Lance assured me of two things before we paid a visit to the second floor. The first was that he could probably handle whatever was down there, at least if they came one or two at a time. The second was that he can't really die. If he's overcome, then he'll return to card form in my Storage and be available again after 24 hours. Three things, he said they probably wouldn't take me out in one hit, considering the armor I'm wearing. I could stand by the stairs and if Lance fell down, or if he saw something unusually scary and told me to run, then I could run away and we'd talk about it later. Okay, that's four things, and also too many probablys for my taste.
Eventually, he continued, his role would transition from bodyguard, to early warning, to cannon fodder, and finally not even a distraction. But for the second floor, he was probably still good for bodyguarding. He seemed amused, which fair enough since he can't die but I can.
Ogres are tall, muscular, bipedal, and carry large blunt weapons, often wooden clubs. Plenty of soft targets on them suitable for a blade, not so many boney targets but taking one down with a hammer to knees, elbows, or forehead is according to my bodyguard "very doable". Also roughly level three, and possibly too much of a challenge for my level two self.
Lance drew his sword, dodged a downward swing, dodged an upward swing, then stepped forward and almost gently stabbed the ogre in the throat just enough and quickly pulled his sword back as the monster fell. I scooped up the gem, and back upstairs we went. "A creature, including yourself, is never so vulnerable as just after missing a powerful swing," he offered, suddenly uncharacteristically glib.
"Okay,that's really helpful." Lance gave me a sidelong frown. "What I mean is, what you say is often helpful," and I swore I heard Lance sigh but on the way back to the safe room he would say nothing more than "I'm only a bodyguard."
I kept grinding goblins, splitting my time with making armor, practice, and work outdoors, until at last:
Status.
Year 2 Month 8 Day 12
Name: Eric
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Class: Monk
Level: 3
Age: 9 (57)
HP: 141 / 141 (150)
MP: 29 / 306 (333)
SP: 1260
Strength: B 27 (30) + 18 45
Agility: B 27 (30) + 17 44
Smarts: A 81 (90) + 21 102
Stamina: B 27 (30) + 20 47
Skills
Status, Storage (6), Karate (3), Judo (2), TaiChi (2), Swords (0), Clubs (0), Farming Plants (2), Artifice (2)
Storage (6): 3675/7000
Karate (3): 614/4000
Judo (2): 366/3000
TaiChi (2): 481/3000
Swords (0): 238/1000
Clubs (0): 213/1000
Farming Plants (2): 2151/3000
Artifice (2): 1064/3000
Artifice Path Allows creation of new items.
+ Make and Mend (5) 614/6000
++ Transmutation [1000] Change one material into another.
Flora Path Allows control of plants.
+ Plant Empathy (1) 692/2000
++ Plant Growth [1000] Accelerate growth of plants.
++ Dungeon Path [300] Allows control of labyrinths.
++ KungFu Path [300] You know KungFu.
The increase to Smarts level A cost 1000 SP, a raise in all the stats were offered at the same time for the same price but I haven't seen those offers since. Meanwhile the Paths offer Transmutation, Plant Growth, and now Dungeon Path is back for 300. The first Path for 100, second Path for 200, I think I see the pattern here, and one Path per level. I could use a list of Paths but life doesn't come with an instruction manual, and if I ask Lance I know he's going to say he's just a bodyguard.
Transmutation. What exactly are we talking about here? Changing what into what? Anything into anything, lead to gold, or is it more like iron to steel? Either way it's tempting. It won't help me kill more goblins, but would it help me make ogre-proof armor?
Plant Growth. Again, that could mean a lot of things. Beanstalks of unusual size? I kid, I kid, but you see my point. It could be a long term effect, promoting healthy growth over the next season, which would be an incredible skill. Just not that useful in Fall and Winter which are coming right up.
Control of labyrinths. I see what these Paths are doing, whether by design or otherwise they're distracting me from saving SP to raise stats. The labyrinth is not only where I live, it's where I store the necessities of life, where I practice, and my dungeon monster training ground. It's the center of my life, and an offer to control this building is compelling. Again, do I need it now, would it be useful now? Well, maybe.
KungFu, or literally "hard work". This one I need. I feel like it fits right in with my weaponized armor theme. How many goblins or ogres will it take to get 300 SP back, and after I practice the first one it's going to tempt me with higher level skills. Will it help me kill ogres? Almost certainly yes.
Higher stats can wait. I have to practice KungFu.
KungFu Path You know KungFu.
+ Chop Wood (0) 0/1000 Strength Practice.
Chop Wood? I feel like I got ripped off.