The next few days after Nathym’s arrival were the most relaxed they had ever been since the group had moved to Bisomote. Not wanting to tip off the CP in order to exploit them for as much energy as possible, they still only left the compound two at a time at most. Kada and Xard were still not freed from their task of moving the mountain in the morning, and Nathym was also barred from helping them. However, they now had their afternoons free to do with as they wished.

Their options were to either take a job, train on their own, or they could request training from one of the others. Phon had raised the limit of the jobs they could take to level six, feeling they could better handle the dangers involved. Other than that, they were basically allowed to do whatever they wanted with the time as long as it was productive. They had been promoted from trainees, and being members of Fiends For Hire was now their official job. As such, they were only allowed to slack off up to two days a week.

For the first two days, Xard spent them training to get used to his new gear. On the first day, he trained alone up in the mountains, sending the occasional mass of vibrations and noise towards the compound for the rest to enjoy. Drim accompanied him on the second day to assist by making pseudo-monsters using his plants that Xard could attack with full force. It was still too soon for him to fight against another person, that he didn’t want to end up hurting anyways.

On the third day, he took his first bounty hunting mission. To Phon’s dismay he had captured his target alive with only one blown out ankle. The two of them butted heads on the morality of murdering criminals well into the night afterwards.

Kada had spent the first day training as well, and managed to master controlling her anchor’s new mechanics in just a single afternoon. On the second day, she asked Nathym to make her a high capacity oxygen tank along with a device that would allow her to tell which way was up when underwater. She then spent the day exploring the underground by swimming as deep as she could go.

When asked how far she got, she answered, “Until it started getting hot.” Given their difficulty in discerning temperature, it was impressive, needless to say. This had also led to them inadvertently discovering that Fiends don’t get the bends like normal humans. Phon had wanted to count this as one of Kada’s slacking off days, but ultimately lost that argument.

Kada took a job on the third day as well, working in demolitions, which everyone agreed was perfectly tailored for her. There was an old condemned building that needed to be destroyed to make way for something new. Kada insisted to her hirers that launching a few bombs at it would lessen her workload and they ultimately allowed her to do it. However, the other Fiends, knowing the nature of how her Curse worked, all gave her disapproving stares when they found out about it.

There was no airstrike on the third day, leading them to believe that the CP had given up on that tactic, so all restrictions on who could come and go were removed. At the end of the fourth day, the group of Drim, Phon, Kada, and Xard returned to the compound after completing a job together. They were teleported in by Phon’s Curse to the middle of the compound. Drim and Xard were perfectly unharmed and in good condition. However, Phon and Kada were much worse for wear.

They were both completely covered in a strange goop from head to toe. Phon was taking it in stride, but Kada had been holding back tears the whole way home, sniffling even now. This was the result of the job they had taken. Over the past two weeks, there had been a recurring request from a local farmer. They had posted their request 18 times online and left 20 phone messages, each time raising the value of the reward. It was quite the substantial sum, so it was hard to ignore.

Phon had gone ahead to scout on her own, but had immediately returned, claiming there was no way she could handle it by herself, so the whole group headed out. The request was to find out what was wrong with the farm’s water system, which had apparently only been leaking out a strange goop for the past couple of weeks. Any plumbers that the farmer called had run away screaming before the farmer could get a proper explanation.

After they arrived, they talked to the farmer for a bit. She seemed so ecstatic that they had finally answered her request, thanking them graciously in advance, claiming that if they were unable to fix the problem, she would most likely lose her farm. The group then headed out to inspect the water system first hand. After turning it on, the aforementioned goop began seeping out of each water source. Drim insisted that they let it run longer since there was something he wanted to confirm.

“Cosdammit, it’s what I thought it was,” Drim groaned. “Have I ever told you guys that there was a monster I was never able to defeat?” Drim said this as they all stared at the new lumpier pile of goop that had come out of a sprinkler, and was now wriggling. They followed the pipes back to its source, a large well that supplied water to the entire farm. All of them stared down the well with grimaces on their faces at the repulsive monster residing below.

