Grinding to Make the Bill

The next morning Den was up and out of the house at seven. The whole party organized with the rising sun at the Hollows. This was necessary to reach their new monetary goal. They decided that everyone would get at least one run in the Hollows per day. With hardly a word between them and a lot of yawning, they ran the Fourth Layer and stashed their bags of Ore in their lockers when the job was done. Den wasn’t sure if he was getting stronger. His body still hurt, but on a continuous IV of slime potion, he couldn’t really be sure what his condition was. He did his landscaping job, his head bobbing with exhaustion, then made a second run of the Fourth Layer with Grengalheim and Rika in the evening.

When they gathered at the convenience store after their final run of the day, he flopped down into his seat and bit into his hamburger without tasting it. Rika had to elbow him to keep him from falling asleep while chewing.

“So how are we going to make this work?” Grengalheim asked when they finished eating. “Do we have a plan?” He looked at Den.

“We’re never going to finish on time...” Den groaned as he lay slumped back in the booth. He shook his head and slapped his cheeks. “No. We can do this! We can do this!” Sure, the first day in the Hollows had been painful and the second day worse, but the third day had given him hope as he thought he was recovering. But now, after a week, he found his hopes had been premature. His body was torn to pieces, especially after the silver slime battle. Their haul was just a drop in the bucket toward what they needed.

“I was hoping for more than just words of encouragement from the group’s strategist,” Grengalheim said with a sigh. “Hope isn’t lost. We still can make this work. Especially since you all got your hands on this.” He reached under the table and brought out the shimmering silver slime jar and set it in the middle of the table. “You did well catching a Silver Slime.”

“Well, it wasn’t easy,” Sam groaned. “Do we sell it?”

Grengalheim crossed his hands. “As much as I would much rather use it, that’s probably what we’re going to have to do. It will take a good chunk off the 350,000 doubloons, but we’ll still need more.”

“I have a plan,” Rika said, sitting up from her drink and picking up her Pointy Stick of Destruction. “First, we find a bank--”

“Why is that your first thought?” Den asked, a little worried about the thousand mile stare Rika started her statement with.

Chloe reached over to Rika’s hand holding her weapon, eased it back down, then started rubbing Rika’s head to put her in a trance. “Chloe wonders if there is something her party could make and sell.” She frowned. “There probably isn’t enough time though.”

“I think we’re pretty lucky,” Sam said. “I mean, we found a silver slime after all. We could try our luck at the lottery.”

Grengalheim crossed his arms. “I think we’re forgetting the easiest option.” He pulled out a tablet from his side bag and opened a white page scribled with notes then lifted a pen. “We should make a budget.”

Rika groaned. “I hate budgets. Now you sound like my mom.”

“Your mother knows what it means to be an adult,” he said. “If we want to make our deadline, we’re going to have to make some lifestyle adjustments.” Grengalheim turned the tablet around for them all to see. “We need 50,000 for insurance and 10,000 for membership. That’s 60,000 each due in five days.” He looked up at Den and Rika. “Don’t forget the extra 10,000 you owe Chloe too.”

Den rubbed the back of his head. He planned on paying her back. 60,000 doubloons, huh? He grimaced. Not quite, he owned GrandPre rent for 20,000 and another 20,000 for his computer downpayment. So over 100,000. That was scary. He’d never made a budget before. He pulled out his coin wallet. After their dinner purchase, he had 9,000 remaining. Back when they only had 30,000 to pay, he’d thought it was going to be possible. Now, hearing the amounts at face value, it seemed impossible. and wWriting it out wouldn’t change that. Only more trips through the Hollows. “How does a budget help us now?” he asked.

“We plan so that we know it happens,” Grengalheim said. “It’s not a matter of hoping we’ll make it. If we can’t make the bill, it’s over. We must plan exactly how we’ll do it, or we won’t know how and it won’t happen. I know I can make my portion, but I am not going to have any room to help anyone else. I make around 300,000 doubloons a month at the store, but after rent for my apartment and food, the reamaining 80,000 is a little bit tight. I’ve quit my gym membership and other monthly subscriptions which will save me another 20,000 doubloons at the turnover this weekend just before our membership payday. It’s not much, but I know exactly how I am going to make it.” He spun the tablet back to himself and put his pen to it, looking at Den. “So, Den. If you don’t mind, your budget plan?”

“Wait what, me first?” Den looked at the others. Rika sat with her elbows on the table, holding her head, her face pale. Sam offered an apologetic shrug.

Chloe gave him a thumbs up, her bunny ear lifting. “Den should be simple, no?”

He leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head. “Okay fine. It’s not like I have any payments anyway.” Looking up at the ceiling, it didn’t take him long to organize his income and expenses. “I should be fine on bill day. I’ll get 50,000 Doubloons from my landscaping job the day before. I’ll get another 13,000 from my work for GrandPre. I already have 90,000 so I just need to earn another 27,000 in these next five days out of the Hollows. That’s possible, right?”

