Part Eight
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The blessing of the Falna is really incredible. When I picked up my spear the next day, I could tell I was stronger than before. It felt lighter in my hand, more controllable. In the worn down hall of the church, I experimented to get a feel for my new abilities.
The difference wasn't enormous, but it was enough that I could feel it when I dashed across the room, or swung my spear. I was just a little bit faster, stronger, and less easily tired than I was yesterday.
I grinned. Oh, I could get used to this. I felt so much better about going back into the Dungeon today. Not only thanks to Hestia snapping me out of my funk, but because it was one thing to know in your head, or to be told that you were getting stronger. It was entirely another thing to feel it with your own body.
I could be strong. As strong and as fast as I was willing to put in the effort to become.
I knew that, of course. I knew what the Falna meant, what being a Gamer meant. But I guess I still didn't quite believe it until this moment. Until I saw the improvement with my own eyes.
"Blair?" Hestia called out to me from the back of the room. "You haven't left yet."
I jogged over to the goddess. "I was just getting a feel for my new strength."
"You're feeling better then?" she asked. "You don't have to go back into the Dungeon today, you know. If you need more time…"
I laughed. She was just so… so great. I reached down and grabbed her up in a hug.
"Blair!"
"I feel amazing," I told her, lifting her up off the ground and spinning her around a little bit. The softness of her breasts pressing into my chest was quite pleasant. "You really helped me last night."
"Put me down. Down!" She protested into my chest, but I could tell her heart wasn't in it.
"Don't worry about me," I laughed, gently letting her back down onto the ground. Hestia needed more hugs, I decided. "I'll be back tonight, okay?"
She nodded, but still looked a little worried. In some ways, I suppose it must be harder for her than for me. At least when I'm in danger, I'm the one who can do something about it. Hestia can only wait and hope I don't do something stupid and die.
I tapped the bag that my prepared lunch was in. Hestia had made it last night, probably after I went to sleep and left it on the table for me to find. "Thanks for the lunch."
"Don't forget to eat it."
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Goblins were still a threat. True, I was stronger and faster than I was yesterday, and yesterday I was more than a match for a goblin, but that only goes so far. A goblin could still hurt me if I let it close enough, and if I screwed up badly enough, they could absolutely kill me.
I was reminded of this by a goblin that got into my guard as I skewered its last remaining companion with my spear. It leaped onto me with a screech, sending us both tumbling to the ground and sank its fangs into my arm.
My nerves screamed as I bashed its head with my left fist, desperately trying to dislodge the little beast.
Once. It bit down harder.
Twice. It twisted its head, tearing muscle and flesh.
I hit it a third time and its bite relaxed as it finally opted to protect its head.
I wasn't even thinking anymore. I levered myself up and twisted us over so I was on top of the goblin, which tried to scratch at my face with its little clawed fingers.
I threw my left arm up in the way and didn't even feel the tears it left on my arm as I reached down with both hands. Luckily, both my arms still worked, though my right arm was feeling quite dull.
I latched my hands around its puny throat and squeezed as hard as I could. The beast thrashed beneath me lashing out with its claws, but it was largely ineffective. Its arms were too short to get at my face anymore with my arms in the way.
Soon enough, its thrashing slowed, then stopped. The light in its eyes had gone out.
I was too cocky. Three goblins was still too many to take on at once. True, I had beaten three earlier in the day, but it was clear that the slightest misstep could end me against this many.
I collapsed against the wall of the dungeon and started preparing to Class Change. I could barely feel my right arm at all anymore, and what little I could was entirely searing pain.
I needed a faster healing option, I realized. I couldn't just rely on my Healer Class to top me off in a case like this.
Uneasy, I scanned the hall I was currently travelling down. What if the Dungeon spawned more monsters on top of me? It wasn't common on the first four floors, but it did happen occasionally. Monster's spawn rates were quite low on these floors, especially the 1st.
The healing was going slow. The worse the injury, the less quickly my Healing Hand worked on it, and it seemed that the goblin's fangs had gone deep enough to maybe even scratch bone.
*Crack*
No.
*Crack* *Crack*
Please no.
I released my magic, not even trying to finish chanting again and stumbled weakly to my feet and grabbed my spear up off the ground in my left hand, then started running.
*Crack*
Directly ahead of me, a goblin fell out of the wall, only to have my spear go straight into its brain before it could even make a move. I ignored the body and kept running, not looking back even as I heard the frenzied cries of the Goblins that had spawned on the other side of me, cutting off my retreat back the way I had came.
I racked my brain as I ran, remembering the layout of the 1st Floor. I really did need to go back the way I had come from. If I had to take this corridor, I was bound to run into even more goblins before I could get back to one of this Floor's more heavily travelled corridors. It was too dangerous. If I ran into more than one to two goblins at once, I doubted I could kill them left handed before the ones behind me caught up.
I slowed as I neared the next turn. I had put a lot of distance between me and the new spawns, but I was going to have to fight them. I probably had time for 1 spell before they were too close, so I had to choose, either Class Change back to Adventurer or get off one last Healing Hand.
I began the Chant for my Healing Hand. If there was any chance that I'd be able to switch my spear back to my right hand, I had to take it. Controlling the spear with my non-dominant left hand would put me at a disadvantage I couldn't afford.
I tried my best to ignore the increasingly loud sound of the goblins coming to kill me and released my magic.
