*You have entered an Instant Dungeon. This dungeon is named Saint John's Holy Repository.
*Your stats are suppressed by 20 percent, due to tresspasing in a consecrated place.
*You take 100 HP damage per minute due to entering a hostile mana environment.
*You mana regeneration is reduced by 30% due to being an enemy of the Order.
*You have been detected.
*Mana Veil hides your exact position, until combat.
Pef peered over the roof's edge, taking count of the defenses and guards. For a simple monastery, it sure had too many guards.
'200 normal guards, 10 patrol dogs, and at least 10 magicians. And I should assume more enemies that I cannot see.' he mused inward.
Checking his buffs once more, he Jumped then shifted to Levitation in mid-air.
"Equip M-60"
A military grade machine-gun, formerly used by side gunners aboard Vietnam era helicopters, and highly effective for its main purpose. That purpose was low-altitude strafing, and it surely proved just as effective against dogs or unshielded humans.
*You have killed a Templar Guard. 100 Exp.
*You have killed a Templar Guard. 100 Exp.
*You have killed a Templar Guard. 100 Exp.
*You have killed a Templar Guard. 100 Exp.
*You have killed a Templar Guard. 100 Exp.
*You have killed a Templar Guard. 100 Exp.
*You have killed a Templar Guard. 100 Exp.
*You have killed a Templar Guard. 100 Exp.
*You have killed a Templar Guard. 100 Exp.
*You have killed a Templar Guard. 100 Exp.
*You have killed a Templar Guard. 100 Exp.
*You have killed a Templar Guard. 100 Exp.
*You have killed a Templar Guard. 100 Exp.
A stream of notifications made aiming annoying.
"Notice off!" he muttered while equipping a new weapon, less hot. It didn't work.
"He's in the air somewhere, take cover!"
"Alarm!"
"Raise the abjuration barrier!"
Yells of panic resounded from the guards, soon silenced by the renewed bullet stream.
Pef chose to ignore the magicians for a minute, thinning out the guards for the moment.
As soon as the next ammo belt finished, he stored the hot machine gun and flew away.
'Now, let's see how they react to an unexpected explosion...'
Raiding a NATO armory for weapons and armor sure came in handy now.
"Equip Milan launcher" he demanded mentally.
An anti-tank launcher appeared on his shoulder, and he fired at the emerging group of mages.
*Templar novice killed. 1000 Exp.
*Templar novice killed. 1000 Exp.
*Templar novice killed. 1000 Exp.
*Templar novice killed. 1000 Exp.
*Templar novice killed. 1000 Exp.
*Templar novice killed. 1000 Exp.
*Templar novice killed. 1000 Exp.
*Templar novice killed. 1000 Exp.
'Huh? Those two guys are still alive?' Pef wondered as he vanished under Hide and Veil again.
"Initiates and Ordained have a variant of a holy aura. You'll need more missiles or better spells." Gaia whispered in his ear, no doubt curious how the quest was progressing.
'You can only talk inside a dungeon?' Pef wondered as he equipped the next launcher.
A bell began sounding from a tower, an alarm of sorts.
*Gamer's Mind has prevented you from becoming dazed.
* Your Invictus skill has resisted an exorcism.
*You have fired a VX nerve gas warhead. You have gained the perk Odorless:You gain 1000 Intimidation. Gained +1 Charisma.
*Templar Initiate killed. 6000 Exp.
*Templar Ordained killed. 15000 Exp.
*Guard dog killed. 20 Exp.
*Guard dog killed. 20 Exp
*Guard dog killed. 20 Exp
*Guard dog killed. 20 Exp
*Guard dog killed. 20 Exp
*Guard dog killed. 20 Exp
*Guard dog killed. 20 Exp
*Guard dog killed. 20 Exp
*Guard dog killed. 20 Exp
*Guard dog killed. 20 Exp
*All canine units killed. Bonus objective met. 10000 Exp.
*The Gamer has reached level 16.
Drawing another M-60 machine gun, Pef completed a round of the outer defense, finishing off the surviving guards.
*You have killed all surface guards. 20000 Exp.
*Firearms skill has reached level 5.
With a sigh, Pef began descending towards the courtyard, now filled with bullet riddled guards or green faced corpses.
Dealing with flesh and blood enemies was less pleasant than normal monsters, which simply dissipated into bits of light.
The door into the monastery was glowing a little, and a few magic wards shone with gold and silver.
Pef smiled a bit, trying to figure a way to open the barrier.
Then he shrugged, and walked two meters to the side, and fired another missile at the stone wall, beside the enchanted door.
A gaping hole opened into the old stone wall. With a kick, he cleared the rubble and entered unimpeded.
'Strong door, but anchored on mere stone walls...'
*You have entered a sacred place. 200 HP damage per minute.
*Regeneration has reached level 12.
Pef glanced at his HP bar, but so far it hadn't decreased at all. "Well then. Guess I can stay awhile and grind my Regeneration for a while."
"Very amusing, my servant. But they will have Knights incoming soon." the goddess advised him with a tiny snort.
"Yeah. No free meals, are there?" Pef concluded, rhetorically.
With a burst of speed, he ran deeper into the monastery, keeping an eye out for...
-300
*You have been hit by a Solomon-class golem.
"Observe" Pef whispered while dodging the next javelin.
Solomon Golem
Lvl 66. HP 66000, MP 0
Status: petrified, enchanted, ranged.
A 3-meter tall humanoid with a javelin launcher, glowing just like the door had.
With a flurry of mental commands, he changed his buffs from DPS and concealment to defensive and evasive.
-120
*Bronze skin has reached level 19.
*Aura Body has reached level 8.
*Mana shield has reached level 17.
'Okay then, mister golem. Time to see how you deal with my Fist' Pef thought while running towards the construct.
