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Respec System
Chapter 2 - A Day in the Life

Chapter 2 - A Day in the Life

PART 1 - MORNING RUN

Ventex woke up the next day feeling better than he ever had in the past. His Vitality was only increased by one point, but it made him statistically healthier than ever before.

Ventex wanted to spend the whole day inside the Toxic Slime Dungeon, so he made a few preparations. He ate a large breakfast and drank plenty of water, then stored a few dry rations and a canteen of water in a sack he could throw over his shoulder. He wore two sets of jeans to protect his legs. His boots were filled with holes, but he wanted to try getting a pair from a Boss’s treasure chest, so he continued to wear the mangled pair from the previous day. He didn’t feel like he needed his helmet for protection, but he wore it anyway; for style.

He walked down to the bakery and hurried outside. Maetha and Lorgus didn’t stop him - or might’ve not even seen him - and he started running as soon as he hit the street. Orbya was built around the Dungeons, so they could be reached from anywhere within the city in relatively little time.

After entering the Toxic Slime Dungeon, Ventex used Respec to have more Stat Points in Intellect and Wisdom, then ran through the first floor as quickly as he could. The five Level one toxic slimes had their Drops and Exp halved because Ventex was five Levels higher than them, and they were hopelessly weak against his Telekinesis. Even the Boss was no match for him. Unfortunately, he did not get a pair of boots from the treasure chest.

The treasure chest contained tassets, probably worth one or two silver coins, and two loose silver coins below it. The five Level one toxic slimes Dropped one stamina restoration potion, and the Boss also Dropped one stamina restoration potion. Clearing the floor had taken less than an hour, and it had earned him about four silver coins.

The second floor had Level two toxic slimes, so Ventex’s chance of getting Drops should’ve been higher, but he only got one stamina fortification potion from all ten of them. One of the poisonous rats Dropped a Skill Book: Sharp Bite, and he used it for himself. The second floor’s Boss Dropped a stamina restoration potion, and the treasure chest contained four silver coins and the boots he was hoping for. Unfortunately, the boots were too big for him, and he didn’t have thick socks to fill in the extra space.

Ventex debated challenging the next floor, but his desire to have sturdy, well-fitting boots won out. He exited the Dungeon and sold his loot for two silver and twenty-five copper coins, making his total profit from the morning eight silver and twenty-five copper coins. It was a good haul for a couple hours of work, but it wouldn’t be sustainable forever. Eventually, Ventex would hit Level thirty-five, and nothing he killed in the Toxic Slime Dungeon would have Drops.

PART 2 - AFTERNOON RUN

Ventex went home and switched out his old boots for the ones he got from the second floor treasure chest. He had to wear a second pair of socks to stop his foot from sliding around inside them, but they had a sturdy iron coating around the sides, heel, and toes. They were heavier than Ventex’s old boots, but two points of Strength made the difference almost unnoticeable.

It was still pretty early, so Ventex returned to the Toxic Slime Dungeon and worked his way to the third floor for the second time that day. The toxic slimes he killed along the way Dropped one stamina restoration potion and three stamina fortification potions. The treasure chests in the Boss chambers yielded a helmet and a set of vambraces and a total of four silver coins. The rewards were lower, but Ventex only needed to move onto the next floor to get better Drops.

However, Ventex chose to leave the Dungeon and have lunch at a nearby restaurant. The helmet and vambraces sold for three silver coins, and the potions were worth forty copper coins. The restaurant had grilled chicken and vegetables for one silver coin, and his food was brought out quickly. The restaurant had options for taking food into the Dungeons, but Ventex could get much cheaper rations from the bakery.

After eating, Ventex returned to the Dungeon. This time, he planned on clearing the third floor, which would take a few hours.

At Level eight, Ventex was too high Level to get significant Exp from the Mobs on the first and second floor. Even including the Bosses, he didn’t raise his Level.

