—•——•——•——•——•——•—
To Lili, a rookie like August was downright terrifying.
Suddenly, a spatial ripple appeared next to him, and a familiar, dramatic BGM started playing from the void.
'In this life—'
August imdiately raised a hand and cut the music off.
The sudden, absurd burst of music left Lili staring in confusion. What was going on? Why had music suddenly started playing out of nowhere?
"My father used to say," August said smoothly, ignoring the awkward interruption. "If no one believes in your dream, then prove them wrong by yourself."
Did he enjoy being mocked by the crowd at the entrance? This classic underdog opening gave him the distinct thrill of being a true protagonist. If Lili weren't standing right next to him, he would be smirking from ear to ear.
"Alright, enough of that." August cleared his throat. "This place is dangerous. From here on, keep the chatter focused. Don't say anything that could compromise the team."
He did not linger on those thoughts, quickly forcing his mind back to the situation at hand. What he needed now was a clearer understanding of the gap in strength between Adventurers and Supporters.
"Lili, your registered class is a Level 1 Supporter, right?" August asked, checking his gear one last ti.
Lili was still trying to make sense of his poetic remark when she suddenly tensed. Her expression shifted several tis before settling into a serious nod. "Yes."
"What is the exact physical difference between an Adventurer and a Supporter?" August pressed.
In terms of mana, August knew he could heal over a dozen amputees in a single day. His mana pool was durable. But he didn't know the physical baseline for stamina and strength.
"Combat power, Skills, Magic... everything," Lili answered after a mont of thought. "For a Pallum Supporter like , the gap in stamina compared to a normal human Adventurer is obvious."
"As for why so many Pallums beco Supporters... we tend to manifest non-combat Skills. We might not have overwhelming physical strength, but our Skills usually focus on utility—like the ability to carry heavy loads over long distances without fatigue."
Lili explained the chanics clearly, and August pulled a sleek digital tablet from his inventory to jot down a few quick notes. He was not recording everything word-for-word. He only needed to pin down the terminology and the differences in stats.
"Strange. If that's true, Pallums shouldn't be weak in combat..." August calculated. Pallums were a demi-human subspecies. Sure, they were small, but with the right Falna, they should still be formidable fighters in a party.
"It doesn't work like that," Lili shook her head, realizing August was missing a core piece of lore. "Aside from basic, universal developnt abilities, your specific Skills and Magic are heavily influenced by the nature of your Familia and the God you serve."
In truth, any Pallum who wanted real combat strength needed to join a combat-focused Familia. But from a god's perspective, why put a Pallum on the front lines when a naturally stronger Human or Beastman was an option? Since growth was tied to the gods, many specialized traits were shaped by the nature of their divine domain.
"Developnt abilities influenced by the Gods?" August mused.
Then it clicked. No wonder his first spell had been a fire-based healing spell. It ca from Hestia—the Goddess of the Hearth and Sacred Fla.
"That makes things more complicated," he muttered. If everything ultimately traced back to a god's domain, then there was no point in overthinking base racial stats.
"Forget it. Let's keep moving." August dropped the topic and signaled that it was ti to proceed.
"Yes." Lili let out a quiet sigh of relief. August's sharp, probing questions had put her under imnse pressure. It was not that he ant any harm. He just carried an imposing aura that made him hard to face.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
The two pushed deeper into the labyrinth.
"We're approaching the second floor," Lili warned. "Unlike the first floor, monsters down here spawn directly out of the stone walls."
The first floor was easy enough that even a Supporter could navigate it calmly. The second floor was a different story.
Even putting the monsters aside, the environnt itself was deadly. The Dungeon was a maze of pitch-black, suffocating corridors with no natural light. Adventurers had to rely entirely on their sharpened senses. And with monsters able to burst straight out of the walls, those sudden spikes in danger were more than enough to kill arrogant Level 1 rookies, even on the upper floors.
"It reeks..." August grimaced, his nose wrinkling at the stench of decay. It slled like soone hadn't brushed their teeth in a decade. The foulness of it nearly made him gag.
"It's always like this—" Lili explained, watching August finally show a normal rookie reaction as he covered his nose. "The second and third floors are a network of narrow, poorly ventilated tunnels. Aside from the phosphorescent moss at the major intersections, it's completely dark."
"Once we hit the fourth floor, the sll clears up a bit."
The cramped passages had terrible airflow.
"Monster incoming!" Lili's experience in the upper strata showed. She picked up on the subtle shifts in the environnt and pointed down a dark offshoot.
"Is that so?" August imdiately readied his weapons.
Reaching into the void, he pulled out a heavy-duty tactical flashlight and flicked it on. A blinding beam of white light sliced through the darkness, pinning a grotesque figure against the stone wall, exposing it completely.
"That's a second-floor native. A Dungeon Goblin," Lili identified the creature instantly.
"They excel at ambushes," she warned. "They're notorious 'Rookie Killers' up here. They use the dark to get the drop on you. Against Pallums like , who lack physical strength, they are especially dangerous—"
Before she could finish her sentence, August raised his hand.
The space around him warped. A massive array of handguns manifested from his [Spatial Backpack], hovering in a tight, disciplined firing formation.
"Ready..."
"Fire!!"
The handguns fired in a deafening, synchronized volley. Bullets tore into the Dungeon Goblin as if ammunition were limitless.
...
Next Bonus, 600 PS!
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
~ Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
sp-atreon/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
~ For every 200 Power Stones = I'll drop an extra chapter
Add to your Library!
User Comments
0 comments from readers