Chapter 23 – The simplest solution – Part Two

Chapter 23 – The simplest solution – Part TwoChapter 23 - The simplest solution - Part Two

Having escorted the three prospective students to the hospital, I made sure they each swore an oath of nonviolence against Sanctuary and the second oath of secrecy to protect the identity of their leading instructor, Wraithe. Despite their initial surprise, the soldiers accepted Wrathe’s authority and presence without complaints.

Since there was also a large number of Forest Goblins who wanted to try and become Surgeons, I volunteered to keep an eye on Hana and her sister so Wraithe could better teach her students.

Contrary to my expectations, neither sister reacted to my presence.

With nothing else to do, I took a seat by the window and intended to watch the goings-on down below. However, with no other distractions, my attention was drawn to a familiar band of red text in my peripheral vision. As my focus brushed over it, the band of text expanded and I very nearly leapt out of my seat in a sudden panic.

[Mandatory Quest: Conquest! {Active}] Sёarch* The NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

[Conquest! {Stage 1}: Kill 1000 monsters within 10 Days {Completed}. {Success} will earn a reward appropriate to your effort and unlock the next stage of the quest. {Failure} will terminate the quest and destroy {Key of Awakening (???). Good luck!]

I had completely forgotten about the mandatory quest! “Complete!” Unsure why it had not automatically completed on its own, I was relieved when the quest text began to change.

[Mandatory Quest: Conquest! {Active}]

[Conquest! {Stage 1}: {Success}]

[Conquest! {Stage 2}: Subjugate another {Settlement} {Completed}. {Success} will earn a reward appropriate to your effort and unlock the next stage of the quest. {Failure} will terminate the quest and destroy {Key of Awakening (???). Good luck!]

[Mandatory Quest: Conquest! {Active}]

[Conquest! {Stage 1}: {Success}]

[Conquest! {Stage 2}: {Success}]

[Conquest! {Stage 3}: Promote 5 {Underlords} {Completed}. {Success} will earn a reward appropriate to your effort and complete the quest. {Failure} will terminate the quest and destroy {Key of Awakening (???). Good luck!]

[Mandatory Quest: Conquest! {Completed}]

[Determining degree of success...]

[Acquiring rewards...]

[Congratulations! You have completed {Conquest!} and will now receive proportionate rewards. x1 available {Settlement Overseer} promotion, x1 {Minion Vanguard}, {Sanctuary} has been promoted to your {Capital}.

[Identifying {Key of Awakening (???)}...]

[Identified {Key of Awakening}. {Shiverfang} Lesser Spear of Conquest: Ignores {Toughness} and applies {Bleeding} Condition. Can expend MP to penetrate armour. Reserves (5 MP) to become {Bonded}. When {Bonded} the Master may summon or dismiss {Shiverfang} at will.]

While I was reading the last message, a large chest appeared on the ground in front of me, the familiar form of the Goblin chieftain’s spear propped against its lid. “Shiverfang?” I mused aloud and reached out for the shaft of the spear. It was just as I remembered it, with a larger and longer head than would otherwise be considered normal, reminiscent of a Roman gladius, the comparatively short shaft was only six feet long. It gave the spear a topheavy appearance despite the balance feeling relatively alright.

Setting Shiverfang aside for the time being, I pulled over the chest to take a look inside. Unlatching and lifting the lid, I was surprised to find a single large egg inside. The quest had said part of my reward was a Vanguard Minion, but I had no real idea what that meant. Because the chest looked about the same size as the one the Daemons had arrived in, I had simply expected a Daemon sized egg to be packed within the large chest.

The egg in question was, for lack of a better word, massive. Easily three feet wide and four feet tall, the egg’s shell was covered in web-like grooves and raised surfaces. Similar to the Daemon eggs, the raised surfaces were a dark black colour while the grooves pulsed with a shifting Emerald and sapphire iridescence.

Gently closing the lid, I wondered what I should do. The Daemons had been prodigious eaters when they first hatched. A literal mountain of food had been consumed in the space of a couple of days. To assume that whatever was inside of this egg would require anything less was asking for trouble.

However, not making best use of their available advantages would have been a big mistake. As resource intensive as the Daemons had been in their early development, they had since made themselves unbelievably useful. From frontline fighters, to teachers and farmers, their potential was only limited by the scope of our collective imagination and Sanctuary’s evolving needs.

Then again, if the egg was any indicator of the infant's size, then there was a very real possibility that whatever hatched from within would rapidly dwarf even me in terms of overall size. There was no real way of telling what was inside either since supposedly all female monsters laid eggs.

I silently debated what to do about the egg for close to an hour before Clarice came to visit.

“You were right!” Clarice exclaimed quietly, making sure not to be too loud and disturb the sleeping Dryad sisters. “The unlock requirements are really similar and I managed to finish the Axeman Basic Class too!”

“That’s great! Good job Clarice!” I praised, not in the least put off by Clarice’s sudden preening. She had earned it. “How long before you think you can unlock them all?”

Clarice’s smile faltered for a moment, “You were serious about that?” She asked, her voice quavering slightly as her sweat soaked body trembled from overexertion.

I nodded, “Yes. I highly suspect that there is at least one Advanced Class linked to learning two or more of the Basic combat Classes. There is also something else,” I waved for Clarice to come closer.

Curious, Clarice sat down on the bed beside me, her eyes curiously over the spear and chest as if only just having noticed them.

“There is a very real chance that those Combat Classes might be linked to some form of dedicated mounted Class,” I explained quietly, “Unlike a Squire or Knight, which are elite anti-infantry units that ‘can’ be deployed on horseback-”

“You're thinking that there is a class that specializes in it?!” Clarice exclaimed with excitement and surprise.

