(Author Note: I fucked up, it happens, probably a lot in this book since I'm writing, then posting chapters. So Level Discrepancy. In my notes, of which I should really pay more attention when writing, I have that there is a five level discrepancy buffer.
Beasts at Sam's level give 100% XP, five levels below Sam's give only 50% XP, 5 levels above give +50% (so 150% or wait, an extra 100% with her Double Double uugh math and me are not friends… or memory).
Ok New rule.
Sam gets double XP, so beasts five levels below now follow the same XP Gains as if they were her level. Done.
Anything more than 5 levels below hers, give nothing.
Five levels above give an additional 50% on top of the base XP then her double double kicks in.
So a beast up to five levels higher than her, that would have given her 200xp, with this new rule, gives her 300xp plus her double double so 600xp.
There, settled.
Also over five levels adds 100% to the original XP then her Double Double kicks in, so 200xp is 800xp.
Let's just hope I remember this going forward. (⊙_◎)
Ok back to our regularly scheduled program.)
~~~~~
"That…uh Jarvis?" Sam was stunned at her newest reward.
{"Yes Sam?"}
"Don't 'yes Sam' me. What the hell is this?"
{"Well, apparently, having technically completed your first dungeon, you've been given a reward. Since skill books, found in dungeons as rewards, can be learned to obtain a skill, the S.I.S.T.E.M felt it necessary to give you a place to put them. Should you obtain a skill that can merge with one that you have for a class, or to fill in gaps left behind by merging skills, you can now have a separate spot to put them since they aren't general skills they can't be placed there."}
"How convenient. Wait, does this mean I can learn magic? Like actual mage magic. Throw fireballs and ice spikes kinda magic?" She asked getting excited
{"With a reduced output of said magic, yes."}
"Hee hee, oh this will be fun. And probably have a high property damage cost." Sam smiled, rubbing her hands together. Gathering the boss' loot she looked around.
"So, how do we leave? Do I have to go back to that clearing and enter the portal I used to come in?"
{"Give it a second…ah here we go"}
{Dungeon Cleared. An exit portal will arrive in 3…2…1 portal activated. You have two minutes until forced removal.}
{"Forced removal can sting a bit, I suggest using that portal now"}
"I remember the last time you said something would sting… ok girls, and Abe let's go." Looking to double check he was there in her mouse pouch she noticed Abe was missing. "Wait! Abe? Where's Abe?"
'Wolf fur is very cozy' said a calming little voice.
'He's still in my fur…somewhere' Syn said, not sounding too impressed, but Sam knew she'd have requested Sam remove the rodent if it really bothered her.
"Phew! That's good, I thought I lost you little guy. Ok let's go, personally I don't want to know what a dungeon considers 'a bit of a sting' to feel like."
Sure enough they arrived right in front of the portal, back in The Rift.
"So Jarvis, how did we do for XP?"
{"Well your Beast Bank was filled to the max, after that delightful rat quest so you've gained 21,610xp. You may wish to level up the beast bank with all these new tames you're getting. Dungeons are quite lucrative…well for you."}
"Right…ok let's just level it up to level ten. That be what, 10 SKP, and the bank will be at like 50k?" Sam said counting on her fingers.
{"51,200 to be exact. Would you like me to proceed with that?}
"Yes please, I earn enough with my Master Crafter and Enchantress classes, I can fork over the combat XP for my beasties."
{"Done. Also you have this notification you may have missed…"}
{Ding! You've leveled up! You are now level 17 1960/65,543xp}
{Ding! +4 Stat Points, +16 Skill Points}
"Awesome, thanks Jarvis… so, skeletons now? Or resources?" She looked at the resource dungeon, its portal was not quite as bright as it would be if it had replenished so she decided to do another monster type.
"Spooky, scary skeletons it is." She said making her way to dungeon number 384. "I'll check my spoils of war when we get back home."
As she made her way to the next portal, she encountered a party deep in discussion. Apparently some members of the party didn't want to go into the skeleton dungeon. They said the numbers were too overwhelming and they'd for sure be overrun by enemies. She waited for them to come to a decision, but apparently they weren't.
"Uh, so you guys mind if I go ahead of you? It seems like this…conversation will take a while." Sam said as politely as possible.
All at once the whole group looked at her, then at the giant wolf and tiger sized Tempy and Iggy…who was lounging around her neck doing an excellent job of recovering her stamina…even if her job could have ended a few minutes after leaving the dungeon.
"See! Even this girl isn't afraid of the graveyard." Said a brutish man, clearly a tank with his impressive size and shield.
"Ok, first of all, rude. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean anything. I'm the same level as the boss. I think I'll be fine."
They looked at her and then laughed, a little too hard for her tastes.
"This dungeon has a level 17 boss little girl, you're what, 18? 19? How are you even here? Shouldn't you still be in an academy?"
Fuming on the inside, she turned to the only other woman in their party.
"You don't mind him talking like that? Calling me 'little girl'?" She asked her.
The woman shrugged
"I don't know you, what do I care?" She said, smirking, causing the others to laugh.
