I have no idea what to do, Owen thought as the stairs morphed from earth to rough stone. Entering into an ample open space, Owen drew his sword and examined the area. The walls seemed to be the same stone as the stairs; they seemed large and unnatural. Inspecting the walls gave him insight into how this weird shape didn’t cave in.
Dungeon Stone: An extremely tough and durable mana-infused stone.
“Alright, got some game physics going on here.” Enlarging his Map, he noticed this large room was one of several. There appeared to be multiple pathways from one room to another. Thankfully, with his Map, he knew exactly where the monsters were. Since there were only enemies if he took the left tunnel, Owen started down it while returning his Map to its mini size. Nearing the red dots, Owen was able to make them out as a pair of Gobbo’s. Once they saw him, they began to hiss and, strangely, throw stones at him.
“What the. Fucking assholes.” Owen cursed as he blocked the pathetic projectiles with his shield. “Why are they throwing rocks? They normally charge?” Looking around for something to explain the monster’s strange behavior. Once his eyes glanced over the floor in front of the creatures, Owen saw it. There was dirt and loose rocks in almost an exact 2-foot by 2-foot square. “Ah, so there are traps. Makes sense for a Dungeon.” Once the Gobbos stopped hurling rocks to restock, Owen bent down and scooped one of them up. Throwing it hard, he aimed for the center of the strange dirt patch. With a thud, the area collapsed, revealing a small pit with sharpened sticks.
“Oh, you cheeky little fucks.” Owen said as he began to move towards the Gobbo’s. Snapping out of their surprise, they reverted to their typical tactics of attempting to charge and overwhelm him with numbers. Cutting the two creatures down, Owen watched as they were absorbed into the floor instead of turning into black mist.
Combat Exp gained 25 Rewards: 50 Copper
“Huh, so the Dungeon recycles. I wonder if there’s a respawn time.” As he continued down the path, he entered the next room. At the center sat another pair of Gobbos, fighting over something cooking atop a fire. A quick inspect showed they were both Level 5 Warriors. This would be an excellent time to test my skills, but first, let’s even the odds. With that in mind, he summoned his pistol and shot the nearest Gobbo in the head. With a shriek and a hiss, the other Warrior jumped back and grabbed its stone blade.
“Alright, that’s 30 mana.” Owen said under his breath, “Let’s see if I can actually fight. Bring it on, frog face.” As he taunted the monster, they began slowly circling each other. The creature lashed out with its jagged blade, but Owen swatted it aside with his shield. Owen then tried to slash the creature, but it hopped back just out of reach. After a few exchanges with neither side landing a blow, the Gobbo hissed and spit at his face. Raising his shield, Owen kept it from touching him. Until a searing pain erupted from his side as the creature slashed at him from under his guard.
“YOU LITTLE FUCK!” Owen screamed out as he smashed the monster’s face with his shield. As the creature stumbled to the ground, Owen continued his assault. “Heavy Slash,” with his strike, the creature’s head fell from its shoulders.
Combat Exp gained 80 Skill increase: Assassinate Rewards: 2 Alchemical Big Copper
The User has Leveled Up. STR, END, and VIG have increased by 1. The User has 1 Attribute point available.
“Ahh, fuck,” putting pressure on his hip where the blade struck, Owen ranted, “Well, good to know, Leveling Up doesn’t heal or anything. Fuck where’s that Disinfectant.” Opening the Shop, he confirmed the purchase of the magic tool for 15 Copper. Storing his sword, Owen summoned the magic tool into his hand. It appeared to be a small silver rectangle with an oval-like indent on one face and a small hole on its connecting face. Pushing his thumb into the dent, Owen felt a slight tug on his chest as it began spraying a light mist with his mana. Using his other arm, he lifted his torn shirt and sprayed the mist onto his wound. The burning began to cool as he watched his skin slowly knit itself back together.
“Shit, I need to get a sewing kit. Not to mention some first aid. Another dumb mistake.” As Owen sat and continued to slowly heal himself, he applied his free point to luck as usual. Thinking about it, Owen looked over his Stats.
