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The Human From a Dungeon 92
🕑 Added 2025-02-24 10:39:06 +0000 UTCChapter 92
Nick Smith
Adventurer Level: 9
Human – American
We made our way through the village as the early-morning sun tried its best to drive away the chill. As we approached the adventurer's guild, Yini and Nimora ran up to greet us. Catalina, who must have come to see her friends off, stood near the entrance and watched us.
"About time you showed up," Yini poked Yulk in the chest. "We've been waiting for you."
"Ah, yes. Mother suspected as such," Yulk said with a patronizing smile. "I nearly argued with her because the magicart isn't due until noon. Then I realized that you are likely excited at the prospect of attending an actual school."
"Yeah, the school's why she's excited," Nimora said sarcastically.
I struggled not to sigh at how close Nimora was standing to me. The hints that she was dropping weren't exactly subtle. It had been going on since we'd returned to Nuleva.
Unfortunately, she had opted for a passive aggressive approach to flirtation. Standing or sitting closer to me than expected or necessary, staring at me when she thinks I can't see her, laughing a little too hard at my jokes. The type of micro-flirting that one can only engage or ignore.
If I actively spoke of my disinterest, she would hide behind the shield of weaponized ignorance. Of course, she's JUST standing there. She's JUST laughing at my jokes. She's JUST looking in my general direction. She's not flirting or displaying interest whatsoever, and I must be vain to think otherwise.
It's not the first time I've encountered this particular form of passive aggression. Cassandra's best friend, Emily, starting doing things like this about a month after Cass and I started dating. Instead of ignoring the situation and letting Cass handle it, I had pulled the white knight routine and confronted Emily about her behavior. The resulting drama cost Cass and I a couple of friends and nearly broke us up.
It's entirely possible that I'm projecting a falsely toxic personality upon Nimora because of my past experience with Emily. It's also possible that this is unfair to Nimora, and she simply doesn't know any better ways to flirt with people. I couldn't help but be a little upset that I couldn't simply tell her no and be done with it, though.
"There's a chance that the magicart might get here early," Nash said. "Let's head in, I want to get Nick's level tested again."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah, let's see the results of your training," Thunra beamed.
"I can tell you the results. I learned Spear Punch and Knife Hand. I also leveled up Time Dilation, Dash, and Preternatural Evasion."
"Leveled up?" Nimora asked.
"Nick has an ability that allows him to see a list of his skills. Through this, we discovered that certain skills which we previously believed simply got better with familiarity are actually level based," Yulk explained.
"Oh, I see. Do the levels towards your adventurer level?"
"We don't know. In a more controlled environment, we might be able to find out. But it would seem that increasing the levels of a skill happens to be a bit... Temperamental."
"You can say that again," I complained. "Everything we went through and they only just now leveled up."
"It still takes the rest of us longer," Nash growled. "Now, if you're done bitching and moaning, let's get in and get you tested."
"But what if I'm not done bitching and moaning?" I asked with a grin.
Nash shoved me forward as Yulk, Thunra, and I laughed. We entered the guild walked straight up to Nima. Without even asking what we wanted, she reached under the counter and pulled out the...
"You know, I just realized that I don't even know what this thing is called," I said, gesturing toward the box.
Yulk, Nash, and Thunra shared a glance but remained silent. The type of silence that indicated ignorance, which made me feel a lot better about waiting this long to ask. Nima looked at the four of us and shook her head with a smile.
"This is the Curaguard Interface Device, or CID for short," Nima explained with a light chuckle. "You're the first non-employee that I've heard ask about it."
"Odd," Yulk interjected. "I wonder if there is some sort of psychological manipulation effect on the device that dissuades curiosity."
"Or whenever the box comes out people are just thinking about other things," Nash rolled his eyes. "Levels have a high career-impact."
"I suppose that could be true as well."
Thunra chuckled at my brother's conversation as Yulk gave Nima my adventurer ID card. She plugged it into the box, and the hand-print appeared after a familiar light-show. I steeled myself, the memory of nearly being killed by this damn thing fresh in my mind, and placed my hand on the light.
Instead of searing pain a light tingle passed through my hand and I breathed a sigh of relief. A moment later, the status screen changed slightly. Not knowing what it said, I glanced between Yulk and Nima. Yulk looked like he was stifling a laugh.
