Before moving further inward, I have Artemis do some light digging which for her amounts to a nearly instant spacious grave for our fallen compatriot from Earth at a few swipes from her paw.
Her platter sized paws make quick work of tossing the loose dirt back into the now occupied hole after I drop the body in and we step back while dusting ourselves off.
“Well, I may not know you’re name but I’m gonna give this a shot anyway, so bear with me, okay?” I say solemnly as we look down at the fresh grave, “I am sorry that this was your fate, that your loved ones will likely never know what truly happened to you, for I doubt I could ever find them. I wish I could give a better eulogy here but I don’t have much to work with. All I can say is that I hope you were at peace with your death in the end, that you fought with all you had and just had the misfortune to fall short this time. A warrior’s death for one who lived a warrior’s life, at least over these last weeks. Rest easy, brother. I will save our world and our people, for you and me and everyone who has had to lose someone or something. I will keep rising even then, until our world will be safe for all time, our descendants free to pursue greatness and joy and freedom in all of their glory. Let this resolute promise ring out as your swan song, the last clarion call for your spirit as it moves on. I will prevail.”
As my words echo into the surrounding trees and fade away, the sentiment does not, my promise a comfortable and welcome weight on my shoulders, a reminder of these words and my own iron belief of them.
After a few moments of solemn silence in respect, I usher us back into the overgrown forest, my inner fire I have come to know as my drive, my will stoked higher yet more by my continually increasing motivation and rock-steady belief in my own capabilities but most of all by yet another sacrifice to this contest.
The rest of the day and into the next finds me fighting and gathering furiously, a renewed urgency driving us onward as we reap the lives of Beasts and collect treasures from every nook and cranny. The sheer volume of valuables in this Zone is astounding!
Horus uses his overhead view to catch sight of flowers or fruits high up in the trees while Artemis’ keen senses allow her to sniff out or catch a glimpse of even the best camouflaged treasures low to the ground or hiding inside or behind other plants or obstructions.
For my own part, I mainly stay on alert for attacks between treasure grabbing, handling what I can or calling for reinforcements as needed to let them remain on the hunt.
As my Bird-Dog strategy comes to a close, I check on my current point total for the first time since the Contest began, a mental urge sending the value into PAID:
Contest Points: 88(567/1000)
Nice, it actually tells me my ranking too! Thankfully though, it's not a leaderboard with names visible. Having read some books where such a thing exists, I can only imagine the target placed on those toward the top of it!
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Having made good progress for the day, I have us bed down in a particularly dryer spot high up in one of the huge trees, their crystalline leaves acting as a crude tent to keep any excess drippage from torturing us through the night.
I find my consciousness drifting off quickly to the lulling sound of the softly pitter-pattering of rain and the comforting chuffs of breath exhaled by my large canine as I rest my head back against her side.
I awake the next morning to rain, trees and the smell of perpetual decay—so more of the same from the day before.
Trying to stay upbeat in the face of the depressingly overcast sky and the Seattle-esque volume of rainfall, I get us moving early, hoping to catch that treasure item on my map and get the hell out of this smelly, wet place.
A sentiment Artemis heartily agrees with, her constantly wet hair annoying her to no end and a disdain for touching wet ground with her paws a holdover from a far simpler time which draws a small smile from my face.
Smiling in spite of myself at her, I marvel as always at my fortune to have her here with me and, of course, Horus too. I hope Belina is here in spirit too and I have to believe so. At least, I choose to, anyway.
Coming across more of our crystal-based friends and vanquishing them yields more and more of the shards but not quite as many as the first Zone dropped, disappointingly. Although, I suppose advancing my Martial Style is probably a better improvement than any Skill, short of a full Tier up, anyway.
Crystal Shards: 8/10 and 1 Complete Shard toward Martial Style Upgrade.
Fewer rewards or not, we draw near the “X” on my map around noon, if my estimate is correct. The lack of the sun makes the time of day a bit harder to determine, not that it matters much.
When we are within a few hundred yards, I have us get into battle formation. Horus shoots off into the sky behind us and begins circling around toward the treasure while Artemis slinks off to the left side as we approach cautiously. For my part, I walk confidently with hatchet in hand right into a large clearing surrounding where the treasure is located.
As I make my way towards the center of the open space, I find not a tree or bush holding the sacred spot but, in fact, a large silvery-grey stone about the size of a yoga ball bearing a multitude of golden-red veins!
The ore, for that’s what I take it to be, shines dimly in the overcast haze here as I look upon it with one eye, the other kept busy scanning the area for any movement as I approach the last several steps to the stone itself.
Having gotten close enough, the System tags the item for me which I read immediately:
Orichalcum Ore(Epic): Orichalcum is one of the mythical metals of the Universe and rumors whisper that the Creator himself imbued the metal with special properties when beginning his great Expansion at the Dawn of All Things. This ore can be used by a skilled Artisan to create a large weapon or suit of armor. Grants Attribute and even potentially Skill/Spell boons based upon choice of final product.
“Yikes! That is some seriously bad ass metal!” I say in shock, already dreaming of a new axe--- No! New armor!.... Wait! I got it, why not a set of bracers and greaves—or better yet, a ring for everyone in the Viking Village!....
Or--Gah, I just don’t know!
So yeah, gonna need to really think this one over…
But anyway.
Eyes filled with images of abounding armories, I reach out and grab the ore, attempting to store it when I receive an odd message that causes me to blink in confusion.
Warning! Cannot store item while it is on another being’s person.
‘Huh.” I say dumbfounded, leaning down again and attempting to pull the stone from the ground with brute force, “Wh—”
I cut myself off in realization, eyes wide and body frozen carefully in place.
And as the earth under me begins to rumble, only one word slips from my lips and yet it speaks volumes:
“Fuck.”