Dante starred at the notification telling him that one of his roads had been removed and came to a decision.
"Guide, what happens to the countdown if I return to the first floor to fight those mini bosses?"
"The timer will stop while you are on the first floor. For each miniboss you defeat you will gain several rewards, including additional time. For each of the remaining mini bosses you defeat on the first floor you will gain 6 hours of downtime in the tutorial zone." Stated his guide.
"Cool. So it incentivizes you to go back to the first floor by giving you more time for each mini boss you beat after the first?"
"Affirmative."
"What rewards do I get for killing them other than the time extension?"
"Insufficient data for meaningful answer." Stated the guide in a robotic monotone voice.
"Can I only kill one each trip or can I kill them all in one trip?"
"You can attempt to kill them all in one trip, or over several."
He made a mental note to give his guide a name later, he remembered that was important. But from what he had seen after he had named Bobby the results were rather unimpressive.
But he had gotten off subject.
He didn't like how it said attempt. But that more or less answered his question. He checked the countdown.
12: 56: 36...
Assuming that each mini boss gave 6 hours of downtime, not including the other loot, then he could buy himself about 3/4ths of a day. Though the smart thing to do would be to beat the mini bosses rest a few hours and then move to the next floor. This would leave him a small measure of wiggle room if he needed extra time in the tutorial zone down the road. This could also be a good way to grind a few more skill levels before the next floor.
Recalling the monsters he had the option to fight a small familiar blue box appeared.
Awakened Tree Gargoyle Sewer King
Starring at the box he considered the order in which he should fight them as he intended on clearing the first floor out. The gargoyle was a large singular opponent made of what was essentially rock. So he would need something that could damage rock to fight it. Pulling the bone club of minor stunning from his inventory he wondered if it would even be able to hurt such a creature, or the awakened tree for that matter. Likely not.
The tree would be a huge, imposing, opponent with some nature based abilities possibly. He was worried it would summon stuff to fight him. 'Didn't they have an ability to make more awakened tree's? Or was that treant? Yeah, it was definitely treant.' He thought, thanking his enhanced memory.
So, he was going to need something that could hurt them before he left to fight them. While he was sure his refrigerate aura would be effective against the tree, he was also fairly certain it would be less so against the gargoyle. The sewer king sounded to him like something that would spawn lots of small enemies for him to fight. Most certainly rats. His aura would be fairly effective against them, but he wasn't in favor of being swarmed by rats. Even if he could clean himself of possible diseases they would afflict him with, it still wasn't a fun thought. He thought about it for a moment then considered, 'Why not go to the mages college and learn Thunderwave?'
It was only a first level spell, so he thought it might be possible to learn quickly. Even if he had to pay a substantial sum to learn it instantly. It was better to get some advice from experienced mages who might have already fought such creatures.
The farther he could stay away from these things, while still managing to deal damage to them, the better.
On the thought of spells, fire was probably the best bet to deal with the tree. Thunderwave would probably be very effective against all three of them. If the sewer king was actually a rat or some other vermin.
Dante rubbed his face with both hands as a thought crossed his mind. 'Please don't let the Sewer king be another alligator or a crocodile. I don't feel like having another wrestling match.'
Dante stood as Bobby finished his meal.
20 minutes later they stood before the receptionist of the Mages college.
10 minutes later he was chatting with one of the professors. Through Professor Barclay he learned that he was correct on much of what he had already guessed. Though they were both still uncertain what a Sewer King was. He discovered that learning Thunderwave with a teacher would take him more than a day. Even though it would cost only half what the system would charge the time constraint forced him to bit the lost of a little extra coin.
Learning Thunderwave from the system cost 1 large gold, or about 1000$.
You now have access to levels in the, Wizard, class...
Thunderwave- A wave of thunderous force sweeps out from you. Each creature in a 15-foot cube originating from you takes 160, plus Int, thunder damage and is pushed away from you. In addition, unsecured objects that are completely within the area of effect are automatically pushed 10 feet away from you by the spell’s effect, and the spell emits a thunderous boom audible out to 300 feet. May deafen creatures within the cone, or in the spell's immediate vicinity, excluding you! Costs 100 Mana to cast...
