Author note: Sorry this is so late, it's not as long a chapter as the previous two. The reason it's so late is because I had a coincidental three non stop days of socialising, I didn't get a chance to write anything during them. However I've made a sort of plan now so I should be releasing a chapter every four to five days. Being more organised should mean I can proofread a bit more as well as I'll have more time :D
~Day 36~
"Ellena, I wish to talk to you before you leave for the dungeon this morning." Ellephwen called to me whilst we were eating breakfast.
My mouth was full of bread, so I nodded. I'm guessing she wants to talk to me about what happened yesterday. Is she going to tell me to be polite towards Gedill? I understand that's he's powerful, but I can't just show respect to someone like him.
After finishing my breakfast I put on my new armour and sat back down facing Ellephwen.
Samora sat down next to her and the two exchanged glances. "Last night, you said that you would leave after defeating the Lonely Wolf." Ellephwen started, so this is what she wanted to talk about?
I nodded in reply.
"Child, do not battle the Lonely Wolf, he is as old as Belric and powerful. There is a reason he became a dungeon boss." Ellephwen carried on.
What? she doesn't want me to fight him? I like to consider myself a rational thinker, so I thought surely by the time I reach him I would have become powerful enough to fight him. Is that not the case?
Scratching my chin I thought for a moment. Ellephwen usually knows best, but she also told me not to go to the Liar of the Lonely Wolf and I didn't listen to her then.
"...Are you certain I wouldn't stand a chance..?" I queried Ellephwen.
"Trust me Ellie, maybe when you come back from your journey you will be strong enough, but right now I'm not certain you can even reach him." Samora butted in.
So they're both in agreement...
*Sigh*
"I understand, then I'll change my goal, I'll leave on my journey when I reach him, instead of when I defeat him." I sighed without trying to hide my disappointment.
Ellephwen and Samora both still look slightly disappointed about something, I said I wouldn't fight him, so what are they still upset about?
...
Oh well there's no point thinking about it, wishing them a good day I left for the dungeon. Today I would be exploring the second floor, it looks like it wont be too different to the first floor, but it should be interesting to see what other monsters might be on that floor.
I was thinking though, how do I know when I've reached the Lonely Wolfs floor? I promised that I would not attack him, but how do I know that I'm on his floor without seeing him?
I suppose I should just hope that I see him, but he doesn't see me.
I soon arrived at the dungeon, running through any monsters on the way to the second floor I tried to gain a few extra levels, but to no avail. Well, I didn't kill too many due to the currently low population of the dungeons first floor.
I walked down the slope and reached the wide corridors of the second floor. There were several Black Wolves further down the corridor, just as I thought this is most likely the Black Wolves den. I should start by testing how I perform against the Black Wolves, that will give me a good idea of the strength of this floor.
I kicked of the ground sprinting towards the closest group of Wolves, before they noticed me I span a kick around digging my foot in to the closest Wolf. The Wolf yelped in pain as he was sent spiralling towards one of the other Wolves crushing both against the wall. The other two Wolves reacted quickly charging at me, they were fast, even faster than the Elder Grey Wolves, but I was faster. Leaping over them I landed behind and finished the last two Wolves off by crushing their heads together...
I didn't get any level ups. It's hard to believe I was running away from Black Wolf children less than a month ago, they seem so much weaker now. The Black Wolves are clearly stronger than the Elder Grey Wolves, but definitely not comparable to their pack leader. So do the Black Wolves also have a pack leader? Judging by how powerful the Grey Wolves pack leader was, would I be able to beat the Black Wolves pack leader?
...I think I'm starting to understand why Ellephwen and Samora don't want me fighting the Lonely Wolf.
I'll think more on it later, for now I'm going to carry on exploring this floor.
...
...
After a while exploring the Black Wolves den, I had a clear idea of the layout. First off it was definitely smaller than the Grey Wolves Den, not massively, but there was a difference. Secondly the actual layout is somewhat similar. They have a tunnel specifically for each of their needs, a tunnel for breeding, a tunnel for the disposal of corpses, a tunnel for hunting and what I believe is a tunnel for their pack leader. The biggest difference is that the Black Wolves tunnels aren't all in a row like the Grey Wolves, also there isn't a tunnel with a ramp leading to the third floor in the Black Wolves territory.
I haven't left the Black Wolves territory yet, but I've found the way out. The tunnel opens up to a giant sloped room, the roof stays the same height, but the floor slopes down. Around all of the walls are various tunnels with a few different monster species walking around. The room itself appears to be the nest of Buzzings, small coves in the wall and roof are filled with the creatures. The Buzzlings are Dwarf sized Bee creatures with lizard heads. The other species I've seen are the Giant Razbats, Shadow Rats and Tugglits.
