[Congratulations! You have killed your first goblin.

+5 exp. New skill]

[Basic Swordsmanship]

Lvl. 1

You have some knowledge of basic swordsmanship.

+5% damage with sword type weapons.

Your body has acquired knowledge of vertical cuts, horizontal cuts, and thrusts.

It was a strange sensation to suddenly have a feeling of knowledge. Brandon had used a sword before but was by no means a practiced swordsman.

Brandon sat down, checking his health status, he had 71 health left. He grabbed the potion on the far left of his bandolier and pulled the cork out with his teeth then poured it onto the cut on his leg. He watched as the skin stitched itself back together and felt the light pain of it all rejoining, but he felt relief after and even felt less tired and stronger. His health was back up to 97 after using the potion and field medicine had gained a bit of experience. He gasped in relief as he stood and was no longer in pain.

He wanted to test out his new swordsmanship abilities so he flung some of the blood off his sword and started to practice a bit. He cut in the air a few times, and it felt faster and smoother, it was ever so slightly easier to maintain edge alignment and the cuts were just a little faster. After a few moments of practice, Brandon cleaned the sword blade off on the goblin’s loincloth and picked up its dagger.

[Broken Shamshir (Common)]

+1 slashing damage

+0 piercing damage

Durability:10/100

There was no sheathe and it was sharp, so Brandon left the broken dagger. If I had a good way to carry it, it’d be nice to have another weapon. Brandon walked over and inspected the chest, this one, much like the last, was locked. It had silver bindings, so he used the silver key. Inside the chest was a black looking shirt with what appeared to be copper rivets in it. Pulling it out it appeared to be woven with some type of metal thread mixed with the cotton thread and had rivets with small plates between the layers of fabric.

[Marelith Trainee’s Shirt (Uncommon)]

Level 1 slashing resistance.

+ 2 endurance

+8 physical armor.

Durability: 200/200

Checking the item’s information in his inventory, he saw it gave a good amount of armor and some endurance, he was not quite sure what endurance did yet, but he tried to equip the shirt right away. Instead of slipping it on as he had done when he got dressed that morning he looked at the equipment window that was part of the inventory and tried dragging the new shirt to the spot where his old one currently was. The shirt suddenly changed places in the real world as well. It was an odd sensation, the new shirt was a different material and sat differently on him, and it was heavier. After a moment the shirt started to move, he looked down at it and watched, fascinated as it shrunk slightly to fit his body better. He could slightly feel the plates on his arms and chest when he moved, but it did not actually interfere much at all with his movement. The shirt came all the way down to his wrists and the cuffs were two pieces of copper with a hinge on one end and a clasp on the other, it kept the sleeves from riding up his arms but made it possible to still take off.

I like this, I didn’t do great against the goblin, but, I think I am more prepared for whatever comes next, and the armor helps. He gathered himself up and left, he still had the golden key and one hall left. He walked forward, hoping his armor would protect him, he stepped into the last hallway.

As Brandon took his second and third steps into the hallway, he heard a clang behind him and saw metal bars covering the entrance he had just come through. “Well, that’s not good” he muttered to himself. He kept walking forward and there was a light up ahead. Walking around the bend, the corridor opened up into a circular chamber with torches lining the wall. In the chamber sat an old, withered looking man who held a staff as tall as the throne he sat upon, next to him was a gold banded chest.

As Brandon stepped into the room, he drew his sword and watched the old man cautiously. The old man held up a wizened hand causing Brandon to tense up. “Hold there young one, it’s been a long time since I saw another human. Only goblins and undead come to this chamber.” The old man smiled at him and sat up in his chair.

“You’re part of the maze in this beginner class dungeon, how did you get here? How do you speak english?” Brandon said, still holding his sword up.