“You’ve been working hard,” Chloe said, reaching up and petting his head. “One benefit: you have lost some of the pudge under your chin.”

Den touched his neck. “Really?”

She nodded. “You now look like a starving whale. Both round and gaunt.”

Den wasn’t sure if that was an improvement.

“Thank you, Den,” Grengalheim said, marking off his part of the page with a long line. “Next Rika.”

“I’m thinking,” she said, face twisted, not looking up from the table. “Come back to me.”

“Chloe knows,” Chloe said, raising a floppy sleeved hand. “Chloe’s work doesn’t give reliable income, but she will make her payment.” She nodded as if that ended it.

“So… how do you plan to pay your portion?” Sam pushed.

Chloe tilted her head. “Chloe has savings.” She gave this explanation too as if it were the most obvious answer. Responding to the open confusion on Den’s face, she continued. “Chloe lives at her mother’s. She is a busy company president, so she pays Chloe kindly for taking care of the family house.” She gave one final nod. “Chloe has saved money for years. She has had nothing to spend money on.”

“Are you still running that VR cosplay server?” Grengalheim asked. “Back in the day you were spending a pretty penny on that if I remember correctly.”

Chloe shook her head. “Chloe was abandoned by all her friends in that group. Chloe doesn’t spend money with roleplay groups anymore.”

Grengalheim’s brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he looked back down at his tablet, and added Chloe’s notes to the list without another comment.

“I wish I had that close of a relationship with my parents,” Sam groaned. “My parents couldn’t wait to send me off. I mean, yeah, I am the fourth kid, but I wish I didn’t have to spend so much on my apartment when I really wish I could be saving for travel. My part-time job money always slips away.” Sam crossed their arms with a conflicted look on their face. “It hurts, but I suppose my vtuber wives will just have to do without my donations for a little while.” They gave a solid nod, though they still looked pained by their decision. “I’ll leave my patreon groups too. Between our Hollows loot and what I have left over from my restaurant job, my bookstore job, and my game shop job, it might be close...”

“Wait, you work at a game store too?” Den asked. “Just how many jobs do you have?”

Sam took another moment to count on their fingers. “Around five or six? A few have me only work busy seasons. I like to keep the options open. I get super bored if I do the same job every day.”

“Do you have anywhere else you can cut?” Grengalheim asked.

Sam scratched the side of their head. “I guess I can cut all my books and streaming purchases. It’s not like I have any free time outside of work and the Hollows now. That’ll help, but with how we’re spending money here each night, I still might be in trouble.”

“Chloe thinks the answer is simple?” She tilted her head. “The party stops eating at this convenience store.”

Rika looked up with a horrified look on her face, still holding her head. “But if I don’t eat, I’ll die.”

Den also didn’t like that plan. “If I ate any less than I am now, I think I really will die.”

“Well, we don’t have to splurge every night,” Grengalheim said with a laugh. “I can cook.”

“And Chloe has a big kitchen,” Chloe said, throwing her arms in the air. “Chloe remembers Grengalheim’s cooking.” She licked her lips. “Chloe has never once come close.”

Sam’s eyes glowed. “You’d share your food with me?”

Den leaned on his fist. “I’d help buy groceries.”

Sam’s eyes watered. “So this is what it means to be a party.”

“Keep working on that budget, Sam. Given your various jobs, I’d like to message you later tonight on actual figures.” Grengalheim said, finishing his notes. He let his gaze fall on Rika whose eyes were squeezed shut. She opened one eye when the conversation went quiet.

She let out a sigh. “No matter how I think about it, my budget isn’t going to change. I can do what everyone else is doing. Cancel subscriptions. Cut shopping.”

“Do you live on your own?” Den asked.

“No… I live with my sister. I only pay for groceries.” She dragged her hands up and down her cheeks. “Still, it’s going to be tough to pull together an extra 60,000 doubloons in five days.”

“Oh come on, what else could you be spending money on?” Den asked. “You live and breathe the Hollows life.”

She groaned and rubbed her head roughly before jumping to her feet. “If we push through to the Fifth Layer, isn’t that reward better than what we’ve been crunching? If we do enough runs, I’m sure I’ll be able to save up enough.”

Grengalheim finished taking a note. “The Fifth Layer does pay well, but that’s because it’s tough. I wasn’t even sure we should try it this early. I don’t think it’s wise to bet on money we can’t be sure of. I am expecting everyone to pull their weight. Can you do that? If you can’t, then--”

“I know!” she shouted, flopping back down and holding her head. “I’ll make a plan. I’ll find the money.”

Grengalheim continued to look at her for a long moment. “We can pull about 1,500 doubloons on average per run of the Fourth Layer. If we are feeling confident next time we can get the full party together, we’ll do a run of the Fifth. That will hopefully give us double the pull.”

Rika’s eyes sparkled. “I believe in us!”

