With a satisfying crunch, the cheekbone of the greenskin monster exploded into a mess, along with its large flappy ear. Nero reeled his hand and punched again. And again. And again. Now, instead of black, he was seeing green as he tasted the foul blood of the goblin. Suddenly, his [Poisoned] state ended as the effect ran its duration. A sliver of strength surged in Nero's body and the goblin fell down from him after the next punch. Nero found a second wind within himself. He squeezed the wounded shoulder and punched the crooked nose of the boss until the whole face caved in, no longer recognizable as a face.
Then he thought he was going unconscious because he was seeing light spots. Blinking, he found these were coming from the boss' body. He willed the buckler to withdraw and opened the monster bag, sucking the goblin's corpse inside. A white shining crystal plonked down from the bag lip, rolling on the green blood, and his display lit up.
> Compatible Boss Anima detected. Grade yellow. Energy absorbed above the threshold. Processing upgrade. Weighing Attribute strain.
>
> For defeating a (error division by zero) foe seven times your level, you gained +3 Vigor
The sudden boost to Vigor cleared Nero's head. He shook the confusion and then laughed. He roared his victory and raised his arms. Then he noticed he was still inside the Dungeon and shouting was as stupid as someone could be. He shut his mouth and looked around. The tunnels were still closed shut, probably to avoid having him go outside and keep farming. The delve was over, the boss was dead.
He lit up his display. Nero looked and couldn't believe. His Attributes jumped, but he solo'ed the rank I Dungeon with a level of zero. Shaking his head and barely containing his mirth, Nero shouted again. He hooted, jeered and exulted. Tired, he thought about taking a nap when he noticed the formerly blood-stained cards. When the boss died, all the blood not on his person vanished into motes of light. After he stowed the Anima crystal the boss dropped, he picked up the cards, reorganizing the deck. It was his potion deck, one of the most important ones. Just to make things better, Nero summoned a [Healing Potion] and drank it.
He felt he deserved that alchemical pat on the back. He retrieved the cards and then noticed a silver sheen on a card that was face-down as he picked it up. Another [Egress]. The boss was guaranteed to drop one for every Adventurer in the boss chamber. Laughing, he flicked the card away after confirming that his card was still slotted. Then he noticed another face-down card where he found the previous one. He picked it up and saw the green background first. Nero glanced at the border and it wasn't white or green. He shouted again and shook the Class card around. He found a rare Class as the boss drop.
Then he took a good look at it and confusion settled on his face. What the heck was he looking at? The border wasn't blue, orange, or purple either. It was black. And it had an illustration. An eight-armed pierrot was juggling a sword, a wand, a dagger dripping venom, a shield, a book, a potion, all of that while riding a monocycle.
> [Jester] - Unique. Requires +1 on each Attribute. Binds on pickup. Bound to Nero.
>
> Acquisition conditon: Kill a Dungeon boss solo at level zero.
>
> +0 Strength
> +0 Vigor
> +0 Endurance
> +0 Agility
> +0 Dexterity
>
> +0 Reason
> +0 Willpower
> +0 Perception
> +2 Charisma
>
> "Despised, scorned, ridiculed. The Jester cares not. Jack of all trades but master of none, he never dismays. They laugh at him, but he will be the one who laughs last."
>
> - Special: Ignores tier I Class level requirement.
> - Special: The Jester has no Skill Slots.
> - Special: Allows the Jester to equip and unequip a tier I Class and Skills to bind to that particular Class. All Attribute bonuses are halved while the Class is equipped. A Class card is bound to the Jester upon activation.
> - Special: No Class information will be displayed or shown.
The Class slot of his device opened. Nero blinked. The card had his name written on it. It also had no level requirement. Nero had never heard of a Class without one, or a card with black borders. Or if the "Bind on Pickup" text. Confused but extremely curious, he touched the mouth of the slot with the edge of the card. The device sucked the card in and lit up. His Charisma went up by two points. The slot closed. Nero shook his head and yawned. Now that the fight was over, he felt extremely sleepy.
