PART 1 - THE GRIND
Ventex returned to the Toxic Slime Dungeon in the afternoon and organized his equipment for which Inventory slot he wanted it to fill. He could wear his sack with his food and water in it with his city clothes, and he wouldn’t need to carry it around the Dungeon anymore. He put the scabbard for his sword around his waist with his Dungeon clothes, but he continued to keep the sword in his Inventory to make it faster to bring out.
Running the Dungeon without killing any Mobs was the best way to earn money, but Ventex wasn’t satisfied without gaining Levels. The first floor’s Mobs were too low Level to provide any meaningful Exp, so Vented finished the floor after only killing one of them. However, it angered him when the Level one toxic slime Dropped a stamina fortification potion, as if to laugh at his expectations of Exp and Drop rates. Once again, Ventex got nothing from the Boss or its treasure chest.
On the second floor, Ventex killed a few toxic slimes and poisonous rats along the way to the Boss chamber’s portal. One of the toxic slimes Dropped a Skill Book: Toxic Touch, and Ventex had to wonder for a second time how he had gotten so lucky with the Drop chance. The Boss Dropped a stamina restoration potion, and the treasure chest had three silver coins and a pair of greaves.
He switched to his city clothes with his sack and put the greaves, Skill Book: Toxic Touch, and potions in it, then switched back to his Dungeon Diving clothes. The swap took less than a minute and was completely safe inside the empty Boss chamber. At this time, he used Respec to maximize his damage with Telekinesis, and he was ready to clear the third floor.
As expected, the third floor Mobs weren’t much stronger than the second floor Mobs, but Ventex finally got enough Exp to increase his Level. The Drops were also good: three stamina fortification potions, one Skill Book: Toxic Touch, and one Skill Book: Sharp Bite. The Boss Dropped both stamina potions, but the treasure chest had only a gorget and four silver coins. Ventex had expected to get five, but reaching Level ten lowered the multiplier below the threshold, dropping the reward to only four.
Ventex looked at the portal to the next floor and tried to remember what Levels the Mobs and Boss were at on the fourth floor. The Boss greatly increased in difficulty, but the normal Mobs weren’t harder than the previous floor’s Boss. Ventex increased his Wisdom to 50 and went through the portal.
He managed to keep his Wisdom high enough to instantly break through the resistance of the Level six toxic slimes on the fourth floor, and the poisonous rats were just as lightweight as before, making them easy pickings for his sword. The noxious slimes were only Level two and the easiest to kill.
Ventex Leveled again when he was about half way through the floor. The Skill Book: Annoying Gas still eluded him, but he did get one stamina restoration potion, two stamina fortification potions, one Skill Book: Toxic Touch, and one Skill Book: Sharp Bite.
True to his memory, the Boss was a Level ten toxic slime. It was larger than the ones before by a large amount, and it had more resistance to Ventex’s Telekinesis. Ventex pulled it with all of his mental strength, but the core only wobbled crazily inside the slime’s gelatinous body; it successfully held on.
Ventex took his sword out of his Inventory stared at the first toxic slime to completely resist him since he entered the Dungeon. Slimes were resistant to physical attacks against anywhere on their body except their core, so trying to kill it with only his sword was a bad idea. Whatever he did, his Intellect and Wisdom weren’t useful anymore, so he used Respec and mirrored his Stat Points into Affinity and Spirit.
The toxic slime scooted toward Ventex. It had taken Ventex a few seconds to think of what to do, but there was still some distance between them. Ventex activated the magical Skill he had bought just for this kind of situation: Fireball. It materialized in front of Ventex, then soared across the room and impacted the toxic slime.
The Fireball stopped the toxic slime from moving forward, but it wasn’t very effective. The toxic slime’s body deformed from the Fireball and needed half a second to return to normal, but it looked no less alive than before.
Ventex prepared to shoot another Fireball at the toxic slime when its body sank in on itself. The action confused Ventex, but then the toxic slime pushed the cavity outward, ejecting a blob of slime with it. Ventex immediately tried using Telekinesis to stop the flying blob, but his Intellect was now at one, and a huge headache hit him instead of the Skill activating.
Ventex raised his arms at the last second to block the blob, and it splattered against his forearms. Pain hit his arms, chest, and everywhere else the blob splashed, and it did nothing to distract Ventex from his headache.
He fell down and squinted at the Level ten toxic slime. It was scooting toward him again, almost about to swallow him and digest him like a snake.
