Chapter 38

Leon woke the next morning and rubbed his eyes. He’d forgotten all about the plan he’d wanted to try in the Slums the previous evening. They came out from the kitchen and received their reward, and Finn was at the bar. Leon sat down with him for the promised drink after having washed himself off. Not that he expected to enjoy his time with the man, but since his mind was elsewhere, it was easy to let his mind wander and just agree to all Finn’s comments about his own greatness and listen half-heartedly to his previous adventures as a hero to his parties. The parties that had, eventually, left him by roadside for someone else to pick up. Still, Leon had kept his mind active enough to spot if there were any claims about his current party and to shoot down any grand ideas.

Red hadn’t said anything since they exited the dungeon, either. She just picked up her hat, wiped her lute with an offered rag, and walked to the corner of the next room, where she started playing after fiddling around with the strings for a bit. No one seemed to pay her any mind, except for the old innkeeper. He swayed his head to the solemn tune while keeping an eye on Leon and Finn.

Leon looked at Trouble, laying on her side. Her level hadn’t increased, so there was no way of knowing if the quest did something for her. Still, he might accept it one more time. The clothes had mostly come out clean, so at least they’d completed the quest with a small profit.

“Hey.” Leon gently stroked the fur on Trouble’s back. “Ready to head out and hunt today?”

Her ears twitched. Then she rolled over, stood, and shook her head. Leon opened the backpack. She’d hopefully get some more experience through coming with today, if she wasn’t put in too much danger. He didn’t know what the levels did for her, but they were bound to do something. There was only one way to find out.

Leon headed downstairs, ate breakfast, and walked toward their meeting spot. He hadn’t seen Finn for the whole time. Maybe he’d gotten too excited and decided to come early?

Ava stood outside the inn, tapping her fingers on a dark blue satchel embroidered with white flowers, but Hert and Finn had yet to show. Leon raised a hand in greeting, and she jogged up to him.

“Good morning,” Ava said with a brilliant smile, caressing the closed flap.

“Morning.”

Ava twisted herself a little back and forth, making the embroidery twinkle in the sunlight. Then she stretched her arms forward, pushing the bag to her front.

Fine, he’d take the bait. “New bag?”

“Yes!” She stroked her fingers over the design. “Finn gave it to me.”

Likely a bribe for staying in the party. And an expensive one at that. Ulterior motive? “Well, good for you. How many slots?”

“Four. He’s really such a sweetie.” She frowned and pointed at him. “Don’t get jealous, okay? You’ve also done good things for me. I’m not saying you’re inferior, in any way.”

“Um… sure.” To Leon’s relief, Hert chose that moment to exit his store. “Now there’s only one left to wait for. Did Finn say anything to you about today?”

Ava pursed her lips and looked from the bag to Leon. “Aren’t you—” She cleared her throat. “No, he didn’t. Except that he would amaze us.”

“Alright.”

“Mornin’,” Hert said. He looked around. “Where’s wonder boy?”

Leon shrugged. “Late.”

Hert leaned onto the fountain, crossing his arms and looking into the sky. Then he sighed and looked at Ava. “You wanna say something, say it instead of twisting around like a fool.”

Ava pouted. “I have nothing to say to you, anyway.”

“She got a new bag. From Finn.”

Hert scoffed. “Wow, he must be desperate.”

“Hey,” Ava said, pushing his shoulders. He gripped the edge to keep himself from falling. “What’s wrong with liking me?”

“Oh, plenty. But I was referring to him trying to bribe his way into staying with us.”

Ava’s face reddened. “It’s not a bribe.”

Hert waved her off. “So, how long do we wait for him to show?”

Leon shrugged. “Depends on you guys. We’ll get more done the earlier we get going, but for now, Finn will also share all the experience. Not having him would be more of a drain than a boost, so that kind of defeats the purpose.”

“Ten minutes,” Hert said.

“No. We’ll wait until he comes,” Ava said, crossing her arms.

