POV: Zane
Some time passed, and I could no longer communicate with Clone 1. I started to feel anxious, thinking something bad might have happened. Then, a new system message appeared right in front of me.
[ Clone 1 has received a Falna! ]
[ Familia: Loki ]
[ Growth bonus added! ]
[ Bonus added to Clone 1: 200% ]
I read those messages without fully understanding them. Does this mean Clone 1 will grow 200% faster? No, that doesn't make sense. The clones don't grow individually—their status is the same as mine.
So I tried asking the system.
[ EXP gained through Clone 1 will be 200% higher. ]
"Wow, isn't that great?"
Some time later, I received the same messages, but this time from Clone 3. He also received a 200% bonus. In other words, I will now gain triple experience whenever Clone 1 and Clone 3 kill a monster.
"This bonus is amazing."
But what about the Falna? Will it make any difference for my clones? Will they become stronger because of it? Unfortunately, the system didn't give me an answer. Huff… I let out a sigh and tried contacting Clone 1 again.
"You received a Falna, right? What did Loki say?"
He finally replied.
[ She didn't say anything. Apparently, everything seems to be in order. ]
"She said you're Level Two? Did she tell you what your stats are?"
[ I received a sheet with my stats. They seem very low. And no, I'm not Level Two. The Goddess was surprised for a moment, but then she didn't say anything else. ]
This is so strange.
Loki isn't stupid. She's very intelligent and has excellent intuition.
She should have realized that it makes no sense for a Level One adventurer with low stats to be exploring the 12th floor—or even deeper floors. What is she planning? But if she were truly that suspicious, would she have added them to her Familia?
Well, bringing them into her Familia does allow her to "control" them in a way.
I can't understand what's going on inside Loki's head. I might be getting played and end up facing the consequences in the future…
'Alright, I'm cutting off contact now. From now on, I won't destroy you or Clone 3 anymore. You must live within the Loki Familia.'
[ Does that mean we won't see each other anymore? ]
'Of course not. We'll still meet again in the future.'
[ Don't worry, Master! Even if we're in a Familia now, I'll keep exploring the Dungeon all day to help with your growth! ]
'Don't do anything stupid. Follow the Familia's rules and respect the Goddess. Don't let her grow suspicious… more than she already is.'
[ Suspicious? She doesn't seem suspicious about anything. In fact, she seems quite happy and excited to have recruited us into her Familia. ]
'Don't fall for that. You can't read her mind.'
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After cutting off contact with Clones 1 and 3, I looked at the EXP notifications that were still coming in. Since Clones 1 and 3 won't be able to stay in the Dungeon all the time, my EXP gain will decrease.
Actually, no.
Since the amount of EXP I gain from each monster they kill has tripled, it's enough for them to explore the Dungeon for just a few hours a day.
Still, it would be amazing to have Clones 1 and 3 farming EXP twenty-four hours a day.
I could tell them to stay in the Dungeon and ignore Loki's orders, but that would cause problems. I don't want to create trouble this early. For now, I'll just keep living my life peacefully.
I lay down on the couch and sighed.
After that, I opened the shop and converted all my magic stones into points.
I managed to get over 600 points at once.
Since most of the magic stones were mid-level, I gained more points than expected. I need five mid-level stones to get one point. To get one point using low-level magic stones, I need ten stones.
Fortunately, the clones are hunting in areas that only drop mid-level magic stones.
"But I still haven't seen a single item with my own eyes. The monsters killed by the clones aren't dropping any items."
I know item drops aren't that common, but I haven't gotten a single one so far.
In fact, even the monsters I've killed myself have never dropped an item.
That makes me sad.
I need items to craft magic swords, and I wanted to train one of my clones to become a blacksmith. It would be interesting to have a blacksmith among my clones. Maybe even several of them. "Well, I'd have to buy blacksmith-related skills."
I checked the system and found a few skills related to that.
"They're not as expensive as I expected."
There was a basic skill called "Blacksmith LV1" that costs 500 points.
I'm sure that once it reaches Level 10, I'd be able to become the best blacksmith in Orario—second only to Hephaestus.
"Should I buy it?"
No, not now.
I need to get stronger. I need new magic skills—and new weapons.
"Should I buy new weapons and acquire skills related to them, or spend 600 points on three basic magic skills?"
After thinking for a while, I decided to buy three magic skills. I want to be able to use all magical elements!
I already have Fire magic, so let's buy the others.
[ You have acquired the skill "Water Magic LV1" ]
[ You have acquired the skill "Earth Magic LV1" ]
[ You have acquired the skill "Wind Magic LV1." ]
I bought two elements that are usually good for defense: Water and Earth.
And I bought a third element that is typically used offensively: Wind.
I smiled in satisfaction and tried using the three skills at the same time. Surprisingly, I succeeded.
A ball of water, a chunk of stone, and a sphere of compressed air appeared simultaneously.
After the spells faded away, I spoke to all the clones at once.
"Focus on using magic. I want to level up all of it."
All the clones replied at the same time—except for Clone 2.
[ Yes, Master! ]
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