《Reincarnated With A Summoning System》 Chapter 1 - 1 "Man, my head hurts. I should really stop drinking. This isn''t my room, did I leave for snacks and pass out?" He had done a great number of things he regrets while drinking, but waking up in an alley had to top the list. His head throbbed with an impending hangover and his vision was blurred. No not blurred, blocked. "What is this? Character creation screen? Did I buy a new VR game and pass outst night? I don''t even know what game this is" The screen showed eight different options for him, and eight more in female form, grayed out and inessible. "What, I can''t even y as the cute characters? How will I beg starting funds? Fine, I''ll y the start properly." Scrolling to the end, he found the random character generator. [Spin for a chance to get an advanced ss without waiting for level 100 to upgrade] "What''s with that notification? Some sort of new yer tooltip? Who needs that? It''s just a gatcha spin, right?" [Random Character Creation Selected. Choice Is Irreversible] "Wait, what? Back up. Cancel. Crap, am I going to have to y this as some random character until I can buy a new copy?" Character locking had recently be the new thing in the VR games he loves. In order to prevent power gaming and and encourage ss development, once you create your character it is the only one you have until you buy a new copy of the game. [ss Selection Complete. Wee Puppet Master] "Puppet Master? What is this? Oh, it''s a summoner ss. Gets Golems, can use [Hunter] and [Shaman] skill books. Skill books? Oh, non innate skills are gained from books found at vendors or dropped at low rate by targets. So what DO I get to start." [Skill Tree] Summon Lesser Golem lv 1 "Well, that''s a bit brutal. One skill to start the game? I should get some breakfast though. Where is the menu? Exit. Logout. Why isn''t that working? Maybe I can only log out after I finish character creation?" [Please Choose Character Name] "Name, I''m terrible at names, but I want something grand and Epic sounding." Pussyyer6969 [Name unavable] "Damn. Alright, what''s next? Oh Random Name Generator. Wait, I''m not falling for that again, you no second chances character creation system." Looking at the tattered brown robes, tied at the waist with a rope, that the Puppet Master ss was pictured in as starting equipment reminded him of a certain character from an old game. "Cain" [Name epted. Character Creation Completed] "Can''t believe that wasn''t taken. Good luck to me. But now, breakfast. How do I log out?" Cain searched for a long while, but found no menu that included an exit or log out function. "I''ve got inventory, character screen, skill screen, ss talents, oh there''s a heads up disy option. Very nice." When he selected the disy, two small bars appeared in the bottom of his vision, one red, one blue. "No, don''t like the bars, is there another option? Globes. Yeah the globes look better. Now to move them to the edges where they''re not in the way. Perfect. I''d set up quick potions too, but this stingy game didn''t even give me any." While changing the disy, he noticed a few loose coins on the ground, he searched the area but found nothing else. What a rude way to give starting money, but whatever. Coin is coin. That''s when Cain looked up from his find, into the window of the shop beside him and finally noticed his character appearance. "Why''s it my face and not the default? I never use my own face. Oh well, at least it didn''t give me back my weak body, seems like this ss is fairly strong, at least physically." The sun went down as Cain was pondering the character creation fiasco, so he decided to find a ce to rest, eventually settling upon an all night Cafe. "I''ve got 5 coppers. I hope they don''t kick me out, restaurants are brutal in some games" The Cafe did in fact let him sleep in the corner, taking pity on him after he bought a cup of coffee and a sandwich for a copper. He woke up to a friendly face looking at him, waiting for a response. Maybe he slept here too long? "You''re a new transfer, right? Have you figured it out yet?" The friendly brte asked him. "Transfer? Uh, yeah I guess. I just created my character. Figured what out?" "I''ll tell you in a moment. How did you do? The transfers always show up in the same spot, different times of day, so the locals like to throw coins at them until they wake up." "5 whole coppers. But figured what out?" "5 copper? Most leave that much on the ground. Tough crowdst night. What you''re meant to figure out, is that we can''t leave. Nobody knows if this is a game or if we''ve been transferred to a world and given a system. But only transfers get the interface." Cain began to panic at this news, he had indeed realized he couldn''t leave, but was waiting to figure out how to submit a ticket to the Game Masters to fix it. "I thought my character was bugged. I was going to submit a ticket this morning when I found out how." The brte gets a goodugh at his expense, looking over his character. "I don''t recognize those starting robes, but I''ve only been here two weeks. My name is Misha, I''m a cleric, currently at level 11. If I''d known how hardcore this was going to be I would have rolled something else." "Hardcore, How so?" Cain asks, curious as to what exactly he got himself into during a night of heavy drinking. "There is no respawn, if you die, you''re gone. Nobody ever returns on a fresh ount." Misha shrugs "It''s brutal leveling as a Healer, I have no attack skills, books for clerics are almost impossible to buy and the drop rate is virtually zero in these early starting areas. So I needed a group to do anything, but the base character regeneration covers the damage in the first dungeon for most warriors, so they don''t need a Healer until after level 10" She finally stops to take a breath and Cain thinks of how bad it is starting out as a Healer even in games where you can power level. "Hey, what''s thest thing you remember before being here? Do you remember the name of the game?" Misha shakes her head. "Games like this don''t even exist where I''m from. This is like a whole virtual world with perfect graphics. Thest thing I was doing was walking home from school. So if it''s a game, I was definitely brought to it and didn''t just log in myself." "I haven''t introduced myself have I? Cain, Puppet Master level 1." Cain mumbles, his mind trying to grasp what''s really going on. "Puppet Master? Oh, that''s an advanced ss! You must have used the random generator, right? It''s like a one percent chance to get one of the advanced sses, almost everyone gets warrior or Mage if they used it" "So the world is drowning in DPS sses then?" Cainughs, but Misha frowns. "High level healers are worshipped like heroes ording to the news we get here in this vige. There are so many warriors and mages that people almost forget the other sses exist until they need one." Cain shudders at the thought. A world filled with nothing but dps warriors and mages was a recurring nightmare of his. No mechanics skills, no healing, nothing but straight damage output mindsets. "There''s a fair number of tanks, warriors can do the job if they get a shield skill, though they''re not as good as the few who random rolled Pdin to start with. Other than the pdins, clerics are the only real healers until level 50, when shamans can learn a healing totem." A quick double check of his character screen shows Cain can use Shaman skills, so eventually he will get a healing totem too. Hopefully. "Is the healing totem any good?" he asks. "It''s not bad for the group, but it''s not enough to keep a tank alive unless they''re really over geared, or a pdin who self heals on hit." Just then a group of three enters, standing in the doorway and Misha stands up to go. "Nice to meet you Cain. Have breakfast on me, and the newbie dungeon is at the end of the street, turn left out the door. That''s my party there." She flips a silver coin on the table as she leaves. Being stuck in a game nobody leaves doesn''t sound half bad to Cain.. He was a high school dropout with a drinking problem, living off disability due to his poor health, so it''s not like he had much to lose except a few faithful friends he didn''t talk to enough. Chapter 2 - 2 After breakfast, again a sandwich and coffee to save what coin he could for when he finds a potion vendor, Cain heads to the starting dungeon as Misha called it. There''s a short lineup outside, and a few people in line cast nces at his starter robes before looking away. Maybe they think he''s the monk ss, A melee fighter he saw in the basic options? "Hey rookie? Got a weapon yet?" The leader of a group leaving the dungeon asks and Cain shakes his head. "Here. Wooden Bat, it''s a copper at the weapon shop, but they won''t buy them back. I just like using them for the thud." The manughs after handing over the bat and walks away. Most are going alone, his three person group is an oddity. Then Cain sees them line up again and realizes what''s going on. Power level. When he gets to the front of the line the attendant stops him, looking at a timer that counts down from one minute. At zero he pushed Cain through without a word. "That was odd. Maybe there''s a wait so you don''t end up in someone else''s instance?" The totalck of exnation of what''s going on would be a nightmare for a new yer, but Cain had enough experience in VR games to be used to the baud mechanics. "Now, to bring out the Golems. [Summon Lesser Golem] They''re two small y Golems with wooden knives. Not the most impressive, but maybe they''re tough, Cain hoped. Turning the corner brings him to his first group of enemies in this game world. A grey wolf and 4 angry looking feral cats. Not the most impressive, but armed with a baseball bat and no gear, they might be dangerous. The two small Golems seem to have a vendetta against the cats, immediately charging them and reminding Cain he never set any actions for them. But the default follow and aggressive isn''t too bad for now. The wolf ignores the snarling and hissing fight between cats and Golems to charge at Cain, lunging with its teeth towards the startled gamers neck. "First one catches me off guard every time" Cain mutters, swinging the bat to knock the wolf aside. The life bar turns green to yellow, indicating wounded, but it seems he doesn''t have the experience, or maybe the needed skill, to urately detect their life remaining. A second hit catches the wolf in the side and it copses to the ground, his inventory gaining one wolf w. secondster he gains two small pelts, and notices his Golems are looking a bit rough, but have taken down two feral cats. Cain runs over to help and they finish the encounter, gaining one more pelt drop. The Golems are quickly returning to perfect shape, so Cain moves on to the next pack, a pair of wolves. This proves easier, the Golems distracting them gives Cain a chance to club them down with the bat, gaining three ws and a piece of wolf meat. "I hope this can be sold" Cain says to himself "But it feels like a game, someone in town should buy them, right?" Another pack down and a notification pops up in front of his eyes, almost startling him off his feet [Level 2] Sweet, a level up after only 3 packs. At least the early levels aren''t too hard. Busting through cats and wolves isn''t Cains favorite sort of dungeon, but before long he stands in front of a boss. A dire wolf almost as big as he is. The Dire Wolf doesn''t seem to care about his Golems, shrugging off their attacks and snaking at Cain who is doing his best to get a solid hit in. It takes all of twenty minutes to down the boss, and he''s left looking at a shining white book on the ground. Picking it up shows the description [Book of Poisoned Arrow] usable by ranger, hunter and rogue A book? This were supposed to be super rare ording to Misha, and he got one his first run. [Level 3] [Dungeon Clear] The notifications popped up in front of his eyes. If it took her two weeks to get to level 11, Misha must have had a very bad time in this dungeon. "Before going in again, I need to buy a bow. The skill says it creates the arrows, but I need to have a bow equipped. I hope this loot sells for enough." The total for the collected items came to 5 silver, more than enough for the 1 silver cheapest decent bow in the weaponsmith. Cain clips through thebat options in his menu, finding he can individually setmands for his Golems of he wants. The most important option he''s looking for is grayed out though. [Hit Box Targeting] requires [Advanced Targeting] or [Auto Targeting] skill to activate. "Fine, I''ll go over to the Hall and see what they have for skills. Give me something to work towards. In their records, [Advanced Targeting], a rank B skill, was put up for auction once before. Final selling price was 15,000 gold pieces. "Well that''s a bit unrealistic for me. What do we have avable. [Ice Arrow] rank D skill, may freeze enemies on contact. 50 gold. That still might take a while, but a control skill is a mainstay for any ranged ss. I''ll work towards that" Cain tells himself, making the shopkeeper chuckle at his antics. After buying 10 beginner healing potions for a silver coin Cain decides to head off to another round in the Dungeon. The potions don''t heal much, and can only be used until level 10, but they make him feel much more secure. "So that''s why nobody needs a Healer at the low levels. If they get a couple silver to start they can get a decent weapon and a stack of potions to get them through." The live was a lot shorter this time, not many newbies ran the dungeon all day. Both because of injuries and to prevent exhaustion. The feral cats caused heavy damage to anyone without quick reflexes. "This wolf is too hard to hit" Cain sighed, switching to his bat when the beast got too close for arrows. He was spending so much time aiming that he wasn''t even losing mana and still hasn''t hit the wolf at all. But his archery skills were getting better. He watched many streaming videos on the topic out of boredom and was starting to understand the technique better with every word he faced. By the final boss he could even reliably hit the ones standing still to fight the Golems. But what to do about the boss? It charged right ah himst time, so the best n Cain cane up with is to just shoot straight ahead and hope it works. When he enters the boss room though, the boss has its back turned, giving him a perfect opportunity for a second shot. Cain aims carefully and looses his Poisoned Arrow directly into the Dire Wolf''s nk. Quickly he readies a second firing straight ahead. The boss doesn''t dodge quickly enough and takes a second hit before the Golems are on it. Switching to the club, Cain fends off its attacks, waving the health bar steadily fade to red with the poison and the Golems alone. "No need to risk my own neck. That method worked quite well, I''ll have to take some time and practice my archery.. But first, I really need to sell all this and find somewhere better than the cafe to sleep." Chapter 3 - 3 Selling everything is quick and easy, there''s a shop by the dungeon that will buy everything you bring out and sells beginner potions as well. Finding a ce to sleep proves a bit more difficult. Hotel space is very limited, only the expensive ones remain. But at 6 silver a night with meals it is hard on the budget. "That''s half what I made today. Perhaps I can find somewhere cheaper?" Cain ponders out loud and one of the pedestrians points him towards a sign on a nearby wall ''Private rooms for rent long term. Furnished. 5 silver a month, privy and hearth.'' Cain has the silver, and for a whole month? That''s not a bad deal, so he heads towards the street indicated on the poster, finding a run down apartment building that looks like an abandoned motel 6 from his old world. This world doesn''t paint much, preferring stone if they can afford a fancy exterior, or simple dark brown stain if they can''t. So no faded yellow paint, but it still has that abandoned roadside motel feeling. This building has heavily ked brown stain on it, that clearly was poorly applied to begin with. But it''s got rooms, and that''s the most important part right now. As he approaches he sees a food market at the end of the street, so that''s one convenience. Maybe these ces won''t be too bad? The manager takes him to an open unit. A single room roughly three meters by five. Part of this space is taken up by a small room that includes a flush toilet and a sink with a hand pump. So no running water, manual refill to flush. Further along that side is a long stone bench with an old wooden chair, and a firece taking up the middle of the wall. They weren''t joking about hearth. The cooking facility seems to be the firece, with a pot hung over the opening and a stand with a wok off to the side. Primitive, by Cain''s estimation, but effective enough, he''s cooked over a camp fire before, he can do it again until he can afford better. There were magic fired stoves that look like his grandma''s wood stove visible in many of the street vendors, and the restaurant had a modern looking grill that might also be magic. Not all hope for a decent life is lost. Cain gives the man his silver and the old manager points out back "There''s firewood there, I brought in the first batch, you can fetch the rest" he says before leaving Cain with the key to his new apartment. "It''s got a bed with decent nkets, a couch, a table of sorts and a chair. At least it covers the essentials. If nothing else it''ll motivate me to do better in life" he sighs. And motivate him it does. the bed is hard as a rock, so he ends up sleeping on the old couch instead. Maybe he can find a good futon in the shops today? He always did prefer a futon on the floor to a bed, better position for VR gaming all night without risk of falling. Waking up early to light the fire, a technique he still remembered from his grandma''s stove, he headed over to the market while the pan heated. A jar of tea, oil, peanut butter, a dozen eggs, rice, some vegetables and a big bag of dried Ramen style noodles. All for under ten copper. Food is cheap here Cain decided. After adding a small fish from a returning fisherman and some freshly baked buns he was set for the day. Peanut butter sandwiches and deluxe Ramen during the day, with eggs and rice, hopefully with that fish for breakfast. The only things he actually knew how to cook. Come to think of it, he was going to have to either eat out or learn to cook, as his limited skills didn''t exactly lead to a buff and energetic physique in hisst life. The fish proves edible even with his limited skills and he packs up a bunch of peanut butter buns into his storage for snacks. A water skin is found in the cupboard by the tes and bowls, well worn but holding on, so it gets filled andes along too. "Poor adventurer mode engage" Cain tells himself as he heads out the door. "If I can do two dungeons today I can get a good meal at that diner to celebrate." He decides, about to get into line when he sees a short sword for sale at the trade in shop. Examining it shows it does way more damage than his bat did, so after a bit of haggling and thest of his coin, he''s ready to face the day with a weapon upgrade. Both runs prove much easier, plus fast enough he can get a third run in and Cain returns to the vendor exhausted at the end of the day. "Hard work costing the dungeon. Good work son, total is 17 silver 19 copper." Twenty five copper to a silver, a strange number Cain decided, but who was he to set coin values? Thentern burning in front of the Cafe was like a hot light to him at this point, the extra Run having long since depleted both his food storage and his energy. "I''ll take the Dinner special with coffee please" he calls to the waitress before he could even find a table. "We''ve got bandages if you need them" she smiles at him, bringing over his coffee. "No, I should be fine, I''m down to just scratches at this point." He smiles back and she scurries off to go get his food. Cain looks up at the board on the wall to see what he ordered for dinner. ''Dinner Special Meatloaf and Mashed Potato'' the sign reads what appears to be the the perpetual special, with smudges and repairs showing that has been the special for a long while now. Four copper with free refills on the coffee is definitely worth it, Cain decides, seeing the mound of food presented to him. "Time to check my status" Cain grumbles, shoveling food into his mouth. [Name] Cain [Level] 7 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human Skills [Summon Lesser Golem] [Poison Arrow] "It''s not much, but I''m getting there." Cain thinks to himself. A group of warriors and a Mage are talking about the second dungeon, while smoking on the street outside the Cafe, so Cain listens in. They say the drops in the second dungeon go for up to a silver each, giving up to a hundred total silver a run. That sounds almost too good to be true, so Cain makes a n to get some form of armor to rece these starter robes and hit level 10 as quickly as he can. After all, if a few warriors and a Mage can do it, so can he. He''s got Golems after all.. But Cain doesn''t know that their tank is a pdin and not a warrior, as Cain doesn''t know enough about the avable ss armors to tell the difference. Chapter 4 - 4 Cain decides that extra supplies would really be a good thing today, so he picks up two good,rge water skins from the market in the morning, along with another fish and some fruit to add to his lunch. "Just a few more days and I''ll be into the big money from the second dungeon" he sighs as he packs his daytime meals into his inventory. Walking a new route to the dungeon to learn more of the city, he finds that the Cafe offers bagged lunches for the same 4 copper as the dinner special. ''I''ll do that tomorrow, better food to keep me going'' he decides. Today''s first dungeon really seems to drag and Cain realizes that three days in a row is the most he''s worked or even gone to school since he became a teenager. He med his poor health, but the drinking was what really kept him from holding a job. But he did get through it, and another after a lunch break in the grass by the dungeon entrance, a popr spot for dungeon crawlers to congregate for a meal. "I''m level 8 now, almost to 9. Tomorrow should get me to 10, when I''ll be able to enter the second dungeon. Then the big money" The people around him chuckle at his optimism, knowing far more about the second dungeon than he does. Cain looks through the passive traits portion of his character sheet as he eats, something he rarely does, as they don''t change or really affect most gamey in his experience. Humans get a small uracy buff with des, there''s a bunch of everyday skills at low levels. Wait, the cooking passive is one that has a ranking, so it can actually level up. Oh, at high levels it will give extra dexterity. Forget it, not worth the effort for 2 [DEX]. Cain hasn''t really paid attention to his character sheet since getting here. The level up notification didn''t mention anything, so it seemed irrelevant. But today, he notices possibly the most important point of all. [Stats] +40 [STR] 5 [DEX] 5 [CON] 10 [INT] 5 [HP] 40 [MP] 50 [AC] 0 "What is that plus forty?" Cain wonders "Don''t tell me stats aren''t ss locked in this game?" He clicks on the number and gets a notification [Molded Like y] ss Passive Allows Stats To Be Reallocated. Quickly, back to the passive tab. There are two there under ss passive. [Molded Like y] and another [Strength In Numbers] which gives him and his party a 20 percent increase in experience gained for every party member within 50 meters, including constructs. So this isn''t actually a different feel dps ss. He luckily rolled a hidden support ss. That will help him findpanionster, when he needs a group. But when will he get more Golems? Oh, level 10. Excellent. But first, what to do with those status points? [Summon Lesser Golem] gets stronger with his strength and tougher with his constitution Stats, so he decides to split them evenly. [Stats] [STR] 25 [DEX] 5 [CON] 30 [INT] 5 [HP] 120 [MP] 50 [AC] 0 "There, that''s much better. The Golems should be stronger and I can take way more hits" Cain is quite proud of himself, figuring out the problem with his character in only two days. Not that any other character ss would have had that problem. It''s time to get back though, with only a level and a bit to go, maybe he can get there today and go straight to the second dungeon tomorrow after upgrading gear? As he''s about to enter, he sees the well dressed man who was doing power levels yesterday. "Excuse me, do you have an open space? You''re doing power leveling right?" Cain asks "5 silver a run, I get loot and you supply the buffs, if your ss can." The man smiles. 5 silver is as much as the party gets in a run. So he''ll make triple that, while the others pay. "Sure, I''ll buy in for 2 runs" Cain says, eager to pay the price is it means he can get to level 10 tonight in time to upgrade his gear. Sure enough, Cain has to run to keep up with the party. The other carry is a rogue, with high dexterity he''s got an equally high movement speed. But the run takes only fifteen minutes. "Hey, what is this buff [Stronger In Numbers]?" The group leader asks. "Wow, 100 percent more experience gained? I''m almost to level 11 just from that run" The rogue announces. Cain is sure it dropped during part of the run, his slower moving Golems getting too far behind, but no matter. "It''s my ss skill" Cain tells them. "20 percent per group member with no listed cap" "Now that''s handy. But you may want to set that one to hidden in the future. If unsavory groups find out about it they''ll make your life hell unless you grind with them all day every day." "Yeah, even I don''t want to let you go, and we''re just grinding the first dungeon. Imagine how good this would be if they tied you up and dragged you through something much tougher to level their Guild members?" The rogue adds. That could really suck, so Cain quickly goes to the menu, finding out he can hide or disable the passive. Hide is the obvious choice today, he is not quite to level 10 yet. "So, second run guys? Then I''ve got to go get some armor for tomorrow." Cain asks. "Here, a refund for the buff", the group leader says handing him back his silver. "In thanks for the help leveling up my guild mate. I''d dly invite you, but we''re member capped until we get the Guild level up." "No, I should thank you. I didn''t think I''d have time to get another run in today. My Golems deal most of my damage, and they can barely keep up with your movement speed." Cainughs at the sight of his stumpy little Golems struggling to keep up. The second run is as fast as the first, bringing him smoothly to level 10, the minimum entry level for the second dungeon. Mission aplished, he waves goodbye to the Guild group and runs straight for the armorer, even putting his new skill points into dexterity for the increased run speed. There is a wide variety of items to choose from, but with his limited budget, he can''t go too overboard. No wonder others take longer and have more money at low levels though, his skill has been pushing him far faster than most. He settles on a chain vest, plus a new shirt with Leather pants and boots, using up most of his avable funds, but bringing him much more security. No matter, he assures himself, he''ll make it back tomorrow. Chapter 5 - 5 With his new gear, Cain is getting quite confident in his chances of making big money today in the second dungeon. He didn''t really want to share the loot with anyone, so he ns to try the first run alone. After all, at level 10 he got a third golem from his [Summon Lesser Golem] spell. With the upgrade the mana cost increased and it takes most of his mana to activate now, but that''s alright, they''re tough. He won''t have to refresh them often. When he arrives at the lineup though, other groups are clearlyughing at him. "I don''t know what''s so funny" Cain mumbles as the gate guard waves him through with a smirk. He summons his Golems and waits the ten seconds for his mana to recover. Now he''s ready to face the dungeon. The first pull is three goblins, easy. He sends his Golems in to attack and the little green monsters are quickly upied, easy targets for his arrows. The goblins drop in only a few hits and he moves on, finding a dire wolf with two goblins. The fight has just started when the wolf howls, pulling in groups from both sides of Cain, trapping him and forcing him to fight in melee. The Dire Wolves are big, and he needs breathing room, so he tries calling his Golems back, only to find them trapped too. That''s when things start going wrong. A hit to the side knocks him over, forcing him back, firing poison arrows at the Dire Wolves. But they don''t charge him, they turn on the Golems. All 3 are down quickly with the attacks to the back. Leaving Cain all alone and without the mana to Summon them right away. "Potion, get my health back and buy time" he thinks retreating. [Only Avable Under Level 10] oh, no. The newbie potions don''t work anymore. He''s below half health, but he''s got almost enough mana to bring the Golems back. He just can''t fire any arrows until then. He''s retreated almost to the entrance when he can finally bring back the Golems. They stage a valiant effort, dropping all but one Dire Wolf and a few goblins before being destroyed. A notification informs him of a blue quality weapon drop and Cain decides it''s best to live to fight another day, jumping back out the portal and knocking over the iing group to uproariousughter. "Get anything good rookie?" The warrior under him asks with a smile and Cain nods. "New Sword" he grimaces, and arge man in shining armor puts a hand on his shoulder, healing him. "You can enter at level 10, but the Wolves are level 20, the goblins 15." The pdinughs. "Now that you know, go have breakfast and find a group if you want to hunt here." That advice sounds good, so Cain stumbles towards the Cafe in humiliation. Experience drops off hard at level 10 in the first dungeon, but he can''t do the second alone. What will he do? Get stuck grinding andnguish in the rookie area? His Meatloaf is almost done when the Healer from the other dayes in with her party. "I know we need more crowd control for thatst pull" Misha says to her tank "But that''s not something I can do. I''m squishy with not a lot of HP. I can''t hold them and I''m not fast enough to make them chase me." This is a good chance for Cain. He knows their Healer, so maybe they''ll take him on, despite them all being over level 20 except Misha. "Did you guys need one more? I can Summon 3 Golems that can hold monsters, at least most of them." Cain asks the party sitting down the row from him. "Didn''t you just get wiped in there?" The shorter Mage asks. "Well, yeah, but that was alone. With a group to increase the damage they can take the beating." What he didn''t mention is that another 4 people will also add another 80 percent experience, making this trip very worthwhile. "Tell you what, you can be our off tank to the first boss. If it works you can finish with us, if not we''ll kick you. That work?" "Yeah, that''s fine" Cain shrugs, certain he will be fine with this extra help. Once everyone has eaten they head back to the dungeon, ready to face danger once again. The first few packs are easy, warriors get shield bash at level 10, which stuns monsters for a few seconds, preventing the Wolves from calling for help. Everything is smooth to the first boss, a huge Hobgoblin, with two Goblinmander sidekicks. "Take the twomanders while we down the boss. Without their assistance we''ve got this." the tank Joop42 by his name tag says. For a moment Cain gives thanks his first name selection didn''t work. There''s something off about the mages though, they''ve only used me strike the entire dungeon. Nothing else. Cainmands his Golems to grab onemander while he himself gets the other, drawing both back towards the edge of the room while the Tank draws the boss back and the mages start their me strike barrage. A perfect pull. It takes nearly five minutes for the others to down the boss, and Cain has almost finished with themanders. His poison arrow does 1 percent of the targets life every second, plus its initial strike, and it has depleted bothmanders after he finally got the second one to attack the Golems. For her part, Misha was perfect on the healing. She only has two spells, a big heal and a single target heal over time effect. The slow regeneration was enough to keep the Golems alive, only recasting them once after a tag team special by themanders brought them very low. [Level Up] [Level 11] [Level Up] [Level 13] Cain and Misha both got notices at the same time when thest monster fell. Misha was startled, from experience she knew it should have taken her almost this whole dungeon to level up, but she made it at boss 1 of 3. She gives Cain a questioning look, but he shakes his head and looks at the others Not now, she understands. "You''ve got the skills rookie, even if you are under leveled." the tank congrattes him. "Thanks. In here I''ll Level up in a hurry, it''s all over my Level, so it gives extra.." Cain exins and the others get ready to head for the second boss. Chapter 6 - 6 After the first boss the packs getrger. The 5 points put into INT really helped though, doubling Cain''s mana pool and giving him some leeway to fire arrows and still Summon the Golems if they''re destroyed or the party is ambushed and they can''t get back on time. Cain''s archery is getting better too. Arrows are hitting home more often than not, and Cain no longer has the constant fear of hitting an ally, his aim has be better than that. The second boss is a single giant wolf. Straight forward fight, "Just kill it" says the tank. This is Cain''s time to shine. Hitting this boss is like shooting at a barn, impossible to miss. With the warrior taking all the damage, there''s no need to save mana for the Golems, so Cain fires poison arrows as fast as he can, stacking up poison effects on the boss and rapidly draining its health. One of the mages receives a mana regeneration ne in his inventory, whooping in excitement. All things increased mana are a mage''s best friend in this world. Cain got a few tradable goods worth over a silver each, but no gear upgrades. In fact, he''s not even sure what the drop rate on them is. The game system that the transfers get has a lot of unanswerable questions, from the loot to the actual function. Even the dungeons themselves are a mystery to the residents of this world. After the second boss, the spacing of the packs changes, forcing parties to pull multiple groups at once. "Cain takes left I''ll take right" The tank says, sneaking along the wall. This series of pulls prices to be more challenging than expected, therge number of monsters overwhelming the ability of the single target me strike only mages to quickly kill. Cain wanted to take care of it with arrows, but backing away caused the groups to turn on the ranged members, so he had to stay up close with the sword, killing what he could without a sword based damage skill. The final boss is a test of teamwork. Small puddles form in the ground and you need to break the film on the top of them before they can solidify into slimes. So either someone runs around clearing them, or everyone gets the ones nearest them and the group stands in a circle around the room while killing the Goblin shaman boss. The Golems are more than happy to attack all the puddles, so the group just calls for assistance and Cain sends a golem to the new puddle while firing arrows at the shaman. It''s a loud andplex process, but effective. The boss drops and the party receives an announcement [Member Cain Has Received D Rank Skill Book Light Foot] well, that''s annoying, announcing the good loot. It''s not bad though, increases base movement by 30 percent. "Wow, you actually got a skill book. I''ve never seen one drop before" Misha says in awe. "Only usable by hunters and rangers" one of the mages adds "Is it even useful to you?" "Yeah, my ss can use both Hunter and Shaman ss books" Cain smiles. A movement skill will really help with some of these pulls, and the first boss. "Congrattions man. Let''s go get dinner to celebrate". With that they head back out of the dungeon to sell their drops and find a suitable spot to eat. 18 silver and change. This dungeon really does pay better than the other, even in a group. It''s too exhausting to want to run multiple times a day, at least with their group, but it''s still not bad. Both him and Misha had leveled up again after thest boss, plus that new skill. Being in a group is the way to go, now if only he could have more summons. ording to the [Summon Lesser Golem] tooltip, next upgrade would be 4 small Golems at level 20, but he wasn''t sure when he would get greater Golems or anything else. Rtions within this group were strained at best. Both mages insisted in only leveling up me strike every level, so they could max it out and get explosion at level 30. It honestly made them pretty useless, as their mana capacity suffered without points into cost reduction, they put all the spell skill ability points their ss offered into a single spell, nothing into mana regeneration, no multi target abilities, nothing. me strike took over half their mana, so it couldn''t be quickly cast again, every 5 seconds they would cast a me strike, just keeping up with avable mana. Before Cain arrived they had many problems with the warrior being unable to keep mobs off the group. They''d invested into his gear heavily, but it was only recently he''d started getting better, after the pressure on him eased. He was not an aggressive person, the role of tank didn''t suit hisbat style. But with Cain only level 12 at the end of the run, he still couldn''t take up the duty fully himself, he needed a bigger, tougher golem. They gathered as usual for the next two days though, and with some luck on the second day, things were starting to look up. A shield dropped that increased the chance monsters would attack the wearer by twenty percent. Perfect for their timid tank. Then at the end of the day, he went from level 29 to 30, his second level up in three days. The mages were still two levels behind him, and everyone could see they were frustrated waiting for level 30 to get the spell they truly wanted. After level 30 they promised they''d start taking the first rank of other spells every level and increasing their utility. But they''d have the massive damage of [Explosion], which was in the second tier of their spellbook, something most mages didn''t unlock until muchter in their travels, often after level 80 if they bnced their abilities for different targets. They were all tired by the start of the fifth day. But Misha reached level 20 in the early pulls of the dungeon and brightened everyone''s mood. Level 20 added a slow casting veryrge heal to her instant heal and heal over time abilities. Unlike mages who got to put points into spells every level, Priestess just took what they got and had to like it. Then Cain reached level 20 and things really changed in the dynamic. Along with a fourth small golem, he gained the [Summon Greater Golem] spell, which created a slightlyrger than human sized y golem that had a stomp ability, interrupting enemy abilities. It could stop the Wolves from howling for reinforcements. The first boss went down with ease, Cain now free to shoot arrows while the Golems held themanders, so after the fight Cain took a moment to check his stats before they continued. [Name] Cain [Level] 20 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human [Skills] [Summon Lesser Golem] lv3 [Summon Greater Golem] lv1 [Poison Arrow] lv2 [Stats] [STR] 45 [DEX] 15 [CON] 40 [INT] 25 [HP] 160 [MP] 125 Chapter 7 - 7 With the extra Golems, especially the greater Golem that was doing a wonderful job as main tank, with the warrior taking up the secondary position, the increased pack sizes between the first and second boss proved not to be an issue today. The greater golem easily held the Wolves, while the warrior took up the goblins. It felt odd to Cain, calling him warrior or tank, but it was clear he somewhat regrets his character name, so everyone quietly stopped using it. The Golems matched his level, and with the extra points he had put into strength since he started the second dungeon their damage output was pretty respectable. Close to being higher than both mages or together, due to their strange build choices. His poison arrow ability has also reached the second level, increasing the base damage but not the poison. Cain is hoping the poison damage as a percentage of health per second goes up, but that might be too much to ask of a Rank D skill. The Greater Golem tanked the second boss, its interrupt ability drawing enough aggression from the boss Wolf that the warriors attacks, having switched to arge two handed sword, didn''t draw it away. Without the need to absorb hits, he proved to be a capable damage dealer and Cain''s worries about this group started to fade. "Can we try double golem pulls?" Tank, also known as Joop42 asks after the second boss. "Little guys right, big one left?" "I don''t know if the little guys will hold the pack though" Cain shrugs. "If we all focus the left group first, we might be able to do it that way. But be prepared to rescue us from the right pack, Tank" It works for a few seconds, but the little Golems aren''t seen as a big enough threat and the packs quickly merge, leaving Tank and the big golem to sort things out. It''s not a bad pulling strategy though, as if things go wrong and you get a patrol, everyone is still back in position, not over extended and able to be surrounded. So, the tactic is changed to have the small ones pull, then quickly retreat, leading the packs to the desired positions. Done this way, the initial damage while all the monsters are up and uninjured is greatly reduced. Everyone''s mind is on the final boss when a notification pops up upon the final death of thest pull. yer Misha has received [Protective Aura] Rank A aura ability book. Reduces all damage taken by party members within 20 meters by 20 percent. Usable by all sses. "Turn that book over so the party can roll on it" Joop42 demands. "The agreement was you keep what you get, right? She got it." Cain counters, but everyone starts talking over him. "She''s barely high enough level to be here, and she can heal. We all need it more than she does." One of the mages shouts. "Yeah, and mages with A rank party buffs can get into any guild they want. I''d never have to run with a random group again. Now turn it over or pay the price" the other adds. Cain can see where this is going, so he''s ready when the notificationes in. [yer Misha has been removed from Party] He acts as quicky as he can to save the friendly Healer. [yer Cain has left the Party] [yer Misha has epted Cain''s Party Invitation] [Only one party may be inside an instance, removing all yers in 30 seconds.] Both mages are casting me strike, so Cain has the greater golem interrupt them, buying 5 seconds while their mana recovers. Tank charges at her, hoping for a quick kill which will give him her tradable inventory onst strike. "Use the book" Cain calls, turning the Golems on his former party members and firing poison arrows into the mages. The big golem has the Tank held up for now, and the small ones are harassing the mages, but the advantage won''tst long if those two get me strike off. The mages health is dropping fast though. "Flee!" The tank calls and runs for the exit, the mages right behind him. "They''ll be a big problem in the future" Misha sighs. "Maybe not. They''re Red gged right now, because they initiated the attack while in a party and that portal exits into the middle of town. If anyone cares, they can kill them on sight or imprison them as criminals for the reward." "But what do we do now?" Misha worries, wringing her hands. "There''s still a boss to clear, and if we don''t finish it will remain up for 7 days." "I say we finish" Cain says with determination. "I do more damage than those idiot mages, and the poison effect works really well on bosses. The big golem can hold the boss and I''ll poison it while the rest kill the puddles." "Also, there''s an option to hide your buffs from party members. Turn it on, just in case. They''ll still get the buff, but they won''t immediately see it and know you''ve got a high rank skill." "Yeah, after this it might be best. Skill books bring out the worst in people." The fight immediately turns messy. The Greater golem has the boss shaman without any issue, but it takes all four lesser Golems to take care of the adds, as Cain isn''t noticing the puddles fast enough. Cain ends up dragging them all over the room, Misha constantly running away, trying not to get noticed and squished. Cain gets sporadic poison arrows in and within 5 minutes the main boss is dead and the greater golem takes over the second group, bringing things back under control. After that it''s a smooth fight. Misha can finally recover a bit of her almost depleted mana supply and Cain can properly stack poison buffs when they don''t have soft targets taking so much damage. [Level Up] [Level Up] "Wow", Misha says, looking at the experience rewards. "There''s a huge bonus for surviving 3 yer desertions during a boss fight. Maybe because nothing else was left alive?" That''s great, 2 more levels each puts us strongly into the levels nobody would question grouping with here. Most groups demand members be at least a level higher than the targets they''re killing. Cain puts his new stat points into CON for extra survivability and the two head for the exit, ready for anything.. After all, their former party members may still be right by the exit, or hiding in a nearby alley. Chapter 8 - 8 Cain exits first, sword at the ready, but Golems away. Use ofbat skills is prohibited in the city. The others aren''t there, the only person around is the man who helped power level him in the first dungeon. "Rough day was it?" The man chuckles. Don''t worry, it''s safe toe out. The Start From Zero Guild cleared everything up, but you and your friend might be a little famous for a while." Heughs. Cain motions back that it''s safe for Misha to exit and turns back to talk to the friendly adventurer. "So what happened?" "They were caught instantly by a Start From Zero Guild member when they exited. He called in his guild to subdue them. Their policy is to take everything, gear, inventory and even coin, they loot criminals dry and then turn them in for reward, making them start all over without even a ce to stay. They''re a big guild, you''ll find them almost everywhere." The guy chuckles at the memory. "The Joop42 guy tried to say you attacked them and stole a Grade A aura book from them, but all three were Red gged as the aggressors. But that means a lot of people know one of you got a spell book today, even if they don''t believe it was Grade A" Cain curses under his breath and Misha sighs softly. "Well, maybe we can keep clearing it just the two of us?" Misha suggests "That way we don''t need to worry about getting turned on in the dungeon again?" "Why don''t we sit and talk? I''ve got a suggestion, if you two are game?" The big man suggests, pointing towards an empty coffee shop. Grabbing coffees and snacks, they all had to a back corner both, well away from the doors. "I''m Cixelcid, but you can call me Cid." He smiles, knowing he got taken in by the gamer tag trap. "Misha and Cain" Misha responds helpfully making himugh at their very normal names. "Have you told her about your aura?" Cain shakes his head and motions for him to continue. "Well, Cain here has an EXP buff granted by his ss, I was with him when he first grouped and found out it existed. Now, if your party members are to be believed, Misha got the damage reduction aura?" "So that''s why we leveled up so fast" Misha says to herself, nodding that she got the aura. "I''d like to take you both on a few runs with my guild mates. You met the rogue, Stubby and then there''s a Subus species Sorceress named Lickity. Both are crafters by preference, but the higher end crafting abilities are level locked, so I''m going to power level them to 20, and it would be great if you could help." "I don''t see why not. You helped me when you found out my ability, and didn''t try to be a douchebag." Cain smiles. "Excellent. Just, um, try not to speak about Lickity''s outfit. You two might not know, as you''re fairly new here and haven''t tried on much, but the transfers are cursed to only use ss specific items" "Yeah, I tried wearing pants and a hoodie and I physically couldn''t put them on" Misha says. "Something stopped me" "Good, you understand then. A Subus species clothing options are all leather andce, pretty scandalous. The Sorceress ss gets a bit more clothing than most, but she''s sensitive about it and makes herself the least revealing options." Cain can only imagine what she might be suffering, most game systems have Subus as a borderline R18 option. And she has to live with only those clothing options. "So she''s a tailor? I''ve got a bunch of materials to make an upgraded robe, but couldn''t find one in town" Misha is getting excited. "We can talk to her, I''m sure she''ll help out between runs." Cid assures her "Myself I picked what everyone calls the blood tank. The vampire race gets 3 percent of their damage back as healing, and I picked berserker ss, which can also get healing on damage, at a random chance on hit. It''s a DPS ss without defensive skills, but if you luck out and get a book or two you can do it well." "You picked a Surprisingly sensiblebination" Cainughs. "Who does that in the situation we were in?" "It''s my favoritebination. Self healing dps ss. Plus, I was drunk and thought I''d bought a new game" Cain is almost in tears at this point "That''s exactly what happened to me. But I thought random character creation was a Gatcha spin and then couldn''t turn back" "Is that why you''re so big?" Misha asks curious. "The berserker ss?" "Yup, not every species can take the ss, but the ones that can they''re always huge. This is nearly minimum size for a vampire berserker, as vampire race increases your height." "At least it didn''t make you drink only blood or burn in the sunlight" Cain chuckles. "I get a debuff in direct sunlight" Cid shrugs, "But there''s no blood requirement, thankfully" "So you''re good to meet the group in the morning?" Cid asks and they both shake his hand. "Great, see you here just after first light. With luck we can do two in a day, I''m level 34 now, and my damage is high" "Sounds good. I''m up to 4 little Golems and a big one now that I''ve made level 20" "The Sorceress gets a crow, it''s not much use, just scouts around, but it counts as a construct, so it should activate your ability" "Care to exin this ability?" Misha asks once Cid is gone, so Cain turns off hidden and lets her see the buff notification. "20 percent for every party member and construct? That''s insane. At the higher levels you''ll have a small army, and they''ll all buff you." "Not just me. Everyone in the party. This seems to be the speed runpanion ss." Cain smiles, looking forward to tomorrow.. 220 percent bonus experience is going to rock. Chapter 9 - 9 Everyone is right on time, well fed with coffee in hand when the sunes up, ready to face the dungeon. "Introductions are in order" Cixelcid says "Stubbs and Lickity, meet Misha and Cain" they all shake hands politely and Lickity blushes when her tail wraps around Cain''s arm. "Sorry, it has a mind of its own. I''m still mastering subconscious control of it." She frowns, looking at her tail. "That''s quite alright, think of it as a two handed handshake" Cain smiles back, not sure why she''s so embarrassed. Maybe it''s just her personality. But the outfit she has on is amazing, a ck leather and redce basque with matching boyshorts and tight ck leather chaps, showing off her underwear, topped of with a short vest cut too small to be closed, sporting a wide, feathered cor and some sort of amulets dangling from her arms. Good thing Cid warned him about mentioning the outfit, she looks amazing. "Do you want to pull or should I?" Cain asks Cid instead. "The big golem is pretty quick, and isn''t bad at holding a pack''s attention." "I''ll pull. I''ve got a charge skill as a berserker that increases damage for a while" Cid answers "But feel free to take extra packs if we''re clearing too quickly." A fast clear to the first boss is an understatement. Lickity the Sorceress does a ridiculous amount of damage, often killing monsters in a single strike. So, topensate, Cain sends Golems ahead to pull packs, allowing the group to clear at an almost walking pace. "How''s your mana?" Cain asks "You were throwing around those ck energy attacks like nothing the whole way here." "Those are a Sorceress sses base attacks, they don''t use much mana. I''ve put points into mana regeneration and one amulet also increases the rate, so I never run out doing that." That''s, frankly amazing. She''s only level 8, well 9 now, but she is far and away the highest multi target damage in the group, beating out even Cid the berserker who is almost 30 levels higher. "Keep it quiet, but she got a legendary amulet crafting recipe" Cid smiles. "Both are actually the same amulet dual wielded, and they increase damage of her primary attack." "I can''t use the secondary effects until level 20 though. After that they''ll make it hit more times and have a bleeding effect" okay, that''s making Cain a bit jealous, but as he couldn''t use them anyhow, it doesn''t matter. "Good to know things like that can drop here too" Cainughs. "Gives us something to look forward to" Cain looks over the avable information on gear, finding 6 quality levels. Grey is trash, white is normal, green is superior, blue is magical, purple is epic and gold is legendary or artifact. All separated by the color of their item name when someone with an interface looks at them. Blue items are supposed to drop at least once a run here, Cid says. So with a group this varied, they should be able to use most of the drops. At just that''s his n, get everyone some gear before the leveling is done. Cain''s Golems will take themanders, while everyone downs the boss. The big golem starts everything out, grabbing all three with a stomp before Cain orders it to the back of the room. The small Golems follow and Cid rapidly attacks the boss, dragging its attention back to him. As efficient as usual, the boss and his subordinates are soon no more. The first boss drops nothing of consequence, so they''re on to the next, Cid''s rapid axe strikes and Lickity''s arcs of ck energy making short work of therger packs. The Dire Wolf boss is down in well under a minute, surprising everyone. Plus it drops a pair of blue quality daggers, an upgrade for the rogue. "Just pull from the middle of the room", Cidughs at the usually problematic double pulls that follow. "This group is awesome, we should do this way more than once" Lickity agrees. "I''ll send you both friends requests in case we meet up in the future." [Friend Request From Lickity] Neither Cain nor Misha even knew such a thing existed. But now that they see it, there''s even an option to message friends, like sending a message from your phone. This is a huge discovery, a total life changing moment for them, but there''s monsters to kill. Cain sends the small Golems to take point. With two semi ranged members, it''s best if the little ones pull, as you can easily shoot over them to hit your target. Cid and the big golem are sent to the sides to attack from there, leaving the middle clear. Before long they''re at thest boss. The small Golems aremanded to take the puddles when they appear, their numbers making it an easy task as everyone shouts appearances near them. A big change from Cain missing their assistance and letting them spawn more monsters to fight. Not just one but two blue items drop, and everyone levels up from the dungeonpletion bonus, if not the boss. "This is crazy, I''m level 12 now. That''s 4 times in one dungeon." Lickity giggles, making her chest bounce and Cain have to look away a moment. "Well, what did we get for drops?" Cid asks. "I got a blue quality ring. Healing done increased and some INT, that''s for Misha" Stubbs says, handing it over. "And I got a new robe" Misha says, equipping it straight from inventory, the way it just appears and reces her old outfit startling Cain. "Blue quality, adds INT and mana regeneration" "Good Job Misha" everyone congrattes her and Cid waves them towards the exit. "At this rate, we''ll try to get another before lunch, and two in the afternoon. Usually a group is slowed either by bosses, pulling, or the need to defend softer members. With the poison from two members though and the Golems blocking the vulnerable, bosses die quickly and nobody is at risk of being two shotted" Cixelcid exins. "Wait, you mean to tell me Misha, you can''t take two hits from those monsters!" Cain gasps. "Neither Can I" says Lickity. "I can take three, barely" says Stubbs. "What about you? Cid asks "A lot of the advanced sses have hidden modifiers" "Well, if I get a few seconds to regenerate in between hits, I should be able to take eight if none are a crit." Cain shrugs "I thought everyone would be closer to that. You guys are way braver than I gave you credit for." "You''re on a warrior level modifier or better then, and you''ve got a lot of HP for your level." Cid says thinking.. "Since you can use Hunter armor, you can be pretty tough, they''re one of the more heavily armored sses." Chapter 10 - 10 Talking with the group, Cain found out that a standard ss got 3 points per level, allocated by their ss settings. Stubbs was bemoaning the fact he didn''t get more CON, as he wanted to take a more active role in longer fights instead of only being at his best in short assassinations and surprise attacks. But with low CON and resultant low HP, coupled with the fact he took way more damage than a warrior in equal gear, it simply wasn''t possible for him at this point. He is eagerly awaiting the time when he can get to level 100 and gain an advanced ss. There''s a bit of chance involved, as it depends on the skills you''ve already learned, but each secondary path leads to one of two or three advanced sses. For example, Most warriors who take the cleric path will get the Pdin ss as their advanced ss. But some with a lot of offensivebat skills will get the Crusader ss instead. Nobody has heard of the Puppet Master ss before, so the consensus is that it''s one of the hidden sses only avable by luck through the random character creation system. Cain wonders if it might be a reward for taking the risk, or if maybe they''re third progression sses. There''s no evidence either way, news of anyone over level 100 is rare here, they don''t even know when the next progression might be, or if it exists. By that time they were back at the front of the line, ready for a second run. They drove through with determination, dropping thest boss just before noon, with a single blue quality set of boots for Stubbs as their notable gains. Leaving so soon again was causing rumors among the crowds. Cixelcid was fairly well known for selling trips through dungeons, but wasn''t this too fast? Two of the group were clearly being carried, but they''d returned twice before most groups returned from their daily attempt. They decided to make lunch a quick affair, the attention bothering Lickity, so they headed back to the dungeon. The lineup waves them through with a flurry of whispers, mostly about how fast the lower levels were advancing. As they got to the front, a quest appeared in their interfaces. [Iron Man, Goblin yer] triple experience for sessful dungeon clears in under one hour. Expires in 6 hours. "One hour a clear? Thest one took over two. Is that even possible?" Misha asks as they all stop to ept the quest. "Possible or not, this is going to happen" Cidughs. "I hope you''re ready for what''s ahead" Everyone elseughs at his enthusiasm, but Misha looks ready to cry. The lineup heard her question and they''re all chanting ''Iron Man''. It seems the quest gives you not only a load of experience but also a title that gives a bonus to drop rates. "Stay clustered inside the small Golems circle. Cain, save all your mana to refresh them. We''re pulling everything to just outside the first boss room, me and the big golem" Cixelcid deres. "I''ll keep them up as a barricade, so you and the golem go full defense while Lickity and Stubbs spam area attacks?" Cain asks. Stubbs has a little used attack called caltrops, but with that many monsters it will be a massive amount of damage. "This is stupid, you''re all insane, we''re going to die" Misha yells as Cain carries her down the hall. Without a movement skill she couldn''t keep up with the pull rate. They reach a natural choke point many groups use, just before the boss and stop, the four little Golems blocking the whole way. "As soon as they get into range, get started" Cain huffs, setting Misha down. Stubbs sets caltrops in advance, as the two are closer to the walls and the horde fills the cavern. Lickity climbs a short ledge so she can attack down into the crowd, and beginsunching attacks. The caltrops are slowing the pack, making them easy to hit, not that it''s possible to miss when they''re so packed together. Misha quicky heals up the tanks and they get set in front of the small Golems, ready for the first wave. The ck arcs of the Sorceress attacks are decimating the enemy ranks, and the line of caltrops has them advancing at a crawl. Once the first wave gets to the greater golem and Cid, the small Golems charge, driving back anything that tries to nk. "Save mana for the tanks, I''ll refresh the little ones when they die." Cain calls, seeing Misha''s mana start to drop. Cixelcid is alternating between sweeping attacks and a stomp that gives him a huge bump in his life bar. Four percent of damage is a lot with fifty targets in range. "Ten percent mana" Misha calls at one point and Cid retreats, letting the small Golems take the worst of the damage, Cain refreshing them every ten seconds or so until his mana is low and Cid moves back to the front to deal full damage again. The battlests under two minutes, with a ten minute pull, but everyone is out of resources and energy when it''s done. Taking a long draw from their water pouches, Cain and Cid turn to the boss. "We''ve got this" the whole party thinks at once. [Massacre Bonus x87] bonus experience applied at end of instance Nice. The boss is down in half a minute, everyone dumping mana, knowing it will have time to regenerate while they run. The small Golems encircle the group, providing their defense and they run a third of the distance to the next boss and regroup in a small round room. The door is the perfect point to slow ess, but not so much they will be wasting time. This fight is much easier with the smaller numbers, so as they dwindle, the small Golems are sent out to pull 4 different packs to the other door, keeping the volume up. When those are getting weak, again the little Golems go running for targets. "That should be two thirds" Cid announces when those are all defeated. "We''ll pull the rest to the room before the boss." It''s not as good of a spot, but pulling them all here would take too long. [Massacre Bonus x53] bonus experience applied at end of instance The group runs past the remaining monsters, 6 groups in total, so both tanks and the little Golems each take a pack. The return time is all pretty close, so the monsterse in one big wave, to be met with caltrops and arcs of ck energy. As expected, the second boss also proves no challenge. The second boss is supposed to be a damage race, but with the poison attacks burning it so quickly Cain and Misha have never experienced the enrage effect. They''re now 23 minutes into their hour long timer to achieve the bonus, way ahead of schedule, so they try a new tactic. They pull four groups and leapfrog, keeping the party in closebat and killing at all times, the small Golems staying with Cid, the big one with Cain and the damage dealers fighting forward as fast as they can. They get to the final boss and wait on the notification. [Massacre Bonus x113] bonus experience applied at end of instance They go into thest fight in high spirits, looking forward to the extra bonus they didn''t know you could earn by killing so fast. The group is ecstatic when the final boss drops with the timer reading 38 minutes. [Massacre Bonus x253 Applied] [Level Up] [Level Up] [Quest: Iron Man Competed] [3x Experience Earned] [Level Up] [Level Up] [Title Earned: Blessed By Death] Chapter 11 - 11 "The timer stopped, but there''s another, just over 5 hours" Misha sighs. "You''re going to do this to me again aren''t you?" Cid and Cainugh "To everyone. Three times experience as a bonus. You know you want it." Everyone checks their gear and mentally prepares to face that insane level of speed run again. Cain quickly checks his stats [Name] Cain [Level] 27 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human Skills [Summon Lesser Golem] lv3 [Summon Greater Golem] lv1 [Poison Arrow] lv2 [Stats] +25 [STR] 45 [DEX] 15 [CON] 50 [INT] 25 [HP] 200 [MP] 125 That''s a lot of stat points. But they can wait for now, he''ll use them when they''re needed. "Sort your lootter, we''re on the clock." Cid calls in amanding voice, ushering everyone out to the exit. "Look at the titles, the Titles!" someone in the lineup calls and waves them to the front. "Going for the full experience?" "Better believe it." Cixelcidughs. "At this rate I''ll cap out at 40 by the end of the day." "Cap out?" Lickity asks. "20 levels above boss level, dungeons stop giving experience for the whole party" he sighs "Once I hit 40 our mission for the day is over. 3 times zero is still zero." [Massacre Bonus x253 Applied] [Level Up] [Quest: Iron Man Competed] [3x Experience Earned] [Level Up] [Level Up] [Summon Greater Golem] has reached level 2 [yer Cixelcid Has Received Legendary Item] [Gore Kin Axes] have dropped. This things are insane, 50 percent damage as a bleed to everything within 10 meters? The party is going to ughter the next run. [Massacre Bonus x253 Applied] [Level Up] [Quest: Iron Man Competed] [3x Experience Earned] [Level Up] [yer Misha Has Received Epic Item] [yer Cain Has Received Legendary Item] [Holy Oaken Staff] has dropped [Skilled Creation Amulet] has dropped "An epic and a legendary in one run? And what is that amulet?" Cain tries a moment and links the description in party chat. [Skilled Creation Amulet] Puppet Master and Necromancer exclusive. Increases construct damage by 300 percent. "That is, how do I put this? Broken." Cidughs. "That big of a buff over so many will murder this dungeon at your level" "Guys, I know it might seen anti climactic, but I got three new crafting patterns" Lickity smiles. "I got 2 so far, one of them an epic leather armor set" Stubbs adds. "One more time, I will be 40 afterwards" Cid grits his teeth and drags himself to his feet. [Massacre Bonus x261 Applied] [Level Up] [Quest: Iron Man Competed] [3x Experience Earned] [Level Up] [Party Member Ineligible] some experience lost [yer Lickity Has Received Epic Item] [Silk Bath Robe] has dropped Lickity has tears in her eyes and a smile on her face after equipping said robe. "It closes. It really closes." She cries in happiness, finally receiving a decently modest piece of clothing. It''s short, and shows a lot of cleavage, but she is right, it closes. Misha isn''t sure if she should congratte the Subus, or point out that the robe is just as sexy as the chaps and jacket it reced, her underwear still visible every time she moves. "Give her the little Victory" Cixelcid whispers in the healers ear. "Now that we''re all dressed to impress, how about we go grab some Meatloaf specials from the Cafe? Eat and rx while we sort out our loot for the day. It''ll give us a chance to exchange items the others can use." Cain suggests. The beginning of the exchange proves to be easy. There''s chain pants and boots, which go to Cain. A cloth cloak which only Misha needs, plus a lot of leather items for Stubbs. It''s when they get to essories that it gets difficult. There''s a pair of green rings everyone but Cixelcid wants one of, that reduce ability cost by 5 percent. Plus a blue ne that increases first strike damage by 20 percent that both Stubbs and Lickity seem ready to fight over. "How about this? Whoever gets the ne is out on the rings. I''ll bow out on the rings too, casting cost isn''t such a big thing for me as it is for others." Cain suggests "Fine, how are we settling this?" Stubbs asks. "Rock, paper scissors of course." Lickityughs, like it''s obvious. Maybe it was, she crushed Stubbs 3 in a row. Ne now firmly around her neck, which immediately changes its appearance to a solid silver ring with a heart shaped loop dangling from the front, Lickity does a little happy dance in her chair. "Onest item, just found it buried in my materials" Cixelcid says, pulling out a green and grey, knee length brigandine coat. "Hunter can use this, so it''s yours Cain" "Thanks man, with new boots, pants and now a coat I''m like a whole new person." Cainughs. While looking over his changes and deciding where to put points, Cain finds that he can now give his pair ofrge Golems shields. Cutting damage done and taken both by 20 percent. But with the new ne, that''s still a huge amount more than he was doing yesterday. "Hey, my Greater Golems got a tank form at level 30, they can now form a shield. It drops their damage, but reduces damage taken by 20 percent." Cain informs the group who all gasp. "That puts their damage taken below Cid''s. It''s like having 2 fully geared tanks with you all the time." Misha cheers hugging his arm. "Wait, I think I have a thing for you" Lickity informs them, staring off into space as she checks her inventory. "Never mind, don''t have the materials." "That''s a shame, but I think I''m doing pretty well, I just need a new bow" Cain shrugs. "Then you need to head to the next town down the road. There''s an ice dungeon there that sometimes drops an epic level Ice bow. It''s a level 25 dungeon, so not too far under your power level, and the chance to freeze targets would be huge for you." Cixelcid smiles. "Are you all headed there too? You''ve leveled out of this town, and the ones you came back to level to 20 are almost at 30 now." Misha asks. "No, we''ll be going to the main guild branch in the big city. There''s an undead dungeon there you might like once you find that bow" "Before we go, Misha, what spell did you get ess to at level 30?" Cid asks. "The long duration Heal Over Time. I used the base version so much here that it maxed out at level 5." "Big improvement?" Lickity asks. "Only twice the healing per tick, for three times the cost, but itsts 30 seconds instead of 5.. It should be a really big help." Chapter 12 - 12 The decision on where to put points gave Cain a great deal of trouble that night, but eventually he decided to put a few each into INT and DEX, bringing up his movement speed and gaining a bit more mana. Then he put 20 points each into STR and CON, bringing up both his and his Golems damage and survivability. Name] Cain [Level] 34 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human [Stats] [STR] 65 [DEX] 30 [CON] 70 [INT] 30 [HP] 280 [MP] 150 "Yes, that''s about perfectly bnced" Cain decides. With the skilled creation amulet, the Golems should do quite a lot of damage now, but keeping their stats ahead of the monsters they were going to be facing was important. Misha has agreed to go with him to the next town, to farm the dungeon there. But neither of them will know anyone in the town, and they''ve both had the same bad experience grouping with random people. It''s left them a bit paranoid, and they''ve decided to simply run together, as they know they can trust each other. "So what should we do when we get there? Find a hotel?" Misha asks when they meet up in the morning. "We''ve got money, but it feels wasteful, Cid says the hotels in other towns are even more expensive than here." "Why not rent an apartment. I got a crummy, tiny ce here, but we can get somewhere nicer for the month we are there way cheaper than a hotel." Cain suggests. "That''s a great idea, a small apartment can''t cost too much. Plus We spend all our time together, so it doesn''t really make sense to be in different ces overnight." The two head out early, deciding to walk the distance instead of paying for a carriage ride. They have never been in the wilderness of this world, as the city guards won''t let transfers leave the town they all arrive in until they reach level 25 for their own safety. "It reminds me of home" Misha smiles. "All the trees look different, but the smell of forest after the rain is the same." The walk is a much needed rxation after the intense fighting of the previous day. Regr traffic down the road kept the monsters away and a recent rainfall kept the dust down on the dirt pathway. Cain got excited when he heard talk of a herd of wild pigs in the area, but they couldn''t find any sign of them before they reached the city. Wild pig would have made a much better lunch than the dry travel rations they packed for the journey. "Entry fee is coin or goods worth 1 silver each" a tired sounding guard greeted them at the town gates. Both handed over their coin without an issue, Cain asking "Might you know if there are apartments to rent near the dungeon? We expect to be here a month and would prefer not to rent at the inn that long" "There''s a tenement building just down the road from the dungeon, next to the weaponsmith and the Cafe." "Thank you" Misha flipped him a copper for the information and the duo headed out to find somewhere to stay. The first noted location they passed was the Cafe, eerily identical to the one in the town they just left. Cleaner, and more recently renovated, but identical inyout and design. Even the special was the same. Meatloaf. "Perhaps it''s a chain of some sort? Like Denny''s or Waffle House?" Cain asked and Misha looked appalled. "Please don''t mention those ces again. I once worked at both and would much rather forget." Cainughs at the distraught look on her face, but nodded "Deal. It''s not like we''ll ever have to see one again anyhow." The three story grey stone apartment building looks to be in decent shape at first nce. The front grass is trimmed, no garbage is about and the owner has ced a sign out front that says they''ve got both 2 bedroom furnished units and 5 bedroom furnished townhouses avable in town. 50 and 110 silver a month respectively. "Who would need 5 bedrooms? Are families here that big?" Cain wonders and Misha pokes him in the head. "Think man, think. What''s the maximum party size for the dungeon? 5 people. That''s why they made so many 5 room rentals." Oh, yeah. That totally makes sense now. The old adventurer who owns the ce is more than happy to show them to an apartment. "Would you two like a regr unit or the honeymoon suite? It''s got a big hot spring tub in it and upgraded furniture." Cain can see Misha''s eyes light up at Hot Spring Tub, but the blush to her cheeks says the thought of being together in a honeymoon suite might be too much for her to handle. "Does it still have a second bedroom? With crafting and such we''re not always on the same schedule you see." Thendlord smiles in misunderstanding, taking the young man at his word. "That it does son, and the unit is soundproofed from the neighbors, no need to worry about thin walls here." That sounds like a better ce than Cain ever lived in. "Lead the way good sir" The beds are both good sized, with silk sheets in a soft pink color. There is a good wood stove in the kitchen, with all the essentials avable and soft rugs on the hardwood floors. The Hot Spring sits in a sauna like room, with wooden walls and benches around the outside. A luxury that makes Cain certain no other option will be eptable to Misha. Even after the tour she keeps looking back at that room. They quickly sign the paperwork and pay a month''s rent, before going out to see the rest of the area. The weaponsmith has a pretty wide selection, and offers repair services. Cain''s old bow is barely serviceable, and they say they can have it ready for morning, but he decides to look around first. It''s a in thing from the starting dungeon area''s vendor, it shouldn''t be hard to upgrade. He finds a decent looking green qualitypound bow that adds more damage than his old one, and drops 10 silver on the upgrade. "I feel much better now. This one has twice the range, and adds a lot of initial impact damage to my poison arrow skill." Cain smiles. "It will do just fine until we can hopefully get the epic upgrade" Misha agrees with a chuckle. "It''s going to be so weird doing dungeon runs with only one other human, but a full party fighting" "Tell me about it. Two tanks, four melee warriors, plus an archer and a Healer, we''re a bigger team than most full parties." "If only they could be cuter" Misha pouts. "Like puppies or big cats instead of those ugly little y Golems" Cain decides to search his skill descriptions, to see if there''s anything he missed. After all, a y golem should have multiple shapes, right? The big ones got a tank form at level 30 after all. Still a big y golem, but it was a change in form. [Summon Lesser Golem] lv3 Summons 4 y Golems. Damage and HP based on casters STR and CON. [Next Level] [Summon Lesser Golem] lv4 Requires level 40 Summons 5 y Golems in 1 of 3 shapes. Damage and HP based on casters STR and CON "Level 40 I can make them look cooler" Cain says, linking the description in friends chat.. Such a useful function this system provides, you can show your friends or party members any of your skill or item descriptions. Chapter 13 - 13 As Cixelcid promised, this dungeon is indeed Ice themed. Cain and Misha are standing at the entrance, marveling at being able to see their breath after leading the summer air outside. The interior of the dungeon is a giant ice cave, icicles hanging from the roof and growing from the floor, random holes in the ice leading to the dens of the dungeons residents. It''s all blue and white and beautiful. But perhaps they only think that because they haven''t seen the monsters yet. The first pull brings them to what the dungeon calls Yeti, four of them to be exact. The n is to alternate poison arrows to bring them down at a reasonable pace, while the shield Golems keep them off the human party members. The shield Golems charge, starting the fight with a solid shield bash, moving two health bars from green to bright yellow, meaning that one m took between a third and a half of this giant monster''s health. The small Golems follow close behind, stabbing with their little knives and punching the huge, white furred monsters. Cain has only fired a few arrows, now noticeably dropping the monsters health on hit thanks to his new bow, when the first pair go down. The other two appear to be below half already, due to the efforts of the lesser Golems, and they''re fading fast. The fight is over without Misha having to cast a single spell. In fact, the tanks are barely damaged. Now a bit more confident, seeing the capability of the new and improved Golems, the duo pushes forward. Ice snakes, that look like the ice, but are actually warm to the touch, harpies and yeti meet them at every turn. There seems to be no logical route through this ce, it''s all winding caverns and monster patrols. There seems to be no boss, but they doe across two packs of elite Yeti that give the durability of the shield Golems a severe test. Their giant fists shake the ground with every hit, causing cracks to form in the icy floor. Two hours in, they find a tunnel that leads down to a lower floor and follow it through. The contents appear to be more of the same, but with some huge borrowing worms that like to attack out of the floor with little warning. If theye up under you, Cain is quite sure they could swallow a person whole. Another hour of Monster chasing and they''ve built up quite the assortment of loot, this new title seems to be no joke, or maybe it''s just the nature of this dungeon. [Cain has received a Grade D ability book] [Book of Multi Shot] has dropped [Multi Shot] fires three arrows at the same target. Compatible with known skill [Poison Arrow] Usable by Hunter, Ranger "Hey, multi shot only uses 5mp, that''s half what poison arrow costs. Now I''ll be able to constantly shoot without buying physical arrows or running out of MP. " Cain gloats, looking over the book description. "Your Golems will still do 90 percent of your damage except on bosses though." Misha teases him. "Details, details. I''ll feel much more useful if I''m doing something other than watching the Golems have fun or ordering them around." Multi shot Poisoned Arrow turns out to be deadly against elite targets, the increased amount of poison burning their health away in no time at all. It also makes fighting harpies a lot easier. They can''t get too high above you inside these caverns, but they''re hard to hit from the ground. Firing multiple arrows into their wings gets them tond pretty quickly though. Not that it''s any safer, the long ws are savage, but at least you can fight them when they''re on the ground. Cain and Misha break for lunch, scanning over the hand drawn map of ces they''ve been, looking for something they missed. Misha is sure they''re just hopelessly lost, but Cain insists there''s something more, something important. "There, see there in the exact middle of this floor? A perfect circle with no caverns passing through it. I am sure it''s a hidden room. We just need to find the entrance." The ce is feeling quite cold and lonely before Misha identally activates the hidden door, hitting her staff against it in an effort to find traction in the icy tunnel they''re exploring. A short hallway leads to a perfectly round room, as Cain surmised. One of grey stone, not ice like the rest of the dungeon. But it''s not the room that draws their attention, it''s the giant Ice Dragon in the middle. "I don''t suppose that''s what might drop the bow you wanted is it? Because if not I''ll dly leave it be." Misha whispers. "Unfortunately, I think it is. I''ll have the Greater Golems go to the far side of the room, so they can fight it facing away from us, you can heal that far from here, right?" Misha nods "Let me put the longsting heal on them before they go. We don''t know how much damage this thing will do to them." The Golems sessfully sneak across the room before the Dragon notices them and stands up with a roar. It''s farrger than it looked all curled up, almost as long as the room isrge, Misha will need to hug the wall to be safe from the angry swings of its tail. The shield Golems are not having a good day. Cain had to call off Misha''s active healing, leaving only the slow heals active, as it was burning through her mana too fast. Instead, every minute or so, Cain reces them and she puts timed heals on them, plus sporadicrger heals to keep the one taking the most damage alive. Their interrupt ability has kept the boss from using its breath, except for once, and most of its bigger spells, but Cain has had to physically block for Misha a few times, takingrger ice strikes with him much more durable body. After all, he''s wearing Brigandine, she''s wearing a dress with a wool cloak. It also seems to be resistant to poison. The debuff is visible in his system interface, but it should have been long dead from the effects by now. Finally the beast drops, bringing sighs of relief and a system notification. [yer Misha has received a quest] [Quest: The Legendary Tailor] has been epted. [yer Misha Has Received Legendary Recipe] [ns: Ice Dragon Robes] has dropped [yer Cain Has Received Epic Item] [Wing Of Frost] has dropped "What''s that quest? It gave you as legendary recipe?" Cain mumbles as the looks over the quest notification. Only Misha can get the reward, but both of them are on the quest. Gather all materials from inside Icy Caverns and talk to a hidden tailor in town to learn [ns: Ice Dragon Robes] and skill [Tailoring] lv20 That''s not too bad, they''ve gotten most of the items already, and the quest says they alle from inside this dungeon. Plus, the recipe has no prior tailoring skill required, it grants [Tailoring] to whoever uses it. Cain looks at his epic drop, wondering what he managed to get. [Wing Of Frost] bow, required level 30. Requires Hunter, Ranger. Cold damage +60, Chance to [Freeze] on hit. "Look, I got my bow, we can move on now" heughs. "Yes, move on to the Hot Springs. I am positively frozen over here." Misha agrees, leading the way back to their apartment. "You can head in first, I''ll check over my inventory." Cain offers, seeing how even after the short walk back, Misha is still shivering. "Would you like to join me instead?" Misha offers with a mischievous grin.. Why yes, he definitely would. Chapter 14 - 14 Morning saw Cain and Misha in remarkably high spirits, a fact that wasn''t lost of thendlord when they greeted him. Nor was it lost on the waitress at the Cafe, a good friend of thendlord, when they ordered breakfast. "Something good happenst night?" The waitress asked with a smirk, bringing their meals. "We got a quest from the Ice Caverns that rewards a legendary crafting recipe!" Misha eximed, very stoked to get going and find thest of the needed materials. This was not what the waitress was expecting her to be excited about after their first night in the honeymoon suite, but with the glowing, happy look in her face, it was clear that she was truly very happy about it. All that was left was a rare drop harpy heart and a Mysterious Snake eye. Two drops out of the eight total. So she had very high hopes of getting them within a few days, then rxing to do some quests and getting out of the Ice Caverns. The local Mission Hall has all sorts of good stuff posted up, they find out on their way to the dungeon. Even a mission in the wilderness that rewards a cure poison spell book to any clericpatible ss thatpletes it. Staying in this town should prove easy with rewards like that. Coming so early, knowing they would have to look everywhere for the drops, meant that there was no line when they arrived at the Ice Caverns, a small blessing, because Misha was so excited she was bouncing. Level 20 [Tailoring] was not impossible to get, but it wasn''t easy. But a legendary recipe certainly was. Each recipe has a minimum skill level to make, but the item level scales with the creator. So if you''re using things you made, you can simply make them over when they be obsolete and get higher level gear. This Robe n would all but ensure Misha has the very best clothes avable at her level. As long as she can find the materials to make another. "First up, snake eye. I think they were all here in the first floor, but I don''t know if it will be another hidden encounter, or random chance." Unfortunately, the dungeonyouts randomize on every entrance, so their map from yesterday is useless. Their limited experience does give them an idea what to expect from the caverns though, and what ces might be monster hiding spots. The eye they need ends uping from one of the randomly spawned elite packs. Just 3 slightly tougher than normal snakes. But that gives the pair a good idea what to expect. Good stuff drops from elite mobs. Chatting with the locals informed them that this dungeon isn''t best known for the elite bow that Cain wanted toe here for. Rather its best known for its wide variety of green and blue quality cosmetic crafting recipes. Everything from seasonal outfits to casual clothing and the rare bit of actual armor. Lickity was a well known local underground celebrity. She spent almost two years gathering materials here and trading for cosmetic crafting ns trying to put together an outfit she deemed eptable. Rumor said she got multiple legendary ns in her attempts, but as she did so little killing, she only ever gained skill experience and not levels. Those that knew her were quite happy to know she had finally made it past level 25 and could visit freely, without having to sneak over the town walls to avoid the guards. For some odd reason, not a single elite harpy pack spawned today, and they found no hidden nest that might give them the final drop. Perhaps not every needed group spawns every time? Misha really hoped that it wouldn''t take too long. [yer Misha Has Received Epic Item] [n: Halloween Naughty Nun] has dropped "What the? Is that what I think it is?" Cain stutters. "Um, yes, I think it is. The description says it''s short ck andtex. It''s worth 3 gold too, we did well today." "Wait, you''re going to sell it? But you''ll be a level 20 tailor soon. You should keep it, after all, it won''t be long until Halloween." Cain pleads, his ulterior motives clear. "Let''s keep hunting." Misha shakes her head, then smiles to herself at the thought of his reaction to that outfit. "Another epic drop today, and two blue weapons we can''t use. Not bad, the weapons went for 20 silver each." Misha informs Cain, tallying up their daily earnings after getting out of the hot springs tub. "At this rate we will be pretty well set by the time we find that Harpy heart. Just let me know if you want to spend a day questing in the sunshine. That cure poison quest is still up, and I think you should take it. That''s a valuable skill." Cain insisted, lounging on the couch and letting his hair dry in the hot summer air. "So tomorrow then? The Tailoring quest doesn''t have a deadline." Misha nods, handing him his share of today''s takeout dinner. The notion of having a good stove was great, but it feels like they''re getting to the hottest part of summer, even the nights barely cool down. Indoor cooking was immediately vetoed. Misha is looking at her bed in trepidation. The silk looks sofortable, but it''s so hot in here. Cain, on the other hand has prepared for this situation. There is a slow moving magical fan in the room, and Cain grabbed a bunch of ice blocks from the caverns to his inventory. Drop them into a tray so they don''t melt onto the floor and let the fan blow the cool air around. Much more tolerable nights sleep. Just before daylight they were at the Mission Hall, collecting the Cure Poison quest. The Adventurers there told them it''s a fool''s errand. Their consensus is that you need to know Cure Poison to go get the Cure Poison skill book.. Cain buys a half dozen lesser cure potions, just in case the Golems aren''t enough to keep them from being attacked, and they head out towards the location indicated in the quest description. Chapter 15 - 15 "These maps are terrible" Cainins. "I''m not even sure I''m holding it the right way up at this point" "It should be just over that rise, if we read the map right." Misha shrugs "Time to get ready." Cain brings out his Golems, sending the shield bearing greater Golems out in the lead and surrounding the two of them with the lesser Golems. The top of the rise brings a distinct change in scenery, the trees turn ckened and cobwebs are everywhere, giving the woods a very creepy vibe. "Looks like that''s the spot. The spell book is supposed to drop from an elite spider queen, and we get the quest reward for the pincers." They move forward at a crawl, on the lookout for whatever bad all these webs. It''s not long before their caution pays off, an iing web attack being thwarted by the lesser Golems before a half dozen ck spiders charge towards them. Cain reces the small Golems, who were all trapped anyhow and begins firing arrows into the fast moving arachnids, a task that''s proving harder than expected. The lesser Golems size is proving a benefit here though, as it makes it much easier to hit the small spiders in short range. The greater Golems have resorted to trying to crush them with feet and the bottom of their shields. Once they''ve been caught by the Golems, they be much easier to hit and the group is cleared in just a few more seconds. The elite spider for the quest is supposed to live in the valley at the very center of these woods, so onwards they press, every few minutes being attacked by small spiders. Things don''t really get better whenrger ones rece the little web throwers. These have Poisoned pincers and are doing quite a lot of damage to the Golems. No wonder everyone said you needed cure poison to get cure poison. They''re much easier to hit though, Cain''s arrows hitting home over and over. Unfortunately, they''re immune to poison, which doesn''t bode well for the uing elite fight. One breaks through the ranks, headed for Misha and Cain draws his sword to intercept. The spider''s fighting technique is quite skilful, abination of its heavy front legs and sharp mandible putting Cain on the defensive for a while before a crushing blow from a greater golem to its back ends the beast. "Aren''t these things going to be mad when we kill their queen?" Misha asks worried. Those pincers did not look like something she''d care to experience again. "If they''re like real spiders they''ll scatter and we will get a bit of time to flee once the elite is down. If we make good time, we should get out of the valley before they stop panicking." Cain tries to assure her, but who knows how these monsters are going to react. They''re nearing the center of the valley now, and the spiders are getting less frequent, reced by more webs andrge cocoons. "I think something is moving in there" Misha whispers and Cain frowns. "Let''s not disturb those for now, try to get to the boss monster without making a scene." Cain whispers back. If those are the spiders targets they could be anything from monsters to other adventurers though. "Wait, doesn''t that seem human sized though? Maybe I should try cutting it free, see what we can find." Misha nods her agreement, staff at the ready There''s five total that are wriggling right now, making both think this might be a trapped partye to do the quest. So Cain carefully cuts loose the smallest of the cocoons first, freeing a bedraggled and injured female Elven mage. "If you''re done with women throwing themselves at you, go open the others" Mishaughs softly, casting a heal over time effect on the small woman now clinging to Cain''s leg. Moving proves impractical, so the small golems are sent to free the others, revealing three warriors and a shaman. All receive healing, their closing wounds dislodging spider eggs that are quickly crushed underfoot. "Everyone ounted for and all from the same group?" Cain asks and they nod, looking relieved to have been freed from their nightmare. "I''m not sure if my party is still up for it", the shaman says "but we''re here to do the cure poison quest. We seem to havee in the wrong way, from the south, and gotten trapped by web throwers." "They''re all over the east side too." Misha informs him. "We used the Golems to block and then just summoned them back when too many got trapped." ording to the map, one of those two directions should have been a clear path. But so much for that. "We''re almost at the center of the valley, care to finish the quest with us?" Cain asks, more than happy to get reinforcements. "It''s better than trying to flee empty handed," their tank shrugs. "There''s going to be spiders either way." The expanded group creeps forward, looking for any sign of the elite spider queen, eventually finding her in a nest of webbing atop a pile of skulls. "That''s not ominous at all." the Elven mage quips sarcastically. "Do we try fire first or arrows to lure it down from there?" "Kill it with fire." the rest answer in unison. And fire certainly brings it down, but the surrounding webbing proves to be highly mmable. The whole area is on fire, burning strings falling from the trees and sticking to the groups, Misha casting long duration heals on everyone to get them through. They can hear the spiders running away, the sound of bodies crashing through the forest slowly fading as the greater Golems engage the huge spider queen and the warriors move around behind it for better ess. Cain has decided it''s best to keep the little Golems on defense, in case anythinges for the ranged members, a tactic that proves beyond wise when a number of the burning cocoons burst, dislodging wounded and angry monsters all over the area. Two are busy with a boar monster they rescued the shaman from, the grateful man setting down a defensive totem soon after, bathing the area in mana for them to use. The shaman mostly uses a lightning attack to hit the spider, and with that totem out they''re doing fairly well. [Poison Arrow] also leaves no poison debuff on the spider queen, so Cain is throwing out multi shots as fast as he can, the totem keeping his mana full. "That''s some serious casting cost reduction you have there golem man." the shaman cheers. "Not many can spam multi shot." "It''s only 10 mana a use, your totem grants 5 a second, I get 5 a second." Cain shrugs, firing another volley into the giant spider. Its health bar has moved from orange to red now, and it''s missing two legs. This fight will soon be over. "Only 10? It should be 20. I wonder if your ss gets it cheaper, like the ranger does? They use archery abilities at half cost." The mage ponders out loud, sending an exploding fireball into a group of small monsters just freed from cocoons. Whatever the answer, it''s done is job and the monsters are almost cleared out. Anything that didn''t escape burned. [Level Up] [Misha Has Received Grade B Spellbook] [Greater Cure Poison] has dropped [Greater Cure Poison]? She must have got the rare drop from the boss. The queen is finally dead and the requirement for the quest item shows filled, so Misha must have gotten it as well. "Okay, we got our quest item. Now North, straight back to town. It''s pretty well burnt now, so we should be able to get out before anything returns." All seven, plus the Golems, are at a full sprint until they''re clear of the burned woods and into the open ground near the town. "You know, that was much shorter than the way in. Those maps are terrible." The shamanughs. "We owe you our lives. If you need anything just contact us." The mage adds. [Iing Friend Request From Mythryll] [Friend Request epted] Chapter 16 - 16 Cain and Misha decide to take the next day off, see the sights and rx. Between power leveling and the nightmare spider forest it''s been a long week. The town has a huge selection of armor and clothing, mostly cloth and leather. Cain finds a casual outfit he can wear around town, Jeans and a button up shirt made of metallic threads that count as a very light chain armor. It''s a much better look than the heavy chain pants, though the actual armor rating is terrible. Misha on the other hand is in paradise. Being a cloth wearer, almost all the armored clothing items are avable for her use, the chain items Cain needed are found only at a few specialty stores. She reigns herself in though, not wanting to spend too much. Buying a couple casual looking armored outfits and one special item forter. [Pure ck Lingerie] obtained Clothing shopping finished they see the sights of the town and find afortable spot in the park to settle down for a while, enjoying lunch from the street vendors. We need more days like this. Grinding is good, but sometimes you just need to rx. " Cain sighs. "But we will need to grind eventually. Thatst drop item is all we need and then we can get out of here for somewhere the dungeons are less cold." Mishaughs. "A day off every week? Or maybe every third day off? If we''re doing this well everywhere we go, working two and taking one off sounds like a pretty good life." "Can you imagine asking your boss for that in thest world? 