NOVEL FROG CHAPTER 29 A Bar Joke
The trio arrived on the third floor.
Their demeanor is noticeably different from when they first arrived. When the gate initially closed on them, they were terrified.
But now, they want to keep exploring so they can collect all the loot.
Just as they did on the first and second floors, they collected everything worth collecting and started compiling them in a single room.
But after reaching a certain room, they were repulsed by what they saw.
“Yuck!” exclaimed Jess, “What the hell is that?”
“What kind of an abomination is that thing?” said Dexter.
“Luckily it’s dead.” admitted Rebecca. “Or I don’t know how we would have fought that thing.”
What they saw was a chest-shaped monster that had a disgusting mouth and rotting teeth out of it and various appendages sprouting from that same mouth.
“Dex, can you use some of those poisonous herbs you found?” asked Rebecca. “You know, just to be sure it’s really dead?”
“Yeah, good idea.” Jess hurriedly agreed. “Do it, Dex, please.”
“Okay! You can count on me!”
Dexter then gathered some of the herbs he picked up during their grinding at the catacombs. Then, activated his skill.
Toxin Extraction!
A few drops were squeezed out of the herb and floated in mid-air. Dex held out a few arrow and let the extract coat the tip of it.
He then used the arrow and fired it at the carcass of the strange monster.
Swish!
No notification of any kind popped in his status window.
“I think we’re clear, Bex,” said Dexter with relief. “No status message.”
Upon hearing this, the two ladies signed with relief. Rebecca even forgot to be upset at being called Bex.
“Okay, then let’s move on.” said Rebecca finally. “Let’s just look for another room to hide our loot.”
Her suggestion was met by the two with much enthusiasm.
Fortunately for the trio, other than the strange monster, the rest of the floor had no other nasty surprises so they were able to resume collecting the equipment as usual.
After they finished looting the floor, Rebecca deemed it sufficient for selling and asked Jess to contact her boyfriend Cole in the real world to make a deal with Flora Guild for a bulk purchase.
They backtracked to the upper floors, then logged out and sold everything they’ve found so far.
They will sell the items at the Mercury Auction House and it will be a user-to-user transaction with the auction house facilitating the transfer of goods and funds.
Doing this type of transaction is not included in the basic member’s selling limit. However, there will be a service charge that the auction house will collect- and it is agreed upon that Flora Guild will be the one to cover it.
Since Flora Guild is trying to cover as much ground as they could, they needed to equip their members with good weapons as soon as possible. So Rebecca’s offer was met positively and both parties agreed at a reasonable price.
While the weapons and armors have low durability, it is not as much of an issue if the guild has a team of blacksmiths capable of repairs.
Plus, the attack power of the weapons is approximately 10% to 15% better than what the majority of other players and guilds use so the supply is a godsend for Flora.
Of course, Flora Guild tried to buy the information from Rebecca as to where she got the loot from, but she refused to say anything.
Right after the transaction was completed, she was offered to join the guild with a reasonable salary- to which Rebecca said she'll have to think about first before deciding.
After the sale was concluded, Rebecca and Jessica had a very happy smile on their faces. This time, their rent is well and truly paid- not the rent from two months ago but up until their most recent one.
Not only that, but their earnings were higher than they originally anticipated since Dexter decided to give away his share of the earnings to the sisters.
With their current financial state, Rebecca only half-heartedly asked that Dexter take his share, and didn’t push the subject when he refused a second time.
They brushed it off as Dexter coming from a rich family means he’s not playing for monetary gain the way they are. After all, such a young kid with a rich background don't understand how hard it is to be self-sufficient.
After logging back in, the trio continued their exploration and headed to the next floor.
It didn’t take long for them to realize how grateful they were that they already sold their loot before heading here. Unlike the first three floors, the fourth floor has a few surviving undead.
Fortunately for them, it is the zombies lying on the coffins. But now, their wariness is back in full as the possibility of encountering hostile undead is back on the menu.
Needless to say, they took advantage of the dormant and defenseless zombies. Instead of forming a party, the trio decided to target a zombie each so as to get the full essence reward.
Rebecca and Dexter asked Jess to give them a holy buff to boost their damage against the undead. On the other hand, Jessica simply cast a healing spell on the sleeping zombie. For the undead, a holy spell like Healing would damage them instead.
Even with the holy buffs, it took them quite a while to kill their respective zombies. But when they did, they were ecstatic at the essence yield.
[You have slain Zombie Lvl. 99. You have absorbed 2000 Essence.]
[You have slain Zombie Lvl. 99. You have absorbed 2000 Essence.]
[You have slain Zombie Lvl. 99. You have absorbed 2000 Essence.]
The trio was astounded; they had never seen such high essence yield before. Previously, their essence gain from a zombie kill is barely 200 essence. But now, they earned 2000 essence separately?
But shortly afterwards, they noticed that the zombie is level 99- the zombie they had slain is a good 40 levels above them.
