Chapter 41 – One Week
"AAHH!"
I jolted upwards as I woke up in the middle of the night.
"Ugh. That dream again..."
It has been a week since Danae and everyone else moved to the Adventurers Guild dormitory. I had switched to a single room in the Alonia inn.
I keep having the same recurring nightmare that wakes me up. Even though Danae's words that day comforted me, I'm still quite uneasy because my Dad might have a different opinion. Maybe Danae was right about me being a fathercon… No, no, no get that thought out of my head.
I got up and walked out of the backdoor to the inn's well and washed my face. It was still pretty deep into the night but I'm wide awake now.
"Maybe I'll take a stroll around the city until the sun comes up."
To pass the time, I walked around Lam City. This place hasn't been able to apply the beauty of electricity yet so the only light source right now came from the twin moons and stars in the sky. Although, I did hear from David that [Lightning Magic] skill exists. Not that I needed light to see of course.
I went around the city's residential district in the west and headed over to the commercial district in the east. All the shops and stalls were closed save for the red light district.
"Hey there stranger. Lookin' to have some fun?"
Some of the ladies called out to me as I walked passed. My clothes were currently in robe mode and I had my hood up blocking their view of my face so they couldn't tell I was a girl. I took it off and told them.
"Over here girlie. I can show you a whole new world."
"Why don't you come inside for a drink?"
"Come inside and I will give you the satisfaction only another woman can provide."
Some of them stopped but a bunch more called out to me. They must think that anyone awake and walking around here at this hour only came for "that".
Slightly blushing, I quickened my pace. I stopped when I heard some rustling noises from an alley. I looked over and saw two people, a man and a woman.
"Let go of me!"
*Slap*
The man slapped the woman that was struggling while he pushing her against the wall and ripping her clothes.
"Shud up! You lookin down o me too huh?! Jus cuz I dun hab money d-"
*Bam*
I punched the hopelessly drunk man with my left hand who was harassing the woman. He fell onto a pile of garbage.
"You can leave. Let me handle this bastard."
I told the woman and she quickly left the alley.
"Ug. Who dafa-"
The man tried to get up while cursing but I kicked him back down into the garbage.
Name: Clint Lv. 5
Job: Enchanter
Race: Human
Hmm? I looked at his status and his name looked familiar. Where have I seen this guy's name before? I tried to recall.
"Ah! You're that guy who put a bounty for magic crystals but got kicked from the Enchantment Guild. Did you become a dead beat after losing your job? "
I finally remembered where I saw his name before. My words must have struck a nerve because Clint pulled out a dagger after hearing what I said.
"You f*cking b*tch!"
The symbols on the dagger started to glow and he rushed at me.
"Haa."
I sighed. When Clint was close to stabbing me, I pulled Blood Bane out from my right leg, avoided his stab, and cut off the hand that was holding the dagger. I followed up by doing a leg sweep and knocked him down.
"Aaa-"
I stepped on his face and forced some mud from my mud shoe down his throat to stop him from screaming.
"Trash like you belongs with all the other trash." I said as I picked up his dagger and severed hand. With a kick, I knocked Clint back into pile of garbage.
"You know where I come from, we have this thing called 'recycling'." I said while I threw his bloody hand onto his face.
I started to spread my mud to cover him up. He squirmed and struggled to break free so I stabbed him a few times with Blood Bane.
I used [Dissolve] to get rid of the eviden- trash.
[Skill Engraving acquired through Assimilation.]
Engraving: Allows for the creation of mana circuits on items.
I finished up and left the alley.
"Dammit. Now my blood's boiling. I guess I'll go kill some monsters until breakfast time."
During the night the city gates were closed, so if I wanted to leave I had to sneak over the wall.
###
After selling the results of my hunt from last night at the Merchant Guild, I headed back to Alonia for breakfast. I looked at my status along the way.
Name: Ruby Sen Lv. 15
Age: 17
Race: Half-Human?
Class: Half-Magical Creature
Job: - Lv. 15 <+1>
HP: 15 [82%] <+4>
MP: 16 [95%] <+2>
STR: 14 (+5) <+3>
DEF: 13 (+25) <+3>
INT: 21 <+2>
WILL: 17 <+2>
SPD: 13 <+3>
<
Assimilate
Mana Manipulation
Physical Resistance
Foresight
Shapeshift
Mana Absorption
Novice Magic Caster
Poison Resistance
Sleep Resistance
Novice Weapon Master
<
Dissolve
Sensing
Sculpting
Detonate
Appraisal Analysis
Cloning
Mana Designing
Mana Disturb
Heal
Boost
Stealth
Engraving
<
Tongue Enhancement
[Skill Lesser Heal evolved into Heal.]
[Skill Body Enhancement + Mind Enhancement + Vigor Enhancement combined into Boost.]
[Skill Weaponized Limbs + Novice Blade User + Novice Pole User + Throwing + Novice Bow User + Novice Bludgeoner combined into Novice Weapon Master.]
[Skill Camouflage + Silence + Invisibility + Hide Presence combined into Stealth.]
