Alan woke later than usual the next morning. Judging by the light peeking over the eastern range the sun had already risen, but it wasn’t yet over the mountains so it was probably only an hour or two after dawn. That was still highly unusual for him. All that dungeon diving must have taken its toll. Today’s morning workout was yoga again. The entire time he was also focused on the second half of his cultivation, trying to make his aura stronger.

  The process of cultivating was both interesting and complicated. It wasn’t worth getting into the details because it was far too mystical and dealt with concepts that had to be experienced to understand. The general idea was to force extra energy out of your soul. This is apparently where all of the energy flowing through your aura comes from. You also had to attempt to move that energy out of your aura and into your body as well. Theoretically it would be possible to make your entire aura explode leaving you to die a bloody and painful death if you just kept pouring energy in without allowing it out, however, at the low level Alan was currently at it would be very difficult to do because his soul didn’t have much juice to squeeze. While death was not likely it was still painful to have an overloaded aura. This energy flowing out of your aura and into your physical body was actually what empowered their abilities.

  Trying to find things like someone’s soul, or where their aura connected with their body would have been far beyond Alan’s aura reading skill in another person, but because it was his own soul it was much easier. It was still the work of almost five minutes just to get started. It is understandable that the Network, through the TAMs, didn’t even try to get the recruits working on cultivation until they had some experience in the tutorial.

  After he finally got it going he had temporarily increased the energy moving from his soul, through his aura, and into his body by a good thirty percent. Alan’s body felt stronger and his mind was working faster than ever. He could see colors more clearly and smell the stink on his own body like never before. He could also pick out the scent of the few wildflowers growing in the field grass that was off to the west.

  This was not a sustainable state outside of meditation. Also, Tamee had warned that if one strained like this for too long they risked causing damage to their aura. However, if you could maintain it for an hour or so a day it would encourage your aura to strengthen itself so that it would be better able to endure an increased flow in the future. Not only would it stretch the pathways causing them to expand, but they would also harden somehow so that they could withstand more pressure as well. After finishing cultivation and yoga, he pulled out some blueberries. The process of cultivating was draining and food helped him to recover. That reminded Alan of something.

  “Ok, I have been thinking about something for a while, but I wasn’t sure how to start this conversation. I don’t really need to eat, but it still seems to help restore me when I feel drained.”

  “Yes, Alan, that is what I told you,” Tamee reminded him.

  “I know, hush, I wasn’t done yet. But, at least on Earth, when you eat food you eventually have to…get rid of the waste. I haven’t had to use the bathroom since I came here. Why not?” he finished lamely.

  He could almost hear the tears leaking from her eyes as she laughed. “Oh my, I forgot you were unaware. Your body does not really have physical waste products anymore. What you think of as waste actually becomes a kind of spiritual gunk that clogs up your aura. Part of what you are doing in the cultivation process is blasting that gunk apart into usable energy. Long story short,” too late, “you won’t ever go to the bathroom again.”

  This was perhaps the single greatest thing he had learned since getting embroiled in this whole mess. If offered the tradeoff of potentially having either all of humanity obliterated or becoming slaves just to avoid pooping, the answer would have been easy, but it would have at least been worth a discussion.

  “Ok, I love you for that Tamee, but you could have told me sooner.”

  There was a long pause, “Um, Alan, my feelings…I do not…really think of you like that…”

  It was Alan’s turn to laugh, “That’s just an expression Tamee. Besides, you’re not really my type. I prefer my girls to have an actual body, not just be a voice in my head.”

  “Haha, so what is your plan for today?”

  “Well, when the dungeon says it will upgrade daily, does that mean overnight or after a full twenty hours?”

  “Twenty hours.”

  “Ok, then my next priority is to get some kind of shelter set up for tonight. I was thinking of using stone for the walls but I need something for the roof. I don’t really have access to lumber. I could try chopping up some trees but that would take a long time. Let me ask you, if I went into a dungeon and cut down a tree, could I bring it out with me?”

