Stumbling Up: A Loser's Guide to Progression - Chapter 66: Into the Slot

I couldn’t imagine that the giant river Ash and I had fished on ran through such a dry place. As it hit the vast plains, they called it the Tigra, but here, in the canyon lands, they called it the Stonebender.

Back in Woodsten, we couldn't have imagined a river so large. Was this what the Niyat looked like before the cataclysm? People said it was the largest river in the East.

As we walked surrounded by red dust, sage, and juniper, the river seemed even more impossible.

This was not a land of water. The campground for the Hunt was at the crux of the river, but even so it was temporary. The landscape was sparse. No one could survive out in the true wilderness for long.

No wonder it was a haven for beasts.

Richard had settled on my shoulder, his stomach happily burbling as he digested the lizard.

“An entire fucking lizard,” I murmured.

Did you want me to eat only half of it? Besides, it progressed the quest, didn’t it?

Ah, so that’s where the 1/? killed beasts came from. At least the kill didn’t affect our [Hidden] quest, so maybe we’d be okay after all.

"No, but it was almost as big as you are. Where did you put it all?" I muttered to him, exaggerating only a little.

Have you seen me eat? A lot of judgment from someone who ate a foot-long sandwich from the vendor yesterday.

He wasn't wrong. Just way too observant.

I watched my friends ahead of me. We commonly took the tail of the line because Richard could keep a better eye on what was behind us than anyone focused on putting one step in front of the other.

Tandy led, followed by Leo, Ash, and Meredeath. Leo was humming to himself, his axe resting on his shoulder. When we were out in the wilderness, he always had it out, ready to go.

Unlike him, I had my war hammer strapped to my hip. It was too awkward to have out and swinging around as we walked. Richard was always jumpy when I practiced with it, worried he'd get squished.

Which seemed odd for someone who was theoretically [Immortal].

I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead. The sun was high, and there was no shade. The sage and juniper reached hip height, and miniature cacti and scorpions covered the few shady spots. I heard a telltale lip smack out of Richard.

He'd eaten, he was warm, and he was about to succumb to a full-on food coma.

"You still paying attention back there?"

Of course, why do you ask? I could hear the yawn in his mental projection.

"Because I know you. You’re full and warm. I don’t need to remind you we’re in a beast-filled wilderness, do I?"

Yes, yes, kill the legendary beast. I didn't think you were that interested in succeeding on this quest.

I wasn't, but I hadn't said it out loud to anyone. Slowing my footsteps a hair, I gave Richard and myself a bit more privacy.

My eyes kept seeking Leo's broad shoulders and tousle of straw hair. Had he grown taller since we left Woodsten? Maybe it was just the shoulder pads on his armor. The life of adventure was suiting my friend in ways that it wasn't resonating with me.

"I don't, but we're here. It's complicated."

If you say nothing, you have only yourself to blame.

I knew this. But the thought of bringing it up with Leo burned in my gut. A [Paladin of the Hunt] would not turn away from the Hunt. He would forfeit his class.

He was becoming a force with his [Enchanted Axe of Singing]. The type of [Adventurer] we’d talked about being as kids. Who needed a [Sponsor] when he could align himself with a goddess?

Getting him to take part in a quest chain for mercy, a collector’s quest, seemed as unlikely as a floating castle. The conversation would not go over well, and I’d end up caving anyway.

The truth was, we needed Leo. We were all specialists. He was our generalist who could deal damage in any situation. Did he need us, though? He could smash and trash with any team across the continent. But Tandy was still figuring her magic out, and I still wasn’t sure what role I had to play. I was nearly worthless in a true fight.

I think your [Self-Criticism] skill triggered.

"Damn it. Why did I have to keep that one?" I checked my status sheet, and sure enough, it'd been auto triggered. "How do you know? You keep insisting you can't read my mind, but—"

Your shoulders tense every time you get stuck in one of those loops. So, I can tell when your ear brushes my back.

Suddenly self-conscious, I tried to lower my shoulders. Stress tended to make my back clench. Tandy and Leo had stopped on the trail, and I quickly caught up with everyone.

"The trail goes this way," Tandy said, stepping down onto something that wasn't much more than a goat track.

"But didn't they say we were going into a slot canyon? It starts right here." Leo'd stepped off the trail to examine a crevasse in the ground. I walked over to what he was pointing at.

