Mara hopped off of the barrels. “When that mushroom guy said you needed more explosives, I was thrilled! I’m more of a gun gal, but I can definitely appreciate a good explosion.”

Nathan opened his mouth to respond, then shut it.

“Is this the woman who made the mines?” Funge looked at the barrels. “I remember getting a report about her breaking into our tavern and stealing all the alcohol barrels. Guess I know where it went.”

“It was for a good cause!” Mara patted a barrel. “Each of these has been converted to a different type of incendiary device. This one—”

“It’s coming!”

“Brace yourselves!”

Before she could say any more, a loud boom echoed, and the gate shattered to pieces. Stone, metal, and shrapnel flew all over the place like thousands of glass shards.

Mama Charlotted stared down at the puny humans who stood before her. She screeched and raised her arms into the air.

“It’s over,” Fuge said, her voice cool and collected. “It has been an honor, my lord—“

“Nathan, grab that barrel and throw it at that thing right now!” Mara shouted.

“But even if we kill it, the small spiders will still stream through the hole—“

“Just do it!”

Screw it. We’re gonna die anyway.

Nathan grabbed the barrel with one hand. With his now monstrous strength, it was surprisingly easy.

I really hope this works.

He threw it as hard as he could.

It flew through the air for several long seconds, then stuck the side of the giant spider. As soon as the wood cracked, fire flashed and erupted all over Mama Charlotte’s back. A high-pitched scream slammed against Nathan’s eardrums as Mama Charlotte staggered away from the opening in the hole.

The ground all around the wall was on fire. Spiders screamed, flailing and crashing into the soil.

…which was kind of bad because the walls were made of wood!

“Mara, you’re going to burn everything down!” Nathan said.

“Don’t worry, not only am I a master at setting things on fire, I’m also really good at putting them out,” Mara said. “The third barrel will fix everything, I promise!”

This woman is insane.

“I hate to draw attention away from this riveting conversation.” Fuge pointed up ahead. “But it’s still alive.”

Nathan followed her finger’s direction. Not only was the spider still alive, but it had put out the fire. Chunks of its exterior were charred black. Blood dripped from the eye Nathan had hit earlier.

“I think we made it mad,” Nathan said.

“Now, Nathan, fire the second barrel!” Mara said.

Nathan glanced at the barrel, then at the spider, then at the rapidly burning walls.

“We’re so screwed,” he said.

Nathan picked up the second barrel and threw it as hard as he could. It smashed into Mama Charlotte’s face, erupting into a fiery explosion of sound and light.

Nathan averted his eyes as the world lit up. Mama Charlotte screamed along with hundreds of her smaller kin.

But in the end it was done.

Nathan opened his eyes.

They’d turned the once-dead landscape into a picture of hell. Fire everywhere. Fire on the walls. Fire on the houses. Fire on the ground. One of the spiders ran by with its head ablaze, screaming. Thankfully, Nathan didn’t see any mushroom people who’d been hit.

Mara laughed maniacally.

“Yes!” she said. “Behold, the perfect vacation spot!”

Nathan looked into the fire.

Was something… moving?

He paled.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, it can’t be alive after that, right?” he asked.

A loud noise rumbled.

It was still alive.

Its broken legs pushed it back up and it let out a primal cry of rage as it towered over the town.

“Nathan, now’s the time to use the last barrel! That one’s the most powerful of them all!”

Nathan stared at her, incredulous.

“We’re going to blow up the town!” he said.

“No—well, yes, but it’ll be for a good cause!”

Nathan pullled out his fishing rod. “Absolutely not,” he said. “I’m not going to destroy this place.”

Mara grabbed his sleeve.

He stopped and turned around.

“Nathan,” she said. “I’m serious. I promise you that this will save everyone. You need to trust me.”

She’s a psychopath! Why am I even considering this!?

Because for all her faults, she’s not a liar, is she?

As far as we know! We’ve barely known her for a week, at best!

Nathan stared into Mara’s eyes. They were dead serious, not a trace of humor or insanity in them.

Goddammit.

He picked up the third barrel. “I really hope you’re right about this.”

“Aim for the top, that’ll protect us from the worst of it and deal the most amount of damage,” Mara said. “Cover your ears and your eyes and get behind cover.”

Her instructions spread quickly, repeated by the mushroom people—it seemed that they knew to listen to the crazy woman who built the big fire bombs.

Nathan pulled back his arm and lined up his shot.

Strength and Dexterity, don’t fail me now.

He threw it in an arc. It hit against the top of the monster’s exoskeleton.

Nathan ducked behind a house, plugged his ears, and shut his eyes.

A shockwave of force smashed into and through him, the ground shook, and a random wood plank fell beside him

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

[You have leveled up!]

[Achievement Get: David Complex]

[Achievement Get: Welcome to the party, pal!]

After a few seconds, he poked his head out.

