I woke up and pulled the shirt I was using as eye mask off my face. It had taken a while to get used to the white noise from the constantly running water, but now it helped me sleep. I felt refreshed. I still had problems sleeping with the light of the flame burning that brightly, hence the eye mask. Today was going to be a big day. I threw the covers of my bedroll back and flipped off of the pedestal. I ran into the cold shower and scrubbed myself with the last of the bar of soap laying on the stone shelf. I was going to need to get some soap. I could have heated the water in the tub with stones but it took forever. A cold shower was not pleasant, but it was quick and effective.
I toweled off and took a pair of clean underwear down from the clothes line in front of the air vent. I got the pocket mirror out of my bag. I touched the magical shaving tool to my face and watched the stubble disappear. I got dressed and made my way to the Divine Helpdesk.
“Play my favorite concert by that guy...Arno Seferanol.” The music swelled and filled the chamber, giving me some mood music to work with. Elfandrael didn't have anything like classic rock or EDM, the types of music I preferred to listen to. They did have some reed instruments that sounded like a saxophone. That would have to replace the sound of a guitar solo played through an overdriven tube amp, until I got some audio illusion Spells. There were some orchestral arrangements with flutes, trumpets, and drums to cover my EDM needs. Back to the grind. I had one more Quest to finish so I could Level up.
The Sanctuary Sentinel was one of the few repeatable quests. Of the 910, Questgivers only a few were useful to me. I already finished the Quest at the pedestal. The Questgivers at the end of the tunnels were all for people who wanted to take Holy Orders and Clerical Classes. I couldn't take Quests from the [Evil] or [Chaotic] Questgivers. Even some of the [Good] Quests were useless to me. Sure, I get could the Quest to kill the [Evil] giant spider beast at the end of the tunnel of [Chaotic Evil], but I couldn't kill the creature to finish the Quest and collect the rewards. I was left with Quests for [Lawful Good], [Neutral Good], [True Neutral], and some of the [Chaotic Good] and [Lawful Neutral] Quests. The Sanctuary Sentinel Quest was repeatable daily and paid out a copper piece too.
The small glowing ball of light directed me to kill the Acid Slime as always. I check my HUD. My Health and Stamina were at 100%. My Mana was at 100% at 11 points, but it didn't matter. None of my Spells could use it right now. One of the advantages to taking a Spell at level 0 was that you could cast if for 0 Mana, but I couldn't put extra Mana into the Spell until after I reached Level 1.
I charged into the room with the Acid Slime and cast [Local Portal] as as the beast started shambling my way. A dimension rift opened directly under the slime causing it start falling immediately. It tried to fight from slipping through the hole. That was its mistake. The portal only stayed open a second. That wasn't enough time for it get free before the [Space] Magic closed and cut it half. The second part of the slime fell from the where other half of the portal had been off to my side. That didn't kill it yet. I had to smash the core of the slime with my pole before the death notice popped up.
You have killed and Acid Slime. You gain 15 XP.
You gain a a [Law Karma Point] and a [Good Karma Point] for killing an Acid Slime
Ding!
Congratulations! You have Reached Level 1. You gain +1 [Statistic Points]. You are Eligible to
Congratulations! You have completed the Quest Welcome to Elfandrael. You may now leave the Dungeon. You may also stay in the Dungeon. Warning! If you reach Level 2 while in this Dungeon, all creatures will be released from their cells. Have fun!
Congratulations! Your hard work and dedication have paid off. You made a plan to develop your Class which required [Limit Breaking] all of your base Statistics before reaching Level 1. You were isolated and alone in a Dungeon. It required many times the the normal effort to reach Level 1. This marks significant personal growth of your soul. Hidden Quest Rewards: 10% XP to next Level, 10 [Law Karma Points], and gain a [Spirit Attribute Point].
