The following day I woke up to the smell of something incredible. I hadn’t smelled food so good in months. Not since I used to walk past the markets in some of the wealthier districts where chefs would be hard at work serving a full line of lunchtime customers.

  Honestly, it smelled so good that it took multiple breaths of smoggy air for me to realise I was still in the rift at all.

  I shambled from a tent beside our camp, wiping sleep from my eyes, stumbling through the flaps and finding that Ceri had two pans over the fire and a steaming pot to one side, and she seemed to be in the process of cooking up something spectacular.

  Maisie was helping her, chopping things over a log and passing ingredients to Ceri.

  It was about the first time I’d seen the two of them ever work together on anything. I had to blink a couple of times to understand the fact that they were cooking together, and further to that was the realisation of just how much food they’d procured for this meal.

  There was butter, fatty rinds of bacon, large eggs, thick loaves of bread, a head of cabbage, multiple carrots, red and white onions, a line of sausages, large, full tomatoes, potatoes that Maisie peeled with a knife, and a couple of vegetables I couldn’t even name.

  “This all looks…”

  “Extortionate?” Ceri said, fanning a pan over the flames as she spoke. “Because it was.”

  “I was gonna say delicious.”

  “Well, that too,” she shrugged. “We all pitched in. Figured everyone deserved a treat after yesterday. We were gonna let you sleep until everything was ready.”

  “Well, I’m up now,” I said, rubbing my eyes as I walked up to the pot, a steaming broth hitting my nose as I stared down at the contents. “Want me to help out?”

  “No,” Maisie said. “You’re forbidden. Sit down and prepare to be served a feast.”

  I tried arguing. I felt fine and was happy contributing to meal prep, but no one would hear a word of it. I was to sit and relax.

  Which… wasn’t really something I was used to doing. I ended up playing with my [Flame Body]’s mana just to pass the time, as well as looking over my recent skill increases:

  [Intimidation: 6 >> 8.]

  [Persuasion: 8 >> 9.]

  [Sleight of Hand: 7 >> 8.]

  [Pain Tolerance: 5 >> 8.]

  I didn’t fail to notice that my stunt yesterday had done a lot for me in the skill department. It led me to wonder if I really was an intimidating person. For me, the actions I’d taken had felt natural.

  Were they?

  “Whose idea was all this?” I finally asked, after having received a couple of questions about how I was. I was fine. I didn’t know why people kept asking.

  “It was my idea,” Maisie said. “I wanted to pay everyone back for defending me yesterday. It was more than I really deserved.”

  “And then she asked me to cook it because she didn’t wanna make everyone sick,” Ceri beamed, flipping the pan as she spoke. “I’m a gracious queen, so naturally, I obliged.”

  “I thought you were a princess,” Jackal called out.

  “Eh, same difference.”

  People talked and bantered and eventually a bowl of soup was shoved into my lap. I was given a spoon and some buttered bread to have with it.

  “Careful, it’s ho—”

  I ate it without any trouble whatsoever. The steaming soup pleasantly warmed my belly. Must’ve been my [Flame Body] in effect.

  Still didn’t stop people from looking at me like I was an alien.

  A few minutes later, I’d finished off the soup, and was then presented with a massively stacked plate consisting of multiple eggs, meat, and a combination of mashed potatoes and veggies that had a generous amount of salt added to it, all swimming in butter.

  I looked around and realised that not only had I been served first, my plate was more stacked than anyone else’s.

  Maisie passed me cutlery, her head bowed as I took it.

  “It’s not much,” she said, staring at the floor. “But you deserve the best for saving me.”

  “The boss always gets the biggest meal,” Finn added.

  There was a general noise of agreement; I was too far in my own head to notice.

  Did I really deserve to be celebrated? Did Maisie realise that if I’d been wrong about my gambit, I’d have not only lost her but jeopardised our entire group?

  I’d done it because I wanted to beat Selsor. Of course, I’d wanted Maisie back and safe, but I’d allowed my group to gamble their own earnings on that game and then added my five years of service only after.

  Could I not have just done that in the first place? Had I put my group’s future in danger for no good reason?

  I supposed it didn’t matter. I’d won, so everything was fine. If Selsor had followed my lead, if he had cut off his own fingers, if I did have a faulty read of his character or a flawed understanding of his abilities… we’d all be fucked.

  “I didn’t know I could beat him,” I eventually said, staring down at the pile of meat. “I just wanted to preserve the group. I figured we’d fall apart with Selsor taking from us like that. Plus, I felt like I owed it to you to try something.” I sighed. “It could’ve all gone wrong.”

