You have granted, Mountain Cave Goblin, the name, Bobby...
Your affinity with Goblin kind has increased...
You have gained affinity with, Bobby...
Bobby the goblin slowly turned his head to look up at Dante as he pulled his hand back. In the moment he had given Bobby his name he felt the connection between them grow stronger.
Bobbies eyes held a single question, why? Eyes filled with confusion and fear, but also in them he saw a spark of something else, hope.
Goblins didn't have a word for responsibility, but he would have to make do for the moment.
"You are...mine now. I...take care.. of you." He said spinning as he tried recalling words he had already used and new ones to form the sentence.
As he spoke he reached into his inventory and pulled out a half eaten bag of beef jerky. It wasn't much but its what he thought the goblin would eat. He would have bought an actual meal from the system store if he could, but didn't have any money at the moment to test that. Looking up at the timer he saw 45 seconds left until the next coin flip.
Sekhmet is watching...
Gingerly he picked up Bobby, he was so light, too light. As he held him against his chest he could feel the goblins ribs, feel how emaciated he was.
Bobby was never going to win that fight. His only saving grace had been that club. Even then he wasn't sure how long Bobby would have been able to keep up the assault. He had a better weapon, but his poor physical condition would have been a significant hinderance. It was no wonder why he gave up so quickly and so totally.
Gingerly he put one foot in front of the other carrying the goblin beyond the barrier and setting him in the grass. Opening the bag he handed Bobby a strip of plain beef jerky and after a moments hesitation Bobby took it, sniffed it, and greedily devoured it.
"One then another, slowly." he said in goblin as he pulled out a water bottle and demonstrated how to take the cap off and put it back on along with how to drink.
Congratulations! Goblin Language Proficiency, has leveled! Lvl. 2...
Leaving the goblin in the grass with the bag of jerky and the water bottle he stepped up to the barrier only to see Bobbies club a few feet away. He quickly retrieved it before returning back through the barrier.
As he entered the barrier once more he saw he had 10 seconds left. Looking at the club in his hand, a notice popped up.
Bone club of Stunning (Minor)- Small chance to inflict the stunned condition for short time on each hit. Striking critical points on a target greatly increases the chances of inflicting the stunned condition...
Well at least the system was forthcoming on more exact details of what the club could do.
Flipping coin...
Heads...
Summoning Random enemy...
Summoning, Animated Skeleton...
What appeared was a skeleton dressed in tattered rags, covered in what he could only assume was a mixture of dirt and dust. Its empty eye sockets starring forward at him, then its jaw clattered and it ran at him.
He wasn't afraid however, he had honestly been more scared of the goblin.
"For Sekhmet..." he spoke clearly as he raised the club and brought it down on the head of the oncoming skeleton, its skull shattering beneath the force of strike.
+50 exp...
Creatures slain (3/10)...
3 Minutes until next coin flip...
(1/5) creatures slain...
"Flip the coin." Dante stated as to his surprise the timer paused.
Please confirm you wish to skip your rest period...
"Confirm."
Flipping coin...
Tails...
Spawning Random enemy...
Spawning, Animated armor...
The armor appeared in a flash of light standing nearly 2 meters tall, light glinting off its pristine steel. It looked like a classic knights armor posed with two hands on the hilt of its longsword with the tip touching the ground. He prepared a mana bolt, uncertain if the his clubs effect would even work on the construct. The armor lifted the sword from the ground, and in one swift sweeping motion it was pointing skyward both hands on the hilt, arms to the side like a batter ready to swing.
"For Sekhmet..." he said as he fired his mana bolt at the armor only for it to block the bolt with its blade, taking no damage itself but was forced a step back. The armor advanced upon him blade at the ready.
'Shit.' he thought as he began moving with his back to the..."Screw it!" he said as he advanced upon the animated armor. Holding back the release of his bolt he watched as the armor wound back its arms to swing at him, then he fired at its sword again.
Congratulations! Mana Bolt, has leveled! Lvl. 2...
As the bolt struck the sword it robbed the armor of some of its momentum breaking its stride leaving a momentary opening. He tackled the armor to the ground. A surprisingly easy task given how light the plate armor construct turned out to be. The armor clattering to the ground lost grip of its sword and Dante wasted no time. As he stood the armor rolled over and sat up taking a swing at him with its gauntleted fists to drive him back. The blow struck him in the thigh and though he winced in pain he still managed to bring the club down on the armors helmet. This left a small but noticeable dent in the top of the helmet.
