Fran snapped awake to find herself in the dark. Her panting breaths drawing in hot air that stun her sore throat. One of her hands came up to clamp on her nose as the smell of burned flesh assaulted her senses. Her other hand moved up to find a metal dome pressing down on her.
She was confused and shaken from the visions of her mother's death, so real that she could have sworn she was back in that forest again, watching it all happen. She tried to think back, to figure out how she had gotten there. The last thing she could remember was her and Archer defeating the Demon, and then a massive magical circle appeared… She wasn't sure what happened after that. She just started to have those visions, and then she woke up to find herself alone in this dark, smelly place.
'Alone.'
A sudden, horrifying realization struck her and she desperately searching about her with both hands, ignoring the offensive smell.
"Archer?" Fran said, panic starting to well up inside of her as she could not find the sword who was her teacher and companion. "Archer!?"
All of the sudden, the metal dome above her began to dissolve and Fran found that she was still in the underground chamber where she had been fighting the Demon. Only... the place was much more on fire than she remembered it being. There was also ice and large broken pieces of the ceiling scattered across the floor.
That wasn't even mentioning the hundred thousand pound decapitated dragon lying in the center of the room, its blood pouring out. The shield had been keeping it mostly away from her, but with it gone, the liquid quickly moved to cover the hole.
And standing between Fran and the dead dragon was a figure that she had seen every time she slept at night for the last week. "Archer?" Fran asked softly as she looked up at the white haired man.
"What were you thinking!?" Archer shouted at her, causing Fran's ears to flinch at the sudden noise. "Did you think that a single week's training and a fancy sword means that you are invincible!? Your cockiness could have and should have gotten you killed! It is only dumb luck that you are still…!"
Archer stopped as he saw Fran's shaking body. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She had been prepared to kill. She had been prepared to die. But she hadn't been prepared for what the dragon had done to her.
Archer knelt down next to the girl and brought her into a hug, patting the back of her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you." Archer said softly. "You've shown so much potential, that I forgot just how inexperienced you are. I neglected to teach you the importance of information on the battlefield."
"Information?" Fran said, not sure what he meant.
"That's right. Most battles are won or lost based solely on the information one side has on the other. By knowing your opponent and knowing the battlefield, you can take full advantage of their weaknesses, while minimizing their strengths." Archer said calmly. "For example, do you know what the third level of [Dark Magic] is?"
Fran frowned as the thought to the [Skills] that she and Archer shared. Then her eyes widened. "[Steal Thoughts]."
"That's right. It is a spell that can render those who lack a form of mental resistance, or have an intelligence greater than half the magic of the user, immediately unconscious. If the Demon had used it on you, you would have been powerless to fight back." Archer said, explaining the spell.
"...He didn't."
"That's right. He likely assumed that since you were strong enough to fight him, that you would be able to resist it. Because he lacked information about you, he failed to use it. And because you lacked knowledge about the spell, you fought him without knowing just how much danger you were in."
Fran's ears flattened against her head. She felt ashamed of the pride she had felt at having been able to overcome the Demon.
"You need to learn that there is a difference between courage and recklessness. It is not cowardly to hold off on fighting an opponent until you have the tools and knowledge to tilt the odds in your favor. If we had pulled back today instead of rushing in, we could have found out about the cave's function. We would have known not to farm the insects. We would have known to kill the goblin before he could activate the summoning." Archer said. "To fight against unknown odds in order to protect something is courageous. To do so when you don't have to is just reckless. It is better to take the information you have gained and come up with a plan of action than to rush in blind."
"...Archer has ran away?" Fran asked the man.
"...More times than I care to count. And every time I did, I would return better prepared to win the fight when it really mattered." Archer said, releasing Fran from his hug so that he could look down at her with a smile. "You fought well today. I'm proud of you for that, but in the future, use some caution. Any true warrior knows that a lack of knowledge is the most dangerous enemy of all."
"Nn." Fran said, nodding her head before noticing small bits of blue light flaking away from Archer's body. "Archer?"
"Hm… Seems like my time is up. Well, it was fun while it lasted." Archer said with a sad smile and a shrug. Then, his entire body burst into glowing blue dust.
