The giant snow rat squeaked in pain as blood began to splash around. Glacien didn’t use any of her skills during the attack, so it looked like she was pacing herself.
While the creature was in pain, Glacien began to run around the monster, and then charged to attack from behind. The Giant snow rat suddenly turned around to attack her and charged as well, but Glacien used Ice Shield. Thanks to the increased magic, the Ice Shield was a lot thicker than before and stopped the charge of the enemy. It also made it get dizzy thanks to the impact.
In the next moment, Glacien charged and then collided against the already damaged Ice Shield and then made it fall on the giant snow rat.
“Oh, she recalled what I told her to do before…”
I made Glacien use that strategy against two snow rats once and it looked like learning the use of that kind of tactic. The ice shield knocked down the boss and then Glacien got over the monster… before the creature could fight back, she attacked the other eye.
The monster wasn’t that resistant. It was the first boss of the labyrinth, so it looked like this fight wouldn’t be that difficult. I made her use Beast’s Fury a few times just to be sure, but it looked like that wasn’t really necessary.
You received 200 experience points.
You completed a trial. Please choose between the classes: Spearman, Knight, and Viking (Lord of War).
The choices weren’t as weird as before, but the fact that they all seemed like melee class was a bit troubling. No, they definitely were melee classes. I would guess that since there are no towns or villages in the area, conquering this labyrinth and getting these types of classes would be the final test for the warriors of the Skarnash Tribelands.
In any case, I already got the first two classes and even upgraded them, so the real option was the last one.
You obtained the Lord of War class.
You improved the Health Regeneration parameter.
You unlocked the Aptitude: Battlefield Presence.
You unlocked the skill: Warlord’s Command.
You unlocked the skill: Heavy Strike.
BATTLEFIELD PRESENCE: GAIN 1 POINT OF EXPERIENCE FOR EVERY ALLY BENEFITING FROM YOUR BUFFS DURING COMBAT.
Warlord’s Command - Issue a rallying command, boosting all allies’ attack and defense by 20% for 20 seconds. Cost: 50 Stamina
Heavy Strike: Unleash a devastating attack that deals massive damage to an enemy and reduces their defense by 25% for 10 seconds. Cost: 40 Stamina
They weren’t half bad skills, but the title of the class was a bit weird. It was the first time I got a class with that kind of name. It made it obvious that it had some evolutions. I would bet that they would be insanely strong in the hands of the ogres given their size and defense. It would be even scarier if they could use the skill at the same time and then the effects could stack. They would be unstoppable.
“It looks like she didn’t get a class or anything else aside from a lot of experience… That would explain why animals don’t get inside dungeons or labyrinths to grow stronger. That also would explain why the wolves were defeated by her with ease.”
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Animals shouldn’t be born with that many classes, unless they are magical like Glacien. So, they have fewer aptitudes and that decreases their experience gain by a large margin.
In any case, it was time to dismantle the boss… the creature had some ice claws I probably could use to make a weapon for Glacien. Even if she had her own claws, I can’t use Dreadful Enchantment on her claws directly.
Maybe I could teach her how to use a knife or dagger in her mouth. That way, I could use the enchantment, and she didn’t have to take too many risks biting her target.
“You are growing, so I guess the claws should have some room to fit you for a while… wait, aren’t you growing a little too fast?”
I should have realized this sooner, but before, Glacien was just like a small kitten, but now while standing, she was at least five centimeters taller. I knew that kittens only need three months to grow into adults, but I didn’t know much about sabertooth tigers or their magical variants.
“Maybe it is because of the increase of your parameters… Considering that, not increasing your strength would be a waste too. That will help you save mana and it will work great with Beast’s Fury, so let’s increase that equally.”
Glacien looked proud of her victory, so she was in a good mood not to think too much about my idea. Not like I was very sure of how much she could actually think.
In any case, it seems that teaching her some fighting tricks will make her learn them and use them by herself in some battles. The results still would depend on her judgment and the conditions of the fight, but knowing them was better than not knowing them.
