Chapter 45

“Who’s this?” Hert asked Leon.

Leon shook his head. “Someone I denied joining our party, but he just won’t give up.”

Ava frowned and stepped toward Finn. “Are you a Ranger?”

“Yup. The best ranger there is. Name’s Finn. But you, gorgeous, can call me whatever you like.” He winked.

Ava pulled on Leon’s arm, making him bend forward. She whispered in his ear. “A Ranger would be great, right? That’s a class that we don’t have.”

Leon looked to the side where Finn had leaned in, too. Finn shot back up and raised his chin in the air. “That’s exactly right. I will raise your party to a new level.”

Hert looked between Finn and Leon, scratching at his cheek. “Why did you say no?”

“I have a feeling he’s trouble we don’t need.”

Hert looked from him to Ava. “Well, if you have a feeling like that, I’m inclined to agree.”

“Pfft. You haven’t even watched me shoot.”

“Maybe we can give him a chance?” Ava said and stepped toward him. “I’m Ava. That’s Hert, and you have, of course, met Leon already. Cleric, Tank, and Warrior.”

Finn nodded.

“I said no.” Leon crossed his arms.

“It’s my decision, too. He can follow along today and then we can decide. Right?” Ava bit her lips and looked up at Leon, her eyes gleaming.

Leon sighed. “He doesn’t get to join the party, but if you need convincing, sure. Let’s have him tag along today. It won’t take long to see why, and then we can leave it behind us.”

“Yeah, I’ll show you,” Finn said. He joggled his eyebrows toward Ava. “He’s just scared I’ll outshine him.”

Leon nodded to the side. “Let’s get going.”

“Where?” Hert asked, then he muttered, “And wasn’t she just worried that she’d be kicked from the party?”

Leon decided not to answer the last part. “I had a look at the forests and came to think of the wheat field outside. I’ve only met wolves up to level six in the Tutorial Forest, so it might be worth checking out. I’m not sure we’re up for the E- ranked one yet. Not if we get unlucky and meet more than one monster at a time. That okay?”

Hert and Ava nodded.

“Wow, I never imagined you’d fear a challenge,” Finn said, slapping Leon’s back. “Did my story about the lion scare you?”

Leon stared at him. “I hope you’re aware that dying here actually kills you. I’d rather try to find a safer way and take the more dangerous one as a last option. We need to see what we can handle.”

“You’ve been into the E- ranked forest?” Ava asked.

Leon and Hert started walking, and a short while later, Ava and Finn noticed and followed them. Hert threw a glance over his shoulder.

“I can kind of see why you don’t want him already. Why did you agree to take him with us today?”

Leon didn’t look back, but up into the sky. “Because I want to remove all doubt from Ava’s mind. I can imagine that she’d try to convince us until we gave in, or that he would just tag along, anyway. I mean, Ava’s viewed herself as useless all this time, and I think she wants the party to become as strong as it can get.”

“And if she doesn’t see it?”

“She will.” Or at least Leon hoped so. They’d heard in the memories that she was smart, smarter than she seemed willing to show. She could put two and two together.

As they walked through the Slums, Leon and Hert talked about Hert’s closing business and their newly purchased equipment, while hearing occasional laughter behind them. Leon groaned inward, but held his belief in that they’d see the man fail, and then Ava would dismiss him, too.

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Hert and Leon stopped a few yards from the arch and looked over the field. It didn’t look special in any way; just like a normal field with ready-to-harvest wheat. If Hert stepped inside it, it would reach his waist at the most. What kind of monster would they meet?

“You wanna go first?” Hert asked.

Leon shrugged while footsteps closed in from behind.

“Guys, come on. You didn’t do any research? If you step in there, you’ll find nothing, even if you search all day.”

“So where’s the entrance?” Hert asked.

Finn waved his whole arm forward, and they walked to the end of the field, roughly two football stadiums away. Beside the road was a dirt path, like the one Leon had seen outside the other gate, surrounded by inch-long grass. They followed it until Finn stopped and held up a hand.

He approached the field and kicked his heel into the ground a few times to reveal stone. He nodded and kicked a few times more, and as the first step became visible, the dirt and grass in front of him shuffled to the side, revealing stairs. As he walked forward and down, the grassy surface and the bottom of the field shivered, as if it was a mirage.

