The group was eagerly searching the path for more monsters. A single pack of the creatures gave them each two levels, and so long as they could find two or three more packs of snakes, they should be able to reach the next class advancement. While the previous fight wasn’t easy, it was manageable, and they could handle a bigger challenge. Levels came easier the more difficult or dangerous a fight is, whether that’s from a level disparity or from fighting at disadvantage. The more life threatening the situation was could also make a difference, such as the exploding creatures from earlier.

They found what they were looking for soon enough. This time they could see the snakes coming out of the scars along the walls. There were two more of the portal snakes hidden in the scars, and a lot more of the flying ones. Deciding to make the fight harder on themselves, they avoided targeting the portal snakes, so that they would need to try and outlast all the monsters. This would also be the fastest method for killing the creatures.

They made a different formation from usual, this time with Luke leading the arrowhead. That was essentially the shape of the formation too. Holding the front was Luke, while Mash and Red were on either side of him to focus on area attacks. Jill covered the back and would attack at any opportunity that she had. Her teleportation would let her pick off specific targets. It wasn’t a complex strategy but utilized their strengths well. As the first wave of snakes arrived they readied the first part of their attacks.

Red and Mash jabbed long spears forward and grew them out into violent weapons. Mash’s spear ballooned with spikes and grew into a barrier. During the growth of the spikes the snakes died, and even more died as they crashed into the barrier. It quickly grew too heavy to hold but would still function as a barrier for a while. Even without being able to see what Red was doing, he guessed that she would be able to manage something similar, if not better. On the other hand, Luke was a menace and took up most of Mash’s view. At his enlarged size he was able to kill the snakes easily, and just punched into oncoming snakes. They were killing the snakes in large groups.

The snakes mostly attacked Luke, so he was the only one affected by their venom. While his movements did slow, it happened gradually since his body was so much bigger. It took a lot more venom to start affecting his body. Even before he started to slow down, he began healing himself. His healing skill improved his body’s natural abilities to better fight against the poison.

The fighting was constant, but not endless. After around an hour of combat, the snakes had thinned considerably. Leveling once was already good, but he felt close to the next one. Only one more level to go, before advancing his class. He wanted to press on, but his friends were looking drained, all but Red. Grinning like a fool, she kept launching attacks at the remaining snakes. There was only one reason why she would be so smug.

______________________________________________________________________________

Red P.O.V

The fight had been entirely too long. How was she supposed to wait when she knew that she could get her next class? Quickly killing the remaining snakes, Red shook in excitement. The others seemed to notice, killing the portal snakes with haste to prevent more snakes from coming.

She watched as they started to settle down. Before she could even say anything, Jill cut in. Sounding far too excited, she spoke quickly.

“Well, get on with it, you can’t leave us waiting.”

She expected them to sound more annoyed, but they seemed just as eager as her. However, Luke asked a hesitant question.

“Wouldn’t you get a better class if we cleared the dungeon first?”

Whenever she received questions like this, she had to remind herself that noble families didn’t share much information with commoners. They simply lacked so much information and could only rely on half true stories. Needing to give them a small lecture she gestured for them to take a seat.

“That is only partially true. Completing a dungeon will likely only get you a class related to the dungeon. So, if I waited until we finished, it would probably only get me something like Mash’s class. It’s better for me to get one further down my current path. The only person that really needs to wait is Mash, unless you guys want to branch out to different classes like his.”

Sounding perfectly like a teacher, she stressed her words importance. They obviously understood, but Jill added another question.

“Then why do people do dungeons? It seems like unnecessary danger.”

“Because normally a dungeon doesn’t change for just one person. Also, it’s a lot faster to level inside of a dungeon. I’m sure you guys noticed how quickly we breezed through those last ten levels. Now, can I choose my class or do I have to wait longer.”

Expecting the question, Red had replied smoothly. Giving their nods of ascent, the group gave Red some space. She breathed slowly ready to take the next step. Her vision swam in darkness, as she felt herself look inwards. She found herself inside her soul space, as it was called in her family, and before her were the class options. Pillars of brilliant red light shown before her, she had inherited much of her family’s classes through specialized training. Even now, little would be able to change the path she was on.

She floated towards the first of the pillars curious to see which variation she would get. Not really having a physical body, she reached with her mind instead of her arms.

Blood Spirit Summoner: You have observed and admired spirits, the connection becoming more certain with your blood.

This was a little surprising, but not bad. Her elven heritage had allowed her to get access to a spirit related class. Classes like these tended to offer variable amounts of power, mostly reliant on what spirit offered the class. It typically meant that the later someone accepted a spirit class the stronger the spirit. However, picking the class early would mean that the spirit would grow with the classes level. Both methods had their advantages and disadvantages. She preferred the former method and planned on taking a class like this later if it was available. Moving on to the next pillar she felt a new rush of information.

Scarlet Eyed Blood—Witch: Master of blood, and reaper of lives, you feed on the blood of battle to further empower yourself.

Shuddering from the new knowledge, she flinched reflexively. She rejected the class immediately. That class would lead her down the demonic path, and that was not what she had planned. Powerful though it may be the implications with the class were far too concerning for her to risk it. Also, she didn’t want to become a demon. Moving on, she headed towards the last pillar.

