As soon as the sun began to wane, I went to the marshal. I didn't go empty-handed - I brought a basket full of snacks. Ender appreciated my thoughtfulness and lamented once again that the locals wouldn't have done the same.
Despite the fact that I liked the sheriff and we found common ground, I was drinking with him to pursue my own goals, not for entertainment or leisure.
The quester, giving us the task, did not lie when he said it was very easy. To gain seven achievements in seven days is really not difficult. Go to sea on a ship for half a day, and you'll earn the "Seafarer" achievement of the first rank. Get thrown in jail, and that's also an achievement, even if a negative one. Yet the quester didn't limit us to only positive ones. However, not all achievements are equal, and the higher quality they are, the faster your Core levels up and the denser the energy that flows through it. Therefore, after learning the details about the local dungeons and Unudo's tunnellers, I came up with a plan for the near future.
As I poured beer for the sheriff, I hinted that it would be great if he could introduce me to the local tunnellers. After the fourth mug, Ender finally realized what I needed. He laughed and asked me to be straightforward in the future rather than beating around the bush. In the end, we moved to the tavern, and the sheriff introduced me to Lao Fan, the leader of the island of Un's tunnellers.
Already not a young man, just over thirty, Lao Fan looked like a person content with life. Content, despite the fact that, having reached his thirties, he still hadn't risen above the copper rank. He didn't need more. The island's dungeons were also copper-tier, and if a tunneller advanced to iron or higher, they would become inaccessible to him. Lao Fan came from a line of tunnellers; even his great-grandfather chose this "profession." The man was very proud of this fact and looked down on his colleagues.
On the island of Un, only six tunnellers were working. And the town didn't need any more. This group easily cleared the profitable dungeons, and they didn't want to recruit more people. Because the more people, the smaller the share of profit for each in the end. Such a situation, where there are exactly as many tunnellers in a settlement as needed to clear the nearby dungeons and not a single person more, is not uncommon on Ain, but rather the rule.
The problem of the Monkey's Lair, as they called the third-circle nend dungeon here, was solved through a contract with a neighboring island. According to it, once a month, neighboring tunnellers arrived at Un and helped to Reset the Lair. They did so, of course, not for free. But such a contract was much more beneficial for the locals than constantly employing a full group of twelve tunnellers in town.
However, this time there was a small hitch in the agreement. Five days ago, the neighboring tunnellers got into a quarrel with the sailors of a merchant ship. And that was a mistake on their end, as the ship's captain turned out to be a mage of the wootz rank, and he put a scabies spell on the tunnellers, which lasted two weeks. "To watch their tongues," he said at farewell when his ship left. And since there were no healers of wootz rank or higher on the nearby islands, they had to suffer the full curse. Due to magical scabies, the fighters were temporarily incapacitated, as they couldn't even properly hold swords in their hands because everything was itching. This story was an absolute hit among local gossips. Despite the fact that the neighbors were supposed to be allies, their humiliating situation caused bouts of uncontrollable laughter among the locals.
But laughter aside, the Monkey's Lair hadn't been cleared for three and a half weeks, and if it wasn't Reset, Overflow would happen in four days. Although, this didn't bother the locals much.
"Overflow?" Ender cheerfully said, taking a big gulp. "Don't worry, Raven, it's not a problem. I'll finally get a good workout and also check what Tuan has learned. If the Lair was at least of Bronze rank, then we would be alarmed and seek help, but it's copper." With a drunken gesture, he visualized his Core. "Steel and Bronze! What are copper monsters to me, even their Monkey King? Just a warm-up, nothing more."
In principle, he was right, but I still tried to persuade Lao Fan not to let the Lair reach Overflow and to take our group for help and Reset the dungeon with our own forces. Alas, no matter how I tried to persuade him, no matter what arguments I gave, no matter how much I plied him with drinks, I still got a refusal. And one can understand the leader of the local tunnellers - going into a difficult dungeon with people you never worked with before is an unjustified risk.
But I managed to convince him to take us to clear the Salt and Silk dungeons. I succeeded because I promised our help practically for free, and Lao Fan couldn't pass up such a "freebie." A freebie - because the more hands, the more resources can be taken out of the dungeon.
It is common practice on Ain for six tunnellers to enter the dungeons, taking six local residents with them, who are left at the entrance during the clearing. And when all the monsters are eliminated, the tunnellers use these people like pack mules, loading them with the resources they've gathered. This was also practiced on Un. But the local helpers had to be paid or given a share, while we only asked to pay for our stay at the tavern. And considering that I spun the tale that we were fighters, not a burden or ballast, it wasn't hard to convince them to take us to clear two dungeons.
