Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Mana or the Final Fantasy series.
(Update 10/5/19) Here's the second version of Chapter 5.
Chapter 5: Caverns
Sean sat naked in his laundry room while he waited for his clothes to finish being washed. With no one else around and Lil' Cactus never leaving his room, Sean wasn't bothered by his nudity. Though with it still being dark out and the sun not rising for at least another hour, it wasn't like he could've been seen anyway.
His only company in the small, rectangular room was the occasional hoot of an owl outside and the rumbling of the washing machine as it went about its job. The icy touch of the tile floor and the smell of laundry detergent barely registered to him as Sean watched the rinse cycle like his favorite TV program, his mind miles away.
"I'm going to die aren't I?" Sean uttered to the lonely house. He rubbed his hands over his face in anxiety, praying that things wouldn't turn out as badly as he pictured they would.
Prayer Lvl 1 → Lvl 2
Prayer (Active/Passive) Lvl 2 [0%] Cost: 0 TP
Normally meant as a way to convey thanks to or ask God for something, this skill allows the user to heal their entire party for a small amount of HP. This skill cannot be silenced or reflected.
Effect: Heals the whole party for 4% of Max HP
Sean absentmindedly closed the window and continued to think on his lack of preparedness until his washer beeped, signaling that his clothes were now clean. Sean stood up from the chair he brought in from the dining area and felt some relief since the chair started to leave marks in his bare behind.
He pulled open the door to his dryer and smelled his shirt, the scent of lavender dancing in his nose. While enjoyable, the aroma did little to ease his mind and Sean threw his few articles of clothing into the dryer before sitting back down.
An hour prior, Sean finished his training and had to stop since his clothes were starting to gain sentience with his sweaty pants clinging to his legs like a teary-eyed child. After Duelle left, he spent the rest of the previous day and most of the night mainly focused on running to build up his DEX, but he did work on his other stats and skills as well.
STR: 10 → 20
VIT: 13 → 22
DEX: 30 → 50
SPI: 7 → 20
Yoga Lvl 7 → Lvl 9
Breath Control Lvl 3 → Lvl 5
1H Sword Mastery Lvl 2 → Lvl 4
Aero Lvl 1 → Lvl 5
Protect Lvl 1 → Lvl 4
Fire Lvl 3 → Lvl 5
Cure Lvl 2 → Lvl 5
Physical Endurance Lvl 1 → Lvl 3
But even with his great gains, Sean knew that it wouldn't be enough. "What the fuck am I supposed to do?" He could practically feel the reaper hovering over his shoulders, the grim, skeletal face laughing in macabre mockery. Sean shook his head to rid himself of the ghastly image and looked at the clock, the time reading 5:07 AM.
He continued this way until the dryer parroted its neighbor. Sean put his clothes back on and felt the comforting warmth embrace him. He trudged out of the laundry room and up the stairs to his bedroom, feeling shitty all the way.
While no longer requiring sleep, Sean felt mentally ill. He felt like a college student who stayed up all night cramming for an exam that they forgot about until that evening, an exam they knew there was no way of passing. Every word read one moment would spill out the next as if their head was a bucket with holes in it. It was a feeling he was well-acquainted with not long ago, considering it was only a few months back that he graduated from college with honors.
Sean flumped onto his bed, the impact causing the coils in his mattress to creak. He lay there until he fell asleep, something he felt would be harder to do than it was.
In a few short hours, Sean was woken up by knocking at his front door.
Rolling off the bed, Sean walked down stairs barefoot and peered through the spyhole. On the other side, he saw Duelle standing there, accompanied by Mark and two other men who looked strangely familiar.
Sean opened the door and held his right hand over his eyes to block the morning's blinding light. There were droplets of fresh dew sprinkled on the grass and only a few clouds hanging about in the sky showed it would be a good day. Two of Fa'Diel's six moons were still visible.
"Good morning!" Mark trumpeted happily. The man in the blue uniform winced and rubbed the side of his head while big red shot the proud father a disgruntled look.
"Uh, yeah. Good morning to you too," Sean replied with much less enthusiasm before looking at the rest of the group. "So, what're you all doing here?"
"Greetings, sir." The man in the blue uniform stepped forward and spoke formally. "I'm Lieutenant Wedge and this is my superior, Major Biggs. We've been sent by Inspector Boyd to assist you in the defense of Domina."
Sean turned to Duelle. "What all did you tell them?" He asked.
Duelle, now wearing a knife bandolier, answered, "I just told Boyd that we had a sure-fire way to keep the town safe." Duelle then asked skeptically, "You weren't thinking of taking on the whole tribe by yourself, were you?"
"Not originally, no," Sean responded, knowing that doing so was tantamount to suicide. "But when it seemed like there was no one in town to help me, I figured that was my only option."
"It took some convincing," Duelle said. "But with Boyd grasping at straws, he agreed to send two of his best men over here with me."
"Thanks for that," Sean replied, his straight face hiding his inner relief. "But you need to be careful about who you tell." He could already picture the crap that would follow if certain individuals became aware of his presence too early. "Seriously, there's always some power-hungry douchebag with a god complex or revenge-filled idiot out there lurking in the shadows with ludicrous plans. I don't need anyone relentlessly hounding me for power like a stalky ex-girlfriend.
"This is the guy we have to take orders from, some blubbering, hopped-up punk, che," Biggs said irritably with a frown. He expected to meet a muscular, well-seasoned warrior, not some young white dude with not a scar on him.
"It will be fine, sir," Wedge replied in a calming tone while Sean narrowed his eyes at Biggs from his front door. "Duelle said he could help the people and the Inspector believes in both of them."
"Yeah," Biggs scoffed. "Well the Inspector also thinks he's gonna catch that jewel thief too. What a laugh." Biggs responded, clearly not happy about his current circumstances. "Let's get this over with."
Biggs approached Sean, the young man now remembering this particular iteration, and said, "Boyd mentioned you could do some magic to make people stronger. Is that right?"
"I never actually told anyone that I could make them stronger," Sean answered, annoyed by the officer's rudeness. "Although I can."
Biggs possessed the bulk of a bodybuilder, evidently a lover of physical workouts. He sported a red police uniform with a blue shirt visible underneath. A robotic-looking gauntlet which covered his shoulder all the way to Biggs' wrist, was worn on each arm. The shiny, steel gray metal stopped just short of a pair of black gloves. The man donned a helmet with a visor built into it, leaving only the lower half of his face visible. The visor had four red holes with black pupils reminiscent of eyes in them.
