Chapter Ninety-Two - Making Friends at the next Level

It was only an hour later, when we had pulled away from the valley and settled into a spot with some sandy grass where we could pitch our tents, that I finally found the energy and will to check on my notifications.

Not that much will. The day’s adventure had taken its toll, and I was weary to the bone... and yet I was also energized? It was probably all that excess mana from the dungeon’s core room. It was supposed to be dangerous, though I didn’t know the details on why and how.

So, I laid back on a blanket, Awen tucked against my side and completely knocked out, Amaryllis on my other side with her head tucked in her armpit with only the occasional ‘choo’ to show that she was alive.

Moon Moon had insisted on staying up all night, and we were too tired to argue against his generosity.

“Alright Mister Menu,” I whispered before letting out a yawn. “Show me what we’ve got.”

Quest Complete!
The world thanks you for your sacrifice!

That made sense. No reward again. Not unless Miss Menu was serious about the living thing. We’d see, I guessed.

Path of Broken Reflections Dungeon Core Destroyed!
You have gained: Four General Points

Just the four? Two more than the Wonderland dungeon. Still, that got me up to six total. I could get a skill up to... Rank B. Or I could get a bunch of general skills to Rank C. That was something.

That was a lot of something. I could imagine that people at higher levels like Abraham had a lot of general skills, and all of them would be stuck at rank D. Suddenly getting five skills to rank C would unlock a whole pile of new abilities.

I yawned.

Quest Update!
Pruning the Evil
Evil Roots Remain! Dungeons across Dirt are Infected! Destroy them!

And that was still a thing. Meh.

I brought up my skill sheet and ran over it at a glance.

I was doing pretty good, I figured. I shifted around on my bedroll, pulled Awen closer because she was warm and liked cuddles, then I pulled the blankets so that they bunched up under my chin. As soon as I closed my eyes the world faded away.

***

“Wake up moron, the sun’s up.”

“Mmm no.”

Someone huffed. It had to be Amaryllis, she was the best at huffing.

“I will test out my new thunder slap skill on you if you don’t get a move on.”

That was scary, but I had an infallible defence.

I pulled my blanket over my head. Now nothing could hurt me.

The blanket was ripped away. I had to squeeze my eyes super tight so that the brighter light wouldn’t burn them. “Ugh,” I said. “Why?”

“Because we can’t afford to be lazy all day, no matter how much you might wish it to be the contrary.”

I glared up at Amaryllis, and when that didn’t work, I tried pouting.

She snorted. “Nice try. Now get up. Moon Moon is leaving soon to return to his pack. If you don’t say goodbye he might think that you’re no longer his friend.”

“That’s just mean,” I said as I rolled around and climbed onto my feet. “Where’s my skirt? And my armour?” I asked.

Amaryllis gestured to a corner of the tent. “Hurry up,” she said before walking out.

I hurried... sorta. Getting dressed inside a wee little tent was a bunch harder than getting undressed, as it turned out.

A few minutes later I was hopping out of the tent, one shoe on crooked and my pretty blue dress a bit twisted, but that was an easy enough fix.

We had set up the tent on the downwind side of a hill just a little ways from the glass valley where the dungeon had been. We weren’t exactly in a travelling mood the night before, but we also didn’t want to sleep on glass.

“Good morning!” I said with a stretch as I took in my friends all standing around under the still low-in-the-sky sun. The area smelled fresh, like morning dew on the brink of evaporating.

Awen was sitting with her crossbow on her lap and a piece of glass in her hands. She was frowning at the glass until she looked up and greeted me with a big smile. “Hello Broccoli,” she said.

“Yes yes, hello,” Moon Moon said. The droll was chewing on a strip of dried meat. “You sleep loud.”

“Ah, well... thanks,” I said. “Do we have breakfast?” I wondered as I shifted my gear on straight.

“I’m afraid not,” Amaryllis said. “We can’t start a fire, not unless we sustain it magically and that’s a hassle. Want to prepare some of your tea while I tear down the tent?”

“Sure!” I said.

The next few minutes were frantically calm. We weren’t doing anything too special, but there was a sense that we had to hurry along. It was a weird feeling.

“So, Moon Moon,” I started while filling my teapot with some of the last of our water. “You’re heading out?”

“Yep yep,” Moon Moon said. “Got to get back to the pack, tell them the stuff that happened.”

“Ah, you’ll tell them the dungeon was destroyed?”

The droll nodded. “Yes. Very sad. But it’s okay. Another dungeon will come. Maybe an easier one.”

“That’s a nice attitude to have,” I said. “It’s too bad about the roots. Ah. I should explain those.”

“Don’t bother,” Amaryllis said. “I’ve been over it. He knows to try and destroy any roots, and he’ll tell the other drolls about it.”

“I will!” Moon Moon said.

Once the tent was packed up and Amaryllis whisked it away into her ring, we sat on the side of the hill and had some tea with a bit of hardtack. Nothing too fancy, but it was filling nonetheless.

Then it was time to part ways. “You were fun to have around Moon Moon,” I said.

