“Morning Asin,” Daniel greets his friend, up bright and early and waiting at the Dungeon entrance. She nods in greeting, sniffs once and smiles slightly. Ah, he should be better prepared to take things seriously. Oblivious to her thoughts Daniel continues, “I think we should focus on the seventh floor for now. Farm it for as much stone as we can. If we ask Liev for the conversion rate for the two B Grade stones for the smaller stones, I think it’ll be safer for us. We could probably just buy them too from the Guild. What do you think?”

Asin nods, yesterday’s experience a stark reminder that while skill and tactics made a difference, they were both under-equipped and under-leveled. One small mistake could end in tragedy.

Resolved, the pair head down once more to the seventh floor, intent on just farming the Ogres for their stones. No risky attacks, no pushing things. Slow and steady was what they would do.

“Yahooo!” screaming, the half-naked Adventurer runs ahead of the pair, throwing himself at a pair of Ogres the two had earlier targeted. Running behind him, his friends call out a quick apology as they overtake the two to backup their friend.

“Hey!” Daniel grumbles, lowering his crossbow. Damn it. That was the second time that day that this group had stolen one of their kills.

Asin chuffs out too in anger, her tail lashing sideways as she watches as the five adventurers split the Ogres. The half-naked warrior with the oversized sword takes on a single Ogre by himself while his friends work on the last, crippling and killing it quickly before returning to help their friend out. They work smoothly together, constantly harrying and attacking the Ogre in such a way that the monster is never able to fully focus on any one of member.

The half-naked warrior on the other hand is full of vigor with very little skill, quite willing to trade blow for blow with the Ogre. In fact, the Ogre seemed to be worst for wear as the Adventurer just shuddered slightly from each blow, a light red mist beginning to rise from his body as he was injured.

“Go,” Asin says after a moment, shaking her head. They might as well move on, hoping to find another group. As annoying as it was, today had been a decent day. Daniel nods, mentally gauging which direction to go from his minimap that his skill gives him before walking forwards. There were a pair of small caves down this way that often held the floor Champion.

The pair trek forward in silence, paying attention to both the ground and their surroundings. Asin still has to stop Daniel from walking into a hidden pit, chuffing in humour. At his excuse, she just wrinkles her nose and Daniel edges around the trap, grumbling quietly to himself. Behind him, Asin smirks, though she knows that her friend is unable to smell the open earth beneath the layer of grass that covers the trap. Humans and their pitiful noses.

As they near the caves, Asin’s ears begin to twitch. She moves forward quickly, overtaking Daniel as she scans the ground ahead of them for further traps now that she knows where to go. Soon enough, they spot the Ogre Champion himself and the chest behind him. Standing over eleven feet tall, the Ogre Champion is clad in leather armour and wears a pair of metal gauntlets that cover its arms as well. As they near, the Champion lets out a roar in challenge, rushing them.

Daniel raises his crossbow, firing immediately and sinking the bolt into the creature’s torso. The blow does nothing to slow the monster even as Asin runs to the side, charging a knife with Piercing Shot as she does so. Throwing the knife, she immediately follows up with Fan of Knives as she works to give Daniel more time to load and fire once again. The Ogre Champion refuses to be distracted though, catching the first knife on its gauntlet and ignoring the pair of knives that strike it subsequently as it bears down on Daniel.

When it is within ten feet, it jumps and swings its fist, attempting to crush Daniel. Rather than blocking the monster, Daniel drops and rolls, abandoning his crossbow as he comes to his feet and pulling his shield and mace into position. He immediately starts circling the monster, searching for an opening even as Asin continues to pelt the creature with knives.

The Champion snarls, ignoring the knives that sprout from its back as it jumps forward again, swinging a wide right fist and then following up almost immediately with a straight left. Daniel ducks the first and then is forced to put both sword and mace together to block the second, stumbling backwards from the sheer strength of the blow. Even as he attempts to regain his footing the Ogre steps forwards and leads again with a left, smashing Daniel’s hasty guard into him and sending him sprawling to the ground.

As the Ogre steps forward, Asin’s bolo hit, wrapping around the creature’s legs. It jerks the Champion to a halt, forcing it to stumble as small lightning arcs jump. Asin immediately follows up with a Piercing Shot, the thrown knife plunging into the creatures supporting limb and forcing the Ogre to fall.

