As Kael pulled his hand away from the sign-up sheet, a gruff voice spoke from behind him. "You sure about this, nak?"
Kael turned to face a weathered man in his late forties, built like a small bull, with a tool belt slung low on his hips. It was Mang Ujang, the camp's foreman and quartermaster, whose face was a permanent fixture near the hazardous duty board.
"It's a job that needs doing," Kael replied simply.
Mang Ujang grunted, looking him up and down. "A Lamplighter, huh? We'll see. The other two are over there. Don't be late. Gear-up in ten minutes at the Engineering workshop."
He gestured with his chin towards a bench where two other people sat. One was a man who looked to be in his thirties, with a tired, cynical expression and a scar that cut through his left eyebrow. He was methodically wrapping his knuckles with strips of dirty cloth. The other was a young woman, maybe eighteen at most, clutching a simple wooden spear as if it were a holy relic. She looked terrified.
This was his team.
Ten minutes later, they stood before Mang Ujang at the workshop as he handed out the gear. It was as pathetic as the job description. Thick rubber boots that smelled of mildew, elbow-length gloves, and a hardened leather vest that had seen better days.
The cynical man, Joko, took the gear with a resigned sigh. The young woman, Siti, fumbled with the straps on her vest.
"Joko, you know the drill," Ujang said. "Siti, this is your first time. Stick close to Joko, do what he says. That spear has a sharpened rebar tip. It'll punch through most low-level threats." He then turned to Kael. "Lamplighter. I got a headlamp for you, fresh batteries."
"No thank you, Mang," Kael said politely. "I'm more effective using the existing fixtures. It's how my skill works."
Ujang shrugged. "Your funeral. Don't say I didn't offer."
They were led to a dark corner of the campus behind the old Faculty of Engineering. A heavy, cast-iron manhole cover was set into the concrete. With a grunt, Budi, who had been assigned to help them open it, lifted the cover, revealing a dark, circular hole. A wave of stomach-turning stench washed over them.
"Main junction is about two hundred meters east down the main tunnel," Ujang said, pinching his nose. "Clear out the infestation. When you're done, send up a signal. Don't get any of that slime on your skin. It's a nasty way to go."
One by one, they descended the rusty iron ladder into the darkness. Joko went first, then a hesitant Siti, and finally Kael. The clang of the manhole cover being replaced above them sealed them in.
The only light came from a single, wire-caged bulb twenty feet down the tunnel, casting long, distorted shadows. The air was thick and wet, and the only sound was the steady drip... drip... drip of unseen water.
"Alright," Joko's voice echoed in the tunnel. "Eyes open. Let's move."
They hadn't gone thirty feet when they saw the first one. It was a quivering, translucent blob of green jelly, roughly the size of a watermelon, oozing out of a drainage pipe. It made a soft, sizzling sound as it moved, leaving a trail of smoking slime on the concrete.
// Entity: Corrosive Slime // Int: Level=1 // HP: 30/30 // Special_Attribute: Acidic_Touch (Dissolves organic material) // Weakness: High_Impact_Force (Disperses mass)
Siti gasped, raising her spear with trembling hands.
Before she could act, Joko moved with lazy efficiency. He took two quick steps and delivered a powerful kick with his heavy rubber boot. The impact sent the slime flying into the brick wall, where it splattered with a wet thwump and dissolved into a puddle of inert, steaming liquid.
"Don't waste time stabbing them," Joko grunted. "Just break them apart. Kael, you're on light duty. Make yourself useful."
This was his chance. Kael looked at the single dim bulb ahead. He focused his will, not with the intense, painful effort of creation, but with a gentle, guiding touch. He fed a tiny stream of energy into the Power_State. The light brightened significantly, illuminating the tunnel fifty feet ahead and revealing two more slimes oozing towards them.
"Better?" Kael asked.
Siti looked at him with wide eyes. "Wow. That's... really helpful."
Joko just grunted, a flicker of something that might have been approval in his eyes. "Not bad, kid. Now you can see what you're doing. Let's go."
As Joko and Siti moved forward to deal with the next two slimes, Kael watched the spot where the first one had died. A faint shimmer, visible only to him, pulsed over the puddle.
Loot_Drop_Available=True
He had a new problem. With them here, how was he supposed to collect his cores? He got his answer as Joko kicked the second slime apart.
[Party Kill Contribution. EXP +1]
A tiny trickle of experience. It was better than nothing. For now, he would have to play his part as the humble Lamplighter. He would be their light in the darkness, all while secretly cataloging every weakness, every drop of EXP, and every shimmering, unclaimed monster core. The grind had officially, truly begun.
"Alright, newbies," Joko called out, not looking back. "Stick close. There's a lot more where that came from."