  “That is a great question, I’m surprised by you. And the answer is yes. That is actually one of the uses people have for dungeons. As long as you complete the dungeon you can take things out with you, including random parts of the landscape. However, when you take things out you are removing energy from the dungeon core. As long as you keep it reasonable they don’t mind since you bring in far more energy by being there. That is actually why dungeons give rewards, to encourage people to enter.

  “However, if you went in and clear cut the forest the dungeon would try and stop you from leaving. Mining a bunch of ore, cutting down ten or twenty trees, no problem. Get greedy though and you might find an ogre waiting for you at the exit.”

  “Ok, then here's the plan, I am gonna try to find a good location for my new home and put up some stone walls. Then I will see if I can run some dungeons and find one with a good time dilation and some trees so that I might see about getting myself some wood.”

  It was time to find a good spot to set up. Being next to the lake was great for his last shelter because it meant both access to water for various tasks, and the ability to wash off the filth he managed to accumulate everyday. It would also be good if there was some open land around his shelter because he had plans for growing some of the seeds he had collected. Calling it a shelter seemed disrespectful to the vision he now had.

  He was pretty sure he was well down in the southern portion of the valley, with the exit located at the northern tip. So something farther toward the center would be good. The valley still wasn’t too wide so it didn’t matter much where it was located laterally. There was lots of time before the dwarven dungeon reset, but he wanted to have a shelter already built by then.

  On his journey north Alan spotted two things he would need to check out later. Soon after setting off he spotted the start of a forest to the west. Then as he neared the center of the valley he saw what looked like a stone tower. He would guess its height to be around thirty meters which was no small feat given the level of technology he had seen so far.

  Finally arriving at what he took to be the center, he was disappointed to find nothing special. It looked like more grass filled plains. As he looked around, though, he did notice what looked like runoff coming down from the mountains to the east. His northern meandering had led him away from the eastern border, but he now found himself heading back in that direction and soon could confirm there was a stream coming out of the mountains. After reaching the scraggly brushland at the mountain's base it flowed north to where it soon joined a slightly larger stream. After joining, the water was around fifteen meters wide and looked to be just under a meter deep at the edge.

  Alan followed it downstream for a bit, which just so happened to lead back toward the center of the valley, until he found a section of beach. Here the water was relatively calm and he could easily wade in. The middle of the stream was deep enough that he couldn’t stand, but if he dived down he soon touched the bottom, so maybe two, two and a half, meters deep. There was a current, but this section was slightly wider than the sections above and below it, so the water didn’t pull at him too strongly. The land around the stream was also very fertile looking.

  He was once again in the grassy plains, but here the grass was longer and had a deeper green color to it. There were also more of the small trees he had occasionally seen scattered throughout the land, even the occasional small copse. These followed the path of the stream but were not packed closely enough to form a screen that would block off sight of the water.

  This would be his new home, at least until the end of this tier. It was day one and the tier was supposed to last an entire month. He started taking out his materials from the storage pouch and laying them on the ground. First out was the shovel. He would dig a shallow foundation for the house so that the walls would be better supported. He was envisioning a small single room dwelling that was about four meters on a side.

  Next came the pile of chert and lime that he would need to grind up to make the mortar to bind the rocks together. His arm was already aching just looking at them. The stream would supply the water, and it was even possible he could get more sand from there too. The bottom seemed sandy rather than dirt like.

  The next thirty minutes was spent digging. He had originally envisioned going down two thirds of a meter for his foundation, but he soon realised something. Digging was hard. Even with his empowered body it was a lot of work. His shovel was also not in the best shape so he had to be careful with it. In the end he dug a trench all the way around that was anywhere from thirty to fifty centimeters deep. The dirt he had excavated ended up in a small wall running around the house like you get when building a sand castle at the beach.

  Next up it was time to get rocks. His supply was almost gone. He had recycled his last fire pit, but that was about it. He figured the stream would have a nice collection. An hour later he had managed to lay a single row of stones in the bottom of his project. Once again he discovered this would not be as easy as he thought. Alan was starting to second guess his confidence about a great deal of things. Why had he thought it would be simple to build a stone house? He was committed at this point so he spent another hour gathering a second row of stones. These he laid outside the trench because he needed to make some mortar first.

