Growth Hero

by Brent Tyman

  I could only imagine my growth in a month!

  Now was probably the time to switch to another stat to increase, and I immediately decided to build up my Defense stat. I had no doubt, that if Daiver had punched me instead, I probably wouldn’t have survived; not with a Defense stat this low.

  It was time I fixed that.

  I tried to recall how I had changed it previously and sought to navigate my way through the blue screens—which was a surprisingly difficult challenge. To my utter surprise, as soon as I thought about ‘notifications’, a brand new screen appeared.

  Dungeon Tier Small Grey Rat Defeated

  Short Sword used for final blow

  Strength Stat Increased!

  Skill Activated - Applying Increased boost!

  Dungeon Tier Medium Grey Rat Defeated

  Short Sword used for final blow

  Strength Stat Increased!

  …

  It was a rather comprehensive list of all the monsters I had defeated, as well as what weapon I had used and what stat had increased. There had been, at times, some rats larger than others, but they all went down the same way. I hadn’t noticed any real difference.

  What this information told me, was that it seemed to be the final blow that determined what stat ended up being increased. I wondered how this worked in a party, since if the Tank ended up landing the final blow, then no one else would increase their stats.

  Or did this mean that if a Tank used his sword, and the experience was shared amongst the party, then the healer would end up increasing their Strength stat? There were so many possibilities and I wished I had tangible information to act on instead of guesswork.

  A fun tidbit was that the very first log happened to be my attempted heal on Juliana, for which I had gained an increase to my Healing stat—although sadly, not enough to raise it from its current base of one.

  It was strange that the bandit I had punched on my first day wasn’t listed here. I wondered why that might be…

  After experimenting, I couldn’t work out how to access any new screens and tried to will my Growth skill to work on my Defense stat instead of Strength. I soon received a confirmation screen.

  Skills

  Growth - Increased growth for a selected stat.

  Currently boosting: Defense

  Cooldown - 5 Days

  The ‘Cooldown’ listed at five days was news to me, but I supposed it wasn’t too much of a problem. I didn’t plan to switch which stat I’d boost all that frequently, after all.

  I looked up to see that the innkeeper had left a drink on my table and I hadn’t even noticed him come by at all. I guessed that’s what happens when I get too focused on these RPG mechanics.

  The drink he gave me looked a tad murky and when I tried it, it tasted just as coarse as I’d expected.

  Modern life had really spoiled me.

  I was still less than thrilled with the toilet arrangement in this fantasy world, but there was little I could do about that.

  My thoughts had been a bit sidetracked from my stat increases, but I decided that I should probably at least look into seeing if I could form a party. One thing was sure, though. I wanted to form a brand-new party, centered around myself, rather than join someone else’s.

  That way, I could dictate where we would go in the Dungeon and for how long. I at least wanted that control for myself, now that I had a decent Strength stat to fall back on, if there were any truly dangerous monsters.

  Since I counted myself as a damage dealer, starting with the good old trinity system was probably my best bet. That meant I needed a Healer and a Tank to form a decent party that could do everything and then I could add onto it that way.

  The rats hadn’t one shot me thus far, so it probably made sense to start with a Healer first. I just didn’t know how to start recruiting for one. Did I have to provide salaries or something? Maybe I just needed to share the loot at the end of a day, which was totally fine with me.

  Selina at the Adventurer’s Guild would probably know more, and I had just gotten up to leave when a blond-haired woman sat down in the seat across from me.

  “You’re an interesting one, I’ll give you that,” she said as she tapped a finger on the table. “Would you please sit back down so we can talk?”

  I had no idea who this woman was, but one thing was certain.

  She was strikingly beautiful…

  Her blond locks wrapped around her shoulders and reached down all the way to the slopes of her breasts, which her dress did little to hide. In other words, they were absolutely massive, and I had a hard time stopping my eyes from wandering further south.

  Her piercing blue eyes examined me while her perfectly curved mouth slanted into a smirk as she continued to tap her fingers on the edge of the table, waiting for my response.

  Now that I looked at her, she looked vaguely familiar. Wait! That dress was a more flattering version of the Academy uniform I had seen this morning. She had to be a student from one of the other two major Clans here. If only I knew what the green color represented in terms of nation…

  “You’re from the Academy, right? Anything I can help you with?” I asked as I sat back down.

  “What I really want is to know why Juliana is interested in you. I hear your name is Alex?”

  “Alex Augere, that’s right. What’s yours?” I asked, expecting her to mention some random piece of land she was heir to.

  “Clarissa Vos Hoganna, heir to the Hoganna Federation. A pleasure.”

  Yep, heir to an enormous amount of land, it seemed. I wondered why she was even talking to me, of all people. She didn’t have a real reason too, unlike Juliana.

  “So, what did you want to talk about?” I asked, trying to get to business.

  Charissa remained silent for a moment as she drew a long green painted fingernail along the edge of the table.

  “I was very intrigued with your presence at the Dungeon, next to Juliana of all people. Normally she is quite the reserved little flower, but to think she would openly bring her man with her had all of us surprised.”

