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The other two Mirefangs saw their companion fall.
Their behavior changed immediately.
They became frantic.
Both charged.
Akin raised his sword.
Tolu stepped forward.
"I’ve got this one!"
The two separated.
Each engaged one of the remaining Mirefangs.
Tolu swung his sword.
The Mirefang ducked.
He swung again.
It moved around him.
Tolu turned.
Too slow.
A claw struck his shoulder.
Pain shot through his arm.
He staggered.
The Mirefang attacked again.
Tolu blocked.
The force sent him stumbling backward.
Across the cavern, Akin was struggling just as badly.
The Mirefang moved with incredible agility.
Every time Akin thought he had it cornered, it slipped away.
His breathing became heavier.
His arms were beginning to ache.
He couldn’t keep this up forever.
Ore watched both fights.
Her fingers tightened around the bowstring.
She had an arrow ready.
But there was no clean shot.
Tolu and Akin were constantly moving.
One mistake...
She swallowed.
"Wait..."
Tolu swung again.
The Mirefang dodged.
His foot landed badly.
He stumbled.
His sword slipped from his hand.
It clattered against the stone.
Tolu fell onto his back.
The Mirefang immediately pounced.
Its jaws opened wide.
Tolu raised his arms.
The creature’s claws struck him.
Pain tore through his body.
He grunted.
The Mirefang’s teeth snapped inches from his face.
Tolu grabbed its long jaws with both hands.
"Get... off me!"
The creature thrashed violently.
Tolu’s arms shook.
His wounds burned.
But he refused to let go.
"ORE!"
Ore already had her bow drawn.
She saw the opening.
The Mirefang’s underside was exposed.
She released the arrow.
It flew across the cavern.
The arrow struck beneath the Mirefang’s body.
The creature screamed.
Its weight suddenly collapsed.
Tolu shoved it away and rolled across the ground.
He lay there for a moment, breathing heavily.
Then he slowly pushed himself upright.
Ore lowered her bow.
"Are you alive?"
Tolu looked at the blood on his clothes.
"I think so."
He reached for his sword.
Akin was still fighting.
Tolu forced himself to stand.
He rushed toward him.
Akin saw him approaching.
"Tolu!"
"I’ve got you!"
The Mirefang lunged.
Akin blocked its claws.
Tolu attacked from the side.
The creature twisted away.
Akin followed.
Their attacks began working together.
One forced the Mirefang to move.
The other attacked the opening.
The creature became more frantic.
It tried to retreat.
Tolu wouldn’t let it.
Akin stepped forward.
His sword struck.
Tolu followed.
The Mirefang stumbled.
Akin delivered the final blow.
The creature collapsed.
Silence returned to the cavern.
The four stood among the bodies.
None of them spoke.
Their breathing filled the chamber.
Temi pressed a hand against her injured side.
Akin leaned heavily against his sword.
Ore lowered her bow.
Tolu looked around at the blood covering the floor.
They had won.
But barely.
He looked at the three dead Mirefangs.
"Those things..."
He swallowed.
"They were monsters."
Akin immediately rushed toward Temi. She was lying motionless on the ground. Her face had gone pale, and the blood from the wound at her waist had soaked through her clothes.
"Temi!" Akin dropped beside her.
He checked her breathing. She was still breathing. He quickly fumbled through his clothes and pulled out a small bottle filled with green liquid.
His hands shook as he uncorked it. "Come on..."
He carefully lifted Temi’s head and poured the liquid into her mouth.
For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then the bleeding began to slow.
The deep wounds across her waist gradually dried, the blood no longer flowing from them.
Akin released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
"I stopped the bleeding."
He looked at the others.
"But she lost too much blood. We need to get her to a healer soon."
Ore immediately stepped forward.
"I’ll go with you."
Akin nodded.
"Good."
Tolu looked at the three Mirefangs lying across the cavern.
"We can’t leave these behind."
He glanced at Akin.
"Take her. I’ll pack them up and catch up with you."
Akin hesitated.
"You sure?"
Tolu nodded.
"Go."
Akin carefully lifted Temi onto his back.
Her arms hung loosely over his shoulders.
He adjusted her weight and stood.
Ore moved beside him.
"Let’s go."
The two hurried toward the dungeon entrance.
Tolu watched them disappear into the corridor.
Then he turned back toward the three Mirefangs.
He sighed.
"Now I just have to figure out how I’m carrying three of these things..."
Tolu gathered the three Mirefangs together.
Their bodies were heavy.
Much heavier than the one they had fought before.
