Time until Darkenth Festival Bonus
1 days, 16 hours
"This is healing magic, isn't it?"
Tuscetta sat patiently in the dining area, her scuffed armor from an early morning inspection. Valkner held his hands over a bruise on her partially exposed wrist, slowly healing and mending the damage. Using [Heal] felt unusual even though his entire morning had been trying to find opportunities to utilize it. Building experience wasn't going to be easy with merely healing magic, though, even if he was merely Level 2. The dungeon-delving adventurers had made it back safely yesterday and this morning had launched a mock run with all of them within the shadow levels.
"Yes," Val replied. He eventually reached down and squeezed her wrist, feeling the final vestiges of mana in his palms pass through. "Your wound is mostly gone now... but it'd be smart to take it a bit easier for the day to prevent any soreness."
The half-orc sighed and patiently waited for him to release her, withdrawing her hand and pulling her gauntlet back over her hand entirely. "So... are we still going to try diving in the real dungeon?"
"Val said we were going today, right?"
The demon turned to glance back at the doorway, spotting Jigalta's big dopey grin. Even in disguise, the girl's slime enthusiasm never faded.
"I did," Val answered.
"Good!" Jigalta darted over to their table and plopped into one of the neighboring chairs. "When are we leaving?"
All three of them had spent the morning doing a bit of cleaning but immediately following off into the dungeon wasn't exactly proper for an innkeeper. Additionally, Ezkalda had left but told him she would be back one more time today; while they hadn't entirely cleared the air and likely wouldn't anytime soon, his sister had figured out his situation. Upon her return, she planned to help him learn a skill that she deemed 'vital'. Taking the dungeon on not only meant they needed to lock things up but ensure the inn had enough functionality that Albricht and the others could properly get anything they needed while they were gone. To put it bluntly, the trio truly needed someone skilled in Summoning magic that could make a Golem or ward to assist people.
However, among them, the only one with any potential in magic was himself. He had taken the time to focus and refine his Identity Check on the girls and corroborated their own abilities. And, unsurprisingly, he finally had a good gauge on their abilities.
Author Note
Going forward, I'll not be using the paint constructed sheets. While I do think art will be sprinkled in (as even low quality art refs can help), I feel these sheets are considerably too hard to accurately build up. Instead, there will be tables. I hope this doesn't leave anyone disappointed.
Name: Jigalta
Race: Slime / Human
Cumulative Level: 5
Class(es)
✺ Slime Trickster [5] [Primary]
Name: Valkner Gaustein
Race: Elite Demon
Cumulative Level: 2
Class(es)
✺ Ex-Demon King [2] [Primary]
Name: Tuscetta Horce
Race: Orc / Human
Cumulative Level: 7
Class(es)
✺ Plate Knight [7] [Primary]
Skills
[Sneak]: Basic Mastery
[Acidic Body]: Basic Mastery, Prof. 1
[True Morph]: Proficient Mastery
[Masochistic]: Basic Mastery
[Detect Lie]: Trained Mastery
[Disguise]: Proficient Mastery (Racial)
[Identity Check]: Trained Mastery (Racial)
Skills
[Basic Casting]: Basic Mastery
[Mana Manipulation]: Basic Mastery
[Magic School: Light]: Basic Mastery
[Identity Check]: Trained Mastery
[Disguise]: Mastered
[Basic Trade]: Trained Mastery
Skills
[Heavy Armor]: Basic Mastery, Prof. 3
[Shield]: Basic Mastery, Prof. 1
[Club]: Basic Mastery, Prof. 1
[Berserk]: Trained Mastery (Racial)
[Regeneration]: Basic Mastery (Racial)
Inventory
Gold: 0
Cloak
Kitchen Knife
No Off-hand
Inventory
Gold: 900
Civilian Clothing
No Weapon
No Off-hand
Inventory
Gold: 0
Beginner Plate Knight Armor
Simple Club
Bonded Shield
Spells
None
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Spells
[Heal]
Spells
None
After all the scanning, he ended up ranking up his Identity Check skill amidst it all. But more impressive was that he had been able to finally discover every asset they actually utilized.
Jigalta was, for all intents and purposes, most likely a rogue deviation of slimes. Their kind normally became mages but wasn't beyond the ability to morph when mating with other monsters or humans. In her case, her father had apparently been a bandit; she didn't recall much more but her slime abilities would be a good tool to refining her into a recon role for dungeons or combat. Acidic Body and Masochistic meant she would gain strength while consuming a struggling target... which made her ironically enough a pretty terrifying assassin.
Tuscetta's grinding efforts hadn't been wasted, either, however. Unlike Jigalta who had leveled up after cleaning up some additional debris last night, the ex-weakest among them had made quick work of the mystery bugs from her own patrols and shadow running when most of them were sleeping. Initially, Valkner had been rather upset at her sneaking off, but as she leveled up she awakened her class's dormant skill and revealed the last thing in her inventory: Shield and its summoned Bonded Shield. Her class is a rather rare one but the skill itself was even more astounding since it was the evolved form of [Shield Use]. Rather than merely help someone use shields, Tuscetta could summon a tower shield from thin air. However, her low level likely meant her Endurance was too low to adequately use it for long. So without it, she'd be a more traditional warrior and eventually take on a proper frontline tank role.