"Well I'll be damned. Level eleven!" Thunra said loudly, clapping me on the back.
"Two levels?" Yini asked, shocked.
Nash growled, "Son of a bi-"
"Careful," Yulk interrupted, still struggling to keep his composure. "Mom adopted him, remember?"
"Oh shut up, you know what I meant."
"What's the problem?" Thunra asked. "He's been working just as hard as the rest of us."
"That's the problem," Nash sighed. "He's working as hard as we are, but gaining new skills, spells, and levels much faster than we can. It's... Frustrating."
"Oh, sure. I get where you're comin' from, but there's a couple things to take into account here. First off, he ain't the same species as we are. Maybe that's why he's got an advantage, or maybe that advantage comes with some disadvantages that we don't know yet. Second, he may not have to work as long as you, but he's gotta work just as hard so it ain't like he's gettin' these levels for free. Third, you aren't in competition. His strength boosts your own," Thunra explained with a shrug. "I can see the view from your hill, but I think you're lookin' in the wrong direction."
Nash scowled, then looked at Nima who was nodding sagely in agreement with Thunra. We stood in silence for a moment as Nash processed everything. Finally, he let out a big sigh.
"I guess you're right," he shook his head. "I'm probably just upset that it took so damn long for me to get to this point."
"And what do we do when we're in the wrong?" Nima asked patronizingly.
"I- Uh... Sorry Nick," he said quietly.
"Did you say something, darling?"
"Please accept my humblest apologies for taking my frustrations out on you, Nick," he said at a level of volume that could only be described as sarcastic. "I hope that one day I can be granted the boon of your forgiveness."
"That's better," Nima smiled with an equal measure of sarcasm.
Nima gave me my ID, and I absentmindedly passed it back to Yulk. It had finally happened, I'd caught up to Nash in levels. Does that mean I'm as strong as he is? His size alone made that difficult to believe.
"Let's grab a place to sit before it fills up in here," Thunra suggested. "Anyone want breakfast? My treat."
The girls quickly agreed, and we picked one of the large tables to sit at. My mind barely registered that it was the very same one we had chosen to sit at the night Nash had made a fool of himself by proposing to Nina. I was so preoccupied that I almost didn't notice that Nimora had once again chosen the seat on my right, as well.
Nash and I were both level eleven. Not that I would have to, but I doubted that I could actually take him in a fight. My burly brother definitely had more fighting experience than I did, and even after all my training and leveling up I felt like if I didn't get a lucky shot in he'd wipe the floor with me.
Even Yulk would probably wreck me if it came down to it. The power of my spells weren't anything to scoff at, but the variety that Yulk can use would likely give him the win in a duel of magic. He probably has spells that would give him the win even if I were to use my physical advantage against him.
So then, what's the point of the levels, exactly? I'm four levels above Yulk and doubt my ability to beat him. I'm the same level as Nash but not even close to his equal in a fight. Yet Thunra, being several levels above my own, could also wipe the floor with all three of us in a real fight without even breaking a sweat.
I had seen people place importance on levels. They even had phrases like 'over-tens' and 'over-twenties', denoting an obvious difference between the two. Yet here I sat, a brand-new 'over-ten' who didn't really notice a difference in my actual ability to fight. Maybe Nash was right to be upset.
He was definitely right about one thing, though. I'd put in work, but it had come easier to me than it had to him. He had actually been forced to put his life at risk to gain the skills and experience that he has. I'd gained most of mine in training.
I absentmindedly listened to the conversation around me. The girls were talking about their hopes for the school, and Yulk was desperately trying to temper their expectations and them back to reality. Nash and Thunra were barely listening, seemingly focused on me.
"You know, Nick, you've done real good with your training," Thunra interrupted the girls, who quickly fell silent. "Maybe you got an advantage bein' a human. Maybe you don't. Either way, there ain't another soul in this village who could have kept up with me in the ring like you did."
We all sat silently for a moment while I tried to figure out how to reply.
"Th-thank you," I said. "I've done martial arts before, though, back in my worl-"
"You deserve the compliment, Nick," Nash sighed. "I was being unfair earlier. It's hard to see someone surpass you, and you're well on your way to doing that. Hells, you probably already have."
"N-no way," I replied, shocked by Nash's attitude shift. "If we fought for real, you'd kick my ass."
