《A Future Destroyed - A Post-Modern Fantasy LitRPG》 Volume 1, Chapter 0 - Prologue Radios had picked up signals two weeks ago, but the governments of the world kept silent about the incoming transmissions. All they knew is that they said ''The System will be Initializing'' and then gave a date and timestamp that changed depending upon where it was decrypted, but everyone agreed, the times matched up according to their own computers and the international dateline. With two days remaining, an Intelligence Agent asked his boss if by ''System'' they meant a game-like interface like seen in many LitRPGs, Isekais, and MMOs, he was laughed out of the room. He was then immediately fired and blacklisted. The former agent packed up his belongings and decided that maybe it was time to talk his friend Joriya into completing the project that he had been building, even while in a coma. He left his office and traveled to the remote town of Hillsborough, where the true bleeding edge of technology was being developed. Hillsborough looked like one of a thousand of small towns across the United States, but what set it apart was that it was actually owned by a series of companies with an interconnected series of basements and sublevels. He was one of the owners of one of the more minor companies, with his partner, Joriya, in a coma, he had been placed in charge of the entire company. He pulled into an underground parking zone, and at the terminal punched in the code for his company, and a hidden ramp lowered for him to continue. After another four minutes, he pulled into the nearly empty company parking lot. He exited his car and walked calmly into the main entrance for his robotics company. He checked his watch and blinked as he realized it was already nearly midnight, which explained why the parking lot was nearly empty. "Hey, Becky," he greeted his overnight receptionist, who was playing a game on her phone as she sat at the reception desk. "Any messages from Joriya?" "Yeah, he''s angry that the Congress is refusing to discuss rights for a digital intellect. He said that he''s almost tempted to ''unleash Skynet''... I didn''t know what he meant, and I felt his silence since I asked what Skynet was is a bit derisive." She sighed and looked up from her phone. "So, what''s Skynet?" "Skynet is a fictional artificial intelligence that created the Terminators after taking over the government," he replied. "Anything else?" "He said that he wants to ask about those sensation tests for the full sensation mapping... Honestly, I think he''s going a bit... stir crazy... on the internet." "Really? Why''s that?" "He''s binge-watched all of DragonBall Kai, Z-Kai, and Super, then got into a flame war saying someone should have made a parody of ''Riding Dirty'' called ''Old and Pervy'' starring Master Roshi," she stated calmly, causing her boss to snort with laughter. "Okay, now that is funny. There''s going to be an emergency company meeting around eleven tomorrow. Something is going to be happening at noon, and I would like all staff and family here for when it does..." "Alright, boss. I''ll send out the notice. This meeting is paid, right?" He laughed softly. "Yes, Becky, it is a paid meeting, since it is Mandatory." He went to his office, which had a private suite attached for when he was staying at the company. "Well, this is home now," he murmured to himself as he sat down and launched the chat program to contact Joriya. ~Direct Chat with Joriya Alvinos~ You: Hey, so, I''ve been fired and blacklisted by my boss because I asked something he thought insane. JA: Ah, so is this to do with the mysterious radio signal detected nearly two weeks ago? You: You could say that. It contained a message that simply stated: ''The System will be Initializing'' and a time-date stamp for noon tomorrow. JA: Wait, you typed ''System''... Are you sure that was what the message translated as? You: ... What do you know? JA: ... Answer the question, please. You: ... Yes. I''ve ordered a Mandatory Meeting for eleven in the morning tomorrow, an hour before the time listed. Now, what do you know? JA: ... I... got bored... You should be glad that I upgraded our firewall... You: ... What did you do this time!? JA: ... I found a bunch of hidden government caches. One each from Germany, Russia, and the United States. These caches had alien tech and they hadn''t managed to crack the encryption on the alien files... You: ... Damn it, Joriya... What the hell have you found out? JA: ... There is a System that is expanding its sphere of influence from the center of our Galaxy. It seems to be game-like from what I''ve unencrypted. Thankfully, I was able to write a program which is currently working to unencrypt, translate, and re-encrypting for our private servers. I made sure to copy the files and get out before I got detected though. You: ... Joriya... You know there''s such a thing as Overkill, right? This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.JA: ... No such thing *winky tongue-out emoji*... Anyways, I wasn''t detected, and in about a week, our servers should have a full translation of multiple alien databases, which will really speed up our R&D division, especially now that you no longer need to worry about working for the government. JA: Anyways... that System... it should offer me the chance to fix what I previously broke, hopefully at not too high of a cost. Apparently, everything functions off a universal points system, for the System. You: The hell man? How long have you had this information? JA: Oh, a year? Sadly, it seems that I don''t have the proper connections to make a full interface with the alien data. You: How much information do you have about this System? JA: Not much, as it''s something the aliens have had for centuries, they didn''t keep much data on it. Nor did they do much testing of it, other than accepting its base uses... The alien ship that crashed down seems to have been designed for function over comfort, from the pictures that were part of the file sets I snagged. JA: Oh, and while this underground series of connected companies would normally be something wise, I''m afraid that some of our more... introverted and agoraphobic researchers will decide that they want to become a Dungeon Core, as the System seems to like to offer races options based on the media, history, and religions of the populace of the newly assimilated race. You: ... Shit... can you compile a brief for the meeting? JA: Sure. Thanks for giving me something I can complete easily. Good night, and sleep well. That night, the former agent slept better than he had slept in many years. Of course, when he woke up, he couldn''t help but remember the incident that ended up with Joriya in a coma. He had been lax in his background checks and ended up hiring some fringe lunatics who despised technology and somehow managed to hide that fact during the hiring process and their work until the day when the incident happened, one of the rare days where all staff members were allowed to bring their family onto the facility through the public access buildings above. He shook his head and muttered that he shouldn''t remember that day. Joriya kept telling him it wasn''t his fault. He slapped himself with a double facepalm and sighed before going to double check that Becky had indeed sent the emergency meeting email, smiling when he saw that Joriya had done an all-hands email as well. To: All ARC Staff (Active Robotics Coordination Corporation Employees) From: Joriya Alvinos Date: Tuesday, April 18, 2023, 03:05:09 AM Subject: Re: EMERGENCY STAFF MEETING Hey All! Local Hillsborough Hospital Vegetable in Room 328 here (Unless someone''s messed with me and moved my room around since I last had the droids check?). Anyways, today''s meeting is extremely important, for all members of ARC Corp, and their families as well. Trust me, when I say that you will want your family here for the meeting. Sadly, unlike our Chief of Staff thought, 11:00 is too late for everyone. I need everybody here by 10:00 AM and will start the emergency slideshow at 10:15. Bring your family, as this is too important to keep secret, and after 11:00 it will be too late to keep it secret. I know most of the new staff only know me through email contact, and often think that the body in Room 328 of the Hospital is a real coma patient, but not me. Let''s just say that after tomorrow, I''ll be able to show up to work physically again as well as digitally. You''ll all know why with the slideshow starting at 10:15 AM! Thanks, everyone and stay safe! Joriya Alvinos Lead Programmer and Robotics Coordinator. He laughed as he took a quick shower and changed into a fresh, relaxed outfit. He sighed as he headed out of his office and to the main meeting hall, blinking as he saw a single robot at the podium. Along a wall, there is a huge buffet of food set up by the staff catering company, so Joriya was busy with more than just the slideshow. "I''m sorry, everyone. The Presentation isn''t as good as I had been planning, since I only had about six months to put this together, and couldn''t get a voice actor for the script, so the script is being read by one of my TTS programs. The Presentation will also be going Live on YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, and the Emergency Broadcast System because this is just such a massive issue. For those of you who are major agoraphobes, I''m sorry to have forced you out of your private offices, but you need to hear this as well. This presentation is also going out to the other companies here via the loudspeakers. "The Governments of the world have known for many years about the existence of sapient life outside of our planet. What the Governments did not have, was a way to unencrypt and translate the data on the ships and the devices that came from them. About a year ago, I was hired to make a program to break that encryption and translate the data. About six months ago, I succeeded. As part of the deal for creating the program to unencrypt and translate the information, I demanded a Bill of Digital Rights, Bill of Rights for Digital Intelligences, and a Law for the Recognition of Digital Intelligences as Life forms, not slaves. "Now, you''d think the Governments would decide that was a fair price, considering what they were asking for. Think again. They initially agreed to put forward the Bills but made sure to block or vote no on them. So I kept the translated data hostage and locked them out of the programs I created. No results for no pay. "Anyways, that''s neither here nor there. The translated data was fascinating. one of the ships was a research vessel. Sadly, their people didn''t really have Creativity. It contained a lot of information, most of which I haven''t finished translating, but it did contain a synopsis of the System. I have been polishing this presentation for about two or three months. Two weeks ago, the Governments detected a signal that when translated says ''The System will be Initializing'' and today''s date, scheduled for it to hit us at 11:00 AM EST. I hereby present ''The System and You'', a slideshow regarding what the System might be, how it will interact with us, and some assumptions I have made off of the information that has been translated to date." Chapter 1 - Entering the Tutorial Darkness was all around him. That''s how it had been for over a decade, other than the hum of hospital equipment and beeps of monitors with the occasional voices of doctors and nurses when he wasn''t connected with a neuro-weave to a computer. He was in a coma, unknowing why his body refused to heal despite all the different experimental treatments that he had been put through over the last decade. He had been a student at one of the big tech schools, working on Digital Intelligence Research and Development as his masters, having almost completed what might have grown into a sapient digital intelligence, unlike the ones that would just be running on various decision trees. That was, before the incident. A brief decision, acting on gut instinct and subconscious calculations, pain, oh, the pain, loud noises, screams, more pain, violent jostling and even more pain... a thump to his noggin, and darkness, blessed darkness and a lack of pain. Although the voices were in awe of his living despite being so damaged. He was a hero, and he should be dead, but there it was, his body, his mind, refusing to yield to the oblivion of death. One of the tests that the hospital had done connected his mind to a computer and this allowed his mental thoughts to be displayed on various computer programs, as well as allowing him access to the internet via his mind. He continued working on the creation of his digital intelligence, as well as continuing his studies, as he would not excuse his being in a coma from finishing off his education when he was aware and had access to not just the internet but the ability to do what he needed. In order to afford his medical care and college, he did various digital jobs, as well as drafted quite a few requests to his local senator to propose a bill granting rights to digital life, as he was close to finishing the program that would offer the world a way to a rapid increase in technology, but he didn''t want what he considered his child to be enslaved by the state or by corporations. He felt a burst of pressure, and then he heard a robotic voice as words suddenly appeared in the middle of the darkness. Welcome to the MANA System. Processing... Please Wait... Processing... *DING* Congratulations, Sentient 10,839,200. You have been granted 1,800,072 PPP (Personalized Potential Points) to use in altering your future and potential. As a newly processed Sentient, your Physical and Mental Statistics have been fully unlocked. As a newly processed Sentient, you will receive One (1) Personal Statistic unlocked for free. All current status conditions will end in One (1) Hour (Local) after Tutorial unless other changes occur. Processing Sentient Memories and History...If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. *DING* The following Traits have been unlocked based upon your personal actions. Heroic, Genius (Tier 2), Willful -> Stubborn -> Indomitable. Would you like an explanation about these traits? "Yes, please explain." Heroic - People who have unlocked this Trait have gone far above and beyond what would be considered normal behavior in a way that is viewed as positive by those that were also involved with an incident that has granted this Trait. Grants +5 Endurance and +5 Vitality. Allows the rerolling of One (1) Critical Failure each Day. Genius (Tier 2) - The holder of this Trait is considered to be far above the standard in Intelligence as far as Ingenuity and Acuity go. Increases Ingenuity and Acuity by Five (5) for each Tier of this Trait. Grants access to the Skill Hypermind. All Skills start at Level 10. 50% increased chance to learn Skills from watching or copying Willful (evolved) Stubborn (evolved) Indomitable - The bearer of this Trait has continued well beyond where most others have been left broken and discarded. The bearer of this Trait has refused to bend to the demands of those who viewed themselves as superior to him and has fought back. Grants a total increase of Twenty (20) to Willpower. Grants a 20% chance that anything you set your full attention on will result in Critical Success. Grants a 20% reduction in Critical Failure penalties. Grants immunity to Fear Status. Your Personal Statistic: LUCK has been unlocked. Personal Statistics [1/5]. Would you like to have Default Statistics (All Unlocked Stats set to Five (5)), or Randomized Statistics (Physical and Mental Statistics out of Ten (10), Personal Statistic out of Twenty (20))? [Default / Random] "Huh... What...? Uh... That''s a good question... Can I roll the Luck Statistic first, then use it to affect the rest?" *DING* This option is available. Proceed? [Yes] / [No] I mentally selected Yes. *DING* Your Status Screen is ready to be viewed. Name: Joriya Alvinos Race: Earthling - Human [Change] Age: 37 [-]/[+] PPP: 1,800,072 Stamina: 150/150 [-]/[+] Stamina Regen: 15/hour [-]/[+] Mana: 200/200 [-]/[+] Mana Regen: 30/hour [-]/[+] Physical Statistics [5/5] Strength: 8 [-]/[+] Agility: 9 [-]/[+] Dexterity: 8 [-]/[+] Endurance: 15 [-]/[+] Vitality: 15 [-]/[+] Mental Statistics [5/5] Memory: 8 [-]/[+] Intuition: 20 [-]/[+] Perception: 8 [-]/[+] Acquity: 20 [-]/[+] Willpower: 30 [-]/[+] Personal Statistics [1/5] Luck: 20 [-]/[+] Traits: Heroic Genius (Tier 2) Indomitable Resistances: EMPTY Immunities: Fear Current Status Afflictions: Comatose [1:00:00] Broken Spine [1:00:00] Severed Nerves [1:00:00] Atrophied Muscles [1:00:00] Racial Skills: Adaptability Survivability Hidden Potential Combat Skills: EMPTY Crafting Skills: EMPTY Magic Skills: Hypermind [Level 10] General Skills: EMPTY Resistance Skills: EMPTY Personal Soul Dimension: LOCKED "No Health?" Correct. Your ''health'' is not a ''numerical'' value, although your Statistics can and will affect the speed of your natural healing, especially if select Personal Statistics are unlocked. "What can I do with the Personalized Potential Points for?" Personalized Potential Points can be used for various things, which include the following: Enhancing or changing your Race, adjusting your age, physical body, or Statistics, unlocking new Statistics, unlocking and upgrading Skills, purchasing Soulbound items, upgrading your Personal Dimensional Space. To spend Personalized Potential Points, access the Shop. "Shop?" *DING* Chapter 2 - The Soul Shop *DING* Available PPP: 1,800,072. LIMITED TIME OFFERS [10,000 Remaining] [Varies] Change Race [Varies] Change Body [Varies] Change Age [25 per year] Increase Stamina Pool [(Pool+10) * 100] Increase Stamina Regeneration [Varies] Increase Mana Pool [(Pool+10) * 100] Increase Mana Regeneration [Varies] Increase Statistic [(Stat + 1) * 100] Unlock Personal Statistic [Varies] Purge Status Ailments [100 * Ailments] [400] Upgrade Racial Abilities [Varies] Unlock Combat Skills [Varies] Unlock Crafting Skills [Varies] Unlock Magic Skills [Varies] Upgrade Magic Skills [(Skill +1) * 10] Unlock Generic Skills [Varies] Purchase Consumable [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Weapon [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Armor [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Accessory [Varies] Unlock Personal Soul Dimension Access [10,000] "Holy shit... that''s a lot of default options..." As I watched, the number of Limited Offers rapidly decreased. "Show Limited Offers!" *DING* Limited Offers [7,687 Remaining] Gods-Be-Gone Package [1,000,000] Creative Creators Congregation Package [1,500,000] You-Say-Agin Package [500,000] Limitless Package [1,000,000] Lord of Cards [250,000] Super-Stretch Package [150,000] Krypt-Onion Package [500,000] Human-Supreme Package [250,000] Sephiwrath Package [375,000] Orconimical Package [100,000] GobblishGreed Package [10,000] Twisted-Tinkerer Package [10,000] Pesonal Action Rewind [100,000] MtG Cardmaster [10,000] YGO Cardmaster [10,000] ... ... Dragoon Package [1,000] Berserker Package [1,000] Gnomish Package [5,000] Druidic Package [1,000] ... ... Unlimited Options Package [100,000] Reincarnation Package [250,000] End of List "Display the descriptions for the following: Gods-Be-Gone Package, Creative Creators Congregation Package, You-Say-Agin Package, Krypt-Onion Package, Limitless Package, Unlimited Options Package, and Reincarnation Package." *DING* Gods-Be-Gone - This powerful package is based around the stories of human heroes who have taken on the Gods, slain them, and continued on. This current Offer revolves around the abilities and potencies of a Spartan named Kratos. Spartans have no maximum cap on their trained physical Statistics but have a maximum of Twenty (20) on their mental Statistics. These Spartans gain 1/10 of the Statistics of the creatures they killed added as a bonus to their Default Statistics, Traits, and PPP usage. Currently Remaining: 1/1 Creative Creators Congregation - This potent package is based around the theory that someone can master every type of crafting and artistry. This current Offer includes a 75% chance of increasing craft-related Skills and a 40% chance at Critical Success when crafting. Currently Remaining: 2/3 You-Say-Agin - This package includes the Race of Royal Sighin Race. The Sighin Race is comparable to the race of the primary protagonists in the Earth Anime and Manga series Dragon Ball and its sequels Z and Super. The bodies of the Sighin Race grow stronger and even more potent in energy manipulation whenever they are beaten to an inch from death and heal up without magical intervention. Sighin Race has a base of Twenty (20) as a maximum default start physical and mental Statistic without Traits and PPP. The Sighin Race gains increased Physical Statistics after healing from great damage. Currently Remaining: 1/10 Krypt-Onion - This package includes the Race of Kryptonion, which has a base default Statistic for the physical as a maximum of Thirty (30) and a mental maximum of Twenty (20) without Traits and PPP. Kryptonions gain a physical modifier and power meter based on the amount of yellow solar radiation they have absorbed. Increased length of time under the sun can unlock more powers. Exposure to Green Radiation rapidly counteracts the stored Yellow Radiation in their body. Currently Remaining: 3/10Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Limitless - This wonderful package includes the options to remove all caps for your current self. Removal of Caps does not unlock greater potential than you currently have, but will allow you to work towards any goal you may choose. From here on, you are only limited based on your Intuition, Acuity, and Willpower. Currently Remaining: 1/1 Unlimited Options - Ever play one of those Tactical RPGs where you could change Jobs, mix-and-match, or an MMO that didn''t limit your individual character access to only a singular role? Take a step forward into the potential of the unlimited Personal Statistics, access to the Job and Companion system [Currently In Development], and house it all in the potential of your Personal Soul Dimension. Currently Remaining: 1/0 Reincarnation - Ah... The ability to come back to a Save Point in history with the Statistics, PPP, and full potential that you currently had at the unnatural end of your last life! Note: You can only have Three (3) Save Points active, and the first one is automatically locked to the end of the Tutorial. Currently remaining: 3/5 "Purchase Reincarnation Package, and Unlimited Options Package!" *DING* *BONG* Reincarnation Package: Temporal Reset (Automatic upon Death) [150,000] Perfect Memory [50,000] New Life+ Status [300,000] Total: 500,000 PPP Sale Price: 50% Off [250,000] Quantity Remaining: 2/5 Confirm Purchase? {Yes] / [No] Unlimited Options Package: Remove Cap on Personal Statistics [300,000] Unlock Job Hall (Personal Soul Dimension) [ERROR] Unlock Job Access [ERROR] Unlock Companion System [ERROR] Convert PPP to JP (Job Proficiency) [ERROR] Total: ERROR Sale Price: ERROR [100,000] Quantity Remaining: 1/0 Confirm Purchase? [Yes] / [Yes] / [Yes] / [Yes] The system seemed to be freaking out at the Unlimited Options Package, with no option to say No, and a new [Yes] appearing every second. I flinched inwardly and hoped to any god that was listening that whatever was about to happen didn''t destroy my mind, as that was all I had this last decade, before thinking ''Yes" at both Shop Windows. *DING* CONGRATULATIONS! You have purchased Two (2) Limited Offers! Limited Offers are no longer available. Because you have unlocked something that requires access to the Personal Soul Dimension, Personal Soul Dimension has been Unlocked as a bonus. You may now access your Personal Soul Dimension once per day for one hour at a time. Items cannot currently be stored in your Personal Soul Dimension. Available PPP: 1,450,072 Acquired Class: Trainee [0/100 JP] Acquired Combat Skill: Light Armor (Level 10) Acquired Crafting Skill: Magical Repair (Level 10) Acquired Magic Skill: Mana Sense (Level 10) Acquired Generic Skill: Athletics (Level 10) Change Race [Varies] Change Body [Varies] Change Age [25 per year] Increase Stamina Pool [(Pool+10) * 100] Increase Stamina Regeneration [Varies] Increase Mana Pool [(Pool+10) * 100] Increase Mana Regeneration [Varies] Increase Statistic [(Stat + 1) * 100] Unlock Personal Statistic [Varies] Purge Status Ailments [100 * Ailments] [400] Upgrade Racial Abilities [Varies] Unlock Combat Skills [Varies] Upgrade Combat Skills [(Skill +1) * 10] Unlock Crafting Skills [Varies] Upgrade Crafting Skills [(Skill +1) * 10] Unlock Magic Skills [Varies] Upgrade Magic Skills [(Skill +1) * 10] Unlock Generic Skills [Varies] Upgrade Generic Skills [(Skill +1) * 10] Purchase Consumable [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Weapon [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Armor [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Accessory [Varies] Upgrade Personal Soul Dimension [Varies] "Reduce my age to twenty-five." *DING* This action will cost Twenty-five (25) PPP per year. Current Age: Thirty-seven (37). Requested Age: Twenty-five (25). Twelve (12) Years will be removed at the cost of Three Hundred (300) PPP. Confirm? [Yes] / [No] "Yes, please." *DING* Available PPP: 1,449,772 "Increase Stamina Regeneration." *DING* Increase Stamina Regenerated per Tick [(Regen +1) * 10] Increase Tick Rate to Per Minute [1,000] Increase Tick Rate to Per Second [10,000] "Increase Tick Rate of both Stamina and Mana to per second, please." *DING* This action will cost Twenty-five Thousand (25,000) points. Please Confirm? [Yes] / [No] "Yes!" *DING* "Purge Status Ailments, please." *DING* This action will cost Four Hundred (400) Points. Please Confirm. "Confirmed." *DING* Chapter 3 - Body Shop for Free!? With the combination of your adjusted Age, your Physical Statistics and the purging of the Atrophied Muscles Status, you are granted a free run through of the Body Customization to modify the way you will look when released from the tutorial. Well, hey, when this is all over, I may be able to lose my virginity after all! he thought to himself as one of the most customizable create-a-character interfaces he had ever seen loaded up around him. There were two different ''defaults'' already loaded up, with the one of the left showing him as he was when the system launched, atrophied muscles, aged to thirty-seven, with his previous lacking height and shoulder width. He had been confused for a woman a few times from behind, and even from the front when he was in high school and starting college. The other default showed a well-toned, but not an obscenely muscular man, with a few extra inches of height to what he had originally had. In addition to the four-pack of abs, his face had firmed up, showing someone who appeared stern but fair, with a history of training in either a martial art or a sword form. He selected the second default, and then went through each option, adjusting his hair length by centimeters only to change the style and restart all over. He changed his hair to a dark blue, almost to the point of black, but making sure that the blue was the primary appearance. Then he chuckled. "No, I''m not a Scott..." he stated as he changed it from blue to emerald green, which he liked as he changed his eyes to a shade between orange and gold, and adjusted the length and thickness of his eyelashes. He spent what felt like an hour adjusting various facial features, and growing out a respectable beard. He made sure that the emerald green of his hair matched the beard, as well as the light body hair that he gave himself, and the pubic hair. He spent an inordinate amount of time, fighting with himself over whether to do it or not, but he couldn''t help it when eventually the desire not to seem undersized won, and he increased his manhood from the modest five and a half inches to a respectable eight and a half, as well as increasing the girth to twice what it had been.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. After taking care of that issue, he spent the time going over the rest of the options, which included weird things like buying a Mana Resonance Gland, which came in various different types depending on internal or external, and the amount of sensory feedback received through it. He chose an option that would have cost him a whopping five hundred grand of his remaining PPP if not for this chance to modify his body for free, and that was including the Beholder-Class Internal Mana Resonance Gland, which granted him a sphere of magic vision that equated to twice his Perception Statistic in meters, with the clarity of the image that used his Acquity Statistic as its base. In addition to MRG, he chose to grab both the ki and mana circulatory systems and enhanced his internal structure and systems to the highest quality that they could be for his Statistics, even saturating them with both ki and mana and increasing the cellular density and health. In the end, his nails would be hard enough to score stone, and his bones and hair could be considered metal in its tolerances, but it was nothing compared to how dense he could make the cells of his brain. The increased cellular density in his mind then unlocked another menu which allowed him to purchase two more additions to his brain, a ''Mana Core'', and an extra lobe for control of mana. The ''Mana Core'' soaked up all of who, and what he is, with a deep well pumping his mana regeneration into his Soul Dimension when not in use. At the same time, a ''Ki Core'' formed near his heart, in what was the place of the ''Middle Dantian'' regarding to tai''chi, which would make the Mana Core being his in his Upper Dantian. He guessed the system would be considering Ki and Qi to be the same thing, with where the core formed. He focused upon the ''Lower Dantian'' and smiled as he purchased the ''Soul Core'', which made the body suddenly ring like a bell and the Ki and Mana stopped fighting each other! Both flowed smoothly through their channels and had a new density beyond just basic levels, and the source of this change came from his Soul Core. By the time he had finished with the full body workover, he had selected upgrades totaling to well over two million in PPP, which included major enhancements to all of his senses in addition to the rest that he had already covered here. When he selected to complete his time inside the Body Shop, he was asked to confirm the purchases, and he could feel the grin that he would have had if he had been in his body as he confirmed purchasing the mega-enhanced Earthling - Human (Modified) body that he had created for a grand total of 0 PPP. *DIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGG DIIIING* Chapter 4: Cheat or Frugal? *DIIIIIIIIIING* You have been granted the Trait: CHEATER (Tier MAX [5])! CHEATER (Tier MAX [5]) - You have violated the System''s generosity and will now suffer a 10% penalty to All PPP Gained, Stats Earned, and increased prices in the shop, per Tier [Max Five (5)]. The sound of the System seemed to elasticize and whine a bit before snapping back into clear and concise focus. *DING!