Jer Patch
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Chapter 22: Camp?
🕑 Added 2025-01-31 16:00:05 +0000 UTCThe two kids splashed in the water, and the terrifying adult T-Rex turned toward them, huffing. One kid’s head snapped under the water and it brought up an algae-covered stick, bringing it to show the bigger T-Rex, clearly it’s parent.
I tore myself away from the scene and took a step back, then another. When I heard nothing, I moved a little quicker, keeping my stealth up as I fled down the trail. As strong as I was for my level, they were over double that. Throw in that they were protecting their family, I didn’t have a shot, even with the rest of my party in support. We’d be killed, no doubt.
My heart pounded until I turned the corner, and I took several deep breaths to calm down. I found Lenna and Hammy waiting in the distance in an open clearing, next to a stone archway. More curious was the smell of wood smoke, and the logs in a circle around a campfire.
The trail led to the dark archway, which I couldn’t see into. Large stone slabs sat on top of each other, creating a pyramid shape. The structure towered over even the tallest trees around it. Lenna and Hammy stared at Dengu, who stood next to the campfire.
That’s when I noticed the being near Dengu.
As I approached, it turned in my direction, and I resisted grabbing my knife. Instead, I used insight after the lesson I’d just learned.
[Derrik, Unknown, Dungeon Guide, Inedible.]
Its body was humanoid, but it had scales instead of skin. It didn’t wear any clothing, and its feet had talons like Dengu. Dark yellow eyes focused on me as it nodded and motioned for the rest of us to move closer.
“You have completed two of the three challenges of the Path of Teeth and Claw. Rest now.” It waved at the logs. “Safe camp.”
First, Lenna sat down near Dengu, though her gaze stayed on the guide. Hammy followed her and stood behind the same log, though he glanced back at me. “What did you see?” His hands clenched into fists, then released before repeating the gesture.
I approached with a chuckle. “Two level 60 T-Rexs watching their kids,” I explained while sitting down on the opposite log from the others. My eyes flickered to the guide. “That was the challenge, not to harm the low-level kids, and the parents then didn’t harm us.”
The guide chuckled, but it came out like rocks grinding together. He didn’t move from his standing position. “When to fight and when to run was the first. Those who fail take a stand, dying before moving on.”
I nodded, thankful we hadn’t tried to fight it out during the gauntlet.
“The next is to learn what is a battle to fight, and what isn’t.” The guide motioned at the stone archway. It reminded me of the one we’d used to enter the dungeon. “The next trial, once finished, will directly lead to the final challenge of this path. Rest now to prepare. Or, if you are unprepared, you may decide to leave the dungeon.” The guide then vanished, like a picture being erased.
I jerked back before relaxing. “Okay, that was strange.” The clearing held the campfire and a small area with short grass. Actual to goodness grass, like a lawn from a park back on Earth. Grass didn’t stay short when it had plenty of sunlight and water. On the other side of the grass was another fountain. My eyes widened before I used insight.
[Water fountain.]
No healing fountain here, but at least a water source.
“Can you bring out the pot and some meat? We should all eat something and rest until we are back to peak,” Lenna said. She glanced at Hammy. “How is your shoulder and arm?”
Within minutes, with stuff from my inventory, Lenna had another pot of turtle soup on the fire.
Hammy removed himself from his armor and stood near the water fountain.
I joined him to check out his wound, which he unwrapped to look at.
“How is it?” I asked.
“Healing, but not great.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I think I’m going to use my stat points on Constitution. Then maybe try to get a nap.”
The scratch had scabbed over, but his entire forearm looked puffy and red.
“Before we go in, see if Lenna can heal some of that.”
The exoskeleton gave him extra strength and a little constitution when he wore it, but mostly more powerful punching and grip strength.
Hammy stayed quiet at my response and I didn’t know what to say. Finally, he spoke up as I refilled my canteen.
“I need a weapon. Or better armor.” Once he started speaking, the words poured out of him. “When too many got too close, I took hits. I need something like your spear. Maybe a club or something.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “I think I’ve been lucky until now. I’ve only fought things one on one, and stuck close to my level or slightly under it.”
“A club is just a heavy stick, right?” I pointed to the trees surrounding the clearing. “We can make one of those. Not to mention, once we finish the dungeon I bet we can add crystals to your mittens. That would give you more damage abilities. As for armor…” My voice trailed off, looking at his clothes. He’d torn the sleeve completely off of his right arm. “I mean, you’d do better with more metal enclosing you, or even some leather armor like Lenna and I.”
“I tried to add more metal to the armor, but then the crystals couldn’t power it.” He splashed some water on his face. “Somehow, I gotta make it thinner.”