I had planned to stick around the Dungeon, but it was good to know I needed to leave before level 2. I was going to do that anyway, but this clearly was motivation to get into Elfandrael. I pulled up my [Status]
[Status] Name: Eric Niall Swindall Title: Honorable Hero Health: 34/34(100%) Race: Human Stamina: 11/11(100%) Class: Archwizard Mana: 11/11(100%) Level: 1 Chi: 31/31(100%) XP: 235/2000 0 Attributes Statistics Strength 5 11 Constitution 4 11 Dexterity 5 11 Charisma 3 11 Wisdom 5 11 Intelligence 8 11 Luck 5 11 Spirit 6 12 Willpower 4 11 Alignment [Lawful Good] Magnitude: 19 Path Amplitude Magnitude Karma Points [Good] 16 13 5653 [Balance] 5 0 4905 [Evil] 3 0 2141 [Law] 19 14 8404 [Temperance] 4 0 1819 [Chaos] 5 0 2369 [Boons] [Skills] [HUD Options] [Abilities]
My Spirit Attribute and Statistic both went up by 1. That was unexpected. My Strength and Dexterity Attributes had already gone up from my vigorous new lifestyle, but this was kind of neat. It was unexpectedly satisfying too. Having the System describe all the effort I had put in made me realize how hard I'd actually worked for it. I still needed to wait though. I had to finish a special Quest and get one specific Boon before I could finalize my Class choice. Sadly, I couldn't actually choose my Class yet, but it was simply a matter a visiting the temple now. I was on my way down the path of Wizardry.
Technically I had completed all the hard stuff to be a Druid or a Sorcerer too. Except the Alignment part. You had to have a [Lawful] Alignment to be a Wizard, [Chaotic] Alignment to be a Sorcerer, and some type of [Neutral] Alignment to be a Druid. Those were the major types of advanced Magic casting Classes. Sorcerers ensorcelled. They used Familiars and made true Magical items. Druids made Pacts with Summons. Wizards specialized in Magical devices and Metamagics. All three of those advanced casting Classes could do some of what the others did. I was going to be able to have Familiars and summon creatures, just not as easily or effectively as those other Classes could. There were some features unique to each Class, but on the whole, I would certainly choose Wizard over the rest.
Of course I wasn't even a Mage. I didn't have a Class yet. I stared at all that extra Chi on my Status sheet. The Divine Helpdesk told me it was because I was a [Lawful Good] Aligned person. I would eventually use my Mana to cast Spells, but my natural recovery was very slow at this point. The lowest level of caster, the simplest Mage was more than I was.
Mages were less than Wizards, Sorcerers, and Druids. It was easier to become a Mage, but they were less powerful. [Limit Breaking] Intelligence was needed to be Wizard, Charisma to be Sorcerer, or Wisdom to be Druid. Without the right [Limit Break], the only possible Arcane casting Class was Mage. At the top end though, an Archwizard was more than an order of magnitude more powerful than an Archmage. I was dreaming a little. I got caught up in the moment of my accomplishment. I wasn't even really a true caster yet. Most of my fights ended up with me punching stuff to death. I had nine spells and no real Skills. Right now, I was a Mage of punching.
I rolled the Acid Slime Core out of the thick liquid that had poured out of the creature. I grabbed some dirt off the floor of the cell and covered the core with it to absorb the remaining acid. I picked up the core and headed back to turn the Quest in. As I crossed the main chamber, my favorite part of this piece kicked in. I started banging my head to the music. I did little skip dance, forward then back, forward then back. I sauntered up the Sanctuary Sentinel and the Questgiver menu popped up.
You have an available Quest pending. Do you wish to turn in an Acid Slime Core and claim your rewards?
I signaled yes. The core disappeared and copper coin fell from glowing ball. I snapped it up before it could hit the floor. It's a game I liked to play.
Congratulations on completing the Kill the Acid Slime Quest
Rewards: 10% XP for Level 2, 10 [Law Karma Points], 10 [Good Karma Points], 1 Copper coin
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
As I left, I fell into a gait to match the rhythm of the music. I went to the [Lawful Neutral] hall. Seven doors in and on the right was the underwear store. Most of the Questgivers in the [Lawful Neutral] Hall were in shops. This one had underwear. Briefs, boxers, bathrobes, socks, shirts. It had quite a collection. Colors, patterns, cotton, silk. All of it cost coin, or you could do a Quest. This Quest was repeatable once per week. An Elfandrael Week is 9 days long. One day for each god. Today was Saadisday. Nine days a week, 3 weeks a month, 27 days a month, 14 months a year, 378 days a year. Anyway, it was time to do the Quest again.
The Questgiver was a clothes hamper, if clothes hampers had legs and arms. It sat on stool behind a long countertop. All of the underwear was on shelves behind the counter. I approached the part of the countertop with the cash register. That's when the hamper-thing popped up and asked out loud, “Would you like to buy something?”
