean¡­ I don¡¯t want to treat him like an employee or a subordinate in times like this. There will be times I have to put my foot down and treat him that way, but right now his feelings are hurt. He needs some time to get his emotions together and process. Plus it isn¡¯t like he¡¯s not doing his job, even though he is upset he¡¯s still looking for the last four slimes.¡± [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± grumbles that you¡¯re too soft.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± taunts you, singing that you¡¯ll be out of time soon.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± cheers you on.] A few more messages popped up as I pondered where the last few slimes might be hiding. It was the last day and I thought that the four remaining were the only slimes left in the area, but eventually I doubted that there were any slimes left here at all. Finally I groaned that I had run out of the pheromones and cursed myself for using it so haphazardly during the first couple days, the slimes would have come out on their own if I had just wandered a bit. Collapsing backwards into the grass I wracked my brain trying to think of their patterns, where they lived, what they liked, anything that might help. As I stared up at the now familiar pink sky I thought to myself that this must have been one of the Playwright¡¯s plans. While the Playwright, Painter and Seeker all seemed to genuinely want to help me there was a clear difference in personalities and motives, and the Playwright clearly just wanted to have fun. They were the god I trusted the least of the three, but the other two wouldn¡¯t have let them create a quest I couldn¡¯t complete. Probably. The question at that point was, ¡°Where would the Playwright hide them?¡± One of the things I particularly paid attention to this last week was how they interacted, and learned through their conversations that the Playwright was the architect of the area of Underhollow I was in. Originally I thought they just worked on the entrance, or was just one of the gods who worked on the area, but soon came to the conclusion that the whole area was theirs. I sat up and scanned my surroundings, I was much too far from the entrance to attempt searching there or in the rainforest which I never bothered to check. The only thing I have left is searching this ecosystem, the hills and the rivers. But we had been looking for hours without any sign of them, there had to be something we were missing. And then it hit me, I swung my head around frantically. My eyes landed on the waterfall in the distance, the only place we hadn¡¯t searched. Before I knew it I had sprung to my feet sprinting back towards it. It had to be there, if it wasn¡¯t there I wouldn¡¯t make it. I still might not make it there in time since there wasn¡¯t much time left. Time Limit: 00:00:47:28 Time Limit: 00:00:33:11 Time Limit 00:00:12:09 Time Limit 00:00:06:54 I finally stood at the base of the waterfall, my dry heaving drowned out by the roaring of the water crashing down. Thankfully, I hadn¡¯t had time to eat lunch. I panted as I checked the time, I had less than 6 minutes to find them. ¡°Aureus?¡± I choked out, there was no way he could¡¯ve heard it, but my intentions must¡¯ve been conveyed psychically. I took a deep breath and made up my mind to attempt to jump through the waterfall, honestly at that point I wasn¡¯t really sure what else to try. I pondered on the logistics before the rising time pressure brought me to my wits end. ¡°Ah, whatever!¡± I squeezed my eyes shut as I took a running jump into the wall of water, but the impact never came. Aureus had caught me under the arms this time, What are you doing?! You¡¯re going to hurt yourself! What are YOU doing?! We don¡¯t have enough time! We have to find those slimes! Put me down! So you can jump into a waterfall? Well, do you have any better ideas? This is the only place left we haven¡¯t looked! Yeah but jumping into the unknown isn¡¯t the only solution for that! A large triangular rock pushed its way out of the cliff close to the top of the waterfall, splitting it into two streams and exposing a cave that was behind it. Aureus truly was a godsend. Yes! Yes I knew it! I told you, now let''s go, we have no time! Whatever, stupid Master all you had to do was ask for help I would¡¯ve done it¡­ Aureus grumbled under his breath as he sat me on the edge of the cave and quickly took off into the darkness. I chuckled to myself as I anxiously read the gods¡¯ messages. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± expressed that he was a cute age and wasn¡¯t able to express his feelings well.] [¡°Gentle Autumn Breeze¡± smiles and nods his head in agreement.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± frowns complaining that Aureus will definitely end up spoiled rotten.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± asks if you¡¯re just going to sit here and read through the chat.] The Playwright was right, I pushed back my disheveled hair as I looked at the quest and sat on the wet rock beneath me. I had briefly considered following after Aureus, but I wasn¡¯t fast enough to catch up with him. Time was passing agonizingly slowly and no change, still four left. When the timer hit three minutes I forced my tired legs to hold me up. Aureus, have you found anything? I can smell them, there are definitely slimes in here somewhere, but I haven¡¯t found them yet. There are a few different paths, I¡¯ll find them soon, don''t worry master. I waited holding my breath unconsciously, and finally 99,997. He had killed another! 99,998. 99,999. And nothing, it didn¡¯t increase again. Aureus? Are there no more left? My stomach dropped as the timer dropped to two minutes. I couldn¡¯t think of a way out of it, I turned and looked out of the mouth of the cave. Half heartedly I jumped into the river. We had found a lot of slimes in the river. Maybe we just missed one. But as I was diving into the water I noticed the bed of the river just where the waterfall previously was was much darker than the rest of the river bed. I quickly swam down towards it trying to ignore the time slowly slipping away. The seconds felt like minutes as I swam into the darkness, when I was caught up in a strong current. I was spat out in a cave lined with bioluminescent goo, a particularly gross blobish clump of it hung in the center of the ceiling. A crude pedestal underneath it, I spun around wildly looking for a slime. I only had a minute and 47 seconds, but everything around me was slime colored and I couldn''t make it out well. My breath caught in my throat as one of my previously most hated sounds came from behind me. An evil grin took over my face as I wheeled around to see a rather large slime hopping my direction. I pulled my knife out of my bag and coated it with mana, something I had learned with trial and error over the last few days. It was effective but extremely costly and crude, so I had to finish it fast. Time Limit 00:00:01:33 I let out a guttural scream I wasn¡¯t aware I was even capable of, let alone that I had been holding it back. After all my struggling over the past week, I felt like I had to kill this slime. I needed to kill it. I dashed towards my final foe, my ticket to immense rewards. Time Limit 00:00:01:25 We were nearly the same height, I slashed at its body. The gashes I left were deep, but not fatal. I needed to do more damage than this, but I didn¡¯t have any other weapon that was effective against slimes. It jumped forward crashing into my chest, my skin that came into contact with it was burning as I bounced off of it and crashed to the ground. Time Limit 00:00:00:58 My enemy was slow but each time it attacked me I was thrown backwards, thankfully my cloak helped cushion the blows and the fall, but it wasn''t enough for me to avoid injury. In the time it took for me to regain my footing some of the injuries I caused had already healed. Time Limit 00:00:00:43 My hands were numb, and stuck deep within the slime as I tried to slice it in two, my face burning as it hit me again. I fell hard onto the cave floor, and slammed my fist on the ground as I looked at the timer. Time Limit 00:00:00:30 I can do this. I have to do this. I told myself as I struggled to my feet, my muscles complained since they had been working overtime and a sharp pain shot through my chest. My arm raised above my head as I pictured Aureus slicing through slimes with his water cutter, my senses heightened while I envisioned it in my head. Time Limit 00:00:00:22 My skin prickled at the cold wet air around me, electricity buzzed under my skin and traveled towards my arm. My body felt like it was on fire as my arm sliced down towards the final slime. A bright faintly purple light overtook my vision for a moment, followed by the quest window. [Congratulations, you¡¯ve completed the final milestone of Naked and Unafraid.] Chapter 10: An Unexpected Visitor My throat was burning and my head felt as though it would split in two, I opened my eyes to Aureus toppling off of me as I bolted up in a coughing fit. I cleared my throat and frowned, yet again I had lost consciousness. An orb of water hovered in front of me as Aureus righted his posture and looked at me expectantly. My new talent of drinking water as though I were an astronaut once brought me great joy, but now I was trying to drink down the feelings of envy along with it. I patted Aureus on the head as I tried to ignore the figure of inferiority that was looming over me. How long was I out? It''s only been a couple minutes probably, you were already out when I arrived. I could feel Aureus¡¯ disappointment with himself, I struggled to encourage him while pushing down my own feelings of disappointment. My fingers traced along his head, the beginnings of horns budding in line with the three triangular frills that had been steadily growing along either side of his jawline. His face was framed nicely by them, and surprisingly they were soft. His horns had yet to breach the surface, and he complained endlessly when I teased him about it. [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± complains saying that they can¡¯t believe you made it.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± cheers and looks at you greedily.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± tells you that you¡¯ve surpassed her expectations and says you did a good job.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± is surprised and grumbles about revising calculations as he scribbles in his notebook.] [¡°Void Who Gazes Back¡± clicks her tongue saying that you¡¯ve accomplished a great feat and laments that her contractor has some fierce competition.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± says that her contractor isn¡¯t inferior, and tells her not to worry.] [¡°Void Who Gazes Back¡± blushes and exclaims that of course her contractor is the best, that¡¯s why she vowed to take only one.] I continued scrolling through the messages I missed, it seemed like there were a few new gods commenting on the events that had just happened. Also from the looks of it the Painter and the Void were friends as well. I wondered why I hadn¡¯t seen the Void in the GGC so far. I shuddered at the thought of gods that had merely been lurking and not chatting, it made me feel uneasy. The chats for the last few minutes mostly consisted of complaints that I was successful, admiration for my feat, complaints about their contractors, and questions about how long I¡¯d be out. I stopped counting new names at around 20 and gave up on reading through the chat history. I pulled up my status window expecting to see a new skill. I had clearly done something impressive when I killed the slime with how the gods were reacting. But there wasn¡¯t anything new. I was disappointed, but only for a brief second because I remembered that I had never gotten a skill when I figured out how to coat my dagger with mana either. ¡°Can you guys tell me what I just did?¡± [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± snickers at you and repeats ¡®just¡¯ sarcastically.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± explains that you created a mana emission similar to how skills work but you intuitively learned it on your own.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± says not to worry about passing out, that you had experienced mana exhaustion. She exclaims that it was bound to happen at some point.] ¡°So¡­ if I mimicked a skill why didn¡¯t I earn one?¡± [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± questions your logic and asks why you would need to ¡®earn¡¯ a skill.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± begins explaining that skills can only be given not earned, but she stops and corrects herself; they can be earned as rewards but not earned in the way you mean.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± says that you think too much, if you can do it just do it. Asking -] The rest of the chat box was obscured, I assumed that there was something I wasn¡¯t allowed to know on it. I let out an exasperated laugh as I ran my hands through my hair. [Naked and Unafraid, last milestone rewards can be claimed.] Expectation and anxiety coursed through me as I opened my final reward. ¡°Well, I guess I have another weapon I can¡¯t really use.¡± I mumbled to myself as I read the name of the first reward, ¡®The Waterdrop Staff¡¯. The next was similarly called ¡®The Dew Drop of Water Breathing¡¯. I opened the status window for the staff and immediately took back my words. The staff increased mana control and reduced consumption by 20% and included the ability to store mana in the staff in the form of spells. I couldn¡¯t really use spells at the moment, but maybe I could ask Aureus to try storing one. More importantly the reduction of mana consumption was insane, I already had a higher mana regeneration than normal so reducing the consumption even though it was only 20% would be exceedingly helpful in speeding up hunting. The Dew Drop of Water Breathing was a simple silver anklet with a pale blue moonstone bead, with unsurprisingly, the ability to breathe underwater for 20 minutes with a 3 hour cooldown. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± complains that you¡¯re not grateful for anything they do for you.] ¡°NO!¡± I flushed, and cleared my throat, ¡°I mean, no I really appreciate this! These are great items. Thank you, I really do like them.¡± I pulled the items out of my inventory, putting the anklet on my left leg and marveling at the staff, it was gorgeous. It had a typical hooked shape at the top, but the body of it was intricate, covered in vaguely riverlike swirls branching and curling as they made their way to the top. As the hook tapered to its end a single water drop hung down. The drop was also made of moonstone according to the item window and looked as if it would fall at any moment. It was astounding how real the drop looked, I carefully touched it half expecting it to roll down my finger. It didn¡¯t, and surprisingly it didn¡¯t feel fragile either. I looked up to talk to the Playwright, but surprisingly the quest window was still there. [Congratulations, you¡¯ve completed Naked and Unafraid!] [Please accept the quest completion reward.] Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. It took a second for me to process the words I was reading, I still had another reward? Really? [You have earned the title ¡°Slimes¡¯ Number 1 Enemy¡±.] ~~*~~ Slimes¡¯ Number 1 Enemy Description: You have killed countless slimes, pushing them to extinction. Tales of your massacre will be told to slime children for decades to come, even the mention of your name shall strike fear in their hearts. You have faced your fears and made your fears fear you instead! Passive: You have an aura that scares slimes, they will avoid you at all costs. Active: When equipped your bloodthirsty aura will cause slimes within 50 feet to fall into a fear state. ~~*~~ My smile fell slightly, this title was moderately disappointing when compared to my other two, but I quickly cheered up. I wouldn¡¯t ever have to deal with slimes ever again! ¡°You must really care about me Playwright¡± I teased, ¡°Not only did you give me a quest with amazing rewards you also gave me a way to face my fears and avoid them at the same time! How sweet of you. Thank you!¡± I smiled overdramatically with a small flourish as I pretended to bow towards the GGC. My words were sickly sweet and though I didn¡¯t like the way that the Playwright went about the quest I did really appreciate what they¡¯d done for me. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± cracks a sly grin as they match your tone of voice expressing how impressed they were that you were actually able to complete a quest they never expected you to.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± says that she is glad the two of you are getting along better now.] [¡°Void Who Gazes Back¡± huffs and says that even though you¡¯re impressive her contractor will still be better.] I grunted as I forced myself to my feet, Aureus began whining, Master! You should rest more, your body isn¡¯t in great shape right now! It''s been at least a week of being stuck in this place I want to go home now. We can take a day off and have fun together, wouldn¡¯t that be nice? Fun? With Master, the two of us? Aureus lit up, his fat tail knocking up rocks as he hopped about in anticipation. Yes, well. I would like to nap with you first though, I am beat. I was looking through the disgusting mound of goop that used to be the big slime. I couldn¡¯t find anything of value, so I just hobbled my way over to the small pool of water I entered through. Briefly I considered if I should check the pedestal, but exhaustion was weighing on me like a lead blanket. Before I could even think to ask him Aureus had hooked his front legs under my arms and plunged into the water. Breathing underwater with an item was a very strange feeling, it wasn¡¯t unpleasant but instincts don¡¯t let up easily. My first breath was sudden and deep as I fought my mind back, I knew I would be able to breathe but the doubt creeping in made my chest feel heavier. The feeling of breathing in water but turning to air before it even touched my tongue was baffling. I almost asked Aureus to swim with me underwater for longer. I pulled myself up on the shore as I wrung out the water from my hair, my outfit dried quickly but my hair had always kept moisture like a sponge. The pink tinted light gleaming down on me illuminated injuries I wasn¡¯t aware of. Well, I was aware I had been injured but the extent of them was a bit shocking. Both of my hands were bloodied and raw, the skin in some places had melted from the slime and in other places had small rocks and lacerations from falling back on them. I was also pretty sure I had a few broken ribs and was covered in bruises. As I braced myself to get up off of the shore, a paw came down on my collarbone. My back slapping down on the shore again as I let out a pained squeak. Master, just take a break here for a little while. I can go and hunt and when we level up you¡¯ll be okay again. The desperation behind his eyes was prickly, it was stabbing at the tender inferiority that had been welling up in me. Ultimately I couldn¡¯t disagree, I was dead tired and my whole body was telling me not to move. Various emotions fought for dominance, envy, happiness, sadness, frustration, love. None of them were clear victors until I watched him fly off leaving me forlorn. ¡°I know I chose this class, but I really wish I was more useful.¡± I muttered to myself, even though I knew that I was doing good and using Aureus appropriately. It was the right way to utilize a class like mine and eventually I¡¯d have several familiars and I wouldn¡¯t need to do much at all, probably. But it was surprisingly hard to let Aureus do all the hard work, maybe it was because I thought of him like a baby or a pet. I sighed and leaned into a stiff stretch, groaning and wincing as my sore muscles and bones creaked. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± expresses that you¡¯re strangely smarter and stupider than he expects every time.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± is confused and says she does not understand your line of thinking.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± says that this is the reason they like humans, they never understand their worth without something to compare to.] [¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± scoffs at you and marvels at human greed.] I grimaced and subsequently flinched at the pain it caused. I wanted to argue with the gods but just didn¡¯t have the energy, and I knew deep down they were right. I wanted a class like this in the first place because I wanted others to fight for me, but humans have always strived for innovation. I couldn¡¯t help my ambition, the stronger we got the less I would have to fight with Aureus and I could relax. I just wanted to be lazy, I grumbled about auto hunting and comfortability in the dungeons as I drifted into a dreamless sleep. I awoke to the level up notification, a familiar refreshing energy filled my chest. I stood and stretched, finally I could head home again. I had been in here for over a week and I¡¯d already earned 3 titles and leveled up to 15, I wondered how other Candidates were fairing. ¡°You know I haven¡¯t asked you how other Candidates were because I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d tell me, but have monsters attacked normal people? Am I going to return to a near apocalyptic world?¡± I lazily scrolled through messages I hadn¡¯t read in the GGC as I casually asked about the state of the world. All the responses I got were vague and noncommittal though. With a sigh I started the trek back to the entrance of the Underhollow, but quickly I turned back and filled a canteen I¡¯d gotten as a sponsorship while I was passed out in the slime cave. With a new full container of water I continued on my journey, the thought of laying in my own bed again pushing each step to be quicker than the previous. I laughed as the wind threw my damp hair into new tangles I¡¯d no doubt have to fight with when I returned, my feet nearly getting away from me as I ran down the hill. Aureus joined me at the archway, I poured some of the water I¡¯d collected on our patch of potatoes I¡¯d collected over the last week. They were basically just regular potatoes but the skin was a bluish purple and much larger than any other potato I¡¯d had. I sighed and took one last look into the fantastical place that had nearly killed me. It was strange, part of me didn¡¯t want to leave. The trip home was uneventful, the sun was rising over a mountain in the distance as I leisurely made my way down the mountain. Even though I was taking my time, I still ended up only taking a fourth of the time it had taken me the first day. I was finally able to see my house in the distance as the sun had left its spot on the mountain and hung in the worst part of the sky. It had to be about 7 a.m. now, it was just high enough to be glaring and just low enough that blocking it out was difficult. The glare made seeing my house clearly impossible. I squinted into the light as my home¡¯s familiar silhouette became more clear, and another familiar silhouette sat on my stairs. Looking up at me with both relief and anxiety plastered across its face. ¡°Mia¡­¡± Caroline started but stopped and looked down at her hands when I made eye contact. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± When I didn¡¯t receive a response I just walked past her and unlocked the door. Motioning begrudgingly for her to follow me inside so we could talk for the first time in ages. Chapter 11: Old Wounds and New Beginnings ¡°Why are you here Caroline?¡± It was strange seeing her act that way although I hadn¡¯t seen her in a year. ¡°W-well,¡± she winced as she stuttered out her response. ¡°I just had to come and make sure you were alright.¡± She followed her words with a smile. I sat in silence, I was unconvinced. She must have been having a rough time. Her hair was well groomed, but she¡¯d pulled it into a tight bun. If it were her in the past she never would have done that. She always complained that putting her hair up gave her headaches. And her normally simple but feminine clothes were replaced with a cheap button up utility shirt and some mens sweatpants. They were oversized and hung on her awkwardly, her limbs looking even thinner by comparison. I sighed, stood up and grabbed a couple glasses from my cupboard. ¡°Water or juice?¡± ¡°Water¡­ please.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t look like yourself, have you been having a hard time? Did you borrow Reid¡¯s clothes?¡± I tried to ask casually, despite myself I was worried about her. A small ember of anger echoing She just shows up on my doorstep like this after a year? As if nothing happened? In my head as it was fanned into a small flame. I grabbed my water pitcher out of the mostly empty fridge and glanced back at her. ¡°How has this last week treated you, things have been a bit crazy right?¡± I asked as the tone lowered as the water level rose its sound felt oddly loud in the gap of conversation. I started filling mine after setting hers on the bar in front of her. She stared at me blankly so I continued filling the dead air, ¡°God, I nearly killed myself trying to grind some levels in the Underhollow.¡± I paused to give her a chance to jump in, wondering if she just came to listen to me talk. ¡°Did you not become a Candidate? I suppose not everyone would be, that might be better. It''s hard to imagine you in the Underhollow fighting horned rabbits and slimes.¡± I laughed as I shuddered at the idea of slimes. Somehow even though I¡¯d killed so many of them I had become even more adverse to the vile creatures. I sat down across from her again with a small smile, it was hard not to smile as I thought of her awkwardly trying to fight monsters. She was cupping her glass and staring down at it, a loose strand of her blonde hair slipping down and brushing her knuckles. I chuckled awkwardly, ¡°I mean don¡¯t get me wrong, I just worry you might get hurt is all. It''s a rough place if you¡¯ve gone you¡¯d understand it isn¡¯t fun. Well¡­ I guess it could be in some ways.¡± She was looking at me like I was speaking Martian, I furrowed my brows. That flame of anger was growing, I was doing my best to ease the awkwardness and she wasn¡¯t giving me anything. ¡°What? Why are you acting like this? I¡¯m trying to be nice despite everything. Did you just come here because you and Nicole had a falling out or something? Like seriously this is-¡± Caroline¡¯s hands came crashing down on the table suddenly as she nearly lept off of her perch on the stool. Her pale face was getting more and more red as she screamed. ¡°You are so stupid! I knew you were reckless, but seriously Mia! What the hell? A week? It''s been a day! We became Candidates this time yesterday, and the first thing I did-¡± she choked as her words got caught in her throat. ¡°And you¡¯re being nice?¡± Her eyes were welling up, she grimaced and looked away. She angrily wiped at her tears as she made her way over to my couch. I was frozen just watching her as she latched onto a throw pillow. I blinked several times trying to process what I¡¯d just heard. A day? My mind boggled as I tried to wrap it around the concept of the last week being only a day. I looked back over at her, she had a death grip on that pillow. It was like a rug had been pulled out from under me, I¡¯d never seen her lose her composure this much. Sure she was awkward at times when any sort of physical activity came up but other than that she was the picture of someone with their shit together. My hand was shaking as it found the top of my chair and pushed me to my feet. It was hard to get my thoughts together as my chest ached and my feet found their way to her. ¡°Are you alright? Do you need anything?¡± I squatted in front of her and reached out to console her but stopped, I had never been good at this kind of thing. ¡°No, I am not alright.¡± She snapped. ¡°Well, what do you want me to do? Stop the gods from turning our world into some sick game?¡± I threw back. She glared at me for a moment before rolling her eyes at my comment with a scoff, ¡°Seriously, that is what you got from what I just said?¡± I gritted my teeth, I knew that wasn¡¯t what she meant but I couldn¡¯t put it into words. I was angry. It¡¯s not like she had been there for me since everything happened. Why was she putting in effort now that I had finally gotten used to everything? She took a deep breath, centering herself before continuing, ¡°How could you just¡­ Go down there? Without anyone else? You¡¯re crazy¡­¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s not like anyone else was around were they?¡± I spat out sarcastically. ¡°How is that my fault?!¡± Caroline roared, tears pooling in her eyes again. I could tell that despite her, sadness was overtaking her anger. ¡°You think visiting me because of something like this would just gloss over everything?! After everything I was going through! I mean it had only been a couple weeks after mom,¡± I paused, turning away before finishing that sentence, ¡°died.¡± I couldn¡¯t look at her while I cried about this. My pride wouldn''t allow me to. ¡°That is not fair. I was grieving too, we were all going through it. And seriously? Trying to be nice despite everything?! You just up and disappear without a word one day randomly and now you¡¯re saying you¡¯re being nice despite everything? I tried to get a hold of you but you never responded and I was trying my best to be understanding and give you your space. I mean she was your mom and I get you were going through a lot but-¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Old painful memories were dredged up and stung at the back of my mind. I frowned, and pushed them back down. ¡°Wait wait stop. What do you mean without a word? I talked to y¡¯all the day before I left. You know why I left. And you seriously have the nerve to say that you get that I was going through a lot? After everything that happened and you took Nicole¡¯s side, seriously?! Especially since it was only a couple weeks after¡­¡± I stopped, or more like I couldn¡¯t continue. Part of me felt pathetic for not coming to terms with the loss after all this time while another reignited the anger I felt over everything all over again. ¡°What are you talking about? I know you and Nicole didn¡¯t always get along but how did I take her side? And how would I know why you left if you don¡¯t tell me? Honestly, I thought you just needed some time alone to grieve, I always thought you¡¯d approach us when you were ready.¡± I sighed and lifted an eyebrow at her, but she merely threw her hands up. So slowly, I started summarizing the event in question, ¡°You and Nicole were roommates, a week before I left you called me to go grab something from your place and I ran into Nicole while I was there that night. And I saw¡­ them. That''s why I left, obviously. We talked about this.¡± Her light brown eyes narrowed at me, ¡°Saw them? What?¡± ¡°Them! Together! Her and Theo just ¡­¡± I didn¡¯t want to finish the sentence, I guess I still had a lot of emotions surrounding it. ¡°I couldn¡¯t grab whatever it was you asked for and I ran out and I called you. You didn¡¯t pick up and I just left a voicemail about it and went home, after that the next day you and Nicole showed up with cookies talking about how happy you were that this finally came out. I am sorry I lost my temper there and really destroyed those cookies, but if I hadn¡¯t I definitely would have punched her in her stupidly smug face.¡± I sighed looking at my floor, ¡°You know¡­ she smiled when I walked in on them. I don¡¯t get why you would want to be friends with such a¡­¡± I had a bitter smile that faded when I looked up to find Caroline shocked and crying again. ¡°Why are¡­ Is something going on? Are you okay? I¡¯ve never seen you this emotional since that bastard Liam stood you up for junior prom.¡± I teased her, she didn¡¯t cry that night but she had gotten angry and drunk at the after party. Which I learned about from the various videos she sent me, I was never one for after parties. Even though I had a lot of mixed emotions with her now at one point she was the only person I really had, I couldn¡¯t help but fall back into our old rhythm. ¡°I didn¡¯t know¡­ Oh my god everything makes sense now.¡± Her words felt like ice water and shocked me out of the complacency I was slipping back into. It was frustrating to see her act oblivious after all this time. I rolled my eyes as I got up, I didn¡¯t want to talk about it anymore. Caroline caught my arm and pulled me to the couch next to her. ¡°No, Mia. Please just listen to me for a minute. Remember that night, I didn¡¯t text you, I DMed you. I had left my phone at home because I grabbed the wrong purse on the way to work. I never got any responses from you for like an hour so I asked Nicole to bring my bag. When she showed up she was rambling about how you made a fuss at our place and broke up with Theo. She was complaining about how you got mad at her because she told you it was for the best. I didn¡¯t have a voicemail or missed call on my phone at all. I never heard it I swear!¡± My thoughts were spiraling, but it was plausible. ¡°Wait¡­ but why that day when I met up with you because you wouldn¡¯t stop texting me to meet you before leaving town, why did you say that it was good that everything happened and it was over now? I mean you even said that Nicole was right. Plus you said you were happy it finally came out the day after I saw them. Did you just not like Theo? Is that why you got so mad when I said I was leaving and didn¡¯t want to talk to you anymore?¡± I longed to believe her, that my oldest and best friend hadn¡¯t betrayed me. My mind was wrestling with my heart and it felt like their war would swallow me whole. ¡°Well duh, Theo was an ass. I never liked that guy¡± she chuckled, ¡°He was the worst and didn¡¯t treat you well so I was happy that you ended it, I thought you finally realized how much he sucked. Nicole told me the reason you were mad was because he was texting someone else and she said that we both hated him the whole time. I thought you were upset because I didn¡¯t tell you that I thought you should leave him but I told Nicole. And obviously I¡¯m going to be pissed if you just up and notify me that you¡¯re leaving and don¡¯t want to be friends anymore! Seriously!¡± she let out a frustrated sigh and squeezed my hands, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask me directly about the cheating?¡± I dropped my head into my hands, at some point I must¡¯ve started crying too as my face was already wet with my tears. It was beyond shocking, this whole time I¡¯d resented the closest person to me for something she never did. A cold hand started rubbing my back, it was comforting even though I¡¯d always hated how cold her hands were. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry.¡± We echoed back and forth to each other as we collapsed into a pile on the couch. She rambled on about her side of things, how Nicole lied to her and how she tried to reach out but I was upset that she was fine with Nicole. How she¡¯s wanted to talk to me this whole time but I never gave her the chance. How heartbroken she was when I broke off our friendship. Part of me was worried, what if she was lying? But I¡¯d known her for years, that''s why it hurt so much when it first happened. My chest ached as I thought back over the past with a new lens. A gentle kiss met the top of my head, it dulled the pain. ¡°So did she delete the voicemail from your phone, you think?¡± ¡°She must¡¯ve, you know I keep my ringer on so they probably heard the call after you left. I guess she didn¡¯t want there to be drama since I was her roommate... Did Theo try to talk to you about ya know, him and her?¡± I scoffed, ¡°Yeah, he ran after me straight away. He didn¡¯t even take the time to get proper clothes on and ran out in the cold in his boxers, that was kinda satisfying. He rambled about how this was the first time he had been drinking and I don¡¯t know if he said he thought I was going to be over there? I don¡¯t remember it well.¡± ¡°Do you think he was telling the truth? Clearly he was a cheater but I feel like I should¡¯ve noticed if they had been together for a while.¡± I shrugged, ¡°Eh. You were working a lot at that time so there¡¯s no telling.¡± I groaned, ¡°I cannot believe I just thought you would have done that to me. I mean obviously Nicole would do something like that but¡± ¡°Nicole that little¡­¡± she muttered. ¡°Are you guys still¡­?¡± ¡°No, when our lease was up I moved out, we were fighting a lot after you left and she kept shit talking you so I couldn¡¯t stay there anymore. I always thought that you must have been upset about something else and just needed time. I thought if I just gave you time you¡¯d come back¡­¡± Her words stung, I felt like an idiot. Why didn¡¯t I communicate more? For the first time in a year me and Caroline laughed and chatted and cried together as we rekindled our broken relationship. I finally let the tension that had built up over the last week go. ¡°OH! Oh yeah, what do you mean it¡¯s only been a day?!¡± I had nearly forgotten about that conversation point, it¡¯d likely been hours since we started catching up. Caroline¡¯s expression dropped and she handed me her phone. The date was Saturday September 2nd, it was baffling. I had just spent a week killing myself over a quest and it had actually only been a day? I looked up at Caroline, she pressed her lips into a thin line taking her phone back. ¡°So a week huh? The time difference is weird.¡± She prodded, trying not to show the concern on her face as she glanced at the floor. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I trailed off as my mind wandered, before I could continue Caroline pointed towards my feet and asked ¡°So uh¡­ I was trying to wait till you brought it up yourself¡­ but what''s this? We should talk about what you¡¯ve been doing this past ¡®week¡¯ don¡¯t you think?¡± My gaze followed her finger to my familiar that rested on the floor at my feet. Chapter 12: Back to Civilization? I was reading through various news articles and headlines on my phone as Caroline drove the three of us into the city. It¡¯d been half an hour since I finished my summary of the last week¡¯s events. A long silence followed, she was probably going to be upset at me for a while. I stared out the window, the buildings growing on the horizon. Unfortunately it was a familiar sight, I looked back down at my phone displeased with my return to that hell hole. None of the articles really seemed to be saying much other than what I already knew. Gods were playing a game with us and entrances to the Underhollow were appearing all over the world. Well finding out that outside of Candidates almost the entire rest of the adult population awakened as Adventurers was very surprising, but most of them had non-combat related skills. Simple skills like food preparation or construction were common and the consensus seemed to be that Adventurers received skills related to their abilities prior to awakening. Though some speculated that it wasn''t as much about their abilities but rather their wishes. The one thing it seemed everyone could agree on was that chaos had overtaken everything. Although the amount of monsters that had escaped wasn''t small, they were weak and very few casualties occurred as a result of them. People had been the ones to turn the world upside down over the 24 hours after the awakening. The fact that it had only been 24 hours was also still a strange pill to swallow. In almost every major prison a jailbreak occurred leaving most developed countries to send their armies to fight criminal Candidates who had been doing significantly more damage than the monsters. Many normal people began to riot and loot during the chaos, which allowed for even more damage to pile up much faster than governments could handle it. The city resembled an apocalypse movie set, and was eerily empty in comparison to how busy it used to be. The surrounding buildings and cars were destroyed, as we were traveling I saw only tens of people out and about. Trash and debris were filling the streets in some areas and we had to reroute our path a couple times. There was evidence of the government attempting action in some areas, and some streets we passed had police barricades across them. We took a normally nonsensical path avoiding government policed areas ¨C if you could call them that ¨C and roads that weren¡¯t traversable because of flipped cars or crumbling buildings. We even turned around once because one of the streets had many more people than the others. But other than that people were scarce, two or three people here or there looting or running to god knows where. ¡°Where is everyone?¡± I whispered. ¡°Most people fled the city or hid inside, and everyone else is either in the Underhollow or committing crimes or stopping them. Order collapsed pretty quickly. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been avoiding areas with lots of people.¡± She glanced over at me, an emotion I thought was close to resentment flashing through her expression. ¡°This is why I was worried about you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know it was like this.¡± ¡°It''s fine.¡± I knew it was decidedly not fine. ¡°Soooo¡­ Where are we headed?¡± I mostly wanted to fill the silence. Once I broke the silence I dreaded the idea of its return. ¡°We¡¯re going to meet with Reid.¡± ¡°God¡­ I think it''s been like 2 or 3 years since I¡¯ve seen him.¡± A memory of her older brother flashed through my head. We always got on like a house on fire. When Caro and I first met we became inseparable, but it didn¡¯t take long with Reid following us like a lost duckling for us to become basically siblings from that point on. They were so similar they could¡¯ve been twins, aside from the fact that Reid had blue eyes rather than brown and was a solid six inches taller than her, putting him at a cool six foot four. ¡°It''s going to be weird seeing your perfect nuclear family again after all this time.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Well mom and dad won¡¯t be around, they¡¯re abroad right now.¡± The air became thick with anxiety at her comment. I regretted mentioning them, normally we could¡¯ve joked about how appearances weren¡¯t always accurate, but now wasn¡¯t the time. ¡°Oh¡± a long pause followed as I looked out the window trying to muster up a new topic to get her mind off of it. A destroyed city bus that had been overturned zipped past us to my right. ¡°Right, so we¡¯re going to see Reid. Anyone else where we¡¯re headed?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I got a message from him yesterday basically just asking me to come meet him and I said I had to go get you first.¡± Uhhh¡­ Master? ¡°So I never asked but did you or Reid become Candidates? Or awaken at all?¡± Master ¡°Yeah, I am a Candidate and I got a contract, but I never asked Reid. I didn''t think about it at the time. It was pretty chaotic that first day, I nearly ran over som-¡± MASTER! Aureus was grabbing onto my cloak haphazardly pulling back on it and consequently choking me with it in the process. I whipped around, What?! ¨C ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± Caroline asked nonchalantly. ¡°Uhh, well don¡¯t look now but I think we¡¯re being pursued by some sort of Mad Max style crazies.¡± At this point a tricked out semi truck was nearly bumping into us, and a man covered with black and red body paint hung off the front of it reaching for our car. Caroline reflexively reached for the rearview mirror that wasn¡¯t there to look at our pursuers. ¡°Shit!¡± She said with a glance over her shoulder, and hit the gas. With a lurch we narrowly avoided an additional passenger, the truck blowing its horn in bursts in response. ¡°Should¡­ Should I attack them?¡± I had turned around completely in my chair at this point, looking back at the truck and man. He wasn¡¯t wearing a shirt and had covered most of one side of his torso with black body paint and the other with red. With a swastika and the blood drop cross each taking up one of his pecks. His face had the opposite coloration with red on the left half and black on the right. That gave me two more good reasons to attack him other than that there was no way they were trying to stop us for some tea. I glanced over at Caroline, time seemed to slow as she slammed on the breaks and my head snapped back with the inertia. Another truck speeding through where we might¡¯ve been if she hadn¡¯t slowed harshly. Unfortunately for us this meant that the truck following us had a chance to catch up and we were nearly blocked off. ¡°Lets just talk to them.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. I stared at her, I was shocked beyond belief. She was all over the place emotionally today but in the face of violent racists parading down the street as if it were the most normal thing ever she said to just talk to them? A quick flash of doubt washed over me, why would anyone want to stop in an obvious trap to talk to some crazy nazis? I pushed the distrust down reminding myself that this was Caro, she probably had a reason. Still I couldn¡¯t completely get rid of it, a small part of me screamed that I was better off on my own. I ignored it. ¡°I really don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good idea¡­?¡± anxiety was gripping me, I had Aureus so I was fine but I didn¡¯t know enough about Caro¡¯s abilities. The worry that I wouldn¡¯t be able to protect her was bubbling up inside me, it was strange to have such a strong protective instinct just seconds after doubting her. Shame was added to my ever growing list of current emotions, it was overwhelming. ¡°Well it seems like our only option at the moment.¡± She said with a sigh, and began rifling through some bags in the back seat. The next thing I knew I had a pistol in my hand and she was loading a shotgun. ¡°I assume you know how to use that even though it has been a few years?¡± I nodded with a weak smile, ¡°Well now I feel much safer, good thing Reid isn¡¯t here to accidentally shoot someone!¡± That got a chuckle, ¡°That was a BB gun not a real gun, and my money is still on that it wasn¡¯t an accident.¡± As we were stepping out of the car, I left my door open for Aureus to appear if needed. Stay inside unless I call you. But I can defeat these humans easily! He protested. Unlike him, I wasn¡¯t so certain, we had no information about what had been going on here since the awakening. There was no need to discourage him though. Yes, but it would make me feel better if we have a secret weapon and the element of surprise okay? Plus I don¡¯t want to kill anyone if I don¡¯t have to, even if they¡¯re the scum of the earth. Well maybe. Maybe we should kill them¡­ I don¡¯t know, I haven''t decided so just wait okay? The man from the original truck was slowly approaching Caroline''s side of the car and in front of us were a small group of men gathering around the second truck. A few had guns while others didn¡¯t. Caroline was already pointing her gun towards the man as he smiled with his hands up. While I was on guard towards the other group of men, really my gun was mostly for show since I had no plans of using it as my main weapon of choice. ¡°Now, now my darlings. There¡¯s no need for that now.¡± I fought the urge to curse at him, though Aureus did call him a ¡®dimwitted bastard¡¯ who ¡®didn¡¯t know his place¡¯. The GGC had been very active, but I wasn¡¯t planning to read any of it when a quest window popped up in front of me. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± has sponsored you.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± has sponsored you.] ~~*~~ Quest Name: Road Rage Description: Your group has been stopped by hostile humans. Successfully negotiate to leave, join their group, scare them off, or kill them all. As long as you come out the victor of this altercation you will reap the rewards! Reward: +1 to all stats, +1 unallocated stat point for every 2 kills. ~~*~~ I quickly accepted the quest and shot a look towards Caroline, when our eyes met she gave me a small nod. Briefly I pondered on why the rewards were so generous, but I pushed it out of my mind, I could think about that when we got out of here. I focused my eyes back on the group of men casually leaning on their truck laughing and sneering at us. Aureus¡¯ anger was pushing its way into my mind. ¡°Tell your buds over there to get out of our way.¡± Caroline said flatly, if she was tense it didn¡¯t reflect in her actions or words at all. ¡°We just wanna have a talk is all.¡± He responded, the boys at the truck erupted into obscene gestures and whistles. I fired a shot into their headlight, as a result the group pointed their guns towards me. The fact that it hit its target was surprising, I assumed it had something to do with my level and prior experience even though I was never a stellar shot. Their casual atmosphere disappeared and one of the group grabbed an already bloodied crow bar from the bed of the pickup truck. He took one step forward before stopping and crossing his arms. With a glance to my side I saw that the painted man had held up his hand and was looking at me. He was only five or six feet away from Caroline now and her gun was trained on him. I flashed him a smile. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± sighs and complains that you should¡¯ve shot at least one of them by now.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± expresses that you should kill them all, but should castrate them first.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± gasps and implores that you give them swift deaths.] ¡°Wow I thought the Painter wouldn¡¯t approve of killing them, though I guess both of them provided this quest...¡± I muttered under my breath, I had already decided that we should kill them. The only reason I was holding back now was because of the fear of the unknown. We didn¡¯t know if they had leveled up too, they could¡¯ve received quests to murder or loot so they could be higher leveled. Or they could just be some random thugs that weren¡¯t that impressive, there really wasn¡¯t any way to know¡­ Well outside of learning the hard way that is. ¡°You know you shouldn¡¯t do that.¡± He said as he took another step forward. ¡°Stop that is close enough, one more step and I¡¯ll shoot.¡± Caro said firmly. ¡°Okay, okay. Then we can talk from right here.¡± I snorted, we were all aware they weren¡¯t here to talk, ¡°Can¡¯t you just get on with it? What do y¡¯all want?¡± He sighed, ¡°Well, you are no fun at all are you?¡± He said disapprovingly at me, then looked towards Caroline and continued, ¡°You must have a rough time bringing that one to parties huh?¡± When he didn¡¯t get a rise out of either of us he continued monologuing, ¡°The world is in such an interesting state right now you know. It''s so nice to be able to freely be ourselves without fear. You really should join us, you¡¯re nearly perfect. Such a pity your eyes are brown though.¡± He cast a disapproving glance in my direction. ¡°It''s also a pity your choice in company isn¡¯t the best. But, from the looks of it she is mostly white and, what, maybe Greek? Italian? We could accept a package deal.¡± I narrowed my eyes at that comment, I suppose anyone who didn¡¯t fit their preferences wasn¡¯t white. I wondered if he was aware that Italy was in Europe. I mused for a moment, considering commenting on his race as well just to inflame him. I doubted he was ¡®white¡¯ by his own standards, he was covering his own skin with paint after all. Caroline scoffed, ¡°A package deal? Sorry but we aren¡¯t for sale, and even if we were you couldn¡¯t afford it.¡± ¡°Ooooh, okay okay. But I think you¡¯re overestimating your worth darlin¡¯. I could always just let my boys kill one of you and take the other, or maybe kill both or take both? I dunno whatever happens, happens. But we¡¯ll get all your stuff either way. It was cute that you girls thought you could get away from us, but once we got you in our sights your fate was sealed.¡± My mind immediately brought back the memory of the road that we backed out of, they must have seen us there. I looked over at Caroline, her face was grim. At first I thought she was worried about how we would get out of it, but that thought quickly disappeared with the sound of her shooting at the painted man in front of her. ¡°Ow, well what was that for? We weren¡¯t done talking yet.¡± He took a swift step forward, followed by a second shot by Caroline as she stepped back. There was blood dripping through the black paint on his chest and abdomen, but not nearly as much as a shotgun blast should cause. Really it seemed like he had barely gotten injured, it couldn¡¯t have hit anything vital. Aureus. I didn¡¯t have to say anything else, within seconds he was on top of the car, launching earth element blasts at the man. The man took a large leap back to the sidewalk, and smiled. ¡°Well, well, well. Isn¡¯t this an interesting turn of events?¡± Chapter 13: Southern Hospitality Part One Aureus was still standing on the roof of the car, Master, can I kill them? Yes. Kill them all. No need to let those who run live, they might bring reinforcements. Understood. He continued to test out his opponent throwing various sizes of earth projectiles and flew towards his prey. I smiled to myself, normally I didn¡¯t mind if he played with his food, but an uncomfortable feeling was creeping up on me. I was about to tell Aureus to end it quickly when a couple shots rang out, whizzing past me towards Aureus. Of course they were ineffective, but it pissed me off. How dare they? Caroline had taken up fighting the painted man with Aureus, she was using some sort of magic. It was obvious she was under leveled compared to Aureus and the painted man. While they fought I took cover behind a nearby van, shooting at the other group. I hit one of the five in the abdomen below the ribs, and the damage was more significant than Caroline¡¯s shots on the painted man but not by much. I smiled to myself despite the small amount of damage, I had a tiny revenge for Aureus. I fired two more shots at them before they scattered to take cover as well, unfortunately I wasn¡¯t sure if the other two shots hit or not. They took turns popping out from behind cover and firing volleys at me while the other fight intensified, I was pinned down I couldn¡¯t fire back. I took to trying to analyze the fight Aureus was in. The painted man seemed to be a brawler, red lightning covering his body as he launched himself towards Aureus. ¡°Mia!¡± Caroline had turned from their battle and took a couple steps towards where I had hidden. I made eye contact and shook my head, she ignored me and continued towards me. ¡°Caro! No.¡± I yelled, she needed to be near Aureus. It was safer. The painted man took advantage of Caroline¡¯s retreat from the battle and changed targets. He leapt towards her, but before I could see the outcome a bullet tore through the van I had been using as cover. I flinched looking towards the semi where another man was exiting the passenger side. I scanned him as he made his way to me, but the man approaching me from the semi didn¡¯t have a weapon. I began to panic, searching my surroundings for the shooter. I looked back at the van next to me, there was a grapefruit sized hole in it. Ah, he doesn¡¯t need a gun. I glanced over to Aureus, Is Caroline okay? Yes, I slammed him into the ground before he could reach her. I think he¡¯s been knocked out by that. A few more shots rang out. If he¡¯s down for a bit go kill the annoying ones that are shooting they¡¯re getting in the way. Caroline can probably handle herself. I said it confidently to Aureus, but honestly I was really worried we had bitten off more than we could chew. Not that we had much of a choice. Caroline only had her skills for a day compared to me and hadn¡¯t leveled like these guys clearly had. I agree, she looks like she¡¯ll be fine till I return. Are you okay fighting your enemy Master? I¡¯ll be alright, just hurry. Again I was putting on a brave front for Aureus, because even if I wasn¡¯t fine I couldn¡¯t exactly tell him to come here first. I was assuming Caroline was level 1, and these guys definitely weren¡¯t that low of a level and still took damage from bullets. There was no way in good conscience I could let Aureus come help me before killing the other gunmen. I pulled my hood up, and pulled my bow and arrows out of my inventory. The enemy approaching faltered briefly, a strange look taking over his expression. Then a white orb of mana that was floating above his hand before shot towards me. I dodged, rolling to my left, the orb glanced off my right shoulder, throbbing pain followed, but I could tell I would still be able to use it. I had been practicing my archery since I got my bow, but I was still not very good so I said a small prayer to the GGC under my breath before I coated the arrow in mana and let it loose towards him. It flew straight, but that wasn¡¯t a good thing when your aim was as awful as mine. It caught him in his calf, he sucked in and cursed while blood poured down his leg. Another orb was forming above his hand, his face contorted with anger, pain, and an ugly smile exposing his teeth which were in dire need of realignment. A couple notifications popped up in my periphery notifying me of Aureus¡¯ achievements in the battle. We had killed at least 4 of them, I was thankful I didn¡¯t need to push any buttons to put the rewards to use. ¡°Gods please let this one hit him right!¡± I fired a second mana coated arrow, the orb was nearly full sized already. It sunk deep in his stomach, his eyes became wild as he fired the orb towards me. I tried to get up and dodge back to my right, but I wasn¡¯t fast enough. The distance he closed between us gave me less time to react. It hit my cloak, but still caught my left ankle and I fell forwards onto my hands. He let out a loud groan, or growl as he was trying to remove the arrow from his stomach. ¡°Weird fucking slime bitch! My fucking stomach!¡± For a moment I wondered if he was talking to or about me, but then I realized. I had completely forgotten about slime camouflage, I must look like an oversized slime now that my hood was up. I froze, my first thought was that he might have thought I¡¯d been seriously injured or died. This clearly wasn¡¯t his first time killing people with that ability, these idiots were pretty cocky. Maybe if I played dead he¡¯d give me an opening. Aureus, what¡¯s the count? Five. The last one tried to run, I¡¯m on my way back to the first enemy now. I strained my eyes trying to look towards where Caroline and the other enemy were without moving my body. It was quiet, he must still be down. Good, kill him quickly if you can then come here. My arrow clattered to the ground, his blood splattered in pools around it as the man approached slowly. It was hard to get a look at him from this angle, I was crouched on the ground with my hands on the pavement hoping that he fell for it. My heart was hammering in my chest, slowly I grabbed one of my arrows holding it close to my chest. A few more steps and he¡¯d be close enough for me to lunge at him, but he stopped. The blood that dripped on the ground under him reflected light from his skill. My heart sank, this gamble would be much more risky since I was injured. I had no clue if my ankle would be able to take any weight. I¡¯d need to take at least two steps to reach him, I gripped my arrow tightly and prepared to launch myself at him. BANG! Panic punched me in the gut before I felt it, Aureus was back, He must¡¯ve attacked the enemy over there. Sucking in a deep breath as quietly as I could, I took that chance and jumped towards my enemy with everything I had; unfortunately for me he had shot out his ability at the same time. It slammed into my chest knocking me back into the van, there wasn¡¯t any air left in my lungs to scream. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Mia!¡± Caroline had apparently been approaching me from my right, she was running towards me at this point. My vision was swimming and my breaths were coming in gurgly while I coughed up blood. I reached towards my inventory and pulled out my staff, I needed to use a mana emission even if I passed out after. I turned my attention to the enemy in front of me, he was sneering down at me while his ball of light slowly grew in size. The regeneration rate for that ability had slowed, I wondered if he was running out of mana. It surely hit like a truck so it must be costly. Right? I let a few tears slip as I prayed that he wouldn''t be able to shoot it at Caro. I needed time to cast the mana emission, my thoughts were sluggish and it was hard to focus on it. I needed to focus, I needed to protect her. It was strange that I found myself praying to my three god friends that had been taking care of me. I focused on my mana, on the feeling I had last time. The electricity buzzing beneath my skin, the air between us, but the pain in my chest made it difficult to feel anything other than pain and my mind struggled to keep up as I felt it trying to slip away. A black strip swung towards him, the ball of mana he accumulated dissipating into it. We both turned to look at Caroline and were met with Aureus tackling the man. He dug into him with his claws, I¡¯m sure he knew they weren¡¯t as effective as magic. It didn¡¯t seem he cared. The man was writhing and screaming on the ground, desperately trying to get Aureus off of him. Apparently Aureus cut his vocal cords, because at some point the sound of his claws clashing with the man¡¯s chest and soft wet sound of his flesh being dug into was the only noise that remained. At first I thought he had already died, but then I made eye contact with him. They were filled with horror, pain, and anger, I struggled to look away for several seconds. Finally I was able to avert my eyes as his face was cut into ribbons. If I wasn¡¯t in so much pain I likely would¡¯ve vomited. Honestly, it was horrifying despite the fact that he was trying to kill me. It would haunt me for years, but I didn¡¯t have the energy to stop Aureus and part of me didn¡¯t want to. As I checked my status window, I noticed my health was down to 48 a moment later it ticked down to 47, I wondered if it was because I was bleeding internally. Then a red flash in my peripheral vision caught my eye as I turned to avoid the carnage in front of me. The first man, the painted one, was running to the semi truck. ¡°He¡¯s gettin-¡± I couldn¡¯t finish as I began to cough heavily, but I pointed anyway. Caroline glanced towards him, he was hopping into the passenger side and it began to pull away. ¡°Who cares? How are you worried about that right now?¡± She was clearly angry, she wasn¡¯t usually the type to cry when she was angry, but slow tears were escaping as she tried to glare at me. Though I suppose they were likely from sadness anyways, no one wants to see someone they love cough up blood. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± chastises you saying that you need to know when to pull back or you¡¯ll get yourself and others killed.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± exclaims that it was a good battle, but mentions you still have much to learn. She reminds you to never underestimate your enemies and always fight with your all.] [¡°Void Who Gazes Back¡± thanks you for protecting her contractor.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± marvels at the rage such a small dragon was expressing and wondered how long you are going to let him mutilate that body.] I sucked in a shaky breath and looked down at Aureus, he had utterly destroyed the man''s body. Aureus was more red than gold now and most of the man¡¯s torso was more reminiscent of ground beef than a man. I forced myself not to look at his face. My stomach was fighting me with its intention of vomiting. After I returned my weapons to my inventory I reached out to Caroline who caught my arm immediately, but her eyes were still on Aureus and the dead man. I couldn¡¯t read her expression anymore. Aureus. Please. We must leave. What if more people come? ¡°Caro¡­ Where- Reid? C- Can you call?¡± I asked choking on the blood in my lungs. ¡°We¡¯re close, don¡¯t worry we can get there soon.¡± she was also struggling to choke out her words through her sobs. Aureus and Caroline helped me back into our car and we drove for five or so more minutes. Her hands shook while she tried to call Reid, but each time it went straight to voicemail. Neither one of us talked about what it might mean. We were so close to help that whole fight, well and also help might not even be there. I laughed bitterly as we pulled up to one of Caroline¡¯s parents¡¯ properties. When she got out and closed her door the front door of the house opened, Reid stepped out onto the porch. His relieved smile shattered into panic when he saw his sister, she was a mess sobbing and absolutely covered with blood. I opened my door and Aureus hopped out when Reid was halfway to his sister. He froze mid stride looking at my 100 something pound dragon covered in blood and then his gaze slid to me in the passenger seat. It took him a moment to process what he was seeing, but when realization washed over him his hand shot up to his face as he stared at me open mouthed as his face went pale. I must have looked awful. I managed a small smile, ¡°I hope this wasn¡¯t your car,¡± I breathed in with a wheeze, ¡°cause we really ruined the upholstery in here.¡± Unfortunately my joke didn¡¯t land with any of them. Not a word was said as Reid stalked over to where I sat. He squatted outside of the car and grabbed my hand. A faint golden glow appeared around his hands, his expression slowly became more grim and a few tears slid down his cheeks silently. ¡°Excuse me for a moment, this won¡¯t be pleasant.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not even in med school yet but you¡¯ve got your bedside manner down pat huh?¡± I said attempting a small chuckle to ease the tension, but it had the opposite effect when I ended up coughing instead. Blood sprayed from my mouth and onto the dash as I doubled over, God that hurt, I should stop talking. He tried to gently place his hand on my chest, the awkwardness of a kid I saw as a little brother touching my chest was overshadowed by the pain that contact created. A brighter golden glow appeared again, a brief moment of blinding pain overtook me. I couldn''t quite tell over the roar in my ears, but it felt like I let out an earsplitting scream. I could feel my bones realigning themselves, but thankfully it passed quickly and a warm refreshing feeling filled my chest. I could finally breathe easily again. ¡°I guess some things will never change, you¡¯re always getting yourself hurt.¡± He tried to say it playfully but his expression was still grim. ¡°I could only heal the significant injuries.¡± ¡°Yes some things never change, you¡¯re always worrying too much and patching me up when I get hurt.¡± I replied and tousled his hair. ¡°And as usual you down play your injuries and treat me like a kid even though you¡¯re only a year older.¡± Finally I got a smile out of him. I let out a sigh, and made eye contact with Caroline through the windshield. Though she looked much more relieved, I knew this wasn¡¯t the end of it. I was definitely going to get reamed for this one. ¡°Aureus, can you help me inside please?¡± I looked past Reid at my familiar who was watching anxiously over his shoulder. Reid¡¯s face was plastered with confusion until Aureus gently pushed past him and scooped me up. I winced as he picked me up, my ankle bounced with the change in elevation causing a sharp pain. If we weren¡¯t covered in blood I would have asked Reid for help instead, it would have been a much more pleasant trip. Reid was up quickly, striding past us to open the door for the three of us. I stifled a smile as I thought about how both of them reacted the same way to Aureus, confused and curious, but didn¡¯t ask about it right away. I cringed as Aureus¡¯ awkward gait made the trip inside intermittently painful, he still wasn¡¯t very skilled at walking on only two of his legs. The house looked moderately simple from the outside, something an upper middle class family might have in the country, but this was the city. It must have cost a small fortune. Once we entered the house I noted that the Gallaghers¡¯ taste had not changed, modern but with notes of lavish statement pieces. Gold and pearl seemed to be this house¡¯s theme, it was rather humble in comparison to some of the other homes I¡¯d seen. Reid spread his arms out wide after we gathered in the foyer, an ornate disc shaped sculpture of a gold bird with a pearl clasped in its beak hung on the wall behind him. ¡°Welcome to the newest Gallagher residence.¡± Chapter 14: Southern Hospitality Part Two Warm showers really had a mysterious healing quality to them, somehow the Gallagher residence still had electricity and water. I suspected that it wouldn¡¯t last that long though. Unfortunately for me I wasn¡¯t able to take a shower in my state, my ankle was broken and Reid wasn¡¯t able to heal it yet. My other wounds weren¡¯t even fully healed. Aureus was sitting with me in a rather large jacuzzi tub, we didn¡¯t fill it and had been using Aureus¡¯ Elemental Manipulation to clean ourselves. I had already cleaned all the blood and various human remains from him, it was difficult to stomach but he didn¡¯t have the ability to do it on his own. All that was left was to clean me up, it was difficult to get the blood off of wounded areas. They were extremely tender to the touch so I had to gently wash the same area for longer than expected to get rid of it. Well that and I was stalling, I was avoiding looking at my chest wound. The shock from what happened was fading and a new wave of emotions was taking over me. Depression, remorse, and fear were the most prominent. I tried to keep myself busy by chatting with Aureus to keep my mind from replaying the memory over and over again. I had been replaying the battle and the man¡¯s death, I couldn''t get it out of my head. ¡°You know I feel stupid, I really didn¡¯t use any of your abilities creatively¡­ Everything really does happen so quickly. I always thought that was such a cliche.¡± We were outnumbered, I shouldn¡¯t have been so arrogant. I should have tried harder to kill them right away. I should have protected you. Aureus was going through it as well, he had been quiet and distant after he killed the mage, or at least I was assuming he was a mage of sorts. ¡°No, it''s my job to lead you. I should have kept the three of us together. I should have had you create cover with Elemental Manipulation rather than running to that stupid van.¡± I paused, ¡°I should have told you to be quick, I guess I got cocky after killing all those slimes. We made such quick progress and the fact that it had only been a day here clouded my judgment.¡± Aureus never responded, his emotions mixing with mine was extremely overwhelming. I struggled to distinguish the difference between the two, and wondered if it even mattered. A knock sounded at the door, ¡°Hey¡­ Are you okay?¡± It was Caroline. I tried to take a deep breath to calm down before responding, but it got caught in my throat. How was it that the words ¡®are you okay¡¯ always seem to break the dam of emotions. My breathing quickly devolved fully into sobs. I tried to hug my knees to my chest as I cried, but I forgot about my broken ankle. It buckled under the slight pressure and I struggled to stifle the resulting scream. I had a death grip on my good leg as I leaned into it and endured the pain. The sound of the lock clicking and door creaking open were barely audible, but soon after the door closed softly again and a cold hand caressed my back. This time she wasn¡¯t crying. Every few seconds she would whisper some small comfort, ¡°It¡¯s okay¡±, ¡°You¡¯re not responsible for what happened¡±, ¡°It was just self defense¡±, ¡°You did a good job¡±. Somehow it made me feel better and worse at the same time. ¡°I killed them. That man he¡­¡± I choked out between sobs. Neither one of us said anything after that. We sat in silence for what felt like forever before I could get ahold of myself. ¡°Do you need some help? It can¡¯t be easy for you right now.¡± I looked up to see Caroline staring at my ankle, I was holding the leg just above the surface of the tub and it hung limply in an unnatural angle from my calf. It was swollen and red, the bruise hadn¡¯t formed yet. I reluctantly agreed, it would¡¯ve taken me hours at the rate I was going. Apparently she expected this and pulled out a bath pillow for me to lean on, Aureus lifted me so she could place it. For the next half hour she carefully washed around my wounds, I was surprised at how skilled she was. She was even better at this than I was, somehow she was able to put just the right amount of pressure to reduce the pain. Our conversation was sparse as she bathed me and Aureus provided water and controlled it when needed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I really wasn¡¯t planning on being rash this time.¡± I said quietly. ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about that now, you did what you thought was best.¡± A long silence followed, I wasn¡¯t sure how to respond. I couldn¡¯t stop myself from replaying the battle. The man''s eyes stared into my soul, pleading for help, wishing for my death, struggling with the pain. ¡°I think I learned a lot from this though, I¡¯ve never had to fight humans. If I think about it I¡¯m really lacking in combat experience, all I really fought were a handful of horned rabbits and a shit-ton of slimes.¡± I was trying to be optimistic about the whole thing, this apparently wasn¡¯t what Caroline wanted to hear though. ¡°Yes, you learned some important things, sure, but¡­ The cost was too much, it wasn¡¯t worth the gains.¡± Silence permeated the room once more, it didn¡¯t lift until she was finished cleaning me up. She leaned back, stretching her back with a small groan. She looked down at me with an indiscernible look on her face, then she looked to Aureus who was curled up in the corner of the tub looking quite pitiful. ¡°Thank you.¡± She said, I forced a smile and nodded. When Aureus didn¡¯t look up or acknowledge her, she repeated, ¡°Thank you, Aureus,¡± and added ¡°You also did a good job. Though I don¡¯t like the results or how we went about it. We lived, I really owe everything to the two of you.¡± Aureus was gobsmacked at her words, it felt like Aureus thought that she had blamed him as he blamed himself. His eyes became teary as he stood on his hind legs and reached out to Caroline. She responded with a small smile. It looked like she pitied the poor little dragon, and reciprocated the hug. After a few seconds they separated and Aureus used Elemental Manipulation to gather all the water remaining in the room. This shocked Caroline as her clothes dried immediately as did my hair. I was handed some clothes as the water was directed down the drain. I wasn¡¯t given my slime hunter set, there wasn¡¯t much need for the set bonus or the clothing items themselves here. I especially didn¡¯t want to aggravate my injuries. Instead I was given one of Reids shirts, it was slightly big on him so it virtually swallowed me whole. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Did I completely ruin my equipment already?¡± I asked while praying that wasn¡¯t the case. ¡°No, not really. I can fix it if you want, the dress has some minor burns on the chest area but the cloak is worse off. The tassels and fabric around them are pretty burnt at the moment. I¡¯ll need a good bit of slime essence to fully repair that. Do you want me to repair them?¡± She asked. I must have looked at her as if she had three heads since she followed it up with, ¡°I have some skills related to crafting, if you can provide some materials I can repair it.¡± ¡°Really? That would be great, I really like that set.¡± ¡°I really wish you had warned me before becoming a slime though, you scared the hell out of me I didn¡¯t really understand what was happening. I forgot about the set so it took me a moment to put things together.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry¡­ Hey so you said you have crafting abilities and earlier you said something about having a contract. Can we talk about that?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯d be better to go sit with everyone first though.¡± I froze, I had an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. Everyone, there must be other people aside from the three of us. Pausing for a moment I asked, ¡°Someone else is here? Other people?¡± She seemed to be considering for a moment and then responded gently, ¡°Yes, Reid¡¯s friend is here. They were together when the awakening happened.¡± My anxiety was quelled slightly when Aureus, likely in response to my mental state, came to comfort me nuzzling into my arms. I gave him a small sad smile and nodded to Caroline. ¡°Wait for a moment.¡± She said, turning and quickly walking out of the room. I sat on the edge of the tub, my leg held up slightly so nothing touched it. I was wondering why she asked me to wait until she returned with a gray cushioned office chair. It was so much nicer being wheeled around in it, I tried to relax my muscles. I had been tense for so long I was starting to get sore. We rounded a corner into a living room with a high ceiling. A geometric light fixture seemed to be the statement piece for this room. The rest of the decorations were elegant and minimal. The only real color in the room was a pale pink accent that was used for throw pillows, some small potted succulents, and curtains. Reid and a smaller man sat on the couch, with Reid clutching a throw pillow much like Caroline had earlier in the day. His friend was gently comforting him, but I couldn¡¯t hear what they had been talking about since an awkward silence followed me into the room. Reid¡¯s grip on the pillow loosened for a moment, but when his eyes wandered to my ankle he was choking the poor pillow yet again. I glanced over at the stranger on the couch, he looked moderately unfazed by my injury but did wear an expression of pity. My stomach turned, I looked up at Caroline who promptly cleared her throat. This seemed to snap Reid out of his stupor, ¡°Mia, this is Noel. We were in college together. Noel, this is Mia. We''ve basically been siblings since we were little.¡± He said, gesturing between the two of us as he introduced us. We both responded to the other with that awkward smile nod you do when you¡¯re acknowledging someone you¡¯re unfamiliar with. Caroline rolled me closer to the couch and stopped me in front of the coffee table, with the couch to my right where Reid was sitting closer to me than Noel. A single succulent and a candle sat atop its light colored wooden surface. I wasn¡¯t very familiar with lumber but I guessed it was a similar color to birch wood, it had a cool undertone. Not long after Aureus sat on my left pushing his head under my arm for comfort. Caroline took her seat at the love seat opposite her brother, if Noel and I weren¡¯t there the scene would¡¯ve looked like a photoshoot for some home decor company. They had a natural elegance about them, from their looks to the way they sat. I narrowed my eyes as I appraised Reid, I could tell Aureus made him uncomfortable. He was staring at Aureus for a bit too long before looking at me. Noel however was much easier to read and seemed to be thrilled about Aureus¡¯ arrival. He was quite a cute guy, not so much in that I found him attractive but more in the traditional sense. He had warm brown curly hair and large hazel eyes, and a round face. After I got a second look at him I realized he wasn¡¯t shorter than average. Rather he was likely about average or a little taller. It was just that he was next to a giant like Reid and he had more of a thinner frame. Noel had a huge grin as he asked, ¡°So did you guys want to go ahead and talk about our abilities? Caroline said she wanted to wait for you so we didn¡¯t have to have the conversation twice.¡± I groaned inwardly, I really wish I would¡¯ve said I wanted to sleep rather than going straight for the conversation. This guy seemed way too excited about what was essentially the apocalypse, why was he so giddy? I guess it isn¡¯t every day you meet a dragon. Either way something about him didn¡¯t sit right with me, I wasn¡¯t happy about trusting some stranger with my skills and information even if he was Reid¡¯s friend. ¡°Yeah sure,¡± I responded, putting on my best customer service smile. I wasn¡¯t good at putting on a mask around people I loved but strangers, easy peasy. I continued as I scratched along Aureus¡¯ head, following my usual path. ¡°This is Aureus, he¡¯s my familiar. I don¡¯t really have anything else I¡¯d go into about my abilities¡­ Oh well I do have a bow and a knife, and I have a uh skill for camouflaging as-¡± O-ow¡­ I had reached the bottom of Aureus¡¯ jaw on the right side, and felt an abrasion there. Immediately I leaned over tilting his head up, he refused momentarily but quickly gave in. There was a raw patch of flesh where his scales should have been, it wasn¡¯t a large injury but he had hidden it. Aureus, when did this happen? Why didn¡¯t you say something? It''s nothing really, you were much more injured. It isn¡¯t nothing, we should at least get it dressed and cleaned. We don¡¯t need you getting an infection. Even small wounds can kill you if you let them fester you know. Okay¡­ When I looked back up at the group Noel seemed enthralled by our interaction, from his perspective I guess we were just looking at each other and making faces. ¡°Ah, yeah we communicate telepathically. Aureus can¡¯t talk.¡± I said, answering an unasked question. It''s not that I can¡¯t talk! Maybe I could if I tried and practiced¡­ Well yes maybe, but right now you can¡¯t. Before I could bring up the wound Caroline started her explanation, ¡°I have abilities from a contract with the goddess ¡®Void Who Gazes Back¡¯, the only ones I can use now are ¡®Void String¡¯ and ¡®Void Absorption¡¯. I got a class from the contract as well as a class from becoming a Candidate. From my candidate class I have some production or crafting related abilities, focused on creating and repairing items.¡± Next was Reid, ¡°I can check the body¡¯s condition and heal it back to its original state currently. Unfortunately I can¡¯t do anything about the pain that comes with that process.¡± He looked ashamed as he glanced at me while adding the last bit. ¡°Well at least now you don¡¯t have to complete med school,¡± I said jokingly, this elicited small smiles from both Noel and Reid. Obviously, they really didn¡¯t have the opportunity to return to med school even if they wanted to. ¡°Yup, no more long hours of studying.¡± he added bitterly. I wondered if he lamented the fact that he got this skill and all that work was for nothing. I knew more than anyone how hard he worked to get to this point. The three of us looked towards Noel expectantly waiting on his addition to the conversation. I hoped that despite the fact that they both planned to go into medicine Noel would choose a different path in his skills. He cracked a mischievous grin, and looked between the four of us. He seemed to be reveling in our anticipation, and at first I thought he was going to refuse to tell us but he simply stated, ¡°I¡¯m an assassin.¡± Chapter 15: Party Planning A short silence followed, Noel¡¯s beaming face still waiting expectantly for our response. My shoulders sagged as I dropped my face into my hands with a sigh, it was hard not to feel disappointed when our team was so unbalanced. I rubbed my eyes with my palms trying to decide a formation or a plan on how we should fight in the Underhollow, but then a question began to plague my mind. I sat up quickly confusion contorting my expression, but rather than continuing the conversation we were having I looked to the GGC. ¡°So wait hold on, how common are Candidates? Do Adventurers get classes sometimes? I thought that people who weren¡¯t Candidates didn¡¯t get classes, so did all four of us just so happen to become Candidates?¡± It was suspicious, there was no way all of this was a coincidence. That was assuming that Noel¡¯s definition of ¡°assassin¡± was more than just a stealth skill he could have gotten as an Adventurer. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± explains that people did not become Candidates by chance, Candidates were all chosen, gods looked at a number of factors to fill the quota of Candidates, like personality, base stats, connections, well anything really. But it came down to personal preferences often times.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± adds that some gods blacklisted humans so that they couldn¡¯t become Candidates while other gods chose entire groups of humans that were acquainted.] ¡°Why would they blacklist humans like that?¡± [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± sighs expressing her sadness that many gods with poor morals blacklisted humans they wanted to contract with so they had less choices.] ¡°Oh, that makes sense. Does that mean that we were part of a group that gods designated as Candidates?¡± ¡°Mia? I uh¡­ I¡¯m not a Candidate.¡± Reid said, seeming a bit apprehensive as he fussed with the decorative throw pillow he¡¯d been holding. ¡°Oh sorry, I just thought¡­.¡± I could feel my face getting warm, it would make more sense for at least one of us to be an Adventurer instead of a Candidate. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Not much point in worrying over something you can¡¯t control.¡± Reid responded with a shrug and a sad smile. ¡°More importantly!¡± Noel exclaimed, his eyes were so excited they were nearly frenzied. ¡°When are you taking us down that dungeon?¡± I snapped my gaze towards Caroline, wondering if she had already told them about what was basically my own personal dungeon. I guess it wouldn¡¯t really cross her mind that I might want to keep that private, plus I never asked her not to tell anyone about it. They also were bound to find out that I was way overleveled compared to them, and logically I had to find somewhere to grind in to get to this point. But I planned to help them get to a respectable level before returning there alone, and outsiders knowing about it really hampered those plans. ¡°Well, you are the highest leveled here.¡± she paused tentatively, ¡°You don¡¯t mind carrying us for a little bit right?¡± The three of them had starkly different emotions on their faces, Caroline was mostly calm with a slight flicker of anxiety in her eyes whereas Reid couldn¡¯t meet my eyes and looked at my still broken ankle. It seemed like he was ashamed of his inability to fully heal me after that fight, but the one I was most surprised about was Noel. It was obvious he was completely certain I¡¯d take them and assist in their leveling, rather than waiting to see if I said yes he was waiting for a when. I struggled to mask the smile Noel infected me with, he was oddly charismatic and I found it easy to get swept up in his antics. I cleared my throat, ¡°Well I can¡¯t have you guys floundering around down there and dying on me. I was just a little worried, I¡¯m much higher level than you guys. If we go down in a party then it¡¯ll take ages for y¡¯all to level up.¡± Plus, I¡¯d really rather fight alone in the first place¡­ But it isn¡¯t as if I can leave the only people I have left alone to die. Aureus began to respond to my thoughts as Noel began rambling on, You don¡¯t have to help them though if you don¡¯t want to. ¡°Ahh, yeah you¡¯re right. But couldn¡¯t you have us help you take down higher level enemies? That¡¯d give us a lot of XP pretty quickly.¡± Noel seemed to be thinking deeply about this issue, but gave the worst option we had at the time. My head ached as I tried to respond to them both at the same time, No that¡¯s really not what I me- ¡°That¡¯s really not a good-¡± I started. ¡°I mean it only took you a week to get to this level right? Plus you¡¯ve got a literal dragon, how could we lose?¡± He was excitedly gesturing towards Aureus, and a pang of sadness followed the praise. Aureus was still upset about how I¡¯d gotten hurt. Master I will definitely protect you, I can do it. You don¡¯t have to help them, I will- ¡°Yes Aureus is very strong, but he is still young and there are too many of us to just expect him to-¡± ¡°We are going to fight too though! I¡¯m not expecting you and Aureus to do everything we can definitely-¡± This human is very rude, he won¡¯t let you finish. Why don¡¯t you let me- ¡°If we do it like-¡± I should smack him for talking over Master. ¡°And you wouldn¡¯t have to-¡± We should leave these humans Their voices blended together in my mind, ¡°Shut up!¡± I yelled. I refused to look up and meet their gazes, I needed a moment to collect myself. ¡°This is serious¡­¡± I mumbled mostly to myself. ¡°I know, but¡­¡± Noel started. Crack! I had accidentally crushed the armrest I¡¯d been gripping tightly in an attempt to remain calm, and a long awkward and uncomfortable silence followed. I glanced around while the guilt ate at me. Aureus had curled himself up to be as small as he could and the men stared at me slack jawed. Caroline looked quite pleased with the way things were progressing, I wondered if she was just enjoying the chaos. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. I offered a quick apology about the chair and outburst, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about the chair¡­ I didn¡¯t realize I could¡­ well I guess I knew I was stronger but¡­ Also I¡¯m sorry I shouldn¡¯t have yelled. I was just getting a bit overwhelmed, it¡¯s been a difficult day¡­¡± I paused the image of the man I¡¯d essentially murdered burning in my psyche. ¡°Noel, I¡¯m not trying to be a killjoy, but we are not in a video game. From what I could tell while I was down there, this place and the monsters in it are meant to be conquered as a group. I can¡¯t fight and ensure your safety if there are several enemies, plus what if a hostile group of people shows up?