Jose asks, “an underwhelming number of deaths? Who the fuck is this guy?”
“I purposefully haven't been paying close attention to the news,” I say, not adding that it's because I already have depression and don't need extra trauma. I ask the group, “how many have died due to the Dracosys?”
“Millions,” Alicia says quietly. “Last count was 17.2 million across the planet. It jumps when dungeon breaks happen.” Her fists are balled up.
I sigh deeply. This world got fucked by the Dracosys and I'm the asshole enjoying it. That sucks. But I'm also changing. I'm not the same person I was even yesterday. I can do better. I will do better.
“Let's close this fucking dungeon,” I say confidently. “And then keep moving.”
Mercy gives me a direction to head in. “We should try to shut down as many of the small, out of the way Dracosys sites as possible. Those communities aren't equipped to tackle monsters.”
I nod. “Great. Anyone else have any wise ideas?”
“I'd like to hit an arena, iffin’ they can be closed now,” Quins says. “There's one in my ‘ometown that's putting out some right buggers every week.”
“There's some places in Mexico that need help,” Jose says. “Places where the drug cartels won't lift a finger to help the people under their thumbs.”
Franco says, “I'm not saying wide eyed anymore.” I am dumbstruck. “I mean, you're opening your eyes taller, not wider.”
I go tall-eyed and grimace because I have absolutely no fucking idea what to say after that. We just... We just all move on without saying another word.
The entrance to the 5th floor is inside the 4th floor's church. Of course it is. Alicia was right, we could have started there. The church itself seems non-denominational, with a simple white cross on its roof but no name on the doors. The entire building is wood, the exterior painted white, the inside painted a neutral tan. The entry to the fifth floor is underneath the altar. The prisoners, as we're calling them, told us that they'd already opened it. The altar is pushed forward and a slate staircase is beneath. The stairs lead into darkness but there looks like some sort of light source down at the bottom, which is at least a hundred feet down.
“Well,” I ask, “who wants to go into the creepy demon basement first?”
Franco steps up. “I'll go. I ain't scared of shit.” He holds his heavy machine gun at his waist and marches down. I shrug and follow.
Around a hundred feet later we come to the bottom and find candles lining the walls of an ancient crypt. The ceiling is so low that Franco has to duck his head to enter. The passage is narrow and looks like it winds around corners and keeps splitting. Small alcoves are dug into the walls and dessicated corpses lie in rest under old, white, linen sheets.
“Great,” I say. “An undead filled maze.”
“Whaddya mean undead filled?” Franco asks. “Seems like just regular dead.” He steps forward and I hear a click. My hand snaps forward and I pull him back just in time to save his life. A guillotine flashes down from the ceiling, chopping away everything in its path. I hear Franco curse loudly.
“Fucking shit! My fingers!” He turns and I see that the end of his gun and the fingers that were holding it are chopped clean off. I quickly hold my left hand over his cleaved digits and golden light shines from my flattened palm. I use Healing Palm to stop the bleeding and then Restoration Palm to regrow his index finger.
“I can do the other fingers after my Ki recovers,” I say. He cradles his hand and continues to curse.
The others arrive at the bottom of the stairs and I hear Alicia ask, “traps?”
“Traps,” I answer.
“Then I'm up,” she says. I'm still not sure what her Operative class gives her as far as techniques, but I know the description.
Operative
As a Spy you were an expert of stealth and scouting. As an Agent you added combat skills. Now as an Operative you can add
widespread destruction to that list.
A fourth step class. Four subclasses. Unknown class evolutions.
Gain 5 Charisma, 5 Agility and 5 Ki upon choosing this class. One master espionage technique will be granted to you upon choosing this class.
Uses Charisma, Agility, Ki.
Upon level up three additional random basic, advanced, expert or master espionage techniques will be granted, until all master and lower espionage techniques are known. Each level you gain 2 Charisma, 2 Agility, 3 Ki and 8 free points.
Subclasses
Demolition - Weapon and stealth techniques you know can be applied to bombs you use to make them deadlier and harder to find.
Biological - Weapon and stealth techniques you know can be applied to poisons you use to make them deadlier and harder to detect.
Electronic - Weapon and stealth techniques you know can be applied to devices you use to make them deadlier and harder to detect.
Digital - Weapon and stealth techniques you know can be applied when you are hacking to make things easier to crack and make you harder to detect.
Fourth step classes weren't given out for free anymore, so that meant she had to have been given the class the first week of the Dracosys or she'd earned it through fighting. Since she's CIA I didn't even bother to ask. She wouldn't tell me anything about herself.
