Waiting for Bucky

Standing alone in the middle of nowhere, Ryu stood staring at a small gap in the rock wall that Bucky had already spent a few minutes past as he calculated his next step. At first, he tried to scream into the hole, calling for Bucky and hoping he would come out, but it didn't.

Eventually, Ryu got tired and sat leaning against the rocks while making a plan to destroy the base. Since he'd landed a quest to destroy the place, especially a quest with a big experience reward, he wasn't about to walk away empty-handed.

While in town, Ryu agreed with Nura that their life was a priority, so they shouldn't face dangers they couldn't handle. According to that principle, Ryu fleed from the town without hesitation.

However, things aren't that simple, as the life of a cultivator is filled with danger, and this is precisely how they grow stronger. Ryu wondered what would happen to him if he went back to the sect with his tail between his legs after only a few days away and with an unimpressive increase in strength.

Forget about being an inner disciple, Ryu would be lucky if they didn't kick him out for being a coward, thus ensuring that he wouldn't embarrass the sect in the future. At best, he would be pushed to the very bottom of the sect's hierarchy, the place where only the especially talentless and useless people belong, like the three drunken disciples Ryu and Nura had to contend.

No. Maybe the sect wasn't even the biggest problem. When the Muneyoshi family found out that Ryu had abandoned one of their heirs in a city overrun with criminals and fled to save his own ass without even trying to save Nura, his future prospects would all be cut at the root, without any chance of fixing it.

Ryu paled in fear as that thought crossed his mind, so he almost got up and ran back to the city to rescue Nura, even though that he had to force his way into the city, but in the end, he knew that with his current strength he would not succeed on this wanderer.

In this way, Ryu's resolve to destroy that base in the mines increased even more, as completing this mission would grant him a level which although it didn't seem like much was already something. Also, causing a riot at this base will force High Valley to send people from the town, possibly leaving an opening for Ryu to infiltrate the town.

But the task would not be easy, and Ryu knew that in order to complete this mission, he would need a good plan, and, on top of that, a plan capable of dealing with the overwhelming amount of enemies.

However, no matter how much Ryu tried to think, he couldn't make a plan, as he wasn't good at strategizing. So, after an hour that Bucky still hadn't returned, Ryu decided to go back to spy on the mine base, hoping to find a weakness to exploit. As for Bucky, Ryu had already realized that the ferret knew how to take care of itself very well and would find him whenever he wanted.

"Is someone there?" a deep voice distorted by the cave shape erupted from the hole when Ryu was about to leave.

Speaking with a voice coming from a cave is highly suspicious and not advisable, so Ryu hesitated to respond, thinking it might be a trap, so he remained silent as he considered whether to respond or not.

"Hello! Are you hearing me?" the voice resounded again.

Cautiously, Ryu decided to reply, "Hi, I am here. Who are you." Ryu put his mouth at the hole and yelled inside.

"My name is Tiiiiaaannn. I am a slave in the mines. Did the ferret gave you the stone?" the distorted voice identified itself as Ian.

"Yes, it gave me. Did you give stone away? Are you expecting something in return?" Ryu asked, not believing in free meals.

"I can't understand you well from inside. This stone is worth a lot of money. I'm giving it to you, in return, save us from here. Go to another town and hire some mercenaries to help you." Ian started talking non-stop: "With this gem, you can hire a lot of people to help you, and there's still a lot left for you as a reward. Just please help us escape.".

Now that Ryu had heard the whole story, it was clear why Bucky had such a treasure, although Ryu apparently underestimated its value. However, the question was unnecessary as Ryu was already determined to destroy the base, saving the slaves as a result. The great question is, how to do this?

"Are you still there?" Ian asked through the hole while Ryu was immersed in his mind forming a plan. Despite Ian's request to hire mercenaries, Ryu had no intention of doing so, simply because it would require a lot of time traveling to another city and dealing with a lot of trouble, ... and because he was greedy and did not wish to share his prize.

"Please, don't abandon us." Ian pleaded, but before he could further try to appeal to Ryu's empathy, an undistinguished sound of different voices yelling came from the hole, a mixture of several voices pleading for help.

"I will help you." Ryu said into the hole when the noises subsided, and the answer came shortly after, "Thank you so much.". Next, Ryu asked, "Can some of you fight?" but the reply took a long time to come, "Excuse me, can you repeat that?"

"How many of you out there can fight?" Ryu made the question as short as possible so that his voice could be clear inside the cave. After a brief pause, the answer came, "There are too many of us, but we are too weak to resist."

"You're not planning on fighting alone, are you?" Ian asked from the cave, almost as if he could read Ryu's plan, "Don't do that, it's a bad plan, they're too many, and they're strong." Ian tried to persuade Ryu.

"Is Bucky there?" Ryu asked for the ferret.

"Who is Bucky?" asked Ian.

"The ferret. Sent it up." said Ian.

"Bucky? This name is stupid." Ian said.

The audacity of Ian's comments was such that Ryu couldn't even answer him, how could the man pleading for help and still dare to criticize his naming sense. A few moments later, the face of the small ferret appeared at the hole entrance.

The audacity of Ian's comment was such that Ryu couldn't even respond, such was his disbelief. How could the man begging for help and still dare to criticize his naming sense?

A few moments later, the tiny ferret's face appeared at the entrance to the hole.

"Do you gave up on trying to fight alone?" Ian asked.

"Be ready for the next few days." Ryu said inside the hole and went out with Bucky taking a ride on his shoulder, not waiting for a reply from the hole.

So Ryu made the journey back to the mine entrance to spy and possibly find a way to destroy the base, as part of his newly formed plan, which was basically to use the slaves as support to help counter the difference in number.

Despite the slaves stating that they couldn't fight, Ryu did not care too much about it, he would try to save them, but they would have to fight together. How could they wait for someone to arrive and rescue them without risking their own lives?