The Goblin Chief’s bite landed on Sam’s shoulder, its dirty teeth sinking in deep.
[ Armour, Defense 5 has lowered the damage. Critical hit. ]
[ HP: 22 / 35 ████░░░ ]
Sam briefly considered that this was a lot of damage for a bite, especially considering that he had better armour than before. Though this didn’t stop him from doing what he planned, the daggers were both returning to him as the Goblin launched his bite, and to his gratification; both daggers landed!
As the two daggers sunk into the chieftain's back, the light left his eyes and he let go of Sam, falling over completely limp.
The log listed two sources of XP, one for the Kobold and one for the Chieftain, at the same time the fancy filigree System window popped up.
[ Level up! ]
[ XP to lv.5: 05 / 80 ░░░░░░░░ ]
He could not only see his health bar refilling, but he felt refreshed, all the pain from the spear wound and his shoulder faded. Though it was a bit sad to see the XP bar back down, and the needed value now doubled, he felt great!
[ Congratulations on completing the Dungeon! ]
[ Dungeon clear conditions:
Kill the Goblin chief. 1/1
Optional:
Goblins: 10/10
Kobolds: 5/5 ]
[ Rewards:
10xp
1x Aether Crystal
Bonus rewards
5xp
Random Box - E. ]
Sam felt a bit annoyed that he didn’t make the 50% chance for the weapon or armour, but he was still happy as the XP bar updated itself with the bonus XP at the same time as the Random Box and Aether Crystal auto-manifested in his hands.
A brief moment of confusion spread on his face had Janik comment.
“Dungeon completion quests auto-accept, it’s a part of the Dungeon so it sort of completes it before you leave. Sadly, I have heard of PvP’ers using this moment to betray other Players. After all, they can just kill other players, take their stuff and claim that they died in the dungeon. No way to confirm or deny anything so...” He didn’t sound too happy about this, but luckily it didn’t seem like he spoke from personal experience.
Sam was a bit irked at this, not being able to choose when to deliver this quest made the item thing a bit problematic. He also saw how it could be abused. Someone knowing the timing could just wait for the items to manifest and then shank their target... It made sense if you were going that path but a horrible thing to do. With enough shit around with the Towers and monsters, why fight each other?
Sighing he decided to worry about that later. For now, he had Janik with him, and based on what he had seen he was much, much more experienced. And if he was training Sam to be his ally, it seemed like he had a good mentor. He decided to open the Random box right away, rather than carrying it around or putting it in a backpack, it was just easier, as long as it didn’t spew out a bunch of lead or something.
Putting it on the floor he triggered it, the box sprung open and in a flash of light, it disappeared, leaving behind it two vials and a dagger. Like last time the System automatically displayed the information about the newly obtained items.
[ 1x Healing Potion - E: When drunk, heals approx 10% HP. ]
[ 1x Mana Potion - E: When drunk, restores approx 10% Mana. ]
[ Simple Dagger - E: Base Damage 5. ]
“Oh, that’s a decent turnout.” Janik commented as he looked at the items from the box. “Never underestimate the value of potions, even the low-ranked ones.” He smiled as if he spoke from personal experience this time.
Though he didn’t feel the need for the mana potion, Sam briefly wondered what to do but decided to pocket it for now. Though he had already explained that he didn’t use mana, he could sell it later when they sell the spoils from the repeated runs. As they planned to run this several times. With his health low earlier he also wondered if it would be smarter to heal up before going back in, but as the Level Up handled that, this wasn’t exactly a problem any more.
“So, you want to go again?” Janik smiled as he headed for the haze-like portal at the end of the room they were in, again only barely noticeable due to the torches behind it.
Sam nodded.
They used a moment to make sure they had everything with them, especially for Sam and his daggers, it would be a shame if he forgot them lodged in the Goblin and just left without his weapons... That would be a horrible habit to have later on when he hopefully gets better items.