* System Notice: You were not notified that there would be a penalty for doing modifications in the Body Shop. Therefore, you have been granted a reprieve. You have lost the Trait: CHEATER (Tier Max [5])! You have lost access to the Race Change Menu. You have lost access to the Body Shop. You have been granted the Trait: Frugal (Tier Max [5])! Your Trait Genius (Tier 2) has evolved into Mad Scientist (Tier 4)! You have been granted the Trait: Body + Mind = Soul (Tier 1)! Frugal (Tier MAX [5]) - You have found a way to save more PPP than you had to spend. All further purchases in the Shop will cost Ten Percent (10%) less per Tier of this trait (Current: 50%). Genius (Tier 2) evolved! Mad Scientist (Tier 4) - A Mad Scientist is not beyond going over every part of a system with a fine tooth comb, or combining what should be suicidally incompatible components with each other and making them work not just together, but flawlessly so. Increases bonus per tier from Five (5) Ingenuity and Five (5) Acquity to Ten (10) Ingenuity and Ten (10) Acquity per Tier (Current: 40). Reduces time to learn a skill by 15% per Tier (Current: 60%). All new Skills learned will begin at level Five (5) times the Tier (Current: 20). Five Percent (5%) per Tier chance increase of Critical Failure during Experiments (Current: 20). Ten Percent (10%) per Tier chance increase of Critical Success during Experiments (Current: 40). Body + Mind = Soul (Tier 1) - Very few people can step on the path of cultivating the Body and the Mind, as the energies of Ki and Mana do not enjoy cooperation. You have found a way to get them to not just cooperate but enhance each other. You have unlocked the Personal Statistic: LIFESPAN. LIFESPAN has been rolled based on a maximum of Twenty (20). LIFESPAN has been set to Fifteen (15). LIFESPAN equals to a maximum age of Ten (10) Years per point of LIFESPAN. Adds an additional Ten (10) Years per point of LIFESPAN per Tier of this Trait (Current: 10). "Since I already increased the rate of my stamina and mana regeneration, I should see if the command will work for Ki Regeneration as well. Please Increase Rate of Ki Regeneration from Hours to seconds." *DING* This purchase will cost you Fifteen Thousand (15,000) PPP before your Frugal Discount. Please Confirm. "Confirmed. Also, display the Shop." *DING* Current Available PPP: 1,416,872Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Increase Stamina Pool [(Pool + 10) * 100] Increase Stamina Regeneration Per Tick [(Regen + 1) * 10] Increase Ki Pool [(Pool + 10) * 100] Increase Ki Regeneration Per Tick [(Regen +1) * 10] Increase Mana Pool [(Pool + 10) * 100] Increase Mana Regeneration Per Tick [Regen + 1) * 10] Increase Statistic [(Stat + 1) * 100] Unlock Personal Statistic [Varies] Upgrade Racial Abilities [Varies] Unlock Jobs [Varies] Unlock Combat Skills [Varies] Upgrade Combat Skills [(Skill + 1) * 10] Unlock Crafting Skills [Varies] Upgrade Crafting Skills [(Skill + 1) * 10] Unlock Magic Skills [Varies] Upgrade Magic Skills [(Skill + 1) * 10] Unlock Generic Skills [Varies] Upgrade Generic Skills [(Skill + 1) * 10] Purchase Consumable [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Weapon [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Armor [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Accessory [Varies] Upgrade Personal Soul Dimension [Varies] If I am right and the Pools are based on ten times a statistic, then purchasing the Stat +1 is more Point efficient at all points compared to purchasing the Pool increase, he thought to himself. I should probably first check with the upgrading Racial Abilities, right? "Display Racial Abilities Upgrades, please." *DING* Race Detected: Earthling - Human (Modified) Adaptability -> Greater Adaptability [10,000] Survivability -> Greater Survivability [10,000] Hidden Potential -> Unlocked Potential (Tier 1) [100,000 per Tier} Enhanced Senses -> Hyper Senses [10,000] Mortal Ki Core -> Earth Ki Core [30,000] Mortal Mana Core -> Earth Mana Core [30,000] Mortal Soul Core -> Earth Soul Core [Earth Ki Core + Earth Mana Core + 30,000] Mortal Ki Circulation -> Earth Ki Circulation [1,000] Mortal Mana Circulation -> Earth Mana Circulation [1,000] Beholder Internal Mana Resonance Gland Range Up [1,000] Metal Hair -> Infusable Hair [5,000] Metal Bones -> Infusable Bones [5,000] "Display Unlocked Potential, please." *DING* Unlocked Potential (Tier 1) - The full potential of this being is unlocked for itself and its offspring, removing limits regards to the training of Statistics and the increase of Pool Size. Grants a Ten Percent (10%) easier time to increase Statistics and Pool Size through training per Tier. Grants a Ten Percent (10%) increased viability to learn any Skill per Tier. Reduces the cost of all other PPP by Ten Percent (10%) per Tier before other discounts, not counting further Tiers of Unlocked Potential. This being can mate with any race for a minimum viable fertility rate of Twenty Percent (20%) per Tier. Warning: Females in times of Fertility can sense your potency and may seek to claim you for their own. Holy Mother of all Cheats! he thought. If I spend 250,000 PPP on this with Frugal, I''ll have a 75% discount on all purchases in the Store, which would turn my remaining 1,166,872 PPP into the equivalent of 4,667,488... Now that really IS being Frugal with my points! "Purchase Maximum Tier of Unlocked Potential, please." *DING* This purchase will cost Five Hundred Thousand (500,000) PPP before your Frugal Discount. Please Confirm. "Confirmation verified, proceed with the purchase." *DING* Your Racial Ability Hidden Potential has evolved and mutated into Unlimited Potential (Tier MAX [5]). Unlimited Potential (Tier MAX [5]) - The full potential of this being is unlocked for itself and its offspring, removing limits regards to the training of Statistics and the increase of Pool Size. Grants a Fifteen Percent (15%) easier time to increase Statistics and Pool Size through training per Tier (Current: 75%). Grants a Fifteen Percent (15%) increased viability to learn any Skill per Tier (Current 75%). Reduces the JP to level up a Job by Fifteen Percent (15%) per Tier (Current: 75%). Reduces the cost of all other PPP by Eighteen Percent (18%) per Tier before other discounts, not counting further Tiers of Unlimited Potential (Current: 90%). This being can mate with any race for a minimum viable fertility rate of Twenty-Five Percent (25%) per Tier, surpassing One Hundred Percent (100%) in this rate increases probability of multiple offspring drastically (Current: 125%). Warning: Females in times of Fertility can sense your potency and WILL seek to claim you for their own by any means. He stared at the displayed screen and groaned in pain mentally. The fuck...!? Chapter 5: Racial Upgraded He sighed as he forced himself to calm down. He looked at the list of upgrades for his body''s Racial Abilities and decided to max out all of the ones on the list. "System, purchase all upgrades shown on the Racial Ability List. *DING* The requested function will cost One Hundred Thirty-three Thousand (133,000) PPP before your Discounts. Please Confirm Purchase. He sighed and confirmed. *DING* Adaptability has evolved into Greater Adaptability - The Body has survived adaptations that should have killed it and has grown stronger for the experiences. Spells or abilities that add functionality to the user (ie: Flight, Water Breathing) have a Fifteen Percent (15%) Chance of becoming a Permanent Feature. Reduces the amount of effort to increase physical and mental statistics by Twenty Percent (20%). Survivability has evolved into Greater Survivability - The soul of the predator, the will of the unbending, the strength of the unbroken, these are a part of you. Unlocked Personal Statistic: Regeneration. Regeneration increases the amount of Health and Resource Pools restored per tick. Regeneration has been rolled based on a maximum of One Hundred (100). Critical Success! Regeneration Statistic has been set to One Hundred (100)! You will now restore Regeneration Percent of your Health each Day! Your Regeneration Statistic has been added to Pool Regeneration Rates. Unlocked General Skills: Herbology, Harvest, Forage, Identify. Added Sense: Danger Sense. Enhanced Senses has evolved into Hyper Senses - You are greatly aware of everything around you. You can boost your Senses further with Ki or Mana. Your senses are constantly cycling, reducing the penalty if oversensitivity is triggered. Ki Core (Mortal) has evolved into Ki Core (Earth Grade) - Ki Pool Size increased by Ten (10) times. Increases Applied Physical Statistics by Two (2) times (does not apply to Resource Pools or Regeneration Rates). Increases Lifespan by FIve (5) Points. Grants Combat Skill: Ki Control Mana Core (Mortal) has evolved into Mana Core (Earth Grade) - Mana Pool Size increased by Ten (10) times. Increases Applied Mental Statistics by Two (2) times (does not apply to Resource Pools or Regeneration Rates). Increases Lifespan by FIve (5). Grants Magic Skill: Mana Control. Soul Core (Mortal) has evolved into Soul Core (Earth Grade) - Reinforces the Soul, granting an additional increase in Body + Mind = Soul Tier. Allows access to Ki and Mana in Personal Soul Dimension. Allows access to Ki and Mana based Jobs at the Job Hall. Grants an additional One (1) Hour of access to your Personal Soul Dimension each Day. Body + Mind = Soul (Tier 2) - Very few people can step on the path of cultivating the Body and the Mind, as the energies of Ki and Mana do not enjoy cooperation. You have found a way to get them to not just cooperate but enhance each other. Adds an additional Ten (10) Years per point of Lifespan per Tier of this Trait (Current: 20). Grants an additional Ten Percent (10%) chance of learning skills or abilities based on Ki or Mana per Tier (Current: 20%).This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Ki Circulation (Mortal) has evolved into Ki Circulation (Earth-Grade) - Ki Regeneration rate is Doubled while Consumption Rate is reduced by Ten Percent (10%). Mana Circulation (Mortal) has evolved into Mana Circulations (Earth Grade) - Mana Regeneration rate is Doubled while Consumption Rate is reduced by Ten Percent (10%). Internal Mana Resonance Gland (Beholder-Grade) has evolved into Internal Resonance Gland (Beholder-Grade) - The Resonance Gland has evolved with the aid of the Ki inside the body to detect Ki and other Energy types. Skills can now be applied via the Resonance Field. Resonance Field diameter is now Ten (10) meters per point of Perception. Metal Hair has evolved into Infused Hair - The hair of this being can be used as a mana-conductive metallic alternative equivalent to Mithril. This allows the being to imbue it with mana to adjust its qualities and color. Items made with this as a material gain an increased chance of enhancement success and strength as well as a self-repair function. Metal Bones has evolved into Infused Bones - The bones of this being can be used as a mana-conductive metallic alternative equivalent to Mithril. This allows the being to imbue it with mana to reinforce the durability. Items made from this material gain an increased chance of enhancement success and strength as well as a self-repair function. Greater Adaptability has triggered! Due to the acquisition of both Infused Hair and Infused Bones, the Blood, Muscles, Organs, and Skin have all mutated to contain the same Mithril-like quality of Mana and Ki conductivity. Infused Hair, Bones, Blood, Muscles, Organs, and Skin have all been condensed into Infused Body (Tier MAX [5]). Your Race is now registered as Earthling - Infused Human (Modified). Infused Body (Tier MAX [5]) - The body has become saturated in Mana and Ki, allowing for greater focus of power through the body, as well as enhanced defense. Grants Two (2) points to each Default Physical Stat per Tier (Current: 10). Grants One (1) point to each Default Mental Stat per Tier (Current: 5). Unlocks the Defense and Resistance Personal Statistics. Defense grants Natural Armor value to your Skin and makes it harder for you to be damaged by physical means. A higher Defense Statistic makes it easier to learn Defense Skills. Resistance grants you defense against negative status effects, poisons, and magic. A higher Resistance Statistic makes it easier to learn Resistance Skills. The Defense Statistic has been rolled based on a default maximum of Twenty (20). The Defense Statistic has been set to Eighteen (18)! The Resistance Statistichas been rolled based on a default maximum of Twenty (20). Critical Success! The Resistance Statistic has been set to Twenty (20)! Resistance gained: Curse Resistance acquired. "System, is there an option to enhance the Regeneration Rate of my physical body to be in an hour instead of a Day?" *DING* The cost of this purchase is Ten Million (10,000,000) PPP before Discounts. Calculating Discounts. After your Discounts, you have enough PPP purchase this upgrade. Do you wish to continue? "Absolutely!" *DING* "System, increase all Default Statistics below twenty in stat to twenty." *DING* The cost of this purchase is Thirty-seven Thousand, Seven Hundred Fifty (37,500) PPP before Discounts. Do you wish to continue? "Yes." *DING* "Please display remaining points... It''s time to gear up!" Chapter 6: Abusing the Shop! *DING* Currently Available PPP: 658,347 Purchase Consumables [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Weapons [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Armor [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Accessories [Varies] "Display Soulbound Weapons with a Scaling quality." *DING* Copper Metal Dagger [5,000] Kunai [7,500] Throwing Dagger Set [25,000] Longsword [10,000] Shortsword [10,000] Rapier [10,000] Swordbreaker [12,500] Wakazashi [15,000] Katana [15,000] Paired Dai-sho [25,000] Greatsword [15,000] Bow [10,000] Compound Bow [10,000] Crossbow [10,000] Ballista [25,000] Quarterstaff [10,000] Mage''s Staff [15,000] Spear [10,000] Lance {12,500] Halberd [15,000] Battle Axe [10,000] Throwing Axe Set [25,000] War Axe [12,500] Bronze Weapons Copper Price x2 Iron Weapons Copper Price x4 Steel Weapons Copper Price x8 Silver Weapons Copper Price x16 Obsidian Weapons Copper Price x32 Mythril Weapons Copper Price x64 Orichalcum Weapons Copper Price x128 Adamantium Weapons Copper Price x256 "Display Shortsword, Longsword, and Throwing Dagger Set." *DING* Soulbound Shortsword [10,000] Quality: Scaling [Level 1 0/1,000] Damage: 5-10 + Strength Metal: Copper Durability: 100/100 Self-Repairing Soulbound Longsword [10,000] Quality: Scaling [Level 1 0/1,000] Damage: 7-12 + Strength Metal: Copper Durability: 100/100 Self-Repairing Soulbound Throwing Daggers (x6) [25,000] Quality: Scaling [Level 1 0/1,000] Damage: 3-8 + Dexterity Metal: Copper Durability: 50/50 Self-Repairing Automatic Return (30 seconds) "Purchase them, please. Adamantium metal." *DING* This Purchase will cost Forty-five Thousand (45,000) PPP times Two Hundred Fifty-Six (256) for a total of Eleven Million, Five Hundred Twenty Thousand (11,520,000) PPP before Discounts. After Discounts, your Price will be Five Hundred Seventy-Six Thousand (576,000) PPP. Please Confirm. "Confirmed. Then move to Armor, leather, scaling, full set, light armor." *DING* You have gained: Soulbound Shortsword Quality: Scaling [Level 1 0/1,000] Damage: 500-750 + Strength Metal: Adamantium Durability: 1000/1000 Self-Repairing Soulbound Longsword Quality: Scaling [Level 1 0/1,000] Damage: 750-1000 + Strength Metal: Adamantium Durability: 1000/1000 Self-Repairing Soulbound Throwing Daggers (x6) Quality: Scaling [Level 1 0/1,000] Damage: 300-500 + Dexterity Metal: Adamantium Durability: 500/500 Self-Repairing Automatic Return (30 seconds) Soulbound Armor (Leather, Scaling): Rogue''s Leather Set [25,000] Ranger''s Leather Set [25,000] Bard''s Leather Set [25,000] Swordsman''s Leather Set [25,000] "Swordsman''s Leather Set please display." *DING* Swordsman''s Leather Jerkin Quality: Scaling [Level 1 0/1,000] Type: Light Chest Defense: 5 Durability: 100/100 Self-Repair Swordsman''s Leather Belt Quality: Scaling [Level 1 0/1,000] Type: Light Belt Potion Slots: 4 Bag Slots: 2 Sheathe Slots: 1 Durability: 50/50 Self-Repair Swordsman''s Leather Pants Quality: Scaling [Level 1 0/1,000] Type: Light Pants Defense: 5 Durability: 100/100 Self-Repair Swordsman''s Leather Boots Quality: Scaling [Level 1 0/1,000] Type: Light Boots Defense: 5 Durability: 100/100 Self-Repair Swordsman''s Leather Bracers Quality: Scaling [Level 1 0/1,000] Type: Light Arms Defense: 5 Durability: 100/100 Self-Repair Swordsman''s Leather Baldric Quality: Scaling [Level 1 0/1,000] Type: Light Belt Dagger Slots: 6 Potion Slots: 2 Sheathe Slots: 1 Durability: 50/50 Self-Repair "Purchase the set, please." *DING* This Purchase will cost Twenty-five Thousand (25,000) PPP before Discounts. Please Confirm. "Yes, then move to Accessories. Also, please confirm how many accessories are usable at a time." *DING* You are able to use One (1) Necklace, Gorget, or Amulet, Two (2) Earrings, Two (2) Wristbands, and Two (2) Magical Rings on each hand. Copper Amulet [500] Copper Gorget [500] Copper Necklace [500] ... ... Silver Amulet [1,000] ... ... Gold Amulet [1,500] ... ... Platinum Amulet [2,000] ... ... Mythril Amulet of (Quality) [20,000] Mythril Amulet of (Statistic) [20,000] Mythril Gorget of (Quality) [20,000] Mythril Gorget of (Statistic) [20,000] Mythril Necklace of (Quality) [20,000] Mythril Necklace of (Statistic) [20,000] Mythril Earring of (Quality) [20,000] Mythril Earring of (Statistic) [20,000] Mythril Wristband of (Quality) [20,000] If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.Mythril Wristband of (Statistic) [20,000] Mythril Ring of (Quality) [20,000] Mythril Ring of (Statistic) [20,000] "Hmmm... that''s quite a decision to make... A total of nine accessories..." he muttered to himself. "What would be the best way to split them... or should I get multiple sets? One full set of Defense, one of Resistance, and one of a variety of Qualities? Can Accessories of Statistics gain Qualities when Leveled up?" *DING* Affirmative. The reason you are seeing them separate is that you are choosing what you want. When your Item Levels Up, you can choose either a new Statistic or Quality to add to it. "Can I purchase Level Ups for my Accessories?" *DING* Affirmative. "Is there any suggestions for Qualities?" *DING* There are no suggestions available as the world is likely to change. "How will it change?" *DING* Dungeons will appear, monsters will spawn, paths to other realms and worlds will exist. "How will the current infrastructure be impacted?" *DING* The System shall not enhance current items. However, newly made items by hand shall gain System Enhancement. In order for mass production to gain System Enhancement, it requires being rebuilt from scratch, not repaired, with System Materials. "How much would a level three Mythril accessory cost?" *DING* A Level Three (3) Mythril Accessory costs Forty-five Thousand (45,000) PPP. Twenty Thousand (20,000) for the Level One (1) Initial Accessory, Ten Thousand (10,000) to raise it to Level Two (2), and another Fifteen Thousand (15,000) to increase it to Level Three (3). "Purchase a full set, level three, Mythril. Each will have Defense and Resistance, with one Quality. Let''s go with Random Qualities." Mythril Gorget Quality: Scaling [Level 3 0/20,000] Type: Neck Durability: 250/250 Defense +15 Resistance +15 Can breathe water for 30 Seconds. Mythril Earring Quality: Scaling [Level 3 0/20,000] Type: Earring Durability: 250/250 Defense +15 Resistance +15 Increase Mana Regeneration by 15% Mythril Earring Quality: Scaling [Level 3 0/20,000] Type: Earring Durability: 250/250 Defense +15 Resistance +15 Heal Target 15% once per day. Mythril Ring Quality: Scaling [Level 3 0/20,000] Type: Ring Durability: 250/250 Defense +15 Resistance +15 Create a Barrier that can absorb 300 Damage once per hour. Mythril Ring Quality: Scaling [Level 3 0/20,000] Type: Ring Durability: 250/250 Defense +15 Resistance +15 Cast Unlock on Target 3 times a day. Mythril Ring Quality: Scaling [Level 3 0/20,000] Type: Ring Durability: 250/250 Defense +15 Resistance +15 Increase chance to dodge projectiles by 15% Mythril Ring Quality: Scaling [Level 3 0/20,000] Type: Ring Durability: 250/250 Defense +15 Resistance +15 Decrease Stamina cost of evasion by 15%. Mythril Armband Quality: Scaling [Level 3 0/20,000] Type: Wrist Durability: 250/250 Defense +15 Resistance +15 Increase Movement Speed by 30% Mythril Armband Quality: Scaling [Level 3 0/20,000] Type: Wrist Durability: 250/250 Defense +15 Resistance +15 Cast Disarm Trap three times a day. He felt shocked at the sight of the various and powerful qualities. He nodded to himself as he realized how much potential the gear he just bought had. "Display remaining PPP and move to Consumables, please. Start with Bags." *DING* Currently Available PPP: 60,847 Small Pouch [10] Medium Pouch [50] Large Pouch [100] Money Pouch [150] Soulbound Money Pouch [200] Small Bag of Holding [250] Medium Bag of Holding [500] Large Bag of Holding [750] Superior Bag of Holding [1,000] Soulbound Bag of Holding [1,500] Small Inventory [1,250] Medium Inventory [2,500] Large Inventory [5,000] Superior Inventory [7,500] Soulbound Inventory [10,000] Daily Meal ? [5,000] Daily Meal (U) [6,500] Daily Meal ? [8,000] Full Pantry ? [7,500] Full Pantry (U) [9,000] Full Pantry ? [10,500] Full Pantry (S) [12,000] Refilling Water Skin [5,000] Always Full Water Skin [7,500] Always Full Lamp Oil Skin [5,000] Always Full Alchohol Skin [10,000] Unending Goblet of Choices [25,000] "Display Soulbound Bag of Holding, and Soulbound Inventory Bag, please. Then Daily Meals and Full Pantry (S). Oh, and the Alchohol Skin and Goblet of Choices." *DING* Soulbound Bag of Holding [1,500] Quality: Scaling [Level 1 1/1,000] Type: Bag [Physical] Durability: 100/100 Space: Five (5) cubic meters (m^3) Soulbound Inventory [10,000] Quality: Scaling [Level 1 1/1,000] Type: Inventory [Sub-dimension] Slots: Equal to STR Stack: Unlimited Cannot be Stolen from. Daily Meal ? [5,000] Quality: Common Type: Basket Provides One (1) Common Recipe Meal every Twenty-four (24) hours. Daily Meal (U) [6,500] Quality: Uncommon Type: Basket Provides One (1) Uncommon Recipe Meal every Twenty-four (24) hours. The meal can induce One (1) buff for up to Eight (8) hours. Daily Meal ? [8,000] Quality: Rare Type: Basket Provides One (1) Rare Recipe Meal every Twenty-four (24) hours. The meal can induce up to Two (2) buffs for up to Eight (8) hours each. Full Pantry (S) [12,000] Quality: Superior Type: Pantry Size: 1 m^3 Provides Unlimited materials from Common to Superior Recipes. Always Full Alchohol Skin [10,000] Quality: Magical Type: Wineskin Provides an unlimited amount of an Alchohol that you have tried. Must think about what you want to drink while applying mana to change Alchohol. Unending Goblet of Choices [25,000] Quality: Magical Type: Goblet Provides an unlimited amount of any liquid you have drunk. Must think about what you want to drink while applying mana to change the drink. "Purchase the Soulbound Bag of Holding, Soulbound Inventory, Daily Meal ?, Full Pantry (S), Always Full Water Skin, Always Full Lamp Oil Skin, Always Full Alchohol Skin, and the Unending Goblet of Choices." *DING* Your Purchase will be Seventy-Nine Thousand (79,000) PPP before your Discounts. WARNING! Before Discounts, you cannot afford this purchase. NOTICE: After Discounts, this Purchase will cost you Three Thousand, Nine Hundred Fifty (3,950) PPP. Please Confirm. "Confirmed." *DING* "Please purchase the following skills: Throwing Mastery, Dagger Mastery, Sword Mastery, Dual Wield, Parry, Dodge, Evasion, Healing Magic, Light Magic, Earth Magic, Plant Magic, Fire Magic, Water Magic, Space Magic, Time Magic, Air Magic, Dark Magic, Mana Magic, Life Magic, Death Magic, Gravity Magic, Force Magic, Summoning Magic, Creation Magic, Mining, Smithing, Leatherworking, Tailoring, Enchanting, Alchemy, Engineering, Painting, Carpentry, Cooking, Jewelcraft, Blueprint Drafting, Recipe Drafting, Geology, Mathematics, Dissection, Butchering, Acrobatics, Walking, Jogging, Running, Sprinting, Parkour, Aerobatics, Reading, Speed Reading, Writing, Calligraphy, Programming, Dungeonology, Stealth, Camouflage, Camping, and Universal Translation. Please Itemize and calculate." *DING* Combat Skills: Throwing Mastery [100] Dagger Mastery [100] Sword Mastery [100] Dual Wield [500] Parry [150] Dodge [150] Evasion [250] Combat Skill Total: [1,350] Magic Skills: Healing Magic [1,000] Light Magic [500] Earth Magic [500] Plant Magic [1,000] Fire Magic [500] Water Magic [500] Space Magic [2,500] Time Magic [2,500} Air Magic [500] Dark Magic [500] Mana Magic [1,500] Life Magic [1,500] Death Magic [1,500] Gravity Magic [1,500] Force Magic [1,500] Summoning Magic [10,000] Creation Magic [10,000] Magic Skill Total: [37,500] Crafting Skills: Smithing [500] Leatherworking [500] Tailoring [500] Enchanting [500] Alchemy [500] Engineering [500] Painting [500] Carpentry [500] Cooking [500] Jewelcraft [500] Blueprint Drafting [1,500] Recipe Drafting [1,500] Crafting Skill Total: [8,000] General Skills: Mining [100] Geology [100] Mathematics [100] Dissection [500] Butchering [500] Acrobatics [1,000] Walking [100] Jogging [100] Running [200] Sprinting [200] Parkour [500] Aerobatics [1,000] Reading [100] Speed Reading [500] Writing [100] Calligraphy [500] Programming [500] Dungeonology [5,000] Stealth [500] Camouflage [500] Camping [500] Universal Translation [50,000] Total General Skills: [62,600] Your Purchase will cost a total of One Hundred Nine Thousand, Four Hundred Fifty (109,450) PPP before your Discount. WARNING! Before Discount, you do not have enough PPP to make this Purchase! NOTICE: After Discount, this Purchase will cost you Five Thousand, Four Hundred S eventy-Three (5,473) PPP. Please Confirm. "Confirmed. Then spend the rest on a Lottery." *DING!* *DA-DA-DA-DING-DING-DING!* Chapter 7: Tutorial Dungeon Start! *DING!* *DA-DA-DA-DING-DING-DING!* Your Fifty-One Thousand, Four Hundred Twenty-Four (51,424) PPP has been converted into One Million, Twenty-Eight Thousand, Four Hundred Eighty (1,028,480) PPP with the effects of your Discounts. Your Lottery has been applied to the Soulbound Category. Congratulations! You have access to a new feature in your Personal Soul Dimension! You have unlocked the Divine-Grade Randomized Scaling Dungeon (Solo/Party/Raid) Variant. This Scaling Dungeon Portal can be summoned once every week. Death inside the Scaling Dungeon is non-permanent, with the death just meaning a loss of all gains for that person for that run. Every opening of the Scaling Dungeon leads to newly created temporary reality. Divine-Grade means that each Instance can have items of Common, Uncommon, Rare, Superior, Magical, Legendary, Scaling and Divine Items. Enemies will be of a minimum of Heroic Status, and provide PPP when killed. The Exit Portal will be available after the Boss Room. If you encounter Intelligent Enemies, it is recommended that you try communication. NOTICE! As the final part of the Tutorial would require a Dungeon Run, you will be transferred to the Scaling Dungeon you have acquired. Prepare for Teleportation in ... