Gregory charged at the skeletons, bringing his sword across his body in a swiping attack. Cooper snuck around the edge of the room. The skeletons didn’t seem to have great senses, so they completely ignored Cooper and focused all their attention on Gregory.
The skeletons were weak, even for Gregory’s level two standards. The only physical force they could muster was from the magic that held them together. The downside to his opponents being skeletons, was that his sword’s scorching damage didn’t seem to bother them.
They barely attempted to block his blade, and their swings were actually slow enough that Gregory could dodge them. He had never done much dodging in the past, since he was always slowed down by his heavy plate armor. Not that he had done a lot of fighting in the first place.
Cooper struck the back skeleton before it could get into range of Gregory. He grabbed a bone leg in his mouth and twisted and swung his head around for all he was worth. There was a satisfying crunch as he twisted, breaking the skeleton’s leg. He could see the crack in the leg glow with a soft light. That must be the magic Gregory described, maybe if I crack more bones it will drain faster.
He jumped out of the way as the skeleton tried to swing its rusty sword at him. He was quick. He had always been quick. Years of avoiding the townsfolk attempts to catch him were paying off in a big way.
He simply ran away from the skeleton, it ambled after him, but its speed was nothing compared to his full speed. He zoomed away, looping back around and attacking the skeleton Gregory had focused on.
Another bite, and another “crunch” let him know he got the job done.
Cooper repeated his tactic while Gregory did most of the distracting. His sword swings were still clumsy, and he took a hit on the arm with a rusty blade.
A line of fire traced down his upper arm as the skeleton he hadn’t been paying attention to worked its way behind him. It pulled back for a thrust.
“Cooper!”
The dog darted out, jumping into the air and wrenching the skeleton’s hand right off.
The magic maintaining it couldn’t keep it together against the force of the blow.
In a clear show of dominance, Cooper looked straight at the skeleton, and then crunched the hand bones to dust.
Gregory managed to get away from the first two skeletons, and with a few hits on the second one, brought it down.
The skeleton collapsed into a jumble of bones, with no evidence that it had ever been animated. With Gregory and Cooper working together, the other skeletons fell quickly.
Gregory was breathing hard, and Cooper was panting, but the skeletons were down.
“We did it! Wow, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I took a little damage, and my stamina is toast, but it wasn’t too bad!” Gregory said. Just running around and maintaining his form while fighting was a small, but constant drain on stamina. He would really need to improve that stat if he started getting special attacks. Not that he had much direct control over that.
“Did you see me? I just darted in, and CRUNCH!” Cooper said, barking when he said “crunch” which made Gregory jump.
“Whoops, old habit.”
“No, it’s alright. I just haven’t heard you bark in a while.”
“Yeah, I don’t need to nearly as much now that I can just tell people what I want.”
“Can you open up your status? Did you get your first level yet?”
Cooper seemed to consider for a moment, then he started glowing with a white light.
----------------------------------------
* You have advanced to Level 1.
* You have unlocked the combat class "Canine Striker (Uncommon)".
* You have unlocked the skill “Bone Breaker”
----------------------------------------
Bone Breaker
* Skill
* Cost: 10 Stamina
* You bite with bone crushing force, dealing heavy additional damage to creatures with bones.
* Creatures without bones only take slight additional damage.
----------------------------------------
“I unlocked a class! How do I show you? Oh.”
As soon as he asked the question, it was obvious. He displayed his status for anyone, in this case just Gregory, to see.
Cooper
Age: 3
Race: Dog
Level 1 (2%)
Combat Class: Canine Striker (Uncommon)
Non-combat Class: Dog (Basic)
Health: 50/50
Stamina: 50/60
Mana: 5/5
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 4
Wisdom: 5
Intelligence: 7
Skill Points: 0
Skills:
Bone Breaker
Abilities:
Reverse Telepathy
Spells: None
“Oh wow, an Uncommon class! Very nice! You get higher base stats with a higher rarity class. Your stats are actually a little higher than mine now, overall.”
“I feel amazing. Like I could run all night and then dig a hole to the other side of the planet.”
“Leveling up will do that for you! Let’s see how I’m stacking up.”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Gregory of Demering
Age: 19
Race: Human
Level 2 (89%)
Combat Class: Coward (Common)
Non-combat Class: None
Health: 44/55
Stamina: 9/40
Mana: 5/5
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 6
Constitution: 6
Wisdom: 4
Intelligence: 5
Skill Points: 0
Skills:
Cower
Abilities: None
Spells: None
“Still level two, but I’m really close to three! You’re so much faster than me, but I’m still a little stronger.”
“For now…”
“Oh, it’s like that?” Gregory said with a grin and a laugh.
“Get ready to eat my dust, human!”
Cooper sprinted around the room at, Gregory had to admit, an impressive speed.
