Chapter 20: [Arc 1] Chapter 14: Killing in the Dungeon

Hmm, this is going well. In that case, there has to be a catch somewhere.

Eh, what I'm talking about? Well, it started right after I got the Assassin class.

Five skills. FIVE SKILLS. With just getting one class. And I only needed 2 Skill Points for it, remember. This is probably normal for classes, but this is me, a mob-demon amongst mobs. How do you expect that I could take this for granted when I had to work myself almost to death, physically and mentally, to get to where I am today?

Enough complaining for now. Let's talk about the skills I just got:

The tool creation skills are crafting skills, like the Synthesis skills I already have. I can get recipes for creating tools related to stealing or killing based on the skill. It isn't possible to create the tools out of nothing like the Synthesis skills. Instead, you infuse your aether into the tools you make, turning them stronger than anything that you could make without skills.

Not that any of that is of any help for me at the moment. I mean, have you tried to make tools with tentacle hands? [Shape Change] can make them into human-like hands, but the result turns chibi. I don't mean chibi-sized, but my hands look like some chibi character's hands. I did manage to make some dagger-like stuff if just sharpening a rock to the level of a sewing needles sharpness. Guess I'll seal this skill till I get a body with opposable thumbs.

[Assassination Arts] is an attack skill based on killing. It's not like you use predetermined movements when you use an Art, like a video game character. It's more like the Arts activate when you fulfill certain requirements. The only Art I have, "Fatal Blow", activates when striking vital points, using MP to add increased strength to the attack.

Are all Arts like that? Sounds lame. Magic would be way better. Or, is magic the only flashy way of fighting in this world? 'Flashy'? Is that the reason? Assassins can't be flashy, therefor their skills are plain-looking, or simply boring?

To test out that theory, I captured a frog after a long time with rats. The result, decapitation.

I'm serious here. One strike at the neck with [Cutting Thread] made the head fly into the... well not the sky, but you get what I mean. And it isn't just that [Cutting Thread] has increased in strength when I did the attack, some kind of dark purplish-light emitted from the thread. If I'm not wrong, that's the Fatal Blow Art. Well, better than nothing. All the other skills were weak at LV1 as well. 

Then there is [Steal]. From the name, you would guess it's a passive skill that increases the chance of successfully stealing something, but it's an actual attack skill like [Poison Bite]. [Steal] consumes MP to take a random object the target has on them. But it doesn't work on parts of the target's body, like their organs. If that was the case, it would be an insta-kill skill. Even so, it's not that bad, but how can I use it when there are only monsters here without items? Let's shelve it for now...

The final skill, [Free Movements] is the best one at the moment. It increases the user's movement capabilities. Huh, what do you mean that's also lame? Don't you know how important it is for a slime-like monster like me to be able to move well? With this, the time I need to travel is essentially shortened to half of what it was. How's that? Eh, I was just slower than a slug from the beginning? 

...that's not something you should say straight up in people's faces *sniff*.

Back to the point: the Assassin class has made my miserable life somewhat better, you happy?

And for those that wonder just how the skill is increasing my stats:

Just look at that SPD and DEX! They have reached the sky (compared to the other stats). MAG has become higher than VIT before I noticed. Wonder why? MP has increased considerably thanks to that Reinforcement skill. I need to get the other types as fast as possible.

And the karma value has dropped a little. Must have worked its way down when I was hunting rats in less than honorable ways. Sorry.

I leveled up [Shape Change] and [Thread Control] recently, so that's 0.4 more skill points as well. Still 0.1 point too low for a new skill. Since the [Assassination Arts] was a miss, I'm going back to learning magic again. I want to do something flashy as well! Demons should be the same as magic users, or what?! Ahh, I just want to use some magic. Is that so wrong?

First off, I need to solve the [Magic Talent] problem. I won't get the skill to show up in the skill shop without having the necessary amount of skill points, so should I do some real skill-grinding and hope that I reach the necessary amount? Or should I look for another skill that's cheaper and does the same? But I don't know any such skills! Guess it's plan A then, hah.