Leon glanced at the time. “We don’t have all day, but maybe half an hour will be enough?”

“So much for our decision,” Hert muttered. “But I guess that’s okay. As long as he’s useful.”

They moved from the crafting fountain after a few irritated glances from people wanting to use it. Even though they waited for more than the set time, Finn was nowhere to be seen.

Finally, Leon stretched out his arms and got on his feet. “Well, I guess he’s stood us up. Let’s go.”

Hert stood. “So, let’s kick him from the party.”

“You can’t do that,” Ava said, also rising. “He just joined. And he isn’t that late.”

“Chill, Miss Redhead. Only for today, so we can get the experience he’ll leech from us.”

“Who’s leeching?” Finn huffed, red in the face. He put his hands on his knees, breathing hard.

“Ah, he arrives,” Hert muttered. “Great.”

Finn held up a finger and took a deep breath. Then another. “I know you losers want more EXP through working with me, but you’ll never want to get rid of me once you see my full power.” He straightened his back.

“You overslept, didn’t you?” Leon asked.

“I—” Finn cleared his throat. “No.”

Leon waited for an explanation, which didn’t come. “Well, then. Since everyone’s here, let’s get going.”

The others nodded, and they walked side by side through the city. Finn kept Leon’s pace and put an arm around his shoulders. He leaned in. “Let’s have a contest today. The one who kills the most gets the other as a servant for a day.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass. Today was going to be about working as a party, remember? You’ve already nicked that through not respecting our time.”

Finn stopped for a few seconds, and Ava stopped, too. Then he jogged to Leon’s side again. “Man, my alarm didn’t go off.”

“Mhm.” Not possible, but whatever. It could have been a good idea to compete throughout the day since it would bring in more experience and loot, but both win or defeat meant he’d need to spend a full day with Finn. Besides, competitions where one aimed to battle as much as possible meant mistakes were bound to happen. Mistakes that could be expensive in more ways than one.

“So,” Finn said in a louder voice as they passed the guards at the arch to the Slums. “What are we going to change the party’s name to?” He pushed at Leon. “This guy here seemed interested in ‘The Arrows’ or ‘The Strongman.’ And in having me as a leader, since I’m the highest level.”

Leon kneaded his eyebrows. “No, and no. As I said yesterday; we decide things together. There’s no leader.”

“We need one. One who’s lived through it all.”

“It might not be a bad idea,” Ava said, grabbing Finn’s arm. ”He can take us up in the world. He knows people.”

“If he becomes our leader, I’m out,” Hert said. ”I think we work well as we are.”

“No one would miss you,” Ava quipped.

“Stop,” Leon said. “Let’s get through today and see how it goes. If we fight within the group, we won’t get anything done. And Finn, you just joined. Don’t try to change stuff like that from the get-go. See how we work, first. Then you can come with suggestions and maybe we could work something out.”

“He says there’s no leader while acting like a fucking dictator,” Finn whispered to Ava. “Here he goes, deciding stuff. Can’t say this, can’t say that. Like I don’t have double his experience in leadership.”

Leon decided not to comment. It didn’t surprise him to hear it, but he was glad Hert didn’t. He’d probably start up the argument again, and suddenly, the day would have been wasted.

Ava glanced at Leon for a second, and then away. She didn’t give Finn an answer.

They approached the field, and Finn walked ahead. The stairs were still visible, though, so he didn’t need to do much. Still, he entered first.

Leon waited for the others to get inside before he opened his inventory. “Trouble, would you like to come out? I think you heard the new person who’s with us. It’s up to you what you want to do.”

Leon took out his weapons, but the rabbit didn’t jump out. Leon nodded and entered the portal.

The others stood waiting for him.

“Did you fall asleep out there?” Finn asked.

“No.”

Hert’s face had a red nuance, and he looked away from the other two. Leon wondered if he’d missed something.

