Despite the events of the previous cycle, Metello had to go hunting again. This time, he wanted to know if he could get a mine filled only with undead rats to better use his main prayer potential.

After walking the streets a bit paranoid, he arrived at the hunter building later than usual as he took his time for once. He wanted to meet Brorne first, so he didn't have to wait at the counter. As he passed by, he recognized a squad formed the month before, but he curiously didn't recognize the man at the desk. He never saw anyone but Mr. Morton there, so he was surprised to see a blond young man filling his role.

When he met Brorne, he explained to him his last cycle kidnapping. Metello secretly hoped he had once again some advice for his situation. Unfortunately, it was not the case as he could only think for Metello to move out to the middle residential district with better security or find some roommates. Metello had not enough money yet, and he didn't know anyone he wanted to live with. Not that anyone would want to live with him either. He would have to bear this pressure by himself, as usual. It was just a bit stronger than before.

Nevertheless, Brorne told him he would have gladly welcomed him in his house if everything were going well at home, but apparently, it was not the case. Metello was surprised. He had been pretty sure Brorne wasn't married as the [Warrior] had never told him about his family for the past year. Metello didn't see that his weapon trainer was uncomfortable with this subject, so he asked questions only to be rebuffed. The [Lux Acolyte] left for the reception desk shortly after, not understanding too well what happened.

As the desk was free of hunters, he went directly for it. He asked the question which bothered him from the start.

“Hello, is Mr Morton not here ?”

The man was not wearing the merchant smile Mr Morton always had. He seemed sleepy and seemed a lot less professional than the usual receptionist to Metello.

“No, he is neither here this cycle nor for some time. He is sorry not to be able to do his work but he has family problems to solve. Nevertheless, I'm here to help you. Do you want to become a monster hunter? Oh, no. If you know Mr. Morton, you're probably already one. Anyway, what can I do for you ?”

Metello was offended not to be recognized as a hunter. It was a bit childish, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to know more about Mr. Morton, but he understood the blond receptionist could not tell everybody about Mr Morton's life, so he went with his main subject.

“I was wondering if there was some special mine with only undead monsters available.”

“Yes, the undead mines. There are only two of these because a lot of squads prefer fighting living monsters as they provide more materials to sell. Do you know how the House is doing to produce undead only mine? It's simple. As the undead monsters rise from dead bodies, we only have to let the bodies inside the mine all the time. Even if you kill them a hundred times, they will be standing up again a hundred times after eleven cycles. It's a problem for the Saint Walls defense, or worse if you want to travel the Everlasting Night. In the mines, we control it, so we have an infinite supply of undead monsters. Well, why did I tell you all that? Yes! You want to book one of the undead mines with your squad ?”

Here was a talkative man. While the man was talking, Metello could see his smile blossoming. He was not just a talkative man. He was a speech lover.

“Yes, but the squad is me alone.”

As always when he had told that to people, the blond man was surprised.

“Alone? You really don't have partners for hunting? It's a lot more dangerous, you know. You better find comrades to venture in the mines.”

Once again, he was told the same thing. And again, he gave the same answer.

“Yes, I know. But I have some...circumstances and it is difficult to find people to form a group with me.” As he said that, Metello lifted his hat.

“Hum. I see. The young ones are often silly ones. Why do you want to hunt in an undead mine? You're a [Warrior] I guess from your gear ?”

“No, I'm a [Lux Acolyte].”

At these words, understanding illuminated the man's face.

“Fine. I can't really encourage you to hunt alone, but I see how you came to it.” Thinking a bit more, he added. “For solo hunting, I guess the 5th mine in the 5h section is the best. The tunnels are a little narrower so it's safer.”

“It's perfect for me. But, at what level would the monster be ?”

The receptionist browsed through his register.

“Let me see. It had been cleaned seventeen days ago, so there will be mainly level 3 monsters.”

Metello winced a bit and asked.

“And for the other one ?”

“Hum... fourteen days ago, so they would be level 2. Do you have problems with these level monsters? What level are you ?”

“1,3.”

“I see. It's a hard decision to make. Especially since you are alone.” He waited a bit before adding. “Know that even if you choose the mine with level 2 monsters, they will be level 3 in one cycle, so choosing with only the monsters level in mind is not very good. You can always wait for some squad to clean it again before going in yourself ?”

Thinking a bit, Metello chose.

“I should try the first one then. How much time do I have before the monsters reach level 4?”

The receptionist browsed through his register again.

“It is the 5th mine in the 5th section. The next mutation should be in five cycles, so don't worry about that. And I know the squad who cleaned it last time. They are an anti-Sirius squad. They have always done a good job. There should not be level 4 monsters in it.”

Metello took a heavy breath. “OK, I book this mine.”