It was a slugroach, and not just any slugrocah, but a Princess Slugroach. Slugroaches were a combination of slugs and cockroaches. Normal ones were about the size of a large cockroach. One alone wasn’t a huge deal, and could easily be killed with a good stomp, though the killer would most likely want to throw their shoes out after. They possessed incredible regenerative properties, so unless the entire body was destroyed in one blow, they would quickly recover.

They were drawn to confined spaces with lots of water, normally damp caves. A secluded well like this was prime real estate to attract one, since it didn’t have any form of protection. A Princess Slugroach was on a whole other scale from the normal ones. They were massive in comparison, about the size of a large car. What made them even worse is that they could spawn more slugroaches that would go out and find nutrients for the princess, which it would use to spawn even more.

Slugroach bodies were entirely viscous in nature, with not a solid point on them, and they also left prominent trails of goop wherever they went. They could not be cut with any blade, and it would be hard to blow them up or burn them. The only way to take them out was with a single blunt force. Drim had faced a Princess Slugroach before, but wasn’t able to kill it on his own. He was simply unable to apply enough force that would cover the entire area of the slugroach’s body to destroy it in one go.

There was another way to defeat them utilizing a slugs natural weakness to salt. However, because cockroaches possess natural resistance to most forces, it was lessened greatly. Therefore, the salt needed to be of extremely high quality, and in massive quantities. By the time Drim had managed to procure the salt and return to the area, the Princess Slugroach had already moved on to another territory.

This new encounter left Drim with a chance for redemption, which he was determined to achieve. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do,” he ordered the group. “Obviously. we can’t destroy it while it’s still in the well, or the aftermath will ruin this water system forever. Kada, I want you to make a large pit in a secluded area that we can move it to and trap it. Phon will then use her Curse to teleport it into the pit. I’ll make a large woven tarp to cover the top with my plants, to keep it from escaping. Then Xard, you’ll unload a huge blast at it. I’d start stocking up now, I don’t think a single missile blast would do it.”

Once Kada was done making the pit, Phon teleported it inside. “Gah, even its piece was all mushy in slimey!” Phon wretched as she tried to shake nonexistent slime off of her hands.

Drim’s tarp was securely keeping it in place even with clear signs of struggle, as the tarp bulged in spots every few seconds. “Let me know when you’re ready to go Xard, and I’ll open a hole for you to fire in.”

“Let’s do it now please before I explode prematurely.” Xard was convulsing on the ground, clearly having taken in too much energy, even though his training had greatly increased how much he could stockpile. He crawled over to the tarp and raised a hand to it. Drim made a small opening in front of his hand, and Xard unleashed all his stored energy inside.

“Ahh crap, it’s too much,” Drim yelled, swiftly backing away. The tarp ruptured and a fountain of goop exploded out, raining down on the area and the Fiends below. Drim had managed to dodge all of it, not getting a single drop on his clothing. The rest weren’t so lucky. Phon was the most unscathed, only getting it on the front of her torso. Xard and Kada were soaked through.

Xard immediately absorbed some energy from his rings and used it to blast all of the goop off of himself. “Ahh, that's not fair Xard, do me too!” Kada whined to him.

“Do you want me to pop you like a skin balloon?” Xard asked her. “Because I’m pretty sure that’s what would happen.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Kada tried just about everything she could to get it off. She tried wiping it, melting it, even swimming in the ground, but it stayed clung to her. She even got Xard to at least blast some energy her way, but that only had marginal success. “Suck it up, we’ll deal with it when we get home,” Phon berated her.

That didn’t seem to sit too well with Kada who began picking up handfuls of goop and tossing them at Phon. In retaliation, Phon tried to punch her, but her hand slipped right off, causing her to trip and slam down into the goop, covering her as well. Being the only clean ones, Drim and Xard went to claim the reward from the farmer, and then they all headed home.

“I’m… I’m gonna go take a bath,” Kada managed to get out after they got home, still sniffling.

