**You have chosen the Supporter Class, your advancement test will begin-**

**Congratulations, you have passed your advancement test. Support increase (basic) applied.**

**Advancement halted, please wait. Bodily reconstruction will begin shortly.**

All the pain which had raked through my body vanished in an instant. Newfound energy rushed through my bones, which creaked happily in response. My arm, which had hung uselessly by my side, repaired itself in moments.

Wow, he was right. I guess this makes up for him punching me when we first met, but I won’t tell him that.

My body didn’t feel any different, but that would come later. Maybe the first upgrade had been unnoticeable, but each one would be stronger than the last. Though I had only hit level ten, I was confident I could put up a fight against Bryan, who was still capped at level fifty.

At least, if he didn’t have any skills tucked away that he hadn’t shown in front of me yet.

“Good.” I pushed Leah’s hand aside and pulled myself to my feet. The group stared at me in shock as I stepped past them and picked up one of the goblin warrior’s swords. “You lot did great. Well done.”

Due to the short nature of the battle, no one had been seriously injured. Even the Practitioners still had the majority of their mana. I flipped open my guild card as I kneeled beside the goblins. My mana had increased to one hundred and fifty, which was nice, but that wasn’t the important thing I should have gained. After I took a quick look at my skills column, my heart sunk.

Strengthen, Accelerate, Buffed strike… and Transmutation.

What the hell… where are my new skills?

“Calm down, you’ll receive them when the reconstruction is finished.” Rose giggled at my frustration from within my mind. “Remember what Drake said? You can’t finish your advancement in a dungeon or any other place on an alternate plane. You don’t have the power to force it, at least not yet, so don’t do anything stupid.”

If I slap myself, will it hurt you?

Rose ignored my irritable thought as she sunk back into the depths of my consciousness. She had answered my question, so I guess that was a point in her favour. The next room would be the boss, after which we would be able to leave. Maybe it was better to get it over and done with. We had passed the first two battles without any losses. After a short break, I made up my mind.

“Alright, is everyone ready?” I turned to the group. As my followers confirmed they were prepared for the next fight, I quickly collected the loot from the goblins. They didn’t bat an eye as the piles of expensive weapons and armour vanished into thin air.

“We’ll follow you, captain.” Leah saluted me. Her action was mirrored by the rest of the squad as they lined up in an orderly fashion. From a mix and matched bunch of bandits, they had been transformed into a disciplined force after only two battles.

“Right, let’s go.” I moved towards the entrance at the far side of the cavern. The rest of the group followed me into the last room in silence, each person lost in their own thoughts as we approached the final battle.

The room we had walked into was far larger than any of those previously seen. The ceiling was so high it was barely visible in the murky darkness. If we lined side by side, it would be impossible to block the full extent of the cavern.

But, after we saw the identity of the final boss, such thoughts were proven irrelevant.

It was a troll. A huge beast which towered far above any one of us. It was clothed in a dirty shirt that reached to its knees and not much else. The club in its hand was rotted and misshapen, but it was still large enough to pose a threat to even the sturdiest of warriors.

Any ideas?

“Well, it's dumb. Maybe you could use that to your advantage…”

Rose’s suggestion wasn’t too helpful. The troll stared at us as the few brain cells it had rubbed against each other. The rest of my team watched in horror as the behemoth pushed itself up and raised its club into the air.

“Everyone, stay back. Ranged section, wait for my call!” I yelled as I sprinted off to the side. The Warriors looked like they wanted to follow me, but I waved them back. “Stay there, I’ll call you if I need you.”

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The troll noticed the tiny human who ran in its direction. My path would take me past the creature towards the rear wall, but that was a dead-end until this boss was defeated. Its eyes narrowed as it turned to face the easy target before it.

“Channel your spells, single target!” My voice echoed through the area. It acted as an order to those in the distance, but also attracted the trolls attention that bit more. It built up speed as it approached me, rapidly closing the distance between us. As I watched it approach, I quickly activated my buff abilities on myself alone. “Strengthen, Accelerate!”

It was so close I could feel its footsteps as it thudded towards me. Its club rose slightly before it dropped towards my head. Blocking was obviously out of the question, so that left me with only one option.

“Buffed strike!” I yelled as I leapt towards the troll. The increased burst of speed from my buffs, plus the attack skill that I had focused on my feet, rocketed me past its blow as I dashed between the beasts legs. The trolls club smashed into the floor and dug out a huge gouge where I had been stood moments ago.

