Dungeon Noble - Squire

One by one, they all took their turn sparring with Felix. Nepthys was tested in the same manner as Karl, while Rhew and Alan had to work on dodging and precision.

Jake was left to last, but it gave him more time to watch the others and understand the aim of what Felix was doing.

Sadly, understanding Felix’s methods did nothing to save his pride when Felix was able to easily avoid his attacks and punish every mistake he made.

“You’ve been training with someone else,” Felix remarked after calling the spar to an end. It felt like Felix had pushed Jake for longer than the others, but it was hard to tell.

Jake nodded, too out of breath to be able to form a coherent response.

“They were on the right track with your footwork, but I want you to practice these forms as well. Mimic me,” Felix ordered as he assumed a stance.

Jake did his best to copy and memorise what Felix was showing him, but he was sure he got at least half of it wrong.

Once they were through the forms, Felix instructed him to make sure he practiced every day before dismissing him to get some rest.

Jake’s legs were a little shaky as he made his way over to the others. Ari had taken pity on them and was already in the process of making a hot meal, so Jake took a seat against the mouth of the cave and rested his head against the cool stone.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Jake conjured his Boon dagger before tucking it away. He doubted he’d need it, but it was better to get some use from the manifestation than just let it go to waste.

Something told him this trip was going to be a lot of work.

-**-

Jake woke up with surprisingly few aches the next day, making him more thankful than ever for the effect of Felix’s Skills.

Taking a moment to wake up properly, Jake levered himself to his feet and began to get ready for his morning run when Felix spoke up from the cave’s entrance.

“No need for that today. You’ll be wanting your strength later.”

Jake stopped his preparations and awkwardly joined Felix at the entrance. Looking back, he could see the other four members of his group were still asleep, but there was no sign of Ari.

“Here, have some of this,” Felix turned and held out a pouch of hard tack for Jake to take a piece.

“Thanks,” Jake eagerly bit into the dense chunk, hungry enough that the dry texture didn’t put him off. “Where’s Ari?”

“He’s finding our route for the day,” Felix said, a slight smile touching his lips as he put the pouch down and took out a piece of his own.

Jake happily chewed on his hardtack as they waited for the others to wake up. He was pretty sure that Felix had planned out their route in advance, so this felt like something to do with their training, but that was a problem for later.

The others woke up one by one, but Felix waved off any questions about what to do next, so they set about packing up their camp. While they had everything they needed, the camp was also quite basic, and it didn’t take them long to be ready to move.

Jake’s nostrils flared as he caught the scent of something metallic in the air. The smell had reminded Jake of Wyrdgeld, but a lot stronger. Turning to follow the scent, Jake saw Felix get to his feet and gesture for them all to follow him.

Emerging from the mouth of the cave, Jake saw Ari returning to them with a broad smile and a mischievous glint in his eyes.

The two older Classers had a brief conversation before they all set off as a group once more. As Felix promised the day before, they started at a steady jog.

The pace was slower than what Felix usually set during their morning runs, but the weight of his pack more than made up the difference.

The area they were passing through was thick with sprawling woodlands and grassy hills, so the landscape was at least pleasant to look at. Jake had grown used to being out of the city by now, but he still wasn’t quite used to the quiet beauty of nature.

-**-

They alternated between jogging and walking for at least an hour before Ari gave Felix a signal, and they came to a stop.

“Take a minute and catch your breath,” Felix called out as he walked over to speak with Ari. “Get your gear on once you’re ready. We’re doing some training.”

Once they were all ready, Felix led them off the dirt path they’d been following and into a large patch of woodland. “Who knows what a Hollow is?”

“They’re the source of wandering monsters,” Alan answered the question without difficulty, which was good, as Jake had no idea.

“Very good,” Felix gave Alan an approving look. “What are the main differences between a Hollow and a Dungeon?”

“Dungeons are self-contained, and their monsters never leave. Hollows are part of their surroundings and are smaller than a Dungeon.”

