I checked all the skills again, trying my best to commit them to memory, but I’ve already had that under control even before. I also checked out my loot from the corpses inside the cavern and the two corpses of Xila’s goons.

  Sadly, I found most of the equipment either extremely dull, or just not suited well for the kind of combat I practiced - punching as hard as possible until whatever I punched couldn’t get up anymore. A item meant to shorten a cast-time of a spell was useless to all of us, and the others were even worse.

  The mosquito’s other items were all focused on spells and debuff skills that had a long cast time, so we just put those aside for now. The yellowjacket’s entire equipment was focused on piercing attacks and moving fast, and, as much as it pained me to let some [Uncommon] or even [Rare] items go, I knew that they were a better fit for Dusk.

  The other player corpses that we found in the Carp-men cave offered nothing but common items - food they had, some armor that was trash, and useless stuff. Like more torches. Why were the gods so obsessed with giving out torches?

  At least they all had some gold. I had thousands of coins now. Was this how it felt to be rich? How much was a single one worth, anyway? But I definitely wasn’t going to complain, either way.

  We finished sitting around and looking at the items, and just sat around the campfire for a while longer, watching the sky get darker.

  “Soo..” I said, quietly as I sat down next to Dusk. “Umm… How has the experience of guarding your guide been so far?”

  He chuckled. “Not as bad as you might think, Shrimpie. It has definitely been a bit weird, getting to know all of these systems without any support.” His eyes went to Talisha and Mark, who chatted about some nonsense just a few steps away. Timmy sat in between them, apparently having a hard time deciding which guide he should look at. “Your guides are really nice, but I’d not change my situation even if I could.”

  “I guess I can understand you not wanting a nonsense machine like Mark is.”

  “It’s not that. Timmy is… he’s probably been through a lot, in the guide training, you know? Just as we are going through changes here, he’s been through a change himself. He understands more than you think he does. You’ve not been with him for a week like I have.” His eyes softened as he looked at the trio.

  “So he what? Makes you feel understood?”

  His mouth turned to a friendly smile. “I’d like to believe he makes me a better person, Shrimpie. A better man. The kind that will have a big motivation to survive. I like you four, but Timmy? He’s…” He paused, struggling to find the words. “He’s family.”

  Family, huh? I haven’t considered the three others that, but I definitely liked them. What did I consider them? This whole situation just made my head hurt. I needed sleep. “I’ll think on that, Dusk.” I stood up, walking toward the small base. “Goodnight, everyone!”

  The group waved and said their goodnights, assuring me they’d keep watch. I eyed the huddled guide trio, paying attention to Timmy as I walked. He was watching the two grown-ups with starry eyes, drinking in every word. He gave me a white grin when he met my eyes.

  Talisha seemed more protective of the kid than she was of Crudia somehow, much to the surprise of everyone. Though Mark seemed to understand, for some reason. Probably one of those human things I’d never get.

  [Day 6]

  After crafting a few more potions, eating breakfast, and checking over our equipment, we headed toward the same path we trekked through two days ago - the forest, followed by the field of flowers. This time, however, we headed to a path around the mountain, aiming toward the region that Dusk called the Black Plains. We took a less steep approach than Mark and I had the last time.

  The black grass, its weirdness notwithstanding, was really interesting to look at. It wasn’t every day that you came across a weirdness like this, and it made me wonder about what else we’d see if we had more time to travel the world. It behaved like normal grass did, though it felt a bit different when it brushed against my legs - as if sharper, a bit less soft to the touch than normal grass. [Analyze] offered no information, though.

  Something felt off. The whole time, ever since entering, I felt as if something was watching me on my every step with searing intensity. Whether the others shared my uncomfortableness wasn’t clear, making me wonder whether it was just imagination on my part. I chose to ignore it - maybe I was just jumpy after all I’ve been through.

  Maybe there was a biome that looked a bit like my former home.

  I’d like to see it if there was. I’d need inspiration for my kingdom once I won this whole tournament. I’d need the best world possible for my fellow Mantis shrimp.

  Actually, would Crudia be a part of my world? I was still unsure on how the whole reward worked, but I was sure that I wanted her there, and I’d need a biome for her to come and say hi. Hell, I probably wanted Mark and the other guides there too. Hopefully, their reward wouldn’t stop them from coming along.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Mark seemed more excited about seeing a city than Crudia and I were. He kept looking forward, his pale blue eyes glazed over, surely imagining the human city. Or the city of whatever the hell lived there. All I cared about was finally getting to spend my gold on something that would make me stronger.

  Oh! Maybe I’d find some body paint too! That would be nice. Or some gold paint for my shields would be great, too. Not that my colors were bad, of course, but nobody became the talk of the tournament without changing up their looks every once in a while. And the gods would surely appreciate… a touch up. That as well. I’d do whatever it took to get that evolution.

