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  At fifty percent, the boss tossed out another mass curse. Once again Tiana and Eddie weren't affected by it and it wasn't long until Tiana had it removed from everyone else. Eddie heard Becky and Karl talking behind him, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

  A minute later, Eddie saw a glow appear behind the Skeletal Necromancer as Karl drew his freshly enchanted Kali sticks out of his inventory, immediately striking with them. The Necromancer started to turn to face him, his dagger flashing out at the thief, but his new positioning was quickly taken advantage of as both Allie and Jern slammed their weapons into his back, causing him to turn back quickly.

  Karl stumbled away from the combat and Eddie saw that he was bleeding. He hurried over, after warning Dominic that his light was moving.

  “Hits like a farkin' truck,” Karl gasped.

  Eddie quickly hit him with a Nature's Binding knowing from his own experience that it would take two or more of his spells to restore Karl to full.

  After throwing another Nature's Binding on Karl, Eddie had a thought. The throwing stick that had been knocked away from the boss before was now nowhere near combat, the boss had moved to the other side and was only in the light one of his sticks.

  He rushed over and grabbed the glowing stick. He'd been Evaluating the Skeletal Necromancer right along and it was about to hit twenty-five percent of its health. If the earlier pattern was any indication, he'd be tossing another special off then, so Eddie held his stick, waiting and watching its health.

  As soon as one of Jern's strikes drove it below twenty-five percent, Eddie cocked his arm and hurled the stick. As he did, his other hand went to his new medallion and he thought:

  Hit or Miss.

  The Necromancer open its mouth and began to chant, getting less than a second's worth of sound out before the throwing stick slammed into its jaw, knocking it clean off. Unable to continue chanting, the boss pulled out its dagger and went into a frenzy, trying to stab Jern and Allie over and over. They held it off with their shields and whenever it lunged for one, the other would strike it.

  A minute later the fight was finally over. Eddie quickly pulled up his flashing notification light.

  Success:

  You have obtained enough experience to advance to Level 8

  Do you wish to advance?

  (Y/N)

  Yes, he thought.

  You have advanced to Level 8.

  You have 3 stat points to distribute.

  Your Health has increased.

  Your Mana has increased.

  Your Stamina has increased.

  He'd been trying to figure out what to do with his points for this level and he'd finally figured it out. He needed more skills, he knew that, so a point was going to intelligence. His wisdom affected his magic and he'd been using that more, so a point to wisdom. Plus the final one to Agility to keep it high for his level.

  Add one stat point to intelligence, one point to wisdom, and one point to agility, he thought.

  “What the hell was that?” Allie asked, “and why didn't you do it sooner?”

  “I didn't think of it sooner. That was the special on my new medallion, a once a day thing. Hit or Miss means you miss entirely or do a critical. I think that was the critical option from it.”

  “Yeah, no shit,” Karl said. “You knocked its freakin' jaw off.”

  “Yup, timed it for right at its last special too,” Eddie said, feeling a little cocky. “So I guess we don't get to know what that last one was. Plus, Ding! Level eight here.”

  “Personally I can live without knowing,” Tiana said. “I was almost out of mana again, would've been except for the new ring.”

  “So, yeah, levels one to ten, but if you want to finish it you better have some level tens or close to it in your group,” Dominic said.

  Then he grinned.

  “Oh, and by the way, Ding myself,” he added. “I'm level nine now, got a new spell I'll need to check out too.”

  Eddie grinned back at Dominic as Becky chimed in with her own level and Karl growled at Eddie.

  “I almost caught up to you first that time,” he said. “Got mine too.”

  Eddie sat back on the edge of the throne that had held the Skeletal Necromancer. The others moved out to loot the bodies, but he wanted to check his character sheet.

  Should be doing pretty good, I picked up two levels in acrobatics from that fight alone, he thought. Character sheet.

  Edward Hunter

  Human Male

  Level: 8

  Class:Warrior (Ranger)

  Strength:13

  Intelligence: 12

  Agility: 25

  Wisdom: 16

  Heartiness: 14

  Charisma: 11

  Willpower: 14

  Health: 134 (144)

  Endurance: 14

  Mana: 144

  Luck: 14 (17)

  Stamina:342 (352)

  Experience:

  103,792/175,000

  Base Attack: 13

  Base Armor: 10 (51)

  +2 attack melee (strength)

  +35 armor (studded leather, helm, boots, bracers, greaves)

  +6 attack ranged (agility)

  +7 armor (agility)

  Skills:

  General:

  Acrobatics: 4

  Animal Friendship: 1

  Animal Handling: 1

  Animal Husbandry: 1

  Bowyer/Fletcher: 2 (+2 to checks)

  Carpentry: 8

  Climbing: 1

  Cooking: 13

  Evaluate: 5

  Farming: 2

  Fire Building: 1

  Fishing: 3

  Herbalism: 2

  Hunting: 3

  Improvisation: 2

  Rope Use: 2

  Tracking: 3

  Weather Sense: 1

  Weaving: 4

  Combat:

  Bows: 5

  Staves: 2

  Small Blades: 1

  Short Swords: 4

  Special:

  Conjunction: 4

  Magical:

  Nature Magic: 5

  Accel Plant Growth: 2

  Arc: 4

  Create Food/Water: 2

  Fox Fire: 2

  Nature's Binding: 1

  Safe Site: 1

  Wall of Thorns: 2

  Create Spring: 1

  ~ ~ ~

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “What do you mean half of our forces are missing?” Harmon wrote in the chat window.

