Chapter 13: Exhaustion - Skills and Perks Lethe continued to watch the template shifting and changing the patterns of his 3rd floor. Each of the rooms started to have longer moss, of both the luminescent and non-luminescent kind, growing and expanding, covering the walls with pockets of light. Vines started to sink and curve the rapidly growing outcrops of stalagmites and stalactites, further sinking the ambience of the rooms to represent the depths of the earth. It seemed that as his number of floors increased, the current template he had would alter and augment the surroundings according to depth. So far, he was around 20 meters underground, his first floor taking up most of the middle of the small hill, the second floor taking the base of the hill, and all of his third floor being underground. Granted, he wouldn't have been able to create as many rooms as he already had for his third floor if it wasn't underground, so Lethe considered that a solid plus. He decided to continue to leave the template running and focused back on to his first floor, and witnessed a very surprising twist. According to his subconscious that was monitoring the party, [Jones and Folks] had already finished 3 normal runs for the day. They were currently on their 4th run, and each member of the party looked as if they would sink into the earth from fatigue. They were currently fighting the lone [Stone Slime 1] in the first tunnel, and their [Shieldbearer] was barely able to block its attacks. Lethe knew for a fact that his mobs grew marginally stronger with his increase in levels, but it should have barely impacted the now Level 7 [Shieldbearer]'s aptitude to defend. The others were also sluggish. Both the [Acolyte] and the [Hedge Mage] were barely able to keep their eyes open, the [Tracker] wasn't aiming as well as he used to, hitting his mark most of the time but sometimes missing his shot outright, and the [Skirmisher] was only using a single shortsword instead of his usual two. Lethe was baffled by their current conditions. He couldn't imagine how, who, or what led to the party becoming so...pathetic. At least, compared to what he had seen of their coordination and alertness before. Before being disappointed in them though, Lethe wanted to wait and figure out what had happened. Soon enough, the party had brought down the [Stone Slime]. As soon as the slime started to deflate and dissolve into the ground of the cave, the [Shieldbearer] just sat down in the middle of the floor. "We can't do this no-more Jones. We'll risk our lives with the next room if we keep on goin'." the [Shieldbearer] said, leaning against the wall of the tunnel. "We've been going at this non-stop for too long. We need ta rest." he finished. The [Acolyte] continued to stand there, seemingly in deep thought. After a minute or so of silence, he spoke up. "Y'all are right. We should be able ta get Level 8 with the 3 runs and these mobs we did, so let's pack up. We'll rest up for the night and come back bring an' early to take on the next section, yeah?" As if energized by the thought, the rest of the party enthusiastically nodded and started to head out. Realizing what had happened, Lethe took a moment to himself to think. The group had been going through at least 4, and once 5 runs, a day since the first day they turned back. The exhaustion from so many fights must have reached the breaking point, leading to their current performance. Feeling exhausted himself, Lethe watched as the group made their way back through the tunnel and out of the dungeon. As usual, after each of them left once, they returned, gave a small bow, and went out of the dungeon once more. [Ding! Tribute XP received from party [Jones and Folks]] [119 XP received!] [XP 142/400] Banking the XP, Lethe decided to rest as well. He still had a lot of work left to do for his third floor and he also wanted to be of a fresh mind when the party returned for their run tomorrow, hoping that they would be refreshed and ready to face his challenges. ------ Jones and his brother's were trudging down from the dungeon entrance, the sun quickly setting behind their backs. For the past couple of days, they had pushed themselves to complete over 10 runs of the dungeon upto the second room, the exhaustion of concentrating for long hours culminating finally into what they had become now, barely able to move, their arms and legs as if made of lead, and a subdued aura of exhaustion wafting out from each of them. Regardless of how exhausted they were though, the party had reached their goal. Each of them had just now received a total of 214 XP, enough to increase their level to 8, granting them their next set of perks and skills. As the group settled around the campsite, Jones went ahead and increased his level. A burst of energy went through his body as he reached the threshold, allowing him to breathe easier and feel stronger than before. Leveling up didn't refresh his exhaustion though, just unlocked more of their bodies potential. And with that potential, he had unlocked his 4th skill and second perk from his [Acolyte] class. Listing out his [Class] list, Jones went over the new skill and perk.

