Jonathan cracked his knuckles as Edgar descended, smiling happily as he did so. There was no deadline for him to clock in by. No rent to pay. No taxes. Just constant existential dread. It was definitely a step up from Earth.
Jonathan and Edgar made their way up the mountain, leaving the pile of rocks behind, a legacy of their fight. The first thing Jonathan wanted to do was to increase the defenses of their cave. If monsters like that roamed the lands, then they would need to step up their game, or else they would be able to simply destroy the cave in the blink of an eye. It was out of sight, the first protection, but Jonathan wanted to set up a few runes around it. Alright, maybe more than a few.
Over the next hour or so, Jonathan roamed around the cave entrance, creating a web of runes that glowed faintly against the rocks. Runes of Hatred coexisted besides Runes of Beckoning, which would hopefully entice any weaker creatures to their deaths. A large knot of Hatred runes stood at the very mouth of the cave, ready to take out any of the more powerful creatures that roamed the wastes. About a dozen of the runes were layered into a single spot, large enough to see them all individually, but small enough that any sufficiently large monster would not see them until it was too late. Hopefully it would either kill or cripple anything that came their way. In addition, Jonathan experimented with his third rune, trying to devise a trigger method to set up runes that would go off when he decided for them to do so. He modeled this off of his gauntlets, which were covered in mostly inactive runes, and managed to create a trio of Runes of Consumption in front of the cave. If anything stepped on them, he would be able to pulse divinity into them, setting them off, and tearing the mana out of whatever was unlucky enough to trigger them. If he was a greater master of his craft, he would have been able to link the runes all together, in order to set up a recursive Divinity cascade, where the Divinity released from triggering one of the runes would power the others. However, that was a job for later. Right now, he needed a few more ranks in the skill to be able to do so. Experimenting with the runes granted him an additional rank, but he could tell that it would take a while until he was able to achieve what he wanted with it. Comparing the freedom of his mana manipulation to the current state of affairs with his runes was like comparing a crayon drawing to a painting.
Eventually, he finished up, and beheld the fruits of his labor. A web of glowing runes stood in front of the cave, and while they did not look like much, merely a patch of faintly illuminated ground, Jonathan knew of the power that they contained. A Rune of Hatred would tear apart most lower level monsters, and the Rune of Beckoning would entice them to their deaths. Jonathan would have to be on standby to replenish the runes if the worst came to worst, but it was a good defense, for now.
Inside the cave, Edgar was etching a series of rooms deeper into the mountain, in order to create a place to store things, and to work on one’s skills in peace. Jonathan walked back into the cave, and saw the man in a far corner, wielding a drill made out of wind. The skill was burrowing into the rock, slower than simply using his fists had been, but much more precise as well. Jonathan watched the other man work, leaning against a wall in the meantime.
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Edgar finished up fifteen minutes later, revealing a small chamber that was set into the rock, with a good portion of it out of sight. It was darker than the rest of the cave, as the extent of Jonathan’s light did not reach there, but it was still bright enough for both of them to see easily in, on account of their enhanced senses.
“How did the perimeter defenses go?” Edgar asked. He knew about the runes, but did not know what they actually were. As far as he knew, they were just another skill that Jonathan had access to.
“Pretty well. They should be able to deal with most of the weaker monsters that might stumble across this cave, and serve as a deterrent to the stronger ones. This cave is slowly shaping up to be more of a home than before.”
“Well, perhaps we will be able to get some decorations in here during our time spent fighting. A few sofas of monster leather, maybe a fireplace. Those would all serve to make this experience a lot more comfortable. We might be in Hell, but we do not need to live like we are there,” Edgar replied, revealing more of his deep rooted wisdom.
Jonathan smiled slightly and nodded in response, as he moved towards the small chamber in the back. The place was about ten feet wide by ten feet long, providing just enough space for someone to sit down in and have enough room to also practice their skills or martial abilities if they so desired. Jonathan would be able to use his Flowing Hurricane style in here, and Edgar would be able to use some of his wind abilities as well, all without gaining the attention of the monsters in the ashen wastes nearby. It would be good in the coming months as they tried to remain safe in the face of the hordes of monsters that would be sure to be drawn to them.
Deciding to test out the room instantly, Jonathan started to weave through his fighting style’s various moves, seeing if he could pull them off safely within here. He did not limit his speed or power, and every time he punched the air trembled, but there was still enough space for him to pull it off safely. Nodding in satisfaction, Jonathan exited the room, and went back into the main part of the cave. The purple fire was still blazing in the center of the room, creating a homely, if somewhat strange, atmosphere.
“Satisfied?” Edgar asked Jonathan, wondering what the man thought of his addition to the room.
“Very,” Jonathan replied, nodding. He was glad that Edgar had possessed the foresight to create such a thing, as it meant that he would not have to leave the safety of the cave in order to practice. Well, relative safety. It would not hold up to a concerted assault, but hopefully it would get there over time. In general, it was the beginnings of a base that would serve them well during their time here. Jonathan gave the room around him one last satisfied look, and got back to reading through his book.