¡± I said with a sigh, I could appreciate Noel¡¯s enthusiasm, but right now, this situation, it wasn¡¯t appropriate. Aureus, I¡¯m sorry darling. I didn¡¯t mean to yell at you, I shouldn¡¯t have done that. It¡¯s okay. He said sheepishly, but didn¡¯t move and remained curled up. I closed my eyes as I rubbed my temples, I knew a migraine would be coming on soon. The fight we¡¯d been in that day projected in my mind¡¯s eye, my confidence in protecting them was wavering. I allowed another sigh to escape before I continued, ¡°I know we have someone who can help heal us up, but we have to be careful.¡± The interruption came in the form of a snort from Caroline, I shot her a glare. I knew why she was acting this way, but it really wasn¡¯t helpful. ¡°What do you know about being careful when you rushed towards your death multiple times since the awakening?¡± she asked, I couldn¡¯t tell if she was being serious. ¡°That is exactly why I know. Strangely enough, almost dying makes you more aware of the dangers of a place. Shouldn¡¯t you also know? Don¡¯t you know what could have happened to us today?¡± I failed to keep the venom out of my voice. The three of them looked like kids being scolded. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I want to help. BUT, you guys need to try fighting on your own first. I think it would be best for y¡¯all to party up and I will stay with you and help IF you absolutely need it. You are going to get injured. It is going to suck and it will be harder than you expect, but you have to do it. So you will.¡± ¡°So¡­ if we prove we can defend ourselves, will you team with us and fight harder monsters?¡± Noel looked at me with a small flicker of excitement he was failing to hide. ¡°Ugh. Yes, obviously that is the plan, but we have to start from somewhere. And I¡¯m not planning on staying with you forever. I¡¯ll help you guys get established¡­ you¡¯re all just level one, yes?¡± When only Reid and Noel nodded I was briefly taken aback, but I realized that Caro had participated in the fight with those asshats. We weren¡¯t in a party though, were we? I would have to ask the gods about how that works. ¡°I¡¯m only level two though, I didn¡¯t get much XP from that fight.¡± Caroline said when she noticed the confusion in the room. A realization started brewing in the back of my mind, I just needed a bit more information to be sure so I asked, ¡°Wait, did you ever damage any of them outside of that gunshot?¡± ¡°Uhhh, no I don¡¯t think so, why?¡± ¡°Reid, can you check your status window?¡± ¡°Sure, but I haven¡¯t really left the house at all since it happened so I don¡¯t think¡­ Wait, I have some XP already? Is it because of¡­?¡± He awkwardly gestured just towards me in general, but we all knew what he meant. ¡°Yeah, I think so. This is great news though, it means even if we don¡¯t party together there is some amount of XP sharing based on actions we take.¡± ¡°Does that mean that you can help more directly?!¡± Noel asked, the fire in his eyes was reignited brighter than ever. ¡°Probably? Maybe? We can try it out, we really need to get going ASAP every minute is wasted time we should be using to level.¡± The battle me and Caro ended up in on the way back from my place really spooked me, more than anything I wanted them to work on leveling up and getting stronger. Staying up there was also stressing me out, what if that man that escaped found us again? A myriad of strange looks followed my words, it took me longer than I want to admit to remember that I currently couldn¡¯t walk. ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah¡­ So docs, you guys can at least do basic first aid or something right? Can¡¯t we put it in a splint or something?¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t think it''s a good idea to go down till I can heal you, let''s just wait until my mana recharges and then go.¡± Reid was practically pleading with me, after all it hadn¡¯t been long since I¡¯d arrived on his doorstep with one broken foot in the grave. ¡°We can definitely put a decent splint on it until your mana is up though. Plus we have to drive to get to the entrance so there''s time where she won¡¯t have to walk on it.¡± Noel said, he finally said something I could wholeheartedly agree with. ¡°Yeah I¡¯m fine, and it¡¯s not like I¡¯ll have to limp around. I can just get Aureus to carry me, no big deal.¡± I added with a shrug. ¡°Alright, then let''s get you wrapped up and go.¡± Caroline said as she stood and walked out of the room. ¡°Caro!¡± Reid protested, but he knew he was out voted and just sank into the couch. Noel hopped up from the couch and walked around the coffee table in front of me and sat down. I winced as he reached for my injured leg, Aureus in response got to his feet puffing up like a cat to threaten him. A small smile flashed across his serious face as he lifted and examined my leg. I was surprised to find that his hands were exceedingly gentle. ¡°How''s my ankle?¡± Without glancing up at me he responded, ¡°It isn¡¯t your ankle itself, it''s the bones in your calf just above the ankle.¡± I glanced towards Reid, he hadn¡¯t told me the state of my body when I arrived, but he had gotten a look at it through his skill. Feeling my gaze on him he stated, ¡°He¡¯s right, or at least that is what it looked like to me.¡± I wondered what it looked like, and what all my injuries were when I¡¯d arrived. I didn¡¯t want to ask him though, it¡¯d probably just agitate him and as long as I healed what did it matter. Caroline returned with a big first aid kit and Noel patched me up as much as he could, though I felt that it wasn¡¯t that helpful. Aureus carried me to the car and we set off for the Underhollow. The trip was mostly silent save for Noel occasionally asking various questions about the Underhollow and my abilities including Aureus, well mostly Aureus. Just to keep him from asking I started rambling out my experiences over the last week which seemed to shake up the Gallagher siblings again. ¡°Well this is it kids.¡± Reid said as he stopped behind a pileup of cars and got out of the car. ¡°Should we just park here?¡± I asked as Caro was getting out of the car, she opened my door and handed me my equipment with a shrug. Noel had basically burst out of the car, he really was too excited for this. I put my equipment back in my inventory clicking the ¡°Equip¡± button after. I smiled as my clothes vanished and were replaced by my slime hunter set, having an inventory was so useful. I took her hand since she hadn¡¯t retracted it after and stood on my good leg. Aureus was quick to follow us out of the car scooping me up immediately. Master, when is that ¡°healer¡± going to fix your leg? Why did you say it like that? He did heal my injuries earlier, and he¡¯s my friend¡­ or family I guess. Tch. So when? ¡°Reid? How much longer till you can heal me?¡± ¡°20 minutes.¡± Over the line of cars I could see the familiar glowing runes inscribed into the pavement of the intersection, however that time they were glowing red. That change didn¡¯t scare me but it definitely put me on edge, the things I¡¯d learned before might not apply here. ¡°Well, I guess we should climb over these cars huh?¡± Caroline said as she pulled herself onto the hood of a blue sedan. All eyes turned to me and Aureus as he tottered towards her. He stopped short looking all over, I knew he was trying to think of a way to help me up. ¡°There''s no need for that, I¡¯ve got her.¡± Reid said, and Aureus reluctantly handed me to him after I reassured him multiple times that it was okay. We climbed over the cars in awkward silence and eventually got to the entrance. ¡°Wow! Did the other one look like this too?¡± ¡°Well yes, but not nearly this big! And it was vertical like a door rather than just walking down into it like this. Oh and the runes there,¡± I pointed to the runes that encircled the stairwell down into the earth, ¡°Mine were purple not red and more like¡­ pretty? They were just cooler, looked less like some dude took a knife to a rock and put glowy red stuff in it.¡± ¡°Let''s go!¡± Noel cheered ignoring my comments as he took off into the unknown, we scrambled to follow after him. Chapter 16: Into the Depths The trip down the stairs was more disappointing than I¡¯d expected it to be. The stairs weren¡¯t made from bricks, but rather carved into the ground. They were rough and unskilled. The tunnel was lit, but there weren¡¯t any visible light sources. The walk down felt even shorter this time, I wasn¡¯t sure if I should chalk that up to company or an actual physical difference in the two entrances. Or maybe I zoned out without anything interesting to look at. I was definitely in the wrong when I asked the Playwright if that entrance was nice, seriously how little effort did some of the others put in? Once we finally reached the landing I was entirely shocked, there were virtually no similarities between this area of the Underhollow and the place I¡¯d been before. The entire vast landscape before me consisted of dark rocks that jutted up in sharp points seemingly randomly. As if someone had picked up the floor, broken it and just dropped it haphazardly back down. The sky above us was a dark dull red and didn¡¯t provide much in the way of light, but surely enhanced the barren and deadly atmosphere. ¡°This is so¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know how to describe it. ¡°AWESOME! Wow! How cool, let''s go explore!¡± Noel was immediately met with the three of us shushing him for his outburst. ¡°Oh I almost forgot, I need to ask how the party system works. Could you guys let me know anything?¡± I asked as I looked at the GGC that had been pretty quiet as of late other than general speculation about my friends and if they¡¯d die. [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± complains that you shouldn¡¯t join a party anyways.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± says that you can find it on the system¡¯s main page.] ¡°What do you mean main page?¡± [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± advises you to say the word system.] ¡°System?¡± A panel similar to my status window appeared in front of me, it had various sections such as links to things I already used like my inventory and my status window, but it also included what looked like two sets of dates and times, and a social tab. There were a few other things that were there as well that were obscured, one of those was the year on the first date and some other links and tabs. ¡°Oh¡­ well I wish you guys had said something sooner.¡± [¡°Void Who Gazes Back¡± asks if you really needed it before anyways.] A few more gods or goddesses agreed with the Void¡¯s statement, while a few others stated that they thought I should¡¯ve known because of how popular games became lately. It was interesting seeing them talk about games as if they were created last year, though I supposed it could have been last year for them. I clicked on the social tab and was greeted with two prompts one just above the other. [Please input a screen name: ] [Make yourself visible to nearby users? Yes | No ] I paused for a while considering what I should input. Rather than treating this casually and using a game screen name I felt I should relate it to my class. I stood for a moment pulling lightly at my hair as I thought. Maybe I should make it similar to how the gods have made theirs? I shouldn¡¯t give away my class too obviously¡­ I could use witch instead since they had familiars. Then an action word and a descriptor and the word witch¡­ ¡°So are we going to take a look around or what?¡± Noel was looking at the group impatiently, but the rest of us just exchanged uncertain looks without responding. Eventually I said, ¡°I¡¯ll see if Aureus can have a look around, it¡¯d be better to know what we¡¯re getting into. I¡¯ve been to the Underhollow before but we don¡¯t know if it will be similar to this area at all.¡± Caroline and Reid seemed relieved while Noel suppressed an annoyed look. I understood his excitement, I had run into things headfirst as well so I felt a bit hypocritical asking him to wait around and be careful. I decided if Aureus couldn¡¯t find things quickly I should have him make use of his class. Aureus, would scouting be useless in this area because of the environment? I will try to search the area. Thank you. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve gotten to flat ground are you ready for me to heal you?¡± Reid asked as he set me down onto the bottom step of the stairs, it was rough under my palms but not uncomfortable to sit on because of my slime set. I found myself tracing a small teardrop cutout on the top of my dress while my mind drifted to the memory of when he last healed me. Caro had added it because of the lack of materials. Thankfully it didn¡¯t reduce any stats even though she¡¯d removed some of the fabric. ¡°Mia?¡± Caroline called me gently. ¡°Oh, yes sorry I¡¯m ready.¡± I set my jaw and prepared myself. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll start now then.¡± He faltered for a moment, I thought it was because he was worried about how I would react, but then I noticed it was because he wasn¡¯t sure where to put his hand with the splint in the way. In the end he just cupped my foot and the small portion of my ankle that was outside of the splint. My leg pulled itself back together, my bones creaked as they fused into each other again. It wasn¡¯t as bad as the first time, but it was taking longer. Which meant the pain lasted longer even if it wasn''t as painful. At some point my hands began to shake, my body tensed while I focused on not digging my fingers into my palms. Tears dripped continuously as my head hung down. I wasn¡¯t sobbing. My breath wasn¡¯t hitching in the slightest, only quick tears falling in succession. Before I knew it, we were done, and I was squashed into a Gallagher sandwich. The pain dulled and eventually faded away. As I opened my eyes again over their shoulders I could see Noel fidgeting, he very obviously was ready to get into things. He had been pulling at his sleeves and desperately craning his neck to get a view of our surroundings. Aureus? Anything? No, everything is just rocks, just black rocks. ¡°Okay, Noel, can you do us a favor? Aureus can¡¯t find anything so I was thinking maybe the monsters are underground or maybe hiding. Can you scout for us? I will have Aureus follow you from above if you want.¡± A huge grin lit up his face, his round brown eyes flicking around the area as I said it. ¡°Absolutely, I got this! I¡¯ll find our food.¡± Before I could question his strange wording he walked towards a taller rock that jutted out casting a long shadow and just disappeared into its darkness. He was gone. Aureus? Can you see Noel? Not at the moment I¡¯ll look for him if you want? Yes please, I¡¯m a bit worried about him. ¡°Well, while they¡¯re off exploring should we figure out the social tab? You three should definitely form a party at least.¡± I asked as Aureus flew out of view. ¡°You should join too!¡± Caroline elbowed me as she said it. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat up all of the XP though¡­¡± I said with a sigh. [¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± asks why you don¡¯t join the party and set XP share for kills to equal for each participant?] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± adds that you could adjust the XP share manually if you want to, so you can get more than them when fighting harder enemies.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± complains that is a bad idea, saying that you¡¯ll be stuck unable to level up for a while which is dangerous.] ¡°Yeah, we should do that¡­ I just want to get them to a decent level, so they can take care of themselves.¡± I couldn¡¯t check the party options because I got stuck on the naming step, so I likely would have learned about that eventually anyways. I knew that my strength would stall since I was helping them, but I needed to be sure that they wouldn¡¯t die. ¡°Do what?¡± Reid asked with his head tilted slightly, briefly he resembled Aureus. ¡°The gods were talking about how we could set up party rules around sharing experience. If you just think ¡®system¡¯ a window for it should open and there will be a party tab.¡± I responded casually. The two of them opened their systems excitedly, or at least I assumed they did since I was unable to see their windows. They both got up pacing in front of my seat on the stairs, Caroline brightened almost immediately freezing in place. Reid made small circles looking slightly down as he rested his index finger on his lips. It seemed he was also stuck on choosing a name, I assumed we only got one shot at it so I wanted to be certain about mine. Reid was always cautious in nature so his hesitation didn¡¯t surprise either of us. ¡°What, you don¡¯t wanna use your usual gaming handle? Hmmm, Reid?¡± Caro teased as she nudged him with her elbow. He shot back an annoyed glance before falling back into his contemplation. ¡°What about you?¡± she asked me next. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I want to follow the naming conventions the gods use, I thought it would be fun. Plus I¡¯ve never had a good naming sense so I dunno. I just don¡¯t wanna get stuck with something I don¡¯t like.¡± I responded with a sigh, I was wracking my brain for something, anything good. ¡°You wanna bounce some ideas off me?¡± Caroline walked over and sat down carefully next to me, taking great care to sit on a moderately smooth portion of the rock. ¡°Well, I wanted to include ¡®witch¡¯ in it since I don¡¯t want to use my class directly¡­¡± I trailed off lost in thought again. ¡°What about ¡®Witch who runs Ahead¡¯, if you wanna follow the way they name themselves?¡± ¡°What? Why ¡®runs ahead¡¯?¡± I asked ¡°Cause you¡¯re so reckless. Duh.¡± she made a face like it was the most obvious thing ever, earning an eye roll as I continued to contemplate. ¡°What about ¡®Witch of Life¡¯? Cause you created that lil monster.¡± She asked while lazily gesturing in the general direction of Aureus. ¡°Maybe¡­ I dunno.¡± ¡°The Hermit¡± ¡°Dragon Keeper¡± ¡°Crazy Dragon Lady¡± [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± suggests ¡°Witch Disguised as a Slime¡± or ¡°Witch Who Fears Slimes¡±.] ¡°Absolutely not!¡± I said as I shot a glare towards the GGC, though ¡°Witch Disguised as a Slime¡± did sound like a fun name I couldn¡¯t give them the satisfaction. ¡°Soul¡­ something Witch¡± ¡°Life Witch¡± ¡°Witch of the Wilds¡± I let out a sigh, Caroline had continued prattling off several ideas but I really couldn¡¯t decide. Maybe I was focusing on the witch part too much? The ¡®Life¡¯ portion wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea, I did kind of create life with Aureus. But then again so do mothers¡­ ¡°Conjuring Witch of ¡­¡± ¡°Witch of the Wellspring.¡± I mumbled to myself. ¡°Yeah that sounds good, you should do that.¡± Caro patted me on the back and smiled at me. ¡°Alright I will, how about you what¡¯d you choose?¡± I asked while inputting my selection and clicking yes on it. ¡°Me and my Patron Goddess talked about it previously, I chose ¡®Call of the Void¡¯. Since I¡¯m her spokeswoman and also I just think it sounds fun and kinda deadly.¡± Caro had a huge grin when explaining it. ¡°I think that really suits you.¡± ¡°Of course, dahhlinggg¡± she pointed her nose up as she mimicked a posh accent. ¡°I got it!¡± Reid exclaimed and I nearly jumped out of my skin. He smiled and looked over at us, continuing, ¡°I¡¯ll use ¡®Radiating Golden Light¡¯... or should I say Reidiating¡± We just stared at him for a moment, before Caroline asked, ¡°It took you that long and that¡¯s what you chose?¡± He just shrugged in response and looked back towards his window, but his expression scrunched up in frustration. He glanced to the side and back down before saying, ¡°It says that it¡¯s a protected phrase and I need permission to use it?¡± ¡°Huh, that¡¯s weird. Maybe ¡®Golden Light¡¯ is associated with a specific god?¡± [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± explains that some gods made portions of their properties such as classes or skills prohibited without permission to prevent ¨C as you mortals would call it ¨C ¡®catfishing¡¯.] Reid crossed his arms as he tapped his foot on the rocks beneath him, and started a one sided conversation with his system. ¡°No, I don''t want to make a contract¡­¡± ¡°Yes I still want the name!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ maybe.¡± ¡°No. I won¡¯t-¡± ¡°Still that isn¡¯t good enough, just for the name?¡± ¡°Think about it though, I am a pretty good representative for you. Tall, attractive, gentle, all very good things for a representative and healer.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Throw in a skill or two.¡± ¡°Yes really!¡± ¡°No, that one isn¡¯t worth it.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Yeah I will take those conditions.¡± ¡°No I won¡¯t breach that clause, I can¡­ It won¡¯t be long for that clause to be irrelevant anyways.¡± ¡°Great doing business with you.¡± It seemed as though business Reid had won yet again, the stark differences in everyday Reid and business Reid never failed to shock me. We waited on the edge of our seats as Reid glanced through the contract before him one last time before clicking something in front of him. Once he did, a golden light rained down on him, being absorbed into his chest and slowly dimming over time. After all the light dissipated he opened his eyes and we were shocked to find that his eyes had changed colors. Now they were glowing gently and were a soft golden color, which made his hair look more of an ashy blonde than a traditional one. Or maybe his hair color actually changed, I wasn''t sure. I glanced at Caroline next to me, and asked, ¡°Did you experience that when you got your contract?¡± ¡°No¡­ I just clicked the button and nothing really happened. I mean I got my dual class but¡­ nothing like that.¡± she stared at her brother dumbfounded, he finally turned to look at us with a gentle smile. He was back to regular Reid alright. ¡°Soooo¡­??¡± I prodded when he didn¡¯t offer an explanation. ¡°I signed a contract, and an NDA.¡± he grinned as he added the last part, shooting Caroline a mischievous grin. She frowned in response, but didn¡¯t question him at all. I considered whether to follow her lead, but I was dying to know at least something about what¡¯d just happened. Slowly I started, ¡°So, an NDA¡­ Then can you tell us anything¡­ or?¡± ¡°Well, yes I can say a little bit. I got the name and I got a skill and well this.¡± he said pointing at his face with a grin. ¡°Okay so is ¡®that¡¯ from the skill or something that you asked for? Did you have good conditions?¡± ¡°No this wasn¡¯t my request, this was theirs. But I didn¡¯t want to change my appearance,¡± he snickered as he continued, ¡°So I got something else of enough value, though I will have to behave appropriately as a representative of that god and whatnot.¡± I smiled and nodded, I was glad he got what he wanted from them. I was contemplating what the god might have offered that wasn¡¯t a skill or a class when Caro interrupted my musings. ¡°I think Noel¡¯s been gone for too long now¡­¡± she said anxiously. Reid¡¯s face dropped and he asked quietly, ¡°You sent Aureus after him right?¡± Aureus, did you find him? No, but I hear something a little further away. I will let you know if he is there. Ok thank you. ¡°Yes I did but Noel is very good at hiding. He¡¯s still looking, don''t worry too much.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true he can hide¡­¡± He trailed off, still frowning. After a couple minutes I still couldn¡¯t quiet my anxieties about him disappearing. I started seriously considering going after him myself when I noticed a strange sound in the distance, it was slowly getting louder and something was coming our way. ¡°Something is coming, it could just be Noel but get ready just in case.¡± Did you find him? I think I can hear the sound you were talking about. I¡¯m over the noises but I don¡¯t see anything from up here. I¡¯m not sure what it is but it is moving. Maybe fly lower? That way you can see more details. Wait¡­ disgusting. It looks like rats? Rats? Plural? Like how many are there? Too many. What a stupid human. Noel? You see him?! Yeah¡­ well he¡¯s hard to keep track of but it looks like he¡¯s leading those rats towards you Master. Should I kill him? What? No! Don¡¯t kill him. He might be crazy but you can¡¯t kill him¡­ well not yet. Fine¡­ Well this will either be his best idea today or his worst, hopefully we can all handle them. Chapter 17: Pay The Piper I glanced back at Reid and Caro behind me, and it dawned on me. Reid became a representative for a healer. Probably, or at least that¡¯s how he explained it, how was he going to fight? With a groan I pulled my bow and arrows out of my inventory and handed them to Reid, he needed some way to defend himself. ¡°What? No, I can''t take this. You need it.¡± He said as he tried to push it back into my hands. ¡°I don¡¯t need it, I¡¯m an awful shot and I have a dragon so I think I¡¯ll live.¡± I quipped with a small roll of my eyes. ¡°Yeah but you¡¯re injured¡­¡± he deflated as he tried to protest but gave up quickly. We could hear Noel in the distance, he was shouting something unintelligible. As he got closer, I could finally barely make it out. ¡°... better ¡­ -ay the piper. Y¡¯all better pay the pi-AH! The piper!¡± ¡°The piper is supposed to take the rats OUT of town!¡± Caroline yelled behind me. Is he alright? He screamed a moment ago. Yeah he just lost his footing for a moment, he still has a good lead on his pursuers. Okay good just head straight back here we need to create a funnel, if there really are too many of them we need to limit their approach so we don¡¯t get overwhelmed. Got it, earth funnel? Earth funnel. A few seconds passed before the ground began to shake, Caroline and Reid both grabbed one of my arms and started hauling me back up the stairs before I could stop them. ¡°Wait! It¡¯s just Aureus!¡± I exclaimed as a dome constructed itself over us and connected to the entrance. It was about 15 feet in diameter. From the exit of the dome I could see two huge walls that made up the funnel into our refuge. We were basically in a strange shaped earth igloo. ¡°Oh. Okay, still stay a couple steps up, you''re not well yet.¡± Reid was fussy as always. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her, she can handle herself. You¡¯re the one I¡¯m worried about.¡± Caro said as she ruffled my hair earning her a half-hearted glare from me. ¡°You probably don¡¯t have much mana right now right? Plus you are a healer, so you stay back too and use those arrows. Don¡¯t shoot anyone this time.¡± ¡°That was an accident!¡± ¡°That¡¯s almost worse! If it was on purpose at least I¡¯d be confident in your aim!¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t even a bow and arrow, and you shot me back anyways! Can¡¯t you just get over it?¡± ¡°No I can¡¯t just get over it, you-¡± ¡°Okay enough they¡¯ll be here soon, so shut up and focus!¡± I interjected. Is Noel almost back yet? He¡¯s coming but I can¡¯t see him yet. How far out are the rats? Before he could answer I could see them, a black wave crashing over the rocky landscape. Our eyes went wide, how had he managed to create a rat stampede of this size? There had to be hundreds. Or more, it was hard to guess with our narrow view out of the structure Aureus created. I stood up from my seat on the stairs too quickly and lost my footing, Reid grabbed my shoulder to steady me. I could tell he wanted to tell me to sit and wait, but he held his tongue as we waited for what could be our friend leading death to our doorstep. A fluid shadow materialized from the stairs next to me, as it took shape Noel¡¯s familiar excited eyes were staring back at me. But this time that same familiar excitement was blending with anxiety, a small triumphant smile bloomed on my face. Finally, he was taking this seriously. It was immensely satisfying, but also insanely annoying; this never would have happened in the first place if he had been careful. He could have died before he even made it back. ¡°You really made sure I¡¯d have to carry you huh? Even though I¡¯ve got this bum leg?¡± I asked, not even trying to hide the anger and annoyance in my voice. ¡°It¡¯s healed¡­ kinda? Right?¡± he asked, he seemed to be getting more uncertain as the wave of rats grew on the horizon. Reid turned around to glare at him in response, but Noel literally jumped backwards when he made eye contact. Which in turn caused Reid¡¯s expression to soften to a more concerned and confused one as Noel blurted out, ¡°Dude what happened to your eyes?!¡± ¡°Came with my contract.¡± he said casually, Noel seemed more confused than he was before but didn¡¯t want to ask anymore questions. Master, should I light the path on fire? No, we should do that as a last resort, I¡¯m worried that if we make the path we chose for them dangerous they¡¯ll find another way to us. Like climbing over or digging or something. Understood. Actually, if you notice any rats trying to climb, light the outside of the structure you made on fire or freeze it so they can¡¯t climb. We don¡¯t need them digging through and falling on our heads. The first ten or so rats spilled into the funnel we created, they already started trying to climb over each other to get to us. Now that they were close I wasn¡¯t surprised to see that they were at least two feet long. An arrow soared over us and disappeared into the horde of rats, I sighed knowing I¡¯d likely never see that arrow again. Noel was resting on the stairs, and I was there next to him while Reid walked forward to stand with his sister. Since we don¡¯t know how strong these rats are, can you just make sure they don¡¯t have to fight more than 5 at a time at first? Can I kill them? Yes, please do. The first rat to make it within the dome leapt forward and landed squarely between the Gallaghers, it was quickly dispatched with a flick of Caro¡¯s wrist as a void string cut through it. The next several weren¡¯t long after, each one dashing towards their nearest foe and being killed quite easily. Despite the speed and ease that we were currently killing these creatures, I was anxious. If we had gotten caught out there with them surrounding us we would have been eaten alive. The concern that the structure might collapse on us was consuming me. Quickly there were more and more rats flooding into our haven. Reid quickly threw the bow back to me as it had been completely ineffective at this range and took to stomping on the rats that entered his radius. Caroline wasn¡¯t struggling in the least as she cleanly deleted portions of them with the void. There was always another rat to fight, but after only a couple seconds they needed to kill two or three at once. They didn¡¯t seem too overwhelmed since Aureus was performing his duty as crowd control as best as he could. I smiled as I watched him swoop down and cut several rats into ribbons with his claws. He even ate a few of them whole. A minute or so slipped by as the three of them continued to fight. Caroline got a few scratches on her legs. Reid wasn¡¯t as lucky, he ended up with a large bite on his arm when a rat jumped at him while he was stomping another. A few minutes passed and the siblings started to slow down, I figured they were getting a little tired. The corpses at their feet began to pile up, and increasingly more rats were squeezing through the funnel. At that point ten or so rats would be filtering into the dome at a time some of which were gathering around the edges of the dome, waiting for a good time to strike. I carefully got up and approached the rat corpses further from the entrance of the dome, pulling them back and butchering them. Surprisingly the rats ignored me, they were completely focused on Aureus, Caroline, and Reid. I continued to do this and put the spoils in my inventory to avoid us filling our space with the dead. Caroline started to blend physical and magic attacks ¨C likely because she was running out of mana. I wasn¡¯t sure of the details of her skills but I knew that a powerful one like that would have to eat away at her reserves. I was about to join in their fight when Noel appeared in the midst of the tunnel. He was virtually floating as he slashed at several rats and vanished back into the shadows again. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Wait, where did he get a knife? I wondered as I watched him join the other two in attacking the rats spilling towards them. Reid stepped on a rat running towards Noel, pinning its tail to the ground. Noel, taking advantage of the rat¡¯s plight, plunged a kitchen knife through its neck. Ohh yeah, the house, that tracks. Aureus had only been using physical attacks since the onslaught started, however the funnel was filling up and the amount of rats entering had started to increase rapidly. The pressure of rats behind them propelling them forwards into our space. Soon over 20 rats were attacking us, I had to get up leaving the corpses behind and helping them fight this new wave. Aureus, can you drown the rats on the bottom layer? It might take up a good bit of mana since I¡¯d need to maintain the shape of it, but of course I can. Actually no, make the path they¡¯re taking in an incline. We can limit their entrance that way. Understood. When the ground began to shake again, the only ones who seemed concerned were the rats and Noel this time. He glanced back at me and seeing my calm demeanor quickly returned to the fight. It was surreal seeing his normally animated face, serious and dripping with sweat. The ground beneath the rats shifted upwards, reducing the stream of them to just a trickle. About half an hour passed and noticeably the amount of rats entering decreased yet again, so I commanded, ¡°Noel, you go out and check what is going on. We have killed a lot of them but I don¡¯t think that was nearly enough to be most of them.¡± I glanced around, I had only butchered about 70 so far. Although there were significantly more that had been kicked to the edges of the dome. Noel nodded and disappeared into the shadows yet again. Reid looked moderately alright since he¡¯d had a level up a few minutes ago, but Caroline who already reached level 2 was starting to look really exhausted. Aureus was the same as ever, which wasn¡¯t surprising in the least considering these were just mobile snacks for him. Soon Noel returned with news, ¡°It looks like a significant portion of the rats have left. I dunno why, maybe they didn¡¯t think they¡¯d be able to get in or they got bored.¡± He seemed disappointed but Reid and Caroline were ecstatic, soon they would be able to rest. I clicked my tongue at Noel¡¯s reaction, unfortunately he hadn¡¯t seemed to learn much from this encounter. I suppose my shelter might have caused him to be unaware of the significant dangers he almost caused. Noel was the type of person who felt all''s well that ends well, and the type of person that you have to drill things into. I wasn¡¯t willing to drill things into his head, if he wanted to get himself killed that was fine by me. I decided to let the three of them completely handle the remaining enemies and sat with Aureus as I fed him some of the meat I¡¯d collected. ¡°Are you really going to let us take care of the rest of this?¡± Caro whined as a rat¡¯s head exploded under her heel. ¡°Yes, you guys wanted to level up right? I¡¯ve given you a safe place to do so.¡± I responded while carving the meat out of a rat. ¡°Still¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing great! Oh yeah we forgot to join a party earlier. Or befriend each other.¡± I had nearly forgotten about it so I mentioned it aloud once I remembered. ¡°Not much point in doing that right now though.¡± Reid added. ¡°True.¡± The next hour or so the three of them lazily killed the few rats that had made their way into the structure. I eventually got tired of dealing with the corpses as my knife was dulling significantly. Instead I decided to check out the social tab. I had already input my screen name earlier and promptly selected no on the prompt asking if I wanted to be displayed to nearby users. Once I clicked the social tab now I was greeted with what looked like a phone UI with a few apps. The first was simply called ¡®Celes¡¯, followed by a friends list app, a party app, and an events app. Each had a simple graphic, Celes was a light blue flowy abstract ¡®c¡¯ on a white background, while the rest were basic graphics with a background color and the first letter in white and lowercase. The friends app was green, the party app yellow and events red. Indulging in my curiosity I clicked on the Celes app, as it loaded I was given the option to add a profile photo and bio. It never prompted for a screen name unsurprisingly. I neglected to add either a photo or a bio and explored the app, it was a typical social media app. I could scroll through the feed and see people posing with their kills, animals and other humans alike. Many were making typical IG posts, but were using that to get clout for their god rather than themselves. Others were just starting problems or declaring territories or attempting to start guilds. The fact that people were trying to build guilds and start territories didn¡¯t surprise me, but at least people were trying to create a new civilization with how wrecked things had become. I scrolled for a while trying to find out if other cities had as much damage or if we were just unlucky. I couldn¡¯t really get a handle on it, the vast majority of posts were in the Underhollow, or were done by people who were wrecking the surface. I added a filter so it would show posts near me and was pleasantly surprised to find there was a girl who was regularly posting in our area. ¡°Dauntless Hammer¡±, she looked small but held a huge hammer as her name suggested. Judging by her photos, there¡¯s no way she was getting any usable materials out of her kills; the monsters she killed were virtually pulp. I struggled to make out what monsters they had been fighting, there wasn¡¯t much to go off of with how brutally mangled the corpses were. There must have been a few other people in her group, since there were traces of footprints in the blood that clearly weren¡¯t her own. None of her posts included them though, I wondered if they didn¡¯t want to be shown or if she just didn¡¯t include them. Also from what it looked like she should have been in the same area of the Underhollow as we were, the hazy red light and the awful jagged dark rocks were the backdrops of every picture she posted. Though for all I knew the majority of the Underhollow could look that way. Being the antisocial lurker I was, I continued to stalk her profile for a few minutes looking for any clues. When I never found any I returned to the main page in search of other people near us. Unfortunately I did find some, I found the posts of that asshole nazi that had attacked me and Caro this morning. I snorted, of course he¡¯d choose ¡°Pinnacle of Man¡± as his screen name that jackass. A little digging on his page found an archived livestream of when his group saw our car turning onto ¡®their¡¯ road and subsequently backed out and left. It continued as they followed us, cornered us, and confronted us. It only cut off when Caroline shot him. A small smirk formed on my face when I noticed the video only had a handful of views. I was thankful that only a small group of people saw us but even more so that he was unpopular. It was petty and childish, but I hoped he wouldn¡¯t ever get a following on this new and maybe eventually the only social media app. Deciding that was enough brain rot for the day I closed the Celes app and opened the friends list, sending requests to both ¡®Call of the Void¡¯ and ¡®Radiating Golden Light¡¯. I was slightly shocked when Reid¡¯s screen name came back as nonexistent. ¡°Hey Reid, what¡¯s the name you ended up using on this social tab?¡± I asked, glancing up to see him smacking down a rat that was headed towards Caroline. ¡°Oh I agreed to change it a bit at the request of my patron god. It''s ¡®Priest of Golden Light¡¯ now.¡± he replied breathily. ¡°Mine is ¡®Monarch of the Shadows¡¯. You should add me too!¡± Noel said, materializing in front of my system window. ¡°O-okay¡­¡± I replied, startled by his sudden appearance. Glancing over at the fight that was slowing down, I noticed that Caroline was sluggish. I groaned as I stood and took her place, she didn¡¯t hesitate to walk back to the stairs and rest. Only four or five rats were appearing at a time, and though my knife was dull it was still moderately effective at killing my foes. Aureus stood next to me, blocking or throwing rats that might injure me as I helped kill the mischief of rats. I only tried to stomp a rat once because pain shot up my still healing leg when I attempted putting my full weight on it. As a result I barely stepped on my prey, doing very little damage. I crouched over it and plunged my knife through its throat. It died swiftly. I was pretty happy that most of them died swiftly. I wasn¡¯t looking forward to watching anything struggling in vain to live, not again. Eventually the trickle of rats came to a halt. Our group all laid on the wet blood soaked rocks beneath us to rest before harvesting the materials. I wanted a shower, but I wasn¡¯t about to take one before we got rid of these corpses and moved to an area that wasn¡¯t littered with organs and blood. ¡°Hey Caro, can you make me a bone knife? It doesn¡¯t have to be rat bone, I still have some rabbit bones.¡± I asked from my uncomfortably pointy and sticky seat on the stairs. How blood even got all the way back there I¡¯ll never understand. Noel jumped up in my peripheral vision, and Caro said, ¡°No. I will absolutely not be making you one, Noel.¡± before he could get a word out. ¡°What?! Why not?¡± He whined. ¡°Because you brought an extremely ridiculous amount of rats back with you and if Mia wasn¡¯t here we would have died. That¡¯s why.¡± He groaned mumbling about how he didn''t do it on purpose as he flopped back onto the rock. Reid cursed as small splatters of blood got on him because of it. ¡°What if we just leave the rest of these rats, I think we have enough of their materials and it¡¯d probably be a waste to butcher them right?¡± I asked hopefully, truthfully, I was the only decent butcher. A badge I earned from trial and error with both the horned rabbits and under rats, so I hoped they wouldn¡¯t ask me to stay here while Aureus took them hunting later. ¡°That¡¯s a great idea. Let¡¯s just leave after we rest up.¡± Caroline slurred sleepily. ¡°Alright, well I¡¯m gonna take a shower.¡± I replied. ¡°Yeah¡­ You do that¡­ Wait, what?!¡± She sat up, the sleep vanishing with the appearance of her shock. ¡°I¡¯m gonna¡­ shower? I told you about that right? My camper reward item?¡± I said uncomfortably while the three of them stared at me through narrowed eyes. They looked at each other, each sizing the others up before Reid and Caro took up a classic rock, paper, scissors stance. They both threw rock twice, followed by Reid throwing rock yet again and Caro throwing scissors. She groaned, leaning back on her arms as he looked at me with a huge grin, ¡°I¡¯ve got next.¡± Noel lightly smacked his arms, protesting, ¡°Wait you didn¡¯t give me a chance!¡± ¡°People who bring a horde of rats to eat us alive get the last of everything. No way you get a shower earlier than Caro.¡± ¡°But-¡± Noel tried. Reid shook his head, ¡±She¡¯ll kick both of our asses if I try to take your side on that.¡± ¡°I think the two of you are overlooking a very important factor.¡± ¡°What?¡± Noel looked from me to Caro to Reid and back to me. Reid lowered his eyebrows looking at his friend in pity. ¡°The one who controls the shower is me. And I¡¯m not sure if I want to let the Piper in.¡± I said with a smug smirk, disappearing into my item for a much deserved shower. Chapter 18: Meat and Potatoes It took me all of two hours wandering this portion of the Underhollow to come to the conclusion that finding food and shelter would be the greatest hurdle for our party. Well, finding food and shelter might be my second greatest hurdle after dealing with their incessant bickering. Ever since our cute little piper brought the rats home, Caro and him had been at it. Nonstop. And I was nearly ready to knock the both out just to get them to shut the fuck up. ¡°How many times do I need to say that it was an accident?!¡± Noel asked while throwing his hands around dramatically. ¡°And how many times have I said that accidents and carelessness aren¡¯t the same thing. You¡¯ve been treating our impending doom as a playground and that nearly got all of us killed. I mean seriously, who just yells into the pits of hell when they first arrive? Did you want all of the monsters for miles to swarm us? Because you did a pretty damn good job of it.¡± Caro spat back. ¡°Me yelling had nothing to do with it!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that!¡± Honestly she was making sense, I agreed silently because I didn¡¯t want to add anything else to that fire. Just listening to them was giving me a headache let alone participate. I¡¯d only piss myself off trying to argue with an immature kid. I was cooking Noel slowly, giving him less attention to me felt like the better way to get under his skin. I ignored him when he talked to me, I didn¡¯t assist him when he needed it. I let him suffer the harsh reality of the Underhollow without others. I helped the others with washing up, but for him I gave a canteen of water without a word. Only returning to retrieve it from him and ask Aureus to refill it. I knew I was being mean, sadistic even, but I didn¡¯t care. I wasn¡¯t about to treat him like a child just because he was acting like one. He¡¯s a full grown man and needed to take responsibility as one. Since he lost his credibility, he would have to earn it back. I wasn¡¯t going to just let it go because it was an ¡®accident¡¯. It took a decent bit of effort to harden my heart towards him though, he looked just like a puppy in the rain. Though, more than my resolve to be a bitch, I was worried that it would take much too long to resolve this attitude of his. Regardless of that, the second most pressing issue. Food. Shelter. I was struggling to come up with a solution, there was no arable land near us. No forageable foods as far as we could see either. I had already harvested a decent amount of rat meat just in case, and it was looking like we would have to sink to that new low. I thanked the gods that I had the foresight to keep some potatoes just in case as I left my section of Underhollow yesterday¡­ Or two days ago? Time flowed weirdly here, it was hardly consistent. There were times I would look at the system and watch the time of the surface tick away at almost a surface second per minute our time. While other times it would take nearly an hour for a single second to pass on the surface. I couldn¡¯t understand it. ¡°What is going on with the time? Why is it like this?¡± [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± asks what you mean.] ¡°I mean it isn¡¯t a consistent I dunno like ratio? The time¡­ dilation? between the two isn¡¯t consistent at all?¡± I struggled to put words to what I wanted to say, it felt like there was a right way to say it on the tip of my tongue, but I wasn¡¯t a scientist so what did I know? [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± states that time is relative, adding that the flow of it was distorted by the magic here.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± argues that this place was shoddily put together, and they could have done better.] ¡°Well so much for a day being a week I guess. There¡¯s no real way to predict it then, not here at least.¡± I sighed. ¡°Well I mean do we really need to?¡± Noel asked, looking at me intently. Clearly he was watching me converse with the gods, not that he could see what they were saying. I sniffed and looked away, not dignifying him with a response. From my peripheral vision I could see his head sag. My heart tinged with pity for a moment, it seemed I really had a weak spot for cute things. I am cute, Master. Right? You said I was cute, you can pay attention to me instead of that stupid human. Yes Aureus you are quite cute. I should pay much more attention to you than Noel. He needs to sit in the consequences of his actions. He could have gotten those other mortals killed, he is quite stupid. Yes, he is stupid. But I don¡¯t want to let him die for that, it isn¡¯t completely his fault he might have been born with half a brain. He might get you hurt if you keep protecting him though. Maybe, but you have gotten hurt protecting me. That¡¯s different. How? You¡¯re¡­ Master. You¡¯re better than that human by a lot. Well, that¡¯s true. The shadow of the man that died in front of me hung over my mind. I just want to avoid more deaths is all. I shivered as I pushed the memory back down ¨C away from my conscious mind. I¡¯d be dealing with that when I had nightmares later, no point in dwelling on it now. ¡°I¡¯m starving!¡± Caroline¡¯s whining pulled me out of my thoughts. ¡°Well, maybe we should stop and make some stew. I collected a decent amount of rat meat and bones. If you''re not up for meat we can do a bone broth. It will take a while but we can nap in shifts while it cooks.¡± I pointed my thumb over my shoulder to a moderately larger and semi-flat portion of rock behind us. ¡°Rat stew?¡± Caroline said with her lip curling up at the thought of it. ¡°Do you see any veggies growing around here? I don¡¯t. I mean maybe we can try exploring the area close to us for anything that might be growing under the rocks, but I¡¯m not sure if we would find anything.¡± I responded with a shrug. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Yeah¡­ Could you go ahead and start the stew and we can look for things to add?¡± Reid offered, despite what he said his face was scrunched up with disgust. Noel let out a groan, but stifled the complaint that was sure to follow when the three of us sent glares in his direction. His mouth clamped shut as if the complaint might break its way out if he wasn¡¯t careful, quickly busying himself with overturning rocks and poking aimlessly at the bugs that scuttled away. Well¡­ rats were better than bugs at least, and they were big and had decent amounts of meat on them. I walked several paces away, activating my camper item. I walked into the kitchen, deploying my kitchenette and retrieving my new knife from my inventory. ~~*~~ Rat Bone Dagger Description: A crude dagger created from the bones of an under rat and hide of a horned rabbit. Damage: 2 ~~*~~ I made quick work of the rat meat. I cubed it into smaller bite sized pieces. They seemed willing to try it so rather than starting with a bone broth I decided to get some meat into us. I only had three of the massive under potatoes, that is seriously what they called them. I was starting to wonder how lazy these gods were, just adding under to anything they didn¡¯t want to put effort into naming. Deciding to be as conservative as possible ¨C we had no clue how long we¡¯d be down here without anything but rats to eat ¨C I took only an eighth of one of the under potatoes. I chopped it into slightly smaller pieces than the meat, hoping to disperse it pretty evenly through each person¡¯s portion. I considered giving Noel a bowl without potatoes, but decided that was too much. Just no meat for Noel, unless he gave a proper apology. He had been acting like a spoiled kid who didn¡¯t understand the weight of his actions. He hadn¡¯t even offered a real apology, just variations of ¡°I¡¯m sorry alright! I didn¡¯t know! It was an accident!¡± I was genuinely waiting for him to add ¡°It¡¯s just a prank bro!¡± to his growing list of excuses. There would be no forgiveness until he learned, not from me at least. Reid was much too soft, he¡¯d given into his friend after only an hour. I figured that Reid was likely his only friend because of that exact trait. Noel pushed the line and Reid ever so accommodatingly redrew it further back. I wondered how long it would take for him to be pushed to the limit, his back against a wall or a cliff under his feet as he yet again made a new line in the sand. Once the water began a rolling boil I plopped the meat and potatoes into the pot and made my way back outside. Leaving the camper up as I went to assist in the search. It was strange looking at it from the outside. There must have been some sort of space magic in play because it was rather small from the outside, a gray rounded structure with a single door. Staring at the door I turned, deciding to get Noel for an experiment. ¡°Noel.¡± I said towards the crouching figure ten feet from me. His head flew up a hopeful gleam in his eye. I continued, ¡°Come try and open this door.¡± I pointed towards my camper. A moment of confusion made its way through him before he got up and walked towards me. ¡°Can I take a shower?¡± He asked hopefully. ¡°No. Just try and open it.¡± I responded coldly. ¡°Oh.¡± He let his disappointment show openly in his face and actions as he slunk to the door. Right before he put his hand on the knob he was hit with a small bolt of electricity. He yelped recoiling from it and looked at me with betrayal in his eyes. ¡°I just wanted to test if anyone could get in regardless of permission.¡± I responded. ¡°But you asked me to¡­¡± He said with his eyebrows furrowed. ¡°Yeah I asked you to try and open the door, I didn¡¯t give you permission not really.¡± I turned on my heel to go scour the area for edible things. Turning over rocks, jabbing my knife into the cracks between them in an attempt to pry them apart. Other than bugs I wasn¡¯t having much luck. On the fifth I found a small nest of rats, about fifteen of them. One of the rats leapt towards my face, these things were either brave or stupid. Probably both, leisurely I smacked it down with the hilt of my dagger. It cracked loudly as its bones broke from the strike and fell back onto its packmates. I sighed, how annoying. These things barely gave any experience but were so annoying in a group. Even I couldn¡¯t be completely careless when handling too many of them. The only reason I was calm when the first jumped was because I had gotten used to their patterns. A rat would test the waters, then depending on the response they would either flee or swarm. Pretty swiftly they had scattered into various directions. I snorted as I watched them disappear beneath the rocks. Ultimately we wouldn¡¯t find anything else to eat down there. There wasn¡¯t even any dirt to be found for the potatoes to be grown in. Every single rock I overturned there were just more rocks underneath. I returned to the camper for the finished soup. We only had the one bowl, so I ate my portion first. I grimaced at the flavor, it was similar to rabbit, but gamier and tough and unfortunately very greasy. After I finished I cleaned the bowl offering it to Caro next, then Reid and finally Noel. He got the bottom of the pot, there was very little potato left and basically no meat. As planned, though I was surprised he didn¡¯t complain once. I was nearly proud of him. Though, Noel and Caro continued getting on my last nerve. None of us took a break while I was cooking so everyone started getting tired around the same time. Aureus helped me move some rocks to create a makeshift shelter as we all laid down to get some sleep. ¡°Stop kicking me.¡± Noel complained quietly through his teeth. ¡°Then get your nasty self away from me. I¡¯m trying to sleep and you are much too close for me to get comfortable.¡± Caro hissed. ¡°Where do you want me to go?¡± Noel asked. ¡°I don¡¯t care, just get away from me.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± He got up shambling, a glance was thrown in my direction, but he decided to lay down between Reid and the wall. It was a wise decision. He grumbled that he wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep well there as the ground was rough and pointy. I probably could have, as I had leveled up and increased my constitution it was easier to endure things. That included dealing with pointy or rough surfaces, not that I¡¯d give Noel the comfortable portion of rock. A flicker of doubt ran through me, was it really necessary? He did seem like he felt bad. No. My resolve strengthened again. He had nearly killed the two people I hold most dear. He would have killed them if I hadn¡¯t come with them. Unless he properly apologized and atoned I should not forgive him. I never really jived with ¡®forgive and forget¡¯. I already forget things too easily, but forgetting things that someone had done wrong to me for no reason? No thanks. That¡¯s how you become a doormat, and I wasn¡¯t as kind as my mother. I won¡¯t be. I rolled to my side, a small faint beam of light illuminating a strip of the interior of our cave just a few inches above my head. Reid was grumbling as he tossed and turned attempting to avoid a similar ribbon of light on his side. I saw a flash of gold through the cracks between the rocks, Aureus was outside hunting in the vicinity and protecting us as we slept. The fact that he didn¡¯t need actual sustenance and rest was strange. He would just use mana to make up for it if necessary, but he did still eat quite a few rats. In just a couple seconds I was out, it wasn¡¯t the best sleep of my life, but it was quite comfortable considering the circumstances. The morning ¨C if you could call it that ¨C that followed started with the rest of them groaning and complaining as they stretched their stiff and uncomfortable joints. Aureus can you take the shelter apart please? ¡°Urgh, why?¡± Caro complained groggily as the somewhat dim light settled across her face that was now covered with one of her forearms. ¡°It¡¯s time to get going. We can¡¯t keep sitting around.¡± I said chipperly. I wasn¡¯t always a morning person, but waking naturally and getting up without any cricks in my neck was a game changer. I¡¯d always woken up stiff and uncomfortable, taking an hour to stretch and settle my body. I was able to get up for the first time in years fresh and full of energy. A chorus of groans echoed behind me as I set out across the barren wasteland. We continued like that for a few days. Traveling, killing rats we found, eating their meat, sleeping on the hard stone ground, and the three of them getting increasingly irritable as the days passed. Chapter 19: Something’s Got to Give I sighed, looking up at the dark red ¡®sky¡¯ above me that had slowly become my new normal over the last few days. We had formed a party and Aureus took care of my portion of the killing while I butchered the kills. After the fight ended Caroline would process the materials I¡¯d gathered other than the meat. It wasn¡¯t a well rounded team by any means but they were making good progress. Caro and Reid took turns being the front-line while Noel used stealth and magic to inflict critical blows. It wasn¡¯t until I watched them level up and the progress through Underhollow itself that I realized that my way of leveling was truly bizarre. From what I learned, not all monsters are created equal and most if not all are expected to be taken down through teamwork. Well I had assumed as much with the horned rabbits, but the slimes were easy enough. ¡°It¡¯s like night and day¡­¡± I mumbled while watching the fight in front of me, we had been trekking through the Underhollow for days fighting these damn rats. And yet other than the first day no one got any injuries other than small scrapes here and there. Despite their bickering they managed to form a decent team and worked together in combat decently well. Compared to their team I had taken substantial damages and nearly died while they easily maintained their health and stamina by making up for what the other¡¯s lacked. [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± chuckles stating that most people wouldn¡¯t choose to throw themselves into an unknown danger alone after all.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± exclaims that that was the precise reason that you were chosen, supporting someone who was just like everyone else was no fun.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± tells ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± to speak for themself.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± says that very very few other humans fight alone, most of those who did have already passed away.] ¡°I wasn¡¯t really alone¡­ Was I really doing something so strange?¡± [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± pouts saying that it isn¡¯t strange, fighting alone is honorable just not what most mortals would choose.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± scoffs at her and exclaims that what you do is insane for someone who is mortal.] [¡°Lazily Reaping Souls¡± encourages you to be more reckless with your actions.] ¡°Yeah, but I leveled up really quickly though, didn''t I?¡± I said cheekily, the gods didn¡¯t reply for a while after that. It was strange they said I was alone though, I had Aureus. Maybe they didn¡¯t consider him as company since he was part of my class? The group was leveling at a decently quick pace, not quite as fast as me and Aureus had, but after a couple days they were already at level 8. A decent portion of that could be attributed to Aureus hunting while we slept. If it weren¡¯t for the scarcity of enemies we would have been progressing much faster. Even when we did come across a group of rats, sometimes they would run the other way. We had been walking in the vast empty expanse of this area for miles, the entrance was shrinking behind us, nearly too small to be seen at that point. Finally we approached a larger flat stone, it was strange to see some order in that chaotic place. We were walking together in a group, aside from Noel who had started walking ahead of the group on his own. He had started avoiding the rest of the group after a stupid fight he¡¯d had with the siblings. Well, he was understandably insulted when Caro said that his abilities had been next to useless since we arrived. When Reid didn¡¯t back him up he started sulking. I expected him to look to me for confirmation that he wasn¡¯t useless, but he never did. It seemed he was keenly aware that I was ignoring him for the most part, which was more social awareness than I¡¯d seen him display since I¡¯d met him. ¡°Why are you so opposed to the idea? I could create an anchor point for your ability pretty easily, why are you being so obtuse about it?¡± Caro glared at Noel as she complained. ¡°I don¡¯t need help to activate my skills.¡± He retorted. ¡°Okay, then why did you only use basic skills and not your stealth attacks in the last fight? It''s because we are on a larger rock with no crevices for shadows isn¡¯t it? And you try to say you¡¯ve been useful.¡± She shot back. ¡°I¡­ It doesn¡¯t matter though, because you can only create a shadow beneath the enemies.¡± ¡°What? I mean I can create shadows wherever I decide to? You want me to make a line from behind me to the enemies. I can do that. Always the excuses with you.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t that dangerous? How will I run away if I need to?¡± ¡°Ohhh I thought you were the big bad Shadow Monarch, now you want to run away? If you start running, won¡¯t we end up stuck with a wave of rats again?¡± ¡°That¡¯s like half of an assassin¡¯s job!¡± he protested. ¡°Okay sure, but not that many. Isn''t it part of an assassin¡¯s job to escape from enemies they can¡¯t beat? And not to bring back danger to others? Plus even if you don¡¯t use the stealth skill you can manipulate the shadows to attack right? Something is better than nothing, if you can¡¯t contribute then maybe we should change the party settings.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ If we do that then we won¡¯t get much contribution either¡­¡± Reid added quietly while glancing towards the where Aureus was gobbling up rats. ¡°Whatever, fine, we can try it later.¡± Noel huffed, then mumbled, ¡°It¡¯s not like we were in danger, what¡¯s wrong with me practicing other methods of attack.¡± ¡°Maybe we should take a break?¡± I asked mostly just wanting to avoid a headache. I¡¯d rarely been without one as they continued to fight for the last few days. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Caroline said with a sigh. The ground under us was shaking slightly, it wasn¡¯t very noticeable at first. The first time this happened we freaked out thinking we were going to have to fight another wave of enemies, but eventually the shaking stopped and nothing happened. I would have brushed it off yet again if the GGC hadn¡¯t started getting rowdy. [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± pumps their fists in excitement.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± smiles saying it¡¯s about time.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± cheers.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± cheers.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± cheers.] A few more gods joined in on cheering, well whatever was coming I was sure they were going to have some more entertainment for the first time in a while. Or had they also been watching other Candidates at the same time? Probably. The ground began shaking more violently, Reid fell backwards and I nearly followed suit. The four of us were anxiously scanning our surroundings for the cause of the tremors, but outside of the ground itself there wasn¡¯t anything.I had turned away from the group when I fell forwards onto my knees when a heavy pressure smacked into the back of my legs. My hands flew out and caught me preventing me from flopping on my face. I glanced back at my sore legs, a large rock was resting atop them. With a grunt I pulled myself out from under it, at my level something like that wouldn¡¯t even leave a large bruise. Once my legs were free I rolled over to see a huge worm? Looming over me, it¡¯s maw filled with what looked like snake¡¯s fangs. There were tens of them lining the opening; I caught sight of the beginnings of a few more rows further inside of it while it screeched in my face. Hot, wet, putrid air smacking into me like a tsunami, and I froze. Looking into the mouth of the creature not even processing that I could be moments from death. The ground shook again while the creature writhed screaming at the sky for some reason. It turned away from me looking elsewhere. ¡°Oi, ugly! Over here!¡± I couldn¡¯t see her, but Caroline had without a doubt attacked it to save me. It lunged towards her, then recoiled backwards. The creature shrieked again before disappearing back into the ground. The four of us looked at each other, I was wondering what to do, how to handle this. Reid was still shocked sitting in the same spot he¡¯d fallen in prior to the emergence of the worm, while Noel was looking into the hole seemingly contemplating his next move. Caroline¡¯s eyes were scanning my body for injuries as I got up and started dusting myself off. I let out a weak chuckle, ¡°Well, that was¡­ Something.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°At least we know why the rocks are so chaotic.¡± Caroline added gesturing to the ground beneath us. It looked like a bomb had gone off, a crater in the middle and several cracks emanating from it with large rocks strewn about. ¡°Heh, no kidding.¡± Reid croaked struggling to stand up again. There was a dark purple splatter of the monster¡¯s blood around where Caro was standing, she had started trying to wipe the thick liquid off on nearby rocks. I suppressed a laugh as she awkwardly bent to wipe the top of her shoe on a rock near her. ¡°When do you think I¡¯ll come back?¡± I asked, not even considering the possibility that it might never return. Noel¡¯s head snapped towards me with a wicked grin. My eyes went wide, ¡°No. No, whatever you¡¯re thinking, stop.¡± I said with a warning tone. He stepped closer to the tunnel, his eyes beaming with delight as he bent down to touch the inside of the hole, ¡°Absolutely not. Noel! Stop!¡± I exclaimed as he disappeared after our attacker. I groaned. It felt like he was deliberately causing issues, and not learning from what we told him at all. Who just does that? Why? ¡°This is not what I meant when I asked him to contribute more¡­¡± Caro said with a frown. ¡°He¡¯ll probably be fine, Caro don¡¯t worry.¡± Reid patted her on the back, but looked more worried than she was. ¡°I swear I am going to hit him. Ugh. If he dies I won¡¯t hold a funeral, or go to what Reid holds for him.¡± I complained, but despite myself I was worried about him. He was annoying and useless at times but he didn¡¯t deserve to die. Don¡¯t worry Master, he isn¡¯t too weak. He is weak, but not too weak. I patted the growing dragon on his head, he had walked up next to me while we were looking down the hole. A slight tremor returned, we glanced around preparing ourselves for a worm to explode from underneath us. This time the tremors got stronger much faster and the rocks beneath us were shaking violently, a rock twenty feet to our left exploding while the worm leapt out of the ground. There were several different shallow gashes on the back portion of the monster, oozing blood onto the rock as it soared over the rock. ¡°What in the world is he doing?¡± I wondered aloud as the worm thrashed wildly. ¡°I told you he¡¯d be fine.¡± Reid said with a triumphant smile. Soon the creature dove back under the ground disappearing from sight, but didn¡¯t take the tremors with it. Several seconds later Noel popped out of the crater behind us covered in sticky purple blood, but donned a huge smile despite it. ¡°Did y¡¯all see? I did a decent bit of damage while I was down there.¡± He said cheerfully. Was he just trying to prove he could be helpful in fights? He was doing rather the opposite if that was the case. ¡°Yeah¡­ You did, but why did you come back?¡± I asked, annoyed. ¡°Uh, so, I can¡¯t maintain stealth and attack with shadows for prolonged periods of time.¡± ¡°Well, now we don¡¯t have a way to manipulate the monster. If you had waited for us to make a plan maybe we could have had you attack from below while we attacked up here. It might have ended things quickly. Just, seriously, why?¡± I said with an attitude. I made it clear I was disappointed that we lost a way to prod at the monster we were anxiously waiting for the arrival of. ¡°It¡¯s pretty damaged though¡­ and we haven¡¯t really had a hard time at all while we¡¯ve been exploring here. It shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.¡± Noel complained. I groaned, rubbing my temples while I wondered if the lesson he learned on our first day in the Underhollow was already expunged from his memory. ¡°We always need to be careful with new enemies!¡± She paused, ¡±We don¡¯t even know how much damage they can do or even what level it is. What if we get seriously injured because it¡¯s a difficult fight?¡± Caroline asked, her voice breathy with exasperation. It seemed she was also getting tired of yelling at him, since it wasn¡¯t really making much of a difference. ¡°I mean I didn¡¯t use all of my mana, I saved some for later that¡¯s why I came back now. It will be fine, we can do it.¡± At that point we all just stopped talking, the tremors that had been intense suddenly stopped. We had gotten so distracted by getting upset at Noel we hadn¡¯t noticed the stillness. Everything was quiet and still for just a couple of seconds before the horror started. The rock beneath us started to give way, and as though time slowed I watched my friends¡¯ expressions shift between anxiety, realization, and fear. At some point Aureus had determined the ground was dangerous and lifted me into the air with him. In a large circle around the crater cracked into existence. The ground inside the circle fell down into the depths. I watched as my friends fell down with it, my hands outstretched as they plummeted. Aureus, put me down! Go after them! I can¡¯t do that yet Master, the ground has yet to settle. Then bring me to an area of the ground where it has! I¡¯m not worried about Noel, and Caroline probably will be fine as well, but Reid isn¡¯t a Candidate and he¡¯s just a healer. Alright, but if it comes to attack you I will return to help you. The bile in my stomach was stinging the back of my throat, it felt like ages while Aureus took me nearly a hundred feet away from the battle. He sat me down gently on a taller rock, took a long look at me before surveying the surroundings. Seemingly it passed his criteria for safety as he flew off telling me, I¡¯ll be back soon Master. Don¡¯t worry about me, I''ll be fine. Yes, I know I will find the healer and bring him to you don¡¯t worry. No, don''t bring him here! Just help them defeat that thing. Understood. I opened the system window, staring at the party app in the social tab. Noel must have used one of his skills to avoid the fall, he was only mildly damaged. Caroline and Reid lost a chunk of health from the fall. Of course Reid was the closest to death, he was the only one who¡¯d dipped beneath half health. I stood up, I couldn¡¯t sit down. I needed to move, I ended up just pacing in circles around my designated seat that was bestowed upon me by Aureus. I watched for a minute, but nothing happened. None of them got hurt after that initial fall. I kept replaying the moment they fell in my head, me and Caro had been looking at each other. Her eyes went wide, glanced up at Aureus then down at her feet. Her head then promptly snapped towards her brother, I followed suit, the panic was plain on his face. His mouth had been moving as he fell, and he was looking up at me. I couldn¡¯t hear him over the noise of the rocks crashing down. What was he trying to say? Aureus was taking me away as they disappeared into the darkness. I suppressed the urge to pick at my skin as I lost myself in my memory. It played over and over, asking me what I should have done, what I could have done. With every pacing step fear knocked. They¡¯re going to die, it''s going to just be you. All alone again. They¡¯re strong, it''ll be fine. Why did you just watch him fall like that? You could have saved him. There wasn¡¯t anything I could have done. Why didn¡¯t you ask Aureus to catch them with wind? We¡¯ve never tried that before, it might not have worked. But shouldn¡¯t you do something? You did nothing. You just stared as they fell into the lair of that beast. I am doing something, I sent Aureus to protect them. No, Aureus is doing something. You abandoned your friends again. I sucked air in through my teeth, one of my fingernails had sunk itself into the skin on my thumb. I must have been peeling at the skin around my fingernails absentmindedly. I had come to an abrupt stop as a result, while I pulled my hands away from each other and sucked on the wound I¡¯d created. The colors on the GGC caught my attention. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± quietly says that stress is accompanied by self harm as he scribbles in his notebook.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± asks you to take a breath and calm down. Adding that you¡¯re doing everything you can.] ¡°Not everything¡­¡± I mumbled, I could try to attack it too, rather than sitting up here waiting for answers. [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± rolls his eyes telling you that following them into that pit would be stupid.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± complains that they should protect themselves rather than putting everything on your shoulders.] [¡°Gentle Autumn Breeze¡± expresses that they are receiving much grace from you already.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± shrugs saying that it was about time to throw the cuckoo birds out of the nest.] ¡°It¡¯s not like that!¡± I snapped. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± asks how it isn¡¯t like that when they¡¯re leeching off of you like this.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± points out that you would likely already have leveled up at least once if you didn¡¯t have them around.] ¡°I can¡¯t just leave my friends to die!¡± I cried, my eyes began to well up. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± smiles, saying that you shouldn''t leave them to die, but you don¡¯t have to share all of your experience with them either.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± calls you stupid, yelling they¡¯ve never seen a human this stupid.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± mentions that she had suggested you go it alone in the first place.] I sunk into my seat again. The rock poked me in the back as I let my head fall into my hands. I groaned. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault all that we¡¯ve seen around here are rats. Even then there aren¡¯t many of them. Just finding enemies has taken ages.¡± [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± states you would have found enemies much sooner if you were alone. Higher ranked ones as well.] ¡°Well we certainly found a higher ranked one.¡± I said sarcastically looking over to the cavern in the distance. It wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t know they were making good points, I knew I was stagnating in my levels. I was getting half the XP everyone else was since I shared mine with Aureus. The problem was I couldn¡¯t just leave them down here like that when something like that worm could happen and they could just die. The other issue was that if I can¡¯t keep leveling I won¡¯t be able to protect them. I needed to get stronger, but leaving the three of them meant that they would have to hunt rats for ages. They weren¡¯t strong enough to do anything else. Maybe that was for the best, they could ease into things naturally. I went to war with myself over whether or not I should leave the group. The world had changed, I had to as well. Just as I was coming to a decision, the soft rumbling in the distance abruptly stopped. I shot to my feet, frozen standing and staring at the gaping pit my friends were in. Checking the system would have made more sense, straining my eyes for traces of them wasn¡¯t very effective, but I couldn¡¯t make myself look at the party window. Just as I couldn¡¯t force myself to ask Aureus, I wanted news but at the same time I was afraid of it. There were too many what if¡¯s swimming around in my head. Chapter 20: A Reflection in the Dark (Caroline POV) Something was off, sure Noel had damaged the worm a decent bit, but would it really just disappear like that? There had been several instances of the ground shaking like this, and nothing ever happened, maybe the gnawing anxiety in the back of my mind was just that, anxiety. The tremors had stopped, even though we didn¡¯t earn anything from the fight, not dying was pretty good. I was looking at Mia, she slowly started taking on a distressed expression. I still didn¡¯t understand what was happening, the dragon picked her up. I glanced up at him, his stern expression failing to hide the pity and sadness in his eyes. Then I realized that the worm hadn¡¯t left. We were still in a battle. When I looked down the ground was falling away. Reid! I whipped my head over to see my brother with obvious panic on his face, but he was fine, bracing himself for the fall. He was yelling something to Mia, but the only part I heard was ¡°don¡¯t come¡±. I looked back up at her as we started falling, she was reaching for us, her face contorted with fear and anger. I smiled, she was always so awful at hiding her emotions. They flew off as we fell, at least she was safe. I shielded my head with my arms as I fell and twisted to the side. I hit the ground not long after. The hole wasn¡¯t too deep, only a couple stories. My shoulder and ribs took the brunt of the fall as I hit a rock, tumbling over a couple more before I landed splayed out on the cold floor. Thankfully I hadn¡¯t taken much damage, only about a quarter of my health was lost even though we fell from such a height. I groaned and laid on the ground for a moment, looking up at the dim light filtering in from the dark red sky above me. My eyes weren¡¯t adjusting to the new darkness around me. The rough sounds of rocks falling and that thing digging its way through the stone engulfed me, even if I hollered for Reid he wouldn¡¯t hear me. I stood up, my legs were a little achy as I blindly wandered through the area. ¡°Caroline?¡± Noel¡¯s voice was barely audible behind me. I whipped around, thankful for someone I knew being so close by. I reached my arms out in front of me groping through the darkness for him. He caught my hand. ¡°Can you see?¡± I asked, his abilities were related to shadows so he probably could see better than me. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re the first one I found. Do you know where Reid would be?¡± ¡°Hm.¡± I looked down out of habit while thinking, I fell and I rolled and I spun around to see Noel. My sense of direction was a little dampened, but I was pretty sure he was behind me to my right. I started to point, and felt silly, could he see well enough for that? ¡°I think he¡¯s this way?¡± I unintentionally turned it into a question. ¡°Okay, let''s go get him.¡± We walked forwards for a while, we were going at a slow pace as I stumbled over rocks and Noel tried to steer me away from obstacles. ¡°Watch your feet.¡± He¡¯d say, and I¡¯d trip over a small rock anyways. ¡°What¡¯s it look like in here?¡± I asked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°What¡¯s it look like?¡± I asked again louder. ¡°Oh uhh, well we¡¯re in a big mostly empty circle, there are a few big rocks around from where we fell, but the walls are covered in various tunnels. I haven¡¯t seen the monster since we fell in here though.¡± He replied. ¡°Well we can certainly hear him.¡± I quipped. Neither of us said anything for a while, we walked in silence. My eyes had adjusted a little bit, but I couldn¡¯t see much further than a couple feet in any direction. The light of the ¡®surface¡¯ wasn¡¯t bright in the first place, but it was even dimmer this far into the ground. It didn¡¯t take too long before Noel just stopped. ¡°What?¡± I asked, it was nerve wracking. We had been walking in the den of some monster for at least a few minutes. Though, it felt like ages, and we still hadn¡¯t found Reid. ¡°There¡¯s blood here, but I don¡¯t see him.¡± He said after a beat. My heart stopped. Where was he? Was he¡­ After I didn¡¯t respond, Noel asked, ¡°Do you think he got up to try and find us?¡± Hope bloomed in my chest again, ¡°Yes¡­ Yeah, maybe he did. Let¡¯s follow the trail¡­ Is there a trail?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a little hard to tell, I think¡­¡± he stopped, when light appeared behind us. We stood there blinking against the sudden light after we¡¯d gotten used to the darkness. Noel turned quickly pulling out his knife, but I wasn¡¯t nervous. The warm light on my back was comforting, and I had a sneaking suspicion that Mia had sent Aureus to help. My eyes adjusted again and a bloody scene was waiting for me. My breath got caught in my throat as my eyes scanned the surroundings. There was a trail, it went towards the edges of the cavern. Thankfully I didn¡¯t see any of that monster blood around other than what was on Noel. That meant that he probably left of his own volition rather than getting scooped up into that worm¡¯s belly. It was concerning how much blood was pooled up, I understood why Noel had frozen when he first saw the scene. I swallowed my tears down and turned around to face Aureus, Noel had already lowered his guard and was looking up at the dragon as if it were his patron god. ¡°Aureus!¡± he cried, obnoxiously loud. In response the dragon¡¯s eyes narrowed, they trailed along our bodies taking stock of our physical states. He then looked past us at the blood on the rocks. ¡°I think he got up and tried to go somewhere, but I¡¯m not sure why¡­¡± I offered looking up at the uncharacteristically stoic dragon. Over the last few days I had seen him many times, and outside of combat he usually behaved like a huge kitten. Even though I thought he was quite cute, seeing him here away from Mia was frightening. The way he was looking at us was so calculating I wondered if the sadness I saw in him as we fell was because of how upset Mia was at the time. What am I thinking? Why would he be acting like a cute pet right now when Reid is missing? Of course this is no different from a battle for him, he¡¯s on a mission. I shook my head, too much had happened in such a short amount of time I was having a hard time processing it. He flew past the two of us towards the scene of Reid¡¯s disappearance. I turned, Noel was looking at me with a huge grin before running after Aureus. With a sigh I followed behind the two of them, Reid was fine, he had to be. We followed a snaking trail of blood for several feet, the further we walked the less blood there was to follow. At first it was a small trail, but now there was only a drop or so every few steps. He was healing! Thank god. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. More importantly though, ¡°Where was he going?¡± I wondered aloud. ¡°It really does seem like he had a place in mind, huh?¡± Noel responded, I hadn¡¯t expected him to be able to hear me over the cracking of rocks around us. I glanced around the cavern, the further from the center we got the more the area we were in looked like a purposefully made structure. Some areas even had columns. At first I didn¡¯t think they were intentional, I thought they were an odd result of that thing eating the rocks. It wasn''t long before I realized we had stumbled into something bigger than just some worm. ¡°Yeah¡­ how did he find this place?¡± I asked spinning around and examining our surroundings, the columns we had found our way to were almost presentable. They had some simple carvings in them and archways connecting them close to the top of the cavern. Though with our small bubble of light we couldn¡¯t yet see where we were heading. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a lot quieter here?¡± Noel asked. ¡°Wow¡­ Yeah, I think you¡¯re right. I hadn¡¯t noticed it till you mentioned it though.¡± ¡°I hope we get something awesome from that place!¡± Noel beamed pointing through the darkness towards our left, where Aureus was suddenly turning towards. ¡°What? Is there something over there?¡± I squinted trying to look closer even though I knew there wasn¡¯t a point. ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s a huge door over here. I bet it¡¯s got some crazy monsters or maybe it¡¯s a town or something.¡± He was nearly bouncing as he explained, I half expected him to disappear on his own again. Though we made it clear we¡¯d leave him if he did that again. ¡°And that¡¯s where Reid was heading?¡± I was confused. How did he know it was here? Was it a coincidence? ¡°I guess so, maybe his fancy new magic eyes let him find it.¡± Noel offered casually. ¡°Yeah¡­ maybe.¡± The floor beneath us transitioned from flat stone to cobblestone as the door started to come into view. There was a wide staircase leading up to a huge pair of doors, they had to be at least ten or fifteen feet tall. A vague slumped over shape of a man started to come into view at the top of the stairs. ¡°Reid!¡± I shouted, I hadn¡¯t meant to, but when I saw him relief flooded me and I was running towards him before I knew it. ¡°Stop!¡± He yelled and shot up at the sight of me. I couldn¡¯t see his expression, Aureus and his floating torch were too far from me, but his eyes shone through the darkness staring into my soul. ¡°What? Why?¡± I slowed down as I asked, not far from where he now stood. ¡°You can¡¯t come up here, you won¡¯t be able to go back down.¡± he replied, his voice was steady but lacked his usual warmth. ¡°What do you mean? Are you stuck?¡± I asked, glancing back down to Noel and Aureus who were standing at the base of the stairs looking up at the two of us. ¡°Yeah, once you get up here you have to go through the doors. You guys should go back and get Mia first.¡± He replied and my stomach churned, his voice was cold. Was he upset? ¡°Okay, Noel and Aureus can go get her. Why don¡¯t I stay here with you? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re going to leave you behind anyways.¡± I said taking another step forward. ¡°No!¡± he bellowed, I faltered in my step and took a couple steps back while regaining my composure. Seeing the shock on my face he added, ¡°No one should stay here in the meanwhile. What if something dangerous comes, we won¡¯t be able to run. It¡¯s better for only one person to be a sitting duck.