by Tao Wong
“I. Shall. Not. FALL!” Omrak roared as he caught one spear and blocked another before he triggered his Skill, the Lightning’s Call. The red glow around Omrak disappeared into his body, replaced by bolts of lightning. Caught by surprise, the Spearmen and Rider were unable to dodge the fast-moving, shocking attack which shocked and stunned them. Omrak sagged to the ground after the attack, discarding the stolen spear to blindly reach for a Healing potion.
“Stupid!” Asin growled as she dashed out the gates, closely followed by the Orc Sargent.
Strong as the Sargent might be, he was unable to keep up with the swift-footed Catkin who bounded over to a recovering Orc Rider and backstabbed him, plunging her knife in the gap between the monster’s neck and torso armor. The blade easily slid all the way in, the critical strike tearing through muscle, bone and arteries with similar ease. With a light hop, the Catkin jumped into the air and spun, her throwing knife flashing as a Fan of Knives blossomed to attack the following Sargent. Impressive as her attack was, Asin landed with a heavier thump than normal, her breathing ragged as her stamina drained through her liberal use of Skills.
“Focus on healing,” Tula said as she dashed over to haul Daniel to his woozy feet. Immediately afterwards, the Ranger pulled an arrow from her quiver, nocking it and eyeing the rampaging Raptor and Rider. Daniel absently noted how blood dripped from her bow hand to the ground as he forced his Gift to heal his aching head. Daniel was once again thankful that his understanding of his own body was extensive enough that he could use his Gift on himself during combat – a feat that was nearly impossible and highly dangerous on others.
As his head cleared, Daniel saw Rob running directly away from his former opponent towards Omrak, a small ball in his hand. Eyes wide, Daniel began casting another Minor Healing spell on Omrak as the now lobbed ball of poison exploded at the giant’s feet. Within seconds, the purplish cloud of poison had diffused through the group, poisoning the now-recovered Spearmen and the Northerner alike.
“Don’t poison our people!” Daniel growled softly. Still, as Rob came to a stop and sent his pair of spikes to aid Omrak, he knew that the Enchanter had chosen correctly. In fact, he had probably done more right than Daniel had. Another spell washed over Omrak, taking the Northerner from dangerously close to death to only within waving distance.
“Rider,” Tula warned. Daniel glanced back and realised that Tula had loosed her arrow, sending a Piercing Strike into the raptor’s chest, making it veer away from them. Rather than follow his steed, the Raptor Rider had jumped off and was running towards the pair.
“Together,” Daniel said to Tula even as Asin and Rob moved to support Omrak as he limped out of the fast-dispersing poison cloud. Hefting his hammer, Daniel made himself focus as he began to trade blows with the Rider. After a few moments of fighting, his Find Weakness gift informed him of a surprising weakness. As the Orc swung again, Daniel triggered his Shield Bash, counter-attacking the sabre swing in mid-strike. The unexpected movement and a weakness in the Orc’s grip made the sabre spin away into the air, a motion that left the Rider surprised. Long enough for Tula to step out from behind Daniel and put an arrow into its throat.
Even as the pair rejoiced, the initially lamed raptor and the unridden raptor finally made their way towards Daniel and Tula, attacking the pair. Daniel snarled, realising that this fight had yet to be finished.
“I’m sorry,” Daniel said softly to Omrak, and then again loudly to his friends. Hand on the giant’s body, he alternately cast his Minor Healing spell on the Northerner and used his Gift to guide Omrak’s body to speed up its healing. Even as he did so, Daniel felt a portion of his memories – a cuddle with his grandfather, a lesson on spelling, a fight in the Dungeon – slip away. Yet, Daniel could not help but feel it was a worthy trade, insufficient penance.
“For what?” Tula asked, frowning as she inspected her retrieved arrows.
“I broke the line,” Daniel said. “If I had stayed with Omrak, he wouldn’t have been injured as much.”
“Or you would have both been ridden over,” Rob said. “While the raptors were reluctant to do so, if you had barred their way entirely, it is likely they would have ridden you over. And while your armor is good, it is not that good.”
Daniel grunted, but then shook his head. “I should have at least reconnected with Omrak immediately after instead of standing around, fighting the raptors and their riders.”
“Tried. Too many,” Asin said as she rubbed her leg. Daniel made a note to check on her soon after, though he was pretty certain it was just a strained muscle. One that his Healer’s Mark would fix soon. In fact, Daniel had to admit, while everyone had walked away with injuries, other than Omrak, none were life-threatening. Well, except the aneurysm that he had fixed on himself. But they didn’t need to know that.
“Of greater concern is the sheer number of enemies we faced,” Rob said and then eyed the still open gates. “If anything, our failure this time was due to a lack of scouting.”
“Yes,” Tula said then grimaced. “I should have insisted.”
“Why didn’t you?” Daniel said, curiously. Not that he was going to blame their erstwhile scout for not insisting on doing her job properly.
Tula fell silent for so long that Daniel thought she was not about to answer. When she did, her voice was softer than ever. “I wanted us to clear the floor first.”
“Competitive,” Asin said.
