Chương 54: 1-53 Updates galore

"I still can't believe we missed the fight!" Zippa cried to whomever it concerned. Which certainly didn't include Linda or Aifreed, who were busy steadying each other after the trying times they had just gone through. One had suffered from an admittedly horrible experience fighting a souped up boss that had no business being on this floor. The other had endured unexpected levels of separation anxiety.

It surprised Josef to see the older elf act like a mother hen, checking his lady thrice over as he tried to put every hair in place, and smooth every wrinkle in her clothes. Getting separated from the one he had sworn to protect had clearly upset the man immensely. Well, Zippa had also crushed him with a hug upon their reunion, almost literally. Josef had only stitched his broken arm back together for bare functionality, and it had not been ready for the scaly hydraulic press.

Not that he cared to bother his friend with that little detail, since he didn't want to dampen his spirits. Apparently, the three of them had tried their best to follow them directly, but the dungeon had done its utmost to subvert their attempts. They had to break through the trapdoor above, as it refused to trigger again, carefully make their way down, and finally handle the closed chute that led into the boss room.

They weren't even sure if that last one had truly happened under their own power, or if the dungeon simply yielded after the boss was dead. Either way, he was genuinely ecstatic about their group being back together, even if he was too low on energy to do much outward celebrating. What they were currently trying to figure out was their resting arrangements, because the current situation left them with one big question. What about the safe zone?

Now that they had dealt with Josef's own version of the boss encounter, they expected there to be one, like on the tenth floor above them. They only had to access that layer of the dungeon, somehow. After checking the boundaries of the room, they quickly identified two passages that lead up and down a floor, respectively. Surprisingly enough, the one leading up didn't block them in, meaning the boss floor wasn't the point of no return.

Only if they went down another level would they probably find themselves cut off from ascending again. Thus, Josef planned to go up to floor 19 momentarily before coming back down.

"If I hadn't seen the safe zone above, I would've called you insane." Bezzo shook his head.

"But going by what we know, that might just work." Thus, with everyone being onboard, as Linda and, by extension, Aifreed didn't care to veto them, they made their way up one floor, only to descend right after. A process which involved some deliberate usage of the new Blink evolution to cross the destroyed walkways of the room, which he promptly checked the notification for. ☆☆ Blink (Moderate) -> ☆☆☆ Mass Blink (Moderate) Blink and you will miss it. Can connect to others through lines of space mana.

Success depends on willingness and ability of each individual included. ✩✩ Space (Moderate) -> (Advanced) These were two of many improvements he had gained during this last encounter, and he was happy with how it turned out. Taking along more people didn't even cost much extra mana, only whatever the tendrils he created consumed. The rest of the expenditure was up to the person he connected with.

Which wasn't to say that organizing a teleportation for their entire group across the room was easy, because maintaining four connections at once was a big strain on his concentration. On top of that, not everyone took as well to converting their own mana to the offered space affinity. Zippa was the worst of them, and they had almost considered dragging him across with a long rope when he finally managed to do it.

Outside of the two elves, who had trained techniques for mana conversion, none of his companions could hope to be saved by this in the middle of combat. Even with them, it would take an exceptionally large opening to pull it off. Unless the spell changed majorly down the line, that downside was likely to remain. Which, all things considered, was fine with Josef.

He had originally created Blink for his own movement, so taking others with him was only a useful side effect to a magic that still did exactly what he wanted it to. While they were on the move, he also finally had the time to check over all his accumulated notifications, which included a lot of juicy gains, including several level ups. ☆☆☆☆ Water Shot (Inferior) One shape to conquer all. You have learned to use the concept of buoyancy to launch water at dangerous velocities.

A path found only by a few ingenious water mages. Josef was trying his hardest not to share the contents of this notification with Pretzel, but the very intention failed his attempt from the start. What he could do, however, was to ignore the waves of smugness that radiated off the serpent. Now he only had to get it to shoot where he aimed, and hopefully that insulting grade would improve. ☆☆ Mana Drain (Exceptional) -> ☆☆☆ Greater Mana Drain (Moderate) You have dined on the mana of others with gusto.

The rate of absorption has greatly increased. Mental strain of the spell has reduced. Straightforward and effective. He had barely noticed it during the fight, but he usually used his refill breaks to strategize and talk, paying little attention to the magic he was using. ☆☆ Earth (Moderate) -> ☆☆☆ Earth (Moderate) The foundation of life. Innate affinity due to elemental alignment of your body. Not yet unmoving as a mountain, but stronger and more steadfast than before.

☆☆ Blunt Resistance (Advanced) -> ☆☆☆ Blunt Resistance (Moderate) The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Two upgrades that went hand in hand, even if one of them was a little undescriptive. Some would even say the resistance was rather blunt. There was only so much a specific resistance could do, though, so Josef didn't mind the bland improvement, as long as it simply grew more effective at saving his skin.

His earth affinity was growing at ridiculous speeds compared to his other ones. Was it because of the way he was using it, as pure mana instead of shaped spells? Maybe original affinities grew quicker than those given by the Heartstone or gained through feats. Either way, he was happy about the defensive upgrade, even if he had no plans on repeating the act that had pushed him this far.

☆☆☆☆ Greater Heal (Advanced) -> (Exceptional) ☆☆☆ Abundant Regeneration (Moderate) -> (Exceptional) It only takes encouragement and a touch of magic, and the body will take care of itself. Further increases efficiency and can regenerate more complicated fractures. Apparently, nothing as complicated as the one he had suffered, but at least it was on the right path. Maybe one day it could regenerate just about anything on its own. Then again, wouldn't that make his other healing spell redundant?

