– Day 12-

Catacombs, Part 3

So the immediate issues with inventory for my shop are the lack of both quality ingredients and recipes. Alchemy is my current 'Bread & Butter' so I'll stick with this for now, primarily because I already have the skill points invested and there are bound to be thousands of poisons out there. This isn't a game after all so a 'Cure-All' won't likely exist.

The recipe issue is an easy fix. Samuel, the Alchemy shop owner, should likely have some recipes I can buy or will at least know where I should be looking, so that's not really an issue. I've got an idea or two for the ingredient problem as well.

The first is to post requests for the rarer and more specific resources that exist in dangerous places. This will mean I won't have to spend months travelling just to get part one of twelve from a gas-filled swamp 200 miles east for example. It should also do something for the slump in townsfolk to adventurer ratio in this kingdom as many people seem to believe that becoming an adventurer here is a waste of time. Can't blame them when there isn't any easy or decent paid work.

Katharine's mentioned twice in passing that for nearly three full generations, almost all adventures signing up here have left for other kingdoms almost immediately. This, of course, has resulted in problems for the kingdoms knights as issues that would typically have been outsourced to adventurers are having to be dealt with exceptionally slowly by the knighthood.

It's a numbers game, and people are dying because of it... Not that I am overly concerned but more, easier and well-paid work should bring some adventurers back and convince more new sign-ups. Combine it with a broad availability of high-class wares, and we should see that slump eliminated and lot's of profits flowing my way. More adventurers, more customers after all. It's a Win-Win for me... Of course, getting the dungeons reopened would also resolve this issue but one thing at a damn time!

My second idea is aimed at the putting the untapped workforce living in the slums to work for me. I haven't been there myself yet, but I've heard enough stories from people at the tavern and Marie, Katherine's friend slash restaurant owner.

There's no welfare, education, health care or civil rights systems in-place here so I can only imagine what it's like for those who cannot get labouring gigs with the farmers or landowners. Slaves and criminals mainly do the more dangerous tasks like mining and quarrying, so I imagine that a lot of people starve here each year or deliberately become slaves just to have a guaranteed meal. After all, if you win the slave lotto, you might end up with a master like me--

That's a little dark.. I actually tried justifying owning the girls..

*Ahem* Orphans are at least put into state-run orphanages, so that's something, but they're thrown out once they reach the age of twelve. It's not really surprising that most of these children become criminals or slaves rather quickly after that. I have a few long-term ideas that would require large sums of capital backing them, but they would undoubtedly address these problems for the benefit of everyone involved. I'll need to put these ideas to Graham at some point, but it'll honestly be up to him if he wants to pursue them or not. There is a benefit for me in these ideas but the 'time vs profit' ratio is too low for me to take them on personally. I'm not here to take on everyone's problems after all; I'm no saint--

*pat* "Eek!"

"Good afternoon Aburi."

While pondering on all of this, I failed to notice Katherine behind me. I literally jumped out of my skin when she put her hand on my shoulder!

"*cough* K-Katherine. Sorry, I was completely lost in thought."

Well, at least it amused her, not very manly though.

"No no, I shouldn't have snuck up on you. Are you setting up the shop?"

"Sort of. I don't really have enough wares to sell just yet but I had some free time, so I thought I'd put out some of what I have to get a feel for what's missing."

"I see.."

She raised thumb to her chin, staring intently at the items.

"..Aren't you selling those potions a little too cheap? The rejuvenation potions are world level.. No majestic level by themselves"

AE, Majestic level?

[** Category. Classification **]

Why don't I see that when I look at the item?

[** Created Item is not known. Classification not accepted **]

Oh, I see. So in order for something to be rare, people have to believe it to be rare?

[** Correct **]

So once people start buying my wares, these items will have classifications?

[** Correct **]

"..I'll raise the price with demand later. If I charged a lot more straight out, people wouldn't buy it. I mean, would you have believed the effects of that potion had you not seen it first hand?"

"Ah, I see. That's rather shrewd Aburi."

She gives me an honest smile..

"..Oh! While I remember--"

*blink*

"--Your chain mail. I kept meaning to give this back to you."

"You kept it with you?"

*blink*

"The arrow too. I meant to give these to you when I reached the capital but so much happened, keeps happening even, that it kept slipping my mind."

