Would you like to reclaim Initialized equipment?
I glanced at my brand-new weapon.
Obsidian Bone Club [Common]
It’s the bone of a dead beast. There’s desecration, and then there’s desecration. It’s also made of obsidian. Good luck getting it to last for more than a handful of thwacks.
Essence Cost: 5
Condition: 14/15
Stats: None
Abilities:
— Scarborne (Foundation - 0): Damage increases as Condition deteriorates. Level ups restore a small amount of Condition
I had to wonder why everything was obsidian in this dungeon.
Sure, obsidian was sharp. Good for arrowheads and such. But a club? I’d have taken a regular old bone club over this; it’d have been far less brittle. That single strike against the troll had reduced its condition by 1.
At least I didn’t feel the five points it cost as much, now that my Essence pool had doubled.
As for its ability, that was far more interesting. The real question was how much additional damage it did at low Condition. If it doubled the damage, that would be incredibly useful. Still, with only 15 points of condition, I’d have to be exceedingly careful about where and when I used the weapon.
Leveling up gave me an excellent opportunity to experiment with my rocks. Subjecting the rocks to damage leveled [Rock Solid] to F - 1… but then the rock broke, and initializing a new one gave me another F - 0.
Which told me two important things—that I leveled my equipment by using it, and that I’d have to be very careful about maintaining my gear’s condition. All that effort spent leveling abilities would evaporate the moment it was destroyed.
Glancing back at my main status menu, I noticed that the ‘Reclaim’ option had started flashing, likely indicating that it was about to disappear. So it was a time-limited ability then. Good to know.
I mentally confirmed.
Please select items to reclaim:
Obsidian Bone Club [Common] (Foundation - 0)
Pet Rock [Common] x4 (Foundation - 0)
Pet Rock [Common] (Foundation - 1)
Obsidian Shard [Common] (Foundation - 0)
I selected the rock at F - 1.
Pet Rock has been reclaimed!
Sure enough, when I pulled up my list of Initialized items, only four rocks showed up.
Reaching into my pockets, I retrieved the one that had lost its powers.
It was just an ordinary rock again.
Neat. Now, Initialize.
The rock glowed softly for a moment, and then I was holding another [Pet Rock] again, except this time, its level was F - 0.
Which meant that reclaiming items didn’t destroy them. Nor did it prevent them from being re-initialized. The act of reclaiming also discarded any levels the item previously had. Levels that were not regained upon re-initialization.
I was in the middle of wondering whether [Initializer] leveled when I Initialized weapons, or when those weapons leveled, when my stomach growled, reminding me it’d been half a day since I’d had something to eat.
I got up and went deeper into the tunnel. It was my only option, really. I wasn’t nearly ready to fight that Troll, and to gain access to that sword and armor, I’d probably need to kill it.
Which made me wonder if monsters dropped loot here. Something to verify.
For now, though, I set out on my arduous journey of locating food and water.
That journey lasted all of ten minutes.
Along the hall was an oval portal-looking thing with black fire surrounding its border, inset in the tunnel walls.
It was obviously not natural, and I might’ve been suspicious… If I couldn’t see the other side.
What… the hell?
Stepping through, I found an oasis waiting for me. Fruit trees of all kinds surrounded a pond of the clearest water I’d ever seen. At its center was a three-tier water fountain.
The low cavern ceiling with the moss lighting everything, the sound of the fountain, and the gentle breeze all painted an idyllic scene. There was even gentle harp music coming from somewhere, though I couldn’t pinpoint the position.
It was the most surreal sight I’d ever witnessed. Mostly because it was so out of place. I’d just come from dark, monster-infested tunnels whose only flora was moss.
Oases didn’t just randomly appear in caves like these. Most of the flora couldn’t possibly survive down here, where not even the tiniest bit of sunlight shone. How did they photosynthesize? Why hadn’t the monsters eaten the fruit or ravaged the trees?
I pulled a fruit that looked like a green apple off a tree, and after a hesitant smell, rubbed it against my forearm. I’d read somewhere that this was one of the ways you could figure out if flora was poisonous, though I didn’t know if it applied to fruits as well.