Five achievements – that's really easy. They can be obtained by participating in the clearing of just one dungeon. These achievements will be "First Cleared Dungeon," "First Cleared Copper Rank Dungeon," "Completion of Salt Dungeon on Un Island" – this is the minimum that each of us will get even for one dungeon. And if you kill someone during the clearing, you will get another one for the first killed monster of a certain kind. In total, that's five, and adding two more is easier than easy. Ultimately, the quester's task is simply completed in the first dungeon. Moreover, if you try hard, you can "bring out" more than a dozen achievements from the first run. And not trash achievements, but quite weighty ones, written in the ink of your rank or even higher.
The Salt Cave refresh was in three days, and the Spider Dungeon refreshed the day after the Salt Cave. We had time to go through both before the deadline set by the quester, and this was good because, as they say, "extra stock is not a burden." As for the Monkey's Lair, my powers of persuasion weren't enough to change the situation. On the mainland, obsidian was valued, but in the archipelago, this material was considered cheap and only suitable for inexpensive ornaments. According to Lao Fan, the risk wasn't worth it. And the locals weren't afraid of a copper-rank dungeon Overflowing. This, incidentally, is quite logical because even without Ender and his men, a town of seven hundred residents could easily fend off such an attack without losses.
When I was falling asleep in my bed after the heavy drinking, pleased with the agreements we had reached, Flavius nudged me:
"Raven."
"What do you want? Let me sleep!" I snapped.
"Did you understand what that Overflow thing they were talking about is?"
"Yeah," I answered monosyllabically, closing my eyes.
"Explain! I don't get it."
Realizing that he wouldn't leave me alone and wouldn't wait until tomorrow, I opened my eyes:
"Dungeons refresh once a week."
"I got that," the blond guy nodded.
"If you don't clear the dungeons, or as the locals say, don't reset them for four weeks in a row, then Overflow happens."
"Raven, that's not what I asked!"
"When a dungeon reaches Overflow, it spews out into the surrounding world the monsters that inhabit it."
"Spews out?"
"Yeah, like I'm about to spew what I drank on you if you don't let me sleep!" I snapped and turned towards the wall.
This threat worked, and Flavius left me alone.
The morning would have been very tough for me since I went over my limit last night, but thanks to Ilona and a dozen of her Minor Healing spells, I felt quite alright by the end of breakfast.
Like yesterday morning, we took breakfast with us and went to the familiar hillside with a great sea view. After eating, we discussed what each of us had found out.
"Raven, how could you agree that we would all go to the local dungeons without asking the others?" Ilona pounced on me, giving her voice an exaggerated sternness.
"Actually, he did ask," Flavius defended me. "But you were too busy making eyes at that handsome dark-haired guy, who seemed to be an apprentice to an engraver. You were way too busy to hear what Raven was saying."
"Me?!!" The novice healer feigned surprise.
"No, me!" Miranda rolled her eyes. "Of course you, we are not blind."
"I didn't do anything like that..." The healer whispered, hiding her gaze and pretending to be busy cleaning up the picnic area.
"But Ilona is right about one thing, we should have discussed the details and conditions under which we would go to the dungeons," Miranda said, with her arms crossed over her chest.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
"Agree in advance on what we accept and what we don't?" I smirked. "Right? That would be possible if I were sure they would even agree to take us with them, let alone on any conditions. Do you think it was easy to persuade Lao Fan?"
"What's there to persuade?" The future sorceress shrugged her shoulders. "Just keep pouring and drinking."
"Really? Have you tried the local beer?" I asked slyly.
"No. But it doesn't matter!" She confidently replied.
"Really? Is that so?" I started to boil. "Well, let me tell you, the local beer could compete with donkey urine in taste. And if you think I didn't do a good job, then go ahead, drink with the locals yourself!"
"But I don't drink beer! And wine here is very expensive!" Miranda stated as if it was a valid argument.
"Girls, are you serious?!" Flavius stood up and asked. "We are incredibly lucky that Raven found common ground with the local sheriff. Don't you realize that? If it weren't for Raven, we wouldn't know half of what we know now. I don't know what we would have done during our first encounter with the locals. But! Instead of saying thank you, you are lecturing him. Is there something else you're not happy about?" He gestured towards the town. "If you're not satisfied, go ahead, do it better yourselves!"
"But agreeing to be unpaid assistants is going too far," Ilona countered.
"Not entirely unpaid. They will cover our accommodation for these days," I clarified.
"And don't forget," Flavius raised his voice. "We have five days left until the deadline set by the quester. What's more important to you, earning a few silver coins or getting achievements in the allotted time?"