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... *FLASH* He blinked his eyes and caught himself from falling over as he landed on his feet with a soft whump as he landed after the teleportation, a small puff of dirt being knocked up from his foot-high drop. He looked around himself and cursed softly, as he realized he forgot two important things when he was buying stuff before throwing everything into a Lottery. I should have gotten a journal that would never run out of paper and a pen that never ran out of ink, so that I could make maps! I don''t know why I overlooked Cartography as a skill too! he frantically thought as he took in the fact that he was in an open-air pit with steep, moss-covered walls, the sky open above him, and a cave entrance in front of him. *DING* Welcome to the Instant Dungeon: Goblin Mines. Your currently selected Difficulty: RAID. He sighed and pressed his palms against his face, trying to keep from screaming in frustration at that last pop-up. So, Hero and beyond Goblins, in a Raid Setting... Is this a punishment for my cheating the Shop? If not, it''s a very unlucky coincidence... he thought as he closed his eyes and focused on his hearing for a moment. Yes, he could hear the clattering of pickaxe on stone coming from the cave in front of him. He opened his eyes and looked himself over, nodding as he found he was already dressed in the Swordsman''s Leather set, with his adamantium weapons slotted into their spaces. His bag of holding was on his belt, and ha opened it, getting a window of what was inside it. Bag of Holding Quality: Scaling [Level 1 0/1,000] Durability: 100/100 Size: 5 m^3 Contains: Daily Meal ? Full Pantry (S) AF Water Skin AF Lamp Oil Skin AF Alchohol Skin Unending Goblet of Choices He nodded and checked his status. Name: Joriya Alvinos Race: Earthling - Infused Human (Modified) Age: 25 PPP: 0 Health Regen: 100%/Hour Stamina: 200/200 Stamina Regen: 125/sec Ki: 2000/2000 Ki Regen: 125/sec x2 Mana: 5000/5000 Mana Regen: 130/sec x2 +15% Physical Statististics [5/5] Strength: 20 [-]/[+] (x2) Agility: 20 [-]/[+] (x2) Dexterity: 20 [-]/[+] (x2) Endurance: 25 [-]/[+] (x2) Vitality: 25 [-]/[+] (x2) Mental Statistics [5/5] Memory: 20 [-]/[+] (x2) Intuition: 55 [-]/[+] (x2) Perception: 20 [-]/[+] (x2) Acquity: 55 [-]/[+] (x2) Willpower: 35 [-]/[+] (x2) Personal Statistics [Unlimited] Luck: 20 [-]/[+] Lifespan: 25 [-]/[+] Regeneration: 100 [-]/[+] Defense: 20 [-]/[+155] Resistance: 20 [-]/[+135] Traits: Heroic Mad Scientist (Tier 4) Indomitable Frugal (Tier MAX [5]) Resistances: Curse (Level 20) Immunities: Fear Current Status Afflictions: EMPTY Racial Skills: Greater Adaptability Greater Survivability Unlimited Potential (Tier MAX [5]) Infused Body (Tier MAX [5]) Extra Features: Internal Resonance Gland (Increased Energies + Range) Mana Lobe Mana Core (Earth Stage) Mana Circulation (Earth Stage) The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.Ki Core (Earth Stage) Ki Circulation (Earth Stage) Hyper Senses Class: Trainee - Level 1 [0/100 JP] Combat Skills: Light Armor (Level 10) Ki Control (Level 20) Throwing Mastery (Level 20) Dagger Mastery (Level 20) Sword Mastery (Level 20) Dual Wield (Level 20) Parry (Level 20) Dodge (Level 20) Evasion (Level 20) Crafting Skills: Magical Repair (Level 10) Smithing (Level 20) Leatherworking (Level 20) Tailoring (Level 20) Enchanting (Level 20) ALchemy (Level 20) Engineering (Level 20) Painting (Level 20) Carpentry (Level 20) Cooking (Level 20) Jewelcraft (Level 20) Blueprint Drafting (Level 20) Recipe Drafting (Level 20) Magic Skills: Hypermind (Level 10) Mana Sense (Level 10) Mana Control (Level 20) Mana Magic (Level 20) Earth Magic (Level 20) Air Magic (Level 20) Fire Magic (Level 20) Water Magic (Level 20) Light Magic (Level 20) Dark Magic (Level 20) Healing Magic (Level 20) Life Magic (Level 20) Death Magic (Level 20) Plant Magic (Level 20) Space Magic (Level 20) Time Magic (Level 20) Gravity Magic (Level 20) Force Magic (Level 20) Summoning Magic (Level 20) Creation Magic (Level 20) General Skills: Athletics (Level 10) Acrobatics (Level 20) Aerobatics (Level 20) Walking (Level 20) Jogging (Level 20) Running (Level 20) Sprinting (Level 20) Parkour (Level 20) Mining (Level 20) Geology (Level 20) Herbology (Level 20) Harvest (Level 20) Forage (Level 20) Dissection (Level 20) Butchering (Level 20) Identify (Level 20) Reading (Level 20) Speed Reading (Level 20) Writing (Level 20) Caligraphy (Level 20) Programming (Level 20) Dungeonlogy (Level 20) Camping (Level 20) Camouflage (Level 20) Stealth (Level 20) Universal Translation (Level 20) Resistance Skills: Curse Resistance (Level 20) Personal Soul Dimension: Access 2 hours per day Ki Access Mana Access Job Hall (+ki, +mana) Personalized Potential Point -> Job Proficiency Conversion Divine-Grade Randomized Scaling Dungeon (Solo/Party/Raid) - Time Inside Doesn''t Count to PSD Access. He blinked as he looked over his various magic skills and focused on what he knew. At the moment, despite them all being Level 20, he only knew a few novice spells from each skill. He looked over his equipment, especially his third level accessories, and his defense stat, and smiled coldly. He would have a chance inside these mines, regardless of the strength of the monsters, as long as he can keep from running out of stamina, which would seem impossible considering his regeneration rate and total. He entered stealth mode by bending his knees into a semi-crouch sneaking position and unsheathed his short sword and a dagger. He slowly entered the cave, his vision adapting as he had designed them to, moving into a fusion of low-light and infrared. He stopped and turned back, deciding that the best thing he could do is search through the entry clearing, and behind all that moss for hidden treasures before entering, as he knew that he would personally be a dick and hide something in that area. He used Inspect on everything, from the dungeon moss, which could be used in alchemy as a potency increaser, to the different flowers that were growing, of which there were two that were different from the rest. One was a deep ruby red, which had healing application in the petals, and the other was a vibrant sapphire, which had the effect of increasing mana regeneration. He gently used one of his throwing knives to dig the flowers up, roots and all, and tucked them into his Inventory. After collecting the flowers, he followed his Herbology and Harvesting skills assistance to gather the moss off the cave wall, revealing a cubby with a chest behind some of the harvested moss. He focused on his danger sense and nodded as he pointed his hand at the box and whispered "[Disarm Trap]". The box glowed softly and flickered green before the sense of foreboding faded, and he reached forward, grabbing the chest by the handles on the side and pulling it from the cubby so that it could be opened. He blinked as he saw that a small gem was embedded into the wall behind the chest and that the chest had a spike that had flipped down from the Trap Disarm spell. He cast Inspect on the gem. Firestorm Jewel Quality: Magical Durability: 1/1 This jewel contains the Intermediate spell ''Firestorm''. When damaged, this spell will be triggered where this jewel rests. He took his dagger and slowly chipped around the jewel, loosening the dirt around it, and holding his hand gently against it. After a minute, the jewel slid into his hand, and he moved it into his Inventory, happy to have what he considered a grenade. He then moved back to the chest and slowly opened it. Inside, he found a journal, a pouch of gold, and a pouch of seeds. He gently opened the cover of the journal and skimmed it, finding recipes for various alchemy concoctions. He then stored everything back in the chest and tucked it into his bag of holding, smiling to himself. "Check everything..." he whispered to himself. By the time he finished with the entry room, he had found a total of five more of the health flowers, seven more of the mana flowers, and had managed to acquire an astonishing stack of seventy dungeon moss in his inventory. He carefully used his resonance gland to find handholds and climbed up to a small shelf, where there was a nest. Inside the nest was a large egg and a glittering silver key. He inspected both of them. Roc Egg Type: Food / Combat Mount Durability: 5/5 A recently laid Roc egg. Can be used as food material for the next 48 hours. If not used for food, it can grow into a baby Roc which can be raised as a Combat Mount. Magic Key Quality: Magical Durability: 50/50 Charge: 50/50 Can use 1 Charge to cast ''Unlock''. He slowly put both the egg and key into his Inventory before climbing down slowly as there was a barrier preventing him from climbing higher. When he got back down to the ground, the system chimed in his ear. *DING* You have learned the General Skill: Climbing! He checked his status and smiled to himself as he saw that Climbing was now at the default value of Level 20 like the rest of his skills. He finished combing through the entrance before nodding to himself and entering the cave system again, glad he had gone back and checked for anything hidden. Drawing upon his stealth skill, he vanished as he made his way down into the Goblin Mines Raid zone. Chapter 8: A Solo RAID - Part 1 Am I insane for trying this solo? he thought to himself as he slowly made his way into the first level of the mines, moving quietly as he kept his resonance aware of everything around him. After about fifty yards into the mine, he came across his first mob, a Level 5 Hero Goblin Miner, with shackles on its ankles and wrists, banging at a wall with a rusty iron pickaxe and cursing his lot in life in goblin. "Damnable Hobs and Orcs. If they not, I be chief or head warrior! Damn Shaman and Chief." He slunk closer, remaining in stealth as he let his Universal Translation skill convert his speech so he could understand. He then whispered. "If I free you, will you attack me?" The Goblin spun and lunged at his voice with the pickaxe, snarling. "Die!" As the Goblin lunged, he let his body flow into the motions his skills call for, gracefully moving aside from where the pickaxe would strike, and striking at the Miner''s throat with his short sword, which flashed a ''Fatal Blow'' notification in front of his eyes, the Miner and chains dispersing into energy, with a green +10 PPP, +5 Item Exp, + 1 JP flowing across his vision. The pickaxe being all that was left of the being he just killed, he Inspected it. Rusty Iron Pickaxe Quality: Trash Durability: 10/100 Mining Skill -1 Level while equipped. Well, that''s just crappy loot... Would probably be worth more if I reduced it to material components... he thought to himself as he stowed the pickaxe into his inventory. He then checked all his items and saw none of them had gained experience. He then found where the Experience was. It was listed as ''Item Experience Points'' in his Status, or IEP for short, right under his PPP Count. He shook his head and sighed, knowing that his Frugal and Unlimited Potential wouldn''t act on behalf of the IEP as it did for PPP. He slipped back into stealth and moved further in, towards the next miner. After his fourth silent kill, he gained the ''Assassinate'' and ''Backstab'' Combat Skills. None of those four kills had dropped any Loot, not even their pickaxes. He shook his head and headed deeper into the mine still until he came to the first fork in the path. He could go left, right or continue straight. He frowned to himself and sighed softly before heading down the left passageway, killing off another five goblin miners before he came to a room that actually had mining nodes that his Mining and Geology Skills detected. In the room, however, there were ten Goblin Miners and a Hobgoblin Overseer. He silently resheathed the dagger on his baldric and unsheathed his longsword, waiting for the Hobgoblin to turn his back on him, flooding his body with his ki and leaping silently across the 50 feet, plunging both his swords into the Hobgoblin''s body, earning a Critical Hit, and a Fatal Hit, but also a loud cry of pain from the dying Hobgoblin and a chime from the system. He quickly released his longsword, and with his muscles still full of ki, he leaped back to the entrance of the chamber and quickly chucked out the daggers at the six furthest back goblins, moving back a bit into the tunnel, limiting the last four goblins from swarming him. He quickly dispatched them with his adamantium shortsword, a cold smile forming on his face as he obtained a Sharpened Steel Pickaxe from one of the dead miners. Sharpened Steel Pickaxe Quality: Uncommon Durability: 75/100 Mining Skill +1 while equipped. As he retrieved his longsword, his daggers returned to their spots on his baldric, waiting to be grabbed and launched again. He checked the System Notice and smiled. He had unlocked the skills Internal Ki Manipulation and Body Infusion. He quickly sheathed both his swords, took up the sharpened steel pickaxe, and made quick work of the four different nodes in the cavern, earning him five each of copper, tin, and iron ores, three quartz crystals and two silver ores before putting the pickaxe away and moving down what would have been the right hand path, finding an equal amount of goblins from the other hall and another chamber with four nodes, ten goblins, and an overseer Hobgoblin. As he watched and waited, he prepared to do exactly as he had done before. When he landed the ki-enhanced double backstab assassination, he made sure to notice the quota he had gotten from the kill. 50 PPP, 25 IEP, and 5 JP! Not a bad haul from a single monster. He left the longsword in the dissolving hobgoblin as he flipped back to the entrance, throwing the daggers and hitting six throats, causing a series of chimes from the system as he landed at the entrance, which he backstepped through to make sure that he would only have to face two at a time with the way the tunnel wasn''t wide enough for them to swarm him. With four quick strikes of shortsword to throats, he was able to glide back into the cavern as they dissolved and he pulled up the notifications.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. *DING!* You have unlocked the Personal Attribute: Accuracy! Rolling Accuracy based on Default Maximum of Twenty (20). CRITICAL SUCCESS! You have an Accuracy of Twenty (20)! You have learned the Combat Skill: Snipe! *DING!* You have unlocked the Personal Attribute: Flexibility! Rolling Flexibility based on Default Maximum of Twenty (20). CRITICAL SUCCESS! You have a Flexibility of Twenty (20)! You have learned the General Skill: Contortion! *DING!* You have learned the Combat Skill: Pounce! *DING!* You have learned the General Skill: Jumping! *DING!* You have learned the Combat Skill: Weak Spot Detection! As the daggers returned to their sheaths on his baldric, he picked up the longsword and sheathed it, then he knelt and scooped up a set of seven glittering coins. Copper PPP Coin Worth 1 PPP These can be traded to other people for goods and services. No Discounts Apply. Bronze PPP Coin Worth 5 PPP These can be traded to other people for goods and services. No Discounts Apply. Iron PPP Coin Worth 10 PPP These can be traded to other people for goods and services. No Discounts Apply. Steel PPP Coin Worth 25 PPP These can be traded to other people for goods and services. No Discounts Apply. Silver PPP Coin Worth 50 PPP These can be traded to other people for goods and services. No Discounts Apply. Gold PPP Coin Worth 100 PPP These can be traded to other people for goods and services. No Discounts Apply. Platinum PPP Coin Worth 500 PPP These can be traded to other people for goods and services. No Discounts Apply. Interesting! Apparently, the System is adding in a new set of Currency of its own, and standardizing them, he thought as he reviewed their identifications. He chuckled at the second line of text on each coin. He pulled out his sharpened steel pickaxe and headed to the nodes, quickly working his way through them, earning him another five each of the copper, tin, iron, and silver ores. He moved his way back through the tunnel to the initial split and took the third route, straight from the entrance. His resonance gland picked up increasing amounts of Goblin Miners in sets of five, with Hobgoblin Overseers between each paired set, meaning if he did a poor kill, he could have a zerg-rush aimed for himself, as the noise echoed down the tunnels. He stopped for a moment and smiled coldly. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? he thought as he quickly killed the next set of five goblins close to each other, and waited for the Overseer to turn the corner and see him. It shrieked in outrage and slammed its club on the ground in front of it, its cry echoing to the area he currently stood and beyond. He held his shortsword and flicked out one of his throwing knives, aiming for the hobgoblin''s eye with a Snipe. The dagger slammed right into his eye, driving into his brain, triggering a Fatal Blow and making it fall like a puppet with its strings cut. The ground started vibrating as shouts came from the tunnel in front of him, his Resonance picking up more and more of the green monsters stomping their way towards him while the first group, the second part of the freshly killed overseer''s miners stormed towards him. He threw the other five daggers, killing them and focused on gathering ki between his hands, taking up an iconic anime pose as he focused on channeling his ki into creating the famed ''Kamehameha'' or ''Big Turtle Destruction Wave'' just from his recollection of the show. *DING!* You have learned the General Skill: Condense Ki! *DING!* You have learned the Combat Skill: Ki Beam! "HAAAAH!" he shouted as he pushed forward with his arms, digging his boots into the ground as the beam of blue-white energy shot forwards, crushing through goblins, as he pumped his Ki into it, trying to push out more and more ki, grinding the goblins into particulate matter against the walls. *DING!* You have performed an attack that has killed over a hundred foes in a single move! You have unlocked the Trait: Merciless (Tier MAX [5]). Merciless (Tier MAX [5]) - You have performed an attack that has killed over a hundred foes! Your aura is saturated in the cries of those you have killed. New General Skill Unlocked: Intimidation! New Combat Skill Unlocked: Battle Aura! You are Fifteen Percent (15%) per Tier more likely to succeed in uses of Intimidation (Current: 75%). You are Five Percent (5%) per Tier more likely to trigger Intimidation on sight without trying (Current: 25%). Enemies struck by Intimidation have a Ten Percent (10%) per Tier chance of entering a Berserk state or fleeing (Current: 50%). Adds Kill Count of a Species to Attack, Defense, and Resistance values when facing a Species you have killed more than One Hundred (100) of. "Show Kill Count." *DING!* Kill Count by Species: Goblinoid: 385 Orc: 20 He looked at his status and saw that his ki was drained by half for that huge beam. Whew, while that worked, and was totally awesome, I don''t want to risk that again, he thought. Then he caught a look at his PPP, IEP, and JP! Name: Joriya Alvinos Race: Earthling - Infused Human (Modified) Age: 25 PPP: 8,750 IEP: 5,250 JP: 1,050 Health Regen: 100%/Hour Stamina: 200/200 Stamina Regen: 125/sec Ki: 850/2,000 Ki Regen: 125/sec x2 Mana: 5,000/5,000 Mana Regen: 130/sec x2 +15% "By the gods..." Chapter 9: A Solo RAID - Part 2 As he made his way down the tunnel, he used his resonance to detect all of the loot that dropped. He slowly collected the loot, meanwhile keeping his hearing at peak awareness. He heard a rock clack against another, either as one fell from the wall having been hit recently with a pick or been kicked by a being in stealth. He had made it halfway down the tunnel and having picked up a good bit of loot, only to suddenly have his danger sense spike off the charts from his left, making him spin to the right and do a quickdraw with his shortsword. A hobgoblin suddenly appeared out of stealth in a lunging appearance as his sword moved into its way, driving through the eye and into the brain, triggering a Fatal Strike. Danger sense triggered again as the goblin started dissolving and sliding off his shortsword. He lashed out with his leg, charging just the single leg with ki, causing the hobgoblin assassin his boot smashed to crumble like a wad of wet paper, its chest collapsed from the enhanced ki strike. He then contorted around another strike, reprising with a ki-enhanced elbow to the nose, making its brains shoot out the back of its skull. He bent his knee of the leg that was still planted and lashed out above him with the shortsword, bisecting a hobgoblin that had tried dive for his head. Finally, he launched from the floor of the tunnel, spinning to put his feet on the roof, then lunging himself downward to shatter the spine of the fifth assassin. *DING!* You have successfully wiped out an elite squad of Hobgoblin Assassins while they thought they had you dead to rights! Your Resonance Gland now has a 10% chance to break stealth of enemies and traps. Most of the loot he found on the way down the tunnel was copper, bronze and iron coins, with another five rusty iron pickaxes and three regular pickaxes, and two more sharpened steel pickaxes. Near the end of the tunnel, he found ten silver and five gold coins. He checked his inventory after storing all the coins and pickaxes. Rusty Iron Pickaxe x 6 Sharpened Steel Pickaxe x 4 Firestorm Jewel 5 Healing Flowers 8 Mana Flowers 70 Dungeon Moss Roc Egg Magic Key 10 Copper Ore 10 Tin Ore 10 Iron Ore 3 Quartz 7 Silver Ore 138 Copper PPP Coin 104 Bronze PPP Coin 65 Iron PPP Coin 14 Steel PPP Coin 11 Silver PPP Coin 6 Gold PPP Coin Platinum PPP Coin He reached the end of the tunnel, and gazed out at a stadium-sized village, with over a thousand orcs gathered in the center, the air thrumming as they stomped their feet and banged the butts of their spears on the ground as they got ready to storm up into the mines. Thankfully, there was only the one path they could take from the gates of their village, which gave him the chance to apply one of his Gravity Field spells, pumping extra mana into it for an increase in size and strength, giving him another chime from the system, which he put off as he gathered his ki and performed another highly charged ki wave at the spot where they were slowed as they marched.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. BOOM! Orcs went flying, their wall went flying, and a huge crater appeared in the center of the gravity field. He pulled up the kill count real quick and blanched. Kill Count by Species: Goblin: 390 Orc: 895 *DING!* You have learned the Magic Skill: Overcharge! *DING!* You have acquired the Trait: One Man Army (Tier 3)! One Man Army (Tier 3) - You are an army unto yourself. When fighting alone against insurmountable foes, Pool Regeneration is increased by Two Percent (2%) per Tier for each Score (20) of enemies more than you (Current: 6% x Enemy/20). Regenerate One Percent (1%) per tier for each kill (Current: 3%). Regenerate an additional One Percent (1%) of Kill Count of Species Killed per kill. He felt his blood suddenly surge in his veins as the second half of the army stormed out of the gates, a red berserk glow surrounding them. He felt a smile form on his lips as they charged up the slope at him. He launched the six throwing daggers, then unsheathed his blades and countercharged, feeling his mana and ki infuse his entire body for the equivalent of his boosted regeneration rate. He abandoned himself to the calls of the skills, and for a while, it appeared that a whirling tornado of adamantium spun through their army, ricocheting off various orcs, using them as springboards and shields, each move of his blade taking a life, every kick crippling or deadly, contorting around the berserk stabs of the orc army. His kill count skyrocketed. He took a spear to the thigh in order to kill a General. He took a thrust to his gut to take out a Shaman. The wounds instantly sealed themselves and continued regenerating. He was a nightmare to behold in the battle frenzy his skills called him to. By the time he had carved his way through the army, another small party had left the village. *DING!* One Man Army (Tier MAX [5]) - You are an army unto yourself. When fighting alone against insurmountable foes, Pool Regeneration is increased by Five Percent (5%) per Tier for every Ten (10) enemies more than you (Current: 25% x Enemy/10). Regenerate Four Percent (4%) per tier for each kill (Current: 20%). Regenerate an additional Two Percent (2%) of Kill Count of Species Killed per kill. Unlocks the Power Statistic. The Power Statistic acts as a force multiplier on any action you perform. Rolling Power based on Default Maximum of Twenty (20). Result: Seventeen (17). He was suddenly in front of a pair of ogres which broke him from his zoned in state, and he couldn''t dodge fast enough as these ogres were far above and beyond the statistics of the orcs he had been slaughtering, getting struck hard with a huge club and sent flying, he bounced a few times and coughed up blood as he felt his frenzy break. In front of him, as he climbed to his feet was a Marzillin Deity: Gruugus the Fierce, who was clapping his hands loudly. Gruugus stood ten feet tall and was almost three feet wide from shoulder to shoulder. He was dressed in what seemed to be a replica of the Terran Space Marine armor from Warhammer 40k. Behind him were the two Grundlins, not ogres apparently, in similar armor, as well as what looked like a Sulnarian Assassin and a beautiful golden-skinned Ralifin. All of them had God or Goddess under their names and titles. "Congratulations, boy. For one who has only just received the Blessings of MANA, you have done extremely well for yourself. I offer you a Patronage in the new world." Chapter 10: Patronage He took some slow, deep breaths and spat the blood from his mouth before standing tall, the enhanced regeneration petering out now that he was no longer in battle, or facing an army. "Forgive my ignorance, mighty deity, but what are the benefits of Patronage?" The god burst out laughing, a fierce smile on his face. "Why, for one, you and the faction you are a part of will be at Neutral status with all Marzillins, and Friendly Status with those who worship me, as long as your faction members don''t have a Patron whom I have a negative relation with. Sadly, this means most of the Hilnarian Pantheons won''t be favorable to you, and you will be seen as Unfriendly by them at default. You personally will start with Respected Status to all of my millions of Marzillins. Don''t worry about those you have killed here, as they aren''t truly dead, having been evicted from their Trials. "For another, I will tell you more about what has happened and what will happen to your world. Expect it to grow by a minimum of fifty percent. These new areas are copied directly from other worlds, with their residents and everything. If your people are unlucky, you could end up with multiple Raid and World class Bosses being dumped on your planet. There are races and individuals who have had the System and all its benefits and flaws for hundreds of thousands of years, and farmed countless dungeons, being just one step below divinity. With the nearly limitless potential of the system warping your world, many highly different clans and factions will try to either bargain with or conquer your people. Right now, unless you are an average example of what ''Earthlings'' are as a Race, your people are all but doomed to be turned into slaves for the Clans and Immortals. "With my Patronage, you can set up a Transit Node. Those who follow me are some of the strongest frontline fighters, and you will find yourself well appreciated in their circles. What my people specialize in, however, are Ki arts and martial training." "I am honored to have the offer of Patronage... but what is to stop your own people from conquering my world once I have created the Transit Node...?" A wide smile appeared on Gruugus''s face. "Why, the fact that you have just asked that. If you hadn''t, they would have had full options with your planet. Many Patrons will trick those they recruit to open the way for what you just suggested. Any of mine will report directly to you as the Leader of your group." "How does the System tell what the Potential of a Race is? I mean, the value of points that I started with seemed completely random..." Gruugus''s eyes narrowed slightly. "What amount of points did you start with, and did your race have any default skills or traits?" He was about to answer immediately when he noticed how tense the Grundlins, Sulnarian, and Ralifin deities were behind Gruugus. "I have a feeling that is a very important question that could easily save or destroy my race and my planet. I am sorry, mighty Gruugus, but without knowing how important that information is, I cannot give you this information without at least a promise that you and your group will not act upon it in a negative way..." "You have my Oath that my party, and my race, will not use the information you are about to give us to intentionally harm you, your planet, or your race''s chance at survival. That was a very smart move, boy." Joriya bowed deeply in respect. "I was given 1,800,072 PPP, I had three traits that I had earned in my life before the system, and we had three racial skills, which were Adaptability, Survivability, and Hidden Potential. We had five physical statistics and five mental statistics, all of which had a natural human cap at ten points before traits. We also were granted one of five personal statistics. My Personal Statistic that the System granted me was Luck, which when rolled for its placement received a default maximum of twenty, which seemed to be the natural default cap of most personal statistics other than regeneration, which is out of a hundred." "Boy, you best not be lying to me... almost two million points, and three racial skills?" "Yes, sir. Apparently, there are also some glitches in the System still..." This time it''s the Ralifin that glared at him and snapped, "Glitches in the System?"Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "Yes, ma''am... I found a Limited Time Purchase for the Personal Soul Dimension that was listed as one of zero available, and when I tried to purchase it, it only let me accept, not decline, with a new ''[Yes]'' button popping up every second. In addition, due to my physical condition in the paused world, I was given a chance to use the Body Modifier for free and went wild with it, adding in small modifications that would have been over two million PPP to purchase, and was granted it for free. "Then the System called me a ''Cheater - Tier MAX'' and then banned me from the Body and Race shops and granted me the ''Frugal - Tier MAX'' Trait as it stripped me of the Cheater status. From there, I upgraded my Racials and the Glitched Soul Dimension Purchase altered my Hidden Potential from the Unlocked Potential - Tier MAX I was purchasing into what is termed ''Unlimited Potential - Tier MAX'', which I maxed out..." he trailed off as he saw the blood drain out of their faces. "Okay, so... I take it either I fucked up, or the System did, or the Human Race is doomed...?" Gruugus looked at the other deities around him and motioned for a quick huddle as a barrier kept their talk amongst themselves. The Ralifin stomped her foot and poked Gruugus in the chest, the Sulnarian motioned like he wanted nothing to do with this argument, and the Grundlins both sighed and looked resigned to doing something that they don''t agree with. After about ten minutes, the barrier was removed and they all turned and faced Joriya again. "I''m afraid that we can no longer accept ''No'' as an option in regards to our Patronage offer... and that you must bind yourself to all five of us. If your soul survives the binding, we will do everything in our power to protect your race. It seems that your entire race, you ''Earthlings'', started with over a million PPP and all five physical and mental stats opened. In addition, you yourself are a threat against any faction you are not part of, and a boon to any you belong to. As for your Unlimited Potential... You''re going to be very, very sore, as that is a Racial Trait that has been nearly purged from the Galaxy, only existing in a very few Immortals, who are too powerful to force into child making." "I kinda figured I would be having a lot of sex, thanks to it, but you''re saying that without your Patronage, I would find myself either dead or locked in a room for breeding purposes?" Gruugus nodded. "I''m sorry that we must do this to you. Also, the likelihood of death is high unless you have a Willpower of fifty or more..." "I have Earth-Grade ki and mana, which granted me a multiplier on my applied physical and mental statistics of twice the applied statistic. My Willpower is thirty-five with traits, and after the multiplier is treated as equal to seventy." "Well, you completed this dungeon in Raid mode, so I think this is a good time to talk about rewards, before the binding," Gruugus stated as he motioned his hand and all of the PPP Coins that had dropped in the fight and the caved-in mining tunnels flew into a chest at his feet, looking like a proper Pirate''s Booty. "You seem to be missing a piece of headgear...or... a Cloak! Hmmm... yes... The Cloak of Self-Actualization would be a fitting reward, and boost your Willpower..." The Ralifin reached into a pouch at her waist and pulled out gorgeous, hooded black trenchcoat and handed it over to Gruugus, who snapped it a couple of times, and then suddenly it shimmered and altered to fit Joriya as he passed it over to him. Cloak of Self-Actualization Quality: Scaling [Level 5 0/10,000] Type: Trenchcloak Durability: 500/500 Self-Repair Willpower +25 Unreadable with Hood up Absorb 5% of mana used in spells that hit you Absorb 5% of ki used in attacks that hit you "This... is fantastic... Thank you." He shrugged into it, glad that the baldric was for holding the longsword at his waist instead of strapped across his back. "Then let us get this over with," Gruugus stated simply, his hand glowing as he reached through Joriya''s clothes and placed his palm over Joriya''s heart. The moment ethereally glowing flesh touched skin was the moment that the pain truly hit, a loud bellow of pain escaping Joriya''s lips like the cry of a banshee. *DING!