I stared at the tree as I waited. Watching as the very same apple I just plucked grew back before my eyes.
That… was weird.
I glanced down at the fruit in my hand, shrugged, and went for it. I was hungry.
Its juice exploded into my mouth as I bit down, making me moan. It was the most delicious fruit I’d ever tasted. Energizing, too.
A thud sounded somewhere behind me. I whirled, dropping the fruit and gripping my obsidian shard.
A child banged furiously against the portal, cursing in a language I kinda understood, but still struggled to parse. Just like a child.
No. Not a child, I thought, a cold chill rippling down my back. A goblin!
Its large pointy ears, glowing red eyes, hooked nose, and short, stubby stature ticked most of the boxes for the goblins I knew. Except its skin was made of black glass. Obsidian.
Then it dawned on me. It couldn’t get in.
“You gotta be kidding me. A Safe Room?” Dungeons in games sometimes had areas like these. Areas built to make the game more enjoyable for players.
I just stood there, staring at the goblin blankly.
As much as safe rooms made sense in games, they made zero sense in reality. Caves didn’t have handy rest areas to service spelunkers, and the only beds in mines were the ones that miners painstakingly brought down with them.
If this really was a safe room—the regrowing fruit trees, infinite fresh water, and barrier all pointed to that being the case—then why was it here? What purpose did it serve? And who built it?
The line between game and reality blurred together, and rather than making me feel at home, it did the exact opposite. I felt like my understanding of reality was slowly crumbling away.
The angry goblin finally ceased its banging. It spat at the floor and wandered off in a huff, allowing me to breathe easily. Goblins weren’t usually strong individually—their deadliness came from grouping together and using swarm tactics—but what did I know? This wasn’t a game, regardless of how much it resembled one.
Collecting myself, I looked around. If this was indeed a safe room, I needed to discover every nook and cranny. It might just save my life.
----------------------------------------
I was soon back to where I started. The area was tiny; no oasis this small could exist naturally.
Then again, the berries that regrew instantly when I plucked them, and the fountain that spewed into a pond that never overflowed said otherwise. Was this an artifact of the dungeon? Or did all the flora in this world do this? I still had so much to learn about this new world. A thought that simultaneously filled me with anxiety and giddy excitement.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
A small waterfall feature along the wall allowed easy access to drinking water, and after hydrating and gorging myself on the delicious fruit, I began to wish I had a bag of holding. Or even a backpack.
Without a magical bag of holding, anything I wanted to carry, I’d have to do it the old-fashioned way. Fine for now, but I could see it becoming an issue later on. The fact that I’d come across armor and a sword meant that civilization existed in this world. Maybe they’d have a solution.
For now, the safe room was my home base—the spot I’d keep returning to for resupply. I had to admit, having a safe harbor from all the danger did a lot to give me some peace of mind.
While I ate, I took a deeper look at my Status Screen.
Name: Gregory Samuel Wills
Essence Utilization: 14/20
Blessing: Initializer [Epic] (Foundation - 1)
Stats: Total: 60
— Dominion: 8
— Grace: 6
— Vigor: 5
— Cunning: 15
— Passion: 12
— Wisdom: 13
— Order: 1
Blessing: Initializer [Epic]: Systems! Leveling! Now even your gear gives you stats! Isn’t that grand?
Details:
— Initialized weapons can level to current Blessing level
— Evolvable. Evolutions: 0
I couldn’t help but grin when I saw that my stats didn't have any leveling restrictions on them. No grayed out number, or notifications saying they couldn't be increased. Be it class selection or working the corporate ladder—gaming the system always brought a smile to my face, and here was proof. I’d taken a penalty that rightly ought to have crippled me and nullified its weakness, all while reaping the benefits.
The icing on the cake was that last line. ‘Evolvable. Evolutions: 0’.
My gamble had paid off. Or at least, had the chance of paying off, eventually. I also wondered about that Evolution field and whether I’d get a choice in the matter.
Regardless, I had a feeling this Blessing would become quite the monster if properly developed.
It came as no surprise that instead of the typical ‘Magic Power’, I had Essence. And thanks to the penalty I’d chosen, my stats weren’t going to increase on their own per level. To improve them, I’d have to rely on my gear.