“John can help with that,” I replied. “He literally has a skill to manipulate metal. He uses it on the shuttle all the time.”
Different emotions crossed Hammy’s face until it settled on something a bit more cheerful. “We just gotta get through this dungeon, then.”
“This is the hard one, right?” I flashed him a smile, leaving him near the fountain and heading back to the campfire.
He moved closer to the trees.
I sat down next to Lenna and kept my voice low. “Hammy is struggling.”
“I heard,” she replied. “This might be a tough fight, and I’ll have to heal him before we head inside. Before that, I think we should sleep here for a few hours.”
I frowned, glancing up. It was barely noon. “Do we want to spend that much time here? Shouldn’t we just get through the next bit and then heal at the fountain?”
“Time is passing strangely here, and I think we should use that to our advantage.” Lenna let out a sigh, watching Hammy pull a large branch onto the grass from under the trees. He broke a few smaller branches off of it. “I thought we were more prepared.”
“I’m not worried.”
Dengu squeaked at me.
“Was that him asking for food?” I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to figure out what squeaks meant what.
“No, he says you're strong.”
“He said that with the squeak?”
Lenna rolled her eyes at me. “No, more that you are a pack leader and that he will follow you. That we all should follow you. I get impressions more than words, though he is learning to talk. That’s his quest. He needs to learn how to talk to someone other than me.”
“You mean to become a citizen?”
“Yeah, it's his current one.”
I turned to look at Dengu. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep working on it.” I wondered if Noseen at one point had the same quest.
Dengu chirped once.
“Is one yes, and two no?”
Lenna closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. “No, it isn’t.” She stirred the soup, making the sweet smell fill the area.
“Hey Alex, can you use your knife to fix this?” Hammy held up a large branch that had a clublike appearance. Two broken stubs pointed off one side of it.
“Sure, hand it over.” Once I got it, I pulled out my knife and made it glow. I carefully carved the two broken stubs into points and smoothed out the other areas. The hand area I narrowed just a little. “Try this…”
He picked up the club and twisted it about.
“I meant while wearing your armor, for the mittens.”
“Oh, that makes sense.” It took a few moments for him to suit up then he started swinging it around the clearing. After a few moments, he climbed out of the suit and started messing around with the back of it. From here it looked like he was making a holder for the club on his back.
“The club is a good idea,” whispered Lenna. “He needs more reach.”
“It’ll work for now.” It couldn’t be his ultimate weapon, but while we were in the dungeon it hopefully would help. A sword with a crystal edge might be perfect for him, but we’d need to find more metal and more crystal. The last I had was the ring on my belt, and I kept it to practice my skills.
Lenna stirred the soup again, looking worried but not saying anything.
It wasn’t long after that, full of turtle soup and hearts, that I laid down on the grass and stared up at the blue sky. Fluffy clouds floated by slowly. Hammy snored nearby, along with Dengu. Lenna rested with her eyes closed, but I wasn’t sure if she was asleep.
I tried to sleep, but felt restless like I wanted to get moving. The archway mocked me, but I stuck in place. This was a party quest, and I couldn’t just go off on my own. Too bad Noseen couldn’t talk to me in this place. I wanted to know how the others were doing, though I bet he didn’t know. They shouldn’t show up for a few more days, by my estimate. Hopefully, we’d be out of the dungeon by then.
Feeling dumb, I tried something. “Hey Derrik, Guide person, can I ask you questions about the dungeon?” I asked under my breath. To my shock, the scaled person appeared near my feet, still standing in the same position.
“Ask.”
“Does every team member need to participate in each challenge?” I kept my voice low, but noticed Lenna open her eyes. She turned to face the guide.
“The team passes or fails together.”
That was a useful answer, but not particularly direct given what I’d asked.
“After the last challenge in the path, will we be able to heal at the fountain?”
“The fountain has limited uses. Provided you haven’t run it dry, you will be able to heal.”
Lenna sat up at that answer before speaking, “Can a member leave the dungeon before it is over?”
“If one leaves the dungeon, they leave the team.”
My eyes narrowed. “But can the team continue to complete the dungeon, regardless of the entry requirements?”
The dungeon guide didn’t answer, but he smiled, showing sharp, jagged teeth. His dark yellow eyes glittered.
The system rewarded those who continued to grow. This might be a loophole to finish the dungeon, even if the others couldn’t. Or if they needed to leave. At the very least, I could finish it.
“Don’t even think about it,” growled Lenna. “Dengu and I are finishing this dungeon.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to leave anyone behind.” I motioned to Hammy who still snored on. “I just had a few questions, and I figured I’d ask. We’ll do fine in this challenge, but we have three more paths to do.” While Hammy thought this would be the hardest path, I doubted it.
Flyers were a bitch, after all.
