The Two Week Curse

by Michael Chatfield

  “As I’ve been training with smithing, I’ve been improving my control over Mana. I took some time not just forming my Mana into shapes, but trying to create different items—not just the form of a spear but a true spear, condensed down and with runes.

  “I studied up on Mana Manipulation formations that could be used with weapons and added those to the Mana-formed weapons. It took me a number of days and I needed to do it multiple times with real metal and formation before I could do it with Mana-formed ones. Then I drove them into my Mana gate; the runes on the weapons focused and directed my Mana, increasing their strength and blasting through my Mana gate. Honestly, it was kind of like the Mana-created weapon was an electric motor plugged right into my Mana. I just had to focus on drawing in more Mana from around me and it fed into the Mana weapon, cracking open my gate,” Rugrat said.

  As they had walked, they passed through the center of the dungeon and were passing through the houses, almost reaching the hospital.

  “If you can do that internally, I wonder if there is a way to do it externally,” Erik said.

  “A weapon to channel Mana into your body?”

  “Right. If you hit something from just one direction, it’s effective, but if you hit it from opposite sides at staggered intervals, you might cause more damage. Maybe it would be possible to break through faster. I’ll have to ask Egbert,” Erik resolved. “So how is your smithing skill coming along?”

  “Pretty well. I’m in the late Journeyman stages, though I’m running into the problem that without a teacher, I have a bunch of ideas and I can try them out, but it’s hard to find what works,” Rugrat said.

  It made sense. With his general knowledge from Earth, combined with the amount he had spent researching different topics, he had surged ahead in his skill. Still, he had questions. He searched for answers in different books and asked Egbert, but Egbert didn’t know everything and books might have the information but it could be obtuse or hidden away. Smithing was primarily a practical skill. Most smithers spent weeks in their smithies trying out new methods and improving on their skills. Rugrat could do the same, grinding away with higher level blueprints, but his growth would be slower than if he had someone to guide him.

  “I don’t know if we’ll be able to find anyone like that in the Second Realm,” Erik said apologetically.

  “I’ve already found an answer,” Rugrat said, surprising Erik.

  “Oh?” Erik slowed his pace as they reached the barracks.

  “The Blue Lotus—you remember that auction house? Well, it’s not a simple place. They have many experts working for them and their background isn’t small. They’re supposedly in every realm and there is no one who would be willing to challenge them. Those who have have been destroyed either by the Blue Lotus, or those looking to curry favor with the Blue Lotus. It is possible to not only get items from them, but to also get information. The hardest thing will be getting their attention, but I have a plan,” Rugrat said.

  Seeing that Rugrat wasn’t going to say freely, Erik forced out his next question. “How will you get their attention?”

  “I will take my Journeyman-level items there to be appraised. They aren’t too interested in strength in these lower levels, but if someone is capable of making high-leveled products—they are a powerful entity; to keep their strength, they need to bring in new blood.”

  “I wouldn’t mind checking it out,” Erik said. The two of them walked into the barracks. They were stunned to see that not only were the soldiers from Alva there, the people of Alva had gathered as well.

  All of them had solemn looks on their faces as they looked at Erik and Rugrat.

  The two hadn’t noticed how empty the streets seemed as they walked to the barracks, lost in their own discussion.

  “Of our own volition, we swear upon the Ten Realms that we will not pass on information about the Alva Dungeon to any outsiders. We swear to protect Alva Dungeon, no matter how far we might venture from the dungeon. We swear to uphold the rule of law within Alva Dungeon and to follow the orders of the Dungeon Masters Erik and Rugrat as long as their orders are reasonable.” Their voices rose as one: children, grandparents, and residents of Alva all talking as one.

  A large golden halo settled over them all before shooting toward Erik and Rugrat. They had thought to organize an oath ceremony but hearing their oath, Erik and Rugrat were touched by their sincerity.

  They accepted them as the power disappeared.

  “All right, you lazy bums, get back to work!” Blaze said, but there was no anger in his voice.

  The crowd dispersed, smiles on their faces as Erik and Rugrat awkwardly stood there, not sure what to say or do.

  “Shall we move forward with the scouting parties?” Blaze asked, rescuing them.

  “Yes, let’s do that,” Erik said.

  “Why do I feel like we just got pranked? Haven’t felt that awkward in a long time,” Rugrat said.

  The quick reaction force and three of the newly formed parties followed Blaze, Erik, and Rugrat.

  They went past the beast stables where the panther cubs were playing with soldiers, eating and lazing about. With the right food, the panthers were growing quickly. Beasts only needed to consume more powerful meats and could continuously eat other monster cores to increase their strength. Already they were reaching teenage creatures. Egbert had plenty of taming contracts that had been placed upon the panthers. This allowed them to be bound to whoever rode them. People needed to purchase them from the beast stables if they wanted to have one. The price was high, but they would gain a loyal follower and increase their own combat strength.

  Past the beast stables, there was a hole in the wall that circled the village. There was a guard post and alarm formation here so that Egbert would be able to fight back anything that tried to enter.

  Now it was manned by Alva’s military.

