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The Right Hand Of God by Chimeara18
Chapter 5 Arthe, Dungeon Diving

Chapter 5 Arthe, Dungeon Diving

"Ding"

Class Change Available: Knight

The Knight is a peerless warrior especially when defending those weaker than himself. Able to equip all kinds of armor and proficient in the use of Lances, when on horseback the Knight deals extra damage to opponents and becomes a nearly unstoppable juggernaut.

Do you wish to change to the Knight class?

Arthe didn't even have to think about it, become a Knight and gain reputation with the kingdom or remain classless and struggle with the rest of the masses.

"Yes"

"Ding"

Class change confirmed.

[tr]

NameArthedainPrimary ClassKnightHealth1100Mana500Level2TitleKnight Of BaldurHealth Regen/Sec10.0Mana Regen/Sec5.5Strength54+20Agility41+20Wisdom10Intelligence10Stamina50Vitality53+20Dexterity20Sustenance20Honor50+100Fame100+100All combat related stats increased by +20

Honor increased by +100

Fame increased by +100

Enables you to equip certain items specialized for the class.

Arthe was pretty impressed with the stat bonuses being a Knight gave him and the additional fame would always come in handy.

"Well Arthe, welcome to the Baldur Knighthood. Now that you are one of us you'll be expected to participate in at least one punitive expedition before you leave the city to go traveling. However at your level i doubt that there is any mission currently being planned that you're eligible for. Hmm this could be a problem," Cassis stated with a troubled expression.

" Well then Cassis that's where i come and save the day again isn't it. Honestly young people today, no forward planning or considering of consequences." An instantly recognizable voice interjected.

"So then Mathis what's your plan?"

"Well as you know the Grand melee is in a 9 days and I asked Arthe to compete, but i realized as i was heading up to the castle that at his current level he's mincemeat. Now the level 50 restriction on the grand melee has been raised to level 60 this year, so I've got 9 days to get his level up to at least level 40 you know that his only hope of achieving this is to complete THAT."

Mathis Placed heavy emphasis on the word that and Arthe knew THAT didn't bode well for him.

"You can't be serious Mathis, no one's managed to complete THAT since you were in training! I mean it's barbaric, that's why the previous king closed it and gave it to you to watch over." Cassis exclaimed, glancing at Arthe with worry written all over his face.

"Oh don't be so melodramatic Cassis, I wasn't going to send the lad in there all alone with no hope of survival. I'm not that much of a monster. No he's going in with a priest friend of mine, who'll keep him alive and maybe even teach Arthe a few things."

Arthe, who had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, felt that now would be a good idea to interrupt.

"Sorry what is it you two are talking about exactly?"

"The Mausoleum of Monster's. An old training ground for knights used back when i was young. A 5 floor building with one entrance and one exit. Each floor gets harder than the last and you can only leave after completing all 5 floors. Basically it was the old graduation test for knight training, it's not used anymore because there were a number of deaths caused by novices too eager to prove themselves. That's why it was shut down Cassis, not because it was barbaric or too extreme." Explained Mathis with an aside to Cassis at the end.

"even so, there must be some other method to prepare Arthe." Cassis sighed, already knowing that there wasn't.

"I want to do it," Arthe remarked,eyes ablaze at the thought of entering a dungeon no one else had found, one which promised excellent rewards as well. "It sounds like exactly what i need and as Mathis said it's not like I'll be without help should i need it."

"Of course you would accept, hulking barbarian idiot. You'd take on a Stone giant single-handed given the opportunity, at least find out what level the priest is at before agreeing!" Cassis told him.

"Oh he's level 105, didn't i mention that." Mathis remarked innocently.

"Mathis you sneaky old git you didn't say anything about him! Are you purposely trying to irritate me?!"

"Well yes actually, come on Cassis the lad wants to do it and I've made sure he'll be safe. What more could you ask?"

"maybe a troop of the palace guard to go in and clean out that place, it should have been done years ago and you know it." Cassis said bitingly.

"Well it's a good job it wasn't as now i can use it to train, and Cassis don't worry I'm sure it'll be fine. With a level 100 priest along what could go wrong eh?" Arthe interjected trying to calm down Cassis and shooting warning glances at Mathis at the same time.

"Exactly, so we'll be on our way now and I'm sure you'll see Arthe in a few days. hopefully by then he'll have leveled up a few times as well. See you later Cassis."