“Right. What is your name ?”

“Metello.”

While the man was writing the [Acolyte]'s name on the ledger, the young hunter asked back.

“And yours ?”

Lifting his head, he opened his eyes wide and said.

“Wow! I even didn't introduce myself. Sorry. I'm Paul Newmine, from the 18th to 6th bell team in the House. Nice to meet you. And yes, my name is hilarious, and you can ask “Paul, new mine ?” next time you need to book another mine. It is a bit of a running gag in the other shift.”

Metello chuckled.

“So, that's why I never saw you here before. Nice to meet you Mr Newmine.”

“People call me Paul usually, so don't bother with Mr Newmine.”

Finally, Metello revised his initial judgment of Paul. He thought the man was quite nice after all.

Metello waited until after lunch to proceed to his newly booked mine but regretted it. He felt much more relaxed when he was on the road among the fields. The sun above, the grass below, and not too many people between the two. He wondered if he could take his midday meal there next time.

The undead mine he was walking toward was located almost straight opposite the first one, not too far from the plains gate. As the Lux follower moved on the main road, following the river, he crossed paths with some incoming [Traveling merchants] with their carts full of food products from the countryside. Most of the boats going up the river were also filled with food. Ironholes was better suited for growing monsters, alchemical products, and metal ores than food, so the city was in dire need of these merchants.

Quickly, Metello was by the gate of his new hunting domain. The sun was shining at full power on his leather hat. There was no mountain to cast a shadow on him like on his first mine entrance. Another difference was the gate form. All the ones he passed by until there were only made as an iron bar grate. This one was fabricated the same except for the whole iron plate added in the lower half. It was a question to ask the talkative Paul.Metello took his usual after-walk pause of ten minutes, looking at the landscape and through the gate

Then, he entered, Lucco above his hat. He went to the safe room first, as always, to set down his backpack and headed toward the tunnel. As he took his first step into it, he noticed it was narrower than the last, just like Paul had said to him. It only allowed two men to stand side by side. With time, he was slowly getting used to being surrounded by the darkness of the mines. He was not sweating much. He was not trembling. Only his heartbeat went a bit faster. The Lux follower was focused and careful of any noise or shape appearing.

He was not that far from the gate when he heard the first shrieks. As trained, he went down on his knee, buckler and rapier in front of him. Lucco was in pancake mode in front of his shield to welcome the ugly undead rat. As Metello willed more divine energy into Lucco, the beast's cries grew louder. Then, the charge hit him, and it hit hard. He almost fell on the spot by the mere power of the blow despite his defensive stance. His shield arm couldn't absorb the charge as usual. Metello's limb was sent backward and hit hard the ribs of the unlucky hunter. The forced move turned his wrist and enticed a sharp pain in it. He barely held up a scream.

That's when he remembered that the monsters here should be level 3. Monsters, because he saw a second source of ugly shrieks running to him too. He knew he could not bear another charge while the first one was scratching his shield and trying to bite him from above.

Metello used his rapier hand to help push the first monster away with his buckler, not minding his injured wrist, and making the ugly undead beast fall on its back. He had less than a second to brace himself, this time using his two arms to absorb the charge impact of the second one.

Metello left his weapon down and strengthened his one-knee-down position. He kept blocking the charging monsters and knocking them back one by one with all he had during the whole fight. He only had to resist for a few tens of seconds for Lucco to finish the job. Hopefully, the first zombie rat fell motionless twenty seconds later, the other following quickly. Once his two foes were out of the fight, Metello opened his ears wide again.

When he assured himself no more monster was coming, he walked back to the entrance. He dismissed Lucco to be able to chant a quick Prayer to Anima to heal his shield hand and his sore ribs there. He took advantage of being in the sunlight to get a little rest and restore some stamina. He had the time, and his stamina level would probably be what would limit his hunt time.

He didn't know if his new pancake form for Lucco had been more efficient than the ball form as the zombie rats were not of the same level. What bothered him more was that the charge of these level 3 monsters was a lot more powerful than the level 2 ones. He was glad to have found a solution in the heat of the fight, using both his arms to absorb the impact. He had little choice but to proceed like that from now.

Another problem he encountered in his last fight was attracting a second monster when he powered up Lucco's light. He thought he simply had to keep his light source in full power when walking.

Feeling refreshed, Metello walked back to the fighting zone, remaining vigilant and his rapier back in its sheath and having adjusted his way of progressing in the tunnel according to his previous thoughts. He found the bodies where he had left them, and, as he didn't have to get the bodies out, retrieved the two cores and put the bodies to the side. He opened his ears and eyes, and he went slowly forward again.

