Second Realm

by Michael Chatfield

  Glosil made it to the store side of the smithy. “I heard that Smith Taran was done on some projects. I wonder if any of them are up for sale?” Glosil asked, not sounding out of breath at all as he asked the man at the storefront.

  “U-uh, certainly, Captain Glosil.” The man looked over the crowd of people who had gathered in front of the store.

  Tan Xue let out a short, amused breath. “Battle fanatics are the same anywhere. For weapons and armor, they’ll sell even their family heirlooms.” Tan Xue’s eyes thinned, looking over the people. All of them had at least one or two pieces of Apprentice-level gear or weapons.

  Even this much in the First Realm was a lot. In the Second Realm, it was seen as acceptable. After all, most smiths had reached the level of Apprentice.

  The problem was that many of them were wearing a few pieces of low-grade Apprentice armor that barely made the grade and they had also medium- and high-grade Apprentice armor in a number of cases!

  Tan Xue then shook her head. Why are you looking at their weapons and armor in shock? Aren’t you the one who wants to give them weapons and armor that are of the Journeyman level? She silently looked into her storage ring, where she had put all of the items she had completed.

  “I will go and talk to the smith’s head!” the man at the storefront said with a forced smile, bowing to everyone as he backed away like a prey backing away from a fierce predator.

  He turned and ran into the smithy, a look of panic on his face. Seeing Tan Xue, he ran over.

  “Master Smith Tan Xue! There are a number of people looking to see what items Master Taran has made. He has not okayed the sale of his items and I don’t want to mess with his personal space. What should I do?” he pleaded, sweating.

  Tan Xue nodded at the man. Even though he was at the front of the store, he wasn’t willing to go into Taran’s work area and take his finished items freely just to make the smithy a profit.

  “Taran can figure out if he wants to sell his items.” Tan Xue started to organize her storage rings, moving items around. “The items in here, put them on display and see if you can sell them.”

  The man took the ring with cupped hands and bowed. He moved backward. “Thank you, Grandmaster Smith Tan Xue!” The man bowed once more. He turned back to the store and looked into the ring. He nearly dropped to the ground with a surprised noise.

  Tan turned back to the forge.

  “What did you just give him, Master?” Julilah asked from beside the forge.

  “All of the weapons and armors that Erik and Rugrat looted from those thugs and the weapons that I’ve made since being here,” Tan Xue said simply.

  She had only made two weapons: the shield she had just completed and a curved saber.

  They looked like simple items, but both of them were genuine high-tier Journeyman objects. Saying that they were half-step Expert items wouldn’t be an overstatement, but they still had a long way before they could truly reach that level.

  Tan Xue didn’t make many items. Instead, she spent a great amount of time researching and learning, using that to temper her skills. As one got higher in any skill, just relying on their innate talents was impossible; they needed to talk to others, to experiment and learn.

  True Masters always looked to advance. Those who made the most items were those who were hit with inspiration, and broken through a bottleneck—like Taran, who had made half a dozen Journeyman-level weapons after being able to create Mortal-grade iron just hours before the timeline he placed on himself.

  The second were people who were okay with staying at the level that they were and not looking to advance their skill anymore. They had time to take requests.

  Tan Xue was hungry to make more, but with needing to pay off her debt, she had taken on every and any job to pay back everything.

  Now, with the freedom to do as she wanted, she took out two blocks of Mortal-grade iron.

  “Crank the heat higher!” she ordered.

  Julilah took out some lower-grade monster cores and tossed them into the flames that seemed to dance in excitement. The monster cores turned into the magic flames’ fuel. Tan Xue welcomed the heat of the forge; the noises of shock and excitement coming from the front of the smithy were mere background noise.

  Julilah simply let out a sigh. “With that look in Master’s eyes, it looks like I will need to go to the cookhouse to get some more food. Though Miss Feng always has some good treats,” Julilah said under her breath.

  ***

  Jasper was leading a group of people out of the dungeon’s market place, heading out on the next trading convoy, when he saw people milling around the smithy.

  “I wonder what happened at the smithy? I don’t know what would get all those fighter types so excited,” one of the merchants said.

  “Maybe there’s a new item on sale?” another added.

  “Quartermaster, should we go and see what’s going on, to know what kinds of goods we might be able to sell in other places?” another asked innocently.

  Clearly you just want to go over there and see what all of the commotion is about! Though I’m also interested...

  “Let’s go take a look.” Jasper led the five people over to the smithy.

  Jasper hung back, interested but not as excited as the others with him.

  Then he saw the items on sale. The store was practically overflowing with weapons. People were stepping up and buying items left and right, changing gold and weapons over quickly. Still, it couldn’t compare to the two items that were on the top of the weapons wall on the smithy’s store wall.

  Two Journeyman-level weapons rested there.

  Elise’s teaching had been thorough so that even though Jasper didn’t know everything about all the items he appraised, he could tell roughly the grade of different items.

  Seeing the Journeyman weapons, he felt a headache coming on.

  “It’s already hard as hell to find Apprentice-level gear in the First Realm—what are people going to think when they see people with Journeyman-level gear? I need to go tell Elise about this and get them to keep this stuff hidden, or find some way to cover over the grade and hide their level. Looks like that trip is going to be postponed for a few more days.”

