Will yawned as he entered the convenience store. Work had been exhausting today, all week really, but he was done, and the rest of the weekend was his to enjoy. Once again he thanked the universe that he had found a job within walking distance from his apartment, not having to stress about a commute was one of the little things to enjoy.
He walked through the isles, grabbing various snacks and drinks that struck his fancy, and upon picking up a giant bag of tortilla chips, Will swore to himself unconvincingly that he wouldn't eat the whole thing in one sitting again. Finally he grabbed a couple of sandwiches from the "Fresh" section, and went to the register to pay.
On his way out, Will couldn't help but be excited, the new season of his favorite game had come out earlier this week, and now he would finally get to play. He was thinking about this as he walked through the automatic doors, and a bright light blinded him.
Will tried to blink the spots from his vision.
"Ahg! Did someone turn on their floodlights?"
When his vision had finally cleared, the sight that greeted him was not the one he was expecting. He was facing the wall of a stone passageway. There was no visible light source, but the whole area was dimly lit. Will spun around. The door to the convenience store was gone. It was just another wall. Upon further inspection, even the food that he had just bought was gone. Panicking, he checked himself further. Will let out a sigh of relief that he still had his clothes on.
He took a deep breath, “Obviously I just fell asleep in the break room, and this is all a dream. Any moment now my manager will wake me up, and I'll have to actually finish my shift and go home.”
Another deep breath, “Oh who am I kidding! I clearly remember my shift, and I’ve never had dreams this vivid!” Will slumped, his outburst having depleted the little energy he had. “Okay, first things first, let’s try to find a way out of here. Then I’ll figure out if I’ve been drugged, hypnotized, or if this is a glitch in the matrix.”
He noticed a small light in his peripheral vision. As soon as it was drawn to his attention a window filled his vision. It was like something straight out of a game, or a pop-up ad.
[Congratulations, you have entered your first dungeon! You have received the “Explorer” title as a reward. (Explorer- You gain a mini map that shows you nearby allies and enemies. You gain a map ability that records where you have been, and shows nearby places of interest)]
[Congratulations, you have found a way into a dungeon other than the main entrance! You have received the “Keen Eyed” title as a reward. (Keen Eyed- Hidden Treasures, traps, and secret passages are highlighted in your vision.)]
Will stared at the floating screen for a few moments, taking in their meaning. He then tried to close them with his mind, imagining them like they were mobile ads. To his slight surprise it worked.
“Well, I think I can rule out being drugged, but I’m still considering the other two.”
Will did notice that a small circle had appeared in the corner of his vision. It had a straight line going through it, with a blue dot in the middle, but either side of the line was blacked out.
“I’m guessing that that was the mini map mentioned. Well if it’s accurate then it should help me get out of here.”
Back to the task at hand, Will examined his surroundings. Unfortunately, the passageway looked similar in both directions, and due to the dim lighting he couldn’t see either end. He considered them both, but nothing he could think of gave him any real direction on where to go. He couldn’t stay where he was either, due to his tasty treats vanishing on him. So with no other options, he picked a direction at random, and started walking.
It only took a few minutes of walking, but the hallway ended in an open room. It was like the room came out of nowhere, or was hidden by an optical illusion. Will looked about the room as he entered. It was large but fairly empty inside, the only thing he could see in the room was a small pedestal with a small glass orb nestled into the top of it. Seeing nothing else, not even another door leading out of the room, Will approached the orb and poked it. He was startled when another pop-up window appeared.
[Congratulations, you have reached the end of the “Twilight’s Edge” dungeon! Rewards will now be distributed.]
[You have completed a monster dungeon without killing any monsters. You have received the “Pacifist” title as a reward. (Pacifist- Your attacks deal 50% less damage. When defeating an enemy, instead of the target's HP reaching 0, they receive the “Fainted” debuff.) (Fainted- Target is unconscious, target’s HP cannot go below 0. Debuff’s effects last until target’s HP rises above 30%)]
[You have completed a dungeon by yourself, you have received the “Lone Wolf” title as a reward. (Lone Wolf- When not in a party, you have a higher chance of receiving more valuable loot.)]
[You have set a new time record for clearing this dungeon, reward rarity increased.]
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
[You have completed a dungeon 10 or more levels above your own, you have received the skill “Danger Sense” as a reward.]
[Danger Sense- Level 1
Skill Type- Sensory
Effects- Gain a sixth sense that warns you if your life is in immediate danger.]
[Level 1 reached, class system unlocked, accessing available classes…]
[Classes available-
Warrior (Common)- Requirements: Level 1 reached, No other classes chosen.
Mage (Common)- Requirements: Level 1 reached, No other classes chosen.
Rogue (Common)- Requirements: Level 1 reached, No other classes chosen.
Scout (Uncommon)- Requirements: Level 1 reached, “Rogue” class available or chosen, Possess at least 1 sensory skill.
Tamer (Rare)- Requirements: Level 1 reached, No other classes chosen, Less than 10 monsters slain, Possess the “Pacifist” title.]
[Please select a class to continue.]
“Wait, I’m at the end, wasn’t that too short? ” Will wondered, but then he froze.
