Ebony's Fable

'Not enough offensive skills…’

Ebony was pretty awed by Scarlet’s and even Hector's damage potential. Especially Scarlet.

He had focused on defensive and evasive skills so much that he lacked killing power or efficiency.

If a few strikes or less was enough to take a monster down he wouldn’t have to have let that rogue get killed.

Sure, Chaotic Repulsive Membrane helped quite a bit with its current strength and so did the high frequency mana vibrations. Insufficient.

Ice magic was the one he was best at and also the one he felt the most natural with. Yet, ice wasn’t much suitable for explosive power like fire or lightning that Scarlet seemed to be using. He only just found out she used lightning magic as well.

Apparently, she just got her Sub-Class up to ‘unshameful’ to show.

She could literally zap hundreds of metres or even a kilometre faster than he could blink with what he dubbed as ‘Flash Step’. It was mana intensive so it wasn’t like she could constantly use it but that was a very useful skill.

Sound and gravity magic had lesser direct offensive capability for now. At least he thought so with his limited and weaker control and manipulation over these elements.

Ice… wasn’t much of an element for destructive capacity. It was decent for both defence and offence but it was more of a crowd control or debuffing element.

His current style was just to ram as much ice mana into the physically stronger monster while evading, blocking or countering attacks. When their movements stiffen enough that he had the upper hand in physical stats then he would finish it off.

He didn’t think there was any issue with his battle style.

Ebony had the speed, footwork and prediction for evasion. A shield of ice tougher than a steel shield that can cover his entire body that he can move around at will. Even without that, his improving swordsmanship was enough to deflect, parry and counter most simple attacks. He had lower strength but was able to take the blow of monsters to add to his rotation and counter with more force.

His flexibility and balance with the slightly oversized greatsword was vastly higher than when he first swung the giant frozen leaf Gen gave him.

His increasingly unending mana lets him dish out enough mana to turn a monster into an ice sculpture and continues to improve as well. His unmatched endurance and stamina lets him outlast any enemy that constantly weakens and slows from his ice mana anyway.

Undead type monsters were said to have unlimited stamina as well so he wasn’t really unmatched since he knew he would still get tired after extended fighting or training. His increasing Agility also made it such that he was eating into his stamina more. Just a tiny bit though.

Ebony decided to go with ice magic for a good offensive option. It was more realistic than sound or gravity for the moment. His control over the element being much higher and he was able to conjure ice mana.

A physical skill might be good too. Two-handed Power Stab was a little lacklustre and he was trying to change it somehow now that he could wield the greatsword with more dexterity with one or both hands. It was not exactly a bad skill. If he manages to lunge his sword deep enough into a monster all he has to do is hang on and inject a huge load of ice mana and the monster is as good as dead.

Back to the situation at hand.

The Dwarf was the party leader. His party found the spawning node with the other party. In short, they planed to share and camp the node while the dungeon was still dumb enough to randomly spawn monsters on a hunting spree.

It worked out well at first as they took turns. They just underestimated the dungeon a little too much. It was obviously aware its monsters were constantly being killed as its ‘eyes’ spawned. It sent two groups from different directions to remove the 2 parties.

They made excuses like being tired after hours of killing and fighting the freshly spawned monsters. They split and took a group each. The Dwarf party’s archer was injured first then the dead warrior died protecting her or so they said. Then it was as Ebony saw.

Unfortunately, by the time Scarlet and Ryley got here, the other party had 3 of their members dead already. The other 2 were heavily injured as well. The spawn node actually didn’t stay unused as a few Geoats were spawned and attacked them from the back. The 2 were lucky Scarlet reached them in time.

Ebony stepped in to help since it would’ve left a bad taste to let them die when he was there and could do something to prevent it. Well, he didn’t really think about it much and moved without much thought.

He initially thought that they accidentally came across a large group of monsters and were in trouble. Hearing that they were basically asking for it by camping a spawn node without being strong enough to handle it made him think that they deserve it.

Scarlet, Ryley and Ebony walked off and ignored their pleas for help to walk them back to the dungeon entrance. Pathetic.

None of them gave a shit anymore. Ebony had the same expressionless look as always. Ryley had a look of disgust and muttered that they were just trash that bit off more than they can chew and that it was a waste of his time coming here. Scarlet had an unreadable expression with her mask but it was obvious she no longer bothered with the 2 parties anymore.

Hector only arrived and met up with the 3 of them with Tuffock on his back as they walked towards him. He was getting really noisy and annoying when no one answered him about what happened.

