At first, I tried to ignore it, but it grew louder and louder. Shouting, banging, yelling, and definitely some cursing. Whatever was going on down there was bad, or maybe it was normal and I just hadn't seen it yet. Whatever the case, it was best if I just stay up here. Or so I should have done, but I was out the door and down the stairs in seconds.
The room was in chaos, but there wasn't as much fighting as I had expected from the noise. Rather, there were only two people fighting. Stoll, and another taller man who looked like he could be his brother. Around them was a circle of people as though this was a playground fight.
"This was never yours to take!" The larger man shouted, stepping forward and aiming a strike at Stols head. Stol dodged and retaliated with a punch to the other man's gut. However, it didn't do nearly as much damage as I expected which meant his constitution was high or he was using some sort of ability that increased his resistance to physical attacks. I'd read about them and there were even a few basic ability tokens for sale in the guild store.
"Ma chose me," Stol said, his voice still as dry as ever, but his eyes were alight. He looked pissed.
"Liar." The other man barreled forward, but Stol sidestepped, and tripped him on a foot. He crashed to the ground but was back up a moment later. He glared at Stol, but then a nasty grin appeared on his face. Two other men stepped into the ring, one brandishing a knife while the other had a club.
Stoll frowned slightly, the first expression I'd ever seen on his face. I also frowned and looked around, waiting for somebody to stop this or at least jump in to help Stoll, but nobody did. They seemed reluctant. The middle-aged barmaid, Susa, looked terrified and was shaking a man next to her who looked equally as scared.
Stoll was surrounded by all three, and I doubted he'd live through this. I should have just walked away, but if I did, then he would die, and then I'd have to find another inn. I couldn't let that happen. Yes, it was only because I didn't want to find another Inn.
I decided not to target the larger man and instead went for the dagger guy. I unsheathed my sword and struck the back of his head with the pommel, holding nothing back. He dropped, and the other two stared in shock as I raised my sword in their direction.
The club took a few steps back until he was behind the larger man who glared at me. "Who the fuck are you?"
I didn't respond which only pissed him off further, but he was an idiot. Stoll hadn't been idle. I saw a slight distortion appear around his fist just before he struck he charged forward and hit the larger man in the chest. Unlike before, the larger man didn't just shrug this off. He hit the floor and let out a wheeze. I glanced at the club guy who took one look at the situation and decided to run.
The crowd has stopped shouting the moment I joined and now were completely silent. Stoll looked around with a frown on his face. "Seven years I've run this Inn, and let the lot of you off with lower prices, and looked the other way when guards came asking, and in return, you do nothing, hmm? Well, fine, prices are up, and any fool or half-wit thinking he can hide out here better find someplace else."
With that said, he waved a hand and some men began to sort out the room. I guessed they were his workers and honestly it was best they hadn't joined. They didn't look like fighters at all. He walked over to me and gave a clap on the back. "Thank you."
I just smiled. "I didn't want to find another inn."
"Well, ye won't need to. You can spend as long as you want here."
"Thank you," I said. "What was all that about?"
He made that as though he'd bitten into something sour which for him was a grand expression considering his face was stone most of the time. "He's my half-brother. We have the ma… She was… a working woman."
"Oh, and he fought you why?"
"Ma opened up this Inn when she saved enough money, left bed work behind and when she passed, she left it to me. He was away at the time, a soldier for border skirmishes past the mountains. When he came back he expected to inherit and live in retirement easily."
"And instead found you," I said. "Did your mother not leave a will?"
"She did, but he accused me of writing it." He sighed. "I don't know what to do with 'im. I never thought he'd tried and knife me. Glad ma ain't here to see this. It's a shame we could have run it together. Stoll's and Samuel's Swing."
I decided it was best to leave as it looked like he was reminiscing and I didn't need to be hearing this. "I'll see you later Stoll." I left after he nodded goodbye. A few of the patrons shot me sour looks to which I stopped and just stared. They went on their way. I was a lot more confident about handling myself against the average person. I didn't have much to fear from them. It was people like the arrogant douchebag that were the problem.
I fell asleep relatively quickly, but not before Susa, the middle-aged barmaid came up to thank me personally. She brushed a hand against my arm not subtly, and for a second I considered what to do. She was pretty in the girl next door sort of way and only looked about thirty. Unlike the usual medieval peasant back on the earth, there were all sorts of cheap alchemy products to main decent health which was a big part of beauty.
