The First Floor...

I exhale and open my eyes there is soft glow in the room emanating from crystals and plants scattered about the room. I could hear drips of water off in the right corner. Realizing I'm not yet in danger my hand glows as I cast my first spell in this place my finger glows with a purple light as I draw the circle pattern inlaid with my mark and the first creature I ever contracted with came out of the circle. It a small slime, a gelatinous creature normally bound to an element such as fire, ice, water, earth, and everything in between. My slime was plant slime, and plant slime were useful as they can give ½ the affects of alchemic plants. The slime looked at me or I imagined it looked at me. As the air bubbles danced around inside of it. I grab some of the glowing plant life. A system window appears before my eyes filling with information. Glowmoss this plant does nothing in particular to your knowledge but it glows. Dismissing the prompt, I push the Glowmoss in to my slime and watch it dissolve. And slime gains a dull glow. I hold a glow crystal in my own hand. My slime and I advance deeper in to this place through the corridor. It was the very next room. When my slime set off a trap it rolled right over a trapped tile on the floor. And a bolder attached to a rope swung down like a wreaking ball striking its core an it splattered my slime every where the core fractured in to pieces. My only summon, a window appeared your contracted summon plant slime was splattered and its core was destroyed. You can no longer summon your plant slime. This freaked me out since I'm a summoner and our summons can die just like everything else, and seeing it so easily destroyed. It shook me making me rethink my choices. I screamed in frustration and anger throwing curse words as if I was a necromancer trying to raise an army.

My only summon was gone. The sounds of my frustrated words must have drawn the attention of the near by monsters, as growling noises were coming in fast. And, I had an Idea I tucked my glow crystal in my cloths, and I grabbed the rope and tried to pull the bolder back toward me. Taking one step then two and on the third step back the boulder started pulling me forward but managed a few more steps. My footing slipping as the the first creature appeared in the room just as the bolder slipped from hands and the bolder swung right at the creature and it stopped swinging. The creature witch I just realized was a wolf and the bolder didn't swing hard enough to kill the wolf or even really hurt it. The wolf growled and lunged at me I threw my glow crystal at it and I started running back toward the entrance. I finally make it in to the first room I reach in to my bag at my side and grab my scroll of minor barrier right at the entrance to first room and break the scroll a small dome of energy erupts around me blocking the door way and I start drawing on the floor. The wolf entered the corridor to the entrance room and lunged at me. The energy dome made the wolf bounce off. I almost complete the circle I'm drawing and place my mark in the center when the wolf lunged again shattering the energy barrier and the wolf bounced back. It lunged at me one more time grabbing my right arm and pulling me down right into the circle I use my left hand and a purple light flared. I screamed the activation word “Bind!” while the wolf's teeth started tearing the muscles in my arm and he shook its head pulling me and ripping my arm loose . When the spell finally took hold. The creature froze my right arm still in its mouth. The wolf now stuck in the binding circle I use my other hand. Purple light craving my mark in to its flesh. I can feel the frustration as the wolf 's teeth grab me harder with every movement of my finger. Fully complete my hand flares with purple light again I try to use banish summon spell with my left hand. And message flashed in my vision cannot bashing a monster you are in contact with. I realize just how unprepared I am for this place. My arm still gripped by the wolf I try to pry its mouth open with my left hand and I'm unable to. I reach around for any thing. The wolf still frozen in place but that wont last much longer. The bind spell will only hold for a minute and I can already feel it slipping. I grab a minor health potion from my pouch and pour it down my throat. I can feel some of the damage being repaired but with the wolf still holding my arm it wont heal fully but some of the pain is gone now and I have an empty vile.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

The thought crossed my mind as I break the end of the empty vile on the floor and stab the wolf in the face with it repeatedly over and over I got three good strikes in just as the bind spell wore off on the third strike. The wolf let go and backed off . Now free of the wolf and mark placed on it, my hand flared with purple light. And I draw the symbol for banish summon, and a circle appeared under the wolf and as if the ground were to come alive and swallow it. The wolf was gone. I know that the contract was forced and if I summon that wolf now it will attack me. I wont be able to control it. I could feel as I placed my mark on it that I'm not strong enough. A feeling of defeat rises over me and sense of determination I will grow stronger. I grab two more potions one of health and one of manna. And I drink them both the minor health potion tasted like bad cherries when mixed with the manna potion. I could feel them both taking affect.

I know I cant leave here empty handed at this point, and so far all I managed to do was waist the few resources I had. I didn't even manage to kill my first monster. I need a weapon. Looking around all I can see is the glowmoss and glowcrystals . A broken empty vile and two empty viles, 3 minor health potions 4 minor manna potions my rings my belt pouch and back pack I make the choice to move all my supplies to my back pack using the broken vile I start tearing apart my pouch and make a sling it is short and only extends to my elbow from my wrist I place the first glow stone in the seat of the sling and garb both ends of the string and I start swinging it in a circle over my head. But I must not have been fast enough and the glow stone falls right out of the seat it was in. so I try again and swinging faster this time and I finally release the end of the sting and watch the stone fly to right. I was releasing too soon. A window popped up in my vision Ability increase: your ability in missile weapons has advanced to level one congratulations. This skill is governed dexterity, and accuracy, but a little luck never hurt.

The system has given me a skill this hasn't happened in over a year. I run over to glow stone and see a small corps of a bat. Sprawled out on the floor next to it. So I place my hand on the corpse and say loot. looting is a special trait inside dungeons that allows you to trade the corpse of a creature for something the dungeon produces, like items, coins or special reagents, but you can always use the corpse of a monster instead if you wanted to skin it for leather or fur or use its teeth claws, some organs can even be used in crafting. But the loot option is more a of a gamble. And right now im hoping for a better weapon. the body of the bat bursts in fragments of light and a single copper coin replaced it. Its not much but its a start. And if there is one bat there are bound to be more. Looking around the first room I notice the bats are in the corners how did I miss thees when I first entered the room. I am now resolved to look at every thing when in the dungeon. After about 20 misses I finally got another bat. I loot this one as well . The bat bursts in to fragments of light and a small wand appears. I grab the wand and examine it as I look at the marking and symbols carved in the wand the system window appeared again. Weak newbie wand this wand has an empty spell slot and is designed to hold 10 charges of a weak spell. This was good drop for me I am a caster type but I have no direct damage spells yet. And most of my spells are designed to influence and heal my summon creatures. I only have the wolf I just bound but I'm not yet strong enough to keep it under control. I might have to make a trip back to town and try this dungeon again tomorrow, but first im going to finish off these bats. I continue to use my sling I think I'm getting better at this this time it only a few tries before I hit the bat when I loot this time the bat was replaced with a small pouch I look at the marking on the bag,and inside and it was empty. The system window appeared this is an empty pouch it has 3 slots you were unable to determine the marking on the bag but you recognize it is magical in nature. When i get in to town I will need to read a few more books on enchanting. I take down the final bat and grab the remaining glow moss and glow crystals from inside the first room. Just before I leave and think status a system window appears in my vision . Glancing over the window i can see my level progression is not anywhere near advancing but I picked up a new skill and that's close to go up and the temptation to push in to next room is strong but I know I am still not ready. I walk to the entrance where I came in and start walking through the darkened opening. And just as if someone cast a light spell on my eyes the brightness of daylight blinded me for a few seconds.