Chapter 16: 191-200
I immediately looked at everyone else because I really had no idea what was going on. Yes, I know I just dreamt about Grace being my maid, but this and that are two different things. Not to mention I really did not wish for my friends to be my servants! "Can someone tell me what is going on!?"
"We don't know either. You have been asleep only for a few hours, but… An hour after you fell asleep, Grace suddenly sat up, and out of thin air, both the horns and halo appeared on her head. She has been sitting in front of you ever since. This is actually the first time she has spoken since she woke up. She only sat there by your side, ignoring everyone else." Adel explained. I could tell she was worried. Everyone was. This was to be expected with how Grace was acting.
I held my head and looked at Grace. "Grace, do you remember anything before you woke up?"
"Hmmmm? Of course." Grace answered with no hesitation.
"Then why are you calling me Master all of a sudden? You never called me this before." I asked. I just hope she won't give me the same answer again.-?(0)???.
"Hmmm…. I think it is because my blood is linked to yours?" Grace answered. I could tell she herself was also not sure. 𝗶𝓃𝓷𝒓𝘦a𝐝. 𝗰𝒐𝗺
"Faith, if I may, and this is just a hypothesis, but I think the reason for her bodily changes is because your blood was more dominant. I think her bloodline has something to do with the ancient Angelic race. From what I read, they were a race of servants who served an ancient unknown race. But this race also had horns.
"This is all just a thought, but I believe that your blood has traces of this race, and that is why she has become subservient. Your blood dominated over her blood during the awakening, and this is why things have come down to this. This would also explain Grace's ability to use high heal and has such powerful light magic. The Angelic race was a race of people who were all master light element users." Sei explained, causing me to frown. If this was the case wouldn't that mean Grace was forced to become my servant due to my blood?
"Is there a way to break such a bond?" I asked. But as soon as those words left my mouth, I regretted it.?(O)???
"Master! You do not want me anymore!?" Grace's eyes became filled with tears as she once more pressed her head against the ground. "If Master thinks I am of no use, then this servant will extinguish this useless life."
"Grace, wait!" Not only did I yell out, but so did many of the others. Grace was already wielding a dagger she pulled out of god knows where and was ready to gut herself. Luckily she stopped at my command.
"Ma-Master?" Grace looked up at me with tears rolling down her cheeks, causing me to let out a long sigh.
I forced a smile as I said: "Who said you were useless? I was just asking a question. I do not want to throw you away or anything close to it."
"Master!" Grace cried out as she lunged at me, hugging me. I could only pat her back. I was feeling exhausted. For now, I will just leave things as they are. When we leave this dungeon, I will go to the library first thing and try to research how to break this stupid servant thing. But if that dream was actually real, then…. I sighed once more, just thinking about it.
"Faith…" Adel walked over, tears were brimming in her eyes. I watched as she knelt down next to me and lowered her head. "I'm sorry…. If I knew any of this, I would not have suggested the …."
I reached out and placed my hand on her head. "It's not your fault. I was the one who wanted a contract to keep my secrets safe. Everyone here is a comrade, and we fought many battles together, living through life and death situations, but I still…."
"Boss…." Steve suddenly spoke up. "I may not be able to speak for everyone, but I can say this for sure, whether you are a dragon, a human, or even a monster, I, for one, do not regret signing the blood seal contract as it means we are now connected even more than before. It means that I have become part of a larger family of people. With the way you have protected us and helped us during this time so far, risking it all to allow us to escape this place, I have no issues with signing the blood contract even if I were to end up like Grace."
"I agree!" Leo shouted after. "You have helped us so much that even our own prowess that was once rather weak has jumped leaps and bonds. You also used your own body to shield us. If you are not someone who is worthy of following, then I do not know who is."
Hailey also stepped forward as she said: "Faith, you have allowed me, who was useless altogether with no actual ability to join the academy, to have an actual chance to do so. The way I see it is as if you have given me a new lease on life."
This was followed by everyone else. Although it was not the best way to cheer me up, it did help a bit. "Well, if anyone feels like they are growing horns and halos, let me know…."
(O)??? "Hehe…." I heard laughter coming from my stomach and shook my head. Was this girl not just crying before? I shook my head and looked at everyone. "While things took a strange turn, how has it been? Did any monsters show up while I was asleep?"
"No, we kept watch, and not a single monster has appeared here," Adel answered.
"Alright, then let's get the drops situated. Front line tanks and healers will get the first pick, excluding me. I do not need any armor." I wanted the front line to be properly equipped before we continued. As well as anything that might help Grace in boosting her healing.
"That is what we thought as well, but we do not know what is what…."
I pondered for a moment before going to get up. Luckily Grace let go of me and sat up with a face full of smiles as I moved. But as I walked over to the pile of items, I noticed she stayed three steps behind me with her hands folded in front of her. It was a very strange feeling. Even Annie never acted like this, and she was always stiff about her job. But I did not dare say anything about her actions in case she tried to take her own life again.
I looked at the first item, which was a leather chest piece: "Appraisal."
[Shaman's Chest Guard]
[Rarity]: Rare
[Defense]: 200
[Vitality]: 50-?(0)???.
Seeing the information, I suddenly felt that this whole dungeon was messing with me! I mean, really? Why do the items have stats!?
[Shaman's Belt]
[Rarity]: Rare
[Defense]: 40
[Intelligence]: 20?(O)???
Each one had some form of defense and bonus stats to it. And this was just the armor that was laid out. There was a huge axe lying in the pile as well!