“I’m sorry, but while I like you all, I don’t believe in people anymore,” Grengalheim said with a tired laugh. “You can budget one Fifth Layer run, but I want to know tomorrow morning a specific plan of how you are going to get the money. If I’m not happy with it, I’ll go to the Guildmaster myself and leave the party.”

Den was deeply impressed with how Grengalheim manipulated the situation. He was a man Den respected for the control he had over his life. His speech about making the budget make their success a sure thing? Legit. He was a far better planner than Den could ever hope to be. It was enough to make Den ball his fists and look down at the table. Really, the only good thing Den offered the party was filling the fifth member slot. I’ll just have to make myself useful! he promised himself.

The days passed in a daze. Den traveled around the suburb with the landscaping crew or rode around on his bike visiting various old people to do chores for GrandPre. His body ached savagely every moment he wasn’t on the slime potion, so in or out of the Hollows he came to always have a bottle close at hand. His party composition continued to switch around. Despite his best efforts, he was still the weakest of the group, but his consistency at least allowed him to reach level five along with the rest of his party noobies.

On the day they had officiated the party he hoped that they would achieve great things. But with each passing day, he could feel that dream dying. Even with his team working together as much as their part time jobs allowed, each day only proceeded to get harder than the last. Clearing the Tenth Layer? Not possible without another Enchanted Item. Buy one? Not possible without a shitton of doubloons. Make that? Not possible without a hell of a lot more runs.

And in that hope they pushed.

The eleventh day of their trial membership arrived. Den had no work to get in the way and after days of only grinding the first four layers, the time had finally come for the full party to hit the Fifth Layer. Den set out at nine and almost left home without his phone. Not that it really mattered, but it still felt wrong to leave home without it. If he wanted to show off what he’d learned in the Guild app to Rika, he would need it.

The morning quickly lost the cool of night as he again made his way up the Primordial Hollows Hill. The morning old folks that used the clearing for yoga had cleared out. Den’s four party members waited in front of the doors.

Den wasn’t the only one who showed the wear of the week. Grengalheim’s armor was scratched and he stood with his shoulders sagging as he waited with his arms crossed. Chloe yawned openly, her jacket covered in dust. One of the bunny ears on the hood had ripped off so now she had become symmetrical considering her real bunny ear. Sam stood with their arms hanging, hands bound up and face pale with bags under their eyes, matching their skeletal onesie. Even Rika, their energetic leader, was covered in bandages, one eye blacked and the other covered in an eyepatch after a particularly rough battle against a mounted skeleton. Seriously, all skeletons could go die.

Grengalheim raised his chin at Den with a tired smile. “You ready for the Fifth Layer?”

“He better be ready,” Rika said, hitting the earth with a new Pokey Stick of Destruction. “Because I’m ready!”

“Rika is only talking strong because she is in front of Den,” Chloe said, reaching up a hand and setting it on Rika’s head. Rika at once seemed to calm as she was petted. “Don’t try so hard.”

“Well, we’ve all made it out here,” Sam said, rubbing their cheeks with their bandaged hands. “I guess we really have to hit up the Fifth Layer, huh?”

“We got that mid-stratum boosted Infinity Chest waiting for us,” Den said, pulling out a bottle of slime potion and taking a big gulp. His pain faded. “I’m not feeling great either, but we should be at a high enough level now. We have to be. We need that Ore.”

If the Tenth Layer was the boss of the first Stratum, then the Fifth Layer was the mini-boss. This layer would be a challenge. Den really hoped it would pay off. There was no more talk about their goals of delving or buying an Enchanted Item. They’d managed to save up a considerable amount of Essence Ore, perhaps even as much as half they needed, but they had only a few days remaining and their bills loomed. They had not made nearly as much as they’d hoped, all the while getting beat up. It was enough to get Den’s teeth grinding. He needed this layer to pay off.

Not that anyone seemed all that inspired to move. This was their first time together in several days, and yet no one seemed to want to lead them into what was surely going to be a tough fight. Even Rika-- the one who wanted to enter the layer the most-- stood nodding off on her feet while holding onto a branch Pointy Stick of Destruction, her pvc pipe strapped to her back. She was not a morning person. Den supposed he would have to be the one to get their party mascot inspired for this.

“I am more than ready.” He let a cocky grin spread across his face. “More ready than Rika, even. I mean, I am a higher level, so I guess today you can hide behind me if you want.”

Rika jerked up to awakeness in an instant and met Den with open-mouthed indignation. “You’re what now?”

Den put one hand to his chin and drew up his phone, showing their party levels. While Rika ran her shift the night before, Den had gained just enough experience to reach level eight before her. He snorted with a very satisfying and disgusting laugh. “I’m level eight, Rika! It must be hard being only level seven. As the strongest member of the team, I guess I’ll be leading the party into--”

Rika screeched and jumped on Den, poking his stomach. The startling attack soon left him squirming and laughing with tears in his eyes, begging her to stop. She rose up, hmphed and turned to the Hollows doors. “We’re going in.”

