Friday, April 26th, 2069

“So, what’s the plan?” Dave asked, after we had moved to an area in the cavern furthest from the White Goblin village.

“Well, we have to boil—” my dad started to say but was quickly cut off by Smegma.

“I’ve already told you, that’s unnecessary. Moronic-man!”

My eyes widened, and my mouth fell open as Smegma insulted my father. There were two reasons for my surprise. First, my father didn’t even want to go deeper, and it had taken a lot to convince him to not join Jarred. So, antagonizing him seemed stupid. Second, he was my father. I would never insult him, and Smegma kind of felt like an extension of me. I started scolding the Imp, mentally explaining why he should stop, but to my shock, I was interrupted. Aloud.

“No, Brodie, I won’t spare him because he is family. Act like an idiot and you get treated like a flesh Demon.”

“What kind of idiom is that?” Dave asked, under his breath, which at least stopped Smegma’s glare at my father.

“Flesh Demons chose to become boneless through a ritual. They believed that it would make them invincible and harder to injure. Now they are essentially slimes with vulnerable organs.”

Dave made a disgusted face, but I only had eyes for my dad. He gave me an appreciative smile and a shrug. Seeming to say that he and Smegma had already had that conversation. He even went as far to gesture to the cave around us, and I took it to mean, ‘plus, where am I going to get fuel for a fire?'

I nodded to him, accepting his gratitude for the implied support I offered. I had mentally scolded Smegma after all. However, I disagreed with the second part. Mana Crystals could burn—sure it was like using Jet Fuel to start a fire, and—oh, that’s what he had meant. If we started a fire down here, we may just start an inferno. I nodded, at my own misinterpretation. It wasn’t like we needed a fire anyway.

“How about some weapons to defend ourselves?” Willa offered, pointing at Smegma. Everyone understood what she was asking, and I nodded. A bit of mana pulled up the red windows.

Demonic Vault 4.3.4

Crendalar Five — Abyss Sect’s Wares

Skills

Consumables

Armor

Miscellaneous

Currency: 165,092 mC (mana Coins)

“What’s the cheapest weapons available? Something with range, preferably,” I asked Smegma, hoping for some direction.

“First, unless someone has a hidden magic Skill, I wouldn’t suggest a ranged weapon. It may be effective against White Goblins, but ranged weapons lose efficacy if you don’t have a Skill to support them. Plus, almost all of them require ammunition or Mana supply. Take this one for example…”

Smegma sent me a window.

Precise Crossbow (1)

Low-F-Rank

This crossbow has the enchants for precision and self-repair. This weapon is made from D-rank material and will not be able to Evolve past D-rank. Ammunition not included.

Cost: 1,000,000 mC

I stared at the screen taking in the fact that a low-F rank weapon was unaffordable. “Are you trying to rub in the fact that I can’t even afford an F-rank weapon? Plus, how is a weapon a hundred times more valuable than a Miner’s Pick?”

“No, dumb-dumb, that wasn’t what I was trying to show you! I was pointing out that you need ammunition, and we don’t sell Crossbow Bolts. So, your ranged weapon thought is almost as moronic as boiling water.”

“What the husk does that matter if I can’t even afford the weapon, idiot!” I countered.

“Well, if I’m honest you can’t even afford an Evolvable Enchanted dagger—and the Abyss Sect didn’t put in anything more useless than that. The reason why they are more expensive is simple if you think about it. Where did we get Card Shards on Crendalar to combine into Skill Cards? Oh—that’s right, the husking Monsters. Picks and other Gathering tools were pretty useful, but only in the sense that we needed Ores and Crystals to keep our society going. We needed Herbs and Fruits for potions and pills. We needed Monster meat to eat. So, yeah we created them, but they’re pretty common since we could change out Cards as needed. For example, the Demons would clear a Portal, then flip Cards and strip mine it. Everyone had Gathering Tools and Skills that were low ranked but they were considered relatively useless. Either way, the buying a weapon idea is entirely out the husking window, shit-for-brains. I’m just making a point!”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Pointedly ignoring Smegma, I turned to Willa. “Well, we can’t buy any weapons to defend ourselves,” I said very dryly. Willa put a hand to her mouth to suppress a chuckle. My father and Dave laughed openly. While they couldn’t see the windows, it was clear where Smegma and my conversation led. Looking around at the walls, and the plaques of Ores that decorated them under the glowing moss, I added, “That doesn’t mean we can’t make our own, though.”

The others followed my gaze and got appreciative looks. For about a split second I thought there was hope…

“You and what smelter? What hammer and anvil? You flaming Felhound turd!” Smegma asked, his voice as derisive as ever. “Sure you can buy one that runs on Crystals, but where are you going to get the molds, or the husking wood for handles and other materials needed?”

Instead of being insulted by Smegma’s tone, everyone nodded along. He was mostly right—however, his disagreement to my plan actually helped me refine it. “We don’t need to make anything too fancy, though. What about a club with a sharp edge or some spikes?”

