“Everyone ok?” Julian asked, his gravelly voice softening as his body shrank back to normal.

  A mixture of coughs and groans filled the air as people massaged their bruised wounds. Their armor had protected against the barrage of stone spears, saving them from lacerations that would’ve ended their lives, but not defending against the elementals’ savage fists. Nobody had died, but no one escaped unscathed either.

  “That was horrible,” Nigel complained, a handkerchief appearing from nowhere that he used to frantically wipe his brow.

  “It’s going to get a lot worse,” Julian warned. “We easily outnumbered them, had the right equipment to survive their assault, and still got our bells rung. The Undead won’t be so easy.”

  “Marvelous,” Nigel sighed.

  “But, at least we know what our biggest weakness is,” Harvey replied.

  “Fighting as a team,” Julian acknowledged.

  “Exactly. We’ve all made some interesting skills, but fighting when we don’t know which effects will hurt us and which are meant to help is a liability,” Harvey explained.

  “So, what are we supposed to do?” Christian croaked, his face swollen with a ring of sickly purple bruises around his neck. Dr. Amara begged him to lie back down, the golden light of her healing washing over him.

  “A little show and tell? I don’t know. We don’t have time to train to fight together, but we at least need to make sure we understand each other’s abilities,” Harvey sighed.

  “I’ve been thinking for a while,” Master Seung-Ho interjected, “We should add a notebook near the Loom where everyone can record their abilities and how they made them. It might help those struggling to decide their path, and we can use it to get to know everyone else’s powers.”

  “Great idea! I’ll buy the supplies from John’s, and we’ll set it up,” Julian replied.

  “I can’t wait to add all my evolved skills,” the unusually giddy Taekwondo instructor effused. Harvey’d seen him fighting while he pushed his way through the crowd. The man’s legs moved so fast that Harvey could barely comprehend what he was seeing, throwing wicked kicks that kept the elemental at bay until someone better equipped to destroy the core could come and assist.

  “You’re ready to evolve?” Harvey asked, receiving an excited nod in return. Cheers erupted in the cavern as 9 more Veilstriders announced the battle had helped them make their final push toward Level 25. Harvey didn’t know how the System calculated which outpost was the strongest, but if a swell of newly evolved Veilstriders decked out in steel armor didn’t help them retake the lead from the Hell Hotel, he didn’t know what would.

  Nigel, Hannah, and Buttercup rounded up the grievously wounded and brought them to Dr. Amara while the rest gathered the bodies of the dead elementals. After the reinforcements arrived, they’d killed 26 in total. Not enough to make full plate armor for everyone, but plenty to keep Harvey busy until the quest ended. Infused Iron and F Grade cores in hand, those still strong enough to work began excavating the collapsed tunnel to the surface. Again. Luckily, they had slipsacks to chuck all the rock into before piling it just inside the other tunnels leading deeper underground.

  “There’s no way that was all of the elementals,” Julian said.

  “Nope. Maybe all the F Grades, but more will come,” Harvey replied.

  “Should we be blocking up these tunnels, then? Or should we push deeper and cull the rest?”

  “Not yet. They knew we were coming, so I expect the hardest battle is behind us. Killing the G Grades now just cuts our supply of F Grade material. I say we let the people with the right skills to fight down here use it as their private training ground.”

  “Do you really need more iron? I don’t think you’ll be able to use it all yourself before the war starts.”

  “Maybe not alone, but who’s to say the Undead arrive the second the quest ends? Maybe there are blacksmiths from the other outposts who can help me ramp up production once they get here?”

  “Good point,” Julian conceded. “Alright, we’ll figure out a schedule to make sure these caves get cleared out regularly.”

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  “Could you have them mine a few essence crystals for me when they’re not busy?”

  “Sure,” Julian answered.

  Harvey watched a heavy stone disappear into the pouch at his waist and waited, staring at his friend as he soldiered onward. Noticing Harvey wasn’t beside him, he turned around.

  “What?”

  “Aren’t you going to ask what I need them for?”

  “I wasn’t planning on it.”

  “Why not?” Harvey chuckled.

  “You’ve always got a good reason whenever I doubt one of your plans. Figure I should stop wasting my breath.” Julian laughed.

  “Well, I’m gonna tell you anyway. I want to turn them into bombs,” he grinned. “Pack them in inscribed canisters I can detonate from afar once the Undead approach the walls.”

  “You can do that?”

  “Yeah, with Modular Array. As long as the inscriptions within my aura range, I can turn them off and on remotely.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Unless you can double or triple your Willpower in the next few weeks, you’re going to get caught up in your own trap,” Julian warned.