The armor slammed itself onto its back and rolled again to its right to avoid another blow. Reaching up the armor reclaimed its sword, in one swift motion it was back on its feet. The armor tried to dodge the Mana bolt but was still off balance its own weight working against it as bolt slammed into its head. The armor tried to stab its sword into the ground to keep itself upright only for the blade to skitter and spark off the platform. In a few seconds it found itself face down on the ground.
Moving fast Dante stepped on the armors back to keep it from rolling and on the arm it was currently using to hold the blade.
"Your not getting back up!" he exclaimed as he began to beat in the armors helmet. The armor futilely tried to reach behind itself to grab onto Dante, tried to pull its arm free, to roll away. However, it weighted less than a third of what he did.
In short, it was screwed the moment he stepped on it.
He only stopped beating its helmet in when the kill notification appeared.
+200 experience...
You have leveled up! [Rank 1] bonus: +1 to all stats...
You are [Rank 1] Lvl. 5...
+1 SSP...
Creatures slain (4/10)...
Unused time will carry over...
7 Minutes until next coin flip...
Sekhmet is pleased by your performance...
(2/5) creatures slain...
Dante sat down and breathed as the adrenaline ran through him. His arms burned, not used to the exertion. For a few seconds he considered using Cure wounds on himself to help alleviate the pain but though it better to save them.
3 minutes of resting later he rose, his health back at full and his stamina near full. He had taken fairly little damage in that fight managing to keep the construct from making good use of its sword.
Walking over he picked up the dropped sword which looked to be in near pristine condition save for a few small scratches here and there. His Mana bolt hadn't seemed to have done any damage to the sword itself that he could see.
Looking over at the armor he thought it a waste that the construct had been made inoperable. He would have loved to have one of these as a body guard.
Then he remembered a certain detail of a certain spell like skill and he laughed, much to the confusion of Bobby who had been watching from the sidelines eating beef jerky.
"System can I purchase some means to repair this construct?" He asked looking for a certainty where his idea was only had a chance of working.
Calculating...
The following skill has been determined as most fitting your request...
Rare Active skill: Repair Construct- You touch a construct and by channeling your mana through it, repairs (50*Skill level) + Int HP to constructs. Cost: 50 mana...
4 SSP...
Available SSP: 3...
Please note: Much like a damaged computer, a damaged construct may have the instruction that make up the framework of its magic damaged leading to uncertain results. An example being a repaired golem no longer obeying its master directions...
Lesser possible alternative....
Mend (1)
Touch a small non-magical, non-complicated object and restore it to its prime.
Exp to next Lvl: 0/300
Resource Cost: 100 Mana, Range: Touch, Duration: Instant
Skill is considered of Common rarity...
That was interesting, but even if he could repair it there was still the problem of would it listen to him or got back to attacking him? Yeah that was the skill he had been considering initially but he decided not to buy it yet.
Mend was a great skill from a great story, it could even repair magic items if you got it to level 10! Was there some sort of limit on the magic items? He couldn't remember at the moment.
But that still left one uncertainty even if he could repair it...
"Do you have a skill that would reassign ownership of the construct to me?" He asked.
You do not meet the minimum requirements for such skills...
*Sigh*"A problem for later then...If I try to move the armor beyond the barrier will it vanish like that foxes corpse?" he asked the air and by extension, the system. Silence reigned for several seconds before the response came in.
If you wish to take something beyond the barrier as a trophy, or for another purpose, the barrier will not affect it. Enemy creatures cannot pass through the barrier...
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"Thank you very much." Dante said as he picked up the armor, that was still surprisingly in one piece all things considered and moved it out beyond the barrier laying it in the grass next to Bobby. Bobby evidently curious began running his hands along the still shiny steel armor. Dante allowed this but explained as best he could that while he could play with it he wasn't allowed to damage it. That he was planning to repair it later.
He wasn't certain how much Bobby really understood what he meant but he still nodded in acceptance.
Dante had never wielded a sword before, and would not pretend anything he had experienced before had prepared him for it. Holding the sword in his hands he wondered if it was considered "small" enough for the level one mend to work on it. But after looking at the mana cost thought better of casting it till he was somewhere safer.
He set the blade down in the grass and made it abundantly clear that Bobby wasn't to touch the sword to which he nodded in acceptance.
Looking down at Bobby he saw the dagger placed back in its sheath at his belt. 'Note to self [Mend] Bobbies dagger later to train the skill up a bit.'
Looking up at the timer he saw he had about a minute left before the next coin flip.
Stepping back onto the platform he saved the minute for later and the next round began.
Flipping coin...
Heads...
Summoning Random enemy...
Summoning, Wild pig...
"What the fuck? HOLY SHIT!" He exclaimed as a giant pig with tusks appeared squealing and screaming. As soon as it saw him it charged.