"Archer!" Fran shouted in panic, trying to reach out for the lights as the dimmed and faded away. "No. Please… don't leave me. Archer!"
[Calm down. I'm not died.] A familiar voice said in the back of Fran's mind. She turned around to see Archer's sword body floating towards her. [It was only my [Skill] expiring. So no crying.] Fran felt Archer's [Telekinesis] wiping away her tears. [You aren't going to get rid of me that easily, Master.]
"Nn." Fran said, throwing her arms around Archer's hilt, ignoring his protests about being sharp.
"Impossible." Another voice said, earning Fran and Archer's immediate attention. It was the goblin, his clothes covered in blood, but still somehow alive. "That's impossible. How could my dragon be defeated by a human?"
[What the? I thought I already killed you.] Archer said, his voice projecting and causing the goblin to flinch.
"Who said that!?" It shouted, jumping back up to his feet. "You… you can't kill me… not so long as I have my Sacrificial... Brace...let… oh." The goblin shouts died out as he looked at his raised arm to find that the 'Sacrificial Bracelet' was broken. "Right… one time use."
Those would be the last words he ever spoke.
(Fran has gained a new title: Dungeon Conqueror.)
[Well, that's that.] Archer said as Fran pulled him out of the goblin's chest. They should probably dispose of the magic orb in the wall that the goblin used to summon the dragon, so that this kind of shit never happened again, but after that they could finally get out of that stupid cave.
Only, before the two could make a move, another magic circle appeared on the ground.
Fran jumped back and raised Archer once more, ready in case of a battle, but instead of a battle, there was a large golden treasure chest. Archer didn't know what to think of it. "Dungeon treasure." Fran said. She seemed to have collected herself and was back to normal, her excited voice still managing to be a little monotone. The then frowned and backed away. "Might be trap. Archer: open."
[Ah… right.] Archer said before using his [Telekinesis] to open it up. The two of them stood still, waiting for something to happen, but when nothing did, they approached the chest.
"...What are they?" Fran asked, tilting her head as she looked down into a chest containing twenty yellow metal ingots. "Gold bars?"
[No. Not gold.] Archer said, more than a little startled as he looked at the stuff. [It's… It's Orichalcum.]
In his old world, Orichalcum had been a naturally occurring mystical metal that disappeared from the world after the end of the Age of the Gods. To actually find some of it was enough to put the Servant into shock, and so much of it. There was over fifty pounds of the stuff.
"Valuable?" Fran asked.
[I have no idea how much it would be worth here, but where I came from, it wouldn't matter how much you asked people for it, they would gladly pay, and many of those who lacked the money would have thrown their lives away trying to steal it.] Archer said, thinking of how rabidly a group of Magus would act if a single bar of true orichalcum was tossed into a room with them.
"Wow. Good find." Fran said, before Archer shoveled the chest into his storage, along with the dragon's corpse. Another priceless thing that they would have to decide what to do with later.
[Alright, now to destroy that core so that...] Archer started before being interrupted a second time by the sound of doors opening in the insect room.
"Strong." Fran said, summarizing Archer's feelings on the matter as they sensed what had to be eight separate C-rank magical signatures heading their way.
Fran and Archer dashed into the corner of the room and hid in the shadows using [presence concealment]. They would analysis this new threat from the shadows and plan their ambush.
However, they were surprised when the doors to the final room opened and rather than a group of Demonic Beasts, a group of a dozen human-like people came storming in with weapons raised. They looked around the room at the blood and the dead body of the goblin before one of the Dwarves turned his head and shouted back over his shoulder. "Looks like this room's been cleared out too."
"Yes, I can see that." Said a 'Wood Elf' dressed in impressive silver robs as he entered the room behind the rest. Fran's eyes widened as she saw him, or rather the eight masses of plantlike beings that flowed around him, glowing with magical energy. Each one gave off power comparable to a C-rank Demonic Beast, and the eight of them together seemed strong enough to even handle the Demon she had fought. "It would seem that whatever had been happening is already over. I guess we should be relieved."
