PART 1 - SPECIAL DELIVERY
Ventex started the next day as if he was going to be entering the Dungeon as soon as he left the bakery, but he was stopped by Maetha and Lorgus before he could leave.
“Stop, stop, we need you to deliver something,” Maetha shouted at him before he could cross the entire bakery, and he looked to his father.
They were both behind the counter, making fresh bread. Lorgus placed a basket on the counter and said, “This is going to Athella’s enchanting teacher. We need them delivered by fourth-bell, so you’ll have to hurry.”
“Really?” Ventex said, looking between them, but they were serious. He grabbed the basket, and placed it in his last free handheld Inventory slot.
“Was that…?” Lorgus started to ask, but Ventex had already turned around and left.
Ventex hadn’t told anyone he was a Player instead of a User, and it was fun to surprise his parents with his abilities. A few shopkeepers knew because he transferred Credits into silver coins in front of them, but they probably saw one or two per year and wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.
Once I come out as a Player to mom and dad, they might make a Stat fruit pie to celebrate.
Athella’s enchanting teacher lived in the northern section of Orbya, in a well-off area. Although there were Enchanter Classes, it was possible to enchant objects without using Skills, and anyone who could do it on a large scale was guaranteed to make a lot of money.
Seletia was nearing ninety years old and had a high Level Enchanter Class. Many of her students had become Enchanters or had an enchanting-related Class upon their Awakening, and the dozen or so students she currently had were hoping for a similar outcome.
Ventex approached the school and looked in through the window. It was on the first floor of the building where Seletia lived, similar in layout to the bakery Ventex and his family lived above. While class was being taught, the door was locked, so Ventex had to wait outside. Through the window, Ventex could see the students painting runes onto strips of paper and sticking the paper onto rods.
I might try learning how to enchant stuff now that I can Respec to have maximum Intellect.
The class ended a few minutes later, and one of the students unlocked the door for Ventex. Ventex approached Seletia’s desk and brought the basket out of his Inventory and handed it to Seletia. “Good morning, Miss Seletia.”
“Good morning, Venny,” Seletia said. “Excuse me, but did you Awaken as a Player?”
Ventex realized he used his Inventory right in front of the class, and he wasted his chance to surprise Athella. “Oh, yeah, I got lucky,” he nervously laughed.
“Whoa, a Player,” a random student said.
“I’ve never seen one before,” another said.
“I saw one at the bank exchanging silver coins for gold coins. They can suck them up through their hands!” another claimed.
Seletia opened the basket and took out a muffin and held it up. “Alright, class, we can talk about Players once everyone gets a muffin. Be sure to thank Athella and her brother for their gifts.”
The students shuffled around to get muffins from the basket, and Ventex stood to the side with Seletia. Athella remained in her seat, talking to her neighbor - who occasionally snuck glances at Ventex.
“Awakening as a Player is very lucky,” Seletia said. “If I can ask, did you Awaken a unique System?”
Whatever Ventex said, Athella might hear him, so he lied, “No, it’s pretty much the standard Player System.”
The longer the ruse, the sweeter the reveal.
“We heard from Athella that you’re a Classless. Don’t let it get you down. I’ve seen many Classless, and they’re often the ones who discover new Classes for the System.” said Seletia.
“I’m fine with it,” Ventex said. “I’ve been running the Toxic Slime Dungeon, and I’m already Level nine!”
Seletia was surprised. “Level nine? Athella said your Awakening was only a few days ago.”
“Yep; day before yesterday,” Ventex nodded.
“That’s fast,” Seletia was visibly surprised. “Don’t try to rush things when your Leveling speed slows down. You’ve been lucky so far, but all it takes is one unlucky day to end everything.”
“I know, I know,” Ventex said. He had learned a lot about Dungeons before his Awakening, and he wasn’t about to make a stupid mistake like running into a Boss chamber he was Underleveled for. “I’ve got to go. Give the basket to Athella to take home, please.”
PART 2 - RELAXING MADE EASY
Ventex exited the building and walked toward the Dungeons. He wanted to use his new Skills: Sprint and Jump, but there wasn’t anywhere to use them in the crowded streets. If he maximized his Strength, he could probably reach somewhere really high, but there wasn’t any point to jumping on top of something and perching there.
He occasionally ran when the crowd thinned out, but he stopped outside a large bathhouse. Water was expensive in the city, so long baths with a lot of water to soak in were rare. The bathhouse charged a whole silver coin, but their facilities were run by a magician with a Perk that made his water last a long time, have a comfortable temperature, and give off a pleasant smell.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Ventex entered the bathhouse and entered the male bathing section. Normal Users need to take off their clothes and store them in lockers, but Ventex used his Inventory to store everything he was wearing in an instant. He checked his Inventory to make sure it only took up one slot.
Credits: 2
Weapon Slots: [Wooden Training Spear], [Sheathed Steel Sword], [Empty]
Armor Slots: [Ordinary Dungeon Diving Gear], [Empty], [Empty]
Ventex rinsed off his body and used a bar of soap to get clean, then lowered himself into the bath. There weren’t many people in the morning, so Ventex had plenty of room to move around.
He relaxed in the bath and thought about his goals. Above all, he wanted Athella to shower him in praise. He had thought his Awakening would’ve gotten her to stop treating him like a scruffy dog that wandered in from the street, but she didn’t talk to him a single time since he revealed his Class: Classless.
