by J. J. Thorn
“When this isn't possible, running should always be paired with 'hiding'. If possible, hiding is a good option when in a pinch. This could mean climbing a tree, like your classmate mentioned, but this could mean hiding in bushes. Most monsters are not intelligent and will leave you alone if you give them enough reason to. Run far enough, or hide well enough, and you might live to fight another day.
“The last answer is a little more complicated. Most people would indeed stand and fight, but several factors must be considered. We have spent the last two months practicing formations. If you are almost overrun by a horde of monsters, how will you keep your formation? Your Front-Liners will have several monsters attacking them, which means they won't be able to protect the Ranged or Utility. This might not be an issue in some groups, but this would be very bad in most groups.
“Very bad indeed. So, what are some things you might do to make the situation better? You are left without any options and must fight off a horde of monsters. What can you do?"
He paused again before a lone student answered.
"Group up with another team of Dungeoneers."
"Yes, this could work, but it assumes there is a team nearby and that they are willing to help. Dungeoneers can be good people, but humans will try to protect themselves first, above all else. If they see you running towards them with fifty monsters in tow, they may take it as an act of aggression, not a cry for help. But, of course, this could work."
Zane put up his hand. "Find a more defensible position."
"Yes, good, good. You've got fifty monsters coming your way, things aren't looking good. Put your back to a wall or a clump of trees or a body of water, something. Anywhere that makes it possible to see where all the monsters are coming from. Once there, you are at least better positioned to take them on. This will also extend the time you have to think of a better plan as your Front-Liners deal with the first wave of monsters."
He winked at them and waited for the next question.
"What about Skills, Professor Renault? Can't I just throw a bunch of fireballs at the monsters as they come towards me?” It was the red-haired boy, Tanner, who spoke. Unlike Trevor, who also had the FIRE Affinity, he intended to go the traditional fire mage route. “I'll destroy them before they even get to us."
"Skills always come into play, but you must consider that everyone has a different set of Affinities. And more importantly, you are all Rank 1, so we won't be spending much time considering your potential Skills for this exercise. Even then, you have a long way to go before you can destroy fifty dungeon monsters with just your fireballs.
Later on, when you split into your groups, I would recommend discussing how you might incorporate your Affinity and Skills. Still, please be wary in thinking Skills will solve every issue. If you have been blasting fireballs for hours already, you might have depleted all of your Energy. At that point, your Skills might be the last thing on your mind. You need to be prepared for situations where your Skills cannot help you.”
He clapped his hands. “Okay, let's get another emergency."
"Roaming Alpha."
"Lost."
"Low on food or resources."
"Dungeon Collapse."
"A Dungeon Reset before you get to the exit."
"Injured teammate."
Over the next hour and a half, we went through a plethora of potential emergency situations. I made sure to furiously take notes throughout it all.
After "Low on food or resources", I came to realize how many things could go wrong while inside a Dungeon. Mom and Dad had always told me how dangerous it was but never really explained it. The monsters were an issue, sure, but the fact that you could starve wasn't even something I had thought of.
And when we started talking about Dungeons themselves, I realized I needed to do a lot more research. The term 'Dungeon Collapse' and 'Dungeon Reset' had come up before in passing, but they weren't too clear. I decided to spend this Wednesday researching some of the things I'd heard, assuming I didn't get too many assignments from this class or Monster Behaviour.
The professor told us to get into our groups. We were now up to facing two different Ottis dogs as part of our formation training.
"As a note, in our last month of class, we will start using weapons in your formations. You have one more month to perfect your formations without them, so keep practicing! For next week, I want you to consider what weapon you would like to use. I'll walk around during your formations but have a good week if we don't speak."
Professor Renault dismissed the class as he started to summon all of his dogs. The number seemed to increase weekly as each group received more dogs to (play) train with.
We stood up and found a position on the mats and started to practice.
We often moved around our roles, trying each one out as we considered what we would do if ever placed in that position for real. We were now against two Ottis for each group. Throughout, the Ottis would try to bypass the Front-Liner, making their way to the 'weaker' people in the back.
As soon as we got the second Ottis, we realized we needed to develop better names for the two. It turned into a heated debate, but we eventually came up with a name most were happy with.
It had been Cassie who came up with the first dog's name. She had been joking one day and had offhandedly thrown out a name she thought would be stupid. She hadn't been serious, but Zane and Britta had seen their opportunity to pick something she would hate as a joke. With their insistence, the name grew on Jen and me, so we stuck with it.
'Stinky' had been the name we chose for the first Ottis. Ironically, each of the Ottis only smelled like ink or lead, but the name stuck. The second Ottis was smaller and had a pink bow on its head. For that reason, we called the second 'Pinky' to remain consistent.
For the rest of the class, we discussed what we'd heard and practiced our formations as Stinky and Pinky tried to knock us off balance.
Chapter 2 – Potions
"Zane, can I ask you a question?"
