After Dirk killed the first fire skink, the group continued walking. This time, they were quite a bit slower, their eyes warily staring at bushes that skinks could be hiding behind.
However, around 10 minutes after their first kill, they encountered another skink. As they walked across the desert with their weapons drawn, a pair of eyes gazed at them from within a large hole. The head was quick to sink back down though, not exposing itself and waiting for the right time to strike.
Dirk was constantly scanning around, his AI sending him any important updates like recent track marks and such. He knew that a skink could come from anywhere, and he was actually most worried about all the fox holes. He couldn't see into these until he was close, so it would be close calls.
Unfortunately, such an event was unavoidable. As the group got closer, the skink primed itself to fight. Its body heat up and prepared its fire spit. However, this was a slight giveaway.
[Abnormal heat fluctuations detected]
Dirk's AI gave him an alert, and his head snapped to the heat source. However, Alec was the closest one to it. He also seemed to feel something odd as he looked down.
"Enemy in the hole!"
Dirk shouted, but it was too late. Alec's head barely turned to see a bright tongue of flame streaming toward him. He instinctively raised his arms.
"Agh!"
Alec yelled as the heat crashed into him, igniting his armor. He was like Dirk and also covered from head to toe. This naturally made him very safe against all forms of attack. However, his face wasn't covered, and flames slipped through his defenses.
The flames covered his front side, and the skink wasted no time in charging. It launched out of the hole and jumped at Alec. Its claws grabbed at his armor and its weight threw the disoriented boy off balance. They went tumbling to the ground as the skink madly slashed at his body, its nails attempting to rip at the tough leather.
Alec panicked under the sudden bombardment. He covered his face as he tried kicking off the skink, even throwing some punches to get it off and do damage. But his strength was limited, and the skink just stayed on top of him.
Luckily, he had someone reliable on his team. There was a sudden stop to the skink's attacks as it raised its head. In front of it was Dirk with his hatchet, and it had no time to react before the blade came slashing down.
*Splat!*
The hand axe buried itself into the skink's head. Its body instantly went limp on top of Alec, and Dirk kicked the skink corpse off of him. Alec looked up at his savior, sighing in relief.
"I may have to start counting the number of times I owe you for saving me."
He spoke with a smile, climbing back to his feet. He didn't find it amusing, but he was beginning to get used to the sudden attacks and Dirk saving him.
Dirk just smirked before harvesting the skink, plucking out another red marble. As he did so, Alec activated some of his light magic. He had high fire resistance as a fire attribute mage, so the fire the skink spit out didn't do too much besides singe some of the hair on his eyebrows and skin on his cheek. Besides the hair, there was nothing he couldn't heal. As for his armor, it held strong, worthy of the large sum of money his parents had spent on it.
Dirk tossed the fire mana crystal to Garet after plucking it, and the group began their walk again.
Unfortunately, their encounters only increased. They came across a few more single skinks, Dirk usually spotting them and taking preemptive action. There was only one that caught them by surprise, and it was actually Ava who fell victim to the ambush.
However, she was able to handle it better than Alec. Her martial arts training kicked in as the skink jumped on her, and she was able to kick the skink away before wielding her axe and chopping it. It took her three chops to kill it, and this actually resulted in the skink being separated into two halves. Everyone backed away as pools of blood flowed. All except for Dirk who harvested like he always did.
After that, they began to encounter groups. Dungeons always got more difficult as one went deeper, and this was shown in two ways. The first was an increased amount of enemies. The second was the higher strength of the monster.
Most people would have to take things slowly. They would skirt around the edges of a monster territory, only seeking out single monsters. Then, they would slowly work their way in toward groups of two. If they encountered a group of three, they would back out.
But Dirk's group wasn't most people. Himself, Ava, and Alec were at the top of their class, and this class was within the academy. It was a school that regularly produced strong mages and warriors, and even the younger teens would be able to match the majority of adults in pure strength. This was because if one didn't come from the academy, it was unlikely that they had real talent.
