“Wait, you don’t have the Reading skill? It’s one of the most claimed Skills. A lot of people get upset by accidentally getting it. Are humans unable to read? I know you have monkey brains, but come on!”
I opened the door to the living quarters where Leo and most people lived. “My reading capabilities are quite fine thank you. I have been reading more often than normal the past week. So why haven't I gotten the Skill yet?”
“Have you reached your Skill Cap?”
Shit, forgot that was a thing. “How do I see that?”
“And I thought you were smart! Let me guess, you have five? You won’t get more skills till Level 10. Every ten levels after that you unlock two slots. If you somehow make it to Level 100, you have 23 skill slots. Excluding external conditions that give you more or less.”
We started to climb the stairs to the second floor. “Wait, you can gain or lose skills?” Please let me get rid of the Knives skill.
“Technically yes, but at this point you can’t. You have a skill you want to get rid of? Let me guess, you have the Climbing skill. Typical Monkey.”
I stopped halfway up the stairs. “Agnox, you need to stop your antics. Calling me a Monkey over and over is getting annoying. If you don’t knock it off, I will Unsummon you. Then I will only let you out to eat offal like the pig you are.”
He gasped. “You wouldn’t!”
“Unsummon -” I started to unsummon him.
He held his hands out in front of him “Okay! I yield!”
I nodded and walked down the hallway to where Leo’s room was.
I knocked on Leo’s door and waited for a response. I was starting to worry about him more as I stood there. His recent attitude about me and Agnox didn’t sit well with me. He and I may not have been working together for a very long time, but we were good friends even after the world changed.
I knocked again and still no response. I sighed in defeat. “Leo it’s me, Mathew. Agnox told me what he told you, come on let’s talk it out buddy. He didn’t tell you the whole truth!” I banged on the door some more and glared at Agnox.
“What?” He asked innocently.
“If anything happens to him, it’s your fault." I said dryly.
“Oh please. If he offs himself because of what I said, he was weak willed anyways. Better to surround yourself with strong and menacing allies, like that big metal canned man. Cow was his name?”
“First off, it’s Crow. Secondly, Leo is my friend. I don’t have plans to abandon him because a fat Imp told me to.”
“Hey I’m not fat! I am in perfect healthy shape for my kind.”
I pounded hard on the door. “Leo!” I had an idea and opened up the party submenu. I took a look at his status and saw it was normal. Sadly mental state or emotions were not labeled so I didn’t know how he was in that area.
Eventually the door opened up and Crow was standing there. He rubbed an eye and looked like he just woke up. “What is all the banging about?” He looked at me. “Mathew? Why are you banging on the door asking for Leo?”
I had completely forgotten those two were rooming together in a suite. “Have you seen Leo?”
He shook his head. “Not since the meeting. Why is he missing?”
I nodded. “This one here said something about his sister. It wasn’t the full story so Leo thinks he can bring his sister back to life. I need to find him and inform him of the truth.”
“He is probably at the south-west gate. He goes there to train during our off hours.”
“What? I didn’t know he did that.”
“Yup, he only trains his Healing spell and his Gun skill though. Since all the other skills get plenty of work in our training.”
“Thank you Crow. Why are you asleep so early?” I asked
“Ah, that is because I have been up to help Hennessy. Something about air temperature and humidity and other smithing technicalities. It makes no sense to me but he feels like he is on to something.”
I nodded. “I set the ritual back up just a little while ago. I’m heading to find Leo. See you tomorrow morning, we have a lot to discuss about Agnox and that Dungeon.”
He waved and closed the door. I hurried over to where I hope Leo was. When I got there I heard four loud gunshots, one after another. That sounds familiar.
I saw Leo looting a wolf. Nearby were a few guards who also were training their various skills and abilities. I stood by at the gate and waited for Leo to finish up and head toward me. He saw me and stood still for a moment before walking to me.
“Hey” I said.
“Hey.” He said and stood next to me. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
“I thought you quit forever ago?” I asked.
“Yea, well the stress finally caved me in.” He held one in his hand, not yet lighting it. “Isabella would smack my shit if she knew I was smoking again.”
I nodded. “You know Agnox wasn’t telling you the entire truth right? He said only Necromancy can bring her back. I know you wouldn’t want that.”
