Going back to the stairs leading downwards, it was clear to James that they led to the next step in the dungeon. Since her attributes were all topped off at this point and she wasn’t tired, she saw no reason to wait to continue doing the dungeon. Checking that she still had everything she came in with, as well as her dagger, a superfluous step since what she had only consisted of her clothes and weapon, she went down the stairs.

The hallway she found herself at featured the same glowing ceiling and expanding space as she continued on as the last one. It didn’t continue to enlarge as much as the last level did, though, and it had twists and turns so she couldn’t really tell what was coming. Eventually, she could hear some chittering, the same type she heard from the nutria earlier.

Dungeon Objective Quest [2]: Defeat the Lumina Nutria. No experience will be awarded until this is achieved.

Reward: Decided upon completion.

The quest wasn’t much different than the last one, just refusing to specify how many Lumina Nutria she would need to slay, which only served to make her wary. She was going into this completely blind; she’d need to constantly be on the lookout. Glancing at her prominently glowing dagger, she decided to try and go for the stealth approach again. While the glowing ceiling provided some light, it still wasn’t as much as daylight, so the dagger still stood out. In full sunlight, it would be a lot harder to notice.

Cutting a piece of her leggings off, they were so torn up at this point it really wasn’t much of a loss, she carefully covered it up so it wouldn’t shine in the relatively dark cavern. The wrapping process was done carefully in order to make sure that the dagger didn’t cut the tattered fabric, and James hoped it would be enough.

Creeping along and she tried to keep her steps silent like the last time. It was much harder though since the ground wasn’t the same accommodating dirt and grass. Suddenly, two nutrias bounded around the corner, charging at her. The sight was so unexpected she froze up for a moment. She thought she had been silent! They must have heard her before she even got the System message about the dungeon objective. Lesson learned, always expect an opponent around the corner.

Nonetheless, they didn’t appear all that different than the other basic Lumina Nutria she had encountered above, so she let herself experiment in that small window of time as they came at her. She wanted to test the dagger and how to best use it and they were providing a perfect setting for such a trial. Stuffing the newly created dagger cover in her pocket, she gripped it in one hand and got into the battle stance Jean Paul and Louise had drilled into her. Facing them with both feet shoulder-width apart and angled so she wasn’t facing directly making it so that they would have a smaller target to pound on, she prepared for their arrival.

Standing firm at the arrival of monsters was unsettling and James vowed to start training the moves from Jean Paul and Louise again. Even if she gained some bad habits, familiarity had to be better in situations such as now.

The second they got close to her, she used her high agility to move to the side, and swiped at the right one, catching it in the face. It gave out a terrible screech at the being that dared challenge its authority and both turned to face her again. Now in close quarters, they tried to use their tail as a whip, slapping at her. Unable to retaliate to both, she did manage to catch one with her dagger. The sharpness and strengthening enchantments on it proved themselves as the shining dagger simply cut the glowing green limb off.

Another indignant screech later, they both charged again, apparently decided that that was a better tactic than using their tail. James disagreed, the slap from the one that did catch her had hurt, but she wasn’t going to tell them that. Kneeing the one she had already cut across the face, she watched its head bob backwards, following up the strike with a stabbing dagger motion to the other one while it tried to recover.

You have killed Lumina Nutria level 9! Experience is granted.

The notification signaled its death, and she returned her attention to the dizzy nutria, stabbing it too.

You have killed Lumina Nutria level 9! Experience is granted.

Wiping her dagger off on its fur, she considered how the fight went. Her movements were jerky and unpracticed, probably only effective because of the dagger. Feeling the knife meet actual resistance rather than air was also a new experience she’d need to find some way to replicate. It wouldn’t do for her to continue stabbing air if it meant she couldn’t anticipate exactly what the dagger would do.

She doubted her own strength stat would have been able to do anything against their hide without the dagger, though. It was something she could work on, but she was scared that if she practiced too much by herself, she would develop bad habits. That was one thing Jean Paul liked to repeat: practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. James knew she simply couldn’t achieve that on her own.

She’d probably try and continue to practice what Jean Paul and Louise taught her and wait on anything more specific for the dagger training. She was pretty sure any type of physical training would use what she already learned as foundation. It was probably best to focus on less things anyway. After all, she still had her trump card in Mana Blast.

With her health still in the high 300s, she decided to keep going onwards. Leaving the two Lumina Nutria behind, her steps were silent as she considered where and how to place them before each step. For now, stealth was the name of the game.

This time, when James went around the corner, she was the one that surprised two nutrias. She wasn’t in the mood for another fight, though, the last bout had told her everything she wanted to find out about dagger fighting for now. Instead, she quickly took the nutrias out with a small, concentrated mana blast once they were nearly on top of her.

You have killed Lumina Nutria level 7! Experience is granted.

You have killed Lumina Nutria level 12! Experience is granted.

Her visualization technique proved itself once again, only taking 200 mana points for the desired result. Grinning at the ease at which she dispersed the two; James continued.

Dungeon Objective Quest [2]: Defeat the Lumina Nutria [4/4].

Continue with Dungeon Objective Quest [2] or move on?

James wrinkled her nose that the objective only showed the number of nutrias to defeat upon completion. Electing to continue and seek the higher reward, she continued to concentrate on keeping her steps silent. Maybe she’d eventually get a stealth Skill? She’d definitely appreciate it with the amount of stealth work she’s been doing. Not to mention nobody would notice her when she left the Tutorial. Wouldn’t that be a dream?

Creeping onwards, it wasn’t even a minute before she was greeted with two more nutrias. Dispensing them with the same ease as the last ones, she ignored her notifications as she continued. Another minute, another two nutrias, this time one normal and one big.

She was getting increasingly wary of the Quest. The higher regeneration in the dungeon was nice, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with her use of Mana Blast. This objective was turning into an endurance test, one where she didn’t know what the end was.

Thirty seconds later, the same combination of a strong and normal nutria appeared in front of her, though both were only around level 4. Her mana was at 416 now, and she was watching it warily. Though this was enough for two well visualized Mana Blasts, she wasn’t skilled enough to guarantee that. And she certainly didn’t think she knew enough dagger-work to take down any of the bigger Lumina Nutria.

Deciding to rest for five minutes and hopefully recover some of her mana back, the idea didn’t bear fruit when a minute later two large nutrias came at her. Thankfully, she had recovered enough mana to finish them off.

You have killed Lumina Nutria level 16! Experience is granted.

You have killed Lumina Nutria level 15! Experience is granted.

Staying in place, she spent her time watching her mana points slowly inch upwards.