Sweat dripped from my brow.

Since my goggles were suctioned over my eyes, I could see fine. Unfortunately, my mouth was full of gritty sand freely flowing in the area from the large amount of activity. My nose was nearly clogged due to the sand, but I continued to fight.

The final root fell to the ground with an earth-shaking thud. The other roots had already stopped moving, succumbing to the urchins' toxins. I feared that the final root wouldn't be able to get back up. The two large Tree Urchins were still busy striking the base of the Trunctopus, and I was worried I wouldn't be able to take them both out.

Except for one or two injured urchins, there were no more to speak of. I was eyeballing the large urchins and trying to devise a plan for them when one root stuttered back to life. Slowly it rose into the air, shaking as it did. I didn't think it would get another chance.

The root rose to its full height before collapsing. Instead of falling straight, it seemed to go limp as it fell like a wet noodle. The root's aim was good as it fell directly onto one of the large urchins.

Unlike the smaller ones, the large one wasn't entirely flattened by the weight of the appendage. As the wood struck the urchin, two of the black spikes pierced cleanly through. The root's weight crushed the rest of the urchin, but the remaining spikes stuck out from either side. The other urchin didn't stop attacking the trunk. It continued rolling backward and forward repeatedly, and the last root didn't rise again.

I circled around to the side of the trunk opposite the urchin and jumped onto the flattened portion. As I pulled myself up, I nearly fell from fright. In the trunk's center was a large beak, like an actual octopus. I was surprised that I actually got the association correct. I was also relieved that it wasn't positioned elsewhere, such as where it could have bitten my hand off if I jumped up in the wrong area.

Once I was standing up there, I felt much better about my plan. I reached behind my back and pulled a short shaft of wood from my belt loop. On one end of the stick was a sharpened rock that I found along the dried creek bed as I walked. I crammed it into the top of the stick and secured it with some extra leather straps I had.

I planned to hack away at the top with my makeshift axe, hoping to do anything I could. With the apparent mouth opened to me, I had a definitive target. If my axe didn't work, I would cram my spear down its gullet. I thought about doing that anyway, but I wanted to test my handy work.

I slammed down the axe right on the beak of the Trunctopus. It was made of solid material because it turned the stone axe away when they connected. Instead of the beak, the axe sunk into the soft wooden flesh right next to it.

The beak was closed the whole time until I struck it. Then it opened and screamed. It was shrill, and I saw a black tongue flailing inside. I managed six more strikes before the axe broke with the head stuck inside.

A pool of green blood was ringing the mouth, but it still opened and closed. I picked up my spear and started stabbing it in time with the opening and closing of its mouth. I had no idea how to actually kill the monster, so I just did what I could.

My attacks, coupled with those of the giant Tree Urchin, finally did the trick. The considerably sized mouth of the Trunctopus that I had repeatedly been stabbing eventually stopped moving. That by itself wouldn't have caused me to stop, but the Tree Urchin that was also attacking abruptly stopped as well.

I didn't want to miss a chance at a tactical advantage. So I pulled my spear free and moved to the edge of the trunk. The urchin was too short to reach it easily from my perch. It was also slowly moving away. I hoped I wasn't making a colossal mistake, but I leaped off without any more thought.

I flew toward the large Tree Urchin with my spear high above my head. My goggles highlighted the monster in red but did little more to help me, but it was enough to keep me focused. As I reached the urchin, I thrust down and used my weight and momentum to drive my spear into its body.

My spear hit its hard carapace, and for a split second, I feared it would break and not pierce its protective shell. But it didn't stop at the resistance and continued to drive downward. My spear pushed its way through the middle as my feet touched the ground. Unsure of its capabilities or if I killed it, I continued forcing the spear into the urchin.

The weapon popped out of the other side with a crack, and I heard liquid begin draining on the dried lake floor. I left the spear in the monster as I stepped back and away. Its spikes had become dangerously close to me, and I wanted to get as far away from them as possible. Considering a prick from a small urchin could numb my whole arm, one from that creature would probably kill me.

I took a few steps back and waited. I didn't know what else to do to clear the dungeon. I had no idea if the large urchin was genuinely dead. There could be a small urchin that was still alive that I needed to kill. I wouldn't know if the Trunctopus was dead or if there was another monster I had to kill to clear the dungeon. But one thing I did know was that I was exhausted.

So I just sat down and waited.

Five minutes passed when finally something changed.

The world started to shake, but when I turned around to get my feet under me, I realized it wasn't the whole world. It was just what I was seeing. I belatedly realized that I had left my bag at the edge of the lakebed before I started my plan. I jumped up to get it. That was when the world changed from shaking to everything visible, stuttering in and out.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Suddenly the edge of the world darkened, and I could feel energy being sucked inward. It felt like all the area's energy was coalescing on my position. The pressure pressed down from every angle while the world continued darkening into a single pinprick. I thought I was going to be crushed. I closed my eyes as it became unbearable.

Then it was released.

I opened my eyes. I was back in the real world right where I entered the dungeon. The area was still ringed with bushes, and it didn't look like it had changed.