The trio exchanged glances. It’s not hard to guess what they were thinking: 'let's search for more sleeping zombies!'
And so, their task now is divided into looting the area and hunting sleeping zombies.
They were very busy for the next 2 days.
***
5th floor. Looting and zombie killing.
6th floor. Looting and zombie killing.
7th floor. Looting and zombie killing. Once again, they sold the loot they've collected. Dexter forfeited his share the second time.
8th floor. Looting and zombie killing.
9th floor. Looting and zombie killing.
10th floor. Looting and zombie killing. They sold the loot collected. And once again, Dexter did not claim his share.
By the time they have cleared the 10th floor of everything worth looting or claiming, their financial state had become considerably better and they also leveled up several times over. At this point, Rebecca is no longer inclined to accept Flora's offer.
'Maybe it's better to remain independent. This is a decent source of income.' she thought.
Rebecca went from Level 60 to 68, Jess from Level 58 to 66, and Dex from Level 54 to 65.
It was such a drastic increase in level that Rebecca made it back into the top 100 rankers, while the other two made it to the top 1000.
Even Dexter, who’s not really into the game, is starting to genuinely enjoy what he’s doing.
Granted, they haven’t really done any combat of any kind but there is a certain kind of joy to finding such a gold mine in the form of comatosed zombies. But strangely, he hasn't found any plants or herbs he can loot ever since entering the crypt.
The trio agreed to rest for a few hours after clearing the 10th floor.
And now, after logging back in, they were accustomed to their now routine mining of equipment and essence.
But as soon as they set foot on the 11th floor, they instinctively felt that there’s something different with this floor.
First there was a faint sound of explosions. Then, there was the obvious difference in layout or structure, and the fact that there are no dead enemies to loot or zombies to kill in their sleep.
And finally, there was the massive gate that is firmly shut. As they got closer and closer to it, they could now clearly hear and feel the loud explosions and shockwave coming from within. It's like somebody is using dynamites to mine something.
After some deliberation, they decided to bravely open the gate to check what’s causing it. They assumed that opening the gate was as simple as bleeding on it like what they did at the crypt’s entrance.
However, the gate remained shut.
“What should we do?” asked Jess to his sister. “Should we just head back?”
Rebecca is deep in thought. She’s trying to weigh if it’s worth trying to open the gate to continue exploring or if it’s time to call it quits and move on.
However, everything they’ve gained so far is so worth it that she couldn’t help but keep pushing forward. Besides, they have yet to find an exit leading out of the crypt.
But before Rebecca can answer, the gate slowly opened. And what they saw surprised them.
***
Fireball!
Fireball!
Fireball!
Clang!
-79
Clang!
[You have dealt 267 damage...]
Adam has been fighting a non-stop series of one-on-one duels against the Heretic Revenants. While the dueling system allowed him to recover instantly after winning, the mental fatigue kept piling up.
But as a survivors in the apocalypse, pushing through with sheer force of will is something he does on a regular basis.
After his victory via arm lock against the first opponent, Adam’s victory against the other knights was replicated a few dozen times.
Just because the other knights were watching the duel doesn’t mean they can immediately formulate an effective response to Adam’s brutal arm locks.
Of course, not every knight fell for his hand-to-hand skills. Some turned out to not just be a Paladin in life but also have other skill sets.
Those opponents are quite troublesome as he had no choice but to turn it into a battle of attrition. No shortcuts, no fancy MMA move, just him holding on and persisting with his attacks until the enemy has succumbed to the accumulated damage.
The 99th and final duel is one such fight.
The Heretic Revenant kept its distance by forming an Ice Wall between it and Adam, then focused on firing Ice Spears at him.
In response, Adam threw Fireballs over the ice wall while avoiding the ice spear.
It’s like some weird volleyball and dodgeball fusion.
As such, brutal lockdowns, his sword, and many of his spells are ineffective.
That is why Adam had no choice but to level up on the spot to increase his Fireball by upgrading it to Lvl. 6 and investing all points into Harmony.
Name: Adam
Level: 99
Essence: 12,187 (60,265 essence to reach Level 100)
HP 260/260 (+200)
MP 440/440 (+400)
STATS
Vitality 20 (1:3 Stat to HP)
Endurance 40
Willpower 10 (1:4 Stat to MP)
Strength 28
Dexterity 14
Perception 15
Intelligence 14
Clarity 6
Harmony 34
Mystery 6
SKILLS:
(Intermediate Alchemist 67.08%) Purify
(Adept Pyromancer 32.01%) Firebolt 4, Fire Enchantment 4, Fireball 6, Fire Breath 1, Blazing Will 2
(Novice Blacksmith 0.00%)
TRAITS:
Botanist, Toxic Resistance, Flame Resistance, Frost Resistance, Metallurgy, Flame Augmentation
+200 HP/MP, HP/MP Regen 20% (Necklace), +200 MP, MP Regen 15% (Ring)
TITLES: see more
ACHIEVEMENTS: see more
Flame Augmentation (Trait)
Description: The fires of an Adept burn hotter than a lesser pyromancer. Damage increase of 50% to novice-tier spells, 30% to apprentice-tier spells, and 10% to intermediate tier-spells. Trait will evolve as the user reaches the higher-ranks of Pyromancy.
