Two days passed quickly as Frank spent every waking moment on crafting. His efforts paid off, as he got a total of 93 SP, enough to push him to the top four contributors in Chon’s Item Acquisition Group and allow him to snag the Cursed Saber before the Shop refreshed. The weapon had a similar design to his old one, but heavier, with a thicker blade. The metal had a dull silver shine to it, while a series of symbols carved along the blade’s body gave off a sharper, ghastly light.

Frank fell in love with the weapon, from the way it fell in his hand to the way it looked. Although his earlier tests revealed that the proc didn’t trigger Curse resistance, that didn’t dampen his mood. Understandably, he was chomping at the bit to go out and find some monsters to test it on. Having spent two days training, the rest of the group was similarly excited to get out there and fight some monsters.

The Sun was just beginning to rise when they left the base, moving South toward the mountains. It was a less-explored area, though that began to change over the last three days, as numerous groups went foraging and exploring. The chatter grew quiet as they entered the forest. An hour passed as they proceeded deeper inside.

“Man, this place has really been picked clean,” Clay complained. They had encountered many crystal flowers and various fruit trees and bushes, just none with the fruits still left.

“We knew as much, that’s why we left so early,” Frank retorted.

Almost two hours later, they exited the tree line and found themselves at the bottom of a mountain range. They paused to take in the view and figure out their next step. The mountains were quite tall, the slope covered by numerous boulders of various sizes – the source of Stone for the Settlement. No monsters were visible, though it would be simple to hide in such terrain.

“Should we mine some stone?” Clay asked.

“How’s that any different from tree cutting?” Kim asked, giving the man a raised eyebrow.

“Different skill,” Clay replied, his smile looking a bit more savage than intended.

“See what you did? Now he’s been infected with your drive for GP,” she said gesturing at Frank.

“That’s a win in my book. But I agree with Kim, I don’t want to resort to gathering stone just yet. This place had probably been explored already, so let’s move along the edge of the mountain and see what we find,” Frank replied.

***

“Well, this is disappointing,” Frank said after forty minutes.

“Didn’t they say there were wolves and goblins here? Did they kill them all?” Gabriel echoed his thoughts.

Frank could only shrug. “Anyway, we might as well get some stone, at least this trip won’t be a total waste.”

The others nodded and the group began to ascend. Some fifty yards up the slope, they found a good-sized rock and prepared to mine it. Two-handed sledgehammers in their hands, Clay and Gabriel began their assault on the boulder. Stone gathering wasn’t much different from tree cutting – place some stones into the Warehouse, and the System would absorb it, counting it as Stone. It just took a lot of stone for the System to recognize it, which is why it took several days for someone to figure it out.

While the two men worked on breaking the boulder down, the others gathered the broken off pieces. After a while, Kim and Benton took over. Frank watched Kim, whose Strength was as bad as his, swing her hammer in a circular motion to increase its momentum, before crashing it into the stone. He laughed when the hammer bounced back, nearly hitting her in the face. She stared at the tool in her hands, before glaring at Frank.

“This is such a waste of time,” she muttered but went back to swinging the hammer.

“It’s not that bad, you get some GP from the skill, plus the SP for the stone,” Clay said, trying to cheer her up.

“I’d rather kill stuff,” Kim replied.

“As would we all, but nothing’s out here,” Frank said with a sigh, only for a roar to roll down the mountain. “Alrighty then,” Frank said, wondering if it was just bad timing or if the System was trying to mock him.

“Over there and it’s coming quick.” Amy pointed at some creature that was moving toward them from higher up the mountain.

“Hmm, looks like a bear,” Gabriel said. “Benton, do you think you can stop its charge?”

“I’d say no, but depends on its level,” the man replied as he fastened a shield to his left arm.

The bear looked massive, its gray fur blended into the face of the mountain. He couldn’t see its fangs or claws, but given the size, Frank imagined them to be considerable.

“Amy, let’s hit it with Flare, once it’s in range. You hit it twice,” Frank called out.

