Fantasy Gate Portal Dungeon 2: Fairy Woods

[Uasal]

Name: Clair Jee
Rank: E
Class: Warrior
Location: Big-Mouth Carnivore Battle
Tag: The Black Knight Mqueserasera

Spoiler: Stats

XP: 0/10
Title:
Level: 1/10
HP: 50 + 15 + 20 + 0 = 65
MP: 100 + 0 + 0 + 0 + (Passive Gain From Level up 0) = 100
Defense: 50 + 15 + 15 + 0 = 80
P. Attack: 50 + 15 + 15 + 0 + (passive gain threshold = 1.5 (round up) ~ 2. 2*5 = 10) = 90 + 15
M. Attack: 50 + 0 + 0 + 0 + (passive gain threshold = 0) = 50
Accuracy: 1d100 + ( 20 + 25 + 0 = 45)
Fatigue = 0
Blue are passive stats. Green are attribute points invested on level up. Purple are Weapon and Armour stats. Orange are Accessory stats. Red are minus effects such as damage or debuffs Yellow is the final total.

As Clair stood back and watched the fight unfold she learned many new things, firstly it seemed as though the poison was having a far less obvious effect on her than the rest of the group save for the horseback knight. As the group coughed and wheezed in clear discomfort Clair had only been alerted of the fact she was poisoned by a red text box. She felt the poison eating away at her health and she was sure it would pose a huge threat if left unattended over time but for now, at least, she felt no issue in moving or any difficulty in breathing. How strange. "System". Opening her display Clair found her stats and current effects and began perusing them as the fight raged on, she currently was being affected by a party buff as well as the poison but other than that there was nothing to suggest her breathing shouldn't have been affected like the others in the party. Was it a class trait? Perhaps she was just more resilient, after all the dark knight didn't seem to have much of an issue either. Riding a horse was no easy feat and she seemed to be doing so with ease.

Waving her status bar away as the fight ended Clair followed with the rest of the backline and approached the tunnel. The fact the creature had fled was a cause for celebration but why exactly such a strong beast would flee was beyond her understanding. It was outnumbered sure but in reality, it only needed to combat one opponent no? Did it really flee or was there something more to this the group was missing? Regardless now was the time to heal up and ready themselves for whatever came next, be it a retreat or advance. Turning her focus from the tunnel back to the party Clair was caught completely off guard by the current state of the team leader. Apparently, she had been far too focused on the tunnel to notice his apparent mental breakdown. With everyone else shying away from him Clair decided to step forward. Reassured by the dark knight who had ridden the horse and her kindness, returning her wave with a soft smile.

Crouching down beside the wallowing man Clair moved a hand to his back, resting her sword on the ground beforehand. Gently rubbing her hand back and forth over the man's upper back Clair offered him a soft and gentle smile "Now now, you may have lost your axes but let's look at the plus side hmm. You single handily saved not only myself but your whole team too. You were so brave and strong! Valiant even right!" Looking back to the group Clair made a motion for them too to join in on the flattery party but not before she could whisper one final word "And hey, if it's of any consultation there are four women in this party, three of which are in your guild... you must have gained quite a few brownie points with them hmm. Don't go ruining it all with this wallowing. Let's get a move on yeh? Show us what kind of a leader you really are."

Spoiler: Actions

Rest

Total Fatigue Consumption: + 10
Total MP Consumption: 0

 

[The Black Knight]

The Mysterious Bulb wobbled, but Evodkia's attack didn't seem strong enough to pierce its smooth, eggplant flesh.

@Firelie
Results:
Basic Attack vs. Mysterious Bulb: Miss!

ERode Misuteeku Firelie

Spoiler: Mysterious Bulb

Mysterious Bulb
Rank: D
HP: 182/182

 

[The Black Knight]

The others watched as Ha-eun came over to join them. The guild members had no words. There were several feelings swirling amongst them. Feelings of uselessness, fear, and feeling overwhelmed by the dungeon. If not for Hyun-woo, they would have all died, and he seemed to be their only hope for success in future battles against C ranks. But he had lost his axes, which must have reduced his strength some. With him crying there on his knees, they didn’t know what to say. Morale had fallen.

But then the mysterious red-headed girl stepped forward attempting to comfort the barbarian. When she glanced their way, expecting some support, the guild members replied sheepishly:

It’s true Boss. You saved us all.

You were so brave!

You looked spectacular fighting that monster and protecting everyone!

There was an ominous shadow over Hyun-woo’s eyes. Mainly because Ha-eun had pissed him off with her Oops! comment. If she and the new girl had just stayed the hell back, then they wouldn’t have put themselves in danger and he wouldn’t have lost his axes. His tears stopped. He was glaring hard at the hole the C-rank had fled through. Without a word to his team, his fingers gripped the grass, and he sprang off the ground, hopping into the hole.

The black knight gasped and rushed over to the hole to look inside. “Boss, where are you going?”

The priest then ran over. “You’re injured!”

Hyun-woo ran the back of his hand across his pink eyes and sniffed. He stopped to frown up at the others. “I’m gonna go get my axes back. That thing was barely alive. I’m sure I can kill it.”

The bard added next, “You don’t know where that tunnel leads. What if it leads to more danger?”

“Well, I’m the only one who seems to be capable of doing anything. I think I’ll be just fine.”

The Samurai, without a word, hopped into the hole next. Hyun-woo turned to look at him with surprise. “What are you doing?”

“I follow my leader,” he replied. “You are hurt, and you can’t solo this dungeon in your state.”

“The hell I can’t!” Hyun-woo growled. It was his barbarian talking, but he knew against his role that what the samurai said was true. If the C-rank happened to flee to where the final boss was, then that was two C-ranks he would have to fight. Hyun-woo’s scowl hardened. “If there’s another C-rank, I want all of you to stay out of my way.”



Uasal Mqueserasera

Dynasty

Spoiler

Hyun-woo Bang
Rank: C
Class: Barbarian
Guild: Dynasty
Party Buff: All party members receive +15 P. Attack.
HP: 252/442 (Buff wore off)

NPC 1
Rank: D
Class: Samurai
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 192/202

NPC 2
Rank: E
Class: Black Knight
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 100/110

NPC 3
Rank: D
Class: Bard
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 172/182

NPC 4
Rank: D
Class: Priest
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 192/202

 

[Mqueserasera]

Ju Ha-eun

RANK​		CLASS​
E​		KNIGHT​

DEF​	PHY​	MAG​	ACC​
100​	130​	55​	50​
VIT​	STR​	INT​	SEN​
75​	50​	05​	05​

HP: 75/75

MP: 90/100

Fatigue: 20/100

Status effect

Party Leader Buff: +15 P. Attack
Imperial Plate: +5 HP Regen/turn

Location: The Fairy Woods
Tag: The Black Knight ERode Misuteeku Firelie Uasal

Ha-eun sighed, looking at her guildmate’s demonstration of their support for Huyn-woo. Nothing wrong with that of course. But in the encounter just now, none of them could even damage the plant, let alone deal with another of its kind. But they had a point, it wasn’t like they could let him head there alone like that, even if they wouldn’t be able to help him if something happened. And Ha-eun joined this guild in the first place to avoid putting herself in danger too.

The girl lifted herself from the trunk she had been leaning on. It was getting apparent that what she had thought to be an easy day had turned into a mess. Their greatly dwindled number was to face something they couldn’t even damage, just so as to get their unarmed leader’s weapons back. It wasn’t looking good at all. Briefly, she wondered what the other three were doing, if they hadn’t left the portal. And why wouldn’t they? It made no sense to tackle a dungeon full of C-rank dangers with only three people. Not that what her group was doing wasn’t also suicidal.

