I have to give it to Bronwyn, she didn’t start laughing to break the mood. That was a very serious talk after all. I was quite serious. Seriously bullshiting them while using Elara’s gift to my advantage.

It worked like a charm.

After a moment of confusion followed by a few moments of laughter they had no choice but to see that, despite being incredibly useful, those aware of Elara’s gift could certainly use it in their favor. True, there would be no deception, but manipulating the information is still possible.

Soon, they returned to the main topic as I slowly led them to the sewer’s section where I established my tiny chamber. Bronwyn and Rhys said their part.

“I got an ability that detects danger.” Bronwyn said. “Completely different from Finn. I can see your potential to do harm to each of us, it took me quite a while to get used to it. I knew that even if you decided to strike with that axe of yours with full force the only one you would be able to hurt, and I am talking about a moderate wound even if you managed to get the neck, was Elara. If you were able to catch both her and me by surprise, that is.”

“I also have a flaw detection ability. Related to perception, not defense. I can see if you are aware or not about the possibility of being struck by me. Helps with ambushes and such.” Rhys said. “You were fully aware of that possibility the moment you stepped out. As ready as you could be. Rather admirable for someone finding a group of people around a campfire after escaping an instance such as this one. I could tell you wasn’t expecting it and was unsure if it was good or bad. Smart.”

Ok, at this point I could already tell that Rhys will have no problem with the fact I might be a little more cautious than your regular person. Nice.

“So, we talked using signs.” Said Flinn. “And we reached the same conclusion. We had no idea how that happened. How you survived. How you escaped. And when I told them you didn’t even have a gift, they had to try for themselves, to confirm I was not pulling their leg. So little trust. Tsc.”

“Yeah, it was rather unbelievable.” Gareth said. “But it was also undeniable. We immediately decided we wanted to hear your story. But anyone could also see you were very cautious. Rhy made sure we all knew that you were not a naive guy in need of help.”

“So confusing.” Finn said while smiling. “I kept glaring at you and trying anything I could to make the system spill more information about you. Didn’t get shit. Nothing. The more the system told me the more I got confused. You are out of shape, work at a desk job, were thrown into a survival situation such as this shitshow of an instance… and yet… you came out as confident beyond belief.”

“I saw you tensing up again when we were discussing you. Then you got fully ready when we were approaching you to ask if you wanted to give this group thing a try.” Rhys said. “Not gonna lie. I knew you could do nothing to us but I still was ready to pull a dagger.”

“Yeah? What was that about?” Finn asked.

“Tell you later. Maybe. Can you finish it already? We will be arriving soon.” I said.

“Things were fine until night fell. We could see you got the drive, the tenacity, to reach for more, just like us. You had the potential, that much was clear. But you didn’t trust us.” Gareth said. “But you decided to tell us about your leg, which was a plus.”

“A good sign, but not enough.” Rhys said. “We need to know if you weren’t one of those reckless fools that would do anything to get power and such.”

“Hence the goblin dungeon proposition.” I said.

“Precisely.” Bronwyn said. “We gave you a hint we would handle it, that we had already done it, but we made sure to tell you about the possible danger in this fictitious dungeon.”

“You got me rather worried there for a moment.” Gareth said. “I mean, you talked about a dungeon filled with rats, which are much easier to tackle than goblins, and you still didn’t say a thing. I could see you found it risky and all that, but you didn’t take a stand. You know?”

I scoffed. No, I was just thinking of ditching you all, also I wasn’t sure if you would kill me if I told you everything about that, ok?

“Obviously, it turns out you were against it.” Rhys said while smiling. “Your little speech at the end made that quite clear.”

“That was awesome.” Finn said while laughing. “And you know what was the most impressive part? Elara. She was freaking out. It’s hard to make her that flustered about… well, pretty much anything.”

Somehow I don’t think that’s true. The girl was nothing but flustered from the moment I met her.

