Notifications started to pop up at an increasing rate, and were summarily dismissed. Feeling the overwhelming rush of Experience still being gained, Alan had no need to read the notices to know he'd already begun Leveling Up.
A glob of acid struck him from behind, shattering his already failing shield and splattering him with caustic goo. Reminded of the incoming enemies behind him, Alan pulled out his last remaining Health Potion. In hopes of minimizing the acid damage, he swallowed it as he darted around the pile of still-steaming scorpions.
Never having seen a Shadow Shuriken in action, he was completely unsure if the purple cloud would attempt to snag him as well. Rather than find out, Alan took extra care to stay as far away from the eerie cloud as possible.
As he passed a heaping pile of charred scorpion Alan stretched out his right arm, and tried to add the nearest Scorpion corpse to inventory. The moment his fingers brushed up against the scalding hot exoskeleton, it disappeared into his Storage Ring.
Yes! Hopefully these things are edible.. they actually smell really damn good...
With his stomach growling painfully and mouth beginning to salivate, Alan snatched up any corpse within arms reach amid his retreat to the main corridor. Only to find the doorway blocked. At some point, a solid slab of sandstone had filled in the exit, preventing any attempt at escape.
Knowing the wall would be more than capable of withstanding even his most powerful Spells, Alan was left with no other choice but to fight. Though outnumbered, he'd already put a decent dent in the Scorpion population.
A quick glance at his PSA proved he'd already killed just under half of their total numbers.
***Dungeon Trial (Survive the Swarm!)***
Trial Objective: Defeat all enemies within time limit.
Time limit: 20 minutes. 16 minutes remaining.
Enemies Remaining: 32/60
Reward: Varies depending on mettle demonstrated in the face of adversity.
With escape no longer an option, Alan snatched another Shadow Shuriken from inventory and made his way to the previous hallway. The sound of skittering insect legs stopped him short just over halfway down the hall.
Now that (Haste) was no longer active, and [Blessing of the Wind] would be on cooldown for another hour, avoiding the scorpions had just become much more difficult.
Hearing the insects just around the next corner, Alan quickly retreated to the end of the corridor in a bid to put as much distance between himself and his dogged pursuers as possible.
Alan had his back against the wall both literally and figuratively. While he waited for the first of the scorpions to cross the threshold into his hallway, he got a preemptive start on his Skills and activated [Tenacious Concentration], [Dual-casting] and [Mana Regulation].
Remarkable! Your Skill (U)[Tenacious Concentration] has grown to Level 4!
A tidal wave of flailing bugs slammed into the entryway, flooding up the walls on both sides. The sudden obstruction slowed down their progress, but in no way stopped them. Two or three at a time, the scorpions were able to push their way through the dense pile of tangled insect limbs and make their escape. Snapping pincers and rending claws ripped into their own brethren without remorse in their single-minded attempts to finally capture their elusive quarry.
Scuttling towards Alan, the growing number of scorpions in the hallway launched orbs of grey goo from their tails once more. Still just out of the range of their stomach-turning attacks, Alan hurled the Shadow Shuriken he'd been holding at the insects leading the pack.
The front line was halted in their tracks by a handsy purple shadow. The rapidly approaching reinforcements attempted to stop, but the mass of frenzied insects pressing from behind forced them forward. And like a procession of lemmings, nothing could stop them as they charged forward to their doom.
Dozens of shadow-arms wrestled with the thrashing, writhing, but mostly immobilized scorpions. The beasts struggled valiantly, but were unable to break free. Soon the number of insects detained by the Shadow Shuriken reached well over 20.
Seeing his opportunity Alan utilized his active Skills and cast two Mana-boosted [Spectral Plasma Storm]s. Taking aim at the steadily growing pile and unleashing his first Spell, he sent the second [Spectral Plasma Storm] through the bug-filled doorway in hopes of sandwiching the scorpions between the destructive Spells. Just before the chaotic storm fully formed, Alan turned and fled from the oncoming devastation.
Running around the wall separating him from the sealed off exit, Alan was able to catch his breath while safely hidden away from the resounding booms and earthshaking detonations. He stood with his back to the wall and contemplated the dazzling display of eerie green light that radiated from around the corner.
If the light was this bright where he was in the next room over, he couldn't even imagine the intensity of being on the other side of that wall.
