Shen & Exp

Rune pulled on Marisa's hand, shifting her behind himself. The four elderly gentlemen took this with a sideways glance, though they didn't back off.

"Hey brat, don't take us the wrong way. You've been a good student, practically eating the contents of our books. It took us a great amount of time to put them all together, so we want to reward our first student in a manner that works best."

Mason grumbled after he finished speaking. Beside him, Wallace had a smile on his face.

"We wish to fix and supply better clothing. Boyd here, he can make something alchemical to fix those nasty cracks. Shen will use some enchantments, while I can sew a mean outfit. Mason will work out the armor on the outfit. Think you can let us have this?"

Rune let out a small sigh.

"I don't want to say no. I'd rather I didn't upset people that made such wonderful texts. The studying was fun."

Rune gave a small smile, causing what appeared to be Shen, to grimace. He walked off stiffly.

"Did I...?"

Wallace shook his head.

"Pure warmth makes his stomach lurch. He is from the Undead Kingdom, to the North. Please forgive him."

Rune nodded, quickly being shooed from the building. At the end, he stood in a corridor just about to exit when an icy feeling clamped his legs.

"Hmm. Tasty looking, though I've given up on that."

Rune turned his waist, seeing both Mae and Marisa struggling against binding as well. Behind them, Shen stepped forward little by little.

"Child, grow stronger. Don't let the kingdoms of this continent rule over you."

Rune blinked, attempting Analyze.

"Hmm? You should stop using that carelessly. Many ancient beings can FEEL that they are being read. Now..."

Shen shifted from his elderly, almost ghoulish form. Shrugging softly, a much more feminine figure began to emerge. She threw her long silver hair over her pale white skin. Deep red eyes peeked at him from within her snowy complexion.

"I am Shen, an Ancient Vampire of the Undead Kingdom. I know not your circumstances, but I feel as if you will be needed. We will spare no expense to aid you in bringing out her latent potential, though we need time. With our great skills, we will need two days. Whatever it takes, grow stronger. An omen is on the horizon, but we and Garren can be trusted."

As quickly as she came, Shen vanished along with her bindings. Mae hopped up, perching on Rune's shoulder. Marisa was still expressionless, but her guard now seemed to be up.

"I guess it's time..."

-

Rune and his two comrades stood on an open hill to the south of the town. The moon shone high above them, leaving the hill in an almost spectral light.

"This place... it's quite beautiful. Heh... a date here would be nice."

The breeze picked up, blowing Rune's hair out of his face. On the wind was a soft and glowy dust that swept past him. He turned in time to see it collide with Marisa's face.

"Pfft. I don't know how aware you are, but at least dodge things if they'll do that. Especially in combat."

Rune walked over, brushing the dust out of her hair and off her face. A small speck seemed to be stuck in each eye, causing Rune to lose focus for a moment.

"Even I am distracted by beauty."

Dropping his arms, Rune turned around and tore the ticket for the exp dungeon. From his hands, a portal began to expand and hide what was behind it.

"Hmm. Will it stay here after I go inside?"

Rune reached out, causing a new notification.

'Level 1 Exp Dungeon Detected

-Thus dungeon will grow in strength based on the user's level.

-All summons will perform an idle farm, away from the user.

-User will be given six hours to farm experience from the mobs within, however the mobs won't stand idly.'

"So we can't work together in here, huh? That makes me a little antsy. You two, do your best!"

"Kew!"

Mae seemed excited, but Marisa couldn't even blink. Her presence was practically that of a statue, leaving Rune with a defeated look. He touched the portal, a weird and sticky sensation suddenly crawling over his skin. Before he knew it, Rune was in a dim cave. In the corner of his eye, he could see a small screen with Mae and Marisa as pixelated characters. They were hunting and killing monsters with ease.

"My turn, I guess."

Rune grabbed his spear, the appearance getting faster with his confidence in the inventory. Before he could take another step, Rune activated Analyze on the only opening he could see.

"Bingo. Just inside the shadows."

'Monster: Weak Exp Slime

Level: 1'

Rune crept forward, his wary behavior seeming to slow him down drastically.

"Why am I so scared of-"

From the shadows, a glob of green goo came hurtling towards Rune. In a moment of panic, a blue flame ate the goo, though it was also extinguished. Taking a deep breath, Rune decided to change tactics.

"Come on, Fox Fire!"

A ring of blue flames appeared around his hand. With a quick test, he flicked one flame at the immobile slime.

'Ding!

Congrats! You have reached level 2!'

"Eh? They're that weak?"

Rune would have thrown caution to the wind, however, he could still remember the first line of the dungeons rules.

"Level two slime, or new monster entirely?"

There was a loud squeak, giving Rune a proper idea of his next target. Fox Fire kept getting discharged into the shadows, each instant kill allowing Rune to relax bit by bit.

-

Deep in the forest, closing in on the portal, something was trampling through the trees. Each step caused the earth to tremble and the trees to bend.

'I must escape. It's too close. I need to find safety, before it's too late! I can't fight it alone. I can't protect her alone!'

Rune had no idea that his portal was left open for the world to see. This small mistake allowed the portal to suck in two more entities, changing the soft blue to a molten red. Watching from outside, a shadow kept its hand against its chin.

"Not a chance the bitch survives. Hehehehe."