To Randidly’s dismay, when he returned to the cabin and the field, the punk kid was not alone. He was facing off against an asian girl who looked to be around 17, and a chubby looking teen standing next to her. Those two were both glowering at the punk.
“Back off Tera.” The punk spat. “This is me and my buddy’s spot. We will kick your ass if you hang around.”
Tera, the girl, snorted. “Oh please. I saw you steal that claw off a dead wolverine. You probably haven’t even figured out skill levels and path points yet, huh? You little pussy.”
“Fucking bitch…!” The punk said, spitting at the ground and getting red faced.
At around that moment, the three teens noticed Randidly standing there. He supposed, from the way their eyes widened, he struck quite a figure, standing with a spear in his hand, looking completely pristine.
But his weapon was soaked in blood.
Randidly coughed quietly, and walked past the group, sitting back in the spot among his fields. The punk kid hurried over pleased, but Randidly hissed at him, noticing his path.
“Wait.” Randidly said, and then got up and drew lines in the ground with the butt of his spear around the spots where his seeds were planted. The punk kid stumbled back out of the way. “Don’t walk here.”
Then he placed his spear back into his bag and sat down in his spot. Only then did he noticed the shocked looks they were giving him. Ah, the satchel.
He studiously closed his eyes and ignored them. Tera and her follower were engaged in a heated whisper discussion, and the punk kid was loitering around Randidly, looking unbelievably smug for someone who had just gotten yelled at for walking.
Sighing, Randidly slipped back into meditation and root manipulation, while simultaneously activating Iron Skin. Raising skill, he had discovered, was about difficulty, and the stress, but it was also about familiarity and control. Even if the skill level didn’t necessarily improve, just increasing the usage efficiency would…
“Hey.”
The girl spoke, interrupting Randidly’s train of thought. He opened his eyes and glared at her, which caused her to stumble as she approached, but then her mouth firmed into a line and she walked forward.
“Hey, you. You are strong. How did you do it?”
Randidly inwardly sighed, but the punk answered for him?
“Heh, you want to talk to one of my minions? You will need to go through me first. And make sure you don’t walk on our spots.” The punk kid puffed up self importantly, gesturing to the areas Randidly had outlined on the ground.
Tera just gave him a look. “...You must be joking. You are saying that YOU are in charge? You pissed your bed until you were-”
“No, he is. Talk to him.” Randidly said, feeling suddenly inspired. Leaving now would be annoying, because it would waste all of his seeds. But continually interacting with people who came to him would also be tiring. Having this punk stay here and hold the base while Randidly searched for rare mobs would kill two birds with one stone.
At Randidly’s words, the punk kid chuckled coolly. “As I said, I Dusk, am the boss around here.”
Tera rolled her eyes. “What the fuck is that Dusk shit, Donny? Anyways, why is he so strong?”
Donny, turned to Randidly. “You heard her, why are you so strong?”
A vein in Randidly’s temple began to throb.
****
Randidly briefly explained skill points, PP, and paths to them, as well as that obtaining a class would make them more powerful. Then he informed them that they couldn’t get a class until they founded a Newbie Town, and the only way to do that was to defeat certain monsters.
In this regard, Randidly finally was rewarded with good news. The chubby teen, imaginatively named Chubbs, said he had seen a huge group of goblins farther east, away from the city, a little bit north from where they were now.
Donny then imperiously told Randidly to go get the item for the town the next morning, so he could discover what great class he was meant to have.
What was annoying was that was exactly Randidly’s plan, so he remained silent. Pleased, Donny called dibs on the cabin and went inside to sleep, while Tera and Chubbs brought out a backpack and produced a small tent and sleeping bags from inside. The sun was yet to set, but they all seemed so dead tired that it didn’t matter.
But before she laid down, Tera came over to Randidly. “Should we… take turns keeping watch or something, like in the movies?”
Randidly considered this. Then shook his head. “No, for tonight, I will be sufficient.”
Giving him a weird look, Tera walked away. And honestly, Randidly thought it would definitely be fine. He had apparently grossly underestimated the time passage of time in the dungeon. He had come out several hours later than he had calculated, and the only way to make up that time was to assume that days were longer than he believed. Almost double as long. Staying up a night or two would cause him no trouble.
Just as the sun was setting, another event occurred; a familiar looking pickup truck drove down the dirt track to near their position. After turning off the engine, the old man got out of the truck and walked over to Randidly.
They stood there for a few minutes, just looking at the nearby fields. Chubbs, who had been kicked out of the tent by Tera, looked on curiously.
“Not many monsters to be seen on the way over.” The man commented.
Randidly nodded, his mouth curling up in a grin. “If they want to die… let them come.”
Seemingly satisfied, the man turned and headed back to his truck.