Wedge was much thinner, having something closer to a runner or swimmer's build. He sported the same type of helmet as Biggs, but wore a blue police uniform instead. Armor the same color as Biggs' gauntlets covered Wedge's chest, shoulders, arms, and pelvic region, the last one Biggs also wore to keep himself safe. A long, two-handed sword rested on his back, waiting for its next battle.
Sean looked back to Duelle. "Where'd you plan on going?" Sean asked because why else would everyone look ready for a fight.
"Why, we're all going to Mekiv Caverns?" Mark beamed, radiating with exuberance like the sun. It might have been a trick of the eye, but everyone else could've sworn they saw sparkles around the man.
It was then Sean noticed the sturdy-looking tower shield on Mark's back. The front of the shield was decorated with the emblem of an atlas moth. The proud father was also equipped with a large broadsword that appeared more suited for two-handed wielding.
"What he said." Duelle gestured to Mark with a thumb over his shoulder. "I thought that if you could make yourself stronger quickly, then it could be done for others too."
"Again I can," Sean repeated. "I just hope Boyd keeps quiet about this."
"You don't have anything to worry about," Biggs waved off his concern. "No one would take him seriously enough if he started spouting about you."
"Well to have gotten as far as he has, Boyd has to have some measure of competence," Sean replied in defense, thinking that Boyd was an all right guy. "I mean, would he really be an Inspector if he sucked that much."
Biggs made to respond when Duelle cut him off. "Will you travel with us to the caverns?" Wedge sent a silent thanks to the onion warrior for stopping the argument before it could escalate.
"How far have you actually been inside the caverns?" Sean asked with a raised eyebrow. "I know that's where you found the Jade Egg Artifact, but I took a trip there yesterday and the lowest level enemy I spotted was Lvl 10." And wasn't that the alarming surprise. Sean wound up catching the attention of a whole group of monsters and fled in fear.
Though just like many other games, the creatures nor their attacks were able to follow him onto the World Map. Sean found that to be a useful piece of information, indeed.
"I have no idea how much stronger they'll become deeper in," Sean continued. "Heck, they could be up to Level 50 and none of us would realize this until it was too late."
"Levels?" Wedge wondered aloud.
"I'm not sure if you all know what a video game is, but levels in a game are usually a good indicator of how strong a character is." Sean explained patiently, foreseeing future repetitions of this clarification.
"What level are you?" Duelle asked, expecting Sean to be a decent level with such an ability as The Gamer.
"I'm only Lvl 1 right now," Sean responded, to the others' visible surprise. "I've mainly been focusing on my stats and skills since I got here."
"Lvl 1," Biggs repeated mockingly. "That's it? If you're that weak, then your power can't be anything special. I bet my level is huge."
"Let's find out then," Sean replied, narrowing his eyes again. He didn't appreciate the red officer's condescending attitude and was getting sick of his crap.
Using Observe on them all, Duelle's stats were the same as before and Sean still couldn't see Mark's information. He could see Biggs' and Wedge's details though.
"You're at Lvl 16," Sean informed. "You're pretty strong, but you're a turtle in terms of speed." In comparison to Sean, that is.
"That's it," Biggs replied disbelievingly, expecting the number to be higher. "There must've been an error." He got a sudden thought. "Hey, what's Wedge's level? I bet it's smaller than mine."
"Jeez man," Duelle frowned and shook his head. "Think about your wording."
"And the obvious innuendo," Sean added on before answering, "Wedge is a level higher than you."
"What!?" Biggs exclaimed. "How can he be a higher level than me?"
Sean shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. Maybe he does more fieldwork than you," Sean replied with a shit-eating smile, pissing Biggs off even more.
"There's no need to get angry, sir," Wedge said to calm his friend down. "You can train more and I'm sure you'll get there."
"Do you feel like going now that you've seen their strength?" Duelle asked.
"I'd probably be able to give an answer if I knew how strong Mark was," Sean replied while Mark looked deep in thought off to the side.
"I can't tell what level Mark is, but Wedge and Biggs make a good team and I'm sure that Mark is stronger than the two of them put together." Duelle stated assuredly, no amount of doubt creeping into his voice.
Sean thought it over. "Going there would level me up faster than just staying here." He found it incredibly tempting to go with them. "But I'm still not sure."
"C'mon, where's your sense of adventure?" Duelle asked with a smile.
"Held at gunpoint by fear and common sense," Sean deadpanned.
"What's a gun?" Duelle inquired with a tilt of the head.
"Never mind that," Sean replied quickly, aiming never to introduce guns to Fa'Diel. There was already enough trouble in the world without them, Sean thought. "Are you going to stick around unless I go with you?" When Duelle nodded, Sean sighed. "Okay, I'll travel with you guys, but the moment I say 'leave,' we leave." No one could mistake the seriousness in his tone nor miss his piercing, laser-like eyes. "I don't know if it's the only one, but aside from the regular monsters, there's a boss monster in there you do not want to draw the attention of."
"You realize you just jinxed us, right?" Biggs asked.
"I don't believe in that crap," Sean replied, irritated by how someone always brought up luck or that stupid law. "It's like going down a dark alley at night and getting stabbed. It wasn't bad luck. The person went into a clearly dangerous area and didn't exercise common sense."
Sean turned back to Duelle. "You guys don't need to grab anything else do you?" Duelle shook his head. "All right, then. Just let me go put on my shoes and I'll be right back."
Mark, who was quiet until now, finally asked, "What did you mean by innuendo?"
Duelle shook his head with a smirk and Sean snorted, finding it weird that a man Mark's age, especially one with a daughter, could be that oblivious. Biggs regarded Mark as being stupid and Wedge didn't react other than a light smile, too polite to answer the question.
A short time later, Sean returned ready for adventure and created a party aptly named, "Party of Five."
Initially surprised by the sudden appearance of the blue boxes, Biggs even jumping back with a yelp in fright, the other three members accepted the group invitation upon seeing Duelle do so with no hesitation. With everyone ready, Sean stepped onto the World Map with the others following behind. Though, Wedge did have to catch Biggs when he almost tripped due to the scenery transition.
Sean snickered silently at that and was glad to have others with him, despite still feeling worried.
There was a safety net in place in case the worst happened. It arrived in the form of a new game function Sean discovered earlier that morning. And Sean, being an avid gamer for years, felt embarrassed that he forgot a feature characteristic of most video games.
Save System
A mechanic in most video games, the Save System allows the user to save their game, providing them with a point to return to in the case of a game over, making a costly error, or after simply taking a break. With this system, the user can also delete, copy, and load save files.
"Interesting," Wedge spoke in amazement as he glanced around the World Map. "What is this place…?" He trailed off, not remembering the young man's name.
"Sean," the man himself supplied.
