"Keep shooting and moving backward. I won't let it get past you," Nero promised.
It was one thing to have high Dexterity and it really helped, but it was another thing to know how to wield the weapon. Altia trained the bow too little to be able to use it in the cramped and fast-paced Dungeon but Nero intended to let her do her thing. Whatever made Altia happy, even if he had to bleed for it. Every other crawler, he did. At least they had their mufflers back, keeping them warm. Now that he used them, the Dungeon did seem cold.
The creepy crawler, true to his name, awakened some basic instincts in his opponents, its disgusting features too mind-boggling to understand. And every single one of them was slightly different. On one, Nero could swear he saw beetle wings. The only thing worse than one of these crawlers would be a flying one that could use all of its limbs to attack.
The girl let the arrow loose and it flew true. But the mass of writhing limbs knocked the arrow aside and it grazed the carapace. It still oozed green goo so it was a hit. The crawler ignored Nero and walked down the tunnel, as the boy was closer to the wall. But he wasn't going to let it get a foot closer to his girl. He swung the buzzing clockwork sword, hitting a homerun and causing a spray of chitin and cut limbs. But the monster flew up and back.
Another arrow hit it as it made contact with the ground and pierced the core. Nero's device lit up.
> For killing an enemy six times your level, you gain +1 Strength.
"An accolade?" Altia asked.
"Yes, Strength."
She hugged him. The monster dissolved and the arrow fell to the ground, along with the Essence crystal, this one with one hundred and eighty Essence, and a card. Nero picked up the items, returned the arrow to Altia and read the card.
> [Berserker] - green - requires level 1
>
> Strength +5
> Vigor +2
> Endurance +3
>
> Reason +5
>
> "No guts, no glory. But No guts, no life either."
>
> Special: If you are damaged, you lose 20% (At least 10) of your Reason and Charisma and gain 20% (At least 5) in Strength and Vigor.
He whistled. Altia came, curious and he showed her the card. "This would make someone the smartest barbarian ever," She joked.
"That's not bad. You see, the high Reason bonus offsets the special trait's penalty. The problem with most berserkers is that they go into negative Reason, and that makes them as dumb as monsters."
"A good find but still not a popular Class. This won't fetch even half the price of the [Warrior] card you had."
"Well, it is still a green card. Let's keep hunting."
Nero decided to farm crawlers with Altia until they got the [Egress]. it was good training for her archery too. Until they ran into two crawlers. The little balls of death rolled on each side of the corridor. Nero ran forward, keeping himself to the left side and Altia fired her arrows on the other one. The one in front of Nero readied itself for combat while the other picked up speed. He stuck his sword to the side and caught the second, severing more than half a dozen limbs before it went past him. He would have to trust Altia to deal with the wounded murder roller. He had his own to tackle.
He shifted the shield into a heater, covering his device. The creepy crawler jumped, spreading its limbs wide. Nero caught it with the shield and kicked the ground to gather speed sideways and try to crush the monster against the wall. The thing about these crawlers was that they were 60% muscle, 30% carapace, and 80% loathsome. It resisted the weight of the ape-kin and was even stretching the multi-jointed limbs across but Nero wasn't done. He drove the clockwork sword behind the shield, ripping limbs and reaching the pinned body, painting the Dungeon wall green.
Nero released the pressure and shoved the sword across the flat side, withdrawing the shield at the same time. Without a spot to latch on, the creepy crawler was sent back down the tunnel and Nero turned to run after Altia.
He saw the crawler half-suspended, a few extremely long limbs still touching the ground and several wrapped around Altia. The limbs were twitching and Nero fought to keep his wits as he ran to help her. Before he reached the girl, though, motes of light shone along with the limbs and center of the ornery monster. He sighed in relief. She threw a potion at herself as it was faster than drinking and her wounds closed. But she was sitting on a pool of her own blood.
"Just a second. I'm almost done here," She gave him a faint smile with pale lips.
Nero nodded, scanned the tunnel behind her and turned to finish his own crawler.
