One Brick at a Time ~ 2

A pinch clipped the tip of Crush's left ear, fishing him from the shadow of sleep. It was a slow proceeding that started with the gradual opening of his glossy eyes.

"Hey," he heard. The words came from his left, and although his mind was still cloudy, he could identify it as his brother.

Crush raised his head to observe Sprite, who was knelt down at eye level with the corners of his mouth slightly sunk.

That prince-like face was smeared with softened concern as he inched forward and propped his forehead against Crush's. "You aren't the type to take naps," he remarked.

Crush felt uneasy whenever Sprite, his cheery counterpart, looked worried. He forced his eyes open to assure the boy, moved their warm face away from his own, then joked, "Your breath stinks."

"I'm fine; I think my mana was just getting too low."

Sprite sat back and crossed his legs before blowing into his palm to sample his hygiene. He established that he indeed did need a mint, then questioned Crush's statement. "Then, when our mana drains, we become tired?"

Strangely, Crush didn't know why he said that, of all things. He meant to lie and say he was bored half to death, but his mouth unveiled something else.

Before answering Sprite, he summoned his status page and learned that his mana had been wholly replenished. It even capped at 20, not 10, which was his max without his class bonus.

"Guess so, and sleep must be what refreshes," responded Crush. "So, I'm all good; fix your face."

Sprite slapped his hands on his knees, inhaled the sky, and exhaled at the ground.

"Kaaaay," he said a pitch higher. His mouth unlocked in sudden remembrance, then he turned away and waved to an individual that stood a few feet away. A girl who appeared to be waiting for his signal in a modest, rigid posture with her fingers interlocked at her waist.

The outsider nodded, crouched down, and grabbed the black-wrapped hilt of a sword. It wasn't a typical knight's weapon, but a mammoth medieval great sword with a 5-foot blade and a 2-foot handle. The girl fought just to lift the lower half and simply dragged it on the floor behind her.

Crush groggily surveyed her slim form as she heaved the massive weapon and pondered why he always woke up to the most freakish creatures.

Once she reached them, she plopped the sword onto the group, which made a bassy thump, and flatted the turf. Then, she held onto her skirt while politely lowering onto her knees beside Sprite.

"Hello," she said. Her voice was quiet, and so were most of her features. Average height, pale, slender form, hair drawn back into a ponytail, and glasses. How she held her head down as she spoke conveyed enough to Crush about her character.

The only thing that stood out about the girl was that she'd dyed her hair baby pink, and her bangs were clearly cut by her own inexperienced hands. Oh, and the ludicrously large sword that they just weren't going to mention.

"Meet Loriana," introduced Sprite.

She had a small purse on her side, and he slyly reached inside and pulled out a copy of a popular manga called "Sword Art." Loriana chirped and jolted for the book, but Sprite held it securely as he displayed it for Crush to see.

"She also reads these kinds of books. I was speaking with some of the other people when she outed us for emulating these fictions in our system."

Loriana struggled with the manga while frantically clarifying, "I only pointed out your mistakes. If you're going to borrow from another culture, the least you can do is get it right."

Her scrabble for the book was bearing no results, so she came off the floor, flung her entire body weight onto Sprite, and clasped the manga in both her hands.

Pressed down by her, Sprite chuckled and renewed his grip on the work of fiction. She appeared earnestly exasperated, but Sprite continued to joke, "We're just borrowing the good parts; any more is plain copyright," he laughed.

"All of it's good!" She raised. Her glasses had begun to slip, so she adjusted them and then returned to the scuffle.

The cotton pad Crush slept on had flattened, so he scooped more clouds into his pile while observing the two. (("Why'd he bring this geek over here."))

(("Even if she did run her mouth to everyone, it wouldn't stop us from gaining followers."))

Crush leaned forward, rested his chin on his palm, then listlessly uttered, "I can see your underwear."

Loriana eeked, jerked onto her bottom, then pulled her skirt over her thighs while furrowing her brow. "God, I hate humans!"

"Humans?" chortled Sprite; he crossed his legs again while dangling the manga before the girl like a carrot on a stick.

"You didn't have many friends in school, did you?" Added Crush. At the same time, he held out his hand to Sprite like an owner when asking their pet for "paw."

"We made a few copies of this title, didn't we?" Questioned Sprite, tossing the book over to Crush.

The girl's irritation veered into sadness as her head declined, and she fitfully mumbled, "Kill yourselves."

Crush caught the manga, scoffed at her, and then flipped a few pages to see if he could add anything to their strategy.

"Gross. Why is the protagonist of these stories always so cringy?"

"You, girl," voiced Crush. As she lifted her head, he tossed the manga to her.

Once Loriana seized it, he pointed to Sprite to explain to her, "He's always been like this. If you punch him enough, he'll stop."

"Oh, yea?" Challenged Sprite. He grinned deviously, posed his fingers like crab pinchers, and pounced at Crush.

A quick jab into the boy's stomach put him face-first in a fetal position, then he gasped, "Touché."

"All of a sudden, I'm not feeling very playful."

Loriana slipped her belongings back into the purse, carefully stood, then kicked dirt and cotton at the boys before storming away. However, before getting three steps away, Crush Linked her book that he'd recently touched back to his hand like a magnet. Because it was stored, her entire bag was pulled from her shoulder to him.

Despite being goofy, Crush knew his brother didn't do things on a whim. And since he didn't know why Sprite brought her, she couldn't leave yet.

Crush hurried Sprite to his senses, seeking an explanation.

His simple answer was, "She knows more." He knew Crush detested uncertainty and factors like luck. He also understood that while he retained some information from the books they printed, he didn't know everything about the fantasy genre. And, since the whole design of the dimension of dungeons derived from what they believed was fiction, having an expert would be beneficial.