¡± I took a few more steps back, something wasn¡¯t right. He wasn¡¯t acting like himself. Was someone threatening him? Were they trying to lure all of us somewhere? Aureus seemed to have picked up on it as well, since the space grew brighter with his flames. Several fireballs appeared in intervals along the stairs. Suddenly I could see him clearly, that wasn¡¯t Reid. That was something else. Something hideous. My eyes went wide, and the creature¡¯s face scowled. Reid. Where¡¯s Reid?! I was taking another step back while my eyes swept over my surroundings in search of my brother. I couldn¡¯t find him anywhere. My eyes settled back on the monster, it was roughly Reid¡¯s size, it wasn¡¯t wearing clothes and had small sharp fins on its forearms and the sides of its calves. It¡¯s face was a bastardized version of my brother¡¯s, it was covered in nearly translucent scales that were tinged with green as the light glinted off of them. If I had seen it from its left side I might have been fooled, but the right side was just¡­ wrong. The bone structure warped as I looked at it, trying to form Reid''s likeness and failing. Reid¡¯s eyes were there though, this fish looking thing had gotten his eyes just right. The only part of his eyes that it failed in was the glowing. Its eyes didn¡¯t glow, they reflected the light Aureus had created. It was shocking seeing them like this though, staring down at me like I was a bug in his food. Reid¡¯s now ashy blonde hair was puffing out of its scalp on its left side, but the right was just covered in green scales. A fin-like ear protruding from much higher on the skull than it should have. I thought back to old myths and stories from my childhood, had this thing eaten my brother? Was it trying to take his place, and wanted us to leave so it could complete its transformation? ¡°How disappointing. Well, it¡¯s not a complete waste of this appearance, I¡¯m sure it will be useful either way." Despite its words there was no emotion behind them, fury was taking over me as I watched it continuing to contort into his form. Skin ballooning up in areas that were covered in scales, bones bending and reforming as it tried to perfect its mimicry of my brother. I cast Void String as I bit my quivering lip, I didn¡¯t want to cry during this fight. I could cry after I found out what really happened. My fingers wrapped around the string, and whipped it towards the monster above me. Looking up at those cold and unfeeling eyes that resembled my brother¡¯s created a strange mixture of feelings in me. I decided I would make it look up at me. I would make it kneel at my feet and tell me where my brother was. What it had done to him. With a quick step back it avoided my attack, but Noel was there behind it, a sharp spike of shadow appearing with a wave of his hand and piercing its shoulder. It clicked its tongue as it jumped away from the both of us, landing on all fours and opening its mouth in a particularly disturbing and inhuman way. Its jaw disconnected crunching as its mouth expanded to several times its original size, and a deafening screech erupted from its throat. My jaw clenched up as I tried to block out the noise with my hands, it was insane. How could such a small creature make a sound like that? I could feel the sound in my chest, my bones felt as though they might break from the vibrations. Finally it stopped, I opened my eyes to find it impaled with a large rock. Its limbs were lengthening and squirming around in odd angles as it tried to pull itself around the rock to escape. Human-like red blood dripped from its mouth and covered the ground around it. I looked up and Aureus was there, a large ball of fire floating to his right. He was staring down at the creature as it writhed. ¡°Wait!¡± I screamed, then reached up to touch my throat. I screamed right? My throat was fine, I didn¡¯t feel any strange injuries, but I couldn¡¯t hear anything. Not my scream, not my breathing, not even the consistent wingbeats that had always been there. When I looked down at my hands, they were covered in blood. My blood. I lost my hearing. Aureus¡¯ familiar face popped into view behind my blood soaked hands. He was looking up at me, waiting. What was I supposed to say? How could I interrogate that thing in this state? I looked past him, the creature was almost all limbs at this point, pulling itself up the rock in an attempt to escape. I walked over to it, looking down at the mangled face of my brother. My spell cut through the rock and the monster alike, in just a couple seconds I had sliced it into multiple different small pieces. I had to finish it quickly, I wasn¡¯t going to let this thing see me cry. Blood pooled around my feet, I released my spell. I stood there for a moment just zoning out as I cried looking at the blood that might have been my brother¡¯s. Maybe it had just taken over his body and this really was his. I sighed, it didn¡¯t matter either way I needed to get it together. I was turning my head to look back to Aureus and Noel when a slight tremor caught my eye. The blood rippled. A second later a few small rocks fell down from above me landing in the pool of blood. My body moved instinctually as I cast void string and sliced through the worm that was falling towards me. I managed to slice it clean in half, though I didn¡¯t manage to stay clean. Similar to Noel I had become the second of our group that day to be covered in monster blood. I winced as I looked to the shape shifter next to me, well maybe the third. I felt a hand on my shoulder, when I turned and found Noel already ugly crying. I nearly laughed, or maybe I did. He was trying to comfort me while looking like that? We hugged despite the grossness of it all. Chapter 21: Reunited And It Feels So… After the rumbling had stopped I stood waiting, but a minute after it stopped it started again. This time though it was leaving the area pretty quickly. I wasn¡¯t sure if I should be relieved that it was leaving or scared that I hadn¡¯t heard anything. With a groan I swallowed my fear, I needed to work up the nerve to ask what was happening. Master, I''ve found all of them. Really?! They¡¯re okay? I sank to the ground breathing a big sigh of relief. The electric anxiety finally left my veins. I looked over at the party in the system, they really were all still alive. Reid was in bad shape though, he was down to less than a quarter of his health. Something had injured him other than the fall. Well, I¡¯m not sure about Reid. Really they¡¯re all not doing great in different ways. What do you mean? I haven¡¯t laid my eyes on Reid, but I¡¯m positive he¡¯s here. What? Here? Where? I followed his blood here, and I can smell him past this door. Door? You guys found a door? I waited a couple seconds after I asked, but didn¡¯t receive a response. Aureus? There¡¯s a door? Yes sorry Master, there was an enemy but it was handled. You should come down here. These humans are a mess. What? Their health seems okay other than Reid though? That¡¯s not quite what I meant¡­ I could hear the disgust in his voice and wondered if they had accidentally gotten into some nasty monster byproducts. Well, come up here and get me then. The monsters are dead? Yes, coming. I laid back on the rock and pulled up the GGC, they had been quite active while I was waiting. Since I had to wait til I got back to them anyways I might as well have some conversations. [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± laughs saying that you wasted so much energy on worrying for nothing.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± implores you to trust your teammates more.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± complains that you ignored them for so long.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± wonders why you never check the windows of the enemies you face.] ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah I should do that.¡± I flushed, I had checked the status window of one of the horned rabbits when I first became a Candidate, but neglected that ability this whole time. I wondered if I ever told the group that they could check the status windows of enemies. ¡°Wait¡­ I did that once it was dead. Can I check the status windows of alive enemies?¡± [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± frowns saying that a fight should just be a fight.] [¡°Void Who Gazes Back¡± tells you that you cannot check them until they are dead.] ¡°What? Then why did you say that Seeker? You made me think I¡¯d been missing out on a big part of hunting this whole time.¡± I said annoyed. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± chuckles saying that ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± isn¡¯t very good at communicating.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± complains that there is nothing wrong with the way he communicates.] ¡°Well¡­ it is misleading, you know?¡± I replied with a sigh. At least I hadn¡¯t almost gotten us killed by not relaying important information to them. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± states that he was just asking about something that he was curious about and you made assumptions on your own. He adds that humans make very little sense.] ¡°Well I guess? But don¡¯t you lose a lot of the nuance of conversations if you think about it that way?¡± I asked while glancing over to look for Aureus, I didn¡¯t see him yet. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± agrees with you.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± protests that he is very capable of communicating, and says that communicating and understanding human culture are not the same.] ¡°Ah, yeah you¡¯re right. That does mean you¡¯re bad at communicating by human standards though, don¡¯t you think?¡± I asked, side eyeing his window. Aureus had reached me at that point, so I stood as he scooped me up again. I furrowed my brows at him as we flew in a different direction than the hole. ¡°Aureus, where are we headed?¡± We are headed to that hole there. See it? In the distance there was a small hole between two large pillars I hadn¡¯t seen there before. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± mumbles to himself there is still much to learn about humans, he finishes writing something in his notebook as he grins to himself.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± laughs and agrees, yes there is still much that ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± doesn¡¯t know about humans.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± rolls his eyes saying that he is glad to have more things to discover at his age.] Ignoring them I ask, ¡°Aureus, did you make this?¡± as we approached the pillars. They were more like two huge thin rock formations than pillars since they lacked any sort of craftsmanship. The hole between them was about ten feet across and smooth. It descended straight down through the rock and I couldn¡¯t see the bottom. Yes Master, I made this exit once you asked me to come to get you. It was the fastest way, and I added landmarks so we could find it again easily. I see¡­ so Caro and Noel are beneath this hole? Yes. A small flame appeared next to us as we descended, after half a minute the small tunnel gave way to a huge cavern. There were carvings in a large wall to my left, they were rough and looked to be some sort of language I didn¡¯t recognize, but were distinctly not similar to the runes around the Underhollow entrances I¡¯d found previously. I scanned the area looking for my friends, I nearly missed them and had to do a double take. Caroline and Noel were¡­ hugging? They were locked in an emotional embrace as they made the most awful sobbing noises I¡¯d ever heard. What in the world were they doing? As we got closer an awful smell hit me, they were covered in blood and guts, it was vile. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. I can see what you meant¡­ Disgusting. That¡¯s a little¡­ Well¡­ Yeah, they¡¯re¡­ I wondered exactly which part of what was happening caused him to feel that way, the smell, the loud discordant sobs, or the snot they were unabashedly getting everywhere. ¡°Guys? Are you alright?¡± I called out. There was no response, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Humans are dumb. All the humans except Master of course. [¡°Void Who Gazes Back¡± expresses that her contractor has experienced quite a trauma. She encourages you to comfort her.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± adds that those two can¡¯t hear at the moment.] Can¡¯t hear? They lost their hearing during the fight, or was it a debuff of some kind? The Playwright said at the moment, maybe it was something that would be resolved with time. I took a hesitant step towards them, I wanted to comfort Caro but she was completely covered with filth. Aureus, can you splash some water on them gently from a distance. Just get their attention. Understood. I could feel Aureus¡¯ satisfaction as I requested that of him, an orb of water about the size of a yoga ball appeared above them and lost its form as he released control of it. The two of them gasped loudly as they flinched and looked around them. When they saw me, they both started to run towards me, arms outstretched. I automatically raised my arms defensively and took a couple steps back as they approached. Pain flashed across Caroline¡¯s face and a pang of guilt thudded into my chest. Noel on the other just stopped where he was and looked at me suspiciously. ¡°Ah¡­ I didn¡¯t think this through. We have no way to communicate.¡± I furrowed my brows as I thought of a way to talk to them. Why don¡¯t you just retrieve the healer so you can fix their ears? I looked over at the door, it was huge but still pretty simple. To the side of it were the corpses of what I assumed to be the worm and some other monster they had faced. It was disgusting, some weird ball of flesh with more than ten arms. Parts of it were covered in scales while others were just human flesh. I walked my way over to the door giving both the two people watching me and the monsters a wide berth. ¡°REID¡± Caroline clumsily hollered at me, her voice thick with sadness. I finally realized why they were acting so strangely, they didn¡¯t know he was alive. I turned to face her, she was already sobbing heavily again. ¡°P-A-R-T-Y¡± I yelled towards her, she looked at me with her head cocked. I started again ¡°P-¡±, I stopped, I was yelling at a deaf person like some Karen who yells at people who aren¡¯t native english speakers. How embarrassing. I continued to mouth party at her, while I tried to mime a system window. It took a few attempts before realization took over her expression. She sucked in a deep breath and a huge smile took over her face as she started crying again. Noel looked between the two of us like we were insane, his partner in grief was now grinning ear to ear and shaking him as she deafly yelled ¡°REID! IS! ALIVE!¡± Then she let out the most deranged laugh I¡¯ve ever heard out of her as she released the shaken up and confused Noel. I turned back to the door behind me to let them sort out things on their own, Aureus was right. There was a smeared line of blood that arced towards me from where the door was. Reid must have gone in here to avoid whichever monster he¡¯d been escaping. He should be just behind here, the smell of his blood is strong. I glanced behind me, Noel had latched onto Caro and was shaking her, the tables had turned it seemed. He was distressed about something, he must not have gotten the message about Reid not dying. I started waving my hands around trying to get their attention, Caroline noticed and was smacking Noel in the face. She must have been annoyed because she was hitting him pretty hard. It was that or she didn¡¯t realize how hard she had been smacking him since she couldn¡¯t hear it. Loud smacks resonated through the cavern as she tried to get him to stop shaking her and look towards me. Noel had been yelling some gibberish I couldn¡¯t understand. I just decided I¡¯d go through the door instead. It¡¯d been a while since they¡¯d leveled up; they had to be close. If I just could level them up again I¡¯d be able to restore their injuries and we could properly communicate. The doors swung open and there he was, leaning up against the wall. The entryway past the door consisted of a corridor that split in two directions. A maze? Reid looked like he¡¯d been hit by a bus. His head hung down dripping with blood. A large gash covered his chest, it had evidence of him trying to heal it some. Portions of it were pulled closed by fresh skin. A few smaller cuts were scattered about his body, but particularly I noticed on his hands and forearms. He must have been trying to defend himself. There were dark bruises already forming on nearly every bit of his exposed skin. I walked through the doors with Aureus before squatting in front of him. I wanted to help him, but I wasn¡¯t sure if there was anything I could do. [Congratulations you have discovered ¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± Labyrinth.] [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± cheers.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± asks if you¡¯re going to leave those two like that.] ¡°Well, they¡¯ll figure it out once I level them up.¡± [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± expresses that if you wanted to do that you shouldn¡¯t have closed the door.] ¡°But I didn¡¯t¡­¡± I glanced back at where I¡¯d come from and there was merely a blank wall. No outline of a door or a way to get out. ¡°URGH! Why!¡± I ran my hands through my hair, while I tried to process what I should do. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± smiles, telling you that Labyrinths are relatively safe, and suggests you try to disarm some of the traps.] ¡°And what? Leave Reid here? What if I get lost and can¡¯t find him?¡± I looked at the chat waiting for a response. It was quiet, none of the gods were saying anything. Aureus can you explore a bit? Please just take that left and every chance you get take another left. When I call you back you can do the opposite, take all rights. Understood. I settled down next to Reid, while I considered lying him down and trying to help in some way even if it was just cleaning him up. I was thinking I might lie him in my lap to give his neck some support, but I decided that I shouldn¡¯t do anything other than trying to put pressure on his wounds. If I changed his position it could have some sort of negative effect on him. Well maybe, I¡¯d always heard you shouldn¡¯t mess with people who were in accidents since you could exacerbate their injuries unintentionally. After a couple of seconds I got up and squatted in front of him again, looking for the injury that was causing the most blood loss. The gash in his chest ¨C while significant ¨C was already starting the healing process and wasn¡¯t bleeding very heavily. There was a steady dripping of blood on the cold stone beneath him, his head was wounded somewhere. I lifted his head up to see a gash that was dripping blood from his forehead. I didn¡¯t have any fabric to use for putting pressure on the injury so I just pressed into it with my hands. Blood squeezed its way between my fingers and started dripping down my arms. I maintained that position for a minute, but it didn¡¯t seem like it was helping at all. ¡°This isn¡¯t working¡­¡± I mumbled to myself. [¡°Golden Light that Shines On All¡± has sponsored you.] ~~*~~ Golden Drop of Life (Potion) Description: A single drop of this potion is capable of restoring up to 70% of a person¡¯s life force. Mana and stamina regeneration rate will increase dramatically for the next 24 hours after consuming this potion. Depending on the user, permanent positive effects may be applied. ~~*~~ A small glass bottle with a few drops of glowing golden liquid materialized in my hand. The craftsmanship for that bottle was completely different from the one I¡¯d received from my Naked and Unafraid quest. The glass was clear, the neck of the bottle thin and topped with a glass cap that had a simple decorative finial ¨C it came towards a point blunted by a ball. There was an elegant design encircling the bottom of the bottle in frosted glass. I pulled the top of the bottle out with a pop, the potion¡¯s smell overwhelmed me for a moment. Honey and warmth was the only way I could describe it. I didn¡¯t quite understand how I was smelling warmth, but there wasn¡¯t a doubt in my mind that that was what I was smelling. Carefully I lifted his head back pushing his jaw open, and slowly poured just one drop of the potion into his mouth. I put the potion into my inventory and pushed my hair out of my face as I waited. A golden light began to emanate from his chest, growing brighter and brighter before I had to avert my eyes to avoid being blinded. When it faded away I noticed the wound on his chest had disappeared. The color was returning to his face, he already didn¡¯t look injured at all. ¡°Reid?¡± I said gently. I didn¡¯t want to push him too much, almost dying took its toll regardless of if it was physical health. ¡°Erm¡­¡± he grumbled as his eyes slowly cracked open. ¡°Are you doing okay?¡± I asked with a smile, I couldn¡¯t help but smile even if the situation didn¡¯t really call for it. His eyes snapped open, he looked right at me and then punched me in the face. My head snapped back, I was more dazed than hurt. Reid had just hit me. Reid. Chapter 22: Miss Comunication I was scrambling backwards as I held my nose. It didn¡¯t hurt that much, I guessed that was because of our difference in levels or his unwillingness to fully attack me. I guarded my face with my hands, mostly due to the shock. He jumped up. He looked like he might cry. Looking around, his eyes were desperately searching for something. I was still overcome with shock. I wondered what had happened to my party for them all to be acting like this, but there really wasn¡¯t any way to know other than to ask. ¡°Reid? What? Why?¡± I asked, I still hadn¡¯t composed myself. It was all I could muster while my mind spun. ¡°You! You!¡± Reid was pointing directly at me, his eyes were composing themselves and turning cold. The tears he was shedding before drying up as he glared down at me. ¡°What did you do with her?!¡± He bellowed. I could feel Aureus¡¯ anger, he must have registered my shock and small amount of pain. Master, what happened? Are you okay? Has a monster appeared? Yes, I¡¯m alright. Reid seems delirious, he just hit me. Don¡¯t worry it¡¯s probably not his fault. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked while I started to get up again. His eyes were glowing brighter than before, the light burning with his fury. He stepped towards me again, I flinched backwards while I was standing and stumbled a few steps away. How dare he? This mortal surely has a death wish. I will come back and bite off the hand that touched you. ¡°Where is my family? What did you do to them?¡± He asked coldly. I furrowed my eyebrows. Family? Caro? His parents? ¡°What do you mean ¡®do to them?¡¯ Why would I do anything to them? Caro and Noel are outside that door¡­ Or well where the door used to be I guess. They¡¯re absolutely covered with monster guts and blood. It''s an awful smell, really.¡± I tried to make a joke about their unfortunate circumstances as I pinched my nose for emphasis. ¡°A disappearing door huh?¡± He crossed his arms and stared at me like I was a kid covered in chocolate while claiming to have never eaten any. He wasn¡¯t buying anything I was saying. Why did he suddenly not trust me at all? Why would he hit me like that? Suddenly I remembered what Aureus said, so I responded to him hastily. No. You can¡¯t bite him, but it would probably be best if you come back. Maybe he¡¯s been afflicted with some sort of psychic attack. What about smacking him in the head? No. How about I hold him upside down and then drop him but I catch him before he gets hurt? Or I can take his fingernails. Or just a finger? Oh or how about I burn all of his hair off? He seems to be very fond of his hair. What? Where did ¨C No. You can¡¯t torture him for this. ¡°So you¡¯re not going to even defend yourself?¡± Reid asked while I had been lost in communicating with Aureus. ¡°What? Defend myself? What are you even accusing me of? What even happened? You know Caroline thought you were dead.¡± I was thoroughly confused, but I was so happy that he was fine that I couldn¡¯t even get upset about how he was acting. ¡°Ah, so she recognized you. I¡¯m glad she¡¯s so smart.¡± He said with a smirk. ¡°Well yeah¡­ I¡¯ve known her forever? I mean she¡¯s deaf right now, not blind.¡± ¡°Uh huh¡­ Sure. So where is your familiar if you¡¯re here?¡± ¡°Aureus? He went to explore, he¡¯s on the way back now.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then why don¡¯t we wait here for him to come back?¡± ¡°Uhhh sure okay, that was my plan anyways. Why are you being so weird?¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m behaving appropriately towards something like you.¡± He sneered as he looked down his nose at me. Something like me? I couldn¡¯t help but feel offended and hurt. Even if it was because of the Underhollow or some kind of monster, the fact that he would say that to me was shocking. ¡°That¡¯s too far Reid. You¡¯re being unnecessarily inflammatory now. If you don¡¯t want to tell me why you¡¯re upset at me and treating me like this then fine. Don¡¯t. But don¡¯t just insult me for something I don¡¯t even understand.¡± I blinked a few times to rid myself of the beginnings of tears before they could properly form. I had always hated that I cried when I was angry. People never took me seriously because of it. ¡°I think you know why. Disgusting.¡± his voice was painted with disdain as his face crumpled into a scowl. ¡°What are you talking about? Disgusting? Is this because y¡¯all fell down here and I didn¡¯t? It¡¯s not like I wanted any of this to happen.¡± I asked, something wasn¡¯t adding up, what he was saying didn¡¯t make any sense. ¡°Sure, yeah okay. Keep pretending.¡± He sneered as he jabbed me in the shoulder with a finger, pushing me further back. ¡°Pretending? I think you¡¯re misunderstanding things. I¡¯m going to find Aureus. I don''t want to talk to you right now. I don¡¯t know what you think I did or whatever but I¡¯m not gonna sit here for that.¡± I let out a low angry groan as I started walking towards the labyrinth. Trying to process what he said and my growing emotions that were nearly ready to explode. ¡°Oh? I thought you said we would wait here for him together?¡± He said mockingly. I whipped around angrily and glared at him. ¡°Shut up! Things have been the worst lately! If you want to be a dick then just shut up. I¡¯ll just sit over here and we won¡¯t talk until Aureus comes back.¡± I yelled towards him, I was promptly wiping any tears that escaped before they could fall. I sat on the floor looking away from him as I thought. ¡°Yeah ever since you showed up everythings been going wrong.¡± He said sarcastically. My face started getting hot with rage, I lost control. ¡°Ok. Fuck you Reid. Fuck you. How is any of this my fault? I literally saved your ass from your dumb fucking friend and you say this shit to me? Seriously? What was I supposed to do? Fight the gods? Save the world?¡± I paused for a moment as he stared at me, I couldn¡¯t read his expression. It almost seemed like his mood was changing for a moment, but I couldn''t tell. ¡°Ugh. Just shut the fuck up and leave me alone!¡± I screamed and cried. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Everything had been going wrong, I nearly died, we almost got abducted, I killed people. It was awful. Overwhelming. How was I supposed to process all of it? How could he say that to me? None of it was making any sense. ¡®Pretending to be¡¯ echoed in my mind a few times. The pieces were slowly falling together, the image of that disgusting fleshy blob appeared in my mind. The limbs and flesh on it were reminiscent of humans. When the realization dawned on me I kept crying, but for a new reason. I didn¡¯t know what to say. I couldn¡¯t just argue that I wasn¡¯t an impostor when I had just screamed at him to shut up. Plus part of my pride didn¡¯t want me to, he didn¡¯t even try to see if I was the real Mia. He just punched me in the face. I wondered how convincing the fake Mia was for him to not even consider whether or not I was real. Maybe he thought that since I was in here and wasn¡¯t aware of that monster I had to be fake? I sighed. We would have to talk about it eventually, but now wasn¡¯t the time. I decided to open the GGC and destress. [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± whines that you aren¡¯t taking his labyrinth seriously.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± expresses that you¡¯re not being very efficient with your time or energy.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± smiles as they retrieve popcorn for the show.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± asks if you¡¯re okay.] [¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± giggles about humanity and its stupidity.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± complains that it''s easy to get mixed up with things when it comes to monsters that change their appearances.] [¡°Void Who Gazes Back¡± disagrees and says that ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± is a muscle head.] I skipped through the next several messages as ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± and ¡°Void Who Gazes Back¡± argued about their points of view. I rolled my eyes at the Playwright clearly enjoying their new entertainment of our family falling apart. I read a few more messages, mostly random casual talk about what had just happened and jokes at my expense. With a glance back at the wall where the door previously was I looked back at the GGC and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t Caro and Noel coming through?¡± [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± glares at the other gods and goddesses before daring them to speak up.] I looked at the chat window for a while, it seemed that ¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± was a pretty influential god since none of them said a word after. ¡°I see, so they must have entered into a different part of the maze¡­ Or maybe there¡¯s a limit on how many people can come in? I wonder if the door on their side also disappeared after we walked through it.¡± I tugged at my hair as I mused on the possibilities. [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± groans stating that it isn¡¯t a maze, it''s a labyrinth.] ¡°Yeah sure, labyrinth. I mean they¡¯re basically the same, just one has monsters and traps and stuff.¡± [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± complains you¡¯re doing this on purpose because you want to know about your party.] ¡°What? I would never do such a thing!¡± I said with feigned sincerity. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± snickers and adds that you are a very upstanding and honest person.] ¡°Exactly.¡± I smiled, I was trying to get my mind off of Reid. It wasn¡¯t working. The sadness that resulted from our argument wasn¡¯t lessening with time, it was getting more significant. Flopping back onto the rock beneath me I groaned. What was taking Aureus so long? Aureus? Are you alright? What¡¯s taking so long? I have gotten stuck in a trap. What?! Are you okay? Yes, I just can¡¯t get my wings free, I¡¯ve been trying for a couple minutes now. Okay how far are you? I¡¯ll come get you. I¡¯m almost back, I think I only had a turn or two left before I got back to you. I jumped up, and started sprinting towards the left turn ahead of us. It was the first time I had actually noticed my surroundings. I had been so focused on Reid¡¯s physical injuries and then my emotional ones that I never looked around. The inside of the labyrinth was so different from where we¡¯d left. The walls of the labyrinth stretched up for what seemed like hundreds of feet. They butted up against a ceiling coated in various minerals and gemstones. It was pretty, but didn¡¯t feel very intentional. It felt as though the decorations on the ceiling were placed randomly, but not in a way that made it look worse, it almost felt like it was bringing out the natural beauty of the gems. The walls were made of a similar dark rock as outside, but inside it was most smooth and polished. Along the bottom of the path there were runes that were carefully inscribed and every turn on this stretch of path the corners of the walls were capped with some sort of metal with swirling designs etched into it. The floor beneath us was also made from the cobblestones we had seen outside. Overall the whole labyrinth gave the feeling of natural beauty and was well put together. ¡°Where are you going?!¡± Reid hollered after me. ¡°I¡¯m going to Aureus, follow me if you want. I don¡¯t care.¡± I snapped back without bothering to turn around. I continued running and took my first left, a long path with several diverging paths on either side opened up before me. Just as I was turning into the next left, a stone I stepped on sunk beneath me. A portion of the ground I stepped on gave way underneath me. A simple pit trap. Instinctually I kicked off of the corner of the walkway I was turning into, sending myself flying back into the wall of the corridor I was on prior. I groaned as I stood and looked towards the path I needed to take to get to Aureus. Most of it was crumbled away, if I could get past the pit the rest of the path behind it seemed to be fine. Maybe? I¡¯d never been in a labyrinth before, but it wouldn¡¯t make sense to put the traps too close together. I browsed my inventory, I had a rope and a grappling hook, but unfortunately there wasn¡¯t anything I could see that would allow the hook to get hold. If only Aureus were here, he could fill the hole¡­ I thought to myself as I was trying to find a way to get to him. The pit was only about ten feet across, but I couldn¡¯t see the bottom of it. The walls were connected to the ceiling so I couldn¡¯t hook onto them. Maybe I could coat the hook with mana, if I could get it embedded in the wall I could get across. I was deep in thought when Reid¡¯s voice pulled me out of it, ¡°Where¡¯s Aureus then?¡± ¡°I think he¡¯s close, this way and stuck in a trap.¡± I said pointing past the pit in front of me. ¡°Why don¡¯t you jump it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m considering that as an option, but I have to be safe¡­ But I could maybe anchor myself before I jump. Then if I don¡¯t make it I can climb up the rope and think of a new plan. Yeah. I¡¯ll do that.¡± I was busily setting things up for my plan as I thought through things aloud. ¡°Isn¡¯t that dangerous? You could die.¡± ¡°Sure, but this is the Underhollow. I could die tomorrow, might as well try today.¡± I continued as I smashed the hook into the wall opposite the pit. ¡°Well here goes nothing.¡± I continued as I ensured there was enough slack on the rope before taking a running jump towards the pit. I hesitated. Skidding to a stop before I could jump and nearly fell directly into it. Teetering on the edge I sighed. ¡°You¡¯re not very good at jumping,¡± he joked. I half smiled. Well, that was better than the previous snark. ¡°It¡¯s scarier than it looks.¡± I backed up breathing deep and steading myself again. If I hesitated I would fall. I needed to jump properly. I closed my eyes and centered myself. I needed to go get Aureus. He was relying on me. I opened my eyes and took off again, my feet hit the ground firmer with each step. Finally I pushed mana into my legs as I jumped. I took off. I was flying solidly twenty feet from the ground. Laughing I looked back at Reid¡¯s face, he was slack jawed. My elation was short lived when the rope ran out of slack and I was promptly jerked back and fell to the ground. I spent likely two or three minutes coughing on the ground as I tried to compose myself. The rope was untied and attached to an arrow that I jammed into the rock. I caught Reid¡¯s gaze as I turned to walk around the next left corner, he was confused. I flashed him a huge grin as I said, ¡°Now if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯m going to get my dragon. If you want to climb over the rope and follow, feel free.¡± I nearly skipped around the corner, but my mood fell when I saw the dragon in question. Chapter 23: Princess Reid There were nearly 30 spears jutting out of both of the walls in front of me. Aureus, thankfully, had only gotten hit by one. He had gotten his wings impaled on a spike that was coming out of the right wall. His body shook lightly as he used his front legs to hold himself up on a spike beneath him. They barely reached it and he was basically standing on his toes, it was a precarious balance. ¡°Oh my god, Aureus! You said you were okay!¡± I am okay. It didn¡¯t hit anything vital and the bleeding is minimal. I just need to avoid tearing my wings if possible. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask me for help first thing?! How were you planning to get out of this yourself?¡± I whined as I slowly approached him, trying to not activate any more traps. I don¡¯t know, I was going to start with building up a spot to stand for myself, but it was difficult to focus so I didn¡¯t get far. I glanced down at the floor beneath him, sure enough there was a small raised platform. He hadn¡¯t gotten it very close to him as it was only a few inches off the ground and he was above me. Why hadn¡¯t he called me right away? Did he also lose trust in me after my failures lately? ¡°Aureus, next time you¡¯re in trouble like this you need to tell me.¡± I didn¡¯t want to worry you, I can get out of this on my own. Dragons can easily manage simple traps. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can,¡± I said despite the fact that I wasn¡¯t really sure if he could ¨C well not without mangling his wings at least, ¡°but there¡¯s no need to struggle in silence when I can help you with these kinds of things!¡± Understood¡­ Master¡­ I could tell he was disappointed, he wanted to solve this on his own. I couldn¡¯t blame him. I also really wanted to be able to do everything on my own. It wasn¡¯t surprising he took that trait from me. Either way it was an important lesson to learn that we both needed to rely on others sometimes. I furrowed my brows as I examined the trap he¡¯d gotten himself into. There were several spears of various angles protruding from both walls around him. He managed to only get hit by one, but the angle of it raised as it got closer to the spearhead. I considered trying to push him up so that we could get his wings off of it, but the rest of the spears were in the way. The spears were in position to make it hard to fit much of anything between them and the other spearheads. The gaps were mostly noticeable in the middle where the spears crossed each other. Even if I wanted to go the route of pulling him along the spear to the edge, I wasn¡¯t tall enough. I could make it worse if I went about this without a proper plan. ¡°Aureus, do you want me to hold you up for a moment so you can make a platform for yourself? I¡¯m still not sure how to resolve this yet, but it¡¯d be better than barely being able to hold yourself up.¡± Yes, please do so. I carefully maneuvered my way through a couple spears, ensuring that I didn¡¯t touch any of them just in case. I didn¡¯t think that anything would happen if I did touch them, but I wasn¡¯t about to test it and find out. After a couple minutes of back breakingly slow movement, I finally arrived at Aureus. Gently I raised my hands to his chest and stomach and slowly lifted him up. I was leaning forward at an awkward angle since he needed to make the platform directly underneath himself. After what felt like forever and a decent workout for my core, finally he had carefully made a platform to lay on. Again, slowly I lowered him to the pedestal. He had whimpered a few times throughout the process, but kept it together pretty well. I imagine an injury to the wings of a dragon was a pretty significant issue. After he laid down on the pedestal I pet his head as I thought. The only solution I could think of was a mana emission, I had been considering alternate names to mana emission for a couple days. I couldn''t settle on one; there were options like mana cutter since I was copying Aureus¡¯ water cutter, or maybe mana blade since it was basically a blade of mana I threw out. I wasn¡¯t sure. The main problem I had with the only solution I was able to muster up was that the vibration and motion from the mana emission would likely injure Aureus more. I didn¡¯t want that to happen. If I could only just hold the spear while I cast it then there wouldn¡¯t be a problem ¨C or at least it would reduce the burden on him ¨C but I already had a hard time just casting it. It took nearly all of my focus. Reid. I should go get Reid. What? Master, we don¡¯t need him. You can break this spear on your own. Yes, I can but I don¡¯t want to. It¡¯s more dangerous that way. I¡¯ll be fine. Yes, you will but I won¡¯t. I don¡¯t want you to get hurt for no reason. I¡¯ll try to convince him to come help. He hit you¡­ I don¡¯t trust him. It¡¯s not his fault, didn¡¯t you see that thing? Why didn¡¯t you tell me about it? That thing? Oh the thing that tried to look like him? It died. Yes, I know but he didn¡¯t know that it died. He probably thinks that I¡¯m that thing. What?! That thing was gross, and all scaly and green and it looked like him. How could he mistake you for such a nasty thing? Because he got attacked by it before you got here. There wasn¡¯t any light, it probably tried to imitate someone in the group so now he¡¯s scared and doesn¡¯t want to trust anyone. I waited for a moment for his response, and then left the same way I came. When I rounded the corner I saw Reid, he was trying to pull the grappling hook out of the wall where I¡¯d left it. ¡°So you¡¯re stealing from me now. I guess you didn¡¯t want to follow me over.¡± I said casually as I walked up to my arrow that was still attached to the rope on the other side. I tied it around my waist again as he looked back at me. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the rope around my waist. ¡°So where¡¯s Aureus?¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Did you think I rushed over here for no reason? I needed to get him out of a trap.¡± I started, then backed up and took a running jump to where Reid was. ¡°And to get him out of it I need your help.¡± ¡°My help? You¡¯re stronger than I am, why would you need my help?¡± His eyes widened for a moment before narrowing at me, clearly still distrusting me. ¡°I just need you to hold something is all.¡± I said as I scooped him up in a princess carry. It was awkward, he was all elbows while he flailed around trying to escape me. A futile attempt, as he said ¨C I was stronger than him. ¡°Let me down! Let go of me you freaa ¨C AAAAHHH!¡± He screamed as I made the jump over the pit. He was latched on to me, which while preferable to him flailing was also uncomfortable. I could barely see over his large body so we ended up with a moderately rough landing. I stumbled a few times and landed on one of my knees before getting up and remarking, ¡°See, now that wasn¡¯t so bad Princess.¡± I set the trembling Reid down as I walked towards the hall towards Aureus. Without looking back I made my way back to my familiar. I got into position to cut through the spear that was trapping him. A gasp echoed through the silence as Reid finally saw the two of us. His face contorted through the various emotions that I guessed meant he found out that the person he was treating so harshly was actually me. I wondered if he was too naive, what if there were two of those shape shifting monsters? He could easily walk into a trap like that. ¡°Mia¡­ Aureus¡­ you guys!¡± He looked like he was going to cry again, I wasn¡¯t quite ready to forgive him so I cut him off. ¡°No time for that, I need your help now. Come over here and hold this spear so I can cut it.¡± I gestured to Aureus next to me. With a nod he quickly ran over to help, he was much less careful about touching the spears than I was. Though I suppose I had just asked him to grab one of them so if touching them was an issue then that would come with a whole host of other problems. He glanced at me with a confusing emotion on his face as he turned to hold tightly on the spear that was impaling Aureus. I couldn¡¯t tell if it was pity or regret or what. ¡°Alright, keep a hold of it. I¡¯m about to cut it.¡± I said, I didn¡¯t wait for a confirmation before closing my eyes and focusing on that feeling I had just over a week ago. There wasn¡¯t a pain in my chest this time. My chest heated up, as electricity spread around my body. It was much easier to direct it this time as I focused on the image of slicing through the spear in front of me. I took in my surroundings, I thought about the air between me and that metal. I breathed in slowly as I pushed the mana through my limbs and into my staff, and finally through the air and into the spear. I opened my eyes to find that all of the spears in front of me had been destroyed along with a portion of the floor in front of me. It wasn¡¯t a deep gash, just a few inches deep and several feet long. With a deep breath in I looked back to Aureus and Reid. Their faces were serious as Reid was very carefully sliding the spear through the holes in Aureus¡¯ wings. He winced and then stopped just as he was about to be done. ¡°What is it? Why don¡¯t you finish removing it?¡± I asked as I leaned up against the wall to rest a bit. ¡°Oh¡­ Well the end of this spear is a bit¡­ hot. We should probably give it a moment to cool down.¡± He said looking down at Aureus with pity. Aureus of course was outraged by that, roaring in my mind about how dragons don¡¯t fear heat. I, however, disagreed there was no way to know for sure that it wouldn¡¯t affect him in the long run if we pulled a mana heated rod through his injured wings. They were likely the most delicate portion of his body. ¡°Okay, then Aureus, can you help us cool it down. Just a bit of ice would probably do.¡± I asked gently. He grumbled a bit, but complied.Once we had gotten the spear removed we walked through the path I created. ¡°Alright, well I¡¯m going to retrieve my stuff. Can you heal him?¡± I asked Reid. ¡°Your stuff? Oh¡­ yeah. Okay I¡¯ll take care of him, hurry back.¡± I just nodded and took off back the way we came for the third time. I grabbed the arrow and with a quick hop over the hole I grabbed the hook out of the wall and made my way back. Aureus was bathing in Reid¡¯s golden light. That name the god chose really suited him, Golden Light Priest¡­ or was it Priest of Golden Light. Whatever, either way it was perfect. Reid was kneeling before Aureus, his head bowed and eyes closed as a bright yet soft golden light healed his wings. Aureus¡¯ more rose gold tint glinted as the light bounced off of his scales. Reid had the aura of a saint. ¡°Do you think we should make marks as we travel? So we know where we came from or so that Caroline and Noel can follow us?¡± I asked Reid as the light dimmed. ¡°Um sure. Did that door really disappear? How will they follow us?¡± He asked, he seemed a little worried. I couldn''t blame him, they all probably thought each other had died or gotten seriously injured. ¡°I¡¯m not sure either, my main guesses are that there¡¯s a limit on how many people can go through any given door and that the door sends people to different places given certain conditions.¡± I shrugged. Master, we haven¡¯t marked any of the passages on the way here though. ¡°I guess that makes sense.¡± Reid commented after a moment before asking, ¡°Should we go back the way we came to mark things or?¡± ¡°Ugh I guess so.¡± Master I can go on my own you- ¡°Absolutely not. No more separating.¡± We set off, we marked the location where the door was with a large X and then put the same mark but smaller on the corners we turned each time. It didn¡¯t take long until we were back to exploring the labyrinth. The next several lefts were mostly uneventful, consisting of basic traps like poison darts, swinging logs, spiky walls attempting to crush us. Nothing that we couldn¡¯t handle, plus a lot of them were already decommissioned by Aureus his first time through. [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± complains that you¡¯re too high level for this labyrinth.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± disagrees stating that the traps are just too simple.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± argues that you have abilities that counter the traps well.] [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± sighs.] ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry! It has been an interesting time, plus I¡¯m sure there are other people who are here or will come here eventually.¡± When Reid looked at me questioningly I added, ¡°Cheer up Collector of Gems and Stones!¡± The last half hour had been so awkward, Reid felt bad for what had transpired between us and I felt upset about what he said. I knew that he wasn¡¯t talking to me, but it was difficult to reconcile that with how I felt. Plus he still hadn¡¯t worked up the nerve to apologize. I knew he wanted to, it was plain on his face. He was moping. We rounded another corner, there were monsters here. They were turned the other direction and about thirty feet from us, but they looked like furry goblins? They had big bags on their backs with various stones and gems packed into them. They held small pickaxes in one hand. They didn¡¯t have a tail which was almost strange since they were so furry, but at the same time it felt like it would¡¯ve been even stranger to look at if they did have a tail. Their ears were large and protruded from high on the sides of their heads, the fur on their ears was occasionally tipped white. The rest of the fur on their bodies were mostly blacks and browns while a couple of them were a lighter tan color. Well it''s about time! Master we finally have monsters to fight~ Aureus was licking his lips as he stared at the furry little creatures. I glanced over at Reid who looked a bit anxious and just wordlessly put a hand on his shoulder. I tried to give him a reassuring smile and nod, he attempted the same back but it was clear he was still nervous. It was understandable, he had just nearly died. I¡¯ll have to be patient with him. It took me a while to get myself back to¡­ Well actually have I even processed everything that¡¯s happened to me properly? Probably not. It doesn¡¯t matter, I just gotta do what I gotta do. A shrill screech sounded from the group of about ten monsters. Well it looked like ten from there, but they were standing in the spot where the paths diverged so there could''ve been more past the walls. A huge grin emerged on my face, I really wanted to fight for some reason. I wanted to turn my brain off and kill these monsters. I wanted to level up and take their loot. That place was changing me, only time would tell if it was for the better. Chapter 24: Pistons and Blocks I darted forward eager to slice through the monsters at the other end of the hall. Reid shrieked behind me, ¡°What?!¡± I didn¡¯t look back. Aureus was there if anything went wrong. I was on them within the second, the faces of the three closest to me went blank as they faltered backwards. The rest of the group still seemed bloodthirsty. Now that I was close, I realized they were on average about three and half feet tall. If their eyes weren¡¯t so vicious they¡¯d look quite cute. That and their yellowing and broken sharp teeth took away from their small and cute appearance. Their fur actually looked quite soft and they had small pink puppy noses. Truly a strange combination of features for a monster. I didn¡¯t even bother coating my blade with mana as it bit through the chest of the monster in front of me. Blood sprayed across me as I twisted my hips to stab into the next monster, my dagger slid smoothly into its neck. I was aware that they were small, but was still shocked when the knife nearly decapitated it. My shoulder was thrown backwards when one of the little furry goblins threw something at me from the back. I never saw it, but I wasn¡¯t really paying attention to the others anyway. I didn¡¯t consider the fact that they might throw things at me, I knew I was lacking in combat experience, but it seems I was also lacking in common sense. The bags on their backs might be for collection, but there was no reason they couldn¡¯t throw the items within it when an enemy surfaced. A fire blazed on the back row of the kobold like creatures, Aureus¡¯ annoyance tinged on the back of my consciousness. Aureus, I really appreciate your help, but can you give me a little bit of time to practice fighting on my own? I know you can protect me, but I¡¯d like to know enough to protect Princess Reid. Hahaha, yes this healer does resemble a princess. Should I trap him in a tower for you Master? Did he just make a joke? I snorted as I pulled out my old knife I had been using from the beginning. It was starting to dull, but I wanted to try dual wielding. These things weren¡¯t putting up much of a fight. A pickaxe swung for my stomach, I side stepped right into another one. It caught me directly in the back of my knee, and I buckled to the ground. A few more smashed into my shoulders and arms as I stood back up. Well, that¡¯ll teach me to get cocky. The blows weren¡¯t severe, I¡¯d end up with some gnarly looking bruises, but they weren¡¯t life threatening if I could prevent blows to dangerous areas. I tried to use this opportunity to practice protecting my vitals, allowing a couple hits to land as long as I blocked attacks to my torso and head. It was painful, but I could feel myself improving. Focus, you can do it. Just breathe and dodge what you can and block the dangerous ones. God, these things suck. Two picks swung at me from the right crashing into my leg as I blocked another that was swinging at my back. After blocking I tried a sweeping kick, I was getting a bit swarmed at that point. It was moderately effective, four of the closer monsters lost their footing and fell to the ground. I smiled to myself as I swung my knives down into the closer two. The knife Caro made for me quickly killed its mark, but my old knife barely scratched its target. Thankfully the weight behind the blow took the wind out of it. As I was standing up to full height a row of the monsters who hadn¡¯t been affected by my kick stepped forwards as the others scrambled up. They really weren¡¯t going to give me a moment to rest or collect myself. I sighed, tossing my head back to get my hair out of my face. The blood on my face made that effort partially futile. There was barely even a moment before the new monsters began launching their attacks in conjunction with the group in the back. It seemed like they had gotten braver since Aureus wasn¡¯t interfering after that first attack. That¡¯s fine, I can handle this much. Just dodge the rocks and the pickaxes. No biggie. It was much easier thought than done though. I got hit in the head with rocks four times before I lost my cool. I pushed a small amount of mana into my legs as I jumped over the first row of monsters. Raining attacks down on the creaming fluffy creatures. They were failing to block my attacks with their pickaxes, one of them lost the weapon all together when my knife split the hilt in two. My rage fueled flurry of attacks were an effective fear tactic but not nearly as deadly as my previous calculated ones. Most of the backline sported deep but nonfatal wounds. My hubris quickly caught up with me as they surrounded me on all sides. Several weapons swung for my knees, I jumped, but not as high this time. Reaching out and slicing through several more before I landed in nearly the same spot again. Several rocks pelted me throughout the process. Fuck these things are annoying. I¡¯m already in a bad mood, I thought stomping on these murderous monkeys would make me feel better. Why doesn¡¯t it help? I should be happy to kill monsters that would otherwise be injuring people. I did a quick survey of my surroundings, there were about six dead and three dying. A head count yielded much more than just ten as I had thought previously. They were hiding in the other corridors. There had been at least twenty-five, maybe thirty when I started. I was whittling them down, but I decided I should stop here. I didn¡¯t need to make Princess Reid work any harder than this. Plus there wasn¡¯t much point if gore and violence wasn¡¯t going to soothe my strange feelings. I couldn¡¯t put a name to them. I mean I had gone through hell and back and I¡¯d killed people for the first time, but I felt¡­ Strange. Excited to fight, but disappointed by it. Happy to be alive, but guilty. Scared and worried about the future. Was I going to die later because I stalled my leveling now? How quickly would things get difficult? Were they really expecting Candidates and Adventurers of their levels to be able to handle what they¡¯d thrown at Reid and the gang? Maybe this place was supposed to keep us on our toes and I was interfering with that, it was supposed to be dangerous right? Would I get punished for messing up their plans? Would the others? More than anything I wanted to grab the GGC and shake it while I demanded answers. But¡­ There was no way they would tell me anything. I had a feeling even if they tried the system would obscure it. Like it had when ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± attempted to ask me about something. Aureus, I thought as I leapt twenty or so feet into the air. I was caught under my arms as usual, but our typical smooth flight was interrupted by portions of the wall that shot out towards us. Aureus hitched backwards, dodging around and to the sides of various piston like machines that launched themselves at us. After a swift flight I was plopped next to a distressed Reid. I smiled at him as Aureus went off to claim his prey. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Don¡¯t burn them if you can, I think their pelts will be a valuable resource. Ugh, fine. Wow, sass? I don¡¯t know what you mean Master. I mused on the idea of teenage Aureus throwing around sarcasm and complaints with a new dark alter ego. I laughed as Reid tried not to tear up while healing me. He was much too soft for this place, the attitude he had before suited it much more. Maybe after some time he¡¯ll get used to it and tap into whatever portion of his personality makes him angry robot Reid. ¡°What¡¯re you so upset about? These are pretty mild injuries, you know?¡± ¡°Since when have you been so reckless?¡± He whined as warmth filled my body. It felt significantly different from the way he healed in the past. Caro and Noel had mentioned it, but I hadn¡¯t had the chance to experience it myself until now. It was warm and refreshing, similar to leveling up but much less sudden. Healing from leveling up felt¡­ jarring. It was nice because I wasn¡¯t hurting anymore, but it was more of an explosion of rejuvenation. This was more like¡­ sinking into a warm bath or drinking a hearty mug of soup on a cold day. Reid raised his eyebrows at me, I had gotten lost in the feeling and zoned out. ¡°What?¡± I¡¯d forgotten what we were talking about. ¡°You¡¯re being so reckless. Can¡¯t you be more careful?¡± ¡°Well I mean, I disagree. I think learning more about how to fight now when it¡¯s safer is the best thing I could do. I think ignoring the fact that I will be in a situation like that in the future and passing up on chances to grow is reckless¡­ I¡¯m not really injured right? Just bruises?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± A long silence followed after that. ¡°Well, did you see those things! Those big rock piston things? Honestly this whole labyrinth feels like it was built by someone in blockcrafting.¡± I chuckled a bit as I tried to lift the mood. ¡°Oh yeah that was strange, why would they put things like that all the way up there? I mean the one they put behind us I understood, but up there?¡± He asked as he watched Aureus practicing with wind. Aureus hadn¡¯t used wind as much as his other elements, I supposed that he was trying to take this opportunity to practice as well. I taught him right. With a smile I commented, ¡°I mean probably for people like me and Aureus. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s someone who is able to fly and might try to avoid the monsters instead of fighting them head-on. So there was a moving wall behind you?¡± ¡°Yeah, see.¡± He gestured to the wall behind us, it took me a few seconds to process what he meant. The paths we had just went through were gone. It had closed up so there was no option but moving forward and fighting the monsters. If anything that made the ones higher in the path make more sense. People who were trapped were more likely to try going around the monsters rather than fighting them. The bejeweled chat window caught my attention. [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± claps with glee exclaiming that things are finally getting more interesting.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± asks if ¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± only wanted violence regardless of if the humans struggled.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± asks what¡¯s wrong with that.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± exclaims that the dragon is putting on a good show.] ¡°Huh, I thought the god that created this labyrinth wanted us to struggle, but it might not be the case.¡± ¡°Really? I dunno, my patron god said that the god that made this place was pretty simple. Just that they wanted something fun. They complained when I entered and I commented that they were disappointed because I was already dying, but my god disagreed.¡± He stared into the distance as he zoned out for a moment before exclaiming, ¡°Wait! How did I get healed up? I checked and I never leveled up?¡± I just stared at him, he seriously didn¡¯t know yet? What, did he think it was divine intervention? ¡­ Wait, that was actually plausible and¡­ well that was what actually happened in a way. I sighed, ¡°I was sponsored by your patron god and I fed you a potion. You know how shocked I was when I saw you? You looked like you¡¯d died already honestly.¡± ¡°It was that bad huh?¡± His eyes darkened as he looked off into the distance again. I waited, I knew he wanted to say something. After a couple minutes he started, ¡°That thing, that weird morphing thing. It just¡­ showed up a minute or so after I fell. I was bleeding everywhere and everything hurt.¡± He looked at me as pain flickered across his face. Breathing deep he looked forward towards Aureus again before he added, ¡°It was mimicking you, I don¡¯t know how. I couldn¡¯t see¡­¡± he choked up for a moment before continuing, ¡°It led me away from the group, I was trying to make small talk with you. Or well¡­ not you¡­¡± ¡°I know what you mean. You can refer to it as me, I don''t mind.¡± ¡°Are you sure, I said some¡­ awful things earlier though.¡± I nodded and he began again, ¡°You were annoyed, complaining that we were holding you back. That you regretted coming down here with us. We got to those steps and that was the first time we had gotten close ¨C you had been keeping your distance. I lost my footing and reached out to you, but some weird¡­ Fin? Was what I grabbed.¡± ¡°A fin? I didn¡¯t see any fins on it though? I mean I guess it did have scales.¡± ¡°Yeah it felt like a fin, it was rough. The scales cut me a bit. I panicked, instinctually I knew something was wrong I didn¡¯t have a chance to think I just ran. I guess I caught it off guard because it didn¡¯t catch up to me until I had already made it to the top of the stairs. I turned to look behind me out of habit¡­¡± He laughed, ¡°there wasn¡¯t much point. I couldn¡¯t see it but I guess it hit me? My head hurt like hell. I fell backwards and scrambled on all fours until I was up against the door. It caught me in the chest that time. I think I opened the door after that? I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s been hard to patch up the memories but I think that¡¯s what happened.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, you¡¯ll figure it out. Or you¡¯ll block it out and you won¡¯t have to think about it anymore.¡± I laughed as I smacked his back, trying to keep the mood up. ¡°So Caro and Reid ran into it?¡± ¡°Yeah, they thought you were dead. I guess they thought it¡¯d killed you to take your place¡­ which now that I think about it wasn¡¯t really so far off. You nearly died.¡± ¡°They¡¯re okay though?¡± He asked anxiously. I glanced at him and then back at the system in front of me clicking on the party window. They were still injured, but they hadn¡¯t lost any more health. I guess they were just sitting at the door. Maybe it disappeared. I realized I was zoning out again so I told him, ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re alright. Well they¡¯re deaf right now.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, you mentioned that. What do you mean deaf?¡± ¡°I mean like the condition of not being able to hear? They were screaming at me and crying like little babies thinking you¡¯d passed. I guess they sustained some sort of sound damage or something. Or maybe they injured themselves to avoid like siren magic or something I dunno.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ So you came in here to get me to help them?¡± ¡°I mean yeah? But mostly because I wanted them to stop freaking out. Also you were heavily injured so I wanted to help. Look at what that got me.¡± I laughed as I pointed at my clearly uninjured nose. ¡°Shut up!¡± He whined playfully as he elbowed me. Yeah this was much better. Relaxed and happy Reid. I had completely forgotten about my anger with him from earlier. It¡¯s not like he was trying to do that to actual me. Plus fake me was apparently a big ol¡¯ bitch. I could excuse that behavior after what he¡¯d dealt with that day. It''s not like I hadn¡¯t acted out recently either. Patience and understanding would be key to enduring this hell hole, and something I knew I already needed to work on prior to awakening anyway. We weren¡¯t on the brink of death all the time, but it wasn¡¯t really easy either. Chapter 25: An Unfortunately Familiar Face We were sitting on the couch in my camper, I was eating from a bowl full of rat soup and Reid was eating with a ladle out of the pot. I decided not to put any potatoes in it, I felt that it wasn¡¯t fair to use it now. Noel and Caroline had no way to eat right now. We had been in the labyrinth for at least a full day, and I had all of the meat and ways to cook it. That was a major oversight on my part. Even though I was the one butchering and cooking the rats, everyone should have kept some of the meat just in case. ¡°They¡­¡± I looked down into my soup with a frown, grease shimmered across its surface rippling as chunks of meat bobbed throughout it. ¡°They¡¯re gonna be alright, they can find some food right?¡± Reid never answered, he just gave me a weak smile as he played with his food. We had already decided to rush through this area to find a way back to them, but that was much easier said than done. I had joked about it when I first arrived here, but this place was huge. A commendable labyrinth. I could imagine people getting lost in there for months. We didn¡¯t have months. ¡°Well. If you¡¯re ready let''s get going. You guys leveled up once yesterday, if we can just keep that going it won¡¯t matter if they can¡¯t eat. Plus we need to get through here as fast as we can, so picking at our food isn¡¯t a great pastime.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s go.¡± We both stood up and went to the door, Reid opened it first and just stopped. He pushed his arm out to block me. ¡°Who are you? What do you want?¡± His voice was cold, serious. ¡°Do-do you¡­ that smell¡­ do you guys have food?¡± A familiar male voice echoed into the camper. I couldn¡¯t place him. It was so familiar. His name¡­ What was it? How did I know him? ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so tense. Would y¡¯all be up for trading?¡± A feminine voice followed, it was light but confident. A comfortable sound, someone you might want to read an audiobook. Reid¡¯s shoulders relaxed slightly. ¡°Reid, can¡¯t we just talk to them outside?¡± I nearly asked how he was going to defend me, but decided against it. There wasn¡¯t much point in hurting his feelings and revealing our cards to these people. Jarred? Was it Jarred? No¡­ Master, do you trust these people? Aureus asked as he stood on his hind legs and pawed for my attention. No, I don¡¯t trust them, but there¡¯s no reason to be hostile if they just want to trade. It might be hard for them to eat right now so we could probably get something good for trading with them. ¡°Reid.¡± I said again when he didn¡¯t move. ¡°Are you sure? What if they¡¯re¡­¡± He trailed off, but I knew what he was thinking. Or at least I assumed he was talking about those morphing creatures. I was more worried about people like the painted man I¡¯d met on my first day back in the city. ¡°Yeah, we shouldn¡¯t have to worry much. Trust me, I think things will be fine.¡± With a sigh he stepped out of the camper and to the side to make room for me. I followed after him, the woman came into view first. She was short, decently shorter than average with a huge hammer. I recognized her from posts on Celes, but her hair was noticeably more red in person. I tried to push the trust that came with recognition down, just because I knew ¨C sort of ¨C who she was, didn¡¯t mean I should trust her. When I made eye contact with the man I realized why Reid hadn¡¯t wanted me to come out. It was Theo, that rotten bastard. His eyes widened when he saw me. He was nearly cowering behind the small woman before we saw each other, he quickly straightened to his full height. Stepping forward he started, ¡°Mia¡­¡± In response Aureus pushed his way in front of me and hissed at the man. He shrieked, stumbling back behind the woman ¨C who seemed amused by the events. ¡°Sorry, he¡¯s a bit protective is all.¡± I said pointedly at the woman, I wasn¡¯t going to apologize to cheating trash. ¡°I can see that, he¡¯s quite pretty¡­ What breed is he?¡± she asked. ¡°You know, I¡¯m not sure. I never really asked, I was taken with him immediately. Didn¡¯t ask many questions and just took him home.¡± ¡°Is he friendly? Could I pet him?¡± she giggled as we played pretend, a small bit of fun and pretending that everything was normal again. Just two women chatting about one of our pets when we came across each other in the street. ¡°He¡¯s a bit shy, he won¡¯t bite.¡± I said eyeing him, you won¡¯t hurt them, but you¡¯re welcome to refuse if you don¡¯t want them to touch you. I won¡¯t force you to do things like that. ¡°But he might refuse you. He doesn¡¯t trust others easily. Some trauma from the day after I got him. People are the worst.¡± I said with an undertone of warning. I was analyzing her reactions. It was fun to banter and all, but I didn¡¯t trust these people. Especially not Theo. He stabbed me in the back once already. ¡°I see. That¡¯s unfortunate.¡± She motioned over her shoulder with her thumb, ¡°This one¡¯s the same way. He¡¯s a rescue. Picked him up when a group of assholes was kicking him while he was down. Didn¡¯t much want him, but I couldn¡¯t leave him there either.¡± She said as she squatted down and put out her hand palm up like she was feeding a horse a treat. Aureus eyed her warily, he sniffed at her hand and then looked up at me and then sniffed her again. His tail curled around my leg as he bumped his nose into her palm and promptly ran away hiding behind me. I laughed, ¡°Well that wasn¡¯t so bad huh? Anywho, you said you wanted to trade? Whatcha need and whatcha got?¡± The two men of the group had been awkwardly waiting around. Reid was in a defensive stance and spent most of his time glaring at Theo, while Theo had been fidgeting and attempting to hide behind the woman. She reached her hand out for a handshake, I looked down at it weighing my options. I glanced over at the GGC, most of them were talking about me and Theo¡¯s past. Filling in other gods who weren¡¯t aware. It seemed like it would be fine to accept it. We shook hands. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Rosalynn.¡± ¡°Likewise, I¡¯m Mia.¡± ¡°It seems like you already know Theo?¡± She asked as she glanced back at the man behind her. My nose scrunched up with disgust as I answered, ¡°Yeah, I know that unfaithful bastard.¡± She glanced between the two of us, cocked her head to the side as she scanned my face. With a shrug she pulled out some clothes from her inventory, ¡°Now, these aren¡¯t very good, they won¡¯t add much in way of defense. But! They¡¯re better than running around in regular clothes and well¡­¡± She glanced over at Reid¡¯s bare chest, his shirt and portions of his pants were absolutely wrecked. ¡°It¡¯d be nice to cover up right?¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°Yeah, I would like a new set of clothes,¡± He looked at me for confirmation before continuing, ¡°We¡¯ve got some rat stew¡­¡± He paused like he was going to say more. When he looked back at me again I shook my head. We weren¡¯t selling our potatoes. No way in hell. Not to someone who might give them to Theo. Over my dead cold body. ¡°We¡¯ve also got some amateurly treated rat pelts. Well we also have some pelts from those¡­ Oh what did the system call them? Woobis? Woddles?¡± ¡°Wommi¡± ¡°Yeah, we have some of those, but they¡¯ve not been treated. I guess, more importantly, is whether or not the clothes you have would fit him.¡± Rosalynn pulled a couple more sets of the clothes she grabbed before from her inventory. They were all similar, but it was obvious that a novice had made them. They were stitched together slightly awkwardly and there wasn¡¯t that feeling of sameness one gets from store bought or professionally made clothing. The fact that the outfit was almost completely made of leather made it look even more awkward. It was hard for me to imagine Reid wearing such a haphazardly put together outfit. ¡°Well while he tries that on I¡¯ll prepare you some food. I¡¯m assuming rat stew is enough of a deal for the clothes. Unless you¡¯re wanting to haggle? But honestly you need food more than we need clothes.¡± I raised an eyebrow at Rosalynn, she was charismatic and confident so I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she tried to get more out of the deal if I wasn¡¯t careful. ¡°Well, that puts us in a tough spot though,¡± she responded, tapping her chin while pretending to be in thought, ¡°Ah!¡± she raised a finger up before continuing, ¡°How about soup now and some meat for the road, and I¡¯ll throw in a second outfit. Though I do feel I¡¯m getting the short end of the stick, I feel like meeting the both of you is enough to make up for that.¡± She beamed, I turned to go back into my camper and get the kitchenette. I wasn¡¯t planning on sitting in there and cooking their food. Reid would get restless if I left him here alone. I was just about to come back out and take down the camper when I heard a yelp from outside. ¡°God, ow! You said I could go in, why did you attack me?¡± Theo¡¯s voice was muffled and became more clear as I opened the door. The camper disappeared behind me as I stepped out. ¡°I never said you could go in.¡± Reid responded defiantly. ¡°He¡¯s right, you asked if you could talk to Mia alone and he said that was up to her. You¡¯re the one that tried to open the door without asking.¡± Rosalynn chastised. ¡°Ah, I see what happened. Reid didn¡¯t attack him, this item has a feature to prevent trespassing. Unless I allow it, no one can enter but me.¡± I said flatly as I sat on the ground and deployed the cooking set. I pulled out the pot we had already been using, and wondered if I should just share the food we had already started with them or if I should make them a new batch. There wasn¡¯t quite enough for two people left though. Well, I didn¡¯t want to just throw it out. ¡°Hey, I have some leftovers from when we were eating earlier. I can reheat them real fast for you if you¡¯d like? I¡¯m not sure how you¡¯d feel about eating a stranger¡¯s leftovers though.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a stranger¡­¡± Theo mumbled. I ignored him. ¡°Well, seems like Theodore here would be fine with it so let him have the leftovers. I¡¯ll wait for the second batch of food.¡± We sat in silence for what felt like twenty minutes as we waited for the soup to reheat in the pot. I let my mind roam as I stared into the oily soup. Theo would be quite upset when he discovered that these were Reid¡¯s leftovers and not mine. Parts of me wanted to ask him what he was thinking that day, why he did what he did. Most of me just wanted to never have to deal with him again. He didn¡¯t seem comfortable down here, though I suppose that was probably a more normal response. Reid had been glaring at him a lot, I never remembered the two of them meeting, but I suppose they must have. Theo and I dated for at least 4 or 5 months, so they had to have run into each other at some point despite Reid¡¯s busy schedule. It was weird that he seemed more pissed than I was though. I mean I guess it makes sense since he learned that it happened just a few days ago, so it¡¯s more fresh but still. I wasn¡¯t the type to just gloss over things like that either. Looking at the whimpering and pathetic man now I wondered what I had seen in him. Sure he was decently attractive, but clearly his personality was lacking in several aspects. Maybe I didn¡¯t notice it back then, I overlooked it for some reason. I was young. It felt strange thinking that even though it wasn¡¯t too long ago, so much had changed in my life since then. I started living on my own. I lost my mom, went through both friend and romantic break ups. I started working and painting a lot. I guess I ended up growing more as a person than I realized. Theo ate in silence as I started preparing the next batch of soup for Rosalynn. I also prepared several meat skewers to cook for their additional request earlier. I felt like it was almost not worth the clothes. They were crude and didn¡¯t provide much help as items, and Caroline could most definitely create better ones. But part of me agreed with Rosalynn, it was nice to meet other people down here. Especially ones who didn¡¯t seem shifty. Rosalynn had a weird comfortableness about her. I wanted to have faith in her, I felt like she was a good person. I mean a bad person wouldn¡¯t put up with Theo, that annoying coward. ¡°So how long have the two of you been in this labyrinth?¡± I asked, breaking the silence. ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s been forever. I swear this place is the worst.¡± Theo was the first to respond, but I just continued to wait for Rosalynn¡¯s answer. His wasn¡¯t very helpful anyways. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, the time has been a bit strange, but I¡¯d say about a week maybe? Probably less, five days? It¡¯s hard to know for sure.¡± ¡°Five days! A week!¡± Reid raised his voice in a panic, ¡°That¡¯s way too long!¡± I shot him a warning look. Despite the fact that I knew one of these people and the other seemed to be trustworthy, we couldn¡¯t trust them completely. I didn¡¯t want them to know that Noel and Caroline were out there on their own. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. There¡¯s nothing we can do about it if it¡¯s a week anyway. We just have to get to the end or whatever the solution is for leaving.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡­ You¡¯re right.¡± Reid leaned back with a big sigh. ¡°How about the two of you? How long have you two been down here? Or well, not down here, but in here?¡± Rosalynn asked ¡°Uhh I think we¡¯ve been in this maze forrr about a day or two? Probably.¡± I replied. ¡°Oh that¡¯s not too bad, you two are the first people we¡¯ve seen this whole time. I was starting to think we¡¯d already explored the whole area until we ended up over here. I really didn¡¯t think this path was here before though.¡± ¡°Huh, well we did have a path that closed behind us once, it could be something like that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that was because of the fight we were in though. I mean it opened up again after.¡± Reid interjected. ¡°Hmm¡­ Either way it is interesting. I was feeling a bit worried, we were separated from our group because the door just disappeared after we went in, so it¡¯s nice to see other people again after being stuck with this dolt for so long.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Theo protested. Rosalynn continued without addressing his complaint at all, ¡°I understand if you don¡¯t trust us, but I¡¯m part of a party that has been setting up a camp down here. We have a decent amount of civilian types that we are trying to keep safe here if you need help, or if you just need a party to join we have a decent amount of people who would be happy to do that as well.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ well I mean that does sound nice. I¡¯m not like, opposed completely to the idea of joining up, but it¡¯s a bit difficult. We¡¯ve had some pretty bad experiences with people after everything you know.¡± ¡°I hope you can understand, we are doing fine on our own at the moment, so it¡¯s nothing personal.¡± Reid added after me, but his glare towards Theo contradicted what he was saying heavily. ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine, I completely understand. I just want you to know if you need a place to rest, or if you¡¯d like to trade again, you can come find our camp. We don¡¯t have a name or anything yet, but if you¡¯re fine with it I¡¯d like to add you both as friends?¡± ¡°Sure that¡¯d be fine.¡± We finished cooking, Rosalynn scarfed the food down, and the trade was completed. After exchanging our screen names and becoming friends we went our separate ways. It was a nice and comfortable first meeting of strangers in the Underhollow. I hoped that in the future we could interact again, and be helpful to each other if we needed to. I never wanted to go through what I had with Caro that first day ever again. Chapter 26: Meeting up Again All Too Soon It was only a few hours after we had parted ways with Rosalynn and Theo before we had to contact her again. The three of us had skillfully traversed through a good bit of the maze before we were stuck. It wasn¡¯t really a dead end, but it may as well have been. There was yet another huge door in front of us, it was significantly more ornate and had several jewels encrusted into its surface. There were runes and various designs embossed in it as well. ¡°Wow¡­ Do you think this is like¡­ a boss room or something?¡± I asked. ¡°This isn¡¯t a game, or well¡­ I mean it is? Maybe? I don¡¯t know why don¡¯t you ask the gods you have following you around like puppies?¡± ¡°Ohhh Reid I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯d be soooo sassy towards them. What if they give me a quest to torment you?¡± I teased. Surprisingly the Playwright actually played along with me and offered a quest. ~~*~~ Punish the Heretic Quest Description: This heretic has insulted the honor and holiness of the gods. He must be punished. Using whatever means you consider fit, convince the heretic to apologize to the gods for his sins. Rewards: Strawberry Candies ~~*~~ My eyes lit up, I had been eating disgusting, gamy, oily, greasy, filthy rat stew for days. I would kill for some candies right about now. All he has to do is apologize, I can definitely do this quest. This is the best quest I¡¯ve ever gotten! So easy, great rewards, really honestly the best quest possible! ¡°Reid, seriously though, you should apologize to the gods.¡± I said in as serious a voice as I could muster. ¡°Ha ha. Mia, stop messing with me and just help me open this door.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not kidding. Apologize.¡± ¡°Ugh, whatever, I¡¯ll play your dumb game, oh gods of Mia¡¯s GGC, I have reflected on my transgressions and do hereby apologize for being a wad.¡± Reid fancily bowed towards my left side where I read a few messages in the GGC. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± raises a brow at you, but says nothing.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± complains that he is very insincere.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± disagrees and says that he gave a textbook perfect apology.] [¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± rolls their eyes at ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡±.] Hmm¡­ I guess it wasn¡¯t sincere so he won¡¯t accept it? Well, he didn¡¯t say that directly, and the quest is called ¡®Punish the Heretic¡¯ so maybe I need to accomplish both requirements. ¡°Mia! Come on!¡± Reid whined. ¡°Fine, but I want a better apology for them later.¡± I said as I leaned into the door with him. ¡°Seriously? Why are you being so weird about this?¡± Before I could answer, a system screen appeared. [ Required: 2/4 ] ¡°Huh. Well. That sucks. Should we call Rosalynn and Theo?¡± I asked. ¡°Ugh I¡¯d rather not see that asshole again.¡± Reid replied with disgust. ¡°I mean yeah, I don¡¯t want to see him either, but we need to get out of here soon and this is the best lead that we¡¯ve gotten since we arrived.¡± ¡°Fine¡­ But I¡¯m not playing nice with him.¡± ¡°I mean? You didn¡¯t last time either?¡± ¡°Well yeah, but we might have to be around each other for longer this time so I don¡¯t want you to ask me later to just play nice since we have to work together. He looks pretty useless anyways.¡± ¡°He did seem scared out of his mind, well I guess she did mention he got attacked early on. Maybe he¡¯s struggling to get over that. Either way I won¡¯t ask anything of you relating to him so I¡¯m just going to call her okay?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± [ Calling ¡°Dauntless Hammer¡± ¡­ ] [ Accepted ] ¡°Hello?¡± Rosalynn¡¯s voice came through into my mind clearly, and out of habit I replied telepathically as well. Hi, Rosalynn? ¡°Yes, I can hear you.¡± Oh¡­ Um, well we found something that we thought might interest you. I relayed our current predicament to them and they quickly decided to join us at the door. I offered to send Aureus to lead them to us, but apparently that punk had a tracking skill. My skin crawled at the thought of him following us around. ¡°Oooooh, Reid, we definitely should have asked if they had soap!¡± I exclaimed while we awaited their arrival. We had been able to ¡®shower¡¯ in the most basic sense for the last few days, but having some soap would be amazing. ¡°You¡¯re right! Ugh my hair has been so greasy, I would kill for some shampoo.¡± I glanced over at Reid and groaned. The Gallaghers were the worst sometimes. They usually looked picture perfect, but even when they didn¡¯t it wasn¡¯t nearly as obvious. There is absolutely no way someone would have looked at Reid, or Caro for that matter, and suggested they were oily and needed to bathe. His hair was slightly unkempt and lost a bit of its shine, and there were occasional stubble that escaped his blade when shaving that stood out on his mostly clean-shaven face. ¡°Seriously, you could be shooting a survival movie. You look fine. Just a bit dusty.¡± ¡°As if.¡± He moped as he slumped to the ground. ¡°Oh my god.¡± My eyes went wide, and panic started to set in. I began to pace back and forth and nearly tripped over Reid. ¡°What? What is it?!¡± He asked, annoyed when my foot caught against his knee as I tried to walk past him. ¡°What about my period? Or Caro¡¯s? Oh my god¡­ it¡¯s going to be the worst¡­¡± He shot up at that question and also joined me in my panic. We paced around for half a minute before he offered a really dumb solution, ¡°Can¡¯t you guys like, sit on the toilet until you¡¯re done?¡± ¡°For a whole five or so days?!¡± ¡°Well, I mean you don¡¯t have any better ideas do you?¡± ¡°Ugh, this is why I should have hopped on that diva cup trend when people wanted to save the earth.¡± ¡°Huh? What? Diva¡­ oh, well yeah I guess? But ¡­ Would? Eh I don¡¯t know there¡¯s no point in asking me questions about this now.¡± ¡°Ohhh Doctor Reid feels weird about bodily functions?¡± ¡°No, I just feel weird about you and my sister¡¯s bodily functions. That¡¯s not strange. Plus I¡¯m not a doctor, so I have no practice with awkward body stuff.¡± ¡°Would it be weird for me to ask Rosalynn about that?¡± I asked Reid as I fidgeted with my hair. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Ask me what?¡± Shit, damn it. Ah whatever. It¡¯s the end of the world what¡¯s the point in courtesy ¡°Ah, well just uhh toiletries and comfort items? You mentioned you¡¯re part of a larger group so I figured you¡¯d know more about that. Honestly we really should have brought more than we did when we came down here. We had time to pack up something but for some reason none of us really brought anything at all. Why¡­ Anyways, sorry. So, soap? Feminine hygiene? Etc?¡± I asked, I was rambling. God I hated rambling. Why do I always talk too much? You don¡¯t talk too much. I think you could probably talk more. Everyone else should talk less. Sigh¡­ thanks darling. ¡°Oh, well I don¡¯t have good news for you¡­ Yet! Hopefully in the near future we¡¯ll have something we can help you with. Having good products is important for maintaining business connections!¡± She grinned widely as she added the last bit. ¡°Well, I guess it would be too good to be true to figure that out so soon. Oh well, I guess I¡¯ll just do an at home hysterectomy.¡± I said with a chuckle. Rosalynn smiled and patted me on the back, but Theo looked horrified. He never did understand my humor, or when I was joking. ¡°Alright, so this is the infamous door huh?¡± she asked. ¡°Yup, we needed the two of you to open it. If you don¡¯t mind, I''d like to get going.¡± Reid said curtly. The two men started a glaring match, the fact that Theo even tried to¡­ compete?... with Reid was annoying. ¡°Stop flirting and just push the doors!¡± I whined at them, shocked and hurt expressions looked back at me before they turned to the door. The window appeared again, the number increased as each person began to push on it. [ Required: 4/4 ] [ Success ] [ Welcome to the center of the labyrinth. ] [ Please enter and complete the challenge. ] The four of us exchanged wary looks as the huge doors swung forward. An absolutely humongous open area stood before us, but no one stepped forward. The hugeness of the space and vagueness of the challenge was daunting. The first thought that plagued me was, what if the challenge was that we had to fight each other? Would we have to kill them? Could we? Even if we didn¡¯t have to fight them for the challenge, who''s to say they wouldn¡¯t take advantage after the challenge and fight us? ¡°Well, let¡¯s head in.¡± Reid said, his voice only wavering slightly as he took the first step into the room. I took a deep breath and followed. I pondered the situation as I aimlessly wandered into the room. [ Required: 3/4 ] I glanced back to see Theo standing outside of the doorway, he was clearly freaking out. I rolled my eyes at him and beckoned him to come inside. He looked down at the threshold of the doorway, and just stared at it. With a groan I took a step towards him, but Rosalynn reached him first. She yanked him in and the required quantity of people was met. [ Please select a challenge below: ] [ Team challenge. Defend together. One large prize. ] [ Individual challenge. Defend alone. Individuals may surrender. One small prize for each victor. ] ¡°I think we should do the individual one.