They reached the chest room that had two chests, and a third one that was inching out of the room. It froze the moment they entered the room.
"..." (Moving Chest)
"..." (Mason and friends)
The chest pretended they weren't there and continued sneaking out.
"We can see you…" Mason awkwardly muttered.
It turned around, and saw two humans with swords and one with a spear. Without hesitation, it bravely stepped forward and begged for mercy.
The sight of a wooden chest trying to prostrate itself was quite the sight, and the chest seemed to realise it. It shrunk as black fur grew over its body and looked at them with pitiful eyes.
"Meow?"
"Meow what?"
That is strange. If a mimic chooses to morph into a monster, it wouldn't be able to recreate it's noises so easily. Besides, how would a mimic know what a cat is?
[World Book Lv. 1]
[Character Sheet]
Name: Nil
Race/Gender: Cat (Mutated), Male
Class: Nil
Sponsor:
Vestige:
Personal Attribute: Devourer(Heroic), Silent Shadow(Rare)
Unique Traits: Curious, Adorable, Unreliable
Stats: Strength G(12), Agility G(24), Vitality G(10), Intelligence G(14), Will G(13), Charisma G(16)
General Skills- Sneak Lv. 1
Specialisation Skills- Ambush Lv. 1, Hex Lv. 1
Exclusive Skill: Devour Lv. 2, Shadow Stealth Lv. 1, Mimic Matter Lv. 5
Unique Skills- Bad Fortune, Nine Lives
Class Skills- Nil
[Description: A common beast that gained sentience and supernatural might through eating a mimic after wandering into the dungeon. Has the qualifications to become a named monster.]
"Huh…"
Mason walked towards it and petted it. He always liked cats, and this curious specimen was too good to pass up.
("If I remember correctly...there are two ways to tame a monster.")
To tame a monster, a contract circle was required. One could either coerce the monster into signing the contract, or win its favour. The first method was quick and easy, but the second one was the best long term. A coerced monster will not wholeheartedly help it's master, and has a much higher chance of breaking the contract to escape or betray its previous master.
He pulled out a ham and cheese sandwich, and the cat pounced on it, wolfing it down. He didn't have to worry about it's stomach, magical beasts were quite hardy.
[Writer's POV Lv. 1]
[The Mutated Cat's favourability increase]
[The Mutated Cat is still hungry]
("Can't believe the first time I truly use this Vestige is for a cat...")
He unwrapped another sandwich. A boy in all black feeding a black cat in a graveyard was fairly creepy, but Keith and Haley kept their mouths shut.
Mason scratched the cat's ears, looking at the notifications before him.
[The Mutated Cat will follow you around as long as it's fed. It will not risk it's life for you, nor will it sign a contract until your affinity with it is high enough]
The black cat leapt onto his shoulder and they opened the other two chests. A F Rank Lightning Talisman and G ranked wizard robes, which went to Haley.
In the last room, an entire squad of undead were waiting for them. Keith charged at them while Haley fired Magic Missiles at the nearest target. Mason stood at the side and tied up the undead threatening Keith with [Web Spinning Arts] but everything went well. Three more chests were opened, with an E rank Exorcism Talisman, 5 bottles of Holy Water and a Cultivation Manual with the title [Resentful Spirit] inside.
In front of the Boss Room, Mason handed two bottles of Holy Water to Keith and Haley, "Throw these at the boss."
"How do we know which one is the boss?"
"The big one."
He opened the door.
[The Boss "Greater Ghast" has noticed you]
["Ghoul" has noticed you]
["Guard Ghoul" has noticed you]
["Guard Ghoul" has noticed you]
...
["Ghast" has noticed you]
A stream of notifications from [Writer's POV] swarmed Mason. He pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket and it lit up, filling the room with holy light.
The ghouls screamed in fear, covering their eyes and cowering on the floor.
"Kill the minions!" Mason leapt forward, chopping those he passed by into pieces. The ghouls have a paralyzing claw attack, and the Ghasts were simply stronger Ghouls. In groups, they were fatal as a scratch would spell the end of you, being ripped to shreds by those flesh eating monsters.
