A Tyrant, Sort Of

As Aylin had suspected, they found the descent to the second level of The Dark Cellar Dungeon in two more rooms—only a single combat one, with the second being the stairway itself. The egress point twisted down in the dark, and, like much of the dungeon, was tight enough of a squeeze Sable worried whether she’d fit.

Then again, the structure also crumbled as she shoved through, opening up a space for her, so maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal. She could dig her way out, worst case scenario. The walls of the dungeon weren’t an impregnable fortress. Not soft as clay, certainly, but to Sable’s empowered form? Not far from it, either.

Down on the second floor—according to Aylin, there could be anywhere from a single to ten layers, and varied ‘by run’, with the dungeon reforming itself—the monsters were of a different caliber. Aylin tried her hand at a solo room, but after the newest encounter left her only scraping by with a win, Sable thought better of letting her continue.

Aylin seemed eager to give it a few more tries, but Sable was worried she’d get hurt, so she refused her with an excuse of ‘wanting to speed things up’. Aylin had needed to swallow a retort at that, visibly sensitive about her combat skill, but Sable didn’t care. Taking charge because Aylin was struggling both kept the girl safe and maintained Sable’s haughty attitude.

And, Sable did want to get a move on. Letting her recently classed champion experiment with her skills and newfound strength was important, but she’d like to clear out this dungeon, collect some experience and possibly loot, then be moving on to other things. She had an empire to build and magic to be learning, to name the two most prevalent goals.

With Sable leading, progress was comically easy. She waltzed through hallways, setting off traps without care, and swatted down monsters with contemptuous ease. In a tenth the time it took Aylin to clear a way to the first stairway down, they’d arrived at the second.

The third floor was where Sable needed to start trying. In a very loose sense of ‘trying’, at least. Instead of swiping a paw at a charging enemy and crushing their bones into jelly in a single blow, she needed to fight. As in, more than a single attack. Two was the average. And still vague swings of her arm, without much force put into it, so … not really trying. She didn’t have to rely on her fire breath, certainly, which was the strongest ability in her kit.

On the fourth floor, something interesting happened. After a brief one-sided scuffle with an [Animated Cellar Guardian], Sable battering the ghastly skeleton-zombie creature into its second afterlife, she received a notification.

***

[Path: [Frostfire Sorceress] advanced from Level 1 to Level 2.]

[Skill gained: [Horrifying Aura]]

***

Surprised—both at the speed of leveling, and the skill name—she inspected the ability.

***

[Horrifying Aura] - Drain mana to inflict terror into all nearby creatures, reducing their defenses.

***

It sounded useful. And not just for combat purposes, but that goblin village she’d flown over had already been terrified, seeing her, so what kind of frenzy would they have been in if Sable had had a skill backing her up?

[I thought leveling took weeks,] Sable commented, glancing at Aylin, who stood a safe distance behind, leaning against the room’s entry point door frame. [And I know we’re going faster than usual, but that fast?]

Aylin tilted her head at Sable’s question, picking up the implication that Sable had leveled, but not seeming surprised. Rather, a dry sort of amusement crossed her face. “Going insanely fast,” she corrected, “and these aren’t level-appropriate enemies. That one was level four. Good experience, hunting that far above your own.” She shrugged. “Plus, you’re a dragon. Maybe you level faster. I don’t think comparing ‘what’s normal’ between us makes any sense.”

All were good points. Still, Sable hummed in mild reprimand. Aylin had taken an overly casual tone, and while Sable herself didn’t care, she had a reputation to be maintaining. Aylin cleared her throat and inclined her head in apology.

She had mixed feelings on how easily Aylin had fallen into companionship with her. For all Aylin’s awe and reverence—and occasional fear—she also treated Sable … well, fairly normal. That was a good thing and a bad thing. A cowering subject would’ve been difficult to work with. At the same time, she did need Aylin to show her respect. It mattered for her notoriety stat.

Then again, the ‘overall view’ of her reputation might be what mattered. If Aylin alone had a different perception of Sable, that likely wouldn’t disrupt her notoriety at large. The masses needed to fear her, not every single person.

Still, as an up-and-coming sovereign, she ought to set a good standard for how her subjects behaved around her. Maybe they didn’t need to think of her as an abject monster, but respect her? At least that.

[One skill per level,] Sable said. [That’s normal?]

“Uh. I guess so?” She didn’t sound sure.

[And you haven’t leveled?]

“Not yet.”

[Shouldn’t we be sharing experience?] That was how parties normally worked, Aylin had said. Maybe there were restrictions when Sable was the only one doing the fighting.

Aylin shrugged. “Dunno.”

It was annoying how much remained unknown, even with a local of this world as a reference. Especially topics related to her species, seeing how she came from a race that was extinct, now. Even if she had an experienced adventurer to question, Sable wouldn’t know if what they told her applied to her, specifically.

[Tell me what this feels like,] Sable said.

She activated [Horrifying Aura].

The effect was instantaneous. Aylin, thus far hanging out near the entrance, mostly relaxed, went stiff. Her face drained of blood, going pale green, and her eyes widened as she scrambled backwards along the wall, nearly tripping over herself as she tried to pull her weapon from its sheath.

Sable dropped the aura. It had ticked away a few points of mana. Not the most expensive ability—slower to drain than her fire breathing—but also not something she could keep on forever. Managing her mana remained a problem. Last night’s rest hadn’t topped her off, not regenerating much at all, and she still didn’t know how the resource worked.

[Effective, then,] Sable said.

The terror-inducing effect no longer gripping Aylin, she stopped her desperate scramble across the stone floor. Shakily, she regained her composure, eying Sable warily.

“What was that?”

[Horrifying Aura,] Sable replied. [Lowers your defense.] Beyond that, it had functional effects in the same way an overwhelming terror normally did. An opponent tripping over themselves would obviously be less of a threat.

“You … that was …” she shivered, then trailed off. “That’s a good skill. Does it work on monsters?”

[I’d figure it would,] Sable said. [We’ll find out soon. But I don’t think there’s a way to focus the ability. It’s an aura. So be prepared.]

Aylin grimaced at the announcement, but nodded. “If I’m expecting it, it won’t be so bad.”

They set off deeper into the dungeon. As Aylin predicted, she did handle the skill better once warned, though the effects were clear each time Sable activated it. It unnerved the goblin girl visibly.

Like usual, that pleased her. Her dragon half enjoyed seeing pale faces and wide eyes. Terror. Such a simple, appropriate acknowledgment of her natural dominion. It was the expression any creature should have, gazing on her.

Continuing the trend, the human side of Sable was vaguely uneasy at her other half’s reaction. At least her more compassionate side was the one firmly in control. The other parts simply lurked in the recesses of her mind, adding commentary. Presenting their urges, but not enforcing them.

[Horrifying Aura] worked on monsters, but not remotely to the same extent as Aylin—and presumably other sapient creatures. On activation, her opponents stumbled and had to reorient themselves, viewing Sable in a new light. Whether or not their defenses were lowered … well. No clue. They still died in a few swipes. Until she had opponents of a caliber that could threaten her, something as simple as a ‘debuff’ would be hard to test.

They continued through the dungeon’s depths, slaughtering monsters and maintaining an efficient pace.

On the fifth floor, they found the boss room.