Dungeon Chapter 6 (Patreon)

You've been heard, too many C names is a poor choice. Cassandra Renard shall now be Desmonda or Des. Sorry for the change up after a few chapters.

Charlotte’s fight with the Boggart had gone as expected. Bun-bun charged it recklessly yet the speedy rabbit managed to avoid getting hit as it dodged the boggart’s slow attacks.

“Good.” Crimson smiled as Bun-bun returned to her normal small size and jumped back into Charlotte’s arms. “One of the advantages of a class with pet capabilities is the pet already has some combat instincts. Charlotte here as a druid has in large part shored up her classes early difficulties with a pet.

“Yet.” Crimson’s tone darkened. “It holds a fatal flaw. Charlotte here isn’t learning how to fight. Some of you might think that’s acceptable because she’s a support class. However, I will tell you in the dungeon, everyone must know how to fight.”

Crimson pulled a sword out of her inventory and tossed it to Charlotte. “Leave your rabbit here with Ken.”

Charlotte gave the bunny a look and it jumped into my arms.

My heart thumped as Charlotte’s face held a sudden terror with the sword in her hand.

But she didn’t fight Crimson and turned leaving me to guess at her emotions with her green hair shielding her as another Boggart lumbered into view ahead.

I could see Charlotte’s sword rattle with her nervousness, but with everyone watching, she couldn’t be in any real danger, could she?

When the boggart came she raised her sword and screamed as she charged it.

It was slow enough that she got in and slashed it twice.

However, Charlotte had no sense of timing or combat and she backed away too late.

The boggart’s large mossy arm swept into her side even as she braced herself.

It picked her up off the ground and slammed her into the wall.

Charlotte cried out and clutched her side. Bun-bun was crying in my arms.

I wanted to rush in and help her, but Crimson’s hand on my shoulder kept me from moving. “Let go.” I growled.

“No. If she can’t kill a boggart by herself, I will expel her.” Crimson’s voice left no room for argument, yet she had spoken loud enough for the entire class to hear. “If someone, even a support cannot kill a boggart by themselves, then they don’t have what I takes to dive the dungeon and I would be saving their life by expelling them now.”

There were murmurs going through the crowd.

“Can we use spells?” Another asked, but my attention was back on Charlotte as she stumbled back clutching her side.

***

Charlotte’s sister’s had warned her just how tough the academy would be. They had called her too soft to become an adventurer like the rest of her family.

While she was surprised that on day one, less than an hour after orientation, she was put at a disadvantage and told to fight a dungeon monster, she also wasn’t worried.

When she had settled her mind despite her family’s misgivings, her father had brought her to a dungeon near where they lived to tame Bun-bun. This wasn’t her first time in a dungeon. Nor was she about to let it be her last.

Not after everything she went through just to get here.

“Heal.” She pressed her hand to her side and healed herself, the pain faded to a numbness and she brought the sword back up.

Getting hit and healing herself through this wasn’t ideal, but it’s how she’d do it if she had to.

The moss monster shambled towards her and she grit her teeth. Fine, be that way.

She rushed in again, having no real experience with swords. The DuVell family were mainly casters and she’d spent her formative years practicing to increase her magical skills.

So, she just stabbed the creature as hard as she could and then jerked the sword back out and ran away as it swung.

Okay, she could do this. It wasn’t the flashiest, but it would get the job done. That’s what mattered in a dungeon.

Charlotte charged and dodged out another three times before she was getting too close to the group.

“You need to dodge behind it and turn it back down the hallway or you risk enraging it.” Ken called to her.

She felt her cheeks heat. She knew that. It wasn’t just as easy as saying it though. The thing took up almost the entire hallway.

Charlotte bit her lip and decided that she had enough to heal herself if need be.

Charging in again she slashed at it’s leg and then pressed herself up against the wall to get around it.

The mossy arm caught her back before she could clear it and sent her tumbling and she smacked her elbow against the ground. Pain radiated down her arm and she dropped the sword.

“No.” She breathed as the boggart stepped over her sword, taking it away from her. “Heal.” She hissed and rolled away from the boggart to her feet as it swung again.

