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Vol3 Chapter 3
The Adventure beneath the Mountain
The subterranean city of Greyfell was built by the gnomes 1400 years ago out the remains of a mana stone mine. Although most of the mana stone has been completely mined out, the rock that contained the mana stone was highly sturdy. Architects, miners, and geologists were brought forth and for 700 years the mines were enlarged, dug out, and supported until at last, a massive city was built beneath the whole of the mountain rage.
However, during the centuries of construction, thousands of secrets were dug up and forgotten. Rumors of treasures lost, found, and buried attracted adventurers of every variety to the catacombs that exist in the mountain, beneath the surface of Greyfell.
Thessalanos woke up on a large bed in a small room. The man she considered her brother was away, as he often was. It was not his fault, that was how foreigners lived, between Versailles and their own world. The holy dragon did not require a guardian, but she did like to be around Don. Due to his high connection to the divine, the air around him had a nourishing effect on her. She was stronger, faster, and above all, required less training to become mightier when he was around. Regardless of how strong she became, she knew she would stay with him for as long as he would have her.
After fully awakening and stretching her dragon form, she used polymorph to change to what Don referred to as her ‘half-elf’ form. It was as small as she was young but size meant little to a dragon, because even in an altered state with altered physical strength, her magic strength was the same.
Thessa opened the trunk in the room and took out the equipment she would use today. Most of it was made by her brother, the rest acquired elsewhere.
Dragon’s Breath [Fire]
Durability 90/90
Attack 30-37
Range 10
Firing rate-20 shots a minute
The most popular model magic gun from the RX series. The model boasts the highest degree of optional customization of any magic gun on the market.
Requirements
Level 100, INT 220
Custom
Attack and firing rate changes with different cartridge types.
Elemental type can be changed by an artificer.Dragon’s Breath [Lightning]
Durability 90/90
Attack 60-67
Range 11
Firing rate-6 shots a minute
The most popular model magic gun from the RX series. The model boasts the highest degree of optional customization of any magic gun on the market.
Requirements
Level 100, INT 220
Custom
Attack and firing rate changes with different cartridge types.
Elemental type can be changed by an artificer.Leather Gunman belt
Durability 28/30
Defense 3
A custom belt made from monster hide with extra pockets and holsters added for weapons.
Requirements: Level 80, Strength 140
Equips:
Adds 6 quickslots and allows for rapid equipping of select items from weapon holsters.Leather Armor
Durability 55/60
Defense 19
A simple leather top that provided basic protection without lowering maneuverability.
Requirements: Level 80, Strength 140Stiff Leather Shoes
Durability 34/40
Defense 9
Comfortable shoes made to walk over rough, uneven terrain.
Requirements: Level 70, Strength 130
Equips:
No decrease in movement speed on rough or rocky surfaces.Leather pants
Durability 46/50
Defense 12
Simple pants made to last.
Requirements: Level 70, Strength 130Large Goggles
Durability: 14/15
Defense 3
Thick goggles made to protect the eyes
Requirements: Level 50
Equips:
Protects eyes and prevents effects that decrease visual accuracy.
Today Thessa dressed the part of an adventurer. Don had been practicing his tailoring and leather work for weeks and Thessa now had a large variety of different of armors and dresses of various types and colors. She liked the plainer ones when she planned on fighting, but she had pretty ones and fancy ones as well. The eye catching ones made it more fun when walking around the city, but got in the way during combat, and she planned on spending the day training.
Thessa left the dorm, the home Don had been lent when he was accepted as an apprentice artificer. It was built in a tunnel behind the Artificer’s guild for convenience and security, no one other than residents were allowed, since theft of research materials was a large concern.
It had been a month and a half since she moved in, and everyone she passed recognized her.
“Oh, good morning Thessa, how are you today?” An elvish apprentice greeted her as she walked by.
“I’m fine thank you.” She responded. Thessa didn’t like to talk that much but she always greeted those who greeted her, Don taught her that to do otherwise would be rude.
After passing the dorm guardsmen, Thessa walked up the street through the city until she reach the Catacomb entrance. Many areas within were filled with monsters and she had been using them to practice her marksmanship. The guns weren’t as strong as her dragon breath of course, but they were more versatile. Especially since two weeks prior when Don made her custom cartridges she could charge passively. Normally, magic guns were powered by mana cartridges that required large amounts of mana to fully charge and took a lot of time to do so. Due to this, it was not uncommon for magic gunners to spend a few hours charging several cartridges and bringing them all to a battle. That way when a cartridge lost its charge, it could be swapped out. Thessa’s custom cartridges however could be charged passively, just by being around Thessa. It required a bit of mana manipulation on Thessa’s part, but was not actually dragon magic, so it wouldn’t raise any red flags.
