Carrot, tangerine... That plux commander had me thinking.
A fucking carrot, a tactical leader. I used to think plux were just armored rats that lived outside the walls. But now I had a lot more respect for them. With the new information I had, it was easy to imagine a small pack of hungry pluxes coming out to hunt at night, moving along the dark paths. It was too dangerous during the day — there were too many people around. But at night, the hallways were almost empty, and it wouldn’t be too hard to stalk a lonely goblin wandering off by themselves, with no help nearby...
Pluxes are intelligent. Fear them, goblin! I tried to hammer this rule into my subcortex, repeating it silently to myself every fiftieth step, and out loud every hundredth step. It didn’t take long for Bask to figure out my pattern, and he interrupted his storytelling to recite it along with me: “Pluxes are intelligent. Fear them, goblin!”
Current time: 22:00.
I looked around the hallway, peered into the distance, and looked at Bask, whose ears were perked up. Nope. No one, nothing. No signs of the next patrol hurrying towards us a little late. No one to take over for us.
Current time: 22:01.
“Hmm…”
“Lazy goblins!” Yorka cursed. She stretched out a hand to straighten Bask’s shirt collar. “What are we gonna do, Elb?”
“The most important thing is that our job gets marked as complete,” I said calmly. “They won’t keep us here — Oh, there we go.”
The system marked our job as done. We each earned fifteen sol, and all it took was two hours of leisurely walking — which I considered a helpful light workout for all of us.
Balance: 30 sol.
It felt great to get all the money and not have anything taken out. The system was paying for our food and medicine today. Even the optional shots would be free. Bask was the only one who had to pay for his — apparently he needed heavier, more expensive drugs. I had to remember to transfer him twelve sol. The system would take fourteen total from me, and Bask would end up with ten. That percentage the system took really bit into the transfers... But I was happy with how much we had earned for such a short combat job.
Receive party combat jobs (compulsory)?
Yes / No.
The system was sneaky, springing this prompt on us so unexpectedly. It had only just dropped a fat stack of cash into our shaking hands, and now this question — ‘Want this to happen all the time?’
Who could say no?
I could. I decisively selected ‘No’, keeping in mind what Mads had told me, that the system would send me the prompt again and again like a little robotic bird mechanically pecking at my brain. The system needed fighters — dedicated fighters. I had seen proof of that myself when no one showed up to take over for us. There weren’t even enough fighters to send out consistent patrols. The Outskirts were just too big, with its hundreds of hallways and rooms.
It wasn’t easy for me to say no. Fighter status came with a lot of cushy benefits. I was tempted to agree, but I had to think of my party. I was confident in my own abilities, but Yorka and Bask needed to be baptized in blood at least one more time. I had to see how they behaved in battle, then look at their faces, look into their eyes, and come to a decision.
“Well, goblins and zombies?” I said cheerfully, rubbing my belly. “Ready to head back to the cluster? A food cube and a little water to help us sleep, and then up and ready to go at five in the morning.”
“Five in the morning?” Yorka looked shocked. “We’re not even gonna get back to the cluster before midnight, Elb! Plus we still have to eat, shower... That leaves us like no time to sleep!”
“Five in the morning,” I said again, firmly. “We’ll get our jobs done early, then get a few hours of sleep after breakfast. Bask, your injuries are bad, worse than any of ours. You can — ”
“No!” Bask cut me off. “I’ll be up at five along with you.”
“Understood, fighter.” I was satisfied with his response. “Let’s go.”
“I have a suggestion!” Yorka jumped in.
“Let’s hear it.”
“There’s a residential area with spines right next to the Jolly Plux. We might find three empty capsules there. We’d pass right by there anyway.”
“And we can enjoy the scent of grilled meat on the way,” I chuckled. “It’s worth a shot. Let’s do it. Bask, lead the way.”
“Sure. Just to check — we’re in section 40 of main hallway 29? Five steps from the turn onto path 40 along the left wall?”
“That’s right,” I replied, not trying to hide the notes of respect in my voice.
Bask’s head really did work like a computer, always ticking and clicking. Even while he talked or argued, even with his glue-drenched stomach wound, or his long, funny story about the end of the world, he was always counting his steps, always keeping track of where he was in this maze of hallways.
“That way,” he waved a hand, “then we turn onto path 33. If we make it in the next ten minutes, we’ll run into a dome and won’t have to go dark.”
“Let’s pick up the pace, then,” I said, moving faster.
My overworked legs groaned in protest. Not my knees this time — my feet. My sneakers with their thin rubber soles and the equally thin socks underneath were not the best choice for long, frequent marches. But it didn’t matter. The long day was almost over, and I was about to have a quick bite to eat, then relax and pass out in a capsule for a full five hours. We were about five yards from the turn when I stopped, rooted in place, reading the alarmingly bright lines that had lit up like a warning in front of my eyes:
Job: Combat.
Description: Eliminate three gray plunar xarls.
Job Location: Main hallway 30!
Deadline: ASAP.
Compensation: 30 sol.
Accept job
Yes / No.
“Damn!” I said, flicking my eyes a little lower.
Job: Defense.
Description: Rescue 457 or his body from four gray plunar xarls.
Job Location: Main hallway 30!
Deadline: ASAP.
Compensation: 30 sol.
Accept job
Yes / No.
“What is it, Elb? The system? What’s it say?”
“Tell me how you’re feeling, team.” I barked. “Quickly! Do you have enough strength in you for a fight? Three gray pluxes, maybe four. I’m pretty sure some of them are wounded. Bask?”
“I’m ready!” He brandished his awl.
“Yorka?”
“Damn...”
“Come on! I need an answer!”
“Let’s go!”
“Follow me!” I turned around and started running, putting merciless strain on my tired, injured legs.
Without turning back, I threw my explanations and instructions over my shoulder, accepting the jobs as I ran.
“Don’t worry, soldiers. We can do this. Yorka, you have the club. Do you remember how to use it?”
“Yeah. But there are three pluxes! Or four! Do we just have the one club?”
“We might have more,” I said. “We’ll find out soon. The pluxes are coming from the Cursed Bridge. A group of five orcs was headed there two hours back. Bask!”