Avery, Ariyana, Artem, Blair, Mercer, and Roman stared at him.
“What do you mean?” Artem tried again. “Adva and Phorge said there’s magic that…”
Liam gave him a sad expression and interrupted, “If this was a normal dungeon, yes, that magic would prevent us from dying.”
“But this is not a normal dungeon,” Mercer stated as he kept his eyes on Liam.
Liam nodded as his gaze looked toward the ground.
“Where did you get this information from?” Mercer questioned, narrowing his eyes.
Liam hesitated, still not sure if he should mention Eri or not.
It’s okay. Eri stated, giving Liam some encouragement. You can tell them I told you.
Liam gulped. After a moment he finally said, “A Goddess told me.”
Everyone’s eyes widened.
“You spoke with a Goddess?!” Artem exclaimed, shock written over his face.
“What was her name?” Avery questioned, intrigued by this new information.
“What did she look like?” Roman asked.
Ariyana scoffed at Roman’s question as she commented, “Of course you would want to know what she looked like.” She then gave Liam a wide grin and asked, “What is she the Goddess of?”
Roman glared at her.
Liam brought his face up to look at them, confused that they were more interested in Eri than him saying they could die in this dungeon.
“Did you guys not hear me?” Liam started as frustration started to build up within him. “We can die in this dungeon. I almost got Artem killed because I didn’t tell anyone about this!”
Everyone looked at him and noticed the struggle of emotions swirling in his facial expression.
Mercer and Blair gave him a warm and sad look.
Eri let out a long and loud laugh.
Your group is pretty damn amusing. Eri said between her laughing.
“We heard you,” Roman bluntly stated not caring how his tone sounded.
“Then why are you guys acting like it doesn’t matter?” Liam asked, his tone almost sounded like he was pleading for someone to explain their behavior.
“We knew there was a chance that was the case with this dungeon,” Avery replied as she placed a hand on Liam’s shoulder, trying to ease his emotions.
Liam looked at her, still wrought with confusion. “What do you mean you knew there was a chance?”
“Well, these past few days we all talked about there being a possibility,” Blair chimed in. “We prepared ourselves for the chance that it could be a thing and did what we could to make sure we wouldn’t die.”
Liam looked at her, his mouth slowly dropped open.
“We were hoping you would be there for those talks, but you secluded yourself in your crafts and training,” Ariyana added.
“It was hard to pin you down, so we decided not to tell you because you were already pushing yourself hard enough to make sure we had enough health, mana, and stamina potions,” Artem commented.
“Plus working on your Blacksmithing so you could repair our armor,” Avery added.
“Also, your magic training, which by the way your Shadow and Lunar magic is wicked,” Blair stated.
“Also, your physical training,” Roman said. “You haven’t let up even once since we started this group.”
“Not to mention the amount of time you put into studying your Knowledge Theories and devising strategies for our fights,” Blair proclaimed.
“We know how much effort you put into the group,” Mercer said with a calm and warm smile. “We wanted to lessen your worries so we didn’t want to say anything about the possibility of us dying so you wouldn’t stress yourself to the point it hindered your sanity.”
“However, we failed to noticed exactly how much effort you have been putting in. These last two fights became a real eye opener for us,” Blair commented as she frowned.
“I’d say,” Roman said as a scowl formed on his face. “You keep surprising us with each new thing you pull out and how far you go for our safety or sake.”
Roman’s hands tightened into a fist and started to shake as he added, “Even though we thought we were prepared for any situation, we still froze when Artem was eaten by Binky.”
Roman’s angry expression turned to Liam as he continued, “You were the only one who reacted and dove straight in without a care to himself. I thought I had resolved myself to fight as hard as I could even if it killed me, but when you used Static Grasp while still in the river, I realized my resolve is nowhere where it should have been. I am ashamed of myself for that.”
“We’re all ashamed of ourselves for freezing up like that,” Ariyana stated softly. She then looked at Liam with a sad, but thankful look and added, “It was thanks to what you did and what you were shouting that we were able to snap out of it and be able to get Artem out in time.”
