“Wine is nice and all, dude, but did you find something we can use? Like a weapon? Maybe a backpack? That would be nice. Now, don't get me wrong—you take what you want, but right now, wine is not high on my list of survival goods.”
Monty looks at me, his smile unfaltering, as he kicks a duffle bag my way. “Alright, that's a start. Here, this might help you.”
I hand him the pocket knife I found. “The workbench has a hammer if you want it, but for the rest, there’s not much left of use. I’ll help you search the boxes.”
Monty puts the wine back. “Alright, there’s a large metal trunk at the bottom, so let's just work from the top. I have a good feeling about that trunk.”
As we start opening the boxes on top of the trunk, we don’t find much good—some old toys, CD collections, old porn mags, a VHS player, and a box full of baseball cards. The only useful thing we find is a small multi-tool.
“Alright, let’s see what’s in the trunk.”
As Monty opens it, he’s surprised by what he finds. The trunk is filled with military surplus gear—canteens, combat boots, a backpack, and a combat knife. I spot the combat knife.
“Well, that pocket knife got replaced real fast. So, we’re taking a canteen each and a pair of combat boots each. The backpack and knife are yours.”
I take the combat boots and canteen, tying them to the outside of my duffle bag, while Monty puts the knife sheath on his belt and stuffs the rest of the trunk’s contents into his backpack—along with two bottles of wine.
“Don’t think there’s anything left in here. I just want to test something.”
Status? No. Overlay? No. Screen? Not it either. System?
Name: Grant Larsen
Race: Human
Titles: Dungeon-Summoned Hero
Attributes:
* Vitality: 194
* Stamina: 228
* Mana: 6
* Strength: 67
* Agility: 89
* Intelligence: 23
Abilities:
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
* Minor Luck Enhancement
* Fast Recovery
* Fire Resistance
Skills: None
Claim garage?
Y/N
What? No, I don’t want this place. So that’s what it meant by carving a place for ourselves? We can actually claim these summoned buildings? Maybe it’s always just a single room. Anyway, if I’m going to claim something, it has to have a stronger door than this.
“Alright, so you can summon your screen by thinking ‘system’ and claim a location by summoning it inside a building like the garage.”
Monty tries it and lets out an amused hum.
“We should get out of here. There’s nothing left for us. We might be able to find somewhere to rest and get some food.”
While we walk down the dark corridors of the dungeon, we spot three goblins further up the hall. They seem to be looking for something. I whisper to Monty, “How are we going to handle this? There’s one with a spear and two with clubs. I’m pretty sure I can take on the two with clubs, but the one with the spear looks like a nasty fighter. I bet he’ll let the club-wielding goblins rush ahead to keep himself out of danger. I can lure them past the corridor, where you can hide and ambush the one with the spear.”
Monty thinks for a moment and asks, “What if it does rush at you? They don’t look smart enough to come up with a strategy. We could also try to wait them out, let them leave, and continue without being seen.”
We could do that, but we might run into them later when we don’t expect it. I answer, “No, it’s best to take them out now while we have the chance. Can’t risk them getting the drop on us later.”
I stand and move to the split in the corridors, with Monty to my right in the side corridor. I move back a couple of feet before tapping my crowbar against the stone wall. The metallic ring catches the attention of the goblins, and—
They do what I was hoping for. The two club-wielding goblins rush toward me, running straight past Monty in the side corridor. The first to reach me gets a heavy kick to the chest, sending him stumbling back. The second reaches me, and I hit him in the shoulder. I hear the crack of his bones. I finish him off with a hard swing to the head.
I go back to the first goblin who tried to rush me. It’s still on the ground, struggling to breathe. I might have broken some of its ribs with that earlier kick, but that doesn’t matter as I bring the crowbar down on its head.
Skill acquired: Powered Strike
I look at the screen in amusement before realizing my plan didn’t go entirely as expected—the spear goblin hasn’t moved an inch. It looks at me almost mockingly. Then I hear something behind me.
A large green man is mid-downward swing. I see him, but not in time—I try to dodge, but his club slams into my arm, and I fall to the floor. Monty wants to help me, but I’m not out yet. I use my new skill and empower a kick to the orc’s knee.
Not my best idea. The knee bends the wrong way, and the orc starts to fall—right on top of me. I lift my crowbar’s other end just in time to impale the falling orc.
Monty, still in the side corridor, stops before exposing himself to the spear goblin, who is now approaching to finish me off. But as it reaches the side corridor, Monty grabs just below the spearhead and plunges his knife into the goblin’s chest.
After the spear goblin collapses, Monty rushes over to lift the orc off of me.
“Dude, we did it! We won.”
I smile a little, but my arm is killing me.
I try to move it and still can—luckily, it didn’t break, but it was not far off.
“Fuck yeah, we did.”
I stand, covered in orc blood, and pull the crowbar out of the orc with my non-dominant arm.
“But next time, I will have to be more aware of my surroundings.”