Brant took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He pointed the two-handed axe in his hands towards the new firefly beetle. “That’s what we are here for. Not too many of them appear on the floor at once. But its drop table is fairly small and the one that we want should be common.”

  The large beetle lumbered over the ground picking between the rocks. Sometimes biting one, other times scratching with its claw. What was it looking for? Richard had witnessed one of the smaller ones eating the hanging moss that was lighting up the tunnels. Did the large beetle in front of him also eat the moss or something else?

  So far the firefly beetle hadn’t noticed the party. “How do we fight it?” Richard asked. “Is there anything I should watch out for?” Please no acid spit. Losing his deposit on the rented equipment would suck. Plus, acid.

  “Don’t stay too close to it, as it will flop over and can pin you. Also beware of getting too close to a wall, as it could rush and try to pin you as well.”

  “So pretty much keep moving then?”

  “Right. Try and land what hits you can, we are the distraction. It’s probably going to be the backlines that finish it off,” Brant said and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.

  “Alright.” Richard felt the thrill of danger for the first time since entering the dungeons. If he encountered two of the medium beetles by himself then there was a chance that he could have been hurt. Though he probably would have run away and not have taken his chances with fighting two of them at once. Only he wasn’t alone. And instead Richard was there with a party, and with their support he didn’t feel any sort of danger with the smaller beetles.

  It was different with the large firefly beetle in front of him… any wrong move on his part could lead to an injury or worse. He was pretty sure that neither Helen or Hughbert were healers. Information like that should have been shared when partying. He also didn’t bother to keep any healing potions. Maybe it would have been better to leave some money on the table for a chance to come back from an injury.

  The leather handle of Richard’s club squeaked from how tightly he gripped it. And when Brant rushed forward he wasn’t far behind. As soon as the two of them were on their way Richard heard a creak as Helen must have knocked an arrow. A snap rang out and the sound of the bow being drawn came before the arrow landed. The first arrow glanced off of the carapace on the firefly’s head before clattering across its back. While the second arrow found a joint between the plates of the neck carapace and the beetle grunted. It turned towards the party, expanded its mandibles, and let out a horrible shriek.

  At the sudden noise Richard stumbled a step before he continued forward. He heard Hughbert chant out a quick aria and felt more than saw a bolt of light whizz past him and impact the firefly’s flank. Brant was in melee a second later before the beetle could recover from the magical impact. He was taking big swings at its legs with his axe. Every time the axe head came into contact with the firefly it would slide off of the carapace. Brant’s attacks were enough to force the beetle to focus on him.

  Richard slammed his club against his buckler. Somewhat to center himself, but also to try and get his adrenaline up. Hiding behind the others wasn’t something that he ever wanted to be accused of. And so he charged in melee. At the very least he wanted to land a hit on it. He felt that he needed to in order to call himself an explorer. To prove his worth to the others.

  The beetle decided to chase after Brant, only its turning speed was slower when compared to how fast it moved forward. Which gave Richard a chance to bash the back leg that was unguarded. There was a crack as the blow landed and a grunt from the firefly. It tried to turn back towards Richard but he had followed Brant’s lead and tried to keep it turning by moving towards the rear of the beetle.

  Another spell impacted the side of the beetle as it was taking turns trying to get Brant or Richard in its mouth. Then the firefly suddenly stopped moving and Brant yelled, “Get back!” as he leaped away from the beetle. Richard was surprised at the sudden command and scrambled to get away in time.

  He felt a push of wind before the ground quaked behind him. And when Richard turned around he found that the beetle had tried to crush him with its bulk and was laying on its side. Seeing a chance with a stationary target Richard wound up and clubbed the beetle right on the top of its carapace and the reverb from the hit just about set the club flying from his hand.

  “It’s alright now,” Brant said. He was sitting against the far wall and waved at Richard. While he looked relaxed there was a bead of sweat running down Brant’s forehead. The sight caused Richard to realize that he was sweating himself. So caught up in the combat he had forgotten to keep track of his own stamina. It had been rather short, but the weight of the tension took a toll.

  Richard took a wide step around the beetle, juuuust in case. And found that a handful of arrows were sticking out of the underside of its neck. Helen must have waited for her moment and then let out a flurry of attacks. A moment later the firefly shone with light and then slowly faded away.

  “What were the drops?” Brant asked as he pushed himself off of the wall.

  Since Richard was the closest he bent down and picked up the two items that he found. One was a Large Black Beetle Carapace, it looked just like the normal ones only it was about the size of a dinner plate. While the other was a Large Black Beetle Bulb. It was about the size of a lacrosse ball and felt firm but soft and pulsed slowly with a liquid dim light.

  Richard extended the drops to Brant. “I don’t think that these are what you are looking for, right?”

  Brant laughed and shook his head. “No. Unfortunately not. Those are the other common drops from that monster. So it looks like we were unlucky. It’s your turn for drops so you can keep both of them.”

  “Ah? Are you sure? Wouldn't one of them go to you?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Brant said and waved him off. “We’ll get the drops from the next one.”

  Richard shrugged, opened his satchel, and placed the large carapace and bulb with the other drops that had received so far. Nothing fancy, just some more carapaces and a lucky stomach. When he closed his satchel he found that Brant was talking with the others a little bit away.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  He took a look at the tunnel they were in and confirmed that nothing seemed to be coming. And while he knew that he shouldn’t get lost in his menus with strangers around, Richard couldn't help it. He only needed to find another 2 items to craft and he could level up Alchemy. And when he opened up the recipe list. There were two new entries, one for Large Black Carapace Vial and another for something called a Flash Potion.

  There was a sound of footsteps and Richard closed the System windows. “So I’ve talked with the others,” Brant said as he stepped close again. “would you be interested in joining our guild? We are always looking for people who know what they are doing. And from what we can see you fit that to a T,” he said with a smile.

