Saturday, May 4th, 2069
It definitely wasn’t as simple as Smegma made it sound, to subtly Heal each Cleaner. Even excusing myself from the ongoing conversation with Alexus became impossible. She followed me as I moved away after placing the still hot Frying Pan atop the portions, and then went to ‘check on’ each member of my company.
“What are you worried about?” She asked, as I climbed the eight feet out of the crater.
“Well, we’re trying to beat P-squared, but we have less than half their numbers,” I answered, looking back at the unattended portions of food. “Do you think you could keep an eye on the food? I’ll be right back, and then need to be escorted to the other groups again.”
“Jorri, Masvidal, can you two come guard the leftover portions?!” Alexus ordered and two of the guards jumped to follow her instructions. “Do you offer this kind of food to the workers every day?”
“We’re a new company, so I can’t say we offer it every day… Or rather, I suppose I could say that, since it's only been the one day” I chuckled. “But I’m not sure I can always do so going forward. For jobs like this though, where we have an abundance of materials and cuts of meat that might otherwise get thrown out? I don’t see why not.” I answered, even as I motioned at Dave to come over.
“So, this is something that you’re doing to motivate your employees to work harder?” Alexus assessed.
“Yeah, that’s it,” I said, a bit too slowly, which caused Alexus to narrow her eyes. Thankfully, Dave’s arrival saved further questions. I hurriedly grabbed his hand, and gave it a shake. “I know you’re doing a great deal of the work, so thank you. How are you feeling, though?”
Dave got my not-so-subtle hint. As did Alexus. Her eyes narrowed further, and she studied me and our handshake pointedly. Thankfully, my Minor Heal, which was being applied through our palms, wasn't very noticeable. Not with the sun so bright. The slight redness to my hand and Dave’s from the glow, hopefully just looked like increased blood flow.
“I’m good,” Dave answered. I could keep at this all day. He shook my hand back, as more of my Mana went into his body. “I should thank you for that meal. I’m sure all the others will do the same! Boy was that good!”
I smiled broadly, partially at the compliment, but mostly at the Skill finishing after four drops of my Mana got converted. “You’re welcome. I’m going to run through here and check on everyone.”
Dave nodded, and then released my hand. My eyes found the closest Cleaner, and I moved to them. “Hey, just wanting to check in,” I called with a wave. The woman turned to regard me with evident confusion in her eyes, but before she voiced it, I grabbed her hand in a forced shake. “I just want to thank you for joining our company instead of Jagger’s. How are you finding the first day?”
“Umm—well—that food was certainly something I’d never have gotten with Jagger?” She said, seeming to question what answer would satisfy me and get her hand back. Then her eyes lit up, and I forcibly stopped my hand from squeezing. This was going to get out eventually, anyway. “The equipment is repairing itself, just like you said it would! Look!”
She held up her Skinning Knife, and it was leagues better than it had been. There was even a hint of the point gaining a bit of a deadly look and the backside becoming serrated and perhaps a hook forming below the handle. My Minor Heal finished, and I held out my hand as I asked, “May I see it?”
She hurried to hand it to me. “Absolutely. It’s the company’s, not mine!”
I chuckled to ease the worry I heard in her voice. “Not to worry, I just wanted to see its shape. Mine hasn’t repaired anywhere near as much.”
I showed her my knife which had a bit of the handle and blade repaired, even as I turned her Knife over in my other palm. My peripherals tracked Alexus as she leaned forward, clearly interested.
Intelligence Increased by 1.
Intelligence Stat Unlocked.
---
Stats
Strength: 10
Locked.
Stamina: 10 (+1)
Intelligence: 2
Locked.
Dexterity: 10
Locked.
The Stat unlocking made me flinch and accidentally knick myself with the blade in my hand. I hissed, and felt two hands from two different people suddenly on my forearm and another on my back.