----------------------------------------
Nero blinked, his mouth was dry and flakes of caked blood fell from him as he stood up. Taking his surroundings, he found himself still inside the boss room. He shook his head and saw a gleam of silver far ahead. He went to inspect it but it was the [Egress] card he didn't need. He tapped the [Monster Bag] and sure enough, it had some weight added. A pound or so, if he had to guess. Without any hurry to get out, he took the [Egress] card with him and sat in the middle of the bowl. Then he summoned some food, a [Canteen] and had a meal.
As he ate and broke his fast, Nero remembered the fight. He got this close to dying and losing everything. His memory was hazy but he could remember a vivid dream where he found a Class card he could equip. A completely crazy card with black borders. Black! It had a bunch of strange Special abilities and only plus two to Charisma. His Attribute would be at four if he really had equipped that card. Silly dream.
He paused and as it cost him nothing, he lit up his display. Surely enough, his Charisma was at plus four. He did a double-take and checked his full report. On the second page, he found the weird text of the Class he dreamed of.
"Holy..."
He had to try. Nero remembered that green [Warrior] card he found. The one with eleven to Strength. Should he? What was the worst that could happen? That he'd waste the card? But what if he could become a [Warrior]? Nero's chest was rising and falling fast. He threw caution to the wind and opened his Class slot. Looking inside, he found nothing. Class cards vanished when activated. Or else they could be removed after death and reused.
Nero pushed the [Warrior] card into his slot. It entered and the slot closed. Holding his breath, he looked at the display and Strength rose from seven to twelve. Nero felt dizzy, it was as if he was... falling unconscious from activating a card. Way to go, moron, he cursed at himself as he blacked out.
----------------------------------------
Nero woke up and his first impulse was to check his Status. The display showed, twelve Strength and four Charisma. He wasn't going crazy. He opened his Class slot and the [Warrior] card popped out. It was changed, though. First, it had black intertwined with the green in a striped pattern along its borders. Second, the text changed.
> [Warrior] - green - Bound to Nero
>
> +11 (+5) Strength
>
> Stolen story; please report.
>
> +1 (+0) Vigor
> +1 (+0) Endurance
> +1 (+0) Agility
> +1 (+0) Dexterity
>
>
>
> +0 (+0) Reason
> +0 (+0) Willpower
> +0 (+0) Perception
> +0 (+0) Charisma
>
> - Special: Increase your Strength Attribute by 20% when fighting unarmed.
>
> - Empty Skill Slot
> - Empty Skill Slot
> - Empty Skill Slot
> - Empty Skill Slot
> - Empty Skill Slot
> - Empty Skill Slot
His Strength went back to seven. He placed the card, it rose back to Twelve. Nero didn't lose consciousness this time. He had to test if he could equip Skills to the Class. [Jester] couldn't, but the Warrior was showing six empty slots. He browsed his cards and found a Skill he could try.
> [Stoneskin] - green - Requires Vigor +3, Endurance +3
>
> Vigor +2
>
> Endurance +1
>
> "Not really stone."
>
> Effect: Upon 1 second of concentration and 1 point of Stamina, increase vigor by +5 for 1 minute.
The Attributes were rounded down, so he had to find a good Skill combination that would bring those values to an even number. He found another Skill he could use and would even out the Attributes.
> [Shield Bash] - green - Requires melee class.
>
> +1 Vigor
> +2 Endurance
>
> "Swirling birds not included."
>
> Spend 1 point of Stamina to perform a mighty attack with a shield. Low chance to cause [Stunned] status.
He slotted everything and activated. The numbers on display changed and so did the [Warrior] card when he took it out to inspect. Nero grinned.
> [Warrior] - green - Bound to Nero
>
> +11 (+5) Strength
> +4 (+2) Vigor
> +4 (+2) Endurance
> +1 (+0) Agility
> +1 (+0) Dexterity
>
> +0 (+0) Reason
> +0 (+0) Willpower
> +0 (+0) Perception
> +0 (+0) Charisma
>
> - Special: Increase your Strength Attribute by 20% when fighting unarmed.
>
> - [Stoneskin] - Upon 1 second of concentration and 1 point of Stamina, increase vigor by +5 for 1 minute.
