Dungeoneer (The Weight Of It All): A LitRPG Fantasy Adventure Page 8

  From its side, the beast was still taller than Tom, and its overall mass was huge.

  Griff had mostly evaded its rampage, but Holly was able to heal the few bone fractures that he had.

  "What do we even do with this?" Rana asked as they walked around the monster.

  "We have to open it up. Check for a Core, for starters.” Tom leaned on his knees, the Energy coursing through his head like he had vertigo. “But check for anything else that might look valuable. If we had a Satchel, we could take more of its skin, but we should try to take some of it at least. That skin was rock hard. I bet it could be used for equipment, or armor, or even enchantments.”

  He straightened back up and grabbed his sword. “I'll start cutting through it, since I doubt the rest of you will be able to. As I cut though, one of you needs to rummage around for any organs that we could bring back with us. We'll also need to figure out if it's possible to take the tusks with us. We'll probably need to head back to the entrance anyways, so this is a good time to stop. Good job, team. We've effectively made it through our first week in the Dungeon."

  The team cheered half-heartedly as they considered the task ahead of them. Predators might show up if they took too long, so they started right away.

  "We also need one lookout..." Tom said as he headed towards the mammoth's back to try cutting through there first.

  "Me!" The rest of the team yelled as they tried to avoid harvesting the gigantic furry beast.

  * * * * *

  “Afternoon, Tom. Your team looks well.” Omar waved from the tent a few feet away from the Dungeon’s entrance.

  “Yeah, we didn’t come across anything we couldn’t handle. Did anyone reach the mountains?”

  “Several teams have arrived already, but most didn’t reach the mountains. My team reached the mountain in the centre, but we didn’t find anything worthwhile before we needed to return.” Omar shrugged. “A couple of other teams made it there as well, but they avoided larger skirmishes, trusting their ability to get back without any issue. We also have three teams who haven’t yet returned. We’ll see if they have anything different to report.

  “Now then, which monsters did you face? We’ll need you to let us know what you’ve discovered. Any new information will be captured in the log.” As Omar spoke, one of his teammates joined the two men beside the tent.

  The rest of Tom’s team waited nearby. They would have to report to Omar first before they could show anything to the merchant outside the Dungeon.

  “The landscape stretches very far, as I’m sure you know,” Tom said. “We fought several Snow-Talon packs. As we got closer to the mountains, the number in each pack increased. They were all E-Rank, so we had little issue dispatching of them. Past that, the last thing we faced was a mammoth. Its hide was extremely durable. We found one vulnerability on its upper neck, at the top of its back, which we were able to use to kill the beast, but otherwise, my blade could barely pierce through.

  “We took what we could from the mammoth, but don’t have an Inventory Satchel to grab most of its body. It was extremely slow, but it could use its size and weight as a weapon to trample anyone nearby. After that fight, we came back.”

  “Yes, we also came across a mammoth. Its skin was strong for a D-Rank monster. Other teams reported running away from the beast in favour of pushing forward. Your team and mine are the only ones to have killed it so far.” Omar eyed Tom warily. Omar himself was B-Rank, but he knew the others on the expedition were not at that same Rank. For most D-Rank and even C-Rank Dungeoneers, running away would have been the easiest option.

  “We were lucky,” Tom said. He kept it brief. He didn’t need to let on anything more about his teammates, or himself.

  “We’ve already sold our mammoth to the merchant,” Omar said. “We received fifteen gold for the entire body, so don’t get short-changed.”

  “We don’t have an Inventory Satchel, so we only have parts of the beast. Thank you, however, for the advice. Is there anything else?”

  “Did you receive any orbs? We are keeping track of the drop rate. So far, we have heard of one orb dropped. People have mostly fought Snow-Talons, so we don’t expect many this time.”

  “We found one orb in a Snow-Talon. Nothing else had one, including the mammoth. We battled about a hundred Snow-Talons, give or take a dozen.”

  Omar’s teammate took down the notes as they continued to talk.

  “What is your plan after this? We ask that you go in the same direction, but we can’t force you.”

  “We’ll continue in the same direction. We might come back in two weeks this time, instead of one. We didn’t expect such a distance to the mountains. Our lack of inventory makes it difficult, but we plan on pushing ahead.”

  “Good. I will expect you in two weeks, instead of one. It is in our best interest to have you continue, so I will lend you an Inventory Satchel on behalf of the Guild. If you lose it, you will owe me personally two hundred gold. So, please, bring it back.”

  He smiled, to soften the blow, and added, “the fact that you took down a mammoth is a good sign, but don’t become overconfident. Once you reach the mountains, Alpha Snow-Talons begin to appear, along with another beast that we have not yet been able to track. And mammoths become more common as well. There could be more, but we didn’t see anything.”

  Omar took a new Inventory Satchel out of his own. Inventories could hold other Satchels, but the Inventory needed to be empty.

  “We will be careful. Thank you for the generosity, Omar, we will make good use of the Inventory.” Tom shook the man’s hand before heading back to his team.

  “Think of it as an investment in you and your team.”

  With a new Inventory in hand, Tom and his team were now in a much better position to do well in the Dungeon. But now, he had to speak with the merchant, and if he didn’t know any better, there would be one other person there as well.

