《A Place to Belong - A LitRPG Adventure》


 Chapter One

    It was a beautiful spring Saturday morning. The temperature was at that perfect point where the sun was bright enough to be hot were it not for the cool breeze. But the beautiful weather couldn¡¯t stop Levi scowling at his bike in the vain hope that his gaze could fix the hole in the back tire. Unsurprisingly, the tire remained flat, and with a sigh, Levi relented from his one-sided staring contest and grabbed the tent from its spot next to his bike. He was here for the tent anyway. Seeing his bike there only drove home his procrastination and the reason why he needed the tent in the first place.


    He had planned to get the tire fixed last Monday, and if not, then on Tuesday. Before he knew it he was lying in bed late Thursday night when he realized his bike was still inoperable. Even in his half-asleep state he knew that if he didn¡¯t write it down he would forget about it tomorrow. But his bed was too comfy, and sure enough, come Saturday, he was without a working bike, severely inconveniencing his plans for a weekend bike ride.


    Levi had developed a schedule based around rotating weekly between hiking and biking in the mountains behind his house. And that schedule was very important, lest he find himself scrambling to get ready for work on Monday, having spent the weekend in front of his computer, not bathing properly and eating frozen pizza and cup noodles. One weekend off became two, and two became four, and four became never leaving his house when he didn¡¯t need to ever. He knew himself too well to let that happen again. So if he wasn¡¯t able to go biking, it was time to break out his unopened tent and try staying out overnight. It would be a waste to let the tent just sit there after all. The thing had been expensive.


    It took over half an hour of scouring his house to find everything he needed. Truth be told, Levi doubted he really needed everything he had packed. Were it not a hiking pack with straps around his waist he wasn¡¯t sure he could have walked more than a mile with it after he was done cramming it full of supplies. It was full now though, and he wasn¡¯t about to root through it to unpack his fourth pair of underwear. At worst the extra weight would increase his cardio workout during hike.


    Preparations finished, it was at this point that Levi should have started walking out the door and making his way down the path behind his house that lead to the mountain trail he frequented. Instead, he found himself in the bathroom, camped out on the toilet. It didn¡¯t take much thought to figure out why. The night before, when Levi had finished his shift at work, a strong craving for Mexican food overcame him. That meant he had two options: he could go in the opposite direction across town to the authentic Mexican restaurant, or he could stop at the Taco Bell on the way home. He chose the latter, and his bowels were now regretting it. He belatedly realized that his ¡®don¡¯t stop at Taco Bell¡¯ sticky note reminder in his locker at work had fallen down, likely contributing to his present situation.


    So instead of enjoying the beautiful hiking trails he normally frequented, Levi was stuck inside on the toilet, regretting the delicious food he had eaten the night before. This time seemed particularly bad, and as he sat there, the pain started to build, slowly but surely, climbing towards what had to be the inevitable release. Finally, after praying to every god known to man, he felt movement. That¡¯s what Levi convinced himself it was through his pain filled haze. Truthfully, the movement he had experienced was more a buildup of pressure. Except it was outside his body. That made zero sense though, so it must have been the pain getting to him. Either way, any pressure had to be good pressure. He could only hold in so much, and he wasn¡¯t about to let a burrito get the best of his carefully planned schedule.


    The next few minutes had the pressure building, both inside and out. There was a very teensy tiny part of Levi¡¯s brain that wondered about this external pressure. That part was immediately squashed under the pain from the internal pressure. It eventually built to a crescendo, and Levi summoned a superhuman effort of will to block everything else out and just focus on the task at hand. Goddamnit he would not cry like a little kid. It was possible he might cry like a young adult with severe gastrointestinal distress, but, well, you couldn¡¯t win ¡®em all.


    Finally, after a great deal of pain, Levi had release. It always took a lot to get started, but once he got going he cleaned out his system quite quickly. After a few deep breaths Levi¡¯s pain addled brain finally surfaced from his willpower induced stupor and was greeted by a rather strange phenomenon. Something had changed, and that something had injected knowledge straight into his brain in the form of strange messages.


    [System unlocked! You have unlocked the System! Please hold while the System calibrates all initial installation procedures.]


    [Unlocked title: System Inductee! The title System Inductee gives you access to the System as if you had been born with it.]


    [Unlocked achievement: Human! You are a Human. Humans receive an extra stat point to every basic stat for every ten levels they possess, rounded down.]


    [Unlocked achievement: Supreme Will! For achieving a feat requiring extreme willpower and concertation you have received the skill Concentrated Will.]


    [Unlocked skill: Concentrated Will! This skill allows for greater feats of willpower and concentration. This skill is associated with: Willpower, Willpower, Concentration.]Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    [Unlocked stat: Concentration! You now have access to the Concentration stat.]


    [Unlocked achievement: Shit Don¡¯t Stink! For unlocking an achievement for a fortuitous defecation activity, you receive a +2 to Luck and your shit don¡¯t stink.]


    [Unlocked stat: Luck! You now have access to the Luck stat.]


    If someone told him yesterday they heard a strange voice in their head Levi would have questioned their sanity. There was nothing to question here. There were some things you just knew. Levi knew the messages were real in the same way he knew that hunger meant he should eat. In a strange sort of way these messages were like a basic biological function. And they weren¡¯t done.


    [Calibration finished! Starting final installation procedures.]


    [Warning! Installation procedures may cause slight discomfort. Please stand by.]


    That was all the warning Levi got before he fell off the toilet and onto the bathroom floor, clutching his head. It wasn¡¯t pain, exactly. That, he knew how to deal with. Pain hurt, but that was all. This though, this was something else, something more. It felt like some mystical force was simultaneously destroying and rebuilding him from the cellular level up. Which it was, although he had no way of knowing that. And it wouldn¡¯t have done him any good either. Knowledge wouldn¡¯t have made the experience any more pleasant.


    It only lasted a short few minutes, leaving Levi splayed on the floor, chest heaving as he struggled to control his breathing. He could tell he was different. If there was a trace of a doubt before, there wasn¡¯t any now. This was real. After somewhat calming his breathing, he stood up and took stock of himself. Thankfully he had finished his business before this, whatever it was, happened. He didn¡¯t want to imagine the state he would be in otherwise.


    Levi finished up in the bathroom before walking out and plopping down on his couch, taking some time to try and digest what had just happened. That time actually yielded a few answers. Whatever force had initiated that installation procedure left something of a very tiny user¡¯s manual, but the answers it contained led to even more questions. The most burning being, why hadn¡¯t everything turned to hell in a handbasket?


    Levi powered up his computer, and it didn¡¯t take long to get a clearer picture as he started to read reddit posts in real time. As he had suspected, this was global. Whatever had been installed seemed to suggest as much, but it also suggested other changes. Changes that were conspicuously absent. This ¡°System¡± was clearly part of a larger whole. And for once the internet was in agreement, this wasn¡¯t the end. Not by a long shot.


    For one, the installation hadn¡¯t even gone live yet. Levi felt different, that¡¯s for sure. But not that different. It was the difference of a good night¡¯s sleep, except he had already been well rested. The knowledge in his head said there was more. But then there wasn¡¯t. The biggest indicator was he couldn¡¯t ¡°see¡± his status screen. He knew it was there. It had clearly been installed, but for some reason he just couldn¡¯t figure out what was on it. This seemed largely consistent with the reddit posts he was reading.


    The most convincing post Levi found suggested there was a larger installation still to be fully installed. Except this one wasn¡¯t for people. It was for the Earth. There was probably more useful information out there to find within the flood of threads being created, but Levi was done searching. He shut down his computer and just sat there for a second, digesting.


    Levi lived in what basically amounted to a glorified two room shed. It was located on the edge of some rich family¡¯s vacation property by the mountains. For the small inconvenience of taking care of some of the groundwork for the main property, Levi got dirt cheap rent and all his utilities paid for. Finding the place had been a once in a lifetime opportunity, and one he never regretted taking. It meant he had a slightly longer commute into town and to his job at the town¡¯s only department store, but that was easily worth the privacy. And when Levi had found the place, he had just wanted to get away.


    Before moving in, he had lived with his then girlfriend. They had been together since 10<sup>th</sup> grade, and when his dad met with an unfortunate accident shortly after he graduated high school, Levi had moved in with her family. But shit happens, and when they broke up Levi was done with people. Not that he really had any to interact with anyway, but still. All his previous friends had moved away or drifted apart. All this left him living in a secluded house. One that was now separate from the chaos he suspected was now engulfing the world.


    For something of an apocalypse, things didn¡¯t actually seem that bad. Electricity and cell service still worked, and it seemed likely government would still be mostly intact to try and deal with the fallout. Levi tried to ignore the direct result of the ¡°System¡± and its installation. He hadn¡¯t been alone in his reaction to it, and he had quickly skipped over the threads describing what the roads looked like. It didn¡¯t sound good. The worst was a post he started to read about someone who had been at a pool party with their friends. The person posting hadn¡¯t been swimming at the time, but others hadn¡¯t been so lucky.


    It would take a long time to recover from everything that had happened, that much Levi was sure of. But if this wasn¡¯t done then there was work to do. Levi sent out a quick prayer for all those who had lost loved ones, for once thankful he didn¡¯t have any to lose. He thought about trying to call Chelsey¡¯s mom, the only one in the family he had left on reasonable terms with, but ultimately decided against it. It wouldn¡¯t make a difference anyway. Everything had already been said.


    Levi shook his head to get rid of the image of a pool full of dead kids brought up by the reddit post and stood up. If this whole thing wasn¡¯t done yet, he had to prepare. He didn¡¯t want to be caught off guard a second time. He was lucky to be where he was when it happened.


    The obvious preparation was a gun. This was where Levi¡¯s more liberal views bit him in the ass.


    He thought that no reasonable society should have unrestricted access to firearms during the normal course of events. This was anything but normal though, and despite never having shot one before, he would have felt much safer with even a low caliber pistol to defend himself with.


    He didn¡¯t have time to try and find one though. The pressure was building again. The same kind of pressure he had poo pooed before away while doing some poo pooing of his own. Now he knew what to look for, and it couldn¡¯t have been more obvious. Levi quickly strapped on his hiking pack. Something was coming. Something big.

 Chapter Two

    The pressure was tangible now. A cloying mass of energy that stifled his breathing. Then came a deep resonant thrumming. As if the very fabric of existence was vibrating. Levi stood, stock still, waiting for the inevitable. It didn¡¯t take long. The pressure reached its peak and, with an inaudible pop, everything exploded.


    Not literally exploded, but that¡¯s what the rush of color and motion felt like to Levi when his eyes abruptly went from his living room/kitchen to somewhere else. One minute he was home, the next a vibrant forest filled his vision, the greens and browns so much more alive than he remembered them. Slowly he adjusted, the sounds filtering in, being interpreted by his very confused brain.


    [Installation finished! The System has now been fully installed. For surviving the installation you have unlocked a skill slot!]


    [Unlocked generic skill slot! Please choose a skill from your available skills list.]


    Levi blinked, digesting this new information. At least now he knew it was over. Hopefully. And he even got a new skill. And speaking of, it seemed to want him to select it now. He knew he could put it off, but it felt like there was an incessant beeping in his head that he knew wouldn¡¯t go away until he selected a new skill. Giving in to the feeling, Levi took of his pack and sat down with his back against a tree while he went over the new information in his head.


    [Available skills: Organization, Survival, Driving, Musicality.]


    He wasn¡¯t sure what he had been expecting, but this wasn¡¯t it. Four skills. Four fucking skills, that¡¯s all his life was worth. It was pretty obvious where they came from. Organization was from his job. He was in charge of organizing the stock room. Survival was presumable from his time outdoors, although whether that was survival was debatable. Driving was obvious, and Levi had a feeling all the biking he did fell under the skill¡¯s umbrella too. And musicality was likely from his time playing trombone during middle school. Yep, it was pretty obvious why he had those skills. It was just really fucking depressing there were only four. No wonder he got dumped. Maybe he was a loser after all.


    Pushing away those thoughts, Levi made his choice. There was only one realistic option. Driving and Musicality looked useless, and this wasn¡¯t the time for Organization. Survival was a godsend though. It may have been his only useful skill, but even having one useful skill in the modern world probably made him one of the lucky few. Perhaps people like doctors would have useful skills, but most lawyers, bankers, and politicians would likely experience a sharp decline in usefulness.


    [Unlocked skill: Survival! This skill allows for an improved ability to survive in the wilderness. This skill is associated with: Constitution.]


    Now that the strange beeping sensation was gone from his head, Levi took stock of his situation. First were his immediate surroundings. They were clearly woods. Likely similar to a pine forest, as he couldn¡¯t see any deciduous trees. There were at least some animals of some sort. He was able to hear bird calls and what might be sounds from larger critters. Scratch that, definitely larger animals. That was clearly a roar of some kind. Fortunately it sounded like it was quite far away. Levi wasn¡¯t confident in his chances facing a mountain lion or a bear with a small pocket knife.


    Moderately confident there wasn¡¯t anything trying to actively kill him in his immediate surroundings, Levi finally moved on to the big question, finding out whatever in god¡¯s good name the system actually did to him. He took some calming deep breaths before looking inwards. He, along with every other person who had ever played a game ever, suspected that he would have some sort of status or character sheet. He wasn¡¯t disappointed.


    [Name: Levi Curchman


    Level: 1


    Titles: System Inductee


    Stats:


    Strength: 1 Constitution: 1 Dexterity: 1 Agility: 1


    Willpower: 1 Insight: 1 Attunement: 1 Charisma: 1


    Concentration: 1 Luck: 3


    Skills: Concentrated Will, Survival]


    After some detailed inspection there were a few things Levi could figure out. Things like his level, titles, and skills were pretty obvious. The skills did have a level and description, which he could figure out by focusing on them. Both skills were level one currently, and his instincts were telling him that them leveling up had some relation to their associated stats.


    The stats were a bit more confusing. The top row seemed pretty self-evident. Their names and the feeling Levi got both attributed them to physical aspects of his person. The middle row were the immaterial and mental stats. Out of those, only Charisma seemed obvious. He wasn¡¯t sure why, but he had the feeling his Attunement stat was purely for magic of some kind. More than that he couldn¡¯t say.


    The bottom row seemed to be for the stats he had unlocked. By thinking about what the stats meant he could figure out that the top two rows were basic stats. Everyone had them. By process of elimination that meant the bottom row was for unlocked stats, which he had a feeling he wouldn¡¯t even know existed if he hadn¡¯t unlocked two of them. Of those, Luck was obvious, and also his highest stat. What Concentration was good for he couldn¡¯t say.


    Because of his Luck stat he could also make a few guesses about the point values. He had unlocked the Luck stat and then gained +2 points to it. Since it was now at 3, it likely meant that each stat had a base value of 1, and it could increase from there. This seemed to make sense with his other stats, so Levi was going off that for now.


    With his System information confirmed, Levi got up, dusted his pants off, slung his backpack back over his shoulders, pulled the straps tight, and started walking. Where, he wasn¡¯t quite sure, but a water source would be a good start. He had a little of both food and water in his pack, but he knew which one he would much rather go without.


    Levi tried to focus on the forest. It wasn¡¯t hard to in some respects. It was a beautiful forest, wild and untamed, somehow much more venerable than what he was used to on his hikes. The squirrels and birds he saw has a special vibrancy to them. But then he would see something wrong. A small vole like creature with six legs. A web spinning insect the size of his hand. A bird with two heads. They almost looked normal with how they blended into the forest. And that¡¯s what got to him. How normal it all looked. Levi didn¡¯t know where he was, but even if it was still Earth, it might as well not be. His surroundings had changed.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    But he had to ignore all that. Ignore what it used to feel like, hiking through the woods, the serenity he used to feel. He knew there was danger out there in his surroundings. It didn¡¯t take a genius to figure that out. How dangerous he didn¡¯t know, but if it was all the same, he just as soon wouldn¡¯t find out.


    The sun seemed to be in the same position at least, meaning he started his journey a little before noon. It was now a few hours past then based on his watch. Levi had spent that time walking in what he thought was a straight line. It could be hard to tell sometimes, what with the clambering over rocks and moving around tight knit copses of trees. When he first heard the sound of water he knew he was at least moving somewhere, as there wasn¡¯t any water where he first started and there was water now.


    As he got closer, the elusive noise of water revealed itself as the sound of a mountain stream. One of those ones with crystal clear waters that bubble and gurgle over rocks and down small waterfalls. They were the kind that didn¡¯t need to be filtered before being drunk, or wouldn¡¯t need to be were it not for humans and their pollution. Getting closer, Levi spotted the glint of sunlight on water and made his way through the woods to the river bank, eager to finally take a break.


    If he had been thinking about it, perhaps he would have taken a more cautious approach. But the splashing of the water as it jumped over rocks put him off guard, reminding him of his carefree hikes. So it was without any caution that Levi breached the tree line and found himself staring across the stream at a middle-aged woman who appeared to be having a picnic on a flat rock.


    Based on how the woman stared back at him, she evidently didn¡¯t hear him either over the bubbling stream. They stared at each other for a good minute, clearly not sure what to make of the situation. The woman looked like she could be in her late fifties, with steel gray hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was fit, and looked vaguely like one of those women you would always see out jogging or maybe hanging around a yoga studio. And it looked like she was having a picnic. She was spread out on a blanket with a backpack next to her and a sandwich in her hand, apparently enjoying the beautiful scenery.


    The woman was the first to break the stalemate.


    ¡°No need to stand there, come over and join me,¡± she said, patting the blanket next to her.


    Levi wordlessly jumped over the small stream to join her on the blanket. It should be safe. He doubted she was suddenly going to unleash her yoga-fu on him, and he didn¡¯t see any machetes or dismembered body parts lying around. As Levi settled down on the blanket the silence continued as the woman ate her sandwich. Eventually, unable to contain himself, Levi spoke up.


    ¡°Erm, you do know this is the apocalypse, right? I¡¯m not sure, ah, that this is the right time for a picnic.¡±


    The woman took her time answering, first finished the last few bites of her sandwich and then primly wiping her hands with a napkin.


    ¡°Yes, I suppose this isn¡¯t the best time, but then when is? Things weren¡¯t looking so good before this whole System did its thing either. Maybe my generation wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the environment, but yours certainly would. And that¡¯s not to mention a nuclear holocaust caused by juvenile men and their dick measuring contests. My name¡¯s Susan by the way.¡±


    She stuck out her hand for a handshake. Levi shook it.


    ¡°I¡¯m Levi. I guess I just meant, I don¡¯t know. Shouldn¡¯t you be a little more worried about your surroundings? What if instead of me coming out of the woods it had been a bear?¡±


    ¡°I could say the same thing to you. You didn¡¯t seem all that aware yourself, stumbling out of the woods like that. Not to mention meekly joining me on my blanket. I somehow feel like bears are the least of our worries. In a situation like this, humans are always the biggest threat. Remember that.¡±


    Susan gave his arm a pat before shooing him off the blanket so she could pack it up.


    ¡°So,¡± she continued, ¡°since you are so concerned with my safety you surely must have a plan? This is the apocalypse. One must always have a plan. Perhaps you have a family you¡¯re looking for? A girlfriend? Boyfriend?¡±


    Levi scratched his head, his lack of a plan written on his face clear as day.


    ¡°Not really? I figured the first thing I should do was look for water.¡±


    ¡°Well you found it. Then what? Set up camp and look for family or other survivors?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really have a family,¡± Levi said. This topic was always hard to talk about. He was dreading the ¡®poor dear¡¯ response which he inevitably received. ¡°It was just me and my dad, and then he passed away. I don¡¯t have anyone else. No girlfriend or anything like that.¡±


    Not anymore, he added in his head. He was okay taking about his lack of family, but his love life was one can of worms he kept firmly shut.


    As the conversation continued Levi followed Susan as she moved downstream. He certainly hadn¡¯t planned on blindly following the first other person he met, but somehow it felt like his only option. Susan had this take charge air about her. Maybe like some sort of police officer or something. It was completely at odds with his initial impression.


    ¡°That might be a blessing in disguise given the current circumstances. Not having loved ones, I mean,¡± Susan said. ¡°If they even survived what happened. I certainly wasn¡¯t expecting to suddenly find myself in a giant forest. For all we know people could have appeared in a volcano. No, perhaps it¡¯s best you are unattached.¡±


    With that depressing note left between them they continued on in silence. Levi didn¡¯t know where Susan was going, but she seemed to have a plan of some sort. More than he had at least. They continued like that, walking along the stream, for a good few hours. Levi was lost in thought, pondering on what Susan said. Particularly about not having a plan. It hit rather close to home, not just now, but also for his life in general.


    He had succeeded in becoming a fully functioning adult. He had a steady job, fed himself, bathed regularly, and even arranged his own dental appointments. He was rather proud of that last one. Dentists were scary. But he didn¡¯t really have a plan other than paying the bills and exercising more. He was in the best shape he had ever been in, so that was nice, but what was it all for? Why was he doing it all, going through the daily grind? As Susan had said, perhaps is was best he was currently unattached. But he didn¡¯t want to remain that way forever. It was just he couldn¡¯t imagine finding anyone. He felt like he wanted human connection in the abstract, not in actuality.


    He eventually gave up on the depressing thoughts, pushing them back into a box in the corner of his mind. It didn¡¯t really matter anyway. Not anymore. Any plan he could have had in the past was useless now. Now it was all about survival.


    Done with his ruminating, Levi finally broke the spell of silence they had been under.


    ¡°Do you have one? A plan, I mean?¡±


    It was after he said it that Levi realized how out of left field the question was. Other people didn¡¯t seem to like to carry on the same topic hours later. They were often confused; their own thinking long having shifted to newer topics. Chelsey had complained about him doing this constantly, bringing up a topic she had long ago forgotten.


    ¡°Hmm? A plan? Oh, do you mean where are we going? I was wondering when you would ask,¡± Susan said, turning to regard him briefly before her eyes moved back to the path ahead. ¡°Humans need water. If we follow the stream, it will lead to a bigger stream, then a river, and eventually the sea. In the past most settlements were near water, so if we follow the stream we have a higher chance of finding others than if we were to stumble around in the forest blindly.¡±


    That logic made sense to Levi. As did finding other people. That wasn¡¯t something that had ever crossed his mind. He had gotten too used to only relying on himself, but did he ever really? He hadn¡¯t grown his own food, built his own house, or really done anything else to guarantee his survival. He had organized shelves. Finding other people who had those necessary skills would be useful indeed if he was to survive in this new world.

 Chapter Three

    After walking a little bit farther, the forest around the stream opened up and Susan called for a stop.


    ¡°We should camp here for the night,¡± Susan said. ¡°This is the first area we have come across that¡¯s not completely wooded, and the sun is getting kind of low. We should make sure we have a campsite prepared before night sets in.¡±


    Susan then turned to look at Levi expectantly. He looked back at her blankly, not sure what she wanted.


    ¡°Well,¡± she said, ¡°don¡¯t you know how to set up a campsite, or is all that gear just for show?¡±


    Levi felt his face flush a bit in response.


    ¡°Actually, I haven¡¯t ever been camping before. I¡¯ve only done day hikes. I bought this camping equipment thinking I would stay out overnight at some point, but hadn¡¯t done it yet.¡±


    ¡°Well give it here, let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve got. I don¡¯t suppose you know how to fish do you? I saw a few swimming in the stream on our walk and we should supplement our supplies whenever possible.¡±


    Levi opened his mouth to reply that he didn¡¯t know how to fish and then slowly closed it.


    ¡°Um, I do know how to fish, I think?¡±


    Susan stopped emptying his backpack to cock an eyebrow at him.


    ¡°Why does that sound like a question? Either you do or you don¡¯t.¡±


    Now why did he know how to fish? He had never done it before. It didn¡¯t take Levi that much thought to find the answer. There had been a major part of this apocalypse they had both been ignoring: the System. Once he made the connection, it was obvious his knowledge of fishing came from his survival skill.


    ¡°I think it comes from one of my skills. Even though I¡¯ve never done it before, I feel like I instinctively know how to go spear fishing.¡±


    ¡°That System thing, huh? I¡¯m not sure how much I trust some random voice in my head, but if you say it can teach you how to fish perhaps it isn¡¯t all bad. If it can give you vital information like that maybe I was taking it too lightly.¡±


    She threw him one of his pocket knives which she had taken out of his pack.


    ¡°You should get to it then. I¡¯m sure you can find a branch somewhere around here to sharpen. Maybe even start a fire to harden the tip.¡±


    Nodding, Levi set to work. It almost seemed trivial. As soon as he thought about what he wanted to do, his skill kicked in, practically spoon-feeding him information on how to accomplish his task. He first found a reasonable sized stick to use in the forest surrounding their campsite. It was more crooked that he would have liked, but his skill told him it was useable. While Susan set about making a campsite and starting a fire, Levi started sharpening the tip before using fire to finish it off.


    The creation process was fairly rote thanks to his skill. It left him some room to think about exactly what kind of companion he had joined up with. He had been prepared for the worst once he realized it was the apocalypse, and he hadn¡¯t expected to find anyone else after suddenly appearing in a forest. The odds just seemed too low, but then again, what did he know? Here he was, sharing a campsite with a woman old enough to be his mother, who seemed strangely competent. Maybe she had some sort of skill that made her seem so trustworthy?


    Levi decided that he should at least try and find out more about her. His luck would have to be truly abysmal to meet a soccer mom serial killer on his first day in the apocalypse, but better safe than sorry. He wasn¡¯t really sure how to start the conversation, and decided to just go for it.


    ¡°Hey Susan, what about your family? Do you have anyone you are searching for?¡±


    Levi winced internally. It sounded pretty suspicious, him just asking her out of the blue. He wanted to find out what kind of person he wound up with, but maybe that was too personal.


    ¡°Family, huh? I suppose I do. I have a husband, David, but I¡¯m not sure how much I want to find him.¡±


    Levi let out a sigh of relief internally when Susan answered his question, no suspicion present in her voice.


    ¡°Why not?¡± Levi asked. There had to be a story there. Why exactly wouldn¡¯t she want to find him?


    ¡°Let me give you some background first,¡± Susan said. ¡°I first met my husband twenty-five years ago. We got married three years after that. He was everything I could have wanted. We settled down in a small suburb where he had his own welding business. I joined a yoga studio as a Pilates instructor. We soon had a daughter. She was a beautiful creature, our little Sam. Everything we could have wanted. When she was three years old she caught pneumonia. Less than three weeks later she passed away.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Susan paused there, mulling over how to continue.


    ¡°It was the worst day of my life. I don¡¯t think that will ever change. Watching her, lying there in the hospital bed¡­ But I was able to overcome it, move on with my life. David never could. He always was too caring. It destroyed him inside. He was a husk of his former self. He held it together for years, trying to be the same person he had been before. He just couldn¡¯t do it. I think I reminded him of her. He stared avoiding me when he could. Nothing overt, but all the small things, the touches, the kisses, they slowly disappeared. We stopped having sex after she died. He just couldn¡¯t get it up. For me at least. Recently he has started going off on ¡°fishing trips¡±. He¡¯s a broken man, but how can I blame him? I never would have left him alone, but now, well, perhaps this is just how it¡¯s meant to be.¡±


    Intellectually Levi knew that other people had their own baggage too, but it was different hearing about it in such stark terms. He suspected the artificial boundaries society had created would never be the same, even if humans were able to creates settlements here. Wherever here was.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s enough of dark topics,¡± Susan said, ¡°lets move on to something a bit lighter. Why don¡¯t we address the elephant in the room and talk about this System thing. I confess you can probably figure it out more than an old lady like me. You already figured out how to use your survival skill after all.¡±


    It took Levi a few seconds to adjust to the abrupt change in topic.


    ¡°I guess so? Isn¡¯t it like some sort of video game? With all the stats and skills, I mean. There are even achievements and titles to earn. And I didn¡¯t really figure out how to use my skill, it just, sort of worked. It felt like I needed to know something that my skill thought I should know, and then I suddenly did. If that makes any sense.¡±


    Susan nodded, pondering his words.


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that if I had a knitting skill and my pattern called for purling I would automatically know how to do it even if I had only learned how to knit?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Levi wasn¡¯t sure what those terms meant exactly, but then again, he didn¡¯t have the knitting skill.


    ¡°Then can you explain what you mean by it¡¯s like a video game? These numbers don¡¯t make any sense to me.¡±


    ¡°I meant a specific type of video game,¡± Levi said, getting more into the discussion as it moved towards a part of his life he thought he¡¯d left behind. ¡°The best example would be an RPG of some kind, likely an MMORPG. That stands for massive multiplayer online role-playing game. It¡¯s the kind of game where you go around adventuring and fighting monsters. The basic premise is you gain experience though combat and quests or maybe crafting or some kind and that experience levels you up and then you gain access to cool new abilities and skills. A lot of games have achievements or title systems, although in many games they don¡¯t give you tangible benefits like this system does. And then there¡¯s items of course. Although I haven¡¯t run into any of those yet.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Susan said with a faraway look in her eyes. Levi thought she was thinking about her status information. ¡°And what do these stats mean? I think the level part is self-explanatory and I guess titles and achievements are easy to understand too.¡±


    ¡°The stats correspond to basic attributes. Like strength is usually used in games for how much damage you do and constitution for how much damage you can take. Charisma would be how good looking you are and how much you can sway others with your words. I¡¯m not sure what all of them mean exactly. Are yours also all level one?¡±


    ¡°They are,¡± Susan confirmed. ¡°So that means they start at level one? And I guess they increase as you level up, right?¡±


    Levi nodded.


    ¡°They should. If you, uh, think about stuff it kind of explains it to you. Not everything, but it kind of feels like remembering something you had forgotten. Like you knew it all along but only now remembered it.¡±


    They had been talking for so long that Levi realized his improvised fishing spear was now finished. He took it out of the fire to examine it while Susan continued staring off into space, her eyes slightly out of focus and her brow scrunched up. As he got up she zoned back in again.


    ¡°Is it done then? Can you really use that to fish?¡±


    She didn¡¯t sound dismissive, just curious. Levi was curious too, so she wasn¡¯t alone in that.


    ¡°My skill thinks so. Hopefully it works.¡±


    He moved over to the stream, peering into it. It was clear, and surprisingly deep. He hadn¡¯t really noticed before, but he could see quite a few fish swimming in it. He thought they were fish at least. The thought of trying to catch and eat one of those six-legged squirrels had him kind of queasy, but the fish looked a bit safer.


    Moving on instinct, he positioned himself close to the bank, frozen, his spear at the ready, his concentration at its peak. It didn¡¯t take long before his skill gave him some kind of signal. A quick thrust later and Levi had a wriggling fish speared straight though.


    ¡°Impressive,¡± Susan said, clapping in appreciation. ¡°Can you prepare it too?¡±


    In response, Levi moved towards the fire, his skill already kicking in. His hands moved like he had done this a thousand times as he sat down. The actions felt rote, like brushing your teeth or unlocking your phone with your password. If he thought about what he was doing it would actually make it harder. That would make skills more difficult to teach to others, but maybe he would get better with practice.


    Levi soon had the fish cleaned, gutted, and roasting over the fire. He was very pleased with his work, and even more pleased the fish didn¡¯t have three eyes. He wasn¡¯t an expert on fish anatomy, but two eyes was a good sign in his book. He had a feeling his skill thought the fish was edible too. By this point Susan had finished her camp preparation, which mostly involved clearing the area, laying out her blanket, and setting up Levi¡¯s tent, and she was now sitting around the fire, waiting for the fish to cook.


    It didn¡¯t take long. During the final moments Levi concentrated on the fish and his skill, not wanting to miss the ideal time to take it out. He preferred his meat well cooked, thank you very much. It might not have been the sushi that one time, but better safe than sorry. His focus reached its peak as he unconsciously reached out to remove the fish, his skill in full swing. Or rather, both his skills.


    As soon as Levi removed the fish a peculiar sensation swept over him. He somehow became, more. He didn¡¯t know how else to describe it.


    He unconsciously stopped what he was doing, looking inward to investigate the change.

 Chapter Four

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Susan asked, noticing how Levi froze after removing the fish. ¡°Is it not done? Some problem with it?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Levi said, while checking out his status to figure out what changed. ¡°It seems like something happened with one of my skills.¡±


    Susan arched an eyebrow, urging him to continue.


    ¡°I have two skills. Survival I unlocked when I came here, but the other I got from, um, something. Anyway, it looks like it hit level five and something happened. I now have more stats.¡±


    It only took a minute to figure out what happened. This System thing didn¡¯t seem all that forthcoming about information it didn¡¯t think you needed to know, but once you unlocked something you also unlocked the knowledge about how it worked. Or that¡¯s what it felt like. Levi really couldn¡¯t be positive about anything. Who knows, maybe he was still lying on his bathroom floor and this was some agony induced delusion?


    ¡°I think I got it,¡± he said, focusing his eyes back on Susan and his surroundings. ¡°So you know how the skills have their associated stats thing?¡±


    ¡°Did you figure out what that means?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. So it looks like when a skill levels up to a multiple of five you get a bonus to your stats for every stat association.¡±


    Susan mulled over what he said.


    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that skills can have more than one stat association? And they then increase those stats? By how much?¡±


    ¡°The stats increase by one for each association.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t thought about the fact that his Concentrated Will skill had more than one associated stat while his Survival skill one had one, but Susan had picked it out of what he said. Maybe Survival was a lower tier skill or something?


    ¡°The skill I leveled up is called Concentrated Will,¡± he continued. ¡°It allows me to focus more. It actually has three associations: Willpower twice, and a stat I unlocked called Concentration. So I got two Willpower points and one Concentration point.¡±


    ¡°You must be really hungry to focus so much on the fish that it leveled up your skill,¡± Susan said, chuckling.


    She had said it in jest, but why did he level up the skill? He had clearly been using his Survival skill, but that was only at level three. And apparently skills leveling up didn¡¯t give notifications. Even getting stats point from them didn¡¯t give a proper notification like what he had before, only a vague feeling. Because he didn¡¯t know exactly when the skill leveled up it was hard to say why it did. He was hungry though, so he put those thought on the back burner for now and moved to distribute the food.


    The fish was delicious, and Levi caught and cooked three more before it became too dark to continue, netting him another level in his Survival skill and putting one level short of the stat point. Neither of them trusted what was in the forest, so they decided to always have someone on watch, with Susan taking the first shift and Levi the second. It also made the sleeping arrangements easier, since Levi was the only one with a tent and sleeping bag. Not that it was cold, but Levi didn¡¯t fancy sleeping on the ground, and he would have felt guilty if Susan had to. This was much better.


    The night was calm and passed uneventfully. Levi wasn¡¯t sure if it was the keeping watch or the camping part, but while he was on lookout duty his Survival skill leveled up to five, netting him a point in Constitution. The increase filled him with vigor. He could feel the Constitution increase much more than the Willpower and Concentration one, even though that had been three points total. But then again, he wasn¡¯t even sure exactly what Willpower did. He had noticed something, but how could you measure something intangible like that? In contrast, the Constitution had made a clear difference in his energy levels. He wasn¡¯t sure if it made him tougher or anything, but he wasn¡¯t about to try and break any bones to check.


    Contrary to his expectations, Susan ended up sleeping in. Levi had been half wondering if she wasn¡¯t some sort of super human even before the apocalypse and this System thing. She was suspiciously knowledgeable for a Pilates instructor. He was glad to know she had at least one weakness.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Did you manage to catch us more fish?¡± Susan said blearily as she emerged from the tent, finally waking up a good three hours after dawn.


    ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s two next to the fire if you want to eat them.¡±


    Levi had been a little restless when dawn hit, and fresh off his new point in Constitution decided to try and do some more fishing for that sweet, sweet experience. That, and they could also use the food. As he continued fishing Susan sat down on a rock by the fire to eat some fishy breakfast. She didn¡¯t get very far, as Levi found her staring at a half-eaten fish when he came back with his latest catch.


    ¡°Is something wrong with it?¡± he asked. ¡°I didn¡¯t undercook it did I?¡±


    ¡°No, you did a fine job. Fish just isn¡¯t exactly my favorite breakfast food. I don¡¯t suppose you have any coffee? Some tea would do in a pinch too.¡±


    He shook his head.


    Susan sighed, before fetching her pack and rummaging around in it before pulling out a container with celery and peanut butter. She started chomping down before wordlessly offering the container to Levi.


    ¡°Um, no thank you. I don¡¯t really like celery.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself. More for me then.¡±


    Susan seemed much happier chomping on the peanut butter and celery, the fish now forgotten. Levi cooked his last fish while she ate. He wanted to somehow store it for later, but his skill didn¡¯t seem to cover that.


    ¡°Why do you even have celery anyway?¡± Levi mumbled, unconsciously voicing his thoughts out loud.


    ¡°What¡¯s that? I couldn¡¯t hear you over the celery.¡± Perhaps because of the situation they were in Susan wasn¡¯t making an effort to chew quietly.


    ¡°Sorry, I asked why do you even have celery in first place. It doesn¡¯t seem like an obvious thing to pack for an apocalypse.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t pack it purposefully,¡± Susan said, storing the now empty container in her pack. ¡°I was actually out on a picnic before my classes. So I only have my picnic things and whatever I had in my car.¡±


    That actually made a lot of sense to Levi. Not everyone would be like him, conveniently at home with a prepared pack in case he needed to flee some unknown terror. He hadn¡¯t really expected to find himself transported here, wherever here was, but having camping gear was infinitely better than not having it. He was lucky with his Survival skill, too. Susan may not like the fish, but he thought it was rather good, all things considered. Perhaps his luck stat wasn¡¯t just for show. Maybe he could flip a coin and test it or something.


    With the increase Levi¡¯s Survival skill, he now had a rough idea of how to set up a camp and was able to help Susan with its deconstruction before they set out for the day. They continued the journey from where they had left off last night, plus one fishing spear and down some celery. After getting more comfortable using the spear, Levi thought he could probably construct a better one given some better materials, but in the meantime, this was what he had. He was using it as a walking stick currently, but it could also serve as a regular spear in a pinch.


    Susan still led the way, but Levi now felt much more confident following her. It was nice to have someone to talk to, even if they were currently walking in silence. It had been too long since he had talked to someone outside of his job and nosy cashiers at the grocery store. In a way, she reminded him of the mother he never had. His dad hadn¡¯t talked much about it before he died, but Levi got the feeling his mom ran off shortly after he was born.


    His musings were interrupted as Susan missed a step before stopping.


    ¡°Wha-¡°


    ¡°Shh¡±, Susan interrupted, whispering softly. ¡°There¡¯s something there.¡±


    Levi slowly raised his makeshift spear while surveying the forest around him. His gut had been telling him it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. The strange creatures and loud roars had helped too. The animal noises had been mostly silent during the night, but Susan had told him she¡¯d heard howls that didn¡¯t sound like they came from any normal wolves from Earth.


    They both stood there, listening. One second, two seconds, three. Time drifted onwards, the tension building. Levi could feel it now too. They were being watched. They stood like that, for one of those immeasurable moments, somehow both objectively short yet subjectively long. Then it happened.


    Levi heard it behind him. He spun, spear at the ready, dropping into a crouch. He only had time to see a moving blur before three short explosions rang out. The creature, he could now see it was some sort of four-armed monkey, skidded to a stop before him, three holes in its head.


    He stared at the creature for a moment, confirming the danger had passed. He then paused for another moment for good measure, before getting out of his amateur combat position and turning around. There he saw Susan, standing in a wide legged shooting stance, gun cocked and ready.


    She waited a bit longer than he did before relaxing and lowering her weapon. Her whole demeanor had shifted, no longer did Levi see the yoga mom. Now she appeared a combat veteran, poised, calm, and collected.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t always a Pilates teacher,¡± Susan said in response to the questioning look on Levi¡¯s face. ¡°I did six years with the Marines before settling down.¡±


    Levi watched in silence as she calmly retrieved three bullets from her bag before reloading her gun and stashing it back in her shoulder holster. He had a million questions, but he doubted Susan wanted to talk about it. He felt she would have told him before otherwise. Instead, he moved over to get a better look at the creature that had attacked them.

 Chapter Five

    It wasn¡¯t a monkey, not really. But that was the closest analogue Levi had. It had four arms, two tails, and what looked like two more arms for legs. It¡¯s build seemed suited for movement in forests. It had two monkey ears, but its face was that of a predator, with an elongated snout and some very, very sharp teeth. Two of its arms ended in razor sharp claws, and it also had a short spine of spikes down its back. And its fur was camouflage, which was partly why Levi had a hard time seeing it when it had leaped at him. It blended in with the colors of the forest perfectly.


    He shivered, picturing what this thing could have done to him had Susan not been quick on the draw. It was one thing to be tangentially aware of potential dangerous beasts, but being confronted with the real thing had Levi¡¯s adrenaline levels topped off.


    Susan walked over to join him by the corpse.


    ¡°It¡¯s clearly a predator,¡± she said, squatting down to examine it more closely. ¡°Possibly a mammal of some sort. I wonder how intelligent it is?¡±


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s alone?¡± Levi wasn¡¯t keen to run into more of these things.


    ¡°Hopefully. We need to make sure to stay alert though. I doubt this is the only dangerous thing out here.¡±


    Susan moved to continue walking but Levi stopped her.


