The sun had set and the clock was ticking. Though he had two deadlines to reach, his goal was to earn 70,000 bryas in one week. Exiting Strayice, Karion's look of resolve shattered the moment he saw just where Strayice was located. The closed stores with gated windows he had seen were now open, illuminated with lights in various shades of red and pink, women wearing skimpy lingerie were calling out to the crowds of men who lusted after their figures.
[Strayice is located right outside a red district?!]
-
Entering the dungeon once more the next day, Karion wasted no time. Marching his way through the hallways, kicking any goblin he walked across, stopping only to pick up the ears they dropped. After a few minutes, he noticed the pathways were different. Arriving at the boss's room after a significant amount of time, he entered.
{
[Boss] Hobgoblin - Lv. 9
[Health: 25/25]
-Marrow Club (Empty)
}
[The stats are different?] Karion drew his sword, [The level is still only one-off, is the boss randomized in a small array?]
In his thought, the hobgoblin screeched, "Yes, yes. Hurry up!"
Just as he thought, the hobgoblin used the same technique as the first one he fought, by swinging the club over his head, before getting it lodged into the wooden floors.
"Hm…" Karion stared at the struggling monster. He gently rested Ataria behind the hobgoblin before walking to its front. Karion held out his hand,
"Recall!"
The blade lifted itself above the ground, its blade pointed to Karion, [Here it comes..!]
It lunged itself to him at great speed, piercing the hobgoblin, before slowly returning to his hand.
[It worked!] The hobgoblin faded to smoke immediately. Picking up the dropped ear, he was faced again between a silver door, and a wooden door. Dragging the marrow club with him, he placed his hand on the wooden door.
Karion was transported to another maze of wooden hallways, [I'm back?]
Though the labyrinth looked the same, the sounds of wet slopping dispelled his thoughts. He turned his head to see a large goopy substance shaded blue. A red ball rested at the center of the liquid.
{
Slime - Lv. 5
}
[A slime?!] Though his time in the dungeon was not long, this was the first time he had seen the species of slime. While it being a rare occurrence temporarily came to mind, three more slimes emerged from the walls and ceiling, inching closer to him.
Against the speed of the slimes, Karion's swing connected easily, but Ataria only became covered in thick liquids.
[No effect..?] Looking at the ball at its center, he thrust his sword into the monster, but the fluids slowed the impact, only poking at its core. Karion pulled Ataria away, and a stream of smoke emitted from it.
The metal on Ataria's blade began to melt, [It's acidic..?!] Streaks of the acidic substance dug through Ataria. Even when the acid dissolved, the smoke remained on the blade.
[Physical attacks are useless against slimes… What else can I do?] Although their speed was low, Karion noticed himself being pushed back.
{
Karion - Age: 19 [Health: 30/30] [40/50]
Active Class: [Swordsman Lv. 3], [Villager Lv. 4]
(Farmer Lv. 1, EX - Jack+ Lv. 1)
Skills: [EX - Appraisal], [Pierce]
Equipment: [EX - Ivory Ataria]
}
[My level increased… Hm?] Alongside his increased health and villager level, he noticed obtaining a new spell, [How did I get "Pierce"? Swordsman is still level three… Unless this is a villager's perk…]
Karion extended his hand, aiming at the slime's core, "Pierce!" The slimes continued inching closer, with nothing having happened, [Is it a skill of the Swordsman?] Raising the damaged Ataria, it showed no signs of repair despite the Restore ability it holds. Jabbing the tip of the sword in the slime, the acid tearing away at the blade, he chanted once more, "Pierce!"
Ataria flashed a glimmer of light, shooting its radiance through the slime, shattering the core, turning it to smoke.
[It worked!]
Repeating the process with the other slimes, Ataria's blade grew dull. Karion sheathed Ataria, his face concerned if any other monsters appeared. Expecting something to remain, the slimes dropped nothing, leaving Karion feeling unfulfilled. He looked over his status again.
["Pierce" is a Swordsman's ability, but even though my level stayed the same, I still obtained it…] Recalling what could have been the cause, he remembered when he used Recall against the hobgoblin. [Just as the spell implied, using Recall pierced through the hobgoblin's body… This means even if I obtain classes and raise my levels, the skills have their own set of conditions.]
The remaining classes of Farmer and Jack+ remained unchanged, [I want to know more about what Jack+ does… is it possible for me to change my classes?]
Hovering his finger over his classes, they began moving as he desired, [I can..!]
