The skeleton laid their hands on 4797's shoulder, before that too dissipated to dust. The skeleton wasn't fazed in the slightest at what was happening to themselves. "Apto... What a wonderful name. Apto, before I return to my unwanted home, they ask of me to give you a gift, on our part. An apology and thank you, if you may."

Half of its body was gone, and before the rest went away, the rippling of space was fabricated in front of 4797, before that was replaced with two items that now floated in front of it. "We hope that these will come in handy in future endeavors, and another hope that you survive in this terrible crypt. And once more... Thank you."

There was nothing but the head of the skeleton left, and just then, it finally got sucked into by the vacuuming trench. Before the items fell, 4797 grabbed them in each hand, and looked back at the hole. The crevice was now filled, and the barrier blocking the door behind it was now gone. 4797 checked at the door it came in, and like the door, the other had its barrier gone.

It looked down at the items in its hand and inspected them. The first item that it had was a small token, the same size as the Repair Tokens. Unlike the Repair Tokens however, it had a sense of weight to it, and it calculated it to be around a pound of weight. On the front side of the token was a logo of a skull, with two scythes crossing and a pair of wings in the foreground of it. Turning the coin showed the same image of the skull with the pair of scythes and wings.

*Zhengyi's Favor [Unique]

The power of Zhengyi the Upright lays dormant in this Token, and once used will summon Zhengyi themselves to help the user.

This item has a total of [5] uses. Once [5] are used, the item will return back to [Zhengyi].*

Zhèngyì was their name, at least, that is what it presumed. 4797 never had the chance to ask for their name one on one, but this sufficed as well. The other item from the skeleton- or now known as Zhèngyì- was a scroll, and when unraveled showed a layout of what it presumed to be the dungeon. On the map was a small blue dot that had an arrow pointing at a random direction.

The only thing it showed was the previous layout that 4797 was in, and the layout that it had walked through. There was also a blue dot that was in the room 4797 was in currently. While still viewing the map, 4797 had a suspicion about the map, and moved around the room. The dot followed its movement, proving that the map indeed was showing its location.

*Dungeon Map [Uncommon]

A map with the [Wanderers Mark (Uncommon)] enchantment*

On the map were other blue marks, yet they were all scattered around the whole map, dotting around in areas that were grayed out. It suspected that these grayed out areas would reveal themselves once it had managed to travel them, a gimmick that 4797 was familiar with thanks to the ramblings of the Sheriff.

The extra blue dots however were a little more confusing, but it could notch them up to be the lost souls that Zhèngyì was requesting it to find. It didn't know how it would handle or release these lost souls, but it was confident in its abilities to figure out a way to finally have the other spirits to be free.

After viewing both the items, 4797 finally viewed the wall of notifications it had received from the Dungeon Clash.

*You have slain a [Undead-LVL 7]!

...

You have slain a [Undead-LVL 10]!

You leveled up! [LVL 7]; +1 free status point...

You leveled up! [LVL 12]; +1 free status point

Achievement Unlocked!

Beat a Dungeon Clasher without killing them!

Reward: +1500 bonus XP; +[Neutralist Clasher] (Title); +Health Potion [Common] (You earned it); +10 stat points allocated to all stats (that can be given stat points manually).

You leveled up! [LVL 13]; +1 free status point*

It viewed the wall of text with interest, as it was satisfied knowing that its work wasn't for nothing. In total, it had gotten up eight levels and received eight stat points to freely use, and a bonus ten stat points that were given to all of its stats. Then, it had been given a health potion that it instantly used and had also gained a Title. And not just that, it had also given it a new entry in its statistic menu with the same name.

*Status:

Name: G.A.S-4797

Nickname:______ [Yet to be chosen]

Race: Automaton [G]

Health Points: 89/100

Energy Points: 81/106

Mana Points: 10/10

Statistics:

Strength [20]

Dexterity [20]

Vitality [20]

Luck [2] (Can’t be given stat points)

Karma [6] (Can’t be given stat points)

Battery [26]

Intelligence [20]

Wisdom [20]

Will [20]

Endurance [20]

Statistic Points: 7

Sills:

Scan [Race Skill]

Solar Powered [Race Skill]

Hunt to Extinction [Rarest]

Adaptable Tongue [Uncommon]

Inspect [Uncommon]

Hand Combat [Uncommon]

Name tag [Common]

One and Only [Locked]

Titles:

Neutralist Clasher*

Immediately 4797 realized that the 'Title' tab of the status menu had a list just like the Skill and Statistics tabs, which meant that it could hypothetically get more in the future. What these titles brought to the table is a mystery until further notice and was the least of its worries. 4797 took its focus off the Titles tab, and went on with the stats that currently did matter.

