Chapter 34

Leveling up wasn’t what he expected, there was no burst of energy, no flash of light, it felt…like nothing. Literally nothing.

Cherish saw the disappointed expression on his face. “Were you expecting something?”

“I thought there would be a rush of strength or something, but I didn’t feel anything.”

“Yeah, I had that moment too. It’s kinda disappointing isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll notice the difference the next time you get in a fight, or try to lift something heavy. It’s a kind of regulation system every status has to help you avoid shattering cups, doors, and people every time you forget to hold back.”

“Oooh, gotcha.”

She gestured for him to follow, “We need to head back now, it’s getting late.”

He nodded and followed her over to the triplets - who’d been quietly watching them. It was rather creepy to know that they could talk, but didn’t for some reason.

“Hey, Cherish?”

“Yes?”

“You told me earlier that you’d explain why Dale, David, and Drake don’t talk. Could you explain it to me now?”

She let out a long sigh, “Yes, I know they wouldn’t mind me telling you. Those three worship the Goddess of Sacrifice and Gain: Rasonnet.” She glanced at Crimson, “That means nothing to you? Wow, this is the first time I’ve met somebody who hasn’t heard of her. To put it simply her theology teaches that to gain something that is difficult a sacrifice must be made. The more you give up, the more you stand to gain. Make sense?”

“Yeah, they worship Rasonnet, but why would that stop them from speaking?”

“They’ve all taken oaths of silence to ‘sacrifice’ their voices. You see, they sacrifice because they want to gain, and what they want to gain is money. Their mother is sick, and they need money to treat her, and for the cure. They believe that since they’ve ‘sacrificed’ their voices they’ll be able to save their mother: gain for loss.”

Crimson looked at her in surprise, “How do you know all that? If they can’t talk then the only way for you to know all this is…”

“Yeah, we’re childhood friends. I’m keeping an eye on them for their mother’s sake, and I’m trying to pay my debt back to them. Their father saved mine, but he died doing so. So, I owe them a life-debt that I’m trying to pay back.” She gave a fond and faint smile to the trio who were close enough to hear.

“Why would you tell me all this? It seems really personal.”

“I am trying to pay back a life debt, and Dale, Drake, and David are all going through the ritual of sacrifice: those are things to take pride in - not to hide and keep quiet. Most of the DGs probably know our story by now, but they don’t pity us: they respect us for our honor. Me to them, and them to their mother.”

She turned to Crimson, “The Enlightened Races, without honor, are nothing more than selfish monsters. Remember your honor at all times.”

Her words resonated with him, and he would never forget them.

Remember your honor at all times.

It also made him realize the significance of Dale speaking to cast the spells that healed him when he was injured.

- - - - -

Cherish had hauled them all back to the entrance after their little discussion. There had been a few run-ins with goblins, but they were easy enough to take down. His party had all held down their goblins while he finished off the ones nearest him before he went and dealt the final blow on them. All told they killed about 11 goblins on the way out. According to Cherish the EXP from the goblins were split based on the percentage of damage dealt.

Going back to earlier that day: when Crimson had killed that first goblin he hadn’t dealt 100% of the damage that killed it, so he didn’t receive all the EXP, but the ones he did kill by himself, or the ones where he dealt all the damage that killed it, he did receive all the EXP.

He’d killed 4 of the goblins on the return trip without any assistance at all, and dealt 100% of the damage on 3 more. The remaining 4 were damaged when the rest of his group held them down, so he only received about half of the EXP for those ones.

As they worked their way toward the fog that marked the entrance, they came across a young-looking elf lady, coming from the opposite direction. She had green hair and her eyes were so narrowed that they looked closed - hiding their color, but the most interesting thing about her was the fact that she was alone and, based off the evidence, didn’t have a combat class.

She was dressed in loose brown robes and carried a wooden staff. Unlike the one Drake had, it didn’t have a crystal at the top. It looked more like the one that Dale carried: plain, but with simple designs carved into it.

Cherish called out to her, “Ho there! Where’s your party?”

“They wiped.”

“Ouch, I’m sorry ‘bout that. You the only one that survived?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like to stay with us until we exit the Dungeon Fog? I invoke dungeon honor just so you know.”

The elf nodded - her eyes still hidden, “I would appreciate that.”

“What level are you sitting at?”

“1”

“Wow! You’re a healer right? I’m impressed that you survived on your own!”

She nodded once more.

“Well, you can fall in next to our newbie here. Crimson, you protect her. Understand?”

He nodded at her, “I’ve got it.” He didn’t feel like he ‘had’ it though. He could feel his stomach cramping from the stress that the thought of protecting another huma-…elf, she was an elf, not human - from harm.

If he had to guess, the reason why Cherish told him to protect her was to get used more used to party mechanics. Considering the group he was with was a whole 3 levels above him at that point, and the enemies were level 1 there hadn’t been too much pressure on him to protect Dale and David as the back liners of the formation. This would, however, give him more responsibility.