What a sore loser, he thought, composing himself and getting up.

They entered the Connecting Crystal chamber. Rika lifted her Guild Badge, preparing to transport them down to the Fifth Layer just as white lights flashed on the other side of the room, momentarily blinding Den. When he blinked the light from his eyes, his mouth dropped open. A young woman stood looking at them with raised eyebrows.

“What a young party!” the woman declared. She stood several inches taller than Den, her muscled body easy to see in her tight marathon clothes. Her hair was cut very short, and she wore an aero helmet that came to a point at the back of her head. Her eyes were protected by an attached visor. Even her elbows and knees were bound in pads. Den didn’t see a weapon on her. She wore a small backpack that definitely couldn’t hold but a fraction of Essence Ore. What was a cyclist doing down in the Hollows?

“Ah!” the woman said before any of Den’s team had come to terms with her arrival. “I have heard of you,” she said in a russian accent. “Guildmaster say there is new party.”

“Yeah, we’re Rika’s Awesome Party,” Rika said.

“That’s not official,” Den corrected.

“I am Speed Runner,” the woman said, not seeming to care.

While Den wasn’t sure if that counted as a name, he did accept her image of speed at a glance.

“Where Rika Party go?” the woman asked.

“Fifth Layer,” Chloe said, seeming to find comradery with the newcomer. “First time.”

The woman let out a burst of laughter. “Good. I just come there. The record is now mine.” She swiped her phone from her belt. She tapped the screen then held it for them all to see. Displayed was a page showing a clear time ranking of the Suburb 23 Fifth Layer. Speed Runner had the first place with only twenty-nine minutes and thirty-six seconds. “Try to beat that, yah?” She let out another bark of laughter.

There was a feature in the Guild App that recorded completion time? Den hadn’t seen it. Just to be expected from the complicated mess that was the Guild App. The next name on the list was /\HamburgerzLife/\. That was an Isekaijin name if Den had ever seen one. This woman had cleared the Layer faster than one? Yeah, he didn’t think she was going to have to worry about them challenging her record.

Rika lifted her fist. “We’ll try!”

“Good! I defeat boss fast, but children best be careful. I fear no man, but that thing--” she paused her intense gaze rolled over them. “It scares me.” She laughed and walked past them out of the Hollows.

“Chloe is suddenly intimidated,” Chloe said, taking a step closer to Rika. It gave Den’s heart a twitch of pain that he had been closer. “Should Chloe be worried about that?”

Sam crossed their arms. “We are going to go up against a true king…”

“You’ll see it soon enough,” Grengalheim said. “It’s a considerable foe, but nothing we can’t handle.”

A single line of sweat ran down Den’s brow. He remembered the last time Grengalheim had said those very words.

The world flashed white and an exhilarating feeling of falling washed over Den as Rika teleported them down to the Fifth Layer. The start of the layer surprisingly easy. That was mostly in part from Rika dual wielding her Pointy Sticks. The Fifth Layer was by no means easy. The tunnels were at times wide and with expansive pools. They ran into a beaver dam that spawned nearly thirty of the damn things. Other times the path was tight with many sharp turns and difficult ups and downs. Den learned true fear when small rodents like hedgehogs would rain down on them from above, or waited for them below. Den would be pulling quills from his body for days to come.

But even with the challenge, having Rika at the helm, they made decent progress. Den even found that after a half hour of bringing down monsters, while he was out of breath, he wasn’t completely down for the count. Not only was the team becoming used to their attack zones and patterns, Den found that he might actually be getting stronger.

The stream of monsters came continuously and even if he was stronger, by the time they cleared the two mounted-skeleton mini-bosses, Den was already starting to feel worn out. Pulling his phone from his waist bag, he found that they’d been going at it for forty minutes. Guess we’re not beating Speed Runner’s record. It took them another ten minutes to cut their way to the tall wooden doors that guarded the boss room.

They took a moment to squat and eat some trail snacks and quench their thirst. Rika seemed even more bloodthirsty than usual and rose to her feet first. “I’m ready.” Her breath came a little short still.

Nonetheless, Den was the second to rise. He wasn’t going to let her outshine him now that he was rising in their world. He shoved his bottle of slime in his outside pocket-- he didn’t really drink all that much water. Why should he? Slime potion must be mostly water anyway with a half a dozen other amazing effects. “I’m right behind you.”

The other members of their team stood and Rika threw open the boss doors. The party entered a wide round chamber with vases placed at equal points around the walls. Unlike the boss rooms they had seen in the past however, a pool of water in the center of the room had five branches that grew out like the arms of a star. A magic circle glowed deep in the center pool.

“Prepare yourself, everyone,” Grengalheim said. “It’s coming.”

Den drew his tools and fell into a squat at the ready. He gulped. The light of the magic circle faded and suddenly a great splash broke the surface of the water. A capybara stood with its thick square head held high, a tiny crown on its head, its brown fur dripping with water. It’s regal gaze fell on them and it gave a single huff as if scoffing at them.