Both women asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yep, I was just checking its sharpness,” I said, and quickly proffered the small cut in their direction before it could Heal from my passive Recovery. “Thanks…”
I faded off not knowing the woman’s name. She didn’t get my hint, and instead of making it more awkward, I handed back the Knife and moved on.
[Smegma, why are my stats not increasing past ten?]
“Most likely?” Smegma asked rhetorically, even as I heard his talon start tapping his tooth. I reached the next Cleaner and performed the same song and dance, while shaking his hand and Healing. “Ten is the card level between High-F and Low-E. So, I’m guessing you need to find a way to evolve or breakthrough? How that will work I don’t know. However, it could be a unique encounter like the Golem…”
[Same with my Mana at fifty?] I asked.
“That one is strange. Since it’s part of a Skill that is B-rank. I’ve been actually wondering if Dragon Heart is a true Mana Pool…”
[What?!] I mentally exclaimed even as I healed another Cleaner. That thought surprised me. How could it not be a Mana Pool? It gave me Mana didn’t it?
“It’s just a thought, but would you for example be able to get yourself a second Mana Pool Skill? Normally, us Demons could only have a single ‘Mana’ Card in our Heart Decks. However, Dragon Heart has no Mana abbreviation. It could theoretically be a secondary Pool.”
[And what, getting an actual Mana Pool Skill could be the key to breaking through the fifty point cap?] I confusedly recapped.
“No idea. I’m just throwing out theories. If Mana Pools weren’t so expensive in the Demonic Vault Shop–I’d suggest trying it out.”
That gave me a lot to think about as I continued to move through the final five Cleaners. Each workerCleaner took about two Mana to ‘wipe away fatigue’ as Smegma called the Minor Healing I was doing. Then I was ready to move on.
Smegma floated in front of me as I carried the double stacked Frying Pans with the food inside. Alexus was eying me, as were her Mana Banks, and I could hear themtheir whispering.
“How is he carrying those massive pans so easily?” Dana asked Lauren.
“Look at his muscles bulging,” Lauren answered, ignoring the question or answering it depending on who you asked.
Smegma guffawed. “These women can’t keep their eyes off of you, and you still think she’s trying to explain how strong you must be with that comment? Honestly, Brodie, you really need help with women.”
[I husking do not!] I retorted angrily. [Are you sure I can’t put these in my Necklace of Holding?] I asked, wanting to stop being a spectacle.
Smegma shrugged. “You’re welcome to, but remember the Mirage Fish. Your Necklace will freeze the food and you’ll need to defrost it for each group. I held back my groan even as the women continued to stare at me, clearly sensing that something was off about me—regardless of what Smegma thought, I was sure that was why they were staring.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
[What do you think the Intelligence Stat does?] I asked Smegma even as I saw another moon around the Planet, the Stat was coming from pop into existence, and began orbiting.
“No clue,” Smegma admitted. “However, if it’s anything like Strength, maybe I’ll be able to stop calling you a dumbass.” Smegma sniffed, “but I’m not getting my hopes up. Even System miracles can only go so far.
I wanted to roll my eyes, but he was a bit too spot on with that assessment to my consideration. How could a person tell if they were getting smarter? I didn’t feel like I suddenly knew more…
“Wouldn’t be how that worked,” Smegma answered my thoughts. “You can’t just suddenly learn something new. If Intelligence is increasing your brain, it would be capacity and memory or something like that. The System can’t create something from nothing. So, you’d just have a greater capacity for learning. You know, increased reading speed and comprehension. Better recall or something along those lines. Maybe all of the above. If you look at the definition of the word without System involvement, intelligence is basically how quickly you pick up and are able to apply information to a situation. So maybe you have that to look forward to.”
[I literally just asked you how it works and you gave me a sentence, but you had all those assumptions!] I complained.
