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/A few minutes later…/
/Splash... Splash.../
"I barely even got inside and I already hate this place."
Dale entered the Submerged Sewers, immediately noticing the difference.
With each step he took, the floor seemed to get more and more soaked, to the point that the entire ground became submerged in a few fingers' worths of water.
"My boots are fucking wet… This is super uncomfortable…"
'I'll have to prepare a special pair of boots if I wish to raid this place next time.'
He looked around, trying to figure out what made this place different from the other section of the sewers.
But apart from the water on the ground, everything looked the same, it was still the sewers, although everything looked a bit moldier.
The walls were filled with moss and fungi, and he could see clear marks of the water levels, a few high up, probably caused during the rainy season, and one closer to the ground, probably the water level during the drought season.
Still, despite all of this, why was Dale in this Dungeon? Well, it was simply due to his instincts.
This Dungeon can be considered a Hidden Dungeon, and one within another equally hidden Dungeon.
He had already figured out that hunting in the forest is not possible as it was too dangerous, and hunting in the Cathacombs is inefficient due to the scarcity of creatures and the fact that their drop items are complete trash.
Hunting in the normal Sewers isn't any faster than doing so in the Cathacombs, although the loot there might be a bit better…
So taking all of that from the equation, the only possible place is this one. So he decided to visit it and see for himself if it was a good place to farm a few Levels.
If it wasn't he wouldn't mind going back to the sewers and hunting the creatures that live there.
He didn't know what to expect, so because of this, he equipped his best armor, gaining a boost to all Stats due to being inside a ruin, and pressed forward into this unknown location.
Dale took out his metal spear and swung it around.
"It's light… Perhaps too light, I feel as if this doesn't have any power…"
'My gear is already starting to fall behind my level, I'm almost Level 30 but I'm using Level 5 gear…'
'The equipment I got previously is still being repaired, and it'll probably take some time to be fixed, worse, I may not meet the requirements to get most of its effects at once…'
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that!"
'Equipment wasn't the only thing I got in the Wall!'
Dale opened his inventory and sorted it by using a Keyword: Accessories.
But what was an accessory in the first place?
It was a wearable piece of equipment whose main purpose was to boost your Stats.
In the Beta, they were available to be acquired, but once the game launched, they weren't available in the tutorial, probably as an attempt from the developers to have the players start on a more equal ground.
There are a total of 7 slots for Accessories, 2 Rings, 2 Bracelets, 2 Earrings, and 1 collar/necklace, together with the normal equipment: Boots, Leg slot, Belt, Chest piece, Shoulders, Arms, Gloves, and a Helmet.
Not all can be used at the same time though, some chest pieces can occupy the space for the Shoulders or the Belt, sometimes even both.
Other times, the gauntlets could block someone from using bracelets and so on, rarely would someone be able to use all of the slots, each with different gear.
At least, that was the case for Standard players… Hardcore players weren't limited by equipment slots, although it was to be seen if they could wear 5 rings on each hand…
You may say that's unbalanced, but Hardcore players have only one life, if they fall, it's game over.
"Here it is…" Dale mumbled as he grabbed a small Ring
'I forgot about those, but I did collect some accessories… Although it seems most are broken, some of these do have quite the interesting effects and boosts.'
'I'll have to properly inspect them and see if there's someone that can fix the rest when I'm done with this…'
Dale smiled and walked deeper into the Sewers.
…
/5 hours later…/
/SPLAT!/
Dale swung his metal spear and crushed a large, moss-like creature, sending it back onto the water where it slowly dissolved.
[Ding]
[You slew a Moss Giant]
[2% Level xp]
[Level up]
[You were the first player to reach Level 30!]
[You have achieved Level 30, your previous special privilege has been worn off]
[For being the first to reach Level 30, all quests rewards will be improved and the likeness of triggering a quest has increased significantly]
[This privilege will last until the player reaches Level 40]
[Would you like to leave your name in the Hall of Fame?]
"No."
'So the privilege this time is centered around Quests? I'll have to see how much of an improvement that actually is, but for now, it seems quite underwhelming.'
"In any case, for now, I won't have to worry about Levels for a while."
'I'll keep paying attention to the rankings, and if they start to catch up to me, I'll spend a few hours in the Dungeon and that should be enough.'
'It's time to start training…'
"My goal… I need a goal."
After thinking for a small moment, Dale thought:
'Alright, my goal will be to grow strong enough so I can start hunting in the forest.'
'This event will last 2 weeks, so that will be the time I'll set for myself.'
