"Then let's continue our excursion here. Legi, you're level 1 but I feel like your stats should be somewhere above D for most if not all of them. With our current party, and given the lack of experience, I feel floor 10 might be the limit for today. Of course we can head back sooner if you like?"
"I wanna buy mommy something, and that means I need money, right?"
"Yep, that's generally the rule of thumb."
"Then I wanna earn lots of money! But I also want to explore every celch of this dungeon. I don't wanna miss anything!"
"Ahaha, well how about this, we make a trip down to floor 10, along the way, I'll tutor you on all matters of the dungeon. Later, you can come back and explore the Dungeon more thoroughly."
"Hmm, I'll earn more money this way, right?"
"That's right. And it'll give me a good idea of your strengths, and weaknesses."
"Then let's do it!" Shurry cheered with a fist in the air.
…
Shurry's party advanced through the dungeon a little slower than most, however, the improvement Shurry, as well as Legi showed, it was obvious that these two weren't lazy pushovers, and they both had clear goals to reach. They wanted to become stronger, for different reasons, but neither was less intense than the other.
When they arrived on the 10th floor of the dungeon, Shurry could sense the difference on his skin. It was clear that there was a rather huge change in the dungeon's environment. It excited him to the very core.
"Listen, this floor is where large category monsters spawn. They won't be nearly as easy to deal- with- as-" Bokhoir said, stuttering as he watched just how fast orcs were dismantled. "Such efficiency. Shurry, how strong are you really?"
"I don't know. But I was able to cut through the soft insides of the Leviathan before. But Uncle Leon did the majority of the work on that part, severely weakening it for me."
Bokhoir and his level 2 companion began stuttering at the sheer ridiculousness of that statement. The words wouldn't form for a while.
"Alright, let's head down a little further. The next floor has the chance for us to encounter an infant dragon. And with Shurry's nose we should be able to find it rather easily. It'll give quite the haul."
"Let's go!"
…
The eleventh floor, it was much like the tenth floor, however, the fog was a bit more intense. Hiding a bunch of things from view. Though to animal people, this was merely a mild hindrance, as in Shurry could still smell exactly where every monster was located.
The slaughter had begun, nothing was safe from the refined brutality of a werewolf, let alone one painstakingly trained by a level 7. Shurry's swift movements put the wind to shame, though something was off.
"Hey, Bokhoir, these corpses, they still have their magic stones, but this number isn't enough to meet Shurry's kill count."
"Hmm, I'd heard from Lady Hathor, that Shurry had a unique ability that requires magic stones. Perhaps that's the reason?"
Shurry appeared, having finished off all the monsters in the area. "Oh yeah, I was feeding my spirit companion the magic power from the stones. Is that bad?"
"Uh, no, not really. It just means a little less money, but that's not something to worry about with how fast you kill monsters. Just try to keep it around, say half or less of them."
"Okay! But can we move over that way, I smell something I haven't smelled before coming from that direction. I think it might be a dragon though. It's different from the Leviathan, but similar. Way weaker too."
"Alright. I'm eager to see how well you do. Perhaps Legi could use it to level up?"
Legi flinched, trying to hide the smile that was slowly appearing. "I'm not that strong, am I?"
"Oh you're plenty strong enough. And if it does end up being too much for you, It's nothing I can't handle. So what do you say? Wanna give it a shot?"
…
Some time later, Shurry's party left the dungeon and went straight to the guild to make their exchanges. From there, they returned home, and Shurry left to follow his nose. When he arrived at the shop he saw the item he wanted to get. This was a pawn shop, but Shurry didn't know the difference yet, so he went up to the counter.
"Who do we have here? A cute little boy? What can I do for you?"
"Miss, how much is that necklace? The one with the apple carved glass."
"Oh? I'm afraid that'll be a bit out of your price range darling. It's made from carved glass, sure, but the work it takes to craft such a fine piece of work is truly remarkable." Hmm, not deterred then? "It's 750,000 valis-" His face is so cute, the pout… I mean this thing really isn't all that expensive to make. I guess I can give him the real price. "However, you're so cute, and have brightened my day. If you have 75,000 valis on hand I can sell it to you for that much. How's that sound?"
Shurry's expression gave him away, a big smile appeared, though, his tail would have given him away regardless. The shop keeper lady felt like she took a critical attack from his cuteness. "Miss, are you okay?"
"Yes, child, I'm really okay. You're just too cute."
"That's what my mommy, and daddy always said." He said cheerfully, then slowed down with a tinge of sadness. "But, can I really buy it for 75,000?"
"Of course you can- Oh wow, you really had that much? Just like that?" The shop keeper took the necklace down, along with two other earrings that matched it and put it all in a small box. "Here, it comes as a set. Do you need an escort?"
"Thank you miss!" Shurry smiled, holding the item he wanted to give as a gift close. "Oh, I'll be fine on my own, thanks miss." And he ran out of the store, vanishing down the street.
"That was a terribly cute kid. I wondered if it was even possible for a kid to be so cute. A shame about his parents. So then, who's he buying that thing for? His caretaker, that's probably it."
…