The pig stood about 4 feet tall by his estimate, and was nearly 10 feet long! It charged at him like an angry freight train. luckily he managed to dodge out of the way of the pig, running along the edge of the platform. Something that caught his notice was the particularly happy goblin dancing in the grass holding up a long sword with two hands, one on the hilt the other on the blade. All the while he was shouting, "Food! Food! Food! Feast! Feast! Feast!"
He wanted to laugh, he wanted to cry.
This fucking thing was huge, he didn't know pigs could get this big.
This thing had to be at least half a ton, probably more. If this thing hit him, he was as good as dead.
So he supposed he would have to keep running all the while peppering the pig with Mana bolts. If he could stun it, he knew he could kill it. If he had a gun or something to pierce it.
If being the operative word.
Congratulations! You have acquired the Common Active skill, Running Lvl. 1...
Running- Run faster, harder, longer per level of the skill. Costs: Variable stamina. +25 stamina per level, +2.5 stamina regen per level, +2 End, Dex, Will for each skill level, +1 Str, Con for each skill level...
Dante watched his stamina dropping by the second.
He had worked with pigs in high school one year before deciding he didn't like it. But it still taught him something valuable for this moment.
If you pour water on a hot pigs head or body they could go into shock and even die. Then again that would be a rather long and boring "fight" and he doubted the goddess watching him right now would appreciate it.
Sekhmet nods...
"Well there goes that option... Shit!" he screamed as he dodged to the side once more.
Congratulations! You have acquired the Common Active skill, Dodge Lvl. 1...
Dodge- Move out of the way of an oncoming threat. Increased chances of successful dodge per level of the skill. Costs: Variable stamina. +5 Dex per skill level. +3 Str per skill level...
He couldn't outrun the pig, it was simply faster than him. The pig ran by him, but managed to stop a dozen feet away before turning.
Dante mentally prepared himself for the screaming and the blood, there was going to be plenty of both. The pig was too fast to get a proper hit with mana bolt so he was going to have to beat it to death like the armor.
"For Sekhmet..." he said as he ran towards the pig, club held in both hands.
-----------------------------
+100 exp...
Creatures slain (5/10)...
Unused time will carry over...
6 minutes to next coin flip...
(3/5) creatures slain...
Sekhmet looks at you expectantly...
Dante was covered in blood. The platform was painted with blood.
A huge dead pig with a caved in skull laid at his feet. His breath was labored, his muscles burned. He stared at that notice for a long few seconds, his ears still ringing.
He raised up a bloody hand and spoke.
"Sekhmet I offer you the blood spilled here and the body of this beast as a sacrifice. Although I would ask you to leave a little bit for Bobby here if you would be so kind." No notice came immediately but starting from the edge of the platform a blood began to evaporate in a circle that moved ever inward. The crimson blood changing to gold before vanishing without a trace as the unseen force moved inward. It moved about an inch a second, as if the goddess were tasting her meal, savoring it.
Dante heard a voice, old and ragged, and yet it held a strength he felt in his bones.
"I will grant your request mortal, the world needs more warriors for what is to come. And I require more worship..." Spoke Sekhmet the goddess. Soon the corpse of the pig was consumed in divine light but a piece remained.
Dante laughed at what he saw for perhaps the goddess had a sense of humor. He looked at the cooked spare ribs left behind on the smooth clean platform. Clean enough to eat off of one might say.
"Bobby Food!" He exclaimed causing the little goblin to run back through the barrier. Carefully he took out the kitchen knife he had brought with him and began separating the ribs from one another handing one to Bobby before taking one to try for himself.
He didn't usually like ribs, he thought as he took a bite, 'but these are fucking delicious.' They laughed, they cried.
They ate until the bones were all that was left, and he felt something within him replenish.
Sekhmet smiles upon you...
It seemed she had refreshed his uses of cure wounds. He wasn't certain what that meant for the coming fights but at least she was playing nice.
As they ate Bobby would occasionally stop chewing and look as if he were listening to something before going back to eating. She was probably talking to him. He wondered if she might one day ask him to free Bobby that she might have his soul.
A matter for another time, neither of them were dying today if he could help it.
When they were done there were only 30 seconds left before the next match. He sent Bobby back beyond the barrier and flicked on Purify for ten seconds to clean the floor and erase the bones left from their meal. As the timer was running down he prepared a Mana bolt in one hand and his club in the other. Whatever appeared he was going to hit it hard and fast.
"For Sekhmet."
Flipping coin...
Tails...
Spawning Random enemy...
Spawning, Grey Ooze...
