Chapter 114: The King of the Slug Clan
Despite never actually having been to an amusement park, Zach was still nevertheless willing to bet that the excited flutter in his chest and the sense of wonder he felt from everything all around him was what a child might experience when entering one for the first time. Stepping over the sand where the rock monster had spawned, Zach held his hand above his eyes like a visor and then began darting his head around, absolutely captivated by the sheer number of breathtaking sights to behold. It was like he’d been transported thousands of years back through time. This was how it used to be, right? This was the world as it was originally imagined.
Everywhere he looked caused the same exact question to pop up in his head: what was over there? For instance, take that field about a mile ahead of him with the really tall stalks of grass, beyond which the terrain became elevated until running into a tall ridge. At the center of this ridge was a narrow pass that truly looked as though it’d been deliberately placed there with the intention of being entered. What was there? There had to be something, right? Or wait, what about that forest off to the right and way into the distance at the edge of his vision? What would he find there? Even though he was no longer in the sky and thus was greatly more limited in how far he could see, there was still just so much to take in. He could easily see himself exploring all summer long and still missing a whole lot of it. Realistically, he’d probably need a year.
“Kal, are there mobs everywhere on the island?” he asked as the two began to take a few small steps forward along the sand.
“Umm, well, there’s a few square miles where I live that nothing spawns, but I think besides that, there’s mobs everywhere else.” She tilted her head to the side and rubbed her index finger against her chin. “Well, okay, technically I guess you could say nothing spawns on the path, either.”
“The path?”
She nodded, then pointed off into the distance towards Zach’s left, where a wall of shrubbery acted as a sort of partition between the beach and a more elevated stretch of grassy fields. “Did you see that really long and winding pathway that cut across the island while we were in the helicopter?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, as long as you stay perfectly on that path and keep your arms and legs in it, you’re safe from aggroing anything. It actually leads to where I live. I had my estate made right next to the Elvish archives.”
“Wow,” he whispered. “So cool.” She was standing by his side, and from the look on her face, she seemed to be enjoying the look on his. “It’s just all so amazing,” he said.
“Yah, I knew you would love it. I knew it!”
“Even the skies are so beautiful here,” he said, glancing up. Then he frowned as he saw a massive field of storm clouds approaching in the distance. “There goes the day, though.”
“Oh, ah, that’s not actually how it works here,” Kalana said.
“Hm?”
“I mean, sort of.”
Scratching his head, Zach said, “You’re losing me, Kal.”
In response, she pointed at the approaching clouds. “So, um, based on what the Elvish wrote about this island—which is called Elendroth by the way—the weather here is kinda’ unique. There are definitely some days that are all sun, and there’s also times when it just rains, but that’s actually really rare. Most days here are actually just the same pattern of weather. It’s actually really cool.”
She grew excited as she explained more about her island. “So basically,” she continued, “there’s usually tons of sunshine, and then there’s a twenty-minute super-duper big thunderstorm. Then the sun comes back. And this happens like three or four times a day every single day. Then it rains all night.”
Zach thought over her words. “So basically,” he said, “except for like an hour or an hour-and-a-half each day, it’s all sun until night time?”
“Yah! Well, usually. Sometimes it can have just one or the other, but I haven’t actually seen that yet. So we’ll probably get soaked, but it’ll be over quick.”
Despite having swum here, the combination of heat and sunshine had already dried his equipment, including his waterproof phone. After his previous cell had been destroyed on that fateful day back in Whispery Woods that started it all, he’d upgraded to something more durable. Yet even if he hadn’t, he still would’ve jumped from the heli.
“Summer is so nice here,” he said as the two of them continued to walk.
At this, Kalana made an adorable little squeak. “It’s actually always like this here.”
“Wait, really?”
“Yup. It never gets cold.”
Zach stopped in his tracks and he paused to think. Then, facing Kalana’s direction, he asked, “You know what? Why don’t…why don’t we just call it in? Seriously, Kal.”