I looked at the word “espionage” to see what it actually means.
Espionage. A tag applied to techniques that aid in surveillance, stealth, deception, quiet combat and traps. Techniques that can be used to directly aid allies are excluded, as espionage experts are known as lone agents.
Huh. So no direct support means she can probably stealth herself but not others.
I see her eyes glow green and Alicia steps over a tile, then taps it once she's ahead of it. A small pillar rises from the floor and slams into the ceiling. If anyone had been in its path they'd have part of their body crushed.
She looks back at me and I ask, “you can't give anyone else glowing trap sensing eyes, can you?”
“No,” comes her flat reply. “Have everyone follow me and I'll clear traps as we go.”
I do as she says. While I'm taking a backseat I slip on my eyepatch and check my menus. I have four levels to distribute. My stats are pretty amazing now, so I qualify for a ton of fourth step and lower classes. That actually makes things harder though. With so many okay or good choices nothing really stands out as being a great choice.
My last set of levels got me some healing techniques via the Monk class, letting me heal with my hands and Ki. I also picked up levels in Killer and Assassin, both of which boosted my knife damage. But now I need a goal. I need a path.
The fifth step classes are all very strong, apparently, but I don't qualify for any of them, yet. They require you to hit level 10 in two different 4th step classes. (Normal people can choose another class for the first time when they hit level 10 in a 4th step class.) If you pick two matching classes, get to level 10 in both, and have the required stats at ONE HUNDRED, only then do you qualify for a 5th step class.
Really, I should thank my lucky star that I was given Synergist, a 5th step class, back in the beginning. I don't even qualify for it now.
I look at my stats. I should probably angle to hit 100 in stats I'm already up there in.
Physical Attributes
Strength 63
Dexterity 69 (+5 from M3 Mongoose)
Agility 80 (+5 from M3 Mongoose)
Toughness 30
Constitution 30
Mental Attributes
Intelligence 71
Memory 18
Wisdom 8
Charisma 50
Reflexes 66 (+5 from M3 Mongoose)
Etheric Attributes
Ki 50
Spirit 0
Faith 0
Arcana 58
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Luck 10
We slowly move forward down the candle lit tunnel and I hear agent Bennet yell, “duck!” We all follow her order and a buzzsaw slides out from the wall ahead and spins horizontally past us. Franco, the tallest of us, manages to barely get under the blade as it spins past.
I look at the 4th step classes I qualify for, and then the 5th step classes they lead to. It's within my grasp to go for 10 of the 5th step classes. They are:
Landsknecht, a ranging warrior who emphasizes mobility and melee weapon attacks.
Stylist, a martial artist who can switch combat styles to match the battle.
Anarchist, a thug who specializes in bombs and flammable items.
Doppelganger, a throwing weapon specialist who excels in taking down powerful foes.
Shadow, who uses darkness itself to hinder foes and attack.
Candidate, a leader who commands their allies to greater physical heights.
Curse Wielder, who uses cursed items and gains benefits from them.
Biologist, who uses medicine and medical knowledge to poison and cripple foes.
Duke, who commands their allies to become tougher and stronger but at a cost of their own health.
Kagemusha, who commands shadows as minions to fight in their stead.
To be honest, the leadership classes don't sound like my thing, so I rule out Candidate, Duke and Kagemusha. I don't have any cursed items so Curse Wielder is right out. Biologist sounds creepy and Anarchist sounds like it belongs with someone else, someone who has a cat. That brings me to Landsknecht, Stylist, Doppelganger and Shadow.
I see a gout of flame light up the passage ahead as a flamethrower-type trap attempts to incinerate Alicia. She jumps up to the ceiling and braces herself against the walls as the flames shoot out below her, scorching everything from floor to shoulder height. The flames die down and she drops to the floor in a crouch, letting three probably poisoned darts flit past her face.
Every 5th step class seems to break rules somehow, not just my Synergist class. Landsknecht lets you basically skate across surfaces at high speed, then leverage that speed into melee stabs and slashes. Stylist lets you swap out certain martial arts abilities on the fly. Shadow lets you control darkness as if it were an extension of your body, bypassing the need for specific spells. And Doppelganger... Doppelganger is interesting.
Doppelganger
The wraith that hunts the dark. The ghost who cannot be hit. The thief of the peerless blades. All roads you take, all paths you tread. You are a Doppelganger, an agent of the night who stalks monsters. And oh, will your blades taste their blood.
A fifth stage class. Three subclasses. 5th Stage classes do not evolve.