He looked at the Guards all who were getting back to their assigned positions, awaiting the next possible attack. “I figured something like that, it still made me angry enough to come back here. Good old stress relief. Shooting a gun and, if we had some, drinking beer.”
I smiled. “It’s been a while since I had a drink. I just hope my wine collection is still intact back at my house. If it is, I know just the bottle to open in celebration for all the shit we went through.”
Leo rolled his eyes. “You and your fancy grape juice. So when can I punt the little Imp for lying to me?”
“Hey! I didn’t lie. You can’t punt me for that.” Agnox said
“Sorry, when can I punt the little Imp because I want to.” Leo clarified.
Agnox crossed his arms. “Well, our Contract says Mathew can’t let you.”
I glanced at Agnox. “Correct, but what if Leo overpowers me? He has a higher strength score. I’m just a weak Summoner who relies on his summons to fight.”
His eyes went wide and he flew up a little higher. “Alright, alright. Are you two done bromancing? Personally I’d rather not get seen as your familiar by another Imp. It would NOT be a good thing.”
Agnox was right, I couldn’t let that secret out. “Alright. I’ll unsummon you and turn in for the night. Leo, do you want to come back with me or stay here?”
“Eh, I don’t feel like recharging Lucky. So I’ll turn in for the night as well.”
----------------------------------------
The next morning, after a large breakfast for Agnox, I found Captain Franks and informed him that I have critical information. He quickly went about gathering everyone up and I soon found myself back in yesterday’s meeting room.
“Alrighty everyone, Agnox here is going to spill the beans about the Infernal Dungeon. He claims there will be a large scale attack next week.” I glanced over at Captain Franks who seemed to pale slightly when I said that.
“Agnox, tell us everything. I do mean everything, that is important to know about the Dungeon. We went over everything before bed, so tell them what you told me.”
The Imp stood on the table so everyone could see him, too lazy to fly around. “Hello Monkeys! I am the great and powerful Agnox. A captured prisoner by-”
“Agnox!” I stared at him.
“Fine. Can’t have any fun with you, can I.” He muttered. “Right, so the short and sweet version. The Infernal Dungeon is full of Imps, Infernal Creatures, Demons, Devils, and Warlocks. Each type of creature is mostly the same, minus the Devils. All the Imps are no higher than Level 5, myself included. The Demons are all between Level 3 and 5. We have two Warlocks who are Level 5 and 6. Lastly, are the five Devils that came with us. One of which is Level 10 and our Dungeon Boss, she is the hottie with the whip.”
Captain Franks held up a hand. “I have no idea if this was already addressed, but how can you speak English? How can we understand you?”
Agnox held up a finger but paused. “You know, I have no clue! I just thought you were all speaking my language this entire time. Weird ain’t it?”
We all looked at him. “What? Are you saying Humans never were taught the basic 2,473 languages of every species, subspecies, and dialects known across everything?”
“No Agnox, we are not. Earth has many languages, but none ever spoken or taught by Imps. To the best of my knowledge that is.” Captain Franks said.
“Well you should get on that. Unless you are somehow speaking my Clans dialect, and you are trying to pull a fast one on me.” Agnox glanced up at me. “You’re not, are you?”
“Nope, now back to the more pressing matters everyone.” I said.
Becca raised her hand. “How many of the Imps and Demons?” She asked.
“The Imps are a tricky number to pin down, since I have no clue how many have died. Easily less than fifty. For the Demons the number is more solid, as there are twelve of them.”
Madison spoke up next. “Wait, what about the Infernal Creatures? Does that include the wolves?”
He nodded. “That is just a by-product of the Dungeons Influence. Any creature that is manifested, summoned, or born here has the chance to have the Infernal trait.”
That explains the Squirrel. “How many of those do you have?” I asked.
Agnox shrugged. “It’s random, we don’t have direct control over them. A few Demons snagged a couple as pets, but other than that, they are just wild animals.”
General Dritzka spoke up next. “And the human prisoners?”
“Ah those guys. Minus the escapee, we have five captured. Two of which are trained Warlocks, the other two might as well be dead. One of which was taken by our Dungeon Boss, Morthrus Ky'Kegthellen. The sexiest Devil in the entire world!”
