-Alucard

"F-fight? But I-"

"You're a vampire. You'll be alright. I'm going to make a challenge you can handle."

Seras seemed to have more questions, but John held up his hand and silenced her. He mashed the menu to finish the creation of his Dungeon Barrier, and watched as the world around them rippled. This time, there was no great change to the terrain, and no pop-up about the unsuitability of the terrain. In the distance John could see the forest vanishing, but aside from that, he detected only one major change.

A few yards ahead, a massive mound of earth slowly phased into existence. At the center of the mound was a large pathway leading down. Unlike the cave from earlier, in which he'd found the bats that eventually became Seras, this cave was clearly man-made, with smooth edges and braces lining the entrance every few yards. Torches covered the walls, sparse but frequent enough to ensure there was never total darkness. John could see no creatures around the immediate vicinity, but he had no doubt the Gnolls he had created were somewhere close by.

Dungeon Barrier Created! Creations Maera, Mithra, & Seras automatically added to party!

John noticed this time that a HUD appeared on the side of his screen - an upgrade, perhaps? It was at the corner of his eyes, and while it took up only a small part of his vision, it wasn't hard to read when he focused on it and almost seemed to fade when he turned his eyes to something else.

Maera: 80 / 80 HP
Mithra: 80 / 80 HP
Seras Victoria: 130 / 130 HP

"Maera, Mithra, there are enemies in that cave. I want you to find and eliminate as many as you can. Be safe, stick together, and work as a team. If you feel you're in serious danger, come back immediately."

John paused, staring at the two of them. Their eyes were alight, but John wanted to make sure they understood… Maera was rapidly gaining an understanding of English from what he could tell, but Mithra was a few steps behind her sister.

"Fight in cave, then food. Be safe. Run if danger. Good?"

"Fight, food, safe!" Maera cried, turning and running toward the cave. Mithra followed after, saying nothing but glancing warily toward John as she followed her sister into the caves.

"You should follow," John said, not turning his head. "This place is set to level four. Mithra is about that strength, but Maera isn't, and I'm not sure whether they're even on par for…"

John eyed Seras, aware he was throwing out terms that she didn't seem to understand. Her eyes were just as wide as when they'd first arrived, and John realized just how much he'd been rushing this entire thing. But his entire life had turned into a bit of a rush lately, so Seras was going to have to keep up or fall behind. Despite her brief history with him, John had faith she'd live up to her original self and keep pace with ease.

"Let's keep it simple - the enemies here are close to them in power, and I don't want to risk their lives. Follow them closely and make sure that if they come up against anything that threatens them, you aid them and keep them safe. You will know when the time comes, and I have full faith in your abilities. Remember - you're no longer human. Creatures of the Abyss and the monsters that once had you afraid to look under your bed are not even a threat to you anymore. Seek out every corner and crevice of the mine, eliminate all opposition, secure all areas. Show them no mercy."

"Y-yes, Master!" Seras said, nodding as she turned and began to run into the cave, following after the Nekos who were steadily vanishing. As soon as she was well on her way, John opened up his inventory, taking out the Aluminum Bat he'd wielded what felt like weeks ago and finally getting his hands on it again.

"Let's see how well they fare," John thought with a smile. He might be low on mana, but he had most of a five-man party here, and his Random Encounter with Moira earlier proved that the weird game he was now a part of didn't balance to the party's average level, considering the skeletons had been semi-easy for him and a complete joke to Moira. He was damned if he couldn't lead a group of scrubs through a low-level trash run like this. And if it came down to it, even the boss of this place wasn't going to stand up to a four-man smack down when he joined in, mana or no.

As he proceeded further into the mine, John took note of every branch that they passed by, careful to keep an ear out for the Nekos. It was a bit difficult to keep track of their noises at times when the paths branched and they seemed to be echoing, but the Nekos were noisy enough that he was able to point himself in the right direction. Once or twice, the Nekos made a particularly loud set of noises, only lasting for a few seconds, and then a pop-up usually followed.

+5 EXP for Party Member's kill!