The spell dealt little damage, but three applications would apply a DoT to the target. It had impressive damage to mana ratio and was excellent in prolonged fights, where its damage over time component could be triggered continuously. However, the main reason to use it was due to it not requiring aim. Practice had shown that hitting a moving target 100 yards away with a projectile spell was extremely difficult, making Flare a clear winner for such circumstances.

The spells activated, the flashes of light, as if the Sun was reflected from polished metal, nearly covering the whole creature. A second later, another flash triggered the DoT, causing the monster to roar angrily, as it picked up speed. Frank and Amy retreated, joining others behind the boulders, leaving Benton to stand alone in the open.

Amy cast Arcane Bolt but missed. Kim decided to join her, shooting an arrow at the beast, but also missing. Frank tuned out everything around him, his focus solely on the bear. He watched it approach Benton, its momentum slowing down a little, as it lifted its front paw to swipe at the man. Frank rotated his right hand palm up, his index and middle fingers were outstretched, while the thumb held the other fingers in a bent position. He cast Earth Spear and flexed his outstretched fingers toward the sky. A two-foot-long stone spike shot up from the ground, emerging right under the bear’s grounded front paw. The beast jerked the paw back, then jumped to the side to avoid the spike, halting its attack in the process.

“Alright, surround and kill,” Frank called out, feeling satisfied with his aim and timing.

The monster backed up, wary of the humans trying to surround it, but there was no time for retreat. Benton advanced, causing the bear to stand up on its rear legs and swipe with its long paws. Both hits were absorbed by the shield, but the sheer power behind them was enough to push Benton back. Clay stepped forward from the side and brought his two-handed club on the bear’s back. The beast groaned and retaliated with a backhand slap. Metal scraped against metal, as its claws made contact with the metal pieces of Clay’s armor before he was sent flying.

Frank lunged from the front, not having enough time to circle the monster, the saber came down in an overhead slash, its point leaving a blood-soaked line on the monster’s underside. It swiped at him, but he was already out of reach, having used Dash to move to the side. The monster turned its head toward him, only to feel Kim’s sword pierce through it, followed by her dagger stabbing into it from the other side, as she took its back.

The beast moved to stand on all fours and turned its head to bite down on the annoying pest on its back, but Kim had already jumped off. The monster quickly rotated to face her and pounced, forcing Kim to use Dash to retreat. Using this distraction, Frank slashed at its front leg, Benton’s axe bit into the monster’s backside, and Gabriel delivered a powerful punch to its midsection.

“Fear triggered,” Frank shouted, as he saw the corresponding icon appear next to the Flare’s DoT, on top of the panel that read: Bear, level 40.

Kim threw a dagger, aiming for the bear’s eye, causing it to turn away and toward Frank, who lunged at it with another slash, his blade slicing through its face. The bear roared in anger and frustration. It turned to face Frank, then propelled itself at him.

“Heal me!” Frank shouted.

He leveled his saber, its point aimed at the beast's heart, both hands on the handle, he stepped forward with a thrust. Stone Skin activated just as the paws wrapped around him, claws digging into his back. The bear’s open jaws closed around Frank’s head and he fell into darkness, even as his weapon sunk guard-deep into the monster.

Grit triggered, restoring 26.5% of his HP. Frank opened his eyes to the blue sky above. It took him a moment to regain his senses and recall what was happening before he passed out. He sat up abruptly, causing Amy to cry out as she recoiled away from him.

“Damn, Frank, what the hell?” He heard Gabriel’s voice. “There was no need for such theatrics, plus, healing you took half of Stuart’s mana, and he’ll need an hour to regen it.”

“Sorry, I was hoping the Terror effect would trigger, causing the bear to flee,” Frank replied. He nodded to Amy and got up, dusting himself off.

“It did trigger, but not before you got your head bitten off,” Kim said.

“Wait, I got my head bitten off?” Frank repeated, startled.

“What did you think would happen?”

“Um, it would crush my skull, a little?”