[Class: Acolyte]

[Skills] [Mend | Instant Touch Divine | Heal a small amount of HP and injuries through touch. Multiple casts compound effects.] [Cleanse | Instant Touch Divine | Purge toxins and poisons. Cleansing unknown substances increases proficiency.] [Prayer | Channel Divine | Allows Instant spells to be channeled. Boosts potency of spells by 1 stage while channeled.] [Radiance | Instant Ranged Divine | Shoot a searing ball of light at a target. Increased effectiveness on undead.] [Perks] [Devoted | Your mind is devoted to the deities. Skills focused on the divine have increased potency.] [Path of the Priest 1 - Steadfast | Your heart is focused on the deities. Obstacles in your way are easier to overcome. Enhances willpower.] Reviewing his new skill, [Radiance], Jones was able to let go of a long held burden. Being the healer for his party, he understood early on that he shouldn't be attacking. Yet, not being able to help his brothers in bringing down their foes had always disgruntled him. Finally, he had a spell that he could use offensively. On the other hand, his new perk confused him. He had listened to some gossip while they were in the outpost and most people had mentioned that [Perks] tend to be more confusing to understand but work as a guide in a way. He had initially thought nothing of it, as his first [Perk] seemed to be fairly straightforward. Seeing the new one though, he now understood why people got confused. Deciding to investigate what the others received, Jones looked at the rest of his party and saw that they were done with their XP distribution as well. "I'm guessin' y'all got your new skill and perk, yeah?" he asked. Receiving nods and affirmative grunts in return, he shared his class list with the others and asked the rest to do the same so that they could review their combat potential.

[Class: Shieldbearer]

[Skills] [Block Stance | Stance Physical | Use your shield or weapon to block attacks, reducing the amount of force received. Increases enmity.] [Steady | Instant Physical | Strengthen your core and solidify your stance, negating any knockback from opponents.] [Bash | Action Physical | Use your shield to disrupt an attack, knocking opponents back and inflicting minimal damage. Increases enmity.] [Rush | Instant Physical | Rush towards your enemy with either your shield or weapon. Reduced effectiveness of control skills. Hitting with the shield causes knockback and increased enmity. Hitting with the weapon causes moderate damage.] [Perks] [Sword and Board | Through the use of a sword and shield for combat, you have grown familiar with stances and footwork to enable greater movement and steadier stances.] [Path of the Knight 1 - Toughskin | You have developed tougher skin. Glancing attacks have a chance to miss and damage from direct attacks are reduced.]

[Class: Skirmisher]

[Skills] [Snake Stance | Stance Physical | Use bladed weapons to pierce and gouge, moderate increase to piercing damage and evasive footwork] [Double Fang | Instant Physical | Instantly attack with two bladed weapons, instant moderate damage.] [Retreat | Action Physical | Step back from an engagement, reduces enmity.] [Backstab | Instant Action Physical | Pierce an opponent from the back with a bladed weapon dealing severe physical damage. Chance to cause bleeding.] [Perks] [Dual wield | You are able to wield two weapons independently of each other, allowing greater coordination and fluidity to actions.] [Path of the Rogue 1 - Smoke | Any enmity that is produced by you is reduced by 1 stage.]

[Class: Hedge Mage]

[Skills] [Light | Instant Magic | Cast an orb of light that is under your control.] [Flare | Instant Magic | Cast an arrow of magical fire under your control.] [Force | Depth Magic | Manipulate the physical, allowing the caster to imbue greater force on physical objects.] [Focus | Channel Magic | Focus your mind and increase the potency of any spells you cast by 1 stage.] [Perks] [Mana sense | You are able to sense mana, allowing greater control of magical effects and spells.] [Path of the Wizard 1 - Deep pool | The depth of your mana pool increases by 1 stage.] [Class: Tracker] [Skills] [Track | Action Physical | Track an object, mark, or scent.] [Power shot | Channel Physical | Channel for 2 seconds before shooting, dealing moderate physical ranged damage.] [Jump | Action Physical | Maneuverability through obstacles and height when jumping increased. Physical ability and weight determines potency.] [Split shot | Instant Ranged Physical | Split your arrows (or other ranged weapon) into two. Does not duplicate weapons. Split arrow (or weapon) deals moderate force damage. Original arrow (or weapon) deals moderate damage.] [Perks] [Survival | You are more easily able to survive in hostile conditions.] [Path of the Ranger 1 - Hunt | Targets marked by you will receive additional mild force damage from any type of physical attacks.] Each of their new perks seem to be indicative of the direction their class was heading. For himself, he could see that he would develop into a [Priest]-like class. For George, the big guy looked to be heading towards a [Knight]-like class, and [Rogue]-like for James. Seeing John's perk did surprise him as he had thought that the guy would be heading towards [Mage], not [Wizard], the more scholarly of the magic-based classes. Same for Harry. He had thought the guy would be heading towards [Archer] and not [Ranger], which is more specialized in survival and hunting than shooting a bow well. Regardless, the new level gave all of them a large boost to their combat potential. Their skill sets were overall more fleshed out and their increased inherent stats from being a higher level made them much stronger. Finally, [Jones and Folks] are ready to continue their delve into the depths of this dungeon.