Chapter 12

Delve

Atohi told Janus that the skill he was copying was called [Arrow Point]. It was a lot more interesting than Janus originally thought.

The ring of mana created by the skill could actually maintain itself after the initial cast. It had a constant mana cost, but the caster could continue to create new projectiles within the array. Unfortunately, it did not seem possible to move the array around. Janus had tried his best, but each time the mana would simply collapse in on itself.

The projectiles were vicious if they struck an unarmored target. Janus learned that first hand when he had finally caught Pella with the new trick. He had carefully arranged the arrays so that no matter which way she dodged, she would still be hit. They left a bloody wound and Janus had hurriedly called for a healer.

Thankfully, the healer was able to seal the wound up. And, against her protests, Dario told her to take a few days before sparring again.

The incident was fresh in Janus’ mind over the next few days. It had made everything feel too real. He hadn’t seen that much blood since the sub-train. But Dario didn’t give him much time to think.

“I think it’s about time. We’re going to head out tomorrow for your first dungeon.” Dario said before sipping on his drink.

The group had gathered in the guild, ordered drinks, and were now listening to Dario speak.

“I am ready.” Devon stated.

Janus was never really sure how to read the redheaded swordsman. The man had still barely spoken to him and they had been training together for nearly a month now. His focus seemed to be only on what Dario could teach him.

“Well, maybe. I’ll be going with you guys to make sure things don’t go wrong. My presence will hurt your XP gain, but it’s better to be alive.” Dario said.

“What can you tell us about the dungeon?” Asked Pella. “I need to know how I should prepare.”

“Well, truth be told, I don’t know a whole lot. Almost all of the nearby low level dungeons have already been cleared so this one is fresh.” Answered Dario. “The monsters around these parts tend to be spiders, ghosts, and stuff from Native American legend. Maybe we’ll even get to see a wendigo.”

Dario drained his cup and raised his arm. Someone quickly came and refilled his cup with more black tea.

“Anyway, You guys have today and a bit of tomorrow to prepare. I’ve asked around and gotten a hold of the weapons you wanted, Pella. And I may even have a little surprise for Janus.” Dario winked.

A surprise… Not usually a good thing coming from him.

“Yeah? Uh, thanks. I guess I’ll try to refine my copy of [Arrow Point]. I still struggle to get everything going the right direction.” Janus replied.

Dario looked pleased. “Alright, well, you guys don’t need me right now. If you want to spar, have at it. Otherwise, start getting things ready for tomorrow.”

-

Janus spent nearly the entire day trying to figure out why his array still produced unstable projectiles. In the end he almost wanted to smack himself.

The problem was that [Mana Manipulation] on its own simply wasn’t enough. The array couldn’t craft channels for the mana to flow through. He should have noticed it earlier, but he was too focused on making the array at all to see what had been missing.

It was obvious in hindsight as he watched Atohi cast the spell a final time. He could see where the skill hardened parts of the mana in the array and where the projectiles themselves were hardened to direct mana appropriately.

Janus was amazed that his copy of the array even functioned at all without using [Mana Reinforcement].

[Your Mana Reinforcement skill has gained 1 level]

It’s almost like the System is mocking me…

In response to the new message, Janus checked his status.

Status Name Janus Alamy Class Enhancer Level 16 Guild None Life 360 Max Life 360 Mana 516 Max Mana 516 Stamina 399 Max Stam 399 Stat Total Base Class Skill Item Strength 32 16 0 16 0 Endurance 25 16 0 9 0 Dexterity 16 16 0 0 0 Intelligence 84 16 32 36 0 Wisdom 64 16 16 32 0 Skill Level Bonus Bravery 2 5 Wis / Lvl Writing 8 1 Wis / 5 Lvl Sprinting 7 1 End / 5 Lvl Mana Manipulation 20 1 Int, 1 Wis / Lvl Str. Enhancement 16 1 Int, 1 Str / Lvl Mana Reinforcement 8 1 End / Lvl Mana Burn 5 1 Wis / 5 Lvl Empty --- --- Empty --- --- Empty --- ---

His mana based skills had been slowly climbing as he worked with Atohi. But [Mana Manipulation] had not budged since it reached level 20. Janus had a feeling that it would be difficult to level it from this point, especially after spending the last week on recreating [Arrow Point] with no progress in the skill to show for it.

Janus had been recording his experiments with mana in a small notebook. He had drawn some small diagrams to help him remember the shape of mana in a specific array, or the directional flow in another. He was running into a problem with labeling, though.

He wasn’t really sure how he should refer to his new ability. It wasn’t a skill, technically. And the System still seemed the register [Arrow Point] as a skill when he said it or thought about it, but he knew intuitively that it was a reference to the skill Atohi used and not Janus’ copy. Janus could even tweak parts of his replica and produce new effects. That wasn’t something somebody just using [Arrow Point] could do.

I guess it’s just a spell. Maybe I can call it “Replica Arrow Point” or something.

The station’s lighting runes were already dimming by the time Janus finally decided to head home. His mana had nearly bottomed out, but [Mana Burn] guaranteed that he wouldn’t feel a drop of mana exhaustion.