"My apologies," Wedge responded evenly. "What is this place, Sean?"
Sean spread out his arms. "This, gentlemen, is the World Map," He elucidated helpfully. "Right now, there are only three locations available for travel: my house, Domina, and Mekiv Caverns. I can use this map to travel anywhere. It's not quite instant, but pretty damn close to it."
"Why are there no other areas, my good man?" Mark asked, feeling perturbed much like Duelle had by how desolate the map was. Biggs, on the other hand, pondered the applications of this specific part of Sean's ability.
"I need to find more artifacts to complete the map," Sean continued. "They're specific objects with Mana stored inside them that once released will cover the map with more locations."
"Excuse me, but how are we able to travel to these places, whereas you require these artifacts to do so," Wedge asked. Something clicked in Duelle's subconscious upon hearing the others' questions and Sean's explanation again. Duelle ruminated on this and adopted a worried expression which he kept hidden.
Sean shrugged. "I couldn't say," He quickly replied, though Duelle caught the unease in Sean's tone. "All I know is that this is how it works."
Filing his question away for later, Duelle asked in a neutral manner. "Didn't you say yesterday that there was another part of your ability that you needed help with?"
Sean wondered what Duelle meant at first until it all came back to him. "Oh right, your stats."
"Stats?" Wedge asked again, taking mental notes of everything happening.
"They're a set of numerical values representing how much you've grown in different attributes such as Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence." Sean pondered writing a book which detailed all aspects of The Gamer, but thought better of it and threw the idea away. "Which reminds me, can all of you say the word 'stats' please?"
Everyone did so right away, except for Biggs whose shoulder Wedge shook to bring his friend back down to earth.
"Huh?" Biggs shot Wedge a questioning look, but thin blue gestured to Sean who was waiting on him. "Oh, uh, right." Biggs awkwardly brought up his own stats window.
Sean could see everyone's stats except for Mark, something he was already expecting. What put a damper on his mood, was the fact that also meant Sean couldn't see Mark's stat points and thus found himself unable to allocate them anywhere.
"Sorry, Mark," Sean said regretfully. "I can't improve your stats since you're too high of a level for me to see."
Mark wasn't bothered in the slightest by this. "No worries, friend. I'm sure everything will work out fine in the end. I'm certain of it."
"I'm glad one of us is."
"As for the rest of you, how would you like your points allocated?" Sean asked, already knowing where to put the points. He felt like it was a good idea to ask though, considering that the attributes were theirs and he didn't want to come off as too much of a dick. "We'll be going up against a tribe that specializes in archery," he said as a reminder to keep them from being solely focused on strength or intelligence.
"Just spread the points out evenly between STR, DEX, and VIT," Duelle answered, betraying no emotion. On the inside, however, he secretly longed to dump all of his stat points into DEX since for years Duelle's been sick and tired of having to waddle everywhere and of being slower than almost everyone else.
"I'd be thankful if you could do the same for me, sir," Wedge replied civilly. "With maybe a few points in INT and WIS if that's acceptable."
"You can just call me 'Sean,' dude." Sean said, seeing no need to be so formal.
"Very well, Sean," Wedge replied.
"Just do the same as them," Biggs spoke simply, his mind still elsewhere.
Sean didn't know what Biggs was thinking about and decided to just move past it and assign each of their points.
Name: Duelle
Race: Onion Person
Title: Onion Warrior
Age: 25
Level: Lvl 9 Next Level: 3,847/12,200
HP: 531.25/531.25 → 937.5/937.5
TP: 450/450 → 1250/1250
MP: 800/800
STR: 10 → 20
VIT: 17 → 30
DEX: 8 → 30
INT: 32
WIS: 43
SPI: 3
LUK: 5
Synchro Effect: [Defense Plus Lvl 1]
Effect: Decreases all physical damage taken by 30% when within 20 ft. of a party member.
Perk: ?
Stat Points: 45 → 0
Description: An onion warrior. He likes everything straight-forward, and hates people like Niccola with a passion.
Duelle froze completely before hissing in mild pain. He experienced his bones shifting slightly and his muscles stretching and twisting. Despite the ache in his body, Duelle looked at his arms in astonishment due to his biceps growing bigger. Fighting the subsiding pain, Duelle took his spear and swung it as hard as he could. A blade of air shot from the weapon's edge and travelled about 20 to 30 feet before dissipating.
"Wow," Sean said, not expecting Duelle to be capable of sending a flying attack by the look of his stats. "I wish I could do that."
Duelle stared at his spear in wonderment and silently thought about what other gifts came with Sean's upgrade.
Mark was colored impressed and was happy for his friend who he knew often times felt inadequate. Biggs and Wedge, on the other hand, grew excited with Biggs being the more obvious of the two.
"Do me next!" Biggs yelled at Sean.
"I'm standing right here, dude." Sean sounded annoyed while he wiped some spit off his cheek.
Name: Biggs
Race: Human
Title: Police Major
Age: 29
Level: Lvl 16 Next Level: 33,563/73,580
HP: 1625/1625 → 2000/2000
TP: 3300/3300 → 4850/4850
MP: 200/200 → 250/250
STR: 90 → 114
VIT: 65 → 80
DEX: 42 → 80
INT: 8 → 10
WIS: 8 → 9
SPI: 1
LUK: 2
Synchro Effect: [Brothers in Arms Lvl 2]
Effect: When within 40 ft. of Wedge or a fellow officer, all stats increase by 60%.
Stat Points: 80 → 0
Description: Ranked a major in the police force, Biggs is the best friend of Wedge and aims to one day make it big.
Name: Wedge
Race: Human
Title: Police Lieutenant
Age: 28
Level: Lvl 17 Next Level: 90,843/91,240
HP: 1775/1775 → 2100/2100
TP: 3375/3375 → 5175/5175
MP: 525/525
STR: 57 → 75
VIT: 71 → 84
DEX: 78 → 132
INT: 21
WIS: 22
SPI: 14
LUK: 7
Synchro Effect: [Brothers in Arms Lvl 2]
Stat Points: 85 → 0
Description: A lieutenant in the police force, Wedge is the best friend of Biggs and aims to be of further service to his colleagues and to the well-being of the people.
Once the stat points were allotted, the two officers froze like Duelle did, but their reaction was much more intense.
Wedge fell forward to his knees and drew his sword just in time to stop himself from falling flat on his face. The blade stabbed into the ground with Wedge's arms wrapped around it like a lifesaver. Both of his hands grasped the hilt of the blade so hard that his knuckles cracked. His head rested against the guard and his eyes slammed shut, no longer able to stay open under the great suffering.
