You wake up to the sound of an alarmed squeal. You blink, and for just a moment you panic, holy crap your underwater, you're drowning!. Oh wait, right, you can breathe in water now. That passed you look up in time to see a half dressed Sera retreating from the bathroom. Uh, what.
Right, you guess you decided to sleep in her room. You also apparently shucked your night dress sometime during the night without noticing cause there it is soaked on the floor next to the tub. You sigh, well that explains it. You might both be women, but Sera is um… Kinda into you in a romantic and possibly physical sense. So you guess her being embarrassed is reasonable.
Also, you didn't think this sleeping in the bath thing through, your underwear, being white have gone a little, uh transparent, great.
You sigh again, letting out a stream of bubbles and then surface, collecting your night dress from its place on the floor as you scan around for towels. You do call out though, "Hey Sera, uh… Sorry about that."
"I-its fine," comes you response, called through the door, "Just… Just please let me know when you are decent."
Right, decent. You don't think your wet nightclothes are going anywhere near decent until they dry off. If you're gonna keep doing this you might have to consider using swimwear for sleeping purposes. Putting that aside for now, you work on toweling yourself off. When that's done you just wrap a towel tightly around your body, and after a brief check to make sure everything important is covered, you step out.
Sera is waiting on her bed, wringing her hands red all the way down to the neckline of her nightgown, it's kind of adorable. "U-um, please don't think I was p-peeking or anything, I just forgot you were sleeping there!" she says as you emerge, ugh… watery puppy eyes, so unfair, you can't manage that look at all.
"It's fine, it's fine," you say, waving your hand that isn't keeping your towel wrapped tightly around you. "Just a mistake, no harm no foul, we can totally pretend this never happened," you wonder if you laid on the false cheer a little too thick at the end there.
"Y-yes, that sounds just fine," she says a little too quickly, did she just shift her eyes away when she said that? Somehow you get the suspicion that she isn't planning to forget this at all. Ah… whatever, it's really too early for this stuff.
"Cool, going to steal your towel so I can go get dressed then," you say with a sigh, she doesn't object as you head out, your room is like two doors up the hall… right next to Anshelm's now that you think about it. So… Are the rooms soundproofed, or do they use Maya's room or… You shake your head, not the time, not the time at all. You also stopped in the middle of the hall while thinking about that, so time to not keep standing around in a wet towel.
Once you're dressed and have gone downstairs to meet a still blushing Sera at your usual table. As you chat you take an idle glance around at the room as people filter downstairs, Shimah joins you soon enough, falling into the conversation easily enough. There is the trio of Rolf, jack and Rose, all level five at this point, looks like Rose has traded out the sword for hunters daggers though, and she looks profoundly uncomfortable in the light red hunters armor, which is about as concealing as you would expect. Rolf and Jack still seem to be using their normal jobs though.
Anyway, there's Hiro and Lucia, level six, man they're going fast, they seem to have traded roles, Hiro is a wind elementalist right now, and Lucia is a sword warrior. Looks like Alex has joined up with them too, though he looks kinda uncomfortable, also only level three.
There are others, higher level folks, Wulf waves cheerily when you glance at him and his group, all double digits on them.
Anyway, you turn your attention back to your party, Anshelm and Maya are here, and though Maya looks a little tired, they seem fine, conversation soon turns to what you want to do today.
"Well… we all probably can hit level five and C rank today," you begin, "but at the same time… For reasons we don't really want to split apart too much, am I right?"
"It would probably be tempting fate a little, yes." Maya says a bit morosely.
"Yeah, don't really want to go in two different directions right now." Anshelm adds as well. Huh, guess you know what it takes for Anshelm… And you to show some caution.
"Um, staying together would probably be for the best," Sera says quietly.
"Right," you say, "No reason we can't split up on the same dungeon though, right?" Maya waves you on, looking vaguely amused, at nods from everybody else you continue, "So, I figure we hit Ogre's Den. Shimah, Sera, would you say the E rank would be easy enough to solo the way we are now."
Shimah ponders that for a moment, "For Anshelm, undoubtedly, you or Sera would need to be careful, and I cannot go alone at all as I am. Maya's level is too high."
"Um… I would say the same thing, if the bonus boss showed up Al and I could get into trouble though…" Sera adds.
"That sounds about right," you say, "So, I was thinking Anshelm, Sera and I solo E rank, and Shimah and Maya do the D rank as a two person like the dungeon is recommended for."
"I suppose that might not be too bad," Maya muses, "The poison on my new daggers really is great, and we can always orb out if it becomes a problem. It's… a little risky, but I think we can manage."
Anshelm glances at her warily but nods in acceptance, "Yeah, sure, sounds fine. Hitting level five is pretty important."
"I agree as well, this seems both efficient and reasonably safe," Shimah says simply.
"Alright, now that the serious stuff is done, what's this I heard about Sera and you sleeping together Al?" Maya asks cheerfully, bringing a sputter from you and a blush from Sera.