They continued their 3 way split exploration. Only once did Hector call them back for backup and support. Ebony reached the fastest since he was not nearly as far away as the other 2. He witnessed the huge bombardment of stone shards that Tuffock casted.

There were much fewer monster attacks now but it wasn’t like there weren’t any.

Tuffock had a lightly injured arm, getting cut by an arrow from a kobold. He didn’t call up his suit in time or didn’t have a cast for it. The stone barrage took all of his focus apparently.

“Tch!” The tongue clicking seemed a little uncharacteristic of Tuffock but what did he know about him?

Ebony knew it wasn’t as if Tuffock could multicast more or better than him. Rowent and Fergus having explained some basics or general types of spells already.

A single ‘cast’ was similar to having a single hand. Most low level mages would form a base element mass of mana like a fireball, iceball, snowball, stone shard etc. The simplest form of attack spell was to use that as a projectile. Changing their shape into weapons like swords and spears were minor differences between mages and their preference.

It wasn’t as if you could only hold a single ball of dirt in one hand. Barrage spells like Tuffock were like holding many balls in his hand and tossing them. It has a wider range of effect but each individual shard or ‘ball’ couldn’t be controlled so intricately so it took away accuracy and perhaps power as well. There was likely the drawback of longer casting time and higher mana cost as well.

Like how Roya said she was controlling hundreds or thousands of threads at the same time she was actually only using a single cast unlike how Ebony manually controlled 4 singular threads with full control over them. Though she probably had other skills for that too.

Ebony also only uses a single cast in a sense when he sticks all of his shields together to carry. It was slower to move around due to the weight and how much focus he put into it but it wasn’t so much a drawback.

‘Should I try to make a barrage type spell? There’s no harm, It would be good for large groups of monsters. Accuracy would matter little if there’s a lot of monsters and mana isn’t really a concern.’

He was also really good at multitasking or multicasting so he could still fight close combat while conjuring as many projectiles as he can so casting time was not an issue that couldn’t be minimised.

Tuffock washed the cut with some water, applied a green salve like paste and bandaged his arm by himself with practised motions.

With how many times he had gotten his body broken down he was also somewhat proficient with normal first aid so he could tell Tuffock was more efficient and proficient than him.

They continued exploring but there was really not much to explore or see.

Ryley reported to have seen the wall of the dungeon. Scarlet confirmed a while later. They converged together since it was starting to get dark and they have slowed down from exhaustion.

Normal people wouldn’t exactly run or move at such a high pace just to explore but no one was really a normal person with their physical stats.

Cross checking each other's biological clock it seems like it was just about time it was getting dark outside the dungeon as well. It was pretty safe to assume that the day and night cycle was the same as outside by now. It was usually a common factor anyway.

The wall was just an earthen wall that rose up for as far as Ebony could see.

“Can dungeon walls be broken?”

Ebony wondered if he broke the walls would they be out where they came from. They did come through a portal like door so probably not.

“HAAHAHAA! Of course not! Are you really that naive?” Tuffock laughed in his loud voice and tone. Ebony mentally called this Tuffock, Tuffock 2.

“The elements in the dungeon can be manipulated by mages. Including the walls. But taking control past a certain extent and the dungeon would rip control back and reconstruct their walls. No one has broken dungeon walls before.” Hector gave a more constructive comment.

“...It’s possible. I would advise against trying though. I heard that it’s just chaotic space beyond dungeon walls and the spatial storm will just tear anything and everything apart. Or so I was told.” Scarlet contradicted the other 2.

They were stunned but didn’t even bother arguing, Hector just piled questions about the topic. They seem to believe anything Scarlet told them. Hector took out a different, thicker notebook than the previous one and wrote down whatever information Scarlet divulged. Too bad she didn’t say much before staying silent again.

They were leisurely walking along the walls, looking for any type of entrance or exit. Seemingly tired of running around anymore. Only when it was about to get real dark did Ryley say to prepare for camp at a spot relatively clear of monsters. They actually haven’t been attacked for a while and it had gotten pretty damn quiet around.

No other party was anywhere close to them or within Ryley’s sight either.

They set their tents up and Ebony confirmed that Hector’s and Scarlet’s bag was much bigger than they look as they obviously pulled out things that should not fit in bags of that size.

Their tents were spaced out a little but stuck reasonably close.

As per everything on Scarlet, her bag was red in colour. The bottom of her bag had the design of a flame that rose partially up to the sides of the bag. Her tent was dark red though so it wasn’t all that eye-catching.

