“-she’s not worth your career, Mark.”
Mark didn’t consider himself a violent person. The temptation to kick in the teeth of his supervisor was stronger than ever, though, and he clenched his fists.
“Really, another two years and you can be a supervisor yourself. You’re missing work, showing up late and leaving early. Even with your circumstances, I can only overlook so much.”
“Then fire me.” He said, his tone clipped. “I’ll ride the publicity for months, ‘Local scrapyard fires employee, gets sued into oblivion.’”
Dean sighed. “I’m really trying not to be an asshole here. Go, we’ll talk again when you’ve calmed down.”
Not slamming the door took an effort of willpower, the breakroom all but deserted. A small mercy, it meant he didn’t have to keep the sheer rage from his face. ‘You need this job, you need this job.’
----------------------------------------
“-so that means I’ll take the burden of leadership, but only for as long as the realm lasts.” Pride finished, looking pleased with himself. Wrath looked like she couldn't care either way, joined by Greed. Lust was rolling her eyes so hard he found it a miracle they didn’t fall out, even Sloth frowning lightly.
Envy looked adoring, something Mark found more disturbing than a dozen of Pride’s speeches. “Let us read the text before we organise.”
Realm of the Goblin King. Here rules a King, and this realm is his home. Invade, and he will seek to end you. Kill him, and his riches will be yours.
This is classified as a beginners dungeon, and the word escape will deposit the party back outside instantaneously. All rewards will be forfeited. Experience will be rewarded upon exit, one fourth experience will be rewarded upon exit with escape.
Warning: You are over the level of ten. Dungeon has lost beginners status.
Source: Goblins
Party size: Seven.
Enter?
“Well, that explains where the goblins have been coming from.” Mark muttered. “And I guess three days was more than could be expected, really. Pride, something we gotta talk about.”
The man turned to him, raising an eyebrow. Mark mentally prepared, hoping Sloth had been underplaying how he would react. “It’s a beginners dungeon. Apparently that only counts for the first ten levels, and the escape clause is removed when over it.”
Pride frowned, bringing his hand to the portal again. He shook his head. “It says nothing like that.”
“Try imagining we’re going as a group, not just you alone.” Sloth suggested, her eyes alert even as her posture begged for sleep.
The man did, standing eerily still for a few seconds before turning to him. “You lied.”
Mark eyed the goblin corpse, wondering how fast he could get to it. No, gambling on whatever buff it would give him wasn’t the smart play. “I did. I got to eleven some days ago.”
A fist flew at his face, dodged at the last second. Pride drew his sword. “We will have that spar, Gluttony. Right now.”
His mind rapidly thought of and discarded ways to de-escalate the situation, having to step aside when the man swung. His cestus was still equipped from fighting the goblin party, but the toughness boost he’d taken had since run out. His pack dropped as he undid the straps. “I don’t want to fight you.”
Another stab was his answer, rolling into the man’s guard to avoid it. The shield bashed against his chest, but footwork allowed him to remain standing. He punched, his cestus connecting with the man’s side, and he felt bone vibrate.
Pride stepped back, too quick to be anything but a skill, and slashed to keep him occupied. Lust, Mark saw, had drawn her knife. Envy and Wrath were keeping her from doing anything, though, Sloth and Greed looking on with worry and disinterest.
His armour, freshly upgraded to include metal plating sewn onto the leather, had absorbed the blow. He contemplated dipping into his cured meats, to get fully buffed and make this a proper fight.
Pride stepped forwards and stabbed, half a second after Mark decided against it. Twisting with it allowed the blade to scrape past his plating, jabbing at the wrist. Pride snapped it back, taking a step forwards and swinging.
He traded the blow, the blade digging painfully hard on his shoulder, but the plating there held. Pride sheezed as the cestus collided with plate, not so much for the blow as feeling his bones reverberate.
“Enough!” Sloth shouted, moving forwards. Envy blocked her, leaving Wrath to deal with Lust alone. Neither had come to blows yet, glaring but little else.
Pride ignored her, his foot flying forwards. Mark twirled, finding the shield there to intercept him. Crossing his arms cushioned the blow, but he was still staggered. Footwork saved him again, if less so than before.
The next blow came faster, nearly cutting through the plate on his forearm as he was forced to block. Then again, before he could attack. Every blow Mark took was followed by a faster one, hitting just that little bit harder. Lust hadn’t known what Pride’s feature was, but Mark was starting to get a picture.
‘A prideful man, getting stronger and faster as his self confidence inflades. Fuck.’