"Bye Cassis, and don't worry I'll be fine."

1 Hour Later

Arthe, Mathis and Cadfael (the priest) stood at the entrance to the mausoleum, Mathis reached into the cart they had used to get here and handed the two of them a knapsack full of supplies each.

"In here are some bandages; some medicinal herbs, at least ten days worth of food and some other bits and pieces you may find useful. As for water, there is a fountain at the middle and the end of each of the floors and I've also provided you with a couple of extra flasks each. Right then if you're both ready you can enter whenever you like."

After saying that Mathis took a huge silver key hanging from a chain around his neck and opened the reinforced doors to the tomb.

"In you go then, I'll see you in a few days. Be sure to stay alive or Cassis will never let me hear the end of it."

He gave Arthe a shove and whispered something in Cadfael's ear before lightly pushing him into the entryway as well.

DUNGEON: You are the very first players to discover The Monster Mausoleum.

Reward: Fame +100.

Every day for one week, double EXP and double item drops. The rarest items will drop from killing the first monster of each type. Subsequent kills will drop common items.

With a creak and a thud the doors swung shut behind them.

"well then we best get on with it if we're to finish before the grand melee starts." Cadfael said with a grin.

Oh joy I'm stuck in here for at least a week with Mr Sunshine the optimist, Arthe thought to himself.

"agreed, do you have any buffs you can give me?"

"But of course Sir Arthedain. I call upon thee Holy Freya, bestow thy Divine protection upon this humble arbiter of your will. Holy Blessing, Devotees Protection, Heavenly Aura."

A series of lights coalesced around Arthe and when he checked his stats he saw that his base stats had all been boosted by 15% and that his defense had been boosted by 50 points as well. As for the third blessing, it provided Arthe and Cadfael with a faint glow about their bodies which gave them light to see by as well as causing minor Light damage to all darkness attribute monsters.

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"Woah nice blessings, thank you Cadfael." Arthe exclaimed, "I must offer my thanks to Divine Freya as well. I shall slay all of the wicked denizens of these halls in devotion to her holy name."

"This is as it should be Sir Arthedain. Shall we be on our way?" Cadfael replied.

3 hours later and Arthe had been fighting almost non-stop against various half breed wolves and demi-kobolds. Each enemy had a level of between 10 and 15, it was only due to Arthe's inflated stats that he hadn't been killed numerous times already. However he had managed to boost his level up to level 9 and was also increasing his sword and his shield mastery quite rapidly as well.

Level Up: Sword Mastery [5] 21%

Increases Attack Power with a sword (+50% ATK)

Increases Attack Speed with a sword (+15% ATK SPD)

Level Up: Shield Mastery [5] 17%

Increases block capabilities (-50% Dmg Taken from monsters at the same level or lower)

Increases Defense whilst Blocking (+16% DEF)

His Stoicism and Shield Bash Skills had also leveled up nicely with Stoicism at lvl 2 97% and Shield Bash at lvl 3 32%. Due to his continued use of shield bash and having to use his shield to block so often because of the sheer number of mobs Arthe's Spirit of the Stalwart Defender skill had risen almost exponentially.

level Up: Spirit of the Stalwart Defender [5] 57%

By utilizing your shield to maximum effectiveness you have gained the ability to temporarily increase all combat related stats (STR, AGI, END, STAM)

by 7.5%. Lasts for 90 minutes

Mana cost reduced by 5%

Costs 142 Mana

Higher levels increase % and duration

Arthe was extremely impressed with this dungeon as not only was it an excellent place to gain levels, it was also a decent place to train skills. Plus the drops weren't bad either. The first drop by a Demi-Kobold Burrower had given him a decent pair of gloves, not only that but due to the fact that this was originally a training area for knights most of the wearable loot dropped was knight specific.

Midnight Blue Steel Gauntlets of the Cadet.

Durability: 78/100

Defense: 30

Gauntlets owned by an aspiring knight, they appear to have been neglected for some time and as such the defense and the durability has decreased.

Equip:

+10 STR

+10 AGI

Requirements:

Knight Class only

Level 5

STR +40

Arthe had also picked up a pair of hardened leather boots and a tattered cape from a couple of the hybrid wolf creatures.

Boiled Leather Travelers Boots

Durability: 40/50

Defense: 20

A pair of old boots. Comfortable but smelly.