“Well, then. Let’s go,” Finn said. “Follow my lead, and it will be a breeze.”

Leon followed, careful not to show any emotion. So, now Finn would try to prove he was fit as a leader? Or did he have something else in mind? Did he have a plan at all? Leon shook his head as he followed behind the others. He didn’t seem like the type that liked to strategize. Well, as long as the group didn’t come to harm, and they gained something from it, Finn could think what he liked.

Leon just wondered what the endgame was. Finn had hounded him, and tried to win his good graces for quite some time. Now that he’d entered the party, what was his new goal?

Finn pulled Leon out from his thoughts through equipping his bow. He pointed it forward. “Hert, I’ll hit it and make it come here, and then you protect us with your shield while I take it down.”

Hert glanced at Leon, who shrugged. Hert looked into the next corridor and pulled out his shield, readying it in a half-crouch. Finn let go of the arrow with a “Pew!” and it hit somewhere Leon couldn’t see. The monster roared and a buzzing sound came closer. Finn let go of another arrow, then another. The level eight grasshoppers came into their corridor, and the barbed front leg cut down. Hert caught it with his shield and strained to hold it back. Finn knocked another arrow, and it flew into the beast. It splintered into pixels. Finn took a step past Hert’s shield and patted the man on his head before pocketing the loot.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“You’re great,” Ava said, jogging to him. “Very organized.”

“I know, right?” Finn turned to Leon and Hert, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Yeah, really great,” Hert said, inspecting his shield. It had a small dent on the top.

“Alright, team! Next one.”

Finn took the lead into the next wheat-walled corridor and Leon looked at the mini-map. It seemed not to have changed since they entered the semi-dungeon in the first place, except that there was an extra dot now that Finn had joined their party.

“Two coming up,” Finn said, waving his arm forward. “Hert, come on. Move it.”

Hert sucked in a breath and passed Finn. He held the shield in front of him. They stood close to the smaller room where they had met two monsters before, and those two seemed to have respawned. Finn let an arrow go, hitting one of the creatures’ back. Both of them roared and came flying toward them. Leon stepped forward as Finn readied an arrow. The arrow fell to the ground as Finn held out an arm, stopping Leon’s approach.

“Chill, man. I’ve got this.”

A barbed leg smashed into Hert’s shield, and he grunted. Finn let an arrow fly, then another, smacking into the grasshopper’s hard shell. The second monster threw its leg down too, knocking Hert back.

“Come on, it’s not that heavy,” Finn said, letting another arrow go. One creature fell.

Leon stood slightly behind Finn, weapons ready in case things went south. The remaining monster launched toward Hert, and he pressed the shield up. The pointy tip of the leg was an inch away from ripping a hole in Hert’s shoulder. Finn let his arrows fly, and the grasshopper fell down, shattering into pixels. Finn approached the pile and picked up the loot.

“We’ll divide it later, okay?” Finn said as Hert rubbed his shoulder and approached the pile, too. “Easier that way.”

Hert didn’t respond, but let Finn walk into the smaller square room, where he continued to the left.

“So… this is what a leader does?” Hert said.

“He’s taking control,” Ava said. “And it worked out fine, right? You didn’t get hurt at all.”

“That’s a pretty low barrier for what can be classified as ’fine.’”

“Stop moping,” Ava said, and skipped ahead. “Come on, we need to catch up!”

“Easy for you to say,” Hert muttered. “You’re not risking your life. Actually, are you doing anything helpful at all?”

Ava either didn’t hear him, or didn’t listen.

Leon patted Hert’s arm. “I’m ready to jump in when I’m needed. I won’t let him take things too far. Hopefully, it’s enough to make our scaling worth it.”

Hert gave a curt nod. “As long as we survive. Can’t help our families if we die.”

Leon and Hert followed Finn and Ava.