Tula looked up, about to protest and then saw the wide grin on Asin’s face. The Ranger flushed slightly before she finally nodded.
“Well, we won’t make that same mistake again,” Daniel said as he finished with Omrak. “Alright, who’s next?”
The fort itself was disappointing to the Adventurers, sitting empty and barren when explored. Made of wood and clay, the ground floor of the fort consisted of a large gathering hall that obviously acted as the dining hall as well for the building. Leading from the main hall were rooms for the – now barren – armory and kitchen. Surprisingly, the kitchen itself yielded a bounty of meat, fresh vegetables and a yellowish-orange potato that the Adventurers took to refill their provisions. Upstairs, the rooms consisted of a number of simple sleeping quarters. In a corner of the largest room, next to the bed, a chest lay.
“What’s in it?” Rob asked impatiently.
“Shhh…” Asin hissed as she gently ran fingers along the chest. She’d already checked with first a feather then a pick, but now, she was reviewing it with her fingers.
“Patience,” Daniel reiterated to Rob. “Unless you are volunteering to open it.”
“That is the Catkin’s job,” Rob said with a sniff. “Though I have considered learning an Open Lock spell.”
“Why don’t you?” Omrak asked.
“Learning new spells is a significant undertaking. Both in terms of the funds required as well as the time taken. I could as easily upgrade my knowledge of enchantments during the same period rather than delving into such mundane topics.”
“Then why mention it?” Daniel asked.
“Because it always takes so long!” Rob groused. The other Adventurers all rolled their eyes, even Tula who stood outside the room watching the corridor. Just in case.
“Safe,” Asin finally declared before she extracted her lock picks. She bent down low, eyeing the keyhole again before extracting a pair of lock picks. In a few minutes – and after Daniel sent Rob and Omrak to ‘continue’ the search – she opened the chest.
“Don’t,” Daniel said when Asin moved to open the chest. “Let’s get everyone here.”
Asin just nodded, sitting back on her haunches as Daniel called for the others. When everyone finally gathered, Asin pushed the chest open without fanfare. Eyes wide, the Adventurers exchanged looks before Rob broke the disappointed silence.
“EMPTY!” the Enchanter waved his hands around. “It’s empty!”
“We can see that,” Daniel said and shot a look to Asin. The Catkin nodded
and started prodding around the inside of the chest.
“Ah! A secret compartment. Of course,” Rob said, subsiding. But when the Catkin sat back after a time and shook her head, he growled. “You must have missed something. There’s no reason for there to be an empty chest!”
“Empty.”
“You’re wrong. Break it open!” Rob said, reaching for his own knife. When Asin glanced at Daniel, he shrugged and waved her aside. The Catkin sniffed, hopping backwards onto a bed without looking while Rob advanced and stabbed the red lining, tearing the chest apart. Minutes later, the Enchanter sat back, disappointed.
“This makes no sense,” Rob complained. “All that, for nothing? Why put a chest here if there’s no reward? Is Panqua teasing us?”
“Perhaps,” Omrak said. “Or perhaps there is no Mana Stone for there is no Champion.”
“Champion…” Tula said the words softly then eyed the single bed before her eyes widened. “The Floor Champion. Maybe he didn’t spawn yet!”
“Or he spawned and was killed by the other team,” Daniel said with a shrug. “It could be that the respawn rate of normal monsters is faster than for the Champion.”
“Erlis’ tears,” Rob cursed and then stood up, sheathing his knife. “Fine. Let’s go. Where’re the stairs to the next floor.”
Silence resounded through the group as they realised that none of them had spotted anything like that. The fort did not even have a basement, which meant the only staircase around lead upwards. After the group went through the fort one last time in search of hidden rooms or staircases – which, when you considered the fort literally had only two sets of internal walls, was incredibly unlikely – the group gave up. By this time, they were all moving around in the relative darkness of the night.
“Do we stay here and risk a respawn directly on us or go outside?” Daniel asked his team.
“Respawns in locations which consist of Adventurers are low probability events,” Rob said.
“Huh?” Omrak looked at Rob, confused.
“No respawns likely,” Daniel translated for Omrak.
“Stay,” Asin said and pointed upwards. “Bed.”
“We should still have a watch. And close the gates,” Tula said.
“Okay. Rob, close the gates. Asin, you have dinner. Omrak, you have last shift,” Daniel began before listing the rest of the shifts for watch. As Tula volunteered for the first shift, Daniel quietly gave himself the middle shift of the night. While his Gift could not remove his need for sleep entirely, he could reduce the effects on him.
And perhaps tomorrow, in the light of day, they could work out where the entrance for the third floor was.
Chapter 9
“That’s new,” Daniel said as he squinted into the distance.
A quiet evening had led to the group waking up and tackling the mystery of the missing way down with vigor in the morning. A thorough check of the fort had provided no additional clues and so the team had expanded their test to check over the entirety of the hill. Hours later, the group had to reluctantly accept that the way down was not on that particular hill. Together, they had exited through the nearly perfectly transparent portal. As they looked around in search of their next objective, Daniel had spotted the anomaly.
“Definitely not there before,” Tula said.
