Chapter 36 – Adapt

“Great progress, Sal,” Chatfield praised him as they stepped through the latest massacre of leechers.

Sal ignored him as he replaced three of the bullets in his revolver. The last few hours had been absolute hell, and Sal was determined to get this over with. Any thoughts he had of going home before the dungeon was completely cleared was a pipe dream at this point.

Chatfield had made it very clear that Sal was here to overcome his fear of the demons, and judging from the conflicted expression on Upgrade’s face, she hadn’t anticipated Chatfield being this ruthless. On more than one occasion, she had suggested that they call it a day and wrap it up. Chatfield had disagreed each time and suggested another method for Sal to train himself in the dungeon environment.

Ever since the encounter with the ones that had attacked from overhead, Sal had been vigilant and ruthless in his shots. The hesitation was gone, and his fear had been replaced with a surreal sense of calm. He knew that he could kill them with his armor alone, and any time he hit them with a shot, they were as good as dead.

“Just don’t push yourself.” Upgrade’s voice was filled with concern, but Sal shrugged it off.

He needed to get this over and done with, and feeling sorry for himself wasn’t going to get him out of the situation. He had been pushing himself since the moment he had stepped into the dungeon. Hell, he’d been pushing himself since he had walked into the academy.

Yes, he was feeling sorry for himself, but that wasn’t the point. Sal’s jaw tightened as he checked his revolver again and moved forward. He was getting much more attuned to both the visor and the revolver. They had felt like separate pieces of equipment, but after using them for a while, he started to appreciate their synergies. The aiming corrections that he had been doing manually had been adapted by the visor so his aim was now much more accurate.

Chatfield came into view beside him, smiling. “You’ve managed to kill roughly twenty of them so far, which is excellent progress. Your form is improving, but your adaptability needs work. You’re not a heavy artillery that needs to be rooted on the spot. You can move around the battlefield to dispatch your enemies, so don’t feel like you need to stand in the one position and take them out from there. You’ll end up becoming a stationary target for your opponents.”

As if to demonstrate, Chatfield leaped forward into a roll, springing up and launching a blade from his right sleeve into the wall. “Moving targets are much harder to hit, but you need to be very aware of your surroundings. You’ll develop a natural sense for it over time.”

Sal nodded numbly as Chatfield retrieved his blade from the wall. “If I do the roll, can this day end?” he asked in the most emotionless voice he could muster.

Chatfield looked at him, then laughed. “Salvatore, all this is for your benefit. You’re making it sound like we’re getting you to do this against your will. Think back over the events of the day so far…look at how much you’ve learned!” Chatfield looked at Upgrade for support, but didn’t get any.

She was staring at Sal with a concerned expression.

Sal glanced between them for a moment before giving Chatfield his full attention. “The only thing I’ve learned is that the revolver is not a good weapon for this dungeon. I should make an automatic rifle that has demon-seeking bullets. It’d be so much easier to just stand at the entrance, scream as loud as I can to get their attention, and then mow them all down.”

Upgrade’s laugh was the perfect accompaniment to Chatfield’s stupefied expression. Sal felt the beginnings of a smile tugging at the side of his lips. He was still annoyed, and incredibly fatigued, but more than anything…he wasn’t as terrified as he had been before.

“I will admit, though, that I’m feeling myself getting a little bit better. The jumpiness isn’t going away and the panic still consumes me when they get too close.”

Chatfield laughed; he looked at Upgrade and shook his head. “Your Crafting prodigy is disappointed that he hasn’t mastered dungeoning in a single day. Do you want to break it to him, or should I?”

Upgrade stepped up to Sal and shook her head. “Those feelings don’t go away for most of us. It’s about controlling what you can in the moment. You’re doing really well for your first time, Sal. You should be proud of your progress.”

Sal sighed as he gave her a sideways glance. “So, all it took was twenty dead leechers to stop you giving me the cold shoulder?” He tried to put a lightness into his tone, but the words sounded accusatory at best.

Upgrade didn’t flinch in the slightest and nodded. “You’re right. This excursion is exactly what you needed, rather than what you wanted. As a lecturer, it’s my responsibility to get you ready for the future, and this mental block about demons was only going to fester over time. So, today you got tough Upgrade. Tomorrow, you’ll have nice Upgrade, who will talk you out of that stupid automatic rifle idea. Sound good?”

Sal laughed and was relieved to see a smile mirrored on Upgrade’s face as she gestured to the tunnel in the distance.

“There are still a few left for you to destroy. On future dungeon runs, you’ll learn how to dispatch them without destroying their core. Harvesting their materials is next to impossible when they’ve been reduced to gunk on a wall.”

Upgrade laughed as she dragged her foot against one of the subway rails, removing some of a leecher body from her heel. She gestured at the remains with a grin. “I’m not sure even you could restore that to something useable.”

Chatfield coughed to get their attention. “So, should I assume I’ve been freed from being good cop? It was painful trying to be chipper and positive this whole time. We’ve got work to do and if we finish up relatively soon, we can mine a few bits and pieces for Cooper and be back at a reasonable hour.” He paused and looked around the area. “Actually, Upgrade, do you want to take him mining while I clear the rest?”

Sal perked up, his fatigue vanishing from his shoulders as he looked excitedly at Upgrade.

She laughed and shook her head. “Nope, we don’t leave jobs half-done. He’s going to have his first dungeon clear, and it’ll be through his own hard work. How are we expecting him to take on prowlers in the future if he’s this happy to run out of a leecher encounter?”

Sal had no idea how Upgrade managed to both disappoint and terrify him in the same breath. Did she actually expect him to get to the point where he’d be hunting prowlers by himself?

