Lewd Dungeon, Book 39 Prologue

I got bored, and posted early.

Prologue – Trade Chat

(Adventurer’s Guild Official Forums, Miami Branch)

SunnyBunz, MightyMouse, ImAPally, DontYouWantMe, AsaAkiraIsBae, BestGirl, LatinHeat, Salty, Backpage, Craig34, l33tpally, Anonymous3, Anonymous4, RedFox, Kimiko, DonnyJuan, Crusader, BadCompany, HurricaneGal, Ambassador, Scholar, Righteous, Id10t, Satyr, DarkEnchanter, RangerMiguel, ScoopGirl, VenusFlyTramp, MagicMike, TsundereHealer, Max, LightningLegacy, SwiftTaylor, Domino, Bacchus, Aegis, Temptation, and Lord_Kickass are in the chat.

Satyr: And that is how you do a Jacksonville Ripper.

Kimiko: Please find the nearest fire and die in it.

Satyr: Rude!

BestGirl: No, I’m with Kimiko on this one. That was just vile.

Backpage: Man, I spend all day on the internet, and that was messed up even by MY standards!

TsundereHealer: Can’t we get him banned for that?

Righteous: Unfortunately, he put everything in terms that were just different enough from prohibited words that they don’t qualify for bans. But I did report him, so maybe we’ll get a manual review?

MagicMike: Can we talk about something else? ANYTHING else?

DonnyJuan: Well, I can tell you that the LA Guildmaster and her harem went back home the other day.

Salty: Really? I thought they were going to stick around and try to be some of the first into the raid, when it unlocks.

RangerMiguel: Guildmasters do have responsibilities, you know. Can’t spend all their time grinding levels or exploring. Anyways, her team used [Escape Charms] to get out of the dungeon, since they didn’t want to try flying over the lake, and the boat was broken. So, they have a week before they can safely go into the dungeon. Instead of sitting around, she went back to LA to keep the paperwork from backing up.

BadCompany: Have you seen the pictures of the Guildmaster’s daughter and the new puppy she was carrying? Thing was almost as big as she was, but she could carry it easily!

BestGirl: Well, using [Appraise] on the girl only gives you ‘Child, Godtouched Greater Succubus Female’, with the other information locked and unviewable.

Scholar: The child probably has titles, as well, given her origin. That, combined with what is clearly a rare version of a Tier 3 race would mean that her attributes are probably much higher than a normal person’s, even if the System isn’t unlocked for her, yet.

VenusFlyTramp: So, people can still use elements of the System, even before it unlocks for them during puberty?

Scholar: Yes, and no. Yes, they still have their ‘starting attributes’ from their Race and System-assigned Class, but they can’t choose a Profession until it unlocks during puberty, when they’ll have a list of options, based on their activities so far. And they’ll also have general skills unlocked, depending on their interests and what they’ve done. Any titles they have from birth would likely be in effect, as well.

DontYouWantMe: So, can a kid earn XP before their System unlocks? I mean, there are more sources of XP than just combat, after all.

Ambassador: Yes, actually. Though, gaining XP from non-combat activities is slow, especially if you don’t have a Class or Profession supporting those activities. But even if a child was, say, a Fighter with no profession yet, they could earn some XP by diligently training with art, or crafting, or cooking, and so on. The System rewards effort, in all forms, but it rewards you most when you are doing things relevant to your Class and Profession. In the case of those who have not unlocked their System, yet, the System still records the activities, and rewards the person appropriately when they unlock their System.

AsaAkiraIsBae: And I guess those of us who were here already before the System didn’t get rewarded for whatever we did was because the System was offline?

Scholar: Well, none of us got XP for stuff we did before, but most people had certain professions open up for them, based on their activities beforehand. And if you had experience with certain skills, they unlocked quickly as General Skills, post-Activation.

Ambassador: Indeed. While there’s never been a case as extreme as Earth’s, there have been times when the System has been knocked offline, for a time, even up to a period of a few years, so there is some data on what happens. If someone with the System goes to an area where the System is offline, they lose access to the System Interface, and will need to practice with how to use their skills without System assistance, but none of those skills or abilities goes away, and any activities they perform will accrue XP as normal, but the XP won’t be applied until they return to an area with the System.

Ambassador: For those born during a System shutdown, the effects are not dissimilar to what you’ve seen on Earth. They are given a choice of both Class and Profession on System unlock, and their accrued XP is typically lower, since they didn’t get any while the System was offline. As a balance, the System typically gives such children boons through the System interface.

Righteous: Interesting. So, there is benefit to children having a good and varied education with the system, even if they don’t have a class that relies on book smarts? Or them practicing weapon drills, even if they aren’t a Fighter?

Ambassador: Indeed. Beyond the ‘normal’ benefits of having a good education, with a wide knowledge base, allowing someone to avoid certain pitfalls, there is the fact that knowledge skills can help with identifying enemy weak points, or identifying what is or is not safe to eat. And martial training helps instill discipline and promotes fitness. However, it would also, at the very least, give the child some weapon proficiencies as General Skills when their System unlocks, and allow them to better defend themselves, even without the skills. There is a reason why most successful Wizards outside academia take some kind of weapon training as a General Skill, even though their attributes don’t support physical combat.

DarkEnchanter: A goblin might not be dissuaded by a Wizard using his staff as a weapon, but it works a lot better than trying to talk them down with debate skills.

Scholar: Sadly true.

MightyMouse: Hey, anyone have any word on how the exploration of the new floors in the Exotic Pleasures dungeon is going? My team is waiting for someone to bring back map data before we go, ourselves.

Satyr: Letting someone else do all the work?

MightyMouse: I’m allergic to death. And we’ve already had one team almost wiped out in the caves, thanks to a psychic tree, of all things. We’re definitely going to wait and see what people say before going and trying to get through the floors ourselves.

SunnyBunz: I think the Azure Flames were pushing to go into the new floors, using the information that the LA Guildmaster brought back with her. But I don’t think they’ve sent any messages or status updates back.

Temptation: They’ve been doing quite well, actually. In fact, I believe they are soon going to take on the boss of the 17th floor.

ScoopGirl: Any hints on what they’ll face?

Temptation: Not for free. Just wait and see.