Ventex lost himself for a moment daydreaming about his sister bragging about him being a high Level Player who travels the continent fighting monsters.
To reach that point, Ventex needed to clear all the Dungeons in Orbya. The Iron Wraith Dungeon would be difficult, but the Skill Book: Iron Skin was worth it. The price at the Gilded Eagle Emporium had been fifteen gold coins, but it could be earned at around Level 20 on the fourth floor of the Iron Wraith Dungeon.
As for what he would do after getting the Skill Book: Iron Skin and getting Athella to treat him with respect, he had no particular plan. Traveling to different cities and clearing any Dungeons he could find was a good plan, but he could also join an expedition to the New World to see if he could get lucky.
There weren’t any cities near Orbya that could be easily traveled to, and stores like the Gilded Eagle Emporium only received stock from local trades or by teleportation. He needed to buy a movement Skill like Flight before considering any long-distance traveling.
Ventex exited the bath after several tens of minutes and dried off with a towel in the changing area. Once he was dry, he selected his outfit in his Inventory, all everything appeared on his body exactly how it had been before he entered the bathhouse. Unfortunately, his clothes hadn’t been cleaned in a few days, and he could feel it.
I need to add a set of normal clothes to my Inventory.
PART 3 - A QUICK TRIP
Ventex had less than three silver coins on him, so he needed to clear a few floors in the Dungeon to restock. He entered the Toxic Slime Dungeon and used Respec to have Stats that would allow him to utilize Sprint to move through the Dungeon as quickly as possible. For this run, he only wanted to clear the Boss chambers and get their rewards, then exit the Dungeon and enter it again to reset them.
Ventex the Versatile
Class: Classless
Level: 9
VIT: 8
STR: 10
END: 16
DEX: 10
INT: 16
WIS: 10
AFF: 1
SPI: 1
Available: 0
For running quickly, Ventex needed an even spread between Strength, Endurance, and Dexterity. He still needed Intellect and Wisdom to take care of any Mobs along the way, but he didn’t need as much power to hold them back as to kill them.
The first floor of the Dungeon only had five toxic slimes, and Ventex easily pushed them away with Telekinesis and ran past them. Against the floor one Boss, his ten Intellect was enough to shatter its core. The Boss didn’t Drop anything, and the treasure chest was empty.
The second floor was similar to the first, except in one instance. He had a long tunnel to travel down, and a single toxic slime stood in the middle of it, calmly blobbing up and down without a care in the world. Ventex thought he would walk past it and hold it against the wall instead of pushing it to the next intersection. However, when he tried to step past it, the toxic slime managed to fling a drop of goo onto Ventex’s jeans.
“Shit, what the hell?!” he cursed. He hadn’t seen a toxic slime throw a piece of its body at him yet, so it caught him by surprise. He pushed the toxic slime much harder against the wall and flung it to the side, shattering the core against the wall in the process.
The toxic slime’s goo ate through a section of Ventex’s jeans before becoming inert. He looked down at his favorite pair of adventuring jeans with dismay. He had on a second pair of jeans under the first - originally intended to protect against the bites of poisonous rats - and they were mostly unharmed. He would need to borrow his mother’s tools and patch the hole when he exited the Dungeon.
Ventex didn’t take any more chances with squeezing past Mobs. He had to take two breaks to clear headaches for Telekinesis or restore stamina for Sprint, but he arrived at the Boss chamber without any other issues. He used Respec to take some Stat Points out of Dexterity and put them into Wisdom, and the Boss died easily. The treasure chest contained three silver coins and a pair of gauntlets.
On the third floor, Ventex used Respec to move his Stat Points to an arrangement that would allow him to use a powerful Telekinesis for a long time.
Ventex the Versatile
Class: Classless
Level: 9
VIT: 3
STR: 3
END: 3
DEX: 3
INT: 36
WIS: 32
AFF: 1
SPI: 1
Available: 0
Ventex walked through the third floor at a steady pace. He slowed down immensely compared to the second floor, and he focused on disabling the poisonous rats that attacked him and pushing the toxic slimes away. He killed the noxious slime - it didn’t Drop anything - and reached the portal to the Boss chamber without killing anything else.
Ventex kept his Stats the same for the Boss, and he could feel the difference between having 32 this time and 42 last time. The toxic slime resisted Ventex’s Telekinesis for almost a full second, but it was unable to stop Ventex from ripping the core out of its body. It Dropped a stamina fortification potion, and the treasure chest contained five silver coins and a set of poleyns.
Ventex had earned at least eight Credits from clearing the first three floors of the Toxic Slime Dungeon, and it only took him a couple hours. He was dissatisfied with not gaining Levels, but he had to slow down his Level gain if he wanted consistent Drops and more silver coins from the Boss treasure chests.
A moment later, Ventex shook his head.
That’s not for me. I can enter other Dungeons if I need money, and I can go to the New World if I can’t find any of a high enough Level.
Ventex stepped through the exit portal. He sold the iron armor pieces for two silver and three copper coins, bringing him up to thirteen silver coins. Of course, he converted all of them to Credits in his Inventory.
His next destination after leaving the Dungeon was the clothier’s shop. Maetha had patches for jeans at home, so Ventex only needed to buy a set of clothes for walking around the city. Using his Inventory with an outfit would remove everything from his body, including his shoes, so he stopped at a shoemaker for a new pair. He still had money, so he visited a hatter and bought the latest trend. All-in-all, he was down to his last Credit, but at least his wardrobe had improved.