Name: Klimt
Age: 136
Race: Wood Elf
Job: Greater Spirit User
Status: Normal
Level: 67/99
HP: 180, MP: 616, STR: 87, END: 89, AGI: 138, INT: 259, MGC: 333, DEX: 98
Skills: Chant Shortening Lv7, Appraisal Lv5, Archery Lv3, Harvesting Lv5, Nature Magic Lv6, Spirit Magic Lv7, Earth Magic LvMax, Mountain Magic Lv6, Compounding Lv5, Poison Resistance Lv3, Paralysis Resistance Lv4, Water Magic Lv5, Medicinal Herb Knowledge Lv7, Cooking Lv4, Magic Manipulation, Child of the Forest
Unique Skills: Blessing of the Spirits
Titles: Guild Master, Guardian Deity of Aressa, Nature Mage, Earth Mage
Equipment: Staff of the Old God's Cherry Tree, Scale Clothing of the Fission Snake, Cloak of the Young Wind Dragon's wings, Shoes of the Moon Rabbit, Sacrificial Bracelet
Klimt should have been relieved. He SHOULD have been, but he wasn't.
It had been three hours since a group of rookies came in to his office talking about signs of a coming Goblin Stampede, and two hours since the three D-rank teams he sent to investigate reported the finding of a Dungeon baring Goblin territorial markings.
Naturally, he called on the best men he had on hand and began to cordon off the place, to make sure that no horde of goblins split off to attack a nearby village why the City Knights once again sat on their asses behind the walls.
Because of how horrible the timing of this event was, with their A-rank ace and all of their B-rank adventurers off on an exploration mission, along with a majority of their C-rank teams, Klimt headed the deployment himself. He sent the knights a request for reinforcements before rushing to where the Dungeon had been found.
However, things at the Dungeon just didn't seem right.
Even before reaching the dungeon, they came across a battlefield covered in a massive amount of blood and signs of spell work… but no bodies. Over a hundred must have died in that single patch of woods, and not long ago, so where were the bodies?
The Dungeon itself was unnaturally quiet for the longest time, and the familiars that they sent in to scout the place could not find any sign of life, save for small bits of battle damage here and there, and a few easily overlooked patches of blood.
Not liking what they weren't seeing, Klimt organized a group of their remaining C-rank Adventurers and a few brave D-rank men and dove into the tunnels. They dove deeper and deeper and the lack of enemies became even more ominous, until they started to reach some of the last few rooms.
Hundreds of hobgoblin bodies, charred from powerful fire magic lay scattered about the room. Each and every one of them also bore a blade wound on its chest, as if whoever had killed them had carved out their magic stones in order to make sure they were truly dead. Klimt couldn't think of any other reason why anyone would stop to go after Hobgoblin stones, as they were considered to be simple scrap stones and not worth the time it would take to retrieve them for any warrior capable of doing… this.
It was around that point when the world started to shake and sounds of battle came from behind a locked door at the far side of the room. It had been loud enough to make some of the D-rank adventurer's pale at the thought of what awaited them.
The sounds only lasted a few minutes and when they stopped, the door forward unlocked, as if inviting them in.
Klimt and the rest made their preparations, taking a few minutes to cast some buff magic and secure their arms and armor. Klimt himself performed a complex ritual in order to summon eight Greater Spirits, each as powerful as a high ranking C class Demonic Beast, all in preparation for what was to come.
They pushed through the first door and were greeted by the sight of hundreds, maybe even thousands of dead insect-type Demonic Beasts, each one seemingly treated to the same havisting that they witnessed in the room before. They proceeded with caution until they reached another set of doors.
Tension was high as they pushed the doors open and the front line fighters rushed in… only to yet again find no trace of life.
"This is so damn weird." Herbent said as his eyes shifted about the room. "This is the final room. Why is there nothing in it?"
"Not nothing." Ark said as he approached the singular body in the room, that of a goblin. He pulled out a knife and stabbed the thing in the neck as he approached.
"You know it was already dead." Herbent said, eyeing the heavily armored Adventurer.
"Can't be too careful." Ark replied as he looked the goblin over, giving him an appraisal. Ark might not have had high combat stats, but he was brought along all the same because of his almost peerless skill with traps, his high appraisal ability, and his familiarity with goblins. "This one is a Rare Goblin. Seems to be the Dungeon Master too."
"So, the Dungeon's already been conquered. Guess we get to go home." Donna Dorondo said as the Kijin shouldered his massive axe.
