Ken rushed through the forest, avoiding all the monsters on his way and only stopping after he arrived at his destination, a massive cave. "Finally found it..." Ken muttered, a small smile on his lips.
[You came to the dungeon that was shown in the anime... and that too without getting lost or looking at the map...]
The system sounded puzzled, as in the anime the dungeon was shown to be very hard to find...
"Honestly, I was just winging it. If I hadn't been in Hido City, I would have never found this dungeon on my own," Ken admitted with a shrug as he approached the cave, which the system confirmed was indeed a dungeon.
And of course, Even if he had been in another city, it wouldn't have made much difference; he could always consult the Book of Records for guidance.
[Really... you randomly came all the way here just to determine which city you were in? You could have simply asked me or anyone else in the city...]
The system was exasperated by the conclusion she reached; she was correct, but Ken was merely guessing and happened to be right, which was just a bonus. He hadn't intended to find the dungeon or even try to locate it today, he just did it because he felt like it...
"What? Stupid adventures can help keep a man sane; finding the dungeon is just a bonus. And to make some conclusions," Ken justified lacklusterly.
[..Fair enough] She didn't argue, completely thrown off by his response, which made little sense to her. [So, what did you conclude?]
Ken raised his brows and stopped just a meter from the cave, "Long or short?"
[Long]
"Aisa and I spawned in Hido City, one of the three cities that are meant for players. Major Spoiler alert, the player cities are cut off from the rest of the world, and the natives of this planet who live in the player cities know about the players and such."
[...]
The system was left speechless. Not only had Ken revealed nothing useful, but he also dropped a spoiler.
[I hate you... I haven't even reached the part you just spoiled...]
The system said, regretfully, to question herself why she even asked.
Ken chuckled and walked into the cave.
The cave was big, a little more than 2.4 meters tall and wide, and glowing crystals started to appear the deeper Ken went.
The crystals illuminated the cave, giving barely enough light to see, it's a characteristic of all dungeons after all not all monsters can see in the dark, only some can.
After a while of walking, Ken encountered his first monster, a goblin that died the moment it was at Ken's sword strike range. Right after he encounters a few wolves which he disposes of with little effort, at his current power, the wolves are of no threat.
After a minute or so, Ken arrived at a crossroads, there were now 5 paths in front of him, and Ken picked and just went in the one in front.
After a bit of walking, he encountered a monster that should have been deeper into the dungeon, a Dire wolf and it was lying on the ground all alone. "What a surprise, a Dire wolf and it alone," Ken remarked as he examined it.
The Dire wolf was more than twice the size of a normal wolf and looked more fierce. But it was injured with bite and claw marks covering its body.
[Hoo? An Alpha Dire Wolf. Looks like it was kicked out of the pack after being defeated by another Dire Wolf] The system commented lazily.
The Dire Wolf in question glared at Ken and got up, despite its critical injuries. "Grrrr..."
Ken gazed at the wolf, impressed, "Not bad... I will make it quick," he muttered and drew his sword, and in a single dash reached beside the dire wolf who tried to jump away but it was far too late for that as Ken swang down and with a clear motion beheaded the Dire Wolf.
[Lucky bastard, you got a free kill...] She muttered, still lazy. [Can you hurry up and do something entertaining already? I am dead bored here...]
His face turned blank. "At this point, just manifest and roam the world to find something entertaining... You are more of a nuisance than trouble... If you are so bored, just leave and be free and all that crap." He sighed and sheathed his sword, ready to leave.
But his words, especially 'be free', were provoking a reaction from the system...
[DO YOU HELLISHLY BORING IT IS HERE!!!??? SURE, YOUR LIFE IS ENTERTAINING; THERE IS NO SHORTAGE OF TWISTS THAT MAKE YOUR LIFE FUN!!! BUT!!! I AM STUCK HERE WATCHING!!! ONLY WATCHING YOU MAKE EVERYTHING LOOK BLOODY EASY!!!]
She blurted out wrathfully, ticked off.
Ken's lips twitched at her sudden outburst, taken aback. "I was just suggesting..."
His words only irritated the system more. A screen suddenly appeared in front of him:
[Quest
Complete a dungeon (0/1)
Reward: A danger tracker for Aisa.
Penalty: -20 levels
Time limit: 1 hour
I decide when I deduct the level~!]
[Happy now! You are so lucky that this dungeon only has 10 floors,] the system huffed angrily and stopped talking.
"...." Ken shut his mouth and started to jog, slowly increasing his pace. He didn't care much about the system's outrage; he just found it mildly annoying. He ignored that for the time being and focused on the quest. 'One hour, huh? I can make it.'
In a sharp turn, he encountered a group of kobolds, but the cave was wide enough for Ken to pass them, completely ignoring them.
After a few turns and twists, Ken had to come to a quick stop as he arrived at an opening where a full pack of dire wolves was present. 'Hmm, I found the whole pack...' A small smile appeared on his lips as he surveyed the dire wolves.
There were 12 wolves in total, all of them spread out. Five of the wolves were in the center, either dead or profusely bleeding and on the verge of death. The other wolves surrounded the four with clear hostility, especially the one that stood closest; it was also the biggest, likely the new alpha. It was very injured—the aftermath of dealing with the old alpha.
Ken had come upon a very particular situation—something that was impossible on Earth, but here in Aerks, where monsters were everywhere, this was common: members of the pack rejecting the alpha, leading to their death.
All the wolves stared at Ken and growled, and it was not looking good for him.
Dire wolves, in general, were more than twice the size of a normal wolf and had claws and jaws that were more than twice as strong. A normal wolf's bite would still hurt Ken slightly, while a bite from a dire wolf could be lethal.
