Chương 46: 1-45 No touching

Josef was idly playing with a little red cube, one just the right size to be used in a game of dice if it had any numerical markers on it. However, this one didn't have a single feature on its surface except for a singular, round indentation on one side, which served as an inlet for mana. This was the magical artifact the bishop had handed to his subordinate knights before sending them out on their dirty business, if Linda's story was anything to go by. Unlike what that…

eccentric lady appeared to believe, thinking they had issues following along with the retelling of her rather unbalanced life, it was the sheer ridiculousness of her viewpoints and demeanor that had caught them all off guard. That, and learning that they had declared Cana an assassin who had gone after one of Sanctum's healers.

Fortunately, they had heard nothing like that topside, meaning that they hadn't yet pushed that narrative to have her hunted down with impunity, but it became painfully clear that they could do so at any time should they desire to put more pressure on Cana. That was a problem for the future, though, as they first had to find and get her out of the dungeon. Whether they truly wanted to hunt his friend down like that, or if they just needed a narrative to get Linda to split from the main group, Josef didn't know.

Either way, this little red artifact was going to be useful if he wanted to find his friend, as he had learned from Aifreed's explanation. While Linda appeared to ignore most conversations that didn't directly involve her, he had actually paid attention and extensively listened to what the bishop had explained to those knights, including how to use this artifact.

Essentially, it could weaken the boundaries of the dungeon's magical layers when fueled with a steady supply of mana, allowing the wielder to more easily encounter other groups as the dungeon struggles to keep them separated. It wouldn't surprise Josef if this kind of item turned out to be highly illegal, considering how much harm an ill-intentioned party could cause by preying on other adventurers.

After all, without knowing about the involvement of such an artifact, no one would suspect other parties if a group never made it back. Also, this thing was probably more expensive than their entire camping gear put together, considering his newfound instinct silently urged him to run away into the dark with his new 'precious'. Josef sighed as he idly scratched his itchy chest and leaned back by the campfire, contemplating what their next move should be.

As unpleasant as the newest addition to their group was, they were unlikely to split from them, considering there was no way to go but further down, and would thus probably follow them until the next safe zone, if floor twenty turned out to function like one as well. Something told Josef that he would probably have to face some freaky boss encounter before that happened, though.

Before that, they would somehow have to break the news to them about the assassination being made up and tell them that the implicated woman is actually their friend Cana. If it were only for Aifreed, then he'd wager the chances of that going over smoothly were rather good, but considering Linda's personality, the chances of telling her backfiring was dangerously high.

When it came down to it, Josef didn't doubt that Aifreed would pick his allegiance to the lady over sound moral judgement, even if he might at least try to sway her. However, that could wait until tomorrow, because right now he was done with the world, and decided he was no longer emotionally available until he had a full night's rest in him. Even if that meant a handful of hours at best, considering they were using enchanted bedrolls to cut down on their time spent sleeping.

Something about that felt horribly dystopian, but he couldn't complain considering they had to find Cana, or catch up with the expedition, whichever they encountered first. Luckily, they didn't have to organize a night watch, as Josef's familiars didn't have to rest in the first place, making them optimal guards all around the clock. Hopefully, there wouldn't be any disturbances, because he didn't fancy hearing Pretzel swallow a terrified Rachse with gusto in the middle of the night.

He was going to have enough nightmares without that happening. Until he had calmed down enough to catch some shut-eye, he was going to finish his day by checking out the notifications that had come up after taking down those last two knights. Level 22 -> 25 4 Free attribute points. 1 Dexterity, 1 Endurance and 1 Intelligence gained There naturally weren't many more automatic gains after leveling up in quick succession, but… that free point count looked off. Wasn't it supposed to be only three free points?

Unless there was a skill choice involved, he had only ever gotten one point to assign. Was level 25 somehow special? Taking a glance at the two knights, who had made their own camp a bit off from their own and were busy talking with, or at, each other, he slid over to Zippa to question him about it. It appeared as if no one ever talked openly about system matters, but he knew asking his friend would not cause some unfixable social taboo.

"Already?" Zippa briefly raised his voice before he caught the looks of Linda and Aifreed, and continued in a much more subdued volume, which was about as close to whispering as the big reptile could get.

"Didn't you only recently start out, Jo? It took us years to reach that point. Your speed is incredible!" Once again his voice had gotten loud before he could quickly readjust. Bezzo, who had been keeping busy by sharpening his claws on what looked like a whetstone, joined their discussion with a much more conventional whisper.

"He is right about that. Never let your speed slip to a stranger, or they will immediately know that there is something special about you. Also, to answer your question, 25 is the cutoff for mundane leveling. That's as far as anyone can go without ever acquiring a class stone." This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"Right…" Josef mused, remembering how he had received a notification before he had received his heartstone, proving that the system was available even without those special stones. In addition, even children like Coco had magic stones in their bodies, so those were likely serving as a substitute up to that specific level.

"After reaching that milestone, you will receive an additional point with every level. At level fifty, your class should evolve, and the amount will change again, but that differs in every case, so there is no telling how that will go with your…" The younger sibling vaguely gestured at his chest, signifying his heartstone.