With another worried sigh, she followed the other down the hole. When she fixed the straps of her bag, Ha-eun realized how white her hands still were, and were still trembling slightly. Ah shit, next time, she would just hang around at the back and leave the front to Huyn-woo. No more stupid stunts.

Spoiler: Actions

Rest: -10 Fatigue

 

[Uasal]

Name: Clair Jee
Rank: E
Class: Warrior
Location: Big-Mouth Carnivore Tunnel
Tag: The Black Knight Mqueserasera

Spoiler: Stats

XP: 0/10
Title:
Level: 1/10
HP: 50 + 15 + 20 + 0 = 65
MP: 100 + 0 + 0 + 0 + (Passive Gain From Level up 0) = 100
Defense: 50 + 15 + 15 + 0 = 80
P. Attack: 50 + 15 + 15 + 0 + (passive gain threshold = 1.5 (round up) ~ 2. 2*5 = 10) = 90 + 15
M. Attack: 50 + 0 + 0 + 0 + (passive gain threshold = 0) = 50
Accuracy: 1d100 + ( 20 + 25 + 0 = 45)
Fatigue = 0
Blue are passive stats. Green are attribute points invested on level up. Purple are Weapon and Armour stats. Orange are Accessory stats. Red are minus effects such as damage or debuffs Yellow is the final total.

Jumping down the hole After the Barbarian Leader, Clair was glad to see the group on the move again. If she had to abandon her first-ever forward party gig things would not bode well for her recruitment ratio in the future. Well, that and she likely wouldn't be able to actually fight anything in the dungeon herself and as a result miss out on the whole reason she even joined the group in the first place. Trudging through the tunnel behind the leader Clair's eyes were drawn to his back and then his empty hands, he had lost both his weapons and didn't seem to have a spare. Could they really fight the C rank again with their only real damage dealer weaponless? It was impossible, right?

Raising her hand to the man's shoulder Clair gave him a light tap to gain his attention as the group proceeded downward "Ha-eun, maybe you should take and make use of my sword until we can recover your axes. I know it's not an axe and it's well a greatsword but even that must be better than nothing right? It's not like I can do anything with it if we run into that thing again anyway, so please, take it."

 

[ERode]

Name: Jeoung-eun Nam
Rank: E
Class: Healer

Name: Rui-Ling Kazanari
Rank: E
Class: Thief

Name: Evdokia Vladyslavivna Pashchenko
Rank: E
Class: Knight

Location: C-Rank Dungeon - The Fairy Woods

---

It was, by all accounts, a terrific strike. Evdokia was physically the most powerful of all the Hunters present, after all, and her longsword was undoubtedly the best weapon for actually hacking away at an oversized bundle of bark. The knots on the bark would make it easy for the blade’s tip to snag and dig, and she was brimming with energy too after having had a moment to essentially sleep.

But though it connected, it failed to leave its mark, sliding off the slant and not even doing so much as leave a scratch upon the dark material.

Rui-Ling let out a low whistle at this clear proof of the divide between E and D. It was good, at least, that the ‘worst’ case did not occur: where their brave knight did minimal damage but still drew maximum aggression. Stepping up to her, he gave her a consolatory pat on the back, and said, “Well, that answers that at least. So, ladies, we’re cooking it now? Either of you happen to be really big on Primitive Technology?”

It would be funny too, if a fire could be dodged by this curiously intimidating vegetation.

To think a soft, bush-like plant would be able to ward off an attack from an iron sword. Hunters and monsters were weird beyond imagination. Jeoung-eun doubted that her own attack would be able to dent the plant either if Eva couldn’t do anything about it. If only they had a fire mage that was able to burn the plant.

“I don’t think that would work, if I’m going to be honest.” Jeoung-eun replied to Rui-Ling’s question. “I think that conventional human methods wouldn’t be effective on dungeon monsters. Otherwise, the government wouldn’t rely on Hunters to deal with them.” After all, why would they need hunters if the military could subdue the monsters with gunfire or napalm them with artillery. It didn’t help with the latest school incident at that high school where E-Rank monsters broke out.

“If anything, I think we should move on and try to find something else to kill. We’re going to waste a lot of time trying to kill something that is practically invulnerable to our attacks.” The goal was to gather as much exp as possible, so what’s the point of staying around.

“Yes yes! Hyun-woo have many axe, good for chopping.” Evdokia made a chopping motion with her sword, as if to accentuate her point. “Though, do have fire make power! Learn in child. Aunt big on survival, sure world end, yes? Been while since try, though. Not good skill in circus.” Evdokia balanced on the heels of her armors and let her arms swing slightly. It was a rather strange sight seeing as she was equipped with a full set of metallic armor.

“Jun-ew make good point too! Sorry Ree-lee, but I vote Jun-ew.” Eva chipped in cheerily, practically bouncing her way back towards the group and standing behind Jeoung-eun. “Would take long time to make fire no lighter. Like twenty minute. Better idea to find Hyun-woo, show mushroom, rejoin, come back later!” Eva gasped suddenly as a fantastic idea came to her. “Oh! Oh! Orrrrr, we commit crime! Look for mine crystal. Very valuable. Crime sound more fun than go back to Hyun-woo. Don’t tell I say that though.” Eva put a finger to her mouth and winked playfully at her two companions. “That just what I think. You two smart, make decision. I stand guard!” With that she cheerfully strode back towards the entrance, keeping her eyes peeled for any fairies that fancied the idea of a second ambush.

That was a fair point, and the idea of setting shit on fire was shaky when the forest itself looked to be more moist than it was dry. Rui-Ling had his ideas, of course, with regards to creatively burning shit down, but perhaps he had hyperfixated upon it too much? He nodded, thoughts converging once more. At this point, they had a good amount of gold, and the fairies of the Fairy Wood looked to no longer present much of a threat towards them. They had proof of the mushrooms’ existence, and Hyun-Woo had been given enough space and distance to have cooled down.

More importantly, this mysterious bulb was likely something worth killing: they could either lead the whole party to it, or kill it off themselves later.

“Alright, alright,” Rui-Ling said, raising his hands up in mock surrender. “We’ll do some weeding at another time then. For now, we can backtrack. I’ll keep an eye out for more monsters that are up our alley. Evdokia, I’ll be trusting you to do that thing with your shield once I pick up any vibes. Hopefully it works this time, right? And Jeoung-eun…wanna do some research? That magical blast thing from you was pretty lit, but, like, could you transform it into some other sort of energy?”

The pink-haired thief grinned. “Like fire?”

If Jeoung-eun was a vain woman, she would have gotten an iota of dopamine after finally winning an argument against Rui-Ling. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t. She was relieved that she had managed to convince both Eva and Rui-Ling to get out of the cave, but she was still overall stressed. That and she didn’t like how Eva pronounced her name. “All right, take care,” Jeoung-eun waved at the exiting magician. She would have to teach her how to say her name correctly later.

Though, she didn’t want to be left alone with Rui-Ling. Just as Jeoung-eun decided now was the best time to follow Eva, she was stopped by Rui-Ling speaking up. “Transforming it into fire?” Wasn’t that something only a mage could do? Jeoung-eun was a healer, so she thought she would be able to shoot beams of light or darkness depending on the route. The only known fact was that she was able to vaporize the fairy’s corpse and that was about it.

“I don’t think, I have the skills to perform such a feat. That sounds like something a mage would be able to do.” Jeoung-eun admitted.

“Though, I suppose I can try.” Closing her eyes, she began to channel her energy. She tried to channel her aura into fire by any means. Imagining her aura into flames, using her wrathful emotions towards Rui-Ling as fuel, and her frustrations towards her living situation. Jeoung-eun tried as hard as she could to conjure at least an imitation of fire into her hands.

