Monster Hunting 401: A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure by Andrew Karevik (book suggestions .TXT) 📗

spun towards my neck at full speed. I raised my hands instinctively to try and stop the attack with my armor, but they stopped inches away from me.

“If someone as perceptive as you didn’t notice what you were standing on,” Brimley chuckled, “imagine what it’ll do to those horrid monsters you’re fighting.”

And with that, the rope holding me went slack and I fell to the ground. The blades vanished instantly. “Come on then,” he grunted, hobbling towards the cavern with his cane. “Let’s see what I have in stock.”

Chapter 7

This strange man, Brimley as he called himself, was unbelievably suspicious. But that did not stop Trig and I from following him into his trap-laden cavern. Horrid sounds of razors, buzzsaws and tripwires echoed throughout the tunnel network, followed shortly by the sounds of all manner of creatures dying.

“These tunnels connect to the Shadewood,” Brimley muttered as we followed him deeper into the darkness. I handed Trig a bottle of nighthawk, to ensure we could both see in the nearly pitch black cave. The old man didn’t seem to notice the lack of light, though he was probably accustomed to walking in the dark due to his poor eyesight.

Trig gulped the potion down and gave me a look that suggested the best option would be to go far away from this place, but my burning curiosity was killing me here. I needed to know who this man was and why he considered himself a merchant. More importantly, who was he a merchant to?

“Is that so?” I asked. Another tripwire in the darkness, much closer to us. The shrieks of a Fitzon, loud and abrasive, followed by the sounds of skin being flayed.

“Indeed. The wood is where many of these wretches come from. They like the tunnels here. But I don’t much care for trespassers, human, beast or otherwise,” Brimley said, chuckling to himself.

I sipped my own potion, watching as the world around me suddenly turned bright as daytime. The dampness beneath our feet, which I had assumed was simply water, was actually a small river of blood. It was thick, reddish black ooze and was unmistakably monster in origin. Where the flow was coming from, I could not tell.

“So, you want passage to the Shadewood,” Brimley said. “And perhaps some of my wares too, once we get into the shop. Those will cost you. The wares I sell simple enough. Tit for tat, as it were. Everything costs coin. And to get into the wood? I might be willing to take you through these tunnels if you can do what comes naturally to you.”

“You’ve a monster problem?” Trig asked as another yelped echoed through the tunnel, so loud that it bounced past us twice.

“The little ones, Kinru, Fitzons and what have you are easy to kill with traps. But the bigger beasts I usually divert,” Brimley explained as he took us to a small wooden door on the side of the tunnel. He tapped his bone cane against the walls for a second, until the wooden door gave a satisfying thump, showing him where to look for the handle. He grabbed the small brass knob without any fumbling and swung it open.

“They aren’t too smart, you know. I’m sure you have no trouble luring them into all manner of traps. I built a Concave Release System, designed to open up beneath certain weights. Large beasts tumble down and get diverted into big tunnel areas, leading them out of the mountain. All one way and properly baited,” he continued as he led us into the rather expansive shop. “Though recently I’ve got a rather angry plug in one of the holes.”

“Wow!” Trig gasped at the sight of the interior. I myself was impressed, for this shop was quite large, full of tables and shelves as far as the eye could see. Dozens of weapon racks lined the walls, displaying swords, knives and halberds of all shapes and sizes. Armor sat upon those lifeless mannequins I had seen back at the mountain fortress. On the tables were charms galore and encased in a glass counter were dozens of gems, jewels and rings, carefully cushioned on small red pillows.

This was an actual store. A place to buy and presumably sell gear and equipment. The old man hobbled behind the counter and took a seat on a stool, leaning against the glass counter. “Here we are. Brimley’s Depository. High quality weapons, armor and whatever charms I’ve collected. And it’s all for sale.”

“This is unreal,” Trig said as he unrolled a large blueprint from its cylindrical holder. “Look! A trap design for a self-contained snare system. You don’t need to affix the rope to any support structure!”

“Ah yes, that one there is quite the winner,” Brimley said with a chuckle. “No longer bound to tying snares to trees, just one coil and a bit of Bloodpoints is all you need.”

“So you want…you said charms for this stuff?” I asked, looking at a suit of reinforced metal armor. It was well maintained, polished and looked quite ready for combat.

“Sort of,” Brimley said, nodding at that and gesturing towards a small sign. It read This Shop Accepts Rubis Only. “As part of my agreement with your home base, I can only accept those coins of yours. Fortunately, I also purchase charms for coins. Just don’t tell the home base that! They like to control where their money goes, I guess. I think they give them out as rewards for hunts. But I’m not about to turn customers away, so I technically follow the rules. Or at the very least, violate the spirit, but not the letter of the law.”

I glanced at Trig who gave me a curious look back. There was a Venator base somewhere? And they were centralized enough to have their own currency? No…that couldn’t be…

I tried to control my breath enough to ask him to clarify, barely getting the words out as the excitement began to overtake me. “Where