The pack I had left on the edge of the dried lakebed was next to me. To my surprise, my bent spear was there too. The wooden spear I had made was still in my hand, but when I looked around, I saw no sign of my broken axe.

The sun was low in the sky. It created long shadows on the ground. I was still in the hills, so I knew it wasn't as late as it appeared, but that also confused me.

Based on how long I was in the dungeon, it should have been either the middle of the night or closer to morning. I wondered if I was in there longer than I thought, and it was the next day. I would need to see if I could find the date and time on my robot to find out.

When I fully realized I was back and wasn't in danger, I switched robot modes. My goggles immediately released the pressure and started connecting to CoreLink and updating.

A connection to the assigned CoreLink node established….

Please wait….

Updating….

"Not again," I grumbled. I expected it to take a long time to complete, but luckily, the process didn't take as long as before.

-Congratulations! Your mission: Assist in the proper Cordoning, Classifying, and Clearing (C3) of a De Unstable Geospatial Node (DUnGeoN) detected in your area has been completed.

-Attention: All actions have been recorded by your robot. A report will be sent up to the nearest cluster for analysis. Your level of participation will be noted. A higher-level administrator will contact you for more information if needed.

-Attention! Large amounts of ambient De have been detected from the release of a De Unstable Geospatial Node (DUnGeoN) in your area. Do you wish to collect available De? Y/N

"Yes." I didn't understand why it was even asking me this. I couldn't imagine anyone not wanting to, but the system wouldn't do it if I didn't respond.

-Please wait while additional ambient De is collected.

Just as it did after I defeated the Brownie-Spider, a long bar appeared across my entire vision. It started to fill from left to right with a green color. I remembered that it filled the first time quickly, but after waiting a few seconds, I could see that it would take longer. I sat down to wait as the bar filled. When it was done, a ding sounded in my head with an accompanying buzz.

My message screen started to move again. I was momentarily flabbergasted at the information I was reading. The amount of De I absorbed from the dispersed dungeon was unbelievable.

I wasn't the best at math, and I wasn't able to figure it out. But I guessed it would have taken me months of living in the wilderness while constantly using my robot to get to that point. I almost died in the dungeon, but if I could reap similar rewards, I would have to find more to clear.

-Congratulations! Your compatibility has reached 3.8%. Increased boons and/or functions detected. Would you like to view them now? Y/N

"Yesss," I bemoaned.

-Robotic Companion updates-

- 3.8% compatibility reached.

-New/Increased boons detected.

-Boon status: Passive

-Once the registered user reaches a compatibility of 0.1%, using the robot in Symbiotic Mode grants a +1 modifier to attack and defense statistics. This modifier will increase with every additional percent of compatibility that is increased. Your current modifier is set to + 4.

A modifier of plus four to my attack and defensive abilities was terrific. If I had that when I started the dungeon, I probably could have completed it without pitting the monsters against each other. In reality, I probably couldn't have done that, but I felt as if I could.

If all the other robot users got the bonuses, it was clear why they were so powerful. I, too, had the same boost to my power, although I was still behind for my age. I should have received my robot six months prior, and could have been significantly stronger.

However, before I got ahead of myself, I needed to find out what I would do for the night. There was no way I could make it back to my previous campsite. While the spot I was in wasn't very secure, it was hidden, and I should have been able to hear any creatures making their way through the bushes.

I checked my map to make sure I couldn't find any better places that were close, plus it was nice to use it again. I hadn't realized how much, and quickly, I became used to it. Not seeing anything promising enough to leave the place I was at, I hurriedly set up the area.

"Open Personal Status," I ordered after my area was set up and I had eaten, cleaned and even relaxed for a few minutes. While relaxing, I discovered the clock function on my robot and found that a day hadn't even passed. Only about five hours had passed while I was in the dungeon. It appeared to have some time dilation ability, just like my Augmented Reality program, but it wasn't as much.

-Personal Status -

-Name: Matthew Gearwon

-Class: Regulator

-Robot Compatibility: 3.8%

-Compatibility to next boon: 4.0%

-Compatibility to next function: 5.0%

-Attack: Natural Realm – 7 (+4 in Symbiotic Mode)

-Defense: Natural Realm – 7 (+4 in Symbiotic Mode)

I didn't know what to expect, but it definitely wasn't to see my stats in defense and attack had risen. I just opened my status to give myself a quick overview. Afterward, I was going to do some more research on CoreLink. I decided not to use the Augmented Reality Training Program that night since I was too exhausted from my extended trip into the dungeon.

I wondered if it was from all the exercise and combat I was getting or if it was from the cultivation. I was leaning toward cultivation. I might have a different opinion if it was just my attack ability, but I didn't see how my defense could increase from those things.

I made a mental note to look deeper into the parameters of what made up the attack and defense stats. I didn't feel like doing it that night, though. I was way past my mental and physical limits.

I leaned back on my pack to get more comfortable and opened the CoreLink search to read before I passed out for the night.