Red Dressed Dancer: Wreathed in blood, you have killed countless enemies in battle. Blood is your life, weapon, and clothing.

She paused at the class. It was certainly interesting, and nobody in her family had recorded this class. If she were still a member of the house, she would have to take it to provide the information for future generations. Now she could pick freely, but that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t choose the class. It sounded useful and would probably offer her some more protection and mobility. Also, it fit much better with the team's current dynamic, even if it didn’t cover any of their weaknesses. With her decision made, she selected the class and woke up.

______________________________________________________________________________

Mash P.O.V

Red was deciding her class and would wake up soon. His excitement hadn’t faded, and he felt compelled to do something. Moving around the nearby space, he double checked the snake corpses and walls with his sphere. He wasn’t expecting anything substantial but hoped that one of the snakes would have something useful. The snakes were ordinary, but something else drew his attention. One of the dark scars on the walls, was not a mere scar, instead it was a path to some hidden space.

“Hey guys, I found something.”

He called the others over uncertain of what exactly this was. Turning his head, he met eyes with Red who quickly moved beside him. Faster than ever before, she moved even more quickly than Luke and Jill. She spoke, sounding even more excited than she was for her class.

“What is it?”

Shaking his head, Mash looked further into the crevice. He responded hesitantly, moving closer to the entrance.

“I don’t know but it looks like there is another path here. Let’s head inside, I have a good feeling about this.”

Entering first, Red preempted him. She spoke confidently as blood began to swirl around her. It stuck to her better than her armor had, seeming to form cloth instead of metal.

“Me first, I’m fairly certain I can take more damage than you can.”

Mash didn’t argue. She was clearly the strongest now. Plus, he wanted to see what her new skills were. However, he gave her the deepest bow he could manage, replying snidely.

“Of course, my lady.”

That got the others to chuckle a little as they followed behind Red into the gap. It was a tight squeeze, but they managed to get through. With Mash’s new range he could easily cover in front of Red with his mana sphere. They moved for a few minutes, before the crevice gave way to a small room. It was small compared to the rest of the labyrinth but was still twice the size of his room back home. It was filled with items too. Mostly books, but he saw a few other things as well. He wasn’t disappointed, in fact he was ecstatic. He wanted knowledge and this room was filled with it.

Dashing he arrived at a nearby desk scanning the books but stopped upon seeing the words. Speaking beside him, Red sounded despondent.

“I don’t know the language. Not the slightest clue.”

Disappointment settled quickly, if Red didn’t know the language, then they wouldn’t be able to understand any of it. He still flipped through the book in his hand, taking note of the drawings. They were surprisingly detailed depictions of creatures. A few of the monsters Mash had seen in the dungeon, but some were unknown. He saw one that reminded him of the drawings of dragons, and another of the snake that had spoken to him. Red was staring at him as he put the book into his storage space, so he gave her a short explanation.

“There was a picture of the snake from earlier, and I’m curious.”

“That’s fine, but we should choose the books more carefully. We have a limited amount of space to work with.”

She responded curtly, but Mash didn’t pay it any mind. The snake had treated him differently and he wanted to know why.

“Well, it can just be a personal item then, lets go see what the others found. “

He replied quickly, noticing that Jill and Luke had surrounded something. They were surrounding a small pile of items. Most were weapons, and both of them seemed quite eager. Mash and Red didn’t need weapons or armor, but Jill and Luke could use them. Neither had been able to buy good weapons back at town and were hoping for something in the dungeon. Luke was testing the balance of a great axe and needed to use his buffs just to lift it. It was large enough that it would work as a one-handed axe while he was transformed.

Jill was playing with a pair of daggers but stopped when Mash approached.

“Well, any of these magical?”

She sounded hopeful, and he happily responded while nodding.

“Most of them are, at least, from what I can tell. The daggers in your hand included.”

Mash was grinning stupidly with his words, and Jill clutched the daggers more carefully after hearing the information. Mash moved to identify the magical items. There was a full set of magical leather armor, three enchanted swords, the two daggers Jill was holding, and the axe that Luke was swinging. On top of those, there were several ordinary weapons, and another set of leather armor. Those were all the weapons and armor. He noticed two accessories that radiated powerful auras. They sat on a chair unceremoniously, but Mash was interested in them.

Identifying what he could, he noticed that one was another spatial bracelet and he pointed it out for Jill or Luke. They were discussing which of the two should get it and he claimed the other item for himself. It was a necklace made of mana-wood and it seemed to be suited for him. Red gave him a curious expression and looked at the item. Giving her a small shrug, he replied slowly.

“I don’t know, but it seems to be a perfect fit, and I’m the last one to get something.”

Luke had apparently won the argument and was attuning to the bracelet. Mash was about to do the same but stopped himself. He couldn’t just attune to items like others. They had strange effects, but he had come up with a plan for this exact situation. Without directly touching the item, he poured his mana into it from a distance. He hoped that if he wasn’t touching it directly, he could attune to it normally.