The books weren’t kidding when they described [Dungeons] as ‘labyrinthian’: ten minutes into my exploration and I already had found 3 dead ends, one after the other. I tried ‘detecting’ which passage would lead to a dead end, but it seems that my [Skill] doesn’t work that way; I probably wouldn’t have even listened to what it showed me anyway, instead, I would have deliberately gone inside those passages, so I could map this place out in its entirety, and maybe find some secret in them, or some random loot.

The dead ends that I found ended up being fundamentally different, with the first being devoid of anything, the second having a couple of [Ratton Miners] lying in wait for me, but that I was able to perceive their presence beforehand, and the third one had a pitfall-trap, designed so that anyone reaching the end of the corridor would plummet to their doom.

As of now, I had killed around 5 [Ratton Miners], and I was in no rush to meet any others, nor new varieties, including returning ones.

But it seems like [Luck] took that as a challenge.

The next bent in the pathway lead to a singular open room, with what looked like stairs on the opposite end from where I was entering, and with small holes dotting the walls, seemingly at random; this room was still ‘decorated’ with those wooden poles that you would see, from time to time, inside mines, as if they were holding the structural integrity of the [Dungeon] in place. Which made no sense.

“I don’t even need [Unavoidable Detection, nor [Precognitive Aura], to know that there’s going to be a fight there.”

A bit of a cliché, but that would seem the case.

There weren’t any entities around yet, but I was sure that they would come out once I entered the room, probably from those holes I had already observed.

Deciding to play it safe, I made a [Totem] in the middle of the room, and, when that didn’t trigger anything, I made four [Turrets] appear in the corners, but not on the ground this time, but at mid-height between floor and ceiling, so they couldn’t get reached too easily.

“Well, here goes nothing!”

I stepped into the room… and a grey mist materialized behind me, solid enough to block my escape.

“Are you serious? Now you’re just ripping off ‘Dark Souls’.”

Soon, I was able to hear some scuttling, detecting the presence of two dozen [Rattons], almost one for every hole I could see, to which, once they were in sight, I gave them a scan:

Name:

Ratton Swarmer

Affinity:

Nature; Life

Danger:

Low

They were tiny, almost the size of normal rats, and their mangy fur seemed almost to thicken when they regrouped with one another.

“Is that why they have the [Life Affinity]? The more of them there are, the stronger they get? With a name like ‘swarmer’, it would only make sense, I guess.”

While I was lost in musing about their peculiarities, my [Turrets] got to work, quickly eradicating the ‘threat’, leaving only gore on the ground.

“No wonder they want me to kill the [Mini-Boss]: This is too easy!

…

I probably jinxed myself, didn’t I?”

Maybe.

“Shit.”

I hurried over to what I thought was the entrance to the next level.

Entering level 2

* * *

The second level wasn’t too different from the previous one; it was just a bit more crammed with dead ends, and in one of those I found a new sight: a chest, and before I could get elated at the likelihood of treasure, I detected a new type of [Ratton] inside it.

Name:

Ratton Trapper

Affinity:

Nature; Illusion

Danger:

Low

I launched a flurry of [Mana Bolts] from my staff at the chest, angry at being almost fooled by the prospect of ‘treasure’, and I stopped only after the dying screams of the [Monster] had quelled.

Sometimes I worry about you.

“And you should: I’m not far from becoming akin to an anti-hero, if not a ‘full blown’ villain.”

The chest ended up having nothing inside, except for the pulp from the [Trapper], and I found myself impressed by the power my [Bolts] had shown, realizing just now of the destruction that they were capable of; but I couldn’t understand why they were that strong, so I decided that it was because it was influenced by my inflated [Stats], and that I would check on it later.

After a few more dead-ends I found the same room as before, the one that got ‘flooded’ with [Swarmers], and after repeating the same set-up as before, I found that the only difference was that there were double the amount of rats, but it was just as easy as the first group to clean up.

‘Clean up’ as a manner of speaking, since, before the [Dungeon] had time to convert the mess into [Mana], the room looked like a set after an especially gory movie from Tarantino.

