His return was a path filled with blood, pain, and kobold bodies. Despite the injuries, the further he walked back through the dungeon, the better he felt—killing the spare group of kobolds was even easier. Given his levels and increased stats… Running across a group of kobolds ranging from level 4-9 was almost trivial. His wounds were healing.
The downside of killing kobolds being trivial was the minimal gain in experience. He could feel how each kill had imparted a little more. After getting to level twenty, though, it felt like the next level was much further than before. It would be a slow climb.
So, instead of grinding out levels, he took the fighting on the way back to the kitchen as an opportunity to test out his new skill.
As it turned out, Phantom’s Step was more complicated than what the skill said.
At this low level, he got a single step where his body phased out of being—a sword would pass through him, or he could dart through a crowd and get behind a creature. Useful. But also dangerous. Several times trying it, he caught a stray claw or ran into something.
He didn’t want to end the step with a blade inside of him since, given the warning on the skill, he assumed it meant he would be stabbed.
Consequently, it was very skill-based. He also quickly discovered that if he used the skill and didn’t take a step in the next second to two seconds, it would stop working.
This meant he could let a kobold fly through him and then return to being in a physical form. But he had to be damn sure that in those next two seconds, the Kobold would be past him.
In that way, Phantom’s Step was both offensive and defensive, and it would take more time to figure out how to best incorporate it into his skills.
Still, figuring out its limitations and the practice eventually yielded a skill level.
———
*Phantom’s Step* (Basic) has gained a level!
———
Next came the two decisions he was still grappling with. The first of which was his sword.
It was handy. The reach was nice when paired with a dagger, and he appreciated that, but his {Core} Skill was specific towards the smaller blades; it was also starting to bend and chip through use. It hadn’t been a good sword, but it now had more notches and looked on the verge of death.
As he went through the abandoned office part of the alleys, he found a nice cubicle, set it on the desk, and thanked it for its service.
The last thing he practiced on whatever stray rat or straggler he could find was the Edict.
It was harder to cut through higher-level stuff, but it is easier now, with his Soul stat so high. He could sense the invisible wave whenever he cut and could pour more of himself into it, letting it expand or push through more resistant objects.
With it, he could leave marks in the walls but not quite cut through them entirely without exhausting himself. Or rather, he suspected, his soul. It seemed that was the fuel for an Edict.
He could only ever have a singular Cut going at a time, too—if he tried to use it again after already having one of those invisible blades going, the first one would vanish. The nuance of why or how rested at the periphery of his understanding, but eventually, he would take the time to think about it more deeply.
It was hours, but eventually, he found himself back in the alleyway of the kitchen. His clothes were ruined; all of the chef knives he’d taken out of were lost somewhere among a graveyard of kobold corpses… To all appearances, he’d come back bloody, bruised, and weaponless. Little would they know just how much progress he’d made.
Colt shook his head and gave a rueful smile—walking to the kitchen door, then tossed it open.
Cindy, Nate, and Sarah were there. Worse for the wear, too—Cindy’s shirt was torn open in the back with a long, deep gash on her. Colt winced. The wound looked nasty and not something he could imagine any kobold being able to make. Nate was busy trying to sew it shut with a bobby pin and twine.
Sarah gave him a little wave.
He felt his skin crawl as her eyes honed in on him—a sure sign she’d just fired off an inspect. He let the moment of discomfort pass. It was an instinctual reaction, now that he had a skill that made it painfully obvious that someone had done it.
No matter how much he changed, there would always be that little voice of his mother whispering in his ear. Sometimes, a little lie is all you need to protect yourself. But there wasn’t any need for those among these people.
“Holy crap, Colt. Level 20? Edict Carver? What kind of insane class is that?” Sarah said.
“Had a good time in the dungeon, if you can’t tell,” Colt gave a small laugh, then pointed to himself—the ruined clothes and blood. Though, mostly, his wounds had all closed on the walk back. They were tender, sure, but no longer a source of worry. The additional endurance had greatly increased his healing, though he had a distinct feeling that he healed even quicker when he wasn’t directly fighting something.
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Nate gave him a small nod but then turned back to stitching Cindy up—who cried in pain as the bobby pin went back into her skin.
Colt frowned at the brutal sight, then steadied himself. It was time to peek at what his coworkers had accomplished.
———
Name: Sarah Harrington | Race: Basic Human
Class: Pugilist (I) [Uncommon]
Level: 13
This is a basic human who has chosen the Pugilist class. A class that eschews weapons in favor of using their fists. She has yet to begin to walk any path of enlightenment. Her past as a Muy Thai practitioner has informed her choices in this reality, instilling discipline and drive to work steadily toward any goals put in front of her. Why, though, she chose to practice this discipline is a mystery rooted deeply in a lack of self-safety and a dark history.
Noteworthy Skills:
Iron Punch [Uncommon] - Level 2
Unarmed Proficiency - Level 13
———
Colt blinked and wiped at his eyes. That was a hell of a boost for her—they had been busy too; had they gone out twice—or once? It was easy to lose track in the dungeon; if not for the class selection taking 24 hours, he would’ve had no idea how long he’d been out.
