Jace stood before the entrance to the dungeon both he and Weira armed with their chosen weapons. A shortsword and a round wooden shield reinforced with metal for him and a halberd for Weira. Light leather armour for both. He looked at the entrance and swiveled his gaze to Gran.
"So what kind of monsters are in this dungeon?"
She looked at him and smirked, "I'm not telling you, you'll just have to adapt."
Weira simply shrugged and started walking into the dungeon, Jace sighed and followed with Gran trailing along behind them. He rolled his shoulder and kept his shield in front of him as he took the lead. Weira was slightly to the right and behind him, the halberd was a long weapon so even if he was engaged in combat in front of her she could reach over and attack whatever he was fighting. Although the hall was wide enough for them to stand side by side, he thought this was a better option.
As he warily walked deeper in he kept his eyes peeled till he spotted one of the monsters. It was a goblin, except it wasn't. It had scales for some reason, but it was small and green and had elven like ears and lots of pointed teeth.
The creature wielded a rusty sword of sorts, it saw him, released an ear piercing screech and charged. It swung its blade, Jace deflected it with his shield then rammed the other edge into its throat, a quick follow up stab and it was dead. He glanced at the creature and stabbed it again to make sure it was dead. It wasn't his first kill, He'd seen battle back home so killing something so decidedly unhuman didn't bother him in the slightest. What did bother him was how easy it had been. He glanced at the pop-up message.
[You killed Gruffling lvl 8 and received 89 experience.]
Jace glanced at Gran and then at Weira, He shrugged at her ,rolled his shoulder and shield and continued. After about another minute he ran into two of the Grufflings at once. He let them charge him and this time focused on pure defence, keeping their weapons at bay with his shield and sword. After a few hits a halberd descended to his right and cleaved into the head of one of them, the other Gruffling flinched and he used the opportunity for a quick stab to its throat.
He received another message for killing two of the things, both of them level eight like the other. As they headed deeper they ran into a few solo Grufflings and a pair of them here and there, after another twenty or so minutes they finally ran into a larger group. Five of them were sitting around a campfire. The cavern they were in was wider than the hallway, the hallway wasn't wide enough to let more than three of them through side-by-side.
Jace tapped his shield against the wall to catch their attention and then retreated to hold a spot just beyond the entrance. The creatures snarled something in their odd language and charged, one of the things threw a spear at him which he caught on his shield. He wasn't willing to sidestep it with people behind me. He quickly sheathed his sword and yanked out the spear then tossed it at the oncoming grufflings, He hit one in the stomach and watched it fall.
Jace quickly unsheathed his sword again and prepared for a fight. Two of them swung at nearly the same time, he blocked both swings with his shield, a few splinters breaking of as the metal crashed into the reinforced wood. Another swung at him with a rusty axe from the side, he guided the strike up and away from him with his sword. A halberd swung down to his left ending the life of one of the creatures. It was now three on one. One of the Grufflings overswung and a quick slice across its legs put it out of the fight. The halberd shot forward and the tip pierced the chest of another, he pushed the last one to the ground with his shield and pierced its skull with his sword. Weira walked up next to him and finished off the wounded Gruffling.
Jace looked around the cavern before nodding to himself.
"I think we're getting the hang of this, but don't let your guard down. Arrogance is the mother of all fuck-ups."
Gran Pov
I watched as the two of them tore through the Grufflings. I had long since known they were ready and they were proving it before my eyes. It had always pained me that I was unable to fix Weira's voice. Jace's idea may have merit and allow her to gain strength without the crutch of the system. It had been nearly too late for me to realise the weakness of skills. Especially active ones, still the path of mastery was one of thorns.
Jace spoke up, calling arrogance the mother of all fuck-ups. The saying made me smile. How right he was, even if it was uncouthly worded. The young man had come out of nowhere, from the unsettled eastern forest. To my knowledge nothing was settled further east than our little village ,yet that's where he suddenly appeared from. Without levels, not speaking our language. A stranger in all aspects. Yet he took to our ways like a fish to water. He learned the language within a month. He wasn't fluent by then by all means, but he could hold a conversation.