I smashed my staff into the back of its knee with all my strength. The troll winced at the blow, but the only other reaction was an angry grunt as it tried to turn to face me. It managed half a spin before I ran between its legs once more.

“Fire!”

The archers launched a volley of arrows as the Practitioners let loose the mana they had been collecting. The troll turned to face me but was met with a blinding barrage of magic and steel. The majority of the shots were aimed at the creatures head, which temporarily blinded it from the light-show they created.

That gave me the chance to carry out my idiotic plan. The trolls club had dipped towards the floor as it pawed at its face, which gave me a handy ramp.

Arrows and magical projectiles continued to rain on the troll as I ran up the huge trunk it used as a weapon. I stopped as I reached the top and took a leap of faith.

Right onto the troll's shoulder.

“Buffed strike!”

My staff crashed into the side of its skull. Even though there was a massive difference in size and strength, such a blow still affected the troll. It shook its head and raised its hand to knock aside the irritating insect who had snuck onto its shoulder.

“Buffed strike!” I smacked my staff into the side of its head again before I jumped across to its other shoulder. “Buffed strike! Buffed strike!”

Both sides of its head took a pounding as it rocked from side to side. Its sweaty hand swept towards me in a desperate attempt to blow me away.

If I stayed on my perch, the blow would easily smash me aside. Its fist wafted past my head as I stepped back and dropped towards the floor. Before I could plummet back to the ground, I caught onto the trolls messy shirt and stopped my fall.

There was no room to swing the staff, so I would have to use the weapon so kindly provided to me by Clive. I summoned it from my inventory and caught it as it dropped from the air beside me.

My dagger sunk into the trolls back. It was nowhere near a fatal wound, but the damage would build up over time.

The troll span around wildly. As it moved, the force of its turn made me feel like I was on a rollercoaster. The shirt in my hand was stretched and ripped, but it held together enough on the first spin for me to sink another hit. Now my mana had dropped from one hundred and fifty to fifteen, if my maths was right. I could use my strike once more, and then I would be dry for close to ten minutes.

The troll stumbled under the constant barrage of spells and arrows. Each hit didn’t do much, but their combined weight had started to push the troll back. If it had charged straight at our group, we wouldn’t have gotten the chance to get to this point.

My work was done, but now I had to get out of here before the final move.

“Practitioners, channel your strongest spells. Archers, focus its head.” I lifted my feet and planted them on the trolls back. I was literally riding the tiger right now, and I had to get off before a bomb landed on my head. I hung on for ten seconds and drove my dagger in a few more times to keep the monster distracted. “Fire!”

My group followed my order instantly. Either they trusted me to that extent, or they just didn’t care if I got away. Their reasoning didn't matter, but I had to be thankful for their speedy responses. The troll spun around once more and, as it settled down, I released my grip and pushed off from its back.

“Buffed strike!”

I was launched from its back like a rocket. I tucked my head into my arms and braced for the impact. Even though I had planned it, this part was the bit I had worried over the most. Time seemed to pause for a moment before I slammed into the ground and tumbled towards the far wall.

At the same instant I crashed into the floor, the combined spells from the Practitioners struck the troll square in its chest. A huge explosion lifted the beast from its feet and sent it through the air in a majestic arc. If it hadn’t been distracted, maybe it could have defended or dodged the strike, but I didn’t have time to think about that.

Because its path ended at the same point mine had.

I had crashed into the far wall, but the troll was on a collision path with my weakened body. It would crush me like a bug the instant it made contact. As it flew through the air, I scrabbled at the wall in a vain attempt to pull myself up. As my hand scratched against its smooth surface, it blurred before my eyes and revealed a pitch-black hole.

Before I could understand what had happened, a strange force grabbed my body and pulled me into the darkness.

I heard the troll as it slammed into the wall behind me, followed a short while later by the screams of my group which disappeared into the distance as I fell into the dark. I reached out to grab at the walls which sped past me, but my feeble attempts were met with skinned knuckles, bruised arms and not much else.

“Calm down, you’ll be fine.” Rose stopped me from any further attempts to slow my descent. “This is the final room of the dungeon, which can only be entered by one person. I persuaded the dungeon heart to let you in. He has a sense of dramatic timing, apparently.”

“…What the hell does that even mean!?”