Sprite offered Loriana a position in their Guild, Diamond Ballad, but she outright refused. More specifically, she told him to go get eaten by monsters.

Crush confidently asserted that she'd be just as dead if she came face to face with anything outside the Hub. So, why was a timid girl like her signing up to venture outside?

Loriana felt no need to explain herself to them. She had he own reasons for joining the Guild "Homecoming." Part of which, Crush had guessed earlier. Well, it wasn't the main factor, but part of her previous social status was a minor aspect of her decision.

Life in a new world. A scenario she'd often read in manga and daydreamed about. Consequently, that dream became a reality, one she wanted to make the most out of.

Ultimately she couldn't be convinced.

The boys didn't have time to entertain what it meant to lose a potential brain for their operation because Zombie called them to good news. After some brave or stupid soul taste-tested the wild creature they brought back, they decided one wouldn't die from eating it.

All those who played a role in obtaining the food were fed, though non were thrilled with the meal. The meat tasted like someone had ordered a rare, seasoned steak at a three-star restaurant. This person then took the slab into a gas station bathroom, dropped it in the toilet, then flushed it twice. The end product was a cardboard, meaty taste that could be replicated with salt and playdough alone.

Still, it was all they had, so they scarfed it down.

Mid dine, people were approaching and imploring them for food, but there was a finite amount. Zombie confronted the beggars, and since neither children nor the elderly were summoned, he felt no moral obligation to help the able-bodied. Crush fancied that about Zombie; he was trustworthy but not friendly. He was the kind of person to jump off a bridge for his ally and simultaneously the type to push someone off that ledge if it ensured survival.

Not long after, Zombie's unit began a second expedition inside the cave. Sprite and Crush used the momentum to sell off more torches, "perfect for bringing home the bacon!" they said.

Even if people weren't ready to commit to their system, they needed light to explore. Some had lighters and matches for their cigarettes. Still, without a flammable substance, the most they could do was make stationary campfires.

Since it was known that monsters were in the center path, only Zombie's crew returned that way. The rest of the humans with torches joined up and embarked down the rightmost path hoping there'd be easier prey, edible plants, or fruit.

August, who pretended not to know Crush and Sprite, followed his dreams and joined an exploration crew as well.

In exchange for the nine remaining torches, Crush wanted as much wood as teams could bring back. This would jump-start the next step of their plan, which was crafting a shop, and more items to sell.

**

**

There was time to expend until the adventurers returned, so Crush and Sprite revisited their prior labors. The Quest "Path of a Carpenter" was completed, so Crush observed the next mission.

[ Side Quest: "Get Nailing" ]

Directions: Craft an item that uses nails in the recipe.

[ Rewards: ]

Skill Points (3)

Bronze Axe

Bronze Razor File

_

The window clearly wanted to build his woodworking skills up with each quest. Nonetheless, he didn't use the nail or hammer from his last reward and just linked together sticks to make a crappy table.

[ New Side Quest: "Bricked Up" ]

Directions: Craft an item using Wood and Clay or Stone.

[ Rewards: ]

Skill Points (3)

Stone Cutter

_

This quest was a bit trickier because there was no clay. The second best thing was stone, which he could use to make simple arrows.

They wouldn't be pretty; he just used the axe to cut large pieces of stone into fragments, then used the Bronze Razer file to sharpen them into a triangular point. He linked the arrowhead onto a stick, and voilà, the quest was complete.

[ Status: ]

[ Carpenter Mastery = (22)/100 ]

[ Link Mastery = 20/100 ]

[ New Class Ability Unlocked: ]

_

"That's unexpected," said Crush, observing the new notification. He tapped the screen to unveil said ability, but his expectations were low. "You usually get new skills by leveling up your class, but I'm still just level one."

[ Class Skill: ]

1) Link: Link entities together using the magic talent: [ Telekinesis ]

2) Attract: Attract entities using the magic talent: [ Telekinesis ]

3) Repel: Repel entities using the magic talent: [ Telekinesis ]

_

As Crush read, the edges of his mouth twisted upward. He'd been having a field day with Link, and if his guess was correct, the two new abilities would be just as cheap. Perfect shortcuts for the life he was building there.

He tossed the window aside, kicked the table he'd recently crafted some yards away, then faced his opened palm toward the item. He channeled the same intention of wanting to Link two objects, then announced, "Attract."

As desired, the stool obeyed his command, sliding across the floor toward him before lifting up into his hand. Crush caught it with a cheeky grin, looking at it like it'd adhere to his forthcoming schemes.

[ Attract Mastery = 2/100 ]

"No, no, that's too easy," he said, dropping the object. "I can do the same thing already with Link; it has to be with something I haven't touched before."

Finished with the table, Crush tossed it straight up and eyed it as it fell back down. He positioned his arm over his head to block the object before it hit him, just in case his experiment didn't work.

Inches before the stool crashed onto him, Crush used Repel. An ability that worked as described; it put up an invisible wind wall that pushed the object away from him.

[ Repel Mastery = 2/100 ]

"There's that, next up...." He mumbled, eyeing the field. He saw Sprite taking jabs with his Rapier, so he took aim and attempted to attract the weapon toward him. The object was visibly jerked from Sprite, but the boy's grip kept it locked. They stopped their training and glanced at Crush, who was peering at them with a guilty grin that openly admitted fault.

Crush shared his findings, and Sprite gloried him for it; however, the boy separated again to continue his swordsmanship. He'd never admitted it, but having a gun pointed at them was reasonably offsetting. He also didn't want Crush to be the only one gaining new proficiencies, whether a complex or a desire to contribute to their cause.