It was time for dinner. Ebony was hungry and couldn’t wait to eat Scarlet’s cooking. There were not many trees around, much less firewood.

It wasn’t shown on his face but he was shocked to see Scarlet pulling out an entire stove out of her bag. Hearing, reading and imaging something like a dimensional ring or bag of holding was one thing but seeing it was another.

The stove had 3 red gems spread apart. It even came with a table top and a sink with a tap that had a blue gem in it. Scarlet took out a smaller case, chopping board and then a chest 2 metres long, 1 metre wide and tall.

Just how much could her almost empty looking bag hold?

The smaller case was filled with many different knives.

The chest was something he was familiar with. A refrigerator.

“Woah you brought such a large preserve box? And a chilled preserve box?”

Hector called it a chilled preserve box. Seems like it had preservation magic together with an ice mana ore or something similar keeping its contents chilled and preserved in whatever state it was in when left inside for as long as it could. Just like how his bag had some kind of preservation magic working as well.

They saw a few defeathered turkeys, many clear containers like glass or plastic with meat in them. It was all meat.

She continued to take another chest out with vegetables and even fruits in them.

Then bottles and jars of seasoning, oil, and sauces were taken out onto her tabletop.

A huge ass pot that could probably fit Tuffock in fetal position was brought out together with a wok that could rival it in size.

“Need any help?”

Ebony asked, seeing how Ryley retreated into his tent after getting them to stand watch first. Perhaps he was too tired seeing how they were running around for hours. The increase in gravity had made moving around more tiring after all. Even Ebony was affected by it, there was no issue when they didn’t move. In a battle and running around? It caused some mistakes in battle.

Hector took the look out with Tuffock. They seem to be getting along well, they did stay together most of the time and Hector had been calling him Tuff after Tuffock somewhat saved him from the mud golem hunt.

“No.”

Getting rejected outright, he watched Scarlet cook. Every motion and gesture of hers seemed to get engraved into his mind. Ebony just attributed it to his enhanced memory from the rise in Wisdom stat.

Scarlet removed her gloves, washed her hands, untied her ponytail, roughly braided it and tied her hair into a big braided bun then washed her hands again thoroughly. It was a new look to him, her usual ponytail was nice but this looked good on her as well. Stunning.

She washed the vegetables and started to prepare them. Slicing, dicing and chopping the ingredients so fast but precisely that it was over in a blink of an eye.

“...could you help fill the pot with water?”

Scarlet was likely bothered by him standing there and staring intently so she asked him to do something. Ebony was glad to oblige.

The pot cover had a water mana convertor thing as well, under the lid. Ebony operated it with a twist like his waterskin.

The water flow wasn’t slow but the pot was huge so it took time. Scarlet looked like she was marinating or seasoning the cuts of meat she had taken out. She put those aside and kept them in clean, clear containers. Likely for another day’s meal and not dinner tonight.

The sizzling of fat and oil reached his ear as Scarlet was stir frying something with the metal spatula in hand. She got Ebony to start the fire under the pot as well. It was pretty intuitive and not any different from the stoves he used. There was a knob he could turn to control the red gem to spit fire.

Scarlet got him to stop after seeing the water reach a certain 60 percentish mark. She seemed to hesitate a little but started giving extremely detailed and precise instructions to Ebony as she cooked.

All the ingredients on the table top were neatly separated into many wooden bowls and plates. She got him to add ingredients in a very particular order and went to timing them between each other in seconds. It was not too hard to follow. Scarlet quickly finished her cooking before taking over and getting him to stop what he was doing. Kicking him out of the outdoor kitchen.

The soup would take some more time.

Ebony got the idea of making some chairs and a table, truly doubting Scarlet would bring those even if she had the space or capacity to bring them.

They were simple enough to make. Ebony just conjured 5 cylindrical logs of ice as stools or a seat. A 4 legged round table was conjured as well. He made sure they were stable and strong enough to carry some weight.

Magic sure made things convenient.

The others were surprised by the setup. Hector shot right up after sitting due to the cold seat. He added a layer of earth so that he didn’t chill his butt. Tuffock declined the offer and just adjusted some of his stone chest armour to his butt. Ryley simply pulled a thick cloth out.

Though he was pretty sure light would attract monsters none of them seemed to care. They put their uncovered phoslamps around and on the table. There were ribs, steaks, kebabs, salad and what looked like a plate of stir fried cabbages with sliced carrots.

“Ho..how extravagant…”

“HAA! This is the first time I see such a luxurious feast out on the field.”

