System Architect - Ch 128

“Come quickly!” Dad yelled while I was in the workshop.

Over the past three days, enchanting daggers is what I did. There wasn’t a particular enchantment I favored over all the others. Though—as I only had four of them—the daggers held some form of fire, lightning, or wind enchantment. The one based on Spark wasn’t suitable for combat in my opinion, so I avoided that one.

In that time, I gained a level in my profession with almost enough experience for a second level. To go along with that, I gained a level for my profession’s skill, Pattern Storage. My grandparents had left on the second day when the roads had been cleared enough to get home, so it was just Dad and me.

I put my tools down and walked back to the house. Dad’s normally indifferent expression was replaced by one of anxiety and fear. That made me hurry. If he was worried, I figured I should also be worried.

“What’s going on?” I asked as he shut the door behind me—and locked it.

He never locked the back door.

“Several dungeons have broken,” he said. “I just heard about it on the news. The government is saying to stay inside and to not engage with the monsters and that they’ll handle them with the police and military.”

“So it’s going to blow up in their faces,” I said. “We’ve got another day an a bit before the one in the park goes. It’ll need clearing before that. And here I was, hoping I could just do my enchanting thing and not deal with those monsters… but it looks like duty calls.”

“I agree. There’s no way the military will be enough to handle everything without causing a mess. Are the two of us enough?”

“No. Getting Grandpa Joe and Mom would be good. I know the two of you don’t get along, but I hope you can do it for me.”

Dad sighed.

“We were civil enough when she came over with you the other day, so I am hopeful it would go well. Let’s call them and see if they can help.”

Dad called Mom to see if they were interested. Mom said she wasn’t, but Grandpa Joe was still at her house and would walk over to help. Dad said we’d meet him at the park’s entrance.

I put on clothes I didn’t mind ruining with blood. With me, I took my enchanted spear as well as a few of the knives. I intended to bring enough that everyone would have a sidearm just in case. That’s all I was going to bring before deciding to bring a couple extra in case I needed to bribe the officer with something cool to let us take care of the dungeon. Dad brought a backpack with water and food for breaks so we wouldn’t have to rush. A first-aid kit was the backup plan.

The knives on my belt clanked with each step. The park was close enough that I didn’t have to worry about getting there too late, even if I walked slowly with the extra load. Dad’s backpack was heavy on his back, but he only had to carry a spear identical to mine. We still did not have any armor, but the goblins would not get close enough to pose much of a threat with the three of us having a range advantage.

“I know you told me about the goblins and the dungeon, but you’re sure it’s doable with the three of us?”

“Yes. Mom did it while scared, and we were able to complete it without injury. As long as we take it slow and steady, it’ll be fine.”

“Ok. I’m still nervous, though.”

“I was the same before going in,” I said. “That’s just human nature. Courage is doing it even when you’re scared, right?”

“Right.”

We continued to talk while we walked. The park was taped off when we arrived, a policeman standing guard—the same one I’d talked to after coming out of the dungeon. He looked at us for a moment before walking over to see what we were up to. I figured the spears kinda gave it away.

“How can I help you, officer?” Dad asked.

“Was wondering what you two were doing over here,” he answered. “Well, I recognize you, kid. So I guess you heard the news and wanted to make sure that wouldn’t happen here?”

“Yup,” I said with a smile. “We’ve done it once before, so why not again?”

I glanced up at the dungeon and saw there were only around 22 hours before the dungeon would break. No one had given it a try after we had cleared it the first day.

“And it looks like it hasn’t been cleared recently,” I added. “The last thing anyone wants to deal with is 100 angry goblins coming out of there, you know?”

“Right. Well, I’m sorry to say, but you can’t go in. It’s not safe.”

“Like hell it ain’t,” Grandpa Joe said, joining the conversation upon his arrival. “But it’s gotta be cleared before those monsters kill a bunch of people. There’s no way that pea-shooter of yours will be anywhere near enough to kill them all before they escape and go on a rampage.”

“And who are you?” The officer asked, recognizing Grandpa Joe.

“I’m the kid’s grandfather. Look, we’re going in to handle the problem before it becomes a problem. You can arrest us when we’re done if that’s what you want to do.”

“I can’t allow you to do that,” he said, crossing his arms and standing between us and the dungeon.

“Well—” Grandpa Joe began before I cut him off.

“Look, officer man. I’ve been making some cool shit with my profession. Knives that have extra abilities. Like this one here will zap a monster when it connects. Or this one which will burn them. That gun you have is fine for now, but for how long? When will monsters be around that you can’t handle with just a pistol? One of these should help you tremendously!”

