LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 9: Style
Time left until monsters respawn: 8 hours, 15 minutes.
We've all changed into clothes from the clothes dunes now. We took the opportunity to grab the higher end Get! outfits and we all look pretty stylish as we stand at the stairs down into the 3rd floor.
I'm wearing skinny black jeans and a blue and white t-shirt that says “Giant Robot” in a recognizable font. And yes, I can pull off skinny jeans. Jose has a red plaid button down over a white undershirt and baggy blue jeans. Brian got some of the more expensive exercise clothes in electric yellow, which he hopes will make him be faster. They will not. Nat looks rad as hell in a black leather jacket over a shirt that replicates the label of a whiskey bottle. She's got black leggings under a loose skirt. We think she's getting ready to be photographed when we get out of here. Theo has just picked up a new red polo shirt and khakis. Still the company man, despite the company currently being occupied by monsters.
Also I got my eyepatch back. Apparently you drop dungeon related items when you die. That's our working theory since we don't lose our clothes when we respawn.
The gun came from the snake. It's a large silver revolver. I don't know why the snake dropped it until Jose tells me the gun type. It's a Colt Python. I groan. This dungeon likes puns? We're fucked.
Haha, actually though giving Corporal Amarillo a gun means the dungeon basically wants us to waltz through the rest.
The big boss snek also dropped its fangs as short swords, about 300 dollars in Sacagaweas, and all the rattles that made up its tail. Jose has saved the best for last though.
He hands me a knife. An M3 Fighting Knife, to be exact. A 6.75 inch blade used by our predecessors, the Rangers of WW2. It has a mongoose engraved into the side of the blade. “Dug through the big hill of socks and found a cardboard box with that inside,” Jose tells me.
Holding the knife I feel several things at once. I firstly feel complete, whole. A knife helped get us through the cave. I'm more familiar with knife fighting than shooting a gun at this point, so this is perfect. But I also feel Jose's concern for me. He dug through a big pile of socks, found an old knife, and knew I'd want it. What a friend. Lastly I felt something more from the knife itself. I took a few practice stabs with it and found my movements fast. Faster than I ever was before.
“Is this thing enchanted?” I ask, and to confirm I open my menu and check my status.
Specialist Jun Kyung Han
Synergist Level 8
Mage level 1
Caster level 3
Scout level 1
Unassigned levels: 3
Physical Attributes
Strength 12
Dexterity 42 (+5 from M3 Mongoose)
Agility 22 (+5 from M3 Mongoose)
Toughness 14
Constitution 12
Mental Attributes
Intelligence 36
Memory 18
Wisdom 5
Charisma 6
Reflexes 43 (+5 from M3 Mongoose)
Etheric Attributes
Ki 1
Spirit 0
Faith 0
Arcana 10
Luck 1
“Wow this thing gives me extra Dexterity, Agility and Reflexes. Oh and I have THREE LEVEL UPS.” I'm increasingly excited about these developments. “Sorry I'm gonna need a bit to sort the levels out.” Everyone groans but I don't care. I take a seat on some hot pants and dig through menus.
The classes I qualify for:
1st Step classes: Mage, Fighter, Rogue, Engineer.
2nd Step classes: Scout, Plotter, Tinkerer, inventor, Grenadier, Gunner, Caster. Wizard. Archer, Killer, Thief, Swashbuckler, Tactician, Imbuer
3rd Step classes: Bomb Maker, Sharpshooter, Rake, Strategist
What's a Rake?
Rake
Take Swashbuckling, make it more aggressive and be more of a dick about it. Use melee and ranged weapons.
A third step class. Three subclasses. Five class evolutions.
Gain 3 Dexterity, 3 Agility, 3 Reflexes and 1 Ki upon choosing this class. One basic, one advanced and one expert dueling techniques will be granted to you upon choosing this class.
Uses Ki, Dexterity, Agility and Reflexes.
Upon level up an additional basic, advanced or expert dueling technique will be granted until all expert and lower dueling techniques are granted. Each level you gain 2 Dexterity, 2 Agility, 1 Ki and 5 free points.
Woah, that sounds great. I wonder what the subclasses are.
Rake Subclasses
Dastardly - Gain additional damage on sneak attacks, based on your Charisma.
Hedge - Utilize attack spells instead of melee or ranged weapons when using melee or ranged techniques, respectively.
Windy - Gain mobility based wind magic each level.
Oh, yeah, Hedge Rake sounds awesome, but I peruse the other options as well. Now that I know from Nat and Jose that higher step classes give better bonuses and more stats, I'm shooting for those. I think Bomb Maker requires materials to actually make bombs, so I skip that. I'll look at Sharpshooter and Strategist.
Sharpshooter
Use any ranged weapon to perfect not just killing shots, but impossible shots.
A third step class. Three subclasses. Seven class evolutions.
