In total, Elena had one Low-Grade Beast Token, one Low-Grade Pelt Token, one Low-Grade Meat Token, twelve Standard-Grade Monster Tokens, four High-Grade Monster Tokens, two High-Grade Magic Beast Tokens, one Low-Grade Boss Token, and one Low-Grade Dungeon Token.
Without standing on ceremony, Elena threw every single Token in at the same time causing a blinding cacophony of lights to flare out of the Arch of Champions as dozens of items were summoned.
Most of the rewards were resources. Beasts could drop Meat and Pelts while Monsters could drop Meals, Water, Iron, and Gold. The two black dogs, which the Tokens had identified as Hellhounds, were magic beasts and as such dropped Magic Meat and Magic Pelts which were beneficial in making certain items.
In total, Elena drew five Pelts, three Meat, five Magic Meat, eight Magic Pelts, thirty Meals, thirty-one Water, twenty Iron, and a hundred and fifteen Gold.
The Resources were just a bonus and the only one’s worth getting excited over were the Iron and Gold. Iron was needed for a lot of more advanced Buildings and any amount helped. As for the Gold, Elena now had enough to upgrade the Arch of Champions once construction on the Infirmary and Canteen finished.
The real prizes of the dungeon clear were the Gear, Skills, Abilities, and Vouchers. Elena drew thirteen pieces of White Common Gear, five pieces of Green Uncommon Gear, a piece of Blue Rare Gear, three skill scrolls, two ability scrolls, and three vouchers!
The White Common Gear was pretty evenly split between weapons and armor. The weapons would be useful when Elena had the resources to train new soldiers and could be distributed to civilians. The only one she took was a White Common Quarterstaff just in case the durability on her Green Uncommon one got too low for her to use.
As for the armor, Elena distributed it between her and Malik. Malik got Leather Gloves and a Leather Helmet boosting his AC by 2, while she got a Cloak. The other pieces of Armor were four sets of Leather Chestpieces.
The reason Elena only took one piece of White Common armor wasn’t because she was a generous person but because she had better items to replace the loss of the ones she gave to Malik.
Of the Green Uncommon Gear she drew there were three pieces of armor: a piece of Body Armor, a pair of Gloves, and a Hat. None of them were of a high enough quality to provide her with free skills, but they were still decent pieces of Gear.
All Gear had a slot and in general only a single piece of Gear with the same slot could be equipped at the same time. There were some exceptions such as One-Handed Gear which you could use two of, or Rings which you could use ten of, but that exclusivity was why Elena had given the White Common Gear to Malik, she wouldn’t be able to wear it while using the Green Common Gear.
There were also two Green Uncommon weapons. One of the pieces was a knife that inflicted a Stamina poison. The other was a warhammer that regenerated Armor after hitting an opponent. Nobody had proficiency with those weapons so they were set aside for the moment. Both were of low quality so it wasn’t that much of a waste.
The last piece of gear Elena pulled, the Blue Rare Gear, was also a weapon – a shockingly beautiful longsword. It was pitch black with an edge that glowed red as if it had just been pulled out of a furnace. Elena marveled in its beauty for a long time before putting it down and assessing the rest of the loot
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ECLIPSE (ONE-HANDED)
A black longsword with a glowing red edge that has a 1% chance to blind an opponent for half a second. Provides a single level of the Powered by Darkness Skill and a single level of the Darkvision Skill.
Damage
2d6
Durability
50
Type
Slashing
Quality
9/10
Blue Rare
Powered by Darkness (Lvl 1)
Deal +2 damage when you are in the dark, deal -3 damage when you are in direct sunlight.
Green Uncommon
Darkvision (Lvl 1)
Improve vision in low light environments
Green Uncommon
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Elena turned her attention to the three Skill scrolls she had pulled. Two were Basic Weapon Proficiency scrolls that could be used to create a new weapon proficiency or enhance an existing one. The last Skill Scroll was for a Skill called Hellish Resistance that provided resistance to fire damage and infernal abilities.
Elena immediately used the Hellish Resistance skill scroll on herself. As a Lord, she was the king on the chessboard. Any other piece could be sacrificed so it was best to strengthen herself. Even if Malik could be considered her queen, he was ultimately still a sacrificial piece.
Elena was far less sure of the most efficient usage of the two Basic Weapon Proficiency Skill Scrolls. She had too many options and each of them had upsides and downsides. She could use both to upgrade her Basic Quarterstaff Fighting to level two which would increase her damage with quarterstaffs by one according to Malik. She could also use both on Civilians creating two half-Soldiers. She could also use them on her and Malik to give them new weapon proficiency Skills.
The last option was highly tempting to Elena. If she gave herself the Basic Longswordsmanship Skill she would be able to effectively use Eclipse. It was a powerful weapon which granted two skills and did a rather large amount of damage.
In the end, Elena decided not to use either scroll for herself. She’d been injured in the dungeon and wouldn’t be able to participate in combat for several days. Without a Doctor, the Infirmary could only provide first aid. This would remove bleeding and other status effects but would do nothing to restore Health. Health regenerated naturally at a rate of one per week and if you slept in one of the Infirmary cots it would regenerate at one per day.
