William gazed at the four pedestals with wonder and anticipation as he rushed to the nearest pedestal and read the item description:
{Ascension_Protocol}
{Dungeon Reward}
Skill Grimoire – Vortex Thrust – Type: Fighter
{Description}
A Skill Grimoire that has been used to seal an Arcane Sword art of ancient origin. Any blade used with this skill will project a piercing beam of Vortex energy when the skill is activated.
[Notice – Skill is a combination variant using MP and SP for a cost.]
[Notice – If acquired, user will be required to replace a Fighter skill of their choice.]
Acquire?
{Y/N}
{End}
The skill seemed like a superior version of his [Swift Thrust] and he was already envisioning ways to utilize it. He just hoped that the MP cost wouldn’t be too drastic. He also considered how point allocation would work going forward. There was an increasing chance that more Intelligence would be needed to keep combat efficacy high. William gulped at the possibility. He was a Fighter main class, and expected that Strength and Dexterity would both need to be kept higher than other stats. What would be the drawback of increasing Intelligence equally with those other stats?
After a couple brief moments of hesitation, he decided that the benefits were worth more than potential drawbacks and he acquired the skill. William controlled his eagerness to get the next treasure, and instead decided to review the skill:
{Ascension_Protocol}
Vortex Thrust – Using the reservoirs of Stamina and Mana within you, stab with unrelenting power, causing that energy to fly at your foes. May you pierce the heavens. [Cool-down – 30 Seconds][Cost – 100MP + 50SP]
[Notice – Immune to SP reduction effects]
{End}
William let out a sigh of relief at seeing that the cost was the same as [Vortex Slash]. Even the description was similar. William had a feeling that [Vortex Thrust] would be equally strong, but allow for an alternate method of damage dealing. William nodded slightly, content with the new skill. He didn’t dally further and moved on to the next treasure:
{Ascension_Protocol}
{Dungeon Reward}
Skill Grimoire – Danger Sense – Type: General Passive
{Description}
A Skill Grimoire that has been used to seal a high tier evasion skill often used by elite followers of martial sects. Allows user to detect direction and rough speed of incoming attacks.
[Notice – Skill is passive. When triggered, skill will drain a portion of current MP.]
Acquire?
{Y/N}
{End}
William felt that the loot was getting seriously scripted after reading the skill. Most of his battles end up with him getting injured and hindered. He experienced it less with higher stats, but that only worked to a small extent, and he knew that such a skill would be an incredible boon and boost to his combat potential. He held no illusions that it was infallible however, as he would still need to actually move to avoid a detected strike and if his stats weren’t as good then it wouldn’t make a large difference. There was value even in that however as it may allow him to shift momentum to make a lethal blow miss his vitals even if the attacker may be faster and stronger than him.
He didn’t hesitate to take the skill and immediately read its description:
{Ascension_Protocol}
Danger Sense – Through this skill, user gains a new sense for incoming dangers and from where they come. Let none land a strike on you as you slay your foes. [Cool-down – N/A][Cost – 5MP[Trigger]]
{End}
A large grin threatened to tear William's face in two as he read the skill. Zero cool-down and only five MP when triggered! It seemed that the bandit threat was shrinking ever further as William gained new strengths, boosting his confidence by massive margins. A small part of William even had anticipation for the upcoming battle. He shook himself of such thoughts however, and moved on to the third pedestal:
Ascension_Protocol}
{Dungeon Reward}
Equipment – Ring of Spatial Storage
{Description}
A Magical Ring enchanted with high-tier Spatial Magic. Extra-dimensional space grows with user progression. [Activation cost: N/A]
{Activation}
Access the Extra-dimensional space within the item to either place or remove a single item.
Acquire?
{Y/N}
{End}
William didn’t hesitate for even a millisecond as he acquired the item and immediately activated it. He saw a room appear in his mind’s eye, barren of décor and detail. The room was made of shimmering surfaces of raw energy. There was no visible light source yet the room was well lit. His mind blanched slightly at the sight. Magic fuckery plain and simple. He tested it by pulling out his SP potion and willing it to be stored. It was an immediate success as he looked into the storage space once more and saw that a large wall rack had materialized with numerous hoops shaped to hold potion vials that filled the eastward wall. The wall rack was made of the same shimmering energy. It appeared that the item sorted stored content and facilitated utility furnishings to hold the various types of items stored within. The size wasn’t too shabby either. It appeared to be a four meter by four meter room with an equally high ceiling. If the item neatly organized everything automatically, then he could already potentially fit a vast amount inside and it would only grow bigger as he grew.
William pondered on his current gains and was already ecstatic, but he was equally as excited to read the description of the final item. It had been the most interesting from a glance and he had saved the best till last:
{Ascension_Protocol}
{Dungeon Reward}
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Armor – Mythril Shield of Expansive Horizons
{Description}
A Magical Shield enchanted with high-tier Expansion Magic. Shield will block most standard attacks. Automatically repairs itself from ambient Mana. Shield will expand up to the size of the user or contract down to default size. Weight of item remains the same. [Activation cost: 10MP].
{Activation}
Expansion or contraction of shield equal to parameters in item description.
[Notice – Item is Soul-bound.]
{Soul-bound}
Item is bonded to the user for life. If destroyed, Item can be re-summoned by bonded user once per day[Minimum 24 hours from point of destruction].
Acquire?
{Y/N}
{End}
The shield was everything William hoped for and more. It was the size of a buckler by default, and could expand up to his size at the same weight. The shield and [Danger Sense] together will drastically improve his survivability. It was also beautifully made. The default shape was a round buckler. The edge was shaped into a loop of laurels encircling the entire diameter of the shield. The laurels acted as a sword catch and were only outshone by the design of the Boss in the center. The emblem of the three crossed swords that adorned the trial door were shaped out of the domed boss and shimmered in the light.
