Rise of the Living Forge-Chapter 435: Clear
The Menagerie took a few minutes to compose themselves after the events of the fight. A portal to the entrance of the dungeon had already appeared at the back of the room, but there was no reason for them to rush leaving.
“What kind of class did you get?” Olive asked. “I’m really curious. I mean, I’ve got a few ideas as to what it might be, but I’d rather hear it from you.”
It was a moment before Thane responded to her. He’d spent the last few minutes staring at the air before him in mute awe, presumably reading the information about his newly acquired class. Arwin didn’t blame him.
Actually managing to wrangle a class out of an Expert Ranked Dungeon was straight up ludicrous. That went doubly so when Thane had walked into the dungeon fully expecting to die. He was probably having some of the biggest whiplash of his life.
“It’s… not something I’ve read about before,” Thane muttered. “I’ve read up on all the adventurer classes I could. There are way more than anyone could ever research, but I thought I kind of had a pretty good idea on what the general types were. But this doesn’t fit at all. It doesn’t even seem like a class.”
“What is it?” Arwin asked, his own interest piqued.
“Combat Archivist,” Thane replied, still reading over the words before him. “It came with one passive skill. One that lets me learn more about a magical item or monster’s properties the more time I spent studying them. It… doesn’t really seem like something meant for combat.”
Arwin’s head tilted to the side. “Are you kidding? Did you not see how effective you were in a fight? Let me tell you something right now. It doesn’t matter how hard you can hit something. Do you know what determines how a fight goes, Thane?”
The boy shook his head. “No.”
“Information,” Arwin said. “The person that knows more controls the fight. Sheer power means absolutely nothing if you don’t something to direct it. That is a very promising class. And combat is in the name. I’d wager that you’re going to get some pretty useful abilities pretty soon.”
“I — yeah. You’re right.” Thane swallowed, a mixture of nervousness and excitement playing across his features. “I can’t believe it. I actually have a class. An adventuring one. I’m just not sure my family will see it that way.”
Arwin’s lips thinned. “That’s not going to fly.”
Thane’s brow furrowed. “What?”
“This,” Arwin replied, poking Thane in the chest. “The person coming out of this dungeon cannot be the same one that went in, Thane. You have power now. Power that most people will never have — and power that they will try to control. You must not allow that to happen. Never forget this. Even if you’re nothing but the sword that someone else wields, it is still your blade that bears the blood.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“Arwin means you’re responsible for yourself now. You aren’t a kid anymore,” Anna said gently. “The moment you got a class, that part of your life ended. Your family cannot use you. Because, if you let them, something tells me that your power will be turned to something you don’t like much at all. And you’ll have to live with that, Thane. Nothing will change it.”
Thane looked from Arwin to Anna nervously. Olive nodded alongside them.
“They’re right. Learn from our mistakes,” Olive said. “Every single one of us has things we regret. And I think foremost among them was not taking control of our own lives sooner. You’ve got a chance to make something huge of yourself. Don’t waste it by being your parents’ or brother’s tool.”
“Then what am I supposed to do? I’m not in line for the throne. This is my job,” Thane said, his words uncertain. “My job is to help them.”
“Do they pay you?” Arwin let out a snort. “Your job is to live, Thane. That’s it. Nobody can tell you how. Not them. Not us. Just make sure whatever choices you make are your own. And, if you feel the need, come find us again. The Menagerie will welcome someone with your abilities.”
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Thane’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “You’d recruit me? But I’m only an Apprentice 1!”
“For now,” Arwin replied with a chuckle. “There are things far more valuable than the power you currently have. But I’m not recruiting you now. You can decide what you want yourself. But, if I were you, I’d hide the extent of what your class can do from your parents. And hey, if you swing by, I’ll introduce you to a few people that might have some good insights for your class.”
Something tells me both Art and Rodrick would be more than interested in getting to know more about Thane’s class. They could probably all learn from each other.
