by J. J. Thorn
Who knows, we might start seeing gear or weapons in this Dungeon because of its Rank. Most of the groups that have gone in so far were rejected for the expedition because of their Rank.
I have full faith in us, but make sure you come prepared tomorrow morning.
We'll meet in front of the Dire gates at the crack of dawn. The expedition is being led by a B-Rank guild representative. He'll be walking us all to the Dungeon site.
I've heard the walk itself should take at least a day. With that said, try to be respectful," Tom said as he looked at Lin. "We want to continue being allowed on these expeditions. We get paid for our involvement alone, so let's just follow quietly. Once we're inside, we'll be able to go off to do our own thing. You all know the drill."
"Do we have any immediate goals for the dive this time Tom, besides money," Griff asked.
"Good question, I'll ask the team first then give you mine. Rana?"
"The money is nice, but I really missed you guys and diving. Plus, I'm hoping to get a new bow. I've been saving up. If I can find something cool in the Dungeon, I'd use that, but otherwise, I really need to buy a better one. In the fight against the Alpha, my regular shots barely did anything."
"We'll keep an eye out. Lin?"
"We know I like the money, but I want to use my Skills on more powerful things. I'm bored of being the strongest thing in the Dungeon, and all of these young Dungeoneers are making me feel old. I can feel my progress slowing."
"Didn't you just get a new Skill?" Rana looked at Lin incredulously.
"Yes, and that's exactly it. I'd been working on that one for a while. Plus I'm super low on Rank 3, so I need to work on shackles a bit."
"Leave some progress for the rest of us hahaha" Griff laughed as he ruffled Lin's hair.
Lin started to hit Griff's arms to have him stop.
"Leave me alone you big muscle-brain. I would've just said money, but he said besides money. What about you then?"
"You are all my family. You helped purchase this shield and I owe you all so much more. The money will help me and my family back home, but I came here for all of you. Someone's got to protect this side of the family."
"Psshh, I should have known." Lin turned away as she hid her smile.
Tom jumped in before something else started.
"We'll all have a chance to use our Skills, but remember that this is the highest rank Dungeon we've ever been in. We all need to leave the Dungeon alive. Experimenting with skills comes after." Tom said sternly before continuing.
"Ok, and what about you Holly?"
"Mostly the money, but I need to increase my Rank. I've been sitting at Rank 3 for years now. I've tried thinking of other skill applications as well, but I think I'm better off just raising my Rank. I'm super close, but I've been stalled for a while, and working in town isn't helping.
Aren't you the same Tom?"
Tom stood still as he started to scratch an itch on his elbow. When they arrived back in town, they had immediately gone to see Holly for healing. She had been tired and they hadn't had an opportunity to really talk before their meeting today. Tom had told Holly about his stalled progression before, and they had both seen it as a challenge to rank up first. They had known each other longer than the others, and it had been a fun way to look at a sore subject.
Throughout it all, Tom hadn't yet had a chance to tell Holly about the Rank up.
"Ugh. Well, one of my goals is to get us an inventory satchel. Without it, we have to spend a lot of time holding what we harvest or gather. It really limits our ability in larger Dungeons. We'll look out for your Bow, Rana, but that will be my priority if we make it out of the Dungeon successfully."
"Ya, fine with me. I'll just keep saving for the bow, and having an inventory satchel will definitely help with that."
"Great, thanks, Rana. It will really help the team, but they're extremely expensive. At least 4 times as much as Griff's shield. I have high hopes in this Dungeon.
So, that's everything I wanted to talk about. We can expect to be in the Dungeon for at least 2 months. If you have any other questions or concerns, let me know now."
No one said anything.
"Ok, then you're all free to drink and eat. I'll be heading up to my room now, goodnigh..." Tom started, but Holly interjected as he was about to say his goodbyes.
"Tom, I asked you before, but don't you also want to Rank up? Don't tell me you've given up! Here I thought you'd try to win our bet, but you've already given up after a measly couple years. What's wrong Tom? Worried you'll never be able to get to Rank 4?"
Tom started to look everywhere but at Holly. Sweat started to pour down his forehead as he chose to finally respond. They started their expedition the next day and she would need to know at that point.
"Um, Holly. There was another thing I actually didn't tell you about after our fight with the Alpha. I talked to the Guild, and based on my description, they said it might have even been a low C-Rank monster. I still think it was high D-rank, but we'll never know. Regardless, because of how tough the fight was, I actually, um, I R-Ranked up...
My original goal was to Rank up, along with the inventory satchel, but now I'll be trying to use my new Skill as much as possible.
Ok, we know our goals. I'll see you all there tomorrow morning. Goodnight!"
Tom chugged his drink and started to head to his room upstairs.
As he got up from the table, Holly finally clued in to what he had just said.
"WHAT!!!
You Ranked UP?!"
A woman, Holly, was once again seen yelling at a man as she chased him up to his room.
