by Arthur Stone
Ros had also managed to level up his Summoning to four, and Intellect to three, ditto Mining & Quarrying. He had completed the Rat Scourge achievement, receiving five extra HPs as a reward and unlocking a new achievement: Rat Terror. He now needed to slay five thousand rodents for the next time, which would net another random prize.
He suspected it wouldn’t take too long, as long as the mine didn’t run out of rats.
Apart from rodent genocide, there was little other progress. All the dirty work was done by the leprus, so it was mostly his Summoning that kept growing, and very slowly at that due to the penalties—most of the mobs were around level two while his Summoning was already at four. It grew at a more or less decent rate only when he killed large rats, but he wasn’t seeing all that many of them. His Intellect had stopped growing, too—not that it had been growing all that rapidly before. He’d have to heal the Leprus in battle to level up, but how does one heal a pet that takes no damage?
The poor rats would get snuffed before they could so much as squeak.
Thus, he had to cast Soul Trap for Intellect to grow, regardless of high mana expense. Not the most necessary stat for a worker, but Ros was already convinced he could make a decent living even without swinging his pickaxe ever again.
All the miners became devout consumers of the meat as prepared by the enterprising Shoto. Just two days later he had informed Ros that their initial projections of ten silver pieces were now a reality. He hadn’t manage to find a decent pickaxe yet, but he was still looking—or, rather, trying to convince two prospective candidates to part with their tools.
But all that was less urgent to Ros now. Even the pike was only getting the occasional use. All his interactions with the rats were now essentially limited to the following: he would step forward and cast Soul Trap at another victim, letting it bite his ankle. The leprus would get alarmed by the attack on its owner, and proceed to make quick work of the attacker. This was Ros’ way of leveling up his Stamina, as you could never have too many hit points.
Ros was getting bored. Same old rats, tedious quartz geodes, skinning, chunks of meat, and a constant overload.
He wished for something more than just raising Butchery, the recently-opened auxiliary stat.
* * *
No one must have been here before him, at least not since the mine had been dug. Although, perhaps no humans were present physically even then, seeing as magic was involved.
Ros must have walked at least a mile, counting from the spot where Shoto left the cart. He’d gone past a few dozen galleries without checking them. He didn’t know how far his spirit of adventure would take him, but suddenly he noticed an uneven opening in one of the walls, with a cave of as uneven a shape behind it. Nothing about it looked man-made—there were huge stone stalactites and stalagmites on the ceiling and the floor of the cave, without any even surfaces in sight. There were no grooves for cart wheels, and he could hear the murmur of a small creek somewhere near.
But Ros didn’t get much time to admire his discovery properly. A shadow flashed amid the stalactites, aiming straight for him. He recoiled reflexively and jumped to the side while the attacker was met by the leprus. The monster was sent flying and crashed into a wall, then started to stir, shaking its head in amazement as it tried to rise.
“Cave Trumus. Aggression: high. Sociality: none. Level: hidden. Skills: hidden. Stats: hidden.”
Ros had already learned that information on mobs of the same level as the player was displayed in white lettering. The lower the level of a monster as compared to the player’s, the greener it became; the same was true for monsters of a higher level and red lettering. So, even if a player couldn’t see a mob’s level, they could always have a rough idea of what they were up against.
This scaly fox with the head of an alligator had bright red lettering over it. It appeared as though Ros had found his long-awaited adventure.
“Gorgeous! Strangle!”
The leprus obeyed, grabbing the mob by the throat instead of pummeling it again. The target twitched for a while, and then hung limp, whereupon the pet set its prey down on the ground.
“Your Summoning grows by 1. Current value: 5. You receive a bonus for the level of the summoned creature: your spells for healing, buffing, and summoning pets will require 10% less magic energy. Your Agility stat grows by 1. Current value: 28.”
Why did his Agility grow? Was it because of the lunge, when Ros had miraculously managed to avoid the trumus’ line of attack? What level must the monster have been to raise two of his stats at once?
And yet, even the trumus with its bright red lettering had failed to take so much as a single HP off the leprus. Ros didn’t just get lucky with his pet: he had found a veritable tank in a world of swords and sorcery. Even though this death machine was only a menace to comparatively weak mobs and wouldn’t be of much use in some of the areas when even level 200 players felt like helpless noobs, he was still in luck. Ros cared nothing for such places—he was a simple level zero worker, after all.
The trumus didn’t contain much loot—only the fangs and the talons, which did not fit into the slots occupied by similar rat body parts. The bag was getting filled up very quickly, and he’d have to do something about it as soon as possible.
Ros entered the cave without any second thoughts—he liked this underground location more. It was prettier, and the air was drier despite the bubbling creek. It would probably make sense to move his portable bunk here. The leprus would be a reliable guard if even a “red” mob stood no chance against him.
Ros didn’t get very far. Even though he was still mainly occupied with hunting, he remained cognizant of mining, and studied the walls just as attentively as ever.
“Low-quality limestone, with significant water damage, with purple quartz veins and a purple geode. Chance of finding an amethyst crystal: 71.69%. Chance of finding an additional amethyst crystal: 9.85%. Chance of discovering an unexpected resource: 0.02%.”
