Alice ignored the howling wind flying through her hair, the musky scent of the man’s waist she was clutching for dear life, and her arse that burned as the horse galloped at an impossible speed. She didn’t even have clothes or a seat to cushion the blow of horseback riding. If not for her increased CON stat, she feared the relentless assault on her arse would smash her tailbone into smithereens. Despite the pain, she grinned from ear to ear as her hand danced across the blue screens that orbited her vision.
[Senior black dragon defeated! Exp awarded to all party members…]
[Contribution has been calculated at 1%]
[Exp awarded: 1% of total gain]
[Name: Alice]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 30(+10)]
[STR: 48(+10), DEX: 60(+10), CON: 30(+10), INT: 108(+16), WIS: 100(+16)]
[Unspent points: 18]
(Slave)
[Blessing: Darkness]
[Class: Junior Black Mage]
[Sub Class: Apprentice Merchant]
[Divine Mission: None]
[Skills]
[…]
[Class Skills]
[Stealth II]
[Fireball IV] (level up! x4)
[Ice Bolt I] (New!)
[Mana Shield I] (New!)
[Sub Class Skills]
[Fast Counting I]
[Identify I]
Although Alice’s Weak debuff had vanished with her recent level-ups, her CON stat was still on the lower end for her level due to her malnourished state. She looked at her low CON stat and frowned. Her body couldn’t survive much more of this intensive horse riding that felt like she was trying to stay on a bull’s back. She looked at her thin arms wrapped around Henry’s waist and how her muscles were strained to stop her from flying off.
Alice glanced at the floating blue screens and saw her unspent points sitting at eighteen. These were points the System awarded on level-ups, allowing the user some freedom from their class’s path or fixing issues with their body. Alice thought back to a passage she had read in the library before being sold off to the merchants.
Stat points can be gained and lost outside the System’s direct influence. For example, suppose a warrior does not train regularly to maintain his strength and instead succumbs to gluttony. In this case, the warrior can expect a sharp decline in his STR and DEX stats. However, with regular training, the warrior can quickly regain what was lost. Another example would be an archmage growing old and developing memory loss. Again, this unfortunate mage can expect a decline in his INT and WIS stats.
Although her burning arse demanded it, Alice still felt investing all her unspent points in her CON stat was the correct decision. Not only did the CON stat make her more robust, but it also directly increased her lifespan by a few years for each point. As it was her lowest stat and only increased by one with each level, she felt it was a good one to invest in. So, with a hesitant finger, she reached out, selected her CON stat, and smashed the “+” button until all eighteen points were assigned.
[Name: Alice]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 30]
pαпdα-ňᴏνêι·сóМ [STR: 48, DEX: 60, CON: 48(+18), INT: 108, WIS: 100]
[Unspent points: 0]
(Slave)
The mana in the surroundings shuddered and surged against her skin. She closed her eyes tight and felt the mana forcefully working through her body. Despite the likely horrific things it was doing to forcefully increase her lifespan and strengthen her muscles, it felt numb and warm. After a few seconds, the pleasant feeling washed away, and she took a sharp breath of dusty air.
Coughing her lungs out, Alice opened a teary eye, and through the plumes of dust, she saw titanic shifting black plates with neon green flesh hidden below. One of the lord’s pets, I guess. She had never seen such a sinister and massive-looking creature before. Straining her neck, she couldn’t glimpse the top of the beast, even though it was half submerged as it ploughed through the rock alongside her.
Alice beckoned the blue screens to vanish with a wave of her hand. The pain from riding had numbed a bit, so she could focus on what was happening. Glancing around, she saw a corridor of dull gray stone. Its only interesting feature was how vast the space was. She looked up to the ceiling and gulped. Flying overhead and blanketing the whole area under its enormous presence was a golden dragon. It was smaller than the ones slain by her and the lord. But it was still impressive with its shiny golden scales that shimmered under the glowstone light.
Alice realized she had been far too distracted with her darn blue screens and had no idea what was going on! So, with no one else to ask except the knight guiding the horse, she yelled over the absurd racket of riding next to a creature that could consume mountains, “Sir Knight, who are you?”
A handsome face with ruby eyes and midnight-black hair looked over his shoulder at her and responded, “You don’t recognize me?”
Alice squinted her eyes. The lighting was dim. Although the face was much smoother, the proportions were similar to the leader of the merchants. “Henry?” she asked in a low voice, unsure of herself.
“Aye, it is me.” Henry chuckled and turned his head back to the front.
Only now did Alice notice that Henry’s body had no legs, and he was, in fact, attached to the horse. “YOU’RE A HORSE NOW?”
Henry swapped his hand to hold his midnight spear and cleaned his ear with a finger. “Don’t scream into my ear, woman. They became more sensitive ever since my transformation.”
“So you got the same treatment as the other merchants then?” Alice recalled how Bob and Terry had turned out. Compared to those two imbeciles, Henry had actually improved rather than downgraded.
Henry shrugged. “I got lucky compared to them. The overlord combined me with a horse; now I’m an apocalypse horseman. Whatever that means.”
Alice’s eyes went wide. Could the lord create undead chimaeras? How fascinating. She grinned and asked, “I wonder if he could turn me into one?”
Henry laughed. “You would have to die first.”
She tightened her grip as Henry sped up to match the massive creature’s pace. “So. Explain,” she demanded. “What’s happening? What is that and that?” She pointed at the undead mountain eater and the flying lizard.
“The overlord calls that thing Wiggles. No, I don’t know why.” Henry then gestured skyward with his spear. “And that arrogant lizard is Genus Arcgold, a dragon hailing from a noble family.”
Alice groaned. “How are there nobles in every society?”
“Strength rules over the weak,” he responded with certainty. “Don’t like it? Become so strong that you can change it yourself. Create a new system or abolish the old. The strong can do anything they like.”
“The overlord is likely strong enough,” Alice grumbled.
Henry surprisingly heard her and nodded. “That is why I follow him.”
Alice thought back to her rocketing stats and smiled. So long as she stayed in his party and he remained in range for the party features to function, she would gain immense amounts of exp, and soon she would rival even heroes of old… Well, assuming they kept killing Senior dragons without being obliterated by a stronger dragon, such as Hyveth Arcspace.
“So where are we going?” Alice said with confusion as she shuffled closer and looked over Henry’s shoulder.
Henry awkwardly coughed as he felt Alice’s chest against his back but replied, “Into the dungeon. The deeper, the better. We have dragons hot on our tail, so the only way is down.”
Alice squinted, but she couldn’t pierce the darkness and see anything other than an enormous corridor that seemed to stretch forever. She flinched as a sonic boom echoed down the stone walls. Her eardrums tingled, and she felt a headache coming along. She cast a nervous glance over her shoulder and moved her black hair out of her eyes.
The scene in the far distance was apocalyptic. Hellfire illuminated the walls as a silver-and-black dragon tumbled around with a few smaller dragons. Flames erupted from the younger dragons’ mouths and melted away the two defending dragons’ scales and flesh. Alice could see in her mage sight that dark energy was flowing down the corridor from around them and regenerating the two zombie dragons of their wounds.
“My two dragon puppets will hold for a while longer. The dungeon’s entrance is just up ahead.” The overlord’s familiar ancient voice sounded from all angles and helped calm Alice’s mind. She felt safer with a monster that could kill two Senior dragons by her side.
Alice ignored the sounds of destruction from behind and focused on the path. A path to her new future. One where she would hopefully stand at the pinnacle for a change.
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