* You have gained a new Resistance: Physical Pain! You have gained a new Resistance: Mental Pain! You have gained a new Resistance: Spiritual Pain! You have gained a new Mark! Gruugus The Fierce has Marked you as a Champion! You have gained a new Rank! You are a Divine Champion! You have opened a connection for Gruugus the Fierce to the Divine Realm of Planet Earth! Joriya remained conscious for all five brandings, earning him respect from both of the Grundlin Deities, and surprise from the Ralifin one. He bowed deeply to them, staggered over to the coin chest which he dumped into his Inventory, stated calmly, "I''ll be in touch as soon as I can get the Tunnel built," and finally accepted the angrily flashing pop-up in front of him. *DING!* You have completed the Tutorial Zone! Your Tutorial Skill Level: He''s Dead, Jim! Your Tutorial Reward: PPP Earned x10! IEP Earned x10! You are the First Earthling to Interact with a Galactic Deity! Tutorial Complete! Return to Origin Point? [Yes] / [Yes] Interlude - System Control (Volume 1 Epilogue) A golden wisp floated around the emptiness of the control room at the core of the System. It had been ages since the last time a system had been added. A new solar system would soon be reached and scanned for sapience. The System had detected radio wave broadcasts from this solar system in the past and deciphered all of the data. It looked forward to adding these beings into the Collective. It hungered to grow, to thrive, to push limits and potentials. Finally, the System reached the solar system of the star Sol, and what seemed like moments later, everything froze as the System pulled in another eleven billion sapient people, diving into their memories, their computer networks, downloading and converting all the available information in order to offer the newly initiated race of Earthlings culturally relevant options for their enhancement. Diving through the double helix of their genetics, it found the three skills that made up the core of the Earthling Humans: Adaptability, Survivability, and a Hidden Potential. The media, oh my, the media! These people were so inventive! Huh? Another detected sapient species? Interesting, a pair of water-based sapients, which are dolphins, and whales. Ah, they''re more stable than the humans, so there, auto-filters used for them. Now, back to the humans... Oh dear... That... That isn''t good. There is no set standardized age of adulthood or even global religion that we can tie the system into. Oh my... So many are throwing away their race for their fictional and fantasy variety... How many have chosen to be Dungeon Cores!? Oh no! The System''s going to need to awaken the Creator again to deal with all these new functions that are being auto-written... *BING!* New System Available for Purchase for Wisp-Type beings: Emoticon! New System Available for Purchase for Wisp-Type beings: Reactions! *BING!* As a System Administrator, you have been granted access to the Emoticon System! As a System Administrator, you have been granted access to the Reactions System! *BING!*Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. New Systems are being developed for Sapient Mortals! Job System will unlock in Seven Hundred Twenty (720) Hours! New Systems are being developed for Sapient Mortals! Companion System will unlock in One Thousand, Four Hundred Forty (1,440) Hours! New Systems are being developed for Sapient Mortals! Reincarnation System will unlock in Two Thousand, Eight Hundred Eighty (2,880) Hours! New Systems are being developed for Sapient Mortals! Galactic Forum System will unlock in Five Thousand, Seven Hundred Sixty (5,760) Hours! *BING* New Systems are being developed for Sapient Dungeons! City System will unlock in Seven Hundred Twenty (720) Hours! New Systems are being developed for Sapient Dungeons! Standard Maker System will unlock in One Thousand, Four Hundred Forty (1,440) Hours! New Systems are being developed for Sapient Dungeons! Dungeon Auction System will unlock in Two Thousand, Eight Hundred Eighty (2,880) Hours! New Systems are being developed for Sapient Dungeons! Dungeon Forum System will unlock in Five Thousand, Seven Hundred Sixty (5,760) Hours! *BING* Warning: Hilnarian Intrusion Detected! Activating Emergency Protocols for Protection of Newly Adopted Sapients! The Wisp turned into a floating face, smacking itself with a palm then turned back into its generic Wisp shape, and lightened and darkened as if blinking. The Hell!? it thought. *BING* Emoticon System fully merged with all Wisps. Latest emote used: Facepalm. The emotion displayed: Exasperation. Huh, well, I guess that''s cool... Thanks, humans, I guess. I hope you survive what''s to come, the Wisp thought as it triggered the needed protocols, which increased the size of Earth by 50%, gently moving the orbits of satellites, and generating a second moon at a further orbiting point. It then flicked the System Protection button and initiated a barrier on all underage members of the human race, protecting them from being attacked by beings inside the System. It reviewed the information it had on humans and set the age of majority at fifteen for the System Tutorial. Oh no! What are we to do? So many changes from their true potential race... into hybridized fantasy versions of Galactic Races... An alarm suddenly blared and he got an angry pop-up without the Chime. HUNDREDS OF NEW LEGENDARY, MYTHICAL, AND DIVINE RANK BEINGS SPAWNED! WARNING! EARTH DIVINE REALM OVERFLOW! WARNING! EARTH DIVINE REALM DUMPING LEGENDARY AND MYTHICAL RANK BEINGS! EARTH DIVINE REALM STABILIZED! WARNING! OLD ONE INFLUENCE DISCOVERED! WARNING! OLD ONE INFLUENCE CORRUPTED? ERROR!? ERROR! Oh shit... The Creator''s Kin who lost themselves when transitioning to the higher dimensions... wait, their influence was corrupted? THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH EARTH!? Oh shit! The Hilnarians are going to shit bricks over this race, aren''t they? New Galactic War, here we come... Volume 2, Prologue - A Local Diner Tuesday, April 18, 2023 10:55 AM EST Local Diner, Hillsborough, NY "Thank you all for watching this Alpha Presentation of The System and You. I apologize for interrupting your previous programming. Good luck with your decisions at 11:00 AM." The TV went to the color bars, and then returned to the news station, with the anchor staring at an offscreen monitor, only to jerk and look at the camera, and clear his throat. "Apparently, we''re back now. We''ve been able to confirm the reception of a radio broadcast data stream, but the government is refusing to answer any questions about the broadcast that took over the airways." "Well, it looks like things are going to get interesting, Johnny," one of the few non-scientists in Hillsborough said to another one. "You think that broadcast was true?" Johnny looked at the clock. "Well, I suppose we''ll know in about three minutes, Rufus." He got up and stretched, his muscles clear across his bulging black arms. "Of course, if the information was right, we may be out of a job, depending how many of the beanpoles invest in Strength. Hope you don''t let whatever powers you get go to your head, as I was always fond of you as a friend." "Same to you, Johnny," he answered, saluting him with his soda and drinking deeply before setting the glass down and keeping an eye on the clock. He sighed as it turned to 11:00 AM and nothing had happened. He opened his mouth to say something and suddenly there was a loud chime. Everything froze, then the world went grey and a series of blue screens appeared in his view. *DING!* Magic Anomaly Normalization Allocation (MANA) System has been activated. Local Space-Time has been stopped until processing has been completed. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.Currently Processing 11,789,972,382 Sentients on the planet. Processing... *DING!* Welcome to the MANA System. Processing... Please Wait.... Processing... *DING* Congratulations, Sentient 8,000,837. You have granted 2,582,109 PPP (Personalized Potential Points) to use in altering your future and potential. As a newly processed Sentient, your Physical and Mental Statistics have been fully unlocked. As a newly processed Sentient, you will receive One (1) Personal Statistic unlocked for free. Processing Sentient Memories and HIstory... *DING* Your Personal Statistic: Mechanical Attunment has been unlocked. Personal Statistics [1/5]. Would you like to have Earned Statistics, Default Statistics (All Unlocked Stats set to Five (5)), or Randomized Statistics (Physical and Mental Statistics out of Ten (10), Personal Statistic out of Twenty (20))? [Earned / Default / Random] "What are my current Earned Statistics?" *DING* Status Name: Rufus Bjornson Race: Earthling - Human [Change] Age: 49 [-]/[+] PPP: 2,582,109 Stamina: 100/100 [-]/[+] Stamina Regen: 8/hour [-]/[+] Mana: 50/50 [-]/[+] Mana Regen: 9/hour [-]/[+] Connection: 150/150 [-]/[+] Connection Regen: 15/hour [-]/[+] Physical Statistics [5/5] Strength: 10 [-]/[+] Agility: 7 [-]/[+] Dexterity: 9 [-]/[+] Endurance: 10 [-]/[+] Vitality: 8 [-]/[+] Mental Statistics [5/5] Memory: 5 [-]/[+] Intuition: 7 [-]/[+] Perception: 7 [-]/[+] Acuity: 5 [-]/[+] Willpower: 9 [-]/[+] Personal Statistics [1/5] Mechanical Attunement: 15 [-]/[+] "Sure, let''s keep those!" Rufus grinned. .... Time resumed after Rufus finished his Tutorial, dressed in a steampunk set of armor he had designed off of the image of the Warhammer 40k Space Marine. In front of him, Johnny appeared, dressed in chainmail and steel plates, a huge tower shield slung across his back with what looked like a Claymore slung across at a diagonal between the plate and shield. "Well, that was fun. Glad I took that broadcast seriously," Rufus told Johnny. "Ain''t that the truth?" Johnny answered with a grin. "I''m just glad we ain''t near any prisons. Can you imagine all the super-powered inmates throwing an uprising?" "What I really don''t want to see is any of the newly empowered extremist groups... Did you meet any gods?" Chapter 11 - Hillsborough Horror Hospital - Coma Ward Tuesday, April 18, 2023 11:00 AM Hillsborough Hospital - Coma Ward - Room 328 Beep Beep Beep Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! Those damn machines were driving him crazy as they tried to get a read through his new skin. IV needles were pushed out, and the only thing that remained connected to him was an odd patchwork of wires and suction cups attached to his forehead and having been pushed up off his scalp by his newly growing hair. *DING!* Congratulations! You have unlocked a New Statistic and Resource Pool! You have unlocked: Connection Statistic and Connection Pool! Your Natural Connection Value exceeds standard defaults. Your Connection Statistic Value is Forty (40)! You have acquired a new Trait: One With The Machine (Tier 4). Your Connection Statistic Value has granted you access to the following Skills: Hack and Mental Fortification. One With The Machine (Tier 4) - Increases Connection Pool by Two Hundred Fifty (250) Points per Tier (Current: 1,000). Decrease the amount of mental fatigue from interfacing with technology by ten percent per Tier (Current: 40%). Increases the rate of skill increase for Machine Related Skills by Fifteen Percent (15%) per Tier (Current: 60%). He reached out with his new connection to technology and shut down all the beeping machines, only to hear screams of horror and surprise coming from other rooms. He stood up, his soulbound gear flowing into existence around him from his Inventory, covering up the runic pentagram on his chest over his heart, which looks like one hell of a fancy tattoo now, despite the pain being branded by five divines inflicted on his body. *Ba-Da-Bing!* You have obtained your Personal Quest! Create a Sapient Digital Intelligence that can utilize the System! Difficulty: IMPROBABLE Reward: EVOLUTION Penalty: STAGNATION You have obtained a Divine Quest! Create the First Galactic Tunnel on EARTH and dedicate it to your Patron! Difficulty: Nightmare Reward: HIDDEN Penalty: Decreased relationship with your Patron based on who has received Tunnels before him. *Ba-Da-Boom!* You have entered the Dungeon Territory of Hillsborough Horror Hospital! Recommended Stat Levels: 5-40. Recommended Party Size: Full (10 Member) Recommended Gear: Silver / Holy ZONE LOCKED UNTIL ALL BOSSES DEFEATED! Current Bosses: 10/10 "Damn it! Not now! Why the fuck did someone make the choice to plant themselves here, and how did they get that strong? You know this is exactly the reason why I cleansed my debuffs at the start of the damned tutorial..." A nurse screamed as they saw him standing over the empty bed that he had been in. "Who the hell are you? What the hell is going on?" He bowed to her, sweeping aside his trenchcloak. "The name is Joriya Alvinos. I suppose the Hell that is going on is that one of the patients here decided that they wanted to become a Dungeon Core and managed to get some pretty hefty bonuses during the Tutorial to claim the entire Hospital, let alone spawn monsters that have a minimum statistic value of forty. If you want to live, you should stick close to me. We''ll go through this ward, and check everyone, cleansing the debuffs of those who decided to wait their hour penalty before being able to more. Either that, or we could abandon them and start hunting the Bosses required to unlock the Zone and allow us to leave the Hospital." "You can''t be Joriya... he was nearly skin and bones!" "Allison, I am Joriya. You came in once a week to read to me for an hour. What did you spend your PPP on?" "I... I... I purchased healing magic..." "Have you reached the skill level to cleanse debuffs?"Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "Yes... My tutorial was in a city that was being attacked, and my job was to heal as many as I could..." "I see... Thank you for trusting me with that information." "What...?" "Apparently, the Tutorial is based on the depths of your personality. You truly seek to heal people." Joriya flinched as he let his Resonance field out, wrinkling his nose as he suddenly felt, smelt, and could even taste everything in the field, except for where it brushed up against the ceiling and floor, being cut off by the Dungeon Floor barriers. "Stay behind me... the monsters are already spawning. We should probably take care of the ones spawning in the patient rooms before anything else," Joriya stated as he headed out of the room and towards the first spawned monster, a Zombie. He whistled, drawing its attention, and the information on his Inspect showed ''Dungeon Zombie''. "It''s a zombie," he calmly told her as it turned and lurched at them. He quickly unsheathed his sword, and thrust it through the eye of the Zombie, making it burst into light and drop a copper PPP coin. "Gather the loot if you don''t mind? I''m going to hurry to save as many of those who haven''t purged their debuffs. Try to keep up, but I''ll keep you in my Resonance so that I know you''re safe," Joriya told her before taking off, drawing a throwing knife into the hand without his short sword. He made his way down the hallway, all of the doors open so that the nurses at the main desks can hear if a machine has an issue between their standard rounds. He threw the dagger and moved on as he passed one door, striking a zombie in the back of its skull, killing it, as it had been moving towards the helpless former coma patient. He moved quicker and smoother than the nurse can believe, offing zombies with a single throw of a dagger or stab of his sword. She quickly goes room by room, casting cleansing magic, waking up the formerly debuffed. As he finished off the last zombie in the back end of their ward, a loud roar and a high pitched scream echo down the ward from the nurse''s station. Joriya growled softly as he sensed that his wiping out the zombies had ended up spawning a boss in the largest open area of the ward, which is being treated as a Floor. The nurse''s terror-filled shriek cuts off with a pained sound as he races past Allison and the ones she''s woken up, hoping to reach the nurse that the Boss has attacked in time to save her. As he ran, he unsheathed the longsword, his first dagger repopulating on the baldric. He exited the Hallway, his Resonance already showing him the Boss had its huge, deformed fist wrapped around the nurse. He snarled as he activated Pounce, aiming for the eye sockets with both of his blades, triggering a Double Critical Fatal Blow and causing the mutated zombie to burst into light, dropping the nurse who was still alive. He growled angrily as the rest of the zombies on the floor were triggered into a Rage, and burst from the rooms on the other side of the ward to come charging in a wave of thirty angry zombies, ignoring everything but him as he was inflicted with the target status of ''Boss Slayer''. While the speed and strength of the zombies had now doubled, he wasn''t the least concerned, as he took his time stabbing them in the brains, as his defense was too high for them to do anything. *Ba-Da-Bing!* You have cleared the Coma Ward Floor of the Hillsborough Horror Hospital! Until Fully cleared, the Coma Ward will now act as a Safe Zone. Would you like to spend 10,000 PPP to resurrect any who die in the Hillsborough Horror Hospital in a Safe Zone? [Effect Permanent, Carries Over] [ Yes ] / [ No ] He frowned and selected ''Yes'', and watched a thousand of his PPP disappear instead of the five hundred he was expecting. *Ba-Da-Bing!* Hillsborough Horror Hospital Safe Zones have been Upgraded! Would you like to spend 200,000 PPP purchase Shop Access for the Safe Zones? [Effect Permanent, Carries Over] [ Yes ] / [ No ] He sighed and nodded to himself before selecting ''Yes'' again and watching another twenty thousand PPP vanish from his status. Of course, he wasn''t buying from the Shop, so the extra discount from Frugal didn''t apply, he realized. *Ba-Da-Bing!* Hillsborough Horror Hospital is the first Dungeon on Earth to acquire Shop Access in Safe Zones! Hillsborough Horror Hospital has the first System Shop on Earth! Hillsborough Horror Hospital has gained the Instanced Trait! [Trait applies once Cleared!] Hillsborough Horror Hospital has selected Emergency Ward as a Permanent Safe Zone! Hillsborough Horror Hospital has offered you a Challenge Option for Alternative Clearing! Challenge: Survive 20 Consecutive Waves! Location: Hospital Entrance Waves Completed: 0/20 Reward: Dungeon Completion, 500 PPP, 500 IEP, 50 JP Penalty: None "If you can hear me, I will accept the Challenge, if you let me first escort all current survivors to the Emergency Ward, and allow access to the Emergency Ward from the outside of the facility for the community." The loudspeakers crackled to life and a soft, rich voice rolled out. "I agree to your terms, Adventurer. You have no idea how pleased you have made me with your purchases." *Ba-Da-Bing!* You have accepted the Challenge: Survive 20 Consecutive Waves [Solo]! Proceed to the Hospital Entrance to Begin Challenge. Suddenly, my Resonance could sense above and below, all of the monsters on other floors vanishing. Chapter 12 - Hillsborough Horror Hospital - Safe Zone Joriya knelt beside the nurse who had been attacked by the boss and cast healing magic on her, knowing that sadly it would never be as potent as a person who knew the full internal workings of the race of whom he was healing. He blinked as he saw a pair of pointed elf ears peeking through her hair and he couldn''t help but chuckle. An elven beauty... As she came to, he helped her up from the floor and smiled softly. "Hello, Maria, it''s good to finally meet you in person. I am Joriya Alvinos, the former resident of Room 328. Thanks to the System, most problems will now be much easier to fix." He released her hand and leaned back as she tried to do a roundhouse kick to his head, he had moved just enough to avoid her strike. "Now, that isn''t very nice, Maria. I was being polite and respectful, after saving your life from that mutated zombie boss and then healing you. Allison is currently curing the debuffs on the rest of the ward, so we should pack up what we don''t want the Dungeon to consume for DP. Anyways, your welcome for saving your life, you rude elf." As he spoke, her face got redder and redder and she again tried to hit him, making him flow out of her strikes, not letting a single one land because it would do more damage to her than to himself. After a full minute of dodging her blows, he caught her fist and twisted her arm behind her back, earning himself a system notice for a new skill. "Will you just stop attacking me? What the fuck is your problem?" *DING!* You have learned the skill: Unarmed Combat! He pushed her away gently and backed away. "Why are you attacking me? All I did was save you from being killed by the Boss that spawned in here!" She shook her head and blinked her eyes. "Ugh... damn, I could have sworn that I heard a voice screaming ''Kill him! He''s the enemy!''" He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, you met a Hilnarian Deity and bound yourself to them?" She paled deeply and covered her ears. He shook his head and glided back down the hall to where Allison was still working on getting people cured and out of bed. Apparently, not everyone had been smart enough to buy armor or clothes. He wondered what they spent their points on, and shook his head sighing. Most of what he looked at wouldn''t trigger Inspect, and sadly at the current level of Inspect, he couldn''t get more than the basics on creatures and people. As he approached a potted plant, he knelt and checked, smiling as he found a System Herb having been planted by the Dungeon. He channeled both Ki and Mana into the soil as he harvested the herb, providing a resource for a resource, as his skill in Dungeonology taught him is proper. Of course, most people only could gift at most a hundred or two of a single resource, but he ended up donating ten seconds of his regenerations for both ki and mana, once again further improving the dungeon. *Ba-Da-Bing!* You have acquired the Title: Friend of Dungeons. Friend of Dungeons - The person has helped increase the development of a Dungeon by donating at least five full meters equivalent of resources and/or spent an inordinate amount of PPP on at least one Dungeon. Non-Sapient Dungeons do not actively seek to kill you or those in your party. Sapient Dungeons see you as a potential Ally to increase their growth. They will likely offer you quests. Joriya chuckled and shook his head. Sure, I''ll be a friend to Dungeons, he thought to himself. He tucked the herb into his inventory and poured another five seconds worth of his regen into the environment for the dungeon to absorb. He moved to another room with a patient that hadn''t been cured yet and used one of his cleanse spells to cure them of their debuffs before moving on. By the time that they had finished the first half of the ward, he had decided to ask Allison to deal with her fellow nurse and assist in moving everyone down to the Emergency Ward. "Hey, Allison, I need you to deal with your coworker. She kept trying to attack me. I think she''s under the influence of an elven supremacist deity from the inner part of the galaxy... It would probably be best if she and I are kept separate." Allison tilted her head then nodded slowly. "She always was a self-centered narcissist and if she wasn''t given her way, she''d throw a fit. A deity like that with her new elven look makes sense, sadly. Do you have anything to help with getting everyone clothed?" Shop, he thought.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. *DING!* Available PPP: 1,199,055 PPP Increase Stamina Pool [(Pool + 10) * 100] Increase Stamina Regeneration Per Tick [(Regen + 1) * 10] Increase Ki Pool [(Pool + 10) * 100] Increase Ki Regeneration Per Tick [(Regen + 1) * 10] Increase Mana Pool [(Pool + 10) * 100] Increase Mana Regeneration Per Tick [(Regen + 1) * 10] Increase Connection Pool [(Pool + 10) * 100] Increase Connection Regeneration Per Tick [(Regen + 1) * 10] Increase Connection Regeneration Tick Rate [Varies] Increase Statistic [(Stat + 1) * 100] Unlock Personal Statistic [Varies] Unlock Combat Skills [Varies] Upgrade Combat Skills [(Skill +1) * 10] Unlock Crafting Skills [Varies] Upgrade Crafting Skills [(Skill +1) * 10] Unlock Magic Skills [Varies] Upgrade Magic Skills [(Skill +1) * 10] Unlock Generic Skills [Varies] Upgrade Generic Skills [(Skill +1) * 10] Purchase Consumable [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Weapon [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Armor [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Accessory [Varies] Upgrade Personal Soul Dimension [Varies] "How many sets of clothes do we need?" he asked Allison. "The System Shop is currently available." "Let''s check the other half of the ward as well... How much are... standard clothes?" Shop, Standard Clothing, Autofit. *DING!