Seeing as we had no pressing business, at least not anything the four of us could do anything about. I decided to see if Fiona found any good dungeons to raid.

"Say, Fiona, you didn't happen to come across another horde dungeon while you were scouting did you?"

"Unfortunately, no. Plenty of other dungeons though. Looking for something specific?"

"A challenge and a way to level. Although, a first clear bonus would be nice as well."

"I couldn't say about the first clear bonus but I did come across a level twenty-five, a level nineteen, and a level sixteen dungeon."

"Hmm, what do you guys think, start at the easy one and work our way up?"

"Yes, let us fight!" Ska added excitedly.

Martin just shrugged, he was still grieving his sister.

"Ok... Fiona, point us in the right direction."

It turns out the dungeon wasn't far. We landed near the base of the mountain on the western face. We would have to climb a way to get to it. There just wasn't anywhere closer to land. We climbed up the scree-covered slope as the winds buffeted us.

The dungeon opening was set back from an outcrop. Angry screeches met us as soon as we got near. I was forced to duck as a creature flew at me. I hear Ska howl as he leaped upon the flying beast, riding it to the ground.

The scaly creature was about the size of a St. Bernard. It had leathery wings that attached along its body and its hind legs. While Ska wrestled with the beast, it tried to bite at him with its long neck.

I couldn't afford to help him though as I was fighting off my own. I swung my staff, bashing the creature in the neck as it flew at me.

I used Identify as the creature scrabbled back to its feet.

Young Cockatrice | Level 15

Now I had played D&D as a teen and this thing didn't resemble a chicken at all. Its face was more reminiscent of a dinosaur, teeth and all. My target hissed at me, pulling its sinuous neck back to strike at me. Before it could strike Fiona stabbed it through the back. It screeched in pain and snapped at her but she had already phased out. It was enough time for me to crack it across the head. This time I activated the enchantment on my staff. I wasn't sure that was needed as I heard a loud crack and the creature went limp.

Ska and Martin had taken care of theirs so I scanned the area for any more before I heard Ska groan in pain.

"I need help," he croaked.

I ran over to see what the issue was. He sported numerous deep scratches from the claws of the creature. Not a big deal, except for the fact that stone was slowly spreading from the wounds.

I held the fidgeting grimalkin down while I used Cleanse. This particular infection was much stronger than my skill and I had to use my spell four times to clear his system from the disease. After, I healed his numerous wounds.

"You good?"

He nodded, getting slowly to his feet.

"Martin, how bout you, any wounds?"

"No, it never got through my shield."

"Alright," I said, "you guys good to continue?"

Everyone nodded, I guess they were as eager to level as I was. Although, for different reasons.

You have entered The cavern of the silent sentinels: Level 16 dungeon. Recommended team size 5 people of level 17 or higher

I didn't understand the name of the dungeon until we made it to the first room. There, scattered about the room were dead dwarves, frozen in stone. Seeing the bodies I realized the first clear bonus was unlikely.

Still, with the high level of the creatures, it would make for plenty of experience. The four of us dispatched three more of the cockatrice. With the low ceiling, the creatures were easy to deal with. Ska was the only one I had to keep my eyes on. Everyone else had a way to avoid taking damage.

The next room we entered was a massive cavern. I couldn't even estimate its size, it stretched far into the distance and massive stalactites and stalagmites dotted the area, making it hard to see. Even with this visual barrier, I could see movement on and near these pillars. The cockatrices were using a bony spur along their wing as a grasping appendage. Dozens were crawling on these towering formations.

Then there was the smell. It smelled like someone had barfed on a wet dog. I had to swallow back a gag as the fetid wind blew toward me from deeper inside the cavern.

We didn't need to worry about being stealthy, the creatures were making a racket with their screeching and moving about.

"Martin, see if you can pull a few with your mana pistol, I don't want to fight them in the open if we can avoid it."

"Alright."

Martin pulled out the weapon and fired at some of the closer creatures. He hit one and landed shots near a few others.