  The laborious means of communication left him frustrated since he still had to force the Giant Wolf to think out his messages letter by letter.

  “Just that, half of them went missing,” Campbell said. “We think they went deeper into the Forest of Fools. There were signs of a fight where they'd been camped, and trails leading deeper into the forest.”

  Harmon couldn't stand it any more. The next laborious command he typed into his command window caused his body to appear at his feet. The following one switched him back to his proper avatar.

  As soon as he was out of the body of the Giant Wolf, it fled the area, disappearing into the trees in a heartbeat.

  I can get that one back later on, or maybe try another that'll have less resistance to my controlling it, Harmon thought.

  He turned back to Campbell.

  “So what are you doing here then? Why aren't you following them? I can't imagine anything in this place standing up to that brute of a body you have.”

  “Uh, I thought you'd want to know? I can go chasing after them if you like, beat down whoever took them and bring them back. It'll be easy enough, I just wanted to inform you and see if that's how you wanted to proceed.”

  “Stop wasting time here and go find them. This is going to delay our attack and the sooner you get them back, the sooner we can get moving on the Meadowlands. I already have the goblins from the tier one villages being driven into the Meadowlands, we were supposed to follow up with our attack in the confusion those attacks cau
sed.”

  “You got it, Specialist. On my way.”

  Harmon sighed and shook his head as Campbell loped out of the clearing.

  I can't believe he had half the goblins camped with none of our own people with them. What an idiot, Harmon thought.

  He went back to planning the attack, happy to realize that he could think better in his own avatar.

  I guess being in that wolf was affecting my mind more than I realized. I'll need to pay better attention to that in the future, he thought.

  ~ ~ ~

  Eddie sat on the Necromancer's throne, his stamina still only about halfway regenerated. His mana wasn't much better since it regenerated slower still.

  The only problem with leveling up is that it normally seems to happen when I'm already low on something. Takes that much longer to get back to full, not that I'm complaining or anything, he thought. Well at least, not complaining much.

  “What did they have?” he asked.

  The rest of the party had been looting the skeletal Knight and Necromancer they'd just dispatched.

  “The knight had a magical shield and sword,” Dominic said. “I can't evaluate them right off, I'll need to use my spell when we get back to determine their qualities.”

  He turned to face the remains of the Necromancer.

  “This guy, on the other hand, had a couple of scrolls, his dagger, a ring, and his robes that are magical. I could figure out the robe, it's armor and mana. The dagger is just a small attack and damage bonus, and the ring's health and mana. Scrolls will also wait until we're back, I've got some safeguards I want to take before trying to read them, just in case.”

  “Cool,” Eddie said. “Maybe we can get Becky and you some extra mana too, you guys didn't get any items yet.”

  “Yeah, I don't see Jern, Allie, or Karl wanting mana bonus items, so probably we both will. I thought there'd be more loot from a boss though.”

  Eddie felt a warmth on his chest where the Gambler's Medallion rested as he moved forward in the chair, ready to stand again. Because of that, he was distracted as the stone seat of the chair tilted forward when he got to the front edge of it. It escaped his notice until he heard the grating sound of the stone sliding, just before it struck him in the back of his legs.

  “Oh, shit!” Eddie said, lurching forward to get the stone off of him.

  Dominic didn't seem to notice, he was staring at the throne. When Eddie turned, he saw just why. He'd thought the throne was solid stone, but it wasn't. Beneath the seat there was a large hollow area that Eddie had just uncovered by sliding the seat off of the top. The hollowed out area was filled, the shine of precious metals reflecting in the light. There was a wooden case visible as well, about a foot long by a half foot wide. He had no idea what else might be in there though, if the hollow was as deep as the chair was tall up to the seat, then there was a good foot and a half of depth that was all the way filled with loot.

  “Yeah, that's more like what I expected,” Dominic said, stepping towards the throne.

  He gave a whistle and waved the rest of the party over.

  “Cool, boss loot,” Allie said, after a glance.

  “Let's grab it,” Karl added. “I wouldn't even be able to guess as to where a trap would be on it now that the top's gone so we might as well. Although I should probably check that box before we open it.”