It's obvious what Giant Razbats are, they're just larger Razbats after all... However Shadow Rats are slightly different to Horned Rats, to start with they're a little larger than Horned Rats, however they have no horns, instead they have black fur and black eyes, they also have the strange ability of being able to blend in with shadows. The Tugglits are small, burrowing creatures, they're about the size of a human head and are mostly passive, but will fight back if attacked. They're barely attacked however, as their fangs are filled with venom that could kill an adult Mollit. All the tunnels that these monsters came from were small tunnels, I feel as though they don't have any sort of boss, but I think I should still explore their tunnels at the very least.
The last thing I noticed in the huge chamber was a tunnel almost directly opposite this one, the only other tunnel that was about the same size as the Black Wolves tunnels. Clung to the walls, floor and ceiling were thousands of vines, completely obscuring any rock underneath. Clearly whatever species lives in there is part of the Nature Attribute, I haven't seen anything come out of that tunnel, so I'm guessing they're also territorial and seclusive.
There isn't too much time left, it's a shame, but due to how long it takes to make it through the first floor due to it's size I don't have as much time to explore on the second floor. It would seem that the further down I go, the less time I get to explore, maybe I'll have to start camping in the dungeon overnight? No, that would be a bad idea, I have no one to keep watch whilst I sleep, so there would be a high chance of being slaughtered whilst I slept.
What should I do with the time I have left today? Well I haven't actually looked down the tunnel I believe to be the Black Wolves pack leaders. I saw some Elder Black Wolves down there, I'm not certain they're elders as I didn't get a good look at them, but they are definitely larger than normal Black Wolves.
Al right, I'll confirm whether I'm right or not.
As I cautiously walked down the unexplored tunnel I was attacked by two of the Large Wolves. Looking closer I would rather call them Sabre-toothed Black Wolves, rather than Elder Wolves. The reason? Other than being larger than normal Black Wolves the only noticeable difference was the two giant teeth that hung down past their jaws.
I winced as one dug the huge teeth in to my forearm. I wanted to see how much stronger these Wolves were than the others, so I let him attack me, but even if I hadn't they're fast enough that I would have had a hard time dodging. As the other Sabre-tooth leaped at me I swung my arm with the first Wolf attached around to intercept the other one. They slammed in to each other, knocking the second Wolf back and digging the first Wolfs teeth deeper in to my arm. Using my palm I smashed my hand in to the Wolfs jaw in between the two giant teeth levering him off. As he fell back whimpering I reached my arm around his neck and squeezed, crushing it quickly.
The other Sabre-tooth leaped at my throat I repositioned myself forcing his teeth to dig in to my shoulder, thanks to my new armour the wound was shallow. Hopping backwards against the tunnel wall I used my elbow to crush his body against the rock.
*Thud*
*Crack*
The Sabre-tooth slumped with his teeth still in my flesh, ripping him off he fell to the floor.
Overall level has increased from [Level 05] to [Level 06]
[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 35}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 36}]
[Warriors Heart lvl 20] has increased to [Warriors Heart lvl 21]
[Warriors Strength lvl 7] has increased to [Warriors Strength lvl 8]
Finally, I've been killing Black Wolves non stop since I've been here, but haven't levelled up until now. Even the normal monsters on the second floor barely level me.
I carried on wondering down the last Black Wolf tunnel, before arriving at the end I killed about eight more Sabre-toothed Wolves. The end of the tunnel led to a large room, the room had a very thick tree in the right corner of the room, lying down under the tree was a 15 ft tall Black Wolf. The Wolf was lying sideways with a crowd of small baby Wolves suckling her nipples for milk, so this ones a female? Damn, I would challenge here now, but I really don't want to get babies involved...
Al right, I'll leave for today, but tomorrow I'll come back, hopefully there won't be any children around then. It's strange though, she doesn't seem to have many Sabre-tooth Wolves around to guard her, a lot less guards than the Grey Wolf pack leader had anyway.
...
As I was walking home I began thinking about something. The Black Wolves pack leader was huge, she is only a Black Wolf, which whilst being stronger than several other Wolf species they are far from the strongest species of Wolf. So, how large is the Lonely Wolf, a Wolf that managed to become a dungeon boss, for that matter what species is the Lonely Wolf?
"The Lonely Wolf? I honestly do not know as I have never seen him..." I asked Ellephwen the question as soon as I arrived home.
Hmm, so not even Ellephwen knows... Wait, if she's never seen him then how does she know that it is a wolf? I frowned whilst thinking this.
"I was just told about the Lonely Wolf by a few adventurers I saved from dying a few hundred years ago, the dungeon was still in it's early stages so they were almost immediately forced to fight him. They told me they had no idea what species of Wolf he was and that he was all alone with no other Wolf like him near. That's where the name comes from. " Ellephwen read my thoughts again.
I was still confused however. "Even so, you told me he's as old as Belric and that he's powerful. How would you know that if you'd never met him?"
Samora butted in this time. "Ah, that's what Belric told us. After hearing the Wolfs description he explained that such a species was extinct and hadn't existed since he was a child. However, he refused to tell us the name of the species or how they went extinct, he claimed to have forgotten, but it felt like there was some other reason..."
