Dungeons.

Every now and then, a Dungeon would pop up around a monster's nest or spawning grounds. When they did, it usually heralded a massive increase in the monster's population of the area, and it went without saying that their elimination became a great priority of any and all nearby settlements. The fact that they also posed a perfect opportunity to gain levels and often held some amount of valuable resources only exacerbated this.

Even in this little, out of the way corner of the world, Lucas had heard about the Great Dungeons. They supposedly started out just as any other, but for various reasons they were left unconquered and uncleared, and with time they grew to something, well, greater. Settlements even supposedly grew around a few of them, and they were treated just like any mundane mine--albeit one that involved plenty of monster-culling.

However, even if they could pose a lucrative opportunity, Dungeons were first-and-foremost a danger to anything living nearby. To have one go unnoticed and untended was to risk an escalation of the problem. That is why Harry's out-of-the-blue remark instantly drew Lucas's full attention.

"What do you mean, 'not even the location of a Dungeon?'" Lucas stood up fully, now. "Do you have anything to say, Harry?"

Lucas's tension did not escape the other boy's notice. Harry held up his arms, palms facing Lucas in a placating gesture.

"Relax," he said, "the Elders already know about it and have checked it out. It's not a problem."

Lucas hesitated, but then decided to trust him for now. He stepped back, and sat down once more.

"The guards are going to be doing culling-runs till the Elders decide it is time to fully clear the Dungeon," Harry continued, "but they're only running them every other day. So, maybe, I might be able to bring you there and we could both get some levels?"

He ended in the last part as a question and gave Lucas a hopeful look, but instead of immediately responding to his proposition, Lucas had another question.

"How do you even know about this?" Lucas shook his head in confusion. "How did you find a Dungeon, when all of the guards' patrols did not?"

Harry hesitated, looked away from Lucas for a moment, and took on a guilty expression. "I didn't. Regan found it--it's where she captured the skaven."

Lucas groaned. "Of course, it is."

That woman had no redeeming qualities, did she? It's a wonder how she lasted so long before finally getting exiled.

Putting that matter aside, Lucas sat back and really considered what Harry was proposing. There was a chance that he could get into the Dungeon by going through Eugene, and if so that would be the much safer option. Lucas didn't really see any reason he'd want to go in with Harry if he could do that.

However, the [Hunter] was extending some amount of trust on his part, just by mentioning the Dungeon so readily. He truly seemed to have honest intentions, and that deserved appreciation to some degree. Lucas did not for any moment feel obligated to help Harry, but perhaps doing so wouldn't be so bad. It might be nice to have someone else around both his age and level to train with.

Lucas really wasn't sure just how much help he could offer, though. It might have been different if Harry was a [Mage] or [Healer], because then he could share his unique knowledge on those matters.

"Ok, I could maybe help you," Lucas spoke up, "just probably not as much as you're hoping for. A lot of the things I can do, I'm not capable of sharing. And a lot of the things I know, wouldn't mean anything to you."

"That's...fine," Harry hesitantly nodded. "I'll still share the Dungeon with you."

"Oh, no. Don't be mistaken, we will not be going into a Dungeon by ourselves. If that is going to be an option, we'll ask to join one of the guards' culling-runs. I might be able to convince them to bring us along," Lucas stated.

Harry furrowed his brow. "You mean, you'll help me for...nothing?"

Lucas shrugged.

"Why?" The [Hunter] asked again.

"It might be useful to have someone to level with," Lucas explained simply with another shrug.

"Oh." Harry looked dumbfounded at his answer.

"That all comes later, though. Before you interrupted me," Lucas gave him his best attempt at a withering glare, "I was busy working on my own Skills. You should go back to the village, or whatever, and we can talk about your Skills some other time."

"Right," Harry looked chagrined, "sorry."

He moved as if he would leave, as Lucas requested, but then paused.

"Are you sure you'll be fine on your own?" he asked Lucas. "There really is supposed to be goblins around, though I haven't seen them. Maybe I should stay."

Lucas shook his head. "I heard it was just one goblin wanderer, and it's already dead. Besides, I can take on a goblin." He waved back in the direction of the village, "I killed that skaven, and I didn't even have my Class then."

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Harry was clearly unsure, but when Lucas didn't back down on his statement, he eventually relented and nodded.

"Ok, I'll go finish checking my traps. See you back in the village."

"See you," Lucas waved him off.

Once he could no longer hear the [Hunter] trekking away from the clearing, Lucas turned back to his chosen log. He'd lost some time, and if he wanted to get [Shock] up high enough--ideally to level 10--he'd have to work a bit harder than before.

----------------------------------------

Lucas continued scorching the log and generally wearing himself out for a few more hours, choosing to skip lunch in the process. He never checked his notifications through it all. When it neared time for Lucas to end this bout of training and return home, he decided to finish off with a bang.

His chosen log, which had barely deteriorated since it was uprooted before Lucas came along, now bore many scorch marks and even had great chunks blown out of it. Little remained of where he had first started striking, and less would remain after this.

