Gaus had the urge to ask her what her current bounty was but he decided against it. What good was bad news?
"Anyway," Lilat - the assistant that had been following them around - said. "You can now talk to the dungeon core if you want."
"Where is the dungeon core?" Gaus asked.
"I'm here, my lord," a disembodied voice said.
Gaus looked around for the speaker but there was none.
"Come on out, Calif," Rachel said.
A brown sphere of light materialized out of thin air in front of Gaus.
"I'm here, my lord," it said. "You can call me Calif."
"Okay, Calif, what type of dungeon are you?" Gaus asked.
"I'm a B rank dungeon, my lord," it said.
"I don't know what that means, but I guess I'll find out soon enough," Gaus said. He looked around trying to take in the surroundings. It was dark.
"Calif, can you light up the place?" Gaus asked.
"Yes, my lord."
The entire cave lit up. Several long corridors and stairs extended into the mountain. Most of it was covered in ruins and skulls and cobwebs.
"Whose skulls are these?" Gaus asked.
"Mostly marines," Calif said. "Many years ago, my former master, Minorita Salesal of the Old World, used to lure the marines here and kill them."
Gaus glanced at Rachel for answers but she just shrugged.
"How many monsters are currently living here?" Gaus asked.
"None," Calif said. "They were all killed by my former master."
At least, it was safe.
"So how big are you?" Gaus asked.
"I have 4,233 ordinary caves, 54 immortal caves, and ten meeting halls. Everything is interconnected within a vast network of caves. I can show you around if you want."
"Maybe later," Gaus said. "Right now, I want to make this racket home?"
"I'm at your service, my lord," Calif said. "Whatever you want."
"Okay. First, I want you to stop calling me 'my lord'. It's weird. Just call me Gaus of Canada. Or better just Gaus."
"Yes, Gaus. Is there anything else you would like me to do for you?"
"Tell me in detail how a dungeon functions?" Gaus asked.
"I have internal and external bodies," Calif started. "My internal body controls mana and my external body controls nature energy. I have..."
"Okay, Calif, we don't have time for this," Rachel cut in. "Gaus will log into the dungeon interface and will figure it out on his own. Right now, we need to go."
She teleported them back to the forest.
"Now," Rachel said. "Based on what you told me about the save library, I have some quick skills to give you."
As always, she was eager to teach him.
A couple of demonstrations and he was rewarded with:
Dragon pupils
Rank: ordinary
This skill allows you to see the name, mana, affinity, and vitality of your opponents. If used on weapons, you will see name, damage, durability, and rank.
Cost: 2 MP (will reduce with leveling up)
*
Arrow double
Rank: common
Fire one arrow and receive the benefits of many. Every arrow you shoot will divide.
Cost: 5 MP per arrow (will decrease with leveling up)
*
Arrow focus
Rank: ordinary
Pick the specific spot you want to hit.
Range: up to 5m away.
Radius: 100cm.
Cost: 0.1 MP (as you level up, range will increase and radius will decrease to enhance focus).
*
Soul perception
Rank: common
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
You can now perceive your soul and the soul of others. You don't have a high affinity for soul magic and thus your range is limited.
Cost: 15 MP per minute.
*
Mind sense
Rank: common
You can now sense the presence of your mind and that of others. Your range is limited because of your low affinity for mind magic. You can't use this skill to read people's thoughts.
Cost: 10 MP per minute.
*
Mana shield
Rank: common
Requirement: mind sense, soul perception.
Requirements reached. You have learned the skill: mana shield.
In the same way you can cover your skin with mana, you can now cover your mind and soul. This skill allows you to create a shield of mana around your mind and soul thereby blocking any intrusion.
Cost: 1 MP per second (will increase by leveling up. The more mana you use the stronger the shield becomes).
*
Sword Mirage
Rank: ordinary
This skill increases both your speed and strength every time you attack with a sword.
+1 strength per level, +1 speed per level.
Cost: 1 MP (will increase by leveling up)
Note: any increase in speed and strength will only last for as long as you attack.
*
Martial Throw
Rank: ordinary
This skill increases the strength of your arms when you attack with bare hands.
+2 strength per level.
Cost: 1 MP (will increase by leveling up)
Note: any increase in strength will only last for as long as the attack.
When asked why Rachel didn't invent guns in this world, she said she could throw objects at the same speed as modern guns using martial throw.
