The Dungeon boss was defeated! However, the detailed announcement was slow in coming, as was the exit portal. She narrowed her eyes, taken aback. What could she be missing?
All around, still unable to emerge from their paralysis, the Humans were growling and barking furiously, seeming to find in the death of their leader a renewed courage to fight to the end…
And there were many of them: everywhere she looked, more than a hundred warriors surrounded them, weapons in hand. None seemed to have explosives, but such a deluge of iron would be fatal. Taking great care not to touch the paralyzed, the soldier guarding the tower joined them while its comrades formed a defensive perimeter around the princess, killing the paralyzed monsters one by one.
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Skill “Time Freeze [D]” used by Kol-Gaar [E] on 140 Human Military [F]
Consumption 1400 Energy / minute
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“Hurry up, idiot! Take the Dungeon Heart!”
“I know! Stop calling me an idiot, idiot!”
So, taking the Dungeon Heart was what triggered the process of ending it? Searching the remains of the Boss, she discovered several items and a small gray orb. Since the monster was of rank “E,” she would have expected another color, but this one was probably related to the rank of the Dungeon itself.
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Dungeon Heart [Fort Hill Camp] [F] [Proof of conquering a Dungeon. Can be consumed for additional experience, stat, or skill gain.]
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She took hold of it.
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Dungeon "Fort Hill Camp"
Dungeon Boss Defeated
Captain "Texas Bill" [Rank E]
Time Remaining Before Dungeon Destruction: 10 min
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"Dungeon Clearing" (E)
<u>Group Quest Completed</u>
XP Bonus: 100
Finisher Bonus: 100
Current Experience: 2191
Stored Experience: 3494
Experience needed for next level: 9
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Flying a short distance from the ground, Kol-Gaar trembled as the monsters rushed into their invisible prison, forcing him to spend more and more Energy. Some were already breaking free…
The green door immediately appeared not far from the remains of the monster leader. As Xicackna was about to cross it, she saw the prince suddenly collapse, falling heavily to the ground. Had he been hit by a projectile? No: with his Hit Points it would affect him little.
With his fall, the monsters would start shooting again any second. Counting on the presence of the soldiers to form a wall against this attack, Xicackna estimated that she had time to help Kol-Gaar without being put in danger. She lifted him as best she could…
Having forgotten her weak strength, the princess realized that she had underestimated the difficulty of the transport and her movement towards the door, although so close, was incredibly slow.
She suddenly felt herself lifted into the air. A soldier, noticing the danger, had just taken the two young nobles in its mandibles and rushed towards the door. The air crackled with the shrill sound of metal projectiles and the roars of Men… then calm returned as all three of them crashed on the other side of the door.
Four other soldiers managed to evacuate.
Suddenly, five monsters burst out of the door! Briefly astonished by the new scenery, they wasted no time and aimed their weapons…
The creatures didn’t have time to cause any damage because the multiple soldiers stationed around the gate had already jumped on them. The monsters were torn apart in less time than it takes to say it.
No other beast seemed to succeed in crossing the barrier between the worlds. The soldiers remained vigilant nonetheless.
Xicackna pulled Kol-Gaar aside, with the help of his soldiers. The prince still hadn’t woken up. Panicked, she called for help from the princess who led the outpost. She looked at the prince and then shrugged.
“He’s simply out of Energy. In a System hour, he’ll have come back to his senses.”
The young princess sighed with relief. Even if he annoyed her, she didn’t want Kol-Gaar dead. Furthermore, without being able to put her finger on it, she felt a little responsible for what had happened. With the explanation, she understood that by taking too long to react, she had forced the prince to exhaust his Energy reserve to contain the monsters, inflicting his current state on him.
While waiting for him to wake up, she reviewed the items obtained from the enemy boss. It reminded her that she had forgotten to search it to obtain its mana stone, but she probably wouldn''t have had the time anyway.
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Military Jacket (E) [+1 Armor, +2 Stamina] [Chest Armor]
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
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Medal of Courage (F)[1]</a> [Increases courage in desperate situations. Allows the use of the skill "Rush (F)" or "Provoke (F)" once per day] [Ornament]
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The outfit was slightly different from the one worn by the monster, as it was roughly green rather than roughly sand-colored. Xicackna tried to wear it over the horrible "Beginner''s Tunic (F)", but upon discovering that the bonuses did not stack, she happily threw the latter aside and donned only her new jacket.
The strange brooch featured a square of blue fabric with thirteen small white shapes that Xicackna guessed were small human figures, which overlooked the metal decoration. There was a monstrous creature resembling a kind of bird that held in its talons a small plaque with mysterious symbols. Below, held by rings, a figure consisting of a circle surrounded by five triangles was itself surrounded by a finely worked blue-green circle that connected the points, themselves ending in a kind of trefoil. In the center of the central circle, a helmeted, armored human figure with a strong mane was surrounded by other mysterious symbols.
After trying to hang it on her antennae, but finding it too heavy, Xicackna decided to hang the small golden jewel on the upper part of the jacket, finding that it would look great there.
She then wanted to observe the reward given by the Sub-boss and picked up by the soldiers, but they refused to even let her see it. They also refused to let her move away from Kol-Gaar.
Of course: these commoners were not from her hive and she therefore had no power over them. But that had no impact on the young princess''s mood: she had gotten used to it.
When Kol-Gaar finally woke up, his mind was still foggy and it took him another minute to think clearly again. Immediately glaring at Xicackna, he took stock of her mistakes.
