Jeff spent the next few hours shuttling backwards and forwards between the forge and the library, fully absorbed with designing his first metalworking project.
He had decided to craft a shield—a relatively simple but essential piece of military equipment. Jeff hoped it would provide much-needed protection in the battles ahead.
At first, he toyed with the idea of crafting a large, pavise-style shield, one that could offer complete protection from ground to head height. With the unlimited capacity of his ring and the functionality of the magical inventory storage system, the usual concerns surrounding storage and the unwieldiness of the medieval shield design became irrelevant. He could equip and de-equip it at a moment’s notice.
But ultimately, he discarded the idea, opting for a smaller, lighter design.
The pavise, Jeff felt, lent itself to a more passive, defensive combat style, more suited for warriors who primarily used ranged weapons to harry an enemy from a distance. It wasn’t compatible with his preference for a aggressive, close-quarters melee strategy.
Another factor in his decision was the limited amount of Rivan dark steel left in his inventory. Incorporating the rare metal into the shield meant a smaller design was the more prudent choice.
In the end, Jeff settled on crafting a heater shield. This choice of design, with its pointed bottom and curved top offered a good balance between mobility and protection, particularly for the upper body.
With his plan set, Jeff spent a moment familiarizing himself with the forge’s mechanisms, looking through the hoppers and bins lining the walls of the room to find the necessary materials before igniting the furnace.
He found a bin stacked full of solid steel bars, which he helped himself to, loading several into a large stone crucible designed for just such a purpose.
Once the bars had melted in the furnace, he poured the liquid steel into a simple wax mold he had prepared earlier. After letting the metal cool slightly, Jeff began hammering it into shape, delivering even blows to flatten and lengthen the soft steel. With each stroke, he smoothed out imperfections, guiding the material into the perfect form.
As he worked, Jeff fell into a steady rhythm, a growing connection forming between him and the metal. He unexpectedly found himself enjoying the physical labor. There was something calming about the process—working the steel, the way the shield gradually took shape under his hands. For a moment, all his worries faded. The Tournament, the Vogels, the looming deadline to escape Tantalus—all vanished from his thoughts. There was only him and the shield.
With each stroke, he felt the metal growing stronger beneath his hammer. Finally satisfied with the foundation, Jeff rolled the edges, leaving space for the shield boss in the center. He set the heater-shaped steel plate on the crafting table to cool.
Reaching into his ring storage, Jeff retrieved the remaining ingot of Rivan darksteel. The gold veins running through its dark surface glinted mysteriously in the light of the forge.
He grabbed a smaller crucible from a shelf and straining under its weight, placed the ingot inside, adding a handful of diamonds to act as a catalyst.
Jeff tended to the fire, working the bellows tirelessly, bringing the rune-inscribed coals to a blazing seven thousand degrees. The forge’s heat intensified, and Jeff was dripping with sweat, but he kept pumping air between the coals until they glowed white hot.
He carefully placed the crucible into the center of the fire and continued working the bellows.
The diamonds shattered and began to sublimate, turning into gas and reacting with the Rivan darksteel, which started to shimmer and liquefy.
Donning gloves, Jeff used tongs to pull the crucible from the forge.
Mindful not to spill a drop, he poured the precious molten metal into the shield mold. The exotic metal shifted and flowed, perfectly filling every contour of the shield’s surface.
Jeff watched, fascinated as within moments, the entire shield, front and back, was coated in the densely glowing black metal. The only part left uncovered was the indentation in the center, reserved for the shield boss.
Poised to begin the next stage—runic engraving—Jeff suddenly realized that it would have to wait. Fatigue had crept up on him. He would have to finish the shield off another day.
Jeff returned to their simple room at the inn and relieved Fracta of her guard duty.
As she disappeared through her own portal into the Tournament Store, Jeff dragged together a few of the bales of hay lying around the room. Collapsing back onto the makeshift mattress, he fell into a deep slumber.
----------------------------------------
Early the next morning, Jeff and Fracta rose at first light, much invigorated after their sleep.
They breakfasted heartily on a nourishing meal of scrambled roc egg mixed with chopped up pieces of the last Ahud nut.
When cooked on Jeff’s new aether-powered camp stove, the flesh of the nuts took on the texture of avocado, and were bursting with flavor.
Jeff grinned to himself as he dined off a proper plate and scooped up his egg with real utensils, pleased with the cooking equipment he had purchased from the Tournament Store the day before.
Slipping between the sparse shacks dotting the periphery of the Tantalus Town central square, they moved quietly and with stealth, so as not to wake the still slumbering residents.
The heat of day had not yet started in earnest, but it was still unpleasantly hot and humid, and a damp breeze blew in from the marshes, carrying with it the stink of rot and decay.
Nevertheless, Jeff and Fracta headed out, eager to grind in the dungeons.
Emwarr’s briefing and the shock discovery that the deadline to leave Tantalus was fast approaching had led Jeff and Fracta to strategize their dungeon dives.
Because parties were not allowed to enter, they would not be able to fight together, so accordingly they had decided to split up—Fracta heading for the dungeon to the west of town, while Jeff would enter the one to the East. That way they would be able to gather more intel and hopefully improve their dungeon grinds over the next two days.
