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Releasing an area of augmented Gravity around him, Rowan spread around a stream of frosty wind from the tip of his spear. The last monsters alive, a dozen mechanical spiders, slowed, froze, and fell, breaking into pieces. Who would have thought that Gravity and Cold synergized perfectly and fitted him like a glove?
Dungeon Wing 1: Floor 16-19 cleared: 400/400 Targets killed. You have received: 0 XP, and 3 AP. 59/100 sections cleared on the Main Deck.
Elemental damage is so cool…
After four hours of grinding, Rowan had arrived at the Boss’s room, the twentieth floor. He had split the previous—from the seventh to the nineteenth— into four groups, resting in between to get back to full health. It had been a slow, but rewarding march; he had obtained nine more free APs, and most of all, his skills had progressed in leaps and bounds. His total of unallocated points was now forty-four, probably enough for the most ambitious build.
Opening the door, he peeped inside, with his eyes and the Mana Sense, then closed the door back. That was a neat trick, and a most common sense one: look in the next room, make a plan, and only then charge in. The Boss’s Lair was a large storage unit, with a giant mecha inside.
A robot… Probably immune to poison, bleeds, and the sorts, and weak to electricity… Let’s see.
Taking his shotgun in hand, he imbued it with Mana. As soon he entered the Lair, there was a notification.
You have entered the Mad Scientist’s Lair. Once a great Physicist and Chemist, the owner of this Lab has gone nuts and transferred his consciousness into a Mecha Frame, in his quest for immortality. If not defeated within a 10-minute timeline, the Mad Scientist will destroy all oxygen in the lab (Deoxygenation), creating Nitrogen Dioxide, by exposing the room to high temperatures and toxic fumes.
At the same time, the Mecha raised and came at him, awkwardly trying to aim a sort of combined fumigator and flamethrower. Rowan shot it twice in the head, preparing to kite around and release Cold and increasing Gravity. It proved unnecessary.
Your EMP attack has slain Mecha Frame, Boss Lvl. 20. You have cleared Dungeon Wing 1. No XP granted, no AP granted. 60/100 sections cleared on the Main Deck.
Shit… I could have taken him out with the others, and gained an extra point… But I couldn’t know… Well, nerds are slow and go down easy, what can I say.
The last airlock opened on another corridor, going to the right and left. He almost went on but retreated in haste. On the floor and the walls, there were scorch marks.
Probably from the dungeon break and the fighting.
“Say, FAQ, if I go outside, can you answer me? And will I be able to get back in?”
[Traipenent Wing 1 FAQ]: I can’t function outside the Dungeon Wing 1. Once you exit, you can re-enter this section and leave the ship by backtracking on your steps, but I will be unable to answer more requests. My energy is almost depleted.
“Oh… too bad. Mind if I eat here?”
[Traipenent Wing 1 FAQ]: This software cannot mind anything, it is non-sentient. Keep in mind not to litter.
Rowan sat down and searched his spatial inventory for a sandwich and a bottle of water. Ten minutes later, he wrapped the paper and put it back, along with the bottle. “Say, do you have a map of the ship?”
[Traipenent Wing 1 FAQ]: Negative. But I have information that the other Dungeon Wings are similar to this one. Here is a simulation of how the Traipenent should look.
“This is better,” Rowan nodded.
The map Cory had provided was a diagram with lines marking the shortest path, now, he could take in the image of the real spaceship. It was round, one mile in diameter, and divided into triangles: the Wings. Exactly like pizza slices. Those triangles were divided as well, into Floors, and had their tips cut; there was a huge round space in the middle. Maybe the control room.
“Thanks, FAQ. You have been a great help, but it’s time to go.”
Rowan exited the Lair. Across the exit was another door, large and round, looking thick, with many strange devices attached to it. Lots of dials and gauges.
MAIN QUEST update: Solve the Puzzle and open the door to achieve your Main Objective.
Do you expect me to push buttons? Nope. I’ll explore first.
The corridor stretched to the right and left and had a curvature, following the round space supposedly to be in the middle of the ship.
With an enhanced riot shield and his shotgun at the ready, he started to jog to the right. Three hundred yards farther, where the next Dungeon Wing Exit should have been, the airlock was absent. A huge hole was blown in the wall, and it continued on the other side. Like the Death Star’s laser beam had passed through to say hi.
