The water hedgehog had only been level five, so these would be the highest level creatures he fought so far. Giving them a closer look Alan could see strong muscles under their tough leathery skin. Their clawed feet looked a little bulky and outsized for the rest of their body so they were probably not very agile. Each of them had a scimitar in one hand, but two of them also had something in their left hands. It was difficult to make out at first, it looked like a ball of some raggedy fiber.
One of the kobolds moved to the front and it let go of part of it. As it dropped down he could now tell it was made of some kind of rope. The strands were woven from a type of greenish-brown plant and then it hit him. That was a net! These things were trying to capture them.
“I think they are trying to take us captive. Watch out for those nets. If they get them over us we’ll have a hard time fighting back,” he whispered to Thadrick.
“Don’t you worry laddy. These beasties don’t know who they're messing with.” Activating his storage device the dwarf stored his pick and pulled out a magnificent looking axe that was almost as big as he was. The shaft was made of iron but the two large crescent blades on either side were made of some silvery metal. There were some decorative seeming etchings carved into them as well. The blades appeared incredibly sharp and the way he held it proved he and it had been together a long time.
Thadrick looked like a powerful fighter holding his axe in both hands and gazing cooly at his foes. However, Alan was worried about his mobility. If they threw the net at his new friend the axe could easily get tangled up in it and he would have a hard time getting it free. He chose to use his two daggers so that he would be able to use both of his hands at once.
“I can tell by the way you hold those things you are more than just a mage, but you aren’t wearing any armor, so watch yourself. Those things could cut you in half with one blow,” Thadrick whispered back to him.
While they were readying themselves the kobolds had been chattering away as well. Finally they seemed to work up the nerve and the one in front threw his net at Thadrick. Just as he was about to release Alan fired a light bolt at its chest. Once again it didn’t do much damage but it served its purpose by startling it.
Instead of spreading from its hands like a web and ensnaring his mentor, the net came out as more of a misshapen blob and he easily sidestepped it. With a roar Thadrick charged and, using his weapon like a spear, he thrust forward with the top of his axe which left two wicked wounds from the tips of the crescent blades. Either their skin wasn’t as tough as it looked or those blades were incredibly sharp. Alan’s money was on the beautiful axe. That kobold collapsed in a rapidly expanding pool of blood.
There wasn’t much room for teamwork in this tunnel. It was just over two meters high and had a similar width. You could walk down it side by side, but wielding weapons in such a small area meant you would probably gut your friend. Thadrick was currently dominating the passageway so Alan stood about a meter behind him and resigned himself to ranged support. His only offensive spell couldn’t hurt them much it seemed, but it could distract them at key moments.
He was soon proven wrong about teamwork. These kobolds must have long experience working in cramped spaces because two of them stepped up to take on Thadrick. He didn’t seem daunted by his numerical disadvantage and used short controlled movements with his large axe to keep them at bay. The one with the remaining net was in the back waiting for an opportunity, but the tight confines at least meant he couldn’t throw while his buddies were in front of him.
A scimitar grated against his new friend’s chainmail and he scolded himself for getting distracted. Alan refocused as the other kobold slashed forward to hit Thadrick in his unprotected side. Two light bolts, one to its arm and one to its head, were enough to cause it to break off its attack. The dazed look on its reptilian face told Alan that maybe those light bolts were doing some damage after all. He sent another bolt at its head and it collapsed. It wasn’t dead, but it was definitely injured.
The kobold in the back took that opening and threw his net at Thadrick. He tried to fend it off with his axe, but as Alan feared, it just got tangled up. The ropes wrapped around the blade and down the handle. The dwarf was ineffectually trying to shake the net off when the other kobold slashed down at his head.
In desperation Alan threw a light bolt at the kobold’s face but momentum alone would cause the blade to split Thadricks skull open. So at the same time he was casting he shouldered his companion aside and parried with his seax. He was off balance from pushing his partner aside so he was unable to follow up with an attack of his own.
Alan had to be careful of his footing with two live combatants and a dead one on the ground now, but Thadrick had realized his axe was out of the fight and rolled behind Alan to grab the pickaxe his trainee had dropped at the start of the fight. There was still the kobold on the ground who he had injured earlier. With a savage kick to the prone creature’s head, Alan squared up against the opponent that was still standing. The now unconscious kobold was partially blocking the tunnel and at least preventing the net thrower from joining the fray.
