Chapter 9: Floor two, round two.
(A/N: Survival instincts is a Survival against Stealth roll. There are a lot of skills and Development Abilities like Luck. What do you all think their requirements should be?)
'First I need to see how different my strength is now compared to before I updated my falna,' she thought as she walked down the stairs into the dungeon.
[Rolling Arcana... crit fail]
'It feels like I have a lot more mana too, but I am unsure how many times I can cast a spell now,' she thought as she tried to feel her mana, but with the sudden growth, she struggled to grasp the amount.
'I know it grew from my previous three casts before I need to rest... I still need to be careful since I don't know the exact number.' She nodded at her thoughts as she stepped foot on the first floor once more.
[Rolling Perception... 5]
After walking onward for a bit, she didn't notice any monsters around her and made her way towards the second floor. A goblin behind her was slowly walking towards her; as it was about to attack, a whip slammed into its side as it fell to the floor.
[Rolling Survival... 14]
[Goblin: 6->-3]
'...My survival instincts have improved by a lot more than I expected,' she thought as she looked at the goblin's corpse.
'My magic got a lot stronger too,' she thought as she took out her dagger and extracted the stone.
'I shouldn't be reliant on my instincts either,' she thought as she stored the stone and noticed a fang on the floor too.
'...Did my luck increase too?' she thought as she stored the drop and walked onward.
As she walked, she saw the wall in front of her light up as two monsters slowly crawled out; their dog heads were the first to be visible.
Durvekka readied her whip and instantly attacked one of the kobolds, hitting it in its face, the thorns digging into it as it got pulled out of the wall.
[Kobold: 6->-1]
She then readied her staff as she ran 20 feet towards the wall, but she misjudged the distance as her staff hit the wall instead. She clicked her tongue as the kobold's left arm came out of the wall and slashed her on her chest. It tried to use its other arm, but it was still stuck in the wall.
[Durvekka: 52-> 46]
Her whip dematerialized as she gripped her staff with both hands, jumped up slightly, and slammed it downwards into the kobold's head. A clear 'crack' sound could be heard as the kobold's neck broke from the power of that attack as the rest of its body fell out of the wall to the floor, except for its legs.
[Kobold Hp: 4->-6]
Durvekka opened and closed her hand slightly, surprised at her own strength, but that surprise quickly turned into a frown.
'I can't get complacent; they are just floor one monsters, after all,' she thought as she extracted their stones, both dropping their nails, and placed them inside her pockets.
[Rolling Stealth... 13]
She walked onward for a bit, this time being careful as to not alert any of the monsters and went to the next floor.
Walking down the stairs, she saw other adventurers too but ignored them as she walked away. She made sure to still stay close enough so that she could run away if things went bad.
[Rolling Perception...16]
As she was walking through the corridors, she saw three kobolds in one of the corridors. After making sure there weren't any lizards around, she got ready and cast {Chill Touch} as one of the kobold's legs was clutched by a spectral hand; it shriveled up and fell to the floor.
[Kobold #1: 4-> -8]
The other two heard Durvekka cast the spell as they ran towards her, giving her enough time to materialize her whip and slam it into the right-hand kobold's side, but it held on to its life as it saw a staff heading to its face, missing as Durvekka lost her balance. A few spores flew around the wounded kobold, but it held strong.
[Kobold #2: 13->5]
[Con save... nat 20]
[Bonus action staff: Crit fail]
The two kobolds took advantage of this opportunity. The first one tried to bite her shoulder but missed as she slightly shifted her body to the side, getting hit by its claw instead. The other kobold saw her slightly moving in its direction and quickly slashed her back, but missed its second swipe as she slightly jumped backward.
[Durvekka:46->42->38/52]
'...I'm still too inexperienced with my staff,' she thought as she summoned her whip and flicked it towards the uninjured kobold's head, leaving a bloody indent in its head.
[Kobold #3: 9->-3]
Then she quickly gripped her staff in her left hand and slammed it into the injured kobold's head as it fell down as well.
[Kobold #2: 5->-1/13]
After extracting their stones, she gained one nail as well and stored that too. Looking down at her staff, she frowned lightly.
'I need to get used to my strength increase; otherwise, it could end up getting me killed,' she thought as she walked a bit further, deciding to not use any of her healing supplies as of now.
[Rolling stealth...19]
[Rolling Survival... 18]
She walked carefully through the corridors once more and found two more kobolds.
'I haven't seen a goblin or lizard yet... Something feels off,' she thought as she got ready to fight the kobolds. As she was about to attack, she barely noticed the lizard from the side launching itself towards her and moved out of the way.
[Dex save... 18]
'...How are these creatures considered safe for new adventurers?' she thought as the two kobolds heard the commotion.
'I need to take down the lizard quickly as it's the most dangerous,' she said as she summoned her whip and slammed it into the lizard, the thorns piercing its skin.
[Lizard: 23->10]
She then followed it up by slamming her staff into her whip, causing the thorns to dig into it deeper.
[Lizard:10->5/23]
[Con save: 7]
The whip dematerialized as the spores entered the deepened wound. The lizard slowed down as it fell to the ground, blood leaking out of its mouth and back.
[Lizard:5->0]
'The potency of my spores also increased,' she smiled as she stepped back, causing the first kobold to miss, and then stepped to her left, causing the second kobold to miss. The kobolds then charged her at the same time from both sides, leading her to lift up her arms, taking the hits. The first kobold only slightly scraped the side of her arm, while the second one got a good hit, scraping both.
[Durvekka: 38->37->31/52]
Summoning her whip again, she slammed it into the first kobold, but it managed to stand its ground, blood dripping down from its wound. She clicked her tongue and used her staff to finish it off.
[Kobold #1:7->1->-7]
[Con save: 9]
[Kobold #2:13->3]
The second kobold almost fell to its knees as blood started piling up in its mouth. It knew it was going to die, so it fixed its posture and charged at Durvekka. It swiped its claw at her stomach, easily piercing her armor, and then followed it up with its right arm as it made another slash at the exact same place. Durvekka gritted her teeth as she summoned her whip again and tried to slam it into the kobold, who jumped over it. She then gripped her staff and thrust it into the airborne kobold.
[Kobold #2: 3-> -4]
[Durvekka:31->25->19/52]
'...I am starting to hate kobolds,' she thought as she placed her hand on her wound. Her hand glowed slightly as she cast {Cure Wounds}.
[Durvekka:19-> 32/52]
Letting out a sigh, she extracted their stones. The dungeon lizard left behind one of its scales, which she picked up and stored.
'...I don't think I should go down further if I am struggling this much with floor two monsters,' she thought as she used one of her potions and drank it slowly.
[Durvekka: 32->42/52]
She rested for a bit, and then walked further into the floor. She made sure to not stray too far from the stairs.
[Rolling stealth... 22]
[Rolling Survival...7]
She started walking through the floor, looking through the different rooms.
[Rolling Dex save (dis)...11]
A dungeon lizard leaped from the ceiling and knocked her to the floor, biting her shoulder.
[Durvekka: 42->33/52]
She squinted her eyes and cast {Entangle} as the vines wrapped around the lizard and pulled it away from her. Two goblins that had just come out of the wall got instantly restrained by her spell.
She stood up from the floor and flicked her whip at its head, then gripped her staff and slammed it down on its head. It hissed slightly as it tried to escape from its restraints, blood trailing down from its head. The spores hovered around its wounded head as it lost its strength.
[Lizard: 21 -> 10 -> 4]
[Con save... 5]
[Lizard: 4 -> -2]
[Str saves... 9, 11]
She noticed the goblins struggling close to her as she walked towards them, whip in her left hand and staff in her right.
'Two humanoids and one lizard... Either my luck is terrible, or they usually spawn in these groups,' she thought as she flicked her whip toward the first goblin's head, the tip speeding toward its skull, causing an indent. She then gripped her staff and thrust it into the last goblin's chest, but it didn't bother the goblin, as one of its hands blocked the blow.
[Goblin #1: 8 -> -2]
[Str save... 7]
It couldn't escape, so all it did was glare at Durvekka with its glowing red eyes. The last thing it saw was her thorny whip going toward its face.
[Goblin #2: 7 -> -1]
She quickly extracted the stones from these two goblins and slowly walked towards the center of her {entangle} spell, where the lizard's corpse was, and extracted its stone too.
She sat on one of the vines and held her concentration so that other monsters would struggle to get to her.
Letting out a slight sigh, she used {Cure Wounds} once more.
[Durvekka: 33 -> 48/52]
'How bad would the War Shadows and Killer Ants be if they are being called the newbie killers.' She sighed to herself as {Entangle} slowly started to recede.
========================================================
Chapter 10: The Struggle Is Real.
'I have already used three spells. It feels like I can cast a few more before I am out of mana. The problem is I can't tell the exact number...' she thought as she walked along the dungeon walls and sighed.
'To think I overestimated my abilities to such a high degree.' She frowned slightly in frustration. She continued and saw a few adventurers fighting goblins and kobolds. Walking past the rooms where the adventurers were fighting, she sat in the middle of one of the empty rooms.
'I'll wait here and fight them as they appear,' she said as she waited a few minutes. Each wall of the room glowed lightly as two goblins and two kobolds started to walk out of the walls.
