Fighting our way to the sub pen was about as anticlimactic as Aerion and I expected. Even the hobgoblins—monsters that had nearly ended us the first time around—barely slowed us down, with Richard taking only a second longer to pulverize their hearts.

  I had to admit, as great as it was having this many powerhouses on the team, and as economical as it was to conserve my ammo… I wanted to flex my new abilities, goddammit!

  I had to keep reminding myself that it was fine. That we all complemented each others’ strengths well, with Richard proving exceedingly effective at dispatching large groups of small fry—even better than Aerion, after his recent breakthrough—while Aerion was great at dishing damage up close and personal against heavier, hardier targets.

  While restricted to melee ranges, Aerion was actually quite versatile. She was agile enough, absolutely deadly with [Reave]. [Fading Fury] only amplified that, and as if that weren’t enough, she was even more lethal now, thanks to [Echo Blade]. Once leveled, that ability would help her better deal with groups of weaker enemies, too.

  While she wasn’t a tank, she could definitely hold her own should she be attacked, unlike Richard. Most importantly, she did a great job annoying boss-level enemies and occupying their attention.

  Which freed me up to serve as the brains of the group, directing tactics, jumping into the front lines when needed, or laying the pain with a barrage of long-range fire. We’d seen all of this in the Cataclysm Dungeon, but now, after our recent rank ups and stat gains, the synergy was even more obvious. We were, if not perfect, close enough that it tingled my min-maxing tendencies in a good way. Each of us specialized for our respective purpose.

  So, it was absolutely going to suck when Richard left and that dynamic all fell apart. I somehow doubted Rogar or Philip would ever replace him.

  Speaking of, I had to wonder just what role those guys would play in the future. Even if they somehow snagged the best Blessing the Trial had to offer, it would be reckless to take them into Dungeons. They’d be even more fragile than Richard. His offensive was so powerful that it functioned as an effective defense, at least against weaker enemies. I doubted Rogar and Philip would gain anything to even come close to what a Champion could obtain, nor would we have the time to rank them up in higher level Trials.

  That was a problem for future Greg, though. We’d arrived at the sub pen, which brought my other worry to the front of my thoughts. If the subs we’d used to ride out of here were gone…

  Those worries proved unfounded, however, when two identical looking subs sat in the corner of the sub pen, hanging in their cradles above the water.

  What was more, the crates of [Aural Siege Bolt]s were back in their original locations, sealed and untouched.

  “So even this stuff resets,” I muttered. It wasn’t just the monsters and the Sanctuary rooms. That made sense—after all, we’d found no trace of prior delvers on our first run—but it was good to have confirmation. Especially when it meant I now had tons more ammo to pick from.

  The only question was how we were going to get it out of here.

  “Alright, everyone. Let me tell you why we’re here, and the problem we have to solve. So let’s put our heads together and think.”

  Nothing meaningful had ever come easily in my life, and this particular problem was no exception.

  “So, let’s review what we know,” I said, scratching my head. “We can’t take these Siege Bolts out of the Trial. They’ll just disappear like the miracle water and everything else. Because they’re not processed.”

  “Not processed, that’s the tough bit,” Rogar said. “Though, I admit, I wouldn’t have dared to try without the elf.”

  Aerion stared off into the distance, looking very much like she was trying not to blush. She’d been working with Rogar over the past hour, while Richard, Philip, and I scouted the area, clearing out all the nearby monsters. Or rather, it was mostly me hacking off pieces of them to let Philip go in for the kill. I gained almost nothing from these low-level creatures, so we figured it was a good opportunity to let Philip gain more favor with the Trial.

  “We’ve got that part solved, at least,” Rogar continued. “Should be able to pound down certain parts of the bolt—the bits that aren’t explosive, anyway. Won’t be much good as a bolt anymore, but that’s a problem we can solve outside the Trial.”

  “Their size is the real issue,” Aerion continued. “Your inventory has limited space, and even if we leave the forge behind after we’re done with it, you won’t be able to take more than a few dozen. Maybe a hundred if you clear everything else out, as well.”

  “And we’ve got a thousand, and I’d like to take them all, if possible.”

  As the Trial had proven thus far, even a thousand somethings didn’t last long when fired from a barrage. While the Siege Bolts did a heck of a lot more damage than mere pebbles, chances were good I’d use them against hardier targets, too. The smaller we could get them, the more I could carry, which meant better odds in our future fights.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Which leaves only one option,” Aerion said, biting her lips.

  “I’m not opening that thing,” Rogar said, taking a step back. “Not in a thousand years!”

  “We have to,” Aerion said. “It’s the only way.”

  “Then you can do it. We’ll pick up your pieces when you blow yourselves up.”

  “What’s he talking about?” I asked, somewhat surprised to see Rogar so spooked. The last time he looked like this was when Sinclair’s people blasphemed against Dominion during Eskil’s parade.

  “The Aural Siege Bolts are really just bombs, packaged in a way that they can be launched,” Aerion said.