Then his fighting, I had been training Weira for years. Yet he could hold his own against her without even a single rank in mastery. I shook my head, he truly came from somewhere far away. A world without levels if I guessed correctly. I had heard of other worlds before, but none like that. I watched him smash his shield and push down another of the Grufflings. No hesitation at all, sometimes he would knock the first Gruffling down without finishing it of then proceed to the next one. Complete faith in Weira, my eyes glimmered as I saw the pride and joy in Weira.
Not that the daft boy would notice, men never noticed these things. He had complete faith in someone without a class or even a single level. This was something unthinkable to all. He was the first who did not treat her like a handicap. Even I, to my shame, have at times been unable to hide the pity I had for the girl. Yet the gods have dropped us a man who while so similar to us is so very strange.
They took down another group of three grufflings with ease. I shook my head, the first layer would be no challenge to them. Even the Greater Gruffling, the layer boss, was not their match. I had long since known they were ready, but had delayed as much as I could. Prepare them a bit longer, keep them near me for a little longer… I hate to feel like an old woman but the two felt like my own children. I had never been able to have my own, and because of my… reputation back in the kingdoms, finding a lover had been hard. Not since that crazy lumberjack who had punched the local lord for calling me a hag.
I chuckled at the memory, that bloody insane man. Strong as an ox, yet he died like any other. Of old age while I kept standing. My strength was unknown to any in the village, they fought I was simply an old retired adventurer, well they weren't exactly wrong. I was one, about two-thousand years ago. Unlocking your vitality stat would do that to you, now I was looking at the those who would walk a similar path. Yet they stepped on it so much earlier than I had done.
The 7th Tier Class Holder, The Slow March of Death, Trishla Hillmorr. Stood and watched her students blaze their way through the dungeon.
Weira POV
I kept pace behind Jace, he kept eyeing every shadow as if he expected something to pop out from them. He was wary, cautious. All it did was make me feel even more at ease, Gran at my back and Jace in front. If anything even managed to get to me I would die from shock before they could attack. Jace was such a strange man, a good one by any stretch. Helping kids, petting any dog he could find, spending his paycheck on others. Terrible money management honestly and a true scatterbrain to match.
In fact after only the second month I'd had enough of the way he used money and told him to give me two-thirds of his money. Which I kept and managed for him. Idiot didn't even hesitate, trusted me with his money just like that. He pushed down yet another gruffling without finishing it off, immediately moving on to the next. I felt a smile try to make its way to my lips but kept my face straight. The wonderful idiot didn't even think for moment I wouldn't have his back. I have no idea what I did to earn this much trust. Honestly it's probably just his weird way of thinking that makes it possible.
I speared the gruffling and stepped back behind him. Honestly I'd expected a love to develop here, in swoops a guy out of nowhere. Changes my life, trusts me with his money and his life. Takes a girl like me on a grand adventure and tells her everything others told her was impossible was but a mere inconvenience. I've read romantic stories you know, this is where the girl falls in love with the guy, gets close to him and then gets killed so he can go on a vengeance killing spree.
I watched him cut down another two grufflings. I don't think he needs vengeance to go on a killing spree though, I smirked. But seriously I don't love him, not romantically at least. I'm also sure that he doesn't love me. I wonder if this is what siblings feel like, Trishla sure feels like a mother. A strict, scarily strong, but secretly caring mother.
I was honestly bored, the dungeon wasn't nearly as hard as I had expected it to be. The hardest fight we had so far was that group of five. They had been dismantled with ease so these smaller groups were a cakewalk as Jace called it. I have no clue what walking on cakes has to do with anything but stick around him for long enough and you start picking things up. So I had a bit of a strange sibling now, I could live with that, gladly even. We took down yet another small patrol of grufflings but this time I saw good news on the horizon. The main cave, it was time for the boss fight and deities above was I looking forward to it!