Thessa did however have three different cartridge types, each caused the magic guns to fire in a different way, at different rates. The first was a multi-shooter, it packed each shot with a medium charge and could fire them at a fast rate. The second was a burst-shooter, it used a high charge to fire powerful shots, but they took some time to charge the shots. The last was a dynamic shooter, it charged and fired at the same rate, releasing a relatively weak stream of magic fire power from the gun. The elemental type each gun could release could be changed by swapping out a certain magic crystal. Thessa asked Don to make one fire and one lightning, since those were the two most effective types against the common mobs.
Thessa took a seat on a rock around the entrance and watched and listened. The gateway to the Catacombs was always packed with adventurers grouping up before entering. Over a dozen different dungeons had been discovered in the Catacombs, and there were rumors that more existed deeper it. When the mountain was first being dug out, gnome-built automatons were sent in to dig and report back composition. But one batch apparently was bad so they kept digging, for hundreds of years. Monsters that either found their way in or who had already been there filled certain sections of the catacombs and always reappeared no matter how many times they were killed. The catacombs had other secrets as well, but most were rumors of an unreliable nature.
-Raid Party, need more members for the Mutant Mole Rats
-Anyone here a priest? We need a priest! We’re hunting Bots.
-Explorer team, new tunnel discovered, taking all members.
-Forming hunting party, tracking Crystal Worms.
Thessa listened for the shouts to decide what she was going to do. She had already gotten bored with killing rampaging robots and giant mole rats, so that left her with two. Explorer teams were groups that mapped out new areas, if they discovered something they got first shot at it, but discoveries were incredibly rare, so it wasn’t popular. Crystal worms on the other hand, were a rare mob that had a high drop rate for good loot. That being said, Thessa knew she could find a crystal worm on her own any day.
Thessa walked up to the gnome who shouted the request and said, “Hello, I’m a level 115 magic gunner,” and bowed lightly. Once polymorph reached beginner level 5, she could equip class specific equipment without having a class. So even though she was not actually a magic gunner, she could use the guns without a penalty and claim to be the class.
The gnome’s attire marked him as mage. He smiled and said, “Oh good, what gun type?”
Thessa had been used to this question and showed him her guns. There were hundreds of different gun types and each could be used a different way. What kind was used determined how a magic gunner fought.
The gnome looked over her guns and said, “Very nice,” before handing them back and saying, “You will be more than welcome. We leave in two hours, so pack well beforehand and meet back here.”
Thessa went back to sitting and watching. Twice she was approached and offered a party invite but she politely refused. When the time came Thessa met up with the gnome who was with another dozen people. They waited a few minutes more and three more showed up.
The gnome said, “Alright, that’s everyone. Now, it will take about an hour and a half to reach the tunnel entrance. We’ll be going through Grey rock and Dripping pass. Expect encounters with rogue tunnel bots and poisonous tarks. Is everybody ready?”
The whole of the group gave an affirmative nod before the gnome lead them on. Three people, two elves and a dwarf stayed around Thessa and kept pace with her.
The hammer wielding dwarf said to her, "Hello. I’ll keep you safe.”
The elven women said, “You lolicon. She looks like she can protect herself just fine.”
The dwarf looked insulted and said, “What’s wrong with a little chivalry?!”
The male elf replied, “Nothing. But but the last time I saw a chivalrous dwarf, it was riding a flying pig."
The female giggled loudly and the dwarf gave a sour look. She asked Thessa, "What's your name sweetie?"
Thessa could tell from their dialogue they were all foreigners, like her brother. In this situation, Don told her to play the part of a foreigner herself. She didn't understand what he meant by it, but Don once told her that her programming was extremely advanced when compared to normal NPCs, so she could pass as a foreigner if she choose to.
"My name's Thessa. Nice to meet you." She gave a curt little bow which made the elf exclaim, "Aww, you're so cute. My name's Silphy, and these are my brothers, Weed, and Timit."
The fact that the dwarf Timit was a sibling of two elves confirmed they were foreigners, though Thessa had no idea how that worked.
The group made small talk around Thessa, occasionally asking for her input. They had gone on two such explorer parties before, but both were dead ends with nothing more than a few broken digger bots. They continuously repeated the phrase, 'Third time's the charm,' like a good luck chant.
Thessa heard a digging noise. Not the mechanical digging produced by rogue digger bots, but the scrapping of claws against rock. Poisonous tarks ranged in length from one to two meters. They were grey scaled lizards with a bite that inflicted poison about a third of the time.
Before she could say anything, Silphy said aloud, "Tarks incoming." She too had elf ears.