The stats themselves were interesting. At first glance, they looked unique, but ‘Wisdom’ clued me in that they might actually correspond pretty closely to the set often used in games. The only ones that I had doubts about were Passion, which might’ve been related to Charisma, and Order. Was that… Luck? It didn’t sound at all like luck, though.
My base stats looked surprisingly high to me. It seemed like the System thought highly of my Cunning, Passion, and Wisdom, while my physical stats were all pretty low. It made sense—I’d be the first to admit I wasn’t in the best of shape.
I’d miss those stats in the short term, though it wouldn’t be an issue once my gear started bestowing them. I became giddy just thinking about it.
The key was that each piece of gear I Initialized would grant its own stats. I didn’t know how many pieces of gear I could equip at any time, but even if it was only a handful, it’d be an enormous advantage over damn near anyone.
I did note how my Initialized weapons could now be leveled to a maximum of F - 1; the same as my Blessing.
Which meant that my best course of action right now was leveling my Blessing as fast as humanly possible. Not only would it give me more Essence, it’d enhance the efficacy of my weapons, too.
Acting on a hunch, I thought about bringing up my inventory screen, and one popped up, showing my paltry three weapons. It looked like only Initialized items showed up here.
Something broke me out of my thoughts, though I couldn’t immediately tell what. Nothing had moved around me, and the barrier with the black-flame border was still there.
Then I noticed it was silent. Too silent.
I looked at the fountain—its water had stopped.
Odd.
I plucked a berry from a nearby tree.
It didn’t grow back.
The barrier began crackling, flashing white.
The trees’ fruit ripened and began to fall as their trees began to rot. Leaves turned yellow, then gray, and broke apart.
Oh, shit! A virus? Or is this an enemy attack?
I rushed to pluck whatever I could from the trees that hadn’t yet succumbed to whatever was killing them.
Taking what I could, I rushed out of the room.
I barely made it. The barrier winked out of existence and collapsed behind me. The room was gone.
My heart skipped a beat. If I’d been in there when it collapsed…
I took a few moments to compose myself. I didn’t know if what had just happened was a result of some monster attack—there was nothing in the immediate area—or if the room was supposed to break down like that. Like a timer mechanism. Whatever the case, I’d have to be careful if I found another.
Continuing down the tunnel, I encountered several branching passages, but no monsters. I really didn’t want to run into another obsidian troll—while killing one would likely give me a good deal of experience, I wasn’t sure if I could even damage that thing at my current level. Also, I’d probably die trying.
I was after some lower level monsters I could power level against. F - 1 was nice, but I needed to up my Essence and firepower a few notches if I wanted to get out of here alive.
After navigating a series of turns, I finally found the area I was looking for.
The tunnel led to a cavern, though this one wasn’t nearly as large as the one with the troll.
And inside were skulls. Floating obsidian skulls with red, glowing eyes.
Oddly enough, a strangely familiar sight. Slow and weak, Skulls usually had some form of targeted magic attack. Easy enough to defeat if you were fast, which I was. That they were obsidian like everything else meant they’d go down easily.
The only problem? That was game logic. As much as I wanted to believe that my video game knowledge would come in handy in this world, I couldn’t just blindly trust it. Not until I’d fought a lot of monsters, first.
It only took one mistake to end my life, after all. And right now, I was as weak as I’d ever be. This was a time for an abundance of caution.
There were a dozen of them in there. If I stormed in, I wouldn’t stand a chance. I had to be smart about this.
I lobbed a rock into the room, ducking away before any of the skulls could see me. I didn’t even aim—that wasn’t the goal.
The rock landed in the center of the room, but even before it rolled to a stop, the skulls all whirled. Their eyes glowed brighter, and red laser beams shot out.
When their onslaught ceased moments later, there was no rock anymore. Just ash, and the acrid stench of rotten eggs.
Cold sweat broke out all over my body, and I wanted to gag.
Ten minutes later, I finally worked up the courage to try again. I was gonna have to rethink my strategy.