  And it totally wasn’t the fact that I liked the idea myself. No. Just the benefits. At least I told myself that as I dreamed about the possibilities a bit more.

  Wherever the city was, it was really hard to find, though. One would say that finding structures would be easy in a biome like this - the trees were more like sticks jutting out of the ground, and the black grass was the only notable thing as far as the eye could see. But the ground was not even, and that obscured our vision for most of the day. I’d probably have to tolerate being bored for who knew how long .

  Unless someone had other plans.

  “Something’s happening.” Dusk said, holding up his hand. I felt confused. What was different? The damn grass looked the same as it did through the whole day.

  “You can’t just say that and not be more specific!” Mark said, exasperated.

  But I knew what he was talking about without him even saying more details. There were no red dots on my map, yet something felt off. The ground… was it shaking? Oh, delightful. I licked my lips, preparing for another battle. That was what was missing. Did one day without any proper fighting seriously make me so uneasy?

  The shaking continued, growing more intense with each passing second. Dusk continued watching intently, holding his position on my left flank, opposite of Crudia. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he took about three steps away.

  “Spread out! It’s-”

  I didn’t hear him finish his sentence. He jumped away, dropping to the ground, and a hole opened right under where he was standing, almost as large as I was, deep and dark. And then a creature jumped out. And another. And another. In total, about ten of them spread out from the hole, attacking us in groups, completely breaking our formation. Four out of the ten ran after me on their stubby legs.

  They all looked weird, short and hairy, and their whole body seemed to be brimming with rage. Their red eyes were barely visible on their ugly faces, their wavy hair full of dirt and tied into complex knots.

  I used [Analyze] while I still had the chance

  Mole Orc

  Creature

  Level: 14

  These little bastards are quite glorious, aren’t they? They are one of our favorite creations, after all. The muscles and rage of an orc combined with the senses of a mole get you one of these! Their claws can be used as both weapons AND digging tools - Truly one unique predator. They live underground, trying to impress any Mole orcess in one of two ways.

  The first one is a competition about who can dig a deeper latrine. Yes, you heard that right. It’s actually more impressive than you might think, but let us not delve that deep into things we know you don’t care about.

  The other way they can find mates is bringing them food. Strong food. They really like Players’ meat. So much so that they use it as currency!

  Yup, your body is literally money to them. Now, let’s get dinner ready!

  That told me literally nothing except their levels and the fact that they had claws, which was hard to miss as they swung at me. No matter. I wanted a fight, and a fight I got. What was there to complain about?

  I let my shield absorb the hit of one Mole Orc, using the other to shove two more away. They were fairly heavy, but nothing my strength stat could not solve. I smashed it into the head of the ugly thing, and it continued rolling away, somehow predicting the attack and mitigating some of the damage by rolling with the momentum.

  I could get that one later. The other three were trying to circle me, but their stubby legs didn’t really offer much maneuverability, making their tries fruitless. So, these things wanted to eat me? Time to turn the tables.

  We had no plans for a fight later today anyway. No point in saving my abilities. The next one that attacked me, its claws trying to reach for my leg, I grabbed by the small of his neck. He tried to swipe at me, actually succeeding somewhat by slashing through my skin and a thin layer of muscle underneath, but I ignored the pain. I pivoted, turned toward one of the others, and then threw the guy at his friend. They rolled in a mess of fur, trying to untangle.

  It was also the last thing they ever did. I stepped forward, and used [Bullet Strike] on both of them. My fist flew out at an impossible speed, going faster than a bullet, my muscles alive in the movement. The level 2 didn’t increase its power much - it was a pretty minor increase, in fact, at least when I compared the feeling of using it now compared to using it on the Arch-wolf in the first day. But on these little guys? Their entire bodies just… disappeared. I grinned as I was rewarded by the XP notification.

  The two others, their rage gone and replaced by fear, started running back toward the hole, which was plugged by a corpse of another Mole Orc. Judging by the slash on its neck, it was Crudia’s doing, though I didn’t attempt to look for her. Not with the delicious XP just in front of me.

  Stepping closer, I stomped on one of the fuckers, bringing his HP down, and continued smashing my foot into his body until it completely depleted. It squirmed and tried to get away, but that went for it as well as could be expected. With three down, the last one had no chance. I didn’t even need skills.

  I finally looked around. Dusk was cleaning up the last of the enemies as well, while Crudia was already looting one of the corpses, completely ignoring one of the Orcs that was running toward a hill. Trying to run for it, eh?

  “Crudia! There’s one running away!”

  She looked up from the corpse, a smile on her face. “I got it!”

  And she disappeared, appearing above the Mole Orc a second later, slashing with both of her daggers, the blades going through the body like butter. This was probably one of the easiest fights we’ve been through.

  What a nice way to relieve some stress!

  Crudia, with her final opponent dead, looked beyond the small hill she now stood on. A few moments later, she looked back, smiling from ear to ear.

  “Shrimpie, look! I see the city!”