6 on 1 off was my usual, and they made me feel like that was a luxury." Mishaughs. Cain thinks back over his deadbeat former life, resolving to do better in this one. No more drinking himself insensible, certainly not to the point he ruined his health. No moreying about for months on end until he totally ran out of groceries. He was off to a good start though. He has a job of sorts. A good ce to live. Even what he could call a girlfriend, though they''ve not agreed to anything so formal. Given the option, he was definitely not going back. After a day of rxation they decided to head to the dungeon to farm for thest drop from the harpies. They got up a bitte, getting caught up in line, a rarity for the pair of early risers. "Hey guys. I see you''re down a few people, looking for any more party members?" a lyrical voice asks them. "Oh, hey it''s you!" "Mythryll? What are you doing here looking for a party? Weren''t you with a full group just 2 days ago?" "The party broke up. The warriors kept pulling too many mobs, almost getting me and the shaman killed a bunch of times and it turned into a huge fight yesterday. The others all left town already, but I heard there''s a Frost Staff mages can get from this dungeon." "I know the feeling, I was sure this maniac and a vampire tank were going to get me killed any number of times the day we went for the Iron Man titles." Mishaughs. "You have the Iron Man titles? That''s awesome. The drop rate increase is supposed to make it easy easier to get good gear, and with two in the same party you must get all the loot." "Except the one drop you really need" Mishaughs "How about it Cain? Can we add a party member? We could use a good mage." [Party Invite Sent] [Mythryll Has Joined The Party] Mythryll was only level 26, no wonder she was having trouble and almost dying. Being almost 10 levels ahead of her, they both were higher level than the monsters and didn''t suffer the additional damage that low levels do. "I''ve got a Treant if we need an extra tank." Mythryll says "They never let me use it though. Elves get a bonus to nature magic, so I went almost all nature spells with a bit of fire at the start." "Sure, the more the merrier in my opinion" Cainughs. Turn down extra experience because it might take attention away from his Golems? Not his style. Once they entered, Cain summoned his Golems and Mythryll summoned her Treant. It was a fairly adorable thing, a bit more than her diminutive height and bushy. [New Form Learned: Summon Greater Golem Treant] What is this now? He can learn new forms for his summons just by being around other people''s? That is awesome. "Hey, let me try something first before we pull" Cain says and selects Treant instead of Shield in his Greater Golem form menu. They disappear and he quicky summons them back, appearing as 3 meter tall, thick trunked trees with arm like side branches and vines with sharp thorns. Misha and Mythryll just gape in shock. "When did you learn that?" Misha asks. "Just now. I got the notification a new form was avable when she summoned hers. It''s the first yer created Summon I''ve been around, and it looks like The Greater Golems can copy its form." "But bigger. That must be level 2 or 3 of the spell right?" The little mage asks. "Yeah, so yours is the level 1 Treant Summon? Perfect, let''s go do a pull and see how it goes." The treants do a huge amount of damage with his Skilled Creation Amulet, and the vines wrap up enemies slowing attacks, but they still take a lot of damage in return. "Well, that was fun, but for now, I''ll change them back to shield bearers. We don''t want to anger our Healer." Cain smiles. "Sorry Misha." Mythryll giggles "But it was fun while itsted. Our own little forest in the ice." With both fire and nature magic, plus a small army of summons, their trip through the dungeon goes very smoothly. Still no luck getting the drop from the elite harpy though. Maybe it''s hidden somewhere? They spend a couple hours searching everywhere and finally find what they''re looking for. A Harpy corpse in a Yeti den. [Quest Item Obtained] "Now, should we go look for that Frost Staff? I think me and Cain both know where we''re going to find it." "Yeah, let''s go poke the dragon." Cainughs. It takes them a while to find the entrance to the cave, but checking their hand drawn map, they find an empty circle just like the first time. Chapter 17 - 17 Mythryll is more than happy to follow Cain''s instructions to keep to the wall, close to Misha where he could block iing ice attacks for them. Being even less geared and lower level than the Healer made them all extra cautious. Misha had taken heavy damage from some of the Ice attacks the first time they were here, and nobody wanted the kindly mage to get killed. They''ve got the technique down now though, and Mythryll has not just 1 but 2 different cancel effects, an interrupt and a short silence. With the extra control, very little evenes their way except tail swipes that they mostly dodge. [Mythryll Has Obtained Epic Item] [Frost Mages Salvation] has dropped [Misha Has Obtained Epic Item] [Halloween Witch Costume] has dropped Like Cain''s bow, the staff has a chance to freeze on hit, but it also casts an Ice Armor around the mage wielding it, refreshed with every spell cast. It''s not arge amount of damage absorbed, but a self refreshing shield for a Mage is nothing to scoff at. "Alrightdies, let''s go turn in this quest." Cain makes a grand onwards type gesture with his bow and the girlsugh. Finding the hidden tailor to turn in the quest takes them until nearly nightfall, but in the end they manage to get the reward, and Misha bes a level 20 Tailor with a legendary recipe in her repertoire. "Guys, I reached level 30 from that quest reward. What kind of crazy growth rate is this? I made 4 levels in a day!" Mythryll gushes. "Hey, my guardian tree can teach level 2 now, I''ve got the points and it just unlocked when I leveled up." "I''m in a bit of a hurry to craft this, see you bothter!" Misha calls, running off towards the apartment. "Forget the level up, can I watch?" Mythryllughs "I really want to see what a legendary robe looks like." "I don''t see any good reason why not." Cainughs. "Follow me, we rented right near the entrance to the dungeon. Congrattions on your levels by the way. Grinding with us is faster than usual, secret technique, don''t tell anyone." Mythryllughs softly while they run at his talk of secret techniques, but stops in shock at the apartment when they walk in. "This is beautiful, how long have you been here to decorate?" she asks and Misha giggles. Looking over the recipe in her interface. "It''s the honeymoon suite. You''ll have to join us in the hot springster, nothing gets the cold out of your bones better after a long day in the dungeon." Misha informs her in a serious voice. "But first..." [Legendary Item Created: Ice Dragon Robes] Cleric, Mage only. Binds to yer on use. Additional Cold Resistance. Additional armor. Reduces Casting Cost by 15 percent. "That is, insane. I mean, yeah. Insane. So much casting cost reduction." Mythryll sighs. "What did it take to make?" Misha links the materials and Mythryll''s eyes light up. Sheys a pile of stuff on the ground and kneels with her best pleading look. "Please, oh please, Mighty tailor, might you make me a robe so glorious?" And it is glorious. It appears on Misha like a long, form fitting coat. White dragon scales with white fur trimming, the bottom hem is split up the back for easy movement. The scales shine and sway as she moves, giving a feeling of elegance. It''s got a wide mantle at the shoulders, lined underneath with white fur, giving a unique look beyond its dragon scales, and matching well with the cleric robes in this world. Misha smiles and makes another for the Elven Mage. When worn by Mythryll, the item bes a ball gown in a very fairy like style. It''s slinky like a sequined dress, cut low, with a figure hugging waist and a slit up the side clear to the hip. It''s got long silk sleeves, split from the elbow down, with ties that can be undone to allow the arms free movement and a whitece back and trim instead of fur. "You look, stunning." Misha sighs. "Cleric gear is all very stuffy, but this seems to hold the perfect temperature. That, on the other hand, looks like you belong in a fantasy movie, or at a high society ball." "I was expecting wizards robes, not this. This is possibly the most beautiful thing I will ever own. And it''s armor, the sort of armor you want to be wearing all the time." Mythryll sounds dreamy, like she''s been waiting on this moment for a long time. "Wait, I have the perfect essory for that. Maybe. We''ll see how it looks on you." Cain says. [Yeti Fur Cloak] has been traded It''s a pure white, fur trimmed silk cloak. At least when Misha wears it. On Mythryll it bes a fur trimmed whitece cor with a golden lock and a sheer white silk cloak that attaches at the front and back leaving her shoulders bare other than the sleeves of the dress. Mythryll pushes it back over her upper arms and giggles. "It''s warm like a fur cloak or a good winter coat, but it looks like this." she twirls, then flips the cloak up over her shoulders to make it hang more like a cape. "I know they call Elves the magical forest fairies, but this is just unfair" Misha pouts. "Thank you so much for making it for me though." Mythryll hugs the downtrodden Healer around the waist. "It''s hot springs time. Are you joining us?" Misha asks the excited Elf. "I mean, this is a honeymoon suite, and you guys are, well you know." she stammers flustered. "We''re not actually. More like party members with benefits. Since your party broke up, do you even have a ce to stay? Might as well stay here since you''re with us now. And that means hot springs. There''s plenty of ces to sleep. " Misha nods her head, certain of her logic. Cain heads out to get evening snacks while the girls bathe first, Mishaughing and pinching Mythryll''s rosy cheeks, having fully enjoyed teasing the mage.. They''re out by the time he returns, chatting about their experiences and getting to know each other for over an hour before Cain falls asleep on the couch, exhausted from the day. Chapter 18 - 18 It is decided that the team has all had enough of the cold. Fortunately for them, there is a less popr second dungeon in the vicinity. A post apocalyptic city ruin full of demons. "There has to be a reason people would rather freeze, right?" Cain asks, looking at the nearly abandoned entrance to the dungeon. "I mean likely. But as long as it''s not freezing, I''m game to try it at least once." Mythryllughs. Stepping inside it seems to be a fairly normal dungeon. The expected packs of demons, with wandering patrols. It doesn''t smell funny and the lighting is good. Maybe the whole thing is just that it doesn''t drop the crafting ns that the other dungeon is known for? It''s not long before they realize what the problem with this dungeon is. All the demons have a chance to give [Marked by Shadow] a 10 second buff that reduces STR and CON by 5 points. Too many stacks will kill you, if the hit that applied thest one somehow didn''t. The Golems are falling at a pretty steady rate, so Cain starts just recing them when they get too many stacks. With the two treants from Mythryll''s upgraded nature magic spell the group is in good shape, well defended from the demons by a wall of Golems. "Large targets in the distance, looks like some form of demonic gargoyle in that building. Definitely an elite". Cain says softly, as not to draw too much attention. Not that a group thisrge apanied by giant trees can sneak anywhere, but best not to make the situation any worse. Some of the pulls in this dungeon were considerably difficult on Cain, as a warm blooded man. The demons rarely wore much clothing, straps of leather or a strategically grown bit of scaly skin being the only separation between their fashion and an R18 fetishist show. Jiggly demon boobs everywhere were quite distracting really. Not all of them though. Some were misshapen monsters with limbs where they shouldn''t be, extra appendages or grotesque, pustules and boils. The 6 shambling monsters before the elite pack proved to be one of those. "Stay back, these ones burst acid" Misha frowned, casting a heal on the Golems. "I''m starting to understand why everyone prefers to get cold. Plus these are like 10 levels higher than the other dungeon." The advantage they had in the Ice Caverns, of being higher level than the monsters was reversed here. While they did a significant amount of damage, the Golems also took a significant amount more from these demons, and it was giving Misha a workout. "There we go. Area is clear, you can move on to the elites" Mythryll informs them, crawling back through a gap in the broken wall. Being much smaller, she was often using the rubble to scout a bit ahead. Without that, the group would have walked into any number of surprises, and not of the good kind. The drops in here are worth a fair bit of coin though, enough to make all the hassle worth it. "Alright, 4 elite Demonic Constructs they''re called. Focus down from left to right, they have big ws that seem like they might kill the tanks faster than the debuff stacks will." Cain directs and sends his Golems forward into battle. He was right. One turns on a lesser golem at the start and crushes it in just two strikes. Misha and Mythryll wouldn''t take a second hit from that thing either, it''s just in brutal. They''re also durable, and if it wasn''t for the Mage using [Restraining Vines] and the freeze chance of their weapons the group would have been in a lot of trouble. "Low on mana" Mythryll huffs, leaning with her and in her knees, gasping with exertion. "That mana use really takes it out of a girl." Her smile is forced, but she''s still smiling. A good sign, Cain decides. Maybe she''ll stick around, it''s good to have her in the group. The Golems rumble in victory as thest monster drops. [New Form Learned: Summon Greater Golem: Elite Demonic Construct] [Mythryll Has Received Grade A Spell Book] [Book of Shadow Bolt] has dropped. [Shadow Bolt] Requires cleric. Does 40 shadow damage to a single target. "Hey Misha, I got a spell book for you. An actual bona fide attack spell for clerics." Mythryll cheers. "No more standing around feeling awkward when the pulls are too easy" Cainughs. Misha takes and immediately learns the spell, her smile threatening to split her face in half. "You guys have no idea how happy this makes me. I''ve waited so long to get an ability that can do some damage." She cries and Mythryll pulls her into a hug. "Congrattions. I know it''s tough being a Healer. You''ve got this." the mage whispers softly, until the cleric calms down. She''s way better at thatforting thing, Cain decides, thinking of good ways to entice her to stay with the group. "Didn''t I see you for a new Golem form?" Misha asks once she recovers herposure a bit. "Yeah, want me to give it a try on the next pull?" Cain smiles. The new form is nearly identical to the monsters it was gained from. Huge, winged gargoyles with long ws. They''re durable, like the tank form, but take more damage. Not as much as the tree form though. Where they truly shine is in damage. The ws shred the snake monsters of the next group, leading behind a [Cripple] debuff that increases damage taken. This quicky bes their preferred form for this dungeon, the curse stacks making the reduced damage taken by the tank form irrelevant and the speed at which your group clears much more important. The dungeon proves much toorge to fully clear, so eventually they just call it a day, knowing it will reset in the morning. "Did we get anything good?" Misha asks, having lost track of all the random things that dropped during that extended day. "Lot of crafting materials, a new ring with added shadow damage on attack and a few clothing options. No ns though." Mythryll shrugs. "About the same, but I got these really cool ck leather and chain pants and some boots with spikes on them. Not sure how they''ll look on my ss though." Cain adds. "I got 4 leather crafting ns, but nothing I could wear. One is epic though, so it mighte in handyter. oh, and the materials and a [White Demon Bikini]." Misha says. "Fashion show?" Cainughs. "You''re up first." Mythryll calls out and Cain equips the pants and boots he just got. They''re very tight at the top, but stretchy, with a spiked leather belt. The Boots have a 3 inch tform sole, spikes and straps all over and tuck the pant legs inside. As he forgot to equip a shirt, that''s all he''s wearing. "Very nice. Male stripper meets punk rock singer. The dangling chain mail reallypletes the look." Mythryll cheers. "You should wear that more often."Misha agrees "But we need to find you a shirt on our next run." "You''re up" The mage cheers "Pick an item at random and we can see how it all looks" "Let''s start with the epic item [White Demon Bikini] then." It''s a well covering white bikini, with a pentagram front design and strappy pentagram pattern hips. Revealing, but on the suitable for swimwear side of sexy. "If we''re doing swimwear, I think I''ve got something." Cainughs, linking [ck Plum Smugglers] a green quality item before equipping them. They might be swimwear, but they''re also underwear, as they didn''t rece his pants, and he forgot to unequip them. Deciding against modesty, as she''s in a bikini anyhow, Misha steps forward and pulls the front of his pants to look down. "Yep, definitely plum smugglers." Sheughs, seeing the tight, ck spandex. "OK, first up, let''s try the [Strappy Demonic One Piece] that sounds like a swim suit." Mythryll says. Oh, it''s strappy all right. And that''s all it is. It''s a ck leather body harness that covers exactly zero of the essential bits a swimsuit should cover. Not having looked at herself yet, Mythryll does a twirl. "So how is it?" she asks, then looks down and freezes in horror. "I for one like it very much." Cain whistles. "I second that. Good choice." Misha cheers, pping her hands. Mythryll immediately puts her robes back on and frowns. "Stupid demons." "Let''s try this next [Blue Party Dress]" Misha announces to break the tension. It''s a flirty, short blue sleeveless dress. Very suitable for a summer day. "How is that an equippable armor?" Cainughs "Everyone wasining it is impossible to find normal clothes and you get a sundress?" "It''s green quality armor. Grants 1 percent casting speed. Not great, but it is armor. Maybe they just can''t find it because nobody does the dungeon it drops in?" Misha shrugs. "This one has got to be better." Mythryll sighs and links [Red Racing Swimsuit] Crossing her fingers she equips it and checks her cleavage line before she unequips her robe. It''s a very normal red one piece swim suit, with a grey stripe up the sides. "Yes, winner! Now we''ve all got suits to go swimming" Misha cheers, but Cain thinks he''d rather find some swim trunks instead.. This swimsuit rides up in strange ces. Chapter 19 - 19 The three never did find a swimming pool, but a soak in the room''s hot spring tub has be an evening ritual. Coming from the hot water makes the warm night air feel just that little bit more tolerable. They''ve now collected enough clothing to create their own department store, at least that''s how it feels to Cain. Misha has received over a dozen new recipes this week, all clothing, and almost all very provocative or unique looking. Cain finished up his morning routine and waited for the girls to finish whatever discussion they''re having this morning. "Morningdies. Are we ready for breakfast?" he greets then when they appear, food already ced out on the table. "Yes, thanks. We were just discussing bncing stats on equipment, trying to find the perfect outfit for dungeon runs. Sometimes the best stats are just in ufortable to wear all day." Misha shrugs and Cain remembers the plum smugglers. She''s definitely got a point, they would be far fromfortable to fight in all day. Mythryll still seems to be squirming in difort, though. ''I guess not all stats are worth sacrificing.'' Cain mentally shrugs. They''ve been averaging 2 epic items a day, with a single legendary drop for the week, a corset that granted 5 mana Regen a second and increased armor. Cain suspects that''s the item that Mythryll simply couldn''t give up wearing today. She''s been focusing on ice skills since she noticed that the [Ice Dragon Robes] give a hidden bonus to cold damage, and if she gets another level today she will be able to learn the [Blizzard] spell. But the spell is very mana intensive to cast, so she''s been trying to bnce mana Regen with the reduced casting cost on her robes. The one thing their group has really beencking is an area attack ability. They can handle many targets with the constructs, but nothing they have is truly area damage except one low level [Entanglement] spell which is mostly for control, with only a little damage as a bonus. Misha and Cain are even more excited for the uing days hunting, as they''re very close to achieving level 40. They also learned a valuable bit about advanced leveling, a traveling merchant having brought a newspaper with an article about how a portal bes avable to fast travel to another continent at the second ss change. 200 levels after the first ss change at level 100. This news gave the group renewed motivation to get stronger, seeing that there was so much more than just these little towns they''ve been in since arriving. "I will pull this Subus pack back here and the patrol should miss us." Mythryll whispers, looking back to the group. A small ice spike hits their leader and they alle running around the building, enraged. As soon as they''re out of sight of the road, therger Golems surge forward, trapping them for the battle. It''s a routine they''ve mastered well over the course of the week. Mythryll has slightly greater urate range than Cain''s bow, so she will fire at a group and let them chase her back to where Cain has an ambush set up. The number of patrols in these ruins is disturbingly high, and before they started pulling things out of sight they were routinely interrupted during battle. "Yes, level 36" Mythryll cheers when thest Subus dies. "That''s enough points to get rank 1 of [Blizzard]." "A few more packs and we should be at level 40 too." Misha smiles, looking forward to whatever abilities she''s going to get. [Cain Has Received Epic Item] [Brigandine Incubus Jacket] has dropped. "Incubus jacket?" Misha wonders out loud. "Why don''t you put that on and let''s see what it looks like." It''s a simple ck biker jacket with spikes on the shoulders and metal ting on the inside. The stats are great though, being the next best thing to a full te armor, plus it increases attack speed for him and his constructs by 10 percent. "Looking good." Mythryll whistles. "Find you a band shirt and you''re all set." "Nono, with the chain over leather design of the Pants, he needs a [ck Mesh Tank Top]." Mishaughs trading it over. "I look like I belong in an 80s metal video." Cain sighs but notices Mythryll biting her lower lip. So that''s her type? Interesting. Increasing his STR stat has been increasing and toning the muscle mass of his body, not just the physical ability. So since he''s been adding a lot of it, his formerly lithe physique has gotten a well ripped appearance. He''s got a 6 pack for the first time ever. Adding CON added bulk, so the bnce of the two is important if he cares about appearance. "Elites on patrol." Misha points out, snapping the two from their reverie. The big winged Blood Mongers are one of Cain''s favorites to fight. They''re straight brutality, and slow hitting. The stacks of the debuff don''t build up too fast and they''re not heavily armored, preferring to fight bare chested. The Golems are sent forward to intercept, the big demonic constructs immediately tearing into the enemy. Mythryll''s [Guardian Tree] is at level 2, no longer cute and bushy like at level 1 it''srge and has strong Vines like when Cain duplicated the appearance with his Greater Golems. She didn''t get a second one though, that seems to be unique to the Puppet Master ss. Mythryll casts her newly acquired [Blizzard] and a binding haze of snow appears. The sharp edges of the magical snowkes tearing at the skin of the demons, draining their health at an impressive rate. [Level Up] [Misha Has Received Grade C Spell Book] [Book of Remove Curse] has dropped [Mythryll Has Received Grade A Spell Book] [Book of Demonic Transformation] has dropped. [Summon Lesser Golem] has reached rank 3 [Please Choose A New Form] "A new form? What are my options." Cain mutters to himself. [Tiny Treant] [Little Demon] [Boar] [ Wolf] [y Golem] Cain asks the girls if they want to try out the new forms for his lesser Golems before the next pull. The response is immediate and unanimous "Puppies!" They''re not puppies, but full grown wolves the size of a German Shepherd. The girls don''t care. They''re fluffy, friendly and not nearly as ugly as the little y Golems. Chapter 20 - 20 The [Remove Curse] book that Misha got is pretty self exnatory, but none of them could decide what [Demonic Transformation] might actually look like. [Demonic Transformation] Grade A Transform Caster into a demonic form. Armed with [Demon Sword] Dark Damage +60. Grants additional AC. Grants [Demonic me] Ability [20MP] per use. "With the way this dungeon spawns monsters, I''m not sure I want to try this spell in public the first time." Mythryll insists. "We''re not public, we''re your party. If anyone''s going to see it, we will." Misha points out. "Unless you''re going to ignore a Rank A ability that most mages would kill for. In fact, my former party actually tried to kill me when a Rank A book dropped." Her Arcane Armor is always up, but thankfully didn''t often get a workout since the day she got it. "Fine, but if I lose my dignity, you both must take responsibility." Mythryll giggles, making the othersugh. "Deal. Now let''s see what sort of demon you be." Much to Mythryll''s good fortune, the change doesn''t unequip her outfit. It does turn it from white to a sleek ck, but it''s otherwise unchanged. Her pale, slightly green Elven skin turns a bright white, and her hair turns a deep dark red, with ming orange streaks. The most notable change isn''t the skin or hair though. If anyone was asked, the answer would be either the polished ck horns running from her temples upwards and curling behind her ears or the leathery white wings on her back. Folded, Cain barely noticed them, but as soon as she moves they open instinctively to help her bnce. With a thought a sword of ck mes materializes in her hands and she cackles in glee. "This is awesome! I''ve got enough AC to be a tank and my [HP] tripled when I transformed." "What''s the cool down on that spell?" Misha asks. Most high end skills can''t be active forever after all. "15 minutes up every 30" Mythryll says after a moment. "But I should be able to use all my spells while it''s up." "If you can, we will have to work more cool down reduction into your gear." Misha suggests. "Wings are a much better option than being a squishy mage." "How about we try out your [Demonic me] Before the spell wears off?" Cain suggests. The group creeps down the road a ways, finding a pack of human sized Troll looking demons. Mythryll sneaks forward as well as she can, not used to the new wings. With a snap of her fingers, the required activating gesture for Demonic Fire, the area around the group is engulfed in fire. None escape the mes, burning to death on the spot. "5 minutes on cool down." Mythryll tells the others, smiling. "Very nice, I think that might do more damage than [Blizzard] and it''s the same length cool down." Cainmends her performance. "That A rank spell feels like it should be S rank. I wonder if it''s just the downtime that made the system reduce its rank?" Misha asks impressed. "Maybe. I''ve got a lot of spell damage increase too." Mythryll shrugs. "But let''s get some more demons killed while I''m like this." The decision is to use [Blizzard] to pull the next group, then have the Golems charge in, as the spell doesn''t damage allies. This time the spell has ck kes mixed in with the binding white, giving Cain an idea what''s causing the increased damage. "Mythryll, does your staff still count as equipped?" "Yeah, but I can''t actually use it with the sword in my hand." She shrugs. "Both it and the sword add elemental damage to your spells. That''s why you''re hitting so hard in this form." The idea appeals to Cain, stacking bonuses to make his Golems overpowered. His bow only adds to his attacks, not to non attack spells, so it doesn''t help the Golems. "That''s good to know and all, but we shouldn''t have picked puppies." Misha sounds sad, so Cain focuses on where she''s looking seeing one of the Lesser Golems had been taking damage. The sight of the injured wolf is clearly distressing the Healer. "Should I switch them to tiny demons or something? Maybe Treants?" "No, I will be fine, thanks." Misha grits her teeth, so Cain swaps the wolves option for demons and resummons them. They''re 5 gray, winged gargoyles with sharp ws and fangs. They look like little Lions with wings on their backs and no tails. "Okay, that is better. I thought they might be hideous, but these aren''t ugly at all." They can''t fly, but they jump even better than the Wolves, using their wings to propel them upwards. The damage done and taken seems unchanged though. They kill at a truly impressive rate for the next 10 minutes until Mythryll''s [Demonic Transformation] wears off, then they return to their usual pace. [Cain Has Received Epic Item] [Elementalist Ring] has dropped. "Ooh, extra damage to conjurations" Mythryll cheers. "I would want that for my Treant and Vines, but you know." Is this an ask and you shall receive moment? Cain wondered. t damage added items will need to be reced eventually with increased levels, but they can be very powerful. In his case, with 7 summons a t added damage is a lot in total. The group clears until near dark and returns to the Diner for the Meatloaf special. There''s just something about that big te of meat and potatoes that helps you rx at the end of the day. "We''ve got a week left in our honeymoon suite rental, how about we take a few days off then head to the city Cixelcid and Lickity mentioned? We''ve gotten a lot of good stuff from this dungeon, but it''s almost time to move on." Misha suggests. "We got a load of materials and recipes, maybe we could spend some time creating new stuff? What we don''t want we can sell for traveling money." "And get a great ce like this again next time. It makes all the hard work feel worth it.." Cain sighs looking at the Hot Spring fed tub. Chapter 21 - 21 Now Cain is absolutely certain they have enough clothing to start a store. In fact, they had to buy backpacks because the creations would no longer fit in Misha''s inventory. The locals assured them that in clothes style armor for transfers was in short supply everywhere, as the ns were exceedingly rare drops. Not for Misha apparently, but they were nning to bring all the good stuff, items that created at blue or better from ns with random quality, plus all the items from epic ns, with them. At half an hour or more creation time for some of the items, they were nowhere near out of materials, but 6 hours a day of crafting and fashion shows left them enough time to see the city, rx, stroll the woods and just generally live their best lives for the week. Finally, thest day of their monthly rentales and it is time to move on to the city. They pack up their bags and say goodbye to thendlord before heading for the gates. Again, they decide not to rent a carriage and instead intend to walk all day, enjoying the sounds and scents of the road. This stretch is in much better condition, being a stone paved road and not just a dirt track. Just as the sun is reaching midday Cain detects the distinctive scent of ake. "I smell fresh water. How about a pic by theke?" He asks and Misha cheers. The water ends up being no more than 20 meters from the road, just behind some trees. A nket is set out and the packed lunches from the Cafee out, enjoying the sunshine and watching the birds on theke. "We should get going." Mythryll sighs "The guards said the city gates close at dusk and we don''t want to get locked out." They fall in with a merchant Caravan when they reach the road, giving them a never ending stream of conversation for the rest of the afternoon. The merchants are a colorful bunch, with a wealth of knowledge. They make a 3 month journey each way buying and selling whatever is avable, in a season long loop home for winter. "Halt in the name of the Red Bandana bandits. Turn over all your trade goods and nobody needs to die!" a voicees from in front of the Caravan. "5 men, all between levels 25 and 30. All red gged as murderers." A tall guard tells Cain, drawing his sword. The merchants only have two guards at level 26, so they''re no match for this robbery, but they''re going to try. "Don''t kill the Cleric, we''ll have it sign a vendor contract afterwards." The leader yells at his men. It? These must be idiots that believe the world is just a game, and they''ve mistaken Misha as a rich NPC. "Kindly kill them would you Darling?" Misha drawls, ying the part she''s been mistaken for. The leaderughs. "Everyone knows the caravans are under level 30 and poorly armed. Don''t make this hard on yourself." Cain equips his bow and summons his Golems into the bandit party at the same instant Mythryll Transforms into her demon form. The leader doesn''t even have time to react before a Poisoned Arrow Multi Shot is iing. He manages to parry the first but the others m into his chest. Screamse from his party members and 5 more banditse running from the woods. Cain turns the Lesser Golems on them, with a 15 level disadvantage the bandits are hard pressed to deal with the four legged gargoyles. Mythryll uses her demonic me on the main pack and charges at a bandit, intent on getting into meleebat, perhaps the first the she''s ever intentionally done so. A Shadow Bolt from Misha drops another while the rest fall to arrows and gargoyles. "Let''s go find their camp. I hate bandits." Mythryll demands, pointing to where the reinforcements came from. Cain sends the Golems that way and Mythryll summons her Treant, leaving it to protect the merchants. The bandit camp is a sad thing, a few dozen ragged tents and fifteen or so orange gged transfers, all under level 30. "If you party with a criminal it gs you for 48 hours. That''s how they force suckers into their guild, then they''re orange forever. If the guild leader is red gged, all members stay orange, and you can''t quit a guild while a criminal, you need to be kicked." Mythryll exins in a low voice. "That''s just cruel. But what do we do?" Misha asks. "We killed the guild master, I''m pretty sure, so let''s try to take them prisoner. Their gs will expire in prison and they''ll leave free." Cain suggests. The girls think a second then nod agreement. "Let''s do this." "Red Bandana Guild, your raiding team is all dead. Surrender yourselves or face the same fate." "Crap, they''re over Level 40, we''re screwed." someone calls and tries to flee. A Poisoned Arrow takes him down and the Lesser Golems are on him in seconds. "Anyone else? Or are youing peacefully?" The merchants have cuffs that prevent equipping weapons or casting spells, and the remaining bandits are quickly secured. "Did you have to be so brutal to them?" One asks, looking at the remains of the battle. "They attacked us. But don''t worry, it was quick." Mythryll informs them, still in her demonic form. With the dys, and reluctant prisoners the Caravan barely makes the city before the gates lock for the night. In fact, they would have missed the closing, but the duty Sargeant saw the orange gged crowd being guarded by Golems on the horizon and held the gates in curiosity. "Are these the notorious Red Bandana Bandits?" he asks as the group gets close. "What''s left, we killed the others." Misha smiles at him. "Well, well. Good job. I''ll write you a questpletion and you can im it in the morning." He waves everyone through and locks the gates behind them. "You''ll be wanting a good hotel for the night, right? Down to the city Square, then a block left.." He waves an abrupt goodbye and follows his men escorting the prisoners away. Chapter 22 - 22 The hotel the guard pointed them towards is a giant stone building, farrger than any building they''d seen so far in this world. The interior is luxurious but tasteful and the night attendant greets them before they reach the counter. "Wee travelers, to the Golden Loon Inn. I was notified of your arrival and have a room prepared, unfortunately we only had one room remaining for the evening, will that be eptable?" "That should be fine sir." Misha answers. "We''ve grownfortable in each other''spany, and will be seeking longer term arrangements tomorrow, as we intend to stay in town a month at least." A month per town minimum is what they all decided on, to give ample time to rx and not feel as if they were being rushed through life. Misha worked too much and Mythryll was a student with a heavy workload, so this change is exactly what they needed out of a second life. The two on, one off schedule is also staying, as it has been working out well both for rxation and time to repair and upgrade equipment. The attendant leads them up to the far corner of the hotel, a spot that should be above the storage rooms and not part of the regr pattern of rooms. "The silver suite was ourst avable room. I do hope you enjoy." He bows and exits as the party walks in. This room is glorious. The name silver suite seems to havee from the silver ornaments decorating the room. The walls are a mixture of shades of grey marble, polished to a high shine. Deep carpets in grays, creams and tans cover the hardwood floors, with white leather couches and a polished Teak bar stands in the corner. The first door off to the side leads to a bedroom, the oversized bed beyond any king size from their memories and surrounded by thick curtains, currently drawn back. A white dressing table with arge padded bench and a mirror surrounded in magic fuelled lights adorns the far wall. Cain ducks into thest room, finding it is actually two rooms. A water closet for the toilet and a huge hot tub, currently swirling away and steaming. "Ladies" Cain smiles, interrupting their discussion in the bedroom "We have a hot tub. Even bigger than thest one." They squeak in joy, dragging Cain by his hands back into the bathroom and towards the tub, changing into their swimsuits as they go. Mythryll did eventually find a bikini she likes, like Misha''s pentagram patterned one, but in red. Cain also found trunks, in ck, butfortable for rxing in a hot tub. There''s a line of products along the wall and Mythryll this to investigate. "Shampoo, Body wash, conditioner, detangler, bubble bath." There''s no shower in here, so it seems the tub is the bathing option of choice. An executive decision is made that this will be a bubble bath, also known as Misha happily grabbed the bottle and dumped an ample amount into the tub. The bubbles rise high above the water, almost covering everyone''s heads. "Oops, too much. But now we can wash in privacy, no need to wait." she hands out loofahs and passes around the body wash, fully intending to get properly clean and not just soak in the hot tub. ''Why not'' Cain thinks, everything is covered in bubbles anyhow. The three share the giant bed that night, waking up refreshed and ready to see the sights of the city. All with the same thought in mind "This is the life". "We should see if we can find Lickity again." Misha suggests. "I want to see what the [Ice Dragon Robes] look like on her." Mythryll holds up a finger, signaling to wait "But first, we must know how much this room will be for a month." "That would be 5 Gold coins, with the long term discount Miss, including morning and evening meals for three." The daytime attendant looks a bit perplexed, perhaps because of the amount. But selling so many crafted armors greatly enhanced the groups wealth, so they''re willing to splurge. "Did you find the sleeping amodations satisfactory?" The man asks with an inquiring tone. "We do have other rooms with more bedsing avable." "Do they have such glorious tubs?" Misha asks and the man shakes his head. "No miss, only the silver and gold suite do. Other rooms have a shower." "Then we''ll stay in the silver suite." Misha determines, cing the coins on the counter. Essentials, at least in Misha''s mind, secured, they head out to see the city. It''s a grand ce, far more stone buildings and cleaner streets than the vige and town. There are also higher level crafted goods for sale, it''s a good thing that Misha is over level 40, or her own goods might have suffered the price reduction for low level creators. That in mind, she wonders where Lickity might be, so she asks a nearby clothing merchant. "Do you perhaps know of a tailor named Lickity, or her friend Cixelcid?" "Oh, Cid. Yes, he''s quite popr with thedies. They''ll be at the market over in the guild quarter this time of day." The merchantdy smiles dreamily. Cain hands her a copper for her trouble and they start walking in the direction of the guild run vendors. They find Cixelcid on the way, buying liquor from a local brewer. "Greetings young friends" heughs. "You''ve finally made it here!" At this point he frowns, looking at Cain. "I don''t remember you being sorge." "Funny story that." Cainughs "I get to allocate some stat points every level. The more my strength increases, therger I''ve gotten. My height stopped here at about 190cm a while ago, but every increase gives me a better physique. My Golems do damage based on my strength, so I''ve been focusing it." "Noints here." Mythryll giggles making Misha smile. "It''s much more rxing to shop with a big strong man around." Cixelcid bursts intoughter. "What brings you to this side of town? Looking for an adventuring guild?" "Actually, no. I got a Tailoring skill quest and some amazing clothing ns that I would like Lickity to try on. Free epic wardrobe items if she puts on a fashion show." Misha jokes. "You think you''re kidding, but I''ll make her do it. I swear I will. She''s still wearing that bath robe everywhere." Cixelcid insists. The unfortunate Lickity has sold out her days goods and is quickly captured by her guild mate near a bubble tea stand. "Don''t argue, we''ve got good things for you, for just a small price." She giggles as he slings her over his shoulder before moving to cover her modesty in the very short bath robe. "Where are you staying? Our rooms are both quite small." Cidments. "No worries, we''ve got the Silver suite at the Golden Loon." Mythryll cheers, happy that for once the chance of wardrobe malfunctions isn''t going to be because of her. Everything looks normal on Misha, but when the Elf tries, many of the demonic named items are positively scandalous. "The Golden Loon? That''s not an easy ce to get into. Who referred you?" Cid whistles. "The guard captain. We brought in a bunch of bandits right at gates closed and he sent us over there. The silver suite is the only room left they said, and we''ve booked it for the month." Cixelcidughs at their enthusiastic response to spending a huge sum of money onfort. Most transfers save every cent they can for better gear and advanced potions, these three spent it on the biggest in suite magical hot tub in town. "Not at all worried about gear?" Lickity asks. "How much grinding have you done since getting the Iron Man questpleted?" Cain asks and the Subus shakes her head. "Well the drop rate is insane. Multiple epic items daily, Tailoring recipes, we''ve even gotten multiple skill books this past month." Mythryll sighs. "And that''s with just the two of them increasing the drop rate." "Now about that fashion show.." Misha smiles, looking at the entrance to their hotel. Chapter 23 - 23 "First up is the item we came here to bring you. [Ice Dragon Robes] a legendary recipe gained from a Tailoring quest." Misha hands over the item and Lickity freezes in panic. "This binds when equipped. If I wear it, I can''t give it back." "We came here specifically to give it to you. See the outfits the girls have on? Both are the [Ice Dragon Robes] with essories." Cain exins. "Thank you so much then. Even if it''s something embarrassing, I will still wear it sometimes." Lickity promises. On her it''s mostly translucent white silk, opaque where it needs to be for modesty, strategically ced Dragon scales making a beautiful twin White Dragon pattern down her sides to below the knees. It''s floor length, strapless and backless, the plunging neckline ending below her belly button and the back showing a hint of rear cleavage, as it closes just below her tail. Thews of physics demand this outfit must be impossible, but it fits like it has been stitched to her body in ces at the edges. "That''s vaguely simr to Mythryll''s gown." Cain muses out loud, producing a [Yeti Fur Cloak] like the Elf is wearing. "Try adding this." On the Subus, it is not a fur trimmed silk choker with a gossamer cloak attached front and back. Instead it is a seamless white leather cor, with a heart shaped silver padlock hung at the front andce trimming. It does have a cloak though. Attaching at two points on the back of the cor and just brushing the Subus'' tail, instead of being near floor length. "Well, what do you think?" Misha asks and Cixelcid discretely adjusts himself in his trousers. "It''s perfect, it covers everything! It''s a real dress, and a real cloak, now all it needs is shoes." Mythryll produces a set of [White Demonic Low Boots] and Lickity immediately puts them on. They''re cutece trimmed white ankle boots, not too out of ce with the dress, but not perfect. "What about [White Subus Thigh Highs]" Misha suggests. They''re whitece stockings with high heeled white leather shoes and a tform sole. They look great, if impossible to walk in. The Subus is used to such treatment though, swaying around the room in the outrageous heels. "Well that''s one outfit sorted, let''s go for more." Few turn out as intended. Though there''s a blue sundress cut high enough to show hints of her bottom cheeks, even while standing still, that Cid insists she must keep, as well as one men''s shirt that seems to only have two buttons in the middle and hangs down to mid thigh. "That one. It''s perfect night wear." Cain insists and Cid gives him a thumbs up. "Care to exin?" Mythryll asks confused at their reaction. "It''s a guy thing. It''s hard to exin, but no man doesn''t like seeing that outfit in the morning." Cixelcidughs. Finally they''re down to items Mythryll refused to try and swimwear. "First up. As you''re a Subus, let''s go for the [Subus Business Suit]" Misha cheers, getting to the fun part of the day and Lickity sighs, knowing this is what Cixelcid meant by a price for the clothing. It''s a form fitting ck Latex suit with leather cuffs and cor that contain sturdy metal rings and attached heeled boots. "Um, well, everything''s covered?" Misha tries stifling her giggle and Lickity looks herself over. "Yes, I am not nearly naked. But somehow, I think this might be worse to wear in public than that little blue dress." The Subusughs, changing back to her white outfit and firmly handing it back. Misha discretely trades it and the matching [Subus Business Hat] to Cixelcid. A few more unsuitable optionster, it''s time for swimwear. There''s a [ck Pentagram Bikini] that seems to look the same no matter who wears it, so that Lickity keeps. The racing swimsuits all turn transparent or have strategic holes in them, so those are out. There''s a [Blue School Swimsuit] thates outpletely normal, so that is added to the collection and Misha deres they''ve gone though everything likely to end well for the Subus. "Wait, there''s one left." Mythryll says with an evil smile, producing the [Strappy Demonic One Piece]. Once everyone is dressed for dinner, Cid still sporting a small hand print on his face, the group heads down to try the famous restaurant downstairs. "Worth every cent." Cixelcid deres, stomach now full, before heading to the pub with Cain for the evening while thedies have a girls night in. Cain stumbles back to the room just before dawn and copses on the couch, spent and not wanting to wake anyone by trying to get in bed. He wakes groggy when the afternoon sunshine hits his face, cursing at the onught of pain. Where''s Misha with a healing spell when he needs her? Still in bed, as he discovered a few minutester when she emerges with red eyes and tousled hair. "Wine is evil." She mutters before casting an area healing spell followed by greater cure poison and curing everyone''s hangover. Mythryll runs out of the bedroom, followed by an elegantly dressed Lickity and gives Misha a big hug "Thank you so much. I really needed that, I was too afraid to open the curtains and let the light in." "Lickity, what can you tell us about the major dungeon here?" Cain asks, deciding to get straight to business after paging hotel staff to bring up breakfast. The hostess is there in seconds, taking their orders with a smile before leaving without a sound. "It''s an undead dungeon. Mostly skeletons and zombies with a few lich and ghost type monsters. It''s another one without dedicated boss locations, instead you''ll find wandering boss Level monsters at random. The primary drops are undead rted, so there might be something good for Cain''s Summoning. The few who rolled Necromancer from the random character creation love this ce, and your ss is a little simr." That''s all good news. As long as the trade in materials are worth decent coin that is. They spent a lot of Misha''s money on this suite. "Also, Cid sent me a message a few minutes ago that there''s a [Book of Turn Undead] at the Hall, so we should head over there first thing if Misha wants it." "Let''s go. Cain, carry the Subus if she can''t keep up." Misha yells running for the door.. Even if it''s situational, she''s not ying about getting a second damage skill. Chapter 24 - 24 The run to the Hall is a short one, everyone getting out of the way of the seemingly crazed Healer running through the streets. She''sughing hysterically and not even trying to dodge pedestrians, instead running in the midst direct possible line towards the Hall. What is it she found out, the crowd wonders. Did she finish a quest with a particrly good reward? They do give out some good ones at the Hall now and then. "Do you still have it? Is it here?" Misha pants at the shop keeper. "Rx miss, it''s still here. 4 gold coins for the Rank D version of Turn Undead." The shop keeperughs, knowing exactly what the panicked Healer is looking for. Misha ps coin on the counter and whoops in glee, before noticing that everyone is staring at her. "Sorry, I really wanted that spell." Caines in secondster, carrying the Subus with the mage running along beside them. "Did you get it?" he asks and the whole store bursts intoughter. "Yeah, she got it. Since Pdins can already use it without learning it from a book, Turn Undead often sits a day or two." One of the workers informs him. "Anything we can get you? What sses books can you use?" The worker asks him with an appraising eye. "I can use Hunter and Shaman, specializing in constructs." Cain tells him. "Well aren''t you in luck? We''ve got one Book you can use, a Rank C reinforce constructs passive for Shamans. It''s been here for ages, so we''ll give it to you for Rank D pricing, how about that?" That sounds more than fair to everyone present. Almost favoritism level, if they didn''t know how rare construct users are under level 100. "Done." Cain smiles, putting down the coins and waiting while they get the book. [Reinforce Construct] Passive. Reduces construct damage taken by 10 percent. Increases construct [HP] by 30 percent. Now that''s exactly the sort of skill he needed. Not having a list of secondary abilities to add points to and chose from like other sses can be a pain sometimes. Sure, the good stuffes mostly from books for everyone, but even simple things like reduced casting cost abilities are unavable to his ss. Even Misha looks happy he got it, but then it makes way more difference to her life than his. She''s the one tasked with keeping them alive. They don''t have anything for Mythryll unfortunately, the glut of mages ensuring their books are sold in minutes, if not seconds. "Sorry guys, but I should run. I''ve got to get some Tailoring done, I got a few custom orders yesterday." Lickity tells them sadly. "Feel free to visit anytime. We''re always happy to see you." Misha tells her with a hug. "Should we check the dungeon now, try out your new ability?" Cain asks Misha. "That would be great. I''ve got too much built up energy to not use it on something." The Undead Dungeon stinks. Literally. The whole ce reeks of Death and Rot. But they''re here to make money, the bath at home can fix the smell. "Why did the first pull have to be juicy zombies? Mythryll sighs, smashing then with a Vine Whip spell. "At least they''re not doing much damage." Misha is excited for a good chance to try her Turn Undead. It is supposed to chase away and damage Undead within 20 meters, but the Golems and Vines are destroying these ones too fast to get a good sense of how it will work. "There''s about 30 skeletons over there you can try it on." Mythryll points with her staff and the group turns to engage them, sending only the Greater Golems at first, so the skeletons don''t get bogged down in bodies. The spell works fantastically, doing quite a bit of damage, stunning the ones that get hit soon afterwards and causing every skeleton not actively being hit to run away. This causes an unexpected side effect, though they likely should have expected it. Once the spell wears off, they return with friends, any Undead that were near them when the spell ended gets dragged along. "I''ll herd them into a circle, then you use Blizzard and clear out the herd." It''s a working tactic, the skeletons aren''t smart and neither are the zombies, they''re easily rounded up and packed tight for Blizzard to shred them. They all wish they had a little more Area damage, but they''ll need to wait a few more levels to upgrade unless someone gets a skill book for it. They soon find their first Elite, a boss level Lich Lord. His paralyze spells prove to be an annoyance, constantly hitting Misha and not targeting anyone else, but they do keep most of his big damage abilities like drain life and necrosis under control. [Summon Greater Golem Form Gained: Lich Lord] [Level Up] "Sweet, you guys made level 43!" Mythryll cheers, having just made 37 herself. Everyone takes a moment to check their status and spend points as needed. [Name] Cain [Level] 43 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human [Skills] [Summon Lesser Golem] lv4 [Summon Greater Golem] lv2 [Poison Arrow] lv3 [Light Foot] lv2 [Reinforce Construct] Passive [Stats] +5 [STR] 90 [DEX] 45 [CON] 70 [INT] 30 [HP] 280 [MP] 150 Cain wasn''t sure exactly where to put his newly gained points, and decided to hold off for a while, using them when he finds a deficiency in his build. But at level 40, getting 5 points a level instead of 3 like the basic sses do, he''s way ahead in Stats to begin with. He''s heard some of the advanced sses also get more than 3 per level, but everyone is pretty quiet about their actual status outside of their close friends. The clear was going incredibly smoothly, therge numbers of receable constructs making up for the disadvantage most groups faced that led to them getting swarmed and overrun. If it wasn''t for the smell, this dungeon would be great. Looking over the new form he''d gotten for Greater Golems, he saw that the Lich Lord form could use necrosis, a form of damaging and debilitating aura, but that would cost the group their tanks. Maybe he''d find a use for itter? The Demon form was doing a great job with its long ws and high attack speed. The run ends with only a single epic drop: [Clean Socks] grants 5 percent movement speed. Hey, an upgrade is an upgrade, right? Even if your new socks came from a zombie. Chapter 25 - 25 The big city is in an uproar today. There is a special dungeon in town that only opens once a week, and it''s opening today. It will be open from noon today until noon tomorrow before it locks and resets for the week, but you can only enter it one time. If you leave and try to return it will kick you out. It also requires a minimum of ten in a party to enter, any less and the entry portal is like walking into a wall. A maximum of 25 is permitted, but it only spreads the drops out over more people. At least ording to the warriors at the next table during breakfast. They''vee here with their guild just to give it a try. The items that drop in here are supposed to have a much higher than usual chance of dropping at legendary and epic quality, as well as ability books. Now, that sounds particrly good to the three of them, given their sess at getting epic items on a regr day, so the decision is made to go check out the town square near the entrance where those without a big enough group gather. The atmosphere in the square feels like a festival. Hawkers shouting the roles they need, ''Healer, Healer'' sounding a bit like pigeons looking for feed. Food carts, plus equipment, weapon and potion vendors have set up all around the perimeter, and the group all waves when they see Lickity selling her wares. Misha has been put in charge of finding them a group, as her role is definitely the most in demand, with many groups eyeing her hungrily as they walk through the square. It makes Cain and Mythryll feel a bit like they''re her bodyguards. They wave as they find Lickity hawking her wares and grab some peanut brittle for the walk. No sense being hungry in a festival, right? Finally, one group does catch her eye, a Guild in matching color cloaks looking for a Healer plus 2. All of them are nearly level 60, which should make life much easier. They''ve got a very well geared warrior tank Misha thinks looks easy to heal and sensible, so she brings everyone over to say hello. They''ve made a sign "Healer Requested" "Morning Miss." Their group leader smiles. "Hi, I''m Misha, level 43 cleric, with [Greater Cure Poison] and [Remove Curse]. With me are a nature type Support mage and a versatile Summoner ss." She greets him back, getting right to the point. "That sounds eptable, let''s move somewhere quieter." He answers, moving to a sitting area away from the main gathering of adventurers. "We''ve got the three you see here, plus another Tank, a Healer and two Mages." The other tank, our Guild Master is almost to level 60, they went to help him grind at the undead dungeon this morning and should be back within an hour once he levels up. "You''ve got a Healer, but you''re looking for a Healer?" Misha asks confused. "Yeah, don''t trust anyone who says one Healer is fine. Unless you''ve got Pdins or a Vampire Tank that''s really geared, you need a second Healer just for the tanks or you risk losing damage members to keep them alive." their warrior tank says. "That''s also why control members matter. A bunch of the monsters in there cast area spells, so the more you can stop that, the easier it is on the healers." The party leader adds. "What can you do for summons? Something like the Warlocks Imps, or different?" he asks turning to Cain. A warlock can Summon two small imps that cast demon fire. If they focus on building them up they can do quite a lot of damage on their own, or so the group has heard, having never seen one in person. "I can call on seven total at a time. Two Greater summons that can be Tanks, damage or minor control roles and 5 small summons that are damage dealers." Cain responds with a bit of pride. "Tank type summons? Can you call them here, so we can see what you mean? It''s a non attack ability area, you won''t get in trouble." Cain switches the form of his [Summon Greater Golem] back to tank and calls them out. The huge, shield bearing Golems are attracting attention and impressed whistles from the groups currently looking for members and passersby. He removes then after the group has had a moment to examine them. "If they''re as tough as they look, that is quite the skill. Receable tanks would make any Healer happy in a tight spot." Their mage nods, impressed. The group leader was right, the rest of the guild is back within the hour, but there''s only three of them and they don''t look happy. "What happened boss? Where did Healbot go?" Poor guy named his character Healbot, not knowing it would be his name for life. All three take a moment to give a prayer of sympathy for the poorly named cleric. "Farkin loser rage quit the guild, because of a stupid drop item. It''s not even that valuable, but we agreed that legendary drops would go to the guild''s base fund." he Guild Master tells him, clearly upset. The two Mages behind him don''t look mad at the Healer, they look mad at the Guild Master. "You sold off a legendary ne recipe that adds 20 percent healing in exchange for a cute outfit for your girlfriend." One points out. "I said I''ll pay it back into the guild fund, and I will. What''s the big deal? You know what, forget this. I''m not in the mood. Let''s go home." He stomps away and everyone stares at him. He didn''t even get to find out they''d filled the group, except for the Healer he chased off. "Wow, that was exciting. I should have brought popcorn." Mythryll says softly and the leader of the recruitment partyughs. "We''ll likely be looking for a non guild group by this time next week the way things are going. That girl is bad news, bleeding him dry and he won''t see sense." he sighs. "Add me as a friend and we can catch each other next week." Cain tells him. "Without the guild leader preferably." They allugh and start to disperse. "Oh, if you wanted that recipe, your friend Lickity will have it. She''s the best fashion vendor in town, so that will be where he sold it." That''s when Cain realized the group had deliberately set themselves so they could see the scantily d Lickity''s cart all day.. True Gentlemen of Culture. Chapter 26 - 26 Now without a group, the party was left at a loss. Should they find another group to go with? None of them seemed as well bnced as the first one Misha picked, being either heavy on mages or warriors with little to no support. Almost all were looking for a Healer, which gave them a variety of options, just no good ones. Instead they decided to look for Lickity first and see what she wanted for that ne recipe. They found her flirting with customers while Stubbs worked hard at something in the back of the cart. "Hey Lickity! We came to y!" Mythryllughs when the Subus notices them. "Perfect timing. If you''ve got the materials I just bought a recipe for Stubbs that makes a legendary ne." Lickityughs. "Funny thing that, we just met the guy who sold it to you. His party broke up, so we couldn''t do the big dungeon with them." Cain sighs. "I hear Cixelcid is going to take every decent Guild member along with him this week, they might have spaces, since our Guild is level 1 and capped at 20 members." Stubbs calls from the back. "And hi guys! If you''ve got these 6 materials, I can make that ne. No extra charge, friends and family discount." They''ve got everything but a Moon stone, so Mythryll runs off to the shops to find one while Misha chats and Cain goes looking for Cixelcid. "Cid, buddy old pal. Wait up a minute!" Cain calls out when he sees him. "I''m not lending you any more money until you return the blow up doll!" Cixelcid yells back, causingughter in the crowd. "I heard from a little bird you might have a few spots for tonight''s run. Our group fell through when the Tank sold a Healer jewelry n to Lickity to buy clothes for his girlfriend." Cain exins when he gets close. "Yeah, we''ve got 3 left for you guys. Fifteen of our own are going, plus 7 we find around town. With you lot it makes 25. The maximum for a run. Don''t worry, everyone understands that the loot might be sparse with so many." "It might not. We have been making out like bandits. If Lickity and Stubbs are in, having 5 copies of the increased drop rate passive active should more than make up the difference." Cain tells him, letting him in on their good fortune. "They are. Hopefully it''s worth it, we''ve never brought so many before." Cid shrugs. When they get back to the stall, Mythryll has already returned and Stubbs has made the ne, so Misha is bouncing around hugging everyone in excitement. "Well I''m d to see you too." Cixelcid greets her. "Since you''re all in for the run, it''s time to pack up the stall and get going." The party is very well built. They''ve got Cixelcid plus a Pdin tank, 2 Rogues and a level 53 shaman, plus two more clerics already. "Gravy run." The shaman says after a round of Introductions "We''ve got self healing tanks, lots of healers, control specialists and whatever the ss called Puppet Master does." "Multiple summons. I''ll have either 2 additional tanks, control specialists or heavy DPS summons plus 5 smaller DPS gargoyles." "Make them DPS, if you''ve got the option. But when did the little guys be gargoyles?" Cixelcid asks. "In the Demon dungeon, they gained the form from an elite gargoyle pack. At level 40 I could make them wolves or pigs, but the pigs are ugly and the Wolves getting hurt bothers the others. Gargoyles are way better." "That''s quite the ss." The shaman smiles. "One of the hidden advanced sses." the second rogue agrees. "They''re always good." ''They have no idea'' Cain thinks to himself. With over 30 members, including summons, the increased experience is going to be insane. It''s a shame this ce is only open once a week. Cixelcid is exining the boss fights and likely problems they''ll face, making sure everyone is ready to go. He loves being prepared, and with so many being people he hasn''t worked with before, it''s extra essential. When he finishes, the Dwarven Pdines over to introduce himself. "Wee, I''m Red Beard, the Guild master. I hate public speaking, so Cid does it for me. I prefer to organize crafting events and materials gathering. I''ve heard a lot about you guys though, he says you''re a fun bunch to run with and good luck on the drop rates." Mythryllughs "You have no idea. I''ve seen multiple epic drops plus a legendarye from the same run with them." "You''ve gotten multiple legendary items?" he asks curious. "The robes they wear, plus the ring on the Healer, the corset the Mage wears, a few others I am wearing. Yeah, we''ve done pretty well." Cain smiles. "Everyone ready? Good, let''s go." Cixelcid calls. Cain summons his Golems when they enter and the shaman gives him a happy pat on the back. "It''s a good day I tell you, a good day. Look at them, they''re adorable!" she stares at the Lesser Golems. "If only there was a way I could keep one as a pet. You can call me Char, I know we will be friends if you pick pets so cute." Mishaughs at the odd woman. Even taller than she herself is, and very slender, the armor she''s wearing is an odd mix of tribal style hides and chain mail. The visual effect is confusing, but she seems to be an easy person to get along with, and she''s one of the random group members picked up by Cixelcid for the day. If she''s any good, Misha decides she might try to add her to the party, bringing them to four members. Having a full party is a good thing in her opinion, it helps bring variety and utility to the tactics. Just before the first pull, she creates a small totem about knee high and hangs it over her shoulder like a purse using a scrap of leather. "They create on the ground you see, but there is nothing stopping me from picking it up and bringing it along, so I do." The shaman giggles as everyone realizes the healing totem is active. See, Misha thinks.. That''s the sort of creativity every group needs. Chapter 27 - 27 The dungeon is full of Ice Giants. Make that Ice Giants and Giant White Wolves. ording to the experienced adventurers it changes every week when it opens, so you never know what it is until someone returns. The bosses are always the same though. Ice Giant, Wendingo, Demon and Dragon. What changes is which bosses followers fill the dungeon. Cixelcid and Red Beard each pull a Giant to the side and the damage dealers start going at it. Poison Arrow proves very effective in this dungeon. Even if it''s reduced, it''s still a lot. Looking around, the only other poison he sees is Stubbs, possibly the other rogue too, but it didn''t look like it. Poison isn''t one of their ss abilities, it''s a skill Stubbs got from a book. The two giants are almost down when a patrol of wolves stumbles upon them. Cain turns the Golems at them, grabbing their attention and slowing them down. One the first of the giants drops, Cixelcid moves to tank the wolves, freeing up the Greater Golems to go all out on damage. "They take way less damage than I expected" One of the clerics says. "Maybe it''s the healing totem making it feel like they''re taking less? But it didn''t seem to be much different than what the tanks take." the other cleric wonders. The second Giant falls and Red Beard moves to help with the wolves. Cixelcid is no longer trying to actively grab them all, and two fall back on the Golems. "Don''t worry about it, they pull monsters very well and don''t take too much damage, just let them be." Cain suggests and Cixelcid lets them fight it out with the wolves. Alternating targets and using multi shot with Poisoned Arrow proves to be the best tactic. It gets poison attacks up everywhere and the targets drop more evenly, so area attacks from their other damage dealers aren''t wasted. The tanks said they''d call when a target needed to die first and everyone is trusting their judgement. Cain is going through much more mana than usual, thanks to the multi shot, but the way monsters are dying, so is everyone. They take a quick break after the wolves to get a bit of mana back before moving on, grabbing a pack of three and letting the Greater Golems take the third. The melee attackers are fighting from behind them, and Cain is worried that they''ll simply turn around and squish someone, but they seem quite intent on killing the targets in front of them. Red Beard has used his Designated Aggressor skill on the 4 of them, the tanks and Golems, to increase their chance of being targeted. [Cain Has Received Epic Item] [Ice Giant Ring] has dropped It''s not a ring at all, but a bracelet that adds Cold damage to all attacks and creations attacks. Good stuff for him. The notification is faded, as Cixelcid has set loot to private. It prevents jealousy from derailing the run before it finishes and lets yers keep important items secret. A few pullster, they''re at the first boss. The Ice Giant King. He throws ice spears, casts Blizzard, Stomps around and just basically makes a mess of any group formation. For the Blizzard, which can''t be interrupted, they all agree to gather at the shaman, so the clerics can cast area heals and everyone will be in totem range. Normally one tank stays out and just eats damage to keep the boss away from the group, but today the Golems will do that and Cain will just Summon them back if they die. He switches them to their shield bearer mode and starts the pull on Cixelcid''s signal. They charge and one immediate stomps, interrupting his first set of Ice spikes. "They can interrupt? Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Red Beard jokes and the healers allugh. The Pdin has an interrupt in the form of shield m, but it only works once every minute. Not nearly often enough for a casting intensive boss like this. The rotation is set. the Golems, then Red Beard then Cixelcid will interrupt casting, and hopefully get everything that can be interrupted. Mythryll forgets to mention that her Treant can too, but but it''s fine, she will use it if theye up short. They''ve just gotten settled into a rhythm when the Ice Giant King blinds everyone with a Blizzard and they run towards the sound of the Shaman''s voice. The area heals are having no trouble keeping them all alive, and Misha''s enhanced Heal over Time effects coupled with buffs from her gear are keeping the Greater Golems alive. Not in great shape, but in no immediate danger of dying. The Blizzard clears and Cixelcid returns to taking control of the boss with a taunt while Cain casts a fresh set of Golems, his small ones having stayed at the boss and been destroyed by the Blizzard. They''re back in action in seconds and a couple Poisoned Arrow Multi Shots get the debuff stacked back up on the boss. He''s down to half now, quicker than Cain expected, when a set of Ice Spikes resists being stopped, slipping through their interrupts and causes wide spread damage. Nobody is in danger of dying, but Cain thinks of all the groups that tried to do this with one Healer. What sort of torture must that be? They''ve got three, creating area healing spells, for ranged and melee fighters, and it''s justfortable when coupled with the healing totem. The shaman is a Caster type, preferring to use Chained Lightning attacks to defeat enemies instead of going in to melee and enchanting her weapon. It''s visually stunning, the shing lights and all, and effective, leaving huge scorch marks on her targets. Soon after, the boss drops just as he begins another Blizzard. [Level Up] "Good job everyone. Take a few minutes to catch your breath before we move on." Red Beard congrattes them. "That experience is incredible! I leveled up already." Someone shouts and Cixelcid smiles at Cain. [We''re at what, 600 percent bonus?] he sends in friends chat. [About that, yeah. There''s a few extra summons along with mine] Cain sends back. Chapter 28 - 28 The group makes its first true mistake on the second pull after the boss. A fireballunched at a dying wolf sails over its head and hits an Ice Giant, sending him and his three friends running their way. Red Beard moves to intercept, casting a spell Misha identifies as Sanctified Ground, a spell she will get at level 50. It creates a glowing circle of golden light, damaging and trapping monsters that enter. Since they find that they can''t go past, they all turn on the Dwarven Pdin as intended, pounding him with heavy blows as the healers struggle to keep up with all the extra iing damage. "Focus down the first pack, let Red Beard hold the second until we''re done. The faster the better." Cixelcid calls to the group. Trying to keep this many people organized inbat is no small feat, dozens of different attacks and spells rain forth every second in the concerted effort to clear the first group and rescue the likeable Dwarven Tank. When there is only one wounded wolf left Cain tells it to the group "Switch targets. I''ll finish this with the Golems, you rescue Red Beard." The Dwarf is looking pretty ragged from the exertion of holding the group for that long, stepping back to catch a breather and take a drink as soon as Cixelcid arrives. Various abilities have kept them from turning on the group, but they''re highly resistant to stuns, so the Tank has had to suffer the full force of their beating since they arrived. Thest wolf soon drops under the efforts of poison and Golems, leaving Cain free to send his followers to help with the giants. Red Beard is back in the fight and things are back on track after the rocky start to the pull. The giants are slowly brought down, as the group burned through much of their mana rushing to kill the wolves, using more damaging but more mana intensive spells and abilities. "Well, as fun as that was, let''s not do it again." Cixelcid says sternly looking at a shame faced young mage. "Take 10, eat, rest, whatever you need while everyone''s mana recovers." Char, the Shaman, has one of the Lesser Golems cuddled like a huge kitten in herp, stroking its head while she chats with Mythryll. The two have be good friends quite quicky, and Cain suspects their party should have booked a bigger room. It''s fine though, she''s been in town a while, the party can just gather in the mornings like the pickup groups with random members do, should she decide to group with them regrly. Cain notices she''s got two totems right now. The healing totem over her shoulder as always, and a glowing blue one in front of her that disappears every 30 seconds. Char notices his interested look and smiles "Mana Regeneration Totem. As you can see, they don''tst long, but with everyone out, it''s best we don''t waste fifteen minutes waiting for them to recover." The rest of the pulls through to the second boss Wendingo are routine, and now they''re ready to face the huge mixture of skeleton and beast. He''s got an enrage effect, he gets stronger every 5 seconds. You have to destroy him before he kills the tanks. Simple enough in theory, but they''ve discovered that the difficulty of the huge dungeon scales up with additional members, so it''s going to be a hard battle. Char promises to keep mana totems up, and one of the Rangers has a short, once daily full group damage buff he will use once the fight gets going. Cain switches his Greater Golems from tanks to their never seen Lich Lord form and everyone gasps, startled. "A ss specific recipe from the undead dungeon. You know that debilitating curse area attack they cast? Well the Golems can use it, as well as ranged magical damage. I''m hoping that it might offset some of the enrage effect and give the healers a chance to breathe." The boss has an aura effect that slowly damages everyone in the room, and its attacks curse the Tanks. Regr curse removal and area heals are therefore essential to the fight, as well as the ability to kill the thing before the enrage kills everyone. After psyching themselves up, they''re ready to go. Cixelcid roars a taunt and charges, turning the huge boss to face away from the group. The ck circles of the Lich Lord''s curse soon follow, given a golden outer ring by the Pdin''s [Sanctified Ground] and the area healing spells. It seems to be working, the effects of the curse keeping the power creep to a minimum. Cain is pouring Poisoned Multi Shots one after another into the boss, whose health is visibly fading. Just as one curse fades, Cain orders the other one cast, worried that apse will allow the curse stacks to reset and the enrage to hit full force. The Lich Lord forms do cast ck energy arcs that look like the base form of the Sorceress attacks that Lickity uses, but they look smaller and weaker, despite the level advantage. They''re certainly not a top damage dealer like the Demon form. [Level Up] Wendingo dies with an eerie howl and the group celebrates, pping Cain on the back and apuding his ability to stop the enrage. Many good things seem to have dropped, everyone is in a better mood. Or maybe it is the level up most of them just got. Cain decides it will be more fun to check his inventory at the end of the run, so he leaves it unchecked for now and instead goes over his status screen. [Name] Cain [Level] 45 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human [Skills] [Summon Lesser Golem] lv4 [Summon Greater Golem] lv2 [Poison Arrow] lv4 [Light Foot] lv4 [Reinforce Construct] Passive [Stats] +15 [STR] 90 [DEX] 45 [CON] 70 [INT] 30 [HP] 280 [MP] 150 "Level Up again? Is this a thing we''re doing now, just leveling up every boss?" Char asks, doing a happy dance. "I hope so, I just got Level 40.." Mythryll cheers back, dancing with her. Chapter 29 - 29 "Does this dungeon really have to be so long?" Mythryll asks as they reach the third boss, a huge, bloated demon with a collection of small demons around him. "How else would we get a level every boss?" Char jokes, resting a friendly arm over the little Elf''s shoulder. They look to Cain very much like mother and daughter, rxing like that, despite their dramatically different appearances. Char just has that neighborhood mom sort of vibe to her, a young version of that friendlydy that makes sure everyone''s kids are doing alright when she sees them and always has the best Halloween treats. "Listen up everyone. This demon is tricky, he poisons the area around him at regr intervals, so we need to know who has [Cure Poison] " All the healers plus Char put up their hands. "Do you have it as the spell or the totem?" Cixelcid asks Char. "The totem. I''ve focused on getting them all, so I can be useful all the time." Cain smiles at her reaction, she really is the neighborhood mom. Maybe that''s exactly what she was before she ended up here? Mythryll was a student, though he didn''t know how old, and Misha was a waitress for at least a few years, so the age of people whoe here doesn''t have to match their characters. "What all totems do you have?" Cain asks while the leaders think up a strategy. "Healing, mana, Cure Poison, hex and stone skin so far. I need to make level 50 to get any more." She answers, waiting on the battle n. "Hex is like that cripple debuff your Lich Golems cast, but it doesn''t stack. Stone Skin increases armor for allies, but both cost a lot of mana. With the lightning attacks I don''t have a lot to spare most of the time." "Alright troops, here is the n. All the ranged group around the Cure Poison totem. We will pull the boss so the melee at his back are in totem range, but face him away, so his sweeping attacks don''t hit everyone. That means we will need regr cures, but everyone else should be protected." Cixelcid instructs them. "The golems are on miniature demon duty. They don''t do much damage, but they can curse on hit. So it''s best if the Golems get them, as they can be reced. If the curse spreads to the others it will be bad, so try to pull them away from the main fight." Cain nods, that he can do, no problem. "At half health, he will create a group ofrge insects, If the Golems can get them it would be best, if not we will take them with the boss." This is a truly nasty boss. Cain wonders just how many groups have died here, trying to get it down, and how many were forced to give up. It''s decided that the Golems will start, as they don''t have any abilities to easily pull the small demons away from the boss. In tank form, they easily pick everything up, moving to a side of the room while Red Beard Taunts the boss and drags it in a circle until it''s perfectly positioned to his liking. The small demons are actually dying more easily than expected. They''re likely to be down before the main boss reaches half. The first of them is down now. [Cain Has Received An Ability Book] [Book of Exploding Arrow] has dropped. Perfect, that is exactly what he needed. An area attack to help him damage all the monsters his Golems were capable of gathering. Cain learns it immediately and switches his attack method. Like Poison Arrow, it only costs him 10 mana, so he can use it a lot. It''s alsopatible with [Multi Shot] sending 3 Exploding Arrows at the same target. But that uses a full fifth of his mana, which takes him 6 seconds to regain, so it''s a very slow attack method, as he needs to save mana in case the Golems start dying. Best to stick with single explosions. Thest few small demons die just before the boss reaches half health and Cain takes a second to survey the rest of the fight, having let himself get lost in the battle with the little demons. The [Cure Poison] totem is a life saver, up for 30 seconds at a time, and creating a big enough effect to get everyone except the tanks, without too much crowding. The melee fighters definitely aren''t making big swinging attacks though, it''s all about the thrusts. The healers are all around three quarters mana, and the mana totem is up, so no worries there. With the imbnce of mages, the damage side of things is looking good too. And now the second wave of adds are up, pushing up through the floor on the far side of the room. Cain sends all his Golems over and they''re quickly picked up before they can get near the rest of the group. "Good job Cain. Keep them well away, they hit really hard and Poison, so they might kill the Tank Golems." Red Beard huffs as he chips away at the putrid flesh of the boss. The healing crew is excellent today though. Not only do the golem tanks not die, nobody gets below half health the entire fight. [Level Up] "Look at this, I got a book." Char whispers. [Book of Summon Insects] Rank C, usable by shaman. "Congrattions, you got a Summon skill." Cain smiles, looking at his screen. [New Form Learned: Lesser Golem gue Demons] [New Form Learned: Greater Golem Nox Bees] "If you want it, find me something good to trade. You specialize in summons, I like cute things and kittens." That exins her love of the little winged lion looking gargoyles. Cain looks over the drops he''s gotten in the past month. One in particr catching his eye as being useful to Char. "How about this?" Cain asks. [Vest of the Guardian Spirit] Legendary chain vest. Adds 2 minutes to totem Summon times. Reduces totem cost by 50 percent. "That is too good not to be cute. Let me see." It is a short, double skull bone bikini chest te with a natural brown leather vest over the top, tied shut below the chest. Dangling chain mail over the shoulders and down the back adds some appearance of armor and hanging white fur pelts adorn the bottom when she wears it. It fits in great with her chain over leather, fur trimmed skirt. "This is good. Not so much cute, but very good. I like it, you''ve got a deal." Char trades over the book and Cain quicky learns it, finding that he can Summon either Two [Giant Beetles] or ten [Poison Wasps]. Theyst until they die, but even the giant beetles have less health than his lesser Golems. Squishy little Poison Wasps it is. Nobody seems happy to see them though, except Cixelcid, and he''s probably thinking of the experience buff. After level 50 he''s higher level than all the bosses now, despite their strength, so his experience gain has slowed. Ten more summons will fix that. "Hey Char, I''ve got a cloak you might like." Cain says, noticing she''s not wearing one. He produces a Yeti Fur Cloak and sheughs, dragging it over her shoulders where it bes an actual miniaturized Yeti Fur, sized to fit her, not entirely white, but a mix of white and brown, like a rabbit in the spring. The top forms a hood, the legs removed and the cloak ending above her knees, but the arms draped over her shoulders and dangling down to below her chest, ws still attached. "Haha! I''ve got a hat!" She cheers, raising and lowering her hood, and everyoneughs. "I picked the Random Creation and got a regr Shaman, but the Spirit Folk race. They''re a hidden fae race, with high dexterity, but a very tribal vibe to their outfits. Every other hat I''ve tried bes a feather or string of beads.." Char exins to the curious group. Chapter 30 - 30 Moving on to the fourth and final boss was a rapid affair. With nobody hitting them, the little Wasps do a huge amount of poison type damage. It is a t amount, not a percentage of life per second like Poison Arrow, but with ten of them and the bonuses from Cain''s gear, they can really bring things down. The Dragon is theirst target for the day. A huge, red scaled Lizard, the wind from its wings throws ranged members back towards the ring of fire surrounding the room and pushes melee to the floor where it stomps and ws at them. So, everyone sets up as close to the middle as they dare, and tries to dodge the tail attacks and me breath. The whole fight is a heal check, damage everywhere with random targets getting huge attacks. "Aren''t you d you''ve got Legendary armor now?" Cain jokes with the Shaman. "Good thing too. Last time I was here one of our mages got too close, trying to avoid the wings and was knocked down and squished in one shot." Well that sounds gruesome and unpleasant. As damage is top priority in this fight, Cain switches the Greater Golems back to their high damage demon forms before they enter. The Dragon is a savage from the moment they enter. No intelligent talking magical being, just teeth, ws and fury. They barely have it in position when the first wing st hits, nearly knocking Mythryll and two Gnomish mages into the me pits. Cain, who was nearby when the attack started, grabs Mythryll into his arms and runs her back to the group before setting her down, making Misha and Charugh. "You must be careful, or he will take more than one bride." Charughs, nudging Misha as they return to position. Misha sticks her tongue out at the Shaman but doesn''t say anything. Instead, she returns to her heals, focusing on the one mage who fell partially into the mes. The Golems seem to have done something to personally offend the beast, as every single stomp is aimed at one of the greater Golems. Cain summons the wounded constructs back in top form and the giant Lizard roars. Then he notices that Mythryll, now in her demon form for extra damage and training both a Blizzard and Demonic Fire upon the Dragon at once, has be the primary target of the tail. "It is the Demon Form. It''s attacking anything demonic with priority." Cain shouts to the tanks, ordering his Greater Golems to the front and off to one side a little bit, hoping to distract the me breath they know ising. Sure enough, it turns its giant scaly head and burns the Golems to ash, howling in victory, then rage as they immediately reappear. "Good thinking Golem Man." Red Beard cheers. That me breath is one of the hardest things to survive, as a good hit right afterwards can kill the tanks before the first healse through. The tail knocks most of the ranged members down right before the wings send everyone tumbling. Cain grabs Mythryll and Char grabs Misha, the extra weight keeping the four of them closer than the others to the center. "Next wing attack, link arms with your neighbors and crouch down." Cixelcid calls. "It will keep you closer to the center." All the lighter yers find a buddy, shifting around to safer positions for the next attack. They''re going all out on damage, but the Dragon is the final boss, not an easy monster to bring down by any means. In fact, the only ones having an easy time of it are the Poisoned Wasps. They''re right over the beasts back, and nothing is hitting them at all. They''re just happily burrowing under scales and stinging away. The next wing attack, things go wrong. One of the Rangers moved too close and gets knocked down instead of blown back. Cixelcid leaps to his rescue, saving his life, but leaving both severely injured. Only the ticks of the Heal over time effects save the Rangers life from the next stomps, leaving them both red lined before the Healers can stand back up. Both chug a potion and regain a little health, but it''s the renewed attacks of the Greater Golems, their innate resistance making them the first to their feet, that stops the barrage and secures their lives. "That was entirely too close. d you''re alive." Cixelcid winks at the flustered Ranger and gets back into position as a set of healing spells reach him. The Dragon dies without further incident, their innovative tactics working very well and everyone eagerly awaits the notice as the boss drops. [Level Up] [Cain Has Received An Ability Book] [Cixelcid Has Received An Ability Book] [Mythryll Has Received An Aura Book] [Misha Has Received A Legendary Item] [Char Has Received A Spell Book] Loot notifications fill everyone''s screens, very few not getting an epic or better drop from the final boss. The effect is to create an absolutely silent room as everyone checks their notifications. After a few minutes, Red Beard breaks the ice. "As agreed, drops are personal and private, so we will break up here, and everyone can check their loot for the day in thefort of their own homes." Cid and Lickity, plus Char decide toe visit the hotel, with its spacious suite and hot tub. "So, how did we all do?" Cixelcid asks. "I''ll start." He shows the group a Rank A Earthquake skill book plus two epic armor pieces before using the book. "I got [Book of Lightning Armor]." Char smiles and uses her drop. Lickity got a Legendary pair of boots and three epic cloth armor ns. Misha got a legendary Bracelet that heals her when she heals someone else, a greatpliment to her heal over time abilities. "I got two epic pieces plus [Book of Thorns Aura] Rank A, binds on drop. Enemies take 5 percent of damage dealt to allies within 20 meters as reflected damage." Mythryll tells them. Now that is impressive, mages don''t get many party wide buffs, even from the books they can use. It''s not really part of their ss role. "Andst up, the man with the craziest of luck. Cain!" Cixelcid announces in a game show voice and everyone cheers and ps. "As you all know, I traded for the [Summon Insects] skill. But I got an epic pair of boots and this humble book." [Book of Summon Cloning] Rank S. Passive. Doubles the number of created summons when a summoning Ability or Spell is used. "It''s alright if I strangle you a little bit, right?" Misha asks, looking entirely too serious for his liking. "Dude, really?" Cixelcid asks. "Weren''t you broken enough before, you had to add another half dozen summons?" "Seventeen." Misha says helpfully. "He''s got those bugs now too." "Can we tell Char about your other passive?" Cixelcid asks and Cain shrugs. "Might as well, we''re going to invite her to party with us full time anyhow." Mythryll says and Char gives her a big hug. "This broken character here adds 20 percent to everyone''s experience gained for every yer and construct in his party. As a passive skill no less." Char looks stunned, counting something on her fingers. "So the rapid leveling?" she stutters. "Happens everywhere we go." Misha smiles "Want to join our party? I feel we should actually ask you instead of just assuming you''re one of us now." "Yes, 100 percent yes!" Chapter 31 - 31 Room Service dinner turns into room service drinks and a long night for everyone involved. Misha is the first one awake, waking Cain when she rolls over in bed. "What time is it?" he asks, the curtains around the bed making everything dark. "Sometime after noon, I think. Let''s see if the others survived and get something to eat." Char and Mythryll are cuddled together on the couch, which Cain just realized is a hide a bed type. The first of them he''s seen in this world. Lickity is asleep in the good chair by the firece, looking quitefortable, while Cixelcid is sprawled out on the rug. "Maybe we should let them sleep?" Misha asks. "No need, everyone but Lickity is awake, we just didn''t want to open our eyes and face the hangover." Char whispers from the couch. "In that case, I''ll order breakfast in." Misha says softly. Being the understanding and experienced hotel they are, the kitchen had no problem sending up breakfast for 6 in the middle of the afternoon. The smell of bacon finally roused Lickity, who stumbled around like a zombie until Cixelcid fed her a cup of coffee, saying that was her natural state in the mornings. "So, I know Lickity has a shop to stock, and Cid has guild matters to attend, but what are the four of us going to do today?" Char smiles "We could take a quick quest from the Hall? They have a lot that should only take 3 or 4 hours, and it''s a good chance to walk and talk." Char is right, there are a huge number of random quests at the hall. Many simple like finding a few herbs. Some more dangerous like killing a bandit or wandering monster. They decide on a level 40 fire Lizard quest. An alchemist needs 1 single hide from them, and they''re found within an hours walk of the city. Just the sort of thing they need to pass their afternoon. "So where all has everyone been since transferring in? I know a lot of transfers our level have been here for years." Cain asks. "Personally I''ve only been from the starting Vige here, stopping off at the ice caverns in between." He shrugs. "I went east to the Elf forests before making it to the ice caverns. There''s wisps and lots of cool stuff out there, plus the trees are huge." Mythryll smiles at the memory. "The Spirit Folk race gets its own transfer point on the far side of the Elf forest. I spent a few years there, and then worked my way here. The Ice Caverns sounded too cold, so I didn''t stop there, but there''s a wilderness dungeon not far from there full of gargoyles. I spent a few months trying to tame one." Charughs. "I was stuck in that starting town for over a year, trying to get enough levels to leave. It was awful. But then Cain here showed up and in a few months I got 30 levels where the first 10 took me a year." Misha smiles and squeezes Cain''s hand. "So how long have you two been together?" Char asks. "We first joined party 3 days after I arrived." Cain answers before realizing that''s not what she meant at all. "About 2 months." Misha answers for them both. "That''s sweet, I liked watching the local kids going on dates in the park my father built." she smiles sadly. "I wasn''t allowed to date, not with an arranged marriage waiting." "So you were from a wealthy family?" Mythryll asks, still taking in everything around them, enjoying the forest. The Shamanughs. "You could say that. I married an Emperor after all." "Wait, An Emperor? I get the feeling we''re all from different worlds to begin with. Misha didn''t know about VR games, my world only had about 2 Emperors left, and their roles were ceremonial" "What a strange thing. Who runs the nations then? The magistrate and Senate?" Char asks surprised. "Pretty much. The system just kept getting moreplex and corrupt every few decades." Cain tries thinking of a way to exin his world''s politics and fails. "So you were an Empress, in a pce, with your kids and the Emperor and servants and all?" Mythryll is intrigued by the Empress thing. "As much as I hate to break up story time, we''re here." Misha says, pointing at the fire Lizards. They look like huge iguanas. The heads and tail shape are identical, just red. Cain calls out the fullplement of his summons, nearly draining his mana, and Char sets out a mana and healing totem, slinging them over her shoulder. These things are no joke. Their bites are taking chunks out of the Greater Golems. A few of them have been killed already, and the quest item obtained, but the tenacious lizards just won''t let them leave. "Mythryll, Blizzard please." Char calls, sending lightning at them with minimal effect. As fire Lizards, cold damage should hopefully be more effective. The Blizzard is getting it done, the pack of fire Lizards is dead and the group rapidly retreats, talking animatedly about the viciousness of the Lizards. "It''s like they thought Golems are food, they were just ripping chunks off." Misha shudders. "And then they called more over for dinner. Not even shocking them could deter them from attacking that golem." Mythryllughs and the group moves into a discussion of the various strange fights they''ve had,sting all the way back to the city walls. "You all look pretty chipper, didn''t find the fire Lizards?" The guard Sargeant asks at the city gates. "Oh, we did find them. They ate the Golems. More than once." Cainughs and the guard smiles. "Wee back. There will be fresh quests up in the morning if you''re not feeling like fighting Zombies." "Thank you so much!" Mythryll cheers. "It''s good experience, but that ce smells so bad." "So, look for quests tomorrow instead of hitting the dungeon?" Misha asks hopefully. Their return to the Hall is attracting attention, more than Cain would expect even with 3 beautifuldies in his party. "So tell us, who was the sacrificial chew toy?" One of the adventurers asks. "Surely you didn''t make thedies do it?" "Of course not." Cain sounds a bit offended by the insinuation. "A true gentleman would never do such a thing. I summoned a golem for them to chew on while wepleted the quest." The Adventurers present raise their mugs in salute at the ingenuity and let the party go collect their hard earned quest reward. Chapter 32 - 32 The Hall is a busy ce first thing in the morning, as they soon discover. People are everywhere, picking up quests, bringing in supplies, a bit of everything. "Hey, I found us the perfect quest!" Mythryll announces, weaving between everyone''s legs to get back to her friends. "There''s a group of Bandits that have been kidnapping girls and selling illegally imported pets." "How is that perfect?" Misha asks. "You see here, they''re importing miniature snow leopards. They''re small, like a bobcat, and totally adorable. Plus we''re three of their prime targets, with only one escort. We won''t even have to find them, just go to the area and they''ll find us to take us to the kittens." "Any n with rescuing kittens is a good n to me." Char agrees. "Guess we''re off then. Mythryll, go register that at the counter if you haven''t already." Misha suggests and the Elf giggles. "I can guarantee she did before returning. Let''s get a move on. They''re supposed to be between here and another vige. We''ll go there, like we''re merchants, and then return this afternoon, looking through the surrounding area if they missed the first chance." Cain says, forming a n. The n seems too simple to actually work, but two things are unending. Human Greed and Human Stupidity. These bandits have both in abundance, they even brought along one of the illegally imported cats to help entice in their victims. "Wee youngdies, might you be interested in purchasing a pet? They''re beautiful, docile and easily tamed. Perfect for the home." "I will need two, a male and a female." Char answers before he even finishes his sales pitch, making him smile an evil grin. "Just a short distance this waydies. The Caravan is resting here in the woods." Certain something bad was about to happen to him, Cain brought out all his summons at a distance, where they wouldn''t be seen and ordered them to guard the party. The Golems and insects follow along at a distance, and in a stroke of brilliant luck, these wannabe zookeepers haven''t even set scouts. Cain knew things were going as expected when he felt the dart hit his neck and the world went blurry before fading entirely. "Your guard is dead, surrender peacefullydies and nobody else needs to get hurt. Damaged goods sell for less after all." Misha was about to cast cure poison and make a smart remark when the Golems began to rampage. They had attacked the red gged bandit that fired the dart, but the rest didn''t recognize them as yer summons and joined in the battle to protect the camp. "Secure the girls and get rid of these things! " someone shouts and the girls find themselves pushed into one of the cages full of cats. Neither Char or Mythryll are particrly upset at this, and Misha rxed when they threw Cain into the next cage where she could cure and heal him. The fight is not going well for the bandits. The Wasps are hard to hit and both their mages were maimed by the Greater Golems. Char is cheering on the little gargoyles, much to their captors annoyance. "They''ll get you once they finish with us you ditz. Help out if you want to live." The closest one cajoled her, making herugh. "I feel quite safe in here with the kittens, thank you." She mocked, rattling the locked door. A great cheer goes up as thest of the Greater Golems falls, and the bandits turn on the smaller targets. Cain winks at Misha and summons fresh Greater Golems into the woods and has them attack. "Stop, let them fight." Misha whispers to Mythryll who is going to cast a Blizzard to help out. "If they notice it only hurts them we''re in trouble. They don''t know those are summons yet and they''re higher level than us by a bunch. The Elf giggles and the leader res at the Healer who he thinks prevented the Elf from helping them. "You''ll pay for that once these monsters are cleared out missie." He growls. "Fight hard or you''ll lose." She smiles at the angry bandit leader. "Crap, we''re under attack. Those are yer summons!" One of the bandits had finally noticed they''re all orange gged. "Send a patrol into the woods, find the warlocks!" the leader has a solid n, but he''s mistaken the source of the summons, believing the man with these girls was dead. Most would be, but Cain has quite a lot of [HP] for his level. Scattering his defense made things worse for the camp. Shoutse from everywhere, the Wasps keep darting in and out of the trees, attacking at random and the bandits have no healers left. Soon the bandit camp is down to just the leader and a few strong henchmen, all heavily injured and facing a fresh set of Golems. They put up a valiant fight, but in the end they died without even knowing who was attacking them, or precisely why. Cain sits up once he notices the fight has ended. "I guess we should collect our proof ofpletion, and all these adorable little fluff balls, so we can go home." Not just him, but all four of them are covered in inquisitive kittens, looking for new people to y with. "Hey, did you notice, these aren''t miniature anything, they''re just kittens. They''ll grow up to full sized Snow Leopards." Mythryll notes, looking at one''s description. Cain picks one of the adorable creatures up to get a closer look when he''s startled by a notification [New Form Gained: Summon Lesser Golem Snow Leopard] ''Char is going to go ballistic.'' He thinks to himself smiling and picking up the kitten. "Ladies, get a wagon and let''s get these kittens packed up. I''ll drive it and you all can ride in the back with the cats if you like." As it turns out, they had no horses, so the greater Golems are pulling the wagon to town.. Maybe the guards will let it slide as an exotic pet? Best not get his hopes up, but they''ve got every single furry creature in the vicinity inside the wagon and they''re headed back to the city gates. Chapter 33 - 33 "Wee back!" The same guard Sargeant is on duty again today, greeting them as soon as they return. "Starting a petting zoo are we?" "We could only wish. These are the illegally imported snow leopards we recovered for the Town Hall Quest. There''s proof of kill for all the bandits that were at their camp too, but we didn''t find any captive women." Misha tells him, trying to stand up from the mass ofrge kittens clinging to her. "I''m sure they''ll have a quest for the missing women eventually, it''s a shame the cats can''t be kept, I would like one myself." The Sargeant replies. "They''re not actually miniature leopards." Mythryll shakes her head. "They''re kittens, they''ll grow up to be full sized leopards." "You see, now I want one even more. Who wouldn''t want a huge fluffy cat?" Charughs and vigorously nods her agreement. When ites to fluffy things, those two are definitely on the same page. The response is so positive in town that the guard actually has to send an escort to prevent the kittens from being stolen from the wagon. Not even the huge, wed forms of the Greater Golems is enough to deter the crowd from trying to pet the kittens. "Okay, we have received proof of kill for the bandits, plus the recovered documents from the camp and the illegally imported animals." The Hall attendant says from behind her counter, kitten in her arms. "Your reward is ready, please check the board if you would like to take another mission." "Unfortunately I think we may have to bite the bullet and go dungeon crawling if we''re going to keep up our rate of progression." Misha sighs. "Yeah, even if we do a mission like that every day, it would take ten to get as much experience as from the dungeon, with all the buffs the party receives." Cain agrees. "We will just have to suffer, then soak in a bath full of bubbles afterwards." Mythryll agrees. "In fact, we should get some now, so we have more when we need it." The group heads out to the night market, looking for bubble bath and whatever else might help remove the scent of zombies. Unequipping armor and putting it back on removes scents, but doesn''t do anything for the person underneath. "Well look who we have here." Cain hears before Misha screams in pain. "It''s the Healer with the legendary recipes. If you don''t want your little boyfriend to die, you''re going to do exactly as we say." Cain considers taking out his summons, but using skills in town is a serious crime here. If he gets arrested before rescuing Misha, who knows what might happen to her. But Mythryll and Char have heard the scream too, and recognized it. There''s ten men in their group, all warriors, going by their armor and they''ve surrounded Misha. "Don''t do anything stupid lover boy. We''re taking her now and you can have her back when we''re done. If she''s still alive that is." The disgusting man jokes. They start dragging her away, not realizing that the other two are also in the market tonight. Six men are dragging her away, while four move to surround Cain, who draws his sword. "Feeling brave are you? We all know you''re not a fighter, you just rely on those summons. You really think you can take on four of us at once?" An rm spell goes off and a red rm light appears in the air. Someone has used a skill and triggered the towns warning rms. "Help! The kidnappers are using skills in town!" Cain shouts and attacks the man in front of him with a heavy sword blow. He''s got to get through this group and to Misha so he can find out what happened. The strength of his attack takes the warrior by surprise and he staggers back, giving Cain a chance to run through the encirclement. Misha is on the ground being kicked, the attacks must have auto activated her Arcane Armor. Knowing their party will soon be arrested if he does nothing, Cain decides to go all out and calls his summons, sending them to protect Misha. Red rm lights sh one after another as the warriors use skills to defend themselves, just as Cain hoped. If everyone is gged for skill use, it will be up to the guard to determine what happened and who was justified. Heavy footsteps areing from every direction as more and more guards are called, and Misha realizes what Cain''s n is. She wears a [Tattered Noble Dress] from her inventory and pinches the bridge of her nose to make her eyes water as if she were crying. "Help me, please help. I''m a cleric, I can''t fight them off!" she yells and the guards move to surround her as Cain pulls his Golems back, dismissing the Greater Golems and the Wasps before the guards can see them. "You, Summoner, dismiss your pets!" The guard calls. "Everyone else drop your weapons! Someone tell us what happened here." Both Cain and one of the thugs move forward to talk, but the guard grabs the nearest person without abat g or skill use warning. Mythryll. "You, girl, you must have seen it. Tell me what happened." He demands in a stern voice. "Those warriors, they knew she was a crafter and they were going to have her craft them what they wanted after they had their way with her. They tried to drag her away, but her boyfriend started fighting, and then they used skills on him, and there were summons and fighting everywhere." Misha is talking so fast and panicked that the guard can barely follow along with what she''s saying, a truly masterful performance. "Alright, I''ve heard what I need. The truth spell determines no lie in her testimony. You''re all going in for the night, skill use in town. If you can pay the fine, you two will be free in the morning. You lot though, this isn''t your first offense. That''s 12 months in the can for kidnapping.." This determination doesn''t sit well with the warriors, who immediately grab Misha and try to run for it while most of their group attacks the guards. Chapter 34 - 34 Their detainee temporarily forgotten, the guards around Cain charge into the scrum to rescue their fellow guardsmen. Cain takes the opportunity to chase the warriors who took Misha, and the guards that are following them. The running fight rounds a bend and the kidnappers hop a fence into the enclosure where the snow Leopard kittens are being held. [Summon Lesser Golem: Snow Leopard] 10 more bobcat sizes kittens aren''t a noticeable addition to the mass of fur. But the way they attack is. Furry paws with razor sharp ws dig into the panicking warriors, who had not initially noticed the contents of the yard they entered. Now, the kittens themselves should cause minimal damage to a level 40 warrior. But the Golems? They are deadly. The group is quickly mauled and 2 of the 6 are dead before the guards can rescue them. Cain quickly dismisses his Golems when they''re well mixed with the real cats and goes to pick up Misha. Both are still adorned with red lights above their head, indicating their previous skill usage that has not yet been dealt with, so Cain follows the guards politely, not wanting to incur further criminal charges. Char meets them at the police station, letting them know ''the other party members are back at the inn'' not referring by name to Mythryll, who gave the testimony against the kidnappers. She is chased away and told that the fine for a first offense is 10 gold and a night in jail. Cain and Misha are taken to adjoining cells in the station, separated only by bars. The others, being repeat offenders, are taken directly to the jail house in handcuffs that prevent skill usage and equipping items. The station guards are really quite polite, chatting with the pair and killing time until morning as neither can sleep after the day they''ve had. The morning sees their fine paid, and a warning from the guards "Word has gotten all around town about the guildless tailor with legendary recipes. Don''t ept any invites for anything, as many Rogues have a skill that can hide the real text of a notification, and if they trick her into a guild or contract they''ll have thew on their side no matter what they do." "It''s what these thugs usually do. Promise to release their victims in the morning, but the notification is actually a servitude contract, either for goods orbor, that traps them to the guild for life." This is when both realized how lucky they were that Cid is a good guy. If he had taken advantage they''d be in a world of trouble already. "How many do we need for a guild?" Misha asks. "A minimum of 5, and a wholly owned property somewhere to serve as the guild house." the guard smiles. "I suspect you can afford that, if you can find 3 more people you trust. Don''t forget, majority vote can change a Guild Master, who can then change guild contracts." ''Maybe this world is as corrupt as my old one'', Cain thinks. ''It''s just hidden from the rookies.'' There are a suspicious number of people hanging around the inn when they return, so instead of entering, they turn and walk away before being recognized. Cain sends a message to Mythryll and Char to meet them at the pub by the city gates. It''s empty, except for a dozen guards that just got off duty, so it''s perfect to talk. "So what''s the n? We''re a bit under leveled, but it''s it time to be moving along." Mythryll asks. "Yeah, preferably today. It''s a shame about the room, but I''ll send Cid a message that he and Lickity can use it until the time we''ve paid is up. I''m sure they''ll appreciate that, even if Lickity is still pretending they''re not a couple." Cain smiles. Misha exins the guild solution, saying they just need to find one more trustworthy person. They all recognize they''ve been way too free with talking about their skills, gear and history, so finding one more person to trust could take a while after the incidentst night. "Better to learn slow than never." Char says with a chagrined frown, thinking of how many times she had learned that exact lesson in her past life, and yet forgotten it sometime after arriving here. They ask the guards about the nearby towns, hoping to get some good news. Both of the big cities near here are full of level 60 sorts, they''re informed. But the town on the far side of the western city by a day''s walk has a level 55 dungeon that isn''t too terribly hard, and beyond that are a number of level 50 wilderness dungeons and a collection of small towns. The same is true of the city to the north, the difficulty of the vige dungeons is lower than the big cities by a little bit. More people crowded the area around better dungeons, for the increased value of goods and the number of perks with money to spend. It was a self perpetuating cycle, and inevitably if a new dungeon of high quality, or rare drops was found, a city would form around it. They thank the guard and tell him the Northern city sounds auspicious, so they''ll go there for the chili cooking festival that''s about to start before deciding on a course of action. The half drunken guards wish them well, and they head off to the north gates, in in clothes not their armor, to try to be incognito. A dress for Char had even been found by Mythryllst night. It''s in leather, with fur trim, but a knee length dress that looks much less distinctive than her armor, letting her blend in with the huntsman and Spirit Folk locals. After walking a few hours down the road out of the north gate, they decide to turn east, towards the Elf forest.. They don''t know what they''ll find before reaching there, a full week of walking if nothing is found in between, but if the other areas are heavily popted and well known, they wouldn''t be able to hide there for long anyhow. Chapter 35 - 35 They find a nice cave to shelter in the first day. It seems to have been some sort of monsterir in the past, but the scent is long faded. "Well, that was less fun than expected. Getting chased out of town because we didn''t keep quiet enough about our abilities." Misha sighs. "But look at it this way, we get to go on an adventure. Sure, we might be sleeping in a cave tonight, but tomorrow we get so see somewhere new, with all new people, not sick in the same city for ages." Cain says longingly. "He has a point." Char adds. "Something about being Spirit Folk makes me enjoy being in the woods, like I belong here. Plus it smells better than the city." "Especially the city full of adventurers doing the undead dungeon and rarely bathing." Mythryll adds and everyoneughs at her scrunched up nose. "What? I''ve got a sensitive sense of smell." They keep heading northeast in the morning, headed wherever they happen to go, when theye across a wilderness dungeon. Not all of these are explored, so they enter carefully, not knowing what level it is going to be. The first pull is Imps, around level 50. Not bad for the group with all their extra summoned members. The Greater Golems are set to Shield Bearers and the Lesser Golems to gargoyles, their usual setup for dungeons. But with the addition of the Poisoned Wasps and the [Summon Cloning] Passive, it feels like they''ve brought an army to bring down this dungeon. At first they go slow, but it''s all Imps and other lesser demons they''re already familiar with. The first boss changes the pattern up though. It''s a Balrog, a 4 meter tall winged demon with a huge axe and a ming whip. "How do we fight that?" Mythryll asks. "My ice armor is weak against fire, and that whip looks really nasty. "I will use the stone skin totem this fight too. With the extra duration it should be up enough to help." Char suggests "But if that hits us, it might be bad." "How about 2 tanks stay back on defense and 2 go to the monster. Fight from behind the tanks as long as he doesn''t do anything unexpected?" "Yeah, that should work. Let''s try that, call out anything new." Misha adds and gets herself psyched up for the fight. As they feared, the whip targets them at range, while the Demon uses its axe to fend off the tanks in melee range. The tactic of using Golems to block the ranged attacks is working though, the whip hitting whichever is closest and being stopped by the Golems shields. A furious Blizzard rages, courtesy of Mythryll, and lighting crackles in the air, but the boss is only slowly going down. The amount of damage it can take is insane, most bosses would be long gone by the time and this thing is only at half. By the time it finally drops, they''re all struggling with mana, relying on regeneration to keep casting. "Good thing we all picked mana regeneration items, that was intense." Misha says, copsing on the floor for a breather. "Difficult to navigate tricks are one thing, but there''s something to be said for raw brute strength." Char agrees. After a short break to recover mana and motivation, they move along, finding that the Imps have mostly given way torger gargoyle type demons. Not difficult to fight, as they''re not magic users, but so incredibly durable that it''s slow going. "At this rate, the final boss is just going to be a huge chunk of demonic steel we''ve got to whittle away." Mythryllins. She''s not far from wrong. The final boss is a huge gargoyle. When it sees them it summons six smaller gargoyles, the size of the Lesser Golems, from the floor. It seems it''s done preparing itself, as it then stomps the ground in challenge. "Split again, two will tank the boss, everything else will kill the little Golems, we will attack the big one." Cain suggests. "It''s as good of as n as any." Misha shrugs. "Let''s do this." The n is going well, the little gargoyles are being destroyed at a decent rate, and are down for a couple of minutes before the boss calls in a fresh batch and they''re forced to start the process over. Like the Dragon boss, this one has a wind attack that knocks you back into pools at the edge of the room. "Don''t panic, they''re hot springs, I''m not taking any damage." Mythryll splutters, being the first one blown into a pool. That''s good news, at least it''s not something deadly like acid. When the boss drops, thest of the small gargoyles crumble, leaving them alone in the room. [Level Up] While Mythryll and Char rx and Misha goes to check out the hot springs, Cain decides to check his status, and finally use up the points he''s been saving. This dungeon showed him just how much mana he wascking, so a few points went to bringing his STR to a nice even 100, which brought a [Damage Modifier Increased] notification, and the rest went into INT for extra mana. The next few Levels, Cain decides, will be used to increase his CON, making his Golems more durable, reducing his mana usage and making them easier for Misha to heal with time released effects that are easier on her mana pool. [Name] Cain [Level] 48 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human [Skills] [Summon Lesser Golem] lv4 [Summon Greater Golem] lv2 [Poison Arrow] lv4 [Exploding Arrow] lv2 [Light Foot] lv3 [Reinforce Construct] Passive [Summon Insects] lv1 [Stats] [STR] 100 [DEX] 45 [CON] 70 [INT] 50 [HP] 280 [MP] 250 "Hey guys, you''ve got to try this." Misha calls, and everyone turns to look. She''s out of her armor, floating inside the hot springs pool in the corner of the boss room. It really looks rxing. "How long do we have in here before it resets or we''re kicked out?" Cain asks. "Once, a young Elven warrior with a broken leg,st of his party, took two weeks to make it to the exit. He had no regeneration or Healing potions left to fix himself, so he just crawled. Sleeping here overnight might not be a bad idea. Nobody can intrude on us, and it''s safer than the outside, now that we''ve cleared out all the demons." Mythryll gives a long winded exnation. That''s all anyone needs to hear. The Golems are set as guards blocking the only door to the room, just in case something was missed, then armor is removed and it''s hot springs time. "Every dungeon should end like this." Misha sighs, sliding deeper into the hot water.. "Just a big bath, so you can go home clean and rxed." Chapter 36 - 36 Come morning they decide to move on. The hot spring was nice, but they all wanted to see more of the world they''re in. The woods on their journey had a rather eerie feeling to Cain. Like he was being watched and judged. Both Mythryll and Char seemed not to notice though, and Misha was too taken in with every small creature they passed to notice much of anything else. "How far are we from the Elven woods?" Cain finally asked, the creepy feeling getting to him. "They officially start about 40 kilometers east of here, but you''ll still find a lot of Elves and fairy folk in the area. Why do you ask?" Char answers with a confused look. "Just feels like we''re being watched, you know? Like something is hidden in the woods judging me." "It''s likely just the woods themselves. Nature magic effects the trees, making them sensitive to intruders and danger. You''re not an elf, or any sort of Fae, so the woods are likely feeling cautious around you." Mythryll suggests, looking like she''s trying to feel what he''s feeling. "Yeah, that''s not reassuring at all." Mishaughs. "I feel something in the woods, but it doesn''t feel dangerous, so I didn''t worry about it. I''ve never really had a chace to just enjoy the small creatures before." The feeling eventually passes and they continue down the path they''re on until they find themselves on top of a short rise, entering a clearing in the woods, looking out over the afternoon sky. "Hey, there''s some sort of white stone thing over there. It looks like the ruins of an old city buried in the woods. You guys want to go exploring?" Mythryll asks, excited to see a new thing. "Ruins are great habitats for squirrels and other small mammals, I say we go check it out." Misha seconds. None of them yet realized just how distorted distances can seem when viewed from a ridgeline in the woods. They had barely made it to the bottom of the hill when night began to fall. "Camping with no bath? We''re truly roughing it now." Mishaughs. "We even found a bath in the dungeon." "There''s a river just fifty meters from here. Do you want to move camp closer, so you can swim either tonight or in the morning?" Char suggests, pointing into the moonlit darkness. "How can you know that in the dark?" Misha questions her, usingly. "It''s part of the Spirit Folk senses. Ancient forests are my races natural habitat, and in the forest we can instinctively find our way and sense disturbances like other people and rivers. The older the forest the better." The decision is made to light torches and move camp. Once near the river bank, they start looking for a good spot. Not too close, but in sight of the water, with enough room to not damage the trees with a camp fire. Burning the forest down wouldn''t end well for anyone. They quickly find a good spot, and Cain finds a collection of broken branches and a dead fall tree at the edge of the clearing. Perfect. All he needs to do is just cut some logs. Mythryll has a basic nature spell that can create a wind de. It''s not high damage, so she stopped using it inbat, but it''s great for cutting logs to be split with an axe for firewood. "Why so much firewood?" The Elf asks, seeing Cain still splitting wood. "Some forter, when there''s no good wood nearby, and some to leave here for the next lucky traveler, so they don''t have to cut anything down." Cain smiles. It was a camping lesson he learned in summer camp when he was a little kid. Leave a bit of firewood in case the next person is lost or in need. They''ve just stripped down to their swimsuits when the sensation of being watchedes again, and this time everyone feels it. "Come on out. We can sense you, and we don''t want to have to do anything drastic." Char says to the night air, preparing to cast lightning. An idea Cain thinks is terrible, given they''re all wet and nearly naked in the river, but it''s magic, they should be fine right? "Don''t shoot, I''m not hostile!" A tiny voice calls back. "My name is Elmira, we''ve been traveling the same direction all day." "I knew I sensed something." Cain says. "Welle on out." "I am out, look up." Elmira giggles. Elmira is a pixie, about the height as his hand, with dragonfly wings and a cute green leaf dress. She''s got a tiny dagger on both hips and is wearing ck paint of some sort strategically smeared all over to break up her outline. "A pixie Ranger?" Misha wonders "No, that''s not right. Are you a pixie Rogue?" "A pixie assassin actually. I used the random character creation and this is what I got. A tiny assassin in the middle of nowhere, that nobody will group with. I''ve been killing wandering monsters for eight years to get to level 42." "Well, we will group with you." Misha insists. "You''ve seen us all in bikinis, how much more intimate can we get than that, right?" Charughs at her assessment. "Are you sure you didn''t just want a flying type to disarm traps and scout for us?" "It may have crossed my mind. Briefly. But how about it, Elmira did you say your name was? We''re wandering the woods looking for fun new ces. Why not join us?" "I thought we were being more careful about new people?" Cain asks and Misha waves him off. "No way can someone so cute be a bad person, it''s simply not possible." Misha informs him. "How about a trial run? I''ll stay with you a while and prove I''m trustworthy. Just please don''t chase me away. I hate when they chase me away with fire and sticks." Elmira asks and even Cain''s heart softens. "Alright, you''re in." Mythryll decides for the group.. "Pixies and Elves have an affinity, I would be able to tell if she was a bad person I think." Chapter 37 - 37 When the morning came, it was time to get moving again, but hopefully with a little inside information. "Hey Elmira, what do you know about those ruins up ahead? We saw them in the distance, but are they empty? Is there a dungeon there?" Cain asks their tiny newpatriot, who has taken up residence in Mythryll''s hair today. Now, she did tidy it up into a fancy updo first, just one that conveniently made an excellent pixie sized chair. "There''s a small vige. It''s mostly Elves and Spirit Folk. There''s fairies there too, and they''re territorial, so I couldn''t get in before. But with a group I''m sure it will be fine." That doesn''t sound too bad. But if there''s no reason for them to stay, it''s just a stop over to refill supplies. "What about a dungeon?" "It''s evil Fae, but that''s all I know. I could only listen from a distance." "That''s fine. As long as there is one we have a reason to visit and stay for a few days. We''d love to get at least 2 more of our party members to level 50 before we move on again. If everyone was level 50 it would be great, but both you and Mythryll have a ways to go." Misha exins. The little Pixie twitches at every animal noise in the forest and has retreated behind the Elf''s hair more than once. Just how traumatic was life in the forest for this transfer? Around noon they decide to take a short break. The sun directly overhead is cooking them, even with the shelter of the forest. Elmira knows a tree with good fruits nearby, so they stop there for their break, finding hundreds of mangoes in a giant tree, many already close to overripe. "This is good fruit, I would think the fairies would have taken it though?" Misha asks, licking juice off her fingers. "Pixies eat sugar, fairies eat insects." Mythryll informs them. "It''s amon mistake, but it''s the reason that people like fairies in the garden. They clear out the bugs and don''t steal all the pollen to make honey." "You make honey? You''re definitely my friend now." Char exims. "I mean, I can. But I''ve only ever made enough to get me through the winters." Elmira sounds concerned that her stash will be raided. "Don''t worry, little one. I won''t let her steal your supplies. We can buy honey in town." Cainughs. As they''re finishing their break, they are surrounded by some sort of arachnid monster. It''s not quite a spider, but it''s got 8 legs and a horse''s neck and head. Plus, fangs with a mouth full of pointy teeth and antlers. "You know, I was happier not knowing those things existed." Elmira tells the group. "I''ve been here for years and never seen anything like that." Whatever they are, they''re aggressive. Cain barely had time to call out his summons, making Elmira shriek and hide inside his coat, before they''re at the group. "Bloody oath, there''s Poisoned Wasps now too? Kill them with fire!" she screams from her hiding spot. "Rx Elmira, they''re on our side, I''m a Summoner." Cain says, stroking the top of her head. "They''re allies? Sweet! Those things have almost killed me a bunch of times. The swarm effect leaves you nowhere to hide." "There''s 2 sizes of Golems too, see. Now, are you going to attack?" Cain asks. "Just watch me." The pixie replies, throwing out shadow des much like the Sorceress basic attack and lighting all the arachnid horrors up with a sparkling light that everyone would call [Fairie Fire] were she not a pixie. It doesn''t do much damage, but it has a slowing effect and makes them really easy to target. It''s like they actually draw attacks towards themselves. The monsters are quicky dispatched and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Mutated spiders aren''t anyone''s favorite enemy. Just before dusk they make it to the ruins, weaving their way through, following Elmira''s directions to the vige hidden inside. "Greetings travelers. What brings you to our vige?" The guard asks, looking over the group carefully, his gaze lingering in the pixie on Cain''s shoulder epaulet. "We wanted to see more of the world, and we saw the ruins from the top of a hill a day''s walk away, so here we are. We heard you have a dungeon too? If it''s near our level we''d like to explore it, see what we can find." Mythryll tells her fellow Elf. "We do, it''s level 50 creatures with higher level bosses. You''re wee to stay the night and try in the morning, the Inn is just over there, but be careful not to let the Pixie wander, this is the Fairies territory. "We will keep that in mind, thank you." Mythryll waves a cheerful wave at him as they leave and Char gives the guard a dirty look for checking out the Elf''s backside, before giving it a swat herself. "Let''s go." The shaman says "I''m hungry and we haven''t tried this town''s food yet." The meal the restaurant at the inn serves is entirely vegetarian, but pretty good. It seems neither Elves or Spirit Folk usually eat meat, it''s just the transfers that keep their palette. "Oh, they brought me honey!" Elmira cheers, digging into it with a tiny chopstick. "This is good stuff too. The Bees must have been feeding in the fruit trees." Cain is confused, isn''t honey, honey? But Mythryll seems to understand. So Cain has learned a new bit of random trivia, the source affects the taste of the honey. Before they sleep, Elmira insists on double checking every window, stuffing towels under the doors and locking the shutters. "The only way to be sure the fairies stay away." She insists, before hiding in Mythryll''s hair to sleep. Cain and Char both spend quite a while trying to get to sleep that night, the sight of the pixie sleeping in the Elf''s hair is simply too adorable to let their minds rx into slumber. Chapter 38 - 38 The anti Fairy measures seem to have worked. They made it through the night undisturbed at the very least. All the windows are locked, and the towels are still under the door. When everyone is finally awake, Elmira does thedies'' hair, and everyone gets their armour on, ready to leave for the dungeon. "Hey, did you sleep in your armour?" Cain asks Elmira. "Sort of? This is the only outfit I own. Armour didn''t really drop from the monsters in the forest." "Oh, that will never do. Good gear is one of the most essential parts of getting ready for a dungeon run." Misha informs the tiny Pixie. The group members search through their inventory for anything that might be helpful to the caster, finding a variety of items that might be useful. "I''ve got a pair of rings with reduced Mana cost." Cain sets them out on the bed. "I''ve got a ne with mana regen," Misha adds. "Leather boots and pants with increased spell damage? You don''t use your daggers as much, do you?" Char sets them out with the rest of the gear. "And finally, a leather jerkin that I didn''t get time to trade in." Mythryll smiles. "It''s got more mana regeneration on it, plus a healthy dose of defence." "Oh, here''s a pair of daggers for you." Cainughs. "They are fairly low level but have a chance to poison on hit, a greatpliment to your paralyze ability." Elmira is so happy she''s crying, flitting about from person to person, giving out hugs. "Thank you guys so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. Eight years. Eight long years I barely survived out there and got two items. A single night in a real party, and I''ve got actual equipment." "Well, put it on, and let''s see how you look." Mythryll cheers. "What do you mean? I look how I look." "Your appearance will change with gear. Every piece looks different on every different race and ssbination. So when you wear this, you''ll have an entirely different outfit than you do now." Mythryll exins, bringing on another round of tearful hugs. Elmira picks up and equips all the itemsid out for her. All epic level trinkets and leather armour, better than most adventurers get as drops. The effect is fantastic. The tiny Pixie is now wearing pink Mary Janes with kitten heels and white bows on top, white tights and a pink and white lolita dress with a white ribbon in her hair. "I thought she was supposed to be an assassin?" Mythryll asks, confused. "How is that an assassin?" "Would you expect her to be out to kill you?" Cainughs as Elmira twirls and giggles, checking out her new equipment. "I mean, you''ve got a point. But still, it''s not even leather armour." the Elf points out. "Wait, I have a camouge skill; I can do this!" Elmira says, her dress fading to a ck and form-fitting short jerkin with leather pants and boots. "More what you expected?" Everyone else nods. Yes, this is what they thought she would look like. "Pixies get two appearances. At least Pixie assassins. Default and camouge. Default is the pretty dress, and camouge is this. She immediately changes back to the frilly Lolita dress and giggles. " I always wanted dresses like this before I came here. Finally, I got one." "I know it''s rude to ask about the past, but how old were you when to transferred?" Mythryll asks softly. "I had just turned four. I should be twelve soon, but it''s hard to keep track of time here. There is only one season in this forest." Four? The system brought a four year old here? What was it thinking? "It''s a good thing you could even read the menu to choose," Cain says, thinking of all that could have gone wrong in that scenario. "I learned when I saw the screen. I don''t think I knew before." "Enough of that talk; let''s see what the inn has for breakfast." Char changes the topic. Breakfast turns out to be entirely vegetarian, as expected. But with a variety that surprised them all. Cain decides on a form of pancake stuffed with fruits, while Elmira goes for a small honey dish with a single blueberry in the middle. She squished the fruit into the honey and swirled it around with tiny chopsticks before wrapping up a bite. Her happiness is infectious, and soon, everyone in the room is talking happily over their meals. "Time to earn our keep," Mythryll says, hopping to her feet. The group heads for the dungeon entrance, attracting attention along the way. Humans aren''t familiar sights here, and there are two of them in the group. "You sure you want to bring an evil Fae pet into the evil Fae dungeon?" The portal guard asks them. "She''s not a pet. Elmira is a transfer with terrible luck using the random character creation system." Cain informs him, garnering a look of pity. "I''ll let the fairies know so they don''t attack her. Pixies are well known pranksters and assassins in this part of the world." Well, the ss assignment she got fit her race at least, even if it was different from her temperament. "So that''s why everyone attacked me. They all thought I was evil." Elmira sighs,nding on Cain''s shoulder to ride into the dungeon. The entrance is dark, without the usual background light. Instead, the only lightes from glowing fungus on the walls. It smells like stone and not rot, which is a good sign to the group. The undead dungeon had a unique odour that they''d rather not experience again. Elmira lights Fairie Fire in the air above them for better vision, and they begin to move forward, not knowing what to expect from this area. Cain realizes once again they have forgotten to ask essential questions. Like what they''re going to be fighting. The lights are bringing opponents to them, though.. First up being four grey-skinned Elves riding giant, ck spiders. Chapter 39 - 39 The spiders are much faster than expected, almost reaching the group before being intercepted by the Golems. Their jaws struggle to gain purchase on the shields of the Tank golems, but the scimitars of their riders have no problem digging severe wounds. The Poison Wasps and the upgraded shadow des of Elmira put a quick end to that. The Elves are exceptionally agile but no match for the fast moving Wasps. The shadow des cut them down off their mounts, striking with much more impact than before, and they''re quickly overwhelmed. Char''s lightning arcs between spiders, singing carapace and making their legs twitch. Within a minute, the spider riding elves have been eliminated. "Did you see how strong my shadow des are now? That was amazing! Plus, I can cast them over and over without running out of mana." Elmira is more than a little excited about her first victory with her newpanions. "You''re a real magical powerhouse." Cain agrees. "Now, let''s get moving and see what we get. And remember, your skills, gear and items you get are a secret from people who aren''t in your party. We all got in trouble because we told the wrong people about good things we had." It''s probably best to get that out of the way early, knowing that Elmira is very much a little kid at heart, so discretion might not be her strong suit. "Got it, boss! We can do this." Elmira cheers. Two more pulls go smoothly, and then they get to a horde of tiny spiders, whichpletely ignore all attempts to contain them. "Mythryll, blizzard, please." Char calls, "My lightning doesn''t arc to enough targets to deal with this." The blizzard spell rages, eliminating the tiny menaces in a moment, leaving Misha with the job of cleansing a load of poison stacks. Easily aplished with her [Greater Cure Poison]. "Well, that was more annoying than expected We really need more area of effect abilities." Misha sighs. Cain was going all out with the exploding arrows and had a lot of summons, but against a hundred tiny spiders, it simply wasn''t enough. "I''ve got some points. Should I put them into [Shadow Field]? It says it does significant damage to an area." Elmira asks. Mythryll ruffles her hair. "We don''t want to tell you what abilities to pick, but you''re right, we have a lot of single target damage, but not much for an area if we get groups of dozens of monsters." "All done. I''ll have an area damage effect thatsts 30 seconds every 30 seconds. Does that mean all the time?" The young Pixie asks, excited. "It certainly does. That''s a really short cooldown time for such a powerful spell." Cain agrees. "We can tell party members our abilities, right? I forgot what the rule was." Elmira asks. "Yeah, you can tell us this one time." Mythryll smiles. "Pixies get reduced cooldown times. I can cast everything else immediately, one after another if I have mana." "That''s awesome. Now you can keep an area attack up all the time and target the things you want to get rid of the most." Char tells her, and the Pixie gets so excited Cain can feel his pocket vibrating. The first boss is a caster in a ck spider web pattern that Elmira is immediately jealous of, wanting it for herself. Two warriors nk the boss with twin swords. "Until we know what she casts, standard attack pattern. Two tanks on her, one each on the warriors. Elmira, keep your area damage on the boss and attack whatever you think is essential." Cain is enjoying the pocket Pixie. They chat during fights, she tells him if he misses something moving, and he knows she will attack anything thates near him because she''s in his pocket. "Let''s do this. All full on mana." Misha calls out, and they move forward to engage the boss. The boss is also a shadow type caster, using both shadow bolts and the same shadow field that Elmira does. The field seems to be focused on hitting Cain, either because of his total damage or because there are two party members at his location. Either way, it''s a positive for the group, he''s got a good movement skill, and most of his damagees from the golems, so constantly moving instead of shooting isn''t a significant loss. "Cain, turn my way." Misha calls, "I can''t see Elmira to heal her." Cainughs and executes a shuffle step out of the shadow field, bringing him to face the healer. "Sorry about that, little one. I forgot she needed to see you in order to heal you." "I''m okay, still a bit above half health," Elmira confirms, firing off more spells at the boss. Both warriors fall at nearly the same time, the slender body of the boss being swarmed by Wasps and Lesser Golems. In fact, she''s being hit so often she can''t even cast anymore. "Just let them do their thing. We can get back mana while the Summons finish the boss." Cain suggests, and everyone rxes a little, letting the fight y out on its own. "Hey, Elmira. Why do you hide inside Cain''s pocket when there''s fighting?" Misha asks. "It feels safer in there. You know, he''s got that heavy leather coat, with the metal inside and lots of pockets. Nobody else has pockets. If I just slip in there, I can''t fall out, and the coat helps keep me hidden." the Pixie exins, watching the boss die. [Level Up] "Oh, I got two levels so far!" Elmira giggles. "You guys truly are good luck." Cain looks over his status sheet, seeing that he''s almost at 50, where he expects to get another upgrade to his Golems. They''ve beening every ten levels so far. [Name] Cain [Level] 49 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human [Stats] +5 [STR] 100 [DEX] 45 [CON] 70 [INT] 50 [HP] 280 [MP] 250 His progression ising along well. Another few days in here, and both him and Misha should reach level 50. Maybe even tomorrow. "One more level to the next spell," Misha tells everyone.. "I hope it''s something good." Chapter 40 - 40 After the first boss, the spider riding Elves give way to more elf packs on foot. These are more tricky to deal with, as they''re small and love to attack the most vulnerable among them instead of staying focused on the tank. Elmira starts using the Shadow Field defensively. Casting it over the group as a form of concealment that helps deter attackers. Because it does damage, they are hesitant to enter the dimly lit area, keeping them away from the living group members. The elf groups have also begun toe with healers and mages in their ranks. It feels more like they''ve gone to war with a Dark Elf vige than a horde of monsters. It''s an odd feeling for Cain, fighting against Elves. Especially with one in his group. But they''ve reached a downwards curving ramp, taking them deeper into the dungeon, and gremlins and trolls are recing the Elven defenders. The new creatures are vicious and don''t speak an understandablenguage, making them much less disturbing to fight. "Ah, it''s good not to be insulted anymore." Mythryllughs as they clear the first group of gremlins, led by a single giant cave troll. "Those Dark Elves have a filthy mind." Cain is d he''s not fluent in elven. It was annoying enough, just with the things they called out in themonnguage transfers use. Cain wonders if it was his originalnguage or if it was something he learned from the system. They''re all from different ces, but they''re all using the samenguage, after all. They''vee to the second boss now, a massive rock colored troll shaman. He appears to be alone in the room. An oddity for a caster-type boss. "I think he might be a summoner type." Cain cautions. "Okay, keep the lesser golems around us to start then, until we find out what abilities this mountain of Troll has," Misha suggests, and they move forward to engage. The boss greets them by setting out totems and then summoning up a group of Cave Trolls, as Cain had feared. "Kill the totems first," Char calls. "They''ll heal the summons and increase their armour." "Elmira, you''re on totem duty. I''ll handle the summons as usual, and everyone else can deal with the boss." Roles are now clear, and everyone gets to work. Elmira soon finds that the totems are easy to destroy and always appear at the boss Trolls side. So just leaving the Shadow Field up gets most of them, and she only has to adjust her tactic if the boss moves. There are four summoned trolls, so two are being held back by the Lesser Golems that Cain is calling back regrly as they are demolished. The summoned trolls are dying at a reasonable pace, though. Their health is high, but they''re vulnerable to Cain''s Poisoned Arrow, and it''s quickly eating their health. Now down to two enemy summons to fight, Cain reassigned his Lesser Golems and turned his attention to the boss. It''s a durable thing, as expected of a giant troll. And even the sustained attacks of the group are only slowly whittling away at its health. After he got the "Modifiers Increased" message when his strength hit 100, Cain had been doing noticeably more damage, so he brings his Lesser Golems to the boss, leaving just the tanks and the Poisoned Wasps to deal with the summons. That makes a significant difference in how fast the boss is dying. The 300 percent damage bonus from that legendary ne is no joke with this many summons. The extra trolls sumb to the mass of attacks just before the boss, giving Cain a notification. [New Form Gained: Summon Greater Golem Giant Cave Troll] Cain looks it over, finding the Form has not only higher defence but higher damage reduction than his shield bearer type tanks. Wielding that giant club, it still probably does impressive damage too. Cain quickly switches the option and summons a fresh set of tanks after warning the group what he''s about to do. They''re impressive, to say the least. Three meters tall and nearly 2 meters wide, with thick bodies and stumpy legs, they''re strong enough to parry attacks from the boss with their club, and the impact of their blows makes its skin ripple. Cain might have gotten a perfect thing this time. "Impressive," Mythryll notes. "Those new tanks are no joke. We need to find you stronger summons to fight if you''re going to be able to keep stealing their forms for your own." "I second that. The more summons, the better. These are taking so little damage that I could even cast a few shadow bolts without worrying about my mana." Misha adds. After the second boss, the groupes to another change in targets, the Gremlins are gone, reced by a form of ck barked Treant, but the cave trolls remain. Large, but not as massive as the summons that Cain duplicated with his Summon Greater Golem spell. Their damage is impressive, staggering the trolls and breaking branches from the treants with heavy blows of their clubs. In response, the tree monsters start summoning nymphs. Mostly grey, with ck branch like limbs and twig like hair that makes a leafy cape down their backs. They''re notrge, no bigger than the diminutive Mythryll, but those branch like fingers are ripping pieces from his Golems. The first group is cleared, and Cain gets another notice. [Form Gained: Summon Lesser Golem Dark Nymph] "Hey, I got the summoned nymph form for my Lesser Golems," Cain shouts in excitement, forgetting they''re all standing right next to him. "It will be hard to be cuter than the Gargoyles, but call them out and let''s see them." Charughs. Ten small nymphs appear. Shorter than the ones they faced by a little, these ones barely make 140cm in height. They also have ck togas on with a Vine belt instead of the leaf bikini of the ones they faced. Other than that, they are identical. The same Grey skin, the branch like arms fading to a ck, bark texture skin and long, pointy twig fingers. They''ve got Elfin faces with the same branch like hair, covered in an assortment of leaves, the varied colours making each one distinctive instead of them being identical like the gargoyles. Cain''s skill description says they''re more easily damaged than the gargoyles, but with significantly more substantial damage and the ability to learn spells after level 100.. He reads it all to the group, which agrees to give them a try as they head for the end of the dungeon. Chapter 41 - 41 The increased damage of the nymphs over the Gargoyles is immediately apparent. In the description, they should only have a slight base advantage, but with the faster attack speed and the modifiers, it adds up to almost twice as much total damage in the end. The packs they fight are overwhelmed, falling before they can even mount a proper defence. The massive trolls don''t look fast, but perhaps because of their size, they cover a lot of ground. Their attacks are slow, but their walking speed easily keeps pace with the group and the attacking nymphs. A group of enemies sits in what looks to be the final boss room: a Dark Elf, a gheist, treant, rock troll and wisp. They''re not sure what to make of this group, but they step forward cautiously, trying to prepare for anything. Bright light envelops them when they enter the room, transporting the party to a different space entirely. [Party fulfills the requirement: Five Fae Elements. The next area is unlocked. Rewards are granted.] Five Fae elements? Cain has no idea what that means. "Elf, Magic, Spirit, Nature and Elemental. The party members and summons." Char informs him when he looks to her for advice. There are no monsters in this room, only a collection of carved wooden boxes. One with each of their likeness on it. They decide to all go at once to maximize the excitement. [Char Has Received A Spell Book] [Elmira Has Received An Aura Book] [Misha Has Received An Ability Book] [Mythryll Has Received A Spell Book] [Cain Has Received An Ability Book] The entire group is speechless. 