She chuckles while shaking her head as she takes the arrow and mail from me.

"Thank you for returning the chain mail but.. I'm not sure what to say about the arrow."

Ah, crap. I should have realised that the arrow would remind her of the ambush that killed her squad.. Come to think of it; I have a promise to fulfil in that regard as well..

"Sorry, I thought you might want it.. For investigation purposes and what not but thinking about it now, I probably should have just left it behind."

She senses my concern and tries to belay it.

"No no, I'll keep it as a memento of our first encounter.. The kindness you showed.."

She shakes her head again. She's clearly trying to suppress her emotions right now.

"Thank you Aburi. Do you mind if I leave these here for now?"

"Of course, sorry. Better manners would have been to bring these to you at your home, but you may have never gotten them then, what with my memory. Just place them anywhere for now. I'll go get the others and we can head off to the catacombs."

I head into the dining room and find the girls talking with Gruff--

"He's out back."

As if reading my mind, Gruff informs me that Risk is out back... Is the girls ESP trait transferable or am I just easy to read?

[** ESP is not a skill **]

Thanks, AE, but it was rhetorical.

I head out back to see Sybil helping Emily with her archery practice. This is the first time I've seen Sybil speak more than a single sentence at a time--

Frack me, was that a smile?! I almost don't want to interrupt..

Bella, Risk and Sam are all talking in the western end of the yard, so I head over to them first.

"Katherine's here so we should head out while it's still early afternoon."

They nod and say their goodbyes to Sam while I collect Sybil and Emily before heading back to the main room.

*blink*

I hand Emily the [Ornate Elf Wood Short Bow], a quiver of 100 [True-Flight Arrows] and some various potions.

The redwood short-bow was only for training with, after all, she'll need something with more power in the Catacombs. That being said, she won't have much chance to use it in those short winding tunnels.

"Use these and leave the training bow here. The green potions keep handy as we'll all be using one when we get there."

She nods, slightly overwhelmed with the successive handing off of items while struggling on where to put the things she's been handed. After a brief moment of bewilderment, she runs off towards the dining room before returning with a small sack pack tied to her waist looking pleased with herself. That honest and innocent child-like behaviour, I can't help but smile in amusement.

"Aburi, here."

Risk taps me on the shoulder. He looks to be trying to hand me five small stones?

Lumi Stone

Blow on the stone to provide light. Provides light dependant on stone size.

Type: Gem

Rarity: Common

Cost to buy: 5 copper

Oh, these are the stones he used on our last trip.

"Thanks, I forgot to grab some of these"

"I knew you would so I picked some up this morning with Gruff. You owe me a silver."

*blink*

"There's five. Pick up some more next chance you get."

Risk shakes his head in dissatisfaction

"I'm not your errand boy you know--"

"I know, I know, jeez. Don't get so pissy about it. I'll have the girls pick some up for me instead then."

I say while taking four of the five silver back, handing them to Kate as I do.

"I'll add them to our shopping list... Speaking of shopping Master."

Ah, I guess they would, of course, need money to do the shopping. My bad.

*blink*

I take ten gold and hand it to Kate.

"Use this as needed. I don't care what you buy, be as lavish as your imagination warrants. Just let me know when this runs out, and I'll give you some more."

Kate raises an eyebrow after receiving the amount before proceeding to reprimand me.

"This will last us several months Master; it's far too much--"

*rustle*

"If it takes you several months to spend, you aren't spending it right. Treat yourself and the others from time to time. You all work--"

Seems it's Kate's turn to shake her head in dissatisfaction. I can't catch a break here, can I.

"Master, I cannot do that. We will use this money purely on what is needed to serve your needs and the needs of your estate."

"...*Sigh* I'll figure this out later."

Millie and Hannah both find our interaction amusing it seems.

"Master, the supplies you requested"

Millie hands me several large wrapped packages.

*blink* *blink* *blink*

"It should be enough food for eight meals for six people."

This is far more than I requested but it means we don't have to worry about running out of food if we ration it properly.

"Thanks, Millie. Kate, we should be back this evening, but if not, it just means we progressed further than expected so don't get worried."

She nods and smiles.

"Please do be careful Master."

