Chapter 5: The Party

On their walk through the village, Risa tried to explain what she knew about the Proving Ground. Martin didn’t really seem to care, although surprisingly Sammi wrote it down in a little booklet she had squirreled away somewhere. On the flip side, her new companions told her that Sammi had Basic Archery alongside her free skill, Weak Curse Inscription. It allowed her to focus an amount of mana into an object to produce a rune that could weaken whoever touched it. Risa didn’t push for specifics but assumed it sapped stamina from the target.

A skill like Sammi’s could probably get you into any of several Academies, but she was part of a family that was subservient to Duke Layborne III. Dukes and Dutchesses were the highest authority besides the royal family and the Archmages, so just being their servants was a decent deal. Martin, meanwhile, was 5th in line for his father’s Earldom, that father being three places away from inheriting Dukedom from the quite old Duke himself. Martin’s hypothetical children would be so many places removed, they wouldn’t even be allowed to call themselves Laybornes anymore.

Martin himself was fairly unconcerned about the whole thing. According to him, he greatly preferred the adventures inherent in hunting and magic to the dull politics of running cities. He did muse on the prospect of out-performing at least some of his siblings, but that was more due to personal rivalries than any desire to become an Earl. This put Risa slightly more at ease, knowing she didn’t stumble ass-backwards into the crown prince of the land. She still didn’t feel the need to mention that she had forgotten which noble family ‘Layborne’ was.

Still, crown prince or not, having even the most minor of nobles in your party meant you should prioritize their life over your own… or else. Risa wasn’t sure who their “usual third member” was, as the two didn’t mention them much, but they would probably be the one to arrest her if things went sideways. Hoping to get her mind off such topics, she asked Martin what his skills were. It was a bit rude to ask a seasoned hunter what all their skills were, and even more so if they were a noble, but when you knew someone was only going to have two or three, and needed to work with them, that changed.

Martin seemed a little surprised she asked, but not too offput. As he said, he was an Earth Mage, born with Earth Manipulation and then trained in Basic Mana Absorption. Risa asked if he didn’t mean Lesser Earth Manipulation, but he was proud to confirm that yes, he was one of the few whose free skill wasn’t its most basic form. Risa hummed, wishing she had that kind of luck. He then asked about her skills in turn.

He was pretty unsurprised to hear she had Basic Swordsmanship, given the shiny steel sword hanging from her hip. He nodded when she mentioned her free skill, then told her about one of his brothers that had only received it after many grueling months of alternating between strength training and combat. It made her feel a bit better about it, knowing that even nobles considered it a worthwhile skill to get. Internally, she was still lamenting her lack of a magic skill, though.

They eventually made it to the dungeon entrance: a stone outpost crisscrossed with wrought iron bars and manned by a bored looking city guard. She gave a brief look at their Guild cards, and then a slightly longer look at Martin’s paper saying they were fighting the boss today, then allowed them inside. Other dungeons had stronger protection from monsters breaking out, but simple kobloids only rated a locked door. Then, they were at the actual portal to the dungeon. It was a strange thing, a floating sphere of distorted light that you could vaguely make out the cave-like nature of the dungeon inside. Stepping through it, they found themselves in said cave, alongside an identical sphere that showed them a view of the outpost they just left.

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Risa got the first kill, on a kobloid that had been waiting behind a stalagmite. Risa had only seen its shadow via one of the glowing crystals that gave the cave light. Despite its low level, that was a pretty sneaky trick for a kobloid. Still, it only took one sword slash to cut it in two.

Lesser Kobloid Scout (Lv 2) Killed. Experience Gained.

Sammi nodded, while Martin looked bored. They pushed forward through the cave. The next few kobloids were less subtle, screeching their displeasure at the home invasion. Sammi showed off her skill in archery, getting multiple headshots with her arrows. As they neither delt nor blocked damage, Risa and Marten didn’t gain any experience.

It was when a few higher-level warriors flanked them that Martin finally came into action. He didn’t use his staff, rather he waved his other hand and closed his eyes. Soon after, the ground bulged upward at an impressive rate, making a knee-high barrier between the kobloids and the humans. Sammi then took out the warriors with 2 arrows each. Risa likely would have had to take a hit or two, had the situation happened to her alone. Perhaps there were advantages to working with a party.

They eventually entered a larger cave that had many more glowing crystals lodged in the walls. Risa had only done this room a few times, slowly and carefully. This was the entrance to the boss chamber, and as such was the hardest room in the dungeon save for the boss chamber itself. The dungeon was not high level enough to produce a sub-boss, so instead it typically kept 5 of its best warriors here.

As she was considering their next move, Sammi loosed an arrow at a scout that had been following them. Unexpectedly, it lived for long enough to give out a dying screech audible to the rest of the chamber. ‘Well, there goes the element of surprise’, Risa thought. The 5 kobloid warriors in full armor came running. With a thought, Risa activated Basic Strength Infusion and felt her muscles tense in response.

She was dimly aware that Sammi was aiming at the warriors in the back, so she went right up to meet the warrior in the front. It went to stab her with its own weapon, but she parried it with only minor effort. Then she swung downwards at the kobloid’s less armored legs. The screech told her she drew blood. It then tried to repay the favor, but she dodged to the side and cut off its tail. The warrior tried to run, but Risa was quick to swing her blade around the kobloid’s neck.

Lesser Kobloid Warrior (Lv 6) Killed. Experience Gained.

Risa then went to kill another warrior, only to find that… the other four were already bodies on the ground. Three were shot full of arrows, while the fourth was impaled on a stalagmite that must have risen from the ground right where it stood. She was beginning to see why Martin had so much confidence.

As Basic Strength Infusion faded, Martin nodded. “Interesting approach, you focused on totally disabling it, rather than going for the kill immediately. Good for a boss monster, although I’m not sure that a base monster really deserves such treatment. Especially not a Level 6." Risa knew he would mention that. “Better safe than sorry, yeah?” Martin looked thoughtful. “Perhaps… although, that approach is not as valued by the Aleph, so perhaps not.” Risa sighed. “Let’s… just get to the boss room.”

The boss room was a cave that had been seemingly chiseled away into a perfectly circular shape. Rather than many crystals providing the light, a single, massive one hung from the ceiling. Crude spikes fashioned out of stone dotted the chamber, and Risa knew there were a couple of conveniently placed pits for humans to fall into. Opposite the entrance was another door, which Risa knew led to where the dungeon core was. No point in going down there unless she wanted to shatter the core and get the whole village furious at her in the process.

In the center of the chamber was the sleeping form of a much larger kobloid than any they had seen before. As soon as Risa stepped into the chamber proper, the thing instantly stopped snoring and slowly stood up. It had better armor than Risa had seen on the other kobloids, and also carried a large, spiked mace. Risa got ready for the biggest fight of her life thus far.

And then the crystal on the ceiling, loosened by Earth Manipulation, fell on the Kobloid Chief, killing it instantly.

Risa and Sammi looked at Martin and his now-glowing bismuth staff in incredulity. He smiled sheepishly. “I mean, come on, it was RIGHT there. Can you really blame me?”