'Technically, I can already hunt there, but the danger of me meeting something I can't handle is high.'
'So that will be my goal, to become strong enough so that I can at least flee if things take a bad turn.'
'There are also many quests that need me to explore outside, so I need to be strong to go there anyway.'
With a small nod, Dale turned around and left the sewers, making his way to Testros house.
…
/At the same time, deeper in the forest…/
A man could be sitting on top of a large rock, staring at the bright sun in the sky.
He seemed peaceful until another man approached him…
He was old as well, about middle-aged.
"Tell me the truth, how long will the rations last?" Asked the newcomer towards the old man
"..."
The old man remained silent. Ignoring his question.
"Don't feign ignorance now, just tell me the truth, there's no point in hiding now, what is the truth about this operation?"
"A little over a month." Said the old man in a raspy voice
"A month?!... What about the cost?" The middle-aged man asked
"We'll probably have to abandon the old and the weak, if we don't, at most 3 weeks, if we really try everything we can, it should be possible to have everyone last for around a month and a half."
"... Dammit!" The man exclaimed as he kicked a rock on the ground, sending it flying towards a tree like a bullet
"So we only have that long… How despairing."
"..."
But the old man remained silent.
"We only have one shot at this." The old man said deeply
"But things don't look promising, now more than ever, the forest has become even harder to traverse, previously, we could guarantee a safe pass from all of our warriors to the other side, but our plan was to safely move everyone together…"
"What we know about the forest has been thrown out of the window, and now, even some of our top warriors may die out there."
"It is already difficult to keep them here, they want to leave but we can't afford that, the longer we take the bigger their distress will be."
"So that was why you pushed the plan forward?" Asked the newcomer
'The old man nodded slowly.'
"Yes, it is harsh and cruel, but if they leave, we die, if they remain, they'll die as well, but we'll live for a bit longer."
/Tremble.../
"Whats the purpose of all of this then?!" The newcomer asked as he stomped on the ground, making the area tremble
"Wasn't it always the same? Survival." The old man replied slowly
"For the past few decades we tried to reach outside, many methods were employed, some went further than others, and the Apex of these attempts was Project Burnout, that at the time, was on the verge of completion."
"But our time has run out, and now, our only hope of escaping has been cut."
The old man turned his face for the first time, facing the newcomer.
He looked to be on the verge of death, he was so old even his eyes were now gaping holes, his nose was twisted, his skin was soggy, his hair was extremely thin...
"You'll have to make a choice soon, for the others, Project Burnout was scrapped so we could live longer, but that isn't the truth."
"What?! Be clear with me!"
"The project never ended, it's just that we lost access to the main base when 'that' appeared in the forest, the project itself has already been finished, this operation is meant to check the condition of the project, and hopefully, start it."
"But at what cost? What about the fucking cost!?" The man asked angrily
"... Don't make me say that, you know very well how I feel." The old man said depressed
He turned his face towards the sun once more and said:
"Make your choice, participate in the mission, or remain behind."
"... But if I go, who will protect the village? You're all throwing all of your cards into a single basket! What if it fails?!"
"Nothing changes, we all die." The old man replied plainly
He seemed calm, no fluctuations could be heard in his voice...
"..."
The other man seemed conflicted, bitting his lips in anger.
But he raised his head once more, convinced.
"I'll stay, someone has to, otherwise, all of this will be for nothing."
/Chuckle/
The old man laughed a little.
"I expected this to happen." He said as he got up from the rock
He took out a small dagger, and passed it on to the man.
"Everyone has agreed on participating in this mission, so you'll be alone, I imagine you know why right?"
"..."
The man closed his fists in anger.
'They are more worried about their own lives than the welfare of the people that raised them… A bunch of cowards!'
"... This knife, it was contains a special use."
"Inside my house, you'll find a small blue obelisk stone, stab the knife there, and you learn the rest."
The old man started to walk away.
"You must resist for at least 2 weeks, alone, without any help, and lacking supplies since we'll bring most of it with us. Do you think you can do it?"
"..."
/Grasp/
The man held onto the knife with everything he had.
"I'll make it happen."
"Good, hopefully, I'll be able to meet you again..."
"I won't die old man."
"Neither will I, I outlived many, and I don't plan on meeting my end right now." The old man replied with a small chuckle
"I promise you, I'll be back, no matter what." The old man said without turning his back
"..."
The newcomer stared at the blue sky with his knife in hand, it was heavy, it was the weight of his responsibility.
…
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Notes
There are still two more chapters to post, but with this, from tomorrow onwards, I'll post one chapter per day.
Peace!