Rolling quickly, Daniel just barely manages to avoid being crushed. Rolling to his foot, he sees the elbow the Ogre is using to prop itself up next to him and he stands, triggering Perin’s Blow to smash the limb downwards into the ground. The blow cracks the elbow, forcing it to bend as it meets the ground and Daniel immediately attacks the arm again with another pair of skill aided strikes.

Arm twitching, the Champion lashes out, catching Daniel in the side and forcing him to roll with the blow. Woozy on his feet, Daniel is forced to cast a Minor Healing on himself as he patches himself up from the multiple heavy blows he has received.

Rather than allowing the monster the chance to stand, Asin rushes forward while Daniel recovers and ducks in close to the Ogre, plunging knives into the exposed backs of the creature’s thighs, attempting to hamstring the opponent. White sparks fly and the Champion defecates itself as she attacks, forcing Asin to flinch under the sudden noxious and unexpected onslaught. Distracted for a brief moment, she does not notice the twitching leg barrelling into her side before it is too late and she crashes into the ground, arm broken.

The crippled Champion struggles to its knees, roaring in defiance as Daniel, fully recovered rushes it. He ducks under the right jab that comes at him, jumping into the air and triggering a Shield Bash as he slams his shield right into the bridge of the Ogre’s nose. As the Ogre grips its shattered proboscis, Daniel grips his mace in two hands and brings it crashing into the monster’s temple once and then again to end the fight.

Limping over, Asin lets out a low yowl of pain to attract Daniel’s attention who moves to set her arm before he heals her. She whimpers, feeling bone grate as he adjusts her injured limb before the cool wash of the spell rolls over her. Still, through the pain she watches the cave entrance and the mana stone in case of thieves in red cloaks. Having done what little he can for the moment, Daniel hurries over to pocket their loot before returning to help the Beastkin again.

“Enough for today?” Daniel asks, his mana all used up.

“Yes,” Asin nods, slowly limping forward. Her arm felt fragile as it always did after a healing and the bruise on her hip was not fully fixed as yet.

“Here, let me fix that…” Daniel reaches out to extend his Gift and Asin hisses at him, realising what he is up to. While she doesn’t know what exactly the Gift costs him, she understands that all Gifts had a cost. “Asin…”

“Small. I fine,” Asin insists, forcing herself to walk with less of a limp.

“Asin…” Daniel prods her and she grumbles, looking at him. “We’re partners.”

“Mana. Later,” Asin insists and then pauses, adding. “Monster Gift.”

“Umm…”

“Monster. Use Gift,” Asin tries again.

“Okay,” Daniel sighs, walking a few further steps and then stopping. His crossbow! Hurrying back, he gets it and checks it over for damage as he returns to his friend who is rubbing at her side. While he isn’t happy with her decision, at least she compromised. And he could too.

As they walk back, they spot the group of Adventurers before, though they are missing one of their number. As they near, they see that the group are tying together rope and are standing around the now-exposed pit trap.

“Problem?” Daniel asks as he nears them, curious more than anything else.

“Our friend fell down the pit trap but he’s okay,” a hammer wielding adventurer answers for the group, nodding to the pair. “He was hurrying to get to the Champion and well…”

Asin ears twitch as she listens to the half-dressed Adventurer shout at the party to hurry up. Obviously, the fall had done little harm to the tough Adventurer. Prodding Daniel, she gestures for them to keep walking and Daniel nods, turning away.

“Hey, did you two just come from the Champion?” a female adventurer asks, her voice high and melodic as she hands her part of the rope over.

“Yes,” Daniel answers.

“Damn, just the two of you? And you’re barely hurt!” admiration fills her voice as she eyes the pair. “You guys must be pretty high level.”

Daniel blinks and shrugs and Asin says nothing, though her tail curls slightly in amusement.

“Shit. Now we’ve got to tell Omrak that you guys killed the Champion,” groans another Adventurer. At this statement, all his friends look crestfallen. While the group contemplate this dire news, the pair head off.

“We could leave him there…” Asin overhears one last suggestion as the pair limp off.