“What do I do?” She make a fist and the stupid idea hit her. “Screw it. She said the died if the took enough general damage.”

The boggart swung short again and Charlotte charged in with nothing but her fists and started banging on the monster.

“Die you stupid thing!” She shouted wanting nothing more than this test to be over with. After this she’d plan and prepare for the worst.

The boggart caught her again and slammed her into the wall, but rather than heal herself, she just kept at it, banging her fists without any real skill into the monster until it exploded into a cloud of black smoke and she heard something fall to the ground.

Charlotte bent over panting as a gray furry missile shot into her arms nuzzling her. Bun-bun worked her way up to Charlotte’s chin and wouldn’t stop rubbing her head against her.

She was alright, and she would prove her family wrong, she wasn’t too soft to become an adventurer.

“Charlotte. I’m glad you are okay.” Ken was next coming through the cloud, his sword and dagger drawn and looking over her shoulder.

She suddenly turned around, but nothing was there. He was just being cautious, more cautious and far more prepared than she had been.

Her sisters might have been right, maybe she was too soft to dive the dungeons.

“Good job. Do you have enough mana to heal yourself?” Ken helped her as the rest of the class caught up.

“I’m fine. Thank you. Heal.” Charlotte’s mana dipped low enough that she felt a little weakness in her legs, Ken grabbed her shoulder to steady her. “Thanks again.” She felt her cheeks burn with a blush.

He was really good to her.

***

I had been terrified when she had lost the sword and started fighting with her fists, only to realize she had no martial arts training.

That much was obvious, yet the whole ordeal had sent the class into a panic.

Several of the other support classes were looking down right terrified.

“Ken, can I borrow your dagger?” Desmonda stepped up while I was helping support Charlotte who looked like she was reaching the edges of her mana.

“Sure.” I handed her the dagger and she turned back to the class.

She put her hands on her hips and glared at all of them. “I’m a warlock. But I understand Crimson’s lesson. Boggarts are among the easiest creatures in the dungeon, if you don’t have the bravery of the fucking druid to fight one up close, don’t bother showing up to class after this.”

Des spearheaded the class as we delved deeper into the dungeon with that knife at the ready.

As soon as she saw one of the monsters, she raised her hand. “Shadow bolt.”

A purple mass flew out of her hand and made a small explosion against the boggart.

I had expected her to cast a few more as it lumbered forward, but instead she rushed it with the knife held at her side.

She got into range stabbing it several times quickly and then tumbled out of its way as its arm barely missed her.

As soon as the arm passed she came out of her roll rushing right back in to take it out.

“Wow. She’s brave.” Charlotte sighed watching the other girl fight.

“She’s trained. There’s a difference between you two. That and she has some pretty incredible stats despite how she looks.” I watched her fight and knew without a doubt that she’d been training in hand to hand combat throughly before coming here.

A little experience went a long way to coming into a fight confident.

Des dodged back out and dove back in this time finding the crystalized mana in its chest and the boggart exploded into black smoke.

“Right.” Charlotte nodded. “I should have just gone for the crystal.”

“It isn’t always the easiest and on something like this you need to know exactly where it is.” I tried to console her.

“Have you fought boggarts then before?” Charlotte’s brows pinched down and she looked like she was ready to argue.

“Well… no.”

“Then we have just the same experience. I should have more even, you had never been in a dungeon before the exam.” She puffed out her cheeks in frustration.

I couldn’t help myself. She was just too cute. I poked her puffed up cheeks.

“Whaaa?!” Charlotte recoiled and her cheeks turned bright red. “What did you do that for?”

“Ken already putting the moves on poor little Charlotte?” Desmonda came back and handed me my knife. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from big bag Ken.” The warlock teased the druid.

“Pay attention in the dungeon.” Crimson’s voice was like a whip crack.

Not only us, but a number of our classmates had started to relax and joke around.

“You, the priest. Your up next and the bard after that.” Crimson pointed into the class.

The pink haired bard shouted back at Crimson. “Hey, are you picking on the support classes?”

“No. I’m picking those that appear to be close to losing their nerves.”

The bard swallowed and shrank back negotiation for a weapon from one of her classmates.

The priest got someone’s spiked mace and went into combat with her boggart like they were marching into battle.

