"Mistress, where are we g-going?" the gnome asked Riva.
"Don't call me mistress! My name is Riva. Do you have a name I can call you by?" Riva returned.
The gnome had stopped stuttering as badly after the first day. He was walking behind her carrying the 'tamed' rocks in a flaxen shoulder bag.
Riva hadn't wanted to let him carry them, he was slow enough as it was. Not only was he smaller than Riva, but he would also need breaks for rest, food, and sleep. Yet the gnome had been insistent on carrying the rocks for her. So much so, that she gave up on telling him otherwise.
Riva used the time that the gnome slept and hunted for more life energy. She had used almost all of it for the taming, and not to forget some, for being 'alive'. After her nightly hunt, she now had a total of 21 points.
"My clan called m-me Troikin, mistress Riva!" Troikin's answer pulled her from her thoughts.
"Didn't I say to cut it out with the mistress, just Riva's fine." Riva said with some annoyance.
"A gnome as lowly as myself could not possibly call mistress Riva impolitely." he didn't stutter this time.
That gnome acts scared as though I was death incarnate but then he's super stubborn and insists on the small details.
"Listen to me, I accepted you, not as a follower but as a travel companion. I won't keep pushing you, it's your decision. Same with carrying the rocks. I'd be happier if you didn't, but I will honor your decisions, are we clear?"
"Yes, whatever you say, mistress." The gnome made a salute and replied dutifully.
Riva turned around mustered him and thought, Nope, you didn't get it, not one bit. But whatever. There's no rush. Maybe it was bad, that I played the villain back then, but what's done is done.
"Okay, so back to your earlier question, I am searching for a way to become stronger."
"Mistress Riva is s-so strong already!" the gnome interrupted her with unnecessary praise.
Riva chose to ignore it and continue. "Getting a weapon would be great, but right now, I'm looking for some low leveled monsters that I can fight to train myself. With the recent sweep, monsters have become almost extinct. You're the first one I encountered. The humans were incredibly thorough with their sweep. In wonder... is there a reason for it?"
"Then why doesn't m-mistress Riva enter a dungeon?" the gnome asked her.
"That's because I can't predict the strength… oh wait, do you know the dungeons of the region? I mean do you know about a dungeon ideal for training?... No wait, can you tell me where we are and what's the closest human settlement?" Riva changed her thoughts mid-sentence.
"We are in t-the western Tearwald forest. As for the c-closest town, it's Marinon, located four d-days to the south, it's the border town of the h-human territory, mistress Riva." The gnome answered "About the dungeons, the western d-dungeon is the closest. But my humble self would advise against a visit. They have helped us defend a-against the humans for centuries."
"They help you against the humans? I heard that it's not rare to find intelligent monsters but I always considered the ones in the dungeons to be part of it and incapable of independent thought? More so I never heard that they had friendly contact with the outside world?" Riva was extremely surprised by Troikin's information.
Dungeons were renown for being dangerous because the dungeon's residents would attack anyone on sight. If a dungeon break happened, it would result in a massacre. There were some cases where the dungeon monsters would abduct their targets instead. This was even worse since they would imprison them until they became part of the dungeon.
Yet humans were somewhat helpless against the dungeons as they proved to be indestructible. The monsters inside could be killed, but they would simply return after some time. In a way becoming par of a dungeon meant becoming immortal.
"Indeed mistress Riva, most of the dungeons, especially the newer ones behave hostile to any outsider. But the ones that have been around for a long time generally behave a lot more friendly. The western dungeon is a forest dungeon, the dryad boss is well known for her mild nature." Troikin explained further.
"I'm guessing hostility also depends on the monster type?" Riva inquired.
"That should be the case, mistress Riva." Troikin replied.
"Then where is that dungeon?" Riva asked.
"Mistress, I implore you, please don't head to the western dungeon, I owe them my life." Troikin pleaded.
"What do you take me for? I only want to take a look. I don't mean any harm! You can tell me without worry!" Riva rolled her eyes.
Troikin grimaced then hesitantly explained the way to get to the dungeon.
It wasn't that far and they arrived there around dusk.
Riva and Troikin had hidden and watched the dungeon entrance standing in a small grassy patch amidst tall oak trees. The entrance itself looked to be made of a circular network of roots.
There was a guard, a black monkey that was sitting atop a boar.
"Hey Troikin, why are we hiding? Don't you know these guys? Can't we walk up to them and you introduce me?" Riva whispered to the gnome next to her.
"I-I-I w-w-will t-try." his stutter was worse. "P-please d-d-don't h-harm t-them."
"I promise. No need to worry. Do you want to go alone at first? That way you can introduce me before I come over." Riva suggested as she could see the gnome's fear.
"A-alright." Troikin agreed and made his way towards the dungeon gate.
Riva watched the gnome talk to the monkey, then she saw the monkey leave his mount and head into the gate together with Troikin.
Riva played with the 'tamed' stones which Troikin left behind.
┌─────────────────────────────── ─ ─
│ Name: Rocky 1
│ Race: Stone
│ Evolution Stage: Small Stone
├─────────────────────────────── ─ ─
│ Status
│ Tamed: Bound to Riva
│ Status Enhancement: Attack
├─────────────────────────────── ─ ─
│ Strength: Better than your average Rock
│ Endurance: Rock Solid
│ Speed: The Speed of a Rock
│ Physical Defense: Rock Solid
├─────────────────────────────── ─ ─
│ Skills:
│ Racial: Solid Defense
└─────────────────────────────── ─ ─
Riva eyed the status information of her newest team additions. The other two stones were the same except they were called 'Rocky 2' and 'Rocky 3'.
The status isn't very useful. It basically says 'it's a rock, what did you expect?'. Apparently the taming enhanced its attack.
The system said that taming might increase the stats of both parties. Yet there is no change to my own status. Maybe a stone is simply too weak?
It would have been cool if I could have gotten a rock-solid defense. Riva smiled at the thought.
She could somewhat feel the rune mark on the stone and its connection to her. Through it, she would have normally been able to give commands to the tamed subject and feel its consciousness to some degree.
The stone simply felt empty. There was nothing there, stones were incapable of thought, obviously. Maybe there was a tiny bit of submission, but that should be her wishful thinking.
She stuffed the stones back into the bag and wore it over her shoulder, keeping one to play with in her hand while she waited for Troikin's return. It was certainly taking him a long time.
Finally, something exited the gate, it was Troikin and… a monster, its body entirely wooden, a somewhat humanoid shape, with the face of a woman.
Riva's eyes grew wide.
Impossible! That's… the dungeon's boss!