Biggs almost hit the ground like his friend, but bent his knees in the nick of time and stood hunched over. A scream erupted from his throat and he clenched his teeth to keep it from escaping, as well as from biting his own tongue off. His fists were clenched to the point where the whites of his knuckles could be seen if he wasn't wearing gloves.
Mark reached out to help them, but stopped and slowly drew his hand back since he didn't know what to do. Instead, he stuck to watching them in sympathy with a frown on his face.
Duelle stood there silently for a moment before he turned to Sean and asked, "Is the reaction always going to be this visceral?"
Sean laughed uncomfortably. "That's kind of my fault," he replied awkwardly while rubbing the back of his head. "I should've assigned the stat points in increments, but I've never done this before and we're on a time crunch so, yeah."
For a whole minute, the two men suffered through sheer agony. Their muscles twisted, shifted, and tore themselves apart only to rebuild to accommodate their bodies' new strength. Biggs felt a slight twinge in his head, but otherwise the pain stayed out of their skulls. Under their uniforms, visible movement occurred across their bodies from bones popping out of and back into place until the muscles settled.
Once the pain evaporated, Biggs stood straight up and helped Wedge to his feet, the thinner man's legs having turned into noodles. Wedge continued to use his sword for support with both hands resting on the weapon's pommel while Biggs stumbled over to Sean and got in his face.
"Why didn't you warn us about that!?" Biggs barked, clearly pissed. Wedge didn't look too happy either, but didn't say anything.
"Look. I'm sorry, okay," Sean replied, sounding less sincere than he should have. "This power is new to me and I didn't know that would happen." Sean paused. "Still, no pain no gain, right?"
"I'll show you pain, punk." Biggs pulled back his fist to punch Sean. Before the hit landed, something Sean could've dodged in Biggs' current state, Biggs' hand was caught by Mark.
"Settle down there, friend," Mark said. The man's friendly expression was underlay by an edge in his voice. "Sean said he didn't know that would happen and what reason would he have to lie?"
"I don't know," Biggs said. When it was clear he wouldn't trying anything else, Mark released Biggs' fist and the other man backed off. "Just don't do that again."
"I can't promise anything," Sean said evenly. "I'll probably go through the same pain myself later."
"Whatever, I don't care." Biggs walked off in a huff to Mekiv Caverns. Without Sean there, Biggs learned that he was unable to enter the location.
Sean walked up to Wedge and apologized, "I really am sorry, but boosting stats is always gonna lead to some pain or discomfort."
"It's fine, sir." Wedge replied, his legs back under control. "You didn't mean it and it's for the good of the people." Wedge didn't say anything else as he went to the caverns to join his friend.
Duelle walked up next to Sean while Mark moved on ahead. "That could've gone better," Sean stated.
"You need to use more tact," Duelle replied, not being mean, just speaking his mind. "'No pain, no gain,' really." If Duelle had eyebrows, one would be raised at Sean.
Sean exhaled. "Okay, I'll admit that wasn't the best thing to say, but it just popped into my head."
The two friends stood in silence before Duelle said, "Can I ask you something?"
"Well you just did, but sure."
"Are you stuck here?" Concern drifted into Duelle's voice.
"What do you mean?" Sean asked, betraying no emotion.
"You told me before and with the others just now that artifacts are needed to fill the map," Duelle started slowly, but not patronizingly like a high school counselor. "When Wedge asked you why you needed them to travel from place to place, you said you didn't know, but you do, don't you."
Sean looked towards the others who were far enough away not to hear him before turning back to Duelle. "With the town being robbed and how the tribe will react to us, I didn't want to bring my own issues into it." Sean took a deep breath as he closed his eyes and opened them with the exhale of mental fatigue. "I didn't decide to help the town just because I'm a good person or because I need the money. I literally have no choice in the matter."
Duelle stayed silent while Sean continued to speak.
"If the town keeps getting ransacked or destroyed if the tribe gets bold enough to do so, then I'll effectively be a prisoner in my own home." There was no mistaking the trepidation in his voice. "I don't know if anyone's keeping an eye on me since that stupid Pelican brought me here, but the thought of being eternally stuck at my house, never seeing anyone, is fucking terrifying."
"What do you mean Pelican brought you here?" Duelle remembered from before that Pelican messed up Sean's delivery, but he thought it was over a simple letter.
"I didn't start living in this place until two days ago," Sean replied, pointing to his house. "Monday morning, or Salamander Day for you, I was about to go to my new job when that stupid bitch swooped down from out of nowhere and kidnapped me." Sean started to rant. "I'm probably fired now, I have to fight against enemies who are probably gonna kill me since I've never been in a fight in my life, and I've most likely been declared missing back home, but there's a good chance I won't go back since there's a time difference between here and there and I don't want to return only to find myself 20 years in the future like Rip Van fucking Winkle." Sean rubbed his face with his right hand. "Fuck."
Duelle, seeing his friend freak out like this, put his hand on Sean's knee. "I don't know where Pelican brought you from, but I'm sure things will be fine."
"I wish I could believe that because this is just the tip of the iceberg." A tribe of archers was nothing compared to the nightmares of a monster rising from the depths of The Underworld and a mighty wyrm destroying the world.
"Is everything all right over here?" Mark came over to see what the hold-up was.
"We're good," Duelle replied with a straight face. "I was just showing Sean my paralytic and poison-tipped knives."
"Oh, well if you two are ready then we should be off," Mark replied.
Sean whispered thanks to Duelle before the three men joined up with Biggs and Wedge and entered the caverns.
Outside the entrance, there was a group of monsters of the same species milling about. The monsters were short, a few inches shorter than Duelle, with sleepy-looking eyes which varied in color from blue to gray. The creatures' whole bodies were white and they possessed stubby arms and short legs that looked suited for jumping. Each of their heads was characterized by a round, pointed muzzle with a part going backwards into another rounded point like a pterodactyl.
Poto –Oddity-
STR: ?
WK: ?
Description: A really sleepy-looking monster that attack enemies by licking them.
The group consisted of 5 monsters and they ranged between Levels 10-15.
"Is that what you were so afraid of?" Biggs asked mockingly.
"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover," Sean replied. "I know of a number of creatures that could kill you that don't look that threatening."
"Oh yeah, like what?"
Sean started listing them off with his fingers. "Box Jellyfish, Slow Loris, Blue Dragon, Poison Dart Frog...There are more of them, but they're out there."
"Excuse me, sirs, but shouldn't we refocus on the matter at hand." Wedge interrupted.
"That's a good idea," Sean replied before turning to Mark. "Hey, Mark." The older man looked to see what he wanted. "Would you mind weakening those monsters for me? I need experience points to level up and experience points are gained by defeating monsters and completing quests." Sean explained. "And, since I'm Lvl 1, I'm not sure if I want to take one of those Poto on at full health."