“Call it…in?” she asked him, confusion plain on her face.
“Yeah. Meaning, forget making this a summer vacation. Let’s just live here and never leave.”
“Zach…”
“What? That’s what you wanted, right? Wasn’t it basically what you were begging me to do?”
“No,” she said. “I mean, yes, but not…not now that…that things are more complicated.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She held out her hand as though wanting him to hold it, and he took it. “I haven’t told you yet, but um, I didn’t tell anybody yet. So if I tell you now, you’ll be the first I told.”
“Tell me what?” he asked, becoming somewhat nervous.
“Zach, I love you so much. So please don’t be mad.”
“What is it, Kal?” he grumbled, becoming suspicious. “Don’t prolong the torture. Whatever it is, just tell me.”
He could see her inhale based on the rising of her chest. “I’m gonna be the new governor of Whispery Woods once the summer is over.”
“The fuck?” Zach asked. “Seriously?”
“Don’t be mad!”
“I’m not. I’m just…I’m confused and shocked. Why would…for what possible reason would you want to go back to that place? I mean, I know it’s important to the green-cloaks, but you’re like me: a city rat. We need to get away from there, not go back to it.”
“Well, didn’t you say you wanted to go back too, Zach?”
He nodded. “Yeah, but as normal people. Like, to school and stuff. Not as…I mean why would you even want to be governor?”
“It’s ‘cause I can make people’s lives better. I actually care. And my mom’s gonna need my help. Starting very early in September, we’re gonna be putting together the biggest emergency aid package that they say has ever been done before.”
“Emergency aid? For what?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “For Den of Ziragoth, you dork. Obviously.”
Her words arrived on the heels of an eerily chilling breeze, likely a forerunner for the approaching storm. The sky had already begun to darken. “Your mom’s going to help those people?”
“Yup. She’s gonna have their entire town rebuilt and pay for their medical treatments, food, mental health services, and um, for all the people who can’t work anymore, she’s gonna give them money so they can still live the rest of their lives comfortably.”
“She’d do that for them?” Zach asked with a gasp. The idea of Fylwen going so far for humanity was at odds with her dark hatred of humans. He could hardly believe what he was hearing despite absolutely approving of it.
Kalana sighed. “My mom’s really complicated, and I still gotta learn so much about her. But she takes pity on people who’ve been stomped on and lost everything, especially by the powerful.”
Darkly, Zach quipped, “You should see what she did to me.”
“Stop,” Kalana said, her tone implying she wasn’t receptive to him joking about that. “I’m being serious. My cousin told me, you know. The stuff you told her but for some reason didn’t tell me.” Now, she glared at him.
“You mean about the…?”
“Yah,” she said, her words coming across as pained. “I don’t blame you or anything. I’m not mad. I’m just really…I never knew any of that. And even though I love you and hate myself for feeling this way, I’m upset you learned before I did.” Her eyes glistened with moisture, and though she did not shed any tears, Zach could tell she wasn’t far from it.
He hugged her. “I’m sorry. I don’t think she did that to hurt you. I think she did that as a sign of trust. I also don’t think she wanted you to know about what she went through.”
“But can’t you understand how that makes me feel? That that’s not a decision I got to make for myself, Zach? I know it sounds childish but I should’ve known first. Not you. I’m sorry, baby, I know that sounds so—”
“No, no, I get it,” Zach said. And he really did mean it. In all honesty, she was right. As her daughter, Fylwen should have told Kalana about her horrific past before she told Zach.
“I know you do,” she said, grabbing him back. “I just don’t know why she wouldn’t tell me that herself. I dunno if she even knows I know.” Now, she did shed a few tears. Or maybe it was the first drops of rain that began to fall from the sky. Zach actually wasn’t certain. “But the reason I’m telling you all this stuff is so you understand. I’m gonna help everybody rebuild. Before the ‘event’ last night, my mom and I had a few hours to just sit and talk. She’s got so many plans for the city, too, but the first priority is gonna be Den of Ziragoth, and I agreed with her. Before we do anything else, that’s the first thing her guild is gonna do.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
At this, Zach cracked a smile. “Her guild? Wait, she’s got a guild now?”
