Mathew dropped a stack of papers on General Payne’s desk. It had taken him three hours to get it done, but he spent most of that experimenting. At first, Mathew copied a typed contract provided by Jerry word for word. That was how he normally utilized the skill.
However, he soon realized the wording in the skill was misleading. He could literally copy a document in a shorter amount of time. It took a bit of focus, and he had to use up a small amount of mana to do it. In the end, what would have taken several hours was cut down to a few..
Payne was impressed at the speed at which Mathew could pump out the contracts. So much so, he told him he was doing a good job. Payne was keen to have his military under his control with no more fear of desertion or worse, betrayal.
Mathew noticed the written contracts were similar to the ones he had with Payne. Minus the fact that Payne would have to give up his Hearth Crystal as a punishment.
No, these contracts were cut and dry. Do what Payne or any higher ranking official said, or they would be at best, fined. At worst, killed. Mathew felt they were a bit harsh, but who was he to judge? He occasionally may have changed a word or two in some contracts. He was afraid of Payne using the soldiers against him once he took the Hearth Crystal. He couldn’t change too many, as it would be more easily detectable.
Yet, out of the dozens he would be writing daily, he doubted the General had enough time to look them over. The military was a buisness to a degree, and nobody hardly read the fine print when signing long and wordy documents.
And if Payne or someone noticed the occasional typo? Well, Mathew would play dumb. Who is to say his skill wasn’t perfect? Payne was trusting Mathew through the Contract they had, which never specified he had to do the job perfectly just on time and up to a certain number per day.
Mathew left the building once he was done. He passed by a field to see tents were being packed up that were used to house any refugees. After a month of the new reality they all lived in, several groups of people had left the base after acquiring a few levels and some basic gear. The first week after The System showed itself, the base was flooded with people. Now, most people don’t even have to sleep outside.
After checking in with Leo to see how he was doing, Mathew headed to the armory to meet up with the team he has been assigned to for just over a week now. They were gearing up and gave him nods. Two blue orbs floated just behind him. One behind each shoulder. After some testing, he realized he could have them attack two different targets, or the same. Additionally they could move a bit further away than before the upgrade.
Mathew chalked it up to the increase to his mastery over the skill. Countless times he hid behind objects while letting the wisps move ahead to start firing at the forest beasts. Oddly though, the two wisps seem to play with one another. If he took his focus off them, he would see them chase after one another or moving around in weird patterns, like dancing.
In private he attempted to talk to them, on the off chance they were somehow intelligent. But he never got a response of any sort. They seemed to understand his requests to move or attack, but things like yes and no questions seemed too much for them.
Who knows, maybe a future upgrade could allow them to talk, and he could have floating orbs that would act as spies for him. Speaking of which, he hated his [Share Sense] ability. When he used it on his wisps his vision gave him a splitting headache. Apparently the orbs of mana could see all around them like a 3D camera. He quickly ensured he never did it again with the wisps unless it was a dire situation.
What was worse was the lack of other senses. Mathew couldn’t smell, hear, even the feeling of gravity was lost. He couldn’t trust himself to use this safely. Thus it would be a skill that would acquire a layer of dust on it until he had a new creature to use it on.
Gearing up for another day of fighting for Mathew was simple. He practically wore his now repaired robes daily and the other gear he kept in his bags. He ended up selling his use of the spell for more UC, but ensured he did it for a large sum. The starting price was 5,000. That, on top of his killing and contracts, enabled him to earn a decent amount of money every week. He was saving up for some rarer items in the shop Di ran.
On the other hand, The Workshop was quickly generating a large range of decent items. Mainly simple things, but each was just as good as the cheap stuff Mathew started off with from Di’s shop, if not sometimes better.
Once everyone was ready, they headed off. Today’s mission was to eliminate the wolf den once and for all. Only a few days remained until the Dungeon unlocked. Mathew wanted to go in with his team, but was convinced on how bad an idea that was.
Instead they would clear the area for good. To ensure no other foes would be around. Mathew knew General Payne didn’t want his magical slave collar maker to die.
A couple hours later he found himself sitting crouched behind a rock, staring at the Infernal Dungeon Portal.
Infernal Dungeon: [Beginner]
-Locked-
Time Till Open: 05 Days, 9 Hours, 42 Minutes
“It's a shame we can’t go in there.” Lucas said off handedly.
“I agree.” Mathew said. “But, I would rather not make Payne upset. Plus, I want more than just us six going in. I’m talking about a full twenty plus raid team. The ones Zack talked about actually sound fun.”
Holly appeared a moment later. “I found it. Let’s get going.”
Holly had skills in perception and stealth. Why she was the old team lead, Mathew had no clue. He figured it was because she was a woman. First Captain Henderson, now Holly. Mathew put any further thoughts on what General Payne was thinking out of his mind.
The cave that was believed to be the wolf den was further north following the west side of the cliff face. They soon arrived to see a large cave opening. Mathew noted the lack of wolves. “No guard dogs?” He asked.
“Why would wolves have guards?” Samuel asked, shaking her head. “They are dumb mutts. Not evil villains. This isn’t a video game.”
“And the magical boxes haven't changed that mind set for you?” Tank asked with a laugh.
She sneered at him but said nothing.
“We go in with our primary formation.” Holly said. “Tank upfront with Lucas. We kill everything, take it slow. We will use pills and potions for minor medical use. Samuel save your mana for the big stuff or to buff us if things get spicy.”
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Mathew was the official leader, according to the contract he and General Payne agreed upon. However, Holly knew her team way better than he did, and put her in charge when it came to fights.