Deep cuts littered his arms as he blocked and dodged, having to do more of the former as time passed. Then a kick came fast enough he couldn't prepare for it, thrown clear on his back. Footwork urged him back on his feet, a blade resting against his throat before he could.
“I see why you didn’t want to spar, Gluttony.” Pride said, his tone surprisingly calm. “Lying to my face without the power to back it up? Shameful. You owe me.”
He pulled back his sword, nodding to the portal. “Envy, Wrath, let’s go.”
Two seconds later they were gone, Sloth moving over as Lust stared at the portal. Mark’s wounds closed as warmth spread through his body, climbing to his feet a minute later. “That went well, in my opinion.”
Lust whirled on him, pointing her finger. Her tone was a hiss. “What the fuck was that, Glut?”
“Me, losing a fight. Was bound to happen, sooner or later.”
“Oh.” She sneered, her finger jabbing at his pouch. “Let’s conveniently ignore that you didn’t eat anything. You think feeding Pride’s ego will make him, what? Less likely to jerk us around, grabbing power so he can assume his rightful place as our master?”
He held up a hand, letting his expression morph into something harder. “It wasn’t the time. Even if I could have, maybe, beaten him fully buffed there was still Wrath and Envy to think about. His loss would have created nothing but resentment, nevermind completing that dungeon.”
“Well.” She exclaimed, her tone mocking. “Mission complete. They locked us out of the realm, Pride is one step closer to believing he has the right to dictate our actions and you’re beaten to shit. Good fucking job.”
He threw a glance to Greed, the man looking at him with a frown. Sloth just seemed tired, her eyes downcast. Mark took a breath, looking at Lust and keeping his mouth shut.
She calmed, slowly, until she huffed. Her tone was smaller, less confident. “Christ, Glut. He could have killed you, and like it or not you’ve the best chance we got to block that asshole from doing as he likes. What do you imagine will become of me, should he believe he owns us? You think he’ll keep pretending to be the gentleman, ever polite? Or maybe he’ll just take whatever, or whomever, he pleases?”
“If he rapes anyone I will kill him.” Mark said, surprised at how much he meant it. “And killing me doesn’t fit what he’s going for. Until he crosses the line he can act the peacock all he likes, but you're right. Preparations are needed. Greed, I killed that goblin. Can you repair my armour for it?”
His finger pointed to the second smallest, although that didn’t mean much. They looked like full grown men, muscled and armed with rudimentary iron. Hadn’t stopped Wrath from tearing them apart.
Greed nodded, the corpse dissolving. The energy flowed to his armour, steel mending and leather knitting itself back together again. “Thank you.”
Silence fell as Mark chewed, having taken a slice before trading the corpse to Greed.
Goblin consumed. Fear tolerance has been improved with Moderate Fear Resistance Boost.
Moderate Fear Resistance Boost will be active for thirty minutes.
His teeth sharpened, narrowing to wicket points. Mark felt them with his tongue. ‘Guess that’s why they didn’t run. Half an hour is a lot, but not that useful.’
He preferred to keep his cured meat as they were. “Speaking off. Cure.”
Cured meats:
Star Boar: 2
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Goat Twin: 1
Stone Elemental: 1
‘With the toughness from the elemental and the strength from the boar, would I have won?’
“We need to level you two.” He said, not voicing his thoughts. “Sloth, it might be a good idea to take some offensive magic. You regenerate mana quickly, right?”
She nodded. “If I sleep, yes.”
“Good. Greed, you need to take one or two combat skills too. Hopefully something that lets you use all that armour. Come on, I see more goblin tracks. If precedent holds they spawn in groups and move away, just like the boars.”
Mark moved to leave, Greed waving his arm to the portal. His voice was dry. “Pride took the packs.”
“Imagine that, it wasn’t just a nice gesture.” Lust muttered. Mark shrugged, picking up his own and checking if anything had broken. “Then you best make new ones. And carry them, this time.”
Tracking goblins was easier than he thought it would be, likely to do with his new class skill, and they found them before long. Lust advanced, the group all but falling over themselves to reach her. When one moved to grab at her instead of his weapon he lost his hand, falling to the ground as Lust danced around them.
Sloth aimed her crossbow, taking one through the throat with half-hearted aim. She put it down, reloading with cumbersome movements. Mark looked at Greed, the man having drawn his cudgel.
He wondered what he would do with it, one of the goblins breaking free from Lust’s hold. It charged the first person it could find, Sloth still busy reloading, and he stepped forwards. Greed learning how to fight was not so important as to risk his life, not with how much he still needed the man.
