He followed the sounds of combat through winding passages he had only partially explored. The cave walls here were darker, the air colder, and he could see claw marks gouging deep into the stone. Whatever lived in this section was big and aggressive.
The tunnel opened into a large cavern, and Finn skidded to a halt at the entrance, taking in the scene before him. A young woman with long black ponytail hair and some kind of croptop outfit was backed against a wall, her sword raised defensively. Blood ran down her left arm from a nasty gash, and her breathing was labored.
Facing her was a creature Finn recognized from the monster compendium his system had been gradually compiling. A Crimson Stalker, a wolf-like beast the size of a horse with dark red fur and glowing yellow eyes. It was level twenty-eight according to the identification window that popped up automatically.
The Stalker was circling the woman, clearly preparing for a final strike. She looked exhausted, her sword arm trembling. Whatever fight had brought her here, she had already lost.
Finn made a decision in a split second. He stepped into the cavern, his boots crunching on loose gravel. The sound drew the Stalker's attention, and its head swiveled toward him with predatory interest.
"Hey ugly!" Finn shouted, hefting his pickaxe. "How about picking on someone with better equipment?"
It was a terrible taunt, but it worked. The Stalker's eyes locked onto Finn, and it let out a low growl that reverberated through the cavern. The woman slumped against the wall, relief and confusion warring on her face.
"Run!" she gasped. "It is too strong! You cannot fight it alone!"
Finn planted his feet and raised his pickaxe, his mind racing through everything he knew about the cave's layout. He could not win a straight fight, not with his minimal combat experience. But he was a miner. He knew these caves better than any creature that lived in them.
The Stalker charged, and Finn moved. Not to meet it head-on, but to the side, toward a section of wall he had examined two days ago while mapping the area. The stone there was unstable, held together by a single support column that connected to the ceiling.
"Pebble!" Finn shouted. "Resource detection! Where is the weak point?"
A glowing marker appeared on the column, highlighting a crack near the base. Finn adjusted his grip on the pickaxe and swung with all the strength his level twenty-three body could muster. The reinforced steel head struck the crack perfectly, and the column shattered.
The ceiling groaned. Then it collapsed. Finn dove backward as tons of rock came crashing down.
The Stalker, caught mid-leap, had no time to react. Boulders slammed into it from above, and its snarl of rage cut off abruptly as it was buried under the avalanche.
Dust filled the cavern, and Finn coughed, waving his hand to clear the air. When it finally settled, he saw a massive pile of rubble where the Stalker had been. A single paw stuck out from under the rocks, twitching once before going still.
[Crimson Stalker Defeated!]
[Experience Gained: 1,200 points]
[Level Up! You are now Level 24!]
[Combat Skill increased to Beginner Level 3]
[Achievement Earned: Environmental Tactician]
Finn stared at the notifications in disbelief, then at his pickaxe, then at the collapsed ceiling. He had just killed a level twenty-eight monster using nothing but mining knowledge and terrain manipulation.
"That," Pebble said with audible amazement, "was either brilliant or incredibly stupid. Possibly both."
The woman pushed away from the wall, stumbling slightly as she moved toward Finn. Up close, he could see she was probably in her early twenties, with sharp brown eyes and a determined set to her jaw despite the obvious pain from her injuries.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice rough but steady. "And how did a miner just save my life?"
Finn lowered his pickaxe and managed what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Name is Finn. As for the how, let us just say I know these caves really well."
Finn's eyes started to look at her assets where it felt like a magnet was trying to pull both his eyes, he didn't think a woman can have those two big watermelons, "Holy fuck..."
"...this is really a fantasy world if you can see a woman with these huge babies." Said by Finn inside his own mind.
She looked at him for a long moment, then at the rubble pile, then back at him. Slowly, a grin spread across her face. "You are either crazy or the most competent person I have met in weeks."
"I am Aria Vorka, by the way. Failed solo adventurer and apparently terrible judge of monster difficulty ratings."
"Well, the truth is... I'm just a blacksmith who's trying to get some good materials for my next creation."
Finn glanced at the quest notification still hovering in the corner of his vision. Formation of Bonds. Recruit one party member. He looked at Aria, injured but alive, and clearly capable enough to have survived this long in a dangerous cave.
"Hey Aria," Finn said. "How do you feel about joining a party with an SSS-Rank Miner?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Is that a pickup line or a serious offer?"
"Completely serious. I have resources, equipment, and a base nearby. You have combat skills I clearly lack. We could help each other out."
Aria considered this for a moment, then extended her uninjured hand. "You know what? Why not. Worst case, I die slightly less alone."
"Best case, I survive long enough to hear how someone becomes an SSS-Rank anything."
Finn shook her hand, and the system notification chimed happily.
[Quest Progress: Formation of Bonds (1/1)]
[Party Member Acquired: Aria]
[Calculating rewards...]
The system notification continued to glow in front of Finn's vision, the text scrolling as it calculated his rewards. He watched with anticipation as the numbers appeared one by one.
[Quest Complete: Formation of Bonds]
[Rewards Granted:]
[Experience Points: +2,000]
[Level Up! You are now Level 25!]
[Party System Unlocked!]
[New Feature: Shared Experience Distribution]
[New Feature: Party Communication Channel]
[New Feature: Resource Sharing Interface]
[Advanced Crafting Recipes Unlocked: 15 New Blueprints Added]
[Special Reward: Teamwork Efficiency Boost (Passive)]
[Achievement Earned: Social Butterfly]
[Bonus Stats Gained: +5 Charisma, +3 Leadership]
Finn felt the familiar surge of energy that came with leveling up, but this time it was different. There was a warmth to it, a connection forming between him and Aria that he could sense at the edge of his consciousness.
The party system was active, and he could see a small health bar appear in the corner of his vision with Aria's name above it. The bar was showing yellow, indicating her injured state.
"Okay, first things first," Finn said, looking at Aria's bleeding arm. "We need to get you patched up. My base is not far from here, and I have medical supplies there."
Aria nodded, pressing her good hand against the wound to slow the bleeding. "Lead the way. I would rather not pass out in a cave full of monsters."