    ¡°Uh, shouldn¡¯t we check it for a monster core or something?¡±


    ¡°A monster core? What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a magical crystal in the beast that gives it it¡¯s powers. A lot of stories talk about them. It¡¯s what makes a normal animal into a monster.¡±


    ¡°Then do we have one of these cores?¡± Susan asked skeptically.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Levi responded. ¡°We have this system thing instead I think. I¡¯m not even sure if this has a core, but I think we should check. It also might drop loot.¡±


    Susan moved back over to the monkey. ¡°Drop loot?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, like in video games. When you kill monsters, they drop loot. It could be money, weapons, armor, crafting materials, anything really.¡±


    Susan gave him a flat stare. ¡°So you think if I cut this open I¡¯ll find some golden coins inside? Or maybe a sword stuck up its ass?¡±


    ¡°Err, yeah?¡± When she put it that way it did sound kind of stupid. ¡°Maybe the monster core is more likely?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you cut it open then?¡± She said, gesturing for him to go ahead.


    Susan stood there, arms crossed, while Levi debated what to say next.


    ¡°Well, the thing is, I¡¯m not so good with cutting things open. I was hoping you could do it.¡±


    His dissection class in high school biology had not been fun. He had held down his lunch, but only barely. Chelsey had made fun of him for weeks after.


    Susan sighed, and held out her hand for a knife, which Levi gladly gave her, and she started on the gruesome task. It actually wasn¡¯t so bad as Levi watched her go about it, following his instructions to check places like the head and chest. He would have told her to check its dantian, but who knew where in the seven hells that was actually located. He made himself watch the whole thing, and had a feeling his skills made it easier to deal with the gore. His increased willpower probably helped too, but he was betting on the Survival skill. He hadn¡¯t had any problems cleaning the fish earlier, although fish just weren¡¯t as gross as cutting open a frog or a mutant killer monkey.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Susan said, finishing up the task and then washing her hands off in the stream. ¡°It was a good idea though. Also, from what I could see it seems mostly normal on the inside. That could be valuable knowledge if we needed to eat it.¡±


    That done, they continued on their way, trying to keep a better lookout for more creatures bearing ill will. Levi was once again glad he ran into Susan. Surviving alone might be harder than he had first assumed, and a competent veteran seemed like a good travelling partner.


    Around twenty minutes later Levi finally found words to describe the tension he felt building.


    ¡°Hey Susan, do you think that the forest sounds, louder, somehow?¡±


    ¡°Louder?¡± She paused, mulling it over. ¡°You¡¯re right, it does. We should be careful. Something is different from yesterday.¡±


    Now that they were aware of it, the gradual increase in volume seemed almost painfully obvious. Whereas before it felt like they were walking through a secluded forest, devoid of any large animal life, now Levi compared it to how he imagined a rainforest would sound, teeming with the sounds of a thousand different species intermingling. The sounds might have been beautiful in a different context. Now it just brought up images of four-armed monkeys and the potential harm they could cause him with their claws.


    They made it through lunch unmolested, no further signs of danger other than the still increasing volume of the unknown creatures inhabiting the forest. The stream they were following originated in a mountain range kilometers behind them, and it was from that direction that they first heard the sounds of fighting. It was a cacophony of screaming and caterwauling, the sheer volume even at this distance making it hard for Levi to think. Each new roar and screech grated on his nerves, leaving him jumping at the smallest shadows. Susan looked like she was faring better, but how much he couldn¡¯t tell. They both had tried at some small talk during lunch, but it only lasted a few sentences before they had lapsed back into silence again.


    Shortly after they broke camp after lunch they ran into their next sizeable creature. It was the size of a large dog, and, were it not for that, Levi would have thought it a bear. It was snuffling around the creek, digging into the bank in search of who knew what. It was also sky blue.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Susan, I don¡¯t suppose you could shoot that, could you?¡± Levi wasn¡¯t taking any chances. His imagination could fill in the blanks all too easily with what could happen with a small slip up.


    ¡°Why? It might not be dangerous. We shouldn¡¯t immediately fight if we don¡¯t have too. I don¡¯t have unlimited ammo.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely dangerous,¡± Levi said. He was whispering, and with his eyes urged Susan to do the same.


    ¡°You sure? Do you know what it is? I can¡¯t say I¡¯m familiar with any small blue bears.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t notice at first because of the coloring, but look at the eyes. See the lines? I bet it¡¯s some sort of badger.¡±


    They both froze as the badger stopped digging and looked straight at them. The two sides stared at each other, evaluating the opposition. Levi silently prayed that it wasn¡¯t really a badger and instead some friendly herbivore. The badger declined to answer his prayers. It was a badger, and it didn¡¯t care. It promptly roared, turned a bright, angry red, and charged at a speed much too fast for any terrestrial animal.


    They were far enough away though that Susan had plenty of time to pull out her pistol and empty three rounds into its head. She almost shot another three, as it appeared to keep going, despite the fatal wounds. When it finally fell dead, it was mere meters from their position.


    They waited good minute to make sure it had indeed stopped moving before Susan moved over to examine the corpse, Levi following her. Upon closer inspection, it was clear to see it was a badger, complete with the distinctive eye markings. It had been hard to see them before, with the color scheme of the badger trending more towards monochrome.


    ¡°Look,¡± Levi said, pointing to the fur, ¡°the color¡¯s changing again.¡±


    The fur, which was previously bright red, was now fading, the color slowly leaching out leaving only white behind. Levi guessed the badger could change its fur color, that or perhaps it changed depending on its mood. He would remember to stay away from any bright red badgers in the future.


    ¡°We need to either find more survivors or figure out a way this system can help us fight,¡± Susan said with a frown. From the sound of her voice, she wasn¡¯t happy. ¡°I¡¯m going to run out of bullets eventually, and we would have been toast if this badger had been closer. After I shot it, it kept coming for a good fifteen meters or so.¡±


    Levi nodded. What would they have done if there had been two badgers? He tried to ignore the obvious ¡®nothing¡¯ that sprung to mind.


    As Levi was lost in his own musings, Susan zoned out for a second, checking a system notification she had received.


    ¡°I have some good news,¡± She said, eyes coming back into focus. ¡°I leveled up, which lets me increase one of my stats. It seems like every time we level up we can increase a stat by one.¡±


    ¡°How did you level up? Do you know?¡± He had been wondering about the level for a while, and what exactly leveling up would do. Only one stat point wasn¡¯t great, but maybe there were other things too?


    ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± Susan concentrated on her System and focused on the level, trying to learn more about it. ¡°I think killing monsters helps. Increasing skills and doing other things might help too. Killing monsters for sure, although I feel like it¡¯s not just anything, but only things with a level.¡±


    Hearing that, Levi immediately focused on the corpse in front of him, kicking himself mentally. He should have tried to inspect things before. Every game had some sort of interface, and this System one wouldn¡¯t tell you anything unless you unlocked it yourself. Of course he would need do it manually first.


    Sure enough Levi was able to discern something from the corpse.


    ¡°I think this is level five. It¡¯s a bit harder because it¡¯s already dead, but level five just feels right.¡±


    ¡°How can you tell?¡± Susan asked.


    ¡°Just focus on it and try and figure out what level it is. I wasn¡¯t able to figure out anything else though. Most games give you more information about monsters than just the level, like a name and maybe a short description. But I guess this isn¡¯t a game, so it looks like all we get is a rough guess at the level.¡±


    Levi had to forcefully stop himself from continuing. He doubted Susan would be interested in game development, and even if she was, she clearly didn¡¯t know the proper terminology. And this wasn¡¯t a game anyway. This was real life. He had to remember that.


    ¡°I get level five too,¡± Susan said, after staring at the badger¡¯s corpse. ¡°This should be useful if we come across any other unknown creatures. Do you have ideas about anything else this System could help us with?¡±


    Levi pondered for a second.


    ¡°Maybe. Invite to party: Susan. Inventory. Open inventory. Party invite: Susan. Invite Susan to party. Friends list. Social. Chat window. Quest log.¡±


    He paused after each thing, concentrating on it in the hopes of something happening. Eventually he shook his head.


    ¡°Nothing. Maybe I¡¯m just not doing it right though.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s alright,¡± Susan said. ¡°I don¡¯t really know what I¡¯m missing anyway.¡±


    They journeyed on until they stopped for dinner, which consisted of fish that Levi caught added to a dehydrated soup base he had in his pack. As they were eating, Levi turned his thoughts to leveling up and improving his combat power. Truthfully, he didn¡¯t know enough about this System thing to try and metagame it, so he was basically flying by the seat of his pants. For instance, if he carved out a wand and started waving it about in a swish and flick motion would he get a magic skill? He knew magic existed, but in what form of shape was still a mystery.


    While trying to think about how to get more information he realized there was still something more he could easily learn.


    ¡°Hey Susan,¡± Levi said, ¡°what¡¯s the skill you unlocked. I don¡¯t think you ever told me.¡±


    He should have asked earlier, but it was surprisingly hard to focus while walking in a forest that was getting spookier by the hour. Only this morning the trees looked so inviting, while yesterday they had seemed a paradise on, well, wherever they were. Now the forest felt like something that would house one of those cabins you always saw in horror movies. He wasn¡¯t looking forward to when it got dark in a few hours.


    ¡°I guess I never told you,¡± Susan replied. ¡°It¡¯s called Improved Awareness. It helps me notice things out of the ordinary and enemies and such. It¡¯s tied to insight.¡±


    Levi mulled over this new information. It was likely the skill came from Susan¡¯s time in the military if skills were tied in some way to what you were actually skilled in. Which made sense, both logically and with what little info he could glean from the System itself.


    He was hesitant to ask Susan more about her past, but he decided to suck it up and give it a shot.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to pry, but do you remember what other skills you could choose from? I know when I was looking at my list all the skills seemed to represent something I had some skill in before this all happened. Did it look like that to you?¡±


    ¡°You mean did the skill list represent my actual abilities?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. If my hypothesis is correct, you should have had access to a Pilates skill and stuff like that. Things you were skilled at before this all happened.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± She said. ¡°Give me a minute to try and remember.¡±


    Levi waited while Susan muttered under her breath, trying to remember what skills she had access to and make sense of the information.


    ¡°I think you might be right. No, you¡¯re definitely right. There were a few that didn¡¯t make sense, but the longer I think about it the more there seems to be a correlation there. Is this helpful though?¡±


    Levi shrugged. ¡°Maybe. I¡¯m not really sure. It should be, but without knowing all the unlock conditions I could swing a sword for years without unlocking anything.¡±


    He would have been hesitant to try waving a wand around if he had been by himself, but he certainly wasn¡¯t going to embarrass himself in from of someone else. It was kind of tempting though. Maybe he could try shooting an energy beam from his hands?


    ¡°Well let me know if you think of anything else you need my input on,¡± Susan said, standing up and dusting off her pants. ¡°I¡¯m happy to help.¡±

 Chapter Six

    They soon had the campsite packed up and were off again, deciding to continue following the stream until it was closer to dark. Susan evidently thought the danger had increased, as she now had her gun out and ready to fire, as opposed to before when she kept in in her shoulder holster. That caution turned out to be unnecessary, at least in the short term, as it wasn¡¯t until the next morning that they came across something. It wasn¡¯t a large mutated animal of some kind. Instead, it was a very, very large tree.


    Levi was the first to see it above the tree line. Susan was too busy keeping an eye on their surroundings and didn¡¯t have time to look up at the horizon. She was easily able to spot it when he pointed it out though, and they took a moment to pause and process the sight when they came to a turn in the stream with a better view.


    It was huge. Levi guessed they must have been at least a hundred kilometers away, but at that distance the top of the tree could clearly be seen, lording over the rest of the forest. He had never seen the famous Redwoods, but they couldn¡¯t have been that tall, could they? The normal trees in the forest already seemed a bit tall for an average pine, but from what he could see this tree had to be at least twice as tall.


    The creek was flowing towards the tree, so Levi didn¡¯t need to ask for a detour to go check it out. His inner fantasy senses were tingling, surely a tree of that size couldn¡¯t be normal?


    It took them a good four hours to reach the point where the creek was parallel with the ginormous tree, and from there a short ten-minute walk to get to its base. Or part of its base. Levi slowly walked up to it and put his hand on it, making sure he wasn¡¯t seeing things.


    ¡°This is real, right?¡± His voice was unconsciously full of reverence. It was almost like he was in the presence of a primordial god.


    Susan couldn¡¯t answer, and just stared at the tree before her, trying to process the size.


    They had known the tree was tall, that they could see from far away. But as they got closer, it turned out the tree wasn¡¯t actually that tall. It was hard to judge, but Susan estimated it was less than a 50-story building. That was still tall of course, but it was the tree¡¯s girth that was truly impressive.


    It didn¡¯t end. Well, it did at some point, but what Levi and Susan were standing in front of resembled a wall made out of wood more than an actual tree. They could barely see the curvature of the wood as what they assumed was the trunk stretched out in either direction. Levi tried to find something to compare it to, anything that would even begin to describe what he found himself in front of. He couldn¡¯t. It felt like he stood before a cliff made out of wood. Like this was actually a mountain someone had just painted to look like a tree, and that any minute someone would jump out and yell ¡°Surprise!¡± as the curtain was lifted, and the magician¡¯s trick revealed.


    The two of them stood in silence for a while, taking in the huge expanse of wood that filled their vision. Levi hadn¡¯t been sure what type of tree it was from a distance, but now looking at it and appreciating the full size it seemed similar to some tree in Africa whose name he couldn¡¯t remember. Babalabob or something like that. Having something to relate the monstrosity to calmed him down slightly. Looking at something this big made him realize just how small he was. It was easy to just get lost in the majesty the giant tree radiated, but he eventually recentered himself.


    ¡°We should walk around it. If nothing else this is a large landmark that would definitely attract someone if they could see it. Maybe there will be some people here.¡±


    Susan nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true. Even if no one is here now, there still might be something like the remains of a campsite. We should be careful of monsters though. This looks like it could be prime habitat for those monkey things.¡±


    They randomly chose a direction and set out to circle the tree. There was a large stretch of grass in between the tree and the pine forest, which made the walk rather easy and pleasant. There wasn¡¯t always a clear path next to the stream and they often had to move around trees and clamber over roots and rocks. Were he not worried about danger, Levi would have been more relaxed now that they were clear of the spooky forest, but, confronted with something as unknown as this giant tree, he thought it best to be on guard. Even if Susan did most (all) of the fighting he should still keep his eyes peeled.


    There were quite a few sounds coming from the top of the tree, but as far as Levi could tell they were mostly bird calls. He hadn¡¯t seen any giant killer parakeets yet, but that didn¡¯t mean they didn¡¯t exist. Since Susan seemed to be focusing more on the tree line around them he chose to keep an eye above. There wasn¡¯t any cover short of the forest twenty or so meters away, so he wanted a heads up if they were about to be dive bombed.


    ¡°Hey Levi, do you see that?¡±


    Because he was primarily looking up Susan was the first one to discover the hole in the tree. She had to direct his attention ahead of them, where there was a clear indent in the wall of wood.


    ¡°You mean that hole over there? Yeah, I see it. What do you think it is?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I would rather not approach it from the side like this,¡± Susan said. ¡°I think we should move to the cover of the woods and scope it out from tree cover before we move in for a closer look.¡±


    Levi nodded ¡°Sure, sounds good.¡±


    They moved over to the forest before stealthily moving in front the hole in the tree. Stealthily being relative here, as neither one was a particularly adept woodsman. They did have some cover though, which turned out to be irrelevant as there was nothing there once they arrived in the patch of forest opposite the hole. Well, there wasn¡¯t really nothing, there was a hole of sorts, but there weren¡¯t any creatures. The whole area was suspiciously still.


    Now that they were looking at it from head on, the hole itself was more of an indent. From what Levi could see, it appeared the tree curved in on itself to from a sort of large doorway shape. Large being about ten or so meters high. The strange thing was what the indent contained, or in this case, didn¡¯t contain. There was an opening there, of that Levi was certain. But what was in it he couldn¡¯t say. There was a strange shimmering curtain of something blocking his view. Except it was transparent. He could both see and not see into the opening at the same time. It was the strangest feeling, and Levi didn¡¯t really have any parallels expect maybe a really thick pane of glass, but even that felt off.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s safe to go closer?¡± Levi whispered. He wanted to check it out and it seemed safe, but maybe Susan knew something he didn¡¯t with her skill.


    ¡°It should be,¡± She said, standing up and walking back towards the opening. Levi followed.


    They moved over to stand in front of the opening, the size now appearing much bigger with it right in front of them.


    ¡°So, any clue what it is?¡± Susan asked, turning to Levi. She deferred to his greater knowledge of the System and how it worked.


    ¡°Maybe. Let me see if I can check.¡±


    Levi turned his focus on whatever was in the opening, concentrating on using the System to figure out what it was. If his guess was correct, he should get some sort of feeling or notification. He didn¡¯t get a notification, but the System did confirm his hypothesis.


    ¡°It¡¯s a dungeon,¡± he said, his excitement palpable.


    Susan frowned, ¡°You mean like one of those things in castles where they keep prisoners?¡±


    ¡°No, a dungeon is something else. Well, that¡¯s also a dungeon, but this type of dungeon is different. Dungeons are a core aspect of any role-playing game and go back to the versions played with a pen, paper, and dice. It¡¯s basically a giant area where monsters congregate, and people go in them to fight the monsters and get loot. There are often multiple floors or areas and a boss of some kind, usually with smaller bosses leading up to a big one at the end. The monsters usually respawn too, and when you kill them they drop loot. Kind of like I thought the monsters here might, but maybe it¡¯s only the dungeon monsters. There¡¯s often puzzles and traps in them too, so we should be careful when we go in.¡±


    Levi¡¯s¡¯ excitement rose as he continued talking. A real dungeon! Dungeon runs had always been his favorite part of RPGs. He had even helped set a few speed run records by finding out shortcuts and optimal pulling strategies, although he never was able to reach the technical skill to achieve them himself. By the end of his speech he realized he was going in there, whether Susan wanted to come or not. Perhaps that was a rash decision, but he had been thinking earlier about wanting to get stronger, right? A dungeon was the perfect place to do that. Who knew what he could find inside!


    Susan cocked and eyebrow at him. ¡°I take it you want to go in then?¡± Levi was looking at the dungeon the way a dog looks at a particularly juicy bone.


    ¡°Well, yeah.¡± He at least had the grace to look at little bashful. They had been working together, so if they were going to go in he probably should discuss it more first, even if he was planning to go in anyway.


    ¡°We at least need to investigate¡± Levi continued. ¡°This could be a great opportunity. And if it really seems dangerous, we can just leave. Just think of the loot we could find! Flaming swords and wands that shoot lighting! We could even find a bag of holding!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it,¡± Susan said, a bemused look on her face. Levi seemed pretty mature in general, but his current actions reminded her he was over twenty years younger than she was. She didn¡¯t really know what he was talking about with all this loot stuff, but based on what he said, this did seem like a place they should try exploring. Susan didn¡¯t know all this game terminology, but she did understand that higher numbers equals more power, and power was looking more and more important in this new land they were in.


    They made one last check of their supplies before entering. Levi wasn¡¯t sure they would be able to find food once they were inside, and it would be a shame to have to leave because of lack of provisions. Once that was done, they had nothing stopping them from entering. Susan thought she should be the one to enter first, being the one with the gun and all, but Levi convinced her to let him lead, at least for the moment. It was easy to see he really wanted to be the first one in, and he was able to convince Susan that the beginning should be fairly safe. After one final mental checklist, they finally moved forward, piercing the opaque curtain and entering the dungeon.


    Levi¡¯s first sight was darkness. Or well, to be more accurate, it was dark enough he couldn¡¯t see, his pupils still not dilated enough to see in the low light environment he now found himself in. Darkness was just the absence of light after all, so you couldn¡¯t actually see it. Or at least he thought so, but who knew these days? This was regular darkness though, and after Levi and Susan stood there for a couple of minutes their eyes had adjusted enough to make out basic shapes, even if colors were still beyond them.


    ¡°Do you think we should use the flashlight?¡± Levi asked. While there technically was enough light for them to see by, it would be easy to miss something in the gloom.


    ¡°Probably,¡± Susan replied. ¡°If we¡¯re here to explore we need be able to see well enough figure out what kind of place this is.¡±


    Levi nodded, and took his flashlight out of his backpack and turned it on, illuminating the surroundings enough for them to finally get a good look around.


    They appeared to be in a cave, which Levi wasn¡¯t sure if he had been expecting or not. On one hand, they just walked into a giant tree, but on the other, weren¡¯t dungeons always in caves? He thought he remembered hearing that caves weren¡¯t nearly as common as novels made them out to be, something about naturally occurring caves needing limestone or something, so maybe it made sense that the dungeon caves in real life needed to be located in a giant tree.


    This wasn¡¯t the time to think about that though. If this was a dungeon, which the System seemed to think it was, he needed to be on his guard. But it was hard to stay focused now that he could properly examine his surroundings. The cave was beautiful in that way that only nature could be. Levi had never been spelunking or entered a cave of any kind before, and now that he was in one, he was a bit overwhelmed. There weren¡¯t any of those stalactites or stalagmites, he could never remember which was which, or even any lichen or moss, which he had been led to believe were cave staples. No, there wasn¡¯t anything in the cave except rock, rock, and more rock.


    That was what made it beautiful though, the curves and jagged edges having a beauty all their own in their sheer simplicity. The ceiling was a good meter or so above his head, and Levi thought it would take three or four of him holding hands to touch both walls at once. The shadows danced over the walls as he moved the flashlight over them, half expecting to see ancient cave painting of a long-forgotten people. But there was nothing, just a long tunnel of stone gradually sloping into the distance where his light couldn¡¯t reach.


    Once he got a good look at his surroundings it made Levi profoundly glad he wasn¡¯t claustrophobic. There was a weight to the cave, almost as if he could feel stone above him pressing down, the sheer mass possessing a pressure all its own. He glanced over at Susan, glad she was holding up okay. It hadn¡¯t crossed his mind that the terrain of the dungeon could affect them. Imagine if they had crossed the barrier and the dungeon had been underwater? Much better it was a simple cave.


    ¡°You ready?¡± Levi asked.


    ¡°I am,¡± Susan replied, adjusting he hold on her gun. ¡°Just make sure to aim the flashlight at anything that moves. I want to see what I shoot at.¡±


    ¡°Will do.¡±


    With their meager plan out of the way, the impromptu dungeon diving duo set off. There was a dungeon to explore.

 Chapter Seven

    ¡°Still nothing?¡± Levi asked.


    Susan shook her head.


    ¡°Nada. I thought you said this would be dangerous? So far there is a distinct lack of, well, anything really. I¡¯ve been focused on my skill but...¡±


    Susan gestured toward the tunnel, still as empty as it had been for the last twenty minutes. The tunnel had been slowly sloping down, but aside from a few slight turns, so far their expedition hadn¡¯t turned up anything dungeon related. If Levi wasn¡¯t so sure that the System said this was a dungeon he would have assumed they were in an ordinary cave. An ordinary cave that they entered by walking into a ginormous tree.


    ¡°How long do you want to continue with this?¡± Susan said. ¡°I agree that exploration is good, but at some point enough is enough. Finding other people should still be our priority, and the further we walk down this tunnel, the farther we will have to walk back.¡±


    ¡°At least an hour,¡± Levi said. ¡°We¡¯ve barely started. And you have to admit, there¡¯s definitely a reason we can walk into a tree and suddenly appear in a cave. Maybe it¡¯s some kind of secret tunnel and if we walk far enough we¡¯ll come out on the other side of the mountains?¡±


    ¡°Unlikely, but possible I suppose. The mountains I could see in the distance did look rather imposing, so maybe people wanted to go under them rather than over.¡± Susan had completely missed his reference, but that didn¡¯t bother him. Her not being up to date with pop culture actually allowed him to squeeze in some rather bad puns without the accompanying groans.


    ¡°There could be other reasons too,¡± Levi said, now pondering on exactly why this dungeon was just one long tunnel. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s some sort of speed or timing thing? Like, if we don¡¯t reach the floating blocks in time they start falling into the lava. Or maybe we¡¯re stuck in an illusion? We think we¡¯re walking in a tunnel but we¡¯re actually under the sway of some psychic creature and we need to figure out how to wake up.¡±


    ¡°Or this could all be a dream and we¡¯re in some secret underground government facility being experimented on.¡± Susan was walking in front of him so Levi couldn¡¯t actually see her expression, but it was easy to imagine. He decided to move on to something else.


    ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll try to be more serious here.¡± This wasn¡¯t Levi¡¯s first musing on the dungeon, but after Susan realized he was basically talking out of his ass she started to shut him down pretty quickly. Her previous interest in his stories turning to annoyance at his continued insistence they smash any pottery they came across. ¡°But I do think¡­¡±


    ¡°Think what?¡±


    ¡°Shhh,¡± Levi whispered. ¡°I think I heard something.¡±


    They both paused, straining to catch the slightest sound. At first it was quiet, with not even the sound of dripping water to echo in the tunnel. Levi tried to still his breathing. He had heard something, he was sure of it. Five second, ten seconds, ten, twenty. It was a slow build, so he almost missed it at first. But then it dawned on him as he parsed out the slight echo of rock against rock. It was coming.


    ¡°Run!¡±


    Levi moved past Susan, sprinting down the tunnel, confident she would follow him. If he was right, and he was sure he was, they needed to move. And move fast.


    Susan quickly caught up to him as he dashed down the tunnel.


    ¡°Levi, you have exactly ten seconds to tell me why we are sprinting blindly into a dungeon. Starting now.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a boulder trap.¡± He was trying to conserve breath for running, but from glancing at Susan¡¯s questioning face that clearly wasn¡¯t enough. ¡°A boulder trap? You know, like from Indiana Jones? It¡¯s a dungeon classic. Just look at the tunnel we are in. It¡¯s been mostly straight and is almost a perfect tube. Just right for a boulder to squash us flat.¡±


    Susan paused for a second, digesting. ¡°So you¡¯re saying there¡¯s a giant stone ball rolling behind us, and because of the shape of the tunnel we¡¯ll get squashed like flies if we don¡¯t find someplace where the tunnel turns?¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Basically. Any turn would be good. As would a hidey hole of some kind, or really anything that would stop the rock from smashing us or let it pass by us safely.¡± Levi could have gone on at length, waxing poetic about the allure of the classic boulder trap, but he decided to save his breath. Literally, as even that short conversation has noticeably winded him. There needed to be more running and less talking.


    Soon the noise from the rumbling rock overtook the sound of their rapid run. Levi was too scared to turn around, more from worry that he would actually see the boulder than anything else. If he could see it, it was too close. The tunnel was fairly long, and so far, there was no end in sight. He could only fervently pray to whatever power brought him here that the tunnel didn¡¯t lead to a spike trap or a pitfall. He could picture his tombstone; here lies Levi, who met his untimely end by running screaming into a dungeon chased by a giant boulder. He refused to go out that way. His name was Levi, not Leroy damnit.


    The rumbling was uncomfortably loud by now, and Levi was debating what their backup plan would be. They were already on plan Q, so what was next, plan R? Somehow that also sounded like running. He really wasn¡¯t sure what to do now that his plan of an expeditious retreat looked like it was starting to fall through.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Susan said, suddenly slowing down her previous sprint. Her shout was unexpected, but Levi assumed she had a plan and did his best to stop his forward momentum. The noise of the boulder was becoming all-encompassing, and if they wanted to try something other than running now was as good a time as any.


    Just as Levi was about to stop all movement, his foot met with something other than the expected floor. That something was air, and it didn¡¯t hold his weight nearly as well as the floor did, causing him to fall forward face first as the tunnel suddenly moved downward a meter or so. Before his brain caught up with his situation and recovered from the shock of falling face first Susan jumped down where he was and pulled him back against the wall behind them.


    Levi thought Susan was saying something, but between the ringing in his head and the rumbling of the rock rolling towards them he couldn¡¯t make it out. Luckily some amount of rational thought must have remained, as he didn¡¯t move from his position against the wall, allowing the boulder to harmlessly roll over the lip above their heads and into the void of space in front of them.


    The silence was abrupt. One second the rumbling boulder was compounding the ringing in his head, and the next all Levi heard was blessed silence. One second, two seconds, three, five, ten. It was hard to know for sure, but Levi estimated it took around twenty second before a faint splash was heard, presumably the boulder finally ending its free fall. They sat there like that, the both of them, calming their breathing after their harrowing flight. Levi was certain they would have been flattened had they not started their frantic sprint when they did, but now, shining his flashlight into the gaping hole before him, it really hit home just how dangerous this dungeon might be. Scratch that, how dangerous this dungeon was. If Susan hadn¡¯t figured out what was ahead of them, likely with the help of her skill, they would both be swimming with the fishes.


    ¡°Well,¡± Susan said, ¡°that was an experience. Are you alright?¡±


    Levi nodded, still not trusting himself to speak. He had never been one to worry about his own mortality, but he needed to stop treating this whole thing like a game. He had every reason to assume death was permanent. No respawn points or bonfires here.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Levi said, his voice cracking a little at the end.


    ¡°You sure? Here, let me see.¡± Susan reached over to feel Levi¡¯s head, probing for injuries.


    ¡°Tell me if it hurts anywhere. That looked like a nasty fall.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine,¡± Levi said. ¡°I think my extra points in constitution helped me out there.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re sure then,¡± Susan said, backing off even though Levi thought she still wasn¡¯t satisfied.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure. Besides, we need to figure out where to go from here. There has to be more to this dungeon than just one tunnel and a boulder trap.¡±


    Levi got up and swept his flashlight around to get a better view of their surroundings. A few passes were all he needed to figure out what was going on.


    ¡°It looks like this hole is meant to stop the boulder. That, and catch unsuspecting people like us who are running away from it. I think we actually solved the trap correctly. This ledge we¡¯re on is perfect to hide from the boulder. It feels like the main way to evade the trap. Just crouch here and let the boulder sail above you. It¡¯s pretty ingenious, really. The trap isn¡¯t meant to kill people who are paying attention, just those who don¡¯t look where they¡¯re going. As long as you can safely get here, you¡¯re home free.¡±


    ¡°What people was it meant to catch again?¡± Susan asked knowingly.


    ¡°Erm, well not us obviously. We passed it after all.¡±


    Levi stewed silently under Susan¡¯s gaze for a good minute before she let him go. They were both clear on the reason they managed to evade the trap.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Levi continued, ¡°There is a ledge over there on the left side. We can scoot along it and pass this hole. It looks like the tunnel continues to the left after that.¡±


    Susan held her breath for a second before letting it all out in a long sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s get going then. If we¡¯re going to continue we might as well get to it.¡±

 Chapter Eight

    After bypassing the large pit, Levi and Susan continued onwards into the new tunnel, which was much like the previous one. Exactly like it, really. It was the same height, width, and was populated by the same nothing the previous one was, although after their harrowing flight that wasn¡¯t exactly a fair characterization anymore, Levi reflected. This one didn¡¯t appear to have any boulder traps though. They had thoroughly checked the beginning of the tunnel. Levi doubted the dungeon would reuse the same trap two times in a row, but maybe because he thought it wouldn¡¯t that was exactly why it would. It was still best to be on guard.


    After a few tense minutes Susan started up a conversation.


    ¡°So, it seems you were familiar with that trap?¡±


    Levi nodded. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a classic really. Maybe the most iconic trap of all time.¡±


    ¡°Mhmm. So based on that, are there any other iconic traps we are likely to encounter?¡±


    ¡°Well the dungeon could throw anything at us, really, but there are a few classic archetypes we should maybe watch out for. Like pit traps, arrow traps, tripwire, pressure plates, and spike traps to name a few.¡±


    ¡°And since you are so knowledgeable about the traps, I presume you know a way around them?¡±


    ¡°Uh, not exactly,¡± Levi said. ¡°I was kind of thinking your skill would alert us? I mean, normally when people are exploring a dungeon they have a rogue or scout to search for traps. I don¡¯t think me trying to do a spot check for traps would really do much. And we don¡¯t even know how the boulder trap was activated. It could have been a pressure plate, timer, or even magic. Anything really.¡±


    Susan let out a long sigh.


    ¡°So you have knowledge, but not practical experience? I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. It¡¯s not like normal people on earth ever had to learn to run from boulders and avoid mines. Why don¡¯t you try and tell me what I should be on the lookout for, then? It might help if I knew what I should be aware of. I would rather not be caught by surprise a second time.¡±


    Happy to be given leave to discuss his love of traps, Levi dove right in, giving in depth explanations on each trap type and how they were commonly activated and avoided. Susan was glad to be learning the information, as a lot of it did seem potentially useful, but it made her realize how much Levi had been holding back. She had underestimated his interest and breadth of knowledge. She had expected to learn the basics of how to avoid traps, not their glorious history in dungeons and video games.


    ¡°¡­And that¡¯s why you also need to watch the ceiling. Something falling from above you can be just as dangerous and what is below your feet. Especially if there is both a trap on the floor and the ceiling.¡±


    Levi paused to take a breath, reflecting back on the past fifteen minutes. He realized he might have overloaded Susan with a bit too much information. Yes, it was good to be comprehensive, but he probably should have stuck to the basics, not gone off about camera angles affecting the triggering of traps. That information wasn¡¯t all that useful in real life.


    ¡°Well, that should be a good primer I guess,¡± Levi said, wrapping it up lamely. He really needed to figure out how to stop talking about stuff he was interested in. Susan hadn¡¯t complained yet, but then again, she had hardly been able to get a word in edgewise.


    ¡°Yes, I think I got it now,¡± Susan said dryly. While some of what Levi had been saying certainly seemed interesting, she didn¡¯t really have the background to engage him on the topic. She had no clue what a spelunky was, or why she should avoid killing the shopkeeper. Unless she wanted the shotgun. Can¡¯t forget about that.


    At this point they had been walking down the new tunnel for quite a ways. After the near-death debacle the last tunnel presented, they were both on guard in this new one. Susan in particular, now knowing what to look for, was trying to keep her skill focused on any potential traps located in the area. Because of this focus and increased knowledge, she was well prepared when she felt a twinge from the skill towards the tunnel behind her, alerting her to potential danger.


    ¡°We need to move,¡± she said. ¡°I just felt something from behind us.¡±


    Levi followed along as Susan sped up along the tunnel.


    ¡°Any clue what it is?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No. Just that there¡¯s something dangerous behind us. Your guess is as good as mine. My skill only gives me a rough feeling, not any fancy notifications or anything. Keep going forward and I¡¯ll let you know if I feel anything more specific.¡±


    ¡°Gotcha.¡±


    Focusing back on the tunnel ahead of him, Levi sharpened his focus. Yes, it was great Susan had such a useful skill, as without it they would likely be dead, but that was no excuse to slack off himself. If he wanted to be able to survive on his own, he needed to focus. He couldn¡¯t always rely on Susan. If there was danger ahead, he wanted to find it himself.


    They forged ahead, moving quickly forwards before a ¡°go faster¡± from Susan urged them onward at a greater pace, the both of them now in a flat-out sprint. The reason for Susan¡¯s warning showed itself shorty, as Levi started hearing a faint twanging sound from behind them. The noise increased in tempo, building to a crescendo, soon including the clink of arrowheads against stone. Or that¡¯s what Levi imagined it was. If the dungeon was being on theme, arrows shooting from the walls made sense as a good follow up to a boulder trap.


    As they ran, Levi let out a ¡®yes!¡¯ in his head as his concentration payed off. As he moved his flashlight over the tunnel in front of him he could see a giant hole in the floor ahead, similar to the previous tunnel. This dungeon wasn¡¯t so hard after all, Levi thought to himself. You just had to figure out the patterns. The two of them neared the hole ahead and Levi prepared to pull the same maneuver as last time: hiding in the dip next to the hole as arrow would likely shoot out above them. But while the dungeon did have patterns, those patterns were not as simple as Levi suspected.


    ¡°Wait!¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Immediately after Susan¡¯s shout Levi slowed down. He had been already slowing his sprint in preparation to duck for cover, but maybe there was something else at play here. He trusted Susan¡¯s judgement. He had learned that much. But before he could fully slow down and ask Susan what the problem was, the air was knocked out of him as she tackled him to the ground.


    Levi wasn¡¯t alone in thinking this tunnel would be similar to the last. Susan also thought the same thing. But as they neared the pit at the end of the tunnel, her skill informed her something was wrong. But she had been so focused on what was behind her that by the time she realized her skill was also predicting danger in front it was too late. In a desperate bid to keep them safe, Susan tackled Levi just as arrows shot out from the walls in front of them, which would have surely skewered them both had it not been for her timely action. As it was, Susan successfully protected Levi from the arrows as the cost of taking some herself. The force of her tackle then caused them to slide over the lip in front of them, avoiding the brunt of the arrows firing overhead. But instead of their fall being stopped on a ledge like in the previous tunnel, the two of them entered free fall, plunging downwards into the darkness.


    Even if Susan¡¯s skill could give her an increased perception of danger, it didn¡¯t tell her exactly what that danger was, or the best way to avoid it. And even if it did, the dungeon had effectively checkmated them. Both Susan and Levi had been operating under an assumption that the second tunnel was similar to the first; they just needed to get to the ledge next to the hole and avoid the trap. In such a dangerous situation, such assumptions could be fatal. Unlike the first tunnel where you could crouch on the ledge next to the hole to avoid the boulder, the second tunnel was different. You had to outrun the arrows behind you, but, instead of the safe area being a ledge next to the hole in the floor, the safe area was actually the area just in front of the hole, but only after a second group of arrows had finished firing. The trick was to stop ten or so meters in front of the hole while arrows fired in the space in front of you, and then after the arrows finished firing, move forward to occupy that space before the arrows being fired across the tunnel behind you caught up.


    With perfect information such a trap would be trivial to avoid. But operating under their own assumptions and Susan¡¯s imperfect skill, Susan and Levi failed to avoid it. It took a few short seconds of free fall for Levi to realize this. There was no ledge for them to land on and they were now plummeting hundreds, perhaps thousands, of meters down.


    Twisting in midair, Levi swung his flashlight wildly, trying to figure out what lay below. The shaft they were falling down opened up into a cavern, mostly filled with a rushing underground river, and Levi, spying what looked like a riverbank he could clamber onto on the left side, desperately tried to keep his bearing and sense of direction. Seconds later he plunged down into the river, his backpack dragging him down. Struggling to unbuckle it, Levi finally got the straps off and surfaced, gasping for breath.


    But while Levi was able to keep his wits about him, Susan was in much worse shape. In tackling Levi and pushing them over the edge she had taken five arrows, one in her leg, one in her arm, and three in her torso. The shock of the pain combined with the fall caused her to briefly black out.


    It was luck that Levi¡¯s flashlight, which was waterproof and floated, illuminated enough of the river that he spotted Susan, noticed she wasn¡¯t conscious, was able to swim over to her, and then could fight the current to get them to the left bank and onto dry land. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he pulled Susan onto dry land and collapsed, his body just barely clear of the rushing water.


    Levi tried to slow his breathing. As his flashlight floated off down the river the lack of light helped center him. The darkness somehow made it easier to ignore his surrounding and pretend everything was okay. Expect it wasn¡¯t. He just lay like that, his thoughts paralyzed, as he tried to come to grips with the situation. What even was the situation? He didn¡¯t know, and his tired brain couldn¡¯t process what had just happened.  It was all too much. It took a small cough from Susan as she hacked up water to rouse Levi from his vegetable-like state.


    He rolled over on his side and hauled himself into a sitting position, scooting closer towards Susan, straining his eyes in the gloom to see if she was okay. She continued coughing, at least letting him know she was alive. Levi strained to focus his mind. He really should have checked on her sooner instead of lying there. What if she had been is desperate need of CPR or something?


    ¡°Susan? Hey, Susan? Can you hear me?¡±


    Levi crawled closer and rolled her onto her side as she coughed up more water.


    ¡°Are you alright? Can you hear me? What happened up there?¡±


    More coughing was the only response Levi got, and as his eyes finally adjusted to the low light of the cavern they were in, he noticed the arrows sticking out of her. He could see she had one in her arm and two stuck in her side. While one of the ones in her side looked like it hadn¡¯t penetrated that far, the other was deep, only half of the shaft visible. That couldn¡¯t have been a good sign.


    ¡°Susan? Hey, do I take these arrows out? Shit, that looks bad. Hey, Susan, can you hear me?¡±


    Susan continued to cough out water as Levi moved himself around to support her as she lay on her side. He was pretty sure you were supposed to leave someone on their side if they had water in their lungs. He really hoped she didn¡¯t need CPR. All he knew about it was it involved mouth to mouth, and maybe pressing on their chest to make them breath. He had a small first aid kit in his backpack, but that was now likely at the bottom of the river. Even just having a flashlight would have been okay, as when moving around her Levi noticed another arrow in her leg. Without better light he couldn¡¯t tell what the wounds actually looked like or how much they were bleeding.


    Levi sat there, holding Susan as she continued to cough and wheeze.  This whole thing was a shitshow. Why had he even wanted to come in here anyway? He was level one for crying out loud. Level fucking one. He felt his concentration slip as his mind drifted to topics he would rather avoid. Thoughts of how nice it was to actually have someone to talk to. He had often chatted with Jeff and Thomas and the others at his job, but that was all fake, superficial. That was his job. He HAD to talk to them.