The moment I felt the healing was done, I swapped my hands and took a few experimental thrusts.
Success. It hurt, but it was usable. Good enough to be better than using my off-hand to control the spear.
So I waited, as silently as I could as the screeches grew close. The first goblin rounded the corner with bloodlust in its eyes, and found itself running its chest right into the blade of my spear.
I tore open its chest further with a draw-cut, sending it to the ground, howling its pain, retrieving my spear and settled in for a fight as the remaining goblins also rounded the corner.
Bring it on. Fuckers.
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I need a sidearm. At least a dagger, probably a short sword or club of some kind too. A shield would be nice. And some armor. Definitely some armor. Also Healing Potions.
My whole body was sore. Even after healing all my wounds, I could still feel phantom pain from all the places I had been injured today.
I would have been utterly fucked, dead as a dead can be if I had been an ordinary adventurer. The Dungeon would have killed me with those new spawns, as surely as anything.
The Dungeon tried to kill me. Actively.
Just another thing that's hard to truly internalize until you experience it yourself. It knew I was wounded, and deliberately threw a threat at me that, if I hadn't had healing magic, would have been more than enough.
"... Healing Light!"
I blinked spots out of my eyes. My mind wavered a bit. I was at my limit. If I cast even one more spell, I'd go into Mind Down for sure.
It was only the early afternoon, but I already had to leave the Dungeon.
Still, my progress today could only be called impressive, and I was bringing out a whole bag full of magic stones and Drop Items. The drop rate of those Drop Crystals was definitely at worst one in ten or so.
And I had completed more than one Quest today too.
[New Quest]
[Monster Slayer I]
Kill 100 of a monster.
Goblin [24/100]
Reward: (10) Least Ability Chapter, (25) Least Drop Crystal, (1) Class Augment (Level 1)
[Quest Update]
[Monster Foe (II)
Kill 10 of a monster.
Kobold [2/10]
Reward: (3) Least Ability Chapter, (5) Least Drop Crystal
My first kobold was quite underwhelming by comparison to my first Goblin. I encountered it by itself, and it charged me. It was faster than a goblin, but I was still faster, and it was unable to get past my guard. The second was much tougher, since it appeared behind me while I was trying to heal up after winning the fight against the goblins the Dungeon tried to ambush me with.
And I even wound up with a couple of New Quests. One of which was even a Familia Quest that I had completed without even realizing it. Hestia must have activated it for me.
[New Quest]
[Dungeon Survivor (I)]
Survive an active attempt by the Dungeon to kill you and make it out of the Dungeon alive.
Reward: (1) Class Augment
[Familia Quest Update]
[1st Floor Exploration (I)]
Explore 10% of the 1st Floor of the Dungeon as a Familia. [Complete]
Reward: (25) Familia Merit, (1) Familia Renown, Dungeon Map Unlocked
[New Familia Quest]
[1st Floor Exploration (II)]
Explore 25% of the 1st Floor of the Dungeon as a Familia. [11%]
Reward: (75) Familia Merit, (2) Familia Renown
The thing that truly caught my eye was the Class Augment reward.
Class Augment
Contains the potential to unlock additional features and power of an existing Class.
As I made my way towards the Dungeon's exit, I was practically salivating at the possibilities.
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Eina Tulle held her head in her hands. What had she done to deserve this? Was she cursed?
She glanced up across the booth at her newest Adventurer, who was sitting there looking like he had done nothing wrong. His clothes were tattered, and he was scratched up all over where she could see his skin, but he was still wearing that dumb grin.
What was wrong with him? He seemed so normal when the first met and during their first session. But then he comes out of the Dungeon looking like he was never going to go back in, and comes back the next day with a big dumb smile on his face and turns in enough Magic Stones and Drop Items to account for a full party of 3-4 Adventurers with a supporter.
30,000 valis, or thereabout.
Even if he stumbled across an unfortunate soul who had been killed and took whatever they had on them, it still wouldn't account for it.
"Are you okay, Ms. Eina?" He asked, as though the headache she was developing wasn't his fault.
"How many?" she asked.
"Huh?"
"How many monsters did you fight?"
His eyes went up to the ceiling as he started counting. Why was he taking so long? He couldn't have fought that many-
"26."
Hurk. Eina gagged, spluttering.
"Excuse me!" She yelled.
He shrunk back a bit.
"26! 26? Do you have a death wish? What is wrong with you?"
"I was fine for the most part," he said. "If it wasn't for the Dungeon spawning more…"
Eina clenched her teeth.
"You got a Dungeon Spawn," she bit out. "On your second day in the Dungeon."
He nodded dumbly. "5 goblins. It was scary."
Scary. That's the best word he has to describe an event that kills the vast majority of adventurers it happens to? How did he even survive it in the first place?
The Dungeon doesn't Spawn on top of adventurers like that unless it thinks they're on their last legs. She had lost count of how many stories she had heard from other Advisors. Stories retold from the survivors of such ambushes.
So why was he mostly fine? Did he buy healing potions with the money from the day before?
Seemingly oblivious to her consternation, he continued. "I think I need a side-arm and maybe some armor as well. How much do you think I need for some decent armor?"
Eina rubbed her forehead in her hands. At least he had enough sense to realize that much.
"Also, I'd like to continue our lesson from before."
Eina drew a deep breath. Don't explode, don't explode. Calm.
"Could we start in on the 2nd Floor?"
"NO!"