Chapter 187: Slow and Lovely

The entrance narrowed almost immediately, forcing us to walk one behind the other. The rocky walls were uneven and damp, with small patches of moss growing where water had collected between the stones. The faint vibration continued to come from somewhere deeper inside, sometimes strong enough that I could feel it through the soles of my boots.

The path sloped downward gradually. We followed it carefully, using the uneven walls for balance whenever the ground became too steep. The further we went, the darker it became, until the light from the entrance was nothing more than a faint glow behind us.

The strange vibration grew louder.

"Definitely coming from down here," Ken muttered.

"Yeah."

We continued down the slope until the passage suddenly widened. I stepped into a clearing and stopped to take in the sight. Dead animals were scattered across the ground.

There were rabbits, birds, foxes, and even what looked like a young deer. Some were nothing more than bones, while others had been partially eaten. The smell of decay hung heavily in the air, mixing with the dampness of the cave.

Ken covered his mouth with one hand. "Gods..."

"Looks like Kunnohara was eating here."

"Yeah. I guess this was its hunting ground."

"What a beast..."

I looked past the bodies and noticed something in the center of the clearing.

A machine stood there.

It was roughly the size of a large wooden barrel, but its design was nothing like a barrel. Several metal rings surrounded a dark cylindrical core, each ring rotating at a different speed. Thin copper wires ran from the base into the surrounding stone, disappearing into cracks in the floor.

At the top was a glass chamber containing a swirling blue-white light. Every few seconds, the light pulsed, and the entire machine vibrated in response.

The sound we’d been hearing was coming from it.

"What is that?" Ken asked.

"I think we found the scientist’s device."

We approached it cautiously. The closer we got, the stronger the vibration became. My hair even began to rise slightly on my arms from the static in the air.

There was something lying beside the machine. A small leather-bound book. I crouched down and picked it up, brushing some dirt from the cover before opening it.

Most of the pages contained notes, diagrams, and calculations that I couldn’t make much sense of. The handwriting became increasingly frantic toward the end, as though whoever had written them had been working without sleep.

I turned to the final page. There was only a short entry.

’The device worked. I can finally control the weather with it. The altitude is the problem. I need to place it somewhere higher so the signal can spread farther, but where?’

I stared at the page for a few seconds before closing the book.

"Higher," I muttered.

I looked at the machine.

"So that’s why it was up here."

Ken walked toward the device and stared at it for a moment. Then he kicked it. The machine rattled violently.

"Ken?"

He kicked it again.

"What are you doing?"

"Destroying it."

He kicked it a third time, then grabbed one of the metal rings and yanked it sideways. The machine tilted, its internal components rattling loudly.

A piece of metal snapped loose.

He kicked it one more time, and the entire machine collapsed onto its side. The glass chamber shattered, the rotating rings came loose, and several wires ripped from the base.

The strange vibration immediately stopped.

Ken stood over the remains and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Felt good," he said. "Woowie. I’m tired, man."

"Yeah."

I looked at the destroyed machine and then at Ken.

We had managed to bring that monster down together. He had taken hits, fired arrows, distracted it, and even nearly pulled me back onto the mountain when I fell. If I kept the entire reward from the system for myself, I’d be nothing but a selfish bastard.

I opened my inventory and willed two gold coins into my hand before tossing them toward him.

╔═════════════════╗

> INVENTORY

───────────────────

> EMPTY

> EMPTY

> EMPTY

> EMPTY

> EMPTY

───────────────────

> Coin: 11 Gold 1 Silver

───────────────────

> x5 RARE MATERIALS

> x5 UNCOMMON MATERIALS

╚═════════════════╝

"Here. You earned it."

Ken caught both coins and looked down at them.

"For what?"

"Oh, nothing. I found them on the ground." I shrugged. "This is your half."

He looked at the two gold coins, then slowly raised his eyes toward me with a grin. "Two gold coins..."

"Yeah."

"Hey, Ace."

"What?"

"Let’s get back to the village, shall we?"

"The village? Why? We can just head back to the city."