  “Dude,” Jackal said, sitting down beside me. He patted me on the back. “You think any of us knew what the hell to do there? We were getting beaten the piss out of. I mean, look at my beautiful face!”

  I looked at him.

  “Honestly, the beating might’ve done you some good.”

  He patted me again, this time harder.

  “Well, at least you ain’t lost your sense of humour. Point is, you stepped up. And you did save us.

  “If that ain’t praise-worthy, I dunno what is.”

  Again, there was a noise of consensus. My stomach churned as I stared at my food.

  I hadn’t eaten in a while.

  I silently began to eat, trying to digest the sentiment around me as I did so.

  The food was excellent. Maybe the best thing I’d eaten in my life.

  That said, I left the sausages after one bite. A bit too finger-shaped for me. Everything else was completely devoured.

  “Compliments to the chef?” Ceri asked, taking my plate after I let loose an involuntary belch.

  “Definitely,” I nodded, feeling a bit better after taking the time to eat, my worries somewhat quelled.

  “Also,” I added. “Thank all of you.”

  “For what?” Maisie asked.

  “For being so welcoming to me.”

  That drew laughter. I didn’t understand why.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked, looking between the rest of them.

  “No one gave a fuck about you when you joined,” Jackal explained. “I tried to kill you about five minutes after meeting you. Toar seemed to hate your guts. We should be thanking you for accepting us. Also for turning this shit around.”

  “It’s true,” Finn added. “We used to spend more time running around dodging beatings and avoiding big groups than we actually spent working. We used to sit around arguing all day.”

  “We still do that,” Ceri noted.

  “Well, it used to be worse,” Finn argued. “At least now I can imagine actually leaving this place with some money in my pocket.”

  “You’re a good leader,” Maisie concluded. “I can’t believe I’m saying that. You’re so young. But you are. You’ve helped us all a lot. Regardless of what happened yesterday, we all owe you.”

  I actually felt a bit emotional hearing all of this. I managed a smile, but this was a lot for me. I’d never been so appreciated by anyone besides Summer.

  “Thanks,” I managed, less loquacious than usual. “I’ll work hard to make this group profitable.”

  And not just for me. Maybe once my primary concern had been my own benefit. Even yesterday, I cared more about screwing over Selsor and coming out the winner than anything else.

  I wouldn’t allow my group to be endangered again. Not when they had such respect for me. I wouldn’t tarnish that with my overconfidence and greed.

  The next step was getting everything set up so they could function without me. Then I could explore the underground.

  I wouldn’t just hunt for Ceri’s medicine. I’d bring them all back a gift if I could. They did as much to fight for Maisie as I did.

  ***

  “I have something for you.”

  Grhinda had invited me to speak with her at Selsor’s camp, coming alone and bowing before me once more in a show of respect.

  When I arrived, I discovered it wasn’t Selsor’s camp anymore. It was hers.

  She’d claimed his tent—the biggest—as her own, and all of Selsor’s workers now deferred to her for instruction. Selsor himself was apparently being held in captivity, and it hadn’t been decided what they’d do with him yet.

  I’d been a little worried about stepping into her camp alone, but the second I did, three miners were brought forwards to meet with me.

  They were the three I’d fought with before. None of them looked very happy to be seeing me. Nonetheless, they bowed their heads.

  “They’re putting the past behind them, assuming you will do the same,” Grhinda spoke. “We want no bad blood between our groups from now on.”

  The three miners grunted out apologies and left soon after. I was glad I wasn’t expected to apologise. I doubted I’d have managed easily.

  “They don’t seem very sorry,” I said to Grhinda after they left.

  “Well, if they try anything, tell me. I’ll make sure they’re properly punished for disturbing the peace.”

  She was still injured after her bout with Marcois, her face bruised. Clearly, this wasn’t just about honour—from a practical perspective, they were a member down with Selsor deposed, and only some of the workers in his camp seemed like capable fighters. Those three weren’t.

  “We sorted through Selsor’s possessions after last night. He had about a thousand gold in his quarters.

  “I’m keeping half of it,” she continued, waiting to see my reaction.

  I only nodded. I was a little surprised she was honouring Selsor’s debt to me in the first place. There was little we could do about it if she didn’t.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “You were right in what you said before. He paid us terribly. So I’m spreading half of his money among the group. Hopefully that smooths over the transition and me becoming leader.”