5 books at once? That sort of reward is unheard of. Char looks over her reward, finding a [Channeled Lightning] spell. It''s single target, but continues to hit until she stops channeling, an S Ranked attack ability. Elmira receives an A Ranked aura ability [Pixie Dust] that increases magic damage done by all party members in the area. Convenient even for Cain, as the nymph damage is listed as magical damage in the skill description. Misha gets [Blessing of Life] a passive that reduces the casting cost of her healing spells. S Ranked, it is a significant decrease in her mana usage. A thought that brings out a little happy dance from the overworked cleric. Mythryll gains [Elfin Mirage] an A Ranked spell that creates duplicates of herself that cast the nature spells she knows. Vine Whip, Guardian Tree and Entanglement. Seeing how useful this can be, she puts a few more saved skill points into Vine Whip. Cain gets a strange ability [Growth of Knowledge] an S Ranked Passive whose only description is "Allows user to increase knowledge with focused intent." "Well, isn''t that incredibly vague." Mishaughs, but Elmira looks like she has an idea what this ability might be. "What if it lets Cain learn new forms for his summons by just focusing on the target? Don''t you think that might be what it means?" The diminutive Pixie suggests. "Once we get out of here, we will have to try on the next thing we want to have as a Summon." Cain says. "Until then, it''s an S Ranked skill, it''s nice just seeing it there." [Participants will be ejected in 30 seconds] a notificationes in, and the group prepares for battle, instead finding themselves standing in an empty building on the edge of the vige. "Oh, ejected ejected." Elmira says with a giggle. "Better put the summons away unless you want to get in trouble." Cain gets on it quickly, knowing there are people around, and Giant Cave Trolls aren''t exactly stealthy. "Got ejected did you?" a passerby asks, seeing theme from the building, looking around to get their bearings. "Yeah, what happened? There was a notification then we''re here." Mythryll adlibs. "Happens to everyone, just a ''You are not worthy.'' And then you find yourself somewhere in the vige. One unfortunate fellow ended up in the soup when his party was sent to the hotel kitchen." "It sure is the fast way to get out of the dungeon though." Charughs, making the fellow smile. "d you''re all safe, it can be dangerous in there. Myself, I prefer staying up here in town." He waves as he goes about his business. The fairies are no longer giving Elmira threatening looks, now giving her sad nces as if she were a pitiful existence instead. "You know, I almost preferred it when they hated me." She says sadly at the looks from a group of garden fairies. "At least you don''t have to worry about getting attacked at night anymore, and you can sit in Mythryll''s hair instead of hiding." Cain jokes, making the pixie immediately take to the air to hop on to the Elf''s shoulder, half buried in her tousled hair. The Adventurers at the restaurant in the Inn wee them back with cheers and a round of drinks. The first time you get sent back by the dungeon is a local rite of passage, and they''re told to go write their names inside the building where they reappeared, pointing at the kitchen and the big pot with the name Thenassil on it. "That was his first discement. Most times you will show up near where you did the first time, so he walks out now." The chefughs. "Good thing too, unwashed Elf is a terrible soup vor." A few more groups filter in during the afternoon, all having been disced to their usual spots. Misha wants to check out the vige tomorrow, see what new things they might have. Many of the townsfolk have high quality clothes, so she''s hoping to get a recipe or two. She says she''ll just buy outfits if she can''t find recipes, but she needs some of the local fashion. With the huge experience bonus from the dungeon quest, both Cain and Misha think they might make 50 with another run, so they''re not in any hurry tomorrow, agreeing with Mythryll that a celebration is in order. Every tenth level gives a ss ability until level 100 when they either keep getting stronger or you can choose an advanced ss. So the levels ending in zeros are much like birthdays ording to her. A notion that both Char and Elmira wholeheartedly agree with, on the condition that there is cake. Even the kitchen staff agrees that leveling milestones should be celebrated, and that they''d happily make cake with just a few hours notice. Chapter 42 - 42 When morninges, Misha drags everyone out of bed bright and early to check out the market. "You know it''s open all day, right? They''re not going anywhere. In fact, they live here." Charins about being forced to function so early. She''s got very little motivation to do anything at all until Mythryll mentions trying more items from their breakfast buffet. The thought of food is all it takes to get everyone motivated and dressed, but Misha''s constant poking if they close their eyes helps too. "So first, food. Then fancy clothes, and maybe afterwards look for hot springs?" Cain suggests. There''s a shower in their hotel room, but that hot spring tub was terrific. "Sounds like a whole day to me." Mythryll agrees. Today they try out a mix of French Toast, which they''re informed is made without eggs, plus more fruits they can''t identify, and blueberry almond milk milkshakes for breakfast. Because, why not? Right in the middle of trying out new Elven fashions, the early groups begin to return from the dungeon, and the town is in an uproar. The dungeon didn''t end in the transport room anymore. Instead, there is a treant boss where it should be and a bunch more monsters leading up to an Ogre boss. With this news, they decide to cut their shopping trip short and see for themselves. They meet up with the crew from dinnerst night when they reach the lineup at the portal. "Couldn''t resist cutting your vacation day short, eh?" The warrior chuckles. "Don''t me you. How often does a dungeon get more bosses?" Cain tries to use his new skill on the very first boss, thinking a caster-type boss might be pretty awesome. [Requires Summon Epic Companion] ''Darn, I just need a higher-level summoning ability to make a boss into a summoned creature.'' Cain thinks out loud. The Dark Nymphs, with the help of Elmira''s new magic damage enhancement aura, destroy the additional warriors. Even from the disadvantage of being slightly lower level, this is a fast-paced run. Cain tries again on the Dark Elf priestesses a few pullster. [Requires Summon Supporter. Avable at level 60] "I can add the Dark Elven forces to my potential summons once I hit level 60!" Cain calls to the group. "How great would that be? An extra warrior, or mage or rogue, whenever we needed one?" Char wonders out loud. "I wonder if we can dress them up since they''ll be elves?" Cain is about to say they''re not dolls, but as a summons, is there really that much difference from a living, moving doll? "We will have to see." is all he can tell the excited Shaman for now. Making both Mythryll and Misha, who have both been the target of her ministrations, giggle. The Gremlins at the bottom of the ramp added to the selections for Lesser Golems, but the trolls all say, "Already known." The only thing that Cain can think of is that they must be too closely rted to the trolls he''s already using. The Treant boss is massive, standing in a domed room a hundred meters across; its branches fill the roof. "Watch out for vines, branches and whatever lives in the tree?" Mythryll asks, staring at the ancient-looking boss. They send the golems forward first to see the reaction. Vines whip out, smacking into all four tanks and two of the lesser golems. That''s good news; it''s only got six vine attacks at a time unless it''s holding back. Tree branches smash into the ground all around the room but can''t reach the very edges where the party is hiding while the golems tear up the boss. They''re not doing much themselves, unwilling to risk getting ''squashed like a bug'' as Elmira put it, so the fight bes to watch the golems fight while the boss is out of range for most of the group''s spells. Forty yards to the trunk is a bit too far, but any closer and they can get hit. They eventually run out of patience, though. It is working, but with the run time and constant dying, it''s slow. Now, they''re doing a dance of sorts. Watch the roof for iing attacks, watch the floor for vine attacks and step to the side when eitheres. It looks silly, but it is effective. "Hey, I got a legendary drop from that boss!" Char cheers when it drops. [Archmage Crown] adds 5 mana per second "With this added to my gear, I should be able to sustain that new channelled lightning ability." she smiles, the crown turning into a leather dangly hair essory with beads and bones on it. As they step out of the room, they immediately feel small. The groups in front of them are all ogres and trolls. Cain tries the trolls again and gets the usual ''Already Known'' message, but the Ogres add an option to his Greater Golem. He doesn''t n to switch, though; the ogres are the cannon fodder of the group. Being big is both an advantage and a disadvantage. They''ve got strength and reach, but Wasps and Dark Nymphs can more easily swarm them. Ogre Mages are added to the Greater Golem ranks, though they''re awful mages. They can cast fireballs. That''s it. Fireball. At the end of the dungeon is an Ogre boss. He''s enormous, with an axe in one hand, a staff in the other and two heads. He wears what looks like a ttened frying pan as armour and a loincloth. He is the first Ogre they have seen with armour in this dungeon, though. "You guys stay here; I''ll try to use the Golems to turn him away," Cain says, rushing forward with his golems. He instructs the Wasps to sting the heads, making the boss il its arms around and block its vision. When the Troll tanks get behind it, they start taking turns bashing it until it turns around in anger, one head still watching the wasps and the staff holding arm trying to hit them. From there on, it''s smooth fighting. The staff side throws fireballs around, doing decent amounts of damage, but Misha quickly heals it. Cain''s poison arrows seem adequate, but with so many attacks going in, it''s hard to tell what is doing anything. The Ogre drops with a tremendous crash, raising a cloud of dust, and they all breathe a sigh of relief. [Level Up] "And that''s 50," Cain and Misha say at the same time. [Summon Greater Golem] advanced to level 3 Defense Modifier Increased [Summon Lesser Golem] has reached maximum at level 5 Cain summons a fresh set of both golems, finding he''s got 12 Dark Nymphs now instead of 10, with his Summon doubling skill, and 6 Trolls instead of 4. A veritable army of Dark Fae. "I got [Sanctified Ground] an area of attack damage skill!" Misha cheers. That''s what she''s been waiting for this whole time.. A proper damage skill thates from being a cleric. Chapter 43 - 43 The party returns to the Inn triumphant that night. They might not have gotten all the shopping they wantedpleted, but the day was even better for it. The level up has everyone in great spirits. Even Char got a level up today. Being a few levels ahead of her party members, the changes came more slowly, being higher level than most of the monsters gives a bit less experience every fight. "Chef, can we get cake baked for tonight? Two members hit level 50." Cain calls into the kitchen. "The Puppet Master and the Cleric? Sure, I can theme a cake around that. It''ll be ready after dinner, dear." "And do you know where we might find a hot spring, or public bath? It''s be a party ritual of sorts to help rx." Misha adds hopefully. "There''s a public hot spring in the north side of the vige. If you don''t have a bathing suit they sell them near the entrance, no full nudity in the public pool. I know how frisky young folk can get." The chef chuckles. Elmira doesn''t understand the appeal of a hot springs, butes along willingly anyhow, not wanting to be separated from her new friends. Once they get to the springs though, with the steam rising and air currents to float in, she''s in paradise. Her wings barely need to work and she''s still floating around in the warm, damp air. The pixie is a bit concerned about actuality getting in the water, as she can''t swim and doesn''t know how her wings will do if wet, but eventually decides that using Mythryll is a stepdder is a goodpromise. The elf lowers her shoulders just below the water, and Elmira climbs down her hair to settle into the shallow water on top of Mythryll''s cor bone. She discovers that her wings indeed won''t work well in the water, but a quick p once they''re clear and she can skim across the top. ns are made to teach her to swim another day, but now they''re all just enjoying a good soak along with a handful of amused Elves. Conversation in the hot springs turns to the news from the next city, a 2 day walk away. It seems they have an Ogre problem. Enough of one that they''re offering a pretty substantial quest reward to any transfer willing to help. They''ve been at war with a nearby Ogre camp for most of a year, stuck in a stalemate. The group all talks it over and decides to head up in a couple days. They want to get a few more items from this dungeon first. It has dropped some crafting recipes, but only one of them epic, a set of cloth gloves. Misha is hoping to get a few more in elven fashions, and some levels for Elmira and Mythryll who are a few levels behind. With each level taking much more experience than the one before it, getting them nearly caught up shouldn''t be too much of a problem. "Doesn''t it take weeks to get every level once you''re near level 50 though?" Elmira asks and the others share a conspiratorial nce. "There''s a trick to speed it up a little. We will show you next time we''re in the dungeon." Cain assures the pixie. While they head back to the hotel, Cain thinks about the sight their mismatched group must present to everyone else. A Spirit Folk Shaman in furs and natural leather, a Cleric in her white robes, an Elven mage in an elegant icy white ball gown and cloak with a pixie on her shoulder and arge human man in ck leather pants and boots with a ck leather jacket. In his old life it would look like the crowd at a cosy convention. But here, only the fact they have humans among them draws attention. The kitchen made good on their promise to bake a cake. The dining hall is decorated with ''Happy 50'', there''s a three tier cake with figures in their likeness on the top, and a whole room full of Elves waiting to congratte them. after level 50 you''re higher level than most of the monsters in the surrounding forest as well as the dungeon. Cain suspects they''re just bored and need a reason to celebrate, but any excuse for cake is a good excuse, ording to Misha. They end up drinking and dancing until the small hours of the morning. Even the normally straightced Char is in full party mode. "So what''s the secret technique?" Elmira asks the next afternoon when they reach the dungeon. "Not a technique, we''ve got a hidden experience bonus that''s a really big secret though. We couldn''t mention it in public at the hot springs. But you should get a level or maybe two every day." Mythryll exins to the pixie in Cain''s pocket. It''s be her favorite spot to fight from. It''s like a tutorial, Elmira decides. Being in the pocket takes you where you need to be safely, and the bow literally makes arrows pointing at what you''re supposed to attack. It''s much more rxing than being chased around the forest all those years. If only the pocket didn''t have a zipper. It scratches and it tries to bend her wings when she gets in. "Do you have a clean handkerchief I could borrow?" Elmira asks and Misha pulls out a bit of cloth. "It might be a bit big for you though," the Healer giggles looking at the cloth in the Pixies hand. "Nope, just right." She deres, pinning it at the top and pulling it around and under herself to hang over the bottom of her chosen nest, fully blocking the zippers of the pocket. "It''s like fighting from bed!" Mythryll cheers. "Just fold it a couple times and it''ll be like a pillow to lean forward on." Adjustments are made and soon the Pixie has a suitablyfortable nest with minimal chance of bending a wing trying to enter.. Cain just resigns himself to removing the coat every day instead of unequipping it, as that would remove the carefully built nest. Chapter 44 - 44 It only takes three days of dungeon runs to get both Mythryll and Elmira to level 50. That was the minimum safe level to visit the war-torn city nearby, ording to the vigers. Both were very impressed with their Level 50 upgrades. Mythryll got a [Razor Grass] spell that creates a carpet of long grass with sharp edges that easily slices through enemies while folding gently around allies. Between that and her Guardian Tree that gained a second tree at level 50, she can make the battlefield look like a somewhatforting ce to be if you ignore the deadly Vine Whips, that is. Her clones are no slouch either. They don''t seem to gain her gear bonuses, though, as the difference in Vine strength is noticeable. Still, they do a very healthy amount of damage, and three Razor Grass spells together cover a considerable area. Elmira got a ss passive ability called [Sessful Abduction] that lets her make herself and one target she is touching gain stealth, bing mostly invisible and silent. Stealth isn''t quite as good as true invisibility, but it''s plenty for their purposes, letting her and Cain scout ahead without the creatures in the dungeon noticing. Every visit, theyout is a little different, and this lets them find patrols or pull other targets in safety. If you get too close, sharp senses like those of the Dark Elves or guards on alert will still notice you, but it''s avable all the time, which is well worth the trade-off. A second level 50 party is thrown for the Elf and Pixie pair, and ns are made to leave the next day after picking up supplies. Misha got a few more recipes in the past few days, including Legendary lingerie that any female ss can equip. They are missing a few ingredients to create it, though, things they''re hoping to find in the city. After the suggestive outfits of the Demon Dungeon, Cain can''t wait to find out what the Dark Elven dungeon considered Legendary undergarments. They have also decided to create a guild before leaving this isted little vige hidden deep in the woods. The only problem they have found is that they can''t decide upon a name. Not a single member of their party is any good ating up with names for things. Misha and Char even used their own names for their characters when summoned here. The hotel pub goes all out offering to help. Hundreds of bad ideas get thrown around. Still, the consensus by the time they retreat to their room for the night, worn out by the dungeon run and then an entire afternoon and night of partying, is that it must include something about their oddball group. The fact they have four different species deserves a note, the townsfolk insist. As far as the group, they think that something about the amount of summons deserves mention, but they keep getting stuck on raiders or horde to describe their vast numbers. Char suggests "The Duality Union," but Misha thinks it''s too wordy and vague. Mythryll thinks calling the Guild "Vortex" might be good, for the way they draw all sorts in. It gets no objections, so Cain tries. [Name Already In Use] "Well, Vortex is out. Name already in use. What else do we have?" Both Misha and Mythryll note that while they''re all very different, they''re all transfers. And that they all prefer the woods to anywhere else. A few variations involving Fae Woods and Elven Foreste up in the conversation but don''t seem right. "I don''t want it to seem like we''re a group only for fae since we might want to bring people other than party members into the guild eventually. We can reserve the guild name anytime, but we need a ce that can be a Guild House to form a Guild officially. We should ask about that when we reach the city." "Since our group triples in size when we go to battle, how about we call ourselves The Host. Or something along those lines?" Mythryll suggests. "That''s not bad." Misha agrees, but it needs something more. "The Transferred Host? Summoned Host?" "Elemental Host? The Darklight Host?" Elmira adds. "Darklight Host isn''t too bad." Cain agrees. "We''ve got a whole range of personalities; we Summon Fae Folk that are considered both light and dark. I like it." The name is tentatively agreed upon, with no better options presenting themselves, so Cain writes it down in case they forget in the morning when they''re sober. They make a round of the shops the following day, packing meals, snacks, a few potions and some crafting materials Misha thinks she might needter. It only takes a few hours to get what they need and head to the edge of the ruins. They are extra cautious moving down the path towards the city, as there have been reports of Ogre raiding parties in the area. It''s a bit eerie, travelling down the central path between the town and its closest city. There are no signs of monsters or wildlife, probably all scared off by the fighting or eaten. There are also no other travellers or recent evidence of merchant caravans. If they hadn''t gotten reliable information that this overgrown path was the correct way, they would have thought they''d gotten lost in the woods. Near nightfall, it bes apparent they are indeed headed in the correct direction. The sounds of fighting and war horns start in the distance; an Ogre raid on the city must be happening now. Cain leads the group forward as fast as they dare run through the twilight-darkened woods, hoping to get a jump on the ogres and get into the city before they''re locked out after the battle. The sight is magnificent when they reach the cleared areas around the city. The walls are a tangle of white wood vines with Golden symbols carved in them, reflecting thete afternoon light. Lines of Silver shielded warriors block ess to the rank upon rank of archers in the field, while mages look down from their perches atop the walls. Opposite them, a horde of massive bodies carrying a mismatch of weapons and shields roars their anger, almost drowning out the horns of the Elven army.. Cain and hispanions are well behind the Ogre lines and off to one side, slightly away from the battle, but the Elven Army is in front of the city gates, so they''ll have to go right through it if they want shelter for the night. Chapter 45 - 45 "I don''t see an option but straight through." Misha sighs. "This is going to suck." "We will wait until the first volleys of Arrowsnd, and then we will charge. Mythryll, drop Razor Grass well into their ranks, and your clones should follow your lead. Elmira put a shadow field on top of us. It''s getting dark, and Ogre''s eyesight isn''t good. It might keep them from noticing we''re behind the summons." n now prepared, they begin to sneak into a range of the Ogres just before the Elven artillery barrage starts. It''s not just the archers; they''ve got some sort of siege weapon behind the walls, too. One that hurls fiery boulders. They explode when they hit the ground, and Cain discovers the wooden projectiles are filled with mmable liquid, sending fire and splinters everywhere. The Ogres charge the Elven lines, covering the distance between them in seconds. This is the group''s cue to move. The artillery has ended, so they attack the back ranks of the Ogres. Six massive trolls are rampaging through the Ogres back lines, knocking unsuspecting monsters to the ground where Dark Nymphs and Poisoned Wasps swarm them. It doesn''t take long for the Ogres to realize they''re being attacked from two directions, turning a section of their back rows to face the second thread. This is both good and bad for them. It lets them square up with the Trolls instead of being clubbed unconscious, but it turns their backs on the Elven archers. Most have stored their bows and pulled swords, but a few lines keep up the ranged attacks. Char''s chain lightning has an incredible effect; there are targets everywhere for it to arc to. Cain set the Elves as battle allies in their party options, so only direct attacks will hit them, letting them use their area effects like Razor Grass, Blizzard and Consecrated Ground freely. It also stops the summons from attacking the Elves, which would end badly for the party. "Low on mana." Misha and Char call at the same time. "Mythryll, back them up, retreat a little until your mana recovers. I''ll stay here with Elmira until then; I''ve got enough mana to bring back the summons when they die for now." Cain calls. Thedies drop back, and the Pixie activates Stealth on herself and Cain with her [Sessful Abduction] skill. The Ogres, vision dimmed by the shadow field, aren''t even looking their way anymore and focusing entirely on the Trolls, their natural rivals and their biggest perceived threat. Cain can hear the happy shouts from the Elves in the area, seeing the Ogres distracted by a fist of Trolls that keep regenerating when killed. They can barely see the Dark Nymphs and Wasps through the mass of Ogre flesh, but it''s enough to let them know what is happening. They''ve received reinforcements from their Dark Kin. They manage to punch through to the Elven lines not long after the casters return with full mana. The barrage of area effects drives the Ogres back, letting the group meet with the Elven army. "It''s good to have you. I''m assuming the army of Dark Fae are yours?" The nearest Elven Officer huffs, taking a chance to catch his breath. "Yeah, the Wasps too. I''ll have the Trolls hold the line while you regroup." Cain tells him. The Elf blows a horn in three quick notes, and the Elven warriors nearby fall back as the summons charge forward. It has given the Elves enough time to catch their breath and receive some healing. Both Misha and the Elven forces have area heal spells out, slowly bringing the warriors back to maximum capacity. Cain summons back the depleted ranks of the Nymphs as the Trolls are about to die, and they hold the Ogres at bay for the few seconds needed for the Trolls to return to their positions. The Elves rejoin this side of the battle, chopping Ogres down while the Trolls block as many attacks as possible, keeping their allies from being hit. The Ogre''s leader roars a retreat, sending them all into a run back for the trees, clearly trying to avoid artillery fire on their way out. "You saved a lot of lives today, adventurers. What do we call your merry little group?" The Elven officer asks. "You can call us the Darklight Host. We''ll register as a proper guild as soon as we find a suitable guild house and a registration office." Mythryll smiles. "You''ll need five members in attendance to create a guild, though. There are more transfers in town; we can help you find someone if you need." "We''re set. Pocket Pixie." Cain says, pointing at Elmira. "Oh. Didn''t see you there. What sort of crap luck do you need to have to get started as a Pixie? They transfer in at random in a level 30 monster-filled wilderness. If the beasts don''t get them, the local fairies usually do." The man sighs, shaking his head. "Well, we saved one, so that''s a start. It''s getting dark. Is there a good Inn nearby?" Cain tells the bleak-looking officer. "Preferably one big room with a hot tub," Mythryll adds. "Or a nearby bath would work, I guess." The guard officerughs and points to a spot just inside the gates. "There''s a traveller''s Inn there. It''s got showers in the room and Natural Hot Springs downstairs. Tell the humans which is which; they''re separate baths." They''ll need the advice too. The signs are written in elvish, giving no further clues as to who goes where. Plus, there are three doors, further reducing their odds. "Gentlemen, Mixed Bathing, Women." Mythryll reads, pointing at the doors. "Perfect. Let''s go check in and grab some towels. I stink of battle and Troll blood." Elmira deres. "Onward noble steed. To the counter!" They''re allughing too hard to speak when they reach the front desk, drawing confused looks from the evening clerk. "A room for five if you''ve got.. And extra towels for the baths?" Cain asks, being the first to regain hisposure. Chapter 46 - 46 The innkeeper smiles at this friendly looking bunch of transfers, wondering why they''re in such a good mood after the battle. "Did you get something good from the Ogres? I saw youe in with the soldiers, so you must have just arrived in town." "Nothing good from the Ogres. Just joking around and happy to see a proper bath after the trip up from the ruins today." Misha answers with a smile, still trying not tough at the Pixies antics. "That''s a shame. I hear quite a few adventurers get good things from the Ogre hordes." "Oh? What sort of items? Most of us could use new weapons at this point, and Elmira here could use almost everything, we had to dress her in our spare gear when she joined the group." Char tells the clerk. "Mostly magical weapons. They seem to collect them, so there''s more than normal dropping when they die." "We will have to check on the daily quests then. But back to the important topics, do you have a party sized room? Or enough rooms for us?" Mythryll asks. "We have three options, depending on your preferences. We have single rooms, but you could go two to a bunk to save money. We havemon party rooms, where there are futonsid out in the side rooms. They''re really quitefortable. And then there''s the Imperial suite. It has only one massive bed, but futons can be added. It also has a private hot spring and courtyard. It''s expensive, but for a group that isn''t shy around each other, it could be an option." The words private hot springs and courtyard are enough to sell it to Misha. Everyone knows how she loves to rx in the hot water. The clerk shows them the Imperial Suite, and he''s right, there is an entire side room that could have been a second bedroom. They''re informed that it actually is, but the Imperial family''s custom is to make servants sleep on the bare floor, so it isn''t normally equipped with them. "If you can bring two futons to the second bedroom, I think we can work out sleeping arrangements from there." Cain smiles at the Elf and hands over a stack of coins to pay for the room, thinking back to how he was once called strange for spending so much on luxury hotels instead of equipment. All things considered though, it wasn''t any more expensive than everyone getting their own rooms. You just needed a sharing is caring type attitude. There is even a luxurious, silk lined, small cushioned bed in the corner of the room on a stand. To Cain, it''s obviously a cat bed. But to Elmira, it just needs a few nkets from her inventory and it''s Perfect. "This is so much better than the hot springs in the ruins. Public Pools are overrated." Misha sighs, leaning against Cain in the hot springs. "The courtyard is beautiful too. I don''t recognize a bunch of these nts, but it''s almost as good as being back in the forest." Mythryll heaps praise upon the choice of hotel. The design is even pixie friendly, with a shallow side pool, only a few cm deep that Elmira can sit down and rx in. A first for her, but she''s quickly understanding why the upgrades are worth it. "Do we want to do the dungeon tomorrow, see what it''s like? Or should we sign up to go out when the next Ogre raid happens? The vigers said there was a pretty good quest reward for killing them." Cain asks as everyone rxes in the courtyard. "Let''s try out the dungeon. With the Iron Man titles, we have had such good luck with dungeon drops, maybe we''ll get something good." Misha suggests. "Do we know what it is? If it smells bad I''m totally up for fighting Ogres instead." Mythryll teases, scrunching up her face like she smells something awful. "I''m told it''s demons. But I don''t know what kind." Cain shrugs. "Maybe we can find you another one piece bathing suit." Mythryllughs, making Misha giggle. "I don''t know if that could properly be called a bathing suit. But it was definitely unique." "You just want to lewd the Elf." Misha teases, sticking her tongue out and the newer arrivals look a bit confused as to what they''re talking about. "It wasbeled a [Strappy Demonic One Piece]. So we thought it was a bathing suit. It ended up being a body harness made of leather straps." Cain exins and Char''s eyes light up with mischief. "Well, I guess we''ll have to just try our luck inside the Demon Dungeon then." She says, managing to keep a straight face. For a few seconds anyhow, before bursting intoughter. The staff brings them in ate dinner and they all get somewhat dressed. The hotel has bath robes that any transfer can wear, a true luxury, so that''s their option for dinner wear. They get settled in around the low table and Char starts cutting up berries for Elmira. Having someone else to baby also helps distract her from Mythryll, who usually bes the outlet for her mom type energy. Not that the Elf actually minds being looked after. The Spirit Folk Shaman is so much bigger than the Elf that they really do look like a mother daughter pair from behind. Cain thinks it''s adorable, and he''s waiting to see how their rtionship progresses. They''d make a great couple, he thinks. But that doesn''t seem to be the dynamic they''re aiming for. Char has cut Elmira''s dinner up into bite sized bits, before drizzling honey on top and the little Pixie is ecstatic, talking about receiving gourmet service while the big Shaman gives her an indulgent look and Mythryll giggles. "Nobody tell her. Let Char enjoy the little things." Cain thinks to himself and gives Misha a wink. Chapter 47 - 47 No decision was made about sleeping arrangements in the end, and they all woke up at first light in the huge bed. Even Elmira moved her bed from the corner table to the thick headboard. "Just 5 more minutes." Misha mumbles as Cain tries to extract himself from the tangle of pajama d limbs. He turns to Char for assistance, only to find she''s in a simr position, Mythryll is sleeping sideways in the bed, hugging her midsection like a pillow. The two share a silentugh at the deep sleepers and rx to wait for everyone to get up. "So, what''s for breakfast?" Elmira asks once everyone is finally up "Because I''m going to need a lot of energy if I''m going to face demons all day long." The hotel here actually has a pixie specific breakfast. Today it is tiny crepes with mixed fruit and whipped cream. These city Elves don''t seem as strictly vegan as the ones in the ruins. Unless the whipped cream isn''t real cream, but Cain can''t tell the difference. The city walls seem quiet, so they head straight for the dungeon, following the directions given by the hotel staff. There''s only a few groups in line, looking at their party with a mix of envy and confusion. They''re all well geared, and they have a good variety of sses, but some of the other parties have realized they don''t have an obvious Tank in the group. "Maybe the big guy is an avoidance type tank?" The groups in line wonder. Except for the few so consumed with jealousy at the number of beauties in the group that they can''t focus on anything else. This is how it always ends for them. Some groups and guilds are almost all women, and guys like them can''t get a girlfriend for their second life in a row. "Hey, doesn''t that spire look familiar?" Mythryll says, pointing at the horizon. It does. That spire, or one just like it, was in the middle of the previous Demon Dungeon they entered. Is this just a higher level area of the same zone? On their second pull, when they face a very familiar looking group of scantily d Subus, they''re sure. They''re in the same ce. [Strappy Demonic One Piece] has dropped again. But this time at legendary quality with 8 percent reduced casting cost and a 15 percent spell damage increase. Char checks it out and thenpares it to what she''s currently wearing with a frown. She''s got a lower level Legendary under garmentyer on already, that looks like a fur trimmed bikini top. But it gives mana recovery and 10 percent spell damage, so she would have to tweak her gear to get it just right again. "We can decideter," Mishaughs and links an item in the text based party chat they rarely use. "I got the recipe." For some reason, this news doesn''t brighten the look on Mythryll''s face. Cain guesses she''s not over the embarrassing moment from the first time she tried it on like a bathing suit. Cain has been adding everything he can to his avable Summon lists. He''s gained 49 total demonic forms now, and they''re about to face a Shadow Skipper demon pack. He has a good feeling about hitting 50 types of demons, like he will get something great. Using Elmira''s [Sessful Abduction] skill they sneak forward in stealth and Cain gathers the fiftieth demon form for his collection. [Achievement Unlocked: Demon Collector] defeat current target to obtain reward. When the achievementes up, the pack goes from being normal Shadow Skippers to elite and immediately attacks. "Crap, I got an achievement for 50 types of demons and this happened." Cain calls out the emergency attack. Shadow Skippers, like their name suggests can blink between shadows, attacking from many angles unexpectedly. An elite pack of them is bad news. Misha responds by casting Consecrated Ground under the main group''s feet, the light from the spell stopping sneak attacks by the Shadow Skippers. Elmira flickers from his pocket to Mythryll''s shoulder to get away from iing attacks, but Cain is blocked off from the others, being hard pressed to defend himself while his summons try to fight their way through. A troll manages to stagger back one of the elite Shadow Skippers and Cain takes his opportunity to retreat. Firing poison arrows up into the demons while he rolls between the Trolls feet towards the circle of light. They''re fast though, one demon striking out with a spear and pinning him to the ground. A multi shot makes it drop the weapon and Cain struggles to his feet. These demons are unusually focused on Cain himself, chasing him all over the ruined building they were in, so he can avoid making them swarm hispanions. First one, then a second drops to a furious Blizzard, Mythryll is in her Demon Transformation, trying to get everyst bit of damage output she can. Char finally gets one stunned with her channeled lightning, its resistance failing it. Once the demon is on the ground it is quickly bludgeoned and wed to death by the summons, unable to parry or evade strikes as it had been. With the final demon of the pack dead, the notification returns. [Please Spin or Select Quest Reward] Gatcha again? Well it did give him this amazing ss. But Cain thinks he should look over the rewards first. If he picks, it''s a single piece of Legendary Demon themed gear. The visible spots on the spin wheel show a unique Lesser Golem form, a hood that increases Summon Damage, a Shield that reduces damage taken by 30 percent and one marked "???" in the Purple of an epic item. "Do I trust my luck and go for the random selection spin for the reward?" Cain asks the group for a second opinion. There is a good demonic bow in there that increases construct damage by 90. So it wouldn''t be a total waste to just take the guaranteed prize. "You''re a lucky broken character. I say spin." Misha tells him after a moments consideration. "Full Send!" Elmira shouts from Mythryll''s shoulder, which he takes as a vote for spinning. Mythryll looks to Char, who pokes her cheeks with a smile. "Might as well spin it. Mythryll doesn''t want to risk giving the wrong advice, so she''s staying neutral." Cain firmly selects the spin option, and the wheel in front of him starts rotating at incredible speed. At first nothing can be seen, but as it slows he can make out a few things. Construct forms and rted gear seem to be the majority of the slots. Some Lesser, some Greater, and a few marked "Decorative Skin".. Which could be almost anything as Cain isn''t sure how they work. Chapter 48 - 48 As the wheel begins to slow to a stop, Cain realizes it''s going tond on one of the "???" marked tiles. But a strange one, instead of the markings being a color like blue or purple, they''re a tarnished Bronze color. That''s not a quality Cain has ever seen before, or even heard of. The pointer settles to a stop, not even bumping the edge of the spot and an announcement appears on his screen. [Ancient Reward Box Gained] "It''s an ancient reward box?" he says tentatively to the group, looking at the box in his hands. It doesn''t look like much, just a worn old wooden box with tarnished hinges, but the description makes it sound impressive. "Well, open it. The suspense is killing me." Elmiraughs, her pixie voice making theughter sound like tinkling bells. [Ancient Spell Gained] [Summon Lesser Demonic Companion] learned. Will upgrade to Greater Demonic Companion when 100 demonic summons are known. Cain linked the description and mentally prepared himself to Summon his new Demonic Companion. Would this be like his Lesser Golems? Just a smallbatant? The word Companion makes it sound like there might be more to it. [Companion Generating] [Assessing Requirements] [Demonic Companion Created] The Demon fades into being. ck hair with pale skin and almost see through fleshy wings showing visible veins like a bat.170cm tall, plus her long ck horns. Well muscled and in her underwear. Definitely in her underwear. Boxer briefs and a sports bra to be exact, in in ck cotton. "That''s umm, interesting? Why is the Summon naked? That''s never happened before." Misha struggles to express her surprise, but nobody else has managed to speak at all. "Greetings Master." The Demon bows to Cain "I am V, your Summoned Demonic Companion." "The Summon speaks!" Mythryll gasps. "Of course I speak. What sort of Companion can''tmunicate?" V sounds confused. "V, could you tell me a bit about yourself and your abilities? The spell wasn''t very descriptive." Cain asks the scantily d Demon, trying to understand just what he summoned. "The Companion spell creates a lifelong assistant based on your current and predicted needs. You can equip me as you see fit and I will return with the same equipment every time I am summoned. Once you have amassed 100 different Demonic Summons I will be upgraded to a Greater Demon." "Okay, so you were created in your underwear so I could equip you with what I needed? What abilities do you have and what can you use?" "My apologies. I am a Wrath Demon. Skilled in closebat and capable of wearing the heaviest of te armors, or even chain mail if desired. The abilities generated were [Damage Leech] which will grant a portion of my damage as healing to the party, and [Demonic Wrath] which will increase the damage of party members and constructs." Cain is fairly sure that when those abilities were first created, they didn''t have a Puppet Master in mind. That''s just ridiculously awesome. "You were created to Heal? Was my healing deemed insufficient?" Misha asks in a dangerous tone. "Output wasn''t considered. Only 1 of the 43 current members and constructs in the party can Heal, so apanion with a group Healing ability was deemed essential. The next priority was damage output as arge number of durable Tank type members were found. So a damage increase aura was generated, which required the Wrath Demon form." V replies happily, looking to be praised for her useful existence. "Well, the spell was correct. Misha is overworked being the only Healer, and you can never go wrong with more damage. But I should find you gear before I get yelled at for letting you stand around in your underwear." Cainughs. Much like the day they met Elmira, gear is collected to be passed over. te boots, pants, chest and gauntlets at epic quality are all found, as they haven''t cleared their inventory in a while. A two handed sword, a Shield that reduces damage taken by 20 percent and a Legendary spear also make the cut. V can''t equip essories of any kind, but still, she is pretty well geared. Red tes that just cover the upper torso, thighs, gloves and lower legs over ck form fitting light chain mail body suit is the appearance she gets, the equipped helmet bing just a golden ring around the base of one tall ck horn. V''s feet are cloven hoofed, so the boots are more of a shin guard, but overall, the visual is of a deadly, heavily armored Demon Warrior. "Now that you look the part of a Wrathful warrior, I should ask: How big is the damage increase aura you give?" Cain wonders, checking his new Companion for missing essentials. "Fifty percent of modified damage as a bonus." V shrugs. "It will go up if I''m promoted to a Greater Demon, and again if you keep me beyond first ss change." Charughs "She says that as if it might not be enough. Your ability is very good Miss V." "There''s no need to call me Miss. Summoned Companions are on par with ves." V shrugs. "Actually, going through the records embedded in the Ancient Spell, this is only the second time a Companion other than a Subus was created, so maybe that was just a peculiarity of the previous users." "What abilities does a Wrath Demon have? Beyond those created for the summoning spell." Mythryll asks, trying not tough at V''s disdainful tone as she speaks about the previous users of the Demon Companion spell. "We can sense emotions and vaguely predict what will please and anger others. It helps create and satisfy Wrath. That plus enhancedbat ability are the essentials of the Wrath Demons." "That sounds fun! Do me. What would make me happy?" Elmira giggles. "You want to snuggle in a pocket?" V says uncertainly. "I think that''s what I''m sensing." Elmira cheers and ps, but the others look around in apprehension. That''s a dangerous ability used correctly. Plus, who wants their secret desires known, except maybe the pixie who requires so very little to make her happy. Cain strokes V''s horn and smiles. "It''s good to meet you V. How about we test out your new abilities on some unsuspecting lust demons?" Proper introductions and socializing can wait until tonight when they''re finished inside the dungeon.. As long as it doesn''t set off the city rms, Cain intends to keep V around full time. Chapter 49 - 49 V turns out to be incredibly skilled with the spear and shield fighting style. She''s even got attack skills that send red bolts and arcs of energy out from her spear. The legendary quality spear has a minor bleed effect on it, but against therger groups it gives a noticeable amount of returned healing. Misha might have felt her position was threatened, but it''s not the level of healing that will rece a cleric in the group. It is enough that she can rx though. The slow damage of the demons aura effects and the few area spells the group faces is mostly covered, so she can focus on healing the Tank Trolls. They''re getting reced frequently anyhow, as the cripple type debuff is reducing their [HP] cap every time they''re hit, but Cain can''t keep up with constantly recing them without taking breaks, so they get some healing, or curse removals and switch out on small groups to keep the problem dispersed. During their exploration they learn something very valuable. To the summons, V counts as an extension of Cain. So she can take half the force off to clear easy groups andmand the Golems without Cain being present or in sight. This greatly increases their clear speed, two nearby groups get cleared at once without overcrowding. It''s hard to find a ce in the ruins that 6 huge Trolls is a dozen nymphs can fight. Splitting up just makes sense. If the Supporter Cain gets at level 60 has the same ability, they will be able to clear easier areas in three separate groups. "V, circle behind those elite chimera and drive them this way. Once they''re trapped they should be easy to finish off." Cain calls out. They were on their way out nning to sort their drops after dinner, but this patrol of elite Chimera caught them. They''re incredibly poisonous, so fighting them is a cautious affair. Misha is casting almost as many cure poison spells as heals, trying to keep the Trolls alive, but it''s working. The chimeras are trapped between the two groups, and with their backs turned on one group or the other they''re taking huge amounts of damage. "Good Work everyone." Misha sighs as thest is about to die. [Level Up] This level will be enough stored points to bring Cain''s CON to the 100 point mark, where STR got a Modifier increase, and Cain is excited to see what happens. System Novel [Name] Cain [Level] 54 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human [Stats] +30-->0 [STR] 100 [DEX] 45 [CON] 70-->100 [INT] 50 [HP] 280-->800 [MP] 250 That''s far beyond his expectations. As he went from 99 to 100 CON, his [HP] went from 396 to 800, the bonus doubling the amount he got per point. Now his constructs will be extra tough. That should be a big relief to the group. Cain decides it will be more fun to let them realize on their own, so he keeps quiet about it for now, but V has noticed her HP drastically increasing. "Congrattions on the Level Up Master!" V cheers. "The extra HP from your increase made a big difference, it must have changed your per point Modifier." It''s gettingte in the day, and everyone wanted to explore the city, so they carefully head back to the entrance,ughing and telling jokes. Cain isn''t sure if V is going to activate the skill detection rm or not, so everyone is prepared to apologize to the guard on duty if necessary. The rest of the summons are dismissed and they step out into the sunlight, looking at the fading sun in front of them. Much to their relief, no rms are raised and no extra attention is drawn by their appearance. They do get a fair bit of attention, but that''s down to their party members themselves, not anything they''ve done. This city, called Sunnybrook by the locals, has a strange but functionalyout, it''s almost perfectly circr. The outer city, as they call it, has 6 gates. Onerge main gate and five single wagon sized side gates. The West gate and Northwest Gate have roads that lead straight to the city''s two dungeons. The west dungeon, that they just came from, is near the inner city walls. The Northwest dungeon they haven''t had time to ask about yet, is said to be near the outer wall, in the slums of the city. By Cain''s reckoning, it''s still a pretty decent neighborhood, but to the Elves, it''s beyond uneptable and embarrassing. The further you are from the dungeons, the nicer the homes and businesses be. They came in the Eastern gate yesterday, and their hotel is one of the best in the outer town. The inner city is fully walled with only one main gate in the east wall, which also holds thergest outer gate. It is the city''s Noble district, unless you''ve got a title, you''ll be stopped at the inner city gate and turned away. In the case the war with the Ogres breaches the outer city, this gives the Nobles a second line of defense. The shopping and market district makes a full circle around the inner wall, with random stores scattered elsewhere in the city for convenience or practicality. Most of the crafting is done on the West side by the dungeons, keeping all the noise, smells and soot contained, but leading to the neighborhood''s poor reputation. There are a number of cksmiths and tailors to repair gear in the area around the west dungeon, plus food stands. Most are little better than carts, just tiny restaurant stands with a half dozen chairs lined up along a counter, but the food is pretty good. Cain leads everyone to the smell of a noodle stand and they n their excursion. A cksmith and Bowyer are a must. Both for upgrades and to unload drops. They get a crazy number of high rarity items, but ones that actually have useful stats for their party members are few and far between. There seems to be no rhyme or reason what bonuses and stats appear on what items. That didn''t make the others any less valuable to those with worse luck in the dungeons though. Cain could use a new bow and sword, and Char wants a Warhammer. But first, they need to sort out any upgrades they might have gotten. Most of it is no better than what they''re wearing, but a single set of te gloves that Mythryll got grabs her attention. "Increases self healing by 10 points. And you self heal a little with every strike, so these might be much better for you. They''ve even got some damage reduction on them." The Elf says, still looking over the description as she passes them to V.. When worn they look identical to the others, perhaps it''s an oddity to the Summon that they only get one appearance for te armor? The whims of the system are beyond any of their understanding. Chapter 50 - 50 They end up going to the Dungeon Services building, as the Sunnybrook town council has named it, to trade in gear. At some point in the past they''d gotten fed up with dishonest merchants and decided it would be best to hire impartial appraisers to buy items from the dungeon at a fair price, who then resold them to merchants and local vendors. The locals say it''s been a blessing, because groups used to take their loot to other cities to sell, leaving them with very little in the market other than locally produced items. And without the influx of dungeon items for smiths and Tailors to modify, hoping for better stats, getting raw materials for every item proved difficult. Misha thinks she will be getting the modification skill around level 60, as the time she spends on Tailoring is limited, but after that things will get easier for the group''s cloth and leather wearers. Cain finds an impressive new bow, locally crafted from the trees of the Elven Forest. It''s a modern stylepound bow, not something he would expect to see here, in an almost ck color with wood grains running down the length. Looking at it through the system interface, it adds a substantial amount of nature damage plus a mild bleed that makes the target take increased damage from Fae. Both the Nymphs and Trolls he uses count as Fae, as do all three of the group''s damage dealers. "Bowyer, how did you make this bow? The effect is incredible." He asks the merchant after buying it. No need to risk him increasing the asking price by seeming too eager. "There''s a ck Ironwood tree over by the east gate Stables, do you know the ce?" Cain nods that he does, it''s in sight of their hotel room window. "The Dryad that lives there blesses the trees in the area, and the Fairies living in the branches soak it in magic. Every once in a while it will drop a branch that the Dryad gives to a craftsman she''s on good terms with, and they all create weapons with unique and powerful Fae rted enchantments." "That''s excellent luck for you. I congratte you on creating this masterpiece. I will treasure it." Cain tells the Bowyer before following the others to a cksmith that caught Elmira''s attention. It''s got a set of throwing knives in the window. They automatically return to their owner, and inflict a [Slow] debuff on hit. She insists that she is capable of throwing them from her chosen pocket, so Char is sent in to negotiate. She''s the better choice, Elmira insists, because the shop has Fairies in the back garden. If he''s friendly with the Fairies, he likely views the Pixies as Dark Fae, which would make getting a good deal almost impossible. Char gets them without any issues, and for cheaper than expected. Something about her calm and collected presence lends itself well to negotiations. A few more items are collected, including the crafting materials to make the lingerie drop they got in the ruins, and they decide its time to start looking for a Guild House. With a guild membership, you can disable third party contracts with members, which reduces the motivation for those who abduct crafters, trying to force them into sweat shop level work contracts. It also shows you''re not alone, that you''ll have backup if something happens, which is a decent safety measure all by itself, with the guild alert feature in the interface. A feature that''s also very convenient when you find a rare material that takes skill to collect and need to call in a guild member to help. The property manager is an ancient looking Elven noble woman. Given her appearance, she might have watched every single building in this city be built, which would be a huge benefit for a real estate agent. "Greetings, what can I help you find?" The ancientdy asks politely. "We are looking for a guild house. The location in town isn''t too vital, and it doesn''t have to be huge, as we''re a small guild, but we would like it to befortable, with all the little luxuries that makeing home enjoyable." Cain smiles at her, assuming she will understand what he means. "So, a natural spring, Pixie bushes, 6 or more bedrooms and a training room, plus a modern kitchen? Would you like that furnished or unfurnished? I have an arrangement with the local furniture makers to buy from them at reasonable prices if there''s something specific you need." "What exactly is a Pixie Bush?" Misha asks and the real estate agentughs. "It''s what the Elves call the Everbloom Bush. It flowers and produces pollen all year round, so Pixies can make honey every day." Elmira''s eyes light up at this, she''s never heard of such a wonderful thing, but it''s definitely an essential item now that she does know it exists. "That would be great." Misha nods, thinking if there is anything else they should require. "If you have anything like that, we would love to see it." "Of course dear. The South side of the city has a lot of that type of property. Most were made before the nobles walled themselves in, so there''s no shortage of oversized houses and vis around. The war has also seen a lot of guilds move their home base to somewhere easier to bring recruits. We''re not on the main trade paths, and the Ogres blockade the roads." The first property they view is a vi, it has got everything they wanted, including two big indoor hot tubs and ess to the stream that runs through the south side of the city, but it just didn''t feel right. The second is massive, better suited to a Guild of fifty than a Guild of under ten. Even if they all took two rooms the building would feel empty. Two more vis go by, just not quite what they''re looking for, when the Real Estate agent suggests going over to a spot by the Southwest Gate. Not into what the Elves consider the bad part of town, but close. Which is convenient for the aspiring guild. It''s closer to both the dungeons and the crafters, saving a fifteen minute walk that many of the other properties would have added. There''s also a small market nearby, where they can see low level local crafters selling all sorts of goods, from clothing to dishes and furniture. "The furniture maker I work with is that old Dwarf over there. It''s a bit of a secret, but you look like an open minded bunch that won''t care if your couch is Elven made." The agent waves towards a short, bearded man who gives a blink and a nod in return. "Good furniture is good furniture.." Cain agrees. Chapter 51 - 51 This ce feels like home the moment they walk in. It''s fully furnished, and immactely polished, but the wood work has the feeling of being lived in, not just being a public building for a Guild. That''s the feeling they were going for. There''s a young Dwarven woman, perhaps still a girl, it''s hard for Cain to tell, cleaning in the kitchen, and two young maids with Grey feathery wings on their backs and feathers in their hair, working near the entrance. The long round noses make Cain smile, these are Tengu, he is certain of it, even if their skin is not red. "Did this location recently be avable?" Cain asks, assuming the trio were sent here by the Property Manager to clean and maintain the building. "No, the Dwarf is Tanya Southall and the two winged girls are Ciara and ra. They''re orphans that nobody would ept, as Tanya is a Duergar or Dark Dwarf, and most think the Twins are a form of demon. I''ve been letting them stay here, as they had a year long work contract, signed just before thest residents moved out five months ago." The Real Estate agent exins. The building isn''t massive, but it''s veryrge. Ten bedrooms fill the second floor, along with two baths. The main floor hasrgemon areas, plus a stocked library and an indoor swimming pool. There is a fancy dining room off the kitchen, which has magic run appliances, no hauling firewood here. The front yard has a collection of short flowery bushes Cain assumes are the Pixie bushes and two big Oak trees. The back is all fruit trees set on inds of manicured grass, with white stone pathways linking it all. "Is there a basement?" Char asks. "I don''t see much for storage rooms, but I saw servants halls hidden throughout the house." "Yes, there are twenty small rooms downstairs, plus a lounge, forge room, alchemybs, a second kitchen and the pantry below ground. Would you like to inspect?" Twenty small rooms? How luxurious was the original owners life that they employed twenty servants? The lounge has fine Dwarven couches and deep rugs, the secondary kitchen is covered in evidence of thest meal prepared, half cleared tes and all. Clearly cleaning upstairs in preparation for tenants took priority. They look into a few rooms, finding them like prison cells. Steel doors, bare stone walls and only two meters wide by three long with a bed against one wall and an armoire. There''s arge room at the far end of the basement, past the pantry that the agent rmends they not enter yet as it hasn''t been cleaned, but Cain ducks his head inside after sending everyone else back upstairs. It was the old dungeon, signs of torture still mark the walls and floor, with associated apparatus still present. Best leave that room alone until he can clean it himself. Cain bars the door and ties it shut with a length of rope from his inventory. That should dissuade the others for a few days. Everyone is chatting happily upstairs about the history of the city. It seems this was a precinct guard house and prison when it was first built a few hundred years ago, then it was bought by a Noble, thenter turned over to a guild when the nobles retreated to the inner city. Quite the past for what looks like a simple manor with a beautiful yard. "Any objections to buying this ce outright?" Cain asks the party. "None." They all agree. "But we should find out the employment terms for Tanya, Ciara and ra. It wouldn''t do to miss payday." The terms are, frankly, exploitative. They each get 2 silver coins a month plus room and board. 2 silver coins wouldn''t even cover groceries in this city if they had to pay their own. Heck, the new shirt Mythryll bought today cost more than theirbined months wages. "Can we alter the arrangement?" Cain asks and he can see how nervous the twins hiding in the other room are. "As new owners of the property, you''ll need a fresh contract anyhow. Write your terms and I''ll see that they agree to it." The agent smiles, producing fresh contracts from her inventory. Misha pulls the old contract from Cain''s hand, looking it over, then passing it around so everyone gets a good look at the existing terms. Cain does some quick math in his head and writes a number on the fresh page, handing it to Misha who nods her agreement. "Well, that settled, I''m sure they''ll have no problems with their new contract. As you can see, they''re dedicated workers and kept the house in great shape." There''s cheering from the other room when the Agent brings them the new contract and they alle in to thank the group. "You have no idea how much this means to us. 25 silver a month is an employee craftsman''s wage. It''s umon for domestic staff to do so well." Tanya bows on behalf of the group and Elmira giggles. Char pulls a coin from her inventory and passes it to the Dwarf, likely the oldest of the group. "Gather up what you need to stock the house as we''ll be here for meals and the contract said you''re our new chef." Tanya is just staring at the gold coin, blinking slowly. "Is it not enough? I thought it would get everything we need, the ce looked fully furnished and equipped." Char says holding out another gold coin. "Sorry Miss, I just got flustered there. I''ve never held so much money. One is more than enough." Tanya smiles "Best believe you''ll be eating well if you''re willing to pay like this." They got about 10 gold coins between them from the dungeon today, not including the items they sold. Higher level adventurers really do live like kings, as the folk in the starting town told Cain. The bow he bought also cost 10 Gold Coins, to many of those not entering the dungeon, the price of a simple gear upgrade would make up years of their wages. Chapter 52 - 52 Everyone was so excited to finally have a home, well a Guild House to call home, in this world that they couldn''t focus on anything else that afternoon. The entire day was spent wandering the shopping district around the inner walls, looking for personal items to add vor to their new rooms. They found curtains and nkets, trinkets and wall hangings. Anything they felt might make their room more their own. A trip to the Dwarven furniture maker got them a few new custom ordered sectional couches, as the existing ones all felt very small and formal, and they liked to just rx as one group. The Dwarf assured them that he could have the couches finished the next day, they could pick them up in the afternoon after they registered their guild and did a dungeon run, or more shopping. It was toote in the day to register a guild, so they made an appointment for the morning and returned to their new Guild House for bedroom decorating. It would also be a load off their minds to transfer less used armor and clothing items to their closets, freeing up inventory space. Tanya, the Guild House''s own chef, has dinner waiting on them when they return. A fancy sort of meal she clearly put a lot of work into. "Thank you Tanya. I hope you made enough for yourself and the twins, I saw your old contact and I''m afraid to ask just how poorly you were treated by the previous Guild." Char tells the Stout Dwarven girl. "I''d already had dinner on the go for us, no worries Miss." Tanya replies. "I''m Cain, this is Misha, Elmira, Mythryll and Char. No need for so much formality. As far is I''m concerned, as Guild House Employees, you''re no different to the rest of us, just one big dysfunctional family." "There''s cuddles and honey too!" Elmira cheers, adding in the bits she feels are most important. Tanya chuckles at her priorities before returning to the kitchen to bring out pies. "Dwarven house warming tradition. Beef and Ale pies. I made a sweet apple one too, for those with a taste for sugar." They settle into their own rooms for the evening, even V was assigned a room, despite not needing to sleep, as the summoning magic didn''t include such things. Instead of pretending to use it, she ended up sneaking into Cain''s room and watching over him as the spell insisted was her duty. Maybe they went a bit overboard in their enthusiasm. Those who don''t sleep don''t really need a bedroom. At first light, Cain went to the bath marked ''Blokes'', with a minotaur picture, while the othersughed at the carved image of a buxom mermaid on the other door marked ''Lasses''. The bath was already drawn, and fresh warm towels set out. The maids must be mind readers, getting everything ready before first light, Cain decided. Not entirely impossible, given their Tengu heritage. Their appointment at the Guild Hall was smooth and pain free. The 5 of them signed the Guild charter, with Cain appointed as Guild Master, and the Darklight Host was officially born. Now when other transfers look at them using the system interface, they can be identified as Guild members, and the Guild Chat function was opened. Mythryll noticed right away that Tanya and the Twins could be reached through the Guild Chat, and were listed in the Guild Roster inside their interface as Guild Supporters. "That''s perfect, we can warn them when we''ll be home and if we need anything. We can also transfer them money from the Guild Vault, but they don''t have privileges to withdraw anything on their own." Mythryll narrates her findings. "There, I put 5 Gold coins in the Vault, it''ll cover their wages and any shopping we need them to do for a while." Cain informs her. "Should we head into the Demon Dungeon again? I want to see if we can go straight to the exit to Karmazin City inside the Demon Realm. If we can, it will be a much faster way of getting around." Misha suggests. Ah Karmazin City That sparkling mass of zero city nning. Cain wonders how Cixelcid is doing back there with his guild. Going by apparent distance, it should only take about 4 hours to get to the spire that marked the zone by the other exit, so it would be an all day round trip to explore. But far less than the week they spent walking between the two cities, wandering through the Elven Forest. As they worked their way through the ruins, they noticed the fights were getting easier the closer they got to the spire. The Demons near the previous entrance were fifteen levels lower than the ones by the Sunnybrook entrance, so it''s a good sign this really is the same spot. They''re also collecting quite a few new demon forms for Cain''s Golems, he''s up to 73 now, aiming for 100 when V will get an upgrade to Greater Demon Companion. "If we make a break for it after this patrol, we should be able to get quite a ways down this road. If I''m right, it will lead to the spot where we got our first demonic recipes and then the exit." Cain whispers, pointing down the road to their left. As expected, the same group of demons is there, though not elite this time. They''re quickly dispatched by the sheer number of summons in the party and everyone stops to catch their breath. "Remind me to start a cardio workout when we get back." Misha wheezes, not for the first time. "Well, we''ve got a house now, maybe we can find exercise bikes or something, start a group training regimen for days we have to run?" Mythryll suggests. "The exit should be just up there. One more pull and we''re done." Cain encourages everyone to get moving. It is exactly as they remember it, the view out from inside is the same and everything. They don''t want to exit back into that mess they ran away from though, so they start making their way back towards the Sunnybrook exit, knowing they can return here anytime they want. Clearing this area now is simple, with all the damage increase they''ve gained, single hits are killing the softer demons, and they''re fighting at a moderate jog, taking breaks only to catch their breath. Chapter 53 - 53 [Level Up] Just before they reached the Sunnybrook portal, both Cain and Misha received a pleasant surprise. They''d reached Level 55. They''d just finished putting down a small pack of Incubus, and were eager to head back to their new home anyhow, but now they had extra reason to celebrate. Every level after 50 was starting to take longer, they could easily kill the monsters in this area inrge numbers, but the experience they were getting just wasn''t enough for rapid leveling. "Why don''t we try heading towards those other ruins in the distance? Maybe they''ll be a higher level area and we can get all the bonus experience for being lower level." Mythryll suggests. It''s not a bad idea, and they might even find another portal, leading them to a new and higher level city. Not that they are nning to abandon Sunnybrook any time soon, but higher level trade goods mean upgrades and faster leveling. Ever since he found out about the ss change, it has fascinated Cain. What will he get to choose. Will he get to choose or will be have to wait more levels because of his overpowered hidden ss? He''s over halfway there now, he just needs to keep up the pace, and he''s got the perfect group to do it with him. The one thing his sscks is ranged power. Despite his bow, the favor leans heavily to melee and single target. None of the demons they''ve faced so far have been strong casters, so he couldn''t even switch his Nymphs for magic users if he wanted. They''re kind of adorable in a rip your face off way though, maybe he can get another spell to make magical summons instead. They''ve reached the exit and Cain is putting the summons, except V, away when Mishaes up with a great idea. In order to better learn the city, they should take a different way back every day. This is their new home, but they only know the main shopping district and a few basic locations inside the city. They decide to go up and look at the Northwest dungeon, thene back down to the house through the crafting district. This logic leads them to checking out the smaller side streets in the way up, ducking through likely looking alleys and finding all sorts of hidden crafting shops. Up ahead they can see flickering fire and hear nging from an alley, so Cain decides to see what hidden cksmith is in that dark tunnel between buildings. A small Dwarven woman, that seems entirely made of coal she''s so soot covered is Forging what looks to be an axe head over a fire in a barrel. There''s personal belongings scattered everywhere, so it seems she lives in the alley, the first actual homelessness they''ve seen in Sunnybrook. "Sorry if I disturbed you?" The child like voice says a a question. "There''s a smithy on both sides though, and they''re open." "We just came to see what you''re making. We''re a new Guild in town and haven''t had time to fully explore the city." Cain exins. "Well, if you''re needing a tour guide, I''m your girl. Just let me finish this axe head and put everything away." A tour guide would be useful. They have been having a great time alone, but they might be missing good things still, that a local could show them. They all watch in fascination as the young Dwarf turns the axe head shaped chunk of metal into a magnificent, ornate battle axe, just waiting on its handle. Cain signals her to finish, and she produces a ck Ironwood handle, carefully carved already with designs of mountains and birds, and pounds it into ce, locking it tight with the top spike and a bit of magic. "Is that one of the branches from the tree by the Inn?" Elmira asks, startling the Dwarf who didn''t notice her presence in Mythryll''s hair. "It is, but it''s crafted now, you''ll get nothing from robbing me." she says defensively. "You misunderstand." Cain takes out his bow. "We found this being finished the other day, and the story about the tree was fascinating. You must be in favor of the Dryad, despite your situation." "Aye, my father was a local Smith. Got killed at the start of the war when the Ogres breached the wall. Left me orphaned, but the Dryad gave me the favors he used to get." The Dwarf says quietly, like she doesn''t want the neighbors overhearing. "I''m Dimnys by the way. A level 20 warrior, and a skilled cksmith." "You''re a transfer? I''ve never heard of someoneing in with parents." Char says startled, then quickly does a group introduction. "Oh, no. Some of the locals get the system too, when they hit about 10 years old. I''m one of those. But I''m as good as a transfer, got an inventory and everything." The items around her are disappearing into it as she speaks. "It''s hard to level here though, I''m too weak to fight in the dungeons, and too poor to travel. Should be able to get an apartment again if I can sell this axe. But they keep kicking me out of the market. Local smiths don''t likepetition that isn''t a cksmith Union member." Cain gives the group a scheming look "Would you consider a Guild Contract? 25 silver a month plus room and board. We''ve got a small smithy room in the Guild House for you to work at and we''d supply your materials when we get them." "How about we tour the city first and I''ll think about it. If you seem decent we''ll have the Agent draw up a contract. Her contracts are trustworthy." "She did up the ones for the cook and maids at the house too." Cain agrees. "They''re well written and fair Contracts." Dimnys leads them on a short tour of the smithy areas, still covered in soot. When they get to a well, she rinses off, showing just how tattered and worn her clothes are.. But Cain has a solution to that. Chapter 54 - 54 Cain goes through his inventory, full of chain and Brigandine pieces, many better than what he''s currently wearing. He quickly swaps boots, pants and jacket, but not before removing Elmira''s handkerchief nest. The group looks at him a little oddly, changing his gear in the middle of the street, but it only takes a moment, and he''s done before Dimnys is finished washing up. This new gear adds a fair bit more reduction to construct damage taken, and increases his attack and movement speedpared to the old set, but looks almost identical. The only real change is that he''s now got a belt with many chrome reclining Subus on it, and a Bandana on his head, giving him a more leather club biker and less aspiring punk rock band vibe. "Here, put these on, it''s all armor I''ve grown out of, and it''s all damaged, but it''s still good." he says, handing it over plus a ck tunic drop he got this afternoon. "What''s the deal mister? That''s a lot of money to be throwing around." Dimnys says suspicious of his intentions. "Just doing a good deed. It''s quality armor, and you''re in rags. Call it charity if you like, or Guild courtesy if you choose to join uster." She didn''t hesitate anymore, putting on the armor before he could change his mind. It''s not a bad look on the little Dwarf. It''s pretty simr to when Cain was wearing it, but with fewer spikes, and the pants fit tighter around the hips. The shirt, havinge from an Incubus, has very few buttons, leaving her cleavage widely exposed but other than that it''s fairly modest casual wear. "Looking good Dimnys. We just need to find you a motorcycle and your makeover isplete." Cain smiles, getting a confused look from the Dwarf. "Sorry, it''s a two wheeled vehicle from my past life, the people who ride them like to dress in that fashion, for both style and protection in case of a crash at high speed." Now she understands. "Up ahead here is the Northwest dungeon, or the Naga dungeon as most call it. It''s a great spot for smiths, lots of metals and gems just lying on the ground. If you go in, grab what you can, the shops pay well for it." Everyone nods,mitting her advice to memory. They find five different cloth sellers, plus Tailoring materials dealers, a good smithy supply store, and some hidden gems of restaurants. It''s a very productive tour of the city''s west end. "So how about it Dimnys, we''re right next to the Real Estate Agent now, would you like to join our guild?" "If I say no, are you taking the armor back?" Cain smiles softly at her tone, knowing she''s likely experienced being conned more than once. "No, it''s yours either way." "Then let''s go sign a contract." The Agent is a bit surprised to see them again so soon, but when she finds out it''s to have her write up a guild contract for a crafter, she''s all business. It''s not until Dimnys says her name that the old elf recognizes the Dwarf in her new outfit. "So, what are the terms?" The Agent asks. "25 silver a month plus room and board, forfeit the partial month''s unpaid wages if she leaves the Guild." Cain says. "No dismissal penalty?" "No, we''re taking in a member that can craft, not a bonded servant." Cain shrugs and the Agent fills in the details, handing it to Dimnys to sign. She looks it over closely before signing and handing it back. Cain quicky puts his mark on and a message pops in all their interfaces [Darklight Host has gained a new member] [Dimnys has joined the Guild] "Wee to the Guild. Let''s head home and we''ll get you set up with a room and show you around." Misha smiles, while Char and Mythryll wee her with a big hug. "Master, my spell is having some sort of interaction with another skill. Would it be possible for you to dismiss and Summon me back?" V asks once they get to the Guild House. That shouldn''t be a problem, skill use inside your own guild house doesn''t raise rms, so Cain dismisses and calls her back while Dimnys stares in shock. "Your tank is a Summon?" "Oh, she''s not our tank." Char exins "Cain summons Cave Trolls for that. She''s more of a support ss. V fades back into view, blurred like a Mirage. Slowly two distinct forms coalesce and stretch their arms like they''d been cramped. "That''s so much better." They say in stereo unison. "Hey, there''s 2 of me. And I can hear her think!" They both say together. "Left first, then right." Cain says. "Tell me what happened." "I was created after the spell was cast, so I wasn''t copied. But every time your skill activated it tried to copy me again, but couldn''t because I was already summoned, until it started to make me unstable." V says. "But now the pressure is gone and I''m twice as good as before." The other V says. "Well, this isn''t going to be confusing at all." Dimnys says sarcastically. "We don''t have to stay together, if that helps?" V shrugs. "I can''t even tell them apart." Mishaughs. "Can the two of you tell each other apart?" "Sure, I''m the first one summoned." "And I''m her copy. If you change her equipment it changes mine." "For now, you''re the V twins. Let''s show Dimnys around before thinking about this gives me an aneurysm." Cain insists. First up were the main floor amenities, which thoroughly impressed the Dwarf, especially after meeting Tanya and hearing her glowing report of her new employers. A Dwarfs word is always trustworthy, she insisted. The upstairs bedrooms didn''t impress her, so she put off picking anything, and they went to inspect the forge where she would be spending a lot of her time. "Now these are rooms. Good solid stone. Old cement, none of that ridiculous sunlight. I''ll take the one nearest the forge." Dimnys deres and the group can hear Tanyaughing from upstairs. Must be a Dwarf thing. As it happened, the closest to the forge was Tanya''s room, so Dimnys had to settle for the one across the hall. "Look on the bright side, your door faces the forge door. If you leave them open you can see straight in. And likely feel the fires.." Misha consoles the little cksmith. Chapter 55 - 55 They gift their new Guild member the handful of cksmith recipes they''ve gotten by chance, much to her delight. The only downer is that theyck materials. In order to solve that dilemma, Cain proposes a solution. To take a list of needed items and go through the Naga dungeon a few times. "I''ll have to stay behind though." Dimnys says "I''m too low level, and if you enter with 6 or more it triggers the raid dungeon. It''s already tougher than the demons, and the raid makes everything elite." Nothing but elite groups to fight? That''s practically paradise for them with the increased drop rates. We all share a happy nce, in agreement that the raid is the best choice. "Oh, you''reing. Even if we need to put the V twins and the Treants on defense, we''re definitely doing the raid." Charughs. "I could sit by the door then? If you kill everything in the area it should be fine and I can run out if there''s danger? I couldn''te back in though." "You''ll understand our technique when we get inside. You''ll be fine." Mythryll insists. "Most dungeons I don''t even get hit." She''s got a point, the Elf has an uncanny ability to be well away from anything dangerous. Cain is about to go get the new couches when there is a knock at the door. Tanya dashes over to answer and an old Dwarf stands outside with a big smile. "I''ve got your new furniture here, thought I''d bring it myself in case you needed a hand with the cement." The furniture maker says. "Great idea. We''ve got more work for you too. We want 5 rooms decorated in the basement. The dwarves will let you know what they want, and there''s a pair of Tengu twins here somewhere, then do one spare room." "All work is good work. Let''s get this couch ced." It''s a three sided sectional with a pair of ottomans that turn it into a huge daybed if you push everything together. The cushions are the expected rich brown leather, but the trim is a mix of carved jadeite stone and metal. It''s beautiful. "The frame is a mix of stone and old growth Redwood, with no iron. It should befortable for every species to rx in." The old Dwarf says and takes his leave to go start nning the renovations. The custom couch really went above and beyond their expectations. He''s right too, there''s just enough support to not get buried, but it''s not so stiff as to feel solid, no matter who sits on it. Mythryll and Dimnys are out within minutes and only wake for dinner. "It''s a good couch." Mythryll gives it her seal approval, yawning as she heads for the dining room. "You and the twins cane eat with the rest of us." Char insists to Tanya when she enters with the first dishes. "There''s plenty of room, and we don''t bite, I swear." Dinner reminds Cain of a family reunion he once went to. A lot of people with one random thing inmon all getting together. It''s fun, he decides. Morninges and Cain knocks on doors to get everyone started, so they can do the Naga raid at a reasonable time today. He gets yelled at by every door but one, Misha''s door sits open the bed already made. He smells coffee, so he heads downstairs to see what breakfast looks like, only to find Misha did not actually wake up early. She''s passed out on the oversized sectional with Ciara and ra, using an open fairytale book as a pillow. Maybe the Dwarf put a sleeping spell on it? That''s 5 now that have passed out on the couch the first day. Dimnys is far from enthusiastic about today''s n, but having new armor and arge shield Char found, plus her newly made axe has given her enough confidence to at least enter the Naga Raid dungeon. Once they''re inside, she understands, this is no normal Guild. The raid allows between 6 and 10 party members. They''ve got 8 viable tanks between the Trolls and the V twins. Plus, the V twins Heal not just themselves, but a little bit towards the whole group. A patrol of 6 Naga Warriors meets them just inside the door. As expected, they''re all elites and level 70. It''s a bigger level difference than they''ve faced before, but Cain is feeling hopeful. With double the buff from V, they''re cutting through the Naga like they''re equal leveled. As they''ve got as many Trolls as enemies, all the Treants are left behind to protect Dimnys. Mythryll has cast her clones, who have all summoned their Treants, so there is a small forest around the cksmith. "Guys wait, stop, help, I think I am gonna vomit." The Dwarf moans as the Naga Warriors die in rapid session. "What''s wrong? Did something get through? You''re at full health." Misha calls. "Notifications. So many notifications. My head is spinning and they just keeping." Dimnys wails. For every 5 levels lower than the target you are, the experience gained doubles. Dimnys was 50 levels lower than the first Naga that died. Plus, there''s over 50 members and constructs in their group, with the Golems, Wasps, Treants, V twins, Mythryll clones and party members. That''s a 4 digit bonus tacked onto the modified experience gain. It will be a little bit before the unfortunate Dwarf stops being flooded with notifications. [Guild Raid Quest: Terror of the Naga]plete Naga Raid within 3 hours. Conditions: All Guild Raid Group. No Raid Member above level 60 at start of quest. Grants individual questpletions [Iron Man: Naga] [Iron Man: Naga 2] [ept? ] Y/N "D, I''ve got good news and bad news." Cain smiles an evil grin. "Good news?" Dimnys begs. "You''re about to get a lot of levels and an Ironman title." "And the bad news?" "There''s going to be just a few more notifications." Everyone gives Dimnys a look of sympathy. Iron Man quests spawn at random. If they turn it down they may never see it again. So they''re going to try their best to get the coveted quest reward. And it''s not going to be much fun for the Dwarf until the notifications slow down. [Raid Group Quest epted] Chapter 56 - 56 "We split the summons, 3 Trolls, 6 nymphs and a V twin to each side of the hallway." Cain deres. "We go when you''re ready Misha." "The timer started when we entered, let''s do this." Misha agrees. Mythryll orders a Treant to pick up Dimnys and shelter her, the Dwarf still dizzy from notifications. Even with two packs being fought at once, the Elite Naga are being torn apart by the party. The limited healing from the V twins is making life easy on Misha, she mostly only has to heal the tanks. Of course, with six of them, that''s still quite a bit of work, but manageable. The first section is all Naga Warriors, but as they turn a corner in the path they''re met with a flurry of water des. The Trolls move to block and charge their respective groups, while Cain adds the Naga shamans to his possible greater golem summons. They''re apanied by very short blue creatures with webbed hands and feet known as Merkin. The beasts seem to have a real hatred for the Nymphs, chasing straight for them, but the Nymphs are up to the task, tearing into them with sharp branch like ws. The Naga shamans are soft targets, even elite, and much higher level, the Trolls and spells have them dead in under a minute. They seem particrly vulnerable to Char''s lightning, amon weakness for water element creatures. Watching the Nymphs flip off the Merkin who make throat slitting gestures in return is a bit surreal. It''s their first time here, it''s not that he trained them to dislike each other. It''s like they''re rival sidekicks or mascots, off to the side of therger creatures battles just going at it full force. Even the still dizzy Dimnys isughing at their antics. Misha''s mana is still hovering around two thirds, so Cain keeps up this pace of pulling, not knowing how long the dungeon is, but knowing they''re on a time restriction. The Trolls smashed into yet another pack of Naga Warriors as the Merkin charged the Dark Nymphs. It was a lopsided battle, a single pack was all that separated them from the first boss. The Naga Prince as the name te in their interfaces called it was over 5 meters tall, and stared down at them from atop a dias made of coral and colored pebbles. Dimnys had gained over ten levels and the notifications had slowed to a manageable level, so she was back on foot, surrounded by Treants. "D, you stay towards the edge of the dias, behind the pir. That should keep you away from his attacks. Prince sounds like abat type not a Caster, so the rest of us are all in. Misha you ready?" Cain fires out in rapid session. As soon as they attack the boss he calls out bodyguards. Tworge Naga join the fight, one with a trident, one with a staff. [New Form Gained: Greater Golem Naga Champion] [New Form Gained: Greater Golem Naga Wave Mistress] "Focus on killing the Caster" Cain calls. Wave mistress sounds ominous, like she might have area attacks that would put Dimnys in real danger. Until the Dwarven Smith gets a few more levels, she will still be very low on HP, and even the lightning armor Char cast on her might not be enough. He plugs Poisoned multi shots into the Wave Mistress one after another, watching the health bar rapidly fade to red. Twice she almost manages an ability called [Crushing Wave] but the V twins interrupt it with Shield Bash. The Caster gone, they can get to business, everyone goes back to focusing on the boss, while one V and a Troll plus the Wasps focus on the Champion. He''s got a huge damage output, having already killed one Troll despite Misha''s healing. Even more than the boss is doing. When the Prince gets to ten percent, the Champion enrages, chopping down the Troll in front of it and jumping in to save the boss. Elmira hits him with multiple thrown knives, finally getting a sessful Paralyze effect, and the Champion is quickly killed, dying just before the Prince. [Boss 1 of 3 Defeated] [Level Up] "Well that was rough. Next time we kill the Champion right after the Wave Mistress." Misha sighs. The aftermath of the battle is an odd sight. Trolls and Dark Nymphs are scattered all over a lush green grassy knoll of Razor Grass effects, Shadow Field gives the air an evening feeling, and the scattered Treants make it feel like they''re in a forest next to the beach. A very oddbination. Ahead of them is a very different fight. Water walls being held up by casters block a valley at regr intervals, with spear equipped Warriors up on a ridge line with no obvious entry or exit. Are they meant to kill the casters with ranged attacks and just run through? That gives Cain an idea. Why not try out his new Naga? He swaps the Trolls for Naga Wave Mistress and sends them to attack the casters holding up the barrier. As expected, the Spear Throwers can''t get down to attack them. They''re in bad shape before they kill the casters with their water magic, but they get the barrier down. There''s a handful of Warriors in the floor in the next room, which are rapidly obliterated by repeated uses of Crushing Wave. Cain chuckles, not having thought to tell some to hold off on that long cool down spell. This time they barely get the barrier open before sumbing to spear attacks. The way through the first bit of the valley is now clear, but it brings a new question. Do they try to run through, or do they kill the Spear Throwing Naga? They''re on a timer, run through under the cover of Troll flesh it is, and then face whatever is at the other end. Dimnys is buried in a tangled mass of Treant limbs again and everyone else gets in a group between a circle of Cave Trolls. Then they run. Spears are starting to wear away at the Trolls health, but Misha has cast a long duration timed heal on them and they''re holding up well. It''s when they reach the other end that they realize they''ve made a tactical blunder.. The second boss is right here, and the cliffs that the Spear Throwers were on all lead to this room. Chapter 57 - 57 "V, split up, one of you to each side ramp. Take 2 Trolls each and split the Nymphs. Treants, hold the entry ramp with Dimnys, 2 Trolls and the Wasps will hold the boss while everyone else clears the side ramps one at a time." Cain calls out as everything attacks at once. Most of the Spear Throwers made it off the ledges and into the room, but they were corralled before they could spread out. V''s area attacks are doing well, the Leech effect giving a decent break to Misha, who is forced to heal all three fights at once. The boss is called the Naga de Master. He''s fast, and if the Trolls weren''t so durable they''d all be in big trouble. But as it is, Misha''s healing is keeping up. Cain is loading it up with poison every few seconds, slowly draining it, while the others have all picked one group of Spearmen to kill first. The area effects have the entire group very low, which will be a big relief. This pull is a bit of a disaster, but it seems they''ll survive. Then he sees the boss throw a huge knife at the Treants. No, not the trees, but the Dwarf hidden in them. The attack takes a heavy chunk of a Treants health, but it sessfully intercepts and keeps Dimnys safe at thest second. That was too close forfort. The first side of the smaller Naga are dead, and the constructs attacking them switch to the boss, keeping it much busier and spreading its attacks between more targets. This gives Misha a moment to breathe and take in the fight. Those sneaky thrown knives do way too much damage, but there doesn''t seem to be a way to stop them. The next one is blocked by V, who got the mental heads up at thest second from her clone. Now they''re making good headway through the second group, and the Boss health bar is turning yellow, indicating it''s getting near half health. Misha is getting low on mana, definitely below a third, when the second pack is cleared up. The V twins store their shields, switching to two handed swords for increased damage, and the resultant increased party healing, which seems to be enough to let Misha recover. With just the boss doing damage now, Cain can Summon back damaged constructs without leaving areas exposed, and much less healing is needed to begin with, so Misha is slowly regaining mana as the boss drops toward one third health. At one quarter the boss switched weapons on them, Matching the V twins and their two handed style. It''s taking much more damage now, but it''s chopping through Trolls every five seconds or so. That''s slow enough for Cain. He can bring them all back every 25 or 30 seconds without any issues. [Boss 2 of 3 Defeated] [Level Up] [Time Remaining 2 hours 3 minutes] "Looks like there was side passage we were meant to take." Char says, pointing at a tunnel that opens onto the cliffs. "We made good time though." Mythryllughs. "We will pick up all the crafting materials on the way out, just grab what''s safe." Cain tells Dimnys, who is hungrily eyeing some ore on the ground. It''s like a kid in a candy store, watching her dart from location to location with her worn pickaxe, pulling up ores. But as always, they''re still on the clock, so a few minutes rest and they''re off again. They only make it as far as the edge of the tform the boss was on before a horn sounds and a female voice echos through the whole shore front and canyon area. "Kill Them All." The exits are blocked off by water walls and Naga starting through a group at a time. Every twenty or thirty seconds, another pack arrives. Sometimes doubling up, some easy ones giving them a quick breather. After fifteen minutes or so, nothing arrives for twice as long as usual and the voice returns. "Fine I''ll do it myself." A watery portal opens and a Huge Naga in a green toga steps through. The identificationbel says this is The Naga Queen. She attacks as soon as she arrives, casting water des into the Dark Nymphs causing mass casualties. The Trolls charge, interrupting her next cast and the battle is in full swing. The Queen summons a set of portals and uses them to move around the room, appearing at random, casting more water des on the nearest targets. The only solution they find is to leave Trolls all over the room. It hurts their damage rate, but it lets the Trolls take most of the water des and pick up the Queen as soon as she appears. "Half health. How''s everyone holding up?" Cain calls out. "Not dead yet." Char calls back and Mishaughs. They''re mentally and physically exhausted from chasing the boss around the oversized teau room by the time it dies. [Boss 3 of 3 Defeated] [Level Up] [Guild title Gained: Terror of the Naga] [Quest Compete] [Guild Quest Complete] [Guild Level Up: Level 2] [Quest Experience Gained] [Level Up] [Title Gained: Iron Triathlon] Multiple item drop messages spam everyone''s screen, blinding them. Now they know how Dimnys feels. Dimnys simply sits down to deal with the iing messages, already used to the dizziness of contestant message spam. "Sweet, I got Level 60 and 61 there." Char calls out bringing a round of celebratory hugs. Cain checks his status screen: [Name] Cain [Level] 59 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human [Stats] +25 [STR] 100 [DEX] 45 [CON] 100 [INT] 50 [HP] 800 [MP] 250 So close to getting Level 60 and his next summoning spell, Cain is eager to go to another dungeon tomorrow, just onest push and he can see how the Summon Companion spell for his sspares to the Ancient quality Lesser Demonic Companion version. Coming out takes longer than the raid, 4 hours are spent gathering crafting materials from the now deserted zone.. Nobody wants to waste the opportunity, as the Raid Dungeon material drops are much better than Dimnys had heard the dungeon materials were. Chapter 58 - 58 Once they were all back at the Guild House it was time to sort and examine the loot. "I got a [Book of Sundering Blow] Rank A Warrior and Berserker only." Char says. "Then a bunch of armor and weapons." She piles them in the floor by the couch for everyone to look through, but it''s all got strange and mismatched stats. "20 percent damage added to bows used within 2 yards? What sort ofbat style is that?" Cainughs. "Do you have the ability to rework armor for new abilities?" he asks Dimnys. "Yeah, it takes some work and materials, but I got lots of them today. I''ll try to make something good out of whatever you guys discard. Each item can only be done once, but I can melt it down after if it''s still no good." She replies, looking forward to getting to try out the Guild House forge. "I got some recipes, including Legendary chain skirt and shirt I''ll try to make for Char. The rest was all materials or trash." She finishes. "I got a [Tome of the Naturalist]." Mythryll smiles. "It is a hand held item that adds nature damage and reduces casting cost of my nature spells." A round of cheering goes up for her upgrade. "Just recipes and junk." Misha sighs. "I did good this time. Skirt, shirt and leggings." Elmira smiles, putting them on. She looks like a tiny secretary in a leather pencil skirt in this armor. "I got you a coat with added spell damage and reduced casting cost to go with that outfit Elmira." Cain hands her an item that adds a ck leather zer to the outfit. "Then I got a Sword for V that adds 5 healing to party on hit. That should make Misha''s life a little easier. Wait, here''s some te gloves. [Gloves of Blisters] adds a 10 percent chance to increase crafted item rarity by a random amount. That''s good for Dimnys." Dimnys looks at the gloves in awe. "These are amazing. If they take effect while making an epic pattern it will guarantee a Legendary Item without the expensive materials." "Is that all from today?" Tanya, the cook asks, pointing at the pile of rejected equipment on the floor. "Yeah, the stuff that none of us needed." Cain says. "Might I have a piece? I swear it will be used for the Guild." She says she Mishaughs. "Sure, grab what you want." She tells the Dwarf who grabs a pair of striped panties. [Lucky Striped Pants] adds 70 points to cooking skill when making desserts. "Good find!" Elmira cheers, "How did we miss that?" Given their oversight, they decide tob through the discards, finding nothing else with a useful ability. Dimnys heads downstairs with the discarded metal armors and weapons, trying for a lucky reforge. Misha goes through her new recipes and finds a good one for the Tengu Twins, who look like they''re feeling left out. [Guild Uniform] attires a guild Supporter in a uniform suiting their job that never gets dirty. Adds 20 percent to loyalty. Not that they''re having loyalty issues, they treated their supporters well, but new uniforms might be nice. Misha goes up to her room where she''s got a table for Tailoring and makes 3 sets. Then as an after thought, she made 4 epic quality [Sweet Dreams Quilts] that make any surface afortable bed with perfect temperature control. 