Side Story: Chris' Misadventures

This is the first of the two side stories for April. Both of these will be in the next e-book too.

From the day I was born, I've lived on the street of delvers, my window looking out onto the protective wall which gives Dawnhold the second half of its name. Despite our location, my parents are neither delvers themselves, nor do they work at the guild or store. We inherited this house from my grandfather, who is a powerful warrior, but grew too strong for our low-level dungeon and now travels the world working more illustrious locations. He still visits us from time to time, sharing his wondrous tales of the many strange monsters he has encountered.

My parents said he should stop filling my head with foolish ideas, but I disagreed. I wanted to be just like him when I grew up. I wanted to be just like him now, but the delvers guild wouldn't let me. It's not like a few weak goblins are a danger to anyone, whatever they say! I've been training with my grandfather's old swords, and I already have the proficiency skill. When I complained to my parents, they sided with the guild. Even my grandfather sided with them, laughing and saying it's not so glamorous as I think. Never mind, I'll just have to wait patiently, and work to raise my level.

My best friend, Anton, who lives next door, shares my same dream. Unlike me, his mother is a delver herself, and his parents don't try to dissuade him. Nevertheless, they still wouldn't let him join the guild until he comes of age, even if the guild would let him in, so we've agreed to join together in a few years' time. We'll just have to make do with sparring with each other after school. It's a pity his mother is a healer and can't teach us proper swordplay.

By the time we'd come of age, we'd both managed to change class to [Apprentice Fighter]. Anton had even managed to gain a level already! We also had a few levels of our weapon proficiencies, and we'd saved soul points to buy combat artes too. We'd been warned not to spend points until after we'd started our official training, but why not? We both knew what we wanted, and it was better to get a head start.

It was with almost unbearable excitement that the two of us headed into the guild, as part of the year's new intake. We were introduced to our instructor, as well as Ioan and Thomas, our two new teammates, friends from a village to the south. Thomas was a mage, but Ioan hadn't even changed class from [Commoner]! But even now that we were all here, they still wouldn't let us in to the dungeon. First, we had to wait for armour to be made, and weapons for our teammates who didn't already have them, which was fair enough. But then our instructor insisted on drills in the training area below the guild, waiting for Ioan to get his last level to change class, and holding the rest of us up. He already had a weapon proficiency. That was good enough!

It took over a week for him to get that last level, and join the rest of us as proper apprentices, but then our teacher still wouldn't take us in. This was getting silly. Next we had to undergo completely unrelated training just to unlock a title. Ah, now I see why they warned us not to spend soul points... It turns out I've wasted a few, but that's still no matter. It was a fair trade-off to get a head start.

But even that wasn't enough. Now he wanted to gather the four of us together, just to talk and tell us what to expect in the dungeon. It would be far more efficient to just show us; it was literally right at the other end of the street!

Wanting to at least do something, me and Anton decided to arrive at the guild early and do some sparring between ourselves. Dressed in our new armour, we entered the reception to ask permission, and the receptionist was happy enough to oblige us. We had a couple of hours until our afternoon talk, which was more than enough time to work out my frustration.

But then, of all things, a little kid walked into the reception area. He was so childish that he was holding hands with his mummy! He looked shy, blushing lightly and avoiding eye contact with anyone. Yet he was wearing delver armour! Me and Anton alike stared slack-jawed, wondering what the hell was going on. Given how strict they are about not recruiting anyone who isn't an adult, what reason could he be here for? Maybe he wanted to join and didn't know they wouldn't let him, but then where did he get the armour from?

But before the new visitors had even said anything, the other receptionist called out to them. She not only knew them, but was expecting them, and spoke about the party he'd be joining! They were letting this tiny brat into the dungeon! His mum left him alone, in the care of the receptionist. He was staying here! So are Ioan and Thomas, because their village is too far to commute from, but they're adults already. What's going on here? This isn't fair!

Unable to hold it in any longer, I burst out. "Hey, how is that fair? When I wanted to join the delvers guild, I was told I wasn't allowed until I came of age and changed my class, so why is a brat like that here?"

The other receptionist brushed it off as 'special circumstances' and 'classified', which was even stupider. Delving was a job, just like any other. A more interesting one, perhaps, but it was like saying special circumstances forced a kid to take up carpentry. It didn't make sense!

In the end, their receptionist offered to take the three of us on a tour, which was pointless because me and Anton had already had one, but then she added that we'd finish up in the training area. I see... So somehow this kid is forcing his way into the dungeon, maybe because a noble demanded it or something, and it's going to be up to us to show him what a bad idea it is. Our receptionist, standing behind me, gave her agreement, so me and Anton followed along on our repeat tour, until we eventually ended up at the training arena.

"And that's the last stop of the tour. Right then, Anton and Chris, you've been patiently waiting for the opportunity to show Peter here how foolish he's being by setting foot into the dungeon. Why don't we take this opportunity? Everyone leave your real weapons over there and pick up a training weapon of your choice."