Over the past week I visited the many dungeons around Lam City, including the ones managed by the Adventurers Guild. Some of them I had to go to for bounties, and other I went to just to see if I could get any skills from there.
I had difficulty in finding a party to join at first since no one trusted me because of my hidden status. Luckily I encountered Blake's party at the entrance of one of the dungeons I went to and they let me accompany them. Inside were a bunch of other Adventurer parties doing requests. While killing monsters, I occasionally gave assistance to other parties by throwing some "Earth Spears" to pin down the monsters they were fighting. My reputation started to spread as the "Earth Ranger" as a result. Now, whenever I go to a dungeon, everyone wants to join their party.
I killed, looted, dissolved, and assimilated hundreds of monsters like goblins, slimes, and all kinds of animals and insects. The defenses of regular monsters couldn't withstand my power in this low level area. Only the Dark Swamp dungeon provided me with some challenge and I frequently grinded there to let loose and test any new skills I got since no one was around. It was the highest level dungeon around Lam Forest.
It was difficult for me to find opportunities to use [Assimilate] especially on dungeon bosses when there were others around. I had to sneak into the dungeons during the night when the guard was lax in order to get those bosses. My new [Stealth] skill was incredibly useful for this.
At the dining hall inside Alonia, I met up with my classmates. The Adventurers Guild dormitory didn't provide meals so they always ate here instead. I taught Bosu, the cook for this inn and Maria's husband, some recipes from Earth. This increased the popularity of the place and many customers flocked over here for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was given a special reserved table as thanks which is where I ate with my classmates.
"We're still not done with the basic knowledge classes but since we were all able to job up already, the instructors let us take the graduation exam in advance." Jeff said.
Over the course of one week, they had hunted monsters in the forest in order to earn money. They then went to the Church in the city and spent their saved up funds to restore his leg. Their jobs were now Heavy Tank, Wind User, Secret Mage, and Aqua Healer for David, Jeff, Danae, and Fran respectively. They were told that these were all super rare jobs.
"Even if we complete it, we still have to finish the rest of the course though." said Danae.
They often told me what they were taught. I was especially interested in the magic lessons they had but it only super basic stuff. I got the [Novice Magic Caster] skill as a result of copying the magic casting system they had though.
"Well now you guys can avenge Jaimar. We're one step closer to finding a way home." I said to them positively.
"We're still a long way off." Fran said negatively. Ugh.
"Oh yeah Ru- Rim. Here take this."
Danae pulled out something from her storage with her [Space Magic]. It was a small booklet. She handed it to me and closed her storage. [Space Magic] is so convenient.
"Adventurer Guide: Useful Skills for Adventurers?" I read out the title.
"Yup. We each got one so it's fine for us to give you one. It provides a list of skills, descriptions, requirements, and methods on how to acquire them."
I flipped through the book and saw a bunch of skills that looked indeed looked useful. I could use this as a reference for my skills.
"Wow this is great. Thanks. I'll make sure to prepare a graduation gift for you all as repayment."
We finished our meal and separated. Today, my plan is to go to the Jungle Maze dungeon whose boss is the last dungeon monster around who I haven't used [Assimilate] on. I should first head over to the Craftsman Association to see if there were any bounties for that place. I've completed quite a few of them already and have sufficient funds now to start my journey according to my calculations.
I entered my room and "changed" clothes and "put on" armor. I kept Blood Bane in sheath made of my mud at my waist and my Wooden Wand which I use to "cast" spells on my belt. With this, I looked like a normal Adventurer.
CHAPTER END.
Name: Ruby Sen Lv. 15
Age: 17
Race: Half-Human?
Class: Half-Magical Creature
Job: - Lv. 15 <+1>
HP: 15 [82%] <+4>
MP: 16 [95%] <+2>
STR: 14 (+5) <+3>
DEF: 13 (+25) <+3>
INT: 21 <+2>
WILL: 17 <+2>
SPD: 13 <+3>
<
Assimilate
Mana Manipulation
Physical Resistance
Foresight
Shapeshift
Mana Absorption
Novice Magic Caster
Poison Resistance
Sleep Resistance
Novice Weapon Master
<
Dissolve
Sensing
Sculpting
Detonate
Appraisal Analysis
Cloning
Mana Designing
Mana Disturb
Heal
Boost
Stealth
Engraving
<
Tongue Enhancement
[Novice Magic Caster]: Able to cast and create low mana-costing magic.
[Poison Resistance]: Provides some resistance to abnormal status poison.
[Sleep Resistance]: Provides some resistance to abnormal status sleep.
[Novice Weapon Master]: A passive skill that gives a damage correction when using any type of weapon. As mastery of the skill increases it may evolve.
[Mana Disturb]: Causes the mana that was targeted to scatter.
[Heal]: Improved skill of [Lesser Heal]. Cannot regrow limbs.
[Boost]: Provides a +10 boost to all stats when activated.
[Stealth]: Uses mana to completely erase one's presence and nullifies any sounds made.
[Engraving]: Allows for the creation of mana circuits on items.