I nodded. “I figured since you already had the most mounted expertise, albeit with no real professional training, that you might unlock a Mounted Class if you unlocked the Archer and Spearman Classes first.”

Clarice said nothing, but her lips widened into a creepy conspiratorial grin, “You know, that Rooke lady said she would teach volunteers how to ride once the undead are dealt with and the army makes a deal for the Beast Trainer Class.”

I could see where Clarice was headed and gave her a weighted nod of approval, “We probably want to get you those unlocks too, the Monster Tamer and Beast Trainer Classes, just in case.”

“Sure,” Clarice agreed with a big grin plastered on her face, “Y’know, I really wish I had taken the Monster Tamer Class,” she admitted sheepishly, “But the testers were convinced I don’t have the ‘personality’ for it,” Clarice affected a strange tone and accented the word with air quotes for good measure.

From what I could recall of Clarice’s original stats, she was far better suited to a direct combat role than a taming one, but it wouldn’t have been impossible. It was far more likely that Clarice had irked her testers in one way or another and then they had relegated her to a Basic combat Class.

In those few moments of analysing Clarice’s explanation, I now noticed a bitterness and resentment that I hadn’t seen earlier. “Are you alright Clarice?”

Clarice didn’t answer for a while, instead, she avoided eye contact as her expression soured and mood darkened further. After a few minutes, Clarice let out a deep sigh and turned to look me in the eye, “I lied to Toofy. I tried not to, but she just kept asking and I couldn’t tell her the truth.” The words came flooding out like a dam had broken deep inside of her, “Thunder is dead, and it's my fault! We were on the Goblins ship, desperately fighting off waves of Deep Orcs. I got knocked overboard...There was something big in the water, snacking on anything that came within reach.” Clarice’s hands began to violently tremble, so she forcibly tucked them under her armpits to hold them still, “I swam and swam as hard as I could, but I wasn’t fast enough...the boat was so close...and all I could think about was how unfair it was...and...and then...” Her voice broke, “Thunder died...That fucking monster killed him! He was still safe back on the ship, but then he was in the water behind me and that fucking thing killed him!” Tears streamed down Clarice’s face as she rocked back and forth on the edge of the bed, “Why did he do that?! I never told him to leave the damn ship!”

Taking hold of Clarice by her shoulder, I pulled her into a hug and gently rubbed her back to try and comfort her.

I had already known about Thunder’s death, and it didn’t take much to fill in the gaps from Clarice retelling her version of events to figure out what happened. Whether she was fully aware of it or not, Clarice had no doubt tried calling out for help, even if only intended as a silent scream to the heavens. Unfortunately, the slave collar on Thunder’s neck made the large bird act as commanded. Supposedly still in a party with Tobi and his Shadowcat Shady, Thunder would have been able to reappear precisely where Clarice needed him to, whether she consciously intended it or not.

As distressing as Thunder’s death was for Clarice, I found it difficult to care all that much beyond the empathy I felt for Clarice’s loss. The unique psychology of monsters meant that the wild monsters were incapable of being tamed or otherwise domesticated by any means besides Enslavement. Perhaps over a long enough period of time, it may be possible to imprint or modify a wild monster's behaviour, but I honestly doubted it. Wild beast type monsters seemed to be dominated entirely by the Enslavement, subsuming their mind outright and bending it to the will of their new master.

“I’m such an idiot,” Clarice snickered bitterly and roughly wiped away the tears from her face.

“No,” I shook my head and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, “You’re human. It’s natural to be sad when your pet passes away. To lose them in such a sudden and violent way...I can only imagine what that feels like.”

Clarice looked at me uncertainly for a moment before slowly nodding her head, “Thanks Tim...I...I know Thunder was probably just a mindless monster, but...”

“It’s okay, I get it,” I gave her shoulder another squeeze, “I am glad you made it back alive Clarice,” I was all the more grateful for Clarice making it back in one piece after hearing her brief retelling of events. I didn’t want her dwelling on what could have been, especially since there was no way of changing it.

The impression I had of Clarice, after considering all she had shared and all I had observed of her behaviour up until now, was that she was both profoundly lonely and desperate for attention. Unlike me, Clarice was prepared to do just about anything to get people’s attention, picking fights and provoking people into arguments were as natural as breathing. Having a pet might actually do her some good. Although finding something strong enough to survive in the Labyrinth would probably prove quite difficult...

Hang on...

What about Shady? The Shadowcat hadn’t behaved like the Draptors at all, in fact, I had seen the Shadowcat come dangerously close to outright denying a direct order. Why was he so different?

“Clarice? Do you remember Tobi mentioning where he got his Shadowcat from?” I asked curiously.

Clarice wiped her nose on her sleeve and looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head, “His brother gave it to him?” She suggested with a shrug.

I furrowed my brow and tried to remember everything I knew about Tobi. Besides the fact that he was an Archer and that Shady had been some sort of gift from his older brother, all I could remember was a reference to Mornbrent and that Shadowcats were supposedly a tier two monster.

“Are Shadowcats native to Mornbrent Labyrinth?” I asked, hoping Clarice would forgive my curiosity in spite of her waning distress.

Clarice wrinkled her brow in thought, “I don’t know. Maybe?” She admitted thoughtfully, “It is supposed to be a dark aligned Labyrinth, so they could be from there. Why?”

Seeing that the distraction was doing her good, I decided to be honest with my suspicions. “I think Shady is a Variant, you know? A named monster.”

Clarice scrunched up her face and shoved my chest incredulously, “No, there’s no way,” she insisted, “Named monsters aren’t cheap, especially ones with displacement abilities...” Clarice’s expression grew more serious, “Unless he doesn’t know,” she gave me a weighty look, “Tim, be honest, why do you think Shady is special?”