William immediately took the item. His mind was suddenly invaded by an external force and his vision faded into his mind’s eye where he saw a bright mote of green light in a haze of swirling mists. He instinctively knew it as his soul and mere moments later, ethereal chains shot from the light at high speed towards a smaller mote of white light that William could sense was the shield. Within seconds, the smaller mote had shifted to a slight hue of green as he felt the link to his soul forge in front of his very eyes. The process was over as soon as it started and the last thing William saw was two motes of light in a vast void of darkness, the mists disappearing completely.
William snapped back to reality, and felt a prompt appear but held off on reading it as he considered the picture still in his mind of what he assumed was his Soulspace. Two stars shining in the void of space, a single swirl of chains conjoining the two in a straight line. He considered if there was deeper meaning, but couldn’t gain any further insights from it.
He decided to finally read the prompt:
{Ascension_Protocol}
{Dungeon Notice}
You have completed [Lost Dungeon of the Arcane Sword].
You are the [1st] to complete this dungeon. Bonus title awarded.
The path of a delver is open to you.
Exit dungeon?
{Y/N}
{End}
The prompt was weird. William didn’t see the title that he was given and assumed that he needed to exit the dungeon first. He really hoped it would be to the surface. If he got punted back to the mushroom cavern, he would be in deep shit. In the end he decided to read the journeyman title he had received that was still pending acceptance:
{Ascension_Protocol}
{Title – Journeyman of the Arcane Sword}
{Description}
Achieved through arduous training in the Arcane Sword arts, qualifying you for your journey to mastery.
{Effect}
Damage from Vortex attacks is doubled.
[Notice – Accepting this Title will make it appear on your identity if the spell Identify is used on you. Description not included.]
Do you accept the title?
{Y/N}
{End}
William accepted it with glee. He then considered stacking potential with his Fell the Mighty title. Would it double the already doubled damage further? Quadruple total damage? Excitement welled up in William and he started to look forward to his next fell-kin encounter to find out. He had nothing else to do in the dungeon so decided to exit.
A flash of light became William’s world for a fraction of a second before he felt a pleasant breeze on his face as he was within the treeline of the woodland. A glance at his map indicated that he was luckily on the same side of the woodland as Greenwell. It appeared to be late afternoon and another beautiful day. He could see people several hundred feet coming and going with logs and decided to head over in case his party were there waiting for him.
William was about to start walking when he felt a prompt at the back of his mind and he grinned at the two titles he had received:
{Ascension_Protocol}
{Title – Progenitor Delver}
{Description}
Achieved through discovery of integrated Dungeons for the first time.
{Effect}
Rewards of Dungeons doubled. Stacks with doubling bonus from newly discovered Dungeons.
[Notice – Accepting this Title will make it appear on your identity if the spell Identify is used on you. Description not included.]
Do you accept the title?
{Y/N}
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
{Title – Dungeoneer I}
{Description}
Achieved through completing your first Dungeon.
{Effect}
Level one access to Tower of Progression.
[Notice – Accepting this Title will make it appear on your identity if the spell Identify is used on you. Description not included.]
[Notice – Upgradeable.]
Do you accept the title?
{Y/N}
{End}
“Holy fuck!” William said, shock and joy conveyed in his voice.
His brows furrowed a bit, however, at the Dungeoneer I title as he had no clue what the Tower of Progression was. The thought then became eclipsed by the jubilation at potential extra dungeon loot whenever he entered future ones.
William closed the prompts after a few moments and started on his way. As he walked, he reflected on his combat performance in the Dungeon. He should have tried to learn the sword-forms between trials as he knew that the teachings would have helped with the final trial. He had been too absorbed in other thoughts. He felt frustration grow at his foolish actions. William could have suffered less to beat the dungeon if he had just been patient and spent some time learning.
He decided that he wouldn’t make the same mistake next time as he didn’t want his victories to be diminished by frustration. He shook the thoughts from his head as he walked, taking in the scenery. They lived in a truly picturesque region. It was just a shame that the wildlife and bandits were utter bastards. They did give useful loot though at least. It didn’t take long at William's pace to reach the villagers. Before he could speak up to greet them however, he was jump-scared by an excited Jane.
“William! Thank god!” Jane shouted, the relief in her voice almost palpable.
William scratched the back of his head, “Sorry, sort of fought a really shitty creature and fell into a cavern.”
Incredulity washed over Jane’s face and then she eyed William’s new equipment, particularly the shield. William noticed the gaze and with a wry smile drew his sword. The new gear shimmered beautifully in the afternoon sun.
Jane’s face turned from excitement to resignation, “You have all the luck in the world it seems.”
The tone was still warm, indicating to William that Jane wasn’t being mean to him.
“Well sis, you have the luck of being in this world with me. Who knows, maybe my luck will rub off on you.”
Jane rolled her eyes but let out a brief chuckle.
William looked around for the others and as if Jane had read his mind, Jane spoke up again, “The others are helping out with the various stuff going on. Nothing bad has happened so don’t worry.”
William felt slightly sheepish as he hadn’t really thought much on how everyone was doing, though it was probably best he kept that titbit to himself.
In the end, William smiled and replied, “Good. Glad to hear Greenwell is safe.”
He meant it too, a thought that William wouldn’t have ever visualized being the case before being dragged into GAEA.
He continued, “Let’s head back to Greenwell and see what's going on there. I've got a new book to read. Oh, and meditation to do too.”
“Good. You can tell me all about your adventures as we walk.” Jane said with curiosity and excitement.
William smiled and the two set out to Greenwell, absorbed in their conversation.