Leaving through the portal, he got a similar popup, this time asking if he wanted to leave the Dungeon. Accepting it engulfed him in the same bright light and he found himself standing in the marked landing area in the same room they queued to enter not long ago. They were instructed to leave the landing area right away, to avoid problems with other arrivals. They walked out of the area but instead of leaving the room they just went straight back to the entry queue, as they waited for their turn several others did the same as they came back from the portal, some left but some just re-joined the line to get back in.
Waiting for their turn Sam wondered if he should keep his Attribute points ready or just use them right away. The bonus of putting them into SPT right away was fine but didn’t do much more than adding to the weight limit of his Psyhands, every other point gave him one extra point in Energy, which was what he wanted. But if he chose to wait until he had two points, he could emergency add a point elsewhere if it came to that. For now, he chose to wait and ask Janik once they got back inside.
The wait didn’t take too long, it was just a queue to get in, which was a quick process. It was just for the organization aspect of things more than anything. So it quickly turned their turn. Like before they stepped in, accepted the System prompt and chose the group, finding themselves back in the starting room of the Dungeon.
“I have a question before we go.” Sam started to get his attention before they rushed in. As Janik turned to face him he continued. “Should I allocate my attribute point right away for a minor bonus, or wait until I have two points for a proper bonus, just in case I need an emergency boost for something?”
“Hmm...” Janik thought about it for a moment. “It’s hard to say, to be honest. For the starting dungeons I don’t think it matters, I used mine right away but for higher ones where there is actual danger, it’s not a bad thought to have. Unless you need something ASAP, you have the option of suddenly increasing your health or something. I’d say it depends on the situation.”
Sam wasn’t too happy about that answer. Though it did validate his original thought as at least decent in some cases, he didn’t get an answer saying that one is better than the other.
For now, he decided to wait, he didn’t need any specific stat increases, and even if he put it in SPT, the weight limit bonus wouldn’t let him wield more daggers anyway, so it could wait until he got two at minimum.
They stepped into the Dungeon hallway properly and the same quest window popped up, listing the same quest description, points to complete and rewards. Quick math confirmed that the whole dungeon gave 55xp if he did everything, compared to the 15xp of just rushing the boss and getting out of here as fast as possible.
This run was faster and smoother than the last. The fact that the Goblins and Kobolds were at the same spots, had the same number of enemies and used the same tactics made this a clear newbie dungeon. It made testing out things, getting used to other things and all in all, gaining experience in both senses of the word a breeze. A perfect testing ground for new Players. Partying up with other newbies would make this an easy-to-overcome dungeon, and probably a good one for future testing of new things.
Another full clear didn’t take as long as the last time, about half an hour or so to make sure it was done properly. Only getting hit once this round made it feel like improvement already, and once it was done another 55xp, no bonus weapon, one Aether crystal and a Random Box - E which contained only a single mana potion this time. The only hit he got did damage him a tiny bit, but it was small enough that they just repeated the process of exiting, queueing up and going back in.
Since Janik had activated the setting where he didn’t receive any XP, he was a massive metaphorical parachute. Though it would have gone faster if he helped, or just did the runs himself, he was adamant that he would only help if needed so Sam could build as much experience as possible.
The next two runs were the same, though he avoided taking damage these rounds. Though he got hit, technically, the armour handled it fine and he avoided taking any health damage. The random chance for a weapon kicked in this time, but he got a short sword which was too heavy for him to use anyway. It went into the metaphorical selling pile. The Random Boxes contained one health potion and two Aether Crystals in total. He did level up the first run, gaining him another free point and full health had he taken damage. The last jump in needed XP was from 40 to 80, which now again doubled needing 160. It was going to go slower and slower.
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He put both points into SPT, increasing the weight he could carry as well as gaining him 1 extra Energy. This combo, like last time, gave him a decent boost in the total weight he could wield, in turn, this let him wield three daggers if he wanted, though without much force behind them. Testing in the second round had this still proved to be a good tactic. Though he couldn’t move them around as fast or as agile due to said lacking force, he had one extra blade adding to his damage or defensive potential.