Ventex activated Fireball again and shot the toxic slime directly in its center. Although he had increased his Affinity to sixteen, he didn’t have enough mana to support a full-strength Fireball, and the toxic slime was pushed back with little in the way of lasting effects.
Ventex tightened his grip on his sword and used Respec on his Stat Points in Spirit and brought his Strength up to 40 and his Vitality up to 23. His sixteen points in Affinity let him continue generating mana, and the added Vitality took a chunk off the pain he was feeling.
The toxic slime readied another blob to shoot at Ventex, and Ventex used Jump and Heavy Impact at the same time. The second Skill lasted until he hit something, so crossed most of the distance toward the toxic slime with his first Jump, then used Jump again and crossed the rest. He slashed through the toxic slime’s body and hit the core, cracking it in half.
The battle was won, but the toxic slime’s body exploded upon death, showering Ventex in goo. He cried out in pain - much harsher than before - and fell on the ground before the toxic slime’s body could disappear completely and turn into its Drops.
Ventex used Respec again - thanking the System for its blessing - and put all of his Stat Points into Vitality. His lifeforce shot up, and all of his physical wounds rapidly healed.
The four Skill enabling Stats - Vitality, Endurance, Intellect and Affinity - had benefits in addition to generating their special energy type. Intellect made Awakened smarter, Affinity gave them resistance to magical energy, Endurance replaced eating, drinking, and sleeping, and Vitality forced good health. A Vitality of 81 - Ventex’s current Vitality - wouldn’t be enough to restore lost limbs, but it could heal toxin-burned skin in seconds.
It couldn’t do anything about his messed up clothing, but thankfully he was wearing his helmet from his very first Boss treasure chest; his hair was safe.
PART 2 - TAKING A BREAK
Once Ventex was completely healed, he decided to end his Dungeon Diving for the day. The Boss hadn’t Dropped anything, but the treasure chest contained nine silver coins and a chestplate.
He swapped his outfits and exited the Dungeon, then sold everything he looted for seventeen silver and twenty copper coins. He needed to buy a new outfit for clearing the Dungeon in - maybe with leather armor instead of plain cloth - but it would have to wait for the next day.
Ventex walked home, occasionally transitioning Stat Points from Vitality into Affinity and Spirit to activate Healing Touch with. If taking Stat Points out of Intellect made Ventex dumber, taking Stat Points out of Vitality made him less healthy. He wasn’t certain it worked that way, but he still remembered lowering his Vitality to zero right after he Awakened, so he was going slow.
His Skill: Healing Touch made any Stat Points in Vitality more effective, but it only worked on a limited area. He was already fully healed, but it had a pleasant feeling, so he kept doing it. He continued to lower his Vitality until it reached eight, and he distributed his Stat Points in an even pattern.
Ventex the Versatile
Class: Classless
Level: 11
VIT: 8
STR: 8
END: 16
DEX: 8
INT: 16
WIS: 8
AFF: 16
SPI: 8
Available: 0
Ventex arrived home shortly before dinner. Athella had returned earlier than him and was making something in the bakery while Lorgus helped.
“Hey, dad,” Ventex said as he entered. He went straight for the stairs, but was stopped by Lorgus.
“Hey, Venny. Athella told me you caused a little scene at her class. Did it have anything to do with the basket of muffins we gave you this morning - or what happened to it when you picked it up?” Lorgus asked.
“Maybe,” Ventex said. “I guess those kids aren’t used to seeing a Dungeon Diver as cool as me.”
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“You should tell us if you’re a Player. Me and your mother can let you be more independent now that you’re an adult, but we still want to know what’s going on with your life.” Lorgus said.
“Alright, I’m a Player,” Ventex said and revealed his sword from his Inventory. He put it away and brought it out several times to show off. Lorgus and Athella had minimal reaction - considering they already knew about his status as a Player.
“Did you get a unique System?” Lorgus asked. One in a million people Awakened as Players instead of Users, and only a fraction of those had a unique System like Ventex did.
“It’s,” Ventex began to say, but he decided to not tell them about the Respec System. “I’m keeping it a secret. It’s close enough to the normal System that it doesn’t really matter.”
*Clang*Clang*Clang*
The sound of Maetha banding pans together echoed through the Bakery. “That’s dinner!” Ventex said and ran up the stairs.
