Dungeon Salvation

Elias concentrated on making his body more conductive to the mana around him, trying to recoup it at a faster rate. His Meditation (Common) Skill turned out to be even more of a pain to use than he had expected. He understood that it was only a stepping stone to manipulating mana directly, but it was incredibly boring. It felt like he was pretending to be a tree in order to trick a songbird into landing on his arms. Except, instead of a songbird, it was mana. Mana that he would already recuperate if he did nothing. Regardless, his parents said mastering this Skill was of utmost importance, and he trusted their judgment.

It had been almost two days since he had gained his Skills, and he hadn’t yet found the slightest clue on how to obtain Salvation Points. Discussing it with his parents hadn’t yielded any new revelations either, as soul weapons were notoriously unique in function, both in how they worked and in how they upgraded themselves. He was able to confirm that his weapon was exceptionally versatile, even for a soul weapon. Anyways, he would keep on trying different things to obtain Salvation Points; something was bound to work eventually.

“Eli! Rebecca is here!” Elias opened his eyes with a barely suppressed smile after hearing his sister shout from the living room. Thankfully, she and Rebecca had gotten along better after they returned from their trip to the Thermal Duality Springs Temple. Isabela had just been petulant because she couldn’t go with them and even apologized for her rude behavior afterwards.

Elias closed the door to his room behind him and arrived in the living room just in time to see his girlfriend bribing his little sister with a cookie. Seeing him arrive, Isabela hurriedly thanked Rebecca, grabbed the cookie, and took off running towards the kitchen. In response, he immediately activated his Overexertion (Common) Skill, feeling his muscles tense like a bow string, and launched himself forward to intercept her. Relying on his Grace (Common) Skill, he contorted his body to quickly and cleanly snap off half of his sister’s cookie. He bit into it and looked at Isabela in smug superiority.

Man, I love having Skills.

“Unfair! Beca gave me that cookie,” said Isabela, glaring at him. He chuckled at her indignation and turned to greet his girlfriend, who he realized was also looking at him sternly. The visage was spoiled by the fact that her mouth was curving upwards at the edges. He took another bite before offering the rest back to his sister, getting a snort of laughter from her. Isabela stuck her tongue out at him but still took the piece he’d broken off.

“Ready to go?” Elias nodded in answer to Rebecca’s question, giving her a short kiss on the lips in greeting. He ignored his sister making disgusted sounds in the background and left the house with his girlfriend.

Today he would finally be officially meeting Rebecca’s father, Lucas, and he dearly hoped to make a good impression. Her mother had died in a dungeon-related incident when she had been just a child, so her father had raised her all by himself. Both parents had been amateus adventurers at the time, having barely reached the Journeyman rank, but her father had given up on that dream when his wife died. Instead, he had opened the burrito stall that Rebecca worked at in the clearing, choosing to live his life in peace rather than with excitement.

As they arrived at her house, he couldn't help but admire its classic, clean look. White paint stood out against the lush green lawn and colorful flowers lining the path to the door. Lucas sat in one of the chairs on the porch, relaxing with a cup of cold tea in hand.

The man was short and stocky, his eyes etched with smile lines. In simple jeans and a comfortable shirt, he waved, his boots sturdy and worn like other adventurers’. Beside him stood a small table, a pitcher of ice-cold tea and two cups atop it. The older man had clearly been waiting for their arrival.

“So you must be Elias. Nice to meet you, I’m Lucas, Rebecca’s father,” Lucas said, extending his hand for a firm, brief handshake. “Please, have a seat and pour yourself some tea. Then we can have a chat. Rebecca, could you get the snacks I prepared from the oven?”

Elias and Lucas sat down beside each other, the other man looking at him intently. Rebecca gave Elias a brief, worried squeeze on the shoulder before entering the house, presumably to get the snacks. As soon as she was gone, Lucas’s expression changed completely, becoming angry and cold.

“Listen here, boy. I don’t know who you think you are, but you’re not good enough for my daughter. You’d better leave before I knock you into your next life. Do you understand?” To say Elias was surprised by the older man’s sudden shift would be the understatement. The man looked ready to tear him apart limb by limb, and Elias didn’t doubt he was strong enough to do it.

“Sir, I swear I only have the best intentions. I really like Rebecca and would never hurt her,” said Elias. His heart was pounding wildly, and panic was setting in. He had not been expecting this.

“I didn’t ask your intentions, I told you to get out. Now!” Suddenly, the man’s presence exploded with power, making Elias feel like he was staring at an erupting volcano. He began to tremble, his breathing became labored, and sweat began forming on the back of his neck.

The powerful adventurer pressed his aura on Elias, and the skies seemed to weigh on his shoulders. Every instinct screamed for him to run as fast and far as possible, his body and mind failing him. His spirit roared in defiance at the injustice, but his body refused to obey him in any way.