  “Right?”

  “So, the logical way to make them smaller is to retrieve the bomb component, and forge that into something new. They’ll be much smaller and lighter than the bolt. There seems to be quite a lot of shock absorbing material to protect the bomb from the forces of being launched.”

  “And to prevent it from detonating!” Rogar said. “Now, I don’t know much about bomb making, but I do know people who do, and more than one of them is missing fingers. Or worse!”

  Aerion frowned. “I admit, stripping the bomb material of its insulation might make it less stable. But as long as we don’t fire it from the Siege Launcher, we should be safe.”

  “Should be?” Rogar wheezed. “And what if it isn’t! How are you gonna store something so volatile, anyway?”

  “That part won’t be an issue,” I said. “You know how I have that secret space I keep the forge in?”

  All three of my companions blinked at me. “What?” I said, flushing. “It’s called a Spatial Inventory, but I didn’t think you’d know what I was talking about, so… Anyway! My inventory preserves the state of anything I stick in there. Food doesn’t spoil, and as you’ve seen with the lava, it stays hot. Time stops in there.”

  Aerion nodded. “I can confirm. I’ve experienced it firsthand.”

  She, of course, didn’t offer any more in the way of an explanation, resulting in confused looks from everyone. I didn’t bother to clear up the confusion, since going into the details would probably only confuse them further.

  “Point is, we won’t need to worry about their safety once they’re in the inventory. As for making them more stable, that’s a hurdle we can cross later, once we’re out. Only question is whether stripping out the bomb part is enough to get the Trial to consider it modified.”

  “You won’t know until you exit the Trial,” Philip said, frowning. “Think I’m with Rogar on this one. Seems like an awful risk for such an unknown benefit.”

  “Believe me,” I said, tapping the crate I was sitting on. “These babies are worth it. And I’ve got a way to tell. Once we do the first one, I’ll know. Just trust me on that. As for the danger…” I turned to Rogar, glaring at the bolt in front of him with his arms crossed, “I completely understand if you’re worried for your safety. Aerion and I will handle the first one to prove it’s safe. If we survive, we’d love it if you could help. Especially if we need to forge it or alter it.”

  “How are you so confident it’s safe?” Philip asked.

  I locked eyes with my elven friend. “Because Aerion said so. And as terrifying as a Reaving elf is on a battlefield, believe me, he’s even better when it comes to mechanical stuff. If he says it’s safe, then that’s good enough for me.”

  While Aerion’s expression remained unchanged, her perked ears gave away her true feelings.

  I took a seat near the bolt across from Aerion and cracked my fingers. “Well, then. How do we break into this bad boy?”

  Aerion gestured to a small pile of tools she’d brought up from the submarine service area. Some of them looked familiar to me, like wrenches, something that was like a screwdriver, but with a funky pattern, but the griphook thing was just one among many I didn’t recognize. I wondered if there was even an equivalent on Earth.

  “We remove the case and pull away the impact material,” Aerion said, already grabbing the screwdriver and working on it. “That’s the easy part.”

  “Alright, I like easy,” I said, picking up another tool and following after her. Of course, in this Trial world fragment, righty was not tighty, and I had to turn the screws clockwise to loosen them. That kept tripping me up, so Aerion managed about double the speed until my superior Grace began working for me and I caught up. In fact, the process seemed to be great for that stat.

  Congratulations! Grace has increased from 58 to 59. (Max: 74)

  While it was called a ‘bolt’, the thing was almost eight inches in diameter and a foot long, shaped like a cylinder. With both the front and back fairings removed and the spongy impact stuff stripped away, what was left was a core about three inches long, inside which a green rod about the size of my index finger pulsated.

  “That’s the bomb, I take it?”

  Aerion nodded. “I’ll handle this part,” she said, carefully taking a handful of other tools and prying the explosive from its cradle. There weren’t any wires or anything—whatever alien tech built this had clearly moved past the need for such primitive mechanisms—so she just pulled it out and laid it down nearby.

  “Can I touch it?” I asked.

  Aerion nodded. “Yes. And it’s best you handle it with your armor.”

  “You know this because…”

  “Because it didn’t explode when I used the metal tools to pry it loose?”

  “Ah. Right. Of course,” I said, feeling the sweat bead up on my forehead. Sure, we’d all leveled up a lot, but I knew the sort of destruction these things could wreak. I doubted any of us would survive a blast at point-blank range. There wouldn’t even be bodies left.

  Biting the bullet, I reached down and gently touched the green sliver… But quickly withdrew my finger.

  “No good. Looks like we’ll have to modify it if we want to take it out.”

  Surprising everyone, Rogar sidled closer and picked up one piece of the fairing. “Seems to be thin and pliable. Shouldn’t be too hard to fashion a casing that wraps around that thing,” he said, eyeing the green sliver with obvious distrust.

  “I’ve got a feeling that would count. Let’s make it happen!”