[Shaman's Protective Axe]
[Rarity]: Rare
[Attack Power]: 600
[Strength]: 60
[Vitality]: 35
I rubbed my head, seeing these items. But in a way, this was also good as well. Since only Adel and I had systems at this time, no one had any way of really powering themselves up except for self buffs, so this would help our progress a lot. With this thought in mind, I began giving out the items to those I thought would benefit from them the most at this time. As for the Axe…. It took four people to carry it, and I seemed to be the only one able to lift it with one hand. So it was decided that I would take it. To be honest, I am not sure how helpful this will be, but I guess there is nothing stopping me from using a different weapon. It's not like my swordsmanship is anything decent. And I could swing the axe just as well as my sword.
I did not plan to take anything, but there was no reason to waste something that would give me bonuses. My sword was basically a trash item compared to this axe. But there was one thing that was off about this axe….. It was almost half as tall as I am!
Luckily with it slanted to the side, it will stay just above the ground, allowing me to walk around normally. The other thing that kind of amazed me was that the items, no matter how big they were, instantly fitted to the person wearing them, even if it was too small or too big.
"Alright, everyone, rest up. We will have a hard time ahead of us." I also needed to rest. I have not slept for many days besides the few hours I got after Grace was safe. I did not wait for anyone to answer as my eyes began to grow heavy. I walked over to the side of the boss room and leaned up against the wall. As soon as I closed my eyes, I could feel my consciousness slipping away.
"What are you doing!? Let her sleep on my lap!" Adel's voice woke me up as I felt my head being pulled in some direction.
"Master only needs her servant, me, to allow her to rest properly. Unnecessary and unrelated people can just go die." Grace, you just told the princess of the kingdom to go die…. While I did wish to say something, I felt my head being tugged in another direction once more.
I am starting to think these two are doing it on purpose. Their little spat continued for a good couple of minutes before I finally became too annoyed: "Can you both cut it out!?"
"Ah! Master, I am sorry!" Grace cried out while suddenly kneeling to the ground once more. Adel, on the other hand, only snorted and looked the other way.
"Grace, please stop bowing at everything little thing. And Adel, I keep telling you not to fight with Grace! You two get along just fine but fight over the weirdest things! You both almost ripped my head off just now!" My neck was really sore! I don't understand why they fight so much. And every time they do fight, it has something to do with me, which makes it even more confusing.
(O)??? "But she…" Adel wanted to argue, but I cut her off and shook my finger at her. "No means no!" 𝐢𝘯𝑛𝓻𝚎𝙖𝑑. ᴄ𝗼m
"I'm not a pet!" Adel yelled out while pouting.
I chuckled and reached out to scratch her chin, causing Adel to swat my hand away and turn away from me. When she acted like this, she was quite cute. "Anyway, how long have I been asleep?"
"A full day. But that is to be expected with how many days you have been awake." Sei answered as she handed me a drink.
"How is everyone else's condition?" As long as everyone else was fine, we could begin diving deeper into the dungeon and hopefully finish this up quickly. Although I know it will not be that easy, I can still hope for the best.
"Everyone is in top shape and can move out at any time," Sophie answered.
"Then let's gather." I stood up and stretched my arms. I then picked the axe up and strapped it to my back.
When everyone was gathered, I stood in front of them and began giving a bit of a moral speech. "We are about to dive deeper. The road ahead may be harder than the last, but I promise to do my best to protect you all. I can not say for sure if we will all live to reach and defeat the last boss, we may even get wiped out as soon as we climb down those stairs. But I do want you all to do your best to stay alive. If you get hurt, announce it. Let everyone know so we can try to cover for you. We are in this together and we will do our best to survive and return together."
Looking down the long set of stairs in front of me makes me kind of nervous about what to expect after such a hard boss encounter. With my new and amazing axe in hand, I slowly climbed down the stairs with everyone else following behind me.
"Ah!" Sophie suddenly screamed out causing me and everyone else to turn around. What I saw made me frown.
"Is everyone here?" I called out to do a head check.
"Yeah, Boss, everyone is here. It seemed to wait for all of us to enter the stairs before sealing us off." Steven answered..
The entrance to the boss room was sealed off with the same exact barrier as the one in the boss room on the first floor. This meant only one thing. "Looks like this will happen each time we kill a boss. But this is also good. We do not need to worry about our backs being attacked at this moment. Just keep an eye out."
With that said, I turned and continued down the stairs. The stairs were not just a straight path. They spiraled down for quite a while before finally coming to a stop in front of the entrance of another long dark tunnel. "Grace, send lights down the tunnel".
"Yes, Master!" Grace shouted happily. Seconds later, ten balls of light shot down the tunnel, each coming to a stop at a certain point in the tunnel. To be honest, this was a huge improvement from before. It seemed Grace's awakening helped her gain more control over her magic. Even the lights were brighter than before.
"Okay, same formation as always. But be extra careful with this tight tunnel." I shouted before gripping my axe and stepping into the tunnel. The floor here was a bit more uneven and slippery. Like the floor was covered in moss. We had to move much slower in order to keep our footing.
As we made our way down the tunnel keeping our eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. But the walls, while rocky, there were no deep crevices that I could see, and with how bright it was, there were no hidden places either. This made traveling down them less nerve-racking.
When we finally came to the end, Grace once more sent out an array of balls of lights that filled the large room, lighting every inch of it. What was revealed was a nest of hobgoblins and three goblin shamans, which made all of us grow silent. Strangely though was that they did not turn towards us or even seem to care about the new light that was filling the room.
"Boss, how should we do this? They are pretty clustered together." Leo asked as he looked into the room.
