Wait... what? Assisted? Pell’s mind raced. Enya had fought this zombie? And she did enough damage that simply stepping on it had killed it instantly? Normally, a single stomp wouldn’t be enough to kill a zombie, especially not one with most of its body still intact. Pell’s body weighed several dozen kilograms, but that wasn’t nearly enough to crush a zombie’s skull to the point of death. The fact that it was missing both arms meant it had taken some serious damage, but even then, a zombie could still be "healthy" enough to pose a threat. Yet, here it was, felled by a single stomp.
But how? Enya didn’t have any offensive spells at her disposal, and she certainly wasn’t strong enough to wield the heavy bronze longswords that were strewn across the dungeon floor. He had warned her repeatedly not to engage monsters in close combat. Despite being relatively low level, the dungeon’s inhabitants were still dangerous, especially for someone like Enya—a mere human child.
“How the hell did that brat…” Pell opened the party status window as he ran.
Party Member: Enya has received 24 EXP (84% contribution)
Party Member: Pell has received 4 EXP (16% contribution)(-50% incompatible EXP)
“Holy shit,” Pell whispered in astonishment.
This confirmed it—Enya had contributed nearly 80% of the damage to the zombie, while Pell’s contribution barely reached 20%. She had done so much damage that his casual stomp had been enough to finish it off. Pell had received four experience points from the kill, a single drop in the bucket of what he needed to level up. Worse still, those experience points were combat-related—something Pell’s class wasn’t compatible with.
System Notification: 2 of 4 EXP has been allocated to “Merchant”.
Warning: 50% of EXP has been lost due to incompatible class type.
Of course, there was an experience penalty. He only ever earned full exp credit by participating in trade and merchantry. This was precisely why Pell avoided fighting the dungeon monsters directly. Sure, he could handle a skeleton if he meticulously planned out the attack, but the noise might attract the demon rat or mark him as a hostile target, making his life even more difficult. Dragging a lone zombie or skeleton to a secluded spot and executing it quietly was an option, but that was easier said than done, and not worth the exp he would get.
As Pell continued running, he finally had a chance to check the party menu. With a flailing skeleton on his back earlier, it had been nearly impossible to accurately see Enya’s status or health bar.
As he looked at the party status, he noticed that there was a change. Enya's health had gone down. It was slight, but the health bar was not full. It was missing roughly 5%. This measurement didn't mean too much, but it served as a basis for a person's vitality. If a person's health value reached zero, it didn't mean that the person was dead. It simply meant that that person was ‘unhealthy’, whether that meant extremely exhausted, or in the face of death’s door, both could represent by the same number.
Pell wondered how exactly Enya had fought the zombie. Did she throw punches at it? Maybe a kick or two? Or did she secretly learn some spell that could have severed off the zombie's arm? Whatever the case, this meant that she was capable. She was able to fight monsters, and even escape a zombie 4 levels higher than her with nothing more than probably a scratch. The little girl was probably feeling pretty proud of herself. Pell's mood lightened. Perhaps she really could free him from this dungeon. Maybe I need to praise that brat, after all.
Pell quickly approached the final intersection before reaching the main hallway. The last two minutes had been surprisingly quiet, aside from the steady rhythm of his footsteps against the stone floor. He also noticed the little oval-shaped tracks in the dirty ground, leading to the left. It had seemed Enya already made it up here and ran back towards the main hallway.
He took another glance at the party menu, and noticed her health was still the same. She might already be at the study, waiting for him. She's probably ecstatic that she fought off a zombie by herself after I told her how dangerous they were. Cheeky brat.
Unbeknownst to him, Pell was actually smiling for once. He was pleased because Enya was making progress with her necromancy, but now she could even take on low-level monsters while barely taking any damage. It kind of reminded him of seeing a seedling grow into a large stalk of a plant.
Though, I will need to remind her to not fight on her own. He thought. The ideal strategy would be to praise but also criticize them. Children needed to learn what they did wrong.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
He continued running. Do I scold her first, then praise her? Or praise, and then scold? Pell sighed. I'll just make it up as I go, I guess.
Various thoughts of Pell’s past came into mind. I don’t know how the hell she did this job so perfectly. Brats cause so much trouble and were prone to jumping off a cliff if you didn’t watch over them, all to play a game of ‘run-from-the-mean-guy’. Load of bullshit. That damn noble couldn’t appreciate any of this. Once I buy that place back, I’ll work myself to the vaporized-bone just to destroy his reputation. Pell scoffed. As if his reputation wasn’t already more rotten than this entire dungeon.