 

[The Black Knight]

The monster had traveled further than he had anticipated for being injured. He followed its tracks—long, whip-like cuts in the hard soil—hoping that his axes might have released the plant. Had his throw been too deep? It annoyed him thinking about it. If he lost the axes for good, he wasn’t sure Dynasty would entrust him with another set. C-rank axes weren’t cheap. He would have to be sure to kill it when he next saw it. It was the only way he could get them back.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and stopped, turning a red eye to the red-headed swordsman. She offered him her greatsword, and while his eyes initially gleamed with interest, he made no motion to take the weapon from her for two reasons: 1) it was only a D-rank weapon (trash), and 2) taking an E-rank's weapon was like declawing a cat. He didn’t know what other enemies the dungeon carried, and the E-rank was a fool for thinking she would be fine without it.

“You’re such an idiot,” Hyun-woo rudely scoffed. This was why he didn’t like the guildless. They were such a liability. “I guarantee you that monster isn’t the only creature in this dungeon, and if you think I’m gonna take your only means for protecting yourself, then you might as well leave this dungeon. I don’t need any suicidal hunters on my team.”

The team leader was obviously in a bad mood, but it was hard to determine if he would have still made that comment even if he hadn’t lost his axes. He continued walking and raised his voice so his team could hear him, “None of you are to lose your weapons like me. I can handle myself. I am capable of fighting that monster barehanded if I got to. If you lose your weapons because none of you are C-rank, there is a good chance that you all will die. If you’re gonna be a problem, then I rather you all just quit and head back.”

He then scowled and added, “And if I hear anyone complain about being useless, then I’ll drop you (knock unconscious) and have one of your peers carry your ass back to the gate. I don’t have the time or patience for whiners.”

The tunnel started to darken the further they walked from the entrance. Hyun-woo demanded, “I need a light.”

The priest willed a small ball of light in her hands that lit the path for them.


Misuteeku

Skill Acquired!

Purifying Flame Lv. 1
Magic attack +10, inflicts burning on a single enemy. It’s super effective against undead, demons, and evil spirits.
MP Cost: 10
Fatigue Cost: 10​

Dynasty soon arrived at a fork in the path. It hadn’t seemed to be intentional. The Big Mouth’s tunnel had caused a hollow wall to collapse, revealing a second leading to the unknown. Hyun-woo stopped to gaze at the second path.

The priest curiously stepped closer, extending her arm to have her ball of light illuminate it. “This path seems man-made,” she informed.

The black knight quickly stepped in front of her, raising his shield. “Be careful. We don’t know what’s down there.”

“Exactly. That’s why I’m not going to waste my time,” Hyun-woo said irritably. He was quick to dismiss the other path’s existence to remain focused on his current mission.

“I hear voices,” came the bard. As everyone fell silent, she listened. “They sound like human voices.”

The samurai arched a brow. “Do you think it’s that guildless group?”

“They’re still alive?” the black knight said amazed.

Hyun-woo was frowning. He didn’t have the patience to deal with that pink-haired kid again. “Who cares. Let’s continue.”

Uasal Mqueserasera ERode Misuteeku Firelie

Dynasty

Spoiler

Hyun-woo Bang
Rank: C
Class: Barbarian
Guild: Dynasty
Party Buff: All party members receive +15 P. Attack.
HP: 252/442 (Buff wore off)

NPC 1
Rank: D
Class: Samurai
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 192/202

NPC 2
Rank: E
Class: Black Knight
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 100/110

NPC 3
Rank: D
Class: Bard
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 172/182

NPC 4
Rank: D
Class: Priest
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 192/202

 

[Uasal]

Name: Clair Jee
Rank: E
Class: Warrior
Location: Big-Mouth Carnivore Tunnel
Tag: The Black Knight Mqueserasera

Spoiler: Stats

XP: 0/10
Title:
Level: 1/10
HP: 50 + 15 + 20 + 0 = 65
MP: 100 + 0 + 0 + 0 + (Passive Gain From Level up 0) = 100
Defense: 50 + 15 + 15 + 0 = 80
P. Attack: 50 + 15 + 15 + 0 + (passive gain threshold = 1.5 (round up) ~ 2. 2*5 = 10) = 90 + 15
M. Attack: 50 + 0 + 0 + 0 + (passive gain threshold = 0) = 50
Accuracy: 1d100 + ( 20 + 25 + 0 = 45)
Fatigue = 0
Blue are passive stats. Green are attribute points invested on level up. Purple are Weapon and Armour stats. Orange are Accessory stats. Red are minus effects such as damage or debuffs Yellow is the final total.

A soft sigh escaped Clair when Hyun-woo rudely remarked her act of kindness, rolling her eyes to the sky as he then proceeded to insult her intellect. It was true that Clair was a rookie hunter but it wasn't as if she was unaware of the situation at hand and what her actions could foreseeably cause. In fact, in Clair's opinion, her offer was a completely valid one! Clair was no bare-knuckle fighter but her armour granted her unnatural agility and prowess for dodging, within a party of this size her being unarmed shouldn't have been much of an issue so long as she remained vigilant and within range of an ally. That being said Clair was unimpressed when Hyun-woo went even further to suggest he was capable of taking on the beast with his bare hands! A D rank weapon may be low tier but it was better than nothing! Even a stick could become a lethal weapon in the hands of a master swordsman, and while Hyun-woo seemed to prefer axes to greatswords, surely he would have been better off with it. In fact the whole group would have been in Clair's mind.

Regardless Clair pushed on and bit her tongue, something she found increasingly hard to do when the man who had just mentally broken down over the loss of his axes threatened his group not to moan and groan. Hyun-woo was their only shot at clearing this dungeon and while he was growing more and more unbearable, he would have to be kept happy. The patience of a saint, this group really did have, the patience of a saint.

When the group found themselves at a fork in the tunnel Clair paused. Hyun-woo issued his orders and the group began to move forward down the plant's path, however, Clair seemed particularly interested in the second and the voices that could be heard. Kneeling down at the entrance Clair inspected both the ground and walls of the new tunnel "Remarkable, but who could have dug such a path? The only ones with mining equipment were...". Raising back to her feet Clair grew even more curious, peaking her head back around the corner she made a shout down toward the guild members "Hyun-woo, your Guild was guarding the entrance right. Would that mean we're the only group with miners to have entered? And what did you mean by Guildless group?"

 

[Misuteeku]

Name: Jeoung-eun Nam
Rank: E
Class: Healer
Location: C-Rank Gate: The Fairy Woods
Tag: The Black Knight ERode Mqueserasera Firelie Uasal

Spoiler: Stats

Rank: E
Title:
Level: 2/10
HP: 80/80
MP: 100/160
Fatigue: 0/100
Status: N/A
Defense: 80
P. Attack: 90 + 15 (Party Bonus)
M. Attack: 120
Accuracy: 1d100+(30)

---

Skill Acquired!

Purifying Flame Lv. 1
Magic attack +10, inflicts burning on a single enemy. It’s super effective against undead, demons, and evil spirits.
MP Cost: 10
Fatigue Cost: 10
​

Jeoung-eun eyes widened as the energy from her hand transformed into flames. "Oh," Jeoung-eun muttered in surprise. She almost laughed at the name of her new skill, 'Purifying Flame.' All the negative feelings she had in the past were used to channel this flame, yet it was a 'purifying flame,' which she felt was ironic. Was it this easy to get a skill? No, she must have gotten lucky. "Well, I guess I can turn it into flames," Jeoung-eun said after a moment of silence. She used her free hand to hover the flame. It felt like a real flame, permeating heat that enveloped her hands. While she had seen this type before on T.V., to be able to perform it was just...