  Using his shovel again he dug a small pit in the ground and started grinding up his chert and limestone. The resulting powder was tossed directly in the pit. When he had filled the hole maybe two thirds of the way up he started pouring in water. He used his empty healing potion to move the water from the stream to the pit he had dug beside it. Then with a stick from his storage he mixed it all up until it seemed to be a good consistency. The first batch ended up being too soupy so he had to dump in a lot more of the powdered stones. The second effort went much better, and he was soon slathering it over the first run of rocks before setting the second on top. He also filled in the bottom section with dirt to help keep the mortar from running.

  The next set of rocks ended up being a lot easier to find. Looking for large rocks in the stream, and also in the banks, led him to discovering a section of the shore that was very rocky. It was only the work of moments to collapse the wall into the stream exposing enough stones to complete several rows.

  After three more hours the sun was high in the sky and the house’s wall was just about half a meter above the ground. It was time for Alan to take a break for two reasons. One, he had exhausted his lucky find of readily available stones. Two, he had decided this wasn’t going to work. He was just about out of chert and lime, and while he knew of where he could get more lime, it just wasn’t worth it. Between finding more stones for the wall and making more mortar, there just had to be an easier way. It was time to switch to a wooden dwelling.

  The plan had always been to find a dungeon where he could cut down some trees and make himself boards for the roof, but he would have to expand that to boards for the walls as well. At least his domicile would have a nice secure foundation. He also took this chance to unload his magical pouch. The animal carcasses would have to stay, otherwise they would begin to rot, but the quartz rocks and the rich soil could come out. He also took out the goat horns and the remainder of his chert and limestone. He kept the shovel and the pick. You never knew when they would come in handy. Now it was time to find his resource dungeon.

  While dungeons could be anything, it hadn’t escaped his notice that the dungeon by the mountains had ended up underground and the one in a small cluster of trees had ended up in a forest. It seemed like there were hints to the theme of the dungeon based on its surroundings. He decided to head for that forest he had seen earlier to the south. In addition to the wood issue he also was hoping to get the last sixty dungeon points so he could get some pants. He had noticed that dwarf girl Eile kept sneaking glances at his downstairs region. A little more cover would be appreciated.

  Today Alan was paying more attention to the environment and noticed that there were actually butterflies flying from flower to flower. There were also other small bugs and a couple of swift birds flying around. This valley was closer to something you would expect to see in the real world. This was either a result of the new dungeon core’s higher abilities, or simply a result of having been exposed to mana for a longer time.

  He spotted some kind of rocky protrusion farther to the west so he headed that way. He was hoping for something in a forest, but he thought the rocks might signal some kind of dungeon entrance which he could explore later.

  As he got closer Alan noticed it was a pile of boulders surrounding what would have been the biggest fox den he had ever seen. It was well over two meters across and judging by the ramp leading down to it, the entrance would continue at a shallow angle into the earth. Actually, what was he supposed to call the ground now? It wasn’t earth anymore since Earth was gone, so…dirt? Ground? Lame. He couldn’t actually see if it extended into the ground because the opening had the telltale shadowy entrance of a dungeon.

  When he tried to enter he got a message that the time dilation was 1:2. That actually meant that time was moving slower inside. Tamee told him that often these dungeons had great rewards, but it wasn’t a guarantee. Sometimes it was just the Network messing with you. Alan wasn’t going to futz around with it now when he had a mission so he headed out again. He set out toward the south, hoping to locate that forest he had seen again.

  Alan continued jogging along and taking in the sites. While it was mostly fields around him, there were also the occasional trees. Some were solitary majestic oaks, others were small shrubs with bushes underneath, and still others were fruit trees. He made sure to visit each of the fruit ones. There was an apple tree that only had a few half rotten apples on the ground and a peach tree that had some peaches growing from it. He collected what he could from both of them. Not only could it provide food, but with the impressive growth speed in the dungeon it was possible he could even plant seeds to get his own crop. He maybe should have planted something back at his hopefully soon-to-be home, but it was probably more important to get it built first.