*******

Two hours later, Leon still hadn’t hit a single beast. Finn had killed most monsters with three or four arrows while Ava stood back and Hert took the hits with his shield. Leon was fine with that—for the most part. Usually, he’d be the one risking his life each time they met a monster, but now, he didn’t need to do anything and still reap the benefit. The only problem was that Hert took more damage than he should, and Ava had to heal him twice to stop his bleeding. But as long as Hert could stand it, both taking damage and taking orders from Finn, it worked out decently well.

“So how do things work with your arrows?” Leon asked as they walked through yet another wheat corridor. “You seem to have an endless supply.”

Finn patted his back. “Inventory, man, inventory. And the arrows come with the bow.”

“Okay?”

“Pfft. Everyone knows how it works, but since you seem to have missed the intro, I’ll enlighten you. You buy a bow,” Finn patted his weapon, “And then arrows come from your fatigue. The basic ones, anyway. Have to purchase fancier ones, unless you buy a better bow.”

“I’m still not sure how that works.”

Finn put his palms out to one side. “You get arrows from your fatigue stat,” he shifted his hands to the other side. “You get more arrows as you sleep.”

“So you get fatigued based on how many arrows you use, and the arrows refill as it lowers? Do you find them on your pillow or something?”

“Man, you haven’t spent a thought on how other classes work, have you?” Finn shook his head. “Rangers have a separate box in their inventory for weapons that use two or more parts.”

Leon frowned. So, the durability must come out of the bow, just like when Leon used his sword. But it still felt weird. “Where is your holding item, anyway?”

Finn lifted his tunic and revealed a flat backpack. “Backpacks are so not cool. Hey, no disrespect for choosing to show yours.” Then he stopped and turned, nodding his head to the side. “There’s a few more.”

Leon stood back as Finn directed Hert to stand in front of the three grasshoppers at the end of the corridor. “You sure you’ll be able to take all three down safely?”

“Please,” Finn snorted. “Haven’t you watched me at all?”

“I meant for Hert’s sake,” Leon said.

Finn let an arrow fly and raised an eyebrow at Leon. “Seriously?”

Leon just shook his head and stood back, taking out his weapons, just in case.

Finn shot another arrow as two of the beasts struck Hert’s shield. Hert grunted as he held them back. The first of the three level 8 monsters fell, and Finn continued with the next one. It roared and lifted its wings, trying to jump over Hert, but an arrow caught in its mid-section and it fell back.

“He is good,” Ava said, walking closer to Leon. “Even if you don’t like him. You’re also good, of course, but he’s strong, capable, reliable, hard-working…”

Leon just sighed as she droned on. She’d been repeating basically the same thing throughout every fight they’d watched. She was right about two things. He was pretty good with a bow, and he was strong. What else could one expect when a player met a monster that was four levels lower than himself, really? The fact remained that he had no problem seeing someone get hurt because he wanted to show that he could take on all the monsters by himself.

As Finn launched a third arrow at the second monster, Leon noticed a fourth coming in from another corridor with rapid speed. The third one struck down toward Hert and hit his shoulder. Hert screamed.

“There’s a fourth coming from the side,” Leon said.

Finn’s arrow pierced through the third giant insect, and it sank down. Then he turned around and bowed. “There you have it.”

The newly arrived creature smashed its leg down on Hert’s shield, which tumbled out of his weakened grip. The monster raised its two front legs to strike again.

Leon rushed past Finn with his sword and dagger, flinging them up in a cross to stop the barbs from cutting into Hert. He pressed the weapons up as the two legs bit into the blades. The creature screeched as it backed off, lifting its wounded legs into the air.

“Hey!” Finn shouted. “I didn’t tell you to move!”

Leon leaped forward, swinging his blades wide. They hit the grasshopper in its side, and Leon backed as the creature flailed, green oozing from the wounds.

“Cross strike!” Leon shouted and pierced through the insect’s chest. Something hit him in the shoulder, and the force made him stumble forward. He barely had time to roll aside as the barbed legs struck down. He gritted his teeth, got to his feet, and planted the weapons into the grasshopper’s side as an arrow hit its chest.

