Might as Well

Naturally, Katie charged at the first silver-colored bear that she spotted.

The rest of the team just looked at each other and followed with a weary look.

The fight was much more interesting now that the monsters offered more resistance. Thanks to their bodies being made of that silvery metal, they were much more resistant to Sam’s wind attacks.

He enjoyed the challenge.

Dan was busy practicing with his fire, making sure not to fry them while also doing damage to the monsters. Katie mostly ignored the fire in favor of whaling on the poor bears.

The drops were much more generous, their bags being filled up with a lot of loot.

Mostly different types of ores, but there were a few reagents that would be worth a lot of money. Even a few crystals dropped that would be a nice material for Liz to work on. They even dropped a few skill books, mostly useful for Katie, but one of them was a pretty nice Iron Hide buff skill for Clarissa.

The others were pretty useless for them, so they went to the inventory to be sold later at the Auction House.

At the end of the floor, they met and fought a giant bear that was intent on stomping on them. The sixth floor was filled with even more metal bears, with the corridors of the caverns growing enormous to allow the equally enormous bears that tried their best to tear them apart and for some reason eat Katie.

Once again, they were almost buried under mountains of ores.

The last floor was interesting. The bears went back to the usual size of bears, which were still threatening but not as giant bears with claws the size of Sam’s forearm and teeth the size of his shins.

However, in exchange, each bear instead of looking metallic, was made of actual metal, resembling golems.

They were also fully capable of using lightning magic, which was rather annoying. Mostly because they had to deal with partial paralysis thanks to errant electric strikes. Thankfully, his wind magic managed to protect them from the majority of the damage.

In the end, they stood in front of the entrance to the last cavern.

Sam looked over at them.

“All right, guys! We can expect a bear golem and lightning magic, so we will go with the same plan,” he exclaimed, then began pointing at his teammates one by one. “Dan, you will go for the joints. Lock it up!”

“Got it, boss!”

“Clarissa, as usual, keep Katie alive…”

“Sure, sure…”

“Katie…” he turned to the excitable but crazy girl who grinned back at him.

“Yes, Sam?”

“If I can’t stop you from charging in, at least pay attention to what the others are doing. All right?” he asked, a little exasperated. He knew from his inherited memories that the girl was a dedicated berserker, but he expected at least a minimal amount of teamwork from her.

Katie pushed up the faceplate on her helmet and grinned at him while giving him a thumbs-up.

“You got it!”

Sam eyed the shorter girl, trying to see if she was sincere, but in the end, he just gave up.

“Very well!” He turned to Dan and Clarissa and spoke up. “Ready?”

“Yup!”

“As I will ever be…”

He stretched a little, grabbed his sword, and patted Lucky on his head for luck, then Katie took it when he saw her pouting and headed for the cavern entrance.

“Let’s say hello to Metal Pooh!”

After exiting the fracture, they were greeted by one of the officials who took the bedraggled team aside and made sure they paid the taxes. After that, they were sent over to the resting area where many other teams and guilds were lying about, looking as exhausted as Sam’s team.

“Are we doing it again?” Clarissa asked as they situated themselves around one of the quaint picnic tables that were set up.

Sam looked at Dan, who just shrugged.

“I got time…”

Katie just enthusiastically nodded.

“Sure, a little rest, then a few more turns. With Iron Hide, the first floors are going to be much easier.”

“Then I need a little time for a bio break,” Clarissa said.

Sam nodded.

“All right, how about we return here in an hour? Everybody can snack, drink, or whatever?”

Dan nodded and, with a few movements with his fingers, vanished from the table, followed by Clarissa. Katie just picked up Puffball, retrieved a brush, and began working on the fur of the eldritch cat.

“Aren’t you taking a break?”

“Nah, I got the pod yesterday. It’s pretty sweet!”

“The pod?”

“You know, the gaming pod! You can stay inside for weeks if you need to. I think they adapted it from medical tech,” came the explanation.

Sam had to blink in surprise after hearing that.

“Huh! Sometimes I forget you’re a really rich girl… So, they’re out?”

Katie just giggled. “Yes, but only for certain customers. If you want, I can ask them…”

“No, thank you. I don’t want to owe your father anything… I already put my name on a list. I’m sure I’ll get it soon.”

“Okay!” she chirped and returned to her familiar.

Sam looked at the girl for a while and just rested. Then, after a few minutes of staring into nothing, he also logged out of the game.

After reuniting with the team, they returned to the fracture with renewed spirit and the knowledge they had gathered during their previous run.

Altogether they did five runs, but by the end of it, every one of them was utterly exhausted. Happy with the drops, yes, but mentally they were just a bunch of rocks.

