43 43 A Chefs Duty (1/2)

Jimmy and Corrul were rounding up the corpses of the Meckstras into one pile near the entrance of the den. Corrul wore a makeshift facemask to try and cover up the smell eventually giving up and leaving, but Jimmy braved it bare faced. The normal Meckstras only gave up white or green mana crystals, so they were still valuable, but nowhere near what the evolved Meckstras were giving out.

”Uh Jimmy, can you explain to me what those crystals are for?” said Donis, trying to buy himself time before he had to actually go into the den.

”Sure lad. So we have 6 different colours that represent the uh, quality or grade of an item right?” said Jimmy as he tossed another corpse onto the growing pile.

”Yeah, but the Gisbir we killed gave us a red one, and these guys are giving us white or green ones. Whats the difference?” said Donis as he pulled out a small red crystal.

”Ooh, that's a nice one. Gisbirs normally don't give out red ones but maybe you found one that had actually been quite old – which doesn't happen in their community often. Growing old I mean hahah,” laughed Jimmy.

”So, it goes like this. White, then green, then blue, then red. Those are the Mana Crystals we'll see normally. They're what concern us the most, because the two above are so exceedingly rare, that even the monsters who are known to ”have” them, don't always drop them upon death. They're purple and gold,” continued Jimmy.

”Why don't they always drop them though?” said Donis as he helped throw another corpse on the small hill that was forming.

”Well, to make a Mana Crystal, it takes time, Mana, and a strong life force. I ain't know much more, but if you get a chance, ask the cap'n. All this sober talk is getting to me,” grumbled Jimmy as he threw the last corpse on the pile.

Striga had been laying down the entire time, admiring the handiwork of the two guys that did the least in that fight. Corrul was trying to recover some of the least water damaged traps he'd laid down.

”Alright lads, works done. Donis, get your ass to that den,” said Striga as she stood up.

”Wait, I'm going alone?” panicked Donis.

”Gods no, you've just been stalling with Jimmy for far too long now, we need to get a move on, the mission wont complete itself,” retorted Striga.

Comforted by that answer, Donis let out a deep but grateful sigh. He wasn't sure if he could keep up, or if his personal practice would be enough to let him get through this solo. He would still try, but he didn't particularly expect himself to really clear everything himself.

The dens entrance was closer to a cave. It was a carved out and slimy rock that seemed to delve deeper underground. The only light entering seemed to be the slime that shone along the rocky surface. Somehow it carried along some of the light deeper, illuminating their passage.

Preparing himself mentally for the fight ahead, Donis wanted to test out a few different things since he never got to kill any sort of monster yet.

Firstly, he summoned the swords. He was going to test his actual fighting prowess and skills he gained from when he was a child, and then maxed out. Seeing his sword choices, Striga just smiled. To her it was near impossible that this kid would be any proficient at swords since he was so heavily invested in magic.

Donis was the one walking in front, swords in a relaxed but ready grip, and his mind sharp. He summoned Etheria too, and told her mentally to not make a sound, as they're in enemy territory. Etheria only chirped in Donis's mind as confirmation.

The trio continued descending downwards, passing lots of empty holes that looked like rooms. Eventually they rounded a corner and came across a small group of 4 unevolved Meckstras. They were huddled around a corpse of another unidentifiable monster, happily munching away. Etheria was still too weak to fight them, but Donis wanted to try out another idea he had.

He cast Trackless on all of them, which surprised Striga once again. She had no clue the boy could have already maxed out the skill.

'Just what sort of life did this guy have?' she thought to herself.

After sneaking up to the Meckstras, Donis used Aura Rework to create himself a floating shield that was made of golden light. He had no idea about how fast these critters would be in a close quarters fight, and he wanted to take no chances. He arced back the Khopesh sword, and with a slight tremble in his hand, hacked off one of the Meckstras heads.

The other 3 didn't even notice the 4th one dying. They were too engrossed in eating the corpse in front of them.

A weird sensation washed over Donis. He suddenly felt like this was the most natural feeling in the world. His slight trembling stopped and a new confidence brimmed from within.

-Donis, I am detecting a new memory being uncorrupted. Shall we force it, or wait it out?-

'Wait it out, I don't want to lose control of myself right now,' thought Donis.

He killed the next two with relative ease, decapitating both of them. His strength stat far outmatching the sturdiness of the unevolved Meckstras bodies. He left the last one as is, because he wanted to see if he could help Etheria level up. She had been with him nearly his whole life, yet he couldn't teach her anything, he couldn't help her become strong and fulfill her own wants and needs.

She had always been there, but she was never allowed to come out during tense situations, always acting as emotional support. He wanted her to become strong too, he needed her.

Checking Etherias status, when Donis killed the 3 Meckstras she didn't gain any [EXP]. This led Donis to the idea of leaving the last one alive for her to finish off.