So young teens of the academy often pushed forward, doing their best to kill as many monsters as possible. They would only continue to grow as they killed more, so they didn't hesitate to. Plus, they desired money, so they were driven to complete jobs regularly.
Dirk's group wasn't necessarily like this. Alec was cautious, as were Garet and Casma. These three were constantly worried about getting into a situation that would end badly. However, Dirk and Ava weren't worried. Despite them being mad at each other, Ava knew just how powerful Dirk was. She didn't have the slightest worry that they wouldn't leave this dungeon alive. Dirk had also shown Alec just how capable he was, so this encouraged him. He didn't mind taking the risk since he knew that Dirk would likely handle anything that went out of control. He did this perfectly in the gremlin dungeon.
So the group continued forward, their only concern whether or not they were going to make it to the next haven before sundown.
However, despite their relative ease, Dirk was the one who was most concerned. If they encountered more groups, or bigger groups, he may not be able to protect everyone. He could kill quickly, but in the time that he was distracted, those skinks could set others ablaze. They merely had to spit once, and things could get nasty. This was especially so for Garet and Casma. They were the weakest links, something that caused Dirk's mood to worsen throughout the hours of hiking.
Dirk had the urge to remove these group members of his seeing as how they never stepped forward to kill anything. He had the strong desire to be alone, or at least rid himself of these incompetent people. Even if it meant carrying a bag, he was willing to do it if it meant he could move quickly and efficiently. He felt slight anger arise within him whenever Casma complained about her feet or when Garet complained about his sweat-soaked clothes. He almost wanted to put them in front to fight the skinks, just so they would finally contribute to this expedition.
But he didn't. He just stayed silent as they continued to traverse this unforgivable wasteland. And upon finally encountering a group of four skinks, Dirk decided to vent his anger.
"Hah!"
After spotting a skink, Dirk violently equipped his hatchet and charged. Alec and Ava did the same, each diving on a skink. After fighting enough, they had come to learn that taking the fight to the skink was the best way to stay safe.
Dirk raised his arm, throwing the hatchet at the skink. The hatchet spun toward it, the blade landing on its body. The skink screamed in pain and spit fire, but Dirk had learned a new way to protect himself.
Raising his hand, a shield of stone suddenly manifested in front of him. This disk blocked all the flame, the surface being damaged. After the fire dissipated though, Dirk tossed it away, continuing his charge.
Seeing him charge, the skink rushed to meet him. It ran over with the axe in its body, raising its claws to slash Dirk. However, he didn't back away as he clenched his fist. Anima flooded his body and strengthened his muscles, and he punched out with unstoppable force.
*Crunch!*
The fist landed on the skink's skull, instantly caving it in. Blood splashed as the skink flattened against the floor. Against a Tier 3 skink, Dirk's Rank 3 strength was more than enough to instantly kill it barehanded.
Stolen story; please report.
Dirk's body then swung around, facing the others. Alec and Ava were brought into their own battles. Ava had developed her own trick where she would toss a water ball into the mouth of the skink, both blocking its fire and damaging it with the subsequent explosion. Alec though came up with a more brutish method where he would literally fight fire with fire. The flames of his and the skink's would clash, his usually winning and slightly burning the skin of the skink. He would then go in with his sword, slashing it until it died.
Of course, Garet and Casma stood to the side, Garet protecting the bags and Casma staying out of the way. However, with four skinks, they were now in danger.
The fourth skink went around, facing its unoccupied prey. Casma and Garet backed away but couldn't outrun the skink. The skink charged them, opening its mouth to fire.
Luckily, Casma had at least learned from those in front of her. Summoning 5 water balls, she flung them all toward the skink. The skink screamed as one of the balls was hurled into its mouth, exploding. The others also exploded around it, dealing damage.
But it didn't kill it. Enraged, the skink shook off the building pain and charged them again. This time, it lunged at them with its claws. Casma panicked. She knew that if she got scratched, it would leave large wounds. She feared the pain and cowered away, stumbling backwards.
The next moment though, a leg came swinging in front of her. The skink that was lunging toward her was slammed away, its body flying for 30 meters and tumbling 10 more. Casma looked at Dirk who had punted the skink, sighing in relief.
