“A notable experience that all seem to find slightly different is grade evolution or advancement, terminology Isn't important here. The aspect that creatures, humans, and, in rare cases, monsters share is they advanced all in the same way at the same level points. With that being said, that doesn't mean all species and class tiers are created equally. Comparing a bear to an elf at the same grade will result in the bear usually having a higher strength, while comparing a common class to a rare one will have vastly different amounts of attribute points. Grades are a marker for the system, but high rarity classes can and do jump grades and quite often at that. It is for that reason most take a young high-grade person as most likely being part of a noble house or royal family that has a history to allow for said high-grade classes.”
-Eskor Van, speech to students on the differences of rank.
Aster
I sat with my legs crossed in the grass, looking down at the wood in my hand with a frown. Wood shavings were scattered everywhere, and the length that originally was two feet long and a foot wide was now only half a foot. The crude shape of a dragon with horrendously shaped scales, with one wing being larger than the other, was my reward. Turing it in my hand, I looked over it, not terribly upset with the outcome. That wasn't to say it was a good carving. Even the system didn't seem to understand what it was, with the lack of identification showing anything.
The choice to start off the dungeon by working on improving my trade skills was made as a way to relax before leaving the valley to fight the dungeon monsters. Two days of hard work had turned into three skill improvements, one in cooking and two in Woodworking. Only gaining three levels seemed a bit lacking, but if the trend continued, then it would be over three hundred improvements. If that happened with an increase in level from doing the dungeon itself, then I would be looking great for the realm event. The only problem was the skill I still wanted to get. After learning about the skill All That Grows, I couldn't help but feel like a lot of what I was doing could be going to gaining levels.
Setting the carving to the side, I looked up at the floating orbs in the sky that were just starting to dim. I still had a good few hours, and even in the dark, I could work with the help of Night Eye. Turning my head, I looked at my next and long-term project. The uprooted tree umbra had ripped from the next valley and was at the edge of our small camp. An idea that had occurred had led down a spiral and resulted in a wild idea. I wanted to make armor for myself, a new set, but I wanted to have a part in the entirety of it, from killing the beast, the drying of its hide to the tools used in the curing of the leather, and even the sewing and metalworking. It was a big project where I lacked over half the knowledge and class-specific skills that I probably needed. I did have some books on the subject, but they would only get me so far.
Honestly, the entire idea might seem a bit far-fetched to others, and at first, it even did to me, but if I was going to learn runes and how to cook, who was to say I couldn't learn a bit of everything else?
My first goal would be to raise my woodworking rank and evolve it. To do all of this, I was going to start simply by making a tanning rack once I could disassemble it and take it with me.
The idea was simple, and if needed, I could use a bunch of sticks and thread to create it, but I wanted one that would last and that I could put runes on to potentially speed up the process. After that, I could look into making tools. Stone and metalworking were also on my list of things to gain a skill in.
Before getting to work on disassembling the tree and debarking it, I pulled out my rune book. Only the first few dozen pages were filled in, and I'd decided to make it more of a personal book. Flipping to a section in the middle, I marked it with a small scale and wrote blueprints in big letters. Flipping to the page and pulling out a piece of chalk from my storage, I stared at the paper. I wasn't good at drawing, but having an outline that could be followed would be a huge help. After a few failed attempts at starting, I focused on gaining a skill as I worked on the page. Multiple smears and smudges and erases later, I received a mental ding in my head, and a moment later, a purple screen appeared. I only placed at it before I dismissed it and continued.
[Through smeared hands and constantly changing ideas, you have gained the skill, Blueprinting - one.]
It was different, now part of the Progenitor system skill, not that it changed much about the actual message. After an hour, maybe too long of a time, just making an idea and placing it on paper, I was done. The page had turned into two pages and now held the idea of including two heating runes on the upper and lower pieces of wood to help the drying process.
Looking at my hands, I had to agree with the system; they were in need of a washing, but I felt too excited to do more than rub them off on my shirt. Getting up, I stored the book and chalk back into my storage And went to the tree. I didn't need an entire tree's worth of wood, but having some stored could be of use later.
Mentally, I nudged Umbra, getting her attention from where she was practicing her flying above, and explained what I was doing and what I needed her for. Taking a step back, I let her land near the tree and watched as she ripped the branches off and, in only a few minutes, stripped the tree clean of bark.
