<>(Zack)<>

Ignoring Jesse's continuation of questions, I enter Jackson's forge. I can hear him hammering away in the back, so I walk up to the counter and wait for him to finish. it takes about four minutes before the hammering stops, and about another minute before he steps into the front.

"Zack," he starts when he sees me, then relief fills his face. "You're awake."

"I am."

"I have your order ready," he informs me.

"Thanks," I say.

He walks into the back, returning after several minutes with a bundle, setting it down on the counter. He opens it to reveal a new chestpiece, two vambraces, and two pauldrons, each a dark, metallic grey with an orangish sheen to them, a faint, golden glow emanating from within.

"I hadn't gotten to the armor yet," he tells me. "When…"

He trails off, and I know what he was going to say. When he heard that Bryce was dead.

"That's okay," I run my fingers across the material.

"It took me an ingot and a half to forge them," he informs me.

I nod, and he informs me that he's going to go grab the weapons, then disappears into the back. I pull on my new armor as I wait, the gear fitting nicely against my body and feeling weightless, as the ingots themselves did.

As I'm finishing pulling on my new armor, Jackson returns with a wrapped bundle, setting it down. He looks unsure and a little uneasy.

"I worked on the weapons first," he tells me, unwrapping the weapons. Two sheathed swords, two sheathed knives, the sheaths and grips forming two sets of weapons. "The sword and knife with the crosspieces shaped like horns were for you, while the ones designed like wings were…"

"For Bryce," I pick up the sword with the winged crosspiece.

Its sheath is patterned like flames, the metal made from the ingots, matching my armor in pattern. The grip to the sword – to all of the weapons – looks different, more like the ingots. Dark grey, glowing with an orange light from its cores. The grip itself is spiraled, as they all are, with an orange jewel resting in the pommel.

I draw the sword, staring at the dark blade with a glowing core. This was meant to be Bryce's sword, possibly forged before we were hunted. Now, though… now, he'll never get to wield it.

A tear falls onto the sword, and I realize that I'm crying, tears streaming down my cheeks. A strong, firm hand rests on my shoulder, gripping me reassuringly, and I look up and over to find Nik standing there, looking somber. I give him a weak smile.

"I know," I tell him. "What weapon is going to kill that thing."

I look back to the blade, watching as my tear slides off of it, then slide the weapon into the sheath, sending it and Bryce's knife into my inventory. I pick up my sword and draw it. The blade and grip are the same as Bryce's weapons, the only difference between the two being the crosspieces, with mine shaped like horns tilting up instead of wings, like his. The sheathes for my weapons have a swirling design on it, the glow of which seems to follow the pattern.

Now I think of it, the flames on Bryce's sheaths seemed to have been how the glow followed. Jackson must truly be a Master Blacksmith, I'm sure, to be able to guide the glow of a Holiday Metal like that.

I strap my sword across my back, fixing the knife to my hip.

My weapons now equipped, I pull out the remainder of the fee.

"No," Jackson holds up a hand. "I didn't perform the full request. The weapons took up and ingot and a half, the sheathes taking up another ingot, using up four total ingots. I've never had the chance to work with so much Spook Ore before, and you've paid for half. I only did a little more than that. The fee is paid, to me."

"I-"

"No," he says. "It is not pity, it is fact, and what happened wouldn't have changed this. Would you like the last six ingots back? Or would you prefer to sell them to me at twenty-five gold apiece?"

I want them back, save them for more weapons and gear, for when it's needed. But if I sold them to him, others could get better equipment, too. It's expensive, though, and people around here probably won't be saving up enough to afford the equipment. Jackson would probably sell them to the people traveling from deeper within.

Then, they'd be going to people who are 'getting stronger'. Had they been out here, dealing with shit out here, then there wouldn't have been such a huge horde. The populations would have been kept down. But it's 'safer' to train further within.

Safer my ass. They're just cowards. How many of them will really come out here to help, when it's time to fight the horde? How come they won't come out here and help try to reclaim the mines? A lot of people have died recently, all because there aren't enough people here.