They managed to finish off most of the ghouls by the time the boss recovered. 4 other ghouls remained.
"You guys fight the small ones, I'll kill the boss. Careful, their claws can paralyze you."
[Inner Force Release]
[Lone Wolf]
[Tactical Discipline]
He pulled out the flame talisman, sending a burst of fire in the ghast's face. While it was blinded, Mason stepped forward and stabbed repeatedly.
*Chik Chik Chik Chik*
The boss roared in pain, sweeping his arm to push Mason back, who responded by throwing webs all over the boss and hurled his only bottle of Holy Water. A hissing sound, similar to the sound of acid corroding metal could be heard. Mason pushed more of his Inner Force into his weapon before slashing at the ghouls neck.
*Crunch*
The sword bit deeply into it's flesh, but dismembering a boss monster was easier said than done. The ghast roared again.
["Greater Ghoul" uses "Death Howling"! An instinctive fear of death awakens!]
[Fourth Wall Lv. 1 nullifies the mental debuff]
Mason shrugged it off, but Haley and Keith were less lucky. The two remaining ghouls they were pushing back started to gain the advantage as their spirit wavered.
Mason turned and hurled his Tang Blade and dagger at the ghouls. They ghouls went down, but he ended up turning his back to the boss. Mason quickly channeled the rest of his Inner force to his back to form a barrier.
The claw shredded through the layer of Inner Force and slammed Mason into the ground, the force passing through his armor to crush his insides.
"No!"
His friends threw the four bottles of Holy Water, forcing the boss to block with his arms. Mason followed up with the Lightning Talisman, sending a crackling tendril of lightning at the ghoul. Light, Fire and lightning were the elements most effective against the undead.
Mason pulled out his [Raw Monster Fluid (F, Poison, Elixir)] and drank it. It quickly started to replenish his health, stamina and Mana and he sat down, focusing on using his Inner Force to recover faster.
Haley fired Magic Missiles to stall, but they barely fazed the ghoul who swatted them away with his arms.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
[Taunt Lv. 1]
For a moment, the boss turned it's head towards Keith, losing sight of Haley. A much more lethal Magic Arrow dug into its neck.
"Kuaaaannng!" It stomped on the ground, sending a spray of dirt into the air.
[Hex Lv. 1]
The ghast slipped and smashed it's nose into the ground.
[Create Traps Lv. 2]
[Web Spinning Arts Lv. 1]
Dozens of thin white threads enhanced with inner force wrapped around its body, holding it in place. Mason leapt up, skewering the ghoul's heart with his sword with his whole body weight.
[You have slain a G-Tier Monster!]
[After allocation by contribution, 350 Coins have been awarded]
[7 Normal Tickets have been awarded as compensation]
[Congratulations! You cleared this scenario!]
[Assessing your performance...Gold Clear!]
[You have received E Rank accessory "Bone Earring" (like one earring), 300 Coins and 4 SPECIAL tickets]
[Raw Monster Fluid (F, Undead, Body Forging)]
[G-Tier Undead Monster Core]
"Good." Mason lifted up the Monster Core, inspecting it's grey crystalline appearance. The field dungeon faded away around him, and they reappeared in the school.
"Wow, that was hard, wasn't it?" He smiled refreshingly at his companions.
"Let's never do that again."
Apart from the part where Mason got smacked by the boss, that was quite uneventful. At the very least, his teammates were now learning how to fight.
As they hurried back into the school, a notification appeared in front of them.
[Congratulations! You cleared this scenario!]
[Assessing your performance...Gold Clear!]
[You have received 100 Coins, a G rank Stamina Potion and 10 Normal Tickets]
The scenery around them shifted, and they appeared in the school hall. All the other students also reappeared here, with around 10% of them missing. One of the statues opened its mouth.
[Congratulations on surviving. From now, 1 hour of rest shall be given before the next quest]
[Also, you can now use your Coins and Tickets to use our lucky draw machines]
Many Gacha machines appeared around the school hall, but instead of a handle to turn they have a screen.
