Leaping from the boat to the shore, I waved my hand to dismiss the sailors. The island of Quad is quite different from Un, which I am already familiar with. There are no convenient and, most importantly, deep enough bays here for a ship with such a large draft like the "Defector" to approach the shore closely. Also, despite being similar in size to Un, Quad is much less populated and has no large villages, let alone cities. This is rocky land, almost devoid of fertile soil.
The two Iron dungeons also don't bring much profit to the island's inhabitants. One is mined for coal, which only blacksmiths purchase. The other yields sulfur, which alchemists need, but not in large quantities. However, as if in compensation, there is very good fishing off the shores of Quad. They even catch tuna here; not every day is so lucky for fishermen, but it happens.
The rowboat from the "Defector" dropped me off near the biggest village on the island. There was even something like a tavern there, where local fishermen and tunnellers gathered. The appearance of Larindel's ship in the roadstead did not go unnoticed. Just in case, the fishermen dragged their boats ashore, and the tunnellers put on chainmail. When the boat that brought me left the shore, the locals noticeably relaxed. With a nonchalant stride, I approached the ragged formation of seven tunnellers of Iron rank, briefly bowed, and after invoking the Core visualization, introduced myself:
"Raven, full Iron, arrived at Quad in search of the Dow flower."
This is one of the legends that Larindel hunts for. It is believed that this magical plant only grows on the islands of the Bastarga archipelago, where there are deserted cliffs. Ender, on the other hand, thought that this was a myth and that there was no such magical Dow flower. But I needed an excuse to wander around Quad without attracting too much attention, and searching for the legendary plant seemed to be just the right reason. Judging by the smiles on the faces of the locals, they took me for another fool chasing after fairy tales. I didn't bother to convince them otherwise.
"Is the 'Defector' here in our roadstead for long?" asked the head of the local Tunnellers' Guild, who introduced himself as Hyun Daishi.
"Maestro Larindel will wait for my return as long as necessary," I responded very peacefully.
My hint was understood correctly. As long as the "Defector" is in sight, I won't be stabbed in the back. Not that the archipelago's inhabitants are so bloodthirsty, but it was worth taking precautions. A silver coin flickered in my hands.
"Master Daishi, could you provide me with a guide?"
With a swift movement, the coin vanished into the other's palm as if I had never had it.
"Why not?" Having asked this question, Hyun nudged the youngest of the tunnellers towards me. "Sun Kwan loves to run around in the mountains; let him do so with a purpose," he said, laughing.
Sun Kwan was very young; he looked no more than seventeen. A shy boy who could barely raise his eyes to me. However, for my purposes, such a guide was suitable. The main thing was that he wouldn't turn out to be a silent type, and I would manage to get him talking.
After obtaining formal permission to explore the island, I said my goodbyes and, accompanied by the guide, left the village. Of course, I wasn't particularly interested in the walk itself. What I needed much more was information. And about two hours into our leisurely walk, I started getting this information by finally striking up a conversation with the young guide.
The first and most important thing for me was that both dungeons were ready for a Reset. Unlike on Un, the locals here didn't clear them "as soon as possible," but only when there was a need for resources. This made sense, given the low demand for coal and sulfur. As I gathered from Sun's account, the coal dungeon was cleared every two weeks, while the sulfur one - only to prevent Overflow.
The enemies in the coal dungeon, which was of the first circle, were goblins, while the sulfur one, already of the third circle, was inhabited by blue slimes. Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but twitch with my shoulders. They are a disgusting enemy - not challenging, just revolting, and their insides smell terrible. These slimes are almost immune to blunt and slashing damage. They can absorb the former due to the structure of their bodies, and their thick skin makes it difficult to cut or pierce them. Des also has little effect on them. The innards of slimes are chaotic, and a Rune strike won't cause significant damage. In addition, they are somewhat resistant to fire and water. They attack by shooting slippery tongues out of their bodies, which hit as hard as a mace. But if I manage to "steal" this dungeon, then I will pass through it easily. My new obsidian tip will effortlessly pierce the slime's skin. Moreover, these monsters are very susceptible to electricity, which is undoubtedly in my favor since I have mastered "Discharge."
I wandered around Quad for more than eight hours, pretending to be searching for Dow flowers. In reality, I was looking for an opportunity to "steal" the dungeons and make a discreet escape. While stealing itself wouldn't pose a problem, as the dungeons of Quad were not guarded due to the low value of the resources, escaping was a different story. Damn islands! It's impossible to slip away unnoticed, and with Quad's sparse vegetation, hiding in the forests is not even an option.
As for the altar of Seguna, I couldn't find it. However, I shouldn't worry about it, as the Night Sister won't be visible in the sky until later.