The kobold was fast, he had to give it that, but Alan was faster still. The monster's muscles were no joke, however, and it was at least as strong as he was. Its scimitar had the advantage of size and weight over his smaller daggers, so he was forced to deflect its blows rather than trying to block them. Having watched Thadrick and the other kobolds fight earlier it seemed like they were very comfortable with their weapons. Alan wondered if maybe this universe relied on them a little too much.
The next time it slashed at him he deflected the sword to the side and then dropped both of his daggers. Alan turned his back into it like he was the little spoon and used both hands to grab the wrist holding the scimitar. He then brought his knee up at the same time he yanked its wrist down and broke something in its forearm. The scimitar clattered to the ground and Alan let go with his right arm and whipped his elbow around and into its head. It staggered back and he punched forward with his left hoping to catch it in the throat but was thrown off by its draconic anatomy. Where a human had a flat face this creature had a long one like a horse, with a mouth full of sharp teeth. The elbow had caused its head to drop down so he ended up punching it on the snout.
That was apparently a soft spot because it let out an angry hiss of pain and then went silent as Thadrick stepped up next to Alan and planted the pickaxe in its chest. The last kobold standing decided discretion was the better part of valor and it took off down the tunnels. The two tired miners might have been able to catch up to it, but neither of them had a weapon ready at that point. Instead they collected up their stuff and Alan turned to the unconscious kobold.
“Should we try and take this one back with us? Someone could try and question it.” Thadrick agreed, but when Alan bent down to try and wrap it in one of the nets he found it was dead. He didn’t think he’d kicked it that hard, but his new body must be stronger than he thought.
“Thank you for the help there, I owe ya one. We should get back to the camp as soon as possible. There’s no telling how many more of them there are and people need to be warned about the danger.”
Alan agreed with him and they hurriedly made their way back to the mining encampment. They told the guards at the gate on their way in what had happened and one rushed off to alert the people in charge. Once they returned to the mining tower they also let the guild know. There was already some concern as several miners were overdue.
All that was left was for them to turn in the ore they had gotten and Thadrick passed him the eight silver they received in return. “You earned this, I would have been in a lot of trouble if you weren’t there to save me.”
Alan thanked him for it and handed over his white quartz stone. The rumpled dwarf had earned that too for the time he took instructing him.
Quest Completed: Dwarven Mine
[You have journeyed into the dark and come back with precious minerals. You also discovered a threat that the other miners were ignorant of. Reward: Guardian talent stone and 10 dungeon points.]
Sensing that the dungeon had run its course Alan made his way back to the entrance. He felt guilty leaving them in this uncertain state, but on the other hand, this wasn’t real. Yes, miners were missing and a new force seemed to be vying for control of the region, but he had to remind himself this was a staged environment and Thadrick and the others weren’t really in danger. While it was easy to convince his brain of this, his heart was another matter. Never leave a man behind.
“Tamee, remind me again that this isn’t real.”
“It is very real. However, for those who are a part of the dungeon this is all just a storyline they must follow. While outsiders who enter a dungeon can influence the events inside, you will find that the dungeon will attempt to keep you on the correct path. This can be from physical obstacles, overpowering monsters, or irrational decisions by the dungeon characters. If it makes you feel better, this is an upgradable dungeon. You will have an opportunity to return.”
That did make him feel better, but then he had a thought. “Wait, is that why the kobold I thought was unconscious was dead when I thought of bringing it back for questioning?”
“It is possible, but there is no way of knowing. Blows to the head can be unpredictable,” She added.
It wasn’t really leaving a man behind. This was more of an ‘I’ll be back’ situation. Realizing it didn’t really make a difference in the end he turned his attention to the loot.
Item: Guardian talent stone. Usable by anyone who has at one time had a guardian class. Will grant one of six guardian class talents. Not usable if they have already unlocked all six.
“Tamee, can you tell me anything about talent stones? Should I save it, use it, what do you think?”
“First, you should understand that talent stones are tied to classes. You are lucky that you have all of the basic classes so all early talent stones will be usable by you. Later on you will encounter talent stones that may require you to have followed a different Path then the one you are on. You currently have one guardian talent, gaining another would probably allow you to grow the class faster.”
