The mucus-spitting Yellow Noctiluca was quickly forgotten as Rick put all of his attention on Jimmy and Kara.

“Penny, come quick!” Jimmy yelled. Penny was already bounding over.

Kara’s entire left side was riddled with shrapnel. With the amount of bleeding, it was obvious that vital arteries had been severed. Rick probed with his senses and found that Kara was still alive, but barely. It was a miracle in itself that she hadn’t bled out already.

Adam watched impassively, idly twirling his baton.

Rick tried to figure out what he could do to help. Nothing brilliant came to mind so he summoned buckets of water for them to use if needed.

Penny’s nose glowed a bright gold this time, emitting a thin shell of light around Kara. The bleeding visibly slowed and Penny began to gently touch the wounds with her nose. The dog seemed to know that she needed to ration her mana and only healed the wounds enough to repair an artery or scab over.

Once most of the bleeding had slowed or stopped, Penny began focusing on the metal shards embedded in Kara. One piece of shrapnel at a time, Penny would pry it out with her teeth and then quickly use her nose to heal the wound. Despite her attempts to manage her mana, she was already panting.

Quick on his feet, Jimmy ripped his shirt off and began dipping it in the water, gently cleaning Kara’s wounds. The look on his face was a mix of fear and determination.

“What happened to her?” Rick asked his panicked friend.

“One of those bastard golfers was hitting metal balls that exploded,” Jimmy said while he dabbed Kara’s wounds. A haunted look on his face.

Kara had been unconscious the entire time, but now opened her eyes slowly and painfully sat up. Her hand frantically found the hair tie on her head before she spoke. “I’m not dead?” she croaked.

Her voice sounded raw. Rick wasn’t sure if she had been screaming or the blood loss had just dehydrated her too much. He found a cup from his registry and produced it for her, filled with water.

“Thanks, Rick,” she said and gulped it down. Jimmy had come over and put an arm around her shoulder to support her while she sat up.

Kara’s eyes found the tired and panting Penny, “And thank you, Penny. You saved me, didn’t you?”

Jimmy smiled, his eyes still filled with worry, “She did. Good job Penny. Will you be able to get the rest of the shrapnel out?”

She answered with a weak wag of her tail.

“You’re a good girl, Penny. Get some rest. Thank you for saving her.”

It seemed calm enough now for Rick to ask the question burning in the front of his mind, “Jimmy? What about my —”

Jimmy shook his head, “I don’t know, Rick. This whole attack was a disaster. They were ready for us. Your parents have either been moved somewhere else or — I don’t know. They weren’t there, man. I’m sorry.”

The dungeon shook as Rick raged internally. “Why are they so important to these assholes?”

“The Eagle Empire was probably tipped off by one of the people Kara enlisted from their group. Your parents might not be important to them but knew that they were important to us. The double cross was always a risk, and you knew that, so don’t blame her.”

Rick tried to calm himself. “I want their leader’s fucking head. What’s his name? Gus? Send a message and tell him to come here.”

Once again, Jimmy shook his head, “Rick. I saw Gus. He has to be over Level 20. He tore through the Cartel like a wet paper bag and he’d tear through this place just as easily.”

Adam’s interest piqued slightly and he chimed in, “What was his class?”

“I don’t know what it’s called, but he could control wood. Thousands of those little sharp tees rained down on us like bullets. Any weapons containing wood were snapped in half. Large spears would spring up, impaling people from all directions. It was all him, just standing there with a shit-eating grin on his face,” Jimmy shuddered.

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“Maybe a druid of some sort,” Adam mused. “Although, most druids or mages with a nature affinity typically don’t only use dead wood like that.”

“So what happened to Lazaro and the Cartel?” Rick interrupted. Adam’s uncaring attitude was starting to piss him off.

“They got their asses kicked, plain and simple. Lazaro survived, but I’d say they lost about half of their men and women. If it weren’t for their handful of healers, it would have been much worse. I’d guess that the Eagle Empire makes a move to wipe them out,” Jimmy explained.

“Why would they do that? Even I know that the Cartel is feared by most people, and rightfully so if what I’ve heard is true. If their leader, Gus, had any brain cells, he’d use them instead of destroying them. People will likely seek out the Eagle Empire for protection now,” Adam argued.

