Chapter 43: C43 – Gremlins

Upon looking at the map, Dirk was immediately surprised at how large the dungeon was. According to the map, the king's hall, which was on the opposite side of the dungeon from the entrance, was nearly 14 miles away. The dungeon was also 10 miles wide, making for a huge circle filled entirely with monsters. Luckily, there was at least a haven between the king's hall and the entrance. Plus, there was only one monster species in this dungeon, so there wasn't any worry about territories. 

Dirk instantly documented the map with his AI. It looked like the entire terrain, while filled with forest, was flat. They would merely have to fight a straight path toward the haven in the middle of the dungeon to be safe. Dirk didn't think a 7 mile hike would be that difficult or take that long even with monsters. Of course, this depended on what the monsters were. Luckily, the map told him. 

"The monster that dominates this dungeon is known as a gremlin. It's less intelligent than a goblin and doesn't wield weapons, but they're agile and can gang up on you if you're not careful. They're also not the most hostile, but they are very capable of killing you and willing to do it. Their attacks aren't deep as they stick to using claws and teeth if they get close. Because of this, they like to take swipes with their long arms and keep their distance. Their only redeeming factor is the fact that they're noisy, so it isn't hard to know if one is nearby." 

The teacher spoke out loud, and all the students listened intently. It wasn't their first time hearing about the gremlin as they had been taught about many monsters at school, but they still took in every detail. They would be facing this monster, so it was different than simply seeing it in a book. 

The gremlin was a skinny creature only a bit shorter than the students here. It had abnormally long arms, sharp claws, pale white skin, and red eyes. From what Dirk had read, it wasn't the brightest monster, often making stupid decisions. Many would wander out on their own and could be picked off easily. However, should they group up, they could swarm you, and that would lead to a bad outcome. The more there were, the more hostile they became. It could be described as cowardly on its own and bold in a group. 

Other than that though, they were individually weak. This obviously depended on its Rank. As gremlins couldn't train magic, they could only excel physically. In this dungeon, the strongest gremlin was the Rank 4 king inside the king's hall. The rest were around rank 2, Rank 3's only present in the deeper areas of the dungeon. 

Dirk wondered why the dungeon had such weak monsters in it, but when he remembered that this was merely a lesser dungeon, he thought it made sense. He then wondered about the strength of the monsters within major dungeons. It was said that those monsters were at least Tier 4, with most being Tier 5. If that was the case, would the king be a Tier 6 or 7? Dirk wasn't even sure the kind of power a Tier 7 could display. 

The teacher talked about the gremlin more and strategies for combating it. Apparently, the most valuable part of a gremlin was its eyes. The red eyes were used in some low level alchemical potions, so they could be easily sold, albeit not for much. 

Getting to this point, the teacher finally decided to take the students out into the forest in order to show them some strategies. All the students' hearts pounded as they walked among the dark trees. Every rustle was met with paranoid eyes. 

"Alright, I want you to separate into your groups. Then, I want you to arrange yourselves in a square with your fifth man in the middle. The one in the middle should be the one who either doesn't use melee weapons or should be protected from close combat. If there are 6 in your group, then put the extra two both in the middle."

The students listened to the teacher, quickly arranging themselves. Alec took to leadership and placed Jaxon in the middle while the rest took up spots around him. With that, Jaxon wouldn't be caught off guard and could keep himself and the luggage protected. 

Once all the groups were arranged, the teacher went around and corrected mistakes. Once everyone was in their right places, he nodded.

"Good. This is how your group should walk through the forest. Obviously you don't have to stick right next to each other. Some distance is fine so you can use your weapons on short notice.  As long as you have your zone covered and your middle man protected, you're fine. You will come to figure out the details and what's comfortable as you work with your party more. This is also one of the reasons why people shouldn't change parties so much. Coordination between party members is one of your most valuable assets in any dungeon dive. Now, let's go find a gremlin. And don't worry about being injured too much. I'm here to prevent anything serious from happening."

Saying that, the teacher urged everyone deeper into the forest. The groups all began to walk forward slowly, constantly watching around them and listening for anything out of the ordinary. Along the way, many groups fell out of formation, and the teacher constantly corrected them. He spoke seriously and with urgency, and all the students quickly fixed themselves. Unfortunately, the teacher knew that they wouldn't see the true value of a formation until they got into battles, so he just tried his best to emphasize its importance. 

The groups all walked for around 10 minutes, going so far that nobody was sure where the haven was anymore. Luckily, there were landmarks around the forest in the form of metal pillars with soft lights on them. Each pillar pointed to where the nearest haven was, so if one ever got lost, they were supposed to look for the pillars to find their way. Though, they weren't everywhere, so having a strong sense of direction was most valuable. 

This was one of the things Dirk started appreciating. His AI could map out and track where he had gone, so he would never get lost. It marked where each pillar was as well, adding it to the map. 

Eventually, all the groups suddenly heard rustling. Along with the rustling came rough cries like that of a monkey. Not long after, a gremlin came into view. 

It was exactly as described. The gremlin swung across branches, but stopped when it saw one of the groups. Its long arms hung from the branch and its red eyes glowed. It didn't seem like it would attack, and the students nearest to it entered a standoff. 

