Chapter 12-Where Are We Going?

Cereza sighed. “I guess you were right. Somehow this does suit you better.”

Anjou stood in front of the mirrors admiring herself. In just an evening not only had Alon made exactly what she asked for, he managed to make it even better. The robe was a deep crimson with bright gold trim that faded into the red much like beach sand being consumed by the ocean. The material was light and silky just as she specified, but it was durable. Alon had proved that point when he tried to cut it with a pair of shears and they did nothing. And her ears fit perfectly through the top of the hood. It almost felt like she had nothing on her head.

As Anjou examined herself she reflexively squeezed her hands into fists and her smile faded just a bit. She tried to hide it, but Alon noticed.

“Something wrong My Lady?”

“No, everything is perfect. I just…it feels weird not having a pair of boxing gloves to go with the outfit.”

“What are those?” Cereza asked. She was the only one to accompany her back to the tailor. Now that all the formalities and traditions were out of the way, everyone had their own things to do.

Anjou looked at Cereza in the mirror. “They’re a special type of glove that protects your hand and your opponent from getting seriously hurt.”

Cereza scoffed. “What’s the point in that?”

“It was a sport, not a death match.”

“My Lady, can I ask what these boxing gloves are made of?” Alon asked. He had a piece of paper and a pencil out and looked ready to jot down notes again.

“Usually leather, or similar materials.”

Alon frowned and put the pencil down. “Ah, that’s unfortunate. I am not a leatherworker so I would be unable to make these for you. However, if you visit the Leathersmiths Guild, I’m sure they would be able to make you a pair that would satisfy you.”

Anjou shook her head. “No, it's no big deal. I’m sorry I said anything. Really, you did a fantastic job.”

“Thank you.” Alon bowed his head and produced the Shellen.

“Can we go now?” Cereza demanded, stomping down her foot.

“What’s the rush?” Anjou asked.

“We need to see what that new skill of yours can do? And we need you to eat more monster cores. I will not fall behind my brother.”

—

“I don’t think us going out like this is a good idea.” Anjou was currently trailing behind Cereza who was trotting down the field path outside of the city. The grass was tall and thick on either side, giving the path itself the feel of a shoveled out trail in the middle of two snow banks.

“Calm down. My mother knows where we are going.”

“And where exactly are we going?”

“The salt caves. It’s the nearest place with plenty of monsters, and they aren’t that tough so it’ll be easy for you to level up.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Anjou was going to say something, but she felt it would be easier to just go along with what Cereza wanted. In truth, she did want to try out the Stone Hands ability she had gotten from taking out the puncher. As they walked she looked around and realized something.

“There’s no mountains.”

Cereza stopped and glowered. “You just figured that out? The caves are underground.

Anjou didn’t answer. She just waved the girl forward and they continued walking. Even though it was early in the day, several horse-drawn carts passed by them each carrying different things. As they passed by they smiled and waved at Cereza and then gave the Shellen to Anjou. It must’ve been obvious that she was an Eater.

After about an hour of walking, the path forked and they took the rightmost path. Down this path, the grass on the left side slowly shrunk until it was nothing but a large patch of flatland. Cereza led them off the path and towards a rocky crater in the ground. Without stopping, she stepped down onto a set of rough carved out stairs that led into the crater.

“I can’t see in the dark,” Anjou said as they reached what she assumed was the bottom. The stairs had flattened out.

“I came prepared.” There was the sound of stone on stone and then an orange glow came from a cylindrical tube in Cereza’s hand.

“A flashlight?”

“That’s what Frankie called it too. The coresmith likes to call it a Core’s Light.” Cereza shined the light into Anjou’s face. “I hate to admit it, but some of the things they can do with monster cores is useful. Now, let’s get moving.”

—

Anjou flinched as another sharp part of the rock ceiling scratched her ears. Even being ducked down as they walked her ears still stuck up and there wasn’t much she could do about it. Cereza on the other hand, was short enough that she didn’t have to worry about that. Even holding the light she walked with the same power walk she had up on the surface. Because of the nicks she was receiving, Anjou's health slowly ticked down by the decimal. It was currently showing 9.2 out of 10.

“What exactly are we looking for?”

“Quit complaining, we’re almost there.” Cereza snapped.

Anjou wanted to remark about how impressive it was that her mother hadn’t smacked her yet with her attitude, but Cereza stopped short. She then turned and pointed ahead towards a slim opening.

“Go in there. You’ll find the monsters we’re here to fight. They usually gather together in large groups so you should level up easily.”

“And what am I fighting?”

“You’ll see. Just go. I’ll stay here where it’s safe.”

Anjou sighed and slid past her. Going through the crevice was like slipping through a cracked door. As a precaution she sucked in a breath and pushed herself to the other side. She entered a high ceilinged dome cavern with glowing blue crystals scattered across the wall like stars.

“This is something else,” Anjou said, spinning in place. Her voice echoed in the chamber, but was quickly replaced by the sound of croaking. “What was that?”

“That’s what you’ll be fighting,” Cereza whispered. “Look closely at the wall.”

Anjou approached the nearest section and gazed at the crystal. It moved. She jumped back and then words appeared not only over the crystal, but over every crystal that was in her sight.

[Salt Cave Glow Frog]

She leaned in for another look and found that each light was not actually a crystal. It was a shell on top of a fist size frog creature.

“First the slugs, now this,” Anjou groaned. As she spoke the croaking got louder.

“These things have a hard shell,” Cereza whispered. “If you kill them all, you should be able to level up and gain a shield-like skill. At least I think so.”

“You think so?”

“Oh and you probably keep your voice down. The frogs like to attack loud sounds. You know they’re about to attack because of how loud the croaking is.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

Cereza didn’t answer. Instead she screamed and in that moment every blue light jumped from the wall and at Anjou.