It was clear that even though this dungeon was beginning to become lacking even for Sam’s skill, it was a good place to farm pocket change as though one Aether Crystal of this low rank only sold for $20-something, at this point he had four of them, meaning that those four alone gave him $60+, that’s not counting the Sword or potions that sold for more. So it wasn’t a bad place to make money. It wasn’t the same values as he had gotten yesterday, but most of that was due to rarer items.
Sam wasn’t complaining, all of this was pretty good given that a run, taking their time to be safe, only took about half an hour. Not counting the first run which took a bit longer they had only been at it an hour or so. Janik made sure that Sam didn’t fall into habit and forced him to try different things at times. Perhaps not using daggers and using the short-sword as the only weapon, only using one dagger, only using the Launch ability and so on. Even making sure he could do things by hand, without using his abilities, just in case that was needed. It felt very different being that kind of close to the action, but it was a good experience to have.
Though the non-power run took more time and caused him to take damage, the following level-up handled that without the need for any potion or healing usage.
They ran many more times, each run becoming more and more smooth, taking less and less time, only stopping for lunch and snack breaks. Sam kind of forgot how many runs they did and didn’t bother with the math, most of the day had passed and it was evening. The results were amazing, though. Sam had consistently put all his points into SPT, as it gained him the most bang for the buck at the moment. Though he was wondering if he should boost his health or something, at the moment it didn’t seem entirely necessary.
[ Attributes:
STR: 4
DEX: 4
VIT: 3
SPT: 16 ]
Items from all the runs: 1x Rusty short sword - E, 1x simple armour - E, 5x Healing potions - E, 5x Mana potions - E, 10s Aether Crystals - E.
Due to his SPT on 16, had bumped his Energy to 8, giving him a total of up to 8 hands if he chose to, or extending his Area up to ~22m/70ft while using just one hand. The total weight he could lift per hand was now up to 160g/5.6oz. Total lifting weight of 1.28kg/2.75 lbs when using all 8 hands. So a decent upgrade all in all. He could now comfortably use only two Psyhands on a dagger, letting him wield a total of all four that he had.
“I think that’ll do it for today.” Janik explained as he stretched. Having just taken out the Goblin Chief yet again. “I think we can go to the next one tomorrow. It’s a bit more complex and has more targets, but it’s kind of the same as this one in spirit.”
“Are they all like that? Just go in and kill everything?” Sam questioned, it seemed almost a bit too easy.
“Nah, the easy ones are like that, but as soon as you start going into the random ones it can be... well... random. I heard of some, where you needed to answer a riddle, others might have skill challenges or just a duel. It’s not the same for location either, they might be called Dungeons but you might enter an open plain or something like a neverending ocean.” Walking towards the exit portal, Janik kept talking.
“Like the Plains of Aetheria, you have just been in the first level, which is the large grass fields and forests, the other levels are different. The second level is just mountains and caves, the third is an island in a seemingly neverending ocean. The fourth is the last one we have managed to get to, and it's a collection of floating islands in the sky, or so we think, we haven’t found a ground yet.”
Sam knew about these, after all this info isn’t being kept a secret, though it did dawn on him that he, now as a Player, could go visit them at some point.
“But, that’s something for tomorrow.” Janik continued. “I’m heading home, got stuff to do. You can go sell your shit and get a room, we can meet tomorrow, I’ll send you a text.” He smiled as he entered the area of the exit portal, seemingly having accepted as he blinked out of existence.
Sam did the same after making sure he had retrieved all his stuff. A few seconds later they were together again on the landing platform and were guided out of it. This time they head down the exit hallway instead of going back into the queue. They didn’t talk too much, they were surprisingly tired now that they weren’t planning to go back in. Though Janik had much more stamina than Sam, he might have been on edge or focused on making sure Sam was safe, which seemed like a kind of mental fatigue. Sam had been doing all the work, and gotten all the rewards. He felt almost a bit guilty for that, but Janik refused to take anything in the starter dungeon.
