Day 12

Monster bodies did one thing for farmers that couldn't be underestimated. Rows of green stalks a few acres deep practically radiated a healthy green shine. Large ears hung off the stalks, ready to be picked and sold to start paying off my debt. Gwen jumped out of the cornfield with a golden ear in her mouth, already munching away while eyeing me. In the sunlight, the corn glittered like gold, a testament to its species. I took it as a sign to harvest immediately and try and get a return on my debt.

I read over the transportation rules and only had to send the corn in the husk. With that in mind, I started picking. Every ear felt like another Weston in the bank. I quickly loaded my first wheelbarrow and dumped it in the transporter. I had to harvest today and let my stalks grow another yield.

Hours later, when all but what I needed for both replanting and for my own use was sold, I checked my bank account. 5000W was added, and the threat of becoming a sharecropper was gone for another month. To make that ax over my head go away permanently, I needed to pay back my debt completely.

Utilizing all of my land would get the job done, but I would need to use every scrap of wood I harvested for a massive fence with tons of barbed wire.

Ping!

Harvest lvl10

Skill Points: 20

I walked the line of where I wanted my fence to be, leading me down the path to where the dungeon entrance waited. For a while, I stood in the forest surrounded by angry rabbits and flustered birds. The dungeon entrance smelled like adventurers, riches, and so much blood I could drown in it.

A dungeon was a resource I couldn't rely upon fully.

If I outright collected money from dungeons without a class allowed to dungeon dive, some bureaucrat would get suspicious. The farmer class was as much a political tool as it was the backbone of Weston society. Farmers grew the food everyone from administrators to monster tamers ate. Those under debt from government loans could only sell to approved government facilities. The authorities wanted to make sure I followed the rules and a rich family member didn't bale me out. 9 out of 10 people were farmers and lived in communities working together to conquer the land on grand joint-owned farms. What I was doing could be considered a stupidly dangerous risk. On the flip side, every Weston I made was mine.

Dungeons often had rare crops or even livestock inside that could be domesticated. This led me to focus more on the dungeon than on increasing my yield. Instead of trying to encompass all of my owned land, I decided to build a fence around a quarter of it. My latest plan involved creating an orchard. With my current nutrient-rich soil, certain fruits, barring trees, would do very well, or they might become monsters. Mana-rich soil would cause crops to grow faster and have better yields.

The day before, I worked hard to hammer a chicken coop together but didn't know how they would fare with another windstorm. Before I even thought about getting chickens, I needed to get my financial situation under control and purchase that book on enchanting. If I could block out the psychic wind, then the chickens would be fine.

I looked down at my stomach. Not two weeks after getting my class, I was already skin and bones. Everything I ate was worked off, and then some. My body was stronger than ever, but it was more gristle than muscle. I felt the thing lingering beneath my skin, thin and hungry; the more levels my skill gained, the more substantial it was.

Lingering Will lvl10

I felt it more, and since it was passive, any amount of work helped it develop further. Whatever it was, it moved to my willpower, acting as a force following along. There were moments when it felt like something was watching me from the inside, waiting for something.

The feeling wasn't like how I knew Gwen was always in my head looking up stuff to learn more about this human and monster world. Whatever the skill did, it left something inside of me that grew as the skill did. There was an uncomfortable alienness to the feeling.

I thought about going into the dungeon to take my mind off the feeling in my bones. There were powerful skill shards ripe for the taking. I could progress forward rapidly with nothing to hold me back. This was my own private dungeon, untouched and plundered. All the secrets within were mine to discover. Having something like it to explore was an interesting feeling. It almost felt like a reward for a job well done.

Too bad it was a death trap to enter alone.

"It's a good thing you aren't alone," Gwen said.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Are you done eating my corn?" I said.

"Yes, and it was delicious, thank you for asking," Gwen said.

"You're going to get fat, and then I'm going to have to roll you around when you get tired of levitating," I said.

"No, I won't. I'll run it all off, you'll see," Gwen said.

I rolled my eyes and stared at the dungeon; it was so beautiful. The high arches of wood melded well with the surrounding forest. Glowing runes in an unknown language covered the mantle of the entrance, hiding a mysterious message. Monster skeletons waited around the entrance as if the dungeon was showing off past victims. A small smattering of copper coins covered the ground nearest the entrance leading inside. In the noonday light, they glittered bright enough to outshine the warning the skeletons represented.

My hand grasped the edge of the gate while I peered inside. A damp smell rose from the dungeon's depths, carried on a familiar wind. I felt the psychic lash from the winds days ago, though it was muted. My higher Willpower attribute helped fend off the effects as well. Even the lingering presence in my body helped me shrug off the effects until I didn't even have a nosebleed.

This would be my first step on my path to becoming a tamer. Gwen and I were challenging a dungeon for its treasures together.

Not even my family could stop my dream forever.

Inside the dungeon, I heard a buzzing before fist-sized mosquitoes with hypodermic needles flew in. Something pierced my shoulder, and I smashed it to bits. Glass, blood, and exoskeleton covered my hand as Gwen used her psychic power and gathered a few of the pests into a ball and crushed them. I waved my hand, slapping the massive bugs against walls, crushing them and their half-glass, half-flesh bodies. Small cuts covered my hand, but Regeneration would take care of it.

