by Dakota Krout
Mike waved off the issue of payment; that would be handled by acquisitions. He had stopped making those deals himself after he got in trouble for being too generous; a fact that would have made Joe scoff at him. “You’ll get paid. Fair market value, I guarantee it. What do the spells do?”
“Cone of Cold sets out a blast of cold air… more like a spray of liquid nitrogen, actually. It does frost damage, and it also inflicts the ‘brittle’ debuff. That makes rigid things take more damage, and increases the damage done to the durability of armor and such. It should do between… three to five hundred cold damage to anyone in a cone, if the scroll is used as a spell.” Joe had done some quick math on that one. Hopefully he wouldn’t need to show his work.
“Interesting.” Mike held up the other one. “And this?”
“I think it is something like a siege weapon.” Joe answered after a short pause. “Really quick, do you know how depth charges work to destroy submarines?”
“Joe. Of course I do.” Mike chuckled at the question. “The explosion creates a cavitation bubble, and the actual damage is from the weight of the submarine settling into that and getting shaken really hard. It's called hydraulic shock.”
“Right, same concept here.” Joe motioned at the scroll. “Unlike an ‘earthquake’ spell, this creates a targeted sinkhole. The ground literally shatters, and that can cause damage as well. This was filed away into the ‘useless’ archives a long time ago, because it is really hard to level up the spell. Using it on monsters doesn't offer any increase, and there are only so many buildings that you can build and destroy. Outside of war… yeah, not really so useful.”
“So why make it?” Mike asked the easy question.
Joe grinned darkly. “Huge casting range. Let’s say someone brings siege machines, you can drop those into a sinkhole that should be… twenty feet deep and wide? Or, if we counter against an aggressor, this should be enough to destroy a large section of wall or an important building.”
Mike gulped at the intense look on Joe’s face. “Put a lot of thought into this, have you?”
“I’m trying to think of a way to counter it, actually.” Joe admitted ruefully, realizing that he was getting too intense for Mike. “If someone uses that against us, we would need to rebuild whatever building was hit. Also, only Uncommon and higher buildings can resist an under-Journeyman ranked earthquake spell. Found out about that in a lore book on architecture.”
“When do you have time to read lore books?” Mike scoffed, but Joe only shrugged.
“I don't sleep all that much.” Joe summoned Mate, as well as two coffee cups from his ring. “Want a cup of me?”
“What?”
“Want a cup of Joe?” Joe chuckled at the pun as he downed his fifth cup of the day. It was already nine in the morning, after all.
“No thanks, I don’t want your sleeve coffee.” Mike shook his head with his eyes closed, causing him to miss Mate making a rude gesture. “Besides, what makes you think that they will have siege equipment? This is gonna be a bunch of low-level people trying to zerg rush us.”
“Mmm.” Joe held up a finger as he drained his cup. Mate bubbled happily before sinking into Joe’s sleeve. “Ahh. Probably, but there’s no way that this isn't an attack sponsored by other groups, right? I’m betting that there will be a lot of really high-levels hidden among all the lowbies. That would just make sense, right? Right?”
“That is a possibility that we considered.” Mike admitted easily, stepping away from the highly-caffeinated man. “The fact remains that we will have the full, concentrated might of the guild in a defended location. I feel confident that we will easily be able to turn them away if needed.”
“Got it. I’ll be back at one, so try and have the materials for the other buildings ready to go!” Joe nodded and started to walk away. He paused. “Mike, one last thing. If you know that we can push them back, and they know that we can push them back… what will be the actual point of them attacking?”
Mike froze, and nodded slowly as Joe walked off. “Good question… we’ll need to look into that.”
Joe continued walking, his plan for the morning already set. He was on his way to the testing dungeon, and he was going to be trying to solo the dexterity area. While the increase at the end would be nice, Joe was actually after the Neigh-Bears. There were very few places with such a high concentration of monsters, and even though there was a low success rate, Joe was planning to grind his skill levels for Corify and his newly learned spell: Cone Of Cold.