I shifted uncomfortably but forced myself to meet Clarice’s intense gaze, “He hasn’t been acting like the other Beast type monsters under the influence of slave collars,” I admitted while skirting mentioning the Draptors directly, “The crocs caught by the Serpent-kin I taught earlier are completely obedient, no resistance whatsoever. But Shady was...different...”

Clarice flinched, “You don’t think Thunder was-”

“-No!” I interrupted louder than I had intended to, “No, Beaky and Thunder were just like the tamed Swamp Lurkers. They showed no signs of being Variants.” The fact that they had both been blank slates in the name department was a telling sign as well.

Clarice rubbed at her temples and sighed, her eyes finally falling on the chest and spear by the bed. Upon seeing the spear, Clarice’s eyes immediately widened in recognition, “That’s the Goblin chieftain’s spear!” She insisted excitedly, “I thought one of the Guild’s goons nicked it!”

I nodded to show I understood, because its sudden disappearance had been confusing for me as well. “I finished a quest earlier and it just sort of appeared out of nowhere,” I explained, ‘Same with the chest too. It has another minion egg in it, only this one was labelled a ‘minion vanguard’. Thoughts?”

Clarice hopped off the bed and made to carefully move the spear aside.

[{Shiverfang} Lesser Spear of Conquest: Bond to Minion {Clarice} Y/N?]

The crimson alert appeared the moment Clarice’s fingers touched the shaft of the spear.

“Uh...Tim?...” Clarice glanced back at me uncertainly, leaning away from her hand as if it were a snake preparing to strike. “You didn’t say it was magical!” She accused me pitchily.

“Denied,” I caught Clarice as she immediately stumbled backwards, like her hand had suddenly been released from a vise. “Uh, yeah, I guess it is,” I apologise, “I didn’t expect a reaction like that though,” I insisted as I reached out and moved the spear away.

“What does it do?” Clarice asked nervously while massaging her fingers.

I told her.

“Fuck me!” Clarice swore, “That’s not a magic item Tim, that’s a bloody Artefact!”

“There is a difference?” I asked, more than happy to play the fool if it meant Clarice was better able to recover from her earlier malaise.

Clarice gave me a partly pitying but mostly incredulous look, “Tim...Sometimes I just can’t even...” She shook her head exasperatedly, “A magic weapon would have increased durability and maybe a little bit of extra damage or speed, that bloody thing!” Clarice pointed at the spear, “Outright ignores Toughness and applies Bleeding, AND can ignore certain amounts of armour at the cost of mana! That’s not even remotely similar!”

I waved my hands placatingly and deliberately glanced over towards the resting Dryads, “Okay, I get it now,” I agreed good-naturedly. It wasn’t like anyone had actually explained what magic weapons and armour did, let alone ‘Artifacts’. The closest explanations had been regarding the nature of magic items like the communication devices.

“Woah!...” Clarice had opened the chest and now had a firsthand view of the egg I had described earlier. “It’s huge! What kind of monster do you think is inside?” She asked curiously, running her fingers over the ridged surfaces of the egg.

“I don’t know,” I admitted, “But considering the Daemons were just classified as Minions and that the quest specifically stated this is a Vanguard Minion, I am actually kind of nervous about hatching it.”

“Huh?” Clarice gave me an incredulous look, “What do you mean? There hasn’t been a single hatchling so far that has gone out of control, and from what Ushu told us, newborns are a bigger danger to each other than us, right?”

“True,” I agreed thoughtfully.

“This could be just the muscle we need to take the fight to those rotten undead!” Clarice declared animatedly, “What if there is something like a Trihorn or maybe another Ogre?”

I flinched but Clarice didn’t seem to notice.

“When are you going to hatch it?!” Clarice demanded excitedly, “Sooner would be better than later, right?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I would need to make sure we have enough food, at the very least. I wouldn’t want the poor thing to starve-”

“So tonight then?” Clarice insisted, “Hatch it after the wild monsters respawn.”

I sighed and took another look at the large egg, “I don’t even know how long this one will take to hatch. I’ll have to ask Gric or maybe Wraithe-”

“I'll go get her!” Clarice volunteered, stiffly yet excitedly jumping to her feet and rushing down the stairs before I could say anything to the contrary.

I let out a long deep sigh and considered taking a short nap on the hospital bed. Without really meaning to, I began to doze and would have fallen asleep if Wraithe and Clarice had not suddenly returned.

“This is it!” Clarice insisted excitedly, her botched attempt at quieting her voice immediately drawing me back to full wakefulness.

I sat back up and watched as Wraithe took a closer look at the egg.

“Hrm...” Wraithe gently ran her rodent-like clawed hands over the edges of the egg and patiently watched the pulsing waves of colour. After about ten minutes of observation, Wraithe scratched her head and gave me an apologetic look, “I am sorry, Lord, but the Beast egg seems to require special conditions in order to hatch.”

I waved my hand dismissively, “It’s alright Wraithe. Do you have any idea what the conditions may be?” I asked curiously. It was the first I was hearing of special requirements, besides a mana rich environment, for hatching monster eggs.

“Perhaps bonding?” Wraithe suggested dubiously while scrutinising the egg with her Mana Sight activated, “Definitely a fluid of some kind...venom? Yes, definitely venom, which means bonding will happen automatically.”

Clarice seemed a little disappointed, “Oh...”

It was now obvious to me that Clarice’s interest in the egg was more a matter of personal interest than just curiosity. I let out a deep sigh and committed myself to the course, “Clarice?”

“Mmm?” Clarice gave me a sad yet profoundly guilty look.