[The machines will still be here after the 1 hour, so take your time]
The statue fell silent, and students immediately started chattering.
"Hey, what's in those Gacha machines?"
"Do you think we could pry it open?"
"I would rather save my Coins…"
A couple boys tried to dismantle and break one of the machines, but even with Skills and Weapons nothing happened.
[Fade Away Lv. 1]
Mason approached one of the machines. On the screen it had several different grayed out buttons.
[1 Coin: Basic items, daily necessities, food, junk, medical supplies]
[5 Coins: Maps, camping supplies, military rations, combat stimulants]
[10 Coins: Herbal remedies, Non-magical weapons and armor, ammunition box]
[50 Coins: G rank consumables, Magical Stimulants]
[100 Coins: G Rank Magical Items, F rank consumables, Random Coin Box]
[200 Coins: F rank Magical Items, General Skills, Spell Balls]
[500 Coins: SPECIAL]
He took stock of his wallet.
[Coins: 4530]
[Points: 20]
[Tickets: 7 SPECIAL, 17 Normal]
The item draws were really random. Bear traps and wheels of cheese appeared, and someone even got a keg of wine. He put in a normal ticket, and all buttons but the SPECIAL one lit up.
("Right, the normal ticket paid for everything but the SPECIAL draw.")
Obviously, he picked the 200 Coin draw.
The draws results were:
[Forage Lv. 1]
[Spell Ball (Acid Rain)]
[Spell Ball (Thunder Bomb)]
[Spell Ball (Hailstorm)]
[Flame Blade (F)]
[Spell Ball (Mesmerizing Patterns)]
[Spell Ball (Blood Curse)]
[Spell Ball (Dark Cloud)]
[Spell Ball (Firebomb)]
[Spell Ball (Sinkhole)]
[Hallucination Lv. 1]
[Crystal Spell Spear (F)]
[Repair Lv. 1]
[Spell Ball (Sleep Cloud)]
[Spiked Shield (F)]
[Flinch Lv. 1]
[Spell Ball (Viral Plague)]
He then spun the SPECIAL draw:
[Demon Sealing Mirror]
[Critical Outburst Pill]
[False Mind Talisman]
[Brightmoon Visualisation Manual]
[Thousand Pound Sword Technique]
[Iron Guardian Puppet]
[Myriad Beast King Manual]
It was good, but not everything he wanted. He had no choice but to pour Coins in.
[Chimera Summoning Scroll]
[Warp Scroll]
[Iron Cloth Body Forging Manual]
[Eight Steps Flying Smoke]
("Yes! Finally")
He used almost half his Coins, but it was worth it. He passed the [Thousand Pound Sword Technique], [Iron Cloth Body Forging Manual] and [Spiked Shield (F)] to Keith while [Brightmoon Visualisation Manual] and [Crystal Spell Spear (F)] went to Haley.
He wasted no time in pulling out the two monster cores. First, he grabbed the Spider's Core and moved his Inner Force to absorb it. He then directed all the energy into the faint green line within himself. The line became more solid and longer, winding around into a spiral as it grew. By the time the core was consumed, it was only half done.
He then used the undead core to complete the [Jade Spiral]. Immediately he could feel the changes. The Inner Force within him flowed quickly, and had a strong rotational force, even the air around him shifted faintly in a circular breeze.
After the [Jade Spiral] was formed, he could choose to practice the next chapter, [Maelstrom Polarity], but he decided against it. Being too hasty would mean a weak foundation, and other things were more important.
He started to revolve Inner Force around the spiral, gradually picking up speed while compressing the energy into a small orb within the spiral. This was a [Jade Seed], composed of compressed Mana, Life Force and Mental Energy. It could be ignited to boost your stats, or powerful of a skill. Igniting it shrinks the seed, while compressing energy enlarges it. He refined the [Jade Seed] for a little while longer before reading through [Eight Steps Flying Smoke]. It was a footwork technique focused on lightness and evasion.
He started practicing it, moving back and forth. If it weren't for [Fade Away], everyone would think he's a weirdo.