She shook her head. This wasn't the time to be in awe. Looking over to Rui-Ling, "So about your little idea..." Jeoung-eun reluctantly stated. While she didn't know how much control she had over the flame, they could still at least try to smoke the D-Rank bulb. Hopefully, that would be enough to satiate Rui-Ling's curiosity. However, what if the bulb suddenly grew a pair of legs and tried to attack them? It was a D-rank, and the difference between a weak E-Rank and a D-rank was big. At most, it was an 8-level difference, which means it would be a 480-point difference. That's if the monsters were scaled based on the system's information.

The faint echoes of a voice could be heard from the tunnel. Jeoung-eun's eyes widened as she listened to the sound. "Did you hear that?" She said to the others. She could make out the sounds of a couple of voices by listening closely. While some may think that Jeoung-eun would be overjoyed by that prospect, on the contrary, she was terrified. What if there was a monster that mimicked the voices of humans? Anything was possible in the dungeon. Though granted, she might have been paranoid with her thought process.

She took a deep breath and looked over to Rui-Ling, "We're going to follow that noise, aren't we." While she couldn't confirm the voices were those of the Dynasty Party, they were the only other human party that entered the gate. Rui-Ling didn't seem to favor joining back with them, but seeing that the members from the Dynasty team were at least D+, except for Ha-Eun, then maybe they could kill it.

 

[ERode]

---

Sector: C- Rank Dungeon [The Fairy Woods]
Mentions: The Black Knight Misuteeku Firelie Mqueserasera Uasal

Spoiler: Stats

HP: 70/70
MP: 80/100
Fatigue: 30/100
Defense: 85
P. Attack: 110
M. Attack: 50
Accuracy: 1d100+55
Sense: 60
CS

---

Rui-Ling smiled.

“You know me well, Jeoung-eun. Let’s sally forth and see what the hubbub is!”

There had been the sound of rumbling that had undercut their conversation. He had thought it to be just part of the Bulb’s beats, but if it were another monster, it would make sense why only now were they hearing the Dynasty splinter’s voices coming from deeper within. No tunneling monstrosity leapt at them from the shadows, of course, another indication of a slightly more complex subterranean system, and soon enough, the pink-haired thief could hear the voices clearly. They were just on the cusp of being in sight of each other now, on the cusp of either a meeting gone hilariously wrong, or gloriously right.

So, what was the goal here? How much were they to share? How much were they going to bullshit? Rui-Ling breathed, drafted answers to such questions, reminded himself that things were always going to be worse than they were going to be better, and took another Hunter’s question as his cue to enter.

“He means us,” Rui-Ling said, shooting a smile at…a Hunter that hadn’t been there before? Had someone else entered the portal dungeon after everyone else did? Was that even possible? “We’re the Guildless Group, having miraculously survived this long owing to Evdokia’s gargantuan muscles and Jeoung-eun’s genius insight~” He splayed his hands out, noting in that moment Hyun-woo’s missing axes. Reasons for chasing that big something, hrm? The thief reached into his pockets and produced the Violaceous Mushroom, rotating the purple shroom so all could appreciate how beautiful it looked in the soft light of the priest’s staff. His eyes caught Ha-eun’s, before he slipped it back into the folds of his clothing, into the space of his pocket dimension inventory. “Real toxic bugger, by the by. Invisible and everything until you pluck it or step on it, though they certainly made for nice trailblazers. Lead us all the way to this plant in a cave. A giant eggplant, one that acts like a heart. Protected by fairies, even!”

That was a reasonable truth to believe in. False as it was.

“So with this being the Fairy Woods and all, we were thinking that it might be just a bit important to the other monsters here. Only a D-rank thing, of course, so while us widdle E-rank Hunters can’t even scratch it, I’m sure just one of you D-rank Dynasty dudes could take it down easy-peasy, to great effect and benefit!”

None of the miners were around. He could imagine why. A party of warriors and healers was a lovely thing to have in a pitched battle, but not a dungeon crawl, and miners who couldn't mine were the cheapest pounds of meat on the market.

“In exchange, I’m personally fine with helping with this whole task of getting your axes back from the monster that made off with them, Hyun-Woo, and I'm sure the lovely ladies will be grateful enough to assist too. When all’s said and done, there still isn’t a scout in your party, right?”

Spoiler: Actions

Rest
Total Fatigue Recovery: 20 [Collab] + 10 [Post]

 

[The Black Knight]

Hyun-woo didn’t even look back when Clair shouted her inquiries. He answered her first question, but disregarded her second: “Yes; Dynasty has the miners.”

The black knight informed Clair, “There were others who entered the dungeon with us. They weren’t in our guild, and they split away over…something about mushrooms.”

It sounded silly when one didn’t know the complete story. Suddenly, a familiar pink-haired boy emerged from the hole in the wall, causing the black knight to jump in fright.

“You guys!” the black knight exclaimed, causing the other guild members to stop and turn to gaze upon the other three as though gazing upon ghosts.

Hyun-woo’s footfalls were heavy when they stopped. He inhaled a deep, controlled breath and exhaled it. He closed his eyes, his face already turning red in aggravation at…everything! He was pissed that his axes were gone; that his group stopped to regard a guildless group of losers that were doing their own counter-productive thing in the dungeon; and honestly, that the guildless group was still present and hadn’t fled home when they should have.

The other Dynasty members gawked at the sight of the purple mushroom Rui Ling held.

“The mushroom is real!” the bard exclaimed.

Curiously, Hyun-woo turned an eye over his shoulder, but Rui Ling had already returned the mushroom to…wherever he pulled it from. He listened to him explain how he had found it and then about a heart in a cave. Hyun-woo turned completely around to face the other group and started walking back toward them.

“Where is this heart?” the samurai asked.

Hyun-woo stopped once he reached the Guildless Group. He wrinkled his nose and his red hair could have splayed like hackles at Rui Ling’s offer. No matter what, he didn’t like the kid. He hadn’t liked any of the guildless, and it disgusted him to have to cooperate with them. They had found something important—at least it sounded important.

“I don’t need your help to get my axes back. In fact, you would do better staying out of my way. This heart—whatever you’re talking about—it better not be a joke. I don’t have the patience for jokes right now, so if you’re lying, I’m going to punch you in your pink face,” the barbarian threatened.

Secretly, he didn’t think Rui Ling was lying. The thief had told them about the mushrooms, and they didn’t listen. And Rui Ling had one! One exactly as he had described.

Hyun-woo drove his fist into his palm and demanded, “Lead the way. I don’t need my axes to crush some D-ranked vegetable.”

Uasal Mqueserasera ERode Misuteeku Firelie

Dynasty

Spoiler

Hyun-woo Bang
Rank: C
Class: Barbarian
Guild: Dynasty
Party Buff: All party members receive +15 P. Attack.
HP: 252/442 (Buff wore off)

NPC 1
Rank: D
Class: Samurai
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 192/202

NPC 2
Rank: E
Class: Black Knight
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 100/110

NPC 3
Rank: D
Class: Bard
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 172/182

NPC 4
Rank: D
Class: Priest
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 192/202

 

[Misuteeku]

Name: Jeoung-eun Nam
Rank: E
Class: Healer
Location: C-Rank Gate: The Fairy Woods
Tag: The Black Knight ERode Mqueserasera Firelie Uasal

---

​

Jeoung-eun considered getting into the entertainment business. As of right now, she was able to unleash a torrent of emotions and now was standing calmly behind Rui-Ling as he gave a compelling argument to the Dynasty Party. A summary argument also happened to have a few lies riddled into it. What. The. Fuck. Internally, Jeoung-eun screamed at Rui-Ling, even if she was a little hypocritical. 'Acts like a Heart?' That was a giant leap of logic. Sure, it was D-rank, and the fairies from before could have been trying to protect it, but even then, it was hard to call it a heart. She couldn't hit Rui-Ling on the shoulder either since that would diminish his argument.