¡± Rosalynn was the first to pipe up. She came to that decision quite quickly. ¡°What?! How am I supposed to defend against anything?¡± Theo screamed. She glared at him, ¡°Then just surrender. It¡¯s not like you¡¯d get the big prize if we did the team one either.¡± ¡°Well, what if surrendering doesn¡¯t keep you safe? What¡¯d happen then?¡± Reid asked. ¡°I mean I can¡¯t really trust the two of you if there is only one prize. What if we end up fighting for it after? I¡¯d rather just let everyone get whatever they get.¡± she said with a shrug. ¡°Hm¡­¡± I thought for a moment, ¡°Well, I doubt that people who surrender would die immediately? Probably?¡± I looked towards the GGC, they were eerily silent. There were comments before we stepped into the challenge room, but nothing after. I waited for a few moments, maybe they were just waiting on our choice. They might say something if I gave them a moment. Still nothing. ¡°Hey, Collector? What happens if people surrender?¡± I asked, still staring at the chat window. Nothing. Damn. ¡°I don¡¯t want to risk anyone¡¯s life by doing individual defense, but it¡¯s hard to believe that the gods would kill you just for surrendering. Plus we don¡¯t know how hard the defense game will be.¡± ¡°Still¡­¡± Theo said dejectedly. ¡°Well, let''s just vote. I¡¯m assuming this is a vote.¡± Rosalynn said. [ Team defense: 0/4 ] [ Individual defense: 1/4 ] ¡°Yup, looks like it.¡± I said as I voted for the individual defense as well. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± Reid asked without looking up. ¡°Well I already voted, so I guess so?¡± [ Team defense: 0/4 ] [ Individual defense: 3/4 ] We waited, and waited, and a few more minutes passed. Theo was muttering to himself as he debated making a choice. God, he didn¡¯t seem this annoying when we were dating. What happened to him? He really lost it. ¡°Jesus, Theodore. Just choose, it won¡¯t matter, the majority already voted!¡± Rosalynn yelled. He yelped in response and clicked something. [ Team defense: 0/4 ] [ Individual defense: 4/4 ] [ Selection made: Individual defense ] [ Preparing zones ] The ground beneath us started to shake, and unfortunately for me, Aureus latched himself onto my torso. I lost my balance between the dragon and the tremors and started to fall forward. I tried to throw my hands out in front of me, but they struggled ineffectually since they were pinned to my sides by Aureus. I face planted into an invisible wall. Aureus, let go! I¡¯m sorry Master! I just, I didn¡¯t know if I was going to get stuck in an individual battle too¡­ Oh, Aureus I doubt that would ever happen. You¡¯re a part of my class that would be extremely unfair to me. Are you sure? I mean it said 4 out of 4 earlier when we voted. Did you get a vote? No¡­ Then it¡¯s fine so let go. He uncurled from around me and I pushed myself off of the wall. Looking around there were similarly confused looks from Reid and Rosalynn, but Theo looked like he¡¯d just shat his pants. The four of us were being moved closer to the center, but still different areas of the huge square room we were in. The floor beneath us moved as we were relocated. I just realized at that moment there were four doors, the one we went through and three more on each wall. Each of us was placed between a door and the middle of the room, though we were much closer to the center than the door. The noise in the room heightened more, it was deafening. Creaks and groans of stone and metal scraping across each other and a slam as walls emerged from the ground, separating me from the others. Dust and pebbles fell down from the ornate ceiling clattering lightly as the noise finally ceased. I tensed, expecting a wave of those wommi things to appear and swarm us, but nothing was happening. I reached out expecting the invisible wall not to be there, but it still was. I turned in a circle examining my surroundings. My section of the room was triangular, the corner behind me stretched back to what I assumed was the center of the original room. The door I had in my section wasn¡¯t the one we had come through. ¡°Hello?¡± I waited, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± A few more seconds passed, ¡°Seriou-¡± [ Calculations completed ] The roaring of machinery returned. My triangular space began changing, sections of the wall and floor raising up and lowering to create a new and more convoluted topography. The whole area was raised and lowered in cubic shapes. Columns and veritable mountains and valleys taking shape around me, manifested out of the same dark rock. ¡°Fucking blockcrafting labyrinth.¡± Several small arches formed in various walls around me, some as close as a couple feet away and others as far as on the far wall. The invisible prison I was in finally disappeared, as did the noise from the surroundings adjusting. I did a quick spin, analyzing the area and looking for each and every entrance point so I wouldn¡¯t get ambushed. I groaned, how was I supposed to memorize the locations of all of these? I started looking for places that would be easier to defend. High ground sounded good, but they might throw rocks at me. I might end up falling the whole way down, but staying in a valley with various higher structures on all sides felt like a significantly worse option. I groaned, I didn¡¯t have many choices, and it was time to be decisive. I shouldn¡¯t stay on flat ground though because I could get surrounded and it would be difficult to protect myself. Or should I just try to back myself against a wall to prevent an attack from behind? I hadn¡¯t struggled too much with these creatures before. A handful of wommi monsters started pouring out of the arches. I had to make a decision, I just ran out of time. ¡°Ugh, god fuck it. Aureus, take me up to the second tallest tower thingy over there.¡± I said pointing towards a tall pillar not too far from where we were. I was promptly scooped up and placed on the top as I requested. A lump started forming in my throat as I looked down on the various colored wommi climbing up towards my position. Aureus quickly swept over the terrain raining down wind based attacks. I smiled to myself, he remembered I wanted to use other attacks to preserve the fur. Of course I can remember something that simple, Master you have so little faith in me! I¡¯m sorry, I should have more faith in you. You always do a very good job, so I am always so happy with everything you do. A small burble of happiness flitted through our connection as he continued to destroy the tiny monsters. It was fun to watch, both Aureus and the creatures looked so small from my position atop the column. Glancing around at my perch I realized it was a bit smaller than I had originally thought. It was a rectangle with about three and a half feet or so on one side and five feet on the other. There wasn¡¯t much maneuverability to be had here. A loud and foreign screech ripped through the air behind me, and a sinking feeling permeated my chest. Slowly I turned around, as if turning quickly would catch the attention of whatever just made that deafening noise. My breath was coming in a bit shaky as I caught sight of them. Huge bats. There was one of them emerging from holes in each corner of the room. I hadn¡¯t noticed the one directly in front of me at first because it blended in with the wall. My fear briefly subsided as I wondered if the wommi were related to these bat things. They looked vaguely similar. The bats were too far from me to tell the exact size, but I could tell they were at the very least taller than I was. Two of them were similar shades of black or dark gray while the other was a warm dark brown. One of the black bats had white ears, while the other had a white starburst on its chest. The brown one had a white line trailing along its nose bridge, and all three of them had pink noses that were a strange mix of the shape of a bat¡¯s nose and a Wommi¡¯s. A second loud shriek snapped me back into reality as the one that emerged behind me leapt from the wall and started flying towards me. I would have lost track of it almost immediately if it weren¡¯t for its white ears. The winds around me slapped my hair into my face as it flew around my column. I was bracing myself for an attack, but nothing. I turned quickly, scanning for where it had disappeared to. ¡°Aureus!¡± Chapter 27: Solo Challenge Aureus twisted to the side just in time, the two black bat creatures nearly smacked into each other as Aureus dodged their attacks. Before he could get his bearings the brown bat dove towards him from above. A large slab of earth appeared between them, slowing the bat just enough for him to escape its claws. Don¡¯t hold anything back for these, use whatever you need to. I don¡¯t care if some of those little woobles get burnt in the process. Make sure to keep yourself safe. Master, the little ones might swarm you while I try to fight these, I don¡¯t think I can manage both your defense and this fight. Don¡¯t worry about that. I can handle myself for a while. If things get too bad we can always give up. No biggie. Understood. My new vantage point was helpful in comprehending just how immense and convoluted the area we were in was. Helpful, but not completely. It was insane, I had never been good at estimation ¨C especially when it came to spatial recognition ¨C but it felt like we were in nearly fifty acres worth of land. With huge and intricate structures littered throughout. I stood on an upsettingly tall thin spire that rested in the center of a small valley and was surrounded on three sides by what I could only consider a mini mountain range. I sent up a general thanks or prayer? To the Collector for making this labyrinth at the very least ¨C well lit. It was already hard to distinguish since it was made of dark stone, I didn¡¯t want to imagine what it would¡¯ve been like if the lighting was closer to that of the red dim light we¡¯d been in before. He took off, snaking his way through the pillars, archways, valleys, and tiny mountains in the area. The fight was hard to follow ¨C well Aureus was easy to follow ¨C the bats blended in with the dark surroundings exceedingly well. Despite that, he was doing a good job of limiting the bat¡¯s attacks, the three of them couldn¡¯t follow his intricate path and attack him at the same time. The black bat with white on its chest peeled off from the others flying directly towards the corner that Aureus was sort of heading towards. Aureus, one of the bats is trying to head you off at the corner ahead of you, or at least somewhere, it¡¯s flying parallel with you. Be careful. A vague feeling of understanding came from him, but no words. I wondered if we were getting better at communicating mentally without actual words or if I just never noticed the small things like that before. I anxiously craned my neck as I tried to keep track of Aureus¡¯ battle, as he soared he threw various attacks backwards. Many of them were missing and kicking up bodies of wommi when they landed on the rocks around him. It was difficult to know for sure from my distance from the fight, but it looked like he had caught the brown bat in the jaw once and the wing immediately after. Either way, it was still flying fine. My attention was urgently needed elsewhere as the little gremlins started trying to climb up onto my tower. Maybe I should let down mine hair. I chuckled to myself, despite my dumb literary joke. These things were certainly not prince charmings. For a moment I wondered if our princess was stuck on a tower of his own. The wommi screamed at each other as they failed to scramble their way up to me. I had chosen a particularly steep column with this exact situation in mind. Unfortunately for me, I hadn¡¯t thought too far ahead since neither I nor the monsters below could do much to each other. A few rocks whizzed by when I glanced over the edge at the sea of wommi around me. One got uncomfortably close and my hair fluttered around as a response. I groaned and leaned back, settling into a criss-crossed seated position while I pondered on how to go about this situation. A group of the fiends separated and stood atop a close mountain, attempting to throw their gems and rocks at me. Angry complaints erupted from their friends below as their projectiles failed to reach me and rained down on them. Before I got comfortable enough to look back towards my familiar, the ground beneath me shuddered slightly. I calmed my queasy stomach as I tentatively looked over the edges of the tower. The wommi had started creating little holes in the tower with their picks, and climbing up as if they were scaling a frozen mountain. After the first two got several paces up the cliff significantly more followed suit easily. They began to put their pickaxes into the pre-existing holes created by their predecessors and would have climbed faster if the first few weren¡¯t directly above them. I flopped back for just a moment, this wasn¡¯t the worst case scenario. They couldn¡¯t all swarm me, but wouldn¡¯t this tower fall apart after a while of this? Would I come tumbling down into the thick of it at that point? If Aureus was still busy at the time there¡¯d be no way for him to protect me. I groaned and stood up again, pulling my hood up for maximum protection. A faint sting on my hip caught my attention, a rock had managed to make its way to me, smacked into my side and fell at my feet. It was interesting to see a rock that wasn¡¯t the familiar dark color I¡¯d gotten accustomed to over the last few days. I scooped up the light tan rock, coated it with mana and launched it with all my ability down the side of the cliff. The first two wommi I hit were smacked back down into the swarm, but the rest that the rock came into contact with just growled. I smiled, well at least if I could get the rocks from them when they arrived I¡¯d have some ammo to pelt them with. With a glance around I decided I still had about a minute to kill until the fluffy murder pups arrived. Straining my vision towards the last area I¡¯d seen Aureus I searched. He wasn¡¯t within my line of sight at all, nowhere near where he¡¯d been. That made sense though, both him and the bats were faster than I could keep track of really. Plus even from my tall vantage point I couldn¡¯t see all of the land that surrounded me. I let my eyes roam the scenery while I waited for either Aureus to appear or for the wommi to. For a few moments I considered whether or not the Collector had modeled this place after somewhere that existed already. There were what looked like rivers and branching streams that cut between mountains and surrounded strange structures that littered the valleys. If it weren¡¯t for the wommi, I would have been excited to explore the area and buildings. They looked too organized to just be random towers and structures, but weren¡¯t detailed enough for me to make out ¨C especially from a distance. Rounding a corner around a thicker mountain Aureus popped into the open, but only just for a split second, he was already diving down into the valley and curling around a tower there. I couldn¡¯t tell from the distance, but there was definitely blood on him. Pushing the panic down I searched for his pursuers while I asked, hey, you ok? He sent a wave of assurance and I accepted that. I¡¯d told him we should quit if he got too hurt, I¡¯d trusted that he wouldn¡¯t disobey me. Shit, I should¡¯ve grabbed my staff. I reminded myself, I¡¯d been kicking myself every fight about how I needed to hold it the whole time for the mana benefits. Angrily I pulled it out of my inventory, settling it into my left hand as I pulled my bone knife into my right. It was time to fight. Maybe I¡¯d get another level from this, there certainly were an innumerable amount of enemies and new ones as well. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The grating sounds of nails against stone pushed their way into my ears from behind me. Carefully I adjusted my stance and prepared to fight the monster attached to the fluffy brown paw on my territory. An angry wommi pulled itself up, its head and shoulders above the floor I stood on. Instinctually I smacked my staff down on its skull, a satisfying and almost cartoonish sound rang out as it disappeared from view. I struggled to stifle the laughter that brought me. If the worst the challenge consisted of was whack a wommi I¡¯d be very pleased. A few more popped up at varying times on all sides, each one was dispatched in the same way. I gave up and allowed my thrill to take over me, it was quite fun. Every time one of them made eye contact with me I gave them a rough whack on the head and sent them back down the tower. My thoughts roamed as I wondered if they were dying from the hit, the fall, or even dying at all. Then I considered that if time went on the minigame I had been enjoying might become tedious and tiring. I had lost track of time when a stray thought floated through my mind. How was everyone else doing? I pulled up my system and glared at it when I realized, apparently I¡¯d been removed from my party. As a result I couldn¡¯t view any of my friend¡¯s conditions. Despair and panic boiled in my stomach, burning in my throat and on the back of my tongue. No. No, it¡¯s fine. This is an individual challenge. Even if Reid died, the other two have been at max health and fine for ages. The likelihood of them all dying at once¡­ I rubbed at my eyes, willing the tears to dry up and take the fear with them. It wasn¡¯t a good time to be getting distracted about things I couldn¡¯t change. Taking a deep breath I smacked two more wommi off of my platform and back into the rolling hoard of monsters. Suddenly I wondered if I was being foolish, hadn¡¯t I just determined that I could use their rocks from their bags as weapons against the pack of them? I cracked a few more skulls and decided there wasn¡¯t any time to allow one up, and ensure my safety. Each time one arrived the next arrived even faster. Eventually one would end up here without my intervention anyway. I swiveled around a bit too fast when trying to keep up with my deadly game of whack a wommi and nearly lost my balance when a mostly white wommi popped up to jump scare me. ¡°God!¡± I yelled while swinging my staff like a bat at it. Suddenly concerned about whether or not using my staff this way was an awful idea, I pulled up the item window. [ Durability 98/100 ] I let out a relieved sigh, at least I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about using it this way for a while. Still it¡¯d be better to use it for its intended use so that Caro had less to repair when we finally met back up again. I made a mental note to use the hilt of my dagger instead of the staff when possible. While I was knocking heads I wondered about what Caro and Noel had been doing while we were gone. Maybe they had busied themselves creating new items and hunting little rats. Maybe Noel had found a way to escape from the pit they were in¡­ I really hoped they weren¡¯t eating that rank worm meat. That sudden jolt of energy pulled me out of my thoughts, we had finally leveled up again. Me and Aureus were at level 17 now, just three levels away from me finally becoming decently useful. Thank the gods. I had started to get into a rhythm, it was easy and comfortable. Keep an eye on my surroundings and smack the heads of little fluffy boys. Easy. I glanced over at the GGC and hoped that my confidence wouldn¡¯t bite me in the ass any time soon. ¡°So, Collector. Can you tell me anything at all? Is this at the very least the last part of the labyrinth?¡± I waited, again nothing. ¡°Well then, at the very least can you tell me once we do complete this place, will we exit back where we entered? Will we have to wander around the Underhollow to find our friends?¡± [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± sighs and states that you don¡¯t need to worry so much.] Rolling my eyes I said, ¡°That¡¯s not really an answer so it seems I should worry so much. How am I supposed to know if your cause for worry is even kind of similar to mine? I mean the Seeker ¨C no offense Seeker, love you doll ¨C is awful at human relations so you might be too.¡± [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± throws up his hands and whines while motioning air quotes and saying that he was ¡®catching stray¡¯.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± cackles.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± gently corrects ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± stating that it¡¯s catching strays.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± complains about idioms and colloquialisms under his breath.] ¡°Maybe you should spend a little bit of time researching them on the earth¡¯s internet?¡± I asked, wondering if there were other internets or if I was being weird. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± agrees that research is the best option when ignorant of topics.] I chuckled and smacked down another wommi. I spun around out of habit, I had gotten used to the tempo at this rate, a couple popped up behind me, then one to my left and two infront and then two to the right and back again. Though the terms of front or back were really just arbitrarily chosen based on where the first wommi popped up. To the front there was a wommi that had somehow managed to make its way up to stand on the platform. In a panic I swung towards it with my staff, it ducked down, dodging my attack. Unfortunately for this little ball of fur I followed my swipe with a slash of my dagger which caught it at the base of its neck. Blood flowed out of it, my comfortable platform became coated with slick blood that would likely become sticky with time. I cursed under my breath as I stepped back slightly in an attempt to keep the rancid substance off of my shoes. Thankfully I caught myself before I stumbled and fell, but not before one of the creatures latched onto my calf. Grimacing, I swung the bottom of my staff at it a few times until it released me. A couple seconds passed before the blood from its grip started to flow, I was already taking up my position in the center of the platform yet again. Three of the creatures had almost pulled themselves up onto my safe haven, but I couldn¡¯t have that, could I? I clasped two blood soaked rocks from the dead wommi and chucked them at two behind me while smacking the other to my left with my staff. The two were struck with the rocks, but only one went down. Thankfully I had mostly regained control of my territory. Just as I was wondering if I should ask Aureus how he had been doing, a streak of gold swooshed past me. The wind of him and the bats following him nearly caused myself and several wommi to go tumbling down the rocks. You gotten rid of any of em yet? No, give me some time. I¡¯m not trying to rush you, just askin¡¯. I really wasn¡¯t trying to rush him, I wasn¡¯t sure how long we had been fighting, but I knew we were still early on. Or at the very least we both had the mana reserves and stamina to keep fighting for a good bit of time. Well, I hoped it would be fine. We had leveled up a good bit and we had both been pouring our all into our mana reserves. Even if Aureus ran low, I rarely used my own so it¡¯d be fine for him to eat it up. That was my whole plan. Put points into mana, create more familiars and hope for the best. I guess soon I¡¯d have to actually pay attention to my mana as well as Aureus¡¯ mana usage, since soon I¡¯d have the ability to use his skills as if they were my own. Well, I would be able to based on my own understanding of the skills, or at least that¡¯s how I understood the description of the skill sharing ability. Would I even be useful? Even using mana emissions was extremely taxing on my reserves, let alone trying to change my mana into an element before shooting it or shaping it or whatever I wanted to do with it. A loud explosion resounded and was followed by an even louder crash, with a quick glance over towards it I saw a tower smushed down on one of the black bats that had been chasing Aureus since we started this bloody battle. Good job, one down¡­ maybe? Two to go! Chapter 28: Tactical Retreat Desperately I swung my staff in a wide almost circle around me, it was a feeble attempt to keep those puffball monsters away from me. I was dead tired. We had been fighting for ages. My legs felt like they might turn to jello and get sucked down into the earth along with the gravity that was pulling on my eyelids. There were probably like six or seven of them around me, and unfortunately only two of them were hit by my strike. Various minor cuts and bruises littered my body, and by minor I mean anywhere between small and large but not immediately fatal on their own. I could¡¯ve sworn we had been fighting for the last week. The fatigue and injuries had built up. I couldn¡¯t go on much longer. Aureus. Master. I¡¯m tired. Yes. I want to give up. Please. Okay. I¡¯m sorry. No. ¡°I give up, I surrender. Please, I¡¯m tired.¡± I forced it out of my dry throat. It was hard to force myself not to collapse onto the stone right when I proclaimed I was done. Forcing myself to stand longer was taking all of my concentration. As I was getting through the first couple syllables of my surrender a claw sunk deep into my right ankle. I couldn¡¯t care much about it though. Everything hurt. Almost immediately after the ¡®r¡¯ in surrender escaped my lips the little terrors that had been plaguing me for gods know how long were bubbled away. I wondered for a few seconds if I was seeing things, the little monsters were put in bubbles and floated away into the entrances? Exits? That the bats had arrived through. Thank the gods. I was so tired. I furrowed my brows despite my exhaustion. When had I gotten used to thanking them for things? They had been the cause of all of this, why was I thanking them for things that went my way despite all of it? Angry, I glanced towards the GGC. [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± cursed and exclaimed that they would never bet on you ever again.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± complained that if they just trusted you a bit more they would have won their bet.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± expressed that they were happy with the performance you presented even if he didn¡¯t win his bet.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± cheers as they collect their winnings.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± jumps up and down.] [¡°Divine Hammer of Blessings¡± curses and complains that it won¡¯t be the same next time.] ¡°I wish you guys could maybe not bet on my life and death experiences sometimes? Maybe? I mean I know you are trusting me to do well, but sometimes it feels less like you¡¯re trusting me and more like you¡¯re trying to make a profit.¡± I whined. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± asks what the difference is.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± expresses that they have to make a profit somehow.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± says that you should try to understand their position on things like this.] [¡°Playful Cat hates Yarn¡± complains that even gods need entertainment.] ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you guys have enough, there are¡­ well¡­ at least there used to be like eight billion people on the earth. It¡¯s not my fault if you guys reduced the quantity of entertainment producing individuals here.¡± I groaned as I rolled over and tried to look for my child. Strangely my mind was more tired than my body, at the very least I could move on instinct and ramble, but the effort of using my brain and talking to Aureus was killing me. Aureus? What? Where? Ugh. I know. I¡¯m tired. Do I have to? No. Thank you. I decided to just rest. The exhaustion we were enduring was crippling, even more so than the extensive injuries that painted our bodies in various shades of red and purple. We had been fighting nonstop forever. Everytime it felt like we were making a dent in the masses there would be more pouring out of the arches throughout the enclosed space we were in. At first I had run low on little skulls to smash, and then more of the wommi arrived. The new ones were different, they were coated in painted markings and carried different weapons, a few of them even shot elemental magic. After Aureus defeated the first three bats, five more appeared, and then nine. Rest started to take me, I felt a sense of relief. I was done. I could finally just rest. It was time to do nothing and enjoy the fact that I was done. Just as I felt myself slipping into a dream that unimaginably loud groaning of metal and stone started again. I nearly cried as I forced my body into a sitting up position. Sticky blood and guts pulled at my skin painfully as I lifted myself upwards just slightly, propping my weight on my forearms. What now? The floor beneath me started to level out as the mountains disappeared and the valleys moved up to meet me. Finally I was laying on a completely flat floor, and I glanced between my feet where I saw Aureus also laying on the ground. I smiled thinking the noise was finally done, and I let my body fully relax flopping down onto the hard sticky stone. I could let sleep take me, but it didn¡¯t stop. The walls between each section started to lower. It wasn¡¯t as loud, but still. I couldn''t sleep like that, it sounded like I was in a jet engine, and there was no way my inherent fear response would allow me to rest if there was even an inkling of danger. I had no energy to lift my head to so I tried to angle myself as lazily as possible to see past the walls around me. I wanted to see if Reid was okay. The walls moved infuriatingly slow. I even pulled up the GGC to complain to the collector about his shoddy construction before I stopped myself. What if he fucked with it because I complained? I waited staring hard at the walls, willing them to move just even a modicum of a second faster. Finally they were close to human height. My eyes were sore as they fought with my own anatomy to stare towards the area I had last seen Reid. I couldn¡¯t see him, well after a moment I couldn''t see anything. My vision went moderately dark since I strained my eyes too much and I suppose they might have rolled back into my head. There wasn¡¯t any way to know what really happened. ¡°Mia?!¡± ¡°Theodore?!¡± ¡°HELP!¡± A small sigh that was almost inaudible, ¡°Theodore¡­¡± I guessed it was Rosalynn. Thank the gods, they had all lived. It was an appropriate gamble. ¡°Reid? I¡¯m here!¡± I tried to call out to them, but my throat didn¡¯t carry the sound like I wanted. It came out breathy and quiet. I lifted my fist slightly and tried to smack it down, but I didn¡¯t have much energy for that either. ¡°Mia! God! Why do you always do this?!¡± I could hear Reid, but I couldn¡¯t see him. From the plops of his footsteps I assumed he was coming closer. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Well I¡¯ll be damned¡­¡± Rosalynn said. It was hard to tell if she was impressed or just confused. ¡°Thank god. Thank god! Rose!¡± Theo yelled. ¡°How many times do I have to tell your ass to not call me Rose. God!¡± She complained. ¡°But you call me Theodore even though I prefer Theo¡­¡± he whined in response, I never heard her response if she gave one. Reid appeared in my vision above me, his worried face that had become even more common since we had arrived in the Underhollow looked down at me. He opened his mouth for a few seconds, his face contorting with things he wanted to say. Curses and complaints and then sympathy and finally resignation. I smiled. It was nice to see him. More than anything I was happy to be able to relax. ¡°Mia, don¡¯t you go to sleep.¡± He commanded. ¡°Why?¡± I complained. ¡°I need to check your head first, and then maybe you should lay down in your camper?¡± He had a point, there was that thing people always said about not sleeping after a concussion or something? I groaned and tried my best to force my consciousness back into the forefront of my mind. It wasn¡¯t very effective. Sleep had wrapped me up in weighted blankets that were sinking me deeper and deeper into the clouds of dreams. There wasn¡¯t much I could do about that. Reid should argue with sleep, it was pretty persuasive. A gold light flashed, Reid mumbled something I didn¡¯t understand, and then picked me up. Something soft appeared under me and then I was gone. ~~*~~ The heavy fog of slumber started to lift, and for a single moment there was nothing wrong in the world. I was completely and utterly comfortable and safe, and then I was jolted back into reality. Throwing myself completely off of the couch as my conscious mind raised an alarm about bats and giant fluffy gizmo. ¡°Ow.¡± I rubbed my hip as I stood up next to my couch in the camper. How did I even get in there? I didn¡¯t remember deploying it before I went to sleep. ¡°Mia?¡± Reid wheeled around the corner of the bathing area, his eyes sweeping the couch before snapping up to where I stood. ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°Yeah? I think so. Did you heal me? How is Aureus?¡± He sighed, ¡°He¡¯s fine, he was pretty beat up, or well even if he wasn¡¯t he was more coated in gunk than you so he¡¯s in the bath. Don¡¯t worry about him.¡± ¡°And the other two?¡± ¡°Yeah they¡¯re fine as well. You wanna see them?¡± ¡°I guess?¡± I was more uncertain about meeting Rosalynn and Theo than I expected. Maybe the idea of meeting them after they saw me in such a vulnerable state was scary. I wasn¡¯t fully sure. The two of us took a step out of the camper into the large room we had started in. Rosalynn and Theo were sitting on the stone floor a few feet away from the doorway. She shot up as the door opened. ¡°Hey¡­ you doing alright?¡± she asked, and I felt like there was genuine concern in her voice. ¡°Yeah¡­ just a little tired. I¡¯m right as rain now.¡± I smacked my bicep for emphasis. She rubbed the bridge of her nose before responding, ¡°What in the hell were you doing? Honestly, who fights for four days before just collapsing with no energy? You¡¯re insane!¡± It felt like she was trying to admonish me but honestly she was too excited to do it properly. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at me with excitement. She reminded me vaguely of Noel, excited, but different. It was refreshing. ¡°I dunno, I just¡­ didn¡¯t want to give up. I guess? Plus I¡¯m quite close to another level up!¡± She gave up on the pretense of a disappointed authority figure and just let loose on her bellowing laughter. It echoed in our large chamber as she walked over to clap my back with her small hand. I stumbled forward a bit from the weight of it, I knew that huge hammer wasn¡¯t for show, but god her hand was heavy. ¡°I like you. You should come see us sometime when we get out of here.¡± I spent a moment considering if she was trying to mimic an authority figure due to her small stature or because of her skill in the Underhollow. Was this a position thrust upon her or taken up by her?... Or was this just her? ¡°Sure. I¡¯d like to see if you guys figure something out with the lady department. I don¡¯t really want to go back to the old methods.¡± I joked. ¡°Hey¡­ uh¡­¡± Theo started trepidatiously, ¡°Can we talk?¡± He glanced up at me awkwardly. ¡°I mean. I guess. Fine. Before that though, what happened? Are we done? Can we leave this damn maze?¡± ¡°Yeah, but as we needed with the door and stuff we need all four people to agree to leave.¡± Reid answered my question promptly. ¡°Huh¡­ Then if one of us died would¡­ Nevermind. Uh, okay well since we aren¡¯t completely confident what will happen when we do that, or rather where we will end up when we leave. Theo, do you wanna step aside quickly before we all decide to move on?¡± He nodded and hurried to join me a few feet away from the group. He stopped about fifteen feet away from Rosalynn and Reid. I considered for a second whether or not I should tell him that they would most likely be able to hear us from here, but decided against it. I didn¡¯t really care if they heard or not. ¡°So¡­ about that day¡­¡± he started. I stared at him, not responding and waiting. I wasn¡¯t going to make this conversation easy on him. I didn¡¯t care that it had been a long time ago, I didn¡¯t care that he was having a hard time. The world was harsh and life wasn¡¯t fair, but I¡¯d had more than my fair share of misfortune. Well, at least compared to him. I¡¯m sure my life wasn¡¯t the worst, but he surely doesn¡¯t deserve my sympathy. ¡°I just¡­¡± he tried to continue, ¡° I just, I made a mistake. I was out of my mind, and Nicole she was just so pushy and¡­¡± he stopped himself. I wasn¡¯t sure if he ran out of excuses or just didn¡¯t want to make more. ¡°Why are you trying to say this now?¡± I asked. ¡°I,¡± He stopped and then took a deep breath, ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to hate me.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ you forgive me?¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°But you¡­ you said okay?¡± ¡°Yeah I said okay, I understand that you don¡¯t want me to hate you.¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t hate me?¡± ¡°I don''t know. I¡¯m just acknowledging your feelings. I¡¯m not agreeing to anything or forgiving anything.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± He stared at me for a few seconds, ¡°So you don¡¯t forgive me?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t hear an apology just now, and even if I did I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯d want to. You did a fuckin awful thing. And your timing was literally the worst. Also, fuck you.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I guess I deserve th-¡± he stopped his halfhearted apology ¨C if you could even call it that ¨C as I walked away towards the group. ¡°Welp, you guys ready to go?¡± ¡°Whenever you are.¡± Rosalynn agreed. ¡°I hate him.¡± Reid complained. ¡°I¡¯m gonna grab Aureus and then we can go.¡± I ignored Reid¡¯s complaint as I retrieved my familiar and camper. Once the four of us were ready I checked the system. [ Finished Challenge ] [ Placement: 1/4 ] [ Survival time: 03:15:38 ] [ Rewards Calculating ] [ Gem set Detected ] [ Rewards Determined ] [ Acquired Rain Drop Necklace ] [ Challenge Completed, Please Vacate Challenge Chamber ] [Required 3/4 ] Several system messages populated my vision along with various GGC messages that I pushed aside, I could talk to the gods later. I placed first? Even though I had given up? How? Did I really spend that long fighting those little assholes? I guess I must¡¯ve, I wasn¡¯t really keeping up with what was going on. I felt like I might die if I didn¡¯t kill them so I guess that makes sense? I was so preoccupied with the idea that one of us had to complete the challenge without giving up that I didn¡¯t consider the fact that all of us could give up and it wouldn¡¯t mean that the group failed, or that we would have to give up at some point. ~~*~~ Rain Drop Necklace Description: When the user is surrounded by or using water their abilities are heightened, this includes the user¡¯s senses and damage. User is able to do more damage with water based attacks, and can sense things within water or related to water much easier. Damage: +10% ~~*~~ Well it was no Water Drop Staff, but it was definitely an enormous boon. Reid on the other hand had likely just gotten his first proper item from the gods¡¯ system. I was entirely excited to ask him about his gains and bug him, but I decided that it would be rude to ask him now. If he wanted to tell me about his gains he would. Plus I was the only one preventing us from leaving the labyrinth. Mentally I approved the escape and the 3/4 clicked up to a whole. Immediately a moderate weight of gravity pressed itself onto us, but having experienced something similar, I handled the change in environment well. I couldn¡¯t say the same for Reid, who after we appeared on the familiar rocky terrain with red sky flopped down with uncomfortable gasping. To his credit Theo had a very similar response. I decided that it was because they were underleveled compared to me and Rosalynn, I wasn¡¯t sure what level she was, but I was certain it was higher than the both of them. ¡°Oh¡­ Well, I guess we don¡¯t end up where we left¡­¡± I said as I glanced around me, when I saw Aureus behind me I relaxed inadvertently. A heavy fog of exhaustion started to fall onto my shoulders. Master, my pillars. What? I furrowed my brows as I followed his pointed claw towards my left. Indeed there were two large pillars in the distance. For a moment I didn¡¯t remember what they were, after a few seconds I realized. Aureus had created two pillars around the hole that was above Caroline and Noel. They weren¡¯t close, but at least we knew where they were. I was ecstatic. Chapter 29: Questioning Higher Powers ¡°Reid!¡± I screamed. I was so excited I wasn¡¯t thinking clearly. Normally I wouldn¡¯t be screaming in a place where hundreds of rats might come swarming us. ¡°What?¡± he asked, slightly alarmed and confused. ¡°They¡¯re there! They¡¯re over there! We aren¡¯t too far!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°What? Seriously?!¡± We were both overflowing with energy at that point and nearly bouncing up and down with happiness. ¡°What? Who?¡± Theo asked. I groaned, I didn¡¯t want to hear his input, ¡°Our party.¡± I responded dryly. Rosalynn was flipping around, her head on a swivel looking for something, anything familiar. She grimaced as she scanned her surroundings. I did the same, anything other than the two pillars that Aureus made was extremely difficult to make out. I assumed that the two of them were going to have a very difficult time finding their way back to whatever they had to go. ¡°Uh. So I hate to ask this¡­ but¡­ would you be okay with us joining you until we find our group?¡± Rosalynn asked. I paused for a moment, considering the option, and clearly my indecision lasted longer than Rosalynn expected because she followed her question up with ¡°I¡¯m not expecting much, you don¡¯t need to add us to your party, and we won¡¯t ask for resources unless we contribute. It¡¯s just not safe to travel alone and we will pull our own weight. I swear!¡± Reid looked at me with that look of ¡®we should bring them, why are you hesitating?¡¯ and I looked at him with that ¡®we don¡¯t know these people and didn¡¯t you hate Theo¡¯ look and he responded with ¡®aren¡¯t we all human, I don¡¯t want them to die for nothing¡¯ and I caved. ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s head out. I have ground rules, I will provide food if you participate in fights. I will allow showers for Rosalynn and not for Theo, he shall be put on Noel level. I will not answer questions if I don¡¯t want to. I will protect your lives to the best of my ability and I expect the same from you. Also, I will create more rules whenever I want if needed. Got it?¡± I rattled off my rules quickly and flatly and barely glanced at the two of them as I speed walked towards Caro and Noel. I couldn¡¯t help it, I wanted to see them more than anything. Plus if I delayed any longer I figured that Caroline was going to wring my neck for leaving her without access to a shower for this long. ¡°Alright, sounds good. I¡¯m fine with that.¡± Rosalynn quickly agreed. ¡°What does Noel level mean?¡± Both me and Reid ignored him as we were marching towards the two pillars in the distance. He complained and repeated his question a few more times, but scrambled to keep up with us. Quickly I realized that I was still quite tired. I guess I might not have slept very long. That made sense though, I had passed out after I was in a significantly dangerous situation for half a week, it definitely made sense for me to be on edge and not sleep well. I could handle a bit of sleepiness, I just wanted to see the both of them again. I needed to confirm for myself that they were doing alright. They had insisted they were fine over the social tab and told us to focus on making our way out, but I couldn¡¯t get rid of this overwhelming anxiety while they weren¡¯t around. How was I going to leave them to figure things out on their own and return home at this rate? Or was I just more worried this time because of the way that we ended up getting separated? Maybe when we got more people for the party and they were strong enough to handle themselves I wouldn¡¯t be so stressed? I shook my head, there wasn¡¯t much point in fretting over it at that point. I pulled up the GGC to distract myself. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± praises ¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± for his excellent labyrinth.] [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± blushes and exclaims that he was very satisfied with this batch of mortals as well.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± asks if ¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± keeps a record of all of the mortals that enter the labyrinth.] [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± states that he doesn¡¯t keep a record, but does pay attention to his guests.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± clicks his tongue.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± suggests that ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± could keep a record if that was important to him.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± complains that they know he¡¯s too busy for another project.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± agrees with ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± and says she was surprised the labyrinth was so entertaining, but complains that it was too short.] ¡°Oh yeah, why didn¡¯t you say that it was a challenge we had to give up on? If I knew that none of us had to complete it I wouldn¡¯t have tried so hard!¡± I whined. I wasn¡¯t certain that was the case, but I had an inkling that there wasn¡¯t a way for us to complete that challenge. Not at our current level at least. It was frustrating that they didn¡¯t tell us that we all had to surrender. [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± shakes his head and explains that being vague and instilling unease yields greater results.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± flips through a book and marks something before grunting in agreement.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± states that it is much more entertaining if you don¡¯t know.] [¡°Playful Cat hates Yarn¡± agrees that they all get more entertainment if the game is played this way.] ¡°Ugh, well I will agree that I got good things out of it this time. Though since we did the individual challenge it makes me wonder what the reward is for the team challenge.¡± I tried not to pull at my hair while I thought about it, I was very aware of the group staring at me while I chatted with the gods. I wondered why I was different, from what I¡¯d heard from Caroline they didn¡¯t get nearly as much engagement from the gods. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± complains that you never appreciate the things they do for you.] ¡°What¡¯d you do? The Collector is the one who created the labyrinth in the first place. Why are you taking credit?¡± [¡°Collector of Gems and Stones¡± nods vigorously stating that you were wise.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± clutches their chest with an exaggerated gasp.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± asks you when you plan to go back home.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± echoes her query.] ¡°Ah¡­ Yeah I¡¯m not sure. I wanted to go sometime soon, but I needed to make sure that they were fine to leave on their own. It¡¯s definitely taken me longer than I wanted.¡± But now at least, if things go well, I¡¯ve found someone who can look after them while I¡¯m away¡­ Maybe. I thought to myself after I finished talking. I didn¡¯t quite trust Rosalynn yet, but anyone who could put up with such a useless bag of shit like Theo probably wasn¡¯t an awful person. [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± complains that they are your friends not babies.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± touts that loyalty is one of the most important virtues one can have.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± teases ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± exclaiming that her eyes have gone bad since they are clearly adults.] This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± blushes and grumbles about how everyone knew what she meant.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± smiles, saying that they are proud of you for taking care of your friends even to your own detriment.] ¡°They might as well have been babies¡­¡± I mumbled under my breath. Then I winced at my own comment, really I meant that they were as defenseless as babies and needed my help, but I knew the gods were going to misunderstand. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± cackles at your comment.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± states that if you hadn¡¯t watched over them, then more than likely all of them would have died by now.] [¡°Void Who Gazes Back¡± angrily disagrees saying that her contractor is strong enough and would be fine.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± teases her by arguing that her contractor would be fine but a captive to that group you clashed with.] [¡°Void Who Gazes Back¡± grits her teeth and says they would never let that happen to their contractor.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± wonders how that would work out anyway.] A portion of the chat window after that was obscured again. I wondered why the system even showed that the window was obscured, surely leaving the chat out altogether would protect the information more? Showing me that there is some sort of information that needs to be redacted makes me want to know more, or was that the goal? To drive curiosity or greed? That would make sense, it wasn¡¯t like the gods as a whole were necessarily good or evil from what I could tell. Rather I hadn¡¯t found any gods that I would categorize as one or the other at all yet. ¡°Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this earlier, but I owe the Playwright an apology for the words I said on the first day. You were right, it was impressive.¡± I said proudly, I tried to hide my emotion, but it was hard not to be proud when I looked around at the wasteland and compared it to the place that the Playwright prepared for me. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± tries to hide a smile rubbing the tip of his nose with a finger as he proudly states that at least you know.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± is happy you¡¯ve apologized for your comments.] ¡°Really though, this place is the worst, but I guess it does suit the mood of a deadly and desolate landscape¡­ If that''s what they were going for¡­¡± I said as I peered around in the distance. I wasn¡¯t looking for anything in particular, but I couldn¡¯t help but look around. Maybe I¡¯d find Rosalynn¡¯s party. Finding them this soon gave me mixed feelings in my gut though. I wanted to find her party since I liked her, but at the same time I didn¡¯t¡­ since I liked her. An odd contradiction. I wanted her to stick around and help out and grow closer with everyone, but I could also see the anxiety and uncertainty in her. This place was really hard to navigate, so finding her group might be close to impossible. I read through a few more messages in the GGC, a couple gods I didn¡¯t recognize whined about how humans never saw the appeal in places like this. I considered for a moment arguing with them and stating that Noel was quite taken with the place. I decided against it though, since I was sure that Noel would be taken with almost any section of the Underhollow. ¡°So¡­ uh, sorry to interrupt your uh conversation, but I¡¯m just a little curious¡­¡± Rosalynn was peering over at me, waiting for my nod to continue, I obliged her, ¡°Are you like? Do you have a contract, actually are several gods offering contracts or like¡­ It''s so strange I¡¯ve never seen someone talk to more than a god or two, but the way that you talk and read it seems like there''s quite a few.¡± I stared at her for a moment, she must be very perceptive. Actually maybe I was dense, I had been staring at that window for ages. If there weren¡¯t several gods then I¡¯d have gotten bored or finished reading much sooner. I weighed my options on whether or not to tell her, but I really didn¡¯t see much point in hiding it. Especially since it was so obvious at that point. ¡°Yeah, I mean I do have a lot of different gods chatting to me¡­ or in my channel? Sometimes they¡¯re more talking to each other than me, but no I don¡¯t have a contract at the moment and I don¡¯t plan to get one.¡± ¡°Really? Then are the gods that talk to you gods that want to become your patron god?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about all of them, but I don¡¯t think so. Honestly I¡¯ve been feeling like I have become a neutral ground of sorts, ya know? Since I won¡¯t make a contract they gathered to watch without having any real stakes in me. If I die they lose nothing except their bets and if I live¡­ well actually I guess it depends on what they bet.¡± I scrunched my face in thought as I said it. That was something I had been considering myself for a while, why they were gathering in my channel. The gods clearly enjoyed watching lots of humans, but for some reason they weren¡¯t chatting in the others. I was sure there were lots of gods watching all four of us right at that moment, but for some reason they didn¡¯t say much to the others. I was assuming it had to do with god etiquette or something. That if they got involved with a human that was contracted it was seen as rude? Or maybe the patron gods were territorial as gross as that is to say. ¡°Neutral grounds huh¡­¡± she looked to be in thought for a few seconds, ¡°Then do you think that there are lots of gods watching all of us?¡± ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen, certainly.¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°Because there have been lurkers in my channel too, gods that referenced things that happened way before they ever first chatted to me. Plus from how they act it really just seems like they want to use us for entertainment, so why would they pass up on someone like you or Reid just because you¡¯re not a prospect for a contract?¡± ¡°That¡¯s weird though?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I waited for a minute, but this time Reid chimed in instead, ¡°It¡¯s strange that they would chat more to someone that isn¡¯t contracted. Wouldn¡¯t someone who has already committed to a contract be a safer neutral space? Since the god with the contract would have the assurance that they already snagged them?¡± ¡°Yeah exactly, thanks I was trying to put that to words.¡± Rosalynn exclaimed with a big smile towards Reid. He was startled by her sudden change in attitude and blushed slightly. I furrowed my brows as I considered it, they were right. I never stopped to consider if I was the weird one since everyone around me had signed contracts. Wait, that wasn¡¯t right. Noel hadn¡¯t as far as I was aware. Damn, why had I never considered this? It was weird that none of the gods were pushing me to sign their contracts, and that they were so violently protective over other gods communicating with their contractor. It was almost as if they were afraid they¡¯d lose them. ¡°Wait a minute¡­ Hey¡­ so can you sign multiple contracts?¡± I turned from my group back to the GGC, and as expected they went dead silent yet again. Highly suspicious if I did say so myself. ¡°So?¡± Rosalynn asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure they¡¯re ignoring me, which in my humble opinion means yeah. I think you can. I don¡¯t know why you¡¯d want to, but it certainly seems like it. I mean it isn¡¯t like I¡¯ve ever been told that you can only make one contract, I guess I just assumed because of the conditions. Like if you have to be the representative of a god or goddess wouldn''t it be hard to do that for more than one?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ not really? As long as the gods you chose were compatible with each other and you it¡¯d be fine¡­ probably? Like all you have to do is show how awesome they are, that¡¯s why I post so much on Celes, and if you have more than one patron god you could get stronger faster than others which would reflect better on the patron gods right?¡± Rosalynn sounded more and more confident in her theory the more she talked. ¡°Yeah maybe, but our gods clearly don¡¯t want us to do that though. So even if it is more beneficial there must be a downside for them.¡± Reid mused. ¡°It¡¯s the type of exposure they want that isn¡¯t right¡­¡± Theo mumbled. ¡°What?¡± I turned to look at him and he flinched. ¡°They want the right kind of exposure,¡± he repeated. ¡°Yeah, I hear you, but can you explain?¡± I asked again. ¡°Like, if you are really strong but only have one patron god then it seems like that god is strong, but if you¡¯re strong and have multiple then each god looks weaker by extension. Like you needed more than just the one you started with or the second one is just there to make up for small areas the first lacked in. It doesn¡¯t get them the ¡­ I dunno oomph? That they want¡­ probably?¡± He stumbled his way through that thought, but it was convincing. I pulled at my hair while I mulled over the conversation. It does make some sense, but in that case why did none of my gods contract with me? I assume somehow fame and contracts benefitted the gods outside of just having a lacky as they put it. Then that means that exclusive contracts are valuable and need to be defended, or maybe they were only valuable with certain contractors? If they set up the system to allow for more than one contract then that means the gods wanted to be able to contract with humans that already had a contract. ¡°Then why would they do that?¡± I muttered my thoughts aloud. ¡°Do what?¡± Reid asked. ¡°Why would they set it up to where we could even have multiple contracts if they didn¡¯t want to lose portions of their contractors?¡± I asked. A long silence followed as we marched towards the ever closer pillars. We were very close to them now, and I nearly had forgotten what I¡¯d asked when Rosalynn answered, ¡°Maybe cause they wanted different types of contractors? Like they¡¯ve got different plans for each person or different levels of commitment?¡± No one really knew what to say after that. No matter how much we speculated, that¡¯s all it was. Speculation. We wouldn¡¯t really know their motives until they told us or if we somehow managed to confirm it. More than anything it bothered me, I had assumed you could only have one patron god because I basically had three. We weren¡¯t contracted but they had been sponsoring me and chatting with me since I first awakened. If they could all contract with me why hadn¡¯t they? I was lost in thought while we advanced, and nearly tripped when Reid caught my arm to stop me, ¡°What?¡± I looked back to ask. ¡°What do you mean ¡®what¡¯? We¡¯re here.¡± He said with a huge grin. I looked forward and there they were, Aureus¡¯ huge landmark pillars each to one side of the huge hole he dug. Finally we had made it out of that damn labyrinth and across the Underhollow to where we had left them. It was finally time to see Caro again! Chapter 30: One Big – Mostly – Happy Family ¡°How are we gonna get them out of there?¡± Rosalynn asked. ¡°Oh yeah I guess we should go into logistics¡­¡± I responded, turning towards Reid and Aureus. ¡°Ah, let me ask them if they¡¯re still in the area first.¡± Opening up the social tab in the system I sent a message to Caroline. [¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Hey.] I waited a few moments, there wasn¡¯t a response. [¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Hey Carolineeee.] [¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Caro?] [¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Are you there?] [¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: I just need to know if you¡¯re still down there at the door. Please respond.] [¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Caro, did you fall asleep? Is it time for sleep?] I waited a couple more minutes and nearly decided to call her directly when I got a message back. [¡°Call of the Void¡±: Jeez Mia, you really gotta spam me like that?] [¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Yea, I need to know. You didn¡¯t want us to come down and get you?] [¡°Call of the Void¡±: No.. I was wrong. Come get me, I¡¯m so hungry.] [¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: I dunno, I don¡¯t think you really want help¡­] [¡°Call of the Void¡±: oh shut up and just come gimme.] [¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Fine, so you¡¯re still there?] [¡°Call of the Void¡±: duh. dumby.] [¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Alright, this dumby is gonna get you up here asap. No worries :)] I realized I was smiling from our exchange as I looked at Aureus to ask for his help yet again. Would you rather go down and bring them up one at a time yourself or make a way for them to come up on their own? I don¡¯t really want to touch them¡­ What? Why? Oh¡­ oh yeah, they were pretty gross last we saw them. I forgot. Okay well then if you can figure out where they are then go ahead and build a way for them to get back up here. However you wanna do it is fine. Understood. ¡°You sending him down for them?¡± Reid asked as Aureus dove down the hole in front of us. ¡°Yeah, kinda. He¡¯s going to build them a way to get up here.¡± ¡°Huh¡­ Cool, how does that work?¡± Rosalynn asked, I had been trying to ignore her curious gazes until that point. ¡°Which part?¡± I asked. ¡°Just the whole thing, I mean I¡¯ve been avoiding asking about how you got a literal dragon, but really the more I watch the more interested I am. I really want to know how all of this happened.¡± Theo opened his mouth, but closed it again without saying anything. It was a wise decision. Ignoring him I answered, ¡°Well, he is a part of my class and we speak telepathically. He has elemental abilities, and I will also in a couple levels. I don¡¯t really want to go into more details other than that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair, either way it is a really interesting class even though I don¡¯t know what it is. I wish I had a little pet too.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not my pet, he¡¯s... Just, he¡¯s different.¡± I frowned as I responded, I wasn¡¯t sure how to explain it. The thought of him being considered a pet upset me. He was more than that, he was¡­ He was him. He was probably the most important thing to me at that point. My partner in crime¡­ literally. My familiar. My family. ¡°Oh, sorry, I didn¡¯t mean anything by it¡­¡± Rosalynn awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck as she responded dejectedly. ¡°Ah¡­ No it¡¯s fine, I mean, don¡¯t worry about it¡­¡± I cringed as the atmosphere became awkward. ¡°How long do you think it¡¯ll take him to make the way up?¡± Reid asked, either ignoring our exchange or oblivious to it as he peered down the pit Aureus disappeared into. ¡°Oh¡­ Uh¡­ Let me ask.¡± Hey, how long is that going to take you? I¡¯m not sure, I was trying to figure out the best way for humans to climb up. I¡¯m not very familiar with this, since I just fly. Why don¡¯t you just make a ladder? Fine. Dumb humans with no wings. Annoying stinky humans. Hey! Master should get wings, but you at least aren¡¯t annoying or stinky. You¡¯re the best. The best human or the best? ¡­The best. Hmmm¡­ I squinted my eyes as I questioned his intentions. This teenage rebellion period was entertaining but also hurtful. ¡°Okay well he¡¯s making a ladder, so that shouldn¡¯t take too long? He didn¡¯t really give me an eta.¡± ¡°Oh okay. Well, a ladder probably won¡¯t take much time. Sounds simple enough.¡± Reid responded, but Rosalynn and Theo looked unconvinced. I didn¡¯t bother to assure them of it. I glanced down at his shoes, they were getting pretty raggedy. His sneakers were coming apart at the seams and stains coated most of their fabric, but they matched his poorly crafted leather clothes well. ¡°Should we ask Caro to make you some new shoes?¡± ¡°I was also thinking about that! It would be really nice to get out of these, they¡¯re getting really sticky.¡± He grinned as he talked about it, I wondered if he was more excited for new shoes or seeing his sister. ¡°Oh, is Caro good at making things?¡± Theo asked. ¡°You can call her Caroline. She wouldn¡¯t be happy to know you¡¯re calling her by her nickname.¡± Reid snipped, he never answered his question. Our awkward silence returned again. Aureus popped back into view, his fat head was the only thing we could see for a moment. I grinned, he was looking around us in different directions, and then quickly flew up to the top of the towers he created beside the hole. I neglected to ask why, I just assumed that he wanted to take a nap. We had been up and fighting for nearly 40 hours, and I also wanted to lay down and sleep for 20. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Is he done?¡± Rosalynn asked. ¡°Yeah probably, I didn¡¯t ask since I know we are both pretty tired. Since it¡¯s only a matter of time until they climb up I¡¯m going to take a shower and then a nap. Everyone can come in except Theo, but only one person at a time. Also give me time to take my shower first.¡± I gave a lazy salute as I disappeared into my camper for a well deserved hot shower, but popped back out to add, ¡°Oh yeah, and let Caro know she can come in and cook if she wants to. I¡¯ll deploy the kitchenette.¡± The heat from the shower seeped into my bones and rather than rejuvenating me like I had hoped it only made me feel even more exhausted. I leaned on the shower wall and nearly dozed off, or I did. I wasn¡¯t completely sure. I groaned as I scrubbed at my skin and hair, removing gunk and grime was hard without soap. I made a mental note to request soap from Caroline as soon as humanly possible. Maybe I should¡¯ve asked the gods, they might¡¯ve given me another quest for it. Oh shit, the Punish the Heretic quest. I had completely forgotten. I pondered ways to get that apology out of the heretic in question. I didn¡¯t really want him to apologize on principle, hell I probably said more ¡®blasphemous¡¯ things than he had, but I wanted to complete that quest. It was great that Reid was the target for the quest since he was likely the easiest person to get to cave. I had an epiphany and decided on my main method of torture for him. It wouldn¡¯t be long until I had candy again. A sweet sweet comfort in this hellish life. I forced myself out of the shower, got dressed in just my silk dress, and opened up the front door, surprisingly I was greeted by Caroline. She leapt towards me and wrapped me up in a tight hug. ¡°Ugh god! Caro! I JUST showered! Let go!¡± I whined, but returned the hug. ¡°Jeez, you didn¡¯t miss me?¡± ¡°Not enough for this! I just got rid of all the blood and guts!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not really on you though! I¡¯m dry!¡± ¡°Stillllll!¡± I smiled despite my complaints as I looked over her shoulder at Noel who was basically bouncing up and down in front of Rosalynn as if he just met a celebrity. I pondered for a moment if she was a celebrity in a sense now, then I considered whether or not any pre-existing celebrities had survived this long. Reid stood behind him and seemed to be attempting to calm him down. ¡°Oh yeah, Noel.¡± I said as Caro released me, he didn¡¯t even glance in my direction, ¡°Oh well¡­ I was going to give you shower privileges just this once, but I guess you don¡¯t want them¡­¡± ¡°What?! NO! I want them!¡± He pivoted towards me and disappeared before appearing again, much too close for my liking. I hated this habit of his, using his abilities to pop up a few inches from my nose with his sparkling eyes looking into my soul. I shivered as I pushed him away from myself, for some reason he felt slightly¡­ creepy? ¡°Fine, fine, I was going to give it to you since the two of you are so¡­ well, in desperate need of one. Oh yeah also Reid, I¡¯m revoking yours.¡± ¡°What?! Why?!¡± Reid was shocked and looked as if I had just betrayed him and stolen his dog. ¡°Because you have yet to apologize to the gods. It¡¯s important to me.¡± I said nonchalantly. ¡°What? Apologize? About what?¡± he raised a good point, I didn¡¯t even remember why he should apologize. ¡°Uh, for your blasphemous words¡­ Obviously.¡± I replied, it wasn¡¯t very convincing, I knew that, but I couldn¡¯t back down. I wanted the candy. ¡°I thought I did apologize that time though?¡± ¡°Not genuinely.¡± ¡°What? I just¡­ Are you serious?¡± ¡°Completely.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ ok¡­ fine I guess¡­ Uh, excuse me gods, I am very sincerely sorry that I have upset you. I said something unnecessarily harmful and needed to reflect on myself. I truly apologize.¡± Business Reid¡¯s brother Customer Service Reid made a rare appearance. Or were they the same person? I wasn¡¯t sure but it was very convincing. Honestly he should have been an actor, he was quite skilled. I smiled and looked towards the GGC. I thought that was enough and if they didn¡¯t accept it then I¡¯d have to give up on the candies. [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± states he is forgiven.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± agrees smiling and says that he is such a good boy.] [¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± grins and forgives the cheeky mortal.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± laughs and says that ¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± already forgave him ages ago because he¡¯s just their type.] [¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± glares at ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± and states that they don¡¯t know what she¡¯s referring to.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± pretends to consider it and says that they aren¡¯t sure.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± glares at them and argues that they should just approve the successful completion of the quest.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± groans and calls ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± a party pooper.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± calls them mean and states that the reward for the quest is barely worth the effort you put in.] [ Congratulations, you¡¯ve completed Punish the Heretic. ] ¡°Yes! Thank you, I will let you sleep on the couch three times in return for your genuine apology.¡± I replied to Reid with a huge grin. Caroline flashed me a knowing grin, I glanced up at him and watched in real time as the realization dawned on him. Before he could protest I disappeared back into my camper with Caro. I devolved into giggles quickly after along with Caro. ¡°So what¡¯d you get for his performance?¡± ¡°Oh one sec!¡± I claimed the rewards for the quest. ~~*~~ Strawberry Candies Description: A jar of strawberry flavored hard candies. ~~*~~ I pulled them from my inventory with a huge grin, Caroline¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw them. Instinctually I pulled them back when she reached towards them. If she wanted some she should ask her patron goddess, I earned these all on my own. ¡°Woooww, so greedy. You should share, you used my brother for these.¡± ¡°Hey, he¡¯s our brother, and if anything I should share them with him, not you. You didn¡¯t earn them.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m actually related to him, and as blood relations tend to do we should share the good stuff and pretend not to notice the bad.¡± ¡°Oh so now I¡¯m not family huh? Then I¡¯ll agree, blood relations should share the good stuff. I guess neither of you get any of it since we¡¯re not family as you so obviously just said.¡± I replied with a huff and pretended to be hurt by her words. ¡°Ah¡­ shot myself in the foot on that one¡­ Oh well.¡± she shot back a smile and a small shrug. ¡°Yup. No candy for you!¡± ¡°Oh yeah¡­¡± She paused for a moment considering how to continue before asking, ¡°So Theo huh?¡± I rolled my eyes and flopped casually on the couch, ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t even get me started. I¡¯m so pissed about that.¡± ¡°So how did it go? Did he try to lie or fix anything or?¡± Caro asked from a squat in front of the couch where I sat. I was always thankful for her sense of awareness. ¡°Barely! He really didn¡¯t even apologize, he just offered a bunch of excuses and kind of blamed Nicole. Which I mean, I also kind of blame her, but that doesn¡¯t reduce his blame at all.¡± ¡°Absolutely, as it shouldn''t. He didn¡¯t apologize though? That¡¯s wild.¡± ¡°Yeah, he mostly just said that he did something dumb and I agreed, but I didn¡¯t really say anything significant. I mostly just waited for him to say his piece which took all of two seconds and didn¡¯t include the word ¡®sorry¡¯ at all. Also he was like, ¡®so you forgive me?¡¯ And I was like ¡®No?¡¯ And he responded all ¡®But you said okay?¡¯ and I was explaining that I acknowledged what he said but that didn¡¯t mean I forgave him.¡± ¡°Jeez¡­ Honestly what did he think was going to happen if he said it that way?¡± ¡°He just wanted to make sure I didn¡¯t hate him according to him.¡± ¡°Oh, so do you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, and I told him as much. But I did tell him to fuck off basically.¡± ¡°As you should. Cheating bastard can¡¯t even apologize properly.¡± ¡°Yeah, I also told him he¡¯d be on Noel level of privileges if he¡¯s following us.¡± ¡°Oh! That is an excellent idea.¡± ¡°Yeah, you should have seen Reid¡¯s response to him being there though, honestly it seems like of the two of us he hates Theo more.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I think I might hate him more than Reid.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I''ve had enough time to come to terms with it, I still don¡¯t like him, but I am over him and her and well¡­ all of that.¡± I said that casually, but truthfully I wasn¡¯t sure if I was really over everything. I kind of felt like any energy spent on him wasn¡¯t worth it, but at the same time I wanted to make him miserable. Seriously, who cheats on someone not long after their mom dies? ¡°I¡¯m still gonna give him hell though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine¡± I laughed as I gave her yet another hug. It was great to see her again, and so nice to let loose again. I could feel the stress from the last few days just melting away. ¡°I¡¯m off to shower. Take a nap, you look like hell.¡± She replied brutally as she pulled away from our hug and headed towards the shower. ¡°Ah jeez, thanks.¡± I whined, but I took her advice. I needed to sleep. It¡¯d been a really hard few days. I unceremoniously flopped back on the couch, not bothering to pull out the blanket to cover up. I muttered to myself, ¡°I should ask for a toothbrush and toothpaste. I¡¯ve been feeling gross without one, but adding candy¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t finish my thought as I slipped away into a long dream filled sleep. Chapter 31: Consequences for Overworking My eyes burned as I attempted to open them, my consciousness was slowly making its way back to me. Disjointed memories of dreams and nightmares left a bitter taste in the back of my mouth. Rubbing at my dry eyes I tried to remember any of their details, they were sore to the touch and warm. I winced as my head throbbed, an image of my friends¡¯ dead bodies flashed into my mind''s eye, and unfortunately it was followed by the mage that I killed. A small groan escaped me, why did I try to remember any of that in the first place. Nightmares should just be forgotten in the morning. Master? Are you okay? I blinked and squinted at my surroundings, but my dry eyes refused to cooperate with me. I need water. I can¡¯t remember the last time I drank some¡­ I should really try to stay on top of that more. Okay Master. Here, drink. Water flowed into my mouth as I parted my lips. I fought against the urge to cough, my throat was scratchy. How long had I slept? I didn¡¯t think I was this dehydrated before when I fell asleep. Though, I was supremely exhausted so it¡¯s possible the need for rest trumped the others. Hunger twisted my stomach, I sat up and blindly stumbled towards the kitchenette. Caro probably cooked something while I was asleep, I hoped there was some left over for me to reheat. ¡°Mia? You doing okay?¡± Reid¡¯s voice resounded from my left towards the door of my camper. His blurry silhouette appeared as I turned towards the sound. I coughed a couple times before I was able to answer him, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine I¡¯m just hungry well and thirsty, but mostly hungry now.¡± ¡°Yeah that¡¯s not surprising you¡¯ve been asleep for twelve hours. You should really rest more, you¡¯re sick.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. We needed to set out soon anyways, Rosalynn wants to find her group and we need to level more. I¡¯m so close to reaching level 20.¡± The fact that I had been asleep for so long didn¡¯t register at the time. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter right now, you need to sit down. You overworked yourself, we can¡¯t go anywhere with you like this.¡± He caught me by the shoulders and started leading me back to the couch I had just escaped. I furrowed my brows, ¡°Stop. I¡¯m going to get food, and then we¡¯re heading out.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring you the food okay? And then I¡¯m going to check on your health and try to heal you as much as I can, okay?¡± I grumbled a few complaints under my breath as I snuggled my way back into the pile of blankets on the couch. Where had they come from? My mind drifted in and out as I waited for food. A strong fatty smell started to fill my surroundings, it wasn¡¯t appetizing, but my mouth was already watering. I was so hungry, why was I so hungry? A few more minutes passed as I dipped into a light sleep. A short dream where I was cooking with a huge hotdog man entertained me during my wait. Soon, Reid arrived with a bowl of stew, well really it was mostly broth. ¡°Here, eat.¡± I wanted to complain that he didn¡¯t give me much meat, but I couldn''t because I didn''t have enough energy. I slowly slurped down the food, vaguely I could feel Reid looming over me. Grimacing, I handed the bowl back to him, I couldn¡¯t finish all of the food. ¡°Very good. Now I¡¯m going to check your condition again, okay?¡± I wasn¡¯t fighting the sleep that was taking me again, the warmth of the stew in my stomach and the soft blankets were taking me away from Reid. ¡°Yerhmm¡­kay¡± I drifted off again as a golden glow enveloped me and filled me with it''s comforting warmth. ~~*~~ ¡°-know it was this-¡± ¡°-top, she¡¯s fine, just be a little pati-¡± ¡°-been waiting for almost t-¡± ¡°-be up soon. Okay?¡± ¡°How do you know that? I thought she would be up yesterday, but she wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I never suggested that she would be up yesterday. Plus it isn¡¯t like we have much of a choice other than staying here with her.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be fine in here while we go off and hunt. We¡¯ve basically stripped this place of resources.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that for sure.¡± Rosalynn groaned. I awoke again to a debate, I didn¡¯t bother trying to piece together what they were disagreeing about as I slowly pulled myself into the land of the living yet again. ¡°What? You guys are leaving? Did you find them?¡± A silence followed my question, I frowned as I rubbed at my still sore eyes. I squinted at the figures of Reid and Rosalynn next to me. I couldn¡¯t make out their expressions as my vision was still blurry with sleep. ¡°No, we haven¡¯t found them yet. How are you feeling?¡± Her voice was much softer than it had been before. ¡°Uh, I think I¡¯m okay. My head hurts and my eyes are tired, but I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Yeah right, you always work through things like this when you shouldn¡¯t. I¡¯m a healer, but I can¡¯t replace rest. Your body is tired. You can¡¯t keep treating it this poorly.¡± He admonished me, but his voice was gentle and sorrowful. ¡°I see, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll try to be more mindful from now on.¡± I pushed myself up from my cocoon on the couch. A wave of dizziness hit me, I sat up too fast and got lightheaded. I let out a soft ¡®oof¡¯ and cradled my head. ¡°You¡¯re crazy, why did you fight for so long anyways?¡± Rosalynn asked with a small chuckle. Despite her making light of it, it did seem like she was worried. Though, I supposed she wasn¡¯t worried enough to wait here for me to wake up. I wasn¡¯t sure how long I was asleep, but the one thing I could assume from their conversation was that it was longer than Rosalynn wanted to wait for. ¡°I was worried¡­ I thought one of us had to complete it. Or that if I couldn¡¯t complete it I¡¯d die or get stuck wandering that maze for longer. I was just worried about what might happen if I gave up, the instructions were vague¡­¡± I groaned as I got to my feet, I ended up leaning into Reid as I led him towards the bathroom. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Still¡­¡± Reid wanted to protest, I couldn¡¯t blame him. It was hard to say I shouldn¡¯t have done it because none of us knew what would happen if we gave up. At the same time it was hard to say I made the right decision either. ¡°I know¡­ but can we talk about this later? I gotta pee.¡± Reid sighed as I gave him a pat on the back before going into the bathroom. I sat on the toilet, I didn¡¯t really need to pee. Well, I did, but it wasn¡¯t the real reason I had gone into the bathroom. I wanted to check the GGC and take a moment to collect myself. I lazily scrolled through the chat, things had been very quiet since I had gone to sleep, which wasn¡¯t surprising since there wasn¡¯t much to see. ¡°How many days was I out?¡± [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± expresses that your friends are dramatic and says that it wasn''t even two days.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± disagrees with him and states that you should treasure yourself more.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± sighs and says that while the fight was entertaining it would be advisable to never do something similar in the future.] ¡°Yes, yes I know.¡± [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± pouts and complains that the whole reason you chose your class is so that you wouldn¡¯t have to do that.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± whines that the others spoil you too much.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± tells you that you did a good job.] [¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± questions why the three of them had a change of heart when they were praising you previously.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± rolls her eyes and says that of course she would change her mind if your health declines.] I closed the GGC, my head was pounding too much for me to continue reading their petty squabbles. Pinching the bridge of my nose I wondered if I would be useful in a fight when I felt like I¡¯d just been out on a bender the night before. I¡¯d definitely be able to manage on my own this way, but I didn¡¯t really want to force myself to push through how shitty I felt. I considered using mana to reinforce my body. I would be able to travel easier, but that would use up my mana extremely quickly. I might not even be able to travel for more than a few hours that way. It was an effective method of enhancing my abilities, but I wasn¡¯t really skilled at using it so I always ended up wasting mana. Really I was just haphazardly pushing mana into my body without a real method behind it so I was already glad it wasn¡¯t causing any physical damage. Master? Are you okay? Why are you just sitting in there? Do you need help? I¡¯m fine¡­ I just wanted a moment alone. Okay, then are we starting to explore again after you come out? The other humans want to leave. Yeah, I gathered that¡­ I¡¯m just not feeling very good so I¡¯m a bit worried I won¡¯t be able to keep up with everyone. It¡¯s okay Master, I¡¯ll help you. Thanks. I groaned, it would be best to go ahead and do what I said I came in here for and then join the group outside again. We had a lot to talk about, and ¨C apparently ¨C places to be. ~~*~~ ¡°So I was out for a whole day huh?¡± I asked casually as I turned the corner to an apparently empty room. I scanned the area, they must have gone outside. I leaned on the doorway of the camper as I repeated my question. For the first time since we''d come down there I was happy with how dim this area was. Caroline, Reid, Rosalynn, and Noel were huddled in a circle discussing something as I appeared. ¡°Yeah, do you know how worried we were?!¡± Caroline swung around, she was clearly upset. She seemed to be the only one that was angry about it. It wasn¡¯t surprising, I had been stressing her out since the awakening after all. ¡°I know I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know that everyone could give up and I was worried about what would happen when we did. What if I had given up sooner and ended up dying or being stuck in that labyrinth for even longer?¡± This elicited a frown from both of the Gallaghers. I gave them a small smile, I didn¡¯t want to ignore their worries. They were right, I should take better care of myself, but at the same time, how could I have known? What should I have done differently? There was a long uncomfortable silence and Caro looked like she might cry, I stretched my arms out and beckoned her towards me. She groaned, but hugged me anyway. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I know it''s scary, I don¡¯t want to get hurt. I don¡¯t want anyone to get hurt.¡± I said as I rubbed her back. I hoped I was being comforting enough, I wasn¡¯t ever great at comforting people when they were upset, but lately it felt like I¡¯d improved. Maybe it was all the danger and death. ¡°Well I¡¯d like to hurt that bastard that we fought before we met up with Reid, but that¡¯s neither here nor there. Caroline chuckled, finally I got a smile out of her, ¡°Yeah, both sides took damage in that fight, but we definitely came out on top.¡± ¡°So what was it like? The labyrinth? The challenge?¡± Noel asked. I glanced over at him confused, this was one of the first times I¡¯d heard him ask a question casually. I wondered if it was because he had already heard some of it from the others. Caroline pulled away from me and looked at me expectantly, it seemed that everyone was curious about my experiences there. Though really, there wasn¡¯t much to say about it. I just slashed at monsters for days. ¡°Uh¡­ I mean it was a labyrinth. Twists, turns, traps. It sucked. Those little dudes were cute and easy to kill though. The bats though¡­¡± I shuddered, ¡°Those things were the worst. They ruined me and Aureus¡¯ normal fighting style.¡± ¡°Huh, we had very different experiences then. I didn¡¯t hate the bats as much as the wommi creatures. I hate being swarmed like that. They¡¯re not hard to kill, but swinging my hammer constantly like that to keep them off of me was the worst. Really drained my energy.¡± Rosalynn commented while miming her swipes at the monsters. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just limit their ways to approach you?¡± I asked. ¡°It just doesn¡¯t suit my fighting style, I¡¯ve always been at the frontline so... I didn¡¯t fight for nearly as long as you did, but I got about a day''s worth of fighting done before I decided to give up. I really don¡¯t understand how you managed that.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ well I wasn¡¯t alone. I had good help.¡± I said smiling as I rubbed Aureus¡¯ head. I could feel his embarrassment and internal complaints about me treating him like a baby. ¡°Plus I spent the whole time at the top of a tower just attacking the ones that popped up. At the beginning it was like whack a mole.¡± I laughed to myself. ¡°Oh I tried something similar, but after a while my ability to do damage couldn¡¯t keep up with how fast the monsters were climbing up.¡± Reid commented. ¡°Did Theo just give up immediately?¡± I asked as I searched the area for him. I couldn¡¯t see him, ¡°Wait, where is he? Did he go somewhere?¡± ¡°Oh he went to look around the area, the both of us are pretty desperate to find our group again.¡± Rosalynn offered, ¡°But about his experience in the labyrinth, I¡¯m not sure. He¡¯s been pretty quiet since we left, well I mean he¡¯s always been sorta quiet since I found him, but especially so lately.¡± ¡°Really? I never knew him to be a quiet man, he¡¯s always been pretty talkative, or well he was I guess.¡± I responded awkwardly. I wasn¡¯t sure how to approach the fact that he was around or what I should say about him, or really how I should treat him. ¡°Yeah it was always hard to get him to shut up.¡± Caro said pointedly. Rosalynn gave us a small polite smile before she said, ¡°I know y¡¯all have your own reasons for disliking him, but at the very least I would appreciate it if you could understand his position relating to the Underhollow. I won¡¯t ask you to like him, but he is doing his best to contribute despite how hard the first day was for him.