The Drop chances were also abysmal. He only got two stamina restoration potions and one stamina fortification potion. The treasure chests had four silver coins combined and a set of iron greaves and a chestplate. The greaves weren’t anything special, but the chestplate had a lot of weight and would be worth a lot of silver. It was also easy to wear, so it didn’t take up any room in his sack.

The third floor of the Toxic Slime Dungeon introduced a few Mob: the noxious slime. It wasn’t any more dangerous than the toxic slimes, but it emitted a stinky cloud of gas when threatened, slowing down any attempts to quickly clear the floor. Although it was annoying to fight, it had great Drops: the ever-useful cure poison potion and funny Skill Book: Annoying Gas. However, it spawned at Level one, meaning the Drop chances were almost zero. If Ventex wanted one of the Drops, he would have to try clearing the earlier floors without killing any Mobs, then killing only the noxious slime on the third floor and leaving if it didn’t Drop what he wanted.

The toxic slime Mobs on the third floor were Level four. They were killed easily, and Ventex only needed to take one break to allow his headache to dissipate. The Level two poisonous rats were barely stronger than on the previous floor, but Ventex took out his spear and stabbed them while holding them in the air with Telekinesis, and they all died with one stab.

The noxious slimes were - predictably - the most annoying. Ventex killed it as soon as he saw it, but it immediately released a cloud of foul-smelling gas when its core was ripped from its body. Ventex backtracked to a random tunnel and continued in that direction for a while, losing his calculated path to the exit portal.

He gained one Level from the Mobs and a few Drops, including one Skill Book: Toxic Touch. Overall, it was much better than the previous two floors, which made sense because the Level difference was lower.

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The third floor’s Boss was Level seven, and it provided some resistance to Ventex’s Telekinesis, but it wasn’t able to delay its death for more than half a second. It Dropped a Skill Book: Toxic Touch, and the treasure chest contained five silver coins and a pair of boots with a slightly higher quality than the ones Ventex got in the morning.

He changed his boots in the Boss chamber and sorted his loot: four stamina restoration potions, two stamina fortification potions, two Toxic Touch Skill Books, one Sharp Bite Skill Book, greaves, boots, and a chestplate. All together, Ventex wouldn’t be able to fit much more in his sack, so he needed to leave the Dungeon.

It was possible to store the equipment in his Inventory’s armor slots, but those were for full outfits; He’d need a second outfit of just undergarments that he could wear miscellaneous armor pieces over.

I wonder: If I hold the greaves or boots in one hand, can I store them in a weapon slot? They could be considered blunt weapons in certain scenarios.

Ventex tested his idea, and the armor pieces entered his two remaining Inventory slots for handhelds.

His storage problem was temporarily solved, but he still wanted to leave the Dungeon before it became evening.

He sold the potions for eighteen copper coins. The Skill Books went for four silver and twenty copper coins. The iron equipment sold for seven silver and twenty-two copper coins. In total, Ventex received thirteen silver coins from his Drops, and the nine silver coins from the treasure chests made his earnings for the afternoon a cool twenty-two silver coins, which he transferred into Credits.

PART 3 - SPENDING IT ALL

Ventex had a little over eighty Credits, and he wanted to make some purchases. He returned to the Gilded Eagle Emporium and browsed the available Skill Books.

Telekinesis had been cheap because Mentalists were rare. A Skill Book for a commonly unrestricted Skill like Fireball was usually more expensive because more Awakened could use it, and it had more potential in combat. If Ventex used Fireball against the poisonous rats in the Toxic Slime Dungeon, he would be able to kill them with a single cast, and he wouldn’t need as much Spirit as he needed Wisdom for Telekinesis.

The Skill: Fireball cost ten silver coins, even though it was only good for one thing. Ventex bought it and learned it, then started looking for a movement Skill.

The pinnacle movement Skills were Air Steps, Wind Walking, Teleport and Flight. Each one was usable by a different Class type, and they were all prohibitively expensive. The cheapest was Flight, coming in at twenty gold coins, or 1,000 silver coins.