  Donald.

  Chapter 7 – Solitude

  Current Progress.

  Affinity : Weight

  Rank 1 – View Weight – 95%

  Energy : 20/20

  Another month passed as we waited for the end of semester and the hunting trip. My Rank progress had been stuck for the last week, but classes continued, and I learned something new every day.

  Just yesterday alone, in General Magic Studies, we had our final Guest Speaker of the semester. The woman was a chef who used her Affinity to create Energy infused meals at her restaurant in town. Zane and his family had actually dined there on a few occasions because it was so well-known, and by his accounts the food was fantastic. And expensive.

  Just like potions, anything that took monster parts to create, time and the Energy of an Affinity user was awfully expensive. Despite this, she said she received thousands of customers yearly. Her draw, according to her testimony was her ability to grant abilities via her cooking through the use of her own Skills.

  Evidently, all high-Ranking chefs had a similar set of Skills. The ability to create meals that would grant new abilities. She said they were more short-lived and dependant on the Rank of the chef, but they were capable of creating meals that would make your skin tougher, increase your Energy regeneration rate, or make your fingertips stick when climbing. Those last two were some of her specialties, based on how she described them.

  The food would do nothing for non-Affinity users, but for a town like Krader, her clientele was only limited by how much money they had in the bank.

  Her Skills, however, were dependant on the type of monster she was using. She explained that her Skill was just drawing out the latent abilities of the monster’s flesh. The stronger the monster, or the higher its Rank, the better chance she had at making something worthwhile. As a result, she spent a lot of money and time to test and create meals that would draw in customers, taste good, and remain profitable.

  Not an easy balance, she said, but she had come up with a few recipes that she could replicate consistently and cheaply
. She also made sure to offer more mundane meals as well, but Dungeoneers would still buy the more expensive meals before going into the Dungeon if they wanted an extra edge.

  Now, seated on the grass of our training field, I yearned for some of the food she could create. I had skipped a big breakfast before what I knew would be a hard few hours of training.

  It was Tuesday morning, and we were waiting for Professor Gaunt to arrive. He wasn’t usually late, but he told us last week that today’s class would be slightly different. Zane, the girls, and I spent time speculating about what it might be, but we couldn’t be sure. The current consensus was that he would start teaching us how to use Energy in our limbs during our movement.

  As the only person within the friend group taking General Energy Manipulation, I highly doubted it.

  Professor Gaunt was an amazing coach. He had helped all of us gain strength and stamina throughout the semester, and I valued his openness to help. I did his routine a few times a week alone or with Jen and Zane, and would continue to do it for the rest of my time at Prep. But Gaunt was not a teacher in the strictest sense.

  He could motivate us to work harder, but he was a man of few words. Sure, he would answer questions after class, but during class, it was all work, all the time. Breaks were short, and sometimes non-existent, as he tried to push us as much as he could. And the words he did use were often yelled. His responses before and after class could be well-spoken, but during class, he took a firmer stance to teaching that didn’t warrant unnecessary chatter.

  I guessed that he would introduce a new type of exercise and he simply needed more equipment to make it work. I knew the level of equipment available in Field C and hoped he might bring some of that over to teach us proper technique or form.

  Or better yet, weapons. Despite being a General Training class, there was no indication that he couldn’t get us started on weapons training. I would still take the weapons-focused class the following semester, but I knew I could use a more professional look at my ability with a sword.

  As I considered what the day might bring, Zane tapped my shoulder and pointed towards the end of the field. At the other end, Gaunt was walking towards the designated area for class. Two men walked with him, standing to his left and right.

  Gaunt’s arm muscles bulged as he walked across the grass. His shorts were a bit too short and his purple and gold robe was, as always, draped over his shoulder. The man was consistent, which I definitely appreciated.

  The men he walked with didn’t have the professor robes, so they weren’t teachers, but they were also in immaculate shape. They looked much younger than Professor Gaunt, who was probably in his mid-thirties.

  To Gaunt’s left was a slender man whose muscles were well-defined and pronounced in a way that wasn’t overstated like Professor Gaunt. His black hair was spiked, and his lightly tanned chest was exposed.

  To Gaunt’s right was a darker-skinned man with a bald head. His face held a scowl as he stalked towards our group. The man had a similar build, slender, muscled, but for some reason, he seemed more deadly than even Professor Gaunt.

  Anyone who came in their path stepped aside immediately.

  They took a minute to reach our group, but as soon as they did, the class went quiet right away.

  “Hello, class. Sorry for being late.” Professor Gaunt waved to his friends. “You’ll notice I didn’t come alone.” He pointed to the man on his left. “This is Grant Ang. And this is Albus Charles.”

  The bald man on the right merely grunted.

  “They’ll be helping me conduct today’s session. They are two students of mine that have gone on to become E-Rank Dungeoneers in Krader. They have made themselves available for you all, so I would ask that you treat them with respect. They’ll be with us for this week and next week only, so make the most of what they’ll be showing you.”

  He paused as he waited for visible, or verbal, assent from the class.

