Fallen instinctively took a few deep breaths, even if he biologically couldn't.
Inhaling.
Exhaling.
Free from the fear, he knew peacefulness.
Now calm like still water, an inexplicable awareness took over him. His logical train of thought returned. His four senses sharpened, crossing over his limits.
"Whoever you are... thank you," Fallen said, "I will survive this shit hole."
Fallen, with a newfound goal in mind, stepped forth. Lifted the bar blocking the double door and armed himself with it. He took a clumsy fighting stance and prepared for battle.
The door slammed open. A skeleton equipped with a shield came in, as the entrance was too narrow to fit over one.
Good, this reduces their numerical advantage. Fallen thought, surprised by his own composure.
The skeleton had no time to laugh, as Fallen dashed towards him. He barbarically smashed the skeleton's head that tried to protect itself, but the shield shattered under the pressure. The skeleton fell on the floor headfirst, never to move again.
Wush.
The soul entered his bosom. Immediately after, another skeleton holding a spear replaced its colleague.
Keep your concentration, he advised himself.
Every fiber of his leg bones contracted—well, kind of—and he dashed forward. Landed a vicious blow on the spear holder's side and split the fragile bastard in half.
Animated with the will to survive, he bashed and smashed his way through every single enemy until nothing else but their shattered bones remained.
* * *
With no remaining skeletons in sight, he instinctively gasped for breath and sat down in one of the room's corners. Fallen's fighting skills were amateurish at best, resulting in a pyrrhic victory. He only had won because of the strategic advantage given by the narrow entrance.
The uncomfortable feeling spread through his body like a plague, pain. He had already felt it previously, but the intensity wasn't enough to understand it. Now, however…
Skull cracked.
Bones were broken.
Lowered ribcage fissured.
Left hand shattered.
Apart from that, his stamina was also drained. An issue that probably would resolve itself as his endurance level up. Having recovered enough to move, he tried investing the souls he had just collected in his basic stats.
__________
- Will to survive Lv3 [Low-H]
__________
He had learned a new skill and felt 'good' about it.
"Hum. It appears to be the state I was in when fighting those bastards." He said, 'spitting' on one of the dead skeletons. "Well, let's not deviate from the main topic and boost my stats."
However, he didn't know how to level up his basic stats and kept staring at the altar for a while.
I should have asked the Guardian, he thought.
After a while, he learned frustration and desire for being unable to do as he wished. Fallen needed to increase his strength; he tried everything he could think of, no matter how absurd it seemed. After all, nobody was watching.
Pleading while kneeling.
"Please?"
Praying face down against the ground.
"My system in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your altar comes, my status be done. Give me today my daily status improvement..."
Dancing, praising, singing, etc. Nothing worked.
In a last-ditch of effort, he tried to clean the altar to appeal to the system's good side, and when he touched it, a new blue ethereal screen popped out of nowhere.
Cling.
He knew joy and pressed 'yes'.
__________
Basic stats:
- Strength Lv2 [Low-M] (0/100sp)
- Endurance Lv1 [Lowest] (0/50sp)
- Mana Lv0 [Inexistent] (0/25sp)
- Agility Lv1 [Lowest] (0/50sp)
Current sp: 11
__________
He had gained 11 sp from his previous fight. Such a puny amount angered him since he had felt like that was difficult. He dared not imagine going through it again, but fortunately, he had already cleared the area of skeleton.
He stood back up, closing the interface, stretched up, and got ready for more actions but noticed something unusual. His wounds had healed, and stamina replenished.
Did the altar heal me? I suppose it has its perks despite being an ASStruscture, he thought.
"Kakakaka!"
It could probably be the lamest joke in the dungeon's history, but he needed to take his mind out of the loneliness and confusion. No matter how lame the joke, it allowed him to keep his ideas straight despite having no memories, being forcibly summoned, given a meager amount of information, and going crazy.
An idea sparked amidst his laughter. Since the world reset each time he activated the altar.
He smirked and knew dislike for his own plan.
* * *
"Kakakaka!"
BAM!
The last of the skeletons dropped dead.
After his first victory, he had prayed at the altar and reset the floor countless times. Which meant that the skeletons had been 'alive'.
He learned amusement at this fact since it felt familiar. Yes, they were like plants rapidly growing back after the reaping. He, as the Farmer he didn't he was, had had the duty to collect those plants and sell them for money. And since those plants kept coming back… it had been good for business.
__________
Basic Stats:
- Strength Lv4 [Medium-L]
- Endurance Lv3 [Low-H]
- Mana Lv0 [Nonexistent] (your mana suck)
- Agility Lv2 [Low-M]
__________
Farmer… Fallen had mainly leveled up his physical abilities since plowing the fields had taught him tiredness of body but mostly mind. Moreover, with mana being a mysterious stat, he wasn't inclined to take the risk; it wasn't a logical choice for him. With Strength, endurance, and agility, he was certain to be immediately rewarded.
Now rusted swords only left shallow cuts, and blunt weapons couldn't crack his skull in one hit anymore. Hence, he could take care of the group of skeletons fairly easily, provided he didn't get surrounded.
Fallen had discovered that, when a stat upgraded, the overall cost of the others would increase according to their level. But what had disturbed him the most, was the cost of upgrading his strength to lv5: 10000sp.
To afford it, he couldn't keep farming the low-income plants. He needed a bigger and juicier one unless he spent an eternity farming weed.
But hearing bones shattering, weapons breaking, and especially their laughs frustrated him. No, they drove him mad. A curious feeling that it was. He needed to do something else or he would go madder than he already appeared to be.
So he headed out. The floor at the foot of the tree was almost cleared of skeleton apart from five or six lying on top of each other. He brushed past that detail and made his way to the only exit of the plaza.
Before he could reach it, bones composing the pile of skeletons assembled, clattering on the ground.
They merged into a three-meter tall figure. It was a stark-naked, huge skeleton. The monster reached to his left, and the remaining bones, lying around, fused to form a two-meter-long club. The monster roared at Fallen with such strength that his eardrums would have busted if he had any.
CRACK!
The giant used its club to smash the ground provocatively, sending pebbles flying.
The show of force alarmed Fallen. Thankfully,
Fallen got ready for battle with his improvised club in hand.
I had cleared this area countless times, but why didn't I see this thing before?
Sigh.
"I really dislike this dungeon."