(Book 1 Complete!) Side Quest [Isekai / LitRPG]

The chittering was loud enough to rattle Logan's bones, and he wondered if this was the wisest decision. It can't be so bad, Logan reassured himself. His current companions didn't seem worried. What could go wrong?

Bromlin led, followed by Logan, Cassandra, Senna, then Alden. Wood planks framed the walls at the initial descent into the cellar, but after they passed ground level, it transitioned to mortar and field stone. The well-traveled steps were so smooth in the center, Logan almost slipped. With only Bromlin, who couldn't be taller than 4 feet, ahead of him, Logan had a clear view of the slatted landing, but the cellar itself wrapped around and out of sight, hidden by a wooden wall with a railing. An earthy musk filled the air, tinged with something sour

"Lend a light, Cassandra?" asked Bromlin.

Cassandra's garments rustled behind Logan, stirring up a pleasant flowery fragrance that cut over the pungent mustiness. Three glowing white orbs, like luminescent bubbles, materialized overhead and merged into one. It cast a soft but bright, steady light and floated past Logan and Bromlin to the landing, where it made a sharp turn.

Great shadows played along the walls and the chitinous clicks crescendoed.

Bromlin reached the landing. "Aha! There you are, you cave-lickin' crawlers." He hefted his axe and twisted the leather-wrapped grip as if he were revving a motorcycle. Logan came astride the dwarf and his eyes widened.

He forced himself to keep his cool, but these were larger than he remembered from his fleeting encounter in the mountain. And he had never liked insects. Especially not ones this giant. Each was as big as Logan, bigger even. Their wing casings could easily hide him like a ping pong ball underneath a street swindler's cup.

Name: Dreadmaw Beetle
Type: Insect
Level: 18
Health: 155/155
Mana: 67/67
Lore: This species of beetle thrives underground off decomposing and fermented matter. Highly territorial of food sources, this scavenger will attack anything it deems a threat.
Strength: Relentless Charge, Armored Exoskeleton
Weakness: Speed

Analyze is level 16!

The slatted landing had one more step leading down to the packed earth flooring of the cellar. At the far end near the crumbled section of the stone wall, two-day-spilled sour beer made the dirt muddy.

"Still want some porter, Senna?" Bromlin asked.

"Bite me."

"I'll pass." The dwarf jounced his battle axe in a taunting manner as he eyed the nearest beetle. "But this little beauty might take you up on that offer."

"I've never seen so many in one place before," mused Cassandra. "Normally I've only found the odd one out and about scavenging in the forest."

"That's probably because they turn down even blighted fruit for the swill this tavern serves." Alden's snide voice made Logan shake his head.

Bromlin erupted with a deep, belly-shaking laugh. "Alden, if you put half as much effort into spellcasting as you do complaining, you'd be head of the Mage's Guild by now."

Alden sniffed, but Logan swore he saw a ghost of a smirk.

Before any further banter could unfold, the nearest beetle turned its attention to them. Its massive mandibles clicked, and the sound sent an unsettling vibration through Logan's ribs. It lunged forward, the dull shine of its carapace catching Cassandra's floating light.

Bromlin charged.

The dwarf's axe flashed in the cellar's dim glow, hacking clean through the beetle's wing with a shrieking, metallic scrape. Sparks flew as the steel met the insect's armored exoskeleton, but sheer force won out. The severed wing casing tumbled to the ground and rolled with such force its splintered edge stabbed a barrel's side. Beer spurted in two thin fountains around the chitin plug.

Unfazed, Bromlin followed up with another powerful swing. This time, the axe buried itself deep into the beetle's side, sending out a burst of thick, sickly green gore. The creature snapped its mandibles at him, but he raised an iron gauntlet. The crack of chitin against metal made Logan's jaw ache, and the beetle convulsed as its legs skittered wildly, trying to retreat.

Senna had already leaped into action, skidding across the dirt toward a row of toppled barrels. "Cassandra, give me some cover!"

Cassandra lifted a hand without hesitation. A soft, golden light flared around Senna, wrapping her in a protective ward. Logan almost shouted out when a beetle charged her, but when its horn hit the ward, the beetle flipped onto its back and rocked as its legs flexed and flailed. Senna's laugh made her look villainous with the overhead lighting casting harsh shadows on her face. She pulled out a small knife and pried off a tap handle, then reached into a pouch at her waist.

Alden stepped forward next, elbowing his way in front of Logan. Voice low and precise, he waved a hand toward the muddy patch of earth where the largest beetle imbibed itself.

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A deep brown glow rose from the ground like fog as the packed dirt floor rippled like shallow water, and the beetle's hind legs sank into the earth. It gripped the keg it drank from, and that rose too. It tipped so that the dregs of turned beer flowed out and into the great insect's mouth as it chirped. The thing seemed happy to be draining the last drops and was unbothered by Alden's intervention.

"Nice work, Alden," said Logan. "Now it's even more drunk."

The young mage frowned at him, but he wasn't done. His fingers twisted in a sharp motion, and the brown vapor faded. Instead, a black hue lifted off the spoiled beer, and then from under the beetle's carapace.

The insect dropped the keg and its wavering legs grew sluggish. Then, with a grotesque gurgle, thick goop began leaking from the seams of its carapace.

"Indeed," said Alden, too brightly. "Unfortunately, its choice vintage was a breeding ground of necrotic mana."

"Got it!" Senna suddenly shouted.