After some time though, the gremlin cried out and moved again. It circled around the group, getting closer and dropping to the floor. The students panicked and prepared their weapons, watching as the gremlin inched closer. 

Then, it dove in. The gremlin reached out and swiped at the closest student. The boy who received the attack stumbled backward with his sword pointed forward. The pitiful sword swing missed the arm that was heading for him, and the claws came poking forward. 

"Agh!"

The boy grunted as the claws cut through his sleeve and scratched his arm, leaving three new slices. The gremlin backed away as one of the other party members came forward with a swing. It then swiped once more, cutting the other kid before backing away and taking off into the trees again. 

'It likes to harass its prey.'

This was the conclusion Dirk came to as he watched from afar. The gremlin never made for a lethal blow, simply wanting to inflict small wounds. It really wasn't that hostile, and if the students were even a bit competent, it wouldn't last long under any sort of attack. The fact that it dove in toward a group showed how unintelligent it was. 

The teacher went over after the gremlin escaped into the forest with a laugh, taking a look at the students who got scratched. The scratches weren't any more than flesh wounds, and the kids could keep fighting despite not wanting to anymore. They didn't get a choice as they were forced to bandage their own wound and keep walking. 

The groups eventually resumed their march, and it wasn't long before another gremlin came swinging over. Nobody knew if it was the same one, but nobody cared. Dirk watched as it made its way to his group. Alec saw this too and perked up. 

"Harmut, you take it."

Alec spoke, and the gremlin heard. Harmut nodded as the gremlin turned toward them. Dirk could see the mana around Harmut fluctuate. 

The gremlin approached, just like with the other group. Alec stood in front but didn't draw his weapon. The gremlin inched forward, crying out occasionally as its fingers twitched. Then, when the gremlin dove toward Alec to swipe, an arrow came hurtling forward.

*Screech!*

The gremlin screamed as a rock arrow shot through its stomach and pinned it to the floor. Without hesitating, Alec then moved forward with his sword, swinging it at the gremlin. 

*Slice!*

With a clean stroke, the gremlin's head fell, its body collapsing lifeless. The teacher walked over the next moment, looking at the gremlin before nodding.

"Very good. Perfect teamwork and execution. Now, if you so choose, there are two things you can harvest from this monster. First is the magic crystal, and the second is the eyes. It looks like the magic crystal in this monster is in the back of its head."

"Uhh..."

Hearing that, Alec hesitated. While earning money out of his own effort sounded nice, it required him to scoop the eyes out of a gremlin and dig into its head. That didn't sound appealing in the slightest. 

Subconsciously, he found himself turning to Dirk as if asking for help. Ava also looked at Dirk like he were the perfect man for the job. Seeing this, Dirk thought for a second before shrugging and drawing one of his knives. 

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Approaching the severed head, Dirk flipped the face up and looked at the shut eyelids. Taking his knife, he dug straight in. All the students who watched cringed at the horrible sounds his knife made against flesh. 

A few seconds later, the teacher's eyebrows raised. In the palm of Dirk's gloves were two red eyeballs. He set them aside before flipping the head over and stabbing into the head. He could also sense a cluster of dense mana, so he assumed that's where the crystal was. 

And sure enough, the crystal was planted within the back of the skull. He cracked bone before pulling it out and cleaning it off. The crystal was a marble with swirling earthen mana inside. It looked mesmerizing when you disregarded the dripping blood.

After collecting the two eyeballs and crystal, he stood and turned to the teacher who nodded in approval.

"Hm, good job. Here's a bag to hold loot. When we exit the dungeon, I'll be taking you all to see the dungeon association. You can sell the loot there."

"Understood."

Nodding, Dirk took the sack and threw the spheres in. He then handed the sack to Jaxon who took it and tied it to his waist. 

After that, all the groups kept moving forward. Over the next hour, all groups would come face to face with a gremlin. Only some were able to kill it while others got hurt. The groups that did kill their gremlin though couldn't muster up the courage to harvest it. They all glanced at Dirk like Alec did. Seeing this, the teacher stepped in. 

"You can ask others to help harvest from monsters. However, be prepared to give away some of the spoils. If you ask Dirk to help you, it's only fair that he take either both eyeballs or the crystal. If you're okay with this, then feel free to ask. As for you Dirk, don't let your services go to waste. Harvesting is a valuable skill, and you seem to be adept at it."

Hearing this, the students and Dirk nodded. The groups who killed gremlins then asked Dirk to harvest for them. He went over and harvested everything, and since most groups wanted the crystals, he ended up with the eyes. In the end, he came out with six more eyeballs. However, there was one group that didn't ask for help. One of the students tried his own hand at it. 

The student had a knife of his own, and like Dirk, he went to cut out the crystal. This went fine, but not so much as he cut out the eyeballs. He had to dig around a bit to detach them, and when the eyeball came out, it had some cuts on it. The second one was a bit better, but still damaged. The teacher saw this and smiled. 