That evening, the pair are seated in the Spinning Top, sharing a meal after a hard-day’s work. It was a good haul for their level and the two were celebrating with a good meal and drink. Having finished their dinner, the two were contemplating the apple pie on offer, wondering if they could fit another piece.

A noise catches the attention of the pair, seated in the corner as they are. The large, half-dressed man in furs cries out in happiness, striding over and grinning widely, “I have found you!”

Daniel frowns, shifting back in his chair and letting a hand drop to his lap. Asin makes no overt move either though her tail starts waving lazily. While it is was unusual, it was not unheard of for Adventurers to seek retribution for kills stolen. As the Adventurer nears them, Daniel is surprised to see how young he his - barely more than sixteen at a guess, his face unlined and still growing, hair a pale yellow. The Adventurer moves fluidly, though his encounters earlier in the day clearly show on his shirtless and muscular torso. Still, the bruising seem to be doing little to slow down the exhurbutant youngster.

“Yes?” Daniel asks, realising that the Adventurer over-tops him by nearly a foot. And he might not even be done growing yet!

“I wanted to meet the two mighty Adventurers who beat the Champion by themselves. Such bravery must be toasted! I am Omrak, son of Losin,” the youngster speaks, his voice so loud it is almost a shout. He gestures over the nearest waitress. “Come, serve these heroes a drink. I shall take an ale.”

“Noisy!” Asin scolds, rubbing at her ears.

“It is very much so, is it not? This a good tavern!” replies Omrak, his volume not changing. “And who are you heroes?”

“I’m Daniel and this is Asin,” Daniel answers, gesturing to his companion before continuing. “And she was speaking of you.”

“AH,” pausing Omrak lowers his voice to a stage whisper, “It this better?”

Asin rolls her eyes as the waitress comes over with three mugs, one filled with sabu and the other two ale. Eyeing Asin’s drink, Omrak says, “What is that purple mixture?”

“Sabu. It’s a traditional Beastkin drink,” Daniel replies as glances at the mug before he smiles, relaxing slightly. “Thank you for the drink.”

“Not at all. Congratulations on killing the Champion. I see my companions were in error - you heroes are entirely uninjured. You must be truly mighty warriors,” Omrak says.

“Uhh… no. We healed up,” Daniel replies while Asin returns to scraping her plate clean.

“Ah! Yes. Of course, you heroes would be able to afford a great many healing potions. They are extremely expensive here, are they not?” Omrak says again, rubbing at his side. “I, myself, have had to purchase a few.”

“We did notice your… particular fighting style,” Daniel replies, then seizing on the chance adds. “There was a red mist coming from you while you were fighting?”

“The Battle Rage! It is a Skill for our warriors, but it is not as useful against a single opponent,” Omrak clarifies, grinning. “You Southerners do not have its like. It gives one extra strength and deadens the pain of the fight.”

“That’s pretty nice,” Daniel nods, realising where Omrak must come from. Further to the North, past the Grey Mountains themselves was a deep valley that bisected the land where numerous smaller city states lived. To their North, a small sea separated their lands from Squalak. The mountainous countries that made up that land were well known for calling those who lived further South of them in less harsh and cold climates Southerners.

“Come, let us toast!” Omrak gestures to their drink and Asin sighs, picking up her drink. Daniel does too, “To Great Heroes. May our names be written in the stars!”

Drinking from their cups, they look at Omrak who stands there grinning at them for long moments. As things grow uncomfortable, Daniel coughs and adds, “Would you care to join us?”

“Yes!” grabbing a nearby seat, Omrak sits down. “Come heroes, let us speak of our adventures.”

Asin rolls her eyes again but stops when Omrak drops coin on the table as he waves the waitress over. “I require dinner and more drinks for my friends!” Well, perhaps Asin could stay if he was paying. Free drinks were free drinks.

A week later, the pair walk into Maximillian’s store. It had been a long week, working the seventh level again and again for mana stones but they had finally earned enough to cover the cost of the two B Grade stones they were missing as well as to pay for their living expenses for a few more weeks.

“At last! I thought you two would never be done,” Maximillian grumbles, taking the pouch and staring at the stones within. He checks them over carefully, nodding in satisfaction. Finally! Those stones would be more than enough to power the furnace while he was working on his Masterwork. “Are you getting my venom sacs then?”