He had been rather surprised when the Mage he had spoken too had wanted to buy Bobby off of him but after he made it clear he wasn't for sale, the man increased his offer three times reaching a rather considerable sum before he accepted he wasn't going to sell Bobby to him.
That aside he was wondering why it didn't mention upcasting but from the information that poured into his head and from the professor's words he found that if you put too much mana into the spell it would explode back on you. He certainly didn't want to experience it personally. At least he didn't have to worry about it deafening him.
'Ok so I have Thunderwave, that will help me against the big guys since they're going to resist most non magical weapon damage I could hit them with. I doubt the tree will be deafened but the gargoyle might. The sewer king though, he's probably going to be deaf and on his ass the second I hit him with this. If he summons stuff then it will probably be mulch the second I turn this spell on them.' Dante thought as he sat in the professors office with Bobby. Looking down at Bobby who, much like a child, was starring around at everything. His eyes darting from one thing to another in rapid succession, occasionally lingering.
He didn't want Bobby to fight, he was so small and he didn't want him to die. But if Bobby was going to be tagging along with him for the foreseeable future they both needed to be able to fight. He had already spent another large to learn Mage armor.
Mage armor- You touch a willing creature who isn’t wearing armor, and a protective magical force that takes the form of armor appears upon their person making it harder for many spells to hit them. This doesn't help against AOE spells. The spell ends if the target dons armor or if you dismiss the spell. Duration: 8 hours. Costs 100 mana to cast...
Part of him wanted to inquire about if Bobby could learn the spell. 'Wait does he even have stats?' Then he paused as the gears in his mind began to turn.
"Bobby, do you see...shit!" he muttered, stopping himself as soon as he had started, Bobby looking at him confused by the strange question. Scrolling through the spell's section of the store again he found what he was looking for.
Minor Illusion (Cantrip)
You create a sound or an image of an object within range that lasts for the duration. The illusion also ends if you dismiss it as an action or cast this spell again.
If you create a sound, its volume can range from a whisper to a scream. It can be your voice, someone else’s voice, a lion’s roar, a beating of drums, or any other sound you choose. The sound continues unabated throughout the duration, or you can make discrete sounds at different times before the spell ends.
If you create an image of an object—such as a chair, muddy footprints, or a small chest—it must be no larger than a 5-foot cube. The image can’t create sound, light, smell, or any other sensory effect. Physical interaction with the image reveals it to be an illusion, because things can pass through it.
If a creature examines the sound or image, the creature may be able to determine that it is an illusion. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the illusion becomes faint to the creature.
Duration: 1 minute. Costs: 100 mana to cast. Purchase for 1 small gold? Y / N?
"Yes!" He said firmly. He closed his eyes a second and gently took a knee before Bobby, allowing the new spell the few seconds it needed to assemble there in his mind. Then he cast it.
Minor illusion was a great cantrip when you need to get certain information to people. It was a great tool for sharing information he had learned in D&D. Now it would come in handy.
Dante remade his HUD as an Illusion for Bobby to see. Professor Barclay examined the illusion with great intrigue.
"Bobby you see like this?" He asked in Goblin, motioning towards the illusionary HUD. He wanted to know how much of the system Bobby had access to if any at all.
Bobby looked towards the illusion before turning back and shaking his head. He frowned, but before he could dismiss the illusion, Bobby pointed at the illusion and spoke, "You see this? Goddess says you see different than me. I not allowed she say. Why?" Bobby asked, his face scrunched up demanding to know.
Dante was stunned a moment before he recomposed himself to say, "I don't know Bobby..." Dante paused as Barclay tapped him on the shoulder.
"He did just say goddess, yes? I thought all but one of the Goblin gods were consumed by...the hungering one." He paused there catching himself before he had spoken that vile gods name, and drawn his attention.