-40
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
-40
Pef canceled the Fist buff as it was rather useless.
'Note taken. Fists aren't great against golems.' Pef mused as he ran away and equipped another Milan launcher.
His missile flew straight and impacted the golem in the chest. Most tanks would have been wasted in one shot...
-3333
With a glance at his inventory, and concluding he didn't have enough missiles, Pef decided it wasn't worth dealing with the annoying golem.
"Wall, Firewall. Hide, Veil" he commanded in quick succession, blocking direct line of sight with the golem and speeding past it.
A couple of librarians and two guards were trying to barricade the next door, but it was only a wooden door.
With a kick, Pef bust through the obstacle, and then drew a pistol and fired 6 bullets nonchalantly.
The guards fired at him as well, but their own bullets just flatten themselves on his Aura.
*You have entered the Repository.
*Reinforcements arrive in 90 seconds.
"Come on! There are a thousand magic tomes here!" Pef cried in despair.
Luckily, the library had each row of shelves ordered by magic affinity or category.
Running and grabbing, Pef begun shoving armfuls of books into his inventory, eager to grab as much knowledge as possible.
-300
*You have been shot by a Solomon-class golem.
"Not again!" our hero complained loudly at the injustice.
*You have stolen 10 magic spells from the Repository. Primary objective complete. 100000 Exp.
*The Gamer has reached level 17.
Pef rushed towards the Lighting Bolt marked shelves and grabbed a few class-related tomes, then grimaced in pain, and collapsed to his knees, as an ominous aura locked him place.
*A Templar Knight has used Holy Conviction on you. You have resisted for 2.5 seconds.
*Gamer's Mind has reached level 9.
"Heartstone" Pef thought before fainting.
*You have slept on a siberian tiger fur, in front of a fireplace, in your own house. HP and MP restored.
*Heartstone ability has been used and won't be available for 6 days and 18 hours.
*The Gamer has completed a quest: Repository.
*Loot the Saint John Templars' Magic Repository in Rome.
*Primary objective: Steal 10 Magic Spell Manuals - Done
Kill all mundane guards -Done.
Kill all Templar guards - Done.
Kill the Solomon Golem - Failed.
Loot 1000 magic spells - Failed.
Rewards: - 16 new Spells
- 50000 Euros
- 50000 Exp.
- Enemies: The Inquisition.
Stretching his back, Pef glanced around the living room, then changed into a yellow silk shirt and Hawaiian shorts.
'Great, now I have the Inquisition to deal with as well.' he thought to himself as he felt Lucia enter the room.
"Pef, my wayward apprentice! I let you sleep, as you were still smelling of blood and gunpowder. But I gave Sonia a day off." she said with a curious glance at his eye-hurting clothes.
"That's fine, my dear witch. My raid on the Templars didn't go quite as planned..." he replied with his head hung.
"Eh, you braved the lion den, and escaped alive and whole. That's good enough for a novice mage." Lucia said with an admiring look at her apprentice.
*Relationship with Lucia has reached 16. (Accepted)
"Yeah, didn't get to steal much, as a Knight used some mental aura on me and had to flee." Pef complained in a low tone.
"A Knight you say? Even more worthy then. The weakest Knight is at least as strong as me..." Lucia mused aloud, her eyes fixed in the distance.
Pef lounged on a sofa and lit the TV. "I guess I'm not ready to deal with them yet." he admitted after a minute of pointless zapping though commercials.
"As long as you remember this. Anyways, I contacted a guy I know, in Switzerland. If you still want to learn alchemy."
Lucia added with a teasing tone.
"Really? And they will teach me?" Pef exclaimed with joy.
Lucia giggled from behind her palm, as she dropped in an armchair and planted her feet on the teatable. "You can go next month. And you'll have to give them 100 of your magic potions." The witch took out an ice cream box and began eating it, alone.
Pef licked his lips but didn't comment. So what if she raided the fridge...
"It's okay. I can use this time to train a bit more, and learn telekinesis." he said with a fake shrug.
Lucia glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "It took me a decade, and I can barely stir a spoon. But you will try regardless, aren't you?" She concluded with a slow lick at her spoon.
Pef nodded absently. A few days to learn the new magic spells, then grinding a few dungeons...
He glanced at his character sheet, a bit upset with his achievements. Then he added 1 point to Kharma and all the free atributes into Magic.
*Pef the Gamer
Level 17 Mage, HP 1700, MP 550
Attributes: free = 0
Str: 25+2
Con: 20
Agi: 20+2
Magic: 40+10
Mind: 20
Charisma: 15
Kharma: 15
"My mana pool is kinda small..." he mused to himself.
"Don't worry, Pef. If you have valuable items to trade, the Paracelus Association can give you alchemic pills, and perhaps even rare plants that can increase you reserves." the witch said gently, while poking a strawberry into her ice cream.
"Hmmm. You ever dive into dungeons, Lucia?" he asked curious.
"I tried a few, but it's risky and not really worth it. Bosses are a nightmare sometimes, so you have to keep count of your kills and leave before they appear. And the minions rarely drop anything." she complained while storing the ice cream away.
Apparently all good magic users had a subspace pocket to keep things.
"I killed a few bosses though." he said with a frown.
"Heh, zombies and golems are easy. That's why the Abyss Auction is full of zombie bones and bronze swords."
"Wait! There's an auction?" Pef exclaimed in wonder.
Lucia twirled her hand producing a cellphone. "Like I said. You're naive, my apprentice. You can buy anything, even spells or artifacts. Slaves as well."
Pef grimaced at the news. "You'll have to show me how to use this auction site."
"Of course, my dear Pef. But first, let's order some takeout and see what books you stole."
Pef nodded sagely. The pretty witch had her priorities straight.