  “Good. For today’s class, we’ll be switching things up a bit. Grant here has trained his whole life in martial arts, while Albus has trained in what he calls ‘Real-Life’. He had a hard upbringing and learned to fight with his hands from an early age. Too many people leave Prep with no fighting Skills outside the use of a physical weapon. They are here to show you that your body can be used as a weapon as well, if trained properly. I’ve asked them both to put you through a series of exercises. Take this seriously. Albus, you start us off.”

  The bald man uncrossed his long arms and stepped forward as he looked at the students sitting on the grass.

  As soon as he stepped forward, he smiled, and started to chuckle.

  “Haha! Sorry. Gaunt is always so serious. I tried doing it while we walked over, but that was super tough.”

  The mood lightened immediately from the tension that had been there before.

  Gaunt grunted, indicating for Albus to start, as his face started to turn bright red.

  “Sorry, sorry. Yes, well my name’s Albus, like you heard. I’ll be putting you through some drills. First, we’re all going to stand up and do a few laps around the field. Let’s go!” Albus yelled.

  We all stood up quickly and started to run around the field. Months ago, his pace would have caused an issue, but as with everything else I’d done at Prep so far, my running had greatly improved.

  After doing some laps, Albus led us through a series of hand-to-hand exercises. He went on to explain that his fighting style focused on using his hands and arms to wear down the other opponent. It was used around the Kingdom by some, but it wasn’t very popular. Most preferred to fight using their weapons, so fighting with just your hands was seen as a secondary option and wasn’t heavily adopted.

  For the next hour and a half, we went through different punching moves. Jabs, step-backs, crosses. Bobs were mentioned in there somewhere. The move names all came at us in quick succession. To me, they all looked like regular punches, but over time I started to understand the nuances of what he was doing. Throughout it all, he would show us how to keep moving and stay light on our feet.

  In addition to just punching, the fighting style focused on quick foot movements, as a way to stay away from or dart towards your opponent.

  By the end of the session, my arms felt like they were held up by a piece of string. The rest of my body only held up because of Professor Gaunt’s previous training, otherwise, my legs and core would have been dead as well.

  As we took a break from Albus’s teaching, Grant now stepped forward. He had participated in Albus’ training drills as well but didn’t look tired in the slightest.

  Throughout the training, Albus allowed us to use our Energy, but as I couldn’t use it anywhere except my eyes, it didn’t help me. And from the look of my fellow classmates, they weren’t affected either.

  After a five-minute rest, Grant started to speak. He had a slight accent, but otherwise, his voice was easy to understand. He explained that his fighting style used your legs almost exclusively but was also versatile in its application.

  Similar to Albus, he took us through the next hour and a half doing drills that focused on our legs and core. Instead of punching, we spent a great deal of time trying different kicks and jumping.

  By the end of class, I was ready to fall over.

  My arms still hurt, but now my core ached and my legs wobbled from side to side.

  Professor Gaunt grinned from ear to ear as he looked at the class.

  “Say thank you to Albus and Grant. They’ll be here one more time next week to take you through that again. We have one month left for those who aren’t taking the class next semester as well. You’ve all made excellent progress and should be very proud. Dismissed.”

  Gaunt yelled the last part and then watched us hobble away. Zane and I took our time as we both recognized the ache in our bodies. I knew that I would definitely be putting off today’s training with Jen. I still had Monster Behaviour, where I knew I would have to spend some time researching a new monster anyways
.

  It’s the library tonight for me!

  * * * * *

  “Take a look at this, Zane.” I waved him over from across the library table.

  The librarian and I had created a semi-friendship due to how often I asked her questions, but I didn’t dare ruin the relationship. She still acted unhappy each time I asked another stupid question…but I knew she cared. She just didn’t show it often. Or smile. She really didn’t like to smile.

  “What is it?” Zane looked up from the book he was reading. In his case, he was reading a book detailing the anatomy of a human torso. He would sometimes go over what he learned in Body Anatomy, but I didn’t find it interesting in the slightest. The body had thousands of little components and each thing had a different name to remember.

  While I recognized the value in knowing that stuff for a doctor or healer, I still couldn’t understand his extreme fascination with the subject. He often tried to tell me about a cool part of our body, but it usually went in one ear and out the other. Aside from General Magic Studies, where he got to talk about different Affinities, Ranks, Skills, General magic, and more, he said Body Anatomy was now his second favourite class.

  He also got to hang out with a disproportionate number of girls, which might have helped.

  “There’s this monster called the Grindle. They’re really small, but they can generate these spores that cause severe paralysis if ingested. Someone brought them up in class, so I looked it up. According to this book, they have a symbiotic relationship with this gecko-like creature called the Brek. The Brek is also small, but they’re extremely fast. The Grindle uses its spores the paralyze monsters and then the Brek comes to finish it off. They both then feast on the monster. After feeding, the Grindle jumps onto the Brek, and then it takes them to nearby water sources, where it’s able to gather water and grow.

  “Dungeoneers and researchers have found half-eaten bodies in some forests to the East with these spores in their noses and mouth. According to the book, the spores are potent on even D-Rank monsters, so they’re really valuable, but it also leads to a lot of deaths.”