Current reputation:
Dwarven Legionnaires: -1000, Cautious.
Dwarven Council: -1000, Cautious.
“What the…?” Then Joe remembered that his deity bonus did not work with the Dwarves, because they also used reputation as currency. Before he started cursing this Zone again, he shouted at the Drill Instructor. “How much are we getting paid?”
Strangely enough, surprise was the main expression on the faces of the Dwarves around him. The magnificently mustachioed member of his party blinked, then snorted at him. “Who cares? The only thing that you can do with all that money is get out of training, out of the Legion! Who the abyss would want to have that kind of opportunity?”
“Success is its own reward!”
There was a roar of approval at these words, words that Joe would later learn was the mantra of the Oligarchy as a whole. He decided that he would just have to wait for the pay to hit his account that night so he could see for himself what he was earning. The Drill Instructor fired his crossbow at various trainees until order was restored, then continued with his explanation of what they would be doing. “Today, we are going to clear out a monster nest: Stone Lizards! Whatever group kills the most of them wins a week of characteristic training materials or a weapon upgrade; whoever kills one of them in the most impressive fashion gets an armor upgrade!”
“Weapons and armor!”
“Yeah!”
“Celestials, I hope it is really heavy! If I could just find a two hundred pound helmet-”
“Shaddup, the armor is mine! You don't have to worry about if it will-”
Every discussion in the area devolved into a massive fist fight. Strangely enough, anyone in a team did not attack each other, instead working to defend and take down the others with impressive efficiency. Joe looked around, waiting for the Drill Instructor to step in, sighing when he finally realized that the Dwarf in charge of their training had joined in the brawl.
Eventually, they calmed down and got into a marching formation, being led to a cave system and warned not to come out before killing at least two monsters for each member of the party. Joe took a moment to check the different roles that he could choose in the party, surprised to see that they were selectable, rather than based on class or levels. “Attacker, Vanguard, Scout, Support. I’m pretty well set up to be a support; any of you have an issue with me taking that?”
The other three just laughed and walked into the caves, making Joe question what they knew that he didn’t. He shrugged and selected ‘Support’, then looked at the information that was available for their party. After closing his eyes and attempting to calm himself, he followed the three Dwarves on his team—all of them had chosen ‘Attacker’.
“Can I at least get your names?” Joe asked as he ran to catch up to his stout team. He stood head and shoulders above even the tallest of them, but their speed was still higher than his, and he was having trouble forcing his way through the thick, energy-rich air of this plane. “All I see in my party interface is ‘D1, D2, D3’. Do you guys really not have names?”
Joe was outright ignored at first. Then he grinned as he realized that he knew exactly how to handle people like this. He was prior service, and they were still trainees. He had tricks they would never see coming. “After all, if no one knows what to call you, you can’t win the rewards, or be in charge.”
There was a long pause, and the Dwarves came to an abrupt halt. The bearded Dwarf stepped forward and stomped the floor, leaving a deep indent. “I’m Broski. I’m the team leader.”
“Eat feces, Broski! I’m Dudette, I’m in charge around here!” The intensely mustachioed Dwarf snarled at the first that spoke. Joe blinked at the realization that facial hair might be the only way to differentiate male and female in this zone… for him, at least. As far as the human could tell, there were no other differences. Their heads were all bald, and the armor that was worn constantly meant that there was no other clear way to-
*Wham*.
Dudette was punched into the stone wall by the final mustachioed Dwarf. “I’m Dudette, and I’m the party leader!”
Joe watched the fight play out over the next few minutes as the cave entrance they had chosen was painted with fresh flecks of blood, wondering yet again if he had made a terrible, terrible decision.
Chapter Six
Joe cast Lay on Hands on Broski, wincing at the sound of the Dwarf’s facial bones realigning and mending themselves. A glance at the party interface revealed that the three hundred points of damage he had just repaired had not even gotten the Dwarf close to his maximum health. The Dwarves had a crazy high constitution, and a rough estimate—by how much he had just healed up—placed Broski around two thousand health. If these Dwarves were the low-level ones, he would not want to fight a high-level version.
“It’s settled then, ri~ight? We all had the chance, and proved our merit,” Dudette smugly informed the others with a toss of her majestic mustache. Then she lifted a fist, getting a wince from the other mustached Dwarf. “I am Dudette, she is Diane. That’s what you get for being so weak, Diane! People are gonna haveta think to remember your name! Last, that’s Broski, the party leader.”
“My name is Joe. Nice to officially meet you all,” Joe chimed in, getting an eye roll from Dudette for his trouble. “We have monsters to kill, right? Anyone know anything about these, or are we all finding out together?”
“Stone Lizards, support Bro,” Broski snorted and grimaced at the others. “Can you believe this guy? Can't even remember what we are going