“Fuck, you’re right. At least that buys us and them some time then,” Jimmy conceded.

Kara had been close to dozing off but still followed the conversation. Finally, she seemed to have enough energy to speak. “They’ll still come after us, Jimmy. They saw us. We aren’t part of the Cartel, making us easy targets.”

This forced a groan from Jimmy.

“You can stay here, Jim. I have a new floor called an Auxiliary Room. It’s not part of the Challenge Floors,” Rick said, glad he could relieve some stress at least.

Jimmy’s eyes lit up, “Shit, I haven’t even looked at that yet. I got the notification, but haven’t had a second to go over it,” he said excitedly as his eyes glazed over, clearly going through his Alerts.

Kara watched him curiously, “What is it?”

Jimmy’s eyes focussed back to Kara, “I just gave you access to the Auxiliary Room. Also, both Rick’s parents and my parents if we ever find them or they turn up.”

Her face scrunched up, “Auxiliary Room?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot that you can’t hear Rick. We have a place where we can lay low here. Nobody but us and the parents can enter.”

Kara looked relieved through her droopy eyes. “Thanks, guys. Once I recover, I’m going to find whoever tipped them off and look for your parents.”

“Just rest up for now. We’ll make a plan for that when the time comes,” Jimmy said, lightly touching her shoulder.

She nodded and gingerly laid back down, drifting off to sleep in moments.

“Do we still have anyone out there to scavenge? The stream won’t be enough yet,” Rick asked.

“Most of the scavengers weren’t there, so I don’t see why not. Although, if the Eagle Empire knows to look for us here, then I’ll bet a lot of them abandon us.”

Adam let out a sigh, “As you both know, the System Shop shows up tomorrow. With it, a lot of changes will happen and this Eagle Empire will have more to think about than searching for you, Jimmy.”

“What kind of changes?” Jimmy asked.

“That, I can’t say. Every integrated planet is different. However, if you’re worried about them coming here, I suggest you spend all of your credits on a defensive array. There are trillions of different kinds ranging from protecting a small treasure to an entire solar system. I would suggest finding one large enough to protect this city block.”

“How do these defensive arrays work?”

“As I said, there are many different types, but you won’t be able to afford a very strong one. At this point, you might be able to find a mana siphon array. Those are nice because they aren’t deadly, but they will greatly weaken any unauthorized guests that enter the array.”

Jimmy scratched the growing stubble on his chin. “That doesn’t sound too effective, honestly.”

“Yes, well Rick is still going to need Challengers. It would be short-sighted to use a lethal array on anyone that you don’t know. The mana siphon is uncomfortable and gives you a nice advantage.”

“Ok, I’ll look into it when the Shop opens,” Jimmy said, sounding unconvinced by Adam’s suggestion. “What about —”

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

Rick had been silent and let the two confer since he wouldn’t even have access to the System Shop to research the arrays. Instead, he had been checking on his minions and thinking about where his parents might be and whether or not they were alive.

Watching his minions calmed him. The Ceaseless Wolves had bounced back the quickest from the sickness he received from his communication with Adam. Their shared health pool must have helped them recover faster individually.

They were now stalking the herd of bargles, who had spread out in their confusion from the sickness. The bargles were hit the hardest and the young wolves decided to take advantage by cutting off one of the critters from the main herd.

What came next impressed Rick. The Ceaseless Wolves seemed to be able to communicate telepathically, positioning themselves perfectly around the bargle, pushing it further and further away from its herd. The bargle seemed to realize that there was no return and made a mad dash for the glacier.

It didn’t get far as the wolves used their Speed Burst and took it down instantly. Their small teeth found the bargle’s vital arteries with impressive precision. Once they were fully grown, he didn’t think even Billy would have a chance against their speed and teamwork.

That’s what Rick wanted. He wanted a strike team that acted as the Ceaseless Wolves did to find his parents, cut them off from the Eagle Empire’s main force, and bring them to him. But where could he get them? The Cartel proved to not be up to the task. Or perhaps they just went about it the wrong way. The next time he saw Lazaro, he would ask for a meeting with the Cartel’s true leader whose identity was still a mystery to Rick.

In a few hours, the System and Dungeon Shop would open. Maybe he could find answers there. So until then, he would absorb the rest of the Cores that Adam had gifted him.