In an instant, the tension drained out of Rika and she rose up, her arms holding her two Pointy Sticks going slack. “Is that a capybara?” she asked. She squinted. “What is it even doing here? It’s smaller than a Giant Rat!”

“It’s cute,” Chloe gasped, eyes sparkling. “Chloe doesn’t want to kill that.”

“That is Capybara, King of Rodents,” Sam said. “It was the largest rodent that lived in the Isekaijin days! Give it the respect it deserves.”

“Eeeeeh?” Rika was not amused. “Well, cute or not, I’m going to go kill it, okay?” She lifted her weapons and ran for the monster.

“Rika wait--!” Sam said, starting to run after her.

“You just wait right there,” Rika said, waving a stick. “I got this.”

“Just let her go,” Grengalheim said. “We’ll only get in her way. We must be ready for when the Ancient God awakens.”

Now that was ominous. Den didn’t like that one bit. He followed Grengalheim’s lead, keeping his weapons raised as the rest of the party edged forward side by side while Rika met the king of rodents.

The monster-- if it could be really called that-- waited for Rika to arrive. She jumped in at it with a yell and her classic Pointy Stick. The monster jumped aside and lifted its head. It made a strange squeak and clicked as it snapped its incisors together, a voice of jungle and mystery. At once, a pair of portals opened up on either side of Rika. Out of the swirling portals of magic, two dozen rodents including squirrels, rabbits, porcupines, and even tiny mice poured out with a cacophony of squeaking.

“What the hell!?” Rika gasped. They mobbed her, climbing up her legs and sinking their itty incisors into her. She yelled out and wildly swung her pointy sticks. Some of the rodents squeaked in pain and fell off her, and some even burst into smoke, but still others climbed their way up her body. Releasing an incoherent stream of blasphemies, she squirmed, batting and stabbing at the rodents while Capybara, King of Rodents, unhurriedly walked around Rika outside her range until it stood directly behind her.

Capybara, King of Rodents, gave another clicking squeak and the remaining rodents jumped off Rika and ran into the portal. Rika was left heaving and blinking in surprise. The king burst forth, running with its high hips swinging and tackled Rika’s legs from behind, sending her collapsing to the earth. It came to a soft landing on the other side, releasing a happy chirp.

The rodent’s blocky head and wall-eyed stare didn’t have any expression, but somehow, Den could feel the snarky condescending look it gave Rika, standing with its head held high. It’s crown gave a little sparkle. How Den understood, he didn’t know, but in the beast’s refined stance, Capybara, King of Rodents seemed to say, “Yes, bow before me, fool. You who know not a king when you see one, roll around in the dirt like the vermin you are.”

“Oh you little--!” Rika scrambled to her feet, seeming to comprehend the monster’s words as clearly as Den had. She instigated her attack with twice the intensity. Capybara, King of Rodents, gave another clicking chirp and rodents rushed out of a portal to fall on Rika once more. The battle continued as such for nearly ten minutes as the king ran circles around Rika-- quite literally. When it finally knocked her down, causing her to faceplant, it jumped on her head and chirped happily.

Den couldn’t take it anymore. “Should we help her?” he asked.

“No,” Grengalheim said. “It’s just playing with her. It won’t be long now.”

Rika swung up, throwing off Capybara, King of Rodents. It landed gracefully on all fours, its crown landing perfectly back on its head. Rika gave a guttural roar, rising up with her shoulders hanging and breathing heavy.

You okay, Rika? Den thought. You’ve gone a little feral there.

Rika huffed violently, rushing forward on wild feet, her Pointy Sticks of Destruction held out to the sides. Capybara, King of Rodents, summoned another portal, but even as the rodents swarmed Rika, she didn’t even slow down. She moved forward unbothered as the animals sank their teeth into her. With a glint in her eye, she threw her classic Pointy Stick of Destruction. Capybara, King of Rodents, dodged out of the way, but Rika expected this and appeared at its feet.

Den gasped. Rika brought down her Pointy Stick 2.0.

The rodents clinging to her jumped off and scurried away into the portal, leaving only Rika heaving in front of the king. It stood with its head tilted to the side, Rika’s weapon planted into the earth a sliver away from its head. Den could just make out a tiny sparkle of blood run down the beast’s royal whiskers. He caught his breath as in an instant the air in the room went cold.

Capybara, King of Rodent’s flat expression didn’t change, but Den could at a glance recognize that it now looked at Rika with a serious shine in its eyes. “Heh, I didn’t think you had that in you, peasant,” the gaze seemed to say. “To think one such as you would manage to land a hit on this great visage.” The King of Rodents lowered its head. “You have earned this. Let me show you true fear.”

Sam gasped. “It’s coming.”

“What?” Den asked, a cold sweat breaking out on his body. “What is coming?”