“So I’m guessing if I’m going to use this, I should do it now, but is there any reason not to?”
“Almost everyone is very excited when they get talent stones. Even if they can’t use them, they are often more valuable than spells and class stones, other than the quartz ones.”
He parsed that for a second and then realized the qualifier. “Why did you say almost anyone?”
“There are some who feel that our Path is defined not just by our own thoughts and actions, but that we are also influenced by our talents. Some try to control the talents they gain so as to prevent an unexpected divergence from their chosen destiny. What you gained is a general class talent stone. There are also talent stones that unlock one randomly from any of your classes. Much rarer are specific talent stones. These guarantee which talent you unlock. They only use those stones so that they can guide their growth.”
“If they are so rare, wouldn’t that be hard to do?”
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Not with enough money and resources. You might remember me mentioning core worlds. These are places with unimaginable wealth for those of us living on a rim world. Such a thing is easily possible for them.” There was a note of both disgust at the waste and jealousy at the resources in her tone.
“Well, I don’t have a specific path I’m aiming for. Should I just use it?”
“Definitely. Every talent you gain makes you stronger and allows you to grow faster. You are not some core scion who has the luxury of choices. You need to become a monster if you want to make it to the top.”
Alan wasn’t happy with her choice to use the word monster, but he got her point. He held the talent stone in his hand. It was made of quartz and was slightly smaller than the class stones from before. It had a shield symbol on it, the kind of giant tower shield people imagine when they think of a shield wall. He paused for a moment, but Tamee was right, he needed to grow.
He wasn’t turning into a monster, even if he was killing things left and right. This was a moral dilemma he had already faced in the army. The fact that he was doing more killing now than ever before was just a product of the environment. Without growth he would be weak, and without strength this world and any chance he had of helping the rest of humanity would pass him by.
Absorbing the talent stone he felt a strange rush of energy. It was almost like the spike of pain he got from a class stone, or the lesser one from a spell, but instead of all of that knowledge being pumped into his brain giving him a headache it felt like a pleasant feeling of fullness. Was he becoming inured to it, or turning into some kind of a masochist after repeated trauma?
Checking over his status Alan noted the new talent was Taunt. It made sense that a guardian would have that, but it was unclear how it would work. If it had been an ability, something he could do, then it made some sense. The actual specifics on how you could force someone to attack only you were not clear outside of a video game, but he had been told before that these talents were not actions to take, but improvements to how he performed. Maybe Alan would be really good at insulting people now? Your father reeks of elderberry!
He also noticed something that made him call up Tamee again. “Hey, why did my scholar class just advance a bunch after absorbing that stone?”
“Let me ask you this, did you notice any difference in how it felt to absorb the stone compared to other stones you absorbed?” She asked coyly.
“Well, yes. It almost felt like I enjoyed the pain. I was honestly worried I was starting to like it.”
“Now I want you to think about your scholar talent.” She sounded like one of his old math teachers who was always trying to lead him to the answer instead of just telling him. Alan may have eventually learned more that way, but it was incredibly frustrating in the moment. He didn't know if this was just how she did things, or if asking questions was less risky than giving straight answers. She was back under observation now that the Network was no longer in charge.
His scholar talent was understanding, and the irony had been driving him nuts since he didn’t know what it did. But then it clicked into place, at least partially. When he absorbed a class, or even a talent stone he was gaining information, or understanding something new. Maybe his talent helped with that?
“Ok, so it must be related to my understanding talent, but it seems weird if all it does is make the learning a pleasant experience. It must do something else, right?” he asked.
“I can’t answer that question, that would be too much like instruction. Let me just say that Understanding is one of the most sought after scholar talents. A specific talent stone for Understanding could sell for enough to buy you the entire set of fighter talents.”
Well now he felt like he was cheating. Not only did Alan have all the classes, but he had some pretty good talents too apparently. He wasn’t going to complain too much though, anything that helped him would eventually help his fellow humans.
Alan was still standing just inside the dungeon. He had made his way to the entrance a while ago, but had wanted to finish his conversation with Tamee before he went outside. With the talk over he was about to leave when something occurred to him. He raced back to the mining encampment. It wasn’t that far, so for fun he tested out his new body and his boots that improved his stability. He didn’t have a radar gun, but he must have reached over 40 kilometers an hour.
