That Night
Since the second floor is now open, many people are likely going to explore it to get a better grasp of this world. The second floor is a capital, and the primary reason to go there would be to acquire skills like True Sight and Rank 2 skills.
As the librarian mentioned, skills are separated into 11 ranks, from Rank 0 to Rank 10. These ranks are decided by a multitude of factors, but the main one is what the skill can destroy with as much mana or physical effort put into it, from wall levels to planetary at Rank 5. No one in the beta was able to get a skill past Rank 6, so that is likely many people's goal: being able to affect the solar system. Maybe through that, we could return to our world.
As I entered the warehouse, it felt desolate and abandoned. The dim light filtering through the high, broken windows cast long shadows across the expansive, dusty floor. Stacks of containers and boxes lined the walls, creating narrow aisles that stretched into the darkness. The warehouse had three floors; the first and second floors were filled with storage, but I couldn't see what was on the third floor as it was too dark, and I unfortunately didn't have a night vision skill.
The air was heavy with the scent of old wood and metal, mingling with a faint, musty odor. The silence was almost oppressive, broken only by the occasional creak of the building settling and the distant sounds of the city outside. After checking around and making sure no one was in the immediate vicinity, I decided to open one of the crates. The wooden crates were weathered and worn, some marked with faded labels and symbols I couldn't quite make out.
I pried open the lid of the nearest crate, the wood splintering slightly under the pressure. Inside, it was filled to the brim with small healing potions, their faint glow providing a bit of illumination in the gloom. I checked another crate nearby, and this one contained small mana potions. As I continued to open crates, I realized each was packed with identical potions, stacked neatly and seemingly untouched for a long time.
Although these potions wouldn't heal much—5 HP to be exact—it was impossible for them to have obtained this many, no matter what. They must be glitching. In the beta, there were a multitude of glitches. In order to obtain this many potions, they had to be duping somehow.
I filled my inventory with them, taking 500 of each potion type since they probably wouldn't have noticed. The ones that didn't have healing potions contained copies of fur armor, which is the rarest armor because there are almost no wolves on this floor; they have all either been killed by slimes or NPCs.
The fur armor was made of the pelts of wolves, usually a dark gray color but commonly dyed. The pieces were carefully stored, suggesting their value and rarity. I marveled at my luck, knowing these supplies could be crucial for survival and advancement in this strange world.
POP
A piercing pain shot through my chest.
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You are critically low on health
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I stumbled forward, trying to catch my balance as my health depleted. Using the healing potions, I restored my health to full, but red still dripped from the wound, and a sharp, aching pain radiated through my chest. I swiftly looked around, searching for what or who had shot me.
I glanced up at the third floor and spotted a striking figure. A woman stood there, clad in a flowing white cape and fur armor, dyed a vivid viridian green. Her hair, a pure snowy white, cascaded down her shoulders with piercing mossy green eyes that seemed to see right through me. Above her head, glowing softly in the air, was the name "LV2 G2 Seraphina." She held a sniper rifle in her hand, the weapon gleaming menacingly before it was recalled to her inventory.On the front of her cape, a logo for G2 showed two pistols crossed in an X.
She looked at me with sadness, as if she was disheartened that we would have to fight. It seemed like she didn't want to do this, but I had stolen from her, so she had to. Luckily, my party mask covered my face, and my name was hidden with Lurk, so I could emergency teleport.
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Teleport Rune is out of range.
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I continued looking at her for a few seconds before she spoke.
"Return what you stole," she said, her voice shaky. I didn't reply. After a few more seconds of silence and not getting a response she pulled out her sniper. She began firing down at me.
Using the crates for cover, I heard a swift motion.
WHOOSH
She dashed at me, and I reacted just in time, pushing her dagger away with my own as she jumped back up to the second floor. She started chanting something I couldn't hear, and I decided to act. I used a mana arc to destroy the front of the warehouse, putting as much mana as I could into it, and threw my remaining kunai as far as I could. I glanced back slightly as I ran.
Before I could get far, I heard her yell.
"Freeze him, Ice Dragon Hydrax!"
In an instant, a dragon-shaped bullet made of ice flew straight towards me. Its translucent surface shimmered in the light.. The projectile's eyes glowed with an eerie blue light as it hurtled through the air with unerring precision. I threw my kunai up as hard as I could. However, the ice bullet still struck me with tremendous force, enveloping me in a rapidly expanding block of ice. Within moments, I was frozen solid, with only my head and one hand exposed. I struggled to move, the intense cold biting into my skin
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Core Armour gained immunity to Ice Magic
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She walked up to me, looking sad as I looked at her with anger. Before she could say what she wanted, I used my exposed arm to push her back with a mana arc. She began to cough up red, still suffering from the arc. Teleporting to the kunai I threw, I landed on a nearby roof, catching my breath as I looked back at her from above as she lay there motionlessly . I began to charge a lightning javelin.
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You don't have enough mana to do this action.
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"Use whatever—use my health if necessary!" I screamed as I charged up my lightning javelin.
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Skill Unlocked: R0 Health Siphon
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Pain surged through me as my health dropped to a critical level, but the javelin grew brighter.More potent. Seraphina's eyes widened in shock as she realized what I was about to do.
"No..." she whispered, a tear escaping her eye. "Please, don't."
But it was too late. I threw the javelin with all my might, the weapon arcing through the air like a bolt of retribution. Before I could see the results of the attack, I teleported just outside the city to my other kunai, leaving the first one behind.
As I looked back, the javelin struck true, and a blinding explosion of blue and yellow light engulfed the warehouse, the shockwave destroying the outer wall. =============================
Core helmet: Broken.
Core chestplate: Broken.
Core leggings: Broken.
Core boots: Broken.
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Limping, I used more healing potion, my health slowly returning to normal. I looked back at the city, now partially in ruins, and felt a strange mix of triumph and regret. In this world, it truly was survival of the fittest.
Authors note:
Short chapter today. I wanted to add Wan going to floor 2, but I would have subtracted from this chapter as a whole, so I'll put it in the next one.