-Two days later.
I woke up to a familiar buzzing resounding noisely in my head. With a twitch, I slowly opened my eyes and there was a translucent blue screen hovering before me.
...
[You have unread messages.]
...
'What the fuck, Meta...' I groggily scolded.
I was exhausted, and I felt like crap, but the incessant system message wouldn't quit it.
"Haaa. How long have I been out?"
[One day.]
I see.
Two days have passed since I escaped the Dungeon of Laplace. I was back in my room, embraced in the comfort of my own bed, but it took me an entire day to recover from all of my lost strength. Either physically, mentally...and even emotionally.
But that last part is going to have to take a while.
With an unrestrained groan, I rolled out of my b-
-Thud.
"Oof!"
No, I literally rolled out of my bed and fell to the ground. The small thud bounced through my body, but even then I didn't feel the need to get up. The floorboards felt cold, different from the warmth of my bed, but this also provided a different kind of comfort.
I stared languidly at the system screen hovering before my eyes, when a small mass of something bounced against my bare chest out of nowhere.
It was a small blob of silver slime that was the size of a football.
I glanced at the slime fleetingly before withdrawing my gaze
"Morning, Ham." I said languidly.
At that moment, my eyes sharpened as my body jerked up from the floor.
Someone's coming!
I grabbed the first fountain pen I could find from my desk and leaned forward, but then I realized my Danger Sense wasn't set off.
Before long I heard the tapping of feet mildly approach from outside, followed by a gentle round of knocking.
Then a soft mild voice said from the other side of the door.
"Young master, are you awake?"
The voice belonged to a maid of my family, and when I realised this, I relaxed. Now that I knew this, I recognized the presence.
With a restrained sigh I put down the pen and responded.
"Uh, uhm...yeah. I just got up."
I was still in a battle hardened and highly sensitive since I left the dungeon and any presence or movement that wasn't mine sent me into high alert.
In a second, the maid responded.
"Do you require any assistance?"
I snapped out of my thoughts, shook my head and sighed.
"No, it's fine. That will be all now." I dismissed the maid. The next moment, I heard the slowly distancing of feet as it retreated away from my room.
I felt the maid's presence draw distant and sat on the edge of my bed.
"Well at least that got me to fully wake up." I mused.
The last thing I remember from the other day when I returned was telling my family and the servants not to disturb me. I told them how I was probably going to pass out for the rest of the day and two. The maid from now was probably just here to check up on me.
The four weeks I spent in the Dungeon was equivalent to four days spent in the real world, just like Meta said. My parents were a little worried over my sudden disappearance, but since I returned on the fourth day, I was able to cover it up as me getting wrapped up in hunting, and then training.
After that, I returned straight to my room and took a nap. And that's how I was here.
I rubbed my slightly akin head and looked up at the system notification.
...
[You have unread messages]
...
Oh yeah, there were a lot of notifications since the moment I defeated the Silver Sentinel actually. Some of them I managed to skim through, while the rest were just saved elsewhere till a later date.
Since then I haven't been through any of the messages. 'I didn't even think I had an inbox.'
With a mental command, I opened my messages, and multiple tabs with long and short strings of text blasted my vision. The synthetic dings and vibrations were enough to make me feel dizzy that I had to shot my eyes for five seconds and groaned.
'Couldn't the damend system arrange all of it orderly?'
While complaining and cursing out Meta from underneath my breath, i skimmed through the numerous tabs displaying numerous messages.
They were mostly congratulationary messages and random system messages. Some of which no longer mattered at the current time.
And others were surprisingly new skill notifications and rewards.
Ohh, I remember at the final moments before I left the dungeon, I received some rewards for a hidden quest I didn't know about.
As the notifications were numerous, I skimmed through them all and set aside the ones that stood out to me the most.
...
[Congratulations, you have unlocked a new skill, {Lock On}]
[Skill: Lock On
Level: 1
Rank: Common
Skill description: Increases your proficiency and aim with projectile weapons by 15%]
...
[Skill {Danger Sense} has leveled up >>> Danger Sense level 2!]
[New features have been unlocked]
...
[Skill: Immersion
Level: ???
Rank: ???
Skill description: ??? ]
...
[You have accumulated a lot of experience. You have been rewarded.]
[Blessing of Aether Attribute has evolved. You have attained Higher Blessing of Aether.]
[The Aether that flows through your body is unique.]
[You have obtained the inheritance of Laplace. His will resides Iin you.]
[Seed of Ether has been devoured. Your Aether has now become Ether, a higher sequence of Aether. A qualitative change has happened to the base of your existence.]
[Higher Blessing of Aether has become Ether Blessing.]
[You are now on the right step to something beyond Human]
[>Stats<
Aura >>> Ether
Ether: 25 (+2)
Description: Ether is a higher plane of Aether. An irregularity created by the King of Entropy himself, to break the mold and defy the matrix. The base of Ether is the inverse law of Aether; you can now use both Mana and Aura.]
