Carefully, Harvey chipped away at the molds, the essence within no longer answering him now that it had set. Perfect Finish had done its work earlier, when the pieces were still entombed…his will driven into the steel through a pair of infused tongs. Now all that was left was freeing the head, setting the pommel crystal, and giving it the final quench.

  The last of the mold cracked away, and the haft slid into his hand with a weight that made his chest tighten. He grabbed the strip of robe he’d sacrificed earlier and wiped the surface clean, revealing pristine gray metal.

  Holding the tip over the forge, he warmed it just enough to let him seat the large essence crystal into the bowl, then tapped the rim closed around it with steady, deliberate strikes. Having added new heat to the steel, he pushed Perfect Finish into it one more time, utilizing every degree to fuse it all together.

  Then, he plunged it into the water. Steam roared up around him with a sharp, satisfying hiss. It had barely been two days since his last big crafting session, but even that was too long. The forge was the one place where his new world made sense. Follow the recipe, execute the process, and hold the result in your own two hands. No fear. No monsters. Just progress.

  “Success!” Harvey cheered, looking to Elena.

  “Woohoo! And I see you didn’t forget the handle this time!” She cheered, not looking up from the inscription she was drawing on a piece of armor they’d made for Master Seung-Ho. The taekwondo instructor refused to wear full platemail because it was too cumbersome to kick in, so they’d stuck to a few smaller plates that could be stitched into his leather armor, which protected his most vital areas.

  “Third time’s the charm, I guess! Or is it the fourth? I can’t remember,” Harvey chuckled. “In any case, all I need is some leather for the grip and ink for a few inscriptions and Veils End will have its first F Grade weapon.”

  The smithy door swung open, Julian poking his head inside.

  “Almost everyone’s back and eating dinner. Ready to share with the class?” He asked.

  The dopamine high of finishing his weapon came crashing down, his chest tightening. It was time to face the music.

  The more he thought about keeping the elementals a secret, the worse he felt. Even if he was right to think most Veilstriders couldn’t reliably get to the core, who was he to make that decision for them? He wasn’t Gary, trying to crown himself king of the apocalypse.

  The right thing to do would have been to share both the risks and rewards of fighting in the tunnel and let people decide for themselves. Instead, he hoarded the opportunity and left Veils End vulnerable after his near-death experience left him bedridden. Deep down, he knew collapsing the tunnel wasn’t enough, yet he still hadn’t warned anyone else.

  Why didn’t I? He thought, his grip tightening around the steel haft.

  For the same reason, he kept it a secret in the first place. Gary. Ever since he saw the man hold his sword ready to strike him down during their first meeting, Harvey had been afraid. He’d been afraid of everything at that point, still feeling the worst effects of his stain, but there was just something about Gary that put him on edge. It was obvious he was more concerned with staking a claim than helping Veils End, and Harvey wasn’t willing to let him claim the mine. He could’ve been convinced otherwise, but after the terrifying display of fighting those first Stonetusks, Harvey wanted to be as far away from that man as possible.

  His mind raced to the memory. Lying on the ground after tackling the alpha before it could stomp through a man’s head, the giant pig lying next to him. Looking up at bloodstained Gary with his sword held high, Harvey felt his heart stop. Staring into those bloodcrazed eyes, he’d wondered whether that blade would fall on the pig’s neck or his own. The hate and power radiating from Gary’s aura rang every alarm bell in his body, and his own stain flared to life to remind him how helpless he was.

  Gary was just too strong. Already doing the work of 3 men that first day chopping down trees to build their wall. Back then, he couldn’t have been higher than Level 7… maybe 8 at most, but it didn’t matter. He already felt unstoppable. Julian might have been able to take him down, but he was busy saving lives. Besides, they wouldn’t have killed Gary. He was still just being an asshole, and you don’t put a blade through someone’s neck for that. Everyone was too shell-shocked to see the monster hiding beneath, and by the time Harvey learned just how sick in the head Gary was, it was too late.

  In that moment, Harvey knew that if Gary wanted him dead, he would die.