It fell down, shattering into pixels. Finn jogged up to Leon and grabbed his shoulder. “The hell, man? I had it!”

“It almost had me,” Hert said. “You said you could handle it on your own!”

“I had to protect Ava! You can take care of yourself. You don’t need someone to take the beating for you, right?”

“That’s why you shot Leon’s back, too?” Hert spat.

“Come on. I never expected him to be so foolish as to take it on himself, so I jumped in to save him,” Finn said, his arms stretched out to his sides. “It’s not like he can take damage from my weapons anyway, since he has the NooB-title. So what does it matter?”

Leon massaged his shoulder. That force came from Finn? A quick glance at the status page told Leon he hadn’t taken any damage. Yeah, once they reached level ten, there would be no way to feel safe with this team mate. It was the second time Finn had hit him in as many days. And no matter how much Leon wished to explore and increase Trouble’s levels, it wasn’t worth the risk of a stray arrow that could end her life.

“Just be careful next time,” Leon said. “I won’t be safe from friendly fire forever.”

“That’s unfair,” Ava said. “He just tried to help, and he’s been killing the monsters all on his own today. You can’t get mad over one mistake.”

“That’s right,” Finn said, crossing his arms. He approached the pile and pocketed the loot. “But now I basically only have yellow and red arrows, so let’s get back to town.”

“Red arrows?” Ava asked.

“Those mark when I get exhausted,” Finn said, straightening his back. He walked over to Ava and put his arm around her shoulders. “You were fantastic today. Those heals really saved Hert.”

The two of them continued as Leon approach Hert, who picked up his shield and brushed it off with a trembling hand. He almost dropped it.

“You okay?” Leon asked.

“Yeah. Well…” Hert glanced at Leon, then quickly deposited the shield into his inventory, and clenched his fists at his hips. He couldn’t stop the shaking completely. “I’m bleeding, but I had pretty much full health when it hit me. I’ll make it back, no problem.”

Leon nodded. “Good.”

They walked after Finn and Ava in silence, and Leon looked at the screen in front of him. It had felt weird to keep to the sidelines while only Finn and Hert were active, but the results shone in the percentage by his level. It had risen by five percent.

“At least the boost is working,” Leon said as they exited the portal.

“I suppose so. But the only one who has to pay for it is me.” Hert stroked a thumb over the dents in his shield with tight lips. “Do you know how much this thing cost?”

“Well, we’ve probably earned quite a lot today. So it should be worth it.”

Finn and Ava stood outside, waiting for them. Ava flipped her bag closed.

“How much did we loot today?” Hert asked.

Finn sucked on his lips and looked toward the sky. “Decent, I suppose. Considering the low levels of the monsters.” He pointed toward Pura. “Wanna go for a drink at the pub? To celebrate that we’re a party and have a leader?”

Hert frowned. “I’m bleeding, so I’m heading back to my place. That’s why it would be good to divide the profits now.”

Finn chuckled. “Look, you two didn’t do much. Why would you get part of the loot? It’s supposed to be fair, right?” Finn tapped on something in front of him and pulled out a giant scythe that he stretched over to Hert. “That should give you some coins.” Then he stroked Ava over her hair and looked at Leon. “Ava’s gonna have a drink with me. Come join us.”

Leon looked from Finn to Hert. “I have something else planned for today. Maybe another time.”

“Suit yourselves,” Finn said and shrugged. Then he pushed Ava’s shoulders. “Let’s go to Margaret first, then. I bet she wants to hear how today went.”

He started walking away, and Hert followed.

“Hey, you think this is all my protection is worth?”

“Pretty much, yeah. Effort reaps benefits, or whatever.”