The class had just finished, and I was walking to the Dining hall with Zane and the rest of the girls. We didn't always eat after class, but it was also an excellent place to hang out...and we were hungry. Being an Affinity user really took a lot out of you.
Dungeoneering class wasn't the most physically exhausting thing we did in the week, but it could still be pretty physical.
Our coordination had improved considerably from when we first started. Still, we still managed to bump into each other every now and then.
"Of course. What's up?" Zane was walking beside me; the girls started to walk a bit ahead of us. He leaned closer. "Are you finally ready to talk about you and Jen? You know we can always talk about that back at the dorm."
I pushed him away. His remarks about Jen and me were constant nowadays.
"No, Zane. This is about Dungeoneering class. You know, the class we just came out of that helps us become Dungeoneers...You know, the thing I have thought about since I was a little kid...that class."
"Okay, I get it. All good. So, what are you wondering about this time? That was a good class today. A lot of things to consider besides just the monsters."
"Well, that's exactly it. We learned so much, and I heard a few things that I was hoping you could help me out with. First off, what's an Inventory Satchel? The professor mentioned it in passing like everyone knew about it, but I don't think I've ever heard it mentioned."
"Really? I guess they are pretty expensive. My dad gave one to all of my siblings when they got their Affinity. Figures, that's another thing I missed out on..." Zane's words trailed off as he mentioned his father.
"Sorry, Zane, I didn't mean to bring up your dad."
Zane had some nights where he would still get a look of concentration and sadness on his face. I still couldn't get him to talk about it, but I'd usually see what he was reading.
The books would usually be about other Dungeoneers who had the IDENTIFY Affinity. He would read books that were both ficti
on and non-fiction, but most of them were related to that. I had asked him about it a couple of times, but he just brushed it off as research.
"Oh, don't worry about it. Stewart Teller and my siblings don't matter right now. Now, Inventory Satchels are actually pretty ubiquitous in the world. If you're a wealthy Dungeoneer, you'll have one, but to be honest, most try to get one with their team. Farmers, Merchants, Shopkeepers, everyone tries to get their hands on one. It makes Dungeoneering, and everything else, a lot easier. Because of that, they end up being really expensive. We're talking up to two hundred gold for a simple Inventory Satchel. And that's disregarding the higher quality ones.”
He took a massive breath. “The purpose of an Inventory Satchel, or what people sometimes call an inventory, is that you can store stuff in another place. Some call it a pocket dimension, but I don't know enough about that. Either way, like everything else, there are different types of Inventory Satchels. Some only let you hold a few things, while some could probably keep as much as a medium-sized house. What you can store inside also changes. Some can hold organic matter for a period of time, while some can't at all. Because of how useful they can be for basically anyone, they end up being one of the most sought after enchanted items on the continent."
"There's that ‘enchanted’ thing again,” I said, a little flustered at the constant stream of new information. “I keep hearing about enchanted this or enchanted that. None of the classes seem to talk about what that means."
"That's because they're trying to tell you about it slowly. If they sat us down for a week straight and took us through a crash course of 'here's the world and anything in it', and you'd probably forget it all. It's just not logical. Instead, you slowly learn these things, you’re given time to process them, and then you can learn something new. And in between, you get to do other stuff, like training your body and your Affinity.”
He gave a small shrug. “It's what my tutors used to do. You need to switch it up, otherwise, your mind gets either bored or overstressed."
"Okay, that makes sense. It is a lot of stuff. So where can I get one of these Inventory Satchels?"
"We actually passed a few shops that sold them back in town. A town like Krader is a great place to sell inventories. Everyone going into the Dungeon will want one. Beyond that, you have a bunch of Affinity users who might actually be able to afford one since they're so close to a Dungeon. I bet if we asked Jen or Britta, their parents would likely have one."
"But then, doesn't that mean that anyone could get one?"
"I think you're underestimating how well both of their parents do. I think you should talk to Jen about her family one of these days. You'll probably be a bit shocked."
Jen and I had spent a lot of time together, but we hadn't discussed our families very much. I knew they sold light-enchanted items across the continent, but other than that, I didn't know very much.
"Okay, moving on. Then back to the enchanting. What's stopping me from creating an Inventory Satchel myself?"
"Any good merchant would tell you it's all about time and money. First off, you're not taking any classes that would even get you started down the path to crafting or enchanting. Secondly, creating anything takes a lot of time. Britta's dad sells all of his monster parts because he recognizes he won't be able to work with them himself. I can't tell you about the specifics, but creating one Satchel, or any kind of crafted good, takes a lot of time.
“My Dad used to spend ages looking for good crafters so he could pay them to work for him exclusively. If you buy off the crafter directly, you own everything he creates. If you buy off a whole town of crafters, you own the market, and you can basically choose how much to sell those products for. My dad was a cruel ass, but he was also a smart businessman.
“But he also has what a lot of people don't. Money. He wasn't always buying out entire towns of crafters. He worked his way up. But eventually, that money allowed him to build the empire he has today, without having to do any of the crafting himself."