A few people rolled their eyes or blanched. Crow pounded a fist on the table to get attention on himself. “How do we close the Dungeon?”
“Excellent question! You can’t”
Everyone gasped. “What do you mean we can’t?” Crow asked.
“Dungeons can’t be closed, at least in the normal use of the word. The portals can be destroyed and then the Dungeon goes back to it’s homeworld.”
“Wait, so how is that not closing a dungeon?” Park asked.
“Closing implies it can be opened up again. If you want to keep the Dungeon around to keep fighting for resources and people to fight, you just let it reset. If you destroy a portal, then it is forever closed.”
I understood what he was saying. If we destroy all the portals, there are no creatures to fight or gather resources. Dungeons were indirectly, infinite resources for our world to harvest. That is going to pose an economic problem in the future. Something to keep in mind.
“What’s the reset time on your Dungeon?” Leo asked.
Agnox shrugged. “Not my department. Only the Devils would know that answer. If I had to guess, at least three months.”
Not bad, more than the Gobling Dungeon.
Crow asked another question. “Where do the Dungeons come from?”
“As I said, our homeworlds, or planes of existence, or realms, or dimensions. Depends on the flavor of the week. The System designates certain chunks of a world as ‘Dungeons’ which can be sent from world to world to transport people to attack other worlds and take what is theirs for yourself!”
“So what you are saying is, if we defeat this Dungeon we can take the resources for ourselves.” General Dritzka started. “Then it resets magically, and we can keep doing it over and over? If we get our troops high enough, we can wipe these fiends out easily and every three months take their resources!”
Agnox held up a hand. “I like your thoughts there big cheese. However there is a Level Cap to every Dungeon. Your average Level can’t be more than 10 over the suggested level. For instance our Dungeon is Level 7, so anyone under Level 17 can enter.”
“What prevents an army of Level 17’s from entering?” I asked.
“No more than ten individuals at a time. Not counting Summons, Familiars, Mounts, Companions, or a slew of other possibilities.”
We planned for nine, that almost put us at the cap.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“So ten Level 17’s can enter the Infernal Dungeon over and over? Sounds like overkill.” Crow said.
“You would think that, but there is a downside. Diminishing returns.” Agnox said.
“What’s that mean?” Marcus asked.
“When you level up to 10, you become a Beginner rank class. If you fight things at novice rank, Levels 1 through 9, you gain very little experience, and gain practically nothing in terms of increasing the power of your skills, abilities, or spells.”
“How do you know all this?” Becca asked curiously. “For a Level 5 Imp who Mathew here captured so easily, you know a lot.”
He stomped his foot. “I may only be Level 5, but all that I am saying is common knowledge by everyone. Including the Level 1 Imps. You monkey brained humans are just too dumb to know better.”
I glared at him but said nothing. I am so going to feed him pig slop as punishment for calling us Monkeys.
“What about the Dungeon itself? Can we get a map of the place? Where enemies are stationed? A full combat log of everyone?” Captain Franks asked.
“Eh, do I have to, Master?” Agnox asked me.
“Not Master, and you do.” I said.
He huffed. “If I can’t call you master then what? Mathew is too long of a name. Mat sounds too much like Mike or Bat.”
“Mathew and Master are literally two letters apart.” I said flatly. The others were looking at us weirdly, with a couple of snickers from Park and Crow.
“Eh, I’ll work on it. I can tell you about the Dungeon stuff later, all this talk is making me hungry.”
“Wait, you mentioned Levels and ranks. Do you know how Classes, Skills, and the Menu works?” Crow asked.
I haven’t told them everything Leo and I got out of him last night. I planned on doing it later, but now is good. An idea formed in my head.
“Agnox, tell them everything you told me. Skills, Levels, Ranks. All of it. Including anything extra they ask specifically.” I ordered with a sly grin. Less talking I have to do.
He gasped at me then sighed in defeat. “Alrighty Monkeys, first things first. When you kill something you gain experience.”
I facepalmed and was starting to regret my choice.
----------------------------------------
After the meeting, and the two hour long explanation from Agnox, it was just myself, Crow, Leo, and Madison. Park, Becca, and Marcus were getting ready to head off to grind. They were close to a Level up.
