Day 19, 2:00 AM

Funny story. I leveled up. My arm’s a mess, and whoever came up with the idea of crossing lampreys with octopuses and blenders must have also had an insane level up condition.

I limp away from the thirty-seventh floor, alive only because Rage kicked in after I lost most of my left arm to the said blender. My heart is slogging away, trying its best to keep me alive while short a bucket of blood. Tough luck. Breathing is getting harder with every passing minute, and no matter how much my body tries, my mad brain has decided it’s time to end things.

Somehow, I reach the bottom of the stairs. I step off, and a mantis shrimp from hell flies at me like an arrow loosed from a bow. The psychedelic dancing colors of its massive carapace boxer gloves make for one hell of a last sight, ruined by the teeth, spikes, and one of the creepiest sets of eyes I’ve ever seen.

The sucker brains me like a cannonball, killing me so fast I don’t even register the pain, let alone the Vengeful explosion following the failure of my heart.

I open my eyes. Two weeks ago, I was asleep, huddled at the base of a tree. My heart is sprinting, as if overjoyed it has blood to pump once more.

Afraid Edna is watching, I shift into a more comfortable position and close my eyes once more. I summon BSD with a thought, and just as expected I’m a level zero weapon master.

What killed me? Other than myself.

I consider the suicide delve, analyzing the monsters I’ve fought. The real answer is no single opponent. Or more precisely, what killed me was my mad rush down the levels. Some of the later monsters were certainly terrifying, and the golden guide’s rewards of two attribute points, while enticing, aren’t enough for me to throw away my life like this again.

The real question is why did I get that reward? Who are the “we” behind the dungeon?

Edna said the dungeon is designed to drain life force from the trapped wormlords and bestow it upon the delvers. Maybe I would have believed it if not for that “we”. Did the spell create those “we”, or have they come to power later? One possibility is the wormlords gaining control over the spell, the other is dungeons becoming sentient, or there could be a third party, or the ancient archmages who created the spell had somehow linked their consciousness or lives to the dungeons or the system.

Ultimately, it’s pointless speculation, but I should assume the ones behind the system have their own agenda. A healthy dose of paranoia says they are malicious and out to destroy me for their own benefit. Which gives birth to another question. Do I activate the Guide or not?

Free attribute points are one heck of a carrot to dangle before me, ensuring the kids, Fred included, survive and return home safely is almost just as big. So, yeah, I’m going there. Edna has activated her own Guide, she has had it for decades, if the inquisition had somehow hijacked it, they would’ve burned her alive by now. And objectively, if it’s the wormlords, they would have conquered the world or at least escaped the confines of their dungeons.

I’m still somewhat worried, but my BSD screen didn’t show any odd statuses after I activated the Guide, so, I guess it should be fine.

I hate this life. Not this one in particular, but why can’t I reincarnate as an office worker who suffered a heart attack or something? Live a life of comfort and luxury. But I guess, you don’t get something like that as a punishment after slapping the person in charge of your reincarnation opportunities.

I toss and turn in half sleep, a part of it honest expression of my feelings, but most of it a show for Edna. Finally, I get up around three in the morning, two hours before I set off the last time and start practicing slashes with my dagger.

I can hardly see anything, but what’s important is the feeling. How the knife rests in my hand, its balance, how the air sounds as I slash and stab. About an hour later, I get a notification that I’ve gained the initial level of proficiency with knives and daggers.

I switch to the staff, and it takes five minutes before I push the skill to advanced, but the predawn hour comes and expert level of proficiency remains beyond my reach. I let history unfold as it should, repeating the conversations to the best of my ability, which given my wisdom and intellect means I do a near-perfect repeat, changing my skill choices slightly to accommodate for what I know about my future level up condition. Not taking Advanced Swordsmanship in favor of Initial Axmanship hurts a bit. I could’ve gotten that skill, if only I had an ax. Not advancing dagger mastery to gain an Initial Flailmanship, on the other hand, doesn’t hurt at all and grants me the eighth weapon proficiency I needed.

