069

2.32 - Skill Planning

Almost before Natalie knew it, the first week of classes had passed, and the weekend was on her.

Not that the weekend meant time to rest. Though pleased she hadn't embarrassed herself with her debut spars, she had a long way to go, and not for spellcasting alone. Her more traditional skillsets needed work. Failure in the dungeon meant endangering her, Jordan, Sofia, and her other teammate's lives. Natalie had zero intention of resting on her laurels. A mindset, she assumed, shared with most of Tenet's studentbase.

So, she set a more brutal pace during the weekend than the schoolweek itself. Without a long break of academics and an enforced lunch hour to hamper her, she worked herself to exhaustion. It wasn't an unfamiliar process. She wouldn't have ever qualified for Tenet if so.

Once those grueling training hours were completed, she met with Jordan. Unlike their typical post-workout sessions, though, they took a more focused approach. Instead of collecting energy—though that would happen shortly—they focused first on strategy.

Natalie had been making steady progress filling up her Carnal Energy resource. She had yet to expend it on anything since her first-to-second advancement of Carnal Harvest. They'd wanted to see whether the resource decayed slowly, encouraging her to spend it rather than hoarding. As it turned out, no. Hence Natalie's consistent generation—because the next question had been whether there was a cap. Perhaps there was a large one, but in the days she'd steadily been collecting, she hadn't brushed against the limit.

"Okay," Jordan asked. "How much do you have, again?"

***

Carnal Energy: 122

***

"One twenty-two," Natalie said. "Probably enough to take everything up a tier.

Maybe

kick harvest up once, but probably not."

The excitement of the first week of classes had had Natalie pushing off from making a decision. There'd been practical reasons to hoard and not choose what to advance, like wanting to see if there was point decay or limits in place, but she couldn't persist with that test forever. With the dungeon opening tomorrow, it was time she decided how to allocate the points she'd earned.

They had, of course, talked about what Natalie should do, but there were good arguments for multiple paths. Keep rushing Carnal Harvest, thus advancing how quickly she earned further points? Advance Illusion, maybe making the skill easier, and certainly more powerful?

Or even Heavy Weaponry, that amusingly—and aggravatingly—named skill. The two of them had a hunch that progressing the skill wouldn't

only

come with a size increase.

"I think taking everything forward once is smart," Jordan said. "It's cheap, and Illusion and Empower will be useful for the dungeon. But you should keep a healthy reserve. Being able to catch up your level two skills as soon as they come will be nice."

The last strong point for building up a backlog, rather than rushing advancement. Not only was having Carnal Energy on hand for when she needed to Empower skills smart, possibly saving them down in the dungeon, but when the day came that Natalie hit level two, and received new skills, having plenty of Carnal Energy on hand to progress them—assuming they were useful enough to justify it—would be extremely practical.

But, she shouldn't be a total hoarder, either. Advancing each skill once, as Jordan suggested, would be a good compromise. She'd have plenty of energy left over, but would also boost relevant skills for their upcoming delve.

"Yeah," Natalie said. "Figured that'd be the best move. I'll do it, then, unless ...?" She waited a moment for Jordan to interject any last opinions, but she waved for Natalie to hurry up.

Seizing control of that strange energy, she activated [Advance], funneling enigmatic pink ribbons inside her brain—a sensation purely imagined, but vivid, lifelike—into the first of the relevant skills.

***

[Empower]: Progression advanced from 1 to 2.

***

***

[Empower] - ACTIVE. PROGRESSION 2. Amplify the potency of any ACTIVE or AURA skill by {2.0x}. Expend Carnal Energy equivalent to mana cost.

***

"Went from one point five to two," Natalie said.

"Mm," Jordan said. "

Doubles

the strength of a skill. I could see that becoming ..." she trailed off.

"Incredible," Natalie said bluntly. "With higher level skills?

Doubling

their strength?"

"More, as you progress Empower even further. Triple? Four times?"

Though Natalie had yet to see the realization of the claim, when she'd received her class, The Bestower had told her that she'd gotten a, if strange, exceptionally powerful class. Even if it hadn't turned out true yet, it certainly would in the future.

Doubling

the strength of a skill. Unless Natalie received abysmal base skills in the future—and she doubted that—then Empower would become outrageously useful.

"But it costs experience, basically," Natalie said.

