The smell hits me first. Rotten and decaying, like corpses rotting in the summer sun. I forcefully stop myself from gagging at the stench. It begins to approach me. The scratching sound of its claws on stone and the rasp of its rattling breath echo through the chamber.
I don't flinch. I raise the matte black falchion, the blade just barely catching the light produced by the crystals embedded in the ceiling. My fingers tighten around the grip, and I shift my stance.
It shrieks, mouth gaping far too wide, and hurls a spray of noxious green liquid from its throat. I step to the side, desperate to avoid the fetid juices. The poison sizzles across the floor where I stood seconds ago.
It charges at me, claws scraping, teeth gnashing. I sidestep, let it rush past me, and bring the falchion down in a tight arc. The blade hacks into its hindquarters with a crunch of bone. It squeals, topples sideways, thrashing in agony.
I follow up while the pain distracts it.
Another slash across its side rips through muscle and bursts a boil, spraying foulness across the floor. The stench worsens, but I keep breathing through clenched teeth, willing myself not to vomit.
It rights itself and lunges once more, so I leap back and counter with a precise slash at its throat.
It gurgles. Limbs twitch, and its head, barely still connected to its body, flops to the side. One final breath rattles in its chest as its bulk collapses in a shuddering, steaming heap.
I stand over it, my chest heaving, my breathing fast. Adrenaline burns in my veins, and a sense of pride in my heart.
[Slain: Bile Rat lvl 1 - 9 EXP)
'I killed it!'
[Class unlocked: Fighter - The fighter is a dependable and straightforward warrior, an apprentice in the core principles of close combat. They are equally comfortable with swords, axes, spears, or shields, relying on solid technique and physical prowess to deal with their enemies. - Bonus: Strength + 10%]
[Active skill: Boosted strike - 10mp - Deal 20% more damage on your next attack]
Excellent, I have unlocked the fighter class as well. I immediately switch it to my primary class and put [Sky Captain] as a secondary class. That 10% Strength boost might come in handy.
Kaelin, who watched the fight without interfering as per my instructions, approaches me with a huge smile and a wagging tail. With my adrenaline still high, and her showing me a look of pride and happiness, I feel even more attracted to her beauty.
'That was great, Captain! You didn't panic or hesitate. You show great instincts, and as soon as it seemed to be at a disadvantage, you pounced!'
'Thanks for the praise, my lovely gunner, but in the next chamber, I want to see how you put those new revolvers to use!'
We collect the small purple-black crystal that the rat leaves on the floor, and it goes into my storage ring. The crystal is tiny, the size of my thumbnail, and Kaelin informs me that by itself it won't even be worth 1 gp.
We wait a few moments for the door to the next chamber to slide open, and then we make our way inside.
The aether in the chamber swirls, and standing before us is another bile rat. Kaelin walks into the middle of the chamber, ready to do battle.
The bile rat shambles forward, its grotesque body framed by the smooth stone walls like a painting of rot and sickness. Its patchy fur stretches tight over boils that glisten in the low light. Every breath it takes gurgles wetly, and its breath fogs the air with a noxious green mist.
The foxkin doesn't flinch.
She stands at the center of the room, cloak fluttering faintly behind her, revolver already raised. Her ears twitch once, calculating wind, range, tension, and she exhales.
The rat rears back, its pustule-covered throat bulging as it prepares to spew venom.
She fires.
The gunshot cracks like thunder. The mana bullet whines through the poisoned air and punches clean through the creature's malformed skull, entering just beneath its eye. For a heartbeat, the rat remains upright, frozen mid-charge, then collapses like a puppet with its strings cut. A single, final wheeze escapes its ruined throat as it crumples, motionless, in a puddle of its own corruption.
She holsters the smoking weapon with a flick of her wrist, not even sparing the body a second glance.
She turns to me, a smug grin on her face. 'How was that, Captain? Did I meet your expectations?'
'One shot? Kaelin, what level are you?'
'I am level 8 right now, and my class is marksman.'
So at level 8 with her new revolvers, she can one-shot the creature. But from her behavior, I get the impression she could have done that even if she didn't have new guns.
I notice that I did not get any EXP from my [Sky Captain] class when she killed it, so she did not hit the minimum threshold of 20 EXP. Considering I received 9EXP, she probably only received 3.
We return to our original plan, and only I clear the next room, to maximize the EXP gains I get.
Afterwards, we return along the central path and line up again, waiting another 10 minutes to enter the chambers once more.
The whole process of moving through the chambers and lining up again takes about 25 minutes, so clearing the chambers a total of 4 times, reaching level 2 takes me around 2 hours.
Ding!
[Host has reached level 2]
[Name: Leon Maxwell]
[Race: Sky Sovereign]
[Level: 2 XP 4/130]
[Primary Class: Fighter lvl 2]
[Secondary Class
-Sky Captain lvl 2
- Resident lvl 1 ]
[HP: 110/110]
[MP: 90/90]
[Strength: 11]
[Vitality: 11]
[Agility: 11]
[Intelligence: 9]
[Wisdom: 9]
[Unused Skill Points: 3]
[Unused Attribute Points: 5]