"What else do you have?"

"Various items. I've brought a few for you. This is a steel sword: +3 Strength and +2 Agility." He hands us one of the items he's placed on the counter earlier. "It costs 300 points. This is a mage's staff: +3 Intelligence and +2 Wisdom, 300 points. And before you risk ruining your friendship trying to get it, let me tell you I have a couple more. This is a piece of heavy armor." He holds up and offers us a gauntlet. "Good quality steel, too. It has a socket slot and is +2 Strength and +1 Constitution. It costs 260 points and I have the full set. Lastly, I've brought you a necklace: +3 Intelligence and +2 MP, 300 points."

"Isn't there anything that gives you a percentage boost to mana, instead of just flat mana points?" I ask.

"Not in this student-focused shop. Those items are much more expensive, and if we brought them, students wouldn't be able to afford them even by pooling all their points. Though of course, it's not very normal for you kids to come in on the second day of trials with 62 points each…"

"Any chance you could get it here?"

He scratches his chin, thinking.

"I'd have to ask the rector for permission. Certainly, if you can manage to get around 2000 points, we can talk."

"Great, it's a deal!" I smile at him.

I don't shake his hand or anything, but he looks at me like I'm crazy.

It's clear this clerk is a merchant, not an assistant professor. I'm going to try something…

"By the way, my professor, Catrina, says they're only giving us 50 more sacks for collecting ice worm eggs. Could we sell the eggs directly to you?"

"No. Not even if I spoke with the alchemists to get more commissions, as there isn't that much demand for cold resistance and cold healing potions."

"Hmm… I see. And is there demand for troll blood? Or any yeti ingredients?"

Because if I can't get us a dedicated quest, we're going to have to go to another dungeon, and honestly, I don't feel like it because this one has a really good level, and we can gain a lot of XP. My intention is to clear it over and over again for these fifteen days. Something that won't be profitable if we don't get points for it. Because look, I don't want the staff; I prefer fighting with a sword. But if this merchant brings me an item that gives me an extra percentage on my mana and some other improvement, like more intelligence or strength, that would be great.

Yes, it would be more profitable in gold to sell the materials and buy the item with that, but the truth is, I like being at the top of the points ranking. No matter what I say, I'm competitive; I always have been. If not, then what the heck was I doing on Earth playing LoL?

"Troll blood is used for healing regeneration potions. And yeti leather for cold and water magic resistant armors."

"Water?" I interrupt without realizing it. "Shouldn't it be ice?"

The vendor doesn't take it badly. Instead, he looks at me and laughs.

"You can tell you're a first-year student. With your earth magic, you probably still can't manipulate stone yet. This is the same; water magic also includes ice magic; it's just that the latter is advanced water magic."

"Right, something they mentioned in class, but we haven't covered any theory related to that for exams yet."

"But that's not the point, kids. Are you really telling me you can get significant quantities of troll blood and yeti leather?"

"Yes, definitely. We can clear the entire dungeon in a day," I affirm.

My lady, I hear Ronan's mental whisper, we have not cleared the third level yet.

You have a dragon. Are you telling me a freaking dragon can't handle a yeti? Not to mention your army of undead and my own magic.

Of course, we can handle a yeti boss. I was not worried about that, but rather that I think it is possible to clear it more than once a day.

"Or less," I tell the vendor, who is watching us intently.

"Kids, along with your point balance, there's some personal data about you. Like the magic you use and your exam results. I won't deny that having a necromancer is a very powerful asset, but it's a veteran-level dungeon. Let's do this: you show me you're capable of doing that dungeon in a day, and I'll get you commission sheets for the materials. After all, I'll need something for the artisan guilds to believe me and place orders. And you already know that with points, you'll lose money compared to selling it at the market or directly to the guilds."

"Yes, but we want the points. After all, that's what these trials are about. Getting lots of points and climbing the first-year ranking."

At least the man is honest; he warns us we'd earn more gold selling it directly. I don't doubt he makes a good profit from these trials and that those placing the orders get them much cheaper than going to the market.

"Perfect. I'm looking forward to tomorrow to see what you bring me."

The man smiles broadly and shakes our hands, first mine, then Ronan's.

Yes, Ronan's too.