Around us, in the small hallway leading down into the dungeon, small bloody streams filled with mosquito larvae swam, leading deeper into the dungeon. The smell of blood and the feeling of psychic pressure grew worse as we descended. Bloody streams continued to run deeper as we entered the first floor of the dungeon proper.

Purple miasma clouds covered the 12ft ceiling giving off bursts of light as swarms of mosquitoes moved through them. At first glance, we were in a forest, until looking more closely, the trees were actually collections of bones bound together in spider silk. I stepped off the path, and a trapdoor opened, followed by grasping legs.

My shovel whipped up and dug into the creature's head before it could drag me into its home. I pulled my shovel back spider guts, and brains dripped off the blade of my shovel little worse for wear.

Fortunately, spiders weren't what I was most concerned about. Dungeons had them all the time and sometimes even used them as final bosses. I doubted that was the case in this instance. Fat spiders loomed on trees surrounding the clear-cut path through the tall spider nests. In the distance, there was a tall, wide nest larger than the others. If we followed the path, it would lead us directly to it.

Something crawled on my shoulder, and I smashed it.

I flipped the spider's trap door all the way up and looked inside, only to see more monster bones. Some monsters were finding their way inside, but I turned my head to see a bird-type monster drinking blood from a stream. A group of mosquitoes plunged their needles into its back to feed, only for its beak to snap one out of the air.

The bird had all black and blue feathers and stood six feet tall or more. It didn't have very developed wings, but its legs were extremely muscled. When it moved, screeching winds blasted around the monster. Another of its kind appeared, and the first one turned its gaze at the newcomer. One screeched at the other, and the winds picked up. They began a long line of lightning-fast kicks blasting psychic winds with every blow. At the point when one was too damaged to continue, it retreated, leaving the challenged bird to continue snapping mosquitoes from the air and drinking from the bloody water.

After witnessing the bird's attacks, I was sure winning against it was impossible. Neither my agility nor perception were high enough to react well to it. My strength might not be enough to affect it much.

"Maybe we should head back," I said.

It was just as important to know when to retreat as when to charge ahead. I barely saw the birds move when they kicked. Fighting them was a losing proposition. What if another joined in when one side was losing?

"Are you ready to go?" I asked.

"Not until we get at least one skill shard from those rot birds," Gwen said.

"They seem a little dangerous," I said.

Gwen charged ahead, and I was forced to follow behind.

Fortunately, I had a tool to help with the fight. From my back, I pulled my chainsaw free. For 1000W, I was able to buy a slightly better chain and stronger motor to put on the tool.

I made my way to the path and activated my saw. A spider leaped from its nest, and I met it with my saw. The spinning blade sawed through limbs, and a spider body flung green goo behind me with each slash. Spiders covered the ground, but dungeon monsters weren't affected by fear. More came, and I met them with my chainsaw.

Drops came with each death. Some were Westons that I couldn't use without a method to launder the money, but after 50 kills, a skill shard dropped. Gwen's eyes flashed purple whenever a spider jumped, positioning them perfectly for my chainsaw. Our path of destruction continued until we reached the stream where the bird waited. It had watched us as we made our path. The monster squawked in a challenge, launching a fast kick at my face.

Gwen's psychic power slowed the attack, and I moved to the side and cut down on the bird's knee joint. A lightning-fast peck cracked one of my ribs and launched me back several feet before I could finish my strike. The limb hung by half-destroyed joints, but the bird refused to retreat.

It squawked loudly, showing off its impressive chest of black and blue plumage. The bird leaped, vanishing from my sight, until I heard it step on one of the spider nests, using it as a jump-off point. I spun around and raised my chainsaw just in time to meet the chainsaw against the talon. My feet slid back in the muddy shore as my saw failed to cut through monstrous talons.

My first instinct was to use all my strength to resist the assault, but it wasn't working. Gwen's eyes glowed, but the monster dashed away and vanished before she could grasp it with her skill. I moved in front of her and blocked another deadly kick. A part of my saw felt like it suddenly weakened until I heard it crack. In moments, the chain would pop off, leaving us at the mercy of the bird monster.

I decided to take a risk. One of my hands left the handle, and I grabbed the bird's leg while it was focused on Gwen. It squawked as I twisted and used the remaining momentum from the kick to slam the bird's head into the muddy shore. Gwen's psychic force held the bird in place as I struggled to breathe through a cracked rib.

Moving in, I slammed my fist hard on the bird's chest. It was like hitting a wooden puppet more than a bird monster.

The bird lunged, and I met its beak with my chainsaw. Sparks flew off the weapons as the bird struggled against Gwen's psychic bonds.

I struggled against the bird, knowing I had to end this fight quickly or something else would move in to finish us off while we were tired.

My chainsaw lifted, and before the bird could escape, I drove the saw into its neck. Blood and viscera erupted just before the chain snapped on my chainsaw. The chain whipped up and sliced my cheek and arm, but the bird was dead.

Ping!

Lingering Will lvl12

Plow lvl7

Skill Points: 32

After seeing the massive crack in the frame of the saw, I strategically threw it away in the bloody water. We managed to pick up two skill shards from the dead bird and quickly made our way out of the dungeon, retracing our path.