The Strongest Spellblade

Level: 20 Experience: BLOCKED

Healing: 501/530 Stamina: 254/650 Mana: 642/780

Class: Tier 1, Adult Human(Blue)

Effect: Increased Skill Acquisition(+10%), Increased Learning Speed(+10%), Increased Stat Gain(+10%), Increased Physical Gain(+10%), Increased Mental Gain(+10%)

Vitality: 53 (+1)

Endurance: 65 (+2)

Strength: 43+3 (+1)

Agility: 51+14 (+1)

Perception: 43 (+1)

Mind: 173 (+3)

Magic: 71+7 (+2)

Focus: 63+12 (+1)

Free Points: 200

Tier 1(14)(35+): Dwarven Etiquette(100), Eldarin Etiquette(100), Elven Etiquette(100), Dancing Skills(100), Drawing Skills(100+4), Pulse Strike(97), Wrestling Skills(98+3), Dagger Skills(96+3), Pugilist Skills(92+4), Bow Skills(82+3), Whip Skills(60+3), Stillness(50), Driving(39) , Seraphim Etiquette(21+21)

Tier 2(70)(15+): Mana Sense(100), Danger Sense(100), System Sense(100), Soul Sense(100), Speed Reading(100), Mana Vision(97+2), Focused Monster Processing Skills(88+4), Darkness Vision(84+2), Critical Thinking(83+2), Focused Deflection(80+4), Shadow Vision(78+2), Demonic Lore(72+7), Focused Dodge(66+4), Monster Analysis(63+3), Time Sense(62+2), Depth Sense(60+8), Spatial Sense(59+2), Focused Combat Tactics(59+7), Trap Detection(53+2), Focused Shield Skills(45+1), Focused Throw(48+4), Focused Cooking Skills(45+4), Poison Sense(42), Sweet Teeth(42), Focused Rage(42+5), Focused Spear Skills(38+3), Dwarven Lore(36), Eldarin Lore(36), High Vostner Lore(36), Elven Lore(34), Low Vostner Lore(30), Focused Axe Skills(22+2), Focused Armor(21+14), Soul Vision(16+3), Focused Speech(5+3)

Tier 3(126)(5+): Empowered Will(100), Mana Manipulation(100), Fear Resistance(92+4), Empowered Gestures(90+3), Eldarin Runes(82+1), Light Orb(80), Hidden Status(73+4), Empowered Meditation(72+2), Silent Casting(71+2), Skill Control(71+2), Cold Resistance(69+4), Lightning Resistance(63+2), Clean(62+2), Fireball(60+2), Flame Blade(58+3), Ward(58+3), Empowered Breathing(55+5), Empowered Writing(50+3), Lightning Beam(50+5), Empowered Running(49+4), Sleep(44+1), System Control(44+2), Physical Resistance(39+3), Empowered Sword Skills(39+9), Status Analysis(38+2), Arcane Resistance(34+2), Soul Strike(34+6), Cure(30+2), Dwarven Runes(28+1), Elven Runes(28+1), Calculus(24), Advanced Geometry(24), Empowered Stealth(24+2), Social Resistance(24+4), Demonic Runes(23+2), High Vostner Runes(21+1), Low Vostner Runes(19+1), Alchemy(14+2), Empowered Toughness(13+5), Sonic Resistance(11+1), Soul Shield(9+1), Compass Of Desire(6+6), Demonic Hunter(5)

Tier 4(36): Experience Siphon(C), Gnomish Silence(C), Soul Link(86+5), Poison Immunity(36+1), Multi-Casting(30+1), Vibration Blade(25+2), Soul Immunity(25+3), Pain Immunity(16+3), Healing Immunity(9+3), Fire Immunity(7+2), Ritualism(4)

Tier 7: Seraphim Quest(C)

Equipment

Gloves: Gloves Of Magic(T3) (+7 Magic) (Damaged)

Boots: Boots of Agility(T3) (+14 Agility) (Damaged)

Head: Helmet of Clarity(T3) (+12 Focus) (Damaged)

Body: Heavy Armor Of Stability(T3) (+3 Strength) (Damaged)

Ring1: Ring of Alarm(T3) (Gem turns red if other Mana interferes)

Ring2: Ring of Force Deflection(T3) (Reduces impact force by a quarter)

Amulet/Bracelet: Experience Blocker(T4) (Prevents all experience gain for primary level)

Weapon1: Reforged Beginner’s Blade(T3) (Sharpness-T4, Durability-T3, Self-Repair-T2)

Equipment1: Runic Writing Set(T3) (Write Runes T3 and Below)

Equipment2: Monster Processing Set(T3) (Processes Level 150 and Below)

Equipment3: Ring of Remote Awareness(T3) (Allows for remote viewing from companion ring)

Equipment4: Wand of Explosion(T3) (Rechargeable, single use wand with T4 Explosion spell skill)

Equipment5: Sun Amulet(T3) All weapon based attacks are imbued with fire damage.