Durvekka stood up and cast {Chill Touch} on one of the kobolds, as a spectral skeleton hand appeared on its dog head, draining some of its life force.
[Kobold #1: 10->1]
She then ran about 16 feet toward the other kobold and tried to slam her staff into its face, but it was just enough out of the wall that it ducked down and moved to the side to miss the blow.
The kobold then swiped its claws in a cross manner downwards. She managed to block one claw with her staff while the other dug into her arm.
[Durvekka: 48->42/52]
The goblins dashed towards her, while the first kobold just came into her range but instantly fell over as some spores entered its body.
[Kobold #1: 1->-6]
Durvekka quickly smacked the second kobold's arm away so that it couldn't dig deeper into her arm, then materialized her whip as she slammed it into its neck, causing the whip to spin around its neck as the thorns dug in deeper. Gripping her staff, she then thrust it forward into the kobold's chest, causing the thorns to rip off some of its skin.
[Kobold #2: 14->2->-3]
As her whip disappeared, the kobold's corpse fell to the floor. She glanced at the two goblins as they finally made it towards her.
[Rolling Con save... 11]
The first goblin instantly fell to the floor as the spores floated out of its mouth.
[Goblin #1: 5->-5]
The last goblin instantly leaped at Durvekka as she tried to block, but she couldn't lift her staff in time as its teeth pierced through her armor. It then lifted its left hand and clawed her back, but it barely got through her armor.
[Durvekka: 42->37->36/52]
She narrowed her eyes as she grabbed its head with her open hand and pushed it away from her shoulder. As it lightly stumbled back, she then summoned her whip and flicked it towards the goblin's head as it barely moved its head out of the way. The moment it looked back at Durvekka, all it saw was her staff as it struck its face. A light crack was heard as it fell on its back.
[Goblin #2: 8->0]
After extracting the stones and storing a goblin fang, she sat back in the center of the room.
'...' She gripped her staff as a sense of frustration welled up inside her.
'...I need to try and get a companion for these dungeon dives... But that might slow down my growth,' she sighed when a thought hit her.
'...Maybe I can use {Animal Friendship} on them... No, that won't work, they are too intelligent.' She thought to herself.
'But... What about {Speak With Animals}? It won't work with humanoids, but I might be able to talk with a dungeon lizard. If it works out, then I might be able to tame it...' She grinned slightly at the thought.
'The chances might be slim as the dungeon creates them, but they are still beasts, and they can still bleed. There might be some way I can tame one,' she nodded to herself as her instincts suddenly warned her of danger. She quickly rolled out of the way and stood up.
[Rolling Survival... 15]
[Rolling Dex saves... 18, 17]
'...They aren't rare at all,' she thought to herself as she saw the two lizards standing at the place she previously was.
'I didn't hear them spawn, so they either spawn from the ceiling or came from another room,' she thought as a shard of ice formed in her open hand. She flicked it towards the middle lizard, and the moment it stabbed into its neck, the shard exploded into multiple sharp shards of ice. The lizard struggled to stand as its throat was bleeding profusely. The second lizard was riddled with a lot of smaller ice shards as it slowly started to bleed.
[Lizard #1: 24->5]
[Lizard #2: 18->10]
She then ran forward, her staff held high as she brought it down, but the lizard was faster as it jumped to the side. Its eyes narrowed as it stared at Durvekka. As she was readying her staff for defense, the lizard took advantage of that small window as it jumped towards her and bit her arm.
'At least the other one died,' she thought as she heard the lizard behind her coughing up blood as it fell to the floor.
[Durvekka: 36->28/52]
[Con save... 15]
[Lizard #1: 5->-3/24]
She took the staff with her left hand and stabbed the bottom part of her staff into the lizard's eye as it went into its skull. It stopped latching onto her arm as its body went limp.
[Lizard #2: 10->-10] {Nat 20}
She removed its head from her arm and took out her staff from its eye socket.
'I'll get {Speak With Animals} as one of my spells for tomorrow and see if it works or not,' she thought as she extracted their stones and sat back down in the middle of the room. Her hand glowing slightly as she cast {Cure Wounds}.
'I'll stay here for now until I run out of mana and then return. This way I can realize my current mana capacity and gain more excelia.'
[Durvekka: 28->41/52]
'Five spells down and I can still cast more,' she narrowed her eyes slightly.
'I need to learn when I should cast a spell and when not to. They do a lot of damage, but I can only regen mana when I am resting for a long time... If I want to go down more floors, then I need to limit my use of mana, but that would also cause fights to be slower, and I would take more hits.'
'...I guess the only way to learn that is by experience,' she rested on the stone floor with her staff on her lap. It took about five minutes for the walls to start glowing again. She stood up and waited for their heads to show.
'Three kobolds...' she thought as a skeletal hand appeared next to the closest kobold, but the kobold noticed the hand and moved its head out of the way.
Durvekka squinted her eyes as she ran towards the same kobold and thrust her staff into the kobold's mouth and twisted the staff to open it wider. As the other two kobolds walked out of the walls and dashed towards her, the spores entered the kobold's mouth.
[Kobold #1: 6->1]
[Con save... 4]
[Kobold #1: 1->-5]
She removed her staff from its mouth and looked at the farthest kobold as a spectral hand materialized and grabbed its shoulder as the kobold's strength started leaving its body and it fell to the floor.
[Kobold #3: 10->-3]
Durvekka gripped her staff next and swung it at the only kobold that was left, but the kobold managed to move its upper body out of the way and then clawed her face on the right side.
She looked at the kobold's face as spores started floating around its face, and it slowly crumbled to the floor.
[Con save... 5]
[Kobold #2: 6->-1]
[Durvekka: 41->27/52]
She placed her hand on her face and cast {Cure Wounds} for it to close. She then lifted up her arms and cast another {Cure Wounds} to close them up.
[Durvekka: 27->38->47/52]
'That's eight uses down, and I can feel that I can cast one more spell.' She thought as she extracted these three kobolds' stones.
'Time to go back up. As frustrating as this dungeon run was, it at least showed me how weak I am.' She was truly thankful, as the thought of fighting goblins and kobolds until floor four and then dying to stronger Dungeon Lizards caused her to frown.
She wasn't hasty on her return; she still had a lot of healing paste left and one use of {Cure Wounds}. So she walked slowly back.
After going through three rooms with no monsters, she finally found a room with three monsters: two goblins and one kobold.
She instantly cast {Chill Touch} on the kobold as it felt its strength getting sapped by the skeleton hand. She then readied her staff and waited for them to get closer.
[Kobold: 12->2]
The two goblins dashed towards her, the kobold following behind as it struggled a little. As they came closer, she instantly materialized her whip and slammed it into the first goblin. Yet the goblin didn't care in the slightest as it gripped the whip and tried to pull her in closer, but she held her ground as she walked forward with the momentum and thrust her staff square into the goblin's face.
[Str save... 18]
[Goblin #1: 8->0]
[Con save...7]
The weakened kobold felt its strength getting weaker and weaker as its breathing got heavier until it finally fell down, some blood dripping out of its jaw.
[Kobold:2->-6]
The only goblin left launched itself forward, its mouth wide as it clamped down on her stretched-out arm. One of its hands gripped her arm too, causing the nails to dig in deeper.
[Durvekka:47->41->38/52]
She squinted her eyes as she summoned a bit of her thorn whip and jammed it into its left eye. The thorns scraped parts of the eye socket as it finally died.
[Goblin #2:5->-3]
She extracted their stones and picked up a goblin fang. She took out one of her leaf balls and used some of the paste to stop the bleeding on her right arm before she started walking again.
[Rolling Medicine...11]
[Durvekka: 38->41/52]
[Rolling stealth... 15]
'I am running out of space to store items,' she thought as she carefully walked through the rest of the corridors and rooms to avoid fighting more monsters.
She made it to the first floor and continued to sneak through the rooms and corridors. She saw a few monsters on her way but decided to leave them for now.
As she made her way up the stairs to leave the first floor, she had a sudden thought.
'How would I be able to find the guild if I can't see?'
===========================================================
Chapter 11: Improvements.
[A/N] Just a slight note: there aren't many known creatures in the Underdark, so I used a homebrew site that had more.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Standing at the doorway of the Babel tower, she started contemplating how to leave.
"...Not being able to see in sunlight is annoying," she thought as she walked to the side and saw adventurers walking in and out of the place.
"I haven't tried out Wild Shape yet because of the limitations, but maybe that could work," she thought as she considered a few creatures she had seen in the Underdark.
"I can instinctively feel that I can't turn into the stronger monsters since I awakened the ability. The current limit is flightless creatures and non-water-based creatures. Would an Al-Mi'raj work?" she wondered before activating {Wild Shape}.
Her body shrank as magical particles appeared around her, and she transformed into a small, rabbit-like creature with dark yellow fur. On her forehead was a large, spiraling horn.
"This feels strange... yet normal," she thought as she jumped outside and noticed that her eyesight wasn't impeded by the sunlight.
"So by shapeshifting, I also take on their physical characteristics... My armor and items also fused into the form," she observed as she quickly jumped outside before any adventurers could see her.
But it was too late; she heard some adventurers yelling that a monster had escaped the dungeon.
