Pure bliss. This was what James felt as he was sinking into the unconscious, the unknown. He was at peace here. Nothing could disturb him. There was him, and nothing else.
[James! James! Wake up!]
"...lemme sleep...5 more minutes..."
[James. You are in a dungeon! Wake up!]
James turned over in a stupor. Hm. His bed was hard today for some reason. It's usually softer than this. But, it didn't matter. He could still sleep. He felt a bit cold. He reached for his blanket and pulled it up – wait, where was his blanket?
James' remaining 3 brain cells fired at max capacity. This was wrong. Something didn't add up. How could he be sleeping without his blanket?
James' eyes opened, and he was met with a stone ceiling. Then, all the memories, and the headache, came rushing back to him in an instant.
James slowly lifted himself up and looked around. He was still in the dungeon. His head pounded as he tried to recall the events that occurred.
"Where are the goblins? Are they dead?"
[They are dead. You…defeated them. In one way or another. Erm…congratulations?]
"Why do you sound so soft hearted? Wait. Where are the goblins?"
[The corpses of the goblins have disappeared. They have been replaced by the drops.]
James looked beside him. There were 5 glowing stones on the ground, each of them tinged with gold. They were about half the size of his fist.
[These are the magic stones of the goblins you killed. You can exchange them for dungeon points.]
James looked at the stones. It appeared collecting these gave you "dungeon points." James remembered something from when he first got dropped into the dungeon.
"You said there was something about a shop before, didn't you?"
[Yes. At the dungeon shop, you can exchange these stones for for DP (dungeon points). Then, you can spend those points on various things.]
"Things such as?"
[Things such as weapons, armor, potions, and money.]
"Money?"
[The exchange rate is 1 point for $100.]
$100 dollars for 1 point!? And from the looks of it, you can exchange as much as you want. James felt dizzy. He could make a living off of this! But then he stopped himself.
"This would be great, but only if it's actually real. I might be dreaming still. Wait a moment. I just got knocked out. Is it possible to fall asleep inside a dream?"
James had never heard of such a thing happening.
"I should collect these magic stones anyways."
But, as he was about to stand up, he was assaulted by an intense pain in his right arm. His shoulder still had an arrow sticking out of it! Also, James didn't notice it before, but his body was still very weak, even weaker than usual. Of course it was. He had just fought for his life and ended up fracturing his hand, getting shot in the shoulder, and slamming the back of his head against the ground.
"Dammit, I can't even stand."
James was writhing in pain when the announcer woman offered him some solace.
[I think I can help. I could get you a potion for one of those stones.]
"A potion? A recovery potion? Does it work?"
[Yes. It should heal all of your wounds. However, even though your wounds will be healed, you'll still be very tired.]
"Is there a way to fix that too?"
[A stamina potion would be best for recovering strength. That would cost you an extra stone, however.]
But the announcer woman hadn't even finished her words when James grabbed two of the stones and put them in front of him, as if he was paying them to an imaginary storekeeper.
[Alright. 2 tier 2 stones for 20 points. 1 tier 1 grade recovery potion and 1 tier 1 stamina potion, 10 points each.]
The two magic stones sunk into the ground of the dungeon, and two small vials popped out in their place. The vials held liquids, one red, and one green.
"Wow. That's, cool, but these look so suspicious it's not even funny. This color is not natural. I suppose this one's the health potion."
James pointed to the vial with bright red liquid.
[Yes.]
James grabbed it with his good arm and used his fingers to pop the cap open.
"Wait. Should I pull this arrow out?"
[If you want to. It doesn't really matter for a wound of this size. It's just if you feel the pain now or later.]
"…"
James closed the vial and put it down. Then, bracing himself for the pain, he yanked the arrow out of his shoulder. Almost fainting from the pain and blood loss, he grabbed the vial and gulped the contents down. The taste was sweet, like mango juice.
[One of the administrators of this dungeon really likes mango juice.]
James nearly spat out the potion. After a struggle, he swallowed the rest of the potion. He was about to complain to the administrator woman when he paused.
"Was that really necessary?" James complained.
He felt a slight burning sensation on the back of his head and on his right arm. As he watched, the puncture wound caused by the arrow slowly closed. The bones in his hand mended as well; he knew because the pain subsided. He felt the back of his head. The bump he got from the fall was gone.
"This is a new experience. But, the pain is all gone."
James tried to stand up and almost gave himself another concussion by falling over.
"Jesus Christ, my legs are shaking."
[You have a stamina potion there, you know.]
James uncapped the 2nd vial, wondering what it would taste like. Like the other potion, he downed it all at once. All of a sudden, his throat started burning.
"What the hell? My throat! There's a subtle but weird taste, and my throat is burning like crazy."
[James, how does it feel to have drunken alcohol?]
"…"
[Don't worry. Even though it tastes like vodka, it won't get you drunk. And it does its job. It is a stamina potion after all.]
She was right. As the announcer woman was talking, James could feel strength coming back into his limbs. He sighed. He'd never drunk before, so he didn't know what vodka tasted like. Now he knew. Mango juice and vodka. James couldn't help but wonder what would a mana potion taste like.