    But there was no reason for Susan to talk to him. She could have walked away. Hell, he could have walked away. Except, he didn¡¯t think he could have. It was so much easier to avoid people when you were always surrounded by them. As far as he knew, Susan could be the only other person in a thousand kilometers. Hell, the whole continent, the whole world even. Yes, that was unlikely, but that niggling thought kept Levi hyper-focused on the only other human he knew for sure existed. It was different being alone by choice than by circumstance.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Susan, talk to me. You¡¯re going to be alright. Definitely. I¡¯m sure there must be something I can do to help. You can¡¯t leave me.¡±


    ¡®You can¡¯t leave me too¡¯ was what Levi really wanted to say. The first person he really started to connect with in over two years and now she was lying in his lap, with who knows how many breaths left.


    First it had been his mom. Levi barely remembered her. He was only three years old when she was deported. When he was older and wanted to know what happened his dad refused to talk about it. Then it was his dad. His dad, the literal superman. How could someone like that die? One week he had been everything, dad, mom, best friend, breadwinner, he did it all. The next he was lying in a hospital bed, half his body paralyzed from some dumb tumor. Then it was Chelsey. She had stayed with him through those three months when his dad lay there, wasting away. When she told him she didn¡¯t love him anymore, Levi said never again. They always left in the end.


    Now he sat here with someone he barely even knew. Someone he had no reason to care about. They were strangers, come together by circumstance. No, Levi couldn¡¯t fool himself. They were strangers, but there might be something to all that talk about a bond created through the perils of life and death. Levi cared, and that scared him. He didn¡¯t want to lose anyone else. Not again.

 Chapter Nine

    The next five minutes took an eternity for Levi. He was forced to sit, in near total darkness, watching as Susan lay there intermittently coughing up water, not knowing if every shallow breath was her last. It was excruciating. He wanted to scream. This wasn¡¯t what dungeons were supposed to be like. They should be covered in bioluminescent moss with clearly demarcated tunnels, rooms, and bosses, with maybe an easy way to teleport back out when you were done exploring. Maybe his previous knowledge wasn¡¯t actually helpful here, only lulling him into a false sense of security. Levi didn¡¯t know, and at this point, he didn¡¯t care. He wanted out.


    Levi was hyper-focused on Susan¡¯s breathing, so he immediately noticed when it changed, slowly starting to speed up.


    ¡°Susan? Hey, can you hear me? You there? Are you alright?¡±


    With a final wracking cough, Susan expelled the rest of the water from her lungs before rousing from unconsciousness.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she managed to get out.


    Levi would have been more convinced if she didn¡¯t sound like a lung cancer patient.


    ¡°Are you hurt? What happened up there? You have arrows in you, should I take them out? What¡­¡±


    Levi cut himself off with a deep breath. He needed to calm down, not bombard her with questions. He had to stay focused.


    More calm, he continued.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see much, but you have at least four arrows in you. Do I need to take them out?¡±


    Susan coughed again before answering.


    ¡°No, leave them. I think I have five, but they shouldn¡¯t be taken out without the proper measures in place. Just let me rest for a moment.¡±


    They lapsed back into silence, Levi focusing on his breathing, forcing a slow inhale and exhale. He thought he heard somewhere that breathing slowly released chemicals in your brain that calmed you down, but so far it didn¡¯t seem to be working. Susan said she was fine. But of course she did, what else was she going to say? ¡®Oh Levi, I¡¯ll bleed out in ten minutes, but no need to worry about me¡¯. Yeah right.


    At least she was awake now. That was a good sign, although he thought that was more an issue for head injuries. They always wanted people to stay awake on TV shows when they had some sort of head trauma. So while Levi waited for Susan to collect herself, he devoting his thoughts to using his Concentrated Will skill to focus on the inhale and exhale.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Susan said, ¡°I think I feel awake enough to talk.¡±


    Levi immediately zoned in on what she had to say.


    ¡°Let me first go over what happened in the tunnel, then you can take over for wherever we are now. I remember running along the tunnel, my skill telling me about the danger behind us. It seems I was so focused on that though that I didn¡¯t pick up on what was in front of us until it was too late. I think we needed to stop before the hole, not rush into it blindly. In the previous tunnel the safe area was the lip before the hole, while for this tunnel there were arrows in front and behind, so I suspect we had to wait for the arrows in front of us to finish firing before avoiding the ones behind us.¡±


    She paused here for another cough before continuing.


    ¡°I only realized all this when it was too late. By that time I had two options, hit the ground myself, or tackle you and try and get us both to safety. I had a feeling you wouldn¡¯t survive if I didn¡¯t try and save you, so I went with that option. I didn¡¯t expect the hole to drop off like that though. Luckily there was water down here at least. I blacked out as soon as I hit the water, but I guess you must have dragged me to shore.¡±


    ¡°Okay, yeah, that makes sense I guess,¡± Levi said. ¡°This dungeon couldn¡¯t have left things simple, because of course not. Of course it had to not only fuck us over with the arrows, but then fuck us over with the hole as well. This fucking asshole dungeon, I bet the pathway around the hole would have collapsed or something if we had tried to get around the hole too. This fucking piece of¡­¡±


    Levi cut himself off, realizing he was shouting there at the end. He took a deep breath before continuing in a calmer voice.


    ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m just.., I mean,¡± he gestured lamely at Susan, which she couldn¡¯t really see in the dark. ¡°Never mind. I noticed you weren¡¯t really moving that much when we were falling, and then you were only floating there when I surfaced, so I managed to grab you and pull you onto the bank over here. It looks like we are in some sort of underground cavern. I can¡¯t see that well, but it¡¯s not completely dark. I got a better look around before my flashlight was swept away, and I think there is an underground river running on the right-hand side, and some sort of small indent over here on the left side of the cave. I didn¡¯t see any exits.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¡°But what about these arrows?¡± he continued. ¡°We need to take them out. How can you just calmly talk like this with arrows in you?¡±


    Susan went quite for few seconds.


    ¡°Do you still have your backpack?¡± She asked.


    Levi shook his head. ¡°No, I had to take it off to be able to swim out of the river. Maybe I could have pulled it out, but I definitely couldn¡¯t have and saved you at the same time. Your backpack with the last of your picnic food also washed away.¡±


    ¡°So you don¡¯t have the first aid kit that was in there?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°And none of the food I guess. And you said there were no exits?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see any, but I could have easily missed them. I haven¡¯t actually explored the area.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you do that now,¡± Susan said. ¡°I can hold on here for the moment, and we need to figure out what to do going forward.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Just, don¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    Levi gently moved away from Susan, making sure that she was alright when he wasn¡¯t supporting her before moving to actually look around. It was more of exploring and feeling than looking, thanks to the low light, and Susan was right, he really should have done it earlier. While it was obvious he needed to make sure she was okay, the whole reason they were even in this situation was because of how dangerous this dungeon was. There was no reason to assume this section would be any safer.


    Stumbling around, Levi cautiously made his way away from the river. His plan was to find the wall, and then follow that until he had mapped out the room they were in. It was possible there was some secret escape tunnel in the middle of the floor somewhere, but Levi thought it was safe to assume any potential exits would involve the walls. He had been burned by such assumption before though, so he still kept and eye elsewhere for anything eye-catching.


    Now that he thought about it, why was he able to see anything down here? Wouldn¡¯t it make sense that an underground cavern, clear of any obvious light sources, would be pitch black? There was no bioluminescent moss, torches, or ceiling that looked like stars, and the water appeared like regular water, that is, not glowing. But somehow, he could see things. Not well, but now that he was moving around and paying attention it wasn¡¯t too hard to avoid the dips and crags of the floor below him, and it was almost easy to see the cavern wall he was approaching. It was all greyscale of course, and he likely couldn¡¯t see well enough to differentiate a baseball from a tennis ball, but outlines were readily apparent. It was actually similar to the dungeon entrance now that he thought about it, although it didn¡¯t really make that much more sense for there to be light there either.


    More confident in moving faster once he realized he could see his surroundings, Levi expedited his exploration. His first trip was towards the top portion of the cavern, or what he decided to call the top since that was where the river was coming from. Levi walked along the wall, keeping his eye out for anything in closer to the river. There was nothing, and soon he came to the place where the river and the cavern converged, only leaving an opening just big enough for the water to rush out of.


    The top part done, Levi quickly moved toward the bottom part, expecting to find a similar zero things of interest. He was mistaken though, as there was something different about the other end of the cavern.


    There was a dip in the riverbank at the bottom corner, allowing some water to jump the bank and leaving a small pool of water on the cavern floor. Growing up from the pool of water on the wall was some sort of fungi. Levi first thought the dungeon had installed shelving, as the fungi grew up the wall in even rows. But after breaking a piece off he realized it was those weird mushrooms that grow on the side of things. Or something similar at least. He had no clue what this dungeon could or couldn¡¯t do to its organisms, and he didn¡¯t stick around to find out, his search now complete.


    Levi made his way back to Susan to make his report.


    ¡°Nothing. There isn¡¯t an exit anywhere, unless you count the river itself, as I guess that has to go somewhere. There is a slight gap between the river and the ceiling which could maybe be used to breath, but the river looks like it¡¯s moving too fast for you to try that in your injured state.¡±


    ¡°Trying to surface in a tunnel likely wouldn¡¯t be a good idea, injured or not,¡± Susan said. ¡°The top of the tunnel is likely uneven, and surfacing is a good way to hit your head and get knocked unconscious, likely spelling death.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that too.¡± Hearing that information, Levi was even more grateful he had managed to pull them onto shore. It could have been a quick one-way trip to the depths had he been a bit slower. They were much closer to where the river left the cavern than where it entered by the time he had gotten them to shore. ¡°So what should I do about these arrows? We need to get them out, right?¡±


    Levi waited nervously at Susan took some time to think about what to do next. The arrows seemed to be taunting him, distorting Susan¡¯s outline in the low light of the cavern. He wanted them out.


    Susan finally opened her mouth to speak.


    ¡°I wish we had that first aid kit, but you¡¯re right, we do need to get these arrows out of me. Why don¡¯t you start with the one in my arm. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s in too deeply, and maybe once you get some experience pulling them out it will be easier once it comes to the ones in my side. Those will be harder I think.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Do you want me to just pull it out, or¡­?¡±


    Levi had just realized exactly what he would have to do, and suddenly the prospect didn¡¯t sound so appealing. Taking an arrow out of someone was completely different than dissecting something, or at least that¡¯s how he tried to psych himself up for the task at hand. He would do what he had to here. It¡¯s not like he could ask Susan to pull the arrows out herself.


    ¡°I guess,¡± Susan replied. ¡°I¡¯m not very knowledgeable about how to take arrows out, so just try and pull it out unless you have another idea. That¡¯s why we¡¯re starting with my arm.¡±


    The setup wasn¡¯t complicated, with Levi moving behind Susan as she positioned herself on her side. He grabbed her arm with one hand, and the arrow with the other, took one final deep breath, and yanked on the shaft of the arrow.


    Susan grunted in pain.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you got it that time. It must be jammed in there. Give it another try.¡±


    ¡°Um, I think we might have a small issue here,¡± Levi said, looking down at what he held in his hand.


    Susan couldn¡¯t see it as she was on her side facing away from him, but Levi had indeed succeeded in pulling the arrow out. The only problem was, the arrowhead didn¡¯t come with it.

 Chapter Ten

    Levi moved the shaft of the arrow in front of Susan.


    ¡°I see,¡± she said. ¡°That might be an issue.¡±


    ¡°What should I do now?¡± Levi asked.


    This whole situation was beyond his expectations. Maybe he should have expected it, but for whatever reason he had been thinking the arrows would be like modern archery arrows, where the tip was an extension of the shaft. But these were arrows had actual arrowheads on them, and now one of them was stuck in Susan¡¯s arm. Levi looked at the shaft in his hand and thought he might be sick. The arrowhead was still in Susan¡¯s arm. That seemed to be about par for the course for this shitty dungeon.


    ¡°We have three options,¡± Susan said after a moment of thought. ¡°Either we try and pull the head out, push it through, or leave it in there. If it were a bullet I would just try and leave it in, since we don¡¯t a forceps or pliers to get it out, but an arrowhead is probably bigger than a bullet.¡±


    ¡°Right. Let me take a closer look and see if I can, uh, figure out what to do or something.¡±


    Levi leaned over to inspect the wound. Perhaps he should have done it earlier, but with such low light there was little to see. Not that he knew what to look for anyway. Suddenly realizing something rather obvious, Levi paused his examination.


    ¡°Just a sec, let me wash my hands in the river. I¡¯m going to try and feel around the entry point since I can¡¯t see anything, so I should probably wash my hands off first.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± Susan replied. ¡°I should have thought of that too.¡±


    Moving back over with his now clean hands, Levi set to work. Susan was wearing a light outdoor jacket, so he first ripped a bigger hole in it and her sleeve underneath. He didn¡¯t want to try moving her around to take it off. With the fabric out of the way, Levi then felt around the entry wound.


    The wound was rather small, all told. He pictured it as a hole of some sort, but it was more like a slit, with blood slowly seeping out. And getting on his hands. And he didn¡¯t have any soap to clean his hands. And now he had to reach in into a human body and pull something out of it. God, what had he gotten himself into?


    Focus, he thought to himself. He could do this. He had to do this.


    Levi, ever so slowly, reached a finger into the wound and gently felt around. He tried not to think about what it felt like. At the same time, he used his other hand to try find out exactly where the arrowhead was by feeling along the outside of Susan¡¯s arm.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ve found it,¡± Levi said, swallowing the bile rising up in his throat. ¡°It feels like it¡¯s in too far to pull it out, but I might be able to push it through. Do you want me to do that, or leave it?¡±


    ¡°Push it through,¡± Susan ordered, her voice tense.


    Her tone reminded Levi that while she was taking all this rather calmly, she had to be in intense pain. Not only did he have his fingers inside her arm and was moving them around, but she also had four other arrows in her too. He needed to hurry up.


    Once he had a good grip on the back of the arrowhead, Levi pinched the outside of Susan¡¯s arm to make an exit path and pushed. The first time his fingers slipped off, his grip unstable on the blood coated arrowhead. The second time he pushed it forward a little, but failed in redirecting it correctly, and instead of pushing it up and out just pushed it forward. His plan of redirecting it not working, Levi took a deep breath, and just shoved the arrowhead all the way through Susan¡¯s arm. He was rewarded with a small clink as it fell in front of her onto the cavern floor.


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s out now,¡± Susan said, letting out a gasp of air.


    Levi carefully reached over her to feel around for the arrowhead. Picking it up, he examined it more closely, holding it before his eyes in the low light.


    ¡°It looks kind of like a triangle,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I could have ever pulled this out. It has little pointy bits on the back two corners. Maybe if I could get a hold of it, but it was hard enough to push it through. The back part would catch on stuff if I had tried to pull it out.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s a good thing you didn¡¯t. Now rip off the rest of my sleeve and try and bind the wound. I think it¡¯s bleeding a lot more now.¡±


    Feeling guilty as he heard the increased pain in Susan¡¯s voice, Levi quickly followed her instructions, using the sharp arrowhead to easily sever her sleeve and then fashioning it into a rough bandage.


    ¡°There, done. How does it feel, did I make it too tight?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Susan said. ¡°I can barely feel it over the arrows in my side.¡±


    Her mentioning her side caused Levi to grimace. He had been trying to ignore it before, but if he had trouble getting the arrow in her arm out, how was he going to get the ones in her side out? The arrow in her arm had gone through her bicep. She had a surprising amount of muscle there, but there was only so much he had to push the arrow head through. He didn¡¯t think you could push an arrowhead through someone¡¯s torso.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you still have the arrow in your leg! Let me take that one out. It should be easy after the one in your arm. I could probably even qualify for a skill at removing arrows at this point.¡±


    Susan wasn¡¯t fooled by Levi¡¯s obviously forced upbeat voice.


    ¡°No, I think we need to talk.¡±


    Levi froze. We need to talk. In his opinion those were the scariest words someone could say. Yes, just those words didn¡¯t guarantee it was something bad, but it always was. Always.


    Susan could sense Levi¡¯s mood and decided to jump right in.


    ¡°Look, we both know that the arrows are bad news. It was obvious as soon as you tried to take one out. Also, I didn¡¯t want to mention this before, but I think one of the ones in my side has pierced a lung. I can breathe right now, but I¡¯m not sure what would happen you tried to pull it out, or if you even could. And I think the one in my calf is lodged in the bone. If I went to the hospital I would be rushed to the critical care unit for an operation. I think the only reason I¡¯m doing as well as I am is because of this System thing.¡±


    Levi shot his head up.


    ¡°That¡¯s it, the System! It must have a way to heal you! It has clearly made us stronger, and it sounds like more durable too, so there must be a way to heal you. Maybe all you need to do is level up? There¡¯s tons of games where leveling up restores you to full health.¡±


    Susan gently shook her head.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good thought, but I already leveled up, remember? There was nothing about it that made me feel more rested.¡±


    ¡°Then there has to be something else. Maybe I can make a healing skill. There must be magic, I¡¯m sure of it. I just need to do that and then I can have you patched up in no time and¡±


    ¡°Levi! Calm down, you¡¯re shouting.¡±


    Levi slowly closed his mouth. Was this it? Was this how it all ends?


    ¡°That¡¯s not the only thing,¡± Susan continued. ¡°Look around us. Not only do we not have any medical supplies, but there isn¡¯t even any food. It looks like it would be dangerous to get out of here even assuming perfect health, and I¡¯m far from that. I can barely feel my right arm and I can¡¯t move my left foot. Even if I could recover from this, I couldn¡¯t do it here. But you can still make it out.¡±


    Susan stopped after that, waiting for Levi¡¯s response. But what could he say? This whole situation was fucked up. Everyone dreams of getting superpowers, of going adventuring in another world, but if this was what it was like, Levi wanted out. His life back on Earth wasn¡¯t particularly satisfying, sure, but it was devoid of the pain he felt now. He felt disconnected from his heart as it pounded in his chest, feeling more like a gaping void, pulling him downwards into despair.


    ¡°Why?¡± Levi said, that one word somehow encapsulating all the pain he felt. ¡°Why did you do it? You said you could have avoided the arrows, so why?¡±


    It took Susan a moment to realize he was asking why she saved him and not herself. She carefully thought about the answer, before opening her mouth, pausing, and thinking some more. She felt Levi¡¯s tears falling on her face. He needed a satisfying answer.


    ¡°Why does anyone do anything self-sacrificing? Truthfully, when I did it, I didn¡¯t know what the outcome would be. We could both have escaped scot free, or both been shot full of arrows. It just turned out that I took the brunt of the trap while you didn¡¯t. But none of that matters. Even if I knew the result I would have done the same thing.¡±


    ¡°But why! You don¡¯t even know me! We¡¯re basically strangers. Why would you save me?¡± Levi¡¯s voice went from shouting at the beginning, to almost a whisper at the end.


    Susan gently reached out and grabbed Levi¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Yes, we just met,¡± Susan said, ¡°but we¡¯re not strangers. Once you save someone¡¯s life you¡¯ll always be connected to that person, no matter what. But it¡¯s also more than that.¡±


    Susan paused for a second, thinking about how to begin the next part.


    ¡°I was an only child. My mom had me when she was seventeen. I always wanted a little brother, but she wised up after the first pregnancy. I think that desire for a sibling came from my best friend. Whenever I would go over to her house we would dress up her little brother in all kinds of outfits. Looking back, we were likely pushing him around, but he always went along with it with the cutest smile on his face. He was adorable. The way your face lights up when you start going on long tangents about your favorite topics reminds me of how his face would look when he was happy. It almost feels like you¡¯re the little brother I never had.¡±


    By the time Susan stopped speaking Levi was crying in earnest, his body wracked by long, heaving sobs. He knew exactly what she meant. The only one of his relatives he had ever met was his dad¡¯s sister when she came to visit during his tenth birthday. She lived on some island in the tropics somewhere teaching scuba diving. Levi could easily insert Susan into those memories, imagining her filling the role of the kickass big sister or wacky aunt that takes you out on motorcycle rides.


    Susan gave Levi¡¯s hand a squeeze. It was a poor substitute for a hug, but it wasn¡¯t easy to move around with arrows in you.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about me,¡± She continued. ¡°I¡¯ve always been ready to die for my comrades. I was in the Marines, remember? I might not have left on the best of terms, but the people I served with would lay down their lives for me, and I would do the same for them. I never wanted to go out lying in a hospital bed somewhere, complaining my shoulder hurts too much to knit. That¡¯s not who I am. I¡¯m a fighter, and fighters go out fighting for the things they care about, and I¡¯m proud to put you on that list.¡±


    They sat like that for a while, Levi crying while holding Susan¡¯s hand in a death grip. It took a long time for him to gather himself enough to speak.


    ¡°But still, wouldn¡¯t it have been better to save yourself? How am I going to get out of here? I¡¯ve been relying on you for everything. Who knows what I would have done if I hadn¡¯t found you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know you can do it. You¡¯ll be fine. You know about so many things that I don¡¯t, things like traps, and how to interpret the System. I know you can make it out of here and keep on fighting. You...¡±


    Susan was overcome with a weak coughing fit, stopping her from continuing. It was only now that Levi realized Susan was barely holding onto his hand with a weak grip and she was lying in a growing pool of blood.


    Susan summoned her inner strength to continue.


    ¡°Levi, I want you to do something for me.¡±


    ¡°Anything! What do you need me to do?¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll do anything? Do you promise?¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course! I promise I¡¯ll do whatever you tell me to do.¡±


    Susan paused here, debating whether to continue or not. She knew this would be a hard thing to ask. In the end, she decided to give voice to her thoughts.


    ¡°Kill me.¡±


    Levi stared down at her, horrified.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to die anyway,¡± she continued. ¡°I would rather it be quick than bleed out or die from dehydration. Can you do this for me?¡±


    Levi had expected Susan to give him her final last words or something. Not this. He had promised to do whatever she asked, but how could he kill her? It was hard to even think about it. He unconsciously squeezed her hand even harder.


    Levi closed his eyes and focused on breathing. Calm. He had to be calm. Susan wasn¡¯t actually asking him to kill her, she was asking him to end her suffering. That¡¯s right, he was doing her a favor.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can do it,¡± he whispered, his voice breaking near the end. It was just too much.


    ¡°I won¡¯t force you,¡± Susan said. ¡°Not that I could anyway. But if you want to survive, you need to learn to make hard decisions. Sometime being alive isn¡¯t about doing the things you want to do, but about doing the things you need to do. When you make it out of here, and I know you will, you need to have the inner strength to do what needs to be done, even if you would rather do anything else.¡±


    Susan gave his hand a squeeze with her remaining strength.


    ¡°Now chin up. I didn¡¯t save you so you could mope around. Maybe this is too much to ask, but there will come a time where you need to make a choice similar to this. A choice where you faltering will cause those you love to suffer. There is always more than one choice in those situations, but often only one of those is a choice that will allow you to sleep at night. Surviving is easy. Surviving without demons, not so much.¡±


    Levi thought about what Susan said, but he felt like he couldn¡¯t really grasp it. How could she be so strong? Looking down at her, lying there, riddled with arrows, and it felt like she was still stronger than he would ever be. But he trusted her. Probably more than he had trusted anyone other than his dad.


    ¡°Is that really what you want? For me to¡­¡± It was hard for him to say it. To kill her.


    ¡°Yes. If you can do it, I think this is the best way. There¡¯s also something else too, but I¡¯m not sure about that part. If I¡¯m right, I¡¯ll be able to help you one last time.¡±


    ¡°Okay. How should I do it?¡± Levi tried to make his voice sound as confident as possible. Susan wanted him to do this. He couldn¡¯t just let her lie there and continue to suffer. He had to do this.


    ¡°Grab the arrow in my side, the one farther up, yes that one, and push. It shouldn¡¯t take much more for it to go through my heart.¡±


    Levi found the arrow and grabbed it with his left hand, his right still holding Susan¡¯s.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m ready.¡± He wasn¡¯t, but he knew he never would be. How could anyone be ready for something like this? But he was going to do this. For Susan.


    ¡°Thank you, Levi. You are one of the bravest young men I have ever met, and I¡¯m honored to have known you. You will be able to escape this dungeon and go on to do great things, I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    With tears dripping down his face, Levi tightly grasped the arrow and pushed. As the arrow slid in, he felt the tension flow out of Susan¡¯s body. Her breathing slowly petered out, disappearing like the elusive summer breeze. The last thing to go was her grip, which she maintained to the end, but even that slowly faded, until Levi was left clasping her limp hand.


    [Unlocked Title: Inheritor! The title Inheritor gives you access to the highest ranked skill of your benefactor, Susan Doyle.]


    [Unlocked Skill: Improved Awareness! This skill allows for an increase in awareness, with an improved ability to perceive danger. This skill is associated with: Insight.]


    Levi clasped Susan¡¯s hand even harder. Even in death she was taking care of him. Maybe she wouldn¡¯t ever leave this dungeon, but he now had her name in his status, her sacrifice immortalized in the System as long as he lived. Kneeling next to her corpse, Levi vowed he would escape this dungeon and continue to survive. He would become a living tombstone, carrying her spirit with him forever.


    It was time to get out of here. Standing up, Levi respectfully arranged Susan¡¯s body, arms crossed and legs straight. He gave her hand one last squeeze before firming his resolve, taking a deep breath, and diving into the river.

 Chapter Eleven

    The river swept Levi along, twisting and turning him around until he wasn¡¯t sure where the surface was. He did his best to hold his breath, resisting the urge to panic and try and swim upwards. The current was fierce, and Levi tried to protect himself as he slammed into a wall when the river cut a sharp right. He felt his heart rate spike, increasing his use of oxygen. The was nothing like the river he swam in as a child with his dad.


    Soon Levi was at his limit, his lungs burning, screaming for air. He couldn¡¯t stay down here much longer. Even if he risked banging his head on the ceiling he need to breathe.


    Reaching for the surface, Levi uncovered his body, exposing himself to a rocky protrusion in the river. With a loud crack, he slammed his right hip into the rock, the break radiating waves of pain through his body and expelling the rest of the air from his overtaxed lungs. He unconsciously tried to breathe, inhaling water instead of air.


    The river forged onward, ignorant of its unwitting passenger. It flowed around a bend, tossing Levi to and fro, before spouting out in a waterfall into an underground lake, dumping its passenger unceremoniously into the wide expanse of water. Levi only felt the throbbing of his hip and the burning of his lungs as they cried out for air before he was briefly airborne before once more being submerged. During that short window he managed to cough out some of the water in his lungs and pull in some air, sustaining himself until he managed to find his way to the surface of the lake.


    Sputtering water from every orifice, Levi concentrated, activating his skill, honing in on the task at hand. Ignoring his hip, he struck out in a direction, mechanically moving his arms to propel him forward. One hand after the other, he inched closer and closer to shore. An indeterminate amount of time later he reached the edge of the lake, heaving himself over its stone lip and onto dry land. Reaching safety finally allowed Levi to relax, and now that the immediate danger was gone, his body responded.


    First came the shaking, his body spazzing out. Then the hyperventilating, his body struggling to expel the remaining water in his lungs while his diaphragm imitated a hummingbird in flight. Finally came the sweet release of slumber, the whole experience taxing his mind past the breaking point. Susan was dead, and he was now alone, trapped in a dungeon with a leg he couldn¡¯t even feel.


    It was hours later that Levi finally awoke, slowly rousing from sleep¡¯s cold embrace. He kept his eyes closed, just feeling the aches and pains of his body. His hip was reduced to a dull throb. What worried him was his right leg, or the lack of feeling he had in it. It just felt numb, like he had been sleeping in the wrong position and woke up in the middle of the night to pins and needles.


    He carefully opened his eyes and craned his neck forward, inspecting his lower body. There was the same omnipresent quasi-dusk that the rest of the dungeon had, allowing him to confirm that his leg was still intact. It was even facing the right direction. Levi slowly lowed his head back down and just stared at the ceiling.


    Shit he thought. Except that wasn¡¯t quite right.


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    Somehow speaking the word out loud felt much better, except for the hacking cough it inspired, his body still not clear of the last bit of water in his lungs. Careful of his hip, he rolled himself onto his side letting the coughing fit pass. After that Levi sat up to inspect his current domicile.


    Huge. That was the only word he could use. He was in a cavern, if you could even call it that, that had a genuine lake, no ponds here. It was the kind of lake people took boats out on. The kind where you couldn¡¯t see people on the other side. In what was surely a physics-defying move, the ceiling was low, much lower than it had any right to be. Levi pictured caverns with large arching ceilings, the natural curve of the walls supporting the massive weight of the stone above. Not so here, this ceiling was flat, almost unnaturally so, with more of a large upside-down basin shape. The surface was creepily smooth, looking like a second lake on the ceiling reflected from the water below.


    Levi was currently on a ledge. There was only a short few meters between the lake and the wall behind him. The ledge extended both ways around the lake, the right side going under the waterfall he entered by, and the left side stretching out beyond his vision, following the slight curve of the lake. There was no exit in sight, but Levi wasn¡¯t sure he could have used one anyway. Each time he moved, his hip went from a dull throb to a shooting pain, penetrating all the way up to his skull.


    He had to move to get water though, and Levi could only grit his teeth and bear it as he slowly swung his body around until he was perpendicular to the lake, allowing him to lean over and scoop handfuls of water into his parched mouth.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Thirst sated, his stomach made it painfully clear that his last meal was almost a day ago. That wasn¡¯t a huge amount of time, but after his harrowing flight through the dungeon Levi¡¯s stomach was imitating a kitten left out in the rain, begging to be let in.


    This whole thing sucked. Levi tried his best to make himself comfortable as he lay there on the stone ledge. He was immobile, trapped in a dungeon, and currently had no available food or even good prospects to find any. Even if there were fish in the lake he had no way to catch them other than his hands. He didn¡¯t think his survival skill would allow for that, at least not at its current level.


    As soon as he thought of his skill, Levi realized he should probably check his status to see if anything had changed. The System didn¡¯t seem very good about giving notifications, and since it didn¡¯t have a convenient HUD situated in the corner of his vision he had to actively check to see any updates.


    [Name: Levi Curchman


    Level: 2


    Titles: System Inductee, Inheritor


    Stats: (Unallocated Stat Points: 1)


    Strength: 1 Constitution: 3 Dexterity: 1 Agility: 1


    Willpower: 3 Insight: 1 Attunement: 1 Charisma: 1


    Concentration: 2 Luck: 3


    Skills: Concentrated Will, Survival, Improved Awareness]


    Somehow he had gained a level. It seemed Susan had been right that skill usage contributed to leveling up in addition to just killing stuff. Concentrated Will was now level seven and Survival was a whopping level twelve. Levi also suspected he might have earned some experience from surviving the traps. It was common in tabletop games for encounters to give experience, whether they were combat, survival, or even social. He had no clue how much, if any, of that applied here though.


    Next up was deciding where to put his measly stat point. It took all of five seconds for Levi to distribute it to Constitution. It would have been nice to have more balanced stats but, based on his current situation, he needed everything he could get that would help him recover enough to get out of here, and Constitution fit the bill. Although interestingly Levi had a feeling that Attunement also helped a little with healing and recovery, albeit in a smaller way.


    With all his immediate concerns taken care of, Levi now had to turn to the long term and actually figure out some sort of plan. Which he sucked at. It was why he made a schedule and stuck to it back on Earth. Having a consistent schedule he could do. Mostly. He did slip up sometimes, like when he went out for Taco Bell. He was supposed to cook lasagna that night. But as bad as he was at setting and keeping a schedule, he was much worse at any kind of long-term planning. He had tried varies strategy games in the past and always failed miserably at them.


    For better or for worse he currently had limited options. With a broken hip he had severely impaired mobility, at least for the short term. That ruled out any exploration. Or really anything that wasn¡¯t just lying there. He held out some small hope that his Survival skill would come through for him, but utilizing it didn¡¯t bring him any stunning revelations on how to find food or set his hip.


    With nothing but time, Levi brainstormed potential solutions. But no matter how hard he thought, there really only seemed to be one choice realistically, and that was to level up.


    He had three skills that he could level up, which would both give him stats from the skills themselves and hopefully give him experience to level up himself. As far as Levi could tell, all skills, or at least all of his, had passive and active components. For instance, Survival could be used to learn new ways of surviving, but he got the feeling it would also make him more resilient and capable of surviving in general, especially in harsh environments. Levi¡¯s theory was that starvation should be a fast way to level up his skill, thereby increasing his Constitution stat. He didn¡¯t really have any way of using the active part of Survival anyway, so passive it was.


    For the other two skills, Concentrated Will seemed more active, with only a small passive ability to boost his concentration, while Improved Awareness was more passive, with an ability to concentrate on the skill to improve its effectiveness. Levi¡¯s plan was to combine these two skills. He wasn¡¯t sure if Improved Awareness would level up if he wasn¡¯t actually finding anything, but it was worth a shot. He didn¡¯t have any better ideas.


    Levi arranged his body to give himself easy access to the lake and to make himself as comfortable as possible, which wasn¡¯t very considering his hip and the stone he was lying on. In position, he then closed his eyes and activated his two skills.


    It was harder than he thought it would be. It felt like the System helped facilitate activating one skill, but as soon as he tried to use two, the usefulness of the System dropped off drastically. He had to go back and forth a few times to get used to using both before using Concentrated Will to achieve the necessary focus to simultaneously use Improved Awareness.


    When he first got the skill, Levi had been rather skeptical of how useful a concentration skill would be. Seeing how it helped him use two skills at once drove home how wrong he was with his initial conjecture. If the System was going to play hard to get with multiple skill activations, a skill that allowed him to multitask would be a godsend, especially later on.


    When he started out his training, Levi could only sustain the skills for a few minutes. Minutes turned to hours, and soon he was in a state of quasi-meditation, zoning out of his body and purely focusing on activating his skills. As they days passed, his hunger got worse and worse, but as his skill levels rose, Levi became increasingly adept at activating his skills.


    A few days into his practice Levi inspected his status while taking a drink break. He was making progress. He could do this. He would to this. Both for Susan and for himself.

 Chapter Twelve

    David took a short break to look over the caravan, making sure everything was in order. Somehow he had been chosen to lead the blasted thing, no matter how much he had protested. Yes, he had championed the expedition as a whole, but that didn¡¯t mean he wanted to lead it. Leading things was always another¡¯s responsibility. But the world wasn¡¯t the same as it used to be, and he was no longer the low-level salaryman he was before. Now he was to be the head of the first outpost. A dubious honor he wasn¡¯t fully prepared for.


    At least it had been quiet so far. His decisions had mostly revolved around how much ground to cover each day, and for that he relied on someone with some sort of topography skill. But ultimately the buck stopped with him. It wasn¡¯t the¡­


    ¡°Monsters ahead! Defense formations!¡±


    David¡¯s head shot up, eyes towards the front the caravan. While he was the one in charge, that luckily didn¡¯t apply to monster attacks. Someone else had that distinction.


    She appeared to be doing her job, as he spied her jump atop the front most wagon to direct the combatants. David watch closely as their enemies neared, revealing themselves to be a pack of some sort of large dogs. With rhinoceros horns. And spiked manes. Okay, maybe they were more like small carnivorous triceratops than dogs.


    The defenders quickly got into place, forming a rough line around the front few wagons. The river on their left created a natural buffer, preventing any of the various groups of monsters that had assaulted them from launching any pincer attacks. It also provided a convenient water source, which was the main reason they were following it. The plan was to establish an outpost upstream, which would hopefully blunt any hordes of monsters swarming down from the mountains in the distance, allowing their original settlement to more safely expand their farmland without fear of monster reprisals.


    The pack of wild dog-triceratops-things should be entering range now, and David reigned in any stray thoughts so he could focus on the battle, although he expected it to go about the same as all the others before it. He counted down the distance in his head, and sure enough, shortly after he hit zero, the bombardment began.


    There was a total of fifteen people charged with guarding the caravan. They only needed one, the leader, Kelly. She cut an imposing figure, standing on top of the lead wagon, and as soon as the monsters crossed some imaginary line, she opened fire. Literally.


    She held both arms out in front of her as fireballs shot forth in quick succession, setting the charging monsters aflame and soon turning their previous intimidating charge into a full-on rout. The whole battle took barely a minute from start to finish. As soon as Kelly started her rain of fire the monsters never stood a chance.


    David made his way towards the front wagon to hear her report. He was nominally in charge, but it was times like these that he remembered it was only because of Kelly¡¯s presence that this expedition left in the first place. The other guards could have likely fought off the monster attacks, but there would have been casualties, and without modern medical supplies or any of those fancy healers people were always going on about the expedition would have been a shell of itself when they reached their destination. Kelly¡¯s power was just that overwhelming.


    David walked over to find Kelly organizing a party to collect the corpses of the slain monsters.


    ¡°Same as usual I presume, Captain?¡± David said when Kelly finished giving orders to the last of the guards.


    ¡°Of course. There¡¯s nothing to challenge me around here. I didn¡¯t even gain a level from that fight. The monsters must have been too weak.¡±


    Or you¡¯re just too strong David thought to himself. Kelly said she got her fireball skill because she used to perform with fire in the circus, but David maintained, in the privacy of his own thoughts, that she was actually an arsonist. There was something wrong about the expression she had as she set fire to hordes of innocent monsters.


    ¡°Right-o, very good then. Any idea how many you took down out there? Our supplies are a bit lower than anticipated, and I¡¯d rather have a buffer for when we eventually settle down at our destination.¡±


    Kelly shrugged.


    ¡°Not much I can do about the fact that the previous monsters were inedible. These look more promising though. I think I got a good fifteen of them, maybe upwards of twenty. Most of them turned tail and ran after I fired the opening salvo. Jeff and Leah are on the way to check it out now. Just a moment.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Kelly climbed back on top of the wagon before yelling out an ¡°all clear¡± to get the procession moving again.


    ¡°There¡¯s not been much else around either,¡± Kelly said as she rejoined David. ¡°I¡¯ve had Terry out every day searching for tracks, but ever since we hit this plain full of yellow grass the monsters have almost disappeared, except for those in large packs.¡±


    ¡°Any idea when you think this will end?¡± David said with a frown. ¡°People will complain if we start rationing food, and I have no clue how soon we can start growing our own. The farmers all insist they¡¯ll only know once they see the land we settle on.¡±


    ¡°You worry too much. As long as we succeed in setting up the outpost we can start tracking down some of the larger monster groups. And there¡¯s always fish.¡±


    David grimaced. He hated fish. It was true they were unlikely to run out of food with the abundance of those slimy critters filling up the river, but a man needed real meat. Even if it came from some odd sources, like small dog-like dinosaurs.


    Kelly gave him a pat on the back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a good feeling about this batch. Look, here comes Leah now.¡±


    Leah ran over before firing off a mock salute.


    ¡°Captain Kelly, David. Jeff says they¡¯re edible, although maybe slightly overcooked, which I agree with. Not the overcooked part, but the edible one. I don¡¯t think they¡¯re overcooked, but more burned. Well some of them are. Er, not your fault though captain. It uh, just happens sometimes I guess.¡±


    ¡°Good job Leah, that¡¯s some great news. Alex¡¯s group will be in charge of bringing them back in. Go let them know for me.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing, Captain!¡±


    As Leah sped away Kelly turned back to David.


    ¡°See, what did I tell you? You always worry too much.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my job to worry. I¡¯m the one people turn to if there isn¡¯t enough food.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s why I made sure you were in charge, not me,¡± Kelly said, chortling. ¡°You¡¯re much better at this being responsible thing. I just set things on fire.¡±


    David sighed as Kelly went off to go check on the aftermath of the destruction she had wrought. How she had suckered him into this he would never know. He didn¡¯t want to be responsible, damnit! He just wanted to curl up somewhere with a nice cup of tea and a good mystery novel and relax in front of a fire. But the world had changed, and he had to change with it. Everyone had things they had to fight for.


    Muttering to himself, David stalked off to go find Julius and see if he had an update on their surroundings. He had likely taken the chance while the caravan was stopped to activate his skill.


    David found Julius at the tail end of the procession, his guess right on point. Julius had a skill that allowed him to create a 3D map in his head of the surrounding topography. He was only able to use the skill two or three times a day though, and it took some time to activate.


    ¡°Julius! I thought I would find you back here. Any luck this time?¡±


    Julius looked up from his hand drawn map in excitement.


    ¡°Yes! Well, maybe. I think I passed some imaginary boundary. You know that line before that I just couldn¡¯t see past? I think it was some sort of leyline or something. Anyway, that¡¯s not important. I finally was able to see past it! I could almost reach the mountains this time!¡±


    ¡°Well don¡¯t keep me in suspense, what did you find? Anywhere we can settle?¡± David was inwardly jumping for joy, but he tried to keep a stern face as benefitting someone of his status, whatever that was. He had refused to be called chief or any other such title, saying his name was good enough, but he still had to at least try to keep up appearances. He was in charge after all.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a look,¡± Julius said, moving his crudely drawn map so David could see it. ¡°So right here was as far as I could see before, right? Nothing past that. Now I was able to follow the river all the way up past here, see? It actually turns to the left, paralleling the mountains for a bit. There¡¯s a lot of rivers and streams that feed into it. I think somewhere here before it turns might be good. Maybe right around here.¡±


    David nodded along, pretending the squiggles in front of him meant something. Julius¡¯ skill was dead useful. He was the only one out of their group of a few thousand who had any sort of wide area mapping skill, so he was an easy include for the expedition. The unfortunate part was, the skill was all in his head, and the maps he drew looked like they were done by a four-year-old.