Kalana released a small chuckle, and a smile began beating back her sadness. “Yeah. To make it legitimate, she had to, um, adopt her monarchy to make it compatible with guild structure.”
For some reason, Zach found this so fucking funny. He released a loud guffaw and asked, “So are you, like, second-in-command of the Elvish Roses?”
She gave him a playful slap. “We’re called Elvadin, and yeah, I’m second-in-command.”
“Wait, for real?”
“Mhm.”
A crack of thunder echoed from the sky, which was now far darker than it had been, yet a bright bolt of lightning illuminated it as a torrential downpour of rain began falling down on top of them. It was almost—but not quite—the intensity of the rain he’d experienced while waiting for Ziragoth the Awoken to reform itself from phase 1 to phase 2. In a matter of seconds, Zach was once more absolutely drenched, and his feet partially sank into the sand beneath him. Even still, it cooled him off, and he actually kind of enjoyed it.
“Let’s keep walking,” Zach said, speaking a bit louder to be heard over the intense winds and pitter-patter of rain crashing down all around him. Behind him, the rock monster had respawned, reminding him that they’d barely moved from the part of the shore where they’d arrived. “Uh…Kal, strange request, but can I lead the way? If you give me a general direction, I mean.”
“I get it. You wanna explore, don’t you?”
“A bit,” he said with a laugh. “I can’t believe I’m not even tired. I’m not ready for bed just yet. It’s morning here, after all.”
She kissed him. “Go ahead.”
Zach smiled at her. Then, he flicked his eyes off to his right. “What in the Gods is that?” he asked, pointing to a group of three mobs that were lazily ambling their way down the beach.
Kalana shrugged. “Never saw those either. I haven’t really come to this side of the island much. There’s so much I gotta see.”
Due to the sudden darkness from the nightmarish—yet strangely enjoyable—storm, Zach hadn’t been able to get a good look at the mobs until just now as he moved in closer. And when he did, he saw that they were puke-green-colored creatures that reminded him a little bit of slugs, only they were tall and walked on two feet. Their eyes consisted of wide orange dots, and each had three antennas coming out of the top of their heads. They also had elongated arms, and something shining and metal-like appeared to be attached to the point of each shoulder blade as though residing inside of a socket.
“Glurblur,” they muttered to one another as they strolled across the sand, the rain washing away any residue left in the wake of their slimy feet, which gave off a sort of constant green goop. “Glurblur.”
HP
41,000/41,000
Name
Slug Clan Peon A
Level
31
Zach drew his sword. Then, his feet kicking up wet sand, he blasted off in their direction while raising his sword high above himself. All three slug-like creatures halted at once and turned in his direction. “Glurblur?”
“Zach, watch out!” Kalana called to him in alarm as two synchronized pops came from Peon A, and from the metallic sockets on its shoulders, two sharp, dagger-sized pieces of metal flew at him like arrows, whistling on the air as they headed straight for him.
Although Zach appreciated the warning, it wasn’t actually necessary. He’d seen it coming. And it was not due to his ability to read body language, either, as that did not apply here—but rather, it was his 87 points into dexterity that saved him. Despite only being level 21, the combination of the gear Fylwen had given him along with that one level-up he’d had where his stats were massively boosted across the board made it so that he was now capable of taking on things far, far higher in level relative to himself.
With a quick twist of his body, both pieces of flying metal debris whizzed past him unharmed; this, as the other two “Slug Clan Peons” turned and also fired off another four. Zach jumped to the side to put himself out of the way of the first two, and then he aggressively slashed twice with his blade, moving the weapon so fast he was able to knock away both pieces before either could hit him. Then he dashed forward once more at full speed, angled his body slightly, and brought his blade down on top of the first Peon, slicing it across the neck and sending green goop splattering all over his face.