✩✩✩ Summoning (Moderate) -> (Advanced) ☆☆☆ Summon Familiar (Moderate) -> (Exceptional) Current limit: 3 ☆☆☆☆ Empowered Link (Moderate) -> (Pinnacle) Sharing is caring Mana throughput has greatly increased. Unsurprisingly, his teamwork with two familiars at once had really helped him improve his abilities as a summoner. He wasn't even too far off from summoning his fourth, and his newly acquired Link had already reached a higher grade, thanks to the torrents of mana he had pushed through the skill.

While Pretzel wasn't able to do much with it during the fight, he now understood that most of it had been sucked up by Dusty. Which was likely the basis for whatever magic he had concocted by the end of the fight. Thinking back to that form, he still couldn't suppress a shiver down his spine. Unknown? H??? (>Inferior) -> ❐√🟊? H??? (<Pinnacle) The key to saving dr a gonkind. There is c urrently no data available on using this energy. Found traces of concepts aligned with hunger and growth. Further analysis pending.

Which also directly brought him to his last problem child. He could barely even read the box without gaining a massive headache, as if the very letters trying to tie down the nature of this affinity struggled to exist. Between Dusty's appearance and those new traces, he couldn't help but grow a little concerned about whatever was residing within him. Ultimately, he could only trust himself and his bunny to handle whatever they were growing. Hopefully, it wouldn't bite them in the ass.

Also, he quietly resolved to ask Linda if she was okay after witnessing his familiar in that state. Level 25 -> 29 8 Free attribute points. 3 Strength, 1 Dexterity, 5 Endurance, 2 Intelligence and 1 Wisdom gained His last fight had definitely been a bit lopsided towards physical exertion, and that fat bonus to endurance was a stark reminder of how he had almost been pancaked in an instant. Four levels were nothing to scoff at, though, considering they took down a boss above his level with only the two of them.

All that remained was to allocate the free points from his increased level. 3 Endurance, 3 Intelligence and 2 Wisdom gained Finally, they had made it through that slog, going all the way up a floor, only to turn around immediately and go back down. What awaited them this time around wasn't a boss encounter, or even the same room as they had left. Instead, they found a place much like the first safe zone, not only in function but also in appearance. Apparently, these rooms were sharing a template within the dungeon.

Surprisingly, they weren't the only ones here. Josef had thought that the safe zone was only created once he solved his special encounter, but unless dozens of people just happened to be waiting outside the door when they succeeded, he was clearly wrong. Was he the only one forced to go through that extra torture? Was that room there for anyone who defeated the boss, and only his version was worse?

He wanted to complain about this unfairness, speak with the dungeon's manager, if there was one, or at least vent to his friends. Unfortunately, their elven companions weren't exactly privy to his status as a Drake and the extra dangers that seemed to entail. As long as he wasn't willing to share that side of him with them, he had to keep his mouth zipped until he had some privacy with the two brothers. Drake. It was something he still wasn't feeling all too happy about.

On their way down the stairs, having fallen to the back of the group while reading notifications, he had finally stomached his fears and taken a quick peek under his own shirt. His scales were a dark blue. It was a little difficult with bad lighting and nightvision, but he wagered it was marine blue, or something in that ballpark. At least he was going to be wearing his favorite color all around the clock, though that thought barely offered much comfort.

Maybe the scales had even helped dampen the crushing blow he had received in his last fight, but he still felt like they were nothing more but an itchy annoyance. Putting his own bodily discomfort aside, Josef instead turned outward to the situation at hand. There were fewer people than on the tenth floor, but almost everyone looked roughed up in some way. Everyone gathered had obviously gone through some shit before they had found this little haven.

Which meant that he was once again going to run his mobile clinic for them. He swallowed hard, took a deep breath and braced himself to become the center of attention, when Bezzo put an arm in front of him, shaking his head.

"No, not yet." His tone was firm and demanded obedience.

"Look around. None of them appear to be in immediate danger. They can wait until you're all rested up."

"Just because I'm a little tired doesn't mean I'm not fit to heal them. Isn't it cruel to slack off while some of them are suffering?" Josef retorted, but he could tell that his heart wasn't fully in it. He really just wanted to lie down and take a nice nap.

"He's right." Zippa chimed in.

"You're a kind man, Jo, but you gotta take care of yourself before you fall apart." Then, after a moment of hesitation, he added, "You've looked like shit ever since we fought those knights, and today it's only gotten worse. I'm worried about you."

"Also, I would like some time to talk with these people before we have to hurry out of here. It would be best if you didn't turn us into a spectacle for now." Bezzo's argumentation was colder on the surface, but Josef knew that it contained its own kind of care. Both wanted him to rest, and had trapped him with entirely different sets of logic.

"Fine," he finally yielded.

"Wake me up for dinner." If anyone asked, he definitely wasn't pouting. Picking a relatively quiet corner, he put down his bedroll and lay down right there as he was. He knew he was safe with his familiars around, and the two elves weren't far either. There was a lot left for him to do, about his own development, the dungeon, and Cana. And that wasn't even considering what waited for him up above once they came back out of this hole. But for now, he would rest.

At least until the smell of food dragged his tired mind back to reality. Zippa had put together a meal for all of them, though that wasn't the only surprise waiting for him. If Bezzo hadn't had the gall to wait until they were busy eating, bowls in hand, he would probably have run off then and there. Instead, Josef opted to swallow his food as quickly as if his life depended on it, before glaring fiercely at the younger reptile.

"What did you find out?" Apparently, there was talk about Cana.