The creature that was hit hissed angrily at us and took flight but didn't come our way. The other two sprang off their perches and flew at us. I Imbued my staff with lightning and air, then whipped the enhanced Stunning Gust at one of the creatures.

The magic tore through one of its wings and it tumbled to the ground, squawking angrily as it tried to right itself.

Martin's summon, what I liked to call the tentacled horror, snatched the other creature out of the air. It looked like a cross between a squid and a deer. The whole head was replaced by long tentacles that hung limply to the ground most of the time. The rest of the creature was covered in barbed scales that would rend flesh if you rubbed up against them. Suckered feet replaced hooves and the squelching sound it made when it walked was the thing of nightmares. It was even worse when the thing walked up walls or hung from a ceiling by those appendages.

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I couldn’t suppress a shudder.

The summon was slow to walk but the tentacles on its face were lightning fast. The cockatrice didn't even have time to give an indignant squawk before the creature crushed it in its many-limbed grasp.

Meanwhile, Ska had loped over and tore open the neck of the one I brought down. I sighed, this was going to be a slog.

***

We stepped out of the dungeon a few hours later. Everyone was exhausted. The creatures hadn't been all that difficult as long as we kept pulling them in. The only time we got to a hairy part was when ten of the creatures descended on us after we entered the main cavern. Ska was forced to hide in Martin's protective bubble while we fought off the creatures. Not because he couldn't kill them but because I had my hands full fighting and didn't have time to make sure he wasn't turning to stone.

I was thankful that the creatures were relatively dumb. And that we had a way to protect ourselves from their attacks.

There was no boss monster within this dungeon, another sign that it had been cleared recently. Still, we did get some stuff out of clearing the entire thing.

For clearing this dungeon your team has been awarded 3500 credits

Cockatrice claws x 100

Cockatrice venom sacs x 100

I actually had an idea for the venom sacs. Something similar to the nerve gas bombs I had made before. I would have to develop a warhead though but that should be simple enough. Also, this should be much safer to use than that nerve gas. It wasn't aerosolized so you had to get the liquid inside your body for it to start to affect you.

The only reason I was considering this instead of using more nerve gas was just how gruesome the nerve agents were. They weren't designed to kill quickly and painlessly. They were designed to spread fear and panic. I would never have considered using them if the dwarves had an open-air city. Also mixing four types of toxins ensured a quick death. My idea for this new weapon was to take care of a problem we had run into before. It would mean going back around the mountain but I think it would be worth it.

"Ska, what would you say if I said I had an idea for clearing out the Abyss?"

"Truly?" he crooned, "It would ease the minds of my people greatly, not having to worry about one day having a creature crawl up from below."

"Even after they kicked you out?"

"They did what was best for the village. Weakness breeds trouble. I am ashamed to admit that I was weak and a fool."

"You think they will take you back?" I asked.

"No, banishment is permanent. Even if I did wish to go back, I would not anymore. There is so much to learn about this world."

"Fair enough. It will take me a few weeks to create the devices. We might as well stick around and keep running the dungeon each day."

So, that's what we did. Each morning we would run the dungeon. After we would do whatever for the rest of the day. Martin mostly kept to himself, still grieving over his sister. Ska would run off and hunt local wildlife and Fiona would either stick around or join one of the others. It seemed like she spent most of her time talking with Martin. I was glad to see he wasn't just bottling up his emotions. Hopefully, they could help each other. I know that Fiona had some residual issues from her imprisonment. We had talked about it. It was one of the reasons she always chose to go scouting. The open spaces helped her cope.

I tinkered with my warhead design. For this plan to work I needed to aerosolize the venom. Considering that it wasn't designed to do that and would dry out quickly the system had to act fast. After wasting two full days, I realized I was overthinking everything. I pulled out one of the corpses I used for testing my tattooing and injected the venom. I smiled after there was no change.