“... and then at that moment, you stood there, watching, instead of acting and taking that damn Dungeon Heart! I used all my 3536 Energy points and the 442 bonuses given by my equipment! And still five level 10 soldiers dead! Do you know how long it takes to make them gain 6 levels from the 4 they have at beginning?”
He was furious, but also a little scared, she felt it in her thoughts without him saying it: he had thought he would die there when he fainted. Once he was unable to act, he would have been an easy target for the enemies.
“I''m sorry...”
The prince turned his head away with an annoyed noise. He didn''t seem to want to forgive her. At least he wasn''t calling her an idiot again.
Xicackna handed him the orb that glowed with a faint gray light.
“Here, take it.”
Kol-Gaar’s expression changed to one of intense surprise. Xicackna herself didn’t know why she was giving him this precious consumable as a gift. Perhaps because she knew he had contributed much more to this victory than she had? Or perhaps so that he would forgive her for her mistakes? In any case, was it even normal? As a princess, didn’t she have the right and the duty to seize this advantage for herself rather than leaving it to someone lower in the hierarchy and from another hive?
The prince pushed the gift away with a peaceful gesture.
“No: it’s for you. The goal is, after all, to help you reach level ten. That’s the mission I was given… And then, I know that you didn’t make this mistake on purpose. As brilliant as you were against the Goblins, you failed this time. That’s normal: you still lack experience, real experience: not just that of the System. So, absorb this Heart and continue to learn: you can only become better.”
Wondering if these last words implied something, Xicackna decided not to try to imagine things where there could be nothing. Observing the Heart of the Dungeon one last time, she swallowed it.
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You gain the skill:
Sprint (E) (Magical Power) Allows you to move very quickly for one second for 5 Energy points. [Passive: Increases Maximum Energy by 5 per skill rank [+10]] [Speed ??increases according to skill rank]
You have no available skill slots. Please select a skill to destroy, or the option to convert this skill gained for 200 XP.
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Frowning her chitinous brows, Xicackna looked at the various skills eligible for replacement. They glowed slightly as she reviewed her status.
There was no way she was replacing one of her class skills, but none of them glowed anyway. As for her general skills, she wasn’t going to lose her Sixth Sense, nor her Invisibility, nor her Chitin Armor. That left Camouflage and Acid Throw. The latter, although locked at Rank F, would allow her to attack from a distance with a minimum of precision, unlike her use of any weapon. Since she mainly gained XP by participating in attacks, this skill was indispensable. So that left only Camouflage.
Was it worth replacing her innate, cost-free skill, to hide in the environment, with a speed skill that used Energy? She could accelerate greatly for 128 seconds, a little over two minutes: enough to put some distance between herself and pursuers.
After hesitating for a long time, she replaced her Camouflage with Sprint.
Just after pressing the validation button, she looked at Kol-Gaar warily, expecting to hear him criticize her choice. He actually grumbled:
“You annoy me: why do you think I would necessarily criticize you? This choice is as good as any other. You replace part of your discretion, which is not total invisibility, with an increased possibility of escape. It is an acceptable choice.”
“In any case, I don''t need you to choose!”
“So why did you immediately turn to me after this choice?”
“Because I knew you were going to reproach me for something!”
She blushed immediately, feeling ridiculous. The fact that he simply raised his eight eyes to the sky rather than answering contributed to her discomfort. Trying to change the subject, she asked a question:
“By the way, why do you use swords and spears rather than weapons like those of Humans? They seem very effective.”
“Only against armored targets: against other monsters their guns are not as efficient and empty quickly. Against some creatures with strong armor, we sometimes use them, but they require maintenance and ammunition production. In addition, higher level weapons are more effective because they get special bonuses from the System.”
“Even their explosives?”
“No: those are very interesting at low levels, but we are currently lacking them. All our competent technicians are busy with other projects, including the Great Steel Palace project. Workers tend to blow themselves up when they work on it without supervision. The problem was supposed to be solved next year: my queen is producing workers specialized in the field.”
Reaching into his inventory, Kol-Gaar pulled out a transparent bottle in which a strange orange liquid was shining. He handed it to Xicackna who looked at it mechanically before looking at it suspiciously. As she was about to use her "Observation", the prince explained to her what it was:
“I see that you only need nine XP before your next level. I think it would be better if you obtained it now, quietly, rather than in the confusion of a Dungeon. It is a rank ‘F’ XP potion that will give you between ten and one hundred XP. Drink it all.”
“Oh? Why didn''t you give it to me earlier? Besides, what would happen if I only drank part of it?”
“So many questions. Know that these potions are precious, resulting from the distillation of different ingredients, including crushed mana stones. I don''t have to waste them on a stranger! Furthermore, you also need to gain more knowledge of our new reality before returning home, so I''m not going to just give all the potions needed to reach level 10. As for your other question, then you would either receive the XP or not. If you only absorb part of any potion, only one of the two parts contains the effect.
Half satisfied with the explanations, Xicackna uncorked the bottle and swallowed the liquid it contained in one go. Was it an effect of the medal of courage? Unless she simply did not want to appear ridiculous again in Kol-Gaar''s eyes? In any case, she drank this unknown liquid without hesitating.
A strange, warm sensation filled her stomach and vibrated in all her muscles, then calmed down.
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<td style="width: 99.0385%; text-align: center">Consuming an XP potion (F) gives you 83 XP</td>
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Current experience: 2232
Stored experience: 3536
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You gain a level!
Current level: 9
Experience needed for next level: 468
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[1]</a> [Also called, Medal of Honor]