'I shouldn't even question it,' Jeoung-eun mentally sighed. "If you'd like to follow us, the heart should still be back here," Jeoung-eun said as she pointed her thumb to where they came from. The bulb didn't seem like it had the capacity since it was rooted onto the ceiling, so it should still be there once they headed back. There were a few bright sides to it as well. Since they were at a party, they would, maybe, get exp from Hyun-Woo killing the bulb. Even better, she might learn a few things from watching the hunters perform their duty. It would be necessary since she could still see herself fighting inside Gates in the future.

Her eyes glanced over towards the wounds of the Dynasty Party. Yikes, that has to hurt. If even Hyun-woo was hurt, then that must've meant that they encountered the boss. They had a priest in their party; couldn't they have healed their wounds by now? Though a better question arrived in her head. Where was the boss? Even she knew that killing the dungeon's boss was necessary, and if Hyun-woo was injured but was still in here, that meant it was still alive. A slight sweat dropped formed on her cheek as she looked in the direction of the plant.

"Say, it looks like you got quite in a scuffle," Jeoung-eun said. "Did you perchance encounter the boss?" This was her conjecture, but if the boss wasn't killed and Hyun-woo and his dynasty members were following it, didn't that mean it should be around them right now? Looking back, she saw another path going in the opposite direction. Didn't that mean that the thing they saw wasn't crucial to the dungeon? More stress accumulated as she led them down the tunnel.

 

[Firelie]

Name: Evdokia Vladyslavivna Pashchenko
Rank: E
Class: Knight
Location: Fairy Woods, (C rank dungeon)
Tag: The Black Knight Misuteeku Mqueserasera ERode Uasal

Spoiler: Stats

HP: 90
MP: 100
Defense: 80
P. Attack: 110
M. Attack: 50
Accuracy: 1d100+45
Fatigue: 0/100

---

Eva was not used to playing the strongwoman in these sort of things, but she couldn't help but flex at Rui-ling's praises. "Us guys! Yes!" With the same vibrant smile she entered the dungeon with she waved to the battered dynasty warriors. "Yeah you look like... beat up! We only encounter 4 fairy, crush like bug." Eva jauntily sauntered away from the guildless group and past Hyun-woo. She had noticed something far more interesting that just needed her attention.

"Hello young miss!" She exclaimed with a wave to Clair. The boisterous bounced deftly on her heels despite the heavy looking suit of armor she wore. "You very pretty, anyone say to you? Because are!" Eva smiled innocently at the new edition. "What name? Am Evdokia Vladyslavivna Pashchenko, grand darling of twilight forest!" The girl had up until this point spoken in very broken korean and the introduction of her extremely foreign name was like a blast of cold water in comparison. Eva threw her hands upwards and a sudden plume of smoke erupted from under her. enveloping the magician. The smoke cleared as quickly as it came, leaving only the young girl now dressed entirely in colorful blue magicians garb. "Ringleader of Budynok Mahiyi Circus!" She finished with a dramatic spin. Eva finished her display with her hand cast forward toward the girl. She flicked a gloved wrist and suddenly there was a small card in her hand. "Is card. Take. You come to show, have good time, yes? Yes." Eva nodded at the girl with a brimming smile.

 

[ERode]

---

Sector: C- Rank Dungeon [The Fairy Woods]
Mentions: The Black Knight Misuteeku Firelie Mqueserasera Uasal

Spoiler: Stats

HP: 70/70
MP: 80/100
Fatigue: 20/100
Defense: 85
P. Attack: 110
M. Attack: 50
Accuracy: 1d100+55
Sense: 60
CS

---

Ah, there certainly was nothing more pleasing than some jolly good communication, and for all Hyun-Woo’s threats, the very fact that he didn’t continue off his own path was a marked improvement from before. Perhaps all it took was one bad encounter for someone to sober up a bit? Or perhaps it was the mushroom?

It was probably, tragically, the mushroom.

“Aye-aye, bro~” Rui-Ling chimed, naturally slipping to the front of the group as he lead the way. Evdokia looked to be getting buddy-buddy with the red-head, while Jeoung-eun was doing her own bits of info-gathering. If they had encountered a boss this early, perhaps the woods wouldn’t be nearly as thick as he thought, but on the other hand, if the boss was a giant mole or something, what was that weird freak that popped out when they first entered the portal dungeon? It was similarly concerning that while the majority of the Dynasty guildmates only featured superficial wounds, their barbarian leader was looking fairly mangled. Were the rest forced to practically do nothing against the C-rank monster they encountered, in order to avoid having them get killed off? Was the whole concept of bringing lower-ranked Hunters into a higher-ranked dungeon a bad idea, because when the chips were down, only a Hunter of equal rank was capable of anything?

It was also, probably, tragically, yes. He should re-evaluate his own risk-taking ventures in the future. Having the ability to dodge attacks through his Doppelganger was powerful, but not almighty.

For now though? Rui-Ling ducked his head down slightly as he made it past the threshold into the area where they previously were. He nudged a fairy’s corpse out of the way, glanced towards the entrance to see if the one that had escaped may have brought its other friends, before, if the mysterious bulb still remained rooted and beating, presenting it.

“And voila! Eggplant heart, suspended by roots. Tough enough that our modern wandering knight couldn’t carve into its flesh despite a perfectly-executed stroke, but perhaps you, samurai man, could slay it with a singular slash?”

Give the D-ranks something to feel accomplished about, at least.

Spoiler: Actions

Rest
Total Fatigue Recovery: 10

 

[Mqueserasera]

Ju Ha-eun

RANK​		CLASS​
E​		KNIGHT​

DEF​	PHY​	MAG​	ACC​
100​	130​	55​	50​
VIT​	STR​	INT​	SEN​
75​	50​	05​	05​

HP: 75/75

MP: 90/100

Fatigue: 10/100

Status effect

Party Leader Buff: +15 P. Attack
Imperial Plate: +5 HP Regen/turn

Location: The Fairy Woods
Tag: The Black Knight ERode Misuteeku Firelie Uasal

Surely in her life, Ha-eun had never been so happy to see a group of strangers. At the first invisible noise ahead of the tunnel, the girl had been terrified. Surely the monster was having second thoughts and decided to end them for real this time. And they were sitting duck, perfectly trapped under the ground where surely a plant thingy that could dig its way around would be at an even much bigger disadvantage. But what could have been certain death turned out to be the group of guildless from before. She sighed very audibly.

“I was scared half to death…”

She noticed the mushrooms, Rui-ling made certain the fact after all. How and why they were able to obtain those fabled things seem of little concern right now. It assured her though, that those people were not as much the lunatics as she had thought. Though an apology should be in order.

She blinked at Huyn-woo’s hostile tone. Not that the guy had ever been a nice person, but her opinion of him was already at an all-time low. There’s nothing as unattractive as a man crying over the loss of his toys, nor one so prideful he refused the help from someone, something which might or might not put them all in greater danger. Clair’s offer was really very selfless, if not a bit too naïve. Not that Ha-eun herself didn’t want to help, but the thought of facing the monster from before unarmed terrified her. Surely their leader could use a weapon though, while the others wouldn’t be able to even defend themselves with theirs anyway. But he was that kind of person, so it was not much of a surprise.

“Well, I’m glad you guys are alright… And I guess the mushrooms… exist?” As she followed the others and Rui-ling, she said, also giving Jeoung-eun a rather awkward smile. That foreigner was still as weird as before, almost incomprehensible.

