Michael exited the Skill Tree space to find an annoyed Olivia staring him in the face. Upon noticing his return she raised an eyebrow, saying nothing.

"I'm done" Michael stated, guessing the reason for her annoyance.

"Good" Olivia said. "Now that you're done, would you mind giving me information."

So Michael told her everything. By the time he had finished, the rest of the team had joined them.

"So, Ranger and Treasure Hunter." Olivia said. "We could probably level Ranger up to level 5 or 6 in this Dungeon, and maybe 10 to 12 in the next. That plus a weeks training, then we'll go back to town. Not sure about Treasure Hunter, maybe level 5 if your lucky, which you apparently are. Unless anyone has anything, let's get going."

Everyone got up, and they proceeded to the fourth side chamber. While they were going, Michael quickly dipped into his System Settings. The experience with the Skills had reminded him to change his notification settings. The blue screens popping up out of, hehe, the blue, was a bit annoying. Internally laughing at his own bad joke, Michael quickly found the setting and changed it to Mental Messages, which he hoped was similar to the skills where the information simply popped into his thoughts.

Like they had done previously, Damien went off to attract the Razorclaw Wolf as Michael prepared for the first cast of his new skill Vine Trap. After a short wait Damien appeared out of Stealth a few meters away. "It's on it's way" he said as he passed Michael. Michael saw it appear in the distance, sniffing the air as it stalked down the tunnel. As soon as it saw Michael it snarled and started tearing its way towards him. When it got twenty meters away Michael unleashed his Skill and three vines burst from the ground and entangled the beast, tripping it and keeping it tied up.

For two seconds. Two seconds was all it took for the monster to rip through the vines and spring back up. Michael hadn't been resting on his laurels though, and an arrow shot through the air and caught the Razorclaw Wolf right in the eye. The skill evolution proved its worth; that shot would have been near impossible before. The rapid jerky movements the Wolf made as it struggled with the vine would have made an actual hit nothing more than a lucky shot. No though, as Michael was pulling the string back the world slowed. His vision focused in on the Wolfs form, every movement clear as day. When he released he wasn't aiming at the Wolf's eye but were it would be when the arrow reached it. As soon as the arrow left the string the world returned to normal, the arrow impacting the wolf almost instantly. That arrow didn't kill it, but the next one did.

Tier 2 Level 6 Razorclaw Wolf Killed!

Participation : 100%

Ranger Experience gained : 30

Modifier for Perks : 100%

Total Ranger Experience gained : 60

Bonus : Razorclaw Blade

The information came to Michael, appearing in his head as he had hoped it would. The new format was a lot less unintrusive, it made Michael distinctly aware of itself, but didn't distract him. Looking, or more accurately thinking, over the information, Michael said "yeesh, xp decreases massively when you're on the same tier. At least I got an item, shame that it's not a piece of armor but at least it's decent backup weapon." The Razorclaw Blade was a wickedly sharp dagger that curved near the end, unsurprisingly similar to a wolf's claw.

The next wolf, a level 7 Razorclaw Wolf was another easy kill. Now that Michael knew the relative strength of the vines there was no surprises.

Tier 1 Level 7 Razorclaw Wolf Killed!

Participation : 100%

Ranger Experience gained : 35

Modifier for Perks : 100%

Total Ranger Experience gained : 70

Getting to level 2, and 30 xp into level 3, of his Ranger Class awarded him 2 Perception and Magic and 1 each on Agility and Dexterity. The change rippled through Michael, but didn't cause the sort of pain Michael usually associated with it, likely due to him now being a tier 1 being. Michael slotted the extra points into Strength. Since his Class would steadily increase his Magic anyways, Michael figured he might as well get the rest of his Attributes up to 25.

Attributes

Unassigned Attribute points : 0

Strength 20 Agility 24 Vitality 25 Dexterity 24 Perception 24 Magic 40 Luck 8

Looking over his Attributes, Michael was happy with the progress. One more level and he'd get Dexterity, Agility AND Perception up to 25. Nodding to Damien to show he was ready, they continued with the wolf extermination. After killing another three wolves Michael levelled up to level 3.

Congratulations!

By reaching 25 in Agility you have gained the following Trait.