Given Elena’s current Health, she wouldn’t be able to safely fight for at least a week. The level of Bleeding inflicted was determined by both the strength of the attack and the defender’s Health at the time. If she took even one damage while at six Health the bleed effect would be one every half hour or even higher.
Since that was the case, it wasn’t very efficient to use the scrolls on herself. They were common draws available from pretty much any monster so it wasn’t like she was passing up on an incredible opportunity. Part of the reason she was so resolute with using the Hellish Resistance Skill Scroll was because it had been dropped by the Hellhound and was a Green Uncommon Skill. Who knew how long it would be before she saw that Skill again?
Thus, in the end, saved one scroll for use in the creation of a half-Soldier and used the other to give Malik the Basic Knifeplay Skill. This was so that Malik would be able to use the Viper’s Fang weapon she had pulled. This would give him an alternative weapon in case he got caught in close combat.
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VIPER’S FANG (ONE-HANDED)
A dagger that inflicts a 1/5 Stamina poison.
Damage
1d3
Durability
25
Type
Slashing
Quality
2/5
Green Uncommon
----------------------------------------
The two Ability Scrolls were much easier to decide what to do with. They both provided an Ability called Heavy Strike that increased the damage of your next attack by three points. Elena was fairly certain that was the skill used by the gnolls in the dungeon and was satisfied with its power. She used one on herself and the other on Malik. Upgrading a Skill or Ability to level two took two scrolls so there was no point in hogging them both for herself.
Finally, Elena turned her attention to the three vouchers she’d drawn. One was a damage voucher just like the one she’d used in the dungeon. She put it away for use when they discovered a second dungeon. The other two vouchers were an enhancement voucher and an aptitude voucher. An enhancement voucher could be used to increase the quality of a piece of Gear by one point. Aptitude vouchers were similar except that they increased the stat cap of a person. The one she had was an Uncommon Aptitude Voucher and could increase one’s potential three times.
Elena used the Uncommon Aptitude Voucher on herself and felt a warm celestial light cover her body. Once that light left, Elena opened her system pane to check out her status.
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ELENA PIERCE (LORD)
Class
Discipline
HP
AC
SP
None
None
5/11
6
110/110
Survivability
Lethality
Awareness
Dungeoneering
Exploration
1/2
0/2
0/4
0/3
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0/6
BUILDINGS
Arch of Champions (Low-Grade Camp)
The heart of a Lord’s territory used to summon the spirits of the dead as citizens and soldiers.
Durability
1000/1000
Shield
10
1/1 Built
Tent (Low-Grade)
A simple tent with wooden poles containing some blankets. Provides a place for citizens to rest. Can house four people at a time.
Durability
10/10
Shield
1
4 Built
Tent (Standard-Grade)
A large tent with wooden poles containing cots, small lockers, and a table. Provides a place for citizens to rest and relax. Can house ten people at a time.
Durability
20/20
Shield
2
1 Built
Command Center (Low-Grade Tent)
A large tent with a desk for the Lord and a large command table filled with maps. All territory activities can be directed from the Command Center.
Durability
50/50
Shield
5
1/1 Built
SKILLS
Basic Quarterstaff Fighting (Lvl 1)
Provide proficiency with quarterstaffs, removing the untrained damage penalty.
White Common
Meditation (Lvl 1)
Increase Stamina regen by 100% when meditating.
White Common
Hellish Resistance (Lvl 1)
You are born from infernal energies which gives you 10% resistance to both infernal abilities and fire damage.
Green Uncommon
ABILITIES
Heavy Strike (Lvl 1)
Focus your energy for a mighty attack that deals +3 damage.
Cost: 25 Stamina
White Common
GEAR
Monk’s Quarterstaff (Two-Handed)
A quarterstaff that has a 2% chance to stun for half a second.
Durability: 15/25
Damage
2d4
Type
Bludgeoning
Quality
5/5
Green Uncommon
Thornmail (Body Armour)
A piece of iron armor that provides +2 Armor and deals 1 damage to any enemy that attacks the wearer.
Durability: 25/25
Quality
3/5
Green Uncommon
Vorpal Helm (Hat)
An iron helmet covered in spikes that provides +1 Armor and +1% critical strike chance.
Durability: 25/25
Quality
2/5
Green Uncommon
Ethereal Gauntlets (Gloves)
A pair of semi-transluscent metal gauntlets that provides +1 Armor and +1 unarmed damage.
Durability: 25/25
Quality
2/5
Green Uncommon
Cloak (Cape)
A tough cloth cloak that provides +1 Armor.
Durability: ∞/∞
White Common
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Elena smiled with satisfaction. Her system pane was much more respectable than this morning. Although none of her combat stats had their potential increase, her Awareness potential had increased by three and her Exploration potential had increased by five! Overall, it was a good draw.
Elena looked down at the final voucher in her hand: the enhancement voucher. The smart decision would be to enhance one of her pieces of Green Uncommon Armor and if any of them had a quality of four she would have done so. However, she really wanted to know what a perfect quality ten Blue Rare piece of equipment looked like.
