"Enter into the dungeon."
Enter the Endless Dungeon
Y/N
He got up from the white floor. The process was instantaneous, one moment he was in his room and the other he was in this white room. He wondered why it was so quick and different when compared to the actual dive. That process was, actually, he could not really describe it, just that it was weird and seemed to take a long time.
He kept his head lowered, making sure that he did not make any eye contact with the statue. He did not want to repeat what happened last time. Strangely, there was no voice welcoming him like the last time for which he was thankful. He did not want a headache every time that he entered in here.
He looked around the floor and quickly found his sword and the jar of poison still on the floor. It was nearly empty, most of the poison had been used up in the dive. Or wasted, if he thought carefully about it. When he had first used the poison he had only lightly coated the sword with it and it had been enough to kill five of them each time. If he had used the would bottle in the same manner, he could have achieved multiple times more than what he actually had. It also solidified that no matter how scary the statue was, his advice certainly was good.
He equipped both the sword and the jar and took out the bow from the inventory. He had been using this bow for nearly half a month now and his performance with it was drastically better as compared with others. After equipping the bow on the back, he took out a quiver full of arrows. He had brought a total of four quivers, each having 25 arrows. The remaining three were in the inventory.
"Hehe"
It felt as if he himself had become a game character after playing and making games for a long time. It seemed a natural progression to him. Play games, make games, and then actually start playing a real-life dungeon crawler. He was not upset though. Here he was away from everyone, free without all the shackles trying to squeeze away all the life that he had left in him. Here it was simple; kill, upgrade. It seemed so for now though.
He sat down on the floor, his back to the statue.
"Shop"
He had 4.2 points and 1 (E) achievement. It certainly was not enough to buy any of the shiny things that were on display but he was here for information at the moment. First, he opened the 'Self-Enhancement' tab. He wanted to check whether all the sweat that had flowed out at the gym had any result. He himself felt better than ever before, but he guessed that the healing that he had gone through was also responsible for that. He had not been taking his medication and was still moving around, full of energy even.
Body 92 (CP 4)
Senses 97 (CP 4)
Mind 133 (CP 4)
Recovery 89 (CP 4)
Energy 140 (CP 4)
Only three points had changed, and only of the body stat at that. It felt strange. These days he felt stronger like he had never before. Feeling as if he could do anything. The fact that he could not even do 10 push-ups with ease grounded that fact that he was not actually strong, but it still felt amazing. And all this was equal to 12 points worth. And this was not to include the fact that it had taken him more than a month to achieve these three points whereas he could earn the points within two to three days.
The possibilities here blew his mind. What took decades could be achieved within years, even in months if one really dedicated themselves to it. And these were just the enhancements, what kind of changes the mutations and powers could bring excited him and he quickly when into the 'Powers' tab and started scrolling through the powers. The prices were sky high but it would mean similar returns.
There were all kinds of powers. Some seemed familiar, having seen them in games or stories while others were entirely new for him. After spending some time scrolling through the list he started searching for some of the things that he had decided before.
Pain Immunity: CP 5,000 2(C)
Requirements not met.
Require: Pain Suppression Advance
Suggested powers:
Pain Suppression Beginner: CP 40 2(F)
Description: Holder can suppress cuts and bruises up to a certain level. Can also turn the pain suppression on and off.
He stared at the five thousand and then at the measly 4.2 points that I had. And even then half of these were gifts. Then he thought about his final state at the end of the dive. Sweat was starting to pour out from his body. They certainly did not make anything easy. But it also made it even more important to him after all, he did not think he could endure twisted flesh and broken bones.
Fighting Instincts Beginner: CP 150 1(E)
Description: The ability to innovate and overcome limitations to ensure the final victory is increased.
He kept searching for different types of powers that came to his mind. The 'Pain Immunity' was not that expensive, he found. There seemed to be endless types of powers, whatever he searched for, all popped up whether it be physical or magical.
Fire Ball Beginner: CP 500 5(E)
Description: The ability to create a ball of fire and throw it where ever the holder wants. The damage is proportional to the Mind and Energy stats. Gives the user limited ability to manipulate the fireball.