Artem gave Liam a thankful smile as his eyes softened. “Thank you for saving me.”
Liam stared at each of them, not sure what to say.
“We know we don’t fully know you and what you have gone through in the past. However, we do know the amount of work you put in for not just your safety, but ours as well,” Mercer said with a warm smile.
Mercer’s warm smile faded and was replaced with a look of concern and worried, “We also know you like to hide and hold back on telling us things.”
“We want you to know that you can tell us, but only when you’re ready to tell us. Do not hold everything in, to the point where you lose yourself,” Blair stated. “We are a team now and a team takes everything on together.”
Liam looked at Blair. As he listened to them his worries started to slowly fade away.
He swallowed the feelings that were threatening to come out. Releasing a breath of air he didn’t realize he had been holding in, he stated, “I have many things I haven’t told you. Many things I would like to just forget. It will take some time before I can allow myself to talk about them, but I am willing to talk about some things that I have recently found out that worried me about telling you.”
“It’s a start,” Mercer said. “How about we break for today. We can gather the loot and set up a camp here after going over it since there’s water close by.” He pointed to the river as he finished.
He then turned to the others and asked, “Try and see if there is any smooth areas where we can set up camp.”
“You got it,” the others said.
Mercer looked back at Liam and started back up, “We can all talk about what you want to after we set up camp. I also want to hear more about this Goddess you met.”
“Okay,” Liam said with a nod, feeling mixed emotions from this.
On the one hand, it went a little better than he had thought it would go, but on the other he realized that they knew he was hiding stuff from them.
That group of yours is a lot more capable than I thought they would be. Eri said in his mind.
Liam watched as they looked around the area. They truly are something. Liam replied before turning to his notifications.
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“Congratulations! Body Stat Constitution Sub-stat Vitality has reached level 8! Progression to level 9: 21%!”
“Congratulations! Mind Stat Fortitude Sub-stat Cognition Perseverance has reached level 11! Progression to level 12: 91%!”
“Congratulations! Weapon Skills – Dagger has reached level 16! Progression to level 17: 31%!”
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Congratulations! Blanket of Darkness has reached level 9! Progression to level 10: 5%!”
“Congratulations! You have received Mental Resistance – Whispers from Beyond!”
“Congratulations! Mental Resistance – Whispers from Beyond has reached level 2! Progression to level 3: 100%!”
“Congratulations! Mental Resistance – Whispers from Beyond has reached level 3! Progression to level 4: 100%!”
“Congratulations! Mental Resistance – Whispers from Beyond has reached level 4! Progression to level 5: 100%!”
“Congratulations! Mental Resistance – Whispers from Beyond has reached level 5! Progression to level 6: 90%!”
“Congratulations! Your Non-Combat ability Perception of the Control Tower has reached level 8! Progression to level 9: 100%!”
“Congratulations! Your Non-Combat ability Perception of the Control Tower has reached level 9! Progression to level 10: 100%!”
“Congratulations! Your Non-Combat ability Perception of the Control Tower has reached level 10! Progression to level 11: 0%! New additions to Perception of the Control Tower ability: Can show a monster or target’s health and mana bars after assessing once. Raise your Knowledge Theory on the topic to unlock other additions for this level.”
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Confused by this new Mental Resistance, Liam looked up what it was.
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“Whispers from Beyond – A passive debuff that accumulates the more one uses Shadow magic. Hidden beings inside the shadows whisper in the ears and mind of the one using Shadow magic. These whispers aim to confuse, distract, or even madden the user the more they use Shadow magic within a certain time span. The whispers grow louder as time goes on and the more the magic is used. Effects are stronger depending on the user’s state of mind.”
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Liam stared at the description. His eyes widening the more he read.
No wonder I was seeing those images and hearing those voices. I could have lost myself if the fight kept going. Liam thought. I’m going to have to limit myself on using Shadow magic.
A thought came to mind as he remembered a passage in the book he had received from Eri on Shadow and Lunar magic. He remembered the warning it gave about using the two types of magic.