“The problem with unproven theories is that they sometimes get relied on, or become a ‘fact.’ Trying to define the limits and understanding of System-related aspects is dangerous. You’ll inevitably find that your definition lacks the complete grasp of the thing, and if you try to use your limited, ignorant knowledge with the assumption that it’s absolute truth, well… it usually blows up in your face.” Smegma retorted, his voice sour and aggravated. There was clearly a story there, but the Demon waved his hand at me even as I thought to ask. He did at least give me something. “Yes, there’s a story there. Suffice it to say something that gets put out can’t get taken back.”
Oh!—This was sounding more and more like that story about the guy who hypothesized that wolves had an Alpha and then found out that he was wrong and spent the rest of his life trying to show people his initial hypothesis was inaccurate, but never succeeded. Smegma’s groan told me I was very close, but also that I wouldn’t be getting anymore from him.
We arrived back at the Gardener’s just as they were taking a break for lunch. Thankfully, this time the smell of cooking meat wasn’t a problem, and the aroma from the food in the Frying Pans was just addictively fragrant, as opposed to drool-inducing.
I placed them down and then shouted, “I’ve brought lunch for everyone. Please line up and come forward one at a time. I’d like to meet everyone and thank you all personally for joining Abyss.”
A half hour later, I was done. Each Gardener was given two pieces of Heart Bacon—I’d decided to name it. One of the pieces was the Grackle softened version and the other the shoe leather. I of course shook each person's hand and performed a quick session of fatigue wiping. This time, I didn’t offer any of the food to the Hunters since there were twelve surrounding the clearing, and their Banks. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to but that I couldn’t. I had only thirty-three portions remaining.
And Abyss still had thirty Miners to feed.
* * *
“I can see that it’s Fool’s Gold!” My dad hissed, even as he took a portion of the Porcu-hog. I held out my hand with a bit more insistence, even as my eyes tried to warn him off that topic. Alexus was literally right—there.
Her suspicions—take your pick of which, were clearly only growing. My father didn’t get either hint, as he popped the food into his mouth and instantly seemed to lose any semblance of caution. “First, my new Mining Skill, and now more food like the Mirage Fish!”
I snatched his hand and squeezed, startling him. Very pointedly I growled, “Thank you for taking such good care of all the Miners here, dad. How much Ore do you think you’ll be able to mine by the end of day?”
He looked to his hand, saw the slight change in color, that was slightly more visible down here in the caverns, and then scanned over to Alexus. I watched him put the pieces together and wince. Sheepishly, he answered, “It’s going well. Willa and Jarred haven’t stopped Mining deposits since we got here. So, I’m assuming we’ll get something like fifty to a hundred finished by the time we call it a day.”
Just like Dave, Willa and Jarred both had a Mana Battery of absurdly good quality, meaning they could use their Skills without risk. Both of their Skills were excellent for Mining, which would reduce the wear on their Picks. Even though their Picks were of the ‘best’ quality we had. Willa’s in particular being an evolved version.
Since we were in a D-rank Portal, the cavern that Abyss was Mining was massive. Nowhere near the size of the one we’d gotten trapped within, but still large enough that we’d be working multiple days if it was just us.
But maybe not with the two crews…
“Why don’t we hold off on using the new Miner’s Equipment for today if we can, then? Since, we likely won’t need the single soft metal they might be able to handle after the Crystals,” I suggested but added, “Any idea how much Jagger will get done?”
“I’m not sure. He’s in the cavern further in. He has ten relatively high-grade Specialists working with him. So, if they can do five each—maybe fifty total?”
“Wait—“ Alexus interjected pointedly. “You’re claiming that ten Specialists will get fifty Ores done, and your two Specialists may get a hundred?”
“We have thirty Specialists,” I answered. Hoping she’d leave it be.
“Don’t try that bullshit. You just said you can save their Equipment for today—as long as you’re going to get more than the other group.”
“That’s not what he meant. Each Specialist will still be Mining a deposit today,” my dad said, attempting to cover our combined mistake. “That was included in the one-hundred estimate.”
“She can do math, imbeciles,” Smegma guffawed.