3 for the staff, 1 for the couch. The Chef''s jacket is white with Darklight Host written in purple on the pocket. The maid outfits are frilly purple cosy type maid outfits with white aprons and the Guild name likewise written in purple meat their hearts. The twins are ecstatic, they never liked the dull and boring ck maid outfits. But it''s the magic nkets that cause the real emotion. Their bedroom renovations are underway, but even the hard beds of the spare rooms aren''t terrible, just cheap motel quality. With the magic nkets, they''re actually luxurious. Cain heads downstairs to see how Dimnys is doing with her efforts to reforge today''s drops. The little Dwarf is whistling happily as she works in front of a zing forge fire, The waves of heat pouring down the hall. Who needs central heat when you''ve got a cksmith? There''s three piles of gear, the discards, a smaller one with strange modifiers, and two pieces set off to the side. te Greaves with damage reduction and increased attack speed, and a set of te boots that added experience on kill. "Looks like it''s going well." He congrattes her as a legendary quality short sword makes its way to the smallest pile. "Yeah, the increased drop rate from the [Iron Man Duo] title I got, plus the smithy gloves stack bonuses. It''s working out really well, not only a few Legendary pieces, but better than expected stats, even if they''re not really useful to anyone I know." "That''s fine, we can sell the extras and cover the costs of the reforge out of the Guild Fund. Misha and the others agree we''ll leave all the money in there from selling drop items to pay for materials and buy necessities for Guild members. We get enough actual coin from the dungeons to cover daily spending." "That would be awesome. Just leave any smithy materials you get in there too and I''ll see if I can make good things. I''m not up for going into that ce every day, even if it raises my level that fast." Well, she did have to hide for almost all of the dungeon, and with the fast pulls of the Iron Man attempt it was much more stressful than usual. "Me and Misha are almost to 60 now, I think we''ll all take a break and do something fun after this, instead of wearing ourselves out grinding. We do parties every ten levels and we''ve always spent more on livingfortable than on gear upgrades, since we had an Iron Man title and the summons to defend us." Dimnys grins at him "If you need to know the best spots for a date, let me know.. It''s clear you''ve both got a thing for each other beyond friends with benefits." Chapter 59 - 59 With Dimnys'' advice in mind, Cain proposes a day off tomorrow. They haven''t been keeping to much of a schedule anyhow. Not with all themotion of creating a new Guild, and buying a house and whatnot. Misha suggests her and Cain should go see the sights and visit the park. Mythryll and Elmira get easily convinced by Char to visit the wide variety of bakeries and sweets shops in the city, while Dimnys who suggested the whole day off, ns to spend it entirely in the forge, making new items and attempting to reforge their drops from today. ording to the Dwarf, that is what fun looks like, but they promise to bring her back some Ale she highly rmends and some sweets. Cain struggles through his lifetime of memories for ideas and realizes he''s never organized a proper date before. But as they head down towards the park, pic basket on hand, courtesy of Tanya, a sign catches his eye. A local theater group is putting on a show "Queen Anne" There''s no indication what it''s about, but seeing a show seems like a good date idea. He sends the boy to bring a ticket seller to the park they intend to have lunch in, asking for a private booth if they can get one at thest moment like this. For the silver coin Cain tipped him the boy is more than happy to fetch anyone they want. "For this much money, I''d drag the producer herself to the park." the boy says running off to arrange them seats for the show. Once they reach the park, they find a secluded corner, where the curving hedgerow makes a natural pic area. Sheltered from the wind, but still mostly in the noontime sun. Tanya has packed them an assortment of sandwiches, cheese, fruits, choctes and mulled wine, making for a much more luxurious luncheon than they were expecting. The producer herself is who ends uping with their tickets, a bit winded from the run, as the theater is on the East side, while the park Dimnys rmended is near the south gates. The distance is a blessing though, they''ve finished eating and are rxing under a tree when the producer and publicity boy make it to the park. "We thank you good sir and madam for your interest in our show. Though it''s opening night, we do have a private balcony avable." The producer says bowing. Money changes hands and the producer promises to have refreshments ready in their balcony room before the show. Misha is excited to see a show, she always wanted to go see a theater show, but didn''t live near one and had neither money nor time to travel just for the sake of seeing a y in her past life. The show is described as a racy tale of the Elven Queen who conquered the entire woods and over the course of her long life took a hundred husbands. Both transfers chuckle at this description, wondering what they''ve signed up for, but Misha is undeterred. The description only makes the romance novel fan even more excited to see this show. Meanwhile, Char, Mythryll and Elmira are on a sugar fuelled taste test of the city''s culinary delights. "I tell you, crepes are the best dessert." Char insists. "Don''t be ridiculous, crepes are good, but better than caramel toffee? I think not." Mythryll counters, a piece still in her mouth. "Have you tried the pecan brittle? This stuff is amazing." Elmira giggles holding a small piece up and brushing crumbs off Mythryll''s shoulder. The trio has attracted a bit of a following, single men drawn to the lovely and elegant Elf and the Muscr Spirit Folk Shaman alike. And they''re dressed to impress, in nearly matching green dresses, though Char''s has chain mail on the short sleeves and a chain belt with dangling leather straps adorned with beads. She also chose fur trimmed boots instead of the soft ts Mythryll did. "I tell you, that is the perfect woman. I''m going to say hello." One young adventurer tells his friends. "Better hope you''re as slick as you im or she''ll crush you dude, look at the Guild Title, they can clear the Naga Raid in under 3 hours." His friend cautions. "Those legs though. I don''t care if she crushes me between them, I''ll die happy." The smitten man sighs. Char, with her superior hearing, catches most of the conversation and nudges Mythryll. "Want to have fun with some overgrown children?" The Elf giggles and follows her lead, adding a bit of extra sway in her step. The looks she gets are amusing, and there''s plenty of guards around to keep anyone from doing something stupid. As they pass in front of the pair seated on a tavern patio, Char removes a walnut from the assortment of snacks and candy now filling her inventory and cracks it open in her hand, winking at the bar patrons. "Would you like some freshly crushed nuts?" she asks the legs admirers sweetly, popping the walnut in her mouth. The patrons burst intoughter and p the youngsters on the back cheerfully in constion for their loss. "Swing and a miss boys. Mindy, grab another round for our brave young friends here." One older Dwarfughs as the three walk into a candy shop a few doors down. Mid afternoon they''ve found every pastry, confectionary and assorted sweet they''re likely to find, so they retire back to the Guild House for the evening. The show is just starting, and Misha has gottenfortable next to Cain on the couch in their balcony. He wraps an arm around her, his heart pounding in excitement, he''s actually nned a sessful date! It''s a historical y, but every bit as racy as the producer mentioned. In fact, thebination of the y itself and Misha fidgeting beside him is making it hard to focus on anything at all. "That would be the life." Misha giggles at a scene where Queen Anne of the Elves defeats a challenging army then drags their Prince off to consummate their alliance marriage in the castle pool. "I can''t tell if you mean the conquering or the fawning Prince." Cain teases, stroking her thigh. "The pool scene is the good part. Out in the open, where anyone could see you if they walked by at just the right time." Misha whispers, nipping at Cain''s ear. "We will have toe to the theater more often.." Is Cain''sst coherent thought for a long while. Chapter 60 - 60 "You''re backte, we''ve all had dinner already. How was the pic?" Dimnys asks when the two return to the Guild House. "Excellent, we must thank Tanya for that. We went to watch a theater y afterwards. It was, how should I put it? Not what we were expecting, but it was a great show. We might have to go watch it again." Cain smiles, thinking about the day he''s had. "I''ve heard Queen Anne was chased out of the good theater in town because of its low quality, but maybe the stuffy nobles just didn''t want to be reminded of the Harem Queen of the Elves, or the fact their families armies lost to her." Tanya says,ing in with snacks. "So they donated a son to the cause?" Misha chuckles. "In fact, the infamous pool scene is at the pce here at the top of the hill. You can see it from the east windows on the second floor." The Dwarfs eyes glint in amusement at the thought of the nobles embarrassed like that. "How did the girls trip go? Did you find the good stuff?" Misha asks, setting down a cask of Dwarven Ale they picked up on the way back to the house after the show. "We''ve got enough sugar to kill a pixie." Elmiraughs. "Seriously, I think we''re everyone''s new favorite customer in the confectionary stores and pastry bakeries." "So are we going to try for level 60 tomorrow? If we can get Misha and Cain there I say we hold a big party at that pub down by the armor shop." Char points to show she means the one only a few blocks from the Guild House. "Are you even up for a party tomorrow after that much sugar today?" Mythryllughs. "I think the ''hair of the dog'' rule only works for alcohol hangovers." "I''m up for a party tomorrow!" Elmira cheers. "Party means cake, and I love cake." Cain notices V sitting on the couch with an arm load of equipment. "What up with V?" "It''s all equipment for her, but you''re the only one that can equip upgrades on her, she can''t do it herself. She spent all day helping at the forge, we forgot to give her orders for the day." Dimnys exins. V is so interactive and full of initiative duringbat that they''d all totally forgot that she can''t act outside her orders. Thest thing she was instructed to do was head home, so that''s where she stayed. "V, where''s your twin?" Misha asks, meaning the clone Cain''s ability creates. "Guarding the Master''s bedroom. She enjoys hiding in his closet to observe him and guard his possessions." Okay, that''s a bit weird, Misha thinks. She could just sit in the chair by the bed. But who is she to judge the Demon, right? Cain equips the new gear onto V, finding she''s gained a lot of damage and a five point increase to healing done to others. While that''s not a lot, it''s 5 points to everyone, each time she deals damage. Against big groups, that''s almost as much as Misha''s basic timed heal. Dimnys begs out of going back to the Naga Raid, iming mental health concerns, and the rest all agree she has a point, that was a pretty traumatic experience. The rest head to the dungeon after breakfast the next day, wondering what the regr Naga dungeon is like. They''ll get back to exploring the Demon Dungeon, and its multiple exits but for now, more experience is better, and they should still be very close to or below the Naga Dungeons level. [Dungeon Option Avable] [Count Companions As Party Members?] Y/N "Hey, I''m getting an option to count V as a party member when we enter. Maybe because the dungeon is a dual purpose, both regr and Raid? If we count her, we''re at 7 members, more than enough to enable the raid again. If not, we''re 5, enough for the regr dungeon." Cain tells the group, who stop short at this new information. Do they want to do the raid again? They got a lot of good stuffst time. "Let''s go hard mode again." Char smiles. "I''ve got a good feeling, and we can stock up on cksmith supplies. Guild crafters get taxed ten percent into the Guild Vault when they sell items to merchants, so the more equipment she makes the better off we all are." Cain selects ''Yes'' to counting V as a party member and they step into the now familiar raid. [Terror of the Naga] Guild Title active. Enemy damage done reduced by 10 percent. "Now that''s a bonus." Cain grins at the notification they all just received. Their efforts were more than worth the suffering. Assuming their unfortunate cksmith mentally recovers. After the first boss drops with much less drama thanst time, they''re faced with a decision. Do they go straight up the middle again? Or do they go down the path they missed and clear all the monsters from the dungeon? The third boss will call everything they missed in waves anyhow, so they don''t miss out on experience either way. "Let''s go up the middle, but kill all the Spear Throwers as we go. That way we shouldn''t get the chaos on the second boss." Mythryll suggests. "Misha? You''re the one that suffered most, your call." Cain says. "With the ledges clear we should be fine. Let''s go up the middle again." She sighs, not missing the suggestive nces straight ahead the others are giving her. The Naga wither under the barrage of Arrows and spells, as Cain once again reces the Trolls with Naga Wave Casters for this series of fights. When they get to the second boss they find that there are a few opponents in caves on the ledges that they missed, but the dozen Naga are quickly rounded up and slowly dispatched as the party focuses on the boss. "Kill Them All"es the expected enraged shout, and they start cutting down the waves of iing monsters. When the final boss drops they get an unexpected notification. [Shorthanded Raider Achievement Earned] clear 2 consecutive matching raids more than 5 levels above the party''s highest level member with only one Healer. [No Guts, No Glory Achievement Earned] clear 2 consecutive matching raids more than 5 levels above the party''s highest level member with no valid Tank. [Elmira Has Received Spell Book Dark Shuriken] Grade A [Char Has Received Spell Book Earth''s Wrath] Grade A Chapter 61 - 61 The entire group is in awe, not only of the achievements, but their rewards. They gained an entire extra level, as much as they did from the Iron Man questpletion. "Dark Shuriken is pretty awesome." Elmira calls out, sending a wave of them across the room. "It creates up to twenty of them at a time and they do more damage than any of my other spells." That makes sense, none of her other spells are Rank A. Another A Ranked spell in their group should be a noticeable damage increase, especially with the Magic Damage Aura that the Pixie has, and the Fae damage increase on bleeding targets from Cain''s bow. At this point, adding warrior sses would actually be a loss, and the aura is one of the biggest reasons Cain hasn''t switched the Dark Nymphs, who do Magic damage, for something more versatile. Well, that and the fact they''re kind of cute in their own way. Char tries out [Earth''s Wrath] and it creates a zone of pelting stones thatsts almost 30 seconds. While she''s got the Rank S Channeled lightning as her main single target damage, thissts longer than most of their fights, so it won''t be a hindrance at all to cast at the start. With all three damage dealers now having both a long duration area damage and a solid single target attack they''re in very good shape. Mythryll''s constant use of her Demonic Transformation Spell has gotten it to Level 4 of 5, one more and it will get the big bonus for a fully mastered skill. Each level has reduced the cooldown time, so she''s hoping that at the final level she will be able to just keep it active the whole dungeon. Learned Skills upgrade with use, while ss skills upgrade with points for the basic sses. Since most sses only get a single skill every 10 levels at the most, the book skills are essential to make well rounded characters. A level 50 warrior with only Chop, Stomp, m, and Shield Bash isn''t much of a warrior after all. The extra Dark Damage the Demonic Transformation grants makes Mythryll''s Vine Whip spell into a very effective single target attack, and the bonus applies to the attacks of her clones too. Most of the party gained not just one level from this raid, but three. Cain takes a moment to look over his status before they head back to the Guild House to n tonight''s extra special party. If his calction is right, not just him and Misha, but Elmira and Mythryll also should have made level 60 with the quest rewards at the end of the dungeon. [Name] Cain [Level] 62 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human [Stats] +40 [STR] 100 [DEX] 45 [CON] 100 [INT] 50 [HP] 800 [MP] 250 [New Spell] [Summon Supporter] Lv1 Summons one human or demihuman Supporter from a basic or recorded profile. There''s a long list of options, it appears that every seemingly failed attempt was still recorded, waiting for use. All the basic race and ss options, the Dark Elves he tried to record and many others. They should now have a flexible option for almost any situation. "I got a Holy Lance!" Mishaughs. "That''s three, count them, THREE attack options for me now." She links the spell description for them all to read. [Holy Lance] lv1 Does 90 light type magic damage to a single target. "That''s pretty good." Mythryll says, looking it over. If you use some of the points from your new levels to raise it up you should be able to do decent single target damage, as well as your Consecrated Ground area damage spell. "I''m not sure about putting points into something other than Healing though." Misha sighs. "I am the only Healer after all." "I could use the supporters to heal. I''m not sure if we can equip them, or how good they are though." "Make one with fluffy ears." Char smiles and Mythryll nods her head rapidly. Cain goes through the options and finds Catfolk Priestess as an option, one of the basic sses any transfer could have picked. They''ve yet to see one though, so maybe they start in a different zone, like the Fae races do? A pair of identical Supporters appear, Level 62, in in white Priestess Robes. They''re both Calico patterned with furry, cat like faces and long tails. They''ve got the desired cat ears though. Cain notices Beast Kin is also an option, but he won''t get to pick and customize appearance for the Supporters. There''s a Werewolf race option too. Cain missed out on so many parts of the character creation by simply picking random that he almost feels stupid for not at least looking first. There is no option to gear them like with V, they simply have what they have. In this case starter gear. Cain decides to experimentter and see if the ones he recorded appear as they were found. With that in mind, he tries to copy Misha, something that never urred to him before. [Supporter Form Added] So that means beyond the basic human cleric, he can copy something more about the transfers he meets. That''s a good sign he can Summon Supporters with better gear. They''re not saying anything, so Cain gives an order. "Heal everyone to full." Hemands them with a thought and they both cast area heals. They''re roughly half the healing each that Misha is, so they are definitely in basic starter gear. "Oh, that startled me." Char jumps back from petting their heads. "Sorry, I wanted to see their reactions. They don''t speak as far as I can tell, and they just follow orders, they''re not as interactive as V here, at least not at level 1 of the spell." Cain exins. The V twins are poking them in curiosity, circling around to get a better look, much like Char is doing now. "Try another form, see if it''s just because of the basic ss temte maybe?" Misha suggests, so Cain summons Dark Elf Clerics, with their ck, cobweb pattern dresses and staves. They show up exactly as expected and look around, taking in the situation, but also don''t speak. And they were constantly swearing at the group before. "Hello." Mythryll smiles and waves at them, but they only respond with a basic nod. "I guess they''re going to need upgrading." Misha shrugs. "Can you do that now? Or do you need points?" "My spells only upgrade with level increases, going by the description, level 70 gives me another Supporter and level 80 makes them advanced Supporters. Beyond that I don''t know. My Greater Golems got a damage and durability increase this level though." Cain borates and Char frowns. "That''s a bit inconvenient, but as broken as your ss is, it makes sense." Elmira giggles fluttering around his head. "We should head back to the house. I''m sure everyone else is eager to know how the day went. And we need to order a LOT of cake.." Charughs and waves them back towards the exit. Chapter 62 - 62 The trip back to the Guild House is a cheerful one. The party stops in at a bakery both Char and Mythryll rmend and order 4 different cakes, all in thergest pan size he could manage and still have them ready for tonight. "One for each of us that hit level 60 today." They tell the baker, who smiles in understanding. "I will make sure they''re worthy of the celebration." He assures them, before getting the address for the delivery. They''re not going to hold the party at home, instead holding a party at a nearby hotel tavern. It''s full of adventurers every day, and they''ll understand about the need for a level 60 celebration, especially for four members the same day. Everyone has been given the day off and invited toe along, though the Tengu are both nervous about being out in public, having been bullied in the past. "Don''t worry about it. We''re all going to be there, and we''re plenty strong. Nobody will do anything mean to you." Mythryll assures them, looking to Cain to back her up. "How about we ask V to look out for you? They don''t get drunk, so you don''t need to worry about that, and you''re guaranteed to have someone to walk you home if you want to leave early?" Cain suggests. The Demonic Companion is more than capable of eating, and V enjoys salty snacks, but she assured them that she doesn''t process things the same way so she can''t get drunk or drugged, short of an actual paralysis drug or Poison. Once the words ''Open Bar'' were mentioned both Tanya and Dimnys were all in on the party invitation. The barkeeper was more than willing to be their host for the night, bringing in a band in the middle of the week and even letting the groups staying in the Inn know that there would be a level 60 party for 4 transfers, with a prepaid bar tab. Eight gold coins bought out his stock, plus snacks for the evening, so it is a drink until it''s gone sort of day. The girls spend all afternoon picking outfits and getting ready, while Cain simply switches to his fancier pants and some ck shoes with a silk shirt and heads to the barber for a trim. Seven in the eveninges and dinner is finished, it''s time to party. The delivery cart from the Bakery is out front when they arrive, and the baker himself is there, Ale in hand to wee them at the door. "The Ladies and Gentleman of the hour have arrived!" The singer on stage announces. "Mythryll, Misha, Elmira and Cain have all reached Level 60 today in the Naga Raid. They''ve bought out the bar, so everyone enjoy your evening." They start in on a bouncy dance tune and everyone makes their way to the dance floor, many congrattionster. The [Terror of the Naga] Guild Title is the only title their Guild currently holds. So they''ve nothing to switch it out to, letting everyone in the bar who cares to check their interface know that they managed the fast clear achievement before they hit level 60. No small feat, and the reputation of the ''Darklight Host'' Guild is soaring tonight. The bartender and cake maker have decided to celebrate in waves. First up is the cake for Elmira. A sweet caramel fudge cake with caramel drizzle on chocte icing. The cake takes an entire table by itself and cheers go up around the room in her honor. Half an hourter is Mythryll''s turn. Vani cake with an apple mousseyer in the middle and apple vor frosting. The cake is amazingly good, and Cain makes a note to order this one again. Misha gets angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream, a true ssic, and at the end of the processiones Cain''s ''cake'' a special order from Misha that turns out to be one big ck Forest cake, with a hundred chocte cupcakes with cherry filling and chocte icing. The joke is not lost on anyone from the group, and the bar full of drunks is more than happy to get cupcakes instead of cake slices. They can be handheld after all, so you don''t need to put down your drink. The sun is up before the bar runs out of everything and chases them all out. Not even a bottle of wine is left in their cer, but the barkeeper assured Cain before the party that he could make arrangements to be restocked in time to open again the next afternoon. They''re all singing arm in arm, staggering back to the Guild House in the morning light, drawing amused nces from the City Guards, who are by now well aware that there was a party going on. The responses from the crowds going to work early are a bit more mixed, but since most of the vendors near the Guild House are Dwarven run weapons and armor shops, the closer they get to home, the more indulgent and amused the responses get. To the point they''ve got a couple of drunks singing songs with them by the time they reach home. The Dwarves do appreciate a good party. "Thank you Gentlemen for the apaniment. We are now home and wish you a good morning." a very drunk Tanya bows to them before burping and staggering to open the door. The house is dark. Very Dark. The Tengu girls left just a little after midnight, citing their bedtime, and both Vs followed them back. They must have put up the ckout shades in every room of the house. Even in the morning light, the house is darker than the dimly lit pub they were partying in. "Remind me when I''m sober, those girls deserve a tip." Misha slurs while Cain carries her to her room. The curtains were closed, and the outside storm shutters too, making the roomfortably dark. Cain''s room was on the north side of the house, and darker to begin with, he could barely see once the door was closed. "Perfect." He thought to himself "System set an rm for ten hours from now. Message: Tip Ciara and ra." [rm set] Chapter 63 - 63 Getting out of bed was a sudden and unpleasant experience for everyone in the Darklight Host Guild House. Just before noon the attack rms began to re all over the city, and much to their misfortune, they weren''t far from the wall. "I could justify killing someone for waking me up at such an unholy hour." Dimnysins. "What time is it anyways?" "About 3 in the afternoon." ra answers with a small smile. "I made breakfast today, because Tanya is still asleep. Nothing fixes the morning after quite like bacon grease and orange juice." Soon, everyone is gathered around the table, drawn by the smell of food and coffee. The consensus is that the Ogres deserve exactly what they are about to get today, so they''re going to go down to the mission hall and sign up for the city defense quest. After one more cup of coffee. The hall is packed when they get there, mostly with angry and hungover transfers fromst night''s party. The Guild members get a great deal of positive attention when they enter, despite the state everyone is in. A lot of polite nods, and a few ps on the back and handshakes in thanks for hosting such an borate party. "You going to give us the quest or are we going to raid them without a quest? Because something is going to die for that rm." Arge barbarian asks the much harassed clerk. "Please, wait. The raid quest will be up soon. If you form groups now, we can save time." She shouts to be heard. "Hey Darklight, send a raid invite! Let''s get this done." the Barbarian insists and Cain sets loot to individual and hidden before sending an area invite. [Raid Groups can have a maximum of 100 members] What was that? In seconds the group was a hundred strong and more wereining they couldn''t get in. "Start a second group, first raid is full." Cain calls just as the quest goes up. "To the west gate! Quest is for the West Gate." Cain calls, leading everyone out the door. They make an impressive sight, five wide and twenty deep as they jog through the streets to reach the gates. Most attacks only one or two guilds answer the call, but they''vee out in full force today. Two huge barbarians carrying shields nk Cain and the V twins in the front row, followed by eight tank spec warriors surrounding the rest of Darklight Host and two healers from the tank''s guild. At first the gate guard thinks this is it, and they''re happy to see so many tanks and healers, but the procession keepsing, rank on rank. The guard force hurries to put volleys of Arrows into the Ogres, as it''s clear this raid is out for blood and not intending to wait for them to soften the targets. The Barbarians are wondering what kind of tank a Puppet Master is, to be standing up front with them against Ogres, but once the Raid group clears the city guard, Cain calls his summons, choosing Dark Elf clerics as the Companion option. "Now that''s more like it!" the mountain of a fur d Barbarian known as Pussyyer6969 calls. Huh, guess it wasn''t prohibited by the system, just already taken. The Ogres react with predictable hostility to the presence of the Cave Trolls, the only opponent close to their own size. Even with the height disadvantage, the Trolls most likely weigh more than the Ogres, given their ample builds. A roar goes up from the transfers when the first handful of Ogres are knocked from their feet by Troll clubs. Most of the Ogres are level 50 or so, and these summons have a whole raid group worth of buffs on them. yer, as he instructs everyone to call him, is making short work of his own opponents. The interface says he''s level 73, and it seems he''s got a skill that lets him use a heavy two handed axe in one hand while still holding a shield. It''s knocking Ogres to the ground almost as well as the Troll Tanks, and doing even more damage. The Tanks have made a defensive semi circle, protecting the casters and healers from retaliation while a Kaleidescape of spellsnd in the Ogre lines. The Raid party is only outnumbered 5 to 1, and the second raid group of a little over a dozen transfers ising in from the nk. Ogres are dropping at a rapid rate and a fresh volley of Arrows from the city guard ising. The mission was to rout the attack, but it seems likely they will annihte it at this rate. Cain is still spreading explosive arrows around, getting the bleed effect to increase damage from Fae on as many targets as possible when the notificationes in. [Quest Conditions Compete] [Level Up] Oh, yeah. There''s a hundred transfers in his group, plus their summoned pets and elementals today. That''s a serious experience bonus. "Level UP!" The cheer sounds from various spots all over the Raid group and the Darklight Host party members allugh. This should have been expected. What few Ogres are left break and run at the cheer, but the raid doesn''t show any mercy, cutting down every one they can. "Problem Solved. Now turn off that siren and we can go see if that barkeeper has gotten any stock back in. First round is on me." yer shouts and the Raid group turns to go back into the city, leaving the guards in shock at the Massacre they just witnessed. He does indeed have stock in, as promised. after a couple quick rounds the group breaks up and they all go back to their ns for the day before they were so rudely interrupted. Mostly sitting around their houses and hotel suites rxing. The Mission Hall is thoroughly confused about the day''s events though. The clerk is trying to exin that a hundred and some adventurers just barged in and demanded the defense quest, but it sounds so far fetched that nobody believes her until the City Guards return and verify the odd sighting.. There were so many spell casters, they insist, that each one only had time for a couple spells before it was all over. Chapter 64 - 64 The next morning begins with another attack rm. Bright and early, just after the sun rises. The Ogres rarely do night raids, because their night vision isn''t greatpared to the Fae. "What on Earth are the Ogres doing?" Mythryll shouts from her room, and Cain can hear Charugh. "Should we go deal with it again?" Cain calls to his guild members. "I need raw iron for my crafting, if you''re going, bring me with you." Dimnys helps from the kitchen to be heard over the siren. They really need to get a sound proofing spell cast on the house. And so, for the second day on a row, they head to the mission hall annoyed. But this time they stop off at a magical renovations shop and order a sound deadening spell for the Guild House property. The staff there promises it will reduce the siren to a whisper and only needs refreshed once a year, a great deal in their minds. yer and his guild of entirely tanks and two healers is already there, waiting on the quest, along with another small guild of casters with a Leech type tank. "You want to lead the raid again, Darklight?" yer asks. "Yeah, no problem. All you other casters, stay close too. Misha here has a very good area heal, but it''s limited in radius. If you stick close you''ve got nothing to worry about." Cain exins. "I''ve got a castable area buff." One of the warlocks adds. "Extra shadow damage on every hit, so if we can gather before the fight, that would be great." This morning''s attack is at the East Gate, clear across town, but that gives the raid group a moment to form a strategy moreplex than ''smash them for waking us up again''. Like how they went into battle yesterday, the Trolls will take the center, nked by the Barbarians and the V twins. They''ve got a lot of tanks, so the others will surround the casters, forming a wedge of open space for them to work while keeping everyone in range of the healers. There will be no front and center attack today, instead they''ll hit from the side, distracting the Ogre forces and leaving them vulnerable to the arrows of the defense force. Simple, safe and efficient. So, of course that''s not how things work out. The Ogre King is at this battle, and their tactic has changed. this is no disorganized mob of Ogres, they''ve brought interlocking shields to form a Phnx wall, as well as basic siege weaponry. The first round of Arrows mostly bounce off the shields, and a collection of ming projectilese flying back at the Elves. While they''re still in flight, the wall starts moving forward, keeping their shield wall even and gap free. "Go as nned, the Trolls will punch a hole in the shield wall from the side." Cain calls and the party rushes the Ogre army. They''re not only better equipped and trained, but better prepared. The shield wall smoothly bends to meet their charge, Spears poking over top from the second rank. The first area spells are on them, but their health is ticking back up every so often. They''ve brought healers. The Troll charge is moderately effective, it doesn''t carve a swathe like yesterday, but it does break the ranks of the shield wall letting the other tanks move forward and force a breach. The massive strength of the Trolls ten levels higher than the attacking ogres is keeping them from regrouping, the log sized clubs knocking shields aside and forcing their bearers to the side. Seeing the difficulties, both Vs and the Barbarians push forward, getting behind the front rank of ogres to attack the Spearmen. The effect is immediate, the shield wall breaks as the defenders turn to avoid getting stabbed in the back, and the party forces their way inwards. Spells are nownding effectively on unprotected ogres, Char''s Channeled lightning wreaking havoc, as the damage is so much higher than whoever is healing the Ogres can deal with. Without the shields to block spells, the tide turns rapidly and the ogres start falling at an increasing pace. V calls back that she''s found the healers, so Cain sends all the Dark Nymphs to back her up, while Mythryll''s Treants follow them into the fray. They''re Gnoll Shamans, she deres, dodging between huge Ogre legs. Most of the Dark Nymphs and all the Treants get caught up holding back ogres, but both V twins make their way through and begin hacking up the Shamans. "yer, I''ll send a summoned Healer with you, push through the hole the Nymphs are holding and help kill those healers, the mages can''t see them to target through all this." Cain calls. The Barbarian pushes through at a run, trusting the healers to keep him up, and not knowing that V is a Summon or that she self heals. "Made it." The big man calls from the other side of the Ogres and the healing begins to noticeably drop. Their efforts are paying off, as they''ve driven the nk so far back they''re almost into the backs of the main wall, which is currently in meleebat with the city defenders. The Trolls reinforce the Nymphs, creating a tunnel straight to the healers and spells begin to rain down among the Gnolls, ending the healing of the Ogre Forces on this nk. A horn blows and the shield wall reforms in the reserves, while the front lines retreat back through the new defensive line, forming a box defense that is slowly backing towards the trees. It looks like this attack is almost over. [Quest Condition Fulfilled] The Ogres retreat and scene have a sigh of relief. This was not only arger attack, but much different due to the organization. Like they were facing the actual army and not a disorganized militia. "Well, that was intense." yerughs, giving the summoned Dark Elven Cleric a lecherous look. "How about you and me head back to the hotel for a little rxation eh?" he asks the Dark Elf, who gives him a disgusted look that makes everyone elseugh. "I would like to point out that the Dark Elf Cleric is a Summon. I''m not even sure you CAN lewd those Elves." Charughs while the Barbarian looks embarrassed. "I forgot. They''re cute though." He shrugs, stowing his axe and surveying the carnage of the battlefield. The Sunnybrook City defenders took heavy casualties today, Cain suspects the Guild might need to keep showing up to these attacks if they don''t want the guard to fall. Chapter 65 - 65 Dimnys is pulling a huge bag of Ogre armor and weapons back to the group after the fight, while Cain watches in confusion. "Is there something wrong with your inventory?" he asks the struggling Dwarf, walking her way. "Maximum weight capacity is rted to strength. I loaded up so much armor off the Ogres that I maxed out." She giggles. Cain grabs the bag and puts it in his inventory, noticing the weight capacity listing for the first time. He''d always worried about avable spaces and not weight. "Will it be enough for you to work with? It''s an awful lot of iron." Mythryll asks, eyes vacant as she checks the drops she got today. "I''ll need more of the valuable ingredients, but this will do me for a long time. Dwarven Smiths can increase the quality of Iron with repeated Forging, but it condenses a lot of regr iron into enhanced magical ores." Dimnys exins. "And you need then for higher quality recipes, but nobody sells the ones they make?" Cain guesses. "Exactly right. It''s so much work that you only do it if you need it." The Dwarf agrees. They part ways with the rest of the Raid group after the clerics cast area heals all over the battlefield, saving who they can as the defenders clerics are working with hardly any mana, the battle having run them dry. [Guild Reputation Increased, Sunnybrook: Friendly] "Hey, that''s pretty awesome, we got guild reputation to friendly with the city. I wonder if we get benefits?" Elmira asks. Cain looks over the Guild menu, finding that Friendly doesn''t do much, but if they get it to Revered or Legendary they''ll get tax breaks and better prices from the city''s merchants without haggling. Not a bad benefit, but a good reason to help out with city defense. Just hopefully not so early in the morning next time. They return to the Guild House and deposit all of the looted armor in the storage room beside the smithy, nearly filling it. "Don''t you worry, by the time I''m done there will only be a tenth that much, and in nice stackable ingots." Dimnys assures Cain, who can''t help thinking that''s still a huge amount of metal. Maybe she''s got a minor hoarding problem from living on the streets? They''ve got space though, it should be fine. "Well, you enjoy then. I''m going to go see how Misha is making out." Cain waves goodbye as Dimnys starts stoking up the forge to turn rough iron armor into enchanted ingots for weapon smithing. The rest of the Guild is up in the living room, looking over a leather bound book from the library. "We found a map of cities essible through nearby portals in the Demon Dungeon." Char exins. Here in Sunnybrook is a bit of a central hub, as there''s 4 more exits nearby, and it''s in the middle. We knew about Karmazin City already, but it''s a lot lower level than we are now. Good for trade goods, but not fighting. There''s also a level 80 area exit city called Peaceful River and one called Graska that''s also in a level 80 area, but tagged as Dark Dwarf Territory. The fifth is named as the city of changes, in a level 100 demon infested area, but the author wasn''t strong enough to get there to verify if the destination is correct or what the city is like. So, all the book contains is hearsay from transfers who had supposedlye from there. "We''re not quite high enough level for going to any of them yet, but through the Demon Dungeon they''re all day trips, so we will be able to go there when we need things. There''s a basic map of the dungeon areas too." Misha points to a diagram on the page. "Should we do a bit of exploring tomorrow? I''ve been dying to find thest twenty new types of demons to update V into her Greater Demon form." Cain suggests. That gets everyone excited. They''re not sure what V will look like as a greater Demon. Will she look the same? Will she be a huge monster they can only visit with in the dungeon or at home? How much more powerful will she get? They rx in peace for the rest of the day, Cain and Misha going back to the park on the South side of town to watch the sunset through the trees. The park is specifically set up to create painting worthy views from a number of spots around the walking paths. Tanya has prepared blueberry pancakes this morning, and for once this week there is no sign of Ogre attacks, they must be regrouping after the intense battle yesterday. The grand n is to head off towards the areas they haven been in yet, all increasingly high level. That seems like their best bet to find new demons without going all the way past the Karmazin City exit and looking for lower level demons they haven''t seen yet. The gamble pays off, they''re finding a lot of level 70 demons that have names starting in ''Greater''. They''re almost copies of the lower level ones near Karmazin, but count as a new addition to Cain''s collection. The numbers of demons in this region is also higher than usual, no more walking for blocks and hiding behind buildings, if the area wasn''t ruined they''d think it was a fully inhabited city within the dungeon. "I''m at 99 now." Cain says, looking at a pale skinned Wrath Demon, nearly 3 meters tall. He''s alone, and elite, equipped with a shield and axe. But going by what happenedst time, he will upgrade the second he is scanned, essentially bing a Dungeon boss for them to fight in order to finish upgrading V. "Do we pass, or use him to celebrate V bing a Greater Demonic Companion?" Char asks the group with a smile. "We''re well known for our celebrations, I think it''s only appropriate." Misha agrees. They step out behind the Trolls and Cain scans the Demon to his repertoire. [Form Gained: Greater Golem Elite Wrath Bringer] [Quest Objective Completed: Gain Knowledge on 100 demons] [Summon Lesser Demonic Companion] will be upgraded upon defeat of the targeted Demon. Chapter 66 - 66 The Wrath Demon expands, his wings growing ck and tattered, his face scarred and somehow even more angry looking. No longer is it an Elite Wrath Bringer, the title now says Avatar of Wrath. [Form Requires Summon Elite Golem] "Well it was worth a shot." Cain thinks to himself. This thing, half again asrge as the Trolls with te Armor and a vicious looking axe would make an amazing Tank. With a roar, that intimidating axe is covered in dark red fire and a red mist begins to form around the Avatar of Wrath. "Careful, it''s an Enrage effect." V calls, before the axe crashes down into a Troll. The hit takes a huge chunk out of its health and knocks The Troll over, another quickly taking its ce. Mythryll has shifted to her Demonic form and the Treants are doing their very best to restrain the Demon, but it keeps breaking the Vines with pure brute strength. Themotion has brought over move demons from the surrounding areas so the Vs and the Dark Nymphs break off to deal with them. "Full damage on the boss, Enrage effect is ending." Char calls, channeling her strongest lightning at the Avatar of Wrath. Even with all their damage output focused on it, this Demon still isn''t dying in any hurry. It gains life when it does damage, much like V, and it does a lot of damage. Cain has instructed the Trolls to switch to defense when they''re targeted, blocking as much as possible, but it still hits incredibly hard. "Extras are down." V calls, returning to attack the Avatar of Wrath''s back. Slowly they bring the Wrath Demon down. At ten percent health it Enrages again in onest flurry of damage that drops all the Trolls twice before the Demon can finally be killed. "Well, that would have sucked if we had a living party." Misha pants from the exertion of rapid spell casting. Mythryll and Char have slumped to the ground, while Elmira is snoring happily in Cain''s pocket now that the fight is finally over. It must be something about being a pixie, every time her mana gets low, she gets sleepy, and she''s t out of mana now and has been for a while. Not even the mana totem could keep anyone from running on empty, though it''s filling them back up quickly now that the fight is over. [Summon Lesser Demonic Companion] upgraded to [Summon Greater Demonic Companion] release and Summon Companion to begin upgrade. "V, are we ready?" Cain asks, hoping they''re still going to have V after the upgrade. It''s not guaranteed, but it didn''t say anything about changing or removing the gear, so he''s hoping it''s just an update for their loveable Demonic Companion. "Let''s do this!" V cheers and Cain dismisses her before casting the newly updated [Greater Demonic Companion] [Analyzing Existing Companion] [Calcting Future Requirements] [Completing Calibration] "Okay, it looks like we are ready, we might need to Summon her twice though, if it''s likest time. It sounds like the process ispleted though." Cain says nervously. Two figures appear when Cain casts the summoning, still pale skinned and winged, but taller in stature now, closer to 180cm with long ck hair and bright green eyes, the pupils sideways slotted like a goat. The tes of the armor they''re wearing is jet ck and smooth, with an added jacket instead of the former spiky pauldrons. Under the tes on their upper legs and knees seems to be skin tight leather pants, and the lower legs are covered by calf height ck leather boots with Spiked heels and interlocking ck steel armor tes. The upper body still has a solid chest te that only covers the ribs and up, but it''s now smooth with an exaggerated bust and ck chain mail underneath that stops just above the belt of their pants showing a hint of pale white stomach. A ck leather biker jacket with Brigandine te lining and smooth ck armored gauntlets finishes the ensemble. The pale face with long ck hair and long back horns definitely belongs to V though, even if the horns now curl above her ears instead of being spiky. Behind her ps the familiar white leathery wings, now with ck steel tes along the outer bones, formed to create sharp des. Cain checks the gear in his status screen, and it''s still what V was wearing, the outfit just changed appearance. "V, is that you?" Mythryll asks hopefully. "The one and only. Well, two and only, since I''ve been cloned." The Demonughs. "So, how''s the upgrade?" Misha smiles, d to have her back, even if she''s technically a Summon. "Good, my damage and HP have doubled, my Wrath Aura gives twice the damage increase, and my self healing almost tripled. Other than that I''m still me, but better." V responds. "Don''t forget, we have [Hellfire] too." The other says, equipping her sword and shield. mes flicker in an aura around her and her sword lights up with wicked looking dark red Demonic Fire. "A me shield and extra fire damage with a burn effect. I like it, we look extra cool with the ming sword." She deres with a giggle. "Should we let you try it out?" Cain asks and the V twins smile before sneaking off to go attack a nearby patrol. That''s definitely new, they couldn''t, or wouldn''t pick targets without a directmand before, it seems like now that they''re Greater Demonic Companions they have the ability to make their own decisions. The patrol is made up of 4 Incubi and a Lamia, the first snake woman they''ve seen, if you don''t count the Naga, who are much more snake than person with their fully scaled bodies and cobra like heads. She''s got dark purple scales, turning almost ck on the under side and purple hair with dark Bronze colored skin and horns. Wearing a ck sarong and bikini top, she''s almost pretty. Only Cain''s innate aversion to snakes prevents full marks. [New Form Gained: Lesser Golem Lamia Scourge Caster] "Watch out, the Lamia is a Caster." Cain calls, but didn''t send any of the other summons to intervene yet, letting V show off her new abilities. They both go for the Lamia, kicking the Incubi to the side and blocking the tail strike with a shield. The Lamia has a Spiked il ball on a chain at the and of her tail, and the effect is savage. Cain is a bit shocked that this counts as a Lesser Golem, but maybe if he tries he''ll got smaller and weaker ones? The Scourge Caster rapidly swings her sword, throwing des of Red energy at the ck d demons to no avail, it scars their shields, but fails to ovee the new Hellfire me barrier and they quickly overpower it, the scales offering little resistance against their des, and the soft flesh even less. When the V twins have finished the Incubi, they''re still at full health, despite having faced a patrol a few levels higher than themselves. "Hard to argue with those results." Char smiles.. "You''ve earned your Greater Demon moniker for certain." Chapter 67 - 67 "Did you collect the Lamia form?" Char asks. "I''ve always wanted a pet snake." "I did, they''re a Lesser Golem, not a Greater Golem or Companion though, so they might be smaller and much weaker than the one V faced. They should still be Scourge Casters through, so magic damage and medium range." "Well, bring them out and let''s see." Char smiles happily. Cain frowns, knowing he''s not going to get away without calling forth a lot of snake girls. He was right, these ones are smaller, their torso even smaller than the group''s diminutive Elven mage, but their body is over 6 meters long. Other than the size, they''re pretty simr to the one V faced. Only with des tipping their tails instead of a il and in a variety of colorbinations. They''re intensely fond of headpats too, and Char is soon swarmed in Golems looking for attention. They''re actually rather adorable. But still snakes. "It''s a good thing she likes snakes, I can see from here how nervous Mythryll is." V whispers in Cain''s ear. Yes, the Elf definitely likes snakes even less than he does, but once onees up for headpats she begins to rx. "Should we finish our run then? Or are we taking a cuddle break inside the dungeon?" Mishaughs. "Dungeon first, patster." Char agrees and Cain orders the Golems forward, keeping the Lamia for now to see how their damagepares to the Dark Nymphs. They don''t get the added damage granted only to Fae by a few of the group''s abilities, but they do deal magic damage, so they don''t lose out on too much. The ability to attack from a distance is a great benefit though. Twenty Nymphs surrounding one target makes it hard for them to do anything, but the Scourge Casters can send their de attacks from 5 meters away, giving the Trolls lots of room to fight. Cain decides to just keep fighting in this area until someone wants to go home or they gain another level, so they keep pulling packs, looking for new demons. "There''s more Lamia over there. Different looking ones too." V points out another group with two of the snake bodied demons in it. [New Form Gained: Lesser Golem Lamia Warrior] [New Form Gained: Lesser Golem Lamia me Caster] "Another Caster. This one me." Cain tells the group and theyunch their attack. The me Caster ends up being much like the Scourge Caster, throwing fireballs from its de. But it also gets off a single me pir before its untimely death at the hands of a Troll club. [Level Up] Cain checks his skills quickly, as he hasn''t assigned points in a while System Novel [Name] Cain [Level] 64 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human [Stats] +50->0 [STR] 100->125 [DEX] 45->70 [CON] 100 [INT] 50 [HP] 800 [MP] 250 There, that''s better. More Dexterity will help his targeting and chance for critical hits, a fact he''s been neglecting, and extra construct damage from the strength is always wee. Increasing DEX also increases run speed, a trivial matter most of the time, but now that his is at 70, the only one who might actually keep up with him at a run is Elmira. Pixies are very fast in flight. "Is anyone else close to a level? We can stay a bit longer if you are, if not I think it''s dinner time." Cain says. Misha gives him a thumbs up that she''s got her level, Char shakes her head, so he looks at Mythryll. "I got one just before V upgraded." She says. "Me too!" Elmira cheers. "If you manage to find another 146 types of demons I can upgrade again. But I''m not sure that many actually exist." V shrugs. "The system counts Lesser, Greater and Elite all separately, so as we level up it might be possible to find that many more." Cain says after thinking a while. "I''ll look forward to it then. Being called an Epic Demon would be too cool." Tanya and Dimnys are waiting at the door to wee them home tonight, both with excited looks on their faces. "O M G! You guys match! Does that mean V got an upgrade? The new outfit looks awesome by the way." Dimnys gushes as they walk up the steps. "Yep, I''m a Greater Demonic Companion now. All new wardrobe, plus all the fog from my mind is gone. It''s like I can do anything I want, except maybe disobey orders. It''s a good day to be Demon." Vughs at the Dwarfs enthusiasm. "We were in there a lot longer than usual today, but it was so worth it." Mythryll agrees. "If only this streak of useless, random items dropping would end." Misha sighs. "I got some more recipes, but unless we all want to look like Cain and V, that doesn''t help much. I''ve got to get to the point I can customize drop items with Tailoring like Dimnys does with armor." Charughs "I''ll be fine, my armor gets personalized so much it''s hard to recognize for anyone else inspecting my gear." "Speaking of which, do you need a hand selling off the items that didn''t turn out how you''d like?" Cain asks Dimnys. "That would be great. With the Guild reputation you should get a good price for all the extras, and I might have some upgrades for you, Char and V. "Fashion Show! Mythryll cheers and Elmira darts over to her shoulder with a piece of pecan brittle in her hands. "Let''s get this show rolling!" Elmira encourages them. "Is this a thing in the Guild?" Dimnys asks quietly, making Cainugh. "Very much so. Nobody knows what new armor items will look like when equipped, so we all share in the excitement. It started with an embarrassing armor swap after visiting the Demon Dungeon the first time. I''ll go first, what have you got?" Cain exins to her. "Pants with mana Regen on hit and extra construct stamina? They''re from the Ogre attack." She says tentatively, handing them over. They''re acid wash denim jeans with a chain lining and artful rips. "Not a bad look. I''m next.." Char says. Chapter 68 - 68 "For Char, we have Legendary Gloves with 15 percent added lightning damage and mana Regen." The Gloves are fingerless, with soft leather palms with chain mail around the wrist and on the back of the hand. "Also, a legendary helmet that adds 20 percent to totem effects and 20 lightning damage to attacks." The ''helmet'' appears on Char a a single streak of blue paint, from above her her eyebrow to the middle of her cheek. "I never get over the equipped item effect Elmira giggles. A fancy helmet on one person bing a streak of war paint on another is just freaky to watch." "Oh I agree with you." Dimnysughs, "But you should see people without the interface trying to wear drop items. Nothing is the right size, it''s mostly crazy heavy and they just look ridiculous. It''s much more fun to see." "That''s how they test children who are born here for the Interface after they hit puberty. If they have the ability, the item will equip and the interface will activate. If not they just look silly." Tanya exins from her spot by the dining room door. "What item did you try?" Mythryll asks. "A helmet. It fit me like a soup pot, made me think I''d gone blind." Tanyaughs. "What about you?" The Elf asks Dimnys who holds up a worn pair of gloves. "Someone discarded these in my alley, they looked warm, and when I put them on they equipped." She smiles down at the gloves, clearly they''ve been with her a while. "I''ve repaired them so many times I''m not sure they''d survive another round, but they grant 5 smithy skill, so I used them forever." "Moving on, I''ve got a chest te and cloak that both reduce damage taken and increase healing done." Equipped, they''re identical to what she was wearing, so that aspect of the spell hadn''t changed. Both items are Legendary and Cain looks at them suspiciously. Is it his imagination, or is his Summon better geared than he is? "Then we''ve got this shield that gives a chance to Enrage on block." Dimnys hands over the shield, which bes a teardrop shaped ck kite shield when equipped by V. That seals it, V is way better geared than him. But she also gets a way bigger damage buff, so Cain decides he shouldn''t be too bitter. The smithy equipment sorted and the impromptu fashion show finished, Cain, Dimnys and one of the V twins head out to sell the failed attempts to build up the Guild fund for precious materials. The merchants along the route to the hall are much more polite now than when they first arrived, even Dimnys isn''t getting dirty looks, and many of these smiths certainly know her. "Benefits of being in a good Guild." She exins. "Even for a street kid, if you get taken in, you enjoy the reputation of the Guild tag, as long as you didn''t do anything to them personally." Cain nods, it was simr in hisst life, get a good job and nobody cares about all those years they called you a cker and a bum. "Wee to the drop item trade counter, what do you have for us today?" The clerk asks. "All these epic and Legendary items. Most have been reforged already, trying for better stats." Cain exins. No need to tell her that there''s a chance Dimnys can upgrade the quality in the process. "We can take the reworked items at base price, unless something is particrity good. Give us a few minutes to go through it all." Cain and Dimnys take a seat talking about the fun and amusing Statbinations she found. Some were actually quite good, just not of use to them. Like the matched 5 piece set that all added damage done by a Barbarian wearing it. Cain decides to tell yer about that set and Dimnysughs. "What sort of idiot would name himself Pussyyer6969? But he seems to be alright, as long as he''s not hitting on you." ''Yeah, what kind of idiot?'' Cain thinks ruefully. The total is deposited directly to their Guild funds, so they head back to the house where Dimnys heads to the forge, while Misha has locked herself in her room to Tailor. Char and Elmira are buried in books, while Mythryll is helping Misha. This pattern repeats the next day, and the one after, before a bored Cain starts to wonder what he used to do for fun. "I yed virtual reality games all day, but now I''m basically living in one. What did I do between raids and dungeon grinds?" Cain wonders. That''s it, He did random quest lines to kill time and build reputation. There''s a mission hall here, he can take quests for Guild reputation. Cain takes the V twins with him and heads for the hall to see what fun today might bring. Many of the quests need specific skills that Cain doesn''t have, but there''s one that catches his eye. [Escort needed to depart from Sunnybrook asap. Two level 5 Elven Mages need to be transported quickly and in safety. Details upon signed contract. Pay 10 silver. Guild Reputation Gain High] It looks like just the sort of fun he''s been looking for. He''ll send a message to the others if it''s going to take more than a day. "Hello, clerk.I would like to take the escort quest for the level five Elves." Cain says. "You understand that if either of the kids is hurt, your Guild will suffer a heavy reputation loss, right? If so, then sign here and we will send someone to bring the travelers." The mission is to Karmazin City, to the Magic Academy. The details are eyes only, arranged by the hall, and the Hall Master burns the details sheet after Cain reads it. Two Elven children with their parents arrive not long after, bags packed and both mothers saying tearful goodbyes as their kids head off on their super secret trip to boarding school. "Did your Guild require use of our carriage, or do you have your own?" One of the fathers asks. "No need, we have an alternate method of transportation. I can assure you, the kids will make their destination, safe and sound by tomorrow." Cain says with confidence. Her father looks skeptical, but takes the adventurers word for it. Cain knows this will be rtively easy.. With his movement speed and the summons, he can be at the Karmazin City exit from the Demon Dungeon in under 2 hours, and the further they go, the easier it gets. Chapter 69 - 69 Once the quest contract is signed the five of them start heading for the Demon Dungeon. At first, the kids think nothing of it, as they''ll be headed west anyhow, but then they realize they''re not headed for the gate. "Excuse me, sir? Are you lost? The gate is four streets that way." The boy indicates the way out of town. V smiles at him "We''ve got a faster way. If we use the Dungeon, we can get you to your destination just after lunch today. No need to camp out in the woods, or fear attacks by Ogres." "Your friend is crazy." The little girl whispers to Cain. "That night be true, but she''s right. I''m a summoner, so I''m going to bring out some summons to protect you, and we''ll jog over to the hidden exit. It''s a secret of the Demon Dungeon, don''t tell anyone." Cain whispers back. The kids reluctantly follow them into the Dungeon where Cain calls out the full Host of his summons, including two Dark Elven Clerics for his Supporters. "Darklight Host. I get it now." The little girl giggles. "See, not too crazy. We even brought two healers." Vughs. They dodge what groups they can, Lamia Carrying the small Elves quickly through the ruins, their serpentine bodies making easy work of the terrain. By the end of the first hour they''re into level 30 and 40 demons, and the Trolls and Lamia can all kill most of them with a single attack, so they''re moving along at a brisk walk, looking to get to the exit as efficiently as they can. That still means killing quite a few demons though, and their charges are celebrating the rapid rise in levels. At first, in the level 60 area, they were getting levels every pack or two, causing the same sort of message overload dizziness that Dimnys suffered, but now it has slowed down as the demons are lower level, and they''ve been dodging as many as possible, not trying to power clear the zone. "That''s incredible. Not only are we already here before I even got hungry, I''m almost to level 23 just from the journey. The teachers will be overjoyed!" The Elven boyughs as they make the exit and Cain sends the summons away. "You can write your safe arrival messages for your parents now." Cain says once they exit into the city and find a nice pic table to write on. "We''ll show you around the city a bit, it''s not as organized as Sunnybrook, and then we''ll bring you to the academy to get your teachers to sign off on the mission." "Safe arrival messages? What are those?" The Elven girl asks. "Just a note to let your mom know you made it here safely and that she doesn''t need to worry." Cain exins. "Good idea. You saw how my mom gets." The boyughs and digs writing materials out of his school supplies. "Dad said when we get here we''re both changing our names, do we use the new name or the old one?" The Girl asks. "Use the old one, but tell them you''ve safely made it to the military academy in Peaceful River. She will understand." Cain says after thinking for a moment. He''s not sure what the big fuss is, but it might be better if everything was vague. The notes are quickly written and sealed, and Cain begins to show them the sights of the town. The markets, the good sweets shops, a few good vendors. He wanted to introduce them to Lickity, but she''s not at the market today. In fact, Cain isn''t sure if she will still be in this city at all, she might have leveled up past it. The Headmaster is startled to see the children when they arrive on campus. Either he wasn''t expecting them so soon, or he''d didn''t think they''d make it at all. "Headmaster, I have two candidates here by the name of Marcus and Sandy, that I would love to enroll in your academy." Cain tells him, and the Headmaster smiles. "Of course, right this way and we can do the paperwork." Cain signs off on new documents for the Elves, under their chosen new names with himself as guarantor. He also pays their school fees, simply because he''s feeling generous and doesn''t want whatever is going on with their families to affect them. Official business done, he goes to look for Cixelcid and Lickity, only to find they''re both out on quests. Lickity still usually runs her shop here in town he''s told, but Cixelcid is far enough ahead in levels he needs to grind in the next city over, which is where he is now. They take a message for him, and the old gloves V was wearing that give extra self healing. They''re from the level 70 Naga Raid, they might be an upgrade for him still. If not, it''s the thought that counts. The three of them sight see all day, getting a room in Karmazin for the night and head back first thing in the morning. As soon as they return to Sunnybrook, the questpete notification pops up and Cain smiles, before realizing that he had no way into the inner city noble district to give the parents the message. Everyone at the Guild House is still absorbed in their own tasks, so he decides to take V on another adventure, returning to the mission hall. There''s a few servants with different nobles Livery hanging around when he gets there, abnormal for the mission hall, and the father who offered the carriage is waiting for his return. "I heard you came back through the Demon Dungeon, might I ask, did they make it. "Safe and sound. The children both wrote letters for their mothers before I left, would it be possible to deliver them in person?" Cain asks and V signals him that he''s attracted attention from at least a few of the servants. "Of course, they''re having tea at a shop near the East Gates today.. You can deliver the message there, I am certain they will be overjoyed to know the children made it out safely." Chapter 70 - 70 "Might I ask, what the reason was for the secrecy?" V asks, the first she''s spoken in a while, and the Noble appears to have missed the presence of the two identical demons. "The family faces hostile takeover, looking to im our title by marrying off the next generation into their families. At level 5 and so young they can''t do much to fight back, so we sent them to a safe ce to get stronger. As long as they make level 30 before they return they should be fine. The nobles don''t exactly grind levels in the dungeons or on the front lines." They talk about noble politics while they walk and Cain learns a lot about the inner working of the city. Only a few titled families live in town, including those two, and everyone else wants a piece of the benefits granted to them. All fighting for wealth and power, but limited by theirck of title, as their families are many generations removed from the titled beginnings they trace their nobility to. The two worried mothers smile when Cain enters and holds up messages with their family seals on them. He sets the letters in front of them without a word and lets them read. "The Mission Hall Master is a genius. We would never have thought to hide them there, and they''ll certainly get stronger stomachs in a ce like that." One woman smiles. Once they''re both done reading V picks up the letters and burns them to ash with Hellfire. Cain doesn''t think anyone managed to sneak a look, but better safe than sorry. "They''ll return when they''re ready, no need to worry about them for now." He assures their families. On his way out of the Cafe he''s ''befriended'' by an obviously fake adventurer. He might have a system interface, but he doesn''t use it. His armor doesn''t have a mark on it and his shoes are polished. "Tough mission today with these lovelydies?" The man asks in a jovial voice. "Not too bad." Cain shrugs, "Just a couple day trip." "If it were me I''d have ditched the Noble brats in the woods." he says in a leading tone. "Don''t tell anyone, but I sold them to the Debtors Regiment in Peaceful Valley." Cain whispers. Debtors Regiment is what the locals call the conscripts, many who were jailed for unpaid taxes, who are forced to fight on the front lines in a city''s defense force to clear their sentence. Sending kids there is a death sentence. "Good on you then." The man chuckles and saunters away. ''Bunch of morons'' Cain thinks to himself, headed back to the Guild House. But at least nobody will suspect the two posing as level 23 Elven siblings at the Magic Academy are the level 5 heir and heiress they''re looking for. A magic academy is a curious thing. The education n lets the students learn spells as if they''d used a book drop. The kids that graduate have a wide of grade F and D magical skills in their repertoire, mostly nonbat, making them ideal to run magic based businesses. There''s a rather ragged looking Spirit Folk kid with a cloth bag slung over their shoulder standing on the sidewalk outside the Guild House staring at the door when theye down the street. Cain stops V so they can see what is going on. The kid walks back and forth a few times, then stops at the end of the walk, getting a determined look, but stopping before taking a step into the property. "You''ve got it kid, just have confidence in yourself." Cain says as he walks up. "Thanks mister, but what if they turn me down?" "Well, what do you want to ask? Maybe I can help." Cain smiles, realizing the kid doesn''t know who he is. Cain looks them over using his interface. [Name] Kone [Level] 32 [ss] Druid A Spirit Folk Druid? That exins the ragged appearance, Char has a very primal look as a Spirit Folk Shaman and druids are at least that level of isted from modern civilization. "Well, you see, I heard the Guild is all female and multi species friendly, so I wanted to apply, but I get so nervous about being rejected that I keep chickening out before I leave the sidewalk." "There''s one man in the Guild, but the rest is right. We''ve got humans, Elves, demons, pixies, Spirit Folk and Dwarves. We''re members you see." V smiles at the Druid. "Well now I''ve embarrassed myself. I''ll just go, I think." Kone says dejected. "No need for that, I''ll put in a good word with the Guild Master for you." Vughs. "I''m sure they''ll give you a chance." "So, do you preferbat, or do you have a trade skill?" Cain asks gently. "Druids start with herbalism and alchemy, so I''ve been working on those. I just got here from the Elven Woods and I''m a bit under level, but I''ve got a pretty solid Bear Form forbat." She says gaining some confidence. "Plus, of course I have Spirit Circle and Healing Factor maximized for the healing side of things." Max looks over the basic temtes for his summoned Companion and doesn''t find any Druid, so it''s an advanced ss for sure, not one that gets healingte like Shaman. One of these days he''s going to memorize those character creation options he promises himself. "Healing and a bear form? That should be a pretty goodbination. Sounds like you''ve been in the woods a while. Our Pixie, Elmira had that same problem. Why note on and meet the Guild? It''s time for lunch anyhow." Cain ushers the shy Druid in before she can think of a way to mount an objection. "Everyone wee Kone, a Spirit Folk Druid. She would like to audition for the Guild, so please make her feel at home." Cain calls loud enough the others should hear him, except maybe Dimnys in the Forge. "Oh, but she''s adorable. Can we keep her?" Char smiles as shees down the stairs. "That''s the idea. Don''t scare the poor girl away." Vughs. "Kone, this is Char, a Shaman. Forgive her abundance of mom energy, she loves meeting new people. Behind her,ing down the stairs is Mythryll, and that''s Elmira riding on her shoulder. Misha, our Guild cleric is somewhere, likely in her room Tailoring, and Dimnys, a Dwarven warrior is probably in the Forge." "We''re not a huge Guild, but sometimes that''s a good thing. The dining room is this way, and I can smell lunch already.." Cain ushers Kone through the door and asks Ciara and ra to go get the remaining two, and tell them the Guild has a potential new member. Chapter 71 - 71 In under a minute both remaining members havee to the dining room, drawn by either food or a new member to meet. "Wee, Kone was it?" Misha asks and the girl nods. "It would be great to have a secondary Healer in the Guild. We can''t be everywhere at once after all." "We will get you a bath after lunch, and some fresh clothes, we''ve got a stockpile of leather gear because only one of our members wears it." Misha adds as Tanya brings in tes of fettine in an Alfredo sauce with mushrooms and vegetables, along with garlic toast and sd. "Is lunch the only meal of the day?" Kone asks looking at her heaping te. "Oh heavens no." Tanyaughs. "But some of the members just got back from a dungeon, and others have been working hard all morning, so I expected them to be hungry. We''ve got an ice magic powered freezing box if we need to store leftovers for snackster." "You went to the dungeon?" Misha asks confused, looking at Cain. "Sort of. I took a mission to escort a couple kids, and the quickest way was through the Demon Dungeon to another exit." Cain shrugs. "Just be safe. I''m sure you had the V twins with you, but a dungeon is a dungeon." Char admonishes. "I always am." Cain smiles, thinking how even alone he''s in a better position than most groups now that V can givemands to the summons and take initiative. "You guys seem like a family." Koneughs. "I would very much love to join you if you''ll have me. Just name your trial and I''ll be sure toplete it." "We can go to the Real Estate Agent to draw up a contract if you like, or I can give you a guild invitation now with no terms. A lot of locals like the contracts, it gives them recourse if the Guild treats them badly or kicks them out for no reason." Cain exins. "If you can guarantee me a fair chance at dropped items for my ss, that''s all I ask." Kone says and all the girls giggle. "What''s so funny?" "Everyone else in the Guild has an Iron Man quest title that increases item drop rates for the group. Most of the gear has random or useless bonuses, but we get an awful lot of it." Cain exins. "I''ve filled an entire spare bedroom, closet and all, with leather gear that needs reworking. I''m just now getting my Tailoring skill high enough to do it, and I don''t want to waste epic items on failed attempts." Misha adds. "All epic items? That''s crazy. It''s like you''re some high end Raiding Guild." Kone says, eyes wide in shock. "Well, most of it dide from the Naga Raid. The amount of leather items that dungeon drops is incredible." Mythryll agrees. "We can take you there tomorrow, get you a few extra levels in a hurry." Cain smiles and Dimnysughs. "Just be sure to warn her about the notifications. So many new notifications the first time you guys brought me there." Cain creates a Guild Contract from a temte, a simple thing with the basic protections from forced third party contracts and such, which says she will get 25 silver a month plus free room and board, like every other Guild member. Then he adds a caveat that all drops will be fairly distributed, with those in need of the item getting priority. "Now, if you trust my contract you can sign here and you''ll officially be part of the Darklight Host." Cain says, sending the invitation. Kone epts the same second she sees the notification and her eyes go big. "I got money? But I didn''t do anything, did I?" "It''s customary to read contracts before signing." Char says, Patting her head. "We all get a 25 silver a month allowance from the Guild fund, but most of us make way more than that anyhow." "It protects you from forced contracts and gives you the right to stay and eat here at the Guild House for free too. Since I know you didn''t read it at all." Char adds. "All you can eat free food? That alone is a good enough selling point." Kone sighs and Elmiraughs. "Since I''m in a Guild now, can I sell my potions? They wouldn''t buy from me at the shops." "Sell directly to the mission hall. They''ve got a set exchange rate from transfers, it''s a discount rate, but they buy all sorts of things for the merchants and crafters to alter and sell." Misha suggests. "But what do you need more money for in a hurry, maybe we can help?" "To buy gear of course." Kone smiles "If I''m going to follow you somewhere dangerous I''ll need gear." "And nothing drops in the woods." Elmira finishes, having experienced the same thing. "We''ll set you up for free. The only condition is that you do a fashion show for the girls. They hold them every time they get a bunch of new gear, looking for casual wear." Cain tells their new Druid. An hourter she''s freshly washed and the entire Guild, including the elusive Tengu sisters are gathered for the ''Equipping of Kone'' as Char has announced it. They''ve got a big pile of leather gear that gives either Healing Bonuses, Melee bonuses or both. Until Kone joined the group, most of this had been deemed useless, as leather wearing healers weren''t anything they''d seen, much less leather wearing meleebat healers. "As Guild Master, I im the right to go first." Cain announces. "I found a leather jerkin that adds to healing effects, leather pants that reduce casting cost and a belt that adds healing on hit, plus nature damage." Cain says, handing them over. "Equip all at once to ensure your modesty" Mythryll giggles. "Trust me, trying on one piece at a time as Misha creates them is not suitable for public viewing." The leather pants are Capri cut on Kone, open andced up the sides. The jerkin is a bit short of reaching her waist, but is in a matching natural leather light brown. "That''s not bad. Add these boots that increase attack speed and this cotton tunic that adds a little mana regeneration." Mythryll hands over the pieces, which adds thigh high dark green leather boots and a medium green cotton tunic under her jerkin. "Then gloves that also increase mana regeneration and attack speed." Char adds, and she gains soft looking natural leather gauntlets. "And finally, a coat!" Elmira cheers. The coat is a full length duster style coat, in dark green Naga scales. "And a hat, can''t forget the hat." Elmira adds, setting it on her head. She equips it and it turns into a light brown leather cowboy hat. Not what anyone was expecting, but the hat adds a bunch of healing and spell cost reduction, so the hat stays. "I''ve got jewelery for you, two rings that add healing and nature damage, and a ne that adds a lot of mana regeneration." Misha hands over thest of the equipment. Basic gear done, Cain excuses himself while the girls pick through items for fashion. They''ll be a while.. A long while. Chapter 72 - 72 "It''s beautiful, thank you all." Kone says with tears in her eyes as Cain is leaving. "But I do feel like I''m in a Spaghetti Western." Cainughs. "We just need to change the duster. Or you could go around town without it and you''ll look like the leadingdy in the movie instead of the gunslinger." "You know what those movies are?" Kone sounds shocked. "Yeah, they were practically ancient where I came from, but I had seen a lot of them." "That is awesome. If only I could get some pistols here." Kone says, making finger guns in a draw and shoot motion. "I''ll look next time I''m out, see if anyone has heard of them. Though I''m not sure you''ll even be able to use them." "I can use Hunter and Cleric basic type skill books, so I''ve got hope I can use them if they exist." Kone shrugs before Char drags her back to start looking for fashion items and shoos Cain away. "You can see when we''re done. The surprise will make it better." The Shaman assures him. Nearly two hourster, an exhausted looking Druid finally emerges, looking like a Punk Rocker at prom. She''s got ckbat boots on with ck stockings, A very dark red silk andce bohemian skirt ending under a ck and red leather overbust Corset. She''s topped it with an Incubus leather jacket that fits two sizes too big when equipped and the girls have curled her Dark brown hair and done her makeup with bright red lips and smokey eyes. "Did you escape, or did they wear themselves out?" Cain asks. "I''ve got nine different casual outfits, I learned four new hairstyles, and I finally managed to get an outfit that almost feels like me again." She sighs wearily. So this is her preferred style? Unique, but it looks good on her. Kone gives a twirl "There''s just something about the right skirt. I was hoping for brighter colors, But the only ones we could find came from the Demon Dungeon, and the options were limited. Misha says she''ll make me more colorster, she''s got the recipes. "That''s great. Nothing is better than finding the outfit that just makes you feel like you again." Cain agrees, thinking of how he picked his casual outfits to feel like a better version of himself. "We will go to the Naga Raid tomorrow. We''ve got a unique way of doing it, so you''ll be gaining a lot of levels at the start. We''ll have a Summon carry you, as the notifications tend to make people dizzy." Cain informs her. "Can we go shopping quickly? I want to get a present for the Guild. Choctes or something." Kone tells him. "Of course, we''ve got time before dinner." He smiles, then raises his voice to call out "Elmira, we need you for a bit." The pixiees flying around the corner at breakneck speed, her wings straining against the wind as she tries to stop herself, running into Cain anyhow. "I heard something about chocte? Leave it to me! Onwards noble steed." She calls, slipping into the pocket of Cain''s jacket. One of the V twins follows them out with a knowing grin and they start walking their way towards the chocte maker that Elmira rmends. "Do we need choctes, chocte cake or chocte candy?" Elmira asks seriously. "Chocte cake would be good. Celebrations mean cake, right?" Kone asks. "In that case, we know a great baker." Cainughs, telling the story of their level 60 party and the cakes that went with it. As they approach the Bakery the smell of freshly baked chocte goods fills their senses. They all follow their noses into the shop where the baker gets them cheerfully. "Time for another party already?" he says hopefully. "Just a small celebration. We''ve gained a member. Kone meet John, our very favorite baker." Cain introduces the pair. Kone waves back without looking over, staring instead at a huge cake covered in chocte kes and cherry sauce. It''s nearly half a meter across, a truly daunting task even for the Guild. "Is that an enormous ck forest cake?" Kone asks, eyes locked in on the chocte covered frosting. "It is, I sell them by the wedge during the day." John tells her, then looks at Cain "I need to bake another one for tomorrow don''t I?" "Sorry John, but we will need to Commandeer this cake." Cainughs at the longing look Kone is giving it. "Nowdies, we should get out of here before we miss dinner." Cain insists after paying for the cake. Plus a box of cream puffs, and some cinnamon rolls. It only takes two more candy shops for them to make it home for dinner. "In celebration of a new member. I bring to you chicken fingers and fries!" Tanyaughs, bringing out baskets of both and Kone cheers. She''s an easy person to please in the kitchen, chocte cake and chicken fingers are her favorite foods. "As thanks for bringing me into your Guild family, I have brought a present." Kone announces, bringing out the cake after dinner. "Oh, that''s glorious. Excellent choice newbie!" Mythryllughs. "Let me guess, you brought Elmira and she led you straight to the very best cakes in town?" Misha adds with a big smile. "She led me to candy shops and cinnamon buns too. Totally worth it." Kone deres, cutting into the cake. The next morning is a different story. Everyone is all business. Dressed in their finest armors, and looking at a hearty breakfast with plenty of coffee to get thete movers motivated to head into the Naga Raid today. Even Dimnys has dragged herself away from the forge, the promise of multiple levels too much to resist. While Kone is way below the level of the Raid, like Dimnys was the first time, the Dwarf is still quite a few levels lower than the other Guild members, being only level 48 to Cain''s 64.. She worries that if she doesn''t tag along now, the main group will get too high level for the dungeons she cane along to and she will be stuck slowly grinding levels again. Chapter 73 - 73 They exin the finer details to Kone once they''re in the dungeon. "So you''re telling me my only job is to try to remain conscious while the Treants carry me?" "If you can manage more than that, feel free to cast some heals." Misha suggests. "We''ll be moving slower than usual, so we can collect materials