  The next curiosity was a large tree in the distance. It had to be almost two kilometers away but it was so big he could still use identify on it, even from here. It was a redwood tree and he estimated it to be at least two hundred meters tall. This was promising. Making his way over he found that it was also at least twenty meters across. Alan had never made a visit to the california redwoods, but he imagined that seeing one in a forest would be nothing like seeing one in the middle of a wide open plain. A normal redwood could have dominated the surrounding plains, but this monstrosity was at a whole nother level. The lowest branch was at least sixty meters in the air with nothing but reddish bark all the way up to it.

  Nothing except at the base. Here was another dungeon entrance built directly into the trunk. It looked like a natural cavity had formed at the base except it was filled with shadows. The message he got when he stepped up gave a time dilation of 2:1. It wasn’t as high as he was hoping for, but this was too cool to pass up. Also, if he was looking for wood, what better place than a giant tree?

  New Quest: Hunt the Bogerrel (40)

  [The nearby community has been attacked by a Bogerrel. Join a hunting team and kill the menace.]

  Alan found himself on a narrow foot path in a forest of redwood trees. It looked crowded but that was just due to the size of the trunks around him. While the trees were immense, they were regular redwood immense and not the gargantuan of the entrance tree immense. There was plenty of room between the trunks but there was a profusion of plants growing around them. This is what a forest should look like. He even found a blackberry bush groaning under the weight of a full load of plump fruits. He harvested all the berries he could find and put them in his storage pouch. There was no sense in keeping some on the bush since this was a dungeon. He needed to find another magical storage space, preferably something bigger. He was turning into a bit of a packrat and at this rate would soon be out of space, even after unloading a bunch of stuff at his partially constructed house.

  With nothing else to do he followed the narrow footpath, smelling the deep rich scent of nature around him. There was something about this place that made you feel like throwing away all your worldly possessions and living in a small house by a pond. Come to think of it, wasn’t that kinda what he was doing? His first indication that he had reached the community the quest had mentioned was not buildings, but instead the mushrooms growing all over the ground.

  These were giant mushrooms, at least thirty centimeters high with crowns that were over fifty wide. The base was a dark brown color that faded to a light tan crown. The underside of the mushrooms was a sickly yellow. Alan was not a fungus guy himself, but that yellow was bound to be off putting to anyone.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  He looked around upon finding this large patch and found his gaze drawn upwards. Stretching from tree to tree were walkways made of thick ropes and sturdy wooden boards. The walkways didn’t actually connect to the trees themselves, but to large platforms that were built around them. The lowest of these platforms were well over ten meters off the ground and were large enough that he could make out wooden structures built on them. The platforms had to stick out at least ten meters from the trunk.

  Looking farther up Alan could see stairs running up the trunks of some of the trees that connected to still higher platforms. Some platforms had to be 50 meters in the air or higher. These were smaller platforms and each seemed to be a single enclosed building. Maybe they were the living quarters? Walking along the wooden bridges and around the platforms was a tall slender race of people. It was hard to judge from here but they were probably close to two meters tall and willowy. Unlike the dwarven encampment there were no other races present here.

  This was obviously where he was supposed to find a hunting team but there didn’t seem to be a way up. He started circling the mushroom patch looking for a ladder or set of stairs to climb. Instead he soon came upon a section of mushrooms that had been torn up. The damaged area was probably six by ten meters and there were mushrooms ripped from the ground or torn to pieces, and some had even been partially eaten.

  Here at last he finally found a community member. It was actually a group of three of them. Up close he could see that they were actually closer to his own height, their slenderness made them seem taller than they were from a distance. Their ears were pointed, and combined with their treebound homes it was a safe guess that they were elves, or maybe nature loving vulcans.

  Each was wearing a supple looking type of leather armor that covered their torso and hips. It left their arms and legs free to maneuver, but they also had leather bracers and shin guards for added protection. Each had a bow strapped to their back and a slender longsword on the hip.

