Chapter 29: New Masteries

Martin didn’t panic at the threat of the massive Wooden Bears. Juggling skills like Fortify, Threat, and Aegis Tumble, he kept their attention and guided them toward Kill Clause’s trap line on the left.

Assuming her traps wouldn’t trigger on allies, he stepped into one at the left edge of the line and tried to cut across to the right.

Thick vines erupted from the ground and locked him down on the left side. They wrapped his calves and waist, cinching tight until even his shield arm felt locked.

He tried to shift his footing, but the vines bit deeper and dragged him back into the same spot.

[You have been bound by Kill Clause’s Trap.]

Is that for real?

Only Chaosgraphy could have predicted this, since she’d already worked with other parties to glean experience. She knew allies’ skills could hurt her, but Martin and the others clearly didn’t. Martin was taken aback by it, and so were NukEncore and Kill Clause.

"Why did you trap him?!" NukEncore snapped at Kill Clause.

Kill Clause didn’t let that outburst sway her composure. "I didn’t know allies could trigger it. He didn’t either."

"It doesn’t matter if he didn’t! Turn it off!" NukEncore pressed.

"I don’t have an option to do that," Kill Clause replied, steadying her posture and drawing her bowstring taut. "I’ll still cover him. I won’t miss."

NukEncore pressed her lips together. It felt like a jab at her flaw.

Kill Clause raised her bow and tracked the second Wooden Bear charging straight at Martin from the front-left. It was the closest, and it would reach him first.

Martin had already perfectly blocked the first monster. His stats weren’t a problem thanks to his Control Devil’s Shield and its tether. It boosted his defenses, raised his stats, and gave him extra protection against physical attacks.

That said, this was a Level One dungeon, and monsters deeper into it were stronger despite having the same level. Their stats were much higher.

The joints. That’s my target.

Kill Clause sent a Crippling Arrow into the second monster’s joint. Its leg buckled, and its charge turned into a stagger.

It roared in pain, the sound shaking the woods. It was clearly a critical strike.

Kill Clause didn’t celebrate. Her eyes flicked from Martin’s pinned legs to the bear’s front-left shoulder, then to the next bodies moving through the trees on the right.

"Hold your shield angle," she called, voice flat. "I’ll buy you seconds."

But that doesn’t solve it.

More Wooden Bears were already closing in through the trees on the right. Martin was pinned, and the gap was shrinking.

NukEncore clenched her fists.

Clause has to draw first and aim. That takes time. She can’t help Martin fast enough!

Martin thrust his sword and drove the blade into the wounded bear’s other ankle. The monster’s movement slowed even more.

It’s not enough!

NukEncore could tell, even if she was a noob. From here, Clause’s shots would come a beat too late, and Martin was stuck eating the next hit.

If I pull aggro, he gets breathing room.

She inhaled deeply and sprinted out from behind Kill Clause on the right, heat already gathering in her chest as if the spell was begging to be cast.

Martin saw her icon closing on his minimap. He didn’t comment.

How many times have I done this, pushing past my limits just to learn more about my class?

I’m trusting NukEncore.

A moment later, he heard her shout, sharp and heated.

"FINAL FIREBALL!"

Heat washed over Martin’s back. The blast detonated behind his right shoulder, and for a heartbeat, it felt like she’d missed.

Then the tree above the explosion groaned. It tilted, cracked, and crashed down onto four Wooden Bears with a thunderous crash, crushing them.

[Environmental Kill x4]

NukEncore shouted, "If this game wants to be 100% real, then let it be known that wherever I breathe is my stage!"

She didn’t even celebrate the crit on the tree. She just soaked up the attention.

That included monsters.

The surviving Wooden Bears broke off Martin’s Threat and rushed past him on the right, straight for his fire mage.

"Nuh-uh," NukEncore said, shaking her head like that famous GIF of a cat shaking its head.

Usually, there would be bodyguards to keep her safe. In this game, however, she only had a single Guardian whose task was to keep her safe.

"THREAT!" Martin shouted.

His Threat latched onto the one on his left. It skidded to a stop, then turned back toward him.