The houses closest to the explosion were damaged, but they’d already been destroyed by the spider. The rest of the city was in good condition.

Mama Charlotte herself was well and truly dead, a mass of flesh and smoking insect meat.

Most surprisingly, though, the fire had gone out.

“How did it go away…?” Nathan said.

Mara appeared to his left. She brushed off her shirt and faced toward him.

“Explosives are used all the time in fire suppressant applications,” she said. “Most often in oil wells, occasionally in forest fires. The shockwave starves the fire of oxygen, putting it out.”

Huh. I honestly thought we were about to die because of her.

She turned and winked at him. “I might be a crazy nutcase, but I wouldn’t leave a pal hanging.”

Nathan stared at her face.

Maybe she’s not all that bad—

A rafter fell behind Nathan. Then a loud boom echoed.

Mara winced. “Well, that house was already in pretty bad condition—“

Nathan heard two other loud crashes, one after another.

Her face squinted up.

“I—“

Three more crashes. Then a fourth, then a fifth.

It was quiet for a few seconds before a final house spontaneously exploded, sending wood shards blasting into the air.

[Achievement Get: Oops, my bad!]

Mara chuckled slowly. “Ah, um… I don’t think anyone died?”

Nathan sighed.

----------------------------------------

Clean-up began swiftly. Nathan assigned some repair jobs and the mushroom people zipped about in response, cleaning up the damaged areas and removing the giant dead spider body.

In the meanwhile, Nathan had decided to check out his new achievements.

[David Complex]

Defeated a monster at least five times your size. That’s one small step for you, one giant faceplant for the big guy.

+10 Strength

[Welcome to the Party, Pal!]

Survived your first raid without being annihilated. The town still stands… mostly.

+5 Strength, +5 Constitution

[Oops… My Bad]

Accidentally caused more damage to your town than the actual raid. Hope you’ve got insurance.

+10 Idiocy

Nathan frowned at the last one.

We caused more damage to the town… but it would’ve been worse if the raiders had outright won.

Nathan looked at his stats.

Stats:

Strength: 20 (+62) = 82

Dexterity: 38 (+3) = 41

Constitution: 40 (+10) = 50

Magic: 3 (+5) = 8

Luck: 22 (+46) = 68

Soul: 20 (+20) = 40

Available Stats: 14

Nathan blanched at his strength.

All those achievements really built up over time.

He swiped the window away. He wasn’t sure where to put his stats, and 14 wasn’t a lot to him anymore. He might as well just save it for later.

His eyes flickered over to Magic.

He’d actually had a conversation with Emi about his refusal to put any stats in Magic. He’d been concerned because he’d remembered that skills are technically Formulae, right? So shouldn’t he put his stats in magic to increase his Skill power?

“That’s not necessary,” she’d explained. “Formulae come in two flavors: those that draw from your life energy—your vitality, strength, and physical power—and those that draw from mana. The latter rely on the arcane, tapping into the mana flowing through you. Magic can enhance the first type, but only a little. For mana-based skills, though? That’s where Magic shines."

“How can you tell the difference?” he’d asked. “How do I know that my skills don’t rely on Magic?”

“You can feel it. Trust me, you’d know. Besides, your class doesn’t mention anything about Magic, right? So it won’t give you quests relating to it.”

Nathan pushed the conversation out of his mind. He walked around the town, inspecting the buildings and the looks on people’s faces.

They were worried, but there was a hint of determination in their eyes. When they caught sight of Nathan, they would often bow quickly.

One of the mushroom people approached him.

“My lord,” he said. “I was instructed to bring this to you.”

The mushroom person held out his hand, revealing a glowing blue gem.

A mana stone.

Nathan reached out slowly and wrapped his fingers around it.

“Thank you,” he said. “Where did you find this?”

“Inside the corpse of the spider monster. I was part of the clean-up crew.”

Nathan slipped the mana stone into his pocket. They now had three.

It was time to find themselves a Pandora.

----------------------------------------

When Nathan presented the mana stone to Emi, she’d been ecstatic. She swept the mana stone out of his hand and stuffed it into her pocket, a grin on her face.

Nathan opened up the portal and they all shuffled back out into the first circle. Emi rushed off to find somewhere quiet so she could begin the ritual and absorb the mana stone. It was already night, so the group decided to set up camp.

When Nathan lay down, he fell asleep instantly.

He woke up the next morning with something uncomfortable pressing against his sides. He opened his eyes to see that grass had sprung up around him overnight.

“What the hell? Did I roll into a patch of grass?” he said.

He pushed himself up. Not long after, everyone else started waking up. Emi still wasn’t back yet—not concerning since she said the ritual might go into the afternoon.

Nathan set up some fish on the campfire for the group to eat.

Chad picked one up and gave Nathan a nod. Everyone settled around in a circle, with Mara somehow sitting next to Nathan. Nathan raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.

“This is some good shit, man,” Chad said. “Still don’t get why you eat it raw, though.”