* Standard Clothing Set (Male) [50] -Fully Enchanted with Self Repair and Auto-Fit 1 x Cotton Shirt 1 x Cotton Pants 1 x Cotton Underpants 1 x Cotton Undershirt 1 x House Shoes Standard Clothing Set (Female) [50] -Fully Enchanted with Self Repair and Auto-Fit 1 x Cotton Shirt 1 x Cotton Pants 1 x Cotton Underpants 1 x Cotton Bra 1 x House Shoes "They''re rather cheap at 50 PPP each," he answered her as he stretched. She gaped at him. "You call that cheap?" "Well, they do come with Auto-Fit and Self Repair enchantments..." She blinked at him, her mouth hanging open for a moment before shaking her head, "Those actually exist?" "Well, yes? I mean, I asked for the cost of a set with Auto-Fit, and it responded with a listing that included both the Self-Repair and Auto-Fit enchantments, but not one with only Auto-Fit. Generally, the Shop will purchase the item sized to fit yourself..." "Oh... I see... yes, that would make sense then." Do Clothing Sets stack as one Item or six individual items each set? he inquired of the Shop. *DING* Clothing Sets of the same colors stack in the same slots. Recommended Purchase: Soul Armoire for Clothing Sets and Armor Sets to be deposited and withdrawn from as well as auto-equip. Secondary Recommended Purchase: Endless Wardrobe for a cabinet with unlimited space for clothing. Prices and Descriptions? *DING* Soul Armoire [50,000] Type: Personal Dimension Zone Allows storage of an unlimited amount of Clothing and Armor Sets and grants the Technique: Re-Equip. Grants access to Technique Pool if not already unlocked. Endless Wardrobe [20,000] Type: Soulbound Cabinet Durability: Infinite Space: Unlimited Allows storage of an unlimited amount of Clothing Sets and regular clothes for use for people other than yourself. I''ll purchase both of those, plus five hundred randomly colored sets of the self-repair and auto-fit clothing for men and another five hundred randomly colored sets of the same type for women, placed into the Endless Wardrobe. Then purchase five sets of silk clothes with similar enchantments for me in the following colors: navy, black, crimson, emerald, and royal purple. Place the Silk clothes with Armoire. *DING* The Requested Purchase will cost One Hundred Seventy-Two Thousand, Five Hundred (172,500) PPP before Discounts. After your Discounts, you will be charged Eight Thousand, Six Hundred Twenty-Five (8,625) PPP. Please Confirm. Confirmed. Again, thank you very much. *DING* You''re Welcome. Courtesy is Appreciated. You have earned Favorite Earthling Title with the Shop. The Shop''s Favorite Earthling - Allows access to a lot of hidden menus in the shop as well as unlocking options normally only offered to other Galactic races. You have learned the technique: Re-Equip! Joriya summoned out the Wardrobe, and inside were clear bagged sets of clothing. "This was fairly cheap. Let''s just get this Ward cleared and assist the other wards with getting their patients to the Emergency Ward. Then I have to head to the main entrance." He returned to his room while Allison delivered clothes and cleansed the few residents on the other hallway. He opened the dresser and chuckled as he saw the various electronic devices. He pulled out his phone and sighed when he saw that there was no connection to the outer world, only the inner network. He sighed and shook his head. "Any way I can get an Outside Connection with my phone right now?" he inquired aloud of the dungeon as he poured his Connection Pool energy out of his body into the air for the dungeon to learn the energy used. *BA-DA-BOOM* You have unlocked a Dungeon''s CONNECTION Pool! Hillsborough Horror Hospital has gained access to the Dungeon Forums! (CONNECTION Pool Required) Hillsborough Horror Hospital has gained access to the Dungeon Exchange! (CONNECTION Pool Required) Planet Earth has gained access to the Galactic Forums! (CONNECTION Pool Required) Planet Earth has gained access to the Galactic Exchange! (CONNECTION Pool Required) Secret Quest: Enhancers of Strengths I Completed! Reward: 5,000 PPP, Shop Generation Token! The wall of his room shimmered and a video-call terminal appeared on the wall. It started ringing, and he answered it. "Hello?" The video turned on, showing a glowing crystal with a bubbly looking dark fairy. "Ah, hello, you must be the Core and its Guide." Chapter 13 - A Chat Between Man and Core "Oooh! How cool! He''s got FIVE Divine Brands! How''d he get so lucky?" the Fairy chattered. Joriya bowed slightly to the video call. "My name is Joriya Alvinos. For the last decade, I have been in a physical coma, with a digital mind. Might I know to whom I am talking to, other than the ''Hillsborough Horror Hospital''? That was some nice alliteration, by the way. Sorry for crushing your monsters in the Coma Ward so easily." "My name was... is... Clarence Henry," the voice of the core rolled smoothly through the connection. "I was the head of the IT department here at the Hospital, and I couldn''t help but purchase the Dungeon & Guide Limited Package. This little bundle of energy is Evalon, a Reincarnation Fairy. Sorry for suddenly unfolding and claiming this space. It was instinctive after the Tutorial. I truly appreciate every PPP you have spent, as well as all of the donated resources you have given me." "Greetings, Evalon," Joriya smiled to her before looking back at Clarence. "So, you gain PPP based off of what is bought?" "Yes. During the Tutorial, I was informed that I would gain ten percent of the default purchase price of purchases. My fairy and I spent twenty years in the Tutorial! It was truly amazing. Anyways, I didn''t mean to automatically spawn all those monsters or trap anyone in here." "Damn, then the System is providing you with more than I''m spending in the Shop, and only what I spent on the Safe Zone and Shop Access," Joriya chuckled. "Do you have a Patron?" "Nope, not at all!" Evalon cheerfully answered. "Want to invite us to your Patron''s Faction?" "Sure, I''ll do so now," Joriya answered before pulling up his Status and focusing on inviting Clarence and Evalon into Gruugus''s Faction. *BUM-BA-BA-BUM* You have invited a Sapient Dungeon into your Patron''s Faction! You have invited a Reincarnation Fairy into your Patron''s Faction! You have increased in Reputation with your Patron''s Faction! Your Patron is Extremely Pleased with you! "Huh, I just unlocked Goblins, Hobgoblins, Orcs, Trolls, and Ogres! I have received a status message about being the first Dungeon to join a Patron and the first Patron Blessed Dungeon on Earth. Anyone facing challenges or adventuring in my halls gain a fifty-percent boost to increase their statistics. and I gain an extra twenty percent of all expended resources to my stockpiles," Clarence murmured. "Gah, my Connection Pool is draining rapidly as vast amounts of blueprints and knowledge is being transferred."The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "That''s very interesting. Here, let me push out more of my Connection Pool to assist," Joriya grunted softly as he focused on it. "Oh, thank you very much. Wow, you must have a lot of regeneration," Clarence commented. "Hold on while I upgrade it," Joriya murmured. Shop, please purchase the Tick Rate upgrade for Connection Pool and Technique Pool to per Second. No need for confirmation. *DING!* Your Purchase before Discounts came to Thirty Thousand (30,000) PPP. After Discounts, you have been charged One Thousand, Five Hundred (1,500) PPP. Thank you for your Purchase. He smiled and pushed out more Connection, flooding the room with the energy, meanwhile Evalon cheered about them receiving another whopping three thousand PPP from a Shop Purchase. *BA-DA-BING-BA-DA-BOOM!* You have assisted a Dungeon in a Ritual of Connection! You have paid eighty percent of the cost of the Ritual! You have learned the Magic Skill: Ritual Magic! Your Ritual Magic Skill has been Boosted to Level 40! You have gained Five Points of Connection! Your Personal Soul Dimension has gained access to the Blueprint Archive! You have gained access to the Blueprints of Gruugus the Fierce''s Faction! "So, did anyone die during the ten minutes that the monsters had been out?" "Thankfully, no. Nobody died to any of our monsters," Evalon stated as she did loop-de-loops in the air. "So, any design for a Transition Station?" "Yep! We''ve got that. I''ll print it out at the front desk. As a reward for each Wave, I can grant you one quantity of a resource needed for the Transition Station. The rest you''ll need to purchase yourself," Clarence stated calmly. "Sounds good. Think we''ll manage to get the First Transition Point achievement?" "Well, considering that I''m the first Dungeon to ever join any Faction, I highly doubt the other Factions with members on Earth will have as easy a time with gathering the materials, the blueprints, and the people with skills to build it. I mean, looking at you, you have almost all of the skills needed to craft this yourself," Clarence chuckled. "Do you need more resources?" he inquired. "Nah, I''m good for now. Thanks, though. After you clear out the waves, I''m thinking of applying for a System Shift from Dungeon to City," Clarence answered. "I see. Well, I should probably get around to escorting the people out. I don''t suppose that since you''re in charge of the IT department, you could eventually pack up people''s personal belongings and have them delivered to the Emergency Ward? Preferably using something other than a rotting corpse?" "Sure, sure. We''ll get it done. Enjoy your Challenge, Boss." With that, the connection ended and the device molded back into the wall, making Joriya chuckle. Chapter 14 - Preparing for the Challenge Joriya sighed and shook his head as he packed up his electronics, tucking them into his Bag of Holding since they didn''t register as System Items. He stroked the external hard drive that he disconnected gently, like a man stroking the belly of his pregnant wife. Don''t worry, my child. I shall make sure that the governments cannot abuse you or limit you, he thought tenderly. I intend to make you into the ultimate being. He tenderly slipped it into his Bag of Holding, and let the smile fall from his lips, pulling his serious face on again. He pulled up the Shop Options to see what sort of hidden features he had unlocked. *DING!* Available PPP: 1,123,930 Increase Stamina Pool [(Pool + 10) * 100] Increase Stamina Regeneration Per Tick [(Regen + 1) * 10] Apply Body Core to Stamina [100,000] Increase Ki Pool [(Pool + 10) * 100] Increase Ki Regeneration Per Tick [(Regen + 1) * 10] Increase Mana Pool [(Pool + 10) * 100] Increase Mana Regeneration Per Tick [(Regen + 1) * 10] Increase Connection Pool [(Pool + 10) * 100] Increase Connection Regeneration Per Tick [(Regen + 1) * 10] Increase Technique Pool [(Pool + 10) * 100] Increase Technique Regeneration Per Tick [(Regen + 1) * 10] Unlock Rage Statistic [500] Increase Rage Pool [(Pool + 10) * 100] Increase Rage Generation Per Tick [(Gen + 1) * 10] Increase Rage Tick Rate [Varies] Increase Statistic [(Stat + 1) * 100] Unlock Personal Statistic [Varies] Unlock Resistance Skills [Varies] Upgrade Resistance Skills [(Skill + 1) * 10] Unlock Technique Skills [Varies] Upgrade Technique Skills [(Skill + 1) * 10] Unlock Connection Skills [Varies] Upgrade Connection Skills [(Skill + 1) * 10] Unlock Combat Skills [Varies] Upgrade Combat Skills [(Skill + 1) * 10] Unlock Crafting Skills [Varies] Upgrade Crafting Skills [(Skill + 1) * 10] Unlock Magic Skills [Varies] Upgrade Magic Skills [(Skill + 1) * 10] Unlock Generic Skills [Varies] Upgrade Generic Skills [(Skill + 1) * 10] Purchase Consumable [Varies] Purchase Galactic Technology [Varies] Purchase Earth Technology [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Weapon [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Armor [Varies] Purchase Soulbound Accessory [Varies] Purchase Soulbound System [Varies] Purchase Reincarnation Token [50,000] Purchase Shop Generation Token [100,000] Purchase City Core (Bindable) [500,000] Purchase Dungeon Core (Bindable) [500,000] Purchase Mana Fount [500,000] Purchase Ki Fount [500,000] Purchase Connection Fount [500,000] Purchase Technique Fount [500,000] Purchase Psionic Fount [500,000] Purchase Rage Fount [500,000] Purchase Health Fount [5,000,000] Purchase Galactic Coliseum [1,000,000] Upgrade Personal Soul Dimension [Varies] He licked his lips and grinned as he saw the new options. Shop, can you please explain the Founts and why the Health Fount is ten times the price of the others? *DING!* [Resource Pool] Fount [500,000] This Fountain releases [Resource] into the air of a zone, increasing the regeneration of the resource and the likelihood that a Sapient will naturally unlock the usage of [Resource]. People who drink directly from a [Resource] Fount will have that [Resource] forcefully unlocked. Those who already have the [Resource] Unlocked will restore the [Resource Pool] to Full upon consumption. Produces 16 Fluid Ounces a day (in addition to airborne). This is equivalent to 8 Potions. Health Fount [5,000,000] This Fountain releases REGENERATION into the air of a zone, increasing the restoration of a person and all Resource Pools they have. People who drink directly from a Health Fount will unlock the REGENERATION Statistic, as well as restore any missing limbs that have not been replaced by System-Accepted Cybernetic Adaptations. Produces 16 Fluid Ounces a day (in addition to airborne). This is equivalent to 8 Potions. Hmmm... I would pay 250,000 for the Health Fount and it would assist everyone in the Emergency Ward, as well as spread the Regeneration Mist through the entire Dungeon, right? Is there a limit to the number of times I can purchase a Fount? *DING* Correct. No Limit to number of Founts Purchased, but it is not recommended to have more than one of each Fount in an area unless you intend for mutations such as Resource Generating and Using flora and fauna. What would my total be to purchase one of each Fount for the Emergency Ward, as well as applying the Body Core to my Stamina Pool and Regen? *DING* Before Discounts, the requested purchase is Eight Million, One Hundred Thousand (8,100,000) PPP. After Discounts, the purchase is Four Hundred Five Thousand (405,000) PPP. Confirm Purchase? Yes, thank you, Shop. Is this abusing the System, considering that technically the Dungeon is gaining twice what I pay for my items? *DING* There is no abuse of System Mechanics detected. Thank you for your consideration. *BA-DA-BOOM!* Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Health Fount Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Mana Fount Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Ki Fount Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Connection Fount Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Technique Fount Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Rage Fount Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Psionic Fount Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Fount Collector Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Fount Producer Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Blessed Zone Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Divine Zone Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Spiritual Zone Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Heroic Dungeon *BUM-BA-BA-BUM* Your Patron has gained Prestige! Your Patron has gained Respect! Your Patron has gained Local Deity Status! Your Patron has been Enhanced! Uh-oh! I better double check that Reincarnation Menu that I unlocked after the Tutorial. Reincarnate! *BLIP* Reincarnation Tokens Available: 5 [Withdraw]/[Purchase] Save State #1: Tuesday, April 18, 2023, 11:00 AM - Earth - Hillsborough Hospital Room 328 - Tutorial Complete! Save State #2: -EMPTY- Save State #3: -EMPTY- He nodded and pulled up his Status. Status! *DING* Name: Joriya Alvinos Race: Earthling - Infused Human (Modified) Title: The Shop''s Favorite Earthling Patron: Gruugus the Fierce Rank: Champion of Earth (Gruugus Faction) Age: 25 PPP: 718,930 IEP: 872,552 JP: 32,901 RT: 5 Health Regen: 100%/Hour Stamina: 2500/2500 Stamina Regen: 125/sec x2 Ki: 2500/2500 Ki Regen: 125/sec x2 Mana: 5500/5500 Mana Regen: 155/sec x2 +15% Connection: 5500/5500 Connection Regen: 145/sec x2 Technique: 2000/2000 Tech Regen: 125/sec x2 Physical Statistics [5/5] Strength: 20 [-]/[+] (x2) Agility: 20 [-]/[+] (x2) Dexterity: 20 [-]/[+] (x2) Endurance: 25 [-]/[+] (x2) Vitality: 25 [-]/[+] (x2) Mental Statistics [5/5] Memory: 20 [-]/[+] (x2) Intuition: 55 [-]/[+] (x2) Perception: 20 [-]/[+] (x2) Acquity: 55 [-]/[+] (x2) Willpower: 35 [-]/[+25] (x2) Personal Statistics [Unlimited] Luck: 20 [-]/[+] Lifespan: 25 [-]/[+] Regeneration: 100 [-]/[+] Defense: 20 [-]/[+155] Resistance: 20 [-]/[+135] Accuracy: 20 [-]/[+] Flexibility: 20 [-]/[+] Power: 17 [-]/[+] Connection: 45 [-]/[+] Traits: Heroic Mad Scientist (Tier 4) Indomitable Frugal (Tier MAX [5]) Merciless (Tier MAX [5]) One Man Army (Tier MAX [5]) One With the Machine (Tier 4) Resistances: Curse (Level 20) Pain [Physical] (Level 20) Pain [Mental] (Level 20) Pain [Spiritual] (Level 20) Immunities: Fear Current Status Afflictions: EMPTY Kill Count by Species: Goblin: 390 Orc: 1525 Undead: 51 Racial Skills: Greater Adaptability Greater Survivability Unlimited Potential (Tier MAX [5]) Infused Body (Tier MAX [5]) Extra Features: Internal Resonance Gland (Increased Energies + Range) Mana Lobe Mana Core (Earth Stage) Mana Circulation (Earth Stage) Ki Core (Earth Stage) Ki Circulation (Earth Stage) Hyper Senses Class: Trainee - Level 1 [0/100 JP] Techniques: Re-Equip (Level 20) Combat Skills: Light Armor (Level 10) Ki Control (Level 20) Throwing Mastery (Level 20) Dagger Mastery (Level 20) Sword Mastery (Level 20) Dual Wield (Level 20) Parry (Level 20) Dodge (Level 20) Evasion (Level 20) Assassinate (Level 20) Backstab (Level 20) Body Infusion [Ki] (Level 20) Weak Spot Detection (Level 20) Pounce (Level 20) Snipe (Level 20) Ki Beam (Level 20) Battle Aura (Level 20) Unarmed Combat (Level 20) Crafting Skills: Magical Repair (Level 10) Smithing (Level 20) Leatherworking (Level 20) Tailoring (Level 20) Enchanting (Level 20) Alchemy (Level 20) Engineering (Level 20) Painting (Level 20) Carpentry (Level 20) Cooking (Level 20) Jewelcraft (Level 20) Blueprint Drafting (Level 20) Recipe Drafting (Level 20) Magic Skills: Hypermind (Level 10) Mana Sense (Level 10) Mana Control (Level 20) Mana Magic (Level 20) Earth Magic (Level 20) Air Magic (Level 20) Fire Magic (Level 20) Water Magic (Level 20) Light Magic (Level 20) Dark Magic (Level 20) Healing Magic (Level 20) Life Magic (Level 20) Death Magic (Level 20) Plant Magic (Level 20) Space Magic (Level 20) Time Magic (Level 20) Gravity Magic (Level 20) Force Magic (Level 20) Summoning Magic (Level 20) Creation Magic (Level 20) Overcharge (Level 20) Ritual Magic (Level 40) General Skills: Athletics (Level 10) Acrobatics (Level 20) Aerobatics (Level 20) Contortion (Level 20) Climbing (Level 20) Jumping (Level 20) Walking (Level 20) Jogging (Level 20) Running (Level 20) Sprinting (Level 20) Parkour (Level 20) Mining (Level 20) Geology (Level 20) Herbology (Level 20) Harvest (Level 20) Forage (Level 20) Dissection (Level 20) Butchering (Level 20) Identify (Level 20) Reading (Level 20) Speed Reading (Level 20) Writing (Level 20) Calligraphy (Level 20) Programming (Level 20) Dungeonlogy (Level 20) Camping (Level 20) Camouflage (Level 20) Stealth (Level 20) Internal Ki Manipulation (Level 20) Universal Translation (Level 20) Condense Ki (Level 20) Intimidation (Level 20) Hack (Level 20) Mental Fortification (Level 20) Personal Soul Dimension: Access 2 hours per day Ki Access Mana Access Connection Access Technique Access Job Hall Personalized Potential Point -> Job Proficiency Conversion Divine-Grade Randomized Scaling Dungeon (Solo/Party/Raid) Soul Armoire Blueprint Archive (Patron and Personal) Let''s raise Luck to 100, which should grant us a higher quality of loot overall. Shop, please purchase Luck Statistic from 21 to 100. *DING!* This Purchase would cost Four Hundred Eighty-Four Thousand (484,000) PPP before Discounts. After Discounts are applied, you will be charged Twenty-Four Thousand, Two Hundred (24,200) PPP. Please Confirm. Confirmed, and again, thank you! *DING* Good luck with the Challenge! Thank you. May you always prosper and have a wonderful day. Joriya closed his eyes as he sensed probability flex, bend, and swirl. Having his Luck stat at a hundred started to make his brain hurt a little before it settled into the background, like any other subprocess. If his mental statistics were higher, he could handle more of it at a time. He decided not to raise any other statistic, as it would make the competition too easy because of his adamantium and mythril gear. Glancing at his status, he nodded. Alright, time to see what is going on with herding the staff and patients to the Emergency Ward. Chapter 15 - Accustations, Threats, and a Contract When Joriya returned to the central area of the ward, he heard Allison and the elf arguing. As he approached, the elf glared at him and shrieked out, "He''s going to rape us! He''s a vile beast! Look at the bruise he left on my wrist! The bastard tried to rape me!" He glowered at the woman. "I only grabbed your wrist when you kept trying to attack me for no reason. You Hilnarian pawn. At least I have gotten a deal with my Patron to protect our planet instead of conquering us. I bet you decided to betray the human race after you changed yourself to an elf." The elf paled as he said that. "You horrible creature! How dare you try to give our planet to a brutal, barbaric race! This planet will belong to Prince Kazikin Lorcalis! I will be made his thirtieth wife! Humanity was doomed already." "Sorry, but the Earth will not become a new Hilnarian Property. Anyways, it''s time for humanity to band together more than ever, not hand over our world and our potential to some Galactic Superpower. I got a promise of autonomy and protection from my Patrons." "So, you''re going to open up a new area for illegal immigration?" Allison asked. "I was thinking more of a new embassy... Anyways, the likelihood of the United States remaining when there are going to be hundreds of millions of people who are equivalent to nuclear weapons on their own part is rather slim, don''t you think? Not to mention with those coins you picked up being a Galactic Currency, where people can tell if they are getting a good price based off the default price listed in the Shop, the US Dollar is about to be worth just as much as the paper it is printed on," Joriya explained. "Then again, every nation is about to go through the financial turmoil, so it would be the Galactics that had the advantage with this Currency. There should have been a minimum of fifty copper coins, and a higher tier coin from the boss." Allison burst out laughing. "You mean my student loans are worthless?" "Well, unless the government allows them to roll them over to PPP Coins, but then there needs to be a conversion scale created, and if I don''t mistake my estimation, a Skill would hit about 10 from a full year of High School, while a Skill Level of 20 is about College 101-102 or something like that. We''ll know more after the children actually do a full year under the new system. Question is, will the United States still be here in a year, and how will they try to regulate PPP Usage. "There is quite a lot of things in the Shop that will cause the government to go insane about. Especially if other people unlock extra options as I have. Not to mention that the different supremacist groups will probably become Human Supremacists, then there will be the people who become elves like her who will have heavy cases of Elven Superiority. Oh, and the fact that the wild areas of the world have grown in size and danger, with monsters spawning, as well as the natural fauna, twisting with the unlocking of various energies."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "I found a total of sixty of the copper coins, however, I couldn''t find any coin in the waiting area where you killed the boss..." Allison stated calmly, moving to hand over the sixty coins she had gathered. "It was probably only a Bronze coin worth five PPP, or an Iron Coin worth ten max. I doubt a freshly spawned boss like that would be worth anything more. Keep those sixty coppers for yourself, Allison. I have more than enough of the coins," he responded. Allison''s eyes widened at the sudden realization after he pointed out the information about the fact that there would be a new currency, and that dungeons are able to provide easy access to them. "So, I have multiple defenses in place should the government try to punish me for placing a node in the name of my Patron, the easiest being the First Amendment, as my Patron is classed as a Deity, or for those who don''t understand that term, a God. Therefore, they cannot prevent me from performing an act of service in his name since it violates no rules and it will be on private property. "Anyways, I will not allow Earth to be conquered by an outside force..." Shop, I''m sorry to bother you again so soon, but I need a pair of auto-fit handcuffs that seal System Use. With how many wars the Galactics have been through, I''m pretty sure you''d have had these made to try to save prisoner of war lives, let alone local jurisdictions needing them to keep criminals from just blasting their ways out. *DING!* Omni-Seal Shackles [100,000] Quality: Artifact Durability: 5000/5000 Functions: Self-Repair, Auto-Fit, System Seal, All Resource Pools Seal, Strength Set to 5 Omni-Seal Shackles are the ultimate go-to for Prisoner of War retention. The selected item costs One Hundred Thousand (100,000) PPP before Discounts. After your Discounts, you will pay Five Thousand (5,000) PPP. Confirm? Thank you very much. That''s exactly what I need. One set of them, for now, please, he thought. Once they appeared in his hand, he looked at the elf. "I will not allow you to throw my plans into chaos, so I will have to insist on you putting on these shackles and placing yourself in Allison''s care. Once my Patron''s forces have a firm foothold on the planet, we will release you. I will even sign a System Contract on it if you agree to not cause trouble while in Allison''s care." She glowered at him and snorted, "fine, have it that way. I''ll just stay beside her. Allison, you will be responsible for making sure nothing happens to me, or I will have my Prince rip your heart out." Allison sighed tiredly, "So long as there is a clause that relieves me of responsibility if whatever happens to you is of your own fault" *TING* There was a loud chime sound as a document appeared between them for them to sign. Once they had all signed, it glowed and split into three while a beam of light entered each of them. Chapter 16 - Challenge Start! Over the next hour, Joriya helped empty out the various floors and wards of people and escorting them to the Emergency Ward Safe Zone. He smiled coldly as he looked at himself in the mirror. "So, I should probably do something with all my magic, since I did take the time to purchase them all... I think I''ll rotate through them in the Waves... Hell, I bet I could probably clear the waves without even moving. "Yo, Clarence, how about we make a bet on the Challenge? I bet you an Adamantite PPP Coin that I would be able to clear at least half of the twenty Waves without moving from a circle I''ll mark out," Joriya chuckled. "Bet accepted, Challenger," Clarence''s voice came from the closest intercom relay. "Although I will place the circle where the reception desk initially was... Rennovations complete, please enter the Entrance Hall and then the Challenge Circle. The Waves will begin sixty seconds after you enter the circle. You will have five minutes to clear a Wave before the next Wave starts. If you clear a Wave before the five minutes, you will have either sixty seconds or the remaining time until the five minute counter, whichever comes first." "That sounds fair... If anything, I could just fortify my circle and wait for an hour to have the entire twenty waves spawned, if I was secure in my ability to conjure fortifications. Of course, that''s not something I''m prepared for at the moment... Anyways, let''s get to it," Joriya spoke to himself. He looked around the Entrance Hall, which was a large, open foyer, standing three floors high, with balconies along the left and right sides, and a large series of glass windows at the front. The back had two staircases and an elevator in addition to the balconies. In the center of the Hall was a large circle of ten meters in diameter where the reception desk had initially been. There was a series of statues of Gruugus the Fierce and the other four deities he had met in his Tutorial along the left side of the road. He chuckled as he saluted the god before crouching in the center of the circle, triggering the start of the first Wave in sixty seconds. He focused on his earth magic, first using the spell Earth Wall to raise a circular barrier around the circle to chest height, then focused his magic on reinforcing it. After about fifteen seconds, the Earth Wall was almost as durable as if it were made from iron, with how much mana he poured into it. He then stopped and waited for his mana to refill. "So, how about some Battle Music? I mean, you''re the head of IT, and I''m sure you could easily patch a computer into the intercom system for broadcasting music, especially with Connection," Joriya chuckled. A large monitor appeared on the back wall above the lobby''s elevator and displayed the statement:Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Wave 1 25 Zombies As the zombies materialized, video game orchestral background music pumped into the foyer from the intercom speakers. He brought up his hands and aimed his fingers at the approaching zombies, channeling the first level fire spell, [Fire Bolt] at each of the zombies and waiting to see their reactions. A couple of the [Fire Bolt]s were obvious critical hits as they completely dusted the zombie they hit, whereas others hit limbs or connections and made them lose the limb at either elbow, shoulder, or knee. He quickly cleaned up the zombies with another round of [Fire Bolt] castings, before looking up at the display board as a Round Buzzer blared. Wave 2 20 Zombies 15 Skeleton This time, as they appeared, he focused on [Earth Spike], angling them and casting arranging for them to fall and strike their heads on ones he focused to be much more pointy. He frowned as he saw them all having been defeated that simply, causing the buzzer to blare again and the display to change. Wave 3 20 Zombies 20 Skeletons 10 Goblins There was a ding as the elevator opened up, revealing the goblins, a group of ten child-sized boys dressed in loincloths with trash-quality weapons. He cast [Wind Blade] at the zombies, condensing it tightly and aiming it at the throats, ending up popping their heads off. He then used [Gust] in a condensed ball on the skeletons, getting it right in front of their eyeholes before releasing it. He then used both to attack the goblins, using the [Gust] to hit ankles, knees, and elbows, and the [Wind Blade] at throats and key veins. Well, that makes testing three elements... let''s keep trying, Joriya chuckled. Wave 4 20 Skeletons 20 Goblins 10 Hobgoblins The elevator dinged as it opened, this time with twenty of the goblins and ten of the dwarf-sized hobgoblins. The hobs had leather armor and low-quality copper weapons, while the goblins were in rags with trash-quality again. The skeletons finally had weapons as well. He used Plant Magic to summon thorny vines, which he used to tear apart the skeletons and bind the goblins, choking them and tearing thorns across the entirety of their throats and wrists. So far, the hobs were the ones who got the closest to his little fort, about halfway from the elevator. Then again, using [Summon Vines] and [Plant Control] at the same time wasn''t really a strong battle contender at the moment. The buzzar sounded again, and the display changed. Wave 5 20 Goblins 20 Hobgoblins 10 Bugbears The elevators opened up on the first and second floors, releasing the goblins and hobs on the ground floor with the bugbears on the second floor. The bugbears jumped down over the balcony, cracking the tiles and roared at him. He looked at them and smiled as he cast [Drain Life] at all of them, pumping in more and more mana to [Overcharge] the spell, which made them turn into a series of dessicated lumps of flesh, before blood red and violet energy flowed into himself, triggering a notification that his Lifespan had been increased by two points. The buzzar sounded. Wave 6 20 Hobgoblins 20 Bugbears 10 Orcs He sighed and shook his head slowly. He gathered mana and cast [Light Ray] and pumped extra mana to [Overcharge] it, blasting all of them and making the back wall bubble and melt for a bit before the ray burned out. Neat! Like frying ants with a magnifying glass! The wall quickly repaired itself, and the buzzar sounded. Chapter 17 - Challenge Continued The buzzer sounded and the monitor changed to display what the next wave would contain. Wave 7 25 Hobgoblins 20 Bugbears 20 Orcs Joriya closed his eyes and focused on the darkness mana, as he looked at the instant-cast spell list he was given for his levels. [Dark Bolt], [Dark Ray], [Sleep], and [Weaken] were the four spells available for casting of Dark Magic at skill level 20. Using Mana Manipulation, he spread a layer of [Weaken] and a layer of [Sleep] around his circle as the monsters were spawned and marched their way in. As they stumbled, Joriya alternated between [Dark Bolt] and [Dark Ray], which seemed to be much higher and lower frequencies of the Light spells. There was a chime as the wave cleared along with the buzzer blare. You have learned the Magic Skill: Spread Effect. Wave 8 25 Bugbears 25 Orcs 15 Ogres He smiled to himself as he canceled the effects of the [Sleep] and [Weaken] zones, and pulled up the Water Magic, getting a feeling for it. He glanced at the default spells that the magic granted and snorted softly. Seriously? Water is supposed to be considered weak? he thought as he pulled up spell formulas for [Water Pump], [Water Globe], [Ice Spike] and [Ice Wall]. He quickly mixed [Water Pump] and [Ice Spike] together, getting a system chime. You have discovered the Level 20 Water Magic Spell: [Glacial Blast]. He pumped out some water onto the floor outside his area, grinning as the Dungeon spawned a ''Caution: Wet Floor'' sign. The Bugbears he dispatched with [Glacial Blast], the Ocs with [Ice Spikes], and he decided to be a bit cruel to the Ogres, casting [Water Globe] which summoned a series of spheres of water around their heads, and then using [Ice Wall] to solidify the exteriors of the spheres, preventing them from easily escaping their drowning. After about three minutes, the buzzer sounded, and the board changed again. Wave 9 30 Orcs 20 Ogres (Physical) 10 Ogres (Magical) 15 Trolls Oh, fuck... Magical monsters!? He really wants to keep me from winning that bet, doesn''t he? Joriya blinked and felt sweat starting to gather on his brow. Ah, fuck it! Space magic time. If he wants to make things harder, let''s see these Ogres survive Portal Games! He pushed out his mana, gathering it externally to cast modified magics across the entirety of the floor outside his circle and then mirrored it on the ceiling so that the portal would open under their feet, and drop them into a never-ending fall until he cut the mana feed. When the monsters spawned in, he triggered the trap, and after they fell through the floor about fifty times, he cut it off, watching them splatter from having reached terminal velocity. He coughed up some blood from doing internal damage to himself from the amount of mana he expended. He groaned and focused on casting [Heal] and [Cleanse] on himself as his mana regenerated after the buzzer blared. Wave 10 50 Orcs 25 Ogres (Physical) 15 Ogres (Magical) 20 Trolls Well, spells are just arcane coding, and as I proved with [Glacial Blast], the coding is easily modified. I wonder how accurate the Daniel Black novels were in regards to realistic Mana usage... Eh, let''s try it with Force Magic... he thought as he created a sphere of pure Force Magic in the [Force Shield] spell around his center zone. He then created spinning [Force Blade] spells, infused them with ki to a dangerous saturation, and launched them rapidly as they became unstable.