Dungeon Master (Karma System)

Gilmore arrived just in time to see the 4 teens walk out of the building chatting happily.

”Fruitful gains?” He asked them.

They clamored in agreement with Lana speaking first.

”I learned a new spell. Ice bolt. And also received good advice.”

Gilmore ran through his memories. ”Ice bolt. Low damage, 5 second cast time.” He said while looking at her questioningly.

”I know most people don’t think it is a good spell, but my class trainer set me straight. It only does a little damage but when it hits, it slows the target for 2 seconds. The slow isn’t much but it can stack up to 5 times.”

”But it takes 5 seconds to cast and I don’t see any other mages around.” Gilmore said.

”Ah, you weren’t here when Mr. Clarkson told use about quick casting. If I cast a spell 10,000 times I can learn to quick cast it. then I can fire an ice bolt in half a second.”

”I see.” Said Gilmore.

”And since it doesn’t cost much mana and has a short incantation I can get a lot of practice in. Once I can quick cast it, it will be a bit stronger and cost even less mana. My trainer also told me that when I have the maximum stacks on a target. Every hit after refreshes the slow timer and has a small chance of freezing the target solid for 3 seconds. She said that it is rare and not something I should rely on, but it is a nice surprise when it happens.”

”That does sound like a very useful spell. What about the rest of you?” He asked.

Silvia was the most familiar with him compared to the boys, she spoke next.

”I learned how to obtain the skill Instigate.”

”That is a good skill to attract the attention of others.” The assassin said.

Silvia agreed. ”To get it I have to protect others and attract the enemy’s aggro. There is a training facility to help with that. I also learned Shield Reflect. When I block a hit, I can return a portion of the damage. I will need to put a lot of work to learn that one successfully.”

”Sounds like to go skills for a shield maiden.” Lana added. ”How about you Rod?”

”I found out how to learn Indominable and Charge. Charge should be easy enough to learn. I just need to charge ahead and connect with an attack. I already have a bit of progress with it from the past.”

”And the other?” Lana asked.

”It is a passive that raises my natural defense. But the only way to learn it is to get beat up a lot.”

The 2 girls laughed at his pouting face.

Rod sighed. ”It won’t be fun, but it is too good to pass up on. How about you Dirk?”

”Stealth and Nimble Feet. I won’t get them any time soon, but they can be trained together.”

”Good skills to have.” Gilmore said.

He was surprised that the archer could learn them. He himself had gotten them from the assassin class. Maybe he should meet with the rouge trainer as well.

”Did you find anything interesting when you were looking around Uncle?” Lana asked.

”In fact, I did.”

He then explained the layout of the village and told them about a few shops he had found.

”... In the cursed shop I found an item that will let me lower my level and ability points to level 10. This way I can join you and you can train with a full party of 5.”

”That’s great.” Lana said. She was a bit excited to train with her uncle.

”Couldn’t you just join us at your normal level?” Rod asked.

”I could, but it would make some things difficult for you. One of the shop keepers explained it to me.”

Gilmore then told them what he had found out.

”Since everyone has the revival buff, the dungeon master is allowed to greatly increase the challenge of the level and still keep it at level 10. The result is that most of the creatures are Elites. And the bosses are Epic bosses. This means that they are stronger and have extra skills compared to their standard counterparts.”

The others took in the information while he continued.

”The issue with me joining is that each dungeon level can be raised up to 5 levels to accommodate for stronger adventurers. That means that if I join, the level will be set at 15. While this is enough of a challenge already. When the dungeon level is at max. Rare Elites will replace the normal elites, normal creatures will become elite, and the bosses will become Unique.”

”What are rare creatures?” Lana asked.

”They are creatures who have skills that don’t normally belong to their race. Those skills can be almost anything.”

”Wow, so it gets even more dangerous.” Rod said.

”Yes, even with my level, I don’t know if I can solo the level with those types of creatures. Especially if they are working together.”

”I know a way we can find out.” Lana said with a mischievous smile.

Her uncle chuckled. ”Maybe.”

”Come on Uncle. Because of the timing, we won’t be able to go back in till the middle of the night. We will wait till morning. If you go now, your cooldown will be up in time to join us.”

Gilmore rubbed his chin. ”It wouldn’t hurt to take a look.”

”Yes!” Said Lana while throwing her fist in the air.

”If only we could watch.” Rod said.

At that. Anna and Max came walking around the corner.

It was Anna who spoke up. ”We do have a projection room. For a fee you can watch your old runs through the dungeon to better learn from your mistakes. And you can also watch other go through the dungeon live with their permission.”

Gilmore already knew that his niece would be making her puppy dog eyes at him. ”Fine.” He said.

Internally he was shaking his head. This dungeon master was quite innovative when it came to taking other people’s money. The problem was that everything was reasonably priced. He already knew that he would be reviewing the footage of the dungeon runs all week so he could help point out to the teens the areas they needed to work on.

Anna and Max led them to the viewing room. Like he thought, it wasn’t dirt cheap, nor was it expensive. Once the others were settled, he left to head to the village square.

Max decided to stay and watch. Otherwise, he would have just gone to his private viewing room.

”There he is.” Lana said excitedly.

A large projection was placed on the far wall.

”Do you mind if I take control?” Max asked while motioning to the runic control device.

”Please.” Lana said while handing it over.

Max took the device and began to tweak the controls. The camera panned back to take in more of the scene.

Gilmore looked ahead before scanning his surroundings.

He then slightly crouched and vanished. The only reason the foursome knew he was moving forward was because the camera was doing the same.

”One moment.” Max said as he accessed a few options in the device.

A soft blue outline appeared around the figure that was sneaking forward. ”The detection option will show hidden threats. It also unveils those who are cloaked. It’s pretty useful when you have a stealthy on the team.” He then tapped a few buttons.

In the top corner of the projection, Gilmores HP and stamina appeared on the screen along with his name.

”This is just some extra information that can be helpful.”

The group of 4 was glued to the screen. They saw the assassin stop at the sign and read it. He then quickly moved forward. He followed the path but always stayed a few paces off of it as he progressed deeper into the woods.