Pell's thoughts snapped away as a deep growl and the rapid pounding of steps echoed down the hallway. The sound hit him like a sudden monster wave, as if a horde had breached out from a portal behind him. Panic flooded his mind, and he quickly whipped his head around, eyes darting into the darkness. He couldn’t see it yet, but he knew. The demon rat had recovered from the brutal attack that nearly burned it alive, and now it was closing in, and fast.
"Shit!" Pell exclaimed. He turned around and started sprinting further down the hall. Somehow, the demon rat had caught up to him, much faster than he had anticipated.
The demon rat was the alpha predator in the dungeon. Everything in it was beneath it—just simple food that was just waiting to be eaten. But Pell and Enya were different. They actively resisted its attempts to consume them, by hiding or by running. This meant the rat had to get crafty and become a predator lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike. There was no other way Pell wouldn't have heard the rat get this close, considering its lumbering size.
The main neutral-hall was extremely close—just under a minute away. But Pell knew it didn’t matter. Even if he reached it, it was still a long sprint back to the study. And even then, he wasn’t sure he could outrun the demon rat for that long. There was nothing left to slow it down, no more tricks or distractions to throw in its way.
Pell reached into his inventory, fiddling around with the items he still had in there. The space was only barely bigger than his own skull at his current level.
Book… health potion… mana potion… small dagger… and… the rebound talisman.
Item Name: Rebound Talisman
Tier: Gold
Rank: B-
Value: 10g
Effect: Block one attack and rebound it back towards the attacker. The stronger the attack, the stronger the rebound.
Pell shook his head, cursing the cruel irony of his situation. That talisman was his lifeline, his most precious treasure in the dungeon. It was a thing of value, a treasure that was appraised by someone far above his level.
Even though the talisman was several ranks higher than the Sparks of Hellfire—a gold tier D- compared to a gold tier B-, the price had barely even doubled. This was because tiers and ranks only indicated the effectiveness of the item. The talisman was useful but it paled compared to other items. A gold tier, A-rank Sparks of Hellfire, would be worth triple that of a platinum tier, S-rank Rebound Talisman.
This was Pell’s ace in the hole, a golden ticket he refused to waste unless absolutely necessary—only when he was about to have a chat with the grim reaper face-to-face. The incessant pounding of the rat’s stomps echoed in his mind, like a clock, ticking away his remaining time: Use it... don’t use it... use it... damnit, damnit, damnit!
Pell had found the talisman, buried under rubble at the site of a carriage attack owned by nobles, possibly by demons. Bandits had already apparently raided the site, but had overlooked the item. Pell had taken it as a sign, a fateful relic, one able to net him opportunity and profit.
Pell originally wanted to use the talisman against the boss of the dungeon, hoping that it would kill it in a single strike if his party proved too weak. The loot of the dungeon itself would pay back the talisman, hopefully several-fold. But if he didn’t need to, then that would be an easy 12 maybe 13 gold straight into his pocket if he flipped it correctly. A fighter or a general in the midst of battle would find great use in the item, whereas a merchant like Pell would hardly find anything to justify its use, bar dire scenarios—like the one he was in right now.
Never would he have thought he might have to waste it against a damn fat rodent.
image [https://i.imgur.com/ZiLMGqb.png]
Enya continued to run down the original route back to the study. The hallways were dark, but grew brighter with the steadily increasing amount of torches that lined the walls. Along the way, there were no signs of monsters, or shambling creatures ready to suddenly take her life. The halls remained an eerie quiet, an almost desolate prison of isolation.
There was only one thing that echo’d through her mind as she went on, aside from the heightened sense of self-preservation. Pell will make it. He will.
Something made her nervous, something… almost unnatural, something that she herself didn’t think of in her mind, but felt. She couldn't describe it, but she could feel as if something bad was going to happen.
Perhaps it was just her nerves getting the better of her.
As the last minute fell by, Enya took the final left turn, and reached the now familiar safehaven that she had called home for the last rough month. The door at the end of the hallway was now in her sights.
Enya finally reached the study room and ran inside. Her breathing had calmed down considerably, but her nerves were still in overdrive. She could finally think rationally once again, but her Absolute Focus skill was not working on command like normal.
Enya sighed a breath of relief. As she closed the study door behind her, she heard a sound. She flinched reflexively, but then realized what it was. It was the system notification ping. She opened her status screen and looked at the new message.
Party Notification: Pell has assisted and landed a killing blow on Zombie (Lv.4).