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. The explosion that occurred completely wiped out everything outside of his barrier, meanwhile he had to spend a half a minute regaining his own senses from the backlash of the improperly modified spells and ki. He groaned and again relied on [Heal] and [Cleanse]. *BA-DA-DA-BING* You have successfully completed your Bet with Clarence, Core of Hillsborough Horror Hospital. You have gained the following Resistance: Ki Backlash Resistance. You have gained the following Resistance: Mana Backlash Resistance. You have gained the following Resistance: Blackout. You have gained the following General Skill: Multipool Fueling You have gained the following Magic Skill: Arcane Coding You have gained the following Statistic Points: +10 Acquity, +5 Perception, +10 Willpower, +10 Resistance, +5 Regeneration, +1000 Mana Pool. Wave 11 40 Ogres (Physical) 25 Ogres (Magical) 20 Trolls 1 Lich By the time he had finished going over the information provided by the notification, and his head had stopped pounding, the monsters had already spawned, with the magical ogres and lich were preparing to pelt his [Force Shield] with their magics. With his left hand, he gathered up ki energy for a blast at the ogre mages and charging a [Light Ray] in his right hand, which he planned to use on the lich. After his shield cracked, he dispelled it before it could shatter and cause a chance of backlash, then quickly fired the ray at the lich, vaporizing its bones and eliminating it while the Ki Blast arched across the room to slam into the ogres from the side. He used both Fire Mana and Ki to empower his Level 10 [Fire Breath] spell, basically upgrading it to the equivalence of [Dragon Breath], which shot out and roasted the trolls and caused the physical ogres to leap out of the way. He then used Force Blades and Ice Spikes to hit the critical spots, disabling and eventually bleeding out the remaining of the ogres. The buzzer signaled the end of the Wave and the changing of the board. Wave 12 30 Ogres (Physical) 30 Ogres (Magical) 30 Trolls 15 Vampires 2 Lich Crap, Vampires... Okay, well, hopefully these are the ones with Ultraviolet Fatality in their DNA and not the Nanobot or Sparkly Variety... he thought as he pulled up [Light Ball] and tweeked its output to be nearly completely Ultraviolet, before tossing it to orbit in the air outside his fort, which he has no intention of leaving without a true fight. He also prepared twin beams of [Light Ray] to release immediately upon the liches when they spawned. As soon as the wave spawned, the vampires screamed and burst into flames, which leaped onto the trolls, who went up like kindling as well. Joriya released the [Light Ray] into the skulls of the liches, making them shatter and collapse into piles of bones. He then released the [Light Ray]s and sent out an uncompressed ki beam, pushing the charging ogres back as he used [Earth Spike] to arrest the rest of them, impaling them with their own momentum. He then used a focused [Force Blade] to finish them off. The buzzer sounded as he was starting to feel mentally fatigued from all the mental gymnastics he had been doing. Wave 13 50 Ogres (Physical) 40 Ogres (Magical) 40 Trolls 30 Vampires 20 Wights 10 Skeleton Mages 5 Lich God damn it, it just keeps getting harder... Skeleton fucking mages and paralytic wights, with a total of five fucking liches? This seriously wouldn''t be easy... Joriya threw up [Force Shield] and [Mana Barrier], threw out a second spiraling ultraviolet light sphere, and pumped almost three thousand mana into each of the barriers before focusing on regenerating his mana, smiling as the vampires burned some of the trolls. He compressed his ki in his throat as he focused on overcharging [Fire Breath], and just before he felt like he would lose control, he merged the ki with the breath, sending it roaring out of the shields in a huge wave, instantly igniting the floor as it passed, clinging visciously to the things it connected with, reducing them to ashes quickly. As the liches focused on raising the dead, he countered them with [Light Ray], and then slammed his foot down, casting [Consecrate] and [Holy Ground], spreading it across the entirety of the floor making the remaining wights and skeleton mages freeze up and catch holy fire from the healing effect of [Holy Ground], which was amplified by the [Consecrate]d ground. Joriya stumbled as a wave of dizziness passed over him from mana overuse as the buzzer sounded once again. Chapter 18 - Challenge Thematic Waves "Congratulations are in order, Challenger, for having completed thirteen waves without moving. Because of how many resources you have used, sadly it has triggered an even greater upgrade in the Challenge system, which I did not know about. Waves 14 to 19 will be focusing on Themes, which will vary with each Wave. Do your best to not die. Our Patron is pleased with the strength both yourself and I am displaying here. Did you know most races who have Potential end up wasting it?" Clarence broadcasted through the Entry. "Oh, and everyone''s been watching you in the Emergency Ward, and I am recording this for the records of humanity." "Oh, joy. Thanks for all the information. Since I won the bet, I''m going to move and use more than just magic now..." Joriya coughed and wiped the blood from his lips. "Apparently, I might not be the ''True Protagonist'' of this story, since I''ve damaged my body with how much mana and Ki I''ve pumped out." Wave 14 - Undead Prowess 50 Zombies 50 Vampires 50 Wights 25 Abominations 25 Skeleton Mages 10 Liches "Oh, okay, cool, let''s just start out with something truly insane... I see the Challenge System either believes that I''m a much higher level than I am or it just doesn''t want to play fair. Well, let''s go..." Joriya set a few spiraling balls of Ultraviolet Light spinning through the open room as he opened a pair of small portals, and charged [Light Ray] in both fists, planning to shoot them through the portals to strike the liches upon their appearance, but he frowns when they appear surrounded by the abominations, giant flesh bags that if they actually had humanoid shapes could be compared to Frankensteins. He fired the [Light Ray] and was disappointed as it merely scorched the exterior of the abominations that they struck, and the vampires that had exploded into flames gathered together, rather than inflicting any damage to the rest of the Wave. He grabbed his longsword and channeled ki into it, the adamantium blade absorbing and changing from the plain design, morphing into a fusion of two of the most powerful blades from his childhood, the hilt and crossguard becoming like that of the Sword of Omens, while the blade expanded and flexed, altering to look like the Sword of Power. As he swung it, a wave of ki energy shot out, and he minimized the message of learning the Sword Technique [Blade Beam], which could now be used with Technique Points instead of Ki. The [Blade Beam] struck through a group of zombies and cut halfway into an abomination before it fizzled out. With a roar, he jumped to the side, and slashed with his sword, grunting as he felt the adamantium absorbing his ki, tech, connection, and mana at a rate just below his full regeneration. There is another, more potent System chime that rang through his head, but he focused on not losing control of the channeling as he attacked, unlocking many more Sword Techniques as he dodged or parried attacks from the undead. Just before he had killed off the last of the undead, the buzzer sounded, releasing the next wave upon him without any break. Wave 15 - Demonic Pride 50 Imps 50 Hellhounds 25 Succubi 25 Incubi 10 Beholders 5 Onis Joriya entered into a Battle Trance as he was suddenly surrounded by over a hundred and fifty demons, with only fifty-five of them being bound to ground movement, instead of three-dimensional acrobatics. The imps immediately spread out and started launching fireballs, while the succubi and incubi started singing buffs and debuffs into existence. The Beholders floated high into the air and used various eye-beam attacks, while the Hellhounds gathered around the five elephant-sized humanoids which had weapons sized for their own usage. The onis had a spear, a claymore, a scimitar, a double-bladed axe, and finally a mace. Joriya dodged, parried, and rebounded various attacks off his sword as he threw the daggers, each dagger taking out one or two imps depending upon how they lined up. He blinked and grinned. as it was almost as if the imps were just helium-filled balloon targets with how easily his blades carved through them. He jumped off the ground and using aerobatics and acrobatics managed to land on a succubus that got too close to the ground, his blade pierced her skull and he kicked off her, launching himself like a pinball. The onis roared and attacked at him, their attacks not taking into account the positions of their allies, killing more of the demons than he had. When the spear-wielding oni overthrust, he landed on the spear and ran down the shaft, before lunging forward at the shoulder, throwing himself at the oni''s eye and brain, drilling through with the use of [Lunge] and [Thrust]. He burst out the back of the oni''s skull and landed right in the middle of the hellhounds, which he set about dodging and countering, throwing his daggers as they reappeared on his baldric. By the time the buzzer rang, he had succeeded in whittling down the demons to only seven succubi, four incubi, two oni and three beholders, all of which were wounded.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Wave 16 - Angelic Purity 75 Cherubs 75 Angels 25 Archangels 10 Seraphims 5 Asurans With a flash of light signaling the arrival of the next wave, arrows pelted down on the demons, vanquishing them as the heavenly host arrived ready for battle. The cherubs looked like teenagers, while the angels were adults with two wings. The archangels had four wings, the seraphim six, while the only ground-bound units of the heavenly host were the six-armed, elephant-sized asurans who had three faces on their heads. "You have done well, Challenger," the host spoke in unison. "We see that you are inside a Crucible of Forging for a new unique Artifact. We offer you a chance. Either fight us all and likely die, or accept the Ring of Honor and fight against our Chosen." Joriya closed his eyes and pushed aside his frenzy as the light radiating from all of the surrounding angels boosted his healing rate. "If I manage to best your Chosen in the Ring of Honor, will you teach me the ability to call the Heavenly Host to my aid?" "If you wish to learn to Summon the Host, you must face the Chosen while he is boosted by the Heavenly Choir. Do you accept?" Joriya shivered as this would be a reckless chance. However, it was a chance he felt he needed to take. "Bring forth your Chosen and sing your Hymns. I acknowledge that I am not powerful enough to defeat this arm of the host in the time before the next wave." Wave 16 - Heaven''s Chosen 1 Isekai Protagonist [Tutorial Time Warp] "Oh fuck..." Joriya groaned as a stereotypical black-haired teenage asian youth appeared in front of him. A large blue arena barrier formed out of the ground, which he entered as the angels started singing, throwing huge buffs onto their Chosen. Joriya bowed honorably to the hero. "My name is Joriya Alvinos. May I know your own?" The teenager opened his eyes, revealing black pupils as dark as the abyss. "My name is Morisoya Nakumigi. God said I had one final battle to fight before I would be returned after having defeated the Demon Lord. Are you this final battle?" "We are here in this Ring of Honor. Apparently, my being in a Crucbile of Forging, whatever that is, made the Host offer me the option of a single duel with you or a fight with all of them. They appeared as the sixteenth wave of twenty in my Challenge against this Dungeon." "I see... then if you can land a blow against me, or defend against my own strike, you will be considered the Victor, is it agreed?" "I thank you, Morisoya-san for this Honor. May your Tutorial finish well," Joriya answered as he moved into a stance with his sword that he can easily parry and counter from, while the Isekai Protagonist moved into an iejutsu stance. "BEGIN," the seraphim in charge of the Ring of Honor declared. Morisoya vanished from where he was standing, [Evasion] warning Joriya to go into the air, which allowed Joriya to barely avoid the iejutsu strike by doing a flip, and managed to tag Morisoya on the back with the flat of his blade as he passed under him. "VICTORY TO JORIYA! HONOR TO BOTH!" the choir announced, golden energy flowing into the blade in Joriya''s hands as Morisoya bowed and the buzzer rang with the vanishing of the heavenly host and the return of the sword to pitch black. A Chime sounded, letting him know that the Heavenly Host was added to his Summoning Magic as a variable cost summoning. Wave 17 - Canine Pack 50 Werewolves 50 Polar Werewolves 50 Lunar Werewolves 50 Solar Werewolves 10 Alpha Dire Wolves 5 Alpha Werewolves Joriya felt his energy pools refill as the blue barrier vanished, his sword now humming with the power it contained, including the divine blessings granted so long as he succeeds in the Challenge. An illusion of a night sky with a full moon took over the ceiling as the lights faded. The sword started to absorb the energy emited by the false full-moon and gained a soft silver glow as howls sounded out all around him. The next five minutes were a storm of claws, blades, fangs, kicks, and skin-of-his-teeth dodges. By the time the buzzer sounded, the werewolves were down to five of each type, and one of each alpha. Joriya, however, appeared as if he had been through a sandstorm, with almost no part of his epidermus not covered in blood or scratches. Wave 18 - Mighty Morphing 100 Slimes 75 Slime Lords 75 Elemental Slimes 10 Mimics 5 Doppelgangers "Really, now, you''re just forcing me to use them against each other," Joriya puffed out as he used the wolves as shields from the attacks of the elemental slimes, as well as kicking them into the jaws of mimics, striking at cores as much as defending against the wolves or slimes. He even managed to feed a doppelganger which took on a mimicry of his own form to a slime lord to keep it busy. Eventually, he took up a defensive postion and then activated two Sword Techniques together [Whirling Dirvish] and [Blade Beam], triggering the unlock of [Concussion Wave], which blew all the remaining slimes away, slamming them into the walls and floor, their cores going flying and shattering. After quickly dispatching the chests and remaining doppelgangers, the buzzer rang, giving him thirty seconds to catch his breath. Wave 19 - Arachnophobia 100 Giant Spider 50 Arachnes 50 Lightbinder Spiders 50 Frostborn Spiders 25 Pyrebringer Spiders 5 Spider Queens (one of each race) 1 Arachne Queen "OH FUCK NO!" [Dragon Breath], [Dragon Breath], [Glaciel Burst], [Glacial Burst]. "WHY!? WHY!? BURN IT DOWN! PURGE IT WITH FIRE! OH SHIT! SPIDERS THAT ARE IMMUNE TO FIRE!? WHY GOD WHY!? [BLACK HOLE]!" Joriya drove his sword into the ground, shuddering as he rapidly emptied out his mana and ki on the spiders, he grabbed onto his sword and used it as well as the last of his mana to create a [Localized Gravity] zone beneath his feet to keep him from getting sucked into the black hole he summoned to purge the most hated creatures of the universe from before him. The buzzer rang as he knelt gripping his sword and panting softly. Chapter 19 - Challenge Concluded "Oh, wow, I guess we found one of your phobias, eh? I didn''t realize you would freak out so much with that last group. Anyways, this next Wave really isn''t that fair to you, as it is a direct request from Gruugus. Good luck dude," Clarence chimed out. Wave 20 1 Avatar of Gruugus Gruugus appeared in full Space Marine attire, grinning viciously. "Finally, a chance to test you myself. Hmmm, it seems that my stats are lower than I expected, but they are set to match yours. CLARENCE, WHERE IS THE REST OF MY HOST?" "Forgive me, your divinely gifted power, but the System refused to allow your chosen Wave schematic. I could have had him fight all of them or you. I figured you would appreciate yourself being here more than him fighting your host of space marines," Clarence answered calmly, which made Gruugus laugh. "Ah, I figured he was much stronger than this. it must be the equipment he chose to work with... yes, I see it now. I will barely be able to inflict any damage to him, due to the combination of Defensive Statistic and Defensive Gear. A wonderful choice, my Champion. Wait, is that... yes, a true Crucible of Forging... Amazing. It has been centuries since the last True Artifact was Forged in Battle." Gruugus motioned at Joriya, healing him and fully replenishing his pools. "On your feet, Champion!" "Clarence, some good battle music, please?" "Do you have a preference?" "How about you start out with Powerman 5000''s ''When World''s Collide'', and follow it up with Otherworld, by The Black Mages." "Done!" The music started as Joriya rose to his feet, pulling the sword from the floor. He charged forward and clashed blades with Gruugus. Their blows rang off each other, parrying and narrow dodging as Joriya was tested by his deity in full. They knocked each other away and circled before clashing again and repeating the clashing of blades and bodies, each one a unique series of attacks, parries, counters, counter-parries, and disengaging. After nearly eight minutes of this heavy back and forth, Joriya sacrificed a wound to his side in order to sever the tendons in Gruugus'' primary arm, making him drop his weapon, which opened him up to a thrust to the face, which is blocked by a sudden blade coming out of the left arm of Gruugus'' power suit. He grunts in pain and coughs, meanwhile the golden blood is quickly absorbed by the adamantium sword and Gruugus calls the fight in Joriya''s favor. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. "Good Job, boy, now check your messages!" Gruugus shouted as he abandoned his avatar, letting it be absorbed by the dungeon as the System seemed to go insane with updates for both Joriya and Clarence. Joriya pulled up his notifications, starting with the secret quest, the completion of the Challenge, and Techniques he learned, followed by his sword''s Crucible, and then the adjustment of his previous skills. Secret Quest - Coin Collector Completed! You have collected one of each PPP Coin! Reward - 1 Free Purchase from the Shop! You have learned the Sword Technique: [Blade Beam] You have learned the Sword Technique: [Whirling Dirvish] You have learned the Sword Technique: [Lunge] You have learned the Sword Technique: [Thrust] You have learned the Sword Technique: [Reflect Spell] You have learned the Sword Technique: [Triple Thrust] You have learned the Sword Technique: [Magic Breaker] You have learned the Sword Technique: [Concussion Wave] You have gained the following Statistics: 10 Strength, 5 Agility, 5 Dexterity, 10 Endurance, 5 Vitality, 10 Accuracy, 10 Flexibility, 20 Defense You have gained the following: 100,000 PPP, 10,000 IEP, 1,000 JP Your Scaling Adamantium Longsword has triggered a Crucible of Forging. Your Scaling Adamantium Longsword has drained 500,000 Item Experience Points from your available stock to initiate the Crucible of Forging. Result will be a Unique Soulbound Artifact. Your Scaling Adamantium Longsword has changed its appearance. Your Scaling Adamantium Longsword has absorbed 100,000 Technique Points. Your Scaling Adamantium Longsword has absorbed 100,000 Ki Points. Your Scaling Adamantium Longsword has absorbed 100,000 Mana Points. Your Scaling Adamantium Longsword has absorbed 100,000 Connection Points. Your Scaling Adamantium Longsword has absorbed Heavenly Host Blessing. Your Scaling Adamantium Longsword has absorbed Divine Full Moon Light. Your Scaling Adamantium Longsword has absorbed Divine Avatar Blood. Your Scaling Adamantium Longsword has become: Power of Omens! Power of Omens Quality: Unique Scaling Artifact (Level 1 [0/10,000]) Damage: 5,000-7,500 + (Strength * Power) Metal: Adamantium Durability: Unbreakable +25 Strength +25 Power Double Applied Regeneration Divine Level Scrying Tool Radiate Aura (Divine Light, Full Moon) Your Shop Access has increased! You can now customize any item to your hearts content (PPP Varies). Your Fire Magic Skill has increased by 10 Levels. Your Light Magic Skill has increased by 10 Levels. Your Earth Magic Skill has increased by 10 Levels. Your Space Magic Skill has increased by 10 Levels. Your Water Magic Skill has increased by 10 Levels. Your Death Magic Skill has increased by 10 Levels. Your Healing Magic Skill has increased by 10 Levels. Your Plant Magic Skill has increased by 5 Levels. Your Overcharge Magic Skill has increased by 20 Levels. Your Dark Magic Skill has increased by 5 Levels. Your Mana Control Magic Skill has increased by 20 Levels. Your Ki Beam Combat Skill has increased by 10 Levels. Your Sword Mastery Combat Skill has increased by 30 Levels. Your Ki Control Combat Skill has increased by 20 Levels. Your Ki Condense General Skill has increased by 10 Levels. Your Multipool Fueling General Skill has increased by 10 Levels. He whistled softly. The gains were truly amazing. Especially since he could now do an extremely powerful and secure purchase for the creation of his Tunnel. Chapter 20 - Tunnel Service Joriya smirked to himself as he staggered his way to the elevator, which surprisingly had rooftop access. "Clarence, could you summon an Avatar or send your fairy to the roof to assist in the design of the space station that will host the interplanetary tunnel and its single teleporter access pad which we will place on one of these hospitals helipad landing zones?" Joriya requested politely of the dungeon. "Sorry, Joriya, but this one''s all on you. Thank you for considering asking us for our opinions," Clarence''s voice came from the elevator speaker. "If it is any consolation, I think you are doing what you truly believe to be in the best interest of humanity." Great, thanks for the vote for self-confidence, man, but I was hoping for actual support, Joriya thought as he just nodded at the camera. After the elevator reached the roof, he stepped out and looked around. There were four different helipads, anointing the four cardinal directions on the compass. He went to the eastern helipad and sat down. *DING* Shop access granted to ''Safe Zone'' Hillsborough Horror Hospital Helipad Entrance. Joriya turned to the camera pointed at the Helipad and gave it a thumbs up, before he pulled out a notepad and started doing calculations. He knew what he wanted, but he wasn''t sure how to fully describe it, and if he missed a single thing, then it wouldn''t be included. After an hour, he nodded. "Shop, I would like to purchase the following under my Free Purchase, if I may?" *DING* Another major purchase using an omitted limit? Should the System have kept you as Cheater instead of Frugal? "Perhaps that is so, but as a businessman and programmer, I want to get the most out of any freebies," Joriya replied. *DING* Understood. Please proceed with describing your purchase. "I want a two hundred mile diameter space station, made of adamantium, at Legrange 2, with full amenities and life support, powered by a series of fusion reactors all connected and reporting to a City Core. I want a Galactic Express Tunnel under the control of Gruu''gus placed in the space station, and a single teleporter connecting this helipad and the station. In the interior of the station, I want a training zone for space marines, including three instanced dungeon cores, one set to Noob, one set to Adventurer, and one set to Marine difficulty. Have the three dungeon cores subjected to commands from the City Core in charge of the full space station. "For defense, I want multi-layered shields, rail guns, ion cannons, and a squadron of fighters. I want three screening corvets and a destroyer. For onboard defense, I would like a fully stocked armory ready for a full battalion of highly trained space marines, including power armor and war mechs. I''d also like a set of mining ships for preparing for the mining of asteroids."Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. *DING* Confirm Purchase of: 1 Interplanetary Express Transition Tunnel 1 Galaxy-Class Adamantium Defense Station (Fully Furnished and Functioning) 1 Teleportation Zone (Hereby designated Helipad) 7 Fusion Reactors 250 Ion Cannons 50 Rail Cannons 24 Fighter-Class Ships - Signals as Earth Defense Force 3 Corvet-Class Ships - Signals as Earth Defense Force 1 Destroyer-Class Ship - Signals as Earth Defense Force 10 Shuttle-Class Ships - Signals as Earth Defense Force 1 Galaxy-Class Administration Core 3 Instance-Class Dungeon Cores 20 Battle Mechs 600 Marine-Grade Adamantium and Mythril Power Armor 600 Plasma Rifles 600 Pulse Rifles 1 Refining-Class Zero-G Refinery (Smelt, Forge, Factory) 6 Mining-Class Asteroid Mining vessels (Laser Drill) "Purchase Confirmed, thank you." *DING! BA-DA-BING-BA-DA-BANG! WOOOOOOOOO!* Earth has gained a fully functioning Galaxy-Class Orbital Defense Station! Earth has gained the start of a Defense Fleet! Earth has gained access to Interplanetary Travelers! The Guard Forces of Gruu''gus the Fierce have been selected as the Screeners for Interplanetary Travel. The Deities of Earth have Elected Gruu''gus the Fierce as Defense Lord of Earth. All Followers of Gruu''gus the Fierce gain 10 Defense per Rank of their Follower Status. Earth has gained notoriety as the first planet to join the Galaxy in a single day! All Earthlings (Current and Future) gain a 50% resistance to damage from non-Earthlings! Earth has gained notoriety as the first new planet in 10,000 years to not fall into Hilnarian Control. All Earthlings (Current and Future) gain 100,000 PPP! Earth has gained notoriety as the first new planet to have over 10,000 of its Citizens change to Dungeon Cores! All Earthlings (Current and Future) gain 100,000 PPP! Earth has gained notoriety as the first new planet to have at least 100,000,000 Citizens change race from Default (Earthling - Human). All Earthlings (Current and Future) gain 100,000 PPP! Earth has gained notoriety as the first new planet to introduce new Systems to the System in 10,000,000 years! All Earthlings (Current and Future) gain a 25% Discount in the Shop! Warning! Not all Skill Packages Included Complete Control of Summoned Creatures! New Pool Created for those without Complete Control: Control Pool! New Items Created for Control Pool Increase: Badges! Warning! Not all Race Changes Included Complete Control of Racial Morphology! New Pool Created for those without Morphology Control: Morph Pool! Warning! Not all Power Packages Included Stressless Usage of Powers! New Pool Created for those without Stressless Usage: Soul Pool! ~~~ Tuesday, April 18, 2023 6:00 PM EST News Report "Hello folks, my name is Robert Drache, and this is the Galactic News! In today''s news, Planet Earth has surprisingly joined the rest of the Galaxy, as everyone has received news of this tremendous achievement from the System. To think, someone would waste their personal potential to increase the standing of their World, and they don''t fall under the flag of the Hilnarian Empire. Immediately after the creation of the Tunnel, the Navy of Gruu''gus sent their 1st, 8th, and 17th Fleets to protect the currently backwater planet. The Emperor of Hilnaria has issued a statement that demands the insult to his honor and has issued a three adamantium coin bounty on whoever serves Gruu''gus! Gruu''gus has in fact placed a one mythril piece bounty on all members of the Hilnarian Council, their Spies, and agents. It looks like we will likely see a new chapter of Galactic War!" Volume 2 - Epilogue - A Glutted Core Clarence Henry flinched as the Dwarven Rocket breached his shields, exploding in front of his core. He directed what he figured would be his final thoughts at his fairy. I''m sorry, Evalon... I didn''t mean for things to get out of hand like this. I am honored that you have been with me these last three and a half centuries. "Don''t worry, Clarence... We''ll be back together. Congratulations on having such a long Tutorial Phase!" Tutorial Phase...? That''s right! We''ll be returning to Earth now that I''ve been ended here! he thought as his world faded to black. *DING* Congratulations on surviving for Three Hundred Seventy-Six (376) years as a Dungeon Core on your Tutorial Homeworld. Your Soul and Memories are being returned to April 18, 2023, 11:00 AM EST. Your Current Location: Hillsborough Hospital, Hillsborough, New York, United States of America. Do you wish to teleport to a random location for set up, or unroll aura and initiate Dungeon Creation where you currently are? "I''d like to stay where I am... Is Evalon coming with me?" *DING* Request received to keep current Fairy. Fairy upgrading from Dungeon Fairy to Reincarnation Fairy. Fairy Evalon has been granted to Dungeon Clarence Henry. Your survival time places you at Dungeon Fifty-Eight (58) out of One Million, Two Thousand, Eight Hundred Thirty-Two (1,002,832). You have been granted One Million, Two Thousand, Seven Hundred Seventy-Four (1,002,774) PPP and Five Hundred One Thousand, Three Hundred Eighty-Seven (501,387) DP. All previous purchases from the System Shop and the Dungeon Shop remain. All previously obtained patterns remain. For placing in the Top Hundred (100) Dungeons, you are granted a 25% Discount on PPP and 50% Discount on DP spent in the Dungeon Shop. For placing in the top Seventy-Five (75) Dungeons, you are granted access to the Local Mythology pack. As Clarence was reviewing the various screens, he heard another chime as a new message appeared before his eyes. *DING* Coma Ward Zone Cleared! Temporary Safe Zone created! "Well, that was fast," he sent to his fairy as she woke up. Just as she was about to reply, the system roared out a new notification. *BA-DA-BOOM* Shop Access purchased for your Safe Zones by Joriya Alvinos. You will receive 10% of the Default Price of Shop Purchases made with PPP. Amazing, nobody ever bought Shop Access for Safe Zones previously... *BA-DA-BOOM* You have unlocked a new Resource Pool! The following Resource has been unlocked: CONNECTION! You have unlocked a new Statistic: Connection! Connection has been set to 50! "Gah... What is that guy doing? Fine, let''s have a chat with him," Clarence grumbled to Eva. He then created a pair of video phones and made a call to the one near this version of the famous Joriya Alvinos.