----------------------------------------
They camped earlier. Altia needed rest to recover, the flesh-knitting potion doing little to restore lost fluids, including blood. Nero laid the bedrolls, sat on it and then she nested her back against his chest. He hugged her and fed her some white-grade chicken soup. Too bad [Empower Potion] didn't work on food as they were not "combat" Consumables.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"So, how does it feels to pull your own weight?"
"Hurts like I should've spent a dozen pinks on my armaments."
"Touché, milady."
"At least we're farming Essence faster this way. One level six crawler gives the same as thirty-six level one rats."
"But we bleed more than thirty-six times more. And there are fewer odds of a card drop as we are killing fewer monsters."
"Didn't you notice? The rats barely drop any whites. The crawlers barely drop any grays. It is all a matter of quality versus quantity."
"Maybe we can settle in the middle and hunt the serpents," Nero proposed.
"Walking on the sand wears us out. We also move slower. I think we should adapt to fighting the crawlers."
"And get you a good weapon. And probably that bow Skill you mentioned."
"Any dreams I had of following the build plan I drafted went out through the window. I think I can hybridize."
"Oh, look at her, compromising her build," He said, feigning to be hurt. "As for me, I never drifted off my build plan. I reached my Level cap and my plan needed no adjustments."
"Impudence!" She tried to turn but she forced her wounds. "Ouch. Do me a favor, slap yourself. I'm indisposed."
"No can do, Your Highness. Please go to sleep so we can slaughter more monsters later. I'll keep watch."
Altia soon dozed off, too weak to keep their friendly banter. Nero checked their cards and truly enough, the crawlers dropped mostly whites with a few gray and hope of greens. He needed to cover the gap on Altia's equipment and they could farm the crawlies. They didn't rest for an entire night. Nero checked his clock and it showed they were past the forty hours mark. It seems the Dungeon had a big bone to pick with them.
He kept watch but the monsters didn't approach. Now that Nero thought of it, they were only ambushed once during their rest periods. If it was a matter of monsters not spawning near them, or not moving too much away from their designated spot, or outright avoiding them, he couldn't tell. These assumptions were based on other assumptions there were just that, unconfirmed.
Nero felt his body stiff but the feeling of holding Altia in his arms was so appealing he didn't dare to move. After a few more hours, she stirred awake.
"Nero, for how long did I sleep?"
"Doesn't matter. How are you feeling?"
"Better. My throat is dry, though."
After a light meal, Nero changed places with Altia and settled to sleep for a couple hours. Then they broke camp and went on to hunt crawlies. They moved carefully, as drawing three of the horrendous creatures would be a death sentence. Altia's archery was improving, the life-and-death struggle a wonderful teacher and she had to summon another [Quiver] card because most arrows broke. After thirty crawlers in the same session, Nero stopped to tally their loot.
"We are over ten thousand Essence. Three green cards, twenty-five whites, about two decks worth of grays." He'd seen the Skill and the Class, but not the third green card. It was a piece of equipment.
> [Mallet of Repulsion] - green - Requires level 9, Strength +7
>
> +3 Strength
>
> "May attract girls - Desperate shopkeeper"
>
> Special: Successful hits with this weapon deal triple knockback.
Too unwieldy for this Dungeon. Other Dungeons had more room to swing things around. His father would be doomed otherwise. Maybe it is a good card to give him.
They resumed killing crawlies, still in careful mode. Nero would draw the monster's attention and try to saw off its legs while Altia sniped it from afar. Most of the time she shot the critters with all legs intact, the arrow would get tangled in the mass of limbs and break before dealing any significant damage.
"Maybe [Piercing Shot] can help you. I think I saw it in the Emporio," Nero suggested.
"I think it is exclusive to combat classes. Mine is support."
"Why not try using magic?" Nero suddenly asked, causing Altia to halt.
"What? Magic?" It was a thought she never had.
"Yes, magic. I have a card here, it doesn't say anything against Chemists equipping it.
> [Firebolt] - white. Requires Reason +1, Willpower +1
>
> "Does not channel through daggers."