Elias desperately tried to think, to find a way out of his predicament. He couldn’t understand why Lucas was so strongly against his relationship with Rebecca or why he reacted so violently. He raged inside but found no answers. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t make sense of it, so he changed the question.

In the end, the only thing that mattered was whether he was willing to fight for Rebecca, to hold up the sky as it came crashing down. He reached within and found the answer was a resounding yes. He would not give her up to cowardice; he would struggle against the fear and suffer through the pain to carve a better path forward. Decision made, he pushed against the monumental presence to wheeze out a single work.

“No,” he said, meeting the man’s gaze with unyielding resolve.

You have gained 1 Salvation Points from Lucas Taylor

The suffocating presence suddenly vanished, and his Recovery (Common) Skill worked overtime to catch his breath. He realized that he had fallen to the floor, panting and wheezing, eyes wide with adrenaline. Looking up, he saw Lucas grinning down at him, and the man let out a booming laugh.

“Ha! I knew there was something about you, son! I thought you might not run, but you even managed to fight!” The man offered his hand to help him up. Elias accepted with still-trembling hands, utterly confused about what was happening.

“I couldn’t let you date my little girl without testing your commitment first, now could I? Plus, I needed to know you had some mettle if you’re going to be in the same party. If you couldn’t even stand up to me here, how could I trust you not to abandon her when things get rough in the dungeon?” Elias looked at the man, hoping his expression was incredulous, not accusing. That explained why an amazing girl like Rebecca was still single.

Maybe he could give me pointers for when Isabela brings boys home…

“So this was all just a test?” Elias had dared to oppose Lucas, expecting a beating. He was resolved to show that pain wouldn’t faze him, to prove his dedication to Rebecca.

“Well, not completely. You break my daughter’s heart, I break you.” The main poked Elias in the chest with every word, punctuating what he would break if Elias hurt Rebecca. “I decided to put some faith in you m’boy. It helps that you come from a good family.”

Elias’ mind lit up in realization at Lucas’ words, recalling the Salvation Point he’d received from the man. His attention had understandably been elsewhere, and the stress of the moment had made him gloss over the prompt. Now, with some respite, he understood how he’d obtained the point. It came from the faith and trust Lucas had placed in him. Though he hadn’t received an explanation, he felt the truth of it deep within himself. Yet, instead of feeling elated by this realization, Elias’ heart sank.

The apparent difficulty of obtaining even a single Salvation Point did not bode well for his future prospects. Would he have to go around convincing people to have faith in him? It was called Salvation mana, after all, so perhaps it had something to do with saving people. There had to be other ways of obtaining the much needed. Before his thoughts could spiral out of control, Rebecca returned with a tray full of small oven-baked sandwiches.

“Is everything alright?” Rebecca asked, eyeing the pair of men suspiciously. Elias didn’t know how he looked at the moment, but he had no doubt he was a few shades paler than he had been a few minutes ago. It would have been strange if she hadn’t noticed.

“Everything is fine, baby. Elias just choked on the tea. Isn’t that right, Elias?” He hadn’t even touched his lips to the glass yet, but he nodded nervously in affirmation. There was no use in antagonizing Lucas; he had passed the man’s test. Rebecca set the tray on the table and sat down beside him, grabbing his hand and narrowing her eyes at her dad. Elias very deliberately avoided looking at either of them when she did that.

Elias and Lucas got along well after overcoming the initial awkwardness caused by their tense moment. Despite Lucas’ dubious methods for assessing his daughter’s suitors, he was only looking out for her, and it seemed important to Rebecca that they got along. They stumbled through several attempts at conversation and eventually succeeded.

Lucas was actually pretty easygoing and had an inordinate love of puns and obscene jokes, which were quite funny. With Rebecca right beside him, Elias tried his best not to laugh, but Lucas caught his suppressed laughter with a grin and a wink. Ironically, the man had remarried three times after Rebecca’s mother had died.

All of Lucas’ ex-wives were incredibly beautiful, as the pictures he showed attested, and every one of those relationships ended disastrously. His relationship would start wild and passionate but soon turn into intense bickering and quarreling. The women entered and left his life like a hurricane, often taking some of his belongings with them, including a house and, on one occasion, his left ear. Apparently, growing it back was quite expensive.

Elias could tell that Rebecca was not happy having to console her father every time those relationships ended, it seemed to have been quite traumatizing for her. Witnessing the disastrous relationships her father got into made her much more discerning in choosing a partner for herself. Still, The man was like a beast; he just couldn't get enough.

Elias was far more interested in the stories Lucas told of his time as an adventurer when Rebecca’s mother was still alive. Thankfully, his first marriage had been much more stable and loving than the other three–or perhaps he just made it seem that way in front of his daughter.