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Ahh, Dull. Grinding skills without an opponent is dull. The training of my Synthesis skills isn't that different from before. The poison type is even easier now thanks to the new poison element, so I create rivers of demonic poison now with my SP. MP is also used for weak poison. Wonder if some unwary monsters get taken out by it.

Oh yeah, I made my third home at the top of a dead-end tunnel. It ends after going upwards all the way, so I just need to let the poison flow down the slope. 

Together with training the [Thread Synthesis] skill, I made some nasty traps in this home. First up is the hidden bird glue webs. Like the name says, this is threads of the same color as the ground that sticks the enemy in place when they step on it. I am safe, since [Thread Synthesis] lets me customize the threads I make like [Spider Thread] did.

Trap nr.2 is one I have wanted to make for a time now, the classic boulder trap! After wrapping the ceiling in threads so that nothing could slip through, I made a single cutting thread in the space between the web and the ceiling and started to remotely chop the ceiling up on big enough pieces. And voila, one boulder trap, ready and waiting.

For those questioning why I did such a drag, think about it. This place is a literal dead end. If I don't fortify my defenses, then the first raptor, spider, heck, even a frog could have me for dinner. Now, anything that comes, for example, to investigate the poison flowing down from here, will get caught in the birdlime web, then squashed with the boulder trap.

If something manages to survive that, then I have a special container filled with the worst poison I've made. The container was made by hollowing a huge rock I found... okay, I'll be honest. The rock is from the first boulder trap I tried to make here, which almost ended up trapping me instead to the next life.

Back to the hollowing. I cut the rock in half, then I scraped out the inner mass of the boulder, all of this with [Cutting Thread]. In the end, I got a nice water tank boulder that I could mix poison in. The result of the mixing is something that looks so nasty that I could attract vengeful spirits with it. I could swear that I saw a human face in that mix one time.

Since we are on the subject of making stuff, I tried out those tool creation skills again. The lock pick of the thief tools is impossible. It needs to be too thin for my dough hands to make, even with [Shape Change]. I don't know any other tools a thief should use, and the lock pick is the only recipe that came with the skill for free. This one is also for the shelves, I guess.

The assassin tools are easier. The only recipe is for throwing dagger, and those can even I make by sharpening some stones. They aren't that great, and will definitely not be enough to take care of the Glavras monsters.

The turtle snakes shell is too hard to penetrate even with [Throw], the spider will just shoot the dagger down with the water blast, and the raptors can just dodge them. If I want the daggers to do some real damage, I must trap the opponent so that they cannot block the dagger in any way. But if I do that, then there is no need for the daggers then. I can just use poison or cutting threads to finish them off.

They could work on frogs, even so, creating the daggers is just for the proficiency of the skill. If only I could make something like useful smoke bombs...

Isn't Assassin... like, really ninja-ish? Throwing daggers, lock picks, [Assassination Arts], stealing, and needs high stealth abilities. That is pretty much a ninja, am I right? Where is the fireball that I can spit out of my mouth? Water? Wind? Lightning? Not even a frog I can summon? Anything? ...I must have seen too much anime in my previous life.

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GWAAAHH!! I can't do this anymore!

There is nothing here at all! Why didn't I think of that before?! No monsters in their right minds will come to a dead-end at the top of the slope when there is no prey there! Even more, if there is prey there, but spits out poison as the world will end! Who would want to eat something like that? Even I would say no there!

This home is a big-time miss! I don't even want to call it a "home" even! Therefore, goodbye, temporarily camp. Not good having known you!

Geez, that was a waste of time. It was good skill-wise, but just too boring. The food (monster corpses) was starting to run out also. And in exchange, my skills have grown up to this:

Almost no progress in the attack skills. Just look away from the point that [Poison Bite] increased by biting my own 'lip'...

Since multiple skill reached a tenfold level, I've gained a total of 1 skill point, giving me a total of 1.9 points now. That's still not enough for [Magic Talent]. I haven't seen any more classes like Assassin, but classes must be locked until you fulfill some conditions. 

[Demonic Storage] has become bigger now as well, thanks to swapping the contents of the storage with the simple throwing daggers I made. It's not easy to grind, but since I didn't have anything else to do, you know.