Capybara, King of Rodents lifted its head, showing its adorable buck teeth. It let out a loud clicking chirp, filled with the wisdom of ancient woods deeper than mankind could ever know. Den at once understood something bad was coming, and began to tremble.

A huge portal opened behind the king, and a massive furry paw stepped out. In the next instant, a thick head burst out of the portal, giving out a loud low squeak. In that frozen second, Den’s heart froze, looking into deep black eyes. A huge beast-- ten times the size of Capybara, King of Rodents-- rumbled out of the portal. It looked remarkably similar, having the same square head and herbivore vision. Its eyes were clouded over with age and wisdom. Its ragged brown fur was speckled white on its back, a wide tail hanging from its rump like a mantel. On its head sat a tiny black as night red jeweled diadem that oozed ancient wonder.

Den could not breath in the face of such a creature. Rika knelt in a crouch, still breathing hard. Despite all her rage, the incredible pressure of the monster seemed to have brought back her human senses. She knew the beast was not to be underestimated. Finally, Den was able to choke out, “What the hell is that thing?”

“It’s Old God Josephoartigasia Monesi,” Sam said, swiping out their glasses and consulting their notebook (where were they even keeping those!?) to carefully pronounce that mouthful. Sam pushed up their glasses with a flash of light. “It’s the largest rodent ever to grace old Earth.” They stowed their glasses and book then shouted, “You have no chance against Old God Joseph alone, Rika! Retreat!”

Chloe’s eyes sparkled. “Chloe loves it. It’s so chunky and cute! Can Chloe keep it as a pet?”

“Uh, I don’t think even you could handle this one ton furball,” Grengalheim said, lifting his telescoping polearm. A drop of sweat ran down the side of his head. “It’s bigger than a grizzly!”

“All the more to cuddle!” Chloe said, her face twitching into a dreamy grin. Den had to grab her shoulder to keep her from floating forward to the monster.

The great beast looked down on Rika in clear contempt, though its wall eyes did not move. It seemed to say, “This? This is our foe?”

Capybara, King of Rodents turned its head to the side. “Indeed. It has foolishly decided to face us, oh almighty one. Shall we teach it its place?”

Old God Joseph gave a single rumbling squeak. “So be it.”

In that instant, Rika grew rigged, her instincts seeming to kick in. She jumped back, just barely avoiding the monster’s heavy paw. Even from five meters away, Den could feel the vibration of the impact.

That thing is a rodent? Den thought, his legs trembling. How in the world is that thing a rodent!?

Sam held up their phone, their camera clicking. They put a V over their eye and stuck out their tongue. “You wanted pictures for the blog boss, you got them.”

“Appreciated,” Den said, his voice going high and squeaky, “but I don’t think now is the time for that!”

Rika spun around on her heels and ran for them with tears in her eyes. “I lied. I don’t got this!”

“This isn’t like the time against the Skeletal Rat!” Grengalheim said. “Our weapons should deal damage just fine!”

Taking in a deep breath, Den lifted his tools while Rika ran screaming for them, Old God Joseph just behind. Each time its paws hit earth, the ground shook.

“Cute fuzzy attacking cute Rika,” Chloe said with pain in her voice and lip wavering. “Cute fuzzy will have to die!” she finally seemed to conclude. Congrats, Rika, you were chosen over a monster.

A moment before Rika would run past them, she gritted her teeth, a fresh look of determination rising to her face. She pulled in her pvc pipe and slid down onto one knee, spinning around to face the monster. She took hold of the spear with both hands and braced it against the ground. The hulking monster steamrolled in, unable to stop. It impaled itself on the point, its own weight driving the point deep into its chest. It gave a surprised squeak.

The rest of them fell on the startled monster. Grengalheim jabbed his polearm on the right while Chloe stabbed with her knife on the left. With a hot flash, Sam unloaded a Roll blast on the beast’s face. Finally, Den grit his teeth and jammed his screwdriver into the monster’s neck. It hardly sank two inches into the monster’s tough muscle. Old God Joseph nonetheless released a pained squeak and took a step back.

Grengalheim laughed out loud. “Yes! Just like that, everyone! We can do this!”

A squeak came from below, and Capybara, King of Rodents slammed its body into Grengalheim from behind, knocking him from his feet. Old God Joseph brushed off the rest of them and reared back on its hind legs to stomp down on Grengalheim. He yelped as his metal breastplate cracked under the pressure. The beast stepped off him, leaving him squirming and holding his torso. “Oh god, everything hurts,” he moaned. Den sweat, seeing the light metal armor on Grengalheim’s chest had been flattened. That had been the pop-- he hoped.

Rika managed to yank out her spear and jump back up to her feet. Den knew at once that protecting Grengalheim had to be top priority. “Rika, Chloe, lay into it!” he called. “Sam, distract it!” The others moved at once. Rika and Chloe spread out around the monster, stabbing it quickly before jumping back while Sam backed up, keeping their arm pointed at the godly rodent. The beast swung around its massive weight, coming close to slamming into them, but each time it set its sight on one of the two, Sam would hit its head with a Roll blast.