The rest of the day was spent on testing these skills. He found out he could block most mental attacks with a simple mana shield especially after he leveled it up to level 10. Sword mirage and martial throw helped with his physique, aiding both his swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat. Arrow double and arrow focus had changed his mind about being a swordsman. He still liked the sword. But when he fired an arrow now, he could target any specific point within his range. He could make the arrows multiply and attack many targets at once. All he needed now was to poison the arrowheads and make it deadly. Dragon pupils were much better than what his longevity could give him when it came to appraisal. As a quick example, he used both skills to appraise his sword.
Identify (which solely depended on his longevity) showed:
Unnamed sword, rank common.
Dragon pupils showed:
Unnamed sword, rank: common, damage 30, durability 50/50.
Damage estimates the possible health that will be lost by the victim upon injury with the sword.
Durability estimates how many times you can use the sword before it breaks.
Note: estimates are affected by the strength and defenses of the target.
Well, the difference was clear. He decided to test it on the people around him.
Name: Minorita
Race: human
Level: 100
Mana: 1088/1358 (tamed and in control)
Affinity: time 64.4%, mind: 88.3%, soul 49.3%.
*
Name: Lilat
Race: fake elf
Level: 19
Mana: 188/207 (tamed)
Affinity: time 0.88%, soul 0.3%, mind 12%
"That's impulsive," Rachel said. "You can't appraise people without their consent. I may not mind it but my friend here is..." she glanced at Lilat who was glaring at him, "pissed off."
"Well," Gaus said, shrugging. "How about a little payment for my impulsiveness?"
Are you sure you want to invite Lilat to the loop at the expense of your slot? Y/N?
He pressed yes.
Lilat received the notification. He then moved on to add Rachel as a permanent looper.
Warning, you can't add people ten levels or more above your level.
Damn!
"Don't make that face," Rachel said. "You only need to level up to level 90 and then add me, right? Until then I can manage with the memory package."
That was sweet and kind.
"It's just level 90," she said.
"Just level 90," he said.
At midnight, Rachel went out to take care of some business while Gaus and Lilat returned to Calif.
"So, Calif," Gaus said. "You probably don't know about this but we are all trapped in a time loop. And I have the opportunity to add other people into the loop."
"What would you like me to do for you, Gaus?" Calif said.
"Give me some advice," Gaus snapped. "I have Rachel's advisor here with me, but I'm still looking for more people. Any idea on how to find the right men?"
"I don't know," Calif said simply. "Are you looking for a boy or a girl?"
"No, idiot, I don't care if it's a boy or a girl," Gaus said through his teeth.
"Perhaps," Lilat said. "We should start by cleaning this place up."
Gaus looked around the ruins and nodded his agreement.
"I don't know if Calif can do it," she said. "Why don't you check the interface?"
Gaus searched through the dungeon interface and realized there was no such function. All he had was an empty building full of rubbles in the middle of nowhere.
Mana: 500/500 (25/min)
Nature energy: 50/50 (5/hr)
Available protection: Water field. Assign? Y/N?
Water field costs 95 MP (9 MP per minute)
The water field would hide the dungeon completely under a large water body. The vapor from the water will cause hallucinations and drives beasts and humans away.
"Some protection will be fine," he murmured to himself and pressed yes.
Water field activated.
You can give others immunity to the field. Assign immunity? Y/N?
At least, the dungeon was relatively safer.
"Pick a broom," Lilat said. "Let's do it together."
"That's not the best idea," Gaus said. "I mean, all the dirt will come back as soon as the loop resets."
Lilat sighed. She was still new in the business and often she forgot how the whole thing worked.
"But we can't live here like this," she said. "We have to maintain some sanity even if it means spending a couple of hours every day to clean. Or maybe we can invite a cleaner to join us. And a cook."
"Wait just a minute," Gaus said. "You are here to help me defeat my enemies, remember?"
Lilat frowned but stayed silent.
"Speak your mind," Gaus said.
"Okay," she said. "You are the boss but, as your advisor, I'll say we need to create a living environment for other people to join us. I mean, the way you described the academy... Anyone will want to join them. The more people we have the better. And the only way we can get that is to create a happy environment. Even if it's not safe, people will come for the promise of a better future."
"You are right," Gaus said. "But I just hope you don't forget there's a man called Tyren who is dead set on killing me."
"Speaking of Tyren," she said thoughtfully. "Why don't you invite him to join us? All the conflict between the two of you will end if he joins."
Bloody hell!