After her fight with the Cyclops, Hazel lay on the ground for a little while and rested. She didn’t risk falling asleep while outside and simply stared at the vast purple space above her, mesmerized by the dozens of stars blanketing it.
That fight with the Cyclops was a lot more difficult than she would’ve liked. Not just its size, but also the power it packed as well. She had to use up almost all of her mana to kill it, and she still suffered a lot of injuries from their fight. Just getting grazed by that monster’s club was enough to almost cripple her. Her shoulder still ached from the impact but was a little better after resting for a bit. Then there was the rest of her body that was in incredible pain from the fall.
Thankfully, she managed to survive, evidently thanks to her Endurance Stat. If that attribute was still at an eight, then the possibility of surviving the fall or at least not ending up as injured was next to impossible. However, she did wish that the stat would alleviate some of the pain in her body because it was agonizing at the moment. Her entire body flared in pain. Just moving a finger made her wince from the slightest movement.
Her shoulder was still dislocated, so Hazel needed to deal with that problem soon before it got worse. Too bad there weren’t any Healing potions around. Hazel was a bit perturbed by that. This was a fantasy dungeon with levels and monsters, so how come she hadn’t found a single healing potion to help her heal?
Pushing the thought aside, Hazel turned her gaze toward the small crate lying next to her. Apparently, that was the loot box she received as a reward for completing her first Dungeon Challenge.
As she stared at the moment, curiosity slowly got the best of her. She really wanted to know what was in the box after all the trouble she went through against that Cyclops. Plus, whatever was inside might be useful to her in the long run.
With that in mind, Hazel sluggishly sat up from the ground, wincing as pain radiated all over her body from her shoulder to, well, everywhere else as well. Taking a moment to get used to the pain, she turned to the box, immediately trying to identify it and see its description.
Common Item
A box gifted to players by the System after completing certain quests or challenges. Depending on the rarity of the box, players will be able to receive powerful and useful items or weapons that will assist them in their journey.
“Common grade, huh?” Hazel mused before shrugging. “Well, it’s my first box, so that makes sense. Hopefully, there’s something extremely useful in here.”
Since was a Common Item, that could mean there were higher rarity types like Rare or Legendary. Of course, Hazel couldn't know for sure until she found more Loot Boxes with different rarities. Without hesitating, Hazel quickly opened the lid of the box, revealing the contents inside. When she did, her eyes widened at what the loot box contained.
There was food! And drinks!
Within the loot box were small boxes of stored food along with a couple of bottles of water. Just by looking at the food, her mouth began to salivate uncontrollably while her stomach rumbled violently like thunder. It’s been around a day or so since Hazel had eaten anything and she was extremely hungry and thirsty after everything that happened.
Immediately, she tore into one of the boxes of food, taking out what appeared to be dried jerky wrapped in plastic. Much like the box, she ripped up the plastic to get to the jerky and savagely began to chew on it like some wild animal.
The flavor of jerky meat coated her taste buds in an instant before she swallowed it down. A small bit of her hunger disappeared after gulping the piece of jerky and she took another bite. While chewing her second piece, Hazel grabbed one of the water bottles inside, opened the top, and brought the bottle to her lips.
Fresh water flowed into her mouth, rejuvenating her dry mouth with its crisp and refreshing taste. She didn’t pull the bottle away and continued to drink it, draining the plastic bottle until it was completely empty.
Once all the water was gone, she pulled the bottle away with a gasp, feeling reinvigorated compared to before. Who knew that completing challenges like this was so rewarding.
Taking another bottle from the box, Hazel took her time and scanned its contents a little more, curious if there was anything else she missed. And boy, was she right on the money with that assumption.
Digging through the boxes and plastic bottles, Hazel found something else and picked it up. Pulling it out of the box, a small glass bottle with some kind of crimson liquid inside was revealed. It looked rather medieval. More than that, it looked like a very familiar item she used plenty of times in RPGs. Almost to the point where it could actually be...
Hazel’s eyes widened upon realizing what she was holding in her hands. But before she jumped to conclusions, she quickly identified the item, making sure that what she had was the real deal.
Common Item
A potion that heals wounds depending on the severity. It is a common item that has greatly benefited players and helped them recover enough to resume their adventure.
“Holy shit…” Hazel muttered in amazement, her eyes dazzling at the sight of the item. “It’s an actual healing potion.”
Healing potions were staple items in RPG games. If you were hurt and lost a lot of health, then this was the item to fix you right up. And Hazel had one in the palm of her hand.
