Growth Hero

by Brent Tyman

  I wondered about this Stephania.

  She was the heir of the Yunissan Republic, if memory served me right, and I pondered how she compared to Clarissa and Juliana. They had clearly met her, and the impression she’d left on my lady friends had not been good.

  Then again, their impressions of each other hadn’t exactly been stellar, either. At least not in the beginning.

  One thing was for certain, if Juliana and Clarissa were this beautiful, I was interested in seeing how Stephania might appear, in comparison. The Academy had shown me already that the attending Clans were filled with absolute beauties.

  I shook my head to clear it of such idle thoughts and focused on the task at hand. The mountain was getting closer and soon there would be Ogres to fight and Beastkin to save.

  I had to do everything I could to make sure that my friends and my women made it out alive. With a sigh, I included Daiver in that list too. If only I could figure out how to stop him from snoring so loudly next time.

  Up until now, the mountain Karl had pointed out to me looked like any other from afar. It was only when we got closer that I noted some weird anomalies.

  Most of the ground quickly turned from lush grass to muddy soil as we neared. I heard many complaints from the soldiers behind me as their boots got wet and dirty.

  There were also pockets of holes in the ground that belched black smoke into the air. It smelled of coal on the first whiff, but the tangy smell of blood was clearly evident on the second.

  “What are these holes?” I asked.

  “I believe the Beastkin of generations past dug holes all through the mountain to expel gasses and smoke from their furnaces,” Karl explained.

  “Something is wrong,” Juliana said. “Even in winter, they would not burn this much in their furnaces.”

  “Are we too late, my Lady?” Vencia asked.

  “We must hurry, come,” Juliana ordered.

  An unassuming cave sat by its lonesome at the edge of the mountain, amidst all the smoke.

  Juliana used her Clan Management interface to invite me to her party and even added Clarissa and Anny. I wasn’t looking forward to the heat, but this would be my first experience in a full party. If my Growth skill acted for the whole party like it had done with Clarissa, then by the end of this, we might all get one heck of a boost in our Strength stat.

  The soldiers of both nations followed us in tentatively, searching the gloomy walls for any sign of trouble. There were a few that opted to walk beside us, but none led the way.

  That was left to Juliana.

  “Kesara, lights please,” she ordered.

  A ball of pure light materialized from Kesara’s hand and gently floated up until it hovered a foot or two above her head. It served as an excellent torch, shining light into every visible part of the cave.

  The walls here were similar to the first floor of the Dungeon in Tringall, but I noticed that it was slightly warmer than it should be for a cave like this.

  “How much further do we need to travel now?” I asked.

  “About another hour. Keep your eyes peeled, Alex,” Juliana said.

  “And now’s the time to get that sword of yours out, handsome. The sharp one, at least.” Clarissa winked.

  I rolled my eyes, letting myself smile for a moment before pulling out my new sword. I walked in pace with all the others.

  The cave descended rapidly downwards, and I found myself having to be extra careful as we navigated some tricky, steep slopes. The air had been fairly clear at first, but gradually morphed into that familiar coal smell I’d detected on the surface.

  We were getting closer.

  “This reminds me of our time in the Dungeon, handsome,” Clarissa whispered. “Minus the hundreds of men behind us, of course.”

  “The stakes are a bit higher, here. I hope we sort out these Ogres soon enough,” I said.

  “With your strength, I’m sure you’ll defeat them handily,” she assured me, gently stroking my arm.

  “Stop!” Juliana barked suddenly. The entire column stopped at once, and I looked forward, expecting to see something out of the ordinary.

  There was a lone figure at the far end of the narrow cavern we’d entered. I believed it was a woman, from her stature, but it was hard to be sure. A voluminous cloak covered most of the figure’s body.

  She had been kneeling on the ground before, but quickly rose when she noticed our presence.

  “You must leave!” she shouted, “A Troglodread has…”

  That was as far as she got, before the wall behind her exploded.

  Debris scattered in every direction, and I covered my eyes from the blast. The sound of heavy footsteps caused me to lower my arm to see a giant figure darting toward us.

  “Take cover!” someone yelled before the entire column screamed out their own exclamations.

  The figure looked like a monstrous boar at first glance, with black lizard-like scales that twisted out at abrupt angles from its body. I spotted four pairs of dangerously sharp tusks along its snout.

  I knew I had to act quickly. My body moved without thinking as I dragged both Juliana and Clarissa off to the right as the monster charged through where we had just been standing.

  I cursed as my sword didn’t allow me to get a good grip on Clarissa as I wanted, but it was good enough. We managed to avoid the monster entirely as the three of us spun to the floor.

  That was the only good news.

  I heard the snapping of tusk on metal and the screams of men as the monster tore through their ranks. I looked back to see absolute devastation behind us as bodies flew everywhere.

  In moments, the monster had reached the back of the cavern and slammed headfirst into the wall. If the first explosion of rock hadn’t been enough, the second one clearly blew away any semblance of stability this cavern might have had.

  The walls around us shook before a large crack spread up from the floor, right in front of my eyes. I looked up to see the other cracks stretching for the ceiling.

  It didn’t take a genius to know what was about to happen next.

