Rupegia Ch. 03: Royd’s Kerfuffle

It looks exactly the same as the previous one: drab and boring. The goblins aren't naked anymore, but the Mandrakes and Bush Babies are still the same.

After a few kills, I see that even the Mandrakes and the Bush Babies are giving little experience. So it seems that the enemies ramp up in power little by little.

I'm thinking that now that I have [Fire Magic] I'll be okay on the third floor.

After a few more kills, I find another armored goblin. I think it's a male, the females seem to have a slightly smoother skin and fewer wrinkles.

He's wearing the same leather armor as the one from before, but the shield is bigger and he's taller, so now he's just a little bit shorter than me. I'm 165cm, by the way.

I'll have to be more careful with this one since it looks like he has much more skill and intelligence than the others. Just to confirm my theory, he smiles before he charges towards me.

We trade even blows, but his attacks are heavier than the Bush Baby vines, so I have to focus on deflecting more to tire me less. This leaves me with little openings to strike back, so I start to get pushed back.

I have to do something.

I notice his attacks follow an obvious timing, so I prepare myself, then I bash his shield right before he winds up his slash. He wasn't expecting me to counter with such power, so I manage to break his posture. I bash again, putting all my body into it, and he loses his balance, then falls on his ass.

I strike his shield repeatedly while he desperately tries to crawl away backward. His sword hand is busy supporting his body while he defends himself with his shield, so he can't get up, and his smile turns into an angry frown.

I step on his sword hand, making him drop it, then I drop my shield, grab his, and open his guard. He tries to wrench free, but I have the physical and mechanical advantage, so I stab him in the face until he dies.

This one tired me out, so I need time to catch my breath and apply [Regeneration] to my arms.

Curiously, his shield doesn't disappear like the rest of his equipment did. I put some points into Appraisal, and it tells me it's a medium-sized iron shield. It has no painting or decorations on it, and it's of "medium" quality. Average at everything, but I guess it might be worthy of something, so I put it into my "Items."

I have to kill at least another ten of these goblins to level up. My Experience gain seems to be dropping really fast, or is it actually my growth that is too fast? Perhaps killing the same monster has diminishing returns, rewarding me less Experience each time I kill them.

--

I eat my lunch away from the goblin corpse, then I move on and reach the entrance to the third floor. I'm getting a little nervous, but I decide it's worth the risk.

On this new floor, the first mature Mandrake. It has valuable green leaves on its head, and it's nearly a meter tall. The pain from the scream is slightly stronger, but only slightly, so it's still bearable. It's a good thing that their power seems to increase slowly, or else I'd have to put all my points into [Mental Resistance].

It charges forward like the other Mandrakes, but it's faster than the younger ones. I steel myself, grit my teeth, and ready my shield. Like I had predicted, it jumps towards my chest with its pointy arms aiming towards me. Once it's in the air, I wait for the perfect moment to bash it with my shield.

*Dooon!* I hear the loud sound of metal resonating even while under the effects of the Mandrake's scream, but it's intensity slowly fades away. My hand hurts from the sudden strike, but this was an effective attack. The Mandrake flies far away and one of its arms breaks.

Considering how the scream stopped, I guess I succeeded in stunning it. I give chase and slash at the downed Mandrake. Its head falls out and a fluid greener than the one from the younger Mandrakes spews out.

I look at my shield and notice that the tip of one of the Mandrake's pointy arms stuck is stuck in it.

Holy shit, I guess I need a better shield now.

There's also a small dent in it from the other arm. That bash sure packed a good punch, but I don't think it's the best choice. If they charge and jump, the best options still seems to be to just slash.

Maybe a spear is the most effective tool here against these charging enemies, but if you meet more than one, you need a backup weapon in case it gets stuck in an enemy. Thinking about this, I pull out a dagger I got from a goblin, then I hang it on my belt behind my back. Even with a sword, it's useful to have a backup weapon.

I feel something changed within me, so I open my status screen. I've gained the skill [Shield Bash] with 1 point.

Hm, shield bashes seem effective at stunning enemies, so I guess this is another skill that's important to have.

--

I move on and notice that the goblins are stronger and require more effort on this level. They all graduated from loincloths and are now using basic woolen clothes. A few even have one or two pieces of leather armor.