“I can do math!” Alexus stated. “That still means that two of your numbers, maybe three, if you’re included—“ she pointed at my father. “—are going to get seventy deposits on your own.”
“We’ll be tackling a great deal of deposits that others don’t, though,” I said as I began to sweat. Thankfully, I only had Willa and Jarred left to wipe free of fatigue or this interruption would have meant we were holding up a line of hungry Miners.
“Okay, that’s it. I’ve had enough—I’ve been watching you all day, kid. Tell me what the hell is going on.” Alexus ordered. Dana and Lauren moved in beside her, looking ready to fight.
“They’re going to fight you now?” Smegma asked, sounding a bit excited, but also confused.
“No.” I regarded the three women cooly. I gestured at their formation and stances. “Are you going to attack me for protecting the operational security and Trade Secrets of my dad’s company? I thought you’d read the contract. Are you prepared to take responsibility for the lawsuit your questions and actions are about to bring down on your entire Guild?” I tapped the 360 degree camera that I’d gotten into the habit of wearing during my ‘working hours’ for emphasis.
Alexus looked at her two Banks and paled, realizing the picture she was painting. Dana and Lauren went bright red and began stammering words that clearly intended to convey that attacking wasn’t their intention.
I didn’t let them off the hook and kept regarding them with the same icy coolness I’d asked my earlier questions with. I didn’t think it would do much, but maybe it would at least stop Alexus from sticking her nose into things I’d rather she didn’t.
Agility Increased by 1.
Agility Stat Unlocked.
---
Stats
Strength: 10
Agility: 2
Stamina: 10 (+1)
Intelligence: 4
Locked.
Dexterity: 10
Locked.
The Screen popped up, changing my focus and making me start. My jerk only grew as I suddenly felt my chest tighten, followed quickly by my left arm going numb. My panic rose as I realized that I couldn’t feel my heart-rate increasing, like it normally would in a moment of life or husking death!
My right arm moved up and grasped my upper left biceps and chest, clutching hard. Was I having a heart attack? Alexus was at my side in a few moments, her mouth moving and her eyes filled with concern. My father was there too and just as I felt my legs weaken, he caught me before I could collapse to a knee.
What in the hell was going on?
“Your Mental Universe is shaking! Oh, this is big. Something’s happening!” Smegma exclaimed, his voice strangely warbled. Still, how could I hear him, when I couldn’t hear anything else? Not even the background twangs of pickaxes were audible. Plus my eyes could clearly see my father shouting and the same was true of Alexus.
Inherent Qi Pool Unlocked
Qi Pool Capacity: 32
A new Screen popped up and the pain fled with it. I was just about to sigh in relief, as the sounds of the world came back, but suddenly a pulse of blinding light shot through the cavern.
“Oh, come on!” I growled, even as I watched Smegma vanish.
“—Brodie! Can you hear me? Brodie!” My father was shouting, going as far as to shake me.
“Dad, I’m okay. Plus I don’t think shaking someone who might be injured is the best course of action,” I answered.
Alexus, who was standing right behind my father, sighed in relief and immediately ran off, shouting for Dana and Lauren, who had apparently run off to get help, to return—and shouting that they didn’t need a Healer.
With the small privacy that bought us, my dad asked, “Did you just awaken a new Skill?”
I shook my head, but grinned broadly. “I think it might be even bett—“Another couple of Screens popped up all at once, cutting me off for a moment. “—her?” I finished slowly.
Class-Awarding Feat Achieved!
Class Available:
Uncommon rank: Martial Artist
You have unlocked three synergistic Stats and gained access to your inherent Qi.
You can now select the Martial Artist Class.
Martial Artists are granted two Skills:
Body Reinforcement (1) - F-Rank
Power Blow (1) - F-Rank
Agility and Strength Stats are unlocked and can be increased through the Martial Artist Class.
I blinked at the Screen, seeing the other three tabs behind it. Were they all Class options?