Leo spent several hours learning how to make bombs. Everyone else went off to do their own preparations, gathering back together at night in case the darklings decided to attack before the Eldritch Titan reached Dumatha. Leo and Zumra spent time pouring over multiple books from the Labors’ shop learning how to make bombs of different types. Leo would have loved to stop at figuring out how to put together fire bombs, but since the darklings were of Dark and Earth for elements, Fire wouldn’t have as much of an effect. In order to get the best bang for their buck, they’d need to make bombs with the Water, Metal, and Light elements, which they settled on essentially shrapnel grenades sending out ice shards and metal pieces with the first two, and explosive bombs of radiant energy for the latter.
Of course, they couldn’t just Mix everything into the bombs they needed. It was slightly too complex for Combine to be able to take the care they needed to make sure the bombs didn’t explode randomly, or the materials within to mix prematurely and ruin the bomb. Once they made it themselves for the first time properly, they could use Combine to recreate it. Making bombs that Leo could light with a flicker of flame from his fingertip complicated the process somewhat. They had to find materials for fuses that he could light with fire but didn’t conflict with the elements present in the water bomb. Thankfully, Zumra had a sizable catalog of materials to work with, and managed to quickly come up with an Earth material for the fuse that lit as easily but didn’t carry the fire into the bomb and weaken it. The other bombs weren’t nearly as hard to make, with the only hurdle being that Light materials to make the radiant bomb cost more than the others.
Fortunately, Zumra was spending savings from his store on the entire endeavor, in the interest of keeping Normouth and the shop from falling to the darklings. When all was said and done, Leo had about thirty bombs in his Storage. Ten of each type, mostly D rank but more than a couple prompted a Critical combine to make C rank as well. Additionally, he had a handful of vials of D rank Oil of Sharpness, something that Zumra already knew how to make. He traditionally sold it to lumberjacks and the like to help cut down trees faster, but it helped against anything, especially things weak to Metal like the darklings. The sheer amount of explosives made Leo feel like a walking bomb himself, but thankfully he could fit them in his Storage so he only had to worry about them when he pulled them out. Still, even with all that he had, he didn’t think he had enough to even make a dent in the horde of darklings. Not if the full swarm he and Rize saw that night were to attack. He’d generously say he could maybe take out around one hundred if every bomb hit at least three, but there were most likely several hundred, if not a thousand Darklings or more holed up in that hiding spot, and likely in nearby caves to wait out the daytime.
Finally, Leo told Zumra about the stoneskin potion he’d made, and Zumra gave him a couple that produced a similar effect. Barkskin potions, D rank versions that lasted an entire hour. They wouldn’t protect him as effectively as the stoneskin potion, but they’d keep him from dying near instantly from a flurry of teeth and claws. The elf also imparted some additional knowledge that Leo could Combine something into a weaker version of the potion in exchange for making the effect last longer. That and a few more healing potions had him ready for the attack when it came.
In the meantime, Axilya did find several Laborers remaining at the guilds, and convinced a couple of the higher ranking ones to stay behind due to the looming danger of the Darklings. Altogether, they had a couple dozen E and D ranks, including Leo and Rize, and five C ranks including Axilya and Zumra. That would have them all spread extremely thin across the entire city, but they had Normouth’s own guards and militia, including Sir Verakith, and the kitsune who didn’t seem to belong to any of the Laborer guilds in Normouth.
It wasn’t nothing, but apparently, there’d be at least a hundred laborers in Dumatha, C rank at minimum with the average probably being around rank B or A. Leo had no idea what to expect from something like that, so he had no desire to make his way over there anyway, but after a couple days of creating bombs and potions and dreading the night when it came, the morning of the third day arrived - the day the Eldritch Titan supposedly would reach Ashar’s capital, and he wondered: what am I still doing here?
Partly, because he didn’t know how to leave, but a few minutes of tinkering around with his interface allowed him to find the screen for teleportation. Leaving the planet for another for the cost of a couple hundred credits. He could see the names of worlds he’d never heard of, their rank, and status. Whether or not they were close to being claimed fully by the gods that controlled the Great Labors, or the Outsiders. He sat in the back of Zumra’s shop for a while, browsing, flipping through a list, and then some kind of massive stellar map when he switched the setting.
He hadn’t made any decision to leave, but he considered that the smart thing to do was get the hell out and try his luck on a different world. He’d barely been there for two and a half weeks. He was still training. He hadn’t even gotten a quest from the laborers to stay, either.
As the question rattled around in his head, Axilya came into the back room. “Zumra’s closing up. Are you ready to go?” She asked. They were heading to one of the guilds so that the laborers could plan where to spread themselves out most effectively.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
“Should be.” Leo replied. “Hey, this is a strange question, but what are we still doing here? What’s keeping you from leaving for greener pastures?”