  She waved me forwards, leading me to his tent. “That said, he had more than money, and you’re still owed at least a thousand gold by the terms of your bet. He had a small collection of potions. Take what you like from them, I have no idea of their worth.”

  I was led to a cupboard and shelf to the left of Selsor’s bed—the first bed I’d seen in the mines. There, I found a neat stack of glass bottles and vials, filled with various quantities of liquids ranging from red to grey to green to blue to purple.

  [Would you like to store Major Health Potion (60% capacity)? Y/N.]

  [Would you like to store Meagre Respite Potion (80% capacity)? Y/N.]

  [Would you like to store Meagre Performance Elixir (20% capacity)? Y/N.]

  [Would you like to store Minor Deadwood Philter (100% capacity)? Y/N.]

  [Would you like to store Minor Catseye Draught? (40% capacity)? Y/N.]

  There were two of the red health potions, three green respite potions, a single grey ‘performance elixir’, almost empty, a full bottle of whatever the hell a ‘philter’ was, and just under half a bottle of catseye, which I assumed improved the user’s vision.

  Between all of these, and a bunch more empty bottles, it was pretty clear and easy to see how Selsor had plied his trade as a charlatan.

  I wanted to store all of them and get a good idea of what they did, but I didn’t want to reveal my ability without the need to. I settled for asking for a box to place them all in and carrying them away.

  “One last thing,” Grhinda said to me as I walked to the edge of camp, carrying my box of potions and my new bag of gold.

  “What is it?”

  “I’d like to extend the ariline cavern you were previously caught in as a joint excavation zone. We haven’t had time to work on it and won’t for some time, so, if you’re willing, I’d be happy to offer you eighty percent of whatever you mine from there.”

  I listened to her and nodded. Eighty percent was a good deal. We got access to a more lucrative area with Naska, boasting rarer materials, but we had to pay her forty.

  “I’ll keep it in mind,” I said, meaning it. “Though it might be some time until we start.”

  “Offer’s good for a few months,” Grhinda stated. “That said…

  “Don’t go elsewhere in our territory. Venturing closer to our camp for mining will be seen as theft. I’d like to keep things civil between our groups, but I won’t accept any such behaviour. You’re responsible for your group. Ensure that none of them cross us.”

  “I wouldn’t let them even if they wanted to,” I assured her. “You’ve handled things very civilly. I don’t want to create issues for you.”

  “Good. I’m glad we have an accord.”

  We ended the conversation there, me walking back to camp with my box full of goodies. The moment I got into my tent and began to store the potions, as well as the new money, something awesome happened.

  Namely, my [Hoard] finished ticking all the way to level three.

  [Evolution in progress. Hoard Level 2 >> Hoard Level 3.]

  [Hoard will now allow item combinations to be forced in exchange for appropriate materials/currency. Item recipes learned will be saved and accessible at all times from the new [Recipes] tab.]

  [Select items can be broken down into their core components at a small material cost.]

  [Select items can be destroyed for near-equivalent material gain.]

  [Increased Hoard interactivity. Hoard can now be accessed internally.]

  [Hoard capacity increased.]

  I read parts of that message aloud, and reread it multiple times, my eyes glued to the screen before me.

  Item combinations? Those sounded ridiculously useful. The ability to break down or ‘exchange’ items sounded great for experimentation, too. Suddenly, the big problem of how I was gonna breathe in the underground long-term sounded way more solvable.

  I could also use better climbing gear. Weapons for the excursion. Ways to craft more ammo for my existing weapons.

  Figuring out each of these things was going to take up a portion of my evenings now, as well as the time I already spent training and jabbing myself full of Spirit Stone.

  Wait… maybe I could break down a Spirit Stone and turn it into a potion? Then I wouldn’t have to stab myself in the arm every evening!

  There were tons of new possibilities available to me now. I just needed to work through each of them and determine which worked. I’d start as soon as the day’s work was over.

  For now, I wanted to at least get a look at my new potions. I opened my [Hoard] and started reading the descriptions.

  Wait, hold on.

  My [Hoard] jumped to the potion I’d been looking to identify before I could even swipe my fingers.

  Was I… was I fully controlling this with my mind?

  Was that what ‘increased interactivity’ had meant? Or ‘internal access’?

  I didn’t even read the description of the respite potion.

  I had to try something else.

  I mentally navigated my way over to one of the rocks I had in storage, a smaller one.

  Instead of doing what I usually did, flicking it with my fingers so it’d exit my [Hoard] at velocity, I simply willed it to come out with my mind, imagining the result as vividly as I could.