Finally. I grabbed a pair of wooden swords and took my place. I already had a weapon proficiency, and even a style, having picked up [Weapon Style: Dual Wielding] already. The kid wouldn't stand a chance! But then, to make things even better, the receptionist suggested that me and Anton fight together! Whatever had happened to get this kid in here, it had obviously left a bad impression.

The brat continued to be arrogant, spouting some rubbish about lacking an appraisal skill, as if my eyes weren't good enough to see how young he was. Then the receptionist told us to begin, so I charged. The kid just stood there, unmoving, waiting for me to arrive. I could feel the satisfaction already.

Once I was almost within range, the brat finally started to move, but then he vanished. I heard a gasp and a crack behind me, and spun around to see Anton flying through the air and crashing to the ground. What just happened? One moment he was here, and the next he had crossed the arena and flanked Anton. As I stared in confusion, he swung his staff through completely empty air. I barely had a chance to wonder what he was doing before I felt an impact on the back of my knees, knocking my legs out from under me, and sending me tumbling to the floor.

What happened? Does he have some accomplice that just attacked me from behind? I looked around wildly, but saw no-one. The receptionist declared the brat as the winner, but I still had no idea what had happened, and looking at Anton, he seemed to have no more idea than I did.

"Like I said, it's important to accurately appraise your enemy. If either of you had an appraisal skill, you'd have known I was a mage. That was spatial magic."

Spatial magic?! Wait, he has a mage class already? At his age? How, and even more so, why? Why would a mage capable of using spatial magic be in the delvers guild? That raised far more questions than it answered.

He offered to have another go without his magic, so of course I accepted. Anton was unsure, but I was; he was still just a brat. He'd somehow got a mage class early, but that didn't change anything about how young he was. Mages couldn't always rely on their magic; mana wasn't a limitless resource. They still needed to be able to defend themselves at close range. I'd still show him just how foolish he was being, despite his weird spatial magic.

The referee called the start of our next bout, and this time the brat moved. He was fast. Far faster than me or Anton. I swung at him as he passed, ignoring me and charging towards Anton, but he blocked while barely sparing me a glance, pushing back against my swing as if I weighed nothing. He knocked over Anton before he'd even got an arrow off, but now he had his back to me, so I swung again.

He dodged with a simple forward step without even looking at me. How did he even know I was there? I stepped after him, attacking with my other sword, but he turned himself and swung his staff with its longer reach. I quickly shifted my swing into a block, trying to catch his staff, but it just kept going as if I wasn't even there, throwing me clean across the arena.

I was wrong. As much as I hated to admit it, the brat had real strength. Whatever level he was, there was no way he got there by playing children's games in the street. Then he started lecturing as if he was our instructor. Hah, that was probably it. He must have had a mountain of instructors and guards, pushing up his level without earning it properly. I stormed out of the guild, no longer feeling like sparring with Anton. I'd just wait at home until it was time for our pointless lectures.

The next day we finally got to enter the dungeon, stepping in late in the morning. After yesterday, I had even more frustration to work out, so I was looking forward to beheading some goblins. But when we started moving around the first floor, a lot of the rooms were empty. No-one other than us newbies hunt the first floor, so where had all the goblins gone? I wasn't aware of another newbie party in the dungeon today.

We eventually hit an area of occupied rooms, and the goblins fell easily to my blades, as they did to the weapons of the rest of the group. They were no challenge at all, weak enough for me to have dealt with alone long before I had switched class. Once again I was left wondering why the guild was so strict about age requirements.

The occupied rooms didn't last long before we once again entered a deserted section. I asked what was going on, but our instructor didn't know more than I did; he was a healer, not a tracker. Then we heard noises, but they were not the sounds of goblins. Entering the next room, we encountered another party, but they were all adults, and they looked strong. Stronger even than our instructor. Why were they on the first floor?

And then I saw him. That brat again, dissecting a goblin. So, not only had he been power-levelled to his current state, but now he had a whole high level delving team babysitting him on the first floor?! Just how much more ridiculous could this get? Just how much more did he want to rub it in our faces? I stormed over, but he just ignored me, continuing to poke at the goblin. Then he stabbed his knife straight into the goblin's heart and pushed, spurting blood all over me... I wanted nothing more than to scream!

His instructor told us both off. At least he didn't let the brat get away with that deliberate spray of blood, or I would have screamed for real. I was also very glad for the way our armour was self-cleaning, or I would definitely force that brat to wash up. They agreed to move to the second floor, to leave the first to us, but with how weak these goblins are, we could have just moved to the second floor ourselves.

The rest of our day's hunt was unsatisfying. We were hunting level one monsters, when I knew I could do better. Even worse, when the time came to leave, our instructor wouldn't even let us do so via the boss chamber. He made us go back out of the entrance and told us that we'd be doing exactly the same thing tomorrow.

This is neither fun nor interesting, nothing at all like the thrilling tales of my grandfather; it's nothing more than mechanical rote. They've taken the occupation of delving and somehow made it boring. Is this really what I waited so long to do?

The next day I made sure to show how easily I could deal with whole groups of goblins on my own, and begged our instructor to let us fight the boss, or at least move to the next floor. Anton backed me up, and eventually our instructor caved. He was going to let us fight the first boss! Even then, our party would outnumber them, and I knew that the strongest goblin in the boss chamber was still only level three.