You manage to fend Maya off alongside a desperately embarrassed Sera, at least until Shimah indicates that you invited her to sleep with you too, and it just goes downhill from there. Short story, Maya is coming along on their shopping trip, you have a feeling this is going to be… A thing.
You all do a little more shopping, Maya checks out the blessings again, but there's nothing new on that front, you need a higher level you suppose. You also decide to finally get a copyist in on making your guide for you. It's a little more expensive than buying paper and ink from Adel, so you'll have to raise the price a few gilder to maintain the same profit margin, but hey, no more cramped hands and the copyist will have his apprentice deliver the finished goods to the Inn, you order a run of ten for now, which costs a good fifty Gilder, but you figure you'll make that back from the sales. Other than that, after everyone does a little item stocking you're ready to go.
You set out on the short trip to the Ogre's Den, much more carefully than you once would have. You know things are dangerous now, so there is much less cheer and chatter among you… for good reason it turns out, as you travel through a section of rocky wasteland, you see dust approaching in the distance, right between you and the Ogre's Den. You squint a little, allowing you to make out the enemies in question. Armored skeletons, eyes flickering with eerie red light, four with spears, two archers and axemen, and one nasty looking skeleton in a tattered black robe.
You glance at Maya, who shudders a bit, but seems otherwise fine, "Nine of them," you say quietly, "I can probably disable the caster once they're close enough.
"Can you see the levels," Anshelm responds tersely as he steps in front of everyone, shield up.
You put your hand over your eyes, shielding it from the sun, they're still kinda far away but… "Looks like a bunch of sevens and eights," some of the tension goes out of your back at that, and indeed everyone else seems a little calmer too.
They are already heading for you, whatever preternatural senses monsters have that attract them to branded drawing them like moths to a flame, so Anshelm steps out from the rock formations and shouts a challenge, drawing the ire of the enemies first. He pays for it when an arrow strikes him in the shoulder, the other bouncing off his shield, the damage isn't bad, the poison it inflicted is.
Shimah fixes it, and Sera pays the archer back with a blinding arrow of lightning that knocks the skeleton archer from its feet and blows off a third of its health. Likewise you prepare to imprison the mage… who is just a bit faster than you unfortunately, three black bolts hit Anshelm hard, whittling off a chunk of health before the thing is trapped and struggling in the prison.
Maya goes for the kill on the archer, but is blocked by one of the shield skeletons which had hung back to protect the archers, her daggers score deep cuts in the thing's worn armor and rip off a huge chunk of health though, Maya has really improved now that she finally got weapons of her level. She vanishes again after that and you turn your attention to the enemies. Sera just dropped a fireball into the midst of the axe and spear users attacking Anshelm. You doubt your cold spells will be all that effective, so you go ahead and imprison the healthy archer as well.
You normally don't want to spend the SP but… it's the best use right now. Anshelm and Sera are wrecking the enemy melee group pretty hard, and although they are definitely doing damage Shimah is keeping up.
You frown as you notice something though… the closer the shield users are to each other, the less damage they seem to take, "Hey, drive the shield guys apart, they're buffing each other's defenses." You throw in some acid darts, finishes off the weakened archer as Maya dances circles around the wounded spear skeleton.
Anshelm responds to your words immediately, a shield bash smashing a skeleton spearman's legs out from under it sending it tumbling back. Sera follows up with a lightning bolt that kills one of the others.
Your first imprisonment wears off, allowing the skeleton necromancer free… for all the time it takes Maya to start demolishing him and holy crap did she just poison a skeleton?
It's all mop up at this point, soon enough the rest of them fall, having only cost you a decent bite of SP. You drink an Amrita, as do the rest of you who rely on casting.
"I am glad that was manageable," Shimah says with a sigh, as the victory pane comes up.
Congratulations!
You have earned
35 Experience
2 Job points
30 Gilder.
The party has looted
1 Amrita
1 Hi potion
[Old Knights Axe] Worn and rusted, but nonetheless sturdy and deadly. Value 140
[Old Knights Spear] Cracked and stained from countless battles, still good at stabbing things. Value 140
"Pretty weak haul," Anshelm grumbles, "I guess this is the junk loot for whatever dungeon these are from."
"Probably the Fort," Maya says quietly, "The Graveyard's normal enemies were ghouls, at least for the part I saw."
Sera glances at Maya oddly, "We could just worry about this later…. I think it would be best to give the Amrita to Miss Shimah though, she had to use two of hers."
"I could use the Axe actually, it's kinda junk since it's white, but it'll do when I switch around to axe warrior." Anshelm says
So that ends up being the general consensus, you'll sell the spear as a group later, Amrita and potion for Shimah since they're doing the D rank, and the Axe for Anshelm.
Luckily enough the rest of the short trip to the Ogre's Den goes peacefully. You give each other some reassuring words and reminders to orb out if there is trouble… and off you go.