“Seriously, is the System screwing with his head? I don’t recall him being this crazy before,” Benton asked no one in particular.

“Sorry for worrying you all, I’ll fight more conservatively from now on,” Frank said as he looked each of them in the eyes. “So, what are we doing? Just waiting for Stuart’s mana to regen to full?” He asked, wishing to change the subject.

“Yeah, we could gather stone or look for where that bear came from, but it’s risky without a ready healer,” Amy said.

Guess I really did go overboard, I should’ve played that defensively, and let others deal the damage, Frank mused as he sat down, leaning his back against a protruding stone. He watched as Kim and Clay skinned the bear, before cutting its meat into seven portions.

“Alright, everyone get your share of the meat. And what do we do with the pelt?” Kim asked after they finished the gruesome task.

“Maybe we can make some armor out of it?” Benton suggested.

“The fangs and claws can likely be used to create jewelry similar to my necklace,” Frank said, showing the others the necklace on his neck, made out of bragarth’s fangs.

“Let Frank take it and let’s see what he can make from it,” Gabriel said to everyone’s agreement.

Frank placed the pelt and his share of the meat into his Spatial Ring, then sat back down. He was tempted to spam his skills, since he had some time, but being left without resources out in the field was a bad idea, and flashy spells could attract attention. He settled on practicing Telekinesis, while occasionally activating Mana Shield and Stone Skin.

He was having fun making a fingernail-sized stone float back and forth between his palms when Stuart opened his eyes.

“I’m back to full,” he informed them.

“Alright, we’ve decided to look for the bear’s home, instead of gathering more stone,” Frank told him, as everyone got to their feet.

Since they knew the approximate location of where the beast came from, it didn’t take them long to find its home – a small, unremarkable cave. There were no other monsters inside, nor was there anything else of interest. Frank poked around a pile of bones, located towards the back wall, but concluded that there was nothing of value there.

“At least we got one good fight,” Gabriel remarked.

“What now? Back to stone mining?”

“Unless you want to explore the mountains.”

“We’ve got time, right? So, we can explore for a few hours, then return to gathering stone if we fail to find anything better,” Amy suggested.

They decided to do just that and began to wander around, looking for signs of monsters or anything else of interest. Their search picked up steam after Stuart found some plants, the description for which claimed they were alchemy components. No one had unlocked the alchemy skill, though there was a corresponding workshop among the Settlement buildings, at the very least they could turn the plants into SP. They began to slowly climb higher, as the various plants seemed to grow more at higher altitudes.

They were still looking for plants when Brenton cried out in surprise and called everyone over. A cave entrance stood before them, hidden by a tall rock from being spotted from below the mountain. They stood by the entrance, listening for any unusual sounds, but didn’t hear anything.

“Could be a mine, or maybe a lair of some sort,” Stuart said.

“Could be a normal cave too, but we won’t know it until we go in,” Frank said as he caressed his chin. “Hm, Stuart and Amy will carry torches. Brenton, you’re first, Gabriel will bring up the rear.”

They pulled out two torches – a simple wooden stick with three blue crystals embedded at the top. It was a recent invention, one prompted by the need to light a large area around the unwalled base. The torches only lasted for thirty minutes, but they had more, and Frank could always recharge them.

They entered the cave, walking down a gently sloping tunnel some twenty yards before it made a sharp turn. They turned the corner and walked into a large room, some thirty yards in length and similar width, with a high ceiling. Two corridors led away from the room, one straight across from where they came in, the other on their left. Movement caught Frank’s eyes as he entered the room, he turned to the right to see a large monster step out from a small alcove.

Stone Troll, level 40

Read the panel above the creature. Nearly ten feet tall, with a muscular build, it looked similar to the trolls they fought before, except for its gray-colored skin.

“Don’t tell me this thing is actually made of stone,” Kim complained.

“Let’s hit it and find out,” Clay replied, as the group spread out, the melee fighters moving to surround the monster.

“Watch out for company from the two tunnels,” Frank reminded them, as he contemplated what magic would be most effective.