With a heart full of anticipation, Elena ripped the enhancement voucher over Eclipse. The paper turned into gold powder which floated down to Eclipse and then fused into the blade, when it did, Eclipse gained a radiant golden luster that melded harmoniously with its glowing blade, creating the illusion that it had a halo, making it true to its namesake.
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ECLIPSE (ONE-HANDED)
A black longsword with a glowing red edge that has a 1% chance to blind an opponent for a second. Provides a single level of the Powered by Darkness Skill, a single level of the Darkvision Skill, and a single level of the Eclipse ability.
Damage
2d6
Durability
50
Type
Slashing
Quality
10/10
Blue Rare
Eclipse (Lvl 1)
Reduce the light in an area of five meters around you by 80%.
Cost: 5 Stamina per second
Green Uncommon
Powered by Darkness (Lvl 1)
Deal +2 damage when you are in the dark, deal -3 damage when you are in direct sunlight.
Green Uncommon
Darkvision (Lvl 1)
Improve vision in low light environments.
Green Uncommon
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Elena nearly used the skill scroll she had set aside there and then. It was a perfect tool for assassins and it made her hands itch. She could almost see herself in the night dropping behind a target and reducing their guards visibility to nothing before killing the target and fleeing. It was a wonderful fantasy, however, she steeled her resolve and left it as it was.
Having finished distributing the loot, Elena sent Malik to hunt beasts. The territory was running low on pelts and only he had the strength to hunt solo. She also sent Carmen to supervise Wood collection in the copses right outside the Novice Barrier. The rescued civilians had little Stamina but they didn’t need it to gather Wood. This would also be their last chance to safely gather outside the Novice Barrier before monsters spawned tonight.
Elena spent the rest of her evening training her cold weapon skills. Although she’d performed well in the dungeon, her skills were still rusty after years of disuse. She practiced with both her quarterstaff and with Eclipse. Although she wasn’t able to bring out its full strength without proficiency, playing around with it was fine.
The Infirmary was finished being built an hour before the day ended. When it did, Elena stopped training and went inside. She was now at four Health and every point of Health she lost was another day she was combat ineffective.
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INFIRMARY
A large tent filled with cots and medical equipment. Injured citizens can receive first aid here to stabilize an injury.
Low-Grade Medical Tent
Durability: 40/40
Shield: 4
WORKERS
Doctor
[None]
Nurse
[None]
FACILITIES
First Aid Station Lvl 1
A place for nurses to receive and treat the sick and injured. Employs one Civilian as a Nurse.
Cost: 5 Wood and 1 Iron
0/1 Built
Sick Bed Lvl 1
A place for injured citizens to rest and restore Health.
Healing Rate: 1 Health per night
Cost: 2 Wood and 1 Pelt
0/6 Built
UPGRADE
A massive tent filled with cots and medical equipment. Injured citizens can receive first aid here to stabilize an injury.
Durability
80
Shield
8
Cost
24/15 Iron
138/10 Wood
4/10 Pelts
Build Time
3 hours
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Elena immediately built the Nursing Station and a Sick Bed, then called Maria over and set her to be the Nurse. Once that process was complete, Maria performed first aid, removing the Bleeding status effect from Elena.
Elena set up a schedule for Maria to treat each of the rescued Civilians. They were taking turns building and were currently working on upgrading the Tent that would become the Canteen. There was still an hour left before nightfall and Elena refused to waste any time.
She continued to train until Malik returned ten minutes before the night started. Elena redeemed the various Loot Tokens he’d collected for Pelts and Meat which she used to build the Bed Facilities in the Tents so that there would be enough for her Citizens to sleep in for the night.
By the time night fell, the Tent upgrade had finished and the Canteen specialization had started. Unfortunately the Civilians couldn’t work in the dark but that was fine. First aid only took five minutes so Maria had been able to treat all of the rescued civilians before nightfall. They had also all been fed a meal, so when they woke up tomorrow they would be at full strength.
Elena stayed up a while longer after nightfall so she could watch the stars. Elena had lived in cities her whole life and never seen the stars without light pollution. It was a cloudless, moonless night and the sky was a kaleidoscope of bright colors. Green rivers split the sky in half as red dots scattered the landscape. As expected, Elena couldn’t find a single star she recognized. Wherever she was, she was a long way from Earth.
She wasn’t even sure if the afterlife existed in a space relative to the one Earth was. Neither was Malik or any of her other Citizens. Maybe she would only be able to understand once she stood at the top of this world. Maybe then, when she looked at the stars, instead of looking up at them and feeling small, she would look down at them like ants crossing a sidewalk.
A vicious howl broke Elena out of her reverie. It was followed by dozens of others, and not just howls. There were shouts, roars, screeches, and bellows. It would seem like Malik hadn’t exaggerated the dangers of the night. Elena took one last look at the night sky, then entered the Infirmary to sleep on the Sick Bed.
Thinking back on the day, her first one in the afterlife, Elena couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so carefree and happy. She’d spent her whole life dedicated to her career. Dedicated to what others wanted. Someone for others to control. Now she did things for herself and controlled others. It was a nice change of pace. Maybe dying was the best thing that had ever happened to her.