So, the ones fully armored are rare occurrences? The dungeoneering book didn't tell me much about these abnormalities, and the only thing I remember is that monsters can go up a level of the dungeon in rare instances. Maybe they're from a lower level, then? "Lower" as in a level deeper "down" that has stronger monsters. The fact that the stairs go "down," but the floor select screen goes "up" is a bit confusing.

The mature Mandrake is still rare, and the Bush Babies didn't increase in power, so my experience gain isn't increasing, making me rather frustrated. The speed of my progress is dropping sharply.

It's annoying not having an idea about what's the proper rate of progress in this world. There's a skill called [Increased Growth], and another called [Inspire Growth], but I don't have the skill points to spare. Perhaps they help with level gain? Though the name is ambiguous.

I don't really have the time and the points to test those skills, so I just ignore them.

I can't remove my mana enhancements because I'm starting to use [Fireball] more often to make fighting less tiring. I can't remove my physical combat skills, otherwise, I feel like I'll lose the skill advantage against the goblins.

Is it my best choice to find a partner? I've only sensed pairs of adventurers coming here, and no solo explorers like me. The problem is that I can't really trust just about anybody to pair up. I think that my adaptability and rapid growth will be extremely suspicious.

My body gets increasingly tired, and I decide it's time to leave the dungeon. My legs are aching, my arms are hurting, and I feel like my body is swaying. I've been fighting all day, after all, and at the rate that I'm gaining experience, tomorrow before noon I might get another level.

When I get out, I see the sun and understand that there are still a few hours until dusk.

Now, what do I do while I wait? I don't really want to talk to the guards, and adventurers normally don't interact with others.

I should've bought a book. There's no internet or computers here, so my two main sources of entertainment are gone. Can I maintain my sanity without my games? This might be the true trial of the hero in this world.

--

I pass the time by maintaining my weapon, and exploring the other magic skills, making a note of every spell and their effects. "Notes" is a rather terrible interface to use, so I think I'll keep most of my notes on actual paper.

Most magic skills only show me spells up to 15 points, but after that, I can only see "???". The only level 20 spells I can see are [Item Box] from [Space Magic] and [Purify Body] from [Light Magic], so I guess I'm missing something. Is it mana pool? Is it the "Intelligence" or "Wisdom" stats?

Dusk comes, and I suddenly feel a small breeze on my whole body. I look at my "Status Effects" and see that the entry "Wind Armor" has disappeared, so my [Wind Armor] has run out.

I decide that I'll put four points into [Blessing Magic] the next time I level so that I can get the [Sharp Blades] spell. It might help me with cutting the armor of the goblins or ensuring a one-hit kill on the Mandrakes and Bush Babies. There are no other immediately useful spells, and I'm scared to put points into certain dangerous sounding magic schools like, [Cursing Magic], so I'll make it do with only those I know are safe.

Night falls and I look up, but I only see a cloudy sky again. I can't even see the moon.

Wait, is there even a moon here? I think there are stars, but I didn't pay attention to the moon.

I turn off my lights, but it takes a few hours of restless tossing and turning until I finally start to feel sleepy. The uncomfortable sleeping bag makes it harder to sleep, but I'm going back to town tomorrow, so I'll just deal with it again today.

--

This night I don't see the Gargling Goblin again, but I have a very unpleasant dream. I only remember the disturbing sensation of slicing flesh with my sword.

--

I wake up feeling stiff, but at least I don't wake up as tired as yesterday. I get up, stretch, eat breakfast, recover my things, brush my teeth, and put on some anti-scent powder. This powder is essential to prevent the Mossy Fangpine from tracking someone's scent, so my first meeting with it was just inevitable. Curiously, there's a magical anti-scent powder that has a faint perfume, but of course, I wouldn't waste money with that, I can still endure the smell of leather.

I wash my dirty clothes with magic, but I don't think that this was a good idea. With the [Mana Control] skill, I can hold a [Fireball] in my hand and slightly change its size, so I use it for fast drying, but it seems like that this has damaged the fabric.

After that, I return to the dungeon at the same time as another adventuring duo. They kind of look like a couple, and I start to feel very uncomfortable.

I feel so lonely... I don't even want to think about how are things back on Earth. I just... don't want to think about it.

Whenever I think about Earth, I start to feel depressed and I lose my motivation, so I think that it's best to bury those thoughts until I can deal with them better.

