Draft: 38 An Overgrown Rodent

James stared at the stairs leading downwards, and, with a big sigh, began to descend. Her breakfast had been the leftovers from the night before, and they tasted all the worse for it. Apparently, the appeal of having meat disappeared after a day if it was nutria. Bringing up her stats, she was satisfied that everything was topped off.

Name

Class

James King

Pure Castor (7)

Race

Human, sub-omega   (7) --- other pathways detected ---

Perception

46

Mana

1013

Wisdom

50

Mana   regen

76/minute

Intelligence

50

Stamina

300

Endurance

18

Stamina   regen

28/minute

Strength

15

Health

500

Vitality

25

Health   regen

183/day

Willpower

26

Titles: Mark of the Fallen, Forerunner of Magic, Permanent Skill   Progenitor

Agility

36

Free   Stats

42

James had simply experienced monstrous gains during her time in the dungeon. For once though, perception wasn’t her highest stat. That honor was shared by both wisdom and intelligence, which both got +4 per level of Pure Castor. In turn, all her attributes, like mana, stamina, health and their regenerations also saw a jump. She had finally broken 1000 in Mana, so she could conceivably use 5 Mana Blasts now. Something she couldn’t imagine needing to do, but she was always a fan of having options.

Health was also a high point for her, reaching 500. She didn’t feel any more unkillable now than she did pre-System, but her clashes have certainly proven that notion wrong. At least she didn’t have an inflated sense of her morality, still trying to avoid hits.

She wondered if that had to do more with instincts than stats. None of them had felt like they had made a huge difference, at least other than perception, which continuously expanded her Mana Sense sphere. She never really felt like she changed either, becoming especially wise or intelligent. Her theory? James figured that it was an inherent disbelief that this was real.

James couldn’t believe she could lift 200 pounds with one finger, so how could she feel like she could? It was what all those pre-System years had ingrained in her, and everyone else she expected. They were humans. Normal. The System was too new for it to really change their mindset to believe they were anything special.

Coming back to reality, James’ dive into the Earth’s core couldn’t seem to end. Finally, after a solid ten minutes, the stairs ended at a door. Gripping the handle confidently, James hissed and drew back when she felt the burn on her hand. Staring at it, it wasn’t a pretty sight, red and blistering. At least it was her left hand since her right was holding the unsheathed dagger for lighting purposes.

Using it to cut off another bit of her leggings, she wrapped it around her hand. She wasn’t patient enough to go all the way back to the first floor and hang out there for a couple of days. That would require eating more nutria, and they were all at least a day dead. No. She was continuing.

This time taking off one of her shoes and using its sole as insolation from the hot handle, she opened the door. Blinked. And promptly shut the door.

Dungeon Objective Quest [3]: Defeat the Lumina Nutria [0/1]. No experience will be awarded until this is achieved.

Reward: Decided upon completion.

She could have sworn she just had just seen a fully glowing nutria the size of a large pony. And that wasn’t even the shocking part. No, that was the fact that it was walking around a high-end clothing boutique shop. And it wasn’t filled with mana.

She had gotten so used to seeing the world in an opaque green mist that that startled her almost as much as the nutria treating the store like its own personal den. How did it even get there? For that matter, how was the shop here? Opening the door again, she gaped at the sight.

Well, at least that proved that when she was seeing things it was consistent. Assuming it was real, how was she supposed to deal with that thing? If it trampled her, she’d surely have broken bones. If its front teeth chomped at her, she’d lose a hand. Her whole strategy depended on being able to get up close and using Mana Blast. Could she take enough damage to get to where she needed to? Did her Mana Blast even do enough damage to harm that thing?

And she was going into this fight already distracted by her left hand. Well, James guessed that she could now say she used to consider herself practical, because that wasn’t changing her plan any. She wanted to complete the dungeon. Soon. And that overgrown rodent was in her way.

Stepping over the door’s threshold, she intended to charge the monster. But the second she did so, it seemed to register her presence, also coming at her. Simultaneously she could see a big charge of green mana surround her. It was so large that she couldn’t escape it and suddenly she hurt. Quickly checking her health, she saw that she probably took around 210 points in damage. Of course, that was when its charge reached her, flinging her back outside the door. The second she was out, she didn’t exist anymore.

Scrambling up, she was glad that at least holding her dagger out had made its face bleed from a deep gash on its face. It was still near the door, pawing at its face so James got as close to the door as she could and used Mana Blast. The nutria made a pained sound and ran away, shaking its head and looking around in fright. She had to feel a bit bad about it, but it had treated her in the same fashion. Besides, it was so much stronger than any other opponent she had encountered. None of the rest had ever stayed alive after her Mana Blast.

Stepping back into the clothing boutique, a bit more sure of herself now that she saw that she could harm it, she raised her one good arm up again. Her wrist hurt from the first time the nutria smashed into it, but hopefully it would do it more harm than her if the experience repeated itself.

Of course, now the nutria was angry, bleeding blood over the expensive tile floors. Raising its head in challenge, it charged her again, its small legs moving surprisingly quickly for all the blood loss. This time, though, she was faster, taking a small step to the right.

She had already learned how to battle with nutrias. James was experienced. Their legs couldn’t pivot while they charged, so she could employ strategy. At least when she was thinking straight.

That was when the nutria took her by surprise by headbutting her as it turned around. Its glowing green teeth grazed her arm and left behind a deceptively deep gash.

But for it to do that it meant it had to be right next to her. For a second, James' world turned white with her Mana Blast. The next second, she was the only thing left alive in the fashion boutique.