“Ah, a class dungeon, I see. It has been a long time since I went through this. I got here as a punishment for failing to uphold my side of a deal for which the system was the arbiter, I was adrift between dimensions without a world till the Dungeon System drew me here, I did not know what for at the time, but I see now, with my powers faded, I am to act as a challenge for a new adventurer. As for your language, I don’t speak it. The dungeon translation pack may not have all your world’s languages translating to each other yet, but it can translate its known languages to yours and back and forth already.”

“Okay, can you tell me about the system or what is happening? And what do you mean a challenge, how did you know this was the hard room?”

“One question at a time. I can’t tell you about the system, but I can tell you that I am bound to defend this chest. If you want its contents you must best me. But, since you are human, like me, I will give you an opportunity. Lastly, I did not know this was the hard room, I do not know if there was a translation error, however, me acting as a challenge has nothing to do with the room.”

“What do you mean opportunity, the gate closed, I can’t leave.”

“Ah, you must defeat me, but you don’t have to kill me. I can give you a challenge, the consequence of failure: death. However, as you are level 0, you cannot defeat me in direct combat anyway, taking this challenge on will allow you to get this chest, walk out of here more powerful, and I can even give you a map of the dungeon. As for what the challenge is, hmmmm, you have gained your ability to sense magic power and use it. I know,” The old man had started stroking his beard as he spoke but the held up his index finger to the sky when he had an idea. It was like you would see in a movie or show when a character had an idea. “Your challenge will be to learn how to feel magic and increase your magic power to 5. If you succeed, you may even earn a skill or two. Skills are only earned every 5 levels when you have a class, but before you have one you are more malleable. The system will let you earn skills you naturally had before you select your first class, learning to sense mana could be helpful to you!”

That seems too good to be true, but I don’t think I can actually fight him. Brandon thought. “Okay, I will do it” Ding.

[Quest received: Mana Training

Learned Magic Sense: 0/1

Magic Power: ⅕

Time limit: 9:59:59]

“Great! Now, we need to start with mana sense, it will only be at a basic level but you have enough mana in your body that feeling it will not be too difficult. Sit there and cross your legs.”

Brandon sat and crossed his legs, criss cross applesauce, just like elementary school. He had to adjust his sword and bag to sit properly. He pushed his sword back so it wasn’t poking his side or the floor.

“Good, now, mana is a form of energy, it flows through your entire body, through the universe, and even through other universes. It is like electricity but more raw and natural for living things. If you want to sense it, you need to start off with closing off your other senses. We will start with sight. Close your eyes.”

Brandon closed his eyes and tried to feel the mana. He remembered the burning sensation from before and tried to feel and find it. He still felt that extra awareness, and he could feel small waves or vibrations, it was hard to follow and ethereal, he didn’t know if it was mana or not but tried to focus on the sensation. Brandon knew the old man was talking to him but he couldn’t hear him anymore, he couldn’t feel the ground or his clothes, there was no smell, no sight, but he could still sense these vibrating waves, they were like static you feel from a balloon and were there but not there, as he focused more he could follow the waves to their source, it was in the middle of his chest. He focused more on it and could feel the heat and the energy and more from the spot, it was almost a solid, vibrating sphere, but as he focused on it, it almost cracked. He could feel the energy flood him now, his other senses coming back with it. Mana was a tingly feeling and was both hot and cold and nothing all at once. It was like feeling air when you move your hand through it. He could feel his own mana, it was small, not very strong, and he could feel the mana in the air, it was stronger than his and he could feel it piercing into his body as well being absorbed by his mana in his chest.

He could also feel the old man’s mana. It was massive, it was like he was glowing with the power of the sun in summer, the energy was immense. Ding. Ding. Ding.

[Quest completed: Mana Training

Learned Magic Sense: 1/1

Magic Power: 7/5

Time limit: 1:47:35]

[Mana Sense level 1 acquired.]

[Mana Sense]

Level: 1

Your knowledge of mana has grown for you to be able to sense your own mana and mana in the environment.