“Go to the hot springs, we don’t want you ruining our own pipes,” Phon directed her.

“Okay…” Kada shuffled her feet, slowly heading in the direction of the mountain.

“Ugh, hang on, I’ll teleport you,” Phon sighed, clearly annoyed that she was helping Kada, but even she couldn’t stand such a pitiful sight.

“Aren’t you going to go join her?” Drim questioned once Kada vanished.

“You know I’ve been thinking...” Phon said suddenly, a hint of maliciousness in her voice. “You’re right, Drim. Mallea and I should take steps towards getting along so we can work together as a cohesive team. As a sign of acceptance, I’m going to go find her and give her a big hug!” Before anyone else could comment, Phon vanished as well.

Ignoring the bizarre state of events, Xard pointed off in the distance and asked, “Hey Drim, is that another new building that miraculously and spontaneously appeared as if from nowhere.” He was pointing in the direction of the north-east corner of the compound. There was indeed a new large building that looked like a warehouse.

“Ah, that must be Nathym’s workshop. He did say he was going to build one,” Drim explained. “It’s still hard to believe how fast he works, though I’m guessing Mallea must have helped him with some of the simpler structure.”

“I really should stop acting so surprised. Stuff like this is going to become an everyday occurrence, isn’t it?” Xard asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer. “Do you think it’d be alright if we went to take a look?”

“Uhh, we probably shouldn’t,” Drim commented. “I imagine the interior still needs some work. Nathym will most likely call us over when it’s finished and show it off. Given his pace, it probably won’t be long at all. The two decided to head back towards the shed to unwind, but as they approached, they heard the unmistakable sound of Mallea shrieking.

◆◆◆

The next morning, as Drim had predicted, Nathym called them all over to his new workshop after breakfast. Though the outside still looked pretty basic, the inside was lavish and would be a craftsman’s dream. There was every machine one would ever need in any artisan trade. Lining every wall were tools and bits of every size, all completely organized. “This is quite impressive. It’s a lot grander than your last workspace,” Drim commented.

“Well that’s because my last workspace was just a rented out bunker left over from the war,” Nathym retorted. “I now finally have all the space I’ve ever wanted, so I’m going to take advantage of every inch.”

“I don’t see your bedroom anywhere. Didn’t you say you were going to make your own room?” Xard wondered.

“It’s in the secret lab,” Nathym admitted without a second thought.

“You have a secret lab?” Kada gushed at the thought.

“Of course we have one,” Phon remarked snidely. “We’re a criminal organization after all. It would be absolutely shameful if we didn’t.”

“Can I go look? I’m gonna go look.” Before receiving permission, Kada melted the floor beneath her feet and slipped underground. Phon moved her hands to her eyes in response and instantly teleported her back up. Kada tried again and received the same response. “Ahh, cut it out!” Kada whined after the fifth failed attempt. “Oh well, what I briefly saw was good enough to satisfy me.”

“Anyways, this isn’t the main reason I asked for you guys to come,” Nathym continued. “I want to talk about the partner you guys promised me. Now I’m pretty patient, so take all the time you need, but I’ve been here for almost a week and haven’t heard anything. Drim knows full well the limitations of what I can manage, so the longer you guys hold off, the more it will hurt us in the long run.”

“It’s definitely helpful to know Miss Mallea is an expert in programming. I taught myself a bit, just enough to make your phones, but that’s about all I could wrap my head around. However, there are still many more scientific fields we need to cover. Particularly, dealing with stuff involving anything living. I could try to learn a bit on my own, but I’ve always been hesitant in that area since my failure led to my brother’s death.”

“Well, coincidentally, the person we had in mind is an expert in Biology,” Drim recounted before turning to Phon. “How’s that coming along? You said you were going to contact her.”

“Ah, well you see, about that…” Phon was suddenly acting quite frantic, which was rather unusual from her normal demeanor. Her whole body was fidgeting, and she seemed to be sweating slightly. “The truth is… uhhhh… I don’t wanna!” Phon tried to move her eyes to her hands in an attempt to escape, but Drim was too quick. He wrapped her wrists in vines and then pinned them behind her back.