"Yes, he has become a follower of a goddess from earth, Sekhmet." Dante told the professor whose eyes flashed briefly, his expression of curiosity replaced with one of mild concern as he looked around the room.
What Bobby said next shocked them, "Goddess hurt..."
Skill of, Soulbound goblin, Bobby, English proficiency has leveled! Lvl. 2...
For several seconds he was silent, surprised not only by what he had said but that Bobby actually had a skill.
But the later wasn't as important at the moment.
Thinking on what Bobby had meant he assumed he was referring to the goddess having been weakened by time. But that wasn't what he had said. No he had said...
"Something hurt Sekhmet?" Dante asked looking into Bobby's eyes but what he saw there was fear, no, terror.
Over the course of several minutes they managed to coax out the information they were looking for from Bobby. It was then that Dante really began to understood why the professor hadn't used that gods name.
He was the worst kind of god, an asshole with power and a lot of it.
Seeing that he was woefully out of his depth here Dante made a decision. "I won't sell him to you but I'll lend him to you as an apprentice. Teach him magic while I climb the tower."
"How far do you intend to climb? It could take you more than a week of subjective time to climb to and complete the tenth floor of the first tower. Which will be substantially longer for Bobby and I here in the tutorial zone. More than 41 days will pass here for each day it takes you to climb the first tower." Spoke Professor Barclay, his expression of concern etching lines into his already wrinkled face.
"It could take longer depending on if you have to repeat any floors, or chose to revisit them for some reason. I'm not privy to what happens on each floor, save for what I have been told by those who had gone through it. I hear some made men are already on the third floor. Though I have yet to hear about any of them coming back...' He paused as if weighing what he should say next before his expression became one of determination.
"Listen boy I'm letting you know this now. The system gives each player one and only one respawn when they first are inducted in. Meaning if you haven't died yet then you still have yours. To gain more respawns there are several ways. One could have a substantial positive relationship with a church whose god likes you. You could achieve great feats that impress gods such that one or more of them will foot the bill for your revival. The same applies to the system. You could have someone capable of casting revival magics or miracles do so for you. Personally, I would get the miracle casters to do it. Arcane revival spell's are...far more limited and messy."
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"If you die then you will have a few choices. You can use the respawn choosing to return to the tutorial zone or chose to simply revive in a safe place nearby. Please don't think that just because you can revive once that you should throw your life away. Respawns are precious and should be conserved if at all reasonable. If you choose not to use the respawn several things can happen. If you are so lucky you can have a teammate revive you. However the longer since your death the more your skill's will begin to...leak."
"Ok hold up right there. What do you mean by leak?" Dante asked seizing a pause in the professors seemingly prepared speech.
"Soul's sometimes can hold onto the world. Particularly if their death was violent or if they have unfinished things they wish to be done. Thus some people manage to hold onto their own bodies even after they die. The soul without a proper vessel begins to experience breakdown in it's internal structures, skills and such. For some skills it's faster, others it's slower. It varies depending on several things including the nature of a given skill, its level and such. But all skills eventually leak into the ambient mana. This can cause any number of effects so I'll only give a single example. Say a druid with a tree related skill dies and holds on. Someone passing by might question why a corpse is half stuck inside a tree. Said tree being part of the druids skills that leaked out."
"Know that a player who holds onto the world too long after they die may very well lose every skill they have. That's without going into anything damaging the vessel further or attacking the soul directly. Thankfully nothing of that sort should be in the first tower I am told. Although I don't believe that it means that such things aren't possible, so be careful."
Finalizing their agreement Dante carefully explained things to Bobby, phrasing it such as that he needed to gain power for his goddess and that learning from the professor was one such path. Though reluctant to leave his side Bobby eventually accepted that he wasn't going to be accompanying Dante for some time. Dante had to explain to the professor what he had already taught Bobby, which wasn't much but the professor was thankful that he didn't have to start from scratch teaching Bobby how to behave.