Equipment6: Cursed Longsword(T7) (Aura Of Mana, ???)

Winged Serpent

Level: 63/462 Experience: 68,812/92,106

Healing: 1,440/1,440 Stamina: 740/740 Mana: 1,920/1,920

Class: Tier 3, Bright Eyed Winged Serpent of Alchemy(Blue)

Effect: Alchemic Skill Power(+600%), Eye Skill Power(+200%)

Vitality: 144 (+4)

Endurance: 74 (+4)

Strength: 91 (+4)

Agility: 123 (+4)

Perception: 77 (+4)

Mind: 135 (+4)

Magic: 192 (+12)

Focus: 84 (+4)

Free Points: 0

T1: Spark(3+2)

T2: Alchemic Vision(100), Danger Sense(100), Health Sense(36+5), Stamina Sense(34+5), Focused Dodge(22+10), Heat Vision(13+6), Shadow Vision(9+4), Blood Sense(6+3), Focused Smell(4+3)

T3: Cure(100), Purify(100), Refresh(100), Alchemy(91+4), Poison Insight(80+2), Fire Insight (51+2), Cold Insight(48+2), Arcane Insight(46+2), Spatial Insight(39+2), Soul Insight(29+2), Healing Insight(20+1), Empowered Bite(20+7), Empowered Toxic Breath(20+9), Anatomy Insight(16+1), Atmospheric Insight(13+1), Ward(12+3), Harden Scales(6+2), Bladed Limb Insight(3+3)

T4: Soul Link(86+5), Flight(68+3), Alchemic Bounded Field(66+3), Greater Cure(37+1), Greater Purify(30+1), Greater Refresh(28+2), Petrifying Gaze(28+3), Fear Aura(6+3)

We were on the 5th layer and slowly making our way up towards the surface. My cursed skill had swung in the other direction, pointing towards the exit, rather than taking a path through the dungeon to get to the forge.

I had gained 631 skill levels these last 3 months. An incredibly high amount, my third highest gain. I didn’t think I was going to ever beat 714 skill levels back I was a kid. The Abnormal and the constant fighting after getting the cursed longsword had pushed me up to new heights.

My other new skill besides Compass Of Desire was Seraphim Etiquette. I had read the book my father had given me. Maximizing the skill after this point would be a struggle of managing my mannerisms and expression in the way the skill indicated. There was a lot of subtle things with Mana that were hard to understand.

The skill book was quite thick and I was giving it a reread to better understand it. But I was still struggling to pick apart certain nuances, like one’s emotional state and release of Mana. While the book could describe such things, it was one thing knowing them and another to put them into actual practice.

Seraphim Etiquette would be a long term skill. But at least knew the basic, so I should embarrass myself if I ever met another one. The sheer power they had was motivation to not want to offend one in the future.

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It also didn’t escape my notice that my Social Resistance had gone up as well. Intrepid Spirit likely had high tier social skills even while dead. I hadn’t noticed anything at the time, but it was slightly concerning. I didn’t feel that manipulated, but that was the danger of social skills that my father had opened my eyes to.

Once social skills took root, it was hard to know that had an effect at all. I had thought through my actions multiple times. The only oddity was that I had been too ready to accept the cursed skill and quest associated with it.

Perhaps my resistance wasn’t that great since I had gotten a highly valuable skill out of the deal. Perhaps Intrepid Spirit sensed my resistance and switched tactics. It lined up with what had happened.

I felt a sense of gratitude towards my father for teaching me about social skills and helping me improve my Social Resistance.

The rest of my skills had leveled up overall. I had also switched to weaker weapons on the higher layers to get more experience with them. Once we had reached the 9th layer, the pressure had greatly decreased.

Switching weapons was find, since Ozy could handle the monsters himself. I wanted to advance my weapon skills, rather than letting them stagnate if I could do so.

As for Ozy, it was clear that he had gotten skill from the Abnormal monster’s core. A useless skill since he didn’t have bladed limbs, but there was nothing I could do. Perhaps he would transmute himself a bladed tail in the future.

He had also passed level 60, and his class had increased. That also meant his experience requirements for higher levels and gotten much higher. His leveling had also slowed since we had gone up to higher layers where the monsters were much weaker and gave less experience.

Even after facing easier monsters, my reserves were struggling to fill back up to full. It was probably a bit of risk to switch weapons, but I felt it was a risk that I could handle. There was also something fun about using a whip with a metal tip, to blow apart the head’s monsters with a sharp crack.

The Ring of Alarm wasn’t that necessary. It was a nice piece of equipment, but I wasn’t sure about it as a piece of long term equipment. It would probably be better to switch it out once I switched out the rest of my equipment.

As for the rest of my equipment, they were struggling to keep their enchantments going. Even with my patch jobs, I hadn’t been able to repair them fully. I wasn’t a craftsperson and neither was Ozy. While I could repair the runic structures, the Mana flowing through the enchantments were set during the crafting process.