  Chapter: Walking, More Walking, Beetle! Worm?

  After Rugrat broke through to the Mana drop formation stage, his Mana system underwent a massive change. His Mana pool increased rapidly, as well as its purity. Though he couldn’t help but complain.

  “I remember back in the day when one hundred thousand Experience would allow me to jump through friggin’ bottlenecks and up levels.” In fact, he’d repeated it more than a dozen times in the boring days as they marched through the desert. Because they didn’t need that much rest, they only slept a little every few days, then continued walking, wearing their robes and shades as they moved through the unending sand. They used their ability Dungeon Sense to try to find where the dungeon was lying but nothing appeared.

  “I wonder if we’ve got a broken ability,” Rugrat asked as they were walking, breaking the silence.

  “It’s the best bet we’ve got and has anything that comes from the Ten Realms broken on us yet?”

  “True,” Rugrat said. They lapsed into silence again as Erik checked their direction and they continued on.

  Sometime later, Rugrat halted Erik. “Do you hear that?” Rugrat asked.

  Erik tilted his head to the side toward where Rugrat was looking. He shook his head in the negative.

  Rugrat pulled out his rifle. Erik pulled out his personal rifle as well and moved to follow him, behind him and to the side. They moved toward the noise Rugrat had heard.

  They moved through the sand for another five minutes. Erik trusted in Rugrat and didn’t say anything.

  Ten minutes went passed as Rugrat altered their direction.

  Then Erik heard a noise. A screeching noise could be heard in the distance, followed by clicking and hissing noises.
/>   Rugrat paused and took a knee after some time.

  They shared a glance, with Rugrat indicating where the noise was coming from.

  Erik gestured with his eyes and his hands. We’ll check it out. If it’s too much to handle, we’ll leave it.

  Rugrat nodded and gestured back, repeating what Erik had indicated.

  With that, they moved forward. Erik looked around, checking their rear as they moved through the desert, up and down some different dunes. As they came to the top of a dune, Rugrat would crouch and then lie down before cresting them.

  Finally, as the noises got louder, Rugrat went up a dune and looked over. His movements slowed down without stopping suddenly so they wouldn’t draw attention. But to Erik, who was watching his every move, he knew what that meant.

  Found it.

  Erik waited, checking the area before Rugrat moved back and down the sand dune.

  He slid down on his ass right next to Erik.

  “Okay, there is a valley over there. On two sides, there are sand dunes. At one end there’s a cave—looks to be the home of eight nasty-looking beetles. There is a large worm attacking them. The beetles were about five meters long and three meters tall. The worm was only half out of the ground but the section out of the ground was about ten meters tall and four wide. About four hundred meters from the vantage point I was at, I could smell something—like those ingredients you smelled like coming from the Black Cauldron—coming from the cave,” Rugrat said.

  Erik debated it for a few moments before coming to a decision. “Okay, let’s take a look.”

  They headed back up the sand dune. Erik looked over the top with Rugrat. There were eight beetles and one worm.

  One of the beetles charged forward with its pincers. The pincers hit the worm, making it shake, but the worm’s hard outer layer was left unaffected. Another beetle attacked and another, using their massive, strong mandibles to clamp and cut into the worm.

  The worm rose up and dropped on the beetles, stunning them. It reared back; one was still attached as it spat out a gray substance.

  It covered one of the beetle’s faces.

  The beetle started to thrash around as the worm’s spit started to congeal and harden.

  The other beetles charged forward, letting out their hissing and clicking war cries. Their mandibles locked onto the worm’s outer skin but they weren’t able to get through, though even as they tightened their grip, the worm’s skin cracked and scarred. The worm let out another roar; sand rose up and compressed into sandstone drills that flew through the air and struck the beetles. The beetles were tossed back. Some were thrown on their backs but their fellows moved to flip them back over.

  The powerful sandstone drills only left minor scratches on the beetle’s carapaces.

  Erik looked over to Rugrat and signaled for them to go back.

  They crawled off the edge of the sand dune until the sounds of fighting dimmed down a bit.

  “That is a whole bunch of nasty that I don’t want to screw with,” Erik said.

  “Experience, though?” Rugrat asked.

  “I’m interested in what’s in that cave. If I can get in there, I can get whatever is in there, break out and we go on our way,” Erik said. “Those are called medicine beetles. They grow different ingredients, tending to them for decades, eating them, and living off the ambient energy to sustain their lives and grow to the size they are.” In the different materials he had consumed, there had been information on different animals that were closely connected to Alchemy. The medicine beetle’s cave was a treasure trove for alchemists. Even the medicine beetle’s bodies were great materials that could be used in Alchemy, smithing, and cooking.

  Having been around ingredients all of their lives and living off them, the power in their bodies wasn’t small. The bigger the risk, the greater the reward. Also, the creatures were level seventeen, with the worm being level twenty-one.

  Erik wasn’t sure about fighting them. The worm’s defense was incredibly high and it was able to hold off eight level seventeens all by itself.

  “All right, I’ll take over watch and cover you,” Rugrat said.