[Mana Sense level 1 upgraded to mana sight level 1 (uncommon)]

[Mana Sight (uncommon)]

Level: 1

Your knowledge of mana has grown for you to be able to sense your own mana and mana in the environment. You have learned to see with mana, you can detect mana in all directions and feel the mana of other beings, not just your own and the environment.

[Quest completed: Mana Training. Reward granted, you have defeated the hard room challenge: gate unlocked and chest rewards available.]

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Brandon had also gotten several notifications as his magic power increased. He looked up at the old man who was studying him thoughtfully. “That was… interesting. I am still not sure what mana is or how it works, but I can feel or see or, idk, I can tell how much more mana the environment and you have than me. It is odd.”

“Yes,” the old man was still thinking, “It appears you unlocked mana sense and then even mana sight. That is not unheard of but very uncommon for someone with such low magic power. You meditated over eight hours, the maze does not have enough time left for me to tell you everything I’d like to, but keep using mana and practicing with it, it can be a form of power for you. Here, I wrote this as a reward when I realized you had started the meditation on its own.” The man held out a book to him. It was leatherbound and obviously had been a notebook of sorts. The title was in gold lettering. “Notes on telekinesis,” said the old man “This will help you, to understand telekinesis, if you read it you will get the basic skill, but keep it, it will help you in the future, I drew the map on the last two pages so you can navigate the maze. This room will vanish when the time is up, but the maze lasts 24 hours, we are only 30 minutes from the center, you have time, read this and practice your telekinesis on your way to the center. There are a few more treasures and monsters in the maze, but you have maxed your experience for level 0, and you won’t become level 1 till you get your class. I also don’t recommend getting the rest of the loot, not much is compatible for you and you lack a spatial storage. Good luck.”

Brandon took the book and with a wave of the old man he was outside at the entrance of the four hallways with the large gold chest. This chest was massive compared to the others, it was more than 4 ft wide and two deep. He slid in the gold key, eyes gleaming with anticipation. Opening the chest, inside was a sword with a fairly ornate handle compared to his. The guard looked like old art of wind blowing clouds, blowing away from the center and curling upwards. The pommel was a rounded opal and the handle was wrapped in black leather. The sheath was the same black leather with both ends being made of opal as well. He picked up the sword and could tell it was a one handed arming sword. He pulled up his menu and identified it in the inventory.

[Mist-Steel Sword (Rare)]

+10 slashing damage

+10 piercing damage

+5 water elemental damage

+5 wind elemental damage

Durability:1000/1000

Mist-Steel swords are created by using magic to turn steel into a mist and condensing it. Infusing this blade with magic can help to reshape the blade. This Mist-Steel sword is the first of its kind on Earth and is a magic weapon earned by defeating a great wizard of another universe.

Wow, this is incredible, Brandon thought. I wonder how good this sword is by this point? It is definitely better than mine but I am not sure how to best use it. Brandon swapped his short sword to his other hip. He was not confident in using two swords but he may try it later, for now it would be a backup weapon. He put the Mist-Steel sword on his left hip and drew the blade. The blade was a nearly silver color, not the deeper gray of most steel, and it gave off a very faint light and a feeling of magical energy as well.

After checking out his loot he began to read the telekinesis book. The book described the process of moving your mana into an item by pushing against it, once it is injected the item can be moved just like moving one's mana, it becomes second nature and can be done with a thought. The remote aspect must start with a thread of mana connecting him and the object, but eventually he should be able to be done without that connection. There are many levels of telekinesis and it can be used to do things in combat, but at a base level, it will be more useful in other aspects.

The first thing Brandon did after reading the guide and processing the information was trying to move the mana into one of the sewing needles he had, he figured a sword would be too heavy an item to start with. It was fairly easy to manipulate the mana within his body, he could pull it from the source in his chest and move some around. It was harder to push it into the air and even more difficult to push it into the needle. It took him nearly ten minutes of experimenting and following instructions from the book before he felt his mana move into the needle. It was a feeling similar to having something stuck in the back of your throat and the relief when you cough and it comes loose. It only took him 2 mana to fill the needle with mana, and once he did, he tried to move it. At first it wouldn’t move, but as he pushed more of his mana out of his hands and at the needle, the needle rose up on almost a cushion of mana. He had to restrain this cushion to a pillar then a string, it was difficult to give the output of mana both shape and enough power to lift the needle. Once he had it hovering, and the mana restrained to what he would consider a string, he heard the system again. Ding

[Basic Telekinesis level 1 acquired.]