“It was scary, alright?” Elara said while pouting. “It’s like you said Finn. The guy might as well be a rabbit when it comes to power and threat and all that, but then everything changed. I knew he was serious and that he knew he could pull off everything he said. No deception at all.”

“I will destroy the rat dungeon.” Bronwyn said while lifting one of her fists.

“I will deal with the spinos, but keep three as pets. I shall call them Larry, Curly and Moe.” Finn said while also lifting one of his fists. Then he winked at me. “My favorite part, by the way.”

“Let’s not forget about doing all that without needing anyone else, not even a gift.” Rhys murmured.

Both Bronwyn and Flinn look at him with deadpan faces. The man didn’t lift his fist as they did.

“And making a colony of survivors just so he can have someone to cook, clean and brew for him.” Gareth smirked.

“Yeah, that and the whole ‘ruling over my rightful part of this world’ business.” Elara said.

I confess I was about to blush when Bronwyn and Finn were doing their antics. But thankfully Rhys brought some seriousness back into the conversation.

“Finished?” I said.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“Yeah.” Finn said. Satisfied. “It was awesome. Such a twist.”

“Regardless of Finn’s predilection for theatrics,” Gareth said “we know you were serious and that you really believe you can pull this off. So, we only got a simple question. And you do know what that question is, right?”

Obviously. You want to know how. I wonder if you will be inspired or disappointed.

Vincent nodded. “I will show you.”

It turned out better than I hoped. I didn’t get captured or killed. My wound is sort of dealt with. I got people to help me deal with the rat dungeon and most likely get some shards. Not to mention there’s an archer. Which means there’s no point in struggling against rodents if they are up for something a little bit bigger for us to hunt. Can I skip the rating phase? Straight to crocs?

“And since you mentioned it, there’s something I would like you to help me with,” I began, drawing their attention back to me. “Mostly you, Finn, I think.”

Finn raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Me?”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “Ranged attacks are sort of required for it to work.”

“No need to worry, Vincent. We have dealt with rats before.” Gareth said. “You just keep close to Bronwyn, like Elara does, and we will be fine.”

“So, you wonder how I am confident in conquering this place, but don’t want to listen?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Gareth scratched his head. “You are right, sorry.”

As expected, Gareth doesn’t seem sorry at all. I am pretty sure he will stick to his methods whenever things turn dangerous. Which means I can’t trust him at all to follow my strategies. Are the others also like him? I better find out, the sooner the better. Disappointing.

I did my best not to dwell on this potentially alliance severing detail and entered the largest chamber before the croc trap. I noticed that there were no more grunts or hisses. Did they go quiet or had they somehow escaped?

“Stay here. I have to check something. Two minutes tops.” I said before making my way through a narrow aperture leading to my former sleeping chamber.

“Vincent, wait, can we…” Gareth was starting to talk, but I cut him off.

“One minute. Just wait.” I had no time, not now, I sort of needed my pitfall trap to be working properly to speed things up.

Two small apertures, one corridor and some crawling later and I could see the chamber. The crocs were still there. Sleeping? Slumbering? I don’t care.

I just hope Finn could turn them into pincushions and that they drop lots of shards. That’s what I care about. Because they certainly are worth more shards than rats, but are they worth more when the cost to take them down is considered? No point in hunting one of them for now if you can hunt dozens of rats in the meantime and get way more shards that way. We will see.

On my way back I grabbed half a dozen bottles of water and a handful of chip packs and protein bars. I might not have much to share, but I always made a point of being a proper host.

They were happy to see the shitty food. Apparently weeks traveling in and out of instances and surviving in the forest outside gets you craving for this sort of thing. To each its own.

“Finn. If you were to handle one of those gators. How would you do it?” I asked Finn directly while he was on his third granola bar. I confess I believed him to be more of a potato chips kind of guy.