Strong as the skill was, it came with heavy downsides. She'd yet to experiment with it, but fundamentally, the skill used up Carnal Energy. It used up her 'alternate progression points'—so, equivalently, she had to spend experience to activate it.

"It should only be used when necessary," Jordan agreed. "Still. Depending on how expensive it is, the benefits could massively outweigh the cost. If it allows you to take down monsters out of your level range, then the bonus experience could more than make up for it."

"Sort of," Natalie said. "Guess it depends on whether Carnal Energy progression is more or less useful than normal levels."

"True," Jordan said. "And speaking of that, we should test the skill. It's a waste, but we need to know the cost, and the exact meaning of 'doubling' an illusion's potency."

That sort of thing was better learned beforehand, not in the moment. When tomorrow's delve began, Natalie wanted to have a strong hold of her capabilities—including her emergency options. While burning Carnal Energy, that slow to acquire and vitally useful resource, pained her, what would pain her a lot more was dying. Obviously. Or worse, getting someone

else

hurt.

"Yeah," Natalie said. "Let's finish leveling everything else up, first, though. Then we'll go test things out."

Jordan inclined her head, then gestured for her to continue.

2.33 - ❤ Advancing

***

[Illusion]: Progression advanced from 1 to 2.

***

***

[Illusion] - ACTIVE. PROGRESSION 2. Conjure a {moderately} powerful audiovisual mirage to distract or confuse an opponent.

***

As expected, progressing Illusion from one to two had resulted in the adjective 'mildly' shifting to 'moderately'. Thus far, even simple illusions had been difficult to wrangle—flashes of light, mild misdirections of her weapon or stance, being the most she could manage.

The exception being, of course, the ... lewder implementations of the skills. But Natalie had far from settled on whether she'd ever use those in combat against other students. It had proved effective against Sofia, but ... well, she didn't need to detail why she hesitated using them against other people.

Natalie informed Jordan of the change.

"Huh," Jordan said. "Wanna try it out?"

"Can't. Someone might sense it. I'm not good at covering my tracks."

To the various spellcasting classes—of which Natalie had unexpectedly become one—spells burst into existence, pinging to any nearby mage's consciousness, in much a similar way of a loud noise. At the training facility, nobody would think twice about the effect, but at the barracks, it could pique interest and have someone seeking the origin of the spell out. Because why would someone be casting inside the barracks?

A more competent mage could dampen the obviousness of a spell, but Natalie ... Natalie wasn't an experienced spellcaster, for all she'd made strides in the past week, and could now, if clumsily, integrate [Illusion] into her standard combat flow.

Jordan chewed her lip, then nodded. "Okay. We'll hold out on that. Do it at the facility, not here."

Natalie thought that smarter, too.

But, with the opportunity to demonstrate moved down the line, it meant the time had arrived for her last skill to be upgraded.

Heavy Weaponry.

"Sammy's going to be so confused," Natalie said, the amusing thought escaping her lips without much forethought. "A few extra inches arriving out of nowhere is going to ... catch her off guard."

Jordan quirked an eyebrow, but, as she'd made redundantly clear, Natalie's involvement with other girls didn't bother her. "I suppose it depends on how

much

it grows."

Because it

would

grow. Her skills gave hints what [Advance] would do to them, and with Heavy Weaponry, the emphasis was, hilariously, on her {6}—the size of her weapon. Progressing the skill would make her cock bigger.

Natalie's class was bizarre even on the basest level, but this, she felt, was the strangest of all. Why? Why could she

grow

her cock size as she progressed?

Though, she wasn't

upset

, either. She'd contemplated, early on receiving her class, that if she were forced to have something like this between her legs, then she'd prefer it were a monster. Why not, right? The idea excited her.

And, by Jordan's interested look, the flush growing on her cheeks, her, too.

"I'm guessing you want to watch?" Natalie teased.

"Your next training session

is

coming up," Jordan said. "Might as well toss that skirt down."

Though Jordan had been jerking her off for past week, things hadn't gotten as heated as that first encounter. Mechanically, yes, and the events were still scaldingly intense. But not that raw, burning emotion of the first. That was probably for the best.

Grinning—and cheeks flushed—Natalie did as asked. She stripped down, springing forth six hard inches of girlcock. Jordan watched, cheeks likewise darkening. Natalie had learned, by now, that her best friend had an infatuation with her cock. Even her normally-stoic composure couldn't hide that.