“We’ll talk tomorrow.” Janik commented as he waved before leaving towards the exit.
They had split up in a good spot where Sam could go over to an appraisal desk. There was a slight line, so he had to wait yet again. Mentally letting his mind wander, he felt neat, this was cool and it was amazing to see progress like this, but his mind wandered into something else. Something he hadn’t considered before. Why was he doing this?
Considering this for a moment, now that he had the time to wind down. He wanted power, yes. He wanted to fight and improve himself, yes. He liked the feeling and all that but, besides being a dream that everyone wants, being able to live comfortably. Did he have a goal in life? He had over a thousand dollars in his bank, the first time he had that much and the option to spend it, not knowing exactly how much he’d get today but it should be a bit. Now that money was somewhat handled, he could just do a few hours of the starter dungeon each day if needed and he should be good for a while, but... What was his end goal?
He wanted to continue, but what would he do once he leaves up, grew in power? This was only his second day and he was already having an existential crisis.
“Next!” A male voice broke him out of it, which might have been for the better. It was Sam’s turn with the appraisal desk.
Walking up he got a well-practised greeting wondering what he wanted appraised.
Deciding to keep the health potions for now, he opted to sell the Mana potions, simple armour, rusty sword and the Aether crystals. He placed them all on the table.
“Please give me a moment.” The man in his early 30s and TAC branded clothing requested as he took out a tablet with a fancy scanner on it. A few moments later he handed the tablet over to Sam for an overview.
Each item was listed. The Crystals at this rank were worth 25 each, the sword was 30, the armour was 25, and the mana potions 100 each. A total of $805 if he accepted.
He almost felt a bit weird at how easy it was to amass this money, compared to working his day-to-day corner store job, he would have to work for quite a bit to get the same output, and then Taxes was a thing on top of that.
“I’m sorry...” Sam started. “This is my first time selling things like this, do I just agree? Do I need to do something?” He was confused, it was good that they showed the prices and everything, probably a confirmation since some players might know what things are worth, but to Sam this was unknown.
The man smiled and let out a single chuckle. “No worries, everyone starts there. I’m just showing you this as a confirmation, you just need to agree and show me your ID, and I’ll have that deposited for you unless you want it in cash.”
Sam was glad it was an easy thing, agreeing on the sum it was all good.
“Oh, where do I need to go to get a room in TAC?” He added after agreeing to the sum.
“Just go to the desk over there.” The clerk pointed at the desks in the Information area. “They can help you with that.”
After thanking him for his aid, Sam walked over to the Information desk, asking about a room. There were several classes of rooms, but he just needed the cheapest thing. The cheapest available room they had were at $100 per day, which included everything as well as breakfast. It was more expensive than the hostel but it came with so many more facilities. The clerk opened up a small pamphlet that showed what came with it, more than a room it was a small apartment.
Taking it for now, he decided to get a taste of the good life, feeling he had earned it today!
Being told that it’s registered to his ID, he could use that as a key. He went and picked up his stuff, followed the instructions and lines on the floor, up the stairs and eventually in front of the room he had rented.
Waving his ID card in front of it, the lock blinked twice before letting out a low blip and opening. Entering it he couldn’t explain it in different words than entering a small apartment. The bedroom was a dedicated room, the kitchen and living room were an open solution, and he had a small bathroom with a washer/dryer combo. Everything was furnished, the bed was clean and fresh, and everything was just so... extra, compared to the hostel he had lived in before. Just being able to live here for the rest of his life would be amazing. The money he earned today would be enough to keep him for a week, and that was the shit-tier Dungeon.
Not having found a goal in life yet, his first goal was to just fall into bed, he needed a shower but that could come later. Landing on the blanket on top of the bed was amazing, his bag just dropped on the floor and at that moment, everything just felt good.
Suddenly a fancy filigree window opened.
[ Conditions met; Player will be transported to Solo Dungeon. ]