Luckily he didn't receive any penalties. That meant no adventurer left the dungeon.

'I don't get why you don't want them to leave if you label them as trespa.s.sers'

Ed grumbled internally. He had to be afraid of a penalty that could activate at any moment. He had no way to prevent the "Trespa.s.sers" from leaving.

Luckily he wouldn't be isolated again, hopefully never again, but he wasn't any happier to randomly experience pain.

Given that his Deduction Skill couldn't go up much higher, Ed chose to level up other skills.

He was still inside of the storage room and had opened up all of the crates to deduce their contents so he had a skill in mind.

'Let's start by throwing'

He went towards a create full of oxidized metal. He didn't know what the metal was but it wasn't like he could use the metal either. So he decided to throw them.

He would also scan them as they flew past.

[Oxidized metal (Flying)]

An unknown st.u.r.dy metal. Somebody threw it.

His level 4 deduction could tell the state of things now.

[Hurl has levelled up]

'Nice, let's check my status'

[Name: Ed$#u0026!]

Type: Skeleton

Health: 193/200

Strength: 0

Agility: 0

Const.i.tution: 1

Dexterity: 1

~Skills:~

[Hurl lvl. 8] -Show info-

[Swordsmans.h.i.+p lvl. -1] -Show info-

[h.o.a.rding lvl. 5] -Show info-

[Mental Fort.i.tude lvl. 1] -Show info-

[Basic Transmission Lvl. 1] -Show info-

[Deduction lvl. 4] -Show info-

~Achievements~

[First Kill] -Show info-

Ed was somewhat satisfied with his Skills. The true problem were his attributes. His dexterity levelled up independently during battle but his const.i.tution used a drop item instead.

He hasn't been able to replicate the increase in his dexterity either, he had thrown many stone barrages but it had been to no avail.

'Is that what they call breaking through during battle?'

Ed ignored his attributes for now and got back to improving what he actually could improve. Who knows, maybe it will lead to a fortuitous encounter.

And so he got back to hurling. After tossing his 100th metal ore he was. .h.i.t by a penalty.

[A trespa.s.ser has left the dungeon, deciding penalty...]

[Champion will be subject to pain]

'Nooo!'

The system didn't listen to his complaints and he was immediately hit by a wave of pain. After a few seconds the pain dissipated.

'That wasn't so bad...'

As if! Ed would find a way to kill that sh*tty system or dungeon someday.

The sudden penalty increased his panic. If he had any thoughts of taking it easy before he definitely didn't now!

He started hurling two chunks of metal ores at once. The throws were more limited in Strength and lethality but he hoped it would still improve his skill.

A couple more minutes pa.s.sed and he received a new notification.

[Hurl has levelled up]

'Great! Let's kee-'

He was cut off by the System.

[Hurl has met the conditions to advance, Advance Hurl Skill? Y/N]

It was a pleasent surprise, Ed was looking forward to evolving his Hurl skill. The skill had taken him quite far in this life.

'I've been here for like a month at most but... it really is an emotional moment'

It was like watching your kids grow up. Except that if they don't grow you will be subject to eternal suffering.

'Evolve Hurl!'

[u003cHurl lvl. 9u003e has advanced to u003cAdept throwing lvl. 0u003e]

[Dexterity +1]

'Oh!'

Even though Ed had no eyes, you could almost see them sparkle. The advancement also upgraded one of the related attributes.

'Show me the information on Adept Throwing!'

[Adept Throwing lvl. 0]

Allows the skill holder to precisely throw objects such as knifes and stones.

The skill was really an advancement, it was like taking a kid from the countryside and turning him into a knight.

'It's too bad I don't have any daggers or knives'

Without a throwing weapon the skill might as well be called [Hurl lvl. 10].

'There is no point on dwelling on it'

He can always just throw arrows if the situation demands it. Ed had no thoughts on learning the bow at the moment, with a half-a.s.sed bow skill he wouldn't be able to hit the sneaky scouts.

So he decided to upgrade another skill, or at least to level it up significantly.

'Since the Skeletons in the area are smarter it is a good time to try Basic Transmission.'

His previous failure had not discouraged him. Basic transmission was a skill he always kept in the back of his mind. If he wanted to avoid dying he would need devout followers that were willing to become cannon fodder. The stupid Skeletons were perfect for the task.

Ed went towards one of the nearby Skeletons. It was one of the few that showed its respect towards him when he first entered the storage room.

'Alright, follow me'

The Skeleton flinched for a second before looking moved to tears. Of course, there were no tears... or facial expressions. Ed was getting quite imaginative.

The skeleton obediently followed after him as Ed moved around the room. Unlike the previous Skeletons that gave up when he started speeding up this one tried to keep up.

'This is great!'

He left the room with his new Skeleton pal, the other Skeletons weren't as bright so he didn't want to waste his time there.

'I will have to remember this room'

If he ever manages to get rid of the adventurers he can start mapping out the dungeon using the paper inside of the crates.

[Basic Transmission has levelled up]

The message appeared shortly after he left the room with his pal.

'I can't just call you pal... I wonder if I can name him now that the skill levelled up'

It wasn't that he couldn't before or anything, but giving a name through vague intent is quite difficult. If the Skeleton doesn't know its new name does it even count as a name?

'You will be... Kenny!'

Ed said while stopped in front of the Skeleton now named Kenny. Kenny was once again moved.

'Let's make sure this works'

[Kenny (Skeleton)]

Kenny is a sword-wielding Skeleton. It is relatively weak. Susceptible to blunt force and orders from Ed$#u0026!

Ed was unsure about what it meant to be susceptible to his orders but he thought it was most likely a good thing.

'I better find some more allies, I don't know when the adventurers will come looking for me'

He headed to nearby rooms scouting out worthy Skeletons. He managed to get only 3 more as the skill reached its limit.

[Penny (Skeleton)]

Penny is a sword-wielding Skeleton. It is relatively weak. Susceptible to blunt force.

[Lenny (Skeleton)]

Lenny is a sword-wielding Skeleton. It is relatively weak. Susceptible to blunt force.

[Dennis (Skeleton)]

Dennis is a sword-wielding Skeleton. It is relatively weak. Susceptible to blunt force.

'Tsk, Kenny is the only loyal one'

Ed saw Kenny in a new light now, what a naive little Skeleton. At least in his head, since Kenny was only any shorter than himself.

[Basic Transmission has levelled up]

'This might be easier to level up than I expected!'

It seemed that the other Skeletons were indeed too dumb. One was barely able to pa.s.s him a simple rock after all.

'Let's keep at it!'

And so Ed continued on his Skeleton scouting journey slowly building an entourage of ennys.