The group had set out with Yarkin leading the way. Although each of the members knew the way, it had been one of Yarkin’s contacts that gave the group the location of the dungeon. Kirk had also explained that while he had the [Tracking] skill, Yarkin’s [Survival] skill was better suited to locating the dungeon.
While they travelled, Kazumichi had felt a pair of eyes on him since even before they left the camp. Each time he looked over, it was Vesryn that was staring at him. This made Kazumichi wonder if the Elven Sorcerer knew something about him, despite his [False Identity] being such a high level.
Does he have hidden abilities? Or does his unique ability grant him more than just a boost to his magic? Kazumichi pondered.
“Up ahead,” Yarkin called out, pausing in his tracks before pointing out the pair of large creatures. “Owlbears,” Yarkin whispered before looking back at Kirk to see what he wanted to do.
Kirk drew his sword, which looked to be a standard broadsword from what Kazumichi could tell. The Warrior stepped forward, then glanced back at the group with a smirk. “Let’s show our new friend what we’re capable of,” he said before turning forward and charging at the creatures.
Without hesitation, Kirk’s group sprang into action. Kirk himself activated [Unfettered Step] and [Empower Strike] at the same time. His sword began to glow with energy as he quickly closed the distance between him and the Owlbears. Appearing next to one of them, Kirk then activated [Fire Slash], dealing a massive amount of damage to the one he struck.
At the same time, Yarkin had activated [Stealth], though Kazumichi could still see him, since his Perception value was higher than that of Yarkin’s Stealth value. The Halfling used his high movement speed to quickly get next to the Owlbear Kirk hadn’t attacked, then activated his [Prowling Strike] to also deal massive damage to the creature.
To Kazumichi’s left, Dalia had drawn her shortbow and knocked an arrow, taking aim at the same Owlbear as Kirk, and letting loose the arrow. She quickly followed it up with a [Holy Shot].
Finally, to Kazumichi’s right, Vesryn unleashed a barrage of [Arcane Bolt] spells at the Owlbear Yarkin was focused on.
In a matter of seconds, the group had taken out both Owlbears before Kazumichi even began to try and help. However, despite him not doing anything, he still received a notification.
Owlbear slain. x2
Experience gained: 750 (base) x2
⅕ awarded for being in a group of 5 people
150 (new base) x2
3,000 (total)
Primary Class: Sorcerer gains 200% experience. 6,000 experience gained.
Experience: 25,720/38,445
LEVEL INCREASED!
Sorcerer is now level 10
Secondary Class: Warrior gains 150% experience. 4,500 experience gained.
Experience: 19,290/25,630
LEVEL INCREASED!
Warrior is now level 9
Tertiary Class: Psionicist gains 100% experience. 3,000 experience gained.
Experience: 12,860/17,087
LEVEL INCREASED!
Psionicist is now level 8
An additional 150 Stat Points have been gained.
An additional 150 Racial Points have been gained.
An additional 150 Ability Points have been gained.
An additional 150 Skill Points have been gained.
I see. So long as I’m in a group, I still get experience, even if I don’t participate. But the base experience is divided evenly between everyone in the group, before any multipliers are applied. That’s good to know. Kazumichi mused. I just hope they will think I froze up in fear.
“Wow guys, that was impressive,” Kazumichi said aloud.
“What happened? Why did you just stand there?” Vesryn asked, turning to face Kazumichi.
“Sorry, I froze when I saw those things. Then you all acted so quick to take them out,” Kazumichi explained.
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“That’s okay, you can help next time,” Kirk said reassuringly. “Did anyone else level up besides me?” He asked.
Yarkin and Vesryn both nodded, but Dalia shook her head, and Kazumichi joined her.
“Don’t worry, you and I should level up with the next encounter,” she said with a smile.
The group took a some time to harvest what they could from the two Owlbears, and then waited while Kirk, Vesryn and Yarkin all spent their newly acquired points.
“Do you always spend your points right away? You don’t save them?” Kazumichi asked.
Yarkin gave him a strange look. “Why would you save them?” He asked.
“Well, in case you need them for something specific. Say you are in a situation that calls for a particular skill or ability. You could use your saved points to help get you out of a bad spot,” he reasoned.
“That’s good in theory, but in practice, it rarely works out that way. Typically, skills and abilities only help get you out of a bad spot if they are at certain thresholds. Notice how with your skills, for example, say you get more bonuses for every X%? Having a skill or ability only at level 1 or 2, won’t usually be that beneficial. Unless you had a crazy amount of points to spend, it’s usually better to spend them as soon as you get them, to help bolster what you already have,” Kirk explained.
“Oh, I see. Interesting,” Kazumichi said as he thought about that.
It took the group another three hours before they eventually found the entrance to the dungeon, which was actually rather unremarkable looking.
“This is it,” Yarkin said as he approached the opening. It reminded Kazumichi of the entrance of the cave where he killed the Dire Bear. Except this one was hidden behind some thick bushes, and had several vines hanging over the entrance, obscuring it and making it much harder to spot.