Chatfield frowned as he looked into the darkness. “Well, if that’s the case, we’re going to have to pick up the pace. Salvatore, we’re going to reduce the time between stops. What I’ve helped you with so far should be enough to see you through to the end of the dungeon. We’ll be in the area, so call for help if you need us.”

Sal froze as he pieced together what Chatfield was suggesting. A glance at Upgrade didn’t help, as she looked to be in agreement with Chatfield. Sal’s mind was in overdrive, looking for a piece of the puzzle that he had somehow missed.

“You’re not coming with me?”

Chatfield nodded. “We’ll be here. You’re equipped to the brim with the best equipment a fully qualified Hero could ask for, and you haven’t needed us to intervene at any point. The last two encounters you flinched a lot less, which tells us you’re getting into a rhythm. Stick to your basics, be mindful of your surroundings, and you’ll get through it in no time.”

Sal was completely lost for words. It felt like a betrayal of the highest order, that they took him to a dungeon and were now abandoning him to the leechers. He didn’t know whether he should be proud that they felt he was capable enough to take it on alone, or whether he should be angry that he was needlessly being put into danger.

Either way, it looked like he had little choice in the matter. If he left the dungeon, he’d be admitting that they were wrong about him. Both of them, who believed in his capabilities. Sal sighed as he turned away and walked into the darkness. The most painful realization was that if he stood his ground and made excuses, then it would be admitting to himself that he wasn’t able to do it.

All his progress in the dungeon so far had been on his own, so all he had to do was finish it well.

Sal couldn’t resist at least one biting comment before he left. “Just know that if I die, Chatfield, you don’t get armor sets and your perfect record of no casualties is ruined.”

Sal smiled to himself until Chatfield’s voice echoed past him down the tunnel.

“Nobody knows I’m here, Sal. We didn’t register at the door. Doc Ameye can probably whip up the armor I need, anyways. Good luck!”

Before Sal could utter a response, a shrill whistle that was impossibly loud shot down the tunnel from every direction. Sal gritted his teeth as his grip tightened on the revolver. Almost as a reflex, he activated his armor and kept it around him for reassurance. He kept his visor locked on all the visuals around him, forcing himself to ignore the fauna that was constantly being marked as a threat. In the top corner, the counter displayed how many leechers remained in the dungeon.

Threat Detection (Active)	Leechers
Remaining	16

Sal walked cautiously forward, as a cluster of leechers made their way to him. He’d have to hunt the others down after this one because he didn’t actually know how to whistle. Any sort of shouting from him would make Chatfield and Upgrade think he was in distress. Sal stopped after a moment and looked down at the revolver.

With a shake of his head, he told himself he was an idiot before resuming his walk. A gunshot was louder than anything he’d be capable of mustering with his own voice. A small part of his brain was telling him to run straight at them and get it over with, but the larger part of the brain that was filled to the brim with logic talked him out of it.

As the cluster came into view in the distance, Sal got into position and raised the gun as he had been instructed. His new bullets were picked specifically for making this an easier encounter, but the reality of their effects had yet to be seen.

With a shallow breath, Sal pulled on the trigger and watched as a burst of light shot forward at high speed. The effect was called Solar Scatter, and Sal guessed that it would create fragments of light that would hopefully weaken the leechers against follow-up attacks. It had been in one of his unused cartridges, and he hoped that it would work. If it didn’t, the next bullet would be a fire-based effect. An instant burst of light erupted ahead of him, with the shot scattering in multiple directions.

Radiant light burst from each of the fragments, creating a miniature explosion of brightness. Sal was grateful for his visor’s protection from the sudden glare of light, and that his left eye was closed. When he opened it to see the effects of the light, he was stunned to see all the leechers lying dead on the ground.

Threat Detection (Active)	Leechers
Remaining	12

Sal stared at their remains before lifting his revolver and rotating the chamber until he was back to the Solar Scatter shot. All experimentation went out the window in favor of an ability that was guaranteed to massacre the fuckers.

A wry smile crossed his lips as he saw they were completely intact, without a single piece of damage to their bodies. Apparently, he had just found his perfect harvesting technique. Sal continued on at a slightly faster pace, watching out for any leechers that might try to sneak attack. The remaining cluster were clumped together farther ahead. With a quick check of his revolver, Sal paused his approach with a frown.

Ammunition Material	Shot Effect	Status
Lux Crystal	Solar Scatter	Recharging - 28%
Magma Claw	Spiral Flare	Charged
Voider Eye	Magnet Knot	Charged
Gloomhusk Fang	Soul Killer	Charged
Vorpal Membrane	Gravity Slam	Charged
Bolt Metal	Shock Lance	Charged

Sal grimaced at the recharge time. It wasn’t ideal, but the effects were definitely worth the wait. He had chosen each of the abilities because they looked like they worked in an area of effect, except for Spiral Flare and Shock Lance. The first had been because of the leecher’s weakness to fire, and the second was the lightning bolt attack he had used to paralyze the leechers earlier. Magnet Knot was the bullet that clumped them all together, but he had no idea what Soul Killer or Gravity Slam did. They sounded impressive, but Sal would have to test them another time. He was going to wait until the Solar Scatter was active before engaging in more combat.

At least, that was his intention before he heard a cacophonous shriek come from ahead of him. Throughout his entire experience in the dungeon, it was the first time he had heard any of them make a noise like that. A knot of tension appeared in Sal’s stomach, and he laughed at how stupid the whole thing was. Of course they let him go ahead on his own. With nothing to lose, Sal turned his head back in the direction he came.

“Pretty sure there’s a boss monster ahead!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.

The only answer was the guttural roar from ahead of him. Except this time, it was much closer.