It...
It died?
That. Is not supposed to happen. That is not what I was expecting at all. It just. Exploded. Into tiny pieces.
That can't...
That can't be right, can it? How weak are these skeletons if they shatter like that from one hit?
"Answer: Skeletons are level 8, Master!"
A skeleton reaches for me from the darkness. Reflexively, I spin the club and slam it into the creature's arm. The arm shatters into a spray of dust and bone shards. The undead warrior recoils back, stumbling.
Without much thought, I drop to the ground and kick out my legs, sweeping it off of its feet. It crashes to the ground with impressive force, bones scattering in every direction against the hard dirt. Another skeleton, rattling behind me, rushes to close the distance between us, apparently undeterred by the fate of its fellows so far. I twist on my heel, turning in its direction just in time to avoid a skewering strike from its blade. Instead, the blade slashes into my shirt.
However, the blade it's wielding is so rusted out and dull that even when it touches my skin, it just scrapes by harmlessly. Rather than slicing me or causing any pain, it's just. The exact feeling of nails on chalkboard, but physical. Eurgh. I wrench the sword from its hand and slam the flat of the blade into the skeleton's skull, sending it flying off of its body.
But more importantly...!
What the hell is this trash? These are definitely weak! I'm not even sure these would be dangerous to regular people unless that person had some kind of heart condition, let alone any other kind of adventurer.
I'm just using a torch - and once a borrowed dull blade - and nothing else and they're not even managing to hurt me. It's kind of pathetic. I get the feeling I could just stand here and wait, and they'd somehow find a way to break themselves on me without managing to injure me at all. I shove the one before me back with the butt of the torch I'm carrying, sending it reeling back into the mob. It bumps into the ones behind it and they fall like a bowling pin strike. It's so comically pathetic, I wouldn't even be surprised if I did hear that sound effect play in the air.
In just a few minutes I manage to utterly demolish the entire group.
That was. In a word, pathetic.
I glance back at the others. "It really wasn't-"
The expression of abject terror on Elara's face cuts me off.
"...What is it?" I look over my shoulder quickly - just in case it's one of those sucker punch cases.
But no.
Piles of inanimate bones and dust and discarded equipment. No secret hard enemy lurking and waiting to attack me the moment I turn my back.
I turn back to the others. "What?"
Elara stares at me for another moment, before she shakes herself and swallows. "It's. Nothing. Just-" She cuts herself off again. "Nevermind."
She casts a furtive look at Kael, who nods subtly.
...The hell did I miss? Some kind of projection of the final boss? A secondary silent attack with the actual dangerous mobs?
I sigh, finally. Whatever. If they're not going to say it, I'm not going to play guessing games to figure it out.
Two seconds after I turn to continue down the hallway, Elara breaks the silence. "It's just that I've never seen anyone defeat so many monsters at once." The red haired girl laughs awkwardly behind me.
That's...
"Like I was trying to say. They're really weak." I frown back over my shoulder. "Did any of you get the chance to fight them? They're one hits."
"Well..." Arin speaks finally, "I suppose it's a C rank quest."
Elara glances over at the blonde and gives a quiet nod, before swallowing. "...Yeah. I guess. You're right." She blinks several times, and then shakes her head. "...W-we should keep moving. Come on!"
I sigh and toss my makeshift club on the floor, picking up the sword from some of the destroyed enemies instead. Might as well try a bladed weapon, even if it's painfully dull. Can't gain skill without practice, after all, and these skeletons are so weak it shouldn't pose a problem. For a moment or two, I consider picking up a spear as well, to practice dual wielding. But no. No cheese tactics.
As I step forward, I pause.
A shield.
A terrible wooden one lays on the floor in front of me. Normally, I'd ignore it with extreme prejudice. Shields instead of learning boss patterns and dodging properly? That's just embarrassing.
But...what am I going to do if there's some stupid arrow trap ahead? Even if the enemies themselves are weak here, I can't trust myself to have the agility to dodge a trap right after starting. I'm definitely more spry than in my past life - the battle just now makes that obvious. But with no armor, no idea what my stats are, and no resets, in a dungeon that's already had a trap...?
Ngh-
I don't like it. But it's smart to pick it up. Just in case.
I can learn my way around the mechanics eventually on my own, and see how good my agility is. But I'm not dying in a tutorial dungeon. Especially not when the enemies are this pathetic. I refuse. And I'm not doing that tedious backtracking thing, either. Not a chance.
The sword has a strange heft in my hand. It's unfamiliar to me. But...I find I quite enjoy it. It feels like it belongs there. A small thrill runs up my spine as I get used to the feeling, and I grip the hilt tighter. I can get used to this. I can get very, very used to this.
I pick up my pace after that momentary crisis, and catch up to the other three who are walking ahead. We resume our slow progression into the caves. There are indeed more traps along the way, as I expected, but...none of them are arrow traps or anything that actually requires the shield I picked up just yet. And on top of that, most of them are painfully obvious to notice and avoid.
Or they would be, anyway.
If System Helper didn't always tell me about them before I can even try to look for them.
"It's Cissy! Master, I have a cute name~!"
Don't talk to me.
The voice huffs and sulks. I can't see her. But I know she's sulking. I can hear it.
We make our way slowly down the narrowing cave pathway, following the curve of the rocky walls as they twist and turn. This place has not been particularly impressive so far on any count. But it does manage to maintain a creepy ambiance despite that. Which is in itself somewhat impressive. And aggravating, given it's just one big false promise.
