Hmm… speaking of leveling up, let’s see how far I am from the next one:
Bianca L'Crom
Race: Human
Age: 18
Level: 8
Constitution: 7
Strength: 4
Intelligence: 7
Agility: 7
Wisdom: 9
Health Points: 7
Mana Points: 3 out of 9
Magic Affinities:
Elemental: Earth, medium level. Water, medium level. Fire, medium level. Air, medium level. Spirit, high level.
Non-elemental: Light, medium level.
Skills:
Minor runner: Passive. +1 Agi. Run 10% faster.
Minor sword mastery: Passive. +1 Stre. Wielding a sword feels natural.
Minor scholar: Passive. +1 Wis, +10% memorization speed.
Spells: Intermediate earth control. Low earth wall. Minor stone bullets. Minor fire arrow. Minor breath control. Minor splash. Minor healing. Minor channeling with water and air. Low channeling with fire. Intermediate Channeling with earth. Minor flash. Minor meditation.
I figure I must be close to leveling up my sword mastery since I fought against quite a few mummies.
I tap on my current level, and it shows my progress toward level 9 is at 70%. To reach level 9, I need about 3,000 XP—2,981, to be exact. I’ve figured out how to read that on my character sheet. It’s a shame I can only see the percentage for the pup.
If I calculate it, I earned 3,218 XP in the dungeon. I killed and assisted in the kills of several mummies, immobilized the scorpion’s claw, and, with just Ronan’s minor assist—and his bear—I took down the golem boss. Then there’s everything the shadow wolf slew in that chamber: the giant mother scorpion and the remaining scorpions. That earned me 15% of that XP. Considering the difficulty ranking of the bosses—naga, lich, golem, and scorpion—I must have gotten a hefty share from the shadow wolf. Still, no matter how hard I try, I can’t find the option on my character sheet to figure out exactly how much. Roughly speaking, the golem probably gave around 2,000 XP, and the scorpion about 8,000, but those are just my estimates.
What I do find while poking around is that the pup only got 5% of the XP I earned while in his pup form, since I know he doesn’t earn anything in his adult wolf form.
I freeze.
A measly 8 XP.
8 is 5% of 150, rounded up.
That’s basically the mummies and the scorpion. My big XP haul came from the golem, and at that time, the seed was fighting the mother scorpion as the shadow wolf.
I’m such a terrible pet owner. Useless. Incompetent. I lash myself.
And it’s true. The divine beast, when fighting in wolf form, gives me experience but doesn’t get any for himself. Instead of grabbing a rabbit, immobilizing it, and letting the little pup kill it to level up, I’ve completely nerfed him.
Because, yes, he levels up by hunting animals. He doesn’t have my restriction as a human to mostly earn XP from dungeon creatures.
I rummage under the sheets, since he's lying beside me—in his tiniest form, the same size as the day I found him—and I'm not sure if he's asleep. My fingers brush against his fur, and I whisper:
“I’m so sorry. I’ve neglected your level. I promise to help you get stronger from now on.”
He must be awake because I feel the wet touch of his tongue on my fingers.
Honestly, poor pup. I don’t think he could’ve found a more incompetent owner. Well, it’s also true that helping a seed of evil grow stronger is kind of… what’s the word? Stupid? Absurd?
But to me, he’s my friend. I suspect it wasn’t just those wolves that wanted to kill him. With stats this low, he’s paper-thin right now, as weak as a kitten.
What if he betrays you? my cowardly side whispers.
He won’t. According to the contract, he can’t harm me. If I wanted to kill him, I’d just have to break the contract. Even if I were misjudging him and the divine beast wasn’t friendly toward me, he’s completely bound to me. That day in the dungeon, the contract felt exploitative, with so many obligations for me and so few for the seed. Today, it still feels that way—but exploitative toward the shadow wolf. If I break it, he loses his life, his everything.
On top of that, I already saw this yesterday, after the goblins and the bears.
So, what do I do in the dungeon? Instead of letting him finish off a weakened mummy, like Ronan does with Mary, I keep him hidden in my pocket. I scoff at myself.
Enough, Bianca, I tell myself. Stop beating yourself up. Do it right from now on, no excuses.
“Share your stats with me, please,” I whisper to the wolf cub.
Seed of darkness. Level 3.