This continued long enough for Den to pull Grengalheim away from the battle. That was not easy. Even with Den throwing all his weight around, Grengalheim was a dead hunk of weight. “You alive?” he asked.

“Ugh, yes,” he groaned, holding his stomach. “I’m just going to be sick.”

Den jumped back in time to avoid Grengalheim’s poison type attack. He ran to Sam’s side. To be honest, he didn’t know what he should do. He imagined his weapons would only piss off the monster without actually doing any damage. But seriously, they must have stabbed the thing a dozen times now, and it barely seemed to notice. “How much health does this thing have?” he said.

“Oh, you can see that in the Guild App, you know,” Sam said, drawing out their phone, with their free hand.

“Wait, really?” Den asked.

In a few skilled seconds, they had pulled up a camera. On capturing Old God Joseph, its name appeared over its head onscreen and a health bar hung below it.

“What do you mean it’s still in the upper yellow?” Den spat. It was a boss monster, but that was just disgusting. As the monster turned its focus on Rika, Sam fired off a weak Roll Blast that must have been a low single digit. It slapped the side of the monster’s head and it flinched but didn’t slow. Its health bar only decreased a sliver.

Den suddenly didn’t like their odds. Chloe jammed her knife into the monster from behind. It glanced back, giving Rika the chance to jump away. The monster kicked, and nailed Chloe hard in the stomach. She flew back two meters through the air and hit the ground hard.

“Chloe!” Den shouted.

She coughed once hard and rolled onto her back. “Chloe hurts,” she declared.

That was one more teammate down.

Old God Joseph returned its attention to Rika. She bit her lip before she turned to run. Just then, however, Capybara, King of Rodents ran under her, knocking out her feet and sending her down on her face-- again.

Den caught his breath. He moved without thinking. He yelled and ran forward. He jabbed Old God Joseph. The monster’s head turned, an eye filled with fathomless wisdom falling on him. It tackled him aside. He flew back before hitting earth. Surprisingly, with only his head spinning, he managed to stumble back onto his feet. Sam had run in, literally punching the monster in the nose, which seemed to actually surprise it. They unloaded a Roll Blast, Rika following up by stabbing it. Den moved to throw himself into the thrall, but Sam’s call stopped him.

“Den, take down Capybara, King of Rodents!” they called. “If you do, the portal will close and the big one will disappear.”

Den growled. “You tell me now?”

“Yeah, I didn’t think it was going to be this tough. We’ll handle this friend!”

Den grumbled, looking over the room to see Capybara, King of Rodents, standing by noblely, looking on with its body turned sideways. He just had to hope that they could handle Old God Joseph. The king was more his size. He yelled and ran for it. Capybara, King of Rodents however turned at once and started to gallop away. Den had hardly made it ten steps before the monster lepth into the water and swam away. Damn, Den thought. What did I think was going to happen?

“Shit!” Sam shouted. Den looked over his shoulder to see Old God Joseph completely ignore Rika and charge at Sam. They fired a Roll Blast at its face, but only a low red blast released. It didn’t even slow the monster. “Shit!” Sam said again. They fired again-- another dud. “Oh come on!” they shouted. “Three in a row?”

Old God Joseph slammed into their gut, tossing them away. Sam struck earth then rolled around groaning, not making any move to stand up.

That made three party members down.

Rika stabbed the beast with her Pointy Stick of Destruction. The monster turned on her. There was no one to help her now. Den turned on his heel to run to her aid. Halfway through his turn though, his weight spun him off balance, his overextended leg twisting under him and sending a sharp pain running up his body. He slammed ungracefully to the ground. Moaning, he pulled in his throbbing leg.

Rika yelped, drawing Den’s gaze back up. She flew back through the air, her pipe sticking out of Old God Joseph’s side. She hit the ground and rolled to a stop. She started to push herself up, but her arms trembled. The monster looked at her. In the gaze, it seemed to say, “Foolish mortal. Now you will pay most dearly for your transgressions. Return to dust.” The monster ran at her.

Den pushed himself up, but yelped as his leg spasmed with pain. He jerked out his bottle of slime and took a drink then poured the rest on his hurting leg. It did little, but hissing through his teeth, he drew up and awkwardly forced himself forward on uneven legs. Even so he wasn’t going to make it. The monster reared up over Rika. That thing had dented Grengalheim’s armor with a small jump. Rika was not going to make it. Heart hammering in his chest, Den did the only thing he could. He shoved his hand in his pocket and drew out the Slip Tiara.

“Save us!” he called. Its purple energy rushed out over the room. The weight of Essence Ore in his backpack fizzled, and in another flash, his stomach dropped away.

