I stepped through the wide workshop doors and onto the packed earthen floor, reveling in the familiar scents of coal, heated metal, and leather. Light seeping in from the skylight caught dust motes dancing in the air. The workshop stood exactly as I'd left it – two anvils out on the floor, barrels full of water nearby, the forge by the back wall towards the garden, away from the rest of the house, work tables set against the right side wall, next to the door inside, and in the far corner stood the experimental forge Pa had built for monster materials crackling away. Every tool hung in its proper place.

Pride swelled in my chest. We'd built this place together from the ground up, turned it from a patch of dirt given by the king into a proper smithy. Every beam, every brick, every tool rack – they all held memories of shared work and quiet lessons from the last several months.

Pa stood at the main anvil, his massive frame silhouetted against the flames. His bald head gleamed with sweat as he worked, muscles rippling beneath his soot-stained shirt as he hammered away at a piece for a chest plate. Through the window connecting to the house proper, I spotted Ma singing inside, her short-cropped hair dancing around her as she worked at the stove.

The rhythmic hammering stopped mid-strike. Pa turned, his face was set in its usual mask of stern lines and pockmarks, though I knew better than to mistake it for displeasure. It was just his way.

Ma glanced up at the unexpected silence, her eyes finding mine through the window. They went wide and were accompanied by a broad smile.

“Ash! You’re home.”

She burst through the connecting door and practically flew across the workshop, wrapping me in a fierce embrace that smelled of fresh bread and herbs, underlaid with the ever-present hint of coal smoke that clung to everything in our home. Despite her daily proximity to the forge, she somehow always managed to look and smell clean and had even tried to instill that same skill into Pa, but he kept reasoning with her that he'd have to scrape the skin off his flesh to get the smell out.

That was probably true.

“Look at you!” She pulled back, hands fluttering over the bloodstains on my armor and the bruises on my face. “What happened? Are you hurt? Did you eat? You look thin – did you need to get treated by healers?”

Some things never changed, and that was good. It was those little details that made me appreciate the time home more than anything else.

“He's only been away for half a day, woman. What's the fuss about? How could he have lost weight?”

Pa set aside his work, dropping the red-hot metal into the quenching barrel with a hiss before hanging up his tools. He watched us, waiting for Ma's flood of concern to run its course.

When she finally paused for a breath, Pa put his hand on my shoulder, his dark eyes sweeping over me.

“Welcome home, son.” His deep voice rumbled through the workshop and it made me feel safe. The man had always been a stalwart shield that protected us ever since I could remember. “Good to have you back.”

Then his stern expression cracked, revealing a broad grin that lit up his whole face. He opened his arms wide, and I stepped into his embrace. His strong arms wrapped around me, and suddenly I was eight years old again, safe and protected from all the world's monsters and politics.

“I was afraid,” he whispered so quietly only I could hear. “So damn afraid when they said a larger wave than usual had attacked the base. But you're home now.”

I nodded and hugged him back, starting our ritualistic battle of who could squeeze the life out of the other. I had yet to win, and taking into account his considerable strength, it would still take me a while.

“Did everyone make it?” Ma asked as I wheezed, and Pa finally let go of me.

“Old man. You'll break my bones one day,” I laughed. “But yes, Ma, everyone made it out alive and well.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Though it was close. Nina took a nasty hit, and Finn...” I trailed off, remembering the spray of blood and the screams. “They'll recover in time. The dungeon itself was incredible – like nothing I'd ever seen. The tree is hollow inside, and you can walk up alongside the walls to these platforms, and there are branches stretching out in different directions, filled with monsters, including many we've never seen before, and—”

“Come.” Ma grabbed my arm, tugging me towards the door leading into our home. “Tell us everything over lunch. I've made your favorite.”

“I'll never say no to that. God knows I could use a bite right about now,” and on cue, my stomach rumbled. The three of us started laughing and headed inside.

The rich, sweet aroma hit me right on the nose as we entered the kitchen. My mouth watered at the sight of the deep red-brown chunks of pork belly in the clay pot, tender meat ready to fall apart at the touch.

“Ma! Red-cooked pork? But the spices alone—” I stared at the feast prepared to be served. “It must have taken you hours!”

She smiled, pulling out three plates.

“Well? Did you bring back anything good from your scavenging run?”

I nodded, unable to keep the excitement from my voice.

“Got quite the haul actually. Show you after dinner?”

Pa limped over and brought out rice from the cooker.

“Spatial storage full then?”

The grin spread across my face before I could stop it. Both of them knew that look – they'd seen it often enough when I was a boy, usually right before I confessed to some mischief.