  It shot straight out like a bullet, putting a hole in the fabric of the tent as it passed through.

  …holy shit, that was cool.

  I tried repeating the process, but found it wasn’t easy to replicate. It’d taken a lot of focus to fire even a single rock from my [Hoard] using my mind. I seemed to have a mental barrier around bigger objects, too. I was a lot more sluggish with them, and my brain didn’t seem to be convinced that I could move them at all. It was like logic was fighting against me.

  That said, it was clearly possible. Something I was going to need to practice more once I was more than ten metres away from my group, because damn was this exciting.

  For now, I simply tried to get used to navigating the [Hoard]’s interface without defaulting to using my hands. Even that took some measure of active focus, unlike when I’d unconsciously done it the first time, but I managed to locate and pull up the description of each potion without too much issue.

  Respite potions replenished stamina and temporarily reduced the need for sleep. Apparently, overuse could lead to a variety of problems, from intense fatigue to skin conditions.

  Major health potions were a downgrade from Superior. They were worth about a third as much per millilitre, but were still able to recover deep cuts, major breaks, and even organ damage with a large enough dose.

  Still, gaining one and a half of those wasn’t a terrible thing, and I was happy to add them to my potion store.

  Then there was the performance elixir. Apparently, it provided a charisma boost, making a person more persuasive and increasing their overall presence.

  Sounded like something Selsor would have. It was the emptiest bottle, too, so it was clearly something he relied upon often.

  Then there was the full-looking bottle, the grey elixir named Deadwood Philter.

  More fakery. Apparently, people who drank these were more likely to find you agreeable and follow your instructions, assuming you fed them regular doses.

  I had no idea if Selsor regularly used these on his group or if he had these saved for something else. I didn’t want to know. I considered dumping the bottle on principle, but its value stayed my hand. Even for a minor bottle of this stuff, it was fifty gold. I wasn’t gonna pour out money like that. Maybe I could use my [Hoard]’s new ‘exchange’ feature to change it for something different.

  Finally, there was catseye.

  It was as I expected. Not just temporarily increased senses, but acute night vision. Apparently, it only affected areas you were directly looking at, so it was nowhere to the level of a beastkin’s sight, but it was still incredibly useful. In the underground, I could use a light crystal to see my immediate area, and this to see further away.

  I stopped examining my new wares and came out to greet my group. It was finally time to go and meet Eric and begin the day’s training.

  When we arrived, it wasn’t just Eric that was waiting for us in the usual spot. Naska was there too.

  “I’ve been summoned to speak on recent occurrences,” Naska announced, skipping a greeting and getting directly to the point. “It’s been asked that you accompany me.”

  “Asked by who?” I asked, my eyebrow arching as I spoke.

  “I shan't say here,” she stated plainly. “Please accompany me.”

  I looked at her with unrestrained curiosity. She didn’t wear a usual jumpsuit like the rest of us, her clothes were darker and tighter fitting, looking more like armour than simple mining attire.

  It was almost as if she expected a fight. I noted a belt affixed to her waist, a dagger and a shortsword both hanging off of it.

  “I… yeah, okay.”

  “Do not worry,” Naska said, addressing my group this time instead of me. “No harm shall come to him. I will return your master soon.”

  Their… master?

  Yeah, no one seemed thrilled at her choice of words, considering the angry comments she received. I told them not to worry before following on after Naska, who looked more than impatient to leave.

  “Hey, you could try wording things a little differently,” I said to her once I’d finally caught up.

  “I don’t have time to mince words, and neither do you. What you need to do is bathe and put on a clean outfit.”

  I gave her a funny look. “Excuse me?”

  “We have been summoned to meet Vulrak, leader of the strongest group. Your attendance was considered ‘optional’. I do not consider it optional.”

  “What?” I asked, having never heard of this Vulrak until five seconds ago. “Why?”

  “I was summoned to answer accusations of collusion with another group, including but not limited to the possibility of me absorbing your group or otherwise extending my influence through your workers.”

  “They really said that?” I asked her.

  “I am paraphrasing for the sake of brevity.”

  She sounded as calm as usual, her voice unstrained as we walked back to her camp.

  “You are coming with me. You are going to corroborate my explanation of our arrangement, and help me to avoid being sanctioned.”

  “Sanctioned?” I asked her.

  “I’m mincing words. I do not wish to be executed, nor to go through a combat trial.”