Crimson stood next to me watching impassively, but never taking her eyes off the student fighting. “Becoming an adventurer needs many things. You need the potential of a good class, the upbringing of an adventurer family helps, but most of all you need the will to keep on fighting. This test is skewed.

“Those like you Ken who have training or those like some others that have melee classes are at an advantage. What you also need to understand is the dungeon doesn’t care if you take the path easiest to you and your group.

“A boggart killed is a boggart worth of experience no matter how you do it.” Crimson sighed as the priest finished up.

At her comment, I opened up my CID and checked my experience… a whole two experience, one per boggart.

“Did you think it was going to be quick?” She teased me.

I swore Crimson could read minds. “Faster than this.”

“My turn.” The pink haired bard came up front, but she had a bow in her hands. Only for a boggart to come around the corner.

She lifted the bow, sighting down it with her tongue stuck out the side before she released.

The arrow flew true, landing in the chest of the boggart, and she shattered it’s mana crystal on the first shot.

“Haha. All hail the mighty Harley!” She pumped the bow in her hands a few times before someone behind her asked for it back.

Harley was still in a good mood as she skipped forward and collected her loot and the arrow.

“That’s okay?” I asked Crimson.

“She killed it without a pet of her own skill. Desmonda could have just killed it with spells, but she was trying to impress you.” Crimson’s lips twitched.

She then focused back on the class and raised her voice. “After the end of this passage, the dungeon opens up to a large bog, stay together. If you get a second boggart kill, well then enjoy the extra experience and loot. Going forward, the first flood of the dungeon will be open to all of you at Haylon. That means this place is going to get crowded. That also means this is your first chance to farm the dungeon. Stay in groups of no less than three and watch each other’s back. Communication saves lives in the dungeon.”

“You want to join us Ken?” Desmonda smirked with her hands on her hips. “You can be our tank.”

“As long as Charlotte feels up to healing me if I need it.” I smiled back at the cute girl trying to smooth over the incident of touching her face.

“Yeah. All good again. We don’t have much mana so it restores quickly.” Charlotte smiled while Bun-bun started flexing on top of her head.

“Charlotte, I meant to ask. Why do you keep Bun-bun out? He’s a dungeon monster right, so can’t you store him in your CID?” Desmonda asked as the three of them headed out headed out from the group.

Charlotte picked the bunny off her head. “Bun-bun doesn’t like going in the CID, and besides she’s pretty small, so it isn’t a bother to carry her around.”

“Eventually, you’ll get a stronger pet though.” Desmonda pointed out.

Only for Bun-bun to start squeaking up a storm and stretching like she wanted to claw the warlock’s eyes out.

“Bun-bun, don’t be rude. I won’t replace you.” Charlotte hugged the rabbit to her face and it settled down.

Though it made Desmonda narrow her eyes at the pair.

“Boggart ahead.” I drew my weapons again.

“I got it.” Desmonda held up her hand. “Shadow bolt.” It powered up and a purple ball flew over and detonated on the boggart, getting it’s attention and forcing it to turn around.

“Bun-bun, go!” Charlotte threw the rabbit into the air and it darted forward swiftly attacking the boggart.

I wasn’t to be left out, while it was distracted by Bun-bun, I focused on it’s chest to see if there was a gleam under the moss.

Sure enough, I caught sight of the mana crystal and snuck in close to finish it in a single blow.

As soon as the crystal shattered under my sword, I jumped back clearing the smoke.

“Nice. One shot one kill.” Charlotte clapped her hands for me.

“My grandfather was an assassin.” I looked at the blades in my hands. “Now some of what he taught me makes a little more sense. Precision is important to killing these swiftly.”

“Not all monster’s will have easily exposed crystals.” Desmonda reminded me. “Bosses in particular normally have them deep in their bodies or under hard to penetrate armor.”

I snorted. “Not the problem now. Let’s hurry before the rest of the class takes all of them.” I rushed forward feeling the exhilaration of being in the dungeon for the first time.

Earlier with the class there hadn’t been the same intoxicating freedom that I felt now.

It felt like there was no limit anymore, as long as I pushed forward, I could grow to untold heights.