Progress towards level 4: 5%
Constitution: 7
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 4
Agility: 3
Wisdom: 3
Health Points: 7
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Mana Points: 3
Skills:
Not available
Spells:
Healing Lick initiated level: restores half of the future Dark Lord's maximum HP and MP. Not applicable to itself or other targets that aren't the future Dark Lord or the Dark Lord. Cost: 1 MP. Restriction: Can only be used a maximum of 2 times every 24 hours.
Not available
Not available
Has a restriction been added to the healing lick? Or was it always there, but the system didn’t display it because the seed only had 1 or 2 mana points, making it irrelevant?
In any case, during the first two months at the academy, I focused on my studies and Earth magic, and I didn’t ask him to use the healing lick at first because I wanted to save it just in case. It seemed wise to keep that resource available to restore my mana if we got discovered and I needed to summon the wolf to flee the academy. Later, I realized that wouldn’t happen and started using it. Since the aquatic dungeon, I haven’t gone to bed without activating it, but apparently, that still isn’t enough to level up the spell.
Additionally, one of my doubts about the pup’s XP is now clearer. I didn’t know how much experience he needed to level up—whether it was the same as me, more, or less. With 8 XP, he’s gone from level 2 with 0% progress toward the next level to level 3 with 5% progress. Seven points for level 3, and 1 point is 5% of 20 points. I needed 7 XP for level 3 and 20 for level 4.
Well, that answers my question. Or at least, it shows that in the early levels, his progression works like that of any non-divine beast or human. I know this because one of the class books says researchers asked tamers to kill goblins and other minor creatures themselves, then let their dogs or other pets finish them off, allowing them to confirm this. In fact, the academy’s professors spend part of their work hours conducting research.
“Now the wolf’s stats, please,” I ask him.
Shadow Wolf. Level 30.
As a divine creature, it can exceed the level 20 restriction imposed on mundane creatures.
Constitution: 37
Strength: 35
Intelligence: 34
Agility: 33
Wisdom: 33
Health Points: 37
Mana Points: 33
Skills:
Shadow Jump grandmaster level. Active. Teleport to a shadow within vision range. Instant. No cooldown. No mana cost.
Regeneration grandmaster level. Passive. Heals 6HP per minute. Regenerates lost limbs.
Hard Skin grandmaster level. Passive. +10 points physical resistance.
Magic Resistance grandmaster level. Passive. +10 points magic resistance.
Spells:
Shadow Howl grandmaster level. Paralyzes for 10 seconds all creatures that hear it and don't have the magic resistance skill. If the creature has magic resistance skill at a level lower than grandmaster, will be paralyzed several seconds depending on their mastery in magic resistance. Cost: 2 MP.
Shadow Aura grandmaster level. Decreases enemies' defense and attack by 10x%, both physical and magical. Range: 300 meter radius circular area. Cost: x MP.
Darkness Ball grandmaster level. Ball made of dark mana that explodes in a 30m2 area. Range: 300 meter radius circular area. Cost: x MP. Damage: 2.5x damage points to the target on direct hit. 2x damage points to targets within explosion area.
Shadow Claws grandmaster level. Layer of darkness that covers the wolf's front claws with dark mana making claws ignore targets' armor. Physical armor is completely ignored. If target has magical armor or shields, they're also ignored if their value is less than x. Cost: x MP. Duration: 10x minutes. Damage: 5x damage points.
I notice that the wolf’s stats have increased again due to the seed’s level-up. The spell damage values haven’t changed. Since the wolf’s intelligence has only increased from 32 to 34 over these months, I check the textbook tables to see what intelligence is needed for the next damage tier. However, I find that the tables stop at 30. No wonder they don’t consider a mage with higher intelligence… Still, it’s clear that damage increases, even for a grandmaster-level spell with high elemental affinity, require several points of intelligence. I imagine that as the pup levels up, its adult form will enhance spell damage.
Assuming, of course, that divine beasts don’t follow entirely different rules with unique tables.
In any case, I’d like to know if, as I suspect, the divine beast is a fraction of what it should be at level 30 and gradually regains its full power as the pup levels up. But no matter how much I tap on the shared stats, I can’t find a way to open any window with new information.
What if he can? I wonder. Just like I can manipulate my own character sheet.
“I need you to check if either of your stats sheets has an option to show me how your level-ups affect the shadow wolf,” I ask him.