The reason he had been willing to trade the scrolls for Cores was pretty simple: he was out. He hadn't given too much thought to the matter before, but beyond two powerful Cores that he had stored in his codpiece, Joe was flat out. He tried to think about everything he had been pouring the Cores into, but in truth, he just had no idea where they had all gone. Hopefully the investment into his growth would pay off in the future. He started trying to psych himself up.
“It’s fine, Joe! It’s all~l~l goose.”Joe sputtered as his attention returned to the present. He stopped in place, then started laughing at tripping over his words; this was going to be a new saying for him. “It’s all goose! I can only flap my wings and honk angrily at the injustice in the world!”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
You have entered the Dungeon ‘Trial section 118b’. Please cast your vote for party challenge! Strength / Dexterity / Constitution / Intelligence / Wisdom / Charisma / Perception / Luck.
Joe selected the dexterity option. The odd cube-shaped world rearranged itself and settled. He jumped to the platform, then to the door, and stepped inside.
Average party dexterity… 70. Scaling difficulty to 50-100 dexterity range. Good luck!
“Not so much about luck here, is it?” Joe was still salty about the luck-based trial being decided practically instantly. A roar shook the surroundings, and Joe immediately focused on the incoming battle. The great part about this area was that it contained a high concentration of monsters to combat. The terrible part was that they would happily destroy him if he messed up. This area was designed for people with anywhere from fifty to a hundred dexterity, so there was a good chance that there would be Neigh-Bears present that were more than a match for his abilities.
Joe readied his mind, and threw himself into combat after taking a look at his newest spell.
Cone of Cold (Novice VIII). Ever wanted to look at a group of people arranged in a cone within thirty feet of you, and tell all of them to chill at the same time? Looks like you found the right spell! Effect: Release super-chilled air from your hands, dealing 15n damage on all enemies within thirty feet in a cone-shaped area-of-effect, where n = skill level. Inflicts the ‘Brittle’ debuff. Cost: 20n mana. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Requires both hands to use, or channeling through a two-handed weapon which allows spellcasting.
Brittle: doubles durability damage against rigid objects. This is only accounted for when the object is struck. No, you can’t boost the damage your acid does, nice try. Ignore 20% armor rating for any metal armor where ‘Brittle’ is applied.
Joe was crossing his fingers that, as he leveled this spell up, he would be able to slow the movement speed of enemies as well. It seemed that it was more of an actual ice spell, and Cone of Cold was, in truth, an ‘air affinity’ spell. Still, while it wasn’t as effective as it could have been, it would get the job done. “Cone of Cold!”
In an instant, one hundred and sixty mana left him, and the three charging Neigh-Bears took one hundred and twenty damage. Beyond the addition of shivering, there was no change in their pace toward him. At the last moment, Joe jumped into the air and angled to the left. He thought he had made a clean getaway, but his fluttering robe was hooked by a sharp claw. In the next instant, Joe was slammed against the ground, completely winded.
Damage: 0 (120 terrain damage absorbed by Exquisite Shell).
A shadow of himself appeared and slapped the bear in the face. Taking the chance his skill had given him, he rolle
d back to his feet in a flash. Joe found himself surrounded by charging monsters. “Perfect. I can attack in any direction!”
As the paws struck down at him, Joe called down a Dark Lightning Strike, then dove under the attacks as the Neigh-Bears flinched back from the unexpected pain and odd snapping sound that the lightning produced.
Charging attacks avoided: 5/100.
“Thank you, system, for the timely updates.” Joe started jogging away as the bears awkwardly turned to face him once more. He lifted his staff into the air, twirling it while he prepared Acid Spray, then abruptly angled it behind him. The pained scream of the bears made him smile. The Polearm Mastery skill was coming in handy in unexpected ways. He had never been able to maneuver his weapon so easily, always just carefully pointing and shooting like he was using a flamethrower or rifle instead of a staff.
