Wyatt passed through the room that had the lizard bodies into a hallway, which soon led to another door. Peeking inside, Wyatt saw it was roughly the same size as the last room, but this room didn’t have any lizards. Wyatt walked in carefully, keeping an eye out for any dangers.

Just as he began to relax, Wyatt fell backwards. Something had hit him in the chest, hard. His health hadn’t dropped by much, but he was struggling to get his breath after the sharp blow. Holding his staff in a defensive stance, the mage looked around, but there wasn’t anything else in the room.

Several tense seconds passed, and Wyatt remained on alert. As he tried to stand, he was struck again by the invisible force, this time in his leg. He collapsed to the ground. As he tried to regain his footing, he was hit in the back, and he fell again. This time, he used the momentum of his fall to roll towards the door he had come through, trying to escape. As he tried the handle, he was dismayed to find it was locked.

Wyatt would have to defeat this unseen enemy.

He looked around the room for anything that could give away the position of his attacker. There was a light layer of dust on the floor, and he could see marks all across it, but nothing gave away where the thing was currently.

Then he had an idea. Taking a sharp intake of breath, Wyatt channeled his air magic. He released it while bent low to the ground, causing a cloud of dust to form in the room. He looked around, trying to find where the cloud was disturbed. Finally, on the side of the room, Wyatt could see the faint outline of some kind of four-legged creature.

Not wasting any time, he launched several Rock Spikes towards the outline. Whatever was there wasn’t able to dodge, and Wyatt was rewarded with two satisfying smacks, and the outline dropped to the floor. As soon as it fell, its invisibility ended, revealing a huge chameleon. Each of its four limbs ended in wicked claws, another twisted abomination of an animal from Earth. The creature stood back up and faced the mage.

As soon as it was on its feet, the mouth opened up, and a tongue shot forward at Wyatt. He wasn’t able to react to the lightning quick tongue, and he was knocked onto the ground. Its ploy revealed, the creature ran at the prone mage, thinking he was vulnerable.

The mage, however, was starting to get used to this world. He waited for the creature to get closer, before using Rock Spike, this time causing a large spike to shoot up from the ground. His timing was perfect, and the large lizard couldn’t stop its momentum as it impaled itself on the large spike.

Wyatt stood and readied himself for more enemies. Looking around, he couldn’t see anymore outlines signifying enemies. He had not yet received his experience, so he knew there were more. The rest seemed wary to present themselves to what they originally thought was an easy meal.

There was only one place in this empty room that the enemies could be in. Wyatt picked up a handful of dust, then blew it in the air with a mana infused breath. The dust spread out along the ceiling, revealing two more enemies.

Wyatt, knowing they would attack the moment they were revealed, dove to the side. He rolled to his feet near one of the invisible creatures and swung his staff, holding the end to maximize its reach. It made contact, barely, and his target fell from the ceiling with a thud. With its invisibility gone, it regained its footing quickly and attacked Wyatt with the unnatural claws on its front legs. He deflected with his staff, but the chameleon was much faster than it should have been, and his arms were scratched several times.

Wyatt dodged backwards to regain his composure and prepared for the follow up attack. Instead, he was struck in the back by the other, still clinging to the ceiling and using its tongue to keep him off balance. The mage spun and sent a huge burst of air mana at the barely visible enemy, knocking it off the ceiling and into the far wall. Its invisibility dropped, and it seemed stunned. Wyatt turned to face the first just in time to see its claw coming in for a strike. Wyatt blocked and dodged to the side, spinning his staff with the momentum of the block before swinging for the back of the creature’s head.

The chameleon stumbled forward, giving Wyatt enough time to send a spike into its back. It fell, unmoving, and the human turned his attention back at the last enemy. It had regained its footing, and stared at Wyatt, it’s strange chameleon-like eyes darting around.

Wyatt used the creature’s hesitation to cast Daze, then charged. With a swing of his staff, he cracked its skull, then hit it several more times until he received the combat notification.

Combat Report

You have slain:

Dire Chameleon x3

Rewards:

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Experience earned

Your skills have leveled up:

Earth Magic – Level 6

Perception – Level 4

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Wyatt looked at his status. His health had dropped by half, and his mana and stamina were even lower. He was surprised he gained a level in earth magic, seeing as how he had just earned a level in the last battle. Since the system clearly could tell when he was in a dire situation – an assumption made obvious by the reports he received after combat – he deduced it would be easier to gain skill levels when using them during combat, as opposed to just practicing. Still, Wyatt was glad he had spent the time training his skills. With his reaction time what it was, he wasn’t able to properly employ his Shift ability, but his training with the staff had helped him greatly.