"Well first of all, as someone who's a fellow member of the vagina club, you'd think it would piss you off in a fundamental way." She turned to the man in question "Just because there's nothing swinging between my legs doesn't mean I'm weaker than you."
She quickly checked his stats and saw "Tomas" here indeed was below her in level and strength. She looked him up and down.
"Though I doubt anything between your legs is 'swinging' anyway." Clasping her hands together in front of her chest and giving her most innocent look said
"And gee goly sir, I'm just a simple village girl, I didn't get no fancy academy learnin'." She dropped her hands and her face returned to one of disgust.
"I had to actually earn my levels by fighting for my life in the wild. Probably why at 18, yes 18, I'm a level 17. Now if you would kindly move out of my way, I have a dungeon to clear." She had Syn prowl towards them making them back away from the dungeon entrance. Sam and her tames entered the portal, she heard Tomas mutter "Shut up Sarah" before it enveloped her and she arrived in the Wailing Graveyard.
Sam sighed after entering the dungeon.
"You know one of these days my sarcastic mouth is liable to result in me dead in a ditch somewhere because someone didn't have a sense of humor."
{"Self-awareness is a good thing Sam."}
"Oh hush. Ok girls and Abe," she fished around before plucking Abe from Syn's fur. "I don't think skeletons have emotions to tamper with so I'm going to send you to your beast space. You can make friends with our newest addition…who still needs a name. Meh later." After sending Abe away she contemplated her next actions. The booklet said nothing would happen until she actually entered the graveyard.
She didn't want to test that theory, so she quickly came up with a plan. Going over her weapon arsenal she removed three knives and a dagger from her inventory. Summoning her mana hands, which seemed to be coming in handy (yes pun intended) for combat, she armed them (I'm hilarious) and then took her Tempest Blade out.
"Ok, hands, attack when the skeletons start to outnumber us, Tempy do what you do best and Static Pounce and Chain Dash to your heart's content. If the numbers start to increase too high, then use Tempest Coil to reduce the numbers. If you see any skellies focused on me or Syn when she is trapping them, your passive Dual Hunt will give an extra boost to your damage. So keep that in mind. Iggy…light um up and get away ok? Alright…let's go."
At first it was manageable, easy even, then more and more skeletons came up from the ground. Usually at times and places that were inconvenient. But Sam's plan worked well. After about an hour the graveyard was clear and the wailing was solely coming from the church. The big boss skelly was not happy. After a quick healing of some minor wounds they continued towards the church.
The majority of the dilapidated church was empty save for the massive ten foot skeleton in the middle. He had armor on that, while looking old and rusted, Sam was sure it was probably just that, looks. Sure enough her first strike did little damage to it. So she aimed for the non armored parts, parts that the armor left open for movement.
Soon enough she and her tames made, relatively, quick work of it. After a grueling half hour, it finally collapsed in a pile of bones and armor before dissipating into a cloud of mana.
{Ding! You've killed a Level 17, Rare, Blue, Ironbone Skeleton}
{Ding! Congratulations you've Cleared The Wailing Graveyard solo in record time. A bonus reward will be included in your reward chest.}
"I have…a lot of bones in here." She said, taking a second to look into her bag's inventory. Shrugging, she walked over to the chest and opened it. Inside was another bag of coins, a sword, a skill book, another three vials, and a glowing crystal. Lifting it out she inspected it.
{Epic Quality Mana Crystal - Absorbing this crystal will give a +50 stat points to wisdom.}
Eye wide in wonder she asked Jarvis.
"How do I absorb this?"
{"Like anything else intent is required. Just picture the mana inside entering your body."}
Sure enough a few minutes later…
{Ding! You've absorbed a mana crystal. 50 stat points have been added to your wisdom stat.}
"Right on! Sweet, sweet gains." Sending the rest to her inventory, then exited the dungeon. Thankfully the party she mouthed off too was gone.
"I think it's time for a lunch break. Let's go visit Mary and Red." she told her tames.
Sam made her way up to the staging platform, she looked around to ensure that party wasn't there. As she turned to head to the stairs to the gate, she heard a familiar voice.
"So, how'd ya do?" It was the man who greeted her when she first arrived.
"Pretty good, I only did two dungeons, but apparently I got the best time for a solo run in the last one. Though that seems kinda cheaty since, well I'm obviously not alone. Guess it's more of a human solo best time." She said blushing
"You beat a record huh? Good on ya. Which one?" He asked, with a proud smile on his face.
"The Wailing Graveyard" Sam replied
"The graveyard huh? Impressive. You only break the record when you finish under the estimated clear time, hard to do by yourself at a low level. Are you done for the day?" He asked
"Just going for lunch, I'll be back after." Sam said, turning to the stairs.
"Well, enjoy your lunch. I'll still be here when you get back, maybe I'll be able to congratulate you on another dungeon record before the end of my shift." He joked
"Maybe" she said over her shoulder. She made her way to the top and left through the gate.
She strolled through town on the way to The Guided Petal. She sent her tames into their beast space and walked through the door. Making her way to the counter she saw Mary conversing with customers as she poured drinks. As she sat down and waited for her she heard a voice she unfortunately recognized.