"How else but the same way we always do things. We already know the shaman's abilities, so we can test the waters a bit. But this time we will be doing it in this hall. I will set up a barrier that will cover the outside of the door and the wall around it. From the looks of it, there are around twenty hobgoblins and three shamans. I will pull and then tunnel them in one at a time. This will also give our tight quarters combat a bit of practice as well." It was actually not a bad idea to use this as practice for when we have no choice but to be elbow to elbow.
My eyes lit up as I waved my hand, causing a barrier to form at the entrance of the tunnel. "Alright, I will now go pull, be ready!"
"Yes!" Everyone answered at the same time. I chuckled and passed through the barrier. Gripping my axe with one hand, I raised the other and pointed a finger at the hobgoblins. I then fired off a small fireball at the closest hobgoblin. 𝙞𝓷𝙣r𝚎𝓪𝑑.＆nbsp;𝒸𝗼𝒎
"Graaaaahhh!!!" The goblin yelled out and looked around. As soon as it saw me, it cried out once more, causing the other goblins to turn and look at me before the whole mass of green flesh began moving towards me. I backpedaled through the barrier and waited on the other side for our prey to make its way over. "Remember no large scale attacks and only attack if it is possible. You do not want to hurt your teammates by accident."
The first hobgoblin made its way into the barrier, and on my signal, attacks began to rain down on it. It died so fast that I was quite surprised at the amount of damage being outputted. "Ummm…" I stared at the now hobgoblin corpse that took less than a minute to kill in awe. "Alright, I will let three in. Do the same as before."
Once again, the damage output was insane. Just a few items, and everyone was doing much more damage. I was quite happy to see this. In a matter of minutes, we cleared out all twenty hobgoblins and began moving on to the shamans. The only difference was that the shamans would not move through the barrier. They were much smarter than hobgoblins. This meant we had to fight in a more open manner.
"Boss, what will we do now?" Amanda asked as I stood there and looked at the three shaman goblins that were standing outside the barrier looking back at us. I couldn't help but think that they were just waiting for us to drop the barrier so they could bombard us with spells.
"Sally, Sophie!" I called out. With the way things were and with how easily we are doing damage now, I do believe we will not need as many barriers as we fight. I think if we continue as we are and can get a better understanding of our skills we will be able to move forward much faster. This is why I think I will teach range magic users some area of effect spells to quicken our progress through the dungeon.
""Yes!"" Both immediately came to my side. I am sure they already know what I have planned. "Sophie you are on the right, Sally on the left. I will take the middle. Sei, you are on barriers. Only use it if there is magic flying towards the back line. Everyone else will start with Sally's target! Let's do this!"
"""""""""""""Yeah!!!!"""""""""""""
I decided not to lower the barrier but instead just had everyone charge right through it since it did not prevent people from leaving, just from entering. I only decided to do it this way so that the shamans would have as much time to react. And as soon as we exited, the shamans began casting spells, but they were much slower than the boss, which made me relieved. All three of us, Sally, myself, and Sophie, all reached our targets before they could finish casting their spells and attacked them. Our attacks landed on their barriers, but they shattered upon impact, allowing our attacks to follow through. And in the same instant that it all started, it was over.
"Uhhh…. Is it just me, or did we just one shot them?" I turned and looked at Sally and then at Sophie. Each one of us had instantly killed our targets.
"They were hundreds of times weaker than the boss." Sally replied with a bit of disappointment in her voice.
"Well, so much for getting all hyped up!" Steven yelled out before laughing. This was followed by everyone else bursting out into laughter as well.
After a few minutes, we calmed down when Rick suddenly yelled out: "Boss! Two chests!"
I turned and looked in the direction Rick was pointing and sure enough, in the middle of the room where the small goblin camp was were two chests. I pursed my lips as I signaled for everyone to stay put as I walked towards the chest. "Appraisal!"
[Bronze Chest].
[A Dungeon chest that will contain random bronze ranked items]
I then casted appraisal on the second chest as well…
[Elite Mimic]
[Level]: 90
[HP]: 500000/500000
[MP]: 100000/100000
Seeing the name of the second chest, I couldn't help but frown. "Mimic…." I began digging through my memories to see if I remember anything that had to do with mimics, and the only info I could come up with was that they are monsters that can pretend to be other things. Such as treasure chests, walls, and even humans or other beings for that matter. They lure people in and then eat them using their large tongue or tentacles and huge mouth with large sharp teeth to pull them in
I quickly backed away and returned to everyone else. "One is a treasure chest while the other is a new monster called a mimic, and it has half the health as the previous boss."
"Are we going to fight it? If it is a treasure chest, it shouldn't be able to walk, right?" Adel asked.
"We don't know for sure. Mimics can turn into anything, that includes you or I. If we try to pass, it might use its ability to pretend to be one of us. Then we will all be in danger." I replied. We had no choice but to fight the mimic. I couldn't risk everyone's lives over such things.
"Then how do we fight it?" This time it was Sei who asked the question.
"I will go in solo to start. I have the biggest chance to survive. Wait one minute, then ranged can begin attacking it afterward. All melee will sit this out for the time being and just watch how I fight it. " I couldn't think of any other plans, and I had the highest health and defense, so it was better that I tried tanking it while the others watched and learned. Although I guess I would be learning how to fight it as well but even so, I was still the best person for the job.
I moved forward and edged my way near the mimic. I did not dare just casually throw a magic spell at it in case it did something unexpected like some mass area of effect spell that could wipe us all out. I would prefer for it to focus on me. I already had mana shield layered on my body, so it was not as visible.
Sweat trickled down my cheek as I got closer and closer. My eyes never left the mimic for even a second. But if my memories are right, in this one novel I read, mimics waited until adventurers actually began to open them before springing its trap. If this is the case, it might be a simple minded monster.