And it costs him nothing; it's clear he must have neither light nor dark magic, if my friend's dark aura doesn't affect him.

As for Ronan, he shakes it with complete ease. The guy must have spent more than half his life confined in solitude, but he came out alright, without trauma.

Once we say goodbye to the vendor and are walking back through the gardens, I motion for Ronan to sit with me on a bench and ask him:

"You're not planning on spending any more gold coins on potions, are you?"

I guess my body language must be a little aggressive, because he answers somewhat puzzled.

"Does it displease you, my lady, that I expand your army?"

"No, that's not it. But save your money for something else."

"Do not worry, since the potions bought with points are medium-sized, I have more than enough for now."

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"Okay, good. Hey, did you level up? We're not too far from the stone chart; if you want, I'll come with you."

"I believe so, my lady, as I felt my energy expand, my body adjusting to handle more powerful magic."

Hearing him talk like that reminds me that he can't even choose which stat to raise. Poor guy.

"If you wish, my lady, you may review the stone chart with me to better understand what you are working with."

Great! That's what I want. It's a shame I can't see it from the system. It's not fair. Isn't he my vassal and my sergeant? But I already tried, and nothing, I can't.

"I'll touch the tablet too, so you can see how I've improved. Just make sure no one's close enough to read about my other magical affinities."

Ronan Velbrun

Race: human

Age: 18 years

Level: 9

Specialization: Soul Weaver

Constitution: 5

Strength: 5

Intelligence: 18

Agility: 2

Wisdom: 14

Health points: 6

Mana points: 16

Magical affinities: darkness (high affinity).

States:

Bonuses:

Vassal of the Bearer of the Legendary Sword of the Queen Mother: +1 HP, +1 Damage.

Vassal Sergeant of the Future Dark Lord: Minor Resistance to Status Effects. Mental communication with the Future Dark Lord and up to 10 lower-ranked vassals under his command.

Skills:

Low-level poison resistance. Passive. +2 points poison resistance.

Low resistance to status effects. Passive. +2 points resistance to status effects.

High-level iron will. Passive. +3 Int, +1 Wis.

Low soul inn. +2 Con. You can store lost souls you find in this land and bring souls from beyond if you are in the right place. Regardless of how ancient the souls you conjure may be, you may, if you wish, grant them an undead body.

Low-level acolyte (hidden skill). Passive. The dark god speaks to you. +1 tier to dark curse spells. –1 MP cost to dark curse spells.

High-level scholar. Passive. +3 Wis, +1 Int, +40% memorization speed.

Mana Control: Passive. Mana fully regenerates after 20 hours, provided the user has eaten and slept for at least 7 hours.

Minor mace mastery: Passive. +1 Str.

Spells:

High-level exhaust. Decreases the target's attack speed, movement speed, and strength for 5 minutes. This effect depends on the target's magical resistance. Without magical resistance, the reduction is 40%. Range: in a circular area with a 30-meter radius, to all targets within a second circular area with a one-meter radius. Due to the effect of the acolyte skill, exhaust becomes advanced-level. 50% decrease for 5 minutes. Range: in a circular area with a 40-meter radius, to all targets within a second circular area with a five-meter radius. Cost: High-level: 3 MP. Advanced-level: 3 MP. Due to the effect of the acolyte skill, the cost is reduced to 2 MP.

Minor disorientation. You induce an altered status effect in a target, making them unaware of their surroundings and potentially rendering them unable to think or act coherently for 30 seconds. This effect depends on the target's magical resistance. If they lack magical resistance, the impairment is total. Due to the effect of the acolyte skill, minor disorientation becomes low disorientation. The altered state lasts for 1 minute. Cost: 1MP. Due to the effect of the acolyte skill, the cost is reduced to 0 MP.

Advanced animate skeletons. Requirement for necromancy spells: high affinity for darkness. Summons up to a maximum of x skeletons of a creature whose bones or corpse are present and within a 120-meter radius of the animator. x = animator's Int. Cost: 1 MP for every 3 skeletons.