Gain 5 Dexterity, 5 Agility, 5 Reflexes and 5 Ki upon choosing this class. Two predetermined Doppelganger techniques will be granted to you upon choosing this class.
Uses Reflexes, Dexterity, Agility.
Each time you gain a level you choose one subclass and gain stats and abilities based on that subclass. After you have selected a subclass 10 times it will give you one random Legendary or lower technique instead of its predetermined techniques.
Subclasses
Dark Slayer - When you gain a level you gain 5 Ki, 5 Arcana and 10 free points. You also gain one predetermined technique or spell, based on the number of times you have selected this subclass. This subclass focuses on using techniques and spells to attack and debilitate your foes.
Ghost Step - When you gain a level you gain 5 Agility, 5 Reflexes and 10 free points. You also gain one predetermined technique, based on the number of times you have selected this subclass. This subclass focuses on stealth and avoiding attacks.
Phantom Blade - When you gain a level you gain 5 Dexterity, 5 Strength and 10 free points. You also gain one predetermined technique, based on the number of times you have selected this subclass. This subclass focuses on weapon attacks, specifically throwing weapons.
This is right up my alley. It has options for mobility and evasion. It uses throwing weapons, and I already figured out that telekinetic weapons count as thrown weapons. It even has an option for using magic along side your weapon attacks, and that's my whole thing! Plus, the subclass system for this class basically makes it multiclassing within a single class! Nice!
Iron bars shoot up in front of me, separating us from Alicia. A bear, a friggin brown bear, drops from the ceiling into her side of the tunnel. She draws two handguns and unloads bullets into the thing. Ah, it's an undead brown bear. I flip a wakizashi forward into its head and cast Rising Ignition from the blade, setting the creature on fire. It advances on Alicia, bleeding and burning but not stopping. I send four more short swords into the bear and push, driving the beast back. It gets pinned to the wall and Alicia reloads both of her guns, then unloads them again, this time right into the bear's pinned down head. It stops moving and the fire dies out.
So to get to Doppelganger I need to hit level 10 in Scoundrel and Phantom. I also need 100 Dexterity, Agility and Reflexes. That's 20 levels, and I've got 4 free right now. Might as well start on... Phantom. I'll go with Phantom first, mostly because it sounds cooler.
Phantom
Audacious thievery isn't your area of expertise, it's your reason for living! Pull off the greatest heists of the century, then doff your hat and take a bow.
A fourth step class. Four subclasses. Unknown class evolutions.
Gain 5 Reflexes, 5 Agility and 5 Arcana upon choosing this class. One master stealth technique and one master illusion spell will be granted to you upon choosing this class.
Uses Dexterity, Agility, Ki, Arcana.
Upon level up, up to two additional random master or lower stealth techniques will be granted, until all master and lower stealth techniques are known. You will also gain one master or lower illusion spell each level. Each level you gain 2 Reflexes, 2 Agility, 2 Ki, 2 Arcana and 7 free points.
Subclasses
Masked - You can summon a mask that instantly transforms you into a second outfit, only to return to your previous clothes when you remove the mask.
Shadow - You gain a shadow cloak, allowing you to hide in shadows more easily.
Dark - You gain one master or lower Dark spell per level.
I take two levels of Phantom and then get a grand surprise:
Synergist Level 50 Ability: Duo Development
Choose two classes you qualify for. When you gain a level in one, you gain a level in the other as well.
Well hot damn! I could choose Scoundrel and Phantom and knock this whole thing out in... Wait. So I've had my eye on getting more spells, but didn't want to commit levels to the classes I have access to because getting spells is soooo random. But there's a solution, and that's the Wizard/Sage/Archmage classes. They let you choose which spells you get. I don't have enough Memory to qualify for Archmage, so I take another level in Phantom, drop enough free points in Memory to bring it up to 30, then hit the Duo Development button in my menu.
Duo Development now links Archmage and Scoundrel.
Alicia shines a flashlight over some candles on the wall, then blows three of them out in some specific order. This makes the wall in front of her slide away and reveals a small room with a chest on a short pedestal. She looks it over, then puts a bullet into the chest. The chest bleeds a sickly yellow blood and opens wide, revealing a mouth full of teeth. Alicia thrusts forward with an open palm and a short spark of electricity shocks the box, stunning it. She turns around, grabs a wakizashi from my belt and then stabs the chest mimic three times in quick succession. She offers the blade back to me and I insist that she cleans it first. She rolls her eyes and wipes it off on the death shroud of a nearby skeleton.
