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1337 Words
Matt called out, “Hey, keep watch for a few minutes. I want to test something.”
At the nod, he pulled out a plank of wood, and used his carving tool to begin removing wood in strips. While he worked, he injected his mana into the wood’s cell structure. When he completed the runes and connecting formations, he started pouring mana into the roughly carved plank.
With anticipation, he watched as the center of the rune started to glow. Ever so slowly, the light it was producing increased. At first, he thought it was just the sun rising, but soon, the rune was outproducing the sun in brightness. It became a veritable beacon in the predawn glow.
“Ha! f**k yeah!”
Liz poked her head out of her tent and called out, “Why didn’t you wake us up if it’s so late?”
As she squinted to adjust to the increasing brightness, she asked, “Why are you making so much light this early?”
Matt didn’t let her tone get him down.
“My AI figured out this light rune all on its own!”
She tilted her head. “So?”
“This is a new light rune combination! That’s so cool! And my AI did it, all on its own!”
Liz shrugged. “Is it better or something?”
Matt shook his head with a smile. “Nope! It’s five percent worse than the standard model.”
Liz crawled out of the tent and came to sit next to him.
“I’m proud of you. I really am. But do you realize that you cut my sleep off by half an hour?”
Matt looked at his clock in his HUD and gave her a weak smile.
“Sorry.”
Liz rolled her eyes and poked his ribs, causing Matt to flinch. “It’s just enough time that it’s not worth going back to sleep. I want a good breakfast.” A pout accompanied the comment that he could only assume was meant to melt his heart.
He didn’t have it in him to tell her it was ineffective, especially after the look had been used on him so many times by Aster. The fox had the fluffy factor working in her favor, too.
“Sure. I’ll get on it.”
It was close enough to sunrise that it was reasonable to start cooking anyway.
With the plank of wood spreading enough light for him to work with, he started cooking. Without more mana being added, or a rune to draw ambient mana in, the light slowly started to dim. His AI was recording the output the whole time, and he kept a part of his view covered with its readings.
For the first time, he was enjoying enchanting something. While he knew the rune probably wasn’t entirely new, it wasn’t in the common rune collection for Tier 5 and below. It was just so cool that his AI had created something from just the beginner books.
Still in a good mood, Matt cooked for everyone, and even used a few of their perishables to apologize for disrupting Liz’s sleeping time. Camilla and Aster crawled out of their tents not long after the smells started wafting through the clearing. Neither said a word, but Aster didn’t hide her irritation at the plank of wood through their bond. Her sitting on the rune carved plank told Matt everything that her emotions didn’t.
After they sat and ate, everyone’s eyes started drifting to the hole in the side of the mountain that they had camped out next to. None of them could resist the allure of a ruin.
Once breakfast ended, there was palpable anticipation that caused everyone to hurry to pack up and move to the tunnel entrance.
The tunnel brought with it its own series of problems. It was so small, Matt had trouble advancing, even while turning sideways. He was still pressed on his back and chest by the walls of the crevice. Dirt scraped off from his passage joined the rough, stone-littered floor.
It was getting so tight, Matt was going to call a halt, so that they could start digging the tunnel a bit wider. But then the dirt and rock changed to cut stone, and he found a fissure in the wall.
“Hold up, there’s a wall ahead. We’re bisecting it. This is less of an entrance and more a hole in the wall.”
Matt twisted his head and asked their guide, “Any reason your Talent would have brought us through here, and not to an actual entrance?”
Malcolm shrugged over Camilla’s head. “No clue. I wasn’t asking for the ruin itself, but the item that will help me the most.”
Matt nodded as much as he could and thanked all the past ascenders for [Cracked Phantom Armor]. He was grateful for whatever property that allowed it to block the dirt from entering his personal space. When he looked behind, he had seen that everyone else was absolutely covered in dirt, despite being less cramped.
He could feel Aster’s discontent with the dirt that was marring her pristine fur. She was already pushing demands of a bath when they got out of there.
Turning back around to press on, he edged closer to the hallway that they would exit out of and moved his light around. It seemed to be a standard hall, just with a hole in the side of the wall. While staying hidden, he spun the loose stone around the exit with a kick, and when nothing happened, he used the wall as leverage and released all of his breath.
With an effort and wiggle, he pulled himself out of the crevice tunnel, and he half fell into a ready stance. When nothing attacked, he reached back and pulled out two new makeshift flashlights and set them up to shine down the halls. Then, with his hands free, he withdrew his longsword. This was a fairly wide hallway, and he could half-sword if necessary.
He preferred to do that than use his cheaper Tier 5 mace and shield combination. They only had the durability and strengthening enchantments, so while they would be useful, he only intended on using them if they encountered an enemy that swords couldn’t cut.
The others came out of the crevice after he gave them all clear, and they all looked to Malcolm for directions. He closed his eyes and, after a minute, opened them and shrugged.
“I’m not getting anything from my Talent. Each side seems to be as good as the others for reaching the item I want.”
Liz nodded and confirmed what they had talked about last night after the rift. “And you still want to be escorted out of here after you find the growth item? Don’t want to stick around for the rest of the rewards?”
Malcolm shook his head. “No. No, I think I’m good on the actual adventures for a while. I like the idea of chaotic space more than this…” He waved around at their surroundings, “constant danger.”
Matt and the others didn’t try to persuade him. The man wasn’t cut out for the constant vigilance and expectation of danger that delving required. Matt wasn’t sure what exploring chaotic space for new planets entailed, but for the man’s sake, he hoped it wasn’t fraught with danger. Otherwise, Malcolm would never leave his home again.
Their goal was to carefully explore the ruin, proceeding in the direction of the item Malcolm wanted, then escorting him out. Once they were rid of the coward, they could return, and fully clear the ruin. If they were the first to find the items, who knew what they would find. They just wanted to get rid of their baggage first.
“Left, or right?”
Matt looked around at everyone to see their reactions and found that only Camilla had an opinion.
- Writer