Entering the chamber, the goblins looked seriously pathetic. A group of three, only slightly bigger than the level one versions outside. Only one of them was armed, and even that was only with a flimsy wooden club. What was the point in all this? I'd easily be able to deal with these wimps without the rest of my party, just like the ones outside... Without waiting for our instructor to say anything, I charged.

I heard our instructor shouting something behind me, but I was too focused on the enemy to hear. The goblins moved faster than I was expecting, but not as fast as me. I sliced into the first one as it approached, cutting off an arm and halfway through its chest. The second one raked at me with its claws, but to no avail; I blocked with the gauntlet of my other arm. Then the third one swung its club, and I was forced to back-step, abandoning my sword that was still stuck in the chest of the first goblin.

The first goblin fell to the ground, dead, as I tossed my second sword into my dominant hand. I could hear the rest of my party running in to join the fight, and wanted to finish this before they got close. I saw an arrow shoot past and embed itself into the arm of the biggest goblin, causing it to drop its club. An ice bolt followed, but the goblin's jerk from being struck by an arrow caused it to miss. Dammit, the others didn't need to interfere; I could have done this by myself.

With the bigger goblin disarmed, I swung for the neck of the second little one, activating my [Mighty Swing], scoring a direct hit and sending its head flying away from the body. Only one more left, and it was already too badly injured to do anything. I turned towards it, only to find it charging straight at me, straight towards its death. I simply thrust my sword forward, and the dim-witted goblin impaled itself on it, screeching at me as it died.

With that, it was over. I ripped out my sword, and the goblin fell to the ground, blood pooling around it. Drawing my knife from my belt, I knelt down to extract my prize; my first level three monster core. Our instructor was shouting again, but I was still busy, even if the fight was over. If he wants to lecture me for acting on my own, he can wait.

...Wait, speaking of lectures, didn't he say something yesterday about bosses not being lootable?

The goblin twitched, opened its eyes, and stared straight at me. Damn, it's not dead?! Forgetting about looting, I immediately plunged my knife towards its heart, as the goblin raked at my face with its claws. In my kneeling position, I had no hope of dodging, and could only reflexively close my eyes as pain blossomed across my face.

It hurt. I couldn't do anything but scream, insensate to all around me other than the pain. My eyes! It had gouged out my eyes! I'd heard the pop as they were dragged from their sockets by the goblin's claws. After a few seconds of agony that felt far, far longer, I felt a tingling sensation and the pain mercifully lessened, but when I opened my eyes, everything remained black.

"You complete and utter fool!" yelled our instructor. "What the hell were you thinking, if anything at all?"

He took a few deep breaths, before starting to give orders to the others, to quickly retrieve my dropped weapons, loot the chest and prepare to teleport out. Why hasn't he finished healing me? "I still can't see," I called desperately. "Help!"

"If you were listening yesterday, you would know that my healing magic can't replace missing body parts. Then again, if you were listening yesterday, you wouldn't have done something so spectacularly stupid in the first place. I've done first aid, and that's all I can do. I'll drag your sorry arse to the hospital once we're out of here, and you'd better hope there's a third rank healer on duty."

He had to carry me all the way. Anton followed us, while Ioan and Thomas returned to the guild to sell our cores. There was no healer capable of restoring my eyes at the hospital, but apparently one would be starting a shift in a couple of hours' time. I was set down on a bed and left in the darkness, able to do nothing but wait. I bet if it was that brat who had his eyes torn out, they would have made the healer come in early...

"After that performance today, you should think very carefully about whether you return to the guild," said our instructor, coldly, the first words he'd spoken to me since we'd left the dungeon.

"What?!" I shouted in disbelief, but there was no response beyond the sound of receding footsteps. No, however pathetic it may be, I don't want to be left here alone in the dark. I... I'm scared... "Is anyone there?" I whimpered. "Please don't leave me..."

"I'm here," came Anton's reassuring voice, before grabbing my hand. Thank goodness. "But... I think he's right. I don't think your personality suits being a delver. You aren't going to be able to resist taking risks, and you're going to get yourself killed."

What? Even Anton... Even my best friend thinks that? "So?!" I shouted, angry at the betrayal. "If I screw up, it's my own fault."

"And I'm supposed to just accept that? How do you think I'd feel if I saw you get yourself killed? It was bad enough seeing you today... And if it's not you that gets killed? What if I rushed in to try and save you, and got hit instead? If you screw up and I die as a result, what would you think then?"

How would others feel? How would my family feel? My eyes started to sting, trying to tear up but the damage not allowing it. They're right... I couldn't do that to them... No wonder our instructor was so angry...

I can't do it. Delving isn't the glamorous job I want it to be. I should have listened to my family's warnings and never started in the first place. I've been wasting my life chasing after an idea, a fiction that doesn't really exist.

I did return to the guild the next day, but only to return my gear. Hopefully, they could make use of it for other new joiners. I'm going to chase after a less dangerous form of excitement. Maybe I'll be an explorer; the land to the south has never been properly charted. I can take joy in discovery instead of slaughter.