Chapter 20

Welcome to Dungeon 621

This is a 6th level dungeon. Each level is a unique puzzle room. After completion of each level, you will be given a reward. You may opt to leave the dungeon prematurely after completion of a room. If you leave the dungeon prematurely, you will be able to keep all rewards prior to the current level. If you complete, you will be allowed to keep all rewards and be given another exceptional reward for completing the dungeon. You may enter the elevator now to be taken to the first level.

I was in a small square room with black walls and on the opposite end I saw the entrance to the elevator. The outline of the door glowed a vibrant red light. I knew this was a solo dungeon, so I wasn’t sure if Jimmie was still with me. Technically he was in my mind or psyche or something so I didn’t think the dungeon would consider him a separate individual, but you never know.

“Hey, Jimmie, you still with me?”

“You bet broski. Let’s get this done!”

I gave him a virtual fist bump and walked into the elevator. The door closed behind me, and I could feel the hum of the elevator as it moved down. While it moved, a familiar show tune music came on. The elevator took a surprisingly long couple of minutes to get to the bottom. Either this elevator moved impressively slow, or we were going way far down. I didn’t recall too many elevators that ever took this long unless they were in a skyscraper of some type.

The door opened in front of me, but I didn’t step out immediately. I peeked inside which was a giant plain square room that was all black marble. In the center of the floor was a raised level. I could not tell what the raised level showed from where I was standing. I guess I’m going to have to figure this out the hard way. I was hoping I could get an idea of what it was going to be before stepping into the room but no luck there.

As I took the first step in, the raised level started to lower to my mid waist height. I could see now that the raised platform was a sliding puzzle. The sliding puzzle was split up into about several dozen square pieces. About two thirds of the pieces had some type of image on them.

A slide puzzle was a puzzle that had the player slide blocks which were frequently flat to either create an image or a numbered pattern. Typically, in an image slide puzzle, the puzzle was divided up into square blocks which had part of an image on it and the blocks were placed randomly. A twenty-five block slide puzzle for example had twenty-four blocks and one empty space. It was similar to a jigsaw puzzle in a way as the player had to put the blocks in the right order to create the image. It was however different and more difficult than a jigsaw puzzle because unlike a jigsaw puzzle, you were not able to pick up the blocks and put them in the right spot to make up the image. Instead, what was needed to get done was the blocks needed to be moved around using the empty space as a temporary holder of a block until the blocks were all slid into the right spot. They were difficult not just because you had to slide many pieces to get one specific tile in the right spot but also because it made the puzzle extremely time consuming.

I recalled doing slide puzzles with my daughter many years back when I was still on earth, and I found them to be extremely frustrating after a while. It took me and my daughter a long time to solve much simpler puzzles than this. I remember it took us almost an hour one time to solve just a 25-tile puzzle one time. Well, actually we never solved it, we just gave up after an hour.

“So that’s what we gotta solve huh? Doesn’t look too bad. Just like a jigsaw but even easier since they are all the same size.”

“I don’t know about easier Jimmie. This is a slide puzzle and unlike a jigsaw puzzle, we can’t pick up the pieces to move them. I counted 63 block pieces on that platform and see over there is the one empty spot that we have to use to move the pieces around.”

“I’m guessing you’re staying in the back to study the puzzle so it’s easier when you get close to it?”

“Pretty much. Normally this size of a puzzle would be hard to figure out for a person let alone try to solve from far away and keep in memory but that’s one of the benefits of having high intelligence. I could retain things so much clearer now than when I had a much lower intelligence.”

I focused on the puzzle from a distance where I could see it. It was apparently far enough that the room did not activate. I could tell that somehow there will be a timer involved. This was not a puzzle that was impossible to solve…far from it. Given enough time, I think most intelligent individuals could. What would make it difficult would be if there was a timer.