  “Alex, are you…” Juliana began in a daze, but I didn’t give her a chance to finish the sentence as I dropped my sword and hooked both my hands under her arms, dragging her along the floor until she lay side by side with Clarissa. The blonde looked just as dazed.

  I quickly unhooked my helmet from my belt and plopped it on my head before pulling both women together and bracing myself over them. Clarissa tried to protest, but another explosion above us silenced her.

  That’s when the ceiling collapsed.

  More screams and panic followed, but the only place I could look was down at the two women, who looked back at with me with wide, worried looks. The ground became littered with large chunks of debris as the world caved in on top of us.

  What felt like massive chunks of rock smashed into my back.

  “Alex!” Clarissa yelled as she poured healing magic into me. It helped take the edge off the pulverizing pain as huge slabs of rock smacked into me, but didn’t slide off.

  My arms wobbled a bit, and I hissed as it seemed both my high Defense and Strength stats were being tested to their limits. I felt the back plate of my armor compress around my spine, unable to resist the tremendous weight I bore.

  The light from Kesara’s magic suddenly winked out and the cavern became pitch black, filled with the groans and screams of the panicked. It was only after the noise from the collapse had stopped and I felt the weight on my back hadn’t increased, that I finally dared to breathe again.

  In and out, slowly.

  “This mountain is damn heavy,” I grunted, my arms wobbling a bit.

  “Is it over?” Juliana asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah, can you ladies see any way out from under here?”

  “Wait, I have my own light spell, but it isn’t as fancy as Kesara’s,” Clarissa said, watching me closely. She looked ready to zap more healing into me, if I faltered.

  “I don�
��t think we need anything fancy here,” I said. “I… think… I’ve got it, so do your magic.”

  Clarissa cast her spell but never looked away from me as a tiny ball of light appeared. It wasn’t as big as Kesara’s, but in a pinch, it would do.

  “There is no opening on this side,” Juliana said, as she felt along the rock I was holding up.

  “There’s a tiny opening we can crawl through beside Alex’s leg on my side,” Clarissa said, pointing. “But… Alex, you will need to move your arm to create a big enough gap for us.”

  Moving my arm was the one thing I didn’t want to do, but I managed to wiggle my palm on my right arm slightly. I was careful not to lose my grip, else I’d end up crushing the women beneath me.

  It was a painstakingly slow process, but I managed to wriggle just enough to the side for Clarissa to slide past me. Juliana carefully did the same, and I lost sight of both as they exited my limited line of sight.

  I heard both of them stand up before Juliana tapped the side of my armor.

  “Alex, push up in three… two… one!”

  I heard both women grunt as they tried to lift the rock while I pressed up with all my might. The weight on my back gradually lightened until a massive rock slab flipped off to my far side.

  I immediately collapsed to the ground. Groaning, I rolled to my back. My arms decided now was a good time for rest.

  “Jeez,” I muttered. “My poor arms…”

  “That was so heroic, Alex,” Clarissa squealed as she grabbed my aching shoulder. “How do I get this damn helmet off?”

  “Help him up first,” Juliana said, and each woman grabbed one of my arms and raised me up to my feet.

  I monetarily wobbled in place. My arms felt like jelly and I wanted nothing more than to sit back down when Clarissa quickly lifted off my helmet, tossed it to the side and began kissing me on the lips, hard.

  She smelled so damn nice amidst all this rubble. It was a complete surprise, though, when Clarissa’s lips pulled back and were replaced by Juliana’s.

  My hands gained enough strength to gently stroke her side, and she pulled back after an exquisitely long moment to smile at me.

  “Thank you, Alex,” Juliana said, a blush creeping up her neck and cheeks.

  “Anything for you, for either of you… for both of you,” I said, still dazed from their kisses.

  “We were so close to the end,” Clarissa said. “Who knew a Troglodread would be here, of all places. If I still were in my father’s Clan, I would send him some very unflattering messages right now.”

  “What the heck is a Troglodread, anyway?” I asked, “That thing was insane. I can’t even fathom getting close enough to it to fight it.”

  “A monster that usually trawls along in the very deepest parts of a Dungeon,” Juliana said, her hand lifting to tap on her chin. “Things must be worse than we feared, if it has come this close to the surface.”

  “Is it gone?” I asked, looking around. There was so much rock and rubble in the way, I couldn’t see much from where we stood.

  “I doubt it will return,” Juliana said, “I have heard it usually only charges its opponents once, before scurrying away. Once is usually all it takes.”

  “Jeez…” I muttered. “Well, I’m relieved the two of you are fine. We should probably go help the others.”

  “Good idea handsome,” Clarissa said. “I think my heals will be sorely needed.”

  I looked around again and saw splashes of red and green from the dyed armors of both Tasberg and Hogannan soldiers, as Clarissa lit up our immediate surroundings. Some were stuck under large sheets of rock, as I had been, while other bits of armor and the arms or legs in them were… separated from their owners.

  I let out the breath I had been holding and stood up a bit taller. It was time to get to work and see how bad the damage was. No matter what, I would ensure we would survive this.

  No matter what.