The droll’s tail waggled behind him. “Yes yes, thank you. You were good too, Broccoli who doesn’t smell like broccoli. You too, chicken one and...” he sniffed the air. “One who smells like Broccoli.”

I grabbed Moon Moon in a big hug and squeezed him tight. “We’ll see each other again one day, alright?” I asked.

“Yes yes! If you get tired of human things, you can join the Best Pack with your mate and your bird friend,” Moon Moon said.

Amaryllis snorted. But she did say her goodbyes too.

We all waved as the droll trotted off into the sunrise. And then it was our turn to get going. “So, northwest?” I wondered.

“Awa, I think straight north might be best. We’ll move away from the desert,” Awen said.

I eyed her from the corner of my eye, she sounded a bit more confident than she had just a few days ago. “If you say so!” I said before I began to march north-wards.

We were in a fantastic mood, the trials last night being over and the sun shining bright and pretty in a sky that was dotted with big fluffy clouds made the whole world feel light.

Amaryllis and Awen talked about their general skill points, but wondering where they would spend theirs. As I’d kinda guessed, having any amount of those was sort of a big deal .

“What did your Book Smart skill do at its one-point rank?” Amaryllis asked.

“Awa, it allowed me to use mana while reading to perfectly memorize a book. It’s very handy.”

“Hrm,” Amaryllis hummed. “That does sound useful. Not sure if it’s worth the point. Observe is also tempting. Unfortunately my other general skills are all utilitarian. I don’t think Accounting will come in handy with an additional skill point in it. And now that my class has evolved I have five empty general skill slots.”

“I, I don’t have any good General Skills,” Awen said. “Um. Instrumentalist, maybe?”

“That might apply to using things like that bow of yours, actually,” Amaryllis said. “Maybe you should wait until you have unlocked more skills before spending your own points. It’s not as though we’re in any great hurry.”

“R-right.”

For all that Amaryllis claimed not to be in a hurry, she could certainly talk a whole lot about how best to spend the points she didn’t want to spend yet.

“I’m going to put one point into Friendmaking,” I said.

Amaryllis paused and tilted her head to the side. “I... suppose that isn’t an awful idea.”

“It might come in handy soon too,” I said as I pointed out ahead of us.

Way, way off in the distance were a bunch of people. They would have been impossible to spot were it not for their yellow and black clothes that made them stand out on the green and blue horizon. They were far enough away that it would take a while to get to them though.

Amaryllis squinted ahead, then brought her new goggles up to her eyes. “Can’t Observe them properly from this far away.”

I shrugged and opened Mister Menu with a flourish. My Friendmaking skill was maxed out, so...

Congratulations! Friendmaking is now Rank C!

Friendmaking
Rank C - 00%
The ability to make friends. As you practice this skill your ability to make friends will improve. You are now able to see what people desire in a friend, their dreams and hopes for the future!

“Ohh,” I said. “Neat! I can see what people want now.”

Amaryllis nodded. “Knowing what someone wants is the first step to getting them to do what you want.”

“And it’s one of the best ways to make them your friend,” I added.

“Sure.”

I grinned at Amaryllis. “I’m gonna use it on you, alright?”

“Go ahead,” Amaryllis said.

I focused on her, then pouted as nothing happened. Maybe it was like insight? “Friendmaking?” Nothing. “What are your dreams?” Nada. “Hi! Wanna be friends?”

Amaryllis Albatross
Desired Quality: Someone who will validate her
Dream: To have her family and clan be proud of her

“Aww,” I said before glomping Amaryllis. “I’d validate you anytime!”

“Get off me, you dumb brute!” Amaryllis squawked.

“Not until you know how much you matter to me!” I shouted right back.

She started buzzing and tickling me with little electrical shocks. I giggled and let go, my arms and sides tingling with fuzzy electrical energy, like rolling on a carpet while wearing a thick wool sweater.

I turned to Awen next, and her face instantly went red. “Awa, if, if you want to do me, that’s... it’s okay,” she said.

“Awesome! So, do you wanna be my friend?”

Awen Bristlecone
Desired Quality: Taller than self. Female. Slightly older than self. Green eyes. Brown hair. Friendly. Adventurous. Outgoing. Cool. Cute.
Dream: To spend the rest of her life in the company of Broccoli Bunch

I stared for a bit, my tummy roiling and tears stinging the corners of my eyes. I didn’t glomp Awen. But I did pull her into a big, very tight hug. “Thanks Awen,” I said.

“Awa?”

“I’ll be your friend forever, okay?” I said. “And when I’m older, and I’m living in a cute house with my cute husband, and my two cute kids and my cute pets, you can live in the house next to mine, and we can chat and talk and be together until we’re super old, okay?”

“Awa...”

“Guys, as amusing as Broccoli’s idiocy is to see, I think your attention would be better directed ahead of us,” Amaryllis said.

I turned and blinked. The yellow-black people were closer, close enough that we could see them.

Though calling them people was maybe a misnomer.

Giant horse-sized bees were not usually ‘people.’

***