  They had spotted Alan before he noticed them. That was sloppy of him, but this was their home turf so he gave himself a pass this time. He did set a mental reminder to stay vigilant, though. The one Alan took for their leader approached. All three were some of the most beautiful people, even if they weren’t human, that he had ever seen. Did people only mean human. There hadn’t ever really been another option, should he use a different word for non-humans? Was that racist, speciesist? Whatever, he was going to stick with people. They all had an effeminate form to their features, but he realized the leader was actually a woman as she spoke.

  “Welcome, my name is Annalee. What brings you to Elhnor?” She asked in a pleasant but authoritative voice. He assumed Elhnor was the name of the village or town above them. Alan decided to play dumb. Tamee would have said he was playing to his strengths.

  “Greetings, I’m Alan. I was just passing through your lovely forest when I noticed the damage to this patch of mushrooms. What happened?”

  “Greetings Alan. These are folger mushrooms, a staple of my people. We use them to craft a powerful ale. Unfortunately they are also a favorite of some of the local wildlife. We always lose some to their foraging, but recently a larger and more dangerous creature has entered our home. Something about the taste of these mushrooms is highly desirable to the beast but it also drives it into a frenzy and causes it to become incredibly destructive.”

  “What kind of animal is it?” He was pretty sure it was the quest target, but he would let this play out naturally.

  She thought for a moment before answering, “It is a bogerrel. It’s the size of a bear but stands upright on two legs and has four arms. My brothers and I have been tasked with tracking it down and either driving it away or killing it.”

  Alan wouldn’t normally force himself into the group, he was more of an introvert, but clearly the quest wanted him to join them. Interacting with people who are not necessarily your allies and at best are neutral was a frequent mission in the special forces, so he had a blueprint to follow.

  “I realize you don’t know me, but I could be useful if you would like some help. I wouldn’t be looking for much, maybe room and board for a night or two?” No one trusts free help, so make sure to ask for something in return. Also, make sure what you ask for is reasonable.

  One of the others opened his mouth to speak but Annalee raised her hand and he stayed silent. “We appreciate the offer, but you are correct, we don’t know you. It would perhaps be better if you continue on your way.”

  If at first you don’t succeed, sweeten the pot. Alan tried to think of what would make him the most attractive to a party of hunters and thought back to the days when he did online gaming. “I understand your concern. I myself am a healer and I would feel dishonorable if I didn’t at least offer my services for such a dangerous endeavor.”

  At this revelation Annalee’s eyes widened. Perhaps he had found his hook. Taking out a small knife from a sheath at her belt she made a shallow cut on her upper arm. “I hate to seem untrusting, but if you could please help me heal this cut I seem to have gotten…”

  He found their way of talking a little formal and stilted, but he was trying to make a good impression. Try to match your mannerisms to the local customs. He didn’t mind her asking for proof either, as it suggested she might actually be interested in allowing him to join them. He cast minor healing and her cut closed up. It did nothing to clean up the blood that had trickled down her arm but she seemed unconcerned by it.

  “Thank you for your assistance. If you would wait here for a moment, please let me discuss this with my brothers.” When the target seems hooked don’t force the issue, let them come to you.

  Alan stepped back and they went off to talk. He studied them as they did so. Their movements were that of warriors, it was obvious they had some training. Now that he was looking for it the resemblance between them was easy to see. They all had the same button nose and their eyes were the same shade of green. Thinking of green eyes had him recalling Cassidy, the woman he had saved to get his guardian stone. While Annalee might be seen as more classically beautiful, her’s was a slender, elegant, almost severe beauty. Cassidy’s features were more welcoming and her curves were anything but slender.

  It appeared that Annalee and the brother who had almost spoken earlier were in favor of a healer’s inclusion, but the third brother was not. He was making sharp dismissive motions with his hands. Alan could almost hear his arguments, that he was a liability and would be another person they had to look out for when they found the creature.

  Deciding to sweeten the deal once more, Alan called over, “by the way, in case you were worried about having to babysit me,” the scowl from the dissenting brother proved he was correct, “I also have a guardian class.” He pulled the large club from his storage space and held it over his shoulder. Their willowy grace suggested that they were fast agile fighters and did not have a traditional tank.