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Timit got out his hammer. Silphy pointed him to the spot that the loudest noise was coming from. A few moments later, a hole in the side of the tunnel appeared and an ugly lizard head emerged. Timit crushed it beneath his hammer and they moved on. Poisonous tarks were only dangerous if they caught you unprepared.
After another hour the group made it to the opening of the newly discovered tunnel.
The gnome said, "Stay alert. Split up if you want to, to the discoverer goes the spoils. We meet back in eight hours. If you don't meet up then either because you left
The group split up into several parties, each taking a different path. Thessa was invited to stay with Silphy's group. They and two other groups went left while the others went right. When they came to a fork their group and the other two split.
Almost a kilometer down the winding tunnel, deep into the mountain, the group came across a dead end and a broken digger robot.
The group gave out a collective sigh of disappointment.
Thessa however was not. She examined the bot closely and said, "This guy didn't break down on its own."
The rest of the group looked back at it, Weed said, " She's right. See the spots? Those are acid burns. I don't know any creatures that use acid attacks."
From depression their faces turned to intrigue and excitement.
Thessa got close to the bot and changed the interior of her nose closer to that of a dragon and took a big whiff. Though her face's outer appearance had not changed, her nose was now far more sensitive. She got the scent of the acid and found it was particularly strong at one part of the tunnel.
"Does anyone have a shovel?" She asked.
Timit took one out of his inventory.
Thessa said, "Here, about two meters that way."
Timit said, "Oh, really? Hmm, why not."
He started digging at the spot Thessa pointed in the direction she stated. After ten minutes his shovel pierced through empty space.
Both Weed and Silphy said, "Ohh."
Timit widened the opening enough for everyone to go through. Timit said, "Well look at that, a new tunnel found at the end of a new tunnel. Let's take a peak."
The other three followed him in. The new area was not a smooth tunnel dug up by robots, it was an irregular cavern shaped and smoothed strangely.
From around a corner came insect like monsters a meter and a half tall. Every part of their bodies ended in a point. Their six sharp, armored legs were connected to the small thorax by small segments.
Timit ran up and started smashing them with his hammer. Silphy took out her bow and shot them as fast as she could. Weed started casting spells.
The first bug struck Timit with its leg, kicking the dwarf like a stone. The wide armor of the insect's legs took Silphy's arrows, protecting the vulnerable thorax hidden behind. Weed cast nature magic that caused earth spikes to come up from and pierce the bug from beneath, but they always moved at the last moment and the spike missed the thorax doing only surface damage.
Thessa took out both of her guns and pulled the triggers. Her right hand shot out a barrage of fireballs that set fire to the bug's legs. Her left hand charged shots that intermittently fired bolts of lightning that chained from bug to bug. The lightning didn't stun the bugs for very long, but the fire sure burned them.
The bugs under the barrage of fireballs were less likely to go forward, so Weed had a better time aiming his earth spikes to deal criticals hits. Timit and Silphy were able to move around and hit the thorax of the bugs the chain lightning attacks stunned, and together, the batch of fifteen or so fell.
Silphy said, "Wow, those guys gave good experience."
Thessa of course required an absurd amount of experience to level, (a negative perk of being a dragon,) but even she felt these bugs were good hunting mobs.
Timit was looking over a fallen bug and said, "Hey, look at this."
The group looked over the item one of the bugs had dropped, it was an raw orange gem that was slightly see-through.
Thessa said, "It's amber. I think." Dragons are all born with a great greed, even Thessa was not an exception. The wind dragon Stribog taught her how to suppress her dragon traits, but she still knew treasure when she saw it.
"Let me see." Timit handed the raw gemstone to his brother who appraised it. "Yep, it's amber. Fossilized tree sap. It has strong nature properties in Royal Road. Properly crafted this could be worth a fortune."
Silphy said, "And it only took a dozen kills to find one. This place is awesome."
Timit said, "Speaking of awesome, little Thessa's a powerhouse, and with the accuracy of a sniper to boot."
The group appraised her highly, something that made her a little embarrassed. Magic guns are not affected by the wielder's stats, their power comes from the cartridges, and can be used as long as the user meets the level and stat requirements of the gun. Besides the fact that this meant she could use magic to fight in public without revealing her true strength, it also meant that the skill she showed while using them was not skill she was born with, but skill she acquired. It was something she practiced and refined, so when she received praise for it, she felt good about it.
Timit said, "Alright guys, so what are we gonna do?"
Weed answered, "Obviously we're gonna keep this place a secret. I can cast earth magic to seal off the entrance. We use it till we can't use it anymore then sell the information on it and split the profits."