"That's good to know, thanks," he nodded at Bezzo.

"It's surprisingly hard to find any information on this stuff, even in the books I bought. Why does nobody bother documenting things like this properly?" The lizard shrugged.

"It's a mix of many things, I guess. Some knowledge is so basic, we learned it from our parents growing up." That part seemed to spark an unpleasant memory, as his voice wavered for a second.

"There are also so many differences between classes that it's hard to find commonalities. Most would seek out a mentor because of that, though that would be difficult for you." Josef could only let out an even deeper sigh at that.

"Great, not like I can ask anyone if that new scale growth is supposed to happen at this level, or if it's a different trigger altogether." When he saw both of them throwing him questioning looks, he added, "There's now scales growing on my chest…"

"Well, I guess that was to be expected for a Drake," Bezzo supplied unhelpfully.

"Don't…" Whatever warning he was about to give came too late, when Zippa just shoved his hand under Josef's shirt and began searching for those scales.

"Zip, I will amputate your arm if you don't stop this." Josef could feel his eyebrow twitching under the weight of incredulity that had hit him. He already knew that this lizard was a hugger, but that was a step too far.

"Go ahead, I will hold him down." Bezzo added with a level of mirth that was unusual for him, as he grabbed his brother by his shoulders.

"No need to be mean…" he complained with obviously fake sadness.

"I wonder what color they-" He didn't get much further, as two responsible adults gently dissuaded him from lifting that shirt.

"How about now?" A bruised idiot complained.

"I'll be optimistic here and assume you are asking for healing, to which the answer is still no," Josef deadpanned.

"Otherwise, I'm going to ask Pretzel to tuck you in tightly." It had taken more force to detach the moron than either of them could have anticipated, but he and Bezzo had finally managed to pry him off and tie him up with a rope. Apparently, the younger sibling always brought one along to 'secure' his brother for the night, whatever that was supposed to mean.

"Nah," Zippa grinned, a swollen eye adding to the goofiness of his display.

"I meant how you're feeling. Took you long enough to stop frowning like someone raided your kitchen."

"Zip?" Josef asked without waiting for an answer.

"I'm not sure if I should call you my best friend, or a massive idiot."

"Why not both?"

"In that case, you're my best idiot. Now go to sleep, you big oaf, before your brother knocks you out." Zippa shrugged as well as he could under several meters of tightly wound rope.

"Yeah, he sometimes does that," he replied as if that was the most normal thing in the world. As Bezzo got busy rolling up the world's most ridiculous lizard burrito, wrapping his brother with the magical bedroll and another layer of rope on top, Josef finished his level up by assigning his free points. 1 Endurance, 2 Intelligence and 1 Wisdom gained"Perfection." It took Josef a moment to realize that it wasn't him speaking his thoughts out loud, as Bezzo had finished prepping his brother for bed.

He had even added a little ribbon on top of the bizarre package.

"Was that really necessary…" Josef trailed off, seeing that he had even fixed the final setup to the ground using tent pegs.

"You're really committed to this gag, but isn't this taking it a little far? What if we get attacked at night?" Even their resident elves were staring over from their own campfire.

"My brother is… a very active sleepwalker. If I don't chain him down, then he might just wander down a floor, or do worse, before we wake up. Admittedly, we usually do this in an empty boss room, as monsters never come into those, but with your familiars and those knights, we should be fine if anything happens. Worst case, he can always burn himself free."

Somehow, Bezzo fell back into that melodramatic expression he had in the morning, making Josef wonder if this was related to the topic at hand, or if the guy just turned dramatic whenever he was tired.

"Seriously?" Josef asked.

"Seriously," the reptile nodded sharply.

"Still calling dragonshit on that," the lizard roll grumbled.

"You've had it hard, Bez," Josef patted the younger sibling on the shoulder, showing his deepest compassion. Wiping away a nonexistent tear, Bezzo nodded.

"It's been difficult raising that dumbass all on my own."

"I can imagine," the human inclined his head sagely.

"Oh, I get it! You're playing a prank on me, that's hilarious." Zippa chuckled, though it lacked the usual enthusiasm.

"Now, what about a little magic to fix me up?"

"You should rest up. It's gonna be a long day ahead."

"Agreed." They continued without giving the complaining reptile any attention, getting ready to hit the hay, or rather, their bedrolls. The fabric was somehow already warm to the touch, but without feeling the least bit oppressive. Someone had truly gone through the effort of making an enchantment that would keep this fabric at an optimal sleeping temperature. Magic was wonderful.

"By the way, that nickname is uncreative, so think up something better." Bezzo muttered before they could fall asleep to the stream of complaints coming from their favorite idiot.

"Will do… Zozo," Josef could barely keep down the laughter at the indignant hiss the reptile gave him.

"Guys, seriously? Jo, you're not gonna let me suffer all night, right?" Zippa whined with extreme misery. Clearly, his act was well practiced, having undoubtedly gone through this countless times with his brother.

"Good night, Zip," Josef replied, trying to keep his voice flat. He was going to milk this for a couple more minutes before he would get up to heal his friend. That big oaf had to learn his lesson after all. Besides, petty vengeance was the best kind. He just had to avoid falling asleep before he got around to it.