My little test proved the skulls did indeed possess the sort of weapon I’d guessed they’d have. It also showed me that there was a world of difference between watching colorful red beams on a computer screen and experiencing it in real life.
I’d die if I stormed in there like an idiot, even if the skulls were slow-moving. Which I didn’t yet know. For all I knew, they might be able to teleport.
Hiding at a T junction near the room with the skull, I picked up a pebble and threw it into the tunnel.
Nothing seemed to happen at first, but right as I was about to peek my head to see what was going on, a lone skull meandered into the tunnel to investigate.
Yes!
When the skull passed me, I ducked out into the tunnel behind it, and clubbed it with all of my might—which was to say, not much at all.
I barely even felt the impact. My club pushed the skull down… right into the ground, where it shattered into a hundred pieces of glass.
“That was… surprisingly easy,” I muttered, as a system notification popped up and minimized.
I turned around… and came face to face with a floating skull.
Fuck!
I lunged for the junction right as the spot I’d been standing on vaporized. Searing heat blasted me, and only the cavern wall protected me from the twin laser beams. Panicking, I lobbed one of my [Pet Rock]s at it.
I honestly didn’t expect to hit any with my lousy aim, so I was surprised to hear the satisfying sound of obsidian shattering.
The laser beams cut out, and a notification appeared and minimized, but I wasn’t out of the woods yet.
The encounter had caused a lot of noise, and there were ten more of those things waiting in the room beyond.
In the best case, none would follow, and I could just lure them out, killing them one by one.
The next best case was that only a handful would follow, giving me a tough, but doable, fight if I was smart.
What actually happened was all the skulls floated out, hunting for me.
Terror fueled my breaths and I, once again, ran for my life, cursing my patron god for not giving me more of an edge.
Then I realized they weren’t following anymore.
I doubled back and crept closer. They were following, just… slowly.
Hesitantly, I took another rock and hurled it.
A moment later, a satisfying crunch told me I’d succeeded.
The skulls raked my position with laser eye beams, but I ducked behind a corner. One hit and I’d be dead meat, but they were easy to avoid if you knew what to expect.
My third rock, unfortunately, missed.
So did my fourth.
I repeated my tactic of pelting them before ducking behind cover until I ran out of ammo. Then I started Initializing the ones on the ground. The problem was, my Initialized rocks didn’t break upon impact—they were simply too durable. Which meant I couldn’t just infinitely enchant rocks. My obsidian shard, however, was too fragile.
Minimized notifications scrolled by with each kill. I ignored them for now.
Only four enemies remained when I ran out of free Essence. I resorted to throwing normal rocks but the ones nearby were just too small to be worthwhile.
Ducking behind another corner, I sucked in a deep breath. They’d be upon me in just a few seconds. If I ran now, they’d laser my back.
This was do or die. So I raised my obsidian club and waited.
The first skull rounded the bend.
I didn’t strike.
The second one followed right after it. Then the third.
The first skull spun, locking its glowing red eyes on mine.
My club descended. Obsidian met obsidian, and the skull went rocketing down into the ground with a sickening crunch as the impact reverberated through my wrists, then up my arms, making me numb from the elbows down.
Ignoring the pain, I used the momentum from the downward strike to turn it into a side swipe.
This one clubbed two skulls at once, revealing the fourth behind it. My arms grew even more numb. I couldn’t take much more of this.
Its eyes were bright red.
“Fuck!” I roared, slamming myself to the ground.
I felt the searing hot laser rake my back, burning through my shirt and forcing me to drop my club.
I screamed in agony. Rage took over and I launched up. I grabbed the skull with both hands and slammed it into the wall of the cavern.
Again. And again. Until it lay broken in pieces on the ground.
I stood there for a moment, covered in sweat, heaving. Adrenaline coursed through my veins and my heart felt like it’d explode.
I’d done it! I’d made my first kills, and I’d taken them all out.
And then, just as the tension left my body, I felt the breath of some large beast on my back.
I grabbed my club and whirled, smacking the massive horned creature on the snout.
When I saw what it was, I paled.
In front of me stood a giant quadrupedal monster that resembled a triceratops. Its mouth was full of razor-sharp teeth.
And it was wide open.