Dungeon Noble - Squire

Jake left Ivaldi’s after finishing his drink, still unsure how he felt about everything he’d learned today.

Deciding to get to work instead, Jake made his way down to the training field and found a few other new Classers training together. The group seemed to be an eclectic mix of people, and Jake was able to join without issue.

Working with others helped push him forward and gave him some much-needed insight into how to better use his weapons.

There was little else Jake could do to prepare for the next delve, so he wanted to make sure he put in as much work as possible.

By this point, Jake was fairly confident that Felix had a Skill that boosted recovery because he never recovered as quickly when working on his own. He wasn’t going to let that stop him, though.

-**-

The morning run with Felix was as hard as usual, but Jake could feel himself improving. He was running faster, his endurance was improving, and he was getting there.

Felix even gave him an approving nod at the end of the run, which felt like reward enough by itself.

The following delve into the Dungeon showed equal levels of improvement.

Jake and the others took the Challenge option once again and defeated the murk hound, though Jake didn’t see the end of the fight.

Still, Jake lasted long enough that the group was able to manage victory, and that meant all the more Wyrdgeld for them.

Unfortunately, it seemed that only Rhew and Alan survived the Challenge, which left them easy prey for the monsters on the final floor.

They divided the Wyrdgeld over coffee at the tavern, and Jake added twenty-eight Wyrdgeld to his total, with Ari once again buying the fruits off of them directly.

The latest payout was enough for the others to reach rank three, letting them once again push ahead while Jake did his best to save up what he could.

Jake knew he’d continue to fall behind as they advanced; he couldn’t see any other way for things to go, but it was still demoralising to watch it happen.

-**-

The next day was much the same, and though Felix had yet to teach him much of anything, the improved recovery time that Jake had after running with Felix let him push himself to the limit and still be in good shape for the Dungeon

Rhew and Alan were waiting for them as they stumbled up to the tavern, and after only a few minutes of rest, they were heading for their morning delve.

The Challenge was there again, and the four of them took it on eagerly, ready to test themselves against the small horde that was brought against them.

It was a close fight, and both Jake and Karl were badly injured by the end of it, but they were victorious, and none of them died.

It felt like a momentous occasion for them to all make it through the Challenge alive, and to make it better, Rhew had been saving her Wyrd for the fight, so they didn’t have to use a single one of the Wyrdgeld that they drew from the fallen monsters.

Wounded as they were, they were in no shape to power through the final floor, but they gave it their all, injuring both murk hounds before they were taken out.

It was another failure overall, but it was progress nonetheless.

-**-

The crushing defeat at the end of the delve couldn’t take away from the pure joy Jake felt when his cut of the loot came to thirty Wyrdgeld.

Jake’s share was just enough to let him purchase rank three, which was enough to lift his spirits. It felt like he’d barely just reached rank two, and he was already able to progress once more.

The additional Wyrdgeld from the Challenge room was definitely making a difference.

The reward from the Challenge this time had been a large amount of Wyrd-infused fruit. The total value was the same as if they were given the branch it often provided, meaning they had more fruit than they knew what to do with.

Thankfully, Ari was quick to buy them all from them, meaning that Jake got his share as raw coin and could skip his visit to the Trading Post.

-**-

Jake made his way down for his afternoon training as usual and found himself training with some of the older Classers that frequented the area.

This particular group was led by a muscular Classer called Lokan, who seemed to have a preference for spears. Fighting someone with such a different weapon was good practice for Jake.

“Hi there, would you be Jake?” A tall, dark-haired woman in leather armour approached Jake with a friendly smile. She carried a spear in one hand, though Jake noticed that the haft of the weapon was shod in iron.

“Yeah, that’s me,” Jake said, noting that Lokan and a couple of others had split off from the main group to carry on with the obstacle course.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Anna, Lokan’s teammate. We’re going to run a round-robin sparring competition if you’re interested?”

“Sure, sounds good,” Jake said, happy to go along with whatever they had planned.

“Great!” Anna clapped her hands together, catching her spear in the crook of her arm as it fell. “Another fighter means we can run all the fights at once. Lokan and the others prefer to run the course, you see, to try and get a Trait to do with agility.”

“Does that work like that?” Jake asked, intrigued by the concept.

“Hmm? Oh, getting Traits, you mean?” Anna glanced back as she guided him over to where the others were waiting. “It does, and it doesn’t. The System takes everything into account, so the best advice you’ll get is to do more of what you want to specialise in, but I doubt any of this would be enough on its own.”

