Half a year had passed…
"From the top, to your right," Sven guided.
"CLANG!" "CLANG!"
Sven's Doppelgangers were sparring with Arlo, pushing him to his limits as he struggled to defend and counter their attacks.
"One of the cloud Sven swooped in from the right.
"From above," Sven called out, his voice offering different directional instructions, helping Arlo stay aware of his surroundings and focus on the incoming attacks."
"To your right," Sven's voice echoed. Surprisingly, the Cloud Sven mirrored the command, attacking from the right. But Arlo was ready. He nimbly sidestepped the attack and landed a solid punch on the Cloud Sven.
"THUD!"
[HP 25 (-3)]
Arlo was sent flying to the edge of the cloud, his face twisted in frustration. "Why did you suddenly attack me, Sven?"
"Who, me? I was just standing here. Don't blame your weak defense on me," Sven retorted, a smirk playing on his lips.
Arlo gritted his teeth, 'Damn it, I saw him; he attacked me at the last second. I wasn't fast enough to react. I'm still not strong enough. Why can't I get stronger?'
"You are strong enough," Sven reassured, approaching Arlo. "A man can only truly succeed once in his life. Until then, you will experience a cycle of victories and defeats. The moment you believe you're defeated, life will become unbearable."
[HP 28]
After a while, Arlo's HP returned to normal. He got back on his feet and asked Sven to continue the training. Sven conjured a sword from the cloud and tossed it to Arlo.
"Sven is right. I can't afford to give up. I can either keep fighting or revert to my old self, a coward. I refuse to go back," Arlo thought, resuming his battle stance.
For the past six months, Arlo had focused on learning how to defend and counter. He had trained his body to master these moves and had also familiarized himself with Player level attributes.
[Current Level – 10 (Max: Unlimited)
HP: 28 (Max: Unlimited)
Skill Points: 40
Exp Points: 0 (Level 11)
Defense: 30
Strength: 40
Endurance: 30
Agility: 50
Intelligence: 36
Dexterity: 28
Luck: 9
Trust: 100]
Whenever Arlo took a hit, his HP decreased. His Defense, Agility, Strength, and other attributes were in sync with his movements. His Intelligence was now at 36, quick enough to react to enemy attacks, but his other attributes were still lacking, preventing him from effectively countering attacks.
Using weapons and skills also drained his attributes. Previously, attribute consumption didn't affect his movements. Now, after using certain skills, he found himself moving slower due to attribute depletion.
Arlo also discovered that his attribute levels only increased during quest missions. Despite his efforts to increase his levels over the past six months, he had made no progress. But he persisted with his training, determined to change himself.
Arlo had given his all for the past six months. Today was the day he had decided to leave, as Ulysses had estimated it would take six months to complete the weapons.
[Exit the dungeon or not]
[1. Yes
No]
Arlo opened the exit tab and selected 'Yes'.
A new prompt appeared:
[Puzzle: Come find me, my life is in the water of heavens, but I want to climb the mountains of hell]
"A puzzle! What for?" Arlo wondered aloud.
"Just select Yes; we'll discuss it later," Sven advised.
"CAWWW!"
Arlo selected 'Yes' in the exit tab once more.
--Blank—
"BEEP!" "BEEP!"
Warm sunlight bathed his face. Arlo found himself lying in the middle of the road. Cars hovered just above the ground around him. He looked up to see people holding their noses and shouting,
"Get out of the way, you stink."
"Move off the road."
Arlo quickly scrambled to the sidewalk. He noticed people around him all holding their noses and keeping their distance. Arlo was puzzled by their reactions.
"CAWWW!"
Arlo looked up to see Ash Bird (Yoshi) circling above his head. He scanned the area for Sven.
"Look up, idiots,"
Sven's voice rang out, prompting Arlo to look up and spot Sven perched on a cloud, clad in a green Hawaiian shirt and black pants. Arlo could see him clearly from the ground. Had his eyesight improved, or was it Sven's power?
Arlo wanted to call out, asking why Sven was up there, but the uneasy stares from the people around him made him uncomfortable. He hadn't noticed their gazes before, but now they were hard to ignore. Arlo dashed off to find a secluded alleyway where he could talk to Sven.
As Arlo ran, the murmurs from the crowd grew louder, and they kept their distance from him.
One person remarked, "Man, look at the skies."
This comment made Arlo halt in his tracks and look up. He was taken aback by what he saw. Only the cloud Sven was on moved in the opposite direction to the other clouds. It was a sight no one had ever seen in the real world, though it was a common occurrence in dungeons. People began to gather on the streets to witness the spectacle.
"Are you kidding me?" Arlo yelled, drawing the crowd's attention to him.
Some commented, "Look at him and that weird smelly bird. Another strange thing happening here."
Arlo realized that it was Ash Bird causing people to keep their distance from him.
Arlo broke into a sprint, though he didn't realize it due to the commotion. He covered a mile in 60 seconds, faster than some of the buses on the road.
When Arlo finally found a small, deserted alleyway, he shouted, "Stop messing around, Sven. Come down here." His voice echoed off the walls.
Sven retorted, "No way, Yoshi stinks."
"Get down here already. This isn't like the dungeon. We need to avoid drawing attention," Arlo grumbled.
The cloud slowly began to swirl above Arlo and started to descend.
"No fancy moves, you bastard," Arlo warned.
People began to notice the swirling cloud in the sky, some recording it on their phones. As it slowly descended to the ground,
"SWHOOSH!"
Suddenly, it vanished. Some people ran to where it had disappeared, but found no one in the alleyway. They wondered.
"Is this the end or the beginning?"
[End of Chapter]