Chapter 37 – Respect

A grinding noise accompanied the roar, sounding like jagged plates being dragged across each other. The dull illumination of the bioluminescence showed a silhouette of a large structure obscuring the tunnel ahead.

If Sal was to guess, based on the fact that he was in a subway station, it was likely a train carriage. Sparks flew from the rails beneath the silhouette as it inched ever closer to his location, and Sal closed his left eye and looked at it through the visor. It didn’t really illuminate anything, but the tracker knew what Sal was looking for.

Name	Leecher Variant III (Boss)
Domain	Evergreen Subway Dungeon
Type	Darkness / Fauna / Metal
Description	The Leecher Variant is an evolved form of the menacing floating demon. It will plant itself into an essence-rich environment and prey on its targets by using embedded roots in the surrounding domain. The Leecher Variant can retain its original abilities and access more based on its chosen nest.
Stats	Strength: 4 Dexterity: 3 Intelligence: 5 Constitution: 8
Threat Level	III
Behavior	Leecher Variant: Boss (Metal) Gathered Information: 5%
Abilities	Essence Drain: Consumes target essence Tentacle Bind: Contains prey by sapping essence Regeneration: Uses stolen essence to heal itself Cannibalism: Consumes brethren to enhance abilities [Unknown]
Weaknesses	Darkness Variant: Sunlight Vulnerability Fauna Variant: Fire Vulnerability Metal Variant: Electricity Vulnerability
Evolution	8% to Leecher IV
Reputation	Hunter Bureau: +5 to Rank | Current Score: 24
Kill Count	24 Kills
Variants	1 Discovered
Target Data	6% to Next Level
Essence Gain	1%

Sal threw all strategy and planning out the window as he aimed down the sights of the gun and fired. He didn’t give a shit if the revolver needed to reload; there was no way in fucking hell he was going to stand and wait for the Solar Scatter ability to recharge when that thing was lurching closer to him. The first shot didn’t even register and clicked through to the next chamber, but Sal didn’t care as he repeated the action.

All the instructions Chatfield had given him were discarded as raw fear consumed him. When Solar Flare activated, Sal had to take a step back from the recoil, which was saying something because he was in the full suit of black armor. His surroundings seemed to ignite as a rotating shard of solid fire whirled in a straight line toward the correctly assumed train carriage. In the illumination, Sal caught sight of a monstrosity embedded into the back of the train. Tracks had been uprooted and were weaving around the train, similar to the small vine tentacles of the previous leechers. The face, if you could even call it that, was like a rotting cabbage with leaves wrapped around the metal exterior of the carriage. Sal couldn’t really identify much of its features as the shard smashed into the train and exploded violently in a shower of flames.

Sal fell backward onto his ass to avoid the thrashing beams of metal that slammed into the surrounding walls and the area in front of him. Shrieks of pain and anger were nothing compared to the noise it made. That deep and guttural roar from before had been replaced with an ear-piercing wail of agony. The cacophony of metal slamming against rock, coupled with its screams, filled Sal with a fear that shook him to his core. It took everything in his power to lift his shaking hands with the revolver and aim it at the leecher variant.

Sal tried his best to pull the trigger, but it wasn’t happening. He looked desperately at the monster in front of him and wanted more than anything to pull the trigger. His visor flashed and a sudden sense of clarity washed over him.

Fear effect has been removed.

Sal didn’t hesitate as he pulled the trigger, sending the Magnet Knot shot into the tangled limbs of former subway tracks. He didn’t know what to expect, or whether it would be powerful enough to do anything. With the leechers, it had only managed to pull them together, but this was asking a hell of a lot more. Sal watched it with held breath as the rails shuddered involuntarily, constricting in on themselves and knotting into a ball of metal.

The only sign that it was against the intentions of the demon was the aggravated swaying of the stems fused to the underside of the carriage. Sal didn’t wait for another invitation and fired the next shot. Soul Killer was something he knew absolutely nothing about. When it fired, Sal had to double-check that it actually did something, as all he saw was a minor flutter of the cabbage leaves.