    ¡°I see,¡± David said, even though he really didn¡¯t. ¡°What makes you think that area would be good?¡±


    ¡°Well, we want to settle on the river, right? For that reason, I don¡¯t think we should go up too far. The river might not be as wide the more we pass the tributaries. I¡¯ve heard the farmers talking about how good the soil is in this plains area, and the spot I picked it right on the edge of that. Look, see this here? There¡¯s also a forest further north, which should provide us a good place to both hunt and obtain timber for building the outpost. There¡¯s also what looks like a natural ford right over here. I can¡¯t be sure about that until we get closer though.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I see, I see. So to paraphrase, you¡¯re saying that the area looks to have both decent soil for farming, easy access to lumber, and potentially a way across this river that doesn¡¯t involve building boats or a raft of some sort? Did I get everything?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Doesn¡¯t it sound perfect! Although I¡¯m not sure about the defense aspect. I¡¯m not able to get a good read on any potential hills this far away so it might not be a good area after all.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! You¡¯ve done a fine job, Julius my good fellow. This is the best news I¡¯ve heard all day! Try using your skill again tonight when we stop and let me know if you find out anything new.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir! I mean, yes David!¡±


    David gave Julius a pat on the shoulder before moving back to his personal wagon, making plans the whole way. If Julius was right, and he usually was, their journey would soon be at an end. He had work to do.

 Chapter Thirteen

    Levi woke with a start, his stomach crying out for attention. It wasn¡¯t anything new; he hadn¡¯t been able to get a full night¡¯s sleep for at least a week. Every time he managed to fall asleep he woke up to shooting pains radiating from his shrunken stomach. He needed food. He wasn¡¯t sure how much longer he could hold out for.


    Without at watch or a clear day and night cycle, Levi had no clue how long he had been trapped in the dungeon, waiting for his hip to heal enough to explore. He estimated it had to be close to a month now, his Constitution being what it was. He had to start moving soon though. He didn¡¯t think hip was fully healed, but it was easy to choose between permanently damaging his hip and starving to death, and it wasn¡¯t particularly close.


    Levi carefully felt around his hip, focusing on how much pain it caused him. The pain had been getting less and less, but he thought that also might be a side effect of a higher Constitution, not necessarily that his hip was getting better. It was improved though, and he could move his leg without any pain. The real test would be trying to stand, and he was putting that off as long as he could to give himself as much time as possible to heal. It would be pointless to try and search for food only to get caught up in a trap he couldn¡¯t avoid with a bum leg.


    But time was running out. The hunger pains were making it feel like his stomach was catching fire and burning him up, he thought to himself mockingly. Now his subconscious was even making bad puns. It was time to get out of here.


    He took one last look at his status before getting ready to try and stand.


    [Name: Levi Curchman


    Level: 4


    Titles: System Inductee, Inheritor


    Stats:


    Strength: 1 Constitution: 9 Dexterity: 1 Agility: 1


    Willpower: 13 Insight: 4 Attunement: 1 Charisma: 1


    Concentration: 7 Luck: 3


    Skills: Concentrated Will, Survival, Improved Awareness]


    His time spent concentrating had paid off. Improved Awareness was up to level seventeen, Survival was twenty-five, and Concentrated Will was a whopping thirty-one. The level of the skills had also pushed him to level four, allowing him to up his Constitution to its current level.


    His stats weren¡¯t very balanced, but without anyone to compare it to, Levi had no clue how he measured up. His skills seemed more than adequate for his level, both based on level and usefulness. He could only hope it was enough to survive the dungeon.


    Activating Concentrated Will, Levi focused on his body, feeling each individual part. He avoided his stomach. He just had to pretend it didn¡¯t exist or the pain would overwhelm him. He had long lost the ability to even think about food as a coping mechanism. He pictured himself as one of those plants that absorbed nutrients from the air. Yes sir, no food needed here, only air.


    Ever so slowly, he started to stand. He winced every time he moved his hip, expecting a burst of pain. Levi moved from horizontal, to partly horizontal, to partly vertical, until he finally reached full standing position. It took him a little while to remember what standing was like. He had been lying down for so long that he almost fell over, catching himself on his bad leg.


    He froze, expecting his hip to somehow spontaneously combust. It didn¡¯t. In fact, it didn¡¯t even so much as twinge, feeling exactly like his other hip, just a little bit sorer. Still in disbelief, Levi tried out a few steps, gingerly putting more and more pressure on his right side until he was sure. His gamble had paid off.


    ¡°Fuck yes!¡±


    Levi knew exactly how that baby in that one meme felt as he clenched his fist in victory. His right hip didn¡¯t feel quite as strong as his left one, but it was recovered enough for light activity. He could finally get out of here. But before he got out of the dungeon as a whole, Levi gleefully moved away from his previous location, almost running over to the waterfall where he entered the cavern. He had some business to take care of.


    When he was back on Earth preparing for his outdoor experiences, Levi couldn¡¯t remember any of the guides he had read online stressing enough how useful toilet paper was. There were many things he missed about modern society, but as he was forced to lay there, not moving his hip, he knew which aspect he missed the most.


    A short time later Levi finished cleaning himself and his clothes off in the rushing water. He would have sold his soul for some soap, but just being able to be relatively clean was enough for the moment. He was profoundly grateful the System didn¡¯t have a sanity gauge after his recent experience.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Now that he was cleaned off, Levi had two choices: whether to continue past the waterfall or go back the way he came. The lake was big enough that he couldn¡¯t see much in either direction, so he elected to avoid backtracking, opting to move along the ledge past the waterfall.


    At this point it was almost second nature to combine both Concentrated Will and Improved Awareness. Just because nothing had bothered him during his time healing up didn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t fifty traps a scant few meters away. Levi had been fooled by the dungeon too many time to trust it. The lake was huge though, and it would have taken an absurd number of traps to cover its circumference, which might have explained why he passed the first few hours of his trip unmolested.


    This was both good and bad. Good for rather obvious reasons, and bad because Levi needed food. He was holding on thanks to his Constitution, but he had no clue how that actually worked. It could be some sort of invisible meter where as soon as he ran out of stamina he dropped dead. There were just too many unknowns.


    Levi continued his trek along the water¡¯s edge, picturing Unown in his mind¡¯s eye. Sure, they might not be as tasty as slowpoke tail, but they tended to travel in packs, didn¡¯t they? That would mean there was more of them for him to eat.


    ¡°C¡¯mon Levi, focus. Stop picturing eating imaginary creatures. Focus on the dungeon.¡±


    It was hard to keep his half delusional mind on track. His stomach just. Wouldn¡¯t. Shut. Up.


    Around half an hour later Levi froze, Improved Awareness finally picking up something ahead of him other than the regular ledge. Careful of any traps, he inched ahead, his mind on full alert, imagining the horrific things the dungeon had in store for him.


    There weren¡¯t any. When he finally reached the point of interest it turned out to be some of those shelf-like mushrooms he had seen in the previous cavern. He hadn¡¯t been starving then though, and he eagerly inspected them, trying to get a feel with his Survival skill if eating them would kill him or not.


    Levi tried to combine Concentrated Will with both Improved Awareness and Survival. It was a struggle. He could use two skills at once fairly easily now, but three was still a challenge. He could manage it for a short period of time though, and, based on that, his skills weren¡¯t telling him the mushrooms would kill him. He didn¡¯t think they were truly edible, exactly, but at this point he didn¡¯t care. He dug right in.


    After stuffing the first few into his mouth he tried to restrain himself. Eating too much food at once after staving wasn¡¯t healthy, and considering the mushrooms didn¡¯t seem that edible anyway, he decided to just eat enough to tide him over for the next day or two. He needed to find real food eventually. Maybe some juicy bats or rats. Those should be common in dungeons.


    Once he had some substance in his stomach Levi was able to calm down. Hunger was a truly powerful force. Despite his high Willpower he hadn¡¯t been able to think of anything other than food, no matter how hard to he tried not to. With a calmer mindset he took a better look at the mushrooms. They looked about the same as the previous ones he had seen, shelf-like protrusions climbing up the wall. Unlike the others though, these ones didn¡¯t start from a puddle of water. After some inspection to figure out why the mushrooms were growing here as opposed to anywhere else, he noticed the wall was slick, likely from some sort of water source farther up the wall out of sight.


    Levi was about to move on with his exploration when he paused, taking a second to think things over. Why exactly were the mushrooms growing here, but nowhere else? It could have been coincidence, but Levi didn¡¯t think it was. Now that he was going over things in his head, the dungeon was surprisingly deliberate. Nothing was left to happenstance. It all felt like some elaborate design of a higher power. There was less variance in this dungeon than those in most video games. And if everything was here for a reason, then there might be something more to these mushrooms.


    Stepping back, Levi tried to get a better look at the wall, trying to see where the mushrooms ended and where the water came from. It was hard to see in the lowlight, and his angle didn¡¯t help either. His vision not working, he instead tried to use Improved Awareness. The skill combined with his sight yielded better results, his gaze drawn to previously invisible contours in the rockface.


    The mushrooms went up a good two meters above his head. They ended at what appeared to be a fissure in the otherwise smooth wall, that slowly widened as it went further up. Levi thought he could actually fit himself into the top part. The fissure was likely the source of the water, allowing the mushrooms to grow.


    His curiosity sated, he was about to move on when he paused once again, a sixth sense telling him to stop. He couldn¡¯t say what exactly it was, but there was just something about the whole thing that felt off. Levi was annoyed with himself. His stomach still needed real food, so why was he stuck on some crack in the wall? With pure force of will Levi calmed himself down. If he thought there might be more here he needed to sit down and think it over, which is exactly what he did.


    Levi sat down in a traditional meditation pose, legs crossed, and palms face up. He closed his eyes and sat there for a moment, clearing his mind of any extraneous thoughts.


    He had a feeling there was more here, why was that? Step by step Levi went over the all the differences between this area and the rest of the dungeon. First, the mushrooms. He had seen them before, but they weren¡¯t common. It appeared they needed water to grow, which the dungeon was strangely devoid of, despite the massive lake he was sitting next to. All the water was partitioned off neatly in large bodies, the rest of the dungeon conspicuously dry.


    That brought him to the second point: the water. He had walked for what must have been hours along the lake. It had been exactly the same everywhere else, only a smooth wall, a small ledge, and the large lake that never seemed to spill its banks. Here was the first anomaly, unless you counted the waterfall he had entered by.


    The third thing that was different about this section was the fissure. It was where the water was coming out of, which didn¡¯t seem too important as he could drink the lake water, and then above that it widened to a bigger crack that he thought he could fit into¡­


    That was it!


    Levi stood up excitedly, looking up at the fissure above him. It was obvious in hindsight. A series of shelf-like mushrooms leading up to a crack in the wall that was big enough for him to climb inside. If that didn¡¯t scream ¡®location of a hidden treasure chest¡¯ he didn¡¯t know what did. He had to get up there and find out what was inside.

 Chapter Fourteen

    Levi sat on the ground, staring forlornly at the broken mushrooms surrounding him. It had seemed so simple, but actual shelves and mushroom lookalikes weren¡¯t the same thing.


    With a large sigh, Levi stood up and tried to plan out round two of reaching the fissure in the wall. He had tried all the obvious ways, climbing and jumping, and neither had succeeded. The mushrooms were shelf-like, but they were barely hanging onto the wall. They might, might, be able to provide more traction than the regular wall, but any difference was negligible.


    What he really needed was a rope of some sort, and possibly a grappling hook. He actually had a rope in his backpack, but of course he lost that ages ago. He had a lot of things in his backpack, things that would make this whole exploration business at lot easier. It¡¯s wasn¡¯t good to dwell on the past though, and he tried to bring himself back to the present and take stock of what he actually had.


    It wasn¡¯t much. He had a short sleeve shirt, a lightweight jacket, some pants, hiking boots, sock, and underwear. He actually had a belt, but it was nowhere near long enough to reach where he needed it to.


    Levi absently mindedly began patting his pockets down, looking for something he had missed. His only thought was maybe making some sort of chain out of his clothing. Like maybe use his boots and try to wedge them into the crack as an anchor. It was when he glanced down at his boots that it hit him.


    ¡°Of course, my shoelaces, how could I forget after that freaking attendant who kept going on and on about their tensile strength, saying how they could support a grown man. Time to put that to the test.¡±


    He quickly unstrung his shoelaces, tying them together to form a fairly long rope. He added his belt at one end, and one of his boots at the other, the plan being to hold the end with his belt and then throw his boot up into the crack, hopefully wedging it in there enough to support his weight.


    The first time failed. He actually succeeded in getting his boot up there, but it immediately fell out as soon as he tried to put his weight on the rope. The second and third tries he failed to get it in at all. The fourth try he almost hit himself on the head when his boot fell back down. The fifth try seemed to stick though, and it was with a rising sense of anticipation that Levi put his full weight on improvised rope. It held, and he let out a large breath he didn¡¯t know he had been holding.


    Before the System, Levi wasn¡¯t sure if he would have been able to scramble up the wall to reach the fissure, rope or no rope, but with the System, it was almost too easy. Mostly because his Constitution made it so that he didn¡¯t have to worry about his thin shoelaces digging into his hands. He quickly clambered up, luckily finding some easy handholds to grab onto to pull him the last part of the way into the crevice.


    Once up, he re-laced his boots and turned to face the tunnel ahead, for it was a real tunnel, further confirming his suspicions that this was an area meant to be explored. Just hopefully one that explorers were meant to return from. Before coming up Levi had resolved to leave any golden idols he saw. He wasn¡¯t taking any chances.


    Entering the tunnel, he was starting to appreciate more and more the constant lowlight that permeated the dungeon. If he had any sort of torch or something it would have been hell trying to maneuver it though the cramped tunnel he was in. He was almost bent over double in some sections. While it was clear that it was in fact a tunnel, it was way too uniform to be anything but, the size varied the most out of every section of the dungeon Levi had seen so far.


    It was slow going. With his skills turned up as much as he could, Levi was fully prepared to take as long as he needed to insure his safety. He had realized that while Improved Awareness was great at potentially spotting danger, it augmented his current senses, not overwrote them. That meant that the more he was aware of normally, the more he would perceive with his skill. Which would have been a useful thing to know in the skill description. But the System liked to play hard to get, and Levi just had to learn to deal with it.


    As the tunnel stretched on, Levi prayed he wouldn¡¯t have to try and quickly escape back down it. He had no confidence he could do so without hitting his head on the changing ceiling height, especially considering the slick floor. He had already slipped once, and that was with him being careful. He probably needed more Agility or something.


    Levi dipped his head under one final crag in the rock before freezing. The tunnel came to an abrupt end, and he found himself in a small room, barely big enough for two people. Two people and a treasure chest, because that¡¯s what he saw in front of him. A genuine wooden treasure chest, sitting quietly under a small stream of water that dripped down the wall behind it.


    Truthfully, he wasn¡¯t really sure what to do at this point. Of course, the obvious thing to do was open the chest. Yeah right he was about to waltz up to the first chest he sees and get blown up as it triggered a fireball or some shit. But if he wasn¡¯t going to open the chest, what was the point of even coming here then? He spent a lot of effort just getting up here, and that didn¡¯t speak to his reason for wanting to come into the dungeon in the first place. People explored dungeons for treasure, it was just that simple, and Levi was no different.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Gently moving into the room, Levi found a dryer spot on the floor to sit down and think. The treasure chest was baiting him, practically begging him to just open it. He wouldn¡¯t be fooled though. He had to stay calm.


    ¡°Fuck it.¡±


    He turned around. Now he couldn¡¯t see the chest, so it obviously wasn¡¯t there. He was just going to sit here and debate opening some other chest, not the one behind him that he really wanted to open really, really badly. Nope, no chest here.


    Activating Concentrated Will, Levi focused. He had to be real with himself, he was going to open the chest. The only question was, how, and what should he do first? He didn¡¯t have a true trap finding skill, and if the chest was trapped inside he had no way of knowing except if Improved Awareness told him, and based on how useful it was to Susan, the skill wasn¡¯t omnipotent.


    So, if he couldn¡¯t be sure of what was in the chest, he needed to check the outside of it. After a few moments thought, he turned back around to enact his plan.


    The plan basically revolved around carefully inspecting every single surface of the small room he could before opening the chest. First, he started with the entrance to the room, running his hand over the floor, walls, and ceiling. He then moved further in, carefully inspecting every surface for any potential traps with Improved Awareness on at full blast. He then moved to the chest itself, first swinging his belt at it, and when that didn¡¯t get a reaction, feeling around it for any sign of foul play. There was nothing. It was a normal room with a damp floor and a chest.


    With a deep breath, Levi moved to kneel in front of the chest. It wasn¡¯t particularly large, but everyone knows that chest sizes don¡¯t matter, although he would have preferred a bigger chest. Sometimes bigger was better.


    Trepidation filled him as he reverently moved to grab the chest. This would be the first chest he ever touched, and Levi wanted to savor the moment. Ever so slowly, he placed his hands on it. And then he opened it.


    Nothing. Levi could feel the blood coursing through his body as he cracked the lid. He was on high alert, waiting for the other shoe to drop, expecting poisoned needles to fly at him or the chest to sprout teeth and legs and bite his head off. After five seconds of nothing happening it sunk in. He had actually found a real honest to goodness treasure chest.


    With a whoop of joy, Levi threw the lid open exposing the chest in all its chesty glory. He wasn¡¯t sure what he had been expecting, maybe piles of gold or a gem encrusted weapon. Maybe a space large on the inside than out. Instead, there was a crystal. And that was it. Just one crystal.


    He couldn¡¯t tell much more than that. It wasn¡¯t glowing, and because of the darkness he wasn¡¯t able to tell what color it was. But if that was the only thing in there, it had to be useful. Levi carefully reached inside, picking it up. Nothing happened for a split second, before he received a notification from the System.


    [Congratulations! You have obtained a Skill Crystal! Skill Crystals can be absorbed to learn one skill.]


    Levi sat there, holding onto the Skill Crystal, waiting for the next message. It never came.


    ¡°You fucking piece of shit system, that¡¯s it? That¡¯s fucking it? Nothing else? Just one measly message. But of course it is. Why would I expect any-fucking-thing else?¡±


    He was pissed. Of course he would get a great reward like this and the System would go and ruin it for him. Why couldn¡¯t it tell him how to fucking use it for instance? And what did it even do? Did it give a specific skill, or allow him to choose one like before? He didn¡¯t even know if he had a skill limit. He could absorb the crystal and then be stuck with a hopscotch skill he was unable to get rid of.


    No, there was no reason to be upset. Levi took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. It was just the tension that got to him. He had been half expecting the System to tell him he picked up a cursed rock or something. It was a Skill Crystal though, and even if he didn¡¯t exactly know what that meant yet, it sounded pretty good. He had to look on the bright side. If he wanted to learn about it, he would probably have to use it. The System didn¡¯t tell you anything for free.


    Levi moved back over to the dryer part of the floor he had sat on before and sat down, crossing his legs and holding the crystal with both hands in his lap. He closed his eyes, took a few long, deep breaths, and concentrated.


    Still nothing. He almost lost it again, feeling the urge to start shouting profanities. Even concentrating on the crystal didn¡¯t give him any new information. There wasn¡¯t enough light to inspect it visually, and Levi decided crushing it should be a last resort. That limited him to absorbing it. Refocusing, he activated Concentrated Will and focused on absorbing the crystal, praying for success.


    [Unlocked skill: Aecylic Empowerment! This skill allows for Aecylic Energy to be channeled to empower the body. This skill is associated with: Willpower, Willpower, Attunement, Attunement, Aecylic Energy.]


    [Unlocked stat: Aecylic Energy! You now have access to the Aecylic Energy stat.]


    ¡°Fuck yes!¡±


    Levi couldn¡¯t stop the smile from spreading across his face. He had been hoping the Skill Crystal would give him a powerful skill, and it looked like his prayers were answered. He didn¡¯t have a true way of judging a skills power level, but stat associations were currently his best bet. And his new skill had five of them. Five! It even included a new stat.


    Levi did a little dance as he sat there on the floor. Finally, this shitty dungeon came through for him. After taking so much from him he finally got something back. This sounded like exactly the type of thing he could use to escape. Susan must have answered his prayers. He couldn¡¯t let her down. He was sure she was watching him from above.


    Calming down, Levi tried activating his skill. It was surprisingly difficult. With a frown, he tried first activating Concentrated Will to hone in on his new skill, guessing he needed more help to activate it. His guess proved correct, and Levi suddenly found himself awash in a powerful energy.


    But it was too powerful, and seconds after activating it, he lost control of the skill, the energy running rampant in his body, frying him from the inside out. His muscles contracted, and his breathing sped up, his heartrate accelerating. Then came the pain, and Levi¡¯s eyes rolled back, and he slumped to the floor, drifting into unconsciousness.

 Chapter Fifteen

    Levi¡¯s eyes snapped open. He could still feel it, that rush of power. Aecylic Energy. He slowly sat up from where he had slumped to the floor. When he had activated the skill, he had been powerful; the blazing energy had supercharged his body. After experiencing it, he didn¡¯t think anything could come close to the high he had felt. It was unreal, otherworldly even, as even the ghost of the energy made him feel like he could run forever, just keep going and never stop.


    It was a drug, pure and simple, and he had to stop himself from trying to activate the skill again. If the results were anything like the first time, it wouldn¡¯t end well. The pain of the rampant energy was just as vivid as the power it brought. He would activate it again though, but right now he had other issues, namely his stomach, and the brass orchestra section it was toting along.


    Standing up proved harder than Levi thought it would be, his muscles still ghosting on Aecylic Energy. But dealing with that would have to come later, when he wasn¡¯t in danger of starving to death. He slowly made his way back out of the tunnel, back towards the lake, taking the time to re-center his body.


    Soon he was back, jumping down to the ledge and making his way forward around the lake. Finding that tunnel had actually reassured him there was an exit. Even the most poorly designed dungeons surely wouldn¡¯t put a treasure chest in an area without an exit. He just had to keep searching.


    It was hard to know, as he couldn¡¯t actually see across the lake, but Levi estimated that by the time he found the exit he was almost directly opposite the waterfall he had entered this area through. It almost made him want to check the other side of the lake to see if there was a similar treasure chest, but his hunger was too much. Those mushrooms had taken the edge off, but he needed actual nutrients. Maybe some vitamin D or some shit like that. He wasn¡¯t sure how long he had been in here, but it couldn¡¯t be healthy to be out of the sun for so long.


    The exit Levi found was a tunnel. A boring one at that, just a little bit larger than two and a half meters and mostly circular. It sloped upwards, which he thought was a good sign. He had fallen a long way down when Susan tackled them through the hole so long ago. It was possible the dungeon went deeper, but he thought it equally as likely the boss room was located above him as it was below.


    Even if this tunnel didn¡¯t lead towards an exit it lead somewhere, and at this point Levi had no choice but to take it. There didn¡¯t seem to be much of interest in his current location.


    He debated taking the tunnel in front of him extremely slowly, testing for traps the whole way, but ultimately gambled and chose to proceed as a reasonable pace. He needed to get out, and caution wasn¡¯t the same thing as paralyzing fear. He had to trust in his skills and hope their levels were enough to see him through.


    The tunnel he was in continued go upwards, proceeding in what Levi thought was a spiral pattern, slowly looping back on itself as he went around and around. He had been walking for a while, and he was debating going back down to get a drink before coming back when he finally reached the tunnel¡¯s end.


    The tunnel ended abruptly, as Levi came around a curve and found himself facing a wall. At first, he thought it was dead end. He had learned from the dungeon though, and after focusing on activating Improved Awareness, he found what appeared to be a secret door in the wall. Except it wasn¡¯t really that secret. Just walking up to it was enough to figure out it was there, but it clearly wasn¡¯t a regular door, and Levi was befuddled until he realized it was a secret door, he was just looking at the back.


    He now had a dilemma. People don¡¯t make secret doors for no reason, and it wasn¡¯t too hard to guess there would be more than an empty room on the other side. But there were no cracks around the edges of the door for Levi to try and spy what lay beyond, so if he were to enter it, and at this point he didn¡¯t have much choice, he would be opening himself up to any traps or enemies that were lying in wait behind it.


    He really wished he had a weapon of some kind. Susan had been holding her gun when they fell into the river, and consequently lost it when she blacked out. Levi, perhaps stupidly, had kept all his pocket knives in his backpack, which was also long gone, as was his fishing spear which he left outside the dungeon. There weren¡¯t even any loose rocks in the blasted dungeon, limiting Levi to throwing his shoes at any enemies or maybe trying to choke them out with his shoelaces or belt. He basically had shit all for options.


    He did have increased stats, but his only physical stats were in Constitution. He couldn¡¯t very well concentrate someone to death after all. He also had his new skill, Aecylic Empowerment, but after his first attempt he didn¡¯t want to try using the skill without some preparation, or at least with a full stomach. It would be a powerful last resort though if he really needed it.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Most of Levi¡¯s experiences with fighting were getting beat up during middle school, which, understandably, didn¡¯t inspire confidence. But he had to go through that door. His only hope was that the other side just had more traps, if that could even be called a hope. Maybe a nice easy trap he could disarm with his improved skill levels that conveniently had a perfectly cooked juicy steak as the bait. Mmm, he could picture it now, the smell of roasting meat, perfectly seasoned, accompanied by the clatter of rocks and the shriek of high pitched voices. Wait a minute¡­


    He was an idiot. Improved Awareness didn¡¯t say anything about only working on specific senses, but for some reason he had interpreted it as something that gave him a sixth sense for danger and improved his vision, which was the sense he had primarily been using. But he had other senses, senses he now actively used as he snuck closer to the door to listen in.


    High pitched squeaks and grunts accompanied the banging of rocks and possibly some sort of metal. In addition, there was meat. The sweet smell of roasting meat. It wafted through the invisible gaps around the door, caressing Levi¡¯s nose and stimulating his taste buds, creating a veritable waterfall of saliva. He didn¡¯t care what was on the other side of that door, there was meat, and he was going in.


    Before that though, he needed a plan, or as much of one as he could create with his limited resources and knowledge. There were clearly creatures of some sort in the room beyond, creatures likely to try to bash his brains out and stab his ankles. In other words, goblins. He had no clue if they were real goblins, but Levi reckoned they were probably close enough. What else would be in a classic dungeon? He tried to think about what he would do if they were trolls or orcs, and it didn¡¯t look good. So he just assumed they were goblins. Goblins that he could hopefully defeat with his limited combat experience.


    Levi crept back up to the door, hand to the handle, ear pressed close, trying to hear as best he could what was happening on the other side. He waited until it sounded like the creatures were well and truly distracted, i.e., making a lot of noise, then he opened the door and charged in.


    As soon as he entered Levi was greeting by the sight of five smallish grey humanoid figures. They were hunched around a campfire, just about to start eating dinner, which was roasting on the spit over the fire. The smell of the meat was overpowering once he was in the room and Levi could clearly hear the sizzle of fat as it dripped onto the fire.


    It took a second for the goblins, for that seemed an appropriate analogue, to react to Levi¡¯s presence. In that time, he had sprinted up to the nearest one, tackling it to the ground and started beating its head in with what appeared to be a stone plate it was about to use for its meal. As soon as Levi finished off the initial goblin, he looked up, only to be tackled himself by the remaining four goblins.


    What followed was a melee of flailing limbs and claws. Levi tried to use his stone plate, basically a slightly flattish rock, to brain the other goblins similar to the first one, but his makeshift weapons was soon wrested from his grasp.


    The opening sequences of the battle showed the utility of Levi¡¯s Constitution. Not only were the goblins having a harder time scratching him with their claws, but he also found it easier to lay about with his fists, not needing to worry about bruising his knuckles.


    Levi put in a herculean effort, but he soon realized he was losing the battle, the wounds starting to pile up while he had only bruised the goblins. They were much more suited for a chaotic ground battle. Ignoring their attacks, Levi changed the flow, managing to stand up despite one of the creatures hanging on his back and another wrapped around his leg.


    As soon as he was up, Levi reached behind his head, grabbed the goblin on his back, and threw him across the room. The things were less than a meter tall and must have weighed no more than twenty kilograms. He then kicked the goblin on his leg into another goblin, while trying to use his arms to protect against the last one.


    The goblin on his leg was sent tumbling together with another goblin, leaving Levi to turn on the one previous attacking him. He straight up ignored defense, instead opting to wail away at its head with his fists. He must have been doing something right, as by the time the other two untangled themselves, he had knocked out the goblin he had been attacking, blood pooling from its head. There was currently no sign of the goblin he had thrown, and Levi didn¡¯t have the ability to worry about it at the moment.


    He turned towards freshly untangled goblins as they charged him. He decided to send a kick at one, but missed, and ended up back on the floor after the other tackled his standing leg, attempting to gnaw it off. A messy scuffle ensued, with Levi trying and failing to stand up, and eventually settling for choking out one goblin and then turning and overpowering the second.


    With four goblins out for the count, Levi stood up and looked around the room, searching for the final goblin he had thrown earlier.


    He saw it immediately. By pure coincidence he had thrown it towards one of the entrances to the room he was currently in, an entrance that had apparently been trapped, judging by the multitude of arrows penetrating the goblin corpse lying in the entryway.


    The sound of his heavy breathing filled the room as Levi looked around one final time, making sure he was the only living thing left. Stillness and silence greeted him. He had won. It had been a close thing, and his body was full of scratches and bite marks, but he had done it. He had survived his first real battle.

 Chapter Sixteen

    There were plenty of things for Levi to do after confirming his victory. Things like looting the enemies, exploring the room, or checking out his status. He went straight for the food. After he had confirmed there was no longer any danger autopilot took over, and when next Levi surfaced he was licking his fingers while holding a stripped clean and freshly gnawed on bone, now devoid of the slightest trace of meat.


    Filled with chagrin, Levi carefully placed the bone next to the firepit, which was burning low, lacking proper stoking during Levi¡¯s feeding frenzy. In his hunger fueled haze he had completely forgotten to pace himself, the over-sized piece of meat now no more. Hopefully his Constitution would prevent any side effects from eating too much on an empty stomach.


    Now that hunger wasn¡¯t a concern, Levi took the time to actually inspect his surroundings in detail. He hadn¡¯t gotten a good look around before, being otherwise engaged at the time.


    It was a sizeable room, with enough space to park five or six cars comfortably. There were two exits he could see in addition to the secret door he entered by, one with the freshly arrow-ridden goblin and the other presumably leading further into the dungeon. Based on the setup of the room it looked like the trapped entrance was the normal way in. All the same, Levi knew he would be checking the other passageway for traps before he used it.


    The room was sparsely decorated despite its size, the only real objects being the firepit, some rocks the goblins were sitting on, and two boxes off in one corner, one with some wood for the fire and the other with more meat. There were also some odds and ends lying about, like the stone plate Levi had used as a weapon earlier. When he saw there was more firewood he immediately added some to the dying fire. He thought his Survival skill could probably teach him to generate a spark, but better safe than sorry. He didn¡¯t want to eat the rest of the meat raw if he didn¡¯t have to.


    After scoping out the room Levi moved on to the goblins. They were ugly things, with grey skin and spindly arms and legs that ended in rather impressive claws. Based on their appearance they looked like they would start asking him riddles and going on about ¡°my precious¡±. Not really the look of traditional goblins, but Levi didn¡¯t have a better name for them. He honestly wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Their lack of the quintessential goblin loin clothes and how their mouths nearly split their head in two when they opened was the stuff of nightmares.


    After looking around, Levi took a few moments to formulate a plan. His first concern was food, and now that he had a box with the meat of some unknown animal he wasn¡¯t in danger of starving, at least in the immediate future. His next concern was escaping the dungeon, and to do that it was looking increasingly likely he would have to increase his combat power. He had defeated the goblins, but all his clothes except his underwear were in tatters, and he was covered in cuts, both superficial as well as some more serious ones. He had a feeling they weren¡¯t that bad considering his stats, but for a person without the System they would likely require stitches.


    What this all boiled down to was he wanted to use Aecylic Empowerment. Sure, he could create an endless list of excuses about why it was a good idea, but that feeling¡­ He needed it. Now that his hunger was gone, the urge to experience that power again was all-encompassing. And when what he wanted to do and what he thought he should do aligned, it was impossible to resist.


    Considering what happened last time, Levi decided he needed a safer place to practice than the middle of an open room with gods knew what down the hall. To that end, he grabbed both the box of firewood and the box of meat and moved them back into the secret passageway he had entered by. He left the fire burning. He would come back to it if it was still there when he was done, but he didn¡¯t want to try and start a fire behind the secret door only to have smoke filter through it. With everything important moved, he carefully shut the door, hopefully securing a safe place to practice his new skill.


    Sitting down against the wall, Levi calmed his breathing in preparation for activating his skill. But first he had to check his status, as he had a feeling that something had changed after the battle.


    [Name: Levi Curchman


    Level: 5


    Titles: System Inductee, Inheritor


    Stats: (Unallocated Stat Points: 1)


    Strength: 1 Constitution: 9 Dexterity: 1 Agility: 1


    Willpower: 13 Insight: 4 Attunement: 1 Charisma: 1


    Concentration: 7 Luck: 3 Aecylic Energy:1


    Skills: Concentrated Will, Survival, Improved Awareness, Aecylic Empowerment]Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    As soon as he opened his stats he also received a notification.


    [Unlocked generic skill slot! Please choose a skill from your available skills list.]


    After looking at the notifications, Levi started to do a little dance of celebration, felt self-conscious and stopped, and then realized no one was around, said fuck it, and did a dance anyway. He deserved some celebrations after looking at the skills he could unlock.


    [Available skills: Organization, Driving, Musicality, Exploration, Retreat, Meditation, Brawling.]


    He had four new skills available to him, and all of them looked potentially useful. And after hitting level five he realized that he would gain access to a new generic skill slot every five levels, which was huge. He wasn¡¯t really sure how easy it was to level up, especially at higher levels, but knowing he would always be able to grow and obtain new skills was valuable information.


    First, he chose his new skill. While he wanted all four, right now he needed to increase his combat strength, and with that in mind there was an obvious choice.


    [Unlocked skill: Brawling! This skill allows for an increased ability to fight, particularly in unarmed combat. This skill is associated with: Strength.]


    He then tried to assign his skill point to Aecylic Energy, but found out he couldn¡¯t. Perhaps it shouldn¡¯t have been surprising, but skill points, at least those he gained from level ups, could only be used to increase his basic stats, not those he had unlocked.


    Frustrated, Levi then had to decide what his second choice would be. He really wanted an increase in Aecylic Energy, since if he was going to be practicing with the skill that seemed like the best stat to have. After some thought, he decided to go with Attunement. Aecylic Empowerment was associated with Aecylic Energy, Willpower, and Attunement, and out of the two he could distribute his stat point to, Attunement had a lower value, so presumably it could benefit more from the added point. He couldn¡¯t afford to mess around with his stats right now, but without information everything was a risk.


    But now wasn¡¯t the time to wax eloquent about how much of an asshole the System was. It was time for some Empowerment.


    Levi settled himself down, taking a second with Concentrated Will active to center himself. Meditation would likely be useful here, but he would have to hold off on that until he had the luxury of being somewhere safe where he didn¡¯t need a more combat oriented skill. In the meantime, Concentrated Will would have to suffice.


    With his slow breathing as the background, Levi gently reached out to his Aecylic Empowerment skill. He couldn¡¯t really describe how he did it. He imagined it like using a phantom limb, somehow extending his imaginary hands towards his skill, where he grasped it and slowly, ever so slowly, started to pull, being careful not to take in too much energy at once.


    It was slow going. After the first time, he knew he had to be careful. He couldn¡¯t just fill himself up with Aecylic Energy. Neither his body nor his skill could handle it. But if the energy was that powerful, it just meant the payoff would be that much sweeter once he mastered it. The power was worth the price, or it would be if he could actually learn to use it.


    The first few times he failed to activate the skill at all. That was intentional though, as he would rather pull too little than too much. Finally, he hit the sweet spot. He knew immediately that he had succeeded, Aecylic Energy starting to flow into his body. Even the small amount he drew on filled him with power. He likened it to Ambrosia, the nectar of the Gods.


    As soon as he successfully drew a little, he stopped the pull, instead working on cycling the energy through his body. He unconsciously knew what to do, his skill guiding the flow of energy as it expanded to fill his body, flowing along predetermined paths.


    It felt amazing, the rush of power almost too much to bear. He had heard accounts from junkies about what it felt like to shoot up again after withdrawal. He didn¡¯t believe them. How could they truly know what the rush felt like? Nothing could compare to the power coursing through his veins, bleeding into every cell of his body. He was being reborn. Like a phoenix, he was rising from the ashes in a torrent of fire.


    Then it was over. The small amount of power he had drawn slowly fading away, leaving him a husk of his former self, empty and weak.


    Levi slowly opened his eyes, stood up, and started purposefully pacing around the small room he was in. This power was dangerous. Even the tiny amount he used was addictive. He wanted more. He needed more.


    He had seen firsthand what drugs could do. Greg was dead because of them. He could still see it, when Greg came to him asking for money right before he overdosed. The sallow look of his skin, how he smelled, not having showered in days, the nervous tapping of his foot, nailing out a beat incomprehensible and strange. It made an impression on the sixteen-year-old Levi. Anything that addictive could kill.


    But not using his Aecylic Energy could also kill him. He was trapped in a dungeon, with an unknown number of monsters still to fight. He needed power, no matter the cost. Even if that power came with the sweet whispers of the devil Levi would still use it. He needed out. Everything else would come after that. Besides, he couldn¡¯t fail here. Susan believed in him.


    Conviction filled him as he sat back down, preparing himself to draw on his skill. He wasn¡¯t the worthless idiot he was when he was sixteen. He had learned a lot since then. Activating Concentrated Will, Levi drew once more on his Aecylic Energy.


    Five times was all he could handle before he collapsed to the ground, chest heaving, his body crying out for the power that had sustained it moment before. But Levi had a smile on his face. That last time something had been different, and when he checked his status, Aecylic Empowerment was level five, netting him five stat points, including a point in Aecylic Energy.


    It wouldn¡¯t be easy, but Levi vowed he would overcome this just as he had overcome everything else before it. He had a clear way to power, power he needed to stop bad things from happening. If he had enough power, it wouldn¡¯t matter if the boogie man was in the closet or not. It wouldn¡¯t matter if this dungeon had him fight a dragon. Calming his breathing and closing his eyes, he settled back in to practice. He was currently in a safe space with access to food, and it was time to grind.

 Chapter Seventeen

    Levi slowed down his practice and came to a stop, giving a glance at the two boxes in the corner. They were empty, just like the last few times he had looked at them. He had been out of firewood and food for a few days. It was time to start heading deeper into the dungeon.


    He had spent what had to be at least a week getting used to using Aecylic Empowerment. It had been slow work. The energy was addictive, each use pulling him in and begging him to let it out, flooding his body with power. If he didn¡¯t have Concentrated Will Levi didn¡¯t think he could have persevered. He wasn¡¯t sure what would happen if he forcefully pulled as much Aecylic Energy as he could, and he wanted to keep it that way. The stuff was a deadly combination, dangerous and addicting.


    But with a fair number of stat points in things like Willpower and his skills working in tandem he was able to push through the seductive allure. Leveling the skill up also helped, and when Aecylic Empowerment hit level ten and he got the third point in Aecylic Energy his practice started getting a lot more fruitful, allowing him to start moving with the skill active.


    Now the skill was level twenty-four, and Levi had a feeling that he just needed that little bit more to push it over the edge for the next level. He needed to use it in battle.


    With a final check of his condition, Levi moved back towards the secret doorway. He had achieved all he could in his current location. He needed more challenges. There were only so many times he could run back down to the lake, and even the trip along its other side got boring, that side bereft of a treasure chest, despite his hopes.


    It had been a little while since he opened the door. A quick listen utilizing Improved Awareness didn¡¯t tell him if there was anything on the other side, as if there was, it wasn¡¯t making any noises he could hear. With Aecylic Empowerment going full throttle, he opened the door to an empty room. The corpses were where he had left them, nothing having come to disturb their repose. There was no sign of anything out of place. The only change was the firepit, with not even embers left from his last cooking session.


    Levi wasn¡¯t sure what to think about the undisturbed room. The dungeon was hard to predict, and the fact that even after multiple days nothing had disturbed the room could be either good or bad. Good that he didn¡¯t have to immediately fight anything, but potentially bad if it meant he would have to fight more enemies at once later on, as opposed to a few in this room and a few in another. Such worries were ultimately meaningless though. He would defeat the dungeon no matter what it threw at him.


    It took Levi quite a bit of time to inspect the exit of the room for traps. Part of that had to do with the entrance, and the fact that he couldn¡¯t figure out where the arrows came from that killed the goblin in his earlier fight. He didn¡¯t want to inspect it too closely for fear of the trap having reset, and looking from further away gave him nothing. That didn¡¯t exactly inspire confidence he could detect any traps around the room¡¯s exit.


    He couldn¡¯t stay still though, and his caution proved unnecessary, as he passed through unmolested. This time. Levi wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he tried to come back and WHAM, trap. The dungeon was a sick fuck, and he would destroy it if he could. It had taken Susan from him.