“I’ll scout ahead and let you know what’s inside,” Yarkin said, before activating his [Stealth] again. Though just like before, Kazumichi could still see the Halfling as he scampered off into the dungeon.
While they waited for Yarkin to return, Vesryn approached Kazumichi. “There’s something I don’t understand,” the Elven man said.
“What’s that?” Kazumichi asked, raising a brow in confusion.
“There’s something off about you, but I can’t quite place it. I noticed it when you first showed up in our camp,” Vesryn said, narrowing his eyes at the Japanese man. “Even before Dalia healed you, your wounds were already closing on there own at a very rapid rate. Not only that, but the magic radiating off of you is far stronger than that for someone your level. I can see it plain as day, yet Dalia and Kirk said they saw your level for themselves, and you’re only a level 2 Sorcerer,” he explained.
Kazumichi looked shocked, and his mind raced to come up with an answer. “I’m not sure why that would be,” he lied. “How are you able to see magic radiating off of me? You and I were the same level not that long ago, but I can’t do that,” he asked, trying to shift the topic.
“It’s part of my unique ability,” Vesryn said vaguely. He then stared at Kazumichi for a few moments, before hearing Yarkin return. “We’ll continue this later,” he then made his way over to the rest of his party.
Kazumichi wasn’t happy about the suspicion from Vesryn,but there wasn’t much he could do about it at the moment. At least, not without making a mess. So for the time being, he joined the others to hear what news the Halfling had brought back.
“So far I have seen a few goblins, giant spiders, giant rats, and a ghouls. If we take our time, I think we can clear it,” Yarkin said, a cocky smirk plastered across his face.
“What about traps?” Kirk asked in a more serious tone.
“No traps from what I could see,” the Halfling responded.
Kirk looked at his sister, then Vesryn, and finally Kazumichi. “We’ll take a vote. If the majority of you want to try the dungeon, we’ll give it a shot. But if things turn bad, we have to agree to retreat,” his tone made it obvious the last part wasn’t up for discussion. Everyone nodded.
“All in favor?” He asked, then one-by-one, each of his team raised their hand, followed by Kazumichi.
“It’s settled then. Let’s go smash this dungeon to bits,” Kirk said, his own smirk rising on his face to match that of Yarkin’s earlier one.
The earlier parts of the dungeon proved to be extremely easy, and rather boring. Even though they got experience for killing the monsters they came across, even with his multipliers, Kazumichi was disappointed by the pitiful amount he received.
Goblin slain. x4
Experience gained: 5 (base) x4
⅕ awarded for being in a group of 5 people
1 (new base) x4
40 (total)
Giant Spider slain. x2
Experience gained: 10 (base) x4
⅕ awarded for being in a group of 5 people
2 (new base) x4
80 (total)
Giant Rat slain. x6
Experience gained: 2 (base) x6
⅕ awarded for being in a group of 5 people
0.4 (new base) x6
24 (total)
Only 144 experience. Even with the added boost from his classes, he had only gained 288 for his Sorcerer class, 216 for his Warrior class, and the 144 for his Psionicist class. He didn’t even have to pretend like he reached level 3 for his fake sheet yet. Even Dalia was only sitting at 1,441.4 /1,500experience.
“I was really expecting them to put up more of a fight, and to give more experience,” Kazumichi muttered to himself. However, Vesryn heard him and shot him a look.
“Be careful what you say in a dungeon. Your [Bad Luck] just might manifest itself in unusual ways,” he said in an irritated tone.
“What do you mean?” Kazumichi asked, ignoring the Elven man’s irritation.
“Do you truly know nothing?” Vesryn snapped back. “Unique abilities can grow and gain more traits, depending on a complex series of calculations made by the system. Yours might only turn your Luck stat into a negative number right now. But it could evolve over time to actually cause unfortunate circumstances to happen to you and those nearby!” He explained, exasperated.
“Oh, I didn’t know that. Sorry, I’ll be more careful,” Kazumichi responded softly.
I hope you’re the first one to die. Kazumichi thought, letting his inward self glare at the Elf.
“We’ve got movement!” Yarkin exclaimed before melding into the shadows.
Everything was silent for a moment. At least, to everyone but Kazumichi. He could hear the shuffling of dozens of feet, and the low, guttural moans that accompanied them. The sound wasn’t just coming from in front of them, but from behind as well. Kazumichi had heard the secret passage open behind them some time ago, but was curious to see if the others would notice it as well. Unfortunately for Kirk’s party, they were surrounded by undead in a narrow passageway, with not just one, but two ghouls commanding the horde of zombies.
“Shit, this isn’t good!” Kirk hissed out as he immediately used [Empower Strike] followed by [Fire Slash] at the horde in the front.
“No shit!” Dalia replied as she sent [Holy Shot] after [Holy Shot] into the horde behind them.
Yarkin managed to use[Prowling Strike] several times on the ghoul with the front horde, while Vesryn bombarded the ghoul behind them with [Arcane Bolt]. But the Elven Sorcerer suddenly paused and looked around as he realized something. “Where’s Kazumichi?”
The others all glanced around as they tried to keep the hordes at bay, but none of them could find him.