Firebolt 4 (Augmented)
Description: Shoots a bolt of fire that deals 65 (90) points of damage.
Cost: 30 MP
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Fireball 6 (Augmented)
Description: Hurls an explosive ball of flame and explodes upon impact causing 130 (195) points of damage in a 10-foot radius.
Cost: 40 MP
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Fire Breath 1 (Augmented)
Description: Produce a burst of flame that deals 10 (15) fire damage per second.
Cost: 15 MP/second
Cooldown: 5 seconds
Fire Enchantment 4 (Augmented)
Description: The caster enchants a weapon with flames, granting 40 (52) fire damage for 40 seconds.
Cost: 40 MP
Cooldown: 60 seconds
With his considerable investment in Harmony, Flame Augmentation, Ignition Gloves, and his Fireball's upgraded level, the damage he can dish out with his AoE is a breathtaking sight.
His Fireball's base damage has been enhanced from 130 fire damage to 195damage thanks to his Flame Augmentation trait that he acquired after reaching Adept-rank. And once his Harmony stat, Ignition Gloves are taken into account... his fire power is a fearsome thing to behold.
It is a minor tragedy that its debut use is in a fight against Cryomancer as its effect was significantly mitigated by the opposing element. But even then, the blast of his Fireballs can still be felt even beyond the gate that is magically sealed.
Fortunately, the sheer power of his Fireball is more than enough to put him at an advantage in the war of attrition against the undead Cryomancer. And so, the volleyball of Fireballs and dodgeball throws of Ice Spears between the two persisted for nearly half an hour. But eventually, it was Adam who prevailed.
Ding!
[You have won the duel.]
Along with the status recovery effect, he gained the usual bountiful essence yield. Furthermore, the quest he received from the Soul Effigy has been completed.
[Quest: A Paladin’s Last Wish]
Description: You have put all the undead Paladin to rest (99/99)
And as soon as the status window mentioned the quest, the Soul Effigy once again emanated energy. He promptly brought it out and let the speaker materialize. What it said was fairly brief.
“Thank you, Adventurer. You have put my brothers into rest. Not only that, but you gave them the opportunity for an honorable duel. Please, take this as a reward. May you succeed where we failed.”
The Soul Effigy turned ethereal and evaporated as if it was smoke. Then he received a series of notifications.
[You have absorbed 20,000 Essence.]
[You have acquired Paladin Knight-Commander’s Ego.]
[The information possessed by the Heretic Revenants about the Crypt's 12th to 15th floors have been transferred to you.]
[The Paladin’s Set armor seal has been lifted.]
The essence is always good but the ego is a welcome bonus.
In all of his 99 duels, he only got 2 egos, with the third coming from the Soul Effigy itself. However, that number in itself is impressive as he now have 3 ego before the concept of egos is even known to the player base.
As for information about the crypt's 12th to the 15th floor, its value is obviously priceless. If he earned so much from the first 11 floors, it goes without saying that he will make quite a huge gain from the succeeding floors.
And Adam somewhat feels he should have earned a few more egos?
“I shouldn’t be too greedy.” Adam reminded himself. “No need to be too greedy.”
And finally, the Paladin’s Set’s seal has been lifted and the special skills have been unlocked.
He took a quick look at the set's full stats and placed it back on his bag; he never had any intention of using it for himself. While the effects are good, it’s not enough to tempt him from going back on his decision of finding a way to give it to Rebecca.
With the long and arduous quest finally completed, he wore the cloak and the backpack once again. He also switched his ring back to the Sanctified Ring for the holy-attribute conversion effect. With the information he just gained from the quest reward, he knows that he'll need holy-attribute for the succeeding floors.
But for now, he needs to loot every single one of the fallen Paladin’s armor sets and their weapons.
He previously left the weapons of the draugrs and skeleton soldiers in the earlier floors due to it not meeting his equipment standard. But the Paladin’s Set and weapons are a different matter- he had a first hand experience on how tough the armor is and how much punch the weapons packs. And that is considering that it’s in an almost ruined state.
Once he developed his blacksmithing skill to a certain level, he can repair and restore every piece of the Paladin’s Set to its former glory.
So he promptly started collecting all the loot from the fallen knight’s bodies and stashed it in his bag of holding.
Not long after he started collecting the items, the gate that was once sealed opened again.
To his surprise, there were three people by the gate.
No, to be more specific, it is not the presence of other players that surprised him, but the identity of the three individuals who stood by the entrance.
A hero, a cult leader, and a mass murderer. It sounds like the beginning of a bar joke.