Part of Dante still wanted to bring Bobby with him, didn't want to leave him. But he knew that the farther he went into the tower the harder it would be to justify Bobby's presence and the danger it posed to them both. He could respawn once, Bobby couldn't as far as he knew. Once Bobby died, his soul would come to him by the nature of their pact. He honestly wondered what would happen after that but wasn't so eager to find out anytime soon.
Dante sat down on a small couch in the professor's office preparing for all that was about to happen. Watching as Barclay began to converse with Bobby in goblin, he wondered if it was a spell. He watched for a long couple seconds before he put it out of his mind.
Pulling up the system store he began checking prices for cantrips and first level wizard spells. He tried looking for spells from other classes but they seemed to be locked behind class restrictions. He needed to earn the right to have those classes before he could buy spells from them.
Thankfully the cost of spells for a given level seemed to be flat with all spell's of that level costing as the same as any other. At least for cantrips and first level wizard spells. He began rapid fire buying new spell's.
Acid splash, Prestidigitation...
'It's better to spend money now than to hoard it. I rather spend money on spell's instead of dying because I was cheap.' He thought as he bought spell after spell adding to his arcane knowledge. He felt light pouring into his mind assembling into spell's granting him greater understanding of magic with each one.
Control Flames, Shape Water...
He would spend like there was no tomorrow, all to better his chances of living to see that tomorrow.
Each cantrip cost 1 small gold, about 100$. His eyes skimmed across the list of cantrips he didn't intend on buying every cantrip he could. He found that a bit wasteful.
Mold Earth, Gust, Toll the Dead...
Acid splash- You conjure and hurl a bubble of acid. Choose one creature you can see within range, or choose two creatures you can see within range that are within 5 feet of each other. A target must dodge or take 60+INT acid damage.
Prestidigitation- Create various instant or prolonged effects within a short range.
Control Flames- Manipulate nonmagical flames within a 5-foot cube within range.
Shape Water- Manipulate water within a 5-foot cube within range.
Mold Earth- You choose a portion of dirt or stone that you can see within range and that fits within a 5-foot cube. You can manipulate it in various ways.
Gust- Seize control of the air and produce a gust of wind of variable strength.
Toll the Dead- You point at one creature you can see within range, and the sound of a dolorous bell fills the air around it for a moment. The target must resist the spell or take 80+INT necrotic damage. If the target is missing any of its HP, it instead takes 120+INT necrotic damage.
(A/N Many spell descriptions have been highly simplified while effects remain more or less the same as the base spells.)
He only bought 7 cantrips, as he only had 7 small gold at the moment and didn't want to break down large gold for change.
Now it was time to buy more first level spells.
With 13 large gold he would spend it all on some first level spells. Thankfully it seemed that more or less all the first level spells required about 100 mana to cast. With the exception of Find Familiar that required a substantial 1000 mana investment and an hour long ritual. Not to mention the material components. Those would be annoying. Thinking on it a couple seconds he spoke.
"Hey do you happen to have a spare spell focus I could buy off you?" Dante asked looking to the professor who paused his conversation with Bobby only a few seconds as he reached into his inventory pulling out a small rod that oddly resembled a stage magicians wand then tossing it to him, not requesting payment for the item. Information clicked into place in his mind and he knew in theory how to use the rod as a spell casting focus. Though he would still need material components for some spells.
Burning hands would be useful against the awakened tree.
Catapult gave some ranged physical damage that didn't take much training to do well.
Detect magic would greatly augment his mana sense. He wondered if he could use the spell to power level Mana sense, one way to find out.
Expeditious Retreat gave him a good speed boost to keep things from hitting him.
Feather fall, for when you get knocked into the air and don't want to go splat.
He considered Find familiar for a moment, but decided it wasn't the time to get that spell. Though thinking about the spell made something in the back of his mind itch.
Skimming the spells he saw Protection from Evil and Good, checking it's description it was a winner.