I took the meat and left the fortress. Ska had told me that there were predators in the area. I set out the bait and waited. After an hour a creature about the size of a medium dog started sniffing around. It located the food and dove in, tearing it apart. From my vantage point, I got to watch the creature turn to stone after eating the infected meat.

"Well, that makes things a whole lot easier."

Instead of screwing around with warheads and dispersal mechanisms, I had Ska hunt a bunch of creatures. We cut the meat up into smaller chunks and injected the venom. I did end up having to Cleanse us a few times while we did this. Any small cut led to petrification creeping in. Not a fun experience.

The next day we flew over the expanse that was the Abyss and dropped our tainted meat. It was the fastest leveling up I had done since the first days of the System. I also learned of the creature's levels finally.

You have killed a level 42 Rift-Stalker

You have killed a level 44 Rift-Stalker

You have killed a level 40 Rift-Stalker

You have killed a level 45 Rift-Stalker

Etc, etc. I ignored the messages after the first dozen came through. I was really glad we hadn't let one of these creatures onboard. There was no way we could have taken it in a straight-up fight. It was a good thing I didn't mind fighting dirty.

By the time the messages stopped coming in I had made it to level nineteen. Martin had catapulted all the way to level seventeen. Ska was now seventeen as well but I suspected he was on the cusp of hitting eighteen. And Fiona had hit sixteen. That experience deficit she suffered really sucked.

Even with these new levels I still didn't feel confident in taking on the Black Dragon but we were getting closer. I looked over the new skills presented to me.

Life Link: For 10sec anyone who damages the target of the spell heals 25 damage per attack, must be within 3m of the target to receive healing. Cost 50 mana, cooldown 3 min

Beacon: Your words draw the attention of all enemies within a 20m radius. For 10 sec you are the target of everyone's aggression. Cost 100 mana, cooldown 10 min

Shockwave: Your weapon produces a shockwave of force that strikes the target within 25m for weapon damage and stuns them for 5sec. Cost 70 mana, cooldown 2 min

Mana Link: For 30m you have a 5% chance of recovering 10% of the damage dealt with each attack as mana. Cost 75 mana, cooldown 1 hour

Seeing as I had no other decent options I took these four abilities. I wasn't completely sold on Mana Link. A five percent chance wasn't much. Plus it was only a self-buff, I couldn't cast it on anyone else. I guess it was a hit or miss, either I waste 75 mana or have a chance to gain far more.

Life Link would be nice. I would just cast that on Ska's target. I would have to warn Fiona about it though.

Beacon was a meh. I didn't relish being the center of attention, even if I had the best armor and was the most likely to survive. But if it meant keeping a fatal blow off an ally I could accept that.

Now, Shockwave was nice. I had been hoping for another ranged option. Stunning Gust was ok but it only had a small chance to stun. Now I had a guaranteed stun and another way to funnel my weapon damage through a ranged attack.

After looking over the skills, I checked on my stats to see how they changed.

Paul Fuller | Mantra Enchanter | Level 19

Strength: 13(+2) modifier x20

Endurance: 19 modifier x38

Agility: 15(+2) modifier x20

Perception: 17 modifier x20

Intelligence: 22 modifier x38

Wisdom: 14 modifier x20

Charisma: 11 modifier x20

Luck: 14 modifier x20

HP: 722(794)

Mana: 836

Mana Regen(M): 280

My mana and mana regeneration was getting to be quite ridiculous. I had enough mana now that I could multicast Area of Denial back to back, despite the doubled cost. And I was now recovering almost five mana a second.

I drummed my fingers on the arm of the chair, thinking about what level twenty would bring. I also needed to think about what class to dual-class into. Back when I had been dumped into the desert I would have chosen a class that could make portals or teleports around wherever. Now with the Fortress, that seemed pointless. Well, maybe not pointless but less of a concern.

I decided to shelf those thoughts for later, I had a full level to think about that. For now, I decided to head back to Texas. A bit of rest and relaxation before we hit up the other dungeons would do us good.

The others were focused on their level-ups and skills while I oriented the fortress and got us moving again.