It was also interesting what the system chose to display a ‘Noteworthy Skills.’ He knew for a fact that Sarah had an inspect skill that wasn’t shown there.
Was it too low a level to matter?
As he looked at the skills section of the message box, he felt he could expand it and see more, yet he chose not to, instead taking a look at Nate and Cindy.
Nate had taken an uncommon class—Soldier, and gotten to level 15. Cindy had gotten to level 6 and chosen the common class Cook—it didn’t make much sense to Colt, given the circumstances of being trapped in a dungeon, why she would select a non-combat option.
After she was stitched up, he had the chance to ask.
“I picked it because I got two classes—Cook or Laborer,” Cindy answered, rubbing at her eyes. They were puffy and red, tears running through them. “It’s terrifying out there. I don’t want to go out again.”
“We need everyone we can get; think about it. We’ll watch over you.” Nate tried to soothe her, giving her a light tap on the shoulder.
Colt rubbed his chin. “How many class picks did everyone else get?”
Sarah raised a hand, “Three. Disciple, Pugilist, and Student.”
That turned Colt’s head.
“Disciple and student?”
“Yeah. Weird stuff. I heard that Nate also got Cook—I suppose I’ve always hated this job, deep down. It’s not what I wanted to do. Maybe that’s why I didn’t get it? Anyway, student was a common class—improved skills for learning, but it did say ‘access to magic,’ which, you know, wow. But I thought about it. I don’t know if we’re going to get out of here. Magic is cool and all, but I don’t know a thing about it. So, I picked what I knew best. Disciple was the same thing, only about Edicts. I don’t even know what those are. So. I picked practical. I always liked punching stuff anyway.” Sarah rolled her shoulders, then punched one fist into the other, giving a small smile.
“I had two. Soldier, and Cook.” Nate sighed and rubbed his eyes. Colt didn’t get the impression he liked that title much after his experiences. “You?”
“Four. I got Cook, too. Rogue and Duelist. Edict Carver seemed the best, even as the most confusing. Rare Classes gain an additional stat point per level, I think. Just like Uncommon Classes to Common.” Colt answered, mind whirling.
Magic.
He supposed that ghost dagger he’d gotten was a form of magic. The abilities revolving around magic made sense, too, in a way. Maybe it relied on intelligence and willpower? Hard to say. He hadn’t been presented with a class that gave ‘access to magic,’ but… Well.
It was a fact to file away—a tool not at their disposal but that existed out there nonetheless.
After reviewing their class selections, they began to share their stories—Cindy had been too terrified in the dungeon to be much of any help. When some came face to face with danger, they folded.
Sarah and Nate played nice with the topic, but in fights, she’d turned more into a liability than an asset and hadn’t even personally killed a single kobold. That explained her saying that she didn’t want to go out there again. Maybe it was best if she stayed inside.
That wasn’t particularly good. That meant their side only had three people leveled and combat-ready.
The other side…
“Where’s Chef?” Colt asked.
“When we came back, they were all gone,” Nate answered.
Donnny wouldn’t do well in the dungeon. Not with his fractured mind. Go figure. Bill wouldn’t care about any of that—he might be using the head chef as a meat shield or had decided to go and get him killed out there to preserve their food.
It hurt Colt just a little. That kind of injustice. Knowing that if someone like Bill was in charge, those would be the exact kinds of things he’d do.
He hated Chef. But that didn’t mean the man deserved to die.
This reinforced, more than anything else, the need to stay ahead and clear this dungeon so they could get out.
After they shared their story, which had been largely retreading the part of the Dungeon they’d previously explored and grinding levels, Colt got into the details of his. As he explained what he’d seen, what he’d learned, and got to the Quest, their attention was rapt.
As he described the kobolds crawling down the sides of buildings and overwhelming him in a wave of bodies, Cindy gasped.
When he got to finding his Edict, he had, predictably, a ton of questions, none of which he had an answer to.
Explaining his brush with death against Jack brought them to silence.
“Bosses are difficult. At least that one was,” Colt explained, rubbing the back of his head. “It could be because he was an ‘optional boss,’ but I don’t think I would have won. I just injured him and set him back with my edict. I don’t think he had an edict, which made me having it dangerous for him.”
“Then we get stronger and find where this King Kobold is.” Nate reiterated.
“The plan is the same as it was,” Colt confirmed.
Colt got up to attend to his wounds and get some sleep; he felt exhausted after the fighting and knew he would need to get out again. He didn’t tell Nate or Sarah but planned to head out alone once more. If they divided it, they could explore more of the Dungeon and hopefully find the boss. Comparing working with a group to being by himself… He enjoyed the freedom of fighting with just him. There was less to worry about, less to stress over.
When he found the boss, they could regroup and tackle it together.
And… Privately, he wanted to track Jack down and claim the boss kill he deserved. He wouldn’t forget how it ambushed him, the fear it put into his heart. Colt was eager to put his new stats and skills to the test and face that bastard when he wasn’t exhausted and drained.
———
Dungeon Alert: Optional Boss The Ripper has been defeated.
Congratulations!
All mandatory bosses must be slain before the exit is opened! There are still mandatory bosses remaining.
———