"So, either EXP is split among members of the party, or I'm getting less EXP since I didn't help. I wonder what the max range is? I wonder if Moira would let me permanently join her party…"

John lost himself a little in thought and RPG-planning as he walked, keeping his eyes open for any changes in scenery and his ears ready to tell where the Nekos had gone. Usually, the branching paths were short enough he could see the end anyway, though once he did see one that caught his attention. It was only a few feet long, but while most of the other offshoots of the main tunnel were short and empty save for some abandoned tools and leftover materials from the digging required to make them, this one had a few things that drew his eye. The first was the most obvious - a Gnoll corpse, lying across the ground. A scattering of small objects around it showed off its loot, which Maera and Mithra had studiously ignored. John, on the other hand…

Tin Ore ~ *Ore containing the element Tin. Used to create Tin Bars, a crafting material with various industrial applications, which can be combined with other metals to create stronger, more durable alloys.
Crafting Material

Copper Ore ~ *Ore containing the element Copper. Used to create Copper Bars, a crafting material with various industrial and crafting purposes.
Crafting Material

Ragged Leather Armor ~ Leather armor fashioned by crude creatures with little understanding of proper defensive techniques… or decency. Provides minimal defensive bonus, in exchange for maximal dignity loss.
-5% Physical Damage Taken
+10,000% Shame

Fractured Stone Club ~ A Gnoll Club that has seen more than its fair share of combat. Can stand a few more hits, but not much more than that.
Durability: 5 / 100
Damage: 1-2 + (.2 x Strength)

"Interesting," John muttered to himself, picking up the ores and throwing them into his inventory quickly. He ended up with two of each and was very nearly about to turn and proceed down the other branch, when something further down the cave caught his eye. It was just a hunk of rock from what he could see at this distance, but it was… shiny. Glistening, actually, on and off. One second it was normal, and the next it shined as if a miniature lighthouse was sweeping across it.

John came closer and saw a pickaxe lying on the ground nearby to the glowing rock, and immediately, his gaming background went into action. Without even thinking - really, barely knowing which end of a pickaxe to use - John lifted up the tool and awkwardly brought it down on the rock. The blow was far from satisfying - it barely made a full connection and had only enough **** to chip a tiny piece off of any normal rock, but John's Gamer powers seemed to kick in again.

Tin Ore successfully mined!

John hefted the axe, adjusting his grip to be a bit more firm and steady, then brought it down again and again, in quick succession, not wanting to take too long. He kept going until the rock suddenly vanished on the last stroke. He was more surprised than he should've been and nearly dropped the pickaxe, though he was able to collect himself just in time to stow it in his inventory and sort through the pop-ups.

Tin Ore x3 successfully mined!
Azurite successfully mined!

"So, gems… well, seems like farming might not be quite as much of a hassle with these abilities, either."

John smiled at that, turning back toward the rest of the tunnels and trying to figure out what he could do. He thought of making new weapons or armor like he had with the cloak. Apparently, even reasonably powerful items weren't that hard to make, considering what he had done with the Cloak he was wearing. Could he make a gun for Seras? ...Were bronze guns a thing? He had some Wikipedia to browse later.

Achievement Unlocked! "Mine, Craft!" ~ Harvest your first resource node. Who knows what you can make with that?!"
+150 EXP
Double rewards from first harvested node.

"Well, wish I'd gotten something a bit better, then," John noted with a sigh, shaking his head at the lackluster rewards he'd just doubled. Of course, it wasn't like he planned on leveling to 100 before mining his first node, so it wasn't a total waste.

As John turned away from the dead-end passage, he noted that his little mining and looting excursion had actually passed a fair amount of time. Worrying a little, John eyed his HUD to make sure that all was in order. There were several experience notifications, many he hadn't expected, and he passed several corpses on his way down. To his surprise everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly with Mithra and Maera, yet…

“What is Seras doing?”

The words were innocent enough, but John’s blood ran like ice as he stared. Seras’ health had just fallen below half and point by point was continuing to drop. John felt the stony floor of the mine beneath the heels of his feet as he set off toward the deeper parts of the mine. He kept going toward the sound of battle, as distant as it was, hoping that he was picking the right path and not being led astray by the echoes and reverberations throughout the lengthy tunnels.

Compared to his slow waltz from before, John made an astounding pace through the mine, feeling himself going lower and lower within the depths of this semi-imaginary worlds. The noises were growing closer with every step he took, with every point that Seras' health dropped, and John pulled his bat out long before he reached the source. He passed numerous Gnoll corpses but didn't dare stop to loot them.

