He saw Mira sifting through the corpses before checking his notifications.
Level Up x4
You’ve reached level [6]
Your stats will be allocated appropriately for your class
You have [4] levels until you are allowed to allocate your free points
You have [12] free points
New Skill gained x2
Arthur had leveled up 4 times, which surprised him. Once again, he had no frame for reference, but wasn’t that leveling speed insane? Neither having the time or the knowledge to contemplate that topic, however, he moved on to the other things mentioned in the notifications. It said that he had 4 levels until he could allocate his free points, and that he had 12 of them. He assumed that meant that he could put 12 points into whatever stat he wanted once he leveled up 4 more times. He was excited to try it, but put it to the back of his mind for now. Lastly, he’d gained 2 new skills, and he decided to check what they did after looking over his new stats. Periodically sneaking a peek at Mira again to check what she was doing, he looked at his Identity Screen.
Identity Screen
Name: Arthur Lindow
Title: [Heart of Devotion]
Class: [Audacity Knight]
Level: 6
Stats
STR: 23 {Trade off available}
VIT: 65 {Trade off available}
DEF: 56 {Trade off available}
DEX: 11
INT: 7 {Trade off available}
Accord: N/A
Link Mates: N/A
Feats: 2
Arthur stared at his vitality stat in awe. His True Heart of Devotion title added an extra 80% of his vitality and defense stats to themselves, so his defensive stats were more than half the original number higher than they would be otherwise. Even knowing this, however, Arthur could hardly believe his eyes. He was only level 6, and yet his stats reached such a number. He didn’t truly know how high that was comparative to what was normal in this new world, but he didn’t think about that for long. Once again, he had no frame for reference to what was normal and what was not. He felt frustrated about just how little information he had.
After closing his Identity Screen, he checked over his resources. His HP was full, with only his MP and Stamina impaired. After looking over his notifications and screens, they were almost full again, however, as Arthur watched them slowly fill. His MP bar was blue, with white numbers inside for numerical measurement. The number for his current maximum MP was 1,750, which he understood scaled off of his current intelligence stat, one of his lowest. His Stamina was much higher at 11, 375, but even that didn’t hold a candle to his comparatively massive HP at 16,250. His MP bar filled much slower than his Stamina, which had already finished in the interim.
He remembered that he could move his mana recovery to his vitality stat and resolved to do that once he had the chance. After finishing with his stats, he quickly went to look at his new skills.
New Skill!
[Insurmountable Wall]: Expend 2 stacks of [Audacity] to become invincible for as long as the skill is active, for a maximum of 2 minutes and a minimum of 30 seconds. Unable to move for as long as [Insurmountable Wall] is active. Upon the skills deactivation, reduced damage reduction for as long as the skill was active.
Arthur was unimpressed with this one. If the time restriction wasn’t there, he could think of many ways he could use this skill during a battle. If he could see an attack coming, he could use the skill quickly, deactivate it, and only deal with a second or less of reduced damage reduction. This skill would have essentially made him immortal, as long as he could see every attack coming. He was disappointed that the skill effectively quashed that dream with the 30 second minimum activation time. He moved on to the next one.
New Skill!
[Audacity Tempering]: Expend varying stacks of [Audacity] to enhance other facets of your power. Limits apply.
This skill just confused Arthur. It was vague in its wording, and what was there made little to no sense to him. What facets of his power could he enhance, and how? Did it mean he could use his stacks of Audacity to enhance his stats? While he was reeling from trying to understand the ambiguous skill, he realized something. Every other time he gained a skill, he also gained at least moderate knowledge of how to use it. Every skill had a place in his mind that he could activate at will, almost like moving a finger or blinking. However, for Audacity Tempering, that feeling was not there. He felt no understanding of how it worked or how to use it.
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Arthur fought back a growing disappointment. His first two skills he’d ever gotten via level up, and they both felt underwhelming. He didn’t have time to think on it long though, as he was quickly reminded that he wasn’t alone.
“Hellooooo? Earth to Arthur?” Mira called. She was standing in front of him with her arms crossed, staring at him with annoyed, piercing eyes. Arthur opened his mouth in surprise and closed all his opened windows. “Sorry about that, I was checking through my notifications. I gained a bunch of levels and got 2 skills.” Mira cocked her head to the side, her blonde-dyed hair falling to one side. “2 skills? What did you get?” Arthur explained the skills he got and what they did, including his disappointment in the first, as well as the vagueness of the second.
“If you disliked those skills so much, then why did you choose them?” A modest amount of confusion painted her face. Mira, as far as Arthur has seen, never showed too much of any emotion. It was almost as though the concept for her was diluted, save for her displays of her wolf’s grin during the last battle.
“Choose?” It was Arthur’s turn to be confused. “I didn’t get to choose. Do you choose your skills?”
“Yes… I’d thought it would be that way for everyone, but isolated as we are… we don’t know if that’s abnormal or not.” She looked around, down one hallway, then another. Arthur belatedly noticed that she was covered in very little blood, despite her prior rampage. “Just as with everything else here… we know nothing.” She sighed with mild frustration. “I gained a skill choice as well and leveled up a bit, but I would rather not spend time on it right now. We need to find the others, then get out of here.” Arthur nodded, and was about to speak, but was interrupted by a screen popping up in front of him. He was about to will it away until he read the message.
you cannot leave.
