James took a moment to check his notifications while Barbara and Connie helped Doris out of her chain mail. Doris had her Gambeson on under the Chainmail, but she had also packed the Leather Jerkin in her backpack. She didn't need the help putting that on, but her sisters helped her anyway.

Back Attack +1

Stealth +1

Congratulations! Stealth has reached level 10.

All attacks made from Stealth automatically use the damage bonus from Back Attack.

James wasn't surprised to see that the bonus from Stealth reaching level 20 was the same as what he had when he was the Were Tiger. It made the most sense. This gave him a bonus of 10% per level of Back Attack on top of the Critical that was automatically done when attacking from Stealth.

"This dungeon is so much better than I thought," Connie bubbled with excitement.

"Really?" James asked, not seeing what was so impressive.

"We need the experience. The three of us got our level last night. This morning, we got about 50% of our level from the goblins outside. We got another 6% from these four goblins here. This dungeon is giving us a lot more experience than outside. At this rate, we should level again today. If not twice!"

James looked at his progress and noticed that he gained about 20% from the four goblins. That was putting him on par with what he was earning at this level when he was the Were Tiger. The fact that the women were making half as much was because they were not Champions. But they were earning as much as they were because they were at a party with a Champion. He could see the merits of this party thing. He just wasn't sure if they would be able to continue after the dungeon was cleared.

"Okay, next step. What is the plan?" James asked everyone

"If there are no other traps, do what we did last time," Barbara offered.

"I think the Shaman should be a priority target," James stated.

"I can deal with the Shaman," Doris offered.

"I will cast the Flash Spell, and then we charge in and kill them," Connie said excitedly. James was getting a little worried about her mental state.

"Sounds like a good plan. Let's see how it works." James smiled as he got into position to meditate, "Let me get back my Mana, and we can be off."

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Even with his eyes closed and his head turned the other way, James could still tell when the Flash Spell went off. The screams and shouts of the goblins were another excellent indication. Getting up from the floor, he charged into the room. Doris has already claimed the Shaman, so James just ran for the goblin furthest away. This didn't stop him from jabbing a couple of them in the leg as he ran past. Barbara was right behind him but stopped at the entrance. She drew and released an arrow at one of the goblins James had injured.

Connie arrived a moment later with her bow and started shooting goblins closer to the other exit than James. The last to enter the chamber was Doris. Even without metal armour, it is evident to everyone she had no Skill in Stealth. Barbara had even loaned Doris her boots to give her at least something. It was barely enough to get close enough to the goblins. This confirmed for James that the goblins outside the dungeon knew that their party was there and was ready for them. It was only the Flash Spell that turned the tides of the battle. This time was no exception.

James reached his blind target and went for a quick kill, jabbing for the throat. The goblin was unaware of James but was not stupid either and moved around erratically to avoid attacks. It was probably expecting arrows, so it screamed in surprise when he was stabbed in the chest and again in the face. Although it was not dead, it was seriously injured, and James went in for the kill.

It was then that James heard a familiar scream behind him. Turning, he saw Connie and Barbara surrounded by a green mist that was causing them to cough and choke. The Flash Spell did not blind the Goblin Shaman. Doris had engaged it, but not before it got its Stinking Cloud Spell off.

James reacted quickly to the situation. Connie and Barbara are out of action, for then the goblins would be blind. James moved swiftly to the group of goblins and started jabbing them with his rapier as he began to fire off PSI Bolts. He never tried to do both simultaneously but found that if he used the Power when he was withdrawing the weapon, it was enough time for him to use the Power before having to jab or Thrust with his rapier.

The result was a lot of noise, both from his PSI Bolts and the screams of pain from the goblins. By the time the blindness wore off, he was standing in the middle of them, and all of them had been stabbed by him multiple times. Due to his proximity and the fact that he had attacked them, they all jumped toward him with their swords. Now James used his shield to block and his sword to parry their attacks while launching a succession of PSI Bolts.

These goblins were tougher and took the usual four PSI Bolts to kill. This was on top of his damage to them with his rapier. At last count, James could use the PSI Bolt Power twenty times at full PSI. He wasn't at full PSI but pretty close and could get off fourteen of them before the last one fell. Doris had finally killed the Goblin Shaman with the aid of Connie and her Wand of Acid Bolt. Barbara had helped James with the last two goblins by shooting them in the back. They won, but everyone was hurt: James from the goblins, Doris from the Shaman's staff and Connie and Barbara from the Stinking Cloud.

Doris used her Soothing Touch Spell to heal herself and her sisters. James didn't bother as he knew he could use Heal Self III after resting for a bit.

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James sat down and got into position to start Meditating when Connie came over with the Shaman's staff.

Holding the staff out to James, she asked, "Can you Analyze this, please. I think it is Enchanted."

James didn't need to touch the item, but he thought it helped his chances. Analyzing the staff, he shook his head.

"Nope, sorry, but it looks cool. You still want it?" he said, offering it back to her.

"No, that is okay; I had hoped. We did find a few potions and some gold, but nothing exciting."

"You are no longer excited by finding gold?" James said with a grin.

"You know what I mean," she said with a smile. Turning, she headed back to her sisters.

James spent more than half an hour Meditating. He started by dropping his three buffs (Augment Attribute I, Augment Skill I, and Harden Skin) and then Meditated to the full. After healing all his wounds, he started putting the buffs back on, one at a time, meditating after each buff was added. It took a while, but it was the most efficient way to get back to full PSI as quickly as possible.

Before letting the women know he was ready to go, James checked his notifications quickly.