Dirk didn't spare her a look as he glared at the skink he kicked. It now had a giant dent in its skull and lay limp on the ground. He likely shattered all the bones in its head. He could even feel the crunch on his leg as he kicked. Nodding, he turned his attention to the others.
Luckily, he wouldn't have to expend more energy. Ava quickly chopped her skink into pieces while Alec planted his sword in the skink's body, killing it. They steadied themselves with blood splattered across their legs. Dirk sighed as they finished, proceeding to harvest the mana crystals.
"Sheesh. That was close."
Garet sighed as the others settled down. Alec nodded in agreement, but Dirk let out a slight huff.
Dirk plucked out the mana crystals from the four skinks. Walking over to Garet, he didn't bother handing it to him as he snatched the bag and dropped in the crystals himself. Now, they had gathered about 18.
The next moment, Dirk looked at the sun. It had been several hours since they started the day, already well past noon. In a few more hours, the sun would set.
Dirk spoke as he tossed the bag back to Garet.
"We're a bit over halfway to the haven, but we only have around 4 hours until sunset. And going at the rate we are, we will need at least a week to gather enough crystals."
"We're only halfway? Seriously?"
Garet blurted out at Dirk's assessment. Hearing this complaint, Dirk only turned to the boy. Garet saw those almost apathetic eyes and shrunk back a bit. He wasn't sure, but over time, he had realized that Dirk might not be totally happy with his presence. He wisely decided to go quiet.
Seeing this, Dirk turned away. Garet and Casma were the reasons they were moving slower. He got annoyed at them who kept complaining when they had no right to.
Alec spoke up.
"Should we turn back?"
"We're already halfway. The only reason we should is if you all can't handle fighting in the night."
"I don't think we can."
Alec sighed.
"Not only will we have to fight at night, but the monsters are getting more plentiful and stronger. We can handle a couple at night, but not that many. I think we should go back."
"Then let's get going."
As if he didn't care, Dirk turned and started walking. He agreed with Alec, but only in that they couldn't handle it. He was almost certain Garet and Casma would come out of the night burned to a crisp.
As the sun started going down, the skinks retreated into their dens. This meant that the group came across fewer skinks as they walked back the way they came. However, the ones they did come across almost always came out of a fox hole, making it a rather thrilling hike full of surprises.
Under Dirk's watch though, nobody got hurt. The only thing they had to deal with was the rapidly dropping temperatures after the sun went down. They had to walk in this frigid cold for a few hours before finally reaching the haven. The group was quick to pitch their tents and cuddle under their blankets upon entering the stone fortress, heading fast to sleep.
.........
The next morning, the group woke up a bit later than usual. This marked their third day inside the dungeon, and in total the fifth day since they left the capital city.
After going through their morning routine, the group left the haven and began their normal hike deep into skink territory. Because of the direction they took that headed straight for the deepest haven, they almost never encountered other groups as very few intended to head there. And if they did, there was usually a tacit agreement to just maintain distance, the two parties keeping their separate paths.
This allowed them to fight more skinks. However, on this day, they found fewer skinks than usual. It wasn't much less, but by the time they reach halfway into the day, they had only collected 6 mana crystals.
Alec didn't really notice this fact though. He continued to lead the group into skink territory until they reached the time to make a decision. With Dirk as his clock, he realized that they were in the same dilemma as last time. They could try to push to the farthest haven, but that meant they would fight at night. While he had learned that the skinks retreated into their fox holes at night, he knew this was actually more dangerous than normal. Their previous night had been one of several ambushes, and it wouldn't have gone as well if they were to have pushed forward.
Knowing this, he decided that it was best if they just didn't try to go to the farthest haven and turned around. The group was okay with his reasoning and followed. Dirk also didn't particularly care. They retreated all the way back to the haven, gaining another 6 mana crystals for a grand total of 12 that day. However, come the next day, Dirk began to notice something.