Gain 3 Dexterity, 3 Reflexes and 4 Ki upon choosing this class. One basic, one advanced and one expert shooting technique will be granted to you upon choosing this class.
Uses Ki, Dexterity and Reflexes.
Upon level up an additional basic, advanced or expert shooting technique will be granted until all expert and lower shooting techniques are granted. Each level you gain 2 Dexterity, 2 Reflexes, 1 Ki and 5 free points.
Subclasses
Trick Shooting - Your shots have a chance to ricochet based on your Luck. If your Luck is high enough you'll never miss.
Eagle Eyed - Your vision greatly enhances. Night vision is a given.
Show Off - Bullets can't do that! Now they can. Use bullets to push, pull, and do other physics defying tasks.
Neat. But that's Jose's class and I'm not the type of guy who'd steal someone else's thunder by taking the same class as them.
Strategist
Put even more troops under your auspice and keep them safe while also keeping them drenched in their enemy's blood.
A third step class. Three subclasses. 9 class evolutions.
Gain 3 Intelligence, 2 Reflexes and 5 Spirit upon choosing this class. Three expert command techniques will be granted to you upon choosing this class.
Uses Intelligence, Reflexes and Spirit.
Upon level up an additional basic, advanced or expert command technique will be granted until all expert and lower command techniques are granted. Each level you gain 2 Intelligence, 1 Reflexes, 2 Ki and 5 free points.
Subclasses
Combat - Your ability to lead troops develops further. Gain +25% effectiveness of your combat related command techniques.
Logistics - Your effectiveness is determined by supply lines. Your command technique Ki point costs are reduced by 25%.
Developmental - Troops under your command gain proficiency at 125% speed.
Okay, so the extra Ki seems to indicate that command techniques consume a lot of Ki points. I'm not currently interested in going into Ki too heavily so let's skip this one as well.
I take Hedge Rake. My Dexterity rises from 42 to 49. My Agility rises from 22 to 29. My Reflexes rise from 40 to 43. My Ki rises from 1 to 4. I have 10 free attribute points to distribute however I want. I think to myself that having a better Ki would be good since I'm going to be using Ki techniques now. Charisma dictates your Ki regeneration, so I probably want that too. Also, I want to see if having a “human average of 10” Charisma does anything for my looks.
I use my free points to raise my Ki from 4 to 10 and my Charisma from 6 to 10. My face feels tingly. Not like it's being rearranged or anything. “Do I look any different?” I turn and ask Brian.
“No, I mean not really.” Brian tilts his head and crosses his arms to inspect me. “Did you get some sleep when you were dead though? The bags under your eyes are gone.”
“Yes!” I pump my arm. “Putting points into Charisma will possibly, just maybe, if I'm lucky, get me a date.”
“But I thought you were married,” Brian says, confused.
Theo turns and slaps Brian on the back. “Dude! Quit joking! Haha, this guy.” He's doing that turn-the-mistake-into-a-joke thing. “What a kidder.”
I squint at them as Theo pulls Brian to the side and whispers in his ear. Then Brian turns back to me. “My mistake,” he says, and Theo nods as if this statement is acceptable.
“Uh, okay,” I say, and move on with my life.
Combat Techniques
Lunge
Reach forward with your weapon and slide further than your foe expects. 1 foot further to start, but keep at it and that'll increase.
Range: 1 foot
Cost: 1 Ki Point
Proficiency: 0%
Parry
Shields? Nah! You've got a weapon. Block with that. Then kill with it too. Every sword is a multitool. Your grip is 25% stronger and firmer than normal, and your weapons hold up against damage 25% better.
Proficiency: 0%
Rallying Disarm
You lash out at a foe's weapon, disarming them, and powering up your next blow at the same time. If you don't disarm them your energy fades away.
Cost: 5 Ki Points
Proficiency 0%
Lancing Stride
When on foot, running and even walking attacks have more force behind them. 20% more force, to be exact.
Proficiency: 0%
Dirtbag's Enhancement
Coat your blade with Ki for a time. Attacks with it deal extra sneak attack damage and have a chance to cause temporary blindness.
Range: 1 held weapon
Duration: 1 minute
Cost: 10 Ki Points
Proficiency: 0%
Alright, so the stuff I learned from the Hedge Rake isn't super exciting, but getting passive effects is always good. And something to make a weapon stronger is actually pretty interesting.
Rallying Disarm can't be tried right now since I don't have anyone here I'm willing to stab or shoot. So I try out Lunge. When I use it I lean forward and take a large step, but then golden light appears from the bottoms of my feet and I magically slide forward 1 foot.
“Wow you mastered having slippery shoes,” mocks Nat. I ignore her.
I try out Lunge with a Fire Bat and it works fine. I try it with a Shadow Stab and I don't slide the extra bit. Maybe Shadow Stab is a ranged attack? I finally give Fluid Fist a shot. A boxing glove of blue water surrounds my hand. It's surprisingly heavy and feels made for bashing and not actual boxing. It works with Lunge. So does Static Snap.