  It took me a few moments to process this, but once I did, my eyes widened in shock and then I laughed, hard.

  “Haha, me… Juliana’s man? I’ve known her for less than a week. I think you have the wrong impression here.”

  “Do I? It certainly seemed like there was something between the two of you?”

  I thought about it some more. Yes, Juliana was a devastatingly beautiful woman, and I would love to date her—if that was even possible—but I hadn’t gotten around to even considering that point… yet.

  That was an idea though… I had a girlfriend in high school that I fell out of touch with when I went to college. Those were some of the best years of my life, so maybe it was something to consider. Hmmmm.

  This was a fantasy world, so I could do anything I wanted, right?

  Anything…

  Maybe even getting myself a harem. That was what people in my crazy situation tended to do. Suddenly, the idea was quite appealing.

  “Well, not at the moment, so if you’d care to help curb the gossip, I’d appreciate it,” I finally replied, smiling.

  “I see, well that will ease any complications with my proposal.”

  “Proposal?”

  “Yes, as you know, I am in the Academy, but find the entire ordeal a bore. I would rather find a more direct way to achieve my goals and advance my standing.”

  She smirked at me. “I have heard tell of a man who goes into the Dungeon solo and brings back more drops in a single day than most parties of Adventurers achieve in three.”

  “Where did you hear that?” I snapped, grimacing. Had I been too noticeable at the guild when I brought back the Rat pelts to sell?

  “It’s more of a rumor these past few days, but I have sources in the city that described you in astounding detail. Once you defeated Daiver, I knew the rumors were about you, specifically. I’m even more pleased that you have quite a pleasing look to
you and boast a slim figure.”

  “Right…”

  What was it with people calling me slim? First Kesara and now Clarissa. This woman reminded me a bit of Kesara, if she dialed her slyness up to eleven.

  “What I wish is for you to join my party, so I may study your techniques. There must be some kind of method you use to survive the Dungeon all by yourself.”

  “Oh well, guess this was an easy decision for me. My answer has gotta be no, sorry.”

  Clarissa’s face, which had a slightly sultry tone to it, suddenly morphed into stunned confusion. That I might refuse her was not a potential outcome she had considered.

  “Wait… What? Excuse me? I… I thought you would welcome a chance to join a major Clan’s party, especially one as esteemed as mine. I can promise you a multitude of rewards,” she stated, taking a deep breath.

  That certainly drew my gaze. It was a good thing she hadn’t come along earlier, as I had only just resolved not to join someone else’s party.

  “I was just on my way to the guild to look into forming my own party and recruiting a Healer.”

  “You have a Clan already?”

  “Uhh, not really. I… might have to look into making my own…”

  Damn, I should have thought more about this earlier, but I supposed Selina at the Guild would fill me in on how establishing a Clan factored in on me recruiting a Healer for my party.

  Clarissa stood up and took my hand, urging me to stand with her.

  “Then allow me to accompany you. I will help you with this and you will agree to my proposal then, yes?”

  “You want to be in my party?” I asked in disbelief and she nodded, her smirk returning.

  “Of course, and the stars have apparently aligned, as I am a Healer for my own Clan. I dare say that I would be the best Healer you could possibly have for a newly formed Clan.”

  “I guess… that’s fine. Wait, don’t you have your own party to look after?”

  Clarissa waved that away with a scoff.

  “The rest of my party, while adequate, lack a… certain drive for greatness. They will be quite formidable with experience, but by the time that happens, the other Clans will have surpassed us. If I must leave my own Clan to join yours… then so be it.”

  Alarm bells started ringing in my head. This woman was willing not only to help me make a new Clan, but would also join it by leaving her own to become my Healer?

  Did I seriously have that right?

  I paused for a moment to wait for some kind of stipulation that would make this deal too good to be true, but it never came…

  “So, you’re for real? You will join my Clan and be my Healer? No strings attached?”

  Clarissa shot me the sultriest look yet and ran a hand down my arm.

  “Nothing you won’t like, my dear Alex. Please think of me as your faithful Healer and I won’t let you down. All I ask is that you show me your techniques and I hope to learn from them.”

  Given that I would have to explain my methodology for how to work out monster attack patterns to any of my future party members anyway, I guessed it didn’t matter who they were in the end.

  This was a deal for a free party member, and while it might end up that Clarissa wouldn’t stay in my party indefinitely, I’d still get valuable experience from having her tag along.

  Plus, she was crazy beautiful. Who didn’t want someone like her around? That last reason was probably my little brain talking, but what the heck, this seemed like a great deal, at least for me.

  “Alright, let’s head to the Adventurer’s Guild and sort out my party.”

  With a predatory grin, Clarissa dragged me out of the inn by the arm, wrapping her dainty fingers around it. Yep, she definitely had Kesara’s energy and enthusiasm. Not that I minded, of course.

  For the first time, I’d have an ally in the Dungeon.

  And I hoped she wouldn’t be the last.