Ma's eyes widened.

“All the slots? You filled all ten?”

My grin grew even wider, and I nodded.

Pa slapped the counter, rattling the dishes.

“And that's why we're having red-cooked pork! Finally seeing the payoff from all our hard work, all those investments in gems, training, and equipment.” He reached across and gripped my shoulders. “This is just the beginning, son. Just the beginning of our rise.”

“Sure is, Pa. Just watch and see!”

Mouth watering, I grabbed a plate and waited for Ma to serve.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Today went from outstanding to the best day in my life.

* * *

“Not another bite,” Pa said once we were done, pushing his plate away.

“What bite?” Ma grabbed the plate and held it up to her eye. “Not enough left on here to interest an ant!”

Pa chuckled.

“That's what I said, didn’t I?” He winked at me as Ma good-naturedly tapped him on the head.

“Incurable! That's what you are.” She bent down and gave him a kiss. “And brilliant. Now, why don't you two go out and crack those bodies open? I'll be right out after cleaning.” She shook her head, still unable to come to terms with what I'd told them. “A mutated monster? Never thought I'd see one.”

“You better believe it, Ma. Come on, Pa,” I said, getting to my feet, snatching the dishes from Ma, and hurrying over to the stairs and back down to the first floor. “You won't believe how disgusting these things are.”

After placing the dishes on the bench, I rushed out to the smithy while Pa stomped down the stairs. He was just as excited as me, but still tried to hide it. The man was an angel in a bear's body, but he still had appearances to keep up, or so he wanted us to believe.

I pulled the ring beetle out of my spatial storage and set it down carefully on the butchering table along the wall opposite the door into the two-story area. The chitin gleamed dully in the forge light as I reached back to pull out the next monster.

“Hold on there, son.” Pa's hand landed on my shoulder. “One at a time. We have all the time in the world. Unless you're supposed to be somewhere with that—what was her name again? Erynia?”

I rolled my eyes.

“Eryn, Pa, and no.”

“Then you know there’s no hurry. A messy workshop—”

“—is an accident waiting to happen,” we finished together, and I sighed.

“But aren't you curious to see them?” I clenched my fists with excitement so they shook. “They're completely new!”

Pa stroked his beard, trying to hide his smile.

“Course I am, but I'm also a smith.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “And what does a smith have besides a strong back and arms to squeeze the life out of a thief?”

I took a slow breath. When he got into this mood, it was best to just humor him. Either that or leave and come back later, and I was in no mood to wait.

“A smith has the patience of a saint,” I muttered.

His smile broke free.

“That's right.” Then he pushed me carefully aside. “Now get out of the way so I can see this new monster!”

I chuckled as Pa bent over the ring beetle, his hands moving across its shell and expertly tracing the curve of a massive mandible.

“The claws are strong enough to push into wood and hold them there even at a vertical angle,” I said, pointing at the hooked appendages. “And definitely sharp enough to punch through armor. Garrett field-tested that.”

Pa harrumphed.

“They've got these small wings, but they're weak. Probably useless, too,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, Pa. These beetles came in groups of three or more, but never flew. And those mandibles—” I shuddered. “Weak around the eyes and the underbelly, but that exoskeleton is tough as nails.”

Pa hummed to himself as he began taking the beetle apart. His butchering tools - specially made for monster processing - clicked against its shell, and I could feel the hairs on my neck stand upright. It was the moment of truth, or rather the part that we enjoyed most.

“Interesting,” he muttered. “Very interesting. The shell could make for excellent armor reinforcement.” He lifted one of the claws, testing its edge on his thumbnail. “And these... these would make fantastic arrowheads. Maybe even daggers.”

He inspected one closely, turning it in the light.

“Not a scratch on it, son. It's in perfect condition.” He grinned. “You know, if we could get enough of these claws and find a way to split them without compromising their strength, what a scale mail we could make from these.”

“Pa!” I couldn't hold back any longer. “Would you please check if it has a gem?”

He smiled knowingly.

“Alright, alright. Truth be told, I'm dying to know myself.”

Pa's knife sliced carefully through to the creature's center. Suddenly, his hands went still.

“By the smith's own hammer,” he breathed. Then he grinned and plunged his hand in, drawing out something that made my breath catch.

The mind gem was smooth and oval, like a large pearl. Clear as spring water with blue-white patterns swirling inside. When Pa moved it, the gem caught the light of the flickering flames like morning frost on glass.

I whooped loud enough to wake the dead.

“Ma! We got one!”