"I instinctively know all of the creature's abilities once I {Wild Shape} into them, but sadly, I can't really use this in real combat," she mused as her horn glowed with a pinkish color. She disappeared from her location and reappeared 40 feet ahead on one of the house's roofs. As she ran across the roofs and jumped between buildings, many adventurers were running after her.
"Most seem to be slow and lack agility... I still need to be careful since they think I'm a monster right now," she thought as she felt the cold wind against her face and teleported another 40 feet ahead to another house's roof.
A few arrows flew towards her, but they struggled to hit as she ran across the other side of the roof, taking advantage of the cover.
She saw the guild, jumped up, and teleported inside, quickly reverting to her normal form. The adventurers inside the guild were too busy talking to their advisors and handling exchanges to notice her sudden appearance.
"That was fun, but I'll have to talk to Eina about my ability. I don't want a high-level adventurer accidentally killing me," she thought as she walked towards Eina.
She noticed Durvekka with a small smile on her face as she waved. "I am glad to see that you are alright. Did you walk to the guild on your own?"
Durvekka still had some blood on her cheek and armor, but Eina didn't mention it. She was just thankful it wasn't worse.
"Hm, I used an ability of mine that I need to talk to you about. It allows me to shift into creatures I have seen before and take on their characteristics. I want you to put out a notice that if people see an Al-Mi'raj running outside, that's me." Eina jumped up from her seat and yelled, "You made it to the 13th floor?!" Causing Durvekka to take a step back in confusion.
"No? Do Al-Mi'raj spawn on the 13th floor?" Eina frowned slightly, sighed, and asked, "How does the creature look?"
"A small creature with yellow fur and a large horn on its head... Are they on the 13th floor too?" Durvekka squinted her eyes in concern.
"They were extremely deadly in the Underdark, especially their teleportation ability."
"They are, but their fur is white instead of yellow. Where did you see an Al-Mi'raj if not on the 13th floor?" Eina asked, sitting down and blushing slightly as she noticed the adventurers looking at her.
"And sorry for my outburst earlier."
"Mh, I saw them from where I came from. Do they have teleportation abilities on the 13th floor too?" Eina shook her head. When she was about to answer, a group of adventurers stormed into the guild and made their way towards their advisors.
Eina, not paying attention, replied, "They don't... How dangerous were the ones where you stayed?"
"They were very dangerous for me, as they usually moved in groups and were extremely aggressive." Durvekka sighed but shook her head.
"There is no need to worry about them. I stayed on the second floor. I was overestimating my abilities because of my status update." Durvekka lowered her head slightly.
Eina smiled and said, "You don't have to worry about that. You are still alive and realized your mistake."
Durvekka raised her head and smiled, "Mh, one last question: how common are those lizards? I killed one lizard that appeared with two other kobolds, one with two goblins, and two lizards in their own group." Durvekka's smile slightly twitched as Eina's face turned to one of shock and concern.
"...They shouldn't be that common at all," she said as she wrote it down on a piece of paper.
"I'll ask people to investigate it. It might just be your luck, but we can't be too careful." Durvekka nodded and said, "Thank you. Remember to notify the guild to put up a notice about my shapeshifting." Eina nodded as she watched Durvekka walk away.
"I forgot to teach her about saying goodbye," Eina sighed.
Durvekka waited in line at one of the exchange counters and dropped in two fangs, three nails, one scale, four goblin stones, thirteen kobold stones, and four lizard stones.
It all totaled up to 5350 valis.
She took the valis, said her "Thank you," and walked towards the guild's entrance, using her last {Wild Shape} as she ran outside.
This time, the adventurers noticed her, and some were still looking after Eina's outburst. They saw her transform into a yellow Al-Mi'raj as she ran outside the door.
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As she ran outside and teleported to one of the roofs, she hopped from building to building, teleporting occasionally. Some of the adventurers who had been hunting her earlier tried to chase her down again. Most were being careful not to accidentally harm bystanders, while others carelessly fired arrows, most hitting the roofs and others flying past her.
She finally made it back to the store, shifted back, and opened the door. She quickly walked inside before the sunlight sensitivity took over.
"Durvekka? Did you walk all the way here by yourself?" Naaza asked with a slight smile.
"Hm, I used an ability of mine. Although I can only use it on my return trip," she said after yawning. Naaza nodded, "Miach-sama is in his room if you want to update your status." Durvekka nodded and was on her way to Miach's room when Naaza added, "I am glad you returned safely."
"Mh, thank you." Durvekka smiled as she continued walking and opened Miach's door. When Miach heard the door open, he simply smiled and turned around to look at Durvekka.
"Glad to see you return safely. Did you make it to floor five?" he asked gently, but noticing Durvekka's head going down, he lightly waved his hand.
"You don't have to look so down. Making it out alive is much more important than that," he said gently as he stood up from his chair and moved it in front of him.
"Thank you," she said as she unclipped her armor and sat down in the chair.
Miach simply smiled as he took his needle and dropped the blood on her back when she lifted her shirt.
Lv. 1+
Strength: D539 Endurance: C637 Dexterity: F368
Agility: G244 Magic: S999
[Druidic Magic]:
Spells:
[Druid, Circle of Spore]: G(lvl 3)
Druidic Spellcasting: Spells can be changed: H and G rank magic can be used. (first and Second)
Halo of Spores: Toxic spores surround you and can be slightly controlled to latch onto others.
Miach stared at her improvements and only shook his head slightly with a smile on his face.
"That {Druid} development ability is probably the cause of this significant increase," he thought as he made her a copy and gave it to her.
"Am I unable to get my magic past 999?" she asked Miach as she stared at her status.
"S rank is the cap for all stats. I must say, I am surprised at your growth. This is only your second run in the dungeon, yet you had such a high amount of stat increase." His voice was filled with pride.
"Isn't this normal?" She tilted her head as Miach chuckled slightly.
"No... Can you tell me how many monsters you killed?" Miach shook his head lightly at her question.
"Umm, let me think."
[Rolling History...11]
"I know I killed four lizards in total... I think about nine kobolds and four goblins," she said, trying to remember.
"...I think I understand why your stats increased so much." Miach placed his hand under his chin.
"Usually, mages have trouble fighting monsters on their own because their magic requires chants, often long ones. But you don't have that problem. Not only that, but groups of lizards were still considered stronger than you because of your previous stats, and killing them along with all the other monsters allowed you to gain a massive stat increase without the penalty of gaining less," he said, thinking aloud.
"Penalty of gaining less?" Miach nodded and explained.
"Usually, normal adventurers have to take it slow in the dungeon, killing a few monsters and then getting their status updated, repeating the process. This, in turn, strengthens the adventurer to kill more. But the higher your stats get, the less excalia you gain as the strength difference becomes too wide. Most delve deeper into the dungeon, but that is when they get too eager and encounter monsters like War Shadows and Killer Ants."
"Mh, I think I understand..." Durvekka nodded slightly.
"That would mean I won't gain much excalia if I were to use magic, as it's already too strong... Plus, I've already got it to S rank, so there's no point... That means I need to focus on using my staff and speed... Then after I level up, I need to limit the number of times I increase my status, as it would reduce my growth," she thought, a small smile appearing on her face.
"And if [Speak with Animals] works on dungeon lizards, then I might be able to..." Her smile grew a little wider.
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A/N)With the status, I will only show the new stuff mostly. As for stat increases, I know it feels like a lot, but it made sense for me based on the calculations I made. Hope ya'll enjoyed the chapter.
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Chapter 12: Some thoughts.
'I first need to understand what spells I can add to my current slots. {Entangle} and {Speak with Animals} are a must. I'll spend most of tonight meditating to figure out what G-ranking spells I can use that might help me tame those lizards,' she thought to herself while still sitting in Miach's chair.
Miach himself simply sat on his bed with a book in hand as he glanced at Durvekka every now and then.
'She forgot that she is still in my room,' Miach chuckled softly as he shook his head with a soft smile on his face.
'My [Druid] development ability also increased, and I can feel that it also helped in increasing my mana too... As good as it might be, it would also mean that I would need to go down to deeper floors to be able to increase my stats... Miach also mentioned that a great feat is needed for level-ups, but being too strong would make it even more difficult to achieve such feats,' she frowned slightly as she sighed.
'I need to focus on one problem at a time...' she thought as she blinked a few times. She glanced around the room and saw Miach sitting on his bed with a soft smile on his face as he read a book.
"...I forgot where I was, sorry, Miach," Durvekka said softly as she stood up from the chair and nearly tripped, but she barely caught herself from falling over.
"Be careful, your stats increased by a huge leap, so you need to get used to that." Durvekka nodded her head as she fixed her posture and carefully left the room.
'Hm, what should I do now?' she thought as she walked towards her room. She looked at the neatly folded clean clothes on her desk and carefully picked up a spare set of clothing and walked towards the bathing room.
'I'll bathe first... and probably ask Naaza if there are items to help me against the sun,' she thought as she entered the room and walked closer to the barrel. She carefully unclipped her armor and then took off her clothes.
After climbing inside of the barrel, she crouched down as the warm water rose up to her neck.
'...This is nice...' she thought with a small smile as she started cleaning off all the blood from her body. Then she washed her clothes and armor.
'...I'll need to get some new armor in the future,' she sighed as she rubbed her finger over the holes and scratch marks in her armor.
'I'll think about that later after I have a much higher income,' she thought as she washed her staff next.