“We still need at least one more I think. A dedicated healer. I really want Brown, but he keeps saying he is out. All other choices require grinding, or are dedicated Doctors who won’t have time to fight monsters with us. Any choices?”
“I have a healing spell.” Leo stated. “Why can’t I just be our healer?”
“Because, you are our off-tank. When Crow can’t block or take an attack for a squishy, like myself or Marcus. Your job is to take it. Also, you don’t have the mana to keep us up constantly. You have the healing spell sure, but only that one.” I said, flipping through more files while regretting not having the Reading skill more and more.
“But we can easily get another off-tank. There are plenty of Soldiers and Airmen who have the stats and skills lined up for it.” Leo responded.
“I understand, but I think a real healer would work. Brown would be perfect, but I don’t want to pressure him. He went through a traumatic experience. I am going to give him till tomorrow then ask him again probably. At least stop by and visit him.”
“What about some of the Doctors? I am sure most of them would be happy to help.” Madison suggested.
“Maybe, I can ask around. If only a person could fall into our laps like Park here.”
Park had his Menu opened and looked up when I mentioned his name. “At your service. I really want to talk to your Imp about being a Warlock still Matty.”
“And you will. I just think we should wait for you all to reach Level 5 and gain your classes before we make any big choices like that. Agnox mentioned you can upgrade your class down the line. People like myself and Crow apparently are getting Classes too early.”
Crow nodded. “Yea, I mentioned my Bulwark class outloud and Agnox wasn’t happy about it. Another class that shouldn’t be acquired before Level 30 he said.”
I sent a small mental nudge to Wispy to move so I can get some better lighting. “I think his people are misinformed. Otherwise why could we have the classes? I doubt The System is playing favorites.”
Still what he mentioned last night bothered me. Families breed the perfect child, then raise them to be a prodigy. If magic was real here, I would believe it with no doubt in my mind.
“When do you plan to go back to the Medical Wing?” Marcus asked.
“Probably will head there in a little bit. This evening I want you three to go fight some more by the gates. I understand you are all close to Level 4.”
They all nodded. “Right, too bad we can’t almost die and fight off a pack leader to gain four levels at once.” Becca teased.
“Hey it was two!” I retorted.
“My point still stands.” She stood up and grabbed her bow. “Lets go, boys. I have a new arrow I want to test out.”
They all headed off leaving the four of us. “I might as well go too. You three, good?” I asked.
With a couple of thumbs up as a response I headed to go find us a healer. The walk over to the Medical Wing was short. Only a single patrol car was seen going around. Fuel supply was low last I heard. They really are itching to go into the cities. Our scouting mission’s entire goal was put on hold due to the Infernal Dungeon.
I entered the green walled building and looked around. I walked over to one of the people who sat in front as guard and receptionist. “Hey, I’m trying to find some volunteers for our group. We are in desperate need of a healer who isn’t a combat medic. Preferably a pure healer or someone with buffs. Also is Brown or Doctor Gloria here today?”
She smiled at me. “You are free to ask around; as for Doctor Gloria she is in. Airman Brown was posted at the East gate this week. We have had more and more survivors or wanderers coming by recently.”
“Thanks, is she still on floor 2?”
She nodded and pointed to the stairs. “You know the way, Mathew.”
I headed upstairs and sat in the waiting room. I asked a nurse to let her know I wanted to talk to her.
It took half an hour before the familiar Asian woman came in with a smile. “Mathew, it is good to see you as always. However, I doubt you are here for a checkup.”
I nodded. “Yes, well the honest truth is we are looking for a dedicated person with healing magic for our group. You heard about the Infernal Dungeon correct?”
She nodded. “Yes, I heard your team is going to close it and end the attacks. Very noble of you by the way. To survive a near life-ending experience, then keep pressing forward into more danger. You should be proud to stand strong like that.”
I smiled a bit at her. “Thanks. However I am here for more than compliments. I wanted to ask if you would be interested in joining our group. I was going to have Airman Brown join us, but he doesn't appear to want to do so. You mentioned your capabilities as a healer and even having a buff spell.”
She nodded. “Yes, my profession’s ability allows me to gain Experience through healing others. However, I have yet to be able to acquire Level 5. I must admit, I am tempted to accept the invite, but why me? Surely there are several other Soldiers and Airmen all with healing magic.”