Once they were damaged, it was hard to recover the full power of the enchantments. I also became aware of the risk of rapidly losing my equipment and the shock to my stats if they were heavily damaged or destroyed.

The reduced Mana from the drop in my Magic stat was the most obvious. But even Strength and Agility going down threw off my combat ability. That was one reason why damaged had accumulated more quickly.

Equipment was good, but once it was damaged, the impact on my combat ability would be compounded. This increased the pressure I was under. I knew why adventurers used equipment and about this issue. But it was one thing to be told about it, another to experience it personally.

My sword was keeping up since it had self-repair, but the rest of my equipment was falling apart. Clean could only do so much, when straps were fraying and the metal was thinning after repeated repairs.

Ozy and I did a good job doing basic repairs, otherwise I would have had no armor, but it was still a major concern.

My other concern was the timing once we got to the surface. Things were headed towards the dark season. In another 3 months, it would be right in the middle of the dark season. I had been up to the surface about a year ago with Lanner. Once the dark season came, it would be very difficult to travel across the surface.

It was easier to transition through the dungeon to another passage the deep one went. At least that was an off hand comment my mother had mentioned once. But I didn’t want to try to get through the dungeon at a lower layer. The swarms of monsters were coming from multiple chambers out, since the chambers and tunnels were smaller.

More monsters were in range of the Mana aura the cursed longsword was giving off. Since the monster quantities had decreased and they were easier to kill, moving devolved into one long battle testing how quickly we could kill the monsters.

Lanner was getting more experience in with his Gnomish Fencing. It was a hold out skill, but now that we had ascended in the dungeon, he could start working on it again. If he was willing to rush at an Abnormal that could have bisected him with his pointy stick, he could put in the work to get better with his melee skill.

I was already a firm believer in melee skills, but after recent events, I was more convinced than ever that being a spellblade was the right path to being a long term successful adventurer in the dungeon. Even the Seraphim used weapons, and didn’t rely on just spell skills.

The other issue was Ozy. He was getting a bit too big for me to carry him on my shoulders. I would start making him slither or fly as we traveled. While he had gotten more powerful, my dominance in our relationship was still going strong.

It had been long enough and we had fought together enough, that unless I started attacking him, he would obey me. His Petrifying Gaze skill was an absolute menace with the increase in his class. Freezing monsters in place, unable to move as their bodies and Mana betrayed them.

It was a shame he wasn’t big enough to ride yet. That would have made it easy and quick to get to the forge and destroy this cursed longsword without hassle. Once we got closer to the surface I would figure out a way to hide the cursed longsword.

I had several good ideas how to do it. I would probably use them all and create multiple overlapping runic circles. Stick it in a hole and then go back to the Eldarin Continent, dropping Lanner off.

Once that was done, I could get more supplies and equipment, and then come back out here to deal with the cursed longsword. There was no way Lanner would be able to make a trek on the surface with the cold. I would also need to get a Cold Resistance skill for Ozy as well.

It was a shame he didn’t such a skill from the demon we had killed, but having an insight type skill would probably work counter to a resistance skill was my guess. How those two skill groups worked seemed to be completely in opposition to each other.

Ozy was great at supporting, but he needed a singular powerful attack spell skill at a range. Another skill I would need to get him.

I would also have to visit my father once I got back to the Eldarin continent. I had a lot of questions for him. I would also have to work on my social skills if I wanted to inherit his legacy. Just the thought of more skills made me feel exhausted.

There were so many skills I still had to get and train up, that every time I looked at my status, I didn’t want to look at it again. While I had gained over 600 skill levels, which would have made anyone else incredibly jealous with envy, I had more skills than twenty other people.

Well maybe not that many, but it felt like it. I could see how legends could become so powerful by focusing on a small handful of core skills. My advantage was my versatility and wide range of skills. That broader base would support me on my path to becoming a supreme legend and beyond.

I was so naïve as a kid, it was hilarious. I had seen Lanner lose that kind of mindset as well as he came to terms with all the work he had to accomplish to reach his dream of becoming a legend.

While others might think I should help find a soul fruit for him, he was a teammate not my child. There was no obligation to help him like that. I had already power leveled him heavily. He was around level 50 already after our time together.

I wasn’t my mother, who could power level a person to level 100 in half that time. I could just imagine her grabbing my father or Healer Melon with one hand by the back of the neck and her sword in the other. Just running about the dungeon, forcing him to get experience as quickly as possible.

Once we got back to the Eldarin Continent he would be able to hold his own. I had already moved Harren’s gear to my spatial pouch and cleaned his spatial pouch out. I had given it to Lanner a week or so ago.

While having a second would be nice to sell or trade, I would let him have it as a parting gift. That was the most I could do for the gnome. Far more than I should probably do, but he had grown on me. Even if he had become more disillusioned and more surly about adventuring.

It was probably a requirement that adventurers were all characters and partly grumpy. The dungeon wasn’t a nice place.