He kept grinning. I stared at him for a few seconds before realizing exactly what he had in mind.

"Oh."

He nodded enthusiastically.

"YES!"

My god. This fucking guy.

"Man... you’re an idiot."

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I leaned back on the bench and crossed my arms, gazing at the dark sky. The stars looked lively now that the rain had passed, though a chill still lingered in the air. The village remained somewhat active despite the late hour. A few children were playing not far from where I sat, their wooden swords and shields clashing as they pretended to fight. Nearby, a mother was casting a healing spell on her son after he hurt himself falling from the edge of the well while playing with his friend to see who could jump the farthest.

Since I had some free time, I decided to check my dagger’s stats. After all, I’d earned some materials from killing that monster, right? Maybe I could use them to upgrade some of my gear. And first in line was my dagger.

╔═══════════════════════╗

> Decent Work Dagger (Uncommon)

╠═══════════════════════╣

> DMG: 5-10

> Durability: 20 / 20

> Req. Level: 5

────────────────────────

> Upgrade Level

> □ □ □

────────────────────────

> [ UPGRADE ] [ UNEQUIP ] [ BACK ]

╚═══════════════════════╝

I pressed Upgrade, and a new screen popped open. Damn. I didn’t have the necessary materials for an upgrade. Still, I was close. I just needed a little more. Apparently, I could upgrade the dagger three times, too. Good to know. Guess this dagger wasn’t the best, but considering how little I’d spent on it, I couldn’t really complain.

╔═══════════════════════╗

> Upgrade Decent Work Dagger

╠═══════════════════════╣

> x3 Uncommon Materials

> x1 Common Materials

> x1 Rare Materials

────────────────────────

> Upgrade Level

> □ □ □

╚═══════════════════════╝

For now, I quit out of the UI and rubbed my face. Man, what a tiring day this had been. I needed to sleep and get some rest, or I was going to go nuts.

The tavern door opened behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder.

Ken stepped outside, his hair completely disheveled and his chest rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath. Skolon followed him out, winked at me, then playfully slapped Ken on the backside and gave him a push toward the street before closing the door behind him.

Ken looked like he’d been through a battle. Lipstick marks covered his face, one of his shoes was in his hand, and the other was on the wrong foot. He had a completely vacant expression, as if he was still trying to process everything that had happened over the past few minutes.

With the two gold I’d given him, he could have bought something useful, but apparently getting laid had been higher on his list of priorities.

"Man..."

He walked around the bench and stopped behind me, staring down at me with an exhausted expression.

"That was... wow."

"How was it?"

"Uh... aggressive." His voice cracked slightly. "I mean, I... wow. I think I’ll listen to you from now on."

"Listen to me?"

"Yeah. Find myself a girlfriend instead of messing around." He shook his head. "Because that was just... nah."

"You didn’t like it?"

"No, no, I did." He gave me an awkward smile. "But what I want is... you know? Something with passion. Something slow and lovely."

"She wasn’t slow and lovely?"

"She was like that monster we fought on the mountain."

I laughed quietly.

Ken suddenly seemed to remember something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two gold coins.

"After I told her we took care of that weird device and stopped the animals from going berserk, she said these were also ’on the house,’ Ace."

"Lucky you. You got laid and still kept the coins."

"Yeah." He smiled. "Guess I’m lucky."

"Now let’s get out of here." I stood up and dusted off my pants before starting toward the village entrance. "Come on."

"Yeah." Ken looked around the village before glancing up at the sky. "Man, it’s late. Should we spend the night here? School’s out tomorrow anyway."

"We can walk. It’s not that far."

"Why? You think I’m not tired?"

"A little?"

"A little?" He looked offended. "Ace, my legs are barely working."

"Just come on." I gestured for him to follow and continued walking. "Don’t be lazy."

"Fineee." He dragged out the word as he followed me. "How about you carry me?"

"Nope. Fix your shoes."

"Carry me halfway?"

"Nope."

"Carry me for five minutes?"

"Shut... just shut up."

Ken laughed and followed me toward the village entrance.

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