The first room is the same stinky cave you know and hate. The occupants are much weaker though. Only four of the ogre grunts, and they're only level two at that. More health than goblins sure, but these ones don't even have SP. You blast three of them with frost spray before they can even move, shaving off a good third of their health. The last gets a wild swing in that misses you before you trap it in an aqua prison…. Going by the way the bubble distorted weirdly you don't think you'll bother using that on the bigger ones.
Anyway, slowed ogres, you do take a hit from a club, and that really does hurt, a good ten damage in fact, you respond by killing the one who hit you with an icicle spear.
So it goes, you take a hit or two, and down a potion, but in the end they drop easily enough.
Next room is much the same as the last save that you have to deal with a big ogre too. Frost spray slows him down, your cloak spell goes up to increase your damage as they surround you, and then it's just a painful case of trading blows. You have to take another potion by the end, but once again, they drop pretty easily under your power. You figure if you use one potion a room and have two for the boss room, you'll be pretty good.
The next room is the one with the bonus bosses hut, so you keep a wary eye on that, also theres one of those rock throwing assholes, so right in the aqua prison he goes. Luckily it seems you are just strong enough to keep them held. After that it's a redux of the last room, just with two of the big monsters. A potion and a couple amrita later, and everything is dead. You remain tense for several seconds until it is clear the bonus isn't going off. You're kinda glad you haven't been getting those lately, but at the same time, you kinda want the loot they drop…
Ah well. Boss room is next, second verse same as the first, imprison the chuckers, cast Chill Aura, start hammering on the boss with icicle spears until he pops like a fat, ugly balloon. You do end up needing both potions and an Ether to finish things off, but in the end they drop and you were never worse off than yellow health.
Congratulations!
You have earned
180 Experience
20 Job points
180 Gilder
You have Looted
4 Potions
2 Amrita
[Ogre's Rucksack] Five Extra Slots. A crudely made hide sack. Is pretty spacious though. Value 100
[Ogre Belt] A rough hide belt with a buckle made of steel. Grants additional Health. Value 120
[Barbarian Vestment] A barbarian shaman's ceremonial wear. Grants an SP Bonus and resistance to fire. Value 250
[Bawws' Hat] A strange hat made of silk, black and tall, with a strip of white just above the brim. How did an Ogre get this? Reduces your starting threat? Value 150
Well that's nice and all, but you leveled up! Your job and your water magic ranked up too, as well as Divine Eye! You can see the values on green items now, and it looks like you'll be able to see monsters weaknesses and resistances as well as the amount of experience a dungeon gives out, nice.
Now for your job, more damage to ice spells, ignore more ice resistance, resistance to ice spells, extra SP which is nice… and a skill? You close that pane and bring up one for your new passive skill, but… wow that's pretty nice. Mana Absorb, you recover three SP after each dungeon room or fight you complete. Not too amazing now, but given the way skills increase, that number could get pretty big.
Water Magic nets you a new spell, Wave Crash, which hits targets in a short line with a chance at knocking them back or over. Wave Weaver improves too… it's a little weird, you get an agility bonus in the water, and attacks 'with a liquid component' have a higher chance of missing you.
With your reading done, you collect your stuff and exit the dungeon, unfortunately two of your items tumble to the ground not fitting in your inventory. You spend a moment poking and prodding, but your hands just keep slipping right through them, you suppose cheating it is out of the question.
Then you hear a giggle from behind you, ah, looks like Sera finished before you. You respond to her giggle with a grumble, standing and equipping your newly improved bag to allow you to pick up the items. You didn't forget, not at all. "Did it go well?" you ask.
"The lightning cloak was very effective, and ogres burn very well," Sera responds cheerfully.
Anshelm pops out in a burst of light then, looking bored, "Easy run," he says with a shrug, "Nothing great on the loot front." He and Sera have leveled too you note.
"So, what'd you get for a skill Anshelm?" you ask, Sera very likely got the same one as you.
"Ah, lessee," he takes a moment to bring up the pane and reads it off, "Second Wind. The first time the user is reduced to critical health during a dungeon they receive a surge of stamina, restoring fifty health instantly."
"Oh my, I wonder if it has non-combat applications," There is Maya looking fairly cheerful, Shimah has leveled too, so that's good.
"We received an Ogre Race Mod, the rest of the loot was as usual," Shimah says, looking a little worn out, her SP is pretty low.
"In more amusing news, it turns out that by the time I finish stabbing each ogre once, the first one will usually have died from poison," Maya reports cheerfully.
"Nice," that'll be useful, "Shimah, what did you get for your C rank skill?"
"Mana Absorb, and you?" she asks.
"Same," report you and Sera in stereo.
"So, what else do we want to do today?" Maya asks everyone.
Well, what indeed?
[] Vooooote!
Al Lv5
Ice Elementalist C
Health 51/62
SP 72/87
Maya Lv5
Dual Blade Hunter C
Health 51/64
Sp 22/36
Anshelm Lv5
Spear Warrior C
Health 124/172
SP 24/37
Shimah Lv5
Hexer Cleric C
Health 72/87
SP 30/100
Seraphine Lv5
Fire Elementalist C
Health 39/58
Sp 42/79