Ethan gently moved his injured arm and cursed under his breath as he felt something move in his swelled forearm.

Yeah, I’m going to need some help for this or it might take a while to heal.

But, before he could go get some healing, he had to pick a reward, so Ethan focused back on the list of magical items he was offered.

Shardpurse is a way to hold the fragments outside of the wand. Maybe it’s so they could be used as currency?

Even if that were the case, Ethan needed to invest in his own wand first before he thought of hoarding fragments to sell or exchange for stuff. As for the soulbound term, he had no clue what that meant, but considering he was probably not picking this option, the answer to that question could wait.

Next, Ethan moved his attention to the second option; the robes. It was a way for him to not be reduced to his underwear before the day was out. A useful and functional choice, but clothes felt like a luxury right now, and the magical item token would be wasted if he only got something cosmetic out of it.

Maybe I could borrow a t-shirt from whoever tries to start trouble, though.

The third item was the dimensional pouch and Ethan couldn’t help but think it might be the most valuable. If not the pouch, then it would have to be the dagger.

The problem is, what happens if I get spellcores I don’t want? They might be worth something. And what about these primagems? Are they something I can use right away? Because otherwise, if I need to carry them around, they might not fit in my pocket. I might lose them.

Ethan hummed. Both options were tempting, but considering he’d already seen a trait to increase the chances of spellcore drops, the dagger might not be so rare. As for his argument about spell storage space, it might take a lot of spells for the clutter to become a real issue, while in the meantime, he could find himself a lot of useful spells. And what if these primagems were valuable? What if they had something to do with Prime wands? What if it helped with recovering Essence?

Ethan adjusted his seating position and grimaced at the pulsing pain coming from his arm. The flames were keeping most of it at bay, but the bone needed to be set.

It was between the dagger and the pouch, though Ethan had an inkling Ember would love the fire primagem. It might be even useful to him, though that sounded like a risky leap of faith for now. He had to know more about what they were first, which brought him back to the two options; dagger or pouch.

I’m probably making excuses, but maybe the low-grade part means the dagger might not last that long? Then again, both pouch and dagger are low grade.

Ethan could see pros and cons in both options, but even though he really didn’t want to have his pockets full of beads, it would be dumb to pass on the dagger, even if it might create some clutter. He hoped it would be possible to get rid of some spells if he never intended to use them or if he ran out of space somehow, as a quick look through his spell list didn’t offer him an option for such, so he might be stuck with every spell he assimilated.

I could find some other way of carrying my stuff. Someone’s bound to have a backpack they’re willing to exchange for something.

As he thought it through, he started to lean toward the Harvester’s Dagger, but there was still one last con; the dagger itself.

How was he supposed to use it? Was carrying it alone enough to trigger the magical effect? That would be ideal, as he had no place for a dagger in his fighting style. Even his claws were longer, while the lance was a much better weapon.

Maybe I just need the last blow to be done with the dagger? Or maybe I just need to tag a monster once to apply the magic?

Ethan will have to test that out, but the possibility of acquiring more resources to power-up was too much to dismiss, so he selected the Harvester’s dagger.

A whitish glow of light materialized in front of him, and out of the light, a small sheathed dagger came tumbling down.

Ethan grabbed with his left hand, then took a second to examine it after he unsheathed it with his thumb. The dagger was sleek, with a straight double-edged blade that had odd symbols engraved along its length. The dagger’s blade came to a fine point, and it had a simple yet elegant wooden handle.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

At least there’s a belt loop on the side.

Ethan got up and painstakingly set the dagger and its sheath in place on his hip, then took a second to check his Prime wand’s screen one more time. It was still at 1 Essence.

This might be a problem.

***

Ethan stepped over the edge and into the light once more and came face to face with a glowing blue bolt loaded on a familiar crossbow.

“Oh! Sorry,” Liz said as she lowered her weapon. She was panting as she dismissed her weapon. In fact, both she, Gerald, and Audrey seemed to be catching their breath.

They were also soaked.

“Stupid lizards,” said Gerald after a bit as he flicked water off of his short black and gray hair. “There’s more and more of them.”

A few yards behind the group, Ethan made out a couple of dead water monitors. Much smaller than the ones he just had to deal with, but it still made him frown, because past them, he could see a handful of other dead lizards, some of which had their tails missing.

