After a few more rooms in the dungeon, the group decided to leave, Jade feeling excited at the loads of mushrooms and seeds he had in his inventory. His mood soured into guilt, however, as soon as he saw the looks on Yondol and Amy’s faces, second guessing on whether they should have the talk.

“When we were younger,” Amy started, heading off Jade, who was about to open his mouth, “our parents went out constantly to adventure.” She waved between herself and Yondol, the elf clearly less comfortable and letting her take the lead. “As you could have guessed, our dad was an elf, while our mom was human. Mom was a fantastic tank, while dad had some of the craziest spells that we’d ever seen. He specialized in fire, which made him excellent for clearing away the Daemon and Scarlet.” At that she took a moment of silence, rubbing away her budding tears. “It’s what ended up killing them. They were surprised by the creatures in the corrupted woods, easily torn to shreds despite their strong magic.”

“… I’m sorry,” Jade said softly, feeling truly saddened by the siblings’ backstory. “Is that why you… you know…” He waved at Amy, giving her a gentle smile. “Tend to be more sneaky? Because you had to grow up on the streets?” Amy nodded at that, her smile brittle, but wide.

“It was tough. Dear brother tried to go the legitimate route of being a pack mule for adventurers.” She nudged his shoulder at that, Yondol giving her a wry smile. “He even convinced me to sign up just so I could make extra money on the side. We’ve been doing that ever since mom and dad died fifteen years ago.”

Jade nodded as she fell silent, taking deep breaths to hold back his tears, unable to imagine losing his parents at such a young age. “And since you said that the great dungeon is nearby both biomes…”

“That’s where they died, yes,” Yondol interrupted, giving Jade a misty eyed look. “It’s a death sentence at this point, not to mention the amount of people who have died to the sentry blocking the great dungeon’s staircase.” Yondol looked at Amy for a second before looking back at Jade with a determined look. “Do you really think you can change the area to glowing mushroom? Wouldn’t that make it dangerous with three hostile areas?”

Jade shook his head, momentarily going quiet as they passed through the city gates before continuing. “Above ground, the glowing mushroom biomes had only peaceful mobs like blue fireflies and such. Especially if a town was set up in the area, which reduced the surface monster spawn rates.” Jade chewed over his next words for a few moments before saying, “I want to set it up all around the great dungeon. The evil biomes can’t grow onto glowing mushroom, which would halt their progression. It also would allow for a teleport point to the great dungeon if we can get it set up.”

Yondol sighed at that, looking to Amy for her response. “We’ll have to test our armor against the wildlife first,” she conceded, though not looking happy about it. “That way if it’s too tough, we don’t kill ourselves getting to the great dungeon.” Jade nodded furiously at that, giving both of the party members a thumbs up. “So which dungeon are we tackling tomorrow?” she asked, changing the subject as they all walked up to the Plinth.

“Well… we still have a few items to go…”

#

Once they appeared back in the forested city of Ormand, the three headed off to the guild building, Jade feeling a bit uncomfortable at the masks his party members were obviously putting on. Yondol looked calm and Amy was smiling while petting her starling, but Jade knew the topic was still on their minds. He held back saying something however, knowing that, after some sleep, it would be better to handle the topic.

Janice was too busy to see the party, but the receptionist did hand over the materials the siblings had bargained for for the creation of the weapons and armor. Jade was glad his inventory could keep the hundreds of ore pieces in one slot, otherwise with Yondol and Amy’s storage spaces, it wouldn’t all fit. They had gotten all of the wood, copper, and tin Jade would need to make the items over the next few ‘weeks’. In truth, once they were all back at their inn, he quickly crafted several bars and one set of armor from each, making sure not to spend too much time on them by doing the ‘process method’. This allowed the armor to look decent, while not making it too powerful or taking too much time. He had to keep it in his inventory, which necessitated keeping some of his loot in his party members’ storage spaces, which they both looked happy about at least. Amy, especially, seemed interested in the various potions Jade kept getting from his looting, including the ironskin and nightvision potions.

Considering it was a bit too late in the afternoon for another dungeon crawl, and Amy and Yondol looked a bit tired, Jade suggested they retire early for the night, himself snuggling in his bed to read his book for the rest of the evening. Thankfully, that night had no interruptions, allowing the party to get a full night’s rest.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

#

The next morning, of course, had Amy and Yondol in a somewhat sour mood, though both gave Jade a smile when they all met up. Nothing was said about the plans for what to do after Jade had the items he needed, just what they needed to do for the next day. Jade still got a weird vibe from both of them, though he decided to only bring it up if it continued for too long.