When she was finally done, she climbed out of the barrel, dried off with the washcloth, and hung up all her wet clothes. Stretching slightly, she then put on her new clothes and walked back to the storefront. Seeing Naaza in her usual sleepy demeanor, Durvekka asked her, "Naaza, do you think you can take me to some shops?"
Naaza turned her head around to Durvekka, "It depends on what you want to buy. We currently don't have much money since we are saving up to clear our debt."
"Mh, I only want to look at the pricing for something that could help me out with my eyesight and block out the sun. I'll buy it later when I save up enough from my dungeon earnings," Naaza nodded her head slightly with a smile.
"I can ask for Miach-sama to look after the shop while we go. I believe I know what shop might have something that could help," she said as she walked around the counter and headed down the hallway.
"I am going to tell Miach-sama first, and then we can head out."
"Hm, thank you." Durvekka nodded her head and waited for a little while at the storefront. She saw Miach and Naaza coming back.
[Rolling Perception...13]
"I can lend her some money for that item she needs," she heard Miach say softly as Naaza sighed.
"You can't do that, Miach-sama. We are already tight on valis as it is. She already said she would buy it herself if she has enough or saved up enough for it," she said while shaking her head lightly, a small smile still noticeable on her face.
"...Alright, I'll look after the store while you take Durvekka around the stores. Remember to keep an eye on her and keep her close by your side. I don't want her accidentally getting lost," Miach said sternly to Naaza and then walked behind the counter.
"I will."
"We can go now, Durvekka, and stay close to me."
"mh."
'I wonder if you are able to help her too,' Miach thought as he watched them leave.
=================
[Rolling Perception(dis)...11]
She covered the sun from her eyes and was able to see a bit clearer than usual, but some areas in her vision were either blurred or blacked out as they walked.
"Where are we going to find such an item?" Durvekka asked as she made sure to stay close to Naaza to avoid getting lost.
"The Apollo Familia has some members that make sunglasses, so that might be able to help with your vision." Durvekka nodded her head and asked, "How much do they usually cost?"
"It depends on the quality. Most are around five hundred to one thousand valis, while others could easily be in the ten thousand range because of their enchantments," Durvekka nodded her head slightly.
"Mh, I have enough for the normal ones; otherwise, I just hope they work for my eye sight," she said to herself as they walked towards the tower of Babel.
As they walked inside and Durvekka saw the interior, she asked, "Isn't this the place that leads to the dungeon? What are we doing here?"
"...This place is called Babel. It does lead to the dungeon entrance, but it is also where most of the shops are located," Naaza explained as she walked towards the stairs and climbed up to the first floor, looking at all the different shops on the floor.
'So the shops are on the top floors while the dungeon is at the bottom,' Durvekka thought as she walked with Naaza through the floor, looking at all the wares they sold.
"I can't remember on which floor the Apollo Familia's shops are, but it should be on the first or second floor." Durvekka nodded her head as they walked onward.
It took them twenty minutes to finally find the shop as they stood in front of it.
"'Protection from the Sun God,'" Durvekka read the name of the store while tilting her head slightly as she walked inside with Naaza.
There were a total of four women inside the store, each having their own characteristics that people would find beautiful. The main detail was that each of them was wearing black-tinted glasses.
"Welcome to 'Protection from the Sun God.' Is there anything specific you want to buy?" One of them asked. She was a human with brown hair, and a sun with a bow and arrow in front of the sun was tattooed on her right shoulder.
"Hm, I was looking for something that could help me block out sunlight. My eyes are very sensitive, and standing outside in the daytime makes it so that I can't see anything," Durvekka explained.
The woman nodded her head with a smile as she thought about it. "We have more darkly tinted sunglasses that might do the trick. We have a window at the back where you can test out if it works or not," she said as she walked towards one of the darker tinted sunglasses and handed it to her.
Durvekka stared at the item and placed it on her eyes. She blinked slightly as she looked around while tilting her head a bit. Her dark vision allows her to turn dim light into normal light, so while wearing the sunglasses, everything still looked mostly normal.
"Can you take me to the window? I want to see if it works," the woman nodded as they walked towards the back of the shop. The window was open as the sun shined through.
She stood in front of the window and looked outside. It was still bright, but most of the sunlight was blocked as she stared out the window.
"It works... How much would it cost?" Durvekka said calmly, but her excitement could easily be picked up by Naaza and the brown-haired girl.
"That one would be six hundred valis." Durvekka nodded and handed the amount to the girl.
"Thank you," Durvekka said as she walked back to the entrance of the store. The girl was a bit bewildered by Durvekka but shook her head lightly as she saw her walking away at a quickened pace.
"...My apologies for her antics," Naaza said as she bowed slightly.
"It is fine... she seems excited." They both smiled as Naaza followed Durvekka, who was waiting outside the store with her head down.
"...Sorry for leaving on my own," she said lightly as Naaza couldn't help but rub her hair lightly.
"It's fine, I understand why you were excited." Durvekka nodded her head slightly as Naaza took her hand back, and they started walking back to their store.
As they walked outside of Babel, Durvekka took in the sight of all the people walking around: some children wearing adventuring equipment, light-skinned dwarves, beastkin, and elves.
'...Being outside is less constricting...' she thought before glancing at the dwarves and elves.
'...But it's still there,' she gripped her staff slightly as she took in a few deep breaths.
'They aren't Duergar or drow... but I can't help but fear them...' she frowned slightly as she took in a few breaths.
'It will be fine... I should just take things slow,' she thought to herself as she thought about the people she had met so far.
=======================================================
Chapter 13: Some Herbalism.
Durvekka continued to stare at the buildings and small potted plants in front of the stores as she absentmindedly reached for one of her pouches. But she only felt empty air as she realized that she hadn't donned her armor.
'...I only took my valis and forgot my armor... I'm getting too comfortable in this place,' she frowned slightly as her anxiety slowly piled up again while they walked through the crowds of people.
'Calm down, Durvekka... you can still cast {Entangle} if the need arises,' she thought to herself, taking a few deep breaths in and out.
She thought back to Eina as she tried to calm down, remembering the time when Eina gave her a hug. The feeling slowly calmed her down as she continued to breathe in and out.
She could still feel that moment of comfort.
Durvekka relaxed as a soft smile appeared on her face. Her heart stopped racing, and she calmly followed Naaza back towards the shop.
Her eyes still flickered around from person to person.
[Rolling Insight... 16]
-----
Walking back into the store, Durvekka bowed slightly to Naaza and said, "Thank you for helping me."
Naaza looked at Durvekka, surprised, then quickly grew a small smile as she said, "You can thank me by helping us pay off our debt."
Durvekka nodded her head, her expression serious as she said, "Mh, I will."
"...You don't have to push yourself to help us, either. Staying alive allows you to try again another day."
"...Mh, I will be careful," she nodded as she walked down the hallway towards the bathing room.
Her armor still lay there as she picked it up, clipped it over her clothes, and reattached all her pouches, slinging the satchel over her shoulder.
She walked back to the storefront and saw Naaza and Miach both standing behind the counter. Miach had a notebook in his hand, and Naaza maintained her usually lazy demeanor, though she kept glancing at Miach every now and then.
"Is it alright if I explore the city for a bit? I want to explore the area, maybe look around the outside of the city, and examine all the flora." Miach looked at her with his usual soft smile and nodded.
"I'll lend you my book on fauna and flora. You can use it to identify the different plants you find outside. It has some notes on the animals, but they aren't as detailed," he said as he walked towards his room and handed her his book.
"You should still be careful outside; some monsters still live on the surface." Durvekka nodded and said, "Thank you for your help," and walked outside the store.
-----
As she left the store and walked towards the main road that leads to Babel, she looked to her left and saw the exact tower. The more she looked up, the taller it seemed to grow.
'What type of monstrosities are inside the dungeon if they needed to build that over it...' she thought as the grip on her staff tightened, before she calmed down and turned to her right.
There, she saw the walls of Orario and the entrance where a few carriages were coming through. She felt a strange sensation when she looked at the horses in front of those carriages.
'...I think I can {Wild Shape} into them...' she thought as she walked further towards the entrance.
'I wonder how many interesting plants are out there,' she couldn't help but feel excited as she came closer to the entrance and walked up to the guards. One of the guards noticed her approach as she asked, "Can I visit outside the city?" softly while slightly tilting her head to the side.
"You can, but we first need the reason, your name, and familia before you go." The guard said, he was a human who looks to be in his mid 30s, a small scar on his left cheek.
"Mh, I want to look at all the plants. Durvekka Stonebloom, Miach Familia," she said seriously as the guard nodded slightly surprised by her name.
"So, you're the person the guild sent a notice about earlier."
Durvekka tilted her head at his word and asked, "About the shifting?"
"Yes, they sent us a notice a bit ago not to attack a small yellow rabbit that might wander the streets, as it could be an adventurer named Durvekka."The guard explained as he glanced at one of the guards and gave him a hand sign.
'Eina works fast.' She thought. When she saw the guard signing, she quickly glanced at the other guard moving over towards one of the carriages to inspect.
"You can go, but make sure to return before dark." He said calmly as Durvekka nodded her head.
"Thank you." She walked outside of Orario and to the side, careful not to bother the other guards and travelers with their work.