Not all Questgivers spoke, but this one did. The top of hamper's body flipped up and down like a giant Muppet when it talked. It couldn't really hold a conversation. I know because I tried. Sixty-three days in this Dungeon by myself and the closest things to talking to someone I had experienced were the responses from the Divine Helpdesk.
“I don't want to buy anything right now. I'd like to do the Quest,” I replied.
The hamper's arms gyrated emphatically, momentarily fluttering jazz hands. It liked to talk with it's hands. “Oh wonderful! That crazy golem is an abomination! I treated that underwear so kindly, and it just decided to up and walk out of here! You will get my underwear back, won't you?”
Clean Up the Dirty Underwear Golem Quest
The Hamper wants you to slay the Underwear Golem in the Chaotic Neutral tunnel. Rewards: XP, Karma, underwear store credit, one copper piece. Will you accept?
I accepted the Quest and made my way back across the main chamber. I could barely hear the music when I reached the right doorway. The grimy Underwear Golem charged at the golden forcefield as soon as it saw me. It bounced off before jumping back to wedge itself into one of the rocky cracks that lined the room. I jumped through doorway and then right back out. The room shifted and the golem made of multicolored underwear winked out of existence and was replaced by a more feminine golem made up of panties and bras.
She picked up a rock and placed it in the bra she was carrying. After spinning it around she hurled a rock at the forcefield. She had turned the titty sling into an actual sling. The male of version of this golem would wedge itself into the cracks in the room and shoot itself at me by stretching its elastic bands. The feminine version was much easier to fight. I waited until she fired another rock at me. Timing was essential. Those rocks hurt. As soon the rock shattered against the forcefield I sprinted at her.
By the time I reached her she had already started to spin the bra again. I cast [Local Portal] directly under her feet and put the exit just to the left of her, about waist high. As usual, she lost control of her make-shift sling and fell through the opening. The portal starting closing and gripped her around her midsection. She struggled mightily, trying to push off the floor to get out of the grip the spatial rift, but it was useless. I started punching her about the head. In a second the [Portal] ate through her last Health Point and she was cut in half. When the two halves of the underwear golem hit the floor they fell apart into piles of dirty women's underwear.
You have killed an Underwear Golem. You gain 10 XP.
You gain a [Law Karma Point] for killing an Underwear Golem
I shook my head at the effectiveness of that spell as I starting pushing the underwear into a bag. It was way overpowered now, but Celestium had told me it wouldn't damage creatures Level 10 and higher. His advice...er...my advice from my future self...was definitely paying off. 'Knowledge is power' but this was a cheat code!
By the time I crossed the domed chamber and headed back to the Questgiver, the tempo of the music had calmed down. I hummed a little bit of it. This music had no vocals. I choose that, so that I wouldn't get distracted by lyrics when I was fighting. This Dungeon had Muzak!
When I stepped back into the shop, the hamper immediately and enthusiastically addressed me, asking, “Do you have my underwear?”
I held up the bag and with a smile said, “Right here.”
The Hamper waved it's hands toward itself in a grabbing motion, and said “Gimme!”
It had been using its lid as mouth to talk, but then it flipped the top open. I had done this Quest before, so I knew to pour the underwear into the opening. Most of the Quests weren't this cutesy, but I guess even a god could get bored enough to create a Dungeon with silliness like this.
“Mmm-mmm,” the Hamper said rubbing it's tummy. “You've been naughty, running away like that, but I'm gonna take care of you now.”
Congratulations on completing the Clean Up the Dirty Underwear Golem Quest
Rewards: 10% XP for Level 2, 10 [Law Karma Points], 1 Copper coin, and 1 Underwear Shop Voucher
I exchanged the voucher for a pair of red silk pajamas that I been wanting on for a while now. The next stop was the soap shop. I did the Quest to Kill the Ember Hog, and collected the ash and lard. [Local Portal] continued to work like a charm. I chose a hand crafted soap with rosemary and rose hips. I exchanged the haunch of the Hog for breakfast in the deli. Yeah, the Dungeon had a deli. The deli had a gather Quest that gave a chef salad with dressing. Pretty tasty.
After breakfast I started knocking out my daily Quests. The first was the Puzzle Quest room. The Quest created a new mechanical puzzle to solve everyday. It was probably suppose to train lockpicking or something. I used my Spell, [Mattersight]. It was functionally X-ray vision at the range of one stride from my head. I used it to look inside the puzzle and figure out how to solve it. Low risk, high reward. The Quest gave XP and a silver piece.