I gesture to everyone while holding out the ADA device. Risk, Sybil, Katherine and myself are already registered as a team, so I add Bella and Emily to it.

"Okay, let's go slay some monsters shall we?"

We split ourselves into two groups and take two carriages to the catacombs. I'm still not yet powerful enough to warp us all there directly so this will have to do in the meantime.

The carriage journey is mainly done in silence with everyone seemingly preparing themselves for the coming combat. I excepted this from Katharine, Risk and Bella who all have varying degrees of combat experience but surprisingly, even Emily looks to be psyching herself up.

We make good time, and before I realise it, we're already on location.

"Same as yesterday Aburi?"

Risk asks while stretching.

"Slightly different. Bella and Katharine up front, Risk on rear guard, Emily behind myself in centre mass with Sybil scouting ahead. We'll rotate as needed. If you spot any traps Sybil, try and disarm them if possible, or mark them clearly for us. Everyone, drink your EXP tonics and watch your surroundings and footing carefully. Emily, stay in the middle and avoid speaking unless absolutely necessary. We don't want to alert enemies to our presence until the very last possible moment."

Everyone nods and downs their tonics with grimaced faces. Yeah, I know, the taste is awful.

*blink*

I take out the [Ornate Dragon-silver Spear] and [Demonic Tower of Ice] and warp us into the Catacombs and onto the entrance of the second floor

[Mass Warp]

*Zzup*

HP: 666 / 666 MP: 146 / 1400 ST: 933/933

Hunger: 5% Thirst: 9%

Blood State: Good

The moment we arrive, like a well organised military unit, everyone gets into position and Sybil runs off ahead. Everyone except Emily of course, who stumbles about before Bella pulls her into position. Can't really blame her, it's her first time in both combat and a group.

*Glup Glup*

HP: 666 / 666 MP: 1272 / 1400 ST: 933/933

I down two mana tonics before giving Bella the signal to move ahead.

The next floor of the cave system attached to the Catacombs is only accessible via this ramp of rumble that was most likely created from a cave-in. There's no light at all except that which is coming from our Lumi Stones which Bella and Katharine only light up briefly so we can get a mental picture of our surroundings. All the creatures in here are bound to have perfect night-vision after all so using these without care is asking for trouble. Emily is struggling to keep her footing like this though so I decide to risk it and attach a stone to her quietly.

...

It feels like we've been travelling through the cave system for over 2 hours now and still not one encounter. If I didn't know better, I'd think all the sodding monsters had long since left for greener pastures. The cave system is expansive, to say the least. We've been following Sybil's chalk arrows to ensure we don't wander down a different path to her. I've also been sketching a very crude map in the journey so we can return to these paths later.

I have to say that I'm over the moon though with how cohesively we are moving and spotting as a group. I've done a full rotation on the front formation with Bella, Risk, Katherine and myself so as to lower the constant strain on their concentration from leading the group. Being in the rear still means you have to watch for potential ambushes but it's easier to follow behind than lead so this looks to have worked quite well--

Bella and Katharine stop suddenly and cover their Lumi Stones. I turn to Emily, and she covers hers.

I brief activate [Night Eye] to look around while Katharine and Bella are focused up front when I spot Sybil. I deactivate the skill, and we progress slowly and quietly towards her.

Sybil is crouched down behind a ridge where a very faint light can be seen coming from below; she gestures 5 with her hand and points down. I slowly raise my head over the ridge to take a look.

Name: Nall Cave Goblin [lesser]

Race: Goblin

Level: 18

HP: 100% MP: 100% ST: 100% Name: Nall Cave Goblin [lesser]

Race: Goblin

Level: 13

HP: 100% MP: 100% ST: 100% Name: Nall Cave Goblin

Race: Goblin

Level: 20

HP: 100% MP: 100% ST: 100% Name: Nall Cave Goblin [lesser]

Race: Goblin

Level: 14

HP: 100% MP: 100% ST: 100% Name: Nall Cave Goblin [lesser]

Race: Goblin

Level: 11

HP: 100% MP: 100% ST: 100%

Goblins. I expected skeletons or more spiders but okay. The five of them are sat around a small fire that looks to have been started using wood from an old chair. I say looks, but the rest of the chair lays in the corner there so I should have just said.. never mind.