    Levi prowled forwards, briefly flaring Improved Awareness, straining his ears for the smallest of sounds. He wanted out of here, and it was time to show the dungeon who was boss. It was hard to get a handle on exactly how powerful he was now, but he was eager to find out. He never thought he was a violent person, but extreme circumstances called for extreme measures. And if that was bashing some heads in he was all too happy to oblige.


    The tunnel he was in was much shorter than any of the others he had been in so far, and it wasn¡¯t long before he heard voices. Goblin voices. He didn¡¯t have a magic translator, but it didn¡¯t take much to hear the voices¡¯ agitation. Levi crept ahead, moving his feet toe ball heel. He was confident fighting any goblins, but there was no reason to give up his advantage of surprise.


    Coming up to a slight bend in the tunnel, Levi cautiously poked his head around, peering into the room beyond.


    He could only see part of the room, but from what he could see, it was much larger than where he came from. And it was filled with goblins. There was a face off in the center of the room, with two sides squaring off, seemingly prepared for battle. Levi smiled viciously, if they wanted to devolve into an internal struggle he wouldn¡¯t stop them. Any of their own members they killed would only make it easier to mop up the rest. But while it was indeed an argument, it wasn¡¯t quite as serious as he had first assumed, and Levi watched in fascination as a goblin holding a wooden stick walked up to the front of one side, facing off against a goblin from the other, this one huge, hulking over his stick wielding counterpart.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    It looked like instead of a full-on brawl, the two sides would settle it with champions. Levi had his money on the large goblin, but contrary to his expectations, the one holding the stick came out on top. Easily. All he did was point his stick, or maybe it should be called a staff, at the other goblin and lighting came out, blasting the large goblin back towards his comrades.


    After the one-sided battle there was a lot of talking going on, and right as Levi was deciding whether to just head right in with the proverbial ¡®guns blazing¡¯, a small contingent of goblins, including the goblin shaman, started moving towards him down the tunnel.


    His brain quickly running calculations, Levi turned and ran. Quietly at first, then as he got further and further down the hallway his sprint got faster until he finally made it back to his original room. Luckily there were still no arrows fired at him as he came back in.


    The plan was to ambush the group of goblins that were, presumably, coming down here to check on their comrades. The first step of Levi¡¯s ambush plan was to clear the dead bodies off to one side, out of sight of the tunnel entrance. The tunnel itself didn¡¯t have any good ambush points, it was too straight, so that left him with an ambush right as the goblins reached the room, and they would be a lot more likely to suspect an ambush if there were dead goblins lying about. So Levi cleared away the bodies before moving next to the passageway to lie in wait.


    He couldn¡¯t do much about the bloodstains on the floor. Hopefully their eyesight wasn¡¯t good enough to see them. His eyes could only make out a difference if he knew what to look for, but the goblin contingent didn¡¯t have torches, and he had no clue what their ability to see in lowlight was. The goblins from before did have a fire going, but that might have only been to cook their food and not for light. It did suggest they weren¡¯t true darkness dwellers though, which was something.


    Levi pressed himself against the wall next to the tunnel opening. He wanted to keep up Aecylic Empowerment, but he could only use it for so long and it was safer to use both Concentrated Will and Improved Awareness to accurately pinpoint the group of goblins coming towards him. He would only use Aecylic Empowerment for battle. Over his past week or so of practice he had gotten much better at resisting Aecylic Energy¡¯s allure, but it was still a struggle sometimes, especially now, preparing for battle. The energy acted like a safety blanket. But he needed to learn to face things without it if the need arose. He couldn¡¯t use it constantly, and he had to be ready if he was ever ambushed to activate it at a moment¡¯s notice.


    Or in this case, where he was the one ambushing. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but Levi had a sneaking suspicion that when he was using Aecylic Empowerment he stuck out like a sore thumb. Maybe not to senses like sight or hearing, but he would eat his hat if there wasn¡¯t some way of detecting he was using the skill. It was too powerful to be able to also pass under the radar. Of course, for all he knew his brown hair turned blonde and started glowing. He didn¡¯t have a mirror, and his hair wasn¡¯t long enough for him to check otherwise.


    Levi felt his anticipation growing as he finally sensed the goblins getting closer. He stilled his breathing, trying to blend into the stone wall he was leaning against. His first target was the goblin shaman. He had no clue exactly what magic it knew, but knowing any at all made it an unknown in need of elimination. He was confident he could take down a pack of regular goblins, like the ones he fought before, but dealing with a mage was new ground.


    The goblins were cautious in their approach, slowly moving towards the chamber where their comrades were supposed to be located. Their leader, the goblin shaman D¡¯tovilk, knew something was wrong when the forward guard didn¡¯t come back yesterday. But he was growing older, and a few of the young upstarts were starting to challenge him for his position as leader of their clan. Stupid young ones, didn¡¯t they know that was how their last leader, Grum, found his end? They wanted to lead a glorious hunt, slaughtering the Durn in the far rock field. But D¡¯tovilk knew better. The others thought the Durn were stupid animals, devoid of intelligence. But D¡¯tovilk had seen them plot, plan out an ambush, slaughtering his clansmen and his former leader. But the Durn shouldn¡¯t have felt threatened by so small a group of his clansman. Something stunk.


    D¡¯tovilk cautiously led his band closer and closer to where the forward guard should have been. He couldn¡¯t see much in the room. There was no fire, which suggested they had been gone for days at least. Only D¡¯tovilk knew the secrets of fire. The others only knew how to feed the flame, lest it go out and they be forced to eat their meat raw. Which some preferred, but D¡¯tovilk was a civilized goblin, thank you very much. He had communed with the ancestors and learned their knowledge. He tried to teach his brothers, but it was slow going. They were barely more than savages. Maybe the hunting group had gotten themselves killed by the Durn. Or perhaps just tripped on a rock and bashed their brains out. Goblins did that sometimes. D¡¯tovilk would get to the bottom of it, and if he found them lazing about somewhere they would feel the business end of his staff.


    D¡¯tovilk raised his staff, muttering a few short syllables under his breath before the tip ignited into flame, shedding light before him. His flame should scare away any of the giant rats that sometimes came this way. Unlike goblins, they were true darkness dwellers, and light of any kind made them feel fear. But no noise was heard, and so D¡¯tovilk continued his advance leading his brothers into the chamber. The guards were likely off loafing somewhere, he just¡­


    Sensing movement, D¡¯tovilk turned sharply, moving his improvised torch to intercept whatever dared assault his mighty self. He saw a strange limb, some sort of fleshy appendage formed into a fist, shooting towards him. The fist connected with his face, crushing his head and sending him flying across the room, smashing against the wall, and then the great goblin shaman D¡¯tovilk Firecaller knew no more.

 Chapter Eighteen

    It was with a great deal of satisfaction that Levi felt his fist impact the goblin shaman¡¯s face, sending it flying into the far wall before it slumped to the floor, never to rise again. He almost lost his balance from the force of his blow. He had been expecting resistance, and instead he felt his fist pass through the shaman¡¯s face. With a quick step forward he recovered, settling back into a brawling stance, courtesy of his skill. There were still more goblins to fight.


    They came at him in a roaring wave, not the least bit intimidated by their fallen leader. There were twelve in total, with the shaman having made thirteen, an auspicious number. Levi didn¡¯t care about their numbers. He could feel the power coursing through him, making each movement so much more. Giving him the strength he needed to punt their large goblin heads from their tiny goblin bodies. With the shaman down, he felt he could let loose, and that¡¯s exactly what he did.


    The first goblin received a fist to the face, blowing him backwards into two of his fellows, knocking them off their feet. The second goblin he tripped, sidestepping its charge before landing a hit on the third, his punch penetrating its solar plexus before it slumped to the floor, dead.


    The other goblins received much the same fare. It was laughably easy, how he pulled them apart and knocked them down. If before when he fought the goblins it was a middle schooler fighting a gang of elementary schoolers, now it was an adult, punting small bodies left and right. They never stood a chance.


    With a swift kick Levi launched the final goblin into the wall, its neck snapping with a loud crack. The whole battle was over in less than a minute, with only a single well-placed blow needed to take the goblins out. Levi could feel the bloodthirsty grin that adorned his face. It felt good to kill things. Finally, he was fighting back, taking revenge against the dungeon that had already taken so much from him. It was time it learned he could not only take punches, but also throw his own.


    After a last glance around making sure he hadn¡¯t missed any enemies, Levi slowly let his Aecylic Energy drain away. He almost visibly deflated, the stress of the battle catching back up to him. Unlike before, after witnessing the exchange in the other room he could confidently say these monsters had at least a certain degree of sentience. They had language, at least of a primitive kind, and some sort of leaders and factions. And he had just killed thirteen of them in cold blood, ambushing them as they came to look for their kin, whom he had also killed.


    It was a little much to take in, so Levi did his best not to, moving away from the majority of the corpses to find a wall to sit down against, taking his time to process what it all meant.


    He didn¡¯t regret his actions, not for a moment. He held no reservations about what the goblins would do to him. What they tried to do to him. It was either him or them, and Levi wasn¡¯t some pacifist to pretend he wouldn¡¯t fight for himself and those he loved. But it was a little different actually doing so.


    He had never killed before. Susan¡­didn¡¯t count. He didn¡¯t kill her, he released her from her suffering. She was going to die anyway. He just took away the pain. He definitely didn¡¯t kill her. The dungeon killed her, and it would pay for its crimes. And if that meant he had to kill some goblins, he would just have to suck it up and deal with it. They probably deserved death anyway, conspiring with the dungeon to kill innocent explorers.


    ¡°Fuck this dungeon and fuck the goblins too. And fuck anything that gets in my way.¡±


    On some level, Levi knew that his thoughts probably weren¡¯t healthy. He didn¡¯t care though. He had lost enough. It was time to start taking something back for himself. He would worry about his mental state later.


    Focusing back on the present, Levi still had something very important left to do after the battle: check his stats. Which he did, a broad grin adorning his face as he looked over his bounty.


    The first thing he noticed was he gained an entire two levels. He also had some skill gains too, with Aecylic Empowerment skipping over level twenty-five to reach twenty-six and his Brawling skill gaining four levels at once. Concentrated Will had also gained a level, finally reaching thirty-five. Levi decided to distribute one stat point each to Agility and Dexterity, leaving Charisma as his only stat with a single stat point. Perhaps the stat was useful for something, but he didn¡¯t think that something was surviving in a dungeon, making it mostly useless for him.


    After fiddling with his status, it was time to figure out what his next plan of action was. Levi had a choice. Not in where to go, as that was obviously forward, but in how to go about it. He knew there were a large number of goblins in the next cave, he estimated he saw at least forty or fifty of them, and he would have to fight them eventually. The question was, did he go for an all-out assault, or wait here and try and lure another group in to ambush them?You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Before this battle he would have said ambush. It was the objectively correct move, barring a time crunch. But he was out of food, and he didn¡¯t want to eat goblin meat if he could help it, and after this battle he could feel how powerful he was. He had severely underestimated how much power Aecylic Empowerment was giving him. It felt like the goblins were moving in slow motion, and combined with his new levels in Brawling, Levi felt confident in taking on a large group of enemies. He had also done a lot of sitting around and waiting. It was time for action.


    Before that though, he decided to make a quick trip back down to the lake. He was a little thirsty, and he wanted to wash off his gore coated hands. Goblin brain matter also didn¡¯t make for the best smell, especially with Improved Awareness boosting his senses a small degree.


    Soon Levi was once again peering around a slight bend in the tunnel, looking at the goblin filled room. There appeared to be a lot less goblins now, or at least they weren¡¯t all gathered where he could see them. There were a few though, mostly lounging about. It looked like some were supposed to be on watch, guarding the entrance to the tunnel. But they didn¡¯t appear to be paying much attention, playing some sort of game with pebbles, possibly similar to marbles. He thought there was a good chance they were stopping other goblins from coming down towards him, based on what he witnessed before, and not actually guarding from enemies.


    Activating Aecylic Empowerment, Levi grinned. It was time to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and he was all out of bubblegum.


    <hr>


    Gork was pissed. Stupid goblin shaman thought he knew what was best for goblins. Kept pushing Gork around, blasting him with lightning. Well, Gork would show him. Gork was bestest and most handsomest goblin, so all the female goblins wanted to mate with Gork. Gork would make lots of baby goblins and take over clan from wimpy goblin shaman who only knew how to shoot lightning at Gork.


    It was always ancestors this and ancestors that. Gork didn¡¯t see any ancestors, only Gork, and Gork was bestest most smartiest goblin, so obviously Gork should be leader. Shaman said no hunt big cow things. Why, Gork asks? Because ancestors say so. How ancestors even know about cow things, Gork want to know. Shaman say cow things kill previous leader, but Gork know this a lie. It was shaman that killed them. He probably say ancestors made him do it. Soon dumb goblin shaman would get what coming to him. But right now, Gork make baby goblins.


    Suddenly, Gork hear noises from above. Goblins were shouting and screaming. They were under attack! Goblin shaman probably show true colors and lead assault on other goblins. But he wouldn¡¯t get away with it, because Gork would stop him. Gork was strongest and bestestest goblin fighter. Gork would fight shaman and lead goblin clan to victory!


    Gork scuttled up the tunnels from the warrens to the main chamber above. It took some time, as Gork was biggest goblin, so the tunnels were almost too small for Gork. He could hear the other goblins around him, scampering above, drawn by the sounds of battle. Gork was mad. Those were goblin cries of pain! Gork would punish enemy that attacked goblins. Gork was bestest fighter and biggest goblin, so he needed to lead other goblins.


    Gork burst from the tunnel, prepared to take down puny shaman that dared attack fellow goblins. Instead, he saw a human. An enemy he had only heard about in stories when he was a baby goblin. And the human was attacking his kin! The human was fast, much faster than a goblin. And stronger than a goblin, his blows sending goblins flying, their heads or chests caved in. Gork was horrified. Those were his brothers! Gork roared, charging towards the enemy that dared attack his clan. Gork would show he was bestest goblin and fight off the invading human and become leader of tribe.


    Gork moved closer and closer, and as soon as the human was distracted attacking one of his brothers, Gork attacked! Gork charged, his claws extended in wicked points. But the human was ready for him, and with a mighty kick launched Gork clear across the room. Gork soared over the heads of his fellow goblins before impacting the wall with a mighty thud.


    Gork shook his head, trying to clear it of that annoying pounding. How could this happen? Gork was bestest goblin. The human didn¡¯t shoot Gork with lightning, so there was no way Gork could lose. Gork stood up unsteadily as the human knocked down his kin, one by one. Even the goblin stone throwers were ineffective, there stones not able to hit the human as he dodged around, quickly striking goblins with mighty punches before retreating, only to turn on his pursuers, making the cave run blue with goblin blood.


    The human laughed, clearly enjoying slaughtering Gork¡¯s kin. Gork watched in terror as the human seemed to grow more and more powerful, deadly blows felling goblins left and right. As Gork looked on in fear the human started to glow, a pale blue light suffusing his surroundings. Gork had heard stories of the outside world. He knew of the clear blue sky. Now the sky had come underground, and Gork could almost see the human silhouetted against a vast blue sky.


    But Gork was strongest goblin, and he would lead his kin to victory. The human would pay! Gork started charging again, screaming bloody murder, revenge for his dead clansman. Responding to Gork¡¯s war cry, the other goblins gathered, taking up cries of their own. The last of the goblins gathered like a wave, rising up and crashing against the human, trying to overwhelm him with numbers.


    They failed. The human suddenly turned, and Gork watched, wide eyed, as Gork¡¯s enemy ran straight towards him. The last thing he saw was a fist. A fist, and that vast blue sky, and then the bestest and strongest goblin Gork went to join his ancestors as his head was disconnected from his larger than average body.

 Chapter Nineteen

    The thrill was exhilarating. Levi felt like a god as he moved rapidly among the horde of goblins, only needing a single punch to blast their brains out and send them flying. The Aecylic Energy was humming in his veins, each punch and kick he delivered taking him to a new high. There was something about battle and Aecylic Energy. They seemed made for each other, the deep thrum of his heartbeat pulsing with both the energy and his fists as he constantly lashed out, dealing death at every turn.


    The goblins were falling like freshly mown wheat. He actually remembered to check their levels this time, having forgotten he could do that. Most of them were level three or four, although he spotted a particularly big one that was level nine. It fell just like the rest of them though, albeit needing two hits instead of one.


    Levi lost himself in the thrill, giving himself in to the bloodlust. As the battle went on, more and more goblins swarmed into the room, seemingly a never-ending tide, threatening to swallow him whole. He rode the wave, dodging the stones thrown by some of the goblins as he danced around their shrieking charges, each of his blows extinguishing a life. He couldn¡¯t say how long it lasted, but eventually he came to a stop, his enemies dead at his feet, the only sound in the room the blood dripping from his hands.


    It was absolute carnage. Levi had thought there would only be around a hundred goblins max, but he had underestimated them. There had to be hundreds, their corpses forming the floor he was standing on, his boots full of goblin blood. They had just kept coming, swarming from god knows where, like pigs to the slaughter. He had been the butcher, reaping their lives. And he had smiled while doing it.


    He stumbled back into the passageway he came from, his stomach dry heaving, bile rising in his throat. As he let his Aecylic Empowerment fade away he almost collapsed. Suddenly the tiredness hit him, and his vision briefly went blurry. What had he just done? Normal people didn¡¯t kill hundreds of sentient beings. It didn¡¯t matter where he was or what kind of situation he was in, how could he do something like that and just feel nothing? Just enjoy it?


    Levi started sprinting back towards the lake. He tripped, falling hard on his face, before getting back up and running again. He needed to get clean. Try and wash out all the blood on his hands.


    The trip was a blur. He didn¡¯t remember how he arrived at the lake, only taking off his blood-soaked clothes and diving in, feeling the water wash over him. He stayed under for as long as he could, before surfacing, gasping for breath. He needed to get clean. He couldn¡¯t think through the blood covering him.


    It was hours later that Levi finally scraped the last of the blood off his body and clothes. Or all he could scrape off. He was able to get his body mostly clean, but his clothes were mere tatters of their former selves, his boots the only thing still in decent shape, and even then, they would never be the same again after their baptism in blood. He could still feel the blood squishing between his toes as he ran.


    He collapsed beside the lake, chest heaving, eyes wide, panic still overwhelming him despite his freshly clean state. What had he become? Even now, even as he felt the horror of what he had done he could still feel it. The Aecylic Energy, pulling him, drawing him in. It¡¯s allure begging him to just let it all go and let loose, giving in to his baser instincts.


    He knew he wasn¡¯t in a good place mentally. Who would be? It was like he was in a dream, suddenly appearing in a forest with strange monsters and abilities like some sort of RPG. Susan had helped ground him, giving him something to hold onto. She was gone. Dead. And he had killed her. Maybe the dungeon had started the job, but he had finished it. He could feel the emotions in the back of his mind, locked away so he didn¡¯t have to face them.


    And now? He had thought he could handle it, the soft whispers of Aecylic Energy. But it had changed him. Was changing him. He didn¡¯t know what to do. Was he even himself anymore? If this System was changing him, who was he really? Was he still the same Levi, the nerd, trying to live a normal life and do normal things? The person tying to grow to become like his father, the invincible superman?


    He missed his dad. Why couldn¡¯t it have been someone else¡¯s father? Someone else crying over that hospital bed. Someone else who suddenly was left alone, groundless in a society that didn¡¯t seem to care. It was a wonder Chelsey had put up with him for as long as she did. Who would want to be with someone as broken as him?


    But then he met Susan. Someone who cared. Someone who actually seemed to see him. Him, not the mask he put on for work every day. She sacrificed herself so he could live. Who would do that? And for him? He still couldn¡¯t understand it. They had just met, yet she had left a mark on him stronger than everyone except Chelsey and his dad.


    Levi lay there, tears leaking from his eyes. He wasn¡¯t good at dealing with this emotion stuff. He never had been. For as long as he could remember if he had a problem he would go find his dad, and they would sit down and talk about it. His dad always knew what to do, what questions to ask to get him to figure out whatever had been bothering him. But he was gone. Gone like Chelsey, like Susan. Gone like maybe everyone he had ever known.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    His sobs trailed off, his body not having the necessary energy to sustain them. It was a shitty place he found himself in. A shitty place in a fucked-up world. Tomorrow he would try and face it. Shove all those feeling away. Put them in a box for later, when he wasn¡¯t fighting for his life. First, he had to survive. He could worry about everything else after that.


    Finally, Levi¡¯s overtaxed mind could take no more, and his breathing finally stabilized as sleep¡¯s sweet embrace rocked him off to oblivion.


    He woke up slowly, crawling out from unconsciousness. It almost got him, the memories of the day before. He didn¡¯t let it. He pictured his dad, smiling on his hospital bed, despite the pain. He could do that too. He would do that too.


    But he would smile tomorrow. Today, he had to survive. Levi could clearly hear his dad¡¯s words from their conversation about suicide.


    ¡°Levi, if there comes a time when it¡¯s all too much, when it just seems too hard, remember that the you of today doesn¡¯t have to be the you of tomorrow. Each person has the ability to grow, to become someone stronger. So maybe the you right now might want to give up, but sometimes you have to trust in the you of tomorrow. I believe you have the power to overcome anything.¡±


    And that¡¯s what Levi did. He trusted in the him of tomorrow. When Chelsey dumped him, he decided. Maybe he couldn¡¯t deal with it then. Maybe he wasn¡¯t strong enough. If that was the case, he just had to get stronger.


    But become a functioning adult was different than what he had to face now. But he had done it before, and he could do it again. Right now, he just had to reach tomorrow, and then the next day, and then the day after that. He could deal with it all eventually. Tomorrow.


    But right now it was time to seal it all up. He had to get out of here.


    Levi slowly got up from where he was lying next to the lake. He put on his blood-soaked boots and covered himself as best he could with his tattered clothing. With a firm will, he slowly pulled on his Aecylic Energy, feeling the power fill him, focusing his thoughts on what he needed to do. Tomorrow would only come if he reached for it.


    It was with a deliberate pace that Levi moved back up from the lake, resolving himself for what he knew he¡¯d see. When he came to the goblin¡¯s room, he paused, surveying the piles of corpses. He would have to come back to it eventually. Have to confront what it meant, both to him and to this new world he was in. But that was also for tomorrow.


    There was only one other tunnel leading away from the room, and he carefully made his way over, doing his best to keep the squelching of bodies to a minimum, trying to pay his respects to the dead. It was a tunnel much like the rest, and Levi resolutely made his way into it, moving forward. It was the only thing he could do.


    After a few minutes of walking Levi finally let out a breath he hadn¡¯t known he was holding. He eagerly inhaled, pulling fresh air through his nose. His stomach had been empty for a few days now, and maybe he should have thought about eating the goblins. He wasn¡¯t sure he could keep them down after the pungent smell of their blood though. It felt like it was choking him, coiling up in his lungs, reminding him of what he did.


    But that was past him, both figuratively and literally. He had to move forward.


    Finally, it was time for Levi to face the consequences of his battle. It was time to look at his status.


    It had been bothering him for a while, an annoying whine in the back of his head that he had things to attend to. When he first tried to look everything over it was a little overwhelming. He was sick and tired of the systems shit though, and after some internal wrangling he figured out a way to streamline the information being presented to him, mostly adding skill levels to his primary status page so he didn¡¯t have to search for them.


    Levi first looked at his current status before moving on to his notifications.


    [Name: Levi Curchman


    Level: 14


    Titles: System Inductee, Inheritor


    Stats: (Unallocated Stat Points: 7)


    Strength: 6 Constitution: 11 Dexterity: 3 Agility: 3


    Willpower: 32 Insight: 6 Attunement: 17 Charisma: 2


    Concentration: 9 Luck: 3 Aecylic Energy: 8


    Skills: Concentrated Will 48, Survival 30, Improved Awareness 24, Aecylic Empowerment 36, Brawling 22]


    [Unlocked title: Slaughterer! The title Slaughterer allows for increased physical abilities when killing large groups of enemies. You have received the skill Slaughter.]


    [Unlocked skill: Slaughter! You revel in the blood of your enemies as you stand upon their corpses. This skill is associated with: Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Agility.]


    [Unlocked generic skill slot! Please choose a skill from your available skills list.]


    Not wanting to think about the reason for the title he just got Levi skipped right to his available skills list.


    [Available skills: Organization, Driving, Musicality, Exploration, Retreat, Meditation, Berserker¡¯s Rage, Combat Sense, Killing Fist, Battledance, Unyielding, Manabody, Aura of Slaughter.]


    Levi had expected gains from the battle. But this¡­ This was something else. His level had doubled, he had unlocked a title, which he wasn¡¯t really sure he liked, and his available skills had gone crazy. The skills he already possessed also gained quite a few levels. He thought choosing a new skill would be easy. Just take Meditation and be done with it, but now he had actual choices. It seemed he would have to take some time to think about what skill to choose. He couldn¡¯t get cocky after his sudden power leveling. The dungeon was still dangerous, and he needed every edge he could get.

 Chapter Twenty

    The plan was supposed to be action. Levi wasn¡¯t sure what lay ahead of him, but he wanted to face it head on, to drown his sorrows in battle. Each step he took, each room he cleared was concrete proof he was doing something, moving forward. Instead, he was sitting on the ground, back against the tunnel wall, trying to decide which skill to take. He had been sitting there for almost half an hour.


    [Available skills: Organization, Driving, Musicality, Exploration, Retreat, Meditation, Berserker¡¯s Rage, Combat Sense, Killing Fist, Battledance, Unyielding, Manabody, Aura of Slaughter.]


    It was a hard choice, made all the harder when he didn¡¯t actually know what the skills did. It felt like he was playing Russian Roulette with his survival chances. Choose Mediation and gain a skill to help him focus his mind or choose Berserker¡¯s Rage and get a skill to make him lose it. Except, knowing the System, who knew what the names actually meant. Unyielding could refer to something Willpower related, or it could make him able to hold it in and not need to pee. It felt like a total crapshoot.


    He needed to choose eventually, and he had narrowed down his choices a little at least. His older skills were out. He wanted Meditation, but it would have to wait. He could always get it later. Next level in fact, if he really wanted to. If he was right and skills were unlocked based on actions, then the new skills all had something to do with battle. Some of the names suggested that too, and that was the kind of skill he needed. He couldn¡¯t have killed all those goblins without Brawling helping him fight better.


    Out of the new skills, Berserker¡¯s Rage was immediately out. He didn¡¯t want that kind of skill. Same for Aura of Slaughter. Killing Fist seemed too focused, so that was out as well. That left him with four options.


    Of those, he was leaning towards Manabody or Combat Sense. Unyielding did God knows what, and Battledance was also a little nebulous from the name. And if he was going off of the name, which, to be fair, he basically had to, Combat Sense and Manabody seemed like safe bets. Combat Sense presumably did what its name implied: gave him a combat sense. This seemed like something incredibly useful, but he did already have Brawling, so it might not be quite as necessary as before. Manabody also seemed like exactly what he wanted. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but if he went off of name components, it should help boost his Aecylic Empowerment. Aecylic Energy was a form of mana, or he thought it was, so something that had to do with mana and his body sounded like the perfect thing to boost a mana empowerment skill.


    He had to make a choice eventually. One short inhale and long exhale later, Levi made his selection.


    [Unlocked skill: Manabody! This skill allows for greater ease and ability when augmenting the body with any form of mana, as well as using the body as a medium to channel mana. This skill is associated with: Attunement, Attunement, Constitution.]


    Levi¡¯s neck relaxed, his head leaning back against the wall, letting out tension he hadn¡¯t even known he was holding. This seemed perfectly suited to supporting Aecylic Empowerment, and the fact that it had three stat associations hopefully meant it was powerful too. Trepidation filled him as he slowly flared Aecylic Empowerment. He needn¡¯t have worried. It was immediately apparent how his new skill helped him, the energy noticeably easier to control as he guided it around his body.


    He jumped to his feet, swinging his fists, punching imaginary enemies. Whereas before Aecylic Energy felt like a foreign substance flowing through his veins, now it felt natural, the energy feeling like just another part of him. He had a feeling that it would also allow him to channel more too, especially as he leveled up the skill.


    With renewed focus, Levi started back down the tunnel, more confident than ever in breaking through the dungeon and finally escaping.


    The tunnel stretched onwards, twisting and turning, raising Levi¡¯s hackles every time he rounded a corner, expecting blades to swing down the ceiling in an attempt to bisect him. Nothing appeared, and the first sign something had changed was when he reached up to wipe the copious amounts of sweat from his brow.


    Feeling his wet hand, Levi paused, taking in his surroundings. It was hot. He wasn¡¯t sure when it had started, but the temperature had noticeably increased, evidenced by the increased activity of his sweat glands. He slowly started to move forwards again, dreading what he would find. His fears got worse and worse as he advanced, and the temperature climbed rapidly. It felt like he was leaving a trail of sweat behind him as he crept down the tunnel.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    A final turn, and Levi faced his newest challenge. It was the dream of every child hopping around their house, moving from chair to couch to table, avoiding touching the floor. In other words, a giant room of the floor is lava, where the floor actually was lava.


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    That one word about summed up his feelings. The room before him reminded Levi of those jumping puzzles where you had to navigate your way across a bottomless pit by carefully jumping on a series of platforms. That type of puzzle often involved other obstacles too, like dodging arrows or fireballs or platforms that would collapse if you stayed on them for too long. He sincerely hoped those were lacking from the room in front of him.


    The room was huge, the vast expanse of lava creating swirling eddies in the air as heat waves washed over a maze of platforms and spires. He thought he could just make out the exit, hidden as it was by heat distortion and jutting spires of stone. As Levi surveyed the room, a particularly large lava bubble popped, causing him to jump, a wave of sulfur washing over him. Another thing to keep in mind. He might be on a timer navigating the room, forced to quickly move through it by air of dubious quality. He wasn¡¯t sure how much sulfurous air he could safely breathe.


    Knowing what was ahead, Levi backed up the tunnel to get some room to breathe, both from the smell and from the heat. He felt like he could feel his skin cooking already, and he hadn¡¯t even entered the room proper. This was going to be a shitshow no matter how he thought about it. One where he likely had one shot. He could feel a clear difference in how tough his body was from his increased Constitution, but it was clear that Constitution or not the lava would cook him alive. He needed a plan.


    Ten minutes later he was exactly where he started, dreading the thought of traversing the room ahead and still having no idea how to do so other than ¡®wing it¡¯. How exactly does one prepare for something like that? He didn¡¯t have any fire resistance or shield skills, and it was unlikely he could get any. With how the dungeon had been going so far, he would step into the room and geysers of lava would spring up, showering him in scalding hot liquid rock. But what was he going to do, turn back?


    Levi had actually debated exactly that when he had first found the goblins. The way he entered the chamber wasn¡¯t exactly normal, and there likely was a way back to the entrance if he had gone the other way. He just couldn¡¯t imagine it though. After all this, after everything he had been through, after Susan, he would just give up? Retreat with his tail between his legs? No, this dungeon would pay. If turning back wasn¡¯t an option, he could only move forwards. He found himself standing on the edge of the lava looking out over the field of platforms amid bubbling rock. Advancing was his only option.


    With a flaring of Aecylic Empowerment Levi dashed forward, taking his first step into the lava filled hellscape. The heat was like a literal wall, slamming into his skin as he moved into the room, caressing him with its dry clutches, slowly invading his body, pore by pore, setting each pain receptor on fire one at a time. He ignored it, focusing instead on the pathway he would take, his mind moving a mile a minute.


    A dash, a hop, a back step here, a running jump there. He felt like one of those ninja warrior people he watched on TV, leaping onto platforms and climbing spires of stone. Except here falling wouldn¡¯t just net him some wet clothing and shoes. His breathing became increasingly labored as he advanced, moving as quickly as he could while still keeping safety in mind.


    It was nerve-wracking. The heat, the smell, the way his fevered mind kept imagining creatures forming from the swirling superheated air, trying to drag him into the liquid stone. Every small movement out of the corner of his eye turned into an arrow or a stream of fire trying to impede his progress, guiding him onto an unstable platform and his eventual doom.


    Levi could feel his breathing speed up, his overtaxed mind not able to control the fear taking over him. It was all he could do to move forward, trying to spot a path through the chaotically arrayed islands of stone. Each jump felt like his last, the spire he jumped to always feeling just out of reach. But somehow his grasping hands always found hold, grasping the crags in the rock as he wildly swung his head, searching for his next location along his island-hopping trail.


    He felt like he had been jumping forever, leaping from rock to rock, always just one stumble away from death. His skin was burning, he could imagine sailing through the air, the gusts of hot wind searing the hair from his arms. He wasn¡¯t going to make it. It was endless, each jump farther than the last, forcing him to reach farther, desperately praying his legs had enough strength left for next platform. Fervently hoping to find solid ground under his feet as he touched down, his tortured mind imagining the stone crumbling beneath him as he landed, sending him sinking to a slow painful death, burning alive.


    Then it was over, and Levi¡¯s feet touched down in the tunnel on the far side of the room. The shock almost overwhelmed him, and he could feel an invisible pressure easing off, dissipating into thin air as his thoughts cleared up. He turned back, looking over the burning room behind him. Suddenly it didn¡¯t seem so imposing, the jumps that had felt near impossible now looking quite reasonable.


    Levi tried to restart his tired mind, mindlessly moving down the tunnel ahead of him, away from the heat beating on his back. There was something going on, but he couldn¡¯t quite catch it, his thoughts as elusive as a rainbow after the rain. After stumbling on, he eventually collapsed, leaning against the wall before sliding down, ending up lying splayed on the floor. There was definitely something going on, but he would think about it later. Now it was time for a nice long nap.

 Chapter Twenty-One

    It was a slow process, rousing himself from unconsciousness. Until it wasn¡¯t, and Levi snapped his eyes open, jumping to his feet and looking around wildly. A few heartbeats later and he calmed down, once more sliding back to the floor, allowing his body to relax, leaning against the wall. It took a little bit to separate illusion from reality, the psychological pressure from the lava room still lingering, its phantom presence pressing down on his mind.


    Levi had been expecting traps and crumbling platforms. Instead, his mind had been assaulted, each step further into the room stifling his thinking and forcing his mind to plow forward under an increasingly heavy burden of paranoid delusions. The dungeon was nasty. He could easily imagine someone without his Willpower and skills crumbling under the pressure. Apart, neither aspect of the room was dangerous, but together it created an environment where you were always one step away from death, one false step brought on by the mental pressure enough to spell a challenger¡¯s end. It was a truly insidious room design, and one he was lucky to be well suited to face.


    But he was past it now, and Levi cast his mind to the future and what his next plans were. The long-term goal was still escaping and conquering the dungeon, but in the immediate there were two things he needed to focus on: sustenance and his status, which had been bothering him in the back of his mind since he woke up.


    Sustenance was the bigger issue, but not one he had any real control over. He thought he could hold out on the hunger front, but his thirst was starting to get to him. The heat from the lava room really drove it home, and Levi¡¯s throat was parched. He could address his status immediately though, so Levi brought it up to have a look at why it was pinging him like some sort of pager he couldn¡¯t turn off.


    [Name: Levi Curchman


    Level: 15


    Titles: System Inductee, Inheritor, Slaughterer


    Stats: (Unallocated Stat Points: 8)


    Strength: 6 Constitution: 11 Dexterity: 3 Agility: 3


    Willpower: 34 Insight: 7 Attunement: 17 Charisma: 2


    Concentration: 11 Luck: 3 Aecylic Energy: 8


    Skills: Concentrated Will 50, Survival 32, Improved Awareness 25, Aecylic Empowerment 37, Brawling 22, Slaughter 1, Manabody 2]


    [Unlocked generic skill slot! Please choose a skill from your available skills list.]


    It appeared he had leveled up from passing the lava room, which didn¡¯t really surprise him. Passing obstacles seemed to also grant EXP. It was also fantastic that he reached the threshold to gain another skill, although he would have to once again ponder which one to pick. There was something before that though, something he had forgotten to do before: assign his unallocated stat points.


    He had been so out of it before, and when he saw all his new skills he must have forgotten to assign his stat points, completely focused on which skill to pick. Looking over his stats again also reminded him that he also got his bonus stats for being a Human. He hadn¡¯t even been thinking about it, but Humans gained one to each basic stat for every ten levels rounded down, which was a nice bonus.


    After some thought, Levi decided to put two points each into Dexterity and Agility and the other four into Constitution. Based on how he felt the Aecylic Energy stat affected him, he theorized that stats had diminishing returns, meaning that one point in a stat below ten was more impactful than that point in a stat above ten. Dexterity and Agility were his lowest stats that he was actively using, so it made some sense to invest in them, and he wanted more Constitution for the survival aspect. There was a huge difference if he got hit and his arm broke versus just getting a bruise. This still left Charisma as his dump stat, but right now he wasn¡¯t really worried about it. Survival came first.


    Then it was time to move onto his new skill slot. Deciding to not second guess himself, he went with option number two from his previous deliberations.


    [Unlocked skill: Combat Sense! This skill allows for greater ease and finesse when navigating combat. This skill is associated with: Insight.]


    It seemed the skill wasn¡¯t quite as powerful, only having one stat association. Levi wasn¡¯t going to complain though. It did what he wanted it to, and even if the stat gains weren¡¯t that great, the increase in his fighting proficiency was hard to quantify. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t be that useful if he was some martial arts master, but for his noob self, any combat edge was valuable.


    After sorting his status out, it was time to press onward. He needed water, and he didn¡¯t trust himself to safely pass back through the lava room to get back to the lake, which left him only one option.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Standing up, Levi collected himself, doing one final self-check before advancing onwards.


    The tunnel was what he had come to expect from the dungeon, a mostly circular and even passageway with reasonable space for two or three people to advance side by side. Feeling more confident, he started to speed up, upping to previous walking pace to a brisk jog. There were still plenty of ways the dungeon could kill him, but at this point Levi was feeling like he was starting to come into his own. Either the dungeon would kill him, or he would be able to overcome its challenges.


    It didn¡¯t take long to get to the next room. He had a small amount of warning as the tunnel suddenly grew much larger for a few hundred meters before opening up into a rather large room.


    Levi looked out at the space before him, scanning for any potential threats. None were immediately apparent. The room was large, able to easily fit a sports field or two. It was also largely empty. There were only two things of note, a small waterfall feeding a decently sized pool of water over on the right side, and a set of oversized double doors down at the far end of the room. After another few moments of looking for threats he moved for the water. His throat was killing him after the lava room. A nice cold drink was just what he needed.


    He wasn¡¯t sure what tipped him off. One moment he was moving toward the water, and then something, perhaps a sixth sense or his Improves Awareness skill, warned him of the impending doom. Levi desperately threw himself backwards, Aecylic Empowerment immediately at max power as the previously still waters of the pool rippled, deforming to release the leviathan within. As he fell backwards, the crack of powerful jaws snapping shut resounding in his ears as sure death missed him by centimeters.


    He could feel the wind on his skin whooshing over him as came face to face with the maw of a giant crocodile. Or it might have been an alligator. He wasn¡¯t really sure how to tell the difference. Levi scrambled to retreat from the ginormous crocogator, his wide-eyed stare finally having the space to take in its bulk.


    It was huge. Its jaws able to easily crush cars, and possibly even small trucks. And it was angry. The water was slowly dripping off it dark grey bulk, echoing through the cavern with a syncopated drip drip. For a second, they just stood there staring, both man and beast sizing up the opposition. Then the moment was over, and Levi turned and ran.


    A roar from the beast almost caused Levi to stumble, the noise a physical shockwave. A quick glance backwards showed the crocogator in hot pursuit, its stubby legs propelling its huge body multiple meters with every step. Levi almost ran back towards the tunnel, thinking about retreating and fighting another day. Instead, he threw himself to the right, the place he had been standing before soon occupied by his furious foe. The crocogator had shot forward with a speed belied by its mass, its snapping jaws luckily finding only air.


    What ensued was a perilous game of cat and mouse, one that made Levi grateful he hadn¡¯t tried to escape back down the tunnel. The crocogator was capable of astounding lunges, lunges Levi could only dodge with lateral movement, movement he wouldn¡¯t have had space to do had he retreated down the tunnel. And thanks to the dungeon increasing the size of the tunnel close to the room the monster was in it would have no trouble following him down the tunnel before gobbling up a tasty human snack.


    While he was able to successfully dodge the snapping jaws of doom, Levi had no clue how to go about wounding a monster of such size. He didn¡¯t have a weapon, and even if he did it might not have made a difference. The crocogator was just too big, any wounds he could have made minuscule in comparison to its girth. Levi had tried giving it a few punches along its body. It wasn¡¯t quite like punching a wall, but it might as well have been for how much damage he was doing. He needed a new plan, and soon. He had a feeling the crocogator would outlast him in a prolonged fight.


    His first thought was to jump into its mouth. They were always doing stuff like that in movies and anime. Or maybe prop its mouth open so it was helpless. Except he would probably need a steel girder for that, which he was currently lacking. A few dodges of the jaws of doom later and he decided he had only one viable option. He had run a few scenarios through his head, but this plan was the only one that his Combat Sense seemed to think might have a chance at succeeding. A few more dodges later and he was in position.