“...hmm. Impressive.”

“Thanks for the food, Scarlet. Let’s eat.”

The wooden bowls and plates Scarlet brought out were large. Creamy white soup was the standard or most common soup here. A single sip was enough to get the guys going and fighting for food. Hector had 4 bowls of soup, Ryley and Tuffock had 2.

Scarlet didn’t sit at the table. She said she already got her portion and hid in her tent to eat. Only coming out from time to time to get another serving of soup. Mask still on.

Ebony ate the most.

Halfway through the meal, Ryley requested Ebony for arrows the same dimensions as his own. Sturdy ones. It wasn’t too hard for him, he didn’t even need to stop eating.

Ryley pulled his bow out, stepped away from the table and shot 7 compressed ice arrows into the night sky. Ebony got partial experience for 3 kills.

He didn’t think Ryley was that alert. None of them noticed any monsters. He couldn’t even see any monsters or how far away they were with how dark it had gotten.

Ryley probably didn’t want to lose any of his arrows or was too lazy to pick them up.

They had confirmed that the dungeon no longer eats up foreign materials like it did in the start. Something about the world’s seal kicking into effect. Otherwise, even their tents would be devoured by the dungeon immediately. Dungeons shouldn’t have been able to just eat his arrow directly like it did.

They finished their meal with Hector lying down and patting his stomach as he burped. Tuffock wiped his mouth with the sleeves of his robes as he sat on the floor and closed his eyes, meditating. Ryley went to take an after dinner walk saying he will be on the lookout. Scarlet came out of her tent with her empty dishes. She went to clear the dishes on the table.

“I’ll help you.”

“No need.”

“It’s alright, I have the Dish Washing skill.”

Scarlet’s dramatic reaction of dropping the bowl she had on hand onto the table was not what Ebony expected. Hector and Tuffock who heard him, hardly reacted so he didn’t think it was a surprising skill to have.

Ebony wouldn’t know that both of them thought that an ex-mana slave or one that was in mindst of training to be a meditator class having a domestic type skill like Dish Washing wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. They more or less expected him to have such skills.

Scarlet on the other hand was stunned as men don’t take up skills like Dish Washing, Cleaning or Housekeeping. It didn’t matter if they were Imperial men or Xeng men, they just seemed to look down and it was like a shameful skill for a man to have. Sure some common men might have helped around the house and washed dishes, but few bothered to get the skill when they turned fifteen. Concentrating more on skills they actually want for their Classing.

Scarlet never got her head around what could be shameful about having a useful skill for daily life so she was a little surprised Ebony offered to help much less admit to having the skill. Furthermore, he was a training maniac.

“O..okay. Thank you.”

They stood beside each other at the sink as he handed clean dishes to her to dry and keep in her magical bag. Neither spoke a word.

“I'm in a dungeon aren’t I? Hey Tuff, why do we have to watch a couple develop their relations in a dungeon. No, they’re more like an old married couple instead. One looks cold as ice and the other acts cold as ice. Crap.”

“Th..It..It’s pretty nice. Co..compared to other parties I had been in. You all are really strong too. Especially the 2 of them. Heh, what a deal. If we could get one of them could we get the other at this rate?”

Hector was starting to get used to the fact that Tuffock sometimes sounds and acts a little different. He was a little confused at the second half of his sentence though. He wouldn’t be able to get it out of Tuffock on what he meant by it though.

“Hey! What do you mean, especially the 2 of them? I’m just as strong.” Hector complained as he beat his chest.

“Do..don’t lie. We..we all saw your ass ge..getting kicked.” The stuttering and nervous Tuffock obviously got more comfortable around Hector.

“Grhh. What did you say you bastard? Wait, don’t you dare run away! I’m gonna kick your ass.”

Ebony ignored the commotion in the background.

A stray ball of earth and dirt landed in the sink with soapy dishes. Ebony did sense it coming with his Vibrational Gravity Sense but didn’t really react quick enough.

The surrounding temperature rose but Hector had a chill run down his spine.

“Uhh… I’m gonna go for a walk. Byeee. Gaahh! Spaare meeee!”

‘This party isn’t so bad.’ He thought as he washed the dirty dishes again, Scarlet no longer beside him. Ebony did not realise his weird desire to go and beat Hector up as well. It was just a few dirty dishes, he could always wash them again so why was he bothered by it?

“Guh! TUFF! You traitor!” Hector tripped on a large rock that wasn’t originally there. It wasn’t like he could outrun Scarlet anyway.