as we go. It''s not a full clear, but we can grab everything along our route. Now, is everyone ready?" Mythryll has the Treants pick up Kone and gives him a thumbs up while everyone else just nods. The first pull was a rough one for Dimnysst time, it''srger than usual, and the carried member is at their lowest level. The Trolls smash into Naga, taking multiple Spears, and Cain decides it might be fine to switch them out for this dungeon. Nothing else has as good of damage reduction, but the Elite Wrath Bringer has a shield, better damage and pretty good stats for a tank. The shield should make up the loss of damage reduction against flying Spears. The Naga drop in rapid session and Cain switches out the Trolls for the Elite Wrath Bringers."They''ve got shields to deal with Spears and trident attacks." He exins and Misha smiles. [Ability Book Received: Rend] Grade B Usable by Hunter. Melee attack that causes a bleed effect. Well, that''s really Cain''s style, but would be a good skill for Kone in bear form. He''ll give it to herter when she''s not making pained noises and cussing at her interface. Dimnys has gathered the gems in the wall near the door, so they start moving forward. The shields make a big difference, and the red haze in the Wrath Bringers swords gives self healing and a stacking Enrage buff. When it gets to twenty stacks their damage surges for a while before returning to normal. They''re proving to be very versatile options as tanks, and the Lamia Scourge Casters are doing a great job of attacking without being in the way. Even in their rxed mood the dungeon is only a little slower than the first time. Though much of that is their increased levels, and the rest is mostly V''s upgraded damage increase aura doubled up and not the change of summons. The first boss turns out to be a joke today, the extra damage tearing the boss Naga apart in minutes. Cain sends the Wrath Bringers forward in a circle, the Lamia Scourge Casters in the middle, throwing arcs of energy up to kill the Naga on the ledges. Cain can see Dimnys stagger now and then, so she''s still getting multiple levels every boss. She''ll have another by the time the second boss drops, and the waves of Naga before the third boss usually makes up the majority of the dungeons residents the way they do it. They really do skip a lot going this way, only to fight it all in a hurryter. As expected, the handful of Naga housing in caves up on the ledges rush them when they reach the second boss, meeting a pair of Wrath Bringers on either side. The wings seem to be a benefit here, the Naga can''t see past the tanks as well with their wings spread, so they''re not making much effort to attack anything behind the big demons. Kone sounds like she''s almost recovered just before the boss dies. Then the wave of iing notificationses again. Misha lets out augh when she gets her notifications, then links her drop in party chat. [Thorns of Retribution] Rank B Passive. Usable By Cleric. Heals all party members 10 percent of users damage taken. "It''s basically the mirror image of V''s ability. Heal the group for part of the damage you take instead of do." Misha giggles. "Good thing Kone has a bear form, I can''t see you volunteering to let Naga stab you anytime soon." Mythryllughs. They wait a few minutes while Kone recovers from the flood of information. "Feeling better?" Cain asks, holding off on triggering the next waves of Naga. "Yes, thank you. But so many notifications. Isn''t there a way to mute them?" Koneins. "Not that we''ve found. But maybe?" Misha shrugs. "Here, since you like notifications so much, have some more." Cain chuckles and hands over the [Rend] book. "Oh, an attack skill! Why''s there no mana cost? Is it because of the 3 second cooldown? Thank you so much." Kone gushes before learning the skill. "I''ve got another for you." Misha says, handing over [Thorns of Retribution]. "That one will make you a better tank. 10 percent healing is the same as 10 percent damage reduction, plus it will heal everyone else." Essentials now done, V steps off the tform and triggers the waves of Naga that lead up to the final boss. It''s only a few seconds before Kone is feeling woozy again and falls into the branches of the waiting Treants. Wave after wave arrives until Kone is begging for mercy. "Can''t we just stop for a minute? There''s so many monsters, I thought we weren''t in a rush?" "After the second boss, everything you haven''t killed in the raid charges you. There''s no stopping them or slowing down their arrivals. You just fight them until they''re all gone." "You''re secretly enjoying this aren''t you?" Dimnys asks the rest of the group, who are all grinning at Kone''s misfortune. "Oh, it''s not a secret." Char tells the Dwarven Smith. "But we''re also helping her in a significant way, so we don''t really feel bad about it." The final boss arrives with her usual announcement, only to die momentster under an onught of Spells. The weing Raid for their new member is finally finished, and not a moment too soon as far as Kone is concerned. "Hey, I got a skill book! and a Rank A book too." Dimnys shouts out while doing a little happy dance. [Crushing Blow] Rank A. Usable by Warrior. Requires axe or mace. "That''s a pretty solid skill. Now that your level is getting up, you should be able to actually fight it out the next dungeon you enter." Misha congrattes her. "Yep, up to 57 now, I got 9 whole levels this dungeon." Dimnys says proudly, as if she didn''t hide in the Treants the whole dungeon. "9? I got 16, my head is still spinning. Every time I closed a notification I''d get 4 more about picking options from other notifications I hadn''t checked yet." Kone sighs. "I''m well into level 68 now, one more dungeon and I''ll be at level 70 I think." Char smiles. "Well, it is still early in the day. Lunch and then we do it again?" Elmira suggests from her favorite pocket in Cain''s coat. With her rtively new [Dark Shuriken] skill, being in the pocket doesn''t even affect her damage output. Instead of throwing knives, she just spam casts the Shuriken spell, which creates the same number of des no matter how many targets are present. "No time like the present. And then we can organize a level 70 party." Mythryllughs. "I''ll warn the bartender." Misha nods, getting ready to walk back to the exit. "I''m not getting out of this am I?" Kone giggles.. "Fine, let''s eat." Chapter 74 - 74 Lunch is a short affair, everyone eating up while Misha heads over to the nearby Inn to book a party, while Char heads to the baker for cakes. After all, while she''s hitting 70, Kone will hit both 40 and 50, and Dimnys will also reach 50 and probably 60. She can''t be leaving anyone out. The baker is more than happy to make cakes, asking a few details about each person they''re being made for, so he can personalize them. He assures Char that the eight hours before the party begins is more than enough time for three cakes and the Shaman hurries back to where the group has ordered lunch from a local diner. Both her and Misha arrive just in time for the food to be served. "Now, you need to understand, when we throw a party, we go all out. We''ve bought out the bar starting at sunset tonight, and we''ll drink until sun up or until they run out. There will be cake, and food, and likely a hundred more adventurers." Cain exins as they head for the Naga Raid''s entrance. Since Dimnys can offer real assistance now they have gained an extra warrior in the group, even Kone is able to make an effort, now that the notifications aren''t as severe. She is only throwing out sporadic heals in between waves of notifications, but all heals are good heals. Char reaches level 70 just after the second boss, gaining an ability called [Chain Heal]. It is much like her chain lightning, only it arcs a healing lightning between up to 10 injured party members, possibly returning to a target if it didn''t fully heal them. It''s the final drop that stuns everyone though. They all get an announcement, covering up the notifications on their screen. [Cain Has Received ss Exclusive Ancient Drop] [Book of Might Of Many] Has dropped. [Might of Many] Puppet Master exclusive. Passive. Attacks deal 20 percent of thebined damage done by users constructs in thest 30 seconds as additional physical damage. "That''s just sick and wrong." Misha gasps. "Who even created a skill like that? That should not be allowed. And it''s a passive." Mythryllins. "If it was for any other ss, I wouldn''t mind, but seriously? If it was for Mythryll it wouldn''t be so bad." Elmira agrees. "You need better archery skills now." Charughs, the only one to see the humor in the situation. Indeed he does, with that big of a Modifier, he is in desperate need of multi target or area damage attack skills. Multi shot is one thing, but a bigger Exploding shot or a rain of Arrows would be incredible. In the Naga dungeon the enemies are so big that he rarely gets to hit more than two or three with an Exploding Shot. "Oh, under that huge, obnoxious notification, I got something too." Misha cheers. [Blessed Life] Rank S. Usable by Cleric. Increases healing by 50 percent. "Okay, I feel bad for overshadowing that. 50 percent more healing? You might just be the best Healer in the city right now, regardless of Level." Cain says. "I was told as a kid that the Iron Man title made Legendary Heroes out of regr Guilds. Now I think I know what they meant." Dimnys nods sagely. "We got, what 4 different skills in a day? 2 of them S Ranked?" Kone says, trying to recall everything that happened while she was semi conscious trying to ovee the iing barrage of notifications during the first dungeon. "6 skills I think. I got Crushing Blow and Stone Form. You got Rend and Thorns Healy thing. Then Misha and Cain both got those S Ranked skills." Dimnys says. "You held out on a book drop? You''re supposed to say something so we can all cheer." Elmira pouts. "Sorry, it was in the first dungeon sometime, I didn''t notice until I checked my inventory just now." Dimnys apologies, offering the pixie caramel as a constion. At first it didn''t look like she was going to be forgiven so easily, but it''s a really good caramel candy, and Elmira is easily bribed. "We need more members if we''re going to keep going like this. We''ll flood the market with gear drops trying to sell it all." Misha frowns, not wanting to take a hit on the price. "And that''s if they''ll even buy so much, they looked pretty overwhelmed thest time we were in trading gear." Dimnys shrugs "Once you''ve tried to rework the ones with strange stats, I can take them to Karmazin City and sell a bunch more there. Spreading the wealth between cities should reduce suspicion and problems for us. We can also melt down some of the metal equipment into high quality ingots." Cain agrees "Hate to break up the nning, but I need advice type help." Kone says. "I''ve got two paths here. One leads to clones like Mythryll has that can use my abilities, with deduced damage, but the other leads to a super durable bear spec tank form. What do I do?" "Whatever you like, really. We''ve got a varied enough group so far that we can let everyone pick their preferred route. So if you want to be a Healer in the back, you can have clones to help or be the bear for you. If you want to be extra tanky you can do that instead. No pressure, we''ve got more healers and more tanks." Cain exins. "Then I want clones. You get all the cool summons, and Mythryll gets those two copies of herself plus the trees. I want to be like that. Using my skills to keep myself safe." Kone says firmly, he eyes zed over as she selects her desired skill tree. Secondster two full grown Grizzly bears join the group and Kone giggles. "Look, I''m both the tank and the Healer!" "You guys are the weirdest Guild members ever, you know that?" Dimnysughs. "We do know, but it''s great fun isn''t it?" Charughs. "Now, let''s go home and prepare for our party. We''ve got three members level birthdays to celebrate tonight." Cain suggests, ushering everyone out of the dungeon. "Does that mean I finally get an excuse to try on the very best of those outfits you all made me wear?" Koneughs. "Not just can you, you''re expected to. Can''t look ragged for what is basically your own birthday party.." Misha teases her as they head to the house. Chapter 75 - 75 Everyone is looking their very finest when they arrive at the Inn for their party. The local adventurers cheer their arrival, congratting the three on their advancements. "That''s the whole guild now!" The singer of the band calls out between songs. "You might now know it from their reputation, but this is the entirety of the Darklight Host. Not only are they a top local Raiding Guild, but they do it all short handed!" The cheers are mixed with heartyughter, as everyone present knows of therge numbers of summons that their Guild deploys forbat, making their team grossly outnumber any standard party. "So, little Druid, what path did you head down?" A big hunter asks Kone. "I went down the Nature''s Allies path. I got a skill book called Rend for the bear form, but didn''t want to be a tank." Kone smiles. "Rend is a good one. I got it at level 55, made me a great melee fighter. I''m surprised you didn''t go full healing spec though. You''re just a little bit of a thing." "Druids start out in the woods, like pixies do. So I picked up bear form at the start and kind of enjoyed it. It would be a shame to abandon it once I got a skill book forbat, so I went down the path that would let me do both." "You hear that Gents? The Druid actually used their brain to pick their skill tree!" Someone calls from the back and a drunken cheer is raised. "So tell us, how good is the skill book drop rate, running with an Iron Man titled Guild?" A young looking Elven woman from the local guard force asks Misha. "About one for every twenty levels gained? Yeah, that''s about right. If your squad gains forty levels in the Raid, you can pretty much expect two books to drop. Whether they''re useful to your build or not is another question." Mishaughs. The surrounding adventurers get a wistful look. "It''s about one every fifty levels for the rest of us scrubs. If a whole party of five gets ten levels grinding in the dungeon, someone will likely get a skill." Misha downyed their drop rate to avoid causing jealousy and anger. They''re actually getting books about twice that fast, one every tenbined levels, enough that their whole guild has gotten multiple highly ranked and useful skills by level 60, instead of hoping for one each, or buying the most basic of skill books from vendors for exorbitant prices. That''s the route most take, save as much money as possible and buy skills, or grind enough for tuition and spend multiple years in an academy learning those same basic skills. But the gamer spirit is strong with most of the transfers, they''d rather grind and buy than spend years of their second life in school. They almost all did that in their first life, after all. "Well, if it''s one every twenty, Young Dimnys here should have gained a book too. Or did the luck go to one of the others?" A red faced, red bearded Dwarven Smith asks. Cain recognizes this one, he was the guy whose smithy Dimnys was working behind when they met her. "I got a book of Crushing Blow and one of Stone Skin since you saw mest, old man. It''s been over thirty levels after all." Sheughs and the man raises his tankard in salute before copsing into his chair. Cain sees an interesting thing spread out on a table, a group has a proper map. He walks over to discretely examine it, only to find it''s not fully detailed, just a map that has been drawn by a newer adventurer like them. ce names are still simple, Transfer Vige, Karmazin City, Elven woods with very few details filled in. Though most have the type of dungeon indicated. They''re adding the area around Sunnybrook now, and Cain heads over to help them out a bit. "There''s a river, follows the bottom of the mountain range you''ve drawn there, and right about here there''s a vige in a ruined city, with a dungeon that holds Dark Fae and spiders." Cain says helpfully. "Excellent, thank you. We found out something interesting from a higher level group. The whole rookie area is a valley within a massive mountain range. there''s only one way in and out that anyone knows of, and barely anyone who leaveses back. That''s why nobody knows that the wider world looks like. The rumor is that whatever Divine Being causes the transfers protects us in here until level 100. If you reach it while in here, you''re transferred to the path through the mountains immediately." Now that''s interesting. Cain hadn''t met anyone who personally met a very high level yer. Forget after they leave the zone, transfers rarely return to the lower level towns, so even getting news a few levels ahead of you is difficult. They have the Dark Dwarf Territory marked on the map, at the very west side, where the Elven forest and its mostly unknown contents mark the East. Walking there on foot would take well over a month, maybe two weeks if you were in a carriage. They don''t have Graska, the Dark Dwarven city that can be essed through the Demon Dungeon ced on the map though. They do have Peaceful River though, about three days walk north of Karmazin, or about the same northwest of Sunnybrook, near an area marked level 80 and left nk. That''s the best map Cain has seen so far, so he asks permission to copy it out onto a piece of paper. Chares over and adds her insights to the map, adding a ce called Spirit Vige into the eastern edge of the Elven Forest, and a ce called Arrival Town, where the Elven transfers show up. The ces transfers arrive have a veryme theme going on, Cain thinks, the most basic of names, all to do with transfers, or the species that shows up there. But then, a lot of the little farming viges marked on the map aren''t even named by their upants. Instead they''re just considered part of a Lord or Guild''snd. But he doesn''t see anything resembling the level 100 area in the Demon Dungeon that should have a city in it, if the rumors recorded by the writer of the book he found are correct. They should be, everything else was as the book predicted it would be. But that''s a problem forter.. Tonight he''s got a very drunk Guild to escort home. Chapter 76 - 76 Cain and Char, the only two who even somewhat behaved themselvesst night are the first ones up, but the Tengu twins, who are not fans of parties, have made pancakes. Tanya is still asleep after enjoying as she called it ''a beer soaked slobber knocker'', or in Cain''s pance, a bar fight over the virtues of willowy Elven women versus stout Dwarven women between thedies of the entertainment district and thedies of the smithy district. Now the Dwarves might not have won the argument, but they did win the fight. The damage had shut the party down somewhat early, at about three in the morning, but the consensus was that it would be spoken of for many months toe. The assembled adventurers had happily paid for the damages afterwards, though they themselves had little to do with the fight. A very drunken server from a nearby tavern had suggested the Dwarves not bother dressing up for the men when Elves were around and things just went downhill from there. Mishaes down before the first round of pancakes are cold, and the rest trickle in slowly afterwards, Kone casting a heal on Tanya and Dimnys as they enter, removing any remaining scratches and bruises from their faces. "The Druid version of healing also cures hangovers if anyone else needs it." Koneughs, but everyone else smiles and waves off her assistance. "We''re good, we learned our lessonst time. Stay somewhere near your limits when drinking at a leveling party." Cain exins. "If everyone wants to spend the day crafting, I can head out tonight and vendor everything that''s no good, or not useful to us. I''ll take a trip to Karmazin City too, spread out the sales so it doesn''t cause problems here in Sunnybrook." Cain says. The pieces have levels, not as a requirement, but to indicate how much of a hidden Stat bonus they give, along with the listed buffs. Selling these level 65 items from the Naga Raid in the mostly level 45 to 55 Karmazin City should bring them a pretty good price, given how much harder they are toe by there. "I''ve got three times as much as yesterday''s drops already finished." Misha says and Dimnys nods in agreement. "So you''re saying you will transfer them over and I can leave now, then deal with the rest tomorrow?" They both nod absently, looking over the items in their inventory for modification. "Excellent. I''ll be off then." Cain stands, having finished his breakfast, and the V twins join him. "Take me with you too. I''ve never been to whatchamacallit city." Kone says around bites of pancake. "How long will it take?" She asks, her te now clean, but her face covered in pancake bits and syrup she''s trying to wipe away. "Through the Demon Dungeon, we will be there by lunch, it''s only a couple hours. If we went on foot down the road, it would be three to five days, depending on the weather and monster attacks." "That''s a much better way to get around. Let''s do it that way for sure." Kone agrees, but Cain can see she''s at least a bit excited to try out her new [Nature''s Allies] skill. Cain is too, it will be interesting to see if her passive that gives healing when damaged will apply to the Bears or if it only affects herself. The two crafters pass over their items to be traded, filling Cain''s inventory, while Kone runs downstairs to a spare room to collect the alchemy project she''s been working on. Her skill just recently got high enough to make greater mana potions, and she can''t wait to see if they sell for decent money. In fact, just going to the Karmazin market is exciting for her, having never been to an open air market, or Karmazin for that matter. "Alright, we''re off. Are we bringing a pocket pixie, or are you staying here to rx?" Cain asks Elmira. "I''m making Pixie honey today, so Tanya can see how it tastes in honey cake." "A noble pursuit for certain." Charughs from the kitchen where she''s returning her breakfast dishes. Cain and his littlepany head out for the dungeon, stopping a few times to say hello to local merchants and patrons of the Inn. "I''m just noticing, this guild is really, really popr isn''t it?" Kone whispers to him. "Because of the city defense actions mostly. Keeping the Ogres out of the city is priority one, and the summons do a really good job of it. When we all get close to level 100 and start thinking of leaving town I''ll be sure to find some lower level Guild members to take over the house and keep up our reputation and City defense efforts. It would be a shame to just abandon our Guild House when we level up like so many have before us." "You''ve got a point. We could even recruit from lower level areas and drag them through the raid like you did for me and Dimnys, get them up to eptable and then let them take over when we move on. But isn''t level 100 a long time to stay in one city?" Kone asks. "Well, there''s a secret to the Demon Dungeon, it''s all one big Dungeon, not multiple small ones at every city. So we can enter from Sunnybrook and find every level of demons from 30 to 100. It might make for long trips, getting to the ones we actually want, but we can easily return home in a few hours when we''re done." This new bit of information keeps Kone''s mind upied until they reach the entrance. "Where else can it go?" She finally asks. "Karmazin, Peaceful River and Graska for sure, plus there''s rumors of a level 100 town that can be essed too. There should also be at least one or two more exits in the far north and south of the transfer valley, but maybe not. At least, I don''t know where they are, and the maps I''ve seen don''t have those areas filled in." "It''s like the Demon world is a scaled down ovey of the outside world. Maybe it was meant to be a travel solution before being corrupted? From what I''ve heard from you guys and the other transfers a lot of dungeons hold corrupted versions of the outside species." Now that''s food for thought. Cain never thought of it that way, but she''s right. Some species are naturally aggressive or hold grudges against the transfers species, but inside the dungeons something is different about them.. Even the surprisingly cuddly Lamia Scourge Casters and the V twins, who currently look deep in thought, silently taking in the conversation, are friendly and intelligent, much different in personality than the demons in the dungeon. Chapter 77 - 77 The trip is short and uneventful, mostly spent attacking random Demon patrols to test out the strength of the bears. They can use not only [Rend] and the passive [Thorns of Retribution], but they can also use the instant cast area heal [Spirit Circle]. The only thing it seems they can''t do is use the longer cast of Healing Factor, which makes up the vast majority of Kone''s healing potential. Spirit Circle is a decent sized area, but the healing output is fairly sad, no better than Char''s healing totem was at that level. But with three of them active it adds up to enough to deal with everything theye across, with Kone mostly watching the fight and cheering on her protectors. Kone does gain a level she was close to achieving by the time they make it to the Karmazin City exit, so the time spent wasn''t purely for entertainment. The city is in an uproar when they arrive, market stalls have been destroyed and there are shouts of fighting in the streets as multiple Guilds fight it out in public. [Guard Zone Inactive. Guild War In Progress]es the notification. "Stay close to me. I''m twenty levels higher than most of the transfers here, so they''ll see by name tag in ck, as much higher level. Or at least purple for ten levels above. That should help keep you safe." "Where are we going?" Kone asks, confused by Cain''s sense of purpose in this chaos. "To find my friends, Lickity and Cixelcid. Hopefully they''re alright, but Lickity is a tailor and likely to be in that crowded market when the fighting broke out." Cain tells her, jogging that way with everyone else following them. The crowd parts at the dangerous looking group, the ck armored demons andrge figure of Cain, running mostly unimpeded through the market with Kone huddled in the middle. There is heavy fighting near where Lickity usually sets up her stall, so Cain turns the group that way, throwingbatants out of the way until they can see a group of five backed up against the wall that separates the noise of the market from the nearby houses. It''s Cixelcid and Lickity, with two others Cain only vaguely recognizes and Red Beard, the Guild Master, only none of them have Guild tags anymore. Instead they''ve got a red X where the Guild name usually shows, the mark of a deserter, someone who broke their Guild Contract in thest 24 hours. "Form up, Kone in the middle." Cain calls out and brings forth his Greater Golems in their Wrath Bringer Forms. The pale winged demons stand well above the crowd, with ming swords andrge shields. Their presence causes the attackers to retreat a ways, reconsidering their targets. Kone has called forth her Bears to join V and the Wrath Bringers on the front line, creating a circle of protection around the rest of the group. "Cid, what in the world is going on?" Cain calls, instructing his summons only to attack those who attack the group. "Hostile takeover of the Guild. They got the fifty percent support to oust Red Beard, and demanded new contracts requiring that the Guild crafters turn all items they create over to the Guild bank so thebat members can pick through them for what they want, free of charge. Red Beard was kicked, and we all quit, so they gged us deserters and dered war. Which brought derations from our allies, and their allies, and then everyone who wanted one of our crafters in their Guild." Cixelcid tried to exin the city wide destruction. "Should we go rescue the others?" Kone asks. "They''ve all found protectors. Well, the ones that aren''t dead. There''s one group still in trouble though, the Guild they wanted to go to is also mostly life skills." Red Beard exins. Cain calls out the horde of Lamia and gestures for Red Beard to get moving. "Let''s go rescue your friends. The faster we can settle this down the better. How long will the deration of warst?" "Because it''s on deserters, just until our gs wear off. 21 more hours." Lickity pants, not used to running long distances. Cain has a Lamia pick her up, which makes Cixelcidugh at her plight, but the tailor looks relieved. "Where''s Stubbs? Or is he not with you in this?" Cain asks. "He should be with the group we''re heading to. He''s still visible in my friends list, so he''s not dead." Red Beard confirms. This group is in even more trouble than the first group was, and the attackers fly into a rage when they see Red Beard. "Get the traitor! We''ll make him pay for every copper he let those selfish bums horde." Someone shouts as they turn to attack the group. The someone turns out to be a Pdin Tank named Sera0h. Cain isn''t sure how you pronounce that, but the guys abilities are the real deal. He''s level 64 and has multiple high level skills at his disposal. He goes straight for the Healer, using a blink step to appear in front of Kone, shing hard at her neck, missing when Cain knocks her to the ground with a shoulder check. One of the V twins steps back to engage him, driving him back towards the outer lines of the group with a flurry of attacks. "What was that? I almost lost my head!" Kone calls out, distressed. "We''ve got you. Just focus on healing. Blink Step has a ten minute cool down time and we''ll be right beside you." Cixelcid assures her. Sera0h has his back turned, dealing with the V twins, so Cain fires a Multi Shot volley into his back. The arrows punch clear through his armor, then him inside, to dent the front te. His life bar tanks in an instant and goes Grey, the opposing tank is dead. This is enough to break the will of the others, who immediately flee, leaving behind the injured, as well as two fallen members other than the Pdin. "Did we get here in time?" Red Beard asks. "As close a could be hoped. We lost five of the Guild in the attack though." Stubbs says stepping forward, his name tag also showing the Red X of a deserter. The Pdin Cain dropped was the leader of the rebellion, and as word spread of his demise the fighting died down, stoppingpletely within a few hours, while Cain and hispanions waited in silence on the frontwn of the Golden Hammer Guild House in case they were attacked again. Eventually they decided that no more enemies wereing that night that might try to burn the house down, so they retired inside to exin the day''s events in better detail. Chapter 78 - 78 "So, they were upset about the number of high level recipes that dropped, and the fact the life skills members were getting rich without them?" Kone asks confused after Red Beard exins the situation. "More or less. They felt that since the recipes and materialse from the dungeon that they should get the items for free once they are created. The crafters felt that since they go in the dungeons with a party to collect their own materials for items they sell, that if the others wanted free stuff they should at least provide the materials to create it. Then everything spiraled out of control, leading to me being voted out as leader and kicked from the Guild. You saw the rest, it all happened in a couple hours." "Okay, I understand now. We equip members with drop items, but Mythryll said when she wanted that fancy robe that they had to go hunt for and buy the materials. What you wanted sounds fair. When I create potions I''d at least like materials back, or something topensate so I could rece them." Kone nods her head in agreement with Red Beard and his life skill members. "So what''s next?" Cain asks. "Me and Lickity are moving on, we''re both leveled out here in Karmazin. I think Red Beard and Stubbs want to stay with the Golden Hammer Guild once their deserter tag wears off." Cixelcid says. "We''ve set up a Guild House over in Sunnybrook, Los of rooms avable, with free food and loads of crafting materials if you want to join us." Cain shares a smile with his friend Cixelcid. "Are you just as broken as ever?" Lickity jokes and Kone almost chokes on her tongue in amusement. "You have no idea. It just keeps getting more and more ridiculous. He got a passive that adds a portion of his summons damage to his own attacks. You saw what a single Multi Shot did to that Pdin once his Golems had been doing damage for a while." Kone informs her. "Speaking of which, I need to check the vendor here since you''ve got an academy in Karmazin. I need multi target or area attack archery skills." Cain tells the others. "You''ll want [Lightning Arrow] which is usually in stock. It creates a chain lightning on impact, up to 5 targets, and it works with multi shot. The base damage is terrible, but with your gear and that Ability, you should be able to turn it into something worthwhile." Cixelcid suggests. "You could switch to swords and go with [Cleave]. It creates an Arc of energy like my basic attack and can hit a lot of targets." Lickity suggests. "With the summons we''ve got too many in melee most of the time. Ranged is better if I can." Cain frowns, trying toe up with a good solution. "If you''re rich, there''s a Shaman skill of [Acid Rain] that might still be at the market. It''s a huge area of effect, low damage, long duration. You could use Shaman and Hunter books, correct? " Red Beard asks. "Yeah, I can use shaman books. I wonder if they are still open after all that?" "They''ll be closed for the night, it''s gettingte, but if you go to the hall first thing you can sell items at a discount instead of in the market and see what they''ve got for books. If you trade straight across you''ll get a better price." "Stay here the night and go in the morning. Trying to get an Inn now will be a nightmare, everyone is gged frombat for the night, so they won''t want to let you in, plus most of them are trashed from the Guild War." Stubbs suggests. "I''ll thank you for your hospitality then." They end up chatting half the night, and Cain wakes up, still in the corner of the sectional couch with a sleeping Kone''s head in hisp and the ever vignt V twins on either side of them. Cixelcid and Lickity have taken up positions on the thick rug and wake not long afterwards, ready to face the day. "It might still be dangerous to travel around with a deserter tag." Lickity sighs. "You''ll be fine, just stick by me and V and nobody will bother you. Plus, we can head out after we finish our book shopping and I sell these items I came here to dispose of. Don''t worry though Lickity, Misha keeps the good stuff, so if you need anything to upgrade, she''s got you covered. We''ve got more te armor too, Cid." "Where did you meet the twins? It''s awesome too see more demons around, I don''t feel so out of ce with someone else who got transferred as demons." Lickity asks. "Are you telling her or am I?" Vughs. "One hundred percent you are." Cain replies with a straight face. "You see, the reason we''re identical twins, in identical armor, is because we''re clones. Cloned by a passive skill that affects Cain''s Summons. [Summon Greater Demonic Companion] to be precise." V exins, while Cixelcid and Lickity look shocked. "V is a Summon? How is that even possible? Summons don''t usually have any sort of intelligence or ability to act independently. You''ve got to tell them to do everything from moving to what to attack. And I''ve never heard one speak before now." Lickity blurts out once she recovers her wits a little. "It was listed as an Ancient quality spell. First Lesser, where they were halfway between the normal Summon and where they are now, and then Greater, where they''re basically transfers that rely on me to pick their gear." Cain shrugs, unsure how to exin the marvel that is V. "How many of them are you up to now?" Cixelcid asks, curious. "The Greater Golems, the Lesser Golems, the Wasps, two supporters and The V twins for now. But supposedly after level 100 I should be able to get Epic quality summons. When I try to record creatures as new forms for my summons, most boss monsters count as Epic Summons I can''t use yet. But next level, level 70, I''ll get two more Supporters." Cain exins. "What are supporters?" Lickity asks. Cain records both her and Cixelcid into his Supporter data and summons a pair of Lickity clones. They look just like her, outfit and all. "They''re a slightly lower spec version of the transfer sses. I can copy the appearance, but not the gear. After a bit of experimenting, we found that a copy of a transfer can use their ss innate skills, though not ones they learned from books. So these will have the max level basic attack that Lickity chose, but not the amulet and rings that add damage to it." Cain says before dismissing them. "Wait, you could have three of me, with six bears? Or All the Mythryll''s? That would be so many mages." Kone giggles. "Her clones are from a book skill, I''m pretty sure." Cain replies with augh, dampening her enthusiasm. Having 12 copies of Mythryll from his Supporters cloning themselves would be pretty awesome though. Plus, it would be so many Treants. "Well boo to you then Good Sir." Kone responds, sticking her tongue out. "Enough of the side track, we should get your tasks finished and get out of town. Lickity will be a priority target for most of the local Guilds now, and she can''t join yours untilter today. I don''t want to bring a Raiding Guild down on the Golden Hammer Life Skills Guild after all." Cixelcid assures in a serious voice. "Good point, let''s head out, and make sure we''re seen at least headed into the market, so they know we''re not at the Guild House." Chapter 79 - 79 Their group draws a lot of attention as they pass through the market headed for the hall to trade their items and buy books. Lickity is a local celebrity, partially due to the fashion forced upon her by the Subus ss, and partially due to her high quality items, while Cixelcid is popr for leading runs through the dungeon to level up transfers. After yesterday''s events, and now seeing them without Guild protection, it''s causing a lot of curiosity, especially about who they''ve got with them as protectors. Cixelcid is known to be level 61, about ready to move on from Karmazin City anyhow, but the Human man and twin demons with him are even higher level. Did he call in reinforcements from another city? "Greetings, and wee to the Karmazin Trade hall. How may I help you today?" The demoness working the counter asks, having been hastily reassigned from the back rooms when the manager saw multiple demonsing in with a group. "We have arge number of level 65 magical and epic items to trade, plus a couple of Legendary ones. We would like to purchase a number of skill books and trade the rest for coin or other useful items." Cain exins and the young Demoness'' eyes light up. "They''re onmission." Lickity whispers trying to hold in herughter. "First up, I heard you''ve got [Acid Rain] and [Lightning Arrow] books. If you''ve got two of the Acid Rain books I''ll take both. One lightning Arrow is fine. Plus two copies of [Cleave] if you''ve got it in a rangerpatible book." Cain lists the essentials of what they need so far. "Let me check on Acid Rain. We might only have the one, it is an A Ranked book, even if it costs so much mana very few care to use it." The counter clerk says, running to the back room and returning with an arm load of books before anyone cane steal her spot and her sale. "Yes, we''ve got everything you need. What do you have in trade?" she asks, cing them in a locked box under the counter. Cain guesses the value of the items he has, based on the value of them in Sunnybrook and puts down all the blue quality magical items, plus half the epic items. "We can start with this, and I will add what you need to get to the value of my necessary purchases, then we can move on to the rest." The clerk is all business, checking stats against a book and sorting items on a big table behind her before calling over an appraiser to verify. "You''re still a bit short of what we''ll need for the books, Grade A skills are precious." The Appraiser says in a conciliatory tone and Cain puts two more epic cloth items on the counter. The man looks them over with a nod and brings out a parchment, using a spell to add the details of their trade before passing it over for Cain''s signature. It all looks in order, so Cain signs and the clerk passes over the book, bouncing happily in her seat. "No wonder everyone likes you. You do deals worth more than the Guild house just to clear out everyone''s inventory." Koneughs and the appraiser looks shocked. "Alright, now into the good part." Cain says and the appraiser stops walking away to look at him instead. "I would like a set of jewelry that increases smithy skill. Another set that increases Tailoring, and to take a look at any Area Attack, Bleed or Poison type skills you have for Rangers and Shamans. Plus anything at all you have for Clerics." Cain instructs, setting the rest of the epic items on the counter along with the few legendary items deemed irredeemably bad or useless to the Guild by Misha and Dimnys. The appraiser waves for the clerk to get a move on while he examines the trade items. "All we have for bleed and Poison is [Poison Arrow], if you need it. You bought the Shaman Area attack books we had already. We''ve got two [Critical Healing] and one [Blind] spell book that can be used by Cleric though. They''re all Rank D, but they''re cleric books." The clerk says, wondering if someone that powerful will still need cleric books that can be learned at the academy. "I have Poisoned Arrows already, but I''ll take all the cleric books. How are we looking on price?" "Over 80 percent of this batches price remains. Would you like anything else?" The appraiser asks hopefully. "Books for mage, rogue and warrior." Cain says firmly and the clerk looks sad. "We, uh, we sold out of them yesterday, with the Guild war and all." That makes sense, the most popr sses bought out everything before the huge battle and recruitment. "Do you have the gold to cover the remainder? The other members will have to do their shoppingter." Cain sighs. "We do, with all the book sales yesterday we''re still very well stocked on Gold." The clerk confirms, and a notification pops up asking Cain if he''d like to ept arge sum directly to the Guild Bank, which he confirms. "Thank you for your business!" The Demonic clerk waves happily as the group stands up to clear the counter for the next group in line, who is staring at them in awe. "Here, Cleave and Critical Healing for you. Cleave, Acid Rain and Lightning Arrow for me." Cain says, Passing over the books for Kone before using his own and putting the rest in the Guild bank with a note about what was already spent on who, so someone could sort out the distribution of funds. Misha is good at that, maybe she would do it before he had to beg, Cain hoped. "I can use your Cleave skill." V says softly so the others don''t hear and Cain smiles. That''s exactly what he was hoping for. If his other melee summons can do the same it will be incredible. "Oh, Cleave is a passive in bear form." Kone exims a bit louder than intended then covers her mouth. "Good find young Druid.." Cixelcid congrattes her, Patting her head. Chapter 80 - 80 "Well, now that you''ve bought a young service industry worker a new house, should we get going?" Lickity asks, looking around at all the stunned faces that watched their transaction while waiting for a counter. "Yes, let''s head out. We''ve spent enough time in Karmazin for the day." Cain agrees, leading them all towards the Demon Dungeon. They manage to escape attention a few blocks from the Hall, and they don''t see anyone who recognizes them until they''ve safely entered the dungeon. A small blessing for their escape n. If nobody knows how they left, anyone who wants to find them will have to search the woods to see what way they went. The demons around the Karmazin entrance are a bit low leveled for the group, but Cain is getting anxious to reach level 70, so they decide to clear out everything they find, even if it takes all day to get back to Sunnybrook. Their luck isn''t bad, Cain finds 8 new Demon variants on the way, and he''s only a few percent away when they reach the Sunnybrook Exit. "If we kill a few more packs I''ll be level 60." Kone says hopefully. "Might as well, I just got 63." Cixelcid shrugs. "No more hunting Subus though. It''s just wrong feeling, killing my own kind, even if they''ve all gone crazy." Lickity shudders. "I''m d we are all in agreement. We''ll go until I get 70 and Kone gets 60 and then we''ll head back to the gate." "I think we can skip this birthday party though. A party a riot and then another party is just too busy of a week for me." Koneughs, drawing the attention of some nearby gargoyles. Cain drops an Acid Rain on them, frowning at his mana pool. It''s a hundred mana a cast, butsts a minute and follows him around. With the benefit of the added damage from his Golems it''s a really good spell for moving through a dungeon quickly, but he needs to change a few items to recover a bit more mana without Char and her mana totem, unless he swaps his Dark Elf Cleric Companions out for Shamans. "That''s level 60!" Kone cheers a few packster, making Cain look at his progress bar. 99.998%pleted. One more kill should do it. There''s an Elite Lamia Witch Doctor ahead, a variant he hasn''t seen before. Perfect to celebrate his level. [Summon Supporter Form Added: Lamia Witch Doctor] She''s a Supporter? Does that mean that Lamia is a possible Transfer option with the random chance? He knows Witch Doctor is a ss option, he saw one in Sunnybrook, from the Spirit Folk race, it''s an advanced form of the Shaman ss, and one of the likely options for Char to see when she reaches level 100, since she focused on support skills. [Level Up] The notificationes as the first Demon in the pack falls, and they quickly finish up the rest, the Poison Puddle created by the Witch Doctor doing significant area damage to the group, even with multiple copies of Kone''s Spirit Circle up. [Summon Greater Golem] has reached maximum level. Summons 4 Greater Golems of the chosen type. Increased damage done versus Rank 4. [Summon Supporter] has reached level 2. Two supporters avable. Next rank increases Supporter abilities. [Please Choose Second Supporter Type] ''Well that''s easy, I''ll just use the Witch Doctor, she goes well with all the other Lamia.'' Cain thinks. "You''ve got a snake girl fetish don''t you?" Lickity asks, seeing the two new Supporters appear. "There''s an awful lot of them." Cixelcid agrees, petting the head of a Scourge Caster that has wrapped around his leg looking for attention. "It''s not like that. They''re Witch Doctors, that advanced Shaman ss. But Lamia is the only species I''ve scanned them in, I wasn''t close enough to add the Spirit Folk one I sawst week." Cain protests. "Whatever you say my friend. They''re pretty adorable though." Cixelcidughs. They''ve just set foot in the city when the attack rms begin to re, calling for all avaliable Adventurers to assist with a huge Ogre attack from all four sides of the city. "Wee to Sunnybrook. Home to Elves, organized streets, and Ogre attacks. We should go take care of that, I''ll message the others." Cainughs, realizing his efforts to get to level 70 in the dungeon were unnecessary, he''d get a half level or more from today''s attack. "Cid and Lickity? What are you two doing here? And guildless?" Misha exims when they all meet up to go fight the Ogres. The City guard in charge of assignments says they''re the only guild tasked to the south gate, but they should be fine, it''s lower density than the other sides, and they''re infamously strong. "Our Guild recruited too many warriors instead of crafters and they staged a hostile takeover. Karmazin City is in shambles right now, half of what wasn''t damaged in the fighting was set on fire." Lickity exins, with just a hint of exaggeration. "We''re here to join you lot. You know, farm dungeons, craft shiny things, live the easy life." Cainughs. "You''ve got a point. After everything was sorted, the poorest of us, who bought himself a lot of books, still made over five hundred Gold from today''s deposit into the Guild bank. If we didn''t want to rush we could live in luxury right here without doing anything else." Misha points out and must of the others nod. She''s got a point, they''ve been rushing through the levels so fast under Cain''s experience buff that they haven''t even had time to rx and enjoy the scenery. Maybe they don''t all want to get to level 100 right away and change sses, leaving this valley behind. Change is overrated. "Since you''re about to be members of the Darklight Host, it''s only right you get to join us in action." Charughs, and a soft voicees from behind them all. "Are you still recruiting?" "If you''re a good fit personality wise, we certainly are." Cain smiles. "How about you introduce yourself to the Guild? We''re all here right now." "Hi, I''m Candia, a level 54 Vampire Corsair. I use swords and water magic with a limited range as a close quarters damage type fighter. As a vampire I self heal a little bit, so I''m easy to bring along, plus I''m an enchanter, who can make magical jewelry. Well, sort of. I don''t really have any good recipes." "Wee Candia!" Elmira cheers and they all take turns introducing themselves. The V twins just introduce themselves as Level 70 Wrath Demons, but Candia doesn''t question theck of information. "Now, let''s get to work.." Cain sighs, making the rest giggle. Chapter 81 - 81 As soon as they leave the gates Cain brings out all his summons. "No matter how many times I see it, that''s always impressive." Char nods her head and looks over the summons. "There''s more of them now, did you get another spell?" "No, I got to level 70 on the way back and Summon Supporter ranked up. So I added the Lamia Witch Doctors. You''ll like them with the be Acid Rain spell, it''s a beast on mana, and the new Supporters cast a Regeneration Hex that stacks up to be almost as good as your totem." Cainughs. Char''s mana totem is a Max level skill, with gear enhancing it, even two supporters aren''t quite enough to match it. Candia ps her hands in excitement. "I''ve heard about these, but I was out of townst time you fought. There''s so many summons. This is going to be great." An Ogre war horn sounds from the East side of town and the invading army starts charging towards the city as Elven arrows rain down on them. They don''t seem as upset to see the Wrath Bringers as the Trolls, so they''re not ganging up on them, but with eight of them now, they still block a lot of ground in the middle of the Ogre lines. Waves are crashing into the Ogres from Cain''s left, sent by the swings of Candia''s sword. The Witch Doctors have cast huge Poisoned Puddles turning the battlefield into a swamp for a stretch forty meters wide, and they''re about to do it again, doubling the width. While the Ogres are sinking into the toxic swamp, the defenders stand easily on top of it, not hindered in the least. The Acid Rain spell also doesn''t affect the clothes of the Guild members, despite burning the skin off the Ogres all around them. The description says that it will increase in size as it levels up with use, but it''s already a veryrge area for a spell. Cain isn''t sure how the damage buff from his [Might of Many] ability applies to the acid rain, but it''s doing a fine job of burning through Ogre skin whether it''s being applied per hit or divided over the duration. An Elven horn sounds in the East, calling for reinforcements already, so they start working their way through the Ogres, killing what''s convenient instead of totally clearing out the ones on their side. Even if they leave some, there''s still the city defense forces to deal with the rest. Cain notices that his new Supporters rarely if ever cast a heal, but they do have a healing totem, which is convenient. A small but steady stream of regeneration. For their living tanks, who have equipment that adds points to healing received, the increased number of small healing ticks simply floods them with excess healing faster than they''re taking damage. The East Gate signals that they''ve received the reinforcements that they needed, so the group slows their advance, clearing up the south side better than they were. The Guild notices that there are Ogre reinforcements in the distance, but they''re not approaching. Maybe they don''t want to waste forces on a well defended front? That seems to be the case as they''re moving west, past the beleaguered South forces. The Darklight Host has reached the end of the Southern Front and is working their way back West following the Ogre troops looking for their spot to join the battle when the retreat is sounded. With the signal given, the Ogres pull back, quickly vanishing into the distance. The Guild circles the city, lending healing where needed and assessing the damage. The Ogre King didn''t show this time, but the Phnx formation was seen at the North Wall, indicating that the Elite troops were here. That''s also where the worst of the casualties are, even when they were prepared the transfers and city guard had a hard time dealing with a shield wall of Ogres. "That was intense." Mythryll sighs, looking around at the mess. "No kidding, they don''t often attack every wall at the same time. Maybe twice year maximum." Dimnys agrees. "Well, let''s all head home and look over today''s drops." Misha says and Candia gives her an excellent attempt at puppy eyes, despite her vampire red irises. "Yes, you''re in. Come with us." the clericughs, knowing nobody will object. [Darklight Host has gained a member] [Candia has joined the Guild] "Don''t worry guys, only a few more hours and your deserter tags will wear off so we can add you too." Cain consoles Cixelcid and Lickity. They''re getting especially strange looks today, and Cain realizes that while he dismissed most of the summons, he forgot about the Supporters. They didn''t set off the skill use rm, but the presence of a pair of Lamia inside the city isn''t something people see every day. That''s good to know though, Supporters are close enough to party members that they don''t trigger the protective spell. After dinner the new Guild members are all added, and they''re free to choose rooms. Both Vampires choose rooms in the basement, so Cain contacts the Dwarf they used for thest round of renovations to do two more rooms, but Lickity takes a room up on the second floor with the other light loving Guild members. "What are the chances we can go see Graska next?" Dimnys asks. "I''ve got some recipes that need items that say they onlye from there, and they should have more smithy materials that are hard to get here. It is the Dark Dwarven hometown after all." "It''s only ten levels above me, I don''t see why we couldn''t make our way there through the Demon Dungeon. Get you some new toys and maybe make some new items for our te and chain armor wearing friends." Cain nods. Cixelcid is a te wearer, but the Corsair is a leather wearing ss with a very Pirate looking visual theme. Kone, ever the intrepid explorer, decides toe with them, but the rest all opt out in favor of socializing with the new members and old friends or catching up on projects. Chapter 82 - 82 Once they get into the Dungeon, Cain checks the map he has, verifyingndmarks against what''s written. "Looks like the map is correct, let''s get a move on. The monsters are going to be tough as we get closer to the exit, ten levels higher than the Naga Raid, so try not to get hit." Cain smiles at hispanions. Getting hit is never in the n, that''s what the summons are for. They make their way carefully through the dungeon, making sure not to pull extra pack or patrols, which brings a sense of nostalgia for Cain. That''s how they had to do it when they first entered the Demon Dungeon, because they were under leveled and the demons would attack the party members instead of the summons if they weren''t careful. "Why must there be so many Wrath Demons?" Koneins softly, to not be heard by nearby demons. "They hit so hard." "Yeah, my damage stacking ability only works well if we''re constantly inbat, this sort of sneaky method cuts out a good portion of my damage, and we don''t have the whole group together to make up for it. You''re doing fine though, nobody is getting low on health or mana." "I think it''s just the stress of being the only Healer in the group getting to her. In the Raid she always has Misha." Dimnys suggests. "Yeah, with her here I know I''m fine." Kone says and the Dark Elven Clerics Cain always picks a his Supporters give her a look as if to say "what are we then?" "See, you''ve got two other healers here still. They just don''t talk much. Now, let''s get through thesest couple of packs and make sure that gate we can see leads to Graska." They dismiss all the summons except the V twins so that they''ll appear to be a 5 person group when they exit and step through the gate. The sight in the other side is glorious, an entire city carved out of a mountain. Not inside the mountain, like Cain had seen in movies during his past life, but the city is the mountain. The outside is borate buildings of dark granite, huge tunnels head to a subterranean city center, and a second dungeon portal sits only a hundred meters away, enclosed in the same guardedpound. "Who are you then?" The dark Dwarf guard asks when they appear. "I would have remembered a group like yours entering the dungeon." "Just transfers looking for smithy materials." Cain answers and the guard nods, still suspicious of them. "City entry fee is a silver per head, no matter which city you came from, and don''t try to tell me you started your morning here." The Dwarf holds out an official coin pouch and points to a visitors register that looks to have been collecting dust. Clearly, they don''t get many visitors through the dungeon, but they know it is possible. Cain pays the five silver withoutint, not wanting trouble while they''re here to buy supplies. That night be easier said than done though, he hasn''t seen anyone but Dark Dwarves since they arrived. Dimnys fits right in, but the rest of them stand out like a sore thumb, all but Kone tower over the locals and their fashion is very different from what ismon here. "I think it''s best if you book the hotel room." Cain stage whiskers to Dimnys and one of the Dwarves walking by chuckles. "Try the Stag Head near the market row gate. They''re about the only one that serves human food." He says pointing towards a section of town a few hundred meters down the mountain. It''s got all sorts of colorful cloth set up over the stalls, so it''s likely where all the visitors go, and not the section up here by the dungeons, which looks very heavily guarded. "What''s Graska''s local food like?" Cain asks, curious. "We like meat, and whiskey, and potatoes soaked in Ale." The Dwarf shrugs. "Where the nearest ce to eat then? I''d love to give that a try." Cain smiles and the Dwarf wraps an arm around his waist. "You just follow me son. We''ll get you fed up good or my names not Ragnar." the Dwarf says, dragging them through an alley into a dimly lit basement pub full of Dwarven miners. "Bertha, we''ve got a human in. Came through the Dungeon and wants to try Graska''s favorite foods." Ragnar shouts into the back room where a wrinkled old Dwarven woman is cooking. "You got money?" The old woman asks and Cain ps arge Ruby he picked up in the Naga Raid onto the table. "Will that do for the evening?" he asks and the woman''s wrinkles almost disappear behind her smile. "See that boys, he even knows how to properly pay for dinner. Drinks are on him." Bertha yells into the quiet room, which suddenly bes much more lively. There''s pixies in the rafters, raining dust down on them when the Bartender returns withrge mugs of what Cain assumes is Ale. He is wrong, only one is Ale, the one for Dimnys, who Bertha deres is still too young for the Whiskey which fills Cain''s mug. Kone gets some sort of spiced milk drink she finds delicious if the happy sigh is anything to go by. "Dwarven Ox milk with pixie honey and cinnamon is what we feed all the children." Ragnar tells Cain. "Doesn''t look like she minds." Cain says as Dimnys ms an empty mug down on the table, foam surrounding her mouth. "Another if you would please." Dimnys says politely, looking longingly at her empty mug. "Came from Elven territory did you? Their liquor doesn''t sit as well in a Dwarven body." Rupertughs as the little warrior downs another mug before sipping the third. The meal consists of an entire roast, with potatoes boiled in honey mead with a side of bread and arge sd for Kone. "I''m a transfer too, so I''m not totally vegetarian. But I thank you for thinking of me." Koneughs, cutting off a side of roast to go with her sd and potatoes. Halfway through the mug of whiskey, Cain needs a heal to keep going, and then another near the bottom. "Forgive me for being a lightweight, but I had best stick to mead or Ale.." Cain hups while Ragnar and the miners cheer him on. Chapter 83 - 83 The tavern ends up being a speakeasy in the basement of the rooming house where Ragnar lives, their liquor homemade and untaxed. Bertha had extra rooms, so she asks for the V twins to help carry everyone upstairs, including a few trips with other residents who have passed out, and gets them settled for the night. They meet back downstairs for breakfast the next day to help get themselves oriented and find out a bit more about the city. It turns out that the mountain is surrounded by light Fae territory, who embargo trade with the Dark Dwarves, so seeing an outside face is unusual. For that reason, they also don''t ept outside coin, so all outside trade is done in goods and materials. This concerns Dimnys quite a bit, but Cain assures her he''s brought a lot of Gems and such along that nobody needed so far in their crafting. The Naga Raid contains a load of them, and they clear all the good stuff every run, but the designs they make only use one or two gems each, leaving arge stockpile. One that they now intend to use to trade for materials they do need. "Ragnar, old friend. What is the mountain most in need of? I''ve got a pretty good selection, and I don''t want to waste anyone''s time bartering through items they can get locally." Dimnys asks when the Dwarfes down for breakfast. Dwarven Ale and whiskey didn''t seem to give anyone the sort of hangovers the Elven wines and liquors do. "If you''ve got cloth and wool, it does well here. and gemstones. The mountain is rich in metals, but low on gems." He says after a moment''s thought. "Then we should do alright. There''s a Naga Raid in Sunnybrook, on the east side of the beginners valley, that is loaded with gems." Dimnys exins and his eyes light up. "You came that far? They''ll appreciate it even more then. Furs and Leather we''re good on. The other dungeon is a Beastkin dungeon, and there''s leather and fur everywhere for the asking. It''s a bit easier than the Demon Dungeon too, but a lot more crowded, like the dungeon was the middle of a city before everyone went feral." More crowded than the Demon Dungeon? That ones already like being in a ruined city, with groups of demons on every block. They''ll definitely have to check that outter, once Dimnys gets the materials they came here for. "Care to lead us to the best ces to find these items?" Cain says, setting their list and an amethyst down on the table. "I reckon I could do that." Ragnar smiles, pocketing the stone. "The metal forges are above us a little, and inside the hill. We''ll start there. Then the specialty leathers are down by the trade row, we''ll do themst, grabbing everything else on the way." He''s making little map notes on the sheet, nning his route for the day so nothing is wasted. Soon after they leave the boarding house, Cain realizes what the strange looks are about. With the city under blockade, only authorized merchants with approved goods can get through easily. The average resident doesn''t know you can go through the Demon Dungeon, not that the average resident could make it even if they tried, so the assumption is that they broke the Fae blockade by force. And anyone who both could and would do that is a very dangerous person. The metal smiths are happy to do business with Dimnys though. A Dark Dwarf is wee anywhere in town. They''re so happy to talk with her that Cain sends up having to drag her away from the forge so that they can finish their shopping. "We''ve got a list to fill remember? You cane back and visit tomorrow, and the day after that too if you like, but first let''s fill the Guild bank with what we came here for." Cain tells the reluctant Smith, who keeps looking back until long after the forge is out of sight. It is mid afternoon by the time they finish. Misha ordered a huge amount of leather, and every kind and quality imaginable is avable here. With a little luck Kone well be getting a full new set of armor soon. The Guild Bank function in their interface makes moving items and gear between members simple no matter the distance. The text based Guild messages are a bitcking inparison, as you never know if your intended recipient has seen them unless they answer. "Did you guys want to check out the Beastkin dungeon before we go back? It might be some easy experience." Cain suggests, eager to see what the zone is like. "Sure, it''s another area dungeon like the Demon Dungeon, so maybe it also leads to towns with exits?" Kone suggests. "Either way, it''s a new dungeon to explore. How about it Dimnys?" She only ends up reluctantly agreeing because she doesn''t want to get left out if they find something fun inside the dungeon. Mythryll told her the story of the time they found a hot springs in a boss room and camped out for the night. That doesn''t seem likely this time, but you never know. "Be careful when you go in, they like to crowd the entrance. There''s something wrong with the creatures in there. But the leather is our biggest export, so feel free to try your hand." says the dungeon guard when they approach. "Did it have exits like the other one?" Dimnys asks and he shakes his head. "Not that anyone has found." "Mind if I activate some skills before we enter? Since they''re known to crowd the entrance and we''ve got youngdies present." Cain asks with his best smile. "Have at, if you think it will help." the Dwarfughs then goes quiet when Cain calls the Wrath Bringers to lead the way into the Beastkin dungeon. "That''s some skill that a Puppet Master Gets.." Ragnar whistles in appreciation, waving goodbye as they exit. Chapter 84 - 84 The guard wasn''t kidding about the residents of this dungeon. They have surrounded the entrance, red eyed and enraged, dozens of them attacking the Wrath Bringers the second they enter. Cain immediately calls forth the Lamia Scourge Casters and the Poisoned Wasps to push back enough space to let the others enter safely before calling out the two Dark Elven Clerics and the two Lamia Witch Doctors that make up his Supporter summons for the run. The Beastkin are a few levels higher than Cain, but he''s got more than sufficient buffs to put him on par with them and more. Realizing he''s wasting chances to add to his summons, he gets to recording them as fast as he can before any of the species and ssbinations present die out entirely. Once the area is finally clear, everyone takes a break to catch their breath and Cain checks his notifications. [Summonable Companion Recorded] [Summon Lesser Beastkin Companion 18/50] Lesser Beastkinpanion? That sounds a lot like a furry version of V. Did the ability that created her enable the creation of other types ofpanions? There is no way he''s leaving without a newpanion now. "The Companion Creation ability that created V when I recorded 50 kinds of demons is active again. I''m at 18 out of 50 kinds of Beastkin towards creating anotherpanion." He informs the others. "Am I being reced?" V asks sadly, hurting his heart to hear. "No, this will be a Lesser Beastkin Companion, it''s worded as an additional spell and not a different form of you." Cain says, making the Demonic twins smile. "Will they be cuddly?" "Maybe? The ability seemed to optimize the form based on what it calcted that I needed at the moment. You took the form of a Wrath Demon to give additional healing and a damage buff to the group. I don''t know what it will decide we need this time, or what thepanion will look like." "I agree, it had better be cuddly. We''ve already got smooth and warm right here in V''s wings." Dimnysughs. "We will find out soon, more are iing." It''s like they''ve angered the entire dungeon, they just keep attacking, wave after wave of mindlessly enraged Beastkin. [Summon Lesser Beastkin Companion 49/50] "Next one will be fifty. But when I record it, the one I pick will likely be an Elite on the level of a dungeon boss. So be prepared and I''ll try to pick something that won''t be too insane as our opponent." Cain warns the others, still gathered around the entrance of the dungeon. For a few minutes there are no new types, then a crocodile headed, axe wielding warrior arrives from one side. Perfect, that''s the first one of that species they''ve seen, and it doesn''t look like a Healer or spell Caster. [Summon Lesser Beastkin Companion 50/50] Kill Quest opponent to finalize creation. The crocodile type Beastkin swells to 5 meters tall,rger than even the Wrath Bringers, who do not seem happy about that fact. He now shows as elite and not boss quality though, so he only enhanced one stage and facing a boss level opponentst time was Cain''s fault for picking an Elite opponent toplete the ability quest. With a mighty roar the Elite monster ms its axe into the shield of a Wrath Bringer, pulling the huge Demon off bnce before having to twist away from the iing ming swords of the party''s tanks. Four have broken off to deal with this new opponent, while the others are dealing with the mass of Beastkin that just keepsing. The Scourge Casters and Kone''s bears hit half a dozen with every attack, and multiple area damage abilities are active, but it''s just not enough to get ahead of the waves. The Elite crocodile is not a fan of ming swords it seems. The creatures skin is scorched and split, blood trickles from dozens of partially cauterized wounds and it is roaring in pain, bringing more forms of crocodile people into the fight. "We''ve got to be doing something wrong. They''d have said if the whole fight was just defending the gate." Kone yells over the noise. She''s good a point, this is not at all normal. could it be because of his ability? Probably not, it started before he recorded a single Beastkin. But then what? The buildings around them are tall enough that the Wrath Bringers shouldn''t be visible from any significant distance. Could it be that the smell of demons or maybe of a human is drawing them in? There''s got to be an answer, but Cain just can''t think of a way to find out what it is. [Opponent Defeated. Quest Complete] [Configuring Beastkin Companion] [Configuration Complete. Summon Companion?] Y/N Two matched figures fade into existence, far more beast than kin, like the vast majority of the opponents they''ve faced in here. They''ve got creamy white fur, fading to ck at the muzzle and ears, plus on their hands and feet. Their heads are distinctly feline, and their bodies are covered in short creamy fur, with long, fluffy tails ending in a ck tip. Seal Point pattern, Cain recalls this set of markings is called. Their outfits are more fit for a belly dancer than an adventurer, with a short sleeved ck silk top that only covers the upper arms to the breasts, stopping right underneath them, tied with a golden sp. The calf length ck skirts are split up both sides and attached to a golden belt, leaving both thighs bare. They''re not wearing shoes, but their legs end in padded feline feet. The effect is unexpected to say the very least, but both immediately take out a lute and start paying a mellow Song that calms the attackers and stops the iing waves of Beastkin. "That''s a relief. Thank you both, what should we call you?" Cain says, taking the opportunity to pat both heads. Though they''ve got longer cream colored fur on top of their heads, giving the impression of a bob cut despite the fact they''re fully furred, even the shorter fur of their ears is very soft. "We like to be called Nemu." They both answer, then hiss at each other. "No I am Nemu. You can be something else." One insists. "We''re clones you silly Felian, of course we''re both Nemu." the other argues. "How did you two solve this problem?" this is directed at one V twin, who has taken a short break to check out the new party member. "We''re the V twins." She shrugs and goes back to fighting. "We can decideter. First, you y a jaunty tune to get things moving while I pacify the Feral Beastkin." The original Nemu instructs. The tune is an enhancement spell, increasing attack speed and dodge rate. The Felian Companions are bards by ss, ording to Cain''s interface. They can use slings or daggers, but their primary role is to buff and debuff. The pacify effect is working very well, only a few opponents areing at a time and the backlog is almost cleared up. "So, tell your new friend Nemu something. Why would you bring thirty demons into a dungeon full of Beastkin? They can smell you from miles away.." the Felian Bard asks, tilting her head in confusion. Chapter 85 - 85 That was the problem? That they could smell the demons? Well, that''s something he should have predicted. "I may have forgotten about their sernse of smell?" Cain says as a question and Vughs at him while she fights. "I think we''ve got what we need don''t we? My inventory is getting full with all the fur and leather." Dimnys says, backing towards the gate. "Yeah, we''re done for the day, you girls follow V out and I''ll be right behind you. Nemu, keep them pacified until everyone is out, you leave with me." Cain gives the exit instructions and V breaks free ofbat to have the dungeon. The rest quicky follow and Cain drags his newpanions to the gate, ready to dismiss his summons. "Master, aren''t you going to dismiss us?" Nemu asks. "No, I keeppanions active, since they''re intelligent. Now, off we go." Cain dismisses everyone but thepanions and steps out of the dungeon, holding both Nemu''s hand. "Friend, you''re a full time guard at this station, right?" Cain asks and the guard nods. "12 hours a day, 4 days on, 4 off." He confirms. "Excellent. Tell the next idiot that tries to enter with a Demon that he''s an idiot. They can smell them from over a mile away and will attack constantly. We''ve been at the gate fighting since we entered." Cainins. "Got it. So I''ll tell you tomorrow then?" "Yeah, I''ll see you tomorrow." Cainughs and the group heads off to find Ragnar, or the boarding house, whicheveres first. Ragnar ends up being only a block away, joining them once he''s finished talking with his friend. "As lovely as they are, you know it''s customary to leave the Beastkin inside the dungeon right?" "It''s an ability unique to my ss. When conditions are right it generates twinpanions based on what it thinks I need." "And you needed scantily d twin cat girls? I understand that feeling, but actually making them is going a bit far, don''t you think?" Ragnarughs. "No, I needed Bards, and this is the Beastkin bard form it picked." Cain tries to make his newpanions seem less like a nefarious plot on his part. "Can they sing and y? The house could use some entertainers for the evening." Bertha startles them all, seeming toe out of nowhere. "Indeed we can. The Lute, the Pan Flute, drums and the Harp. We even know a selection of Dwarven Bar Tunes." Nemu informs her proudly. "In that case, how about you entertain tonight? The Boarding House has a lot of miners, but no musicians." Within ten minutes of their arrival, the basement speakeasy begins to fill up with far more people than could possibly live at the house above, and not just men as the house holds. Word must have spread that they had live entertainment tonight. "Thank you all foring!" Nemu says happily when shees up on the stage in the corner that normally serves as empty keg storage. The basement roof is high, and the timber thick, so the acoustics aren''t too bad, even with the stone walls. "Let''s start out with a traditional favorite. Sweet Home In The Mountain." The Felian girls have taken out a lute and a drum for this number, an upbeat happy tune with an unmistakable rhythm Cain immediately recognizes from his past life. It truly is universally catchy he guesses. After that they move into Copper Mine Road, and Free Purr, a favorite of the Felian race. As the night getster and the patrons get drunker the music moves to bouncy dancing songs and then bawdy drinking songs. "I met a girl in Stoneheim, I loved her all to bits. Every night I''dy me head upon her mountainous tits." the whole bar sings along with the tune and Cain decides it might be best to move impressionable young minds to bed, only to find that Kone is asleep in the corner of the booth and Dimnys is also passed out with her head on the table. Cain had been passing on the rounds of whiskey shots, served in half full scotch sses, but the Dwarf hasn''t. Good thing Dwarven liquor doesn''t give them hangovers. An hour or soter the bards have moved into slower songs, winding down the night and the bar starts to empty. "Now that is what I call a proper night at the tavern. If we were a legitimate business I''d ask you to stay and y every night." Berthaughs. "As it is, I''ll be hiding the home brew and putting those empty kegs back on the stage as camouge in case the tax collectors show up. See the stamps? It means the tax to the Brewers Union has been paid." "I''m d you had fun. Having these two around definitely made our night more interesting as well." Cainughs, motioning towards the bards now sticky with spilled drinks after many rounds with the locals between songs and smelling of whiskey and high quality pipe tobo. Bertha leads all the girls who are still awake towards a private shower, while Cain carries Dimnys and Kone up to their beds, leaving one of the V twins with them while the other decides to read in his bedroom. Being so close to the Forges, the Rooming House is always warm, but not normally as warm as Cain is the next morning. Plus something is heavy. He carefully opens his eyes to find ck cloth covering his face. One of the Nemu twins has curled up to sleep with him. Not as humans cuddle, but with the bottom half of her body flopped across his chest and the upper curled around his head and over his face, absorbing maximum body heat, as cats are fond of doing. If it weren''t so hot in this room it would actually be veryfortable. "Good morning Nemu. Have a good nap?" Cainughs, knowing that the Companions created by the spell don''t actually need to sleep. In fact, V uses the light of her sword''s me to read all night. She''s developed quite the repertoire of literature in her memory. "Yes, the nap was amazing, but I think the other Nemu did even better. She''s got a Dwarf on one side and the Spirit Folk girl on the other, it seems prettyfy to me." They all go to the other room to wake the girls for breakfast, finding a purring Nemu being tightly cuddled by the two girls. Maybe it''s better to just leave them be.. Cain has the original with him, so he can gear her without waking the others. Chapter 86 - 86 Nemu is a cloth wearer, and her debuff abilities use mana, though not much. What Cain has messaged Misha to look for, after exining his new Companions, is anything with an increased chance for a debuff to take effect. Some creatures have natural resistance to magic, like they do to poison or elemental attacks. The bards can not only pacify, but use an effect that slows or weakens the targets. It doesn''tst long after they stop ying, so in practical use they can only create two effects between them, but the effects are incredible. Their motivational tune adds a third to their allies attack speed, not to be under estimated in this particr group, while the weaken drops enemy armor and strength by 20 percent. Misha doesn''t take long to find a set of clothes for Nemu, though Cain wishes that the base Stat modifiers weren''t hidden by the system. It''s hard to tell what sort of change they''re having, other than the listed secondary bonuses. No matter what items they change on Nemu, it only adds varying colors of metal bangles at her wrists, without any change to her actual outfit. The same sort of thing happened with V, gear appearance was gear appearance. Though he did expect it to change the actual default outfit to a new one, not just add a single set of essories. The three of them head out into the city for a quick exploration while the others sleep. The copies of thepanions will keep the girls safe and let them know when they wake up. The friendly greetings of the patrons from the speakeasy are helping to break the ice, cutting down the number of suspicious looks they''re receivingpared to yesterday. Cain finds the city is actually very warm and weing once you get past that hardened exterior. They find the trade hall within twenty minutes and step into line to trade some of yesterday''s leather drops that nobody had a recipe for, leaving a small stack of them in the now crowded Guild Bank. Cain gets a couple kegs of local mead and a small one of whiskey in exchange, along with a collection of smithy, alchemy and Tailoring tools. Such items wear out with use, so they might as well stock up while spending time in the city that specializes in them. Misha and Lickity demand more of the Tailoring tools the moment he adds them to the Guild bank, saying they''re much higher quality than the ones avable locally. The Elven craftsmen only sell the good stuff to Elven nobles. The counter staff have no problem with this, happily asking him to browse the goods on disy while they go fetch the items. Off in a corner, buried among the mining equipment, the bonus on a set of legendary Brigandine pants catches Cain''s eye. [Earth Movers Boon] doubles construct damage when underground or in a dungeon. "They catch your eye? They''re popr with the Earth Mages, we keep a good stock of lower quality ones too if you like. A local Smith got a lucky roll and these came out with the legendary quality upgrade and perfect construct damage added. Only, with the blockade, none of the miners are willing to spend so much on equipment to help their Earth Golems dig." The clerk tells him,ing back with his order. "Are there more pieces to the set? Maybe chest boots and gloves?" Cain says hopefully. "It''s a two piece set, pants and boots, as that''s all miners usually wear at work. But we''ve got some quality boots too, and more affordable pants." The Dwarf informs him. "How much for the pants, and the highest bonus boots you''ve got? My ss uses summons forbat you see, and those stacking bonuses are amazing for me." The man with his tangled ck beard whoops in joy. "I''ll bring you the best of the best a Dwarf can make if you''ve got the coin." He deres running into the back room. Cain sorts through his items, seeing that most of the expendable items are already gone. He sends a Guild message asking for high quality and magical cloth, any sort will do, exining he needs it to trade for new equipment here and will reimburse the cost. Looking at their listed prices, it''s best to trade. The price of quality cloth is ten times as high here as it is in Sunnybrook, which has arge number of textile mills. If his goal was to get rich, simply standing here and trading items back and forth would do it in a day. Why nobody else is doing it baffles Cain, at least until he realizes he hasn''t seen a single other transfer anywhere in this city. He asks about it and finds out that Dark Dwarves, like the Dark Elves, aren''t a transfer race, all the ones you see with an interface were born here. So without transfers in the city, they truly are embargoed. They also caution him to be discrete trading foreign goods, as the Light Fae forces might attack him, or g his Guild as enemies if they find out, which would be very bad for the members home in Sunnybrook on the other side of the beginners valley. That in mind, Cain asks for a private room to trade in goods that didn''te from the local dungeon, away from any potential informants and prying eyes who might cause trouble over his new gear. "Here you go sir. The Legendary pants, as well as a pair of epic boots with a near perfect roll for construct damage as well as casting cost reduction." The clerk says returning with his manager just after Cixelcid transfers twenty bolts of high end Elven Spell Silk into the Guild bank. "So, what might an adventurer such as yourself have in his inventory that would call for a private room, even after trading so much to us?" The manager asks intrigued. Cain sets a bolt of Spell Silk on the table between them with a smile and the man gasps. This material is ridiculously expensive even in Sunnybrook, but Lickity can create it out of standard silk with a few materials and time. "I''ve got a few more of them to make up the total cost of the items, but I thought it would be best if the rest of the building didn''t see this." Cain exins. "Wise choice, if the embargo knew you had brought this to the city they would dere war on both you and your Guild. Many of our Tailoring recipes require enchanted Silk, but we have no Silk at all. The silk worms live in the forest below the mountain and they block us from getting anywhere near them." "How many bolts of the silk for the two items?" Cain asks, getting down to business. "Three will do, but we can work a deal if you''ve got more.." The merchant smiles, stroking his prodigious beard. Chapter 87 - 87 "What sort of deal? I don''t want to end up in real trouble with the Light Fae, after all, I''ve got some in my Guild, and they''re living in an Elven city. Having them face repercussions would be a major problem." Cain exins. "I understand you came from across the valley through the dungeon. Any cloth you trade will go directly to the royal family''s tailors anonymously. Just name your price." "Give me a moment to ask my Guild what they need and I''ll let you know." Cain replies. [Did you make the Spell Silk Lickity? If so, what do you want for it?] Cain sends a message to the Guild and waits for a response. [I did, and I''ve got more if you need. Find me recipes for leather, we''re short on leather armor recipes but have lots of materials] Lickity sends back a few secondster. "I''ll need all the high quality leather armor recipes I can buy." Cain responds. "We''ve no shortage of those, Do you have one or two more bolts of cloth?" The manager asks. "You misunderstand. I would like a copy of Every high quality leather recipe you have. I have seventeen more bolts of the Spell Silk to trade." Cain says seriously. "Would you like a smithy in the heart of the mountain with that? I''m not certain our entire stock of recipes is worth that much, but I''ll get you what we have." The manager says with a ruefulugh. He leaves andes back with a stack of books. Twelve epic and three legendary leather recipes. That should be enough to keep Lickity happy and busy for a while. "We''ve got second copies of the epic books, but legendary Tailoring recipes are hard toe by even for us." The Dwarf exins. "If a second copy of the epic recipes could be included I would call that more than fair trade price." Cain agrees. He''s definitely overcharging these unfortunate Dwarves, but the extra books can go to Misha and cut back on arguments within the Guild. "You''ve got a deal." He goes to get the rest of the books and Cain ces all twenty bolts of cloth on the table. "That''s a magnificent sight. The royal family will thank you. Or would if they knew it was you who provided them. It''s been a pleasure doing business." He says handing over the books, which Cain adds to the Guild bank with a smile before heading to the door. "I told you he''d ept the price in uncut gems with a little persuasion." Cain says to V, equipping his new gear with a big smile. "Excellent negotiating boss." Nemu giggles, checking out his backside. "These ones look just like the other ones though. But with more pockets." She''s right, they''re ck leather cargo pants withyered metal tes inside. They''re prettyfortable