Belric was hiding something? He didn't really seem like the type, but I guess someone as old as him has probably developed several sides to himself...
"I'm afraid other than a brief description of his appearance there isn't much more we can tell you, besides you don't need to know, you promised not to challenge him, didn't you?" A terrifying smile grew on Ellephwens face whilst she tilted it to the right.
"Uh, I was just curious, that's all..." I really am just curious, I'm not planning on going back on my promise, I just want to know... That's definitely it.
Ellephwen and Samora studied me, it felt like their gazes pierced my skull.
"Very well, I shall trust you, my Kin. As long as the adventurers were not exaggerating, the Lonely Wolf is around 40 ft tall with a coat of black fur with white stripes. His fur is thick with bony spines sticking out of his back. He has five horns on his head and blood red eyes. Finally he seems to be able to use earth magic, so he's clearly quite intelligent... That is all we know about him." Ellephwen gave me a description of the great Wolf.
He's... Pretty big, isn't he? Maybe it is best I don't try to fight him, I can't imagine being able to do much to something like that. Then again I'm planning to fight an even bigger monsters in a years time...
"An way Ellena, today I have cooked dinner again. I believe I've improved enough now to where there isn't a significant difference from when I had both of my arms." Ellephwen smiled with a hint of pride.
"She has..." Samora commented whilst pouting. Is she upset that Ellephwens cooking has gotten better than hers again?
Samora brought the food to the table whilst still pouting. It certainly looked a lot tastier, it appeared to be soup. I ate a spoonful of the soup, it was certainly delicious, I felt bad for Samora, but it was better than hers. Not that Samoras food wasn't delicious, it just seems that Ellephwen has a natural ability to cook. I wonder if her cooking skill is max?
After a satisfying dinner, I spent to rest of the day practising my armour making skill with the left over leather. I made a leather helmet, but I'm not planning on wearing it.
Then, a little bit worn out I crawled in to bed. Samora seemed to be staying up reading a cookbook, with a small magic light hanging above her bed. It was a relaxing for some reason and quickly sent to me sleep.
~Day 37~
Today I will challenge the Black Wolves leader, I'm quite confident in my victory, but nothing is certain. There's is also a chance, of course that she will be feeding again, then again I found her around midday, which would explain why she was feeding. So without wasting any unnecessary time or energy I reached her without wasting any time or energy.
She wasn't feeding the young this time, she was sitting down by the wall. Today I have a better view of the room and of her. Other than that one tree there is a pile of bones near where she is currently lying. There aren't any fresh corpses, which makes me think that no adventurer has gotten down to the second floor for quite a while. Opposite to the tree was a pond with a small waterfall, most likely coming from the Grey Wolves large hunting chamber above us.
Then there's the pack leader herself, before I could only see her stomach and had no chance to look at her face. First of she was Sabre-toothed just like her guards. There was a huge burn scar across the right side of her face, her ear had been completely burnt off, leaving just a hole. Tufts of grey fur were littered on her back. This coupled with her hulking body gave her an unquestionably terrifying presence.
It's times like these that I'm glad I have skills that can help pressures my fear.
Breathing in softly I prepared myself.
Leaving a cloud of smoke behind myself I lunged forward towards the beast. Two Sabre-tooths leaped to intercept me. Slowing down temporarily I grabbed the back of their head and smashed them together crushing their skulls. Throwing the corpses towards the pack leader I kicked another Sabre-tooth out of the way.
*GRRRRR!*
The giant Sabre-tooth let out a deep growl as she shrugged off the two limp bodies I threw at her. She leant down and sprinted at me causing cracks to appear int he rock under her feet. The ground shook as she ran towards me, I dropped down and slid under her thick forelegs, activating Mushroom Shield I slammed it against her underbelly. She yelped and was pushed a few inches in to the air. I finished sliding proceeding to jump back up and spin around to face her.
I felt something soft against my cheek as I was thrust towards the waterfall, I flew threw the waterfall and slammed against the rock. The wall gained a huge crack down it and blood spurted from my mouth.
*Guh!*
I fell down in to the pond and grimaced whilst holding my arm which was bleeding profusely, around a fifth of my health was taken from that hit, looking up it seems she used her tail to knock me away.
If that was her tail, then how much damage would those teeth do to me? I'm going to have to be careful if I don't want to find out.
Standing up my wounds quickly closed up, the pack leader was already bounding towards me. I stood still and waited, she opened her gaping jaw ready to bite me in half, as she tried to snap her mouth shut I jumped backwards and grasped her huge teeth.
The Sabre-tooth struggled to loosen my grip on her teeth, she threw her head up lifting me in to the air and charged against the wall at fall speed with me in front of her. Using my arm strength I swung myself under her body again just as she was about to hit the wall, making her run full speed head first against it.
*Crunch!*
The wall crunched and cracked under her weight, yelping in pain she shook her head clearly dizzy. Using this chance I jumped on to her back and began slamming the top of her head with my Mushroom Shield. She began writhing and yelping in pain, I pierced her skull and blood began to spill out, the pack leader jumped to the side and span around knocking me off.