If Shadow magic has this type of negative effect I wonder if Lunar magic has something similar. Liam thought to himself.
It does, but the side effects of Lunar magic is more with sight and possible internal damage. Eri stated.
Liam frowned as Eri answered his mental question. He forgot that she could read or hear his thoughts, which made him feel uncomfortable.
Eri laughed. That frown of yours says you think I can read thoughts. No, I cannot do such things. I was just lucky in guessing what you were thinking because I can see what you’re looking at and your facial expressions.
Curious, Liam asked, So you can’t read my thoughts? How does this connection work then?
It’s more of a mental connection. Eri started to explain. If you mentally project your thoughts to me I can hear them. If you do not focus your thoughts to me then I cannot hear it.
Feeling a bit relived he questioned, So it’s kind of like telepathy?
In a sense yes. Eri answered. Telepathy is a whole different type of magic though. You can think of it more like a divine communication. We deities need ways to converse with our followers and this is how we do it.
Duly noted. Liam mentally said to her. Thank you for telling me this.
No problem. Eri cheerily said. I may be a Goddess but even I know the importance of personal space. After all I don’t want my Champion to feel so uncomfortable he thinks I am more of a hinderance than a blessing.
Liam shook his head. I’m not your Champion.
Not yet, you’re not. Eri swiftly stated.
Liam didn’t respond to her and just looked at the new addition to his Perception of the Control Tower.
If I’m reading this right…I basically unlocked a feature that gives monsters a health and mana bar without having to constantly assess them. Liam thought. That is helpful in so many ways. I don’t have to waste time trying to assess it over and over in a fight.
That’s an interesting ability. Eri commented.
Curious to Eri’s comment, Liam asked her, Wouldn’t this be a common thing people would have? I think it would be common sense to have it since it’s so helpful.
No. Eri flatly said. Everyone has their own way of doing things and what would be common sense to you wouldn’t be to others. This ability is one not many would so eagerly go out of their way to learn, since they want to focus on other things like power or more magical abilities.
Liam thought about what she had said. He nodded agreeing with her. It’s a very useful ability to have when you want to keep an eye out on your group. Its value has grown even more since I can keep an eye on the enemies health and mana now as well.
Very useful indeed. Eri agreed. You keep surprising me each time I watch you. Keep it up.
Liam rolled his eyes at that last comment while making his way towards Mercer and asked, “Did you loot the body?”
Mercer turned to look at him and said, “Yes, there was a weapon and this book.”
“What weapon and book dropped?” Roman asked as he and the others approached them.
“First, this,” Mercer started as he pulled out a long handled single bladed Battle axe.
The handle was long and smooth giving the look like it was made out of a study bone. In the middle and the bottom edge of the handle were metal hand holds. The blade itself was big enough that it covered almost over a fourth of the handle. The blade portion had a crimson hue around the edge where sharp serrated edges protruded every few inches from the top to the bottom.
Liam assessed it.
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“Binky’s Bone Battle Axe. Item Type – Two Handed Battle Axe. Item Rarity – Rare. Item Quality – Average. Effect – Crocolisk Scale Shift. Crocolisk Scale Shift – by pouring mana into the weapon the user can harden the blade with jagged stone scales or smooth the blade with soft but sharp scales.”
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“What do you think? Do you want it since your weapon broke?” Liam asked Blair as she eyed the weapon.
Mercer handed it to her and watched as she took a few steps back, gripped the handle and started swinging it around.
The group watched as the blade part of the weapon hardened with thick rock like scales and then smoothed out sharply before switching back to its normal shape.
After moving around and swinging the battle axe, Blair set the bottom of the handle down and said with a satisfied grin, “This will do nicely. It feels easier to swing too since I got my weapon skill up.”
“Good,” Mercer stated with a nod. “The next item that dropped was this book.”
Mercer pulled out a medium sized tannish colored book.
Liam assessed the item.