“I don’t know if the one we fought was the boss, but I hope it was. I don’t think we can face yet another like it. And we didn’t even beat the one from before, so, haha,” she laughed half-heartedly. There was nothing funny about it. They were in so much peril it was unreal. “It’s probably still around somewhere.” Above, the sides, below them. Underground, that thing could appear from anywhere. But Ha-eun ceased her nervous glance all around the place to focus on what Rui-ling had just revealed to the party.

“Is that… I don’t know what it is, but isn’t it just some kind of…weird plant?” She eyed it doubtfully. Though the guildless had proven that they didn’t lie about the purple mushroom, she still couldn’t really shake off the idea that there was something wrong with them yet.

Spoiler: Actions

Rest: -10 Fatigue

 

[The Black Knight]

All guildless warriors were considered scavengers to those who were in a guild. Hyun-woo couldn’t stop frowning as he followed them to some underground heart. Clowns. They were a bunch of clowns. His red eyes slid over to Evdokia, watching her throw down smoke and change her outfit like magic. One was a literal clown!

His face scrunched up as he internally cringed at the sight. He couldn’t believe these leeches were on his team, but if he could go back in time, he wouldn’t have changed his mind. Dynasty had successfully claimed the dungeon over Spear, which was a victory. Now they all had to live to savor it.

Hyun-woo’s attention shifted to Jeoung as she asked about the Big Mouth. “If that was the boss, it got away before I could finish it off,” he replied calmly despite the upheaval of emotions he felt. He needed to punch something. Ha-eun's comment about them not being able to handle another C-rank made Hyun-woo glare in her direction. She couldn't handle another C-rank.

Hyun-woo's wish came true when the bubblegum head led them to the eggplant anomaly he had described.

The samurai had placed a hand on the hilt of his blade at Rui Ling’s encouragement. Hyun-woo marched up behind him and rested a hand on his shoulder. The samurai looked to his leader as the barbarian said, “I’ll handle this. I need to test my strength without my axes.”

The samurai gave a slight bow to his boss and stepped back.

Hyun-woo approached the pulsing bulb. It was no surprise to him that a E-rank couldn’t wound it. E-ranks were fodder in C-rank dungeons. C-rank dungeons were often used as training grounds for the lower ranks. Even before he recruited the guildless into his party, he and the lower ranks were there to train and claim whatever spoils they could from the drops and mining crew.

Before he touched it, Hyun-woo looked back at the others and warned, “Everyone get back. I don’t know what this thing is. It could explode for all I know. Poison; fire...”

The black knight stepped forward. “You shouldn’t be the one to destroy it if it does. We need you. Let me do it.”

“You can’t. You’re are only E-rank, and the guildless already tried to cut it. I don’t think you’ll be able to either.”

The samurai stepped forward with his hand once again resting on his sword. “Then allow me.”

The priest then stepped forward with the bard next to her. “Allow us. We can strike it from a safe distance, and no one has to be affected.”

Hyun-woo stared at the bulb in contemplation, gazing at himself in its glossy skin. He wanted to just strike it and be done with it, but he knew that wasn’t the best plan. Any high rank would have called him a fool for being so impulsive. It was something anyone would have expected a low rank to do. This wasn’t about him. It was about everyone around him. Even if his team was useless against the C-rank, there could have been other creatures in the dungeon that they could help crowd control. He glanced down to the corpse of a fairy that the guildless had killed. That only confirmed it.

“All right,” Hyun-woo finally said. “Let’s all go back up the tunnel a few meters. We’ll see what our rangers can do.”

Both the priest and the bard beamed. Finally, they were useful! “We won’t let you down boss!” the priest cheered.

“Unless the bulb is a strong D-rank,” the bard added sheepishly.

The priest smiled weakly, “Yeah, unless that.”

Dynasty started back up the tunnel and Hyun-woo didn’t bother to check if the guildless would follow. He figured if they didn’t want to risk it, they would make the smart decision. Once everyone was standing behind the priest and bard, the two warriors raised their weapons.

“All right, here goes nothing,” the priest said, her eyes were fixed with determination on her target as she felt the rush of adrenaline and anxiety like a swift stream through her veins.

The bard nodded and rested her fingers upon the string of her violin before raising her bow.

"Let's do it!" the priest cued.

The bard's bow glided across the strings in a melodious tune. A spell shot from her bow to screech loudly on impact with the throbbing bulb.

NPC 3

Results:
Beautiful Ballad Lv. 1 vs. Mysterious Bulb: Success!
Beautiful Ballad Lv 1. - 40% chance to inflict Weakness on a single enemy. Lowers Strength 50%.

NPC 4

Results:
Basic Attack vs. Mysterious Bulb: -131 HP (+10 Fatigue)

The priest swung her staff at the bulb and a white beam extended, striking it and causing it to pulse and swell. Something boiled beneath its purple flesh as it swelled to the size of a beach ball.

Hyun-woo exclaimed in alarm, "It's gonna explode!"

The Mysterious Bulb then forcefully deflated, and from its pores erupted a purple plume of spores that began to billow and fill the surrounding space. The bulb was lost in the deadly screen, but the priest remembered where it was.

Mysterious Bulb

Results:
Death Spores vs. Everyone: Success!

"Fall back!" Hyun-woo ordered.

"Everyone get away! I think I can kill it!" the priest shouted.

Hyun-woo looked back at her in shock. "But you can escape! We don't need it!"

"I can do it! I can be useful!" she insisted.

Hyun-woo could see that the spores were drawing closer. What should he do? He couldn't protect her from that. There wasn't much time to do anything else but avoid the bulb's attack. Regrettably, Hyun-woo fled, leaving the priest. The black knight and the bard escaped alongside him, but the samurai had been too slow. His body vanished in the toxic clouds, but he still continued to run, emerging with the others back at the split in the path coughing on the spores.

Dynasty

Hyun-woo Escape Attempt: Success!
Samurai NPC 1 Escape Attempt: Fail (-10 HP)
Black Knight NPC 2 Escape Attempt: Success!
Bard NPC 3 Escape Attempt: Success!

The priest squinted through the screen. Her hand not holding her staff grasped her face to hopelessly guard her mouth and nose from the spores. She shook with stifled coughs into her hand and frowning through her aberration and swung her staff again to strike where she had last seen the bulb. The bulb swelled once more, but this time, it didn't stop. The purple bulb turned into a spore-filled sack that burst, and its destruction spurred an agonized, inhuman scream. The feminine and monstrous cry shook the entire dungeon. Soil and rock spilled and pelted the ground from the tunnel ceiling. The creature continued to shriek, and the tunnels started to collapse.

NPC 4

Results:
Basic Attack vs. Mysterious Bulb: -131 HP (+10 Fatigue)

Hyun-woo's arms were crossed above his head as soil spilled over him from above. "We have to get out!" he yelled. His face then became stricken with fear as he thought about the priest still caught in the spore-filled tunnel.


Uasal Mqueserasera ERode Misuteeku Firelie

Spoiler: Mysterious Bulb

Mysterious Bulb
Rank: D
HP: Defeated

Summary of Dynasty Actions

Hyun-woo:
Escaped! (+20 Fatigue)

NPC 1:
Poison Damage -10

NPC 2: Escaped! (+10 Fatigue)

NPC 3:
Beautiful Ballad vs. Mysterious Bulb: Success! (+10 Fatigue, -10 MP)
Escaped! (+10 Fatigue)
Instrument Passive: Invigorate, heals self +3 HP per turn.

