There was a summoner class, where they didn’t need a ritual and could have multiple summons. The book said the Class gave some summons, and they could find others. I don’t know how many I could have. I suspect not many. Why would I want to work with a creature like Rob?

The exit portal is just there. Shall I exit? There are probably a grumpy bunch of soldiers waiting out there. On the other hand, the Maze has been reformed, and the monsters have been seeded. I suspect that as soon as I leave the Guardians chamber, the floor boss will appear.

I am feeling the call of hidden loot and a maze to solve. I need to learn to work with Rob, although some of the passages will only be wide enough. This is not avoiding the consequences. I am here to train, so this is training.

We entered the maze and immediately noticed it had changed. We started moving and mapping. I am sure the floor boss will be there when we return. I jumped on Rob’s back, and he carried me. He was fast, and where he couldn’t fit on the floor, he was halfway up the walls. I fell off the first time, but Acrobatics and Cat Reflexes let me land on my feet. Rob stopped and looked at me like I was stupid. I would need to level my Riding Skills and get a saddle to give me something to hold on to. I was just pleased he did not decide to use the roof instead of the floor.

The first Graks we encountered sprints forward, chomps down and then swallows it. He then uses his tongue to drag another to him and chomps down with this Crushing Bite. I kill the other two, or there will be nothing left to harvest. There is nothing to Harvest from the two he ate, and the loot drops just appeared. I think Rob enjoys his food.

We moved through the maze, mapped it, and cleared it out of Graks. I found six lesser caches and two larger hidden caches. I can see there are many complaints about the maze and the time it took. They are lucky I didn’t pick the Kobolds, or they would be in a maze of traps. They should thank me.

I made sure to leave one of the smaller caches unopened, and I didn’t want to trigger a hidden growth quest about finding all the caches.

The five smaller caches gave me basic skill stones and reasonable weapons. I did get a general Poison Skill Stone. It did not specify saliva, and I almost learned it myself. I held off because I have my Death magic, so I kept it for a potential bond, and if they didn’t need it, I could sell it or use it.

One of the larger caches gave Chitin armour. It was probably spider chitin, but it was good quality. It was not named or part of a set like my Dance of Death, but it was good armour with self-repair.

The other large cache had the Map ability stone. That would sell for a lot. I can see Map being needed in a maze. I won’t get a great price here in Slyhill, so I will keep it for now. When I find somebody in need who can pay extravagant prices, like a certain elf, then we will have a market.

Eventually, we ran out of the maze to explore. The floor boss was a little tougher, but that was nothing against Rob and me. Eventually, there was nowhere to go but out. I activated the Summons Tattoo, which took up the length of my arm. Rob faded from my sight, and the fact that I was so sensitive to the mana meant I could feel it moving into the tattoo.

It is like Rob was still there but asleep, or maybe only partially conscious, was a better way to put it. Those who don’t think summons are alive and treat them like tools must be made of stone. Rob is obviously still there with me, and partially conscious, is still alive.

I can level, so I do that before I leave. Finding the caches is enough to level Seeker again, or maybe it was the growth condition of the Trial. I am not sure, but I leveled it. I have enough left over to level Pilferer, but I need to steal something significant. The advanced classes are not easy to level.