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“Beginner’s guide to Taming. Contains the Knowledge Theory – Taming monsters. Item type – Knowledge Theory. Item Rarity – Uncommon. Item Quality – Average. Description – This book contains the Knowledge Theory behind how to tame monsters. After reaching a certain level of Knowledge Theory, the reader can obtain the Field of Taming. Requirements – must have Field of the Charmed. Must have Focus Point Charisma and Focus Point Entice and Distract.”
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Liam gave a chuckle after reading the description. He then turned to look at Ariyana and said, “I think this book is tailored to you specifically Ariyana.”
As Ariyana looked at the book her eyes started to light up. With a look of excitement and hope she asked, “Are you guys sure?”
The others nodded.
“We don’t meet the requirements to learn this. Only you do,” Mercer said with a smile as he handed her the book.
Ariyana took it and hugged it tightly. She lowered her head a bit and said with a smile that spread so wide everyone thought she’d hurt herself if she tried smiling any wider, “I’ve always wanted a pet.”
“Well now you can have one,” Liam said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
Ariyana nodded enthusiastically as a few tears started to form.
Confused, everyone looked at her.
“Are you alright?” Artem asked. “You’re not hurt anywhere are you?”
Ariyana shook her head as she wiped away the tears. “No, sorry. I’m just happy. My parents refused to let me have a pet. So, getting this and hearing you guys say its ok…I just…I’m just happy.”
“I can understand how you feel,” Avery said, understanding exactly how she felt.
Back on her home world, her parents refused to let her have a pet of her own. The reason they gave her was she had too many responsibilities already.
“However,” Avery started back up. “We’re not your parents. If you want a pet then get one. As long as it is properly trained and doesn’t try to eat any of us then it should be fine right?”
Liam and Mercer gave them concerned looks as Liam asked, “Are they seriously calling a soon to be tamed monster a pet?”
Mercer shook his head. “Don’t fight their logic. It’ll only cause issues.”
Liam shook his head at Mercer’s words.
“Alright, have any of you found a good spot to set up camp?” Mercer asked.
“The only good spot that can work is across the river,” Blair stated as she pointed.
“Hm, I guess it’ll have to do,” Mercer muttered as he looked over there.
The ground looked to be free of jagged stones and rocks and was covered in sand a little farther from the river bend.
Mercer turned to Liam and asked, “Have you harvested Binky yet?”
“No, I’ll go ahead and do that. I’ll meet you guys over there in a moment,” Liam replied as he turned to the monster.
Once when he reached Binky’s body, he reached out a hand and said, “Harvest.”
Binky’s giant body shone and suddenly disappeared after a few seconds had passed.
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“You have received Crocolisk meat x 10.”
“You have received Crocolisk Scale x 25.”
“You have received Giant sturdy Crocolisk bone x 10.”
“Congratulations! Focus Point Gathering Craft has reached level 16! Progression to level 17: 60%!”
“Congratulations! Class Ability Harvest has reached level 16! Progression to level 17: 60%!”
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“Damn that was a good haul,” Liam muttered as he turned to head for the river bend.
As he turned, however, he stopped and stared at Artem and Blair who were standing there.
“What are you guys doing? Weren’t we going over there?” Liam asked as he eyed them.
“Yeah, we are,” Artem said.
“We were just waiting for you,” Blair added as she put her great axe away.
“How come?” Liam asked.
Artem gave him a soft smile. “We wanted to make sure you weren’t too tired to swim across. That last fight tired most of us out so we wanted to make sure you could make it without any issues.”
Taken aback from what he said, Liam looked at Blair who nodded to agree with what Artem said.
“Thanks,” Liam said, trying to figure out what to say.
He was still feeling a bit guilty about not saying anything to them about the possibility of dying being an actuality. Even though they said they had a feeling and were prepared for it, he still felt bad for withholding the information.
“You don’t need to push yourself man,” Blair stated. “We’re a team. And as long as we are we will support each other till the end.”
Artem nodded agreeing with her.
Liam let out a sigh. “Ok I understand. I should be fine getting across, but if I need help I’ll let you know.”
“Ok,” Artem and Blair replied as they headed for the water.