— Drip! Drop! Drip! Drop! —

It was raining so much that some players were probably considering building a survival Ark and perhaps gathering cat girls for the journey. Only he knew that the Old Elemental would soon stop.

— Rumble! —

The torrential rain had created a small muddy river already. He chuckled as he entered the mine, knowing the paladins would have to stain their prized armors to follow.

He expected silence and quiet, but there was unexpectedly someone there.

— Clang! Clang! Clang! —

There was a young boy hard at work in the abandoned mine shaft. He swung a primitive pickaxe at the wall with wild determination: stick, rope, and pointy-ish rock.

Jack had so many questions:

1. Why mine regular rock?

2. What was up with the **ty tool?

3. How could he make swinging a pickaxe look hard? Seeing him at work was akin to watching a blind man drive on the highway but with less control involved.

4. What had brought this youngster so far away from home?

How did Jack know that he was far away from home? Well, he was a frogman! The lake was the closest place he could live, and he had probably come here expecting it to be empty.

He was so focused on his “mining” task that he never sensed Jack’s approach until it was too late…

”Boo!!”

”KYYYYAAAA!!!” The young frogman jumped in surprise. That’s when he visibly became sick with dread. “P-please spare me. I-I’m too young to become sushi!”

Sushi? What kind of fool was this? Frogmen were obviously better grilled…

”I-I have money! J-just not on me, I….” Out of nervousness, the frogman played with his necklace while shaking. It was half of a shell forming a teardrop.

Necklace? This guy knew the mermaids of the lake? Jack would have totally asked him to guide him to meet them had he not been on the run!

Then again… this frog could be useful. Thirty seconds should be fine, right? Jack opened his mouth, looking incredibly solemn. “Listen and listen well….”

Exactly 30 seconds later, he was leaving a shellshocked frog behind. The youngster was now awkwardly carrying an iron pickaxe with bottomless tears of gratitude.

He would never forget all that Jack had done for him!

1. Spared his life (Humans were scary)

2. Given him a mighty tool (Cheapest pickaxe he owned)

3. Shared with him the secret of mining (Common Knowledge)

4. Warned him about the paladins who were already coming to hunt him. (Lie)

The “benevolent” Jack hurried inside the darkness. He had a lot of ground to cover to reach his destination. He actually wished for the paladins to enter the mine to hunt him…

— :frog: —

On the surface, a young frog man hid in the river at the mine entrance. Any other race might have had trouble, but frogs were gifted at standing still underwater! (And proud of it)

He grabbed the communication bone that his new benefactor had given him in his right palm as he waited.

Apparently, this miracle was possible thanks to shamanic magic, or so he had been told. But, unbeknown to him, he was actually holding a “failed skeleton”.

Anyway, the frog was too happy to notice. He had been so lucky to meet this man! He had been so genuine and nice toward him.

After all, he was far different from the scary humans that his best friend had warned him about. He had even told him how to proceed to avoid the paladins!

He had just been hiding for a few minutes when the scary men appeared. They wore so much cold metal, and their eyes were even colder!

Just looking at them made the poor frog unable to breathe. They were evidently bad guys as they oozed resentment.

The frog croaked in relief as they finally crossed the muddy river and disappeared in the mine.

Soon he’d be able to go back in and gather some precious Iron, so rare in the lake. He’d have the perfect gift for his beloved for sure! But before that, he had something to do.

”Benefactor, thank you, thank you so much!” On that note, he crushed the communication bone, a shame because it looked pretty.

Now the nice man would know that the evil paladins were coming. He could only hope that they meet again someday…

— :frog: —

Back underground, Jack patted himself on the back. He had felt feedback from his “failed skeleton” being destroyed.

See a frog —> Use a frog —> Make a naive “friend.”

He now knew the exact moment the enemies had entered the area, their rough power, and could thus estimate when they would reach him in what had been the Dragon’s dwelling.

Still, he had lots of work to do on his side too.

He took out a jar full of wisp fireflies that almost looked fairy-like. He still remembered the Tavern Owner’s confused expression when he had asked for some.