  This did indeed sway them and the other two quickly overruled the third. Now it was time for introductions. The younger brother, who was not a fan of Alan, was named Kesselee and the older of the brothers was Devanlee. I was told to call them Anna, Devan, and Kess.

  Anna was the oldest so she was in charge. She was the best with a blade and her brother Devan was their tracker. He apparently was the friendliest as well, because he offered to show Alan some tips when he mentioned he had been trying his hand at tracking. As friendly as Devan was, Kess was not. He did not like Alan and he couldn’t tell if it was a racial thing or simply a young warrior's pride. This was apparently his first mission with his older siblings. He was their best shot, which also put him in the unfortunate position of being behind Alan with a loaded weapon when they fought this thing. He had no choice but to trust the kid, but he made a mental note to not piss him off anymore on the trip.

  It was nice being part of a team again. Alan continued to pay attention to his surroundings but he didn’t do so with the same intensity since there were other eyes watching as well. This gave him time to really take in his environment. For the most part this could have been any forest back home in America, other than the massive trunks. Ferns were a popular form of vegetation, but there were bushes and even small trees all around.

  Devan took time to point out a keil berry plant. This was the first definitively non-native plant that Alan had encountered. The mushrooms may have been new as well, but he was not well versed in his fungi so he couldn’t say for sure if they were non-native. He pocketed some of the berries after Devan told him they were edible. They were sweet like a blueberry but also had a little tart to them like a blackberry.

  Devan was very good as a tracker. After his prior training and his recent experiences, he would have been able to follow the trail as well, but it would have taken him twice as long. Devan spotted signs that were too faint or subtle for Alan. Not only did he point them out but he explained how to easily scan for them in the future. By the end of the hunt Alan’s tracking skill had gone up eight points.

  It took them almost an hour to find the bogerrel. They had seen signs of it eating other mushrooms but without any of the devastation it had caused back at Elhnor. His first sight of it was while it had its back turned.

  It stood about two and a half meters tall on top of thick legs. The two solid appendages looked a little short for its size. It also had two pairs of arms. The upper pair looked long and powerful. The middle pair appeared shorter and almost as thick as the legs. The whole thing was covered in a short coat of tawny fur. Each of its limbs ended in a four fingered paw. The feet and upper pair of arms had thick claws, but the middle pair ended in surprisingly slender fingers.

  Beast: Bogerrel (rare) level 9, threat: high.

  With a few hand gestures Anna directed Devan and Kess to the flanks to provide ranged support. She drew her sword. It was thinner than what he would expect from a long sword. It would make it faster to swing but it wouldn’t have the power of a heavier blade. It probably fit well with her style.

  Alan had his thonking club. To differentiate between the two clubs he had made, he had given them names. The smaller one was called the beating stick. She and Alan approached at the same time. She was just out of line with Kess and the bogerrel and he was in a similar position for Devan. This would allow the brothers an unobstructed line of sight on the large beast. The thought was that the archers would try and get the first shots off, but he and Anna would be in position to protect them if the bogerrel went for either one. Alan was just happy it meant Kess wasn’t behind him.

  The beginning of the plan went off without a hitch. Devan and Kess fired at the same time and both shots punched into its neck. Unfortunately it had some type of natural armor or resistance because the arrows only punched in a few centimeters. That much penetration meant they hadn’t gotten past the fat layer, or possibly the outer layer of muscles. In other words, nothing serious. And unless they could pull the arrows out to open up the wounds they wouldn’t even bleed much.

  For some reason it chose Devan to focus on after the arrows hit. This meant Alan got to see its front as it turned to charge. It had two large yellow eyes the size of baseballs. Its face was devoid of fur and its flat nose was covered in wrinkly skin. It had a wide mouth that opened to needle point teeth. These would be very effective in tearing apart the soft flesh of a mushroom. The effect on soft human flesh was still to be determined. Or hopefully, not. It had surprisingly human-like ears on the side of its head.