If only I could learn from someone that knew what they were doing.

Wyatt began to feel the pang of loss in his chest and buried the feeling as he stood and checked the door he had come through. It was unlocked, and Wyatt felt the system was at work here. He turned back towards the opposite exit and continued through the dungeon.

The next room was different than the last two. It was long and narrow, with a deep pit spanning the entirety of the room. The only floor he could see was the ledge he stood on and one on the opposite side of the room. Looking over the ledge, Wyatt couldn’t see the bottom of the pit and decided not to fall into it.

He looked around, trying to figure this room out. If this is anything like a game dungeon, Wyatt thought, then this room would have some kind of puzzle. Looking at the opposite wall, Wyatt could see what looked like a target sitting a few feet above the ledge. Is it that easy?

Wyatt used Rock Spike, sending the projectile across the gap and hitting the center of the target. The ground began to shake, and a bridge descended on cables from the ceiling, stopping when it attached perfectly to the ledges on either side.

This room probably existed to test the archers of the group. Given that this dungeon was supposed to be beaten by an entire party, even multiple parties, Wyatt assumed he would have to face a multitude of monsters and tests designed for the various types of classes. Trying to beat this dungeon solo would be a daunting task.

The next room looked similar to the tower room. It was large and circular, but there wasn’t any apparent exit aside from the one he came through. The entire wall appeared to be a mural, telling a story as it circled the room. As Wyatt stared at it, it began to move, until he realized he was no longer in the room.

Wyatt looked out upon a young world, full of wild lands and creatures. He saw strange animals he had never seen before, roaming forests of plants unknown to him. Above, there were shapes in the skies and as he watched, they began to fill his vision, as his body seemed to now hover among them.

Dragons, he thought idly, as the massive, winged lizards flew gracefully by. They seemed to interact with one another, showing their intelligence even now in what had to be the early years of this planet.

Suddenly the scene shifted. Prompts appeared all around Wyatt, some pointing to objects as if he had used his analyze skill, while others showed combat reports above the bodies of animals.

Then he heard a loud roar and turned to see dragons locked in combat. They fought, destroying each other and the land beneath them. Huge gouts of flame tore whole swaths of forest apart, while the animal inhabitants attempted to flee only to run into trees and rocks in the process.

It reminded Wyatt of the scene at the gas station, as he saw humans trying to outrun the messages suddenly appearing in their vision. The ensuing chaos would have been much worse, he could imagine, as information overload created accidents and led others to insanity.

The scene changed and the dragons now stood upon the ground, side by side. Hundreds of them, surrounded by the strange creatures of the land. Before them were ten motes of light, varying in color and intensity. The lights moved between the assembled creatures, touching them each. As they did so, they seemed to relax, and Wyatt could see the messages begin to disappear.

No, not disappear, become organized. These motes of light were bringing order to the system.

Then, the ten lights gathered in the sky into a circle, and their light shone brighter. Within them, a familiar prompt appeared.

World integration Commencing…

Am I witnessing the first world being integrated into this one? Is it being caused by those lights?

Wyatt watched in silent amazement as the world seemed to grow, and new land appeared in what was once an ocean. It sprang to life as if time was flying by, and soon grass began to grow, then trees and eventually animals.

He stood before a cave, unsure when the scene had changed, seamless as this surreal experience was. The cave was similar to his own tutorial cave, and he looked within. Soon, a humanoid stepped out and into the light of its new world.

Wyatt stood eye to eye with what he hated most. His anger came unbidden to the surface as he stared into the deep golden eyes of an elf.

Then, just as soon as it had appeared, the vision was gone.

Wyatt was standing in the center of the circular room again. He looked back at the intricate mural on the wall, but the delicate carvings remained motionless.

That gives me a little insight on the system. This dungeon might exist to give the newly integrated humans a history of the world they’re joining.

Wyatt ran his fingers along the mural briefly, contemplating what he just saw. When he was finished, he wondered briefly where he had to go next. His answer came when he stepped back out into the hallway. A set of stairs appeared just outside the circular room, leading downward.

Well, at least I know where to go.

Wyatt looked again at his status menu. His stamina had filled relatively quickly, but his mana and health were still on the low side. He assumed the next level would be even more difficult than this one and decided to head back to the tower to rest.