By the time we saw the flattened fields of the carbuncle farm in the distance the fuel gauge was dangerously low. It had been chirping at me every few miles warning me I was low on fuel as we pulled down the path. The Oxhouse farm we had been at had been a carbuncle farm, however the fields here seemed to be full of sheep and goats.
As we pulled in we saw what looked to be a woman who seemed to be a half blood dolphin. So while she had a fin, and other features, she also had feet and hands and more. In her hands she seemed to be knitting something, a spool of white wool that could have come from the sheep on the farm was slowly being used. She looked up as we pulled in. As we stepped off, she walked over to greet us.
"Welcome to the Tanis carbuncle farm, are you here for the refuel, or are you here in response to the quest?"
We all turned to look at each other as Jax asked.
"Uh, well we were here for a refuel, but if you have a porcelain quest, we can take a look."
The women nodded as she led us up to her house. It was a simple two-story house, the second floor seemed to be where bedrooms and other locations were as the first floor had a living room with a fireplace, a bathroom, and a large kitchen.
We were led into the kitchen to where our surprise, a door that seemed to lead into a pantry was chained closed. However, what was more surprising was the system message
You have arrived at the entrance of the dungeon
Vault of the Mad mage
Dungeon Stats:
Item Rank:E
Item quantity:4
Dungeon danger:Medium
Total Previous Attempts:0
Attempt Log:
None
Would you like to enter?
YES/NO
We turned to the owner as she nodded.
"It happens every now and then, need the dungeon fully cleared so I can get to my pantry again."
"Who would have thought the second dungeon we find is also at a carbuncle farm."
Liora said putting her hands on her hips.
"It's not surprising, carbuncle farms are made in locations with a lot of ambient Aether because its what makes the gems grow faster, so dungeons form pretty frequently around here in comparison."
We all looked between each other exchanging understanding glances as Selene asked.
"W-What is the reward and penalty for the quest?"
"Its 300+keep what you get in the dungeon for reward, and 300 penalty if you fail because I need my seasoning and food stuffs."
We all nodded understanding that as we all turned to discuss.
"The reward is low, but considering what we get from it, and the low penalty cost, I think its not a bad deal."
Jax said nodding.
"While I can agree to that, let's not rush into things, I want to make a few potions to prepare for our attempt, so we don't run into a poison arrow situation again."
I said turning to Liora.
"I don't know about you all, but a dungeon all about mages means items for a mage, I'm pumped."
"I agree with Aiden, let's do the quest, but wait till tomorrow morning, we still have plenty of time for travel, and it would be another quest down."
Kaelen said turning to Selene and Thalia.
"I-I think it would be nice to complete a dungeon fully."
Selene said nodding
"Plus, even if we fail, the XP would be a lot"
Thalia said crossing her arms.
We turned back as we agreed to do the quest. The rest of the day was somewhat uneventful in comparison of what will be happening tomorrow as we paid the 290 gold for a full refuel, much to my horror, but at least the vehicle had fuel.
Following after that, Jax and the others focused on getting up set up, Ms. Tanis had agreed we could sleep on the living room floor so as they set us up there, I was outside with Thalia making a fire as I laid out different herbs and we flipped trough my recipe book.
Looking to my supplies I had 10 vials of liquid crystal, and with my 73 mana I could make seven more, so a total of 17 different potions. Looking through them, Thalia and I agreed on making 3 different types of potions.
The first is called a potion of diligence, its a potion that makes the consumer alert and almost impossible to sneak up on unless you have stealth skills or items. The plan being to make one for each of us. The second was basic antidotes, having one for each of us, just in case, and lastly the remaining 5 liquid crystal would be used to make healing potions.
Since Thalia had been practicing making healing potions all week, I have her the job of making the 5 healing potions as well as the basic antidote due to its simplistic nature. While she worked on that I worked on the potion of Vigilance, grabbing the 6 cloves of fiveleaves, and the 6 stalks of study leaves. I couldn't do much since Thalia had my mortar and pestle, so I was stuck simply waiting. As I did, I stared at the 6 vials of liquid crystal sitting beside me as I took a moment to open my system and look it over. A measly 3 MP remained of my capacity despite the fact that it would slowly accumulate. The sky was starting to turn dark around us as Thalia behind me continued to grind herbs, taking time to check them over and over again. Inside I could see the others setting up as we worked.
As Thalia began to toss in her components, I found myself laying down on the ground and staring up at the sky. Hey Will, you there? I thought.
"Huh, yea, what's up?"
Will asked seeming surprised I had reached out first. Do you remember back to that Ymer guy, where he said I was dangerous and all, what do you think he meant by that? I thought; Will took a moment to seemingly think before replying.
"Maybe it's because we got grandpa's beard genetics, if you didn't shave for a few days, you would have a beard luscious enough to make dwarves ask for hair care tips, and Ymer didn't seem like the body hair type."
I chuckled a bit as Thalia looked over from where she was simmering the potion before turning back to her work. Yea right, but in all seriousness, what do you think he meant?
"I only know what you know, so I guess the only way to find out is if we discover another fateless."
As Aiden and Thalia sat by the campfire, one laying down, the other starting to bottle the healing potions they had made, there was a sound from a nearby cliff, not one they could hear, but a muffled, choked sound.
A human was kicking and trying to break free of the Iron grip a woman hand on his neck. Her other hand seemed to be taking the form of a large great's words blade, behind her, the corpses of two D rank monsters lay in pieces.
"Y-you bitch, I have a min-max build with everything specked towards beast buffing and even an A rank soul skill, how did you just tear them apart? What's your ID, we were told PC infighting wa-"
The man choked out as he tried to quickly look through his skills for a method to escape. The woman didn't reply silently closing her fist as the man's neck was crushed and his head fell to the ground next to his body.
Behind them another woman ran up, she was slightly on the shorter side with brown hair down to her shoulders and a set of large glasses, if only her face had been seen it would have been a guess as to her gender. She seemed a bit annoyed as she said.
"Damn it, you ruined the pelt on the mammoth, I could have used that for my golems."
As if being summoned a large 12 ft tall metal humanoid with a single red eye leaned down to where the pair stood, the corpse of the massive wooly mammoth being dragged behind it. The woman with the glasses rolled their eyes as they held a handout, the ground suddenly forming into a building that seemed to resemble a supply tent you would see an army use. The golem silently tossed the mammoth inside as it seemed to shrink and fit right in as it moved closer.
The woman with a great sword for a hand flicked her hand to get the blood off as the blade shrank and returned to a human hand, she was tall and muscular with a body covered in scars, with purple hair flowing to her upper back, and a set of cruel yellow eyes. The two women walked over to the edge of the cliff where they were both obscured as well as able to stare down at Aiden and Thalia below.
"To think the fateless even sent a half assed beast tamer assassin after them."
The woman with glasses said shaking her head. Behind her the sound of footsteps had the pair turn to the 21 golems that were working to break down and transport the two D rank monsters. Around them the small drones wandered, some with gun barrels swiveling around the woods to check for enemy's, while other seemed to act like backpacks, guarding the pair from attacks. The girl with glasses walked away to a nearby portal as they turned back to the woman covered in scars.
"You coming, I'm not waiting around for a fateless on fart Shaggy's level, and the golems have already cleaned the scene."
The woman covered in scars turned down to look at the pair below as they said.
"I hope we can meet again sometime in the future, alchemist. May fortune find you."
Before they turned and walked through the portal as the pair left, the clifftop silent and pristine as if nothing had happened.