“Human saliva is venomous, or more specifically, it is in just about every way that counts.” While not deemed as potent as snake venom, the bacteria carried in the human mouth was incredibly dangerous all the same. So really, it all depended on what the labyrinth determined to be a ‘venom’. Besides the Swamp Moccasins and the Serpent-kin there had been no truly venomous creatures in the swamp, and neither of them had a ‘venom’ damage-dealing ability. So I figured Clarice and myself had as much a shot as Ushu or one of the other Serpent-kin.

Clarice looked quite surprised, “Really?” Before I had time to answer, she was already sagely nodding her head, “Well you do know all about medicine and stuff, so why not?”

Much to Wraithe’s and my own surprise, Clarice suddenly leaned over the egg and gave it a long wet lick. Almost immediately, Clarice let out a garbled yelp and staggered backwards while pawing at her tongue, “AHW FUG! ID BUWDS!!!”

Springing into action, Wraithe adeptly knocked Clarice prone and pinned her to the ground with her thighs while prying Clarice’s mouth open with one hand to get a closer look at her tongue. Ignoring Clarice’s struggling, Wraithe removed a small piece of charcoal from a crude pouch at her waist and crushed it over Clarice’s tongue.

Sputtering and wheezing from the dust, Clarice seemed to be making a visible effort not to resist. Her patience was rewarded a few moments later when a flash of golden light emanated from her mouth. Moments later, Wraithe was offering her a waterskin that Clarice gladly accepted.

“The surface of the egg is poisonous?” I regretted not having made such an assumption earlier. It made a sort of sense that it would have a natural defence. Not only would the poison ward off potential predators, but it would disable or kill potential egg thieves. From the standing point of traditional evolution, it more or less made sense.

Wraithe nodded but still frowned somewhat, “It was not poisonous before. Perhaps it was activated by contact with her mana?” She suggested before suddenly turning her attention back to Clarice, “You did not channel your mana, did you?”

Clarice shook her head. Gulping down one last mouthful of water, she grimaced, “I was meant to do that to?” Clarice croaked, wincing in pain with each syllable.

Wraithe gently patted Clarice’s head and nodded, a second flash of golden light came out of Clarice’s mouth. Moving off of her, Wraithe helped Clarice back up into a sitting position.

“Thanks,” Clarice grinned sheepishly at Wraithe and then winced as she regarded the egg in the chest again.

“You know, you don’t have to-” The words caught in my throat as Clarice licked the egg for a second time, only this time gathering a surprising degree of mana to herself as she did so. The bond would already have been established from the first contact, and since it was now fairly obvious that the surface of the egg had a reactive poison of some kind, Clarice’s actions were rather excessive.

Drawing away from the egg, Clarice’s lips and tongue were visibly inflamed and blistered, “Liggle hewp?” She coughed, looking at Wraithe and motioning to her own mouth.

Wraithe sighed and began applying another layer of charcoal on Clarice’s lips and tongue before handing her the waterskin again.

After being healed again and rinsing out her mouth, Clarice looked expectantly at the egg and was disappointed by the lack of visible change.

I chuckled and shook my head, “It still needs mana to hatch you know?” Or at least I assumed so.

“She,” Clarice replied with a smirk, “Not it.” She smiled wider at my confused reaction, “A mother knows,” Clarice winked and stiffly got to her feet.

Ignoring the wildly anecdotal evidence required to support such a claim, I was actually curious as to why the monster within the egg had not been invited to Sanctuary. Then I realised my mistake. Clarice did not have the authority to do so. It made sense, in its own way. The Bleak Fang had all marked eggs to establish bonds with their now adopted children, and just like with Clarice and the Vanguard Minion egg I would need to wait for it to hatch before learning more about the monster within.

“Hng! Ooof! Damned if this isn’t heavy!” Clarice groaned as she tried lifting the chest, managing only to raise it a couple of inches off the ground before carefully setting it back down again with a loud grunt. “Little help?” She asked unabashedly.

“I’ll do it,” I waved off Wraithe and decided to leave the spear where it was for the moment. I would come back for it later and figure out what to do with it then. “As much as I do not want to keep you from your students, could you keep an eye on Hana and her sister until I return?”

As expected, Wraithe nodded obediently, “Of course, Lord. May I speak with you before you leave?”

I nodded and motioned for her to continue.

“We, the more experienced Surgeons, had feared the human students’ presence would be detrimental to the learning process,” Wraithe smiled a little and shook her head, a faint trace of incredulity on her face, “But it seems the rivalry is generating favourable results in the speed of which all students are learning your lessons.”

“That’s good,” I agreed, “Just make sure not to let it get too out of hand. It’s good to provide motivation through playing to each group's strengths, but make sure to try to help them find common ground as well, alright? I would much prefer that common ground exists for cooperation later. As vast as the knowledge I have passed on to all of you, it is like a single drop in the ocean of what exists to be discovered.”

Wraithe looked profoundly surprised, “Truly lord?”

“Seriously?” Clarice echoed incredulously, “But you know enough to unlock an Advanced Class, how can there be that much more to know?”

I tried not to think too badly of her, after all, the Surgeons Guild and others had hoarded knowledge to such a degree that it was a wonder civilisation had not collapsed under the accumulated weight of ignorance. “A single book,” I motioned the dimensions of my introductory textbook with my hands, “Was all it took to accomplish that much. Where I am from, what I know, what I remember, would be considered beginner's level. The bare basics required to work a role similar to that of the porters.”

Clarice looked shocked. No doubt, she had imagined I was some sort of savant or prodigy, when that couldn’t be much farther from the truth. If I was smarter, or had better dexterity, I would have tried applying to be a doctor rather than settling for a position as a hospice nurse.