  So, Harvey did what he always did when he was scared. He did everything he could to ignore it. Carve out his own little section of Veils End that was Gary-free and coast until the trial ended and they either died or made it back to Earth before going their separate ways. But, he couldn’t ignore it anymore. Not after Elena got sucked into his psychosis.

  “Yeah. I’m ready, but be ready to back me up if Gary starts swinging at me.” Harvey sighed, watching Julian’s confident smile falter just a little bit.

  “He won’t. I’ll stand up there with you. Hopefully, he isn’t broken enough to try killing his own daughter.” Elena encouraged.

  Stepping into the street, Harvey moved to the small wooden stage they’d built near the campfire. His feet dragged, his body fighting his mind for control.

  “I can do it.” Julian offered.

  “No, keeping it a secret was my idea. I can handle it,” Harvey sighed, doing his best to smile.

  “Um, excuse me!” He called, trying to grab everyone’s attention. The chatter of tired Veilstriders eating around the fire abated, people turning to look at him. He’d never been very fond of public speaking, but at least most of the faces staring back at him were friends.

  “I’ve got something that concerns everyone in Veils End. Can everyone gather around for a minute? I’d appreciate it if someone could round up anyone in the dorms or the general store. We should probably go knock on Gary’s door.”

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  The mood around the fire shifted instantly, murmured conversations dying mid-sentence. It was like the entire outpost took a sharp breath after hearing that name.

  “Don’t you dare. I’ve had enough of him today.” A man bellowed from below. Harvey recognized him from the wall crew.

  Christian? Was that his name?

  “Elena, you'd better get home. I’m tired of listening to him complain about you neglecting your chores.” Christian continued.

  “What? He told you about that?” Elena asked.

  “He never shuts up about it. Keeps ranting like we’re still in the suburbs. I don’t get it, but that’s between you two. Just… go home, okay? We’d all like one quiet night.” Christian groaned.

  “He’s not going to like what I have to say,” Harvey warned.

  “Then let’s make sure he doesn’t hear it! If it’s something he absolutely has to hear, I’ll… I’ll tell him tomorrow. Better he hears it from me than Scoutmaster.” Christian sighed.

  “Hey! Don’t call Harvey that!” Hannah complained.

  “I don’t want to! Just can’t break the habit unless I slip up in front of Mr. Blood Tyrant!” Christian retorted.

  Elena looked up at him nervously, but Harvey nodded for her to go. She hurried to John’s mirror, buying dinner before rushing home. Maybe this was better. She’d keep him distracted while everyone else talked it over.

  Harvey swallowed. “So everyone knows about that? His Imprint?”

  “Oh, he made sure we all know. Blasted his aura throughout the entire city while you guys were off gallivanting through the woods.”

  “It… it was terrifying,” Dr. Silva added. “The bloodlust. I felt like it wanted to eat me.”

  “So it’s not just us then,” Julian commented. “We’re not the only ones afraid of him.”

  “Hell no. So why don’t you tell us what’s going on, and we can all decide if it’s worth poking the bear.” Christian huffed.

  “Alright then… here goes. Everyone knows there’s a mine behind the forge, right?” The crowd nodded in agreement while he cleared his throat. “What you don’t know is that deep in the tunnel is a cave full of essence crystals and iron elementals.”

  “Elementals?” Master Sueng-Ho asked.

  “Floaty rocks that punch you to death,” Hannah blurted. “Apparently, that’s common knowledge in the nerd world.”

  “Basically. They start as a large crystal that uses essence to gather and refine iron until it can build a body for itself. The G Grade ones are like a tornado of floating rocks, and they evolve to F grade after infusing enough iron with essence to create a humanoid upper body.”

  “You fought one?” Christian asked.

  “I’ve been fighting them since the second day we got here,” Harvey winced, instinctively rubbing his neck. He expected an uproar, but waited as the crowd sat silently watching him. “I kept them secret because I was worried too many people would rush in and get themselves killed.”

  “No offense, Harvey, but I remember how timid you used to be. If you could kill them, so could the rest of us.” Christian chuckled.