“With a lot of luck, I assume.” Finn sighed. “They are almost armored from our perspective. And they are not stupid. If I land a few good shots they will be gone. If I am high up where they can’t reach, they won’t even come close. So, there’s not really a way to hunt them. Not unless…”

“That’s right, Vincent.” Gareth interrupted. “We sure can deal with the rats and get us some shards, then we can improve and eventually tackle the gators, like you said we can…”

I stopped Gareth mid sentence by lifting my hand. That’s the second time, Gareth. Well, I am going to keep telling you to shut up if you keep interrupting.

I gesture towards Finn to continue. Finn looked at Gareth as if asking for permission. So, Finn is out as well. He will just follow Gareth’s lead if danger presents itself.

Gareth subtly nodded and Finn continued. “Not unless one of those things is already harmed, slow enough for me to keep shooting arrows at it without giving it a chance to escape and recover.”

“I see.” I said. “But wouldn’t that be much worse than hunting rats? I mean, you can kill half a dozen rats in one minute, right? How long would you take to kill one of those big lizards?”

Finn scratched his chin. “Well, yes and no. Rats come at you in droves and you can’t really be sure you won’t get scratched or bitten. I would take a wounded gator anytime. Sure, it would take longer, but you only get one shard for every two or three rats you take down while a single croc can give you between six and ten shards by itself. With everyone? I would go for rats. Alone? Definitely gators.”

I nodded while taking a sip of water. “Do you think the others can handle the rats without you?”

“Vincent, we are right here?” Rhys said while admiring a chocolate bar.

I shrugged and turned back to Finn. “So?”

Finn sighed. “Yep. They do their best to make me feel useful, but in a cramped and dark dungeon I am not nearly as useful as out here. Sure, I help, but much of what makes me a valuable member of this team is simply trashed down there. So, yes, they can handle it on their own. Easily.”

Elara frowned. “We all know you get a little less effective in dungeons, but you are still doing damage and helping out. You can even interrupt some attacks due to your threat sense. And also, we can’t even walk the overworld properly if you aren’t scouting ahead. So, stop talking like that, please?”

Finn smiled gently, but I could see the man was torn. He loved his job, but hated his weakness when it came to battling in confined spaces. He was essential, he knew it, but still wanted more. Well, ain’t that convenient?

Taking advantage of Elara’s interruption I turned to her. “What about you Elara? I can tell that the other three can handle it easily. And now I know that Finn wants more. Where do you stand?”

“Well, I… I am necessary. Same as Finn. There are things to do in dungeons other than fighting, you know?” She pouted.

So, no comment on that. Right. It’s not like I needed anyone else anyway. Finn is more than enough.

“Fine then. So, we will divide ourselves into two teams. Me and Finn on the surface. You four in the dungeon. Let’s get some rest and then we can start.” I said while slowly laying down.

“Wait, wait, wait. No way you are thinking of going after the spinos, right?” asked Finn.

“Already did. It will be fine.” I said nonchalantly.

From the corner of my right eye I could see Flin turning to the others, shrugging, Gareth frowning, Rhys giving him a mocking thumbs up, Elara looking worried and Bronwyn eating yet another pack of chips without a care in the world.

“Vincent, listen…” Gareth was already starting again. And I am a little fed up with it.

“Finn.” I said a little louder. “Go though there. You will find a small chamber with a small aperture at the bottom, you go through it as well, then you will end up in a narrow corridor that forms an arc around a big chamber, there’s another aperture there , a slightly larger one, but not by much. Use it to take a peek into the big chamber.”

Finn looked at the group. Gareth nodded. I am quite sure I am getting a little angry at that. Finn got up and was about to make his way to the aperture.

“Finn.” I said calmly.

Finn turned back and looked at me.

“Don’t enter the big chamber. Peek from the corridor. Very important. Got it?” I said nonchalantly.

Finn nodded and left.

Not one minute later his voice echoed from the corridor.

“Holy shit… Holy shit… Holy shit…”

I did my best not to smirk.

I failed.