“This is why collaboration and record-keeping are important. It’s why I insisted on the children being taught to read and write. Civilisation is built brick by brick, each generation leaving behind its accumulated knowledge for the next to build upon in turn. Do you understand?” I wasn’t just looking at Clarice, but Wraithe as well. I had expressed similar sentiments before, but never in such relative detail or explained why it was so important.

“I understand, Lord,” Wraithe bowed with the stilted motions I had come to recognise accompanied the Daemons telepathy ability, the required concentration sapping their motor skills while communicating.

Lifting the chest with relative ease, largely because of my wider frame distributing the weight better, Clarice and I carefully made our way down the stairs of the hospital and then headed to the Grove. I was glad to see the Goblins, Deep Orcs, Serpent-kin and humans getting along so well with one another. But I didn’t delude myself into thinking it would always be this easy. Right now, everyone has a vested interest in getting along, and only time would tell how long it would last.

Returning to the hospital, I casually browsed Sanctuary’s registry to see if anyone besides Clarice had any success in unlocking one of the Classes being exchanged. Initially, there was no such luck, which I more or less expected. Even in movies a hero or soldier’s training montage would take the better part of a week. Although it was curious, since Pugilist and its ilk had been just about the same time investment as Surgeon had been., unlocked in roughly the better part of an afternoon.

After searching some more, I was glad to see that Scout had been successfully learned by one of the Daemons and around fourteen Forest Goblins. Thinking back on Lt. Rooke’s initial description of recruiting rather than training Scouts, I wondered if perhaps it was because the class had a much heavier emphasis on tracking and staying hidden rather than fighting. A rare enough combination in humans let alone monsters. It did make me curious what exactly the Lieutenant was teaching in order to allow the Unlock though.

With the first session of exchange lessons ending at sundown, Wraithe returned a short while afterwards and gave me a short rundown on both sisters’ conditions.

So far as she could tell, Hana had initiated and was now subsequently trapped, in a symbiotic link with her sister. Serving as a sort of melding of both physical and psychological life support, Hana was, in Wraithe’s opinion, buying her sister time to piece herself together while Hana served as a sort of buffer for the more traumatic experiences and damage. Wraithe made it very clear that she had a limited understanding of what was going on and that she had only gotten her limited insights through repeated attempts at establishing a telepathic connection.

The best treatment plan Wraithe could come up with was moving the pair into the Grove and waiting to see if the more familiar environment would help expedite their recovery. At the very least, the mana rich air and water would keep them in prime condition while they continued draining what nutrients they required from the nearby plants.

Leaving Wraithe to organise the transfer, I retrieved Shiverfang and decided to confer with Lt. Rooke to see if the first day of training had gone as they had expected. Not in too much of a hurry, I wanted to give the human volunteers an opportunity to make their own reports first.

Passing the training fields, I wasn’t surprised to see dozens of men and women actively practising drills and performing general exercises. It was pretty much the sort of thing I expected independent progress to look like. Interestingly enough, many of those still practising were doing as Clarice had done earlier with the axe, repeatedly swinging, thrusting or drawing their weapon over and over again, some of them to the point of generating visible blisters. If it weren’t for the eager presence of the junior Surgeons, I probably would have had half a mind to put a stop to the more enthusiastic among them then and there.

Activity near the cooking fires was also more lively than usual. A particularly enterprising Forest Goblin had somehow negotiated the veritable mountain of clay from Toofy’s extra-dimensional inventory and made close to a dozen relatively large-sized cooking pots. The cause for the commotion was not precisely the pots themselves, but the alluring smells coming from inside of them. Experienced cooks from the Forest Goblins, Serpent-kin’ and even one of the human Sergeants were brewing stews or soups using the plentiful arrays of spices provided by the Druid’s, in what seemed like an impromptu cooking competition. Although, of all the participants, the grizzled Sergeant seemed to be the only one following any sort of strict recipe.

I felt a little guilty about not suggesting someone attempt making some pottery for cooking sooner. Objectively, it was more hygienic and allowed more food to be prepared simultaneously, so it should have been higher on my list of priorities. All the more so since the sudden boom in Sanctuary’s population meant efficiency was becoming more important than simply having enough resources to go around.

I made a mental note to check in with the Deep Orc smiths and see if it would be possible to cast a huge cooking pot to better provide for communal meals. I hadn’t seen them do any smelting as of yet, just heating, shaping or cutting the ingots into more workable sizes, but I assumed they knew how to smelt the iron down if they knew how to do everything else. If we could get that huge pot for making larger meals with, it could free up more of the clay for bowls to eat out of, which seemed to be another scarcity. Not that I blamed whoever had made the pots, but there were only about a couple of dozen bowls floating around the cooking fires, and they needed to be cleaned again before anyone else could use them.

The human Sergeant had introduced something of a workaround for the meantime, although it was hardly perfect. The cheese-squash could be hollowed out to form a temporary bowl, although you had to be very careful not to touch the bottom for fear of the transferred heat burning your hands. It wouldn’t last particularly long, around ten minutes at most, before the exterior would soften and inevitably rupture. It also made whatever you put inside of it taste like the cheese-squash too, which some considered enough of a turn off to warrant waiting for a bowl to become available.

The Gnolls seemed to have come up with their own solution, and I honestly wasn’t all that surprised after having considered their inherent talent for working with hides and leather. Each had made their own medley of waterskins and were offering them in trade to others at the cookfire. Just as capable of holding soup and stew as they were water, none of their customers really needed much convincing. The most interesting part was the requested payment the Gnolls made of their customers. They were literally selling their merchandise for favours.