Leon had hoped Finn would divide the profits to at least give Hert what he deserved. He didn’t really feel slighted that he got nothing—he had barely fought today, and the experience was more than worth the time. But he was pretty sure Ava had gotten more than the person who allowed Finn to combat safely. Maybe Finn had realized he couldn’t buy himself into Hert’s good graces? Or was it because Ava didn’t like him, and Finn wanted to prove he supported her?

They walked through the city, and Leon thought back to the first time Finn had approached him. He’d been after money, meaning he probably didn’t hunt by himself. The beasts they had taken down without Finn in the party must have earned the man enough to purchase the bag for Ava, and maybe today was for recouping that price. But since he had his bow and arrow, he should be able to rake in quite a bit alone. Unless, of course, he’d been attacked one too many times when he didn’t have a party and didn’t want to risk getting hurt again.

Ava and Finn walked to the Drowned Goblin while Hert entered his closed shop and Leon continued toward the Laughing Bard. As he entered the square where the night market would pop up that evening, he changed his direction. He had only used a little fatigue today, so there was no real need for a nap. He might as well try to stack up some coins with Trouble in the Tutorial Forest and then go for a run.

Leon passed the portal to the first tower and continued toward the gate down the street, ignoring the requests for coins. He opened his inventory as he walked.

“I don’t think it will be a good idea for you to come out while we have Finn in the party, so let’s make the most of the time we have for ourselves. If you’re up for it?”

Trouble would probably have heard him even without the inventory page open, but it felt better to talk to her while seeing her. Too bad he couldn’t read her reaction since the icons of half a rabbit in the two boxes weren’t moving. Leon closed the box and continued down the street.

Soon, he saw the line of rubble dividing the city from the forests outside, and walked over it. He opened up his inventory again when a soft thud and a quenched scream sounded from the right. He closed it and ran toward the sound, and as he rounded a bush, he saw a flurry of brown hair on the ground, and blue clad arms pressed the broad side of a lute up into a wolf’s throat and chest. Red kicked at the beast and pushed the lute upward, enough to get the wolf off her. Leon sprang forward as Red scrambled up on her feet. He drew back his fist and punched the wolf’s head. With a loud smack, it fell to the ground.

“Rock Star!” Red smashed the weapon into the wolf’s skull, and it shattered into pixels. She approached the place where the wolf fell, holding her shoulder and using her lute as a cane. She glanced up at Leon. “It was mine.”

“Are you okay?”

“I could have beaten it myself,” she said. She winced as she bent to pick up her loot.

“Sorry. It looked like you needed help, so I acted.” Leon picked up a fang and five coins from his own pile. “I didn’t mean to rob you of anything.”

“Well, you did.” She gritted her teeth and started walking out of the forest, her back straight. After a couple of steps, she abandoned her pride and leaned on the lute, taking a few quick steps at a time.

“You’re bleeding,” Leon said, following her.

“No shit.”

“Can’t you heal yourself? Are you going to make it back to the inn?”

Red stopped, took a deep breath and her eyes shifted upward. “I don’t have enough MP. But I’ll probably make it. If I’m quick.”

Leon glanced over his shoulder, at the forest. He didn’t want to offend her through offering help when she obviously felt embarrassed, but if she didn’t make it because he wanted to help keep her pride, he wouldn’t forgive himself. Besides, it wouldn’t take that long to return to train here afterwards, if she accepted the help.

“I can help you get back,” Leon said. “I know it’s not what you want, but it’s the least I can do since I robbed you of some experience.” He took off his backpack and hung it around his arm as he walked to her. Then he bent his knees and nodded for her to jump on. “Not sure this will work, but I can at least take you part way to the inn.”

He looked over his shoulder when Red didn’t answer. Her eyes were downcast and her face flushed, almost camouflaging the port-wine stain. She put the lute away, then pulled her hair loose from the ponytail and tucked it in under her collar. Taking a deep breath, she placed her arms around his shoulders, and he grabbed her legs. She was surprisingly heavy, but it should work with his strength.

“Well, then. Off we go.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she muttered.