I stood there quietly moving the pieces of the puzzle in my mind while staring at it. I was doing this so I could find the most effective and expeditious way of doing it when I started. I had been able to visualize in my thoughts how to do almost two thirds of it and then a large floating counter appeared. It counted down from 10. I realized then that the time I had to study was likely intentional. The room allowed me to do that before the puzzle started. I estimated that I had studied it for about 10 minutes or so and been able to figure out nearly all of it.

3, 2, 1 the counter had ended and now the test had begun. I heard a click of a sound every second coming from my left. I stopped moving the puzzle tiles and looked towards the sound. The floor had been separated into tiles when it all started and now every second, a tile on the ground was falling into nothingness. Or at least it seemed like nothingness as the empty space left behind by the floor tiles falling was all black.

The tiles had started falling from the left corner of the room and were moving forward and then right in a clockwise direction. The last tile to fall would be the one I was standing on. Within 60 seconds the first row of tiles had fallen. I continued to work on the puzzle as methodically and quickly as possible, not taking even a second to stop.

The puzzle blocks moved easily almost as if there was no friction and they were gliding. The board itself was not huge and I was able to reach the ends easily to slide the blocks into appropriate spots.

Click, click, click. I heard the sound of the tiles on the ground breaking off and falling into the nothingness. Most people would have found it distracting but I use the sound as a way to keep a certain pace and rhythm. I was using both arms to move the individual blocks. Despite my speed, dexterity, the ease in sliding of he tiles, I felt as if I was quickly falling behind. I didn’t want to even waste a split second to look down and see how much of the floor tiles were left.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“We don’t have much time left until all the tiles under us are gone,” Jimmy said.

“I know that’s why I need to keep working on the puzzle and not waste time.”

Jimmy didn’t take my hint and added further, “Maybe we should sit on the puzzle and solve it that way. So even if the tiles fall, we won’t fall as well.”

I didn’t think it would be that simple to avoid falling into the abyss but perhaps it was worth a try. With a small jump I easily got on top of the platform which had the puzzle but as soon as both my feet landed, there was a…

SSSHHHAKKOWW!

I was thrown back to the end of the room by a jolt of electricity. Agonizing pain coursed through my body very similar to that lightning bolt in the alley. I survived through my high constitution, health points and my resistance but I could tell that I was down to nearly half my life. Somehow the resistance to electrical damage from my ring had been nullified. A little bit of a shocker but I will have to keep that in mind for the future. I landed at the edge, nearly falling into nothingness.

One of my spare daggers had become loose from its sheath and fell out into the nothingness. I could not hear the dagger hit the ground. I felt the pain, but I couldn't afford to feel the pain. I willed myself to my feet and stumbled back to the puzzle. I didn’t have time to glance around and see how little time I had left.

“I’m sorry brother, I wish I had never suggested that. That was so stupid of me. I just should not even say anything. I’m not even sure what I’m doing here,” Jimmy ranted on.

“Jimmy, stop. It’s fine. I need to focus. Just tell me every so often how far we are from dying will ya?” I grunted from the pain.

I went back to work and continued to move the tiles on the board. Every second counted and countdown was to death. I was moving half a dozen tiles every second with my speed and dexterity. I was using the left hand to move the left of the board and the right to move the right. The difficulty with this puzzle was not where the tiles all went as that part I had solved for to near completion in my mind before we even started despite all the pieces but rather that sometimes dozens of tiles needed to be moved around for just one tile to be in the right spot.

A couple of minutes had gone by as I moved the puzzle tiles to their spot, “Gats bro, we don’t have much time left. There are only a couple of rows of tiles left on the ground.”

This was the first time I had heard Jimmie call me by my name. He must be panicking and with good reason. I kept moving the tiles, “Almost there, Jimmy.”

I looked quickly and saw I had maybe only another minute or so left. I was going to run out of time. Only a few more tiles. I continued on frantically without looking down, but I could feel the row of tiles behind me collapse.