Once she was done and after a quick hug, she went up to continue her practice. Not a lot of words were necessary for the exchange, and the short discussion on what way to angle her claws was the longest talk all afternoon. The next few hours were slow work of finding the right pieces of wood and measuring what needed to be cut and what could be tossed. It was only after what I would call true night in the dungeon Had set, and the orbs in the sky were at their dimmest that I switched my focus to cooking. Starting the fire was easy enough, and with all the wood scraps, there was no problem of running out of wood.
Cooking was an interesting skill to have because, unlike every other skill I had, it was extremely broad in what it did. Cooking could mean a wide variety of things, from making a stew in a kitchen to frying a line of chicken at a stall or, in my case, heating a piece of meat over a campfire in the middle of a dungeon valley.
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I was tempted to just eat the meat raw, and Umbra was sitting next to me, demolishing several slabs of meat from my storage. It didn’t help my patience, but cooking was a good skill, and if leveling it resulted in better meals, then it would be worth it. My current attempt at cooking tonight was part of Umbra's meal, a rather large stone valley strider, almost elk-like in look. There wasn't much to do besides add a bit of salt, something I was glad for having gathered in Arilon.
After a long stretch of watching the meat slowly brown, I received a ding and a window that had me smiling.
[With work and patience, your skill in Cooking - 2 has increased to Cooking - 3.]
Only seven more levels to go until an advancement. Deciding the meat had cooked long enough, I pulled the stick out of the ground, moving it to the side so it could cool down. Leaning back, I watched the fire flicker. For a moment, I found myself thinking about how much longer Umbra and I would be doing this. The answer was a while, hopefully. Our plan of exploring and traveling would give us hundreds of these moments, and I'd love everyone. Turning to my bond, I smiled and spoke through the bond.
“I had my cooking skill increase in level and gained a new skill. Did you have any luck?”
Umbra paused in the process of ripping a rather large piece of meat in half and flicked her tail. “No level increase in flying, but I didn't gain a skill about identifying landmarks from above. It's interesting how it works. Massive monuments or places I've visited, like the starting valley, leave a mental mark that makes knowing where they are almost instinct. I don't think it'll help here, but outside the dungeon, it'll make traveling easier.
I nodded, reaching over to the stick of meat, growing impatient, and started to blow on it. “I was thinking in the next few days, we can visit the edge of the next valley, and if there are any decent monsters, maybe pick a few off. I want to start building up a pile of leather for when I start leveling leatherworking.”
Umbra thought for a moment, “Do weeks matter in a dungeon? Keeping exact time without constantly checking the token might be an issue if we move deeper into the dungeon. I suppose it doesn't matter since it can't be lost. I like the idea; I want to practice fighting on the ground and using my breath.”
Grinning, I bit into the meat and felt regret on my tongue as the heat reminded me that it took several minutes for food to cool down. Refusing to spit out The meat, I took in several deep breaths, trying to cool it down as I fumbled to pull water from my storage. The rumbling laughter from Umbra had my cheeks red, and I shot a glare at her.
The construction of three tanning racks was going well. The first of them had resulted in a level for woodworking. The smoothed wood lacked any oils or a stain, making it susceptible to the elements. The runes engraved on the side were a slight issue as well. Mana storage runes were the most minor form of storage for mana, and their being placed on ordinary wood made the retention of mana even worse. Any form of gems or higher quality materials would have made a stark difference. At its current state and with how low the heating runes were, it would last two hours with a charge. Still, I was happy with the outcome, And the ability to disassemble them easily was the real perk.
The last one, the one I was working on, was almost done, only lacking the final few runes. As I worked my knife into the wood, smoothly carving and connecting the runes, I focused. Slight mistakes could be fixed by my skill, but it would still leave inefficiencies that could be avoided with focus.
The bird that landed on my head in a flurry of feathers didn't seem to have the courtesy to wait a few more moments or didn't think the focus wasn't necessary. I let out a yelp as the weight and the following painful pulling of one of my ears caused me to sink my knife several inches into the wood. Letting the knife stay embedded so I didn't cut myself, I stepped backward and reached up to grab the bird, who stopped pulling on my ear to flutter over to a rack and land on it.
I took a step forward, irritation rising before it was washed away with confusion. A bird? “What are you doing here, little guy?”