“Correct, however most of them are Level 2, and all their professions are combat oriented to being almost like Leo or Brown. We need someone who has the stats and spells to fill the role properly. I won’t lie, it will be dangerous. We also are going to spend the next week grinding out combat training to get everyone leveled up.”
She nodded. “I am still interested. However all my patients need me. I am the highest leveled healer here. What if something goes wrong?”
“What if we fail? Think how many more people might die if we don’t take the risk. I didn’t want to ask, since I understand you are older and might not be willing. With Brown's loss of will to fight, you are my second best choice. Trust me, I tried to find someone else before you.”
“Well, I don’t know whether to be thankful or insulted you tried to find someone before me. I can’t give a definite answer, but I am interested in training with you all. If it means I can gain more spells and better treat people in the world, then I am willing to do it. I spent twenty years getting my doctorate, what’s a week standing around and casting spells?”
I smiled at her. “I think we can meet in the middle and start there. I will let Captain Franks and General Dritzka know so people can cover your positions while you are with us training. I won’t make you show up this evening since we are getting the others up to Level 4. Tomorrow morning at 6 AM, meet us at the Supply Warehouse Gate. Do you have any rewards or items given by The System?”
She shook her head. “Sadly not, a few people have gone out and fought, I have not however.”
I stood up. “Alrighty, then wear whatever is comfortable. Hopefully we can find something better for you, or get lucky and find some dropped items.”
I headed to where Becca, Marcus, and Park were all at throwing their ranged attacks at Wolves and Imps. “How is it going here?”
Park huffed in annoyance. “Those two hit Level 4 half an hour ago. I just passed the halfway mark to Level up.”
I nodded. “Well I hope you don’t mind me joining. I can work on Summon Object some more, as well as Ice Bolt. Did you two gain anything from the Level up?” I asked Becca and Marcus.
“I grabbed a new Spell called Stone Fist. It allows me to wrap my hands in rock and if I punch something it will deal damage based on my Intelligence stat instead of Strength. I have it in case something dashes to me for a melee attack.”
I nodded. “A smart choice, I think it will work well. What about you Becca?”
She smirked. “Oh, I also got a spell. It’s called Summon Arrows. It’s an enchanting spell. Takes eight hours and it only works on quivers. However, it expands the number of arrows it can store and will automatically put one into my bow when I draw it back.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why Summon Arrows? Should be called Conjure Arrows I think.”
“Afraid I will steal your thunder?” She asked.
I crossed my arms defensively. “No, just the name of the spell is really misleading.”
“Sure thing Matty boy.” She turned back to find a new target to shoot at.
I looked over at Park. “How is your debuff spell coming? Hit Beginner yet?”
“Not yet, I am stuck at Novice 7. I think I need either new targets or higher leveled enemies. Everything we have fought has been no higher than Level 3.”
I nodded. “I understand, my Ice Elemental is the same. Stuck at Novice 8. No matter how many Imps he has killed.”
I looked around and had an idea. “Give me a moment, let me get my Summons out.”
With what Agnox told me, I focused inward at myself. It was a weird feeling, almost like meditating but eventually I found what he was talking about. I could see motes of light that represented each Summon I had currently. Wispy was already out and floating around, so only three other lights were seen.
A small red and brown color was flying around rapidly. That was the Infernal Squirrel I summoned a while ago. I focused on it first pushing it out of my body and near me. Next I focused on the blue light that had sharp points.
The Ice Elemental was not moving at all, and if I didn’t know better, would think he was dead somehow. However, the Elemental had no personality like Agnox. The Squirrel was more wild and natural in it’s movements. Thus the robot like Elemental stood still. I pushed him out next.
I left Agnox where he was since being seen by other Imps could cause problems with our plans and element of surprise. I opened my eyes and a blue box was hovering in front of me.
Due to your better understanding of your Class, you have acquired a unique Title: Practitioner Summoner. Continue your studies and your abilities shall grow!
+2 to Intelligence
+5% Luck bonus to improve Summon Creature spell.
I blinked at the message. This just means Agnox was telling the truth. I closed the box and decided to worry about what that Luck bonus means later.
“Alrighty everyone, let’s get to work.”