Chương 23: The Tunnel

A hail of rocks and dust rained down on the travelers. People yelled, children cried out for their parents, animals squealed in panic. Evan was knocked off his cloud horse by a boulder the size of a lunchbox. He hit the rocky ground with a thud. Disoriented by his fall and the dust cloud, he rolled onto his back, just in time to see a massive stone snake burst through the rift in the tunnel's ceiling. Evan scrambled backward, trying to get on his feet before the massive monster could get its bearings.

That thing was at least 40 feet long and had a head the size of a hippopotamus. People around him were running away in fear, screaming or yelling out the names of friends or family members they'd lost sight of when the ceiling had caved in. Somewhere in the distance, Evan could hear a bell ringing. His interface locked onto the stone snake. [Petralisk - Rank 8] Rank 8! Shocked, he stumbled backward. The dust was settling, revealing that the snake monster hadn't arrived alone. It had brought friends, dozens of them.

Small crab-like monsters, about knee height, with stone carapaces and stone claws clicking, poured out through the gap in the ceiling. [Mountaincrab - Rank 1] A part of him wanted to join the crowd running away; another part reached for his sword. Hands trembling, he stared at the snake monster, completely lost on how to deal with it. He'd barely survived the rank 3 Mud Golem, and that was with Oliver by his side. Oliver! Right. He wasn't alone.

Whirling around, he tried to find his companions in the chaos and spotted Oliver nearby. His friend had also drawn his sword and was already charging toward the Petralisk. At least until Alex jumped in his way.

"Stay back, you silly boy. I'll deal with it." She looked around until her eye locked onto Evan.

"Evan! Come here! You two take care of the crabs. Keep them off my back while I deal with the Petralisk." With those words, she raised her staff and shot off like a bullet. Evan was absolutely floored by how fast Alex was moving. She was barely more than a blur to his eyes. Dashing forward, jumping up, striking the Petralisk across the head, before flipping artistically in midair, bouncing off the tunnel wall, and attacking again.

The massive stone snake roared in anger, whipping its head back and forth, trying to headbutt Alex, but she was way too fast to be caught. Another hit with the staff, followed by a backward flip. She landed on the ground light-footed, lifted her hand, and shot a lightning bolt at the Petralisk that lit up the tunnel like a disco light. Evan was so fascinated by the display that he nearly forgot the task he'd been given.

A stone claw pinching into his calf was a painful reminder that he was supposed to deal with the stone crabs that had followed the Petralisk through the breach.

"Ouch!" He shook his leg to get rid of the crab. When it wouldn't let go, he slapped his sword across its carapace. That did the trick. The crab let go, but otherwise it was unharmed. Claws raised, it prepared for another attack. Evan fended it off with his sword, but the blade slipped off the stone shell again. He looked to his left, where Oliver struggled with the same problem.

"My sword can't pierce their carapace. How do we hurt those things?" he asked, his voice sounding strained as he sent a [Gravel Burst] toward a whole group of crabs that had gathered around him, trying to sink their claws into his legs. Meanwhile, Evan's own crab was lashing out again. He avoided another flesh wound by kicking the monster away like a football. It went flying through the air and landed on its back, revealing a belly of unprotected gray flesh. Evan seized the opportunity.

He closed the distance between himself and the crab with his [Teleport] and rammed his sword down. [You killed 1 Mountaincrab] [You earned 5 experience points] [You looted 7 mana stones]"Flip them over!" he yelled at Oliver.

"Their undersides are soft." He sprinted after a crab that was chasing a crying little girl, claws raised, and repeated the trick. Hooking his foot under its stomach, quick kick and flip, and then he could easily kill it with his sword. The second crab died, and the little girl looked up at Evan with wide, tear-filled eyes, like he was some kind of superhero. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Go find your parents, sweetie," Evan told her before rushing back to Oliver's side. They went to work. Oliver, with his higher Strength attribute, was especially good at flipping the heavy crabs onto their backs. Evan, who had higher Speed and [Teleport] to whizz around the tunnel, would finish them off quickly before they managed to wiggle back onto their legs. In the background, Alex went to town on the Petralisk.

Evan only followed the fight out of the corner of his eyes, too busy dispatching the crabs, but just the light show caused by Alex's lightning bolts slamming into the stone monster was impressive enough. He allowed himself to get distracted again by Alex's artistic fighting style and promptly paid for it. A stone crab lunged forward, attacking his knee.

Instinctively, he swatted at it with his sword, and of course it bounced off the stone carapace just like before, allowing the monster to bury its claws in Evan's leg.

"Shit!" He jumped backward, awkwardly balancing on one leg because putting weight on the injured one was too painful. Unable to kick the crab away, Evan tried a new idea. He lifted his sword, activated [Star Slash], and brought the blade down in a swift motion. To his surprise, the golden glowing sword cut into the carapace like it were a block of butter.

"Oh, I didn't expect that to work," he said, shaking off the now-dead crab. Oliver turned his head to look at him.

"Your Star Slash skill, of course! Alex said Celestial magic is effective against almost all types of defenses, remember?"

"Well, this opens up options." Evan turned toward the next stone crab, one eye on his cooldown timer, and used [Star Slash] again as soon as it became available. It worked like a charm, so he continued with his new strategy. Slicing the monsters into pieces when [Star Slash] was an option and reverting back to the established flip-and-stab tactic while it was on cooldown. Together with Oliver, they quickly mowed through the mass of crabs.