Ken drew his sword, making the dire wolves alert, but he had no plans of fighting them when he was at a massive disadvantage.
He turned and returned the way he came. The dire wolves looked on in surprise and confusion, but the alpha became furious. "GRRRRRR!!" the alpha snarled, and immediately the seven wolves that had been on standby rushed towards Ken, the alpha following behind, too injured to take the lead.
The wolves were closing the distance very fast, but Ken wasn't going at his top speed, and he had reached his planned location—a tricky turn. He stopped and twisted his body, putting all his momentum into a horizontal slash that sliced open one wolf's head and bore into another's neck, killing them.
Ken immediately jumped away as the other wolves lunged and started to run as fast as he could.
His sudden attack, the death of two of their pack members, and the tricky turn effectively delayed them as they crashed into each other. But the delay was short-lived—barely three seconds—and the dire wolves were back chasing him.
Another turn came, making the wolves more cautious, but Ken stopped before reaching the turn and lunged straight at them. The wolves leaped to the side, trying to surround him, but Ken aimed for the one at the back—the alpha.
The alpha dire wolf snarled, trying to get out of the way, but Ken was determined to strike it down before anything.
Ken thrust the sword, aiming for the head, but the alpha dire wolf jumped to the side, and Ken had to compromise by forcefully changing his sword grip, causing the sword's tip to face the alpha's neck.
The sword pierced as the alpha was in mid-jump, driving the blade to cut out and halfway beheading itself. Either way, it was dead...
Ken didn't stay put as he jumped to the side, barely dodging the remaining four wolves.
But one of them got him, sinking its teeth into his left calf. Ken grunted as he felt the wolf's teeth sink in.
Ken jerked his leg and slashed down with his full might, cutting off the head and kicking it away with his other leg.
The other three dire wolves didn't just watch; they lunged at him. Ken was prepared—his sword pierced one's head while the second and third rushed from the side.
Ken slashed at the third one, which came from his right, but it was quick, causing the sword to strike at the joint instead of the head, briefly taking it out of the fight.
The second wolf was already on Ken, biting down on his arm and vigorously trying to tear off his flesh. Ken gritted his teeth and slammed the butt of the sword on its head. A cracking sound came as the skull creaked, the wolf opened its jaws—and that was what Ken needed to deal with it.
Ken pulled his arm back and, with a simple but smooth motion, locked the wolf's head in an arm lock.
The other wolf had already reentered the fight and lunged from behind, but Ken had purposefully kept his right hand, which held the sword, free.
Ken rapidly turned around and thrust at the wolf, the sword piercing its chest. Ken dropped to one knee and slammed the sword down with the wolf while tightening his arm lock and forcefully twisting his body to snap the neck of the wolf.
He twisted his sword and pushed it right until it pierced out from the back. The wolf let out a cry of pain before it died.
And it was finally over...
Ken huffed and got up as he let go of the arm lock.
He sheathed his sword and sat down with his back against the wall. "Harder than I thought it would be..." he chuckled as he rested a bit.
[...You could have handled the fight without injuries. You acted recklessly...]
The system commented, her voice low with still some irritation, but it was better than before.
Ken raised his brows and mused, 'She came around pretty fast.'
"I could have, but I have a 1-hour time limit here. Plus, I need to get used to injuries." He shrugged, not taking it seriously despite his injuries, which would keep a normal person bedridden for years in the hospital.
[You are taking this as a joke... Find them. I didn't plan on making this hard for you, but I feel like you need some urgency.]
The system huffed again, not liking Ken's casual attitude; she was still ticked off about his earlier words.
A system screen popped up in front of Ken, and he stared at it blankly.
[Quest
Life or death: reach the 10,001th floor of the infinity dungeon.
Reward: A Carnation Pet, and A Realm Segment.
Penalty: Sent to the depths of the Underworld where all monstrosities reside.
Time: Until the day of the Apocalypse.]
'Sigh... looks like the word free is something that can irritate her a lot... I should keep in mind not to provoke her...' Ken inwardly sighed and reread the quest. 'There is no way I will manage to reach floor 10,001 by the time of the Apocalypse... Too unrealistic, and there are better things for me to do. But the depths of the Underworld? Sounds more appealing than the Infinity Dungeon. Plus, the Book of Records should have plenty of ways for me to get out.'
Ken mused and checked on his injuries, ignoring the quest completely. There was little he could do about the quest, and he found the penalty more appealing than trying to finish it. Sure, he was the anomaly, but that doesn't mean he didn't know his limits.
If Ken started with the Infinity Dungeon today, then by the day of the Apocalypse, it's possible he could finish it and go beyond just floor 10,001. But there were plenty more things to do instead of the Infinity Dungeon that would benefit him more and align with his goals.
"By the way, how much for a low-grade healing potion?" Ken asked as he stared at his left calf, which was very bloody and blue.
He had definitely torn a few muscles there, the same for his arm, which was in slightly worse condition. His injuries were enough for a normal person to be disabled for life... but Ken only deemed his injuries as slightly above mild pain.
Ken, as a Valxin, had gone through a lot of training from a very young age, and paired with his adaptability, it could be said that the majority of wounds would do little to affect him.
The system seemed to growl, [50 each for the lowest grade...]
She huffed again, and six small glass potion bottles filled with red liquid appeared in front of Ken. The system just bought them without asking. Ken didn't mind, just shrugging and taking the six potions.
Ken drank two of them and stowed away the other four for later.
His leg and arm stopped bleeding, but the wounds were still present. The potions didn't do much—only enough to stop the bleeding and prompt his body to start healing, which was more than enough for Ken.
[You are a jerk...]
The system huffed one last time and went quiet.
Ken shrugged, 'That came out of nowhere... but sure.'
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