I moved onward, while still ignoring the incessant mumbling from my grouchy stalker.

Entering level 3

* * *

Entering level 5

“Finally!”

I wasn’t bored anymore, after fighting a wave of almost 200 rats I was fucking tired instead, and I just couldn’t wait to be over with this. Turns out that the [Swarmers] doubled every level, requiring, by the fourth time it happened, to increase the number of [Turrets], and my intervention with [Bolts] and [Orbs], to avoid being overwhelmed; which was when the [Totem] shined, succeeding in stopping the [Monsters] from reaching my tender meat with their poisonous teeth.

My success in the last fight aside, I was also starting to find the increasing quantity of traps annoying, especially when I just had to pass through them to move on, failing to find a way to safely disarm them, or locate an alternative path, which was when I would be like ‘fuck it’ and just smash it to pieces.

Also, [Scouts] and [Warriors] had started to appear, on the third and fourth floor, respectively, but they still did so singularly, or with small groups of [Miners], still in the single digits, so it wasn’t a problem.

Were there any close calls? No, my [Totem] took care of most dangers, while a preventive [Barrier] from my staff, prompted by my [Aura], took care of anything sudden enough to almost catch me unprepared

But both me and [Buddy] knew that now wasn’t the time to grow complacent: a [Mini-Boss] dwelled within these halls.

And yes, I meant ‘halls’, since this level seemed to have a better-defined architecture than the previous ones, going from rough ‘tunnels’ apt only for excavation, to almost ‘pristine’ ones, chiseled flat and uniform in their sizes.

My sightseeing was interrupted by me reaching a new dead end, with a chest against the furthest wall from me; but this time I had to hold myself back from destroying it, since there were no signs of [Monsters], nor traps, around it.

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“Is this really happening?”

Without further ado, or waiting for the response from my [Tutorial], I approached the chest, still wary of any possible subterfuge that I simply wasn’t detecting. I made [Kenny], who has been assisting me by both providing light and some more damage, hover right on top of it, and then I nudged the lid with the metallic end of my staff.

After waiting a moment for something to happen, and being pleasantly deluded, I grabbed the lid with both my hands and opened the chest.

There was just a piece of paper inside.

Already growing angry I made to grab and tear it apart, but when my fingers had barely brushed against it, the parchment burst into motes of [Mana] and entered my left hand.

Startled by the sudden event I yanked my hand away, and started to desperately shake off whatever was happening to it; then, feeling the [Mana] settle down, I observed what had transpired with my hand, dreading whatever I may have accidentally subjected it to; but what I found was instead a small, back, tattoo, made of two concentric rings, with two triangles on the outer one jutting in opposite directions.

“What the fuck!? I had no say in this!”

Amidst my panic I still had enough mind to [Inspect] it:

Name:

Blank Demonic Contract

Assignation:

none

“What. The. Actual. FUCK!!!???” I screamed, my voice reverberating throughout the hallway.

“Did I just get a contract with a [Demon]!? Will I be burned at the stake, or worse, imprisoned and tortured for eternity, when eventually found out? And may I reiterate, that I had no fucking choice in the matter, somehow!? How can that happen!? [BUDDY]!?”

I have nothing on this subject, and there was no prompt from the [System] to either accept it or not; but at least it is “blank”, meaning that it is, in fact, unassigned, just like the second voice says.

I think that you should talk about it with your Teachers.

“… Can I trust them to not sell me out?”

I honestly would not know, but do you have any other option?

“No… but I’m not talking about it with ‘DouchEddd’ there. I’ll wait to talk with Merga.”

That is fine.

I briefly glanced behind me, but the wizened elf was all the way back to the bend that had brought me here, so it shouldn’t have been possible for him to see what had transpired, since I was covering what had happened to my hand with my body for most of the time.

Thinking quickly, I fished a bit of gauze from my backpack, bandaged my left to hide the mark, and continued as if nothing had happened.

I stepped past Eddd, ignoring his presence that was still perfectly clear to me, when he had the gall to say to me “glad to see that one of the traps finally got you”, chortling a little.