Continuous flashes of incoming notifications poured in, and as Alan dismissed them, a massive influx of Experience hit him like a runaway train. Unable to keep his balance under the staggering amount of euphoric energy, Alan was forced to sit down before he fell down.
Gasping in shock and holding his head, Alan failed to notice the Scorpion rising from the sand behind him.
He was nearly deafened by the ongoing explosions and howling winds coming from the other side of the wall, and therefore oblivious to the sounds of the chitinous armor skittering toward his exposed back.
The simple-minded insect had only ever possessed two thoughts. Food and Not food. Having spotted the former, its mouth salivated in anticipation of a meal. It lifted its slender left arm and opened its gleaming, razor sharp pincer as wide as possible. Quick as a whip, the Scorpion lashed its arm out. The claw rocketed towards Alan's unprotected back and tore through his already heavily damaged [Aqua shield] as if it were made of wet paper.
With nothing left to hinder the attack, the teal pincer snapped closed on Alan's left arm, snipping it off and cutting cleanly through the ribs his arm was pressed against.
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The honed edge was so sharp Alan wasn't able to feel, let alone react to the unseen attack. Lost in the flood of accumulating Experience, he even dismissed the notification of his (Bleeding) Debuff, mistaking it for another kill notification.
Alan's severed arm flopped uselessly onto his lap, finally managing to capture his attention. Just as he turned to look down, a blast of thick grey acid hit the side of his Leather Jerkin . A severe pain radiating throughout his entire left side finally alerted Alan that he had a serious problem.
His Jerkin instantly began to bubble and melt. Oblivious to his attacker's location, but assuming it had to be somewhere close to his injured left side, Alan flung himself forward in an attempt to avoid taking any further damage. Only after rolling to a stop and spinning around was he able to locate his sneaky foe.
As he locked eyes with the scorpion Alan howled in rage and pain, ripping the tied strips of leather holding his ruined jerkin in place and flinging it away before the acid managed to eat all the way through.
Alan looked down at the stump of his arm and was concerned with the amount of blood he was losing. The sand around him was already stained red. Alan grit his teeth and growled as he called up a [Healing fog]. As he glared at his adversary Alan was forced to look on in horror as the scorpion bent down over the detached portion of his arm.
Using the tiny pincers at the corners of its mouth, it lifted Alan's arm up and swallowed it in a single noisy bite.
Remarkable! Your Skill (C)[Pain resistance] has grown to Level 10! +1 Free Status Point!
Caution! Your Skill (C)[Pain resistance] is prepared for Skill Evolution!
Proceed with Skill Evolution? Yes/No
Mentally selecting No while casting [Spectral firebolt] Alan watched with increasing fury as the tips of his disembodied fingers disappeared into the scorpions bristle filled gullet.
"I'm gonna fucking eat you," Alan whispered ominously. With a crazed look in his eyes, Alan unleashed his Spell at the feasting insect. The Firebolt detonated, engulfing the scorpion in hazy green flames. Alan was pelted with slivers of shrapnel as entire sections of its armor were torn free and blown clear across the room.
The concussive force of the blast sent Alan tumbling backwards, head over heels amid the rabid assault of notifications hitting his PSA. As the fire began to die down, all that was left of the scorpion was a large chunk of smoking claw in the sand by his feet.
Reacting on instinct sprinkled heavily with pettiness, Alan snatched up the claw with his remaining hand.
Ignoring the blistering heat, Alan crushed the overheated exoskeleton in his furious grip, revealing nearly a pound of flaky meat sizzling within.
Taking a cautionary sniff, and finding he very much liked what he smelled, Alan tore a massive bite out of the steaming meat. Chuckling as he chewed the surprisingly delicious insect, the irony of the moment almost made everything worth it. The uneaten portions of the scorpion sank into the sand, and a (Basic) loot box rose up from the ground to replace it.
"It ate my arm," Alan giggled, which caused him to spit chunks of meat across his lap. "He.. hah.. It ate my arm... Hah..hah.. and now I'm eating his arm!" Erupting in a fit of laughter, several realizations hit Alan all at once.
He had a massive pile of unacknowledged notifications. The flood of experience gained had suddenly stopped, leaving him unsure how many, or even If any enemies are left alive. Finally and most importantly, Alan saw that the stump of his arm had fully healed.
The stump. Instead of an arm, the System left him with a smooth, healthy stump less than a foot long.