"And by the way, I'm not forcing anyone to go to the dungeons," I shrugged and began to help Ilona clean up. "If you don't want to go, don't."
This simple argument took the ground for arguing from under the girls' feet, and they quieted down.
If the questers hadn't stranded us on the archipelago, I would probably have left our spontaneous group on the second day and continued alone. Even considering that the next task would be easier to accomplish in a group, if my memory of the future does not deceive me. Although there are benefits in the current situation. My three companions are intelligent and largely reasonable people, despite their sometimes rowdy behavior. The more people like them that survive the toughest initial stages, the easier it will be for everyone later on. I am helping them with this now, so my time isn't being wasted. Besides, the next ship heading for the mainland won't dock at Unudo harbor for at least a week.
But the longer I observe Flavius, Miranda, and Ilona, the clearer it becomes that they will soon hold me back. Not because they are bad companions but because I need not just walk forward - I need to run. Fly through the Coils of the Spiral of the Great Path as fast as I can. So that during the Invasion, I won't become almost useless baggage again, but instead, I can make a difference standing shoulder to shoulder with the Shards! Yes, I understand that catching up with the future Gods is probably impossible. Such a feat is beyond even a man who knows the future. But this race is all I have left. All other options will lead to my inglorious demise. To a death without meaning or benefit.
And it's not just about my demise - the demons will kill everyone. All the help I'm giving Flavius and the girls now is trivial and almost inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. The fact that I helped Lan Lin is almost nothing, and it will only postpone her death by at most a year and a half. I need to achieve not just something more than my past self did; that's not enough. Even if I become the best fighter of the highest, mithril, rank in all of Ain in this Cycle, it still won't be enough! I need to step beyond what is considered possible. Beyond what even I consider possible. And although I may not conquer the Stairway of Ascension and become a God... in the myths of Earth and Ain, there are mentions of true heroes, those who, without being deities, was almost equal to the Gods. Heracles and Perseus on Earth, Jegur and Evelan on Ain. Yes, each of them was the son of a god, which I am not, but I have memories of the future, and that is not little at all!
The simple thought that if I genuinely want to make a difference, I need not just to make an effort but really push myself to the limit, grit my teeth, and move forward and only forward, threw me off track. So much so that I brazenly went to the sheriff, reclaimed my spear, and returned to the hillside to train. Interestingly, Ender didn't say a word about it, he just nodded understandingly, and that was all. But an hour later, he himself showed up and watched my training closely. However, I didn't object, as I started with the basics and "recalled" primary complexes and katas.
Yes, I "remembered" a lot, but that means almost nothing without practice. It's not enough to know how to strike. Your body, your muscles, your reflexes need to get used to hitting correctly. And only then will your blow be truly powerful, precise, and deadly. The memory of the future did not bring me experience and combat skills, so I'll have to master everything anew.
Yes, I knew what to do and how, but I forgot that this knowledge is worthless without practice and skills ingrained at the reflex level. If, at the beginning of my training, Ender didn't hide a condescending smile, sometimes even commenting on my particularly silly moves, then after three hours, he was just clicking his tongue approvingly.
I'm watching the sheriff out of the corner of my eye, and a plan is brewing in my head. The plan is almost crazy, but if successful, it promises a great deal. Following it is dangerous, but if I want to truly stand on par with the true heroes of the past, I will have to constantly walk on a razor's edge. Push the boundaries of what's possible or perish trying. Because if I just develop a little faster than in the last cycle, it won't change anything on a grand scale, and like everyone else, I will still be devoured by demons in a year and a half.
Gathering my courage, having completed the fortieth exercise complex, I turned to the sheriff:
"Tell me what you know about Monkey's Lair," I said.
"Why do you need it?" he asked.
"Is it so difficult for you?" I replied with a question to his question. "You are just sitting around doing nothing. Is it too much trouble?"
"Ha! How unaccustomed I am to such audacity!" Ender laughed. "Around here, they'll lick you from head to toe, smother you with flattery and honeyed words, and only then will they dare to ask for something."
"If you don't want to, then forget it." I shrugged, raising my yari back into a defensive position.
"I'm not refusing," Ender said as he took out a wineskin with beer and took a deep swig. "I won't offer you any. Training is sacred! But I will tell you about the Lair. I haven't been there myself, my rank is too high, but I'll share what I know. It's not my secret." The sheriff laughed and took another drink from the wineskin.
After half an hour, I knew everything I needed and even a little more. Ender's badge of the Tunnellers' Guild hanging around his neck wasn't in vain. His comments and stories were highly informative.
"You are not planning to do something foolish, are you?" The sheriff asked as I finished my training and we were heading toward the town.