though. They return to the Rooming House just as the rest of the party starts dragging themselves out of bed. ording to Kone, it''s far toofortable to get out of bed, but she''s getting hungry. She should be, it''s almost noon. "You understand we''re taking turns right?" The Nemu that went with Cain says to her twin. "You''re definitely not hogging the warmth every morning. Master gets out of bed way too early." Kone and Dimnysugh, knowing that they''re usually out of bed at the same time, but not having the heart to tell the nap loving Felian. "What is the n for the day? Trading items, or have we finished?" Dimnys asks. "We''re done. I took care of it this morning, and even found some equipment made for Earth Mage miners that adds to construct damage, so I''ve gotten a nice little buff." an extra 175 percent of Construct damage to be precise, and not base damage, so the difference will be very clear the next time they enter the dungeon. "Good, you''re still here." The trade hall manager calls running through the house towards them on stumpy legs "I''ve just returned from the Royal Pce and they have a request for you. They''d like your Guild to mediate a meeting with the Fae Alliance that has the mountain under siege." Cain looks around to his party members, who don''t seem to have an issue with the idea. "I don''t see why not. Lead the way manager." "Oh, thank you. With an impartial third party maybe it won''t devolve into violence again. I don''t know what proposal they will put forth this time, but it''s usually offensive enough that it turns into a brawl." The merchant exins, leading them down the mountain towards the main gates. "Should we arrive as we are, or with a show of force to let everyone know we can enforce our opinions, should things get ugly?" Cain asks. "The Fae Alliance brought ten Stone Trolls, The King will bring ten Frost Giant Warriors. If you can do something simr, feel free, if not, just do the best you can on short notice. You''re just there to referee anyhow." The manager shrugs to show he doesn''t expect them to actually do much but help calm the arguments. Cain records the Frost Giants and Stone Trolls as he passes, both of which are Greater Golem Summons for him, before stopping short of the meeting to Summon his Eight Wrath Bringers, ordering then to stand by in a group to one side, between the guardians of both parties. "Greetings mediator." The Fae Alliance starts before halting, flustered as she takes in their odd grouping. A human, a Dark Dwarf, a Spirit Folk child, two Wrath Demons and two Felian women. "I must say, that''s not what I expected when he said he''d found a neutral Guild to mediate." The Spirit Folk Elder says, still looking at them strangely. "We get that a lot. We''ve got Elves and Vampires in our ranks too, though not present in the city." Cain smiles. "As promised, they''re not aligned with the mountain, their Guild is registered in Sunnybrook in the far east." The advisor next to the Dwarven King says in a curt tone. "They will do. Let us begin." The Fae Alliance group says formally, taking their seats around the table.. This meeting might be many things, but it won''t be boring. Chapter 88 - 88 "I can sense by the atmosphere that the Fae Alliance has something important to say. Shall we have them open today''s proceedings?" Cain says to break up the res. "As our mediator may not know, Graska is the furthest Northern city within the Fae controlled western territory. With the Ogres having won the long war against the Trolls and beginning to move south to annex more territory, the Fae Alliance requires a defensible front line staging area. So again we havee here to request you peacefully relinquish control of the city." The entire Darklight Host contingent facepalms as one. "Now listen here you Fairy buggering little punk." The Dwarven King begins before Cain steps forward to stop the argument. "Clearly you already knew that approach was not going to work. Do you have an alternate suggestion, or would you prefer for me toe up with something?" Cain insists of the Fae Alliance representative. "It''s perfectly reasonable, all other cities in the area have joined under control of the council, except these stubborn Dwarves." the representative counters. "Let me see if I can exin the problem in a different way, and one of your advisors can then rte it to you. Young Fairy advisor, what might your name be?" Cain asks of the fairy on the representative''s shoulder. "I am Nimuet, young Human Advisor." The fairy answers with a grin. "Well met Nimuet, I''m called Cain. The way the Dwarves are understanding your proposal is like this. Say a group of Pixies and their friends came to your garden and demanded you turn it over to their control. You could stay, but an army of pixies would make all the decisions." yes, going by the enraged look on the Fairy''s face that exnation got through. "That''s totally different. Pixies would be everywhere, trampling the garden, getting in the way. Plus, what do Pixies know of running a garden anyhow?" Nimuet shouts in their high pitched voice. "To Dwarves, the mountain is their Garden." Cain exins and the Fae Alliance group Huddles up to talk while Nimuet goes on an anti Pixie rant. "So there''s no way we will be allowed in?" The negotiator asks after they finish their conversation. If ''give us your territory because we want it'' us the extent of their willingness to consider alternatives, the word Alliance might not have any bearing on how things are run in the Fae Alliance. "Have you considered cooperation? Asking them for shelter for your armies as you prepare to fight, and fighting beside their armies against yourmon enemy, that being the Ogres? It''s working out East, everyone gets together and fights when the Ogres attack Sunnybrook." Kone says, hoping that a different voice might help. "You trust Dwarves with battle tactics?" One of the advisors asks disdainfully. "Have you looked at our Guild? Everyone makes the decisions they need to." Vughs, pping her wings for bnce and reminding the two groups that she''s a Demon. "We could let them camp in the barracks at the bottom of the mountain, but only on the North Side, I don''t trust them behind me in battle." The Dwarven King concedes. "And they''d have to drop the embargo." "If you would just join the Alliance the embargo would end today. Why should we let goods go to a city that is not part of the Alliance?" Cain is beginning to understand just how deeply the two groups despise each other. It''s like trying to mediate an argument between toddlers over a toy. "It''s alright if you want to keep the embargo, we''ve got enough food, leather and metal tost a hundred lifetimes. How''s your army holding out?" The Dwarven King asks in a Teasing voice. "You know very well how it''s going." The negotiator snaps back. Finally a chance to aplish something. "How about a trade deal? Certainly both sides can agree to that. Trading items you''ve got an excess of with each other. It doesn''t break the embargo if it''s directly between the two governments." Cain suggests and V does her best not tough at that logic. "We could hold it right here this afternoon. No coin needed, just trading merchandise. I can even attend with a standard price book from both sides to mediate exchanges." They both begrudgingly agree to the exchange, as their forces need what the other has, and the meeting breaks up to reconvene in four hours. "Not only did nobody die, they didn''t even throw a punch. You''re a miracle worker." the Trade hall manager gushes in appreciation. "Even better, they''ve agreed to hold a trade of goods between factions. The King''s party has gone to collect leather and either metal ingots or weapons." This trade fair might just be the most awkward thing Cain has ever encountered. Both sides have brought appraisers, as well as the Darklight Guild, who has a copy of the valuation books from both factions. The goods are clearly what the other party needs, but they don''t want to seem too eager and tip their hand as to how desperate their situation really is. Other than raw materials, the two mostmon requests are alchemy potions and non iron weapons. Many Fae are sensitive to the metal and the Dark Dwarves make a great number of magical weapons from enchanted bronze, brass and mythril. The Fae Alliance is severely short on weapons of all sorts, even more than they''re short on manpower to deal with the Ogres. They eventually convince the Dwarves to trade them a half dozen siege Cannons which look like they''d be good against Ogres, but hard to aim. "Is there an Ogre King out west here like there is attacking Sunnybrook?" Cain asks, trying to break the tension. "Not that we''ve seen, but there are 13 of them in total, they''re like regional chiefs. With the victory over the Trolls the Ogres now control almost all of the Northern valley, so they''re likely too busy to apany the attacking forces." The Fae Ambassador replies, frowning at the thought of facing an Ogre King. "How does Sunnybrook deal with extra intelligent Ogres using military tactics?" The Dark Dwarven King asks Cain, eyes glinting with the desire to hear a good battle tale. Chapter 89 - 89 "Dealing with the Phnx formation of the Elite Ogres isn''t easy. Elven arrows can''t prate the thick shields, even with strong abilities, so almost all of the defensive fire gets rejected. The defenders at Sunnybrook do use defensive siege weapons, but the most effective way we''ve found of countering the Elite Force is the Ogres is distracting them." "Distracting a Phnx of Elite Ogres? If that was so easy, we wouldn''t have so many problems with them." The Fae Alliance emissaryughs scornfully. "As you may, or may not already know, the Puppet Master ss is a summoning ss. One of the creatures I can Summon are Rock Trolls. The very sight of them enrages the Ogre forces, so if we attack from the side of the Phnx,rge sections will turn to face us and break ranks. Once the shield wall is broken the Elven defenders have a much easier time with them." Cain exins. "Real Rock Trolls? Or just something that looks like them?" The Dark Dwarven King asks, intrigued. Cain dismisses the Wrath Bringers and summons Rock Trolls in their ce, with a darker gray skin than the Stone Trolls of the Fae Alliance, and bothrger and heavier set in stature, they''re unmistakable as a different breed of Troll. "Now that''s a thing of beauty. Just look at them, bloody enormous they are." The Kingughs, but the Fae Alliance don''t seem to share in the humor. "Why did you start with Demons if you had perfectly good Fae options to Summon?" Nimuet the fairy asks. Cain adds him to the Summon list, finding that Fairy Wind Mage is a Lesser Golem Summon and not a Companion, so they are not a race transfers can get, while Pixie is. "If things turned ugly right at the start, I wanted it to be clear who was attacking who. No rumor mongers giving ambiguous descriptions. With giants Demons and Trolls present, the stories descriptions should have been very clear if things could not be decided with words." "That''s a good idea. Can you do any others?" Nimuet asks. "I can do a fair number of other forms, as well as some small creatures with a separate spell." Cain shrugs. "Are you mighty enough to Summon a Fairie to fight alongside you?" Another choice asks Cain, and a Fairy Girl with cute pink and white wingses into sight. [Summon Lesser Golem Form Added: Fairy Arcane Princess] "Would you like to see a few of my smaller summons? They''re really quite adorable." Cain smiles at the Fairie Princess. "Yes, let''s see how your summoning skills are. A few Trolls would hardly swing a battle." Not entirely true with the amount of added toughness and damage Cain has stacked into them, making each a party of Trolls in their own right, but Cain feels like having a bit of fun, not arguing. So he sets his Lesser Golem to Fairy Arcane Princess and brings a dozen pink and white winged tiny flying creatures to his side. Each is an almost exact replica of the one in front of him, even the facial features are nearly exact, close enough they could be twins. "What do you think, Princess? Aren''t my summons absolutely adorable? I''m very proud of these ones, the pink and white is just the cutest thing ever. Almost as lovely as your own." Cain manages to say with a straight face while the girls send him ''WTF are you doing?'' type text messages in friends chat and try to hide their horror. "You''ve made your point, you can stop picking on the Princess now. A dozen Fairy warriors would be pretty impressive though." Nimuetughs and Cain dismisses the Fairies. "If we''re done bickering, we can get to the trading, yes? I''d like to get done before dinner time." The Dwarven King says, trying to hide his amusement. With the tension broken between the groups for the moment, the rest of the afternoon goes smoothly. All three groups check their valuation books for every item and then a price is agreed, and a final quantity for the trade is decided once all the values are set, trading directly items for items, with a heavy bias towards weapons and armoring from the Dwarves, but a wide variety of goods from the Fae Alliance. "I''m d we could work that out. I''ll be happy to mediate again if I''m still in town, but for tonight we should get these youngdies home to eat and sleep." Cain tells both leaders with a bow and the Dwarven king nods in agreement. "Settle in well then, I take it you didn''t have too many problems finding a hotel?" "We actually never made it that far. A friendly Matron of a Rooming House took us in just after we arrived in town and we''ve been staying there." Dimnys giggles. "Ah, old Bertha then. That''s what the messenger was on about. Don''t let her friendly face fool you, she''s a tough customer that one. My very own Aunt." The advisor with the Kingughs. "Oh, should we tell her you''ll be along for dinner then? I''m sure she''ll be happy to see family and there''s always enough to eat." Kone says innocently and the Advisor panicks. "Dug your own grave boy, now go say hello to your Aunt with these fine adventurers." The King deres, pping him on the back. The Fae Alliance members say their goodbyes and take their leave, hauling away a wagon train full of goods, while the Dwarven side has already hauled their gains into the mountain. "I''ll call on you again if we need, but I think maybe, just maybe you made them see a bit of sense." The King nods before heading back into the city. "You know, he''s pretty rxed for Royalty. But I''m more interested in why you''re afraid of Bertha." Dimnys says, looking pointedly at the dejected advisor. "First off, that old woman is the world''s biggest bully. Secondly, she''s been pushing me to get married for almost eighty years now so that she can pass on the Rooming House to my children. I''m the only child of her sister, and she lost all her sons in battle, so there''s nobody else left to keep it in the direct family line." The Advisor sighs. "I''m sure it''ll be fine. A few suggestions about wanting grandchildren is the right of the older generation." Dimnys says with an air of wisdom beyond her years. They''ve underestimated the Matron though. There''s no fewer than 6 potential suitors waiting for her nephew when they arrive, all amply endowed in the typically stout way of the Dark Dwarven women, all with careers of their own and amused looks in their eyes at the newly arrived bachelor. "Sit him at the center tabledies. He''s not running away without saying a proper hello to hisst living family." Berthaughs, bringing out mugs of whiskey for the Dwarves.. He''s in for a long night, but he seems to have hit it off with a particrly buxom leather worker''s daughter, so maybe old Bertha will get those grandchildren he insists she''s after. Chapter 90 - 90 The next morning after breakfast Cain decides it''s time to go back to the Beastkin dungeon. Dimnys ns to stay here in town and talk shop with the cksmiths, but Kone wants toe along and see if they can get to a hundred forms of Beastkin and upgrade Nemu. V became a better fighter, with a doubled intensity damage increase aura. But Nemu is a bard, and none of them are sure what will happen if she evolves. Dimnys and Ragnar are out in a hurry, off to discuss something smithy rted. Dimnys has a few techniques and materials not avable here, and Ragnar thinks it will be well received by the others. Kone has developed a theory that the design of Companions is a much desire as requirement. After all, just look at the ones Cain has gotten so far. Demons and Felians, but both beautiful women. So her theory is that if she focuses hard enough during the transition to a Greatest Beastkin Companion, she can influence the process to give Nemu an even fluffier tail. There''s a twisted logic behind that, and Cain can''t say for certain that she''s wrong. So the only thing left to do is test the theory out in person. The Dwarf at the guard station near the dungeonsughs when he sees the party again. "Aye, idiot! You know they can smell demons from miles away right?" The guard shouts in a serious tone before returning toughter. "Thanks! This time it''s actually the n though. We''re going to try to speed clear the area and get an entire level today." Cainughs back and the guard shakes his head. "An entire level above 70 in a day? I''ll give you this, you''re an ambitious one. Good luck, and keep the littledies safe." Cain mentally adds up all the allies that will be in the dungeon with them. Him and Kone, 4panions, 4 supporters, 20 Poisoned Wasps, 12 Lesser Golems and 8 Greater Golems. An even thousand percent experience bonus. Good thing they packed a heavy lunch, courtesy of Bertha. Cain isn''t going to want to leave this paradise of constant experience gains. They Summon the Greater Golems as Wrath Bringers again before stepping into the Dungeon, this time summoning the other Golems and Wasps intermingled with the creatures at the door instead of clearing the area first. Nemu is casting increases to their attack speed and slowing the enemy, but not using pacify today, so the enemies are a constant stream. The experience gains are incredible as usual, and they''re also still finding new patterns of Feral Beastkin on a fairly regr basis. The packs near the door today aren''t the same as what was standing herest time. There''s a swamp to the south of the portal, ording to V and Nemu who can both smell it, so they start fighting their way towards it and away from the entry. They''re not getting many amphibian type Beastkin here by the entry, and Cain is eager to find more new species as fast as possible. Some of them aren''t adding to hispanions list at all though. They''ve found Lamia Kin who added to his Supporter options, more bestial Lamia Kin who are Companions and very Simr looking Naga Kin who are a Lesser Golem type. Power doesn''t seem to be the difference, as the Naga kin were no weaker than the Lamia Kin, but the Lamia Kin could speak. So perhaps the difference between Golem and the others is intelligence, with Fairies being the very upper range of Golem with their ability to speak, but rather primitive thought processes that remind Cain of a very smart dog. Under the influence of the dungeon though, the Beastkin are all rabidly violent so it''s hard to tell. On the other hand, Supporter versus Companion is easy to determine, only certain forms of Beastkin are avable to transfers. If a transfer can pick that form, it''s a Supporter, if not, it falls under Companion. As they get to the edge of the swamp the number of new species picks back up to every second or third group. Frogs, geckos, crocodiles, snakes and Turtles form the bestial side of dozens of different Beastkin species. [Level Up] [Cain Has reached level 72] Kone smiles upon seeing the message, that''s half their goal for the day down. She herself is very close to reaching her second level of the day, but she''s getting even more additional experience for her lower level, so the gap is slowly closing between the two of them. Not that she will fully catch up anytime soon, but she doesn''t feel so under leveled anymore. Cain is very excited when an Elite Snapping Turtle Kin with a heavy shield is saved as a Greater Golem. They''ll make an excellent Tank, even thebined might of the party had a hard time breaching their defenses and they''re bigger than the Trolls, when you ount for theirrge shell. Cain sees more varieties of Turtlesing and wonders if its possible to teach the lesser Golems Kung Fu, but knows Kone and hispanions wouldn''t get the reference. The swamp doesn''t seem to have as many residents as the city by the gate, and the new species starts slowing down just after Cain reaches 90 total. "Should we stick it out here, or head to whatever is creating that light?" Cain asks Kone, pointing towards what looks like fire reflected in the clouds. "It doesn''t seem to be spreading, or smoking, so maybe it is a town? We can try that for sure." Kone nods her head and looks for a good way out of the swampy area without getting soaked. The group moves back the way they came, and then skirts the East side of the swamp, where a dark and dense forest meets with the wet marsh and more scattered vegetation. The scrub and bushes at the edge of the forest are a pain to move though, literally, as they''ve got sharp Thorns, so the group moves further in past the tree line, finding new species of Wolf and Spider Kin. That''s good news to Cain, they''re almost to their goal now. But the further they try to go, the higher the level of their opponents gets. "I think we''re going to have to try for thest few on out way back to the gate. These are up to level 85 now, if we push any further we might get ourselves trapped and surrounded by Beastkin we can''t kill quickly." Cain says quietly to Kone. "Might as well, it''s not like we can take a proper meal break in here either, and it''s already been quite a while." They have no way of telling time precisely in here, but by Cain''s best estimate it''s been 6 hours or more, and they''ve only managed to snack on the meals packed for them between fights. They''re not starving, but sitting down to dinner sounds really good right now. [Summon Greater Beastkin Companion 99/100] The notificationes as Cain records a spider like creature with a human upper torso at the front and a ck spider body with a red hourss marking on his back. He is massive, over 4 meters tall thanks to his long spider legs. Kone is having troubles with the poison he''s shooting out, so Cain resorts to swapping his Greater Golems whenever too many of them get Poisoned, saving her a lot of mana and effort. The Druid version of cleansing takes far more mana than Cure Poison does, but also works on minor curses and is a ss ability instead of a book learned skill. "Okay, next one is the big one. I also have a theory that the enemy we pick to fight for the upgrade matters, so let''s find a good one." Cain tells Kone. "You want a good fight? We''ll give you a good fight.." Comes a voice from the shadows and five Dark Furred Felianse out. Chapter 91 - 91 Four are Felian Shadow Assassins, which Cain has already recorded. The fifth though, is called a Felian War Singer, and Cain knows they have found the perfect opponent. "Give me a moment and I will enhance you to make up for our extra numbers." Cain smiles at the War Singer and Kone frowns. Picking the strongest, sanest unknown enemy they''ve seen so far was not the n. [Summon Greater Beastkin Companions Recorded 100/100 Defeat Opponent toplete Quest] The War Singer was already Elite, and grows an extra foot taller, the name tag bing ringed in Gold and Purple, denoting an Epic Quality monster, and the Dark furred cat in a white outfit that closely matches the style of the one Nemu wears lets out an impressive roar, enraging herpanions and surrounding them with an aura of Red Light. They charge with amazing speed, ws digging deep into the shields and flesh of the Wrath Bringers. The group is on them in seconds, and two of the Greater Golem tanks move to attack the War Singer, hoping to interrupt her song with a shield m. But the Felian is too nimble tond a solid hit and keeps her song going. Cain''s lightning Arrows are having better luck though, arcing between all five targets and quickly burning away the health of the Shadow Assassins. Once her support is gone, the War Singer is in trouble. There''s too many summons to escape, and Cain has learned that firing Lightning Arrows at her feet will still trigger the lightning to Arc onto her, no matter how far she moves away in that split second. In the end she falls to the sword of a Wrath Bringer with a mournful wail and the Quest isplete. [Quest Complete] [Level Up] [Configuring Greater Companion] [Configuration Complete. Dismiss Lesser Companion to Finalize Changes] "This is it, the moment of truth. Any idea what you want to be?" Cain asks Nemu. "I want to be her. That advanced form of the Felian Bard." Nemu says resolutely. "Think Fluffy Tail. Fluffy furry thoughts." Kone mutters to herself as Cain dismisses and calls back Nemu. Bonus! The Companion came back as Nemu, it at least something very close to Nemu. Same Fur Pattern, same size, fluffier tail and longer body fur though. Same outfit, but with more embroidery and longer sleeves. Cain notices the gear she was wearing has been returned to his inventory though, which is a bit odd. Maybe the change moved her from cloth wearer to something else? "Nemu is that still you?" Kone asks. "It''s still us, but better." Nemu answers, hugging the Spirit Folk Druid tight. Kone buries her face in the Felians fur with a sigh. "You''re so soft now, I''ll never want to get out of bed." Kone''s appraisal of what is important in a Summon makes Cain chuckle. "So what changes did you get?" he asks the other one, who is watching the interaction with a smile. "It made me an improved bard like I wanted, though not quite like the War Singer. The result is a little odd though. In cloth, I can sing songs to regenerate mana and remove negative effects. In leather I can sing of agility and stealth. In heavy armor the song is of War and damage. That''s in addition to the bard abilities I can still use with an instrument in my hands." Nemu exins. Cain checks her description, hoping for the ability to quick change gear, but sees nothing. "I can hold onto one set in addition to what I''m wearing. I''ve got a small inventory that will only ept a preset gear selection." Nemu exins helpfully. "Alright, then first up, your cloth armor back. That one should be very useful, as we''re always happy to have more mana. Acid Rain is terrible for my mana pool." Cain turns over the equipment and Nemu''s appearance bes a shier version of her original. Kone steps back to admire the effect when Nemu''s clothing changes under her hug. "Oh, that''s not bad. Let''s see what she looks like in te though, it''s such a change I''m not sure it will look good. Cain finds some reasonably appropriate te armor and makes a set to turn over. The effect is not at all what they were expecting. Nemu is stunning in a ck silk evening gown, still split up both thighs, but now covering her torso. Silver armor tes cover her shoulders and across her upper back, flowing to elegant points at their ends with loose, mostly transparent ck sleeves hung from them. An intricately decorated silver te brassiere makes up the top of the dress, extending to the shoulder tes but leaving her cleavage visible and silver metal loops cover the silk of the torso over the dress like a functional decoration. Her upper arms and thighs both have metal armor covering them with intricate patterns of Lions in battle engraved into them. The lower arms and legs are left bare except for silver bangles at the wrists and ankles. Cain marvels at the design, the dress reminds him of something ady would wear to a g or other such event, slinky and elegant, but the tes and linked armor Corset suggests that she''s well prepared for battle. Nemu will likely fill the speakeasy over capacity tonight in that outfit. There''s really no time to admire her though, as the enemies are stilling. Not as frequently here in the forest, but enough that it''s constantly keeping them in preparation for the next battle. They work their way towards the exit again, having Nemu y a song to pacify and limit the number of enraged monstersing for them. It works well, and in half an hour they''ve made it out to the guard station in Graska. "Now that''s a sight for sore eyes. Your young Felian friend looks better every time I see her." The guard tells Cain in a stage whisper. "She''ll be singing tonight if you know the ce. Likely until the small hours of the morning." Cain tells him and the guardughs. "I''ll go home and change after my shift then. Bertha would have my hide if I tried to enter in a Guards uniform." The Dwarf ps Cain on the back and they start walking towards the Rooming House, wondering how Dimnys did today. "Oh, I got a book!" Kone says, going through her inventory with a smile. [Animal Companion] Druid exclusive. Summons one Predator type wild animal to apany the Druid. "But the great question is, will it be Fluffy?" Cain teases her and both sets of twinsugh. "Jokes on you. I get to pick from a list. Hey, what''s a Giant Lynx?" "Fluffy. It is all the Fluffy." Cain responds seriously and Kone returns back to the secure area around the dungeons. "Sorry, I got a new summoning ability and I really want to try it right now." Kone tells the old guard, who nods his head in understanding. "Go ahead girl, let''s see it then." As the name implies, it''s a Lynx but nearly the size of a small bear, well over a hundred kilos. It''s got long Fluffy fur, huge paws and long ck tufts of fur sticking up from its massive ears. "Now that''s a house cat. Warning artifact says it''s not a threat, so you can bring it with you if you like. Heck you could likely ride it if you wanted to.." The guardughs and waves goodbye as Kone hops on top to rejoin the group. Chapter 92 - 92 Dimnys, Ragnar and Bertha are stunned to see the giant cating their way carrying the Druid. It''s definitely not a sight you would expect to see every day. "I feel like I''m being reced, was I not Fluffy enough?" Nemu asks Cain. "Never underestimate her love for soft things, Kone will likely want one of you on either side of here bedtime." Cainughs and Kone looks intrigued at the idea of being buried in warm fluff. "I don''t know if it''s a good idea to put that thing in the stables. Might eat the horses." Bertha frowns. "Don''t worry, it''s a Summoning Spell. I can release it for the afternoon and call it back to my side at bedtime." Kone assures her and the Matronughs. "Alright then, get yourselves cleaned up for dinner. Will our extra fancy looking bards be entertaining tonight?" "I n on it. I got an upgrade today too, and it should have improved my singing voice." Nemu practically purrs in anticipation. To say the ce is full is an understatement. Everyone who makes the list as trustworthy is here, from the guard at the dungeons to the King''s advisor and the Leatherworkerdy that Bertha set him up with the other day. They seem to be still getting along, and she''s clearly smitten with him, so the man''s bachelor days are definitely numbered. A hooded figure sneaks in from upstairs and enters the kitchen, just as Nemu begins her introduction and first song, so Cain gets up to make sure nothing bad is about to happen. Bertha waves him off, knowing who the hooded Dwarf is, and the mesmerizing voice of Nemu fills the speakeasy. To say her voice got better is an understatement. Even her regr singing borders on a bard''s spell, and the crowd is entranced. Cain''s party is sitting with Ragnar, a very elderly cksmith Cain hasn''t caught the name of and the guard from the Dungeon entrance. Cain is sitting in the back with a V twin on each knee to make space in the booth and their table is drawing envious nces from all over. Kone is drinking spiced milk, as is the cksmith, though he looks like he''s still stout enough he could knock back Dwarven Ale with the best of them despite his age. Ragnar and Dimnys have cut back on the Whiskey tonight in favor of gallons of honey mead, citing problems remembering thest performance. Cain has decided that the stomach of a Dwarf is in fact a magical artifact. Because there''s no way a body that size should be able to contain that amount of alcohol. The Dwarves burst intoughter when he informs them of his idea, saying it''s perfectly natural for a Dwarf to be able to drink, but Kone and V seem to think he''s on to something. Most of the Fae races have some magical aspect to their nature, and while some would dispute if the Dwarves are really Fae, their drinking abilities suggest they are indeed magical creatures. "So, Dimnys did you find out anything interesting today during your trip to the cksmiths?" Cain asks the little Dwarf who looks ready to burst with excitement. "We spent all day mixing Elven and Dwarven smithy reagents to create better versions of magical steel. I think we''ve got three new mixes that are nearly perfect, we just need time to craft them into items and see what the result will be. If we''re right they might make an item just as good as using rare metals without all the expense. Since the city now has a trade agreement with the Fae Alliance on at least a basic level, that could serve us very well the next time theye begging for weapons." She''s got a point, high end magical weapons are in demand everywhere in this world. Or at least in what is known as the Beginner Valley in this world. Having more of them in cirction would help everyone, not just the smiths making them. The odd politics and home towns of the valley have the Dwarves on the west and Elves in the east with humans in between and very little trade between them, so mixing materials like this is quite umon. "So what''s the n for tomorrow then?" Kone asks. "We could go watch them work, or see what there is to find in the city. They''ve got an excellent selection of foods and things made of fur." Cain suggests and the conversation turns to Kone''s new pet while the Nemu girls move the night into more energetic dancing songs. For a while the conversation is entirely drowned out in the noise of the crowd, so Cain brings the girls up to dance, carrying the reluctant Kone who insists she doesn''t know how. It''s not hard to follow though, barroom dancing isn''t nearly as formal and structured as ballroom dancing, just try to keep with the rhythm, and she soon picks it up. As they dance Cain notices the hooded Dwarf again, hiding in the shadows but this time catches a glimpse of his face. The Dark Dwarven King hase to watch the festivities. It''s a shame he can''t join in, but it is a speakeasy after all, he wouldn''t want to cause a scandal if the Dwarven nobles are like others Cain has heard of, or read about in stories during his past life. He keeps out of sight the rest of the night, but Cain notices him leaving early in the morning when the Felian girls are finally finished singing and it''s time to carry thest remaining patrons to morefortable positions before Bertha closes up the bar. Dwarves seem remarkably casual about where they sleep, or perhaps the pub is a sacred location in their culture, but nobody seems to have a problem with sleeping off a night of drinking on the floor of a tavern. Bertha even keeps nkets behind the bar for them, and brings them out once the patrons that stayed areid out in rows in the floor to avoid waking up with cramped legs and sore backs. Cain''s joking prediction to Nemu at the start of the night, that she was far from redundant proved entirely urate too. Not just one, but both Felians are sharing the bed with the girls and Kone''s Giant Lynx tonight in a huge pile of fur and flesh. Lynx in the middle and Nemu twins to the outside with the non furry girls sandwiched in the middle.. At least he knows they''re safe, overseen by the three guardians who don''t actually need to sleep and just enjoy the warmth. Chapter 93 - 93 The sight of the pile that is Kone, Dimnys and the furry summons has Berthaughing loud enough to wake Cain up the next morning. "Come on down sleepy heads. Ragnar is in a hurry to get to the smithy and your breakfast is getting cold." He can hear herugh, so he pulls himself to his feet and equips a casual outfit for the day. Maybe Kone will want to go shopping, because Cain is looking for a good excuse to try out the street food here in Graska. It''s just not the same going alone, and V will eat basically anything withoutints. He''s not sure how refined the tastes of the Nemu twins are though. Since all the other residents are physicalborers, breakfast here is a heavy affair, plenty of energy for the day. Cain and Kone decline a packed lunch, saying they''ll find a ce to eat in the city, but both Ragnar and Dimnys ask for double. Swinging a smithy hammer all day takes a lot of energy, and they don''t want to waste time resting when they could be smithing. There''s new things to make. "Must be a Dwarf thing." Kone whispers to Cain, making him chuckle. "Whole race of workaholics I tell you." He agrees with a smile, loud enough for the others to hear, raising their mugs in a toast to hard work. "What''s up first? Head down to the market and see what we find, then work up to the smithy area for lunch and see how Dimnys is doing?" Kone suggests and they head off down the hill. "Not working today?" The dungeon zone guard asks as the six of them walk by. "Resupply day, and we''ve got to see the sights of Graska. Any suggestions?" Cain asks. "Well, since you''ve got thedies with you, there''s the candy makers by the big green tent down there. And then head over to the next street and you''ll find day rent artisan booths headed into the mountain. Never know what you''ll see, as they only rent for one day when they''ve got something new to sell. At the end of the street is the carnival and water park. If you''ve got swim suits you might like that. Volcanic hot springs, great for the skin." The Dwarf lists off an itinerary, pointing in the directions they''ll need to go. "That sounds like a good way to spend the morning. Thanks for that." Cain waves to the guard and off they go. Getting to the candy maker was easy, but after that the crowds really started to pick up. Not only that, but Nemu gets regrly intercepted by friendly shop keepers and Tradesmen who rented day stalls along the street. There''s just something about her that screams ''be my friend'' to the Dark Dwarves. No way are they getting to the carnival by lunch. In fact even if they just walked the distance it would be a stretch. Distances inside the mountain are deceiving. They end up at a Diner along the way for lunch, hunger getting the better of them. The waitress suggests they hire a carriage to get to the smithy, they''re quick and they don''t get stopped by admirers, like the ones currently looking in the window, and the ones that kepting up to flirt with the girls while they shopped. Much to their annoyance. "I tell you, it''s hard to be beautiful." Nemu giggles, waving down a carriage drawn by arge white Dwarven Goat. The driver points out at least a dozen more attractions that they really should see before leaving town, stops they never would have noticed if it hadn''t been pointed out, but makes excellent time to the smithy district. Thanking him and paying for the trip, they get off a block from the smithy Dimnys is supposed to be at, due to arge crowd gathered out front watching. The smithy is open to the street, letting the hot air escape instead of being trapped by walls, but it also serves as a great way for curious Dwarves to watch each other work. "Look at that hammering. I''ve not seen a finer rhythm in years." "I wonder if she''s interested in statue carvers? I''ve got a Grandson just her age." It seems Dimnys is popr among the crowd, and Cain soon sees why. She''s working in cargo pants and a leather apron over her tank top, sweating in the heat of the forge with heavily muscled arms on full disy. The Dwarven equivalent of a pinup girl. Ragnar waves them forward when he notices them and holds up an axe, still warm from the forge, made of shining metal in a light blue color. The detail is incredible, and Cain realizes that the design is actually magical runes worked into the head of the axe and down the handle. "Now that''s some fine work. I take it that''s the new alloy you were so excited to try?" he asks the burly Smith. "Aye, this is the one. A true thing of beauty. Stronger than Steel, lighter than Mythril. But the girl is working on one more change she thinks might be better. Something incredibly strong, but it''s a bit strange, once it cools, no amount of heating or hammering will get it to change shape, so it''s got to be done in one single go, keeping it glowing and soft from the forge once it''s mixed." Sounds like Adamantium to Cain, based on his extensive past life knowledge of super heroes. If these Dwarves can make that, there''s no telling how nearly invincible their army could be. "How did youe up with something like that anyhow?" V asks, watching Dimnys work. "Pure ident. We were smelting some of the new failed alloys into a scrap ingot and ended up with this. So we made some more and kept it hot enough to try to make a Hammer Pick out of it. One piece with a hollow handle to put the weight at the end like it should be. Better than an axe to test the durability of the new metal." An old Dwarf exins. He must be the owner of this smithy. "What are the chances I can steal your Smith as my apprentice? I know how Guild contracts can be." The old man asks. "She''s got no quota or restrictions from the Guild, only the base tax that gets transferred to us when she makes a sale, so it''s up to her. She seems to like it here though, so she might pick a part time schedule and keep adventuring to build up her level." Cain shrugs, not sure what Dimnys might decide. "Can your Guild sell outside the city?" The Smith asks with a wink and Cain smiles. "We''re based in Sunnybrook in the East Side of the Valley. They''ve got a very good weapon and armor market, for Elves that is. I think we might be able to sell a piece or two." The old Dwarf bursts intoughter and ps Cain on the back. "I like you boy. You''d have made a right proper Dwarf." A third Dwarf, one in a business suites up as they''re talking and hands V a business card. "I am Grout. A Real Estate Agent. I heard your friend say you''re all from out East, and I''ve got a proposition for you. If your Guild Master would like to buy a secondary Guild House here in Graska I can get you a great deal on it, and I''ll even install a transfer circle free of charge." "What''s a transfer circle? Does it bring in transfers?" V asks confused. "Oh no, it''s Earth Magic that works with the system to allow Guild Members to rapid travel between Guild Houses. A Dark Dwarven Specialty you''ll not find anywhere else on the continent. Not even outside the valley." He says proudly. "Second Guild House you say? We wille see what you''ve gotter today. I''m Cain, the Guild Master of the Darklight Host." The two shake hands. "Your transfer circles intrigue me, moving members between cities as they level up is one of the greatest challenges of a Guild here in the valley." They agree to meet after dinner, and everyone goes back to watching Dimnys, who is now etching runes into the Hammer Pick in preparation for the quench that will finalize the design in this new metal. Chapter 94 - 94 The new metal used for the hammer is incredible. It''s got simr weight to steel, which is excellent when trying to bnce a weapon using existing designs. It''s also provingpletely indestructible. Not even magical fire has left a mark on it. After a series of tests it is dered just as good as a Mythril hammer, but much easier to get materials for, if they can trade with Sunnybrook. That''s great news to Dimnys, who can simply ask a Guild member to buy what she needs the next time they''re out. After dinneres the fun part of the day, they''re going to look at Guild Houses. Cain thinks back to when he traded the bolts of cloth and the Trade House asked if he''d like a Mansion in the Smithy District with that, so that''s where they''re starting. The trade house will cover the coin, while Cain Pays with goods, which he''s gathered plenty of over thest few trips to the Beastkin dungeon, even though he''s deposited the crafting materials in the Guild bank. Lickity has restocked the spell silk too, which might prove very useful. "Might as well start here near the forge, as this will be a crafting house for the Guild." Cain tells the Real Estate Agent who looks shocked. "Alright, they''re quite expensive though, especially a house big enough to qualify as a Guild House. The minimum standard is room to sleep twenty. Ten bedrooms with bunk beds satisfies the system, so that''s the smallest we can go." The Real Estate Agent informs them and Cain nods his agreement. Just four short blocks away, tucked into a dead end street and backing onto the wall of the mountain is arge building that looks to be a run down former hotel. The tavern sign still swings from one chain at the door. "I know it''s not traditional, but it has a good sized forge and kitchen, plus twenty rooms, so it can be made a Guild House, even with the tavern reopened if your wish." He takes them through and the buildings finish is in very rough shape, having been abandoned for a number of years. But the stone structure is sound, the roof seems good and the basement level is a whole other story. The basement''s stone walls are solid, the forge isrge and vented to the back yard with a huge roll door. The kitchen is all stone and stainless steel, with a walk in fridge and freezer that operate off Ice magic and activate right away when Cain feeds them mana. It has everything amercial kitchen could need, plus there are no houses nearby, only businesses. Nobody toin about forge noise. Every location they scout afterwards, Dimnyspares to the first location. So Cain decides that is the spot for them. He just wants to talk to the neighbors first. The first they talk to is a smithy supply shop. He is a friend of Ragnar and recognizes the Guild from the other night at Bertha''s. All good signs. He says there used to be a road where his shop is now, but the city remodeled, leaving the tavern hidden down a dead end street until business died enough that the owner simply bought a new ce and left this one behind. The other side is not a business, like they''d expected. It''s an orphanage. Kids everywhere and it''s likely louder than the forge. They seem to be taking decent care of the children, and as Dimnys says, that gives them a steady supply of errand runners. Need something? Send the orphans to get it for a few coins. They''ll thank you for the work. None of them had anything bad to say about the other businesses in the area, so the deal is settled. They purchase their second Guild House and pay to have a team fully renovate the ce. It''s expected to take a week, but that''s not a problem for them, Bertha is happy to put them up, and the basement doesn''t need anything done, so Dimnys can move her workspace to therger forge in their new basement instead of the little shop they were using today. The Real Estate Agent provides them with the items for the transfer circles and Cain puts one in the Guild bank before deciding where to put the one here in Graska. The yard is tempting for the extra space, but it''s not secure and he doesn''t want people sneaking into the Sunnybrook Guild House. After a bit of searching, they find that the house has a safe room. Solid walls, heavy lockable door, hidden away behind the forge. The Guild discusses it for a while and decides that''s likely the best spot they''ll find, even if it was intended to keep valuable items the smith had created. Sunnybrook will likewise be cing theirs in the basement, in the storage room at the end of the hall. It''s also a good secure location without windows that you''ll need to pass an entire Guild to get to from the outside. The first person through after the transfer circles are ced the next morning is Lickity. She was so eager to see what a city made out of a mountain liked like that she couldn''t even wait for the Guild House to be renovated. Of course, everyone else followed, their curiosity getting the better of them, leaving only the staff at home in Sunnybrook. They must have been hitting the Naga dungeon fairly regrly, they''ve all gained at least one level since Cain came to Graska, not an easy feat without the huge experience buff he grants. Candia, their new Vampire Corsair is the second most excited to be here. She''s a Jewel crafter, and this city is known for their exquisite quality tools and a shortage of gem stones, which they have collected in abundance from the Nagas. The smithy supply next door carries a range of tools for setting gems and engraving, so Dimnys leads her there right away while everyone else explores the new house. The craftsmen are already here, tearing down the damaged wall board and recing it, or repairing what was there using Earth Magic, depending how bad it was.. The actual clean out and repairs are only gong to take two days, but all the furniture needs repair or refinishing and that''s going to take the rest of the week, ording to the Trade Hall manager who scheduled the crews. Chapter 95 - 95 The Guild all splits up to visit the various parts of the city they''re most excited to see, while Cain stays behind to help oversee the construction with V and try to find household workers for the Guild House. The Orphanage provided the guides to show everyone around today, and Cain suspects that''s the best spot to start looking for workers. He will need a few extra here he thinks, in case they want to open the tavern. There''s space suitable for employee rooms in the basement, 5rge bedrooms in total with a living room, that looks to have been the owner''s suite when it was a hotel. That''s plenty for their purposes. A cook and two maids does the job in Sunnybrook, so if they add a bartender to the list it''s just about right. The Dwarves pay their staff better than the Elves, so it''s possible none of them will live in the suite, but it''s a fair walk to the nearest houses. "Wee to Graska Orphanage and staffing service Guild Master. How can we help you today?" The Orphanage Matron greets him when he enters and a few of the older kids he met yesterday wave. "The Guild House will be renovated soon, so I''ll be needing staff. A cook, two maids and a bartender that can serve as a general purpose helper when the tavern isn''t open. Or the maids can work the bar if that works with their schedule. I''m not a staffing expert." In fact, he hardly understood workce shift rotations in hisst life, much less how to build a full crew to run a Guild House and Tavern. The other house just came with all the people they needed. "Will you be opening a Rooming House?" The Matron asks and Cain shakes his head. "No, we just noticed there''s no good ce nearby to get a drink, and the house is still set up with a tavern. Earning enough to pay the staff and taxes is all we''re after, the rooms will be for the Guild members and employees." ording to her, all thedies in her Orphanage have learned to cook and clean, but they''re still young, so the Matron suggests hiring a head of staff and three girls to take turns at all the jobs. She sends a runner to go find another of the employees and hees back with a one armed older Dwarven fellow everyone wees as Gramps. "I was the bartender when that ce first opened. Been a bit down on my luck due to the bad arm, but I can still pour Ale with the best of them and whip these younguns into shape." He assures Cain with a smile, stroking his prodigious white beard. Dwarves live a long time, so he''s surely got enough experience to tend a bar. The kids like him, so he shouldn''t be too bad of a person, all that Cain wants to know is if he''s a good worker and honest. "I''ll want you to be the head of staff for the Guild House, managing the shifts, keeping the ce stocked with food and drinks and anything else we might need. You''ll have ess to a good bit of Guild money though, so I need to know you''re honest. Got any former employers or reputable locals who can vouch for you?" "Bertha will tell you for sure. Worked for her almost twenty years, handyman at the Rooming House." "That''s good enough for me. Bertha''s word is solid." Cain nods. "Pick three girls to do what needs done for the Guild House and Tavern, ones that can all work well together. We''ve got the suite downstairs for staff if anyone wants to stay there and we don''t need drama and rivalries if we can avoid them." Two of his choices are already showing the Guild members around, so he will inform them they''ve been hired full time when they get back. Thest is a taller and narrower than average Dwarven girl. Narrow isn''t really a word you associate with Dwarves. Athletic sure, but not anything resembling slender. She''s almost human in proportion though, if that human was a professional bodybuilder with thick hips and a heavy chest. He briefly wonders if Dwarven women have chronic back problems, or if that''s just a human thing. Triss is happy to have the full time work, she''s nearly aged out of the Orphanage without finding a good job, one of the oldest here. The Matron is very good at cement, but the Dwarves keep saying she''s too spindly to hire. "Well, let''s head over and show you to your room. It''s right next door so no need to pack this very instant." Cain says leading the way. Gramps already knows the owner''s suite as he calls it from working here before. Triss seems impressed at the amodations under the dusty drop cloths, especially the living room with the sturdy padded chairs and full bookshelves the previous owner never emptied. She gets right to work cleaning the basement while Gramps goes up to greet the renovation crew and give them a few pointers on changes to the upstairs bedrooms. They decide its better to rece the upstairs furniture with all new instead of waiting a week to save a few coins. The old ones will be donated to the Orphanage, whose furniture sees a lot of wear and tear. The bar has been structurally fixed, and the furniture there was still serviceable, so Gramps calls it good and asks permission to use items from the Guild bank to decorate. They''re going to have themselves a Darklight Host themed bar. Odds and ends from every Fae species they''ve met so far, plus a half dozen different dungeons, decorates the ce by the time the others return, loaded up with their haul for the day, and carrying massive bags of takeout food, since they haven''t done any grocery shopping yet.. The ce just instantly feels like home the way it''s decorated, even though it''s clearly the inside of a Dwarven Pub, and Gramps is basking in the glory of a job well done. Chapter 96 - 96 After dinner and introducing the rest of the Guild to the wonders of Dwarven liquor, everyone heads back to Sunnybrook. Coming to visit is only as far as a room in the basement now, so there''s really no reason not to sleep in their own beds. Plus the bedrooms here aren''t ready yet. Even Dimnys heads back, pointing out that her room is only one room away from either forge now. In the back of the Graska forge through the storage room, and across the hall from the forge in Sunnybrook. Ragnar travels through the circle with a hint of envy, seeing that his new friend has not one but two forges avable. "One for working and one for prepping metal." Dimnysughs and he grins at her. The two of them havee to an agreement to work together. Ragnar will be her assistant and shop for her materials when needed in exchange for a percentage off the smithy items they sell. Cain worked up an official employee contract for him over drinks, so he can be sure he''s going to get what they agreed on. Another bit of good news, when a local guild employee withdraws Guild funds, the system does it in local currency instead of the generic coins that the transfers and others with a system get. Now, that''s not a big thing in most ces, but Graska is different. This bit of information means they don''t need to worry about trading for coin, they can just sell and deposit to the Guild Bank automatically everywhere they go in the future. Cain and Kone have just arrived back in Graska this morning, intending to get a day in grinding in the Beastkin dungeon, while the others intend to do the Naga Raid along with a smaller guild from Sunnybrook. Ragnar is a bit bummed out that Dimnys won''t be in the forge until lunchtime, but he understands the need to go gather gems and reagents they''ve mostly used up in their testing. Until she returns he is starting to prep and purify raw ore ingots into magical metals in preparation for the weeks work, the forge already hot and loud when Cain and Kone arrive. Triss is with an Earth Mage when theye upstairs to grab some Honey Mead for the day. Gramps got the brilliant idea to enchant their employee areas as employee only. The spell will stop anyone not a member or registered employee from going beyond the tavern. A great way to keep the house secure once they''re operating. Triss also has an idea, suggested to her by Bertha. Like how the burly Matron sells bootleg liquor, they too can have a little something on the side to bring patrons in. Not wanting someone to cut into her business, Bertha had suggested local goods from Sunnybrook. The rules don''t prohibit a Guild from selling their gains directly to whoever they want, so if a guild member ced say, some fine cloth, or delicacies from the Elven city for sale behind the bar in the tavern they wouldn''t actually be breaking anyws. With the Guild House they''re also now considered Graska locals, so it wouldn''t vite the letter of the embargo either, and the Fae Alliance is a big fan of exactly following rules. Which is arge part of why the Dark Dwarves won''t join them. They''re working out an arrangement for things locals might want that would be easy to get in Sunnybrook when Tanyaes running out of the circle room and stops dead upon seeing the massive kitchen here. "I''m really in Graska. No, wait, there''s an important message. A huge Ogre army is attacking and everyone else is already inside the Naga Raid. All four big guilds are there today and the city came begging for any members we have left." She pants, still looking around the kitchen in awe. That could be bad. Without the Guilds the city Defense will take a lot of casualties. "What did the attack look like?" Cain asks, hoping she knows. "They said it''s only in the East, but it''s all in a Phnx. That''s all they said." Tanya shrugs, looking through the cupboards and opening the massive fridge and freezer. "You can cook here if you like. There''s the three girls already working here, but the upstairs is under renovation still for another few days." Cain says and Tanya smiles. This might work out well for him, staff being able to move back and forth through the circle will allow them to add extra hands for parties without hiring a load of new faces they will need to let into the secure areas. Cain and Kone head back to talk to the city officials in Sunnybrook, while Tanya sits down with Triss to discuss the weekly menu, already having decided to make good use of this kitchen big enough for both of them to work at the same time without even crossing paths away from the walk in fridges. It''s only been a few minutes, but the officials are looking panicky when Cain and Konee out with V and Nemu following them. They sent a message to the Guild, informing them of the situation, and they sent back that they''ll need another four hours or so to finish the clear safely. They''re plenty strong, but nobody wants to get swarmed without the mass of Summons as their first line of defense, so they clear almost everything as they go. Better safe than sorry. At the gates they call out the summons and assess what they have avable. There''s a group of Three Clerics off to one side, looking nervous, so Cain sends Kone to go fetch them. yer is here with just two rogues and a Mage. Theye over the moment they see the Rock Trolls Cain has called to distract the Phnx. "It''s really good to see you again. Thought you might have left us for good." yer calls as they approach. "Is good to be back. Hopefully today we can deal with this upstart Ogre King and chase him back into the North valley." Cain says, hoping to see more transfers. There''s two more groups of ten or so towards the nks, and they look organized so that''s a start, but the force is less than a quarter of the usual turnout, and none of the higher level transfers are here except Cain and yer. Seeing that they''ll have nothing else to work with, Cain changes his Supporters. Trying to clone V just brings up a [Companion Already Known] message, but he can clone Cixelcid, who also heals the group a little due to his equipment and a skill, but doesn''t give the additional damage buff. Or he could copy Char, who has the best Totems and good AoE damage. At level 80 his Supporters are set to be Advanced Supporters, but Cain isn''t quite there yet, so bncing what he can with ss skills only is a challenge. The final suggestiones from Kone, who wants to see more Bears. So Cain makes two copies of her and two of Char, giving them four bears and a bunch of Totems in addition to the actual Supporters. "That''s so weird, I can actually feel that I''ve been cloned. I can''t control them or anything, but I can feel that they exist." Kone giggles, petting the bears one after another. "Game faces on, it''s almost time to attack.." Cain smiles at the Druid and turns back to the Ogre lines. Chapter 97 - 97 The waiting game isn''t going tost long with the Trolls present, angering the Ogres, so Cain leads the center group of transfers into battle. All the support sses are in the middle of the group, with The V twins on the left, and yer plus his rogues on the right. Both copies of Nemu are singing songs of war, increasing damage done, while they y spells to increase attack speed and damage. The sight of this central group, singing as they go into battle is helping the defenders morale, and the Phnx of Ogres is seemingly much more disorganized than before. The first wave of attacks from the Lamia Scourge Casters Cain is using as Lesser Golems cuts into the feet and faces of the shield wall, anywhere they can find a potential gap. It''s enough to weaken their bnce before the buffed up Trolls smash into the Phnx and the defenses crumble. Now that they''ve knocked a hole in the shields the Lamia are dealing significant damage to the Ogres trying to reform their lines. Horns are sounding and reinforcements are running their way, but the brutal attack,bined with how fast Cain''s [Might of Many] buff is adding damage to his lightning Arrows and [Acid Rain] is causing all attempts to reform the shield wall to arrive heavily wounded. "Close up ranks, we''re going to push forward, see if we can totally break the Phnx from the back side." Cain calls and the fighters on their nks as well as the Lesser Golems form a double circle around the healers and support sses. One of the Nemu girls has switched to ying a slowing effect that is preventing the Ogres in the area from effectively defending themselves, and the area around them begins to clear from the deaths caused by Acid Rain. With their shields up to stop the rain, the Ogres can''t move quickly enough to Parry, with them down the rain kills them. Lightning is everywhere, both from Cain and from the Char based supporters. Two copies of her most excellent mana totem have everyone at almost full mana all the time. The Ogres are trying to get the transfers to pull back, attacking the group from behind as they move towards what looks like themand section of the Ogre Army. They''re fully surrounded now, with nowhere to go, but the casualty rate is incredible. Usually they would retreat when they''ve suffered about a quarter of an area''s numbers in casualties, but Cain estimates that they''re getting closer to half in the zone around him and still haven''t tried to run. Instead they''re all moving to protect that onemand group. Hopefully the Ogre King is in there, because Cain has onest trick left. All fight long, he''s been casting Acid Rain centered on himself, protecting the group and damaging mostly the Ogres closest to them. But he doesn''t have to. Now he casts it on the Ogremand group in the distance and fires a series of [multi shot] Lightning Arrows in their direction, hoping it will Arc to their Commander and take him out. The leaders are visibly falling under the surprise attack, bolstered by 30 seconds worth of damage from the summons that have been doing their very best for a long time now. Time seems irrelevant when they''re so heavily engaged inbat, but it''s certainly been more than an hour they''ve been working to take down these Elite Ogres. The horns of retreat begin to sound from the nks, but it''s toote for the center. The Trolls are into the shield wall around themand group and Cain can see an Ogre in a fancy outfit with a golden crown on his head. That''s exactly what he''s been waiting for. He multi shots Poison Arrows into the Ogre King until his mana his hits redline. The poison ticks are steadily dropping his health and there''s no Ogre Shamans left alive to cure him. He dies with a thunderous roar, charging the Trolls and every Ogre in the area loses their focus. Some fight, some run. Some want so badly to escape that they knock theirrades to the ground as they flee. It''s an absolute Rout. The best their group can do in the light of this chaos is simply hold their position, waiting for things to settle. But as the mass of bodies begins to clear, they see friendly faces, the earliest Guilds to enter the Naga Raid today had already returned and joined the fight behind them, Crushing the Ogres as they tried to defend their King from assassination. As they''re celebrating, more and more Guildse out into the battlefield to celebrate the demise of the Ogre King. Their greatest wish is that this will be enough to move the Ogre attacks back towards the fortified cities in the north instead of continuing to target them way out East at the gateway to the Elven Forests. One of the city''s archivists has a spell that creates an excellent painting of a scene, so the entire Darklight Host, now returned from the Naga Raid, along with the Clerics they met today and the small Guild led by yer, or Pussyyer6969 as he''s formally known, have gathered around the fallen Ogre King to have their image recorded for posterity. With the official business out of the way, Misha has begun chatting with the other Clerics, while Mythryll and Elmira are getting to convince yer and his Guild that honey cake is actually the greatest food ever invented. The sight is making all the city officialsugh, but Cain notices someone is missing. "Has anyone seen Char?" he asks and Candia points over towards where Kone is sitting in the grass. Oh, that makes sense, she''s under the Giant Lynx, surrounded by bears with a Nemu in her arms, fast asleep and smiling. If anyone loves fluff more than Kone, it is definitely Char. The mayor has announced a grand feast on the City Square, which Cain fully intends to attend, if he can wrangle up his Guild. Now Candia, Lickity and Cixelcid have all disappeared. Oh, they''re over with the group from the north wing, ying tag with the Lamias. Cain is beginning to understand how the serious Guild Masters feel. It''s almost impossible to get anything organized with a group thisrge unless you all have a good means ofmunication. [Guild Alert from Guild Master Cain] Celebration Feast at the City Square in one hour. That should do it. Chapter 98 - 98 A celebration feast brings out all the vendors in Sunnybrook, perfect for the Guild, as they need Elven made items and local specialties to sell at the tavern in Graska once it opens. They all take different routes to the City Square, agreeing to meet up there at the table the Mayor has informed them will be reserved for their Guild. They''re moving in pairs, so they can watch both sides of the street for things they might want, and it''s taking longer than expected. There''s just so many items made of enchanted wood that you can''t get in Graska, plus loads of fancy cloth, nkets, cushions and other luxuries. Having the Giant Lynx with them isn''t helping either. Every child they pass wants to meet it and pet it and never let go. Mostly they''re just letting the children y with it in the middle of the road while they explore the shops and temporary stalls along their route. Kone considered dismissing it, but with it pulling all the kids in, it also draws their parents into the street and makes the shops less crowded. By the time they all reach the Square, theirbined efforts have mostly filled the Guild Bank and Gramps is celebrating the plethora of cushions, adding the cheap ones to chairs and making a pile of them by the firece for a group to rx, drink and smoke by the fire in luxury. Dwarven furniture is usually made of hardwood or stone, not exactly the most plush andfortable, but they''re used to it. He insists they''ve got the finest decorated tavern in Graska now, and he''s looking forward to opening it in a couple days. The Guild can''t wait to see the Dwarves reaction to what must look like a pirate''s den by now, with the colorful cushions and wide variety of wall decorations. The feast is amazing, but stuffy. Not nearly as lively as the liquorden Dwarven celebrations. More noble speeches of gratitude, awards and toasts. The award was a quest reward though, and it gave everyone a load of experience, which was likely more appreciated by the transfers than any physical object could have been. Darklight Host made out the best, getting a special Guild wide award and title for killing the Ogre King, as well as gaining three new Elven Clerics for the Guild, at Misha''s rmendation. [Guild Title: Ogre''s Bane] gained [Alina has joined the Guild] [Nathaniel has joined the Guild] [O has joined the Guild] Now, their Guild might be really Healer heavy at the moment, but that''s hardly a bad thing. Plus, O is more interested in being a merchant than a raid Healer, and she''s volunteered to help Gramps with the tavern, selling the items brought from Sunnybrook. All three were born and raised in Sunnybrook, but they went to the academy in Karmazin City as kids to learn the essential spells. Cixelcid promises to drag them along into the raid as much as he can, so Cain decides he will do the same, bringing O into the Dungeon in the mornings before the tavern opens to keep her advancing and not just retiring to be a merchant at such a young age. Well, rtively young. She''s significantly older than Cain himself, but Elves grow up much more slowly than humans. The System also makes things strange, as gaining levels extends your lifespan. The way that O exins it, once you reach adulthood, every level seems to reset you to yourst apparent birthday. So a steady grind through the levels for humans can keep them looking youthful a long time, as long as they can get a level within a year of thest one. Still, as most in the beginners valley never make it to level 80, instead settling into a life here, Elves still live hundreds of years longer than humans. It''s after midnight before they retire to the Guild House for the night. Alina and Nathaniel both pick rooms on the second floor in Sunnybrook, but O is holding out to be the first full time resident in Graska. Other than maybe Cain, as the remodel included a suite for the Guild Master, and he might end up spending most of his time there. Gramps has been left in charge of the interior decorating crews. Kone, while she prefers to do dungeons with Cain, also prefers the sunlight of her room in Sunnybrook. She is both Spirit Folk and a Druid after all, and the Graska Guild House is inside a mountain, surrounded by rock and forge fire. The transfer circle makes things seamless for them. The next mornings breakfast for both houses is all cooked in the Graska kitchen, while daily snacks and packed lunches are done in the Sunnybrook house. Giving Tanya ess to Graska and its specialties also changed the menu. More mead and ale vored meats and spiced potatoes, along with the fruits, pastries and roasted nuts of Elven breakfast cuisine. The happiest of them all this morning has to be Elmira. There''s Dwarven honey mead at breakfast today, and if she drinks any faster she''s likely to down herself in the bowl of sweet liquor. "O and Kone, you''re with me today. We''ll hit up the Beastkin dungeon this morning unless anyone else wants toe?" Cain calls. "We''re good. Going to visit the Naga Raid with yer and his Guild again today, they''ve got a couple members almost to 70 and we''re looking forward to the party afterwards." Cixelcid smiles. Forget taking life seriously, the Guild is going to have to watch out for bing cake addicted drunkards. "Misha upgraded our gearst night, so I''m all ready to go." O smiles and Koneughs. "Trust me, you''re in no way ready for what''s about to happen. Just stay in position and trust the summons to protect you. The smell of demons draws Beastkin from all over the dungeon towards wherever we are. It''s hectic, but you don''t even have to walk around." Kone informs her. Instead of the Dark Elven Clerics today, Cain opts for more copies of Kone, but keeps the Witch Doctors he usually summons as the other pair. The Poison Puddles they cast, plus the mana Totems are the perfect bnce of support and area damage for this type of dungeon. They seem to like O too, patting her head like everyone does to the Lamia Lesser Golems. Chapter 99 - 99 They wave goodbye to today''s guard stationed at the Dungeon entrance and step inside, the Wrath Bringers pushing the opponents near the entry back with their huge shields. Cain summons the rest of hispliment of defenders and O lets out a sigh of relief, then a squeak of rm. The Witch Doctors have coiled their bodies around her creating a protective barrier of Lamia flesh chest high. O doesn''t seem to be good with snakes though. Call it exposure therapy, they''ll never hurt a party member and nothing can hurt her in their nest. They must have assumed she was afraid of the dungeon, not the giant snake women. Cain hopes the level 80 upgrade to his Supporters will let them talk, it would make life much easier. If it lets then use the non ss skills of the forms he''s recorded it will be even better. They''re currentlycking, even the appearance is off. He cloned Kone, but the supporters have a more in outfit, less expressive faces and of course they''re silent. That suggests to Cain he''s too low of level and they''re iplete. A lot of things about his ss are strange that way. Most advanced sses get a load of useful skills right away, with options for more beginning in the first few levels. Cain had to wait until level 60 to get his third ss skill, and it still doesn''t feel like it''splete. The thought btedly crossed his mind that perhaps it''s waiting for him to be ready, bringing his status points up enough to actually use all of the skills the ss should have. But that would only make sense if this is a ss from the level 300 ss change, when the basic sses would get to pick an upgraded ss for a second time. The freshly arrived advanced ss transfers also get to pick a new ss at level 100, a reward of sorts for winning the gamble on the random ss selection ording to the Dwarves in Graska. But they have rumors that the sses avable are limited because most don''t meet the qualifications for some of the options at level 100, since they''re upgrading so much earlier than usual. The morning''s work has been good to them all, and when they are about to leave for lunch Cain gets a long awaited notice. [Level Up] Cain checks his status screen quickly to verify what he remembered before allocating status points to reach another milestone. [Name] Cain [Level] 75 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human [Stats]+10 ->0 [STR] 125 [DEX] 90->100 [CON] 100 [INT] 75 [HP] 800 [MP] 375 [Notice: Beginning From DEX 100 Golems Gain Attack Speed and Movement Speed from DEX] What? That''s amazing. Now Cain feels a bit silly for adding the extra strength, he could have gotten this bonus earlier. Plus, does that mean they''re going to gain mana and Spell Power once he gets to 100 INT? Only 5 more levels and he will find out. [New Skill Avable: Summon Lesser Bodyguard] Rogue Type only. Hey, a new Summon! A base of two Bodyguards, that must be Rogues, picked from his Golem Options. No hints as to whether they increase in numbers or just in quality with levels, or when. He''s found a great number of Rogues, but all the very best were Supporter Types. He could do Lamia or Naga Assassins. He has Golem type versions of both of them. Or maybe the Dread Spiders. They were a pain to fight with their webs and Poisoned Spears. Human upper bodies with the bodies of spiders. They''re Greater Golems, but too squishy to be tanks, so he''s never used them. Maybe they''ll be decent as Lesser Bodyguards? "I got a new skill for level 75. Bodyguards that have to be Rogue type Golems. Any preferencedies?" He asks Kone and O. "Please not more snakes." The cleric begs, still surrounded by Lamia bodies as she has been all morning. "And none of those super creepy dolls either." Kone says, referring to the y Golems. "Are we good with spiders? They''ll be good for crowd control, and they might be cute." Cain shrugs. "Let''s see then first before I judge." Koneughs and Cain summons them. With his ability doubling their numbers, they''re four Child sized versions of the ones they fought in the Forests of this dungeon. With the Spider bodies they still stand nearly Cain''s height unless they crouch, but the humanoid torso is smaller than Kone''s, wearing white silk vests that match their hair and carrying wicked looking barbed Spears. As soon as they arrive they start firing webs at the attacking Beastkin and throwing their Poisoned Spears, that vanish after impact and return to their hands. It might be a skill, but it''s a pretty cool trick. With the ck bodies and shockingly white hair framing almost Elven faces they are actually pretty cute in Cain''s estimation. Cain hopes the others don''t react too badly, he''d like to keep using these. With the immediate area cleared and Nemu ying a pacify type song, they retreat out of the dungeon for the day and Cain releases all of the summons except V and Nemu. "Well, what do you think of the new Bodyguards? Not bad, right?" he asks hopefully. "Not bad at all. They aren''t Fluffy, but they''re a bit cute, and the webs are amazing. The bears don''t get stuck in them at all, but they''re hard for enemies to escape." Kone agrees. "I once had a pet tarant, they''re a bit like that, but much bigger, and not so furry." O smiles, clearly thinking of her pet. It''s settled then. The Bodyguards are going to be Dread Spiders. How close are you to level 70 Kone? We''ve been in the dungeons a lot, you should be almost there." "A quarter of a level, I should get it in tomorrow morning''s visit without any trouble. I got over a level today." She smiles and O gets a vacant look as she examined her character sheet. "I got just over two levels today. Experience in a high level dungeon is insane. If it''s going to be like that, I can live with the plethora of snakes." The cleric says in awe. "Lamia, they''re Lamia. I helps if you think of them that way, they''re just cuddly, not at all mean.." Kone giggles. Chapter 100 - 100 Gramps has serious connections among the Dwarves. When they return to the house for lunch, thest of the furniture is being brought upstairs by the workers, days ahead of schedule. He says none of the rooms match, they''re all in different themes, but that''s perfect for Cain. Guild members staying here can pick one that suits their personality. O is so excited she can barely eat her lunch, eager to get upstairs and pick out her new room. Cain is intrigued too, there''s also a Guild Master Suite here that they renovated without telling him what it will look like, and he''s curious to see what they''ve done with the ce. Eager to get a head start, the two of them sneak upstairs while everyone else is still eating lunch, using the old servants stairs so they can start at the end of the hallway and end up in the Guild Master''s suite. The first two rooms they find are white marble themed, with green or blue ent colors. Then white oak, pink marble, ck granite. Mostly stone floors and king sized beds with exquisite solid wood furniture, until they get to thest five rooms. Two standard rooms except with bunk beds, then the final two and the Guild Masters suite. Thest one on the left is themed like the captains quarters of a Spanish Galleon or simr style sailing ship. The room on the right is all padded red leather and ck wood. Very cliche bondage dungeon style. Just looking at it makes O blush. "Alright, the moment of truth. Let''s see the Guild Master''s suite." Cainughs, closing the door to the leather bound room behind him. The door opens to a sitting room. Thick fur rugs cover granite floors, dark stained bookshelves line the walls except the far end where afortable looking chair sits behind a ck jade desk with a map of the valley carved in the top and then covered in what looks like ss. Behind the chair a set of double doors open onto a balcony that overlooks the back yard. Mostly though, the view from inside is of the solid stone mountain face, must be a Dwarven thing. In the middle of the room two heavy leather couches in the Dwarven fashion sit facing each other along with two thick recliners around a low table. Beside each chair is a round stand Cain can''t immediately identify, until it dawns on him that they''re ornate ashtrays with storage for pipes, cigars and tobo Only one door exits the room, leading to a bedroom more at home in a harem drama than a Dwarven capital. Persian Style Rugs on the floor, drapes over the walls in bright red and gold with gossamer curtains over a massive bed along the far wall. Instead of a couch there is arge pile of cushions with a low table, and the final touch, a hot tub steams away in the corner, big enough for sixfortably. Magicalmps in stained ss fixtures give the room afortably dim glow, despite the absence of windows. O is running her fingers over the cloth hung from the wall and discovers a small walk in closet and ensuite bathroom as all the rooms have, except with just a small shower instead of a tub and shower. Without knowing it is there, few would find it hidden behind the curtains. "I can''t tell if he knows you too well, or if the old man is messing with you." Oughs, taking the decor in while Cain stands speechless. "Casanca, maybe Arabian Nights? I like it. Remember the honeymoon suite with the hot tub? This is way better."es Misha''s voice from behind them as they''re still absorbing all that is this room. "You recognize this? It reminds me of the Imperial wives suite in Sunnybrook." O says, impressed and Cain chuckles. "Both of those stories are about something simr to what you''re thinking." Cain says and the inquisitive Elf goes to check the water temperature in the hot tub. "Not bad, but we should get a garden pool built out back. Natural ponds are better than hot water to rx in." She smiles. "How do you like it son? The boys noticed you''ve always got the four pretty women with you, so they did you up something special." Gramps asks, stroking his beard in victory. Cain can see where the misunderstandinges from. Even if V and Nemu are summons, that''s not obvious to others, and they''re almost always with him. Speaking of which, the Nemu twins, in opposite outfits, a feat Cain didn''t know was possible as they''re clones, are rxing on the cushions, looking perfectly at home in this exotic room. "We love it. Good job Gramps." Nemu gives it her seal of approval and V rxes next to her. "She''s right, it''s prettyfortable. We should stay here." The Demonic Companion agrees. "You heard them. Good job." Cain sighs, shaking his head. Gramps has deliveriesing in all afternoon and evening, getting the house stocked up and the tavern ready to open. The girls are going shopping in Graska this afternoon, looking for the perfect outfit for tonight''s party they say. Cain, Cixelcid and the newly arrived cleric Nathaniel are going to make a bunch of deliveries around the Dwarven district of Sunnybrook, delivering high quality goods the locals have asked Dimnys for after finding out she had a way to Graska. It''s not that theyck the skills to make them, but the materials simply weren''t avable in Sunnybrook. By the time they finish they''ve be great friends, sharing tales of their adventures and of romantic misadventures. Nathaniel is Alina''s little brother, and he wanted to be a doctor before his interface awakened, so he picked cleric. Alina simply didn''t like the idea of being hit so she wanted to heal. She loves being in dungeons though, and always drags him along. They''re all from Lesser noble families in the Inner City, and they went to the academy with O. She picked cleric because her friends did, but actually wanted to travel as a merchant, she likes bookkeeping and haggling for goods far too much for a nobles child, ording to Nathaniel. They''re not snobby about their heritage like many from the Inner walls though, their time at the academy cured that and they haven''t been back long enough to forget. Before the evening party they make a quick visit back to Graska to get a cask of Dwarven Whiskey for the celebrants.. Five gallons should be enough for everyone to get a taste or two. Chapter 101 - 101 Last night was a party for the record books. Twice they sent Cain back to Graska to get more whiskey, and the sun was well up in the sky when the party ended. By unanimous vote, there will be no dungeon run today, but Cain and Kone n to sneak in an hour or two this afternoon to get her to level 70. Assuming they ever get out of bed, that is. Currently, they''re both in Cain''s new room, as Kone insisted the Sunnybrook Guild House was too loudst night. The Druid is cuddling the Giant Lynx on the cushions while Cain, V and Nemu have taken the bed. Theck of windows makes time hard to tell, but his stomach tells Cain that it''s dinner time. When he gets back from his shower, he finds that the V twins have moved to the hot tub with a bottle of wine, and Kone is mostly awake, sprawled out on the cushions. "Shall we go eat? My stomach says we''ve missed a couple of meals already." Cain says, and Kone lifts her head from the Lynx. "Good idea, we should see if everyone else survived too. First, though, I need to be clean." Kone says, heading towards the shower. Cain is about to grab food when it dawns on him that V is in the hot tub. Without armour. "When did you learn to do that? The system still shows your armour equipped." Cain asks, confused. "Not sure. When I stuck my hand in to check the temperature, it prompted me to hide equipment for bathing. So here I am, with this lovely Elven wine and a hot bath." V shrugs. One less reason to ever need to dismiss her, Cain decides. Not that she sweats anyhow, as far as he can tell, but cleaning her armour while wearing it has to be annoying. A brunch buffet is being set up in the tavern, with enchanted serving dishes keeping everything at the right temperature. Cain tops off the mana pool for the device and loads up a te before calling up the stairs toe to the tavern for food. The Graska residents have all gotten seated around the big central table, and most of the Sunnybrook residents have arrived when the door opens, revealing four unexpected faces. The Dwarven Kings advisor, with a young female Dwarf in royal household uniform holding an armful of notes, and the Mayor of Sunnybrook with his personal assistant. The Tavern technically isn''t open until tomorrow, but Cain is almost certain they''re here on official business and not to drink. Mythryll and Dimnys walk in behind them, with more assistants and clerks from the two cities following and Tanya darts back down to the kitchen, calling for Triss to start more potatoes. "Wee to the Darklight Tavern and Guild House. I suspect there''s an arrangement already made, but please, help yourself to food and drink." Cain wees their visitors, standing up to shake hands with the dignitaries. "The Mayor came by this morning, wanting us to take on a quest to find allies to keep the Ogres in check, and the King here was agreeable, also concerned about the Ogresing down. There will be more meetings between other groups today in a bunch of cities, but this