Intermediate summon skeletons (evolution of the animate skeletons spell). Requirement for necromancy spells: high affinity for darkness. Summons a skeleton of any creature the summoner has previously animated within a 15-meter radius of the summoner. The skeleton's level will depend on the summoned creature, the summoner's intelligence points, and the summoner's level. The skeleton's level can never exceed the summoner's. Equipment available for the summoned skeleton improves compared to the previous spell level. Cost: 3 MP.

High animate zombies (evolution of animate skeletons spell). Requirement for necromancy spells: high affinity for darkness. Summons up to a maximum of x zombies. Each zombie requires a separate corpse present within an 80-meter radius of the animator. x=animator's Int. Cost: 1 MP for every 2 zombies. This cost may increase depending on the size of the creature to be animated.

Minor summon zombies (evolution of the animate skeletons spell). Requirement for necromancy spells: high affinity for darkness. Summons a zombie of any creature the summoner has previously animated within a 3-meter radius of the summoner. The zombie's level will depend on the summoned creature, the summoner's intelligence points, and the summoner's level. The zombie's level can never exceed the summoner's. Cost: 3 MP.

Create and animate minor abomination. With sufficient dead flesh from various creatures, you can manipulate it to form a larger and more powerful entity. Unlike other undead, the abomination cannot remain in this world indefinitely. Cost: 3 MP and an amount of corpses equivalent to 6 medium-sized humans. Duration: 60 minutes.

Advanced-level life and mana suction (evolution of the life suction spell). Sucks 1 HP and 1 MP from the target in contact for every 1 MP spent.

High-level life drain (evolution of the life suction spell). Drains 1 HP from the targets within a 10-meter range for each target and MP spent. The total mana cost will depend on the number of targets selected by the user within the range area.

Low-level dark flare. Generates a cone of flames that deals 2 points of damage to the targets it reaches. The cone's reach distance can be regulated, being inversely proportional to the cone's angle. For a 90º angle cone, the distance is 60 cm. The damage is amplified or reduced based on the target's vulnerability to the darkness element and/or its magical resistance.

Initiated-level void. Creates a tiny black hole that sucks in all nearby matter. Range: a circular area with a 5-meter radius. Cost: 10 mana points and meeting the requirements. Requirements: 1- Serve the dark god. 2- Blocked.

One thing I notice when I look at Ronan's stat sheet is that his spell damage numbers must be the base values, those not yet modified by his intelligence or his high darkness affinity. And that +1 to damage? I assume it applies to his magic too.

No wonder they want to marry me off to the prince…

Bianca L'Crom

Race: Human

Age: 18

Level: 9

Constitution: 7

Strength: 6

Intelligence: 8

Agility: 9

Wisdom: 10

Health Points: 7

Mana Points: 10

Magic Affinities:

Elemental: Earth, medium level. Water, medium level. Fire, medium level. Air, medium level. Spirit, high level.

Non-elemental: Light, medium level.

Skills:

Low runner: Passive. +2 Agi. Run 20% faster.

Low sword mastery: Passive. +2 Str. Wielding a sword feels natural.

Minor Bow Mastery: Passive. +1 Agi. Fighting from a distance with a bow feels natural.

Low scholar: Passive. +2 Wis, +20% memorization speed.

Mana Control: Passive. Mana fully regenerates after 20 hours, provided the user has eaten and slept for at least 7 hours.

Spells: High earth control. Intermediate earth wall. Minor stone bullets. Low fire dart. Low breath control. Low splash. Low healing. Low light orb. Minor channeling with water and air. Intermediate Channeling with earth and fire. Minor flash. Minor meditation.

"By the way, Ronan, I see you've already learned the zombie summoning spell. Congratulations."

"Thank you very much, my lady."

"And you've leveled up acolyte, right?"

"Yes. I have also leveled up other spells and skills, like my soul inn, resistance to status effects, exhaust, and animate zombie."

"As for clearing the third floor of the dungeon, the mission guide only covered the first two. Could you take care of gathering information and making the necessary preparations?"

I'm not sure if he needs to request it from the military, or if a professor could provide it. It might even be in one of the books in the library.

In any case, he had previously brought flasks for troll blood and a fire salamander in case of specters.

That reminds me...

"Don't worry about the flasks for the blood—I'll handle that this time."

I'll stop by Solstar to buy them and pick up more arrows. Right now, I have more money in coins than points, so it works out better for me to get them that way."

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