Setting out from the inn and doing the standard tail losing, they made it to the edge of the city, both siblings giving Jade a raised eyebrow, to which he shrugged. “We can’t spend every day in other cities. Especially the underground one. Not being able to see the sun makes me claustrophobic.”

“Can you at least give us a list of what we need?” Amy irritatingly said, Jade ducking his head when he remembered he didn’t… exactly tell them what his plan was.

“So you know how you can use the accessory items my looting and crafting can generate?” Both gave him nods at that, looking down at the dark blue boots they both wore with wings on the sides. “Well the spectral boots aren’t the only items that can be worn. I need an item called the ‘Spacial Cuffs’. They make it so when I get injured, I regain mana. It’s why I’ve only used the meteor wand so far, as it costs no mana to use with my armor. But sooner or later, I’m going to need something stronger, which means I’ll lose that benefit.”

“What exactly do we need for the cuffs?” Yondol asked, pulling out a notebook and pencil from his personal space. “And where do we get them?”

Jade explained the crafting trees as best he could, leading to a decent list once he included not only his items, but the items the siblings needed.

* Jade

* [Spacial Cuffs] – Increases magic damage and provides regen if hit

* [Shackle] - Graveyard (zombie drops)

* [Mana Band] – Floating islands (chest loot)

* [Spacial Magnet] - Floating islands (chest loot)

* [Diamond Wand] – increased magic damage when you have mana – craft platinum and diamonds

* Yondol

* [Cat Claws] – increases melee damage– Jungle dungeons (chest loot)

* [Centurion Armor] – Increased defense/less knockback – Cavern dungeon (marble dungeon chest loot)

* [Errandark] – insanely fast use speed – Cavern dungeon (chest loot?)

* Amy

* [Witch Doctor Necklace] – Increase minions – Jungle Dungeon (chest loot?)

* [Spun Obsidian Armor] – Increases minions/minion damage – craft obsidian and fabric

* [Tri-barang] – can throw 2 copies of the boomerang before having to throw the weapon

* [Mushroom Boomerang] – already looted

* [Magic Boomerang] – Forest dungeon (chest loot)

* [Lava Boomerang] – Cavern dungeon (chest loot)

* All

* [Hellrine Boots] – walk on water & lava, easier ice movement, swim in lava for 10 minutes, increased flying, immune to heat & cold, increased movement/time dilation (3)

* [Ice Boots] (3)

* [Spectral Boots] – Currently crafted

* [Ice Skates] – Snow dungeons (chest loot) (3)

* [Magma Boots] (3)

* [Water Walking Boots] – already looted

* [Obsidian Charm] – craft obsidian (3)

* [Magma Necklace] – Cavern dungeons (chest loot) (3)

* [Balloon Trio] – increase jump/flight height, jump on air x3 (3)

* [Blue Balloon] – Sky islands (chest loot) (9)

* [Cloud Flask] – Forest dungeon (chest loot) (3)

* [Sandstorm Flask] – Desert dungeon (chest loot) (3)

* [Snowstorm Flask] – Snow dungeon (chest loot) (3)

* [Beginner Wings] – increased flight from spectral boots and slow fall (2)

* Optional

* [Glowing Diving Gear] – glow, swim easier, and breath easier underwater(3)

* [Flippers] – Ocean dungeon (chest loot) (1)

* [Glowing Necklace] - Ocean dungeon (jellyfish loot) (1)

* [Diving Helmet] – Ocean dungeon (shark loot) (2)

* [Frog Climber’s Suit] – climb walls, increased jump/flight height (3)

* [Flippers] (3)

* [Frog Leg] – fishing??? (3)

* [Climbing Gear] – Cavern Dungeon (3)

“That is… a lot,” Amy growled out after their discussion, causing Jade to flinch. “How are we expected to do all that?!?”

“It shouldn’t be… too hard,” Jade whined, glancing at the trees surrounding them as they continued to walk towards the forest dungeons. “Most of the items we need are from Indas and floating islands, with some items coming from other dungeons to give variety. We should be done by the time the guild task is done.” Yondol nodded at that, even as Amy gave them glares. “Besides, we can tackle getting you the armor and necklace to make your starling more powerful. Then you don’t have to worry about fighting almost at all, just controlling your minions.” He nervously petted his grinning eye at the softer glare Amy gave him, finding the pet actually purred, which did less to calm him down at the shock.

“Fine. I stay in the back thought!” Both men gave Amy nods at that, finally marching up to the edge of one of the dungeon clearings. “Now how do we get you in without being noticed?”