Bull Rush : Sprinting speed is increased by 50%, Charge Skills gain Destructive effect.

Congratulations!

By reaching 25 in Dexterity you have gained the following Trait.

Dexterous Learner: New skills are gained easier.

Congratulations!

By reaching 25 in Perception you have gained the following Trait.

Bullet Time: Perception is magnified by 100 when in moments of peril. Activates once a day.

Michael was thrilled, the Traits were incredible, especially the last one. Feeling happy, Michael put the points in Strength. He wasn't sure what would happen if he got all 6 base Attributes up to 25, but he had a feeling it would be worth it.

There was only one thing left, his skill point. Entering the Skill tree space, he saw 0that the second level of skills were still hidden by fog. Shrugging, Michael chose the Spell Arrow. He was excited to see what the combination between Spell Arrow and Vine Trap would do. Michael perused the information for Spell Arrow.

Spell Arrow

Tier 2, Level 1, Variable Cost

Imbue your Arrow with a Spell for double the Cost of the Spell. Decreases cost by 10% per level.

Michael was happy, the cost was the worst thing about the skill but a few levels would fix that. Skill chosen, the team moved on to the next chamber and Damien went off to lure the next wolf. He arrived after a few moments with a concerned look on his face. "Sorry, I slipped up and accidentally brought two of them." The warning was a bit redundant, as Michael had already spotted the wolves approaching.

Michael had prepared for the possibility though, and unleashed a Dupli-Cast of Vine Trap on the wolves. The vines burst out of the ground and wrapped around the wolves, trapping them in place. With only seconds before the wolves broke free Michael decided to test out his new skill. Drawing an arrow he activated the skill, focusing on imbuing the arrow with Magic Missile. The skill activated, his Mana going down by 20 points, and his arrow started glowing a pale blue. The sudden light almost made him jump but he clamped down on his surprise. Taking aim, he loosed the arrow towards one of the wolves. The arrow flashed through the air, striking the wolf with incredible force, killing it instantly. Michael was surprised at the power of the arrow but didn't let it distract him as he nockd another arrow. A short second later and it was all over.

Tier 1 Level 6 Razorclaw Wolf Killed!

Participation : 100%

Ranger Experience gained : 30

Modifier for Perks : 100%

Total Ranger Experience gained : 60

Tier 1 Level 7 Razorclaw Wolf Killed!

Participation : 100%

Ranger Experience gained : 35

Modifier for Perks : 100%

Total Ranger Experience gained : 70

Bonus : Lupus Ears

Michael Identified the Lupus Ears, an earring in the shape of a small silver wolf's head.

Lupus Ear

Tier 2, Common Quality.

Passive Effect: Increase Perception by 3

Passive Effect: Increase Health by 10

Michael was a bit disappointed by the low quality but equipped it anyways. Fortunately the earring was a clip on, the item snapping to his earlobe like they were magnetic.

That last fight had shown Michael something new. Apparently, since the two Vine Traps were close enough to partially overlap, a small part of the vines from each spell had wrapped around the other wolf, potentially increasing the strength of the other spell. Being unprepared for two wolves He hadn't taken the time to see if the vines would keep them trapped for longer, but that wouldn't be the case next time.

With his new skills taking two wolves at a time wasn't an issue. Since this was the case they switched to two at a time. When Damien brought the next two wolves the vines burst from the tunnel walls and wrapped around the Razorclaw Wolves, trapping them in place, just as Michael had planned. Michael readied a Magic Missile infused arrow, but didn't release it yet, he wanted to see how long the vines would keep the wolves trapped.

Three seconds passed and the wolves were still struggling against the vines. Four seconds, then five. The seconds kept passing, the wolves kept struggling, and Michael kept waiting.

After a while, Michael realized the wolves wouldn't be getting free. The vines had trapped them so well that they couldn't use their claws or their teeth to get free. Their freedom would only come when the spells dropped, not that Michael would let that happen. Two infused arrows later and the wolves dropped dead, still wrapped up in the vines.

Tier 1 Level 8 Razorclaw Wolf Killed!