How much was amethyst worth? Ros didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to pass it by.
“Amethyst crystal. Pale purple, cloudy. Weight: 8.4 g.”
Not much luck there! It would be fun to get something clear and free of cracks for a change. Ros had already had it explained to him that such gems were much higher in value, and were used for making expensive items. Such gems could also be enchanted separately, and their bonus could then be added to any item they would be inserted in. Jewelers, enchanters, and a bunch of others would buy all your stock readily, no matter the amount.
He found another amethyst geode a few steps away, but Ros didn’t manage to start at it—the location was too dangerous, so it was only natural the local critters would come at the sound of the pickaxe hitting rock.
“The Cave Shadowcrawler hits you for 62 damage.”
Damn!
Ros rolled away and spun around, thrusting his pickaxe in front of him. But it wasn’t necessary—the leprus was already gripping the mob by its long neck, quite proactively
“Cave Shadowcrawler. Aggression: highest. Sociality: antisocial. Level: hidden. Skills: hidden. Stats: hidden.”
“Strangle!”
The leprus was already doing that very thing, but an official order wouldn’t go amiss.
The shadowcrawler was strong, but I didn’t manage to get through the leprus’ defenses, though it kept whacking away at the pet with its paws until the leprus broke its neck with a loud crack. That same mob had made Ros lose nearly half his HP, almost killing him. He’d had 151 points all in all, boosted by the rings, bracelets, and amulets, and he’d lost 62.
It was a pity he could wear no more jewelry. A hunt this dangerous could send him right into the stone circle in no time. Greedy must be missing him.
“Your Stamina grows by 1. Current value: 4. Congratulations! You have destroyed a monster forty or more levels above yours! Achievement earned: Crazy Loner, Part Two. Achievement bonus: 2 undistributed base stat points. Bonus effect: permanent. Achievement unl
ocked: Giant Slayer, Part Two. Kill 50 monsters whose level exceeds yours by forty or more without any help to complete the achievement. Achievement bonus: random.”
Even though it was painful and scary, sustaining damage in battle was good for his Stamina. Ros was happy about the nine extra hit points. When things got this dangerous, every droplet of health was vital.
He chewed a slice of meat hastily, washing it down with water. You never knew who else might turn up. In fact, it would be nice to have some potions for just such a case—he’d have to revisit the matter sometime.
The shadowcrawler looked like a squashed bear: flat and furry. The paws were rather thin, but the talons on them were the scariest Ros had seen so far. Apart from the leprus, that is.
The beast’s mottled coloring made it very hard to see against the cave floor. It was obvious why the leprus had missed it at first. The shadowcrawler must have been using its disguise to the max, and could also move silently.
A most dangerous mob, that one.
Talons, fangs, and a gallbladder—three slots less in his bag. The pelt was there, but Ros never managed to get it, receiving the following system message: “Your Skinning skill is insufficient to skin this target. Level it up by skinning lower-level monsters.”
Ros felt a huge urge to invest the two points he got into Stamina, but he remembered that Strength was more important now. It would also help him mitigate the overloading, which was turning into a serious problem. So he did just that, ending up with fifteen points without the jewelry. A bit less than the planned minimum of twenty, but who could have thought he’d manage to level it up as impressively as this in a mere two weeks.
Ros waited for the HP bar to restore fully before starting to chip away with his pickaxe again. That was prudent of him—no sooner had he began that he heard the sound of claws scraping against the rock, and saw two mobs at once appear before him. Good old pters, well familiar from before. It had taken just one back then for Ros to find himself peering into Greedie’s kind eyes in a matter of seconds.
He should have dumped the points into Stamina, after all—jewelry or not, a beast like that would finish him off in just a few hits.
“Gorgeous! Get them! Strangle!”
Gorgeous got them all right. As he was twisting the first mob’s neck, the second kept pecking him with its massive beak as though it were a sledgehammer. And yet, the pet’s health bar just wasn’t budging. Even if he was losing HP, the amount of damage sustained must have been ridiculously low.
Tossing the carcass of the deceased critter aside, the leprus grabbed the other one, which was just about to run off to attend to some pressing business it had just remembered, but by then it was far too late.
As his pet strangled the foe, Ros stabbed the beast a few times with his pike. Not that the leprus needed any help, but he could use leveling up something other than Summoning.
“Your Attack grows by 1. Current Attack value: 2.”
That was weird—why didn’t it grow before, when he was killing rats? Noob that he was, he understood so few things.
Two pter beaks, a pter egg, a pter feather, and three more slots in the bag all used up.
There was also a trophy: “Leather Archer’s Glove, reinforced with simple chain mesh. Item Class: Enhanced. Armor. Protects from ranged and melee weapons. Physical defense: 18. Magical defense: 0. Special armor bonus: protects the hand from bowstring recoil almost without damaging the bowstring. Stat bonuses: +2 to Accuracy, +1 to Agility, +2 to Rapid Shot. Requirements: Level 28. Weight: 0.28 kg. Durability: 61/110.”