15,281
It smelled and tasted disgusting, but thankfully, it was raining with such fierce intensity it was quickly washed away. But more importantly, the slug appeared to have no other weapons aside from its shoulder-launched metal thingies, which he could visibly see regrowing in the now empty sockets of all three mobs: and fast, too. Speedily, he whirled his blade around twice more, quickly dealing a cut for 11,291 and then another for 13,555.
HP
873/41,000
Name
Slug Clan Peon A
Level
31
Zach had a decision to make. Did he want a card, or did he want xp? Not to be mean, but truthfully, he didn’t really like these mobs. Not that that should be a criterion for something’s usefulness, either, but they were gross and he didn’t want to rely on such slimy things. For this reason, he stabbed his sword through the monster’s throat and finished it off. As it died, it did not dissolve or turn into goo like he’d expected. It instead turned from green to red as though becoming hot before evaporating into nothingness.
+4000xp
Four more pops came from the two mobs near him, firing practically at point blank, and all four hit him. Zach hissed aloud as multiple stinging pains popped over his body: two from his neck and two from his chest. Yet he didn’t think the damage was too bad. In fact, he doubted he’d even need a heal from Kalana, though that didn’t stop her from giving him one, his body beginning to glow with a dim green light. Not only had the attacks failed to do any significant damage, but they’d failed to draw any blood, either. Without Kalana’s heal, he would’ve been left with nothing more than a few minor, barely noticeable scratches. Even still, the things hurt.
OUCH!
He angrily sliced his weapon across, moving it such that the point of his blade formed a half-circle in the air before him, and with that, he cut off all three antennae of Slug Clan Peon B as well as a piece of its scalp, striking for 16,211. Then he struck out twice more, raising his blade high above him each time and swinging it down diagonally, hitting first for 13,211 and then again for 18,206.
+4000xp
Now, the creature began to turn red and evaporate even as the final one had regrown its metal shoulder-missiles. “Glurblur,” it said, as it again fired at him point blank.
Not wanting a repeat of his earlier pain, which felt exactly like a bee sting, he very quickly dropped all the way down to his knees while simultaneously twisting his body, and with a whoosh, the two metal projectiles sailed across the air above him. Then he retaliated and cut both the creature’s knees off, causing it to begin to fall down to the sand. Yet even before its body landed, Zach exploded into two fast strikes, cutting it into four pieces before it touched down.
+4000xp
“Well, that was fun,” Zach said as the rain began to slow from a downpour to a drizzle. “Those little metal things actually hurt, Kal. But at least they…” He gasped. Below him, there was a shining blue light. This meant he’d gotten a drop, and even better, it was a rare!
“Ohh, I got a drop!” Kalana exclaimed.
“Me too! Where’s yours?”
She pointed at the one Zach was about to pick up. “No, Kal, that’s mine.”
“Nah-uh, it’s glowing blue for me.”
“It’s glowing blue for me too.”
“How’s that possible?” she asked. “If it’s glowing blue for me, that means it’s mine, right?”
“Yeah, but…but it’s glowing blue for me too.”
As they argued, the clouds above began to part, and the darkness steadily gave way to light. The level of heat increased, and now, there was only an occasional droplet of rain every ten or so seconds, with the time between raindrops steadily increasing. This, as water continued to drip from Zach’s soaked equipment and also down his head and neck.
Kalana approached. “Maybe it’s for both of us?”
“Let’s find out,” Zach said excitedly. Together, they both reached for the item at the same time. It was shining so brightly it was hard to make out what it was. Zach went to grab it, and so too did Kalana—and then it vanished. It simply vanished out of existence. Zach didn’t even feel the damn thing, either. It just sort of went away as if in response to his approaching hand.
“What the fuck?” he asked, outraged. “What even just—”
Quest
The King of the Slug Clan
Given By
Drop
Recommended Level
45-50
Recommended Party Size
3-5
Description
The Avislicers have kidnapped the King of the Slug Clan. Make your way over to the Avikin Grounds before it’s too late! If the Avislicers succeed in killing the king, the island of Elendroth will experience only rain for two weeks.