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“Why were you showing off?” Lucy asks, following the script. “You obviously could’ve just stabbed it with the sword right from the start.”

I’m about to reply, but a level up notification appears the moment I choose Blunt Weapons Master, devouring my full intention.

[You have leveled up.

Select a skill within sixty seconds or a random one will be assigned to you.

Battlefield Mastery - Your control over the battlefield is uncanny.

Fearsome Presence - Wielding weapons you are proficient with intimidates your opponents.]

My eyes go wide. I half expected I’d get a ticket to Grandmaster Staffmanship. It would have done nothing to improve this life, but it would allow me to start every future life as the master of the staff. And I must admit, I would have chosen it over either of these two options, but they make for excellent consolation prizes.

My mind races. Do bugs feel fear? Probably. But if they don’t, the latter skill is a pure waste. However, if they do, fear is a weapon much more potent than having an uncanny control over the battlefield.

I’m tempted, greatly tempted to take Fearsome Presence. But what of undead, which I have seen in my previous life? What of mutated monsters created through magic? If I was the one who created them, I would certainly remove something as useless as fear, it would make them poor servants and poorer fodder.

The gold screen appears, warning me there are mere twenty seconds to make the decision, but I’ve got enough of an argument to make my choice.

Battlefield Mastery, I think at the Guide, and both screens disappear, only for the blue one to reappear.

[You have leveled up.

Select a skill within sixty seconds or a random one will be assigned to you.

Never Flanked - Your opponents have a difficult time flanking you when you wield a weapon with which you have advanced or higher proficiency.

Always Ready - You instinctively block surprise attacks when you are holding a weapon with which you have advanced or higher proficiency.]

Two levels at once? I’m stunned, but my high mental stats just steamroll the feeling, and I focus on my options. Both are great for dungeon delving. The first helps me when I’m surrounded, the second when a spider tries to decapitate me, or a mantis shrimp tries to blast my head into pieces.

I like them. I like them both. But I can avoid getting flanked by being more cautious, while surprise attacks are a nasty thing. Caution helps with those as well, though. I thought I had reached a decision, but a stray thought sent me back to square zero, and I consider the skills and abilities I currently possess.

Surprise attacks and ambushes can instantly kill, while flanking can be avoided with Battlefield Mastery. Seems logical, and I decide to believe that logic is correct. Besides, getting ambushed and sliced by those damn spiders was annoying as hell.

I make my call before the gold flashes and overlaps with blue, then call up my screen to check my stats.

[Name - Fyoor Enchanterson

Class - weapon master level 6

Health 20/20, Strength - 19, Agility - 20, Physique - 20, Wisdom - 28, Intellect - 32, Willpower - 26, Presence - 22, Charisma - 23, Composure - 25

Abilities - Literate, Advanced Calligraphy, Initial Arithmetics, Advanced Herbalism, Advanced Healing, Initial Focus, Initial Appraisal, Initial Woodland Sense, Initial Emergency Treatment, Initial Poison Tolerance, Master Rider, Uncanny Nose, Master Staffmanship, Initial Spearmanship, Initial Swordsmanship, Advanced Clubmanship, Initial Knifemanship, Initial Axmanship, Advanced Flailmanship, Advanced Slingmanship, Blunt Weapons Master, Battlefield Mastery, Always Ready

Attribute points remaining - 2

To level up, get advanced proficiency with five weapon categories.

Statuses - none ]

The level up condition is brutal, but given the skills I have available, I’d say it’s justified. Besides, a glance at my skills tells me Blunt Weapons Master pushed me eighty percent there, with just one more skill to push to advanced, but it could be a mountain beyond my reach.

I invest a point into strength, pushing it up to twenty, and consider what to do with the final point.

Practice what you preach. I praised Lucy for hoarding her spare points, so I’ll keep a spare point there. The next big question is do I abandon weapon master for good, or do I try to level up again?

“Hey Griff, I asked why were you acting like such a showoff?”

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you. I got a level…”