  “The arcanists probably could, maybe a few of the warriors, but the hunters had no shot. You can only hurt them by damaging the core or by attacking the essence that holds their bodies together. Julian could barely break through to the core with two Marks, and Hannah couldn’t touch it with one of her arrows. That’s not even considering the fact you’re fighting by lamplight with 20 feet of visibility at best.” Harvey explained.

  “So how are you still standing here then?”

  “My first skill was a shield that blasted away anything that touched it. Without it, I’d have gotten a chunk of ore blasted through my head that second day. The blast helped me expose the core. Arcane bolts worked too, but the skill let me crack the shell and kill the core with one shot.” Harvey continued.

  “Still, we’re a team here. If these things are as dangerous as you say they are, this shouldn’t be the first time we’re hearing about them.” Carla, the leatherworker who helped him with his armor, complained.

  “You’re right, and I’m sorry. They are dangerous, but I wasn’t really worried about them leaving the mine. What I was worried about was Gary learning about them and taking the mine for himself. I needed that iron to make all the nails, brackets, and armor we’ve been supplying Veils End. I hate to admit it, but I didn’t trust him to be a team player, which led to me doing the same thing I didn’t want him to do.” Harvey apologized.

  “Probably the right call.” Christian sighed.

  “You think so?”

  “Yeah. Man’s a machine when it comes to killing monsters. If he knew there was a cave full of them, he’d only come out when it was time to eat.”

  “So why are you telling us now?” Dr. Silva asked.

  “Because they’ve started evolving, and the F Grade I met swore he’d take revenge for all the others I killed. Not only do they build themselves a body, but a mind. One that remembers all the family they lost. I barely survived the encounter before blowing up the tunnel a few days ago.”

  Murmurs rippled through the crowd, and he could hear a few people swearing under their breath.

  “So that’s what that shaking was!” Hyrum, one of the patrolmen, said.

  “Yeah, but that won’t stop them for long. We’ve got a hornet’s nest in our backyard, hellbent on ripping us apart. There was only one evolved elemental the last time I went down there, but there could be over a dozen by now. So, I’m asking for whoever is willing to join me tomorrow in breaking into the tunnel, clearing out as many elementals as we can find, and establishing routine expeditions into the tunnels. In exchange, I can use the metal to make you whatever F Grade weapons and armor you want, and Elena will inscribe them.” Harvey pronounced.

  “You were gonna do that anyway. You’re too nice, Harvey.” Christian smiled. “I’m in!”

  “Really? You’re not angry?” Harvey asked.

  “I don’t know whether the real reason for hiding it was protecting us or avoiding Gary, but I can’t say I fault you for either one. We’re all just doing our best to survive this god forsaken trial. Hell, three weeks ago I was a bartender. Now I’m supposed to know how to build an outpost to fight zombies? None of us have any idea what we’re doing.” Christian laughed.

  Most of the crowd nodded in agreement, voicing their support. This was going better than expected. He’d expected outrage, but it seemed like most were willing to look past his selfishness.

  “My only concern is how we’re supposed to see down there,” Carla called out.

  “For those of you who have essence-infused armor I made, swing by tonight, and I’ll add light inscriptions to your gloves. They’ll basically become LED lanterns. If you don’t have any essence-infused gear, I’ll have bracelets you can slip on by tomorrow morning.” Harvey offered.

  “Perfect!” She smiled.

  “Well then, it’s settled. Everyone meets tomorrow morning, and we’ll break into the tunnel. Take the time tonight to ask yourself if you’re comfortable killing a creature that can talk back to you. Make no mistake, we’re invading their home to protect ours, and they’re going to curse you until they’re forced to beg for mercy.” Julian warned.

  The clamor grew silent as his words sank in. Harvey knew all too well how much harder it was to take the life of another sapient lifeform.

  “We can’t afford to let that stop us,” Christian said. “The undead are going to beg for mercy, but that won’t stop me from cutting those bones to pieces.”

  “True enough,” Julian agreed.

  “Then I guess the last question is whether we tell Gary?” Harvey asked.

  “Hell no. I may not fault your decision, but our illustrious Outpost General won’t abide you hiding a reliable source of merit from him. What he doesn’t know won’t get us all killed.” Christian declared.