-

The next morning, Janus headed out. He was thinking about extra ways to prepare and settled on trying to get himself some protection. Thus far he had just been sparring in a t-shirt and pants.

Janus caught Atohi at the Delver’s Guild and asked about his robe. It was made of layered cotton and was surprisingly durable. Atohi used a cotton robe because metal occasionally interfered with his skills. Janus understood what he meant, it was a struggle to move mana through metal. He had learned that when trying to strengthen Devon’s sword. It had worked, but it took much longer than usual.

Unfortunately, Janus had also learned Atohi wouldn’t be sticking around in Crow Station. He and his group were doing some jobs all the way in Owl Station.

After learning about the robes Atohi wore, Janus approached Dario. They still had a few hours before they needed to leave.

“Yeah, I should be able to get you something like that. You’ll have to be fitted, though.” Dario said.

Janus didn’t mind. This was likely the best use of his time before they left.

Dario lead Janus to a small shop in Crow Station. A kindly old man prepared a thick cotton robe. Unlike Atohi’s, this one even had a hood. After around half an hour of fitting, the old man used a skill the quickly reshape the layered cotton.

The robe was a dark blue, and the interior contained several pockets that Janus immediately put to use. He found the hood to be uncomfortably heavy and left it down.

It was a strange feeling to be wearing something like this. It was what Janus expected delvers to wear, but never thought he would wear one himself before he had met Dario.

Dario discussed the price and slipped a dozen silvery coins to the elderly tailor. Janus’ jaw nearly dropped. His new robe cost more than his father made in months of work.

As they headed back to the Delver’s Guild, Janus asked about the price.

“The material has been lightly enchanted. The enchantment disperses force over a larger area.” Dario said. “That’s why the price is so high.”

Janus was surprised and activated his [Enhancer] perk. Immediately the world lit up around him. He looked down and could see the enchantment flow through his new robe.

“Well, thank you. I didn’t expect anything like this.” Janus responded.

Dario shrugged, “It’s my job to keep you alive and teach you how to fight. I’ve got a quarterstaff for you back at the guild, along with something else. Don’t get too excited. The quarterstaff isn’t enchanted.”

-

Janus saw that both Pella and Devon had prepared with new equipment as well. Devon had suited up, his signature piercing stare showing from beneath the lid of a stylized metal helmet. Much of his body was covered in studded leather armor.

Pella had opted for a lighter setup, with a leather harness over layered cotton armor. The armor was not too dissimilar to Janus’ own robes. On her back and through her belt, though, was a menagerie of weapons. Janus counted a shortsword, a longsword, half a dozen throwing knives, a small buckler shield, a short bow, and a quiver full of arrows.

“Here.” Dario said, shoving a quarterstaff into Janus’ hands. “There should be loops on the back of your robe to hold it. I also have something else.”

Dario fished around in the pouch at his waist and pulled out a pear-shaped gem. It was perhaps the size of a crab apple.

“This is a [Focus]. It will help you manage your mana. I’ve already given the others their own items. These things are expensive, so be careful with it.” Dario said, handing the gem to Janus.

“Yeah, of course. Uh, thank you, Dario.” Janus said.

Janus wasn’t great at accepting gifts, but he wasn’t going to complain about it just before heading into the dungeon. He looked at the peculiar gem and identified it. It was nearly translucent, but the light subtly reflected off of various facets.

[Focus]

Description: Attuning to this item provides you with increased mana regeneration. In an emergency, it can be ingested to refill up to 500 mana.

Bonus Stats: 5 Wisdom

This was the first time Janus had an opportunity to attune with an item. He was wondering how to attune with the item before simply willing it to happen.

[Attuned with item: Focus]

[2 Attunement Slots Remaining]

These items were created by high level crafters and mages using the System. Janus had heard they could provide many effects, but were mostly known for their stat bonuses.

He placed the [Focus] in one of his robes many pockets. The extra mana regeneration was very welcome. It was always frustrating to cut off practice early because his mana couldn’t keep up. This would help with that.

The group found a table and Dario headed to the clerks. He returned with a delver’s writ in his hand.

“Alright, we have full custody of this dungeon.” He said.

“Full custody?” Asked Janus. “What does that mean?”

“It means that we get the first shot at the dungeon’s boss. If we clear the boss out, the dungeon will slowly lose power until it just becomes a place like any other.” Dario responded, “But if we can’t take out the boss, other delvers can start getting writs for the dungeon.”

“So we’re going for the dungeon boss?” Pella’s expression was uncertain.

“Yeah, I don’t see a point in not going for it. The XP from a dungeon boss is huge. Even with me there you guys should get a few levels from that alone. Devon might even get more than one.” Dario said. “It goes without saying that this will be very dangerous. The dungeon is already higher level than you guys. Treat this as a life or death situation.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Devon said before Janus could ask another question.

This guys got something wrong with his head. At least he’ll be the one in front.

The group stood and checked their equipment. Everything looked good, so they made their way to the tunnel entrances.

Dario led them to a tunnel on ground level this time. Janus was dismayed to see none of the metal supports and lighting from the last tunnel they had traveled in. He took a [Torchstone] from one of his pockets and prepared himself. The others were doing the same.

It was time to delve.