It was black-feathered and brown-eyed, abnormally normal, nothing unique. Tilting my head, I identified it.
[Black Beak Crow - Dungeon Monster - Level 4]
“I, uh, what?” I stared at the crow, and it looked back. A level four, what even was a bird doing in a dungeon, and why hadn't I seen it before? The ominous feeling was washed away as the moment of confusion only continued to grow. Something wasn't right, something was off. Taking a few Steps to the side, keeping an eye on the Crow, I stored the two finished tanning racks and nudged the bond.
“There's a bird sitting on my tanning rack, a level four brid.”
At first, there wasn't a response from the dragon besides the feeling of confusion. Then, there was a spark of alarm.
“Aster, there are hundreds of those birds at the entrance to the valley, and they're moving towards you.”
Her words were hardly out of her mouth when a system screen appeared in my vision.
[Status gained: Mark of the Flock - Debuff - Dexterity and Strength attributes lowered by 10%. Time Remaining: 59 Minutes, 59 Seconds.]
It was my first time ever seeing a debuff screen. Well, if you excluded curses. The feeling was oddly similar to that of a curse, though, and I had to hold back a grimace as an almost draining feeling filtered from my feet To the tips of my ears. It wasn't as bad as I'd expected, but the feeling still left an uncomfortable sluggishness to every action. Turning my attention to the crow, I didn't think long on what to do, and taking a step forward, I pulled my knife out of the wood and impaled it. It didn't even let out a noise as it died, and the notification of its death appeared in the corner of my vision.
Storing the bird's body and the almost finished tanning rack, I put my knife away. Facing toward the valley exit, I spotted the horde of what had to be hundreds of birds and debated on what to do.
They were all moving fast, and we were above the ground, but I could sense Umbra descending faster. Pulling my bow out of storage, I notched an arrow, pulled back the string, and aimed at the flock before letting it fly. Even with the debuff, my attributes were well above what was needed to make the shot, and with so many targets, aiming wasn't a real problem. While the arrow traveled, I was reminded of the threaded silk bowstring. My strength was over three hundred, the recommendation the rune instructor had set. Changing it out would have to come later, though.
The arrow landed in the flock, and the notification of another bird dying appeared. I glanced at its level with a quick identify. It sat at seven. It was higher but still ridiculously low. Pulling Out my quiver, I wrapped the belt around my waist and felt a smile.
As for how most fights went, this one was abnormal and posed a potential problem for the future with monsters apparently being able to come into the valley, but right now, it meant one thing. I would be able to fight something with Umbra. Even as that thought entered my mind, she landed next to me, almost throwing Me off balance, and I glanced at her, her dark blue and purple scales gleaming and her tail twitching, letting me know she was ready for a fight.
As the hoard Of birds grew closer, I shot a few more arrows before pausing to put my gloves on and frowned at the damaged glove. There was no way I'd have enough arrows to kill any large amount of them. The one explosive frost rune arrow I had could have done a lot, but I decided to save it for if they became a problem later and I needed to clear an area.
The option to be on Umbra's back during the fight was also an option, and one I decided to take after a quick mental talk with her. The chance of gaining a rank in riding was too good not to pass up once I was tied down with a few straps, I rubbed the scale under my legs.
“There's something in the middle of the birds; it's larger.” Umbra's voice and mental direction let me pick out what she was talking about. It was hard to see at first, just a shadow in the endless wave of birds, but keeping my eyes trained on the wave, I was able to spot one of the massive wings as it rose briefly above the wave of birds, and I identified it.
[Black Beak Ravager Mother - Dungeon Monster - Level 132]
“It's a grade three and massive but not as big as you, I think.” Sharing the identification window, I gave her a moment, then continued, “If it's what's leading the horde, do you want to deal with it while I focus on keeping the smaller birds away? I don't think many will be able to find an opening with your scales.”
Umbra shifted under me as she thought about it before agreeing, “I'll take as many of the small ones out as I can before they get too close, but be careful, you aren't covered in scales, and that suit can rip.”
I had to agree, if the birds were led by a grade three, then there was the chance that they could be buffed, and I'd seen the damage something at that grade could do. Pulling out my helmet and sliding in on, I watched as the birds closed in and Umbra opened her jaws, frost almost seeming to drip out, and she inhaled.