When the sounds of combat seemed like they were raining down around him, John finally spotted movement in the tunnels, still quite distant in a massive chamber that seemed far larger than anything else they had passed until that point. Within it, all three of John's creations were locked in combat with a Gnoll that seemed more than fitting for the chamber. It was nearly seven feet tall, bizarre compared to the others of its race, and it held a mace as large as one of the Nekos, along with a shield that must have weighed as much as John did, although it was more or less a flattened hunk of metal. Every time they darted in for an attack, it would slam the massive thing down and shake the whole building. It was too slow to be an accurate, effective weapon, but it did some damage to Seras occasionally. Not because it was aiming at her, but instead because Seras was throwing herself in harm's way to protect the Nekos. John grimaced at her HP - now hovering around the 25% mark - and cast his eyes to the giant Gnoll before using his Observe.

Porker
Level 6 Gnoll Giant
<Creature of the Abyss>
124 / 205 HP
Relationship: N/A
Alignment: -75

"Well, at least they almost got it to half, shouldn't be long before I can Purify it," John thought, readying himself. His mana hadn’t recovered very much, but with Seras' help, he might even be able to add some damage.

"Seras, come here, now!"

"B-but Master-"

"Now!"

Seras was beside him in seconds, as the Nekos continued to run around and harass the Gnoll, John held out his hand toward the injured vampiress. She was covered in blood, mostly hers he was guessing by the pieces of flesh she was missing. A few shards of rock shrapnel were stuck in her where the club had impacted

"You're out of this fight," John said, holding up his hand when he noticed Seras about to object again. "That's final. You're hurt, and I won't have you dying on me, Seras. I won't lose you like that. But I could use your help all the same."

"Anything, Master," Seras said, nodding her head fervently. She glanced down at John's hand and took it, obviously uncertain of what to expect. John started up his Siphon ability and began to drain mana. Seras quirked one of her eyebrows as the process began, and it seemed obvious that she could feel something, but it didn't seem to be doing much besides giving her some mild amounts of exhaustion. Meanwhile, John felt nothing but watched his mana bar fill up in accordance with the 38 Mana he was able to drain from Seras. It wasn't much, but he would only need 36 to cast Purify, so with his leftover mana…

"Burn, you oversized stuffed animal!"

John cast both his hands out and engulfed the Gnoll in as much flame as he could summon, dousing it for about three seconds, stopping before his mana dipped below 40, trying to take no chances, but what surprised him most…

3 DMG!
5 DMG!
Burn Resisted!

When the fires stopped coming from John's hands, they stopped altogether. Despite the fact that the Gnoll had been preoccupied with the Nekos and hadn't even attempted to block John's ****, it barely took any damage, and its fur refused to ignite. John had hit other foes almost as powerful as this one, yet the damage difference was insane… which left John in the path of a pissed off but definitely not crippled Gnoll.

"Fuck, gotta get in close," John said, charging forward. The Gnoll lifted its club up and readied a smash, but John continued forward until he was going right underneath it, rolling awkwardly between its legs and coming out the other side just as the club smashed down, fragments of rock and dirt showering his backside as he moved. John righted himself just as the Gnoll began to raise up its club, and took the opportunity to bash it on its right knee as hard as he could.

30 DMG!

"Well, at least that did something!" John exclaimed, a bit annoyed at how much more effective a simple bat could be than a roaring fire.

The Gnoll buckled under its own weight as the injured knee gave out, crashing down with a wicked sounding cackle that matched the pained but menacing grin it gave when it turned its hyena-esque head toward him over its shoulder.

“Fuck off.”

John turned a full one-eighty and brought the bat around with him before swinging it as hard as he could toward the Gnoll’s exposed head. It brought an arm up to block, making the blow a little less satisfying, but John was happy to see that the damage number still put the Gnoll nearly to the point where he needed it to be.

29 DMG!

John felt his balance shift as the arm that the Gnoll had used to block suddenly engulfed his vision, slamming into his body and throwing him back until he crashed into the wall of the mine, the aluminum bat falling away from his hand and bouncing noisily along the mine's floor. Something had softened his impact, but he still felt the pain as he came to a rapid stop.