"It's no trouble at all, friend," Mark replied merrily. Mark unsheathed his sword with his right hand and took his tower shield in his left. He approached the monsters with a steady gait before vanishing. Sean's eyes widened at how fast Mark was while Duelle watched the incoming spectacle.
Appearing in the middle of the group, Mark swung the flat of his blade and knocked one of the creatures into the air like a baseball before any of them realized that he was there.
-750 HP
Poto (x5)
HP: 780 to 1,300
TP: 1625 to 3000
MP: 25
STR: 40 to 70
VIT: 31 to 52
DEX: 25 to 50
INT: 1
WIS: 1
LUK: 2
SPI: 0
"Damn," Sean uttered in amazement. "He almost one shot that thing."
"Told you he was strong," Duelle replied with a smirk.
Knowing what he had to do, Sean withdrew his own blade and attacked.
Iai Strike!
-45 HP
Light gathered in Sean's sword and the luminescent blade shined with a flashing white light. He then lunged forward and swung his sword through the air. From the blade, a beam of brilliance shot out and sliced through its downed target. The poto let out a terrible cry as its life was ended and Sean, now feeling awful, covered his mouth to keep down the rising bile.
"It had to be done. It's for survival." Sean told himself repeatedly in his mind like a mantra.
Enemy Slain! Level 10 Poto! +3000 Exp. Gained!
Level Up! (x3)
Sean Rent Lvl 1 → Lvl 4
+6 Perk Points = 8 Total Perk Points
Stat Points: 5 → 20
Iai Strike Lvl 1 → Lvl 2
"First time?" Duelle asked rhetorically upon seeing Sean's unsettled state. Sean merely nodded in response. "It doesn't get easier," Duelle said empathetically. "But sometimes things need to be done. Most monsters hate people so they won't think twice about harming us."
Duelle cut down one of the others with a flying slash that Mark knocked down with his shield. Biggs hung back from the fight and Wedge followed his superior's example. The three remaining enemies then realized that Mark was too powerful to deal with and turned their attention to the weaker threat.
This action cost one of them as Mark stabbed his sword downwards, skewering one of the poto in the back through to its front. The life left its eyes and it collapsed to the earth.
The other two leapt into the air to attack Sean and Duelle, but the attack never connected due to a sudden explosion enveloping the monsters. The boom was close enough to where a faint ringing was left in Sean's ears and Duelle was knocked off balance. Duelle tried to stay standing by waving his arms only to fail and wind up on the ground.
Poto: -1000 HP (x2)
Sean stuck his fingers in his ears to make the noise leave. He then helped Duelle back to his feet and made sure the onion was okay. Seeing his friend was fine, Sean glared at Biggs. "You better watch where you aim that thing, asshole." A threat lied in his voice.
"Relax, kid. I'm a professional." Biggs replied, not the least bit sorry about his actions. "You were never in the blast zone."
"How the hell is he a police major exactly?" Sean asked Wedge who didn't agree with his friend's attitude.
Wedge sighed. "I know his behavior is unacceptable, but please don't fight with him. He's better once you get to know him."
"I don't think I want to." That idea sounded about as fun as drinking hot soda in the middle of summer.
"He's not a bad person. He just acts this way to hide his cowardice." Wedge informed, well aware of his friend's lack of courage.
"I'll have to see it to believe it." Sean walked to Duelle and cast the Cure spell on him. Green light emanated from his hands and caused the few minor injuries on Duelle to heal, erasing all of the onion's pain. Duelle gave Sean a thumbs up in gratitude.
The two poto left were lying down on their backs, dizzy and charred.
Sean dumped all 20 of his stat points into STR and started hacking away until one of them was finished off while Duelle took care of the other.
STR: 20 → 40
Enemy Slain! Level 12 Poto! +2800 Exp. Gained!
Level Up!
Sean Rent Lvl 4 → Lvl 5
+2 Perk Points
Stat Points: 0 → 5
1H Sword Mastery Lvl 4 → Lvl 5
"Man I feel better," Sean murmured with his increased strength, feeling little to no pain unlike the others. "I'm really glad I came out here now."
Suddenly, the bodies of their fallen foes vanished leaving no traces of them behind. In their place, there appeared a stack of Lucre notes totaling to 1,000. Biggs stared in astonishment at the money before smirking and scooping up the moolah for himself.
"Another function of The Gamer I take it?" Duelle asked.
"Yeah," Sean confirmed. "Whenever an enemy is defeated by myself or a party member, an award of sorts is left behind. It can be a crafting item, a weapon, money, or any one of many other items. I just wish the money appeared in my pocket rather than having to pick it up."
Duelle gave Sean a sly grin. "Just make sure Niccola never finds out about this. She'll probably jump your bones if she does."
Sean coughed. "I'll make a note of it."
"Can you make more money appear?" Biggs asked, glad that something worthwhile was finally happening on this crummy assignment. The smirk refused to leave his face while he waved the stack of bills in his hand for emphasis.
"It's so funny how people change their tone when money's involved," Sean muttered to himself sardonically. "Money and other goods will only appear when an enemy has been defeated."
"Why are we wasting time then. C'mon, Wedge!" Biggs made to leave before he halted to Sean's voice.
"You can take some of the money," Sean said with a stern face, conveying to Biggs that everything wouldn't go solely to him. And, though he was addressing Biggs, Sean spoke loud enough for everyone else to hear his words. "But any spell books, artifacts, or other magical items we come across are mine." His tone left no room for argument. "Anything else we find will be divided up fairly depending on who wants it."
"We understand, sir." Wedge replied before Biggs could say anything else and potentially create more tension among the group.
Sean then healed himself of what little HP he was missing and the group journeyed on into the Mekiv Caverns proper.
A new notification popped up right when he stepped inside.
You have entered a Dungeon.
Dungeons
A dungeon is a special area in a video game, typically an RPG (role-playing game), in which the player and their party will navigate their way through a labyrinthine environment (aka dungeon), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. At times, a dungeon can have plot significance or be part of a quest while at others they are merely a secret area serving as a challenge to the player. It is virtually guaranteed there will be one boss somewhere in the dungeon, perhaps even more.
The inside of the caverns was dank and the limestone floors were wet and covered in dirt. Droplets of water fell down onto their heads and light streamed into the dark caverns from openings in the ceiling. Small, white coral-like plants dotted the area here and there and great stalactites hung above them like icicles. Below them rested their stalagmite brethren, who were just as sharp and pointed.
