Chapter 6:Evacuation
“System. Can we track the walrus-man's progress in preparing the mine for demolition?”
System Message: Query accepted. User wishes to generate a quest?
“System: If that's the best way to do so, sure.”
System Message: Acknowledged. Please use the interface below.
Quest Creation Interface:
Quest Type:_________________
Quest Objective(s): _________________
Failure Penalty (ies):_________________
Reward(s):_________________________________
Time Limit (if any): _______________________________
Various sub-menus appear with each field.
“Hmm. This looks rather simple. Why doesn't everyone do this?”
Quest Creation Interface:
Quest Type: Custom, Mandatory.
Quest Objective(s): Mine destruction by placing explosives at key points. Progress: 10/30
Failure Penalty: Death
Rewards: Freedom, restoration of status, restoration of name, restoration to perfect health, removal of all debuffs.
Time Limit: Quest must be completed before Duke Deokk's troops arrive. If the mine is not destroyed by then, all explosives already in the mine will detonate and the mine will be destroyed by The System. Quest recipient will not survive.
XP Cost to user, 5 levels. Create quest? Yes/No.
“And there's the catch. The more difficult and/or rewarding the quest, the higher the cost to the issuer. System, please launch the quest.”
System Message: Quest created and launched. Nameless user, race [Walrus-shaped humanoid] in compliance. Polite tone and queries are appreciated. User Jade is now back at Level 1, stats unchanged, EXP to next level 0/100.
Meanwhile, in the mine...
“Damn it all! I've spent years sucking up to that damned duke and his cronies, just to get into this position, and now I have to tolerate some rabbit-eared bitch getting cheeky with me!”
Mandatory Quest: Custom. Destruction of the mine with explosives, progress 10/30. Check status screen for full details.
“DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!!! What cock did she suck to get the system to give me a mandatory quest?!”
The walrus-man kills another giant vampire bat lured in by his outraged screaming.
You have killed [Giant Vampire Bat]. EXP placed in storage.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Sigh. Might at least see what the quest and its rewards are... OH YOU GOT TO BE SHITTING ME!!! Failure Penalty: DEATH! I didn't think The System was open to bribes... Wait. I've seen this type of quest before, back when I was dungeon crawling. Oh, no. OH! NO! OH HELL NO! The bitch is a gods-damned dungeon boss! And the Traveler she was talking to must be a fucking dungeon core! Alchemist my ass. That old bat has no idea what she dragged me into! None at all! Forget the damned duke! I've got to tell the king, if that blowhard will even believe me! Speaking of the duke, he's got to be investigating the rest of my house by now. Hehehe. Good riddance to them! They never did appreciate me and give me the respect I deserve. Let's get this damn explosives quest completed before she just decides to blow me to kingdom come! Just you wait, rabbit-eared bitch! I'll make you pay for all this, a hundred fold!”
Back at the main entrance gate....
“Alright, everyone's got a backpack with their own camping supplies, we've set up dynamite at every last building in the place, and the gate mechanism has been unlocked. It's time to leave and soon as that walrus-man is done, we're going to blow the joint as all the dynamite's been linked with his mandatory quest! Everyone! We're moving out.”-Alura
The bruised, beaten, and downtrodden slaves follow behind in formation without saying a word.
“Wish we had a map of the surroundings, so we can find a good place to lay low for a while. Staying on the road is suicide, even if we don't run into the duke's troops on the way...”
“Eh? That's not necessary. [System Map] [Local Area].”
A transparent screen with a map of the local area appears in everyone's vision.
“Hmm. Yeah. The mine's cleared the forest around for a good 100 meters radius after the outer edge of the mining complex, so monsters can't sneak up on the place. Well, that's the bare minimum to even be considered marginally competent as a field commander. The road leads north and south. There's a forest with a river to the east and a mountain range to the west, which bumps up right against the mine, and it's steep. What do you think, Jade?”
“The forest and the mountains have their pros and cons. The forest will be easier for our rag-tag group to go to and through, but the same can be said for the duke's men, especially if they're mounted. We'd never outrun them. We'd have to hide and wait until either they give up or they find us, and even with my ability to conjure things out of thin air, literally, I'm not liking our odds.”
“Hmm. And what about the mountains?”