Only two more pieces to put in place. Jimmy told me that the last row of tiles was now collapsing one at a time getting closer and closer. I went to move the last piece of the puzzle tile and then suddenly, the last floor tile under me collapsed. As I started to fall, I grabbed the edge of the puzzle. I pulled myself up. I couldn’t stand on anything including the floor which was now gone nor the puzzle because that didn’t go so well for me last time. As I held myself up with one hand, I pulled out my wand with the other hand. I willed the last tile to move with telekinesis of the wand into the right spot and it clicked into the spot.

Mini fireworks shot up in the room.

Congratulations! You have completed the first level of the dungeon.

I was still dangling from the edge of the puzzle. The floor was still complete and endless darkness, so I pulled myself up to the puzzle. The puzzle which was there a second ago was replaced with an open entrance with stairway leading to the bottom. I walked through and was in another small chamber.

“Look broski, I am really sorry about before. I should not have told you to do that getting on the puzzle thing. I almost got us killed by being stupid.”

“It’s fine Jimmy. It was an honest mistake.”

“No, it was a mistake that almost got us killed. If you had not recovered from the electric shock like a badass, we would have been worm food. It was dumb of me.”

“Look Jimmie, you didn’t make me do that. It was my choice. And honestly it was a good suggestion, or I wouldn’t have done it. You can’t beat yourself up about every mistake in the past. The important part is to learn from them and get better. What you said was thinking outside of the box. That is what’s required in this world to get more powerful. I didn’t get as powerful as I did before by following a straight line and following all the rules. We must take advantage of any opportunity that comes in front of us. We have to learn to bend the rules of this world to get ahead. That was what you were suggesting and that is something I can’t ever fault. Most everyone has avoided that cursed coin because it is cursed, and they cannot look past that. I took the coin knowing the curse but also because I knew that power and opportunity that it accompanied. If I had not, I would not have got some of the titles I got. I would not have survived the goblins. I would not have survived this puzzle that we just finished. This puzzle required extremely high intelligence to realize how to solve it and memorize the correct order before the timer even started. It required high speed and dexterity to be able to move the pieces as quickly as I was doing them. You can argue that if I did not have the high willpower and constitution, I may not have survived the shock. This was a puzzle that no normal 50th level or maybe even 75th level person could do easily. I’m not sure even a 100th level individual could complete this puzzle each time. And we overcame it despite being at such a low level. So, let’s focus on that because I need you to give me your opinion and your perspective. I can’t say that I will always do what you say but I will always consider it.”

“You got it broski.”

There wasn’t much more that needed to be said by him. I could feel that he was still remorseful but now also relieved. I took another step into the room and a message popped up.

Congratulations on Finishing the first level of Dungeon 621. At this point you may collect your reward and exit the dungeon or move forward to the next level. Warning, if you go forward to the next level, there is no returning to previous level. You also may not leave before the completion of that level.

I opted to move forward.

Your Reward is: Potion of Splendor, Potion of Cleansing

I grabbed my rewards and focused on each individual potion though I knew what they did already.

Potion of Cleansing

Item Type: Single use Magical Potion – Very Rare

Alignment: Any class

Material: Crystal bottle

Durability: 10/10

Description: This potion removes all debufs, poisons, toxins, enchantments on the imbiber. It also heals up to 75% of max Health, Stamina and Mana.

Potion of Splendor

Item Type: Single use Magical Potion – Legendary

Alignment: Any class

Material: Crystal bottle

Durability: 10/10

Description: This potion gives 100% increase to all attributes for 30 minutes. It will replete Health, Mana, and Stamina to the temporary maximum

These two potions were pretty spectacular. I had used the Potion of cleansing in the past and it got rid of all negative effects on the drinker. And it restored health, mana, and stamina too. The other potion I had only seen once, and it was used by someone I knew. The guy became a monster for a short period of time. It was an awesome reward for clearing a room, but it would have been nice to have something with permanence even more. I was certain from my past experience that I also received experience points for clearing the room but that would not show until I had cleared the dungeon or exited it.