'There are a lot of people who want to enter this place,' she thought as she saw the long line but soon ignored it as she felt the cool wind brush against her face with a soft smile.
'So this is the surface...' she thought as she started sprinting forward, paying no attention to the people around her.
She looked around as her smile grew a bit wider.
[Rolling Perception...14]
The area was a green open field, the grass swaying lightly in the wind with small flowers scattered in patches.
The trees in the distance, where she was running, were twice her size. She stopped in front of one of them.
'So this is how they look on the surface,' she thought as she placed her hand on the tree, feeling the rough and rugged bark. She looked at the leaves, which were lobed with multiple rounded tips and deep green in color.
She smiled as she walked a bit deeper into the forest and opened the book Miach had handed her.
"Oak trees..." she said softly as she found the page describing the tree she was looking at. Her smile grew wider as she explored the forest.
[Rolling Nature...21]
She walked around and found some flowers with creamy white petals and numerous bristles and prickles. The prickles were a deep maroon color.
"Burnet Rose..." she muttered, carefully plucking some of them and smelling the rose. She smiled softly as she placed it in her satchel and walked further.
She also found a few patches of three-leaf plants called clovers. As she looked at them, a small red bug with a few black dots crawled on one of the clovers.
She watched it crawl along one of the leaves, then open its 'shell' and fly away. She tried to find where it went, but found nothing.
'Fascinating... and it didn't try to kill me either,' she thought as she searched for the page about clovers and read a bit about them.
'A small chance to have a fourth leaf that is a sign of luck and good fortune...' she thought as she looked through the clovers, but saw no four-leaf clover.
'I wonder if one would be in this forest.' She moved on and walked deeper into the forest.
She found a few elderberry plants holding small dark-colored berries.
'They are slightly poisonous, but can be used for medicine for fevers and coughs. Even some jams and syrups... but I don't know what those are.' She plucked a few of the berries and walked further.
She noticed some feathered creatures flying around and some furred creatures climbing the trees, one holding a nut in its hands.
She checked the book and found their sketches on one of the pages.
'The feathered ones are called Bluebirds, and the furred one is a squirrel...' She stared at the squirrel for a bit and thought, 'There's that feeling again... So I can instinctively know when I can {Wild Shape} into a creature I see that meets the requirements.' She then stared at the flying creatures, which didn't give off that feeling.
'I wonder when I can fly like them...' She walked further into the woods.
She found some wormwood, a bitter herb with silvery leaves, and carefully stored some of the leaves. Walking further, she saw some other creatures and sneaked behind the trees to observe them.
'They are white-tailed deer... It says they normally run around grasslands but sometimes hide inside the forest,' she thought as she sneaked away so as not to startle them. {Wild Shape} reacted again, but she ignored it and continued on, brimming with excitement as she looked at all the creatures and plants.
Further on, she found a tree with a few unusually shaped mushrooms growing on it. She knew that mushrooms and most fungi are not to be trusted, so she first searched for it in the notebook. It was called a reishi mushroom.
'...It isn't poisonous, but could cause problems for people with bleeding disorders or pregnant women,' she read and nodded as she walked closer to the fungi for a closer look.
It had a red, leathery cap in the shape of a fan protruding from the tree. She carefully removed some of these mushrooms from the tree, broke them into smaller pieces, and placed them into her satchel and empty pouches.
Her pouches and satchel were full, she first made sure the plants weren't bundled together or mixing with each other. After that she stretched her body and started walking back. After a few steps, she decided to sit under one of the trees. She first made sure there weren't any plants other than grass or any creatures around before she sat down and leaned against the tree with a soft smile on her face. She crossed her arms on her stomach, closed her eyes, and listened.
She could hear the leaves rustling as the wind brushed against them, the distant splashing of a stream, and the occasional snap of twigs as other animals walked around, while the birds chirped in the trees. The earthy scent of damp soil mixed with the scent of roses and other plants filled the air. The soft warmth of sunlight filtering through the leaves touched her skin while a gentle breeze brushed against her.
It felt nice to her... As if she had finally found the home she had always yearned and have been searching for. This feeling and the sound of nature slowly caused her to breathing to slow into a steady rhythm as she fell asleep.
[Wisdom save... 8]
===================================================
Chapter 14: Got the hops.
[Wisdom save... 18]
Durvekka groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She yawned and stood up, stretching her body.
After rubbing her eyes lightly, she looked around and realized that she was still in the forest.
'I must have fallen asleep,' she thought, frowning as she noticed that the sunlight was no longer peeking through the leaves.
'It's getting dark...' she thought as she used {Wild Shape}, transforming into an Al-Mi'raj again, and ran toward the exit of the forest, utilizing her quick movement and teleportation.
[Rolling Survival... unnatural 20]
She easily found her way out by recognizing the areas where she had picked plants before.
'...I didn't notice it before, but it seems that increasing my stats also makes my {Wild Shapes} stronger,' she thought as she quickly exited the forest.
She stopped at the edge, noticing that the line in front of the gate had shortened significantly and that the sun was almost set.
Her rabbit-like face frowned slightly as she used her teleportation to head toward the entrance. As she got closer, some of the guards were about to attack but quickly recognized the color of her fur and stopped.
When she arrived, she shifted back to her original form and quickly bowed her head as she recognized the guard who had allowed her to leave.
"Sorry... I got too comfortable in the forest and fell asleep," she said softly, her voice quiet but audible, with a hint of sadness.
The guard shook his head with a light chuckle and smiled, "It's quite alright, miss. Just make sure not to fall asleep next time."
"Mh, it won't happen again," she said as she walked toward the store, not noticing the stares of those around her. For the first time, she felt the emotion known as embarrassment.
'I said I'd be careful and ended up falling asleep,' she thought.
She entered the store with her head down. Both Miach and Naaza were still behind the counter, waiting for her.
"...Sorry, the forest was too comfortable, and I fell asleep," she said quietly as she closed the door behind her.
Miach shook his head lightly as he chuckled, walked around the counter, and approached her. He crouched down and patted her head, "As long as you understand what you did wrong and don't do it again, everything will be fine."
"Mh," she responded as Miach smiled and stood up.
[Rolling Insight... 13]
She realized that both of them seemed much more relaxed than when she first entered the store.
'Did they worry about me?' she wondered as she watched Miach walk to the kitchen and saw Naaza looking at her with a soft smile.
'...A home... Am I allowed to have that?' she thought back to when she fell asleep in the forest. Everything had felt nice and homely. It felt normal... yet lonely. She thought back to Eina as a word came to her mind.
'Friends...' A smile appeared on her face as she walked behind the counter and gave Naaza a hug.
"Durvekka?" Naaza asked, confused and shocked at the sudden hug. Durvekka looked up slightly and said, "I miss hugs."
Sitting at the table in the kitchen, they were all calmly eating dinner. She realized that they had waited for her before making dinner. She felt her eyes get slightly watery, but she held it back.
'...I like nature... but I like this more,' she thought as she ate calmly, enjoying the food.
'Why does it taste better than before?'
After unclipping her armor and putting her satchel, pouches, and sunglasses on the desk, she sat on her bed with her staff on her lap. She crossed her legs and focused on the totem around her neck. It slowly took on a green hue as small blue spores floated around it. As she meditated and focused on her magic, information about all the spells she had access to flowed into her mind.
She frowned slightly as she thought, 'I can use Blindness/Deafness, Enlarge/Reduce, and Gentle Repose even though they aren't part of my five slots... Are they part of {Druid}?'
She soon ignored it, as it wasn't a bad thing either way, and focused on her magic slots.
'I'll add {Speak with Animals} and remove {Fog Cloud} to add {Locate Animals or Plants}... I'm not planning to use my magic for offense for a while, so I'll keep {Cure Wounds} and {Entangle}... I'll keep {Ice Knife} just in case.' After she modified her spells, she felt exhaustion wash over her as she rolled up in the blanket and went to sleep.
When she woke up, she quickly unwrapped herself from the blankets and stood up from her bed. After clipping on her armor and pouches, she took her satchel and walked straight to the herbalism room.
She found a few empty containers and placed all the plants she had gathered yesterday inside them after making sure there was no residue from previous plants. She grouped all the containers together on the left side of the table.
After that, she walked to the kitchen. She noticed that no one was there and looked outside one of the windows, seeing that it was the crack of dawn.
'They might still be asleep...' she thought as she quietly looked around for items to write on and something to write with.
[Rolling Perception... 22]
[Rolling Stealth... 12]
She tried to be as quiet as possible as she searched the cupboards and walked to the store front, where she found a feather pen and some paper on the countertop. She wrote a note detailing that she was heading to the dungeon and left it on the kitchen table.
She tried to open the door and noticed that it wasn't opening. She frowned slightly, turned around, and sat on the floor.
'Hmmm... The door is closed... Everyone else is asleep, and I don't want to waste a few hours waiting for them to wake up...' A sudden idea struck her.
'I can't climb out of the windows, but I can see through them, so would an Al-Mi'raj's teleportation work?' She nodded to herself, walked toward one of the windows, and opened the curtains. Looking outside, she used {Wild Shape} and then teleported outside the building onto the roof of the house next door.
'It worked,' she smiled and ran toward Babel by a mixture of jumps and teleports. Some adventurers noticed her as they walked toward the dungeon, but they simply shook their heads. Others were jealous of her ability and stared at her with resentment.