Chapter 22
10/10
TGIF!
Thank the Goddess it’s Friday!
I made it through a whole week of classes at Prep. Well, most of my classes at least.
It was late on a Friday and I was currently walking towards my last class, Ethics. The week had gone well so far, I couldn’t believe all of the things I’d accomplished already.
Speaking of accomplishments, I finally figured out how to see my internal energy with Zane this morning!
Current Progress.
Affinity : Weight
Rank 1 – View Weight – 72%
Energy : 10/10
Right there, with the rest of my affinity statistics, I was now able to see my energy whenever I wanted to. I had been happy to see that my energy was twice as much as Zane’s, but he had been quick to point out that our energy levels were still incredibly low.
To test this out, I’d started using View weight on a variety of objects. After each try, I would check my progress to see how much my energy had fallen by. For items, I used the Skill on regularly, I had barely seen any movement. When looking at new objects, or objects I was less familiar with, it took about 1-2 energy for the Skill to activate properly. For people, it was about the same, between 1-2, even for myself.
While checking, I was even able to see my energy regenerate slightly. It would take time for me to get used to the specifics, but it seemed to regenerate fully within an hour or so.
I tried using the internal energy to augment my Skill, but as expected, it used up the entire amount. In fact, regardless of how much I had available, it always used the full amount. Each time I would get a slight headache from the Burnout, but I had long since gotten used to them.
Zane had gotten frustrated with me during the process. He was happy to help me but thought that I was a lost cause after not being able to figure it out after a whole week.
While he was teasing my education, I got him to explain what he saw EXACTLY. It turns out that his display was slightly different from my own. He had seen a bar, which depleted as he used his Skill. While trying to explain the concept to me, he had always assumed that I would see it the same. In fact, he said most people saw a bar that represented their energy.
For me, that just didn’t make sense.
My skill seemed to rely on numbers, and my current progress showe
d numbers, so the bar seemed a little too abstract for me. I tried to rethink what Zane had explained, but instead of thinking of the bar, I thought of just the numbers.
It had still taken a few tries, but eventually, it worked!
Along with some of the classes that I had throughout the week, and my training sessions with Jen, this had been one of my greatest accomplishments for the week. We had tried so many times over the week that I was starting to get worried it wouldn’t happen.
Luckily, as I walked to Ethics class, I was able to cross that off my list, at least.
Zane and I had spent some time the previous evening talking about my energy manipulation class. He confirmed that he would definitely take it the following semester, but was interested in several of the things Professor Wilks had gone through.
The entire class had been an amazing experience from start to finish. Professor Wilks was possibly the happiest and most excitable person I had ever seen or met. After explaining what the circle represented, we spent the next two hours discussing some of the topics we would go through in class.
We would be spending a lot of time talking about what internal energy can be used for, how we can increase it, different exercises to increase our own abilities, and more. The class had turned out to be everything I’d wanted and more.
Chet and I had actually stayed behind a bit to talk after class. I had realized during the class why someone like him might still be taking the course. He went on to explain that he was a really good Dungeoneer but his ability to use his own internal energy was limited. He thought his affinity usage, which I found out was WIND, was fairly good, but he knew he couldn’t progress if that’s all he focused on.
We agreed to sit together again the following week.
I was also pleased to learn that the class had not provided any assignments for the weekend. I was still planning to head into town with the girls over the weekend. Currently, we had planned to go tomorrow on Saturday, leaving Sunday for any assignments we might need to complete.
I was happy to say that I had enjoyed every single class I’d had during the week. I spoke with Zane and he hadn’t really enjoyed Body Anatomy. He expected it to pick up but had received an assignment for that class as well.
I reached Ethics class and found a seat. Like General Energy Manipulation, the class had fewer classes. It could have been because of the timing, at night on a Friday, but I did not know.
I noticed one person I knew at the front of the class, sitting by herself. We hadn’t gotten along very well during our first meeting, so I didn’t approach, but I planned to talk to her after class if I got the chance. Amanda, the girl who had exposed Zane in the wagon on the way to Prep. For the rest of the trip, she had spoken with others, choosing instead to leave us alone.
The clock tower chimed, and the week’s final class was about to start.
If this class was anything like the rest, I expected a lot.
At the front of the class, the professor finally stood up for everyone to see. He wore his custom purple and gold robe. His was disheveled, as though he had slept in it the night before.
His brown hair was a mess, with strands flying everywhere. He himself was fairly short and as he began to speak his voice was incredibly monotone and flat.
From the moment he started talking, I knew…
This class was not going to be like the rest.
I knew I should’ve taken Weapons Training.
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The class ended and people’s heads started to rise slowly from their desks. No one had actually fallen asleep, I think, but the class had been absolutely dull.
The professor had started the class by telling us what we would be discussing. This didn’t need to be boring, as he went on to describe how we’d be discussing different scholars, ethical dilemmas, the use of affinities, war, and more. Similar to Professor Valk, he had broached the idea that we are all inherently human. That had actually been the most interesting part of class.