And considering how banged up she was…she needed this item more than ever.
Hazel hastily pulled off the cork of the bottle and drank the potion. It tasted like bitter medicine, making her recoil a bit out of reflex, but she continued to consume the red liquid until it was completely gone.
As soon as she consumed the potion, the effects occurred immediately. All of the wounds she sustained in her battle with the Cyclops healed in an instant. Even her shoulder, which was currently dislocated, slowly relocated itself back into its socket. The process was a bit painful as she felt her shoulder move on its own and position itself back into the socket, making an audible popping sound.
After making a grunt, Hazel noticed that the pain in her shoulder was completely gone. She moved it around to see if it was completely healed and to her surprise, it was. And it wasn't just her shoulder that was healed. Her other injuries like the scrap marks from skidding across the ground or the blade wound from the Warrior were also restored as well, as if they were never there to begin with.
Relieved by this, Hazel laughed while gazing up at the stars.
“Healing potions are awesome…”
She didn't expect to come across a Healing potion in such a way, but she was glad that it happened. Especially with how she was severely wounded after the fight with the Cyclops. If the Loot box didn't contain the potion, she wasn't sure what could've happened to her. All she knew at that moment was that she was lucky to find the healing potion. Very, very lucky.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Once she was fully healed, she pushed herself off the ground with the help of her gnarled staff. She wasted enough time out in the open. It was time to head back to the tavern. If she stayed outside any longer than she had to, then monsters could appear and overwhelm her. She couldn’t risk that after finally defeating the Cyclops.
Picking up her box, she carried it over to the tavern.
Making her way back, Hazel glanced around at the destroyed buildings, courtesy of the Cyclops. A good majority of the structures were barely standing, only being supported by fragmented pieces of wood and stone from its foundations. Hazel was lucky she only got grazed by the monster and never took a direct hit. If she did, there was no doubt in her mind that she would be dead.
After a little while, Hazel soon came across the tavern and went inside. Because the door was busted, she used a couple of tables and pushed them against the entrance, acting as a barricade against the Fractured monsters. She then marched over to the stairs, avoided the hole, and made it to the second floor.
Picking a room from one of the halls, she opened the door and emerged inside. The room wasn’t really big, what with it being half the size of a regular bedroom. However, all Hazel cared about was the bed laid out before her. The mattress was on a wooden frame and was neatly made with a blanket and pillow on top.
Walking toward it, she placed the loot box near her nightstand before heading over to the bed and collapsing on it. Her body sank into the soft mattress as her body slowly began to relax. She could feel her fatigue get the best of her, despite her body recovering after drinking a healing potion.
Guess those potions didn’t recover fatigue or anything like that. Perhaps that was for stamina potions or something similar. Either way, Hazel was too tired to think anymore after everything that happened. But before going off into dreamland, there was one more thing that she needed to do first.
Struggling to keep her eyes open, Hazel pulled up her status window.
Status Window
Name: Hazel Thatcher
Race: Human
Level: 7
Class: Mage
Free Points: 10
Attributes:
Strength: 7
Agility: 8
Endurance: 14
Intelligence: 20
Wisdom: 13
Willpower: 12
Hazel got a whopping ten free points thanks to both her level-up and Dungeon Challenge. With these points, she evenly distributed her points between Intelligence and Wisdom while also putting two points into Endurance to increase her body's durability further. Because she had so many points to spare, she included Endurance since it was this very stat that saved her life against the Cyclops.
She thought about putting her points into Willpower, but she didn’t need that at the moment since she wasn’t summoning any familiars yet. Plus, having more mana and faster mana regeneration was her biggest priority right now. Her main form of offense was magic, so focusing on Intelligence and Wisdom was a no-brainer.
As for Strength and Agility, those stats weren't as important at the moment. She did think about increasing Agility to at least ten since being faster would assist her in running away, but that decision would be made when Hazel possessed more points.
For now, she needed to settle with just Endurance. Having her body become more resistant to damage was her best call since she was on her own. Though, she was only going to do this until she found someone to work with. And if she never did, then...she would just have to cross that bridge when she got there and figure it out then.
With that morbid thought clouding her mind, Hazel finally gave in to the fatigue, her eyes slowly closing as everything went dark. In the back of her mind, she prayed that she could find something to rely on. It was getting pretty lonely in this dungeon…
…
Astrid stealthily perched on a tree limb, cautiously looking down and scanning the forest ground below her. Her eyes trained on a small group of monsters scurrying around. They were short, green, and purple creatures with pointed ears and cracks forming all over their body.
