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Energy Eater - Chapter 69 - Party
🕑 Added 2024-12-19 10:54:26 +0000 UTC#### Author's Note ####
Obligatory 'Nice'
Also. I know the Patreon is SUPER behind schedule. I'm trying to catch up but it's been a struggle lately. Specially since I started a new job. It's just a gig but takes a lot of time. I'm really sorry about that and I'm working on making it ... well work.
Now here is for a more chill chapters than the things happening in MAZE lol
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"I agree. If we have something special to eat, you should ask before eating the last piece. But that feels like manners. Do you really think it should be a rule?" I turned to Astrid.
"Yes," she replied, her voice cold and intense. It was clear there was a story there, but I felt it was not the best time to ask.
"Is there any other rule you want to add?" I asked.
Astrid paused for a moment, trying to think, before shaking her head.
We were currently taking a break from walking. It had been a few hours since we left her village, and the temperature was slowly decreasing, meaning we were already getting close to the dungeon. Still, we found a small clearing that was warm enough and sat on the large rocks to rest for a bit. There was no need to rush after anyone right now, so we could take our time.
Once I heard Astrid's answer, I nodded. "Okay. Let me check with the System if it finished the list."
'Sys?'
[System has compiled the list of rules User and Astrid have agreed upon. All rules should be applied to both User Cassandra and Astrid.]
[1 - Each User has full rights over their System. They can choose how to use it, who to share it with, and who to tell about it. Conversations can be had about said decisions, but the decision is ultimately up to each individual User. Even if another User disagrees with the idea, they should not impede a User from utilizing their System as they see fit.]
[2 - If a User discovers a unique feature of their System, be it a special skill, a class, a title, or something else, they must share that information. The only exception is if revealing said information would also reveal personal information that the User does not wish to reveal at the moment.]
[3 - When keeping watch during the night, Users must respect each other's sleep. The only situation when a User is allowed to be disturbed while sleeping is if there is an emergency.]
[4 - In the event where a User feels the need to hunt a specific monster or animal, they must warn each other before heading out.]
[5 - If a User is upset with another, they must discuss what happened.]
[6 - If a special meal has been made, a User must ask before eating the last of it.]
[Inquiry: Are those all the rules User wishes to create?]
'Can you share it with Astrid?' I asked the System.
[Affirmative. But transference of information requires physical contact.]
I walked towards her and touched her shoulder, telling the System to pass the list along. After a moment, she nodded. "Sounds good."
"Okay then. That is the list. Can you save it for us?"
[Acknowledged.]
[User has completed the requirements to form a party. Would User like to form a party with Astrid?]
"What?" Astrid and I asked at the same time.
"Do you know?" the Frosted Lumberjack asked me.
"I have no clue what this is. Do you mind explaining to us, System?"
[A party is a group of people who are working together for the same goal. By creating and formalizing a set of rules, System is able to create a party. System was unaware of said possibility until the requirements were fulfilled. The creation of the rules allows for the creation of the party. However, the rules are not binding. If a rule is broken, there will be no direct effect on the configuration of the party. At any point, one of the party members can ask their own System to be removed from the party.]
"Right… but what does it do? Do we get bonuses on the amount of Energy we acquire or something?"
[Being in a party allows members of said party to distribute how many particles they receive after killing a monster in a group. In addition, being in a party can allow the members of the party to acquire skills more easily, as the information about skills acquired through the consumption of particles is shared between party members. Lastly, members of the party will always be aware of each other's location. In close proximity, that location is precise, but the farther apart the party members are, the more generic the location will be.]
"The location thing. Does it show up like the markers for landmarks you can do?"
[Correct. In a similar fashion to landmarks, the marker for party members can be customized. This is the current display option.]
A small circular arrow appeared in the corner of my vision. It had a red outline with an "A" in the middle, pointing directly at Astrid.
"This can be useful. But how about the particle sharing thing? Is it automatic or what?"
[The amount of particles each party member receives has no changes by default. If party members wish to change that, all they have to do is ask System to do so. Currently, both Users Cassandra and Astrid are set up to receive 100% of the particles they acquire. This means that each party member will not share the amount of particles they acquire with the other.]
"And can we change that freely? Can we say that one of us does not get any particles while the other gets everything?"
[Particle acquisition must be within a certain range. Currently, the lowest point range is a 25/75% split. One party member receives only 25% of all particles acquired through hunting while the other receives 70%. If party members are too far apart to receive the particles from each other, particles can be stored for up to 1 hour. After that period, particles will be integrated with the user they are currently attached to. System is unable to say if those values would change if there were more party members or if there are more functions currently unavailable for the party.]
"Did you get all that?" I turned to Astrid, who nodded in response. "And what do you say about us changing the amount of particles we get for fights?"
She paused, looking into my eyes for a moment. "Okay."
"Great. That way, you can catch up in no time. Once we get to the same level, we can just keep it at an equal split. What do you think?"
Astrid blinked. "I get more?"