A moment later, those very leaves wilted and fell away from the train carriage. The stems of metal clanged to the ground and the grotesque monster that had fused to the train fell with a thud. Soul Killer had ripped it from its nest. There were no tentacles now, nor were there any teeth on display. Just a twitching mass of fauna that looked to be in its dying throes.

Sal got to his feet and resumed the stance that Chatfield had taught him. He wasn’t about to take any chances as he aimed at the twitching demon and pulled the trigger in a controlled manner. The target area was much smaller now, and Sal wanted it to be a direct hit.

The bolt of lightning lanced forward at a ridiculous speed, as though delighted to be released from the chamber. It skewered through the encroaching darkness, pushing it away with its pulsating blue light before slamming into the leecher variant. It was the first direct hit Sal had achieved with the shot, and it was breathtaking to say the least.

Literally, it took the breath away from Sal as the demon exploded and absorbed all the oxygen around it. Smoke filled the tunnel, and Sal dropped to his knees to catch his breath as involuntary tears formed at the edges of his eyes. He forced himself to squint at the target and was delighted when the visor confirmed that it was finally dead.

Sal could have lay on the ground for another hour or so, but he forced himself to sit up on the back of his heels. The armor was uncomfortable, so after checking with the visor that there was nothing alive in sight, he deactivated the black armor and sat there in wonder.

Maybe it was the crackling of the electricity remnants, or the fires that had erupted within the carriage…but Sal didn’t register the sound of applause coming from behind him. He should have known that they would be nearby; they weren’t barbaric. Of course, his fear let him cling to the illusion that he had been abandoned in his time of need.

“Gotta say, that was one hell of a spectacle,” Chatfield said with a wide grin as he sat beside Sal. “The blend of abilities really was a killer combination. Excellent strategy, by not giving it time to counter. Getting down low to avoid the swinging projectiles was exactly what I meant by mobility on the battlefield.” Chatfield pointed at the various areas of the battle as he broke down the different phases.

“A metal variant isn’t particularly agile, so staying out of its reach with a long-range attack was well considered. It goes without saying that the bars would have likely done some serious damage if they had hit your head, but you fired off multiple shots before it got a chance. I thought you’d wait for that light-element attack, but you managed to solo the variant without it. I’m impressed.”

“Stop teasing him.” Upgrade sat on the other side of Sal as she patted him on the shoulder.

“You did great, Sal. We were behind you the entire time, but you had everything under control. Even if your version of events don’t match up with Chatfield’s, your intuition was good, and you prevailed. I hope this experience will show you that demons are killable. With good equipment and a solid strategy, an encounter can be done in roughly twenty minutes. We’ve been in here for close to three hours, but for your first time…and taking on everything yourself without knowing what lurks around the corners? It was an excellent job. I’m genuinely impressed.”

Chatfield placed a hand over his heart and gave Upgrade a mock-look of reproachfulness. “Either way, it’s done now. Have you decided if you’re ever going to talk to us again? Because if you’re going to stick around, we can get to the fun part.” As if to emphasize his point, Chatfield gestured at the deceased demon. “Your loot awaits, Hero.”

Sal shook his head as he got to his feet. He paused before turning to Upgrade. “Thank you.”

His head was a jumbled mess of emotions as he tried to find the words. He wanted to thank them for taking time out of their schedules to help him get over his fears. But he was also conflicted with how horrific their methods were. He didn’t appreciate how they had withheld the information about the leecher variant at the end of the dungeon, but he did appreciate them having his back. Even if he didn’t know it at the time.