I almost snapped, by turning around and decking the [Sorcerer] in his stupid face, but I reined myself back, barely in time, by masking it as a missed step.

“[Luck], I pray that you’re listening to me this time: I hope that this wasn’t something you wormed in life just to ‘spice it up’ a little.”

I don’t know what I was doing by attributing this misfortune to the [Goddess], like she had her hands in everything, but-

Through your prayers, you have been awarded +1 [Serendipity]

“Oh, fuck off!”

* * *

I didn’t notice it at first, but this floor was much bigger than the previous one; so much more so that it took almost an hour to find the last room, where the [Mini-Boss] would be waiting for me.

‘How did I know that it was the correct room? Could I already see the stairs from where I was?’ You may ask, to which I would respond with ‘can’t you see that it’s already blocked by a fog wall?’, because it was. It not only had the biggest door I’d seen since entering this labyrinth, but it was already curtained by that thick grey fog, that usually appeared only after one had stepped past the threshold. I gave it a test push, and my hand just passed right through it.

“Ok, planning time: What are we to expect, except for it being some kind of [Ratton]?”

We do not know that either.

“Then what do we know!?” I was being testy, but we both knew that it was still from the tattoo, and not truly direct to my ‘eternal companion’.

That it will be the hardest fight you will have to face yet, that it will include at least one exceptionally strong Monster, and that every Mini-Boss is related to the creatures that appear on its floor.

“Which means… what?”

Be on your guard, get ready to fill the room with Turrets and Totems, and do not dick around.

“Got it.”

After jumping in place for a while, to psych up myself hard enough, I stepped through the fog, and found myself inside a room that was made with the same polished rock as before, but this time it was carved in bricks, and the usual holes, where the [Swarmers] usually crawled out from, were replaced by nooks filled with candles and gems (Why gems?).

I was deliberately ignoring what was waiting for me In the middle of the room: The [Mini-Boss].

Name:

Ratton Foreman

Affinity:

Nature; Earth (Aberrant: Metal)

Treat:

High

Of course, the first significant foe that I have to fight in my first [Dungeon] just so happens to be [Aberrant] like me. I’m sure that’s just a coincidence…

NOT.

What really aggravated me was that the fucking thing was taller than me, whilst also looking like it had been on steroids since the day it was born, and I could see that because it was almost completely devoid of fur, exposing his sickly-looking grey skin to the elements, with only a bit green fuzz here and there to ‘compliment’ it.

The giant was only donning a small miner’s cap on its head, between its ears, and a leather perizoma covering is junk, with an oversized pickaxe in one hand, and a shovel in the other that was big enough to look capable of digging trenches with a single swipe.

Also, it wasn’t moving, it was just staring at me, seemingly analyzing me as much as I was analyzing it; and, by its derisive snort, it was not impressed.

“Oh, I’ll fucking show you ‘impressive’ then.”

But first: Banter!

“You’re the ugliest thing that I’ve seen yet, and I’m not even talking about how you look like you’ve survived both a plague and a chemical fire!” I shouted at it.

I didn’t know if it could understand me, kind of defeating the purpose of banter, but it still didn’t seem to appreciate my tone; and so, it started heading my way, with a mad gleam in its eyes.

I made [Kenny] attack it, still making it aim for the eyes, while I started spawning two [Totems], one for each side of the room, and ten [Turrets], all around the room, just to play it safe.

I had a moment of clarity where I had to ponder on why there hadn’t been there any case of crossfire yet.

The [Monster] nonchalantly protected its face with the shovel, negating the interference from my [familiar], and kept advancing towards me, with big striding steps.

The [Turrets] starter ‘delivering’ their [Metal Pizzas], but when they hit it barely left a scratch on the hide of this thing, and I noticed that its skin seemed to harden where it was hit, getting ever closer to having a metallic shine, which was making every consequent hit do less damage.

“Shit, against a single strong opponent I need quality, not quantity!”