“Yes,” Daniel answers, smiling slightly. “We’re going out in two days.”

“Two days!” Maximillian says, his voice rising. “Why are you taking so long!?!”

“We need maps, equipment, provisions,” Daniel says. “We also have our lives to live you know. We’ve been down in the Dungeon every day since we got back from your trip.”

“Still…”

“Two days. If we are lucky, we’ll get the sacs easily and be back in a few days. Then it’ll finally be done,” Daniel says and then continues after a pause. “Can I see the pieces?”

Maximillian pauses and then sighs, waving Daniel over. Ever since Daniel had arrived back, he had been taking measurements and building out the pieces of armor for Daniel, laying each completed piece at the back. While the pieces were mostly finished, final adjustments would need to be made when Daniel put the pieces on to ensure the armor fit comfortably and allowed full range of motion. As Daniel’s eyes fall on the helmet, he reaches out to gently stroke it before glancing at Max.

“Could I maybe put a deposit on this? I don’t really have a helmet…” Daniel asks tentatively. It was outside of their contract after all. Maximillian frowns and then looks at the youngster once more before he shakes his head.

“No,” seeing Daniel’s crestfallen face, he holds it up to him. “You can keep it. I trust you. Now, put it on and let me adjust it.”

Grinning, Daniel takes the proffered arming cap from Maximillian first and the slides on the helmet. The conical helmet covers most of Daniel’s face, leaving only his eyes and his mouth exposed, the lower cheek guards flaring downwards a distance. Asin nods approvingly, lips twitching slightly as Daniel shifts around uncomfortably as Maximillian checks the chin straps and the fit. If Daniel was going to wear a helmet and cut down on his senses, he might as well go all the way.

Pulling the helmet off Daniel’s face, Maximillian sets to fixing it immediately. Daniel walks over to his friend, murmuring, “You?”

“No,” Asin shakes her head and then taps her ears. “No hear. No smell. No see. Bad. Very bad.”

“Mmmm…” Daniel grunts and then shrugs after a moment. It was her choice, though as fighting got fiercer, her ability to dodge all blows would become more and more difficult.

Seeing and smelling his concern, Asin chuckles and taps her temple again, “Enchantment. Protection. Buy soon. Daniel pay me.”

Daniel frowns for a moment, piecing together finally that she would buy a protection enchantment instead from the money he owed her. Feeling somewhat more comforted, he absently pats at his wallet. Giving away three quarters of their earnings constantly and having to earn the mana stones meant that he was living lean these days. Still, a custom suit of armour would be worth, he could feel it in his bones. As Maximillian calls him over, Daniel hurries over as Asin, bored, bids them farewell. They had set their meeting time in two days and she had much to do in-between.

“So soon,” Khy’ra says dejectedly, slowly rotating her spoon around the bowl of soup in front of her. Seated in the Spinning Top that evening, the Elf digests the information that Daniel is about to leave again.

“It’ll only be a short while this time!” Daniel answers her hurriedly, squeezing her hand. “And I’ve got tomorrow off if you can get it…”

Khy’ra flashes Daniel a small smile, unwilling to explain that it was his leaving Karlak soon that brought down the Elf. She understood - with his new armour, it would only be a few months after that before Daniel was done with the Dungeon and thus this town. “Tomorrow… I have meetings in the morning, but I can take the rest of the day off.” She says firmly. If she was to lose him, she might as well enjoy it while she could. It was after all her way.

“That’s great! I have to do some shopping anyway for the trip,” Daniel says, reaching out to squeeze her hand and smiling. “I also have something I want to show you in my room.” Khy’ra laughs and realising what he said, Daniel begins to blush. “No, it’s a helmet!”

This just makes Khy’ra giggle more and Daniel just gives up, hanging his head. Elise, drawn over by their discussion raises an eyebrow.

“Daniel has a helmet he wants to show me. In his room,” giggles Khy’ra.

Elise, obviously not finding the joke as funny as the Elf, sniffs and walks away. This does little to ease Khy’ra’s giggles, though she does reach out to grab Daniel’s hand again and give it a squeeze. Tomorrow would do and as many tomorrows as she could get.