Volume 2 Chapter 32: Oops, I Slip Up

[Author's Note: For bonus chapters, the goal every week is:

- 25 Power Stones

- 50 Power Stones]

Volume 2 Chapter 32: Oops, I Slip Up

Carmilla: "Is there a way to increase those chances, perhaps up to 10%?"

Tria: "You can only get up to 1%, but to achieve that 1% chance of winning, you would need incredibly good luck. However, as I mentioned earlier, your luck seems to know no bounds since you managed to reach that 1% chance. Additionally, since he doesn't have all of his skills, your 50% chance of winning against him has been increased to 60%."

Eve: "What do you mean?"

Carmilla: "What do you mean that we were lucky enough for that 0.01% chance to occur, and what happened to Daniel?"

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Tria: "The 0.01% chance I mentioned that could improve your win rate occurs if Daniel loses control of a spell. If that truly happened—if he lost control of a spell, resulting in an explosion—it causes him to receive a backlash, implicating him with several debuffs. I'm quite certain you three noticed that after the spell's explosion, his attacks became less frequent and notably weaker."

Pepper remarked.

Pepper: "Ahh, that's why his attacks were weaker and less frequent after the explosion. I thought he was simply taking it easy on us following that powerful blast."

Carmilla stated.

Carmilla: "I thought the same."

Eve added.

Eve: "Me too."

Tria explained.

Tria: "Ohh, don't get it wrong; he was indeed going easy on the three of you, even though I said not to do so. However, he still held back a lot. He only used blood magic throughout his entire fight with the three of you. From what I understand, he did this because it was the only magic skill known by the three of you. He briefly used a fire attribute spell to give himself time to plan an escape. He also employed a wind attribute spell to create distance between you, though it was futile since one of you managed to follow him. After that, he reverted to using blood magic. Even if he wanted to start using spells of another attribute, it wouldn't be much help."

Eve inquired.

Eve: "Why?"

Tria explained.

Tria: "The debuffs he received reduced his casting speed and mana regeneration by 50%. It also lessened his control over any mana attribute by 50%. Lastly, his mana pool was reduced by 25%. As all his methods of dealing damage rely heavily on magic, especially since he doesn't have his usual equipment equipped, anyone planning to follow the path of a spellcaster needs to be exceedingly cautious about losing control of a spell. Unless you're truly cornered, you could consider it a trump card, as an explosion of that magnitude could severely damage or kill an unsuspecting enemy if directly hit by the blast, provided your levels aren't too far apart."

Carmilla stated.

Carmilla: "One final question before we begin."

Tria responded.

Tria: "Of course, go ahead, since you're the one being delayed, not me. What is it?"

Carmilla asked.

Carmilla: "While you were explaining earlier, you seemed to mention to Daniel not to hold back on us. What did you mean by 'not holding back on us'?"

Upon hearing Carmilla's question, she thought to herself, 'oops, I slip up' However, she promptly dismissed Carmilla's statement.

Tria quickly responded to Carmilla without thinking.

Tria: "When did I say something like that? Are you sure you heard me say that? Because I certainly don't remember uttering such words."

The sudden and repeated denials from Tria caught the three of them off guard. They had anticipated an explanation regarding why she had advised Daniel not to go easy on them, as she usually did. They were even prepared for Tria not to disclose the reason she had told Daniel not to hold back, but her denial surprised them.

Pepper asserted after Tria's repeated denial.

Pepper: "You did."

Tria insisted after hearing what Pepper said.

Tria: "No, I did not."

Pepper persisted like a child that don't want to loss:

Pepper: "Yes, you did."

Tria finally relented after several exchanges.

Tria: "Fine, I did say something along those lines to Daniel."

Eve asked upon hearing what Tria said.

Eve: "Why?"

Tria: "Because you will need fighting experience, and this way, you can gain some in a safe and controlled environment where you won't risk your life."

Pepper commented on Tria's statement.

Pepper: "That's genuinely considerate of you."

Carmilla supplemented the conversation by saying.

Carmilla: "If you say so, let's begin the next fight."

Tria: "Alright, I'll be summoning your next opponent."

After stating their decision, Tria started to ponder which opponent she could resurrect to face the three of them in combat.

At that moment, Tria conceived the notion to revive someone highly skilled in magic. She realized there was a perfect candidate she could resurrect, someone who would suit the situation perfectly.

Tria then announced her decision to the trio.

Tria: "Alright, I've found a perfect opponent for you. I'm confident she can showcase a variety of magic attributes different from what Daniel displayed."

Carmilla then inquired more information.

Carmilla: "Could you provide us with more information about the individual you're planning to revive?"

Tria: "I'll introduce her to you three after I've revived her. But sharing some information should suffice for now—she's one of the most powerful spellcasters in the vampire race after all."

Carmilla then deduced something was off.

Carmilla: "If you're able to revive her, that means she's already dead, correct?"

Tria confirmed what Carmilla said.

Tria "Yes, she is indeed dead, and she passed away long before this dungeon came into existence."

Pepper speculated.

Pepper: "If you're claiming she's one of the most powerful spellcasters among vampires, she couldn't have been killed by an enemy, could she?"

Tria clarified upon hearing Pepper's speculation.

Tria: "No, she wasn't killed by an enemy."

Eve further inquired.

Eve: "Is she similar to Daniel?"

Tria wasn't to sure what Eve means so she ask.

Tria: "Are you suggesting she's in retirement, like Daniel?"

Eve nodded in agreement.

Eve: "Un"

Tria, noticing this implication, promptly denied Eve's assumption, stating.

Tria: "She is not in retirement like Daniel."

Pepper sarcastically remarked.

Pepper: "Okay, if she wasn't killed by an enemy, isn't retired like Daniel, then she didn't commit suicide, did she?"

Tria notice that Pepper was being sarcastic but she still confirmed what she said.

Tria: "It might sound strange, but what you said is correct. She did, in fact, unintentionally take her own life."

Carmilla expressed her concern upon hearing what Tria said.

Carmilla: "Are you absolutely certain she's one of the most powerful spellcasters? Ahh, don't get me wrong, okay? It just sounds very distressing from our perspective. How could one of the most powerful spellcasters in the vampire race take her own life unintentionally?"

Tria reassured them.

Tria: "I understand it sounds distressing, but I assure you she was qualified to be one of the most powerful spellcasters in the vampire race."

Pepper "How can someone that qualified end up taking her own life unintentionally? And how did she even do it?"