But platonically. Jordan was infatuated with her cock in a non-romantic way. Best friends with benefits.

"Go ahead, then," Jordan said.

Natalie realized she'd been showing herself off for a little too long. Right. Time to advance the skill.

***

[Heavy Weaponry]: Progression advanced from 1 to 2.

***

***

[Heavy Weaponry] - ACTIVE. PROGRESSION 2. Class-bearer is granted a {8-inch} weapon to satisfy and harvest Carnal Energy from chosen targets.

***

The sensation was

strange

. Heat coursed through her lower half, radiating along her stiffened length. She watched, with wide eyes—Jordan doing the same—as her cock thickened and expanded. From her previously moderate length, a new—and true to the skill's name—piece of weaponry grew. Eight inches. Proportionally thick. It throbbed between Natalie's legs, the veiny and angry member so desperately at odds with her soft thighs and feminine build.

Jordan was equally entranced. She stepped forward, eyes wide, cheeks pink. Her smooth digits wrapped around Natalie's cock, an instinctive motion, unable to help herself.

"Wow," she breathed. "That's a ... that's a decent improvement."

"Improvement?"

"Not that you weren't enough," Jordan corrected. "Just ... wow."

Natalie gripped her friend's waist, then tugged her in. Her cock pressed against her stomach, sandwiched between them. "But there's a lot more for you to enjoy, now."

"Yeah." Jordan's hand stroked between their bodies, caressing Natalie. "But did it do anything else?"

"Another benefit?" Natalie asked. "Well ... no. But it might be hidden."

Skills didn't always detail their full functionality. Plenty of hidden effects, or bonuses, could be nestled in a skill, though not explicitly stated.

"Once we're done, we need to test empowering your illusion," Jordan said. She had locked intense green eyes to Natalie's own, which had, as always, seized her, both body and mind. How were they so gorgeous? The most incredible things she'd ever seen?

Like, in a best-friends kind of way.

"But for now," Jordan breathed, leaning close, brushing hot air against her face as she spoke. "Just enjoy yourself. You've worked hard, and I can tell you need some relief. Let me take care of you."

"And after, me you?" She found she wanted that more, somehow, than Jordan's deft fingers and powerful grip. Getting to bury her head between her friend's thighs and taste her slick excitement was a hundred times better than being pleasured herself.

Again—in, like, a platonic way.

"If you're feeling generous," Jordan said, a smile teasing her lips. "I'd appreciate that. But you first."

Natalie closed her eyes, basking in Jordan's grip. Her hands dipped from Jordan's waist, down and back, squeezing her ass and pulling her in a few inches closer, so Jordan's tits were pressed into her own. "Okay. Me first."

She drifted away, Jordan's breath on her face, and her hand stroking away at her cock.

3.01 - Entrance

The day had arrived.

Natalie stared around at the enormous dome enclosing the beating heart of Aradon, or indeed Valhaur, itself. The dungeon entrance. As one of the most mythical objects in existence, Natalie had of course seen it in textbooks, had seen the detailed artistic renditions of the one-story-tall, black obsidian slab.

It was somehow less than she'd expected.

Because

this

was the dungeon entrance? Four wingspans wide, and a single story tall, the slab of black stone was so ...

unassuming

, considering it was the lifeblood of society, as important to early civilization as rivers and arable land. The dungeon entrance ought to be bigger than life, majestic, awe-inspiring, towering ten thousand feet high. It should have Natalie falling to her knees, her mind overwhelmed.

Which was dramatic, she knew. But really. It was the dungeon entrance. While the polished, perfectly geometric slate of black stone was far from

mundane

—it was clearly of supernatural make, not a natural occurrence in the slightest—it simply lacked the enormous presence the concept of 'dungeon entrance' had in Natalie's head. The artwork in textbooks had exaggerated the details.

Still, there was plenty of awe, but it stemmed from Natalie's knowledge of what the object represented, rather than sheer presence itself.

The glassy black surface wobbled, a newest set of adventurers stepping into the seemingly-solid material, disturbing the surface like it was made of water. The group of five sank into the darkness, then were gone. Faster than liquid would, the obsidian stabilized, regaining its rigidity.

That, at least, lived up to the descriptions. Otherworldly.

"So," Sofia asked. "Everyone's ready, then?"