* * *
They rested for a little bit, heeding Olivander’s advice, until they were both back at full stamina, and Gregory had recovered most of his health. It regenerated much more slowly than stamina, but with the minor wounds he had taken — a few light cuts and some bruises — his health was able to recover nicely.
They went down a familiar looking corridor that ended in another chamber. This one had five skeletons in it.
“I think I can hold down three. It’s going to take us forever if I take a lot of damage though.”
“I think I’m stronger now. I can probably handle the other two.”
“That’s true, want me to charge in?”
Cooper nodded pointing out the two he would attack first.
As it turned out, having someone with the “Canine Striker” class and the “Bone Breaker” ability made the skeletons a bit of a joke.
Coopers special attack made his teeth flash a vivid green for a moment. His first strike with the technique annihilated the skeleton’s leg, even shattering the upper leg bone that wasn’t directly hit by the skill.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Gregory called.
Cooper left the first skeleton, it had tipped over since it now only had one good leg. It tried to crawl after Cooper, but it didn’t come close to hitting him.
The rest of the fight was similar, Cooper unleashed another bite on a leg, crippling another skeleton, and then changed up tactics for the last few.
As his jaws closed around the skeleton’s skull, and his teeth flashed, the skeleton was completely destroyed. The skull shattered, and the rest of the bones flew apart.
As Cooper repeated the feat, Gregory cleaned up the last two crippled skeletons, only needed a few hits on each.
“Ding!” Gregory called out.
“Ding?”
“Yeah, it’s what you say when you level.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know actually, it’s just something my brother told me.”
“Good improvement?”
“Any improvement is good, but with a common class, I only gain three attribute increases per level, with a little randomness —sometimes you can gain a little more or less.”
“Looks like my mana went up which is nice, but doesn’t really help us out right now. Health, stamina, and mana gains also eat up your leveling stats, but I don't remember the ratio. Ten points per stat point maybe?”
Gregory of Demering
Age: 19
Race: Human
Level 3 (3%)
Combat Class: Coward (Common)
Non-combat Class: None
Health: 53/60
Stamina: 30/40
Mana: 15/15
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 6
Constitution: 6
Wisdom: 4
Intelligence: 6
Skill Points: 0
Skills:
Cower
Abilities: None
Spells: None
“I guess I can practice more circles. How’s your stamina?”
“Low. Each bite special attack uses ten, and I was running around a little. I recover fast, but will still need a few minutes rest.”
They rested for a few minutes, Gregory practicing a few circles with his mana until he got a headache. Then he too rested for recovery. When they followed the next corridor, the found a something new. A fork in the road. There was a helpful sign hanging up.
“Deep Dungeon or Guardian’s Lair. I guess those are our options. The deep dungeon had a bonus objective.”
“What is that?”
“I’m not certain, but I’d guess it’ll give us some additional reward when we finish the dungeon. It’s probably at least worth checking out.”
“If resolve is the challenge, then we need more commitment than just ‘checking it out.’ I say we go for it! It smells like more skeletons.”
“You’re right, Cooper. I need to stand firm in the face of adversity! That’s what Olivander would say anyway.”
Cooper nodded at the sage words.
They took the fork towards the deep dungeon, and the Trial of Resolve.
* * *
Two more rooms of skeletons brought them some progress towards their next levels, but not much else. Gregory was regretting not having a looting ritual, which might at least turn the skeletons into something useful.
It was the third room where the Trial would begin.
A translucent figure, hazy and indistinct floated in the air just inside the door. It radiated safety.
“Greetings dungeon delvers. I am the guardian spirit of this dungeon. If you wish to partake in the Trial of Resolve, I will tell you the rules.”
The room was larger than any of the others they had been in so far. It was still lined with the same sandy blocks, and torches still illuminated the entire space with flickering light. The only difference was the spirit.
The pair stepped up to the man. They couldn’t make out his features, but his voice sounded like a regular person.
“We are going to conquer the Trial of Resolve!” Gregory said confidently, remembering Cooper’s advice.
“Yes, we will both challenge it.”
If the dungeon spirit was surprised at the talking dog, he didn’t show it.
“Very well. The rules are simple. You must have the resolve to face unwinnable odds. You will stay in this room, and fight until the very limits of your strength. Only on the very brink of death will you pass this trial. If you give up, or turn back, you will lose. Trying to take hits in order to speed the trial along is also forbidden. Any questions before we begin?”
“Are we safe from death? If we fight, we won’t die, right?”
“If there was no danger of death, then your resolve wouldn’t really be tested, would it?” the spirit answered with its own question.
It was Gregory’s armor all over again.
“I guess not," he said.
Cooper looked worried, but he stood firm. He had a taste of advancement and growth, and he wanted whatever he could get. He couldn’t explain his drive for power, but it burned within him like a passionate desire.
“Very well. The trial will commence immediately. Good luck.”
The spirit vanished, and at least ten skeletons filled the room in front of them.