It was... uhh..." Kaiden stammered, his mind racing. Should he just fess up and tell Zinnia the truth? He'd already eaten the lobster tail, so it wasn’t like she could take it from him to pay his 'tab.' Still, she made him nervous. What was that whole "Kaiden is mine" talk she had said earlier?
“Don’t even try to hide it,” Zinnia said, her grin mischievous. “You’re a terrible liar. Your face gives everything away.”
Kaiden shirked back slightly, thinking, Damn! Really? I thought I was doing a good job. “I see,” he said aloud, narrowing his eyes in concentration.
“Just spill it already,” Zinnia said, chuckling.
Kaiden exhaled deeply, resigning himself to the conversation. “It was a stat-boosting item… for constitution,” he admitted.
Zinnia’s brow shot up. “The permanent kind?”
Kaiden nodded.
Her expression shifted, thoughtful now. “I’ve never heard of a recess floor having loot before. This… this changes things.”
Kaiden nodded again, thinking to himself, So it was pretty rare. He’d suspected as much but hadn’t been sure.
“So how much did you get?” Zinnia pressed. “Five? Ten points? Or was it a percentage? Those are rarer.”
“Ten,” Kaiden said, keeping his answer deliberately vague. No way was he revealing the full truth.
“Wow.” Zinnia leaned back, genuinely impressed. “Ten points to constitution just for finding a lobster tail? That’s quite the haul—especially for your rank. But once you get to my rank, the flat bonuses don’t feel as useful. It’s all about the percentages. If that lobster tail had even a 5% increase…” She trailed off, her grin turning wicked. “Then I might have to cut you open and take it for myself. Haha!”
Kaiden gulped audibly. She sounded half-serious, and he was immediately thankful he hadn’t shared the full details. She thinks it only gave +10 constitution instead of +20 and +10%. She really might skin me alive if she knew.
Desperate to steer the conversation elsewhere, he latched onto a question that had been bugging him. “So, uh, how many attribute points do I need to make it to the next rank?”
Zinnia scrunched her nose as if trying to recall something. “It’s not necessarily about your stats that get you to the next rank—it’s how you perform. You can have tons of attribute points, but if you suck, well, your rank’s not going to change. Trial dungeons assign ranks.”
That wasn’t exactly what Kaiden wanted to hear as he nodded slowly. “Okay, I think I understand.” He already knew about trial dungeons and the other part of the answer was a little disappointing—vague and kind of obvious. His expression must have betrayed him because Zinnia chuckled.
“You don’t have to give me that look. I know what you’re really asking,” she said with a grin. “There are attribute ranges for each rank, but I don’t remember the exact numbers.”
“Not even for the next rank?” Kaiden asked, his tone a mix of hope and curiosity.
Zinnia shook her head. “Sorry, I haven’t been a low rank in ages, and it’s not something I care about anymore.”
“Right. That makes sense,” Kaiden said, his voice neutral, but inside, he was sighing. I’m so weak that I don’t even register on her radar, he thought, smiling haplessly.
“But,” Zinnia added, her voice drawing him back, “what I do remember is that the ranges are usually based on the three physical attributes.”
“You mean strength, dexterity, and constitution?” Kaiden asked.
“Exactly,” Zinnia said, nodding. “Casters will always be at the bottom of those ranges because their physical stats are weaker since they rely on magic. But even Casters need certain base attributes to function at their rank.”
Kaiden thought for a moment. “So basically a Caster still needs enough dexterity to keep up with monster speeds and enough strength and constitution to not die so easily?”
“Yep,” Zinnia confirmed. “Their magic strength comes from a combination of their ability level, class, and their Mana percentage.”
“Mana percentage? As in the multiplier?” Kaiden asked, his brow furrowing. “Isn’t mana percentage just a percentage increase in mana?”
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Zinnia huffed dramatically and threw her hands up. “What are those idiot instructors teaching you at Camp Thorne?”
“I... uhh...” Kaiden stammered, not sure whether to defend his instructors or just stop talking.
Zinnia waved him off dismissively as they walked, her pace steady. “That was rhetorical. But basically, it’s already been debunked about how mana percentages work.”
“Debunked?” Kaiden repeated, intrigued.
Zinnia nodded. “Yeah. We know percentage modifiers for most attributes increase those stats directly—like strength or constitution—but mana’s different. Mana doesn’t have a flat modifier like the other attributes. The percentage modifier acts differently too. Instead of increasing your pool of mana, it boosts the potency of your abilities.”
This was news to Kaiden, and it left him a little stunned. He hadn’t heard anything like this during training.
Zinnia kept explaining, her tone almost like that of a seasoned teacher. “Caster classes almost always give percentage increases to their mana attribute, which cranks up their firepower.”
