[Shrubley, the Monster Adventurer] Chapter 68 – Quarrelsome Quarry

“Slyrox could bingly-bang board to windows, and make spiky things,” the koblin said, pointing at them and then elsewhere to indicate what she could [Kludge] together into a semblance of defense. “But the materials gotta come from somewhere. Maybe not best brain-fruit then?”

Shrubley nodded. “Then perhaps not. I imagine Cluckley would like to keep her parts where they are.” He looked over at the house as if that faint clucking echoing from within the building meant anything.

And it did, to Shrubley. Bonded to her, he could pick up certain things from the witch house. He could sense an overwhelming power radiating from the building, dwarfing even his own.

Perched on the rocking chair’s arm, his glowbug familiar seemed envious of, and even a little intimidated by, the impressive Cluckley. Shrubley gave his glowbug a gentle, comforting pat.

However, he couldn’t tell whether the Countess or Cluckley was stronger. Not because Cluckley was incredibly powerful, but because Shrubley’s ability to discern strength through a person’s aura wasn’t that great.

“That is quite rude, you know,” the Countess said without turning to look at Shrubley. “You can scan somebody’s aura without trying to pierce it. Here, let me show you.”

When the Countess turned around, her gaze fell upon him and there was a very faint brush of… something, against him. Almost like a soft breeze, but less physical.

“It’ll take you some time to figure it out, but you already managed to control your aura without any help, and that is no small feat. Many Irons still struggle to control their aura, using it as I heard you did to fight off an assassin. Well done.”

Where Shrubley’s cheeks should have been, a few red berries appeared. It was his version of a blush.

“Thank you, Countess.”

“I would like to see it again myself some time, and I expect you will have plenty of chances to show me once we arrive at the manor. In the meantime, work on being subtle as you detect my aura. When I can’t tell you’re doing it, I’ll see about teaching you something else.”

“Very well, I will try my best!” Shrubley said, leaves swaying with eagerness.

While Shrubley worked on manipulating his aura to touch another’s without them knowing, Cluckley took them through the forest in record time. The few serpentii they came across were demolished by one four-toed foot without the slightest bit of concern.

Shrubley watched as Cluckley turned around and stomped a few extra times just to make sure the snakes were good and crushed. She seemed to loathe them with a passion all her own.

Shrubley approved.

An unlucky serpentii had stared up gormlessly at its impending demise, swallowed by the shadow of Cluckley’s giant chicken foot, before it too was crushed.

“What happened while you were gone?” Cal asked Shrubley, stepping out of the front door with a colander on his skull serving as an impromptu helmet. He flicked the hood of his robe over it. “You seem different.”

Shrubley nodded, his many leaves rustling as if from a fierce gust.

“Well?” Cal prompted.

“Ah, right. I unlocked my Class, and my Prime essence.”

Everyone’s attention turned to Shrubley. He looked around in surprise.

“Oooh, which Class?” Slyrox asked.

Even the Countess’ attention was directed toward the little shrub.

He looked down and scuffed the floorboards with his wooden foot. “It is the Prime essence of Life, and my Class is a bit odd. It is a combination. I believe the term was ‘Fused Class’.” He looked up at the choking sound of the Countess. “Is something the matter, Countess?”

“No,” she said raspily. “Continue.”

How in the seven Hells did he manage to get a Fused Class!? I couldn’t even manage that.

“This good thing, yes?” Slyrox asked, tapping her muzzle knowingly. Despite not really knowing at all.

“Must be,” Cal said quietly.

“Mistress Ceasewane seemed to think it was… interesting,” Shrubley put forth. He was never at home being praised. Even the oppa was staring at him, without even the slightest trace of a judgmental squint. “It is called Sage Knight.” Then he perked up considerably, summoning his [Grimoire]. “It comes with a book!”

Everybody looked at the book he held in his wooden hands like an excited child at show-and-tell.

“Eh?” Slyrox let slip, not as impressed as Shrubley was expecting.

Shrubley held it up a little higher. “A book,” he repeated himself in case they hadn’t heard. Yes, that was it. They must have thought he said something silly, like “a brick” or something much less interesting.

Truthfully, he wouldn’t have minded owning a magical brick. Now that’d be quite handy!

“Yah well, what’s the book do?” Sose asked, pawing his muzzle.

“Oh, yes.” Shrubley opened it to reveal an astonishingly life-like sketch of Mistress Ceasewane by a campfire, looking oddly peaceful. “I have an ability called [Perfect Recall] that lets me capture information, but it is much more than just words or knowledge. I can capture moments too! So I thought Lady Haalften might like this one.”

The Countess swallowed hard past the lump in her throat. She had only seen her teacher look that peaceful once or twice in all her life. It was a perfect likeness, captured in that [Grimoire].

Slyrox backed away in fear. “You capture… souls?”