He, Professor Mullon, had stated that he himself was a regular human. He had no affinity.
I hadn’t expected it, but he went on to explain that Krader had a small minority of non-affinity users. He became a professor to raise awareness, and ethics class had been a good outlet to do so.
If he hadn’t been so boring, I would have agreed with his decision. His delivery throughout the class had not changed. He showed no enthusiasm for anything he said, nor did he even try to interact with the class at all. During the entire lecture, he didn’t make me hate regular humans, but I was starting to dislike him quite a bit.
I listened throughout and was thrilled when it finally finished.
Overall, I was happy with 4 out of 5 classes. Which wasn’t bad.
I waited back a few minutes, as I tried to wait for Amanda to pass by me on her way to the door. We had only met once, so I hoped she would remember me.
As she passed by, I waved and smiled, hoping to give a warm greeting. To my delight, Amanda came over, also smiling.
“Oh wow, Terrence was it? It’s really cool to see another person from Huag!” Amanda came over with a smile.
“Oh ya, I agree! I saw you at the front and thought I’d say hi. How have you been?”
“Good, good. I’ve been really enjoying the classes. A lot of really different stuff.”
“Me too! I’m mostly taking Dungeoneering classes, what about you? I don’t think I saw you in Dungeoneering.”
“No, that’s not for me. I’m taking stuff like Animals & Monsters, Animal Husbandry, and Herbology. I want to use my ANIMAL affinity to help animals, and maybe monsters, not hunt them.”
Would this be an issue? Am I going to go out there and kill monsters while others are trying to keep them alive?
I had apparently paused a bit too long because Amanda saw my face and started to shake her hands.
“Haha, don’t worry Terrence. I know I’m in the minority. I also don’t expect people to stop killing monsters. I know that it’s important. But that’s why I took Ethics. I’m curious to know how we rationalize it from an ethical perspective.”
“Ya, that makes sense. And no problem. I just didn’t want to insult you. And based on the class we just had, hopefully, you’ll be able to figure that out some other class.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean because you’ll be falling asleep through that boring lecture every Friday. It just seems cruel to put us through that.”
“Um, I enjoyed that, really. He may have been a bit slow, but I think the class will be really interesting.”
Amanda and I paused as we found another difference between us. Rather than prolonging it, and finding another reason to be awkward, I tried to end the conversation.
“Well, I’ll see you next week then.”
“Ya, ok, bye Terrence,” Amanda said as she walked away.
I guess I can’t be friends with everyone I meet.
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“Oh, that sounds awkward, Ren. Honestly, it’s probably nothing to worry about. I tried to talk to this cute boy in class the other day and he got scared when I started showing him my arm muscle.” Britta spoke as they walked towards the campus gates.
It was finally Saturday, and they were going to check out the town of Krader with the Girls. Trish had had to stay back and study, but Jen, Britta, Cassie, Zane, and I were all on our way out.
“Britta, I keep telling you, you want to look at their muscles, not the other way around.” Cassie poked at Britta.
“Ya, but I can’t have some skinny man trying to court me. For example, Ren could handle me, but Zane would have no chance. Too little muscle on our blonde-haired beauty.”
“I will have you know that I’m very fast. I may not look it, but I can hold my own.” Zane responded.
“Ohho is that right. Want to have a go on the mats next week? I’ll bring out my shiel
d and you try to break my guard?”
“If either of you gets hurt, I’m not bandaging you.”
“Oh come on Cassie. It’ll be good practice for your skills.”
Britta, Cassie, and Zane continued to joke as they passed through the gates. I was happy to hear they had stopped talking about my awkward encounter the day before.
While they talked, I stepped beside Jen.
“So what’s the plan for today anyways. Did you plan today, or did one of the other girls?”
“I’m actually not the best at this, so it was sort of a team effort. The last time you went through with Zane, he focused a lot on the main market. The main market IS interesting, but you don’t know much about what they sell right now anyway. So instead, we’re going to check out a favourite place for each person. Each of us picked a place, even Trish, and we’re going to make a day of it.”
That’s so cool. If I had to show someone a nice place in Huag, what would I show them? The town square? The forest? My parent’s house?
“Wow, that’s awesome. Thanks for planning it all.”
“No problem, and we’ve even got one special surprise as the last place.”
“Ok, I’m ready. So where are we heading first.”
“We’re actually going to do Trish’s first. I think you’re going to really like it. She picked it especially for the two of you, even though she couldn’t be here.”
We continued walking and talking. As we would pass parts of the city, the girls would sometimes mention a quick story about the place. A lot of their stories were from when they were kids running around playing Dungeon divers.
The first stop wasn’t too far from campus and took us less than 20 minutes to arrive. While walking there, we passed Krader’s Guild Hall. It was, expectantly, much bigger than Krader’s. People were walking in and out often.