  “Ah well,” Richard said and rubbed the back of his neck. “I was just taking it easy for now. But the other day I joined the Crafter’s Union.” He pulled his satchel from his hip and showed Brant the guild emblem that he had secured there the other day.

  “That’s a pity,” Brant said. Though there was something in his voice that caused Richard to look up quickly. “See. We always need crafters. And since you joined the Union you must be one, right? I wonder if you wouldn’t change your mind and come on over?” The smile that was on his face just a moment before was gone. Instead his expression took on a more intense emotion.

  “No. I don’t think so,” Richard said and backed away. “As I said, I’m quite happy with my current situation.”

  “Now. I was asking. Just to be polite. But now I’m telling you to join up with us. Otherwise we might need to get a lot less polite. You know,” Brant said. At some point Helen and Hughbert set up to the sides of Brant, though a few paces behind. The disinterested expression that she always wore was gone. Instead it was replaced with something that could be called a smile only with too much teeth. Hughbert on the other hand had finally stopped smiling. Of the three he was the one that Richard felt the most danger from.

  “Uh, well.” Things had been going so good for Richard. He had managed to find a source of money. Though it wasn't much. And he had also found a fascinating hobby that would make him even more money. All he needed to do was to be careful of others, and yet he had let his greed for an Alchemy level up put him into danger. How was he going to get away?

  Richard considered what he had in his satchel. How would a mana potion help? It wouldn’t. The large vial also wouldn’t help. While making it might unlock another potion it was a random outcome. And in the event that even if it was useful, if he didn’t have the materials on hand it would be a poor move. Then there was the new potion. He called up the recipe to see what it was about.

  “We need an answer,” Brant said, interrupting Richard’s reading. “It’s a lot easier for us if you walk out on your own feet. And please note, that feet are optional for our crafters.”

  Richard sighed. Fight? No. That wouldn't work. Flight? Also nope. They were set up to take shots at him if he moved in a way that they didn’t like. Going with them might as well be suicide. Sure he might not die right away. But he would be a slave to the guild. Probably stuck underground.

  “You-you’re a red guild then.”

  A smile finally returned to Brant’s face. It came from something other than happiness. A darker emotion that wouldn't appear under the light of day. “I’ll leave that up to your imagination.”

  “Guess that I have no choice,” Richard said as he willed the System to create a Black Carapace Vial. It didn’t take a second to be completed.

  “Good. I like to hear that. Now come on over here and we’ll escort you to your new guild. It’s not that bad. If you produce well enough then you might get some time off after 10 or so years.”

  Richard took a step forward. He willed the Flash Potion to be made. It seemed like just the thing that he needed in order to get out of this situation. Once the system popped up with the completed potion Richard pulled it from the window, tossed it towards the floor between them, and covered his eyes with his arm.

  There was a shattering crunch of the beetle carapace vial smashing against the ground. Followed by a blinding flash and the screams of the 3 red guild members. Without looking back Richard ran the way that they came with the hope that monsters hadn’t moved into the path they had already cleared.

  ***

  Alison noticed right away when the cameras went out in the lobby. She had been keeping an eye out for anything that the new guy might do that would lead to him needing to be watched. And when the monitors in the manager's office all turned off at once she knew that something was going down.

  She sneaked out of the office and to the lobby door, which she opened just enough so that she could hear what was going on. As she listened in, her training took over and she fired off a text to Sam. Telling him about how the new guy let people into the dungeon without scanning their IDs.

  If there was one thing that they needed to do as receptionists it was to confirm the people entering and exiting the dungeon. Both so that they knew who was inside at all times. And to tell who had been in longer than expected. Successful rescues were rare enough. But information provided a potent tool for finding missing persons.

  There was also another key point to checking the IDs. Since they were keyed to a person’s mana signature it was possible to keep track of individuals that were wanted. And she had a sinking feeling that the new guy just let in someone that should have been banned and arrested on sight. Probably someone from a red guild.

  Sam finally got back to her. “Okay. I’ll be there asap. I’ll also contact Dungeon Enforcement. So buy some time with Newt, but be sure to not do anything suspicious! It’s important that we catch both him and the ones he let into the dungeon.”

  Alison shook her head. What did he mean by anything suspicious? Her hands were already shaking. Both in rage at the new guy betraying the DC. But also since he probably had ties with red guilds or explorers. If only they could route them out once and for all. If only they didn’t exist.

  She found herself chewing on her finger nails. A habit that should have long since been beaten, stuffed into a garbage bag, and taken to the dump. It took more willpower than she would have liked to stand. She took a moment to smooth out her clothes. Then took a deep breath, opened the door, and stepped into the lobby.

  “Everything alright?” she asked. Newt started when he heard her voice and his head snapped around to stare at her with his eyes wide.

  “No. no. I mean, yes everything is alright. You’re pretty quiet when you want to. Scared me there for a moment,” he said and placed his hand over his heart. Then he broke eye contact and turned back to the monitor. She was glad that he broke eye contact because it was helpful since she didn’t know if she could stand it herself.

  Alison laughed. It sounded hollow and forced to her ears. “I wasn’t trying to scare you. Let me know if there are any problems at all. I know how intimidating it can be to work with some of the explorers. They can be quite rough in their bearing and manners.”

  “Ah,” he said and looked at the entrance to the dungeon. “I haven’t experienced that yet. Everyone has been so welcoming to me since I started.”

  Alison stared at Newt’s back for a moment more, she didn’t trust herself not to make a mistake. He already seemed to be rattled. Before she left Alison reminded him to call her if he had any trouble. There wasn’t any new message from Sam yet. But she sure hoped that they got there before anything bad went down.