Mathew’s grip around his staff tightened as a heavy worry started to settle in his gut. Yet, the feeling was overcome with excitement. He needed a few more good fights to push his skills over that edge into Beginner rank. Ever since his wisp ranked up, the greed to have more power (?) was ever growing.
He was the last one to enter the cave, once he did a blue box appeared in front of everyone.
Area Quest
Who Let The Dogs Out
The nearby Infernal Dungeon has tainted the area with it’s ambient magic. As a by-product, the local wildlife have mutated into Infernal Variants. Slay all the tainted beasts in the cave before it’s too late.
Time Left: 05 Days, 9 Hours, 40 Minutes
Rewards:
[Uncommon] Class related item
3,500 UC
Mathew blinked at the box. “Anyone else get the quest?” He called out in question.
Several nods and ‘yups’ filled the air. “Does this change anything?” Washington asked.
Mathew shook his head. “I say we still do it. Worst case, we just leave if we are too injured to continue. No clue about you, but I would love to have that quest reward. Add in the experience we will get from this fight. I say it’s worth it.”
Nobody objected to Mathew’s comment and everyone readied themselves. The cave was warm, and dry. Just wide enough for two people to walk side by side, and have room to swing their weapons.
Mathew had one of his wisps floating upfront, to illuminate the way. Holly and Washington both had lights as well. It didn’t take long before the first wolf was found. It was a normal wolf, and since it was alone, it went down quickly. Lucas finished it off by cutting its head off.
The battle summary showed the beast was Level 9. “Well that means everything from here on will be stronger.” Samuel said.
Mathew nodded, “I have plenty of mana to spare, I say bring it on.” His blood was pumping.
A couple more wolves were similarly taken down before they encountered their first Alpha Wolf. It was flanked by two smaller wolves. During the fight, Mathew mainly focused on his wisps to be his primary form of attacks. Since they had their own reservoir of mana, he didn't need to use any of his own. Only occasionally blasting a [Mana Bolt] at low power when an opening showed he could do so without injuring any of his party members.
After that fight, Tank and Lucas were sporting the most wounds. They pulled out the cheap healing potions and drank them. Lucas turned green and almost barfed. “These things are disgusting. Are you sure we can’t have Sammy patch us up?”
Samuel snorted. “And waste my mana on those scratches? No thanks. Save your energy. I have a feeling this is just the start. We haven't even seen a single Infernal Wolf yet.”
Mathew knew fate was in a bad mood, because the next battle showed three Infernal Wolves. They were notoriously harder to kill than the normal wolves, each at least Level 10. However, the lowest on the team was Samuel at Level 10, while Mathew was the highest at 12.
Mathew aimed his staff and started firing without hesitation. His two wisps also fired down their attacks, dancing in the air back and forth to avoid any chance of a wolf leaping up to take them out.
Tank, Lucas, and Washington were in the melee. Washington applied debuffs with his attacks, making them react slower. Tank was able to get two of the red furred beasts to stay focused on him, allowing Holly to fire her energy rifle without worry.
In Mathews' own opinion, Lucas was the most skilled out of them all. If he didn’t know better, Mathew would think Lucas was born to fight. However, his skills at dodging actually came from his background in dancing.
“Ha! These guys barely do any damage just like the normal ones.” Tank shouted, as a wolf slid down his shield.
“Don’t get cocky, Tank, or I won’t reattach your limbs if they fall off!” Samuel shouted, as she cast spells that increased healing regeneration on Tank and Lucas.
Mathew did notice a difference since he last fought these types of wolves. Before it was typically a close fight, but since he hit Level 10, even he had a fair chance against them. He wouldn’t be fighting solo anytime soon, but in a group like this, it won’t be a sweaty fight.
One of the wolves sailed over Lucas, causing it to be out in the open. Mathew powered up a strong [Mana Bolt] and fired it over toward the wolf, blasting it’s rear leg off.
He barely even winced at the gruesome sight, and kept firing with his staff and wisps. A basic level [Mana Bolt] cost less mana than using his staff, however he had better aim with his staff. He valued hitting targets more than being efficient in the cave system.
Soon the three Infernal wolves were all dead. Mathew took a seat and drank some water from a canteen he pulled out of his bag. He handed out other items such as pills to the others. They all agreed Mathew’s increased bag space made him in charge of carrying some supplies. Tank carried the smaller bag Mathew made, which helped carry the heavier and bulkier items.
Mathew noted his staff skill ranked up, and that was it for him. The excited noise from Lucas on the other hand shared a much grander improvement.
“Fuck yea, swords Beginner 0! Let’s see, should I go for a special attack ability or a passive elemental damage bonus? The type would be randomly selected and I’ll be stuck with it forever.”
“Is there a bad elemental damage type?” Washington asked.
“I would think less useful ones like acid or maybe necrotic? Samuel, what do you think?”
She shrugged. “Both are good choices. However, think of your fighting style. You are about increasing the number of attacks, at the cost of damage and critical attacks. So I would say to take the free bonus damage versus the limited ability.”
Lucas nodded and made his selection, “Aw yea, lightning damage!” He pulled his two blades out and started to swing them around. Mathew saw arcs of electricity between the blades as he swung.
“Okay, that’s badass.” Holly said offhandedly. “My weapon skill just increased my awareness passively. My other choice was a charged sniper shot, which I figured we didn’t need. With our other members.”
Mathew knew she was talking about General Payne, but was trying to make it seem like she was referring to him.
“Well, is everyone ready to continue? If we keep this rate up, maybe Washington can get his ‘handsome’ skill up and get a new face.” Tank said laughing.