[Basic Telekinesis]

Level: 1

Your knowledge of mana has grown for you to be able to control it outside of your own body.

This control enables you to manipulate objects in the environment by infusing mana into them.

This skill enables your telekinesis to be more powerful and cost efficient.

As soon as he earned this skill, he could feel the mana being easier to manipulate. It went from pushing and controlling it as if it were water to more like molding clay. He could push and pull his mana easier, and after some practice he was able to make the needle make circles flying above his hand. He tried moving the needle forward and back and pushed it as far as he could before it dropped. The further the needle went the faster he could feel his mana draining. At about 30 ft. away from him the needle fell to the ground. He picked it up and tried again as fast as he could push it. It took about one second to reach the full thirty feet. I can throw it faster, hmmm.

Instead of just pushing the needle, he tried throwing it then pushing it with telekinesis. This time, it was harder to control with finesse but it took less than half a second before it reached the 30 ft. Good, this’ll work. Brandon pulled out 4 more needles and infused all of them, but before he could try using them, his head started to hurt like he was dehydrated. Looking up at his status, he only had 18 mana left. The low mana seemed to have made his head throb. Agh, I will need to be careful of that. It looked like the threshold was 10% of his mana. He had 190 mana since he gained the extra magic power.

Brandon sat back down and rested again, trying to meditate as he did when he pulled the mana in from the environment during his quest to feel mana. As his mana increased, he heard another notification but did not look up. He could feel what it was. His magic power had increased again. As his mana slowly refilled, he could roughly tell how full his mana was. At a third and half he could roughly tell how much he had and used that to try and remember the feelings for when he was using the mana instead. The core in his chest felt sore and he could feel the mana penetrating his body from the dungeon and refilling the core as it passed through his body.

It wasn’t quite an hour later when he stood up, his mana full and now at 200, the magic power having given him some additional mana. He decided to try and control the needles again and found they had retained the mana he had infused them with, he could still feel the mana in his needles and move them without infusing more. He threw the needles forwards and pushed them, he could push all of them, but he found it hard to make any sort of complex maneuver with so many. He tried 4 and 3 and then 2. It wasn’t till he was only controlling 2 that he could maneuver them in a way that allowed him to feel like he could move them as he imagined.

Further practice revealed he could only move one and still use his sword, it was even difficult to do that. I don’t think I can use this in combat yet, but I think I will be able to. After his practice, he only had 80 mana left. He slid the needles into the front of his pants horizontally. He punctured the fabric twice so that both ends were outside his pants and he could control them in an emergency. He decided to rest again. He rested again and thought through his possibilities in combat. He decided he would try and infuse his short sword with mana as well.

Once Brandon’s mana was full, he tried pushing it into the sword, it was much harder than pushing it into the needle. He pushed against it and it felt like trying to push his hand through a pillow. It pushed and bent but he couldn’t get it to penetrate.

He could feel the mana in the blade that was already there and changed his approach, he tried to push it between the waves of mana and was able to start pushing it in. It took almost ten minutes, but he got a headache again and had to stop trying to infuse it. He could feel that the sword wasn’t even half full of his mana yet, so he rested and pushed mana in again and repeated this once more to fully fill it with his mana. Once he had, he rested again, then with full mana he drew the sword.

It took a large amount of mana to move the sword around and it took more effort than it had to move the needles. He threw the sword and pushed it with his mana. It was about the same speed as the needles, and he could control it nearly as well. Checking his mana pool, he only had 46 mana left. It had taken a lot to move it around and throw the sword then control it. One time, I can probably use it as an opener from a distance.