"Can you believe the way that little bitch talked to me? We should have stuck around and taught her a lesson." It said
"Seriously Tomas, must you go on? Just forget about it. You heard her. She said she was a level 17, she wouldn't have been able to even get into the dungeon let alone get a badge from the AHA if she was actually under level ten. So I doubt she was lying. Besides, you saw that wolf and the big cat with her. Either one would kill you in an instant."
Shaking her head she lifted her hood to block her face as she waited for Mary.
"Hiding from me?" She heard the woman say.
"No" she sighed "Do you ever say things you think are hilarious at the time, but then later realize, they may come back to bite you in the ass, because the person you said it to, apparently has no sense of humour?"
Mary leaned against the bar and laughed. "Sometimes, but I can usually handle what that other person might do. If not I have Red. Why? Who did you insult?" She asked with a smirk.
Sam tilted her head towards the table in question. "I may have possibly offended the big one's fragile male ego. He kept calling me girl, and little girl, and I MAY have said just because I didn't have something swinging between my legs didn't mean I wasn't strong."
She looked confused for a second and opened her mouth to say something but Sam cut her off continuing.
"Then I MAY have looked him up and down and suggested that whatever he had between his legs, I doubt it was swinging either."
It took her another second to realize what I meant and then burst into laughter. Drawing attention of everyone in the inn. Sam groaned knowing the table in question probably recognized her and just waited. She heard a chair scratch against the floor as Tomas stood up. Then she heard his heavy foot fall coming closer. Mary wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at him.
"Boy, sit back down if you know what's good for you." She said as the dining room went quiet.
But idiots will be idiots, and Tomas drew his sword. Why would he think this would end well, no one knew. In an instant Syn materialized from her beast space, full sized. She knocked a few bar stools over with her tail and Tomas quickly backed up.
"I wouldn't recommend running from a predator. Your fancy academy learnin' must have taught you that right?" Sam couldn't resist saying. For the first time, probably in his lifetime, Tomas did the smart thing and sheathed his sword and slowly sat back in his seat.
The whole time Syn released a low rumbling growl. Sam patted her hip.
"It's alright Syn, I'm fine. Let's put you back. Thanks for having my back though."
'Of course, anytime. I'll also chew his face off anytime. Though I doubt he tastes any good.' she said as she dematerialized back into her beast space.
"Sorry about the stools." Sam said getting off hers to right the ones Syn knocked over.
Mary laughed again.
"No worries, say you wouldn't be interested in renting her out for weekends and tournament days would you? By just sitting in the corner, I bet I'd have a much more polite crowd in here." She smiled at Sam.
"I don't know about that, but I can always stop by now and then and put the fear of the gods in them," Sam laughed.
"So, not that I don't enjoy your company, but are you here for anything in particular?"
"Lunch. I just started doing the dungeons. That's where I bumped into them." She said, giving another head tilt to Tomas' table. "Thought I'd stop by for lunch before continuing." Mary handed a menu to her, and after she chose, she chatted with Mary until someone drew her attention away.
After lunch she made her way back to the dungeons, and after paying another ten copper to get in, she figured next time she's being her lunch with her.
This time she found a resource rich dungeon. It certainly lived up to its name. She managed to get a varied selection of wood, even some saplings she sent to the Beast Realm. Plants that were rare and unique. Even ones that needed specific environments like Bloodthorn Root. A rare root found only in ancient battlefields. Known for explosive physical enhancements.
Also Bloodmoss, also found on battlefields, whose extract was excellent for promoting blood clotting and had minor tissue regeneration.
There were even ores she could mine, and after creating a pickaxe to actually mine them, It was a goldmine! Well unfortunately not a literal goldmine. Just a metaphorical one.
All in all, an excellent day's harvest, and excellent XP from said harvesting.
She also managed to tame a few beasts for the beast realm.
{Sunroot Hare
Abilities:
Sprout Boost: Passively increases nearby plant growth +20%.
Fertilizer Scatter: Deposits nutrient-rich droppings that increase herb potency.
Quick Burrow: Can dig shallow tunnels to aerate soil or hide crops from predators.}
{Dewtail Nymph
Abilities:
Humidity Control: Passively maintains soil moisture; +25% plant growth.
Rain Summon: Can trigger light rain in 5m radius; boosts crops.
Mana Pulse: Stabilizes nearby mana fields; protects plants from magic decay}
{Petalbuzz Moth
Abilities
Pollen Dance: Performs a circular flight that pollinates plants in a 10-meter area, granting them accelerated bloom and fruiting rates.
Nectar Draw: Extracts excess nectar from overgrown plants, preventing resource rot.
Glow Dust: At night, releases bioluminescent particles that enhance plant photosynthesis and visibility.}
{Thornmane Yak
Abilities:
Seed Hoarder: Stores seeds in its fur; scatters them when shaking, planting mountain flora.
Manure Infusion: Natural fertilizer increases herb potency by 30%.
Earthbound Step: Each stomp restores nutrient density to barren soil.}
Four more tames… She was up to sixteen now. Honestly she may have a slight problem. On the plus side, the four newest ones wouldn't need registration. They weren't coming out of their realm anytime soon. Which kinda made her sad, not being able to visit.