The world twisted around Tyler as he entered the dungeon. Unlike when he entered Lambda’s pride however, there was no sense of gravity lurching. This was because the dungeon entrance was more of just a barrier to keep people from entering by accident, rather than actually teleporting them somewhere far away. This was one of many things he had learned through studying in his free time. There were several types of dungeons. Lambda’s Pride had been what was called a Domain type, which teleported people who entered through a gate to somewhere else, either on the planet itself or in rare cases, a pocket dimension. The one Tyler found himself in was called a Local type. Basically it was just a hole in the planet much like a cave, the only difference was it was protected from children or animals entering into it by happenstance by the System.
Tyler looked around the area he found himself in, sagging and sitting down by the entrance. Ornate wooden walls mixed with brown stone surrounded him, two separate entrances led to passages on either side, with a third at the front and center about a hundred strides away, locked behind a carved door that resembled a dragon’s head, or some kind of lizard. He wasn’t too sure honestly.
“One of these days, I’ve gotta stop getting myself into shitty situations like this.” He mused to himself as he looked at his bloody clothes with a grimace.
At least he had managed to bring his backpack along with him here. His Hanfu was totally ruined however. Sighing, he took off the torn and bloody rags of his robe and stuffed them in his backpack before sitting down to meditate. His health was dangerously low, he had lost his staff, and he was hungry. Oh so hungry. But he didn’t pay much attention as he let himself calm to the best of his ability. There was no use in thinking about something he couldn’t change.
Time flew by and once Tyler felt he was healthy enough to move around and act normally he stood up and took account of everything. No staff, no robe. Just his bare flesh and fists. Great. He suddenly felt naked. Well, he’d have to make due for now. That winged woman hadn’t found him yet, but for all he knew, she was waiting to ambush him outside. So it was safer to move around this place for the time being. Of course with most of his gear stripped from him, he had to be careful. At least he had his spells.
Tyler decided to take the leftmost path, which was closest to the entrance. Picking himself up, he walked forward and past the doorless entrance, keeping his Perception flared and making sure that Void Sight was still active. For several paces in, there was nothing. A few sconces that one held flames were spread out amongst the walls of the wooden halls. Most of the wall was covered in green moss and roots that seemed to have grown over time, but he spotted a few etchings on the walls similar to murals. Most of them didn’t make much sense, but he was getting a very dragon-like feel to them. That was when he entered a large cavern the size of half of a football field. In it were three creatures lazily sleeping.
They resemble nothing more than man-sized komodo dragons from back on earth, but on their backs they held a moss-like growth covered in several spiky protrusions. As always with new monsters, he used Analyze on them.
Name: Scalemoss Drakeling
Level 35
Lore: A lesser dragonkin that is often found in areas of dense Life-attuned Ambia, its spikes are barbed and capable of injecting a deadly neurotoxin into targets.
Well, at least they were normal monsters. The poison bit would be a bit tricky to work around, but luckily he still had his spells.
“Grasping Tentacles, Wither, Geyser, Mind Sear.”
Tyler invoked four spells in quick succession, imbuing all of them with his Dao. If he was down to casting and no weapons, he might as well tap into his Dao as well. He HAD been neglecting it and relying on his profession and staff for far too long to be honest.
Four purple tentacles straight out of a horror film emerged from the ground beneath the nearest Drakeling, tinged with a wet blue light that left off a slight cold. They wrapped around each of the lizard’s limbs and held it there as the creature started to stir from its nap with an angry growl. Next, Wither took effect, the rune of energy forming and then collapsing in on itself as it touched the scaly beast’s flesh. Scales cracked as moisture was simultaneously drained from them and frozen, leaving them brittle as thin obsidian flakes. A gout of water jutted out from under the beast, a powerful jew of bone-chilling liquid turning the beast up and over on its back as it was sent into the air. The final spell hit just as the monster landed on its back, a beam of toxic purple and black energy tinged with cyan from Tyler’s Dao struck it in its head, wracking its brain with pain and cold. The whole fight lasted less than five seconds.
You have slain a Scalemoss Drakeling.
XP earned.
Of course, that was when the two other Drakelings came at him. Tyler grit his teeth.
“Alright, you overgrown geckos. You wanna dance? Let’s dance.”
Tyler sounded his newest skill, Path of the Empty Hunger as the beasts lunged at him. The first once reached him, and he swung his fist forward in an uppercut. Of course, it being a beast, and a low level one at that, it didn’t even try to dodge. Like hitting a wet sack of pork flesh, Tyler’s fist collided with the thing’s jaw before it reached him fully, sending it off course and into the wall to the side with a meaty thud. The second creature reached him soon after, its claws raking down and slicing into his flesh with a pain like stabbing yourself with a box cutter.
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“Fuck off.”
Tyler growled and flared Speed Rush, giving him a boost to his speed as he repeatedly hit the creature on its head faster than the normal human eye could perceive. One, two, three. Three punches made the lizard growl in a high pitched noise of pain as it backed away from him. Only for the first monster to bite into his shin, making Tyler stagger in pain as he kicked at the thing with his other foot. The second lizard then tackled Tyler to the ground and bit into his neck. Thankfully they hadn’t used their spiked on him. He was lucky they couldn’t shoot them out like projectiles. Still the pain was agonizing.
‘You wanna bite?’ He thought. ‘Let me show you how to bite.’