PART 3 - RESUPPLYING
Ventex set out the next morning with a full belly and enough Dungeon rations to last him for two days. However, before he could go back to Dungeon Diving, he needed to do something about this equipment that was damaged by the fourth floor Boss. He had filled his last armor Inventory slot with underwear and took his spear out of its weapon Inventory slot before leaving home, and all his Dungeon supplies were in his sack, stored in a weapon Inventory slot. With eight Stat Points in Strength, he could lift a much heavier sack than before.
Ventex briefly thought about the limits of his Inventory while he walked to the shopping district. His armor slots could hold anything that was hanging on his body, and his weapon slots could hold anything he held in his hands. If held something in both hands, it would take only one Inventory slot, but if he held two separate objects in each hand, they would take up different Inventory slots. If he held something in one hand but rested it on his shoulder, it would take a weapon slot and an armor slot. There didn’t seem to be any limit to how heavy or how large something could be to be added to his Inventory. Ventex thought there might be a way to earn money with his Inventory, but he couldn’t think of anything at the moment.
An armorer close to Adventurer's Armaments had sets of leather armor for sale, but they were expensive. A basic set of full-body leather armor cost two gold coins - well outside of Ventex’s budget of 35 silver coins. Ventex looked around and settled instead on a set of padded clothing for 20 silver and an anti-toxic slime oil for five silver coins.
Ventex used a side room to change into his new armor and attach his scabbard to it. He transferred everything important from his old Dungeon Diving armor over to his new Dungeon Diving armor, making it so he could dump the old, toxic slime-ruined armor in the Dungeon when he got there.
Ventex swapped his new Dungeon Diving Armor for his city clothes, then left the armorer. He had about fifteen silver Credits left, and that would barely be enough for a new Skill that would hopefully be effective against the fourth floor Boss.
The Gilded Eagle Emporium had a section for Skills that were particularly useful against the Mobs of Orbya’s Dungeons, so Ventex quickly found one that was to his liking:
Icicle: Shoot a shard of ice a short distance. Cold, speed, and distance increases with Spirit.
The icicle created by the Skill had a good point for piercing the core of toxic slimes, and it would work well with either Telekinesis holding the core still or Fireball exploding the toxic slime’s body.
Ventex paid ten silver coins for it and left.
PART 4 - BACK AGAIN
Ventex returned to the Toxic Slime Dungeon and entered. He switched over to his new Dungeon Diving outfit and dumped the old one on the floor. He rubbed the anti-slime oil on his armor, then hurried to the third floor. Once there, he used Respec to distribute his Stat Points between Intellect, Wisdom, Affinity, and Spirit, allowing him to use his mental Skills and magic Skills to high effect.
Ventex the Versatile
Class: Classless
Level: 11
VIT: 1
STR: 1
END: 1
DEX: 1
INT: 8
WIS: 24
AFF: 16
SPI: 36
Available: 0
His Wisdom was enough to push back on toxic slimes and pick up poisonous rats, and his Spirit was enough to make his Fireballs deadly in two or three hits. He needed the extra Intellect and Affinity in case he encountered a group of Mobs, but he could always use Respec to maximize his Intellect or Affinity to refuel his mind or mana.
There was a lot of water in the Toxic Slime Dungeon, but it wasn’t enough to completely protect the Mobs of the third floor. His Fireballs vaporized large sections of slime when they hit, which rapidly drained the Mob’s Vitality. For the first time since he began Dungeon Diving, Ventex was killing Mobs by damaging their lifespan instead of their weakness.
Humans and creatures from the surface world had dynamic lifespans that changed according to the condition of their body, but Dungeon Mobs had lifespans that would permanently decrease when they took damage. Even if a Dungeon Mob could heal from an injury, it would take damage to its lifespan that it couldn’t recover from. Shattering a toxic slime’s core would instantly decrease its lifespan to zero, and so too would vaporizing its entire body except the core.
Ventex killed the Mobs on the third floor, but they didn’t give him very much Exp. The Boss’s treasure chest gave him four silver coins and a set of iron pauldrons that would sell for a couple silver coins.
Ventex entered the fourth floor, but he decided to change how he was doing things. He used Respec to remove all his Stat Points from Intellect and Wisdom, and he put them into Affinity and Spirit, increasing how much damage he could do.
Ventex the Versatile
Class: Classless
Level: 11
VIT: 1
STR: 1
END: 1
DEX: 1
INT: 1
WIS: 1
AFF: 20
SPI: 62
Available: 0
Ventex’s new Fireballs were enough to explode each toxic slime in one hit, but they also used up more mana. He had to take a few breaks for his mana to regenerate, but it was less than if he needed to wait for his mind to recover from using Telekinesis. His Level increased about halfway through the floor, and he added all eight Stat Points to Affinity.