Landing on my feet I rushed back towards the unsteady giant, she was shaking and seemed to be having a bit of difficulty staying stood up. I kicked off the ground jumping in to a forward flip, using the momentum I drop-kicked the massive Black Wolfs wounded head.
The Wolf wobbled for a few more seconds, finally falling sideways slamming against the wall. The ground shook and a few clouds of dust fell from the ceiling.
Overall level has increased from [Level 06] to [Level 08]
[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 36}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 37}]
[Kingsfoot lvl 4] has increased to [Kingsfoot lvl 5]
[Warriors Heart lvl 21] has increased to [Warriors Heart lvl 22]
[Warriors Will lvl 15] has increased to [Warriors Will lvl 16]
[Warriors Strength lvl 8] has increased to [Warriors Strength lvl 9]
[Intermediate Regeneration lvl 5] has increased to [Intermediate Regeneration lvl 6]
[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 37}] ability: [Mushroom Bubble] unlocked.
[Prerequisites: 200 mana required for ability unlock]
Two levels at once? This Wolf was quite powerful then... I've also had quite a few general skill levels, but still no Unarmed Combat evolution...
Well more importantly I have a new ability... Mushroom Bubble, it uses 200 mana. That's practically all my current mana, since it's ten times the cost of Mushroom Shield, does that mean it's ten times the power?
That's quite an exciting prospect...
Al right, I'll try it out then skin the pack leader. After that I'll head home, it's a little early to head home really, but It will take a while to skin the massive beast and also to prepare the hide when I get home.
Leaving the pack leaders room I quickly found a large group of seven Black Wolves, with my mana recharged to max I activated Mushroom Shield.
*Shuuu*
A large Mushroom-head shaped barrier surrounded my body, it was a translucent crimson colour and was about ten ft away from me at every angle. The Wolves hesitated, then ran at me.
*Pung!*
*Pong!*
The two Wolves bounced of the Bubble, sending them hurtling backwards. I see, so the Bubble deflects attacks, well I was expecting it to be defensive. So I practically can't be injured whilst I have this ability activated? Obviously if the attack is powerful enough it can overpower the shield, but it still seems that it will be extremely useful in the future when I have more mana.
The only problem is, how do I attack? I guess my only choice is to deactivate it...
I don't have much choice then. As I deactivated Mushroom Bubble the two Wolves took the opportunity to attack. I repelled them without too much issue.
Having tested my new ability I headed back to the Sabre-toothed pack leader to skin and bury her. Can I even bury her? The ground is rock, but there might be dirt underneath. From what i've seen from the first floor, the ground in between each floor is thick enough to bury the Mollit boss, so it should be thick enough to bury her, right?
Skinning the huge beast didn't gain me a level in skinning this time, well I might have been hoping for a little too much when I thought that it might. The black fur was soft and warm, it seems like it would be better than the grey Wolves fur that I'm currently wearing. I'll use it in the future to make more armour.
After skinning him I began beating the ground with my feet to try and crack it. I believe that I have enough strength to break rock given time. After a few kick cracks began to form on the floor, after several more minutes I had removed enough rock to fit around the pack leaders body. I quickly dug a hole and buried her bowing in respect.
I didn't think about it earlier, but will all those baby Wolves be okay without her milk? I'm sure there are other female Black Wolves around, but it still makes me worry a little.
...
Well it's not like I can do anything about it, the Black Wolves wouldn't let me get close enough to help and I can't exactly adopt them or anything.
Picking up the Wolves hide I made my way home.
I arrived back home, greeted Ellephwen and Samora then immediately proceeded to prepare the Black Wolves hide. It wouldn't be usable for a while.
Going back inside Samora was cooking dinner, it seems that the two of them are alternating who cooks each night. I don't particularly mind, Samoras food is still very tasty and it also let's Ellephwen rest. Cooking with one arm must be a little exhausting, saying that though she has taken to using magic for a lot of her daily activities.
I did offer to also attempt to cook, I wasn't awful in my previous life, in fact I was just about passable, but I felt bad about not pulling my own weight in this house. Ellephwen told me not to worry about it, they choose to do the chores themselves and that I should just concentrate on levelling. I just hope I don't become lazy.
With that another day of dungeon exploring is over, tomorrow I plan to explore the rest of the second floor.
I want to know what made those vines...
~Day 38~
On my way to the dungeon I saw the Goblins again, well more accurately I saw the Hobgoblin leader with five other Hobgoblins heading through the Frogs territory. I stopped and gave a slight wave to him. The Hobgoblins raised their weapons, but the leader signalled them to stop. He narrowed his eyes staring at me. Ah, of course he wouldn't recognise me, I was a Mushman back then. Grabbing hold of my ponytail I pointed at the colour and pattern of it then also pointed at my eyes.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
The Hobgoblins eyes opened wide as he realised who I am, shouting something to his underlings in Goblin tongue, all of the Hobgoblins bowed to me. What? Why are they bowing to me? I really need to learn the Goblin language, I wonder if Ellephwen knows it?