¡± I wanted to say that I didn¡¯t care how hard it was. I wanted to say that we all were struggling after it all started. I wanted to get angry and say that she had no right to ask me to understand him. I wanted to, but I didn¡¯t. I liked Rosalynn and I couldn¡¯t bring myself to direct my anger with Theo towards her. Not to mention it didn¡¯t seem like she was fond of him. It seemed more like he was an annoying coworker she had to deal with, but despite that she didn¡¯t want us to harbor biases against him unfairly. I had to respect her for that. The silence after her statement began to stretch for too long. I looked for words to say, I didn¡¯t want to lie to her, but I couldn¡¯t exactly say I didn¡¯t care what happened to him either. The group sat in the silence until Theo arrived. ¡°Hey! I think I found something!¡± Theo said excitedly, but quickly noticed the uncomfortable energy around our group. Eventually his eyes landed on me. Chapter 32: A Meeting of Two Parties ¡°Hey¡­ Are you feeling better?¡± Theo asked awkwardly. ¡°Uh, yeah probably. I slept for a while, but I still feel pretty shitty.¡± I said with a small shrug. ¡°More importantly, what did you find?¡± His face brightened quickly, it was sort of jarring. I hadn¡¯t seen him look so excited since we met again after the awakening. ¡°I found traces of our group! There are markings directly that way!¡± He beamed at Rosalynn, it looked like he was fishing for a recognition or a compliment. ¡°That¡¯s great! Then let¡¯s head out right away!¡± Rosalynn¡¯s shoulders relaxed and she donned a small confident smile. It faltered slightly when she glanced in my direction, ¡°You¡¯re okay to head out right?¡± Her voice was gentle and encouraging, but I could tell she was desperate to leave. I returned her a confident smile, I could easily empathize with her since I had also been separated from my group. ¡°I¡¯m not quite at a hundred percent, but I¡¯m definitely ready to get going. Lets not delay on my account.¡± In general I usually felt much worse when I first got up than I did when I started pushing myself to start the day. Thankfully I was already starting to feel a bit better, just a bit. I could push through. ¡°Mia¡­ Are you sure?¡± Reid was looking at me skeptically. ¡°Yeah. I really want to see their group. Maybe we can help each other¡­ Or you guys might be able to stay there when I leave to head back home?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if now was the best time to bring that up again, but I didn¡¯t want to spring it on them the day of or anything. I needed to go back home, this place sucked, but also I couldn¡¯t trust Rosalynn and the others enough to bring them with me. I''d considered bringing them back, but decided against it. I wanted to monopolize such a good hunting ground, and right now I needed as much prey as I could find. ¡°Going back?¡± Noel looked at me with puppy dog eyes, he looked pitiful, but it was a decision I made for the best of everyone. I couldn¡¯t keep carrying them. I needed to level up on my own and this place just wasn¡¯t as suited for me as the area back home. ¡°Were you still planning on going back? I thought that maybe we were doing good enough¡­¡± Caroline tried to hide the hurt on her face, but I could tell she took it personally. Rosalynn began to get antsy, she was shifting her weight constantly and playing with her hammer, picking it up and swinging it around, tossing it from hand to hand, and balancing it like a side show act on one palm. ¡°Okay well, how about we talk about that while we travel? It''s better to walk and talk right?¡± I asked the group, I wasn¡¯t keen on answering her directly. Rosalynn and Theo perked up immediately and they took off in the direction that he¡¯d designated earlier. ¡°Guess we don¡¯t need to answer that question.¡± Caroline mumbled under her breath as we all started following after them. Theo was apparently faster than the rest of us and would have to stop or slow down significantly in regular intervals so that the group could catch up. I was pretty sure I would be able to keep up with him if I was really trying, but there wasn¡¯t much point in that. ¡°You¡¯re heading back to level up right? I mean you did say that you were only going to help us for a little while I guess¡­¡± Reid asked. He was the most composed, maybe he sensed it while we were in the labyrinth or after Rosalynn started talking about their group. His comment reminded me that I needed to level up quickly, so I sent Aureus away to hunt as we traveled. He¡¯d be able to keep up and get some XP at the same time. ¡°Yeah, I have really stalled in levels since I came over here. I really want to get to level 20 as soon as humanly possible.¡± I was trying to be objective about it, I didn''t want to bring emotions into it. I wanted to spend more time with my friends and family, but with how the world had changed I wondered if I could afford that luxury. I also kind of wanted to go back home. ¡°Oh¡­ So you wanted to leave us with Rosalynn¡¯s group?¡± Noel asked. ¡°Yeah, I feel like she¡¯s trustworthy. I mean I¡¯m not completely positive, but it seems like she is¡­ I mean she¡¯s putting up with Theo so¡­¡± I chuckled bitterly. ¡°I guess¡­ I still think it¡¯d be fine for us to come with you. We don¡¯t have to be in a party. We can just be in the same area right?¡± Caroline asked. ¡°If you guys really really want to then I won¡¯t stop you, but your group isn¡¯t very¡­ well balanced. You¡¯ve got an assassin, a mage, and a healer. There isn¡¯t any front line at all. The only reason it¡¯s been working so far is because I¡¯m over leveled for this area and the group. We don¡¯t know what might happen or what might change in the future. The gods are¡­ unpredictable to say the least.¡± There was a short silence after I said my piece. I wondered if they resented me for leaving them behind, but it felt like the right decision. We could always meet up again in the future, I couldn¡¯t change my mind on this even if they begged me. I needed to level up, there wasn¡¯t a solid reason for it, but it nagged at the back of my mind. The need, the craving for leveling up. I felt like if I didn¡¯t level up quickly, I¡¯d be swallowed up by the gods and the Underhollow itself. It pushed aside the fatigue I felt, having a goal or something to focus on was always a helpful distraction. ¡°So.¡± I cleared my throat, ¡°Rosalynn, what is your group like?¡± I assumed that they had been listening to our conversation before. They weren¡¯t out of earshot, but they weren¡¯t participating either. To test my theory I asked in the same way I had been conversing prior. ¡°Oh uh, we¡¯re a pretty large group. My team, or well the team I started with, we spent most of the early days getting the civvies into the Underhollow and away from those bastards on the surface. That¡¯s how me and Theo met.¡± An undercurrent of pride suffused her tone as she talked. ¡°Wow, I can¡¯t imagine how that went down. Mia and I ran into some people on the surface on the way here and she nearly died.¡± It seemed like Caroline was in awe of their achievements. I was happy to see that Caroline seemed to get along with Rosalynn, and honestly I was starting to get pretty attached to them as well. Despite the fact that one of them was a no good, rotten, cheating bastard. ¡°Seriously?! With your little monster you still struggled that much?!¡± Rosalynn was floored by the news and seemed like she didn¡¯t really believe it. ¡°Ah, well¡­ It wasn¡¯t his fault, it was more that I wasn¡¯t used to fighting people and I made some bad decisions. I also just wasn¡¯t very creative in the way that I used my skills¡­ I definitely could have done a lot better in that fight.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ well that¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of, Theo just outright gave up and begged them to let him go, but he¡¯s got some positive points. The gang that gathered up him and a few others were trying to force them to kill each other for fun. Those sick fucks. He outright refused. Thankfully his refusal caused an uproar in the group and we were able to use the confusion and noise to our advantage.¡± ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t see that coming. I¡¯m glad that at the very least he draws the line at cold blooded murder.¡± I tried to gently rib him, but I realized halfway through my comment that it wouldn¡¯t come off that way. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you Theo. Not everyone would have done that.¡± I added, being blatantly rude felt odd after Rosalynn requested us to be nicer to him. ¡°Ah¡­ Oh¡­ Thanks¡­¡± He glanced back at me wide eyed when I said it, but quickly snapped his head forward again avoiding my gaze. Had he become more timid because of the Underhollow itself or was this something that changed naturally since I hadn¡¯t been around him? ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s not nearly as bad as those assholes parading their racism around on their chests and murdering innocent people. Still. I don¡¯t like him.¡± Reid responded quickly as if he couldn''t allow for such a conciliatory moment to pass without his input about how he disliked Theo. I didn¡¯t disagree, but I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it would be better to put it behind me. I didn¡¯t want to be his friend or even like him, but I was well aware that people who aren¡¯t bad still did bad things. Guilt started to bubble up in me, I had been holding this event from a year ago over his head constantly since I¡¯d seen him. Maybe it was time to put it aside? My emotions roiled under the surface, mixing violently and clashing as I pondered over my ex. Ultimately I decided not to make a change and not to worry too much about it. He never even gave me an apology so why should I worry about it? Suddenly the group came to a halt, there was a pit in my stomach, is Theo going to confront Reid about what he just said? I wondered until I noticed them looking down at something on the rock in front of them. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°You know. I know that I suggested this before I left, but we never decided on how these markings would work. I don¡¯t know which way it''s pointing, to the way they went or the way back to the base.¡± Rosalynn looked up towards the red sky above us lost in thought. I walked up to join her over an ¡®X¡¯ carved into the rock. Underneath it on one side was an arrow pointing away from it. ¡°Well can¡¯t we just choose one and follow it to the end? Even if it is the wrong way we can just turn around and follow it back. Plus if this is new then maybe we¡¯ll run into the team that left it here?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right, but if possible I don¡¯t want to waste time going the wrong direction.¡± She replied letting her head fall back down with a sigh. ¡°Well it¡¯d be more comfortable to travel while pointing the arrows towards where you were going.¡± Noel offered. ¡°Yeah, but wouldn¡¯t it make more sense to have all the arrows pointing back to where you came? Since you¡¯ll likely leave the base in multiple directions if you ever get lost you can follow the arrows back home.¡± Caroline countered. ¡°No cause that works the exact same way with what I said. Just go the opposite way of the arrows.¡± ¡°Still I just think it would make more sense. Like I understand the logic behind what you¡¯re saying, but I think pointing the arrows towards home like a road sign is better.¡± ¡°Well you¡¯re not the one who made them.¡± ¡°Neither are you!¡± ¡°Okay, well none of us made them, but they were my group so I¡¯ll just make a decision and we can follow it.¡± Rosalynn raised her hand to stop their dispute. It was nice to have someone else around to interrupt their quarrels. ¡°Alright, sounds good to me. Where did you want to go?¡± I asked. ¡°I think I¡¯ll agree with Noel this time. It sounds like something that they would decide. Though they kept saying that it was unnecessary to mark the way since we were always together and had Theo. He was a part of every group that traveled out of the camp if it was too far to easily return without him.¡± ¡°Okay so we¡¯re heading against the arrows?¡± ¡°Yup let''s go!¡± The group took off at a much higher speed, following the markings towards what we hoped was the encampment where Rosalynn¡¯s group would be. I suddenly wondered why we hadn¡¯t encountered any rats since I had woken up, no one else had mentioned anything so I didn¡¯t think anything of it. Strange. I decided to ask about it later, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to ask while everyone was sprinting. We had been running for about an hour and a half when we noticed something on the horizon and sounds in the distance. ¡°There they are! Yes! We¡¯ve finally found them!¡± Theo hollered with a huge smile. Rosalynn was also beaming and the two took off full speed ahead towards the group. I purposely lagged behind just a bit to make sure that we didn¡¯t leave Reid and Caro behind too much. Their abilities weren¡¯t focused on physical aspects, so they were bringing up the rear. Reid looked as though he might collapse by the time we reached the group. "Lia!" Rosalynn¡¯s voice rang out ahead of us. "Lynn!" She shouted again a few seconds after, but when I got closer I realized she had only yelled once. She leapt towards another woman, they spun around giggling and when they pulled away from each other for a moment I couldn''t tell them apart. Three more people rushed towards her and they all shared a group hug with Rosalynn and the woman I assumed was Lia. They broke away from the hug as we approached. Theo had attempted to join the group, but it seemed like they were excluding him for some reason. The cheerful atmosphere turned stale as they noticed our presence. A large man with broad shoulders and a cool toned dark complexion stood behind Rosalynn, when I first saw him I thought he looked friendly and approachable, but his face quickly soured when we made eye contact. His neutral face was mildly intimidating, I flinched at his quick change in expression. Rosalynn looked back up at him and suddenly he was warm and loving yet again. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot, everyone this is Mia, Caroline, Reid, and Noel." Rosalynn was absolutely beaming. I hadn''t seen her so expressive since I''d met her. I glanced towards where I could feel Aureus¡¯ energy, his normal focused and pleased energy felt like it had flickered into displeasure for a moment. I furrowed my brows but dismissed it as a moment of misunderstanding. I took a small step forward and held out my hand, "Hi, nice to meetcha." I glanced from the man behind Rosalynn who was glaring daggers at me to the woman next to her that seemed to be her twin. Her expression gave her more angular features. Finally I looked at the other man of the group, he was slim with an aloofness about him. His straight silky black hair nearly reached his shoulders, he had pulled it back into a half up half down style. None of them seemed too keen to accept my handshake. Just as I started to pull back Lia darted forwards and grabbed my hand, a sly smile played on her face. "Yes, hello. Nice to meet you, y''all can call me Rosalia." Her eyes were narrowed as she grinned up at me, it was strange to see Rosalynn¡¯s face¡­ or rather Rosalia''s face with that expression. Despite the fact that her hair was a much shorter bob and their personalities were so different it was still hard to remember they weren''t the same person. I would''ve believed them if they said they were clones that just popped out of some sci-fi growth pod things. Noel''s face appeared suddenly between mine and hers, he was always popping up suddenly those days. Especially as he''d leveled up his presence continued to become more and more faint. I''d almost forgotten about him on multiple occasions because of it. Was that because of a skill or was it something that just happened naturally since he was improving as someone with an assassin class? "How do y¡¯all feel about having such similar names? What''s it like being a twin after awakening? Did you both get similar abilities or twin telepathy?" Noel started rattling off questions as usual. Rosalia was taken aback for a moment, it was interesting to see her fox-like appearance in a shocked and confused state. She took a faltering step back and quickly regained her composure and jumped in before he could continue. "We like it, it''s about the same as before the awakening and no not even kinda." "What''re you talking about? You used to hate your name, that''s why you used to go by Lia instead." Rosalynn cocked her head to the side and looked at her sister with a confused expression. "That''s not the same as what he asked! I didn''t dislike my name because it was similar to yours or I wouldn''t have gone by Lia when you also were called Lynn! I just thought it was too old fashioned that''s all¡­" Rosalia blushed slightly as she whined at her sister. "Ah so she''s younger¡­" I muttered to myself. Rosalia whipped towards me, her face reddened even more as she gawked at me, Rosalynn started giggling. "Lynn!" Rosalia had fully lost the upper hand she had tried to create. I had mostly Noel to thank for that. "I''m sorry Lia, I really don''t know how she figured that out." Rosalynn said with a chuckle. I glanced around at the group, the tension had started to alleviate. Suddenly I was keenly aware that I¡¯d overlooked another woman, she was about average height with dirty blonde hair and gray green eyes whose downward tilt made her look tired. When our eyes met she gave me a small, but warm smile which I returned. At least one of their group seems welcoming. Strangely enough Theo was even more withdrawn than he had been before. I couldn''t blame him much, the man behind Rosalynn was rather scary and didn¡¯t seem particularly welcoming to Theo even though he was originally part of their group. I considered asking him if there was something wrong, but I felt that he wouldn¡¯t appreciate it. He had always avoided publicly acknowledging things he felt. Rosalynn turned around and gestured to the rest of the group introducing them as Damien, Jeong, and finally Tali. Damien continued to look at us coldly while Rosalynn wasn''t looking, but Jeong hadn''t said a word or paid us much attention since we''d arrived. He gave a small disinterested nod when he was introduced, but that was it. Tali gave a small smile as she pulled at her sleeves, ¡°It¡¯s nice to see some people who aren¡¯t trying to kill us for once. I can¡¯t believe y¡¯all managed to make it here, you must be strong.¡± Her voice was quiet and she looked at the ground as she talked; it seemed she was shy despite how much she had to say. ¡°Ah, yeah¡­ I guess.¡± I rubbed at the back of my neck, I wasn¡¯t sure how to talk to her. Master, I don''t like these people. Let''s leave. When did you get here? Where are you? I asked as I scanned our surroundings for him. I just finished hunting and came over, I¡¯m above you. Let¡¯s go home, you told the other humans so it¡¯s time right? We can''t leave, we need their help to watch over Caro and Reid¡­ oh and Noel too I guess. Honestly he''d probably be just fine on his own. Yeah he can hide if he needs to but I don''t think he''ll level very well alone. I think they¡¯ll take care of them now, so let¡¯s leave. Maybe, if he would put some thought into it I think he could level quickly. I mean he was able to gather up so many monsters that first day. If he could''ve created a trap or something he could''ve handled it on his own... Anyways, we need to deal with them for a bit to make sure my party is accepted there, I have to make sure they¡¯ll be alright while we are gone. Still¡­ He whined, but I want to go back home with Master too so I guess we can deal with these people for a bit longer. I was so happy to have such a good and reliable familiar. I glanced up to see the new additions, or were we the new additions? I pushed the semantics aside, Damien, Tali, and Rosalia were talking quietly among themselves as Jeong stood nearby listening and nodding quietly. Rosalynn ran over to their group and slapped Damien and Rosalia on their backs as she hollered, "Alrighty enough of that! Let''s start heading back home!" Damien stiffened from the impact but Rosalia ended up nearly falling on her face as she stumbled forwards into Jeong. Or she would have if he didn''t dodge deftly out of her way before she could. She landed unceremoniously with a puff of dust. I imagined that she would normally have a stronger impression especially since she was so confident during our first interaction. "Lynn! Stop doing that!! God!" Rosalynn pulled her sister up as she complained. "Whatever! Let''s just head back already!" She turned on her heel and took off in the other direction, a small caucus of laughs resounded as we bounded after her. No one commented on the bright red that donned her ears as she escaped. Chapter 33: Camp Exploration The trip to their base wasn¡¯t as awkward as I expected. I chalked it up to Noel, he was chattering away at the new faces as if they were old friends. Somehow he was able to create a warm and comfortable atmosphere between us despite the fact that Rosalynn¡¯s group seemed to be wary of us ¨C not that I could blame them, the world had somehow become even more dangerous. When we arrived we were absolutely swarmed by the residents of the camp, as they gathered we were pushed further and further from Rosalynn¡¯s group until we stood awkwardly at the edge of the crowd. It was a surprisingly huge and diverse camp, various tents and sheets were propped up throughout the area rustled as people poured out of them to join the group around Rosalynn. Kids ran past us screaming excitedly, I looked around at our group and was surprised to see that Theo was here with us instead of with Rosalynn. When our eyes met he looked down at the rocks beneath us, ¡°So, since they seem busy would you be fine with showing us around?¡± I asked. I decided not to pry, despite how much I didn¡¯t like him I didn¡¯t feel the need to dig into why he was being ostracized. He perked up, ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s not much, but I¡¯ll take you around!¡± For the next hour or so we were drug around by Theo, who gave long and winding explanations of everything we saw along with stories about his experiences there. The thing that stood out the most was that the camp sat on mostly flat rock. I wondered how long they spent carving it out. We visited a primitive cooking and dining area. It consisted of a few random pots, pans and cooking utensils that looked to have been taken from the surface. Atop scorched rocks and what I assume were tables and stools made from the rocks around us. Around the edge of the food area were several mats and blankets laid on the ground abandoned, when Reid asked about them Theo told us that the residents traded or set up stalls here throughout the day. I noted to myself that theft might still be an issue there since there were no items on the blankets. After that we visited the medical tents, the supplies looked to be lacking from the grimaces that Noel and Reid wore when they saw how the patients were being treated. Finally we saw the ¡°training grounds,¡± if you could call them that. Honestly it was just an area of the Underhollow that they had killed most of the rats in and wasn¡¯t too uneven to traverse. ¡°It¡¯s not bad as a training area, people can see the camp from here and usually they¡¯ll fight a rat or two during the day. They need to learn how to travel here too so it¡¯s fine if they¡¯re not getting much XP. Safety is most important.¡± Theo mentioned as he saw our doubtful faces. They¡¯re all going to die. Aureus¡¯ voice pushed into my mind from a distance. Rosalynn had asked me to keep him away when we were about to arrive since she didn¡¯t want to scare the residents. I had agreed since I wanted to level up asap, I was so close to level 20 and my patience was wearing thin. Just a couple more days and I¡¯d be at nineteen. Why would you say that? You were thinking it too though Master. I rubbed at the bridge of my nose, he wasn¡¯t wrong. Something had felt off recently, especially the comments the gods had been making since I¡¯d gotten into town. At first it was just gods I didn¡¯t recognize sighing and complaining about the structure of camp, but now that we arrived at the ¡°training ground¡± my more common chatters started adding to the conversation. I had to admit I was also rather disappointed that this was all they had managed to create after all that time. [¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± is excited for the challenges on the horizon.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± sighs as he asks if all humans are this naive.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± gives him a sad smile and mentions that their intentions are good.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± urges you to take your time before returning, suggesting you stay for just a bit longer.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± rolls their eyes and exclaims that you shouldn¡¯t have to clean up after those you don¡¯t even know.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± cries out that ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± is so heartless and they know -] The rest of the window was obscured again. The gods were always hiding things, refusing to answer questions and trying to keep me from noticing, but they had gotten more and more complacent lately. I didn¡¯t know what was going to happen, but I thought it was something big. You should leave them, they aren¡¯t your responsibility. Aureus was in my mind again. I groaned, ¡°Theo.¡± I struggled to find the words I wanted to say, my mind was already spinning from the messages from the gods and my train of thought was going to all of the worst case scenarios. ¡°Yeah?¡± He looked at me warily. ¡°What are the levels like? Is there another party here or is it just Rosalynn¡¯s? I need to know how leveled up your main party is and the average citizens as well.¡± I asked as I ran my hands through my hair. Anxiety was pooling up in my stomach and it felt like I¡¯d had several shots of espresso. I was getting jittery. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m not sure if I can¡­¡± ¡°Ok. Fine, just tell me your level and if there is another party then.¡± He just stared at me without responding for a few seconds. I glanced back at the GGC, they were still arguing about whether or not I should leave now or stay. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Caro asked, she eyed me knowingly. I glanced around at the group, Caro and Reid looked worried. Noel had apparently disappeared somewhere at some point, and Theo was looking increasingly uncomfortable. I could tell I was putting him on the spot. ¡°Nothing good from what I can tell. Theo!¡± He jumped, ¡°I-I¡¯m level eight.¡± ¡°Seriously? That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°And is there a secondary party? Do the others go out and level?¡± ¡°No, not really¡­ There are some who are about my level, but they don¡¯t go out often¡­¡± I leaned my head back and looked up towards the dim red sky above us, Aureus¡¯ shadow flitted by as he circled above us. ¡°Ok... Just¡­ I expected y¡¯all to be higher leveled than this, or more organized or something?¡± ¡°I think we did pretty good¡­¡± he muttered. ¡°Yeah, I guess you didn¡¯t do badly?¡± I sighed. ¡°There are a lot of people here that would have died without your group. Yourself included. But I¡¯m more concerned about how little progression has happened since the awakening. And how this could be considered a training ground. I mean do y¡¯all even spar with each other? How about daily exercise or training? How are y¡¯all improving your overall combat power?¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°We go out on expeditions pretty regularly and level up so we have been making progress.¡± He replied meekly. ¡°Sure, but what about the civvies? Shouldn¡¯t you be helping them improve their skills and level up? What if something happens when your party isn¡¯t here? What would happen then? What if instead of just you and Rosalynn the whole party got stuck in that labyrinth?¡± I asked, it was shocking that they hadn¡¯t made proper preparations for something like that. Were they just over confident or just too comfortable after being here for a while? ¡°Not to mention the medical tent was egregious.¡± Reid chimed in. ¡°It¡¯s not like it was easy to get proper medical equipment or personnel¡­ Most of the camp members here don¡¯t want to get involved in the fighting, they¡¯re normal people. It''s scary and difficult for them.¡± He blushed lightly as he defended them, maybe he was one of those ¡®normal people¡¯ who were scared. I looked back over the area where they trained, it wasn¡¯t like I had a solid idea of how they should train or what they should change, but I felt that the way they were going was dangerous. It relied solely on those who were already strong protecting those who refused to protect themselves. ¡°I can¡¯t understand people like that¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Theo asked. ¡°Just sitting and waiting for other people to take care of you or keep you safe? You¡¯d be completely at their mercy, fully vulnerable to their whims. What would you do if they disappeared? What would you do if they died?¡± I asked, people should at least try to take care of themselves. Especially since the world had collapsed the way it had. ¡°They aren¡¯t those types of people¡­ They wouldn¡¯t just die, they¡¯re stronger than you think.¡± He responded. ¡°Sure, they might be strong, but what if the enemies become stronger than them? There¡¯s no other alternative? What if they need help, can anyone else offer it?¡± I challenged. He merely frowned, it seemed he was having a hard time refuting what I was saying. I sighed, was it really a good idea to leave my party with them? It would be hard to make the trip back with them, and we needed more people than we had if we wanted a good team. Should I just stay? No, Master, we need to go home. We can¡¯t progress here. I know, but what if this isn¡¯t a safe place to leave them? ¡°Excuse me.¡± They¡¯re strong Master, at least they can try to start a new team maybe? Since there¡¯s basically just the one or they can travel in a larger group. This place isn¡¯t very dangerous anyways. ¡°Excuse me.¡± That¡¯s true. ¡°Excuse me! Ma¡¯am!¡± A sharp tug pulled me from my thoughts. A little hand was gripped tightly on my cloak. The kid looked to be about four or five and stared up at me with awe and impatience. I lowered myself into a squat so that we had a similar eyeline, ¡°Yes, did you need me for something?¡± I tried to ask gently. I didn¡¯t have much experience with children. ¡°So you, can you do magic?¡± He asked, pointing at the staff I¡¯d gotten into the habit of holding at all times. I gave him a big grin, ¡°Do you wanna see something cool?¡± His eyes lit up, ¡°Yeah!¡± I saw movement behind a tent in the distance, a few more rugrats were trying to spy on us, so I said, ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll show you something special, but it¡¯s a secret so you can¡¯t tell anyone.¡± He clamped his hands over his mouth and nodded quickly, his excitement was clearly growing along with his anticipation. I pushed down a giggle, he probably expected something cliche like a fireball, oh was he in for a surprise. I stood up, ¡°Okay, now stand back a bit.¡± I said. He released my cloak and took a step back. I lifted my staff with a flourish, and quickly snapped my hood onto my head. He let out a small yelp and his eyes widened, a few gasps resounded from the kids behind the tent and one from Theo to my right. ¡°A slime!¡± He pointed towards me, mouth agape. ¡°Yes, I told you it was special didn¡¯t I?¡± I asked. ¡°Woah! Are you a monster?¡± he asked as he tentatively took a step closer to me, reaching out towards the surface of a slime I couldn¡¯t see, ¡°Huh?¡± He winced as the surface he was trying to touch wasn¡¯t there and he lost his balance. I threw my hood back again as I caught him, ¡°What do you think? Am I a monster?¡± ¡°No-no, I don¡¯t think so!¡± he replied as he regained his balance. ¡°Oh yeah? What about your friends?¡± I asked and gestured towards the kids hiding. ¡°Rosalynn wouldn¡¯t bring back a monster!¡± A small girl yelled, but popped back behind her cover soon after. The other two agreed with her. I smiled, at least they had managed to maintain an environment where these kids felt safe and comfortable. ¡°That¡¯s true, now I¡¯ve got to talk to my party members¡­¡± I stopped, I wasn¡¯t sure how to tell the kids to leave. I couldn¡¯t ask them to go back to their parents since they might not have any anymore, and I couldn¡¯t say that they should go home because they must have lost that as well. I settled on, ¡°run along now,¡± since I couldn¡¯t think of anything better. Once they were out of sight I groaned and rubbed at my temples, even if it wasn¡¯t my place I needed to tell them to change how they were running things.Something was clearly going to happen soon if the gods were anything to go by, and the fact that they only had one group was worrying. Not to mention there was no semblance of organization or defenses in the camp at all. I really wanted to ignore it, but I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Reid got himself killed because some kid was in danger. Well, also I¡¯d prefer it if the kids didn¡¯t end up in danger at all. If I was going to leave them here, I couldn¡¯t just ignore what they were lacking. I sighed yet again, I felt like that was all I was doing since I arrived, ¡°I think I need to talk to Rosalynn and them now.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if now is a good time, she just got back so they¡¯re probably in the middle of a meeting or something.¡± He scratched at the back of his head as he replied. ¡°Still, this is important. I¡¯m not sure how much time we¡¯ve got, or even what¡¯s going to happen.¡± I was getting impatient. I was expecting things to be easier than this. I mean I knew it would be hard to part from them, but not for this reason. I thought they¡¯d be safe with such a large group. The idea that such a small minority of them would be capable of combat wasn¡¯t something I could have imagined before arriving. ¡°You really think something is happening soon? Are the gods reliable?¡± Noel asked. ¡°Yeah, I mean they aren¡¯t exactly forthcoming are they?¡± Reid added. They had a point, it wasn¡¯t like the gods outright said the camp would face catastrophe, it was more of something I assumed based on their behavior. The Painter was usually a goddess that was concerned about any living creature¡¯s wellbeing, so it was hard for me to ignore her desperate pleas for me to stay. It felt like she was doing her best to warn me of something horrible on the horizon. I looked back at the GGC, the debate was in full swing. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± suggests giving you-] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± complains that the others are being too dramatic.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± frowns and says that you shouldn¡¯t leave them behind, not right now.] [¡°Gentle Autumn Breeze¡± worries for their contractor, but agrees that you have no responsibility to the camp.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± rolls their eyes at ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡±.] I frowned, they still weren¡¯t giving me much to go on. ¡°Sure, they aren¡¯t giving me details or anything, but the fact that there is such a large shift in tone is enough to worry me.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we just leave then?¡± Caro asked, ¡°I mean we don¡¯t have any responsibility to these people. At the very least we could let the whole camp know what you know and if they want to follow they can, if not they can stay here.¡± ¡°I doubt anyone would follow you though, the vast majority of the camp are people over forty and minors. That¡¯s the main reason we¡¯re lacking fighting power, a lot of younger people died because they were willing to fight.¡± Theo offered. ¡°Either way, I have to talk to them. Even if they disagree or don¡¯t want to listen I should let them know before I leave.¡± I replied. ¡°What?! You¡¯d still leave us here? Seriously? After the comments the gods are making?!¡± Caroline protested. ¡°I trust y¡¯all, but yeah if you want to come you can. I just wasn¡¯t sure if you¡¯d be willing after all I¡¯ve said¡­¡± I trailed off as I pointedly made eye contact with Reid. He pressed his lips into a thin line, but didn¡¯t disagree and I knew if he stayed then so would they. ¡°I can¡¯t just¡­ leave¡­¡± He mumbled. Caroline groaned in response, but didn¡¯t argue with him, we all knew it was futile. ¡°So. Theo. Lead the way.¡± He paused and opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead just turned on his heel and led us to a large tent on the outskirts of a group of what I guessed were homes. We pushed our way through the entrance and the voices that could be heard outside came to an abrupt halt. The tension was palpable. Chapter 34: For Their Own Good ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Damien asked, his tone was vacant, matter of fact, but his expression showed that he was annoyed. ¡°We need to talk.¡± I responded flatly. I didn¡¯t particularly dislike Damien, but I knew he didn¡¯t like us. I could respect his response to newcomers, I wouldn¡¯t trust us either. But that didn¡¯t matter, I needed him to look at things from a purely clinical lens. We could use each other. We didn¡¯t need trust, just ability. ¡°This isn¡¯t a great time, maybe you can-¡± Rosalynn started. ¡°This is a private meeting Theo, you can¡¯t just bring strangers in here.¡± Rosalia interrupted glaring at Theo. ¡°We aren¡¯t strangers.¡± I challenged, ¡°Plus, I¡¯m not here to chit chat. This is important.¡± Rosalia rolled her eyes in annoyance, it seemed she was having a bad day. I pressed my lips into a line, I wasn¡¯t sure how to bring things up. I didn¡¯t know if they would believe me, especially since I wasn¡¯t sure what was happening. Before I could gather my thoughts Caroline was stepping forward, she planted her hands on the flat rock table. ¡°Look, I get that y¡¯all don¡¯t know us, but we really need to talk about this soon, as soon as possible.¡± It was nice to have Caro here to help me buy time as I pulled my thoughts together. Tali gave us a small smile, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we at least hear them out? This conversation wasn¡¯t too pressing¡­¡± she squeaked out. Damien gave an exasperated sigh, ¡°Sure, let¡¯s hear what you¡¯ve got to say.¡± ¡°Thanks, okay¡­ Uh well, I don¡¯t have proof, but it seems like something¡¯s coming. Something bad.¡± I paused, trying to gauge the reactions of the group. Jeong seemed the most interested I¡¯d ever seen him, not that that was saying much the man did not emote. Rosalynn lost a bit of color in her face, but the other three seemed as calm as ever. Maybe they didn¡¯t believe me. They stared, waiting for me to continue, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if Rosalynn told you, but I have a lot of gods that chat in my channel. Or to me? Either way, they¡¯ve been getting strange lately. Antsy almost. Even if nothing big is happening anytime soon I¡¯m a little worried about the way y¡¯all run this place. I mean relying on a very small minority that sometimes leaves, can be dangerous. Plus y¡¯all have, like no defensive measures set up around camp.¡± ¡°Ah, yes we definitely need more defenses against the rats, that''s a great idea.¡± Rosalia commented sarcastically. Her sister elbowed her, ¡°Shut up,¡± then turned her attention to me, ¡°So, the gods have been acting antsy? I think I know what you mean. Before we ended up in the labyrinth my patron god was pushing me to level up. He¡¯s been quiet lately though.¡± ¡°Right, and I know it¡¯s hard to believe and I have a hard time believing them myself, but I couldn¡¯t just ignore it. Especially since I¡¯m leaving them here.¡± I said pointing a thumb over my shoulder at my group. ¡°What? You¡¯re not staying?¡± Tali asked wide eyed. It was the most animated I¡¯d seen the woman since we met. ¡°Ah, no. I¡¯ve got somewhere to be soon. I don¡¯t have a specific timetable, but I¡¯d like to leave as soon as possible. ¡°So you¡¯re suggesting that something dangerous is going to happen and just leaving?¡± Rosalia asked. ¡°I mean¡­ I¡¯m just trying to warn you just in case, but yeah I guess.¡± I replied, Rosalia was pretty good at making someone feel like shit. ¡°So, does it seem like danger from monsters or like? Will those people be heading down here soon?¡± Tali asked quietly. ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m not sure. I honestly assumed it was related to monsters.¡± I hadn¡¯t considered people as the possible threat. ¡°So what would you have us do?¡± Damien asked cooly. ¡°You need to train and level up the majority of your populace. They need the ability to defend themselves and the non-combatants. And I suppose maybe some walls, I haven¡¯t had much time to consider it. I thought we- or y¡¯all could discuss after I let you know about the potential dangers coming.¡± I tried to say with as much confidence as I could muster. Talking to Damien was still difficult. He was imposing and the emptiness of his voice was unnerving. It felt like I could fall dead in front of him and he wouldn¡¯t bat an eye. Before he could respond Tali mumbled, ¡°Those poor people¡­ could they even?¡± as she touched her chin in thought. Her voice was pensive and sorrowful. ¡°I see, I appreciate your input, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be taking that advice. Well, maybe we can start working on a wall, but I can¡¯t see any reason to put people in danger when we are doing just fine now.¡± He paused, ¡°If that¡¯s all you had to say, could you please leave so we can get back to our meeting?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not doing them any favors by coddling them like that.¡± I ignored his requests for us to leave Damien sighed, ¡°They¡¯re doing fine.¡± I waited for a beat, I thought he might continue, but when he didn¡¯t I replied, ¡°Okay, maybe I¡¯m wrong, I¡¯d love to be wrong. How are they leveling? Are they at least at a point they could defend themselves if it came to it?¡± ¡°They''re leveling fine. Even the lowest leveled adventurer here is level three.¡± ¡°Three? You have to be joking.¡± I glanced between them and realized they were serious, ¡°Oh my god. You guys need to help them level up faster! What have you been doing?¡± I paused, ¡°They¡¯re all going to die.¡± I muttered under my breath. My thoughts began spiraling as I realized they were in a much worse situation than I expected. ¡°What?! Die? What do you mean?¡± Rosalynn asked in a panic, it seemed she was the only one who took what I said seriously. The rest of the group looked annoyed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I mean honestly even someone who¡¯s level one could kill a rat.¡± Damien assured Rosalynn before addressing us, ¡°And you. You¡¯ve been out galavanting with just the four of you on your own. What do any of y¡¯all know about running a camp like this?¡± ¡°What does that have to do with what I said? I¡¯m telling you they need to level up faster, how are they not leveling up at all in the last few weeks? Have you helped them fight at all?¡± I was baffled, did all of these people think that this would be fine? We had already lost a significant percentage of the world¡¯s population, there wasn¡¯t even a way to know how much. Why did they think they could just avoid leveling up and putting their lives at risk? This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°How could we ask them to get hurt like that?¡± Tali asked meekly, ¡°They aren¡¯t very skilled in combat.¡± ¡°But, if you helped them they wouldn¡¯t get hurt. There are ways you could try to keep them from getting injured¡­¡± Caro protested. ¡°Look, we gave you time, you¡¯ve said your piece. Now I¡¯m telling you we will take what you said in consideration, but you need to leave. You¡¯re welcome to stay in camp, but we were in the middle of a meeting.¡± His tone was polite, but the energy felt hostile. It was a warning. I ignored it. ¡°I understand we¡¯re outsiders, but we would be contributing significantly, so I think you should at least consider our suggestions.¡± I maintained a customer service tone. ¡°Oh yeah, I¡¯m sure the woman who¡¯s leaving would be contributing so much.¡± Rosalia sneered and rolled her eyes. Was she lashing out because she embarrassed herself earlier? ¡°She said ¡®we¡¯. If she hadn¡¯t brought us, we wouldn¡¯t be here, and I¡¯ve already looked around. Y¡¯all need me and my sister more than anything else right now.¡± Reid chimed in. ¡°Sure, I¡¯m sure you have a lot to add to the community, and I¡¯d love to hear your ideas but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s pressing so we can have this conversation later.¡± Damien said dismissively. I wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d just run out of patience or interest, but his attitude shifted. He wasn¡¯t paying attention properly anymore and even his body language was screaming at us to leave. ¡°Yes, they do. And if I don¡¯t feel like they¡¯ll actually be safe here, I¡¯ll be taking them with me despite the dangers that decision poses.¡± I said flatly. I was sure my expression was dark, I was getting tired of this back and forth. ¡°That¡¯s your decision, how we run our camp is our decision.¡± He replied. My last thread of patience snapped, I pulled my dagger from my inventory. Everyone in the tent froze, I dug it directly into my left palm. It cut deep and blood started to gush out onto the floor, I gritted my teeth as I forced my face to remain stoic. Caroline went white. Aside from Rosalynn who just hung her head, the others were shocked and confused. I even got a small expression of horror out of Jeong. ¡°Mia! You!¡± Reid screamed as he pushed past his sister and cradled my injured palm. His warm light enveloped it and washed away my pain. As the pain dissipated I could feel rage pushing its way to me through Aureus¡¯ connection. A light punch hit me in the back of my shoulder from Caro, but I ignored it and looked at Damien and Rosalia triumphantly. ¡°A healer is at least enough of a bargaining chip right?¡± Reid said. I wasn¡¯t ready to join the conversation yet. I wanted to maintain a neutral expression, but cutting my hand like that hurt like a bitch. And maintaining calm when Aureus was drowning me in rage was more difficult than I expected. The room was quiet for a few moments, Tali mumbled something I couldn¡¯t hear. ¡°Yes, that is definitely a game changer. Even then we can¡¯t put those under our protection in danger. It¡¯s also¡­ your actions are a bit disconcerting.¡± Damien finally said. ¡°Seriously?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure what to say, were they this hardheaded? I know I wasn¡¯t being the most polite, but still this is about the lives of their people. My anger was consistently growing, either due to Aureus¡¯ emotions coloring mine or the general annoyance of the situation. Maybe both. ¡°You¡¯re going to neglect those under your care that much? What, you need to be the big strong hero? Is your ego worth more than these people¡¯s lives? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking you to do something that risky, I¡¯m literally asking you to make your people stronger!¡± Damien¡¯s face contorted in anger as he stepped forward and bellowed, ¡°We aren¡¯t neglecting them! We are protecting them!¡± I stood my ground, my heart was hammering out of my chest. Damien wasn¡¯t especially intimidating ¨C well not any more than any other man, but the fact of it was that he was a man and much larger than I was. I couldn¡¯t ignore the natural fear that I¡¯d learned prior to the awakening after all. ¡°You¡¯re making them vulnerable, you aren¡¯t doing them any favors. You¡¯re going to get them killed if you keep trying to protect them like that.¡± I said matter of factly. He scoffed, ¡°You¡¯ve been here for all of ten seconds. You don¡¯t know anything, so don¡¯t come in here and tell us how to run our camp.¡± ¡°Exactly! I¡¯ve been here for ten seconds and I can already tell you¡¯re leading these people to their destruction and parading around as if you¡¯re a hero. So let go of your fucking pride and step up!¡± I took another step towards him as I yelled. The rage in my chest was being amplified by Aureus¡¯ emotions. I struggled to maintain my rationality as his emotions crashed into my mind. ¡°You don¡¯t know anything!¡± He started as he jabbed a finger into my forehead. There was enough force behind it for my head to snap back a little, but not enough to hurt me. Shock overtook me, I didn¡¯t expect to be touched physically, maybe that was naive on my part. Before I could gather myself screams rang out behind me, and I sighed. I already knew what had happened. Aureus must have taken that as an attack on me. Damien stiffened in front of me as the screams resounded, and before even a second could pass Aureus had toppled the tent and barreled into him. He stood on his chest, his frills along his back and head erect in alarm. It wasn¡¯t until that moment that I realized he had been getting much bigger these days. I hadn¡¯t been paying close attention to his size for a while, but he was already about the size of a horse. I knew he evolved based on both Aureus¡¯ and my preferences, but this was faster than I expected. Aureus tensed and opened his mouth. His teeth were inches from Damien¡¯s face. Don¡¯t. His teeth reached forwards just centimeters from his eyebrows and jaw, if he leaned forward just slightly he could snap his jaw shut around Damien¡¯s head. Aureus let out an ear splitting roar. The wind around us swirled and exploded out in all directions. Tents and poles were thrown from the violence and rage of his outburst. I took a deep breath and walked forward. He made sure I wasn¡¯t hit by the wind or debris, a soft shield of wind spun around me. Damien was struggling to pull out a sword, but I stepped on his hand. I couldn¡¯t have him hurting my precious familiar. Even if he was causing so much destruction. That¡¯s enough. Release him. The wind died down, and he closed his mouth, stopping his roar, but he didn¡¯t move. He stood there one paw on Damien¡¯s chest glaring down at him, muzzle to nose. ¡°Aureus. Are you going to pretend you didn¡¯t hear my orders?¡± I asked aloud. Damien¡¯s face scrunched in confusion as he looked between me and Aureus. Finally it seemed he realized what happened, ¡°Seriously, get your summon off of me. Are you trying to start a fight?¡± I rolled my eyes, ¡°He¡¯s not my summon, and no I¡¯m not. You touched me first and got heated first. I was trying to be civil but you kept getting defensive.¡± Master, I think we shouldn¡¯t let him off. Can I have one of his arms? No. Let him go. But! I said no! Aureus whimpered a bit, but he released him. He had gotten so emotional and rebellious lately. Maybe he was going through dragon puberty along with his growth spurt. I glanced around at the destruction we had created and sighed. That was definitely not going to help the tense negotiations. I reached my hand down to help Damien up, he refused it and got up on his own brushing the dust from his leather armor. Yup, definitely not going to help with negotiations. Master, he attacked you! He didn¡¯t, er well¡­ I guess he kind of did in a sense, but not really. He knew it wouldn¡¯t hurt me. That man doesn¡¯t know how strong you are! I tried to come up with another excuse for him, but I couldn¡¯t. ¡°It really is strange to watch.¡± Rosalia mumbled to my left. I glanced from her to Aureus to Damien, ¡°What?¡± ¡°Your conversations. You know you make faces like you¡¯re actually talking right?¡± I flushed, ¡°Is that so? I guess I¡¯ve always been expressive¡­¡± Out of habit I reached up and ruffled Aureus¡¯ frill on his head, it was back to relaxed and soft after the altercation. I always found it strange, it reminded me of fish fins, but it didn¡¯t have the spines. It seemed like he could control it directly, and it wasn¡¯t particularly spiky. ¡°Still. Lynn I don¡¯t li-¡± Damien started, but Rosalynn interrupted him. ¡°Shut it!¡± She glared at Rosalia and Damien before looking at me. I couldn¡¯t help but shy away from her gaze. I had just destroyed a portion of their camp. ¡°I¡¯ve listened to all of you, and I agree with Mia. Safety comes first, right? And the stronger our people are, the safer they¡¯ll be.¡± I sighed in relief, we were finally getting somewhere. Chapter 35: Not Quite Homebound I was relieved, it seemed like at least for now Rosalynn wasn¡¯t going to hold the mess Aureus created against me. At least now I could make this a safer place for them, and I could head back to an objectively better area of the Underhollow. Was that¡­ too selfish? These people needed a comfortable place to settle like that. Kids laughing as they ran over the hills and into the river, what a healing sight that¡¯d be. I pondered on the idea of bringing them back, but how could we get this many people out of the city safely? I forced myself to stop overthinking and asked, ¡°So should we talk about where to go from here? Did y¡¯all want me here for that, or would you prefer to have that conversation without us?¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather us be involved. If that¡¯s fine with y¡¯all.¡± Reid chimed in. ¡°Yup, if I¡¯m going to be making y¡¯alls shit I want a say. Especially since I doubt y¡¯all have much to trade me for it that I can¡¯t get on my own or from our people.¡± Caroline added. ¡°I mean, if you¡¯ve got so many issues with how we¡¯ve been doing it I¡¯d like to go into them. We¡¯d be able to resolve them better.¡± Damien said bitterly with just a dash of sass as he rolled his shoulder. I nudged Reid, who just nudged me back instead of going to help him. I took a deep breath, maybe I should have thought more about what changes to make before barging in here and destroying their command center tent thing. ¡°Well to start with, even if we ignore the levels, there needs to be some physical defenses. A wall, a moat, hell, even just spikes around the perimeter would be better than nothing.¡± I tried not to sound too critical, the energy settled in a strange way after the confrontation moments before and I didn¡¯t want to tip it back towards hostile. ¡°It¡¯s not like we hadn¡¯t considered that before, but it would take us weeks to build a wall. It isn¡¯t exactly something we could erect in just a day¡­¡± Rosalynn said with a frown, her brows pulled together pensively. ¡°I¡¯m sure if you got Caroline¡¯s help and the rest of the camp you could get it figured out. As I mentioned I¡¯m in a bit of a hurry.¡± I argued, they had a few thousand people there at the very least they could set up a rudimentary wall. They¡¯d managed to smooth out the stone beneath us well enough. I did feel a little bad that I¡¯d made such a fuss, just to up and disappear right after. Only a little. I was still annoyed by the whole confrontation. ¡°Maybe, but-¡± Her voice faded into garbled background noise as my mind focused on the window that appeared in front of me. I tried not to show it on my face, I breathed deep and tried to calm my beating heart. [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± has sponsored you.] [¡°Divine Hammer of Blessings¡± has sponsored you.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± has sponsored you.] ~~*~~ Protect the Weak Quest Description: The weak are innocent and lack the ability to protect themselves. You who are strong and aware of the dangers this world possess can protect them or teach them how to protect themselves. Rewards: All tier rewards are cumulative. S: Familiar Subspace A: Additional skill for all current and future familiars B: Dual Daggers of Sorrow C-F: XP based on performance. Time Limit: 7:00:00:00 ~~*~~ A subspace and an additional skill? How good of a job would I need to do in the next week to get both of those? I ran my hands through my hair. I couldn''t view the details, but I knew the rewards had to be excellent. The main problem with that was if the rewards were that good then the challenge must be that much harder. I made a mental note to check the GGC as soon as I had a moment. I looked at the ground, I wanted to scream, to cry, but I couldn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t want them to know I just got a quest, it¡¯d be better for them to assume I was looking at the GGC. I didn¡¯t want to stay here, I wanted to go back home, I had already made that decision¡­ but the rewards were too tempting. I knew deep down that I¡¯d get better results if I stayed here rather than going back. I kept telling myself that I wanted to go back because this area of the Underhollow was too sparse and low level for me, but honestly what I really wanted was to go home again. I just missed home. Even then I couldn¡¯t justify returning. I scratched the underside of Aureus¡¯ jaw as I mulled it over, ¡°Alright, tell you what. I¡¯ve got a stake in this too, plus I messed up this whole area¡­ So I¡¯ll have Aureus start on the walls, that¡¯ll take a good bit off of your plates.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re gonna stay?¡± Caro asked. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll stay. But only for a week.¡± I said as I mentally accepted the quest. Caro tackled me as she squealed, ¡°Yes, I know. Just a week! Calm down!¡± I jokingly got upset as I hugged her back. ¡°That sounds good. Any strings attached to that?¡± Damien asked after Caro released me. ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t think so? I mean other than I¡¯d appreciate it if you welcome Caro and Reid¡­ OH! And Noel too. And just try to consider our point of view a bit more. It¡¯d be nice if we could move on from everything that just happened¡­¡± I laughed awkwardly, but the group nodded slowly. ¡°Sure, sounds good.¡± He agreed, ¡°I still feel like walls are a bit overkill. The rats are pathetically weak and there haven¡¯t been any waves while we¡¯ve been in the Underhollow only when it first opened.¡± ¡°I guess, but I¡¯m pretty sure those kids are weaker. And well, even though it was sort of artificial we dealt with one when we first arrived here.¡± ¡°Really? You saw a wave of those rats?¡± Jeong asked. It was the first time I¡¯d heard his voice. It was smooth and soft and moderately deep, the kind of voice I¡¯d like to fall asleep to. ¡°Yeah, Noel managed to lead hundreds of those little nuisances right to us.¡± Caro muttered with annoyance. I doubted that she¡¯d let go of that anytime soon. ¡°Seriously? How did y¡¯all get out of that?¡± Tali asked wide eyed. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡®The rats were the easy part, all we needed were some walls to keep them from surrounding us on all sides. It was the trip through the city that was the problem.¡± Caroline added, it seemed there was another thing she wouldn¡¯t be forgetting in the near future. ¡°Oh¡­ y¡¯all ran into some hostile people too?¡± Tali¡¯s expression dropped, she must have been remembering something unpleasant. Caro snorted and shot a grumpy glare my way. I rolled my eyes, ¡°What? I made a few mistakes, plus I¡¯m fine. No biggie.¡± She threw her hands up in the air, exasperated. She let out a long breath, but before she could reprimand me her brother took the words from her mouth, ¡°No biggie?! You showed up on my doorstep coughing up blood half dead, just a few mistakes. Oh yeah a few. I think there were three? A huge wound in your chest, internal bleeding, and a collapsed lung. Sure. NO biggie.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget the broken ankle.¡± Caro added. They always resembled each other most when chastising me. ¡°You¡¯re right. Four then.¡± He said as he crossed his arms. The both of them looked like they couldn¡¯t decide between angry and sad. ¡°Jeez, and you¡¯re still planning on leaving?¡± Rosalia asked as she tried to mask her shock. ¡°Yup.¡± I said casually. Tali pulled her hands up towards her collarbones as she picked at the skin on her fingers, she was mumbling to herself again. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to get yourself killed then?¡± Damien asked this time, he seemed genuinely worried. It was an odd change from his sharp exterior he showed just moments before. ¡°Nah, she¡¯ll be fine.¡± Noel chirped. He was sitting in an empty spot a few feet away. Rosalia yelped in surprise and reddened again. Why was she always so surprised about his existence? ¡°Yeah y¡¯all don¡¯t need to worry about Mia.¡± Caroline responded bitterly. Reid echoed their sentiments. Rosalia glanced up at Aureus, ¡°I get that she has a dragon, but shouldn¡¯t you guys be a little worried?¡± ¡°Of course we¡¯re worried! But it isn¡¯t like we can stop her¡­¡± Reid trailed off. ¡°Honestly there¡¯s no way she would have ended up injured if I wasn¡¯t there. We were outnumbered and I hadn¡¯t leveled up at all yet.¡± She looked frustrated with herself. I laughed awkwardly, ¡°You did a great job though, we lived. And learned. And somehow y¡¯all are all still only level ten.¡± I tried to make light of it, the conversation was steering in a direction none of us would like. ¡°Only?¡± Jeong asked. ¡°Yeah? What levels are y¡¯all?¡± I asked, the way he said that made me think they were lower leveled than I expected. ¡°Us? I think Lynn is the highest at thirteen. I¡¯m the lowest leveled at eleven.¡± Rosalia responded. ¡°Really? Well¡­ I mean this area isn¡¯t the best for leveling¡­¡± I mumbled ¡°What level are you then?¡± Damien asked. ¡°Nearly nineteen.¡± I responded casually. He laughed, ¡°No, seriously.¡± I just shrugged. Reid stepped into my gap in conversation and began to brag, ¡°Yeah that isn¡¯t all, we¡¯ve been dragging her down for weeks now. She joined us on the second surface day after the awakening and was already level fifteen. She was only in the Underhollow for a week to get to that level and she was alone!¡± ¡°Are you bragging that y¡¯all delayed my leveling?¡± ¡°I mean kinda? You pulled us along from nothing to level ten even though we were a week or more behind everyone else.¡± ¡°Damn, she really has a death wish¡­¡± Damien muttered. ¡°We all have to put our lives on the line these days.¡± I retorted. I frowned, I didn¡¯t want to keep disagreeing with everything he said, but I wasn¡¯t going to censor myself now. ¡°Alright, well, I¡¯ve said my piece. I think we should start with the walls and try to get people leveling. What else is there for good defense or like emergencies?¡± ¡°Food probably?¡± Rosalia asked. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d been pondering on that issue for a while, but the ground here doesn¡¯t seem suitable for growing things.¡± I replied. ¡°That¡¯s not an issue, I could handle that.¡± Jeong interjected, ¡°I have a plant based class, so I can grow some edible things, but they¡¯re not great honestly.¡± I raised my eyebrows, ¡®edible things¡¯ didn¡¯t sound like typical food, ¡°What kind of things?¡± ¡°Well¡­ bark mostly. My abilities are plant related, but since I haven¡¯t really been able to find any actual plants it defaults to trees. The bark is edible, but pretty awful.¡± His mouth pulled slightly to the left as he stopped talking. Caroline and Reid gave me a look, and I knew immediately what they were telling me. ¡®If you don¡¯t give him a potato and leave us here to eat rats and bark, we will kill you¡¯ was painted so clearly on their faces. So I obliged them. I pulled a quarter of one out of my inventory and tossed it to him. His eyes lit up, he turned it around in his hand as he inspected it, likely looking at something we couldn¡¯t see. A barely visible green light enveloped the spud and roots slowly started taking form and a small smile played on his lips. ¡°Thank you! This helps so much! We really owe you one!¡± He cheered enthusiastically, well relative to his distant neutral baseline he was virtually jumping for joy. ¡°So food, supplies? Weapons? And defensive structures. Am I missing anything?¡± Caroline asked the group. ¡°Oh, yeah, weapons. I can¡¯t believe we left out the most important part.¡± I laughed as I realized the people I¡¯d wanted to level up likely didn¡¯t have any equipment. ¡°Well, we haven¡¯t had anyone who could make items until now.¡± Rosalia stopped abruptly as she glanced towards Damien. She rolled the hem of her shirt between her fingers as she corrected herself. ¡±Or well, we haven¡¯t since a couple days after the awakening.¡± There was a brief silence before Reid piped up, ¡°We should promote the camp on Celes. I know it¡¯s dangerous, but currently you¡¯ve got vastly more to protect than can defend. If those assholes on the surface were planning to come down here and cause problems they would¡¯ve done it already. We need capable fighters.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that too dangerous though?¡± Tali asked quietly. I¡¯d forgotten she was there, both her and Noel had no presence. ¡°No, I was considering this before too.¡± Rosalynn jumped in, ¡°They won¡¯t be able to get here that fast, and we¡¯re beefing up security currently. So if there is ever a good time it¡¯s now.¡± Damien sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, ¡°well, if you¡¯re sure¡­¡± Rosalynn, Caroline, and Reid devolved into a heated debate about Celes and the best way to reach out. Reid was campaigning heavily for creating some sort of religious group around his patron god. Caro mostly didn¡¯t want to participate and was arguing that she didn¡¯t want to have her image shared without permission. Though she did want to post her items. Rosalynn had her hands full trying to field suggestions from the rest of the group. Talking about social media really lifted the energy around us. Satisfied they were busy enough I stepped away to read through the chats that had accumulated after I received my quest. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± crosses their arms and protests that the others aren¡¯t considering the consequences.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± cries and mumbles that she has no choice.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± asks what they mean.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± sighs and tells the group that they offered too good of rewards.] [¡°Divine Hammer of Blessings¡± exclaims that their rewards match the importance and difficulty of the quest.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± argues that wasn¡¯t what they meant.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± urges you to accept the quest.] [¡°Gentle Autumn Breeze¡± thanks you for your gift.] [¡°Unbottled Lightning¡± complains that watching you is boring and curses ¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± for inviting him.] [¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± clicks their tongue and states that ¡°Unbottled Lightning¡± has poor taste.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± makes fun of ¡°Unbottled Lightning¡± for having such a short attention span.] Surprisingly, ¡°Unbottled Lightning¡± completely ignored the Playwright¡¯s provocation. Most gods I¡¯d seen were immature and quick to quibble with each other. Though, he might have left before the Playwright made their comment. I opened my mouth to ask about the rewards when Rosalynn put a hand on my shoulder. ¡°They¡¯re talking to you again right?¡± She asked. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s bad?¡± ¡°Seems like it. The only thing is it sounds like if I stay here I¡¯ll gain something but lose something else? They¡¯re talking about consequences but they¡¯re being vague. It¡¯s hard to tell really. Well actually¡­ now that I¡¯ve said it, they said consequences but it sounded more like consequences for them? Or maybe not? I dunno, the gods are always so confusing.¡± ¡°So, we¡¯ve talked about what we need, but where should we start?¡± Rosalynn asked. It took me a moment to realize she was talking to me. Chapter 36: Fixing up Camp The conversation flowed smoothly after that, we made preparations and plans for what was to come and delegated tasks out. Me and Aureus were going to start with the walls around the camp, after that we were going to erect a large lookout tower in the middle of the camp. Caroline was tasked with creating weapons and armor, Reid volunteered to visit the sick and needy almost immediately. Finally we were trying to decide how we should level up the lower leveled members of the camp when a middle aged man interjected. ¡°I¡¯ll go fight, I know we¡¯ve been relying on y¡¯all for a while, but if something¡¯s coming we need to get stronger.¡± It was the first time I¡¯d realized that we¡¯d drawn a crowd, I supposed that it wouldn¡¯t make sense if we hadn¡¯t with all the mess and noise that Aureus created earlier. ¡°We¡¯re all gonna die!¡± A woman screamed and the crowd erupted into chaos. ¡°You said you¡¯d keep us safe!¡± ¡°What about the kids?!¡± I frowned, I could understand that they were in a rough situation, but it was hard for me to feel bad for them when most of them had only managed to get to level three or four in a few weeks. The time inconsistencies were still confusing me, but I was pretty sure they had enough time to be higher leveled than that. They continued to shout and complain. The noise buzzed in my ear. ¡°How can you expect us to run into battle?¡± ¡°Is it their job to protect y¡¯all?¡± ¡°Why did you come here? We were doing just fine before!¡± ¡°They attacked us with a dragon!¡± ¡°Why are we listening to these strangers?!¡± ¡°Oh, SHUT UP!¡± I screamed. They were quiet for a second, but someone in the back shouted about how they didn¡¯t even know me and the group devolved into yelling again until Aureus roared back at them. I patted him on the shoulder with a smile. The silence that seeped in after made me feel like I was standing on a bed of nails. Children, men, women, the elderly, they all stared up at me. Waiting. I pinched the bridge of my nose, partially because I was irritated, but mostly because I was uncomfortable and subconsciously wanted to hide my face. I took a deep breath. ¡°Y¡¯all are seriously shameless. You have no right to expect these people to help you.¡± I started. ¡°They-¡± ¡°NO! I am not done. Y¡¯all are grown. Fully grown adults acting like children. The world¡¯s gone to shit and y¡¯all thought that by letting them make you a little safe haven you¡¯d be fine? Did you think that would work? Did you think the hell was over? Seriously?¡± I paused. ¡°I¡¯m telling you right now if you don¡¯t suck it up and help out that you and your loved ones are gonna die. These people here won¡¯t.¡± I gestured to Rosalynn and the others, ¡°Well unless they die for y¡¯all and then what?¡± I gave them a moment to consider it. ¡°Next time after that you¡¯ll die because there won¡¯t be anyone else left to save you.¡± ¡°Yeah?... Well¡­ How do you know?¡± The woman who shouted originally asked timidly. I stared at her for a moment while I considered how to explain it, it was just too much work to explain all of it so I just said, ¡°You can consider me a messenger of the gods.¡± A hushed murmur filled the crowd as they discussed what I had just said. I could tell they were still apprehensive about it. They had gotten comfortable and lazy in their new normal down here. It was uncomfortable but it wasn¡¯t all that dangerous, so some random lady coming in and telling them that the apocalypse wasn¡¯t over wasn¡¯t something they wanted to believe. I sighed, ¡°Look, if y¡¯all wanna die be my guest. I¡¯ll be here for the next seven days, in the meantime I¡¯ll be fixing up your camp a bit and helping with training. Reid will be staying here to heal you in the name of his patron god ¡®Golden Light that Shines On All¡¯. Also Caroline will be crafting items to help, but the cost of that is up to her. I understand that the world is changing and that¡¯s scary, but we¡¯re humans. We will adapt. We have to adapt, if not for our own safety for the kids. Plus it isn¡¯t just me who thinks this way, Rosalynn agrees with me. Isn¡¯t that right Rosalynn?¡± I smiled cheekily as I passed it off to her. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s¡­ what? Mia?¡± I heard her ask as I hopped on Aureus¡¯ back for the first time and we took off into the smoggy skies. We flew around for half an hour letting off steam and enjoying ourselves before we started the real work. We flew the circumference of the camp getting a general idea of where and how to build the walls before Aureus returned me to the group again. Then he took off to start work. ¡°Mia! How could you!¡± Rosalynn whined at me, having finally escaped the crowd. I laughed, ¡°You sound just like your sister!¡± She elbowed me in the ribs playfully, but her elbow was sharp enough to bring tears to my eyes. I laughed with her through the pain. ¡°I gave Aureus some instructions on how to start the walls around the perimeter. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on how we should go about the event of a wave. I have a couple ideas, but I wanted to brainstorm.¡± ¡°Oh? Yeah maybe, but we¡¯ve never seen a rat wave like you have.¡± ¡°Hmm, hey Noel?¡± I asked towards nothing in particular, but I felt like he¡¯d be nearby. ¡°Yeah?¡± He responded behind me to my left. Surprisingly I didn¡¯t jump this time, Rosalynn did though. ¡°Jeez! Do you always sneak up on people like that?¡± She asked. ¡°Usually, yeah. Did I scare you?¡± He responded with a huge shit-eating grin. ¡°Nearly outa my skin, yeah.¡± He giggled, ¡°So what¡¯d ya need me for boss?¡± ¡°Boss? No, nevermind. I wanted to know if you can create another rat wave like you did on our first day here?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Yeah probably, should I create it on the north side where Aureus created the wall?¡± ¡°Yeah, but try to make it smaller this time so that the camp won¡¯t get overrun. Now, Rosalynn can you and your group try to convince some of the lower leveled members to come out and level using the wave? We should probably set up a group to protect them while they fight too. Wait, actually would y¡¯all have enough weapons for them yet?¡± ¡°Yeah I¡¯ll ask Trevor, he used to make weapons before awakening so the stuff he¡¯s got isn¡¯t half bad. Not nearly as good as real items though. Damien, can you go gather up some volunteers for this experiment? Jeong, I want you, Rosalia, and Tali to protect them, but let them fight. Just step in if necessary¡­ Aaaand I¡¯ll go and make sure none get through and into the camp.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± I said cheerily. Things seemed to be coming together. The group started to disperse, I stayed for a few minutes to talk to Caroline and Reid. I wanted to talk to Rosalynn and Damien more about the walls and the plans, but after everything that had been happening I wanted to talk to my family first. ¡°That was¡­ more explosive than I¡¯d expected.¡± Caro chuckled. ¡°Yeah, that was definitely more than I expected walking in here.¡± I paused, ¡°I wanted to talk about the walls and plans a bit more, but I thought maybe we should see how things actually go before making any solid plans.¡± ¡°Yeah it¡¯s a pretty different set up than how we fought the wave last time, and we don¡¯t know what kind of monsters will come¡­¡± Reid¡¯s eyes looked somewhere in the distance, no doubt he was remembering that day. The worm and the shapeshifter. ¡°Shit, if those worms show up will there be any point in the walls?¡± Caro asked with a frown. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I¡¯d rather have a wall crumble because of one of those worms than not build them.¡± I replied as I scanned the horizon, there wasn¡¯t much we could do in the way of defensive structures for a creature that tunneled like that. ¡°That¡¯s true, it¡¯s better to do what we can.¡± Reid snapped back into focus, ¡°That¡¯s why I want to spread word on Celes. The more people who can come here and have our help the better.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I dunno, it¡¯d be pretty hard for the nine of us to protect more- No actually it¡¯ll already be hard for the nine of us to protect the ones we already have.¡± I sighed as I went through all the things we needed to get done in such a short time. The thought that something extremely dangerous was coming plagued me. Rewards of the caliber they offered were just too good for this to be an easy endeavor. He shook his head. ¡°No, you¡¯re not thinking about it properly. If more people are able to find their way here there have to be some useful people in their groups or they¡¯d never make it.¡± ¡°He¡¯s got a point, right now we¡¯ve got a lot of really low level people so anyone who can fight would be great.¡± Caro shrugged, ¡°But there¡¯s no telling if it¡¯ll be a net positive or negative. Either way I still think it¡¯s a good risk to take.¡± I sighed, they were right. ¡°Yeah, yeah. I agree, but how are we supposed to tell them where we¡¯re at? It¡¯s not like we can give them an address and there¡¯s virtually no landmarks to be had here.¡± ¡°Then we should just make some.¡± Theo interjected. ¡°Gah!¡± I yelped, ¡°Jesus Theo, how long have you been here?¡± He stared at me with a hurt expression, ¡°The whole time¡­¡± He had led us to the meeting, but things had gotten so chaotic and he hadn¡¯t participated so¡­ I cleared my throat, ¡°So¡­ Uh, making landmarks? With Aureus? He¡¯s got some other things to get done at the moment though.¡± ¡°No, we don¡¯t need him for all of it. Pillar road sign things would be pretty helpful though.¡± He seemed lost in thought for a second, ¡°Anyways, we can just create as many of those path markers in as many directions as we can. We found our way using them, so why not?¡± It was a pretty good idea, all we really needed to do was make a post or two on Celes letting them know to look out for it and create a few more paths. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, do you have someone you could go out with to create them? From what I heard you¡¯re basically the map or scout or whatever.¡± He pushed his thumbs into his pockets as he looked off to his left, into the residential area of the camp, ¡°I¡¯m just using the skills I got¡­ Maybe I can find someone. I¡¯ll ask, I guess¡­¡± He looked uncomfortable, the people at the camp had been ignoring him so it did make sense he didn¡¯t want to ask for any favors. Especially one that didn¡¯t have any obvious benefits. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he just take Noel?¡± Caroline asked. I snapped my fingers, ¡°Yes! Caro, great idea! We can ask him when he gets back.¡± ¡°Does he really need another person to go with?¡± Reid asked with an eye roll. The three of us looked over at him and he shied from our collective gaze, ¡°Well, it¡¯d be safer¡­ Plus I¡¯m not as strong so it¡¯d take a lot longer.¡± ¡°Well Noel is one of the few people who could easily keep up with you, or at least it seemed like it.¡± I replied with a shrug. The conversation naturally ended as we all went our own ways to accomplish our various goals. Reid headed into the camp to seek out patients, Caro went looking for a place to set up shop, and I was headed to Rosalynn. ¡°Hey!¡± I exclaimed as I slapped her on the back, she didn¡¯t budge even an inch. ¡°Mia!¡± She grinned as she returned the gesture. If my arm wasn¡¯t around her, I wouldn¡¯t have maintained my balance. I took a faltering step forward and tried not to wince. ¡°So, how¡¯s it going over here?¡± I asked as I looked up at the crude wall Aureus had created. I¡¯d have to ask Caro to work with him after the bones were made, we¡¯d need doors and maybe towers? I wasn¡¯t sure how to go about it, but I figured Caroline would figure it out once she started. ¡°Eh, the turnout was a little smaller than we¡¯d wanted and the wave is sort of spreading around them instead of directly towards them in front of the wall.¡± She replied casually. There were a couple rats lying dead on the open side of the wall, at least they weren¡¯t overrunning the camp. ¡°Wait, small turnout as in rats or people?¡± I asked. ¡°Rats. Don¡¯t get me wrong there were a lot, but to call it a wave? Though, it was a good thing since they¡¯re still not very good at fighting. From what Rosalia told me, for every 5 rats Jeong, Damien, and Tali were killing three while they were getting the last two.¡± She frowned. ¡°Well, they might have a lot to work on, but they¡¯re starting. That¡¯s better than nothing.¡± I tried to cheer her up. ¡°Also I was thinking, maybe we can have people who have long distance based abilities up on top of the walls? Or if there aren¡¯t enough people who can be on the front lines we could have some up there too to push rocks off onto the horde?¡± I asked, I wasn¡¯t sure how people fought with forts usually. If you could call our crude camp and walls a fort. The only thing I knew of that sort of combat was that sometimes lords would pour boiling oil over the walls onto their enemies. I shivered at the thought of it. She considered my suggestions for a moment, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s probably a good idea, but what about the people on the ground? They might catch some strays that way.¡± ¡°Oh yeah¡­ Well, maybe we could have the people on the front lines come back in after they¡¯re spent? I dunno, I¡¯m just trying to get a general idea.¡± I tugged at my hair, walls were my idea, but I wasn¡¯t sure how to move forward with it. ¡°You make it sound like we¡¯re going to war.¡± Damien chuckled as he approached us, ¡°Well I guess a wave is a possibility, so it wouldn¡¯t hurt to prepare for it, but we should consider others as well. Like new monsters or flying bats appearing like in that labyrinth y¡¯all were in.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± Rosalynn trailed off as she bit at her lip lost in thought. ¡°Well I guess we should also consider whether or not it will be monsters at all. I mean the gods wanted me to stay, but they also can watch other humans so it is possible they¡¯re starting something.¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Yeah Tali is really concerned about that possibility. She¡¯s really been trying to get me to change my mind about trying to gather other groups.¡± Rosalynn said with a sigh. She had a lot on her plate. ¡°I understand her perspective, but it¡¯s something we have to try. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll come around.¡± I patted her on the shoulder. ¡°I doubt that.¡± Damien muttered, he had been a pretty expressive person, but the look of sadness he wore now was one I was all too familiar with. ¡°Oh¡­ Uh¡­ I¡¯m sorry to hear that.¡± Was all I could get out, I¡¯d heard plenty of condolences, but none of them ever helped. Eventually they were annoying and infuriating more than anything, they reminded me of my helplessness before death. Rosalynn and Damien shared a look for a few seconds, then he looked towards me. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. He closed it again, looking for the words, I waited until he found them. ¡°My dad, he uh¡­ he wasn¡¯t a combat related class. He was a blacksmith. We had just met Rosalynn and Rosalia, the four of us suffered some pretty heavy injuries against some of that gang.¡± He stopped to gather himself, his expression of pure fury smoothed out, ¡°We got away, but while we were trying to recover, Tali ran into us bloody and beaten with that gang right on her heels. The five of us spent hours playing cat and mouse with them, trying to get away somewhere. Fighting monsters the whole while.¡± ¡°It was so frustrating. Everytime we got away, everytime we thought we were in the clear, they would pop back up. We couldn¡¯t get any rest. At some point Tali lagged behind. She ended up tripping, and he ran back to help her.¡± His eyes began to well up, and he swallowed hard. ¡°And they- They shot him. He was hit in the gut. I just¡­ I saw red, by the time I¡¯d come to my senses I¡¯d killed a couple of them. I¡¯d probably have died if I hadn¡¯t leveled up¡­¡± He cleared his throat, ¡°She blames herself for that, so, ahem, I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be up for the idea.¡± We all sat in a dense silence after he finished talking. If it was a gut shot, was he at least able to sit with his dad as he passed? Did they get to share his last words? How did Tali get away from them on her own? Did Rosalynn and Rosalia meet them by chance or was one group helping the other? Did they meet Jeong after that? Did any of them know each other before the awakening? They were questions I could never ask. No one said anything after that. Chapter 37: Patch Notes The next four days went by peacefully. Rosalynn and Reid were running a very successful advertising campaign for the camp. Painting it as a safe place on Celes. The small camp of a few thousand grew rather quickly into a couple larger camps of several tens of thousands in a few days. Aureus and Caroline started collaborating on building up the camp, and it was starting to look like a proper place to stay. We took to creating multiple walls as the camp expanded. There was the innermost camp with the thickest walls and two walls in concentric rings after that. Several smaller camps created similar patterns with two walls as they were built around the edge of the center camp. The aerial view looked similar to a flower with 6 round petals. I made it known that I was worried about the dangers that a growing population could bring. It was a double edged sword, there were many more capable party members now, but there were also many more to protect that we didn¡¯t even know if we could trust. Despite my worries, everyone settled in their own areas comfortably. Reid had already amassed a cult following within the camp¡­ literally. His patron god was extremely pleased and sponsored Reid with another cosmetic change, his hair was now nearly white. The rest of the party also received a small sponsorship of a jar of strawberry candies that I was very thankful for. A few factions naturally started forming, a loyalist faction behind Rosalynn, and then the pro-Mia faction and anti-Mia faction and the religious factions. The faction that disliked me did so mostly due to the fact that I was over-leveled. Especially since I was just refusing to self-sacrifice for their comfortability and planning to leave soon. They couldn¡¯t trust me, and I didn¡¯t blame them but I couldn¡¯t trust them either. I never could get behind the ¡°with great power¡± mentality, not completely. Some of them were part of the loyalist faction while others were just bitter outsiders. One group that aligned themselves with me did so almost immediately after they arrived. I ran into their leader Mateo as I was out helping some of the lower leveled members. He was a huge beast of a man with an equally huge shield. They were a little under 200 people, but after they arrived his group ¨C or my faction ¨C grew to about half of the total population. They were a jovial bunch and we got along pretty quickly, I was thankful for that. It would have been very uncomfortable if I didn¡¯t get along with my¡­ Well, followers? Mateo drug me into the makeshift tavern they¡¯d created the afternoon of the fourth day, ¡°Mia, you¡¯ve got to relax for a bit. Take a load off. You¡¯ve done everything that you can today, let¡¯s have a drink!¡± He clapped a huge palm onto my shoulder and I sunk into the stool with a thud. ¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯ll take a break with y¡¯all today, but only cause I¡¯ll be leaving soon.¡± I rolled my eyes as he handed me a bottle of whiskey. Mateo and his group came from a local military base and had apparently raided every single alcohol store on the way here. ¡°Cheers! To the boss!¡± ¡°To the boss!¡± The tavern resounded back to him. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why y¡¯all call me the boss.¡± I said after a swig of the whiskey. I cleared my throat, I¡¯d never been one for whiskey. I preferred a screwdriver or a margarita, or just straight vodka with a chaser if it came down to it. ¡°Because you¡¯re the boss¡­ duh.¡± Ethan slurred out, he was a tall and slim man. He got along with nearly everyone much like Mateo, but they had different energies about them. He felt more like everyone¡¯s little brother while Mateo was a reliable leader. ¡°Yes, that definitely explains it.¡± I rolled my eyes at him. ¡°Y¡¯all must be getting influenced by Noel,¡± I muttered under my breath. ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re here despite it not being good for you.¡± Heath muttered. Heath was a smaller man in his forties, he was quiet but comfortable to be around. A man that had a homey feel to him. ¡°That¡¯s not really true though¡­¡± I mumbled glancing over at my timer on the quest I had. [ Time Limit: 3:01:19:22 ] ¡°Of course it is. You shouldn¡¯t sell yourself short, we heard both sides when we came here. You had a huge fight with the existing leaders when you arrived because you were worried about the lives of the people here. And despite that you stayed to try and help all of them even though they were rude to you.¡± Mateo elbowed me with a huge grin. He was technically right, but I didn¡¯t stay with such pure intentions. Before I could argue that I was also selfish, and only confronted Rosalynn¡¯s group because I wanted my party to be safe ¨C the group around us cheered in agreement and we got pulled into various drinking games. I tried to let myself get swept away with the atmosphere. The looming anxiety of the timer and what was coming coursed through me. The lower the number got the more it felt like I was sinking underwater, the weight of the ocean sat on my shoulders and made it hard to breathe. Being with Mateo¡¯s group helped at least a little to take my mind off of it, and the whiskey was taking the edge off. I wondered if it was so obvious to him that I was worried, if I was so easy to read, and what I was going to do if I lost people again. Despite myself I had gotten invested, I wanted to keep everyone safe, but I wasn¡¯t going to sacrifice myself or my family for them. What if they died too? I never was good at building up walls, that¡¯s why I always tried to isolate myself, I wouldn¡¯t need to build walls if there was no one around to smash them. ¡°-that¡¯s when I punched that bastard in the face, you should have seen the look on his face! He was-¡± I was laughing along to Mateo¡¯s stories again when I felt it. Something familiar, a familiar energy was starting to fill our surroundings. Something was about to happen. I could feel it. I glanced over at the GGC. [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± whines that she should have snatched up Mateo as a contractor first.