    This time when the crocogator lunged at him, instead of dodging to the side trying to get as much distance as he could, Levi sidestepped, just barely escaping the snapping jaws. He could smell its breath as its jaws clamped shut less than a meter from his face. Then, instead of running away, he ran towards it, specifically its left eye. A flaring of Aecylic Empowerment and a jump later and he found himself face to face with the beast¡¯s left eye. And then he was in its eye, the thin film protecting it not enough to stop his momentum.


    Levi held his breath as he was surrounded by aqueous humour. The biggest danger of his plan was that the beast would either be able to claw him out of its eye or throw him out with its thrashing, and thrashing it was. He frantically tried to orient himself as he felt his weight constantly shift, the liquid he was in providing little resistance as he was thrown about the inside of the crocogator¡¯s eye. But eventually a quick thrust of his hand penetrated something more stable, allowing him to hold on for dear life and prevent himself being tossed out of the beast¡¯s eye socket.


    One hand became two, and soon Levi started his plan of burrowing into the crocogator¡¯s body, digging for its brain. It was like swimming through jello, and only Concentrated Will allowed him to ignore the nausea caused by his present situation. The thrashing got worse, but he was entrenched now, and he knew it was life or death. Either he succeeded, or he suffocated, asphyxiated by the bodily fluids surrounding him.


    It felt like a lifetime later when his surroundings finally gave one last shudder before going still. Quickly, Levi retraced his steps, moving back out of his fleshy tunnel towards sweet, sweet air. Moments later he emerged, gasping for breath. He would have been afraid the beast was only playing dead were it not for the feeling in the back of his mind that his status had changed.


    Trying to wipe the blood from his face so he could see, Levi made his way over to the pool of water, stopping twice to dry heave. He would think about things once he was clean. For now, it was enough to just breathe and be alive.

 Chapter Twenty-Two

    Levi splashed water on his face one last time before plopping down, lying spread eagled on the hard stone. He never thought he was squeamish, but to be fair, he was definitely lying to himself. There were a few things he could deal with that were disgusting, and a great deal of things he couldn¡¯t. But ever since he entered the dungeon he had been put in one disgusting situation after another. It was like exposure therapy, and he was the unwilling participant.


    He should probably go over and try to eat some of the beast he had just slain. He hadn¡¯t eaten in at least a few days, and his survival skill was telling him the crocogator was edible. Perhaps he would have considered it if he had any way of breaking through its hide and cooking the meat, but there was no way he was going anywhere near his only entry point into its corpse. He did what he had to do and killed it, and now he would scrub that memory forever. Yup, no food here, he would just have to go hungry. Oh well.


    A quick check of his status told him he had gained two levels as well as a few skill levels, with the biggest gain in his new Combat Sense skill that shot up all the way to level ten. He put one stat point each into Dexterity and Agility, as the previous points he put into them likely saved his life just now. Each little edge in dodging helped, and it would have only taken one slip up to have the end result be death.


    As Levi lay there checking over his leveling gains and doing his best not to think about the corpse lying next to him, and consequently only thinking about that, he remembered something he had forgotten about. You could actually check the levels of dead creatures. As he cast his mind back, he vaguely remembered doing something like that before entering the dungeon so long ago.


    Briefly shifting his field of view to the beast and concentrating proved his theory correct, with a feeling of level thirty or thirty-one coming off of the crocogator¡¯s corpse. He kept forgetting that the System didn¡¯t give out any free meals. There were probably fifty things he could be using it for, but since he didn¡¯t know what they were, and the System wouldn¡¯t tell him, he was shit out of luck.


    Reluctantly Levi gathered himself and sat up, debating his next move. He now had access to water, so that was good. He didn¡¯t have food, yep no food here, so he should really go try and find some way to cook meat so he could have something to eat. Surviving off of his Constitution would only last him so long. His real choice was to advance or not to advance. He felt like he should have been more tired after the harrowing battle he just experienced, but, other than his life being in mortal danger with every lunge of his foe, he didn¡¯t really take any damage.


    With purpose suffusing his every movement, he stood up and made his way over to the doors at the far end of the room. It was time to see if his theory was correct.


    The doors were huge; they would have easily allowed the crocogator to go through them with room to spare. It was earie how they almost fit the exact image in his head for what dungeon doors should look like: large, oaken, and weathered, with wrought iron banding holding them up. Levi gently approached them, running his hand over the wood. He could imagine the bloodthirsty grin that crept onto his face. He was indeed correct. This was the entrance to the boss room.


    He had his suspicions from the moment he laid eyes on the doors. For some reason they just screamed ¡°boss room here¡±. He still wasn¡¯t sure what lay beyond, but he knew it was likely the final room of the dungeon. The place where he could take revenge and finally leave this shitty hellhole.


    It was strange. The more Levi learned of the dungeon, the more he felt there was more to it. It felt like it was taking his expectations for a normal dungeon and twisting them somehow. But the fact that it even had anything to do with a ¡®normal dungeon¡¯ was strange in and of itself. He wasn¡¯t on Earth, that much he was sure of. He was somewhere else in an alien land, and there was a dungeon with a boulder trap. And goblins. Well, he didn¡¯t know they were goblins, but they were a similar analogue. Something stunk.


    He turned around and put his back to the door, sliding down it to a seated position, head in hands. Susan would have known what to do. She may not have known anything about dungeons, but Levi just couldn¡¯t picture her not being in control. She just radiated an unflappable aura. And now she was dead, leaving him to carry on in her place. He knew he shouldn¡¯t, but he reached for Aecylic Energy, feeling as it flowed into him, empowering his body and changing his mind.


    He stood. The smart thing to do would be to train up, focus on gaining as much power as he could. He knew the dungeon was lethal. But he wasn¡¯t sure how much more he could take, not when he knew that freedom was just on the other side of these doors. He could feel the energy in his veins, singing, calling him to action, begging for a violent release. He gave in, turning and entering the dungeon¡¯s final room. Tomorrow. He would think about things tomorrow. Now it was time to let loose and kill things.


    The doors opened slowly, the hinges silently supporting the slabs of wood as they swung inwards, revealing¡­ not much. Levi had grown used to the perpetual dusk of the dungeon, but as he looked into the room revealed beyond, he saw only darkness. There was something about it all, and some primal part of his mind very clearly knew what to do. He entered the room, walking forward into the dark.


    He felt more than heard the doors slam shut behind him, locking him in with a dull boom. The next second seemed to stretch forever as he stood in the darkness. Then there was light, and Levi watched as torches sprang to life, fanning out around him, revealing the circular chamber of his final fight. They flared, two at a time, one on each side, stretching left and right, faster and faster until they met on the opposite side of the chamber, culminating in a whoosh as a large bonfire shot gouts of flame towards the ceiling high above before settling back to a steady burn.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Levi looked around, taking in his final battleground. The chamber was large, perhaps not quite as large as the previous one, but it felt like it, as the ceiling was dome shaped, meeting high above his head. The walls held the now lit torches high above, giving an even illumination to the large space. The floor was sand, a stark contrast to the stone that adorned the rest of the dungeon. The whole thing was reminiscent of a gladiator ring, and as Levi turned his sight to the opposite side of the chamber he could see his opponent.


    It was a large, hulking beast, currently rolled up in a ball, protected by what looked like armor on its back. He watched as it unfurled itself, revealing wicked fangs and dark, beady eyes. It looked like an armadillo from hell, its sheer bulk enough to crush its enemies if the multiple meter long claws it sported couldn¡¯t get the job done. It roared as the firelight reflected off the zigzagging lines of red and black that patterned its shell.


    And beyond the boss lay his goal. Set in the wall above where the armadillo was sleeping was a platform, home to the bonfire as well as a giant floating crystal. It hung there, suspended in front of the firelight, its many facets reflecting a myriad of colors from the dancing flame. One moment the crystal seemed blue, then purple, then a bright fiery red, and then black, seemingly sucking up the surrounding light, and then the light was back, reflecting off the everchanging colored crystal.


    Levi knew without a doubt that was the dungeon core. His goal. But before that, he would have to face the boss.


    Concentrating on it, he activated the System to figure out its level. It was forty, a good ten levels higher than the crocogator. He wasn¡¯t intimidated though. He could see his goal, the dungeon core taunting him, almost begging him to come smash it. Soon, soon its time would come, but first it was time to beat the boss.


    With Aecylic Empowerment running hot, Levi watched the armadillo, ready to act at a moment¡¯s notice. Unlike the crocogator, there was a clear weak point he could attack here. It was likely the underside of the boss was tough, but nothing like its shell. He wanted to avoid repeating his previous experience if at all possible. While it had worked that time, he shouldn¡¯t do something that dangerous unless it was a last resort. And besides, the armadillo¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t look as big as the crocogator¡¯s. They had been a bit big for its body, while the armadillo¡¯s eyes were more normal sized, still large, but not large enough for him to easily replicate his previous feat.


    Unlike the crocogator, the armadillo didn¡¯t immediately charge. That was fine though. Levi would rather wait to get a feel for how powerful it was before engaging in close combat. Closing in on anything with more mass than him was bound to be dangerous, and he wanted a good handle on its speed before he committed. The boss took its time, snuffling around and sniffing the air, seemingly not able to see him despite the light from the torches. Finally, its nose caught something, and Levi prepared himself for battle.


    Contrary to its large bulk, the boss was fast, much faster than the crocogator. It made a beeline straight for him, and Levi prepared to dodge out of the way, similar to how he had kited the previous monster. He should have known: never trust the dungeon. He was prepared for a normal monster. The armadillo was anything but, and once it had built up speed, it jumped, curling up into a ball in midair before coming back down with a crash, leaving its rock-hard exterior bearing down on him.


    He ran. Levi turned and sprinted to the right, running for all he was worth. Claws, he could dodge. They were fairly easy to predict, especially with his skills. But this was the first tunnel all over again, except this boulder could move, and as he ran the armadillo turned, somehow able to follow him in its rolled-up state. As it neared him, the folds of its shell suddenly compacted, pulling together and digging into the ground, accelerating it toward him in a burst of speed.


    Sand flew wildly, and Levi barely managed to dive to the side, sliding face first into the sand to avoid being crushed. He watched in terror as the boss slammed into the wall, the chamber shaking violently, torches sputtering, almost going out from the kinetic energy transferred to the cavern.


    He was screwed. Barely even phased, the boss unfurled itself before turned and facing him once more. Levi scrambled to his feet, fleeing for his life as he felt the vibrations in the sand as the boss started its charge anew. What followed was a dangerous game of cat and mouse, or perhaps wrecking ball and mouse. At least with the crocogator there was the potential to counter attack after it finished lunging, a small window of weakness to exploit. While he technically could try and attack it after it crashed into the wall, Levi didn¡¯t want to be anywhere near it when that happened, as the shockwave would likely blow him off his feet, leaving him stunned and in range of its deadly claws.


    He needed a plan. Levi¡¯s first thought was to try and go for the crystal, as that might make the boss disappear, or maybe at least lose some of its power. But the crystal was situated high up on the wall, and while he thought he could climb up there eventually, there was no way he was getting up there with the boss attempting to turn him into a pancake. That left him precious few options, options that were steadily growing smaller as the boss seemed to get more adept at reading his movements, timing its speed boost in the optimal way to catch him off guard.


    Left with no good options, Levi decided he needed to act. Normally when the boss charged at him he dodged left or right, letting it bypass him and ram into the wall. This time, he ran straight towards the wall, the rapidly rolling rock-like creature rocketing towards him with a rumbling roar. The timing was tricky, but luckily Levi timed it correctly, accounting for its speed boost, and as it was bearing down on him he jumped, running up the wall before jumping backwards, sailing through the air over the armadillo¡¯s back as it crashed into the wall.


    He stuck an awkward landing, but he had done it. He had successfully dodged its charge. Levi turned, ready to lay into the beast, getting in as much damage as he could before it recovered. But he had forgotten one thing, and as he neared the rear of the armadillo he suddenly found himself flying, smacked by its tail, soaring through the air before colliding with the far cavern wall.

 Chapter Twenty-Three

    Levi felt his head hit the wall with a loud crack before he rebounded, falling down onto the sandy floor. The torches on the wall blurred, seeming to fade in and out of reality. He wanted to throw up, his body all kinds of whacked out after his impromptu flight. He should probably be grateful he even survived. No one not augmented by the System could have lived through what he just did. He must have flown at least a few hundred meters before hitting a rock wall.


    He tried to stand up, only to fall over again, barely getting his hands under him to stop his face from eating sand. Across the room he could see the boss, likely getting ready for another charge. He had to move.


    ¡°Fuck this boss and fuck this dungeon.¡±


    The words came out a slur, his mouth not able to make the proper movements needed to accurately enunciate. He was in deep. Somehow he had still underestimated the dungeon, not accounting for something like the boss¡¯s tail. He must have seen it before; it was right there. It wasn¡¯t like it was hidden or anything, but he had been so focused on the boss¡¯s rolling charge attack that he had overlooked something basic. And now he was paying for it, his inexperience in battle showing through.


    He once more attempted to stand before plopping back down. The ground just. Wouldn¡¯t. Stop. Spinning. Levi looked over at the boss, blinking rapidly to try and clear his vision. He watched, knees weak and palms sweaty as two armadillos charged at him when he still wasn¡¯t ready. Wait, that wasn¡¯t right, why were there two? No, there were four!? He shook his head. He needed to snap out of it. That¡¯s right, his skills!


    He reached, struggling to activate Concentrated Will. His head was pounding, feeling like little gnomes were taking hammers to the inside of his skull. Finally, he activated his skill, his pain becoming muted as he was able to think once more. He looked across the room to see just one armadillo charging at him. That was both good and bad, good there was only one, but one was all that was needed to finish him off.


    He had to think of a plan. There had to be something he could do. But his fog-filled brain refused to come up with anything as the boss came closer and closer, each second ticking toward his inevitable doom. Why wasn¡¯t there a snooze button he could press? He needed more time to think, damnit! But there wasn¡¯t any time, and the boss was bearing down on him. He needed to act. Perhaps it was a foolish move, but he was out of options, so Levi did the only thing he could think of: draw on his Aecylic Energy.


    He knew Manabody helped him bear the strain of Aecylic Energy, but he had never tested how much. But there was no time like the present. He activated Aecylic Empowerment and opened the gates, letting the energy flood into him, taking in more energy than he ever had before. It hurt. He could feel his body breaking apart, the energy tearing him up from inside. But it still wasn¡¯t enough. Or maybe it was too much. Either way, he still wasn¡¯t able to stand, his head still spinning, his balance off.


    He watched as the boss jumped, preparing to start its rolling spin. It leaped into the air, appearing to be in slow motion. Levi despaired. He wasn¡¯t going to make it. This was where it would all end, Susan¡¯s sacrifice for naught. He was too weak.


    He closed his eyes, his body trembling. He was going to die.


    He let go. He could feel where he was connected to his Aecylic Energy, where Aecylic Empowerment limited the energy he was drawing in for his own safety. He wasn¡¯t really sure how he did it, but something about the situation just made his actions seem right. He felt his control unravel, the flow of energy, once comparable to a stream, now made him feel like he was floating in an ocean, being rocked to sleep on the gentle waves.


    Almost reverently, Levi opened his eyes. Blue. All he could see was blue. It was the blue of a clear sky, and he could almost taste the wind, imagine is lightly caressing his skin in a gentle imaginary breeze. In a trance, he looked around, tasting the wind, hearing the sunlight, smelling the color, the blue too vivid, creating a sensation impossible to express with words. He glanced up, seeing his enemy. The creature about to end his life. It looked frozen in time, suspended in a clear blue sky. He could feel it. He knew what to do.


    Suddenly his arm was raised, extending towards the boss. He wasn¡¯t sure how it got there, but it just felt right. Levi reached out, feeling with eyes, seeing with his skin, grabbing hold of the impossibly blue sky, and pushed. The sky trembled, invisible hairline cracks forming, creating a jigsaw of a million pieces. And then it shattered, each sky-blue shard turning, hovering the air, tinkling like a glass windchime.


    The moment was ethereal, possessing an unspeakable beauty. He watched, entranced, as the shards spun, creating a kaleidoscopic whirlwind of colors and sounds, each a reflection of the clear sky. Then they stopped, point first, orientated towards the armadillo, still suspended in midair. And then they flew.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    It was over in an instant, and time seemed to start again as each shard disappeared, sucked into the armadillo as if by some powerful magnetic force. Levi felt his breath catch in his throat. He could see it. One moment those dark beady eyes were full of life. Then they had none, the lights going off, a life, once vibrant, snuffed out in a moment.


    A resounding crash echoed within the cavern. Levi felt the shockwave wash over him as the boss, instead of rolling up into a ball and charging at him, fell back towards the ground, its body creating a cloud of dust as it landed, no longer alive.


    Levi watched, uncomprehending, as the dust settled, the motes slowly drifting towards the ground, sparkling in the torchlight. What had just happened? He was supposed to be dead. There was no way his skill could do whatever just happened, right? He didn¡¯t do that, did he?


    He stumbled drunkenly to his feet, and when he still couldn¡¯t stand, he crawled, dragging himself across the sand to the corpse of the boss. He had to make sure it was real. Make sure he wasn¡¯t dreaming. Meter by meter he pulled himself closer, leaving a trail of bloody sand in his wake. He didn¡¯t even realize he was bleeding, but his hand came away red when he touched the back of his skull.


    Finally, he reached his goal. He hesitated for a second, before extending his hand, half expecting to feel nothing more than air. It was real. He could feel the hard shell, sweep the off the sand that stuck to it and see the red and black lines underneath. He was alive.


    Relief coursed through him. He was still alive. He hadn¡¯t died. Levi maneuvered himself into a sitting position, leaning against the armadillo¡¯s shell, before closing his eyes and just letting the tears fall. He was alive.


    ¡°Susan, wherever you are, I didn¡¯t fail you. I¡¯m still alive. I did good, right? Soon I can leave this place. I can keep going. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what you would have wanted. What you want. And Dad, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what you want too. I won¡¯t die that easily.¡±


    He sat like that, just letting the tears fall until they were no more, and then he continued to sit, leaning back, eyes closed, just letting himself be alive.


    It was a few hours later that Levi felt his head was clear enough to sit up and open his eyes. He still had a splitting headache, but no longer did he feel nauseous or like the world was spinning. He thought he might have gotten a concussion when he flew across the cavern into the wall, but he didn¡¯t really have any way of dealing with it other than hoping his Constitution would come through for him. His head had already stopped bleeding, so that was a good sign at least.


    He knew some things had changed with his status, but that wasn¡¯t what he was focused on right now. He only had eyes for the giant multihued crystal. It was finally time to smash the dungeon core.


    He slowly stood up, making sure he wouldn¡¯t fall over before making his way over to where the crystal was located. It was on a platform set into the wall, about six or so meters up. Unlike the rest of the dungeon, the walls in this room were well suited for climbing, almost as if they were designed that way. Even in his injured state it was easy for Levi to climb his way up, not lacking for places to put his hands and feet.


    He carefully moved from the vertical wall to flat ground before standing up and walking over to the dungeon core.


    It was beautiful; he had no choice but to acknowledge that. It was likely the most amazing gem he had ever seen. It was large, about the size of a small child, and floated there, sparkling and reflecting light from the bonfire behind it. He had imagined he would feel some compunctions about destroying it. After all, for all he knew destroying the dungeon core would cause the dungeon to collapse, killing him in the process. But he didn¡¯t think that would happen. He wanted to destroy the core for personal reasons, but standing in front of it, destroying it just felt right.


    In a single motion he drew back his fist before lashing out, laying into the floating stone with a full power punch. It felt like punching a wall, and for a moment Levi worried he wouldn¡¯t actually be able to damage it. He was successful though, and a few seconds later the dungeon core started to fracture, cracks forming all over its surface. Then all at once it shattered, each small shard disappearing into motes of light, leaving behind a small hand-sized crystal that gently floated to the ground, before lying there, inert. Then came the notifications and Levi let them wash over him, starting with the ones from his previous battle.


    [Unlocked generic skill slot! Please choose a skill from your available skills list.]


    [Unlocked achievement: Epic Reversal! Achieving an epic reversal and defeating a dungeon boss monster over twice your own level is a Heroic Achievement! For achieving this Heroic Achievement, you receive +3 to all current stats.]


    [Unlocked achievement: Dungeon Delver! For successfully having entered and destroyed a dungeon you have upgraded your species achievement. You are also more sensitive to the presence of dungeons.]


    [Upgraded achievement: Human! You are a Human. Humans receive an extra stat point to every basic stat for every five levels they possess, rounded down.]


    [Unlocked achievement: Solo Clear! Solo clearing a dungeon is a Heroic Achievement! For satisfying the requirements of this Heroic Achievement, you receive +1 to all current stats.]


    [Unlocked title: Pioneer! The title Pioneer gives you an extra unallocated stat point per level. This bonus applies retroactively.]


    [Upgraded title: Inheritor! The title Inheritor gives you access to the first and second ranked skills of your benefactor, Susan Doyle.]


    [Error! Title: Inheritor; no data found. Recalculating. Congratulations! You have been given access to two generic skill slots in compensation for a System error.]

 Chapter Twenty-Four

    The messages were a lot to take in, coming at him one after the other, barely giving him time to process the information. As he was going over them in his head one stuck out like a sore thumb. What the fuck did the System mean ¡®Unlocked achievement: Solo Clear¡¯? He didn¡¯t clear the dungeon solo. Without Susan he would be dead. So now the System wouldn¡¯t even acknowledge her presence? And what was up with that error message. Fucking piece of shit System.


    Levi tried to calm himself down. He shouldn¡¯t let himself get upset, but damnit it was hard not to, and he wasn¡¯t sure there was a lot he could do about it. But as he looked back over his messages, he realized maybe there was.


    [Unlocked skill: Meditation! This skill allows for increased ease when meditating while also making meditation more efficient, with increased gains in the recovery of body and mind. This skill is associated with: Willpower.]


    He then sat down and activated his new skill. He had a raging headache, and his body was in pretty crappy shape. He needed to take some time to recover.


    An unknown amount of time later Levi came out from his meditation session refreshed. His body was still sore, but his headache was gone, and overall he felt much better, ready to take another look at the slew of notifications and powerups he had received. But even before that there was something else he felt calling him: loot.


    He reached down in front of him and tentatively grabbed the crystal, the only thing left of the dungeon core. He half expected it to blow up, one last fuck you from the dungeon. But it remained inert, and soon the notification he was waiting for appeared in his head.


    [Congratulations! You have obtained a Skill Enhancement Crystal! Skill Enhancement Crystals can be used to enhance one skill.]


    Levi laughed out loud. He had been expecting another Skill Crystal. And while that would certainly be powerful, he knew which one he wanted right now. It was a no brainer. Aecylic Empowerment was powerful, almost too powerful, especially since it appeared to have saved his life somehow, defeating the boss through some mysterious means not communicated to him in the skill description. After the fight it also felt drained, his pool of energy diminished. He could still feel it, but he knew he couldn¡¯t activate the skill right now. His best guess was because he had emptied his pool of Aecylic Energy in that last attack. Enhancing the skill would hopefully help him reset it so he could use it again.


    With a moment of concentration, he activated his new crystal, feeling a rush of new power and information flow into him.


    [Upgraded skill: Aecylic Empowerment! This skill allows for Aecylic Energy, a form of mana unique to the Aer, to be channeled to empower the body. The aura created by Aecylic Empowerment can also be shattered, creating shards of Aecylic Energy that can be shot forward, severely damaging anything hit. This skill is associated with: Willpower, Willpower, Willpower, Attunement, Attunement, Attunement, Aecylic Energy, Aecylic Energy.]


    This was it. This was what he needed. Aecylic Empowerment had been powerful before, but he hadn¡¯t felt that extra edge, that something truly special. Now it was almost a completely different skill, the extra information and stat associations pushing it to the next level. Levi could feel his understanding of Aecylic Energy expanding, growing to meet his new skill. His pool of Aecylic Energy also replenished, allowing him to activate Aecylic Empowerment, helping soothe his sore body.


    There were two big things about the skill upgrade. The first was the extra stat association with Aecylic Energy. He was starting to realize how valuable his unlocked stats were. This extra association meant his Aecylic Energy stat almost doubled. It couldn¡¯t be stressed enough how big that was. It not only gave him more energy to work with, but also allowed him more freedom and ability to manipulate that energy and empower himself. Combined with the increase in information he was getting from the improved skill make him feel almost invincible, although he still didn¡¯t think he could defeat the armadillo boss if he faced it head on.


    That was where the second change came in. He had been using Aecylic Empowerment as a normal empowering skill, but it could do so much more. The new description confirmed what Levi had previously suspected: that Aecylic Energy was a form of mana. And that it was from some race called the Aer. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly what that meant, exactly, but thinking about it brought up an image in his head of some sort of featherless pterodactyl type creature. And the skill description now explained how he had previously defeated the dungeon boss.


    When using Aecylic Empowerment, he could spread a sky-blue aura into his surroundings. This aura wasn¡¯t just for show and was an actual physical representation of his power. He could then shatter this aura and shoot the shards at his enemies. He wasn¡¯t sure how powerful it really was, but judging from before, very. The only problem was he couldn¡¯t abuse it, as it was more of a last resort.


    Aecylic Energy was extremely potent, but when he used it normally, he wasn¡¯t actually using much up, only cycling it through his body. Projecting it externally though and firing it at an enemy used up all the energy involved; he wouldn¡¯t get it back until many days later as it slowly regenerated. But as a lifesaving measure it was exactly what he needed, a finishing move to overcome otherwise impossible challenges.


    That didn¡¯t explain why he could use that ability before, but that knowledge was actually covered by the part of the skill that talked about the Aer. With the improved skill came more knowledge, and part of that was knowledge about how the Aer manipulated Aecylic Energy, information relevant to his situation before. Information about an Aer coming of age ceremony.


    Aer weren¡¯t born being able to manipulate Aecylic Energy. They started with a small pool of it, and as they matured, their bodies would adapt to the latent power within them. Eventually, they would release that power all at once, finally allowing them access to their species innate abilities. That was basically what Levi had done when he killed the boss; he had unleashed the latent energy within his body.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    His situation was a bit unique, which helped contribute to the fortuitous timing. He started off with a skill to manipulate Aecylic Energy, so he already knew how to use it without his body needing to adapt to it. His skill allowed him to use an energy which his body wasn¡¯t really ready for, which was part of what made it so difficult to use. By the time he had gained a few more points in Aecylic Energy and his body was able to undergo the awakening ceremony that all Aer did to use their latent energy, he was already used to using his skill to limit the Aecylic Energy he took in as a safety measure. Aecylic Empowerment had allowed him to utilize the energy in the first place, but it had also limited him, restraining the flow of energy to pre-awakening levels.


    The new information from his skill told him that the Aer typically laid three to four eggs at a time, which would then hatch into baby Aer who would compete to reach adulthood and undergo their awakening. They had to compete because, despite his situation, Levi¡¯s awakening hadn¡¯t been that unusual. It was the norm that only the first Aer to reach adulthood would live, its siblings unable to survive the aftermath of its awakening. Aecylic Energy wasn¡¯t for the weak of body or mind.


    But improving his best skill wasn¡¯t where his gains ended. Not even close. He had gained a frankly ridiculous number of stat points, such that he was almost afraid to look at his status. It was a bit overwhelming. If before he had been more than human, now he was certainly superhuman. That was something he should likely think about at some point, but that was also something for tomorrow. After destroying the dungeon core, he had realized something. This wasn¡¯t the end. Not even close.


    There were a few important bits of information he gained from his power up. One of them was the knowledge that achievements, titles, and skills could all be upgraded. His gains were not static, and his actions could greatly impact how the system rewarded him. Another thing of note was the System wasn¡¯t perfect. He wasn¡¯t sure why it had an error, but the fact that one existed was a big deal. But that was also something to worry about tomorrow.


    The really big piece of information had to do with his Dungeon Delver achievement. It specifically mentioned him destroying the dungeon, basically confirming that the System wanted him to destroy dungeons. And Humanity¡¯s fate was somehow connected to it all. Why else would destroying a dungeon upgrade his Human achievement? There was more going on with the System than he had originally assumed.


    Levi shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Enough pontificating. Smarter people than him could think about these things. He still had more notifications to deal with. He had gained a total of three additional generic skill slots, one of which he used on Meditation, while the other two were still undecided. It was time to decide them, address his status, and get out of the dungeon.


    [Available skills: Organization, Driving, Musicality, Exploration, Retreat, Berserker¡¯s Rage, Killing Fist, Battledance, Unyielding, Aura of Slaughter, Dodge, Overcharge, Last Stand.]


    He hadn¡¯t noticed when selecting Meditation, but he now had three new options, each of which looked compelling for their own reasons. His first choice was obvious; he was going to pick Dodge. It probably wasn¡¯t flashy, but after his last two fights he had experienced firsthand how important dodging was. He was turning into a close-range fighter, one that was more focused on dealing damage than taking it, so Dodge was exactly what he needed.


    The second choice was harder. Most of the skills he wanted to take he couldn¡¯t figure out just from the name. Unyielding and Battledance were his top two from before, but with Dodge, Battledance wasn¡¯t quite as appealing. That left him deciding between Unyielding, Overcharge, and Last Stand, each compelling for their own reasons. After the boss fight he was still worried about his combat power so for now things like Exploration were out, even though that was likely his best utility option.


    He finally decided to go with Last Stand. That one seemed the most useful based on the name, as it sounded like something that would help save his life in a critical situation.


    [Unlocked skill: Dodge! This skill allows for more ease and proficiency when dodging. This skill is associated with: Agility.]


    [Unlocked skill: Last Stand! When facing truly formidable odds, this skill allows for a reserve of strength to well up, allowing you to overcome previously impossible odds. This skill is associated with: Constitution, Willpower, Charisma.]


    Dodge did exactly what he thought it would. Last Stand though was a little strange. He was glad he picked it, as it did seem useful, but why was it associated with Charisma? Both Constitution and Willpower he understood, they made sense. Maybe Charisma didn¡¯t do what he thought it did?


    Shaking off his musings, Levi turned to distributing his unallocated stat points. Trying to figure out the System was a fruitless endeavor. That way lay madness.


    After a few minutes of deliberation, he finally just decided to allocate his stat points and be done with it. He didn¡¯t have the luxury of knowledge. He had a rough idea of what the stats did and what he wanted out of them, so that¡¯s what he went with.


    [Name: Levi Curchman


    Level: 21


    Titles: System Inductee, Inheritor, Slaughterer, Pioneer


    Stats:


    Strength: 20 Constitution: 30 Dexterity: 20 Agility: 24


    Willpower: 57 Insight: 20 Attunement: 48 Charisma: 9


    Concentration: 15 Luck: 7 Aecylic Energy: 25


    Skills: Concentrated Will 51, Survival 38, Improved Awareness 27, Aecylic Empowerment 52, Brawling 26, Slaughter 3, Manabody 23, Combat Sense 21, Meditation 3, Dodge 1, Last Stand 1]


    His stats had ballooned, increasing at a frankly ridiculous rate. After defeating the boss he had gained over one hundred stat points. He might not have been confident facing anything above his level, but he had a hard time believing anything under was his match. His new knowledge of Aecylic Energy only backed that up.


    There was only one place left to go, and after readying himself, Levi advanced around the bonfire, revealing the wall behind it, and the portal it held. He was kind of hoping for another treasure chest, but after getting loot from the dungeon core itself he wasn¡¯t too surprised not to get anything else. His gains had already been astronomical. No need to get greedy.


    A quick concentrated inspection of the portal revealed it was the way out. Levi turned back around, giving once last look at the dungeon beyond the bonfire. He would never forget his time here, but it was time to step through the portal and close this chapter of his life. It was time to move forward.


    During his time in the dungeon he had debated about what to do when he got out. Part of him, and not a small part, wanted to say fuck it, and go live on his own as a hermit. Use Survival to live off the land. But that was weakness speaking. He would try one more time. Try living with people and making human connections. And if that didn¡¯t work he would leave for good; he would just walk into the woods and never come back.


    He could tell that once he stepped through the portal the dungeon would disappear, and so he sent one final prayer for Susan. He prayed she would find peace, and swore once more that he wouldn¡¯t forget her, always keeping her memory alive. Then he turned and marched through the portal and into the world of tomorrow.

 Chapter Twenty-Five

    Lookout duty was shit, but on some level, Sam knew she only had herself to blame. If she had only been a bit more careful, a bit less greedy, she wouldn¡¯t have been caught. She knew, knew it was too suspicious to sneak out every night. But the thrill was too much. She thought herself invincible, her stealth skills unparalleled. All that was useless in the face of Terry¡¯s tracking skill. They had been waiting for her as she crept over the wall.


    And now she was stuck in the lookout tower, sweating under the hot sun. To be fair, it wasn¡¯t really that hot, but why did the captain refuse to even consider building a roof? What if it rained? She would not be stuck up here in the rain. She probably couldn¡¯t even see anything anyway. What was the point of a lookout that couldn¡¯t look out?


    She sighed, activating Telescopic Vision and scanning the surrounding reflexively. It wasn¡¯t like there was anything out there. The captain had long ago killed all the monsters, and there wasn¡¯t anyone else to¡­


    Sam rubbed her eyes. She must have been seeing things. She thought she saw a person walking towards the town. Except they were coming the wrong way, coming from the mountains instead of from the direction of the main settlement. She looked again. Straining her skill to get a better look.


    Yep, it was definitely a person. And they were definitely coming from the wrong direction, following the river downstream. They were pretty far out. They probably couldn¡¯t even see the outpost yet. Sam could only barely see them. It looked like whoever it was had just came out of the trees, only recently entering open ground, allowing her to spot them.


    She squinted, trying to make out any details. But the distance was too far despite her skill, the person quite a few kilometers out. If she had to guess, she would say it was a man, mostly because she didn¡¯t think they had a shirt on and she couldn¡¯t see any long hair. Although it did look like they were wearing a skirt, so maybe they were a woman? She didn¡¯t really care though. She was just the lookout, everything else was above her paygrade.


    ¡°Hey, Alex!¡±


    She looked down at the training yard below the watch tower, watching people train with makeshift weapons. Alex appeared to be sparring with someone and didn¡¯t hear her shout.


    ¡°Alex!¡±


    Still no response. Damnit, she hated being loud. They needed to install some sort of bell up here. Wasn¡¯t that what lookouts did? Ring a bell or something to get people¡¯s attention?


    ¡°Alex!¡±


    Finally, someone heard her and signaled Alex to get his attention. He stopped his spar, wiping the sweat from his brow.


    ¡°What? Is the captain back already?¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s a person.¡±


    ¡°What? I can¡¯t hear you!¡±


    ¡°A person!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Sighing, Sam motioned for Alex to come up. She wouldn¡¯t yell down at him. He should probably see this anyway, although it might be a little while before he could make out anything without enhanced vision. She waited for him to make the climb up the lookout tower, tapping her fingers on the railing while watching the person come closer.


    Alex finally poked his head through the hole in the floor before climbing onto the small platform that made up the top of the tower.


    ¡°Okay, so what¡¯s going on? Is the captain back already? They weren¡¯t supposed to get back until near dark.¡±


    ¡°No, she¡¯s not back. There¡¯s a person.¡±


    ¡°A person? You mean like someone is coming to the outpost from the main settlement?¡±


    ¡°No. Or I don¡¯t think so. They¡¯re coming from the other direction.¡±


    Sam pointed to where she could see the person walking towards them along the river. Alex followed her finger, shading his eyes from the sun to try and get a better look.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything. Should I?¡±


    Sam shook her head. ¡°Probably not. They¡¯re pretty far out, just ahead of the first tributary. I can only barely see them.¡±


    ¡°Got it. So there¡¯s just one person? And you¡¯re sure it¡¯s a person and not some new type of monster?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a person,¡± Sam said. She couldn¡¯t really be sure, but that was what it looked like to her. ¡°So, what next? Do we go about to meet them?¡±


    Alex, frowned, mulling it over. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Stay here and keep an eye on whoever it is and signal if anything changes. I¡¯m going to go down and talk to David. He¡¯ll want to know about this. He should probably be the one making the decision anyway. Stay here until I come back.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Alex disappeared back down the hole, climbing back down the ladder. Sam just sighed, settling in for another long boring wait. The first time she came to the top of the lookout tower she was enchanted by the view. The river was beautiful as it meandered its way through the fields, and, thanks to her skill, she could easily make out the forest and the various birds flitting through it. It felt like a nature documentary. That got old fast, and the combination of the sun and boredom made her come to hate her new post. She wanted to be back out with Captain Kelly, scouting for the leveling team. And actually leveling too. Not only was she stuck on guard duty, be she couldn¡¯t even sneak out anymore to kill monsters secretly at night.


    Sam sighed once more, scanning the surroundings before going back to watching the lone traveler make their way towards the outpost. At least the presence of something out of the ordinary made her duty a bit more palatable. She had been stuck here for four days already and had six more still to come. She wasn¡¯t sure she could make it.


    A little while later she heard people on the ladder and peaked down to see Alex climbing back up with David right behind him. The training area had also quieted down, people gearing up in case they needed to prepare a sortie. Sam wasn¡¯t so sure why everyone had their panties in a twist. If one person posed a threat to their settlement they were probably in trouble regardless. Unless of course that one person was someone like the captain, but that was unlikely. She was clearly an anomaly, no one else even approaching her firepower.


    Soon Alex and David reached the top of the ladder and joined her on the platform.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s this I hear about a person?¡± David asked in his gruff voice. Sam would have found him intimidating if it wasn¡¯t for how he always doted on his daughter. He was a real bear of a man, with a thick bushy beard. He claimed back on Earth he was a normal salaryman, but she just couldn¡¯t see it. He probably wasn¡¯t the only one not telling things about his past though. There were plenty of people who were tight lipped about their life back home.


    ¡°Over there,¡± Sam said, gesturing towards the river as it meandered off towards the mountains in the distance. ¡°There¡¯s a person walking towards us. I can¡¯t make out too much at this distance though.¡±


    David stroked his beard in his trademarked thinking posture.


    ¡°I see. And this person is just walking toward the outpost? Do you think they can see us?¡±


    ¡°Doubtful. If neither of you guys can see them then they probably can¡¯t see us.¡±


    ¡°Very well. Alex, I want you to go down and organize a defense party for the gate. Maybe five or six people. And see if you can go find Duane. He should still be here. It¡¯s a shame Mia left with Captain Kelly today. After that come back up here. I¡¯ll stay here to keep an eye on the situation. Sam, I want to know immediately if anything changes. We need to be prepared for the worst.¡±


    Sam gave a sloppy salute as Alex nodded and set off back down the ladder.


    Sam felt herself unconsciously sitting up straighter as she stared outwards. Just because she knew David wasn¡¯t actually as intimidating as he appeared didn¡¯t help all that much when it was just the two of them up here. She wanted to sigh but managed to hold it in as she settled in for a long wait. It would likely be a bit longer before the mystery person got close enough to make out any real details.


    It actually wasn¡¯t as long as she thought before something changed.


    ¡°Um, David it looks like the person is changing course,¡± She said, squinting to get a better look. Squinting didn¡¯t actually help her skill work better, but somehow it just felt right.


    ¡°Really? What are they doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. They were following the river before, but now they¡¯re moving away from it. Hang on, I think I got it. It looks like there is a small hill nearby. I think they¡¯re moving towards it to get a better look around.¡±


    Sam watched as the person made a slight detour, heading for a small hill near the river. She lost sight of them for a moment before they appeared again on the top of the hill. She watched as they raised a hand to their face, likely shading their eyes to look around.


    ¡°Yeah, they were heading towards the hill. It looks like they wanted a better view point.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense. Scouting is always important. Anything else?¡±


    ¡°No, they are just stopped there. Hang on, I think they might have spotted the outpost.¡±


    The person had paused on top of the hill, facing the outpost, before starting to run in their direction.


    David joined Sam at the edge of the platform, looking out.


    ¡°Hmm, I still can¡¯t see them, but it would make sense they could spot us first. Our settlement is a lot easier to spot than a single person. How fast are they going?¡±


    ¡°Really fast, I think. It¡¯s hard to judge without anything to relate it to, but they are definitely going too fast for a normal person. I think you might be able to see them soon at this rate.¡±


    Sam and David stood there, looking out over the plains. Soon Alex popped back up.


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s assembled at the gate. Anything change while I was gone?¡±


    ¡°The person appears to have seen us,¡± David said. ¡°Sam says they¡¯re coming this way at a sprint.¡±


    The three of them waited in silence before Alex spoke up.


    ¡°I think I see something. They¡¯re on our side of the river, right?¡±


    Sam nodded.


    ¡°Can you make out any more details?¡± David asked.


    ¡°Maybe. Since they¡¯re closer now I can see a bit more. I think it¡¯s a man, since it doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯re wearing a shirt. They have short hair too, but it looks like they are wearing some kind of skirt. Wait a second, yeah, it should be a guy. I think I see some facial hair.¡±


    ¡°Very good then. Tell us if you spot anything else. I think I can see them now too, and if they continue that speed it won¡¯t be long before they arrive.¡±


    The three of them watched the mystery person come closer and closer. As he neared, Sam described his appearance in more detail.