Jeff and Fracta’s strategy was simple: to enhance their abilities to the fullest before entering the critical Elimination Rounds. With two days remaining before the window of opportunity closed, they knew that their assault on the Citadel would have the best possible chance of success if they were both at the peak of Grade I.
Jeff was determined to hone his understanding of the Dao, in particular the Dao of Sundering, an offensive principle which he believed was the correct term for the Dao he was attempting to awaken.
From his conversations with Misty, he had learnt that by gaining a deeper understanding of his first Dao he would eventually go on to receive a Dao seed—a way of tapping into a reservoir of power which would greatly amplify his combat effectiveness.
Meanwhile Fracta faced her own unique challenge. As she still had no clear understanding of any potential future attunement, she was eager to immerse herself in the brutal but target-rich environment of a Dungeon. Her goal was not just to refine her combat skills, but also to uncover the nature of her own potential Dao.
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“You take care of yourself in there. Stay sharp.” Fracta said, genuine emotion and affection sounding in her voice.
“Likewise. Don’t take any unnecessary chances,” Jeff replied, mindful of Emwarr’s dire description of the dangers facing those who ventured beyond the treacherous swamps and into the dungeons, especially their high mortality rates.
Jeff and Fracta parted ways, each heading in opposite directions.
Jeff traced his steps back around the still silent town square, then veered off across the road, making his way through the mist-shrouded eastern marshes.
Meanwhile, Fracta activated her [Shadow Walker] Skill to proceed unobserved across the terrain to the west. The warning from Emwarr, the rodent-woman about the pervasive institutional arachnophobia within Sharkey’s army was making her extra cautious about being seen outdoors.
Jeff navigated the boggy swamp with a mixture of caution and haste, covering the distance in about half an hour.
Misty chose that moment to pop into existence beside him, floating along by his side in her beachball form as he navigated the swamp. Unprompted, she regaled him with facts about the planet and the terrain around him.
Tantalus is classified as a Grade F clinker-planet, its existence predating the Vogel Ascendancy, even the System itself. The Crystal Citadel is a curious relic of a now extinct race that once populated this Sector. The planet’s resources have been ruthlessly extracted by successive civilizations over the millennia, leaving it stripped bare. Only the Citadel and the two dungeons remain.
On two separate occasions he saw large beasts lumbering in the distance, their massive bulks partially visible through the mist. Fortunately they were heading in opposite directions, so Jeff reached the dungeon entrance without incident.
The swamp ended abruptly, bordered by imposing rocky cliffs, their tops lost in the perpetual thick brown clouds. According to Emwarr, this geological formation was in fact just the start of a series of massive mountain ranges, a natural curtain wall that no-one had ever managed to successfully traverse.
Nestled in between two huge rocky outcroppings, Jeff found the entrance to the Dungeon—a three meter tall door without markings or protuberances, made of the ubiquitous dull grey material Jeff had encountered before in other System-generated environments.
Jeff stood before the imposing Dungeon door, reading the starkly worded System message that popped up in his display.
Warning!
Grade I Dungeon, Tantalus-East. Single Level. Entry Prohibited to Entities Above Grade I.
Enter at your own risk.
This dungeon is currently set to individual-entry, no-retreat/no-surrender mode. The formation of parties is strictly prohibited.
Dungeon completion is mandatory before exiting. The Dungeon Boss must be defeated to exit the dungeon.
The Dungeon will respawn 1 hour after the Boss has been Defeated.
Enter Dungeon?
Y/N
Jeff was once again struck by the similarities between the Tournament’s mechanics to his experiences of gaming back on Earth. He knew that a dungeon in any gaming environment was a place of opportunity, somewhere to gain experience and level Skills, but always with an element of danger.
Jeff pulled Leech from his inventory, the sword seemed to hum in his grip, clearly eager for combat.
He unhesitatingly selected ‘Y’, and the door before him swished open silently, revealing a narrow, claustrophobic corridor, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side, with a low slung uneven ceiling. The passage seemed to be carved from solid rock. Antique looking oil lamps dangled from iron sconces, casting their flickering light over the uneven stone walls.
Stepping across the threshold into the tunnel-like passage, Jeff noticed an immediate drop in temperature. Slime and moisture glinted on the rocks and the rough-hewn floor was slippery beneath his feet.
As soon as he ventured into the passageway, the dungeon door behind him dissolved into the rock wall, sealing him in.
Jeff walked further along the subterranean passageway, which seemed to have been cut from the living rock. After traveling along its length for a couple of minutes, he felt a twinge of unease when he reached the final oil lamp. It flickered dimly in its sconce, but the tunnel continued onwards, shrouded in darkness.
With some effort, Jeff was able to free the antique oil lamp from its bracket. Holding it overhead so as not to dazzle himself, he proceeded further down the inky-black tunnel.
For over an hour he marched onwards, the tunnel cutting in a straight line through the rock, until his lamp flickered one last time and went out.
Jeff was plunged into pitch blackness.