I finally stood right in front of the mimic and slowly raised my ax. I was not stupid enough to go and try to open it. I would rather hopefully deal a fatal blow from the start. I took a deep breath before letting both my arms transform into dragon arms, keeping them much smaller and slender so I could swing the axe easier and brought it down like a hammer of justice!
*Boom!*
"Chreeeekaaaa!"
The mimic cried out in pain, or at least I think this was it crying out in pain. Revealing its big mouth and rows of razor sharp teeth. I quickly jumped back and cast appraisal once more to check its health.
[Elite Mimic]
[Level]: 90
[HP]: 26700/500000
[MP]: 100000/100000
Seeing how much damage I had just dealt, shocked me. But I had no time to think as the mimic shot out many tentacles out of its mouth right at me! I quickly dodged them and chopped the ones that were about to capture me. But I only had to do this for a few seconds before a rain of attack landed on the mimic, instantly finishing it off. "That was much easier than I thought, but that would definitely be more dangerous to others as I had the chance to back away. If I was close, I could have easily been run through by those tentacles." 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝙧𝗲𝓪𝙙. c𝒐𝙢
The mimic's tentacles looked quite sharp and were very fast. With mana shield I may have been easily able to block them, but there is no telling at this point. I could feel something different about those tentacles. And to be honest, I do not wish to test my mana shield against them any time soon. I would be crazy to do so.
I walked over to the mimic laying slipped over on the ground, and poked it with my axe a few times even though I knew it was already dead. I then went to the bronze chest and popped it open. Inside I saw many pieces of armor and a few weapons and also a familiar stone. I picked it up and used appraisal on it.
[System Stone]
[Consumable]
[Gives one person a system.]
[Systems allow one to gain new skills by using skill points. Allows one to gain status points upon leveling up and unlocks hidden potential.]
Seeing the system stone, I couldn't help but be a little surprised that such a thing was found in a treasure chest. I figured it would only appear as a boss drop like the first one. But this was also okay because now I could give it to Adel to give to Lance, and hopefully, this would benefit the kingdom that had been so good to me. I put the stone aside and grabbed the other items. There were more pieces of armor, all of which gave stats like vitality, strength, and intelligence. I quickly organized them by type and called for Steven "Steven!"
"Yes, Boss!?" Steven ran over to me. I turned and pointed to the items I had organized. "Everyone who did not get something last time should get something this time. Do it based on what their specialty is. The pile to the left is for melee fighters, while the pile on the right is for casters. These two pieces here should be good for Tom." I had made sure to keep the two agility items separate from the rest because if things were going according to the novels I read, then agility was best for bow users.
Right now, I do not care about myself as much as I do for everyone else. Just the few items that were handed out earlier have boosted everyone's combat ability. So the more damage they can do, the better. As Steven was passing out items, I pulled Adel to the side once more and shoved the system stone into her hands. "For your brother.".
Adel looked at the small stone and then back at me before pushing the stone back into my hands. "Right now, it is more important to give it to those you trust. But if I may make a suggestion, I think Sally should get the next one. She is normally on the main front line with you." 𝑖𝓃𝓃r𝒆𝘢d.＆nbsp;c𝘰m
Adel's words did come as a surprise. I did not expect her to tell me to give it to Sally. But thinking about it, Sally was indeed on the front line the most due to her combat abilities and high natural defense. Not to mention she was now under a double contract with me. The only other people I could actually trust fully would be Sei, Grace, and Sophie. With this in mind, I nodded my head and said: "After this, it will be Sophie and Sei. If we can find more system stones than that, the next one will be Grace, who is our main healer, then Lance. Steven and then Leo…."
I was trying to make sure those close to me all had a system so they could grow faster. But I had to prioritize who got what. Lance was getting a system stone before Steven only because I do not know how many I will be able to find while in this dungeon. If I can get even one more, I would be happy.
The thing about this place is that we do not know much about dungeons yet or how they work. But I do wonder why no one has mentioned system stones yet since I am sure many have dived into some dungeons here and there. Unless the leaders of each country are keeping things under wraps, if that was the case, then it would make sense.
"Sally, come here for a moment," I called Sally over.
"Young Miss?" Sally came to my side. And like a magnet, as if she would lose her position, Grace suddenly appeared right behind me, standing there about five feet away with her arms folded in front of her. I chuckled and motioned for her to come closer. But after giving it some thought, I also called over Sei and Sophie.
With a wave of my hand, I created a small barrier to isolate us and had everyone sit with Sally sitting next to me. I am sure the others are wondering what is going on, but I do plan to explain things soon. "Faith, why all the secrecy?" Sei asked.
"It's this here." I held out the stone that glimmered in the light of the room. "This here is called a system stone. And it allows one to grow stronger by leveling up by killing monsters. At each level up, you will gain five status points which you can use to boost your strength more. I am explaining this to you now, so you understand why I am so quick to take these stones. It has nothing to do with me liking shiny things or anything like that…. "
Okay, so I might be very unconvincing on the last part there, but so what! I am a dragon, after all! Although everyone did give me weird stares. I have once…. A few times, jumped at a few shiny objects in the presence of everyone here.
"Anyway…." I scratched my nose as I continued: "Adel has already gotten her system. And as you can see, she is doing perfectly fine and even raised her stats quite a bit. This stone I plan to give to Sally as she is one of the main tanks. If we find more, I plan to give them out in this order. Sophie, Sei, then Grace. If we get more than three, I will be keeping one for Lance and then handing them out to the others."
"Wait! Faith, what do you mean by system?" Sei asked in confusion. She seemed to be having a hard time taking in what I was saying. Although it did not help that I was not really explaining it well. It was just that the whole thing was hard to explain without having a visual way of showing them. Or maybe I do have a way to show them?