While wandering the island, I didn't forget to ask Sun about its inhabitants. I was mainly interested in the tunnellers and the local sheriff named Tun Dan, a warrior of full Bronze. According to the young guide, this sheriff was always drinking and hardly participated in the island's life, being permanently in an alcoholic delirium. Maybe it's the aura of the archipelago that makes the local sheriffs such heavy drinkers? Or perhaps it's because it's relatively peaceful here, and they have almost no work to do? So they drink out of boredom.
Just before sunset, I returned to the village. I needed to arrange a place to spend the night and find out more precisely when the locals planned to clear the island's dungeons. I did not intend to visit Seguna's altar on the first night; it was too risky. Although, while the "Defector" was anchored in the roadstead, I think little would threaten me for such a minor reason. But there was no need to take unnecessary risks. They would keep a close eye on me today anyway, and it was best not to even think about "stealing" the dungeons.
"What's happening?"
As we approached the village, I noticed flashes of fire soaring into the sky. Since the human cries accompanying the light sounded more joyful than panicky, I wasn't overly concerned.
"Today is the coming of age of the younger Shuari, the grandson of our elder. They are celebrating," explained my guide.
"So you missed this celebration because of me?"
"It just started, and I wasn't invited," Sun grimaced. "My father isn't on good terms with the elder."
"It happens," I shrugged.
I wasn't particularly interested in the local disputes. But the fact that everyone in the village might get drunk could play into my hands. As soon as I stepped into the lit area, a short, jittery, and very energetic old man ran up to me.
"Oh!!! A guest at the feast!" He bowed to me at the waist. "Sino himself must have sent you to us! Please, join us at the table and share our drink!"
"With great pleasure," I quickly agree since I am also hungry.
In the center of the village, on a small square, there was a hastily assembled long table, which was heaving with variously prepared fish and bottles of sake. Probably all the villagers were seated there, or rather the majority, if I were to recall Sun's words. Bustling around, the old man invited me to sit at the head of the table, an honorable place. He then filled a bowl for me and, taking another in his hand, called for silence and screeched in an unpleasantly high voice:
"On the day of my beloved grandson's coming of age, dear Uasi Shuari, Sino himself has sent us a guest. And not just any guest," the elder pointed at me. "This is Master Raven, a disciple of the well-known and highly respected Ender, the sheriff of Unudo!"
And how did he recognize me? Anyway, it doesn't matter. His speech was met with joyful shouts and the sound of pouring sake.
At first, the celebration was dignified and stately. A toast, good wishes, appetizers. But within an hour, many had drunk themselves into a state of "I'll just lie under the table." Four tunnellers, along with their head, sat down next to me. Their minds, inflamed by alcohol, wanted to know if Sheriff Ender was really as cool and strong as the rumors said. When their doubts crossed all lines, I grabbed my spear, hinting that if I heard anything else bad about the mentor, I would not be held responsible for my actions. The village elder immediately appeared beside us, as if out of nowhere, and asked for no fighting at the celebration in honor of his grandson.
"Ender's disciple, and only an Iron." Lamir Shat, a twenty-three-year-old tunneller, sneered, swaying drunkenly in his chair, and waved his hand dismissively.
"Look at yourself, five years older than me and still an Iron, too," I retorted.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
"I don't need more than that!" The tunneler took a stand. "But aren't you too weak for such a teacher? Iron, and you've already left him! Is Ender such an inept teacher, or are you such a lazy disciple that he banished you?!"
The guy had clearly had too much to drink and was looking for trouble. Moreover, he was doing it consciously, with the silent support of the other tunnelers. Apparently, alcohol made them forget about the "Defector" in the roadstead. I was ready to explode when an interesting thought occurred to me suddenly.
"I was invited to the table in the name of Sino. I strictly observe the rules of being a gracious guest. I won't fight with you," I said calmly.
A mixture of contempt and disappointment flickered on Lamir Shat's face.
"But!" I pretended to be extremely drunk and swayed in my chair. "To prove how great my mentor is, I am willing to go alone, without elixirs and buffs, into your coal dungeon and Reset it!" I drunkenly poked a finger into Lamir's chest. "Can you do that? Or are you too weak?!" The guy recoiled from me as if I were a dangerous madman. "Just as I thought!" I drawled. "But I can! In the name of Kamo, I would do it! And you, calling me a weakling, would you be able to?!"
My act immediately calmed things down. None of the locals wanted to engage with such a crazy guest. They intended to pick a fight and rough me up a bit, but making a bet that could result in someone dying wasn't part of their plan. And they backed down, leaving me alone at the head of the table.
I considered sneaking away from the banquet to search for the Altar of Seguna. But I quickly dismissed the idea because the locals weren't that drunk; they wouldn't take their eyes off a stranger, especially on the first day of acquaintance. The fact that they left me alone at the table for a short while didn't mean they suddenly stopped paying attention to me.