He fell to the earth, all his party members and their weapons clattering with them. He rolled on the ground, holding his leg. Well that sucked, he thought, scraping himself off the earth. He pushed himself up. But as long as Rika is okay-- He looked up to see the girl in question walking straight for him. He let out a sigh of relief.

Her fist slammed against his cheek, planting him back in the dirt.

“Why the hell did you do that?” she screamed, tears in her eyes. “We totally could have taken that thing down!”

Den held his throbbing cheek, blinking repeatedly. He pushed himself up onto one elbow. “You were about to be pancaked,” he said.

“That thing was slow as molasses. I could have gotten out of the way!” She grabbed her hair and pulled on it. “I can’t believe you did that!” She screeched through her teeth. She spotted the Slip Tiara on the ground and snatched it up. “You don’t get this anymore,” she said, shoving it into her own pocket. She stomped around in a circle. “You just wasted the whole morning run, you know that? We have less crystal than we went in with. I spent an hour last night working out a budget where we cleared that layer. Now I have to start all over again.”

Chloe ran in and threw up her arms in front of Den. “Rika is being mean,” she said, her voice quivering. “Den just wanted to help.”

“And a lot of good that did,” she said, throwing up her hands. Tears sparkled in her eyes. “You might have just ruined everything, Den.”

“That’s not fair, Rika,” Sam said, standing and walking to her side, grabbing her shoulder.

Grengalheim pushed himself up onto one knee. “We were all down, Rika. How did you plan on taking down that boss monster?”

Rika bit her lip, but suddenly her face lit up. “What’s the time?” She pulled her phone from her jacket pocket and looked down at the screen. “We can try again.” She looked over the group with hope lighting her face. When no one moved, her mood soured. “What? That all you got? It’s only the Fifth Layer. We have to do better than this. We have to earn more money or else--” she sniffed. “Or else--”

“I’ll do it,” Den said. Tears welled in his own eyes and his chest twisted with regret. I will not be the one to cause our team to fail. He pushed up, but his leg screamed in pain and he fell back on his butt, wincing.

“Den,” Grengalheim said with a sigh. “Rika--”

“I can do this!” Den shouted, heat rising to his face. I can’t let this all fall apart because I didn’t have the guts. “I’m going to make this work!” He tore off his backpack and ripped out bags and shuffled through the little remaining Ore shards until he pulled out another bottle of slime potion. He took three long draughts before he shakily poured the rest of it on his leg. He gritted his teeth and put both hands on the ground. Hissing, he pulled in his hurting leg, a long inner knee muscle screaming in pain. He forced the leg under himself and pushed himself up, the leg trembling violently under his weight.

He wiped his tears away. “I can still do more,” he said. “I’m a loser, but I can pretend to be an adventurer as many runs as it takes. I can keep going.”

The chamber grew quiet. Den caught his shallow breath and looked up at Rika. She met him with a broken, pained expression Den couldn’t read.

A soft buzzing shook Den’s waist bag, giving him a start. He fished out his phone. Tethered to Grengalheim’s internet, he was actually receiving a call from GrandPre. Just great, he thought, grounding his teeth. This is not the time… Even so, she had never called him before, so he decided he had to answer. He limped to the side of the chamber and leaned against the wall, bringing his phone to his ear.

The dial clicked and his grandmother’s voice came at once. “Den.”

“What do you want, GrandPre?” he asked.

“I know you had plans this morning, but my head is killing me.” It may have just been the distortion of the call, but her voice came through weaker and raspier than Den had ever heard before. “What pains me more is that I must ask for your assistance. Could you come home?”

Den sighed. It’s not like I have a choice. “I’ll be right home,” he said.

“Thank you.” The sincerity in her voice cooled his head.

By the time he had stowed his phone, Rika had made her way around the chamber and picked up both her pointy sticks. Clutching them in one hand, she pulled out her Builder’s Badge. “I’ll hit the Fourth Layer,” she said. She gave Den a conflicted glare. “I’ll make up what I need on my own. Don’t be mad when I’m a higher level than you.” White light flashed and she disappeared.

Chloe turned around and set her hands on Den’s shoulders. “Den needs to rest,” she said with great intensity. She let go, ran to snatch her knife off the ground while saying, “And Chloe needs to make sure Rika doesn’t get herself killed.” She disappeared in a flash a moment later.

Sam patted Den’s shoulder once. “I think you did the right thing. That was a real adventurer’s choice.” They teleported away too.

Grengalheim stood up. “You need help getting home?” he asked.

Den took a couple tentative steps towards the closed chamber doors. His leg still hurt with every step, but the slime potion was doing its magic. “I’ll make it.”

“We’ll talk sense into her,” Grengalheim said. “There’s no need for you to grind yourself down to nothing.”

“Yes there is,” Den said bitterly. “I’m useless. If I have any hope to make it as a career adventurer, I have to work harder-- harder than anyone.” He took a trembling breath. “And I have to finish what we’ve started.” He held his head high. “I’ll see you tonight for the evening run.”