Chapter 17: [Recliner] After [Recliner]

We did find more monsters. A lot more monsters. Two more [Overused Recliners] and six more [Bitter Ancestors] to be exact.

“Peter, if we die, I’m going to kill you,” I yelled up at my brother as I jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the slobbering tongue of one of the [Recliners]. I then ducked as two of the flying picture frames dove towards me, bits of their spit dripping into my hair. (Safe to say I was going to need a very thorough shower once we were out of this Dungeon.)

“And I’ll kill you after that, you idiot!” Bethany added. She had two [Shields] up, cornering the other [Recliner] as Peter sliced and stabbed at it.

I was supposed to be holding back the other monsters while those two handled each [Recliner], but the problem was that after taking out four of the [Bitter Ancestors] and using [Push All] once, I was down to my last two [MP] which meant I couldn’t do anything useful for a rather large chunk of time or until they defeated that [Recliner] and earned us our level up.

What I hated the most was how annoyingly close to a level up we were. After defeating those four [Ancestors], that put me at [490/500 XP]. Only one more of the frames had to die, and then I’d be at the next level with replenished [MP].

But of course that would make things too easy, so for the moment I was stuck dodging the last two [Bitter Ancestors] and luring the free [Overused Recliner] away from Bethany and Peter while they finished off its friend.

I jogged down the hallway a few yards, drawing off the picture frames and giving myself a little wiggle room from the crazed chair monster trying to eat me. I was looking over my shoulder to ensure it was still going to chase me and leave my siblings alone when I bumped into something firm and plush that sent me to the ground.

Another [Overused Recliner].

Where on earth were all these enemies coming from?

I was on the ground, desperately crawling away when I hit another blockade–the original [Recliner]. Ducking under the tongue which lashed out, I pressed up against a wall, resigning myself to the fact that there was no way out of this. I didn’t use a [skill] since I didn’t have enough for something like [Push All], and a single [Push] wouldn’t save me from this.

The fanged mouths were approaching me, sending waves of warm, leather-smelling breath over me as I got a new notification.

[Overused Recliner Defeated]

[40 XP Gained]

[Level up!]

I wasted no time putting both hands out. “[Push All].”

The two chairs flew in opposite directions, each going a couple yards away. I hadn’t even noticed that the [Last Traces of Bitter Ancestors] had also been approaching me, but my [skill] had flung them both against the far wall, putting cracks in their glass.

I looked to the side to see that Peter and Bethany had already cornered the next [Overused Recliner], leaving me to handle the last three monsters for a time.

Focusing on one of the [Bitter Ancestors], I used my [Pulls] to tear it apart, and then repeated it for the other one, giving me repeat notifications back to back.

[Last Trace of a Bitter Ancestor Defeated]

[10 XP Gained]

Taking a breath, I got to my feet and prepared myself to deal with the final [Overused Recliner]. All I had to do was distract it until Peter and Bethany were ready to end it.

“Here, chair. Who’s a good boy?” I patted my legs like I was calling a dog to me.

The [Recliner] turned to face me, its fanged mouth turning to a snarl. Well, at least I had its attention. The chair raced down the hallway towards me as I ran away, praying my siblings would finish their fight with their current enemy a lot faster than the previous [Recliner]. I didn’t want to blow all my [MP] just on keeping this guy distracted.

Peter and Bethany were having some kind of argument while he hacked away at the chair, but I kept my concerns focused on the monster that was coming for me.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

It was a level 6, and while I was also a level 6, my [skills] were all level 3 or below so I didn’t have much faith I could use my faithful tear apart method on it.

But, I could try.

I put my hands out and debated for a second whether I should use [Pull] and [Push] together or just my [Pulls]. I stopped worrying about it when I realized just how close the [Recliner] was to me.

“[Pull]. [Push].” I anchored my [Push] to hold the bottom half down and my [Pull] was directed to rip the top half up.

The [Recliner] strained as the magic took effect, and I noticed small tears forming along the center most leather, but unfortunately the chair held together. Just as I expected, my [skills] weren’t strong enough. Still, since Bethany and Peter were distracted, I decided to waste a little more [MP] anyway.

I repeated the [skills] as before, and the monster was stuck in place as the rips along the center expanded. Maybe if I just kept going, it might fall apart after all.

“[Pull]. [Push].” I kept my hands steady, watching as the [Recliner] jerked under the forces.

Again I used my [skills], determination settling inside to be the one to defeat this monster.

All at once the [Overused Recliner] ripped in half, the top part flying backwards and leaving the bottom legs standing there as stuffing rained down.

[Overused Recliner Defeated]

[30 XP Gained]

I pumped my fist. I did it!

Another notification popped up, repeating the one from before. I turned with a smile to my siblings who were standing over their own decimated [Recliner].

Bethany’s eyes went wide as she noticed the strewn stuffing. “Did you take it out by yourself, Mads?”

I nodded. “Yep. It just took a lot of [Pushing] and [Pulling] to get there.”

“Good job.” Peter poked his sword into the top half of the chair which was near his feet. “That was a pretty tough fight. This floor is scaling up a lot faster than the first one did.”

Bethany leaned against the wall, sweat dripping from her brow. “You’re telling me. Even with that level up, I’m not sure we should rush into the next fight. We won’t survive another one like this without everyone having full [MP], and even then it’ll be iffy.”

“Speaking of leveling up, we should use our points while we have the chance,” I suggested.

They both nodded and turned their attention to their own screens while I called up mine.

[Temporary Class:]

[Kinetic Mage, Level 6]

[MP: 15/35]

[XP: 100/750]

[Attributes:]

[Strength: 1] [+]

[Agility: 4] [+]

[Speed: 3] [+]

[Intelligence: 6] [+]

[Charisma: 2] [+]

[Luck: 1] [+]

[Attribute Points Available: 1]

[Temporary Effect: MP Overdraw]

“I’m going to up my [Agility] again. Best that I can tell, it’s probably a good idea to focus on [class] attributes for the passives,” I reminded my brother and sister. I hit the little [+] next to [Agility].

“I’ll do [Strength],” Peter said.

“And I’m doing [Charisma].” Bethany grinned. “And look, I got a passive! It’s called [Aura of Calm]. Creatures with a lower level than me won’t attack unless provoked.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” I said. “It would have saved us from the [Recliner].”

Peter shook his head. “But it’s going to be harder to get [XP] now if the monsters don’t come to us. I think that [skill] is a detriment. You should turn it off.”

“No. Use it. This will be good for us while we recover [MP]. Once we’re ready to fight, we can discuss what to do,” I argued.

My brother mumbled under his breath, but he gave up the fight.

I turned to my [skills] tab and cheered. “I got a new [skill] too.”

“No way! Already?” Bethany asked.

“Yeah. But I guess that means it’ll be a while until my next one. This one, as shocking as it is, is [Pull All], the counterpart to [Push All],” I said as I read over the description.

[Pull All:]

[Pulls a group of objects of enemies within view and within five feet of each other up to 5 feet closer.]

[Cost: 2 MP (4 MP due to Effect)]

“I guess I’ll put my [Skill Point] there to match it up with [Push All].” I hit the [+], taking it to level 2 so my [skills] tab now read:

[Skills:]

[Push: Level 3]

[Pull: Level 3]

[Push All: Level 2]

[Pull All: Level 2]

[Skill Points Available: 0]

[Passive Skills:]

[MP Conservation]

I swiped the screen away and noticed my siblings were both already ready to go. We were one fight closer to being through with this whole thing.