However, I wasn't alone for long. A drunken widow, barely twenty, decided to keep the guest company and entertain me. Our drinking together evolved into a conversation about stars and ended on a dark, secluded beach where, once we were alone, my chainmail and gambeson were quickly removed.
Maybe in this Cycle, I really have some special aura?
I fell asleep drunk and satisfied, resting my head on the widow's ample bosom. Satisfied in every sense of the word. My awakening, however, was far from pleasant. I was roused by an entire bucket of water that someone dumped right on top of my head. The widow Tuli, on whose chest I had been sweetly sleeping, shrieked, and my head fell onto the sand. Unpleasant.
I open my eyes.
Wow! Judging by Dairin, it's about ten in the morning. I only managed to sleep for three hours this night, but that's enough for me. I look around.
Almost the entire village is gathered around me. And the empty bucket is held by none other than the village elder. Moreover, his face is full of anger and indignation. Oh! Did I make a mistake by giving in to the allure of Tuli's curves and breaking some kind of taboo?
"Good morning, esteemed villagers!" Saying this, I got to my feet completely naked, without any embarrassment, and stretched with all my might. "What can I do for you?"
"I invited you to the feast as an honored guest, Mr. Raven!" The elder screeched so loudly that my temples throbbed. "And you!" He was so outraged that he couldn't find words at first. "You! At the table, you swore by the name of Kamo that you would accomplish the impossible! You'll sail away, but this unfulfilled oath will bring bad luck to the whole village! Is this how a guest behaves??!"
"What impossible oath are you talking about, esteemed Shuari?" I really don't remember making such a promise.
"You! You promised to Reset the Coal Dungeon alone, without using alchemy or buffs!" He caught my eye. "And don't look at the 'Defector'; I boarded it this morning. Maestro Larindel just laughed, saying that he wouldn't go against oaths! He won't help you!"
"Huh?" My smile scares them. I threw on a shirt and stretched again. "You mean that." I calmly dressed as the whole crowd silently watched me. "So, what's the problem?" I fastened my chainmail and picked up my spear. "An apprentice of Sheriff Ender cannot go back on his word. Lead me to this Coal Dungeon of yours."
"Wh-a-a-a-a-a-at!?" The elder didn't understand me.
"Are we going to stand here till evening?" Not waiting for the locals' reaction, I took a step forward. "It's over there, right? Let's go, let's go, I still have to search for the Dow flower! No one relieved me from that task!"
"Hey!" The elder grabbed my sleeve. "You misunderstood me; a pint of your blood on Kamo's altar will be enough!"
"I misunderstood?!" Stopping, I loomed over the old man. "You said I swore an oath," although that wasn't the case, it was just a drunken argument without specifics, but their slander is actually beneficial for me now. "Do you want to stand between the fulfiller of an oath and Kamo's will? Are you really concerned about the village's welfare?"
"Eek!" the elder squeaked in fear and released my arm.
No, of course, I thought about the reaction of the locals to my words and deliberately provoked them, but I couldn't even dream that everything would turn out exactly like this! Now I just need to intensify the effect a bit more. I didn't approach the Gate to the Coal Dungeon alone; the whole village followed me, including the children. Stopping on the platform, I beckoned Sun and asked him to bring his father to me. From what I gathered from the boy's stories, he was the son of the village blacksmith, a highly respected person whose voice often carried more weight than the elder's ranting, hence their rivalry.
"Mr. Kwan," I addressed him, "would you be willing to act as a mediator?"
"A mediator in what, Mr. Raven?" he asked cautiously.
"The manager of the betting," I clarified with a smile.
"This? Easily!"
Hearing the answer, I turned to the crowd.
"I bet my silver against three of yours!" Taking off my purse from my belt, I hand it to the blacksmith. "By the time Seguna rises, I will have emerged from this dungeon, having Reset it! I will not use alchemy, and you can see for yourselves that I have no spells on me!"
"And if you don't make it?" A voice rang out from the crowd.
"Then you can collect your winnings from Mr. Kwan."
"I bet a silver!"
"I bet ten!"
"Let me through, let me through!.."
The whole crowd rushed to the blacksmith, almost trampling me in the process.
"Maybe just a pint of blood for the altar after all?" The elder made another attempt to defuse the situation, twitching and glancing towards where the "Defector" was anchored.
"Do you want to cancel the bets?" I laughed, pointing to the frenzied crowd. "They'll tear you to pieces first."
"Um... You're right, Mr. Raven," the old man deflated.
"Don't you want to place a bet yourself?" My gaze was pure kindness.
"Oh!" The elder exclaimed, his eyes lit up, and he started yelling, drowning out the crowd's clamor, "I bet on our esteemed guest!!!"