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± shakes their head and says that she just enjoys his storytelling abilities.] [¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± laughs at ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± and says that Mateo¡¯s skills and personality don¡¯t suit her.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± shakes their head and states that they want it known for the record that they suggested you go home.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± lowers her head and says that you made the right choice.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± frowns, saying that he doesn¡¯t understand why humans drink such mind numbing liquids.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± sponsors you.] A light and clean feeling washed over me, I jumped up from my seat. I was sober. My head snapped quickly to my quest window in a panic. [ Time Limit: 3:00:00:24 ] My eyes widened. Of course. What was I even thinking? The quest was to protect the weak and teach them how to protect themselves. Why did I think something big would happen at the end of the timer? Of course the thing I needed to protect them from would happen sooner than that. Stupid. Gods, how was I so stupid? Mateo¡¯s hand lightly grabbed mine, the whole tavern had gone silent. They were all staring at me, that look of expectation and dread. What was I supposed to say? I didn¡¯t even know what was going to happen. Aureus where are you? I¡¯m on my way Master. Do you see anything? No, not yet. I equipped my staff and dagger, and looked over at Mateo who at this point was also standing and preparing himself. The silence in the room was heavy, it made the seconds ticking away on my timer feel even longer. When the timer hit 5 seconds that familiar heavy presence pressed down on us, for five long seconds we gritted our teeth and forced ourselves to maintain consciousness. ~~*~~ System Update V 1.0 Additional Features: Guild Functionality (basic) This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Events Tab Creation Shop Tab Creation Forum App Creation Note: Patch notes will be available after the update is completed. ~~*~~ [ Congratulations, you¡¯ve survived the open beta! ] [ System Update to V 1.0 in progress ¡­ ] [ System Update Wave beginning momentarily ¡­ ] [ Monster repopulation calibrating ¡­ ] [ Map expansion calibrating ¡­ ] I felt numb, I wasn¡¯t sure whether to rejoice for the new features or despair because a wave was coming. What did the repopulation notification mean? I stared dumbly at the prompt for a few seconds before Noel pulled me out of it. ¡°Mia, what¡¯s our plan? This was unexpected. Should we follow the outline?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Uh¡­ Okay, so first things first get everyone who is outside of the walls inside again and all of the non-combatives and kids into the center of the encampment. We need as many walls and defenses between them and the monsters as possible. After that we need all able bodies on the walls or in front of them, if it¡¯s going to be a rat wave then we will need to thin the numbers quickly or we will be overrun.¡± ¡°Okay got it.¡± Noel gave a quick nod and disappeared. I turned to Mateo and his group, they were all still pretty drunk, ¡°I just want y¡¯all to sober up. And quickly. Go see if Reid can help with that. If you¡¯re certain about your safety, split up and go to the outer walls, really only the lower level combatants should stay in the inner walls. The goal is to reduce the numbers as much as possible as they get closer to the center of camp, the lower level combatants should be able to pick off the stragglers if we do it right. We should assume some of them will get through the walls. I¡¯m going to survey things on Aureus and meet up with Rosalynn¡¯s party.¡± I didn¡¯t wait for a response and walked right out into the large clearing in the center of most outer camps. Aureus was already there, his face serious but also excited for the carnage to come. I was pretty satisfied that he¡¯d already managed to grow to such a huge size, he was nearly as big as a Clydesdale and I struggled to pull myself up on his back without his help. As he grew his face became more mature looking and his pudgy limbs became more toned. He now had two horns, and his coloring had started to shift. To my surprise his main coloration became more rose gold and the darker bronze lines in his back mellowed out into a lighter more golden color. I patted the side of his neck with a smile. Let¡¯s go to Rosalynn, quickly. We took off, and I held on for dear life even though I knew he¡¯d never let me fall. Damn, I really shouldn¡¯t have put it off when Caro suggested she should create a saddle for me. If I¡¯d known this would happen so soon I would have asked her to work on it sooner. ¡°Mia! What¡¯re your people doing?¡± Rosalynn asked as we landed in the center. ¡°I sent Noel to retrieve anyone outside of camp and instructed that all non-combatives and kids should be brought to the center. Also I sent Mateo and his group to Reid to sober up before heading to the front lines.¡± ¡°Those drunkards.¡± Rosalia muttered, but I could tell she was anxious. ¡°I thought you liked Mateo and Ethan, I guess I should let them know you won¡¯t be joining them for cards later.¡± I joked, she just rolled her eyes in response. ¡°Either way I think we should go with the original plan. Any able bodied person should be up and prepared to fight, the higher leveled people need to be the closest to the brunt of it and the lower leveled ones should be closer to the center. But I do think we should station a team of higher leveled people here too for any contingency. I didn¡¯t expect this so we should be ready for any variables.¡± Pride swelled in my chest, I had been preparing for this for days and talking with Mateo and the other military guys had really helped. Especially Heath, he was quiet but seriously skilled at strategy. I just wished he''d contribute more actively. ¡°Okay, then what¡¯ll you be doing?¡± Damien asked. ¡°I¡¯m planning to survey everything aerially and help out where I am needed. Keeping an eye on everything is important especially since just one sector falling could lead to disaster for the vulnerable people in the center.¡± I paused for a moment, ¡°Also we don¡¯t know how long this will last so we should have people resting in shifts just in case this lasts for hours or days.¡± ¡°Reid set up a field hospital in the center right?¡± Jeong asked. ¡°I think so, I was going to visit him and try to figure out a way to keep the people on the front lines from getting overly fatigued or injured.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a little worried, we don¡¯t have that many high leveled people compared to how much we have to protect¡­¡± Rosalynn sighed, I understood her plight. People relied on her and Damien just as much as they relied on me. It was exhausting, I didn¡¯t understand how they had done it for as long as they had. ¡°I know what you mean. I¡¯ll try to buy us some time to get prepared. I¡¯m more worried about any variables that the update may bring. I doubt they told us everything that was going to change.¡± She nodded, but didn¡¯t say anything in response. A nagging feeling that something was missing lingered in my mind as I took my leave and headed to the religious sector of the center. We landed next to a large statue of a god. I assumed it had to be Reid¡¯s patron god. It had long hair and large pointed ears that went directly up, he had robes on and no shoes. Surprisingly enough he also had six fingers and toes. He stood tall in a praying position with a weightless appearance, his hair and robes floated about him. Was that accurate or just a random depiction? ¡°Reid?¡± I called out as the dust settled. Several people in robes came out to meet me and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. It was really impressive how quickly he had established this church. ¡°Mia! I¡¯m so glad you visited! Caroline''s inside as well.¡± Reid ran out to meet me and helped me down from Aureus. His hair was noticeably longer than it had been the last I¡¯d seen him. It was lightly brushing his shoulders as he looked down at me with brightly glowing golden eyes. His robes were a gift from his patron along with an ever-glowing lantern he often wore around his waist. He was looking more and more ornate with every passing day. ¡°You know I didn¡¯t come for a chat, I need to discuss the battle preparations with you. I can¡¯t go in, I have to go quickly after this.¡± Some of his followers were busy brushing dust off of his robes and my clothes as well. I had given up on trying to stop them from attending to me since the last time I¡¯d visited; they saw our party as holy figures for some reason and there was no arguing with them. I decided I needed to ask Reid some time about what drugs he gave them. ¡°We have time! I¡¯ve barely seen you recently, come on!¡± He pulled on my arm childishly, but I didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Reid, people could die.¡± I said bluntly. His playful demeanor disappeared, ¡°I know, but the wave hasn¡¯t started yet. Noel already stopped by to let me know that the preparations are finished. We¡¯re ready and you can¡¯t do everything on your own. Just come in and talk to me about the plans.¡± I sighed, my anxiety was electrifying my muscles. I wanted to go fight this instant, but relented and followed him inside anyway. Caroline was pacing in Reid¡¯s private prayer room but perked up when we walked in. ¡°Mia! It took you forever to get here! Did you talk to everyone else first? I¡¯m last on the list?!¡± She joked, but I could tell she was hurt. ¡°Well, you¡¯re always running around everywhere. I didn''t know where you¡¯d be. I would¡¯ve gone to your workshop, but you¡¯re never there. Really I don¡¯t understand how you get any work done.¡± I replied with a shrug. ¡°Anyways¡­ So what''s the plan? What do you think we should do?¡± Reid asked. ¡°Okay, well as we talked about before, I want the highest level people to be at the forefront killing as many as possible. As the wave gets closer to the center the lower level our people should be. The idea is that they should be able to mop up the stragglers that somehow make it past the elites before them. But the thing I¡¯m worried about now is, we don¡¯t know how long this is going to take. I don¡¯t think we have enough people to trade off either. So I wanted to know what your church could provide.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you have a team of elites in the center too? Just in case?¡± Caroline asked. ¡°Yeah I already mentioned that to Rosalynn. It¡¯ll be fine. Actually, you should join them, it¡¯d be nice to have you there to help out if needed and repair equipment in a safe place as well.¡± ¡°We can send out groups of priests and believers in shifts to the front lines, and I was planning to go myself as well. I was going to travel to areas that were struggling based on Noel''s reports.¡± ¡°Are you sure? That sounds dangerous, shouldn''t you just stay here and heal those who return?¡± I asked. ¡°No, I can just have Noel help when needed and my higher level followers will be around too, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got him covered. It¡¯ll be fine, we can just change the plan if things start to get tough.¡± Noel chirped as he draped an arm awkwardly on Reid¡¯s shoulders. Reid was always taller than Noel, but it felt like his god was making him even taller these days. I groaned, they were going to be the death of me. Why were they so unbothered? Had I pampered them too much? Was I being overly dramatic? It couldn¡¯t just be so easy if the rewards were so good, or were they that good because the gods were desperately trying to keep me here instead? That god ¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± seemed to think the rewards I had gotten were too good. ¡°Fine. I trust you. Let¡¯s all stay safe.¡± I pulled them into a hug. I fought the urge to cry, we were going to be fine. ¡°Oh yeah before you leave, let me give you a blessing.¡± Reid said as we pulled away from the hug. ¡°A blessing? What?¡± ¡°My class was adjusted when the update was released, I was changed from an adventurer to a Candidate and my class evolved from Priest to Saint. I¡¯ve got a more diverse skill set now!¡± He puffed his chest proudly as he explained. He led me to a bench and placed his hand above my head, the light in his eyes brightened as he started a prayer, ¡°Oh Golden Light that Shines On All, bless this mortal with your divinity!¡± A bright light filled the room as he spoke and grew brighter until he finished the short prayer. [ You have received the Golden Light Buff. ] [ Regeneration of all stats increased by ten percent. ] [ Damage taken decreased by ten percent. ] [ Light damage added to all attacks. ] [ Buff expires in six hours. ] My tension melted away and a warm energy pulsed in my chest, I felt amazing. ¡°Dang, I wish I had you put this spell in the slots on my staff instead of just the healing one!¡± He laughed, ¡°No, that wouldn¡¯t have worked. I didn''t have that ability until I became a saint.¡± I pulled Caro into a hug again, ¡°Stay safe.¡± she whispered in my ear. ¡°I-¡± A loud explosion shook the ground before I could respond. Without thinking I was taking off, leaving the building and running towards Aureus, leaving my party complaining behind me. Once we were in the air I saw that one of the six petals of our defense was completely destroyed. Chapter 38: Stupid Humans (Aureus’ POV Interlude) I spent hours creating a wall around the camp as instructed, but when Karo arrived she didn¡¯t seem impressed with my creations, ¡°Aureus, why did you just make bare walls? We¡¯re going to need doors, or gates and ways for people to get on top of them and railings so they don¡¯t accidentally fall over.¡± I had landed to take a break and here she was complaining about what I¡¯d created. Annoyed, I smacked a hole into the wall with a dignified sniff. There, now the humans could leave if they wanted. Karo continued to complain about my construction, I didn¡¯t care to listen to any more of her whining so I left to continue the task given to me by Master. A few minutes later Master called out to me, Aureus. I¡¯m coming! I was elated, making walls was so boring, I was excited to have something else to do. When I landed Master was staring off towards her system, it seemed like she was discussing something with the gods or maybe another human. She seemed¡­ tired. I felt guilty, she had been working so hard since I was born. We struggled together. She almost died multiple times and I still couldn¡¯t help her feel comfortable. I should be the one fighting and keeping her safe, but I failed to do so. Briefly when Reed and Karo and the shadowy idiot joined us she felt relaxed and content, but it quickly turned to anxiety. Especially after the stupid shadow one brought too many rats to us. It seemed like Master liked him more now but I still thought that he was incapable. Master doesn''t need any of these humans. I agreed with her deepest wants, we needed to leave. To level up as much as we could, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to leave those humans alone. She worried that they might die, which wasn¡¯t wrong. Humans we met were usually weak, they needed big camps and structures to make up for their frail and useless bodies. Not master though, despite her weakness she charged in, she conquered. We laid claim to the slimes'' land, and yet we had to abandon her territory to come help them. Aureus? Hey? ¡°Aureus!¡± Master shouted, she pulled me from my thoughts. Sorry, what did you need from me Master? ¡°I need you to cooperate with Caroline more, okay? I know you¡¯re not familiar with building, but she¡¯ll let you know what to change and how to do it. Just follow along with her instructions.¡± She pleaded. I groaned, why should I put in so much effort? The humans knew how to build these walls already. I could provide the wall and they could add the fancy things they thought were necessary. You said I should build a wall, that¡¯s what I did? How is a wall wrong? If you put holes in it the monsters would get in. I understand, but just listen to her please? She knows what she¡¯s doing and it won¡¯t be too hard. C¡¯mon? I focused on looking at the floor, disrespecting Master while she was putting in so much work on this wasn¡¯t something I wanted to do. I didn¡¯t respond and just flew back to where Karo was. She was beaming, why was this human so happy? I rolled my eyes in an attempt to push down the warmness in my chest. ¡°Now, can you help me with this?¡± She asked excitedly. I snorted and stared at her, what did she want me to do? What was she waiting for? I hadn¡¯t learned to talk yet. How did she want me to respond? Impatient to hear her response I gave her a small low grunt, maybe that would satisfy her. ¡°Great, now you did a great job with setting up the walls, but we need some ladders around and railings around the top. Also I guess maybe we can do some doors or rather gates on four sides of the walls.¡± Railings and ladders¡­ I looked up at the wall next to us, it was majestically tall of course, no one could expect any less from yours truly. Now to make it more appropriate for the humans I focused. My right paw was pressed to the cold surface of the rock as I willed my mana to reconstruct its surface. After a few seconds I opened my eyes, a section of my wall had changed. A railing added, and a fabulous ladder was carved int- ¡°No, you can¡¯t make it that way!¡± Karo exclaimed. It seemed she was unhappy with my efforts. Ungrateful humans. I swished my tail in irritation, I added the changes that she requested. The top of the wall now had thin walls for railings and the side had a carved ladder into it. She was just being nitpicky at that point. ¡°Aureus, the railings are much too tall for us to use. How are we supposed to attack the coming enemies over these if we can¡¯t see over them?¡± She asked as she hopped down from the ladder and onto the wall between the railings. My head cocked to the side as her eyes popped up over the side rhythmically. She was jumping up to see me over the side of the railings. I let out a throaty laugh, how cute. Cute? I frowned, was I starting to see Karo as Master had been seeing me? I shook my head and placed my paw on the wall once again, reforming the rails to be easier for her short limbs to reach. ¡°No, stop. No Aureus this isn¡¯t going to work either, you¡¯ve made them too small now.¡± I groaned loudly and plopped down in defiance. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. She must have noticed my annoyance because she began to demonstrate her opinion, ¡°See look,¡± she said as she gestured to the amount of her body that was visible. I didn¡¯t see the issue, she wanted it to be shorter. I made it shorter. Humans were too much work. She sighed, ¡°If it¡¯s this short, then if the monsters can attack from down there with projectiles we¡¯ll get hit, you know?¡± I was confused, looking from her to the other humans, they weren¡¯t all the same size. Wouldn¡¯t making it tall protect all of them? But she didn¡¯t like that so I made it short, but she said it didn¡¯t protect well. She made no sense. She looked at me for a few seconds, her eyes flicking between me and the various humans wandering the area. Finally it looked like she¡¯d figured out my thoughts, at least she was smart. Her nose scrunched in thought, ¡°Then¡­ Try to make it like this, tall and then short and then tall again?¡± A vague image of a memory seeped through my connection with Master. A large stone building, not similar to others I¡¯d seen in my lifetime, it was large and looked annoying to build. It also had those staggering stepping walls. There weren¡¯t any of these defensive walls on the surface world, maybe they weren¡¯t effective against other humans I pondered. But then why were they created originally? For monsters with projectiles? I once again put my paw to the surface of the wall, the rock bending to my mighty will and arranging itself in a way that resembled the memory I¡¯d pulled from Master. As my focus waned I heard her clap once, ¡°Yes! Perfect! Now if you could just follow along the rest of the wall you¡¯ve already made and add this design to it that would be great.¡± A small growl escaped. Taking orders from anyone but Master was demeaning. These humans should normally be groveling at my feet, but because Master wouldn¡¯t approve I gave them mercy. I snapped my head away from her in defiance. Just building what she requested was already taxing, especially since I¡¯d already almost finished a full outer wall around their abysmal camp. ¡°Oh, come on, Aureus. While you¡¯re working on that I¡¯m going to follow along the wall and carve the shape of gates and where to put them. And once you¡¯re able you can just follow the template I¡¯ve set up. Easy right? Or is that too much for one day?¡± She asked as she gently tapped my shoulder. What a bold human! She was blatantly questioning my ability. Foolish. With a snort I took off, I soared high in the sky, circling overhead and assured Master¡¯s domain was safe before landing at the start of my wall. For the next few hours I duplicated the work that she¡¯d given me, lower wall railing and then higher wall railing. Ladders every so often to give more access. The days passed quickly as I worked with that cheeky human; we created magnificent walls and elegant housing for the humans. A few of the lessers that followed the healer requested a large stone, it was quite enjoyable to watch them flail about as they tried to bring it back to their master. Feeble creatures. They came running like ants as soon as Master graced them with her presence. Thousands more pouring in and giving me even more work to do. Despicable. I had to make entirely too many structures because they were popping out of the rocks some how. Really there were too many humans in the world. Despite that Master praised me for my hard work, ¡°Aureus, you¡¯ve gotten much better at controlling earth in a delicate way! Look how intricate your buildings are becoming! You¡¯re doing such a good job!¡± She scratched at a spot under my chin, my pride was overflowing. Not that it lasted long, soon she was pulled away by that huge oaf that had arrived with all of the ¡°drunkards¡± as Rozalin called them. From my understanding that meant they fell asleep in weird places and were violent and stinky. Probably¡­ Learning things from Master¡¯s memories often had strange gaps, when I listened to the humans talk it always felt like I was missing something. Like there was some sort of understanding about things I wasn¡¯t quite grasping. Though the silliness of humans was of no interest to me, as long as Master and I understood each other, that was enough. I was much too noble to care about the complicated language and culture of humans. ¡°Aureus? Where are you?¡± Karo¡¯s voice carried from below me. I had been resting on the top of an unfinished tower that Rozalin¡¯s henchman requested. A small prick of joy blossomed in my chest. I was beginning to understand why Master chose this human. Lifting my head and scanning the ground below the tower I found her, she was looking across the horizon in the square beneath me. I shifted my weight as I prepared to fly to her, but the tower began to creak. I could feel the rocks complaining as they split. My mana gathered in it, an attempt to strengthen it and hold it together, but the rocks were already disconnected in places. My mana couldn¡¯t travel to them through the air that way, or at least I¡¯d never tried that before. I roared at her, hoping she would understand the situation and help. The loss of that tower in particular didn''t concern me, but all of our work on the surrounding buildings would also be damaged if it fell apart. ¡°What on earth are you doing?!¡± She yelled as she ran towards the tower, that dark emptiness of hers in hand. I was trying to rebuild as much of the tower as I could, but I could only build onto portions that connected and starting at the base was easier than trying to contain it from the top where I was. She darted around the tower absorbing the debris that fell, thankfully much of it was small. Of course as a mighty dragon I¡¯d be able to keep hold of most of the tower! ¡­Or so I thought. A huge chunk beneath me cracked and slipped away, and Karo disappeared beneath it. No! I shouted. I willed my mana to catch it instinctually, and¡­ it worked. For the first time I managed to manipulate two elements at once. Wind swirled around the falling piece of the tower. I held my breath as I stabilized myself and the tower beneath me. The large debris that I¡¯d caught was lifted up to the tower and molded back into place. Karo looked up at me, I sighed in relief. She wasn¡¯t hurt. Proudly I flew down to her in the square after I knit the tower back together. Fatigue and loss of mana was fogging up my mind, but I wanted to hear the inevitable praise I knew I deserved. ¡°What in the hell were you doing? You destroyed the tower and almost got people hurt! Why were you lazing off up there? We have so much work to do and you¡¯re breaking things? Plus you almost damaged things we already finished!¡± Karo slapped at my shoulder, it barely stung, but it was extremely shocking. I¡¯d never been struck by a human before. She looked distressed, something heavy and sad started filling my chest. Dejected, Master¡¯s mind echoed. Yes, I felt dejected. I lowered my head, it wasn¡¯t as though I meant to destroy the tower. I was just tired and wanted to take a break, and there wasn¡¯t anywhere else in this growing camp that was comfortable. There were too many humans about who disturbed me. And if I left camp I wouldn¡¯t be close if Master needed me. A warmth embraced me, Karo was hugging me as she said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that scared me. I was worried, please be careful.¡± The heaviness in my chest lifted. Yes, this human. I like this one too. Chapter 39: Baby’s First F-Bomb We were shocked beyond belief as we hung in the air, the destroyed portion of wall before us, Damn, what happened? I wondered. My fucking wall! I froze. Aureus just cussed¡­ I forced myself to take a deep breath, Aureus had never cussed before. He sounded like a preteen, not that he used it in a weird way, but more that he said it awkwardly since he¡¯d never used it before. It would have been cute if he wasn¡¯t so angry. Aureus, that isn¡¯t a nice word. I wasn¡¯t sure if I should chastise him for it or not. Yeah, so? My wall is broken, that isn¡¯t nice! We worked hard on that! I shrugged to myself, there wasn¡¯t much point in policing his language when he learned it from me. Really, there wasn¡¯t much point in telling kids not to cuss other than that other people didn¡¯t like it. Plus he wasn¡¯t wrong, he¡¯d been working hard to build the walls and it was shitty that it was broken right when we needed it to work. Should I¡­ fix it? He asked, defeat oozed from him, painting his every action. His head low and tone exasperated. I could feel it vividly as it seeped into the back of my brain. I wondered if I was feeling more sensitive to his emotions and reactions since our emotions were heightened No, we can¡¯t waste mana on that when monsters could be pouring in at any moment. I paused, squinting my eyes in a failed attempt to see through the rubble, debris and dust in the area. There wasn¡¯t any visible movement in the area, no monsters yet I guessed. Probably¡­ actually wait. There should be people here¡­ are there any people around? Do you know? Uhhhh ¡°Hello? Is there anyone here?!¡± I hollered, I didn¡¯t expect a response and I didn¡¯t get one. ¡°Noel?¡± ¡°Yes, Boss?¡± He said chipperly before he gasped asking, ¡°Oh wow, what happened here?¡± ¡°Not sure, did all the civvies from this area get evacuated or should we be looking for injured? Do you know who would have been stationed here?¡± ¡°Uhh, yeah all the noncombatants and kids have been moved to the center. Honestly it was easy work since they were scrambling over themselves trying to get into the center after the upgrade announcement.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll message Rosalynn and see who was in charge of this area.¡± I said numbly as I pulled up my messaging window. [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Something happened in the area to the- I paused, which one was this? ¡°Noel, which camp is this? Or like area?¡± ¡°This one is the north east camp.¡± ¡°Cool, cool.¡± [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Something happened in the area to the north east, there¡¯s a lot of damage. Who was supposed to be in this area? ] Almost immediately I got a response. [ ¡°Dauntless Hammer¡±: That''s Tali¡¯s area. Is she doing okay? Have you not seen her team? ] ¡°Noel, Aureus, can you two look around this area for Tali and her group?¡± Aureus settled lower to the ground so I could hop off and the two disappeared into the smog and dust immediately. I was subtly impressed that Aureus had mimicked Noel¡¯s skill in hiding or at least he disappeared pretty silently. ¡°Noel?¡± I called quietly. ¡°Yes Boss?¡± He replied in kind, a sly smile on his face. ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to look?¡± ¡°I am looking.¡± I couldn¡¯t push down my curiosity anymore so I asked. ¡°Okay, I haven¡¯t asked before now because you hadn¡¯t told us, but now I need to know. How does this work? Why are you always here? Like it doesn¡¯t make any sense for you to be everywhere at once.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not everywhere at once. To sum it up, I have a few shadow clones I can get to do tasks for me like surveying the area, and I can also switch places with them when I need to. We have a sort of weak connection and I can kinda hear or feel what¡¯s going on around them. Also, I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re aware, but I haven¡¯t had this ability for that long.¡± ¡°Huh. Okay, then do you just keep a clone near me at all times?¡± I asked. ¡°Duh, you¡¯re the boss. Of course I¡¯d keep a clone on you.¡± How had I become the boss? All I ever wanted to do since I met him was leave. I sighed and waved my hand towards him, I needed to continue my conversation with Rosalynn. [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: We haven¡¯t found them yet, but we¡¯re looking. I¡¯ll keep you updated. ] [ ¡°Dauntless Hammer¡±: This is really going to throw a wrench in our plans tho. How bad was the damage? Are there any dead? ] I scanned the area, the dust and dirt was sort of settling and started to reveal an even worse landscape than it had been before we built on it. There were signs that several explosions went off at the same time. Multiple craters lined where the wall once was on the outer edge, but there was also a large one in the inside of the walls. I scanned the debris for any blood or bodies, but I couldn¡¯t find any signs that there were people here at all. Before or after the explosions. Strange. [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: I don¡¯t see anyone, it¡¯s weird. No bodies, no survivors, no blood even. It¡¯s like a bomb went off in an abandoned town. ] [ ¡°Dauntless Hammer¡±: ¡­ Well at least no one is hurt ig. ] Master, there looks to be a group of humans running away from this area. Oh! You found them, thank the gods. What are they running from? Uh¡­ it doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯re running from anything. It looks like they¡¯re running towards the exit of the Underhollow. I furrowed my brows, there¡¯s no way that timid Tali would be running off to leave like that. ¡°Noel, can you catch up with Tali and her group? They¡¯re running off in that direction.¡± I said as I gestured towards where I felt Aureus¡¯ was telling me they were. ¡°Okay Boss, I¡¯ll be there and back in a jiffy.¡± Aureus, can you come back over here? I¡¯d like to look at the damage, we need to figure out how to protect this area best. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. It will be hard to protect without any defenses. You should request some of those humans who hide in the center to come help. He said as the wind from his wings blew away the lingering dust in the air around me. I climbed onto his back. No, they are needed there, we don¡¯t know if any of those worms will pop up. Maybe we can slowly work on building the wall up in this area as we go. I won¡¯t be able to make that gate like Caro did, I only made the area the gate went in and she made the door part. We don¡¯t need to worry about that right now. We just need to make sure to keep the monsters away from the center as much as possible. Actually now that I say it, let¡¯s go check on the people who are over there. With a mental gesture me and Aureus headed towards the inner wall in this section of the camp. ¡°Mia?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Mia and the dragon!¡± ¡°Is everything okay?¡± ¡°His name is Aureus ya dingus!¡± ¡°Oh, sh-ut up!¡± The rabble died down as Aureus¡¯ claws sunk into the side of the wall and the roar of his winds settled. Four people stood at a distance looking towards us expectantly. I awkwardly clambered off of Aureus, it was a skill I was still working on. This particular position of him hanging off of the side of the wall was more difficult than others. Damn I should¡¯ve had her make that saddle. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked the wide eyed and nervous group in front of me. They exchanged a wary look, ¡°We thought you might know¡­¡± A sheepish woman offered. The group shifted awkwardly. I sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know much other than that there were explosions out-¡± I paused, did I need to scare these people by telling them the truth about what happened. As I was about to say the only facts I knew it seemed worse than I thought. There were explosions inside and outside of the walls and the person in charge of the area was making a break for the exit of the Underhollow¡­ I cleared my throat, ¡°The walls have fallen in areas and we¡¯re missing some people. I¡¯m not sure what happened but I¡¯m sure they¡¯re looking into it. In the meanwhile I¡¯ll be taking charge of this section so don¡¯t worry.¡± I mustered the most reassuring smile possible. It wasn¡¯t scaring these people that worried me, it was the idea that it would affect the battle to come. Was it a mistake to come talk to them? Now they¡¯ll probably be more anxious. Ugh. Humans are so stupid. Weak. Dumb. Aureus! Knowing the truth shouldn¡¯t change what they need to do! I sighed again, and one of the men chimed in, ¡°So, did anyone get hurt?¡± ¡°No, no. There wasn¡¯t any evidence of injury whatsoever. Don¡¯t worry, everything will be fine. I¡¯ve let Rosalynn know of the situation so hopefully she¡¯ll get y¡¯all some reinforcements since it¡¯ll be hard for me to do as good a job as other areas¡­ since ya know¡­ there¡¯s no wall here¡­¡± I trailed off as I looked at the gaping holes in the ground and rubble where the wall should¡¯ve been. I sighed again. ¡°I need to go. Be careful, you¡¯ve got to protect those who can¡¯t protect themselves.¡± The group straightened up at my words and nodded soberly. Well, maybe that¡¯ll keep their minds off of where Tali disappeared to. Another awkward moment passed as I clumsily mounted Aureus again before he dropped from the wall. We were freefalling for a second, our chests filled with warmth and tingles and then his wings snapped out. They caught the wind as we glided towards where the wall was. As we landed Noel popped up yet again, ¡°Things aren¡¯t looking so good Boss.¡± He sounded strange, his voice was devoid of his normal pep. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not gonna come back, neither is her group.¡± ¡°Why?¡± My heart sank, I had considered that they were leaving, but it wasn¡¯t something I was really expecting. I thought they had a good reason. Or? Maybe it was the naive hope that she wasn¡¯t just deserting us. ¡°They didn¡¯t say, but her whole group and Theo have left. They¡¯re almost to the exit¡­ I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be coming back.¡± His voice was quiet. Eyeing me carefully as he spoke, he was scrutinizing my every action and inaction. Did he think I would lash out at him at any moment? I hoped I hadn''t seemed like such an unstable person. ¡°Huh¡­¡± I let the information sink in. Theo left? A strange feeling of betrayal washed over me, it mingled with relief and confusion. ¡°Why would he leave? I mean, at least we won¡¯t be awkward around each other anymore, but these were his people. His saviors. I just¡­¡± ¡°So?¡± Noel asked, his expression was cold as his brows drew together, he looked at me with pity but I could see resentment hiding behind it. Oh¡­ I see¡­ In just that short time I started to get attached to him again. How pathetic. ¡°Yeah, I mean that bastard never really had any loyalty so I¡¯m not sure why I expected anything from him.¡± I spat bitterly. Master? It¡¯s fine. Who cares? I kicked myself. I was always getting attached to people despite myself just because they were there. This was exactly why I continually reminded myself that I needed to be skeptical, why I needed to keep people at arms length. Why did I always end up here? I barely even talked to Tali, and I didn¡¯t even like Theo, yet here I was broken up by their decision. ¡°So? Where do we go from here Boss?¡± The lightness he usually exuded started to creep its way back in, a tsunami that couldn¡¯t be kept at bay for long. ¡°Well,¡± I paused, considering it, ¡°firstly I need to let Rosalynn know. Then I guess we can figure out how to move forward.¡± [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Ther- I started to type my message to Rosalynn when a notification interrupted me. [ System Update Wave Spawning ] Frantically I tapped out a message to Rosalynn, we needed them to know that there was a betrayal. [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: There was betryal Tali and theo gone need renforcmnt here plz ] As the message was sent I could feel the mana in the air change, in the distance I could hear the shrill screeches I now associated with under rats. I couldn¡¯t see them yet. A ding sounded as her response arrived, but I didn¡¯t open it. Even if I had, what would it matter anyway? Nothing we could say now would change much. There weren''t people to spare to join us here and they weren''t coming back so all I could do was prepare to defend my new post. ¡°Noel, I want you to find out how they¡¯re being spawned. Where is the spawn point, etc. Go, now.¡± I didn¡¯t receive a response, but I knew he was out executing my orders. My knuckles started whitening as I gripped my staff tighter with each loud thump of my heart. I glanced over at my quest, ¡®protect them or teach them how to protect themselves.¡¯ They really gave me a difficult one. The feeling of being helpless ate away at me as seconds lingered longer than they should. Alright Aureus, are you ready? Yup. Let¡¯s kick some rats¡¯ ass! I grinned, well he could be worse at it I supposed, it was a nice reprieve until I looked back into the distance. The wave of squiggling black animals on the horizon squirmed closer. My stomach bubbled as anxiety wrapped around it like several constricting snakes. It felt like I might throw up. This really isn¡¯t the way it should have went. Our plan was great. Everyone who was moderately high level would protect their own area and we would go provide help when they got swamped or needed a break. God¡­ fuck them. Various thoughts and ideas flitted through my mind, I wasn¡¯t sure how I should go about fighting anymore. How was I supposed to protect a sixth of the whole camp alone? You¡¯re not alone¡­ A small sad smile met his comment, yes. You¡¯re absolutely right, I¡¯m not alone. I scratched at his jaw as I thought about what to do. Would it be too much to create part of the wall now? I groaned to myself, I was still overlooking good ideas and not thinking quickly on my feet. That was exactly how I got so injured against that asshole on the surface. I still didn¡¯t know how to do this. I can do it. My eyes wandered up and down the area of the missing wall, ok don¡¯t worry about details or height. Just make it like eight feet tall and leave a way for them to get in. Don¡¯t make it too small or the areas on either side of us might get swarmed too heavily. Got it. Aureus said confidently as he planted his paws into the rock beside me, the ground shook as unpolished walls were erected from the rubble. My field of vision narrowed as his rock obscured the horizon that was slowly becoming more rat and less rock. Alright. We¡¯ve got this. Let¡¯s kick some rats¡¯ asses! I shouted over our connection as the mass of rats got closer, finally some of their details were visible. There was something¡­ odd about them. They looked different. The excitement and bravery I steeled myself with faltered for a moment. They looked¡­ rabid? Their eyes seemed somehow more red. Their mouths hung open as they ferociously clawed at whatever was under them to get ahead. A significant portion of them were already mildly injured just from being part of that stampede. I shivered. Of course they couldn''t make them just normal under rats. Chapter 40: Rabid Rats I smiled to myself, even though I started the update anxious, things were turning out pretty well. The rats were more wild and ferocious than normal, but completely oblivious to their own surroundings or even their own selves. It made them easy targets. If there weren¡¯t so many it would¡¯ve been closer to a game than a battle. Aureus was flying a few feet away, he had taken up the job of thinning the herd before they could get to where I was within the walls. After the first couple of minutes I¡¯d noticed that the rats weren¡¯t actually focused on me, and some literally ran directly into me. They didn¡¯t seem to have any ability to think whatsoever. The under rats that I¡¯d gotten used to were cunning and clever creatures. They avoided fighting large groups of humans unless there were significantly more of them, and targeted lone weak people. But these¡­ they were¡­ different. It was like they had lost their mind and only knew bloodlust. The few that had latched themselves on my legs were desperately clawing and biting at them with no regard to their own pain or survival. ¡°Boss.¡± Noel¡¯s voice echoed from behind me, I didn¡¯t bother to turn around as I swung my staff in a wide semicircle. Blood and bone sprayed as their bodies crumpled. Faint euphoria tickled my tongue as I decimated them. They were so weak. ¡°Yeah?¡± I forced out when I realized I¡¯d waited just a bit too long for a reaction. ¡°The spawn point is weird, looks like they¡¯re just popping out from the walls.¡± ¡°Walls?¡± I asked, I didn¡¯t understand how he was so eloquent when he had multiple clones to control and had to fight as well. I was giving him simple responses and I just had myself. Well, and Aureus maybe. ¡°Yeah, the walls of the Underhollow we¡¯re in. They just kind of appear there and run towards the center. Well, I guess they¡¯re technically appearing under the rocks there, but there¡¯s no way that-¡± ¡°Okay, cool so we know the pattern. Thanks.¡± I replied. A crunch sounded as I stepped onto a rat that had bit down on my leg. I was being a bit short with him, so I added. ¡°It¡¯s good cause that means they aren¡¯t specifically targeting us.¡± ¡°Well yeah, actually a majority of the ones that are near the exit are leaving to the surface.¡± ¡°HA! Good. I hope they wipe out those nazi bastards and Theo and Tali while they¡¯re at it.¡± A grimace snuck its way onto my face, I didn¡¯t mean it. Not yet. A nagging voice prodded me, ¡®You should hear them out. You don¡¯t know the circumstances. What if they were threatened?¡¯ I shook my head and sunk a dagger I held in my left hand into a rat as I grit my teeth. We didn¡¯t need them. I can do it. I can protect everyone else without them. It¡¯ll be fine. I glanced over my shoulder towards where I thought Noel was, but of course there wasn¡¯t anything there. Just as I was dismissing it and turning back again, I noticed a small black mass on the wall behind me. The inner wall had a build up of rats. Frowning, I asked Aureus to keep an eye on the entrance for me and took off towards the inner wall. A puddle of blood slowly widened as tens of rats desperately clawed at each other and the wall trying to make their way up to the people on the top of the wall. My nose scrunched up at the disgusting sight. Most of the rats at the bottom were already dead, but this presented a new problem. As bodies built up, eventually they would use them to climb their way up into the middle of the camp. Not to mention the small hole they were slowly carving into the rock. ¡°Hey, Mia.¡± A soft voice broke me out of my thoughts. ¡°Oh, Jeong. What¡¯s up? Why are you here?¡± I asked, he was supposed to be on the opposite side. ¡°There wasn¡¯t much happening on my section of the wall so Damien agreed to supervise and I was sent here to help you.¡± ¡°Will that be okay? The reserves in the middle were meant to be replacements when the outer groups got tired.¡± ¡°Yeah, really we had like twenty rats there. Dunno why.¡± He shrugged. We both looked over at the rats twenty feet from us that were still struggling to climb up towards the people on the wall. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because you¡¯re not close to the edge¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°Uh¡­ Well if you could keep an eye on the build up of corpses and I guess kill them if they get past me that¡¯d be great.¡± ¡°Alright, I can do that.¡± He said languidly as small plants sprouted around the bottom of the pile of rats against the wall. Deep purple flowers bloomed as their stamen scooped up rat corpses. The corpses were dragged into the center of the flower as the petals wrapped around them turning back into bulbs. Some grew larger while others sprouted thorns. Bones snapped and popped and the wretched stench of the flowers filled the air. Its sickly sweet aroma and the pungent smell of melting meat wafted from the plants. I tried not to look disgusted, ¡°Great, thanks. I¡¯ll be at the front with Aureus. Please let me know if you need me.¡± Quickly I turned on my heel and ran back to my post. Just as I got into the rhythm of squashing rats the rocks under my feet cracked and shifted as a worm lurched out of the ground in an attempt to gobble me up. Its screech grated against my eardrums as I shot a clumsy lump of mana towards him in surprise. I glanced over at my mana 180/440. I clicked my tongue as I lurched towards the worm and pulled my dagger along its already gaping wound. What a waste of mana. I thought to myself as it collapsed in a sticky mess and slid awkwardly back down the hole it¡¯d arrived in. Don¡¯t worry, we don¡¯t need to use much against these. I¡¯ll use more physical attacks for a bit. Aureus replied nonchalantly. Okay, me too. After the first couple of levels I stopped putting all of his points into intelligence for Aureus. If he was able to use my mana, then it felt like rather than making both of us highly mana focused builds he could be more well rounded. On the other side of that same coin, I¡¯d stopped putting points into stats other than intelligence, I needed as much mana as I could get. I also rationalized it since I could easily keep up with mana-usage if for the most part they were using mine. Or at least that¡¯s what I was thinking, I didn¡¯t have more than one familiar yet anyway. Honestly I wasn¡¯t really sure if I was making the right decisions, but it wasn¡¯t like there I could use a guide or anything. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. The whole wave only lasted a few hours or so, and the last thirty minutes were mostly stragglers. After that everyone spent their time cleaning up the area and corpses. Caro, Reid and the gods were badgering me about how I was doing and just spamming me way too much for my liking. I stopped to read through the messages that¡¯d piled up over the last few hours. [ ¡°Call of the Void¡±: Hey, you ok? ] [ ¡°Priest of Golden Light¡±: What happened over there? ] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± chuckles as they exclaim that humans are so predictable.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± urges you not to take their immorality to heart.] [ ¡°Call of the Void¡±: Oi. I waited before, but now the wave is almost over. What¡¯s going on? Did Tali and Theo really disappear? ] [ ¡°Priest of Golden Light¡±: Do you need any healing or anything? I can drop by. I¡¯m not too busy ] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± asks why you dislike the plants.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± echoes his query.] [¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± complains that the upgrade is too boring.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± scoffs and states that it¡¯s a great battlefield.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± agrees with ¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± and argues that smaller scale fights with stronger enemies are more entertaining.] I groaned as I scrolled through tens of messages. There was no way I was responding to all of them. Ultimately I decided to send a single response to both of the Gallaghers saying that I was fine and I¡¯d explain later. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re not satisfied after we put effort into defending from those rabid rats.¡± I feigned a pout. [¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± scoffs and exclaims that you had more fun than they did.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± complains that of course they wouldn¡¯t be satisfied since the plot has yet to be wrapped up.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± frowns.] [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± asks if you would enjoy watching innumerable ants fight mice.] ¡°What does that have to do with me? Y¡¯all are the ones who set up the mice and ant fight!¡± I whined. [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± mutters under his breath.] Before I could continue arguing with the GGC a different notification caught my attention. How long had that been there? [ Monster Repopulation Spawning in 19:21:22 ] I took in a sharp breath. The repopulation¡­ I¡¯d completely forgotten about that little tidbit on the patch notes. The wave wasn¡¯t too bad, but that was just for me. I had no clue how the others were doing. No, no. I had to do this mostly on my own. The other sides should be fine. They¡­ should be fine. Plus we had time to rest and prepare, we¡¯ll all be fine. Just fine. I leisurely jogged over to where I¡¯d left Jeong earlier, he was bent over one of his plants and carefully examining it, ¡°Did the rats attack your plants?¡± I asked as I came up behind him. ¡°Uh, no not really¡­ It¡¯s just that I found something strange.¡± He said with a muted look of confusion as he held up a familiar red crystal. I gasped, it was my second time seeing it. My greed wrapped around me urging me to take it from him. His confusion deepened as I stared at his loot. I took a deep breath, ¡°You¡¯re really lucky. I¡¯ve only ever found one of those, they¡¯re quite useful. Just smash it in your hand, they¡¯re much more brittle than you¡¯d expect.¡± He looked from me to the crystal and back to me again, it was obvious he didn¡¯t quite trust what I was saying. I couldn¡¯t blame him, when I¡¯d first found one I only broke it by accident and panicked thinking I¡¯d ruined something valuable. I gave him a small smile and a nod, and after a few seconds he crushed it as I suggested. Watching the process of him absorbing the crystal was much more interesting than experiencing it first hand. Rather than calling it a crystal it made more sense to call it a container of sorts. The shell broke away, disintegrating and mixing with the small sand-like particles it contained. Glowing they swirled around him and eventually settled in a ring that gently floated as the light dimmed and glowed brighter in intervals. Finally as sudden as it had been the first time the red ring converged quickly on his chest. As it did the light glowed brighter, and a faint shine remained as if emanating from his chest. I chuckled as he flinched the way I had the first time it happened, ¡°See, not too bad right? Check your status, I''m sure you¡¯ll be pretty satisfied.¡± His face brightened as he looked into the air in front of him, I wondered if I¡¯d ever get used to watching people look at things I couldn¡¯t see. It had already been over a month probably ¨C time here was something I still struggled to get a grasp of ¨C and yet every time someone got that far off look in their eyes while reading something I felt a shiver down my spine. It was unnerving. ¡°Wow¡­ thank you Mia. I never would¡¯ve thought to do that¡­¡± He finally said as he lightly examined his chest for any changes. Of course there weren¡¯t any, the light had already dimmed. ¡°No problem, it wasn¡¯t like I knew how to do it the first time I found one either. I did that on accident.¡± I left out the part where I¡¯d broken it in a fit of rage, he didn¡¯t need to know. ¡°That¡¯s pretty lucky, we could¡¯ve easily just chucked them in our inventory waiting to get some crafter to use them and lost out.¡± he replied with a small smile as he straightened up. I looked up at him, I¡¯d forgotten how short I was. Well, really I was about average, but I¡¯d gotten so used to being on Aureus¡¯ back that being on ground level with people had become a bit strange. His dark eyes looked down at me warmly, I guess I¡¯d finally earned his trust with that. Before he always looked at me with an empty gaze; he looked at most people that way, even some of those in his party. ¡°Well either way I guess we should see how everyone fared, and I guess we¡¯ll end up on repair duty.¡± I said with mock disappointment as I pointed a thumb over my shoulder at Aureus who was happily eating the rats from a pile of unusable corpses I¡¯d made. ¡°Let¡¯s put that off for a moment, Rosalynn wants everyone to meet up in the middle to discuss.¡± I sighed, I didn¡¯t really feel like explaining that their friends were traitors and talking about the repopulation and impending map changes. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s true I guess.¡± I muttered. When we landed in the center Rosalynn and Damien were already in a heated debate while Rosalia was sitting not far from them looking like she was having the time of her life. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t do that!¡± Damien shouted. ¡°Of course she wouldn¡¯t! That¡¯s why she¡¯s here helping defend her assigned area. I didn¡¯t think Theodore would do something like that either but you¡¯re all too comfortable saying that he¡¯d be willing to leave us high and dry like that.¡± She replied sarcastically. Damien rubbed at his tense brows, it was pretty obvious that he had a lot of trust in Tali. I couldn¡¯t blame him, other than the twins, Tali was the first person that he¡¯d met after everything that happened. Hell, she was the person his dad died to save, it made sense he¡¯d want to defend her too. Our eyes met as his hand lowered, his expression was dark and unreadable. ¡°Uh¡­ Hey¡­¡± I said awkwardly, what else could I say when they were in the midst of arguing about what I¡¯d reported. ¡°Can you explain to me what happened, what you saw, everything?¡± He asked with a quiet voice. Rosalynn sighed, but didn¡¯t add anything. I recapped my experience starting from when I¡¯d heard the explosion while I was at the temple to when Noel told me they were running off. Damien listened intently, his expression didn¡¯t change once. He was such a hard person to read. ¡°Okay, I get it. I¡¯ll believe you for now, there¡¯s no reason to disagree at this point. I wanted to trust her, but she just disappeared like that¡­ it¡¯s difficult.¡± He muttered. I nodded solemnly, the only thing that kept popping up in my mind after that incident was his dad¡¯s death. I wondered if she really was running from the gang or if she had always been a traitor. Not that I could say anything about that then. Chapter 41: Another Wave? The muscles in my arm burned and my wrist was tense, I strained. I can do this, I can win this stalemate. I thought as I furrowed my brows, Mateo sat across from me, an all too playful smile on his face showed that in fact there was no way we were in a stalemate despite what I tried to tell myself. I didn¡¯t give up though, and my opportunity finally presented itself when something on his system distracted him. His expression changed to confusion and I didn¡¯t let that moment pass by. Mana surged under my skin, my creaking bones and muscles tingled with its presence as I forced his hand to the table. I shot out of my seat as the group cheered, throwing my arms in the air and hollering. ¡°Finally someone defeated him!¡± Ethan screamed. Various cheers erupted around us from the other men in his group. The joy from my victory was short lived when I saw the reason he¡¯d been distracted. We had just finished fighting half an hour ago and yet here was another message from Rosalynn saying something was happening¡­ again. I looked up to him looking back at me somberly, we needed to go. I didn¡¯t say anything and just took off towards the south side of the walls immediately. Mateo¡¯s resounding shouts behind me told me he was getting those rowdy boys in line. As I neared the walls I caught sight of Rosalynn standing off to one side with Damien and Jeong. ¡°So what exactly is going on?¡± I asked breathily as I sidled up to their group. ¡°There¡¯s a second wave happening now, but there wasn¡¯t any notification about it¡­¡± Rosalynn muttered, she looked perturbed. ¡°It can¡¯t be a wave, they would have notified us!¡± Damien protested. ¡°How many of them are there?¡± I asked, maybe it wasn¡¯t a wave but just a collection of stragglers. They didn¡¯t respond and just frowned. Aureus, you busy? Nope. Do you need me Master? Yeah, I need your help to survey the south side. Something¡¯s going on here. Okay, I¡¯ll be there asap. Thanks. ¡°Okay, well Aureus will be here soon so I¡¯ll fly over and get an idea of what¡¯s going on. Did y¡¯all send Noel out for recon?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, he hasn¡¯t said anything yet other than that there¡¯s another wave.¡± Rosalynn replied as she stared up at the dim red sky. We all sat around for a couple minutes in tense awkwardness waiting on Aureus and Noel, finally, ¡°No matter how I look at it- oh, Boss! You¡¯re here!¡± Noel brightened when he noticed my presence. I nodded and waited for him to continue, ¡°Anyway, so like I was saying. This wave has to be bigger than the one that was here earlier, there are so many more of them. I don¡¯t understand why we didn¡¯t get a notification though.¡± I frowned and glanced from my quest to the countdown to the repopulation, ¡°maybe we did¡­¡± I muttered. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Damien asked. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m not sure, there is a countdown to the next event, but that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean that we finished the first one. I mean maybe these rats were spawned with the first wave? Maybe they fought another group?¡± I hadn¡¯t quite figured it out yet, but I could feel the complete picture forming hazily in my mind. ¡°... out of the exit¡­¡± Noel muttered. ¡°The distance!¡± Rosalynn exclaimed at the same time. They glanced at each other, it looked like they had both figured something out that we hadn¡¯t. ¡°Well?¡± I probed. ¡°So, the wave,¡± she put air quotes around it, ¡°that we¡¯re seeing now is probably just rats that were spawned on the other side of the Underhollow and just now made their way to us.¡± ¡°Yeah, the ones that spawned near the exit just went out, so we should assume that they somewhat head towards the closest group of prey? It seemed like they were just focused on getting to the center of the camp so¡­¡± Noel added after her, he didn¡¯t sound quite as confident as she did. ¡°Maybe¡­ it does make sense,¡± I pondered aloud, ¡°though that would mean that they¡¯ve been running for a while and possibly got into a few fights already. But shouldn¡¯t it be a similar size to the ones that appeared on the north side? Unless more were spawned?¡± ¡°Maybe the ones that popped out of the east and west walls joined them?¡± Damien offered. ¡°Yeah I guess that¡¯s plausible¡­¡± I muttered. Rosalynn sighed, ¡°Well, I guess we should prepare for their arrival while you do some recon?¡± She looked at me expectantly, I gave her a curt nod and wasted no time as Aureus took off and nearly knocked the group over with the gust of his wings. Secretly I hoped he wouldn¡¯t get much larger, he was already pretty big as it was. I¡¯d never wanted him to be huge and he was already big enough to be a comfortable mount. We casually glided through the sky towards where the wave should be approaching from. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, despite the danger on the horizon flying like this always calmed me. It could be the wind, or maybe it was the connection we shared and the freedom we both felt from flight. Unfortunately, we quickly caught sight of the wave. A chill prickled at my skin and along my spine at the sight of them. Noel was understating it, there were definitely much more than the ones we fought earlier. How large was this place that it took them several hours to make it here and collect that many rats along the way? For a few more minutes we flew above the horde. I was trying to get a general idea of how many to expect but it just seemed endless. At that point I decided, rather than idling here and trying to get an estimate of their forces in vain, I should just head back to help the group get ready. ¡°How was it?!¡± Rosalynn asked frantically. I opened my mouth, but I couldn¡¯t find the right words. The group stared at me for a couple beats and the tension continued to rise. ¡°There¡¯s,¡± my voice cracked as I started, ¡°ahem, there¡¯s quite a lot¡­¡± I ran my hands through my hair, I didn¡¯t struggle much in killing them the first time, but there weren¡¯t this many. Even if I could protect myself would I be able to protect everyone else? This must¡¯ve been why Rosalynn¡¯s patron god wanted me to stay here and even sponsored me along with the others. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do about it anyway, so let¡¯s just get ready. It¡¯s not as if we can avoid them.¡± Rosalynn said in a nonchalant tone with a shrug, ¡°Alright everyone stop moping and get yourselves together. Me, Damien, and our other melee people will be on the front line, we can trade out when we get tired with Mateo and his group. Everyone else needs to stay back if possible and just try to prevent any rats from entering the camp.¡± ¡°Well on a positive note, at least we only need to protect one side or the other when waves happen.¡± Noel chimed in with a grin. I chuckled, ¡°Yeah I think I¡¯ll finally get to level 20 with this wave, thank the gods.¡± I added sarcastically. ¡°Good, then carry us, why don¡¯t you?¡± Damien joked as they made their way down. I glanced over at my quest, less than three days left now, I had to make sure no one died. The repopulation would be starting in about 18 hours and we¡¯d likely have minimal rest after this. We didn¡¯t even know how long the fight would take. My eyes narrowed as I watched the group walk out of the walls and prepare to defend and I made a decision. [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Hey, I think we need y¡¯all here. ] [ ¡°Priest of Golden Light¡±: Where? What¡¯s going on? ] [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: The wave isn¡¯t over yet. Just bring your minions and head out the south side wall. We have to make sure no one¡¯s gonna die today. ] [ ¡°Priest of Golden Light¡±: ok we¡¯re on the way¡­ is it bad? ] [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Not sure yet, but it looks like it. ] I rubbed at my eyes, even before I awakened I didn¡¯t sleep as much as I should, but it got even worse after the awakening. Logically I knew I should feel sleepy, but I didn¡¯t. Was it the change in stats or the adrenaline of never knowing when some blood thirsty monster would attack? Maybe I was just too used to exhaustion and once I had a healthier body I couldn¡¯t read its signals properly. Either way, I tried to be mindful of it since I got so sick the last time I¡¯d stayed up for three days. [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± asks if you¡¯re feeling alright. ] ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just a bit stressed. I want to complete the quest you prepared for me perfectly after all.¡± I replied with a smile. [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± chuckles and says that you just want the perfect clear rewards. ] I dismissed the GGC despite the various messages flooding in. Alright Aureus, let¡¯s get started with round two. But the rats aren¡¯t here yet? Then let¡¯s just go to them, since you can fly we might as well fly over and kill as many as possible so there¡¯ll be less when they get here. It didn¡¯t take long for us to make our way back to the wave of crazed rats. I¡¯d nearly bottomed out my mana when we fought the first portion of the wave and hadn¡¯t had enough time to refill it. Being around other people really takes a toll on my regeneration abilities, but what else can I do? I couldn¡¯t leave when they were offering me such generous rewards. Well. Let¡¯s do our best to thin them out. Hopefully they can manage the ones that get past us? I wasn¡¯t confident. There were ridiculously more rats, it was as if this was the real wave and the one before was just a joke. Okay Master, fire then? Yup, let¡¯s not worry about damaging the materials, what use would we have for this many dead rats anyways. I glanced over at my party window, the rest of the group had full health and their mana was recovering decently. I hesitated briefly, but left the party. I was far enough out from the camp, they had people to help them, and I needed the regeneration abilities from my title that I gave up to protect them. Almost immediately I got a couple messages from the party asking if I was okay and what happened. I reassured them while Aureus created an island of fire within the ocean of rats. Without asking I knew Aureus wouldn¡¯t be able to create a line of fire across the front lines of them. The group stretched into the distance so far that I couldn¡¯t tell the difference between them and the rock beneath them. As they got closer to the camp they looked like they were coming to a head. I was thankful since it caused them to injure or kill each other more often as their path narrowed. I racked my brain trying to consider the best course of action. Fire was the best element to use as it caused widespread and significant damage, but I couldn¡¯t help but feel passive in this fight compared to previous ones. We were just flying overhead as Aureus maintained a field of fire and they stupidly ran into it. It wasn¡¯t surprising that despite the screams they continued running blindly into the fire. Especially since they were even killing each other in their desperation to get to the camp. Originally I thought that it made them easy pickings, now with the sheer magnitude of them¡­ the concept made me shudder. The lake of fire he created was draining our mana faster than I wanted, but melee attacks weren¡¯t going to be nearly as effective. Yet still I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it. I was sure that I wasn¡¯t a very effective fighter. I didn¡¯t have much skill in tactics or battle planning. I just made whatever decisions I could, whichever felt right. Still, it never felt like enough. Anxiety nagged at the back of my mind. It was a similar but twisted version of my need to level up. I groaned, Aureus do you think you can maintain that fire field while using melee attacks as well? I was thinking that you could drop me behind the fire so that I can attack the ones that make it through or are going past it. I can try, it would be good to get practice using magic and attacking elsewhere too¡­ but will you be okay down there? Uhh well, I hope so. I mean there aren¡¯t many rats that can make it through the fire so it¡¯ll probably be fine¡­ probably. By the time Aureus dropped me on the stone the fire was already creating a pile of corpses, the stench of their burning fur and the blood was so thick I struggled not to gag. The roar of thousands of feet and claws scratching against the rock, screams of pain as they became enveloped in flame, and my own blood pounding made for a disturbing background noise. My limbs and skin tingled with numbness as I tried to get my mind right. They¡¯re just rats, you¡¯ve done this hundreds of times. It¡¯s fine, just breathe¡­ oh god-gag-don¡¯t breathe just center yourself. We can do this. I tried to give myself a pep talk, but it was hard to get past the¡­ everything that was happening. A sense of foreboding like something was going to go horribly wrong was hard to dismiss. They¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll complete this quest and no one will die. A rat landing a foot to my right pulled me out of my spiraling thoughts. I glanced up at where it¡¯d arrived from, a hill of corpses that continued to grow. I wondered if the horde weren¡¯t surrounding me would I be able to hear the snapping and crunching of bones as it landed. Even without my intervention it would die quickly, there were sparse patches of skin still left on its body. Most of the less fleshy areas were basically reduced to bone and the rest was charred muscles that struggled to perform as it wanted. The eyes dripped down across the bones in its snout, melted likely from the high temperatures. Yet still it weakly pushed one of its broken legs against the rock in a failed effort to get closer to the camp. A swift swipe of my dagger and it was over, I suppressed a shiver. Disturbing. For the first time since the wave started, I glanced at the rat¡¯s status window. My eyes widened, they had new status effects. [ Pack Mentality: Causes Berserk effect and the need to grow the size of the pack and then find prey. ] [ Berserk: Causes loss of rational thinking, external stimuli other than the need to fight will be ignored. ] My brows furrowed, they always fought in packs. Why was that different from this Pack Mentality status effect? I frowned but decided it was likely just the gods¡¯ interference. What was the point of this? Were they having fun? Some of them acted like they didn¡¯t like the deaths of humans and tried to act as saviors, but if that is the cause why didn¡¯t they just prevent the others from starting this originally? A flash of rose gold flitted to my left and tens of rats flew into the air. I glanced over at my status window, we were just a few hundred points from leveling up to 20. I¡¯d been waiting for that for so long, it had been so close yet so far for weeks. I hated to admit it but helping out my party ruined my ability to level. I watched Aureus attack the rats for a few seconds and came to a realization. I fucked up. Damn it. I never should have focused on making him more well rounded. We both need mana more than anything and we¡¯re running out too quickly now. Chapter 42: Pits and Plants My mind wandered as I stood to one side of the clearing behind the ever taller mountain of corpses. My dagger sliced through them easily and since I was essentially invisible to them there wasn¡¯t any danger. My frustration at myself was growing as the fight dragged on. I¡¯d gotten used to fighting in a group and at some point I¡¯d started putting more points into Aureus¡¯ strength and constitution than I should have. The whole reason I chose this class was so that I¡¯d have reliable allies and have them do all the work. How had I forgotten that? One of Aureus¡¯ most important strengths was that he would rain down hell without worry since he can fly. Was the fear that he or the others might get hurt clouding my judgment? I had started to put him on the frontline so of course I should add more strength and bolster his health. Stupid. Ugh. My lip curled as blood from one of the rats I killed splashed up onto my face. Whatever. Let¡¯s focus. I can¡¯t change what¡¯s already happened anyway. I looked over at Aureus, he was standing in a clearing of his own making as he swiped at the rats as they arrived. Blood coated his head, chest and forelegs. I wondered if with enough time he¡¯d end up more dark cherry colored than rose gold. I glanced up at the flaming hill of dead rats, I was almost out of mana. We¡¯d be able to maintain that for only a few more minutes at best. Should I ask Aureus to come here and help me? I can¡¯t fight this group on my own. Ding. A rush of energy warmed my chest, finally we were level 20. My mind felt so light, I hadn¡¯t realized how drained I was until then. It must have been how low my mana was. I grinned, finally, I can use Aureus¡¯ skills. I wasn¡¯t sure where to start. Maybe we should go back and check on the camp. We¡¯ve been out here for at least an hour, some of the rats must have arrived by now. And I¡¯ve achieved my goal since I¡¯ve leveled up. Do you want me to come pick you up Master? I watched as Aureus¡¯ head poked up as he searched the horizon for me. No, I''ll make my way to you. I need to learn how to use your skills. It was big talk from someone who had no clue how to use skills. I hadn¡¯t used a system created skill since I created Aureus weeks ago, and when I did I¡¯d embarrassingly shouted the skill name. It took days for the gods to stop making fun of me for that. Even then they only stopped because they started making fun of me for other things like my fear of slimes. Every so often a new god would pop up in the chat asking if they¡¯d found the mortal enemy of all slimes. With a deep breath I focused on the idea of creating a fireball. And¡­ nothing. It didn¡¯t appear. I frowned, I was able to use my familiar creation skill immediately so why couldn¡¯t I do it? Is it because it isn¡¯t my innate skill? No, no that doesn¡¯t make sense because I was able to use mana without a skill. I tried a few other things for a couple seconds, I threw my hands out while pretending I was tossing a fireball, I closed my eyes and tried to picture it shooting towards the rats in front of me. Nothing. I even considered briefly shouting the name of the skill, but no way in hell was I doing that, not again. I glared at the skill¡¯s description, Elemental Attack¡­ as I thought the words I could feel mana gathering in my chest. Ah. That¡¯s dumb. Fireball, I want a fire elemental attack. A gasp escaped as the mana in my chest condensed and started heating up. It didn¡¯t hurt, it felt like I was becoming a furnace. It was cozy, like a cup of hot cocoa. Just as I was getting comfortable it left me, and a small baseball sized orb of flame hovered above my open palm. I didn¡¯t get long to marvel at what I¡¯d created because as soon as I thought about shooting it towards the rats in front of me it disappeared into the fray. The whole process only took a second or two. Well¡­ that didn¡¯t do much. I thought to myself as I watched the blurry stampede continue uninhibited by my meager fireball. I need to create a line of fire between us, that¡¯s the easiest way to travel in this stampede. It was easier said than done, it didn¡¯t take me long to create the fireball, but elemental manipulation was on an entire other level. Beads of sweat slid down my face and into my eyes as I focused for what felt like an hour. Erratic hot mana raged under my skin as I tried to tame it. How the hell does he do this so easily?! My hair felt sticky on the back of my neck and the mana under my skin didn¡¯t seem even sort of similar to the cozy feeling I¡¯d had before. It was scorching, I wondered if my body would start to melt if I couldn¡¯t get it under control. Flames danced inconsistently in the horde of rats in front of me, they flitted into existence above the rats and then disappeared and reappeared within them just to disappear again. My muscles tensed as I willed it to straighten out, to gather together, to just form some semblance of what Aureus had created before. Awkwardly the fire started to get closer to each other, but instead of a line it looked more like I had compressed the fire that had spread across the area into one point. It was blindingly bright.My eyes squeezed shut and I started to feel light headed. At some point I had started holding my breath. A pulse of heat smacked into me causing me to collapse backwards onto the cold rock. Rough gasps for breath burned my lungs. The air was distorted due to the heat. I had no idea how long I was attempting to use Elemental Manipulation but there wasn¡¯t much point in stubbornly forcing it for the sake of my pride. I can¡¯t do it¡­ Can you come get me? Yes Master. You did an excellent job especially since you¡¯d never tried it before, of course that was to be expected as you are my master obviously. I laid back on the uncomfortably uneven stone, I could feel the wind from his flight already. I didn¡¯t want to get up yet. I was tired, the mental fatigue of trying and failing to use that skill wasn¡¯t something I was prepared for. Aureus¡¯ blood coated face appeared above me and he nudged me with his nose. Excitement and expectation spun through his molten silver eyes. ¡°Ugh gross! You¡¯re getting blood on me!¡± I whined as I tried to wipe it off. He responded with a low chortle as his tongue flicked out and another nudge from his now less bloody snout. ¡°Yeah. Ok. I hear you. I''m getting up. Huuup¡­¡± I groaned like a middle aged dad as I forced myself off the rock and onto his back. Panic punched me in the chest as he took off before I was ready. I scrambled to grab ahold of him for balance. ¡°Aureus! Why are you taking off like that?! I nearly fell!¡± I could feel his chest rumble with a deep laughter as he spun through the air and brought us higher just to dive towards the ground again. I held his neck like a mad woman as I screamed, ¡°You crazy dragon stop!¡± And as if it had never happened we were soaring smoothly again. ¡°What¡­¡± I started exasperated. You¡¯re getting too worried and caught up on stupid things Master. What are you thinking? You have me there¡¯s no way anything bad could happen to us. With a sigh I felt my muscles relax, I missed my Underhollow. The view, the pink skies, the potatoes, and the rivers. This place was the worst. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m sure you can handle it for me right?¡± Yup, I¡¯m insulted that you thought I couldn¡¯t. I¡¯m the great Aureus, the golden master of elements and child of Mia. These inferior beings don¡¯t stand a chance, they don¡¯t even have the presence of mind to fight properly. Yes, I was wrong, I¡¯m sorry. I chuckled, he hadn¡¯t changed at all. I thought he¡¯d matured a bit, but I guess he was just pouting because he didn¡¯t want to be here. You know Aureus? What is it? I was thinking, those rats will just fall to their death on their own if there¡¯s a cliff so what if we made a couple? Do you think you could? Cliffs? I guess I could make pits, but cliffs would be difficult since I¡¯d have to elevate the land first. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it I wonder why we never thought to make a moat before. Well what if you make a couple deep pits in a circle around the walls and then make a way for us to go down there to collect the bodies so they won¡¯t just pile up completely. I understand, but I¡¯m not sure how long that would take, but I¡¯m sure those humans can protect themselves for once while we work. It¡¯s just an idea, I¡¯m not sure how well it¡¯d work. I hope it¡¯ll count as our kills since we made the trap. A few minutes passed in silence and the camp was finally in view again, thankfully it looked like they were managing well against the rats and I didn¡¯t see any casualties. Rosalynn looked a little tired though, and very glad to see us. ¡°Mia! You¡¯ve come back, how was it?¡± She shouted up at us. ¡°There are too many of them, I don¡¯t understand how they could expect us to fight that many.¡± I shook my head, ¡°But I have an idea, I don¡¯t know why we didn¡¯t do this before, but let¡¯s create some pits around the edge of the camp. We can alternate which one is open with Aureus and have a path between them for me and maybe someone else to deal with the bodies that are piling up.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ That could work, but you¡¯d both be doing most of the work. Is that alright?¡± ¡°Yeah, honestly I feel a bit bad since you¡¯ll need to fight on your own for a while¡­ and I might be taking a good portion of the experience. Also I wanted to talk to you about the red crystals. I assume Jeong mentioned them to you?¡± ¡°Oh yes I remember, what about them?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take half we find.¡± I tried to maintain a straight face and eye contact, but I wasn¡¯t sure if she¡¯d agree, or if I was being too greedy. ¡°Okay. Take Jeong down to help with disposing of the corpses with you. After the battle we can tally them up and split them according to contribution.¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll go find him. Aureus, can you work on the pits? Do you need any help?¡± I¡¯ve got a good idea of what you need Master. I¡¯ll start on it. I stood for a moment and watched him fly away towards the sparse rats that had already made their way here. ¡°You know, I wonder what we would have done without the two of you. There¡¯s no way we would have been able to manage as well as we have.¡± Rosalynn said behind me. Disappointment tinged her tone, and she had a distant look in her eyes. It felt¡­ wrong to say anything, we sat in a comfortable silence for a couple seconds, but when I turned around she called out, ¡°Thanks.¡± We shared a small smile before I took off. ¡°Noel?¡± I said after I¡¯d gotten a few paces away from her. ¡°Yup boss?¡± He asked as he fell in step with me. ¡°Take me to Jeong.¡± ¡°Aye aye.¡± His hand grabbed mine, ¡°Uhh, what-¡± and my world turned dark for a fleeting second before the surroundings changed into a new section of the battlefield. Jeong stood a few feet away. A vague chill and emptiness washed over me. It felt as if a ghost walked through me. ¡°What in the¡­? Noel?¡± I stumbled over my words and I looked around for my now missing assassin assistant. ¡°Oookay¡­¡± I took a couple steps towards Jeong, taking care to step around the roots and stems of the plants that surrounded him. ¡°Hey! I need your help.¡± As I approached him I had to constantly look up and back down at my feet to assure I wouldn¡¯t trip. I wondered if he was trying to create a wall of plants to protect himself. ¡°Oh, Mia.¡± He said casually as he glanced back at me. I waited for a beat, but he didn¡¯t say anything else. ¡°So, Aureus is going to create a couple pits around the camp here so that we can kill them with gravity pretty easily. Rosalynn told me to come and get your help to deal with the corpses that will inevitably pile up at the bottom.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He replied as the plants made way for the two of us to walk back the way I¡¯d come. He couldn¡¯t have done that earlier? ¡°Okay, well he¡¯s over that way so let¡¯s just start walking I guess¡­¡± We walked in silence for a while, every so often killing a rat that came our way. Aureus, have you made any of it yet? How about a way down? Master, I know I¡¯m amazing, but we got here not long ago. I haven¡¯t finished half of the first one yet. Is there any way I could help you? I know I¡¯m not great at elemental manipulation, but maybe¡­ I told you it¡¯s fine. Just rely on me. If you really want to you could try to create a way down like you were talking about. But I¡¯ll probably change it later. Oh thanks for the vote of confidence. We arrived next to Aureus soon after and Jeong let out a low whistle. ¡°He¡¯s pretty quick huh?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ uh¡­ Yeah he is.¡± I muttered as I looked at the ten foot wide moat that was tens of yards long already. Well, would it be considered a moat without water? I leaned my head over and realized it wasn¡¯t as deep as I¡¯d expected. ¡°I hope we can keep it cleared of corpses¡­¡± ¡°I was worried about that as well.¡± Jeong replied. ¡°God!¡± I nearly jumped out of my skin, I hadn¡¯t expected a response but more than that he was standing too close. Since he was always so quiet it was weird to hear him as loud and clear as it had been. If he was any closer I would have been able to feel his breath. ¡°Sorry, I guess I¡¯m a little jumpy right now¡­¡± Embarrassed, I turned and walked along the edge of the pit in an effort to hide the redness that was blooming on my cheeks. After a few steps I glanced over at the walls. I was pretty close to being in line with the gate, so I sped up and then stopped and tried to estimate by eye if it would be in line with the gate. With a shrug I decided to put my focus into creating a ladder down to the bottom. I kneeled a couple feet from the edge and placed my palms onto the rock. I called out the skill as I had with the fire before. My mana felt heavy and fought against me as I asked it to carve into the rock beneath me. It moved sluggishly and it took great effort to get it moving at all. The weight of it made it hard to breathe, but slowly an awkward alcove was created along the side of Aureus¡¯ clean clifface. Rough rungs were created as the rock was carved away, then something I hadn¡¯t considered happened. I couldn¡¯t reach any further with my mana. The ladder was only about a fourth of the way completed. I groaned, ¡°Well shit¡­¡± I glanced over at Jeong who was waiting patiently and looking at something in his system. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯ve got to head down and do it in portions, I don¡¯t have as much control as Aureus with this¡­¡± He gave me a small nod without looking in my direction and I started my descent into the pit. Why does he make me feel so uncomfortable? Being around him is so difficult, I feel like I am always fumbling like an idiot in front of him. Maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s so quiet I¡¯m not sure how to act? It¡¯s not like he gives much of an indication of any emotions. Eventually after a grueling session of earth manipulation I¡¯d finally completed a semi passable ladder, and managed to drench myself completely in sweat. ¡°Hey? It¡¯s done!¡± I shouted up the ladder, but didn¡¯t wait for him to make his way down. I started walking along the bottom of the pit and stashing the existing corpses away into my inventory as I went. They hadn¡¯t quite piled up yet, but I thought it¡¯d be good to clear some out while I waited. I could hear them fighting in the distance and wondered how this many had made it past the front lines. ¡°That isn¡¯t a sustainable way of getting rid of the corpses.¡± Jeong noted quietly behind me. ¡°I know, but I wasn¡¯t sure if you¡¯d be able to create those carnivorous flowers along the entire path¡­¡± I paused as I looked past him to the other part of the path. ¡°Yeah¡­ probably not. Falling rats aren¡¯t ideal weather conditions for my plants.¡± ¡°Then if I create like¡­ a room? Under the wall here how big should it be if we want to just drag the corpses to where you have the flowers?¡± ¡°That might work, it¡¯d be best if I stayed with the plants though. Especially if we¡¯re trying to get rid of a large amount of rats, because making a lot of plants will take all my attention.¡± ¡°Oh, then maybe I¡¯ll ask for a few more people for transporting corpses and you can be in charge of disposal. We are doing distribution of the crystals after the battle, so it¡¯d be easiest if you just collect all of them as the corpses are eaten.¡± ¡°Sounds good, if you want I can let you know when to stop while creating the room you mentioned. If I need more space as they grow, I¡¯ll message you.¡± ¡°Oh, okay sure.¡± I let out a shaky breath as I placed my hands on the smooth cool rock. I tried not to cringe as sweat dripped down the rock. It took me longer to start carving into it than the ladder had, but soon a four foot wide and seven foot tall doorway started receding into the rock. For the next several minutes I created a short hallway into a large round room with Jeong giving me suggestions as I went. Finally I finished it. Jeong stood at the entrance holding a torch, ¡°Oh¡­ I need something to hold the torches¡­¡± I muttered defeatedly. I was exhausted. Controlling earth mana was much easier than fire, but it felt like I was Atlas carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. ¡°No, don¡¯t worry about that.¡± he said calmly as he walked over to the wall and lifted the torch to it. The torch just¡­ stayed there. ¡°How in the¡­¡± ¡°I just had the branch take root here. It¡¯s a slow burning wood so it¡¯ll last a good while. Plus we¡¯ve all gotten pretty used to a lack of good light.¡± He gave a shrug and then walked and promptly sat on the floor in the center of the circle. Buds of plants broke their way out of the rough floor I¡¯d created. ¡°Okay, well I¡¯ll leave you to that and I¡¯m going to grab some others who might be able to help.¡± I turned to leave. ¡°Leave the corpses.¡± ¡°Oh yeah.