"Can we please stop? The bird has beat me seventeen Sol-damned times now!"
Lasair was full to bursting with energy. Over the past two hours, Mirage had consistently and happily kicked elf boy's ass. [A DUNGEON'S PURPOSE] had given her slightly less energy each time as the fights began to lean more in Mirage's favor, proving the thought about scaling true. She had at least six times what the dumbass wizard had given her, and with a lot less pressing things to spend it on as well.
Despite his complaints, elf boy was grinning ear to ear, owing to the three levels he had gained. According to him, that was years worth of progress for a commoner, and he had done it in an afternoon. With the slight downside of being Mirage's punching bag.
Apollo decided to make himself known, radiating a smug glee.
"Another complaint? Another round! More birds!"
Lasair gave into the wisp's demands, generating another ten birds in the Aviary. The cost was far less than the reward. Elf boy had slowly gotten better at killing the [FIRE-BIRDS], able to handle five at once before being overwhelmed. Yet he was still no match for Mirage. Speaking of the bird, Lasair had a great idea for what to do with all this energy. She could [EXPAND] again, or make an [ARTIFACT] stronger than all the others combined. But no. She already had one level ten [LIEUTENANT], why not two? Mirage would be a lot more expensive to level, but it would be worth it.
She reached into Mirage's [STATUS], giving it one last look before she doubled the bird's level.
[STATUS LOADING...]
[STATUS]: MIRAGE
[CLASS]: [FIRE-BIRD], [LIEUTENANT], [THERMAL ACCELERATION]
[LEVEL]: 5
[AFFINITY(S]): FIRE, WIND
[BONDED]: [DUNGEON CORE]{LASAIR}
[ABILITIES]: LESSER PYROMANCY, MINOR AREOMANCY, ADVANCED SENTIENCE
The energy corralled the strands of mana, feeding them into Mirage to be structured and repurposed.
[[LIEUTENANT] [MIRAGE] HAS REACHED LEVEL TEN. [THERMAL ACCELERATION] HAS UPGRADED TO [FLAMING ACCELERATION].]
[INSPECT]: [FLAMING ACCELERATION]: YOUR [FIRE-BIRD] CAN TRANSFER ITS THERMAL ENERGY TO KINETIC, AND VICE VERSA, WITH NO LOSS. ENERGY CAN BE 'BANKED' FOR LATER USE. CURRENT BANK: O/300°C
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Mirage shivered, the flesh beneath her feathers shifting and swelling. The streak of red that crested her head ran down her back until it merged with the red tail feathers. Two more branches of red rushed towards the line, one from each set of primaries. Mirage now had a cross on her back, one that was sending off sparks at a far higher rate than before. Her claws grew until they reached the size of pocket knives, and yes, that was just as terrifying as it sounds. Her eyes gleamed as the orange of her irises swelled, turning into a mishmash of red, orange, and yellow. It now looked like each eye contained a swirling fire, only broken by the jet black of her pupils. Her body shuddered once more, before it subtly grew until reaching the size of a falcon.
The new ability sounded incredible, improving on the last while also providing something new. The sparks coming off Mirage came to a stop, already being banked. Mirage, talented as she was, was still a paranoid little shit. This ability was perfect for her, allowing for an ace up her sleeve to quiet all of those 'what if's.
Elf boy's smile fell, which made sense. After two hours, he hadn't even scratched Mirage, let alone come close to beating her. And now he had watched as her power was at least doubled, if not more. He did not stand a snowball's chance in Hell. Apollo giggled.
"Fight!"
It was over before it even started. In the previous rounds, Mirage had let the other birds wear him down, before finishing elf boy off. Now, she immediately darted forward, leaving a burning orange afterimage in her wake. Elf boy could not raise his ax, could not dodge, could not even take a breath before Mirage had her talons, if you could even call them that anymore, at his throat.
[A DUNGEON'S PURPOSE]
Barely any energy that time. Just proves how easy it is for Mirage to defeat him. Lasair still had about double her normal capacity, but she was starting to disregard that as a limit. Why would it ever affect her, if she could just help more adventurers train.
Actually, that's a damn good idea. Maybe the ability calling this her 'purpose' wasn't so far off. Time for Apollo to negotiate again. Mirage retreated to her nest, content with her victory.
"Hey Cooper, we have a proposition for you."
"Finally, you stop calling me elf boy."
"What was that elf boy? I didn't quite hear you."
The hunter groaned. This was the first time in the whole of his visit that his name had been used. Unlike Albert. Albert was a magnificent beast, and deserved all the love and affection in the world. He was in the corner trying to eat rocks, as he had been for the whole visit. The fact that rocks are made of rocks had not yet seemed to cross his mind. Back to the negotiations.
"What if we offered this as a service? Anybody who comes in gets to gain a bunch of levels, and we get enough energy to last us forever! Win-win, right?"
"Not sure how excited people will be to help a [DUNGEON] get stronger, but that's a deal I'd take. Maybe start small? I can bring somebody I know, maybe my trader, down here and you can help them level up?"
"Sounds good to us."
Elf boy smiled at the deal, and walked towards Albert.
"Time to go bud. I'm sure those rocks are tasty, but it's time to head back to town."
He picked up Albert, still gnawing on a rock, and left. Lasair barley noticed. She was starting a business! How exciting! But business needed a name. How about the Magic Fire Cave? No, just no. Lasair's Magic Fire Cave? Slightly better, but still no. The Charred Labyrinth? Too tacky. Then, like a ray of sunlight, the perfect name fell into Lasair's mind.
The Adventurer's Forge is open for business.