Day: 0
Time: 07:17:29 AM PDT
Location: Unknown
The bolt of blue, so bright my eyes screamed, flew towards the black ooze bear that was my enemy as fast as a bullet. It was over in a moment as the bolt struck the bear right in the neck, blowing parts of it to bits. The ooze bear pulled back and stumbled from the force but held strong and certainly wasn't dead as I was hoping. Half of its neck was gone, and it was still kicking.
What type of monster is this thing?
I knew I didn't have enough time to cast another mana bolt while it wasn't distracted. So, I did the only thing I could think of and charged the creature. There was no running from this thing and if I was going to die. I wasn't going to die running. My hands tightened around the staff as I imagined myself as the batter and the beast as the ball. I swung the staff straight towards the bear's head at a horizontal angle. Using the reach advantage from the staff, my strike landed true as it buckled under the force from the blow. I didn't let up for a moment as I swung the staff downward at the bear, groaning on the ground. I felt something crack, and the bear's groans seem to stop, but I keep up. I was striking the unmoving monster with the staff. One word kept playing in my mind as I mutilated the corpse.
DIE
I only stopped when I noticed the staff I used as a blunt instrument was snapped in half. I looked down at what I thought was the corpse that was now only a puddle of black ooze. Even the bones that must have kept the creature together were gone. I dropped to my knee as the adrenaline began leaving my System. I let out a scream so loud I didn't even realize I was comparable of making. My hands were shaking from the fight. A grin I didn't even know I had was struck on my face. It was a feeling I'd never felt before. I felt alive, and that disturbed me. I just killed a beast, and I enjoyed it. I wasn't a vegetarian or even thing. I knew you had to kill to survive, but I never killed with my own hands. It attacked me first, or at least it would have if it got a change.
Society made out that if you enjoyed the feeling of killing, you were some psychopath and needed to be institutionalized immediately. I wasn't a psychopath. I had feelings and cared for my family, but something just felt right about killing it. And somewhat, if that screen was real and if this entire thing is real. Society is probably holding on by a thread, if that. People were perhaps killing things just as I was. To survive as they have always been. And I will do anything to survive. It's people's most primal desire, after all.
With a bit of effort, I got to my feet with new conviction in my eyes. I will survive; if I had to kill some monster, so be it. I dusted off the robes from being on the dirt floor.
First things first.
I went back to the action of trying to see the blue box in the top-right corner of my vision that had not been left since I've noticed. It was simpler than I expected and with just a mental command. The blue box disappeared, and blue screens started to flood my vision.
I went in order of appearance or at least tried.
Universe Integration is complete.
Your Universe has been integrated into the multiverse. You are in the 103rd Universe to be incorporated by the System. Your planet (Rarity - Middle), known as Earth, is one of many planets with life altered by the System's influence. You will face many dangers in this new world you find yourself in, many will die, and others will excel. Only you can decide your fate. May the strong prevail.
I... I'm just moving on.
You have entered a Dungeon!!!
Dungeon Name: Library of Alexandria
Dungeon Type: Unknown
Dungeon Lore: The once great Library of Alexandria that stood for centuries. Where great minds would go and learn has been infested by the Abominations, soulless monsters birthed from these same great minds' greed for something that stepped into the realms of gods.
Clear Conditions: Find and kill the Source of the Abominations.
Fail Conditions: Death
That explains where I am, but didn't the library get destroy over two thousand years ago? Well, I guess that's not even the weirdest thing that's happened today.
You have acquired the title [Defiant] (Rarity - High)
You have acquired the skill [Inspect] (Rarity - Middle)
As a reward for attempting the Challenge of Will
So that dream was most definitely real, unless I'm having a dream. Would that make that a dream within a dream? Whatever, next notification.
You have dealt critical damage, 50, to Inferior Abomination using [Mana bolt]
-
You have dealt 18 damage to Inferior Abomination using [Inferior Mage Staff]
-
You have slain [Inferior Abomination - level 7] - bonus experience for killing higher level opposite.
You have reached level 2!!! - Plus 10 available points
You have reached level 3!! - Plus 10 available points
Two levels for killing something 6 levels higher that's highway robbery. At this point, I didn't even question levels. If monsters straight out of a video game can appear in real life than why not levels. The real question was how I can spend or even see these points. I thought for a moment and just decide to try the same thing I've been doing. Status with a single thought another blue window appeared this one was like a much larger and had much more info on it.