"I want them back," I tell him. "I'll sell them to you only if someone here wants gear made from it. I don't want my metal going to people who don't put in real effort. Only people still living here and trying to make a difference can get my metal."

There might be Spook Ingots earned elsewhere, but odds are that it isn't much per person, if they managed to get the random proc if they were in a party greater than five that took out the Spook Master they fought. So while other people might be getting some gear…

It won't be like here. They'd have to spend a shitload, probably.

"Very well, then," Jackson says. "One minute."

He walks to the back, returning with a crate. He pulls out five Spook Ingots, and I take each one, sending them back into my Inventory. Then, he hands me five golden coins, each with a five imprinted on the value side. I send one into my storage for coins, placing the other four into the pouch on my belt, to be used soon.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Where'd Jesse go?" I ask. "I… didn't notice him leave, or you arrive, Nik."

I look at the Dark Knight, who puts a hand on my shoulder again.

"He returned to the Trading Post," he informs me. "After informing me where you were. What will you do, now?"

Now? I'm… I'm going to hug you and cry my eyes out. This isn't like me, this isn't how a Dark Knight should act, but I can't help it.

Nik wraps his arms around me, holding me tightly as I sob into his chest, not saying a word. When I finally stop, I step back and rub my eyes on my sleeve, then look up and smile at him.

"Jesse mentioned," I say. "That I took out the horde. I got a Title for it, too. I guess that means the strongest ones that were there are all gone. Well, there are probably still some Bounty Beasts, but… the rest of the strongest are gone.

"That means," I shake my head, then look back at him with a real, genuine smile. "That means it's a bit safer for me to train, now. It's unlikely the Shadow of Life will be able to amass a horde like that again, at least, not without my noticing. I'm stronger now, too, which means I don't have to avoid the Goblins as much. And with my new sword… they're going to die.

"By the time the real horde comes," I'm grinning now, a grin that would probably send any ordinary Monster running. "That bastard is going to regret coming after me."

"Don't be reckless, Zack," Nik tells me.

"I won't," I tell him. "But I am going to be deadly. I aim to be a maxed-out Champion of Darkness by the time the year ends. We have what, a month until then? Maybe by the time the horde comes, I'll be a Dark One."

"You do know how tough that will be, right?" Nik asks.

"Maybe," I give him a cheeky grin. "But if I kill enough Holiday Monsters in their true form, all by myself… maybe I can just skip a few Levels in Blood Priest."

"Be careful," Nik tells me.

"I will be," I tell him. "Speaking of Levels, I'm Level 10 Dark Warrior, now. I guess my bloody, vengeful massacre counted for Experience for it, even though it was with, according to Jesse, a giant fucking meteor."

"Erm… yeah," Nik says. "It was a giant fucking meteor."

"Thanks, Jackson," I look at the blacksmith, and he nods. "I'm going to be heading out. It's time for this Dark Warrior to become a Dark Knight. How long until the Turkey Patriarch spawns?"

"It's out now," Nik tells me. "According to Jesse. He said it's wandering around the fields to the east, where you usually train against Slimes and Rats. I'm not sure you'd be powerful enough to take it on, even with Dark Knight."

"Maybe," I say. "Oh, I needed Roar of Darkness for this. Good thing I obtained it."

"When?" Nik asks in shock as I head to the door.

"While being chased by a fucking horde," I answer, leaving. He follows behind me. "Uh, Nik? You need Taunt for Tier III, you told me Tier I."

"I did?" He asks.

"Yeah."

"Oh," he says. "It's been a long time since I gained the Classes and Leveled them, and a long while since I trained anyone. I must have mixed everything up. Are you taking it?"

"Yeah."

I am now a Dark Knight. The bonuses are the same, except for Strength and Vitality, which gain one more each per Level.

"How do you get the Turkey Patriarch into its true form?" I ask Nik as I walk towards the Trading Post.

"I advise against this," he tells me.