A grey puddle appeared on the ground. Immediately parts of the puddle began to rise but he wouldn't give it the time. He fired his bolt splattering a section of the ooze as still it tried raise itself up to attack him.
It took 3 more bolts before it stayed down.
+100 exp...
Creatures slain (6/10)...
6 minutes to next coin flip...
(4/5) creatures slain...
Sekhmet looks at you expectantly...
Dante wondered why she was looking at him expectantly this time. Did she want him to offer this ooze to her? These things tended to be acidic, but he wondered how bad this one was. Taking a few seconds he went and borrowed Bobbies dagger. Bobby didn't notice as he was too busy sleeping in the grass next to the once animated armor.
He tested how strong the ooze's acid was by placing the rusty daggers tip into a section of it. This turned out to reveal that the acid ate metal like water dissolved cotton candy.
Starring at the missing tip of the dagger he knew he was definitely going to have to mend it later. "Sekhmet I offer this... uh...creatures corpse to you. Although I would appreciate keeping a bit of it if you... have a jar or something to hold it." He spoke not quite sure he should be making this request of her. But If he was going to keep killing stuff in her name and sacrificing stuff to her, was this too much to ask?
"If you will kill 3 more creatures in my name than previously agreed I will grant your request." She spoke in his mind, her voice old and weathered, and yet still held a strength he could feel in his bones.
"That seems fair, I ask something of you and you ask for something in return. I'll do it." He spoke and as before golden light moved from the edges toward the center of the dead creature vanishing as the glow passed.
Once most of the mass was gone there was a flash of light and when he looked again there was a beautiful large glass jar that looked like it could hold a gallon of liquid. It was formed into the shape of a humanoid lioness.
She was dressed in ornate Egyptian attire, that of royalty. Upon her head was a golden snake encircling a flat circle of crimson glass that he was fairly certain represented the sun. A crown depicting her divine status. In one hand she held an Ankh and the other a scepter.
As he reached down to pick up the container he found it weighted considerably more than he initially thought. It had to weight 50 pounds, and for a jar hardly bigger than a milk jug no less.
He wondered if it was entirely the liquid or if the container was partly to blame. The system gave him an answer.
You have been granted a divine object, Heavenly glass jar...
Heavenly glass jar- An ornate glass jar depicting the goddess Sekhmet whom crafted this jar personally for you from sand and gemstones of her own domain. Far sturdier than regular glass, this jar can contain things that otherwise would be uncontainable by normal materials. Such at ethereal creatures or highly corrosive elements. Contents of this jar a preserved from decay...
"Well shit.. now I need to find something else that can hold this stuff and keep it preserved if I want to use this jar for anything else. It said this could trap ethereal beings, so could I trap a soul in here? I wonder if I could use this for that magic jar spell? System do you have that spell?" He planned and wondered speculatively.
The system did actually have that spell, but he wasn't getting access to it anytime soon considering it was a fairly high level necromancy spell.
Carefully he placed the jar into his inventory alongside Bobbies dagger. He would have to explain what happened to it later.
4 minutes to spare he called for the next round. He prepared his mana bolt and club. "For Sekhmet..."
Flipping coin...
Tails...
Spawning Random enemy...
Spawning, Ghoul...
What appeared was a gaunt humanoid figure with gray skin. Its eyes white, and upon its hands and feet talon like claws. It hissed and tried to shield itself from the light but there was no where to go. It turned to him and howled in an unearthly voice and charged him. It was fast and he suspected tireless, due to being undead. He tried to swing down at it but missed as the creature tackled him to the ground, and began to rend his chest with its claws. His mana bolt fizzling out as he lost concentration on the skill.
Trying to fend it off it the creature yanked the club from his hand throwing it before biting his arm and tearing away a piece of his flesh.
He watched his health dropping quickly, several notices of bleeding running across his vision.
You have leveled up! [Rank 1] bonus: +1 to all stats...
You are [Rank 1] Lvl. 6...
+1 SSP...
Congratulations! Your mana has reached 1000 points!...
Calculating reward...
He ignored the notifications, He needed to...With his free left hand he smacked the ghoul in the face, gripping its head hard he spoke, "Cure Wounds!"
The effect was immediate and pronounced as the ghouls head caught fire. It screamed as it leapt off of him clawing at its own face now heavily burned in the shape of a handprint.
He cast it again on himself clearing away much of the damage the creature had managed to do to him and alleviating much of the bleeding. In those brief few seconds it had managed to deal nearly 200 damage to him.
Nearly half his total health.
His saving grace being that his miracle did exactly what he believed it could do, harm undead. It also helped that the miracle was stopping his bleeding by healing his wounds shut.