Equip:

+10 AGI

+ 5% Movement speed

Requirements: None

Squires (un)Lucky cape

Durability: 25/40

Defense: 5

Owned by an eager Squire who met his end whilst wearing it.

Equip:

+10 DEX

+10 AGI

-5 STAM

Requirements: Knight class only

All in all Arthe was looking forward to some of the other loot drops further on in the dungeon, even if the durability on the items was a bit reduced he wasn't opposed to leveling his repair skill at the same time as he cleared the dungeon. In fact he was quite looking forward to it as he wanted to get his repair skill to intermediate in order to learn blacksmithing anyway.

It had been 6 hours since entering the dungeon and as Arthe and Cadfael got nearer to the end of the first floor they began to hear some loud shrieking interspersed with howls echoing around the corridors, turning a corner they came face to face with the largest Demi-Kobold they had seen yet, and what could only be described as a Wolf-king.

The Demi-Kobold was carrying a large rusty scimitar but was also wearing a pair of shiny steel bracers on his forearms, the wolf on the other hand seemed only to be wearing a length of manky rope around its neck.

Arthe felt the first stirrings of greed after looking at the Demi-Kobold Chieftain's bracers and he was sure that the wolf-king's hide would sell well too.

"Cadfael, stand in the entrance to the room behind me and keep the heals coming whilst I block their attacks. If you could also cast slow on the wolf-king so that i can actually hit it, that would be great as well." Arthe shouted at his friend of only a few hours.

"Of course Sir Arthe, count on me. By Freya's will suffer the wrath of time! Slow!" came the response.

"I dedicate this fight to Freya in order that she might see justice prevail and the Shadow bought low!" Arthe exclaimed, thoroughly enjoying his role playing as a champion of justice. In fact he'd been offering all his kills up to the goddess because he imagined himself as a crusader from the middle ages, slaying those who defied God's will and dispensing justice throughout the lands.

"Ting"

New stat generated: Faith.

+50 Faith

Due to repeatedly honoring the Goddess Freya with your Deed's in combat you have gained a large amount of Faith.

New Skill: Benevolence of the Goddess.

Benevolence of the Goddess

3 times per day you may call the goddess Freya's attention to your combat prowess, increasing all Stats by 50% Lasts 1 Hour

Costs 300 Mana

Higher levels increase % and decrease Mana cost.

"Hahaha who knew acting like a complete history nut would actually gain me something!" Arthe laughed happily, even whilst dodging and striking at the Demi-Kobold's vital areas with his sword.

"Hmm think I'll try it out. Benevolence of the Goddess! Spirit of the Stalwart Defender!" Arthe now had two stat boosting buffs of his own applied as well as the buffs granted by Cadfael, as such his stats were now the equivalent of a level 70 player.

"Shield Bash!" After activating his skill Arthe's shield rammed up into the Demi-Kobold's face with as much force as a sledgehammer, knocking it off it's feet and on top of the wolf king.

Utilizing the STR and AGI boost, Arthe ran up the body of the Demi-Kobold and cut it's throat with as much power as he could muster. Unfortunately he underestimated his strength and he ended up beheading the beast and drenching himself and the wolf-king in blood. This drove the Wolf-king into a berserk rage and it chased after Arthe snapping and biting and clawing at all parts of his body.

For a moment it looked as though Arthe would be overwhelmed but then Cadfael cast a series of Slow spells on the Wolf, reducing it's speed to that of snail's pace. Arthe seized his chance and putting his entire body weight behind his sword, he thrust it deep into the chest of his enemy where it pierced it's heart.

Withdrawing his blade, Arthe watched as the gigantic beast gasped its last breath and then fell to the ground in a heap.

"Ding"

Level Up

Level Up

First Floor Of The Monster Mausoleum cleared.

Access to second floor granted.

After this message the wall at the far end of the room opened up and torches spontaneously burst into flame along the walls of the stairs. However Arthe had no intention of heading to the next floor until he had; A- picked up all his loot, B- repaired all his gear and C- eaten something and had a short break.

First A, he headed to the corpses of the two floor bosses and began to search them. As expected Arthe managed to remove the bracers on the Demi-Kobold Chieftain as well as a necklace, and from the body of the Wolf-king he stripped the hide using the edge of his sword and in the process found a ring that had been tied onto the rope collar.

You received Bracers of the Aspirant

You received Necklace of the Loyal Retainer

You received Ring of the Spell-blade