Reward
21,200xp, 8000g, 2x Red Rejuvenation Stone, 1x Yellow Rejuvenation Stone
Quest Expires In
1:59.59
As the clouds fully parted, bright sunshine came over the island, and Zach and Kalana stared at one another in a mutual sense of muted shock. This lingered for longer than Zach expected, and then he and Kalana seemed to blink in unison. A palpable sense of excitement began spreading back and forth, bouncing between the two of them like a rubber ball. He could see it in her eyes, and he was sure that she could see it in his.
“Cool!” she said with a happy squeak.
At the same time, a vibration came from his phone—and one came from Kalana’s as well. Zach was fairly sure he knew why: the quest tracker app, which he no longer needed now that he had enhanced helm sight. Even still, he checked to ensure that it wasn’t another emergency sneaking up on him to ruin his day, and with a relieved sigh, he saw that it was indeed a notification from the mysterious app that appeared all on its own whenever he got a quest. The same was true for Kalana. He imagined she was also worried that Mr. Oren or someone was contacting them with some kind of news about a doomsday or apocalypse about to take place.
“Kal, this is…this is so cool that I’m actually shaking.”
“We’re gonna save the slug king, Zach!”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, that’s cool too,” he said with a laugh. “But did you see the quest rewards?”
Zach watched as Kalana conjured forward the quest information a second time, which he thought was adorable because it meant she hadn’t even cared enough to look the first time around despite it being the only part that mattered. Then she clapped her hands together. “The Rejuvenation stones!”
“You know what this means, right?” Zach asked, positively giddy. “Say it with me on three. One. Two. Three!”
The two of them spoke at the exact same time.
“We’re going to be rich!” Zach exclaimed.
“We’re gonna heal some amputee victims in Den of Ziragoth!” Kalana cheered. Then Zach’s mouth dropped open, and she folded her arms. “Right?” she asked, glaring at him.
“Kal, those stones are worth so much.”
“Don’t care. Elves can’t regrow the limbs of level 1 people with our magic. Their constitution is too low. We need those stones. My mom even told me to be on the lookout for any of them.”
Zach muttered to himself greedily. Although he, in principle, liked the idea of helping all those people, there was a part of him that was beginning to feel like he’d already paid his dues, ethically speaking. He’d put in the suffering and pain the world had required of him. Wasn’t he owed the right to be a greedy, selfish, entitled asshole now?
No, he realized with a sigh. That’s not how it works, does it?
“Let’s keep one stone then and we’ll donate the other.”
Rather than reply, Kal began typing something into her phone. Then she tapped multiple times on the screen before typing some more. Finally, she turned it around so Zach could see it. Curiously, he took a look at whatever it was she wanted to show him. When he did, his mood changed immediately. It was one thing to be selfish when the pain of others was not in front of your face, but it was another to see it and ignore it.
Right now, on her phone, were photos of the survivors from Den of Ziragoth, a few of them Zach even recognized, having saved them himself. But most were people he did not recall, such as a little boy maybe five or six years old who had only one leg and no arms, or a girl the same age missing both of her eyes, forced to wear prosthetics that looked even worse than if she’d have just kept them as empty sockets.
“Okay, you’re right,” Zach said, nodding. “Any stones we get from now on will go to them. But after they’re all healed, it’s pure greed forever, okay?”
“Fine,” she said, blowing him a kiss in the air.
He knew she was lying to either him or herself. Even if they did heal every survivor, Kal would just find some other suffering group to latch on to. See, the trick was to simply not know they existed. When you didn’t know, it couldn’t bother you, and you could do whatever you wanted. That was why Zach wanted to live on an island here with Kal and fulfill all his adventuring desires right here where the rest of the world couldn’t bother him with their problems or try to make them his.
He just doubted Kal would let him.