"Ummm… Well…. Adel, can you open your menu?" Adel nodded at my request, and a blue holographic screen appeared in front of her. This was one thing that was different from my system and the one you get from the system stone. Mine was invisible to everyone else. But Adel's, on the other hand, was clearly visible to me at least.
"What!?" Sei cried out as she looked at the blue holographic screen in front of Adel.
"Sei, I will explain how it all works after Sally gets hers. It will be easier to explain that way."
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I watched as Sally took the stone, and just as it did for Adel, a small window appeared before her. "Do I just hit yes?" Sally asked.
"Yes," I replied while nodding. Seconds later, Sally had a window just like Adel's floating in front of her. Her brow furrowed as she looked at it. I guess she was trying to understand it all. "Alright, first thing is first. Sally, do you use any large scale magic attacks or anything that would require you to need a boost to magic?"
This was important while I believe she would not need much other than strength, vitality, and a mix of agility and mind. I do not know exactly where she gets all her power from. For all I know, she could be using some kind of special body enhancing spell that requires a decent amount of mana. While this is highly doubtful, I do not know for sure.
"No. I am a bit different from other rabbitkin. I have a very strong physic and high strength. My race is normally weak and fluffy." Sally replied honestly.
"How many status points do you have then?".
"Ummm, 1230 in total." I nodded my head at her answer. I had expected her to have many more points as Sally seemed to have gotten out more than others. I bet Sei has even more.
"Alright, then do 500 vitality which is your health, and 500 strength. Then 115 in both agility to boost your speed and 115 in mind to increase your mana pool. Then every level up, stick two points in vitality and strength while alternating your last point between mind and agility." I think this would be a decent allocation as it would boost her all around. And just like I told Adel that alternating points was definitely needed.
Sally did as I told her, but she paused before putting points into mind. "Faith, why mind?"
"Well, you know how everyone is basically born with a set amount of mana?" I asked while looking at everyone. When I saw them all nod to my words, I continued: "Well, by adding points into mind, you are raising your limit, which means you are extending your life."
"Wait, if that is true, then if we keep leveling up and keep adding points to mind, we can effectively live for hundreds if not thousands of years?" Sei asked.
"As far as I know, that should be the case. I can not say for sure. But it would not be wise to just put all your points into mind either. You would want to spread things out into main and sub main. Which you saw me do just now. Sub main are just added stats that will boost other aspects of your body. While the two main ones are based on your fighting style. Like Adel is intelligence and mind for main and then vitality and agility sub main. Sei would be more strength, vitality main and intelligence, and mind sub main because you are a magic knight. Grace would be the same as Adel. And I am well a bit different from you all." I explained.
"Wait, You have a system too?" Sei asked. Which I kinda figured she would. After all, we have only run into two of these stones. Although the first was snatched up by me without many paying attention.
I sighed and decided to come clean with everyone. "I have had a system since I was born. You can say I am an anomaly."
"Well, you have been strange since I have met you." Sei teased, causing me to stick my tongue out at her.
"Well, between my current abilities and everything else, you can say it is all thanks to my system." I won't go into details, but this should at least give them an understanding of how powerful a system can be.
"Then I can not wait to get mine." Sei's voice was filled with excitement. She then nudged Sophie and said: "Hurry up and get yours already so I can have my turn." 𝘪𝓃n𝐫e𝗮d. co𝗺
I chuckled and shook my head. "Let's just hope we can find more. Any more questions?"
"I do not think I understand things enough to really ask more questions." Sei replied.
"Does the system have other capabilities besides raising these stats?" Sophie asked.
"I am not sure yet. Adel has been playing around with it, but we still have not really had a chance to dive deep into it." I answered before standing up and stretching. I then looked at Grace, who was still doing Grace things, and asked: "What about you?"
"As long as I am by Master's side, nothing else matters." Grace replied. I was still not used to this whole master servant thing.
"After Sei, you are next. I just want those close to me to get the system first. I might sound selfish, but if this world is really going to change, I want all of you to have an advantage." I may be being selfish, but I can't help but want to protect those who are closest to me. I also plan to hopefully get systems for my family as well. Even if I can't or say they refuse, I will protect them with everything I have.
Grace smiled and bowed her head. "Then I am grateful for Master's concern."
"Alright. We have been sitting here long enough. Let's continue!" This little meeting had lasted a lot longer than I had expected. Although I am nervous about the future, I am kind of happy that I can allow those close to me to extend their lifespan, even if it is only by a few years or so. If they can get a few hundred even, then I would be happy. What will come, I do not know, but I do know for sure that whatever it is, I will do my best to be ready. If the things in my dreams are or will come true one day. I will need to stay on guard for any signs of what is to come.
I twirled the axe in my hand and let my lips curled up as I looked at the group of people in front of me waiting for me. "Let's finish this!"
"Yeah!!!!"
We once again began our dive, floor after floor, killing goblins and even more mimics. It seemed that the floors were made for gathering the gear needed for the bosses because we had found many items from weapons to armor and, of course, more system stones. Right now, Sophie, Sei, and Grace all have their systems as well. Adel had one put away for Lance, and I still have three more on hand.
This was why I was currently standing in front of everyone after just clearing a monster nest. "I am sure most of you have probably wondered why I keep having small meetings with Adel and the others. The reason is this."
I held up the stone in my hand. "This here is called a system stone. It enables a person to gain a system and allows them to grow stronger. This system stone is what Adel, Sophie, Sally, Sei, and Grace have already used. I am sure you have seen the changes in their abilities. Currently, I only have three more on hand, but they seem to drop quite frequently since we have been making our way to the next boss room. I will be handing them out to those I feel will benefit from them the most first."