From his somewhat limited knowledge of dungeons from games and stories, there were supposed to be big bosses right before the end. He turned and looked at the tunnel behind him and shivered. If he had gone the other way, and wandered into a boss room, not even at level one, he didn't want to think what would have happened. Even if all of this wasn’t real, which he was beginning to doubt, it seemed like a bad situation. He just hoped there was another way out, and this wasn’t one of those dungeons where you have to backtrack to leave.
Will looked over his screens again. He winced at the pacifist title, if he had to fight monsters, this title was going to be a serious pain in the but to get around. But then he read it more closely.
‘It only says if I attack that it's half damage,” he thought out loud, “also it’s needed to get the tamer class. So maybe if I have a tamed monster, that monster deals full damage.”
It seemed like the only real choice was to go with the tamer class. Plus the rarer the class the better right? Focusing like he had to close the window earlier, he selected the tamer class. The other windows closed and a new one popped up.
[Name: William Warren
Level: 1
Age: 22
Class: Tamer
Race: Human
HP: 110/110
MP: 60/60
SP: 60/60
Strength: 6
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 11
Intelligence: 6
Wisdom: 5
Charisma: 15
Free Points: 0
(Active Skills)
Tame- Level 1
Command- Level 1
Share Senses- Level 1
Item box- Level 1
(Passive Skills)
Empathy Link- Level 1
Danger Sense- Level 1
(Titles)
Explorer, Keen Eyed, Pacifist, Lone Wolf]
Will focused on the skills next to see if it would reveal what they did.
[Tame- Level 1
Skill Type- Class
Cost- 50 MP
Effects- Tame a monster you have defeated, and place it under your command. Chance to tame monsters decreases by 5% per level they are above you. Current monsters tamed (0/1)]
[Command- Level 1
Skill Type-Class
Effects- Command your tamed monster, the better your relationship with your tamed monster, the more likely they are to follow orders.]
[Share Senses- Level 1
Skill Type- Sensory
Effects- Share Your senses with an ally. Current senses able to be shared at once (1)]
[Item Box- Level 1
Skill Type- Magic Storage
Cost- (Store: 5 MP) (Retrieve: 5MP)
Effects- Open a dimensional storage space. Similar items stack up to 10 times. Free slots (10/10)]
[Empathy Link- Level 1
Skill Type- Class
Effects- Share a general sense of your tamed monster's physical and emotional state.]
Will closed out the new windows, and marveled at how intuitive the system was. The longer this all went on, the more he believed that this was all real and not some sort of dream or fugue state. He definitely wasn't creative enough to dream up something this complicated and well organized. His dreams usually involved a random mishmash of weirdness.
A loud thud suddenly distracted Will from his musings. Looking back towards the pedestal, a wooden chest had appeared. It looked like something straight out of a pirate movie, made of wood with metal bands holding it together. The only thing that it was missing was a big iron lock.
Will walked over to the chest. When he didn't get another pop-up, he flipped the latch and opened it up. Inside, there were a few items neatly stacked. Will pulled them out one by one. Every time he removed an item, the expected screen popped up.
[Adventurer's Shirt (Common)- A well made shirt. +1 armor.]
[Adventurer's Pants (Common)- A well made pair of pants. +1 armor.]
[Adventurer's Boots (Common)- A well made pair of boots. +2 armor.]
[Adventurer's Short Sword (Common)- A well crafted sword. Attack +5(10 - 50%)]
[Minor Healing Potion (Common)- Restores 20 HP. Doses left (5/5).]
[Human Mandrake x 3 (Legendary)- ?????? ???? ??? ???? ???? ???? ???? ? ????? ????.]
[Small Coin Purse (Money)- Amount (20 GP)]
The second to last item was weird. The description was just question marks. He wondered if it was because it was a legendary item. They were some sort of root vegetables shaped like a person, and smelled refreshing. He wondered how it was supposed to be used. But Will didn't have long to think about it, because almost as soon as he had pulled out the last item, the chest vanished, and a glowing blue circle appeared on the floor on the far side of the room. Will guessed that it would take him back to the entrance of the dungeon, or at least he hoped.
Before stepping into the circle, he had a few things to do. Will considered the new clothes he had received. When he tried examining his own clothes, no windows appeared, so he assumed that they weren't special or had any protective qualities. Better to change into the new ones, who knew what was waiting for him after he stepped into the circle.
He changed quickly and, after a short struggle, even equipped his new sword around his waist. Luckily it had come with a scabbard and belt. Will was surprised how comfortable the clothes were. From the older design of the clothes, he had expected them to be stiff and scratchy, but they were just as nice as his normal clothes, maybe even better.
Will then opened up his storage to put away his other prizes. Storing them all caused nearly a third of his MP to drain, and left him feeling slightly light headed. Looking at his old clothes he sighed, they were all clothes, but something told him that they would count as different items. Between his shoes, pants, shirt, phone, keys, and wallet, not only would it cost nearly all of his MP to store, but it would only leave him with one available slot.
Will made a decision. Wherever he was, it didn't seem like Earth, so he would leave those things behind. He had a hunch that he wouldn't need them anymore. Will left the vestiges of his old life neatly stacked in one corner, and stepped through the glowing circle into his new one.