Part 16

Luckily for Nicholas, the mansion's healer was informed of the situation quickly. Nicholas eventually made it back to the mansion after being given emergency care. However, due to the severity of his wound, he was forced to stay under the healer's care for almost a week.

During that time, I apologized more than a dozen times to Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth for injuring their head butler so soon after getting hired, but they didn't seem to mind. They understood that the butler was arrogant and didn't take me seriously, so I was let off without any sort of punishment.

While Nicholas was recovering, I spent the next week training the Forsyth twins. Because I had the level two『 Appraisal 』, I was able to tell what each twin specialized in, and I did my best to help them along the path, though I wasn't able to do much.

'If only Aros was here instead,' I found myself thinking on the fifth day of training. However, soon after the thought scanned through my brain, I quickly shook my head and angrily stood firm as I mentally banished that thought away, 'If he was, then I would have to explain the meaning behind his race. The guy doesn't look like a human in the slightest, so he might just end up getting hunted instead. I'll have to do this without him.'

Of course, I tried. After noticing the twins had something called『 Twin Telepathy 』, I immediately realized they would work fight best while working as a team. So, for the week that we were training, I assigned the twins a very specialized schedule.

They would wake up at 9 in the morning, then spend three hours exercising to train their bodies in the best shape they could possibly get. Then, after a quick lunch break, we would spend three more hours individually training their skills. The twins would fight against a series of obstacles to hone their skills.

For Evelyn, I had her shoot as many targets as possible while still being pinpoint accurate. Of course, because her『 Archery 』skill was level one, she would never fully pass the trial I set up for her. Of course, it would serve better as a milestone than an actual test.

For Jonathan, I used several moving dummies that would fly around the training ground. Each dummy was a different size and would move at different speeds. The different types of dummies would attempt to push Jonathan to the ground, so his goal was to resist that.

"In the worst-case scenario, you'll find yourself overwhelmed with the obstacles in front of you. To push past it, you must first understand how your abilities work. The more you use them, the stronger you will become!" I told the twins as they trained. Then, after those three hours were over, we would rest for another three hours before they would spend their last three hours teaming up against me.

Despite my level being much lower than theirs, my rank and race made my strength multitudes higher than theirs. However, my skills didn't matter as much here. The objective of the last three hours of training was to cement the twins' teamwork to the point where they could fight flawlessly.

As the week progressed, I became dedicated to training the twins. Then, when the last training session finally ended, I appraised them again.

"Good," I said as I saw their stats, "Neither of you leveled up, but every single one of your skills increased a level! Evelyn, your『 Archery 』skill even managed to get to level 3! Good job!"

"Thanks," Evelyn said as she fell to the ground. Her body was covered in sweat, though it didn't do much to her fine leather armor. Jonathan was in a much better state than his sister. He was still standing, but really sweaty. I was surprised to find his heavy plate armor hadn't managed to weigh him down at all.

Meanwhile, my own skills managed to level up a bit.

Because I was unable to use my draconic or dungeon master skills such as『 Morph 』or『 Summon 』, I was unable to level any of those skills. Although, over the last week, I had risen both『 Appraisal 』and『 Acrobatics 』to level 3.『 Combat Expertise 』had even managed to get to level 4. These were the updated descriptions:

『 Appraisal (LVL 3): The skill allows the user to gain a plethora of knowledge about any sort of object found in front of them. Thanks to bringing the skill to level three, the user can now see through minor illusions 』

--

『 Acrobatics (LVL 3): Gain a deeper understanding of the movement of the human body. For 30 seconds, increase your speed by 30%. Cost: 8 MP. 2 Minute Cooldown 』

--

『 Combat Expertise (LVL 4): After training diligently, you have unlocked the lost knowledge of combat. Whether you're fighting with a sword, a spear, or nothing at all, no enemy will be able to best you in combat 』

Then, after the week had ended, the group ate a lavish feast before going to bed for a comfortable night's rest. However, while the twins were falling asleep, I was busy looking at my status.