Ma peeked through the door, and Pa held up the gem. Her face split into a radiant smile.

“Didn't I tell you it would be a day to celebrate?”

Pa swept the ring beetle's remains into his own storage with a satisfied nod.

“We'll carve it up properly later.” He held out the mind gem to me. “Congratulations on your first dungeon gem, son. One you earned yourself. We're proud of you, know that.”

“Thanks, Pa.” I took it carefully, still marveling at its beauty. “Think I'll hold onto it for a bit. Maybe I'll take it when I'm tired.”

He nodded approvingly and prodded my arm.

“Well, let's see the next one then.”

I pulled out the branch walker from my storage and had it drop on the table. The monsters were way too heavy and large to carry, and luckily, whenever we pulled things from our storages, it allowed us to place them wherever we wanted, but within arm's reach.

Pa circled the monster slowly, studying it from all directions.

“These eyes,” he whispered and leaned in close. “They seem to react to light. Wonder what would happen if we carved lenses from them?”

“That's your father for you,” Ma said and patted my shoulder. “Always thinking several steps ahead.”

He began methodically working through the corpse, examining each part with excruciating thoroughness.

“Pa!”

He chuckled.

“Took you long enough,” he laughed and started cutting into the center and went completely still.

“Another one?” I breathed.

Pa's grin was answer enough as he pulled out a second mind gem, identical to the first.

“Ma!” we both shouted.

She came and kissed me on my cheek, put her arms around me, and squeezed almost as hard as Pa had earlier.

“Great job, son, but this is…almost unheard of. Two gems in a single run?”

Then she held her hand out and raised an eyebrow.

“Here you go, my dear,” Pa said, gently placing the gem in her hand. It disappeared somewhere into her apron.

“Good job you too, honey.” She pulled Pa's face to her and kissed him on the lips.

“A thousand silvers,” I muttered, shaking my head in amazement while Pa ogled Ma as she returned inside. “Right in the center of a monster. Almost makes up for it trying to kill me.”

“Almost,” Pa said, sweeping the branch walker into his storage and rubbing his hands together. “Alright, son. I'm ready for the big one. Give it to me.”

My heart quickened as I reached into my storage. This was the moment I'd been waiting for. The mix of branchwalker and spider materialized, and Pa recoiled as it all spilled out on the table. The work table groaned under the monster's weight and for a moment we just stood there, waiting for it to come crashing down. But it didn’t.

“God above.” His face went pale. “You killed this?”

I nodded.

“That's—” He swallowed and turned to squeeze my shoulder. “That's an amazing job, son. I'm proud of you. This is... massive. The size of a damn horse, it is, no, even bigger. No idea what we can use it for but something outstanding, that's for sure.”

As he reached for his tools, I grabbed his arm.

“Pa, please, for the love of the rift - check it for gems first?”

He chuckled.

“Alright, just this once. Since it's a variant.” The knife glinted as he began to cut. “But keep in mind, the reason we don't just look in the center is because it blinds too many to the true value of the carcasses. Aggregated across a hundred monsters, there's usually more value in their materials than the gems, and one shouldn't be sad when there isn't one inside.” He reached into the center. “We should celebrate the materials and what they can do for the fight against the monsters. Gems are just icing on—”

He trailed off, his whole body going rigid.

Excitement flushed through me.

“Another gem?”

Pa's jaw clenched hard - a look I knew all too well. Something was wrong.

“What's the matter?”

“Close the gates.” His voice had turned cold and as hard as steel.

“Why?”

“Do it. Now!”

I rushed to comply, worry flooding my system as I pulled the heavy wooden doors shut and dropped the bar.

“Ma!” Pa called out. “Close up the shop!”

“But Rowan's coming by soon for the new shortsword.”

“He'll have to come back later. Do it, now!”

There was a moment's hesitation in her voice, but she hurried to comply.

“Yes, darling.”

Wooden slats echoed as we sealed up the smithy and our home like the steelhusk-reinforced mini fortress it was. Ma and I hurried back to Pa's side. My heart was beating just as hard as it had been when I first faced off with the monster. Just what the hell had he found in there?

“What is it?” I asked.

“Watch,” he said simply.

He turned back to the spider and extended the cut. I tried to lean in for a better look, but Ma held me back.

There was a wet squelch as Pa reached in with both hands this time. When he pulled them out, my legs nearly gave way.

“Is that—”

“Yes, son. It is.”

“But—how? What does this mean?”

Pa's eyes narrowed in the forge light.

“It means we’re either free of debt, or in a shitstorm of trouble.”