  They passed through the defenses and to the steps beyond. The stairs were only wide enough for two people side-by-side to walk up. They had to travel for twenty minutes before they reached a large entranceway that ended in smooth stone.

  Everyone formed up behind Erik and Rugrat, who were searching over the smooth stone. Finally, Rugrat found a button and pressed it.

  A grinding noise could be heard as the massive stone door rolled to the side. Light streamed in with fresh air and they could hear the sounds of beasts and wildlife.

  “Looks like we’re back,” Rugrat said as they looked out over Beast Mountains Range.

  Chapter: Healing Moon House’s Domination

  The scouts under Blaze’s orders went out to search the area. The quick reaction force were also dispersed, heading in the direction of the Wild Reaches. They followed along with Erik and Rugrat to the different locations that Tommins had given them.

  It could barely be called a fight. The parties would lock down any beasts in the area, killing or driving them off as Erik would harvest the ingredients.

  “Remember when we had to distract the beasts so we could steal the ingredients?” Rugrat asked as Erik simply shook his head and harvested the last ingredient.

  The parties got used to the area and to know the lay of the land. Erik and Rugrat quickly gathered all the required materials and then headed for Wild Reaches Trading Outpost.

  Erik and Rugrat hid their appearance under doupengs, a conical hat with cloth around it.

  The guard didn’t seem to mind, taking their fee to enter the outpost. “No killing inside the outpost,” he said before allowing them inside.

  Erik and Rugrat entered the outpost. Rugrat headed off to go find the quick reaction party that was supposed to meet them.

  Erik headed off to go and see Alchemist Tommins. He didn’t miss the eyes that fell on him as he entered the store.

  “Is there anything that I can interest you in?” Alchemist Tommins asked.

  “I’m here to hand in the different ingredients.” Erik walked up to the counter, filled w
ith different bottles that held an assortment of ingredients.

  Tommins’s face turned from bored to excited in a moment. He seemed to pause a second, looking at Erik, trying to peer through his doupeng. “You remind me of someone. Oh, there was a guy trying to learn Alchemy. Seems that he was lost to the Beast Mountains Range. I thought that he might be able to learn something.” Tommins shrugged. At the edge of the Beast Mountains Range, some people gained great fame and wealth; others would lose their lives in the pursuit.

  If it was the Erik of the past, he would try to get some more knowledge from Tommins. Now he could ascend to the second realm he might find more alchemists and gain access to more resources than in the first realm. Still, one needed gold wherever they went and Erik didn’t want to get nothing for all of his effort.

  “Here is one gold and seventeen silver.” Tommins held out the money. Erik accepted it and Tommins made the ingredients disappear into his storage ring.

  His notification bar flashed after the transaction. Erik turned and left the store without a word. He went some distance before he turned down an alleyway and opened the notification.

  =========

  Quest Completed: Gathering Ingredients

  =========

  Rewards:

  1 Gold, 17 Silver

  7,850 EXP

  =========

  I guess because I finished all of the orders I got some more Experience. This little bit of Experience isn’t much but all of it adds up.

  Thinking of his Alchemy skill, Erik looked it up as well.

  ***

  Grandmaster Eri looked over the two small figures that lay next to one another. His face was aloof and imperious, as if the children’s maladies were just a simple cold.

  Lord Chonglu’s fist tightened. He wanted to beat the man until he healed his children. If he did that, then the Healing Moon House would send their enforcers and none of the healing houses would help Chonglu City.

  He could feel their hands around his neck, suffocating him. He would do anything for his children and he saw how they were undermining his authority, poisoning a man in the market in broad daylight. The people had called for blood for weeks but he didn’t give in to their demands, knowing that the Healing Moon House would stop healing his children.

  Based on their actions, he felt that the Healing Moon House could heal them with ease but they were instead playing him along to try to gain more benefits.

  So Lord Chonglu sat there, biting back his words as he watched the grandmaster moving around.

  “What is your diagnosis?” Chonglu asked, his voice deep as he held his killing intent at bay. He was hidden in the corner of the room, the darkness hiding him from sight.

  “This is indeed a powerful malady. Their odor is foul and their skin has been turned pale and lifeless. They are holding on but by a thread. If I was able to, I would assist them, but my hands are being tied by the Rosa House.” Grandmaster Eri sighed and opened his hands pitifully.

  “Might there be a way to remove this issue and gain this assistance?” Chonglu was tired of word games but he played along. He’d suffer a hundred times worse for his children.

  “Lord Chonglu is indeed benevolent!” Grandmaster Eri’s acting skills were superb as he made it seem as if the idea had sprung from Chonglu’s lips.

  “It’s like this. Our healing services are of a much higher quality and we put a lot more effort into healing people, but still we are taxed at the same rate as the Rosa House. How is this fair? We are only taking a loss accepting these taxes,” Grandmaster said, as if he were some pious saint.

  Chonglu wanted to rip the sniveling little cockroach’s neck out. Chonglu knew that the healing houses gouged their patients and the people for even the most basic of services. Who wouldn’t be willing to pay everything for their health?