Nathan bit into his own fish. He looked up, then gulped.

“It’s just sushi.”

“I don’t think sushi is eaten like that.”

“Let him do what he wants!” Mara said. “He deserves it after that throw.”

Mara shoulder-bumped him, a grin on her face.

Nathan stared at her, then scooted away.

Chad frowned at their interaction. He turned his head back toward his fish.

“By the way, Why was the town on fire earlier?” Chad said. “I was on the opposite wall, so I didn’t get to see what was happening.”

“There was a giant spider and Mara made some explosive barrels,” Nathan said. “I threw them at the spider and we accidentally set the town on fire.”

Chad’s sunglasses slipped off his face.

“There were a bunch of explosions… and I wasn’t there to record it!?”

“Chin up,” Nathan said. “You probably got a little good footage, right?”

“Yeah, but none of them are comparable to an explosion!”

The group returned to silence, focusing on their food. Nathan glanced to his right where Mara was taking large, rabid bites out of her fish… even in parts that were clearly undercooked.

Has she learned the ways of sushi?

Before he could think on this, Bjorn opened his mouth.

“I woke up with a flower beside me. I know that it wasn’t there before because I make it a point to rip out flowers in my immediate vicinity.”

“Uh, why?” Nathan said.

“Flowers are elf spies.”

Bjorn’s face was dead serious. Nathan couldn’t find a trace of humor in his expression.

“Oh, I didn’t know that,” Nathan said.

“I bet that the elf girl is listening in on this very conversation,” Bjorn said. “At least, someone is.”

“Next, you’re going to tell us that the birds are government spies,” Chad muttered.

“That’s ridiculous,” Bjorn said. “It’s the moles who work for the government.”

Chad blanched. Nathan raised an eyebrow.

I guess conspiracy theories are a thing no matter what world I’m in.

“Ignoring that,” Chad said. “I hear what Bjorn’s saying. I didn’t lay down in a grass bed, but I still woke up in one.”

“Yeah, same here,” Nathan said.

“So we’re all in agreement that there was some kind of spontaneous plant growth,” Chad said. “But where is it coming from?”

“The princess,” Bjorn said. “It’s obvious.”

“She knows nature magic, right?” Mara said.

“Should we really be gossiping about her like this?” Nathan said. “I mean, if you guys are right, then that means she’s hearing everything right now—“

Bjorn grabbed the flower and ripped it out of the soil.

“You’re right,” Bjorn said. “We’re blown.”

Nathan stared at the roots of the flower and took a bite out of his fish.

This is my life now. Talking with orcs about how the flowers are secret elf spy devices.

Before he could think on this any further, footsteps caught their attention.

Emi stepped out of the bushes, a smile on her face. Bjorn fell over backward. Chad jumped. Mara waved her hand as if she’d done absolutely nothing wrong.

Nathan choked on his fish and pounded his chest to get it down. He looked over at Emi.

“O-oh, hi!” Nathan said. “How’s it going?”

“I finished the absorption ritual!” Emi said. “I was worried that it would go wrong because I have no idea how to actually do it, but everything turned out great and I finished the quest.”

“That’s great,” Nathan said. “How did you do it?”

“Well, it was actually pretty simple—“

Bjorn stood up abruptly. Everyone turned toward him.

“Bjorn?” Nathan said. “Is something wrong?”

He was silent for several seconds.

“I could’ve sworn that there was something there.” He shook his head. “I apologize.”

Emi’s nose twitched as she glared at Bjorn, her eyebrows furrowed together.

“Okay, going back to my very important information,” Emi said. “I basically broke the mana stones into fine grains and stuffed them into a cut.”

“That sounds kind of… bad?” Nathan said.

“Well, at first I was in agonizing pain,” Emi said. “It was like being burned alive from the inside out. But the quest gave me a pass, so I think I did it right.”

Chad glanced from left to right. “Does this not sound batshit insane to anyone else?”

“It was an experimental procedure, admittedly.” Emi rolled her arm sleeve up, showing that the veins were pulsing with a blue color. “As you can see, it seems to have left some aftereffects, but I’m fairly certain it will fade away.”

“What about the Pandora?” Bjorn said.

Emi glared at him. “I was getting there.”

“I was just asking.”

Emi took a deep breath. “As I was saying, After about 12 hours of unbearable pain, I was finally strong enough to stand up and activate my new ability.”

“What did you find?” Chad said. “Is there one that’s close to us?”

Emi nodded her head. “Indeed. It’s not even that far—only a few days travel north from here. It’ll be a straight line.”

As soon as she stopped speaking, a twig cracked over toward the forest.

Bjorn leaped into action, lunging in the direction of the noise. Two ragged-looking men in cloaks burst from the undergrowth and ran deeper into the forest.

“Stop them!” Bjorn said. “Stop them, quickly!”

Nathan pulled out his harpoon from his inventory.