“Got it,” Jake nodded, thinking back to what Ari had told him about Deeds. Their training made sense in a way, but it also felt lacking somehow.

“Jake, this is Ricard. He’ll be your first partner while I get Dom,” Anna said as she waved over two Classers.

Ricard was a bald man with a heavy beard and a slender build, while Dom was one of the biggest men Jake had ever met, with a powerful frame and messy dark hair.

“Ah yeah, Lokan says you come training even after delving into the Dungeon, that right?” Ricard asked, idly twirling a pair of daggers in his hands as he eyed Jake.

“Well, I try to, yeah,” Jake said, shifting his weight as he glanced between the three Classers.

“Revival sickness is rough,” Dom’s voice was a surprisingly melodic and cultured tenor that seemed out of place coming from the powerfully built Classer.

“Yeah, it is,” Jake said, a touch of weariness creeping into his voice as he thought of the last few days. Between the training, the delving and the recovering from dying, he never really recovered all the way.

“Have you been in today?” One of Dom’s thick brows quirked up at Jake’s tone.

“Yeah,” Jake felt a little hesitant to answer, knowing how different the experience was for him compared to the rest of his group. “We’re doing pretty well, but we’re stuck on the last floor.”

“Damn, well, let’s see what we can do to help with that,” Anna looked over to the others, and they seemed to have an unspoken conversation before Ricard motioned for Jake to follow him.

“Let’s get the first bout done, and then when this is over, I’ll show you some stuff, alright?”

“Sounds good to me,” Jake said with a grin, already eager to learn from the more experienced Classers.

Anna called out the rules, which were quite straightforward, and the competition began with little fanfare.

“First to three touches, lad, you ready?” Ricard asked with a crooked smile.

Jake simply nodded, holding his practice blade in a guard position as he watched the other Classer intently.

Even with his eyes trained on the bald man, Jake almost missed the moment when Ricard attacked. In the blink of an eye, Ricard was already on him, a dagger flicking out to strike Jake on the arm and claim the first touch.

Jake did his best to keep up with the smaller man, but Ricard’s fighting style was very different to what Jake had experienced so far. The bald man was fast on his feet, and his strikes were difficult to follow, let alone dodge or parry.

Ricard’s daggers were blunted practice weapons, but Jake knew he’d have some bruises in the morning regardless. The blade they gave Jake was also blunted, but it hardly felt like it mattered.

Compared to Ricard, Jake felt like a clumsy fool and didn’t even come close to hitting him before Ricard got his three hits.

Jake congratulated Ricard and watched as his opponent went on to fight Anna before losing to her by a single point.

“So, no training?” Ricard asked as he came back over to Jake.

“Nothing worth mentioning. Most of my experience is in the Dungeon.”

“I can tell; you barely move your feet. I bet you’re protecting someone in close quarters most of the time, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Jake said, nodding as he considered how things normally went.

“Right, so you’re getting used to planting your feet and not moving them until everything is dead. Look, let me show you.”

Ricard got Jake into a stance and made him do some practice attacks, showing him how he was overreaching and how that was affecting his centre of balance.

Jake missed the rest of the competition as he was too focused on what Ricard was showing him, but that felt like a good trade.

-**-

Jake sat heavily on his bed later that day and summoned the System to the fore.

Sufficient Wyrdgeld is present, presenting ascension options for Tier I Rank III.

You currently have two Trait slots available and two Skill slots available.

At this time, you have unlocked one additional Skill that may be purchased.

Minor Infused Strike - 100 Wyrdgeld

At this time, you have unlocked no additional Traits that may be purchased.

At this time, you have insufficient Wyrdgeld to upgrade the rank of any Skills.

At this time, you have insufficient Wyrdgeld to upgrade the rank of any Traits.

At this time, you have insufficient Wyrdgeld to purchase any available Skills.

Would you like to continue with your ascension?

“Yes, please,” Jake lay back on the bed, ready for the pain to come.

Congratulations, you have ascended to Tier I, Rank III. The expended Wyrdgeld shall be used to refine your physicality.

Would you like to discard any Skills or Traits at this time?

“No, thank you,” Jake muttered, unsure why he was being polite to the System. He was fairly confident it had no way of knowing.

Blooming heat in his chest made Jake forget any further questions he had about the System’s intelligence as it worked to bring him to the third rank.