Underhill

"I got your merchants," Barns says as he limps into town. His leg is still not back to 100%, and it was a long walk.

Yunie looks up with delight. "Ah! And we successfully finished all of our daily quests! In fact, we received something quite special, and I was wondering…"

Yunie walks back toward a large table covered in armor and weapons. She picks up a sword with a blue hilt and an orange blade and walks it over to Barns.

"Check this out!" Yunie's face is aglow. "An A Rank Sword. It's called 'Crashing Wave'. Sounds like something a legendary hero would have, hmm?"

Barns reaches for the sword, but Yunie snatches it away. "Nuh-uh! We have an adventurer who prefers to fight with hammers, and I already promised him a good one in exchange for this sword. So what do you think? Can we make a trade?"

"What did you need the merchants for? You seem to be managing this all perfectly!"

Yunie smiles brightly at Barns, and puts her hands on his hammer. "I take it we have a deal?"

"Deal."

Barns gives up the Shock Hammer in exchange for 'Crashing Wave'. It's also A Rank, but it's a sword - something he much prefers.

A system message appears as Barns holds the blade.

[Congratulations! You have acquired A Rank Weapon - Crashing Wave.

Special Ability: By using the hilt as a trigger, you can launch water blades.]

'Whoa!' Barns thought. 'That's a way cooler ability!'

Barns puts his new toy aside, looking back at Yunie. "Can I leave these guys to you?" He points to the group of fifty-odd artisans and merchants he resurrected from the kobolds. 

Yunie claps her hands together. "Oh yes, of course! I'll give these folks an orientation they'll never forget!"

"GIFT FOR ME?" Clancy asks, scuttling around Yunie's station. 

Barns gives Yunie a thumbs-up and walks away, leaving her to deal with Clancy. It was getting late, and he could use the rest. 

Clancy clicks again. "GIFT FOR MIGHTY CRAB."

Yunie smiles awkwardly, looking back at Barns. He was already out of earshot. 

"Uh…of course, Mr. Crab."

"CLANCY!"

"Mr. Clancy, sir," she corrects herself. She looks back at the rack of weapons. "Actually, I might have something for you…but it would only work on a special occasion."

Yunie leads Clancy toward the back, showing off a massive cannon - one that fires heavy artillery. 

"Perhaps we can turn you into a tank when we attack the castle? Hehe…"

Clancy excitedly insists that they try the cannon out immediately - though Yunie talks him out of it for tonight at least. 

Once Clancy's dreams of becoming a crustacean cannon are scuttled, he skitters onto the main street and finally allows Yunie to begin her orientation with the artisans. 

Unlike Barns, the crab wasn't ready to turn in for the night. Clancy looked at the lights and the bustle, wondering where his adventures would take him. 

He doesn't get more than ten feet when an unfamiliar figure bumps into him.

"Heya, crab-guy. You must be the one in charge around here, huh? I saw you with Barnabas or whatever."

Clancy looks at the man speaking, clicking his claws together nervously. Clancy wasn't great with surprise interactions.

"BARNACLES. BEST FRIEND. CO-LEADER."

"Yeah, yeah," the sneaky man says, nodding along. "You seem like the one to know around here, for a sensibly-minded gentleman such as myself."

The man sounds like a rough-around-the-edges chimneysweep orphan when he talks, with a splash of mafioso. 

"See, I'm one of them merchants, and I see what you're doin' around here. Rebuildin' society, that ain't no easy work, eh? That's where I come in. See, you're gonna need a master economist runnin' the show. And it just so happens, I'm your guy."

Clancy clicks his pincers. 

"NOT ME. HUMANS DECIDE."

The man shook his head and clicks his tongue. "See, I knew you were gonna say that. But the thing is, crab guy, you have pull too. So what do you say? You put a good word in for me when the time comes, yeah? The name's Underhill."

The man taps the tip of his cane on the crab's shell. "You think about it. I've got an orientation to catch, crab guy."

On that note, 'Underhill' stalks off, joining the rest of his fellow artisans and merchants with Yunie.

…

The next day, Barns is up bright and early. He sees the daily quests for the morning have already been posted, and he recognizes many of the artisans from yesterday hard at work. 

He looks around the town. It's only been a few days, but already it has come so far. The auto-homes generated by the system had been a huge help too. Not only do they keep the monsters away, but they come with many critical supplies. 

Barns doesn't see Clancy around, but he's not worried. When his Crab Affinity became A Rank, he started being able to sense Clancy's presence. It's faint, but he can tell Clancy's scuttling through town somewhere.

Barns walks to the pier and remembers Maria. 

"Wonder what she's up to now," he mumbles to himself. It might be a while before he's able to launch an assault on the castle. He wouldn't mind if she came for another visit before then.

Barns shook his head. 'No, Barns. That was a one-and-done situation. She's insane!'

As he's standing there, he feels something tug at his sleeve. He turns his head and sees two children looking up at him, eyes full of awe.

"Mister, are you the legendary hero?"

Barns looks back and smiles. He hadn't realized there were children among the resurrected. Did they stop aging when they became monsters?

"That's me."

Barns' eyes narrow for a moment. These weren't evil pretend children, were they? They had no aura of bloodlust - he could tell from his Crab Intuition.

"Mommy said you saved the world! Thank you, Mister Hero!"

"Thank you!" the other kid said.

Barns smiles. He'd been so caught up in his mission, that he hadn't spoken to many of the citizens directly. It warmed Barns' heart to see the admiration on the children's faces - to see that, one step at a time, he was making a real impact.

On that note, it was time to go. Barns had work to do. And a new skill to train.