Logan turned just in time to see her leap on top of the flipped-over bug's stomach, pry open its wing, and shove a hand-fashioned explosive inside the carapace. He barely caught sight of what she'd been working with—broken bits of wood, the snapped-off tap handle, some kind of flammable powder. She had cobbled it all together with an almost casual ease, as if throwing together makeshift bombs was a perfectly normal hobby.

The beetle stopped moving as if it knew its fate, and then exploded in a goopy splurt. Next thing Logan knew, a disembodied leg twitched at his feet.

Senna was already scrambling to piece together another bomb.

Alden turned his sharp gaze on Logan. "Are you planning to help, or just taking notes?"

Logan shook himself out of his awed daze.

This was his new life now.

No more letting opportunities slide by.

And he wasn't going to let a bunch of overgrown bugs slow him down.

Logan flashed Alden a grin and sprinted forward, his clawed gauntlet flashing as he twisted past a beetle's gnashing mandibles.

Cassandra made a small tutting sound and Logan's skin glowed faintly, no doubt with some type of damage negation.

He ducked low beneath the slow insect, narrowly avoiding a lunge, and then slashed upwards. His clawed gauntlet ripped through the soft underside of the beetle's head, carving deep gashes along its throat.

Another beetle tried to ram him from the side, but Logan flipped onto its horn, using it as leverage to swing himself over. He suffered a gash on his cheek even through Cassandra's provided defense, but landed on top of it and drove his claw into the seam of its armor, twisting hard. The beetle bucked Logan off as dark ichor sprayed from the wound.

With the two injured beetles on either side, Logan sank his claws into their heads and twisted. He made a face at the heat that rose from the cracked shell.

You have helped kill a level 13 Dreadmaw Beetle! Shared experience gained!
You have helped kill a level 12 Dreadmaw Beetle! Shared experience gained!

Aerial Combat is level 2!
Aerial Combat is level 3!

Gauntlet Mastery is level 10!

"How's that, Alden?" Logan asked over his shoulder.

The young mage had descended from the platform and lifted his robes as stepped over the viscous spillage. "You could have had the decency to keep it all contained."

Logan looked down where his feet sloshed in inch-thick goop. He might as well save this shirt for Christmas with how the green bloodstains paired with his own red ones from the other day. Seamless Seems was absolutely his first stop after he joined the Guild tomorrow and turned in the Luminthistle bounty.

"Watch it," said Senna, looking up from her tinkering.

Logan followed her gaze to where a beetle charged at him and Alden. The things might start out slow, but it seemed they could build momentum. Aware of the mana bouncing around inside him, Logan almost used Null Pulse to dodge, but caught himself, not wanting to reveal the skill in front of this crew. Not yet, anyway.

Instead, he pivoted and reacted on instinct. He pushed Alden with enough force not only to shove the mage clear but also to propel himself back, too. The beetle's charge might be powerful, but that had to mean it couldn't easily stop.

He smirked as it whizzed past, a small breeze whipping Logan's hair. He gasped, though, when he realized what he had done. The beetle surged onward straight to Cassandra.

Logan darted her way in pursuit of the beetle, but he wasn't going to make it in time.

And he didn't need to either. Cassandra ran directly toward the shelled bug like a mad woman. When she was a mere foot away, she thrust a hand forward and jumped, performing a one-armed cartwheel on the beetle's shell. Where her palm connected with the armor, a glowing white sigil appeared.

The stone wall shook as the beetle's horn rammed through mortar. Cassandra walked to Logan and dusted her hands off, grimacing. Alden produced a handkerchief from his robe and she accepted it with a smile that made Logan oddly jealous.

The brand on its back glowed, and suddenly a spear of light jutted up from either end, disintegrating a gaping hole in the beetle's shell.

"That was impressive," said Logan.

She tucked her hair back into place. "Thank you."

Senna strode over. "Dammit Cassandra. Now I don't have any use for this," she said, holding up a second explosive.

"I suppose you have to be faster," Cassandra said with a shrug.

Logan was enjoying the group. Even Alden's bitter attitude endeared him. Beneath the elf's abrasive exterior, Logan suspected he actually was having fun. They all looted the bugs, handing pretty much everything carapace-related to Senna.

Logan gave reticent thanks when Bromlin tossed him a fluid-filled Dreadmaw Joint Sac. Only after Logan tried to awkwardly squish it into his prowler pouch did Senna laugh and relieve him of it.

Walking to the last beetle Cassandra had taken out, Logan tried to pry its horn free from its lodging in the wall. "Give me a hand with this, Bromlin?"

The dwarf trotted over and clapped Logan's back. They each grabbed what Logan guessed were the beetle's shoulders and tugged.

"Oof. This thing is wedged in tight. Try again on the count of three?"

Bromlin nodded, and at the end of the count, they pulled. For half a second, nothing happened.

Then loose stone flung from the wall, revealing a gaping cavern beyond.

And inside?

More beetles.

So. Many. Beetles.

For a moment, the entire group stared in stunned silence.

"Well," Cassandra said, exhaling. "That escalated quickly."

Senna grimaced. "I didn't expect them to have a secret lair."

Bromlin, however, was already on the move. "Bah, I'll outlevel Alden with these!" He charged with a bellow straight into the mass of chittering insects.

Logan winced at the damage they had dealt to the inn's cellar, but he figured the owner would be more distraught by the infestation on the other side.

He rolled his shoulders, adjusted his stance, and charged after Bromlin.