"So what's the plan and why can't we just sneak our way through the front door?" Lone asked. "Metaphorically. I don't actually think there's a front door. I'd bet on a gate."

He wasn't against the idea of a clever tactic to get the drop on the monsters who lingered in Urd Grun but he felt it was wise to ask why, exactly, this was necessary.

Hamish frowned and sighed. "Fair 'nuff. Ah 'avenae really teld ya what kinda powerful fecks live doon 'ere. Tae busy trainin', ah suppose. We'll 'ave time tae talk tactics soon but aye, ah'll explain why going cock first isnae very smart, Fox. Also, ye'd lose 'at bet. There's just an open cave me an' ma brothers dug open."

"Shame. Well, I'm all ears," Lone replied with a small smile.

Hamish looked up and nodded. "Aye, big fluffy ears, at that." The dwarf scratched his beard a bit before asking, "Any o' ye three ever 'eard 'o Balor Demon Bats? Ah've nae clue if ya lot get 'em topside or naw."

Soph immediately shook her head. Everything she knew about monsters came from Lone after all and he rarely talked about them to her since he was well aware that it bored her half to death.

Breena, likewise, shook her head. That disappointed Lone a little. 'Shame. I was hoping to have at least one of us know something... What did that useless hero even do when he went out on adventures with those girls?'

Lone's smile turned wry. "I know about a lot of monsters but all of my knowledge is based on novels, stories and bestiaries from the two libraries I've visited here on Altros. You'll have to enlighten us."

"Will do. What aboot Milor?" Hamish asked instantly as if he had expected such ignorance. He didn't appear to be smug though despite his expectation having been met. "It's also ah type ah monster, by the by, nae ah person's name or anythin'."

All Lone saw on the short man's expression was a deadly seriousness lacking any traces of mirth. This time, thankfully, Lone could nod. "Yes, that's a type of warped golem species, is it not? I've read quite a few entries about them."

"Aye, Fox. Well, ya ken 'ow dangerous they are?" Hamish questioned softly.

Lone scrunched up his brow to recall the information he'd read. "Average strength of C-rank, right? Skin as hard as metal though so it's a tough opponent to deal with. They typically move alone but they're incredibly sneaky despite their weight."

"Aye, good, good. Only difference here is that the last time ah wae 'ere, we were flanked by aboot 50 ah the feckers all workin' together," Hamish claimed. "Balor Demon Bats have sound magic that'll rip apart even an A-ranker's eardrums an' turn their brains tae paste if they've nae resistance tae it. They're squishier than the Milor but quicker an' smarter tae. They 'ave very sensitive hearin' anaw despite the racket they cause 'emselves," Hamish explained.

He then pointed at the wall they were stood next to. "Ah've got ah handful ah skills 'at help dampen soond, both ways. Ah use 'em on ma tents damn near every night. Ah swear, ye two are animals."

Soph blushed from ear-to-ear at the accusation and Breena looked down at the floor awkwardly.

Lone just shrugged. "I love her, she loves me. It's not rocket science. I see no reason to hold back my desire for her when it won't affect her ability to sense our surroundings. I also don't really care if you can hear us or not. Now if you could see anything... Well, that'd be a bit of an issue."

"Ah, come off it," Hamish scoffed with a dismissive shrug. "As if ah can get ma rocks off fae ah human ah all things. Ma point was that we're gonna dig ah tunnel an' ah'm gonna make it so we dinnae get detected."

"A tunnel?" Lone's eyebrows perked up. "Now that's an interesting idea. Two questions."

"Shoot," Hamish responded.

"First, where will our point of entry be?" Lone asked. "I assume somewhere of strategical value otherwise the main entrance would work just as well."

Hamish nodded. "Aye. Last time ah was 'ere ah saw ah guard tower 'at wasnae in tae bad o' ah condition. We'll come oot right on top o' it. We can avoid the Milor altogether 'at way. Nothing we can dae aboot the Balor Demon Bats an' we will 'ave tae face the Milor eventually but we're 'ere tae kill everything, aye? One group at ah time is better than both at once."

