"You're saying you destroyed an entire nest of those things!?" Sab shrieked at the smug Elegy.

"And he did it all without even breaking a sweat!" Hats hyped him up even more.

"Ehh, a few sweats were broken." Elegy flexed his muscles, "But mostly the bugs were the ones getting broken, haha!"

"Greht job, mate." Nerys slowly clapped for him, "Nau get ta' pickin'!"

"Oi! Th'onleh thin' Oi'm pickin's mah eer!" Elegy retorted, "Let Sab dewit since's already willin'!"

The surprise of Elegy knowing a dialect somewhat near Nerys' own came as quite the shock. Couple this with his incredible swordsmanship, and you really do have a man of many talents on your hands.

"Whoa, that sounded pretty good just now." Sab figured.

"You think?" Elegy chuckled.

"Yeah, I hardly got a single word out of it, so it must be Nerys' accent." He tacked on.

"Euwe twits dun'no nuthin' about me accent!" She hissed back, "We sound nuthin' aloike! In fac', Oi' know me's a Hianic dialec' when Oi' hears wun'!"

"Hianic?" Hats tilted his head.

"A country from the old world." Elegy explained, "And yeah, that's the correct dialect, though I doubt it's my native one if I don't speak it subconsciously."

Depending on where in the world you were born, you might speak in a different way or even a different language altogether. This rule rings true in most worlds that could exist, fictive or realistic in nature.

"So what's Nerys'?" Sab asked.

"Heck if I know." Elegy shrugged, "Probably just a random seafarer accent she picked up from fellow crewmate she sailed with."

"Fer' tha' las' taem! Oi'm not a...!" Nerys stopped, "Eh? Y-Ye' got it roight, mate!"

"Why wouldn't I? You already said you're not a pirate. Calling you that even after you told me you're not it would be extremely rude."

"...Ye' kud pick ap a few thin's from 'im, laddie." She turned to Sab with a smug grin, "Matey 'ere's got it locked n' loaded."

This entire time they were talking, not a single swing of the pick was taken. At first this little chatting session was meant to be a necessary break so that everyone could get acquainted and caught up on the situation, but it quickly grew into a huge procrastination session where everyone knew someone had to start swinging, but no one wanted to be the one to speak up and risk getting the work tossed on them.

"Ignore his empty words of flattery." Sab rolled his Eyes, "The type of person that Elegy is basically always wins you over at the start, then bares his true fangs once he's already got you in his claws."

"Darn, I sound scarier than the beasts we've faced so far." Elegy remarked.

"Guys, isn't it about time we resume digging?" Hats sheepishly raised the question.

"Not yet." Everyone shot back in unison.

They really—REALLY—didn't want to do this whole digging thing.

"Sigh, then I'll do it." Hats begrudgingly picked it up himself.

"Sitcher' arse daun, lil' boye!" Nerys pulled him back, "Wid' dat wun' arm a' yus', yain't diggin' squat."

"I don't need your coddling!" Hats tried to pry himself free, but her soft body and strong pull all but disabled him, "Wahh~"

"Quit molesting the damned kid, Nerys." Sab glared.

"Oi'm givin' 'im tha' lav' n' affekshin' ye' didn't!"

"Kids need all that in spades, yes, but it's important for them to learn the value of hard labor." Elegy educated them, "Without this core factor, he'll only grow up to be a slob."

"Aren't I already grown up?" Hats raised an Eyebrow.

"In body, but not in spirit. You gotta grow into that huge body of yours, kid." Elegy explained, "You're right to want to be the bigger man here and take the pick for yourself. I'm proud of you, kid! You're gonna be just like me before you know it!"

Throwing out ideas left and right of Hats becoming a master adventurer and swordsman like Elegy was indeed a successful way to motivate him into digging, but Nerys still disliked this scammy use of Hats' naivety.

"He's troyin' ta' trick ya' inta' doin' oll tha' werk."

"I don't mind, what he said was true." Hats smiled.

"If it's so true, then why didn't Elegy offer to dig first?" Sab chimed in.

"Because unlike you two, I actually want to teach the kid some proper lessons about life." Elegy snapped back, "I'll be darned if he doesn't learn to live completely fine on his own in this place. See how important being the capable one in the group is?"

"Oh, so this was all just an elaborate way to get us to praise you for swinging that stick around, huh!?" Sab pointed at the serrated sword, "Just 'cause you can lug that huge chunk of iron around with ease doesn't mean you're hot shit!"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Language."

"Who cares!?" Sab yelled, throwing his arms up, "I'm in Heaven, who's gonna judge me if I swear all I want now that I've already crossed the Pearly Gates!?"

The three could only return him a deadpanned stare as they pointed straight up.

"...A-Apart from those Two."

"Why do you even care so much?" Hats raised a point, "I'm offering to do the work none of you are willing to put up with, so isn't that good for you?"

"S'not gud." Nerys shook her head, "Ye' be a kid, boye'. Ye' wanna kno' hwat kids werkin' adult jobs arr' called?"

".........?"

"They be slaevs!" She startled him a bit, "Choild slaevs which git toss'd off tha' plank once they git old nuff ta' retaliate!"

"Hold on, now." Elegy chuckled, "I think what we're doing is a little bit different, ha-ha..."

"Hau so, matey?" She turned to him, "Coz' th'way Oi' see it, yer' way a' tutorin's gun' get ya' boye kill'd wun dae..."

The wound cut deep, Nerys wasn't pulling any punches there. Both were correct in their own ways, and depending on the eras they hail from, there is definitely a right answer to be found among them, but this only made the hurtful phrase sting more. Elegy waited an unbearably long time in silence before suddenly springing to his feet.