To his right, the remains of the Dungeon Wing were empty and offered no interest to explore.
I guess that’s how the Dungeon Break occurred, and why those forty floors are considered cleared…
On the left, the hole allowed another space to be seen, and chances were it was the middle of the ship. Taking his time to look for possible dangers, Rowan passed through the aperture.
Secondary Objective 1 update: You have reached the Engine Room. Break through the defenses and claim the Ship Core.
Now things were clearer. The Engine Room had a sphere of light in the middle, protecting a smaller sphere that looked like a crystal scrying ball wrapped in a metallic contraption. An Inspect showed a tag on the outer sphere:
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Forcefield Lvl. 50 HP 50%
There was a description of the smaller object too.
Damaged Ship Core. This core has been wrecked beyond hope of repair. Nevertheless, it still has value.
The round space of the Engine Room went upward, the walls meeting into a vast cupola, a dome, the light of the forcefield strong enough to reach that high. That made Rowan realize the Traipenent had a lens shape, probably convex, at least in its upper part. To the right, another hole like the one he had passed through. Debris of all kinds littered the floor underneath.
“What the fuck could have done so much damage?”
There was no point in dwelling on that, so he inspected the rest of the room. To the left, there was a sort of balcony emerging from the wall, exactly where the door to the control room had been. It was made of dark glass, or a material resembling it.
That’s the bridge.
Below, there was a giant shelf with dozens of round indentations, and a mechanical arm with three prongs, on a rail. Meant to take something from the shelf and put it in another place. Following the rail with his eyes, Rowan observed five pedestals set in regular places.
I bet the Dungeon Cores were activated there. OK, Time to get back and solve the puzzle. Or…
The timer showed he had a little under seven hours left to unlock the Bridge, and here was a defenseless forcefield at his mercy. Sure, the risk was he’d level too much. He had to crunch some numbers first.
So, if I take down the Shield, will I level like from a fight, or just a little, like from the boring quests? Pff… where are you, Cory, when I need you? OK, let’s do it, here goes nothing.
Approaching the forcefield, he changed the shotgun with a plain but reliable revolver, a gift from Isla. Willing mana into the bullet, to make it armor-piercing, Rowan covered his body with the shield and released a shot from a safe distance, at an angle suited to avoid ricochets, if any.
The bullet bounced up, yet, from the center of the forcefield, a beam of light shot straight at Rowan’s chest, hitting him with such force he was thrown back, hitting the wall and sliding down like a fly on a windshield. He felt his skin and his insides burnt and crushed.
“Fuuuuck…”
Dex Perk 1, Autopilot, has activated 3 Healing Potions in a row. Warning: You suffer from Severe Potion Sickness: Mental and Physical Exhaustion; Natural Regeneration reduced by 78.5%.
The Forcefield has reflected the damage taken x10. Forcefield’s health: 45%. Your Health: 15%. The Forcefield’s Level has been lowered to 45.
He fainted.
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“Wake up, Rowan! Wake up!”
There was a voice screaming in his head, a loud one. It was a dream, maybe. He gasped, opened his eyes, and remembered.
Your HP is back to full.
Albeit healed, Rowan felt depressed. How stupid could he be? What quest would give ten APs, if it was easy?
Main Quest update: You have been unconscious for 6 hours and 35 minutes. You have five more minutes to complete the Main Quest. Failure will result in the destruction of the Bridge and the entity known as Cory.
“What the fuck, System?” he yelled. “You downloaded her in the ship?”
He ran toward the hole in the wall, throwing down his mangled backpack to move faster. The shield and gun were nowhere, or maybe dust in the air, and the armor and his helmet fell apart, broken.
Which way was it… Shit, I can’t remember, and if I take the wrong turn… Right… It must be right.
Three minutes before the deadline, he arrived at the Bridge’s door. His heartbeats were so strong he could hear them in his ears.
What the hell do these dials do?
He tried moving one to the right and the second one to the left, to match some signs that looked similar, although made no sense to him… pulled the lever he was sure it would open the door, and nothing. The door didn’t budge. Two more tries later, a timer appeared.
