************
Year 2019,
Brighton High School, Brighton, England
[ ???'s POV ]
************
Today was a harsh day for me. I had just come out of my P.E. class, where I got into an argument with the teacher, and he sent me out.
Seriously, we pay this damn high school too much. It's around 65K Euros. So why do I, the son of one of their major donors, get treated so badly? They should treat me like a prince and behave like bootlickers.
As I was leaving, I saw a band of boys laughing while a lone guy, who looked like a nerd, was kneeling on the ground.
"Bullying, huh? Never gets old," I thought as I stood at a distance and watched.
Despite being in one of the best high schools in England, or even the whole of Europe, bullying still existed here like every other school.
I was waiting for my friend to come out of the P.E. class, but looking at my watch, I realized there was still much more time for the class to be over. So, why not get some refreshments? I was already thirsty from all the drills anyway.
Just as I was about to move, a voice stopped me.
"What is so funny that you all are laughing so hard?" A girl, whose face I couldn't see as her back was facing me, approached the gang of boys.
"Who the hell is this beauty?" one of the bullies asked while licking his lips.
"Do you think ganging up and beating a student is entertaining? Aren't you all from highly educated families and noble backgrounds? Is this what your parents taught you all?"
She started questioning them like a strict teacher, but she wore a school uniform, indicating her status as a student.
As I was wondering why this girl was getting involved, she turned to me:
"Beautiful," was all I could think when I saw her face and got lost in my own world.
"And you, why are you just standing there watching the situation like some drama?" she asked me in anger, bringing me back to reality.
"Do you think what they are doing is right? Where is your creed?"
'Creed? I am just a student, like many thousands' I thought to myself and wanted to speak out, but she beat me to it.
"'I am a single student, what can I do?' is what you want to say, right? Do you know how many thousands of students give out the same reason? Couldn't you call a teacher and stop this violence, or is that too much of a hassle for you?"
"What nonsense is this bitch spewing?" One of the students got angry at her and grabbed her hair from the back.
"Ahhh! Leave me, you brute!" she said.
The guy was just about to touch her beautiful face when I snapped and punched him in the jaw.
"Stop right there," a voice stopped everyone before the fight could break out.
Two teachers, along with two other female students, appeared in the passageway.
"Are you alright, Helen?" the two girls went over to check on their friend.
'So her name is Helen, huh?' I thought as the three were just about to leave the place when Helen turned to me.
"Thank you for standing up for me, and I am sorry for being harsh on you," she said to me, smiling and taking a bow of gratitude. Then she left with her friends.
When I was also about to leave, the teacher stopped me, pointing at the student I hit, whose tooth had been broken and was bleeding.
'Great, just what I needed to add to my already hectic day. Truly the worst school day of my life,' I sighed as I prepared for another lecture.
But my thoughts went back to that gorgeous girl. 'Or maybe not such a bad day' I smiled for reasons even I didn't know. But I just smiled when I thought of her and how she thanked me with her breathtaking smile.
If there was an angel or goddess of justice in the form of a human, she was the one.
************
Back to present
[ Third person's POV ]
************
A groan escaped from Connor as he woke up from his slumber.
"Where am I?" he muttered, trying to recall what had happened. But his mind drifted back to the dream he had — she appeared again after a long time. It was a pleasant dream, not a nightmare this time.
'Do I still...?' He halted his thoughts abruptly, sensing memories surfacing.
As he replayed recent events in his mind, he rose cautiously.
"Right, I'm in the Undead dungeon," he acknowledged, scanning his surroundings with extreme caution for any lurking monsters or threats.
When he found none, he sighed and checked his body that had been healed to the peak.
" This is so great, I did not even need any surgery or medicine to recover like nothing happened, Just what to expect from a third-order skill " He exclaimed with admiration.
" I should keep my current two skills ,at least until I reach Class One" He made up his mind to practice and master everything [Darkness surge] and [Rejuvenating Physique] had to offer.
As he was getting ready to leave a message from the system appeared that shocked him.
[ Hello Connor Lennox, this message is to inform you that the time limit for your perk of asking questions to the system is over as a week as passed since the start of the integration phase ]
[ Since you were still in the dungeon, you missed all the global announcements the system gave when the second phase started, Please inquire it from the rest of the survivors as Uriel cannot show you any more favors ]
" Holy Shittt" He cursed out loud as he finally realized his situation. A week has passed meant 5 days had passed since he came to this dungeon and he had been unconscious for 3 days.
He quickly escaped to the exit of the dungeon where he was met with more system messages, this time he knew what they were as the system had informed to him prior to entering the dungeon.
[ Connor Lennox, congratulations on your dungeon conquest, You're feats are currently being calculated]
[ Entered at Level -1 and cleared Floor 1 of the 4th order dungeon..... ]
[ Entered at Level 6 and cleared Floor 2 of the 4th order .....]
[ Defeated the floor boss ' Tigra Squirl' with a difference of 16 levels ]
[ Defeated the floor boss ' Banshee' with a difference of 18 levels and a rank ]
[ Calculating...]
[ Calculating...]
[ Rewards are being calculated ]
Connor was grinning from ear to ear as he read through his feats and achievements. If acquiring a subclass this early wasn't enough, looking at the screen and the way it described his accomplishments, he knew he had hit the jackpot.
[Evaluation is finished]
Upon receiving the notification, his heart raced with myriad thoughts.
[You have received a Title: Boundary Breaker {Mythic}]
"Boo Yeah Baby!!!!" He jumped around and started to dance, only to be interrupted by more reward notifications.