  As planned he stepped between Devan and the bogerrel as it started running towards the elf. The beast began to divert around him as if it was only interested in the source of its pain. The animal must have some kind of intelligence to recognize the bow as the cause of its injury. Alan yelled to get its attention and swung out with his club as it went by. It only struck a glancing blow as one of its strange middle arms partially deflected it.

  While the strike didn’t really do much damage, it did manage to draw its attention. The fierce beast stopped its charge and turned to swipe at him. You would think a large creature like this would be slow and awkward but those long upper arms were surprisingly nimble. It was all Alan could do to occupy its attention without getting his head ripped off or being disemboweled. He never even had a chance to go on the offensive. This was an example of why going solo in the dungeons could be a problem.

  Luckily that wasn’t an issue here, he was part of a team. Kess and Devan were trying to get shots off, mostly aiming at its head since that was well above the two frontline warriors, and they would be less likely to hit them by accident. Unfortunately Devan was not up to hitting a smaller moving target and Kess’s shots glanced off the back of its head. As his second shot bounced off, Anna arrived. She had been looking for her opportunity as she came in and lunged forward with her sword and buried it halfway to the hilt in its back. She could only reach partway up so it probably didn’t hit the lungs or heart. That didn’t make it any less painful, just possibly less lethal.

  The bogerrel let out an agonized roar and whirled, lashing out with its left arms. The top arm flew well over her head but the middle one caught her squarely on the shoulder. It sent her into a nearby tree trunk and she collapsed, hopefully only unconscious. It started to advance on her until Alan hit it in the right shoulder with a two-handed overhead blow. He was barely able to reach high enough, but fortunately his thonking club was nothing if not big. He could feel something break in the joint and its right shoulder hung uselessly from the shattered bones.

  Once more he had its attention and was again hard pressed. It had slowed noticeably from the sword still sticking out of its back, so he was barely able to hold it off. It helped that it had one fewer arm to menace him with as well thanks to its shattered shoulder. He still wasn’t sure he would be able to finish it off by himself and Anna might need urgent attention. There wasn’t time for him to whittle it down. He decided Kess was his best chance of putting it down quickly, but the archer was still forced to shoot at the back of its head which seemed to be armored.

  With some fancy footwork he could hopefully fix that. He managed to circle around the bogerrel until it was now facing Kess. The young warrior showed good instincts because Kess had held his shot for just this moment. The arrow was away, aimed straight at one of its eyes. Alan was both impressed and dismayed by the bogerrel’s reaction, it sensed the danger and was able to turn its head enough to prevent it from being a lethal strike. The angle now caused the arrow to slice across its eye, partially blinding it, but it caused it to deflect away when it hit the orbital bone.

  If he would have said the beast was angry before, then now it had reached a whole new level of rage. It was no longer looking at Alan, its pupils narrowed as it found Kess in the distance. With another scream of pure hatred It flexed its knees and leaped at Kess. He tried to redirect it again with another hit from the thonker but the hurried blow had no real strength behind it and was ignored by the rampaging monster. That one leap took it halfway to Kess and then it was tearing after him through the brush and ferns.

  Seeing his death approaching Kess dropped his bow and took off running. Whether it was instinct, luck, or good training, he didn’t run directly away from it. That would have also taken him away from any help Devan and Alan could have given. Instead he took off on a perpendicular path. Alan was already using his improved body to sprint towards him. Seeing the youngster’s path he aimed for the spot just before he thought the bogerrel would catch him and then his sprinting found another gear.

  The creature had also found more speed and it was almost in range to grab Kess and shred him like a mushroom. Alan took one more step and leaped forwards, the club held over his head again and he brought it down with all of his momentum and considerable strength. The improved dexterity also allowed him to jump higher as well, so the blow landed on the top of its head. It split open like a watermelon at a comedy show.

  The headless, or might as well be headless, corpse fell forward and knocked Kess over. He let out a rather undignified scream, not realizing the beast was dead. Alan gave him only a moment to compose himself before pulling him out from under it and to his feet. Then he dashed back to see to Annalee. He found Devan helping her up. She was swaying slightly and had the glassy eyed look of a concussion so Alan cast minor healing. It had helped him with head wounds before, and it fixed her concussion as well as the damage to her shoulder. She was soon back to her imperial self.