“Is it a portal?” Leon couldn’t help himself.

“Yup. Well, something like it.”

“How did you know?”

“Man, I’ve told you! I’m a scout. It’s kind of my thing. The tag thing.”

Ava gaped at him and clenched her fists. “That’s so cool!”

“I know, right?” He put his hands on his waist. “I can find hidden entrances, hidden loot; hidden anything.”

Leon raised an eyebrow and drew his weapons. “Are you going in, or what?”

Finn gave a quick shrug. “Sure.” He strode forward and disappeared. Leon only had time to take two steps before the man’s head popped out again, seemingly in the air. “You guys coming, or what?”

Leon continued without awarding an answer. As he came to the bottom of the stairs, something cold enclosed him, like slime. Half a second later, the feeling disappeared, and he looked around. This was a joke, right?

There were walls and a ceiling, all made with wheat. This part of the field had divided into an angular room with perfect corners, and which led into something that looked like a labyrinth.

“Activate mini-map,” Leon said while looking at the box in front of him.

Caution

You have entered a semi-dungeon.

Rank: F+

Recommended Player level: 7-14

He dismissed it and looked at the small rectangular map. It was almost completely see-through in the lower right corner of his vision, and two blue dots and a silver one stood in the middle of the small square inside it. Two lines were behind the party’s dots, and Leon suspected Finn wasn’t in it because he wasn’t part of the group.

“Semi-dungeon? Is that even a thing?” Hert asked, pointing in front of him.

“Well, yeah,” Finn said. “They don’t want monsters to come into the city, do they?”

“How come the forests are open, then?”

“Nah, they might look like it, but they aren’t open or semi-dungeons. They actually have barriers, even if you can’t see them. At least along the roads close to the city.”

“Bull.”

Finn shrugged. “Think what you want.”

“This feels kind of weird,” Ava said.

“Stick close to me and I’ll keep you safe.” Finn winked at Ava, and she smiled.

Leon stepped further into the beige area and walked toward the opening at the other end of the room. A glance at the mini-map confirmed that it expanded the further in he went, and he took the first path to the left.

“I hear a buzzing sound,” Leon said, readying his weapons.

“Me too,” Hert said, close behind.

They continued to the end of the path, and turned right, where Leon stopped. He looked at a grasshopper, which was twice as long as Hert. It was a mix of light and dark green, and its black eyes stared in the other direction. Fluorescent wings laid flat against its long back, and its two front legs had growths that looked like barbed broad blades, ending in a shape of a spear. A light-yellow tag danced above its head, stating it was a Green Grasshopper Level 7.

“I’ll sneak up on it; maybe we’ll get a free hit,” Leon said over his shoulder.

He walked forward as quietly as he could on his leather boots, sword and dagger at his sides. He raised the blades to stick them into the meaty flesh under its second set of legs when an arrow swished just over his head, piercing the creature’s wing. It let out a high-pitched roar and twisted around. The second leg pushed into Leon’s body, flinging him flat onto his back, under the giant insect.

“Pow!” Finn shouted.

The creature stomped around, and as the pointed leg hurled toward the ground, Leon rolled aside, just in time to avoid getting stabbed. The grasshopper raced toward the rest of the party while trying to widen its wings, but only one opened up. Another arrow pierced through just under its head as Leon got up on his feet, and it gargled. Green blobs dripped onto the ground, and Finn punched the end of the bow upward, hitting the already wounded chest.

“Boom!”

Finn suddenly had a black dagger in his hand, and he stabbed the creature’s chest twice as it screamed from pain.

“Slash!”

The creature sagged down onto the ground as Leon stopped before them.

“What the hell?” he asked, pushing Finn’s shoulders. “You could have killed me!”

“Nah,” Finn said, putting the bow into his inventory. He blew a strand of hair from his face. “I took it down, didn’t I?”

“I-It was awesome!” Ava said, throwing herself around Finn’s arm.

He beamed at her. “Right? Told you, I’m the best there is.” He bent down to pick something off the dirt floor, except there was nothing there. “Cool, you don’t get the scythe that often.”

Leon and Hert exchanged a look, and Hert shook his head, looking at the ground.