They used those in their shows. While they were trendy, they only did one thing and one thing only: glow attractively.

He then released the creature toward the cave. He waited, and waited, and waited some more, then it happened.

— Pounce! —

An eight-legged predator finally deemed the area safe as it went to gobble the firefly. The silver scouting spider rubbed its legs in joy as it reveled in the foreign delicacy.

Free-range surface firefly…talk about a tasty last meal for a spider!

— Slam! —

— Splatter! —

It suffered the same fate as its brethren long ago, only a bluish silvery stain on the cold rock floor.

Jack disguised the “crime scene”. He added footprints and even drew a neat bloody holy cross before spraying himself with fairy dust.

You are now harder to detect!

PS: Combat instantly ends this effect!

He went even deeper and hid in a rock crevasse as he counted the seconds and the minutes. Either he’d get the timing perfectly, or he’d be screwed!

A swift yet blurry shadow suddenly passed him. It did so quietly, almost enough to make him wonder if he had imagined it. Still, he knew it to be a Dark Elf.

Dark Elves had:

- Perversely, mighty physical specs

- Perversely powerful magic talent

- Perversely cruel personality

Dark Elves were also incredible hunters. The darkness was their playground, and they would definitely be able to toy with anyone here.

It was just a matter of time before the culprit who had squashed the spider was found. The ending would not be pretty either.

”Where the heck are you guys?!” Jack inwardly called out. Could it be that he had miscalculated? Just as he was getting impatient, he finally heard their voices.

”Where’s that ghoul?! Find and exterminate it! Enact Justice for our fallen brother!” The paladins were here, just in time to be the perfect sacrifices.

Finding a ghoul? They would soon be far too busy for that!

Jack had no idea what happened, nor did he want to know. There were a few sparse shouts, plenty of cursing, and the sound of weapons

/armor getting shattered.

The OP paladins that even the Old Mist Elemental didn’t dare touch were now one-sidedly getting slaughtered.

Of course, the paladins wouldn’t kick the bucket quietly. They created such a commotion that he sensed it all, even from his hiding spot!

As the 6 of them all perished, they used their trump card: Holy Mark! This time, however, was far different.

Single Holy Mark —> Group Holy Mark.

All the holy energy in the surrounding was sucked completely, ALL! This included the sacred energy that had been poisoning him. It all gathered toward the group of holy ghosts.

— Focused, Holy Mark! —

… Or so he thought at first! It kept increasing in intensity until it reached a point that he didn’t think possible just yet.

— Prime Holy Mark! —

Holy **! (Literally) This made the mark he had received earlier look like a simple slap on the wrist. Had the Holy Church always hated the Dark Elves so much?! Nope.

Was it perhaps because the time frame was different? Maybe them resurfacing had them considered a greater evil?

In any case, silence finally returned, Jack not moving in the least.

Sigh —> Death

Breathe —> Death

Twitch a muscle —> Death

He waited until a dark shadow appeared before him, suddenly stopping right before his whole. Anyone else would have panicked and given themselves away. He didn’t.

He was perfectly undetectable! It was all mind games! He had made sure not to be seen by any silver spider, and the Fairy Dust was protecting him from detection.

Suddenly a melodious, playful, yet sinister giggle echoed.

”Listen, and listen well, was it? Who knew frogmen were so interested in mining….”

”!?!” Jack felt his blood turn cold as he realized the implications. Oh god, no… since when?!

The shadow came closer, disabling its camouflage magic, revealing its appearance, one that was stunning enough to feel otherworldly and make countless fools simp.

She looked young, skin still flawless, long ears twitching with interest, and an innocent smile clashing with the earlier dying screams. Young and innocent? She wasn’t!

Eyes were the window to the soul, as the wise said. Hers carried deep arrogance and unbelievable experience. Those silver eyes would gleefully watch the most gruesome massacres without flinching.

She approached, finally making eye contact with him, grinning. On a scale of 1 to **ed…he was breaking the goddamn scale!

She slowly extended a slender finger toward him, reaching for his shoulder and picking something up. As the space trembled, a silver spider came out of its invisible state.

How long had it been there? #Screwed!