Chương 11: 1-10 A royal meeting

It wasn't until floor 9 that it finally happened. Level 6 -> 7 1 Free attribute point. 2 Strength, 1 Dexterity, 1 Endurance, 2 Intelligence and 1 Wisdom gained All the small fry had finally made enough of an impact to give Josef another level up. It was once again just another minor level with no added extras, but he was as ecstatic as the first time around. Numbers going up really made his day. And there were definitely a lot of numbers this time around, as he had gained one point in almost every attribute.

Some even got two points, including his all time favorite, Intelligence. Josef wasn't aware that more than one would even be possible, so this was a most welcome way to find out. Also, Strength. He wouldn't exactly complain about the free increase, but it brought up many unpleasant feelings of getting covered in blood and gore after some of the punches he had pulled. Oh, right, at this very moment, both still covered him. How could he forget?

When he thought Cana wasn't looking, he quickly peeled off his bloody shirt to check if he had developed abs. He hadn't. Worse, he got caught red-handed.

"Checking if your physical stats added anything?" Cana chuckled.

"Don't worry, we've all been there. Takes a lot of points before you can see anything notable, though. They mostly just improve how well you use what's already there, not add to it. It's faster to just work out if you wanna have the looks." And Josef's good mood went straight out of the window. Gone were the dreams of an easy, instant Adonis body. He chucked his free point into Wisdom, maybe it would magically allow him to see a positive side to this news. It didn't, but it was worth a try.

1 Wisdom gained What it did was make him wonder why the stat points he got on level ups were so widely varied. He had suspected that the increases were in line with what he did during the level, but the sheer difference between his gains still threw him off. All the information he had garnered from skim-reading pointed to class-stones having a set pack of points they added during level up.

A warrior would always gain Strength and Endurance when they leveled up, and occasionally there would be some Dexterity in there too. But while the exact amount gained at what level could differ for each warrior, they all shared the same tendency. So what was his own tendency? As a summoner, he expected a guaranteed increase in mental statistics. Doubly so with the healing and water magic aspects baked into his heartstone. And yet his physical stats could grow just as well, as he had now learned.

But on the flip side, he could also gain practically nothing. Did the heartstone just not have a set direction? It occurred to Josef that dragons wouldn't necessarily have pre-set paths for their growth, aside from getting ridiculously powerful. However, it didn't fit with his image of a giant, lazy reptile lounging on a pile of gold for centuries. Were dragons on Aurum just naturally very active, constantly striving for maximum gains? Or did this system simply help separate the grain from the chaff?

It made him look back with regret on the second level he had gained, after treating Coco's mana poisoning. He didn't like the idea, but maybe he should ensure getting some workouts in between healing people, just so his level ups wouldn't be barren. Then again, maybe his worries were unfounded. Considering he could get multiple points at once, it was theoretically possible to just make up missed points later.

After all, maybe those gains just reflected changes already present in him at the moment his status updated. He would have to wait and see. Not for the first time did he wish that Lapis had left him with a manual. Maybe she did, and he just forgot it. With a sigh, he focused back on their journey through the dungeon. Despite how he had promised himself not to miss anything in the environment anymore, he still was remarkably prone to getting distracted by his own thoughts.

Thankfully, Dusty was always on the job keeping his ass safe. It wouldn't be the first time the rabbit protected his face from a stealthy bat he had simply missed. That was something that apparently became a mechanic ever since floor 7. Random bats hanging out in the dark nooks and crannies of the sewage tunnels. Miss them and they go for the eyes. Considering how childishly safe these tunnels had been so far, that one became quite the surprise.

So far, though, Cana didn't have to step in to protect him from his lack of perception. Turns out that Summoners and their familiars had excellent teamwork, even if one of them had the attention span of a child. Now if only Cana would stop looking at them like he was the hanger on, and Dusty the dependable team member.

"Say, Cana, how much more intense do the fights actually get during the later floors? Not to jinx us, but so far things have been pretty easy to handle." Josef asked as they walked down another identical looking hallway, sewage slowly but steadily running its course in the channel beside them.

"I'd be concerned if this wasn't easy. Even the children sometimes scamper in here to play hero. Not that they should, but it's an excellent learning experience." She casually compared his combat training to a children's pastime.

"The next set of 10 is where the real fighting starts. Badder enemies with half a brain, and mixed groups to shake things up. Also…" she trailed off, clearly intending to tease him with bits of information. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Josef didn't bite, mainly because something new caught his attention. In front of them were the next set of stairs leading further down into the smelly hole that was this dungeon.

Though, unlike the ones before, this one was actually closed off with a metal grating. Set into that was a simple metal door with a handle.

"Is that?" He waited for Cana to pick up what he had put down.

"The entrance to the boss room, yes." She confirmed what he expected, sounding almost as giddy as he had been feeling.

"Anything I should know in advance?" He asked while making his own preparations. Which was mainly casting another Regeneration on Dusty, which was working really well as a slow but efficient heal over a long period. The little guy was the only one to get injured so far, but that was mainly due to his habit of charging straight into monsters and biting into slimes, which had proven to be somewhat acidic. Not that would ever stop his little killer-bunny.

After that, all that remained was waiting for a minute to recharge the mana he had just spent.

