3B was led by a Shadow Knight. Penelope didn’t need any metal gear, and fighting the Demonic Grasshoppers wasn’t something she was ready for. Plus there was another monster in there somewhere that she didn’t see. The unknown had been getting her killed, so she wanted some more levels before she went deeper.
Penelope had waited until her mana was fully recharged instead of using the potion. While she longed to get out of the Dungeon, she also didn’t care for dying. Extra insurance was never a bad idea in life-or-death situations.
The fifty-four experience that she’d earn for clearing the square was also the exact amount that she needed to level. She wouldn’t earn anything from killing the minions once she leveled, so if she wanted experience from them, she needed to get it first.
Penelope walked up to the barrier and stepped through, keeping an eye on the Demonic Bat as she sped up to a jog.
“Light Orb!” She set an orb in front of her and followed behind it. As soon as she was in range, she targeted the closest Demonic Beetle. “Li–-”
The Shadow Assassin had disappeared.
Pain blossomed in her neck, then the blinding light claimed her.
Penelope growled as she restarted back in the middle of the crowd. She’d been trying to plan things out, and she was getting better, but she’d still failed again. She wove her way through the crowd and started clearing her way through the Dungeon.
She was able to make it back to her earlier point without much change. There were four Healing Potions in her left pocket and two Mana Potions in her right. She’d learned how to force her stat gains where she wanted them and had the same stat spread as her previous run. Jeru had been silent through the run, his usual taunting left the noise of fighting in her square all that existed to fill the void.
Penelope took a deep breath. “Round two.”
She started running as soon as she was through the barrier. The Shadow Assassin was faster than she was, but she was testing to see if it could portal to a specific location or to a specific target.
The Demon’s yellow eyes narrowed as she ran. This time, instead of launching the
The glowing ball of light the size of a basketball swirled to life in her hand and stayed there. Penelope grinned when the Shadow Assassin growled. If it tried to portal behind her, she would be able to hit it with the spell. She wasn’t sure if she’d be fast enough, but she was going to try.
“Light Bolt! Light Bolt!”
DING!
Experience +6
The Demonic Bat swooped at her as she made it a quarter of the way around the square.
“Light Blast!”
DING!
Experience +6
Evasive maneuvers didn’t matter against an area of effect spell.
Pain blossomed in her neck, then the blinding light claimed her.
“UGH!!” Penelope took off through the crowd again and fought her way back through the Dungeon until she was at the Assassin’s square once again.
“Round three.” She muttered as she ran in.
This time when the Demonic Bat swooped, Penelope kept an eye on the Demon. The moment she released her spell, it vanished.
Penelope swung her arm as she twisted, the basketball-sized projectile connecting with its target.
DING!
Experience +24
She watched the yellow eyes vanish as the Shadow Assassin melted, but neither dagger fell to the ground with the rest of its gear.
“GCK!” Penelope reached up to her neck, where both blades were buried. She hit her knees as her vision clouded over. There wasn’t enough time to pull the daggers out, and before she died, she was pinned to the barrier by a Demonic Beetle’s horn, then another.
Blinding light washed over her.
She redid her last run and tried to swing earlier.
Blinding light.
Too slow again.
Blinding light.
Still too slow.
Blinding light. Blinding light. Blinding light. Blinding light. Blinding light. Blinding light. Blinding light.
At this point, Penelope could start moving before the big man backed into her. She was also getting good at weaving through the crowd and avoiding the pockets of fights that broke out.
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Her time was also improving. The wand and
Penelope took a deep breath in front of the barrier. “Round… whatever.”
This time, instead of keeping her arm up and trying to swing around to hit the Demon, she kept her arm down. When she fired the
“Light Blast!”
DING!
Experience +24
The Shadow Demon had backed away from the orb but hadn’t been able to get out of the range of her spell. It only took one spell to kill the Shadow Assassin. At this point, her magic was strong enough to annihilate its low magic resistance.
“YES!” Penelope pumped her arm. “Finally!”
A horn skewered her.
Blinding light.
Penelope clenched her jaw as she made her way through the crowd. After so many restarts, she felt like she could do it blind.
“An important lesson on the battlefield.” Jeru clicked his tongue. “Don’t celebrate until you’re off the battlefield.”
“I know.” Penelope snapped once she was in the Dungeon. She paused and took a deep breath before she started the run. “I’m sorry, that came out—”
“I can see your thoughts, remember?” Jeru tapped his forehead before he vanished. “I know you love me.”
“You wish.” Penelope shook her head. Having a companion was nice. She wouldn’t have been able to hold it together as well or made as much progress as she had without him.
“See?" Jeru’s voice filled her mind. “Not so bad for a parasite.”
“Whatever.” Penelope shook her head. Jeru could read her thoughts, so there was no point in arguing when he could see all her cards.
This time when she rolled, she didn’t wait to see if the Shadow Assassin died. Penelope pushed off of the stone floor in a dead sprint.
DING!
Experience +24
The Demonic Beetles grouped together as they turned to follow her. As soon as they were all close enough together, Penelope unleashed her spells.
“Light Blast! Light Blast!”
DING!
Experience +6
Experience +6
Experience +6
You are now Level Seven
Stats increased: Recovery +1, Magic +1
You have learned: Light Beam
New Passives Unlocked!
Lone Wolf
Mana Leech
“Why did I get new passives?” Penelope opened the menu and scrolled down to look at what the new skills did.
“Your Recovery reached ten.”
Penelope sighed. “I know that, but why did it give me passives this time and not a new class?”
“Your class is tied to your stats. Since your two highest stats are Magic and Speed, your class reflects that.” Jeru appeared in front of her. “If your Recovery gets higher than your Speed then all three of your passives will change because there won’t be that ratio anymore.”
“What about when they’re even?”
“It won’t change until after it’s unbalanced.” The blue Elf shook his head. “And once you Tier up, you won’t learn anymore Tier Zero passives.”
“So there’s no way to trade out the useless ones?” Penelope tapped her finger through
“It gets better as you level.” Jeru raised an eyebrow. “You know you’re going to have to join a party at some point.”
“Maybe on one of the other play-throughs.” She waved him off as she closed the menu. She walked over to the pile of loot and picked up the ring and slid it on her left hand.
"Well, at least there’s Speed.” She looked at the squares on the east and west sides. “I’m not going to get any experience. Jeru, which one has the best loot?”
The blue Elf motioned at 2E.
“You’re kidding.” Penelope shook her head.
“His pants give a recovery and five percent resistance to poison.” Jeru shrugged. “2A and D don’t give anything that you can wear.”
Penelope took a deep breath and started moving the rest of the loot to her stash. Once she had it piled up, she headed towards 2A.
“You’re not going to get the pants?” Jeru teased.
“How much is that point of recovery going to help?”
“Why aren’t you…” The blue Elf glared at her. “You haven’t figured out the formula yet.” He sighed. “Fine, your mana will fully recharge about a minute and a half faster.”
Penelope nodded. “Three more minutes won’t make much of a difference.” She looked at the Shadow Warrior. “I’m going to start at the top.”
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