Tunnel Rat

The mines beneath Shadowport branched out for miles, intersecting at times with natural caves and vertical crevasses. The main caverns had been an area rich with veins of iron that had been mined out hundreds of years before the cataclysm. Miners traveled through it to areas that still had veins of ore. Most worked in large groups for protection from the predators that were attracted to the area by the abundant food walking around. The miners who went off prospecting by themselves were considered both brave and crazy. The few people who saw Milo heading into the passage that led to the deep area nicknamed the basement shook their heads in wonder. The old timers though, gave him a grudging respect. Many of the younger miners were in the bars celebrating their victory and would be until they spent the last of their money.

Milo was heavily stressed and didn't want to be around people even at the best of times. If he went upstairs he knew he'd have to deal with the people celebrating not being dead. That wasn't for him. He wanted to do a little exploring and find a spot to rest, recover, and think. Going deeper got him away from people fast. The route that Milo normally took to travel downwards to Harry's ‘basement’ area connected with many small dead ends and cracks in the rock. Milo had explored some, mostly by getting lost and having an enjoyable time finding his way back to the main route. Being lost in the dark didn't bother him at all. The tight tunnels reminded him of the habitat and crawling through drain pipes and air vents.

After descending a couple of hundred feet he took a narrow branching tunnel that he'd explored before. At what looked like a dead end he'd noticed a crack overhead that led upward. It was simple to climb upward through the tight fissure. He emerged from the floor of a small cave after he traveled fifty feet straight up. It was just what he needed right now: close to the city, but where no one could find him.

He needed time to think and make decisions and he couldn't do that if he couldn't relax his guard. In the small cave, he set up his camp. A tarp and two sticks counted as a tent. He lit a campfire made from bits of coal and scrap wood, then recovered his Ring of the Swiss Army from his Smugglers Stash. He also laid out the Bone Runed Cowl and Shadowblight. The ring still worked fine, but the other two items seemed dormant like they were waiting. He might be partially fixed, but he wasn't able to do magic yet.

With his meager camp constructed, he was able to summon his watch lizard. Georgie was happy to see him after such a long time. He demanded some of Milo's attention and a treat before he worked his way around the cave, catching all the millipedes, spiders, and other small bugs with his long tongue.

Milo watched the mighty hunter clean up the camp while he put out his fondue pot and melted a slice of cheese into it. His belly was telling him to just put ALL the cheese into it NOW. It was a struggle, but he ignored it. After the cheese was melted, he broke up a loaf of stale bread and dipped pieces into it with his knife. It was a slower process, but enjoyable. It made the little bit of cheese last longer.

Then it was time to get to work. He began by organizing the messages from the system. Some of them seemed so old now. A lot had happened in such a short time.

He remembered thinking he had plenty of time to talk with Two-Screws and Harry about his options moving forward. What to study, and what projects to undertake to further his knowledge of Engineering, Runes, and Magic. Then a World Boss and Slaver-Mage had interfered. He wished he had found the time for those talks. He had secrets to keep now. He especially missed Harry. He’d asked about the troll, but he was assumed to be dead. Just another hero who would have his name added to a monument someday.

[You have created a new spell! By combining your knowledge of the Bone Spike Spell, Rune of Velocity, and Bone Manipulation, you have created the spell: Harpoon of the Winds and added this spell to an enchanted harpoon. Material components were 70% of your own bones, and you have fractured your spell-casting ability.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

You have gained 5 Enhancement Points and the quest: Soul Repair.]

Interesting that it was an actual spell. The casting cost was too damned high! Or was that the cost to enchant Captain Pike's Harpoon? Could he learn to cast the upgraded spell when he regained his magic?

[In a stunning upset, a rag-tag group of heroes led by a History Confused Healer, An Ogre looking for a large snack, and a Mad Engineer testing out his latest monster trap, have defeated an unstoppable World-Boss. Anyone who had anything to do with this insanity receives 1000 Boss Experience which may be spent on any skill, and 10 Enhancement Points. More rewards will be forthcoming if you ever manage to actually kill it...]

More points to spend, and probably not the last.

[You did stuff that I don't know about?! Where are these rewards coming from? How am I supposed to run things when I have sneaky, thieving ratkin doing stuff where I can't see? This isn't acceptable...Oh...Oh dear...my apologies. Sigh....yes Ma'am. 'Need-To-Know-Basis' and all that crap. Why does no one tell me what’s going on?...Ahem...YOU DID STUFF-AND THAT'S SO AWESOME! Let me reward you for doing something! You figured out secret things that no one will tell me about! For doing that, someone suggested I give you 20 Enhancement Points.]

[You supposedly rescued over 100 sentient creatures from slavery. All I see is a poorly parked airship...

You have completed the Adventurers Guild Quest: Slavery in Shadowport!

You have earned 50 Gold Pieces, 1000 Quest Experience Points, and 10 Enhancement Points.]

[You are accused of stealing the airship of Philistron the Benevolent Sage and then arranging his death along with his cute little pet! (The orphans will be so disappointed this year, who will take them to the circus? And I'm going to encourage one of those orphans to train hard for 20 years, dress up in a silly costume, and bring you to justice!)

You have earned 2000 Boss Experience and 20 Enhancement Points. Truly Shocking!]

[You have completed the quest: Squint needs an Airship

You receive 500 Quest Experience Points that may be spent on any skill.

But will you take responsibility for what he does with it? Doubtful…]

[Uthneragrubban has fallen, and yours was the hand that dealt the killing blow!

Along with a lot of other hands chipping away for days and working triple shifts...just saying...

The first of the World Bosses, somehow awoken before her time, has been cast down! The others of its kind retreat to the underworlds from which they came. The better to hone their plans and beef up their minions.

For your part in this battle and in striking the final blow, you receive the following rewards:

-25 Enhancement Points

-2000 Boss Experience that may be used for any skill.

-From the Loot Chest: A Crystalline, soul-bound, Tier 4 weapon of your choice.

-Another item from the Loot Chest that has appeared where Uthneragrubban died.]

Milo was glad he'd decided to take a break. That was a lot of points to spend. He wanted time to consider his options with no interruptions.

Adding up all the experience and Enhancement PointsMilo calculated he had 18000 experience to add to skills, and 102 Enhancement Points.

The system seemed annoyed at him. He didn't care. It wasn't his fault he had to fight a World Boss and then got trapped by a cheating asshole Wizard that shouldn't have existed in the first place. But he was curious about the way the system reacted. He didn't think it was one of the old AIs. Surely any of the 106 would know about the Machine Code and what it could do. Was the System part of the ENGINE? And where did the attitude come from? Milo knew he got cranky when he worked too hard. Maybe that was the problem. But it wasn't his problem.

His problem was figuring out what to do with 90 Enhancement Points and 6500 Boss Experience. And he still had more messages from the System to work through. He took a break and played with his lizard.