Teel leaned her back against the cold stone of the dungeon complex and slid to the ground. Sweat dripped into her eyes and for a moment she debated if she had the energy to wipe them. At least her preference for short hair was keeping that from sticking to her face as well. When the burning started she decided that it was worth the effort and lifted the bottom of her simple shirt to clean her face as best she could. The cloth was rough and so dirty that she wouldn’t have been surprised to find that her face was, in fact, more of a mess than it was before. But it was all that she had and at least her eyes were clear now.
Lowering her shirt, she clicked her tongue and a large cat silently padded out of the shadows. Powerful muscles flex under his sandy coat as he approached. From nose to tail he was as long as Teel was tall and weighed a good deal more, not that either fact meant a whole lot considering her small frame. Standing barely over five feet and with a build that would leave most observers with the distinct impression that she had more than a little elf blood in her were it not for her distinctly human ears, she was not what one would consider imposing. When he reached her side he immediately headbutted her, the force of which would have knocked her over had she not been leaning against the wall. She grunted at the impact but smiled and began running her hand through his soft fur.
“Well, we’re still alive. So what do you think we should do now, Pan?”
Pan yawned and stretched. Wicked looking claws extending from his paws and leaving visible marks on the stone floor.
“Great minds think alike,” Teel said as she fished a meticulously carved candle from her pack. This candle, along with three others still remaining in her pack, was part of the reason why she was parading around the dungeon wearing what could be more closely described as a burlap sack with extra holes than real clothing. But what good would fancy clothes be if she was dead? She had no interest in impressing the monsters inhabiting this dungeon or the adventures who found her body, assuming there was anything left to find. No, these candles had been a much better purchase. As long as one of them burned she was free to sleep and recover, safe in the knowledge that anything low enough level to be inhabiting this dungeon would be kept away.
She lit the candle and set it on the floor. At once she could feel the magic taking effect as her eyes began to get heavier with each passing breath. Before she gave in to sleep, she gave a mental command and information flooded her mind. Most of the information she knew by heart and she quickly skimmed over it pulling out the pieces she wanted.
Job: Beast Master. Level 4. Progress to next level 74%
Skill: Abjuration Magic [Focus: Companions only]. Level 1. Progress to next level 92%
Skill: Sword Mastery. Level 1. Progress to next level 87%
Skill: Shield Mastery. Level 1. Progress to next level 24%
Not bad. Another day here should get her to level five and then she could head back to town, pawn off the junk she had looted, and maybe pick up some decent gear for herself. Satisfied she allowed sleep to take her and she was soon snoring softly.
She awoke to an acrid smell emanating from the candle. It was the creator's way of ensuring that everyone knew when the magic was about to run out and the area was no longer safe and boy did it do the trick. Groaning she pushed herself to her feet. Sleeping while leaning against a stone wall was not conducive to a relaxing night, but she was refreshed. With a thought, she double-checked her status screen and confirmed that her stamina had been recovered and the exhaustion debuff had been removed. Perfect. Now it was time to find some monsters to hunt.
The pair had been exploring the cave system for just over an hour with little in the way of excitement. Not that boring wasn’t a good thing when your life was on the line. But still, Teel found herself at an awkward level where the enemies in the safer portion of the dungeon posed little challenge but gave even less reward, while the enemies deeper in could easily overrun her and Pan if they lost control of the situation. That deeper portion was her destination, however. They had fought a few of the monsters in that section before resting and it had been, in her opinion, worth the danger. That handful of fights had accounted for almost half of the experience she’d gained the entire day.
The first sign that they had passed into a more dangerous zone came in the form of a low groaning noise coming from around a bend in the tunnel. Pan was the first to hear it with the movement of his suddenly twitching ears quickly alerting Teel to the approaching threat. Reacting with a grace that a month ago she had not possessed, Teel drew the rusted short sword that hung at her waist and raised the simple wood shield attached to her arm in front of her. With a click and a nod of her head, Pan vanished into the shadows behind her.
It took several minutes before the shambling form of the zombie entered the light being cast by the enchanted lantern that hung at Teel’s waist. Despite having dealt with three of them the previous day, the sight of the stumbling corpse made her stomach turn. It wasn’t really an animated corpse she reminded herself. All of the monsters found inside a dungeon were created by the dungeon. She didn’t know exactly how they were created, but considering how many more important things she also didn’t know, there was no point in worrying about this one in particular. What was important was that the zombie, wherever it may have come from, had finally noticed her.