I retreated to a different side of the room, with the [Foreman] almost on my heels, while leaving [Mana Orbs] between us, which ended up working like proximity mines, bursting when it got too close to them.

While retreating I also started ‘de-creating’ the [Turrets] I deemed that were in excess, returning to the original four, and then I proceeded to fuel them with much more [Mana], which was a peculiar process to attempt rapidly, that maybe I’ll go into deeper details later, but only when I’m not being chased around by an ‘Olympic weight lifter’-rat.

There was no visible change to the [Turrets], but they started firing more rapidly, and this time, when they hit the [Mini-Boss], it felt them.

It soon had to divert its attention from me to try and parry the circular saws away from its body, but four, at the same time, were just too many for it, and one particularly good shot had the [Foreman] instinctively move its shovel to deflect it, to safeguard its jugular.

[Kenny] capitalized on the moment that its target exposed itself: One bright ray later, and the [Ratton] was missing an eye.

It bellowed in rage, and I took the opportunity to pepper him with a volley of [Mana Bolts], which didn’t do too much damage, but added to the number of projectiles the [Mini-Boss] had to fend off.

I was starting to believe that this would have been a walk in the park, when the muscle-head started glowing red. I recognized the sign of a [Skill] being activated, so I used [Annul] to dispel it, but the [Mini-Boss] had activated it for long enough to successfully boost its speed for a single step: And I found his pickaxe already heading for my forehead.

If sparring with Grog had taught me anything, it was to not run from adversity, and to not panic. So, I casted [Kinetic Barrier] from my staff in a hurry, and hoped that my [Totem] would handle the rest.

When the hit connected, I was launched backward, both my [Barriers] shattering upon contact, the dispelled force enough to make one of my [Totems] crack.

“I can’t afford another hit like that”, I said to myself, while picking myself out of the hole I had carved into the wall, and noting that I was still mostly unharmed, surprisingly.

I decided that the time for ‘games’ was over, so I redoubled my efforts in defeating my foe: More [Mana] was spent on the [Turrets], and even more [Bolts] left my weapon, trying to pressure the rat into submission.

It even tried to use its [Ability] again, but this time I stopped it in time, expecting the move.

It started accumulating critical damage, and it was quickly brought to its knees, where it did something unexpected: I don’t know if it was out of spite, or one last futile attempt at survival, but the fucked threw its pick at [Kenny] with all the strength it had left, nailing it with the pointy end, shattering its body, and making its lightless husk fall to the ground with a *clank*.

Fury overtook me, at the sight of my [familiar] getting killed; red filled my vision, and I ended up throwing everything I had to the dying [Monster], disregarding any worries I may have had about conserving my [Mana] for later.

Once it looked more like a bloody meat-loaf, I recollected myself, rationalizing that my [Lantern] must be in my ‘inner world’, since it should have been de-[Invoked] upon defeat, similarly to what tended up happening to other [familiars]. After a bit of probing, I felt its presence in my [World-Within], only slightly diminished.

I looked to the [Foreman] once more, deciding on what parting quip to deliver.

“You thought that all those muscles made you strong, uh? That you were ‘special’ for being [Aberrant], uh!? Sucks for you that you had to fight against me then”, I said, looking it right in the eyes, when the life left them.

He dropped face-first onto the ground, dead, and I recalled my [constructs].

I had defeated the [Mini-Boss].

You have defeated the [Mini-Boss]:

Though your actions, you have been awarded +1 [Dexterity] and [Strength], +2 [Energy], and +3 [Insight].

You have earned the Trait, [Heir of David].

Heir of David:

You’re no stranger to felling foes bigger than you, nor to standing up to those stronger than you.

Enhances your qualities when fighting bigger, and better, enemies.

I was already thinking that that was a lot, but then the rush of [Exp] came.

You have reached [Lvl 5].

For reaching the first milestone, you have been awarded double rewards for future [lvl-ups].

Through your [Lvl-up], you have been awarded +2 [Acuity] and [Serendipity], +4 [Energy] and [Insight], and +10 [Will]

The heady feeling made me almost miss it, but-

“What’s that about ‘milestones’?”