>
> Allows user to shoot a bolt of fire for 1 point of Mana at a target up to Reason yards away, dealing damage based on Reason and Willpower.
> [Cure Wounds] - white. Requires Reason +1, Willpower +1, Charisma +1
>
> "Make sure wound is disinfected and clean. Does not mend bone."
>
> Allows user to heal wounds for 1 Mana. Healing based on Reason and Charisma.
"I was thinking, we could find green versions of these two cards and you could use them. Normally it would be bad since you aren't going to invest heavily in Reason but you have one advantage. you can recover mana with any potion. Right now your mana resource is sitting untapped."
"I understand what you are saying. But we would have to visit Razzer. You know I hate that slimy cat."
"I don't care. We have ten thousand Essence and three greens to trade. More if we need to keep farming for that stupid [Egress]. And on the other hand, magic Skills won't lock you with a poor equipment choice. I mean, I had to learn around this clockwork sword."
"Okay. I need to save one Skill for [Double Tap] but if we find a good magic Skill, I think I can work with it."
With that resolve, they went back to hunting crawlies. They gained a fourth green card before finally dropping the second [Egress].
> [Dash n' Slash] - green - Requires Endurance +1, Agility +3, Dexterity +3
>
> Reason +1
> Willpower +1
> Charisma +1
>
> "Distance moved increases by 20% for every dance-related Skill or Class you have."
>
> User can, by spending 1 point of Stamina, move up to Agility / 2 meters in 1 second and may execute one attack with an edged weapon at the end of the movement. Add your Dexterity to Strength to calculate damage.
Nero didn't wait. The clock revealed they'd spent forty-three hours. He slotted the precious silver card, held Altia's hand and both triggered the return spell at the same time. They returned at night. Rhynne was waiting for them.
"Nero! Altia! Are you okay? Of course you are. Look at you, all this new equipment!"
She clearly looked distressed. That she was trying to make small talk in such an artifical way was a dead giveaway.
"Hello, Mrs. Rhynne. What happened?"
Nero crossed his arms. "Is there a problem, mom?"
"Yes. You should le--"
Rhynne cut off her speech at the sound of huge footsteps. Nero and Altia readied themselves as a figure clad in metal showed up throgh the palisade wall. They recognized the heraldry immediately. It was nearly impossible not to. That man, wearing full plate armor, bore the crest of the King. One of his personal guards, a Knight, with a Level cap over two hundred.
"It seems we got our little runaway here. Don't think of going anywhere. Come with me, we need to have a 'friendly' talk."
----------------------------------------
> Altia [Chemist 3/179]
>
> Strength +2
> Vigor +6
> Endurance +3
> Agility +3
> Dexterity +7
>
> Reason +6
> Willpower +3
> Perception +4
> Charisma +5
>
> Chemist:
> - Special: All your benefical combat consumables restore a llittle more of all resources.
> - Special: You use 20% less ingredients with Alchemy.
>
> - [Potion Toss] - Allows the use of benefical combat consumables on others at a range of Dexterity / 2 yards.
> - [Quickbrew] - The act of brewing alchemical concoctions or activating combat consumable cards requires 30% less time.
> - [Empower Potion] - The effects of benefical combat consumables and the speed of their effects is increased by 20%.
> - Empty Skill Slot
> - Empty Skill Slot
> - Empty Skill Slot
>
> Equipment: [Self-Cleaning Brigandine of Regrowth], [Elven Boots], [Hot Muffler], [Dungeon Clock]
> Nero [0/0]
>
> Strength: +3 (+6 with clockwork blade, +4 when blocking)
> Vigor +2
> Endurance +3
> Agility +4
> Dexterity +2 (+3 inside a Dungeon)
>
> Reason +3
> Willpower +2
> Perception +3 (+5 inside a Dungeon)
> Charisma +1
>
> Equipment: [Rending Clockwork Blade of Regrowth +1], [Self-Cleaning Brigandine of Regrowth], [Dungeon Goggles], [Elven Boots], [Hot Muffler], [Dungeon Clock], [Spiked Clockwork Shield of Regrowth +1]