> - [Shield Bash] - Spend 1 point of Stamina to perform a mighty attack with a shield. Low chance to cause [Stunned] status.
> - Empty Skill Slot
> - Empty Skill Slot
> - Empty Skill Slot
> - Empty Skill Slot
Without any other Skills he'd want to add to the mix, he stopped playing with the [Warrior] Class and tried another thing. He activated a white [Mage Class], sighed in relief as he didn't black out, and then slotted a [Firebolt] and [Cure Wounds] Skills, also white.
> [Mage] - white - Bound to Nero
>
> +o (+0) Strength
> +2 (+1) Vigor
> +o (+0) Endurance
> +o (+0) Agility
> +o (+0) Dexterity
>
> +4 (+2) Reason
> +4 (+2) Willpower
> +0 (+0) Perception
> +0 (+0) Charisma
>
> - [Firebolt] -Spend 1 mana to throw a ball of flame, dealing damage based on Reason and Willpower.
> - [Cure Wounds] - Spend 1 mana to cure a target you are touching based on Willpower and Charisma.
> - Empty Skill Slot
> - Empty Skill Slot
> - Empty Skill Slot
> - Empty Skill Slot
He tried using the cure spell on himself. The minor bruises left from the fight vanished. Nero couldn't believe. It was real, sure enough, his mana resource had been spent, he did heal his wounds. He had 3 of 4 mana. He unequipped the Class and his mana dropped to 1 of 2. Back and forth. He wondered what negative mana could cause and he had no wish to discover. Nero stowed the [Warrior] card away and readied himself. He stood up, dusted off, and before he activated [Egress], he checked his clock. One hundred and ninety-one hours and thirteen minutes.
Time to go home.
----------------------------------------
Huron insistently checked his pocket watch for the upteenth time. It was fifteen to midnight. He had fifteen minutes left to live. His only wish was that he could be killed away from her sight and before his daughter killed herself. His heart was broken, his regret for the haughtiness and hubris of before, enormous. Nero had given up his life because he proposed something irresponsible when the boy was talking seriously. Altia was right. He was talking to a number instead of a person.
Byron's gaze was fixed on him. Huron avoided looking at the towering man and shifted on his chair to look at the portal. He had no sliver of hope but maybe jumping inside and dying of energy starvation was a fitting end.
"Ten to midnight," He absent-mindedly read out loud. Huron winced at his blunder. The day's vigil had been hard. Even though they knew Nero would only emerge either at sunset or before midnight, they stood there, watching the swirling portal all day.
"He'll come back, merchant Huron," Altia said, refusing to call him father. Her words were like [Ice Bolts] piercing his frayed heart. "I know that."
Five minutes later, the portal shimmered and swirled faster, practically wobbling. They stood up. The magical gateway shone brighter and a silhouette appearded. A person. Lo and behold, there he was. The man of the day, with a wide grin that could bite off half of the world. Huron didn't fail to spot the [Monster Bag] slung across his shoulder and making an X with his bandolier. He seemed hale, not a smidgen on his person or armor. The clothes were frayed and threadbare even though they also were clean.
"Nero!" Altia ran and hugged him. She covered the boy in kisses and tears.
He hugged her and looked around. His gaze met Huron's and the boy was fierce, defiant, angry. Then his mother, and it was full of candor and happiness. Finally, the boy met his father's gaze. He was fierce, proud. A winner.
"Huron!" Nero shouted. His voice carried far against the night crickets. "Here is your request."
The young man released Altia and awkwardly unslung the bag out because his daughter wouldn't let go of him for nothing in this world. Then he tossed the bag and Huron raised his arms to catch it. Byron intercepted, though.
"If you don't mind, Huron. I'm checking it in front of everyone. Release!"
With the command word, the bag spewed its contents. Nero hadn't changed it or didn't know it was possible. Altia turned to look but she retched and hid her face in Nero's chest. The goblin's corpse was thoroughly maimed. The head was smashed to pulp, the right arm was sawed halfway between elbow and wrist. The hand and arm stub were included. The flappy and ridiculously big ears were intact, at least the left one. The right ear was almost as smashed as the face. Huron also noticed a flap of the left shoulder dangling and the scratched bone underneath. The left arm was almost severed too.