By the end of it, Sam was in no mood to practice his efficient sword-fighting technique, so he practically overpowered the metal bears. Some of them were torn apart by hurricane wind enhanced by Dan’s fire and his sharp wind blades diced some of the monsters into little cubes.

They did their duty, gave the officials their due, and practically collapsed on the picnic table they claimed as their own.

Dan was lying face first on the wooden table staring at nothing, while Clarissa buried her head into her arms, refusing to look at them. Even Katie, who always looked like someone who ate batteries for breakfast, looked like she would drop any moment.

Sam was also barely keeping himself straight, with Lucky already sleeping in his shadow, clapped a little, gathering their attention.

“All right, team! Excellent work! Thank you for participating. I’ll leave your take with Lucy!”

“Yay…” came the tired mumble from Clarissa, who barely lifted her head from her arms. “Can I go to sleep?”

“Sure thing! Go and rest!”

There was only a grumble, and she vanished from the game.

“Dan?”

The fire maniac slowly sat up and rubbed his tired face. “I think I’ll also leave. I had some ideas and I want to make a few notes before crashing…”

“Good luck, man!”

“Thanks – boss!” Dan answered with a yawn in the middle. He vanished mid-wave, and Sam turned to Katie.

“And you?”

Katie looked around and then back at Sam.

“I think I’ll also log out.” She grinned evilly. “I need to see what my father is up to…”

It took the tired Sam a few seconds to get what Katie was referencing, and then he also grinned. “Good luck!” he said, offering a high-five to the girl.

Katie returned the high-five and vanished from the game, leaving Sam alone at his table.

‘Ugh, need to check the gains, then I can also crash…’ he mused as he sluggishly brought his system screen up.

Instantly, he was flooded with notifications.

[You are now level 52!]

[Thanks to your tireless efforts, you gained +3 End, +2 MAG, +1 WIS, AGI and DEX!]

[You gained 16 Unassigned status points!]

Eight levels! That was some haul…

Sam instantly assigned the points to even out his stats. Five went into Wisdom, four into Strength, two into Perception and Vitality, and Magic, Dexterity, Agility got one each. Creating a pretty nice status screen for him to look at.

‘Only a few more level-ups and I’m well on my way for those cushy quests…’ he mused as he went over his decisions once more before hitting the confirm button. Instantly, a shot of energy ran through him and he felt a little lighter. And he could feel as the magic thrummed a little stronger inside him.

Grinning, Sam continued to read his notifications.

[Mana Manipulation is now Level 41!]

[Mana Shield is now Level 85!]

[Second Skin is now Level 2!]

[Mana Tempered Body is now Level 50!]

[Thanks to your continuous use of the skill, you gained the subskill, Ethereal Channels!]

[Ethereal Channels: Level 0/5 (0%) (Passive) The channels through which your mana moves have started to evolve. Decreases the cost of body-enhancing skills by 5% for each skill level.]

[Synchronization is now Level 4!]

It was pretty crazy to see his Mana Tempered Body skill shoot up so much, but as he had basically overused the skill in the fracture, it wasn’t actually that big of a surprise. Still, seeing all his stats shoot up so high was a pretty nice feeling.

[Perception Filter is now Level 12!]

Naturally, thanks to the skills Katie learned from the Old Ones, they all were subjected to visions not meant to be seen by human eyes. By the second hour, both Clarissa and Dan gained the same skill.

[Mana Gaze is now Level 17!]

[Triple Mana Slash is now Level 8!]

[Mana Body Enhancement is now Level 80!]

[Mana Attuned Body is now Level 2!]

[Spell Layering is now Level 23!]

[Mana Construct is now Level 29!]

[For your less than creative use of the skill, you gained the subskill, Simplicity!]

[Simplicity: Level 0/5 (0%) (Passive) The simpler your creations, the less mana it costs.]

The new subskill gathered a small smile on his lips. It was one of the more common subskills, as a lot of skills could get it. But it was exactly what fit his fighting style.

[Light Ball III is now Level 8!]

[Clean IV is now Level 9!]

[Ground Shake is now Level 8!]

[Water Bullet is now Level 9!]

[Wind Mana Manipulation is now Level 31!]

[You have started to become one with the air and gained the subskill, Aura of Air!]

[Aura of Air: Level 0/5 (0%) (Passive) Controlling the surrounding air becomes much easier. The size of the aura depends on your Wind Affinity and Wind Mana Manipulation levels.]

[Greater Wind Affinity is now Level 28!]

[Gentle Wind is now Level 5!]

[Your control over the air has impressed the very air, and you gained the subskill, Elemental Affinity!]

[Elemental Affinity: Level 0/5 (0%) (Passive) Your affinity with air elemental beings is increased.]

An interesting subskill, but not the one he hoped for. Still, it would most definitely come in handy later down the road.