Shield raised she approached the creature. The moment she was within range it lunged at her with a speed that had taken her by surprise the first time she had seen it. Unfortunately for the undead, she was ready and met the monsters lunge with a lunge of her own and swing of her shield. The wood creaked but held and the monster was knocked to the side with the force of the blow. Before it could react, she twisted behind it and attacked with her sword. The weapon was poorly balanced and the blade was dull, but it still left a gash across the zombie’s back.
The zombie was, unsurprisingly, unfazed by such a minor flesh wound. They were the brutes of the undead ranks. Relatively slow and stupid, they excelled at battles of attrition and were able to take a surprising amount of punishment before becoming re-dead. That battle of attrition was one that the zombie was already beginning to win as it turned to face Teel. She was already breathing heavily, the block, dodge, and counter had taken a chunk out of her already low stamina thanks to her minimal physical endurance.
The zombie swung again. Teel was ready and raised her shield to block the blow while she stepped to the side. Lacking the momentum of her previous block, she was forced to absorb a good portion of the blow instead of redirecting it.
Stamina at 48%. 10% penalty to all stats.
Even with the improved stats she had gained from leveling her job and from the skills she’d recently gained, her strength stat was well below average and low strength meant that blocking attacks cost more stamina. Now that she was under half stamina the penalties to her stats would start adding up. This would cause her strength to drop causing blocking to cost more stamina causing her stamina to drop faster causing larger penalties to her strength. This was the vicious cycle that led to the death of most new adventures. Of course, if she’d had a more fighter-type job then the additional bonuses to her physical stats, increased weapon proficiencies, and fighting skills would have delayed the start of the downward spiral significantly. But she didn’t have any of those things. She wasn’t a fighter. It had taken her halfway to level three just to gain her first rank in the sword mastery skill and another week after that for shield mastery. Combined they gave her the knowledge needed to fight, but training them was a pain in her ass. And in her arms. And her legs. And everywhere else honestly. No, despite the effort she put into training her combat skills she wasn’t a fighter. What she was was a Beast Master.
"Magic Weapon." Teel felt her stamina being pulled to her center as the ability took form. The Magic Weapon ability sacrificed the caster’s stamina in exchange for granting the target additional magical damage to their attacks. It was the only ability she knew and thanks to her companion only focus she was unable to cast it on anyone but Pan. Still, he could make much better use of it than her. As soon as the required stamina had been focused into the ability she pushed it out of her and into Pan.
Stamina at 32%. 20% penalty to all stats.
Claws extended and teeth bared, Pan landed squarely on the zombies back, the force of the pounce toppling the creature forward. Teel threw herself into an inelegant roll, barely avoiding being crushed beneath their combined weight. She clambered to her feet and watched as Pan sank his magically enhanced fangs deep into the back of the zombie's neck and wrenched. Pan's empowered attacks cut through the zombie's formidable fortitude and after a brief struggle, the zombie ceased its movement.
Over the next several hours they encountered over a dozen zombies in addition to the numerous slimes, rats, and imps that inhabited the lower leveled areas. Of the lower-level creatures, only the imps posed much of a threat thanks to their flight. But due to the confined nature of the tunnels, they were unable to use the ability to its fullest.
Teel was already contemplating turning back when an alert signaled the first level of the exhaustion debuff. She let out a sigh and began trudging back in the direction she had come. She hadn’t leveled up yet, but dealing with these zombies with even one level of exhaustion was too dangerous. At level one the exhaustion debuff slowed the rate that stamina regenerated. Luckily, her already slow stamina recovery rate made relying on it during combat difficult. Most fights would involve her using most or all of her stamina and then waiting to recover before moving on and this debuff would only lengthen the time between fights. But it was still a good idea to head back to a safer portion of the dungeon complex. Better safe than sorry was a good rule to live by and she did not want to be stuck fighting anything dangerous when the debuff advanced to level two.
She and Pan were about halfway back to the beginner's zone when she saw the light from around the corner. It was a sickly pale blue in contrast to the bright yellow of the enchanted lanterns carried by most adventures. At the same time, monsters in this part of the dungeon didn’t carry lights. Whatever was up ahead was something new to her and she didn’t want to face it without getting a bit more information.