"Foolish?" I was surprised.
"Don't take your group to the Lair," Ender shook his head. "It's a foolish idea. Trust my experience - you won't come back. Nends are a tough opponent, even for an experienced tunneller. You are all greenhorns. You, maybe not so much, but the others in your group, I can see they are dead weight. They don't know anything!"
"They learn fast. Really fast!" I defended my companions.
"Let them learn! Go to the Salt and Spiders' ones; I don't mind!" The sheriff crossed his arms over his chest. "But don't mess with the nends." He clicked his tongue and grimaced. "Listen, I like you guys. If some local said they were going to face the Monkey King with just four people, I wouldn't even try to talk them out of it. Fools are meant to find their graves."
"But you are trying to talk me out of it," I couldn't hide my smile.
"You guys are different, almost like my own kin," Ender muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Alright, I promise. I won't drag anyone into the Lair."
"Then why were you asking me about it?" The sheriff stopped in his tracks.
"I was gathering experience. The locals look down on us and are unlikely to share even the information about where the nearest stream is."
"You're wrong about that. The people here are decent," the sheriff sighed heavily, "you just need to get used to them."
"Get used to them? I'll try," I didn't argue.
"And give back your spear. We're already in the town."
"What if I want to train again?"
"Come and get it," he added, "under my supervision. Tell the others the same."
"You didn't believe me?" I smirked.
"You're young, reckless. You want everything at once. I was the same..." he sighed heavily, and his face darkened, "and there was no one to stop my first group."
"And?" I leaned in, wanting to hear the rest of the story.
"Don't 'and' at me!" Ender growled angrily in response. "You're not old enough for 'anding'!"
"How about tonight, at your place?" I tried to change the subject.
"I'll be busy," the sheriff curtly replied, and without saying goodbye, he headed in a direction away from the tavern, making sure to take my spear with him. This was bad. It seemed that, unintentionally, I touched upon his painful memories.
Watching the sheriff depart, I turned around and walked along the river. I didn't feel like going to the tavern, and after the scene the girls made in the morning, I wasn't in the mood to see their faces either.
I wanted to be alone. To think in silence. To determine for myself where the line of unacceptable risk lies. The more I thought, the clearer it became that caution is good, but without taking risks, I would never stand shoulder to shoulder with Katashi Atsushi during the Last Battle. The question is what to consider an acceptable risk and what is sheer madness.
Of course, Ender is right - going to the Monkey's Lair with just the four of us is more than dangerous. It is pure madness. And the sheriff's assessment of our group is also true: Miranda, Flavius, Ilona - they are all too inexperienced to survive in such a complex dungeon. I think if they were sent alone into the Salt Cavern, the goblins would kill them right at the entrance. The long-nosed creatures would take out the almost helpless earthlings without breaking a sweat - if goblins even sweat, I couldn't remember that detail.
But if I move forward like everyone else, I will simply repeat the last Cycle with the same result. If I want something different, I need to trust the "memory of the future" more and believe in myself more. I need to grow and do so fast. The more my Core is filled with quality achievements, the stronger I will become.
I wandered around the outskirts of Unudo until late in the evening.
Until sunset, I was arguing with myself.
Caution collided with greed, and pride was also on the latter's side.
Just before closing time, I went to Silent Hey's shop and bought an obsidian souvenir knife, spending almost all my money. The tool had a blade only three centimeters long, but it was so sharp that earthly scalpels would be envious.
After that, I left all my belongings in the tavern and, taking only my new purchase with me, told my companions that I wanted to take a walk alone and went out onto the street. Full Seguna, the second or night Moon of Ain, briefly emerged from behind the clouds and immediately disappeared as if winking at me. As if saying that I was doing everything right.
After an hour of unhurried walking and making rounds on the outskirts of Unudo, ensuring that no one was following me, I headed toward my goal. When I reached the spot, I looked at the sky for about ten minutes. Then, clenching my teeth, I carved the rune of Des into my left palm with the obsidian scalpel.
"No ordinary mortal has ever done this!!!" My memory screamed, supported by fear.
"Be the first! Become the best! Be the best!" Pride countered.
Blood was still dripping from my palm when I, throwing the obsidian knife to the ground, approached the sheer cliff, put my hand on the Door, and ordered the dungeon to let me in.
"One of the twelve?" An inscription flashed before my eyes.
"Yes," I said aloud, although it wasn't necessary, and suddenly found myself in a completely different place.
The pungent smell of greasy nend fur permeated the air, assaulting my nose.
There's no going back now. You can't leave the dungeon the same way you entered.
The exit is always at the other end of the path.