Classes/Attributes

Name: Marvin Wygon

Age: 24

Race: Al'rashian

Level: 10 Sub Level 8

Class: Seeker 3 /Spectral Slayer 6 / Pilferer 1

Profession: Performer 6 / Wardweaver 2

Health: 800

Stamina: 800

Mana: 510

Strength: 40

Agility: 55

Dexterity: 51

Constitution: 40

Intelligence: 51

Wisdom: 41

Perception: 2

Endurance 1

Free Attribute Points: 0 Free Skill Points: 0 Companion Bond

Skills

Precision Throw 5

Thrust 7

Crushing Blow 3

Parry 4

Holy Strike 7

Create Dart 3

Chop 2

Slash 4

Block 1

Bloodletting 4

Long Slash 2

Quick Strike 5

Create Arrow 1

Shield Bash 1

Death Strike 2

Shadow Phase 4

Burning Strike 3

Nights Embrace 2

Auras

Provoking Aura 1

Rejuvenating Aura 1

Techniques

Razors Edge 6

Grappling 4

Basic Axe 5

Basic Blunt Weapons 3

Blade Storm 2

Steel Serpent 5

Basic Archery 1

Basic Spear 1

Purifying Dance 4

Three Steps 3

Basic Shield 1

Serpents Blade Dance 1

Basic Unarmed Combat 10/Max

Basic Small Blades 10/Max

Basic Longsword 10/Max

Movement Skills

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Quick Hands 6

Climb 7

Ambidextrous 3

Acrobatics 4

Free Runner 4

Cat Reflexes 5

Steady Footing 3

Light Speed 4

Charge 2

Sleight-of-hand 2

Swimming 1

Stealth 10/Max

Dash 10/Max

Dodge 10/Max

Clever Hands 10/Max

General Skills

Riding 8

Appraisal 6

Identify 8

Detect Traps 10/Max

Disarm Traps 10/Max

Create Trap 5

Animal Care 4

Sewing 5

Harvesting 5

Butchering 1

Weave Ward 2

Unravel Ward 1

Tracking 4

Scribe 1

Herbalist 1

Mining 3

Leadership 2

Mimic Sound 1

Voice Throw 1

Throwing 10/Max

Pickpocket 10/Max

Lock Pick 10/Max

Armour

Light Armour 4

Medium Armour 5

Death Resistance 3

Toughened Skin 2

Fire Resistance 5

Mana

Mana Disruption 5

Mana Strength 4

Mana Sensitivity 8

MicroMana Manipulation 5

MacroMana Manipulation 2

Mana Web (Sensing) 3

Mana Syphon 3

Mana Manipulation 10/Max

Mana Control 10/Max

Seeker

Seekers Intuition 3

Pathfinder 3

Lore 2

Vision

Observant Eye 7

Spectral Vision 5

Mana Sight 2

Nightsight 1

Abilities

Light Manipulation 8

Minor Regeneration 2

Storage 5

Shadow Manipulation 3

Farsight 1

Map

Spectral Cloak 3

Death Manipulation 2

Assessing Eyes 2

Helping Hand 1

Charms

Spark 4

Self-Clean 7

Self-Dry 4

Trim 5

Mend 1

Trickle 1

Wither 1

Glow 1

Dim 1

Spells

Burning Light 3

Copy Image 6

Flash 7

Project Image 7

Animate Image 5

Cutting Light 4

Eclipse 2

Umbral Cold 3

Summons

Name: Rob

Race: Greater Lizard

Health: 800

Stamina: 800

Mana: 510

Night Sight

Adaptive Camouflage

Acidic Poison Saliva

Sprint

Crushing Bite

Viscous Tongue

Suction Paws

Tail Smash

Regeneration

I am finally as ready as I can be. I trigger the exit portal. As expected, there are a lot of guards, adventurers and students hanging around. I am lucky the observant lieutenant is not there.

The senior Guard approached me, “Professor Myantha. You are not listed as entering the Trial.”

“Trials are my area of especially, Sergeant. Of course, I was in the Trial.” I was very pleased with my Mimic Sound skill, and the Voice Throw meant I slipped into the crowd invisible in my Spectral Cloak while ‘Myantha’ distracted the guards.

Once I was away from the eyes, I triggered the Nobleman Disguise. I then looked on with interest at the discussion as I worked my way to the back of the crowd.

“What can you report, Ma’am?”

I was glad Myantha wasn’t here either.

“I will send the guard a copy of my full report as soon as it is complete, but the new floor is a maze,” Copy-Myantha said. There was a lot of muttering at the confirmation of a Maze. She started to walk away, and people made a space for such a distinguished person.

“But, Ma’am, where is your party?” The Sergent was too well trained, or maybe he had a skill that was tingling.

“Later, Sergeant!” Copy-Myantha said and disappeared around a corner.

Nobleman me sauntered away from the crowd, and I bought some pasties to nibble as I made my way to my rented room. I duck into an alley for a second, come back out in casual street clothes and continue on.

I open the door to my rooms, and the real Myantha is standing there looking cross, with a smirking Lieutenant next to her.

“Where had you been!” she accused.

“Getting pastries,” I said, holding up the evidence. “Sorry, if I had known you were here, I could have got extra.”

“We have been here for hours,” she said, “In fact, it was not long after the Trial changed that we came looking for you.”

“Right. I just heard about that from the crowd and the entrance. I can do a run with you, but you shouldn’t have waited for me.”

Myantha was about to explode at me when Lieutenant Alistern interrupted and said, “That is a great idea. I would love to do a run with both of you. We do need to go now, though. I assume that is fine after waiting all this time?” he was smirking again. Does he ever stop doing that?

My visions of a soft bed were fading. Neither of them were fooled. “Very well, let's go.”

“After you,” Alistern said, indicating that we were both to go first. It was almost like he wanted to keep me in his sight.

None of us spoke much as we retraced my steps to the Trial entrance. I did stop to buy more pastries.

We approached the Guard, and Alistern pulled rank to go straight in. He was in Guard uniform, Myantha was in partial armour, and I was in street casual.

“Professor! Didn’t you just come out of the Trial?” The sergeant approached us.

“No, Sergeant, I haven't been in yet.”

The sergeant looked confused, “But you just came out and spoke to us,”

Alistern interrupted, “How long ago was this sergeant?”

“Less than half an hour, Sir.”

“That's fine. Let’s put it down to confusion for now.” That was worded as an order. “We’ll be clearing the Trial for a few hours, Sergent. Keep good records of everybody coming and going, please.”

“Yes, sir.”

I got a request to join the Party of Alistern Craw, which I accepted. Myantha also appeared in the group a second later.

“After you,’ Alistern said politely.

I dropped into the hole.