Lucas was toying with his small transportation stone, waiting answers from both Bruce and Goldilocks to his findings here when a subtle movement from Ted caught his attention, finding the man in the process of waking up from his slumber.

“Take it easy” Lucas said to his friend, signaling to the rest of his party the fact Ted awoke, Maggie immediately blitzing to their location, taking her brother in a big hug.

“Nice to see you too, sis.” Ted said, his mouth curling into a big smile as he slowly stood up “is there something to eat, I’m hungry as fuck” he asked after Maggie let him go, his hand ruffling the hair of his sister as he patted her on the head, infuriating her. The chorus of laughter exploded and Lucas joined in, Chen bringing Ted his food.

“So, I guess you were right” Ted said to Lucas, his gaze piercing.

“It is not a proven fact, but yes, our plan bore fruit” Lucas responded, carefully trying to avoid the same fight he had with Chen.

“So, I guess we have to get used to this new arrangements. I have to say it was hairy back there without you” Ted questioned, Lucas taking a deep breath before responding.

“No, I thought we proceed as usual from now on” Lucas responded, hoping he picked the right words.

“But how will the rest of us progress if we continue to rely on you?” Ted asked, echoing Chen’s and probably the worries of the whole party.

“Well I have been thinking and I guess it should be mutual. You should rely on me to do my part, but so should I on you to do yours. And there is one skill of mine in particular that is kind of antithesis of this” Lucas said, hoping his plan would bore fruit. He was certain he couldn’t stand being sidelined for one more fight, watching his friend getting pummeled and hurt while he does nothing.

Ted didn’t respond immediately, instead thinking about Lucas’s words, followed by the rest of the party except for Margaret who gave Lucas thumbs - up, raising Lucas’s hope he managed to find an acceptable compromise. He knew his party, his friends, weren’t with him just to get stronger, but he couldn’t blame them if they felt threatened about their own progression because Lucas overshadowed them. Somewhere in his analyze, he remembered on which ground he declined the offered passive skill back in Rat King’s dungeon, realizing his “Vengeful doom strike” probably carried the same pitfalls, making him an undesirable companion when the personal progress was on stake.

“I think that’s fair” Maggie was first to respond, causing Lucas’s heart to skip a beat. He tried to rationalize it by the fact he managed to get at least someone on his side, but his brain rejected that flimsy excuse, leaving him with the truth of the matter: He liked Maggie and hers was probably the most important agreement, making potential rejection from the rest more manageable.

“Yea, I think that skill should be off limits. If we cannot take something down as the team, than we will train harder and come more prepared next time” Ted agreed with his sister, Chen only nodding his head. Lucas fought the urge to exhale, happy his plan worked.

With that matter out of the way, there was only a matter of their further plans to be addressed. Unbeknownst to Lucas, Margaret and Maggie managed to dig up a map of local parts, much more precise than what Duck gave them back at New Flame. It showed a lot of small communities around, surrounding the dungeon they planned to visit next, still only labeled as “Ancients”. Lucas was geared to go directly to the dungeon, more than happy to avoid the settlements, but Chen gently reminded him that he was also supposed to make contact with any humans out there and lay a claim to all settlements System don’t recognize, expanding Camp Hearth influence further.

“I don’t want to deal in more bullshit” Lucas desperately said, his face contorted in a look of disgust.

“I think making contact is hardly bullshit” Maggie responded “most of humankind lives in absolute misery, isolated from all of the benefits a settlement that is recognized by the System could bring”

“So they should fulfill the requirements. They are far away from Camp Hearth, so it’s not like they are unable to do it” Lucas responded with a little more edge than he intended, his personal misgivings about the idea breaching the surface.

“Not everybody wants to live like we do, Lucas. I thought you already understood that” Maggie said, her voice a mix of indignation and disappointment. Lucas could feel his cheeks burning, realizing he just sounded the same as the people he despised, implying people should be forced to match his vision of the world. When he took control of Cam Hearth, he made sure everyone would be able to live the life they want provided they do not impede anyone else, at least if they wanted to live in Camp Hearth.

“Anyway, those few communities will probably eat us at least a few days. If we are lucky, we could enter the dungeon just as the week pass” Chen took control of the conversation, breaking the awkward silence that settled after Maggie’s statement. Lucas leaped at the opportunity to distract himself both from his embarrassment and Maggie’s disappointed gaze that still lingered on him, chipping in his ideas. At last, they settled on waiting here until Bruce send his answer about the fate of the General’s vault before making their way towards the nearest village and seeing where the things will take from there. Things settled, they drifted to do their own things, Lucas taking the teleportation stone in his hand, trying to see if there were some features he missed.

“Are you always such an ass, or is today something special” a female voice came from behind his back, Margaret approaching him with a stern expression on his face “and just when I thought you learned something, both with your behavior back at New Flame and how you handled the delicate matter today” she finished, Lucas feeling his shame reappearing.

“I shat the bed, haven’t I?” Lucas simply asked.

“You have to learn to control what and how you say something, Lucas. Or you will just end up looking like an ass over and over” Margaret responded with a sigh, her expression looking like she was explaining something to a child.

“To be fair, that is probably accurate” Lucas thought to himself. Margaret hadn’t pushed him further, simply walking away and leaving him to ponder her words. He managed to have a fight with both Maggie and Chen in the same day, about two different subjects, a feat not easily achieved. Both arguments stemmed from a fact that he was basically throwing a tantrum when things slightly deviate into something he doesn’t like. Margaret was right, he was looking and sounding like a complete asshole and that would have to stop.

“And it will, starting from now” Lucas thought with resolve. His big moment was interrupted by the flash of white from his stone, a small piece of paper now standing on it.

Lucas,

The men have been dispatched to take care of everything you found there and by what you described to me, it is certainly a boon. About the beasts, I have some idea what they might be, but I will know more when I see the corpses.

Bruce

P.S Please wait the force from Camp Hearth before you leave.

Lucas gathered his party and read the message, all of them agreeing waiting was the most sensible decision. Without the guardians, this vault provided a lot of value and presented a chance for easy pickings, robbing Camp Hearth of their hard earned wealth. Lucas decided to use the time to further train his movement and acceleration, pushing his stats, most of all Agility, together with his passive skill, hoping to be ready to use it by the time next combat situation arise. While running, he was also trying to temper himself, practicing hard to keep his emotions under control, and most of all trying to avoid falling into a tantrum when something he doesn’t want to do get brought up. Unfortunately, that part of his training proved hard, as the imaginary situation he put himself in were usually carefully curated by his mind for him to look good. With a sigh, he stopped doing that, focusing for now only on the physical part of his training.

Night has already fallen when the relief force came from Camp Hearth, a mixed group of Town guard and adventurers. The guardsmen saluted Lucas and halted their movement, awaiting instruction. Lucas quickly explained where the contents of the vault could be found and with another salute they were off, each of them carrying three sacks, probably enchanted to hold a lot more than their size indicated, allowing Lucas and his party to move forward, continuing their journey.