[Battle Meditation is now Level 5!]

[Silent Casting is now Level 13!]

[Spirit Link is now Level 47!]

[Advanced Shadow Footwork is now Level 23!]

[Silent Shadow is now Level 9!]

[Shadow Grace II is now Level 2!]

[Shadow Burst II is now Level 9!]

[Shadow Mirage is now Level 27!]

[Shadow Transformation is now Level 24!]

[Shadow Shield II is now Level 10!]

[Shadow Cloud is now Level 11!]

[Greater Shadow Affinity is now Level 25!]

[Your control over your shadow mana has granted you the subskill, Solid Shadow!]

[Solid Shadow: Level 0/5 (0%) (Passive) The shadow mana you use is more substantial than other shadow mana. It hits harder and has actual weight behind it. Increases shadow damage by 5% for each skill level.]

Once again, a nice increase to his Shadow skills. He was especially happy about his new subskill. It would provide a nice amount of increase in damage, plus it would also influence future subskills. Though he was a little unhappy about the new sword mastery skill. He expected it to grow more, but apparently, it wasn’t much use against bears, who for some unfathomable reason didn’t use swords to fight.

[Basic Armor Mastery is now Level 65!]

[Resistant Armor is now Level 4!]

[Epic Breathing Technique is now Level 3!]

[Flow is now Level 61!]

[Controlled Flow is now Level 4!]

[Surprise Strike is now Level 16!]

Sam looked at all the skills that were stuck at 99% and frowned. ‘I hope that I can advance them with the Training Hall quest…’

[Earth Resistance is now Level 20!]

[Thanks to being exposed to so many lightning strikes, you gained the skill, Lightning Resistance!]

[Lightning Resistance: Level 7/100 (14%) (Passive) Thanks to continuous exposure, you have been granted resistance against lightning. Each level increases the resistance by 1%.]

[Multitasking is now Level 99!]

Finished with his own status screen, he changed over to Lucky’s. His mighty familiar has participated in the fracture clearing enough that Sam expected a good amount of growth from the fluffy menace.

[Your Runic Shadow Spirit Wolf, Lucky, is now Level 31!]

[Shadow Dash is now Level 6!]

[Shadow Claws is now Level 20!]

[Fear Aura is now Level 11!]

[Your familiar gained the skill Shadow Bite!]

[Shadow Bite: Level 0/20 (0%) (Active) Your companion enhances their bite with shadow mana, increasing the area and strength of the bite.]

Satisfied with the gains and the new skills, Sam was about to leave the game when he heard somebody sitting down at the table. He looked up warily, just to meet with the visions of an out-of-breath Isabella, wearing a rather revealing white shirt.

“Oh, hey! Fancy meeting you here!” she greeted him with a blinding smile like a liar who lies.

“Yes. Hello to you too, Isabella,” he returned the greeting. It was his policy to be polite to crazy people. “Why did you follow me?”

She tilted her head aside, probably in an attempt to look cuter.

It worked.

“But I didn’t follow you…” she spoke, pouting a little.

Sam just stared at her with a deadpan look.

After a few seconds, she let out a sigh, and crossed her arms in front of her (Sam tried to ignore what it did to her anatomy).

“Poo, you are no fun!”

“What do you want, Isabella?” Sam asked, pretty exhausted.

She grinned and leaned a little forward.

“I heard through the grapevine that the Steel Lions really don’t like you…”

“That’s true. Katie’s dad is really angry at me…”

She shook her head. “Don’t worry, he doesn’t like anyone who goes near her. Especially if they’re boys. We had several people transfer out of our class after they got too close to her…”

“Lame…”

“Yeah, but what can you do…” she said. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. I heard that they’re planning to monopolize the new fracture that the city is opening up. They got the antidote and have started manufacturing it like crazy!”

“And?” Sam asked with a raised eyebrow, secretly happy that the Steel Lions swallowed the bait so thoroughly.

“Weeell…” she stretched out the word, leaning even more forward. “We managed to secure some of that antidote, and I was wondering if you would like to join us in raiding the place?”

Sam sat back a little and looked at the young woman in front of him as he considered the situation. He really didn’t like the Steel Lions, but his only beef with the Eternal Light was that Isabella was annoying. Plus, she was Katie’s friend. If you squinted really hard.

“Ignore that fracture and the antidote. Go for a different fracture,” he said finally after a minute of thinking. “But you didn’t hear that from me.”

Isabella just blinked at him in surprise. “What?”

Sam just smiled mysteriously and slowly stood up from the table.

“I’m also angry at Katie’s dad…” he finally said before quickly hitting the logout button. Leaving a befuddled young woman behind, who let out an enormous laugh after a few seconds of thinking.