NPC 4: Basic Attack 1 vs. Mysterious Bulb: -131 HP (+10 Fatigue)
Basic Attack 1 vs. Mysterious Bulb: -131 HP (+10 Fatigue)
Staff Passive: Blessings, +3 MP regen per turn.
Poison Damage -10

Dynasty

Spoiler

Hyun-woo Bang
Rank: C
Class: Barbarian
Guild: Dynasty
Party Buff: All party members receive +15 P. Attack.
HP: 252/442

NPC 1
Rank: D
Class: Samurai
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 182/202 (Poisoned)

NPC 2
Rank: E
Class: Black Knight
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 100/110

NPC 3
Rank: D
Class: Bard
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 172/182

NPC 4
Rank: D
Class: Priest
Guild: Dynasty
HP: 182/202 (Poisoned)

GM Announcement: The Mysterious Bulb was slain and so was something else. The death of the bulb has caused a cataclysmic disturbance in Fairy Woods!

Spoiler: Big-Mouth Carnivore

Big-Mouth Carnivore
Rank: C
HP: Defeated

End Battle XP

Mqueserasera
Combat XP: 0
Assisted Kill XP: +15 XP (C Rank)
Literary XP: +9 XP
Total XP: 24 XP

Uasal
Combat XP: 0
Assisted Kill XP: +15 XP (C Rank)
Literary XP: +13 XP
Total XP: 28 XP

Firelie
Combat XP: 0
Assisted Kill XP: +25 XP (C & D Rank)
Literary XP: +3 XP
Total XP: 28 XP

Drops

(The following C-rank drops are not in your location)

Fairy Wand
Type: Wand
Rank: C
Materials: Wood
Bonus(es): +30 Intelligence, +15 Agility, Passive: Fae Storm - summon three fairies made from pure magic to augment your basic attack by 3 strikes. The three strikes suffer the required fatigue of a single strike. Accuracy still dependent.

Forest Spirit's Scepter
Type: Rod
Rank: C
Materials: Glass
Bonus(es): +30 Intelligence, +15 Agility, Passive: Healing Blooms - summons a bed of flowers beneath the feet of all in your party. The flowers emanate a healing aura causing +5 HP regen for all party members per turn.

Special Dungeon Key
Rank: C
This key can summon a gate to a special dungeon unlike the usual dungeons that appear. These dungeons are unusual and can be completed solo or with a party.

(These drops are nearby)

Elven Spear
Rank: D
Material: Iron
Bonus(es): +20 Strength, +10 Agility

50 gold

 

[Misuteeku]

Name: Jeoung-eun Nam
Rank: E
Class: Healer
Location: C-Rank Gate: The Fairy Woods
Tag: The Black Knight ERode Mqueserasera Firelie Uasal

Spoiler: Stats

Rank: E
Title:
Level: 2/10
HP: 80/80
MP: 100/160
Fatigue: 20/100
Status: N/A
Defense: 80
P. Attack: 90 + 15 (Party Bonus)
M. Attack: 120
Accuracy: 1d100+(30)

---

'If that was the boss?' Jeoung-eun paled at the implications of the statement Hyun-woo provided to her. There could be more than two C-Rank monsters inside a gate? While she didn't think it was too far-fetched that there could be two C-ranks, she would have thought that the gate only had 1 C-RANK at least. Considering the enemies Rui-Ling, Eva, and herself had encountered below C, it was at least a hopeful assumption. It didn't help that Ha-eun's pessimistic statement made her all the more problematic despite the Knight smiling at her. How could they take two if the Dynasty team couldn't handle 1 C-rank?

Though that trail of thought stopped when they arrived at the destination. "That's the eggplant heart thing we were talking about," Jeoung-eun said as she pointed at it. It wasn't necessary since it was hard to miss a purple plant-like monster on the ceiling. Jeoung-eun stepped back to let the Dynasty members do their work. Now was the time to observe. Like an intern watching their supervisors do their job, Jeoung-eun intently watched Dynasty size the strange plant up.

After a while, it was decided that the Bard and Priest would engage the bulb. Taking Hyun-woo's advice, Jeoung-eun took a few steps back and watched the magic happen. A strum of harmonious notes was released from the Bard's instrument and struck the bulb. It had no apparent effect, but Jeoung-eun assumed it must have done something. Next was the Priest. She watched in awe as the Priest did a simple maneuver and shot a beam from her staff. It was something that she would have seen her dongsaeng do on his video game consoles.

Though as if she had some sort of premonition, like how she lied before, a sense of danger and fear soon entered her body. All it took was for Hyun-woo to confirm her fears that she turned around and ran. She couldn't confirm what happened behind her, but if she guessed, it would be that the bulb exploded into spores. Yelling and panic were going on behind her, but the fear dulled the sounds in her mind. Pure survival instinct was what controlled Jeoung-eun.

Adrenalin pumped through her body as she ran down the tunnels. She had managed to avoid whatever was going on and was about to make her escape out of the tunnels.

Spoiler: Actions

Escape against Death Spore attack: (73)
Escape out of the tunnel: (86)

Total Fatigue Consumption: 20

 

[ERode]

---

Sector: C- Rank Dungeon [The Fairy Woods]
Mentions: The Black Knight Misuteeku Firelie Mqueserasera Uasal

Spoiler: Stats

HP: 60/70
MP: 70/100
Fatigue: 50/100
Defense: 85
P. Attack: 110
M. Attack: 50
Accuracy: 1d100+55
Sense: 60
CS

---

You’re a fool, di xiong.

You’re too smart to waste it on your heart.

…

It had happened swiftly. No time for interjection, nor time for suggestions. No actions permitted, even though time had passed. Rui-Ling understood the dangers present, and he understood that so long as his mana persisted, he could afford to risk those dangers. So he remained close by the priest and the bard, a death-driving curiosity mixing with a simple, crystallizing belief.

Things were going to get bad. A rooted monstrosity infested this part of the tunnel. Its body, then would naturally stretch into the depths of the earth, into the ceiling suspended above them all. But no time for suggestions at this point. He had brought them to this ‘monster that acted like a heart’, and he had encouraged the D-ranks to do their part.

Spores sprayed. He sputtered, feeling virulent toxins seep into his lungs. His veins blackened, enlarged, down his throat. One hand jammed against his left eye while he viewed the world from the blurry right. His ears still functioned though, and the premonition manifested. A toxic cloud would eat away at you, but did not present any immediate threat. If the spores of a fairy ended with the end of a fight, so would the spores of a bulb-monster. The more important thing, however, was soil.

The creature was crumbling, releasing more and more spores. The ceiling was crumbling, dirt splattering down in clumps that grew and grew in size.

And the priest remained to finish the job.

Two fools surrounded by death-driving spores. Two?

Rui-Ling turned around and through his watery vision, saw one more. Three fools. An understanding then. Fuck he was doubly stupid today. If he was as smart as he wished himself to be, he would have struck the bulb first and triggered the EXP gain mechanics. If he was as smart as he ought to be, he would have prioritized a bag of 50 gold over the life of a reckless stranger. If he was smart, he would have swallowed his desires and continued with his actual career. Made two million dollars, invested it in a profitable ETF, then lived humbly while pursuing the passions that he’s now risking his life to maintain!

“Evdokia!”

The larger end of the Mantis Claws flew out from the spore cloud, chains rattling as it closed the distance. His chest heaved as he bent back from the second eruption of spores, using the priest’s own body as a shield. They were physiological reactions to minor pains, and even though bile blocked his throat and snot blocked his nostrils, Rui-Ling couldn’t care right now. The others had ran, but he still knew where the priest was, and with movements almost murderous in vigor, he wrapped the other side of the Mantis Claw around her neck, groping for its location by grasping onto her hair first. Just an E-Rank, after all. This wouldn’t kill her, and neither of them could afford to breath anymore regardless.

Now, they just had to move, to run. The chain would be their guide and Evdokia could pull at the priest to get her moving further. So he needed strength then. Strength and speed. Not just an attack or a teleportation, but rather…

An image.