The five of them had showed up after class. Around them, other groups of Tenet students swarmed, some of them already having set off into the entrance's glassy black portal. There was a steady flow into each of the entrance's two faces, north and south. Most entered from the north. An old superstition, certainly false, but even Natalie's group would be doing the same. Ridiculous as it was, no point in tempting fate, right?

"Ready to kick monster butt," Liz said. "

Over

-ready. Feels like I've been waiting forever."

That sentiment was, undoubtedly, mirrored in all of them. This was the culminating moment every Tenet student had waited, and trained for, their entire life.

Even Liz, permanently bubbly, seemed to be anxious in a 'let's get to it' sort of way. The cheerful response had been more forced than usual, as if trying to ease everyone else's nerves.

"Let's do it." Resting a hand on her hammer's shaft, she vibrated with anticipation. She looked around at each of her teammates, then nodded. No disagreement.

Stepping forward, Natalie spurred the group into motion.

Her anticipation grew as she approached the tall slab of obsidian, but she didn't let herself slow. With only two ways into the dungeon, and loads of adventurers trying to enter, clogging the flow of traffic was a quick way to getting kicked out of the building with a hefty fine attached. Plus, Natalie wasn't scared. Just stuffed with adrenaline.

The black surface rapidly approached. It took some overriding of her instincts to force herself to continue. The wall looked as solid as anything else did. Her brain told her she was going to smack face-first into it, however many times she'd watched teams step into its glassy black surface.

She shared a quick glance with Jordan, who nodded at her, then Natalie braced herself and strode into the obsidian wall.

***

The bustle of the Aradon's dungeon entrance disappeared, a switch flipping off. Silence echoed through a dark cave tunnel.

Cave. The most common Sanctum biome. No surprises there.

She turned in time to see the last of her teammates step from the black portal sprouting from the ground behind her. Ana, with that ever-present blank expression on her face. Natalie had no problems with people who kept strict composure—her best friend was one—but that girl was ... icy. A statue. Not hard to read, but impossible. She was almost unnerving to be around.

But a good mage. That was all that mattered.

Natalie swept her surroundings with a discerning gaze. Though a group of first-timers dropping into the first level of the Sanctum were unlikely to have an ambush sprung on them straight out of the portal, it would be idiotic not to check.

Stretching tunnels ran in two directions, one branching into the far distance. The passages were illuminated with a soft blue glow from the moss clinging to the walls. A cleaner, brighter light radiated from Natalie and Liz, the front line and back line, respectively. She fiddled with the tiny, flat-oval lanterns affixed to each of her shoulders. Convenient tools. How annoying would dungeoneering have been in the old days, having to use torches? The modern age came with conveniences, though the dungeon was as deadly as always. Just less of a logistical hassle.

"Cave," Sofia said. "That's good. Fewer swarming enemies."

That was their team's identified weakness. Sofia and Jordan excelled in single-target damage, which made the team great for boss-hunting, but poor when handling too many enemies at once. Ana plugged the hole slightly, being a mage with decent area of effect spells, but the disbalance left them weaker against swarms than most teams.

Balance wasn't

always

preferable, though. Specialization was valuable, and the real money—and experience—was in taking down bosses. Not that they'd be reaching one today. The first delve of the semester was exploratory, meant to dip their toes in the water. Plus, they only had a few hours. Curfew was at ten.

Real

delves happened on the weekend, where the expedition could stretch overnight. Weekdays were for quickies.

The group oriented themselves to their dark surroundings.

Natalie nodded, then hefted her hammer up. She didn't say anything. They'd all trained for this for years.

As Liz had put it ... it was time to kick some monster butt.

3.02 - Kobold

The team of five progressed down the cave tunnel, Natalie taking the lead. She set a slow pace, and not only because of the slippery footing, the faintly glowing blue moss clinging to floor and walls, but rather, the potential of traps.

While the first level of the dungeon wasn't like to include lethal ones, maiming was still on the table, the healing of which would use up Liz's valuable mana pool. And when it came to the dungeon, the operative words were "usually" and "probably". The dungeon couldn't be quantified, broken down into tidy, rigidly consistent rules. Trends, yes. But constants, no.

By the standards of most delvers, Natalie and her team were well prepared. Geared up, in an archetypal team composition, and each some of the brightest of a generation, they could take comfort in the fact that as far as preparations went, few matched them. While brutal, the odds of death were, all things considered, low. Not this high up in the dungeon, and in a full squad, with potions on standby.