“A reasonable explanation,” Felix said, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword. “Hollows are found in the areas around Dungeons, but never close to them. They are the source of wandering monsters, as Alan said, but the exact method of that is up for debate. They will develop a reward for completion over time, but there’s no way to know in advance if it’s there. More importantly, there will always be a Guardian defending them. In this Realm, that will be an Enhanced monster of some form.”

Jake perked up at the mention of realms, hoping that Felix would say more. It was the first time that he’d heard mention of them since Ari had given him a quick summary back at the Guild.

“We’re almost there, all together or split up?” Ari called out, looking over to Felix as he spoke.

“All together, let’s take it easy for now.”

“Alright, listen up then. There’s a Hollow up ahead. I want you to take out the Guardian and any other monsters around it. This is not a Dungeon. Death is permanent, and so are any injuries. Understood?”

Jake drew his sword and gave Ari a nod, hearing his companions likewise arm themselves. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ari and Felix retreat slightly, leaving the five of them to take point.

“Alan, any sign of anything?” Jake asked as they moved into their normal formation. Karl took the centre with Alan and Rhew behind him, while Jake and Nepthys took the flanks.

“I can see what looks like a particularly large tree up ahead. It would be a good landmark if nothing else.”

“Alright, let’s go,” Jake nodded to Karl before putting his attention back on the flank he was covering.

Jake wasn’t entirely sure why everyone was listening to him for things like this, but as long as they all acted together, it didn’t really matter.

With Karl leading the way, they continued into the woods at an easy pace, looking out for whatever monsters might be nearby.

The woodland around them was thick with undergrowth, but Jake carefully eyed all spots of shadow and darkness.

“We’re coming close to the tree now. The woods are thickest around it, though,” Alan called out, Jake turning instinctively to look ahead of them.

As Jake turned, he saw what he had thought to be part of a tree move as three small figures rushed out to attack Karl from the side.

Each creature was humanoid in form, with the tallest standing at barely three feet tall and made of twisted and knotting roots. The only spot of colour amid the twisting roots was a sphere of bright green within their chest.

“Karl!” Jake cried out as he rushed forward to try and intercept the strange monsters.

“What the fuck!” Karl exclaimed as the closest of the creatures leapt off the ground, its hands coiling into spikes of twisted root that it stabbed at him.

An arrow from Alan knocked the creature off course, but one of its spikes still managed to cut across Karl’s cheek.

Jake had no more time to see what was happening as his own two attackers were rushing at him, one jumping into the air as the other attacked his legs.

Jake reversed direction and dodged to one side, mentally thanking Ricard for his help in keeping him light on his feet. The jumping creature missed completely, but the other kept pace with him, its hands untangling into a mass of root-like tendrils that tried to grab Jake’s legs.

Jake hacked down at the creature’s arms, breathing a mental sigh of relief as his sword cut through the tendrils without too much difficulty. The roots the creatures were made of seemed to be dry and brittle, which made them vulnerable.

Taking a moment to aim, Jake plunged his sword into the chest of the creature, piercing its odd heart. This close, Jake could see that the core of the creature looked more like an oversized and misshapen apple than anything.

Thankfully, piercing it with his blade was enough to kill the creature, and Jake could turn his attention to the other one.

Frost covered the other monster, which explained why Jake had had the time to fully deal with the first one, and before Jake could close with it, an arrow flashed past him to pierce its green heart.

“Everyone okay?” Jake called out as he looked over to see Karl’s attacker had become a pulped mess.

“Yeah, just caught me by surprise,” Karl said, reaching up to wipe away the blood on his cheek. “What sort of shroud-damned monsters were they?”

Jake looked to Nepthys, who shrugged before turning to Alan, who shook his head. “I don’t know. I don’t recognise them.”

“Freaky is what they are,” Rhew said as she came over to study one a little closer. “My cold was somewhat effective against them, so at least that’s something.”

“Yeah,” Jake shivered as he thought of those grasping tendrils. “Come on, let’s push on and kill this Guardian.”