These were goblins, but not the ones that Astrid was familiar with. Though what else was new after getting dropped off in this vast space of a dungeon?
The Fractured Goblins converse with one another, speaking in an incomprehensible sound filled with grunts and guttural screeches. A part of Astrid was curious about what they were talking about, but the other, more dominant, part of her felt disgusted toward their existence and wanted to exterminate them immediately.
Keeping her eyes on the goblins, she pulled out two daggers and positioned herself over the small group. A second later, she jumped off the branch, rapidly descending on monsters. Her feet landed and crushed one of the goblins as she fell to the ground. Its back was bent backward awkwardly after Astrid forced her entire weight on the short creature before shattering like glass.
Once on the ground, she was fully exposed, wearing a green cloak with a hood that was draped over her head, concealing it from others. Along with the cloak, she wore light leather armor with a belt around her waist, holding daggers and a pouch.
As soon as the goblin died, she saw a familiar message panel, notifying her of its death, but she ignored it, setting her sights on the rest of the goblins.
The other green and purple gremlins were alerted by Astrid’s brutish assault on their comrade, taking action and bringing out their weapons, which were crudely made daggers. One of the goblins yelled while charging at Astrid, determined to kill her, but that wasn’t going to happen.
Getting closer to her, the goblin slashed its dagger, aiming right for her face. However, Astrid simply leaned back and watched the blade glide past, just before she used her weapon and drove it right into the monster’s head. She then used her full strength and slammed it against the dirt ground.
The goblin’s body didn’t even spasm and instantly died without much resistance. The other green and purple menaces witnessed this sight, their eyes widened with horror. Looking away from the deceased goblin, Astrid turned her attention to the rest, her silver eyes glaring daggers at them.
Fearful for their lives, the goblins yelped in terror then turned tail and ran away, their desire to kill their attacker completely vanished and replaced with the desire to survive. Instead of chasing them, Astrid simply stood there and watched them flee for their lives.
Then, she raised her hand, as if signaling something and witnessed a hail of arrows hail down from the trees and descend on the fleeing goblins. The only sound that could be heard was the arrows hitting their mark along with the cries of the green monsters as they met their demise. Moments later, their bodies shattered like the first, pieces of them disbursing in the air and dissipating right after.
As soon as she knew the goblins were done, Astrid let out a sigh while reaching up to pull her hood back, feeling a bit stuffy. When she did, her face was shown, revealing a gray-skin complexion as her long silver hair that was tied into a ponytail flowed down her back, stopping at her upper back. But what made Astrid stand out was her two pointed ears, a notable characteristic of her race.
Astrid sternly stared at the deceased goblins that were riddled with arrows then turned away and gazed up at the trees.
“Good work, guys,” She called out.
Four figures soon emerged from the trees, landing in front of Astrid while kneeling before them. They all wore similar leather outfits and cloaks like her, and as soon as they pulled their hoods off, it was revealed the figures looked just like her. Gray skin, silky white hair, and pointed ears; the telltale sign of a Dark Elf.
“What’s our next move, Leader?” One of the dark elves asked while standing.
“For now, collect the arrows used to kill those damn goblins,” She declared, pointing at the arrows plunged into the ground where the goblins used to be. “After that, we need to continue surveying the area to look for more prey to kill. The more enemies we take down, the more we’ll be able to increase our levels.”
The dark elves following Astrid nodded in unison, walking past her to go and collect their pointed projectiles. Meanwhile, Astrid raised her head and stared through the branches and leaves, viewing the vast purple space she found herself in. A hint of anxiety and impatience plastered on her face.
“This damn place…” She muttered to herself.
It’s been at least a couple of days since Astrid and her group were thrown into this so-called dungeon after her world was supposedly assimilated by the System. Since then, she’s been doing what the panels have been telling her. Kill and level up.
According to the system, her only chance of escaping this place was one of three options; stay here for a month, find the Dungeon Boss and kill it, or kill one of the Sub-Bosses instead. She couldn’t afford to waste her time here for one month, not after hearing that her world was being merged with another.
There was bound to be complete chaos back home, and she couldn’t waste her time here. Not when her people, her tribe, needed her. She had a responsibility to keep her tribe from collapsing from the chaos. Not just as a fellow dark elf but also as the Daughter of the Tribal Chief.
She was going to lead her tribe like her Father did, which meant she had to return home, post haste. And she was willing to do whatever it took to get back.