Another slot in the bag filled.
Ros got the other amethyst crystal, and finally reached the creek. It was running through a cave of stupendous dimensions. The main mine tunnel looked like a pinprick next to a hole left by a large nail in comparison. Clumps of fluorescent moss grew on the walls, so even a creature without night vision would not remain blind here.
The water turned out to taste great, and no one tried to attack him—what could be better?
Ros kept moving downstream, harvesting the frequently-found geodes of amethyst, eventually attracting the attention of yet another pter. The noise it made warned him of the danger in advance. The mob was easily strangled, with a few pokes with the pike thrown in. At the end of the battle Ros earned another Attack point and some nondescript loot.
He felt like going ever onward, but it was time to go back—he had to return to the cart in time.
* * *
On his way back Ros alternated between running and power walking. He made it in time—the cart wasn’t there yet. He sat down to draw a breath, telling the leprus to wait in a nearby gallery. He just got the carcass of the last pter from the pet, who had been carrying it in his front paws. He wanted to show it to the orc to gauge its value. If there was none, he could always feed it to his pet, which had quite the appetite despite being a zombie.
The orc drew a heavy sigh as he pushed the cart over.
“It takes a while to get all the way here.”
“You should see the places I’ve been exploring,” boasted Ros.
“Farther than this?”
“A whole lot.”
“Don’t you get scared?”
“What would I be scared of?”
“Well, mobs, for one thing.”
“You mean these?” asked Ros with a sneer, moving aside to let the orc see the pter.”
“Bloody hell! How did you manage it?!”
“Hunters have their secrets,” Ros made his voice sound as mysterious as he could.
“It was a fluke, wasn’t it?” Shoto kept pressing.
“I can get you more if you want them.”
“You’re shitting me!”
“I’m as serious as can be. So tell me, do you need any of this meat?”
“Hell if I know. Looks like a weird kind of bird, and those wings are tiny and featherless. I gotta try it out—it might be good. I’ll tell you tomorrow by lunchtime for sure.”
As Ros loaded the cart up with rat meat, he asked,
“Any chance you could get me a better bag?”
“This one isn’t good enough for you?”
“I need a bigger one. I also heard there are bags that reduce the weight of the stuff you carry inside them. I’d love to get one of those.”
“Is that all? Are you sure you don’t want Greedie to give you a million in gold as a present, and his underwear to boot?”
“So, you’re sure you can’t get one?”
“I’ll ask, but such bags usually cost a pretty petty, while our workers are a bunch of bums gathered from all across the province. Where would they get a bag like that?”
“What about getting one from Greedie?”
“He hasn’t got one, either, and even if he does, he’ll suck a gallon of your blood before you convince him to part with it. You’ll pay triple, too. And besides, he’s away—gone off somewhere with his thugs. He’ll surely get back pissed off as hell, with his name redder than any tomato. It would be easier to arrange something with one of the penalized players and have a coachman smuggle one from the city.”
“How does that work?”
“The clan often sends penalized players to serve here as guards for a week or two. Some of them are decent enough folks that you can deal with. There are more of them now, by the way, since Greedie and the gang needed replacements while he’s away. There are carts coming every day to take away the smelted ore and to deliver coal, wood, and chow. The drivers are usually NPCs, but there are a few players among them. The guards can arrange things with an NPC or a player, and they will get you a bag from the city. But it’s gonna cost you—much more than if you get it yourself.”
Ros showed the glove he got as a trophy to the orc.
“Do you reckon this thing is expensive?”
“No idea. I’ll need to check the forum. Hold on a second.”
“Wait a moment. I’ve got something else here,” Ros produced everything he had gathered from the hig
h-level mobs during the day, as well as the amethysts.
The orc took a brief look at the loot, and then froze, his face slackening. Ros realized that Shoto logged out for a moment or left the computer for a while, assuming he was playing without immersion.
The orc was away for some twenty minutes, and started talking as soon as he got back.
“The glove is nothing amazing, but you could sell it for forty or fifty silver pieces. There should be a demand—many people play archers, and there are millions of noobs in that level range among them. The gems and the rest are mostly junk that will net you two or three silver, five at the most. The shadowcrawler’s gallbladder is a bit more interesting—twenty-five coins and up.”
Ros made a quick calculation—around seventy silver pieces altogether. Since five doubloons equaled a single gold coin, worth more than a real-life dollar, this short walk had earned him fourteen bucks.
Perhaps it was high time to quit mining altogether and focus on hunting?
“I haven’t checked the amethysts, but I know the prices even without the forum. How many do you have? Five? You can get a silver coin and change for each, so that’s five or six all in all. If they were clear, each would cost as much.”
Mm-hmm. Perhaps the decision to stop mining was a bit premature. Even given that amethyst was a low-level gem, it was still worth considerably more than quartz.
“And I should have around thirty coins on your account,” reminded Ros.
“You do. So, a little over a hundred altogether. You can get a well-worn fifty-slot bag that decreases the weight by around five percent for forty.”
“That’s not enough.”
“Well, bear in mind there’ll be several middlemen, and a lot of the money will stick to their hands.”
