James didn't know where he was. He felt like he had just woken up, but he couldn't see or hear anything around him, so he wasn't actually sure. it wasn't exactly that he he couldn't see anything. Rather, all of his senses were filled with a jumble of random information. He was seeing but not seeing, hearing but not hearing.
James felt extremely uncomfortable because of this. His mind became groggy, and he felt pain in his mind. James couldn't understand what was happening – it was the fact that he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing or hearing that made him feel this pain. He was about to fall unconscious again. However, he attempted to recall the events that had happened just before.
"I was…in the treasury of the dungeon. I stepped into the circle to find which item I would get as a reward! That's right!"
As James remembered those events, his mind became more and more clear. It was as if, even if he had no sense to rely on, he now had an anchor point – his own thoughts. Even though he couldn't see, touch, or smell anything clearly, he maintained a clear train of thought, a clear consciousness. He was barely able to keep himself in this state. If he hadn't been told that this was a method to match him to an item, he would have thought that this was a form of torture.
"What type of bullshit method is this? Test me for a weapon, my ass! This clearly is a type of torture which violates international law! This is a war crime!"
James' train of thought turned a bit negative while stuck in this situation. This wasn't exactly surprising.
James didn't know how long he spent in that time. To him, it felt like an eternity. He could only occupy himself with his own thoughts, hanging onto his consciousness by a thread.
All of a sudden, James got his senses back. He could now tell that there was only pitch blackness in front of him, but to him, this was a blessing. All of his overloaded senses got a break, and he breathed a sigh of relief. This feeling was absolutely wonderful.
However, he didn't have much time to relax, because he started hearing voices in his mind.
[Come forth, and ask.] [What do you seek?] [What do you wish to be?]
James couldn't describe the voices. They were speaking in a language that was unknown to him, yet he could clearly understand what was being said. He was kind of confused about what was going on.
"Is this really just deciding an item? This seems like I'm going to try and claim possession of a space-time treasure that can destroy galaxies. I thought I wasn't qualified to use a high tier item. I think this is a bit excessive."
[What is the height that you can achieve?][The highest peak feasible?]
"The height I can achieve…huh."
In front of James, the pitch black darkness started changing. James began to see lines and colors. Eventually, a scene became clearer and clearer. It was the scene of a battle.
James knew this was no coincidence. He hadn't really been in the dungeon for long, and the strongest people he knew were 3 out of the 4 dungeon explorers he had become acquaintances with. The last was the blond girl, Ayla. James didn't exactly know how strong they were, but he knew they were strong enough to sweep through floors on the 4th tier, which was swarmed with 4th tier monsters. He nearly died to that single demon bear. To James, this was already very strong. He might be able to obtain that level of strength. However, James' perception of strength had just been turned upside-down.
In front of him, angelic knights and demonic beings of unimaginable power clashed in front of him. They fought, clashing in the air and on the ground. Whenever their weapons clashed, blasts of wind and shockwaves swept throughout the entire battlefield. James knew even his senior explorers wouldn't last a single second. Yet, James had experienced the power of Ajartum, a being who destroyed several of these demonic beings with a single swing of his flaming sword.
This was his new peak – the strongest existence James could even imagine. He relived the battle, soaking in all the chaos. And once more, James felt as if he had gained a deep, deep, understanding of fighting.
James felt another massive rush of information flowing into his head. However, compared to the terrible state he'd been forced into earlier, this amount was nothing. James, with a bit of difficulty, was able to grasp a miniscule portion of the sword technique that Ajartum used, as well as a bit of the magic he used to light his blade aflame. James wouldn't be able to use these techniques himself yet, but they were a great help to him.
However, just as James comprehended this, the scene of the battle disappeared, and was replaced by the black space again. Eventually, a small golden light appeared in the distance. The light grew bigger and bigger, until James could finally make out a shape.
It was a shining, round, golden halo. Exactly what a person would expect to see over the head of an angel.
James got a bad feeling. This wasn't his item, was it? It was a bit too flashy for his tastes. James imagined himself walking into the dungeon shop or into school with a golden halo hovering over his head. He wouldn't ever show his face ever again.
As if it had heard his thoughts, the halo transformed into something a little less eye-catching. As it shrunk, James watched it as it melted into a pool of gold, and then reshaped itself. It fell into his hands. He was holding a blue yarn beanie.
"…"
A holy beanie. James' head was first filled with an image of Jesus on the cross and wearing this beanie, and thinking of the archangel Michael and his beanie. He soon began regretting his life choices.
But, before James had too much time to think about it, the dark space around him became brighter. When he could see again, he was back in the treasury room, in the middle of the formation.
[…I see you have chosen an item.]
James looked down at the beanie in his hands. He suspected that the voice was a bit unsettled, but he brushed it away.
"Yeah, I have."
Even though it looked normal, James could still tell that the beanie was a magical item.
[Alright then. You can go back by stepping into the portal where you came from.]
James looked. At the end of the hallway he had walked along, a portal, identical to the one that brought him to the treasury. James walked back up to the hall.
"Well, then, thank you!"
[Ahem. You're welcome.]
"Why does the dungeon send people over to talk with me?" thought James. "My senior explorers said that every voice in the dungeon that they'd heard had been automated."
James shook his head, and stepped through the door.