Dungeon of Chance: Even Odds: A Dungeon Core Novel (Serious Probabilities Book 1) by Jonathan Brooks (interesting books to read TXT) 📕

standing there with a very similar outfit as her brother and the rest of the Heroes around her.  Oh, and she was holding a wooden stick, or “Tier 0 Training Weapon” according to her Inventory.  Speaking of that, she saw that her old clothes were now inside of her Inventory chart, labeled as Plain Shirt, Plain Pants, and Dirty Sandals.  Hey!  They weren’t that dirty!

“These things gave me an extra point in my Attack and Defense!  So that’s how all of this works,” her brother mused, which prompted her to look at her own Hero Status.  Sure enough, instead of those two stats being 1, they now both read 2.  Curious, she mentally selected the option to see her Class Orbs Available,[6] and a new chart appeared, detailing how many Class Orbs Jeska had available.  There were options for five different Classes: Fighter, Scout, Mage, Healer, and Support; those were further broken down by how many of Tiers 1 through 10 she had available, which all read a big fat 0.  As for Tier 0, she knew that those were unobtainable and non-transferable, so only people like her – and the other Heroes of the world – would ever be able to use one, and one only.

She also investigated the Class Skills option, but since she didn’t have a Class, the list was entirely empty.  Moving her attention back to the world around her, she could see that most of the other Heroes had finished looking through all of their different charts and were looking at each other in confusion as to what should be done next.

“Do you think we should investigate this dungeon tonight?” she asked, though she immediately knew that was a stupid question.

As she had thought – a half-second after she finished her inquiry – Arcen promptly answered.  “Yes, absolutely!”  His enthusiasm stood out a bit from the others, who appeared a little apprehensive about going into a hole in the cliff face, which her brother saw and amended his statement.  “You know, so we can make sure it’s up and running…and all that.”

“My son has a point,” her father said before anyone else could say anything.  “But Arcen, I don’t think you should investigate any further than whatever is right inside of the entrance tonight,” he added.

“What?  Why?”

“Because you don’t have a full group, that’s why,” Jeska’s father said matter-of-factly.  “There are three main things that I’ve learned from the various Heroes I’ve spoken with over the years.  One, you always go into a dungeon, even what you think might be an easy one, with a full group of 5 – no more, no less.”  He started to tick his points off on his fingers for all to see, while raising his voice so everyone could hear his words.  “Two, if you decide to flee for any reason, the monsters inside will not chase you outside of the dungeon itself; from what I learned, they physically can’t, so there is no shame in running to save your lives.”  Another tick.  “And three, the only way to get stronger is to acquire Class Orbs, which have a chance of dropping from the monsters once they are killed.”

“Drop?  What does that even mean?” the Mayor asked, which for once Jeska echoed the question in her head.  She had some knowledge of how her mind charts worked…sort of…but as far as what they needed to do inside of a dungeon and how it all worked, she had very little clue.  I’m guessing this is why the mainland has so many Hero Guilds, so that new Heroes aren’t left floundering about without knowing what they’re doing for long.

“I…” her father started, before shrugging helplessly, “have no idea, actually.  There are a few other tidbits I’ve learned, but as for the specifics of how everything works…well, I’m nearly as ignorant as everyone else on this island.”  Jeska could tell that it hurt him to admit that, because he was always so proud of his knowledge, and would share it freely with whoever needed it.

“So, it looks like we should probably just go take a peek, then head back to the city for the night and figure out these ‘full groups’ you mentioned before,” Jeska said, doing some quick mental math.  “And since there are exactly 30 of us, that would perfectly make 6 ‘full groups’ of 5; it seems to me that precise number isn’t just coincidence.”

“I believe you are correct, Jes,” her father said, smiling at her fondly.

Her brother started to move toward the dungeon with a purpose.  “Alright, enough talk—let’s go!”  When nobody else moved, Jeska sighed and quickly joined his excited march towards the hole in the cliffside.  And no surprise, Rosara was close behind.

“Rosara, what are you doing?” the Mayor shouted after her, shocked at his daughter following after Jeska and her brother.  “It could be dangerous!”

“I know, Father – that’s the whole point of this!” she shouted back.  “Besides, if Arcy can’t protect me during a quick look, our little group of Heroes here will be doomed from the start.  I’ll be fine!”

As much as Jeska thought Rosara shouting about how they were all doomed was a poor choice of words, she also had to agree with the statement.  If Arcen, the biggest and naturally strongest of all the new Heroes, couldn’t protect them for a brief look, then that didn’t bode well for the others to even start their journey as Heroes.

No one else joined them as they closed the distance to the dungeon entrance, which wasn’t surprising, though looking back at the assembled group in matching outfits she could see that some appeared just as eager to investigate as her brother.  Most just looked curious and thoughtful, however; with all of the changes lately, it was probably a good thing that they didn’t just rush into danger without really understanding what their new abilities as Heroes were, as