"I'm stronger, now," I tell him. "Several Levels higher, with high-quality equipment that would make any experienced Adventurer envious. I know you are. I also know you're going to ask Jackson to make a sword for you with the Spook Ingot I left behind, which is why I left it. If I can't kill it, I'm out of there, but I did manage to kill the Spook Master."

"By sheer luck," he tells me.

"So," I say. "How do I get it into its true form?"

"The Turkey Patriarch," he tells me. "Takes the form of a turkey that's twenty feet tall. It can use several air attacks, and its screech can paralyze any who hear it. It actually only has one form. Instead, the bonus is for killing it with a party of five or less. We've confirmed this a couple of times both through trial and error, and asking Big Flame directly. It's one of the few with only one form, though we knew the Spook Master had a true form, due to the lack of a minimal party bonus. They have one or the other."

"Alright," I say. "So it's a twenty-foot turkey? That's kind of big."

How much meat does it give? What does it taste like?

"Yes," he says. "It is. And its screech really will paralyze those who hear it. It takes a high Willpower to not be affected by it. It can also exhale blasts of wind and summon up gales to throw people around."

"Got it," I say, stopping in front of the doors to the Trading Post. "Any advice?"

"Don't fight it?" He suggests, and I stare at him. He laughs. "If you can, cut through its throat, first. It won't kill it, but it will give it bleed damage and prevent it from breathing out the blast of wind or using its screech. If you can damage its wings, it won't be able to summon up the gales of wind. The beak is used to peck at you, if you're within its range.

"It can summon," he continues. "Turkeys into existence, as well as draw any and all nearby Turkey Slimes to it. Taking out its ability to call will nullify that. If you can, plug your ears with wax, as it often uses the screech first thing in a fight. The Turkeys it summons will peck at your feet and legs, and the Turkey Slimes it summons will fire feathers at you, these ones damaging. Turkey Slimes only fight when the Turkey Patriarch is nearby and has performed a summons, so you probably wouldn't have known about this. Their feathers are razor-sharp, and the tips will stab into you. They either perform a straight throw or a spinning, which will tell you which to watch out for."

"Got it," I nod, then enter the Trading Post. "Anything else?"

"Don't fight it?" He suggests again, and I just shrug. "I'll be watching, just in case."

I walk up to the counter and place the four gold coins on it.

"Gold tags, Pervert."

"Of course!" Jesse squeals, taking the coins and a few moments later, handing me my new tags. "Want to see which Bounties you can claim?"

I look over at the board, with its dozens of Bounties listed, then back at Jesse.

"I want to kill a turkey," I tell him. "Sorting through those will take forever."

"Oh, no!" He shakes his head. "We can confirm up to ten Bounties at a time!"

He pulls out the orb from before and places ten sheets underneath it, and we repeat the process from when I kill the other one. It confirms three Bounties slain. Within five minutes, we've determined that I've killed six Bounty Slimes, earning me sixty silver, nine Bounty Rats, earning me ninety silver, four Bounty Goblins, earning me a gold and seventy silver, four Bounty Wolves, earning me eighty silver, and five Bounty Spiders, earning me a gold.

Total, I acquired five gold exactly from that, and send them into my money storage.

"See you, Pervert," I leave the Trading Post, Nik following behind me. "Any last advice, Nik? And not to not fight it."

"It has a shitton of Endurance," he informs me. "And its feathers are pretty tough. Your new sword should be able to ignore most of that, but it also has over fifty thousand Health. By the way – did you take on the Bounty Hunter Subclass?"

After claiming five Bounties, an Adventurer can take on the Bounty Hunter Subclass, which goes up a Level with every kill, and grants an extra two percent damage to all Bounty Beasts.

"Yeah," I tell him. "I didn't gain the Levels retroactively, since those happen upon the kill, not the claiming, but that's fine. There are plenty left for me to hunt down and eliminate, and the tougher the beast, the better the Experience gain."

He snorts, and we exit the City, Nik fading from my notice as I walk down the path towards the massive turkey sitting on it.

Turkey Patriarch Level 25 Health: 53,987 Mana: 11,099

Time to kill this thing and gain another free ten Levels.