“So,” Kaiden ventured, thinking it through, “if I were a Caster with, say, a 10% modifier to my mana, my spells would hit 10% harder?”
“Exactly,” Zinnia said, pointing a finger at him as though he’d solved a puzzle.
“That was definitely never explained to us in training,” Kaiden muttered, shaking his head.
Zinnia smirked, clearly not surprised, as they reached the edge of the pastures. Kaiden stopped, taking in the scene.
“Getting some dinner?” Zinnia asked.
“Yeah,” Kaiden said with a shrug. “That lobster was really small, so I’m still hungry.”
Zinnia chuckled. “Okay. I’ll see you in a few hours,” she said, turning on her heel and walking off toward the tavern.
Kaiden exhaled and decided to check his status page again before picking out his next meal.
Kaiden Hayward
Age: 26
Class: Health Weaver (Common) Level 1
Skills / Abilities
Regeneration: Level 2 (Passive)
Mindforge: Level 2 (Passive)
Arcane Vision: Level 2 (Active)
Healing Touch: Level 1
Cure Poison: Level 1
Attributes
Strength: 20 {10%}
Dexterity: 30 {10%}
Constitution: 80 {30%}
Mana: 200 / 200 {0%}
Mana Regeneration: 30 {15%}
Kaiden admired his stats, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he took in how far he’d come. The numbers were proof of his progress, tangible evidence of his growth since stepping into the dungeon. It was strange—despite nearly dying countless times, he was undeniably stronger, but how strong exactly? He wondered how he’d stack up against others of his rank now. Could he even rank up to D?
The thought stirred a flicker of excitement, but he quickly shook his head. No, he was getting ahead of himself. First, he needed to survive this dungeon—and then deal with Boork on the outside. He shuddered at the thought. The mercenary’s threats still echoed in his mind, and Kaiden knew that confrontation was inevitable.
His gaze shifted to his mana stat. With its glaring 0% modifier, there was no way to test Zinnia’s explanation anytime soon. “Figures,” he muttered, snapping his status screen shut. “Okay, enough of that.”
Determined to focus on the present, Kaiden made his way toward the chickens. At least dinner would be simple. Chickens were easy enough to cook, and they wouldn’t take as long to prepare as beef or pork.
As he examined the birds, he quickly realized they were consistent in what they provided. Each one offered a butchered assortment of legs, thighs, breasts, and wings—all from a single whole chicken—neatly packed in a chest. “Guess it makes sense,” Kaiden mused, chuckling softly. They were so small; it wasn’t like he’d get any unique cuts or a multi-piece meal.
“So much for hoping for a three-piece fried chicken tender combo or a ten-piece wings bucket,” he muttered sarcastically, shaking his head. “Guess not. I’d have to fry it myself after all.”
Resigned but satisfied, Kaiden selected a chicken and carried the chest back toward the tavern. He finished his meal and bath in peace, thankful for not having run into the mercenary, and laid down for some much-needed rest. Hours later, he got dressed and headed downstairs where the rest of the group waited. Ashkar's face was impassive, Zinnia greeted him with a bright smile, and Boork’s glare burned with a silent, seething rage. Kaiden gulped, keeping his steps measured as he joined them.
Ashkar grunted, signaling for the group to move, and without a word, they all stepped through the portal to the next floor.
Kaiden’s stomach churned as the familiar swirling energy of the portal faded away. He glanced around, dreading what fresh horrors might await. Are we almost done yet? he groaned internally, his body weary and his nerves stretched thin.
"Great, another maze," Boork muttered under his breath, his tone laced with irritation. No one else commented, though the silence spoke volumes. Surely, they were all sick of the endless labyrinths by now, but no one voiced it.
Kaiden certainly thought so, but he'd already resolved to keep most of his opinions to himself. He knew full well that no one cared what he thought.
"Let's go," Ashkar said curtly, nodding toward Boork, who grumbled but moved to take point. The group fell into formation, their steps echoing faintly against the stone walls as they began their trek through yet another twisting, monotonous maze.
Kaiden brought up the rear, shields in hand, his eyes darting cautiously between the paths branching out ahead of them. Every maze so far had its unique dangers, and he wasn’t about to let his guard down now. Just keep your head down and survive, he thought grimly.
The minutes stretched into what felt like hours, the group moving in silence, interrupted only by the occasional sound of shifting armor or the scrape of boots on stone. Every now and then, Zinnia would glance back at Kaiden with an encouraging smile, though whether it was meant to reassure him or amuse herself, he couldn’t tell.
Kaiden sighed internally. If this floor followed the same pattern as the others, they’d soon run into another set of monsters—and with his luck, he’d probably almost die again.