"Boss, what exactly are system stones?" Steven asked.
"They are a means of growing more powerful as you level up. You may have noticed it already, but even without the system, you have also been growing stronger. This is because this dungeon is affecting your growth. Hailey, you have begun casting magic that you would never have been able to cast before this. This is all because of how this dungeon seems to work. It is to allow people to grow stronger through life and death trials." While I did not know if this was true or not, this was the conclusion I have come to for now.
"The system has five stats that are the makeup of your body. Strength for power, vitality which will determine how long you can survive for, intelligence for how strong your magic is, mind will raise your max mana capacity allowing you to live longer lives and finally, agility for speed and reflexes..
"All of these can be raised with each level you gain. Each level gives five status points to allow you to distribute them how you see fit. My suggestion is to split your points up into two sets.
"Your main stats and your sub stats. Sub stats, unless you are a caster, who should always have mind in their main stat. If you have questions and wonder what you should concentrate on for stats, let me know, and I will try to help you. Oh, one final note. When you get a system, all your status points for all your levels you have gained without it will be there for you to spend as well. Think of it as a nice reward for all your efforts." I explained. I actually think I am getting better at this. But now, it was time to hand out the stones.
"Steven, Leo, Hailey. You three will get the last of the system stones I have. Please do not think I am playing favorites either when I hand out the stones. I am doing this based on two factors. Team role and how much they really need it. Steven and Leo are in main roles of the team, while Hailey is the one in most need of a system. I want everyone to finally acquire one. So please just be patient." I did not want them to think I was being biased when giving out stones. While I was at first, but at the same time, everyone who got one so far is in major roles of the team or in need of the stones.
"Boss, don't think so lowly of us. I could care less if I am last as long as we can all become stronger. You said we are leveling up anyways as we progress without the system, right? Then that is just as well. This means we can save up more points and spend them all at once when we finally get a system." Amanda said with a big smile. "So let me go last! I want to see just how much I can save up."
I looked at Amanda and chuckled. "Then I will make you last." She grinned at me and pushed Hailey to the front. I then proceeded to hand out the three stones.
After everything was set, we continued to clear the floors, and I have to say that once Steven got to spend his points, he was now instantly killing hobgoblins and shamans. What was once a hard battle for him was now easy as can be. Slowly but surely, we gained more stones, and they got passed out. Brad, Tom, Blake, Rick, and Amanda all now had systems as well.
What surprised me was that the stones had now started to drop from monsters as well as other items as well. We began to get things like potions, which I used appraisal on and was able to find out their effects. From healing to mana recovery and even stamina. Antidotes and timed buffs. Many different kinds of potions. Everyone was also now almost fully decked out in dungeon armor as well. This included myself.
With the teaming function of my system, I was able to invite everyone into team, and well, I got yells of surprise due to my health and mana, but luckily I was able to wave it all off. But what really surprised me was how fast we were leveling up after we all teamed up. Because the monster count was getting higher and higher as we continued on, everyone began taking on monsters solo to help clear the area faster. And this mean a flood of experience.
Currently i am at :
[Humanoid Form]
[Name]: Faith Cyrilia
[Age] 12
[Level] 170
[Race] Dragonic
[HP] 56750/56750
[MP] ∞
[Attack Power] 56350
[Magic Power] 56350 𝑖n𝚗𝘳e𝗮d.＆nbsp;𝒄𝐨𝗺
[Status Points] 1130
[Strength] 5635
[Vitality] 5675
[Intelligence] 5635
[Mind] ∞
[Agility] 5635
[Skill Points] 129
[Skills]
[Appraisal (LVL 10(MAX))] [Military Command (LVL 10(MAX))] [Military Tactics (LVL 10(MAX))] [Business Tycoon (LVL 10(MAX))] [Acting (LVL 1(MAX))]
"Everyone stop!" I yelled out as we came to a set of large metal doors. They had two grim reaper looking things engraved on each side with a horned skull on the seam of the middle of the door where the doors would come together.
"This must be the boss room." Adel came to stand by my side. I nodded my head, agreeing with her. "We will need to be very careful. This is supposed to be the Goblin Chief."
I turned and looked at everyone. They were all now seasoned fighters. They could easily take on five hobgoblins each, even Adel. "I guess it is about time."
"About time?" Adel looked at me with a confused expression..
"I think it is time that I teach everyone new magic that will help them in the upcoming fights. Everyone should have enough mana by now." I had been planning to help everyone learn new spells appropriate to their own abilities. And now that everyone was well over level one hundred and able to cast many spells with ease, it was time to really make them powerful.
"Everyone, listen up!" I called out as I jumped into the air. "From this moment on, we will be doing magic training. I will be teaching you all new spells. Also, if you have ideas for spells, you can let me know as well. I will do what I can to create a magic circle for it."
"What!? Boss, you can make magic spells as well!?" Leo yelled out in surprise.
"Leo, you should know by now that Boss is a goddess. She can do anything!" Amanda yelled as she kicked Leo.
"Amanda, why did you kick me!?" Leo, during this time, had lost a lot of weight and was much more muscular than before. It turned out that under his pudgy face and body, he was actually quite handsome. I have noticed Amanda taking a liking to him. A love that had bloomed during the dive in a dungeon. Is it wrong for love to bloom in a dungeon?
All I can say is that the two would make a cute couple. And it was plain as day to see that Amanda did like him. I think a lot of it had to do when we came to an area with hobgoblins who could use bows, and Leo protected her by shielding her with his body. A hero saving a beauty kind of moment. The boys will tease Leo about it, and Amanda would stand next to him, blushing, making the teasing even worse for Leo. "Why did I kick you? Because you are questioning Faith's abilities!"