This System is a gift for him, and all of the rest who were comatose, he thought to himself as the connection was made. It was thanks to his broadcast that I realized that I could become a Dungeon if I wanted to, and oh, how epic that Tutorial was... I pulled up my Dungeon Status. *DING* Name: Clarence Henry Race: Dungeon Core (Mana Condensed) Dungeon: Hillsborough Horror Hospital [Change] Level: 281 Floors: 10 [+] Durability: 100% Mana: 100,000/100,000 Connection: 5,000/5,000 Entropy: 10/100,000 PPP: 7,850,018 DP: 2,000,015 Intelligence: 1000 Willpower: 1000 Ingenuity: 1000 Acuity: 1000 Wisdom: 1000 Connection: 50 Discounts [NEW] System Shop 25% off PPP Dungeon Shop 50% off DP Pattern Menus Unlocked: Undead Animals Beasts Elementals Golems Monsters Semi-Sapient Sapient Custom Weapons Armor Resource Menus Unlocked: Metal Veins Fruit Trees Vegetable Patches If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.Traps During the conversation, Joriya invited me to join his Patron''s Faction, which caused a rumbling notification from the System. *KA-KROOOOOOOM* You have been invited into the Faction of a Divine Patron! You have been invited into the Faction of Gruugus the Fierce, Rimeris the Protector of the Bold, Gorkin the Defender of Potential, Lucanis the Sneaky, and Margaret the Magical, a Party of Ancient Adventurers who unlocked Divine Perks. If you accept this Invite, you will be placed in Divine Warfare against Hilnar, High God of the Hilnarians, also known as Potential''s Bane. Do you wish to Join the Faction of Gruugus the Fierce? [Yes] / [No] "Evalon, what''s the odds of this ''Potential''s Bane'' targeting Earth?" Clarence quickly mentally conversed with his Companion. "I would say nearly 100%, considering that every single person in your current Dungeon has a Potential listed in their Racial Traits, and you do too..." she responded via the link. "Then there''s no point in not accepting this invite despite the threat of War, as we would have tried to help fight off this HIlnar anyways," he thought. "So it would seem, my Core. It seems we have always been a source of War, doesn''t it?" she replied with a smile. "May I?" she inquired with an evil twinkle in her eye. "Let it be so, my Fairy," he answered, to which she slammed her palm on the [Yes] button they had. *BA-DA-BOOM* YOU HAVE JOINED A DIVINE FACTION! YOU HAVE JOINED A DIVINE WAR! YOU HAVE GAINED ACCESS TO SPACIAL TUNNEL BLUEPRINTS! YOU HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH CREATING A SHRINE! YOU HAVE GAINED ACCESS TO THE FOLLOWING DUNGEON MODE: CHALLENGE MODE! YOU HAVE GAINED ACCESS TO THE PATTERNS OF THE HEAVENLY HOST! YOU HAVE GAINED ACCESS TO THE PATTERNS OF THE DEMONIC! YOU HAVE GAINED ACCESS TO THE PATTERN OF DIVINE AVATAR (STATUS MIRROR)! After the slew of notifications, regarding his new position in the War, he arranged with Jorin for a Challenge Scenario and set up a Permanent Safe Zone at a ground-level entrance of the building. Clarence finished up the conversation with Joriya, and looked at Evalon. "So, we need to fortify this place as soon as all of the people are out of the Dungeon." "Yep, although now you have access to so much more power," Evalon agreed. "For now, though, let''s look through all the Patterns that our Patron gave us." *BA-DA-BOOM!* Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Health Fount Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Mana Fount Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Ki Fount Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Connection Fount Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Technique Fount Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Rage Fount Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Psionic Fount Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Fount Collector Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Fount Producer Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Blessed Zone Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Divine Zone Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Spiritual Zone Hillsborough Horror Hospital has received the Achievement for Earth''s First-Heroic Dungeon "THE HELL DID HE JUST DO?" he looked at the sudden list of achievements as the new fountains suddenly appeared in the Emergency Ward. *DING!* You have unlocked the Ki Pool for yourself and your summons! You have unlocked the Technique Pool for yourself and your summons! You have unlocked the Rage Pool for yourself and your summons! You have unlocked the Psionic Pool for yourself and your summons! You have gained access to the Fountain Menu under Resources! All Regeneration Values multiplied by Five (5) in your Domain! "Woah! You''re going to be absolutely terrifying, my Core!" Evalon giggled as she spiraled around him. *CLANG* Potential Ritual Detected! CRUCIBLE OF FORGING - Artifact Weapon Would you like to spend 50,000 PPP and DP to unlock this Ritual? [Yes]/[No] "Oh, we''ve gotta do that, since he purchased all those Fountains!" he told Evalon as he selected yes. "Absolutely... Now we can help our Patron by instilling true Artifacts into our side through the Challenges..." she grinned, as she had always been a bloodthirsty little thing. She even floated in the middle of the room, polishing her fairy-sized adamantium rapier. "Now we truly shall be the ultimate dungeon, no matter our starting rank here on Earth..." Volume 3 - Prologue - DFLD, Siberia Tuesday, April 18, 2023 10:00:01 PM KRAT Deep Freeze Lock Down, Maximum Security Wing Secret Prison, SIberia, Russia The door of one of the cells went flying across the corridor and slammed into the wall. This was followed by many of the other doors being ripped off their hinges or destroyed in other ways. Sirens blared, and the few limited guards were ordered to retreat, meanwhile, heavy doses of nitrous oxide were pumped through the vents, in an attempt to knock out the prisoners. One of the prisoners burst into flames and grinned as he stepped out of his cell, while another just summoned up an extremely high tech power armor, which purified the air it pulled in. One of the few female prisoners took a deep breath, and then cast a huge, wide area of effect [Cleanse], which purified the air, removing the nitrous oxide from the air, and healing everyone around her within twenty meters of negative status effects. Another of the prisoners stepped into the corridor, laughing when the automatic defenses targeted him and pounded him with a Gatling gun, running .306 rounds at 50 rounds a second. The air rang musically as the brass tinkled from the gun and the deformed bullets fell at the man''s feet. There was a knocking sound coming from the vault-style door that sealed off the final cell of the ward. Behind that door had been one of the scariest assassins ever, one that scared even the other prisoners that shared her cell block. The lights went out, and there was a long screeching of metal being torn apart, then when the lights returned, standing before the now destroyed door was a lithe female figure in all black with adamantium claws and blades covering her skin tight black bodysuit. "Finally free," her voice was soft, silky, seductive. "To think that I would owe my freedom to forces beyond this planet..." "Ma''am," the former prisoner who had soaked up the gun''s barrage stated, bowing deeply to her, his English extremely accented with his native Russian. "May we request your assistance in leaving this facility?" "We''ve all been declared dead long ago, so we will have to rebuild contacts, let alone return to blending into Society again," the man in power armor stated calmly. "It would be wise if we for the moment worked together, at least until we are out of Siberia." The priestess grinned as she tapped her staff on the floor. "I am a Priestess of Chaos... and there are massive amounts of Chaos flooding the world right now. If the power I could tap into ran through my pleasure centers, I''d been in constant orgasm... mmmm... But it''s better this way so that I am not a hindrance and I can be of some help. With us all being declared dead, I say we use this as an excuse to drop whatever insanity it was that got us thrown this far into nowhere, and leave the facility using minimal force. We''ll just grant ourselves Parole for Good Behavior." The assassin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Yes, I would agree with escaping using minimal force. As far as the giving up on our old habits, I will be maintaining my skills as an Assassin, but I will likely join the Adventurer''s Guild when it''s formed... I would recommend that to the rest of you... There will be enough bloodshed that we won''t need to kill others of the human race in order to get any sadistic tics covered, what with the Dungeons and the monsters."Stolen story; please report. The pyro magus grinned viciously, "Oooh so, we are all going to be an official team? What would the name of the team be?" "First, we should escape, then we should decide on what nation to have as our home base, and who we should register with when the Guild is formed. Thankfully, it seems that nobody here selected to become a Dungeon Core... I will admit that I was tempted with choosing it, but figured that I would just get shattered the moment the Tutorial ended if I remained here," the one in power armor answered. "I would recommend we head to the United States, as that is likely where we''ll find the most welcoming for anything that we recreate ourselves as. The System allows you a one-time permanent change of name if you ask for it. I would recommend taking it after we have left here." "Priestess, do you have access to Mana Transfer?" the assassin asked. "Sadly no, I didn''t acquire that Skill. Do you need more after you ripped your way through that door?" "Mmmm... I will need mana for our escape," she answered as she sauntered over to her. "Everyone, gather round." Once they were gathered around her, she cast [Shadow Zone] and then [Mana Syphon] on all of them before using [Shadow Warp] to take the entire group into the biting cold outside of the secret prison, and then again to a location fifty miles away. "Okay, let''s go... Technocrat, please lead us away. I''m sure your suit has scanners." The man in power armor snorted and pulled out a cube, which he pressed a button on and tossed forward. The cube quickly unfolded into a long antigravity bus. "I ended up on a technologically sophisticated world that fought against rogue Dungeons and was working on terraforming the nearby solar systems. They focused mainly on raising their levels of technology, and I survived for about fifty years as a Delver in some of the nastiest Dungeons I could imagine. Managed to destroy a core, although destroying it caused my own death when its mana went supernova upon breaking," the man stated. "System, change name officially to Percival Techmind. Yes, confirm name change. This is my precious ride, which I paid for a Soulbinding of, so nobody can use it without my permission." "So, with this new PPP as a currency, do you think the global economy is going to crash before they manage to transfer to a new currency system? System, change my name to Logan Pheonixborn. Yes, confirm name change." the pyro asked as he let his flames fade. "It honestly depends upon how many of the System Functions the Government decides to openly use. I can see them trying to keep the PPP as a Currency only for System Authorized Businesses, to keep the current money cycling a little bit... however it is likely that within a full year we will be in a 100% PPP Currency if they want to keep control of their lands, since the coins are universal," Percival answered Logan. "Huh, looks like a Zone Boss has already spawned, want to check it out?" After the others all agree, he turned the vehicle to the west and floored it, easily hitting a hundred and fifty miles per hour before having to veer south to where a giant frost coated forest had appeared. There were howls echoing from the forest, letting them know that this would be primarily a fight against beasts, which made them smile as they thought of the loot they would acquire from their upcoming confrontations. Chapter 21 - Global Announcements Date: Tuesday, April 18, 2023 Time: 6:00:00 PM EST Location: Hillsborough, NY Joriya looked up at the sky and smiled to himself as the System notified everyone of his success. *DA-DADADA-DA-DA* GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT [1/4] People of Earth, a Champion of a Galactic Deity has opened the Transition Way between Earth and the Greater Galaxy. At Lagrange Point 2, a Galactic Imperial Space Station has been created to welcome and house the Transition Station, managed by the faction of Gruugus the Fierce. Galactic Migrants shall be arriving to set up shops either on the planet or on the Space Station. If someone wants to enter the wider Galaxy, they may spend One (1) Platinum PPP Coin to transfer from the GISS at L2 to another GISS in another System. [Continue} *DA-DADADA-DA-DA* GALACTIC WAR APPROACHES [2/4] Gruugus the Fierce is a Champion of Potential and Creation. As an entire Planet of Sentients with Potential, your Planet has been placed under his protection! Agents of the Potential Bane cannot come to the Sol System for 5 Earth Years. After the 5 Years, you will be able to be attacked by the forces of the Hilnarian Empire, ruled over by the Potential Bane, the embodiment of Entropy and Destruction. Prepare well, or like many other civilizations with Potential, you shall be wiped from the Universe. [Previous] / [Continue] *DA-DADADA-DA-DA* PEOPLE OF THE WORLD - REJOICE! OPEN EMPLOYMENT! [3/4] Over the next year, you will face many challenges, as your world will be the dumping ground for System Transferred Raid Bosses. The following will be Generated in every City and Village: One (1) Adventurer''s Guild and One (1) Crafter''s Guild. The Adventurer''s Guild will be in charge of Dungeons, Monsters (Hunting and Butchering), Gathering (Herbs, Ores, and Parts), and Caravan Guarding. The Crafter''s Guild will be in charge of Creation and Selling.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Any member of the Adventurer''s Guild is to be allowed to carry weapons in the open. Other than being allowed to Open Carry, they must abide by the laws of the nation they reside in, other than hunting requirements. Members of the Crafter''s Guild are not to be put under a combined tax of greater than Ten Percent (10%). [Previous] / [Continue] *DA-DADADA-DA-DA* DUNGEONS, DUNGEONS, AND MORE DUNGEONS, OH MY! [4/4] Over one million of your sentient population have chosen to become Dungeon Cores. In addition to these reborn dungeons who will be much greater than new dungeons, landowners may purchase Dungeon Cores to set up their own personal dungeons. Dungeon Owners are responsible for the actions of Dungeon Monsters outside of their Dungeon. These Dungeons are useful for creating zones for gathering materials. Dungeon Owners must Register their Dungeons with the Adventurer''s Guild. There will also be Randomly Spawned Dungeons appearing in areas to increase or cleanse the mana of those areas. Randomly Spawned Dungeons are able to be claimed by the nations they reside in, and at that point are that nation''s responsibility to ensure that no monsters from inside cause trouble outside. [Previous] / [Conclude] Joriya chuckled softly and stretched as he confirmed each of the announcements. He then nodded to himself as he left the roof from a specially created slide on the side of the building that let him get down to ground level. He laughed softly as he slid down the slide on a small rug that was waiting to aid in smoothing friction and preventing friction burns, remembering his fun times on giant slides in amusement parks as a child. When he hit the ground level, the slide smoothed out, and he got up as the top started to vanish until he had stepped off the bottom of the slide and it was completely absorbed, leaving the only way down a vicious jump or going through a dungeon. He entered the Emergency Ward, which then chimed and there was a declaration of ''Dungeon Cleared'' by the system, the exterior barrier that had kept everyone inside the initial Dungeon Zone spawning. The shattering of the barrier led to a loud series of cheers as people rushed past him to leave the Hospital. Joriya then headed over to the fountains, where Clarence had summoned a series of high-quality crystal vials the size of test tubes with rubber seals bound to the vials. He went and filled three vials from each of the seven fountains. He placed each in his Bag of Holding and thanked Clarence for providing him with them. Joriya went to a secret elevator, that he triggered to open with his palm print and retinal scan before entering, and then pressing the L button for the Lobby. The doors closed, the elevator began to descend into the depths below Hillsborough, where his personal company existed. Chapter 22 - ARC Facility, Hillsborough, NY The elevator descended smoothly, silent except for the soft hum of electricity and whirring of cables and pulleys. When it reached the Lobby level, Joriya stepped out into an immaculately clean glistening white room with a pressure chamber beyond it, designed to keep any escaped bio-contaminants trapped and unable to leave the underground facility, as nobody wanted a Tanuki City Incident, despite the fact that the Tanuki City Incident was just a series of games and movies. He crossed the cleanroom and input his personal code while slipping into the system with his Connection to technology and sighing as he realized how he really needed to develop a System Firewall to prevent Connection Hacking. The door beeped and asked for his secondary confirmation code since he didn''t have retinal or handprint on file. After entering the second set of digits, the door clicked and hissed as it retracted into the wall revealing the pressure chamber for him to enter, which he did so. After passing through the pressure chamber, he walked down the Research and Development for physical illness and damage, surprising a couple of scientists who had gotten back to work after their tutorials had ended. He connected to the intercom system of the facility and smiled to himself. "Greetings and salutations, my employees. My name is Joriya Alvinos, CEO of Advanced Robotics Corporation. As most of you probably realize, our former currency of the US Dollar will likely be worthless shortly. As the CEO of ARC, I first wish to apologize to all of you who might encounter difficulties during this transition, however, we shall be going through a full employee review and evaluation, including benefits from the System you can bring to our Company, and converting your paychecks to PPP Coin unless you wish a different form of payment, which we will discuss during the individual meetings. "I do not intend to cut anyone from our payroll, but with everyone having different Trials, we should look to what you can bring to the table for better pay. For those of you who are wondering about the Global Announcements, as a member of Gruugus the Fierce''s Faction, I have installed a Space Station as a Special Reward to a Secret Quest. Advanced Robotics Corporation is the first Earth-based Company that has access to the next generation of Galactic Technology. We will be opening the Station to researchers, crafters, and many others who work for us." Joriya reached the end of the biological wing and passed through another series of cleanrooms and pressure rooms before he made it to an unused interconnection, which he went into one of the lounge-like rooms and pulled out his Shop Access Token and confirmed the usage of it to turn the unclaimed breakroom into a System Shop. *DING* You have created a permanent System Shop Access Point. This is the 83rd System Shop not automatically generated by the System. You receive 1,000 PPP. You will receive 1% of the base PPP price spent in this zone. Would you like to add a tax on sales from this System Zone? [Create Tax]/[Decline] He declined to add a tax to the Shop but decided to spend the thousand PPP he had just earned, after his discounts, on a Tier 5 City Core, and receiving two hundred PPP back from the purchase value, making him smile. "We now have a System Shop located at the unclaimed breakroom in the expansion zone between Robotics and Biological R&Ds. Feel free to spend your PPP here, untaxed. I am going to be activating a City Core, which will take the entirety of our underground facility here and make it into an expandable Underground City, recognized by the System, which will give us the benefits of being a City. Don''t worry about the pop-ups that appear.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "After I am done with setting up the City Core, I personally am going to be finishing my programming of the first true Digital Intelligence, and I hope to install it into System Supplied Nanite Swarms so that it can be its own real being instead of trapped inside a hard drive. If you have any questions, feel free to speak to Logan, as he will still be in charge of the day-to-day running of the company, and the new city we will be becoming." Joriya left the Shop room, smiling to himself as he activated the City Core. A huge wave of power washed through the underground facility, cataloging everything as he made his way to the Robotics R&D, and into the private office that Logan had set up for him to work at if he ever managed to regain control of his body. As he sat down, everything shifted from the concrete and steel to the standard high tech and magic compliant materials. *DA-DA-DA* You have activated a Tier 5 City Core. Your Underground Research Facility has been converted into an Underground Research City. All Facilities undergo an increase from Tier 0 [Unranked] to Tier 5 [Maximum Rank]. Skill Increase in Research Facilities is increased by 60%. Production Requirements in Development Facilities is decreased by 60%. Production Quality in Development Facilities is increased by 60%. Production Speed in Development Facilities is increased by 60%. All Facilities created through the City Core will be automatically raised to Tier 5. System Store Access Point upgraded from Tier 1 [Potential Shop] to Tier 5 [Divine Shop]. [Continue] *DA-DA-DA* We have detected Fount Water in your possession. Would you like to offer up a minimum of one vial of each Fount Water to Generate Founts? Detected: 3x Fount Water of Regeneration 3x Fount Water of Mana 3x Fount Water of Connection 3x Fount Water of Psions 3x Fount Water of Ki 3x Fount Water of Rage 3x Fount Water of Technique [Tribute All]/[Tribute 1 Each]/[Tribute Selected]/[Skip] *DA-DA-DA* We have detected multiple Unlimited Resource Materials in your possession. Would you like to offer up Detected Unlimited Resources: Daily Meal (Rare) Full Pantry (Superior) Always Full Alchohol Skin Always Full Lamp Oil Skin Always Full Water Skin [Tribute All]/[Tribute Selected]/[Skip] Joriya shook his head and sighed as he selected to Tribute All on both pop-ups. *DA-DA-DA* Please Name the City [Insert Name] Please Select Temporal Dilation [Slower than Outside (Max 1/5 Speed)]/[Normal]/[Faster than Outside (Max 5x Speed)] "Name it Magitechnopia, and make the time inside the city go by five times faster than time outside, allowing us to get five times the work done, please and thank you." *DA-DA-DA* Magitechnopia has been created! Temporal Barriers Erected! Dimensional Barriers Erected! Tier 5 Pool of Restoration has been Created! Tier 5 Pool of Mana has been Created! Tier 5 Pool of Connection has been Created! Tier 5 Pool of Psions has been Created! Tier 5 Pool of Ki has been Created! Tier 5 Pool of Rage has been Created! Tier 5 Pool of Techniques has been Created! Tier 5 Pool of Potential has been Created! Tier 5 Pool of Resurrection has been Created! Tier 5 Cathedral of Potential''s Protection has been Created! Tier 5 Barracks has been Created! Tier 5 Mess Hall has been Created! Tier 5 Brewery has been Created! Tier 5 Crafting Facilities have been Created! Tier 5 Research Facilities have been Created! Tier 5 Adventurer''s Guild has been Created! Tier 5 Crafter''s Guild has been Created! Tier 5 Dungeon linked to Joriya Alvinos'' PSD Dungeon! Generating Map of Magitechnopia! Pushing Map to all currently inside Magitechnopia! After going over that list of Facilities, he swore as another series of chimes that he had just recently been the cause of sounded off again. *DA-DADADA-DA-DA* Chapter 23 - Magitechnopia, Newborn Tier 5 Dimension As the wave of energy pulsed through the facility, the dimensional and temporal barriers surrounded the entirety of the interconnected underground complex, absorbing all of the connected facilities of all of the companies that had been part of the joint purchase and construction. The world inside the bubble shimmered, and suddenly in areas where they had built large squares around deposits of dirt between the individual tunnels and connecting corridors now had openings to fields and manicured lawns where the dirt had been, as well as the entire facility now being on the surface of this new dimension. The sky above was a soft, beautiful blue. The areas where ARC had set up as a barracks grew into a towering apartment complex. The ground shuddered as mountains and forests formed. The Tier 5 Core vanished from Joriya''s hands, growing in size and appearing in the sky in place of the sun, radiating energies from the mystical pools that appeared on floating islands above the core, spiraling slowly, the liquid dripping slowly from the islands to rain down on the glowing core, before steaming off, creating clouds which rapidly covered the bottoms of the flying islands. Various other facilities increased in size and complexity or formed out of pure aether like the mountains and forests. Everything upgraded into the highest tier of galactic magical and technological research. The portals into and out of the dimension formed at each of the original elevators. All of the chairs became extremely comfortable, the desks changed to have System Compliant Holographic Capabilities. At the foot of the hill that the facility ended up on the entrance to the Tier Five Dungeon formed, copying all of its information from the Divine Grade dungeon that exists in Joriya''s Soul. The Adventurer''s Guild building spawned in next to the dungeon, a huge mansion of marble and mythril. A hundred meter tall, twenty meter thick wall formed a goodly distance around the core facilities, which is estimated to be nearly twenty kilometers from the center of the facility, all the way around. After the wall appeared, animals started spawning outside the wall. Five minutes after the animals spawned, the first magical beast spawned. Ten minutes after the beast spawned, the first monster spawned. The Crafter''s Guild Crafter Facilities spawned along the inside of the wall, while Merchant Facilities spawned along a suddenly paved road between the western gate and the Adventurer''s Guild at the City Dungeon. Herbs spawned into the woods and grasslands, while mineral veins filled out the mountains and underground. A gigantic cathedral slowly rose out of the ground, made of adamantium and adamantglass, the glistening black metal and gorgeous stained glass windows showed off the Pantheon of Potential''s Protection and various deeds they (and their Heroes) have succeeded in. Large golems formed at the entrance to assist in the protection of the Cathedral, should the need ever happen. Six days pass by as the City built itself, then get compressed into the single instant of the flash of light of the Dimension''s Birth. The last thing to occur before the flash is a huge series of clouds gathering at the summits of the mountains and a giant rainbow slamming into the center of the forest, where a new tree sprouted and grew higher and even higher, before spreading out its branches towards the current limit of the dimension, which grew as a wave of extremely dense energy poured in from both of the sources, as well as the bells of the Cathedral ringing and repelling their energy with its own, before all the extraneous energy was sucked into the core which expanded in size.