Rapidly, the monster hunter heard another shriek. He backed off three meters, watching the jumping zombie rabbit coming for him, and went to his defensive stance. This time, it was the only monster to be attracted. The fight unfolded far easier as the monster was bigger but slower, and Metello could retrieve another core.

He finally saw the first room entrance and darkened Lucco a bit as he reached it. The tunnel had been far more populated than in the first mine. Despite his need to use a Prayer to Anima, and his intense use of Lucco, his divine energy level was still high enough to go on.

He willed Lucco to illuminate increasingly more again toward the front until he heard a shriek. As usual, he took some steps back into the tunnel, always facing the entrance. It was then. He heard multiple other monster roars in response to the first on the left part of the room.

"Damn!"

His heartbeats kicked in. He didn't think further and turned quickly on his feet to rush back at full speed. Metello had rarely run this fast. Instinctively, he willed Lucco to place itself above his head and illuminate at full power at his back, hoping it would make his pursuers slower by hurting them.

Immediately, the aggressive shrieks of the first monster became more pained. But as the noises told him the other zombies were coming closer, all the same, he pushed even more on his legs. He passed the bodies of his previous preys, he almost tripped once, but the outside sunlight came into view quickly. He didn't take the time to look back to see where the undead were as he felt them almost on him.

The budding monster hunter couldn't be much relieved to see the sunlight as he knew the gate was locked. He didn't feel it was the time to unlock anything at the moment. So he jumped on the grid-like structure without a thought toward the safety room. He climbed as high as possible on the gate as the first zombie-rat followed his jump and bit on Metello's leg in the sunlight.

The pain made him wince, but he managed to keep on climbing. Once he couldn't go higher, he turned around to see two more monsters jumping on him. Some kicks with his unharmed leg managed to keep them away for long enough for the first monster to let go of him, weakened first by Lucco's light and then by the sunlight. Metello kept on defending himself from the two others with his legs for a few seconds, not having the occasion to get his rapier out of its sheath, before they both came down too.

Breathing heavily, Metello climbed down the gate clumsily. As he stumbled on a dead rat's body, he found himself falling to the ground heavily, letting a small cry out. He was in a sorry state.

After he stood out once more, the acolyte chanted a second Prayer to Anima for the day. The injury being a bit worse, Metello used a lot of divine energy. It was not yet fully healed when a familiar low-energy-induced headache hit him. He decided to call the end of the hunt for this cycle. He harvested his three hard-won cores and put the bodies in the shadows of the tunnel so they don't melt. Five level 3 cores were a lot for a hunt, but the way he earned them was not safe enough for his tastes.

Metello limped back to the city and was home a bit after the 11th bell. He could wash a bit before making lunch. He stayed in his room and finished healing in the afternoon. He had even enough divine energy to absorb his six cores and chant a Prayer of status, gaining once more a headache. There, the [Lux Acolyte] could see the new Light Artist blessing he earned when he made his show at the orphanage as well as his raise in level.

Status : Metello Level : 1,58 (↑0.26) Ether : 57 Class : Lux Acolyte (basic) Stamina 31,3/45,8 3/h (regeneration) Divine energy 5,1/63,9 4,2/h (regeneration) Statistics Base Effective Class bonus Strength Upper 7,8 8,3 4% Lower 8 8,5 4% Agility Body 8,9 9,5 4% Hand 10,5 11,5 4% Resilience Body 8,2 8,7 4% Mind 11 12,7 10% Mind Intelligence 8,7 9,2 4% Imagination 12,7 14,7 10% Faith Power 10,5 12,7 10% Control 11,5 13,9 (Lux:14,6) 10% Perception Sense 10,1 11,1 4% Memory 10,6 11,3 4% Social Comprehension 8,7 9,2 4% Expression 8,5 9 4% Blessings Bestower tier level Battle Blessings Lux Lux Devotee 2 1 passive Fulgur Ranged Prayer 2 1 passive Lux Prayer to Lux 1 3 active Lux Rapier Handling 1 1 passive Lux Spear Handling 1 1 passive Lux Light Resist 1 1 passive Support Prayers Fulgur Prayer of Thanks 1 3 active/passive Nihil Prayer of Status 1 3 active Aqua Prayer to Aqua 1 1 active Aeris Prayer to Aeris 1 1 active Calor Prayer to Calor 1 1 active Vegeta Prayer to Vegeta 1 1 active Anima Prayer to Anima 1 1 active Other Lux Light Artist 2 1 (↑NEW) passive Petrus Resting 1 3 passive Aqua Cleaning 1 1 passive Lux Sight sense 1 2 passive Lux Hiding 1 2 passive Lux Graphic arts 1 2 passive Menta Reading 1 4 passive Menta Counting 1 3 passive Menta Writing 1 1 passive Menta Focus 1 1 passive Nihil Absorb core 1 1 active