  “Grandmaster Eri’s words make a certain sense. Two percent tax will be removed from the Healing Moon House,” Chonglu said.

  “It would speed up the rate that I can get that assistance from the capital if there was more…” Grandmaster said, as if trying to find the right word.

  “Two percent tax will be added to the Rosa House,” Chonglu ground out.

  Eri could sense that this was all he was going to get and beamed as he bowed deeply to Lord Chonglu. Both of them knew who was the winner in this game. Still, Chonglu could sense that Eri liked to play around, trying to look like some holy and pious saint.

  Once his children were healed, Chonglu wanted to rid his city of these scammers who called themselves healers.

  “How long until that assistance is ready?” Chonglu asked.

  “It shouldn’t be longer than two weeks,” Grandmaster Eri said. “I will make the necessary arrangements.” With that, he dismissed himself.

  As soon as he left the room, Chonglu’s fist slammed into the wall beside him. The solid stone was cracked and there was a fist print in it now.

  The hidden experts in the room who protected his children didn’t say anything or move from their positions, chilled by the killing intent that washed out of Chonglu’s body.

  “Snakes and fake promises! These healers will be removed from my city and if they let my children die, I will hunt them down to the root.”

  The wind in the room stopped moving, fully under Lord Chonglu’s control.

  ***

  Grandmaster Eri laughed in his room as he drank red-white wine, a rare delicacy that was not only delicious and could get one drunk, but it also increased the rate that they absorbed Mana. This relaxing feeling of having Mana circulate through one’s body was wonderful.

  “That little fool! Does he think that I would ever heal his children?” Eri laughed to himself, a cruel smile on his lips. Lord Chonglu’s children were at death’s door—anyone could see that. Eri didn’t know what was affecting them, but he knew how to keep them from dying. As long as he kept them on that line between death and life, then Lord Chonglu was like a dog willing to do anything he asked.

  A sound transmission request appeared in front of Grandmaster Eri from his secretary.

  “Grandmaster Eri, nobleman Zhan Su wishes to talk to you,” his secretary said.

  “Oh?” Eri said.

  Zhan Su came from one of the larger families in Chonglu City. It seemed that the nobles sensed that there was a change in the policies and the true leaders of the city.

  Eri’s smile widened as he chuckled to himself, enjoying this sense of power. He never thought when coming to this little Chonglu City that he would be able to take control of the city! He thought that he would just be a grandmaster of the Healing Moon House. Having the same power as the city lord—this was more than most grandmasters in the larger tiered cities and capitals!

  Lord Chonglu wasn’t accepting guests but Grandmaster Eri was, allowing him to further increase his backing with the nobles and consolidate his control.

  “Send him in in ten minutes.” Eri downed the wine in his hands, his expression turning red with excitement.

  ***

  Erik let out a sigh as he put down the book he was reading and rubbed his tired eyes. “I guess this is how Rugrat felt after reading all of those smithing manuals.” Erik let out a dry laugh.

  “You losing your mind too?” Egbert asked as he walked through the manor, holding a duster and a frock he had found somewhere. The eccentric skeleton was well known to the people of Alva by now.

  It had been a week since they arrived in the dungeon. Construction was still going on but the barracks had been completed and the growing area would be done soon.

  If anything, the original Egbert seemed to be tamer than the current “maid” version.

  “Is there any way I can return a defective skeleton?” Erik muttered to himself.

  “I heard that!” Egbert said, dusting some molding on the manor’s wall.

  Erik felt a new headache coming on as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Reading Alchemy books all day is better
than trying to have a real conversation with him. Erik put the manual back into his storage ring.

  ***

  “Ready for some fresh air?” Rugrat asked Blaze as he and the two parties under his command for this mission checked their gear.

  “Damn right.” Blaze had spent his time working with the villagers to build more structures and carve up new runed roads.

  “You having fun with your new teacher?” Blaze asked Erik, who was to Rugrat’s side, a tired expression on his face.

  “I hate plants,” Erik said, his eyes dull.

  The others grinned and laughed. It was good to see that their leaders were normal people just like them and had their own faults.

  Rugrat snorted and shook his head.

  Chapter: Fall of the Healing Moon House

  Erik and Rugrat’s speed couldn’t be compared to what they’d shown when entering the Beast Mountains Range.

  They were faster than one-hundred-meter sprinters on Earth but they were barely breathing hard as they dodged through the forest. As they approached the area that they had hidden their gear, their speed slowed.

  A bear roared out as Erik and Rugrat ran through its territory. It was too slow to even catch them, but it alerted a pack of hyenas that rushed over, hoping to get some kinds of scraps.

  Rugrat’s arrows cut through the air with a sound of rushing air, taking out three. As Erik landed among them, he threw out two punches, killing the remaining two. These level eight beasts were nothing but obstructions in their eyes.

  Still, they collected the materials, not wanting to waste anything.

  “This seems about right.” Erik looked around the area.

  Rugrat checked his map quickly. “Should be some ammunition underneath this rock.” Rugrat pulled out a shovel and started to dig.

  After a few moments, there was a sound of metal hitting metal.