Chapter 7: The Crystal Shaman

It was quite rare, but certain dungeon monsters could be “Evolved”, granting them strength and capabilities beyond their normal status. An Evolved monster could usually cause problems for hunters a level or two above its own. An Evolved BOSS monster… unless you were quite over-leveled for the usual boss, standard protocol was to run and get help.

Allegedly, Evolved monsters were more common in dungeons that had been cleared too frequently by high-level hunters. There was a balance to be kept, where monsters were hunted enough that they didn’t leave the dungeon, but not so much that the dungeon started enhancing them. What Risa hadn’t heard about was the dungeon having a vendetta against the hunter who did the over-hunting. But that HAD to be what was happening now.

Martin had quickly wised up that they were in actual danger, and formed a sizable barrier from the ground below, surrounding the trio. Sammi was the first to ask, “What the hell just happened?” Martin seemed to be the most knowledgeable. “Looks like the dungeon is more powerful than we were led to believe. I bet it was getting ready to have a breakout soon, and we wrecked its plans by so completely ruining its boss chamber.” Risa had heard of dungeon breakouts, where masses of monsters swarmed the entrance, but had no idea one as simple as the Proving Ground was capable of that. “Are you saying the dungeon was… hiding its true power?”

Martin gave her a quick nod. “It’s happened before, though not recently. My father once told me about a low-level desert dungeon that suddenly broke out a sandworm the size of a house. Some dungeons are just smarter than others, we don’t know why.” They started to hear what sounded like shattering glass outside the barrier. Martin suddenly had to concentrate more, and his staff began to glow.

“Crystal Manipulation… quite rare, and not worth it for combat. Unless you’re surrounded by crystals, I guess. This guy turned his weakness into a strength. My Staff of Orderly Earth can keep up for now, but he’s playing for keeps… and I don’t know how much mana he has. Any-“ *crash* “-Any ideas, girls? Because we’re kinda stuck here until I can give my full attention to getting us out.”

Sammi nodded and began to use Weak Curse Inscription on her arrows. “Curses small enough to fit on arrowheads only last for a few minutes, so we need to do this quick. He didn’t look like he had much in the way of armor, so I only need a reprieve from those crystal shards.” As if to punctuate her point, more shards shattered against Martin’s wall. Risa gulped. “I… think I can distract him. But it’s probably gonna hurt. Do we have any healing potions?” Sammi opened up her backpack, where she had two metal flasks. “We reserved two. The lesser healing potion is for me, or you I suppose, while the greater… is meant to only be used by Young Master Martin, in case of emergencies.”

Keeping a life-saving potion exclusively reserved for a noble would have ordinarily annoyed Risa a bit, but considering said noble was the only reason they weren’t being impaled right now, she was going to give it a pass. Plus, the greater potion would likely make a level 6 like her sick if they were already using other potions… which was exactly what Risa intended to do. She first took out and drank the Kobloid’s Strength potion she bought, as while it mainly improved musculature it also gave a small amount of skin hardening. It tasted surprisingly good, for something made of boiled down teeth and claws.

Then she drank the half-baked Potion of Lesser Swiftness. That one tasted about as good as a dung heap smelled in the summer, but she forced it down. At first, she didn’t notice that much of a difference. Then she tried to say “okay, I’m going out” but it came out as a strange jumble of syllables. The other two members of her party gave her a strange look. There was no time to explain herself, though. She turned to run out the side of the barrier, only to find herself turning in a complete circle. Now they were really giving her a strange look. The effects of this potion were worse than she thought.

She forced herself to turn what she felt should be about half-way around, and her vision blurred, then jumped to the correct direction. ‘Okay’, she thought. Aaron said the potion was best for running in a straight line, so that was what Risa would attempt to do. She picked a crystal in the distance and ran. It was a bizarre experience. Her mind was just… too slow, compared to her body. Her vision was blurry, and it felt like she was running in a fierce wind. Only her practice with sprinting kept her going. After all, if she consciously thought of where to put her next footfall, she would probably go sprawling to the ground immediately.