¡± I dumped all the rat corpses I had in my inventory out on the floor where I stood. I hesitated wondering if I should spread them out or move them somewhere more convenient but ultimately decided it was probably fine. Finally I took off to find more lackeys to collect and dump corpses for Jeong. Once I made it up to the top of the ladder I caught sight of the approaching army of empty headed rats. They were finally arriving in earnest. Chapter 43: Are We Done Yet? Aureus, how¡¯s it going? Just finished the first one, I didn¡¯t do the other side just where the rats would be coming from. I don¡¯t think this will be able to cover the whole wave, but it¡¯ll take too long to make a second one. At best our goal should be to get them some time and reduce the numbers. ¡°Actually, Noel?¡± I paused for a second waiting for him to appear, ¡°If you were to grab a rat corpse would you be able to transport them quickly to Jeong? Like how you brought me to him originally?¡± ¡°Yeah, should be able to. Did you want me on transportation duty?¡± He asked with a smile as he peered down the ladder next to us. ¡°Well, I feel like you¡¯d be the best option since you¡¯ve got clones and you can travel faster than the rest of us. I was thinking about asking a few others as well, if it gets too packed let me know and I can send a few people down to at least shove some into their inventory until we can get rid of them properly.¡± ¡°Aye aye cappin¡¯ you can count on me!¡± He gave a salute with a flourish and disappeared. I sighed as I looked out at the fast approaching enemies, this is going to suck. We can do it Master, and some of these humans aren¡¯t completely useless! Yeah, it¡¯ll be fine. It has to be. Come over here and get me I need to go talk to Rosalynn. I could feel his presence approaching before I felt the wind on my back. He¡¯d started to get better at landing without knocking me on my ass from the wind pressure. I smiled at him as he landed, he was maturing so quickly it was bittersweet. Before I could linger on those thoughts for long we¡¯d already arrived and Rosalynn was looking up at me as she wiped blood from her hands. ¡°How goes the digging?¡± She asked and helped me down. ¡°Well Aureus did a great job, but I struggled a bit.¡± I replied with a chuckle. ¡°After this is all over, let me use your shower before you abandon us won¡¯t ya?¡± I laughed, ¡°Not before I use it, I feel like I¡¯ve been marinating in sweat and rat mush and everything is sticky.¡± ¡°Deal!¡± ¡°Anyways, I came over to let you know that I¡¯m getting Noel to transport rat corpses to Jeong¡¯s plants for disposal, but we might need more people to help with transportation or just to chuck corpses into inventories. Those pits are going to fill up pretty quick and then Jeong¡¯s going to be buried¡­¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± She hesitated for a moment, ¡°okay, just send me a message if you need people and I¡¯ll send them.¡± ¡°I was thinking I might make a path from down there to inside the walls so we can get out in case of emergency but it¡¯ll take a while. If it¡¯s finished before I need reinforcements they can just use that. Plus if we can use some noncombatants for transportation purposes it might make your job easier¡­¡± I trailed off as my eyes swept over the front line, we had a lot of people but it was shaping up to be a long battle. Master, I can make that. The tunnel. Maybe, but you¡¯re pretty big so it might be easier if you expand the room Jeong is in, like make it the whole length of the pit and add entryways for transportation. Okay, I¡¯ll go get started on that then. ¡°And he¡¯s off¡­¡± I muttered as I watched him fly towards the pit we just left. ¡°Well, let me show you where a good entrance would be for that walkway.¡± Rosalynn turned on her heel and I followed after her as we entered the gate and she led me to a mostly empty building. I groaned as I kneeled on the hard stone which elicited a chuckle from Rosalynn as she left me to my work. For the next thirty minutes I stood in pitch blackness as I forced my way forward and carved the path into the stone. I collapsed to the ground and leaned on the wall, and glanced back at the faint light coming from the entrance. It was barely visible from the distance I¡¯d carved. I¡¯ve done enough to warrant a break. I rationalized as I pulled up the GGC and my chats. Surprisingly I didn¡¯t have any new messages from my party or Rosalynn or Jeong, so I turned my attention to the GGC. [ ¡°Playful Cat hates Yarn¡± asks when this is going to end.] [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± scribbles in his notebook as he mumbles something about effective tactics. ] [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± complains that you should go back soon. ] [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± agrees but mentions that the quest isn¡¯t over yet. ] [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± clicks their tongue and declares that making the quest length a week was unnecessary. ] [ ¡°Divine Hammer of Blessings¡± glares at ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± stating that a week was an appropriate length for this quest. ] ¡°I¡¯m fine with it being a week, I mean a couple extra days here isn¡¯t much compared to the rewards I¡¯m getting. It¡¯s really fine.¡± I assured them. [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± huffs and muses that you might change your mind soon. ] [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± pinches the bridge of her nose as she tells them to just drop the topic. ] ¡°Why are you so against this quest? You¡¯ve been urging me to leave for a while and didn¡¯t even want me to take the quest at all even though it has great benefits. It¡¯s weird.¡± I furrowed my brows and wondered if there was something I was missing. The GGC was quiet for a few minutes after my question so I just closed it and got up again to continue my trek through the rock. After ten or so more minutes I could feel a pathway ahead of me a few feet from my own. I forced my shaking legs forward as I focused on connecting the two. Finally the rock beneath my fingers disappeared into the ground. In the distance in front of me I could see the warm glow of a torch, before I realized it I was running and laughing. I was finally done. ¡°Oh, you made it.¡± Jeong said without looking at me. He was sitting cross legged in the center of his sprawling flowers. Slowly they creeped out in all directions, there were only a couple open flowers, the rest were bulbs. Likely consuming rats. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Yeah, are you good?¡± I asked as I glanced back over my shoulder at the path I¡¯d just come from. Aureus must have created part of it to take some of the load off of me. ¡°Yup.¡± He didn¡¯t say anything else and I walked away so I didn¡¯t disturb him. As I walked out into the pit I was surprised it was as empty as it was. I expected it to fill up pretty quickly, but rather only a couple feet of the pit had filled up with corpses. I grabbed a couple and walked back to the open flowers and plopped them down next to them. I grimaced as the bones crunched when being compressed into the bulb. ¡°Thanks, I let Noel focus on other things for a while. I was going to call him when more flowers were available.¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯m going to head up too. Let us know if you need anything.¡± ¡°Actually-¡± He hesitated for a moment, ¡°I need some water¡­ and the plants could use some as well. The blood helps but water would be better for them.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ uhh¡­ okay one second.¡± I hadn¡¯t tried water manipulation yet, and I was still pretty exhausted from creating the path. I held my breath as the water mana crashed through my body, it was weird how similar it felt to the other elements but completely different at the same time. It was heavy like earth mana but in a different way, and it rushed through me wildly like fire mana but it was much easier to direct. Overall it felt unsurprisingly like a raging river and it was moderately calming and cool, but when I focused on it too much a chill ran through my soul and it felt like my entire being might be washed away. I opened my eyes and tried to scatter water across the plants before me, but only a few droplets separated from the orb forming above me. After a few more seconds of focusing I was able to create streams of water that left the orb and splashed onto the flowers. I grinned, but now I had a new challenge. I needed to figure out how to give Jeong water without drenching him. ¡°Do you,¡± I paused as I saw the now small orb of water start to wobble as I lost concentration, ¡°have¡­¡± I was handed an old plastic water bottle and thankfully filling it wasn¡¯t much different to watering the plants so I was able to hand it back to him quickly. Now the only issue that was left was the remaining bit of water. It was too much for me to drink, and the canteen I had was already full. I didn¡¯t want to give it to the plants because I didn¡¯t want to overwater them. I drank a few gulps and glanced around wondering what I should do with it. ¡°Put it here.¡± Jeong suggested, and when I glanced down at my feet I noticed that a leaf in the shape of a bowl had sprouted. ¡°Oh, thanks.¡± ¡°No, thank you, now I will have some water for the plants when you¡¯re away.¡± ¡°Should I¡­ make more?¡± I asked as I looked down at the now full leaf bowl. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. Neither of us should waste mana on that right now.¡± ¡°Oh. Yeah that¡¯s a good point¡­¡± I muttered as an awkward silence crept in. Without another word I walked off and made my way up the ladder. Once I got up there I realized why there weren¡¯t as many rats in the pit, they¡¯d brought almost everyone to the other side of it. They were using the pit as a protective barrier like the walls. I wondered if they thought that was my plan when I decided to create it. I¡¯m glad they figured out a better way to go about this because I¡¯m no good at strategizing and shit. Master doesn¡¯t need to strategize. You¡¯ve got me. And we¡¯re way too strong to need strategy for these things. Plus those greedy humans probably did it to get more kills since if they didn¡¯t we¡¯d get most of them. Right right. I smiled and gave an amused snort as I scanned the battle in front of me for Aureus. Wait, did you let them over there? Some of them, yeah, me and Noel have been reduced to mere transportation. But Rosalynn and some of the others just jumped. Jumped huh¡­ I glanced down at the bottom of the pit. It wouldn¡¯t kill me if I fell down there, plus there was a layer of squishy corpses at the bottom to cushion the fall. Ah, what the hell! I took a few steps back to get a running start, but then stopped. I played with the idea of using wind manipulation to help me make the jump for a few seconds before giving up on it and taking off. My chest filled with the electricity of anxiety, excitement, and mana. A huge grin took over my face as I leapt over the pit, but it quickly turned into shock and then panic. I¡¯d easily cleared the pit, and my jump sent me much higher than I expected as well as a lot further than I¡¯d meant to. I was looking at an awkward crash landing in the middle of the rat wave. I flailed around for a second in a vain attempt to stop myself. ¡°Shit shit shit shit sh-¡± Reflexively I curled into a ball to protect my face and torso, but before I could hit the ground Aureus caught me. I opened my eyes to see that I was about ten feet from the ground and an insane number of rats. A gentle wind flowed around me and prevented my fall. Slowly it started to bring me up towards where Aureus was gliding above. Thanks Aureus. Pff- Ahem yes, Master¡­ no- he paused no problem¡­ He did his best to keep the laughter out of his voice but it took over him as he finished his sentence he went into a laughing fit. I could feel his body shaking as he struggled to get it under control. ¡°I didn¡¯t know I could jump that far!¡± When he didn¡¯t reply I continued as my face started to get hot, ¡°I mean honestly being able to jump like that is pretty impressive you know! Not everyone can fly!¡± That¡¯s true, you¡¯re very impressive Master. A small snicker was suppressed but it was almost worse that he tried to hide it. ¡°Oh shut up,¡± I rolled my eyes. I groaned and glanced at the GGC, I knew they were going to make fun of me for that too. I sighed as I glanced through the jokes as they flooded in, they were mostly saying that I looked like a flea. Many complained that it would have been better if I landed and discussed whether the rats would fly off on impact. Another group debated on how injured I would have been if I had landed. [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± asks why you didn¡¯t use wind manipulation. ] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± scoffs at him and says that you haven¡¯t had a chance to try it yet. ] [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± agrees and laughs about how much you¡¯d struggled with the other elements so far. ] ¡°I think I¡¯m doing pretty good alright! I¡¯m the highest leveled person here too.¡± I crossed my arms and pouted. [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± clears her throat with a smile and comments that it was indeed an impressive leap. ] [ ¡°Gentle Autumn Breeze¡± advises you to practice more and learn your limits. ] For a couple more minutes various gods and goddesses joined in on making fun of my ¡®impressive leap¡¯ the embarrassment quickly faded as I read their comments. After a while I had to focus on not smiling or laughing along with them to maintain my image. My attention was pulled to the war taking place beneath me. They were all struggling quite heavily, several of them had been injured heavily, healed and sent right back out to fight. And like Rosalynn mentioned last time, fighting a horde of enemies really wasn¡¯t her strong suit. She was able to get rid of a large amount of rats with every swing, but as I watched her swing that huge hammer I wondered how long she¡¯d be able to manage it. The others were already starting to show signs of fatigue and injury. For a while we alternated between killing as many rats as possible to help those on the front line and helping to clear out the pit so that it didn¡¯t get too full. I sighed as the wind from Aureus¡¯ flight slapped my hair into my eyes. After a couple hours Aureus said, Master, I''m worried they might not last much longer now. Yeah they are getting pretty sluggish, but they¡¯ve been taking breaks and Reid¡¯s fanatics are here to help them when they get injured. But Master she looks¡­ he trailed off but I knew he was looking towards Rosalynn¡¯s group. Rosalynn looks like she¡¯s doing just fine. She might need a bre- No, that isn¡¯t the one I¡¯m talking about. Aureus interrupted and flew down closer to them. Oh, no- I saw what he meant but everything played out before I could respond. Rosalia was struggling. It was obvious she was tired and about to pass out, but everyone in the front line was so preoccupied with their own situation; no one had noticed yet. And just as I saw it her body crumpled downwards, it disappeared under the black wave of rats. Rosalia! Chapter 44: An Explosive Fight I was panicking, watching Rosalia disappear under the rats and no one around her noticing was¡­ disturbing. Shock washed over me as I started to ask Aureus for help, but he was already on it, wind exploded out from her body sending tens of rats flying in all directions. I could feel that he was looking for a place to land but the battle was so chaotic there wasn¡¯t an empty patch of land large enough for him anywhere. I couldn¡¯t hear what she was saying but Rosalynn was yelling something as she ran over to her sister. The space Aureus had created was quickly filling in with other rats in the stampede, they made for an effective and horrifying tool of destruction. Mindlessly charging towards their goal regardless of the damage it might cause. My nose scrunched up as I watched Rosalynn¡¯s hammer send several of them flying, but it wasn¡¯t as easy to protect someone as it was to fight on your own. Any that she missed would create gashes in Rosalia¡¯s skin as their claws caught her instead of the rock. The only positive was that they only charged towards their goal as usual. Aureus, catch me. I commanded as I jumped from his back towards where she was desperately trying to protect her sister. The memory of my ¡®impressive leap¡¯ before overlaid itself on the present as I tensed up in preparation for the fall. I knew he¡¯d catch me but my instincts didn¡¯t. Just as I was about to brace myself he caught me and I was lowered gently behind Rosalynn. ¡°What do you need? Should I take her back or do you want help?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes.¡± She forced out as blood sprayed from her victims. ¡°Ah the third option, Noel?¡± I snorted, why hadn¡¯t she asked for him before I got here? ¡°Yes Boss? Oh my¡­¡± His voice got tense as he looked down at Rosalia¡¯s bloody body. ¡°Can you take her to Reid please?¡± ¡°On it.¡± And with that they disappeared. ¡°Must be nice¡­¡± Rosalynn muttered something, but that was the only part I caught. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a break and go see her? I¡¯m sure Reid will get her right as rain soon.¡± I asked gently. ¡°We have to stay and fight when we can. I have a responsibility to these people.¡± I could hear that she was fighting back tears. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the jab, ¡°Yes you do. So you need to take care of yourself, knowing how to rest is also a skill. It¡¯s not very responsible of you if you die or get heavily injured and are unable to protect them later is it?¡± She grumbled something else under her breath. Aureus, take her to her sister please. His wind took her and her protests away quickly, so I just focused on the wave in front of me. ¡°I guess now is as good as ever to try and practice fire manipulation again.¡± I groaned. For the next few minutes I pushed myself, trying to maintain a field of fire in the area directly in front of me. I was still pretty unskilled, I knew that, but the several rats that ran past me proved it. This is either a really dumb idea or a really good one¡­ I thought to myself as I tried to mimic my past mistake, but on purpose that time. After a few seconds of picturing the mana all gathering at one point I¡¯d managed it. It was awkward and wobbly but a very bright orb of fire floated within the wave of rats. I took in a sharp breath as I let it explode outwards. Again I was hit with a wave of hot air, but this time I also ended up getting hit with parts of rats as well. ¡°Ewww¡­¡± I spent a few seconds trying to rid myself of the remnants of exploded rats before I had to focus on the wave yet again. ¡°God is this ever going to end?!¡± We only have about an hour of battle left, Master. Probably¡­ Thanks. Time was slowly crawling by as I focused on learning how to control my new skills. It felt like seconds were minutes. Thankfully I was improving¡­ slightly. Probably. Despite that it still required an immense amount of focus, every so often a rat would hit my leg as it escaped towards the camp and caused the mana to go a little haywire. Sometimes it would explode others, it would just dissipate. As I focused, the sounds around me felt further away, so I didn¡¯t notice Rosalynn arriving behind me until she clapped one of her hands down on my shoulder. She was heavy handed as always, ¡°Are you listening to me?¡± I heard her ask. ¡°Uh¡­¡± was all I managed. My gaze didn¡¯t waver, I was locked in on the ball of fire as it floated further from us towards my target, the next group of rats. I sucked in a breath as I watched the edges of it distort. ¡°You- no right. - just send - I am not - Mia! I - ing to me? Hel -¡± ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ right now. Just one¡­ second.¡± I replied to whatever she was trying to say. Focus. I needed to maintain an intense amount of focus in order to avoid some sort of disaster, or nothing. There was no telling what would happen if I lost control of it. ¡°So you - not listening at all.¡± I started to get annoyed and the hot mana under my skin surged. My eyes widened as the ball of mana started to get larger. I could hear Rosalynn complaining behind me, but my own thoughts were louder than her. And also much less coherent. Unfortunately that also translated into my control over the mana, since as I thought it was getting too big it started to compress the extra mana even more. Just as panic started to grip me I was spun around. ¡°Shit. A-¡± A pop sounded and I was slammed into the ground. I could taste blood, Rosalynn shifted beneath me and I pushed myself up, ¡°Dammit!¡± I groaned as I stood, my vision blurring, ¡°I told you I needed a second!¡± I glared down at a very bewildered Rosalynn. Aureus! Report! No dead yet, several injured. A few look like they might not make it. Most of the wave is gone though so- I cut him off, get the injured to the medics. Now. Then come back and defend the line. ¡°Noel?¡± I said as my ears rang. ¡°What just¡­¡± Rosalynn muttered. Or at least I thought that¡¯s what she said I couldn¡¯t really hear her. It looked like she said that, but I never really was that good at reading lips. Noel appeared between the two of us and looked quite upset. I assumed he said his normal pleasantries, I wasn''t paying much attention my head was throbbing and spinning and well just not all there. ¡°I¡­ uh¡­ honestly I¡¯m not sure uh...¡± I blushed, why did I call him? Aureus is getting the injured¡­ No he could use the help. ¡°Actually I guess if you could get injured people and any severed limbs to the medics? Please?¡± He hesitated and pulled on my arm. I shook my head which was a mistake. I cringed as it throbbed and my hearing warbled as the ringing started to die down. Finally, he gave me a curt nod and glanced back towards Rosalynn before disappearing again. She was just sitting and staring up at me, dumbfounded. I laughed bitterly. Her face flushed and nearly got as red as her hair, ¡°Are you seriously laughing right now? What the fuck was that?!¡± ¡°That was you not listening.¡± I quipped back. ¡°I told you I needed a second. Did you think I said that for no reason? There are lives at stake here.¡± I rubbed my temples in a failed attempt to reduce the pounding in my head. ¡°You just forcibly removed me from here earlier! You have no right to order me around!¡± A twinge of guilt hit me, ¡°I''m sorry I didn''t listen and made you do something you didn''t want to, but you''re in charge of people here. You really think you would have been able to perform well if you were worried about your sister? It didn''t look like it.¡± ¡°Ha! I¡¯m in charge?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah. These are your people. You created this place. You protected them. So you should act like a responsible leader and think about things from a logical standpoint. Even if I was wrong, I just wanted you to take a break, but either way you can¡¯t just start fights while we are already facing enough enemies. Couldn¡¯t you tell I was trying to focus?¡± ¡°As if! Half the people here are already your people! I mean you sent your underlings around creating factions and of course they¡¯re loyal to you so wouldn¡¯t their groups be loyal to you as well? Not to mention the groups that joined later are already partial to you!¡± ¡°Is that what this is about? You feel like I¡¯m stealing what you built? They¡¯re people, Rosalynn. You can¡¯t feel entitled to them just because you saved them, they have free will. If you want to be repaid for what you did then ask for it. If you don''t want to take responsibility then don''t.¡± She just stared at me and I could see her fighting to keep her eyes from watering. She was pissed and crying while you¡¯re pissed just makes you more pissed. I sighed and pain panged through my body, fuck the adrenaline is wearing off. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I don¡¯t think that is what it¡¯s about. Plus most of the people who joined my faction were new. You hadn¡¯t done anything for them yet, and they might¡¯ve been able to get along on their own anyways. The people you¡¯ve saved, the people who¡¯ve followed you never left. I¡¯m sorry your sister got injured and I know everything is hard. I''m sorry the other group left. You¡¯re doing good on your own so don¡¯t worry too much.¡± I reached out to her to help her up, but she just looked at the ground as her fist shook. Damn, she was still pretty pissed. I pulled out my staff. I still had two charges of healing from Reid. I used one on myself and the other on her. The pain eased, but I wasn¡¯t fully healed. A quick glance at my status window told me I had lost more than half of my health, but thankfully the spell healed twenty percent of the damage. ¡°Thanks.¡± She said quietly. ¡°No problem. This was partially my fault anyways.¡± After getting up and straightening herself out she took a deep breath, ¡°Sorry about that, I think I lost myself for a second.¡± ¡°It happens to the best of us. She¡¯s all you have left right?¡± I doubted that she got over it, especially not that quickly, but if she wanted to move on that was fine with me. ¡°Yeah¡­ well, we don¡¯t know for sure¡­ but our parents, there¡¯s no way they could¡¯ve¡­¡± This time I slapped her on the back with a little added mana for good measure, ¡°You guys do good taking care of each other. How is she?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be alright¡­ She lost an eye and she¡¯s gonna be stuck in bed for a while.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that¡­ Anyway I need to head to the infirmary, I¡¯ll see you later. Plus I¡¯ll be leaving soon so you won¡¯t have to worry about my influence pretty soon.¡± I ran off without stopping to listen to her complaints, but I ended up being caught by a worse situation once I found Reid. ¡°What in the world did you do to your back? Oh your hair¡­ you know how hard it¡¯ll be to make sure this doesn¡¯t scar?! Why didn¡¯t you come here immediately?¡± ¡°Sorry¡­ I just, it was mostly my fault so I wanted to make sure people got help.¡± ¡°You can do both, you think I wouldn¡¯t know that you sent Aureus and Noel to get people here? You were just calming Rosalynn down weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Noel!¡± I deflected, I wasn''t really calming her down I just felt bad I wasn''t sure if it was fine to do. ¡°Yes¡­?¡± ¡°You were eavesdropping? And gossiping! Don¡¯t make me remove your shadows from my vicinity! Who ever heard of a gossipy assassin seriously so unprofessional.¡± I was half joking. ¡°Aw¡­ how¡¯d you know it was me?¡± He muttered as he disappeared again. ¡°It wasn¡¯t just him. A lot of the patients that came in said they saw the two of you talking as you sent them away. I would¡¯ve figured it out anyway.¡± Reid huffed. We bickered back and forth as he worked on healing my burnt back, and we heard that the rest of the rats had been eradicated. If Caroline wasn¡¯t the messenger it would have been a weight off my shoulders, but unfortunately I ended up with two people nagging me. My clothes were sent with Caro to get fixed and I relaxed in the temple while Reid continued the treatment. The robes his group wore were actually decently comfortable. He continued to complain but at some point I drifted off. ¡°Hey, Boss?¡± Noel¡¯s voice woke me up, I sat up in a stupor. ¡°Uh¡­ huh? Yeah? Where?¡± I glanced around looking for him, but his face popped up into my view, suddenly taking me by surprise. ¡°Gah! Noel why do you always¡­ upside down? What?¡± He was hanging from the ceiling. Part of him melded into the shadows in the corner of the room and I supposed that was how he was defying gravity. ¡°You slept for a while, you missed the repopulation. The other areas of the maps opened early too.¡± I furrowed my brows, how long had I slept? [ Congratulations, a majority of those within this section of the Underhollow survived. As a reward extra areas of the map will be opened early, bonus XP will be given based on contribution, and the update will conclude. Enjoy the new features. ] ¡°What?? Majority? Did we lose some people?¡± I asked in a panic. ¡°Not many but yes, I don¡¯t think any of them were because of that fight you and Rosalynn had.¡± Noel replied casually. [ ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± smiles saying that it¡¯s about time you woke up. ] [ ¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± rolls his eyes complaining that it doesn¡¯t matter since nothing much happened anyways. ] [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± urges to you to leave soon. ] ¡°How can I leave? I haven¡¯t finished the quest.¡± I argued. [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± nods and states that it wouldn¡¯t be bad to end the quest early. ] [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± disagrees and states that the quest had clearly defined rules and the time has yet to run out. ] [ ¡°Divine Hammer of Blessings¡± agrees with ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± and motions to start a vote on ending the quest early as well as the determination of rewards. ] ¡°Wait, I still have time! This isn¡¯t fair, I¡¯ve worked hard, I shouldn''t get a lower grade just because y¡¯all want to end the quest now!¡± [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± argues that ending the quest now could help you avoid any unexpected events. ] ¡°Still¡­¡± I muttered. The GGC became silent and I sat up while I waited. ¡°Are you talking to your gods?¡± Noel asked from behind me. ¡°Oh¡­ yeah we were talking about a quest I had.¡± I almost jumped when he appeared again, I had forgotten we were talking. ¡°What did you wake me up for?¡± ¡°We need you for some stuff, you¡¯ll be leaving soon so everyone wants to get this sorted as soon as we can.¡± ¡°I see, I¡¯ll help out then.¡± I stood up and the large priest costume nearly fell off of my shoulders. It was put on backwards so that Reid could have easy access to my back. I grabbed at the robe in a panic to keep myself covered. I¡¯d forgotten about my clothes. ¡°What about Caro, did she finish my clothes?¡± ¡°I think she¡¯s still working on them.¡± He walked over and helped me straighten out my robe and tied a sash around my waist before grabbing my hand and taking me through the shadows and into a meeting room. ¡°Mia! Are you feeling alright?¡± ¡°Oh we¡¯ve lost her to Reid, she¡¯s become a cultist!¡± "Oh no, she''s got her head on backwards. What a loss for our cult..." ¡°How¡¯s your back?¡± ¡°Shut up, we need to get started soon.¡± ¡°You shut up, we only have so much time with her!¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly my point!¡± There was a large group of people surrounding me and the conversations all blended together. I was still feeling a little off. ¡°What did y¡¯all need? What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°We need to discuss creating the guild.¡± Mateo stepped forward and ushered me to one of the tables. ¡°You could¡¯ve done that without me though?¡± I responded confused. The room erupted into loud protests and Mateo rubbed his temples, ¡°I told you she was going to be like this.¡± ¡°Like what? What?¡± I was thrown from this abrupt change in events. One moment I was fighting a wave and accidentally injuring several people, the next I was getting healed and then I was drug here to discuss guilds? ¡°Boss, you¡¯re the boss. Duh. Of course we need you before we can start on the guild.¡± Noel said as if it was the most obvious thing ever. What am I a mafia don? ¡°But I¡¯m leaving¡­ Why would I¡­?¡± I trailed off, it sounded like they wanted me to start the guild as the guild master, but why would they when I was abandoning them here to go back? ¡°So what? You¡¯re still you. We want you as a guild master for your benefit and ours!¡± Mateo argued. I wrestled with the idea, I didn¡¯t like being tied down like that. I felt comfortable with Noel and the Gallaghers, but everyone else¡­ I wasn¡¯t sure, I knew I wasn¡¯t that great of a leader anyway. Plus it felt like all too much work. ¡°Just be a figurehead. Don¡¯t think too much about it.¡± Caroline interjected, she likely saw the indecision on my face. ¡°What good would that be?¡± I replied wary. ¡°A guild with a guild master who has a dragon, hm I wonder how that would be helpful¡­¡± Mateo rubbed his chin with mock confusion. ¡°I get it, I get it, so you just want me as a guild master in name?¡± I replied pulling at my hair, which I was only just noticing was much shorter than it had been. ¡°Yeah, and help out when you can or if we need it¡­ please?¡± Reid asked, putting on a very effective puppy dog face. I sighed, it¡¯s not like it¡¯d hurt me, ¡°Fine, I just need to create it right?¡± ¡°Yup, and we already decided I¡¯ll be the Vice guild master since I have the largest independent group.¡± Mateo chimed in chipperly. I eyed him suspiciously, ¡°Is that a good idea? I mean he¡¯d be the one in charge in that situation.¡± I asked pointedly towards Caroline. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll be making decisions based on votes from a council of sorts. We already worked out all the details. If things get rough I¡¯ll come crying so just create it.¡± She replied with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯m hurt!¡± Mateo mimed wiping a nonexistent tear. ¡°Alright! Fine, what¡¯s the name?¡± I rolled my eyes and looked across the group, but they all just stared at me expectantly. ¡°No seriously, what¡¯s the name? Naming things isn¡¯t easy. You said you already thought everything out, you must have some ideas for the name right? ¡­ right?¡± The only hill they''d ever die on together is that I should be the one to name it since it¡¯s my guild. I gave up and spent the next several minutes trying to come up with something. Since it was a guild that was mine only in name I had a hard time. I tried to consider what the guild might focus on, what its goal would be or something. Anything. It was hard to just create a name out of nothing with no motivation. All I wanted was to create it and let them do whatever they wanted. ¡°Why are y¡¯all making me do this?¡± I whined. ¡°Because you¡¯re the boss you¡¯ve got to be the one to name the company!¡± Noel spouted. ¡°Okay, but I¡¯m not the one who will be running it so it¡¯s hard for me to think of something.¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s got to be the best since you¡¯re the boss. Obviously.¡± He said matter of factly. ¡°Just name it something you¡¯d like, whatever you want.¡± Caro added. ¡°Ugghhh¡± I groaned. Something I like? The best? We were all ants to those beings that were apparently in the sky, who cares if we¡¯re the best down here? ¡°Wait, what about something space related? Like ¡®Zodiac¡¯ or ¡®Constellation¡¯ or something? Maybe?¡± ¡°Eh, it doesn¡¯t seem like you like it though?¡± Reid replied. He was right, I liked the star concept but I didn¡¯t like ¡®Constellation¡¯ or ¡®Zodiac¡¯. ¡°Then what about Nova? You basically created one and nearly killed yourself earlier.¡± Noel chimed in. ¡°What?! No!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°Sure, sounds better than the other two.¡± Caroline smiled as she agreed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to name the guild after my mistake!¡± I argued. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t care about the guild?¡± Reid challenged. ¡°This and that are different! Wasn''t I supposed to name it?¡± I protested. It didn¡¯t take long for ¡®Nova¡¯ to be born, I lost the fight. I was pleased to find out I could designate multiple people with different roles and permissions. I had a small revenge by designating Noel as ¡®The shady little shit¡¯. After an hour of discussion the guild was created and people were given their roles. They talked about the guild so seriously I almost felt bad about not participating. Almost. Chapter 45: An Aureus Impersonation I slipped away as they engaged in heated conversation about guild planning, rules, quests, and other boring topics. I needed to check the GGC and my quest, but more importantly my hair! I chuckled at my train of thought, I needed to trim my hair and get rid of the burnt portions. After deploying my camper and taking a much needed shower I checked myself in the mirror. I was surprised that I still had very few scars, Reid had done a great job. There was only a faint outline of a burn that looked as though it would disappear if just given a little time. My hair on the other hand was wrecked. My medium-long hair had a huge chunk missing in the back, just evening out the rest of it left me with short hair. I sighed, it wasn¡¯t the end of the world but it was annoying. It¡¯d taken me years to grow it out that long. Maybe I should¡¯ve asked Caro for help¡­ I wondered as I fussed with my now shoulder length hair. I didn¡¯t think it suited me. ¡°Mia?¡± Speak of the devil. ¡°In here!¡± I shouted without taking my eyes off of my hair. She was taken aback when she walked into me holding a dagger up to what looked like my neck, but quickly grasped the situation. ¡°Here, let me help. I¡¯m better with my hands than you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if crafting skills will be that helpful since cutting hair isn¡¯t a common thing to do when making weapons.¡± She chuckled as she pulled out a crude looking pair of scissors. When had she made those? I watched her as she worked, her eyes serious and focused on the task at hand. I smiled as her brows furrowed. ¡°Look down!¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡± After a few minutes of fussing and directing me to look in various directions and to ¡°Just sit still!¡± she took a step back, cocked her head to one side and eventually nodded with a smile. Nervous, I turned back towards the mirror and was surprised to find my hair was much shorter than just above my shoulders. But¡­ I had to admit she¡¯d done an excellent job. She¡¯d put layers in and it was just down to my chin, and I had bangs which was new. ¡°What do you think?¡± a tinge of nervousness colored her words. ¡°It looks great, thanks.¡± I replied with a smile. I meant what I said, but it¡¯d be hard to get used to it. I found myself turning my head to either side examining the changes. ¡°I had to cut it shorter than I wanted because of the burn damage, but I¡¯m glad you like it!¡± Her smile slowly fell, ¡°So you¡¯re going to be leaving soon right?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ yeah.¡± I paused as I glanced over towards the GGC and pulled up the quest window for ¡®Protect the Weak¡¯, the timer had disappeared. They came to a decision huh? ¡°I''ll probably be leaving today, probably.¡± I gave her a sad smile. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you rest more? You just got up after getting injured.¡± ¡°I rested a lot while recovering, I feel fine.¡± ¡°Well¡­ we¡¯re going to miss you. Be careful. You should come and have a meal with everyone before you leave. I doubt you¡¯ll hear the end of it if you just disappear.¡± She tussled my hair with a resigned look that she was trying to hide. Then gave me a hug and lingered as she pulled away, her eyes searching for something in mine before heading out the way she came. Once I was alone I took a deep breath and accepted the rewards for the quest. [ Congratulations on completing Protect the Weak! ] [ Rating was determined to be ¡®A¡¯ ] [ Please collect your rewards: Additional skill for all current and future familiars, Dual Daggers of Sorrow, 22,500 XP. ] I leveled up again, but didn¡¯t have time to enjoy it since after I collected the rewards another window popped up: [ Please redeem the skill. ] There were no other instructions, ¡°Is this just like how we chose classes?¡± I wondered aloud. [ Please redeem the skill. ] Aureus, is there something you want as a skill? Something you think might help you and the other familiars I¡¯ll have in the future? I¡¯m not sure, but I''d like to be able to converse with those annoying humans directly. They¡¯re quite haughty since I can¡¯t directly chastise them. That doesn¡¯t feel¡­ like good enough? Just the ability to talk to others? Sorry Master, but I¡¯m already a dragon, how else should I improve upon myself? I sighed, he wasn¡¯t wrong. But I shouldn¡¯t decide hastily. What else would the rest of the familiars also need? The ability to talk to anyone isn¡¯t a bad idea. Ugh¡­ I don¡¯t have a better idea. ¡°Can I give them a skill to become like human? Like transform into a human form of themselves or something?¡± I waited for a few seconds before a skill appeared. I was surprised I thought it would give me a couple of different skill options rather than just the one. ~~*~~ Polymorph Description: Users will be able to transform themselves into a humanoid version of themselves. The higher the mastery the more humanlike the transformation can become. User has some control over the transformation. Mana isn¡¯t used to maintain the skill, it has a flat cost on initial transformation and detransformation. Note: User¡¯s body is configured into the desired shape; this is not an illusion type skill. Mana Cost: 50 ~~*~~ [ Accept | Reject ] I considered the skill for a moment but I genuinely couldn¡¯t think of a better option. I accepted the skill. Whatever if I need something else down the line I can just make a familiar with that ability. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± praises you for considering your familiar¡¯s wishes. ] [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± is surprised you did something so selfless. ] [ ¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± cackles and states that you chose something truly useless. ] [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± urges you to bring Aureus to try it out. ] [ ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± asks why you didn¡¯t request a skill that would allow you and your familiars to take on each others¡¯ traits instead. ] [ ¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± gasps and says that ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± said something smart for once. He then mutters asking why he hadn¡¯t thought of that. ] [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± argues that a skill like that would require more practice to use effectively. ] I sighed, ¡°I didn¡¯t even consider that as an option¡­ I guess having wings would be cool, but I can barely use the elemental manipulation let alone something like that.¡± [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± wonders if you have a brain. ] [ ¡°Gentle Autumn Breeze¡± advises you to build your basics first, stating that a strong foundation will not betray you. ] [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± complains that the others should shut up since he was getting good data from you. ] [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± asks what they mean. ] [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± tells you that at least you don¡¯t have to learn from someone like ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± ] [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± nods vigorously. ] [ ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± asks why ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± is nodding and states that he¡¯s worse. ] [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± looks around in confusion asking what they mean. ] [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± exclaims what?! ] Aureus, did you see the new skill? Could you come here so I can see you try it? I saw, I¡¯m almost there. I closed the GGC as they bickered about teaching ability and the importance of basics. Have I been trying to go about those skills wrongly? Uh¡­ well, forgive me Master, but yes you¡¯ve been trying to learn in a rather dumb way. Why¡¯s that? I mean¡­ You tried to run after you tried to crawl like once, I don¡¯t understand why you thought it made sense. Why didn¡¯t you say anything? You seemed so determined¡­ I wanted to cheer you on. Plus you were learning new things about mana even if you were doing it wrongly. It will definitely take you much longer to learn it if you continue the way you¡¯ve been doing it though. Before I could reply I heard a clinking sound on the door. I opened it to see Aureus sitting down with his wings wrapped around his torso. His eyes peeked out from behind them. You¡¯re so cute, what a precious baby! Did you feel bad because you said I was learning in a dumb way? I am NOT a baby! Yes, yes, you¡¯re about to be a humanoid dragon temporarily. Come on, let''s try it! His tail flicked in annoyance, but he agreed. For the first time in weeks I saw a familiar sight of his body dissolving into light, his form shrinking significantly. His chubby limbs becoming thinner and small fingers and toes forming. Overall he became thinner and smaller, but his wings, horns, and tail didn¡¯t disappear. As the light dissipated he uncurled and slowly he floated down and his feet unsteadily took on his full weight. He looked sort of similar to me, but his face looked close to flawless so the little bits of similarities were overshadowed by that fantastical beauty. As expected of a dragon. I wondered if he modeled his face after mine or if I was just the only human he paid any attention to so it happened subconsciously. His skin was the same color he normally was, a light rose golden color. It was still scaled in a few places. He hadn¡¯t managed to make ears, and his hair was a light shiny bronze, it looked like thin strands of the metal itself. His eyes hadn¡¯t changed much; they still swirled like molten silver and had the angular look of a dragon¡¯s. The least surprising thing was that he was about the height of a young middle schooler. Ten to twelve maybe. I pulled a blanket out of my inventory and wrapped him up in it. He wasn¡¯t really exposing himself since he didn¡¯t have anything to expose, but it felt odd to let a child stand there without covering them. Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have sent Caro away. He needed clothes. ¡°Mashter?¡± He furrowed what would¡¯ve been his brows, ¡°Mahh, mm¡­ hmm. Master, how do I looook?¡± He got out awkwardly. Looks like he¡¯ll need a little bit of practice talking. I stifled a chuckle, ¡°You look cute, as always.¡± wait that feels narcissistic since I thought he looked like me¡­ I scrunched up my face at the thought. You don¡¯t like that I look like you? ¡°Ah no, that¡¯s not what I meant.¡± I paused, but changed the topic quickly, ¡°Let¡¯s go see Caro, you need some clothes.¡± ¡°Ookie. I like Karo!¡± I did snicker that time, he said Caro with such a hard ¡®k¡¯ sound. We made our way back to where I¡¯d left the rest of the guild members, he spent the whole time chattering about this or that. He was trying to improve his pronunciation. His frustration that he wasn¡¯t able to speak clearly was palpable. Thankfully he was improving remarkably quickly. ¡°Hey, is Caro still here?¡± I asked as we walked in. ¡°Uh, I think she went back with Reid or maybe to her workshop? I¡¯m not sure, who¡¯s this?¡± Mateo asked as he looked down at Aureus. He was massive in comparison. ¡°I¡¯m Aureus!¡± He said proudly as he put one hand on his hip and smacked his chest with the other for emphasis. The blanket I¡¯d carefully wrapped him in sliding down to the floor when he let go to take such a proud stance. A mischievous grin sneaked onto Mateo¡¯s face and he tapped one of Aureus¡¯ horns before asking, ¡°Mia don¡¯t you think Aureus will be quite upset if you help kids pretend to be him?¡± ¡°What?! This human! You! Howl dare you!¡± Aureus yelled angrily. ¡°Howl?¡± He responded. ¡°HOW! DARE!¡± ¡°Oh, I see, yes how dare I indeed. I can¡¯t be insulting an impostor of Mia¡¯s great dragon, that would be ridiculous!¡± ¡°That! You¡­ Uh. I, you¡­ I¡¯m going to find Karo!¡± He held a wide stance while pointing at Mateo for a moment before gathering up the blanket, turning too quickly and nearly toppling over as he stomped out. His chunky tail flicked in frustration under the blanket that drug on the ground as he walked. ¡°He got a new skill huh?¡± Mateo asked casually after Aureus was out of earshot. Though, I wondered how he was listening to us without ears. Maybe he had those small reptilian ear canals? ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s his first time using it. He wanted to be able to talk to you ¡®lowly humans¡¯ so I used a quest reward to give him that skill. I need to catch up with him though, if you see Rosalynn can you ask her for my portion of the wave rewards?¡± ¡°Will do, see you later Nova¡¯s Guild Master!¡± I rolled my eyes at his jab and ran after Aureus who was gathering a lot of dirt on his blanket train behind him. Once I caught up he looked up at me, ¡°Why didn¡¯t he recognize me?¡± ¡°He did.¡± I said with a small laugh as I ruffled his hair, there was quite a lot of it. His hair was long and wavy, it framed his face nicely and gave him a more feminine look. It was hard to suppress the urge to find a dress to put on him. ¡°Then why did he¡­¡± He kicked at a rock on the ground and it went flying. ¡°Aureus, you have to control your strength. What if that rock hits someone?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± He muttered. ¡°Mateo was teasing you, you don¡¯t look very similar to a human and you¡¯re with me, people might not recognize you at first glance but they¡¯ll probably figure it out pretty quick. You are the great and mighty Aureus after all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ true¡­. Can¡¯t I fly to find Karoline?¡± ¡°If you really want to, I won''t stop you, but you¡¯d be naked. Why didn¡¯t you when you stormed out?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to leave your blanket on the ground¡­¡± ¡°Haha, but you¡¯ve drug this part all across the ground this whole time?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Are you going to fly and find her?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°Why not?¡± He tugged at his blanket and buried his face in it, ¡°You said I¡¯d be naked¡­¡± I nearly snorted from laughing so hard, and he buried himself even further into the blanket. Once I¡¯d gained some composure I stopped him and got down onto his level, ¡°Aureus, I won¡¯t push humanities ideals on you. You aren¡¯t a human and I won¡¯t force you to live like one¡­ But I would feel more comfortable if you weren¡¯t naked in this form. Still whatever you want to do is fine.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be naked! You think nakedness is nasty! I¡¯m not nasty!¡± My heart sank, ¡°No, it¡¯s not that I think nakedness is nasty it''s just¡­ humans look different from you when they¡¯re naked and I don''t want to see the way they look. You aren¡¯t nasty, don''t worry.¡± I didn¡¯t want to give him some sort of complex, how was I supposed to explain nakedness to a dragon? A young one at that. Should I give him some sex-ed? ¡°Okay I understand.¡± It still felt like he was a little upset. I picked him up like a swaddled princess, ¡°Now why don¡¯t you fly us over to Reid¡¯s temple?¡± Chapter 46: Farewell Festivities Various members in robes ran around trying to make way for me as we landed near the ornate statue in the courtyard. I didn¡¯t understand how they managed to make this place look so nice despite the lack of proper tools, time and materials. We landed in the midst of their murmuring, it was annoying how they did that in front of us as if we couldn¡¯t hear them. Aureus must have been annoyed as well or reacting to my annoyance because instead of dissipating the wind that carried us there he shot it out in all directions. It ruffled their robes, some gasps rang out but for the most part it just stopped their incessant yapping. I glanced down at him and he had a sharp toothed grin. Huh, I¡¯m surprised I hadn¡¯t noticed those teeth before now. Looking around the crowd they all looked the same except one man who stood closest to the entrance of the temple. I walked towards him and without hesitation the crowd made way for me. ¡°Is Caroline here?¡± I asked. Once I was close enough I saw he was about middle aged, he had a more ornate robe and a crude staff. ¡°She should be in the Saint¡¯s chambers. Hazel, guide her.¡± His voice was gentle but firm, he gestured towards a young girl. She couldn¡¯t have been older than eight. She was a bright child, large dark brown eyes that resembled her warm skin tone, a huge smile, and tight black coiled hair. She grabbed onto my robe to guide me, the man opened his mouth to scold her but I shook my head and went along with her. She chatted about the building as we walked. Apparently people didn¡¯t usually take the path we were on since it was created before the building expanded to how large it was now. It was a much faster route than the one I was taken down in the past, but it wasn¡¯t as decorated. I wonder if they¡¯re using this as some kind of servants¡¯ passageway. I thought as I looked around at the drab interior. ¡°Alright this is it! Bye-bye savior!¡± She exclaimed while walking off, but turned around and glanced at Aureus while she walked. ¡°What?!¡± He asked defensively. She stuck out her tongue and escaped quickly around a corner. He muttered something about humans as I walked into Reid¡¯s room. ¡°Reid? Caro? Y¡¯all in here?¡± I called out. ¡°We¡¯re over here.¡± They responded from the side room. I walked into an office-like area and they were sitting at a table snacking on some rat jerky. ¡°I need a favor Caro, do you have a way to make him some clothes quickly?¡± She glanced over at me and froze with her mouth open, she was in the middle of putting another piece of jerky into her mouth. Her hand dropped, ¡°Aureus?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Oh my god! He¡¯s so cute!¡± I laughed as I sat him on the floor, ¡°I know right? It¡¯s weird, it''s like I¡¯ve got a kid brother. So weird.¡± Caroline walked up to him and squatted in front of him, ¡°I need to take this, is that alright? Do you want Reid to leave?¡± She asked while holding onto the blanket. ¡°I¡­ No, it''s okay.¡± He handed the blanket over to me and she pulled out a strip of fabric that she used to take his measurements. ¡°Why¡¯s he like this now?¡± Reid asked from the table, I wondered if he felt uncomfortable with the idea of it. ¡°Oh it¡¯s a new skill. He¡¯s still a dragon; he only looks like this temporarily.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how long it¡¯ll take me. What do you want? A shirt and shorts? Pants? A robe or dress?¡± Caroline was glancing between the two of us. ¡°I want pants! Cool pants!¡± ¡°We¡¯re in a rush, Aureus, and anything she makes will probably be made out of leather so it won¡¯t be as nice as it could be later. What if we plan to get a better outfit later and right now you just get something to cover up.¡± ¡°She¡¯s right, I won¡¯t be able to make anything nice right now unfortunately. When we get better materials I¡¯ll make you a really nice outfit. How about that?¡± He groaned, ¡°Fiiinee!¡± I patted his head, ¡°that¡¯s great, thanks for being understanding.¡± The four of us chatted for a while as she created a crude pair of pants that had a hole for his tail. We joked about our adventures, Aureus made fun of us and we made fun of him. We talked about what we missed the most or what we wanted to do in the future. It was healing. The safest I¡¯d felt in a long time, it was surreal. I had a feeling like someone was going to run in and yell about how something awful was about to happen. Or some notification was about to pop up. The conversation ended uneventfully, Aureus received his pants and was fawned over by us for a few minutes before we left to find Rosalynn. Mateo never messaged me to say that she¡¯d found them so we ended up wandering from place to place before we found her at Tali¡¯s section of the wall. She was standing next to one of the craters as she looked into the distance. ¡°Hey, you doing alright?¡± I asked gently. ¡°Yeah, how about y-OH MY GOD! Is that?¡± Her eyes went wide when she saw Aureus next to me. He was standing proudly, but it didn¡¯t make him look as regal as he did when he was a dragon since he was holding my hand. Plus he had the disadvantage of looking like a child. ¡°Hello, I am the great dragon Aureus!¡± he proclaimed. ¡°Of course you are!¡± She said with a smile as she squatted down to his eye level, ¡°So what¡¯d you come to see me for?¡± ¡°I still haven¡¯t gotten my share of the red crystals.¡± ¡°Oh, are you leaving early? I thought you still had a day or two before the week you said you¡¯d stay was up¡­¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Yeah, everything looks fine here so I thought it¡¯d be better to go ahead and leave now. Before I get too attached to this dreary place.¡± I said as I gestured around us. She handed me five crystals. It was significantly more than I¡¯d been expecting. ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d get this many!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°Yeah we were pretty lucky, though it¡¯s weird Adventurers can¡¯t use them.¡± ¡°Really? How¡¯d you find that out?¡± ¡°I tried to give one to Rosalia.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s unfortunate. Is she doing alright?¡± ¡°Yeah she¡¯s in the infirmary with the rest of the injured. How are you feeling? I¡¯ve been feeling like shit about the people who got hurt from our fight¡­¡± She looked up at the murky red sky as she talked. I felt the blood drain from my face, after everything that happened how did I forget about the people I¡¯d hurt? What is wrong with me! I didn¡¯t even go see if they were okay! ¡°How are they? Any complications or fatalities?¡± my voice cracked as I asked. ¡°Everyone was fine, there were mostly minor injuries. Honestly you ended up with the worst out of everyone. I think the only fatalities we had were unrelated to that specific incident¡­¡± She gripped one of her arms tightly as she responded. ¡°Still¡­ I should go see them.¡± I was still in shock that it¡¯d slipped my mind. ¡°Sure, if you want to. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be happy to see the two of you.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks for everything, I¡¯ll see you later probably!¡± I hollered as I ran back towards the center of camp. We spent the next hour or two chatting with the people who had been involved in the accident, everyone seemed pretty understanding. Apparently Rosalynn had already visited all of them and explained that it was her fault, and they were all quite pleased with the fact that Reid¡¯s temple had treated them free of charge. Which was shocking to me since I hadn¡¯t realized they¡¯d started charging people. [ Witch of the Wellspring: hey so are we doing a get together before I leave orr should I just go?? ] [ Call of the Void: Let¡¯s do something together. I think most everyone is at Mateo¡¯s so why don¡¯t we go over there? ] [ Witch of the Wellspring: is it a good idea to have aureus around alcohol? ] [ Call of the Void: How should I know? ] [ Witch of the Wellspring: good point. ok see you there ] Everyone welcomed us cheerfully and we played cards, drank, and played various drinking games for a few hours. Eventually Aureus walked up to me, ¡°Master!¡± He was pulling on my robe. I took a stumbling step to the side as he pulled. ¡°Oh yeah I forgot I need to get my clothes back from Caro¡­¡± ¡°Masterrrr!¡± He whined. ¡°Yes my precious little dwaagoonn???¡± I was using baby speak towards him in my drunken state, which only made him more upset. ¡°MASTER!¡± ¡°What?!¡± I shouted back. ¡°They won¡¯t give me a drink, why does everyone else get to have some but I can¡¯t?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ That¡¯s cause you¡¯re too young, this isn¡¯t something you can have. It¡¯s bad for you.¡± ¡°Ha. As if some weak human poison could hurt me!¡± He retorted. ¡°I mean it wouldn¡¯t kill ya, but that doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s a good idea. Okay?¡± ¡°This is dumb. I¡¯m bored, can''t we go now?¡± ¡°Okay okay, then let me get my clothes from Caroline and we can go.¡± We wandered around the party, and I kept getting pulled into various conversations and games but Aureus was determined and constantly pulled at my robe to keep me going. Eventually we made our way to where Caro was and asked for my clothes. ¡°Oh, they¡¯re here somewhere¡­¡± She said as she started looking through her inventory, ¡°yup some ¡­ where¡­ here¡­ Ohhh. Here it¡¯s this one.¡± She pulled out my dress with a smile. ¡°What about the cloak?¡± Aureus asked before I realized it was missing. ¡°Oh yeah what about the cloak?¡± I repeated. ¡°Ohh okay yeah, hmm¡­¡± she looked around for another minute before she found it and handed it over. ¡°You should try to find some new materials because this isn¡¯t gonna last you too long if you keep exploding yourself.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do that on purpose! You KNOW that!¡± ¡°Uh huh, still you¡­¡± She started to choke up, ¡°You¡¯re always getting yourself hurt! Honestly I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you did it on purpose. I¡¯m sick of fixing your clothes!¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t! You don¡¯t have to fix them. Because I¡¯m not gonna mess them up anymore!¡± ¡°You better not! You promise it! Say it!¡± She started to wave her pinky around in front of my face. I grabbed at the air with my own failing to grab hers. Annoyed, I snagged her arm with one hand and promised with the other. We shared a long hug and both cried for a while before I gave into Aureus¡¯ tugging. ¡°Fine, I¡¯m going I¡¯m going. I¡¯ll see you later!¡± ¡°Why are you being so weird Master?¡± Aureus asked, annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m not being weird. You¡¯re being weird. Silly Aureus.¡± I stumbled a bit as we walked out of the building, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s finally time to leave. Aureus you gotta get naked.¡± ¡°What?!¡± his tail wrapped around his waist and pants as he backed away. ¡°How did you think we were gonna travel? By foot? You can¡¯t walk that farrr¡± I replied as I walked towards him. ¡°So? How is me being naked better?!¡± He yelled as he continued to run from me. ¡°Come here, slow down!¡± I ran after him as the horizon shifted. I fell but ended up snagging one of his ankles, ¡°Gotcha!¡± He started screeching, ¡°Why are you screaming, you¡¯ll just rip your pants if you transform back like this?¡± ¡°AAaahh¡­ oh¡­ Why didn¡¯t you just say that in the first place?¡± He asked as he fiddled with his pants as he tried to figure out how to take them off. Eventually he managed it and I stored them in my inventory. ¡°Uhhh I did??¡± ¡°No you didn¡¯t?¡± ¡°Oh. Sorry about that. Anyway let¡¯s go magical girl transform woooo!¡± He gave me a side eye, but transformed anyway. I tried to climb on his back but fell down instead, ¡°Oh yeah, the saddle¡­ We never got her to make us a saddle.¡± I mumbled as Aureus used his tail and head in an awkward effort to push me onto his back. It was oddly effective. ¡°Wait, Aureusss! No I gotta go get the saddle.¡± She never made it, just hold on. He replied with annoyance. ¡°Ok ok ok ok ok. Ok. I¡¯ll hold on- AH! Wait wait! I¡¯m not ready!¡± I screamed as he took off. We would have been here forever if I waited for you to be ready. ¡°In your rebellious streak already? Ugh.¡± I clutched at him as I started to feel a little nauseous. I took a deep breath and the wind helped soothe me. This will always be amazing. Flying like this. I said to myself as I leaned back and enjoyed the flight. Yup, walking around like a human was dumb. Rude after all I went through to get you that ability you don¡¯t even want it. I¡¯m hurt. It¡¯s not like I meant it¡­ I laid back and stared up at the faux red sky, I couldn¡¯t wait for the pink one. I had been yearning to return for weeks now. I smiled and wondered if the potatoes I¡¯d left were growing well. I made some mental notes to expand the garden and search for more varieties of Underhollow foods. I wondered if the forest would have anything good, I hadn¡¯t discovered anything about it yet. We never even stepped foot in the forest, we were much too busy getting rid of those pesky slimes. Wait, since I¡¯ve been gone and the repopulation happened that means¡­ ¡°Fuck. The slimes will be back again. Dammit.¡± Chapter 47: All That Remained Cautiously we climbed the final few stairs to the surface. My chest tightened as I surveyed the surroundings, the city was absolutely wrecked. Especially the immediate surroundings, but noticeably there was a path of destruction. I looked in its direction, so that way is the cesspool of living shit. Noted. Several buildings had fully toppled over, and the rubble had broken up into smaller pieces with scrape marks marring their surfaces. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here. We¡¯re going home.¡± I muttered quietly to Aureus who was standing at my side at full attention. ¡°So you did end up leaving after all huh?¡± Tali¡¯s soft voice came from my left. I whipped around towards her gripping my new daggers in both hands. ¡°Yeah¡­ so did you.¡± ¡°Ah, yes that¡¯s true. I couldn¡¯t just abandon the world I was raised in.¡± She said with a shy smile. My skin prickled, she was behaving the exact same way she always had. It was as if she¡¯d never run off and blown up an entire section of camp, but beneath the surface I could see a sliver of insanity in her eyes. ¡°Okay, as nice as it was to see you again, I''ll be heading out now. I¡¯ve got a prior engagement.¡± I sneered. ¡°How unfortunate. We¡¯d only just started talking, and poor Theo hasn¡¯t even had a chance to say ¡®hi¡¯ yet and you¡¯re already heading out. We really wanted to catch up with you ya know?¡± ¡°I think he¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m not really interested in hanging out with my ex who also turns out to be a nazi.¡± I spat. I had no idea if they were with that group we had run into, but it didn¡¯t hurt to throw it out and see how she reacted. Tali¡¯s poker face cracked for a fleeting moment before smoothing into a gentle frown, ¡°Don¡¯t lump all of us in with that man. He¡¯s useful, like a dog. That¡¯s all, we don¡¯t share his delusions. He really only had a few followers and you killed them¨C really I wanted to thank you myself. We really could use your help, you¡¯re quite skilled and we¡¯re trying to rebuild our home. Not like those people down there, what they''re doing looks nice on the outside but they¡¯ve abandoned Earth. We might embrace the necessary evils, but our cause is noble.¡± She motioned behind herself as if I should follow her. She felt inhuman, an exquisite mask hiding something¡­ wrong. I wasn¡¯t sure what to respond with at first, ¡®good for you that you aren¡¯t the shittiest person?¡¯ ¡®you¡¯re welcome?¡¯ ¡®how does living on the surface make you better than them?¡¯ I shook my head, I just wanted to leave. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a pleasure. I hope we don¡¯t cross paths again.¡± She never responded again, she just stared at me with a small smile. Her gentle appearance was unnerving. Creepy bitch¡­ I thought to myself as we flew away. Why didn¡¯t you fight her? I¡­ I mean I¡¯ve killed someone once, but I¡¯m still struggling with that. Even if they deserve it, it¡¯s hard to do. I could¡¯ve fought her. No, it still feels wrong if you were to do it. Plus there¡¯s no telling if that was some kind of trap or if there were others around that might have ambushed us. I mulled over the interaction as we flew away from the city. An uncomfortable heavy feeling came over me, I couldn¡¯t quite place it. I tried to make sense of why she would sabotage us in the first place and why she was there waiting for me just to have a casual conversation. Was it just to see if I actually decided to leave? How long had it been for her? The whole time dilation thing was always confusing. I groaned and laid forwards onto the back of Aureus¡¯ neck. There¡¯s no point in considering the actions of some crazy assholes. [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± praises you for not taking lives recklessly. ] [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± stows one notebook and retrieves another. ] [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± complains that it took you too long to leave and says you should¡¯ve hurried. ] [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± jots something down in his newly retrieved notebook. ] [ ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± states that close bonds with those you share a battlefield with is important. ] [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± scoffs saying that those humans follow you around like a puppy already. ] [ ¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± asks what an extra hour or two would do anyway. ] [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± frowns and says that you¡¯ll get there when you get there. ] [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± shrugs and says that the consequences of the decisions that were made have nothing to do with them and reminds you that they wanted you to leave sooner. ] [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± yells that you basically didn¡¯t have a choice. ] ¡°Is there something I needed to rush back for?¡± I asked as I read through the messages. The Playwright seemed desperate to have me head back quickly for a while, but I¡¯d just assumed he was trying to mess with me. [ ¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± laughs and states that an extra hour or two might have made all the difference. Then shrugs stating that we¡¯d never know now. ] [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± disagrees and argues that the length of the trip back would take too long for it to matter much. ] ¡°Why? What am I going to miss out on if I don¡¯t get there in time? Is there someone y¡¯all want me to help? Because of the wave?¡± I was confused. Even more so because the Playwright was the only one that was pushing me to go back until right that moment. Their contractor maybe? I waited for more messages but they got quiet again, the chat became filled with miscellaneous messages from gods I vaguely recognized about random topics like my abilities, how cute Aureus was, my new haircut, various things like that. ¡°Is¡­ is everything going to be destroyed?¡± I wondered aloud a sinking feeling slowly gathering in my chest. I finally got my answer an hour later when I got to the outskirts of our small town. It was worse than the city, there were a handful of buildings that were still standing, but almost everything had been reduced to rubble. Shock punched me in the gut, I needed to get to my house. My desperation and Aureus¡¯ worry churned in my stomach as we flew out of town as fast as he could. I scanned the horizon as we got closer, and finally I saw it. What remained of my home. My heart dropped, Aureus slowed and eventually landed in front of what was his birthplace. Numbly I slid down from his back and took a few staggering steps down the driveway. It was completely gone. My skin prickled and I was hit with a deep chill. Tears began falling and I ran towards my home, falling to my knees and combing through the chunks of drywall, wood, and glass. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I have to find mom¡­ somewhere, she has to be under here somewhere.¡± I scraped at the rubble frantically. My thoughts raced incomplete and incoherent as I panicked. Dirt and debris piled up under my nails as I desperately and mindlessly dug towards the center of her room. A small hand lightly rested on my shoulder and I froze. ¡°Let me do it.¡± Aureus asked earnestly. His gaze was unwavering, but his quivering lip and the tracks of tears on his face undermined the serious front he was putting on. ¡°O-okay¡­¡± I slowly sat back on my heels and began to zone out as the wind whistled. An empty dull ache seeped into me and at some point the tears stopped. My once frantic thoughts were gone. There was nothing. My mind was empty and I just sat there staring unfocused at my lap while Aureus sorted through the contents of my home. My perception of time slipped away and eventually Aureus came and sat next to me, he grabbed my hand but didn¡¯t say anything. We sat there like that for a while, neither of us speaking. Finally I mustered up the courage and walked over the piles of debris he¡¯d created and looked at the wrecked contents of my mom¡¯s room. The broken mirror that used to be part of her vanity crunched under my flats as I approached the splintering furniture. I was carefully scanning everything, and finally, I found the broken remnants of her urn. It laid to the left of the vanity between it and the bed. It was hard to tell what was dirt and what were her ashes among everything else. The bottom of it was still sort of intact, but the majority of the urn had shattered. I picked up the pieces with shaking hands. There was still a very small amount of ashes that had remained in the bottom of the urn. At least some of her... I can¡¯t get the rest back but I have some of her. I thought as I gripped the piece I was holding. ¡°They knew.¡± I muttered as I set it down safely to the side. I took a shaky breath, ¡°You knew! And you never told me?!¡± I shrieked at the sky. Rage overcame me, I screamed. ¡°FUCK YOU!¡± There was so much more I wanted to say. I wanted to curse them for everything, I wanted to punch them. I couldn¡¯t do anything to gods, they wouldn¡¯t even care. Why would they care about a little disposable mortal like me? I pushed my bangs back and out of my face as I began hyperventilating. I sat down in the middle of what used to be my childhood home and tried to breathe and reign in my emotions. I stared at my white knuckled fists as I sat, and once I my breathing steadied I started to open the GGC but hesitated. ¡°Aureus, let¡¯s go kill something.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± He asked meekly. ¡°Yeah¡­ well I gotta find something to put this in¡­¡± I muttered as I pushed through broken furniture looking for some kind of container. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± has sponsored you.] A small vial materialized before me, it was a dark blue similar to their chat messages. I grimaced but used it as they intended and placed the ashes I had left into my inventory. Something else, maybe I can¡¯t get all of her ashes back but there has to be something left of our life. A picture, some of her paintings, something. Something has to be salvageable here. We aren¡¯t going to fight? Not yet¡­ We spent the next hour combing through the remnants of our house. The only piece of her that I was able to salvage was an old ring and a tattered picture from my fifth grade graduation. All of my paintings, all of hers, everything was destroyed. Everything I¡¯d ever known was in that house. All of our memories from when I was born to now. It was just gone. Finally we left and started the trek towards the Underhollow entrance. My rage still bubbled as I stepped onto the path the monsters had taken. My foot sank with every step, all of the plants in the vicinity had been ripped up and only mud remained. It must have rained at some point when I was gone. I stopped, ¡°Aureus walking is dumb right? Let¡¯s fly.¡± ¡°But I just turned into this form¡­¡± He whined. ¡°You can just fly on your own and use wind to take me with you, right?¡± ¡°Oh yeah...¡± He gave me a small smile and gently lifted me along with him. We slowly accelerated and I stared down at the passing scenery. The dense forest on the mountain was completely destroyed. It looked like a tornado went through. I glanced over my shoulder at the trail of destruction they¡¯d created, soon enough if the people they were after didn¡¯t die maybe those people would follow it back here. Great. Just great. Everything is going great. Yup. We could just kill them Master. I groaned. No, I don¡¯t want to kill them. But you don¡¯t want them in our Underhollow? Yes, I don¡¯t want people to come here. Then we should kill them. They might be bad too, they might try to kill us. I don¡¯t trust them. I didn¡¯t reply, I wasn¡¯t really on board with cold blooded murder, but I couldn¡¯t trust people I didn¡¯t know. Even people I knew before all this, how could I trust them? They easily could¡¯ve changed since everything went to shit. People change when they get power or when shit hits the fan and we were in the perfect storm for something like that. But¡­ killing them? I shuddered at the thought and pushed down the unsavory memory of the man we¡¯d killed. It was easy not to think about him, not to remember him, but only when I was busy. Busy with keeping those that mattered to me alive, busy with restructuring the camp, busy with defending against the wave. I had been so busy I¡¯d nearly forgotten. If it weren¡¯t for the nightmares I¡¯m sure I would¡¯ve. My mind lurched between the guilt of forgetting about the first person I¡¯d killed and relief that I could forget even if it was just a little while. I couldn¡¯t believe that I hadn¡¯t thought about him until then, I pondered over whether or not I was a shitty person. He was a bad man. A murderer. I defended myself. He deserved it. I told myself. He almost killed you Master. Of course he deserved to die. I glanced over to Aureus who was gliding through the sky next to me, yes. I just did what I had to. I tried to smile despite the surges of complicated emotions that I couldn¡¯t really place. We flew in silence as my mind went numb and finally landed on the newly barren entrance to the Underhollow. ¡°Damn, it was ethereal last time, but now everything else is torn up but the entrance so it¡¯s a little creepy.¡± I glanced over at Aureus who was folding his wings against his back. He glanced from the door to me and back, ¡°I dunno, I think it looks inviting, I wanna go down and fight.¡± he replied with a small shrug. I responded with a weak chuckle and followed behind him as we descended into our first hunting ground. All I could think about on the way down was, there is no way that our potatoes are still alright. And I was right¡­ mostly. As I stepped down onto the relief at the bottom of the steps and looked out into what used to be a serene and beautiful fantasy-land I was shocked despite myself. ¡°I should¡¯ve known it was gonna look like shit.¡± I muttered as I looked over the hills. There was an obvious path that the majority of the monsters must have taken to exit the area, the center of the land in front of me was scraped up and barren like the land near my home. The rivers and hills to my left where the slimes resided was mostly intact though. The forest wasn¡¯t quite intact, but it at least still sort of stood. Several trees had been felled, but overall it wasn¡¯t as torn up as the plains. I glanced over to the wall next to us, there were a handful of dead rabbits on top of where the garden should be. I threw them aside and dug into the wet dirt where I¡¯d planted the potatoes all those weeks prior. Thankfully there were a handful of potatoes that had made it through the destruction. I assumed they were saved due to the sacrifice of those horned rabbits that now laid to my right, well some of them did and a couple had taken up residence in Aureus¡¯ stomach. After I dug them up I was able to slice off a few of the budding portions and replant them. The rest I stowed away. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go kill whatever is left around here I guess¡­¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Sounds good!¡± Aureus replied with a grin. Every time I saw his smile I was taken aback. I knew he was a dragon, but a human with sharp fangs like that was a little unsettling. Well, he wasn¡¯t really human¨C he was obviously not human, but still. ¡°Can you do a quick survey to find something? I don¡¯t really want to walk aimlessly.¡± I asked as I started fussing with the garden. ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll let you know when I¡¯ve found something.¡± He replied chipperly and took off. I fussed with the ground around our makeshift garden, tidying it up and creating a crude little bone fence. Keeping my hands busy was the only way I could keep things out of my head. And creating something even slightly home-y-er made me feel at least a little bit better. I hung a few rat skulls on various ¡®posts¡¯ of the fence. I surveyed my inventory looking for something to create a sign out of. We couldn¡¯t have any random people coming along and messing up our stuff again. Just as I was running out of finishing touches to put on a rather macabre potato garden Aureus asked, Master¡­ There aren¡¯t any monsters here. Are they all gone? What are we supposed to do here? Chapter 48: Beach Day What do you mean there aren¡¯t any monsters? Just what I said, I flew over a lot of the area around us and I can¡¯t find a single living thing in this area. Should I fly further in? No, no, just come back. ¡°Noel?¡± I asked without thinking. A beat passed before I said aloud, ¡°Ah¡­ duh¡­¡± I wondered when I had started treating him like a virtual assistant on a phone. ¡°I¡¯m here Master!¡± ¡°Yes I know. You came back so fast! Thanks.¡± I gave him a weak smile and got up to walk over towards the lush grass in the slime¡¯s habitat. ¡°So since all the monsters left during the wave should we go find them? You wanted to kill things.¡± Aureus asked in a tone that didn¡¯t suit the bloody carnage I had in mind. ¡°Nah, that¡¯s too much work.¡± I sighed as I flopped backwards onto a patch of grass on the side of a hill. I stared up at the pink sky above us and pondered our options. I didn¡¯t want to talk to the gods, but they were the only ones who would really know what was going on. After glancing through the system I saw that the repopulation would be starting within 20 hours, but sitting around and waiting for a fight was annoying. I wanted something to distract myself. [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: I made it back. ] I sent a casual message to Caro, and received a response immediately. [ ¡°Call of the Void¡±: Well it¡¯s about time! How was it? Did you have to fight any painted people? Did you see any of our friends topside? ] [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: oh haha. Yeah actually I saw Tali. And a few more unsavory things happened. And now I¡¯m laying here wondering what to do with myself. ] We talked about what happened since I left and I complained about the loss of my childhood home and everything in it. Reminiscing with her about things I¡¯d forgotten from our childhood was healing. I laughed about the times when she¡¯d visited and her parents were cringing at the idea of their perfect little girl trouncing around in the woods with me. They loved us, but were undoubtedly city people. So anxious about what might happen even though we were never out of their line of sight. [ ¡°Call of the Void¡±: Still though. That really sucks. I can¡¯t imagine it not being there. ] [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: you have no idea. it still hasn¡¯t really set in¡­ ] [ ¡°Call of the Void¡±: I mean at least you get to leisurely lay around in the Underhollow, we don¡¯t have that option right now. ] [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: oh yeah, how¡¯s the map expansion and everything the new stuff. what¡¯s been added? ] [ ¡°Call of the Void¡±: There¡¯s like tunnels to deeper areas, it¡¯s got the little wommi things. It¡¯s not too bad though, we¡¯re getting new materials for me to use so that¡¯s a plus. ] [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: oh yeah, can you make me a saddle? ] [ ¡°Call of the Void¡±: I already knew you¡¯d ask. I¡¯ll trade you for some potatoes or any of the other fancy veggies you got over there. I¡¯m sick of rat jerky. ] [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: sure, but uhhh how do I do that?? ] [ ¡°Call of the Void¡±: I¡¯ll initiate a trade through the shop. ] [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: actually wait give me more time I need to grow more I don¡¯t have much rn ] [ ¡°Call of the Void¡±: Okay. But it¡¯s ready for you when you need it just send me a trade request and I¡¯ll get it to ya. Anyways, I need to go. Ttyl. ] [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: ok tell everyone I said hi ] The window in front of me blinked away and I was left just staring up at that familiar pink sky. Weird that I consider this familiar when I¡¯ve spent more time in the other Underhollow. Taking a deep breath I smiled, having good lighting was something I¡¯d missed and talking to Caro helped lift my mood just a bit. The faux skies were so strange. I knew I was underground, there wasn¡¯t really a sun or a night, but they looked so real. I couldn¡¯t help but laugh at my new normal. It was the first time in a while that I wasn¡¯t sure what to do so my mind wandered. Everything I¡¯d ever owned was gone, and I was making a mental tally of all the things I was going to miss the most. My old t-shirts, my art supplies, that old stupid chair that mom insisted on keeping even though the cushions were worn down to nothing, my bed. God did I miss my bed. I hadn¡¯t really let myself ponder on what I missed or what sucked about everything that had happened so far, I was worried that if I stopped to think about it then it¡¯d become real? More serious? Or maybe I knew that even if it did become real I wouldn¡¯t really care? Rather than caring about the world collapsing I was more upset that I lost mom and everything else I had left of her. The few things that proved that she¡¯d existed in the world were in our home. I knew I¡¯d never forget her, but there was something different about having evidence of her existence. Keepsakes. I guessed the only thing I¡¯d really miss because of everything was comforts. Simple comforts like my bed, my keepsakes, coffee, the safety of my home¡­ Well, maybe not, it wasn¡¯t as if the world before was much safer than this one. Sure, I was less likely to die there, but I was stronger now than then. If something happened I would at least have the upper hand and not have to worry about getting shot. Plus I had Aureus. ¡°Aureus?¡± I asked and glanced around. But he was nowhere to be found. I popped up, ¡°Aureus?¡± I said louder this time. Yes? Did you need me? Ah, well no not really. I was just thinking that now would be a nice time to explore since there aren¡¯t any threats around. It really is nice exploring without any disruptions. I could feel the excitement as he replied, so I asked, well, would you like to explore with me? I¡¯d like to look around too. Absolutely! I¡¯ll come get you Master! Within just a few moments he¡¯d arrived. He was still in his human form, but as he landed on the ground he quickly transformed back into his natural state and ushered me onto his back. There was nothing like soaring in the sky with him. Unfortunately that calming feeling was washing away my defenses against the emotions that I still had yet to process. I¡¯d only been feeling a surface level sorrow since I didn¡¯t want to face it, but up there, it was safe. I could let go and not worry about anything. I clung to Aureus and sobbed for quite a while. After a few laps over the waterfall I finally got myself together again and we explored past where we¡¯d seen before. After the waterfall and the hills were more hills and mountains. The further we went the more severe the terrain became. Cold began to nip at my nose and fingers as we flew up towards one of the taller mountains. It was rocky and barren; a few patches of grass here and there and a couple bushes, but other than that it was just rocks and snow. Or was it ice? We didn¡¯t land and I hadn¡¯t seen any proper weather in any Underhollow so I wasn¡¯t sure if it could really be considered snow. We made a quick stop to inspect the bushes, but didn¡¯t discover anything edible or interesting. After a consensus that it was much too cold we headed back towards the plains. They eventually turned into a beach that the rivers let out into. The water in the lake there was eerily clear at first. Because I was so used to murky creeks, walking into such a clear lake felt odd. Until a blast of cold water slapped into my back and nearly sent me into the deep. I scoffed as I turned around to see my attacker. Aureus froze and looked off into the distance as if there were someone else to blame it on. Despite that his back was arched up and the frill along it puffed up like a cat. After a second his eyes darted back to me. Once they met mine his back arched as he tucked his tail and started scrambling along the shoreline as fast as he could. And obviously I was scrambling right after him. After a lengthy battle in the lake, which I lost miserably, I laid back on the sand and took a few deep breaths. ¡°God, I wonder if this is what having kids is like¡­¡± I muttered and watched Aureus play in the lake. He was diving down and trying to swim fast enough to get a jump out of the water so he could take off flying immediately. It wasn¡¯t quite working out for him. I¡¯m glad we had some time to explore without monsters, there¡¯s no way we¡¯d be able to swim like this if they all hadn¡¯t left. Yeah it¡¯s really nice. I wanna go look at the forest now! We haven¡¯t seen it at all yet! Oh go without me first and I¡¯ll join you in a few I¡¯m comfortable here. Okay! He made his way to the beach and shook off before disappearing into the sky. I sighed as I watched his figure get smaller. A beach day, exploration day, or whatever you¡¯d call it was something I hadn¡¯t even realized I needed. How would I have handled all of this without him? I drifted off into a nap pretty quickly, I was too lazy to deploy my camper and just slept right there on the sand. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. I woke up with a start, I was panicking and I wasn¡¯t sure why. Just, instinctively I knew - something was happening. I didn¡¯t see it right away, but the second time my eyes swept over the horizon I did. There was a man in the field. He was walking in my direction, but it didn¡¯t seem like he¡¯d seen me yet. I watched him for a moment, he was on high alert with a sword held out in front of him as he scrutinized his immediate surroundings and advanced painfully slowly. From what I could tell he was alone, so I took my chances, ¡°Stop there.