Sean couldn't help picturing the maw of some voracious beast while he stared at its "teeth."
Mark clapped his hand onto Sean's shoulder causing the younger man to jump with widened eyes. "It sure is an awe-inspiring sight, is it not?" Mark said, admiring the surrounding beauty.
"Kind of makes me wish I brought my camera with me," Sean replied. He thought the place was interesting, but he fully expected to draw the primate's attention. "Make sure to keep an eye out. There's a boss monster here that I'm sure will show up." Mark nodded without a smile, something Sean took to mean Mark was serious. "By the way, how did you get so strong, Mark? Considering you run an item shop, I expected you'd be weaker than you are."
"I was quite the adventurer before I met my sugar plum, Jennifer," Mark regaled enthusiastically like his whole life was an epic quest. Mark was easily the biggest ham Sean ever met. "I'd climb trees, explore the mountains, and meet interesting people, but then my beautiful wife gifted me with my daughter Rachel and I finally felt like I obtained something of true value, more precious than all the riches in the world."
"That's great, man." Sean replied. Mark was a good father in his eyes, but the man still needed to give his daughter breathing room.
"Would you all get a move on?" Biggs asked irritably. "We're burning daylight over here."
"I hope Wedge is right," Sean said. "Because this is going to become a real issue if I have to keep working with him."
"Just give it time," Mark responded. "I've met my fair share of nasty people in life and I've often found that the best thing to do is to simply be kind. Be nice and try to gain an understanding of them, but never let them push you around." His dad advice was sound, yet kind of lame at the same time.
Above!
Sean wasn't given enough time to register the warning when a big, hairy bat landed on his shoulder and bit into his neck.
Bloodsucker –Aerial-
STR: ?, ?
WK: ?, ?
Description: Attacks with ultrasonic waves. For some strange reason it belongs to the Aerial Group.
Due to a special event, you've gained a new skill!
Sense Danger (Passive) Lvl 1 [14%]
This skill lets the user detect things and situations that present an imminent threat or danger to the user. Can also notify the user of danger to party members when in a party. At higher levels, this restriction can be bypassed.
Range: 3 meters
-100 HP
"Fuck! Get off!" Sean grabbed ahold of the blue-furred, pig-nosed bloodsucker with both hands and casted the fire spell from both palms with a 2 second wait time between casts. The bat screeched upon being burned and tried to fly away, but Sean kept a mighty grip on it and continued pouring Mana into his fire spell until the monster was a charcoal briquette.
Due to a certain action, you've created a new spell!
Flamethrower (Active) Lvl 2 [48%] Cost: 10 MP (Initial Cast)—5 MP per second
An alteration of the basic Fire spell, this spell allows the user to bathe their enemies in a stream of hot fire. At higher levels, the range of the spell increases though is usually outclassed by other fire spells. Mastering this spell can increase Fire affinity.
Deals fire damage according to this formula: Total = (SPI + Fire Affinity)
DMG = Total + (Total * 4%)
Current Level: Deals +4% Fire Damage
Effect: Has 2% chance to inflict Burn status
Enemy Slain! Level 10 Bloodsucker! +1400 Exp. Gained!
Level Up!
Sean Rent Lvl 5 → Lvl 6
+2 Perk Points
Stat Points: 5 → 10
Physical Endurance Lvl 3 → Lvl 4
Sean angrily threw the body to the ground where it vanished and left him with 300 Lucre which he quickly pocketed. Breathing heavily, he put his hand on his neck and hissed in pain when he felt the two puncture holes which refused to bleed. Sean cast Cure on his neck and gazed upwards at the ceiling where he saw a whole colony watching him. They witnessed what he did to their fellow colony member, but made no move to attack him.
A black sphere was then fired into one of the hanging stalactites, scaring the colony into a panic and causing them to flee. None of the bats took damage, but the stalactite was loosened as evidenced by its wobbling.
"Shit. I missed," Biggs mumbled in disappointment.
"What the fuck were you thinking!?" Sean yelled, not registering the rumbling coming from farther into the caverns. "Do you want to bring the whole damn roof on top of us!?"
"We're all good." Biggs waved him off. "Nothing happened so I don't know what you're all worked up about."
"I don't know how the hell you became a police major, but you're clearly not suited for the position." Duelle, Mark, and Wedge turned towards the incoming noise and readied themselves for combat. Duelle, seeing that Sean was too focused on berating Biggs, tossed a nearby stone at his back. When the rock hit, Sean turned to Duelle who merely pointed in the direction the others were facing and saw the boss of the caverns rushing towards them with a mighty club.
"Shit! We're not escaping this fight people!" Sean drew his sword in his right hand whilst he kept his left ready to cast.
Du'Inke Lvl 26
HP: 5000/5000
TP: 6750/6750
MP: 400/400
STR: 150
VIT: 200
DEX: 120
INT: 16
WIS: 5
LUK: 1
SPI: 2
Description: The boss of Mekiv Caverns. His preferred method of attack is striking enemies with his giant club though he does occasionally spit freezing fire. It is recommended the user be at least Level 20 before facing this boss.
Quest Alert!
Going Ape
As a way to get stronger, you and your group decided to take a trip to Mekiv Caverns only to attract the attention of the head honcho. Defeat Du'Inke.
Reward: 5000 Exp, 3000 Lucre, ?, ?, ?
Failure: Death, End of Domina, Destruction of Fa'Diel
Du'Inke was a large, thirty-foot tall, primate-like creature with icy blue fur covering its whole body except for its hands, chest, stomach, and face which were a dark tan in color. The monster wore a pair of teal shoes with yellow ropes tied around them strangely enough and carried a large wooden club with the skull of a giant bird stuck on the end of it. The skull possessed a sharp beak and had two horns behind its eyeholes. The monster's eyes were blue and there was a piece of white cloth wrapped around the club just below the skull.
When the beast reached them, it glared at the group of five in utter hatred and slammed its fists onto the stone floor as a scare tactic. It then took a deep breath and roared, exposing its razor-sharp teeth that could surely grind them all down into tiny, meaty chunks.
Biggs took the chance and shot an explosive into its mouth.
The creature promptly closed its gob in confusion while Biggs just looked back at it with a shit-eating grin. A resulting blast went off in Du'Inke's mouth and his cheeks puffed up like a chipmunk. He opened his trap and a thick cloud of smoke came billowing out.
Three more blasts hit him courtesy of Biggs and the resulting smoke shrouded Du'Inke, the cloud much too thick to be seen through.
"That wasn't that hard," Biggs spoke smugly. "I bet I could take ten of those things."