It made a sort of sense when I stopped to think about it. After all, there were only three of them. If the Gnolls got into a disagreement with a group from another species, or needed help with a personal project, their options would be otherwise limited. Once the undead were dealt with and hunting resumed, it would probably go a long way towards their peace of mind knowing that whoever went hunting and those left behind had favours to call upon if they needed it. It was weird, eliminating the vagaries of reciprocity through gift-giving like that, but this whole situation was pretty weird already, favour trading was probably the least of it at this point.

As planned, I eventually left the cooking fires and entered the army’s camp. They were pretty much doing the same as everyone else. Those not on duty were gathered around cooking fires or sitting in small groups chatting or eating their evening meal. Lingering by their cooking tent for a short while, I was surprised to see just how heavily the cooks, or soldiers on cooking duty, were using the cheese-squash. I was surprised, because none of the soldiers seemed to like it particularly much and were not quiet about voicing their grievances with the cooks.

I actually felt kind of bad for the cooks. They were doing as best they could, so far as I could tell. Frying onions, garlic and all manner of strong spices together before boiling the heck out of the cheese-squashes, assumedly to remove all semblance of flavour and improve the texture, before adding the spicy sauce. It seemed like a solid plan, basically providing a sort of starchy fatty pulp and then flavouring it from scratch. Only it didn’t seem to work all that well since many soldiers still complained of the taste.

Curiously enough though, the soldiers seemed eerily quiet regarding the taste and smell of their ‘beer ration’. All the more suspicious considering it smelled strongly of cheese-squash...

I was about to investigate further, but was intercepted by Captain Kristof before I got a closer look into one of the open beer barrels.

“Ah, Chieftain Tim, I was not expecting to find you by our cooking tent,” He laughed good-naturedly, if somewhat awkwardly, “Were you perhaps interested in joining us for dinner?”

I could tell he was joking, but decided I would see what the soldiers were complaining about, “Alright,” I agreed, “We can discuss business over a meal.”

Cpt. Kristof’s smile stiffened, but he nodded amicably and attempted to steer me towards the command tent. No doubt he intended to offer me something more fitting a state dignitary, but that would have defied my point in accepting to eat with them in the first place.

Taking one of the thin steel bowls off a nearby trestle table, I moved to the back of the line and did my best to try and pretend not to notice the soldiers staring at me. After receiving my portion from the near petrified cook on serving duty, I followed Cpt. Kristof to the command tent. It seemed like just about all of the officers were in attendance, barring the Sergeant that was still no doubt cooking and enjoying his own meal at Sanctuary’s cooking fires.

Since everyone was using crates or barrels for seating, I didn't have to worry all that much about breaking a chair, although it was a little awkward when I realised I didn’t have a spoon or fork to eat with.

Perhaps having guessed my dilemma, or maybe acting on reflexive etiquette, a nearby Lieutenant offered me one of his. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, or eat with my hands now that it could be avoided, I gratefully accepted the offered spork with a smile. I made a mental note to try and do something nice for him later if I could.

The meal wasn’t as bad as I had expected. It was more weird than bad. Like a sort of curry paired with soft cabbage or over-boiled potato.

To their credit, the officers were eating the same food as their men, albeit with larger servings of the ‘sauce’. It wasn’t until I finished my meal that I realised no one else was remotely close to finishing theirs and had spent a great deal of time staring at me instead.

I took a moment to review my behaviour and couldn’t really see any problems with my manners, unless there was some Asrusian custom I was unaware of. Then I realised that my otherwise ‘civilised’ behaviour had probably been the cause for attention. Letting out a deep sigh, I nudged my empty bowl and the borrowed spork a short distance across the table to show I was done eating and ready to get to business.

“Has everything been satisfactory?” Captain Kristof asked nervously.

“It’s fine,” I agreed, much to every officer's visible relief. “I wanted to talk about the methods of unlocking the martial Classes in more detail and the possibility of sharing others in the future. Do you have the time?”

Cpt. Kristof gulped hard and nodded, “Of course!”

Their first volunteers would have had at least one member unlock the Surgeon Class so far, so I wasn’t worried about them thinking I wasn’t upholding my end of the bargain and pushed straight for the details.

The Captain was accommodating, but due to the restrictions on who had permission to unlock which Classes and the need to protect that information, I was required to meet separately with each instructor to find out the information I wanted.

It actually wasn’t that big a deal, and unsurprisingly, the Unlock requirements for the martial Classes weren’t particularly impressive either.

Like a bootcamp list of exercises for a movie montage, Archer, Spearman and Swordsmen were all almost identical with only minor variations in requirement dictated by the weapon. For example, a prospective Swordsman or Spearman would need to complete one thousand thrusts with their weapon, while the Archer would need to complete five hundred full draws and release with their bow. The Swordsman and Spearman would make swinging attacks, the Archer would make half draws and release.

The number of required attacks were aggregated over a Labyrinth reset, so beginning just after midnight or the crack of dawn was preferred since it gave more recruits the highest chance of unlocking their Class.

Just by listening to the instructors, I noticed a pattern and suspected that the number of attacks was more likely an over-exaggeration. My suspicion was that the requirement was actually much lower but required the attacks to be performed within fixed ‘styles’ rather than just simply swinging a sword over and over. Unfortunately, I couldn’t confirm it right at that moment, but the army’s teaching method of tackling each requirement in fixed order over the course of the day all but confirmed it. After all, those who picked up the required skill level would pass sooner, while those less talented would be drilled over and over by instructors until it was muscle memory.

The final aspect of the unlock training made sense, but it was still difficult for me to get my head around. To put it bluntly, after meeting the base skill requirements, the recruit would need to fight an actively resisting opponent and lower them to the Bloodied Condition. If successful, they would then immediately unlock the Class. Unlocking each Class would of course require the steps be completed with each weapon, further confirming my own theories regarding a secret martial expert Class of some kind being reserved by the nobility. After all, on Earth, the male children of nobility were taught to fight from childhood with all manner of weapons in as much armour as they could tolerate, and were taught advanced horse riding as well. The results spoke for themselves, knights dominated battlefields, veritable tanks amidst a sea of the terrified peasantry.