I slap my cheeks and enter the ominous black rectangle, then I choose "3rd Floor." I appear in the same drab room as before, but I'm completely alone. Fortunately, it seems that the couple didn't go to the same floor as me.

--

Progress is smooth, but slow since I don't encounter any armored goblins or mature Mandrakes for bursts of Experience.

"You are now level 9," the announcer finally says after half of my morning is gone.

I put my new four skill points all in [Blessing Magic] (now 5) and cast [Sharp Blades]. Like [Wind Armor], a glowing ball appears on my palm, so I push it into my sword. The blade subtly changes and looks like it's been polished. At least it doesn't shine ridiculously.

I touch the edge with my finger and feel that it's dangerously sharp. It's impressive, really.

I take a short rest because the spell used half MP, then I move on again and butcher my way through the monsters.

It makes me happy how easy it is to decapitate the monsters, now. I can basically kill anything with one good hit. I even manage to cut a goblin in half at the waist!

Ok, the sight of his guts spilling on the floor is gruesome and traumatizing, and now there's just blood everywhere, but holy shit, I cut a goblin in half.

Fuck, am I enjoying this? I either have a mental problem or a natural talent, depends on which world you are from.

Unfortunately, the experience gain continues to drop. It becomes a waste to fight monsters on this level, so I decide to go to the fourth floor.

The mature Mandrakes are much more common now, though not all of them have leaves that can be harvested, which is a shame since it's their most valuable part. Unfortunately, the goblins and Bush Babies didn't get stronger, so I decide to keep going down levels until at least the goblins improve... or is it "up" a level...?

After lunch, I get to the fifth floor, but it isn't much better. The Bush Babies are now 1-meter tall and hit harder, but my strategy is polished, and I cut their vines easily.

I decide to risk it and go to the sixth floor.

--

Finally, the goblins are now giving good experience. Since they're still the most common enemy by far, they need to give considerable experience, or else it's a waste of my time. Now most of them are wearing at least two pieces of armor.

It seems that monsters increase their power in a very predictable pattern.

The rate of experience gain is steady, but I'm getting tired much more often now, so I have to take multiple breaks.

While I'm waiting at a dead end, I get three familiar hits on my [Sense Presence]. I immediately remove [Mental Resistance] and trade it for [Andraste Language]. I need to research the difference between each level of the language proficiency, I always go for 10 but 7 will have to do this time.

The three adventurers enter my room and notice me.

"Hoho, greetings again. You progressed a lot haven't you?" The wealthy adventurer casually asks.

His party is the same, but I can see dirt, blood, and tired eyes on him and the other two members. Though the woman is the only one without a drop of blood on her clothes.

I respond with a faint smile, "Yeah, I got the hang of dealing with these monsters. They're quite dumb and weak, so I had to come to this floor for a challenge."

He nods and smiles back. "Indeed, my teacher instructed me to come to this level because anything below is just too weak. We went much deeper into the dungeon, but after this level, the goblins get stronger much faster, so we came back here for an easier time." He puts a hand over his chest and says, "I'm called Nour, what's your name?"

"Wolf Ryder."

He nods and respectfully and asks, "Then, Mr. Ryder, would you mind if we take a rest with you? Is this area safe?"

Again with the "Mister." Also, he didn't say his last name, so was it a blunder to say mine? Do normal people not have a second name?

I get a little nervous, but I decide to be friendly and respond, "Y-yeah, no problem. I killed the monster at the dead-end."

The three of them sit down near the wall, Nour sits by a wall facing me while the woman and the other man sits at the corner, then they pull out canteens and start to drink.

"This woman is my sister, Rania. The man is my slave guard, Liam."

"Hello," Rania says in a monotone.

"Greetings, Grand Ryder," the man says with a nod.

"Grand" Ryder? That feels even weirder, but I assume this is how a slave respectfully addresses others.

The words that I hear are foreign, but because of the language skill, everything is being translated to its closest meaning in English. The words they speak also sound slightly garbled, so I need to focus to understand what they're saying. This must be the effect of not having 10 points in the language.

I wave my hand to them and smile.

"You know [Blessing Magic]? I didn't see you using [Wind Armor] the first time we met."

Oh shit. Quick, time to lie.