Didn’t think there were that many of them…

When he’d gotten down to the mushroom forest after passing the camp, it had taken him hours to meet any of the reptiles. Sure, he’d been a bit stealthy and stayed on the sides, but he felt he should have seen at least a one or two if they’d been this common. Were they coming from somewhere?

“What happened to your arm?”

Ethan glanced back at the mechanic. She was leaning a bit forward to get a better look through the flames, eyebrows knitted, but before he could respond, Audrey sucked the air between her teeth. She stepped around the tower shield she’d been leaning on and peered at his arm. “That looks broken,” she said, then looked up, frowning. “Is it that bad down there?”

Ethan was a bit surprised at their concern. Even Gerald had gotten close and asked him if he needed anything.

Their attention was both heartwarming and uncomfortable. Ethan glanced at the cave he came from and nodded. “It’s intense, yes. Lizardlings above twenty. Two monitors, one of which was above forty, and plenty more I haven’t gotten the chance to see yet. Both fights happened right outside of the tunnel’s exit.”

Liz paled, while Gerald just cursed under his breath. Audrey stared in the distance, eyes thoughtful, then took a deep breath before she looked back at Ethan. “Good to know. For the arm, Amelie can probably help. She’s over there, bothering your cat.”

Before Ethan could turn and find the elemental and as Liz and Gerald stepped away to have a seat, Audrey spoke again, but this time, she kept her voice low. “Is it… safe? The cat?”

It took Ethan a second to realize what she was talking about. He glanced back and saw the cat arching its back as Amelie tentatively scratched behind its neck for a short, peaceful moment, right before the cat snapped out of its enjoyment and swiped at the girl. “I asked Ember to keep an eye on you guys. She agreed. I think she plays hard to get, but I don’t think she’d hurt you guys. Well… not seriously,” he added as Amelie pointed her wand at her own hand.

Probably got scratched.

Ethan turned back to the tall woman and found her staring into his eyes. “I don’t want my sister to get hurt. If you think the cat is dangerous, please take it away.”

Straight to the point.

Ethan nodded. “Alright.”

With that, Audrey went back to the others, while Ethan stared at her back for a moment. Maybe it had been a bit irresponsible for him to leave such a powerful being with them. Then again, he mostly did it to keep them safe.

He didn’t really take her request as an insult though, as the point was fair, but if they were worried about the cat being a danger to them, then yeah, he should take it away with him.

Ethan turned to see Amelie on the other side of the clearing, cradling a very annoyed but still surprisingly placid cat. The elemental’s eyes met his own for a second before Ethan heard Ember’s voice into his mind.“[Tell your pack-mate to unhand me.]”

Ethan began walking toward them.

Was she actually dangerous? The elemental really seemed to be behaving like a regular capricious house cat. He’d seen her vaporize a level 30 lizardling, sure. But no one had been seriously hurt so far, and Ember was most certainly pulling her punches, no matter how annoyed she seemed.

Still, it was surprising how Amelie had managed to catch the cat. You’d think with her levels and flames she’d be impossible to get a hold of, but it seemed like the cat might not mind the attention that much.

“Ember asks to be let go,” he said, startling the young woman. She blinked, then smiled sheepishly.

Ethan gestured to his arm and turned off the flame to reveal a still swollen black and blue forearm. “Also, do you mind taking a look at my arm? It doesn’t seem to be healing well.”

Amelie was still processing the first thing he had, and her smile slowly turned to shock. “She? She speaks?! Why didn’t you tell us before?”

The woman completely ignored his limp arm as she stared at the cat that was trying to shimmy itself out of her grip, mouth open. Ethan rubbed the back of his neck. “Yes. She’s uh… like us.”

“Why didn’t you—ouch! Shit!”

The cat, out of patience, flared some flames out of its back, which both surprised the girl and burnt off some of her hair. She tamped out her smoking locks as the cat quickly climbed up a nearby tree, and when Amelie looked back up, Ethan noticed some of her left eyebrow was missing.

He kept his expression flat. No matter how funny she looked, he probably shouldn’t smile, but this was yet another reminder; the feline elemental was still a cat. She could have done a lot more damage, but she didn’t.

Ethan coughed into his arm while smoke wafted off the young woman’s hair. “So … Can you help me out?”