Instead Greed took the blow on his chest, staggering back but holding his balance. The cudgel struck, the goblin losing hold of his axe. Greed stepped, shoving it to the ground. His arm went up, and the goblin died.
“Not going to partake?” Sloth asked lazily, having reloaded her crossbow. Another goblin died, grasping at the bolt sticking from his chest. “Or are you on babysitting duty?”
Mark suppressed the flash of cold that word summoned, managing to keep to the here and now. “I am. No offence to either you or Greed, but you don’t strike me as experienced fighters.”
“Anything before the word but is horseshit.” She said, strapping the crossbow to her back. Lust had taken care of the last three, her dagger dripping with blood. “But you’re not wrong.”
Sloth grinned his way, the mirth leaving when she looked at the pile of corpses. “This was easier when they didn’t look humanoid.”
“Yes it was.” He agreed. “Survival isn’t. Either I’m more suited to this than I ever expected or my skills are changing me.”
Sloth raised her eyebrow, Lust having dragged Greed over to the corpses. She was motioning to them, tapping her breastplate. “Oh?”
“Some of my skills increase killer instinct, or make me do more damage when I consider those I am fighting prey. Pain, while certainly not gone, is easier to ignore. I move like a trained fighter, yet never practised in the art.”
“You’re worried they make you care less.” It wasn’t a question, making him shrug. She frowned. “I didn’t think Pride would go that far. Try to humiliate, yes. Kill? Maybe it's good you don’t care, if you’ll allow my selfishness.”
Mark looked at her, sighing. “I’m not killing him in his sleep and beating Wrath into submission.”
“Never said you should, and it’s interesting your mind went there. I’m only saying it’s good you might be able to.”
He turned away, moving to the edge of the fight. “Perhaps get to know me better before coming to any conclusions. More tracks a ways back. It was a bigger group, split up half a mile ago.”
Lust ambled his way after four more fights, Sloth and Greed dropping where they stopped. At least they hadn't been so tired as to make camp near the corpses.
“You feel like levelling that new skill of yours? Unless you don’t need me for that anymore.”
He did. “No need to sound so annoyed. I get to level a skill that needs mental or soul pressure, you can practise control over your feature. Everyone wins.”
“Except the goblins.”
Mark shrugged. “Well, yes. They don’t seem to be very friendly, though, nor did they answer when I tried talking to them.”
“You're alright with leaving those two alone, then?” She asked, waving. They didn’t look, too busy making a fire. Lust had caught a bird he didn’t recognize, Greed plucking it with quick motions as Sloth stacked wood. “They could be ambushed.”
“Then I hope they’re ready for it.”
She looked at him, raising an eyebrow. Something in her eyes shifted, though he had no idea what. “Bit of a ruthless bastard, aren’t you?”
“My parents were happily married.” He rebuffed. “And cuddling people rarely works out. Here, alone and in almost constant danger? No good will come of it.”
Lust raised a hand, motioning for him to start walking. She fell in step as he did. “Not criticising. Same deal as last time, I hit you with my power and you fight them?”
He nodded, walking for almost half an hour before they found the group. Six of them, standing over a boar. Mark smiled, his mind turning down different paths as Lust hit him. She’d described it as making people horny, but he found it to be more. It took effort not to focus on her, keeping his eyes forward. His unconscious mind made decisions he hadn’t approved, like rolling just right so he was looking at her.
It still got him behind one of the goblins, dropping like a stone as his cestus impacted skull. He smiled, catching her eye, and a dagger nearly took his spine. He twisted, shoving the goblin and punching another one on the shoulder. It howled, the sound grating to his ears.
The power lessened, just a little, and he saw her jaw clench with effort. Another punch took out the biggest of them, dropping to the ground as his back broke. His screams were disturbing enough he kicked, the thing going unconscious as it died.
Searing pain radiated from his lower back, twisting to swing at the goblin behind him. It threw itself back, leaving the dagger where it was. Mark ducked, a club going inches over his head, and punched the offending thing in the crotch.
It howled, dropping the weapon, and then it was over. The last of them hissed as he approached, a limp in his step from where the dagger pulled at muscle. ‘Fearless until death. You’d make good foot soldiers.’
He pulled up his messages when it fell, ignoring most of them. Only one stood out, making him smile.
Soul of Stone has increased to level three.
Lust approached, sweat dripping from her forehead. It made her look hotter, somehow. “Want me to take care of that?”
Nodding, and studiously inspecting a boulder, he hissed when she pulled. He tore at the boar’s corpse, hoping.