“Sure, the duke's men won't be able to bring their mounts, unless said mounts can fly, but the very same reason will make our progress slow and uncertain, as our footing will be terrible, and there's very little, if any, cover. And we certainly don't have proper climbing gear. We'd have to hope we find a cave, ravine, or some other natural chokepoint where we can mitigate our lack of numbers, or better yet, hide out and lose our pursuers. Whatever the case, we need to choose fast, as our lead, and our odds, are shrinking by the moment.”
“In that case, I'm going with the mountains. I'd rather have a slim chance of outrunning those guys than none. Besides, with your [Analysis], if worst comes to worst, you can make your own cave system, right?”
“Oh. That's a good point. Lead the way then, my Dear Dungeon Boss!”
“Watch your step everyone! We're going into the mountains. Once we find a place to lie low, then we can finally rest and relax.”
With their destination set, Allura, Jade, and the rag-tag, mentally broken refugees began climbing the mountains, long-gone by the time the sun rose hours later, shortly after which arrived the duke's 10,000 man army, just in time to see the mine gloriously implode, the mining camp totally flattened, and one very, very stupid and arrogant walrus-man, climbing out of the rubble.
“Hahaha! I did it! I DID IT! Take that, you rabbit-eared bitch! I did it and it will be your turn next!”- Baron L. Ron Royce
“And what, exactly, did you do, Baron? Destroy the mine yourself?”- Duke Robert Deokk.
“Lord Deokk! I can explain...”-Baron Royce
“Explain what? That you cooked up a hair-brained ploy to hide your treason through faking a Furcadia Commando attack by sending a false distress signal before you sabotaged and destroyed the duchy's biggest and most important mine?!”- Duke Deokk
“My lord! That's not what happened! I was slapped into a POW slave collar, ordered to go into the mine with explosives, and then forced into a system quest by a Dungeon Boss sporting the appearance of a rabbit-ear beast-kin! You have to believe me!”-Baron Royce
“Ridiculous! You're not wearing a POW or any other slave collar, and there's not a mark on your body!”-Duke Deokk
“Wait! I can show you my quest log! That should serve as proof of my story, right?!”- Baron Royce.
The baron had failed to consider that the completion reward for the quest included being returned to perfect health and being freed from slavery, so all evidence of his enslavement was summarily erased, and he hoped to recover by showing his quest log, but he failed to consider that when a quest is completed, the list of rewards, penalties, and even if the quest is voluntary or mandatory, are not normally listed on the completed quest list, merely the nature of the quest and the desired task.
“I can't believe I've been reduced to speaking with a barely sentient beast who outright brags about completing a quest to engage in an act of treason! What were you expecting as a reward? A night with a rabbit-ear beast-kin? Maybe the same one you're fantasizing about?! I know all about your repulsive...proclivities!” says the duke with a contemptuous sneer “No. Don't answer that! I don't want to hear it!”
“Wait! We must inform the king that a Traveler Dungeon Core is on the loose with a Dungeon Boss that looks like a beast-kin!!...”-Baron Royce.
“Oh? You want to meet King Sydonia?! Well that request I will happily grant you. You'll get your audience with him, in chains as you're awaiting His Majesty's judgment for what you've done! We've already sent agents to inspect your house's holdings, and if we find even one more beast pretending to wear human skin like you, not a single man, woman, or child will be allowed to live!” As the baron is slapped into heavy chains and dragged over to be thrown into a cage in a covered wagon prepared for prisoner transport. “Oh. Don't worry, we won't let you die just yet. We are going to be questioning you very, very carefully, and we're not going to use something as unreliable as a slave collar. We've got 'better' ways.”
The baron's eyes go wide with horror as he looks over the duke's shoulder to see a special unit he's very familiar with, as he's seen them in action breaking in several of the more... problematic slaves sent his way. They bear a growling wolf as their crest. They are known far and wide, their name mentioned only in hushed whispers, for fear of drawing their attention. They are the dreaded “Were-wolves” special intelligence division. They are notorious for getting information by any means necessary, and there's no form of torture, physical, mental, emotional, or magical, that they won't hesitate to employ, and they don't even stop when they get the answer they want, or even the answers they need, maybe not even after the intel they get is verified as true.
Their penchant for torture isn't the only thing to fear about them. Each and every one of them is a force of nature in battle, to the point one of them could face an entire army of hardened veterans head-on and come out unscathed. As much as he hated being humiliated by the rabbit-ear beast-kin, he's only now realized that was paradise compared to the alternative he's now facing.