Lucas picked out the most solid chunk of the fallen tree and stepped up to it, getting into a boring stance for his final strike. He lined up his fist and then, in an instant, activated [Accelerant Frame] and dumped all the mana he could into [Shock]. His fist blasted forth trailing a blue glow. The very moment he made impact, blinding light radiated outwards accompanied by a resounding crack that knock Lucas onto his back. Despite the momentary stun, he did not miss the sight of his log exploding into two, with smaller shards shooting out in a half circle around him.

The two split halves spun slightly with the residual force, before settling. The blast hadn't done much more than toss Lucas back, and he was up instantly to inspect the damage he caused, not having to rely on [Arclight Renewal] in the slightest to bounce back so quickly. He inspected the log--logs--from all sides and step forward to touch the charred divide that marked where they'd been joined. Neither spot had been ignited, and so they held no excess heat, but still Lucas quickly drew his touch back as if he was burned.

"Whoa," he belatedly whispered to himself. He could admit to expecting some spectacle with that final strike, as it had been part of the reason he charged his Skill with so much mana. He hadn't been expect to blast a huge fucking tree in half, though, even if it he previously wore it down a fair deal. Maybe he could move on to fighting monsters sooner than he'd thought...

No, no. I had the right idea before, Lucas abandoned the idea. Best to get as many levels as I reasonably can, then move on to a higher challenge. How did the saying go? 'Don't seek out the dragon before facing the drake?' In this case, Lucas wasn't even ready for a drake.

Now was the perfect time to check just how much progress he made, though.

[*ding [Aspirant of the Storm] has reached level 25! You have 150 free stats!]

[*ding [Accelerant Frame] has reached level 9-11!]

[*ding [Rapid Regeneration] has reached level 15!]

[*ding [Tempest Fighting] has reached level 22-25!]

[*ding [Storm Core] has reached level 25!]

[*ding [Shock] has reached level 4-11!]

[*ding [Quick Step] has reached level 12-13!]

[*ding [Perseverance] has reached level 2!]

[*ding [Learning] has reached level 25!]

Lucas smiled. All in all, it was not bad for a day's work. It really was a day's work, though. After draining his mana pool several times--including with that last move--there's was no chance he'd be very productive when he got home. He could already feel the headache coming on, and he would count himself lucky that the effects of mana exhaustion did not visit him nearly as harshly as others.

With nothing else holding him there, he started heading back in the direction of the village, keeping a watchful eye out for traps, monsters, guard patrols, or pesky little [Hunter]s that didn't understand the meaning of 'leave me alone.' The walk back was quiet, though. No one and nothing there to disturb him, so some of his attention turned back inward.

There was something Lucas had been putting off for a while now, but the time had come. With a thought, he opened up his status and allocated his points according to thee distribution he'd decided on.

[Lucas]

[Free Stats: 0]

[HP: 476/480]

[MP: 51/720]

[STR: 38]

[DEX: 50]

[VIT: 48]

[WIS: 72]

[INT: 70]

[Class: Aspirant of the Storm]

[Level: 25]

[Skills:

* [Accelerant Frame: 11]

* [Rapid Regeneration: 15]

* [Arclight Renewal: 23]

* [Tempest Fighting: 25]

* [Storm Core: 25]

* [Shock: 11]

* [Overcharge: 1]

* [Quick Step: 11]

*

*

[General Skills:

* [Identify: 11]

* [Keen Mind: 12]

* [Perseverance: 2]

* [Vigilance: 19]

* [Stealth: 14]

* [Cooking:13]

*

* [Learning: 25]

*

* [----------]

Lucas shivered as he felt his new stats settle in. As always, it was an intoxicating experience, but this time he practically doubled them. It was a rush, for sure, and he found himself wondering what a full powered strike from him could do now. He certainly wasn't about to test it. At least, not till he prepared himself.

Moving on, having his status open made Lucas consider his four empty Skill slots. He really needed to fill those sometime soon if he wanted to have twenty maxed out for his next Class evolution. The necessity didn't make doing so any easier though. He couldn't just have any old Skills to fill them all out. He wanted good ones, or at least ones that would match the path he was taking, but finding those was hard.

I mean, maybe I could move a couple of my General Skills to my Class, but that doesn't leave me with any less empty slots in the end. To say nothing of the actual feasibility of the idea.

He would fill them, it just took time for these things to progress. Even if he stalled out at level 50 for a time while he worked on his Skills, he'd get it done. There was no need to be in such a rush.

Just then, Lucas felt a pull on his instincts and awareness--one he recognized as [Vigilance] at work. He immediately dropped to the forest floor and fell into [Stealth], flaring his perception to its limits. He shouldn't have gotten caught up in his status--it was a stupid mistake. Now, there was a threat of some kind nearby that his Skill was picking up, but thus far he could find no sign of with his higher awareness.

It was a risk, but he didn't dare move. There was still a chance that whatever it was wasn't aware of him. If that was the case, it still might pass by without conflict, or else Lucas could at least scout it a little first. He was listening closely to the forest around him in an attempt to make out whatever it was, when he was violently disrupted by something latching onto his shirt, and yanking him back into the air.

"Ahhh!!"