When it came to talking with Lt. Rooke about the Scout Class, in spite of my earlier assumptions, I was still surprised by how little she actually needed to teach her students in order to unlock the Class. According to her, all she needed to do was walk them through a few detailed explanations on tracking skills, sourcing food and clean drinking water, reading the weather and identifying monsters by the tracks they leave behind. By Lt. Rooke’s account, the overwhelming number of Scouts recruited and trained by the Army were actually people from out in the country, trappers and hunters who already had the basic tracking and survival skills down which meant they only needed rudimentary instruction on tracking monsters rather than animals.

With that in mind, it was hardly surprising that so many of the volunteers had been able to pick up the Scout Class so quickly. They were probably only missing one or two elements of the training to begin with.

“Clarice said you would be offering riding lessons?” I asked for confirmation.

Lt. Rooke nodded in agreement, “Yes. Even if we do not have any known mounted Classes, experienced Spearman and Swordsman are often taught to ride to serve as light and heavy cavalry.”

“Before I allow the teaching of the Beast Trainer Advanced Class in exchange for payment, there is something else I want,” I stated simply, preferring to be direct rather than beat about the bush.

“Name it,” Lt. Rooke replied eagerly before hastily drawing herself back somewhat, “I’ll make sure to pass it up the chain of command,” she amended in a vain attempt at disguising her earlier eagerness.

“I want an apothecary-” I was interrupted before I could speak further.

“Done!” The Lieutenant quickly agreed.

I resisted the urge to sigh. “There was an apothecary with a store on the first floor before the raid on the foothold. I can’t remember his name, but I want him.” He seemed trustworthy enough, and I highly suspected that an exchange of knowledge and resources between us could benefit us both greatly.

“Done!” Lt. Rooke repeated, although now she seemed a little curious.

“Medicine production,” I explained simply, although there was more to it than that.

Lt. Rooke nodded in understanding. Even she had to know that the healing effect of the Surgeons was dependent on how well the wound or illness was treated before attempting to magically heal it.

“He will be required to swear an oath, just as your soldiers have, but my intention is not to keep him prisoner. After the undead are dealt with, he will be free to come and go as he pleases, so long as he abides by my laws,” I explained to make it clear how such relationships would work with non-military experts in the future.

Lt. Rooke nodded again but looked somewhat curious, “Would you consider open trade? For finished goods and resources?”

“Allowing merchants within Sanctuary you mean?” I asked a little testily. Their implied close affiliation with the Adventurers Guild made me inclined to refuse on general principle.

“Well...yes,” Lt. Rooke agreed, but she hastily raised her hands motioning for me to wait, “We could vet them first, on the outside of the Labyrinth. We could charge them a fee to be teleported to and from the military base, there is no need for them to ever enter Sanctuary itself.”

It actually wasn’t a bad idea, assuming I overlooked the fact that the army would be effectively dictating my trading partners. Although it did give me another idea to serve as a sort of checks and balances, as well as a potential source of information.

“I want Kirk, the innkeeper from the first floor, and his wife Rose to be allowed to run an inn or boarding house in the military camp. A neutral ground for discussing trade and for merchants to stay while waiting for their deliveries of goods.” I wanted to pay the couple back, and teaching their daughter to become a Surgeon seemed like a pittance after what they had been through. I would include their friend, the innkeeper who had been running his own inn on this floor, but I didn’t even know what he looked like. I felt it would be better to leave it to Kirk and Rose’s best judgement in that regard.

“We can arrange that,” Lt. Rooke agreed, although she seemed quite curious as to why I made that a requirement. “Is there anything else?”

I nodded sombrely, “I think it is just about time we dealt with the undead infestation,” I insisted.

Lt. Rooke grinned, “I couldn’t agree more! I’ll be sure to pass along your requests to my superiors and let you know the moment they come to a decision.”

I nodded gravely and prepared to leave.

“That spear...” Lt. Rooke’s eyes stared fixedly at the blade for a moment before returning to me again, “It’s magical, isn't it?”

Despite its rather plain appearance, there was a definite aura of strangeness that emanated from it. I nodded again and stepped out into the cool night air. Or what I had expected to be cool which now felt somewhat uncomfortably warm. Despite the late hour and distance of the cooking fires, the night sky was brighter than it should have been as well and far cloudier...

“FIRE!!!” The cry came from the direction of the gate and was soon joined by others.

Looking towards the gate, I could see a rain of embers and ash sweeping closer as bright flashes of crimson and amber light erupted beneath the starless sky.

*****

Kai released another wall of fire to incinerate the staggered charge of his opponent’s undead minions. Severely disappointed that he was already max level and not getting any Exp for killing these enemies, Kai was sorely tempted just to let his own minions do all the work while he waited for his cowardly nemesis to show himself.

That didn’t mean Kai was going to do everything himself. He already had his Ashborn Revenants infiltrating the enemy's lines searching for the enemy player.

Kai hated the Necromancer. This was meant to be his own personal world to explore and destroy. The fact that the developers had given an early access account to a weeb that called himself ‘The Bright Lord’ and blatantly ripped off such an iconic suit of armour. He had no class!

Even his Class choice, Necromancer, was such a typical low effort noob Class. Just spam Raise Dead and easy farm Exp, disgusting!

Kai lobbed another fireball into a cluster of badly burnt undead, the heat of the blast roasting them to charcoal on the spot.