Of his shadow rising, overlapping with his physical form. It was himself, this doppelganger of his. An existence that struck with the same force he did. An existence that could substitute his own. If so, why couldn’t it help him? Black tendrils that aligned with the twist of muscle and sinew. Magical force to augment physical force. Greater stability, like black roots twisting out into a wire-frame skeleton. And the carapace of darkness, the cowl of a second skin.

The tunnels continued to collapse. This was not a proper escape. But if he wanted to escape, he could have done it long ago.

He grasped the priest by the shoulder and half-pulled, half-stumbled towards where that path had been last. Grasping at straws. Invigorated by his fucking stupidity. Yet, in this moment, still fucking alive.

And if he died?

He had no family he cared for, no close friends he cared for, and no career that he was wholly invested in yet. If he were to stretch his wings in this nonsensical world, why not do so in the storm rather than the cage?

Well, that was about it, really.

He had the insight, but not the self-control, of a schemer.

So still a dumbass kid in the end.

Spoiler: Actions

Death Spores HP Loss: -10

'Attack' to send Mantis Claw to Evdokia.
'Attack' to wrap Mantis Claw around Priest.
'Doppelganger' experimentation.

Total Fatigue Consumption: 30
Total MP Consumption: 10

 

[Firelie]

Name: Evdokia Vladyslavivna Pashchenko
Rank: E
Class: Knight
Location: Fairy Woods, (C rank dungeon)
Tag: The Black Knight Misuteeku Mqueserasera ERode Uasal

Spoiler: Stats

HP: 80/90
MP: 100
Defense: 100
P. Attack: 115
M. Attack: 50
Accuracy: 1d100+65
Fatigue: 0/100

---

There were two parts to being a successful showman. First, charisma. Showmanship takes charm, the ability to drag attention and turn heads. Second? Execution. It took a lot to wow people these days with all the magic and monsters flying about. Being a performer in this day and age was unbelievably difficult. Evdokia Vladyslavivna Pashchenko has gone through hell and back just to give these people a good show. She performed acrobatic wonders hundreds of feet in the air with nothing but a rope no thicker than a few centimeters to keep her from a horrible fate. As a CHILD. She's lit herself on fire, nearly drowned, been mere millimeters from shooting a crossbow bolt into her brother and has been millimeters from ending in the same way. All live, sometimes in front of hundreds of people. She didn't have safety nets for her tricks most of the time either. Circus's were not well known in this day and age for silly parlor tricks and showmanship, and the Pashchenko family didn't raise no bitches.

This was nothing. Eva stood with the same bouncy enthusiasm and jubilant grin staring at the wall of death as she did hustling Clair just moments prior. With a snap of the fingers her shining armor reappeared and Eva sprung into action. Her eyes scanned the collapsing cave and caught Rui-ling's gaze. Their eyes only met for a brief moment but it was all Eva needed to know that they were on the exact same page. He didn't even need to call out to her like he did. Eva's nerve was stone as the cloud enveloped her. She watched her pink haired compatriot toss out his chain towards her through the cloud of poisonous death. With one hand Eva covered her mouth and with the other she reached a hand up and snatched the chain. Instantly she turned on a heel and began full sprint down the tunnel. Her arms screamed out as the chain went taut with extra weight but Eva ignored their cries, continuing forward as fast as her legs would allow. Upon her back, the core in Eva's shield turned and ticked for but a moment, then sputtered out and returned to a dormant state. Eva paid the device no mind as she sprinted down the collapsing tunnel, chain twirled firmly on her wrist.

ESCAPE: 93

 

[Uasal]

Name: Clair Jee
Rank: E
Class: Warrior
Location: Crumbling Tunnel
Tag: The Black Knight Firelie ERode

Spoiler: Stats

XP: 8/10
Title:
Level: 3/10
HP: 50 + 15 + 20 + 0 = 85 (down 20 + 10 spore damage this turn) = 55
MP: 100 + 0 + 0 + 0 + (Passive Gain From Level up 0) = 100
Defense: 50 + 15 + 15 + 0 = 80
P. Attack: 50 + 15 + 15 + 0 + (passive gain threshold = 4.5 (round up) ~ 5. 5*5 = 10) = 90
M. Attack: 50 + 0 + 0 + 0 + (passive gain threshold = 0) = 50
Accuracy: 1d100 + ( 20 + 25 + 0) = 45
Fatigue = 10
Blue are passive stats. Green are attribute points invested on level up. Purple are Weapon and Armour stats. Orange are Accessory stats. Red are minus effects such as damage or debuffs Yellow is the final total.

The sudden appearance of a new group completely confused and indeed surprised Clair. When she originally joined the group she did find it rather strange that they lacked the numbers for a group of ten but that being said it wasn't exactly unheard of for guilds to fudge their numbers on documents. Besides, looking at the current situation and how the teams were reacting to one another it didn't seem as though a split of the group had been planned. Had something happened before Clair had arrived? Her best guess was this new group was either a scouting party or somewhere along the line the group had been split by a battle prior to her arrival. Clair was, of course, wrong in this assumption but why would she ever think a high ranking guild would let low rankers run off on their own, the morality of such a thing alone would be highly frowned upon and the press would ruin them!

When the Black Knight later informed Clair that the group had split over mushrooms, her thoughts on the matter began to spiral. Mushrooms? Was that some sort of code? Apparently not! Hyun-woo made it very clear that this mushroom ordeal was in no way code for something when he stomped his way over to the new arrival and his translucent mushroom. To say Clair was bamboozled by this whole ordeal would be an understatement. In fact, the whole thing had caught her so off guard she didn't even notice Rui-Ling's use of the storage system. This was madness! Not only was the party leader a manchild with an ego but he had let rookies wander a dungeon alone over a MUSHROOM? What was next? Sacrificing civilians? Actually come to think of it, Clair never did get to ask the miners what had them so scared upon her arrival. Surely it was just the C rank beast right!

Taking a deep breath as the others decided to follow this new mystery group, Clair took a second to compose herself. Though her composure was quickly broken yet again by the sudden appearance of one 'Evdokia Vladyslavivna Pashchenko'. The sudden compliments and sales pitch in broken Korean threw Clair for another loop, at this point all Clair could do was laugh. And laugh she did, covering her mouth as she did so before returning the woman a soft smile "It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Evdokia Vladyslavivna Pashchenko. My name Is Clair Jee and it would be my pleasure to attend your show. Thank you for your kind words and even kinder actions". Clair spoke slowly to the woman as she took the card, doing her best to over pronounce her words so as to make things easier for the woman to understand.

After thanking the woman a violent screech could be heard echoing through the path a few of the members had just taken in search of a bulb. The screech was gut turning and Clair immediately brought her hands to her ears when she heard it, gritting her teeth tight. Soon after a pop-up window appeared and alerted Clair of two level-ups as well as attribute points she could spend as a result. How interesting but as Clair would soon find out, not anywhere near as interesting as what was about to unfold. The earth around her began to shake violently and the walls of the tunnel the group had just elected to take began to show signs of collapse, what was even more interesting was the sudden appearance of black spores. Black spores filled the tunnel and masked much of it from view. Just what was going on? Evdokia didn't hesitate to take off into the haze in search of the others but what was even more surprising to Clair was the fact that Hyun-woo was the first to escape.

Looking into the tunnel Clair was unsure of what exactly to do but time was of the essence and there were lives at stake. Flicking through her window Clair was quick to dash off after Evdokia. It didn't take her long to catch up but with such low visibility and the threat of these unknown spores, not to mention the collapse, Clair didn't want to waste any time getting back out. Taking a hold of the chain just above Evdokia's wrist Clair began to pull alongside the woman. The only question now was if their combined effort would be enough.

Spoiler: Actions

-Escape 1d100 for 76 = Success (+10 Fatigue)