Participation : 100%

Ranger Experience gained : 40

Modifier for Perks : 100%

Total Ranger Experience gained : 80

Tier 1 Level 8 Razorclaw Wolf Killed!

Participation : 100%

Ranger Experience gained : 40

Modifier for Perks : 100%

Total Ranger Experience gained : 80

The last wolf in the chamber was barely worth mentioning, the kill leaving him 40 xp from level 4. Michael wanted to quickly dip out of the dungeon, kill a few monsters, and come back with another coupla levels and a new skill. Sadly, each dungeon could only be challenged once every 24 hours. If he were to leave, even just for a second, he wouldn't be able to enter until the next day.

After a few minutes of rest, they got back up and travelled down the tunnels until they were back at the starting chamber. On a normal run the team would have entered the treasure room, the passage to which had opened up in the boss room shortly after beating the Razorclaw Alpha, but this wasn't a normal run. This time, they had a Treasure Hunter with them.

Once they reached this point, which was as far away from the treasure room as possible, Michael activated his skill. Feeling a little weak as the Mana rushed out of him, he closed his eyes as he sensed the Mana pulse out of his body and speed down the tunnels. It wasn't even a second before he felt the ping of his skill finding treasure. Locking on to the direction of the ping he shot off, the rest of the team following behind him with excitement.

Michael ran down the main tunnel and turned down the side tunnel leading to the fourth chamber, the signal coming from there. Once he arrived at the chamber he crossed over to the far wall, and paused. The treasure was on the other side of the wall, he could smell it. It smelled of promise, of exciting possibilities yet to be uncovered. If someone had bottled the essence of christmas morning then this is what it would smell like. looking over the wall carefully he noticed a small mark in the shape of a howling wolf near the bottom of the wall. Pressing his fingers on the mark caused a deep rumbling sound and a small section of the wall lowered into the ground, revealing an opening.

You have discovered the Wolf's Den secret chamber!

First Discovery bonus awarded, maximum rarity reward granted.

Meanwhile Michael, and only Michael, got another notification.

Treasure Room Discovered!

Treasure Hunter Experience gained : 50

Modifier for Perks : 100%

Total Treasure Hunter Experience gained : 100

With the secret chamber revealed the team entered the tunnel, Damien in the lead checking for traps. Though there had never been traps in the dungeon before the team had learnt that you could never be too cautious in a dungeon. The tunnel wasn't very long, twenty meters at the most, and ended in a circular room about ten meters across. In the center of the room, laying on a pedestal, was a sleeping wolf pup. Steel grey fur with white paws, belly and face, the pup was adorableness personified. Or wolf-ified, as it were. The reactions from the team were varied, but it was Anne that had the biggest reaction. As soon as she saw the pup she froze, her eyes wide. If this were an anime her eyes would have transformed into hearts. After a second of shock she gave a surprisingly girly squeal before leaping at the pup, wrapping it up in her arms.

With the woman hugging the still sleeping pup, Michael identified the pup.

Wolf Pup

Tamable sentient Magical Animal.

Growth Potential : 3.7

Multiple evolution paths available.

By the time he had finished digesting the information Michaels eyebrows had almost joined their upstairs neighbors. He wasn't exactly sure what the growth potential meant, or whether 3.7 was particularly high, but the rest was gravy. Tamable and multiple evolution paths proved the cub to be very, very rare, fitting of a maximum rarity reward. His initial reaction, after seeing the pups information, was a greedy happiness. One look at Anne, at the look of pure happiness on her face as she snuggled the pup, squashed that feeling like a ten tonne truck squashing a bug. Loot was all well and good, but Michael could never be heartless enough to take the pup. Even his inner loot hamster agreed, and that guy was a literal personification of greed.

The next thirty minutes was spent with Michael trying to teach Anne Taming, a task made longer by the fact that Michael was a terrible teacher, and Anne a terrible student. Still, by the end of the thirty minutes Anne had a new skill and a new companion, and Michael had another woman who swore that they'd always have his back. If Michael was so inclined, then he would already be well on his way to building a nice harem. But he was not that kind of guy, no matter what some people might think.

Secret Room discovered, and with their Dungeon Screens showing 85% completion, the group headed towards the boss chamber. It was time to challenge the Alpha Wolf.