Chapter 76: Deep Quarry
The Deep Quarry stretched out before them.
Team Soup stood at the crater’s edge, looking down into a massive bowl of jagged rock and glittering crystal. The walls sloped downward at a steep angle, covered in sharp mineral formations that caught the afternoon light and made little rainbows everywhere. The bottom was hidden in shadow, at least two hundred feet below.
"Okay," Renna said, peering over the edge. "That’s more terrifying than I expected."
"The crystalline composition suggests high mineral density," Emric observed, already analyzing. "The reflections will make visual tracking difficult. We should rely on sound and movement indicators rather than sight alone."
Lyra adjusted her grip on her spear. "The crystals will also conduct frost energy efficiently. If we need to create a defensive perimeter, this terrain favors me."
Holden took the lead, starting down the sloping path carved into the quarry wall. "Stay tight. The gorilla isn’t the only thing down here. Rock-Hounds live in the crystal piles. They’re territorial and they hunt in packs."
"Rock-Hounds?" Renna asked.
"Dog-like creatures with stone-plated hides. Rank 1, but they hit fast and hard."
The descent took ten minutes. The path switchbacked down through layers of exposed rock, each turn revealing more crystal clusters. Some were small, growing out of the walls like frozen flowers. Others were massive, jutting from the ground in pillars taller than people.
Lyra fell into step beside Holden. She glanced at him, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing. It’s just nice to be here. Fighting with you again."
"Technically you’re fighting with all of us."
"You know what I mean."
He did. He smiled back, just slightly.
They reached the quarry floor. The space was enormous, a natural arena of crystal and stone. Shadows pooled between the mineral pillars.
"Spread out a little," Holden ordered. "Emric, front left. Lyra, front right. Renna, stay behind us with a clear line of sight. If anything charges, you light it up."
"Got it!" Renna nocked a storm-arrow and scanned the crystal field.
They moved forward in formation. Emric had his new shield raised at the corrected thirty-five degree angle, his feet positioned with the adjusted spacing Maeve had recommended. He looked more confident already.
They made it fifty feet before the first Rock-Hound attacked.
Crash!
It burst from behind a crystal pillar, a four-legged beast the size of a large dog. Its body was covered in overlapping stone plates that clattered as it moved. Its jaws were wide enough to bite through a human’s arm.
Three more followed immediately. Then three more. The pack spread out in a loose semicircle, cutting off the retreat path.
"Six contacts!" Emric called out. "Standard pincer formation!"
"Emric, hold the center!" Holden didn’t draw his sword. He stepped back instead, giving his team room to work. "Lyra, left flank! Renna, pick your targets!"
The first hound lunged at Emric.
Thwack!
It slammed into his shield. The impact was heavy, enough to send a normal Rank 1 fighter stumbling backward. But the kinetic-absorption runes flared blue, eating the force like a sponge. Emric didn’t move an inch.
"Incredible!" he breathed. "The dispersion is virtually perfect!"
He bashed the hound sideways with a shield slam, sending it crashing into a crystal pillar.
Lyra moved on the left. Her spear thrust forward, frost energy trailing behind it like a comet tail. She didn’t pull back early this time. The spear drove deep into a hound’s shoulder, and she followed through with a sharp twist that sent ice spreading through the creature’s stone plates.
Crack!
The frozen hound shattered into pieces.
Renna’s bow sang.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Her storm-arrows punched through crystal and stone easily, the electrical charge arcing between targets. Two hounds went down screaming, the lightning cooking them from the inside out.
The remaining three hounds hesitated. Their pack coordination collapsed. One tried to flee.
Lyra caught it with a frost lance through the hind leg. Emric crushed the last one’s skull with a downward shield bash.
The whole fight lasted maybe twenty seconds.
Renna stared at her smoking bow. "Oh my gods. These arrows are insane. The lightning just jumps between them!"
"Your release timing was perfect," Emric said, sounding genuinely impressed. "You maintained your balance throughout."
"I listened to Maeve’s advice. Seven inches back. It felt weird at first but then it just clicked."
Holden nodded. "Good work. But that was the warmup."
The ground shook.
Crash!
A section of the quarry wall exploded inward as something massive tore through the crystal formations. Boulders the size of cars went flying. Crystal shards rained down across the floor.
The Obsidian-Back Gorilla stepped into view.
It was enormous. It stood eight feet tall, with arms thicker than tree trunks. Its entire back was covered in a shell of black obsidian that gleamed like dark glass. Its eyes burned with dull orange light. When it opened its mouth to roar, the sound vibrated in Holden’s chest.
"Flash it now, Renna!"
Renna didn’t hesitate. She grabbed a specially marked arrow from her quiver, one with a bulbous tip packed with alchemical powder, and fired it directly at the gorilla’s face.
BANG!
The arrow burst into blinding white light. The gorilla screamed and staggered backward, clawing at its eyes. Its left side was completely blind now, just like Maeve had predicted from the beast’s anatomical profile.
"Lyra, legs! Emric, right side!"
Lyra thrust both hands forward. A wave of frost raced across the ground and locked the gorilla’s feet in solid ice. The creature roared and strained, but the crystalline terrain conducted her energy perfectly. The ice held.
Emric charged in from the right, with his shield raised. He slammed into its flank with all his weight, throwing it off balance as it struggled against the frost.
The gorilla’s blind left side was completely exposed.
Holden moved.
He focused and brought out his Star-Forged Sword from his system invntory. In one fluid motion, he drew it and leaped into the gorilla’s blind spot. The sword came up in a clean horizontal arc.
Swish.
The sword sliced through the gorilla’s neck with zero resistance. The hard obsidian, the muscle, and even the bone offered no protection.
The massive head slid off the shoulders.
Thud!
The body crashed forward into the ice. The head rolled to a stop against a crystal pillar.
[Ding!]
[6 Rank 1 Rock-Hounds Defeated! Base 300 KP. 2x Booster: +600 KP!]
[1 B-Rank Mutated Obsidian-Back Gorilla Defeated! Base 500 KP. 2x Booster: +1,000 KP!]
[Team Coordination Bonus: +200 KP!]
[Total: +1,800 KP]
[Current Balance: 33,590 KP]
"Not bad for a first B-Rank."
The desk instructor stared at the massive obsidian core sitting on his counter.
It was the size of a watermelon, black and gleaming, radiating faint heat. Four freshmen stood in front of him, covered in crystal dust and monster blood, looking tired but triumphant.
"You’re kidding me," he said flatly.
"All four of us," Holden confirmed. "Team effort."
"You cleared a B-Rank bounty. As freshmen."
"That’s what the stamp says."
The instructor looked at each of them in turn. Renna was bouncing on her heels. Emric was examining his shield for scratches. Lyra stood with quiet dignity. Holden just looked bored.
The old man shook his head slowly. Then he counted out their reward credits and slid the chips across the counter.
"Five thousand credits. Don’t spend it all in one place."
He leaned back in his chair and smirked. There was something amused in his expression. Something like anticipation.
"If you kids think you’re tough," he said, "you picked the perfect time to show off. Look up."
Holden followed his gaze.
The massive holographic screen that dominated the main hall’s ceiling was flashing red. Bold text scrolled across it in letters tall enough to read from anywhere in the building.
YEAR-END BORDERLANDS EXPEDITION
ALL FRESHMEN REQUIRED
SURVIVAL DURATION: ONE MONTH
GRADUATION REQUIREMENT: MANDATORY
DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Holden’s expression went flat.
One month in the untamed wilderness. One month away from the Prime Zone. One month away from Maeve.