[Your reward from Uriel is: SP Multiplier x2 (duration 1 week)]
"Hell yeah!!!" He did not know what to say now. He no longer cared that he had lost his perk.
[Many Constellations are in awe as they admire your dungeon conquest]
He stopped. "No way, is this…" Before he could process the message, he received another notification, this one on a customized navy blue screen.
[Constellation {Death Guardian} Anubis says he's impressed with the way you handled the undead and will reward you]
His jaw dropped. To receive a blessing from a former celestial—a constellation—meant gaining a power akin to a skill that belonged to them. He knew the constellations watch some of the most interesting dungeon adventures on the Universal Streaming of Dungeon Exploration Channel (USDC).
Constellations, being former celestials now existing in the cosmic realm, often looked around the universe for entertainment. Uriel had provided them with special system access to navigate around the universe.
The cosmic Realm was like the opposite of the quantum realm, and the Highest order of existence in terms of size.
[Constellation {Satan} Lucifer has rewarded you a Blessing: Eyes of Desire {Epic}]
The next message that appeared was on a blood-red colored screen.
It was unexpected for Connor as he thought, 'Wasn't it supposed to be Anubius who would be rewarding me?'
[Constellation {Death Guardian} Anubis is angered by {Satan} Lucifer's intervention]
For one dungeon conquest, an evolver can receive only one title and blessing.
This was a fixed rule and standard by Uriel to maintain the proper balance of rewards as then, there could be cases where an entire faction of constellation might favor one man and he becomes either too strong or fails to handle the power of all those blessings and die.
This way constellations could both create imbalance and kill a lesser lifeform without getting punished.
[Constellation {Death Guardian} Anubis says to come and conquer this dungeon in the future as it wants to reward you properly]
" Come here again, NO WAY IN HELL !!! " he screamed frustratedly. He Didn't want to face the wrath of Lich as he knew he used all his luck with this first time.
*Thud* *Thud* *Thud*
The sky thundered heavily despite in being clear, or maybe it was just his mind playing tricks.
He soon received another message
[ Constellation {Death Guardian} Anubis is enraged that a lowly mortal dares to defy him]
[ Uriel has Punished Anubis with a 1,000,000,000 SP deduction for threatening to kill a lesser lifeform ]
[ Constellation {Death Guardian} Anubis is banned from USDEC for the next 1.5 years]
Connor thanked Uriel in his mind for shooing that crazy Egyptian death god.
He never liked dogs in the first place.
He was also mad at Lucifer, the perpetrator of all this.
Connor knew everything about the dungeon and the rewards it offered but he never expected to attract the attention of so many top-tier constellations.
He sighed and decided to look at his rewards.
[ Title: Boundary Breaker
Grade: Mythic
Description: Overcoming all the odds and breaking past the limits. This title will get you the skills from class advancements that will be too much for your body to take. But you will have to live up to the title's name by withstanding the pain and breaking past your limits. Uriel will hand out the most tiring and demanding skills for evolution conditions. ]
Connor became flabbergasted, " Is this a Reward or a curse? " He asked, But no reply came from the system as the perk no longer existed.
He developed this habit of asking questions out loud from the two days he was alone in the dungeon with the system.
He didn't know what to do with the title considering it is a Mythic, the second highest in grade.
But when he thought of the x2 SP multiplier, he grinned, it was the perfect reward he could receive from Uriel at his current stage, to level up and grind crazily.
Lastly, he decided to look at his Blessing
[ Blessing: Eyes of Desire
Grade: Epic
Description: You have received the power to read a person's will, their desire rooted deep inside their heart, their true feelings and thoughts.
Warning: Requires profound mastery to see them clearly. ]
' huh, as expected of the devil, but why the warning though, how hard could it be to use the blessing' he thought
' As per what the system had told me about blessings, you activate them like you activate a skill rune from your core, the only difference is since this is a skill blessed from a constellation, I am not directly using them and need to know how to use it based on the description'
' And by the description I think if I regulated all the blessing converted mana to my eyes, i could see through my targets'
Connor decided to test his blessing later and turned his attention back to returning to the island.
On his way, he encountered a large group of fallen humans whose movements resembled those of the Accursed Walkers from the undead dungeon.
He simply used his dull blade and severed them all in one go.
[ You have slain a Lv.2 fallen ..... ]
[ You have gained 10(5) SP ]
[ You have slain a Lv.1 fallen ..... ]
[ You have gained 6(3) SP ]
[...]
[...]
Numerous notifications for his kills appeared, his SP increasing significantly with each one.
After dealing with them in less than a minute, Connor approached the island when he suddenly remembered.
"Oh shit, I totally forgot about the Pixies amidst all those rewards and events happening to me," he muttered to himself.
"They should have been waiting for me there, but it seems like after waiting for so many days, they must have thought I died."
"But shouldn't they at least confirm that I'm dead? Or maybe they couldn't bear to look at my corpse and just assumed..."
He shook his head, feeling frustrated. There was nothing he could do now except hope they would cross paths again. Being in England, news of his feats should spread, potentially leading to their reunion if fate allowed.
Continuing his journey back, he reached the shore of the island. Instead of the rope he had tied, he found a long bridge built with sturdy planks and ropes, anchored by logs for stability. The construction was impressive, allowing easy access to the island without hassle.
But Connor wasn't pleased with the bridge's presence. An irritating thought nagged at him as he crossed it.
[ You have entered the stronghold 'Cambridge U-Camp' led by Elena Schmidt.]
"That bitch!!!" he finally snapped, his dreadful suspicion confirmed.