  That put a spring in my step. All of a sudden, I was hurrying ahead of her.

  “Bathed and well-dressed, you said?”

  “Yes. Use the hot waters I’ve shown you. I’ll leave you a towel and fresh clothes.”

  “I have my own clothes,” I argued.

  “I’ll leave you nice clothes.”

  ***

  Surprisingly, Naska did, for some reason, possess nice clothes. It was the kind of outfit that wouldn’t look out of place on a noble, the white shirt containing frills and buttons, and the pants lined with a comfortable material and fitting nicely around my waist. They even had pockets.

  I wasn’t sure if these were Naska’s clothes or not. She looked about the same size as me, and it could certainly stand to reason that someone like her might dress boyish at times, but I decided I didn’t need to know, nor did I really care. For what it was worth, I looked presentable, and imagined I wouldn’t look out of place in the market district in a get-up like this.

  Come to think of it, where did Naska get these? With how she talked and the expensive clothes she possessed, I’d almost believe she was a noble.

  “You look far less scruffy, but…”

  Naska tutted. “Come here.”

  She grabbed the towel off of me, and after holding it in her hands for a couple moments, heated it to the point of almost boiling.

  Despite my heat resistance, it wasn’t very comfortable having Naska towel dry my head. I was glad when it was over.

  “There,” she said, her expression exceedingly neutral. “Far better.

  “Now, let us get going.”

  With that, we marched off in the direction of Vulrak’s camp, which Naska apparently knew the way to.

  As I followed along, I began to ask questions, ones like ‘do you think they know about Toar’ and ‘no one’s going to kill me, right?’

  “I have no idea if they know of our plot, but I doubt it would matter if they did,” Naska explained. “Murder is a big enough problem in the mines, and it constantly goes unchecked. Conspiracy to commit it is pretty far down the list as far as problems go, especially in a group the size of yours.”

  I had no clue if she was right, but Naska was clearly smart. She seemed to have an idea of what she was talking about, and she spoke with conviction. I was happy to go along with her under that pretense.

  “We’re almost here,” Naska said as we turned a corner. “Vulrak is extremely powerful. Easily Tier 2. Perhaps 3. Do not speak unless spoken to.”

  Tier 3? I’d never met anyone who was Tier 3 before adulthood before. Advancing that fast was said to be exceedingly rare, something only rich kids and prodigies accomplished. If that was the case, it was no wonder that this Vulrak guy ran the strongest group.

  Even if it wasn’t, Naska was on guard, so I was going to be on guard.

  It was easy to see why, too. Approaching closer, it soon became apparent that unlike other camps, where everything was open-plan, Vulrak’s camp actually had walls, made with piled logs, as well as a lookout sentry.

  If that wasn’t enough, two adult guards were stationed and patrolling right near the outside of camp.

  I whispered to Naska to ask why they were here, and she said it was likely to keep tabs on Vulrak’s group. They were large enough that they could try to rip off the association in some way, after all.

  Neither guard paid us heed as we approached. We walked right up to the gap between the walls, the pair of us immediately being patted down in search of secret weapons or concealed objects.

  Naska was allowed to retain the weapons she carried openly, and pulled what seemed to be a throwing knife out of the back of her boot along with the sheath, presenting it and depositing it on a table inside once she’d entered.

  Compared to her, I felt completely underprepared.

  The inside of the camp almost looked like the market area of the cave. Large tents had been erected through which people cooked, ate, bantered, and slept, and beyond was a dug out pit that looked as if it had been made for fighting.

  I could spy about fifteen workers in the immediate area, though I imagined this wasn’t all of them. Hell, this made Selsor’s group look small, and he’d called his one of the largest.

  Past everything was a large open area with a wooden sheet laying along the ground. Beyond that sat a lion beastkin, so large that it was a shock the throne beneath him could properly take his weight, sporting a regal red mane and cold black eyes.

  “Approach,” the lion said upon spotting me and Naska, pointing and craning forwards a long-clawed finger.

  The two of us did as we were told. Within moments, we were stood only ten feet from possibly the largest beastkin I’d ever seen, his terrible teeth glinting in torchlight.

  The sound around us seemed to have stopped. No one dared speak when Vulrak did.

  He looked down at the pair of us, obscene muscles rippling as he leaned forwards. He placed an elbow on his thigh as he took us both in.

  His eyes drifted to Naska. How she didn’t melt under the monarch’s gaze, I didn’t know.

  “Now… I’ve summoned you here to make your case.

  “Please do so.”