  Dominic started scooping out handfuls of loot, setting it gently on the floor. Eddie stepped in to start sorting the coins. This time the least valuable in there was silver. The majority was gold, but there were also some other types that he didn't recognize.

  Once the hollow area had been emptied, Eddie looked around. Karl was done checking the chest, but they still hadn't opened it. Aside from that there was a pile of gold coins, probably at least five hundred, a smaller pile of silver and exactly seven of whatever the other coin was.

  “Is that Mithril?” Jern asked, looking at the odd coins.

  “No clue,” Allie said. “Never seen anything like them before.”

  “Lighter than gold, stronger than steel, that's how you'd be able to tell,” the dwarf said.

  Eddie hefted a gold coin in one hand and one of the strange ones in the other.

  “Lighter than gold alright,” he said.

  He dropped the gold coin back in the pile, then drew the coin along the sharp edge of his utility knife. The knife wasn't dulled, but when he looked at the coin it showed no scratch, no difference at all from before actually.

  “Well, it certainly fits your qualifications Jern, too bad there's so little of it,” Eddie said, placing the odd coin back with the others.

  “So little?” Jern said. “Lad, each of those coins is worth at least a hundred gold if they are Mithril.”

  “That much?”

  Jern nodded.

  “The box looks to be clear,” Karl said.

  He'd been examining it for several minutes by the time he gave the all clear.

  “Well, open it then,” Allie said.

  Karl gingerly swung the lid of the chest open, revealing the interior. The inside was separated into twelve equal squares, all padded with cloth. In each of the squares sat a potion bottle.

  “A potion carrier?” Dominic said.

  “Looks that way,” Allie replied. “Full too, this is a lot more like what I expected to find here.”

  Dominic nodded his agreement.

  “Let's load up and get out of here,” Eddie said. “I want to get some fresh air, this place feels like a tomb.”

  He got a round of agreement from the group and they rapidly decided to split up the last of the loot from the dungeon after they made it back to the hamlet. Everyone dropped part of the treasure into their inventory and they headed for the surface.

  As the party exited from the dungeon Eddie's vision was blocked by a screen, despite having adjusted all the ones he could in his settings. He froze as his eyes skimmed the message and noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that the rest of the party had gone still as well.

  Success:

  Your party has completed first clearing on the dungeon: Ancient Ruins (Meadowlands)

  Since your entire party is within the level range from the dungeon you may choose a reward:

  1 - 500 gold coins

  2 - a magical item based on your class

  3 – one experience level

  Choose:

  The cursor was flashing just past the colon after the word 'Choose', but Eddie was frozen, trying to decide what to choose.

  I hate these kinds of choices, he thought. I've got plenty of gold, but that's a massive bump. On the other hand, a magical item would be really handy. But I need more than seventy thousand experience for my next level and the goblins don't even dent that. So they're all great choices, but...

  He hemmed and hawed for a bit. While he waited he noticed several other members of the group start moving around again. Dominic, Allie, and Tiana seemed to have made their choice quickly. He rapidly figured out that it was all the highest level party members who had and he guessed, with how long it had taken them to make their current levels and the way they'd reacted when they made it, that they'd chosen the one experience level.

  Cause yeah, seventy thousand experience would take almost twenty-five trips through the goblins, all the way to the second tier villages and that's only because of the quest bonuses. So yeah, experience level it is.

  He thought his choice at the flashing cursor and a moment later had another new notification on his screen.

  Success:

  You have obtained enough experience to advance to Level 9

  Do you wish to advance?

  (Y/N)

  Yes, he thought.

  You have advanced to Level 9.

  You have 3 stat points to distribute.

  You may choose a skill.

  You have received one stat point in: Wisdom

  Your Health has increased.

  Your Mana has increased.

  Your Stamina has increas
ed.

  You have gained access to: Nature Magic – Tier 3 spells

  “Well crap,” Eddie said. “That was so fast after the last one that I've got no idea where I want to put my points.”

  “Hang onto them and do it in a bit. That's my plan,” Tiana said. “So I guess you know what I took.”

  Karl started moving about then, he looked at Eddie, then groaned.

  “You took the level too, didn't you? I still haven't caught up.”

  Eddie just grinned at him.

  Karl shook his head and started laughing just as Jern started moving again.

  “Rough choice that,” Jern said, “but since you all seem to be advancing faster than me, I took the level, gotta stay a decent tank for the group.”

  Finally Becky started moving. As she did, her not quite a staff and not quite a club disappeared, only to be replaced with a long, black, wooden staff. The grip seemed to be wrapped in snakeskin and the top end had a circle of curved fangs mounted into it.

  “Well, I guess someone didn't take the level,” Eddie said.

  Becky shook her head and grinned.

  “Nope, I'm only a few hundred experience away from level six so I didn't want to waste it. I chose the magical item for my class. I don't have Evaluate though, would you look at it?” she asked.