Because of the work put out from the twins throughout the week, I had gotten lots of XP. Every single fight I fought in, the system would consider when giving me XP. However, there was a condition. When I didn't kill my opponent the reward XP would be cut in half.

Regardless, spending a week training two separate people caused me to fight a few dozen sparring matches. Every single time I would get XP, the amount rewarded would be a strange combination between my opponent's level, their rank, and my own XP boost.

To put it in simple words, I gained 2,587.5 XP from the week of training, as did Icarus. After leveling up as many times as the XP prize allowed us, this is what our stats looked like:

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Aureys

Race: Dragon

Level: 5

HP: 135 (+)

MP: 190 (+)

AC: 30 (+)

DMG: 30

Rank: SS

Equipped Items: Dark Merchant's Suit

Titles: Dungeon Master

Skills: Appraisal, Morph, Ancestral Magic (LOCKED), Summon, Acrobatics, Combat Expertise, Noble Etiquette

Status Effects: 20% discount for human-sold items (Clothing Bonus), +5 HP, +20 MP, +20 AC

﹄

﹃

Icarus

Race: Dragon

Form: Dragon Wyrmling

Level: 5

HP: 30

MP: 35

AC: 20

Rank: C

Titles: Son of the Dungeon Master

Skills: Flight (LOCKED), Dragon Fire, Fire Breath, Respawn

﹄

I was glad to see my stats rise as I steadily leveled up, and was glad to see Icarus getting a bit of strength himself. However, my level wasn't my only concern.

Ever since I left the dungeon, I successfully checked back on the dungeon every night. Since then, there have been no updates on intruders. The kobolds would still go out every day to hunt game, as they were the mobs closest to the entrance, and they would usually manage to bring in about 200 DP per day.

Thanks to the efforts of the Kobolds over the last two weeks, the DP pool managed to reach 2,617. The cost to begin another floor was only 500 DP, which was more than affordable. However, the purchase would only allow the creation of the boss room. Creating the actual floor would still require more points.

Then, when I considered the huge amount of DP that the first floor swallowed up, I decided to wait a bit longer until I took on that endeavor. To get to that milestone, I decided to spend as very little as possible.

I had intended to spend literally nothing, but one item had suddenly caught my eye one night.

Hidden amongst the『 Mobs 』section was a skill.

"Why the hell is this in here? I haven't even unlocked any sort of skill shop yet. It's expensive as hell, but it might be worth it," I mumbled with excitement as I purchased the item. I went through the quick confirmation screen, then watched my DP suddenly drop

﹃

-1,000 DP

Skill: 『 Dungeon Visit 』, Learned

Dungeon Visit (LVL 1): Thanks to the system, you now have the ability to teleport to whichever dungeon you desire, as well as the ability to teleport back to your original location. Cost: 50 MP. No Cooldown

﹄

"Yes!" I silently yelled, my voice barely above a rushed whisper. Icarus, who was laying on the other end of the bed, looked up at me and tilted his head. Thanks to the new skill I had just unlocked, I gained the ability to visit my dungeon without bothering with the long trip there. Plus, I was even able to teleport back, so I didn't have to worry about being stuck in the dungeon again!

I jumped off of the bed and stood in the center of the room. Then, with no hesitation, I activated the skill. I suddenly felt 50 MP disappear from my MP pool as the skill began activating. Suddenly a quiet 'snap' echoed through the room and a large ball of red fire appeared in the space directly in front of me.

『 Dungeon: 『 Labyrinth of Aros, Selected 』

The flame was only visible for a moment, but it was soon followed by an even larger and louder explosion of flame. The second flame, once it appeared in front of me, stayed. It hovered in empty air, then quickly exploded in size.

I watched as the little ball of fire suddenly became a large doorway, almost like a hole in the fabric of the air around me. The doorway was surrounded with lively red fire while the space inside revealed the interior of the dungeon boss room.

I quickly stepped through, then chuckled as Icarus jumped from the bed and followed me through the doorway. As soon as both of us made it on the other side, the doorway suddenly collapsed, leaving an ordinary space of emptiness behind.