Chapter 3 – 1st Floor Completion

Finally putting up with all that pain paid off.

[Pain Tolerance: The ability to endure pain caused to the individual. Higher levels allow the individual to deal with higher levels of pain]

[Currently it is LV 1. Benefits will open at LV 5.]

“Oh, thank god, finally.”

I could feel the sweat running down my face, but I smiled as I saw the words. I have never been a fan of pain and any way to limit the amount I feel in the future would be wonderful. As I was glad over my newest acquisition yet more pop-ups appeared in front of me.

[Use the command prompt ‘check talent’ to show the list of talents that you currently possess.]

[Use the command prompt ‘check status’ to show the current capabilities of your abilities.]

“Check talent.” Then the words ‘Mental Mapping’, ‘Sneak’, and ‘Pain Tolerance’ appeared. Next. “Check Status.”

Name:

Alex

Surname:

Cooper

Occupation

None

Title

None

Stats

Strength

4

Intelligence

7

Dexterity

5

Constitution

4

Charisma

4

Magic

0

Traits: Asperger’s(Genetic)

So, I can either say check status or just focus on that icon in the rightmost part of my vision. As I was mulling over my status and what each thing could mean I got even more pop-ups.

[A person’s status is the numerical equivalent of various attributes of the persons being. Each status represents a different part of the characteristics that make up an individual.]

[To check to see the description of each stat please think or say the words Status Description.]

 [For the current human race, the adult standard of each stat maxes out at 10 whereas the average is 5.]

[Traits are special traits unique to the individual that can have special effects that alter either an individual’s stats or provide bonuses/demerits.]

“Ha.”

I couldn’t help laughing. Despite the fact that my chest looks like a spit roast.

I struggled alone in an unfamiliar environment. I struggled through college trying to better myself and be someone my parents could be proud of. I struggled to learn the excess amount of information I had to learn to succeed in life. I had to struggle against the pressures of adulthood while simultaneously being poor trying to better myself. I even had to struggle against the very institution that was supposed to help me become something more. And finally, those struggles are paying off.

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For the longest time I thought I was a little more special than ordinary people. My mind had always been quicker than those around me, giving me a slightly smug sense of achievement. At least until I entered college. Then I found out how subpar I really was.  “Special. Hah, how ridiculous.” However, that was then. Now I had the dungeon. I could improve myself above anything humanity has ever produced. I could improve anything lacking I had. I could sharpen my skills to become the best.

If I didn’t have a skill, then I could get it.

 Endurance and willpower. I was quickly discovering that those traits would be the key to my new world. Only through endurance and willpower would I improve.

I guess the old saying was coming true. No pain no gain.

[Pain Tolerance. LV 1. 39/100]

Originally the pain from being stabbed several times hadn’t disappeared. Rather, it seemed to be getting even worse than before. However, the feeling returned to other parts of my body. The pain was so bad that other parts of my body couldn’t move properly.

But that was before I received Pain Tolerance.

Now, I still suffered the pain in my chest but their sensations in the other parts of my body were different. My body seemed to be able to move more easily than usual. The shaking in my legs seemed to have stopped. It almost felt like the pain wasn’t allowed to leave the area of the injury.

[Pain Tolerance. LV 1. 51/100]

Maybe I went crazy due to the pain. Only a short time had passed, yet the rise in ability was enormous. And it seemed to have awoken something inside me. An almost obsessive need to become better.

‘There is no feeling of death. My vision hasn’t started to fade. Once that happens I will toss myself down the steps.’ I can endure. I can withstand it.

[The level of a skill has risen.]

[Pain Tolerance LV 1 -> LV 2.]

Finally, it increased.

I sat by the wall next to the exit thinking about how to power level Pain Tolerance. Level two required 100 points while level 3 needed 200. I had that thought and opened my eyes.

[Pain Tolerance. LV 2. 14/200]

Wasn’t it rising more slowly than before?

It might be due to the level up. But I didn’t feel like my Mental Mapping talent became slower after reaching level two. The limit had been raised from 100 to 200 so it wasn’t right that the rate should reduce.

Perhaps… Although it had been very painful for a while, I had now grown accustomed to the sensation. Did the experience slow down because the pain I felt was lessened? So, in order to increase my skills, I need to constantly have stronger sensations?

“…”

The solution was clear. I just didn’t know if I could put it into action. But one thing was clear, this was going to hurt like a son of a bitch.

I turned and had my back facing the exit. I even scooted back some so that I would hopefully fall in if anything happened to me. Then I took a deep breath.

 “… Oh please don’t let me pass out from this.”

My legs were shaking with the thought of what I was going to do. This was the craziest thing I would ever do. Ever.

I laughed and with a yell of “Leeerrooy jennnkins” I grabbed the skewer that was in my gut and did something incredibly stupid. I twisted it.

“Ack!”

◎

I briefly lost consciousness.

[Pain Tolerance. LV 4. 792/800]

“Yes… Eu… Ai… g…”

My mouth could barely form sounds. I used every last strength to raise my head.

I was stretched out on the ground, half in half out of the exit. My body was numb and there was a giant pool of blood all around my stomach, leaking down the stairs and soaking my back and hair.

It was dangerous. I had to go down the stairs. There was no strength in my legs. I even smelled urine. It smelled like there was a lot of it. I gritted my teeth and try to lift my arms to pull myself down the rest of the stairs.

There was no sensation anymore in my stomach. In some part of my mind I was wondering why I had stopped gaining experience. But it made sense, no pain no way to become more tolerant to it. How many times had I stupidly decided to twist that spike? I remembered exactly two times. Thank god, I fell backwards so I still had some blood in my brain to keep it going.

No. Stop thinking about it. I didn’t want to think about it.

I didn’t want to think about it.

I wouldn’t think about it.

Go down the stairs quickly!

I struggled before finally being able to raise my hands over my head and started looking for a step to grab onto to help pull me the rest of the way down the stairs.

Finally, I managed to get a grasp of a step beneath my head as I started to slide down the stairs on my back. However, pulling myself down the steps sent a flare of pain just as strong as when I twisted the spikes inside me. All I could think of while I slipped into unconsciousness was how nice it would be to wake up from this bizarre dream.

[1st floor cleared. 10 Dungeon Points have been awarded. 50 dungeon points have been awarded for mapping entirety of the first floor. For completing the first trial, memories and body will be scanned to create unique trait for participant.]

[Unique trait has awakened.]

[Now distributing skill points acquired in trial. Skill points have been distributed.]

◎

The first thing I did when I opened my eyes was look at my stomach. It was completely fine. It was like it had never been skewered in the first place. In a daze, I looked at the clock. It was 8 in the morning. All those hours in the dungeon and only 8 had passed in reality.

“Ah…”

I got up from the bed and stretched to loosen my tense muscles. Everything was the same as it had been before I went to sleep. Not only my stomach and chest, but the small scrapes on my body and the dirt and urine on my clothes were all cleaned.

Was it cleaned? Or had I even been dirty in the first place?

The windows opened very easily. The morning scenery spread out, telling me that this moment was reality. How could I tell if last night was real?

It was as simple as opening the window. I opened my mouth.

“Check status.”