"Alright enough!" I yelled out with a laugh. "To answer your question, I can, for the most part. Whether you will be able to use them or not is another story. For now, I will be going by everyone's current main element for a higher tier spell. Blake, Hailey, You two are first since you are both fire users."
For these two, I planned to teach them fire pillar. For Hailey, it would be a good area of effect attack to use when there are too many monsters, and for Blake, the same as Hailey, but he can also use the pillars as a means to stage a sneak attack by using the pillars of flames as a means to closing in on someone and as cover.
I spent an hour with them going over each rune and drawing the magic circle in the air many times so that they could study it. With the both of them increasing their intelligence, it did not take much time for them to learn them.
After Blake and Hailey worked with Amanda on a mass water slicer spell. It took concepts of my Faithylon and reworked it to make a water slicer spell that could spawn around a group of targets and basically dice them all up.
For Leo, I worked with I'm on a spell that used his two specialties. Rock wall and rock spikes. I combined them into a spell I called Stone Maiden. He could create a large stone statue that opened up to reveal thousands of spikes. When it closed, it would pierce through all the targets captured inside. Funnily enough, the image he used for the statue was Amanda, and he ended up getting beaten up for it. 𝘪n𝐧𝓻eа𝒅. 𝘤o𝘮
For Brad, we worked together to come up with a spell called chained lightning. It was basically something I stole from a game back on Earth. He could shoot a bolt of lightning out of his hand as he charged forward with his spear. It was a two pronged attack that dealt damage to the target but also paralyzed them as well. The best part was that it did not stop at just one target but arched out and hit the next target that was within fifty feet of it.
Rick and Steven were both tricky as they did not really have a main element. I ended up teaching them some wind magic that would spin around their bodies and attack their enemies with blades of wind.
With Tom, I came up with the idea of combining his wind element with arrows that he could fire from his bow. He could fire off as many arrows as he wanted at the same time into the air, and the wind would keep them together. Once it reached a certain point designated by his magic circle, the wind would then begin to rain the arrows down at incredible speeds.
"Master. Ummm… I have an idea for a spell." Grace came walking up to me as I was deciding who was next.
"Oh? Explain it to me and I will see if I can make it possible." This was a first. No one else had any ideas for their own spells until now.
Grace's eyes lit up as she hopped over to me and began explaining it to me."My Idea is like this…."
"Oh? Hmmm…" What Grace explained was no simple task. She wanted a spell that could heal and shield at the same time. I originally planned to have her doing a different kind of spell, but maybe it would be best to have two area of effect heals. She had a great deal of mana, after all.
"So you want to mix barrier and healing as an area of effect heal…." I mumbled once more as I fell into thought. Such a spell would indeed be complex. With high heal, she can heal a single target, but this would require her to always keep on her toes. It could also be nerve racking as well. The stress builds up if you are even a second late on a heal while trying to save someone. One mistake could cost a life, so having multiple heals and barriers that can also heal is a really good idea. To be honest, I am slightly jealous that I did not think of this idea.
But besides my tiny bit of jealousy, this idea was very amazing. The idea of a barrier healing someone was not something that I have dealt with before, so I was thinking that it could be a combination of two spells, not fusion but two spells in one. Basically, my thought on this is that Grace can set the targets in a radius that she deems friendly and cast a barrier with a second cast of a high heal that appears above the head of the person in the barrier.
I sat down and began doodling on the ground with a rock. I could feel the presence of others around me, but I did not pay attention to them. This kind of magic circle was indeed complex, but for some reason, I feel like it was easier than I thought it would be. I am not sure if this is because my intelligence has skyrocketed the past few days or what, but I can say thank god for whatever is allowing me to complete this quickly..
Not even an hour went by, and I was already drawing the magic circle in the air. "Holy Shield!"
As soon as the activation words left my mouth, barriers began to appear around everyone, and a magic circle of high heal began casting heal onto them. I was so happy I jumped up and down in a circle. This kind of spell will change the way people can do dungeons or even fight in wars.
"Leave it to Boss to create something so amazing." I heard Amanda say in a hushed tone. She was not the only one, everyone else was whispering as well.
"Faith, I think you just created a spell that will go down in the history books as a legendary spell." Adel said while shaking her head. "This healing spell is on the same level as grand fall…."
"I think you are overexaggerating. This spell may seem complex, but once you figure out the inner workings…."
"Stop!" Adel cut me off while pushing her finger on my lips. "You are the only person in the entire kingdom who could so easily put together a spell that requires so many intricate runes and make it work on the first try. Let me ask this how much mana does this use?" Adel asked as she raised an eyebrow at me.
I pursed my lips and looked in the opposite direction as I said softly: "Just a mere 1500…." i𝗻𝚗re𝗮𝐝. 𝙘𝑜m
"Yeah, I thought so! Only you and Grace can cast something like that multiple times!" Adel yelled out. It was true Grace now has over 35000 mana since her bloodline awakening and the system.
"Well, as long as Grace can cast it multiple times, it should be fine, right?" I replied in a semi whiny tone. I mean, come on! I was tailoring the spell for Grace, and I already reduced the amount of mana needed for it by its max amount!
"Alright, I will give you that, but what was the other spell?" I guess Adel noticed my second doodle.
"It is a pure area of effect heal with the power of high heal. This one is only 1000 mana…." I replied while looking away once more. The whole area became silent.
"Leave it to Boss…." Steven said, breaking the silence.
"Boss is really a boss…." Leo crossed his arms in front of his chest and said while nodding his head.
