Chapter 111 Dungeon Core: “The Eternal Training Ground” (Patreon)

Pov Ziiipe

"This is the last mini-boss for this path. It's an overgrown badger that can manipulate the earth and has incredible defenses. I will get close to it and keep its attention while trying to do as much damage as I can.”

“Try to stay as far away as possible but keep using that crossbow of yours; it should penetrate its defenses. Are you ready?" Carl asked me while we were standing behind a boulder, hiding from the monster.

"Yep," I answered back, doing a last check on my beloved Samantha. She was an amazing weapon that unfortunately I couldn't usually use in these types of fights. The situation was now different as Carl was helping me with the most difficult fight on the shortest path.

As soon as he moved, I moved as well. He used a movement ability and instantly got in the face of the monster before it even had time to get up.

Even then, the monster had already gotten its defenses up, but he still managed to inflict a terrible wound on the monster. It roared out in pain, and an earthwave emanated from it.

Carl simply jumped over it and continued his assault. The wave fizzled out before it even could reach me. It took Carl a moment to get the creature into the correct position so I would not risk hitting him.

I pulled the trigger of my crossbow, using seven of my skills to enhance the power of the attack. The bolt reached the target almost immediately and then buried deep into the creature. It roared out in pain, but Carl was able to keep its attention.

It was honestly so nice to be able to fight with someone who was so strong. The fact that he could fight so close to this monster, dodging its attacks, and whenever attacks hit him, he brushed them off like they were nothing, while simultaneously continuing to do damage was incredible.

Like always, I tried to keep up with him, which was crazy to me. I should have been so much stronger than him, but I simply wasn’t.

Reloading Samantha was easy; I had five-bolt magazines, and reloading was a breeze thanks to the lever re-cocking mechanism, which I was incredibly proud of. Still, I needed to use my enhanced body skill and maximize my strength to be able to do it.

Fortunately, all of my skills were tuned to be as efficient as possible, so I was only using a minuscule amount of mana every time. Every shot, however, cost a lot more but they were worth it. Every time the creature screamed in pain, but I could just keep shooting without having to worry about its retaliation. Everybody bolt also had poison which slowly started to wear the creature down.

It took me four magazines, but eventually, the mini-boss died. Carl barely seemed winded. I was more exhausted and this used up 1/3 of my mana pool.

If I were to fight this alone, it would have been too close for my liking. I would probably have gone through the recommended path if I was alone, which would have taken me two or three times longer to get to the 20th floor. Now, I was just one or two months away without having to ask for Carl's help.

It was truly fortunate that Tristan walked in through that door that day. They were worried that I was going to tell their secret quest to others, but I wasn’t going to. Tristan didn’t know that, and for my silence, they offered me help to get to the 20th floor.

I accepted, and what followed was a year and a half of almost constant fighting. During this time, I also was able to gain their trust, which has honestly been wonderful. Having friends so soon is something I never imagined would happen.

“The drop was okay but nothing incredible. I’m heading back to the base; it's my turn to babysit. You should be able to do the rest without any help. So, I guess see you back at the base and don't forget to visit Eve.” Carl said while walking towards the exit of this room.

“Bye, see you later, and of course, I’ll visit Eve,” I answered back and honestly, I couldn’t wait to see Carl's daughter once more. She was so cute.

I went and looked at the drop myself, and it truly wasn’t anything special. I still picked it up and used my inventory skill to place it in storage.

This was the skill that I got from the adventurers' guild skill crystal. It was an incredible skill, but not just by its function; its entire structure was magnificent. Whoever made this skill was an artist that I hoped I would eventually match.

I am guessing that whoever it was has the same kind of innate ability as I do. From a very young age, I liked and could figure out how things worked very easily. Because of that, I was lucky to have been made a workshop slave. Working in the workshops was preferable to anything else. When I finally got old enough to gain my minor breakthrough, I immediately understood I was not normal.

My work was demanding, and I was slowly not meeting my rising quotas. It was because I was small, underfed, and a young girl. That was when I made my first skill without even knowing what I did. It was a crafting skill, all-encompassing.

Something that I now know is incredibly difficult and unlikely to be made successfully. Nevertheless, it was easy for me, almost natural. Now, I have improved that skill by quite a lot. It was nothing compared to that basic thing I made.

Of course, my other oddity helped with that. I learned a little bit later and, after I knew the facts, I planned my escape. Not only did I have more than the average amount of skill slots per breakthrough, but I have also never had a skill slot that’s smaller than large.

It's why crafting is so easy for me and even fighting. I have been able to make myself the best skills and have access to large, huge, and even enormous skill slots.

Well, I only have two of the enormous ones. One is filled with my improved crafting skill; the other is for the inventory skill. While at minimum, you need a large skill slot, the larger the skill slot you put it in, the larger the inventory space you get access to. Even with my inclination to gather everything, I still never had a problem with it filling up.

Now, however, I looked towards the pathway that would take me closer to the 20th floor. There was a part of me that wanted to return and rest a bit, but I needed to make it further into the 20th floor.

Carl offered me to join him in his exploration, and I want to take up that offer because it would accelerate my growth so much. Currently, he is taking it slow as he wants to spend more time with his daughter, but eventually, he's going to start pushing again, and it would be a golden opportunity to join him.

While my initial relationship with Tristan, Carl, and Anna was a bit rocky, we were now friends, and they even let me into their base, which was incredible. Now, I no longer had to deal with people who wanted to steal from my shop.

To be fair, since the city lord started to expand his influence into the dungeon, things have gotten a lot more secure in the hub station, and it seems that he was mainly only interested in the hub stations and the recommended path.

There is one thing that I have yet to try, but I think I can do it. Revealing this, however, would truly put my friendship with Carl and his group to the test. Should I reveal this much, or wait until I’m more powerful?

Nevertheless, I would need to wait until I hit another minor breakthrough to even try this. But if it works, it would be a game-changer for anyone I decide to help. If this information, however, got out, I think my life as I know and love it would be over.

Everyone can use empty skill stones and pass them on, or more skilled crafters can copy their own skills into the stones. What I could do would be to make exact skills any fighter, crafter, mage would want and to their specific specifications. Then put those skills into skill stones and give them to them.

I can see in myself how strong this can be, to be able to build your own perfect skill set. It has been the reason how I have made it this far and how I survived the start of my delving career.