It was in all lowercase, which was immediately off-putting as the System always used proper grammar with its messages. He looked at Mira, who was already looking back with narrowed eyes before refocusing on the messages.
you must defeat dungeon boss.
only then can you leave.
Arthur blanched. He and Mira had planned to leave the dungeon directly after finding the others, but this… whatever it was, just crushed that plan. Arthur wanted to reject the voice’s declaration, but had a sinking feeling that these messages spoke the truth.
do not panic, do not rush.
if you do, you will die.
i am here to help.
follow my directions exactly.
Arthur and Mira looked at each other again, before Arthur spoke up. “Who are you? Can you help us find our friends?”
There was no answer for a long moment, and just as Arthur began to feel dumb for speaking to nothingness, more messages appeared.
other humans dead.
who i am doesnt matter.
It was too sudden. Arthur felt himself rock back after the first message. His face scrunched in despair and confusion as his back hit the wall, and he leaned against it for support. “Wh-…What? O-Oh… God… no…” He nearly sank to the ground as he thought about the staff of the aquarium, his second family. The kind Mrs. Bennet, and old Jericho. Logan, who was an even bigger weirdo than him, and his little brother Brian. He didn’t even know which ones were on shift today other than Carol, who had just been confirmed dead by this mysterious entity. Her kind and motherly smile burned in his mind like poison.
“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Mira stood tall and unbent, challenging the messages, whereas Arthur spiraled.
do not need belief.
only obedience.
The messages came quick that time, as if indignant of the challenge to its word. Mira didn’t back down, however, and pressed it further. “And why should we listen to you?” The messages stopped for a moment, as though calming down to gather its thoughts.
you do not know where you are.
you do not know what is happening.
i am your only chance.
Mira’s eyes remained unchanged, staring icy death at the messages for a prolonged moment. She looked Arthur’s way, but he didn’t meet her eyes. He’d finally slid all the way to the floor, his face frozen in shock as he stared into nothingness. With a scowl, she ran her fingers through her dirty hair. “Fine. Where do we go next?” The next message was immediate, as if it was already queued and ready to send.
left.
Mira stepped over the mangled abominations to Arthur before grabbing his arm to pull him up. “Come on, the messages said-” Mira stopped as Arthur looked up at her touch. His eyes were puffy. Lines from his eyes were cut through the dust and grime on his face, and his nose was slightly runny. Mira’s gaze softened so little one could’ve thought they imagined it. “Come on, we’re going this way.” She pulled him up, and they walked down the corridor to their left, leaving behind the melting husks of life. They began to sizzle down to nothing but sludge painting the new floors of the once bustling aquarium.
Gordeau leaned back in his chair with a mighty sigh. He didn’t much care for the female human’s attitude, but he was glad that she was at least pragmatic. After pointing out that they were both adrift and ignorant of the situation, she’d come around. He was sure the fact that they were also stuck in a death trap with no way out also helped her along. Despite the qualities that set the human named “Arthur” apart from everyone else on his planet, the female human was the leader. She carried herself with poise and was prudent to question the messages he’d sent instead of trusting them immediately. Just because he could admit that didn’t mean he liked it, however.
He watched them make their way down the hallway with a contemplative look on his face. He’d been watching them since they left the secure sector, and he’d yet to hear the female human’s name. He had, however, seen the battle they’d just had, and also the conversation after. He’d clearly heard Arthur talk about “Audacity” while talking about his new skills.
Gordeau hadn’t believed his ears. The shock upon hearing the T.H.O.D. speak about having Audacity skills was bone deep and thunderous. Despite the implausible nature of the statement, Gordeau couldn’t think of a single reason why he’d lie to his friend. Even if he could, there was no way he should have even known of the Audacity skill’s existence.
The way language worked in the System was that the native language of the inhabitant was filtered through the System Dust responsible for sound waves and/or whatever other method the subject used to communicate, projecting into a universal translator called, rather simply, System Common. The names of classes from before the Earth had even existed used words not of Earth, but were translated into words that the inhabitants would understand. The closest approximation for the ancient name of Arthur’s class was “Audacity”, but the translated word didn’t properly convey the magnitude of the original ancient meaning. It had meant the unyielding, crystalized will to fight, live, and prosper. The strength to both tear down kingdoms, and to put one’s weapon down. It’d meant understanding that there was no courage without fear, and that there would be no change without the will to act.
Gordeau knew how ridiculous the Audacity classes were. He also knew how exceedingly rare they were, with only one of each type being allowed per universe. Which was why when he learned that this “Arthur”, someone who already had a True Heart of Devotion, was also an Audacity class, he’d spat out his stamina draught and almost more. The shock of the revelation shook him to this very moment, and his disbelief was palpable. The combination of rarities was so unprecedented that he couldn’t think of anyone he’d ever heard of with such an overwhelming confluence. One or the other by themselves was already potent, but together they would create something unspeakable. Words simply lacked the efficiency to convey it.
After setting aside the shock just enough to think, Gordeau decided to redouble his efforts he’d previously committed to. Since the human was both a T.H.O.D. and an Audacity class, he could handle anything this dungeon or Gordeau could throw at him. Considering that there was also another competent human with him, Gordeau had already increased the difficulty of the dungeon to the maximum it would allow for low levels. With a tight grip on his 3rd stamina draught of the day, he leaned forward in his chair to stare closer at the screens depicting his guests. All that was left to do now… was wait for the unsuspecting humans to walk directly into his scheme.