  10

  Signing up for a new Clan had seemed like a tremendous ordeal with how the Guild had marketed it.

  In actuality, though, all I had to do was talk to Selina. She handed me a crystal to examine after her initial shock wore off at meeting Clarissa.

  “Please enclose the crystal fully in your hand and it will be absorbed into your body,” Selina said.

  I looked dubiously at the small pink crystal, but did as instructed. At first, nothing happened, but I could feel some kind of magic at work as the crystal dug into my hand and eventually disappeared when I opened it.

  “Huh, that was weird,” I muttered.

  “Yes, you should now see an interface appear in front of you,” Selina said.

  Clarissa absently stroked my arm, which I had to admit, felt pretty nice. A new screen distracted me and what was even more surprising was that instead of the regular blue background that I half-expected, this one was red.

  Welcome to the Clan Management Interface

  Initialization has completed

  Clan Name: Augere

  Current Members: 1

  Clan Coin: 0

  Clan Storage Slots: 10 Available

  Clan Messages: 0

  Selina gave me a detailed breakdown on managing my Clan and I had to admit, this was the coolest thing about this world!

  As I poked around, I realized that this entire system served a similar function to all-in-one messaging solutions back home.

  I could assign roles in my Clan, kick anyone I wanted, even add messages that would be seen by any Clan member. This provided me an easy way to get in touch with my party, wherever they might be.

  There was a storage function as well, that allowed me to store my coin, by slipping them into a small bag that Selina provided. It served the exact same purpose as an infinite storage ‘inventory’ that sent items into another dimension, which I was familiar with from popular RPG’s and light novels.

  I couldn’t actually imagine it really existed, but here it was. No one outside the Clan could access it. I could easily get the bag replaced and the items would still be there.

  It was kind of crazy now that I thought about it, but I wasn’t complaining—not in the least! If only I had done all this sooner.

  “Now it’s my turn,” Clarissa grinned as she beckoned for my attention.

  “Are… are you sure you wish to do this, Lady Hoganna? I don’t believe your fellow Clan members would approve,” Selina said tentatively.

  “I’m sure they won’t,” Clarissa said mysteriously.

  I too wondered how her Clan would react to her leaving them. Surely it wasn’t that big a deal, if she was doing it voluntarily, right?

  “Just accept my request, Alex, and you shall have your Healer,” Clarissa declared.

  A moment later, a new screen flashed in front of my eyes.

  Clarissa Vos Hoganna has requested to join your Clan?

  Accept/Deny?

  Well, here goes nothing.

  I mentally tapped ‘accept’ and got a confirmation for a response.

  Clarissa Vos Hoganna has joined your Clan!

  Current Clan Members has increased to 2!

  Default Role Applied: Novice

  Clarissa was finally in my Clan and had become a Novice under the default role system. The default ranks went from Novice, to Knight, then Old Guard, Officer, and Clan Master.

  I would have to check back to see what each role could do in terms of accessing the Clan storage and coin, but this matched a lot of MMO Guild systems in several ways.

  Clarissa’s stats were also available to me and I couldn’t help but give them a quick once over.

  Name: Clarissa Vos Hoganna

  Race: Human

  Stats

  Strength: 31

  Speed: 35

  Defense: 16

  Magical Power: 40

  Magical Capacity: 57

  Luck: 8

  In terms of stats, Clarissa had me beat in everything other than Strength. Her Defense was surprisingly low, but I supposed a healer wouldn’t have
much need for Defense, having focused her training on raw Magical Power and Magical Capacity for healing. All in all, I was very impressed.

  I wondered what was up with that Luck stat, but maybe it just didn’t scale well or was arbitrary.

  “Oh, my!” Clarissa breathed as she covered her mouth in surprise. “That Strength stat is quite impressive but the others…”

  I guess she could also view my stats.

  Oh jeez…

  “Uhh… yeah, about that…” I said before she cut me off.

  “What is this Growth skill? I’ve never seen such a skill mentioned at all. Normally skills are far less interactive… Curious.”

  “Just something that helps with my stat growth and literally does exactly what it says, although I’m not sure exactly how much it increases my Stats, numbers wise,” I explained.

  I quickly had a look at Clarissa’s skills. She had two of them at the moment.

  Skills

  Royal Born - Start life with a base of five in all Stats.

  Healing Touch - Base healing is doubled for all healing spells.

  It seemed her skills were mostly passive as well, but I wondered if attack skills were also present in this world.

  That Royal Born stat had instantly made her stronger than me when she was born over my introduction in this world though…

  “We will need to work on the rest of your skills to bring them up to an acceptable level.” She frowned. “Now I am even more intrigued as to how you have survived the Dungeon by yourself for so long,” Clarissa muttered.

  “Is there anything else I can help with, Alex?” Selina asked and I said my farewells.

  It was time to get down to business. Clarissa and I headed to the Dungeon to see how we would do as a party. There was another interface to form a party that I invited her to while we hiked through town. It showed some interesting things, like how far she was from me up to a short distance before it displayed nothing and her general wellbeing.