Aside from reminding him that he was able to ascend and still lost, Valkner was mostly the same as he had been for ages. In his case, his use of Heal was about his only combat-helpful ability. Everything else he had, however, would be a pretty nice kit in the absence of Jigalta. With his recent level-up, Identity Check meant he could check for traps for example. Basic Trade and Disguise could be handy for tricking or potentially using commerce with greedy monsters should any actually move into his ancestral dungeon. Until he learned more Magic Schools or skills that could make use of his Mana Manipulation and Basic Casting, he had to be a healer.
"Honestly? I guess we could leave now if you've locked up the stores and got everything out the others need." Valkner pushed all the technical talk aside, for now, settling back in his chair and crossing his arms. "But visiting the real dungeon now... it's unlikely the pair we let escape have produced anything new... but..."
----------------------------------------
Gaustein come forth; challengers beseech thee!
The trio entered the dungeon about an hour after their short talk and preparation at the dining area, with Tuscetta leading the way. Being in the true dungeon meant it wasn't possible for them to run into the other group unless the seal holder wished it. Searching for the pieces may be next to impossible without a high-level mage, so it wasn't likely for the group to track them down. Jigalta walked behind him and peered around at the dusty walls, crossing her arms and pouting.
"Okay, but why aren't we going in expecting a fight again?"
"We're partied up," Val answers. "That means the dungeon creatures shouldn't harm either of you unless we meet one that's completely wild."
Tuscetta looked over her shoulder, the rattle of her armor nearly muffling her voice. "Why would we want that instead of training?"
Valkner looked past her at the dungeon walls in the tunnel. Telling them outright may not be a good idea; it wasn't an entire secret but they weren't used to living among monsters of any kind. When he had come in here a few days ago with Tuscetta and when the party had been entering, it was only Mystery Bugs. However, the more activity dungeons received and the more their population was culled without exterminating the true population, the more likely that'd change. Not only could Mystery Bugs evolve upon higher level growth as part of their racial traits, but there were a lot of subterranean monsters that often sought out dungeons and broke in if they were persistent. All the increased activity also meant the mana in the air was fluctuating every time someone used spells and certain skills.
"We're going to find a Bolette Runt."
Both of the girls stopped but Valkner didn't; he bumped against Tuscetta's back and nearly toppled backward, biting his tongue and cursing.
"W-What!?" He hissed in a bit of pain, ultimately looking between the helmeted girl and the slime behind him. Jigalta's face was visibly angry.
"Those things don't exist!" The slime poked his chest on every word. "Why wouldn't we just focus on training you!?"
"I agree," Tuscetta added. "Your level is low and the only way to improve the dungeon is by improving you, isn't it?"
Neither of them knew about bolettes existing for a reason; among the subterranean kind, they were a monster race that very rarely made itself available for recruitment. Most of the ones that had existed were warhounds for dwarves during the war, forcing them into near extinction during the raid of the Magma Lord's quarters a decade ago. It was considered to be an incredibly vicious fight, even failing to crack the Lord's rivers and burning countless alive. But the truth was that there were many dungeons that served as ancestral breeding grounds for their species. And if there were any alive, they only breed for a short time every ten years.
Even without the [Slaver] skill, there was a skill that he could get Tuscetta to learn.
"Tuscetta," Val sighed. "I'm hoping to get it for you. Despite the fact you're an orc, you must not have realized it... but Gaustein Dungeon is one of the few locations where they used to naturally mate. A long time ago, the Southern Orc Tribe helped us quell an infestation from one of their most successful mating seasons. Your great-grandfather actually was there when they discovered that orcs have a unique skill."
Tuscetta reached to the bottom of her helmet and hoisted its visor up; her doubt was completely gone at the mention of the Fifth Prince, instead of staring down at him dead focus.
"A skill unique to our kind? Do you mean like a racial one?"
Jigalta pouted, grumpily stepping away from the two whilst they came to a halt. Valkner shook his head and instead reached out to grab her club.
"No. It's one you can learn through trial and error, actually: [Hunter & Hound]. It was discovered from imitating the same way dwarves acquire their [Beastmaster] class. Normally you'd need to have a lot of trial and error but my presence and advice might be enough to grant you it with moderate speed. Studying it, however, was near impossible as there were never enough bolette for us to use in experimentation, but it's likely that it's similar to how their taming was level restricted. You could acquire the skill but you'd need one of an appropriate level. In your case-"
"A runt," the halfblood answered, nodding. She reached up and pushed her visor back down, turning to face the longer tunnel. "If that's the case, your logic seems sound."
Sometimes, I wonder how hard this would be if she wasn't his descendant. Working with orcs is normally so stubborn... perhaps after my revenge, I'll be able to see if humanity actually tempers that or if it's merely personality. Either way, Tuscetta is a rarity; Jigalta is a great help in the inn but in here she gets so impatient unless food or consuming something is involved. Obtaining a bolette is an extremely difficult task that will most likely result in us having to fight one instead... but that's fine. The stronger she gets and the more time she spends in here, the more the dungeon will advance. Even if it's only as a healer, providing support in a party would let me level up. If it wasn't for the pesky conditions limiting my growth, she could easily carry me a long way. Yet I can't help play a bit dangerous; if we can get her a bolette before the festival, she'll be able to fight far more efficiently and level both it and her.
The trio had a few hours that could be spent safely exploring the true dungeon, which meant they'd have more than enough time to search for clues in the worst-case scenario. But Valkner also knew exactly where that infestation had happened in the past, so they'd start there. He dropped a hand into his pocket and pointed forward, spotting Jigalta hastily darting to his side.
"That way; we're going to the throne room."
Time until Darkenth Festival Bonus
1 days, 15 hours