"Not yet. We still need to secure the Dungeon Core, and determine just what it is that happened here." Klimt reminded them.
"Ah… yeah. I guess you're right." Donna Dorondo said, scratching his head in embarrassment.
"Guild Master, you might want to take a look at this." Ark called out from next to an especially large pool of blood. "This ain't goblin blood."
"What? Can you tell by the smell?" Herbent joked as he too came closer.
As soon as he entered range of it, Klimt used his own [Appraisal] on the pool of blood, and his eyes widened at the result. "Dragon's blood."
Jaws dropped.
"A dragon!? As in a 'dragon' dragon." "Is there some other type of dragon!?" "Holy hell, even the weakest dragon's are a B-rank threat." "There must have been an entire group in here, fighting that thing."
"Where did the body go?" Ark said, getting all of their attention. "We've got the blood right here, but where's the body? The sounds of battle weren't any more that five minutes old before we came through that door. How could anyone have smuggled that thing out passed us?"
"So, we are dealing with someone [Dimensional Magic]. In that case, they are already long gone." Herbent said, giving a sigh of relief. Klimt understood the sentiment. If whatever group was in there had been capable of bringing down a dragon, then he would rather not have to deal with them. Even all of these spirits he summoned working together would have difficulty with a small dragon.
Though, the ideal of explaining all this to the local Lord appealed to him even less.
The old elf gave a sigh of defeat before one of his spirits whispered something to him in that wordless language of their. [Child. Leaving.]
Klimt spun around just in time to see a shadow disappearing into the room behind them. "Wait!" Klimt shouted out, tempted to pursue, but the individual had a head start and seemed to have skills to increase their speed. He already knew he would never catch them.
Fran and Archer slipped out of the room and later passed the guards at the cave entrance before hiding back in the woods.
Best to not get involved.
I'm using Mountain Magic as the upgrade for Earth Magic, since they can't keep it straight in the translation. It seems about right, since Water turns to Ocean.
For however tried to tell me the 'True' name of Achilles' Shield, I would just like to point out to you that what you sent was just 'Achilles' Shield' but in a different language. I feel that ignoring that bit of canon to just let people read the name is acceptable.
The story of Troy never mentioned a name for the shield, but it is the only shield that was given a physical description in the tales.
P.S. Achilles was actually a woman. No seriously, when Odysseus first found Achilles' 'he' was 'pretending' to be a princess in the court of some king. They only knew that he was a guy because he was really good with a spear. (Granted, this is only one version of the tales. There are a lot of different versions.)
For reference, here are the stats of another level 33, the same level as Fran. (He's C-rank, so he isn't supposed to be a weakling noob)
Name: Cruz Liuzel
Age：28
Race：Human
Job：Flash Swordsman
Level：33
HP: 256 MP: 175 STR: 113 END: 119 AGI: 178 INT: 80 MGC: 91 DEX: 119
Compare to Fran's
Name: Fran
HP: 341, MP: 253, STR: 208, END: 183, AGI: 191, INT: 152, MGC: 150, DEX: 153
Fran's stats without Archer Equipped
Name: Fran
HP: 241, MP: 153, STR: 158, END: 133, AGI: 141, INT: 102, MGC: 100, DEX: 103
So she isn't actually that OP... yet. It's just that Archer gives hell of stat boosts. Though her stats will get higher once she gets her Job.
Fran's Job Options:
Warrior Magus (Canon Option) | Requirements: At least one Divine level Weapon Art Skill + one maxed out Magic Skill | Gives +1 Strength, +1 Magic per level. Unlocks the skill [Magic Convergence] (Basically just overloads a spell)
Magus Killer | Requirements: Magic Barrier Lv5 or higher + Mana Thief + Presence Concealment Lv5 or higher | Gives +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Magic per level and unlocks the [Magic Concealment] skill.
Wrought Iron Magus | Requirements: Incarnation of the Sword title + one Divine level Weapon Art Skill + Lava/Metal Magic Skill (Archer would need to get maxed out Earth Magic for her to get this.) | Gives +1 Strength, +1 Endurance, +1 Magic per level. Unlocks the skill [Control Weapon]
Others?