Niraada

This is still very much a work in progress, but I wanted to get the first day written and posted to stop myself from going back and rewriting it a million times. I don't want to make any promises on how often to expect new chapters, but I'll do my best in that department. Hope you enjoy. :)

Hearing Alice’s analysis, everyone fell silent as they considered exactly what was at stake. “Right. Let’s leave that subject for now, and go back to looking at Classes.” Said Marcus, trying to dispel the heavy atmosphere. “Unfortunately, my class doesn’t have any direct combat abilities at the moment. That may change once I actually level it up, but right now the most I can do is spend the last of my xp to purchase some support magic and skills.”

“For the kids, there is a special Class called Student that is available to children, and it lets them earn and store up xp just by learning different things, and offers them bonuses to skills related to subjects they know with future Classes. Just think, Dave. Teach them how to rebuild an engine now, and by the time they’re adults they’ll be building robots and mechas.” Marcus said with a chuckle.

After everyone took a look through the available classes, Dave seemed to have found one he liked. “Mechanist doesn’t sound too different from my day job anyway, I figure I should try to stick to my wheelhouse as much as possible, ease the learning curve.” He said. “And it looks like it’s suited to working in a shop, but still has some practical combat ability. Guess that’s what I’m going with.” He said.

Lucy looked a bit apprehensive as she made her decision. “I’m not sure how useful I’d be trying to fight monsters, to be honest.” She said. “But this Grovekeeper seems like it’d be quite handy. It’s skills help nurture and improve plants, improving their growth and even granting them magical properties. I think that I could do a lot with the Farms here, with it.”

As she said this, Alice spoke up. “The Grovekeeper also gains the ability to summon nature spirits and guardians as it gains levels, as well as numerous other defencive benefits.” With that taken care of, the last up was Jess.

“The closest thing I have to combat experience is from when I did archery in college.” Jess had a somewhat reminiscent look in her eyes as she spoke. “The Moon Stalker seemed like the best fit. It has hiding and detection skills, as well as the ability to make magic arrows and assassination skills. I was never the fastest shooter, so something that makes the hits more potent would be best.”

After each of them selected their classes, there was a flash of light around each person, condensing into a silver watch around their left wrists. “Alright, now that everyone’s in the System, how about we all go get settled in.” Marcus said.

~

Wide-eyed looks covered everyones’ faces as they crossed the drawbridge into the Keep, appreciating the imposing but elegant structure, but paled in comparison to the shock that filled them when they entered the Steward’s apartments that made up the top two floors of the massive structure.

Folding glass walls lead out onto lawn covered terraces decorated with flower gardens, trees, and water features. Light, airy woods and fabrics decorated the open interior that let natural light fill the space, making one wonder if this was really what should be expected out of what was essentially a castle.

“Marcus, this…” Dave said slowly. “Don’t worry about it.” Marcus replied quickly. “With that being said, I still haven’t checked out the Dungeon. Was thinking we could buy some cheap T0 gear from the market before going in.”

Lucy and the kids stayed back in the Keep while Dave, Jess, and Marcus made their way down to the Market. Marcus felt a little unfortunate about only having 5,000xp remaining, but it turned out better than he expected when they saw the prices of T0 equipment.

While Dave and Jess decided on their gear, Marcus was looking into magic and skills that would lend themselves to a support role, coming across a few he thought would work well.

Invigorating Presence I - Your very presence inspires your nearby allies, improving stamina and mana regeneration. Effect and range scales based on CHA. 10% MP Reserved.
Protection I - Increase a target’s toughness by 15 for the next 5 minutes. Cost 5MP.
Rejuvenate I - Rapidly mend injuries and restore stamina of a target over the next minute. Cost 4MP.
Binding Seal I - Temporarily seal a target, leaving it unable to act for the next 10 minutes. The caster can release the seal early if desired. Damage may compromise the seal. Cost 8MP.

Each was a T0 spell, costing 125xp each, but was well worth it, in his opinion. He also bought himself a Tactical Bodysuit, much like Jess, wanting to make sure he had adequate defence before putting himself in harm’s way. To finish things out, he spent 600xp on an Advanced quality combat puppet that Alice could use to help round out their numbers.

Striker Combat Puppet (Advanced)
This basic combat puppet has had several enhancements made to its chassis and internals, allowing it to display more power than typical. Equipped with a linked spear and shield. These puppets have a tendency to break down following extended combat as they lack self repair capabilities.
Requires skill: Remote Operation I or Puppet Command I
Durability: 240/240
Toughness: 20
Charge: 800/800
Drain: 4 Charge/h idle; 20 Charge/h combat
Combat Protocols - Provides a correction to spear and shield use, equivalent to Basic Spear Technique III and Basic Shield Technique III.
Retrieval - Recalls linked weapons to the puppet. Costs 20 Charge.
Passive Accumulator - Effects which restore mana charge the puppet, restoring 4 Charge per mana.
Purchase: 600xp

The puppet looked like a slender knight clad in lightweight armour, standing at 1.8m in height, gripping a spear made entirely of metal, and a large 1m diameter metal round shield. With all the necessary equipment purchased, the trio and puppet headed towards the Dungeon entrance.

~

On the far side of the lake from the Keep, carved into the cliff wall was a large, dimly illuminated tunnel that seemed to curve downward into the cliff face. “The first layer should be fairly straightforward with the equipment purchased from the Market.” Alice said, sensing the rising tension in the group. “Monsters acting in groups may prove somewhat challenging, but it should remain fairly straightforward.”