Shrubley turned the book around and looked at it. “If I could… maybe I would be able to save more people.” He shut it. “I can only perfectly recall things, not people. If I were to use it now, it would put down what I see. Not who you are.”

“If they’re trapped on a page, is that saving?” Slyrox asked, slowly calming down.

The Countess turned away. “No. It’s information. Like a painting, nothing more.”

Shrubley held the book to his chest like it was the most precious thing in the world. Next to the questbook given to him by the Druid, it was.

“What about spells?” Cal asked. “If I showed you a spell scroll, could you replicate it and put it in your book? Do you think that’ll work with your Curiosity essence ability?”

“I do not know,” Shrubley admitted. He squeezed the book tighter as Cluckley stomped around a bit. A faint hissing from below announced the presence of some more dying serpentii. “It is worth a try. I can only use the ability once an hour.”

Cal rubbed his bony hands together. “That means you could memorize recipes and spell scrolls and tomes that are single-use items though! Shrubley, you could be a teacher like Mistress Ceasewane, collecting spells and abilities to dole out to your students. This is amazing.”

“Muchly amazing,” Slyrox agreed, giving Shrubley an encouraging thumbs-up.

That did make him feel better. The possible future of one day teaching others also lifted his spirits.

With a puff of magical smoke, the [Grimoire] vanished. “I should like to test it out once we have some time to do so.” He had spotted the quarry ahead.

The quarry was a rocky section of low hills that was half-mined out. The hills looked incomplete here, as if they were in the process of being built from heavy blocks of stone and then abandoned. Aged gantries and complicated mechanisms for lifting several tons of stone littered the shelves of stone overlooking the deeper pits.

More than a few were left in shambles, but a surprising amount were in perfect working order. There appeared to be no serpentii anywhere, but they were cunning and easily blended into any environment.

“Pyuu,” Smudge said, peering into the distance. “Any essences?”

Shrubley liked that the slime was growing more talkative as of late. He wasn’t sure why, other than perhaps he was getting more comfortable amongst friends. And that seemed like a rather good thing.

“Hmm….” Slyrox scanned the quarry, putting a mitt above her lenses, mostly out of habit rather than any actual protection from the sun’s glare.

Since there wasn’t one here. Just a pale artificial light that was growing dimmer by the hour.

Cluckley stopped near the edge of the lowest hill.

Shrubley looked at the house, then patted the railing. “Cluckley cannot go further. The stone does not give a good grip, and she is nervous of rockslides. We should go on foot from here.”

“That’s fair enough,” Sose said, twisting his body around in place. “Think she needs somebody guarding her?”

“Good question, Sose,” the Countess said, setting him down on the railing. “I need you to stay here. Send up a flare of Fantasy mana if you see something that we need to worry about.”

He twitched his nose, looking at her with those dark eyes. “Of course, mistress.” He groomed his muzzle, revealing his nervousness. “Be safe and be well. I expect many rump scritches when you return!”

The Countess stepped off onto the frigid stone as the house lowered itself down. I was right. There’s something here.

The rest of the group shuffled off after her, looking around at the wreckage of an old quarrying operation. The blue-veined stone here was once highly sought after for its Water properties.

That was before new innovations made it largely obsolete. The Haalftens had once opened the quarry and made their early wealth from the [Aquastone] that was mined here.

It possessed a powerful Water mana signature that made it perfect for interacting with all sorts of water, from the toxic lakes of Sylestra to the Puresea in the south.

Pipes and containers lined with the stuff would generate their own water if you input a small trickle of mana. Boat hulls created out of it would float effortlessly on top of any water, no matter how heavy the cargo was.

It paled in comparison to the newer magitechnical innovations, but once upon a time [Aquastone] was the best thing for the nautical and plumbing industries.

Of course, this was all in the mirror realm. Still, a reflection harbored a shade of the reality it was derived from.

Out of all of them, Smudge led the way. He was too eager to hold himself back. However, he also didn’t know where he was going whatsoever. The slime kept turning over random rocks and debris, fully expecting there to be an essence under there each time.

And despite finding nothing so far, his hope never diminished.

The Countess watched him with great interest. Is he like Shrubley because he idolizes him, or is he like Shrubley because he isn’t smart enough to be any different?

The deeper they went, the greater the ambient mana saturation became. The world was shrinking, condensing what mana was left. The air was filled with Water and Stone mana depending on where they were. Sometimes there were confluences of the two, creating tiny eddies of conflicting mana.

Sometimes the stone would run like water at such confluences and other times the water would be as hard as stone, resembling glass that was wet to the touch.

It was beautiful.

Up ahead, something glimmered like a jewel within a passage formed by dozens of giant pale stone blocks.

Smudge bounced ahead with an excited, “Pyuu!”

But the slime didn’t notice what was lurking above. The shadow descended upon Smudge well before he ever made it to the source of the glimmer.