"I didn't want to... train with enhancements on. I thought it'd be best to train my sword without using magic first, and then use it when I'm comfortable I'm skilled enough."

"Bahahah! That's the same advice teacher gave!" Nour roars.

"Told ya it's good advice," Rania says while smiling wryly.

"Agreed, master. The path to glory is a long journey," says Liam in a serious tone.

He sounds like a sage.

Nour raises his hands and lowers his head in defeat and says, "Alright, alright. I'm not going to rush out into a dungeon or anything like that. I learned my lesson..." He lifts his head and crosses his arms. "But anyway... exploring dungeons alone is uncommon, why don't you partner with somebody? [Blessing Magic] is valuable in a team."

"Don't pry into the business of others," Rania warns.

He flinches and smiles wryly. "Geh... I'm sorry. Mr. Ryder just piqued my interest."

Rania turns to me and smiles wryly. "Forgive my brother, Mr. Ryder. He's far too curious and carefree."

"That's not a problem... " I answer and awkwardly rub my neck. "I don't mind answering. I'm traveling alone because I'm new around here, and I... pick my partners carefully."

"Rania, I think he's teacher's son," Nour says and chuckles softly.

"That just means that teacher's mentality leads to a longer life," she replies flatly.

There's nothing I can do but smile at this exchange. Nour might be a little nosy for me, but it's hard to be mad at him because he seems good-natured.

"Well, okay... but Mr. Ryder, have you thought about buying a slave as a companion? Blood Slaves can be more loyal than even sworn knights."

"Blood Slave?" I blurt a question.

Is this related to [Blood Magic]? I remember that there was some forbidden magic like that.

Nour raises a curious eyebrow at me, so I try to salvage my question, "I mean, how can a Blood Slave be that loyal?"

He smiles subtly at my awkwardness and responds, "Well, you can use [Slavery Magic] to make sure that they always obey, but that doesn't inspire loyalty. The important thing is that the Gods watch over the Blood Slaves, so you can be certain that they're always the best servants. Just like my companion, Liam."

So it's not [Blood Magic]? Then why call it "Blood Slave"?

"Hmmm... can you ex-..."

My question gets cut short. I get two hits on my [Sense Presence], one small and one huge, both monsters.

Just what the hell is this.

I instinctively get up and draw my sword. "Monsters are coming," I say.

All three of them look confused, but they stand up and draw their weapons. Liam looks at me suspiciously.

"I didn't hear anything," he says.

Oh no... This enemy is dangerous, extremely dangerous.

The monsters suddenly start sprinting. They've detected us. We start to hear a jingling in the distance.

Liam turns his head towards the noise and questions in confusion, "Chain mail?"

"Run!" I exclaim and dart towards the corridor. It dawns on them what's coming and they immediately follow me.

I run as fast as I can, but it's too late. When we get near the entrance to the corridor, the monsters are already at the doorway, trapping us inside. We stop and our blood runs cold as we see the two figures coming to kill us. These monsters are the reason I don't want to go to the eleventh floor: the Orc Headhunter and the Swamp Goblin.

There's a trap on the eleventh floor, a roaming duo of monsters much more powerful than the ones normally found in the area. They hunt weaker adventurers and prey on them, so this is why nobody spends any time on that floor. The worst thing is that the Escape Bomb doesn't work on the orc, its endurance is too high. The duo is a terrifying combo.

The Swamp Goblin is a brown, filthy goblin that wears simple rags. It uses a blowgun that shoots poisoned darts that weaken the physical capabilities of adventurers. It's physically weak, so it's the priority target.

The orc is a green ugly monstrosity around two-meters tall. It has a pig snout, large eyes, and huge tusks coming out of his mouth; its strength is superhuman; it wields claymore that he uses with a single hand, and a large kite shield; and it wears a hauberk with a metal cuirass, vambraces, schynbalds, and cuisses. I'll be lucky if I survive a single strike from it.

"MASTER! RUN!" Liam screams while he charges the orc.

That was the wrong move. Nour and I have shields, so we can defend against the goblin and dodge the orc while Rania snipes the goblin, but we never agreed on cooperating, so Liam must be thinking on sacrificing himself instead on betting on defeating him.

I just can't let him suicide charge, so I charge behind him. I cast [Entangling Vines] at the goblin's feet and hide behind my shield.