The words of the student in the workshop bubbled up to the surface of his mind, and Sal realized that he really was getting special treatment…private rooms, guild tokens, mentorship from not just Upgrade, but Chatfield too. All those thoughts and emotions led Sal to the conclusion that he was being helped too much by everyone around him. His entire time in the dungeon had felt like a punishment, but they had been helping him in the only way they knew how. If it had been left up to Sal, he would have made excuses for the next three years to never go on an outing or to surround himself with powerful people who could help him get through the difficult battles to come. When Sal looked at Upgrade, he guessed that she could see right through him.

Upgrade smiled at him as she also got to her feet. “You’re welcome, Salvatore. You’re in Quest Academy to learn how to be a Hero, and what you did just now qualifies you to stand proudly among your peers. Bringing you here wasn’t just to get you over your fears of the demons—it’s to help you understand why Crafting is so important on the battlefield. You didn’t use your abilities once, and you managed to clear a dungeon with just your equipment. Understanding how combat works will better inform your future designs and inventions.”

Upgrade’s smile turned into a laugh as she nodded meaningfully toward the demon corpse. “You better hurry or he’ll pocket it all himself.”

Sal turned around to see Chatfield holding up a tiny green stone as well as an elongated shard of metal. The visor picked up on them immediately and fed the information back to Sal in seconds.

Leecher Core (Uncommon Grade)

Crafting component that can be used as an external core. Leecher aspect allows the core to siphon off atmospheric essence naturally to recharge itself. Low capacity for essence. High chance of unlocking one of the following traits through crafting: [Synergy] [Siphon]

Void Metal (Uncommon Grade)

Crafting component that can be used for constructing durable, essence-enriched equipment. Medium capacity for essence. High chance of unlocking one of the following traits through crafting: [Barrier] [Harden] [Solidify] [Reflect] [Channel] [Cloister] [Shell] [Grounded]

“Is it just me or are those incredibly basic compared to the fight I just had?” Sal looked at the pop-ups in disappointment.

When he glanced at Chatfield, the man was frowning slightly. It didn’t take him long to understand why.

Chatfield moved over to Sal and offered the components to him. “I hope this will help you appreciate the risks that guilds are taking in high-level dungeons, portals, and towers. The materials that you use in that workshop are on a whole different level of difficulty compared to what you’ve just run through.

“That leecher component is essentially a self-sustaining core, which would be an absolute godsend to any Crafter starting out in the workshop. The loot from this dungeon, if you picked up each piece, would likely net you around forty to sixty Q-Cred. If you refined the void metal into quality ingots, you’d be getting a lot more, but it’s a difficult process that requires someone with expertise like Forge or Upgrade. The stuff you saw on the tracks at the entrance isn’t infused enough to be classified as real void metal, so the only real bounty is from the boss variant.” Chatfield sighed as he swept his right hand through his hair.

“Quality materials come from higher difficulty encounters. Each piece of moonsilver and scarlet screen that you used in the workshop was acquired by Heroes who put their lives on the line. Don’t forget that.”

A cough from Upgrade made Chatfield’s expression soften. A smile crossed his face as he shot her a thankful look. Turning back to Sal, he laughed.

“Sorry about that, Salvatore. I didn’t want you looking down on your own achievements. You earned these and you should be proud.”

Sal took the components from Chatfield and nodded. “Thank you for all your help. I wouldn’t have gotten through this without you.”

Chatfield smiled as he patted Sal on the shoulder. “No, you probably wouldn’t have, but I’ll leave the gloating for another time.” He stepped past Sal and moved across to Upgrade, who whispered something to him.

Sal thought about Chatfield’s words regarding the materials and higher difficulty dungeons. He had just seen them as materials with costs, like anything else. At no point had he dwelled on the sacrifice that went into acquiring them. His father’s ire at Shade and the Delvers Guild suddenly made a lot more sense. They didn’t care how many lives were lost in the pursuit of the rarest pieces of equipment, and Sal never wanted to be like that. He couldn’t help but feel as if he had disappointed Chatfield with his reaction just now, so he made a silent vow to respect any materials that crossed his workbench going forward.