I finished getting the claws of the monster and then I equipped them with Glacien. It was only for a test since the leather had to be tanned, but it fit on her and also was adjustable thanks to a line that I put around it.
“All right, you can use this later. Let’s get to the next section.”
I stored the rest of the body of the monster. The leather of the boss could be used to make some nice magic bags. Using that kind of leather to train for the amulets was a waste.
The second section of the dungeon didn’t look much different from the first. It still had the shape of a rough cavern covered in ice. The ground still looked like a skating rink… but it wasn’t a real problem to either of us.
Two slimes began to stir and emerge from the ice-covered ground. A faint gurgling sound accompanied their emergence as they pushed against the brittle layer of ice, shattering it into jagged fragments.
The first slime seeped upward in a slow, deliberate motion, its gelatinous body a translucent shade of icy blue. Its “skin” shimmered with frost, and tiny shards of ice floated suspended within its body, giving it the appearance of a living snow globe. Mist radiated from it in a cold aura, the chill biting at the surrounding air.
The second slime followed, its movement more fluid and chaotic. Soon, the ground returned to normal… that process of spawning creatures was truly weird. In any case, I exploded one of them with an arrow and left the other to Glacien.
You received 25 experience points.
Glacien charged, but the ice slime charged again and then slammed itself against her. Although she had gotten stronger, the slime still pushed her backward and the impact made her dizzy. The creature soon followed with an ice bullet, but I blocked the attack with an arrow and then finished off the creature with the same shot.
You received 20 experience points.
“It looks like it is too soon for you to solo one of them.”
“Rrrrrrrr...”
“Don’t complain, I don’t like it either, but results are everything.”
Putting that aside, we began to advance. The ice slimes didn’t leave anything behind, but at least finding the mana cores was easy thanks to that. We couldn’t get materials, but we could get time in return and there was nothing more valuable than that.
Thanks to that, I had the chance to have some ideas… using all the materials of this labyrinth and then trying to add an effect that agreed with everything around, I began to carve a bone bracelet for Glacien, I could already see her frowning. Unlike me, she had qualms about using that kind of thing. In any case, the final result wasn’t half bad.
Bone Bracelet (Uncommon)
Enchantment Slots: Ice Affinity (Adept) - Increases your Ice Affinity by forty points.
Durability: 10/10
Although the materials were subpar, I was able to make something pretty decent given all the materials and the enchantment that I had envisioned. Making Glacien wear two of those would make her a lot more fearsome. If only she could learn something like Ice Bullet or Ice Arrow.
I didn’t know her well-enough to be certain, but I was quite sure that she wouldn’t want to use something like a Fireball bracelet. The element also went against her nature, after all.
“Oh, well… can’t have everything we want.”
As we made our way through the labyrinth, the challenges were quite manageable. The monsters we encountered were that weak, barely posing a threat to us. Despite their lack of difficulty, there was an odd tension in the air. Every so often, Glacien would stop in her tracks, turning to growl at the darkness behind us, her icy blue eyes narrowing as if she sensed something lurking just out of sight.
Whenever that happened, an uneasy feeling crept over me, and I instinctively quickened our pace, making us forward. Yet, no matter how far we went or how much we pressed on, nothing ever came of it. The unseen presence stayed just that, unseen. Still, Glacien’s behavior kept me on edge, a clear reminder that there were still enemies looking for us.
‘Perhaps I should have dealt with them in the first section… getting the classes ahead of them gave me some advantage over them, but it looks like they didn’t care much about it.’
Those cloaked guys should have changed their strategies, but I had no idea what they were plotting. When it comes to using the labyrinths in their favor and against me, it felt like all the enemies were tens of steps ahead of me.
The only thing that didn’t put me on edge was the fact that I knew that they wanted me alive… as long as they thought like that, I could get them by surprise and find an opening. Still, the situation was far different than before… since those guys could summon those weird tentacles and I had the feeling that it was a part of a monster much more fearsome than they can ever be…