Alicia waits for the bleeding to stop, then puts a few more bullets into the mimic corpse. A deluge of coins and golden baubles erupts from it as it fades away. She silently rummages through the treasure and pulls out all the non-coins. “Scan these and tell me if anything is useful,” she tells me.
I shrug and do it.
Costume Jewelry. It's fake, but a convincing fake.
Ring Of Deflection +1. This increases your Toughness and Agility by 1. Is that a lot? No. Can you wear more than one of these and stack the effects? Also no. Did you get this for free in a dungeon? Yeah, so quit complaining.
Necklace Of The Tomb Guardian. While within 50 feet of a corpse that was properly laid to rest, you gain +5 to all stats.
Crown Of Rot. This is a cursed item, but its good effects are powerful, I promise. Would I lie to you? You know there's no reward without risk, right?
“The crown, those rings and that necklace are all magic but don't put on the crown, it's cursed. The rest is literal junk. The necklace is really good but only while you're near a tomb or grave, which is kinda cool. The coins seem normal.”
She slips on the necklace and one ring, then gives me the other one. I think that having matching rings with a woman other than Mercy is probably a bad idea, so I pass it off to Quins, who eyes it as if he's a jeweler all of a sudden, then puts it on after I explain its minor effect. Then we move on.
Oh yeah, I also get a subclass from level 3 of Phantom! While the Dark and Shadow subclasses are entirely useful and practical, I've been a bit jealous of Mercy's transformation gimmick, so I go for Masked. There's a new menu option, one that Mercy told me about.
Transformations
I check it out.
You have 1 unassigned equipment transformation. You may select your current equipment as your transformation, but doing so will revert you to your unequipped form before you can assume your transformation.
Basically, if I register this outfit I would become naked as the clothes and weapons are absorbed into my transformation. Then I could transform right away, but still, I'd be naked for at least a few seconds in a dungeon. Surrounded by people I'm supposed to be in charge of. So I'll have to wait until later to become a masked vigilante.
I slide my last level up into Scoundrel and sure enough, I get a level in Archmage as well.
“I think this is the exit,” Alicia says, coming to a door lined with skulls.
“Ah, that's probably a boss room, want me to go first?” I ask.
She gives me a “hmpf!” and presses one of the skulls to open the door.
Conversation Log 0052
Fortuna: Let's start then. Today I want to discuss our personal dungeons.
Spear Saint: Saturn I have a question.
Saturn's 2nd Ring: ?
Spear Saint: Exactly *how* easy will it be to level up for us vs normies?
Saturn's 2nd Ring: Our dungeons have custom monsters that are worth a lot of XP but are easy to kill. I based them off of dodos and Buffalo. I call them Buffados.
Spear Saint: Okay but how do we kill them.
Saturn's 2nd Ring: So they almost never move. They have very very very high defense except for right between the eyes. You shoot them there. It will die. You'll get 15,000 XP per kill. The 5th floor has 30 Buffados as a “boss fight.”
Skull Master Flash: Wait, the 5th floor? We have to fight there?
Saturn's 2nd Ring: No, the 1st - 4th floors contain easily avoided traps. Just follow the yellow squares and you won't die. Putting the Buffados on the 5th floor let me increase their XP.
Hyperion: I thought you said there was no XP?
Saturn's 2nd Ring: It isn't visible to players but it's there behind the scenes. I get annoyed at XP numbers so they can't be seen.
Fortuna: You get annoyed at them?
Saturn's 2nd Ring: For the same reason we agreed on no HP numbers. The effect matters not the number.
Spear Saint: I get you. Plus it lets us hide certain things.
Hyperion: So what's the leveling look like per day?
Skull Master Flash: Should be 450 k XP, right? So on day one we jump to level 13 if we're all 5th step. That's a ton of free points!
Saturn's 2nd Ring: Yes. And I advise hitting at least level 30 in each class you take so that you get the level 15 and 30 extra abilities. They can be quite powerful.
Hyperion: How many floors do our dungeons have? I have others I want to level besides myself. I need more enemies to kill.
Saturn's 2nd Ring: Beyond the 5th floor there's identical copies of the 5th floor but I can't be sure what changes the system will make to make the buffados stronger.
Fortuna: Why can't you be sure?
Saturn's 2nd Ring: The system AI has an amount of autonomy. At Hyperion's suggestion. To give us plausible deniability.
Skull Master Flash: The only thing better than getting away with murder is getting away with mass murder!
Spear Saint: It's not murder, it's *forced survival conditions.* We're not killing anyone.
Skull Master Flash: lolololol.