  With that, they moved to their different positions. Erik stayed low and circled around the sand dune. He moved quickly until he got to a lower sand dune. He was behind the cave and the beetles that were still fighting the worm.

  “Good to go.” Erik used his sound transmission device to contact Rugrat.

  “Got you covered,” Rugrat replied.

  Erik moved forward, neither quickly nor slowly. He looked around, making sure that he wasn’t noticed, taking his skills from everything that Rugrat had taught him.

  Rugrat was much better at stealth and sneaking up on people than Erik. Still, Erik moved to the cave’s entrance. The beetle that had its face covered had died; another had lost one of its legs. The worm was looking worse for wear, with its Mana dwindling and its armored skin covered in attacks.

  The worm rose up more and used its body to slam the beetles. It caught one, stunning it as it staggered backward. Cracks showed on its carapace.

  Their attention was totally taken up by the worm.

  Erik moved forward, making it to the side of the cave.

  Erik just crossed the threshold when a pungent smell was released.

  Erik had been so focused on the battle he hadn’t been paying attention to what was around him, or what was under his feet.

  He stepped on a vine that was hidden in the sand. Stepping on it released a smell that alerted the beetles.

  The beetles’ clicking rose a note as they turned to face Erik.

  Erik pulled out two grenades and tossed them at the beetles.

  They went off, stopping the beetles from charging forward as their carapaces had embedded shrapnel in them.

  Erik took off at a run and fired Mana bolts behind him to try to suppress the angered beetles.

  The worm slammed down on another one of the beetles, cracking its carapace. It exploded, green ichor covering the valley.

  The beetles’ bodies took on a red hue as they activated some special skill.

  Four of the beetles charged the worm. Two latched on; their mandibles cracked through the worm’s skin, finally drawing blood.

  Rugrat’s gun fired. His hit struck the carapace of one of the two beetles charging Erik. The beetle let out a sound of pain as the Explosive Shot round exploded, opening the carapace more.

  The worm spat at one of the beetles, covering its carapace but some of it got on Erik’s legs.

  Erik could feel it hardening, making it harder for him to run. He turned and fired Mana bullets at the two beetles chasing him. His shots hit the beetles, covering their vision and making them rear up.

  Rugrat’s shot hit one in the stomach. At their jerky actions, his second shot went through the joint around the beetle’s head. The round tunneled in deep and exploded with Explosive Shot.

  The beetle twitched and dropped to the ground. A tombstone appeared.

  Erik shifted fire onto the other beetle. The beetle took the hits. It didn’t seem to be too badly damaged. It had turned to face Rugrat but Erik’s attacks brought its focus back onto him. Rugrat’s rounds sparked off its carapace.

  It tripped over and slammed into the ground. It hadn’t watched where it was going, so angered at its fellow’s death that it didn’t see the spit that was on the ground.

  Erik moved his legs but they were sealed together, the spit hardening more.

  Erik tried to break his legs apart as the beetle picked up the spit-covered leg and moved forward. It continued to carry more sand.

  Rugrat fired once and then went silent.

  ***

  Rugrat worked the action on Big Momma but the round was stuck.

  Erik couldn’t move and was ambling backward, firing on the approaching beetle but none of his Mana bullets penetrated.

  Rugrat tossed it back into his storage ring and pulled out his
M40. As the beetle hopped forward to hit Erik, Erik rolled to the side and took a hit to his side. It scraped off the armor as Rugrat fired. His bullet struck the beetle in the eyestalk.

  It roared out in pain, still moving forward.

  Erik used Mana bolt on his feet and launched himself forward. His entire body glowed with Mana. One could see the different muscles in his body activating in concert with his Mana channels.

  Erik uppercut the beetle, hitting its underside. His fist cracked its carapace, the Mana focused in his fist. The pressure spread out but the beetle’s carapace contained the power, causing further internal damage and killing it.

  The beetle slumped forward and pinned Erik to the ground. His head was clear but the arm he had used to attack the beetle was in bad shape. He had focused too much Mana in his hand. With Erik’s Body Cultivation, it had already started to recover

  Erik grunted, twisting and turning as he looked to free himself.

  Rugrat swung his aim to the remaining four beetles and the worm.

  The enraged beetles had left cuts on the worm, wounding it deeply but their red hue was just dying off, their strength dissipating.

  The worm was pierced by one of the beetle’s mandibles again. It twisted its body and let out an unholy screech.

  Rugrat’s ears were sent ringing and he wasn’t even the one being aimed at.

  Two of the beetles were stunned; another coughed up green ichor, taking heavy internal injuries.

  The beetle that was attached to the worm opened and closed its mouth angrily, opening the wound it had created and increasing the damage.

  A green cloud was released by the four attacking beetles. The cloud drifted over the worm, which turned sluggish.

  Mana started to build up in its body again. It was slower this time but it was trying to use another sonic attack!

  The beetles seemed to have found something vital as the worm shuddered and let out a halfhearted sonic attack.

  It had fired the attack into the sky, speeding up its collapse. The worm dropped, landing on two beetles with its body and crushing one with its head. Two more tombstones appeared.