"...Fine, give me the pick."

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***

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Seemingly offended beyond reason, Elegy then went on to dig for the next hour without taking a break or even slowing down at all. The others at first felt bad for making him do it, then they saw the results, but after about 45 minutes they all collectively decided enough was enough.

"Oi, giver 'ere." Nerys put her hand out, "Ye' did enuff', thank euwe."

"..."

"Yo, Elegy, broski. Hand me the pick, you're probably tired as hell." Sab nudged him, "We all know you're trying to act tough to get back at us, so you don't need to-"

"Back. Off." Elegy glared back, "I might accidentally hit you on the swing back."

"Elegy, I'm sorry. This is all because of me." Hats thought to apologize.

"...I did this to myself." Elegy quietly uttered.

It seemed no matter what they tried to do, he wouldn't let up. Elegy was determined to dig his way to the very bottom, wherever this bottom may be. Eventually, Sab realized he wasn't interested in taking a break anytime soon.

"Then, I'm gonna go get some fresh air." He glanced up, "Sheep is probably worried about us, and I haven't checked in with him in a while."

"Okay, have fun." Elegy kept swinging.

"Dah-! Ugh, whatever."

Extending his wings fully in this cramped hole they had dug out, with but a single mighty flap, he was already gone. Beneath him, all of the rubble they had dug out previously was raised, dirtying everyone in the process.

"Dammim'..." Nerys cursed under her breath.

"......."

Elegy just kept silently digging. Either he was in the zone or he just didn't have anything to talk about, but after seeing how much all of them worried about him, his anger did fade slightly. Soon, he hit another brick layer.

"This must be the third floor, then." He smiled.

"The third floor again?" Hats whined, "But we were just there~"

"Nerys wasn't." Elegy glanced at her, "Besides, we didn't have a pick before. We might yet find something that'll lead us closer to healing Vastoria."

"Matey, ye' be sertin' tharr' be no bogs around no more?"

"Mn, maybe I missed a few stragglers." Elegy figured, "But they don't have a way to reproduce, I killed their Queen after all."

"I thought you said you weren't scared of bat roaches?" Hats raised an Eyebrow.

"Oi'm not." She looked away, "Jus'... They be annoyin' if they get big, ye' kno'?"

"Well, these ones are bigger than Hats and me combined." Elegy chuckled.

"No wae!"

Filling her head with as much truthful trivia about the bat roaches as he could, he made sure to accentuate every possible detail he could think of until the image in her head made her shiver. Elegy enjoyed teasing more than anything, and Nerys was the perfect new target.

"Oh, whoops." Elegy broke through, "Watch your step, we can see the jungle grass down below."

"Nooooo~! Dun' wanna!" She latched onto Hats for safety, "Boye'! Tell 'im ta' go firs' n' check if it's oll roight ta' fall!"

"Elegy..." Hats sighed.

To put it bluntly, she went from reassuring Hats he'll be alright in her care to becoming someone in need of even Hats' care.

"You better hold on tight, in that case~" Elegy swung once.

"Noooo!"

"Cause at this rate...!" He swung a second time.

"Please, don't dew this!"

"Woohoo~!" Elegy smiled as they quickly hit the ground soon after with a thunk, "Ow."

Looking around and, as expected, not a single bat roach was around anymore. Even shouting at the top of his lungs to provoke them did nothing but instill more fear and anxiety into Nerys. The power of spreading rumors is immaculate.

"Then, what now?" Hats asked him, "Are we gonna explore a bit or keep digging?"

"What do you wanna do?" Elegy tossed the question back at him.

"Nah! Nuh uh! Absolutely not!" Nerys interrupted them, "We be diggin' outta 'ere!"

Snatching the pick out of his hands finally, she seemingly went into overdrive with it as she dug directly out of the third floor. It didn't even take her ten minutes with her speed, surprising both Hats and Elegy at the same time.

"You could dig that fast this entire time?" Elegy questioned her.

"Oi' dun' loike bogs!" She let out a pathetic whimper before resuming her full-mast excavating.

"Is that so." Hats cleared his throat, "You better hurry it up then, Miss Nerys. I saw something huge and dark in the distance."

"Gyahhh!"

Finally, some of Elegy's personality was starting to rub off on the kid, though many would question if the things he picked up werew the right things. Doesn't matter though, since it brought them closer to the goal in less time, plus Elegy was proud at least.

"Wait, what's that buzzing?" Elegy glanced out of the hole.

"Zip it, matey!"

"It's getting louder..." Hats whispered into her ear.

"Y-You too, lil' boye!" She pointed the pick at him, "Ye'll be gettin' a spankin' if you keep at it!"

"Seriously, that severe?" Elegy jeered, "Hoo boy, we might have to stop then."

"Wait, really?" Hats looked sad.

"Yeah, it's actually quite bad to be jinxing bad luck like we're doing right now." Elegy explained, "They say no matter how improbable or impossible, if you do make fun of them, it'll only hurt more when a real bat roach shows up~"

With milliseconds to spare on the dodge, Elegy's quick reaction time saved him from getting a pick to the face. He ducked just in time, but hit his head after, as it got stuck on the wall behind him. Craning their heads to a livid Nerys, they finally understood just how far they took it.

"Got anythin' ta' say?" Her Eyes saw Red as she asked.

"Yeah." Elegy pointed out, "Imagine if a bat roach showed up right as you threw this. You're left weaponless, why would you do that?"

"Grrrrahhh...!!!"

Soon enough, Energy learned the same thing Sab did—that being to NEVER get on Nerys' bad side.