“COME OUT AND FIGHT!!! DAMN IT!!!” Kai roared, the flames inside his armour flaring through the gaps with each syllable.

*KLANG*

Kai tumbled head over heels and landed in a muddy pool of water. Seething with rage, he activated his Immolation Aura and shoved himself to his feet. The swamp water evaporated and the nearby mud cracked from the intense heat.

Standing a short distance away was the Necromancer, his oversized mace raised threateningly above his head. “I have had enough of these games!” He hissed, “I gave you a choice! Join me, OR DIE!!!” A pitch-black bolt of energy arced from his outstretched hand and struck Kai in the chest.

Weathering the blast, Kai resisted the urge to check his HP. He had made that mistake last time and the Necromancer had used his momentary distraction to escape. Besides, Kai knew he was resistant to the Dark Energy damage-type anyway. “Got you!” Kai grinned and activated his Burning Gaze Ability which established a Homing Mark on the Necromancer. It didn’t matter what tricks he used now, Kai would still be able to find him.

Right on cue, the Necromancer took a step backwards, his body dissolving into the shadows and disappearing from sight.

“Too easy!” Kai barked in amusement, “FIREBLADE!” The Necromancer wasn’t the only one who could rip off popular film franchises.

“Gah! You! Bastard!” The Necromancer croaked in anguish from behind him.

Kai glanced down at his coiling sword of superheated plasma and then back at the Necromancer who attempted to strike him in the back. Kai’s sword was lodged in his enemy’s abdomen with streams of smoke billowing from the wound. It was an expensive Ability to cast, but judging by the damage it had dealt, Kai didn’t regret it at all.

“Nothing but trash!” Kai cackled, spinning about and attempting to drive his blade across and through the Necromancer’s spine, maybe even cut him in half.

Unfortunately, the Necromancer activated an ability of his own that doused the Fireblade, bringing Kai’s counterattack to a momentary standstill. “Why are you doing this?!” The Necromancer demanded petulantly, “There is no reason for us to fight one another!” His free hand billowed with dark shadows and seven Wraiths appeared as if from nowhere, each holding ethereal blades.

“Why?!” Kai couldn’t help it, “AHAHAHAHA!” Could this idiot really not understand? “You are ruining MY game!” Kai barked savagely, “You and your filthy bottomfeeder playstyle have stolen months of playtime! You aren’t even PLAYING!!! You just make more undead and throw them at whatever! It’s boring and BROKEN you piece of trash!”

The Necromancer appeared to be stunned, taking a full step back in spite of himself, “You...YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME?!” He roared incredulously.

“Pfft!” Kai snickered, Asians always took competitive games so seriously, “Of course it is a game!” He retorted, “And you are ruining it with your toxic minion build!”

The Necromancer had been called out, and he knew it. “I can’t...I just...” The Necromancer shook his head and pointed his oversized mace back at Kai, “Kill him!” He hissed bitterly.

The Wraiths moved as commanded, but Kai made no attempt to defend himself, instead, he activated and began charging his next attack. Intended to destroy fortifications, Kai knew it was probably overkill at this point, but he was pretty fed up with arguing with that toxic piece of shit. Besides, he had other business to attend to.

Lazily forming a gun with his hand, Kai pointed at the Necromancer’s open abdominal wound. There was a certain irony to this attack that Kai hoped the weeb would appreciate as he smashed his keyboard in a fit of rage. “Implosion!” A near-perfectly transparent sphere no larger than his pinky sped out from the tip of his finger and raced towards the Necromancer.

The Wraiths closest to the sphere shrieked in agony as their bodies were ripped apart and drawn into its centre, their immaterial forms drawn like smoke into a vacuum.

Too slow to react against the danger, the sphere entered the Necromancer’s wound. “NO!” He shrieked and dropped his mace to the ground, “NO!!” The Necromancer’s abdominal armour crumpled inwards and he staggered to one side, “KILL HIM!!!” The Necromancer shrieked breathlessly as his chest plate cracked and crumpled.

The remaining Wraiths fell upon Kai with a vengeance, their spectral blades rising and falling with fanatical zeal. Unfortunately, each time their blades came within an inch of Kai’s armour, they were driven away by an intense blast of heat from his Immolation Aura. As spectral beings, their attacks were forced to bypass mana the same way corporeal beings were forced to bypass armour. To make things worse for them, each jet of heat was dealing the Wraiths further damage. So even though Kai was beginning to run low on mana, he was more than confident he had enough to finish off the Necromancer and all his pets. After all, his unique Racial Ability gave him mana back on kill.

“You...Idiot...We...Could...Have...” The Necromancer’s armour had completely collapsed in on itself, his final words lost in the sounds of cracking and crunching bone.

[Congratulations! You have slain Chang-min - Fae {Necromancer}!]

[Awakened Inheritance: None.]

[Keys of Awakening: None.]

With the Necromancer, Chang-min, dead, Kai turned his attention to the west. “So many easy targets!” He cackled as an overhead display clearly denoted the direction for each of his remaining Marked targets. “First, I’ll get my mana back from these NPC’s, then I’ll move on to the next level. No telling how many of those Asian assholes are ruining my game while I’m playing it properly!”

Slowly trudging Westward, in spite of his severe mana depletion, Kai felt incredibly optimistic about the future prospects of the game. Admittedly, he had been a little worried about the bugs and game balance when he first encountered the Necromancer. But with that fight now over, his faith in the Devs was restored. Of course, some trash player couldn’t just summon an infinite undead army and face roll everyone, that would have been way too OP. Hell, the Devs might have even nerfed the guy mid fight just to teach him a lesson.

The thought of that guy smashing his keyboard and monitor in anger made Kai immensely happy. Now that he had a taste for it, Kai was looking forward to doing it again.