Not knowing what to do I bowed back to him, he seemed to panic slightly, then an elated smile grew on his face. Signalling the other Hobgoblins again they carried on walking.
I wonder what that was about?
Well, I'll ask Ellephwen later...
I've noticed I've been saying that a lot, am I relying on Ellephwen a little to much? Maybe if she protested more I wouldn't rely on her so much...
I arrived at the second floor quickly, I wanted to see what species lived in the ivy infested tunnels, but first I want to see where all the smaller tunnels in the main room lead. I want to see whether or not the monster species living in the smaller tunnels have leaders, I get the feeling that they don't, like they're lesser monsters on this floor, like the Razbats on the first.
I began exploring the tunnels.
...
...
Most of the day had passed. It seemed I was right, I'm nearing the end of a tunnel filled with Tugglits, the Tugglits didn't attack me as long as I didn't aggravate them, so I was breezing through. None of the tunnels I had explored branching off from the main room led to anything in particular, however they are all connected and intertwining creating a maze. Thanks to that it was already getting late so I won't have enough time to explore the ivy tunnel. I was getting quite anxious to do so.
Hmm? Arriving at the end of the last tunnel I found a wide room. This is usually indicative of a boss room isn't it?
...Why would the Tugglits have a boss?
I walked in to the room slowly.
All around the room were varying sized Tugglits, the room was all rock and had small lanterns dotted around near the walls floating in mid air, with a bright blue flame. Clearly suspended by magic. In the centre of the room was a stone table, with two stone chairs, sitting behind the table was a dwarf sized Tugglit with a body, arms and legs. He was wearing a simple robe and had a deeply wrinkled face.
He looked up noticing me. "Walcum, Itz bin a whil' sinz I 'ad a vista'." (Welcome, it's been a while since I had a visitor)
I was quite shocked, I'd never heard of an intelligent Tugglet before... Then again I also hadn't heard of an intelligent Mushman before, but here I am now...
"Ya wan'ta sit duwn?" The Tugglet gestured to the empty seat.
His speech was odd, I could understand him quite easily, but it was definitely odd. He probably hasn't interacted with too many beings that use the common tongue.
I walked over to the small chair and sat down, it was a bit too small, but it was at least more comfortable than just standing.
"Are you not afraid of me attacking you?" I asked him, he seems awfully trusting.
The Tugglit smiled. "Ma' sentriz tol' me yu din't hurt ma' peepl. I beliv' yoo ar' saf'." (My sentries told me you didn't hurt my people.)
His sentries? I didn't see any other Tugglets that looked particularly different, they must have been hiding somewhere...
...
I proceeded to talk to the strange Tugglet for a short while longer. I found out that his name is Rugtug. He told me he has been intelligent for around 200 hundred years. He was tired of his people being hunted in the forrest so decided to move in to a dungeon giving them greater protection. He wanted to create a place to live which was deep enough in to not be too troubled by adventurers, but not deep enough where he couldn't defend against the other monsters. They moved in around 50 years ago, so the dungeon likely had one less floor when they moved in.
It was too late to stay and talk so I asked him one last thing, whether or not he would take part in the battle against King Lavias in a years time.
"Hmm." Rugtug fell in to deep thought, his eyes betrayed a surprising wisdom...
"I avta say, I 'avnt 'erd o' dis Laviyuz b'for naw... I 'avnt eva star'ed a fite b'for, bu' if dis fella is as dangrus as ya say... I'l tink bout it at list." The Tugglet gave me a brief reply. (I have to say I haven't heard of this Lavias before now. I haven't ever started a fight before, but if this feller is as dangerous as you say... I'll think about it at least.)
He may not be able to speak entirely coherently, but he is clearly an intelligent being. I wished him farewell and left.
To be honest, I'm not entirely sure he would be of much use against Lavias, he was certainly powerful if compared to the other Tugglets, but if he was scared of going any deeper in the dungeon then he can't be that powerful...
Perhaps if he decides to help he'll train himself in the dungeon throughout the year...
...
I arrived back home and told Samora and Ellephwen about Rugtug. They both agreed with me that he probably wouldn't be off too much help. However Ellephwen said that even the smallest amount of help, is still help.
Today was Ellephwens turn to cook again as we were sitting down I remembered something else.
"Ellephwen, could you teach me the Goblin tongue?" I asked her before I forgot again.
Ellephwen shook her head apologetically. "I'm afraid I can't speak the Goblin tongue very well, I've always had trouble learning other tongues."
Ellephwen has a weakness? That's is quite surprising.
"I can teach you! I'm quite fluent in several tongues." Samora leaned over the table excitedly, she seemed quite smug.
What's she so excited about, is she happy about the fact that she's better than Ellephwen at something?
"That would be fantastic, thanks." I replied nodding slightly.
Samora sat back in her chair with a satisfied smile.