Calling on a deep instinct ingrained deep within him, Tyler opened his mouth wider than he should be able to as he infused his teeth with his Dao and sounded Path of the Empty Hunger as loud as he could from within his spirit. Then he bit down on the neck ot the lizard that had attacked him with a meaty crunch.
Path of the Empty Hunger is Level 26
…
Path of the Empty Hunger is Level 29
The lizard tried to get away from his bite, but Tyler held it there with all his stats and he called upon his Dao even more and combined it with Wither. Using his mouth and teeth as a conduit wasn't something Tyler had ever considered. But now, it just felt natural. A chilling feeling like cool mint filled Tyler’s taste buds, but the effect wasn’t as good for the lizard. Pulsating veins of blue shone for a second as an icy chill spread through the thing's body, invading its very bloodstream thanks to how Tyler was biting into it. Within seconds, it died. The taste of raw meat, acidic blood, and raw viscera soon overpowered the taste of mint from his Dao and Tyler gagged, shoving the dead beast off of him.
At some point, the other Drakeling has let go of Tyler’s shin as it was now growling at him in some vain attempt to scare him. IT was almost cute.
“Not so tough now, are you?” He panted, keeping weight off of his injured leg.
“Speed Rush, Geyser, Mind Sear, Wither.”
Sounding the combination in his head, Tyler let loose a fast cast of three of his abilities, quite literally drowning the monster with a torrent of mana-fueled water and toxic purple energy. Long story short, it didn’t stand a chance and soon enough, the final creature in this part of the room was defeated.
You have slain a Scalemoss Drakeling x2.
XP earned.
Unfortunately there was no level up notification, but at least that gave Tyler a breather and time to look around now that he had nothing attacking him. The area around him resembled a stone cavern mashed together with some kind of druid-like worship room, that was the closest thing he could call it. The walls of the area were made of a densely packed mixture of hardened dirt and stone, with vines crawling around in sporadic places. The floor was made of a type of wood that resembled a dark oak, but had thin grains of black and dark green if you squinted closely enough.
Near the center of the room was what looked like a miniature Stonehenge, large rocky blocks stod in a loose circle around what he could only describe as a kind of dais made up of marbled dark granite and wood. As Tyler moved forward towards the structure, it became clear that the dias held something atop it. A few strides later and he was able to use Analyze on it, though there was a slight resistance to his will pressing upon the object.
Analyze is Level 6
…
Analyze is Level 9
[Lifewoven Drakeskin Bracer]
Type: Bracer
Rarity: Rare
Description: A pair of bracers attuned to the element of life and nature. Grants the wear the ability to cover their hands in thick scales that resist outside mana and grant them talons capable of easily shredding leather armor of a similar tier or lower.
Effects: Your unarmed attacks gain a Piercing quality and deal 25% more damage to flesh..
+15 INT
+20 DEX
Bless dungeon loot. One of the best things about dungeons was that they could generate loot with aid of the System. When something died in a dungeon, or items were lost or destroyed, the dungeon core would copy the patterns of the items and, if the dying thing was a monster, the creature itself, and add it to its list of things to generate. It was a far cry from his growth staff, which was sad as he kinda liked fighting with one, but he’d just buy a new one when he got out of here. Or if he got out of here. He was still worried about the winged assassin outside but she had yet to find him so maybe he was lucky.
Without hesitation, Tyler grabbed the new item and equipped it. The leather easily fit on his wrists and forearms, the snug feel of it fitting perfectly. Thankfully the System automatically resized items for people, so that one did not have to go to a refitter whenever they got a new piece of gear. The bracers were slightly armored with a tough shell of scales on the part that faced upwards, the dark green of the scales slightly contrasting with the pale gray and leathery skin that made up the majority of its composition. A slight rush of a boost to his Dexterity could be felt when he equipped both bracers and an influx of how to activate the in-laid ability made its way into his brain.
Sending mana from his meridians into the bracers, Tyler watched in slight awe. Scales formed on his hands, similarly dark green much like the ones on the bracer itself. They first formed as projections that he could see through but eventually they formed around his forearm and hand so in such a manner that they looked natural. Making his way over towards the nearest wall, he flexed his new talons and did a test swipe. There was a bit of spark and slight pressure on his fingernails, but when he pulled his hand back, he saw visible claw marks on the stone surface.
Now this? This he could get used to. At least until he got a new staff at the very least.
Tyler made his way towards the cores of the Drakelings and decided to grab their cores; he had to get into the habit of harvesting those. If not just to sell them, then to use them in Runesmithing. It was an easy enough process. Using his new claws, he cut open their stomachs and wrinkled his nose a bit as each time he did so, their guts and intestines would spill out in a mass of wet gore. Still, the cores were easy to locate, taking shape in the size of a rough sphere that could fit in the palm of his hand.
That was four cores now plus the impure on he still had from awhile back. That gave him some ideas but for now it was backseat in his head. Figuring he had nothing else to do, Tyler placed his hand on the dais as well as the stone structure around it and broke it down using his will and mana, siphoning the material into his soul space. There was a contest of wills between him and the dungeon core, but with almost 100 in his Will stat, it only took fifteen minutes of pushing his mind up against the object to subsume his intent.
Needing to meditate to regenerate resources anyway, Tyler decided now would be a good time to finally get started on the foundation of his Soulspace to make sure he had a good base to build upon in the future when he reached Bronze. It was time to build.