The other kept charging straight at NukEncore down the right side, thundering through the forest. She backpedaled as fast as she could.

But it didn’t seem like she could outrun it.

An invisible tether snapped tight between the charging monster and Martin’s shield across the gap. The line snapped taut with a faint hum.

The bear froze mid-stride, like time had stopped. Its claws carved shallow grooves in the dirt as its weight fought the pull and lost.

Martin sneered from the other side. "Paws off her."

The tether recoiled and yanked the monster back across the gap to him. Martin met it with a shield bash.

The combo hit like a truck, which was insane for a tank.

[-358 HP!]

[You have killed a Wooden Bear.]

[You have unlocked a new shield mastery: Shield Damage.]

Martin smiled and turned to the last remaining monster. Kill Clause’s arrow was already lodged in its head, keeping it stunned.

Now, it was only a matter of time before it fell.

—

"Well fucking done, NukEncore. You nuked that tree. Four bears. Clean," Martin said as he approached her.

She stood still, caught off guard. Praise wasn’t new to her, but this was honest praise that actually saw her effort and the risk she’d taken. He didn’t flirt or worship. He just said she did well.

That felt... good.

NukEncore wanted to share the moment with him.

"Did you see that, Martin? Final Fireball, baby!" she asked as the jolt of pleasure from deploying such a massive move finally registered within her. "I missed the crit notification sound, but that was a crit for sure! For sure, you know? Haha!"

"It was a damn crit. You devoured that tree, and every bear snapped to you," Martin said.

NukEncore lifted her chest proudly and waved her index finger. "It’s also because I’m amazing. Obviously!"

"Right," Martin chuckled.

Kill Clause held her tongue until NukEncore brought it up.

"Those developers went overboard with realism. We’re in the same party. Our skills shouldn’t hit each other," she said.

That was the cue for Kill Clause.

She nodded. "Agreed. It makes things messier."

"I get it. Letting spells pass through bodies would be a mess. This realism is another weapon,use it," Martin said.

Explaining it to NPCs would be easy. For players, it’d be chaos.

Martin’s gaze swept from the trap line on the left to NukEncore’s lane on the right. "New rule," he said. "Friendly fire’s real, so call your lane before you cast."

"Ah, by the way, I got a new mana mastery!" NukEncore flaunted. "It’s called Skill Combination! I can now combine Arcane Bolt with Fireball to create even more variations of Final Fireballs! I love this so much!"

"Haha! I also got a new one! Shield Damage! Shields don’t have a base damage stat like weapons. Instead, they give me DEF stats, which increase my defenses. I can turn those defense stats into damage stats and Shield Bash for much more damage. Sounds fun."

"It does sound fun. That Shield Bash on the flying bear was honestly amazing," NukEncore said, her eyes shining with pure excitement.

Martin chuckled. "Thanks."

Just then, a voice came from the other side.

[Chaosgraphy: Keep talking. It’s entertaining.]

"Ah," NukEncore and Martin both reacted.

Kill Clause chuckled. "Shall we continue?"

"Yeah," Martin nodded.

Chaosgraphy had been listening the whole time. In the end, she sounded more amused than impressed.

Kill Clause smirked. "You knew about the realism issue. You kept it to yourself."

[Chaosgraphy: I forgot. You can deal with it, right?]

Martin sensed a few sparks between these two.

He stepped in. "It’s fine. We learned it the hard way. Better now than later. Those skills will help in Chaos’s spot. Let’s move."

"Yes!" NukEncore agreed immediately with Martin and skipped past him to lead the way again, raw excitement animating her.

Martin shook his head with a faint smile and followed her along with Kill Clause.

At last, the trio met up with Chaosgraphy.

A single system message appeared in front of them.

[You have found an entrance to the Buried Mining Site.]

[Lv. Requirement: 5]

The ground ahead had been peeled back like a lid. Buried stone blocks formed a clean, deliberate arch, as if someone had carved an entrance and then covered it up. No moss clung to the stone. No roots crossed the threshold. It looked too clean for something buried.

A dark slope descended beneath it, open and waiting, like a dare.

"Five?" Martin said. "Monsters in there are on a different level from outside."