STATUS Inventory Armory Other Name: Owen Grest Class: Marine Species: Human Level: 5 EXP: 9/305 Health : 305/361 Stamina : 277/351 Mana: 78/146 Stats Strength: 22 Endurance: 19 Dexterity: 17 Vigor: 18 Intelligence: 12 Focus: 12 Faith: 11 Luck 4
“Shit, so that was what,” doing quick math as he slowly watched his Health tick up, “Almost 75 or 80 Damage, shit. Just one of these fuck’s could kill Vesper or anyone else. Note to self: don’t take your eyes off a monster.” Looking at the area, it was now a light scar but still tender to the touch. “Alright, so even though I’m all patched up, maybe my Health is also taking into account blood loss. What were these assholes even fighting over.” Storing away his tool, Owen gingerly made his way to the makeshift campfire. Cooking over the fire was some skewed meat, a quick Inspect giving him his answer.
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Roasted Gust Bunny Skewer: Dice and roasted monster meat. Unseasoned and bland.
“Well, shit, now that I think about it. Those Warriors in the woods were also around a fire. I didn’t even bother to look. So monsters can be starved out, good to know.” Grabbing the skewer and taking a bit, it was indeed gamey and plain. Shrugging, Owen finished the skewer; he noted that the monsters in this room and the walkway he came from still hadn’t respawned. According to his Map, he still had two more of the large rooms to clear out. He did a few stretches until he felt good enough to continue on. None of the walkways toward the next room had any enemies, but one looked blocked off about halfway. Deciding to check out the dead-end, Owen took that path.
“Just gotta keep my eyes out for traps. Actually, I’m pretty far in by now; how is it lit up? Dungeon bullshit, probably, but noted. Need a light source.” Owen couldn’t see anything strange or out of place after reaching the dead-end. Turning around, he returned to the room and down the other path. Oddly, once he could see into the other room, it appeared dark. “What, how is there fog inside a cave?” Owen questioned as he entered the room, “There’s not even an enemy here. Is it traps, then?” Not letting his guard down, Owen slowly made his way into the room. Just as he neared the center of the room, Owen felt a chill run down his back. Spinning around, Owen brought his shield up just in time to block a rough stone dagger. Pushing the creature off, Owen inspected it before it hissed and lept back, disappearing into the fog.
Gobbo Rogue | Level 5
Class: Rogue Species: Gobbo Level: 5 EXP: 40 Stats Strength: 3 Endurance: 1 Dexterity: 7 Vigor: 5 Intelligence: 2 Focus: 2
“Shit. Fucking Rogue,” trying to calm the adrenaline coursing through him, Owen took a deep breath. Think, Owen, Calm down. If you can’t see it, then listen. Then he heard the light sound of footsteps off to his right. Closer and closer, he listened until it stopped; then the chill returned. He was ready this time as he blocked the attack and delivered his counterattack. Slashing at the Rogue, it hissed due to the wound it received, but as soon as it landed, it hurled a jagged stone right at Owen’s face. Instead of trying to block it, Owen instead ducked. This caught the Gobbo by surprise as it tried to lunge in simultaneously. Looking the surprised creature in the face, Owen smirked as he crashed his shield into its skull before delivering a deep slash to the monster’s unarmored chest. Watching the Rogue crash to the ground, Owen kept his guard up even after looking at his notifications.
Gobbo Rogue Slain
Skill increased: Tracking. Combat Exp gained 40. Rewards: Minor BarkFang Venom
As Owen dismissed the notifications, the fog slowly sank into the stone until it disappeared completely. “Of course, it drops poison. Thank the Gods, I learned from last time. Add antidotes to the shopping list. Also, add a fucking notepad to write this shit down with.” Talking to himself, Owen turned and headed back down the dead-end hall. “Now, if I was a Dungeon, I would put a. Jackpot,” Owen said as he neared the dead-end and saw a dilapidated wooden chest. Bending down to open it, Owen stopped, “If I was a Dungeon with traps, I would definitely trap a chest. Especially one right next to the Rogue.” Inspecting the chest, Owen found what he was looking for. A thin, taut thread went from one of the hinges, then up towards the ceiling. He spotted what seemed like a net of threads holding back stones up there.
“Huh, is this like a magical rockfall trap? Break the thread, and the rocks come crashing down. Well, the other trap was simple, too. So I’ll just,” Walking around the chest, Owen pushed his back up onto the dead end. Holding his shield at the ready, Owen sliced through the thread. As soon as his blade touched it, the line shattered like glass as the rocks tumbled down, crushing the chest. Searching through the rubble, Owen found four more of those Alchemy coins. Satisfied with himself, he tucked them away in his pack before heading towards the last room.