Shutting her lantern, she slunk into a nearby passageway and waited with Pan. Both tensed, ready to fight if necessary. As she watched the light grew closer until the source came into view. It was emanating from a skeletal figure floating a foot off the ground. It was flanked by a pair of zombies. This must be a wraith. She had heard other adventures talking about these creatures, but this was the first time she had seen one herself. If what she had heard was true, then this wraith was one of the dungeons complexes rare spawns. A rare spawn was a monster that was unique within the dungeon. Only a single one could exist within the dungeon at a time and a new one would only appear after the previous one had been destroyed and an unknown length of time had passed. They were usually more dangerous than the monsters in the same part of the dungeon, but they also carried with them rare equipment or alchemical ingredients that made them sought after by many adventures.
Teel struggled to decide on a course of action. Logic told her to stay hidden. She had made it this far by being smart and methodical with her training and attacking a powerful enemy that she had no experience with would not be smart. On the other hand, these creatures were sought after for a reason. The loot she could find should she win would provide her with the money to make the next five levels a breeze. Once she hit level ten she would be allowed to take an entrance test for any guild she wanted without having to pay the ridiculous entry fee.
The trio of undead had passed her hiding spot by the time she had made up her mind. She would go for it. The life of an adventure was a gamble already and she’d committed herself to that path months ago. Besides, she had the element of surprise on her side. She may not get such a good opportunity again. She did her best to silently give Pan his orders before the two of them slid out of the passage behind the undead. She began charging her Magic Weapon ability. As soon as it finished, Pan pounced on the wraith. At the same time, Teel charged the zombie guards. She was in over her head trying to take both of them on at the same time, but the wraith was the real threat and Pan was by far the better fighter between the two of them. It was more important to take down the wraith before it could bring any of its more powerful abilities to bear. She would do her best to keep the two zombies busy.
In the background she heard Pan’s claws connect with bone as she collided, shield raised, with the leftmost zombie. The force of the blow knocked the creature off of its feet and left it sprawled on the stone floor. Without pausing she swung around to face the second zombie just as it lunged at her. She ducked, catching the blow on her shield while she stabbed upward into the zombie's midsection. Dark ichor spilled from the wound as she wrenched the blade from the monster's gut. Had she been facing a living opponent the fight would have been over, but the zombie seemed to barely even notice the deep wound to its midsection.
Anticipating a second attack she jumped backward in an attempt to put some distance between her and her opponent. The zombie she had sent flying moments earlier had recovered enough to grab at her ankle as she lept. His actions were too slow to fully grab her, but the unexpected contact knocked her off her balance and sent for rolling on the cold floor.
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Stamina at 43%. 10% penalty to all stats.
Damn it all. She’d done almost no damage and already she was below half stamina. Groaning, she climbed to her feet and ready herself for the next attack. She risked a glance to see how Pan’s fight was going. The good news was that both of the wraiths escorts were focused entirely on her, the bad news was that wraith was proving to be a match for Pan. Despite having one of its skeletal arms completely ripped from its socket, the creature had managed to shake Pan loose and, as Teel watched, summon a flurry of bright blue ice crystals with its remaining hand. The miniature spears flew directly at Pan who attempted to dodge to the side. He managed to avoid the worst of the attack, but several shards grazed his side drawing blood and causing him to hiss in anger.
Rage filled Teel at the sight of her friend being wounded. Ignoring the wraith’s guards, she rushed the creature. Her sword struck bone with a loud clatter but she could at once see that no real damage had been done. What she had managed to do was get the attention of the wraith.
With a single motion, the monster turned and raised its hand, bolts of ice already condensing into its bony palm.
Teel struggled to raise her shield in time to block the barrage. Ice clattered against her shield and shards cut into her exposed arms, legs, and torso. She could feel the blood begin flowing from her wounds even before the alert flashed in her mind.
Minor bleeding. Stamina regeneration reduced by 25%.
Stamina at 28%. 30% penalty to all stats.
That wasn’t good. Between the exhaustion debuff and now this, her stamina regeneration was painfully close to zero. Hitting zero with enemies around would be a death sentence. Having no stamina would limit her options, but at least the slow trickle from her innate stamina regeneration would prevent her from becoming completely helpless. But if she found herself with no stamina and no source of recovery, she would be in danger of bleeding out on the dungeon floor. Though considering her current predicament, she had a feeling that she’d be impaled by ice, ripped apart, or just plain eaten before she had to worry about bleeding out.