After one more session of rest, Brandon got up and headed towards the center of the maze, following the map. He was about halfway there when he saw a group of three goblins armed with clubs made of simple wood. He snuck close to them as they were talking among themselves, he could not hear them well, but once he was about 20 feet away. He drew his shortsword to throw it at the largest of the three goblins, but the sound of the metal scraping against metal caused their pointed ears to twitch. The goblins turned to him and screeched.

“Kiilllll!!!” The largest goblin shouted, pointing his club at Brandon.

“Shit,” Brandon started by throwing his sword at the largest goblin and pushing it with mana to speed it up and keep the point pointed at him. The sword sank to its hilt in his head and the goblin fell over, dead. Ding. He got a notification about killing the goblin but did not check it yet as the other two goblins were running at him. He drew his Mist-Steel sword and took a few steps back, to steady himself.

Brandon took a step towards the closer of the two goblins and swung his sword in a vertical downward slash as it jumped towards him. The mist steel sword flashed through the air, the slight glow making it appear as if it were a blade of light itself. It cleaved the goblin in two and pushed it off the blade with a light wind as he struck. Ding. Another notification appeared. The goblin fell in two halves at his feet, but he did not have time to celebrate his victory or wonder at the power of his new sword. Brandon felt a sharp pain in his side as a club slammed into his ribs twice.

One of his ribs was definitely cracked and the wind was knocked out of him. Brandon barely managed to swipe back with his sword but the goblin easily dodged it. Its eyes were glowing red as it looked at him. It lunged again, but as Brandon went to slash at it, the pain in his side proved too much to make a successful blow, just barely keeping the goblin off of him. Brandon was panting as he looked at the goblin. He remembered the needles in his pants as he could still feel them with his mana infusing them. He used telekinesis to slide two of the needles out as he held his sword up keeping the goblin at bay and focused on the sword. As fast as he could push them, he made the needles shoot forward to the goblin’s red eyes, piercing them. The goblin dropped his club and his hands went to his eyes as the blood started to drop from them.

Brandon took his sword and swapped it to his left hand and made a quick horizontal slash, removing the goblin’s hands at the wrist and his head at the shoulders. The head was blown back, and the mana in his sword that caused it seemed to push the mana out of his needles as he could no longer feel them. Ding.

Brandon sat down exhausted and looked over his notifications. They were two level 0 goblins and one level one, but they gave no experience. The goblin that was level one had the class “Brawler” and was the one who’s eyes glowed red. His experience meter on his level was still full from maxing it with the wizard. He did notice that his basic swordsmanship skill and telekinesis skill both gained a small amount of experience. This rib is going to keep me from fighting well. Brandon considered his options and checked his health. He was down to 95 health. He had fully recovered while resting during his training, but that one goblin had taken 20 of his health by hitting him only twice and that was with his armor. It did have a level on him and a class, so he wasn’t quite sure if he did well or not.

Brandon took his second potion off his arm and popped the cork off, downing it in a gulp. He felt the pain in his ribs subside and even felt them click slightly as the cracked one seemed to repair itself. He also gained enough health that he was back at a full 115 and he felt strong again. He gathered his needles and reinfused his mana into them. The goblins had no loot and were not guarding anything either, so Brandon cleaned off his sword by flicking it back and forth, the wind enchantment flinging the droplets off. He grabbed his shortsword and used the loincloths to clean it as well. It was looking a little worse for wear, it was chipped in a few places now and the edge was not as clean and sharp as it had been.

Both swords put away, Brandon walked away from the scene of carnage. He made his way towards the center of the dungeon, still following the map. He walked another fifteen minutes and did not run into any other creatures. Rounding the last bend he could see a garden ahead. It had a young woman sitting at a table with a tea set on it. He was apprehensive at best and slowly approached the garden. It was labeled as the center of the dungeon on his map, but it was always possible it could be a trap, especially with someone already there.