I let my Ki recharge and use Dirtbag's Enhancement on my M3 Mongoose. I feel energy flow through my fingers and into the knife. A dingy golden glow surrounds the blade.
Brian asks “Okay then are you done jerking off with your giant wet hand?”
I nod and ask him, “yeah, also, did you draw the dungeon like I asked you to?”
“What?” Brian replies.
“You should have a drawing of the dungeon on your tablet,” I say. “Copied from the fire escape route. I asked you to do it. Did you do it?”
I was giving him an out. I made up a reason for him to have the map other than the truth. Because I don't think he needs to be marked by everyone for causing this mess. But also I want his expertise and knowledge of the dungeon.
He fumbles with the tablet as he takes it out of his backpack. “Y-yeah I got it, uh, done.” He pulls up the drawing he did. “Why?”
“Because,” I reply, “I don't need you to fight. What I need is a dungeon master.”
-----
Time left until monsters respawn: 7 hours, 58 minutes.
He holds the tablet to his chest as he shows it to the rest of us. “So the second and third floors are really all interconnected. See there's just one stair from the fourth to the third. And only one between the first and second floors. But between the second and third floors there are six staircases.” Brian points out each staircase. “It's really just one path that has a couple of dead end side paths.”
“So we can skip the dead ends?” Nat asks.
“Probably.” Brian continues. “The third floor is kind of a replica of the back room area of the old store. And the second floor is toys, housewares, electronics, pharmacy, beauty and bedding. But all of that doesn't matter. The real problem is here.” He points at the end of the third floor, which is just below us and the only way forward. “This is a boss. Or probably a boss.”
“How do you know that?” asks Theo.
“Oh, um...” Brian fumbles around in his brain for a response that doesn't out him as the architect of our doom. I can't help him on this one. “It's what I'd do? And the size of the room. A room that big is going to be a major encounter.”
He points out the room again. According to his version of the map the room simulates the docking area of the back room. There are big shutter doors in the walls.
“Are those shutters going to open and unveil some horrible monster?” I ask.
“Yeah, probably,” Brian replies. “But right after that is another safe room. It's the employee training area from the old store.” The monsters haven't been exactly to Brian's design. He just put regular snakes and a hydra in the clothes piles. And the sonic death parrot was supposed to be a sonic death pterodactyl. That... Would have been cooler, honestly.
“Okay. Jose, you ready?” I ask, turning to my squad mate. I flip my knife in my hand.
Natalie is visibly miffed. “I thought we were coming.”
“No, you're trailing behind us as we clear areas,” I say with a firm demeanor. "We don't have time to both train you and get through here. So we're going ahead, just as we have been."
She doesn't like that. She argues with me for a bit but I don't care. I don't need her along. Jose has a damn gun and I've got a knife. We're capable of taking this whole place out now.
It's hard to make someone understand how truly scary you can be when you're a soldier who's in a full combat mindset. Which I'm almost entirely in now. I don't have time for her bullshit.
“Look, you can follow my orders or you can ignore me but ignoring me will get people killed.”
“Says the guy who died twice,” She mocks me. She shouldn't do that.
In a flash I've kicked out her legs. She's on her back and I'm kneeling over her with a fist in front of her face. I could have used the knife, but I'm trying to hold back. “I don't have time for your bullshit.” I pull my fist away but don't get off her yet. “I wasn't taking this seriously yet. Now I am. Things are different now. I am different now.” I get up and turn to open the door to the stairs. “Stay the fuck here until we say otherwise.”
I don't look back at her. I don't care what she's thinking or feeling right now. All that matters is getting everyone out alive.
Jose and I take the stairs down. It's another office building industrial staircase. Once we're at the third floor door Jose puts a hand on my shoulder. “You went too hard, man.”
“Had to. We've got eight hours before monster city becomes populated again with stronger foes."
Jose sternly says, “we're not in the cave, Jun.”
“I don't know what that means.”
“You're not who you were in there. Not who you had to be. We got out. We left the cave behind.”
I shake my head and open the third floor door. He doesn't get it. He didn't see everything that happened in there. Everything I had to do. He was at range. I had to get up in people's faces as I killed them. I had to hear the gurgling of blood in their lungs, the last gasps of air, the mumbles about their wives or mothers or kids.
Maybe I don't have enough Wisdom. Maybe I don't have enough empathy. Or maybe I've got too much trauma and I've never gone to therapy for it.
Actually, it's probably that last one.
I don't think Natalie will forgive me. She's probably right not to. I crossed the line, Jose is right. And... And I can't go back and apologize. No, not right now, not when I'm busy being a soldier. You don't apologize for the awful things you do when you're a soldier. You just bottle it up, ignore it, and move on.
Maybe we're not in Afghanistan anymore. But honestly, I'm not sure if I ever left that cave.