Every time I glance around to the rest of the party, Arin always looks pale and queasy, like he's about to collapse or hurl. It's almost amusing. He doesn't really fit the image of an adventurer type with his soft, fine features and constantly worried look. But maybe that's to be expected. He seems to be the magician type, which means he likely has little in the way of self defense if he gets jumped suddenly. Not that there's anything for even him to worry about in this damn place. Although, to be fair to him...the first escort mission always has either overpowered companions who carry you effortlessly until they're smited by the final boss of the area, or absolute wrecks that do nothing but weigh you down trying to keep them alive.
...Considering how shaken up and jumpy Elara seems since that first encounter, I'm leaning toward the latter case. But. Maybe if she actually engages with the next group she'll see they're all rattle and no bite. Or maybe she'll get hurt. Somehow. I guess it's possible.
But. She can use healing magic even if she is hurt, can't she? She's a mage just like Arin.
"Answer: Arin is the healing mage, Master. Elara is a fire mage and cannot perform healing magic because she lacks light affinity!"
Affinity....
So people can only use the elemental schools of magic that they've got affinity for? Classic balancing. But boring.
"Answer: Everyone is born with different aptitudes, Master! Or none at all. But don't worry, Master! You have every single aptitude!"
I-
What?
Why? Why would I have every single elemental aptitude??
"Answer: Because you posses the Elemental Mastery perk!"
Elemental Mastery perk?
Perks are supposed to be unlocked. Optional. Chosen and built up to. What kind of a world just has people randomly born with all elements unlocked?? That is clearly an endgame perk!
"Answer: Almost nobody in the world has ever been born with the Elemental Mastery perk."
Then why do I have it?!
I specifically didn't choose any perks!
"That's because you were given-"
The wall in front of me explodes, sending me skidding backward. Two dozen skeletons pour out into the hallway at once.
A dozen, two dozen, a thousand skeletons. They're all still one-hit. But I can't focus on smashing them and interrogate the voice in my head at the same time.
Later. I'll make it explain itself later.
I glance over my shoulder to check on the others, as the hoard of skeletons wash past me, apparently focused on the others over me. I've always been a soloist, so I don't really care if they help or not, but it'll be quicker, at least, if they do more than just stand around and run this time.
Kael has daggers drawn, blades glinting in the glow of a blueish magical flame that Elara conjures around them. He, at least, looks confident and at ease. He strikes out at one of the skeletons - and his expression immediately melts into surprise as the skeleton parries him and knocks him back with surprising alacrity and force.
Well then. Seems like these skeletons are faster and smarter than the last ones. Makes sense. The dungeon is deeper here.
I turn my gaze ahead again, as one of the skeletons finally deigns to turn its blade toward me instead of them.
Unfortunately, it's considerably more sluggish than the one fighting Kael. I twist my own dulled blade easily, and knock its blade out of its bony hand. Then, while it's knocked briefly off balance, I slam into its body - covered by some kind of aging leather armor - with my shoulder, and send it crashing to the ground. A second lifts its arm above its head and cleaves an axe downward. It's no faster than its companion, though, and I'm able to sidestep it easily enough, and knock its - also incredibly dull - axe out of its hand with my elbow. Which. Is a trick that is way easier than I expected it to be to pull off.
Huh. I guess it goes to show those things that look easy are hard, and the things that look hard are sometimes easy.
It's obvious that being in this world has amplified my physical abilities - even more than before - but I suppose it makes sense. I'm not. The happiest about it. But it lets me skip a year or two of weight lifting and whatever else to get my previous gamer noodle arms into something that can even lift a sword, much less have the endurance to get through a whole dungeon in a day. As it is, I'm not even feeling short of breath.
One of the skeletons ahead of me stumbles over its companion. I seize the opportunity to smack it in the spine with my sword hilt, breaking the old bones of the body, and then a solid strike to the legs topples it.
Weirdly, it's kind of mindless fun. Not satisfying, obviously. But a bit fun.
A gout of flame flies by my face and singes a skeleton. And now that I think about it....yeah, I can't expect fire to do much to skeletons.
"They're immune to fire, Master!"
Yeah, thanks for telling me right this second.
Not that it matters. We can just beat them to death with clubs, after all. I still haven't come close to being injured. Fire is just quality of life.
Elara screams, causing me to spin in place. One of the skeletons has grabbed her by the hair and yanked her off of her feet, wrenching her off into the crowd of skeletons that...feels like more than two dozen, now that I look around. Just how many of them poured through that wall?
"Elara!" Kael screams. He dives into the crowd of the undead. I can hear screams, which could be from either of them - pained or feral - but before I can think about whether to intervene, something slams into my back and I crash face first into the ground.
"Ow." I grunt.
It's not that bad, honestly. But I've always hated the feeling of the wind getting knocked out of my lungs.
With some effort, I roll over onto my back. Just to see one of the skeletons' scimitars arcing down toward me. On instinct, I grab the fallen club of another one in my right hand, and swing it up toward the blade.
The impact rattles the bones in my hand, and sends the undead's blade pinwheeling off into the dark.
I grin. "Parry. Nice."
I kick the skeleton in its pelvis, and like usual, it shatters.
Arin holds out a hand near where I lay, "You okay?"
I tug myself up to my feet with his help. "...Yeah. It was just so easy I dropped my guard there."
"Easy-?"
One of the skeletons swings at Arin. My borrowed club - honestly, probably better for these than my sword - makes quick work of it before the man even finishes stumbling back out of its range.
And...
Cleaning up the rest is easy enough. Too easy, in fact. Even a whole group of them, besides that one embarrassing slip up, didn't even pose a threat.
I guess every world has to start somewhere, but this is ridiculous.