The troll was unarmed, but its melon-sized fists presented plenty of danger. It didn’t bother with strategy, it wound up a punch and struck the target closest to it. Benton planted his feet on the ground and braced himself for impact.

“Damn, it’s very strong,” he cursed and warned the others, as the blow sent him stumbling.

A loud bang reverberated throughout the room, as Clay slammed his club into the monster’s leg. The troll took the hit in stride, retaliating with a backhand slap, followed by a punch. Clay dodged both, then jumped back to avoid an overhead smash. However, the fist crashed into the floor with such ferocity that it sent out a vibrating wave through the ground. Clay felt like the floor became unstable, as the vibrations traveled into him, he swung his arms wildly, trying to keep his balance.

“Fuck, I can’t get to it,” Gabriel shouted, as he lost his balance and fell to his knees when he tried to close in on the troll from behind.

“I’ll taunt it,” Benton shouted. He banged his axe on his shield as Taunt activated, causing the monster to abandon its target and turn to face him.

An icicle flew forward, doing no damage as it shattered upon hitting the monster’s chest. Frank circled to the side before slashing at the passing troll – taunt caused the target to attack the user for five seconds, but it would still hit anyone in its way. His blade embedded itself into the skin but didn’t draw any blood.

Kim took a running start and leaped at the monster’s back, she slammed her dagger into the monster’s back, as she delivered an overhead swing with both arms. The troll groaned, as the dagger pierced some of its tough skin, and reached behind to grab Kim, before tossing her at Benton. The two tumbled away like bowling pins, accompanied by pained cries.

“I got this,” Gabriel shouted as he rushed the monster.

He grabbed the troll’s leg below the knee and lifted it, then he rotated toward the lifted leg, causing the monster’s balance to shift. The troll swung its arms as it fell on its back.

“Hit it,” Gabriel shouted.

Clay leaped forward and brought his club down on the monster’s face, stunning it briefly. Meanwhile, Frank shot a Lightning Bolt at it. As expected, the electricity fizzled out without stunning the target. He lunged with a stab, but it felt like trying to stab a wall. I probably did more damage to my arm then to it, Frank thought, annoyed.

The troll was trying to kick and grab Gabriel, while half-heartedly defending against Clay’s attacks. Since regular attacks were ineffective, Frank used Phantom Strike as he swung at the downed monster, the illusory blade flew forward and entered the creature, causing it to stop struggling for a moment before it turned to glare in his direction.

“Amy hit it with Arcane Missiles,” Frank shouted, as he spammed Phantom Strike.

“OK,” Amy replied. She moved to the other side of the monster and cast the spell, launching one elongated projectile after another.

“It’s working,” Clay remarked, as the troll became more desperate in its attempt to escape.

“Yeah, too bad I am nearly out of Stamina,” Frank retorted. “Keep it busy,” he added, as he stepped back and began to channel Arcane Missiles as well.

Kim and Benton returned to the battle, the woman went to help Gabriel by holding onto the troll’s other leg, while the man joined Clay as they took turns hitting the troll’s head to distract it. This went on for half a minute before the monster succumbed to the damage.

“Hmm, I can stab through its eyes, but that’s about it,” Kim reported after spending some time examining the monster.

“No drops either, what a waste,” Stuart added with a sigh.

“Amy, how’s your mana?” Frank asked.

“I’m only down a hundred mana.”

“Good, then we can continue. Although, if we run into more than one it’s probably best to flee,” Frank announced.

“Hey, look what I found,” Clay called out from the alcove that the troll came out of. They came over, only to see a smooth boulder about two feet in size.

“This is?”

“A stone node,” Clay replied.

Frank focused on the stone and got a panel telling him as much. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on.

“So, we fought that thing just to get access to this stone node? What a disappointment,” Benton gave voice to everyone’s thoughts.

“Maybe there’s something better further in?” Amy said, trying to sound optimistic.

“I doubt we’ll get a chance to find out. We got company,” Stuart exclaimed, as a troll entered the room from each of the two tunnels.