Her ear twitched, something he’d started to pick up on from both her and Rize whenever he said a metaphor or saying from Earth. She leaned against the doorway and looked away from him, her gaze up to the ceiling. “When I first got here, Zumra sold me some potions at a discount after he realized I couldn't afford the regular price. Same with a local blacksmith who gave me a whetstone and cloth for free to keep my newly purchased sword sharp.” Her gaze moved back to him. “I eventually started doing quests and getting enough credits to buy those things without problems, but Zumra wasn’t really obligated to help me out just because I was also a laborer. Speaking of which, he’s spent a decade building this place and his regular customers. What’s he gonna do if the city gets destroyed? For someone like him who’s decided to become a merchant, he’d have to start basically from the beginning.”
With a sigh, she shrugged and continued on. “Of course, long lived people like him won’t really sweat another 10 years to rebuild, but I’d rather not have that happen if I have the chance to stop it. You, on the other hand - I wouldn’t wish this on any E rank. I’d pay for you to leave myself if you really wanted to go.”
Leo leaned back in his chair, glancing over at the sprawling star map that could probably fill the room if he really wanted it to. His thoughts swirled around, but Zumra’s, Sir Verakith’s, and Rize’s faces flashed in his mind. Even Layne, odd as he was, who tossed him a hastily purchased smartphone that apparently cost a couple thousand credits. More than any D rank should be casually throwing around when D rank quests only paid out in the hundreds. “No, it’s fine.” He said, closing the map with a swipe of his finger. “I get what you mean. I have my own reasons to stick around.
“I’m glad.” Axilya replied, giving a rare smile. “It’ll be dangerous, but the quest rewards tend to be worth it for things like this. Not to mention, even if you die, I’ve heard if someone has enough credits they can bring you back. If any of the gods are interested in you, they might offer you a deal as well. I’ve heard of more people coming back to life from that than being revived by credits spent.”
“How do I know if any of the gods are interested in me?”
Axilya shrugged. “Sometimes, you can get special quests or blessings from them, but they’ll usually tell you in that case. They typically flock pretty quickly to special or unique classes. Some of them could be biding their time though, waiting for you to actually die before they make their offer. It’s a little conniving, but they’re probably waiting for a time where you nearly couldn’t refuse any deal they’re going to make. It could also just be that they’re waiting to see what you make of yourself. After all, you’re only E rank.”
“If I survive tonight, that just might change.” Once more, Leo was reminded that he didn’t really know much about the gods that controlled the Labors. Even over the time he spent training, he focused too heavily on learning magic and swordplay to even ask if Normouth had any info about them in a library somewhere. He’d heard names, prayers, and had seen what looked to be religious rituals just walking around Normouth, but he never dug any deeper into them. For all he knew they could have been a local religion instead.
He’d have to look them up in earnest assuming he survived the night. If he didn’t, then maybe the god who brought him into the Labors in the first place would have some sort of special interest in him. Hopefully enough to revive him from the dead.
The meeting took place in one of the guild’s buildings. The sight of a couple dozen laborers had Leo looking around, seeing more than he’d seen since he’d been in Normouth at all. He didn’t see Layne, as expected, but he did see the kitsune. The only one he’d wondered whether or not would be there at all was the one who possessed his body, but he saw no sign of her whatsoever.
In this meeting, he finally learned the kitsune’s name: Hayumi. They placed the spotlight on her almost immediately as the only A rank Laborer to participate in this operation, with the rest being C or lower. All of the others were assigned districts of the city to guard based on rank and preference, with the organizers attempting to have a group of E and D ranks accompanying a C rank, almost like the tutorial Leo went through. Zumra, of course, stayed adamant about protecting his shop, so he was given that district along with a couple of E and D ranks. Rize volunteered to take a district with only one other person, as her destructive magic benefited from having less people around to get in the way, and Leo volunteered to be that extra.
Much as he wanted to be in a group with a C rank, preferably Axilya, he’d already seen how effective her fire magic was against darklings. The organizers reluctantly agreed, reminding her to try to keep her damage to nearby buildings and structures to a minimum since the people of Normouth who didn’t evacuate would be hiding out inside their own homes.
With very little in the way of objections or alterations, everyone split to make their final preparations. Leo joined Rize in heading to a part of Normouth he’d yet to visit. Far enough away from the walls that they’d get plenty of warning if the Darklings did come that night.
At the tail end of sunset, the streets were already empty. Leo and Rize discussed their plan, and Leo looked around to find a space where he’d be safe from both the darklings and Rize’s magic. Eventually, he found a building a couple stories high with a flat roof and a tree nearby, and he climbed his way up.
In relative silence, while he waited for night to fall and the wrath of the outsiders to pour across the city, he and Rize watched the sun dip below the horizon.