Protection from Evil and Good- Until the spell ends, one willing creature you touch is protected against certain types of creatures: aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead. This protection grants several benefits. Creatures of those types will struggle to land attacks against the target. The target also can't be charmed, frightened, or possessed by them. If the target is already charmed, frightened, or possessed by such a creature, the target gains an increased ability to resist the relevant effect. Will consume one small silver on cast.
He knew for certain that the gargoyle was an elemental, the tree however wasn't oddly enough. He couldn't be certain about the sewer king, though he was doubtful that it would be the greatest threat either way. Making this one fight substantially easier, and possibly many more down the road more than justified the purchase. Checking his coinage he found he had a large silver so he broke it down into 10 small silver.
Then there was Magic Missile. Something the classics are the best. The spell that pretty much never misses.
Burning hands- As you hold your hands with thumbs touching and fingers spread, a thin sheet of flames shoots forth from your outstretched fingertips. Each creature in a 15-foot cone must dodge, otherwise it takes 180+INT fire damage. The fire ignites any flammable objects in the area that come into contact with the flames.
Catapult- Hurl a lightweight object in a direction of your choice increasing the damage it deals on hit.
Detect Magic- For the duration, you sense the presence of magic within 30 feet of you. If you sense magic in this way, you can use your action to see a faint aura around any visible creature or object in the area that bears magic, and you learn its school of magic, if any. The spell can penetrate most barriers, but is blocked by 1 foot of stone, 1 inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or 3 feet of wood or dirt.
Expeditious Retreat- Allows you to run more for the duration.
Feather fall- Choose up to five falling creatures within range. A falling creature’s rate of descent slows to 10 feet per second until the spell ends. If the creature lands before the spell ends, it takes no falling damage and can land on its feet, and the spell ends for that creature.
Shield- An invisible barrier of magical force appears and protects you.
Grease- Slick grease covers the ground in a 10-foot square centered on a point within range and turns it into difficult terrain for the duration. When the grease appears, each creature standing in its area must attempt to keep its balance or fall prone. A creature that enters the area or stops in the area must attempt to maintain balance or fall prone.
Magic Missile- You create three glowing darts of magical force. Each dart hits a creature of your choice that you can see within range. A dart deals 50 force damage to its target. The darts all strike simultaneously and you can direct them to hit one creature or several. Additional darts are created when cast at higher levels.
By the end of his buying spree he still had 4 large gold left over as he hadn't bought as many spell's as thought he would. While there were more good spells he decided not to buy them, uncertain if they would come to be effective in the next few fights.
Dante stood, wand in hand and spoke. "Back to the first floor to challenge the mini bosses."
Please confirm. You wish to return to the first floor to challenge the optional mini bosses?
"Yes." He said and no sooner did he vanish in a flash of light and reappear back on the platform on the first floor.
Please select the first mini boss you would like to face from the options below. Awakened Tree Gargoyle Sewer King
Casting Mage Armor he spoke.
"Sewer King." Dante stated turning towards the center of the platform readying a casting of Thunderwave.
Once more the runes, and arcane glyphs of the magic circle lit up as the creature was summoned.
What appeared as the lights dimmed was a rat, but wrong. It was one of the biggest rats he had ever seen for starters. Its face was hairless, its nose far too long. Small pointed tusks poked out of its mouth on either side. It walked on two legs but its back was swollen to the point of being bulbous. Giving it a hunched back of Notre dames look.
Then it looked as him and smiled. "Hello human..." The rat man began to say only for Dante to let loose his Thunderwave catching the rat on the edge of the spell as it attempted to dodge. He watched as the rat was flung away flipping end over end, bouncing off the platform twice before rolling to a stop a few feet from the barrier.
"Well, I suppose you really aren't much of a threat. Let's test out that new skill on you. On the ground!" Dante spoke dismissively as he raised a hand towards the downed Sewer King and clenched it like one held a tennis ball.