Ventex looked for a cheaper alternative. There was Jump, which increased his jump height based on Strength, and there was Sprint, which increased his running speed based on Dexterity. Together, they cost nine silver coins, and Ventex bought them both.

Next, Ventex needed a Skill for physical combat. He could use Telekinesis to hold back rats and slimes to some extent, but he couldn’t rely on it forever. There were Skills like Thrust and Sweep for melee weapons, but Ventex could emulate them easily enough without the Skill. He looked for something that would give his spear an added punch that he wouldn’t be able to get from extra Stat Points. He settled on Phantom Thrust, which would create a second attack to follow his initial attack, thus doubling his damage. Against slimes, it would be like having one thrust to clear away its gooey body and one thrust to shatter the core. It cost fifteen silver coins.

Then, to have a Skill that used Strength, Ventex bought Heavy Impact for eight silver coins. It increased all damage with physical weapons by a flat amount increased by Strength.

He still had thirty-eight Credits. There weren’t any Skill Books he wanted that would cost the whole amount, but he thought of another purchase he wanted to make before he got too low: a real weapon. His wooden spear was sturdy enough to pierce a rat, but it wouldn’t be effective forever. Ventex needed a metal weapon that would be able to handle his increased Strength.

He left the Gilded Eagle Emporium and visited Adventurer’s Armaments, a store for weapons. They had everything from swords to whips, and they even had an enchanted section where the cheapest items were valued in gold coins.

A spear was a good weapon for someone who wasn’t trained in a specific weapon type, but its long length made it difficult to use in tight Dungeon corridors. Ventex passed the section for spears and browsed the swords. He looked for one short enough to use in a narrow Dungeon tunnel and with a good thrusting point.

That one is short enough, but it’s not made for thrusting. That one is perfect except the decorations make the price too high. I’ll have to get something cheaper.

Ventex settled on a shortsword with greater width toward the point for better momentum. If he needed to use it, he could use Respec to move some Stat Points from Wisdom or Intellect into Strength.

After choosing the sword, Ventex selected a matching scabbard and paid twenty silver coins for them. The sword would last a long time - as long as he wasn’t in the Iron Wraith Dungeon. He left the store and walked back to the Gilded Eagle Emporium and - along the way - transferred the sword and its scabbard to his inventory.

He had eighteen Credits left. With the rest of his money, he wanted to buy a Skill that he could use outside the Dungeon to have fun with.

Mental Message: Send a message to someone using thoughts. Enemies will passively block messages. Clarity increases with Wisdom.

Annoying Gas: Expel a cloud of foul-smelling air from behind. Stench increases with Strength.

Calculate: Solve mathematical equations. Complexity increases with Wisdom.

For one gold coin?! I can already do math - no Skill required!

Levitation: Hover above the ground. Speed and height increases with Wisdom.

Healing Touch: Stimulates VIT to induce healing. Local area only. Effect increases with Spirit.

He found one that was relatively unique and useful inside and outside the Dungeon, but it wasn’t really fun. However, Ventex’s desire for utility won out, and he bought the Skill Book: Healing Touch for fifteen silver coins.

Ventex left the store with three Credits in his Inventory and a handful of copper coins in his pocket. He was now poor, but his Stats and Skills would let him earn everything back and more. He headed home and checked his Status when he reached a less crowded street.

Ventex the Versatile

Class: Classless

Level: 9

VIT: 3

STR: 3

END: 3

DEX: 3

INT: 16

WIS: 42

AFF: 1

SPI: 1

Available: 0

Perks: Respec

Skills: Telekinesis, Toxic Touch, Sharp Bite, Fireball, Jump, Sprint, Phantom Thrust, Heavy Impact, Healing Touch

Credits: 3

Weapon Slots: [Wooden Training Spear], [Steel Shortsword], [Empty]

Armor Slots: [Empty], [Empty], [Empty]