"Very true. Okay, second question. How will we dig? I have a pickaxe if that will help but surely it'll take fuckin' forever," Lone said. "I'm honestly perfectly up for just me going into Urd Grun, killing like a madman then running the fuck for my life. Rinse and repeat until we're done."

"Or I could, uh, teleport us in," Soph suggested.

Lone nodded. "That's an excellent point."

Hamish shifted his eyes between the two of them before quietly saying, "Ye'll get ah skill if we mine oor way there."

"Mining is an excellent idea. Why didn't I think of it sooner?" Lone asked himself as he withdrew the white wooden pickaxe from his Dimensional Storage. "Now, how do I use this thing properly?"

"You're too easy!" Soph protested. "Teleporting is way simpler, faster and quieter!"

Hamish sighed. "Look, normally, ah'd agree wae ye but Balor Demon Bats 're sensitive tae magic as well as soond. We'll be hounded in feckin' seconds. If we dig oor way through the ceilin' tae 'at tower ah mentioned then we can set up ah bit o' ah defensive line afore we're swarmed."

The dwarf them thumbed towards Lone, "An' ah wasnae lyin'. Our foxy pal 'ere will get the Minin' Mastery skill fae sure. It's ah useful skill tae 'ave an' it'll make 'im 'avin' 'at pickaxe nae the biggest feckin' waste o' the century."

Lone held up a hand to quiet the dwarf while he thought silently. Hamish folded his arms in front of his chest angrily while Soph stared him down as menacingly as she could manage, which wasn't very much.

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"How about we just do both?" Lone suggested.

"Meanin'?" Hamish asked.

"Let's slowly dig our way to the urd's ceiling like you suggested but once or twice a day Soph teleports me in and I slowly cull the numbers. I gain stats by killing things so each defeated Balor Demon Bat will make me stronger. It's also a good chance to train the skills you can't level for me like Basic Regeneration and Bone Armour," Lone suggested. "I don't have Sound magic Resistance either so I'd love to get and level that."

Soph immediately nodded. "I can keep you safe with my barriers. Nothing will get close to me since I can sense things coming from a whole 1,000-metres away and I can just teleport to safety! We can both use it as a chance to grow!"

Hamish frowned but ultimately shrugged. "Ye're the boss here. If ya dinnae die, aye, it'll be ah boon. Ah'm nae goin' though an' neither's she," he said, pointing at Breena. "Ah'm nae build fae frontal attacks against hordes an' she's as weak as ma piss after ah night ah nae ale."

Lone saw Breena grit her teeth and clench her fists under the accusation but she didn't refute what the dwarf said.

"Hey, she may be low ranked but Breena isn't by any means weak. I'd like to see you fight her at the same rank and try calling her that again," Lone said, defending the girl.

"Ha! Even if ah were her rank or she was mine, ah'd still win," Hamish taunted.

Lone chuckled. "Yeah, sure you could, cowboy. You can't even beat me unless I hold back a fuckton. Also, in comparison to a Divine, we're both less than ants. Relative to her rank she isn't weak at all."

He reached over and patted Breena on the head. "You're plenty strong. You're also trying your best to learn and get even stronger. That's better than, like, 99.9% of people."

Hamish spat on the floor. "Ah'm holdin' back tae, an aye, cannae deny 'at last part. Effort's 'alf the battle even if ye dae 'ave talent."

Breena stared at the floor as she softly said, "T-Thanks... Mister Hamish is right though..."

"If you really think so," Lone said, "then work even harder to prove him wrong, okay? Wouldn't it be fucking awesome if when we left here you could land a punch on his ugly mug?"

"..." Breena didn't reply though it was clear she was thinking about it.

"Oi! Cheeky cunt! Ah'll 'ave ye ken ah'm ah fuckin' stud when it comes tae dwarves!" Hamish yelled in indignation.

Lone shrugged. "Yeah, I couldn't care less. Now, about how to use a pickaxe..."

----------------------------------------

"Oh, I got it," Lone exclaimed in joy.

The host has developed the passive skill: Mining Mastery

Passive Skill: Mining Mastery

A skill that allows the host to more efficiently mine through materials with a pickaxe.