"I must ask though, why the sudden interest in the Goblin tongue, Ellena?" Ellephwen asked.
"Do you remember me telling you about the Hobgoblin leader that I let go when I evolved?" The two of them nodded.
"I saw him again today, when he realised who I was he told his underlings something and they all bowed towards me.."
Samora and Ellephwen looked surprised.
"They... Bowed to you?" Samora asked with her voice slightly shaking.
I knotted my brow and nodded.
Ellephwen sighed gripping her forehead with forefinger and thumb. "Ellena, that probably means they have chosen you as their Chief."
...
What?
Their Chief? Why am I their Chief? Because I let him go? Why would you make someone who killed half of your tribe as your Chief?
"You probably don't have to worry about it too much.... Hobgoblins aren't foolish, he most likely knows you do not speak their language. If you had truly become their Chief then the title would have been added to your stats." Ellephwen sighed again whilst explaining to me.
I checked my stats, indeed my titles haven't changed, I still only have the title of Kin of Ellephwen.
"So I won't be their Chief until I accept the position?"I looked down in thought.
"Yes, I believe so. I won't tell you not to become their Chief, it would stop another Goblin King from appearing so if you chose to accept the decision it could be considered beneficial to the Central Continent as a whole. On the other hand it could restrict your freedom somewhat. Either way, I ask that you ask them to wait until after we defeat King Lavias to make a decision, you should concentrate on building up yourself and also a force to fight Lavias until then. Besides the Councils told us that the Goblins are already planning to fight Lavias." Ellephwen gave me her opinion.
"I... Understand." I replied whilst sighing.
Honestly, me becoming a Chief. I'll have to learn the Goblin tongue quickly to tell the Goblins my decision. Will they wait a whole year for me to give my final decision? surely they'll be disappointed if I say no after all that time.
After finishing dinner Samora started trying to teach me the Goblin tongue, we didn't do to much today just basic greeting as it was already late.
Still, I had something else to add to my list of things to worry about.
*Sigh*
As I got in to bed I sighed.
A Dryad as a Goblin Chief, huh?
I can't imagine it...
~Day 39~
I woke up with a single goal in mind.
Today I'll finally explore the ivy filled tunnels. I did spend a lot of time thinking about the problem with the Goblins last night, but I decided that it's best not to make a decision in one night.
It's also not like I'll learn the Goblin tongue in one night, I don't think it will take too long to learn at least the basics, but to be honest I can barely remember the greetings Samora was trying to teach me last night.
As soon as I reached the second floor I headed straight for the ivy tunnel, a Tugglet nodded at me as I passed. One of Rugtugs sentries?
The floor felt odd... Well that makes sense really... It was completely covered in ivy. I walked down the large tunnels slightly uneven floor.
...
After walking for a few minutes I spotted a monster species I haven't seen before, it must be whatever lives here. The creature appeared to be made of vines and was in the shape of a lizard. It stood on two hind legs and had two short arms with sharp claws. It was leaning forward with it's body in an almost horizontal position. It seemed to be about 8 ft tall and 20 ft long if you count it's tail.
I think I now what it is. When I told Ellephwen about my evolution options on the day I evolved into a Dryad she gave me a short description of each of my options.
Judging by this monsters appearance it is a Cission.
I'm guessing this one is a female, Ellephwen told me they're the larger and more dominant sex of the species.
The Cission turned around after noticing me, her movements were slightly twitchy.
*CAW CAW!*
The Cission made a bird like call. Was it some kind of warning?
Suddenly about seven lumps shook away from the ground. They were Cissions blending in with the vines covering the tunnel.
The Cissions charged at me. An ambush?!
I jumped back to dodge the bite of one of them. So they're clever and cunning enough to prepare an ambush?
To think I could have become one of them... That might have been, kind of fun.
The group lunged at me, their speed is definitely superior to the Black Wolves. A claw cut across my abdomen. A small chunk of my health was depleted.
I don't want to waste Mushroom Bubble, so for now I'll activate my Shield.
Slamming the shield in to the side of one of the Cissions head, it broke apart in to a pile of vines revealing green bone and his brain. He fell to the ground dead. So they're fast, but have very little defence? Then I should play on the offensive.
After a single hit with my shield each Cission fell to the ground... However I had also taken a reasonable amount of damage, around 2/5ths of my health was gone.
I continued to explore the Cissions den, only a lot more cautiously. After a few hours of exploring and being ambushed, I was a little exhausted, but I had also managed to gain a few levels, the Cissions were surprisingly strong.
Overall level has increased from [Level 08] to [Level 10]
[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 37}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 38}]
[Warriors Heart lvl 22] has increased to [Warriors Heart lvl 23]
[Warriors Strength lvl 9] has increased to [Warriors Strength lvl 10]
I found out that the Cissions had a variety of shapes, some were more defensive and large whilst others were like the ones I fought. Some even appeared to be herbivores, which looked quite odd as they were eating the vines on the floor, isn't that sort of cannibalism?