¡± I said as calmly as I could. He was still fifteen or so feet away so I had to project, but I wasn¡¯t taking any chances. His head snapped towards where I was and I slowly stood up using my staff as a crutch. Indeed he stopped, but he held the sword out as if I was going to kill him where he stood. His shoulders were tense. ¡°I don¡¯t mean no trouble.¡± ¡°Then you should leave. This is my area and I don¡¯t intend to share it with a stranger.¡± I replied as my grip tightened on my staff. I took another look around us, worried that since I¡¯d been sleeping there may be others in the area. ¡°Are ya serious?¡± He asked somewhat taken aback. ¡°Yeah. I am. There¡¯s other places to hunt. Go find your own place.¡± ¡°This place is huge! Ain¡¯t no way you need all¡¯uh it.¡± ¡°What I need is to know that there aren¡¯t any strangers around that can stab me in the back while I¡¯m not looking.¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t that type!¡± ¡°Uh huh, then do you trust me not to?¡± We both sat in an uncomfortable silence for much too long after I asked that. ¡°Well, uh, I see whatcha mean, but there ain¡¯t anywhere round here to go. Can¡¯t we jus¡¯ I dunno like you get half I get half?¡± ¡°Why would I give up half of my stuff to you? That doesn¡¯t feel very fair, I found it first.¡± ¡°Just cause you followed that trail back first don mean that you should get e¡¯erythin. That¡¯s a bit much don cha think?¡± ¡°I found this on the first day, I just left to check on family. I came back to see all that mess. I¡¯ve got more than just a couple hours on you.¡± ¡°Still¡­¡± He trailed off. Do you want me to get him to leave? Aureus asked. I fought the urge to look towards where he was hiding. Once he spoke I could instantly feel his presence behind a hill nearby. No, I think I can convince him, there¡¯s no need to escalate. Wait were you just watching him come- no nevermind we¡¯ll talk about that later. Ugh. Fine. ¡°Look man, I need you to leave. I hate to say it, but this is for my own safety I¡¯m sure you understand. I don¡¯t know you or what your plans are or even if you¡¯re alone.¡± ¡°I¡­ I ain¡¯t leavin¡¯. I¡¯m sure we can figur something out.¡± I took a few steps towards him, ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to.¡± I tried to keep my voice even. He took a half step back before stopping, ¡°No, Imma stay. You gotta deal with it.¡± A moment of indecision flickered through his face, but he held his ground in the end. And for the first time I noticed that he was shaking. He had been hiding his fear well since I wasn¡¯t very close to him. I sighed. ¡°Look, I really don¡¯t want to have to use force on you, please just leave while you can.¡± ¡°W-¡± He started, his eyes darted behind him. ¡°No. I-I-I-I can¡¯t go back up there again. I won¡¯t! If-if I gotta, we can fight.¡± His arms were rigid as his entire body tensed. He was serious. I rubbed the bridge of my nose, alright Aureus, can you just scare him. Don¡¯t kill him! Just scare him out of here please. He was jumping out and kicking up a fuss before I could even finish asking him to not kill the man. The poor guy fell over trying to scramble away from Aureus. ¡°Run!¡± He screamed. At first I thought it was to me, but a small ¡°Dad!¡± squeaked out from behind a rock about fifty feet away. A little girl, probably around four, was flailing as an older girl, who looked to be in her teens, was trying to run towards the entrance with the kid as she squirmed and attempted to escape. ¡°Aureus stop!¡± I shouted as I glanced from the kids to the man who was possibly attempting to fight him. The man was flailing his sword around in the air, he looked¡­ pathetic. Dammit. He stopped his descent towards the man and looked over at me. I groaned, just come back over here. But! No buts. Just come here and settle down. He grumbled something unintelligible but did as I asked. At that point everyone had figured out what¡¯d happened. The man stood staring at me going through the five stages of grief but the teen had already settled on anger. She was giving me a death glare and released the little one who immediately sprinted towards her dad full kilter. I slowly walked towards the group and Aureus followed closely, he was still on guard. Finally, I asked after a long awkward pause. ¡°There¡¯s really nowhere around that¡¯s safe?¡± I made an assumption since I couldn¡¯t imagine that this man would bring his daughters down here otherwise. ¡°No. As a matter of fact there isn¡¯t.¡± The teen spat at me. I glared over at her, ¡°Oh is that so, well it might not be quite so safe in here with us either.¡± I shot back as I patted Aureus¡¯ shoulder and he let out a low rumble. I wasn¡¯t being serious but I really wasn¡¯t in the mood. The last couple of days just reminded me that I needed to keep more of a wall up and not trust anyone with anything ever. Just one shitty thing after another. The man was trying to calm his sobbing daughter and just said defeatedly, ¡°Well I ain¡¯t fightin¡¯ a dragon.¡± He let his head rest in his shaking hands for a few seconds before attempting to run them through his light brown hair. He looked to be in his thirties, maybe. The little girl he had cradled had mousy brown hair and his green eyes. She was wearing a dirty red tank top and some khaki shorts that looked a couple sizes too big and were fastened to her with a strip of cloth. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have to. I don¡¯t see why we can¡¯t just share this place. It¡¯s huge. You¡¯re being an unreasonable bitch.¡± The teen fired back. She was either scared or really angry because she was shakily pushing her curly black hair behind her ear. She had light brown eyes unlike the other two. Such a shaky family. I started laughing at that, ¡°You know you¡¯re also being a bit of a bitch, if you want me to share shouldn¡¯t you have asked nicely? You say we should share, that¡¯s what¡¯s polite right? But you aren¡¯t asking very politely.¡± ¡°He did though.¡± She replied smugly. ¡°Ha. Sure, the man holding a sword out at me is asking nicely?¡± ¡°It¡¯s better than sending a dragon after someone!¡± ¡°Ok, let¡¯s pretend it was nice, you expect me, a young woman, on her own in a dangerous world to just what? Trust some man who asked me something nicely? This is somewhere I found first, somewhere I¡¯ve spent a lot of time. You know how shocked I was when some strange man holding a sword woke me up from my nap?¡± She opened her mouth to retort but never seemed to come up with anything. Their father sighed, ¡°Look I get it, you can¡¯t trust us, but can¡¯t ya just set some rules or boundaries or whatever I don care. We jus need¡­ somewhere safe.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t exactly the safest place for kids ya know?¡± I replied with a raised brow. ¡°Better than topside. Ain¡¯t nothing left, no food, no decent shelter or water. They told me that an Underhollow would be better¡­ safer.¡± He glanced between the entrance and me. I looked between him and his daughters, mulling it over in my mind. I sighed, ¡°Okay, I get it. I won¡¯t kick you out, but I don¡¯t want y¡¯all near us. I¡¯m sorry for scaring you, but I don¡¯t trust people. I¡¯ve seen what they turn into. I¡¯ll take you to a relatively safe area and you can stay there. You,¡± I pointed at the man, ¡°can go out and hunt or whatever, but if you¡¯re near me I wanna know. Don¡¯t sneak up on me.¡± ¡°Gee, thanks.¡± The teen muttered and was quieted by a glare from their father. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate if ya did the same, is a dangerous world these days.¡± he added. ¡°It¡¯s not going to be easy to stay down here with a kid that young and only one fighter. Are you sure you want to keep them down here? It might be better to¡­ ah nevermind it wouldn¡¯t be safe to separate either. Nevermind.¡± I nearly forgot that I¡¯d been the one harping on the dangers of people, how could I ask this family to separate? I cleared my throat, ¡°Aureus, can you take us to the slime habitat, near the falls?¡± ¡°Do what?¡± the man asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯d say hold on, but that won¡¯t really help.¡± I said with a chuckle as I got on Aureus¡¯ back. It was funny to watch them contemplate if they were supposed to be getting on behind me. The little kid screamed as Aureus lifted her in the air with wind, and it became bubbly laughter quickly after. We touched down and the dad and teen looked like they were in shock, but the youngest was excitedly jumping up and down, ¡°Again! Again!¡± I laughed, ¡°Sorry hun, but not right now.¡± I turned my attention to the man and the teen now, ¡°Okay, so around here unless things changed, the only thing you¡¯ll need to worry about are slimes. They¡¯re slower than the rabbits and don¡¯t have sharp claws or teeth to worry about. But they are acidic so be careful, I¡¯m not sure how quickly they¡¯d injure the kids.¡± ¡°Huh. Okay. Them woods though, I¡¯d like to take a few of them logs to make a house. Would you be okay with that?¡± He asked while pointing towards the forest. ¡°Uh¡­ I mean if you really wanted to, but maybe¡­¡± I paused looking over them, they were quite filthy. ¡°Okay so what about a trade? I make y¡¯all a house, y¡¯all look after my garden for me. If we¡¯ve gotta be neighbors we can make a few trades every now and then.¡± ¡°Why would you even want us to look after it? You don¡¯t even trust us.¡± The teen asked. ¡°Well I¡¯m not planning to stick to one place for too long, that¡¯s part of the reason why I felt uncomfortable about y¡¯all being here. Didn¡¯t want to lose my hunting grounds or run into someone when I¡¯m injured or low on mana. So, what¡¯ll it be? I just want you to keep an eye on it, expand it, etc. You can take a cut of it as well.¡± ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t see why not. Lookin¡¯ forward to our new home, neighbor.¡± He gave me an uncomfortable smile and put out a hand, but I just nodded and turned back to Aureus. Can you make that house then? Ugh, do I have to? Well it wouldn¡¯t end up very nice if I did would it? So? C¡¯mon. Fine. Four walls started to rise out of the ground, but I noticed it was much too small for all three of them and glared towards Aureus. Aureus, give them enough space. You¡¯ve made homes before. Ugh. Fine. Stupid humans. Stupid kids. Aureus! He very obviously rolled his eyes at my complaints and the teen stifled a giggle. Shortly after there was a decent sized home for the three of them, there was an open doorway and the roof was left open as well. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was him being considerate or pitching a fit, but I didn¡¯t care enough to fight with him on it. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯d like to do for the door and roof, but I¡¯ll leave that up to you.¡± ¡°Would ya look at that...¡± He muttered with an incredulous look. ¡°Alright, well I¡¯m gonna head out. Good luck.¡± ¡°Wait wait.¡± He called out to me, ¡°Could you make a slab of rock for like a door?¡± ¡°Sure, oh yeah and my garden is next to the entrance, I figure you saw it on the way in?¡± ¡°Oh that creepy thing, I thought it was a graveyard or somethin.¡± I chuckled and we parted ways, I hoped that they wouldn¡¯t become a problem in the future. At the time they looked innocuous enough, and the father looked just overwhelmed and terrified in general. Chapter 49: Into the Jungle I glanced over at my status. I had just leveled up to 35, the difference in leveling speed when I was alone was staggering. I couldn¡¯t be sure how much time had passed really, but it couldn¡¯t have been more than a few weeks, and I had already well passed the halfway mark to my next familiar. Lately though my leveling had slowed. Master, we need to move deeper into the Underhollow. I can barely find anything to kill these days. I groaned and stretched my stiff joints as I stood up. Fine, I guess it would be better to leave something for that old man to fight¡­ He can take care of himself. He¡¯s lucky he can stay here anyway. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just come get me, let''s look around for a better hunting ground. I said as I pushed the door of my camper open and glared at the light that accosted me. My eyes adjusted quickly and I sighed, ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll be leaving this view behind soon¡­¡± I mumbled to myself as I took in the rolling hills and rivers that cut through them. At one point I detested them since they were infested with slimes, but it was undeniably the most gorgeous area of the Underhollow we had access to. I¡¯d gotten attached to it. I¡¯ll miss it too. It was nice to bask in the warmth on the side of the hill when I had a full belly. Aureus commented as he landed beside me. We both stood in silence for a while, letting our bittersweet feelings seep into us. Alright, let¡¯s go see where we should go next. How about we start with the forest? I said with a tinge of excitement as I vaulted up onto his back. I¡¯d always have appreciation for that saddle that I¡¯d bought from Caroline Highway robbery was a better term for it, but there wasn¡¯t anyone else I could get one from so I put up with it. The sheer amount of potatoes she demanded¡­ I mean exactly how many potatoes does one woman need? ¡°You¡¯re the one in need, I¡¯m fine with trying to find food elsewhere in the shop.¡± She said as she defended herself, I couldn¡¯t really disagree. Plus it wasn¡¯t like I could eat all of the potatoes we were producing. Paige, the newest and only teen resident of my Underhollow, had a surprisingly green thumb. She and the younger child Ava had expanded the garden significantly so we had plenty. Though none of us had ventured into the forest to find new plants to eat until that point. Well that was if I was able to find something edible. We weren¡¯t in a rush so we made the rounds first. Just as we had when we first arrived back in the Underhollow, soaring over the mountains and out to the lake. The forest was too dense to really see much of a difference, but we did get some sort of fruit lobbed at us by a monster that might have resembled a monkey? It was hard to tell, we didn¡¯t get a good look at the assailant. The more we traveled the more there was. I really wasn¡¯t sure where to stop, how far to go, and if we were going to find ourselves in some kind of trouble because we ventured too far. I sighed, ¡°Alright, I guess let¡¯s just go back to the mountains. I wanted to explore here, but it really isn¡¯t feasible with your size. Maybe we can find some materials that might be useful there. Some metal or something I dunno¡­¡± Are you sure? You don¡¯t want to check that out? Check what? That thing over there. Aureus motioned with his head to a section of the forest that was much less dense than the rest. When had he noticed that? Okay sure, you think there¡¯s something there? I dunno, but it¡¯s the only difference we¡¯ve seen in the forest so far. True. It looked like a clearing created of several smaller clearings. It was dotted with a few trees here and there with fewer as it approached the center. As we approached it, I got a little excited. Life in the Underhollow was immensely boring lately. I¡¯m sure that most people were frantically trying to stay alive and get ahead, but I didn¡¯t have much I needed to do. Aureus was more than enough for the enemies we had so I had no reason to get off my ass. I spent most of my time browsing Celes, and chatting with guild members. We gently landed in a small patch of grass between several massive trees, it was basically the edge of the clearing. A small pocket where the trees thinned then a few trees lined the edge prior to the larger clearing. I stood at the line between the forest proper and the transition of the clearing. I¡¯d noted that as we got deeper into the forest the trees continued to get larger and more¡­ dangerous looking? They were sort of ominous, a deep purple bark and gray leaves. It created a feeling of incongruity to the rest of our surroundings. The juxtaposition of the gentle pink sky almost caused the darker vibes of the forest to intensify. I dismounted and carefully explored our direct surroundings. The grass that we landed on looked to be the beginning of the only grass in the area. The rest of the ground where the trees were thicker, was covered with vegetation or just dirt. Around the base of the large trees were mushrooms with small holes in them that looked as though they might explode if you even brushed against them. They were the only splash of bright color in the entirety of the forest floor. Not that it made them look any safer. The stems were a sickly white color and the caps were nearly neon orange, but it was off just ever so slightly. The further I ventured from the lit patch of grass the more I had to be careful about where I stepped. There were creeping vines that crossed the forest floor every which way. Based on a strange dried dark liquid around them, I suspected that I shouldn¡¯t touch them. Among some plants that looked like shrubbery was a well hidden and ridiculously large venus fly trap. I shivered, ¡°Jeez, there isn¡¯t anywhere to step.¡± I whined as I backed into the small clearing again. Aureus¡¯ tail twitched as he focused on not allowing it to flick to either side. I don¡¯t like it, it¡¯s cramped. I could feel his annoyance. He was a little claustrophobic, he was much too large to comfortably fit in between trees here, so I understood why he felt stifled. ¡°Just transform!¡± I laughed at him and elbowed his side. I wanted to but you haven¡¯t taken the saddle yet. And give me my clothes! He whined at me. Caroline had made him some shorts and a halter top shirt with a low back to allow for his wings and he¡¯d gotten quite attached to them. It was an ordeal getting him to decide on what he liked since shirts with sleeves were stifling, but he wanted a shirt and wasn¡¯t budging on that. And then he didn¡¯t want to wear pants anymore but the shorts he had weren¡¯t comfortable enough. After a lot of back and forth we settled on that outfit thankfully. The whole thing was made of well worn leather and in some areas lined with fabric she¡¯d created that mimicked my slime set. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Alright, just a second.¡± I replied as I hummed. I was in a good mood. I handed the clothes over and turned around, he didn¡¯t mind if I saw him change but I made it a habit to give him privacy regardless. After he got himself together and dressed I looked past him to the other side of the clearing that I couldn¡¯t see prior due to his size. I could see into the other clearings, or rather the sparseness of the trees that created several small clearings leading up to the larger clearing of sorts with a few trees here and there. Within the largest one was a large moss covered rock that settled just to one side closer to a tree there. It stood out compared to the lush landscape. Aureus flew carefully around as I wandered a bit aimlessly. As long as I wasn¡¯t careless and didn¡¯t touch anything I assumed that we wouldn¡¯t have much of a problem. The only odd thing was that there didn¡¯t seem to be any monsters in this area. I wondered if it was due to the obviously hostile plants. Though it didn¡¯t look completely deserted. There were various signs of life passing through, scratch marks on the bark of the trees, disturbed soil and plants, and even a few of those mushrooms that had been disturbed or crushed. The plants around them were wilted and coated in spores. Good thing I didn¡¯t touch any of those. I don¡¯t have Reid around for emergencies anymore. You have to be careful, Master¡­ maybe you should just wait here? No, I don¡¯t wanna sit around right now. I''m bored and I want to explore. Ugh¡­ well you better be careful. Oh don¡¯t whine, we¡¯re just going to look around a bit and then head out. We never come to the forest anyway so it¡¯ll be fun. No, we never come to the forest because it already is no fun. This place is the worst. I can¡¯t fly, there¡¯s nothing to eat, and I have to be on guard in case some crazy plant tries to kill you. I chuckled and scooped up a small rock at my feet. I grinned as I tossed it towards a suspicious looking bush a few feet away. Its branches curled in around the rock as it crashed into them, coiling around it and pulling it down and to its center. ¡°Well that was anticlimactic.¡± I sighed as I repeated my experiments on the remaining plants around me. The venus fly trap hissed in my direction when I pelted it with rocks. It didn¡¯t eat any of them to my disappointment, but it did make use of its leaves to shield itself which I wasn¡¯t expecting. I didn¡¯t test the mushrooms because I wasn¡¯t positive on the range of the spores or what they might do. The next thing I tried were the vines, they were the only ones to shock me. There was no reaction when I threw rocks at them, they just sat there like normal plants. I wasn¡¯t completely satisfied with that experiment, so I retrieved a carcass from my inventory and cut off one of its feet. When I gently nudged the vine with it a long and sharp thorn shot out and skewered it. ¡°Gross.¡± I muttered as I watched the foot start to melt? Or at least it seemed like that was the case since a somewhat familiar acrid smell of carnivorous plants met my nose shortly after. ¡°Exactly, you shouldn¡¯t be in such a dangerous place. Let¡¯s go.¡± Aureus chimed in from behind me. ¡°Oh calm down, I¡¯m already level 35. Nothing¡¯s actually been a threat to me in weeks. Plus I¡¯m being careful, don¡¯t be such a party pooper.¡± I grinned the excitement of exploring and danger was stronger than his worry. The closer we got to the center of the clearing the fewer plants littered the ground. The grass spread further and the trees were further apart. It was comfortable, I didn¡¯t have to be careful about where I stepped and there was a gentle breeze. It would have been an ideal napping spot if it weren¡¯t in the center of a dangerous Underhollow forest. Well that sucks. I thought we¡¯d find something cool. I mused as I kicked at little pebbles and wandered back towards the forest. What about the boulder? Aureus responded from a distance, I glanced over to see him standing in front of a pointed ledge on it. ¡°What about it? I mean it¡¯s just a rock, why would you want me to come look at it?¡± I replied as I sauntered over. ¡°It¡¯s just the only unique thing here¡­¡± He muttered as he examined the mossy surface. I wondered if it was cold to the touch, and if that thought was a weird one to have. Are mossy things normally cold? ¡°I guess? It looks a bit boring though, it¡¯d be nice if it weren¡¯t covered in moss then we could set it in the sun and have a good nap.¡± I chuckled at the picture of the two of us curled up like cats on a warm rock in the middle of a place like that. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s weird. This rock feels weird.¡± Aureus replied seriously, he was scrutinizing it and I could see his indecision on whether or not he should touch it. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked as I gently pulled him back, no hurt in being careful when everything around us seemed to be poisonous. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like a rock. Like I don¡¯t know it might not be a rock? Or maybe it¡¯s a type I¡¯ve never seen before?¡± He sounded confused but mostly intrigued. ¡°Ah so you¡¯re wanting to try out your earth manipulation on it to get a better picture of what it is?¡± ¡°Maybe¡­¡± ¡°What if it¡¯s just not a rock. It might just be a weird plant or mushroom or something?¡± ¡°Still¡­¡± He was circling around it as his tail flicked this way and that. After a few seconds he backed further into the clearing and sat on the ground. A small bump of dirt sprouted out of the ground and started making its way over to the boulder. I provided ambient music as it approached its goal, duunn-dunn duunn-dun duunnn-dun. And finally they met, but nothing. The small pile of dirt just poofed into the side of it without much fanfare. ¡°Ah, well, I guess it¡¯s not a rock. Good job Aureus, you were right.¡± I patted him on the head and turned to leave. ¡°No¡­ I think maybe it is a rock?¡± He muttered from behind me, I whipped around and he was still sitting on the ground glaring in the maybe rock¡¯s direction. ¡°Okay? Then if it is a rock, why can¡¯t you like¡­ manipulate it like usual?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s what I want to know. How dare this rock defy me?!¡± He was starting to get agitated. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s too dense? Or maybe you can¡¯t manipulate it from a distance? Are you sure it¡¯s a rock?¡± ¡°I¡­ no I¡¯m not, but it feels like¡­ I dunno something sort of like earth I¡¯m not sure.¡± He¡¯d gotten up and started pacing at that point. ¡°Well let me try. Maybe I can help.¡± I replied chipperly and walked just a bit closer to it. I didn¡¯t have quite as skilled control over earth manipulation as he did. I plopped down and dug my fingers into the moist dirt beneath the grass, I¡¯d found that significant contact with the soil made it so much easier to manipulate it. I focused as I spread my mana through the dirt, it slowly spread through the ground and around the roots of the plants around us. Finally my mana started to enter the very edge of the rock in question and¡­ it¡­ Kinda seemed like a rock¡­ ¡°What the hell?¡± I cursed as I furrowed my brows. It felt like a shell of a rock? Maybe sort of like an egg? Would earth manipulation work on eggs because of calcium? Or bones? We¡¯d never really tried something like that before. But it wasn¡¯t really a shell or an egg because it didn¡¯t coat the whole thing. It was also thicker and thinner in places. ¡°It doesn¡¯t exist where the moss is, I think?¡± I could hear Aureus muttering his theories from behind me. But it didn¡¯t pull me away from my examination of the thing in front of us. Sweat started to bead on my forehead as I widened my search area, I was looking for anything that might be similar to this thing. Rocks, soil, roots, I continued to look around in my mind''s eye as my mana spread in tendrils from my seated position. ¡°Found it.¡± I muttered as I located something that wasn¡¯t too far from us. It had a similar feel to the rock shell, it was an odd thing, but most rocks had their own feeling to them. The heaviness of the dark rock back in the other Underhollow, the moist and lightness of the soil here, and this rock felt brittle and stiff. I started using the dirt to drag the rock I¡¯d found towards us. After a few seconds I opened my eyes to find a thin light gray rock sitting in front of me. Chapter 50: Hubris I picked up the thin piece of rock in front of me, it was cold to the touch. It had been partially underground when I¡¯d found it, so that wasn¡¯t surprising. The odd part was how round the surface was, it reminded me of pebbles that had been smoothed by a current, but it wasn¡¯t shiny. It had an almost dry feeling? It was smooth without blemish, but it wasn¡¯t slick to the touch. I knew I could snap it into pieces if I wanted to, but I wasn¡¯t sure if that was because I¡¯d gotten much stronger or because it was weak. Maybe both? More than that I was curious about what else the large object we¡¯d been prodding was made of. Other than the rock obviously. It was likely just some sort of weird plant, but it was odd in general. I could feel my and Aureus¡¯ curiosities feeding off of each other. Just what was this weird lump of rock and plant, why was it just sitting here while we probed it with mana and rocks? Maybe it was just some random rock thing I didn¡¯t know about, an Underhollow living rock or something? I could hear Aureus take a quick breath through his teeth, ¡°Ow¡­¡± He muttered as he cradled his hand. The moss started to fall next to him as the boulder unfolded. The sharp point at one end lifted up above where Aureus stood, spines started puffing out in all directions as it got its feet underneath itself. It puffed up and stood to its full height and I realized it was much larger than I¡¯d thought possible, about the size of a semi truck maybe. How in the world did it look smaller before? That wasn¡¯t the most shocking thing about it though. ¡°It¡¯s a fucking dinosaur¡­¡± I mumbled, ¡°A dinosaur?!¡± I said again, but louder and more bewildered. Rather than a dinosaur it was more like a creature that resembled our depictions of one, but didn¡¯t quite match any that I knew. The pointed ledge was apparently a beak of some sort or something. It stood on four legs, but had hand-like feet in the front with long claws. The body shape itself was hard to get an idea of since it was lost behind the quills that stuck out in all directions. A portion of its back though was obscured where what I then assumed actually was its shell stuck to its side. It looked as close to a carnivorous triceratops mixed with a hedgehog as I could imagine. Though it lacked the iconic frill it still had the horns and was more reptile than mammal. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I feel weird¡­¡± Aureus slurred out. He was looking tired and was still clutching at his hand. ¡°Shit. Shit, shit, shit,¡± I cursed as I scooped up Aureus and started running off into the treeline. We should run right? I mean he¡¯s hurt, we don¡¯t know anything about that¡­ thing¡­ I rationalized our retreat as I quickly but carefully weaved my way through the vegetation. I snuck a look over my shoulder as it roared. It wasn¡¯t following us? I slowed to a stop hesitating. It never even tried to come after us. It just sat back down and began to curl back up again. Its skin, which I¡¯d only just noticed had changed to a darker green, slowly started adjusting back to the color of its shell. I hadn¡¯t even gotten fifty feet away and it was already ignoring us again, I wasn¡¯t sure to be scared or relieved. What if it has a mother? It clearly has some sort of shell or rock or whatever that is. It did just roar, so maybe that was it calling for her. Or not? I don¡¯t know. I glanced down at Aureus, his complexion was turning dull. His normally bright rose gold was dimming and turning a bit green. And for the first time ever, he was sweating, quite profusely at that. I examined his status and my heart dropped. ~~*~~ Poisoned Description: User has come into contact with cerapin poison, and will continue to lose 1 HP per minute while the user has the debuff status. This debuff inflicts other debuff(s) Time Remaining: 2:59:43 ~~*~~ ~~*~~ Delirium Description: User will be inflicted with confusion and lack of awareness of their surroundings. They may also suffer decreased abilities in other mental faculties as a result. Time Remaining: Dependent on [Poisoned] ~~*~~ ~~*~~ Hyperthermia Description: User is experiencing internal and/or external temperatures excessive for their constitution. They will experience a reduction in stamina and mental clarity. User may also experience nausea, vomiting, rapid heart beat, shallow and/or rapid breathing, and excess sweating. Time Remaining: Dependent on [Poisoned] ~~*~~ He didn''t have enough HP, he couldn¡¯t last three whole hours. Fuck! Fuck, what do I do? I cursed while I ran deeper and deeper into the forest. I didn¡¯t know which direction I was going, I just ran. There wasn¡¯t any way I was going to make it out of that forest without Aureus anyway. I dodged hanging vines and jumped over bushes while my mind raced. I need to level up. That¡¯s the only way he¡¯ll have enough health to get through this. I tried to relax, it was a clear solution, we haven¡¯t really killed anything in the forest anyway so there should be plenty of XP around. I tried to reassure myself despite the fact that I hadn¡¯t run into a single monster since we landed, well¡­ other than the pincushion that hurt my baby. After I had put what I felt like was enough distance between us and the perpetrator I popped up the camper. It barely fit between the trees and I carefully swaddled Aureus¡¯ body into blankets out of habit, but he threw them off in a fit. ¡°Hot! It¡¯s too hot. Stop smothering me¡­¡± his voice trailed off as he tugged at his clothes. They were already soaked and clinging to his skin uncomfortably. Duh! Mia you idiot. I chastised myself, he was burning up. I shouldn''t make him hotter. I picked him up from the couch where I initially laid him and brought him to the bathroom. I needed to cool him off. I stripped him down and made a makeshift bed from as many blankets and pelts I could and set him down in the shower. The shower water would help with the heat¡­ probably. I wasn¡¯t really sure what to do or how to take care of a sick and feverish child, and I couldn¡¯t make ice like Aureus could so that was the best thing I could come up with. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°It¡¯s going to be alright darling, I¡¯m going to go level up and everything will be fine. Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll be right back.¡± I choked out and tried to suppress my tears. His body was heating up quickly undeterred by the water pouring down on the both of us. I was starting to get worried that he would be dehydrated soon or the heat would cook his brain. I turned his head down and to the side, I didn¡¯t want him drowning in the shower water or vomit if he ended up throwing up. The whole process he¡¯d been muttering random nonsense, the clearest thing he¡¯d said other than asking me not to smother him was him cursing out the monster that landed him in this mess. I caressed his face one more time and looked around the room frantically, ¡°Am I missing anything? Do you need anything?¡± I waited for a response but nothing. ¡°Okay.¡± I said to myself with a deep breath,¡°I love you Aureus.¡± I cringed when my voice cracked. I wanted to sound confident to assure him. I wanted him to know everything was going to be fine, but was it? Don¡¯t go. He had been slipping in and out of consciousness. Stay here. I¡¯ll be back soon. I rested my forehead on his for a moment and swallowed my tears. I didn¡¯t want to leave. I didn¡¯t want him to suffer through it alone, but I had to go. He needed help, and every second that passed was wasted time. Three hours wasn¡¯t enough and I didn¡¯t have any way to heal him anymore, not without Reid or his lackeys. Should I have stolen one? Maybe I should have loaded emergency healing spells on my staff. Fuck. Why hadn¡¯t I done that? And then my mind wandered to things I didn¡¯t want to imagine. What was going to happen if he died? Would I lose the abilities I gained from him? Could he come back when I finally got to level 50? Or would that be a new familiar in the shape of him, someone else? The skill said that they were independent creatures not summons. I was spiraling, how long had my heart been pounding so loud I could hear it in my chest? I pushed open the door to the camper and stared out into the forest. I was overwhelmed, I didn¡¯t know where to start. We had barely even set foot there and now I had to level up again? I was struggling to think clearly. Damn it. We just leveled up, I¡¯ve barely killed anything and now I need over 100,000 XP just to get to the next level. Scanning the tree line nothing initially stood out. What I needed was a large amount of moderately easy monsters to slaughter, but all I could see were trees, vines, and mushrooms. Fuck, there had to be something I was over looking, a better way to hunt or something. Just wandering off into the forest was a surefire way for me to lose track of Aureus for good, but I needed to venture out or I wouldn¡¯t have anything to kill there clearly wasn¡¯t anything around here. I debated for a couple more seconds and ultimately decided to attempt to leave a bread crumb trail of sorts. After the last few uneventful weeks I¡¯d managed to get a nice 29% mastery over elemental manipulation. Which I initially considered impressive, but now I felt it wasn¡¯t even remotely close to enough. Every so often I had to stop and plant my palms to the dirt to create a little earth obelisk to ensure I could find my way back. It was such a waste of time. I got nearly a hundred feet away and a few obelisks built, but still hadn¡¯t found something to kill. Either there still weren¡¯t monsters in this area because of what I now assumed was a field boss, or I just wasn¡¯t seeing them. Where are they? Are they hiding? Why would they? That doesn¡¯t make sense. That thing that threw stuff at us as we flew over the forest seemed aggressive enough. Am I not that enticing of a target so they¡¯re ignoring me? How am I supposed to find them if they won¡¯t come to me? I don¡¯t want to get too far from him¡­ Everything around me started to feel further away, like I was underwater. I started to get the chills and my heart rate increased. He¡¯s going to die if I can¡¯t find something. I need to do something. I clung onto the newest obelisk I¡¯d created and tried to breathe, but no matter what I did I couldn¡¯t get enough air. I need¡­ I need¡­ I need¡­ Fuck what do I need to do? How can I? I ran my hands through my hair as I rested my forehead on the cool stone and cried. ¡°What am I going to do?¡± I muttered, my mind started going blank. Emptying itself of everything and anything as I stared at the timer on Aureus¡¯ debuff. 54. 53. 52. Seconds ticked away. It¡¯d only been about twenty minutes but it felt like hours. Messages zipped past it to the side. I hadn¡¯t opened or really glanced at the GGC since I¡¯d left my house weeks prior. But a phrase in one of the message previews caught my eye: ¡°Dumbass forgot about the shop.¡± I groaned as my emotions lurched through excitement, shame, and anxiety. I can¡¯t believe I forgot about the shop. God I¡¯m stupid. I thought as I opened up the shop tab and searched for poison antidotes and health related items. I was open to anything, health potions, one time use healing items, or even just herbs that would be used for detoxification. Anything. Unfortunately for me, the shop completely relied on a bartering system at the time. As time went on the crystals found in monsters and other universally valuable items would become one of the common currencies, but that wouldn¡¯t become a regular practice for quite a while. Even if it was one at the time, I had already consumed all of mine. A pit was forming in my already flipping stomach as I looked through my barren inventory, I didn¡¯t have much of value. Most everything I owned was useful only for my own niche needs. A saddle for Aureus, my equipment, a moderately used bone weapon, blankets, pelts, meat, potatoes, and various other monster byproducts. Sure, they weren¡¯t useless, but medical items were a rarity and extremely expensive. And selling my equipment was a last ditch effort, it might be more dangerous than helpful. I began to wrack my brain, thinking that there must be a way that I could haggle something useful out of someone. Rather than sales listings with prices, items were put up in various categories and either people offered a trade to the seller or the seller listed what items and quantities they were looking to trade for. ¡°What even¡­ are these items?! Slime extract, ice essence, groad(?) tar??? These are common enough that people accept them as default payments? How would someone even have 1,000 of any of these? I killed plenty of slimes and never got any items out of it!¡± I whined. [ ¡°Witch of the Wellspring¡±: Hey does anyone know anything good for poison? ] I anxiously sent out a message to the guild executives¡¯ chat, pacing in circles around the obelisk while I waited. As the seconds quietly passed by. After a few minutes I gave up, and turned to walk back to the camper. Ding. A message came back and my breath caught in my throat, not because I was excitedly checking what response I got, but because something hard and blunt slammed into my back sending me staggering forwards. I didn¡¯t fall but it knocked the wind out of me. Of course. I thought to myself, it was just my luck that when I decided I didn¡¯t want to find something to kill that they would pop out of the woodwork. I instinctually leaned against a nearby tree while I heaved in an attempt to breathe properly again. My vision swam with stars due to lack of oxygen, despite that I closed my eyes tight for just a second before I searched for the creature that attacked me. My untrained eyes glided through the trees ineffectually, the blurring of my vision didn¡¯t help. I didn¡¯t even know what I was looking for. Motion? Eyes? Anything that resembled a threat? Regular animals in a rainforest type ecosystem were already exceptionally good at blending in with their surroundings and camouflage. I still expected to be able to see something. My comfortable experiences since awakening and a false sense of superiority led us to that point and I was still stupidly expecting to excel. The only thing on my mind at that moment was detoxifying Aureus, I didn¡¯t even consider being in the middle of a monster ridden forest. I never caught sight of the assailant as several more softball sized objects were hurled towards me. Awkwardly I sidestepped some of the projectiles, but others I clumsily shot out wind at to deflect them. My shoulder thudded into the trunk beside me when I tripped over something while trying to avoid getting hit. You! Move! Aureus screamed through our connection. And for the second time that day I lurched forwards because of a strike from behind. I fell awkwardly into the gap between the obelisk and tree, smashing the shit out of my shoulder in the process. Aureus?! I yelled back, I could feel the heat radiating off of him and his small hands wrapped around my waist. Before I could turn to check on him a loud thump sounded and a sharp pain shot through my leg. Chapter 51: Common Knowledge Aureus whimpered but was still holding me tight, ¡°Stop, you need to get it.¡± he cried, ¡°Go back and grab the staff. Reid can do it.¡± ¡°Rei-¡± I started, but the monsters in the area took our moment of weakness as their chance and rained down projectiles. One caught my already throbbing shoulder, a few more hit my legs, and others hit Aureus. In an instinctual rage I created an earthen dome over the two of us. ¡°Agh¡­¡± I groaned as I pried a particularly strong and stubborn Aureus from me. He protested, ¡°No. You got hurt. No. Stop, I need¡­ You should¡­¡± He muttered some other things but I couldn¡¯t make them out. Once I finally got a hold of him I finally got a good sense of the damage. He had several broken ribs, a shattered leg and was even hotter than when I¡¯d left him. His eyes wouldn¡¯t focus on me and lacked that gorgeous and mystical swirling silver. Instead they looked like one homogeneous color of a dull lusterless gray. He had already dipped well below half of his health and it was dropping faster than before. Every few seconds it ticked down. I stared down at him for a few seconds, my hands hovered over his chest, unsure of whether or not I should touch him, ¡°I, I, I, I¡­¡± I trailed off. If you see someone who¡¯s injured you should try to stop the bleeding if they have any but never move the body unless you absolutely have to. My mom¡¯s voice echoed through my mind. I examined him for any bleeding wounds, I couldn¡¯t tell, it was too dark. There was a large object sitting just to the side of his broken leg, it was bigger than a bowling ball and the ground underneath where it and our legs used to be was caved in as evidence of its force. ¡°Jesus, that could¡¯ve killed us.¡± I stared at it wondering what it was and what happened. ~~*~~ Bungum Seed Description: Seed of the Bungum tree, they are often dropped by the Bungum tree on perceived threats. After crushing the threat it uses the nutrients from it to assist in growth. ~~*~~ I didn¡¯t have the habit of looking at anything and everything with the intent to view their system windows yet, I didn¡¯t even think that everything would. I zoned out for a moment just staring through the window trying to process what was happening and what to do next. My chest ached with sorrow. ¡°What am I supposed to do now?¡± I squeaked out. I wanted to gather him up in my arms, to squeeze him and love on him. I angrily wiped at the tears flowing down my face and the snot that came with them. They just kept coming. ¡°Master? Is it bedtime? It¡¯s dark¡­¡± He muttered and snuggled up into my lap, his small hand clutching at my clothes. A feeble sad smile crept its way onto my face, Just rest for now darling. I pet his head and gritted my teeth failing to trap a wail, I hadn''t cried out loud since I was a child. I didn¡¯t even cry this pitifully when I lost my mom. I couldn¡¯t force myself to tell him sweet words, I failed to force out something to assure him. Clutching at my aching chest I started trying to reign myself in, ugly loud sobs quieted just a bit. Don¡¯t be sad, Master. My head fell back and I stared up at where the sky would be if we weren''t beneath my earthen dome that shielded us from the constant thuds of projectiles. ¡°Please¡­ Please¡­¡± I got out, but I didn¡¯t know what else to say. After I saw the GGC earlier and opened the shop I thought that maybe I should ask them for help, but I still didn¡¯t want to at the time. I was still being petty about losing my childhood home, and I had rationalized that he had more time. I thought I might be able to resolve it somehow, but Aureus popped up and threw himself in more harms way trying to protect me. A quiet sour chuckle escaped with several more tears. ¡°I¡¯m such a fool.¡± I spat bitterly. Master is not¡­ Master is the best. I caressed him, ¡°I can¡¯t be the best! Aureus is the best!¡± I was attempting a chipper tone, but my face was contorted with sorrow, my smile was screwed up and my tone wavered and cracked due to my tears. I was putting off opening the GGC, I didn¡¯t want to. Fear was delaying the inevitable, I had to open it. To talk to them. I needed them and they¡¯d always been there for me before. What if they didn¡¯t want to help? What if they were mad? So many ¡®what if''s'' plagued me. [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± has sponsored you. ] ~~*~~ Yarrue Peony Description: A flower with strong healing and detoxification properties. Less effective when eaten raw, but will remove all [Poisoned] debuffs unless the user is poisoned by something possessing ????????????????. ~~*~~ My heart leapt into my throat and I immediately snatched the glowing flower from the air in front of me. My quick hands slowed as I started pulling petals from it. I should be careful. Don¡¯t fuck this up Mia. I crushed a petal in my hand and pushed it gently into his mouth. Then carefully lifted his head up to feed him water and wash it down. I waited a beat and then started crushing another petal. I wanted to use that one on his hand where he got attacked or maybe on his leg. While I was turning it into a paste I took a quick peek at his status, 62/200. It wasn¡¯t going down every few seconds anymore. That had to be a- 68/200. It¡­ it went up! There I was, crying again. 74/200. 89/200. 105/200. 121/200. 147/200. I looked back at Aureus, he was glowing slightly and his bones were making an ungodly noise as they were healing. I looked down at the mangled flower in my hands dumbfounded. I shoved the remainder of the flower and the mush into my inventory out of habit while my mind reeled. ¡°Ha! Hahahahaha!¡± I lost myself in relieved laughter for a while, ¡°Thank you. Thank you so much. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± ¡°Master? Why are you sorry? Don¡¯t cry! Master!¡± Aureus was quite distressed. I must¡¯ve looked like a mad woman. He was quickly pulled into my embrace, I squeezed him tight as if he might vanish if I didn¡¯t. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Everything is okay. You¡¯re okay.¡± My face already started to hurt from how much I was smiling, well that and the dramatic shifts between emotions. I kissed the top of his head and rested there for a while. Just crying and saying that over and over again. After longer than I¡¯d like to admit I released Aureus from my grasp. It looked like he was still trying to figure out exactly what happened. ¡°Where are we?¡± Aureus asked while gawking at my hasty defensive measures. Portions of two tree trunks were within the dome as well as my makeshift trail marker and the Bungum seed. He summoned a small flame to light up the surroundings. ¡°Oh¡­ uh¡­¡± I started. Why hadn¡¯t I thought of that? ¡°Wow, you made this dome thick! What were¡­ Ahem. As expected of my Master.¡± He seemed a little anxious. I ruffled his hair with a small smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about anything, I¡¯ve got to talk to the gods now so give me a minute okay?¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± He gave me a side eye like I was acting strangely, ¡°OMG! What happened to your leg?!¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Huh. I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d broken.¡± I muttered as I looked down at the leg that¡¯d been struck by the Bungum seed. The bones in my calf had snapped and my foot was sitting at a rather grotesque angle. Weirdly enough I didn''t feel anything, I had to suppress the urge to move it or touch it as I expected that not feeling the injury wouldn''t last long. ¡°Broken?! It¡¯s basically backwards!¡± Aureus screamed. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I just smiled at him, ¡°Yes, yes. It does look a bit funny. Maybe I¡¯ll learn how to walk backwards from now on then?¡± ¡°What!¡± He screeched. I just laughed and leaned on his shoulder, it was completely uncomfortable, my back injury panged as I bent down to his height. I¡¯ll be feeling that bruise in the morning. Finally I opened the GGC, fully ready to be chastised for being an idiot. And boy did they. [ ¡°Lazily Reaping Souls¡± snorts and says that a Tralin is smarter than you. ] [ ¡°Unbottled Lightning¡± asks if he should sponsor you as well since you¡¯ve put on such a fun show. ] [ ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± is rummaging through her things looking for a gift. ] [ ¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± states that you might be the stupidest human he¡¯s ever seen. ] [ ¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± tells him to shut up and throws rejected gifts at him. ] [ ¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± defends himself and yells that you have no common sense and are much too full of yourself while laughing hysterically. ] [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± is quite satisfied with how things unfolded. ] [ ¡°Golden Light that Shines On All¡± sighs and mutters that humans are too easily corrupted with pride. ] [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± huffs and says that the others are too harsh. ] [ ¡°Explorer of Lost Things¡± chuckles and wonders why ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± is interested in such a dumb human. ] [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± begins to stack up notebooks of his findings and begins to drone on about how despite you lacking in basic things you¡¯re quite an interesting subject. ] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± implores the others to consider that you are still learning your strengths and weaknesses since you have grown fast and not had many chances to learn.] [¡°Divine Hammer of Blessings¡± agrees with her and states that you¡¯ve rarely had a chance to battle since you¡¯ve been protecting his contractor and many others.] I interjected because the chat was whizzing by too quickly and I didn¡¯t want them to keep shitting on me much longer, ¡°Thank you so much Traveling Spring Painter, I really really appreciate it. I know I¡¯ve been ignoring everyone for a while. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m a bit dumb I know¡­¡± [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± sighs and assures you that it is alright. ] [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± states that it was a minor inconvenience. ] [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± sniffs and says that they won¡¯t forgive you just yet. ] A few more gods chimed in about how they felt about my protest, most of them didn¡¯t care much but it seemed like it might be a while before the Playwright was happy with me again. After what happened with Aureus the incident with my house felt like nothing. Even if I didn¡¯t like them, I needed them, so I couldn¡¯t let that show or at the very least I shouldn¡¯t ignore them. I shouldn¡¯t ever expect anything from them. They created this game and I was just a source of entertainment for them. Suck it up Mia. I took some time to scroll through the older messages, most of them were various gods I wasn¡¯t familiar with laughing at how I was panicking. They offered various obvious solutions like asking them for help, though they didn¡¯t say it so nicely. They told me to beg. They suggested I ask my friends or go to the shop or just to look around. I wasn¡¯t sure what that meant. Some of them encouraged me to go back and fight the ¡®Cerapin¡¯? I assumed that¡¯s what the triceratops thing was. They made fun of me for going to the center of the forest and not progressing through it naturally like it was meant to. The comments that surprised me the most were that I don¡¯t know how items work and that I lacked the ability to figure anything out on my own unless by accident. ¡°What do you mean I don¡¯t know how items work?¡± [ ¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± laughs and asks why you think you know how they work. ] [ ¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± agrees and states that you haven¡¯t really done any experiments with anything really. ] [ ¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± reluctantly agrees. ] [ ¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± says you wouldn¡¯t understand something unless it smacked you in the face. ] ¡°Ouch. Okay, then I¡¯ll try to do better from now on¡­ In more ways than one.¡± I rubbed at the back of my neck, I was embarrassed. What even was I doing running around like a headless chicken instead of calmly thinking about what to do? ¡°Master? Will you take care of your leg now? It¡¯s starting to turn weird colors¡­¡± Aureus asked and lightly poked my cheek to get my attention. ¡°Oh yeah¡­ it¡¯s so gross! Hahaha. Oh god that hurts so much all of the sudden why?!¡± I groaned, either I was blocking out the pain or the adrenaline just wore off because my mangled leg was absolutely killing me now. Oh! Maybe I still have some of that peony mush on my hands? I glanced down and realized my hands were pretty filthy, but I didn¡¯t care. Just one petal was enough to restore almost 140 HP. I didn''t want to waste it. I cringed but still planned to lick my hands to get the precious material off. ¡°Hold on Master.¡± Aureus said and grabbed both of my wrists. Slowly his mana coated my hands and the dirt started to gather into the air above them. It collected into about the size of a marble and then fell to the ground. ¡°Thanks.¡± I smiled and instinctively reached out to pet him, but froze. Ah shit, I must¡¯ve rubbed some of it on him earlier. That sucks, maybe I¡¯ll still have some left though? I licked my fingers clean and the center of the palm I rolled the petal in. Aureus looked up at me with expectant eyes, I smiled sadly. It didn¡¯t feel any different. ¡°Ah ew! Oh, nice.¡± my bones started to shift and twist into the correct position. It was gross and uncomfortable. Thankfully, the sounds weren¡¯t as disturbing as when Aureus was healing. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that hurt?!¡± Aureus asked, seeming distressed by the horror scene that was my healing leg. ¡°Actually it feels a lot better now, surprisingly. A little uncomfy but better.¡± I stretched my back, the aching had dissipated almost completely. I flopped back and the small space between the obelisk and trunk made me uncomfortable. Aureus got rid of it before I even thought to ask. I stretched out on the ground and sighed. Barely any time passed but so much happened. I pulled a few strands of rough feeling grass from the ground next to me and focused on it. ~~*~~ Sorthle Grass Description: A common grass found in poison rich environments. It utilizes poison from sources in its environment to strengthen itself and grow. Its poison causes mild itching and swelling around the eyes. ~~*~~ ¡°Huh.¡± I never thought to do that before. I had opened status windows for monsters I¡¯d fought but didn¡¯t pull up item windows unless I was already aware that they were items. Not even when I¡¯d put them in my inventory. ¡°Wait¡­¡± I popped out what I¡¯d had in my inventory one by one. ~~*~~ Under Rat Meat Description: A gamey tasting meat. Safe to eat if cooked. Freshness: 35% ~~*~~ ~~*~~ Bone Dagger Description: Dagger created by sharpening bones and wrapping a strip of leather around the handle. Durability: 60% Damage: 4 ~~*~~ ~~*~~ Patchwork Fur Blanket Description: Blanket created by sewing together a few different fur pelts. Durability: 85% ~~*~~ ~~*~~ Plum Tato Description: Deep purple root vegetable that tastes very similar to a potato, but slightly sweeter. Freshness: 90% ~~*~~ ~~*~~ Yarrue Peony Petal Paste Description: Paste created from the petal of a Yarrue Peony. Buffs: Poison detoxification of all poisons outside of those with ????????????????. +500 HP ~~*~~ I didn¡¯t check all of the items, but the fact that the Painter gave me such a potent healing item really punched me in the gut. I knew that the Painter and the Playwright at least cared about me¡­ Probably. The Seeker though, I wasn¡¯t not completely sure he cared about me. Maybe he just found me interesting, I wasn¡¯t positive he understood emotions at all. On several occasions he would ask basic questions about them and write notes about the various emotional interactions that happened to or around me. ¡°Can we leave now?¡± Aureus¡¯ tail was smacking into the dome as he flicked it around in annoyance. ¡°Ah, is our baby cramped in here?¡± I laughed as I ruffled his hair. ¡°Alright, but there might be some monsters out there. We should head back.¡± Once we were both fully healed, Aureus used elemental manipulation to open the top of the dome and shoot us clear of the canopy quickly. Thankfully neither of us got hit during the process and we were able to return to the plains and breathe easier. ¡°So I guess we should go back and try to conquer that forest properly?¡± I mused as I deployed the camper yet again to take a much needed shower. ¡°What?!¡± Aureus yelled from behind me. ¡°Well we can¡¯t have such a blatant weakness sitting right next to us, what happens when the next wave comes? We just fly and avoid them? That might work but there isn¡¯t a guarantee.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ as usual Master sees things deeper than I do.¡± Aureus muttered under his breath. ¡°Then it¡¯s settled! We¡¯ll set out on an adventure after a good shower, nap and I wanna get some more potatoes.¡± Chapter 52: Not My Favorite Flavor ¡°Aureus!¡± Ava squealed as we landed next to the now huge garden. At this point it made more sense to call it a small farm. She was covered in dirt from head to toe and dropped a potato nearly half the size of herself when she saw us. Is it really alright for her to be out here alone? ¡°Hmph¡± Aureus responded as he crossed his arms over his chest and avoided her when she ran towards him. Stupid human children, so clingy and loud! ¡°Heya Ava, is Paige or your father around?¡± I asked as she attempted to catch Aureus in a hug. He was likely the only childlike figure she¡¯d seen in a while. I felt bad, she must be so lonely and bored. Especially since kids were used to the internet and ipads, but now her daily life was potatoes and well¡­ nothing else really. There wasn¡¯t much for a kid to do. ¡°Paige is inside, she¡¯s sick. Dad went out looking for something to help her.¡± Ava responded and quickly became sullen. It was always fascinating how fast her emotions went from zero to a hundred like that. ¡°Then do you mind if I take a look at her?¡± I asked while squatting to her level. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She mimed stroking at a beard as she considered. Finally she gave me a big grin and tugged us into their little house, ¡°Alright, but you can¡¯t tell my dad. I¡¯m not supposed to let people in when he isn¡¯t home. Plus I wasn¡¯t supposed to come outside anyways. So our secret alright?¡± ¡°Alright, alright, slow down!¡± I laughed. I hadn¡¯t been back to the house since we built it, we¡¯d always met at the garden and I gathered potatoes. The large rock he¡¯d asked for as a door was still where we left it. We pushed aside a patchwork sheet that covered the door and walked inside. Paige was laying on a pile of fur pelts to one side of the room. There were drying racks for jerky, tanning racks for the pelts, another pile of fur pelts on the other side from Paige¡¯s and a small plastic bowl on the ground next to her. She was sprawled out and sweating heavily. ¡°What happened?¡¯ I asked as I kneeled next to her. She was hot, probably not quite a high fever though. ¡°Dad said she got the flu.¡± Ava replied. ¡°Other than her being hot, has she been doing anything else? Coughing? Throwing up?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Nope. I don¡¯ think so.¡± she shrugged. I frowned and tried to focus on Paige, and sure enough she had a debuff. She¡¯d been poisoned. ~~*~~ Poisoned Description: User has come into contact with various minor poisons, and will lose 1 HP every 12 hours. This debuff inflicts other debuff(s). Time Remaining: 1:21:28:09 ~~*~~ ~~*~~ Feverish Description: User has an elevated body temperature. This debuff can cause dehydration, lack of appetite and various pains. Time Remaining: Dependant on [Poisoned] ~~*~~ Looking at the window that popped up when I focused on her was strange. It wasn¡¯t like my window or monster¡¯s windows. It just had three sections, human, health, and status, which was where her debuffs presented. The weirdest thing was that it didn¡¯t show her name, but I hadn¡¯t ever tried to open another person¡¯s window before so maybe it was normal. She had only lost three HP out of a total of 30. Thankfully it looked like she¡¯d be able to handle the detoxification on her own. ¡°How long has she been like this?¡± I asked. ¡°Uhh bout a day I think?¡± Ava replied as she sloppily wrung out a rag and placed it on Paige¡¯s forehead. Paige frowned but didn¡¯t wake up, or she was awake and just didn¡¯t have the energy. Water dripped down her face and pooled with the sweat she already was soaked with or it was just water from Ava¡¯s previous ¡®help¡¯ with the rag. ¡°Well, the most important thing to do right now is to make sure she¡¯s getting liquids and maybe some soup or mashed potatoes if she¡¯s up to it.¡± I didn¡¯t wait for a response and started gathering a small amount of water in a little orb above Paige. Carefully I lifted her up and used my mana to push a small sip worth of water into her mouth. After she swallowed most of it I followed it with another. A portion of each orb dripped out of the corner of her mouth, but she swallowed most of it. I wasn¡¯t sure when to stop, I didn¡¯t want to over do it, but giving her too little was dangerous. ¡°Where has Paige been recently?¡± I asked as another orb was swallowed down. ¡°She stayed home!¡± Ava was a poor liar, but if you didn¡¯t ask the right questions you¡¯d never know, she was good at avoiding topics she wasn¡¯t supposed to bring up. Quite impressive for a kid under 5. ¡°Is that so? So unfortunate to lose your big sister at such a young age. Tsk tsk tsk.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Paige isn¡¯t my sister.¡± Ava interjected pointedly, then added. ¡±But she¡¯s right here? She ain¡¯t got lost.¡± ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know that.¡± I paused, ¡°And that¡¯s not what I meant. Did your dad not talk to you about death?¡± I asked. ¡°She¡¯s gonna die?!¡± She jumped up with wide eyes. ¡°Oh I¡¯m not sure, but to me it looks like she got poisoned somehow. I wanted to see if I could go look for what she got poisoned by but if she didn¡¯t leave then that can¡¯t be the case.¡± I shrugged. ¡°What¡¯s poisoned mean?¡± Ava asked. ¡°It means she touched or ate something that made her sick.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Uhhh¡­¡± Ava debated as she tugged at the bottom of her tank top. Finally she resolved herself and sheepishly said, ¡°She sometimes goes out to explore when dad leaves. She don tell me much, but I think she went that way.¡± She pointed sort of towards the forest while looking at the floor. ¡°I see, alright then. Me and Aureus will go out and look at the area she went and if we find what made her sick then it¡¯ll be easier to know how sick she is and how to fix it.¡± I replied with a big smile. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I knew that Paige was going to be fine, but I was worried that something around here had poisoned her. I needed to make sure that there wasn¡¯t anything around that could threaten Ava¡¯s health. She was too young and had a much smaller health pool at only 10. If she got injured or poisoned by something she¡¯d be gone before anyone could do anything about it. She really shouldn¡¯t be out on her own. We could move the rock door in front of the house. Aureus offered. Yeah that might be a good idea, but if she gets in trouble for going out why didn¡¯t her dad put it in front of the house? I dunno. Aureus just shrugged. ¡°Ava, why didn¡¯t your dad put the rock door we made against the doorway?¡± ¡°Oh, cause then I can¡¯t get water for Paige.¡± Ava pointed at the well worn plastic bowl that was sitting next to Paige. It was what she¡¯d used earlier to put wet the rag, ¡°Okay, then here''s what I¡¯ll do, I¡¯m gonna make two big bowls of water. One for drinking and one for anything else. And then I¡¯m gonna put the rock in front of the door to keep y¡¯all safe, okay?¡± I rested a hand on her head as I asked. ¡°But dad left it over there¡­¡± Ava replied quietly, she was apprehensive. ¡°I know. If he comes back you can blame it all on me, I just moved the door as I wanted and everything.¡± I replied and booped her little nose. ¡°Well¡­ alright.¡± Ava relinquished. Aureus made the bowls of water before our conversation ended and we popped the rock over the door as we left. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Ava, we¡¯re gonna go and look around and come back very very soon. Make sure to keep an eye on your sist- on Paige and give her some water every once in a while.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± She replied chipperly from inside the home. It was a relief that she wasn¡¯t crying or anything, I didn¡¯t know how to deal with upset children. But at the same time it was a bit concerning that she was so lackadaisical about the whole situation. She seemed worried, but that didn¡¯t bleed over into interactions that weren¡¯t directly related to Paige. We flew over towards the area that she¡¯d pointed, I figured that she wasn¡¯t super accurate, but I¡¯d rather trust the area she pointed than miss something because I thought she was wrong just cause she was a kid. We got to the transition between the plains and forest that was the closest to the entrance to the Underhollow and lightly landed. ¡°Master, do we have to look around here? She¡¯ll be fine in the end anyways I don¡¯t see why we need to look around for stuff.¡± Aureus whined and lightly kicked at the grass. ¡°Well, it isn¡¯t as much for her as it is for us. We need to learn more about the forest anyway so we might as well check it out and try to learn something from her. Plus if we find something good we might be able to help her.¡± I replied as I looked at the grass he was kicking at. It was the same ¡®Sorthle Grass¡¯ as we had found deep in the forest. I doubt this is what poisoned her, she doesn¡¯t have any swelling around her eyes so that¡¯s a no. I thought and moved on towards the treeline. I could feel Aureus¡¯ apprehension behind me, ¡°Well if you¡¯re not coming then you might as well have just stayed with the girls.¡± ¡°No way! I¡¯m not sitting on my own with that chatterbox!¡± Aureus frowned and took a few decisive steps forward before stopping at the first tree and looking up at it. I wondered if he was examining it for falling seeds. I glanced up too, I didn¡¯t see any but at the same time I wasn¡¯t sure since I¡¯d never noticed the seed before it smacked into us. So there wasn¡¯t any hurt in being careful. I pulled out my daggers and bit into the bark with a quick slash, and nothing happened. Well a seed didn¡¯t fall, but soon after a strange substance started oozing out of the cut and bark of that tree and several of the surrounding ones. ¡°Oh gross¡­¡± I muttered as I poked at the puffy looking liquid with my dagger. When I tried to pull back it nearly got stuck in it. It clung to the metal stretching until finally releasing it. ~~*~~ Bungum Sap Description: Gum like sap that is excreted as a last ditch defensive effort. If a Bungum tree is damaged significantly it will excrete a danger hormone into its environment causing the affected tree and those around it to coat themselves in their sap to prevent further damage. It has a sweet smell and taste. The sap is heat/flame resistant and helps to protect the trunk. It also contains a minor poison, Bungum Poison. ~~*~~ ~~*~~ Bungum Poison Description: A minor poison produced by the Bungum tree. It can be found in almost all parts of the tree, but most that are afflicted with it came into contact with Bungum Sap. It can cause loss of energy and exhaustion, it will not cause health reductions in typical exposure cases. However, very large doses or longer exposure can cause low blood pressure and a dreamlike state that will eventually lead to death if not treated. ~~*~~ ¡°Well that will make it much harder to get wood than I expected¡­¡± I whined as I wiped the surface of my dagger carefully. ¡°We might need to keep a distance from the girls when we go back. There¡¯s no telling if a little bit of poison might get brought back.¡± ¡°What if her dad brought it back in the first place? I mean Ava said Paige was exploring, but it could also be him.¡± Aureus asked. I hadn¡¯t even considered that as a possibility. ¡°You¡¯re right, we need to talk to him asap. Could you go look for him while I explore just a little bit more?¡± ¡°Absolutely not! No way am I leaving you in this crazy poison death trap!¡± Aureus protested. He stamped one of his feet as he turned away from me for emphasis. ¡°We¡¯re at the entrance now there¡¯s no way the little itty bitty monsters that would be here could hurt me! Plus he can¡¯t have gone that far! You¡¯re the mighty Aureus, you''d definitely be able to find him and come back faster than I¡¯d even realize you¡¯d left!¡± Hyping him up was my preferred method of getting what I wanted from him. I wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d figured out that I was just complimenting him for my own gain and didn¡¯t mind or just wasn¡¯t aware. ¡°Well¡­¡± He hesitated, ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ I guess if you¡¯re careful. Don¡¯t go more than five, no three trees in! And if you see anything weird, turn around right away! And don¡¯t touch anything if you¡¯re not sure if it¡¯s safe. And if-¡± ¡°Okay! Okay, I¡¯ll be careful.¡± I interjected, ¡°We need to be quick about it alright?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± He eyed me suspiciously, ¡°I¡¯ll be back before you can get yourself into some kind of trouble anyways.¡± He took off so fast that I nearly fell into the squishy piles of Bungum Sap that had been accumulating at the base of the trunks near me. Unfortunately, I did lose my balance, but I did manage to stop myself before I completely stuck my hand in the sap. Just the tip of my finger lightly grazed the sticky sap and promptly was pulled back into it. ¡°Ewww gross!¡± a shiver ran down my spine, flashbacks to my slime hunting days overtook me. ¡°Not again, what is this, the squishy and gross section of the Underhollow?! Why does everything have to be slimy and squishy and sticky? It sucks!¡± I promptly yanked my hand out of the sap, and a small chunk came with it just stuck to my fingertip. I walked in a circle with it held out from my body glancing around at my surroundings trying to figure out how to rid myself of the wretched substance. I hate being sticky dammit! The only options I was presented with were gummed up trees, poison grass, and my own clothes. Cringing and unsure what else to do I just backed away from the trees and gum and shoved my finger in the ground. Focusing on earth elemental manipulation I spun the dirt and rocks around my finger carefully blending off the gum. When I finally pulled my finger back out it was filthy, coated in dirt, but clean as far as I was concerned. A small bubble of water resolved the lingering dirt and I inspected my finger for any changes. After a few seconds of scrutiny I decided it was safe and rubbed it against my thumb for the final test. Stickiness. If any remained I was going to have to find a way to get rid of it. Thankfully it felt normal, nothing sticky as far as I could tell. I let out a sigh of relief and opened my status to check if I was poisoned. ~~*~~ Poisoned Description: User has been poisoned by Bungum Sap, the effects are minimal due to User¡¯s Poison Resistance [Minor]. User will feel slight fatigue for the duration. Time Remaining: 1:58:33 ~~*~~ Wow I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d spent a whole minute on trying to get that sap off of me. [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± laughs at your fervent method to get rid of the sap.] I paused after reading their message wondering if they¡¯d forgiven me or if it was just that I looked like an idiot. The Playwright was hard to read sometimes. ¡°Wait, what?¡± I mumbled as I looked back over at my debuffs. Poison resistance? Sure enough, a new skill had been added to my list. When did I get poison resistance? No, more importantly when did I get poisoned before now? Chapter 53: Deforestation When on earth had I gotten poison resistance? [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± gives you a pitiful smile and advises that you should try to keep a more keen eye on your surroundings.] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± is disappointed that you don¡¯t share his interest in learning.] [¡°Abandoned Bloodied Sword¡± states that you are learning, even if you are a little slow.] [¡°Lazily Reaping Souls¡± cackles and says with a sneer that you¡¯ll be in their possession soon..] [¡°Golden Light that Shines on All¡± states that he doubts that.] [¡°Traveling Spring Painter¡± exclaims that she¡¯d never allow you to have a foolish death.] [¡°Whispering Playwright behind a Mask¡± sighs and says that you aren¡¯t dying currently so there isn¡¯t much point in discussing it anyway.] ¡°So I must have gotten poisoned when we were in the forest last time.¡± I replied to none of them in particular. [¡°Reflection of an Empty Throne¡± exclaims ding, ding, ding!] [¡°Seeker of Magic and Knowledge¡± frowns and states that it would have been stranger if you hadn¡¯t gotten poisoned.] [¡°Playful Cat Hates Yarn¡± scoffs and says that you¡¯re lucky to have a decent level.] They continued to bash on me for either foolishly never noticing that I¡¯d gotten poisoned or for my panic about getting rid of the gum sap. I rolled my eyes and closed the GGC, there wasn¡¯t much point in reading through that now anyway. I got the point. I needed to keep a closer eye on my status and make sure I don¡¯t end up getting poisoned when I¡¯m unaware. ~~*~~ Poison Resistance [Minor] Description: User is able to resist minor poisons, effects will diminish based on the User¡¯s mastery of Poison Resistance. User can increase their mastery by being inflicted with higher doses or a variety of poisons. Mastery: 9% ~~*~~ ¡°Well that¡¯s pretty helpful. I guess we would have had higher poison resistances if we¡¯d found that place naturally.¡± I felt even sillier about our little escapade into the forest. [¡°Gentle Autumn Breeze¡± is glad that you are beginning to understand the importance of a strong foundation and patience.] I noticed a message pop up as I was closing my system. Gentle Autumn Breeze was always comforting, and I smiled. I wasn¡¯t particularly thinking about a strong foundation. I was more considering how quickly I could increase my poison resistance and wipe out the residents of the forest, but I wasn¡¯t going to admit that to the gods after the miserable failure we¡¯d had the day prior. Master, I¡¯m not seeing him in the plains or the mountains. I might have missed him though, should I double check? No, just come back and try a quick fly over of the forest. Maybe he went here looking for something that might help. I turned back to the trees and sighed. The gum was slowly stretching down the trunks and piling up around their roots. Only about ten or fifteen trees were affected from what I could tell. Traveling through there was next to impossible, so I walked a few feet along the tree line until the gum was a tree or two from me and I started into the tree line. The Bungum trees in the outer area were shorter, and there were more of the smaller plants the further I got from the field. Most of the plants in the area were the bushes that I¡¯d seen before. The ones that snatched the rock I threw and attempted to devour it. I knew to steer clear of those, but stopped to examine it. ~~*~~ Olibane Description: A poisonous plant that utilizes prehensile vines to entrap anything that comes into contact with its leaves and drags the prey towards its base. The Olibane will attempt to crush the prey and digest it. The majority of the plant has small hairlike spines that are used to poison whatever it touches. Olibane Poison is a minor poison that can cause Confusion. ~~*~~ ~~*~~ Confusion Description: A debuff that weakens the User¡¯s reasoning ability and mental faculties. This debuff¡¯s effects can vary widely depending on the User afflicted and the situation that they find themself in, especially related to their mental state and emotions. It will heighten any mental effects that are already present such as Enraged, Fear, Berserk, Bliss, Hypnotised, Hallucinations, etc. ~~*~~ I groaned, I noticed I could focus on the various effects that were listed and wondered how many I had missed that entire time. I chose not to view them since they looked pretty straight forward. ¡°God, this place is the worst. Why did they have to put such a troublesome place next to such a lovely area of the Underhollow.¡± I whined. Master, I think I found him. Where? Why aren¡¯t you sure? Well¡­ I just found a group of monsters congregating around something so I thought it might be him. How far is he in the forest? Would it be safe to try to get him away from them? Not far, you could probably get here in a minute or two, but I¡¯m not sure how safe it is to fight the monsters since we haven¡¯t yet. I took a deep breath, we were both still pretty shaken from the incident yesterday. I was trying to push it down and deal with it later, I was scared. I was scared that if I stopped to think about it or stopped to take a break I wouldn¡¯t be able to get back into it. The idea that the Underhollow was dangerous was something I nearly forgot. Everything had been so easy for so long. Alright, I¡¯ll head that way if you want to test them out from a distance that¡¯s fine. Okay Wait, what do they look like? Uhh, spiders I think? Oh, ok. Spiders huh? Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Yup, probably. Spiders weren¡¯t too scary when they were little jumping spiders that just chilled on a wall and ate mosquitoes or something, but monster spiders¡­ That, I was apprehensive about. I pondered about how they might look as I slowly and carefully made my way towards Aureus. The more we leveled up the easier it was for me to feel where he was, or maybe it was just because I was getting better at it. I wasn¡¯t sure, especially since it wasn¡¯t listed in any of our skills. The whole system and skills and mana thing was a bit strange honestly. I knew I could use mana outside of the system and basically create my own skills, but without the system it just felt like wandering in the dark. I kept a close eye on my status window, I didn¡¯t want to end up poisoned and not notice it. Thankfully the only plants I needed to avoid were the Bungum trees and the Olibane, there weren¡¯t any vines or mushrooms or large carnivorous plants. Well, there were but they didn¡¯t obviously look like carnivorous plants. I made it about halfway before I realized I needed to keep an eye on the sky too. I panicked a bit and glanced around the canopy looking for something that wasn¡¯t there. Either no monsters were around because of Jackson or I wasn¡¯t quite deep enough in the forest to find any. I don¡¯t even know if Jackson is his first name or last name. Bastard never even introduced himself and here I am trekking through the poison jungle to find him since his daughters are- his daughter and Paige need him. Who is she anyway? A niece? Babysitter? Some random kid he found? I guess it does make more sense that she calls him Jackson instead of dad now though. I grumbled as I made my way over, I could hear the wind slicing through something as I got closer. I stopped in my tracks, was it really such a good idea to walk over here? I mean there¡¯s Bungum trees everywhere and they¡¯re probably already bubbling up with their defenses. I could see a glint of Aureus in the distance through a space in the canopy, he looked fine on the status window. Thankfully, he hadn''t lost any health. Watch out! Aureus yelled through our connection, and a tree in the distance crashed down, it wasn¡¯t even close to hitting me because of the angle it fell. I¡¯m fine it wasn¡¯t close to me, I¡¯ll be there soon so don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s what¡¯s making me worry. I laughed and finally was close enough to see them. ~~*~~ Torixo Jumping Spider [Hunter] Description: An active predator that hunts in small groups and drags their prey back to a larger nest where the remainder of the colony lives. ~~*~~ That description appeared along with their various status windows, they were all of various levels from two to six. Not too bad at all. Why was Aureus so worried about me? Did all monsters always have a description like that? Maybe I never noticed it because I was always trying to open status windows specifically. It seemed like the system always worked based on my own intent and key words, but if I wasn''t aware of them it was easy to miss it. On my next step I saw a football sized bug on the forest floor, nearly half of it was missing due to a hole in its chest¡­ or thorax or whatever. On closer examination I found that it was a ¡®Detox Bee,¡¯ a monster that collected poison from plants around and created a cure through its honey. They thrived off of the toxicity that poison and venom created and the honey they created as a byproduct could also be considered a poison if eaten when not poisoned. A thin line between medicine and poison I supposed. ¡°That would¡¯ve been helpful before.¡± I muttered as I examined the bee, it looked more like a hornet than a bee. It had pincers in addition to a large stinger, and bright neon orange stripes. The black stripes between them had a slight red or warm tinge to them. ¡°Well, I guess they wouldn¡¯t give up their precious honey easily.¡± A few more of the bees littered the ground and before I realized it I was a few steps from a spider. It was huge. Not quite the size of a bear but definitely bigger than a dog. Either way, much too large for a spider. The edge that their size gave them was softened just slightly because they were a quite pleasant pink color. They were jumping around the area dodging Aureus¡¯ aerial attacks. There were only three left out of what I estimated to be an eight spider hunting party, one level two that was hiding behind trees and a level five and six that were trying to attack Aureus as he flitted about the sky. Silken shots were sparingly shot past him or stopped directly by a fire or air attack. None of them had noticed me yet, or so I thought. A faint sound rustled above me and I glanced up as a fourth spider was jumping down on top of me. My heart skipped a beat, panic and instinct overtook me. After yesterday I was even more sensitive to things falling on top of me. I yelped jumping back barely in time, and swung my dagger down on the largest part of it I could. I could feel its hairs brush past me as it landed. It attempted to jump away, but wasn¡¯t fast enough. I cut deep into it and took a leg before it could escape me and skitter back up a tree. My hand stung slightly where its blood had gotten onto me. Do spiders have blood? No, would it be considered blood? It glowered down at me from a perch in a tree, but it was struggling to hold on. It was already dead, I¡¯d created a large gash in a third of its body, and at that point I was able to see that it was at 16/50 HP. It was only level three. The spiders¡¯ stats were heavily skewed towards intelligence and dexterity, so their constitution and strength suffered. It put in one last attempt at hurting me and lunged at me from its position on the tree, fangs bared and dripping with venom. With a quick roll forward and a kick it was killed. The other two that were fighting Aureus seemed to have taken notice of me and were attempting some sort of escape with a large ball of silk. Jackson? I wondered as they jumped to either side while trying to dodge his attacks but also bring back their quarry. The level two was standing a few feet behind the two of them with a tree for cover as it had before. Huh, weird to see monsters with plans. Can you get Jackson out of there so I can properly kill these things? I¡¯ve been trying to be careful since it¡¯s dangerous for him and I don¡¯t know what kind of variables to expect here. Okay, no problem Captain Aureus! I could feel him cringing at that, but ignored it and snaked my way through the trees and grabbed a hold of the large ball of silk. It looked too large to be just Jackson. Maybe they added each catch to it as they traveled? I tugged hard to pull it away from them, but the part that I had snapped instead. I repositioned myself lower to the ground and gripped the sides of it. Lifting it up was easy, but I¡¯d created a new problem. The two higher level spiders were now trying to crawl over it to get to me since I was their new obstacle to getting it home. The instinctual fear of two giant spiders crawling me was intense. I nearly threw the whole silk bundle. I wanted to jump away from them, not sure why I wanted to jump in particular but I did. Now both of you are in my line of fire¡­ I rolled my eyes, it wasn¡¯t exactly my preferred situation either. I hadn¡¯t practiced hands free elemental attacks much, but it seemed like the easiest solution to the ever closer giant pink spiders. Focusing on a water elemental attack and attempting to add rotation took a few seconds. I pictured two balls of water starting to form in front of my face as they got closer. Why don¡¯t you just put it down?! Closer still, and the balls began to spin in my mind''s eye ever so slowly. Mana churned in my chest. Master! Just throw it! The silk will probably protect it. I could see the hairs on their legs and they were much too close for comfort, but it felt like the rotation wasn¡¯t quite enough. I still had time. I could jump back and drop the cocoon if I needed to. Just a couple more seconds. Master! I know! I yelled back as I let them loose. My eyes squeezed shut as their blood and guts and bodies exploded. Seriously? You really overdid it. Aureus said flatly. I opened my eyes to find much more destruction than I¡¯d intended. There was little left of the two spiders¡­ and of a section of the forest past them. Uh¡­ what about the little level two? The one that was hiding over there? Aureus asked with a huff and pointed towards a tree that had fallen from the blast. Several trees had basically exploded, while the further ones had half circle shaped holes in their trunks. The silk along the top of the cocoon was frayed and destroyed. Shit, I hope I didn¡¯t hurt him. Can¡¯t you experiment with stuff like that on stronger enemies? You have twenty five levels on them, did you think a regular attack wasn¡¯t going to cut it? Sorry¡­ You¡¯re better at this and I haven¡¯t had to practice much since we haven¡¯t been fighting together so I guess I went overboard. I rubbed at the back of my neck as I apologized to Aureus. He landed softly beside me and started examining the ball of silk. ¡°You wanna try to unroll it and sell it to Caro?¡± Aureus asked with a mischievous grin. ¡°Jackson might be in here!¡± I chided him, but added, ¡°After we get him out though that is a great idea.¡± I tousled his hair and grabbed my daggers out of my inventory again. I lodged them carefully into the silk. ¡°Don¡¯t overdo it this time.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You usually put too much strength into things.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You really have to be careful, Jacks-¡± ¡°I KNOW!¡± I yelled in annoyance and glanced over at my familiar who was returning me an innocent look, but I knew he was doing it on purpose. I huffed my hair out of my eyes and carefully cut into the next layer of silk. It was a satisfying process, it reminded me of those videos of people cutting spools of thread. A few more layers and a few bees later we found him. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s dead.¡± Aureus said with a shrug. ¡°Let¡¯s go get the potatoes for the adventure!¡± Jackson limply rolled out of the silk and his skin was a bit dull. His face was slightly blue. Sure enough he looked dead. But his chest was rising ever so slightly. ¡°He¡¯s not dead.¡± I replied with a smack upside his head. ¡°Ow! What?!¡± Aureus cradled his head as if it hurt.