It was beginning to feel more flexible and could feel its joints move like it had been oiled and screwed thanks to the increase of its Dexterity that the dungeon had given it. Though the changes weren't as significant as it would like, as they felt as if they were only given between a one to three percent boost. Though it was still thankful to even have those boosts, as it was giving it a better chance at getting out. And finally, there was the two stats that got it curious.

The Karma stat and the Luck stat had been given an increase. The Luck stat didn't need an introduction as it was self-explanatory, but the Karma stat? 4797 didn't know what the Karma stat was all about yet, and it should've asked Zhengyi about it before they dissipated. And how it increased was still puzzling, but 4797 suspected that accepting the favor that Zhengyi had asked must've helped it in some discernible way.

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Though on the topic of Zhengyi's favor, 4797 decided to save the questions for when it could ask them and prompted the display screen to disappear. 4797 looked around the room one last time, and didn't see anything out of place. There were still weapons on the floor, and a few empty magazines that it had picked up. While picking up the empty magazines and attaching them to its hip to recharge, it grabbed a flail on the ground and tried putting it inside its backpack.

The word 'tried' was very prominent, because as soon as it tried stuffing it inside an invisible force resisted 4797's attempt at housing the weapon. It was like pushing two magnets facing the same pole together, yet this was stronger than any magnet that 4797 had felt. The flail couldn't even get more than six centimeters in before 4797 had to let go of it, and when it did the flail jumped out like a jackrabbit. This made 4797 jump to avoid getting hit and tripped from its weight, causing it to land on its back.

It swiftly got back up and dusted itself off. Thankfully, there wasn't a higher up to make fun of its miss up, though there wasn't one to help pick itself up. Alas, 4797 didn't even question the absurdities at this point, as it had already gotten accustomed to them. It was in its programming after all, as adaptation to scenarios and social contexts were one of its prized features back at G.A.S. Though 4797 was curious as to why it was unable to-

*Achievement Unlocked!

Can't pack in dungeon weapons, pal.

Reward: The sense of profound dumbness at oneself.*

The new display achievement gave 4797 its answer- though it was quite rude about it. It decided not to stall any further than it has already and moved towards the door at the end of the room. Opening the door revealed the same hallway layout from the first hall- with the exception of the branch-offs. Entering the room caused the door behind it to slam shut and lock, forcing 4797 to stay in its path. It suspected that this was going to be a common thing further down the dungeon.

Nothing in the room popped out of the ordinary, with only doors making up most of the corridor. 4797 looked at the map, and saw that the map had filled out the hallway that it was in. It didn't reveal what was behind each door however, leaving the discovery to 4797.

The only thing that it could possibly do was to randomly pick a door and hope for the best. Before picking however, it perused the map and searched for the nearest blue dot. To the top-right of itself was a blue dot not quite far from its current location and seemed to be a hall or two away. Rolling up the map and stuffing it inside its belt, 4797 went to the right side of the corridor and picked the second door.

Turning on night vision, it eyed its surroundings carefully before bursting into the room. And like the other rooms before it, it was empty. This time there was no chests to be located in the entire room. It then left dejected, as it only hoped that the doors wouldn't automatically shut and left 4797 to die from lack of energy.

Slowly, it touched the handle of one of the doors, and was given surprise as no iron bars gated the doors. It did the same thing it did for the other room, and was met with nothing, just like the previous. It wasn't until it opened the last door that showed promise. It was like the other rooms, it was dark, had chains with broken shackles, had dried maroon blood on the floor, and an assortment of tools on a singular long wooden table.

Unlike the other rooms however, there was a door inside, and to the right of that door was a small box that stood upon a pedestal. Before entering this room however, it decided to check the other rooms for anything of use. The first three rooms had nothing, only the regular assortments of items. The last two doors had chests however, and once interacting with them they started shaking.