"Maybe, but it would be a close thing. And it would depend on your confidence going into the fight. You're close enough to my level of skill with weaponry that I have nothing left to teach you, and on top of that you have unarmed expertise and magic. You think that after your training with Thunra I can still take you in a fist-fight?"
"I... Are you saying you can't?"
"Of course not. Not if you put any sort of effort into it. Sure, I know how to throw a punch and deflect, but I don't have any skills that would let me keep up with you or Thunra. Then there's the magic thing. I can't do magic at all. Not a single fuckin' spell. And I've learned the hard way from sparring with Yulk that magic isn't something to scoff at."
"He's right," Thunra added. "If a sorc gets a spell off before you get close enough to engage them, you'll be lucky to live through the experience."
"Yeah, and on top of that, you're about to be on your way to hone your skills in magic," Nash said. "It probably won't be long before you no longer need Yulk and I for combat support."
"We'll still accompany you, though," Yulk chuckled. "Extra bodies are always a boon in a fight. Additionally, we know more about this world than you do."
"I-I don't know what to say," I replied. "Thank you."
Thunra, who was sitting to my left, clapped his massive hand onto my back. The group returned to their discussions, and I returned to my thoughts. A lot of the anxiety that had been building up in my gut had suddenly faded away, and I found myself finally feeling excited for what's to come.
I wondered what the Magic Academy would be like. I'd seen a few movies and shows that featured similar settings, but the High Chief had made it sound like this one wasn't going to be nearly as grand as most of those were. I almost chuckled at the mental image of learning new and powerful spells in the back of a shed.
Before I knew it, it was nearly noon. We left the guild and waited outside for the arrival of the magicart. Not long after, a large hnarse-less carriage rolled up in front of the building.
The wooden portions of the magicart were painted dark green and had golden inlays that glimmered in the sun. Four lanterns were installed on the top of the carriage, but they weren't lit. There was also a place for a driver, occupied by an orc in a scout uniform.
"Magicart for Yulk and Nick," the driver announced.
"That would be us," Yulk said. "We would like to take three more with us, is that acceptable?"
"Yes, sir. Please board with your party, we will be leaving shortly."
The driver hopped down, opened the door for us, then walked into the guild. I raised an eyebrow, and Nash laughed.
"Probably has to take a leak," he said. "Alright, brothers. I won't be along to keep you out of trouble this time. Don't do anything that will make mom kill you."
"We won't," Yulk replied, then grinned. "Probably."
"Good luck with Nima," I said.
The girls said their goodbyes to each other, and Thunra shook Nash's hand. Then we helped the girls load their bags and threw our sacks next to them. We climbed into the magicart as the driver came back, and waved at Nash and Catalina as we began to drive away.
"Next stop, Kirkena," the driver said.
Comments
ItsDirector
Sorc (pronounced s-or-k) is a shortform for sorcerer used in many MMOs. It's also a pun because orc lol
Aerowarrier
Wait I thought the sorc from the other post was a typo, was that a thing before or is it just funny enough that it’s been added to their vocabulary? Cuz imma be mad at myself if I missed that before xD
Ben Bass
TYFTC! And Nick enters starts another chapter of his life. He finally realizes that he does have skills that others don’t, and he shouldn’t compare himself to specialists when going against their strength when he has so many additional skills. I think the magic school is going to be very interesting, and I do wonder if at some point Nick will open his own dojo where he can teach his own blend of fighting that utilizes magic, weapons and unarmed.
Arjun
@itsdirector I'm really enjoying this series. On a lighter note, the name "Nick Smith" is a fantastic set-up for the comically absurd possibility of naming a character "Chris Smith." It would be totally hilarious if MC named his kid that. There could even be a comic relief side quest to uncover the mysterious origins of the name, etc. Anyways, it was an intrusive thought that intruded it's way into manifest reality ending up as a silly comment💩🤡!! NB: The commenter neither confirms nor denies any claims that this comment is an attempt by Russian, Chinese, and Iranian agents to subvert Democracy and Freedom by interfering with the author's writing process and plot maps. Any such claims are slanderous, chicanerous, salacious, and, I dare say, scandalous. I will snitch to your parents or the feds (whoever scares you most)🤪😜😝🥸
David Ellis
Next time they see Nash: "You think I advance quickly? How do you already have three kids!?"