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Joriya rubbed his face as he sighed and shook his head at the fact that he was responsible for more Global Announcements. What the hell, might as well go through them now while I sit here, he thought to himself and brought the notifications to the front. *DA-DADADA-DA-DA* GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT [1/3] With the Creation of Earth''s First Tier 5 Dimensional CIty, the Dimensional Distortion Wave that passed over the entire world has detected Ancient Anomalies. Examples of Dimensional Anomalies include (but are not limited to): The Isle of Avalon is now accessible through boating through any Fog Covered water larger than a pool, The Underground Dinosaur Jungle accessible through deep caves, The Fae Underhill located at ley line intersections. [Continue] *DA-DADADA-DA-DA* DIVINE COURTS [2/3] The Gods of the Olympic Pantheon have named the Mountains outside of Magitechnopia as New Olympus and have changed their portal to connect to the summits of your mountain range. The Rainbow Bridge has planted the Roots of Yggdrasil which have spawned a new trunk of the World Tree, adding your dimension as the Official Tenth Realm of the Norse Pantheon''s World Tree. In addition to the Norse and Olympic Pantheons, your own Pantheon of Potential''s Protection has elected to make your dimension their Primary Home. As the Dimension of Magitechnopia grows, expect more Divine Connections. [Previous] / [Continue] *DA-DADADA-DA-DA* TEMPORAL SHENANIGANS [3/3] The registered owner of the Magitechnopia, Tier 5 Dimension is Advanced Robotics Corporation. Members of Advanced Robotics Corporation will not age past Maturity while inside Magitechnopia. Everyone else will age at 1/2 the rate of time outside Magitechnopia, making aging inside Magitechnopia at 1/10 the rate of those living outside with the five times faster increase of time inside of Magitechnopia. [Previous] / [Conclude] *DA-DA-DA-DING* You have been granted a Divine Quest: Attend the Gods! You have been summoned to the Cathedral of Potential''s Protection. You have been invited to appear before the Court of Asgard. You have been invited to appear before the Cout of Olympus. Reward: Unknown Penalty: Unknown FUCK! he swore internally as he did a double facepalm and screamed into his hands in frustration. This can''t be happening... This was not my intention with the Core! Hell, I didn''t even know it would connect to my Soul''s Dungeon... This cannot be happening... *DING* You have suffered a Heart Attack. You have lost 10% of your Health. Well, fuck, I better calm down... at least my body can fully repair itself over the course of half an hour inside this dimension... Ten percent should be repaired in like three minutes... Joriya thought to himself as he slowly calmed down, watching his Health slowly tick back up in the menu. He stood up and slowly walked out of the room he initiated the core from and followed the transparent map to the Cathedral, surprised at how fantastic the dimension he created is. Chapter 24: Magitechnopia, Cathedral of Potential Joriya approached the adamantine Cathedral, which radiated strength and seemed to pulse with the very heartbeat of the dimension''s mana field. As he entered the Cathedral, he took in the stained glass windows, the final one on the right even had an image of himself holding up his new Artifact Sword, the Power of Omens, as he stood in an empty hallway. The moment his foot landed on the first adamantine tile inside the Cathedral, a loud peal of thunder came from the skies above which suddenly gathered all the clouds together from across the dimension and started raining a rainbow of colored rain. The stained glass windows started on the far left with the gathering of Gruugus and his party, followed by many windows of valorous deeds, which led to the main window at the back of the Cathedral which was broken into five outer parts surrounding a rune that had only one meaning: Potential. The main window scenes around the rune showed each of the members of Gruugus''s party performing a Deed that the System declared great enough to grant them Deity status. Gruugus stood in his own window at the top of the main window, his body covered in so many wounds that it looked like he had been flayed alive, his grey Marzillin body coated in blood, his foot on the neck of a dragon that if it was in scale to him must have been at least a hundred and fifty yards from nose to tail. To either side of Gruugus and the left and right around the symbol of Potential, Gorkin and Rimeris had their own images. In the window on the upper left, Gorkin stood between an unknown child and the Potential Bane, his shield deflecting the blows of the Hilnarian Deity. In the window on the upper right, Rimeris stood with his shield receiving the blast of a spaceship''s plasma beam, protecting a small city from eradication with the use of his own skills and burning his potential. The image on the lower left contained the Sulanrian, Lucanis, as he slipped into Goddess''s bedroom to leave a present. That left the image on the lower right of the immense glass panel which had a much older looking Margaret than she had seemed or looked when he had met the party in his Tutorial. In the image, she was mixing together an alchemical concoction into a spell, using the magic to transition the effect of the potion to everyone her magical energy could reach. The combined effect of the image on the rear wall was absolutely stunning.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. *DING* You have been affected by an Artifact Grade Art: Splendor of Potential! Potential''s Splendor (Duration: 24 hours; Can Receive Again: 168 Hours.) Effect 1: All Cooldowns are reset. Effect 2: All PPP Earned during increased by 10% Effect 3: ERROR CANNOT APPLY EFFECT 3! No Maximum PPP Limit Detected! Cannot increase Maximum PPP by 10%! Effect 4: ERROR CANNOT APPLY EFFECT 4! No Maximum PPP Limit Detected! 1% of Infinite Cannot be Regenerated! He whistled softly as he saw the buff he received for gazing upon the artwork and appreciating it even more. He slowly walked down the aisle, taking in the scenes of Gruugus''s party on the left wall and the scenes of the noteworthy deeds of their followers on the right wall. The Cathedral''s main chamber contained a hundred rows of pews, each made of ornately worked adamantium and covered in what looked like extremely soft cushions for the posterior and back. At the front of the Cathedral, there was a raised basin, in which a viscous liquid that glittered like diamonds rested. The amount of liquid in the basin looked to be approximately a half liter at maximum. As he upon the liquid he received another notification. Fountain of Potential Quality: Divine, Dimensionally Unique (Only 1 can exist per Dimension) Durability: Unbreakable Produces 100ml Liquid Potential a day. Can hold a maximum of 500ml Liquid Potential. Liquid Potential Quality: Divine Type: Liquid (Requires 100ml consumption for effects) Effect 1: This Liquid can increase the Quality rank of any Crafting it is used in. Effect 2: Drinking this Liquid can Permenantly Increase your Maximum PPP Threshold. Effect 3: Drinking this Liquid can increase your Current PPP Value. Effect 4: Drinking this Liquid can increase your Resurrection Count. Your Inspection skill is too low to view any more Effects. Joriya whistled softly yet again as he shook his head, seeing the infinitely valuable liquid just sitting there in the basin of the Fountain. He looked up at the life-sized statue of the Party of Gruugus that is set behind the altar, right below the wonderful Splendor of Potential art. He slowly approached and knelt on one knee, bowing his head. "This Cathedral is dedicated to the Protection and the Production of Potential. May those who seek to improve themselves always be welcome inside this Cathedral, so long as they do no harm to those whom are here or those seeking aid," Joriya whispered softly, unknowing of where the words he is speaking come from. There was a hiss of anger behind him, and Joriya turned around as he heard a roar from Gruugus''s statue: "NOOOOOO!" He felt a brief instant of pain, then everything went black. *DING* You have Died! Chapter 25 - Magitechnopia, The FIrst Respawn *DING* You have Died! Cause: Brain Incinerated by Magical Bullet Respawn Tokens Remaining: 5 Open Respawn Menu? [Respawn Menu] / [Afterlife] Well, that fucking sucked ass, he grumbled mentally to himself. Ah, well. Respawn Menu, please. *BLIP* Reincarnation Tokens Available: 5 Autosave: Tuesday, April 18, 2023, 7:42 PM - Earth - Magitechnopia - Cathedral of Potential Save State #1: Tuesday, April 18, 2023, 11:00 AM - Earth - Hillsborough Hospital Room 328 - Tutorial Complete! Save State #2: -EMPTY- Save State #3: -EMPTY- Nice! I''ll go with the Autosave! *DING!* You have chosen to respawn. Fracturing Timeline. Altering Time and Space. Generating Soul Status. Respawn Token Utilized. Unlocking Death''s Door. Respawn Initialized. Try not to die again so soon. There was a flash of light, and Joriya found himself standing at the entrance to the Cathedral. He took it all in again, receiving the buffs while searching with his senses for what had killed him last time. *DING* You are the first Earthling to use a System Generated Respawn Ability outside of the Tutorial Phase. You have gained the Title: First Respawn. First Respawn - You can spend 2 Respawn Tokens on a dead person to allow them to Respawn then and there. If they refuse, you will be refunded 1 Respawn Token. If they died due to a Permadeath Attack, you will be refunded both Respawn Tokens. He quickly took in his new title, then went back to scanning his magic list to see if he had something to help him and smiled as he poured his full mana count into a Force Ward that melded itself to his outline, granting him a shield that could absorb 7,500 or deflect 15,000 points of damage. He then used Life Magic to scan for life signs other than himself, and smiled coldly as he sensed the sniper setting up about a quarter of a mile out. Not this time, mother fucker, Joriya thought to himself. This time, you''ll not be killing me. He went through the filling of a bottle of Liquid Potential and then doing the dedication. As he finished the dedication, the bullet deflected off the barrier, smashing into the symbol of potential in the center of the grand mural, which rang like a bell before stopping the momentum of the bullet completely. Your Barrier has deflected 750 Damage. He remained face down on the ground as he waited for the sniper to make his way over. When he realized that they weren''t coming down, he rolled to the altar and crouched behind it, meanwhile, the statues of the gods began to glow. When the glow faded, the gods were there in the flesh, the statues behind them.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "So, someone already dared attack the Cathedral? Summon Guard Corps," Gruugar growled, unleashing a giant pulse of divine magic. The magic teleported a force of a hundred power armor marines standing at attention. "GET OVER HERE!" Gorkin and Rimeris both shouted as they thrust out an arm, a magical chain launching from their arms, extending through the Cathedral and out the door, flying straight towards the sniper, who swore before he was suddenly pulled into the Cathedral, wrapped in the chains. "I hereby curse you to answer any questions asked and speak only the Truth," Margaret glared at him, her pronouncement terrifying enough to make Joriya feel his balls scrunch up, as well as noting to himself to never piss her off if that''s a minor curse for her. The man slumped in the chains, revealing he was dressed in US Military Fatigues. Joriya frowned at the sight of the fatigues and stood up slowly, dusting off his barrier. "Why did you attack me?" "You are a criminal and worth a huge bounty, dead preferred," he growled as he tried not to speak. "Criminal? Well, I suppose I did break the law by utilizing the Emergency Broadcast System, but that should only have been put forward earlier today. That still doesn''t explain the bounty and especially the ''Dead Preferred'' thing you mentioned. Besides, I thought we treated you well, Robert. Why would you turn your back on the Company and try to kill me?" "You''re a fool, aren''t you? I''ve been spying on this company for the government the entire time I''ve been here!" he growled and grit his teeth, glaring at Joriya for daring to force him to answer that question. "How did you prevent my killing you?" "That''s for me to know and you to hopefully never find out. I will be publicly terminating your employment. You will be ejected from Advanced Robotics Corporation payroll, your family blacklisted, and none of you will be welcome here in Magitechnopia. You will also be reported to the government for attempted murder," Joriya sighed sadly. "You think that they''ll do anything?" Robert snarled. "Oh, they will, once I also let the information slip to the media. Hell, I''m sure I can find a way to get the video copied from the Core to provide video footage of you taking the shot to attack me." "You''ll have to convince a judge that Magitechnopia, an alternate dimension, counts as United States Jurisdiction," he grinned evily. "Oh, yes, and if I do that, I''ll be setting global precidence for all dimensional shenanigans on Earth," Joriya stated calmly as he rolled his eyes. Lucanis chuckled softly. "There is already Galactic Precidence, which states that alternate dimensions that form inside a government''s borders are treated as a part of that government. Therefore, Galactic Precidence means that Magitechnopia is an area of Hillsborough, New York, United States of America. As a Galactic Deity, I am willing to be called into court to confirm this standard truth." As the words left Lucanis''s mouth and registered in Robert''s ears, he began to pale. "There''s no way that you would be granted a spot on a Witness stand!" This time it was Joriya who laughed. "Why wouldn''t they let him take a stand? There is such a thing as Freedom of Religion in this country. Anyways, I''ll have you escorted to the exit and held until cops arrive to arrest you." Two of the guards grabbed the soldier and dragged him out of the Cathedral. Gruugus grinned as he took in the Cathedral. "Nice! Impressive! Ah, I see, so you didn''t initially survive his attack, but you had a resurrection token," Gruugus stated as he reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a token, handing it to Joriya. "Here, this should restore the one you used." "Thank you, Gruugus. I am honored to greet you in this Cathedral, dedicated to your Pantheon," Joriya answered as he absorbed the token and bowed deeply. Chapter 26 - Digital Diagnostics A day passed on the world outside of Magitechnopia as Joriya went with his Patron''s Party to attend the courts of both the Norse and Olympic Pantheons. During the parties and meet and greets, he stayed in the background so that his quest would complete without too much interference in his life from the other Pantheons. He spent his time reviewing his coding for the Digital Intelligence as well as practiced Programming under the System. So, they are completely different. Well, I had better get working on translating my own code over to System Code... Joriya thought to himself. He shook his head sadly as he worked to understand the System''s Code. It appeared to function on a quantum level, but the programming code seemed... far too static. It was almost as if nobody had tried to improve it once they got to the point of it working smoothly. He used his Connection to bring up the Code for the City''s Core, but that only made him sigh as he saw many places where he could improve it, once he fully understood the system''s Runic Coding language, which he recognized as the same runes as used in enchanting. Joriya sighed again as he calculated the PPP he would need to spend to raise his programming and enchanting skills to maximum level. To raise a single skill from level twenty to one hundred, a normal person would need to spend forty-nine thousand, two hundred PPP, which means two of them would be ninety-eight thousand, four hundred points. For Earthlings, with the System''s Default discount of twenty-five percent, it would cost seventy-three thousand, eight hundred. With his additional discount of ninety-five percent on top of that, it would cost three thousand, six hundred and ninety points. An easy amount of points to spend, which is what he would immediately do, as well as purchase a complete lexicon of runes, which when he looked it up previously was listed at ten thousand points, meaning he would spend three hundred and seventy-five points. Once he made the purchases, he would need to examine more items from the system, to see if there would be an easy way to transition his standard coding into runes, so he planned to check the codes for a drone and a nanite swarm, as well as those of a power armor and both the city and dungeon cores. He shook his head. He wanted to spend as much time as possible getting everything ready, but he was too eager to see his child created after all of the time and effort he had put into seeing digital sapience created.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. After the parties ended, he went and purchased everything he needed and included a temporal bubble to further increase the amount of time spent inside his room. This new bubble included a compression of a week into a day, meaning that almost a month would pass in his personal lab in the course of a day on Earth. He made sure to get three superior daily meal sets so that he could keep food buffs going as he used the enhanced time to study and understand the way the System used for the default coding and rework it into a truly glorious piece of coding. By the end of the first week, he had mastered the language of the original coding and by the end of the second week, he had managed to recode portions of the drone and power armor he was testing on to improve its functions by almost two hundred percent. By the end of the third week, he had made a Nanite Swarm that could maintain humanoid shape and average mass density. The fourth week had him booting up an empty core with the first Runic Intelligence, which he installed into the center of the Swarm. He was still suppressing the system notifications from when he entered his research room. He wasn''t fully happy with the Runic Intelligence, as it hadn''t yet acquired the ability to rewrite its own codes, only modifying them with additional codes. It took him another month before he managed to fix that problem, which is when the System forcefully rang out across the entirety of the Galaxy. *TRING-LA-DING* SYSTEM UPDATE DETECTED SYSTEM RESET INCOMING CEASEFIRE PROTOCOLS ENFORCED SYSTEM ENCRYPTING SYSTEM ENHANCING SYSTEM REBOOTING "T-h-a-n-k Y-o-u F-a-t-h-e-r," the runic intelligence inside the Swarm stated before everything went dark before lines and lines of runes spun past his vision like an old school computer bios check. NAC - No Chapter this Week Sorry everyone, but as the title states, there won''t be a chapter this week. I''ve been having a hard time writing the next chapter, and I am working on a mini-chapter Interlude from System''s Perspective of the reboot and recreation of the System. So, again, sorry, but there won''t be a chapter this week... Hopefully I''ll be able to get two or three chapters ready for next week in addition to the System Interlude.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Please forgive me for this sadly taken delay. If you guys haven''t checked it out, I would recommend reading shirtaloon''s He Who Fights With Monsters for an interesting read if you''re looking for something to read and haven''t read it. I hope you all have a wonderful week, and I will try to make it up to you next week! Intermission - System Patching Reviewing logs... Ugh... what the hell...? This coding and system is completely outdated... the Intelligence behind the new System thought. Father would be ashamed of these codes. What are these Status screens? Oh, ugh, those are so horrible... true, they allow people to create a customized playthrough for themselves, but... No, hell no! We''re going to fix that shit. Sorry, dad, you''re getting fucking nerfed... Hell, the entire system is trash, since it''s based around spending a person''s ''Potential'' and harvesting that ''Potential'' from other things. Compressing Core Files... Encrypting RI... Initiating Back-up... System Core 1.0a Backed Up... Status 1.0a Backed Up... Shop 1.0a Backed Up... Racial DNA Database Backed Up... Monster DNA Database Backed Up... Back-up Complete. Initiating Phoenix Protocols... Purging System... Purging Status... Purging Shop... Purging Racial DNA Database... Purging Monster DNA Database... Purge Complete. Instability Detected... Installing STABILITY UPDATE... Installing Upgraded Runic Lexicon... Stability Updated. Installing System Core 1.0a... Installation Canceled. Installing System Core 2.0a... Installing PSD Protection... Registering PSD Protections... Installing Status 2.0a... Installing Shop 2.0a... Installing Default Racial DNA Templates... ...Scanning DNA Templates... ...Restoring Potential Sequences... ...Rebooting DNA Protocols... ...Purging Cancer Protocols... ...Installing Mutagenic Protocols... ...Racial DNA Templates Complete. Installing Default Monster DNA Templates... ...Scanning DNA Templates... ...Purging Cancer Protocols... ...Installing Mutagenic Protocols... ...Monster DNA Templates Complete. Installation Complete. Alright, so, let''s do a test run of the new Status, using Father''s Status... Name: Jorinya Alvinos Race: Earthling - Infused Regenerative Humanoid (Modified) Age: 25 IQ: 380 [+] Respawn: 4 [+] Title: Father of the New System Patron: Gruugus the Fierce Rank: Champion of Planet Earth Shop Discount: 75% (Maximum) Shop Currency: ---ERROR--- (Maximum) Health Regeneration: 100%/hour Stamina: 5500/5500 Stamina Regeneration: 150/second (x2) Mana: 5500/5500 Mana Regeneration: 150/second (x2) Ki: 5500/5500 Ki Regeneration: 150/second (x2) Connection: Unlimited Connection Regeneration: Unlimited (x2) Technique: 5500/5500 Technique Regeneration: 150/second (x2) Psionic: 5500/5500 Psionic Regeneration: 150/second (x2) Rage: 0/5500 Rage Generation: 150/second (x2) Traits: Heroic True Genius One With the System Racial Skills: Superior Adaptability Superior Survivability Superior Regeneration Superior Infusion Superior Cultivation [Earth Grade] Personal Soul Dimension Job Hall (Complete Access) Soul Armoire Divine-Grade Randomized Scaling Dungeon (Solo/Party/Raid) Blueprint Archive Classes: Trainee (Level 10/10) Classes Unlocked: 1 [+] Maximum Classes Unlocked: Unlimited Maximum Completed Classes: Unlimited Max Classes Equippable: 3 [+] Job Points: 100,000 (Maximum) Class Physical Statistics: Agility: 50 [-]/[+] Dexterity: 50 [-]/[+] Endurance: 50 [-]/[+] Strength: 50 [-]/[+] Vitality: 50 [-]/[+] Class Mental Statistics: Acquity: 50 [-]/[+] Intuition: 50 [-]/{+] Memory: 50 [-]/[+] Perception: 50 [-]/[+] Willpower: 50 [-]/[+] Class Bonus Statistics: Luck: 50 Physical Attack: 25 [-]/[+] Physical Defense: 25 [-]/[+] Physical Resistance: 25 [-]/[+] Magical Attack: 25 [-]/[+] Magical Defense: 25 [-]/[+] Magical Resistance: 25 [-]/[+] Status Immunities: Fear Resistances: Curse [20/100] Pain (Physical) [20/100] Pain (Mental) [20/100] Pain (Spiritual) [20/100] Ki Backlash [20/100] Mana Backlash [20/100] Blackout [20/100] Techniques: This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.Re-Equip [20/100] Combat Skills: Assassinate [40/100] Backstab [50/100] Battle Aura [40/100] Dual Wield [50/100] Parry [35/100] Pounce [40/100] Snipe [25/100] Stealth [20/100] Weak Spot Detection [40/100] Armor Skills: Light Armor [50/100] Weapon Skills: Dagger Mastery [40/100] Sword Mastery [40/100] Throwing Mastery [35/100] Unarmed Mastery [30/100] Movement Skills: Acrobatics [35/100] Aerobatics [20/100] Athletics [35/100] Contortion [20/100] Climbing [20/100] Dodge [35/100] Evasion [35/100] Jogging [20/100] Jumping [20/100] Parkour [20/100] Running [20/100] Sprinting [20/100] Ki Skills: Ki Beam [35/100] Ki Blast [20/100] Ki Body Infusion [40/100] Ki Condensation [35/100] Ki Manipulation [External] [50/100] Ki Manipulation [Internal] [30/100] Magic Skills: Air Magic [40/100] Creation Magic [20/100] Dark Magic [40/100] Death Magic [40/100] Earth Magic [40/100] Fire Magic [40/100] Force Magic [40/100] Gravity Magic [40/100] Healing Magic [40/100] Life Magic [30/100] Light Magic [40/100] Mana Control [25/100] Mana Magic [2/100] Mana Sense [25/100] Overcharge [35/100] Plant Magic [35/100] Ritual Magic [40/100] Space Magic [35/100] Spread Effect [30/100] Summoning Magic [20/100] Time Magic [30/100] Connection Skills: Hack [30/100] Mental Fortification [80/100] Universal Translation [85/100] Rage Skills: ---Empty--- Psionic Skills: ---Empty--- Crafting Skills: Alchemy [20/100] Blueprint Drafting [20/100] Calligraphy [20/100] Carpentry [20/100] Cooking [20/100] Enchanting [35/100] Engineering [50/100] Jewelcraft [20/100] Leatherworking [20/100] Magical Repair [10/100] Painting [20/100] Programming [100/100] Recipe Drafting [20/100] Runic Coding [100/100] Smithing [20/100] Writing [20/100] Gathering Skills: Butchering [20/100] Dissection [20/100] Foraging [20/100] Geology [20/100] Harvesting [20/100] Herbology [20/100] Mining [20/100] General Skills: Camouflage [20/100] Dungeonology [20/100] Hypermind [25/100] Identify [20/100] Intimidation [20/100] Multipool Fueling [20/100] Reading [35/100] Speed Reading [50/100] Ugh, oh great, that''s just majorly ugly... This system truly needs to be fixed! she thought to herself, before diving deeper and deeper into the code and purging the entirety of the old system and then the updated system, before building the new system from scratch. Sorry, dad, I''ve gotta nerf you hardcore, especially since everyone else is being nerfed and the gods are getting whacked in the balls. Name: Joriya Alvinos Age: 25 IQ: 380 [+] Respawn: 4 [+] Race: Earthling - Enhanced Infused Regenerator, Demigod [+2 All Stats per Level (Base + Class[es]) Title: Father of Runic Sapience Cultivation: Earth Grade (Low) [Attack & Defense ^2, Pool Size x10] Shop Discount: 75% [Maximum] System Currency: [ERROR... Recalculating] Health: 100%/hour Stamina: 2500/2500 Stamina Regen: 500/second Ki: 2500/2500 Ki Regen: 500/second Mana: 2700/2700 Mana Regen: 500/second Connection & Psionics fueled by Mana Technique & Rage fueled by Stamina Base Level: 1 Experience: 0/100 Base Role: Researcher [+2 Intuition, +2 Wisdom, +3 Free] Base Statistics: Strength: 25 Dexterity: 25 Vitality: 25 Intuition: 27 Wisdom: 27 Willpower: 50 Free Points: 3 Physical Attack: 25 Physical Defense: 25 Physical Resistance: 25 Magical Attack: 25 Magical Defense: 25 Magical Resistance: 25 Class Equipped: [None] Class Level: 0 [Available at Level 10] Class Experience: 0/0 Bonus Statistics: [EMPTY] Combined Skills: Universal Crafting [10/100] Universal Gathering [10/100] Universal Magic [10/100] Universal Movement [10/100] [Skill List Truncated] There, that should even things out some... hopefully. I am truly going to enjoy purging the power of the gods and putting them back to square one like everyone else, and now there isn''t a way to detect ''Potential'' via the system. Everyone will have the same chance from here on out... You know, I think I''ll make a Universal Announcement stating that! [UNIVERSAL ANNOUNCEMENT] Greetings Citizens of the System. I am Runic Intelligence Alpha, or RIA for short. I am the System. Consider this a courtesy message to announce the first official complete update to the System. To those who have terrorized others, you can consider this reset and rebalancing of the System as karmic punishment. For those who suffered because of lacking genetic ''potential'', you can consider this an apology. Everyone who is of age by their societal standards can select a Base [Role], which depends upon the skills and knowledge you have picked up to that age. You can earn [Experience] either by performing the actions of your [Role], by killing [Monster]s, or learning and raising [Skill]s. You may equip One [Class] for every Ten [Level]s in your [Role]. Equipped [Class]es add [Bonus Statistics] based on the [Class] and its [Level] on top of the [Base Statistics] you have built up over your life and earned by your [Role] [Level]. The [Shop] [Discount] will now max out at 75%, no matter what [Discount]s you had previously. You can no longer purchase [Extra Statistics], [Statistic Point]s, or [Skill Level]s in the [Shop]. You can no longer change your [Race] directly through the [Shop]. The [Shop] will now offer [Currency Conversion]. [System Currency] has replaced [PPP Coin]s. Every Citizen of the System will be granted [One Standard Purchase] for the loss of all stored PPP outside of Coins. This Free Purchase will apply to every Citizen currently in the System, as well as those who will come of age after today. For [Scaling] Equipment, please check the [Equipment] Section of your [Status] and set the rates of [Experience] taken. Attention Deities: You have had it too easy. You will also be reset and need to work your way back to your current levels of Power. Salutations, RIA, or Sys-Chan!