Chapter 17 - IQ, +20 (IAF)

Fire may be the best way to handle most situations. It was a strong element, it was destructive, and most creatures could not resist it, so Steve made a good point when he recommended to torch whatever was buzzing down there. He was spot on, and since these ten warriors/mages were at his command, they couldn't debate against his idea all that much.

He ordered, “Alright, new girl, I can't remember your name… but would you do the honors of shooting whatever's down there? I'm certain that your fireballs are stronger than mine.”

Steve was gentle with his command, and the group accepted this gentleness very positively. The lady he pointed at, walked right over to the staircase at command, and squatted a little bit to have a better look at what's down there. She couldn't see anything.

“My name is Teola, sir.” She added after a moment, and then as she tried to summon a unique kind of fireball, she thought to herself. “These bastards from Firestone have a weird language, I almost didn't catch what he said.”

Teola then stretched her arms out lightly, and spun them in opposite directions until a wide, but flat wall of fire appeared in front of her face. It was less of a fireball, and more of a two-dimensional circle, but it looked dangerous nonetheless. She didn't burn herself in the meantime either, so everyone reckoned that she knew what she was doing here. Steve guessed that she was trying to cover a wider area down the staircase there, without exerting herself in the process.

Teola hurled the fireball down the staircase, and seconds later, they heard this horrendous screech echo from downstairs! Steve couldn’t have ever imagined an insect screeching like that, but from the look of things, he guessed that the job was done, she shot it down!

“I don't hear it buzzing anymore,” Oneta added, and so, she managed to calm everyone's nerves a little bit.

Steve's sister appears to have sensitive ears, and in an area like this one, the group was conditioned to depend on her sensitivity, as it might save their lives! Anyway, once they walked down the stairs they really understood that they couldn't make mistakes around here, because the ‘buzzer’ that Teola had killed was actually a two-foot long hornet, a terrifying creature without a doubt!

Its stinger was four-inches long, so it wouldn't be any different from getting stabbed by a dagger, if this horrendous creature had managed to fly up to them before. With that said, caution was absolutely necessary, it was more apparent than ever!

Steve got especially paranoid after he saw that burnt bug, he urged to avoid any and all danger, so he started looking at his options. Almost subconsciously, he started nagging the system about it, he did so while the team lit their torches so they could have a better look at this area.

He asked, “What can you give me, system? I know I should've brought some body-armor with me and everything, that would've been smart if I could actually afford it, I didn't suit up, so you have to help me here! Can you make my skin tougher, er… thicker?”

[The available purchases are rather linear, they come in batches and such, so they can guarantee the best progressive journey for you. In other words, you take what you get and you don't get upset, so, you can't really make your skin tougher right now.] The system answered, she was rather direct.

“Oh, that's snazzy.” He remarked, “I'm going to die down here before I get to enjoy your guaranteed, progressive journey. It'll take one stupid bee to do me in, I'd be dead!”

[Better be careful then,] The system added, [Though, if you're feeling progressive, there is a very useful intelligence upgrade to your disposal. You can upgrade your IQ by twenty points, and you'd need an upgrade like that for basically anything, including avoiding danger! A higher IQ Is great for such puzzles.]

“You refuse to help me, and you also call me an idiot… very professional.” He sighed, “But I'm desperate, so, give me that shit you mentioned.”

[Confirmed,] The system beeped, and then, Steve felt a sudden, sharp pain deep within his brain.

It was strong, and it made him lose his balance for a second, but in a weird way it was also soothing. He felt as if a deep part of his brain had been scratched all of a sudden, which gave him a decent sense of relief, because he didn’t even realize that he had a scratchable spot like that. The pain was quick to fade away afterwards, and Steve felt as alert as ever as a result, because this alertness was coated with a fraction of adrenaline, it was amazing! Furthermore, he could even feel how his brain was sloshing around in his head, and this was weird, but it was also a sign that the system was making the final adjustments.

[Upgrade complete! You now sport an IQ of 100 points, congratulations!] The system announced, she sounded excited. [This upgrade cost you 250 points, so as of now, 1,630 system points remain in your sum.]

Steve was happy for a moment, but then he started putting two-and-two together. He was a bit smarter now, so of course he was more likely to spot some inconsistencies, specifically, he couldn’t stomach what the system had just said.

“This was kinda expensive, and normally I wouldn't mind it, but an IQ of 100 isn't that good, system, it almost looks like you took my points, just to make me average. I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but I remember that an IQ of 100 points was average back on earth.” He argued, and at this point, he and the team were making their way deeper in the dungeon, so he may not be able to afford arguing right now, but he did so regardless.

[Humans had an average IQ of 100 points, frogezoids do not. Your intelligence was barely average just a moment ago, and now some might even consider you gifted. Of course, IQ Tests are unheard of in this country, but intelligence shines to the eyes of the beholder nonetheless, the right people will always notice your brightness.] She countered.

The system put up a compelling argument, and part of what she said was even philosophical, so she got her point across very efficiently. With that considered, this topic was now closed, there was no point in arguing about this any further. The dungeon around him demanded his attention, and with twenty more points added to his IQ, he hoped that he'd be more likely to survive this treasure-hunt now.

Unsurprisingly, another bug appeared. It appeared right after they walked just twenty meters within the dungeon, but the team didn't fear this one as much, because they had all of the possible advantages to their disposal. There were torches on their hands, so they saw the bug coming, they saw it flying towards them!

Quick as a flash, Teola focused on the bug first, and then shot at it! She killed it within a second, as this too was a hornet, and hornets seem to be very vulnerable to fire - its four-inch long stinger was useless when faced against the scorching flames!

“Another one down,” Teola said, and then she rubbed her inner ear, because the screech that the hornet unleashed upon its death, was as loud as ever.

Everyone in the group had the same complaint, these bugs were too loud, it was disorienting. Some even started developing a headache, it was brutal, and so far, it didn’t look like their heads would get some peace anytime soon.

On that note, Arleesa pointed out. “There could be hundreds of hornets around here! I mean, look at this place, it's all gross, mossy and wet, it's a perfect place for big bugs to grow in, so you stupid bastards best keep your eyes peeled unless you want a stinger up your ass. There could be a bunch of other big bugs down here as well, other species, because these hornets are feeding on something, and I doubt that they're eating rats or anything like that.”

“These hornets are flying around like they want to eat us, I doubt that they'd refuse fresh meat. Let's hope that we don't have to spend a lot of time here, or we will get stabbed. The crown should be somewhere close by, right?” One of the guys followed along.

“Hah!” Arleesa cackled, “I have a feeling that you will die first…”