She arrived at the entrance of Babel and hopped through the floor toward the dungeon's entrance, making her way down to the first floor.
'I don't want to waste a {Wild Shape}, so I'll skip the first floor and go straight to the second,' she thought as she increased her pace. Her combination of teleportation and running speed allowed her to reach the second floor in no time without any interference.
'Now then... time to hunt down a lizard or two...' she thought as she hopped through the rooms and corridors of the floor.
[Rolling Perception... 16]
[Rolling Stealth... 10, 15, 7]
Hopping further into the corridors, she noticed three lizards crawling across the walls toward her.
'So they came from other rooms last time,' she thought as she noticed them following her.
'Even though I'm shifted into a monster, they are still after me... I wonder why that is? Is it because I don't have a stone, or is it something else?' she thought as she hopped into an empty room and waited for them to come down from the ceiling.
[Dex save... 9]
The first one jumped down quickly, and she tried to dodge, but her inexperience in her animal form caused the lizard to claw her with the sharp nails protruding from its suction disc feet. (9)
[Al-Mi'raj: 9 -> 0]
As the claws tore into her rabbit form, the transformation broke, and she reverted to her original form. She didn't have time to cast {Entangle} as the other two lizards pounced on her.
[Dex save... 14, 10]
She managed to dodge the second lizard, but the last one took advantage of her movement, attempting to claw at her, though its claws struggled to penetrate her skin.
[Durvekka: 103 -> 95]
Finding an opening, she grinned and cast {Entangle}, causing vines and grasping weeds to wrap around the lizards, holding them in place.
[Strength save... 13, 6, 4]
She fixed her posture and cast {Speak with Animals} on herself as she looked at the three lizards.
[Strength save... 3, 11, 9]
"Can you understand me?" she asked them, but they gave no response, continuing to struggle against their restraints.
[Rolling Insight... 14]
[Rolling Perception... 13]
She looked at their faces intently, trying to figure out the problem, but as she focused, she started hearing soft mumbling. It began as incomprehensible noise but soon grew louder until it was just loud enough for her to hear.
She frowned slightly at their jumbled words, but something became clear to her.
'They are being influenced... Their bestial instincts are being heightened and targeted toward people...' she thought as she placed her hand on one of the lizard's heads, patting it lightly before giving it a hug. She remembered Eina doing the same to her and believed it might work on the lizards too.
[Rolling Animal Handling... 18]
[Wisdom save... 19]
She whispered a few words to the lizard, and it began to calm down, ceasing its struggles against the vines. Its eyes grew clearer as it relaxed.
"Can you hear me?" she asked, and the lizard nuzzled into her arms. She heard a soft "Yes" from the lizard, making her smile.
[Strength save... 11, 4]
She let go of the lizard and removed its restraints. "{Thank you}," the lizard said, nudging its head against her. Its voice sounded more feminine and childish.
"Mh," Durvekka nodded and moved toward the second lizard, trying to place her hand on its head, but it instantly hissed at her and tried to bite.
[Rolling Animal Handling... 5]
'Hmm,' she squinted her eyes lightly and closed them briefly.
"{Mother spawned three goblins... One of them is after me...}" the lizard said as it prepared to attack.
"Ignore them for now, climb to the ceiling..." Durvekka said as she recast {Entangle}, this time ensuring the center of the spell was far enough away not to target the friendly lizard. The spell caught the two remaining lizards and three goblins as Durvekka attempted to calm the lizard again. She petted its head, trying to project the same feeling she had felt from Eina. She sensed the lizard calming down, but it still struggled.
[Rolling Animal Handling... 19]
[Wisdom save... 9]
"{...I don't think he's reincarnated enough...}" the lizard said from the side after it jumped back down
"Reincarnated?"
"{I remember some parts of my past reincarnation when I was killed by adventurers. The reason I gained consciousness was because you gave me the final push I needed,}" the lizard explained.
"What should I do then?" she asked the lizard, who shook its head.
"{...If you try more, you might be able to help him gain consciousness, but it could also cause you to tame him like some adventurers do. The other option is to kill him and hope we meet him again later.}"
Durvekka nodded, took a deep breath, and tried again. '...Become my friend...' she thought as she hugged the lizard.
[Rolling Animal Handling... 16]
[Wisdom save... 19]
As Durvekka patted the lizard's head and hugged it, the creature calmed down. It soon relaxed in her motherly embrace, closed its eyes, and fell asleep.
"..." Durvekka was speechless but smiled softly as she gave it one last pat and let go.
========================================
Chapter 15: Lizard Friends.
Durvekka first lightly and carefully opened the lizard's eyelid and saw that the usual reddish eyes were gone. She smiled as she carefully closed it again. She loosened its bindings and moved on to the last lizard.
[Str save... 17, 0, 12]
"How do I know if they've reincarnated enough?" she asked the first lizard while looking at the third one.
"{I'm not sure... I think by looking into their eyes. As you saw before, when we gain clarity, it loses that reddish tint. You might be able to discern it by how red it is,}" the lizard said as it moved closer to the second lizard.
Durvekka nodded and stared into the lizard's eyes... but she couldn't discern anything at all.
[Rolling Insight...4]
"...I can't tell... I'll still try and help it," Durvekka said with a sigh as she walked closer to the lizard and repeated the same process as before, embracing the motherly feeling she felt from Eina and trying to give off the same feeling of care toward the lizard.
[Rolling Animal Handling... 17]
[Rolling Wisdom save... 4]
She carefully gave it a hug, trying to calm it down, but it didn't help as the lizard tried to break free from its restraints. She frowned slightly but stayed like this, trying to speak in the same tone that Eina did.
[Rolling Wisdom save... 3]
But it was to no avail, as the lizard kept trying to break free and kill her. She sighed but kept going.
She recast {Entangle} and tried for another minute, but it didn't work. The lizard was becoming more relaxed, but its red eyes still gave off the same murderous intent.
She sighed as she let go of the lizard and looked at the first one, who gave a small nod.
Durvekka removed the bindings of the second lizard and carefully moved it away from the third lizard. After that, she turned around, cast {Ice Knife}, and threw it at the third lizard.
[Dex save (Dis)...Crit fail (1)]
The shard of ice easily went through its eye and exploded in its head, killing it instantly.
[Lizard #3: 25->-2]
"...Why do I feel so bad? How could I still be an adventurer knowing that the 'monsters' could be alive?" Durvekka asked herself as she sat down on one of her vines.
"{...I can't tell you much as I am still a newborn... But I want you to know that the only way for us monsters to become like this is by dying and being reborn a multitude of times.}" Durvekka frowned slightly.
"...Isn't that cruel? Being killed over and over again? Not only that, I am positive that most adventurers won't realize the difference between a monster and a person... You said earlier that one of the goblins was after you too, so won't having clarity and awareness be far worse if not even the dungeon is safe?"
"{...That would mean that we would rely on you, big sis,}" Selara said happily.
"...Big sis?"
"{No matter how you want to view it, you still saved me and my brother. From what I could feel and understand, I think that even if you hadn't helped us, we would have eventually been reborn with clarity and self-awareness. The more we die at the hands of adventurers and remember them, the stronger our longing for the surface world becomes. This longing, I think, is what causes us clarity and, in turn, makes other monsters see us as targets. And looking like monsters also makes us a target for adventurers... but now we have you.}" The lizard spoke with—no, her tone filled with happiness and respect when she mentioned Durvekka, who stood up and smiled as she walked toward the two lizards.
"Longing for the surface world and having your 'family' hunt you down while trying to get there..." she said softly.
"I know the feeling all too well... I think I know what my end goal is before I start to explore the surface to its fullest." She smiled as she walked toward the two lizards.
"I'll help you and the others who might be stuck in the dungeon to see the surface, and then we can explore the surface as one big REAL family." The lizard nodded her head and spoke happily and seriously, "{And we will help you along the way too.}"
After resting for a bit and waiting for the second lizard to wake up, Durvekka decided to kill the monsters that were still struggling in the vines. More goblins and kobolds spawned while they waited, but Durvekka simply recast {Entangle} while they waited for the second lizard, who they decided to name Zeruk, to wake up.
"...I can only talk with creatures that are considered 'beasts' or 'animals,' so I won't be able to help humanoids..." She sighed, but Selara, the first lizard, shook her head.
"{As bad as this may sound, killing them is also a form of helping them. Think of it as mercy killing to help them gain their own consciousness,}" she spoke softly as Durvekka nodded her head and finished them off.
She took a deep breath, gave a small bow, and then she extracted the four kobolds' and two goblins' stones. Three of the four kobolds dropped their nails as she collected and stored their items. She then walked toward the lizard's body, gave it a bow, and extracted its stone too.
She said a soft, "Thank you," as she walked back to the two lizards and sat next to the sleeping Zeruk. She recast {Speak with Animals} and {Entangle} as they waited.
"The main problem now would be to find a place for the two of you to stay... My home won't have enough room for all three of us... Maybe, as for the adventurer problem, I'll ask for Eina's help. We can make something to let adventurers know that you all are part of my family," Selara nodded her head and spoke with pride, "{I trust that big sis can figure something out for us.}"
"...I won't be able to do everything on my own, so I will still rely on everyone's help in the end," Selara nodded her head, "{And we will help out where we can.}"
"{...mmm...}" They heard Zeruk starting to move as his eyes opened and looked around in confusion.