Dropping the now useless oil lamp behind him with a clatter, he quickly retrieved his phone from his inventory and switching it on, activated its torch function. Again, he proceeded onwards.
More time passed and eventually his phone flashed a low battery warning. He reluctantly powered down the phone, not wanting to run the battery out completely. Once again, the darkness smothered him, and without the comforting presence of his phone Jeff felt more alone than ever.
“Misty, any idea how long this is going to take?” Jeff called out, his voice echoing hollowly along the corridor.
No answer from the AI.
Jeff continued forwards, cautiously edging his way along the tunnel, worried about traps, or other pitfalls. His earlier confidence was rapidly evaporating.
Suddenly, something brushed his face in the dark, causing him to spin around, arms flailing.
Another slight sensation of pressure on his back. Then abruptly, a heavy, foul smelling mass dropped on him, covering his head and shoulders like a blanket.
Wherever the vile weight made contact, an icy, bone-chilling coldness seeped through, so cold it burned and numbed.
You have been immobilized by a Grade I Cave Slime Mold
Panicked, Jeff clawed at the suffocating mass covering his head, managing to rip clumps of it off of him with his bare hands. The cave slime mold—an amorphous blob of freezing cold fungi—slid over his face, attempting to send tendrils into his mouth and nostrils.
As he tore desperately at the disgusting, gelatinous mass, it simply oozed back, instantly reforming into its original shape, all the while freezing his exposed skin. Jeff was racked with shivers as the cold seeped into his bones.
A Grade I Cave Slime Mold has Injured You
Warning: Only Ten HP remaining
Forcing himself not to panic, Jeff continued methodically ripping off chunks of the blob with his cold numbed fingers. Eventually he managed to pull off the bulk of the creature, and it either died or gave up on its attack. In the dark Jeff was unable to see.
Another system notification appeared in his vision.
Congratulations!
You have killed a Grade I Cave Slime Mold
Reward: One Omega Energy Point
Your Strength Attribute has risen by 1
Jeff picked out the remaining bits of slimy fungal residue that clung to his hair.
“What the hell was that?” he shouted angrily into the darkness.
Shivering, he briskly rubbed his hands together to restore some feeling to his cold-numbed fingers.
He reluctantly continued on, trudging along the nightmarish corridor, his only company the sound of his own footsteps echoing hollowly through the dark.
After some time, Jeff’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud clang that reverberated up and down the tunnel. His foot had struck something metallic. Groping around in the darkness, Jeff’s fingers closed around the familiar shape of the empty oil lamp he had discarded earlier.
Damn it, I’ve walked back the way I came…
Cursing softly to himself, Jeff turned, and once again traipsed down the long black corridor in the correct direction.
This time he was alerted to danger in advance—a faint movement in the air, or a marginally darker blotch on the cave wall —triggered his senses, causing him to jump to one side. A gelatinous mass thudded onto the ground where he had just stood.
You have evaded the attack of a Grade I Cave Slime Mold
Your Defense Attribute has risen by 1
Your Cognition Attribute has risen by 1
Jeff lashed out with his boots repeatedly, sending pieces of the quivering organism flying down the tunnel.
You have killed a Grade I Cave Slime Mold
Reward: One Omega Energy Point
Your Offense Attribute has risen by 1
Jeff proceeded forwards cautiously. Wary of getting turned around again, he trailed his hand along the cool, damp rock wall on his left, while peering forward into the darkness.
Congratulations!
You have learnt the Skill Night Vision (Level 1)
Was it his imagination, or was it slightly less dark now? Jeff continued on.
Without warning, his hand met only empty air—the wall had disappeared.
His surroundings seemed to have changed—he was no longer in a tunnel. The passage’s sidewalls had ended, and Jeff found himself in a cavernous space, although how large was anyone’s guess as there was still no light.
Sliding his feet forward slowly, arms outstretched, Jeff continued forwards into the gloom. His caution paid off when his probing foot suddenly encountered thin air instead of the rocky flooring. Teetering back from the brink, Jeff settled himself on the lip of the drop, heart pounding.
Pacing carefully up and down the edge, Jeff determined that the tunnel had opened up into a semicircular ledge overlooking a chasm. Just how deep was the chasm, he wondered?
He fished a quarter out of his pocket and let it drop down into the dark expanse before him.
One second…Two seconds…Three seconds…
A distant, faint ‘clink' rose up from the depths.
The coin hit something rocky below. Jeff did a quick mental calculation and estimated the abyss to be over a hundred feet deep. Not a survivable fall, even with his boosted Vitality and Endurance.
Jeff racked his brains trying to think of a way to measure the width of the divide, but was unable to come up with any reliable method. He tossed the remaining nickels and dimes in his pocket into the void; judging by the sounds produced, there was indeed something solid on the other side, and reasonably close too.
Whether there was horizontal ground, or even a ledge, was unclear.
Deliberating for a while, Jeff eventually came to a grim conclusion—the only direction was forward.
Gonna have to make a leap of faith…
Edging backwards to the tunnel entrance, Jeff positioned himself in a semi-crouched stance, trying to work up the necessary courage. He took a few deep breaths of the stale cavern air, then ran at full pelt through the darkness, towards the edge.