Silphy said, "Thessa gets a third, not a fourth, and we split the rest between us. We wouldn't have found this place if not for her."
The rest agreed. Thessa didn't mind, it was mostly chance they found it anyways. The group went further into the insect hive. The bugs dropped an amber piece about every fifty kills, which considering how many were there, was not bad at all.
The time for the group to meet the others came and went. Silphy had an auto-map skill so she could find the party's way out no problem. After twenty hours of hunting, the trio of siblings decided to leave. Thessa stayed of course, she had no reason to leave.
When she couldn't smell the elves and the dwarf anymore, she put away her guns and transformed. Her Gunmanship skill had reached beginner level 8, but when she didn't need to use it, she trained her dragon skills and magic. Until the trio returned, she had a dungeon filled with prey all to herself.
Thessa stalked deeper into the hive, her white dragon breath didn't even leave the ash of the bugs she encountered along the way. Eventually she reached a giant chamber filled, floor to ceiling, with bugs. Her dragon aura marked her as something dangerous. Against a normal mob, this would frighten them away, but the hive mentality of a bug was that sacrificing oneself for the good of the colony was the right thing to do, so the hundreds of bugs swarmed towards her.
Thessa cast slow on the whole room. She then cast element command and told the earth to throw the bugs off. The insects that were on the walls fell off as the rock altered itself to make them lose their footing. A giant pile of fallen bugs formed in the center of the room and Thessa set the whole thing on fire.
The white blaze lit up the room and showed Thessa the ceiling. At its apex was what she first thought was a large rock. It opened, revealing itself to be a twenty meter tall bug, the largest monster Thessa had ever seen.
Thessa opened her wings and cast gravity magic. Using the magic to direct her movements mid-air and her feather wings and tail for precise movements, Thessa moved faster than an eagle with the control of a hummingbird.
The insect queen opened Its gruelish mouth and sprayed a torrent of foul smelling green liquid at her. She dodged it with ease, the acid burnt deep holes in the rocks where it landed. Thessa used her fire breath on the creature, it worked at first but then its body started secreting a disgusting mucus of some kind that didn't burn under her holy flames.
She used element command to strike the creature with lightning, but the effect fizzled out against the mucus. It seemed to her that it had some magic resistant property. Thessa flew around the room dodging acid spit considering what to do.
She decided to go for broke. She used a powerful earth spell, the dragon magic, fissure, to shake the earth. She hoped she was far down enough that it wouldn't be noticed in Greyfell. The queen however, definitely noticed. Cracks appeared over the whole of the cavern, the queen lost her footing on the roof and fell, and several tons of rock fell on top of her.
Thessa avoided the falling rocks with some skillful aerial maneuvers. She landed on the pile of rock on the queen's broken body and used her breath. The queen was still struggling to get up but before she could Thessa burned away the mucus faster than the queen's body could produce it, and eventually she killed it.
Along with the hundred or so bugs she burnt and the queen, Thessa had gained two levels, something that impressed her greatly. As a dragon, she gained far more strength when she leveled up than any foreigner, so it wasn't unfair that she leveled slower. The only real problem was that she couldn't equip items with a higher level requirement though her stats were monstrous.
Still, at least she could use her guns for a while. According to Don, the main power crystal in her guns could be swapped out for stronger ones. This would increase the strength but also the level requirement. So when her level was high enough, her guns could be made stronger to match.
Thessa took her time finding all the loot dropped by the bugs. She found six ambers pieces and one large amber chunk dropped by the queen.
At some point she heard a noise that was a bit disconcerting. The cracks in the top of the cavern started making sounds. Thessa flew to the exit just as the whole chamber started collapsing. After making it into the tunnel she realized the whole nest was collapsing, fissure had broken the whole thing.
She flew faster than a blur as the walls and tunnels caved in around her, the sound of the mountain was louder than thunder, as the walls exploded in every direction. Even as a dragon, if she got buried hundreds of meters beneath a collapsing mountain, she was as good as dead.
She followed her noise and flew back away. Eventually she outran the collapse and found a stable path. She returned to her half elf form and went back to Greyfell. She decided if she ever saw the sibling trio again, she would apologize for destroying their hunting spot. It was just another lesson to her not to use advanced dragon magic she couldn't control yet.
When she made it back to the entrance to the catacombs, she was relieved to find it unharmed, however the entire city was busy.
She later found out from asking around that the cave in she caused weakened the foundation of the mountain's base. The entire mountainside that was above the insect nest had collapsed.
Thessa walked back to the student dorm and her bed. It had been a long day and she was tired.
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Sorry I haven't posted for a while, been working on new ff. here a link if anyone interested. viewforum.php?f=357