There wasn't much to talk about their den, there didn't appear to be any particular structure to it, I found a few nests dotted around with green leaf-like eggs and a few piles of bones and other monsters corpses around. It's quite odd, they seem to be more intelligent than the Wolves, but the Wolves are a lot better organised.
They probably have a boss, but honestly I'll have to wait until tomorrow to fight it, I've learnt how to fight them properly, but I'm still exhausted. Besides, it's almost time I head back.
I think I will finish looking around the ivy tunnels first, there seems to only be one tunnel left unexplored at the very end of the corridor. Which would most likely be the bosses room a long with the room which leads to the third floor.
That's right I haven't found any way down to the third floor yet. To be honest I'm kind of happy, I feel as though this is how dungeon should be, having to go through a boss to reach the next floor.
The last tunnel opened up slowly in to a huge room. It was definitely the largest room I've seen in this dungeon yet, it must have been about 60 ft high and 150 ft wide at the widest. It makes me wonder how it doesn't interfere with the previous floor... The tunnel leading to it does extend from the start of their den quite far so it must be away from any of the rooms on the first floor.
The room was still completely covered in ivy, hanging down from the apex of the room was a singular very thick vine, it appeared to be dripping water in to a pond in the middle of the room. On the left side of the room was a very wide ramped tunnel leading further down, it also appeared to have vines. I knew the tunnel would be in here. I felt oddly happy about that fact.
The most important part of the room however, was the 35ft tall Cission drinking out of the pond... He was the only Cission in the room. His mouth could just about fit in the comparability tiny water source. Along the sides of his mouth was a pair of huge tusks, his back was covered in green spines reaching from the tip of his head down to the tip of his tail. He had four deep red eyes and a thick jaw.
There was no way I could fight this giant today. I would definitely die after making a stupid mistake due to exhaustion.
Before he could notice me I backed away out of the room.
I'm definitely fighting him tomorrow though. My mouth stretched in to a grin, again? I really can't help myself can I?
I made my way home without further incident. When I arrived back I told Ellephwen about the Cission.
She told me that the first Cissions I encountered were Cission Raptors, the ones I had a chance of evolving in to. What would have happened to my defence then? The Cission Raptors have awful defence whilst I focus highly on defence... It's a good thing I didn't choose to evolve in to one...
She also told me the name of the Cission boss. The Cission Rex. Samora was quite surprised about a Rex being on the second floor. They're quite a high levelled evolution and would not be commonly found in a dungeon.
They seemed concerned when I said that I would fight him tomorrow, I told them I would run away if I felt like I couldn't beat him. They didn't seem convinced, but accepted my determination regardless...
Anyway, since we had more time after dinner today Samora began to properly teach me the Goblin tongue. She spent several hours trying to teach me some basic phrases. I don't think a lot of it really got through, although Samora said that I'm a relatively fast learner.
Now both mentally and physically exhausted, I slumped in to bed falling quickly asleep.
~Day 40~
I woke up refreshed and invigorated.
I ate breakfast and equipped my armour, it's already becoming a little tattered, I'll need to perform maintenance on it tonight or tomorrow.
Samora still tried to stop me from going to fight the Cission Rex, but I reassured her I wasn't doing this recklessly. Samora looked dejected, I tried to reassure her with a smile.
Her face went a little red, but she seems to have cheered up a little.
I headed out and proceeded to head straight for the Rex.
As I walked to the Cission Rex I intercepted the Raptors ambushes, I practised how to spot the camouflaged monsters yesterday. This meant I managed to reach the Rex without using up too much energy.
I looked around the room, the Rex appeared to be scratching his body up against the vines on the wall. I began walking towards the giant at a brisk pace. He stopped scratching twisting his head to face me.
I stopped and activated Mushroom Shield.
The Cission Rex paused for a moment, then he turned to face me properly. He opened his mouth.
*GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!*
He let out a terrifying deafening roar, the ivy leaves shook from the shock-wave, even I was forced back a few steps from the shock.
Undeterred, I began my assault.
I sent my shield towards his face knocking his head back, the Rex backed up away from the shield then growled angrily.
I sent my Shield towards him again, prepared for it this time he bit down on the Shield, a huge crack appeared on it.
No way... Just one bite cracked my shield? I attacked quickly whilst he was distracted kicking the side of his head. I pierced one of his eyes with my boot.
The Rex stumbled clenching his jaw in pain, my Shield shattered.
...I really don't want to get touched by that jaw...
The Rex sprinted at me, the claws of his feet ripped up the vines as he ran. With surprising speed he closed the gap between us, leaning down he opened his jaw up twisting his mouth sideways I tried to dodge to the side as his jaw closed, I felt an amount of pain I hadn't felt for a while run through me.
I rolled sideways and looked down at the damage. I could see my insides... A huge chunk out of my lower torso was gone, thanks to my Regeneration skill it will grow back, but there was so much blood...