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Soon, she suddenly felt a tremendous pain in her arm. A crystal had gotten her, and instantly pierced her hand-me-down armor. She almost tripped but knew her speed was the only thing keeping her alive, so she forced herself to keep going. She stressed Basic Awareness to its maximum, hoping that would give her some warning for the next crystal strike. She immediately got a huge warning right in front of her, and she realized she was about to run into the very landmark she had focused on at high speed.

She quickly tried to turn, only to feel herself starting to trip. She made the somewhat mad choice to close her eyes and focus on the exact motions of going into a roll. Surprisingly, she managed to roll forward and get back up on her feet. And if her Basic Awareness was correct, the monster hadn’t expected that either, with a crystal zooming past where she had just been. She then heard it give off a screech and guessed that one of Sammi’s arrows hit true.

Risa kept running towards various points of the room, each time barely managing to right herself before she hit something. But eventually, she noticed a problem. There were no more crystals coming her way. In theory, that was a good thing, but it also meant the kobloid mage had given up on shooting her way. Probably because the only actual damage it’s received so far came from Sammi, while Risa had just been running around the edges of the room. She needed to convince it that she was a threat as well.

Her body still in overdrive, she made to go closer to the center of the arena. Basic Awareness immediately warned her of a crystal directly coming for her, so she attempted another roll. The new wound in her back told her she was not entirely successful, but she was still in motion, so it presumably didn’t hit her spine. Another screech told her the tactic was at least successful. She wished she knew more about Sammi’s skill: how many times could she use it? How much damage did it do? Did it only cause damage to the stamina pool, or did it hurt the beast’s mana pool as well? If only Risa knew more about magical skills…

Risa risked a look back at Martin’s barrier and saw that it was substantially worse for wear. The young mage must be running low on mana. Risa needed to end this, now. She took the risk of turning mid-run, trying to go through the motions in her mind without letting her blurred vision affect her. Her ankle complained but didn’t seem to actually be twisted. She was now on a direct collision course with the monster. Even in her blurred vision, she could see it turn from Martin and Sammi over to her. This was it.

With as much focus as she could muster, she drew her sword. Addled as she was, she still managed to avoid slicing into her own arms or armor. She could make out the kobloid in the distance levitating multiple shards of crystal. At that same moment, Basic Awareness screamed out. She needed to stop those crystals or become a pincushion. And so, she did something unusual. She closed her eyes. The potion was supposed to give her a faster body and a faster mind, but it only did the former. But she had years of training with her Master, far more than the name Basic Awareness would imply. Skills were not the maximum; they were the minimum. She willed herself to be more aware of her surroundings.

A feeling of air rushing towards her. The first crystal. She leapt over to the right, all whilst running forwards at top speed. It missed. A small *clink*. Two crystals shot forward together. She focused Basic Strength Infusion into her legs and jumped over them. One scratched her foot, but she persevered. The kobloid grumbled. Then, a new sound, no, a new feeling. In her mind’s eye, Risa saw… structure, order, beauty, sharpness. A palace constructed of hard angles, each facet shining in the sun. And then she saw that palace shifting, moving, in patterns she could barely begin to understand. What was…

Risa narrowly dodged a much larger crystal aimed right for her head, and then she was right on the monster. Basic Swordsmanship kicked in, and she followed the motions it recommended, first slicing the creature’s arm off, and then its screaming head.

Greater Kobloid Crystal Shaman (Lv 12) Killed. Experience Gained.

Level Up! (6 -> 8)

Basic Swordsmanship Level Up (3 –> 4)

Basic Awareness Level Up (2 –> 5)

New Skill (Hidden World) Unlocked

Mana Pool Unlocked

Risa, bleeding from several wounds and totally exhausted, collapsed to the ground, hearing only concerned voices from her party members before falling unconscious.