Endurance +1

Armour - Medium +1

PSI - Targeted +1

Sword - Glrick (M) +1

When James stood up, the rest of the party started getting ready to go.

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James explored both passages. There was a trap in each, and James could locate both. Both tunnels curved back around and ended in a room with four goblins. There were two level 9 Goblin Warriors and two level 8 Goblin Crossbowmen. The crossbowmen were armoured with light crossbows and daggers and wore leather armour. There was a single exit to the room at the back. Since it didn't matter which room, the group decided to take the first one James explored after he recovered his mana from using Shadow Meld and Shadow Sense in both rooms.

Barbara adeptly disarmed the trap, and everyone got into position to charge the room. Connie used the Flash Spell, and James ran into the room, closely followed by Doris. Barbara started shooting her bow at the goblin at the back. James and Doris each picked one and felled them quickly. James stabbed him twice with his sword and then slammed it with his shield, knocking it into the wall. James didn't wait to see the blood trail it left on the wall before charging the third one. He got there just before Doris and landed a stab to its chest as she swiped with the flaming sword and partially decapitated the poor creature.

Doris and James grinned at each other proudly when Barbara called out, "Reinforcements coming!"

Sure enough, four goblins came rushing out of the room. The front two had wooden shields up and at the ready, while the two at the back had their crossbows up and ready. Before James or Doris could do anything, the goblin crossbowmen fired their bolts at James. He was the one wearing the heaviest armour. Crossbow bolts ignored half of all armour, making them excellent against heavily armoured people. Missing half of his 26 armour rating still hurt. James still had 7 from his Dexterity and Evasion. He hoped he had the total of 10 AR from his Hardened Skin I, but he wasn't sure. Both bolts hit him, one in the leg and one in the shoulder. They didn't sink very far, but they both hurt. James found out later that the bolt had done 34 damage to his leg and 26 damage to his shoulder, even with armour. The damage was significant but not crippling.

James started casting Heal Self III while dodging the sword thrust by one of the goblins who charged into the room. James moved forward with the thrust dodge and slammed the goblin with his shield, knocking it back a couple of steps. Before it could regain its balance, James jabbed it with his sword and then did a Slice at its neck. The Slice missed, but the goblin had to back up even more. James kept up the pressure and made a Lunge. Fully-extending his arm and moving his shoulders forward, James caught the goblin in the gut and twisted his wrist before pulling the blade back. The goblin followed the blade back towards James and fainted with its shield, which James fell for, and then it sank its blade into James' thigh, just above the cop of his Greaves.

James cried out as the blade sank into his leg, and the PSI power he was gathering to use Heal Self III dissipated. Doris leaped forward and shoulder-checked the Goblin Warrior James was fighting. It staggered to the side as it got hit by an Acid Bolt from Connie. Barbara had killed the first Goblins Crossbowmen who had arrived as reinforcements, and Doris had killed her Goblin Warrior. The second Crossbowman was still alive and was now taking fire from Barbara. James tried to stand but opted to use Heal Self III to cover some of his Health, especially since he noticed the sword wound had caused a Bleed Effect. Doris stabbed at the goblin, who James had been fighting, and was able to kill it quickly. The second Goblin Crossbowman was peppered with arrows from Connie and Barbara and decided to run. Fortunately, PSI Bolt had a 1 second casting time, and James could hit it twice and kill it before it made it to the exit.

When Doris came over, James held up his hand, "Don't heal. It is just a waste."

Doris paused and looked at Connie when she rushed over to kneel beside James, "What happened?"

James shook his head, "Some bad luck. The two crossbow bolts hit forever 50 each, and the sword to the leg got a Bleed Crit."

Casting Heal Self III, James breathed a little easier. He pulled the bolt out of the shoulder, reaching up, "I loss less than half, but the leg wound gave me pause."

"I'll say," Doris commented. "You dropped your guard when your leg gave out."

James nodded in agreement, "Ya. Still not used to fighting this way."

Connie cocked her head a little, "How do you normally fight?"

"Usually from a distance. Target is usually dead in the first couple of seconds of contact. But when we close, it is fast, and we move on. Nothing like this." James explained.

"Why are you fighting like this then?" Barbara asked.

James thought about it for a while, "Your world doesn't have the weapons I fight with. So, there is no easy transition. I have to start from scratch."

James looked up and smiled as he finished his third Heal Self III. "I tried fighting hand to hand, but it was still not the same. This way is a little easier to adjust to, but it is still a learning process."

"Were you good? When you fought the way you fought in your world?" Connie asked.

"Yes. One of the elite. But here's so different," James looked down and wiped the blood off his leg. There wasn't even a mark on his leg where the blade had cut through. His Cuisses had taken a bit of damage, but he marvelled that there was no mark. "We also don't have any magic."

Connie gasped, "No, Magic! How do you survive? How do you heal?"

"Very slowly," James replied with a chuckle.

"It takes most people five to seven days to heal all their health back," Doris offered.

James smiled, "It takes us weeks, if not months, to recover from injuries. A broken leg can take up to three months to heal completely. Sometimes longer, depending on how bad the break."

"Your mortality rate must have been very high," Barbara frowned.

"Oh, we had a lot of other ways to kill each other. Sickness and injury were never a high risk in the last century."

The women just shook their heads in wonder.

"We should check these guys for loot and move on," Doris offered.

James stood up and stretched his leg. The pain was gone, along with the bolt. His healing had forced the bolt out of his leg. He didn't see anything of interest and moved to the exit. Keeping watch while the women searched the bodies, he wasn't surprised when Connie came up to him with a smile.

"Only coin purses and a few more potions, nothing else of value. Mind you, Doris is collecting their swords for Iron-weight."