In the end, I shrugged and had a rather pleasurable night. It was no strings attached and she certainly didn't complain. It was actually quite a surprise since my increased constipation seemed to have affected the lower area in certain ways, but none bad. The next day I worried since we hadn't used a condom but she laughed at my concerns and took what amounted to a day-after pill. That was a relief. I wasn't ready to be a father, not with a one-night stand.
After that, I tried out one more boost attempt just out of curiosity to see if I'd get another point. This time I hurt far less and I could actually move, though not easily. Afterward, I was disappointed to see I hadn't even received a single point. However, that didn't mean I couldn't. I did it again, and afterward, I did get a single-point increase. It was probably the last using this method at least not without doing it multiple times for a single point and it would keep increasing until the costs mounted.
I still had other things I wanted to buy so I couldn't just go around spending all my money. I headed out to the dungeon and halfway there, I saw a few familiar faces.
"Eloria?"
The healer turned. "Hmm? Oh, Jericho… In good health I see."
"Thanks to you," I said, jogging up to them. I greeted the others, and we began talking about the dungeon, although first I had to dodge questions from Rashid who wanted to know the details of the skill I'd used. Luckily Tenna shot him down. "It's rude to ask a person about their abilities, Rashid. Only ask if you need to know, not want to know."
The orc grumbled, but there were no more questions.
"Are you headed back to the first floor?" I asked.
Lex shook his head. "Off to the second. We wanna take down one of the bosses."
"Bosses. There's more than one on the second floor?" I knew it could happen, but the book I'd read had said it was rare on higher floors. There were mini-bosses. Maybe that's what they meant. "You mean mini bosses?"
"No, this dungeon's second floor is unique," He said. "There are two mud ogre bosses, and their drops are ok, but the dungeon reward is usually very good for a second floor. We got a large club made from its bones which sold well. Troll bones are very strong and durable."
"What normal mobs are on the second floor?"
"Mobs?" Eloria asked. "Never heard them called that, but… it sounds good. Mobs."
"Mud crabs, more mud goblins though in larger groups, and the extra large versions of the moles on the first floor, those these hunt in packs of two, and far less aggressive, but more cunning. They like to set small pitfall traps to trip players and then ambush them."
Tenna winced, and I wondered if she'd had a ran in with them. "Most deaths are on the second floor. The jump in danger is considerable, more so than the dungeon in home city."
Note to self, no going down there until I had at least over ten in all physical stats, some armor, and preferably an actual honest to god ability I could use without such severe backlash. Boost was very powerful, but the drop was still too bad to use the ability in a combat environment like a dungeon. Maybe if I got an invisibility ability, then I could use it, and then go invisible before it ran out? That sounded ok, but I wanted to see more abilities. So far I hadn't scoped out the market for them and even if I wanted to buy one, I didn't have enough money nor was I an adventurer. They weren't the only ones that sold them, but they basically had a monopoly.
"Do you guys mind if I tag along?" It was a question I had been nervous to ask, but there was no harm. "It's not important, but I can hold my own as you've seen."
The group looked at each other. "What role do you play."
I raised an eyebrow. "Role as in frontline fighter, support, healer, mage. That sort of stuff?"
Eloria nodded. It was clear she was the leader of the group.
"Well, I can be a frontline fighter or a semi-tank?"
"What's your constitution?" Rashid asked. He was clearly the tank while Lex was a frontline fighter with Tenna as an archer with a crossbow, and Eloria as support. Maybe she also had a few attack spells.
"21."
Lex whistled. "Not bad at all, almost as much as this idiot."
I looked at Rahid who also seemed shocked. "23."
"And your other attributes?"
This was where I needed to fib a little. "Average."
"I say yes," Rashid said. "I could do with a hand. It's not fun taking all the hits, but if he can use that sword and help, I'll take it."
"He also has that ability which can help in a pinch," Tenna added.
"Then you're in," Eloria said, her eyes turning sharp. "But I lead this party and I expect you to listen. I won't command you as some soldier, but—"
I raised a hand. "You saved my life, you won't get any trouble from me."
Together we headed toward the dungeon and the second floor.