Increases the hosts mining speed by 5% and increases the host's ability to spot structural weaknesses in stone structures like caves, walls and buildings by 5%.

Cost: N/A Mastery: Beginner Level 1

"Oh this is pretty nifty," Lone said as he saw certain points in their upwards spiralling tunnel stand out to him more than the rest.

Hamish sighed. "Ah ken ah said ye'd get the skill but on the very first day? Feckin' 'eroes... Ye'r even worse than the dwarven ones."

"There are dwarven heroes too?" Lone asked before he answered his own question, "Ah, yeah. I did hear it was only human kingdoms that had rituals for summoning human heroes. Makes sense for other nations and powerful forces to have some for their own species. I'd like to meet a dwarven hero."

"Nah, ya wouldnae. If ya think ah'm ah cunt who's 'appy tae abuse 'is power tae bully the weak then only the Stone kens what ye'd think ah those arselick'rs," Hamish replied with a big shrug.

Breena changed which hand of hers was holding the magic crystal lamp the dwarf had provided her.

Meanwhile, Soph yawned. "So this will go faster now?"

"Five percent faster, yeah, if not more since grumpy guts is teaching me how to use the pick too," Lone answered. "Speaking of which, no Pickaxe Mastery?"

"Oh, it exists, ya just needs tae fight wae the thing," Hamish said with a smirk. "Ah've got 'at skill anaw though it's only fae emergencies like if we burst through a monster-infested Farwind road by mistake or somethin' an' there's nae time tae drop it an' draw ma dagg'rs."

"Makes sense. What level is your Mining Mastery at? I know you've been holding back to keep pace with me which I appreciate," Lone asked. "I would, however, like to know what my goal is for us to work at the same speed."

"Feck off. As if ah'm tellin' ya 'at. Ye'r nae catchin' up tae me even if ye reach the same skill level. Ye've wounded ma dwarven pride an' honour mere than enuff, Fox," Hamish grunted.

Lone laughed. "You did that by yourself. Nice to see you being honest though. Well, let's get back to mining then, shall we? We've got another hour before we set up camp. Then Soph and I can go hunting."

"Aye, let's," Hamish responded with a confident smirk.

----------------------------------------

Congratulations! the host's passive skill [Mining Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 2.

Congratulations! the host's passive skill [Mining Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 3.

Congratulations! the host's passive skill [Mining Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 4.

As always, levelling up skills got the endorphins flowing for Lone. He was more than happy with his progress in the skill.

Of course, he was taking his time to try and learn from Hamish as well as he could. Grumpy and petty as the dwarf could be, he had dozens of years of experience with the tool.

He was also a pretty diligent teacher, enough so for the actual teacher, Lone, to praise him which meant a lot since he thought of himself as rather skilled in the field.

Soph tapped on his shoulder softly to get his attention. Turning to look at her he smiled. "Time to kill some bats?"

She smiled back at him sweetly. "Mmm. I'm ready now since camp's all set up."

Hamish truly was a master with his own pickaxe. It had taken him no time at all to clear out enough room in the tunnel to set up a temporary resting area.

He even had a steamforged artefact that filtered out the smoke from the fire. He was a useful man and Lone was certainly glad he'd chosen to give the guy a chance.

Then again, without Lone's Dimensional Storage to get rid of all of the rubble, digging this tunnel and camp area would have been twice - if not thrice - as much of a pain and a time-sink.

"Hamish, Breena, we're going now," Lone called. "Hamish, you're not allowed to touch or get within ten metres of Breena. I don't doubt your taste in women, abysmal as it is, but her peace of mind matters more than your feelings here."

He saw the Crimson Foxkin girl smile ever so slightly in appreciation while she sighed a little in relief.

Hamish didn't seem to care in the slightest. "Ah dinna gae ah feck. Ah'm goin' tae sleep since we dinnae need tae worry aboot monsters in this tunnel. 'Ave fun killin' in ma stead, aye?"

"We'll try our best," Lone said before he intertwined one of his exposed hands with one of Soph's gauntleted ones.

Blushing a little, she said, "B-Bye."

And with that, the two of them disappeared from the makeshift campsite.