They seem to be cooking spider legs over the flames and yacking to one another. The centre one looks to be the pack leader based on stature and equipment as he's bulky in comparison to the others. The low level of light makes describing them difficult, but I think they're grey in colour and have really long ears that angle down due to their length. Although still goblins, they're entirely different proportionately from the ones who tried to ambush me on the way to the capital.. They're still no bigger than a large child though.

..Based on their position, they're in a perfect spot for an ambush. So much so, I can help but feel this might be a trap. Goblins aren't generally known for their smarts though so I may be over-thinking this? Just in case that assumption is right though, I place Emily at the furthest corner of the ridge and point to the pack-leader while whispering to her.

"Wait for this signal. Then fire at will towards him"

She nods nervously.

I place Risk at our backs guarding the path we came through. After all, if it is a trap, best to have the most seasoned fighter at our rears. Next, I gesture to Sybil to make attacks of opportunity once we're in the thick of it before taking Katharine and Bella with me as we slowly descend the path along the ridge towards the level the goblins are at. With everyone in position, I signal Emily to take the shot, and she readies an arrow.

...

I'll be honest; I'm not expecting her to hit. Don't get me wrong, if she does, it'll be a bonus but I primary want to draw their attention to her briefly before launching into them from my position--

*Swoosh*

"Grack?!"

"Ovat Clak grat!"

As expected, she missed her shot. The goblins throw themselves onto their feet looking for Emily who immediately panics and starts firing off arrows in every direction except where the goblins are. It matters not though as the diversion was a complete success and they've turned their backs to us. Bella and Katherine go charging out and slay the first two goblins without any resistance.

[Void Lance]

HP: 666 / 666 MP: 1300 / 1400 ST: 933/933

*CRACK*

I hit the pack-leader in the back of the head with a spell. It was more than enough to explode it's head clean off, spraying chunks and thick green blood everywhere. I only just managed to resist laughing as it seems the goblin's body didn't realise it lost it's head, running off into a wall before falling onto the ground and convulsing.

The remaining two goblins are in utter disarray. They drop their weapons and attempt to flee. Futilely though as Sybil hops the ridge to appear in above them.

[Hidden Slash]

[Hidden Slash]

In a flicker of silver light and as quickly as she appeared before them, so too did they lose their lives with quick and precise cuts to their throats.

"Katherine, Bella, upfront. Be ready for any reinforcements coming in from down there. Good job Sybil. Risk, how we looking up there?"

"All good from what I can tell."

"Okay, form up and let's move on quickly."

"Shouldn't we collect the magic stone from that guy?"

Katherine points to the pack-leader. He was the only one without [lesser] in his name.. Does that mean he has a stone?

[** Incorrect **]

[** 'Nall Cave Goblin [lesser]'. Detection difficult. Negligible **]

[** 'Nall Cave Goblin'. Detectable. Minute **]

I see.. AE, is there a dungeon core in the Catacombs?

[** Correct **]

Can you locate it?

[** Correct. Reiterate. Proximity required **]

...You mean it has to be within visual range, don't you?

[** Correct **]

*Sigh*

"No point. It'll be tiny. Let's move on."

Sybil darts off ahead, marking her route in chalk as she goes before us. We follow behind at a leisurely pace while minding our surrounds and watching for ambushes. Emily looks not to be coping well, but I can't carelessly start up a conversation with her just yet so I place my hand on her shoulder and smile. She smiles back while gesturing for us to continue forward. I assume that to mean she's okay.

It's not long before we meet up with Sybil again. This time she's waiting by a dim-lit corner. More goblins I assume.

She opens and closes her left hand three times.

That's 15 right? That's a lot considering what we've faced up to now. I creep up to the corner and carefully pop my head around.

Name: Nall Cave Goblin x6

Race: Goblin

Levels: 20-26

HP: 100% MP: 100% ST: 100% Name: Nall Cave Goblin [Greater] x4

Race: Goblin

Level: 22-28

HP: 100% MP: 100% ST: 100% Name: Nall Goblin Warrior x5

Race: Goblin

Level: 30-35

HP: 100% MP: 100% ST: 100%

Well... that is definitely a lot tougher than anything we've fought so far. I have no Area-of-effect skills, and the team have limited lock-down capabilities.

It may be safer to leave these be for now...