Sean just stayed silent and cast an Aero at the cloud to disperse it faster. He's seen plenty of anime in his life to be knowledgeable of this cliché. Whenever there was smoke, the enemy was still alive and normally unharmed.
A club then hammered into Biggs from out of the darkness which sent him soaring into one of the stalagmites. The force of their meeting snapped the dense stalagmite in two and the stronger officer ended up buried in a pile of rubble.
"Biggs!" Wedge yelled.
-500 HP
Biggs: 2700/3200
Sean used Observe on Du'Inke again and found that Biggs managed to take away a 1/5 of its HP, bringing it down to 4000. An impressive amount, but nowhere near enough to finish the fight that quickly.
Wedge charged Du'Inke with deft footwork, easily dodging the beasts' overhead swing and maneuvered around the reach of his other hand. Du'Inke tried to grab the insect, but wound up growing more infuriated the longer this went on and the more times he missed.
"Duelle, you need to get out of here." Sean was deadly earnest in his tone. "You will die if you stick around." Sean didn't want his short friend's death hovering over his head. Duelle offered no argument and left to one of the cave's smaller passages, an area that Du'Inke couldn't enter no matter how hard he tried. "Mark, you're gonna have to back me up here. And watch out because this son of a bitch can breathe fire."
Mark nodded, but looked worriedly in Biggs' direction. "What about Biggs?"
"Biggs is still alive," Sean replied as he quickly assigned his remaining stat points into VIT. "But Wedge needs our help. We can't heal Biggs with that thing stomping about." Sean gestured to the mad primate.
VIT: 22 → 32
With his HP now a bit higher, Sean ran towards the beast with Mark sprinting after him.
Upon yet another miss, Du'Inke tried stomping Wedge into paste with his right foot, but the officer dodged to the left and darted forwards back to the offending appendage. He ran the edge of his blade along Du'Inke's ankle, causing the beast to pitch forward. The deep cut traveled from near the front of his foot to the back, almost a full 180 degrees.
-330 HP
Du'Inke roared in pain yet again and changed tactics. He opened his mouth and inhaled deeply, his stomach and cheeks filling with oxygen to the point of bursting. The fire built up and rose towards his mouth in an immolating inferno ready to be released on the world. Before he could let loose the blaze, Mark slammed his tower shield into Du'Inke's lower jaw.
The primate's eyes widened in surprise and his mouth shut with an audible clack. With nowhere else to go, the fire spilled out of the sides of his jaws through the gaps in his teeth. Du'Inke started coughing and hacking and he covered his mouth to make it stop.
-700 HP
With Du'Inke momentarily incapacitated, Sean used Iai Strike, an attack he aimed at Du'Inke's ankle in the exact same spot Wedge did. The cut deepened further and not letting up, Sean sent a second slash after the first. The spilt blood dyed his blue fur a deeper crimson as the injury brought Du'Inke down to one knee.
-79 HP
-79 HP
-48 HP
-48 HP
Du'Inke: 2716/5000 HP
With almost half of his health gone, Du'Inke tossed his club aside and started beating his chest in a furious frenzy. Du'Inke's muscles grew bigger, he became a couple feet taller, and his fur changed from icy blue to sanguine.
Sean stood thunderstruck by how powerful Du'Inke became and felt a new level of terror when he saw Du'Inke's new stats, signaling his imminent death.
Du'Inke Lvl 26
HP: 2716/5000 HP
TP: 6750/6750 → 15750/15750
MP: 400/400
STR: 150 → 380
VIT: 200
DEX: 120 → 250
INT: 16
WIS: 5
LUK: 1
SPI: 2
"Man, I knew the fight was too fricken easy." Sean trembled.
In an instant, a fist smacked into Wedge sending him flying. His helmet cracked from the strike and his left shoulder armor was dented. Unlike his friend, however, Wedge did a backflip in the air and landed in a crouch with his left hand on the ground to keep himself steady. The officer glared at the beast and the mad ape rushed towards him in a blind rage.
-450 HP
Wedge: 2910/3360
"Mark, you're the strongest out of all of us." It was obvious by how much damage the father did. "If I draw his attention, can you hold him?" Sean's chest rose and fell rapidly at what he was about to do and he felt a bead of sweat slide down his face.
"I'll give it everything I have," Mark replied seriously, his smile long gone.
"Good because Wedge isn't going to last much longer."
The officer put up a valiant effort, but he was soon grabbed by the legs upon trying to jump away again and was slammed into the ground like a rag doll. Upon impact, the limestone cracked and Wedge coughed up blood in agony.
-600 HP
Wedge: 2310/3360
Du'Inke raised Wedge into the air once more to turn him into bloody paste when Sean shot an Iai Strike at the monster's face, cutting into its eyeball and blinding it.
Critical!
-280 HP
Du'Inke: 2436/5000
Wedge fell from his grip and was caught by Mark as the beast howled, its hand covering the now destroyed eye. Blood dribbled through its fingers as it glared with utter hatred at Sean, the cause of its half-blindness.
Du'Inke was on him in an instant and Sean simultaneously raised his sword and casted Protect before a punch slammed into him. The sword did absolutely nothing to stop it.
-294 HP
Sean Rent: 722/1016
Sean crash through a stalagmite and would've been beaten to death had Mark not swung his sword into Du'Inke's rear, cutting the monster's tail off in the process.
-500 HP
Du'Inke: 1936/5000
-50 HP
Sean Rent: 672/1016
Physical Endurance Lvl 4 → Lvl 6
Protect Lvl 4 → Lvl 5
SPI: 20 → 21
Du'Inke spun around and lashed out its fist at Mark only to make contact with the father's shield. A loud clang rang echoes throughout the caverns alerting the other monsters to the beast's rage.
The blow did no damage to Mark or his shield and Du'Inke's other fist was caught in Mark's hand. Were Sean not recovering from an earlier attack, he would have seriously reevaluated his opinion of Mark. Even more so when the mighty man started to slowly push Du'Inke backwards, gradually building up speed, until his back hit a wall.
Mark pulled Du'Inke towards himself and pushed back, slamming the creature into the wall. This caused loose pebbles to rain down on their heads.
-80 HP
Du'Inke: 1856/1936
Du'Inke suddenly spat a gout of flames at Mark who easily jumped out of the way before jumping up to the high ceiling where he grabbed ahold of two of the stalactites. Mark's eyes widened when the roof started to shake and the icicle-shaped rock formations broke off and fell towards the group with promise of death.
Sean managed to rise to his feet right before the shower started. His pained ribs and sore back briefly bothered him before Gamer's Body kicked in.
Jump to the left!