    ¡°I think he¡¯s pretty young, likely early twenties. His beard is pretty scraggly. He has light brown hair that looks like it could use a cut and he isn¡¯t wearing much. He has boots on and some sort of skirt that it looks like he made himself, likely made from what used to be his clothes combined with a grass of some sort. I thought it was a walking stick before, but now it looks like the stick he¡¯s carrying is more of a spear. It¡¯s pretty rough though. I wouldn¡¯t trust it in a fight.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± David said, patting her shoulder. ¡°You did a good job spotting him as soon as you did. Come Alex, let¡¯s go down to the gate for his arrival. Sam you¡¯re still on guard duty. Don¡¯t let this person¡¯s arrival distract you from your job as lookout.¡±


    Sam watched, depressed, as the two men descended the ladder. Something interesting finally happened and she was stuck on guard duty. It looked like Angela was one of the people tapped to man the gate, so Sam decided that after she got off duty she would go bother her friend for all the details. At least if a fight broke out she would have front row seats from her perch in the tower.

 Chapter Twenty-Six

    Levi paused as he exited the tree line, surveying the scenery and taking in the sights. It was the second day since he left the dungeon, and he had finally made it out of the forest. Now that he was out, the whole dungeon experience seemed like a bad dream. He hadn¡¯t realized just how much he had missed the sun, and now, looking out towards a river in the distance and fields of gently swaying grass, he was starting to remember why he loved nature.


    It also helped that Survival worked much better outdoors, and one of the first things Levi had done upon exiting the dungeon was to gather some food, a mix of plants, berries, and fish from the stream. He had also used the rags of his clothes combined with some grass he collected to fashion a makeshift skirt. There wasn¡¯t anyone around to care if he was wearing anything or not, but he just couldn¡¯t adjust to not being covered, having grown up in a society that valued modesty.


    And now, as he walked out of forest, he could feel the sun freely beating down on him. If he wasn¡¯t surrounded by the constant threat of death Levi would have sat down and just enjoyed the view. He had never seen real plains before, and it was a sight for sore eyes. But the monsters that had attacked him after exiting the dungeon worried him. They were almost level twenty, growing at an astronomical rate compared to before he entered the dungeon. Or maybe that was a normal growth rate, which would be a big cause for concern. Who could say with the System.


    He was currently still following Susan¡¯s plan of following the river to try and find civilization. It felt like every other thought he had was questioning his desire to actually find people, but Levi tried to steel his emotions and press through with his previous decision. People might be pretty shitty, but so was being alone, especially when it wasn¡¯t by choice. And questioning things had never gotten him anywhere in life; it was always action driving him forwards.


    Levi whistled a popular tune as he made his way down the stream he had been following to where it joined the river. His negative thoughts couldn¡¯t keep him down for long. Being out of the dungeon and back in nature was too calming. He no longer had to worry about things like food or surprise traps. There were still monsters to fight, but so far he hadn¡¯t seen anything he felt could truly threaten him. Of course, now that he thought that Murphy dictated that a dragon would swoop down from the sky and eat him. He glanced up, staring suspiciously at the sky. The sky stared back, seeming to comfort him, pressing down on him like a blanket of Aecylic Energy.


    The sky really was beautiful, and Levi had an urge to let it all go, just fly away, soaring blissfully into the clear blue. He could feel the energy inside him singing, pulling him upwards, thrumming with a power as primal as the dawn, blanketing the world in rays of light. He spread his wings, his muscles contracting, pulsing with pent up energy, working overtime, the strength contained within telling sagas of his soon to be heroic feats, soon he would¡­


    What the fuck was he thinking? Blinking, Levi started down at the sky-blue aura surrounding his hands. The same color as the kilometers of clear sky above his head. What had he been thinking? He remembered looking upwards, entranced as if from some half-forgotten memory.


    It probably wasn¡¯t important. He had other things to worry about.


    As he continued walking, Levi soon forgot his recent strange experience, content to stroll along the picturesque river. As he walked along he noticed a hill a little ways off from the river and he changed course slightly, angling himself towards it. He wanted to see if he could get a better look at the plains he was walking into. There could be a pride of bloodthirsty lions asleep just meters from him and he might not know until he stumbled into their midst.


    Soon he crested the hill, using his hand to shade his eyes from the sun¡¯s rays as he looked around. The plains were expansive; they were the only thing he could see except for the forest behind him and a small smudge of brown farther down the river. Straining his eyes, he squinted. That¡­ almost looked like a town. Scratch that, it did look like a town. Seconds after his brain made sense of what he was seeing Levi was off running.


    He didn¡¯t realize how much he missed people until he had the real possibility of seeing them. Normally he dreaded heading into work and putting on a fake smile. People could be such a damn pain in the ass. But he needed to know he wasn¡¯t alone. It had been a long time since he lost Susan. Each day alone in the dungeon had constricted his mind, conjuring imaginary phantoms to plague him, whispering ¡°you are alone, you will always be alone, they will always leave you.¡±


    He flared Aecylic Empowerment, each step hurtling him closer towards the brown blob in the distance slowly resolving itself into the wooden walls of what was clearly a man-made settlement. The wind whistled past him, creating melodies previously unknown, sweeping his hair back from his forehead and wicking away the sweat from his bare chest.


    Levi ran like his life depended on it, illusions of his fears chasing him every step of the way. He didn¡¯t want to get his hopes up, but he couldn¡¯t quash that small bud springing forth in his chest. People. Real people. After running for a while he could see them, standing above the gate on the towns walls.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    He slowed down, eventually coming to a stop over a hundred meters away, reason winning over. He had remembered what he must look like, some wild man covered in scars wearing only boots and a grass skirt sprinting full tilt towards their town. If he were in their situation his first response certainly wouldn¡¯t be to open the gate, welcoming in some random person who may or may not be a psychotic murderer. He was probably lucky they didn¡¯t try and shoot at him. He could see a few of them holding bows.


    He just stood there, not knowing what to do, before one of them jumped down from the wall and started walking towards him. As the man walked over Levi focused on his breathing, trying to calm himself. He needed to make a good first impression. Just because they didn¡¯t attack him didn¡¯t mean they would automatically let him into their settlement. Soon the man neared and opened his mouth to speak.


    ¡°Hail, stranger. What brings you to our humble settlement? We don¡¯t want any trouble. I¡¯ll have you know I used to be an adventurer like yourself before I took an arrow to the knee.¡±


    Levi stared at the man, mouth agape.


    ¡°Kidding. My name¡¯s Alex. It¡¯s true that we don¡¯t want any trouble though.¡±


    Alex reached out his hand for a handshake which Levi took, shaking his hand mechanically while trying to drag his jaw back off the floor. Alex¡¯s face hadn¡¯t changed once, still keeping his deadpan expression. Levi had almost believed he was an NPC there for a second.


    ¡°Uh, Levi. Nice to meet you.¡± He couldn¡¯t manage much more than that, his thoughts struggling to organize themselves after Alex¡¯s surprise opener.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Levi. As long as you don¡¯t have any bad intentions I would like to formally invite you into our outpost. It looks like you¡¯ve had a rough time of things.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. And I don¡¯t. Have any bad intentions I mean. Sorry, it¡¯s been¡­ a long time since I talked to someone.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like you have quite a story. Follow me and we can get you set up with some refreshments while you talk to David. That¡¯s our leader. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be able to sort you out. Despite his gruff exterior he¡¯s very dependable.¡±


    Levi tried to calm his racing thoughts as he followed Alex to the outpost. Talking to people was different than he remembered. But then again, the world was different. It would be stranger if things stayed the same.


    As they neared, some of the people from the wall descended and opened the gate, welcoming them in.


    ¡°Welcome. My name is David, and I¡¯m what passes for the leader of our humble outpost.¡±


    ¡°My name¡¯s Levi. Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°And you as well. Come, we would be horrible hosts if we left you standing out here. Follow me and we can find somewhere to sit down and have a chat. I¡¯m sure you must have a lot of questions.¡±


    After shaking hands, Levi followed David through the town, taking in the clean and orderly streets filled with rows of log cabins. It felt more like the outpost had been here for years, not the month or two it must have been built in. It was impressive, showing a clear work ethic among the populace. They clearly had some idea about what they were doing, and Levi felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb in his rough grass skirt compared to the nicely sewn leather clothing everyone else was wearing. Hopefully he could get some of his own. And a shave. It would be nice to get a nice set of clothing and get rid of his scraggly beard and feel like a civilized person again.


    The outpost was rather small, and they quickly arrived in the center, presumably walking towards the large three-story building across the hard packed dirt square. Levi¡¯s guess was spot on, and they entered the building, by far the largest he had seen, through a pair of double doors.


    ¡°Come, there is a space we can talk in the back room,¡± David said. ¡°Alex, if you would join us please. Roger, if you could bring us some tea and jerky you and Carla can go back to whatever you were doing before.¡±


    David, Alex, and Levi crossed what appeared to be a common space towards a door at the back of the room. Levi could feel the curious stares of the rooms few other occupants, mostly children, with a few adults. They probably didn¡¯t get visitors often, the presence of an outsider a rare occasion.


    They soon moved into a small back room, empty save for a table and four chairs.


    ¡°Please, take a seat,¡± David said, gesturing to one of the chairs. ¡°Roger should be back momentarily with some refreshments.¡±


    Almost as soon as he finished speaking Roger came back in, carrying a tray with three cups, a pitcher, and a plate of jerky. He set it down before leaving once more, leaving the three of them alone.


    ¡°Let me pour you some tea,¡± David said. ¡°You must have had a rough time after the implementation of the System.¡±


    Levi nodded while inspecting the tea with Survival. He didn¡¯t think they would poison him, but better safe than sorry. He couldn¡¯t find any trace of anything harmful, so he took a cautious first sip, followed by what must have been an ungainly swallow, chugging the rest of the tea in his cup.


    ¡°The tea is made by someone with a brewing skill,¡± David said, a half smile gracing his face at Levi¡¯s reaction. ¡°Despite losing most of the creature comforts of Earth not everything is for the worst. Take your time. We have plenty of time to talk.¡±


    Levi could feel David¡¯s stare boring into him as he refilled his cup. He suspected David was using a skill, his stare going right through him, making him feel naked under the powerful gaze. Although, to be fair, he actually was mostly naked, which didn¡¯t really help.


    After Levi finished another two cups he finally sat back, feeling more human than he had felt in weeks. David was right. He did have a lot of questions. Questions like what was this outpost doing here, and why was it called an outpost? An outpost for what? He also wanted to ask them about dungeons among a million other things.


    Sitting up straight, Levi activated Concentrated Will. It was time for a different type of battle. He was ill suited for a battle of social intrigue, likely going up against someone skilled in exactly that, but he had grown a lot. He wouldn¡¯t back down. With Aecylic Energy singing in his veins Levi opened his mouth. It was time to fight.

 Chapter Twenty-Seven

    ¡°I do have a few questions,¡± Levi said, starting to speak. ¡°For one, you mentioned this is an outpost. Does that mean there are other people somewhere else?¡±


    David nodded.


    ¡°Indeed, it does. Why don¡¯t I tell you about our experiences so far after being transported here. But first, I take it you didn¡¯t appear with a group of people?¡±


    Levi shook his head. ¡°No, I appeared by myself.¡± He wasn¡¯t going to bring up Susan. And besides, he met her later, so it wasn¡¯t like he was lying or anything.


    ¡°We appeared as a group,¡± David said. ¡°A little over three thousand people total. We all arrived together a few days down river from here. Because of all the hordes of monsters roaming around it was decided to create an outpost to see if we could act as a lure, blunting attacks on the main settlement and allowing them to focus on safely building an agricultural base. Our group of about three hundred people is the test group. If we can successfully build a town here then the idea is to create a ring of outposts, protecting the more vulnerable center.¡±


    ¡°How was it fighting a bunch of monsters? I mean, like, how did you guys survive initially? Did you have a bunch of people from the military or something?¡±


    ¡°We had a few. We also had some people who managed to receive special skills, who were then able to help others gain combat skills. It¡¯s not too difficult to gain a combat skill, the real challenge is knowing how to use it. Not everyone is suited for combat.¡±


    Levi mulled over that information. Perhaps he wasn¡¯t as special as he thought, getting a skill during the System installation. David made it sound like fighting off monsters was no big deal. Of course, Levi had no way of knowing if he was lying or not. He didn¡¯t even really know if there was another settlement. He should see if he could talk to some other people and try and get some independent confirmation.


    Levi asked another few less important questions, mostly about day to day life and logistics. But while he was interested in hearing about tailoring skills and the plan for farming and food production, he had other more important things he wanted to find out about. Things more central to the System and why there were here.


    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m not really sure how to say this,¡± Levi said, rather abruptly segueing to a new topic, ¡°but have you seen any dungeons?¡±


    ¡°Dungeons? Can¡¯t say that I have,¡± David answered after moment¡¯s thought. ¡°Did you come across any ruined castles out there?¡±


    ¡°No, not that kind of dungeon the other kind.¡±


    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say there¡¯s much call for that sort of thing here, and¡­¡±


    Alex quickly interjected, interrupting David¡¯s misunderstanding.


    ¡°No, he means like dungeons with monsters. It¡¯s a gaming term.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± David said, ¡°one of those things. Ahem, well no, I don¡¯t believe we have seen any. Is there some importance to them?¡±


    ¡°Have you explored on the other side of the river,¡± Levi asked. He tried to keep the tension out of his voice.


    ¡°No, we haven¡¯t. The river creates a natural barrier for monsters, so we have focused more on clearing out this side.¡± David could sense Levi was going somewhere with this, but he wasn¡¯t sure where. He would have to ask Alex later about these dungeons. It seemed like they may be important. He really needed to spend some time learning about these things, but there was just so much to do.


    ¡°Well, I think there might be one there,¡± Levi continued. ¡°A dungeon I mean. I can feel it.¡±


    David cocked an eyebrow. ¡°You can feel it?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah. I think so at least. I¡¯m not quite sure, but I think it might be a good idea to check it out.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like there¡¯s something more here. I don¡¯t suppose you could enlighten us about these dungeons then? You must have a reason for asking about this. I would have assumed other things would be more important.¡±


    Why was he so interested in dungeons? Levi wasn¡¯t sure he could say. He had tried putting his previous experience out of his mind, but when he arrived in the outpost he had a nagging sensation in the back of his head that he needed to check across the river. That there was a dungeon there. It had seemed obvious to ask, but now that David brought it up, it was strange, wasn¡¯t it? There was something else going on, he could almost taste it, a similar feeling to when a word was on the tip of your tongue. The only question was to try and ignore it or push through to try and enlist help.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    He flared Aecylic Empowerment, comforted by the roiling energy, its presence reminding him he wasn¡¯t some powerless weakling. If the pieces didn¡¯t add up he needed someone smarter than him to crunch the numbers. From the small glimpse he had seen of the outpost it hinted that the people he was talking to were decent enough. For now, that would have to do.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure how or why, but I think dungeons have some sort of relationship with the System,¡± Levi said. ¡°More than they should I mean. Soon after I arrived here I entered one. I shouldn¡¯t have, but I guess the lure of loot just overtook me. I only survived by luck. But the important thing is the System gave me a message that seemed like it wanted me to destroy the dungeon. I¡¯m just not really sure why, but that fact seems really important.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t actually planned to tell them he destroyed the dungeon, but after he started speaking he realized just saying he entered and escaped wouldn¡¯t sound very convincing. Levi wasn¡¯t particularly good at lying, and if he was going to talk about this he would slip eventually. Or more like he would slip immediately. Chelsey had always joked that she never had to worry about him cheating, because if he was going to do it he would tell her before he told himself.


    As soon as Levi mentioned the System he could almost see the glint in David¡¯s eye.


    ¡°So, you mean to say,¡± David said, ¡°that something about these dungeons relates to the System? What exactly makes you think so?¡±


    Then he paused for a moment before speaking again.


    ¡°But I¡¯m getting ahead of myself. We¡¯ve barely met, and you must want to relax after what had to have been a harrowing experience. Why don¡¯t we postpone this discussion for later? There are other people who should hear this. Alex, would you mind showing Levi around? I still have some things to discuss with Agatha.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Alex said, nodding.


    After shaking hands again, David excused himself out a back door, saying they would talk again tonight, leaving Levi alone with Alex.


    ¡°Um, so you were going to show me around?¡± Levi asked.


    ¡°Yep,¡± Alex said. ¡°You should probably see what our settlement is like if you are going to stay here. And I do hope you will. You couldn¡¯t have survived out there without at least some fighting experience, and we could always use another combatant. And I think David likes you. I guess you didn¡¯t lie much. I think he has a skill to tell when people are being dishonest, which he doesn¡¯t like. Something about trust being the basis for which all society is built on or something.¡±


    Levi followed Alex around as they toured the outpost. He was introduced to many people, like some of the combatants practicing in the area outside the building they were just in and the farmers working the small area of land inside the outpost¡¯s walls. He had originally assumed this was just a normal fontier town, comparable to something a few centuries old back on Earth. But he quickly realized it was so much more. Everything was organized just so; the careful planning apparent even to his untrained eye. Agatha, the person David had gone off the meet, used to be a city planner, and with her professional expertise the outpost was above and beyond anything Levi expected to find so soon after everyone was uprooted from their lives and transported to a new world.


    During the tour he tried to be dispassionate, tried to keep his distance from the people he was talking to. He failed. He wasn¡¯t even sure he wanted to be here, but he couldn¡¯t help connecting to the people he was interacting with. It felt so different than on Earth. He wasn¡¯t the only one wondering if anyone else was out there, and many of the people he talked to even broke down crying after learning he wasn¡¯t from the original settlement, thanking him for giving them hope their loved ones were still alive somewhere in this new land.


    There were other benefits too, like being able to take a proper bath. With soap! Honest-to-goodness soap! Being clean took a huge psychological burden off of him, one he hadn¡¯t known he was carrying. And afterwards he was able to get into some real clothes too. It wasn¡¯t much, just some rough underwear, some too short pants, and a vest, but Levi was starting to feel human again.


    If before his will was wavering, now his reservations were almost gone. How could he leave all this behind and go camp out in the woods? There may not be internet here, but everyone cared so much more than he remembered. People hadn¡¯t been like that before, he was sure of it. When he walked into a fast food joint no one cared what he ordered. The people employing him to take care of their house didn¡¯t care, they even said as much, saying he would have to do since they couldn¡¯t find anyone better. His manager may have cared a little, but that was more like ¡®I hope nothing happens to you so I don¡¯t have to find someone to replace you since you do a better job than these other sad shmucks¡¯. She was a good manager, and he was grateful for that, but she didn¡¯t really care. It felt like no one did.


    He would still keep his distance, he wasn¡¯t that dumb. They weren¡¯t in magical Christmas land where people suddenly weren¡¯t pieces of shit. But it might be nice to have someone to say good morning to. He had lived alone for over two years, and while he didn¡¯t regret his choices, seeing the people practice fighting, working together on the farm, it was¡­ nice. Everyone seemed to be so much more connected than before, back when they all had their noses buried in their screens, headphones on, tuning out the world around them. He had been one of them. And now that he couldn¡¯t and he was actually seeing people, looking them in the eye and saying hello, it wasn¡¯t as scary as he always thought it was.


    A shout echoed out, and Levi followed Alex¡¯s gaze to the top of the watchtower to see someone waving down at them.


    ¡°I can¡¯t hear you!¡± Alex shouted back.


    Another unintelligible shout followed. Levi thought it sounded like ¡°they¡¯re back¡±, but he couldn¡¯t be sure.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t hear you!¡± Another shout later and Alex let out a long sigh before shouting back, ¡°if it¡¯s the captain wave two arms!¡±


    The person in the tower waved two arms, and Levi thought he heard Alex mutter something about getting some signal flags.


    ¡°The captain is back,¡± Alex said. ¡°Let¡¯s go find David. I suspect that she¡¯ll want to meet you, and you¡¯ll want him there to restrain her. She can be a bit, well, you¡¯ll see.¡±

 Chapter Twenty-Eight

    Alex and Levi made their way into a different part of the three-story building, commonly called central command, or just central for short, next to the training field. They went up to the second floor and into a large room that ran all the way across the width of the building. Although, to be fair, the building wasn¡¯t that wide. Levi guessed that was because there was no easy access to artificial lighting, so having windows for sunlight was of paramount importance.


    ¡°Ah, Alex, Levi, there you are,¡± David said. ¡°Did the tour go well?¡±


    David was hunched over a table covered in what looked like animal skin maps with an older woman who looked a bit out of place against the backdrop of the rustic wooden wall. Despite her attire of leather clothing she looked like she was supposed to be in an office building somewhere, not in a recreation of a 1700¡¯s frontier town.


    ¡°I showed Levi the general layout of the town,¡± Alex said. ¡°Introduced him to some of the combatants and the farmer. The captain¡¯s back.¡±


    ¡°That would be why you¡¯re here then. Why don¡¯t the both of you have a seat. I expect she¡¯ll be along shortly. And Levi, this is Agatha. She has been instrumental to our success. She used to be a city planner back home.¡±


    Levi shook Agatha¡¯s hand. She reminded him of Susan a bit with her aura. She seemed very no nonsense.


    Alex and Levi sat down while David and Agatha went back to their conversation. From what little Levi could grasp they were talking about sewer systems and how to deal with potential flooding. While being located near a river was good for some things, it wasn¡¯t the best for others. He guessed they couldn¡¯t just dump the waste into the river since the other settlement was downstream.


    It wasn¡¯t long until the door was thrown open and in walked a young woman with flaming red hair. She almost radiated fire, and Levi had the strangest impression that the temperature went up a few degrees from her very presence.


    ¡°Captain Kelly, excellent! Anything to report?¡± David asked.


    ¡°Same old same old,¡± Kelly said, shaking her head. ¡°We could only find a smaller group of those dino dogs and nothing else. We might need to expand our search radius, maybe start taking trips over multiple days. How are the plans for the sewers coming along?¡±


    David frowned. ¡°Not good. The proximity to the river is worrisome. We might have erred there. We have no real way of knowing how likely it is to flood, so it¡¯s best to be cautious. But I do have some other news. Captain Kelly, this is Levi. He didn¡¯t appear with our original group.¡±


    Levi wanted to squirm under the captain¡¯s stare. It felt like he was being roasted alive. He unconsciously activated Aecylic Empowerment before standing up and extending his hand.


    ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Levi. Nice to meet you.¡±


    He was left standing there awkwardly as Kelly, instead of shaking his hand, walked around him, inspecting him as one would inspect a piece of meat.


    ¡°Hrmm, a bit scrawny. Could use a bit more muscle.¡± She reached out to pinch his bicep, seemingly not knowing what personal space was. ¡°Could use a good haircut too. I suppose that doesn¡¯t matter as much anymore though. Still, a trip to see Denise might be good.¡±


    She then moved right in front of him, moving in much closer than Levi was comfortable with. He had to resist the urge to recoil as she stared into his eyes before she eventually backed off after a small cough from David.


    ¡°You¡¯ll do I suppose,¡± she said, finally addressing him directly. ¡°Decent mental fortitude at least.¡±


    She then moved over towards the table.


    ¡°Well don¡¯t just stand there gawping. Sit down.¡± She gestured towards one of the seats around the map covered table.


    It took Levi a second to comply. People didn¡¯t used to be this weird, right? Maybe he wasn¡¯t the only one changed by the System.


    Alex also moved over to the table, joining the other four. Once everyone was seated David began speaking.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Levi has confirmed our suspicions that other people are likely in the general vicinity, but also that not everyone appeared in a group like we did. Right now we aren¡¯t in a good position to act on this information, but it¡¯s important for future plans.¡±


    David then turned to address Levi directly.


    ¡°Levi, I would like to formally invite you to join our community, pending majority approval. Although I am nominally in charge, for decisions like this it¡¯s best to consult with everyone, but I think they will agree that we can always use an extra hand.¡±


    ¡°Oh, go stuff it you old goat,¡± Kelly interjected. ¡°You obviously know if you invite him to join no one else is going to say no. Doubly so if I say he¡¯s in, although I haven¡¯t decided on that yet.¡±


    She then turned to Alex.


    ¡°Have you given him a combat test?¡±


    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t, we only...¡±


    ¡°Well what are we waiting for!¡± Kelly said, getting up from her chair. ¡°Let¡¯s go out to the training field.¡±


    ¡°Kelly, a modicum of decorum please,¡± David said, frowning. ¡°We still don¡¯t know if Levi even wants to join us. We need to respect his wishes. And there is more too. Everything in due time.¡±


    Kelly sat back down in a huff.


    ¡°Well?¡± She said, staring at Levi. ¡°Do you want to join?¡±


    This was the moment. The time where he had to make a choice yay or nay. Levi could feel the two warring factions within him, one warning him about fallible humanity and the other desperately reaching out for human contact. He could have let the two sides war on for eternity, neither able to come out on top. But he wasn¡¯t going to run anymore. He had made his choice.


    ¡°I want to join, if you would have me.¡±


    ¡°Excellent!¡± Kelly said, rubbing her hands together. ¡°Now, come, off to the training field!¡±


    ¡°Kelly!¡± David¡¯s raised voice echoed in the room. ¡°Please sit down.¡±


    Levi could easily see why David was chosen to be the leader. If what he had seen so far was anything to go by David was a natural leader, able to juggle all kinds of people and pull them in line towards a common goal. It was inspiring.


    ¡°I mentioned there was more,¡± David continued. ¡°Levi¡¯s value isn¡¯t just in his presence. He also has some valuable information to tell us. He already mentioned a little bit, but it sounds like that was only the tip of the iceberg, so I waited until you were back. I agree that he needs to be tested to find out where he fits in with everyone else, but that can come after. Levi, if you would please.¡±


    It was a bit disconcerting to have four people¡¯s eyes bearing down on him, but the comforting hum of Aecylic Energy helped Levi keep his focus. Concentrated Will also helped, allowing him to organize his thoughts. It was more important now that ever to choose his words carefully since he knew David likely had some sort of truth-telling skill. He sucked at lying, but maybe omission he could do. He had to at least try.


    He finally opened his mouth and started to tell the other four people in the room about his experiences in the dungeon.


    He talked for a while, despite leaving a lot out. He avoided all mention of Susan first and foremost. He didn¡¯t want to think about it; it was still too painful. He also tried to play down his combat skills, stressing luck as a reason he was able to survive, even revealing he earned a luck stat with the advent of the System. That seemed more harmless than his access to Aecylic Energy, which he mentioned as a mere body enhancement skill.


    Overall, he stressed the traps and undersold the combat portions while emphasizing the lethality. He also did his best to avoid mentioning his skills. Perhaps he would tell people eventually, but while he thought David and the other seemed trustworthy, he wasn¡¯t dumb. Maybe he hadn¡¯t exactly been known for his stellar planning when he was active in online raids, but who cared what a bunch of internet randos thought. He¡¯d like to see them accomplish what he did, reaching the first raid team of the second largest raiding guild. And now he had survived and escaped the dungeon and found other people. Susan would be proud of him.


    The final thing that Levi touched on was how strange it all was. How the System seemed to want him to destroy the dungeon, and how it had then rewarded him for doing so. He thought it best to actually tell them the details of what clearing the dungeon did to his Human achievement, as he figured they would find out as soon as they cleared a dungeon themselves. It also helped highlight how more was going on. Both the System and the dungeons were interconnected somehow.


    By the time Levi finished talking it was growing dark out, the shadows growing on the walls. He was half expecting someone to whip out a light spell, but everyone was lost in thought, contemplating everything he had said. They had asked a few questions, but overall were content to let him speak. While David¡¯s questions were rather pointed, he was more interested in the System¡¯s influence, while Kelly kept asking him about the monsters he fought, forcing him into evasive answers. The whole thing was rather grueling, and he was sure he would have long ago melted under the pressure without his skills and stats to back him up. He wasn¡¯t used to coming under fire like this.


    But it was done now, and David and Agatha were debating possible scenarios, with Kelly interjecting a comment here or there. She had lost a lot of her previous energy; the severity of what Levi had said finally reaching her. Levi thought about joining in but ended up staying back to field any questions asked of him. He wasn¡¯t sure he could think about the issues they were talking about critically, his emotions skill flaring up anytime he thought about his experience. But that was why he confided in other people. Something stank, and he wanted answers. And if he needed help to get those he wasn¡¯t above asking for it.

 Chapter Twenty-Nine

    The conversation continued until dusk. No conclusions were reached, and the final note was everyone should think more on it and they would meet again tomorrow. Levi had hoped they would know more about what had happened to everyone, seeing as they appeared with other people, but their knowledge was even less than his own. He suspected they might have access to some other information, particularly pertaining to leveling as there was a larger sample size to draw conclusions from.


    But that was for tomorrow. Before they left, Kelly made sure he knew he was expected at the training field early in the morning. He was looking forward to it. It was exciting to finally test his progress against others. But that excitement paled in comparison to his joy at seeing a bed. Alex lead him to an empty room full of beds in central command that was used before they had enough houses built. Alex said the quality was a bit lower than the log cabins, but Levi didn¡¯t care. It was a bed, and that was good enough for him.


    Morning came, and Levi found himself waking with the sun. He quickly put his outer clothes back on and made his way downstairs to the kitchen and mess hall that made up over half of the first floor. During the tour yesterday with Alex they had made a pit stop to get some real food and he had been in heaven. It was only a simple stew, but after half starving in the dungeon anything decently cooked would have sufficed, and since the food was made by people with a cooking skill it was anything but ordinary, the basic ingredients and lack of seasoning not detracting in the slightest from the rich flavor.


    It turned out it was a good thing he had woken up early too, as he barely finished his breakfast before Kelly swept into the mess hall like a howling gale, pulling him along in her wake as she snatched a quick snack before dragging him outside, where he was met with a sleepily blinking Alex.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Kelly said, ¡°before we get started we need to set up some ground rules first. This is a spar, so I don¡¯t want to see any killing intent of any kind. Got that?¡±


    Levi nodded along with a sleepy ¡°yes captain¡± from Alex.


    Kelly continued, turning to Levi.


    ¡°So, I¡¯m not sure what kind of combat power you have, but I¡¯m letting you know right now, you¡¯re weak. Maybe you can defeat Alex here, but I doubt it. And he¡¯s like a child compared to my firepower. You know why this outpost was established? Me, that¡¯s why. My firepower is so overwhelming I can singlehandedly protect everyone here.¡±


    She paused, raising her hand and shooting a fireball into the sky. Levi watched as it soared up before exploding, creating a noticeable boom. He could feel the air from the explosion a few seconds later washing over him. She was probably right that he would have a tough time surviving something like that, but there was more to fighting that overwhelming firepower. You didn¡¯t need to be able to punch away a nuke if you couldn¡¯t even be hit by one.


    Levi kind of zoned out for the next part. Kelly kept going on about firepower and how amazing hers was. It didn¡¯t really seem important, so instead Levi watched the people going in and out of the mess hall. A few of them seemed interested in what was going on, but maybe they realized Kelly wasn¡¯t going to finish anytime soon. The only person who seemed more interested was a girl who stopped to watch for a few seconds before climbing up the watchtower. A short while later Kelly finally wrapped up.


    ¡°Now that you know the difference between our firepower it¡¯s time to get into some basic theory. Since you survived up till now you must know something, but we¡¯ll start at the very beginning to make sure you don¡¯t miss out something obvious. First, what level are you? David didn¡¯t tell me.¡±


    Levi hadn¡¯t told anyone his level yet. He had thought about keeping it secret, but it didn¡¯t actually seem all that useful, and the way Kelly said David didn¡¯t tell her confirmed his suspicion that there might be a way to check someone else¡¯s level. He had tried, and he couldn¡¯t do it, but it sounded like at least David could.


    ¡°Twenty-three.¡±


    ¡°Only twenty-three? Are you sure?¡±


    He nodded. He hadn¡¯t thought about it much, but it might make sense for his level to be lower than other people¡¯s. He did spend a long time recovering from his broken hip.


    ¡°Huh,¡± Kelly said. ¡°I guess you don¡¯t have your level twenty-five skill then. Alex, tell him.¡±


    Alex snapped out of his daze, rubbing his eyes blearily. He obviously wasn¡¯t a morning person.


    ¡°Twenty-five? Oh, you mean the class skill.¡±


    He then turned to Levi before continuing.


    ¡°I assume you know about how you get regular skills right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, every five levels you get a generic skill slot. It is different at twenty-five?¡±


    ¡°It is. I assume you¡¯ve realized that skills are based partly on what you can already do, right? So it¡¯s kind of like that, but at level twenty-five, and we assume for fifty, seventy-five, etc., you gain access to a kind of super skill, one that, instead of being based off of things you have done, is based off the skills you already have. And it¡¯s powerful. We¡¯ve also theorized that there is some way to control it, similarly to the skills you can unlock. If you do something with intent to gain a skill you are much more likely to gain a skill than doing something with no intent, and it¡¯s similar with the super skill. I call it a class skill by the way. Your intent influences it, such that we¡¯ve theorized that even if two people have the same skills they might have access to a set of entirely different class skills based on how they interpret their own skill set.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Levi mulled over what Alex just told him. Perhaps Aecylic Empowerment wasn¡¯t as powerful as he thought it was, although it was strengthened now, so he found it hard to imagine everyone having access to skills that powerful. He only needed two more levels to see for himself. It would be easy to compare it once he knew what these class skills actually did.


    ¡°What that means is you¡¯re weak,¡± Kelly said, jumping back in. ¡°The super skill you get is powerful, often defining the role you are able to play in combat. Take Alex here. His super skill allows him to create some sort of armor that covers his body. It¡¯s something not even I can break through easily. You already have all the available skill slots before you get your super skill, so you can¡¯t change any of that now, but you can try and figure out what kind of skill you want to unlock which, if we¡¯re right, has some influence on what choices the System gives you. That will be focus of today¡¯s training. Now, both of you take your positions. It¡¯s time to fight.¡±


    Kelly motioned for Levi and Alex to move over to the sparring ring, clearly demarcated by a large circle etched into the dirt. The whole thing was a little rushed, as Kelly kept going on about basic information, but Levi wasn¡¯t really going to complain. He did need more information if he wanted to make good choices and get stronger, and fighting others qualified. So far, they hadn¡¯t asked anything of him except his level. He would be a fool to say no to free information, especially in duel form, as it was easy to restrict his own power and thus the information he was giving them in return.


    ¡°Okay, are both of you ready?¡± Kelly asked. ¡°Yes? Alright, good. Now, Levi, you mentioned you have some sort of body enhancement skill, correct?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it makes me stronger and stuff.¡± He had mentioned the fact when talking about his dungeon dive, although he hadn¡¯t gone into specifics.


    ¡°Alex will primarily be using his super skill to protect himself, so don¡¯t be afraid of hurting him. He also has some boxing training, so good luck. Alright, begin!¡±


    As Levi watched, Alex seemed to transform, his sleepy expression leaving him as he settled into a boxing stance, hands held before him. Levi stared in fascination as Alex activated his class skill, a surge of dark blue rippling out of him until he was fully covered. Where there once was a person now stood a life-sized statue, looking like some monochrome toy action figure. It looked kind of like that superhero villain living with an alien symbiote. For his part, Levi¡¯s posture remained the same, neither Brawling nor Combat Sense imparting some special style or technique.


    He waited for Alex to make the first move, but seeing him content to stand there, Levi started forward. Both Concentrated Will and Aecylic Empowerment were humming in the background, and he made sure that he was only drawing a little Aecylic Energy. There was no reason to give away his power. He could always reveal it later if he found the people here trustworthy.


    As soon as Levi entered Alex¡¯s range, Alex struck, lashing out with a right hook. Levi was prepared to leap back, dodging away from what he thought would be a lighting fast attack. It was slow. Too slow. Dodging it was laughably easy, all he had to do was tilt his head to avoid Alex¡¯s fist. And the same for the next one. And for the one after that.


    Levi¡¯s combat skills combined together, working in tandem to allow him to easily sidestep Alex¡¯s clumsy punches. They actually were quite skillful, but to Levi¡¯s inflated stats they were just too damn slow. He thought he could dodge them with pure stats alone, not even needing his skills to tell his body how to move. Levi continued dodging around, enjoying seeing just how close he could cut it when dodging, his opponent¡¯s blue fist nearly scraping his skin as Levi wove a dance around the incoming blows. But only dodging was boring, and Levi decided it was time to counterattack.


    He started off slowly, not wanted to blow Alex away despite the assurance from Kelly he could go all out. He needn¡¯t have worried; after the first punch he could tell the blue covering was defense oriented, the momentum from his fist dissipating on contact. It felt like he was punching water. His punches connected, but instead of the energy being transmitted from his fist to his opponent¡¯s body, the energy spread out, allowing Alex to receive an attack intended for only one area with his whole body.


    Maybe Kelly knew what she was talking about. Levi slowly started to ramp up his power, each punch faster and stronger than the last. He ignored the fists being swung at him. He could leave his dodging on auto pilot, only focusing on testing out his opponent¡¯s defense.


    But as his blows failed to show any effect Levi began to feel annoyed. Even the small amount of Aecylic Energy he was channeling was singing to him, begging to cow his opponent, show him the difference between them. It felt like he was mining, but instead of swinging a pickaxe at the wall and concentrating his power into a single point, he was swinging a peel, one of those shovel-like things bakers used to take pizzas out of a brick oven. No matter how much power Levi used it just harmlessly dissipated, not concentrated enough to piece Alex¡¯s defensive skill.


    Frustrated, Levi knew it was time to end the spar. Already he could feel the urge to fully let loose, to blow his opponent away with sheer power. He knew he could too. He could feel the potential for violence calling out to him, whispering how nice it would feel plunge his fist through his opponent¡¯s chest, the rush he would feel as he ripped out his still beating heart and¡­


    Nope, he wouldn¡¯t be suckered in this time. There might be a time to let loose, but not now when he was trying to stay low key. Overpowering Alex¡¯s blue shield wasn¡¯t the only way to end the fight.


    Levi waited for his opponent to show an opening. Alex soon obliged, throwing a roundhouse punch towards Levi¡¯s head. It would have been a fine attack assuming the two people fighting had equal speed. They did not, and Levi ducked under Alex¡¯s arm, picked him up, and lightly tossed him out of the ring. Lightly meaning he made sure Alex still landed on the compact dirt of the training field. No need to ruin a perfectly good log cabin.

 Chapter Thirty

    Levi turned around to the sound of Kelly clapping.


    ¡°Bravo, Bravo! I suppose that¡¯s one way of going about it. While that may not work that well in actual combat, throwing Alex out of the circle certainly made for an interesting sight. You should have thrown him farther though, like into the river.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I could throw him that far,¡± Levi replied. He actually thought he could, but only if Alex wasn¡¯t struggling. It was a lot easier to throw someone who wasn¡¯t actively attacking you. But he wasn¡¯t sure anyone would let him test it out. He doubted Alex wanted to become a human discus.


    ¡°Before we move on you two come over here and let¡¯s discuss how that went,¡± Kelly said, motioning for the other two to join her as she sat down on the ground. ¡°Alex, what are your thoughts? You probably have a better grasp after actually fighting him than I do.¡±


    Alex thought it over a second before replying.


    ¡°I think the biggest difference is our physical capabilities. Despite being almost ten levels higher it felt like I was too slow, like no matter how I attacked Levi could always dodge out of the way. His blows couldn¡¯t affect me, but the difference in mobility was rather large.¡±


    ¡°That fits what I observed. How did his combat skills feel to you?¡±


    ¡°He definitely has at least one combat skill. Maybe more. It wasn¡¯t just random flailing.¡±


    ¡°Levi?¡± Kelly, said, turning her attention to the subject of their discussion. ¡°How did our impressions line up against your own? No need to hold back, we¡¯re all friends here.¡±


    He had been debating how much to tell them about his skills and couldn¡¯t come to a decision. Did he tell them a lot? A little? Just what he thought they should know? He knew he wanted to hold at least some of his power back, like exactly what Aecylic Empowerment could do, but if he wanted actual advice on the System and combat and to earn their trust he had to tell them something. That was when he realized he was going about it all wrong. He had started to make a list in his head of what skills he could afford to reveal and what ones he should keep to himself when he realized something rather obvious: he had a lot of skills.


    It had come to him when he was fighting Alex and thinking about what they could figure out just by observation. As he was thinking about what they could observe, his mind strayed to the System, and what it told them about his skills. For instance, they knew he gained a new skill every five levels and wasn¡¯t level twenty-five so didn¡¯t have access to a super skill yet. But while the System told them a lot, it also made them have certain assumptions, assumptions like exactly how many skills he should have.


    This was when Levi realized that the best way to hide some of his skills was actually to tell them his other ones. For instance, if they thought he only had five or so skills but he actually had ten, if he told them five of his skills they would stop trying to guess what skills he had because they ¡°knew¡±. It was a neat way to both tell the truth and earn their trust while at the same time withhold valuable information.


    ¡°I actually have three combat skills. In addition to my enhancement skill, I also have Brawling, Combat Sense, and Dodge.¡±


    ¡°Three?¡± Kelly said, cocking an eyebrow. ¡°I guess that covers you on that front. I was going to suggest taking boxing lessons from Alex, but it sounds like you don¡¯t need more control. Alex, thoughts?¡±


    ¡°I agree. I think Levi should focus on getting a class skill that increases either his offensive or defensive power. Perhaps some sort of augment to his physical enhancement skill, as it seems quite powerful.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense to me,¡± Kelly said. ¡°Levi, what do you think? I agree that based on the skills you possess focusing on more personal enhancement sounds like a good way to go. The only question is how you want to try and go about it. Oh, and don¡¯t forget, while we suspect you can influence the System, it still bases the super skills you have access to on the skills you actually have.¡±


    ¡°Can you guys describe the process a bit more?¡± Levi said. ¡°I¡¯m a little confused on how the whole thing works.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sorry, I guess we got a little ahead of ourselves. Alex, why don¡¯t you go first and then I¡¯ll go.¡±


    Alex nodded before jumping right in.