Lucas was a berserker-type adventurer who specialized in taking and dealing a lot of damage. He wielded a huge, ragged-looking double-edged axe with a wicked edge, and Elias wondered how the man even lifted it, from how heavy it looked. Lucas admitted to being a Journeyman adventurer and still hoped to step into the Expert ranks. He had stopped dungeon diving when his first wife died, causing his levels and Skills to stagnate, but now that Rebecca was older, he wanted to pick up adventuring again.

Lucas also explained that as a berserker, his Charisma Skill focused on giving a huge boost to his presence, particularly through the Bloodlust (Rare) Skill. He said this with a bloodthirsty grin, looking directly at Elias, leaving no doubt about when he last used the Skill.

Elias was particularly enraptured by the story of how Lucas met Rebecca’s mother. To get ahead of the multitude of suitors she had, Lucas concocted a cockamamie plan to win her heart, which worked by sheer luck. He had found an Rare natural treasure, a Soothing Heart Aloe (Rare), in the Novice rank zone of the dungeon and made sure she alone got hold of the information, leaving out that it was guarded by a powerful beast. The plan was to wait for her to make a grab for the treasure, then save her from the guardian and present her with the treasure in a romantic gesture.

The first problem with Lucas’ plan arose when he realized that the monster was much stronger than him; he wouldn’t be able to defeat it. Feeling guilty for putting the woman in danger, he intercepted the creature and had her run away in an act of self-sacrifice. That was when he realized the second issue with his plan. Although he was weaker than the monster, Rebecca’s mom wasn’t. She killed the creature and claimed the natural treasure herself. However, his selfless actions had moved her, and she agreed to a date. She only found out that he had orchestrated that situation much later.

The tale lit a spark of inspiration in Elias, his mind racing as he considered and discarded several plans for obtaining Salvation Points. There was no need for him to actually go around saving people; he only had to make them believe that he saved them. Much like Lucas’ story, he could orchestrate situations to earn large amounts of Salvation Points Quickly. He just had to make it believable without making the situation genuinely dangerous.

*******

Before embarking on a convoluted and likely reckless plan to obtain Salvation Points, Elias thought it wiser to explore simpler methods first. The next day, he headed to the bustling clearing to test his ideas.

First, after much deliberation, Elias decided to try earning gratitude through small acts of kindness. He started by offering small compliments to random people, hoping to earn a point in return. Gradually, he had been increasing the significance of his actions to figure out the least amount of effort required to obtain a point. He had started

Agnes was an elderly woman whose husband used to be an adventurer. She had worked as a vendor in the clearing for many decades and continued to visit daily, having made many friends and acquaintances there. Though Elias had seen her many times and exchanged polite nods, they had never truly spoken before.

This time, he struck up a conversation with her, finding her to be a charming and interesting old lady. He offered to buy her a coffee, and she happily agreed. They chatted for a while, and as they were about to part ways, she thanked him. “Thank you for listening to this old woman’s ramblings, dear. Nowadays, few people take the time to sit and chat like this. You’ve made my day.”

+1 Salvation Point from Agnes Cortez

Similarly to when he gained a point from Lucas, Elias felt deep within himself the reason why he had received it, like an epiphany. This time, the motive had been heartfelt gratitude from the old woman. Before he could celebrate his success, she continued speaking in a much louder voice with a wink and a smile. “I wish more people were like you, young man. It’s like some people forget that I even exist, but I’m not dead yet!”

+1 Salvation Point from James Mitchell

+1 Salvation Point from Ava Thompson

+1 Salvation Point from Sophia Ramirez

+1 Salvation Point from Ethan Walker

“What are you going on about now, you crazy old woman? We always come to talk to you, and let's not forget this is the first time you actually pay for your coffee in years!” Shouted the balding, middle-aged man behind the counter. Agnes and the four people from the stall began to bicker good-naturedly, but Elias’ mind was elsewhere.

To Elias, the revelation that he could gain Salvation Points second-hand like this was staggering. He immediately understood that it worked because the four people were emotionally invested in the old woman. Treating her kindly had been akin to treating them kindly as well, earning their gratitude. The flavor of their gratitude had an undertone of honor, as if his attitude honored them, even if it hadn’t been directed at them.

Elias waited for the group of five to finish their bickering with a smile on his face and warmly said goodbye to Agnes once more. He promised not to be a stranger and took the opportunity to introduce himself to the other four people. It couldn’t hurt to be acquainted with them, and he had the feeling he would need all the help he could get in carrying out his plan to quickly obtain large amounts of Salvation Points.

On his way back home, he let the plan mature in the back of his mind, considering what other resources he had available. Recruiting his sister would be an obvious choice; she already had a propensity for mischief and was adorable enough to easily sway the hearts of strangers. From how his plan was shaping up, he would need Kitty’s help as well, and recruiting his sister would go a long way in getting the cat’s assistance. As he arrived home, Elias had a devilish smile on his face as his plan solidified further.

Oh, this is going to be good.