“Let’s see if I can write my name in the air as I spray acid.” Joe jumped, whirled around, and managed to draw a ‘J’ and about half of an ‘O’ before the acid ran out. He had been trying to regain his ability to channel, but for some reason couldn’t get a handle on it like he had the first time. “This reminds me of making yellow snow.”
Charging attacks avoided: 8/100.
Joe landed lightly, preparing another attack that would strike the backs of his assailants. Instead, his head snapped forward as a clawed paw smashed into him. Joe flipped and bounced twice on the ground before friction forced him to a stop. He got up, slightly disoriented but ready to fight. His heart sank at the sight before him.
Sneak attack! Damage: 0 (511 damage absorbed by Exquisite Shell).
Exquisite Shell: 1,297/1,928.
There were another six Neigh-Bears coming for him, and the one that had hit him was clearly an elite version, being a full head taller than the others. His horse body also seemed to be on par with a draft horse in terms of size, though admittedly Joe didn't know his horse breeds very well. Joe looked up at the face of the bear, which seemed especially furious now that it was sporting a handprint on its fur that seemed to be just about the size of Joe’s hand. “Well, you’re a big boy, aren’tcha.”
A bellow came out of the bear head at such a high decibel that Joe’s shell took a single point of sonic damage; just enough to get another slap to the face from Joe’s Retribution of Shadows. Joe twirled his staff and pointed it at the bear, his eyes narrowing in focus. “It’s gonna be like that, huh? I hope you’re prepared for my specialty, then!”
The Neigh-Bears charged at him in formation, and Joe took a deep, steadying breath… before turning and running away like a scared little forest elf. “Nope, nope, nope! Don’t gotta fight, just need to dodge!”
The speed of a magical horse hybrid was clearly higher than what Joe could manage. He started gathering his mana, preparing to use Cone of Cold again as soon as the thirty-second cooldown had completed. Sadly, thirty seconds during combat was a terribly long time, and the Neigh-Bears were never going to allow him that respite. Now that there were nine total beasts after him, Joe started to think that he may have made a terrible mistake.
“Can’t let… random monsters kill me!” Joe puffed out as he ran frantically. The thundering hoofbeats behind him were coming closer and closer, and Joe desperately worked to think of anything he could do. As the claws of the elite reached for him, and Joe could practically feel the rough horse hair, he jumped as hard as he could.
His body exploded upward and forward, his physical limits being tested by his Master-ranked skill. As Joe soared up, and up, and up, he could only reflect on his choices. “Something seems different this time around.”
That was an understatement, as he still had yet to start falling downward. His eyes flashed to his mana, and widened as he saw what was remaining.
Mana: 526/1,872 (617 reserved)
Whatever had just happened had pulled away effectively half of Joe’s usable mana. He tried to figure it out as he started falling back toward the ground and awaiting Neigh-Bears. “What was different? I was running, I started jumping… I shot off like a bottle-rocket. I…! I had gathered a bunch of mana in preparation to cast a spell! Wait! I’ve used mana in jumping before, but only for skipping along so that I didn't need to use stamina! Can I empower my jumps with mana at the Master rank?”
Skill increase: Jump (Master I). Your understanding of this skill has reached a new level! Even though you had used this ability in the past… you know what? Just enjoy the increase. Go, go, rocket boots!
Information flooded into Joe’s mind about how to use his mana within his body to further supplement his jumping abilities. Just before he hit the ground, the only thing that Joe could think was, “I bet thieves would love this skill.”
Then he was rolling through the long grass, bouncing off rocks, before finally coming to a halt at the rear feet of a Neigh-Bear. It started to turn, so Joe tried to force himself to get moving. He struggled to his feet, and glanced at the waiting flash of notifications.
Charging attacks avoided: 21/100.
Exquisite Shell: 832/1928.
He had taken four hundred damage from falling from that height? Didn't he have fifty percent falling damage reduction? Yes; yes, he did. Joe started running toward the center of the testing area as the herd found him and came running. Joe prepared his spell, then jumped forward and spun around to cast Cone of Cold. The elite merely shivered, but the others started faltering. The first three that Joe had fought were clearly weakened, so Joe cast Corify on one, then sent acid at the entire group.