59…58…
“Noooo…” he pulled on his hair. “This is not fair, you shitty System,” he yelled, banging on the door. An echo replied, and the timer continued.
49… 48 …
There was this instinct to cry, and curl in a ball, like when he was a child and beaten by some bully. He had points enough to raise INT to fifty, the second threshold, or Will to max. But Will couldn’t help here, Intelligence, on the other hand… He pushed points into INT.
The second INT threshold was detected. Choose between…
“Whatever helps Cory!” he yelled. “System, you chose. Go for whatever helps Cory.”
You have gained the perk of Karmic Inspiration.
He remembered. With feverish hands, he grabbed a cigarette butt from his spatial inventory, sent heated Mana at its tip to light it, and inhaled avidly. The world around turned gray, and somehow semi-transparent. He tried not to exhale and dashed forward, hoping he wouldn’t smash his head against the bulwark. And he went through. Only then did he exhale the plume of smoke in his lungs, allowing the world to return to normal.
10… 9… You have completed the Main Quest. The self-destructing sequence was deactivated.
“You came for me!”
“Ouch!”
A shadow jumped at him, and Rowan hit the back of his head on the door, so hard he saw stars, and then slid down, landing on his buttocks. The attacker was a monster of sorts, with fangs and claws. He tried to push it away, but it kept throwing hits at him, at a speed his DEX couldn’t cope with. Yet the hits had a strange pattern, trying to avoid his arms and go around his midriff... He stopped struggling for a second.
"Bwaaaaah!” the creature screamed, crying and hugging him, its head pressed on Rowan’s chest. “It’s my fault, it’s all my fault!”
He patted the creature’s head by instinct. There was an alien who had been stuck on the bridge, that was clear.
“Here, here… all’s good…”
At the same time, he still worried about the AI.
Cory? Are you OK?
There was no answer.
“Cory!” he became alarmed. “Are you OK?”
“Yes, I’m OK now,” the alien said. Rowan pushed the alien away, at arms’ length. The creature in front of him lowered its eyes.
“I’m Cory. Nice to finally meet you, Rowan.”
How did the alien know his name?
“No way… C-cory?”
“Yes!” the alien clapped its hands together.
“You built yourself an avatar?”
“No… this is the real me…”
“Gah…. Gah… Gah…” he let out at each exhale, instead of words.
You have received the Main Quest’s rewards
Surprise: This is Cora, a female Nekojin. Next time, think twice before trusting the voices in your head. +5 free APs.
“What the fuck…” he finally exhaled a few words, in a stupor.
“I’ll explain everything.”
The alien came and squatted in front of Rowan and he inspected her, in the faint light around. She was a human with cat features… The eyes were so large… Like in the Animes. And a pretty face, and furry ears. Again, without thinking, he patted the creature’s head. And she purred, pushing it into his hand.
“Why did you lie to me?” he asked with burgeoning anger. The alien had manipulated him… no, everyone, and he almost lost his life twice, that day. And he had for whom to live. Grace, Lizzie, and all his friends.
“I didn’t mean to… At first, I tried to help you and the town survive, interfacing remotely with Elkins’s core. I was waiting for a reply to my distress call and had nothing better to do. Trapped in here… lots of free time. A few weeks ago, the reply came, and I had to change my plans.”
Cora waved a hand through the air, forwarding a text.
Dear Miss Cora Shemeaows,
We regret to inform you that your rescue request has been denied.
An expedition into uncharted territory is dangerous, even more so when carrying the risk of System infection. You know the rule: Don’t risk the many for the sake of the few.
An autodestruction signal has been sent to the Traipenent’s bridge. It will activate the first time somebody steps inside the ship. Of course, the Use-In-Case-Of-A-Dungeon-Break Necromantic suicide pill provided to each crew member will be a painless option.
Sincerely yours,
AI entity Vvewbpjpg.zh 6819819+ They/Them
“I managed to offer you a quest to free me… It didn’t mean to put you in danger. It was supposed to be easy, but I forgot how new you are to all this. Are you angry with me?”
Rowan took a second to think. “I don’t know,” he half-shrugged. “We’ll see. Is there any way to exit the room?”
“The door has been unlocked when you completed the Main Quest.”
“Show the way,” he said, forwarding a hand so she could help him up.