"Alright enough! I still have more spells to make. Grace, go practice the magic circle until you are able to cast it." I now had to work on Sophie, Sally, Sei, and Adel's spells. I was thinking of doing Adel's first.
"Yes, Master!" Grace happily ran off to go practice her new spell. Seeing her so happy made me smile. At least someone was appreciative of my hard work!
"Adel, you are next," I said while rubbing the scratches off the stone floor with some earth magic and sitting down. "Do you have any ideas for a spell? I know I mentioned the domain thing before, but I figured you might have some ideas by now."
"I do have a few. While I have stop, rewind, and resume, I need something that will actually kill my enemies, and I was thinking of making a spell called fast forward." Adel said as she sat down. "I was thinking that with my new abilities, I should be able to break some of the rules set with my cosmic magic."
"Hmmm… One that speeds up time… Well, let's see. Rewind works like this." I drew a magic circle in the air but did not activate it so I could study it more. I tapped my chin and looked it over and over until I finally spotted something that kind of stuck out to me. It was well hidden within the runic equation and seemed to be essential to the runic equation, but in fact, it was not. It was a limiter and something that, if removed would make cosmic magic a really deadly magic.
Basically, the concept of time is targeting a person or thing and adjusting the time element around them. This is basically the basis of cosmic magic. And only those who have an affinity to it are able to use it, me being the exception. But that is mainly because of my amazing op system. But from what I am looking at, now that I am really picking this magic circle apart. The runic equation can be changed in many ways. Like, let's say you want to cast haste on someone to make them quicker only speed wise. You can do it without aging the person. If you want to slow a target to a crawl, you can do the same thing. And if you wish to kill someone, you can easily attack their age and fast forward it to the point that they die.
With this said, none of this would be possible if the limiter was still there. Only by removing the limiter can you do much more with this element. But what makes me curious is why such a limiter was pressed into the magic circle in the first place. Adel said he just knew how to cast it as if it came to her. If that is the case, then there might be another reason for it that we do not know, like maybe some form of a higher power. If this was Earth, I would laugh at such an idea, but this is a world of magic where everything is possible.
I once again rewrote the magic circle, this time without the limiter, and as I finished the spell, the entire thing turned golden in color. "Oh? Now, this is quite interesting…."
"Huh? Why is it gold!?" Adel asked as she looked at the magic circle in front of me in awe..
"Your time element is much more than we thought. After I removed the limiter, it returned back to its true form." Even I was surprised at what I was looking at. Without the limiter, the mana consumption is also reduced to like nothing. "One hundred mana per use. You can even replace a few things in the magic circle to allow them to do other things. Like buffing people to make them faster. Or as you asked. Kill someone by aging them."
"This…." I could tell by the look on Adel's face that she was finding it all hard to believe but in front of her was a carbon copy of her normal spell but unrestricted and seemed even omnipotent.
"Adel, see this here." I pointed to a section in the runic equation. Adel got close and nodded her head. "This is the key to deciding what you want to do with the spell. This is also up to your imagination as long as it has to do with time. Like, let's say I did this." I stood up and drew another magic circle, this time, I did plan to use it, but only one me. "Haste!"
As soon as I said that, I felt like every part of my body began to speed up. I took a step forward, and it was as if I had teleported because I ended up half away across the room in a single step. I then turned around and took another step forward, returning to where I stood before. I canceled the spell and sat back down. "As you can see, haste speeds up the actions of the body, nothing more. But you can do many things with it now. Just do not cast anything that will kill anyone. There will be plenty of goblins for that."
"Ri-Right…" Adel seemed still in a daze. I still want to make a time domain where she can freely control time within a certain distance around her, but I figured this was enough for the time being.
"Practice with haste for now and keep the output low. Once you get used to it, raise the output a bit." I figured it would be best for Adel to start slow since I do not know the adverse effects of this kind of spell. I feel fine now, but I am not sure Adel's body could take such speed.
"Mmm…" Adel nodded and stood up. She had already memorized the magic circle due to her now very high intelligence. I watched as she walked over to the side and sat down. She then proceeded to slowly draw the magic circle out.
I cleaned up the floor once more and sat there looking forward. Everyone was currently practicing their new magic, which was a good thing. "Sei and Sophie…."
These two I did not know what to make for them. Sophie already had a very op spell which allows her to phase in and out of reality. While Sei was already very strong. "I guess with Sophie, maybe a spell that will allow her to do more damage with her sword…."
"Mmm… A way to increase my attack ability would be nice."
"AhHH!" I yelled out. I was so lost in thought I never noticed Sophie sitting next to me, so when she spoke, it scared the crap out of me! I held my chest and blushed from ear to ear. Everyone had looked over and was giggling at me. I pouted my bottom lip and looked at Sophie with an aggrieved expression. But instead of her trying to make me feel better, she giggled along with everyone else. It must be pick on the dragon day, right?
Clearing my throat, I decided to ignore everyone else as I thought long and hard. A spell that could increase Sophie's abilities was not something that was easy to create. She was already using many body enhancing buffs. "Maybe a way to quicken her attack speed while enhancing her strength?" 𝘪n𝐧𝓻eа𝒅. 𝘤o𝘮
Colossal strength, wind rush, and acceleration were all highly effective body buffs that most swordsmen used. But they could only do so much…. What if I configured acceleration to do more than just make someone run faster? What if I can make it apply to other parts of the body….
I was starting to get an idea of what would work. Whether or not it will or not is another story. The spell acceleration was supposed to be a movement speed spell but it is not exactly stated in the runic equation on what it affects. If i can create a spell that stacks with acceleration it would make her combat prowess soar.
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