While true that he still wouldn’t have much ACTUAL pressure to defend her, it still weighed on his mind: like a executioners axe hanging over his head.

She approached him and stood on his right: in the center of the formation.

“N-nice to meet you, my name is Crimson.”

“Verity.”

It was…an interesting name.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, when he broke the silence, “Are you an Adventurer or a Delving Guard?”

“Adventurer.”

“Oh,” he looked at her in surprise, “You should join the Delving Guards.”

“Why? I’d have to give up most of what I earn.”

“You probably lose more as a new adventurer than you would as a DG. I only get to keep 20% of what I earn in the dungeon, but all my meals are free, so is my equipment and housing. You probably pay more than I do for all that.”

She tilted her head in thought.

“I also get access to training that Adventurers don’t get. For anyone starting out as a newbie being a DG is the best option. I highly recommend you join.”

“I will…consider it.”

“Okay.”

There was one more goblin that attacked before they made it through the ‘Dungeon Fog’ as Cherish had called it, but she split it in half with her axe before he could do anything. When he glanced at her, confused, she told him that she was hungry and wanted to get home as soon as possible.

- - - - -

Outside the Goblin’s Retreat dungeon Crimson waved to Verity as she rejoined her sheepish comrades. She bowed to him in return and her group left ahead of his.

Cherish turned to him, “Grab all the drops out of your Inventory, let’s see what you got.”

He nodded and glanced in his inventory for all the drops:

Slot 1: [Book of the Alkehaarian Language]

Slot 2: [Goblin Teeth x19]

Slot 3: [Goblin Claws x11]

Slot 4: [Skill Stone x1]

Slot 5: [Wayfarer’s Katana x1]

Slot 6: [Canteen of Water x2]

Slot 7: [Empty Canteen x1]

Slot 8: [Empty]

Slot 9: [Empty]

Slot 10: [Empty]

He’d put his Katana in the Inventory when they’d left the dungeon, he’d been drinking water from the canteens that Dale gave him outside the dungeon, and he’d left the Rune book in his inventory.

He’d gotten the Goblin Teeth and Claws from drops, but he didn’t recognize the skill stone. It…was hard for him to decide if he wanted to mention it to Cherish. On the one hand he wanted answers, on the other she could demand that he give it to her.

If he kept quiet about it and waited until Lena was awake again he could keep it without argument, but if she found out later on that he had kept it, it would ruin any chance of friendship or trust with her, and there was a chance that, that little tidbit of information would get around. IF the information got around it would lead to severe trust problems with the other DGs and ruin his chances of getting good party members.

It was better to tell Cherish about it, he may lose the skill, but he might be able to get it back. ‘Objects’ and ‘Things’ are replaceable, Trust isn’t, and the costs outweighed the benefits, even if it were an amazing skill.

“Cherish, I have 19 Goblin Teeth and 11 Goblin Claws.”

“That’s a great haul!”

“But, there is one more thing.” He looked at her nervously.

“What is it?”

“A Skill Stone.”

Cherish froze and looked at him. For almost a minute she stared at him with wide eyes, then she spoke, “Get it out.”

Gut churning he pulled the Skill Stone out of his Inventory. It was a small thing, shaped like a rounded disk. It was about the size of his palm and looked like it was made of a glowing blue crystal. When he looked closely at it he could see little blue particles flowing around the Skill Stone, like they were being pulled by a current. It was beautiful.

He looked up and stared Cherish in the eye, waiting to see what she’d do.

- - - - - -

Cherish looked Crimson in his quicksilver eyes. She wanted the Skill Stone. She wanted it, so very badly…but it wasn’t hers. It was obvious that Crimson killed the goblin that dropped it, it belonged to him. She had her pride and her honor, and by those two things: she couldn’t take it from him.

It didn’t stop her from being curious, so she looked at the plain grey stone in his palm and activated her [Appraise] skill to see which skill it was.

She double checked, triple checked, and had to stop herself from checking again. It was definitely a skill that she wanted. It was with another force of will that she looked Crimson in his eye again and asked, “Well, are you going to use it?”

He looked at her with a controlled expression, “Am I allowed to?” The unspoken question was: ‘are you going to take it?’

“You killed the goblin that dropped it, you get to keep it.” She quickly responded, controlling her desire one last time.

“All you have to do to use it, is smash it in your grip.”

- - - - -

Crimson looked at her for a moment more, evaluating the honesty of her words, and chose to believe her: she wasn’t just trying to make him break something that she couldn’t have. He glanced at the glowing blue Skill Stone in his hand one last time, and smashed it in his grip.

Skill Stone Assimilating…

Processing…

Assimilation Complete

Skill: Acquired [Inevitable End]