Sense Danger Lvl 1 → Lvl 4
Mark stood over Wedge and used his shield as an umbrella to protect themselves. Sean, meanwhile, jumped, dodged, rolled, and weaved from side to side to avoid the stone lances. It was an absolute miracle that he was still alive and he sent a few mental prayers that everyone was still okay.
+122 HP
Sean Rent: 844/1016
Prayer Lvl 2 → Lvl 3
When the stalactites finished their descent, Sean stopped and glanced around. There were pillars now surrounding him with just enough space in between each of them for Sean to squeeze through. Seeing this made him feel like a mouse in a maze.
The caverns shook once more when Du'Inke landed and it hunched over and breathed heavily in exhaustion. Looking through the gaps, Sean noticed that the primate's fur was back to its icy blue and that it shrunk back to its original size. Even so, Sean wasn't a match for him. Though, what was odd was that Du'Inke was breathing more heavily than it should have been and Sean checked the monster's stats once more. It didn't take him long to find what happened.
Du'Inke: 928/5000
Status Effect: [Poisoned]
"How the fuck was he poisoned?" Sean whispered to himself in confusion.
"We're good," Duelle replied with a straight face. "I was just showing Sean my paralytic and poison-tipped knives."
Sean grinned in amazement. "Duelle, you magnificent bastard." Sean thought that was fucking awesome and would have to do something to reward him for that since the onion deserved it. "You must have the world's greatest throwing arm."
Meanwhile, a gloved hand pushed its way out of a pile of rocks revealing Major Biggs. He was a bit dinged up, but not too much worse for wear. "The heck happened?" He wondered turning his head this way and that, taking in the damaged battlefield. "What'd I miss?"
On his mini-map, Sean saw one of the green circles, which represented his allies, moving and made his way over to it to find a lost Biggs. "Thanks for joining us, Sleeping Beauty" Sean spoke mentally, but instead asked, "Are you okay, Biggs?" He felt it was better not to give Biggs any grief over being knocked unconscious. He knew he would've been knocked out were he a regular person.
"Where is everybody?" Biggs asked, not seeing the others. "Is Wedge okay?"
Sean shrugged. "I don't what state the others are in aside from being alive," he said quietly. "But the monster we've been fighting is still out there. It's weakened, but it needs to be dealt with before we can leave."
"Well let's go take care of it." Biggs went to stand up when Sean put his hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"Look, man. I know there's been some crap between us and that you're pissed about being stuck with me, but…" Sean paused to consider his next words. "Can you follow my lead here? This is my first real fight and I need you to cover me."
Biggs was flabbergasted by this since he expected Sean to have some experience under his belt.
"Yeah, it's true, but I came out here to get stronger because Duelle asked me to and because I give a shit about Domina and its people," Sean spoke passionately while still remembering to keep his voice low.
Biggs just stared back at Sean and then shook his head with a sigh. "You know what. Fine. I'll help you out, kid." He agreed, glad he could stay back and keep his hands clean while Sean took on Du'Inke.
"How many more rounds do you have in that gauntlet of yours?"
"Two," Biggs answered. "You thinking about shooting my load down its throat again?"
Sean snorted. "Dude, phrasing. But yeah, if we can do that then I think Du'Inke will be finished off."
"Not a problem," Biggs said standing up. "Just get his mouth open and I'll take care of the rest."
A short moment later, Sean checked on Du'Inke again and saw that his eyes were a bit droopy and his breathing slowed down.
Du'Inke: 900/5000
"You definitely deserve commendations for that dude." Duelle inflicted more damage than almost everyone else in the party.
Sean stepped out from the maze of pillars and approached the primate.
Let it never be said that Sean Rent was a clean fighter. He learned long ago from his own observations and the advice of his elders that you should always do whatever it takes to win a fight and that fighting fair was overrated. With this is mind, Sean equipped his sword and stopped just out of Du'Inke's reach.
He then whistled to catch the beast's attention and Du'Inke opened its eyes wider, growling when he noticed the puny human before him. The monster tried to stand, but his ankle was too damaged to support his weight and fell back on his behind, leaving his legs wide open.
"Hey, dude," Sean addressed in a mocking tone. His expression immediately switched to a glare before he swung his sword and sent an Iai Strike right at the family jewels. Du'Inke's eyes shot open as wide as they could and his pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks. His mouth opened in a silent scream, giving Biggs the perfect opportunity to shoot his explosives into Du'Inke's gob and down to the gullet.
The explosions were muted, but the blasts were audible from inside him. Du'Inke's stomach briefly inflated with each boom and blood spilled from his mouth before he collapsed onto his back. With so much damage inflicted to the beast, his body started to shut down and found himself unable to move.
-79 HP
-800 HP
Sean quickly did the math in his head and realized that Du'Inke still had 21 HP left. Before anyone else could steal his chance, Sean cut Du'Inke's foot with a simple swing of the sword and finished the beast off. He watched the monster vanish like a ghost at daybreak.
Enemy Slain! Du'Inke Level 26! +35,000 Exp. Gained!
Level Up! (x4)
Sean Rent Lvl 6 → Lvl 10
+8 Perk Points
Stat Points: 0 → 20
Iai Strike Lvl 2 → Lvl 3
Quest Completed!
Going Ape
As a way to level up, you and your group decided to take a trip to Mekiv Caverns only to attract the attention of the head honcho. Defeat Du'Inke.
Reward: 5000 Exp., 3000 Lucre, Remora Summon, Goblin Summon, Thunder Spell Book
Failure: Death, End of Domina, Destruction of Fa'Diel
You've gained 3 new items!
Would you like to-
Sean dismissed the notification and just sat down, too tired to be looking at anything right now.
Biggs walked up to him and said, "You could have done better, but decent job, punk."
Sean just wanted to go home and take a nice, hot bath. Maybe with some scented candles and Pink Floyd playing in the background. "I wonder if I can introduce music from my world to Fa'Diel." Sean shook his head, figuring he'd think more on it later.
"We should go check on the others." Biggs said.
"Yeah," Sean agreed. "I'm fucking sick of this place."
Author's Notes: Here's Chapter 5. I think this chapter is better than the previous version even if it's not set in Domina against the thieves.
There will be characters from other fandoms who will make appearances in this story like Biggs and Wedge from FF8 did here. I may not get all of these characters spot on, but I think I got fairly close considering that you only run into Biggs and Wedge like 3 times in Final Fantasy 8.
I'm not going to update for a little while since I need to focus on school, but I won't give up on this story.
Thanks to everyone who has read, faved, followed, and reviewed this story.
The fifth of October is actually my birthday. So, could you please leave a review letting me know what you think of this chapter and if it's better than the previous one. I'm sure there are things that I could fix or change, but I'm just going to move on.