My current inventory is as follows:

I couldn't make myself throw away the Berry Box even when I had emptied it. It's my first real spoils of war you know? The rock daggers are the ones I tried to make myself. I took with me the lock picks even if they were not complete. They are at least registered by the system as something lock picky, unlike the previous attempts...

The poison drenched threads are something I made with [Cutting Thread] in mind. Assassins are using swords and knives coated in poison, so I thought of recreating that.

The Rock Morning Star is something I made as a joke but turned out to be something that works. It's made by wrapping a thread around a rock to create a morning star, which is then drenched in poison. The thread around the rock is made so that it won't cushion the impact from the rock. Said impact will release the poison that's seeped into the thread, resulting in a forceful blunt attack + poisoning. The power comes from the combined effort of [Throw] and [Thread Control]. It's a brutal weapon, I must say myself, but I haven't had a chance to use it yet! Grrrrr...

Last, but not least, is the container of poison that I made. It's for refilling the Morning Stars and cutting threads with poison if needed, or as a final way out if something gets the upper-hand against me. But, this name, isn't this a cursed item? N-no way, that's not possible, hahaha...

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That's more like it! I knew that Glavras monsters give the best EXP.

I just smashed a new spider to kingdom come with the Rock Morning Star. I was right when I said this was a brutal weapon. The spider cannot be shown on TV anymore without mosaics on top of the mosaic.

I'm glad that I can win a fight without so much trouble anymore. Of course, if just one hit from these guys, especially the turtle snakes or the spiders like this guy, can still finish me off before I can say a prayer. A demon praying? Surreal.

This spider was as stupid as the first one that was caught in my first home. Maybe it was just the one I meet that was lying in wait for prey that was especially cleaver for their species? The current spider wasn't hiding or being cautious at all. On the contrary, it was laying right in the middle of the tunnel, sleeping beside the remains of a cave rat. Surely that guy's dinner.

There is no harm done in taking this guy out, right? Someone this stupid can't complain about being ambushed in their sleep. Therefore, I took it as an invitation and slammed the Rock Morning Star into its face. 

I'm repeating myself now, but this thing is a weapon way too brutal for normal people. I'm glad it's me that holds it.

After adding the spider to the storage, I continued on my journey. I left the rat remains. I ain't that keen on eating someone else's leftovers. The goal is to find the exit now and mark the way with threads for future use. Never too bad in being prepared. That's one of my mottoes.

Still, wasn't that spider a little too stupid? How did it survive until now? Maybe the reason lies with the missing population of monsters in these tunnels. There are lots of dead ends, so maybe monsters don't travel through here?

"... oing already!" - ???

Huh, what was that? A voice? More importantly, a human voice?! This needs to be investigated!

---

It took some time to find the source of the voice. The echoed in the tunnel, making it difficult to find the right way as well as making me mistake the distance from the source. I thought it was close by, but it was several tunnels away. 

In the end, I managed to find the source. It was something I knew very well: humans.

There are 6, no, 8 humans dressed in shabby adventure gear. They have made camp here in this tunnel for some days, giving how big the camp is and the number of monster corpses. Do they dismantle the corpse off materials then eat the meat? Low on money or just desperate for food? They wouldn't try to eat a cute little demon, right? Guess they would try to eat me if that's true since I'm far from cute.

Are they Adventurers? I kinda remember meeting some Adventurers before, but I can't remember their faces. The Berry Box is more important than some mob Adventurers anyway.

These guys here also look mobbish. They look unkempt from the camping inside the dungeon, have dark circles under their eyes, and look like they could fall over for a good word. Their gear is also in shambles, probably not worth the repair costs. There is some good stuff among there, like the dagger that guy shouting out orders have. Let's take a look:

Is that good? It's a higher rank than the Berry Box, but since I've never appraised weapons before, I'm not so sure. What about that one?

Okay, that's harsh. The total durability of the sword is lower than the dagger, it's ATK is lower, no effects, and to top it off, it's twice as heavier. The Bandit Dagger is way better. Even an amateur like me can say that for certain.