Daniel could only concur with the Ranger as he eyed the minimap his Mapping II Skill had created. If the fort which now existed on that hill had been present before they had entered the second floor, it would have shown up on his map.
“Behind,” Asin hissed.
Startled by her tone, the group spun around only to be greeted by another perplexing mystery. The fort which they had just exited had now disappeared without a trace, leaving an empty hill behind.
“Ba’al!” Omrak cursed as he unsheathed his sword. After a time, when no threat emerged from the mist or from behind them, the big Northerner sheathed his sword sheepishly.
“Rob?” Tula queried their resident know-it-all.
“This…” Rob paused, falling silent and stroking his chin. After a time, he looked up with a knowing smirk. “Of course. It’s a new set-up. Panqua must be testing a new format for the Dungeons.”
“But what does it mean?” Daniel hissed in frustration. “Are we going to have to travel to that fort and fight it again? Why?”
“If I’m allowed to speculate, I would assume that is so. It seems that the second floor, instead of being a single location is instead made of linked forts. I would assume that we must destroy or clear a sufficient number of such buildings before we are able to locate the way down.”
“Maybe not down,” Asin added.
“Yes. Well pointed out. There might not be a third floor. The next location might just be a different landscape,” Rob said.
“Ah. So, we must slay more Orcs to progress,” Omrak rumbled, his grin widening. “Good. I feel that I did not account for myself in our last encounter. I look forward to meeting these Orcs again.”
With little to gain from staying still, Daniel waved the group onwards to the next hill. As usual, the group would travel from hill to hill in their attempts to reduce the amount of time spent in the mists and subject to the attacks of the raptors.
As Daniel rested on the hill before the group was to tackle the next fort, he eyed the notification that had appeared after their last encounter with the raptors.
Level Up!
Adventurer Level 12
You have gained 5 attribute points and 1 skill proficiencies.
“Anyone else level?” Daniel asked, looking around the group.
“Yesterday,” Asin said.
“About two hours ago,” Omrak said agreeably. Daniel could not help but grimace, knowing that their faster leveling speed had more to do with his constant use of his Gift than any difference in experience.
“Rob? Tula?”
“No,” Rob said curtly.
“Soon,” Tula added.
“How soon? Will you get a Skill point?” Daniel asked Tula. Stopping and returning to fight monsters to give her her next Level might be worthwhile if Tula could gain another Class Skill.
“No,” Tula shook her head. “Level 15 next.”
“Oh…” Daniel grimaced at how much of a difference there was. “Rob, Tula. You’re on watch. We’ll distribute our points then.”
After getting confirming nods, Daniel pulled up his character sheet and considered his next steps. First, he had to allocate his attribute points. The first thing he did was add a point to Constitution. He kept getting battered around, especially as he took on more roles in their fights. Better to ensure he had less chance of dying by increasing his Constitution, even if it was by a small amount.
Next up, he added two points to his Intelligence stat. That would see a small increase in the on-going gains for his Mana pool from now on, which was important as he expanded on his role as a healer. In fact, Daniel was almost tempted to sink more points into the ability but he also wanted to increase both his Luck and Willpower. Those, he increased by a point each.
Luck was a necessary component for any Adventurer. Too many things could go wrong when delving, and without Erlis’s finger on the scale, it was too easy for an Adventurer to die. While he did not put a large amount into it, Adventurers like Husa Light Feet were a perfect example of what a Luck build could do. Of course, most school children were warned against following his example as it was an extremely weak build in the early periods.
As for Willpower, this was a hedge for future floors. Every Adventurer knew that mental attacks were something that Master Class Adventurers had to deal with in their Dungeons. Even on the deeper floors of an Advanced Dungeon, it was quite possible to meet the occasional mentat. An Adventurer with insufficient Willpower at that point was nothing more than a hindrance to their party.
Once he had applied his points, Daniel checked his character sheet to verify where his skills were at.
&nbs
p; Name: Daniel Chai (Advanced Rank Adventurer)
Race: Human (Male)
Class: Level 12 Adventurer (0%)
Sub-classes: Level 7 (Miner) (2.4%)
Life: 327
Stamina: 327
Mana: 242
Attributes
Strength: 29
Agility: 25
Constitution: 32
Intelligence: 26
Willpower: 21
Luck: 17
Skills
Unarmed Combat: Level 8 (52/100)
Clubs (Novice): Level 7 (11/100)
Archery: Level 3 (04/100)
Shield (Novice): Level 6 (98/100)
Dodge (Novice): Level 1 (83/100)
Combat Sense (Novice): Level 4 (69/100)
Perception (Novice): Level 3 (14/100)
Mining: Level 7 (78/100)
Healing (Novice): Level 4 (23/100)
Herb Lore: Level 3 (48/100)
Stealth: Level 2 (39/100)
Cooking: Level 4 (13/100)
Singing: Level 2 (14/100)
Tactics: Level 3 (21/100)
Skill Proficiencies
Double Strike
Shield Bash
Perin’s Blow
Find Weakness
Mapping (II)
Inventory (Adventurer Special)
Spells
Minor Healing (II)
Healer’s Mark (I)