[Ding! You now have a new familiar; additional Extra Skills tab have been added....]
...
And the list went on and on.
"This is... amazing." And I wasn't just talking about how long the notifications and strings of messages were.
I really did reap a harvest from the dungeon in more ways than one.
I got a new skill, upgraded one, and realised one.
So the mysterious skill of before is called Immersion...I mused inwardly.
Even now there's still no level or rank for it. It doesn't have a description, but I've more or less understood to an extent what it does.
The Immersion skill was just as it was called. It was me resonating deeply with the system, in other words Meta.
That explained why the visions I see are painfully realistic. Enough so that I end up dying in them. It's like a highly realistic virtual reality goggles that replicate pain and all other human sensation and stimuli.
A fully 'immersive' RPG.
Also just like the final instance with my battle against the sentinel. Immersion had been activated subconsciously then, and my stats experienced and immense boost.
And this skill also seemed to have multiple functions, but when I thought if it, it all boiled down to one in the end.
"I see. So that's how it."
Whenever Meta took control of my body, that was my body being fully immersed with the system. When it took control of my mind to show me the visions, that was also me being one with it.
There was also the time at the Dungeon when it offset the influence of the Murmur's Mask. That was it likely taking control of a portion of my mind.
And the time I was fighting against the Silver Sentinel. I felt one with the System, on an almost existential level. I could see everything from Meta's perspective, and had a temporary qualitative boost in my overall abilities.
For the meantime, I think that's the highest plain of use for the Immersion skill.
In more simpler words: Immersion was my cheat.
Thinking this, the edges of my lips curled a little darkly.
At that point Meta interrupted haughtily.
[Are you finally recognizing my greatness? Bow.]
My eyes twitched.
This bastard...
I sighed.
"All that aside, it seems I've had a lot of changes happen to me, huh."
Most apparent is my Aura. No, I believe I should call it Either now.
"Status."
...
__________________
___________________
[Name: Victor Bright
Level: 27
Rank: Mortal
Race: Human
Class: Null
Familiar: Hamlet the Silver Slime
Hp: ???
________
________
Strength:- ???
Speed:- ???
Agility:- ???
Constitution:- ???
Luck:- ???
Ether:- 25/25(+2)
Intelligence:- ???
Charm:- ???
______
______
>>>>>
[ACTIVE SKILLS]
{Appraisal}
Level 2
Rank-: Rare
...
{Lock On}
Level 1
Rank: Rare
...
{Immersion}
Level???
Rank-:???
...
>>>>>
[PASSIVE]
{Danger Sense}
[Description: Sense any incoming danger ahead of time.]
Level: 2
Rank: Common
...
>>>>>
[EXTRA SKILLS]
[Partial Mimic]
[Partial Slime Body]
[Link]
.
.
____
____
{Ether Blessing}
_____
_____
{Ether Art; Armament} (incomplete)
-Proficiency level: Beginner-
_____
_____
Not bad.
____
___]
__________________
__________________
...
There were a few reflecting changes in my status screen, but the Summary got me reeling.
Not bad...what kind of remark is that?
I dismissed the status screen and got up with a sigh. I threw my hands up and stretched before lazily walking across my room.
There was still a lot more messages I had to go through, and even discover how far the extent of the changes I've received went.
Ah, I also had to check out my new artifacts, and the Extra skills mentioned by the system from Hamlet. The vision was still in my minds, yet to be completely interpreted. I felt there was need to make some modifications in my initial plan and outlook of the world.
A world plagued by Demons and the Demon king...all of a sudden it became a cliché.
I gave a self depricating chuckle and sighed again.
"Survive... whatever happens, just survive." That was all I needed to do.
And in order to survive I just had to keep grinding. The harvest from the dungeon was bountiful. Even Meta couldn't belittle my progress any longer, judging from that silly remark.
I stopped before a tall, full length mirro hung against a wall in my room and gazed at my reflection.
Four weeks spent in the dungeon.... despite it being only four days having passed outside, those four weeks reflected on my body. As far as physical appearance went, but it wasn't much.
My brown hair had grown a little longer and messier, and the glint in my gold eyes were sharper and brighter. I was only 15, but even I had to admit my features were getting cut.
My bare chested upper body was almost white and pale I had a few scars and bruises left from my last battle with the sentinel. Since I didn't die and respawn, my wounds weren't automatically healed.
"Even for an Awakened - one of just Mortal Rank - it'll take time before my wounds heal. And then there are the scars." I had trust in my improved metabolism and healing factor which was passively boosted from my stay, but it was kind of sad seeing my usually flawless body this bruised and battered.
It reminded me of my days on earth as an underground fighter.
I ran my fingers throughout my messy brown hair and languidly shrugged.
I chuckled.
"Ah, well. Scars are a man's marks of honour."