"Don't think yourself so mighty humaaaaaaan..." The rat screamed as he felt the crushing weight of the Command Vermin skill pressing down upon him demanding his obedience.
"I am...a king. I will...not be told... WHAT TO DO!" Exclaimed the rat as he squeaked loudly, red blobs began emerging from his hairy bulbous body. The rat looked at him with hatred in his eyes as he slowly got to his feet, resisting Dante's skill.
Dante nearly gagged as he caught a whiff of the Sewer King. It smelled of rotten eggs.
'Doesn't Sulphur smell like that?' he wondered trying not to throw up as he watched the small red blobs quickly grow hair, their amorphous forms shaping themselves into many normal sized rats. An alarming number of rats, that began moving as if they were one being. One might call it a swarm of rats. The sewer king raised a single paw and pointed towards Dante, and said rats began to rapidly advance upon him. Moving over one another like a wave. He watches as hundreds of eyes turned themselves upon him as their prey.
"You are indeed a summoner. Too bad you summoned something I am well equipped to deal with. I hope you don't mind freezer burn Sekhmet these guys are for you." He said as he activated his refrigerate aura and cast Thunderwave. The rats seeing his casting immediately bunched into a ball many tiny paws finding small grooves in the platform to hold onto. The wave of thunderous energy washed over the ball of rats causing some to fly off smacking into the barrier before falling to the ground. Except, they never made it to the ground as they turned to dust before landing.
So they are summoned creatures or something? Does that mean killing them doesn't count for...
"It counts, kill them..." Spoke Sekhmet, her voice weak, but in that voice he heard her determination.
"Gotcha." He said as the swarm began moving like a wave once more washing over his feet they began to try climbing him, to bury him beneath their many bodies trying to bite him all the while.
Notifications spammed across his vision telling him about each small hit that made it past his mage armor.
What really concerned him was the notification of...
Disease buildup, 15%...
Disease buildup, 16%...
Disease buildup, 18%...
Disease buildup, 21%...
Dante taking a few deep breaths cast the shield spell, a invisible force causing the rats climbing him to lose their grip and fall. Many rats that had been getting small bites in two seconds ago now found it incredibly difficult to do so again. Their bodies quickly freezing in a cold they could not explain. None tried to flee they had their Kings command and they would die to fulfill it.
And die they did. 5 seconds, that's all it took for the rat swarm to freeze to death.
A small animated notification in the corner of his vision seemed to be adding up the exp from every dead rat, which rather unimpressively only added up to 50 exp total.
Switching from refrigerate to purify for a couple seconds he watched as the disease buildup vanished along with the dust left by the dead rats. A casting of [Mend] fixed his pants. And he turned back to the Sewer King who looked at him with what might have been a mix of anger and fear.
"I have drank the blood of a Devil! If you kill me I will simply AHHHHHHHH!" Exclaimed the rat as Dante having walked into range had cast Burning hands to barbeque the rat.
The over grown rat that called itself a king writhed on the ground as Dante twice more cast burning hands directly on the rat not giving him anywhere to run.
Winding up for the third cast he stopped as he saw the kill notification. Looking down he saw the charred corpse that have once proclaimed itself a king.
+450 exp...
You have slain an optional Miniboss, +6 hours to Tutorial zone off time...
Calculating rewards...
You have burned a creature of evil alignment to death in the name of the Sun goddess Sekhmet...
"Oh boy here we go..." Dante said a bit sarcastically.
The gods of evil look at you and smile with too many teeth...
The gods of good look at you nodding in acceptance reluctantly...
Sekhmet thanks you for your sacrifices...
Recalculating...
Reward will slightly increase...
You have been granted the Uncommon passive skill, Disease Resistance Lv. 1...
Disease Resistance- Increased resistance to disease per level of the skill. +250 Hp, 10 Con, per level of the skill...
You have leveled!...
You are [Rank 1] Lvl. 14...
Congratulations! Your stat total has surpassed 500!...
Calculating rewards...
+5 large gold...