As if to confirm her fears a claw-like hand grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked her off of her feet. Twisting in the air she pulled free of her attacker and narrowly avoided the clutches of the second zombie who had been lunging at her. With a yelp, she landed painfully on the stone floor. The force of the impact knocked her sword from her hand and sent it spinning off into the darkness of the dungeon.
Stamina at 19%. 40% penalty to all stats.
This was it. She was laying on the ground, weaponless and exhausted, looking up at a trio of the undead. The wraith raised its arm and began preparing the killing spell. For a second Teel considered letting the blow land and take a quick death over being torn apart by the zombie guards, but her self-preservation instinct couldn’t be ignored and as the wraith released the bolts, she pushed herself into a desperate roll. She could hear the wet thud of the bolts hitting flesh behind her, but felt no pain. Completing her dive she looked behind her to see one of the zombies slowly collapsing to the ground, its head pincushioned with jagged ice. Behind it, Pan had once again latched onto the back of the wraith. The wraith thrashed but was unable to shake loose of the large cat’s grip.
Oblivious to its companion’s demise and leaders struggle, the remaining zombie staggered forward towards Teel as she pushed herself back down the tunnel. Behind the creature, she could see Pan still latched onto the wraith’s back. With a sickening crunch, the wraith’s vertebrae cracked and its head fell to the cavern floor.
Level up. Beast Master is now level 5. New ability unlocked, Empower Companion. New passive skill options are available.
Teel felt power course through her. Unfortunately, it did nothing to heal her wounds or refresh her failing stamina. She wasn’t sure what Empower Companion even did, but maybe it would be able to save her. She had seconds before the surviving zombie would be upon her.
“The best defense is a good offense or something like that,” she thought. “Empower Companion.” The words came out as a hoarse whisper, but it was all she needed to do to activate the ability. Although she had never used the ability it came with an innate understanding of how to use it, although frustratingly not what it did.
Immediately she felt a tug in her gut followed by the unmistakable feeling of energy being drained from her limbs. The feeling started at the tips of her fingers and toes but quickly spread into her hands and feet and finally her arms and legs. For a moment panic gripped her. Had she made a mistake? Was she going to die, not from the zombie, but from being sucked dry by her own ability?
Stamina at 0%. 90% penalty to all stats.
Then the feeling faded and she flopped onto the ground her arms finally giving into exhaustion. The zombie loomed above her but she was too tired to react. Too tired to even cover her face as the monstrosity fell on her hands outstretch and teeth bared. Her vision was fading and for a moment she thought that she was hallucinating when a jet black spear pierced the zombie's chest spraying thick dark blood over her. A fraction of a second later a second pierced the creature’s head finally finishing it off. The twin spears retracted and the zombie collapsed half on top of Teel.
Straining she lifted her head to see an unfamiliar form padding out of the shadows. The beast was feline but was jet black and half again as large as Pan. Most shocking was the pair of tentacles that extended from the creature's shoulders and whipped around menacingly. The creature stalked towards her and she closed her eyes. A moment later she felt the creature’s hot breath on her face and then it head-butted her. She opened her eyes and looked into the black-furred face of her best friend. “Pan?” she whispered. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. But you got bigger.”
As if to answer her question the large cat nuzzled her and purred. The sound of which echoed through the caves.
“I think I’m going to take a nap,” she said with a slight smile, “you’re in charge.” And with that Teel gave into the darkness.
*****
End of Chapter. Character Sheets.
Information Primary Stats Name Teel Base Bonus Total Species Human Strength 8 2 8.16 Dexterity 12 1 12.12 Derived Stats Constitution 8 12 8.96 Stamina 100 Intelligence 13 8 14.04 Physical Endurance 15 Wits 14 8 15.12 Mental Endurance 25 Willpower 15 14 17.10 Classes Mastery Skills Total Levels 5 - Physical Skills Beastmaster 5 Sword Mastery 2 Shield Mastery 1 Abilities - Magic Skills Magic Weapon Abjuration Magic [Focus: Companions only] 2 Empower Companion Passive Skills Beast Taming Companion Boost
Information Primary Stats Name Pan Base Bonus Total Species Panther Strength 12 17 14.04 Dexterity 14 17 16.38 Derived Stats Constitution 10 10 11.00 Stamina 87.5 Intelligence 6 5 6.30 Physical Endurance 19 Wits 12 12 13.44 Mental Endurance 16 Willpower 10 5 10.50 Classes Mastery Skills Total Levels 5 - Physical Skills Large Cat 5 Natural Weapon Mastery 2 Abilities Passive Skills None None