On the fourth day, the group headed out like normal. They hiked through the dry desert dirt and bushes, fighting any skinks they came across. Alec then turned around at the halfway point and retreated, heading back to the haven where the group rested for the night. However, come the day's end, Dirk counted the crystals they had collected. The amount was 10, 2 less than the day before.
The fifth day, Dirk counted the crystals at night again, coming up with 9.
The amount they gained per day was decreasing. This was half of what they had gotten on the second day. They now had 49 crystals, and needed 91 more. At a pace of 9 a day, they would need 10 days, and this was if the amount per day didn't continue to decline.
Dirk waited to bring this up, going into the next day to see if things would get worse. And sure enough, when the sixth day came to a close, Dirk counted only 7 crystals. The skinks were declining in population, obviously due to them.
Finally, Dirk brought this up to Alec. Alec had also started to notice. Only encountering 7 skinks through the entire day was alarming. And upon discussing it, he grew even more concerned.
"We need to change things up."
Alec spoke. Right now, he and the group were gathered around their tents, eating rations. These rations were in fact some of their last ones. They would run out the day after tomorrow, forcing them to resort to eating skink meat. They pushed this concern to the back of their mind though as they listened in to Alec.
"The number of mana crystals we're getting decreases by the day. If this keeps up, we won't be able to reach 140 fast enough. I had originally planned for around 20 days, but I don't think any of us want to drag this out that long. So, if we want to move quicker we need to change what we're doing. We have two options."
Alec put up two fingers.
"We can either search around other areas of the dungeon, or we can go deeper. However, I don't know if the first option is that viable."
"Why not?"
Garet questioned, prompting Alec to speak in a low voice.
"The other groups. They have their own areas that they hunt in every day. We've claimed our own area too. If we start searching around, we'll be taking their kills. I was taught about these kinds of things, and I'm starting to realize that there are unwritten rules in dungeons. If we want to keep away from conflict, we can't encroach on other people's hunting zones."
Alec spoke from the inferences he had collected over the past several days. Hearing him, Dirk thought about it and nodded. There were 4 other groups besides them in the haven, totaling five. They always ventured off in the direction of the farthest haven, while the others walked in their own directions. This formed zones where the groups would stick to, ensuring that they could all get kills and crystals. They had luckily stuck to their routine path, otherwise they may have gotten into a fight with another group.
But this posed a problem. Their own zone was dwindling in skink numbers. After all, they killed every one they came across. They needed a way to make up for this. With the other groups there, their only option now was to go deeper.
"So we need to go to the deepest haven."
Ava spoke as the group made this conclusion. Alec nodded.
"It's our only option, unless we want to fight people. But going to the deepest haven won't be easy. Unless we pick up our pace, we won't get there before the sun sets. This means we'll have to fight a good amount of skinks in the night. Those skinks are stronger and more plentiful than the ones around here. I'm honestly not sure how well we can handle it."
Alec went quiet. The group lowered their heads in contemplation. It was a risk, and they had to decide if they were going to take it. For the sake of completing their job faster, did they want to take on this challenge?
Dirk looked around at everyone's pondering faces. If it were him, he would have been there already. But with the two pieces of baggage known as Garet and Casma, they were being held back. He figured they wouldn't want to take the risk since they had the highest chances of getting hurt. However, what they said surprised him.
"I think we should go."
Garet spoke up first with a smile.
"I'm tired of this heat, so if we can complete this job faster, we should."
"Mm. I'm with him."
Casma nodded, feeling the same way as Garet. She was building up fatigue everyday, pushing her legs to their limits just to keep up with the group. She didn't want to stay here for a day longer. Plus, in the dungeon, while they had water, they weren't exactly able to shower or clean up much. Nobody was feeling clean or comfortable. It was a miracle they had stayed inside for as long as they did.
"Very well then. Our next goal is the deepest haven. However, I think we should exit the dungeon first. We're running out of rations, and we could use a day of rest to make sure we're in top shape."
"Yes! I like that idea."
Garet cheered at Alec's suggestion. Ava and Casma also nodded. They wouldn't mind taking a day or two off at all.
With that, the decision was made. The group left the haven the next morning, making their way out of the dungeon and back to civilization.