Hearing that put everyone more at ease, as their previous encounters with monsters had been those small furry creatures riding on the backs of raptors at incredible speeds. Eventually the tunnel slop ended, opening out into a massive illuminated cavern, revealing a massive fungi forest. The moss covered ground made the group feel as though they were treading on a soft carpet, and the various luminescent plants made everyone feel as though they’d stepped into a fantasy.

Fortunately, despite the distracting scenery, Jess’ visor picked up motion, and she alerted the group (although Alice was paying attention as well). Advancing towards them from among the massive mushroom stalks was a creature that resembled a mix between a boar and a bear. The Tusken Bear roared ferociously as it spotted the group as it charged towards them.

As the bear charged, Jess vanished into a shadow as she moved to flank the creature while Dave stepped forward, firing a short burst from his integrated rifle, making sure to grab the bear’s attention. As it drew closer, he lowered his centre of gravity, leaning forward to absorb as much of the beast’s momentum when they eventually collided.

As the gap closed to mere metres, several things happened at once. Dave’s figure glowed as Marcus cast Protection, nearly doubling his toughness for the next 5 minutes. At the same time from a shadow on the flank, an arrow silently flew, striking the bear’s left armpit with a Debilitating Shot, causing the beast to lose its footing and stumble the remaining distance.

Dave braced himself, absorbing what remained of the bear’s momentum as it struck him heavily, when a silver spear struck from the rear, severing one of the bear’s hamstrings before it could rise. Dave recovered quickly from the impact, latching onto the bear’s neck, and dragging it over as he tried to expose its belly while grappling it into a rear-mount using the power of his golem armour.

Without hesitation, Alice’s spear punctured the beast’s chest, striking its heart.

Tusken Bear Lv4 slain. Gained 12xp.

“Holy shit, that was intense!” Dave said as he rose to his feet. “Guess I can check ‘wrestle a bear’ off my bucket list.” He chuckled. “Bro, do me a favour, and don’t try to meet its charge head on next time.” Marcus sighed exasperatedly while Jess materialised out of a nearby shadow. “Are we gonna have to drag this thing around with us?” She asked, considering the few hundred kilos the thing likely weighed. “Nah,” Marcus replied. “Should be able to go into your inventory, now that you’ve got a watch.”

Without further ado, they collected the body and moved on. “Alice, if you recognise any useful plants around, please let us know. All of this is pretty new and unfamiliar territory for us.” Jess said as she examined the various intriguing fungi in their immediate vicinity. “Unfortunately, I don’t have much data on the plants here either. It’s possible to purchase a herb encyclopedia through the Market, however, or a herb gathering skill. “ Alice replied. “But if I see something I think might be good, I’ll let you know.”

The party chatted as they made their way through the fungal forest, encountering more Tusken Bears, making what felt like pretty good progress before Jess picked up signs of a different type of monster. “How many types of monsters are there in the first layer?” She asked, curiosity piqued. “It really depends on the biome you encounter. Fungal forests are home to many types of system entities within the appropriate level range, so there could be several.” Alice replied. “Unfortunately, I don’t have direct control over the Dungeon. I specify biomes, layer level ranges, and can decide whether or not to permit a Dungeon Break to occur, but that’s the limit of my control”

Alice’s reply dropped to a whisper by the end when the group caught fresh sign of the new opponents. Up ahead were a group of three pale and rather savage looking humanoids carrying crude spears. The creatures were small, and while the majority of their skin was a sickly grey colour, the crowns of their bald heads had a vermilion hue.

“Redcaps.” Alice’s voice was soft enough not to be heard by the creatures as she explained. “They are vicious, cunning, and deceptively powerful. Jessica, if you see one attempt to flee, you must bring it down, or it will draw others. David, it is likely there are more groups in the area. You should refrain from using your gun where possible.” As Alice said this, she handed him her puppet’s spear. “If you initiate by throwing my spear, I can use Retrieval once I’m in position to strike.”

Hearing the plan, Marcus couldn’t help but chuckle. “Alice, I wish I had you as a raid leader when I played MMO’s.” “That could be fun, Marcus. I’ll set a process to see about making one that we can play during downtime.” Alice answered him directly through their connection sounding intrigued.

Jess had long since disappeared into the shadows as Dave made his way closer to the Redcaps. Leaning out from around the trunk of a mushroom, he hurled Alice’s spear at them. Alas, for one of the Redcaps, it was truly unfortunate as the spear pierced through its chest completely, nailing it to the ground through its back while the other two cried out in alarm.

Dave rushed towards the two remaining, taking their focus while Alice’s armoured form dropped from overhead while drawing her spear back into her grip. She hit the ground with a roll, launching the spear like a javelin, striking down the second Redcap as it engaged Dave. Seeing a second fellow wounded, the final Redcap dashed away in a panic, looking to escape, before it was struck from behind as an arrow punctured its lung.

Redcap Lv3 slain. Gained 8xp.
Redcap Lv2 slain. Gained 6xp.
Redcap Lv3 slain. Gained 7xp.

 “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I feel like we should head back for the night. It’s been a hell of a day, and I’m pretty beat.” Dave said as they stored away the corpses. “And I know Luce will worry. I already know Ash and Em are gonna be sharing our room tonight with everything that’s happened.” “Yeah, it’s getting late anyway, and I could use liquor and a bath right about now.” Jess agreed.

With that decided, the group headed back to the surface without incident, ending their first day living with the System.