In hindsight this might have been a mistake. When he exited the tunnel and sprinted for the gate, the guards called out an alarm. They weren’t worried about Alan, they recognized him from when he had left a short time ago. However, they must have thought something was after him. A man sprinting like he was being chased by a dragon right after the town discovered they had a new enemy would panic anyone. He tried his best to calm them down. Several more guards rushed to the gate before Alan could explain that he was just running to test himself. There were quite a few scowls before they let him inside. Luckily Urpo was not one of the guards, that would have made the whole situation much worse.
Alan made his way through the streets back to the main square. There were just as many people as the first time he came through town but their shoulders were more hunched and there was a hurry in their step. This was a camp on edge.
When he made it to the main square he turned not toward the miner’s guild but to the store. It was a two story building with a few windows in the front. There was even glass in them with large wooden shutters to seal them at night. Like the other stone buildings it showed age, but care as well. While this was a camp and not a true village it looked to have been around a long time. Dwarves, unsurprisingly, were a people who knew solid work.
Entering the store he found all manner of items. There were not as many weapons or pieces of armor as you might expect, but they were not what truly interested Alan anyway. Instead his eyes were drawn to the collection of smaller items and food supplies. He made his way to the counter and was greeted by Folca, an older dwarf with much gray in his beard. He still looked like he could crush a rock with his bare hands, but he wore a simple, if sturdy, tunic and trousers instead of armor.
“Good day to you young sir. How may I help you?” Alan took an instant liking to him. Something about him shouted integrity and honor. It took him a moment to realize that what he had taken for instinct was in fact a reflection of his growing aura reading skill. It was almost like he could get a sense of the storekeeper’s soul. It was still only the barest of readings, but this could prove useful when dealing with new people.
“I have been doing a lot of cooking by campfire recently and I was wondering if you had a grill I could place over the fire to cook on.” He wasn’t ruled by his stomach as much since joining the tutorial, but when he did eat he wanted something better than what he had managed on his own so far.
“I do indeed have a few items that should work for you. What size are you thinking?”
They discussed Alan’s needs and he ended up buying a grill, a small pot, a bowl, a metal spoon, and a fork. All together it was only four silver.
“You will also be wanting a ladle if you are going to be making soup or a nice stew. Can I also interest you in some spices?”
“Folca, you are the finest storekeep I’ve ever met. While I am thinking about it, do you happen to have a bedroll?”
At the end of the trip he had spent all eight of the silver he had earned from the mining expedition, but he was feeling great. Alan also had thought to get some new clothes while he was there but the only ones the store had made up already were sized for a dwarf and that was just a little too small for him. Folca offered to have something crafted special, but Alan figured that wouldn’t help since the dungeon would reset when he left and he wasn’t going to wait around till it was done.
Alan had also picked up an old shovel and a battered pickaxe. These were much more pricey than the rest and he would never have been able to afford it without the tip he had learned from Thadrick. Mana infused quartz stones were apparently very valuable. During down time while mining he had been surreptitiously pouring mana into one of his smaller quartz stones. He had only been able to charge it for maybe twenty minutes all together, but it was enough to impart a noticeable glow. With these stones being so valuable he wanted to keep his ability to create them a secret.
He had worried about trying to sell one, but after realizing this dungeon was about to reset he felt he could take the risk. He had been able to trade that stone for the two hand-me-down tools. It was also a humbling exchange. While Alan had thought these stones valuable, it was less valuable than a new pick or shovel. They would not be the bottomless source of wealth he had first thought them to be.
It wasn’t until he was walking out of the town and back to the entrance that he had a horrible thought. “Tamee, if I buy stuff in a dungeon, can I take it out of the dungeon with me?”
There was an audible snicker and then, “I was wondering if you had thought about that. No, you can’t. It will all disappear, only looted items and rewards persist.”
“What?! Why didn’t you tell me before I bought all this stuff?” He felt like an idiot, and after getting so excited to try out his new supplies he was devastated.
“Just kidding, as long as you complete the dungeon you can get anything you found or bought.” Her laughter was like a physical blow.
“You are not a nice person.