-12 HP!

"…Ouch," John noted, standing up slowly, brushing himself off. It was odd, but it seemed like his pain tolerance was getting higher - perhaps not as much because of his abilities, but more because of the fact that, the last dungeon he'd been in, a giant bat had bitten through a large part of his forearm. Before this whole Gamer thing, John's most painful experience was getting the occasional shot, or that one time he dropped the edge of an entertainment center on his foot and almost broke it. Going through things like this really put those in perspective.

"Master, are you alright?"

John looked to his back and realized Seras was the one who had softened his impact, catching him. He'd been so focused on the pain comparison he'd barely noticed the arms grabbing him by the shoulders.

"I'm fine… thank you, Seras," John began, pulling away. "But I told you to stay out of this. You're hurt badly enough… I won't lose you here. Besides…"

John smirked as the Gnoll lifted itself up and took two steps toward them - by the time it closed even that tiny distance, the Nekos were rising up behind it.

Party Member: 9 DMG!
Party Member: 11 DMG!
Party Member: 10 DMG!

"Well… they might kill it, if I don't intervene quickly enough," John realized with amusement as the two Nekos slashed the entire way down the Gnoll’s body. The Gnoll roared in pain, turning back to face the latest **** on its flesh, but John already had his eyes on the prize. He put a hand out and started to focus. This time, instead of blindly hoping, he had a moment to think, a moment to try. Perhaps it was all in vain… but this ability's power seemed to already break all the rules. Why not let him have a hand in it?

"I need someone strong. Strong enough to rein the Nekos in, keep them under control and safe. Someone almost their polar opposite - intelligent, quiet, calm. A person intelligent enough to manage daily affairs, kind enough to nurture and teach, powerful enough to keep my world safe, and skilled enough to literally herd cats."

"Purify!"

John still wasn't sure if he actually had to call out the ability's name like an anime character or not, but it seemed to always work, and that was good enough for him. A beam of light engulfed the massive Gnoll, scaring off the Nekos a bit and even earning a frightened "eep" from Seras behind him. The Gnoll howled for a moment, a sickening sound, like a dying whoop noise that sounded almost human. Surprisingly, though, that oddly strangled noise became less and less human, warping through pitches and tones until John swore it reverberated from every wall, a sound that was so piercing and mournful it raised the hair on the back of his neck.

It was the cry of a wolf.

As the light faded away, a figure far smaller than the seven-foot Gnoll hunched where it had once towered. Comparatively, this figure was not intimidating, nor was she particularly muscled, yet as her haunting howl slowly drifted away from her, she still had quite the presence. Her hair fell down past her waist and was a paled turquoise that gave off the glow of a blue moon in the dark, and that was no exaggeration - the pale glow covered her skin and a small semi-circle behind her. Her pale skin was glistening in the mixture of light from her own hair and the mine's many swaying lanterns, nearly as bright and flawless as Seras' own.

As she stood there her fingers seemed to fade in and out, playing tricks on John's eyes until he focused long enough to notice that they weren't fading, they were transforming. One moment they were pale, spindly digits that flexed and twirled almost unconsciously, and the next they became long, inflexible black claws that seemed incredibly sharp yet looked more like a cosplay accessory than any weapon he'd ever seen. Her eyes were heterochromatic, the right one a shimmering cerulean that highlighted the color of her hair, while the other was a stark violet that stood out so much John had a hard time convincing himself it wasn't piercing into his very soul.

The last thing John noticed were the ears. They had been buried in her hair and had been flattened against her head as she howled, but as the last notes died out and she lowered her head to glance around, two long ears perked up. While the Nekos had short cat ears that were cute but could almost blend in with their hair if they weren't standing straight up, this woman's ears were around five inches long, making them easily noticeable even from a distance and certainly far more canine in appearance.

Lunaya
Level 6 Gnoll Giant Canid Reaper
<John's Creation>
115 / 115 HP
Relationship: -25
Alignment: 0

"That's… not a great relationship score."

John realized very quickly, as the canine woman took a fighting stance and both Maera and Mithra arched their backs and began hissing anew, that he'd dealt with the Gnoll… and given himself a Reaper as a foe.