Around a third of my health was gone... I can't let myself be hit by him again. Wincing in pain I landed a few punches on the bottom of his jaw making the hulking mass wobble sideways. Largely unaffected his pulled his head around for another attack, I slid under his bite, his jaw enclosed above my body, but caught a part of my hand. another sharp pain, I looked at my finger, my two smallest fingers and a chunk of my hand was gone.
Another small portion of my health was gone.
I needed to finish this fast. Now under the Rex's belly I ran to one of his legs and grabbed it with my still intact hand. I pulled with all my might.
The Rex let out a scream of surprise, as I managed to lift his leg, my muscles were bulging and straining under the weight of just one leg.
"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURGH!"
I threw the leg up with all the strength I could muster. The Rex fell sideways collapsing on to the floor. A huge rumble reverberated through the room as the impact shook the floor.
Breathing heavily I worked over to the enormous Cission, he was writhing on the floor trying to stand.
I breathed a sigh of relief, it looks like that with his small arms and massive weight he has trouble standing back up. I guess Rex's aren't often knocked over. Although that begs the question how do they sleep? Do they lie against the wall? That seems impractical.
The Rex began to try and roll back over, I ran over to his head and pummelled it before he could recover. It took a lot of hits, but eventually he stopped moving.
Overall level has increased from [Level 10] to [Level 13]
[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 38}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 39}]
[Unarmed Combat Journeyman lvl 10] has evolved in to [Unarmed Combat Expert lvl 1]
[Warriors Heart lvl 23] has increased to [Warriors Heart lvl 24]
[Warriors Will lvl 16] has increased to [Warriors Will lvl 17]
[Warriors Strength lvl 10] has increased to [Warriors Strength lvl 11]
[Intermediate Regeneration lvl 6] has increased to [Intermediate Regeneration lvl 7]
I sat back against the neck of the Rex breathing heavily. I looked at my hand, my fingers were well on the way to coming back, the wound on my torso might take a little longer, but it shouldn't take too long.
Now, thanks to that battle I grew three whole levels, I guess that just shows how tough that Cission was... Will there be stronger bosses on the following floor, or was he just unusual? Well, I guess I'll find out soon...
I also finally evolved Unarmed Combat again, now it's expert. I do think that might be a bit of a generous title though, I certainly don't feel like an expert.
After resting for a few minutes, I stood up and left to go back home. Usually after beating one of the bosses, I would skin then bury them, but the Rex is made of vines, so there's no point to either. I'm also not going to head down to the third floor in my current condition, I'm too tired to risk the chance of being attacked by something powerful down there. So, I'll just head home today.
When I reached home Ellephwen and Samora seemed relieved that I was okay, my wounds were healed by now so I thought it was best I didn't tell them about the injuries I suffered. Samora was quite amazed that I actually managed to beat a Rex. There was still time until dark, so I decided to perform maintenance on my armour.
It didn't take too long until my armour was good as new with a few improvements, I replaced the lining with Black Wolf fur, it was more protective and even more comfortable. I also used some of my previous left over leather to add some protection to my midriff which had no real protection before.
I headed inside to eat dinner then carry on with my lessons on the Goblin tongue with Samora. She carried on the lesson from yesterday, I was starting to memorize some basic questions and greetings, Such as 'how are you?' or 'What do you want?', but it was still mentally exhausting.
As soon as I finally got in to bed, I fell asleep almost immediately. I wonder what awaits me on the third floor? Although I'm very excited I'm also worried, at the rate I'm going it won't be long until I full-fill my promise with Gedill and have to leave... Should I slow down a bit... Or would that make me Immature?
[Name: Ellena]
[Age: 39 Days]
[Species: Virga Ferrea, Dryad]
[Height: 7'-3"]
[Sex: Female]
[Title: Kin of Ellephwen]
{Level: 13] + 8
[Health: 1068/1068] + 163
[Mana: 218/218] + 39
[Stamina: 0930/1048] + 152
[Hunger: 1048/1048] + 152
[Attack: 836] + 144
[Defence: 1511] + 189
[Magic Attack: 255] + 44
[Magic Defence: 466] + 79
[Skills: [Pain Resistance lvl 10 (Max)] [Poison Resistance lvl 2] [Mind Resistance lvl 2] [Night vision lvl 10 (max)] [Amplified Vision lvl 6] Up! [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 39}] Up! [tough stomach lvl 7] [Unarmed Combat Expert lvl 1] Up! [Kingsfoot lvl 5] Up! [Warriors Heart lvl 24] Up! [Warriors Will lvl 17] Up! [Warriors Strength lvl 11] Up! [Intermediate Regeneration lvl 7] Up! [Guardian lvl 7] [Dryads Charm lvl 1] [Skinning lvl 2] [Tanning lvl 1] [Leatherworking lvl 2]]
Another note: Do you think any tags are missing? I'm not very good with things like that so I don't know...
Also to ShamelessLeech who wanted a drawing of Ellena as a Dryad. I have been drawing it, but it keeps coming out looking weird so I'm having to redraw it a lot.