  22

  “Alex, over this way!” Juliana shouted as she waved me over. “I need some help for this one. This man’s leg is trapped here.”

  “Gods, it bloody stings,” the soldier hissed. He had both of his hands propped under the rock slab, trying to lift it off his leg himself.

  “On my way,” I said, finishing up helping out a Hogannan soldier who’d had his arm stuck under several tons of rubble.

  Normally, I would have assumed his arm was done for, but with a little bit of Clarissa’s magic, it’d be restored to working order in no time. Magic here really could work much needed miracles.

  I had to be careful not to disturb any of the rubble near me more than I needed to as I walked. We all knew more of the ceiling could collapse at any moment, and none of us wanted that.

  We had all separated to help the wounded, with Clarissa staying in one central place to provide her healing.

  “Just the leg for this one, right?” I asked and Juliana nodded.

  “There is another man trapped on the other side of this debris, though. If we lift up this side, some rocks might slide onto him.”

  “Right, got it,” I said, looking beside me at the enormous pile of rocks. “Well… I guess I’ll just have to find another way around.”

  “There’s a narrow gap behind me that leads to the other man,” Julianna said, pointing. “He is unconscious, but alive.”

  “Alright, I’ll get on it,” I said, using my hand to lightly stroke Juliana’s side as I passed by.

  I ducked through the narrow gap that she’d mentioned and moved slowly as only a little bit of light from Clarissa’s magic reached here. I saw the man that Juliana mentioned, with his entire lower body stuck into the rocks.

  When I checked his pulse, he was very much alive, though barely. That armor of his was more crushed than whatever the back plate of my own armor looked like.

  I felt around for a solid hold on the rock and prepared myself.

  “I’m ready!” I called back.

  “Me too, on three… two… one!”

  I lifted the rock slowly but steadily, hoping that nothing else would go wrong. Some smaller bits of rock slipped off to the sides, but otherwise everything seemed fairly stable.

  Thanks to my Strength, I was able to keep the slab up with one hand, even if I couldn’t lift it much more without exerting myself. I used my free arm to slowly drag the man away from under the rocks, yanking his feet out of the way in the process.

  “You good there, Juliana?” I asked.

  “Yes! Do you need help with dragging the man out on your side?”

  “Nah, already done. This one isn’t too bad to hold up on my own.”

  “Then let it back down slowly in three… two… one.”

  I gently lowered the rock until it hit the floor and stepped back to see if it made any sudden movements.

  When nothing happened, I let out a sigh of relief and moved to grab the man I had freed. He was still unconscious and his legs were a real mess. One of his greaves had split and pierced his shin. He was lucky it hadn’t severed a major vein or artery.

  At least he wasn’t heavy, not with my Strength stat. It seemed I had done well to choose that as my first stat to grow when I came to this world. Even though my Defense stat had somehow surpassed it.

  I carried the soldier back, ducking through the opening I had used previously, mindful not to scrape him along any of the walls. When I saw Juliana on the other side, some soldiers with her took the man off my hands and whisked him away.

  No doubt to Clarissa, who was busy healing someone else.

  “Is that everyone?” I asked and Juliana nodded.

  “I believe so. The men are not able to find anyone else in this section of the cave.”

  “How’s it looking for numbers?”

  “We have a total of sixteen men we found alive and have saved, but sadly… many others we found had already perished,” Juliana said, frowning. “Before this, I found Clarissa’s companion, Anny I believe it was, and sent her to Clarissa. Unfortunately, I h
ave not found any more of my own retinue.”

  That was the problem with cave-ins like this. There could be others stuck on the other side of the giant wall of rocks that had formed behind us, but even with all of us working together, it would take a long time to dig through. That was setting aside the fact that we might end up making things even more unstable here than it was already.

  Anny was alive and well though, which was a bit of positive news, for once.

  “I’m glad that Anny is okay,” I said. “Clarissa must be relieved, as well.”

  “I imagine so, but… I’m worried for my retinue. I don’t even know if they are alive or stuck in this mess.”

  “Remember they are in the party,” I said as I opened up the party menu. “It says they’re alive, but the location tracker isn’t working, probably because they are too far away, and this tracker is short ranged.”

  Juliana let out a sigh of relief as her own eyes went distance to confirm my words.

  “I had forgotten about that feature, now if only we had a way to find them…” Juliana said.

  “Don’t you have them all in your Clan?” I asked, “Why not just message them on it?”

  Juliana blinked at me for a moment, then came up close to kiss me hard. She even went for some tongue for a good while, before stepping back.

  “An excellent idea, Alex,” she said as her eyes glazed over once again. “I’ll send them a message now.”

  While I waited, I saw Clarissa slowly walk up to us. Her eyes told me just how tired she was. When she reached for me, I was more than happy to loan her my shoulder to lean on.

  “Hmmmm, you’re quite warm, handsome,” Clarissa muttered. “And that’s everyone, except for one, all healed the best that I could manage.”

  “Wait, did the last guy I saved just not make it?” I asked, curious.

  She shook her head.

  “No, he was easy to heal. It was that woman we saw just before the Troglodread appeared. She’s still alive but her injuries are… strange…”