"You've not talked about him a lot in the past, but he really does sound like he knew what he was doing."
"Don't get too impressed. He wasn't a good man. He would force those crafters to work for him. If you didn't work with him and were looking to undercut him in any way, you might find yourself harassed by his local muscle. Or raided by bandits one too many times on your way between towns. Plus, he would always go to other continents to 'procure' cheap labour. Stewart Teller was a smart man, but once again, he was not a good person."
Damn. Slave labour, bandits, and intimidation.
And Zane was taught all of this stuff.
I'm happy he turned into such a nice person. In another life, I bet he would have been smart enough to continue those things and do them really well. I wanted to ask him how his siblings turned out, but I didn’t think it was a good time.
We were almost at the Dining hall, and I knew we didn't have much time because we had to re-join the group.
"Okay, so unless I become rich, I have no chance of getting an Inventory Satchel?"
"Well, you've already got close to three gold back in the dorm. If you rationed that out, you could probably last a year pretty comfortably. Maybe not in Krader, but in Huag for sure. And you could always steal someone else's Inventory Satchel. It is a physical thing. You'd even get everything that's inside."
"Zane, you know I'm not stealing anything."
"Yes, yes, I know. Well, there's also one last option. Dungeons. You always hear people talk about the treasures you can find in a Dungeon, and an Inventory Satchel is one of them. It's super rare, but it happens."
"That's true. The professor did mention that a few times. I didn't think much of it because he said it was unlikely."
"I wouldn't get your hopes up on that. The lower-Ranking Dungeons don't usually have much in the way of treasure, but who knows. Now, let's go catch up with the girls. I think they're about to sit beside Trevor and Noah."
Zane started to walk a little faster.
"What's the hurry? It's not like they won't save us a spot."
"Sure, but I think Trevor has a thing for Cassie as well. You may not want to put in any effort with Jen, but that doesn't mean I won't."
All I could do was laugh as Zane sped towards the line for food.
* * * * *
I got my own food and joined them. Zane's face told it all as he and I were placed at the end of the table. Trevor, Cassie, Jen, and I went on one side, while the other side had Noah, Ron, Britta, and then Zane.
As soon as I joined the conversation, Noah stopped everything and announced that he had something to say.
"Oh, Goddess, man,” Trevor groaned. “Why do you have to make it such a big deal?"
"Don't be a spoilsport,” Ron said. “Let him tell them his way."
"Tell us what?" Jen said.
"Well, we've been here a few months, and remember how I told you I was trying to learn cooking and alchemy? I think I finally made my decision. I know what I'm going to focus on when I finish at Prep!" Noah beamed at us all.
"That's great, Noah!"
"Congrats!"
"Good going, man!"
We all echoed around the table.
"Thanks, everyone. It was a hard decision, but this last week I just couldn't think about anything else."
"So, what did you decide on?” Britta asked. “Please tell me it's cooking. I'd love to have a friend that could make me an amazing meal whenever I wanted."
"You always said you liked my cooking when you came over!" Cassie exclaimed.
"I do, but imagine what you could do with an Affinity.? And with FLAME at that? I bet you could continue cooking the food as it came to the person's table."
"Mom and Dad would've liked that,” Noah admitted. “But I actually decided to do Alchemy! I just couldn't stop thinking about all the cool things I could make if I learned to do it properly. Every potion that gets made uses flame at some point in the process. My FLAME Affinity is going to gi
ve me a leg up against everyone else." Noah's voice was infectious as he described how his FLAME Affinity would help him create potions.
As he went on, I kept thinking that I'd never seen or heard about potions. Like, why would they even be helpful? We just had a class on emergency measures, and I think potions came up once, maybe twice.
"But are you sure Alchemy is the right path? I can understand cooking, there are restaurants everywhere, but why would you want to create potions?"
Noah stopped and looked at me. Everyone else looked a little startled as well.
"What? Did I ask something stupid?"
Maybe Zane was right. I might be a hick. I really need to work on some of my social niceties.
Jen was the first to console me. "Not stupid, Ren. I think we just all forget how little you've learned about stuff like that. Like your parents didn't really talk to you about Dungeoneering at all. It's a wonder you still wanted to get into it so much."
"I definitely didn't learn about all these things, but that doesn't mean they didn't teach me anything. I just learned about other things. Like math, reading, writing, how to open a business, and regular kid things. They didn't want us talking about Dungeons too much because of my dad. They knew how much I liked the idea of it, so they just avoided the conversation as much as possible. They were actually pretty happy when I started to focus on working out so much. They knew what it was for, but it gave me a new outlet for my thoughts.”
The others stayed quiet, so I kept on talking. “I was pretty sheltered, but they were also the best parents I could have ever asked for."
I really should respond to that letter I got over the weekend. My parents had written back to a letter I sent a few weeks ago. It had taken me some time to figure it out, but sending letters was reasonably straightforward.
"And when I went on my Arma-Hunt with Uncle Tom, he didn’t have any potions."