"Good try, but those eyeballs are now worthless. Damaging it reduces its value to nothing. This is why a harvester is so valuable as even the crystals can be broken if not careful. They need to have the knowledge and dexterity necessary to avoid damaging the valuable parts. You can keep practicing, but know that you will probably come out with no sellable loot due to you needing to learn. Dirk's are perfect, so if you asked him, you could have at least gotten one good eyeball. Just be sure to weigh your gains and losses. And if you truly desire, then go ahead and try to learn how to harvest. There are even some classes for it."

The teacher left with words of encouragement. However, the student in question felt embarrassed and frustrated for messing up. Meanwhile, Dirk was learning the value of being able to use a knife well.

The groups went on to march for another three hours. They encountered more and more gremlins, and the students quickly learned how to deal with them. Their confidence went up, and more were killed. Even when small groups of two or three gremlins showed, the groups met them with bravery. By the end, basically all the students were confident in their party's ability to handle a gremlin, and nearly all had killed one. Of course, more kills meant more harvesting, and Dirk was busy taking eyes from everyone. More students had also tried their hand at harvesting, but like the first kid, they all damaged the eyes.

Seeing that, everyone chose to have Dirk help them. His bag was soon filled with 50 eyeballs and a few more crystals. While he was happy at the number, he was not happy with the stink that came from it. Luckily he didn't have to carry it, leaving Jaxon to deal with the stench of dried eyeballs. 

It was at this time that the groups came upon another structure. Their eyes all widened as they saw the second haven. The teacher led them into it.

"Alright, this haven is where we will be staying until tomorrow. For the rest of the day, you all will focus on setting up camp in an open area within the haven. If you finish that and have nothing to do, then you can take your party and go out to hunt more. However, you must find another party to go with you. Basically, groups of 10 only can go out to hunt more. Also, should you go out to hunt, you must be back before darkness falls. Now, go find yourselves a space, and I'll walk you through setting up camp."

The teacher spoke and walked them to an empty plot of land within the haven. The haven here was basically a large box with only a few buildings for the guards that maintained the place. The majority of the area was empty dirt and grass. All the groups spread out and found their own spaces, dropping their bags on the floor and taking everything out. 

The teacher went on to teach everyone how to pitch a tent. The tents were big enough to fit two people, even three should they squeeze, and everyone had a tent. The students drove stakes into the ground and propped up the spines with bendy metal rods and long rope. Soon, dozens of tents were made, and everyone settled down their blankets to make it a bit more homely. Their bodies also relaxed, fatigue from the march setting in. Most of them were tired from the elevated stress levels, so nobody was interested in going back out. 

Except for Dirk's group. Alec was quick to mention going back out to hunt, and his group agreed. Dirk and Ava weren't tired at all, while Alec and Harmut were only a bit tired. And since Jaxon had been protected the whole time, he wasn't tired much either. With that, they asked to go back out. The teacher heard them and surprised them with his response. 

"You guys performed the best today, so if you want, you can go back out yourselves. I trust that you can take care of yourselves. Especially you, Alec. Keep taking charge like that. Lack of leadership is one of the biggest downfalls of any group."

"Yes sir! We'll be back before darkness falls."

"Very well. Stay safe."

The teacher nodded, and Alec quickly led his group out of the haven. 

Everyone was on higher alert as they entered the unknown without any support. The haven quickly disappeared from view as they chose a direction and walked. The atmosphere felt much different from before, but nobody in the group faltered. 

Dirk remained the same as ever, and Ava remained solid as long as he was. Meanwhile, Alec continued to be a good leader and the backbone for the other two. Harmut followed Alec and Jaxon was supported by his charisma. The group was well balanced, and when a group of three gremlins came their way, they were able to take care of it with relative ease. Alec handled the first one, Harmut handled the second, and Ava handled the third. While it took Harmut two rock arrows and Ava three swings, all three gremlins were killed. And unlike when getting their first kill, nobody was queasy at the sight of a dead monster.

Dirk then harvested all the eyes and crystal, tossing them into the half-filled smelly sack of loot. 

"Nice. So, where do you guys want to go? Deeper?"

Alec asked as Dirk handed the sack to Jaxon. Everyone looked at him and pondered.

"Should we go deeper in? How strong are the gremlins? And won't there be more?"

"The gremlins will indeed be stronger and more plentiful. But that's just more practice for us. Dirk has only killed a couple gremlins. We all gotta get our kill counts up. Even Jaxon needs to kill some. Besides, these ones are too easy. We'll grow faster if we challenge ourselves."

"Hmm..."

Ava and Harmut pondered. The ones they were killing were truly easy. Hitting the gremlin a single time was enough to disable them. Rank 2's just weren't strong enough to withstand their strength. Ava was Rank 3 herself, and Harmut was Tier 3, not to mention Alec and Dirk. 

Plus, everyone was feeling a bit of bloodlust. After killing more and more, they felt the desire to keep going. They wanted to prove to themselves that they were capable, especially Ava. All her training was for this, and she wanted to display it. 

Dirk didn't particularly care either way, and since Jaxon was being protected, he felt safe. After thinking about it for a while, everyone eventually agreed. With that, Alec turned them toward the deeper areas, marching forward at a steady pace.