"{So you are finally awake, sleepyhead?}" Selara teased as Zeruk looked slightly annoyed at her.
"{My head feels so clear all of a sudden. What happened?}" Zeruk asked, ignoring Selara's words as his eyes lay on Durvekka.
"You see..." Durvekka explained what had happened so far while also explaining her and Selara's goal for the future.
"{I see, then I am joining in too,}" he nodded seriously while Durvekka smiled and Selara nodded proudly.
"Now then, I am going to bring all of you back to the surface. Make absolutely sure that you two stay as close to me as possible. A lot of adventurers will be around, and I don't want any problems to arise as we ascend." They both nodded as they all walked together toward the surface.
On the way toward the first floor's stairs, they encountered two kobolds as the two lizards quickly pounced on them.
[Dex save...7, 13]
Selara was able to catch the first kobold by surprise as she pounced on it and bit its neck.
[Kobold #1: 9-> -3]
The second kobold managed to step to the side, causing Zeruk to miss... But Durvekka didn't, as she ran in close, gripped her staff with both hands, and slammed it into the left side of the kobold's head as it fell over.
[Kobold #2: 7->-8]
She extracted their stones, not knowing what to think as a small sense of guilt appeared in her heart.
'I didn't feel like this when I killed that goblin at the beginning... so why am I feeling like this now?' she wondered as she looked at her bloody hand that held her knife.
'...Is this what they call empathy? Or is this pity?' she wondered as she shook her head and walked further with the group.
As they continued, they found another group of two kobolds, killed them with ease, and walked up the stairs toward the first floor. A few adventurers saw them walking and were on guard, but seeing Durvekka walking with them in such close proximity made them ignore the group.
On the first floor, they found a few groups of goblins and kobolds, but they easily killed them on their way toward the dungeon's entrance.
More adventurers came into sight and were shocked by the two lizards on the first floor, but seeing Durvekka walking with them, they simply made way for her.
She smiled as she cast {Speak with Animals} and heard Selara humming a happy tune while Zeruk joined in.
'It seems that they are enjoying themselves,' she thought, her smile staying on her face as they climbed the stairs toward the surface. The stairs bothered the two lizards, so they used their suction discs to climb the walls instead, which they did when they climbed the previous floors, and made sure to stay close to Durvekka.
Making it to the top, they walked through Babel and exited the tower when they finally made it to the outside world. The two lizards were fascinated by the beautiful sky as they felt the comfortable sun on their skin.
"I understand the feeling, but we need to register the two of you first." Durvekka chuckled slightly as she told the two, who nodded absentmindedly as the three walked towards the guild.
They were looking around the place as they took in the surroundings.
"{I didn't think the surface would be this nice...}" Zeruk said in awe as Selara nodded.
"{It truly is... I can't wait for the day when the others could join us up here too.}"
"It will take time and effort." They both nodded seriously as they made it into the guild. Durvekka walked in first and waited on the side for the two to enter, and then they walked towards Eina together.
All the adventurers looked at her seriously; most were visibly shocked while others were jealous.
[Rolling Perception...19]
"Isn't that the girl that can turn into an Al-Mi'raj? She's a tamer too?" One of the adventurers spoke in shock.
"Isn't she only a level one too? How is that even possible?"
"Is she hiding her real level?"
"I doubt it; she is a new member of the Miach Familia. Having a high-level tamer would be better for their status than to hide it... plus, it is against the law, and that fine would make them poorer than they already are."
'...It seems trouble will also be coming my way after this too,' Durvekka thought as she heard them speak.
"Durvekka... did you enter the dungeon without telling me? ...And why are there two dungeon lizards at your side? The same creatures that nearly killed you too?" Eina's wry smile started twitching as she saw Durvekka avoid eye contact.
"...I woke up early today and had to use {Wild Shape} to leave the store... Didn't want to waste my low usage of the skill, so I went straight into the dungeon." Eina sighed and nodded her head as she looked at the two lizards that seemed to be staring at her intently.
"{...Is that big sister's big sister?}" Zeruk asked as he tilted his head slightly.
"{It seems so. Is big sis in trouble?}" Selara asked as Zeruk said, "{Maybe, but what was that about almost being killed by dungeon lizards?}"
"And what about them?" Eina asked while caressing her forehead.
"I wanted to know if I could register them in the guild and get something that I can put on them so that other adventurers won't attack them." Eina nodded her head and asked, "Did you tame them?"
"No, and they aren't my pets," Durvekka said seriously. "They are friendly and won't attack any adventurer unless provoked."
Eina nodded her head and took out two papers and stood up from her seat.
"We can go to one of the private rooms and fill in their documents." Durvekka nodded her head as she followed Eina, while Selara and Zeruk followed her. They all entered the room, and both Durvekka and Eina took their seats across from each other.
"These are documents about them. You can fill in their race and name, the floor from which you found them, and your name in the trainer part with your Familia affiliation," Eina said as Durvekka frowned slightly.
"I am not their trainer." Eina sighed as she nodded her head.
"I understand, but this is sadly the only way to protect them from other adventurers. After you have filled in the document, I can get the bands that they can wear." Durvekka nodded her head.
"Sorry if I was being rude, and thank you for helping me." Eina smiled as she shook her head slightly, "You don't have to apologize, and it is my duty to help you. I know that there is something you haven't told me about this situation, and I accept it. Just be careful and make sure to visit me whenever possible and for any information you need."
"I am your advisor, and it is my responsibility to give you any information that could save your life." Durvekka smiled as she nodded and filled in the two documents. Her {Speak with Animals} spell had already worn off, so she wasn't able to hear the two lizards talk to each other.
"{That is big sis' big sister.}" Selara said as she and Zeruk both nodded their heads.
"{Everyone needs a big sister to help them out, it seems... I wonder who is big sister's big sister's big sister?}" Zeruk asked himself.
"{That's a good question... I wonder if we will meet her in the future?}" Selara wondered as Durvekka finished filling in the form and handed both to Eina. She nodded her head after making sure everything was filled out correctly.
"Good, I'll get those two armbands for them, and then those two will be good to go," Eina said as she walked outside of the room.
"I forgot to mention, but my spell {Speak with Animals} only lasts for 10 minutes, and I can't recast it infinitely, so when we fight together in the dungeon, I won't be able to understand the both of you." They nodded in understanding as Durvekka smiled and calmly waited for Eina to return.
It only took her two minutes as she came back with the two armbands. They were of a sturdy leather build, reinforced with metal plates, and prominently displayed the Guild's insignia. She handed them to Durvekka, who took them and looked at the straps.
"You can adjust the straps so that it doesn't sit too tightly. It is also light enough to not impede their movements." Durvekka nodded her head as she placed one on Zeruk's front left leg and one on Selara's front right leg.
They both walked around for a bit and nodded to themselves as it didn't bother them that much.
"Thank you, Eina," Durvekka said, genuinely thankful for all that Eina has done for her until now.
"You don't have to thank me every time I do my job," she said, a smile on her face.
"...It makes me feel better voicing my thanks when I am thankful for something."
=============================================
Chapter 16: Some staff farming.
[A/N) Combat might be slow as I am still trying to figure out how to write it out without making it seem too turn-based. At the moment, I think I am going to do them in parts. As in, Durvekka does her staff, then if the monsters miss on their turn, she dodges them and does her bonus action, etc. It all will still be roll-based, but I am trying to write it out in a reading-based way. Also, I will be adding more homebrew mechanics in combat to make it a bit more 'realistic' but still dice-based.]
Durvekka thanked Eina one more time and then walked towards the exchange center and exchanged all her current stones and drops. Storing the 3250 valis she gained, she decided to walk towards Eina again.
"I want to go into the Dungeon again. Can you hold on to my valis for now? It would take too much space if I took it with me." Eina nodded her head and took the pouch of valis and placed it at her side.
"Remember to be careful; one careless mistake can lead to death." Durvekka nodded her head. "Thank you," she said with a smile and walked away with Zeruk and Selara following her closely behind.
They were still careful of the adventurers as they walked through Babel and entered the dungeon.
They didn't bother with the first floor and easily killed the monsters that spawned there.
"I am going to limit my use of {Speak with Animals} from now on in order to save my mana for dangerous situations," Durvekka said as they walked through the second floor.
"My plan for the rest of the day is to train with my staff and improve my other parameters, as magic has already reached its limit. The two of you should stay on the ceiling for now and make noise if you spot another dungeon lizard. With monsters, only jump in when things are getting extremely dangerous and I am close to death." The lizard nodded slowly as they started climbing the walls.
"I won't be helping more monsters with their clarity for now, as I still need to figure out the housing situation." She heard two soft hisses from the ceiling as confirmation, and she walked further.
She walked deeper into the second floor in search of some monsters to spawn. It didn't take too long for her to find two goblins in one of the rooms, and so she rushed towards the closest one. The moment she came face to face with the goblin, she gripped her staff with both of her hands and slammed it across its face, causing its skull to crack. She continued by thrusting the bottom part of her staff into the other goblin, but it swatted the staff away and tried to claw at her face.