I had gotten use to killing the kobol and gnoll everyday. Those Quests bothered me a little at first, but I was used to it now. It still amazed me how violent my life had come. Cleaning off the blood actually took a lot longer than killing some of those monsters. Next I did the gather Quest for the chef salad. It took a long time, but it had become my daily ritual. The Steel Golem Questgiver in the deli chopped and diced all the ingredients right in front of me. If I hadn't needed to drink from a waterskin, I would have thought that I was at a restaurant back on Earth.
I had decided to wait until I was finished eating before trying to use my Boon. If it failed I didn't want to ruin my meal. I pulled up my [Status] and selected [A Chance at Greatness].
You have activated [A Chance at Greatness].
Select the [Statistic] you would you like to increase.
I selected Luck. The quicker I got my Luck [Statistic] up, the sooner my chances of a [Statistic] Increase would 100%.
There is a 55% chance that if you spend 1000 XP your Luck [Statistic] will permanently increase by 1. Do you wish to spend the 1,000XP?
I selected yes.
So sorry! Your wager didn't pay off. You have spent 1,000 XP and gained nothing. Better luck next time.
I hung my head and slowly shook it side to side. “At least I have something to take my frustrations out on.”
It was kind of weird to be looking forward to the Smack the Sapper Swarm Quest. Voluntarily walking into a swarm of flies would never be fun, but killing them could be therapeutic. The battle with flies required bludgeoning damage. Trying to cut or pierce those pesky bugs was useless. They could just avoid my [Local Portal] Spell. When you did smash those horrid little bugs, their carapaces popped. It was like playing with bubble wrap.
I went back to my room to get my bug armor. It was just some bandages to wrap over my exposed skin. The Sapper Swarm couldn't damage me but they were a potentially deadly enemy. Instead of taking Health Points, they drained Stamina. The Divine Helpdesk told me it was possible that I could die of dehydration if the Sapper Swarm put me to sleep. It wasn't a guaranteed death, but I wasn't going to risk it without taking precautions. I made my way to the bovine Questgiver in the ice cream shop and got the Quest.
The Sapper Swarm was only a few rooms into the [Chaotic Evil] hallway. The goblin and his friends were are as agitated as ever. I rushed into the swamp filled room, so the swarm wouldn't charge the door when they saw me. The buzzing cloud of flies stopped swirling over the stagnant swamp water and quickly flowed toward me. I started backing up and firing off [Force Punch] as rapidly as I could. The crunches and pops made it sound like a really loud bowl of rice crispies. I can't prove I ever got seven with one blow, but I'm pretty sure I did it at least once.
I had to watch my footing so I wouldn't fall in the water. There was just enough room to kite the Swarm. It took almost a minute of the constant barrage from [Force Punch] before the swarm broke up. Now came the dangerous part. I unwrapped the bandages on my left arm and held it out. A quick sting told me my prey had fallen for the trap.
You have been stung by a Sapper Fly. You loose 1 Stamina
I slapped the fly and immediately cast [Recharge Stamina]
You gain 1 Stamina
You have been stung by a Sapper Fly. You loose 1 Stamina
You have been stung by a Sapper Fly. You loose 1 Stamina
You gain 1 Stamina
You gain 1 Stamina
I got those two and cranked my recharge spell. It took about thirty seconds to finish off the last of the swarm. A tinkling sound, like glass or crystal striking each other signaled the end of the fight. The last fly crystallized and dropped to the ground, becoming the core of the collective creature I had just slain.
I picked the core up as I finished topping off my Stamina. [Recharge Stamina] was a great spell. I had taken [Recharge Mana] and [Recharge Chi] as well, even though I didn't need them at this Level. Using my nine [Limit Breaks] at Level 0 to take spells had a couple of advantages. I couldn't put Mana into spells at level 0, so they were free to cast. Because they were Level 0 spells, they automatically had the lowest casting time of one second for me. If I had taken the spells at Level 1 they would have a six second casting time unless Metamagics were used. Level 0 spells were the only spells that could be cast without spending Mana.
Congratulations on completing the Smack the Sapper Swarm Quest
Rewards 10% XP for Level 2, 10 [Law Karma Points], 10 [Good Karma Points], 1 Silver coin, 1 ice cream token
The ice cream was heavenly.