They weren't strong, but their sheer numbers meant a claw occasionally reached them, painfully clamping down on their legs or feet. Most ordinary travelers had fled the area, which made things easier for them. Evan could swing his sword freely without being afraid of hitting a panicking civilian. Meanwhile, Alex was about to finish the Petralisk.

The monster struck at her with its stony rear end, but Alex dodged with a forward roll, dashed forward, jumped off the tunnel wall, shot into the air, and slammed her staff down on the monster's head, causing a deep crack right between its eyes. An eardrum-shattering roar vibrated through the tunnels, causing more dust and debris to rain down.

The Petralisk reeled back in agony, whipping its head back and forth, trying to buck Alex off, but she followed up with another staff strike and this time, half the monster's head crumbled under the blow. After more roaring and more thrashing around, it finally slammed to the ground, hitting the stone floor with an eardrum-piercing boom. Just as the dust settled around the dead Petralisk, several armed men came storming through the tunnel, waving around their swords. Alex jumped off the dead monster and smiled.

"Too late, guys. We've already dealt with the problem. You can return to your posts." The guards, Evan assumed those were guards tasked with protecting the tunnels, looked at the slain Petralisk and the myriad of dead stone crabs littering the floor. The one at the forefront scratched the back of his head, then shrugged.

"I guess so. Uh… thank you." He turned to his two companions.

"Come on, let's go. This is a job for the builders now." Alex looked after them for a moment, shaking her head in disdain.

"That's who they're hiring as guards nowadays? None of these men was beyond rank 4. The Petralisk would've smashed them into a pulp."

"Good thing we were there to save the day," Oliver said with a grin, giving the nearest dead Mountaincrab a kick to emphasize his words.

"Yeah, good job, boys. I wondered how long it would take you to realize their underside is their weak spot, but it seems you figured it out pretty quickly."

"By accident," Evan admitted.

"But once we worked it out, killing them was pretty easy. My Star Slash also worked against them. Cut right through the stone carapace."

"You really lucked out with that Celestial affinity, Evan," Oliver said.

"He did, but a good affinity crystal only takes you so far. I know a whole bunch of rich kids whose parents bought them super rare, supposedly powerful affinity crystals and skill gems, and they still ended up as complete failures. Anyways, let's move on to the fun part. Check your ledgers." Evan opened his interface and was greeted by a long list of notifications.

[You have killed 27 Mountaincrabs] [You have earned 133 experience points] [You have looted 191 coin crystals] [You have looted 2 stone affinity shards]"I got three shards!" Oliver exclaimed.

"Neat. I got two," Evan said. That was a nice reward for their efforts, but the notifications that came next made his eyes go wide in shock. [Congratulations! You reached Rank 3] [You have 1 unused skill slot] [You can allocate 5 attribute points] He blinked and read the line again, then double-checked his stat screen.

"I'm rank 3," he said in disbelief.

"Rank 3!" Alex grinned.

"Well done. At the speed you're advancing, you're going to outrank me soon." Oliver gave him a congratulatory hug.

"That's great, man! I'm pretty close, too. My ledger says I'm at 91%." Evan looked at Alex.

"Did you get anything good from the fight?"

"Eh… at rank 11, a rank 8 monster doesn't yield much experience for me. I did get a stone affinity crystal, though. Do you guys want it?" Evan stared at her, stunned.

"A full crystal? Not just a shard? And you want to give it to us?"

"They're really expensive," Oliver said.

"It's your loot. You should sell it. I'm sure it'll get a good price in Stormhaven."

"I don't want to brag, but I have so much money already that selling a common affinity crystal won't make much of a difference. You boys can have it. Sell it and split the profits. That'll give you some starting cash to buy decent armor." The affinity crystal materialized in her palm, and she carelessly threw it to Oliver, who scrambled to catch it. He cradled it in his hands, looking at it like he was holding his firstborn son.

"Evan," he said, beaming.

"We're rich." Evan stepped closer to get a better look at the crystal. It looked very different from the Celestial affinity crystal. Shimmering tones of gray swirled around inside, and it gave off a cool glow.

"What if we don't sell it," he said quietly. Oliver looked up, one eyebrow raised.

"Why wouldn't we? We can't use it."

"We can't. But Maya could…"

"But half of this is yours. If I give it to Maya, I'd have to pay you off." Evan waved his hand dismissively.

"Bullshit. We're a team, and she's your sister. And think of it as a long-term investment. Once she's a super skilled crafter, she can forge swords and armor for us, right?"

"Not with a stone affinity, she can't."

"Then we sell this one and use the money for a more usable one." Oliver looked at the crystal in his hand for a long time.

"That would make her really happy," he finally said softly.

"Then let's do it. But let's keep it a surprise until we actually have the right crystal for her, okay? To avoid disappointment in case this crystal sells for less than we need. We're not going to tell Maya until we have her crystal." Oliver nodded.

"Speaking of her… where is she?" They both looked around, but saw nothing but fallen rocks, dead monsters, and Alex brushing dust off her pants with a bored expression.

"Are you done whispering conspiratively yet?" she asked.

"Because I want to be out of this tunnel before nightfall."