The ground opened up, dropping quickly twenty feet. A log wedged in the crack, and I could almost imagine myself hopping down and crawling to the base of the narrow shaft. My brain couldn't help but imagine the ground closing over us, swallowing us as its latest victims.

"I'm not sure I could climb down there that easily." This was Ash, whose agility score wasn't terribly high. As a self-proclaimed mechanic, his physical skills were mediocre.

If I were honest, I wasn't sure I could scramble down the sun-bleached knobby log either.

Tandy stepped over to look. "This looks like what they described a slot canyon to be." She kicked a pebble over the side. It clinked as it hit the log and bounced down to the bottom.

Something slithered out from a shaded ledge. A long tongue reached out to taste the pebble before returning to its nest.

"Did you see that?" Ash's voice shook as he spoke. The guy was more [Mundane] crafter than [Adventurer]. I felt guilty, having convinced him to give the [Raid] a try with our group.

“Yes, let's follow the path a little longer, and see if it drops into the canyon. If it doesn’t, Leo, we will take your advice,” Tandy compromised, as she was not keen on jumping into the hole either.

Leo seemed mollified.

“If we have to jump in there, I vote Leo goes first,” Meredeath countered.

We walked another ten minutes to find that the trail dropped into a washout leading into the canyon. I stood watch as the team scrambled down the loose gravel slope. Dust and rocks slid down with each footstep.

Once we were in the canyon, I realized it was going to be hard to get out. I took an unsteady step forward and tensed as it sank several inches into the grit. Four sets of eyes looked up at me.

My plan had been to watch and learn, but no one had escaped a few stumbles sliding down to the floor, and now I had to accomplish the same feat with them all watching.

Another step caused my left foot to slide further. I grabbed a scrubby sage bush anchored in the landscape. As my left foot started sliding, I pulled on the bush trying to prevent my rapid descent. The bush betrayed me, pulling up dramatically.

Oh shit.

My body jerked forward, expecting the bush to hold. I toppled end over end, rolling forward on the loose gravel. Richard clung, tucked into my head, his slimy trail gritty with dust and debris. Finally, I stopped, dazed, at the foot of the hillside, covered in red dust.

Checking my status, I'd taken a couple of points of physical damage. Leo offered a hand, helping me stand up. He helped pat the dust off my clothes. My face was red, and it wasn't from the sunburn I'd picked up. No, I’d taken most of the damage to my ego.

"Well, we're all here now," Meredeath said dryly. Her black leggings were pristine.

I coughed as I inhaled some of the dust that I'd patted off my body. She had to have a skill that kept her clothes black, right? An [Aura of Darkness]? Or a [Pristine] cleaning skill?

Either way, despite Leo and my efforts, both Richard and I were now coated in a claggy layer of dust.

"I wonder how this slot canyon formed," Tandy said as she examined the far wall, running her hand along the wall. Ash came over, examining the sage bush I'd brought with me. He picked it up and showed it to Meredeath. The entire bush disappeared into his inventory.

"We ready to go back and kill that beast under the log? I could do it myself, if you all need a moment?" Leo held his axe like he was ready for action.

I thought of my mercy quest. That creature hadn't been a creature of legend, but it hadn't been a monster either.

"Tandy, was it red on your map?" I asked, trying not to be forceful. Leo could be stubborn when he dug in.

"No, I think it was just an ordinary overgrown lizard." She frowned as she zoomed to our location. "Yeah, it's still there as white, just part of the landscape."

I shrugged. "We should probably leave it, just a distraction. Let's get on with the quest. Let's find a legendary beast to kill!" I said it with false enthusiasm, praying we were too low level to find any legends.

Tandy looked at me, frowning. When we'd been kids, we'd always pull Leo into our schemes by pumping him up about some mundane task that we needed him for. An enthusiastic facade was one technique that worked every time on our friend.

This time was no different, as Leo smiled. "You're right, let's focus on the goal." He'd already turned, moving deeper into the canyon.

Tandy looked at me, and I shrugged, bobbing Richard up and down. I didn't want to tell her yet.

The [System] rewarded me for my efforts.

[[Thread of Mercy] experience gained! Sparing the life of the Desert Lizard has strengthened your bond to [Desert Creatures].]

No explanation of what that meant or did. I looked at Ash. He was examining the red stripes in the rock wall with no sign of receiving a notification himself.

Apparently, intent mattered.