The villagers froze for a moment and immediately surged in my direction. What a cunning bugger! Why do crooks like this one have such a developed sense for trouble? I'm even envious! Anyway, if someone else can make a profit on my adventure, why should I care?
Due to the large number of participants, they only stopped placing bets half an hour after my announcement. And after that, the crowd pushed me into the Gate. They literally carried me there in their arms.
"One of the twelve?" A familiar question.
"Yes."
A step into the void, and I find myself in the semi-darkness of the dungeon. I take the sheath off the tip of my spear.
"They are so naive!" Now I can laugh aloud, as the locals won't hear me. "They fell for such a simple trick!"
But the nearest caveling patrol heard my laughter perfectly. Four goblins, armed with whatever they could find and wearing tattered rags as protection, charged at me. Regular gobls, the same that are aplenty on Copper.
A straight thrust with extended arms, and now there are three of them. I retrieve my spear with a swipe and deliver a lightning-fast blow to the chest of one who lost his balance. Two.
I can break the distance and finish off the rest without any risk, but I need to warm up. I toss my spear into the air. A baselard throw - I can't miss from two steps away.
"Discharge!"
A punch enveloped in lightning flies right in the face of a goblin. It didn't kill him but made him freeze. I snatch the baselard from the neck of a collapsing, already dead caveling and stab it into the eye of the still-living but shocked goblin. I manage to do all this before my spear falls to the ground, catching it with my left hand.
The next patrol consists of only three. A spear throw. A swift flight of the dagger. The third goblin dies not so quickly - three "Discharge" strikes are not the easiest death.
I pick up the weapons and do it just in time. A baselard block intercepts the strike of a bronze sword. A round shield blocks my retaliatory spear thrust. And here's the real main opponent in this dungeon.
Goblin warriors. Not one, but two of them, along with half a dozen regular gobls. The warriors of this race are not much different in appearance from simple cavelings, but they are properly armed, wear chainmail, and, most importantly - know how to handle their weapons on the level of two full Stars.
With a wide swing in the lower hemisphere, I force the pair of goblin warriors to back off me. Immediately, bending backward, I deliver two sharp blows to the regular gobls charging at me. Two ragged corpses fall to the floor of the cave. I straighten up and repel the warriors again.
A Dragon Tail sweep, an ascending strike with the baselard, and one less caveling remain. The two auras, "Acceleration" and "Perception," work like clockwork. "Weapon Strengthening" is excessive against such enemies. The Des rune, depicted on my palm with Illusion magic, flies into the shield of the nearest warrior. There's a crack, and the shield fragments fall to the ground.
"A flick for the scare![1]" I shout on adrenaline, thrusting my spear under the surprised warrior's chin.
I throw the baselard backward without looking, following the hint from my perception aura. Judging by the deep gasp, it hit, and now there are very few ragged ones left.
"Discharge!"
No, I'm not trying to hit the warrior's face with this strike, I want to blind him with a sudden flash. And it works. The goblin warrior squints and dies without seeing a direct thrust into his groin.
The remaining regular gobls are no match for me. Ten seconds, and they are dead.
I pull the baselard out of the corpse and wipe off the thick, almost black blood from it.
"Well, a good start," I smirk.
Usually, in a dungeon like this, there are about twenty warriors and a crowd of regular riffraff. You could say that I've already cleared a tenth of them in just five minutes. Not bad.
Goblin warriors are strong opponents due to their sturdy shields, but thanks to the Des rune, their defense is not a problem for me. The pair that found out about this did so posthumously.
On Bronze, archers will join the warriors, and I would rather solo a dungeon with nends than face goblins at that rank alone. But for now, on Iron, this is just a slightly risky walk for me. Thanks to Ender, I remembered a lot. And five Talent Stars in spearmanship are still Five Stars, even though they are far from full! And the goblins don't have anything to counter such a trump card.
Switching my grip on the weapon, I straighten up and walk forward, humming:
"The beasts were standing,
At the gate unbending,
They were shot at,
They were butchered.
But there were those who felt pity,
Those who opened the gate to the city.
The beasts were met with songs and kind laughter,
They entered and slaughtered everyone after.
They killed them all![2]"
Just like I now entered the Door and will kill them all. True, no one invited me or let me in here, but that's just a detail…
[1] TLN: The character actually uses an expression you could hear from kids at school. One kid can try to pretend they are suddenly going to strike the other in the face or crotch. If the latter becomes scared and covers themselves, the first can take advantage of that and deliver a light flick at the chin with such words. You can interpret it as Raven being excited and slightly childish in the fight.
[2] TLN: It's a counting rhyme. The first part comes from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetle_in_the_Anthill (and probably has a better translation, but behind a paywall). The second part was added by a netizen much later.