Byron bit his knuckles as he studied the corpse, retelling the story of a most vicious combat. Rhynne was in tears, looking with pride at her son. And the two youngsters were in a world of their own, trading sweet promises of eternal love.
Huron also figured out how the fight went. The right hand of the goblin was severed, then the left arm, crippled. Without his hands, the goblin was powerless to inflict damage maybe by biting. The boy used some blunt instrument to crush the goblin's face, probably a morningstar or some spiked weapon.
"My son," Byron broke the silence, his voice full of gravitas and pride Nero's face lit up. "You are an idiot."
As if it was her theatrical cue, Rhynne also spoke. "I thought I raised my son to be better than this. Why did you enter the Dungeon alone on a dare? Are you insane?"
"Yes, mother. I am a crazy idiot. But I had to do this. I survived, and I grew stronger."
"Nero, how many?" Altia asked.
"I didn't tally them. More than ten if you are asking about the points, eight if you are asking about the days. I got a blue Skill card. [Backstab]. And quite a lot of green cards."
"You are crazy," she hit him on the chest. The brigandine and his enhanced Vigor made it feel like a tap. "Promise me you'll never delve without me."
"I'll never delve without you if you are able and willing. But now I have something to do. Watch me." Nero made Altia release him, then he walked next to the goblin corpse, nudging it with his foot. "Huron. I fulfilled my side of the bargain. Now, I want your blessing and Altia's hand in marriage."
"And a big apology. To Nero, not to his Level cap," Huron's daughter added.
He started to talk, measuring the words. "You, a level zero, killed a yellow-grade level 7 Dungeon boss. What you've done here is... nearly impossible. But it happened, and I witnessed it with my own eyes. Nero, my son-in-law. Please make Altia happy. You have my blessing. And I am sorry. I was a fool and let my pride and biased ideas speak for me."
Huron's eyes went from Nero to Altia in the back. The girl avoided eye contact. She was angry and he had to accept it.
"I will. I will make her happy, you don't need to worry about it. And in time, you'll see each other eye-to-eye again. I accept your apology, Huron."
Nero offered his hand and they clapped each other's wrists. Huron stared into the boy's eyes and saw not a boy, but a man. Determined, fierce, unabated by what should be a crippling handicap. Huron was the first to avert his gaze as if the boy's pupils could shoot tongues of flame.
Rhynne clapped her hand. "It is all settled then. We have a wedding party to organize. And I think everyone here agrees we need to keep Nero's little feat in secret. Nobody will say a word about him clearing the Dungeon. Too many questions, too many people will try to find a way to exploit him. I don't want that. Does anyone disagree?"
Everyone shook their heads. Rhynne took her staff from somewhere and chanted a relatively long spell. "[Disintegrate]!" A purple beam shot from the tip at the goblin body. It vanished into fine dust.
"Let's go home," Byron called. "it's been a long day."
----------------------------------------
> Nero [0/0]
>
> Strength: +7 (+10 with clockwork blade, +8 when blocking)
> Vigor +7
> Endurance +5
> Agility +8
> Dexterity +4 (+5 inside a Dungeon)
>
> Reason +4
> Willpower +2
> Perception +4 (+6 inside a Dungeon)
> Charisma +4
>
> Class: [Jester]
>
> - Special: Ignores tier I Class level requirement.
> - Special: The Jester has no Skill Slots.
> - Special: Allows the Jester to equip and unequip a tier I Class and Skills to bind to that particular Class. All Attribute bonuses are halved while the Class is equipped. A Class card is bound to the Jester upon activation.
> - Special: No Class information will be displayed or shown.
>
> Equipment: [Rending Clockwork Blade of Regrowth +1], [Self-Cleaning Brigandine of Regrowth], [Dungeon Goggles], [Elven Boots], [Hot Muffler], [Dungeon Clock], [Spiked Clockwork Shield of Regrowth +1]