"No, just do what comes natural. If things go sideways, I'll step in. Or just holler if you feel out of your depth. Also, have fun!" She encouraged him with a grin. With everything said and done, they descended into the boss chamber. You have entered: Prince Slime's Crib Arriving downstairs in a much larger room, roughly comparable to the main marketplace of the city, Josef immediately felt the worst sting his heart had suffered yet. Even so, prepared, he pushed through the pain while observing his surroundings.

At the entrance to the room was a small bridge of metal bars, allowing passage over the sewage stream that now split and started running along the walls in both directions before fusing again at more metal grates at the far end of the room. Going by the itchiness of his nose and the increased rankness of the smell, he expected the sewage to have become something of a real danger. Not that he would ever want to try out that hypothesis.

As they stepped past the little bridge, a grating noise echoed through the chamber as it retreated into the wall at the far side of the smelly channel. At the same time, the entrance behind them slammed shut. Something told Josef they wouldn't be leaving this room without killing the boss. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. With an unimpressive wet plop, it dropped down from the ceiling in the middle of the room, impacting the ground with all the impressive force of a wet pillow.

The prince had come out to give them an audience. Prince Slime: Royal blob - Level 12 Grandmaster of hops, acting ruler of all slimes. Aspires to one day become a king. More acidic than lemons, and a mood even more sour. It was a yellow slime with a wiggly body, almost as large as Josef himself. In its middle, he could clearly see the magical core it had formed around. At least that was also a fair bit larger than the bounty inside of its subjects.

"It's kinda cute, in a weird sort of way. Can we keep it? I'd pet it every day and feed it my trash," he joked.

"Sorry, but we ain't leaving without killing the thing.

'Sides, touching it does sting something fierce. Even makes the fur fall out." Cana shuddered at the last part, clearly suffering from unwanted memories.

"Enough dallying. Sick 'em." Josef and Dusty set off towards their quarry, ignoring the snickering behind them. The biggest concern of the human was the size difference. He couldn't just squash the prince with a single punch, and his familiar couldn't get the core in a single bite. Truly, combat had suddenly become inconvenient. How should they ever manage? Mostly by taking several hurried steps to the side, as the mass of gelatin finally decided to throw itself into an enormous leap.

Its mighty hop managed to scrape along the ceiling before it came crushing back down with the sound of a wet towel slapping bricks. If Josef hadn't started immediately at the first signs of movement, he almost would have had to run to get away from the impact zone. Almost. With an exhausted sigh from Josef, they engaged in the age-old art of kiting the boss while taking potshots. Dodge the jump and punch. Or bite out a chunk in case of Dusty. It was a battle for the ages. Ages 6 to 10, that is.

What kind of existence even shaped these dungeons? He wanted to file a complaint with them. After the slime prince lost half of its mass, it finally reached a point where Josef was just done with the circus. Steeling himself for the pain, he plunged his arm into the creature and yanked on the core. It barely resisted him for a couple of seconds before it loosened and his arm pulled back with a wet gurgle. Unfortunately, the core slipped out of his fingers just before he could fully remove it.

This could have become an issue if it wasn't for Dusty lunging at the hole, sticking his head in and pulling the thing free. And so the prince fell, his death just like his life. Slow, wet, and disappointing. ☆ Summon Familiar (Pinnacle) -> ☆☆ Summon Familiar (Inferior) Bring forth a steadfast ally, born of mana and tinted with affinity. Can alternatively forge a pact with a magical creature. Summons are an extension of yourself, though imbued with their own will.

Maximum Number of active familiars limited by rank of spell. Current limit: 2 This alone had made the entire trip worthwhile for Josef. Finally, he would have access to another summon. Not that there was something wrong with Dusty, there was, but he couldn't really live the class fantasy with only one familiar. He immediately began daydreaming about what shape his new companion would take. His excitement diminished only slightly as he looked at his next pop-up. Level 7 -> 8 1 Free attribute point.

1 Strength, 1 Endurance, 1 Wisdom gained Probably the worst level up ever, as it didn't give him the mandatory point in Intelligence. Good thing he knew how to fix that. 1 Intelligence gained There, all was well now. And now he was even closer to his next expected skill selection than to the last one. In his excitement, he waved at Cana, who was still standing near the entrance.

"Did you see what we did there? Nothing can stop us now!" Then his enthusiasm hit a wall at cruising speed. Why wasn't Cana smiling? Instead, she started turning, looking around in confusion. Something felt off. Finally, she screamed.

"It's not over! Move!" ❄︎♒︎♏︎ ◻︎❒︎♓︎■︎♍︎♏︎ ♓︎⬧︎ ♎︎♏︎♋︎♎︎📬︎ ☹︎□︎■︎♑︎ ●︎♓︎❖︎♏︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ 🙵♓︎■︎♑︎✏︎ 👌︎♏︎♑︎□︎■︎♏︎ ♐︎❒︎□︎❍︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎⬧︎♏︎ ♒︎♋︎●︎●︎⬧︎📪︎ ♐︎□︎◆︎●︎ ♓︎■︎⧫︎❒︎◆︎♎︎♏︎❒︎📬︎ Before he could even begin to digest what had just entered his head, Josef's world was enshrouded in pain.