Then is the dagger-user the leader for the party then? Maybe I should appraise hiiioOOII! If this is a fantasy world's adventurer party, there has to be someone with magic skills! Just what I was looking for! Not so sure the leader has the [Magic Talent] skill, but if he has weapons that would fit my build, maybe he has some handy skills that I can copy.

Thug. A real thug has appeared. The only thing he has done with his skills is to threaten or steal stuff from someone. [Coercion] is affecting the fear-status to someone when you threaten them. Combine that with the high level of it and [Pilfer], which increases the odds of successfully stealing something, you get a real thug.

His battle-skills are worse than his first impression. [Dagger Arts] are like [Assassination Arts], just limited to moves with daggers. Then there's [Brute Force], which adds more power to his attacks by using SP. He is more like a warrior instead of a thief. 

[Battle Continuation] is a skill that increases the possibility to keep fighting. Likely it reduces the damage the more hurt you are. Pretty good, but the low level is telling me this guy doesn't take a fight to the end. In other words, a coward. Not a cleaver coward that knows when to give up, but the miserable type.

[Hiding] is like a super watered-down version of [Stealth], only giving a boost when hiding. And he's no good with this one too, from the looks of [Hidden Strike].

And to top things off, he's got damn low stats. Has he simply increased his level instead of training his stats? It looks like I'm not too far off.

And that "Weakened" condition... That can wait though. First, I need to look for someone with the [Magic Talent] skill!

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I FOUND IT! And on the last guy even! Lucky! But couldn't he have been the first one?

Hmm, hmm, so it makes it easier for stupid people to use magic. ...Then couldn't I just take magic at once? The guy with the skill has an INT of 103, and I'm somewhat higher than that with my 120. I guess I'll have to take a magic skill first before I can test it. I currently have 1.9 skill points, was it? I could add some more... why not? These guys are all "Weakened" with their stats only at 50%.

They're gonna be easy prey. No, if I don't take care of them now, I'll probably never have this chance ever again! And they're talking about making the Dungeon their base of operation. Even if they can't go through the river area 'cause of the T-Rex, having them here in the upper layer's gonna be a damn problem for me!

Th-this is definitely not 'cause I'm aiming at their possessions. I mean, all these guys have more negative karma than me. Me! I'll do the world a favor in getting rid of these guys. Why aren't I allowed to get some rewards for my good deeds?! Tch, who cares what others think. I'm gonna get my easy EXP and items!

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Mob leader:

Damn it all, why does someone as great as me have to wander these damn tunnels. The fucking idiots at the Guild threw me out just 'cause I made some trouble at the bar. It couldn't be that they know I was robbing people on the highway? No way, I have the [Hiding] skill, there's no way they could find out it was me when I was disguised. 

I'll seriously kill that damn receptionist bitch when I get out of this cave. The idiot grunts keep telling me we are in a Dungeon. That's stupid. If there was a Dungeon this close to the city, the Guild would have noticed it a long time ago, like that forest Dungeon close by. I killed the idiots that went against my orders of course.

Ahh, fuck it! I want some booze! Time to get to the surface again soon. Those fucks have nagged about wanting to go up all this time. Don't they know that the outside is a dry wasteland? This cave has water flowing out of its wall, for god damn sake! 

Why do they want to leave just for some more of the food we brought with us? I made them kill the monsters living here for food, didn't I? There is only rats and frogs here, why do they make such a fuss. I told them, again and again, there is no way there is something stronger in a simple cave like this.

Damn ungrateful fools. Why do you want to go up when the goal isn't booze.

Ah, what's that? It felt like something looked at me. No way a monster would come here. This is a camp made by humanoids. No monster would assault this many humanoids in one place. That's the only reason I 'kindly' asked the fucks to join. Power is in numbers after all. Heh, I'm smart enough to know that.

Hmm? Did something flash over there? No way that's true. How could there be any lights in a cave?

*wobble*

Huh? A slime? There is a white slime on top of a rock where the light flashed. If only it was a Gel, they are like walking candies. Hey, isn't the slime holding something? A knife? That's my knife! How did it-!

*SLASH*

What happened?! The room is spinning. Is that... my... bod...

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