Moving Jack+ to his active class, it automatically replaced Swordsman. In an instant, Karion collapsed, breathing heavily.
"What… is this…?"
After a minute of suffering, he looked over his status, he noticed that it was updated.
{
Karion - Age: 19 [Health: 3/25] [1/5]
Active Class: [EX - Jack+ Lv. 1], [Villager Lv. 4]
(Farmer Lv. 1, Swordsman Lv. 3)
Skills: [EX - Appraisal], [Pierce]
Equipment: [EX - Ivory Ataria]
}
[My health and mana are low..!! But why?]
Though his movements were weak, he dragged Swordsman back, replacing Jack+. His complexion immediately recovered. His status returned as it was
{[Health: 7/30] [Mana: 8/50]}
[My equipped classes affect my status… And I suppose this means I can only have two classes at once… My mana is significantly lower too…]
Noticing the consumption of mana for each use of magic performed, using Appraisal and Pierce had whittled his mana low. When his class changed, his mana entered negative values, [My health must be low from covering the cost of mana deficiency… And if my health can't cover the cost of mana…]
Picking himself off the ground, he took a deep breath, [I could die at any second… I'll have to be careful.]
His back was against the wall as he peered through the corners in the maze of hallways. Combating against any slime would be a waste of energy. With their low agility, Karion simply leaped over them, hurriedly rushing away from sight. His trek leads him to another door,
[The boss room!] He opened his status once more.
{[Health: 14/30] [Mana: 12/50]}
[My stats are still low… but I can't stay here forever…] After a bit of contemplation, he touched the knob, transporting him inside an open room.
A low growl with red eyes stared through his soul. A large wolf slowly walked around the edges of the room as if stalking Karion.
{
[Boss] Dire Wolf - Lv. 12
[Health: 50/50] [Mana: 20/20]
}
[..?! A Dire Wolf… It's a lot stronger than I am…] Karion drew his sword. Ataria was still damaged. Although cracks had begun to seal themselves in a golden light, the tip of the blade was still dull and lost the blade's reflection.
"Come on then… make your move."
The wolf roared, charging at him with its spiked jaws.
[It's fast!]
Karion swung his sword, slashing the wolf before it could reach him, when Karion went for another swing, the wolf leaped back, cautiously staring at him.
[It's smart… What could I do?]
Each time the wolf charged close, it would only leap back when Karion retaliated. The stalemate continued until both seemed to be tired. With another rush towards Karion, he swung his sword, his grip loose, Ataria flew at the wolf, stabbing its hind leg.
[It worked!] Ataria fell to the ground. Although the wolf was stabbed, Ataria's tip was still dull, only managing to make a small incision. The wolf howled before rushing once more.
[I hope this does too..!]
"Recall!!"
Ataria lunged itself towards Karion, lodging itself in the wolf who was in its path. The wolf fell to the floor, gradually losing blood.
Noticing Ataria's dullness interfering with its ability to properly return, Karion quickly ran to it, holding the blade,
"Pierce!"
With a flash of light, the wolf turned to smoke. Leaving behind a fang and wad of fur, Karion sat down in relief, taking the moment to rest. Two doors appeared on opposite ends of the room.
-
Returning to the inn, he rested Ataria against the wall before pouring his earnings combined with what he had on the table.
[In total I have 1,817 bryas…]
Knowing that at his rate, he would never get the money he needed in a week, he sat on his bed, stressing his mind over what he could do. A glaringly obvious reality he realized was how underprepared he was for the dungeons. He knew other adventures had armor, while even Mydon wore special equipment, but with only a sword, he could only do so much. He looked up at Ataria, walking over and pulling the blade before sitting back down, resting the sword on his lap.
The tip was still dull, but regained its color, with the cracks of corrosion repaired seamlessly, "You work so hard, thank you. I'm glad you're with me."
"I'll need to think of more preparations tomorrow… Maybe I'll spend the morning browsing the streets for something," Karion walked back to return the sword to its sheathe. Moments before reaching the sheathe, Ataria began to glow a faint light.
"..?!"
The glow grew stronger, making a chime as it grew bright before subsiding.
{
Ivory Ataria - Owner: [Karion]
Skills: [Restore], [Victory], [Recall], [Synthesis], [???]
}
"Synthesis..?"
{Synthesis: Create low-level items with equal materials received.}
Karion stared down at his blade once more, its red jewel showing his reflection.