After scrolling and searching through the list for a long while, he had more information to flesh out his plan even more. There were still mutations remaining but he kept away from them. There was nothing that he could even go near for now. He did not want to confuse himself with the thing that was out of his reach.
He stood up and started checking all the things so that he could start the dive.
"Did not bring any food."
He slapped his forehead and searched for food in the equipment section of the shop. Multiple types of rations appeared and he bought the cheapest, costing 0.001 points. He placed the crate inside the inventory and performed the check again. He saw the nearly empty poison bottle and bought a new one.
The greed tried to rear its head but he quickly crushed it. The poison had already proved itself as had the advice of the statue, no matter how terrible both of these things were. As he saw the points making pilgrimage towards zero, he felt a distinct type of pain. The pain one felt when he wanted to hoard all the items in a game but had to sell them to buy another thing.
Now that he was prepared, he performed some stretches, warming up his body. Unlike the first time, he was now able to perform them with greater ease, and even though they were painful, they made his body completely awake and he felt his control get better. After he was done, he moved towards the statue. Slowly, head still down.
"I want to dive."
He just had the time to see the blue light reflecting off the white floor and his thoughts slowed down and his sensations fled away. After some time, his thoughts and senses started returning and he was suddenly in a forest.
The first thing he did was empty his stomach right then and there. As he saw the melted skin and popping bones with bugs crawling amongst them he grew pale. Almost all of the bodies were black and the smell, he simply could not describe it. He swayed, almost falling there but he was able to use a tree to save himself from a horrible fate.
He ran out from the area without any regard for the noise. Suddenly his eyes crossed a goblin's as he running and he quickly slowed down and took out his sword. The goblin ran, Azaan after him at full speed swinging his sword whilst at it. The small creature deftly avoided the sword, seemingly able to see where it was coming from.
He stopped the swing and started stabbing which proved to be much more effective. As the goblin cried, he hesitated. The goblin grabbed this opportunity and stuck back at him. Thankfully he was able to instinctively bring back the sword to block it. Afterward, he kicked it and drove the sword through its neck. The archery had made him accurate even in these little strikes.
After making sure there were no other goblins here, he quickly ran out from the area. It took him a while to get to an area with clean air. As he inhaled the clean air he immediately gagged. His stomach tried its best to force itself out and he kept vomiting liquid, while on all four, tears flowing through his eyes.
He rested against a tree. His mouth filled with disgusting taste. He laid there for a while having no energy to do anything. While he was at it, he decided to check what the mission this time was.
Mission Type: Destruction
Minimum Requirments: Destruction of the crystal tower
Base Payment: 2 Contribution Points
Successful Dives: 1
Additional Payment: 8 Contribution Points
Total Payment: 10 Contribution Points
After he had recovered his energy, he stood up and looked around, the forest looked similar to the last one. He started moving. If the place he had been transported at was where the fight had taken place before, he looked towards the sun, suns, and started moving towards where he thought the camp was. The temperature felt much higher, though it was still cool. Maybe it was winter over at earth, he thought.
Along the way, he did not notice any parties and was thus able to reach the camp without any resistance. As he observed the camp from afar, there seemed to be a lot more goblins on the walls. This camp or town was the only place he could think about having the crystal. Now the question was how to get inside.
He started moving in circles around the town, making sure to keep himself hidden from the goblins. He kept his speed up after all last time his sneaking did not save him from them, he did not think he would be able to hide from the locals. The sound of water took his attention away from the town walls and its patrolling warriors that were standing under the attacks of two suns, undeterred.
There was a river flowing through the town. He had now found their source of water. He looked towards the jars of poison that he had, thinking whether he could do something with them. Again, he looked towards the flowing water, its sound calming, and shook his head. Now, he had found a method to get inside the town but the problem was that there was no cover. He also could not cross the river due to the same reason.
Having no choice, he started moving away from the town following the river. After jogging and panting for a while, he came upon a bend in the river. He considered what to do. He had never swum before so he could not get into the town by swimming inside the river. The only thing left for him was to complete his circle across the town. Crossing the river, he again moved towards the town.