I showed him how the knives worked before selecting the one that got his attention the most—the one with lightning. I flipped the blade around and handed it to him as a gift.

“It works by putting mana into it. It’s a bit hard to do at first, but you’re a smart man. I think you can figure it out.”

I walked past the officer and patted him on the back. Grandpa Joe and Dad followed me. The officer was momentarily focused on the knife before he turned around and yelled.

“Hey! Don’t go in the dung—!”

The rest of what he had to say was cut off the moment I passed through the portal and into the dungeon. Greeting me on the other side was the same canyon as last time. That told me dungeons were static—or at least mostly static. It was good news as maps and the like could be drafted for dungeon runs in the future. Once the government got its head out of its ass and recognized the whole point of the system was to make people stronger, not something to be resisted. That would only lead to folly and the deaths of millions!

I shook the thoughts from my head. The system had generated the kill 100 goblins quest, so it was time to focus. From my belt, I took two knives and handed one each to Dad and Grandpa Joe.

“Backup,” I said. “They work like the spear does, but don’t worry if it takes a little bit to get the hang of it.”

“Thanks,” Dad said. “So, how are we doing this?”

“I’m front and center,” I told him.

When he gave me a surprised look, I clarified.

“I’ve got magic to trip up the goblins and make the fighting easier. Grandpa Joe has his boomstick while you and I have spears. Use the distance to our advantage. I don’t yet have enough mana to just blast the monsters to smithereens yet, so my spear still needs to do a lot of the work.”

Dad picked the spot to my left while Grandpa Joe took the one on my right. We advanced through the canyon until we came across the first group of goblins. I had learned from my earlier mistakes that I should only use one magical attack to disrupt the goblins. Even with an extra level, I did not have enough mana to throw out spells as much as I wanted.

The goblins charged. I waited until they were close to fire an Arc at them. All the while, Dad stood next to me getting more and more nervous as the monsters approached. When the spell fired, the goblin hit did its best amateur dance impression before falling over. The ones behind it joined it in the pile or else jumped to the side.

I watched as Dad’s face hardened. He lowered the spear and prepared to strike. I did the same. The first goblin to arrive was on Grandpa Joe’s side. It got a new hole where its head used to be. The next one was mine. Spearmanship helped me to hit where I wanted to aim. The boost was minimal, but it was noticeable. I stabbed it in the center before ripping the spear out and striking again. It didn’t get up after that. The third went to Dad. He lashed out with fear on his face. I moved to help if he needed it, but he managed to use the extra range from the spear to his advantage and kill the monster before any more could arrive.

The last two were a tangle on the ground. In the time it had taken us to kill the other three, the one on top had got onto its feet and was charging toward me. I blasted it with a Fireball before putting it out of its misery. Grandpa Joe blasted the final one as it was trying to get up. Dad looked at the dead monsters with disgust on his face.

“So, what did you think?” I asked, in the hopes of distracting him somewhat.

“Scary!”

“Now that you’ve done it, it’s not so bad, right?”

“I guess. The bodies stay here?”

“They do. It’s not like the tutorial where they are simply practice.”

He nodded.

“Alright. Do we need to take five or are we ok to continue?” Grandpa Joe asked.

Dad said he was fine, so we moved on after I collected the spearheads from the goblin’s weapons. I intended to reforge them into something better, and with supply chains messed up from the tutorial, they were my only real source of metal for the foreseeable future.

For the next three groups, we didn’t take a break. There was really no need for it. The engagements were short and bloody. My disruption abilities and the ability to strike from range combined to keep us safe. When we eventually sat to take a break, it was a quick one. I was thankful Dad had brought water and food just in case. I wasn’t hungry—especially considering all of the dead monsters around—but it was a nice thought.

Clearing the rest of the dungeon was simply a case of slow and methodical engagements that left no room for any of us to get hurt. When we arrived at the arena with ten goblins, I had a lot more mana to work with. That meant I could go wild with my spells—and so I did! Arcs and Fireballs everywhere! Though not quite as effective as the spear—yet—they were devastating in their own right. Whether that was setting their armor alight or shocking them to the ground, it made finishing off the other goblins an almost boring task. Well, boring for everyone else who wasn’t getting the chance to fling spells all over the place!

After the goblins were dead, Dad and Grandpa Joe helped me collect the weapons from the goblins before exiting the portal. I fully expected a shitshow from the police as soon as we were out of the dungeon.