Thane didn’t respond to Arwin’s offer. That was good. It meant he was actually thinking things through. Nobody was going to turn on a dime and abandon their family after spending their whole life thinking it was their job to serve them.
But the seeds had been planted. Thane was inquisitive and intelligent enough to water them. In time, whether it was a few days or weeks or months, the scales would fall off his eyes and he’d know exactly what worth a family that would throw him away for just a little fame truly had.
Something told Arwin that things would be on the shorter side of that spectrum.
He clapped Thane on the shoulder, then turned back to the pink lake in the center of the room and jerked his chin toward it. “Let’s get a move on. No reason to sit around in here forever. People might think we got killed. Olive, care to help me out? There’s some treasure at the bottom of that lake that I don’t plan to leave without. And Anna—”
“I’ll gather up all the monster bits we gathered during the run,” Anna said with a nod. “You’ll have to help me and Olive carry them, though. There are a lot. Especially if you plan to bring the boss with you.”
“I’ll cut the important bits off after I’m done here,” Arwin said with a nod. He and Olive made their way over to the edge of the lake, where Arwin activated [Dragon’s Greed] once more. A strand of energy connected to his navel, pulling down at an angle into the depths of the pink liquid.
Olive crouched near the edge of the lake and gingerly poked it with the tip of a wooden finger. She pulled her hand back quickly and squinted at it, waiting to see if it had sustained any damage. The swordswoman shook her head a moment later.
“All good. Looks like it only really got the webs… though I wouldn’t stick my arm in here for long.”
“It won’t take long,” Arwin replied. He pointed in the direction that his magic indicated. “There’s something right in that direction. Bottom of the lake. A way’s down. Can you—”
Olive grinned. Wood creaked as her cursed arm elongated, reaching deep into the lake like a striking eagle breaking through the surface of the water. Pink liquid rippled around the arm as Olive stuck the tip of her tongue out of her mouth in concentration.
“I don’t — Op! There it is.”
She pulled her arm back, moving slowly to avoid splattering the corrosive liquid everywhere. When it broke free of the surface of the water, a rusted old circlet was clutched in her grip. What looked to have once been gemstones studded it. They were long since covered by a deep crimson-brown patina. Spikes and misshapen bulges of rust covered the circlet.
It looked, for lack of a better word, like a piece of trash.
Arwin and Olive both gave it a critical look.
“I think I missed,” Olive said.
Arwin shook his head. [Dragon’s Greed] was still active, and it was pointing right at her. “No. That was it. Apparently.”
“It’s not even magical.”
“I think the rust is so thick that it’s concealed,” Arwin said with a chuckle. “Interesting. Well, we’ll see later. No point messing with it here. Let’s get a move on, shall we?”
Olive shook the last droplets of her arm, which almost appeared hydrophobic. Everything sloughed off its sleek black surface and left it completely spotless. Then the two of them headed over to carve up the dead boss monster and get on their way.
About thirty minutes later, the group was on the move once more. All four of them walked with monster bits and the spoils of their war piled into their arms and stuffed into their bags.
They then strode right into the awaiting portal, which deposited them at the very start of the cave, in the same spot they’d arrived in just a short while ago.
The portal that Thane’s guard had created still twisted at the far end of the room in wait. It was joined by the same guard that they’d seen before, but his bored nonchalance was nowhere to be seen.
His eyes were huge in disbelief. The man stood before the pitch-black obelisk, staring at the new name carved in golden letters at its very peak.
The Menagerie
Arwin shifted the pile of monster parts to one arm, letting the others take the lead as they strode into the waiting portal that would take them back to Milten.
He clapped the stunned guard on the shoulder.
“Pleasure doing business with you,” Arwin said with a grin. “Send the Blacktongue Family Ifrit’s regards — and let them know their son has his class.”
Then he strode through the portal and left the baffled man standing there without so much as a chance to respond.
After all, there was nothing he could say.
The Expert Rank Dungeon had been cleared.frёeωebɳovel.com