Tolu looked at the ring on his finger.
He remembered the dungeon.
He had almost forgotten that he was carrying something far more important than the Mirefangs’ bodies.
His dungeon needed creatures.
He reached down and touched the first Mirefang with his ring.
The ring immediately began to glow.
Tolu smiled.
"You’re coming with me."
He touched the second.
Then the third.
Each one disappeared into the dungeon.
Tolu looked at his glowing ring with satisfaction.
"These Mirefangs are fairly powerful. They should be a good addition."
Then his smile faded.
He looked at his empty hands.
"...Now how am I supposed to carry the bodies?"
He glanced toward the dungeon entrance.
There was no way he could carry three Mirefangs all the way out by himself.
Tolu thought for a moment.
Then something came to him.
Uncle Aremu had once taught him a way of carrying several heavy bags of grain at once.
He needed sturdy, thick sticks and strong vines.
Tolu looked around.
Then toward the entrance.
He would have to walk all the way outside to find them.
His eyes moved toward the three bodies.
He frowned.
"That would make for a pretty stupid story."
He imagined himself returning with the sticks only to discover that the three Mirefangs had somehow disappeared.
He shook his head.
"No. I need to find something here."
Tolu began searching the nearby caves.
He checked one.
Nothing.
Another.
Nothing.
Then he entered a smaller cave hidden behind a narrow opening.
He stopped.
Small heaps of slime remains were scattered across the floor.
Tolu crouched down.
"What happened here?"
He nudged one of the heaps with his foot.
The remains scattered.
Something white was underneath.
Tolu froze.
He crouched lower and moved the slime remains aside.
An egg sat beneath them.
His eyes widened.
"Mirefang eggs?"
He looked around the cave.
There were more heaps.
Tolu carefully scattered another one.
Another egg.
Then another.
His expression slowly changed.
"So that’s why they were so aggressive."
The three Mirefangs hadn’t simply been defending their territory.
They had been protecting their young.
Tolu looked at the eggs.
For most adventurers, Mirefang eggs weren’t worth much.
Mirefangs were difficult creatures to raise, and very few people would willingly spend the time and resources required to do so.
Their eggs weren’t particularly useful as food either.
But Tolu wasn’t thinking like an ordinary adventurer.
He needed creatures.
His dungeon needed life.
To him, these eggs were worth more than silver.
He touched one with his ring.
It disappeared.
The ring glowed.
Tolu’s smile returned.
"Oh..."
He immediately began clearing the slime remains.
One heap.
Then another.
Then another.
Egg after egg disappeared into the dungeon.
He counted as he went.
"Twenty..."
Another egg vanished.
"Twenty-one."
Another.
"Twenty-two."
He continued.
"Twenty-three..."
By the time he finished searching the cave, he had collected twenty-six eggs.
Tolu stared at his ring.
He couldn’t help but smile.
"A secret harvest."
He looked around one last time.
There were no more eggs.
"That should be enough."
He quickly left the cave and began searching for sturdy wood.
After finding several suitable branches and logs, Tolu dragged them back toward the Mirefang bodies.
He remembered Uncle Aremu’s instructions.
Two long, sturdy logs.
Several shorter ones for support.
And plenty of vines.
Tolu laid the two long logs parallel to each other.
Then he placed the shorter logs across them.
One.
Two.
Three.
He added another.
Then another.
He firmly tied each joint together with vines until the structure stopped moving.
When he finished, he had a crude rectangular platform.
Tolu pushed it onto the ground.
"Good enough."
He dragged the first Mirefang onto it.
Then the second.
Then the third.
The three bodies lay side by side, their enormous forms nearly covering the entire platform.
Tolu used more vines to bind their legs and bodies firmly to the wooden frame.
He pulled on each knot.
Nothing moved.
He nodded.
"Secure."
He then cut open the sac he came with making it long enough to cover the bodies.
Once everything was ready, Tolu grabbed the two long logs protruding from the front of the platform.
He lifted them.
The weight immediately pulled against his arms.
Tolu gritted his teeth.
"Heavy..."
He shifted one of the logs onto his shoulder.
Then the other.
The platform rose slightly from the ground.
Tolu leaned forward.
And pulled.
The wooden platform scraped across the stone floor.
Slowly, it began moving.
Tolu took another step.
Then another.
It was exhausting.
The Mirefangs were still incredibly heavy.
But the platform worked.
Tolu wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued toward the dungeon entrance.
"Uncle Aremu..."
He smiled despite his exhaustion.
"I finally understand why you taught me this."