was the easiest ce to hold the one between Graska and Sunnybrook." Mythryll exins. "Misha and Cixelcid have gone off to Peaceful River through the Demon Dungeon along with the captain of the guard and a level 80 elite escort team," Lickity adds, pouring honey on spiced potatoes, which is making everyone give her strange looks. "The Fae Alliance is meeting with the Council from Sunnybrook at the base of the mountain as we speak. They weren''t happy about not getting to lead the effort and take every city involved into the alliance under their control, though, so we''ll see where that goes." The Mayor of Sunnybrookughs. It''s the same thing every time, they want to control everything. Maybe the Guild should have sent a mediator to help things get done. Or maybe not. Sessful negotiations means having to deal with them more often. "The Sunnybrook Council also had a valuable bit of information for us. If you have a level 80 group leader, or a Demon leading the Raid party, you have the option to Raid the Demon Dungeon. It bes much tougher, with a whole newyout." Mythryll grins at Cain. Candia and Cixelcid don''t count as demons, being Vampires, but Lickity is a Subus. If they can gather the whole guild into a higher level raid, they should be able to gain a bunch of levels in a hurry, which will be a great benefit, as the main Ogre Kings in the Northern Territory have Level 85 and 90 elite troops. The meeting between officialssts all day and will continue tomorrow. The Sunnybrook groups have brought crystal balls formunication, so tomorrow, they will try to reconcile all the agreements between various cities to ensure no conflicts. Cain has arranged for the visitors to be put up in the Guild House tonight, and a few extra hands have been hired from the Orphanage so they can enjoy an evening feast without anyone needing to go home afterwards. But if this is going to be a regr thing, they''re going to need either an expansion of the building or a visitors lodge built nearby. Possibly both. There''s a vacant property next to the backyard with no street ess, so they might be able to create a fortified lodge there for extra visitors. The Guild has also reached rank two after the awards for killing the Ogre King, which expands their member cap from 20 to 50 members. They''re not in a hurry to grow, but if they take in more members, Cain would rather not have both houses packed to the point they can''t house visitors. He runs the idea by Gramps, who shows him on the deed that the vacant property is already part of theirs, just fenced off because thest owner didn''t want to develop it. He insists Dwarves can build a perfectly suitable building on the odd-shaped lot, so Cain orders him to make something well secured, with mostly bunk beds in barracks and a half dozen three room suites for dignitaries. The usual delegation is only a few nobles with their assistants and a dozen guards, it seems, so they can arrange for twice that without issue.. The building will also conveniently give them more storage space that they''re greatlycking, with the basements connected through a tunnel for ease of movement and storage rooms dug in the solid stone under the backwn, except for one corner, where Kone, O and Char have convinced everyone of the need to build a natural pool hidden by tall shrubbery for rxation. Chapter 102 - 102 The second day goes much more smoothly, as almost all the agreements were finalized the first day. Only the Fae Alliance and one group of Forest Elves in the East couldn''te to an agreement. Sunnybrook deemed this eptable, and intends to move forward with what they can get, unifying the agreements into a war alliance against the Ogres. They even managed to get a number of Frontline cities on board, using a high level Mage in Sunnybrook to open portals between the cities to move troops and supplies as part of the deal. Beginner Valley is starting to look a lot more cohesive already. Only Graska won''t have a full time portal, as the Fae Alliance threatened to invade the city if they established one, but unofficially, the Darklight Host will be moving huge amounts of materials and equipment between the two cities through their Guild House and bank. Their agreement with Sunnybrook ended up being one of supply, not of military force. The hapless Fae Alliance will end up being the defensive force for the efforts biggest production facility simply because they have it surrounded. An easy win as far as the Graska King is concerned. Misha and Cixelcid return before supper time, and the Quest rewardes in while the Guild is eating at the Sunnybrook Guild House, the Graska Tavern still being upied by the group working out the final details. The decision is made to try to get everyone in the Guild close to level 80 this week, so they''ll all be meeting in Graska every morning to Raid the Demon Dungeon. If the pattern holds true, this area should be higher level than the entrance at Sunnybrook, giving them an advantage on leveling speed. The new Clerics are a bit concerned, but with no fewer than 5 healers in the group they''re fairly confident that they won''t die at the very least. "Can we bring some friends? A raid party is usually maximum 25 people, right?" O asks. "If you think they can handle themselves, I don''t see why not." Misha shrugs and both look to Cain for confirmation. "It should be fine. Who do we have in mind?" "My friend Ghaz is a strong warrior, and his sister Morgan has a thing for Nathaniel, so she''ll want toe too. She''s a level 61 Fire Mage." O smiles. "Mork? Please no. She scares me." Nathaniel pleads. "They''re both half Orcs, with a Green Orc father. They''re both good people, and they just got back from a summer in the far south visiting family. They''re in a Guild though, I hope that''s not a problem." O exins. "I don''t see why it would be. Send them a message to meet you at the Guild House on time to get here for breakfast. Anyone else?" Cain looks around for suggestions. "How about Shovel Face and the boys? You know, the Earth Mages from Bertha''s ce. They could use some materials, and they''re all close to level 80." Ragnar suggests. Cain knows who he means, six older Dwarven miners, all tough as nails, plus they''ll have Rock Golem summons they usually use for digging. "They''re fun. Plus they can likely take the average Demon in a fist fight despite being Mages." Dimnys agrees. "That works, you two can ask them toe along. The more strong fighters we have ready for the Ogres the better." Tomorrow is looking like a lot of fun. With so many people and a higher level dungeon they''ll be rolling in the experience. "Could you take weaker members too? The Orphanage has a couple of young Mages who could really use the help getting their level up before its time for them to get jobs." Triss asks. "How weak?" Misha asks skeptically. "Level 25. They''re still pretty young." Misha looks to Cain to turn her down softly. "Not this run, but I''ll take them to the Beastkin dungeonter to help them out." He says and the Dwarf gives him a big hug in thanks. Speaking of which, she''s got a system herself, a level 14 warrior, so she''s never really fought. You can get that much experience doing job quests by her age. Maybe she''ll want to tag along one day. The next day starts with free entertainment. Morgan has found Nathaniel in the tavern and grabbed him into a hug, burying his face in her prodigious chest. "Nate! I''m back, did you miss me? Don''t worry I''ll keep you safe in the dungeon." The girl gushes, shaking him back and forth. If the others didn''t know she was a fire Mage they''d never have guessed. The tall and heavily muscled half orc has chosen ck short shorts with a crop top as her armor of choice and her pale green skin is littered with savage looking tattoos. Her long ck Mohawk is deadlocked and the sides of her head tattooed in a tribal pattern. In contrast, her brother is clean shaven, crew cut and wearing a neatly pressed tabard over his polished te armor. He''s even bigger than she is, standing about 220cm tall, where she''s only a bit smaller than Cain''s 195cm. Ghaz is big enough he could be a full blooded Orc, if not for his slightly more human appearance. "Mork, put him down before he suffocates. Haven''t I told you to be gentle with Elves?" he asks and Morgan flips him off. "I just missed him, and don''t call me Mork." She retorts, but does set the Elf down. That''s when the Earth Magese in and look around at the assembled group, beforeughing and heading to the breakfast buffet. "Now this is a Guild. Bit of everything you might need, plus they''ve got food and whiskey." Shovel Face cheers them, and Cain makes a round of introductions. When they get to the gate guarding the dungeons the captain of the Sunnybrook Guard and a few of his elite warriors are gathered, looking startled to see this ragtag army headed their way. "Darklight Host and friends? We were going to head back this morning, we just had to drop off some documents for the Dwarven King. From the look of it they told you the trick to the Demon Raid. Care forpany?" he asks. Well, that would make an even 25 party members, so why not. Lickity adds them to the party and she chuckles at how Morgan hovers over Nathaniel when the lone female Pdin in their group looks his way. "Don''t we have too many?" The Pdin asks, doing a head count. "Don''t worry, a few of our members are summons. The dungeon only counts them if you ask it to.." Cain exins, leading the group towards the portal with a smile. Chapter 103 - 103 Cain calls all the rest of the summons the moment he enters the dungeon and the party forms ranks behind him. "Impressive Summoned Army." Ghaz nods, petting the head of a Lamia. "For the new arrivals, we''re going to be here all day. We''ve got an experience buff in effect and want to get close to level 80 before it wears off." Cain exins and they nod. Limited time group experience buffse up as system quest rewards now and then. 5 levels seems insane, but the Dwarven Earth Mages have called nearly 2 dozen small Earth Golems to bolster their numbers, so it might be possible. If not in one day, over the next few days. This won''t be an easy day though. The demons are all level 90 and epic quality. Cain records the forms for the first batch, all new to him, and sends forth the Wrath Bringers to get things started. Even with all the buffs they get from the party, the Wrath Bringers have a hard time going toe to toe with these demons, being staggered by their blows and sometimes even knocked back. On the other hand, The Mages are all enjoying the fight immensely, the abundance of mana Totems lets them spam their best damage abilities over and over without running out of mana or using potions. The fight is like pulling five boss monsters at once, it takes them nearly ten minutes to eliminate the single group, but they''ve almost done it when a patrol catches sight of them. "Finish the first group. I''ll send tanks to hold the others for now." Cain calls, diverting four of the eight Wrath Bringers to deal with the four Subus patrol. Their whips are beyond troublesome, sneaking past the tanks every few strikes to snap at party members. Even the webs of the Bodyguard spiders barely slow them before being torn apart. They''re not as poison resistant as the first group though, and the damage is building up, bringing them down in short order. "The experience here is amazing. How big did you say that experience bonus was?" Ghaz asks between swings of his two handed axe. "Not sure. Bonus just said greatly increases party experience gained." Cain calls back, putting more Arrows into a dying Demon. That''s the description he saw on a quest reward offered by the Hall, so it should be a believable cover story. "Will, I''m d you let use along. I''ve already leveled up once. Didn''t think I''d get there for a few weeks yet." Morganughs. "You hear that Nathaniel? You woman is getting strong to take care of her Healer." Cixelcid teases, causing Nathaniel to release a long suffering sigh. There''s no time to retort though, they''ve attracted another group and the Clerics have their hands full with an area damage fire spell. Every Demon they meet here is entirely new to Cain''s record, adding to the total count for V''s next upgrade, but many aren''t Golem Forms he can use. Instead they''re listed as [Commander] or [Epic] type Golem summons. A few of the very strongest even came up as [Demon Noble] types and Cain has no idea what ability will be able to use them. At level 80 he''s supposed to get an upgrade to his Supporters, so maybe level 90 or 100 he will get ess to new sses of Golems? As the day wears on and the day inside the dungeon starts to fade to night, Cain has managed to find 223 out of the 250 Demon types needed to upgrade V. But it''s time to go, they''ve had two meals in the dungeon already and everyone is exhausted. Just a few packs and they''ll be back at the exit. But the Demon Raid isn''t going to let them leave so easily. From the shadows near the gate an Incubus Night Stalker watches their approach, noting how the archer in an Incubus leather jacket gives the orders. If he can take that one out with a single strike it should break the group. The massive raiding party has started fighting the final group of Elite Gatekeepers, a form of Balrog with strong defensive magical skills. As he watches and waits a me circle hits the group, surely doing heavy damage. That''s his cue. The Night Stalker isn''t a durable Demon, he''s likely to only get one chance at this before they kill him, but he''s going to make his sacrifice worth it. [Critical Strike] [Back Attack Bonus] [Ignore Armor] 716 Damage Dealt. The strike brings Cain to his knees and he fires a multi shot of lightning Arrows in desperation. As the Arrows hit his attacker, webs fired by the Dread Spiders cocoon the Demon and Cain records the new form out of habit. [Warning 23hp remaining] shes across his screen before the healing ticks and then the spells start flooding in. "Something almost brought Cain down in one strike? How is that even possible?" Kone gasps. "Well, he is a ranged ss." Morgan shrugs, used to surprise attacks dealing heavy damage. "No, you don''t understand, he''s got like 800 hit points." Kone says and everyone except the summons stops what they''re doing to look at her. "He''s got what now?" Shovel Face asks. "She''s right, that hit did over 700 damage. I don''t know what sort of Demon that was, but I hope we never see one again." Cain says, getting to his feet. He checks his logs to see what it was [Legendary Supporter Recorded: Incubus Night Stalker] "My identification skill says it was a Legendary quality Demon. I''ve never seen one, but I don''t think they''re going to be a regr thing. We will have to do a better job of our lookout though, I would hate to lose anyone. With that they hurry out into Graska, not rxing until Cain exits, making that everyone out safely. The spiders are all over him, as if apologizing profusely and he pats their heads in constion. "Not your fault, you can''t intercept every attack." It doesn''t seem to reassure them, but Cain dismisses them anyhow, the Graska city guards likely wouldn''t appreciate poisonous spider Kin in the city scaring the locals.. Even if they are friendly summons. Chapter 104 - 104 Once everyone is past the shock of the near assassination, the excitement of the day begins to settle in. Even the strongest of them got multiple levels today. The per kill experience was equivalent to a regr boss fight, and they came in groups. While the dungeon was incredibly dangerous and difficult, the reward was worth the effort. With an easier day tomorrow Cain should reach level 80, and a day after that at thetest almost all of the others should have too. The push today was good for everyone, but they are utterly exhausted. Everyone grabs a room at one of the two Guild houses, as they''re the closest sleeping spot to the dungeon and falls asleep right after dinner. Morning brings muted excitement, the prospect of level 80 and the benefits thate with it have everyone excited, but it''s still quite early. All the city leaders are expecting an attack any day now, and nobody wants to be caught out trying to level up when they''re needed to defend their hometown. Morgan has taken the opportunity of Nathaniel being half awake to style his hair and prepare his breakfast, under the pretense of keeping him from beingte for the raid. Ghaz fully supports his sister''s conquest, and thinks it''s hrious, or maybe he''sughing at the fact she managed to give Nathaniel a Mohawk without him noticing. It''s slowly settling out into a spiky updo though, so she didn''t set it well enough. Once everyone is fed and ounted for Lickity forms the raid group for the day and they head out, drawing cheers from the kids at the Orphanage next door. Upon arriving in the Raid dungeon they find that it is very different than the predictable regr dungeonyout. In fact, this isn''t even the same basic ruined world setting as yesterday, it''s a gue Demon Realm. But there''s demons, and they look angry, so it''s time to fight. With the first few groups easily eliminated Caines to a set of realizations. First, this realm is a quantity over quality sort of ce. Instead of Epic Quality demons in small groups, it''s mostly pestilent Hordes. Secondly, this is both an opportunity and a conundrum. If Cain''s theory that the target for hispanions advancement matters, advancing V here might have unwanted side effects unless they can find the right target. On he other hand, getting the rest of the demons needed has been simple. Only two more are needed, so he needs an appropriate target for the Quest, and he needs to tell his party what''s going on. There a few groups ahead of them is one that looks promising. A gue Pdin. It looks rtively normal, no boils, dangling innards or anything which is a good start. There''s a squire with it that''s also a new type of Demon to Cain, which willplete the quest. "Everyone, gather up a second. I''ve got an ongoing quest, so when we attack that Pdin up ahead it will upgrade into a boss type monster. When we kill it, the quest will upgrade V, so it''s fairly important to me that we don''t skip this. Any objections?" "Go for it. V is a beast, if she can be an Epic Companion who knows how cool she will be." Kone cheers. Nobody speaks against the n, so they clear the first group, careful not to get their acidic bodily fluids on anyone not a Summon. Next they attack the second group and Cain records first the Squire and then the Pdin after waiting for the other targets to be killed. The horrific truth of the gue Pdin bes apparent after the first attack it makes. The pestilence debuff it applies spreads to all enemies within 3 meters of anyone with the debuff. The debuff is so virulent it even spreads between pulses of the Cleansing Totem Char has put out, requiring Kone and her clones to cast additional cleanses to stop the spread. "Melee pull back. Summons only within 5 meters of the boss." Cain calls to the group. The summons in close to the boss are dying on a regr basis, but now the party members are safe. Cain also pulls back the original V so she''s alive when the questpletes. Nemu seemed to have some input into her transformation, so that must matter. Hopefully the girls can''t turn V into something strange with their love of all things Fluffy. [Quest Complete: Configuring Epic Companion] [Title Earned: Loyal Companion] achieve perfect uptime for apanion between Greater and Epic upgrades to earn an additional skill. [Companion Item Gained: gue Eater] Two Handed Sword. gue damage done by party members heals the bearer. Damage increases with level. [Shared Skill Learned: Pestilence] Passive. Rapid spreading debuff. Deals gue Damage to infected targets. Epic doesn''t even begin to cover what they just gained. Even as prepared as their group is, they had a hard time dealing with [Pestilence]. That skill will absolutely decimate crowded enemy armies. V still looks pretty much the same. She''s a bit taller, the ck metal armor on her wings now has Spiked chains hanging from it, and there''s a belt made of simrly vicious looking chain. Her Horns now have Gold streaks and her ck armor has Gold trim on the solid tes. Everything about her gives the impression of power and a sense of nobility. "If she fights as good as she looks the rest of us probably don''t need to be here." Shovel Face the Dwarven Earth Mage jokes. But he''s a bit right. With the additional damage and toughness from Cain''s gear plus her self healing and pestilence, she could probably solo most dungeons. "What else did you gain besides the fancy sword and the pestilence skill?" Cain asks V once she finishes doing a spin for everyone to inspect her new appearance. "Just a bit of debuff resistance. Everything else stayed the same except my damage and Stat modifiers. Epic Companions truly are Epic. The two of us could almost be a dungeon boss ourselves." the Demon jokes. But, looking at her stats in his screen, she''s right. She''s tougher than the Epic level monsters they faced yesterday, so she could be a boss of sorts. "Alright, Questpleted.. Let''s try these skills out and get us some experience." Chapter 105 - 105 The new Pestilence skill has both advantages and disadvantages. It spreads to an entire group almost instantly, and few can resist it, but unlike poison it doesn''t stack. Secondarily, it''s a passive, so if you''re looking to assassinate a target without alerting those around them, it''s not happening. Unless those people are not allies with them or enemies to you. In their current situation Pestilence is amazing, and Cain can''t wait to try it out inside the Beastkin dungeon where everything crowds around them by the entry. Unlike the early day they had nned, the raid ends up grindingte into the afternoon, as a few members were very close to hitting level 80. After that the experience per level is insane, level 75 to 80 takes the same as 80 to 81. No wonder everyone gets stuck at or near level 80 in the valley. Even in the Demon Raid, the toughest fights they''ve seen so far, and with Cain''s experience bonus it''s still going to take multiple days per level. Though they did get their highest levelpanions fromte level 80 almost to 82 in only two days, which shocked and impressed them all. Cain smiles as he looks through the party status and sees a wall of level 80 tags. Mission aplished, they got everyone to the essential break point for the battle against the Ogres, and most of them have gotten some amazing new skills. Misha decided her healing was sufficient for now, so she went with a mana coat reduction talent that should let her heal indefinitely even without a totem, in her current gear. Mythryll got a sweet new [Forest Guardian] Treant that grants her a nature armor buff when active and makes an excellent Tank for when Cain isn''t around. Char got doubled effectiveness on her Totems, plus a Rank A [Tornado] book drop. and Candia, the lucky one of the day got a Rank S shing Wave Spell that can create a tsunami almost 30 meters wide. Plus she got new ss abilities at 60, 70 and level 80 over thest couple days that have greatly increased her mobility and single target damage. Cain dismisses his Supporters and calls them back, checking the changes now that they''re [Advanced Supporters]. They can now use all of a cloned target''s skills, with a reduced effect, but the non ss skills are modified by Cain''s own stats, which makes them fairly effective still. Plus the Supporters get full effect from the cloned target''s equipment. The only sad part is that he can''t clone himself. He''s an invalid target but it was worth a shot. Level 90 he is supposed to get another Supporter, which is always nice, and now that he''s level 80, he can see that his progression tree wille up with a skill option at level 100. The very first time he will get to choose between skills, and he can''t wait to see what they''ll be, even if level 100 is still a long ways away. But even more importantly, he now has 25 Stat points to spend. Which means one thing. 100 INT [Name] Cain [Level] 80 [ss] Puppet Master [Race] Human [Stats] 25->0 [STR] 125 [DEX] 100 [CON] 100 [INT] 75 ->100 [HP] 800 [MP] 375-> 1000 [Notice: Beginning From INT 100 Summons Gain Spell Power and MP From INT] [New Skill Avable: Summon Lesser Sorcerer] Mage Type only. That''s exactly what Cain was hoping for, the MP modifier doubled at 100 like HP did. That should be his final basic form of Golems before the choice at level 100, he will just need to raise his stats to get the greater versions. How high isn''t specified, but Cain is reasonably sure it will work. They''re only a few minutes from the exit, taking a break to get organized before the final push to the exit, so Cain takes the time to decide what he needs for a Mage type Golem. Naga Wave Casters? Ogre Mages? Maybe Lich Lords? They''re great Mages, plus they can curse to weaken enemies and call forth Skeletons. Yes, tiny stabby skeletons are the answer to everything. He will get four Lich Lords, so that should be a reasonable number of additional skeletons. "I got a new Summon ability, Mage type Golems, so don''t panic when the Lich Lords appear." Cain calls to the party, having learned it''s best not to freak everyone out with suddenly appearing monsters. As soon as they appear themands them to Summon their defensive Skeletons and gets a menu notification. [Lesser Skeletons Avable: Warrior, Mage, Archer] That''s even better. Make it two of warriors, one of Mages and one of archers. These skeletons are definitely cute. They''re about 100cm tall with sword and buckler shield warriors, wands for the Mages and low quality wooden bows for the archers. The groupughs at his tiny Undead army, but Cain is impressed. Each Lich called 5 tiny Skeletons, so he''s got another 20 Undead on top of his 4 new Mages. They''re not exactly effective, but they''re adorable enough it doesn''t matter. Every time they get hit they copse into a pile of bones and reform to keep fighting. They can be almost as effective as the Spider webs for crowd control though, as enemies tend to trip on the loose bones, leaving them vulnerable. The Mages are a waste, they run out of mana right away and just start stabbing with their wands, so Cain won''t use them again. The archers seem to have unlimited ammunition hidden in their ribcage, so they''re a keeper. Maybe not quite unlimited, Cain now notices they go picking the Arrows up between fights and sticking them back into the shadows of their chest. The rest of the run goes smoothly, with the party members cheering on the tiny Skeletons as they attack the legs of enraged gue demons. Honestly, they''re in the way, but it''s entertaining. If there isn''t an urgent reason why he might need the skeletons, Cain decides this skill will more often be used to Summon Blight Demon Mages. They also cause a cripple debuff, plus they''ve got both area and single target attack magic where the Lich is more focused on exotic debuffs and single target damage. One celebration isn''t enough for today''s advancements. Too many have hit level 80 to celebrate in one location. The Darklight Host will be holding one in their tavern along with the Dwarves, while Ghaz, Morgan and the Elves from Sunnybrook will be holding theirs at the usual tavern there. The Guild has promised to drop in to celebrate, so they''ll go early and start the party in Graskater.. The Dwarves are much more amenable to drinking until morning anyhow. Chapter 106 - 106 Kone had the right idea all along, Cain decides the next afternoon when he wakes up with Nemu draped across him. It''s all about the fluff. Shifting around to see the state of the party''s aftermath he finds no fewer than fifteen people passed out in his room, both Nemus plus Misha and Mythryll in his bed, then the V twins and Dimnys drinking in the tub along with Morgan and a very threatened looking Nathaniel. "Didn''t your brother tell you to be gentle with Elves?" Cain jokes, trying not to wake the others as he gets out of bed, opting to simply transfer Nemu over on top of Misha. "I am gentle, see. No marks or bruises at all." Morgan announces, proud of herself. "I''m going to find some breakfast, if anyone''s interested. I''m sure the others will be awake soon." Cainughs, headed for the door, chased by a dripping wet Elven cleric in his underwear. "I''ll join you. Enjoy the tubdies." Nathaniel calls as he runs away to the sounds of quietughter. "It''s not that I don''t like her you see, it''s just that she is terrifying. You understand, right?" He exins, equipping a robe as he catches up to Cain. "Certainly. She''s persistent though, so I''m sure you''ll have time to get used to her, as long as you don''t do anything too horrible to make her leave." Cain pats the Guild member on the shoulder. "We''ll be living at our Guild House in Sunnybrook for most of a year this time, I''ve got high hopes for the pair of you." a somewhat haggard Ghaz jokes, emerging from a room that seems to still have a number of female Dwarves sleeping in it. That party really did get out of hand. Brunch is ready by the time they get down to the kitchen, loading tes and returning to the tavern, stepping over slowly awakening party goers to reach a booth. Triss and a few other girls from the Orphanage bring up the buffet setup to get everyone fed and mobile for the day, the girls hired as maids having all started their day cleaning the Sunnybrook house as every room of the Graska house, including the floor in the forge, is upied. "You''ll have a time of it today, getting everyone fed so they can get moving. Get Gramps to pay any extra hands you need from the Guild funds. I''m not sure where he went though." Cain smiles at everyone bringing the food upstairs. "He''s one of the Dwarves asleep on the floor by the forge. Says the heat helps the old joints." Trissughs. Konees down from her room with a dozen or so young girls from next door as soon as the smell of food begins to spread. Looks like they decided on a sleepover, since everyone else was having an all night party anyhow. Triss brings out a jug of spiced milk to go with the usual juice, coffee and mead in the breakfast selections and the kids cheer. Spiced milk isn''t particrly expensive, but it''s more expensive than having the orphans drink tea with breakfast, so it''s a luxury. Cain decides to keep his word right away, so he calls Triss over as the evening''s guests begin to file out for the day. "I''m going to head into the Beastkin dungeon today for just a little while. Would you like to grab the couple of Mages you mentioned being in need of some additional levels and join me?" he asks. "Me, join you? I''m not much of a fighter. I just happened to awaken my interface while very young and didn''t know about the random ss generator." Sheughs. "No need to find them either, they''re already here." Kone indicates a pair of young Dwarves barely into their teens, drinking spiced milk and eating chocte chip pancakes. "Well, if our resident Druid is up for it, that makes five if youe along. I''ll excuse you from work for the day and I''m sure the others won''t mind an extra paid hour or two to cover your chores will they?" The others definitely won''t mind the work. There''s lots of them here, and the Guild pays well thanks to Gramps soft spot for the orphan kids. He even sends them on make work projects to drag out a little extra time if they haven''t found much other worktely. Nobody in the Guild has done their own shopping since the first day thanks to that system. "Isn''t the dungeon a bit high level though? We''re only level 25." One of the Mages asks. "Don''t worry, our technique brings the monsters to us, so you''ll just have to sit by the gate while the fighting goes on around you." Cain smiles and Kone chuckles, remembering what happens when very low levels go into a very high level dungeon for a carry. Plus, this one is fifteen level higher than the one in Sunnybrook, and the others, but especially Triss, are even lower level than Kone herself was when the Darklight Host started power leveling her. "If you''re sure it''s safe, I''m all for it. A few levels would really help with the strength Stat to make my work easier." Triss finally agrees. Cain gathers up V and Nemu, informing the Guild members that are currently in the tavern that they''re off to go help some orphans level, causing those in the know to burst intoughter and wave him on his way. The usual guard is at the gate this morning, giving them an odd look about bringing more children into the Dungeon. Sure, Kone is tough, but the Dwarf knows these kids are just average kids, even if Triss is mostly grown. "You sure about that then?" he asks as they walk up. "We''re good! We''ve got a n to protect them in the middle while we fight." the Spirit Folk Druid assures him while Cain calls out the Greater Golems as well as the Blight Demon Mages. The little skeletons were fun, and a load of extra experience, but today calls for much more area damage that the Lich Lords and skeletons just can''t achieve. The Blight Demon Mages have an area attack that spreads [Weakness] and will greatly increase the enemies damage taken. They set up in their usual cluster by the gate, the Young Dwarves having copsed from the flood of notifications the second they entered, due to the opponents that always crowd the door. "Don''t worry, eventually the notifications slow down until you can function again. I know, it happened to me once too." Koneughs in shared misery before returning to the fight. Thebination of Pestilence and V''s group heal on hit had made her job here very, very easy. Mostly she''s just cheering on her Bears, and the ones called by the clones of her that Cain summoned. The clones do significantly more damage now than she remembers them doing, a result of Cain''s upgrade in INT, as their damage is based off the Casters spell power. All of the summons seem to have gotten a huge boost in thest few days, they''re cutting through the Beastkin almost as fast as they appear, no huge crowds this time. But just how long are these Dwarves going to be out? Chapter 107 - 107 The answer to how long they''ll be out is 45 minutes. That''s how long it takes them to get the notifications under control and get past the dizziness. If they''re functional, that means they''ve gotten enough levels to safely be here, even if they''re not equipped for it, or capable of clearing it on their own. "Do you want to do your skills in here and test them now, or take some time to think about them and test them another day?" Cain asks. "If we cane back that would be great. I''ve got so many skill points that I could go down two different paths at once, and I don''t want to mess my development up with poor choices because I''m in a hurry." One of the Mages says wisely and the other one nods in agreement. "You''ll have to check your inventory afterwards too. It''s set to standard loot so the dungeon itself assigns the drops however it feels like. You might have gotten a skill book or a really good piece of armor that will influence your choices." Cain adds and they all look excited as they back out the gate, Cain taking up the final position and dismissing the extra summons as he steps out. The gate guard has cautioned them not to mention any drops in public, giving essential advice that Cain himself should have done, so they had back to the Guild House to sort their loot. "That was quick. Got the kids a few levels for the day and came back for a snack?" Ghaz asks when he sees them returning. "Power Leveling is evil. Pure evil in a way the demons themselves couldn''t imagine." Triss responds with a frown and Koneughs. "But you''re strong now. How did you do on levels anyhow?" "I got up to level 51 and the Mages are level 54 now. I can''t imagine what would happen if we stayed in there all day." Trissughs, eyes vacant as she looks at her inventory. "You recovered faster than I would have expected. I thought you''d be out until nearly level 60." Cain grins and the Mages shake their head. "I would say you should have warned us, but no warning would be sufficient to exin what just happened in that dungeon without seeing it for yourself." The smaller of the Mages adds. "Get anything good? Everyone here can be trusted." "I got a Rank C [Greater Rock Shaping] spell. It''s amazing for sculptors and architects." One Mage confirms. "I got a Rank A [Stone Rain] spell that looks pretty good. I don''t know if it''s any use outsidebat, but at least it doesn''t sh with the Earth Mages path if I can get an apprenticeship to be a miner or a Smith." The other grins. "No skill books for me, but I got a sweet piece of armor that reduces stamina usage to half. That could be useful at work." Triss says and Cain can see she''s about to equip it. "Wait, wait. First try, change in a private room. We learned all about wardrobe malfunctions from the Demon Dungeon." Cain reminds her before she can do something dangerous. Shees out of the back room a few secondster in a very low cut dress that ends below her knees. The only sign of armor on it is a te belt, but the way that it sits Cain suspects there''s armor underneath. "It''s a chain mail piece, but it fits very well." She nods looking down at herself. It''s a fairly bright sky blue with ck fur trim around her cleavage. much more normal than Cain had expected from the Beastkin dungeon. "Looks great on you." Cain smiles, making her blush at thepliment, while everyone else present nods their agreement. This is the point when Ghaz realizes Triss has no idea what she''s doing, and probably hasn''t yet allocated her new wealth of skill points. There are a few mistakes he wishes he hadn''t made while leveling, as options don''t always be visible until you''ve filled the prerequisites, so he takes her aside to help her n her path. As durable as she is now, there''s no reason she couldn''t do dungeons in Sunnybrook with the Guild if she wanted, or even tag along on Beastkin dungeon runs. Though the way Cain does them, about anyone could join that particr run. He drops in to see that Ghaz has drawn out a chart of the avable skill options he has learned, and that he has learned about from others. Triss never learned the non ss skills taught in school, but with as much money as the Guild is making it would be no problem to buy them for her if she wanted to regrly enter the dungeons. The ss skill list looks fairlyprehensive though, the skills warriors learn in school are mostly variations of things they will learn at a higher levelter, and Triss has gained so many levels at once that she can pick a lot. Tanking definitely isn''t her thing, so Ghaz is pointing out the skills that would be most useful to the damage type warriors. they''vee up with a pretty good path, and without the wasted skills that are only useful at the start and don''t lead to things they will needter, she''s got a fair number of points left over once their path isplete. They are trying to decide between a few durability skills and a very mediocre stamina skill, when Cain points out a path nobody in Ghaz''s notes had explored. The brawling path. It starts at level 40 with a damage buff that makes fists gain a big increase in damage, and gives a small strength buff, but that''s all that''s noted. "Bartenders throw a lot of drunks out to settle their differences in the street. That might be a useful path for Triss. Plus, every skill costs one point per rank, so getting extra higher level skills is probably a better deal than a bunch of lower level ones while you''ve got points saved." Cain suggests. He''s got a point, they just don''t know what wille once they start into the skill tree. Which makes it a bit of a risk, but one Triss is willing to take, even if it''s just for the extra thumping abilities when it''s time to knock heads together. She spends her points for the optimal damage type warrior path and then puts a single point into Brawling to see what happens. There are three levels to the skill, and once they''re done the warrior will get ess to two more skills. First, an option to put points into grappling, to pin opponents more effectively than the lower level grab skills. Second is the Endurance skill, which gives a lot of base strength and greatly reduces stamina usage. Another very useful one for a barmaid or housekeeper. The points to into Brawling and then the necessary single point into Endurance. That unlocks the steel skin ability, a single Rank Armor upgrade. Instead, she opts to put a point into grappling next, which lets her see a Dwarf exclusive skill called [Might of Mountains] Every Rank into it increases strength and damage with fists or Gauntlet type weapons until only the very best of swords could keep up with her bare hands. There''s a lower level version of this skill for Swords and Axes that she also took. It''s not Dwarf exclusive, but they get a bonus to the modifier with Axes. This is definitely an improvement to her damage potential. Filling in Grappling and then Might of Mountains uses thest of her points, but she can see there is one more skill in the tree, [Pugilist]. You need to take every previous skill to get it, so only a Dwarf could unlock it, but it increases attack speed and damage even further when bare handed or using fist type weapons. "So about me not being much of a Warrior. Suppose I could tag along for one more run?" Her question causes both men to burst intoughter. Of course any self respecting Dwarf would prefer to have every skill in the Bar Fighting based tree if given the choice. They should have expected that. Gramps is curious about what they''re doing and puts on a smug grin when Triss exins. The Dark Dwarves consider that the hidden skill tree, as if you put a single point into defensive skills down the Tank type skill path, as almost everyone does while leveling, due to excess points andck of options at lower levels, it be unavable beyond the Brawling skill. But with Steel Skin being mandatory to unlock Pugilist, the bare knuckle fighter should still be survivable enough in heavy armor. There''s also a Dwarf exclusive skill set at level 80 for Hammer and Axe damage that she will still be able to take if she makes it that far, but being able to keep the tavern under control is enough for the work minded youngster, at least for now. Chapter 108 - 108 Most of the Guild, Cain and Kone included, filters back to the Sunnybrook house for the rest of the day, not wanting to miss the news should the Ogres attack again. The city officials have promised to alert all the Guilds and issue Quests when the timees for an offensive, but Sunnybrook''s defensive situation is still in question, as they''re not sure what will happen to the survivors after the Ogre King was killed. Will his heir continue the attacks? Will they pick another city, or maybe even just go home? Nobody knows yet. Since they''ve got a day off, everyone decides to go for snacks in the shopping district while they wait for news on the Ogres. Being level 80 in Sunnybrook is drawing an excessive amount of attention though. Many transfers leave the status bars visible at all times, which lets them see if a passerby is gged as a criminal, but also gives an idea of their rtive levels. Much of Sunnybrook is in the level 55 to 60 range. Seeing transfers tagged as being more than 20 levels higher than them is a shock. The Naga Raid is level 70, but that''s not a fast or easy way to get to level 80. They''re all gathered chatting around a crepe stand, waiting for Triss and Gramps, who joined themte after taking care of business for the morning, to finish eating. They''re headed back to Graska after this, but the crepes were too good to pass up. "Actually, could we get thirty more assorted crepes to bring home for friends?" Cain asks the shopkeeper and winks at Gramps. The kids next door and the two staff who didn''t want toe out this morning are sure to enjoy a sweet snack too, they''re not something usually on the menu in Graska. That might change though, Gramps loves them, and is threatening violence if there is no whipped cream and fruit in the kitchen tomorrow morning. The shopkeeper has just finished their order when the attack rm begins to re. "What in the world is that? Make it stop." Gramps called out, annoyed. "It''s the attack rm, the city is under attack by Ogres again. The houses have enchantments to mute it. They''ll have Guild and Raid quests up in just a moment though and it''s customary for all Guilds not currently upied to help out." Misha informs him. "Well, I should get going then. Triss, you stay here with the other young folk, it sounds like they can use the help." Gramps says getting to his feet just as the sound of siege weapons hitting the walls begins. Whoever is leading this attack isn''t messing around or waiting for his forces to form ranks like the previous king did. Cain begins handing Triss gear from the Guild bank as they run for the Hall to grab the quest and join Raid party, gathering up other small Guilds as they go. The Mass of high level transfers is like a beacon, drawing out everyone they pass with a reasonable amount of fighting experience. The situation is much different this time, they discover when the quest goes up. There''s Ogres from not one but two different factions, and they''re working together well. One group charged the North and West Walls, while the other is firing siege weapons at the East and South. The defense force didn''t have time to form up outside, so they''re fighting from the walls, which have already started to take heavy damage. The siege weapons are out of arrow range, so they will need to be attacked before they can breach the wall, but the Ogres charging need to be stopped or they''ll climb it. The suddenness of the attack is making a mess of everything, so the two raid groups are deciding what to do. The final n is to have group 1 push out from the corner of the south wall, preventing the attackers along the west wall from attacking group 2 as they run towards the tree line and attack the crews working the siege weapons. They''ll work their way East while group 1 moves towards the north and hopefully meet at the opposite corner of the city when they''ve finished their task. Once a gate is safe to open, the defense force will charge out to join them, until then they''ll be fighting from behind the walls using Archers and their own siege weapons. At first the Guilds think getting over the wall safely will be the hard part, but with Cain along, it''s much easier than anticipated. A shoulder to shoulder wall of Ogres is ideal territory for the Pestilence debuff to spread, straining their healers and starting to whittle away at the Ogres health. Then he calls the majority of his summons on to the ground at the base of the wall, driving the Ogres back from the spot the Guilds have dropped the ropedders. It''s a smooth process and in only a few minutes they''ve established Beachhead in the southwest corner of town. Group 1 leads, pushing the Ogres north, leaving a gap between the siege weapons fire and the meleebatants that group 2 exploits to get to the tree line. From the sound ofbat and the fires that are spreading, the siege engines weren''t particrly well defended at that corner, and they''re making good headway. The cripple debuff from the gue Demon Mages doesn''t spread as virulently as the Pestilence debuff does, but the Ogres are seriouslycking in the ability to cleanse it, letting it spread all through the west and north wall attackers. Thebination of the two is enough that the archers on the walls are now beginning to visibly thin the Ogre ranks, even before the transfers have begun to really work their way across. While the battle is going far better than expected, within the Darklight Host, a cold war is brewing. Inbat, Misha always stands next to Cain. Has since the party was just the two of them. But today, Nemu had decided that is her spot, stealthily sneaking between the two every time the opportunity presents itself. Cain is too busy to have noticed but Mythryll, standing on his other side, but far enough away to allow the mental battle between Misha and the Felian to happen unhindered, is greatly enjoying the show.. Even Morgan has noticed the fight for supremacy, causing her to pull closer to Nathaniel and mouth the words "thieving cat" at Mythryll when the two lock eyes in amusement. Chapter 109 - 109 Cain does eventually notice their antics, when Nemu gets so into it that only one of them is ying abat buff. "What are you doing? Stop stealing Misha''s spot and get back to casting. You can take the other side if it means that much to you." He says, thumping the Felian on the head before petting her ears and returning to the fight. The happy look on Misha''s face doesn''t go unnoticed by the otherdies who share a meaningful nce at the two. Mythryll knows they''ve casually shared a bed more than once in every sense of the phrase, but now that she has a rival, theid back cleric seems determined to move things into a more solid direction. While Nemu is sweet and cuddly in her own way, the Mage is still cheering on Misha''s chance tond herself the man she wants once and for all. Now that she''s finally decided to make her move that is. Unlike Nemu, who needs to y an instrument constantly for one of her buffs, Misha has some free time on her hands. The why of that is simple, an overlooked interaction between V''s new Pestilence Skill and her ability to heal the group for a percentage of damage done. The widespread Pestilence is sending a significant amount of healing outwards, but the gear they picked for her adds forty points to every heal she does. So every half second when the pestilence effect sends a raid wide heal out, it gets enhanced. The transfers are all well geared, but unlike Cain with his huge reserve of health, three hundred HP is all most of them have. A third or more of their health passively every second leaves the healers free to cast whatever damaging abilities they have and only intervene when someone takes a particrly hard hit or gets Poisoned or cursed. There''s a lull in the fighting while the Ogres regroup and the raid party moves around the corner from the west wall to the north, so Misha takes a page out of Nemu''s y book and rubs up against Cain, which he responds to with an arm wrapped around her waist and a smile before kissing the top of her head. Nemu makes a disgruntled noise at what she views as an unfair use of her techniques, attracting attention from many raid party members, most of whom don''t know that Nemu is a Summon and only see two women fighting for the Puppet Master''s attention. The sight brightens their mood, if the strongest among them have time to flirt and y around, certainly the city can''t be in too dire of a state. The North Wall has already been over half cleared by thebination of rapidly spreading debuffs and the archers on the walls, leaving Ogre bodies littered all over the ground. The raid group pushed hard into the survivors, targeting the leaders and healers as much as they can, knowing that without organization this offensive against the city is doomed. The sound of siege weapons has be sporadic too, so the fight at the other sides must not be going too badly. Cain hasn''t seen any Royalty or special units yet though, so unless they''re all with the siege weapons, this offensive is unlikely to be thest one in the immediate future. Disappointment awaits them when they meet up with the other raid party in the Northeast corner of the city, no seniormand elements were found. Which can only mean this was a test of Sunnybrook''s defenses and they''re going to return. Finding the base camp of the Ogres has proven extremely elusive though, stifling all attempts to head off the attacks. Many scouts have been sent out, but most returned having found no sign, like the Ogres simply vanished. The rest simply vanished themselves. That is the topic of conversation in the Darklight Host Guild House today. "I say I head out with whoever wants to apany me and search for signs of a hidden dungeon. If Elven scouts can''t find them, there''s a good chance they''re not keeping a massive army out in the open. The guards near the known dungeons haven''t been attacked, so they''re not hiding in one of them." Cain begins. "So like the one we found in the woods on the way here? The one with the hot springs in the final boss room?" Mythryll nods her understanding. That dungeon wasn''t entirely unknown, they''d heard rumors of it, but it was unguarded and hidden in the woods. In fact, it might be close enough to be included in their search. The biggest problem will be finding signs of the Ogres. They don''t have a Ranger skilled in tracking within the Guild, and anyone else might miss the signs mostly covered by magic as the Ogres retreated. This is a conundrum for Cain. Should he post a quest? Try to recruit someone into the Guild? "We need a Ranger with good tracking abilities for this. Any suggestions?" he asks the gathered Guild Members. "Spirit Folk Rangers get an even bigger bonus to tracking monsters than Elves do. The Elves get a bigger bonus to tracking humans and animals." Kone points out. "I know where we can find just the right Ranger. Want me to go invite them to the Guild?" Char asks hopefully. Cain isn''t sure if this Ranger will be smol and cute or if it will be fluffy, but if Char thinks they''re prefect they''re almost guaranteed to be one of the two. "Sure, bring them by and if nobody objects we will have a new Guild member." Misha nods, as Cain looks lost in thought. Char hurries out, as the day is beginning to gette, and the others chat about possible locations for a hidden dungeon that wouldn''t have attracted attention. In under an hour, Char has returned with her chosen Ranger. At first Cain thinks she''s brought them an Elf, but the ears aren''t long. No, the girl she brought appears to be a human, every bit a ragged as Kone was when they first met. Her equipment is of good quality, so she''s obviously been to at least a few dungeons, but it''s pretty beat up and covered in dirt and mud. Are they perhaps running a goodwill for unfortunate youngdies? Because as far as Cain can tell, that''s almost all they seem to attract to the Guild. "This Ranger here has the best nose in the Elven woods. A transfer, not a local. Go ahead, introduce yourself." Char pushes the short human forward. Upon closer inspection, she''s not a child, just very short for a human. She must have set her character parameters all to minimum except her breasts. The sort of thing Cain would expect a guy ying a female ss in a game to do, but the transfer system locked them to only one sex or the other. He couldn''t pick any female ss options. "Hello everyone. My name is Belle, I''m a level 55 Ranger, with Maxed tracking, and some Concealment skills. I prefer Archery, but I do have some meleebat affinity." Elmira, their sugar loving Pixie is circling around her head, giving her an inspection. "You''re not a human are you? You look like one, but you don''t feel like one." She insists, poking at Belle''s face as it it would change or break an illusion. "I''m actually a werewolf. I used the random character creation and got a basic ss, but a hidden race." She confirms. That really might be perfect. Aren''t Werewolves supposed to have a really great sense of smell? Cain smiles in victory. "I think Char was right, you''re just what we need. Would you like to join the Darklight Host, Belle?" Chapter 110 - 110 "You''ll take me? As a full member, no prospecting?" Belle asks hopefully and Char gives her a hug. "What that other guild did isn''t normal. You''ll be a full member, with pay and benefits as soon as you join." The Shaman assures her. [Exploitative contract, took 100 percent of her drops and then required additional daily payments on top. They even made her sleep in the yard, saying she would get a room when her trial was done, but their members list is full.] Char sends in Guild chat. Cain had almost forgotten about that sort of douchebags. They''ve met so many good peopletely, and with him spending time in Graska where they see no transfers, he started getting used to the Dwarves "Everyone is equal to the skills they have." attitude towards life. Cain sends the Guild invitation right away, informing Belle to look it over carefully. "Will we need to do anything to break her old contract?" he asks Char, who shakes her head. "It had a two Gold coin penalty for breaking the contract, and I''ve already paid it at the hall. No worries there, we''re covered." She confirms. Good, it would be greatly annoying if another Guild sent guards andwyers toe after their item drops. "What is this part in the section about picking a room? Is there more than one house that counts as a Guild House, or are new recruits kept somewhere else?" Belle asks suspiciously. "We have houses here and in the city of Graska. The two are linked by a magical circle, so you can walk from one to the other. Want to see the avable rooms before you decide?" Cain asks and she nods. First up, they show her themon areas, the sitting room, the library, the games room and the big women''s bath before moving on to the freshly renovated basement here, which she is surprised to see isn''t thest option members would pick. "Dwarves like being underground and near a forge. It helps them sleep." Cain exins and Dimnys points out her room across from the forge. Then they go upstairs, showing her around the few empty rooms left on the top floor of the Sunnybrook house. She looks impressed, but not overwhelmed. But that''s probably going to change when she sees the unique opulence of the Graska house''s bedrooms. "Now, back to the basement and we will go to the Graska house." Cain leads the way through the portal, startling Gramps and Ragnar who are smelting ore into ingots at the Graska forge. "Just showing a new member around to pick out a bedroom. Belle, this is Gramps, in charge of the Graska house and Tavern, and Ragnar, one of our in house cksmiths." Belle greets them both and looks around the stone work of the Dwarven built house, marveling at the kitchen. "I''ve never seen a kitchen so magnificent in either world." She sighs, running her fingers along the shiny metal counters. "Oi, watch the hands or I''ll break your face." the sound of Triss''s angry voicees from the tavern upstairs and Belle startles before realizing it''s not directed at her. There''s music and many voicesing from the Tavern, they must be busy tonight. "Next up is the Tavern, expect it to be full of drunken Dwarves all night long, but it''s soundproof, so it won''t bother anyone else in the house. In fact, you can''t even hear it in the forge." Cain exins as they head upstairs. A group of young men wearing the Tailor''s Union crest is picking one of their members up off the floor andughing, while Triss scowls at them. "Got it all in hand?" Cain asks and she turns to smile at him. "That skill set is working out just fine for me. We''ll have to finish it up soon, these blokes are even more rowdy than I remember." Triss chuckles, keeping an eye on the two servers working here today. The Orphanage Matron has decided that Triss and Gramps will be full time employees here, while the other two workers they contracted the Orphanage for will cycle between the other kids, giving them all an equal chance at getting paid. Nobody really minds, most of the kids drop by to y or visit a couple times a week anyhow, so they''re not going to be getting any strangers. The two tonight have their hands full, there''s a Tailors hundredth birthday party going on, and the ce is packed full of Dwarves not just here to drink, but to eat too. In theory one of the girls serving food is the cook tonight, but they''re both upstairs delivering tters. "Need me to get Tanya and the girls in Sunnybrook to lend a hand? It looks like you''re all working double time." Cain asks and Triss shakes her head. "We''re good, we just had a big food ordere up all at once. After this they should be able to manage." The Dwarfughs, pouring more drinks. "Is she filling that mug entirely with whiskey?" Belle asks, crinkling her nose. "That one and a hundred more. Dwarven whiskey is a house favorite, and the stout hearted drink it like a fish does water." Cain says and the Dwarves around them cheer. "That''s a frightening level of alcohol tolerance." The werewolf shakes her head before Cain leads her out the other door and up the stairs to the Guild Member''s rooms. "Oh, these are nice. All the exotic wood smells so good. The Elves like just one sort of wood per building, but this, it all blends together. I can still pick out the individual rooms though." Belle exins, looking through the empty options. "Those two are bunk beds, and thest two are somewhat unique." Cain exins when they''re only a few doors from the end. They quickly look into the rooms with bunk beds, before moving on, everyone anticipating Belle''s reaction to thest few rooms. She starts to go right, but Cain stops her, opening the door to the Spanish Galleon themed room first. "It''s like a resort room. Great if you''re role ying for a night, but I don''t think I could live in it full time." Sheughs. "Well, then you''ll understand the next room perfectly." Cain says, ushering her across the hall. "This is, oh my. I read about this in a book once back home, but it''s really something else in person." Belle says, backing away. Cain can see that Misha is somewhat reluctant to leave so fast though. Valuable information. "Last up isn''t an empty room, but my room. We should show it off though, the Dwarves really did a magnificent job in here." Cain exins. Belleughs as soon as they enter, finding Nemuid out on a pile of cushions in her lighter cloth outfit. Kone darts past them to flop down next to the Felian, calling out her Giant Lynx. "This room is great to rx in. There''s a huge game room in Sunnybrook, but I like to y cards here on the cushions, and V prefers the hot tub." The Druid giggles. "Well, what do you think of the amodations?" Cain asks. "This is an amazing house. Do you think I could get that one with the Cherrywood and te theme? It''s even got wolves carved into the armoire doors." "Of course, any of the empty rooms are free to choose. I''m d you found one you liked." They head back over with Misha and Char to look at the room again as the others disperse, Belle opens the curtains to see the back yard, facing the stone wall and overlooking the partially finished second building. "What''s that house for? It looks like it''s in this yard, and doesn''t face a street." She asks. "That''s the guest house, for visitors and for hosting dignitaries that don''t want to be seen. It''s not quiteplete yet but it will be soon." Char tells her, looking out at the rock wall that makes up most of the view with a difort unique to Spirit Folk instincts.. Kone rarely looks out the windows either, the reality that they''re inside a mountain ''feels disorienting'' in her words. Chapter 111 - 111 [Belle has signed a Guild Contract] [Belle has joined Darklight Host] "Wee and congrattions. We''ll be headed out early tomorrow to look for Ogres, if you want to call it a night. I heard from Char that you might be short on sleep. If not, feel free to head to the tavern for drinks and food, or back to Sunnybrook House if you want to y games. The little stairs at the end of the hall lead straight down to the kitchen and bypass the Tavern." Cain exins and Belle flops dramatically onto the bed. "This is prettyfortable, I might just stay here." Belle begins before Kone barges in. "Congrats on joining! Want to join us for a sleepover? Me and Nemu and a bunch of girls from next door, plus almost all the girls from the Guild are there." Kone says excitedly. "That sounds fun. I haven''t been to a sleepover in forever, and it would be nice to get to know everyone." Belle nods, grabbing Char''s hand. "Good, we will grab everyone. Message Lickity and Misha too. The rest should be there already." Kone has appropriated one of the unused main floor back rooms in the house just for this purpose. It''s done up a lot like Cain''s room, with pillows and cushions everywhere, but with light paint and gossamer curtains to give the room the feeling of a garden party and not the inner room of a house inside a mountain. More often than not she will end up sleeping there too, deciding the walk to her bedroom is too far. Lickity is out with Cixelcid tonight, so she''s out, and Misha opts out, saying she''s tired and will catch up with everyone tomorrow. Nathaniel as the only other guy in the Guild might have felt left out, but Ghaz and Morgan came by and collected him earlier to go do something. Likely a double date with whoever Ghaz is seeing today. Misha has decided this is her chance, all of the others are busy elsewhere, and the younger girls will never let the ever cuddly Nemu escape, so she''s got Cain all to herself for the night. Once everyone gets settled in, she gives a wink to an understanding Char, who distracts Nemu while Misha drags Cain away. "How about we share a hot tub again? It''s been entirely too long with you away here in Graska." Misha smiles at him as they make their way upstairs. "And aren''t you gettingrger andrger? I swear you weren''t this big at level 10." She asks, rubbing against him as they open the bedroom door. "Every time I change my stats my body adjusts. I''m not sure if it''s part of the ss system, or if it''s like my skills and my body is waiting on me to level up enough to fill the conditions for a major change." He shrugs, unequipping all of his gear before stepping into the hot tub and holding out a hand to help Misha in behind him. "Has anyone ever mentioned you''re really bad at bedroom talk?" she giggles and Cain realizes he entirely missed the innuendo in her initial question. "You''ve got a point no more talking." Heughs, pulling her down into the water for a kiss. Misha wakes up the next morning with a happy glow, but still a little sore. She wasn''t actually joking about Cain having gotten bigger as he leveled up. The bed seems extra warm, so she opens her eyes to find and remove the topyer of nkets, unwilling to get out of bed so early. Only to meet the intense green stare of a set of Felian eyes. "No fair, you tricked me and got a head start." Nemu whispers from her spot on top of the nkets next to the sleeping couple, her face on Cain''s chest, inches from Misha''s own. "You''re a Summon, you''re literally with him all the time. You had your chance you thieving Felian." Misha whispers back, sticking out her tongue and wrapping herself around Cain''s sleeping form. Some timeter, Cain wakes up sweating. Misha is sleeping soundly on top of him, sprawled out like a human rug, and the Nemu girls have coborated to find afortable spot against either side of him. It''s soft,fortable and smells pleasantly of shampoo and body lotion. If only it weren''t so incredibly warm. It''s like waking up in a sauna. Plus, when did Nemu join them in bed? Cain was certain she would be busy all night with the sleepover. At least she''s not draped across his head today, this position is warm enough. "Good morningdies. As much as I hate to do this, it''s time to get up for breakfast and decide who all is going along to look for the Ogres hiding spot." He says softly, and immediately begins to reconsider leaving the bed when Misha shifts on top of him. What''s the big rush anyhow? Tanya knows to wake everyone up if there''s an attack on Sunnybrook. They don''t get to sleep much longer though, as Ves in and flips the nket, blowing colder air over them all and informs them that breakfast is ready whenever they''ve showered and gotten dressed. It''s a good thing the tub uses water magic enchantments to be self cleaning, because no way are four of them fitting in the shower, and Misha just threw a bath bomb in the hot tub before directing Cain to carry her over. V is doing her best not tough when they alle down freshly washed and pretending nothing strange happened this morning, but the rest don''t seem to have noticed anything. A small mercy, given their love of banter. "Now that we''re all present and ounted for, what is the n for finding the Ogres?" Lickity asks with a giggle, exchanging pokes to the side with Cixelcid. "One big group for sure, if we do actually find them it would be a very bad thing to be separated. If they''re inside a hidden dungeon, all we can really do is wait for them to starting out. Going in would just ce us in a separate instance. Our newly minted tracker Belle will lead the way, plus we''ve got a good idea which way the survivors of thest battle initially fled." Cain suggests. "So if I can lead us to them in a dungeon we just stand there and wait?" Belle asks. "Pretty much. If we get lucky, we can wipe out an entire army a handful at a time when they try to exit." Cain agrees. "Me and Ragnar can see the Guild messages, so if you lot get in trouble, we will go to the Sunnybrook Hall and give them all the location information to send out an attack to rescue you. If there''s enough Ogres we might even get a reward out of the rescue attempt instead of having to pay a quest fee." Gramps adds. "That''s not a bad n. can you send Guild messages in wolf form, or are your senses just as good in human form?" Cain asks Belle. "I can send messages in Wolf form no problem. You can''t really understand me if I talk though, it''s like arguing with a husky." Belle exins. With those basics settled, and every member willing to go on the mission, they all dig into their meals, getting mentally prepared for the journey ahead.. The kitchen has their physical preparation done, food stores very well inside a transfers inventory and they''ve gone all out with the meals and snacks. Chapter 112 - 112 Arguing with a Husky was a great description, because that''s exactly what Belle''s wolf form looks like. The same Grey and white soft fur, the same distinctive pattern. She''s even the same size, smaller than Cain had expected a wolf to be, but not by too much. It suits her human form''s short stature though. They''ve made their way out the East gate to the spot where thest remnants of the force with the siege weapons fled from. Even to the untrained eyes of Cain and Misha, this part of the journey is easy. The ground is heavily trampled and the direction of travel in the ravaged field is clearly evident. They set out at a walk, not being in any particr hurry, and not wanting to miss any signs of trickery or diversion. Clearly this trip will get more difficult if they have lost the Elves chasing them so many times in the past. The head out into the jungle, the retreating Ogres traveling as one group for about an hour before Belle smells that a single powerful Ogre has broken off from the group. That seems like the most suspicious and probable lead to Cain, surely everyone else who tried could track the main army. There are no foot prints, or broken branches to follow, the trail erased by magic ording to Belle, but she can still smell the Ogre on the surrounding trees. They move steadily onwards, trusting her nose despite theck of evidence and eventuallye to a stream. The perfect spot to wash away a scent trail. "Magic was used this way. I can still feel the traces." Elmira calls from a few dozen meters downstream. Pixies are very sensitive to magic usage, so the Ogre they''re chasing must have needed to renew its spell, or use extra mana to erase the deep foot prints an Ogre would have left in the mud. Only a few meters from the hovering Pixie, Belle picks up the scent again now joined by a second scent, a goblin of some sort that either walked very slowly or traveled this route twice. This makes the trail easier to follow, but Belle is still focused on the Ogre, worried that the second scent is diversion. The concern seems justified, as the trail soon crosses the path of the second group of survivors and the goblin breaks off, before something starts obscuring their trail. The Guild continues following the lone Ogre, wondering where it is going when the scent trail suddenly dead ends at a cliff face. Searching the top reveals nothing, so it didn''t go around, and it doesn''t seem to have gone back. Elmiraes to their rescue again, pointing towards arge rock that makes up a portion of the shale cliff and saying she feels magic behind it. Cain and Cixelcid each grab a side and pick the Boulder up, moving it aside and revealing what is cleary a dungeon entrance. If they didn''t have a Pixie along they''d never have noticed the dungeon hidden behind that rock. looking at the shape, and then at the portal behind it, they realize that if you have arms long enough to reach a meter and a half into a hole in the rock, you could touch the portal and enter the dungeon without moving the Boulder. Just right for an Ogre. Their opponent is a smart one. "I''m going to step inside and see what the dungeon is like, thene right back." Cain says, looking at the Dungeon entrance. "Be safe. We''ll be right here waiting." Misha smiles, knowing that of anyone here he''s the safest to go exploring the unknown. [Wee to the Trial of the Ogre Kings Raid] [Guild Group confirmed: Preparing Trial] [Quest avable: Clear the Trial] Grants Competion Reward, Guild Title, Guild Experience, Members only Item drop. [It''s an Ogre Raid. Trial of the Ogre Kings. I think the reason they''ve never found a huge Ogre army is because it didn''t exist. The King must have a method of bringing all the residents of the dungeon under hismand and walking out of the dungeon with them to attack Sunnybrook.] Cain sends in Guild chat. That would also exin why they didn''t find the survivors, 24 hours after a dungeon is cleared it resets, so the Ogres taken outside most likely simply disappear. [Is there a Quest? I love Guild Quests, they always give us something really cool, like Guild Wide drop rate bonuses] Mythryll sends back. [We get a drop rate bonus?] that would be Belle, guess the sleepover chat didn''t cover the topic. [Yes, for the Guild, and many of the members have their own Iron Man Titles that give a party wide bonus.] Misha responds. [Should we do that now? The Ogres usually only attack every few days.] Lickity asks. [Might as well, everyone follow me into the Dungeon, and put the Boulder back near the original spot in case the Ogrese out before us. I don''t want to be ambushed on the way out.] A minuteter the stone is ced and the entire Guild is inside the dungeon. Belle looks a little nervous, having never fought along side them before, but she does at least have a vague knowledge of their ability, having lived in Sunnybrook and assisted in the defense multiple times, though most days she was forced to grind in the dungeon all day along with four other unfortunate souls to cover the expenses from her contract. Cain calls out all the summons, ignoring Kone''s plea to swap the Supporter clones of her for one of Belle, so she''d have a puppy to cuddle. "After the dungeon. Cuddle your bear, or the Giant Lynx, or the real Belle if she''ll let you. For now we need the extra healers." Cain tells her and Belle gives a barkingugh before shifting back into human form. "She really is as obsessed with Fluffy things as they said." The Rangerughs. "Maybe I spoil her too much, but she''s a good Healer." Cain shrugs and Kone sticks out her tongue at him. "You''ll get used to them, they''re all a little odd." Char stage whispers and Lickityughs. "So says the reborn Empress who is only marginally less fond of fluffy things than our Druid." Belle bursts intoughter at their antics, no way will life be boring around this Guild, and they seem to treat everyone pretty well. "Enough y time, let''s get things moving." Cain says, stepping forward with the Wrath Bringers in the vanguard. [Guild Quest epted] Chapter 113 - 113 [Difficulty scaled to Party Ability. Dungeon Level Updated to Level 99] Wait, what? It automatically set the dungeon difficulty to almost 20 levels above the majority of their members? "Uh guys? You know I''m level 55, right?" Belle asks. "Mythryll, put the Treants on defense. I''m sorry Belle, but you''re going to get just a couple notifications. Consider it a form of initiation into the Guild. It seems to happen to every new member we get." Cain calls out as a group of armored Ogres appear in the room. The first group goes down fairly easily under the weight of theirbined firepower. But as soon as they start falling, more start appearing. Is this the trial of Ogre Kings? Being able to defeat every Ogre thates at you? The initial spawn of Ogres was 14 strong, one for every Guild Member. They weren''t Level 99 as Cain had feared, but instead Level 55, equal to their lowest leveled member. The second group is also fourteen strong, but Level 60, and quickly dies to the summons without putting up much of a fight. The Level increases by 5 every round until they''re up against a group of level 99 Ogre warriors. The Guild has significant buffs, and with [Cripple] from the gue Sorcerers plus Nemu slowing them and decreasing their damage done, they''re still not horribly difficult. The room isn''t huge, and their area effect spells cover almost everything, giving the Ogres no room to retreat. "Hey, I got a spell book!" Belle cheers and links it in Guild Chat. [Book of Rending Arrow] Fires an arrow that explodes near the target, causing shrapnel damage and [Bleed] to all opponents within 5 meters. "That''s pretty good. Learn it up." Mythryll smiles, looking back at where she''s cradled in the limbs of a Treant. Using the book might take a while, she''s already flooded in notifications, and using a skill or spell book generates even more. So who knows at what point during the battle the book actually dropped. The Level 99 wave of Ogres is now cleared, and Cain brings up everyone''s status to make sure they''re all good. Most of them are over 80 percent mana, and they''re all fully healed, which is a bonus. [Solo Combat Trial cleared: Multiple opponent Trials begin in 20 seconds] "Multiplebat? I''m not sure I like the sound of that. But if they''re testing us this hard, the reward item for the Guild must be pretty good, right?" Misha asks. "We can only hope. But if that was the one on one, with fourteen opponents, I think the next will be twenty eight." Cixelcid points out, bursting her hopeful bubble. Cixelcid was right, once the twenty seconds are up, 28 Level 55 Ogres spawn and the walls of the room expand a dozen meters backwards, giving them room to fight. [Level Up] that''s Level 81 for Cain, and the Trial seems to just be getting started. Two on one, they actually need to move all their Melee fighters forward, as the Eight Greater demons can''t hold that manyrge enemies. But with Cixelcid and both V twins plus Dimnys spread out they''re doing better. The bears, extra Treants and Candia are all in support positions, helping the more Tank type melee fighters. Cain is considering switching the Lamia Scourge Casters for something more durable and melee oriented, but things aren''t that dire yet. The passive healinging in is still quite impressive, letting the healers top off their mana until the Level 85 wave of Ogres when they start using a bit more than they''re regenerating. Maybe bringing the entire membership of the Guild with them today wasn''t the absolute best choice ever, but who is to say they''d still have gotten the quest if they didn''t? For the Level 90 wave Cain does switch the Scourge Casters for Lesser Blighted Pdins. They do very little for damage, but they can heal themselves and they can really take a hit. Fighting them in the Demon Raid took time, as they liked to hide behind their shields and were immune to stun, poison and curse type effects. They''re bringing that brick wall energy to the Ogres today. They''re a big as humans, but no brighter than the average zombie, only following the most basic of orders. Perfect for meat shields. The Ogres are getting frustrated with them in a hurry, smashing, stomping and swearing at the armor d masses of putrid flesh. Belle has resorted to plugging her nose with cloth and covering her face to make the smell of damaged gue Demon tolerable to her enhanced senses. With the extra fighters up front, a lot of the pressure is taken off the other party members, letting them do more than just defend, and the damage starts to pick back up again. Level 90 is defeated and they''re into Level 95 Ogres when everyone''s favorite notificationes again. [Level Up] Just how much experience is this dungeon giving? Is there a bonus from the quest or something? A level and a bit already after Level 80 is a crazy rate of progression. Cain hopes Belle is alright, there''s a chime that goes with every notification. That plus the smell must be a living hell for the werewolf. The level 95 Ogres are beginning to fall, being reced by Level 99 versions as they do. Once this wave is done they should get a break again. All the healers are below half mana, but that''s not bad if this is thest wave of the two on one trial. "Hold off on finishing the level 99 Ogres, we might get more time if we kill them all in rapid session." Kone suggests. They killed them when they couldst time, over the course of a couple minutes. It''s possible the total time taken matters too though. Starting the next trial before they finish this one could be bad. "But don''t wait too long, we don''t know if the trials are on a timer. We don''t want to fail or be caught fighting two challenges at once." Cain calls. They spread their damage so all the Ogres are below a quarter health before killing them off in rapid session. [Multiple Combat Trial Completed: Next Trial in 2 minutes] Well, something they did bought them more time. "Everyone grab a drink, a snack too would be best. Just watch the time." Cain calls, pulling a sandwich and water skin from his inventory. Everyone is stuffing their faces in a hurry, wanting to get as much in them as they can and still have a rest before the two minutes are up. At the minute fifteen mark, Cain has downed two sandwiches and just started a long pull from his water skin when a group of Ogre Mages and Goblins appears. "Everyone back in formation. Stun or interrupt those Mages asap." He shouts and everyone curses as their meal is interrupted. The Summons are naturally the first in action, charging for their preferred targets, the Wrath Bringers each getting to an Ogre Mage before their spell canplete while the Blighted Pdins go for the Goblins. The goblins are overwhelmed in moments as the Pestilence and Cripple debuffs spread through them when the Guild begins their attack. They''re not particrly strong, but they''re good at sneak attacks, which might have caught a solo Ogre King applicant off guard.. There''s got to be nearly fifty of them, maybe the Trial called for four to one odds, plus the Mages? Bing an Ogre King doesn''t seem to be an easy task. Chapter 114 - 114 Cain and Char are still chain casting [Acid Rain] when thest of the Ogre Mages drop, leaving the Guild in a downpour with no enemies in sight. [Treachery Trial Passed: Next Trial in 5 minutes] Yeah, they''ll believe that when the timer is up. Everyone now remembers that the system is treacherous at best. Especially those who fell for the random character creation option. But, true to its word for once, 5 minutes pass before the next notification. [Intelligence Trial Begins Now: All members mustplete the obstacle course] This could be difficult, the obstacles are Ogre sized. Some will be a cake walk, like the rope walk that''s the size of a tree trunk, or the swinging Axes most of them hardly need to duck to walk under. In fact, they will swing above the Dwarves heads. Others will be very hard, like the climbing wall with spinning handles in a set pattern. The pattern is easy, but they''re spaced for a creature nearly 5 meters tall. The Guild begins making their way to the wall, the first truly difficult task. "Hey Mythryll, what about your vines? Can you make us somedders or at least a path we can climb up?" Cain asks and the when Mage down in concentration, sending vibes up the wall in an interlocking pattern they should all be able to climb without issue. The first challenge passed, they find themselves on a ridge, looking at a field of spike traps and a magma pit a hundred meters long. There are stepping stones in it, but they''re too far apart to navigate for humans. They begin working their way through the spike traps, getting frustrated by the hidden devices popping up in their midst. Then Cain has a genius idea, he simply sends the Blighted Pdins forth in a wave, triggering everything, before casting a fresh batch and clearing even more. With every trap exposed, they simply walk the distance. When they reach theva pool they start testing their options. Vines sent over the pool burn, wind spells don''t keep the heat away for long, and ice magic only makes the ground solid for a few seconds, but the air is still too hot to safely pass. There seems to be a finish line after the magma, and Elmira begins to fly out to check out, finding the air above theva burns her wings and makes it hard to fly. She searches for a better way when she realizes there''s a ledge along the wall, very narrow, but likely passable. She flies over it and reaches the end in a few seconds, but is blocked by a barrier when she tries to return. [Participants Passed 1/14] "Okay, Candia, can you try your Tsunami type skill on theva near the wall? See if you can make a solid surface? If you can, and if it drops the temperature a bit we will make another vine tform and walk across." Cain suggests. The tsunami makes the surface solid for about ten seconds, but the vines still burn in the hot air. They won''t grab on to the walls, and touching the path along the side made a portion of it fall in, so walking that route is out. Wait, Cain has Demonic Crows as a Lesser Golem option. He quickly switches his Lesser Golems for the flying Demons and finds they take no damage when flying over the section Candia made solid, but a moderate amount when over openva. "Make a path as you go, the Crows will fly you over." Cain suggests. That only leaves him, as there are 12 Crows and 13 Guild Members left. But he has a n. Wrath Bringers take no fire damage. So he can simply have one run him across under the crows and he will simply absorb the fire damage that he takes during the trip. Once Candia is across there is nobody left to make the path, and if she doesn''t cross, she doesn''t have the range to create the path in the first ce. Nemu and V choose to ride with the Greater Golems instead of being dismissed, but Cain sends all the unnecessary supporters away for the trip. "In 3,2,1 GO." Cain calls and the path forms behind a wave of magical water. The Wrath Bringers are off at a run, moving from stone to stone along the intended path, while the others fly overhead. They''ve mistimed the sequence though, due tock of information. Candia is thest crow to cross, but the second she does the effects of her spell disappear, leaving Cain, V and Nemu trapped on thest tform. The distance is clearly too far for even an Ogre to jump, so he isn''t sure how the test was intended to bepleted, but they have a simple method. Cain orders the Wrath Bringers to hurl thedies into thepletion area, before following himself. When he reaches the barrier the Wrath Bringers disappear, but V and Nemu, already on the other side, remain. Perfection. [Participants Passed 14/14] [Total Passed 30/14] Nice, it counted the Summons as total Passed, maybe they''ll get a bonus? Hopefully they don''t get a penalty. The door in front of them opens to reveal a glowing gold room, full of random trinkets, with a door on the other side. [No More Than 1 Item May Be Removed] "Well that''s not sketchy at all. It didn''t mention a reward only that we couldn''t remove more than one item." Dimnys notes. "Maybe it''s a Greed test? There''s a lot of good things in here." Lickity says, pointing at a legendary crown that grants a huge damage increase for Ogres. In fact, most of these items are Ogre based. "Votes to just leave all this stuff here and see what the system picks?" Cixelcid asks, the gold glow giving the Vampires red eyes the strangest bronze color, and the others shudder at the thought of letting the system pick. "As much as I fear the system''s random generation process, it seems like the best choice," Cain reluctantly agrees. And so, they walk through the far door empty handed, not one looking back at the Ogre loot. [Random Guild Award for Perfect Score Selected] [Generating Award based on Guild Leader] [Guild Item Received: Book of Demon Army] Chapter 115 - 115 [New ss Skill Learned: Lesser Demon Army] Usable from level 90. Requires All Stats 101+.