[Status Menu]
Name: Ray Adams
Race: [Inferior Human(G) - lvl 3]
Class: N/A - available at lvl 25
Affiliations: Earth
Titles: [Initiate of the 103rd Universe], [Defiant], [Talented], [Overachiever]
Talents: Unknown
Vitality: 45/45
Stamina: 37/56
Mana: 175/183
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 7
Constitution:4
Stolen novel; please report.
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 14
Available points: 20
Skills: [ Inferior Mana Bolt] - lvl 1, [Inspect] - lvl 1
So, this is me or at least my current status. I'm curious how my stats compare to others and does everyone have the same titles. What do the titles do? What are talents? Stats were the easiest to understand. I'm assuming if I increase a stat, I will get stronger in that aspect. how does intelligence or wisdom work do I get smarter or understanding gets better. Skills are abilities the System give you and they can do things the how or why eludes me. Talents are things you are natural good at, right? Does my Eidetic memory count as a talent? As if to answer my question, a loud ringing sound rung throughout my head. And the same moment the ringing started it ended.
A blue screen appeared in front my once again
Perfect Intelligence Talent acknowledged
Prime Wisdom Talent acknowledged
The mana that only just few minutes ago I became aware flowing throughout my entire body shivered and changed in ways I was even close to understand. The headache that I had for the entire time since the dream grew to a full-blown migraine. I fell to the ground from the pain and that it stopped. And my head felt clean. No headache. It felt better than normal. The air now felt different as if a part of it that I didn't know exist now did. And I intuitively knew it was mana. I wasn't surprised mana existed outside the body, but it didn't expect this much. I couldn't see the mana per se, but it was like a six sense just for mana. I felt mana enter and exit my skin like it didn't even exist. Which made me look deeper inside me with these six sense. I noticed that the mana flowed in a pattern inside me. With these six senses, many new possibilities opened for me. But I really didn't have the time to test them all out.
I needed to get out of this dungeon and try to find a way to get back to my family. If the world was going to shit, I had to make sure they were safe. I wasn't really worried about my older brother. He always had it together and he was a competent enough in my opinion to survive. It was my mother, father, and sister who I worried about. My father was getting up there in years. He was 38 when he met my mother who was 24 at the time. And from what my mother tells me he's been getting worst these past few months while I've been in college. My mother was a strong woman but, it didn't stop me from getting worried. My sister was younger, and I had to protect her. She probably was at home when this all went down so they sure all be okay together right? I didn't even think of the possible of my family being trapped in similar dungeons.
To get my mind away from the depression thoughts, I decide to try one of the ideas before heading out to find the [Source of the Abominations]. I shivered at the thought of what kind of monster birthed that creature. I decide to see how casting [Mana Bolt] affected the flow of my mana inside my body. Having almost 200 points of mana, I wasn't worried about running out. Simple understanding the skill [Inferior Mana Bolt] gave me told me that it cost 10 points of mana to cast which was a drop in the bucket called my mana pool. I also wondered how that compared to others but that was for later me to worry about.
I looked at the remains of the wooden staff, I used to cast mana bolt the first time and grimaced. It was broken in half, and something told me it wasn't going to work but maybe, I could still use the spell. I decide to use my new skill inspect on the wooden staff to see. A simple flex of my desire to use the skill. A simple understanding was birthed. And simple to Mana bolt. My mana flowed in a strange pattern in my eyes and the skill activated when I simple concentrated on the wooden staff.
And a blue screen appeared.
[Inferior Mage Staff] - broken (G) (Rarity - Lowest)
A simple wooden staff terribly designed to channel mana and amplify it's affects and even more terrible at melee attacks.
5% increased to all spells casted using staff by a user at G rank.
Warning staff has been severely damaged all bonus will not be applied until fully repaired.
So, I guess that won't work. from my understanding of the spell, I can cast it without a mage staff so I guess I will just have to deal with the less damage. How is damage even determined. Is it affected by my Intelligence or Wisdom. Just concentrate one problem at a time. I took a deep breath as I held my hand out and palm towards the sky. I started to cast the spell and my mana moved towards my hand must faster than it did the first time. I wasn't sure if it was the fact that I wasn't using the staff, or it was related to my revealed talents but that wasn't important. I focused on how the mana flowed. It moved like a river with many rocks and patches of land in the way of its flow, but it just pulled forward past them. It was inefficient and slow, but the mana didn't care it was just following my desire and if the result was inefficient what did it care. The mana once again spiraled into a ball at the center of my palm floating a few centimeters above it. It was must smaller but felt like it patched a must stronger punch than before. The perfectionist inside me screamed to try to fix the inefficient paths my mana was taking I felt like I could adjust the flow with a simple flex of will, but I knew that wasn't a good idea. I had barely any idea on how mana worked or why. If I went around changing my flow, maybe I will not be able to use mana again or maybe it would be worst either way I wasn't fond of the idea.