With the second casting of Acid Spray, the Neigh-Bears were on him once more, so Joe stored his staff in his ring and jumped to the side, pushing off and returning to his original position as soon as the elite thundered past him. Because of this, Joe was able to avoid every attack from the ‘V’ formation of monsters.
Charging attacks avoided: 30/100.
He lashed out with the staff as it reappeared in his hand, smashing the blunt endcap into the rear-right kneecap of the bear that he had targeted with Corify. With one more spray of acid at its face, the bear died. Joe turned to the others, already weary but fortified by the excitement burning within him. Acid started to drip from his staff, and he whirled it in a circle to create a field of pain around himself.
“Alright, you overstuffed teddies. Let’s play.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Joe looked at the six Cores he had managed to obtain, then down at his tattered clothing. “I… I think that was worth it?”
Each of the Cores held thirty-five hundred experience, putting them right in the center of the Common ranks. Meanwhile, Joe’s equipment had dropped in durability from the beating he had taken at the paws of the herd, as well as his own attempts to regulate mana flow to his jumping skill. “Ugh… if only that elite would have dropped a Core when it died!”
Durability of Wise Man's Wardrobe: 8/100.
Charging attacks avoided: 100/100. Leave the dungeon to collect your reward!
“Mm. I don’t think the ‘minor self-repair’ function on my wardrobe is going to cut it with this. I should really keep a closer eye on my gear.” Joe sighed as he moved toward the exit. He had killed three dozen Neigh-Bears; increasing Corify to Beginner III, Acid Spray to Apprentice III, Dark Lightning Strike to Beginner IX, and Cone of Cold to Beginner 0.
He was a little grumpy that he didn't get a bonus for that spell, but when he thought about it; Joe hadn’t ever used the spell in a unique or interesting way, simply casting it as soon as it came off cooldown. Even so, the gains had been really good, and he realized that in order to grow rapidly, he might need to start taking more risks. He couldn't even remember the last time that he had gone to do solo adventuring.
“There’s always more to learn in this world.” Joe chuckled ruefully. He hadn't seen much of a bonus for increasing his skills in a while, and he was starting to think that he was missing something. Even so, he couldn’t think of what it could be. Stubbornly refusing to look at the gains he had made in experience, since hi
s goal had been grinding skills and collecting Cores, Joe reached out a hand to select the option to leave the dungeon.
*eeee*.
Joe paused as his ears started ringing softly. “I thought coming into Eternium fixed my tinnitus? Wait, that’s not… oh! That’s my Hidden Sense! Ugh… I always forget to use Query… I should do that more often. Sorry, Tatum! Just not used to asking for help on things!”
He had forgotten that he had faintly sensed something when he had cleared the dungeon the first time, but hadn't bothered to find what it was. Now, since he had some free time and his Hidden Sense had reached the Apprentice ranks, he was far more aware that something was calling out to him. Joe started slowly circling the area to find where the noise was the strongest. Bizarrely, he kept returning to the plinth that led to the outside world.
“What is it about you that’s special?” Joe wondered quietly. He started running his hands over the stone, but no matter what he did, he could find nothing. In fact, it was really annoying, because every time he touched the plinth, the same question would appear. Finally, he growled, “No, I don’t want to leave right now!”
“Last try, then I use Query.” After searching the plinth, Joe decided that it might not be the object itself: perhaps it was on top of something? He started shoving the stone, but couldn't manage to make it budge. Trying different angles did nothing, so he tried climbing up and jumping on it. As soon as he did, a sound of grinding stone filled the area. The entire stone platform that Joe was standing on started to swivel, and Joe would have fallen if he hadn't hopped off the plinth.
You have followed the instincts that have been granted to you!
Skill increased: Hidden Sense (Apprentice II).
“The skill went up?” Joe stared at the hole in the ground. A ramp appeared under the plinth that descended into the depths, certainly too far to see the end. “But that skill just went up recently? How would it have increased again so…?”