"Of course. You are lower level than me. If we are going to travel together, I think we should be on the same playing field. It is the basics of an adventure party to have everyone around the same level of power. Otherwise, people start to get left behind too quickly." It took me a moment to realize why she had that weird expression. "Wait. You thought I was going to say I should get most of it?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"You do not trust me," she replied.
"What? What gave you that impression?"
"You. When gave System."
I paused and thought for a moment. It was true. When I gave her the System, I said that I would usually only give it to someone I trusted, but the situation was different with her.
"Astrid, I am sorry. It was true back then. We had barely met each other, and I still did not trust you completely. But now, after everything we have been through. Girl, I trust you. After we fought the Ice Devil, hell, even before that, I already trusted you. I know that if something goes down, you will have my back, and I hope you know that I have yours. And if you ever decide to stop traveling with me, that will not change. I mean, unless something big happens and we have a fight."
"Really?" she asked. It was cute how she could make such big puppy dog eyes, even when she was built like a bear.
"Really. I wouldn't have let you come with me if I did not trust you. I do not know if you noticed, but I am a bit prickly about that kind of thing."
She nodded. "I know."
"Hey!" I protested with a chuckle. "So, are we good?"
"Great," Astrid replied with a smile.
I smiled back and sat down. Looking up into the sky, it was easy to tell it was the middle of the afternoon. And, of course, the System could tell me precisely that it was 1:12 p.m. That was not really a problem, at least for now. Ever since we left the village, I had not seen a single house, meaning that we would likely have to stay outside for the night. It was not fun doing that kind of thing in a place this cold, but it still might be better than walking around in the middle of the night.
Astrid seemed to notice my worried expression and bumped her shoulder into mine. "What?"
"I am just thinking about where we are going to spend the night. Do you know if there are any houses nearby?"
"My village," she replied.
"Yeah. I was worried you were going to say that. We still have a lot of time, but I just like to have an idea of where we are going to stay before sundown. Otherwise, we are going to have to find a cave or something to spend the night. And I really do not like that idea."
"Why?"
"I don't know the area. I don't know the type of creatures that might be lurking in the middle of the night. And we are in the middle of snow. It's not going to be comfortable. Even with the clothes you made. Those are amazing, by the way. I have no idea how you managed to do them in just a day." I pulled the white fur cloak over my lap. Despite coming from the Ice Devil, it was so soft and warm. There was not even any smell to indicate it came from a recently killed monster.
"Not done."
"Sorry. I got distracted and did not finish what I was saying."
Astrid interrupted me. "No. Cloaks. Not done."
"You didn't finish the cloaks?" I glanced at them. I could not see what else could be done with the fur. There was already something covering the insides, the edges were very well cleaned, and there was even a hood and a way to wrap it around our shoulders. "What's missing here?"
"Embroidery."
"You know how to do embroidery?"
Astrid nodded.
"Damn. I'm excited to see how it is going to look when you finish. But that is even more of a reason for us not to sleep outside. It would be a shame to mess up the cloaks before you are able to finish them."
There was a pause before Astrid spoke again, "West. A city."
"There's a city to the west? Did you go there at some point?"
"No. Merchant."
"Okay, that's a possibility. But I don't like the idea of staying in a city either. Usually, those places are filled with Eaters," I sighed.
"They are?" Astrid tilted her head.
"Yeah. Speaking of which, you never saw an Eater, right? Actually, no. You saw one from a distance."
"Yes."
"Right. I'm sure you know the type of animals that live here better than I do. So, let us do this: we take turns explaining the dangers we know of. That way, we do not have to spend our walk in silence."
Astrid got up. "Okay. We go?"
I nodded and started walking, "We go. So, an Eater is like a giant tentacle monster…"
We continued our conversation while walking. Every now and then, {Predatory Sense} would give me a ping that made us stop talking and move quietly. There were a couple of packs of wolves in the region, but they kept away from this area. It was too cold for them. After all, even though the dungeon was not directly in this direction, we were getting closer to it.
For the next few hours, we talked about pretty much everything we could think of, every type of danger, from animals to monsters to plants, and even problems that could appear because of the environment. Despite not saying too many words, it was surprisingly easy to understand Astrid. Even when she was trying to explain something very specific, like the movement patterns of a pack of wolf.
Once the sun started to approach the horizon, we were lucky enough to find a house hidden by the snow. It did not take much effort to get inside and even less effort to find the fireplace and ignite a small fire for us to spend the night. I knew we had barely made any progress, but according to the marker given by the System, we had already passed the dungeon. The Frosted Gold Dungeon was behind us, in more ways than one.
That truly felt like an accomplishment. While we were preparing some of the meat we brought along, I realized one massive mistake we had made.
"Shit…"
"What?" Astrid asked.
"We forgot to grab some of the teeth and claws from the Ice Devil. Those could have made good weapons."
Astrid frowned, thinking about it for a moment. "We did." She slumped back against the wall.
"Well, maybe we can find something better next time. This cannot be the only dungeon around."
"Another Ice Devil?"
"Probably not. From everything the System told me, they do not all need to be ice-based. But who knows? Maybe we will find a Fire Devil."
"I hope not."
I nodded. "Me neither."