Dispelling the Mana bolt was as easy as a trough and it just dissolved into the air sadly, I did not get the mana. Now that I see how my mana flowed it into a spell, I should probably try to spend those points. Who knew when the next chance I will get just to spend points, but the real question was what I should put them in. I was leaking in every stat besides intelligence or Wisdom. But I knew at least one of the stats affected my only attack skill. And so, I decided to not completely focus on one stat till I figure out about the stats in general. Besides I wouldn't mind being able to move faster or longer. I decided to put four points into each stat but something unexpected happened when I did. It felt weird like my muscles were tightening and growing heavy but at the same time I felt as light as ever. Somewhere in my lower abdomen something inside my body seemed to grow and screaming and mana flowing out of it. The mana flowed faster throughout my body. Bonus to power spending a point give me was intoxicating and made me what to experience the feeling more. I couldn't stop myself from checking my status. And what I show puzzled me.
[Status Menu]
Name: Ray Adams
Race: [Inferior Human(G) - lvl 3]
Class: N/A - available at lvl 25
Affiliations: Earth
Titles: [Initiate of the 103rd Universe], [Defiant], [Talented], [Overachiever]
Talents: [Perfect Intelligence Talent], [Prime Wisdom Talent]
Vitality: 107/107
Stamina: 117/117
Mana: 228/240
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 13
Constitution: 9
Intelligence: 22
Wisdom: 19
Available points: 0
Skills: [Inferior Mana Bolt] - lvl 1, [Inspect] - lvl 1
I only put four points into each stat why did my stats increase that much. It must have something to do with the titles. Maybe I could inspect my information like I did during the skill selection.
Concentrating on the first title on my status screen. The title expanded into a new screen.
[Initiate of the 103rd Universe] (Rarity - Top)
You are part of the first generation from your Universe to be initiated into the multiverse. You must survive to get stronger and stronger to survive. A title to help with both.
+10% to all stats
Wait title gave you percent points for stats or is it only some title. If you had 10 titles with the same bonuses, you would double your stats.
[Defiant](Rarity - High)
You have defied the System and lived. Your will has been strengthened and mental and physical were harden by the experience. How far will your desires take you?
+10% to CON, WIS
That's a suckie reward for literally torture. I wonder if I lasted longer, I would have gotten a better title. Oh well, maybe next time. I thought with a chuckle.
[Talented] (Rarity - Top)
The strong only grow stronger. Your talents are exceptional for a human and have potential to be a great powerhouse. Will your talents fail you or will you grow beyond it.
+10% to all stats
This so-called System is truly looks down on people like humans are weak or something. Wait, are we weak compared to other races? Better not think about it.
[Overachiever] (Rarity - Top)
Achieve over 10 in a base stat at level 1. Working hard is a trait all great beings have.
+10% to all stats
The System decided my stats for me at level 1. How the fuck does it even decide. Does your age function into the equation. Maybe I should check my talents as well.
[Perfect Intelligence Talent]
Your natural talent for Intelligence edges on the realm of gods. Gods would kill for your talent. Your mana is naturally purer then most and you can achieve more from the same amount others use. Your memory is perfect from this talent.
-
[Prime Wisdom Talent]
Your natural talent for Wisdom so extraordinary. Multiple Universe Emperors will start wars for your talent. Your control over mana is almost as strong as most powerhouses. You can defect mana with ease. You regain mana and stamina abnormally fast. You can recall memory in an instance. You can learn things with quicker and easier than most.
Wait, gods are real? I guess that's interesting, I've always been an atheist and never really care much about some higher beings that didn't even care to show up. But, the way the System is talking about them. They are very much active. I need to be careful and not show my status to every one if gods would kill for my talent. No telling what average people would do.
I guess, I should get a move on. I've been sitting here checking my notification and status for a while. Hopefully I can find some people to help me find this [Source of the Abominations] so I can get out of here faster. After finding a way out of here, then I'll worry about the world going to shit.
Finally finished, I started moving forward inside the dungeon.