[Goblin #1: 9->-2]
'...I'm not proficient enough to do that.' She thought as she squinted her eyes and shifted her body to the side for the first strike but was hit by the second one. She was shocked as she saw that the claw barely pierced her skin but ignored that as she readjusted her posture and thrust the front end of her staff into its stomach, knocking the air out of its lungs as it slumped to the floor.
[Goblin #2: 8->-4]
[Durvekka: 95->94]
Durvekka lightly bowed at the two goblins, gave them her thanks, and extracted their stones. One of them left behind its fang that she stored with the stones.
She sighed as she walked forward and said, "We are going down to the lower floors; the excelia I gain will be a lot less on these floors because of my growth." She heard their hiss of approval as they walked further, on their way to the third floor.
Durvekka was unsure if she should consider herself fortunate or not when she hadn't encountered any monsters as they went down the stairs to the third floor.
She ignored all the adventurers and walked in the opposite direction as them. She noticed some about to attack Zeruk and Selara but stopped when they saw the guild's armband on them.
She walked through a few rooms and finally found three kobolds. Before they noticed her, she ran forth and attacked the closest one.
'I need to be more mobile... even if it might be unnecessary,' she thought as she gripped her staff in her left hand and thrust it forward into the kobold's stomach. As the kobold bent forward with its air knocked out, she retracted her staff and slammed her fist into the back of its head.
[Kobold #3:12->3->-3]
She then quickly turned around and ran for about thirty feet and turned around as she suddenly stopped, sliding a bit back from the sudden movement.
The two kobolds that were left charged at her as she grinned slightly, shifted the grip of her staff slightly, and lowered her upper body. When the kobolds came close enough, she ran in between them and jumped up, thrusting her staff up, hitting the kobold to her left in the lower jaw while also giving the kobold to her right a gut punch.
[Kobold #1:9->-3]
[Kobold #2:13->6]
The kobold to her left fell to the floor with a broken jaw while the one to her right gripped the arm that was still in its stomach and bit her shoulder. Luckily, its teeth could only barely pierce through her armor and skin.
[Durvekka:94->93]
She shook her head slightly as she held the dog's head and forced it to let go, and with one quick crack, she broke its neck.
[Kobold #2:6->-6]
'...I definitely got stronger than before... But it will get more troublesome to gain exalia.' She thought as she bowed to the three kobolds and extracted their stones.
Durvekka gripped her staff and walked deeper into the dungeon.
It took a few minutes for her to find a room with monsters, three goblins to be exact.
She did the same as before and ran in before the goblins noticed her, thrusting her staff into the closest goblin's face as it fell to the floor from the blunt force trauma. She then carefully moved around the body as she pulled back her right fist and knocked the air out of the second goblin as it coughed up blood.
[Goblin #1: 10->-3]
[Goblin #2:17->11]
The third goblin mindlessly ran towards her as she dodged its attempt to claw and bite her. The second goblin got its breathing under control as it tried to attack her again but failed as Durvekka dodged all its attempts and finished it off by slamming her staff into its side, breaking a few ribs.
She then stepped to the side and punched the third goblin in the head as it stumbled back a bit and got hit in the head again by a right hook as it fell to the ground.
[Goblin #2: 11->-1]
[Goblin #3:11->5->-2]
'I am doing a lot better than before, so why am I feeling so frustrated?' she thought to herself as she bowed slightly to the goblins and extracted their stones. Two of them dropped a fang.
She stored them and searched for the stairs to the fourth floor. It didn't take long for her to find it after easily taking care of three more goblins and extracting their stones after giving them a bow.
'There hasn't been a single dungeon lizard ever since the second floor... It also feels like all the monsters are spawning less often.' She thought as she walked down to the fourth floor.
'Was I considered lucky with their previous frequency, or is the dungeon wary of me?' She squinted her eyes.
'Selara called the dungeon her mother as well...' She stepped on the fourth floor and prepared herself for what was to come.
'I can always use my magic if things turn dire.' She continued walking and explored the rooms and corridors.
After a bit of searching, she found a room of four goblins. This time, they noticed her before she could rush in, so she waited for them to reach her. They were decently spaced out as the first and fourth goblin got to her first, with the second and third goblin lagging behind.
The moment they got there, Durvekka focused on them as she got ready to dodge their attacks, and that is exactly what she did. The first and fourth goblin both tried to bite her, but she jumped back as they missed. She then stepped to her left as the second and third goblin ran around the previous two and jumped as they slashed their claws downward.
She noticed this and stepped to the right side and thrust her staff into the goblin's stomach, causing the force to lightly launch it back as it fell to the floor. She heard it growl slightly as it tried to stand back up.
[Goblin #3: 12->1]
She ran away and dodged more of their claws as the three goblins ran toward her. The moment she stopped, she turned around and spun her staff and used that momentum to turn around and slam the staff against the goblin to her right as it got launched into the wall to her right. She then dodged one of the goblin's claws and punched it in the face as it stumbled a bit back.
[Goblin #4: 13->3]
[Goblin #2: 14->8]
The first goblin was finally able to claw her back as she smacked the other hand away and jumped back when the fourth and second goblin tried to claw at her.
[Durvekka: 94->91]
The third goblin finally came back into the fight as Durvekka swept her staff in a horizontal arc.
[Rolling Dex save... 10, nat 20]
The Second goblin could sense the danger as it ducked out of the way, causing the fourth to get hit by the full force of the staff as it was sent to the floor.
[Goblin #4: 3->-7]
She then crouched down as the third goblin missed its claw swipe and got a fist to its lower jaw as it was lifted up from the air and fell to the floor.
[Goblin #3: 1->-4]
The last two goblins both tried to flank her. She blocked the second goblin's first attack and barely moved out of the way for the first goblin's claw attack. But that gave the second goblin enough time to claw at her left arm while the first goblin managed to claw her right arm.
[Durvekka: 91->88->86]
Luckily for Durvekka, their nails weren't able to do too much damage to her.
'...Endurance is going to be a struggle to increase... Luckily it's also stamina-based and not just taking hits,' she thought as she grabbed the second goblin's arm, pulled it closer, and punched it in the face as it staggered back and fell on its back. She then jumped back slightly and swiped her staff at the first goblin's head as it fell to the floor.
[Goblin #2: 6->0]
[Goblin #1: 11->-1]
Durvekka nodded to herself as she looked at her right hand's knuckles.
'Slightly red, but it doesn't hurt.' She thought as she took out her dagger and extracted their stones after giving them a bow. She stored the two dropped fangs and all four stones as she looked at her dagger again.
'Should I try and use this instead of just my fist? It might cause more damage... For now, I'll stick to my fist. I still need an open hand to complete my spells' somatic components (hand movements) for when things get deadly,' she thought as she nodded to herself and stored her dagger for now.
'...I want to try the 5th floor too... I'll fight a few more monsters here first and then see how the 5th floor will fare,' she thought to herself with a nod.
She started looking for the 5th floor's staircase while looking for monsters to fight. She wandered into a room with two kobolds, but she also heard two hisses from above and got ready as she looked around until she found the dungeon lizard that they spotted.
"Don't let it spot you; otherwise, it will target you both," she said as she tried to make enough noise to get the kobolds' and the lizard's attention.
The two kobolds charged at her side by side. She squinted her eyes as the two slightly crouched down and pounced at her. Seeing this as her opportunity, she jumped back as the two dug their claws into the floor. She then readied her staff, took a step forward, and swept it forward in a horizontal arc. Both kobolds jumped over her staff as they were about to claw her face.
[Dex save: 19, 21]
She crouched down and ducked under them as she heard them hiss again and got ready as she got back to her feet and jumped back. The lizard was now in the place she previously stood.
[Dex save: 23]
When she landed on the ground, she quickly dashed forward toward the lizard and smashed her staff downward on its head as it growled.
[D. Lizard: 24->14]
She grinned slightly as the lizard glared at her and pushed the staff away with its head. The two kobolds came from both sides of the lizard as they tried to flank her.
She swatted the first claw swipe from the kobold to her left and tried to give it a gut punch, but the kobold moved to the side just in time and clawed her back.
[Durvekka: 86->81]
She glanced behind her and rolled to the side as the lizard tried to bite at her and barely missed.
She got to her feet and stepped to the side as the second kobold tried to swipe at her while she was down.
Finally having some breathing room, she gave the kobold a concussion by thrusting her staff upward, hitting the side of its skull. As it staggered to the side, she pulled back her staff and punched its spine, causing it to break as the kobold fell to the floor.
[Kobold #2: 10->1->-5]
The kobold and lizard both attacked her at the same time. The kobold used its nails and slashed at her back and side while the lizard was finally able to bite her arm.
[Durvekka: 81->78->74]
'My armor was able to protect me from one of the kobold's slashes,' she thought as she shifted her grip on her staff and jammed it into the lizard's eye socket. She then removed her arm from its mouth and took back her staff.
[D. Lizard: 14->-12]
The kobold appeared behind her and clawed her back again. She tanked the hits and turned around to her right and gave it a right hook to the jaw followed by a gut punch as it fell to the ground.
[Durvekka: 74->71->69]
[Kobold #1: 12->5->-2]
She relaxed as she gave them a bow and then extracted their stones. After storing them, she healed herself with {Cure Wounds} and thought for a bit.
'Should I go further down?'
[Durvekka: 69->84]
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