  “Triple is a stretch, but double is probably doable. I’ve still got 14 Free Points, and with the stat gains from our race levels doubling, I bet I can make it happen.”

  “Just don’t go mad scientist on me, ok? And make sure you don’t get the inscriptions mixed up when you make my new armor. I don’t want the helmet to blow up the second I put it on,” Julian laughed.

  “No promises,” Harvey chuckled, turning to walk his full slipsack over to an empty tunnel before he froze.

  “Something wrong?”

  “What did you say?” Harvey asked.

  “I asked if something’s wrong.”

  “Gah, I heard you. Before that.”

  “I don’t want my armor to blow up?” Julian repeated.

  Harvey’s mind roared into overdrive, carefully weaving the most brilliant idea he’d ever had. What if he did make explosive armor? Not for himself, not for Julian, but for Gary? It was perfect.

  “What scheme are you cooking up in there?” Julian asked.

  “None of us feel confident taking Gary down in a fight, right?” Harvey asked.

  “I’m tired of talking about that guy,” Julian groaned.

  “Tired or not, we have to deal with him sooner or later. He’s terrorizing Elena, stealing our merit… Hell, he straight up admitted we’re not much more than cattle he wants to fatten up before clearing house the second the Undead arrive,” Harvey whispered, making sure none of the other Veilstriders could hear him. Luckily, they were all too tired and preoccupied to pay much attention.

  “You don’t think I know that? I’m scared too, Harvey, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do about it. Until I get an imprint of my own, I don’t think I can take him.”

  “None of us can, but we don’t have to! That’s what I’m trying to explain. What if I forged him a set of armor that I can detonate whenever I want?”

  “No way. He’ll notice something’s off and rip your head off before he ever tries it on.”

  “Not if it seems like a peace offering, or better yet, begging for forgiveness. He hates us. Thinks we stole his spot at the top of Veils End’s food chain. But, if we give him his own set of steel fit for an outpost general, he’ll think we’re surrendering,” Harvey explained.

  “Even if that works, he’s going to notice the inscriptions.”

  “Sure, but everyone else is wearing inscribed armor, too. He won’t notice if I include a few additions to the basic set Elena and I have been adding, and if he does, we’ll just tell him we wanted his set to be better than the usual stuff.” Harvey hissed.

  “What are you guys talking about?” Christian asked, massaging his neck as he helped clear their escape.

  “Nothing, just what inscriptions Julian wants on his armor,” Harvey lied.

  “You’re taking custom orders?”

  “Sure, tell me what you have in mind, and I’ll do my best,” he answered.

  Christian wanted something that would help him pierce through a heavily armored target if he ran into an elemental again. His skillset revolved around magical poisons, and he’d found that his usual stuff had almost no effect on the elementals.

  “Should I be scared? How does one get a bunch of toxic skills?” Julian asked.

  “Spend a few years as a bartender watching people drown themselves in alcohol before buying a book about alchemy from a magic mirror.”

  “Ah, got it,” Julian chuckled.

  “Yeah. Thanks for getting me out of there before that thing juiced me. I should’ve known better when you said they were pure iron.”

  “Probably, but at least you had the courage to stand with us even when the fight didn’t look good for you. I appreciate you not being too hard on us about hiding this place.” Julian said.

  “Yeah, no problem. Nothing makes sense anymore... no use in agonizing over every mistake.”

  “I like that,” Harvey smiled. “I’d like to see the world that way.”

  “Well, hit rock bottom and you’ll learn,” Christian laughed.

  “We already have,” Julian chuckled. “But, I guess that means it’s all up from here!”

  Three hours after Veils End entered the mine, they staggered back into the light. Most were bruised and broken, but their superhuman Vitality would mend those wounds in a few hours. All were stronger.

  Harvey took a moment to appreciate the chilling wind on his face, staring up at the sun as the glowing runes on his gauntlets went inert. It was a short excursion, but an important one. They had secured their home, at least for the moment, and had everything they needed to make the push that would ensure this was where they made their last stand. His debt to the outpost had been paid for him, and now it was his turn to make amends.

  Pushing the smithy door open, he saw Elena sitting at her workbench.

  “Sorry, Gary wanted to eat breakfast together this morning, so I couldn’t slip away before you guys left,” she explained.

  “That’s alright,” Hannah replied, closing the door behind them. “Thanks for distracting him. I’d rather blow stuff up than eat pancakes with that freak.”

  “Tell me about it,” Elena groaned.

  “Hopefully, you won’t have to put up with him much longer.” Harvey began.

  “Why’s that?”

  “We’re gonna blow him up,” he snickered.