I feel another wet lick on my fingers and wait. After a while, the pup shares something:
The divine beast of darkness cannot be reborn into the world at its full strength. It has been reborn many times as a defenseless pup, a seed.
The seed must seek a master to care for and protect it.
The seed must level up for the divine beast to regain its power and glory. When the seed reaches level 20, the divine beast shadow wolf will have fully regained its power.
Creatures of other gods will try to kill it if they recognize it.
Other gods have divine beasts hidden throughout the world. The seed must be cautious to survive.
When the seed reaches level 20, it will no longer be able to hide from the eyes of other divine beasts, as its fully restored power will reveal it.
There can only be one seed of darkness at a time in the world.
The seed must ask its master for help and may share this text even if it contains references to the gods.
The future Dark Lord must remember not to worship any god, not even the dark one. The future Dark Lord must also handle this information carefully, especially if he decides to share it.
The seed of evil must urge the future Dark Lord to become strong enough to survive what is to come. The seed of evil cannot tell them what it is, as it is not permitted at this time.
The seed of evil can warn him that it is not only nearly omnipotent divine beasts they will face.
Oh, my goodness. Is it really that bad?
(And while I’m at it, it’s clear that these texts were written before the pup found me, a girl.)
I mean, when I found him about to die at the hands of those wolves, it was obvious he wasn’t exactly beloved. But this… Other creatures? Even divine beasts with uncapped power? Nearly omnipotent? And an even greater threat he can’t tell me about? Unless it’s the gods themselves, I can’t think of anything else.
Am I just a pawn in a chess game between immensely powerful beings, with one of them hoping this pawn will survive long enough to become a queen?
I bury my head under the blankets and curl up until I’m face-to-face with the pup’s little head.
“What kind of mess have you gotten me into?” I whisper.
He looks at me with his tiny eyes, which somehow seem huge and filled with unshakable trust.
Ugh… This is worse than when I found that goblin I thought about turning into XP.
“Fine, I get it—you get it. I’ll support you. I must be completely out of my mind. Or maybe your lord” I say instead of “god,” since the word feels dangerous in this world “chose me intentionally, knowing me so well that he predicted exactly how I’d react. I don’t know, little one, but if I didn’t let those wolves kill you, I’m not going to let any divine beast do it either.”
The tiny pup begins licking my cheeks again. He’s such a sweetheart, and I’m not going to let him down—not unless he starts destroying human cities.
I feel emotionally satisfied with my decision, confident that it’s the right thing to do.
It’s funny—the smaller problems have been stressing me out all evening, but this? This feels like an enormous challenge in a game or an exciting journey filled with magic and level-ups, and I can’t wait to take it on.
“That being said,” I whisper to him, “we’re definitely asking Ronan for help.”
A muffled bark comes from the mattress. The sound is dampened, and it’s adorable how he’s trying, just like me, not to wake Judith.
Alright, I climb up to place my head back on the pillow again, and keep drawing conclusions.
It’s clear that I need to take my own training much more seriously. I can’t let a single day go by without using both of the mana restoration charges from the lick.
My main goal should be leveling up minor splash and minor breath control, the two basic spells for air and water. And although it wasn’t listed as a restriction for upgrading earth control, I also need to improve minor healing, the basic spell for light. After seeing what Mary can do, it’s obvious I need to get better in the light branch too.
And now, finally, it’s time to sleep.
Luckily, my heart is full of warmth from deciding not to let my pet be killed, to help him level up, and to level myself up as well.
Because pawn or not, I intend to live my life in this new world according to what I believe is right. I refuse to let myself be swayed by labels or abandon a companion just because there’s a contract saying I’m bound to become a dark lady.
No way.
I have the ring of resistance, a legendary item.
Back on Earth, there were decisions I didn’t make, places I didn’t visit, and jobs I didn’t try to get—all out of fear.
Here, I’ll learn, try to be different, and dare to take the path I want. I’ll blossom.
I think I already mentioned this in a comment somewhere, but my plan for this story is for it to span at least three long volumes. If things go well, I’d love to fully develop the larger overarching plots I have in mind, which would require more volumes to tell the entire story.
(I know I have some comments waiting for replies—I'm writing as much as I can to finish the side story before the end of the month. Thanks so much for commenting; I’ll reply as soon as I can :))