This time, 4797 was ready for the items. From the two chests, it had given it more Ultmar Coins and a new cleaver. This one seemed to be more in shape than the cleaver it already possessed, still, it had the same enchantment, name, and description that didn't discern it from the other.

Finally, there was more Repair Tokens from the two chests- one from each- and was the same rarity as the Repair Token from the first dungeon chest it had found. Putting away these items, 4797 entered the last room on the right. The first thing it did in there was using its Inspection on the pedestal box and was given a prompt.

*Sinister Roulette Box [Rare]

A box with significant amount of Sinister Magik from an advanced crafter. The box has a chance of either draining 25% of health or giving an Uncommon to Rare item. It is a 50/50, and if I were unfortunate enough to be you, I'd go for those odds.

It has [3] out of [3] uses.*

It was unnecessary gambling, very much put there to entice individuals who no less would give in to curiosity. The offer was very enticing, as the chance to get a rare item was very much wanted. But as a Patroller Unit, 4797 wouldn't fall for such obvious tricks. Then again... its health isn't as bad as it would've been. Hesitantly, 4797 touched the box and opened it, and was met with a hovering gift. It quickly snatched the item before the box snapped back closed, and it viewed the item.

*Repair Token [Rare]*

It was another token, and 4797 packed it away with the others. It had now five of the tokens- already replacing the ones it had used. It seemed that either the dungeon was filled with them, or that they were very uncommon in general. Though seeing as it had uncommon variants, it was most likely filled with them, with the rare ones being, well, rare.

4797 tested its luck again as it opened the box and wasn't disappointed. Floating from the box was a small sphere the size of its thumb and snatched it. It was common ranked, and the item buzzed within its hand, which in turn caused its body to be charged. Though it was very, very, very sluggishly slow and was most likely a side effect of what the marble was.

*Lightning in A Marble [Common]

a marble that a previous owner used to capture lightning. Once broken, the lightning within will resume its interrupted flash, and will deal massive damage if an opponent is in its range.

This item deals Critical damage if used on an enemy with the water or earth affinity- or an earth or water elemental.*

The item wasn't half bad and seemed very useful if it were to run out of ammo. On the topic of ammo, two of the magazines had managed to siphon some of 4797's energy and recharge themselves fully. The rest were either purposefully declined energy in order for 4797 to not risk a plummet in the source or are in the process of siphoning energy. And on the topic of energy...

It examined the marble within its hand and began computing. Is it possible for it to gain energy from the lighting? It could feel the energy within charging it in a slow state, which meant it was a worthy hypothesis. So, if it were to take the hit of a lightning strike, is the possibility of gaining energy worth the damage that the lightning would cause 4797?

Before it got into the logistics of whether getting struck by lightning was a smart idea, it saved itself the time by putting it away inside of its storage. 4797 also decided that it didn't want to take the risk of the twenty-five percent of health, satisfied with the two items that it garnered.

Opening the door slightly ajar, 4797 peeked inside to know what it was awaited. It was another room, though this time it had three doors on each side. It examined around the whole room, looking up at the ceiling, at the corners, and everything in between. Slowly, it opened the door and held onto its gun.

Walking in with caution, it continued to examine the room. When it finally felt like it was safe, 4797 lowered its guard and inspected its map. Apparently, the blue dot that it was currently searching for was in the room on its left, and it didn't hesitate to open the door that was blocking itself and the room. Upon opening the door ajar, it did the same routine. It looked around the room, analyzing every tiny detail to find the whereabouts of this lost soul.

Nothing. It had found nothing in this room, only the regular tools, chains, and tables. It checked the map again, and the blue dot was in the exact room that it was in. It didn't make any sense, as the map couldn't possibly be glitched or bugged with a virus. Perhaps whatever enchantment was bestowed on this map was broken- if that could even happen. It could not see any possible way that the m-

*SLAM!*

Dropping the map and turning around in an instant, 4797 fired shots at the closed door without any hesitation. The shots landed on the door and left a charred residue in the aftermath, hitting nothing. 4797 slowly walked back as it trained its optical sensors on the door, waiting for another-

Suddenly, it bumped into something and jumped out of the way of an oncoming attack. The small room began to shimmer as the walls, floor, and ceiling began to distort. The distortions looked exactly that of Zhengyi's previous space manipulation, and with that in mind it gave 4797 a chance to expect what could come next.

"KRRRAAAAHCHCHCHCHChchch!"