Taking advantage of its distraction he swept the ghouls legs out from under it before grabbing its legs and again casting, "Cure Wounds!"
Its legs caught fire as the holy energy poured into the undead creature. It flailed its body trying to put out the flames but only succeeding in making it worse.
Making his way over he retrieved the club and with one swift strike brought it down on the creatures face with a sickening crack.
+200 exp...
Creatures slain (7/10)...
Unused time will carry over...
11 minutes to next coin flip...
(5/8) creatures slain...
For reaching 1000 points of mana you are awarded the cantrip, Shocking Grasp...
Shocking Grasp- Deals 80 +((Lvl*10) *[Rank]) lightning damage to a target you touch. It's easier to hit creatures adorned by metal with this spell...
You're one who loves magic, and though you weren't born to it, it flows through your veins. You're one who reaches for Magic. You have met the requirements...
The Beginners Magic I road has opened to you...
+1 Rp to the Beginners Magic I road...
+1 free stat point...
Beginners Magic I (1/25)...
He was quickly becoming accustomed to the feeling of that door in the back of his mind opening to let in light. It was one of the few comforts he had right now. The spell felt different from the skills that had come before it. But he didn't know how to describe it.
Dante breathed heavily at the exertion and pain, his body shaking from the adrenaline. Not wanting to touch the body nor offer it as a sacrifice he flicked on Purify and watched as the disgusting undead corpse vanished into motes of light. The blood that had been slowly drying on his body and clothes vanishing as well leaving his tattered shirt behind.
Looking for a long few seconds at his shirt he really considered if it was worth it to buy [Mend] and fix his shirt. While he could cast the spell 10 times, that was...what 50 castings of Mana bolt? He had to unfortunately wait till the last creature fell before he could fix his shirt, or the holes in his pants. At least they were clean.
For a solid minute he just looked over and watched Bobby sleeping in the grass, perhaps the barrier dampened sound. He found it highly unlikely Bobby was a heavy sleeper.
His eyes drew to the sword laying next to Bobby and an idea struck him. What happened if he cast shocking grasp while he held the sword? He was unsure about it and unwilling to risk his safety for this hypothesis.
The seconds ticked down as all but his stamina was full. His stamina was only half full and he felt the tiredness in his bones. He sat and wiped the sweat from his brow taking his little bit of free time to cool off and rest.
He wondered if he would make it to level 10 before he got out of here.
He wondered if the next thing that appeared would kill him.
What the fuck was he doing here? Fighting monsters on some platform, why?
What happened if he stepped beyond the barrier and refused to participate. He suspected that the barrier could be made to let whatever was in out if he tried that.
As the minutes passed and his stamina recovered he realized that if he was going to survive he needed to up his game. These fights were fairly short but in a battle of attrition he was sure to lose. He could ask the system if it had recommendations for what he should do but he felt it might not give him anything. "Well I lose nothing for trying. System what do you recommend I do with this time?" He spoke and was surprised at the notice that appeared.
It is recommended that you focus on strengthening your mana bolt in between rounds. For your current mana regeneration, 42.8 mp/m, we recommend casting at least twice per minute ever minute, but no more than three times per minute. When you aren't casting Mana bolt it is recommended to practice with your Shocking grasp cantrip on the sword you kept as loot...
That actually made a lot of sense. It wasn't a great idea to try training most of the things he could do right now because the cost versus the possible gain was far too risky. But with the cantrip costing no mana and his regen countering the cost of mana bolt if he kept the number of uses down. It was certainly a better plan than he had.
Damn it if he had thought to do this earlier he could probably one tap these guys by now. Should have, would have, could have.
So that's what he did. Over the next 9 minutes he cast Mana bolt 27 times, 3 per minute, and cast Shocking grasp he didn't know how many times getting a feel for the spell and how it worked.
For his efforts he reaped the rewards. He watched his mana slowly grow as he cast bolt after bolt. He even did some running to train his stamina, holding the swords hilt with one hands and the blade with the other. He didn't even need to stop to cast Mana bolt. He kept his stamina usage to about 50 stamina per minute.
Congratulations! Mana Bolt has leveled! Lvl. 2->4...
Congratulations! Running has leveled! Lvl. 2...
You have leveled up! [Rank 1] bonus: +1 to all stats...
You are [Rank 1] Lvl. 7...
Congratulations! Mana Bolt has leveled! Lvl. 4->5...
You have leveled up! [Rank 1] bonus: +1 to all stats...
You are [Rank 1] Lvl. 8...
He wondered what he would be fighting next?