  Kess had made his way back by now as well. He hung his head as he approached. “Thank you Alan, you saved my life. I have treated you poorly and I am shamed by it.” That admission must have cost him dearly.

  “Don’t worry about it, we got the job done, that’s what matters. If you feel that badly about it maybe you could give me your share of the reward,” Alan joked. Having completed the mission he was feeling less constrained by their formal mannerisms and decided to mess with the kid a little.

  “Ah yes, of course, that would only be fair,” he replied. Alan had meant it as a joke, but he wasn’t really at a place where he could say no to free stuff. Plus he did work hard for that kill. At least sixty percent of that moster’s death was thanks to Alan. He finally took a moment to check the notification he had gotten when he killed the bogerrel.

  Quest Completed: Hunt the Bogerrel

  [You have slain the bogerrel and prevented it from devastating the mushroom patch. Reward: Two Fruits of Strength and 40 points.]

  He placed the pouch that had appeared into his storage bag while they weren’t looking. The brothers were both checking Annalee over to make sure she was fine. They invited him back to the town and he initially tried to beg off. He had some lumbering to do.

  “But how will I give you your share of the reward?” Kess asked. Alan felt bad, he really seemed to have come around towards him after their shared adversity so he agreed to follow them. Plus he could really use the extra coin. The entire way back Devan regaled his siblings with Alan’s perceived bravery and skill. He was the only one of them who had been able to observe the entire fight and he was eager to describe the way Alan drew the beast’s attention or the dramatic conclusion to the fight.

  It soon grew uncomfortable for Alan, he was never one to shine in the spotlight. He said a silent thanks when he noticed the mushroom patch ahead. Upon reaching the town he was shown to a tree that had a series of steps winding up to the first platform. The steps were solid but also well worn. Once they were up on the platform he got his first good look at the buildings.

  They were well crafted wooden structures built right up against the tree. They were not grown from the tree itself but made from boards. All of the buildings had different colored banners hanging from them. Apparently the different colors denoted what family they were associated with. The siblings all had a dark green cloth tied around their upper arms to declare their family affiliation. Alan had noticed them earlier, but had just assumed it was part of their outfits.

  They traveled over several bridges and up one set of stairs before coming to a large building with at least twenty different colored banners hanging around it. This was apparently the town center and the siblings went inside to turn in the bounty. Anna had a ring that served as a storage device, which was good since they had brought back the bogerrel’s head as proof of completion. He would not have appreciated having to carry that grisly trophy back, especially since its head was in several mangled pieces.

  They had told him to stay outside while they went in. Another might have worried they were trying to hold out on him, but Alan trusted in Annalee’s integrity. Also, he was fine with not going inside. On the trip through Elhnor he had received looks from most of those they had passed. Not all were angry or offended, but it didn’t take long to get the sense that outsiders were not welcome here.

  When the siblings came out Kess handed over a pouch. “Here is my share, thank you for forgiving my rudeness and for saving my life. My sister thanks you as well.” Where before the warrior had been cold and distant, there was now an almost eager attachment. It was possible the kid was coming to idolize him. Good thing Alan was going to be leaving soon, that seemed like a hassle.

  The pouch was heavy and glancing inside he counted at least twenty gold coins. His eyes widened at the unexpected fortune inside. Now he really felt bad about messing with him, but it was just a dungeon and not real, right? Kess wouldn’t have been able to keep those coins anyway.

  Devan then stepped forward, “My family would be honored if you joined us for dinner tonight. You have done this town, and us, a great service today. Let us repay you with our hospitality.”

  It was true he was hungry after that fight, and who passes up free food? It would also give him a chance to see how a different race operated. He had seen a glimpse of it in the dwarven camp, but he hadn’t really engaged in any domestic activities there. “If you are sure it's not a hassle then I’m in.”

  “It would be our honor.” Annalee responded. For just a moment Alan could have sworn that she was blushing a little when she said this. Hmm, maybe he was going to like this hero thing after all.