No buff came, nor the euphoria, and he sighed. Plucking one from his pouch had the wound healing, scabbing over when the timer ran out. Lust spoke up, waving at the boar. “Didn’t get buffed?”
“Seems I need to kill it to get one.” He confirmed. “Really hoping I was wrong.”
“Poor baby.” She mocked.
He waved her off, standing. “We’ve got time. Let’s hunt until dark?”
She shrugged, motioning him along. She also steered him to a star boar, quite a ways out of their way and at the end of their session, so he dumped the goat twin meat. ‘Better to keep more regeneration on hand. Star boars have been thinning the further we get from the endurance realm, so there better be another source of healing soon.’
Mark kept his voice down as they walked back into camp, Sloth waving at them and Greed fast asleep. Midnight had fallen, though digging for his watch seemed too much effort. “Cure.”
Cured meats:
Star Boar: 4
Stone Elemental: 1
“A good hunt, then?” Sloth asked, seeing his smile. He nodded, sitting down as Lust stole the leftover bird.
“A good hunt. Even got some new information, though you’ll have to give me a second.”
She shrugged, Mark pulling up his status. Filtering out all the kill messages was becoming a habit, leaving the interesting stuff.
Soul of Stone has increased to level four.
Soul of Stone has increased to level five. Soul of Stone has reached max level.
New combination possible. Continue?
Mark pressed it, excitement rolling in his stomach. Levelling was getting to be as addicting as eating was, especially now that he’d discovered another new system mechanic.
Will of Stone, Body of Stone and Soul of Stone have reached max level. Combine?
He hesitated, just for a second, but pressed it again. The three skills disappeared from his status, a new one taking its place. ‘You better not screw me over.’
One with Stone. Be it Will, Body or Soul, you have proven to be as resilient as rock. This skill increases resistance to mind and soul manipulation, toughens the body, and sharpens your will. If the quest is never ending, so must you be. Adaptable enhances this skill.
‘From enhances this skill by a minor degree to just enhances. Doesn’t seem so different, though.’
“Lust, could you dose me?”
She looked up from her dinner, rolling waves of her power sinking into his body. He still felt it, the attraction and desire, but less than an hour ago. ‘And it's level one again.’
He nodded to signal she could stop, making her shrug and turn back to her food. Sloth waved at him. “Anything good?”
“Skills can combine. Three stone related defensive ones just rolled into one, and the class skill that enhances it lost the minor qualifier. Level resets, though.”
Sloth sat straighter, interested. “If only we knew what skills are part of a set. Let me know if you figure more out? I’ll do the same.”
He agreed, feeling fatigue overtake his excitement. The pack was close, taking out his sleeping bag and catching Lust looking at him. He waved awkwardly.
She shook her head, walking over and putting her bedroll beside his. Mark didn’t mind, too tired to read into it, and closed his eyes. Sleep wouldn't come, annoyingly, so after a while he turned.
“You’re sad.”
Mark was almost glad it had gotten too dark to see, looking in Lust's general direction. “What makes you say that?”
“My feature. I get an echo of whomever I’m dosing. Goblins are determined, but in the way they don’t really feel fear. All of them, it’s weird.”
“I get a fear resistance boost when I eat them, so that tracks. Makes them good soldiers, I guess.”
Silence fell, only the soft sound of water providing a backdrop. “Glut?”
“It’s because I am.” He said, mentally cursing himself. Damn her, dredging all this up. “I lost someone. Someone I was supposed to protect.”
“Is that why-?”
“Why I put a hunting rifle under my chin, yes.”
More silence, enough so he thought she’d gone to sleep. “I’m sorry.”
“I’ll live.” The pun made him chuckle, dark humour lacing his tone. “Wasn’t as permanent as I imagined.”
Silence again. Mark didn’t know if he was disappointed or glad.
“My feature doesn’t just let me influence or get echoes from people. It twists me, making me enjoy what they enjoy. It’s why I don’t talk to people, or interact with them much.”
‘Except me.’ He thought, not sure how to reply to that. Non judgemental seemed best. “Hating Pride seems more logical, if I understand what you mean. Sounds awful.”
“I thought so, too. Now I’m not sure. You know how everyone gets their kicks? I’ve seen you eat, and how Sloth wakes from her naps with a dopey smile on her face. Feels like I’m missing out, like I’m not strong enough to get through this without that.”
Now he really wasn’t sure how to answer. “You’ve had my back, I’ll have yours. If I can help, whatever you decide, I will.”
No answer came, this time, and he dreamed of small fingers refusing to let go.