“Dammit, let me go! Let me go! Let me go! I don’t wanna! Don’t make me see her again!” Phon was throwing a full on tantrum now. “She’s evil okay! Well not like evil-evil, but I-hate-her-evil. Her Curse is so messed up. If she wanted to, she could kill us all with ease! Oh Cosmos, please don’t let that happen to me again…!” She had begun sobbing now. Her whole body shook as she remembered her past trauma.

The group stared at her wide eyed, none of them ever expecting that kind of reaction to come from Phon. Mallea had to turn away her hands clasped over her mouth as she tried to hold back her amusement. Drim placed his hand on her shoulder, and bent down to match her eye level. His face bore a big innocent smile as he said, “Don’t worry Phon, nothing is going to hurt you.”

“Oh Drim, that’s so—” Phon started to say as she calmed down, but was cut off.

“Because you’re going to suck it up and do what you promised.” Drim’s smile held as he said this, but his grip tightened. “Or else I’ll have to punish you for lying to me by banishing you until you come back with results. You won’t make me have to do such a thing to my dear sister, will you?”

The whole room was stunned again by another rare encounter. “Oh it’s Tough Love Drim again,” Xard whispered to Kada.

“Yup, he totally knows what he’s doing,” Kada remarked. “It’s still always surprising to see, though.”

Mallea pulled in close to both of them. “Tough Love Drim? I was unaware of this side of his personality. You all must inform me later.”

“Okay, I’ll do it,” Phon wiped away her tears as she started to relax again. “I really don’t have a way to contact her, though. It’s not like we exchanged contact information. So, we would have to go there ourselves. But she said the next time she saw me, she would make me her captive and perform experiments on my body until I died, then bring me back to life and do it again for all eternity… So I can’t exactly say we’d get a warm welcome.”

“Guess we should probably bring the main team then,” Drim decided. “She lives in the mountain range that runs along the southern part of the continent, right? So, it’d be quite the trip. Mallea, can you fly a helicopter?”

“Of course,” Mallea confirmed. “I am able to operate all known forms of modern transportation, and a few outdated ones as well.”

“Well that tackles the first issue. Nathym can you build us one?” Drim asked him.

“Uhh, let me take a look at the supplies we have,” Nathym went over to a nearby desk and picked up a tablet.

“Woah, his eyes,” Kada remarked when she saw them. The copper colored irises had changed to the shape of a gear and began to spin.

“Yeah, that happens when he activates his Curse,” Drim informed them. “Also, he can’t really hear us right now.”

“That’s so cool, I wish my eyes did something like that,” Kada pouted a little.

“Huh? They do. How unobservant are you?” Phon insulted her, now back to her usual mannerisms. “Our eyes do stuff too, but they’re more tied to emotional states or adrenaline, rather than Curse usage. Mine pulsate, yours shimmer, Xard’s glisten and Drim’s burn. I don’t know how Drim was the only one of us to luck out and not have alliteration with his color.”

“Now that you mention it, I do recall Drim’s doing something like that before,” Kada remembered. “Ahh right, when he yelled at me… It would be nice to be able to see my own eyes, though. I guess I’ll have to find a mirror next time I’m all excited.”

“You get excited about something every five seconds, so it shouldn’t take long,” Phon rebuked.

“Sorry about that,” Nathym returned from his trance. “I had to update the stock because of all the materials I used to make the workshop. Yes, we have enough supplies for a helicopter. It’ll take me about an hour, so I suggest finding something else to do while you wait.”

“Hold up, can I make a suggestion?!” Kada was already excited about something. “You guys said it would be dangerous right? So we should totally attach some weapons… How about a laser turret?!”

“Are those even possible to make?” Xard asked as he stared at her, trying to decide if it was a stupid suggestion or not.

Nathym’s eyes spun again just for a moment. “Hour and a half.” He updated his estimate and got to work.