A stump?.. A STUMP!?
"What the fuck!?!! WHERES MY FUCKING ARM!!" Alan roared in shock, still enshrouded within [Healing fog]. Ranting like a lunatic he vowed the destruction of the entire scorpion race.
These fucking bugs are going to pay for this, Alan thought. He spared a sad glance down at where his arm should've been and grit his teeth when it was still a smooth nub. "FUCK YOU TOO DUNGEON!! Alan raged. "This isn't over yet..."
Look what you let them do to us! His subconscious growled. Daydreaming in the middle of a fight? Obliviously allowing enemies to sneak up and EAT YOU!! GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER YOU IDIOT! Quit your whining and DO SOMETHING ALAN! Are you going to feed yourself limb by limb to this wretched place? I thought you wanted to protect Rexus? What a joke. You can't even protect yourself. What are you going to do if you lose your other arm? Or a leg? Pathetic.
Rage. Loss. Pain. An overwhelming storm of emotions ripped through his mind. Was he going to die here? Was all of this for nothing? "NOOO!" Alan bellowed in fear and anger, clutching at his stomach. Something within him threatened to burst free.
Whatever this feeling was, he knew he couldn't hold it back much longer. He wasn't even sure he wanted to.
That single thought was the tipping point. A billowing plume of green flames surrounded Alan, lighting up the room around him. A gentle warmth took away his awareness. As he fell into a deep trance, his face became a mask of cruelty and madness.
Within a Vortex of Daemonfire, Alan retraced his path through the the corridor to the dead-end that initially set off the Trial Room, angrily setting fire to, and then systematically stomping on any scorpion he came across that made even the slightest movement. The flames around his body began to condense, and structure was added to the chaos. The solidifying flames clung loosely to his frame. A dazzling flash of jade light hid his body from view, as the flames tried to take on a shape reminiscent of an assassin's hooded cloak.
Deep in a slumber-like trance, Alan was oblivious to everything but a blissful inner peace. His negative emotions were being consumed by the flames and converted into an unstable power source. Lost in the gentle caress of his Daemonic flames, the last of his pent-up rage, and repressed worries were devoured.
After jump-stomping a particularly crispy, yet somehow still-living scorpion, a sudden notification refused dismissal, popping up in his vision. His Daemonic Robe began to flicker unsteadily. An animalistic snarl echoed throughout the hall as he staggered forward weakly. He only managed a few steps before collapsing.
Remarkable! You have successfully completed a Dungeon Trial Room and earned the Title Twisted Trials 1!
Twisted Trials 1- +2 All Stats
***Dungeon Trial (Survive the Swarm!)***
Trial Objective: Defeat all enemies within time limit.
Time limit: 20 minutes.
11 minutes remaining upon completion
Enemies Remaining: 0/60
Reward: CALCULATING...
Remarkable! You have been rewarded with 300 (Iron Grade) Lotus coins and a (Common) Technique Scroll!
+1500 Bonus Exp gained!
Alan regained awareness the moment the Daemonic Flames faded away, feeling both rested and overwhelmingly confused. What happened? I can remember losing my arm and then... it's all fuzzy.
"I want my arm back..." Alan snorted, trying his best to ignore the fact that he had no idea what just happened to him.
It's already over? Alan wondered, unsure what to make of the sudden turn of events. While it was nice to be done with the trial room, the fact that he lost a chunk of his memories was unsettling. Even more worrying however, was the fact he was perfectly calm. He could distinctly feel that whatever had happened, had stabilized his Emotional Core. The whispers of madness had once more receded into the dark depths of his mind.
Without a sound, right before his very eyes a pitch black crack opened up in the air. As suddenly as it appeared, the crack widened, becoming a one-foot square opening leading into a fathomless void.
The sight snapped him out of his thoughts, instantly putting him on guard. Lost as to what exactly he was looking at, though still eerily calm, Alan began casting [Shocking Water Cannon].
His Spell was barely starting to form when a small leather pouch and a rolled up Scroll dropped from the small void door. With its delivery completed, the door to nowhere shut.
After vanishing into the same thin-air it arrived from, the reward-hole simply ceased to exist. He hesitated, looking side to side, searching for any further surprises.
It only took him a moment to realize he was once again alone with his thoughts. Not to mention a pile of notifications and a cluttered mess of a Kill Log.