"Run back upstairs." Lance disappeared around the corner of a hallway on the third floor, and a few seconds later I was back on the second floor with his card in my Storage. A bramble golem is a bit shorter than an ogre, made of wood, and covered in venomous spikes. Level nine, and a day later Lance recommended I not try my luck. Not until I put on a few more levels.

At level three I needed four goblins per SP. Once I figured this out, I was on the second floor trying out combinations that would reliably take down an ogre. I knew Lance would rescue me if I got into trouble, but I didn't want to lean into that too hard. I was strategizing as a solo adventurer, which meant finding a strategy that would work every time.

Fortunately, the ogres were not very creative. They'd always approach with weapon in right hand, slung over right shoulder, swing from their upper right to lower left, then back to upper right again. I tried opening moves that broke an ankle, knee, or right wrist but was most satisfied with a left fist strike straight to the right kneecap. It was easier to break a knee by striking from the side, but with my chosen move I'd propel myself back a step and be ready to avoid their fall. Nobody wants to get squashed by 300 lbs of angry stumbling ogre. From there, I'd follow up with the best target of opportunity: knee to rib cage, right fist to forehead, or the like.

After a week of that, new options appeared in Status

Strength: ++ B [2000] 27 (30) + 20 47

Agility: ++ B [2000] 27 (30) + 19 46

Smarts: A 81 (90) + 22 102

Stamina: ++ B [2000] 27 (30) + 21 48

Strength for more damage, but I was already breaking bones. Agility to move better, or Stamina to fight longer and help soak a hit. I raised Agility and no longer feared the slow-moving ogre's club.

Agility: A 81 (90) + 19 100

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Right hand parry club on downswing, drop to one knee and left fist strike to kneecap, bounce back to standing and watch the big ugly fall. Timberrr. Right fist strike to center forehead, scoop gem, and find the next target. They'd also drop level three cards, or coins made of iron or copper, but gems were always the most common. Same dark purple color, but larger than goblin gems.

They weren't smart enough to coordinate well, so with two or more at a time they always got in each other's way. I'd fell the one in front, they'd get more or less tangled up, fell the other one, then finish them off. They never had the chance to approach from opposite sides because fights were over too quickly.

At level four, it looks like 3000 SP for my nearest stat raise. If I can even raise beyond A (to A+?) I expect it to cost 10,000, and I know Paths are going to soak up a few thousand before that.

Status.

Year 2 Month 9 Day 15

Name: Eric

Class: Monk

Level: 4 43/4000

Age: 9 (57)

HP: 153 / 153 (162)

MP: 317 / 318 (345)

SP: 2003

Strength: B 27 (30) + 25 52

Agility: A 81 (90) + 23 104

Smarts: A 81 (90) + 25 106

Stamina: B 27 (30) + 24 51

Skills

Status, Storage (10), Karate (4), Judo (2), TaiChi (2), Swords (0), Clubs (0), Farming Plants (2), Artifice (2)

Karate (4): 3329/5000

Judo (2): 2093/3000

TaiChi (2): 1276/3000

Swords (0): 501/1000

Clubs (0): 220/1000

Farming Plants (2): 2241/3000

Artifice (2): 2981/3000

Artifice Path Allows creation of new items.

+ Make and Mend (5) 3508/6000

++ Transmutation [1000] Change one material into another.

Flora Path Allows control of plants.

+ Plant Empathy (1) 923/2000

++ Plant Growth [1000] Accelerate growth of plants.

++ Dungeon Path [400] Allows control of labyrinths.

KungFu Path You know KungFu.

+ Chop Wood (1) 17/2000 Strength Practice.

++ Carry Water [1000] Stamina Practice.

Transmutation is something I need to investigate. Plant Growth can wait until Spring. With no other options for a new Path, I might as well see what Dungeon Path is all about.

And if you're wondering about the effects of Chop Wood in the KungFu Path, I have no idea. Now that one SP is going to take two ogres (or presumably eight goblins), I could use some better KungFu but I want to see results from Chop Wood first. Something, anything.

Dungeon Path Allows control of labyrinths.

+ Sense Dungeon (0) 0/1000

Okay, that's fair.