At the portal to the Boss chamber, Ventex checked over his armor and his Stats. He reapplied the anti-slime oil to his clothes, then ate a biscuit.
I should’ve eaten this before applying the oil.
Once he was ready, Ventex stepped into the portal, arriving in the Boss chamber.
The Level ten toxic slime appeared innocent, but Ventex was back for vengeance. He hurled Fireball after Fireball at the Boss, exploding its body all over the chamber. After a few seconds of this, Ventex ran up on it and used Icicle to shatter the core, quickly ending the fight.
It was almost sad how quickly it ended for how much he psyched himself up for it. He took his eight silver coins and faulds from the treasure chest and got ready to enter the next floor.
The fifth floor of the Toxic Slime Dungeon didn’t introduce anything new, and the Mob were lower Level than fourth floor’s Boss. Ventex killed the Mobs easily, got another Level, and received plenty of Drops. The Skill Book: Annoying Gas still eluded him, as well as the cure poison potion.
Ventex stopped outside the portal to the fifth floor’s Dungeon, debating on whether or not he should enter. The Boss would be stronger than the Mobs, but it’s Level wouldn’t be too much higher, and it would be alone. He could exit the Dungeon and run through it a second time to gain more Levels, but defeating the Boss would give him more silver coins for buying better gear or Skills.
In the end, Ventex decided to go ahead and blast the fifth floor’s Boss as soon as he entered the chamber. He stepped through the portal and opened up with several Fireballs, leaving just enough mana to use Icicle once, which was enough to shatter the core.
The Boss didn’t drop anything, much to Ventex’s disappointment. However, the treasure chest contained 19 silver coins and a set of cuisses. It was a huge haul and almost enough to make Ventex reconsider farming the Dungeon for coins instead of Levels.
However, Ventex still believed it would be better for him to gain Levels quickly than to amass a stockpile of Credits.
He entered the next floor of the Dungeon, but he took it slower than before. The regular toxic slimes were now able to shoot globs of slime like the fourth floor’s Boss, so Ventex had to be a lot more careful when facing them.
After defeating five of the Level 12 toxic slimes, Ventex’s Level increased, and he added the Stat Points to Affinity. He gained another Level after almost clearing the floor, and he picked up numerous Drops by the time it was all cleared.
Ventex turned around at the portal to the sixth floor’s Boss chamber and headed back to the fifth floor’s Boss chamber. He wasn’t ready to fight the next Boss yet, so he was going to sell his loot and run the Dungeon a second time.
He sold his loot outside the Dungeon and sat nearby to eat a lunch of dry rations while playing with his Credits. He finally had over fifty Credits again, which meant he could convert them to silver coins or a single gold coin. He wanted to save up for the leather armor that cost two gold coins, but there were also several Skills he wanted that he could now afford.
There was a lot for Ventex to consider, so he put off his problems and returned to the Dungeon for the evening. He used Respec to move some Stat Points from Spirit into Endurance while he quickly ran through the Dungeon’s lower floors, skipping most of the Mobs until the fourth floor. Ventex was Level 15, so the Level 6 Mobs weren’t getting him much Exp, but they weren’t weak enough for him to ignore.
The fourth floor’s Boss was much easier to defeat after his experience on the sixth floor, and none of the Mobs on the fifth floor were able to pose a challenge when they were even weaker. The fifth floor’s Boss did not add any new attack patterns over the fourth floor’s Boss, and Ventex defeated it with slightly more effort than the fourth floor’s Boss.
Ventex’s Perk to Respec and maximize his Affinity was showing its usefulness more and more. Any other magician would have to rely on expensive mana restoration potions or sacrifice Stat Points from Spirit. When Ventex ran low on mana, he just needed to maximize his Affinity and take a break for a few minutes - what would’ve been an hour for anyone else took him a fraction of the time.
Only the sixth floor’s Mobs were high enough Level for Ventex to earn meaningful Exp. The first toxic slime he killed was enough to bring him to Level 16, but that was the only Level he gained. He could feel he was close to another Level, but he didn’t want to work his way to the fourth floor for Exp again.
Ventex exited the Dungeon and sold his loot for 12 silver and 3 copper coins. The treasure chests had a total of 23 silver coins in them - which he always added directly to his Inventory as Credits - which brought his current finances up to 88 silver coins.
It was a profitable day, and Ventex was eager to run the Dungeon again the next day.