“Don’t be like that Alan, it ruins all the fun. Besides, your face was hilarious. Totally worth it.” Internally he agreed it was probably funny from her perspective, but he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of saying so.
All in all he had spent just under six hours in this dungeon which made it about two hours outside. The sun hadn’t set yet when he came out, not even the false sunset behind the mountains. For him, though, it had been a little more than two days since he had last slept. He decided to make an early night of it and would look for a good place to make camp.
Alan had to figure something out first, “you never mentioned if wild animals are still a thing. Do I need to find a secure place to camp?”
“So, the last valley will still be full of beasts. They should continue growing till they hit level five like the boss and max out there. But those are just the dungeon-created beasts. This tier will not have any dungeon-created beasts, but there are naturally occurring ones.”
“That went over my head. What is the difference between a naturally occuring one and a dungeon created one? Aren’t they all created by a dungeon since we are, you know, in a dungeon?”
“This dungeon is so large that its core releases a ton of mana. That mana saturates the environment.”
Alan interrupted her, “Is that the energy I feel the leaves of the trees absorbing?”
“Yes, it is also that mana that started changing the trees. I’m sure you noticed it. Occasionally enough mana gathers in a certain area and it can condense to cause something to appear. This is most often some kind of plant, we call them mana fruits, or a resource. However, it can also be a beast or sometimes an item.”
“So when you say naturally occurring ones, are you talking about beasts that condense into being from the increased mana?”
“Right again. It is more common in the outside world for already existing plants and beasts to absorb the mana and evolve, but in here there are no animals to absorb that energy so it is more likely to just condense into something.”
Well, that was a fun thought. He was suddenly worried about beasts condensing all around him and being torn to shreds, but Tamee assured him that these were relatively rare events. There were also usually signs that it was about to happen. What it meant for Alan was that tonight he was probably safe since the tier had just opened up, but tomorrow he needed to have something more secure for his campsite.
In preparation for that he checked the mountain face behind the dungeon. While geology was not something he had ever studied, his identify skill was wonderful. After some searching and rock gazing he finally found what he was looking for. He took out his pick and attacked the cliff face. He soon had collected a nice pile of limestone shards. Together with the chert rocks he had gathered earlier he was two thirds of the way to making mortar. With access to a water source he would be able to build a house with rocks. Why use wood when you could have a stone fortress. That would be for another time though. Tonight it was going to be camping under the stars.
He took out his last set of rocks and made a fire pit. His habit of leaving the fire pits behind so that he didn’t have to wait for the rocks to cool had depleted his store of stones. The area he was in now did not have a lot of trees or bushes that he could try to burn, but he had the trimmings from all of his crafting at the end of tier one. This made for nice kindling and fuel. Alan soon had a fire going and cooked a slab of boar on the grill. He had even added a little salt to it. He was really excited to try out both the boar meat and the cooking tools he had just bought. While that was roasting he worked on sharpening his daggers. He only had one done by the time the food was finished so he set that aside for now.
Using the knife he hadn’t sharpened yet, he cut up the boar steak into smaller chunks right there on the grill and put it in his new bowl. His ability to deal with the heat of the fire had improved a lot with his growing constitution. The first bite was heaven. It was cooked all the way through but was still juicy. It was a little tough, but that was expected from a wild animal. The salt acted as a flavor booster and it was worth the hefty price he had paid for the small amount he got.
His campsite by the lake had spoiled him and he didn’t have anywhere to wash his bowl in water nearby, so instead he used the sandy dirt here by the dungeon to scrub it and then brushed the dirt out the best he could. It would have to work for now. He went back to sharpening the pugio. Alan had already fixed his own aura while sharpening the seax. He hadn’t spent any time that night trying to make his aura stronger, which was the second part of cultivating, because he had decided that would be part of his morning routine.
Instead, he was putting more mana into his sharpening stone while restoring the edge to his dagger. The energy grid inside the rock was already considerably stronger than when he first managed to reinforce it, but he wanted to see how far it could go. Would it be possible to infinitely improve its hardness?
With his evening chores done he laid out the bedroll and luxuriated in the pliant surface. The fabric wasn’t as soft as the coyote fur, but the cushion on the roll more than made up for it. He had only a moment to say goodnight to Tamme before he was once more lost in a dreamless sleep.