Smegma gave me a look and then motioned to my father’s Pickaxe, which was grounded beside him. I nodded at that point and returned to refining my plan. Using the Pickaxes as weapons was something at least, but since we weren’t going up against a slow moving Rock Golem, I could see a few problems with it.

Still, would a club be better?

“Either way let’s mine these Crystals,” I said as I pointed to the carpet of Crystals that covered the ground. Thanks to the sparse algae moss, this cave system was different from the other ones we’d mined in other Dungeons. With the Algae the Crystals rarely grew on the wall, and were concentrated most heavily on the ground. I huffed out a breath as I realized just how different Dave’s first experience of Mining was than my own. Everyone looked at me, thanks to the noise of amusement.

I held up a hand to wave away any concern even as I explained. “I was just thinking Dave sure is lucky to have such a wonderful first experience with Mining…”

“Gallows humor, really?” Dave asked but joined the others in the very muted snuffing laughter.

Smegma just shook his head as he said, “May I offer a suggestion?”

Everyone stopped and turned to look at the Demon. “You three should mine here. Brodie, and I should scout the cavern, and look for other ways out.”

My eyes found my fathers, sure he would protest. His face certainly looked like he was about to. However, the blotchy flush he had soon morphed to entirely red, as his jaw clenched. To my utter shock, he nodded.

What in the husk?

Willa put a hand on his shoulder, probably understanding what just went through his head more than I did. First, she had known him a very long time, but second, and more importantly she was also a parent. I could only imagine what it would feel like to let your child take a risk, like Smegma suggested. Wait—did I even want to do as he suggested?

Smegma floated up beside me and simply stared. “If your father already agreed, then it’s clearly the best husking plan, dumb-dumb!”

I inhaled sharply at the increase in volume, thanks to Smegma’s proximity. I took one more look at my father, Dave and Willa, gulped and said, “I’ll be careful—we’ll be back soon?”

I wasn’t sure why I made the last part a question but saw Smegma shake his head and likely roll his black eyes. Still, the actual eye movement was nearly impossible to discern. Smegma began floating away and making noises that humans reserved for pets. “Come on boy,” he even added in some tongue clicks. “Let’s go. This way.”

This time I definitely rolled my eyes. What a husking asshole!

Soon we were away from the group and I realized that I didn’t have a Lightstone, thanks to the darkness that made me squint my eyes.

“Shoot, I should go back for a Lightstone,” I said.

“No, let your eyes adjust to the low levels of light. You don’t want to have a lit beacon with how much we’ll be moving,” Smegma said, before I could even spin. “I think the White Goblins aren’t very active monsters, or they likely would have found you lot multiple times already, thanks to those husking things.”

“How did they capture the Hunter or all the Hunters then?” I asked, trying to understand the Demon’s logic.

“Total conjecture, but most likely those idiots attacked them or fell into a trap on the way to attack them. They were certainly cocky enough to think that F-rank humanoid monsters were easy prey.”

Something felt like it was stuck in my throat and I swallowed heavily. If the Hunters attacked them with all those weapons and didn’t win—we would have close to a zero percent chance with our pickaxes. The conversation before the conjecture raised a late flag. “Wait, then leaving them alone like that to mine is dangerous. We should go back!”

“They’re over a kilometer from the White Goblin village and tucked away in an alcove. The only safer place is back up the tunnel we came down with Jarred.” Even with the assurance I was frozen in place, not able to move forward and unable to return. “Remember when you lectured me about trust? Have you ever explored a Portal before?”

The paralysis broke enough for me to shake my head. “I’ve not only been in Portals, but led expeditions to clear them, research them, and strip mine them. So, why don’t you trust me, and I’ll see you all out of here. Even Jarred…”

His voice was more sincere than I’d ever heard it. I wasn’t sure if that was the reason I took a step to follow after his outline, or the internal voice that was screaming at me to take this opportunity to live as a Hunter, but I managed one step. Each one became easier after that—and soon we were hugging the wall and exploring.

Mentally, I cataloged any ores that I could see, the ones with red plaques. I still wanted to make some weapons if I could refine that plan a bit further. Smegma on the other hand, kept moving at a measured pace, oftentimes vanishing for half a minute before I saw his form again in front of me.

“Where do you keep going?” I asked in a whisper, unsure if we’d gotten closer to the goblin village in the few minutes we’d been walking.

“Ranging afield,” he said in a normal tone. “I’ve made myself imperceptible again, so keep whispering, just in case.” I must have broadcasted my lack of understanding in the term, ‘ranging afield’ because he explained, “It means I’m scouting around you in a hundred-meter semi-circle.”

Well, that certainly made more sense. After ten more of the thirty-second disappearances, Smegma returned and said, “I’ve found something, but it’s strange.”

“Strange, how?” I whispered my question.

“Well, at first, I thought it was a second goblin village, but the creatures I found were using Crystals, wood, algae moss, and mud to create dwellings. It’s a grotto that seems to be abandoned and the dwellings are dug right into the stone.”

“Okay…” I whispered, trying to convey my lack of understanding.

“Just follow me, and I’ll take a closer look.”