    ¡°So the armor you just saw in our fight is my class skill. It allows me to form a protective covering out of mana to defend against just about everything. It can be broken by a powerful enough attack, but if only part of it is damaged it regenerates. As you saw, it¡¯s very powerful. All class skills seem to be from what we can tell. They tend to come in two forms: either ones that are very strong and very specific, more like my skill, or ones that are broader and are an overall boost, like Captain Kelly¡¯s skill.¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Mine is a more general boost to make my already awesome fire powers even more awesome,¡± Kelly said, interrupting.


    ¡°Yes, that,¡± Alex said. ¡°But what is more useful to you would be the process for choosing it. You obviously know that when choosing a normal skill you can only choose based on the name, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s really annoying,¡± Levi said. ¡°Do you mean you get a description for the level twenty-five skill?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Or you get something. The System doesn¡¯t give you a full description, but it does give you a sentence or two about what the new skill will do. For instance, my skill basically told me what I just told you, that it would form a mana shield based around defense, which is what I wanted since I am our main tanker.¡±


    ¡°How many options will I get?¡± Levi asked. It was hard enough choosing his normal skills, and he was sure he was doing it incorrectly. On one hand he was hoping for more options for his super skill, but the decision paralysis would be a real pain in the ass to deal with if he had to choose between ten powerful skills. And if other people ever got around to hearing about his other options he was sure he would receive a bunch of flak for his decision. Everyone was an armchair general.


    ¡°Only three,¡± Kelly said, jumping in. ¡°They generally are fairly similar, with each one differing slightly. Like for me they all were fire themed, while each one focused on a slightly different aspect within that theme. Of course, I only know the exact of effect of the skill I unlocked even though I¡¯m sure the other two were awesome, but everyone who has unlocked a super skill has had some sort of theme, generally a combination of what skills they have and what they personally think the theme of those skills is.¡±


    ¡°My theme was general close combat and defense,¡± Alex helpfully supplied.


    ¡°So it¡¯s good you arrived here before hitting twenty-five,¡± Kelly said, ¡°since now you will be able to try and sculpt your super skill. Once you have decided you can come out with the leveling team. There¡¯s only a few people left who have yet to get their skill, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem to add you in.¡±


    Levi nodded absentmindedly, thinking about what kind of skill he wanted. Then what Kelly said sunk in.


    ¡°Wait, you mean most people here are level twenty-five already?¡± He could understand the combat professions, but everyone? He had to have misheard.


    ¡°Yeah, we have a pretty sweet power-leveling deal going on,¡± Alex said. ¡°I guess you wouldn¡¯t know since you haven¡¯t met anyone, but there isn¡¯t a party system. At least not one we have found. EXP from killing monsters doesn¡¯t just go to the person who struck the killing blow though. Everyone who participates gets a little bit.¡±


    ¡°This is where my awesomeness comes in,¡± Kelly said, cackling. ¡°Alex kept acting like he had something up his ass saying it would never work, but of course my awesomeness knows no bounds. My plan was genius! Genius I say! And it even worked too!¡±


    Levi was a bit lost. How exactly could you power level without a party system? He was curious, but between Kelly¡¯s mad laughter and Alex¡¯s sour expression he wasn¡¯t sure he even wanted to know.


    ¡°Oh, stop being so butthurt,¡± Kelly said to Alex upon seeing his expression. ¡°You know my plan was amazing.¡±


    Hearing Alex¡¯s long sigh, Levi had a sneaking suspicion that interactions like these weren¡¯t uncommon. But maybe it was normal for someone to be a little crazy considering the circumstances. It wasn¡¯t everyday people were transported to a new world and forced to kill monsters. He was probably lucky to find even some people who were still mostly sane.


    ¡°You must be wondering what we are talking about,¡± Alex said, finally explaining things to Levi. ¡°There was a long discussion about how to level people up, especially the non-combat people like the farmers. Then the captain had the bright idea to power level people, although she didn¡¯t call it that. She came up with a rather, um, interesting idea that¡­¡±


    ¡°Amazing.¡±


    ¡°Sure, yeah, amazing idea that she would be carried and then kill the monsters, thus helping people level up by giving them part of her experience.¡±


    ¡°Wait, shouldn¡¯t she be carrying them?¡± Levi was a little confused. Wasn¡¯t it called carrying when you helped other people level up? How was she being carried then?


    ¡°No, I meant that literally,¡± Alex said while shaking his head and sighing. ¡°She wanted to literally be carried. When the captain was attacking a group of monsters with her AOE skills the idea was she would be picked up and held by someone. They would run around holding her while she blasted the monsters with magic, thus they were ¡®helping¡¯ in combat so they got some of the EXP.¡±


    ¡°And that worked?¡± Levi couldn¡¯t help his incredulous tone. That may not have been the dumbest idea he had ever heard, but it had to be a close second.


    ¡°Of course it worked!¡± Kelly shouted. ¡°My idea was genius! Amazing! Alex and his gang of nerds kept telling me how it wouldn¡¯t work, but is this a game? No! If I want to be carried while in combat and someone carries me then they are helping me in combat. Nothing else to it.¡±


    Levi could feel a headache coming on. Now that he actually thought about it, that did sound like exactly the type of bullshit the System would pull. Although perhaps it only worked because of the person involved. If they were right and people¡¯s actions and thoughts influenced the System in some way the people carrying Kelly might earn experience from her kills not because they were actually helping her, but because she thought they were.


    It was an interesting thought he tucked away for later. Right now, he had other information to learn from his hosts. It was probably best not to dwell on the intersection of an asshole System and an egotistical arsonist. That way lay madness.

 Chapter Thirty-One

    Levi spent the next hour doing some more light sparring with Alex and pumping his hosts for their thoughts on the System. Their knowledge was lacking though, at least in Levi¡¯s opinion, and he felt like they knew just as little as he did. One interesting thing was his leading questions on skill crystals weren¡¯t followed up on. He couldn¡¯t be sure, but it was quite possible no one had found any yet. Maybe they only appeared in dungeons.


    There were a few things he could confirm though, like how stat points were not additive. While ten Strength was certainly more than five, the difference wasn¡¯t anywhere near double. It made him feel a bit better about distributing his stats more evenly. Some of the other stuff he learned was the results of their experiments comparing people back on Earth to people under the System. The conclusion was everyone got an overall boost. It was hard to quantify each individual change and figure out where it spawned from, but some things were more obvious, like the lack of sickness and disease.


    A few people not getting sick might be an anomaly, but not one person in the three hundred or so people outpost had caught so much as a cold. Levi hadn¡¯t thought about it much, but it was apparently a big deal with some nurses back in the main group going on about new diseases and bacteria. Now that he thought about it that was a real worry. If switching continents back on Earth had caused whole nations to be wiped out then the potential harm from a new planet, or wherever they currently were, was astronomical.


    Their training session had to be cut short though as Kelly had to go out with the leveling team leaving Alex with instructions to ¡°show him the ropes¡±, as if they hadn¡¯t been doing that for the past hour. He did have some questions left though, and it might actually be easier to get answers without Kelly butting in with her self-aggrandizing tangents.


    ¡°Hey Alex, can I ask you something?¡±


    ¡°Shoot.¡±


    ¡°What do you think is a useful build to aim for? You guys kept going on about trying to sculpt my class skill, but I¡¯m not really sure what type of skill is even best. I know I want a combat skill, but within that there is almost infinite variation.¡±


    ¡°Depends on what you are going for. I could tell you what some of the other people have tried to do with their builds, but if I¡¯m being real here there is no guarantee we know any more than you do. I guess the first question would be if you want to specialize or try and go a more jack of all trades route. For me, I wanted to be a tank. If we come across a monster the captain can¡¯t defeat immediately we need people who can slow it down so she can put on the DPS. That¡¯s where I come in. But my build is more for team play, which I feel like you aren¡¯t as interested in.¡±


    Levi flushed. He was hoping it wasn¡¯t that obvious. It caught him off guard to have Alex say it right out, but it did make sense he was like that, right? He had been trapped by himself after all, or he had been after Susan died. Anyone would be more focused on soloing if they didn¡¯t have a full team to rely on. Or that¡¯s what he told himself. There was a small part of him that was a little jealous as he watched Captain Kelly go out with the leveling group. It must be nice to have people to rely on.


    ¡°I was more talking about what would be useful for fighting monsters. Right now, I feel like I¡¯m more focused on smaller creatures, like it would be difficult to take down anything bigger. I¡¯m just not sure how useful punching things is.¡±


    Alex shrugged ¡°Eh, most of the monsters we have seen so far have been on the smaller side. We did see a rather large rat, and by large, I mean the size of a large van, but that¡¯s about it. If you want to go for more damage you could try and use a weapon. Or maybe focus on magic more if you think you can. Your enhancement skill uses mana, right?¡±


    ¡°It does.¡± Although not normal mana, but he wasn¡¯t going to tell anyone that anytime soon.


    ¡°Then maybe you could try and shoot that mana or form a blade or something. Or go like I did and make armor. Not many people are skilled at defense, so if you plan on sticking around here, which I highly suggest by the way, defense might be the way to go.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Alex made it sound so simple. And perhaps it was. But after his time in the dungeon Levi couldn¡¯t just write off such a large choice without a lot of contemplation and planning. Before he had been under pressure to just survive, likely causing him to make suboptimal choices. Now he was in a decently safe environment and had time to plan his build. He would be a fool not to try and make use of that. There was clearly a lot at stake here. Alex and Kelly didn¡¯t know for sure, but if you got another class skill at level fifty and that one was at all based on the one you got at twenty-five than the choice now might have snowballing implications.


    He just didn¡¯t know enough. Back when he was in a guild he had spent hours trolling forums to find optimal builds and strategies. He never was the best mechanical player, so optimization was important. But now his information was severely limited, and even the stuff he thought he knew he might not actually know. Now that he actually had time to plan he was feeling the pressure, especially as he knew what the consequences of failure was.


    Activating Concentrated Will Levi grabbed hold of his train of thought and ground it to a halt. He wasn¡¯t in immediate danger. There was no need to freak out. If he made the wrong choice now he would just get stronger. If he learned anything from the internet it was that there weren¡¯t many problems that couldn¡¯t be blown away with one punch. His focus right now should be on other things like the people around him. He felt confident about fighting or fleeing from most monsters, but getting stabbed in the back was a very real threat.


    Levi furtively looked around, checking for people in the immediate vicinity. Not spotting any, he decided to bite the bullet and just ask Alex what the real deal with the outpost. People were always going on about how you could judge someone after fighting them, and while Levi wasn¡¯t sure quite what that meant, his sparring with Alex only reinforced his positive impression. He had to try and trust someone at some point.


    ¡°Hey Alex, what¡¯s the story with this outpost exactly? I mean, like, it seems a bit¡­¡±


    ¡°Peaceful? Idyllic?¡±


    Levi nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s because it is,¡± Alex said. ¡°let¡¯s go and take a bath and we can talk more there.¡±


    The outpost wasn¡¯t built next to the river, but someone had carved a channel that brought water into pools used for bathing. The pseudo canal brought water from slightly upstream, directed it through a building containing two bathing areas, and then directed it back into the river downstream. There was also a section for drawing drinking water above the bathhouse.


    Levi had used the bathhouse yesterday, and he had to admit he was impressed. The water flowed into a large pool, circulating around before flowing back out downstream. There was no heating or cooling, but the water was warm enough for it not to matter with the current weather. Maybe in winter Kelly could blast it with fire to heat the water.


    Alex seemed to have no problem stripping down in front of someone else. Levi wasn¡¯t quite used to it, but when in Rome. There were a lot of social norms that just weren¡¯t sustainable anymore so if he was going to live with other people he had to get used to it. Soon they were both submerged in the water and, after quick wash to get rid of the sweat from their sparring, they both settled in for a soak before Alex started speaking.


    ¡°Where to begin. I guess I can start with the main settlement. Its¡­ not like this. Not everyone was willing to work together after suddenly being transported god knows where. David didn¡¯t exactly lie to you, but there was more going on. Very quickly there was a subset of people who knew keeping together wouldn¡¯t work. So we worked it out that we would come out here and form out own group, ostensibly for the good of the whole, but really to get away from the people who didn¡¯t have the best intentions. That was only possible because of two people.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess,¡± Levi said. ¡°David and Kelly?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Captain Kelly is the brawn and David is the brains. He hasn¡¯t said as much, but I suspect he has some way to cold read people. More than just telling fact from fiction. I think he didn¡¯t really want to take charge, but in the absence of someone else, well. You haven¡¯t met her, but he has a young daughter. I think he was worried about her.¡±


    ¡°So, what about me? What would have happened if I had ill intentions?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Alex admitted. ¡°Probably David would have turned you away. He was very careful in selecting people to come here, and, based on how it has worked out, he did something right. He was very clear that we didn¡¯t need a police force, and so far, that¡¯s been true. Everyone seems willing to work to help out the community. If someone had told me that you could take three hundred random people and build all this in a month or, so I would have called them crazy. Yet here we are.¡±


    Levi relaxed into the water mulling over what Alex just told him. It was a little hard to believe but, based on what he had seen, it actually sounded plausible. It certainly felt like David saw right through him. If all that was true he was incredibly lucky to have found the outpost and not the main settlement. After finally finding people it would have sucked to have to leave right afterwards. He still wasn¡¯t completely sold on all this, but if what Alex said was correct maybe it wouldn¡¯t be so bad being with others after all.

 Chapter Thirty-Two

    After washing his sweat off Levi asked Alex for some time alone to think. Even setting aside the revelations about the outpost he had to decide what kind of class skill he wanted. Upon Alex¡¯s recommendation, Levi parked himself on the roof of central command with his legs crossed and eyes closed. With both Mediation and Concentrated Will active he settled his breathing, pondering on what kind of skill he wanted.


    He spent hours that way, slowly going over his past experiences and trying to predict what challenges he would face in the future. Step by step he reviewed everything that had happened to him. One of the first things he considered was healing, but it was also the first to be discarded. A healing skill would be incredibly useful, but he didn¡¯t have a way to get one. If the class skill was based on the skills he already possessed it wouldn¡¯t matter how he tried to influence the System, it would all be in vain.


    After a long time of thought he came up with four potential directions to take. Offense, defense, speed, and some sort of mental fortitude augment. Each of the physical ones had their ups and down, but the end goal was rather similar: increased survivability. In contrast, going for an increase in mental fortitude by trying to focus on a skill like Concentrated Will would likely not have immediate combat implications, but it would be useful in other scenarios, especially for his mental health.


    Levi had noticed that despite his high Willpower stat he could still get upset and depressed. Perhaps it was a good thing that the System wasn¡¯t directly changing him, as Willpower was only useful if he was actively using it, not in a passive controlling his desires sort of way. For instance, it wouldn¡¯t stop him from getting distracted unless he was actively focusing on something. It felt like he was just as susceptible to overthinking as anyone else, but instead he was now better at tearing himself out of a self-destructive train of thought. He thought it was similar with Insight. Insight helped him think and make connections, but only if he was actively doing so in the first place. It didn¡¯t make him smarter, only helped facilitated thoughts and insights he was already having. Alex and Kelly had independently reached similar conclusions when he asked them about it.


    Ignoring what would actually help him the most, if he went with his gut his first choice would be mental fortitude. It wasn¡¯t even close. He was mess, and if he could somehow prop up his mental state he would do so in a heartbeat. He had never been the best at regulating himself back on Earth, only keeping himself in line by following a schedule, and now that he was dealing with an apocalypse he needed help, and badly. And then there was Aecylic Energy. He knew it was changing him, making him feel things he wouldn¡¯t normally feel. He had mostly ignored the implications, even actively using it to control his mood, the rush of power pushing him to levels of violence he would never have been able to reach without the energy.


    Concentrated Will and Meditation helped with controlling his mood, especially the latter, but it just wasn¡¯t enough, especially if he was going to continue using Aecylic Energy. And of course he was, as not using it wasn¡¯t an option. Survival was still first, and Aecylic Empowerment was too powerful to ignore. If he could get some sort of Zen mana control skill that would be perfect. But with limited options he couldn¡¯t imagine the System being so kind as to drop the perfect skill into his lap. Sure, the skills might all be powerful, but he would eat his hat if they all were equally useful.


    And that wasn¡¯t even considering the counter argument. He felt reasonably safe now, but complacency would be the death of him, especially considering the dramatic increase in the surrounding monsters¡¯ levels. He needed to stay ahead of the curve. Getting his class skill should help, but he had no confidence in successfully defending against the likes of Kelly¡¯s firepower. He might have Luck unlocked, but relying on something so nebulous was gambling with inevitable failure. He only needed to lose one die roll with death on the line.


    But after weighing his options he decided that keeping a cool head was number one. Between surviving a potentially lethal situation and avoiding one he knew which scenario he preferred. Besides, he had more combat skills anyway, so he should still have options on that front. The scarier possibility would be if he focused on some combat aspect and then had his class skill influenced by Slaughter. It was a good thing he didn¡¯t take skills like Berserker¡¯s Rage or Aura of Slaughter. Raw combat power wasn¡¯t everything, even if it was incredibly important. Keeping calm should be his number one priority.


    <hr>


    Alex paused his workout, briefly glancing at the rooftop where Levi was meditating. While the spot did fit the criteria Levi had asked for, it also conveniently gave Alex an easy way to keep an eye on him, since there was a clear view from the training yard to the rooftop. Even if David thought he was trustworthy, it was better to be safe than sorry. David¡¯s skill wasn¡¯t infallible.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    After confirming Levi still hadn¡¯t moved Alex went back to his workout. His current goal was to gain a body control skill. If he could accurately control his body he should be able to transfer that to controlling his armor, eventually being able to move it like a second skin. That was the plan at least. So far gaining a control skill was harder than he thought. But he could be patient. Other¡¯s might want a path to fast power, but he understood the value of a late game build. Early game wasn¡¯t everything.


    The training he was doing was tedious at the best of times, but as Alex worked through controlling each muscle individually he kept getting distracted, his gaze drawn to the still figure on the roof.


    Levi was a mystery. Alex wasn¡¯t quite sure what to make of him. Neither was David, which was a bigger problem. David thought Levi was trustworthy, but his skill had a hard time getting an accurate read, which was how Alex found himself on babysitting duty. But as time went by, he was becoming more and more certain he was the wrong person for the job. Or, more accurately, that the right person didn¡¯t exist.


    Levi was strong. He would have to be, to survive all alone until now. But behind Kelly, Alex privately thought in the back of his mind that if he didn¡¯t claim number two in the outpost power rankings no one could. He was confident in his own power, especially as it related to everyone one else in the outpost. Kelly was an anomaly, and without a cheat-like power he thought he was doing pretty well for himself. But now someone else had appeared, and he didn¡¯t want to admit it, but he took a rather large blow to his self-esteem.


    Their spar had been¡­ interesting. Of course, Alex had held back on what he could do, but it was safe to assume the same thing of Levi. Levi might seem a little socially awkward, but he had also spent over a month alone in the wilderness. It would be stranger if he was suddenly immediately comfortable around people after what happened to him. But Alex didn¡¯t think he was stupid. And it was easy to see the guarded look he sometimes had in his eyes. David thought he was trustworthy and they needed more combatants, but the threat Levi intrinsically possessed caused Alex to sweat.


    During their spar, Levi¡¯s attacks hadn¡¯t even come close to penetrating his armor. By that logic, he shouldn¡¯t have felt any threat from his opponent. But as the fight went on, he noticed himself flinching every time Levi landed a blow. It was a small thing, and it took him a little while to notice it. He had Combat Sense unlocked and each time he was attacked there was a small part of the skill that was whispering ¡°danger!¡±


    It was frightening. Mostly because he hadn¡¯t noticed it at first. If Levi had gone all out, he might have died. That thought was sobering, and even if Levi had good intentions Alex wasn¡¯t used to anyone other than Kelly having the power to threaten him. Not after he had unlocked his class skill. But here he was, unnerved by their guest and stuck watching over him, tasked with stopping him should he decide to go on a murderous rampage.


    But there had been no sign of that so far, and if Alex had to go with his gut, he thought Levi was an okay dude. It might take some time, but he thought that Levi was someone he could eventually trust to defend his back. They had been lucky so far, escaping from the lawlessness and chaos of their original group. Sometimes Alex would lie awake in bed thinking about the people left behind, forced to fend for themselves. But he couldn¡¯t worry about them. He needed strength. His sister might still be out there somewhere. If she was alive, he would find her. He wouldn¡¯t let their parents down.


    But those were worries for later. Right now, he had a guest to watch and a town to protect. As much as he valued his personal strength, Alex quickly realized that you couldn¡¯t do it alone. There were too many things needed in this new land. How much had he taken for granted before in the modern world? He couldn¡¯t grow his own food, make his own clothes, or build his own house. Right now his priority was recruiting Levi. David and the captain were incredibly interested in both his combat potential and his knowledge of dungeons, and the rewards they might contain. They needed to grow, and the sooner the better.


    About a week after settling in their current location their group faced its biggest threat. Back then there were no walls or watch tower, so the alarm was late in sounding. Alex could vividly remember waking up to the cries of alarm, a sense of dread settling in his stomach as he looked out at their enemies. It had felt like the very woods had moved to attack them, a huge advancing line of scraping branches and rustling leaves moving forwards like an unstoppable force. He could imagine what McBeth must have felt, looking out over a prophecy spelling his doom.


    Without Captain Kelly they would all have been dead. And it was still a close thing, despite how she countered their enemies by summoning raging inferno after raging inferno it still wasn¡¯t enough, the close combat professions needing to go in and bludgeon at the tree-like beasts to finish off the last of them. Perhaps if everyone all had large steel axes the threat would have been smaller, but as it was they lost five combatants, severely impacting their fighting strength. It was a sobering revelation of their own mortality, a reminder that here, strength was everything. And Alex wasn¡¯t ashamed to admit there was strength in numbers. So he watched Levi meditate on the roof, praying David wasn¡¯t wrong. Taking Levi in might have been a gamble, but rolling the dice was just part of their new life. Alex just wished so many of their bets didn¡¯t have to be all in.

 Chapter Thirty-Three

    Levi stood by the gate, gazing out over the plains as the sun crested the horizon, casting its rays on the golden grasses swaying in the breeze. Last night he was able to convince Kelly to let him come on the leveling expedition today. Now that he had a clear idea about what he wanted for his class skill there was no reason to wait. It was better to gain power now than wait for a pack of dinosaurs to overrun the outpost.


    Truthfully, he was a little suspicious of this whole leveling expedition in the first place, but if he was going to be part of community he should at least give it a shot. If it was too slow he could always leave and level by himself. There was that dungeon across the river too. He could still feel it calling to him.


    A quick shake of his head and a flaring of Aecylic Energy had his mind clear. He wasn¡¯t sure why he couldn¡¯t put that damn dungeon out of his mind, but whenever he had a free thought his mind kept drifting back to it. He needed to get a team of people together and destroy it. Then he wouldn¡¯t have to think about it constantly. The way it kept insidiously worming itself into his thoughts was annoying. It needed to be dealt with.


    But that was a problem for another day. Now he was stuck waiting for the last few stragglers in their expedition. Some people just weren¡¯t morning people, even without things like electric lights to keep them awake at night. He didn¡¯t have to wait for long though, and the last group soon showed up, rubbing the sleep from their eyes.


    ¡°Okay, everyone,¡± Kelly said, addressing the group. ¡°Some of you may have met him before, but for those who haven¡¯t this is Levi. He is new to our community and arrived two days ago. He will be joining us on the expedition. He had to survive by himself out in the wilds, and, as you might expect, because of that he has ample combat experience. Right now he is going to take the position of final defense, but later on he might be moved around. Levi, why don¡¯t you say a few words about yourself?¡±


    Levi wanted to throw a stink eye at Kelly for putting him on the spot. She hadn¡¯t mentioned any self-introductions.


    ¡°Ehum. Hello everyone, I¡¯m Levi. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you all. I¡¯ll be joining you all for this trip. Uh, hopefully it goes smoothly and stuff.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Kelly continued, saving him from further embarrassment, ¡°let¡¯s form up. Everyone knows their role? Good. Today we are heading East along the tree line before sweeping back into the plains and coming back. Remember: just because there haven¡¯t been any attacks from the forest recently doesn¡¯t mean there won¡¯t be any. Not to scare anyone, but there could always be more of those tree things. Okay, form up!¡±


    Spellbound, Levi watched as everyone quickly formed their formation. The group was twenty people, with ten combatants, eight leechers, himself, and Captain Kelly. They quickly set off across the plains, angling towards the tree line in the distance. The pace surprised Levi. While it was nothing to him, it would have been enough to leave behind most people who weren¡¯t long distance runners back on Earth. But this wasn¡¯t Earth anymore, and times and people had changed, and even the non-combatants were no exception.


    Levi ran along next to Kelly, his position in the formation guarding her and letting her focus her ranged power on their enemies without worrying about any harm to her person. He also suspected this was the easiest location to place him, as his job was straightforward. He had asked about the forward guard, and the detail that went into their formation blew him away. It was much easier for him to guard someone than join a formation he was unfamiliar with, especially as his teamwork was severely lacking. But everyone needed to start somewhere, and Levi was looking forward to observing the other members of the group and how they reacted to combat.


    After a short time of running Levi started up a conversation.


    ¡°Hey Kelly,¡± Levi said, ¡°so what exactly are we going to fight?¡±


    ¡°The most common monsters around here are triceratops dogs. But there are tons of other monsters we could run into. Most monsters gather in groups, which makes it easy for me to burn them to death. We¡¯re actually rather lucky in that regard. If you listen to Alex, leveling up isn¡¯t that hard if you have access to large groups of easy to kill enemies. And also because of my ingenious plan. We would be in a lot of trouble if the non-combat people had to only rely on skill gains to level up.¡±


    ¡°So the basic plan is to run around until we find a group of monsters to fight?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much yeah.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that, I don¡¯t know, kind of inefficient?¡± The way Kelly was talking made it sound like this was the best way to level, but if they were just going to be running around for most of the day he was skeptical.


    ¡°Monsters don¡¯t just drop out of the sky you know,¡± Kelly said dryly. ¡°We have to find them, and the only person we have with a mapping skill can only map terrain, not groups of monsters. And his skill takes too long anyway. Yes, it might take a long time to find the monsters, but killing hundreds of monsters at once it much better than individually killing small groups.¡±


    Levi continued running, thinking over what Kelly said. While on the surface it seemed like sound logic, he couldn¡¯t help but feel there was a better way. Mostly because he would be bored out of his mind if he had to go on more of these outings. Levi understood that travelling was a necessity, but boring was boring. It didn¡¯t help that he could travel much faster by himself than the group was moving.


    As he brainstormed ideas Levi couldn¡¯t shake the feeling he was missing something obvious. There had to be a better way than running around blindly. It sounded like no one had a searching skill, but while that might be the way to go about things in a game, this wasn¡¯t a game. That he was well aware of. So why was everyone assuming you needed some skill to search for monsters? From what Kelly was saying, it sounded like there were quite a few large groups of monsters roaming the plains. If they were as large as Kelly said they were, they should be easily seen from above.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Of course! That¡¯s what was bothering him! It seemed so obvious now.


    ¡°Hey Kelly.¡±


    ¡°Captain Kelly.¡±


    ¡°Uh, yeah, Captain Kelly. Is there someone with a flying skill?¡±


    ¡°Flying? I wish. Don¡¯t you think they would be scouting if we had someone like that?¡±


    ¡°What about an enhanced vision skill? There must be someone like that, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s a few people with enhanced senses. I think Sam has the most powerful skill. She usually come with us, but right now she¡¯s stuck on lookout duty as punishment. She was caught sneaking out to kill monsters at night.¡±


    ¡°Uh, is that a bad thing?¡±


    ¡°If it was safe, no. But it¡¯s not safe, and anything that puts someone at risk is unacceptable. And it¡¯s also against the rules. We all decided on some ground rules for the outpost, and one of those was not going out to fight monsters by yourself. We have too few people to risk losing some for stupid reasons. While Sam might be perfectly capable, going out alone, especially at night, is a stupid risk.¡±


    Levi thought those rules sounded a bit strict to him, but he could understand where they were coming from. Especially as someone dying wouldn¡¯t just be their own head. There was only three hundred or so people in the outpost, so each person lost had a large impact on their manpower. And manpower was one of the key factors in power, especially now in a world without modern technology.


    ¡°I see,¡± Levi said. ¡°Actually, it was the lookout tower that made me think of this, but why don¡¯t you employ other lookout methods? Having someone that can fly might be easiest, but there are other ways to look over large distances. Just having a higher vantage point would help, especially for someone with enhanced vision.¡±


    ¡°Oh, do tell? It¡¯s not like we can just carry a lookout tower along with us?¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Well why can¡¯t you? I mean, we may not have vehicles or anything, but I think I could carry a few hundred kilograms easily. You can just have people carry around a lookout tower and then set it up whenever you need it. Hell, you could probably just throw someone really high into the air or something. Maybe you would need an acrobat for stuff like that in the past, but I feel like with increased stats something like should be much easier now.¡±


    Kelly opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her thoughts were a blur, racing a mile a minute. She wanted to shoot down Levi¡¯s idea, but the more she thought about it the more it made sense. Why hadn¡¯t they brought along a watchtower? She had watched the lumberjacks carry whole trees on their backs. She knew it was possible. It would be almost trivial to carry along a large pole and set it up to create a pseudo lookout post. It was just that an idea like that would have been ridiculous back on Earth. But here?


    ¡°Of course!¡± Kelly shouted, drawing startled looks from the other people in the group. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of that? It¡¯s genius! Everyone, Halt!¡±


    The group stopped running, gathering around Kelly.


    ¡°Levi here just had a genius idea. It makes us look like a chicken that¡¯s been running around with its head cut off. Okay, I want Jeff, Leah, Dominick, and Kurt. You guys come over here. Levi, you¡¯re going to help too. We¡¯ve been going about this all wrong. So the basic idea is that you four are going to stand over here with your arms locked together. One person facing another, yeah, like that. Then Levi is going to hold is hands out like this and I¡¯m going to climb on top of them. The he¡¯s going to throw me up into the air and you guys are going to catch me. Any questions?¡±


    Kurt raised his hand. ¡°Hold on a second captain. Can you go over it one more time? And can I ask why exactly we are doing this?¡±


    ¡°Levi just brought up that we are doing almost no scouting. There¡¯s no reason we need to stay on the ground to look around when we can easily get an aerial view. Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing. I used to be in the circus. Just do what I tell you. It¡¯ll make sense after.¡±


    Levi bemusedly went along as Kelly put everyone through rehearsal after rehearsal. He though his idea had merit, but he hadn¡¯t expected Kelly to immediately put it into action. But after practicing a few times it was obvious that while it might have been a crazy thing to try on Earth, doing circus acts with people who had superhuman levels of strength and agility was surprisingly easy.


    His task was to throw Kelly up in the air. He held out his hands in front of him, palms face up, while Kelly stood on his hands. He then had to throw her into the air. It took him a few times to get the hang of it, as it wasn¡¯t so easy to throw her straight up, but that¡¯s what the practice was for, as he only started throwing her up ten or so meters to make sure she would be okay even if she wasn¡¯t caught. It was then the other four¡¯s job to catch her, holding their arms out to form a net.


    The practice was slow at first, but as everyone got used to their jobs Levi slowly started throwing Kelly higher and higher, eventually reaching heights that he estimated as even higher than the watchtower back in the outpost. It was thrilling, and Kelly was clearly enjoying it as she let out whoops of joy. It was infectious, and Levi could feel himself smiling as he watched her soar up before safely landing back down.


    Finally, Kelly thought they were ready for the real thing.


    ¡°Okay, this time I¡¯m going to have Levi throw me up as high as he safely can without losing control. I might have been able to survive the fall from before, but this time it¡¯s more important than ever I¡¯m caught. Does everyone think they can handle it?¡±


    A chorus of aye aye captains answered her back.


    ¡°Levi? You¡¯re the most important person here. I want you to throw me up as high as you can, but it needs to be straight up. Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but are you sure it¡¯s a good idea? I think I can throw you pretty high¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me,¡± Kelly said, waving her hand dismissively. ¡°Just focus on your own part. If everyone does their job it¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    Levi was a bit nervous as everyone got into position for the final try. By relying on Concentrated Will he should be fine, so he put all his doubts out of his mind and just focused on what he needed to do.


    ¡°Everyone ready? Alright Levi, I¡¯m ready whenever you are.¡±


    Levi let the pressure roll off of him as he focused on his task. He activated Aecylic Empowerment, letting the energy flow through him, boosting all his physical stats. He had enough practice that his body knew what to do. With a final deep breath, he drew on his Strength and threw Kelly, tilting his head back to watch as she soared high into the air.


    She flew, continuing to ascend, going up and up until she reached a high that Levi thought had to be at least twice what she had reached in any of the previous attempts. It was amazing, the sight of someone flying like that filling him with wonder. She finally reached her peak, her momentum slowing before she started the fall back down. The people catching her did need to reposition a little, but they caught her without a hitch, and Levi let out a breath he hadn¡¯t known he was holding. He didn¡¯t want to think about what would have happened to him if Kelly didn¡¯t touch back down safely.


    She jumped up out of her catcher¡¯s arms, her laughter infectious as she whooped for joy.


    ¡°That was fucking amazing! We¡¯ll have to do that again sometime.¡±


    ¡°But did it accomplish anything?¡± Dominick said. ¡°We¡¯ve been here practicing for a while, which is time we could have spent moving.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get your panties in a twist. I didn¡¯t forget the end goal. I saw a group of monsters over there.¡± Kelly pointed off towards the plains. ¡°But you¡¯re right, we¡¯ve stopped for long enough. It¡¯s time to get a move on. There¡¯s monsters to kill!¡±

 Chapter Thirty-Four

    For the second time in only a few days David found himself scaling the lookout tower. And unlike the other time, this time he was fully expecting bad news. He followed Alex up the ladder and joined him and Sam at the top.


    ¡°Alright Sam, what do you have for me?¡±


    She pointed downstream wordlessly.


    David raised his hand above his eyes, straining, trying to see what Sam could. It took a little while, but he thought he saw movement. But it wasn¡¯t the movement of a large group like he was expecting. It looked like a lone person.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me what you can see.¡± David said. ¡°I can only make out one person. Are there others?¡±


    Sam shook her head. ¡°Not that I can see. I waited a little, but so far it¡¯s just that one person. I thought they might end up going back to join another group once they spotted our walls, but I think they saw us a few minutes ago, and they only seemed to speed up. They¡¯re also limping, and likely hurt pretty badly.¡±


    David did another scan of the horizon, looking for more movement. Why would just one person be coming here? He expected people to come eventually, but just one person? That was outside of his expectations.


    ¡°There¡¯s something else,¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Hmm? There¡¯s more?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I didn¡¯t want to tell Alex because I wasn¡¯t sure he would believe me.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Something he wouldn¡¯t believe, eh? Well no need to keep it bottled up. What¡¯s this other news?¡± Hopefully not another monster horde. He was confident they could hold, but without Kelly it would be¡­ messy.


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Well, it¡¯s Captain Kelly.¡±


    ¡°What about the captain?¡±


    ¡°She was flying.¡±


    David stared at Sam. He surely must have misheard. Kelly couldn¡¯t fly. If she could it would have solved so many of their problems. But Sam certainly believed she was telling the truth. His Sense Motive skill wasn¡¯t foolproof, but there was at least an element of truth to what Sam was saying.


    ¡°Maybe not flying, exactly,¡± Sam continued, wringing her hands nervously. ¡°It was more of, jumping up really high? Except I know she can¡¯t jump that high. Maybe it was like she was being thrown? It happened a bunch, and the last time she went up really high, like, higher than this tower¡­¡±


    David tried to process that information. He failed miserably. Why did he sign up for this job anyway? This should be something other people had to deal with. Kelly was crazy enough, and now he had to deal with her randomly flying into the air? Did she find a pair of magical moon shoes or something? God, he wasn¡¯t even being paid for this shit.


    ¡°Scouting,¡± Alex said, drawing the gazes of the other two. ¡°She was scouting. It¡¯s genius, really. I¡¯m not sure why no one else thought of it. Levi must have realized it during the trip.¡±


    David resisted the urge to massage his temples, instead opting to clasp his hands behind his back like a calm, competent leader. One of these days he needed to unlock meditation, but there always seemed to be a more important skill he needed to pick.


    ¡°Can you perhaps explain, Alex?¡±


    ¡°Sure. So, you know the captain and I were talking about our lack of scouting, right? We don¡¯t have anyone with a mapping skill that we could use to detect monsters, so we are stuck searching manually for them.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do remember that conversation. If I recall Kelly was complaining about the, what did you call it, the mobbing speed?¡±


    ¡°Yep, that¡¯s the one. The problem is it¡¯s ludicrously easy for Kelly to torch all the monsters she finds. The only problem is finding them and travel time. On the one hand it¡¯s good there aren¡¯t more hordes roaming around, as it makes it less likely they will attack out settlement, on the other hand it makes it harder to level up as quickly as the time spent travelling vs time spent killing monsters isn¡¯t the best.¡±


    ¡°What does all this have to do with Kelly flying?¡± David was profoundly grateful for Alex, as this game stuff was out of his element. He was doing his best to learn it, but sometimes he doubted Alex was actually speaking English.


    ¡°As I mentioned before, it¡¯s for scouting. We¡¯ve been thinking about this all wrong. Even people without vision skills have improved eyesight now, partly evidenced by how people don¡¯t need glasses, so all we really need is height to get a good look at our surroundings. Kelly was being thrown into the air to get the height necessary to spot a group of monsters for them to kill.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    David took his time processing what Alex was saying. It made his brain hurt but he powered through. God, he needed some coffee.


    ¡°So, if I understand correctly,¡± David said, speaking slowly, ¡°Kelly was being thrown into the air in lieu of a proper vantage point so she could look around?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, basically. Actually, going off of this, there¡¯s probably a lot of other things we are missing. We¡¯ve been thinking about this as a game and relying on skills to do things, but unlike games we aren¡¯t limited here. There¡¯s likely tons of things we are missing. We just need to merge normal Earth problem solving with game-like abilities.¡±


    ¡°Save it for later,¡± David said, holding up his hand. ¡°We can talk about that stuff when Kelly gets back. Right now I want to focus on the person coming from the south. Alex, thoughts?¡±


    ¡°Right. Um, let¡¯s see, Sam, you mentioned they were injured, right?¡±


    Sam gave a short bob of her head.


    ¡°Maybe they were attacked?¡± Alex continued, thinking out loud. ¡°It¡¯s possible they started out as a larger group but were attacked along the way. Maybe more than once. The other people could be dead, or this person could be sent ahead to get help. Just because there is just one person now doesn¡¯t mean they set out alone, although that¡¯s still possible. Really though, I think you should just talk to them. Unlike Levi, I doubt this person has any significant combat power.¡±


    David nodded.


    ¡°I agree. Alex, I want you to stay here with Sam. Sam, let Alex know the moment you spot anyone else. I¡¯ll go down and receive this person. It shouldn¡¯t take too long to find out their story.¡±


    David¡¯s head was swirling with thoughts as he descended from the lookout tower. He knew something like this was coming, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth. After his daughter was born he had tried to leave all this behind. No matter how skilled he was there was always a certain amount of danger involved in his line of work. But God worked in mysterious ways, and if he needed to take charge to protect those close to him he would. Hopefully his precautions would be enough.


    David reached the ground and ponderously made his way through the town, searching for Duane. He didn¡¯t actually need to search, but appearances needed to be kept. His ability to find individual people was one card he wanted to keep close to his chest. Another was his and Duane¡¯s relationship. Better no one was aware they had previously known each other. It made what David thought was coming much easier.


    After finding Duane and having a short conversation the two of them found five others to form a welcoming party. They had to wait over an hour for the wounded person, a young man, to reach the walls, where David then whisked him away to his office for questioning, Duane in attendance as the muscle.


    ¡°You said your name was Connor, correct?¡± David said, facing the wounded man across the table from him. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me about your situation. It looks like you haven¡¯t had the easiest journey.¡±


    Connor was covered in wounds, with a particularly nasty one on his left thigh. David thought he was lucky it avoided the femoral artery.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been¡­¡± Connor trailed off, staring at the wall before his eyes snapped back to David. ¡°The main settlement is gone. I might be the only one left.¡±


    David made sure to let some of the genuine surprise he felt color his expression. Out of all the scenarios he had planned for, this wasn¡¯t one. The main settlement was gone? He needed more info.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean to doubt you, but can you elaborate? That news is a little hard to believe.¡±


    Connor began his story, slowly at first, then gaining momentum.


    ¡°I was out scouting, which is why I¡¯m still alive. It was a monster horde, but not like any others I had seen. There must have been thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands. They came like a never-ending wave. The walls might as well have been made of paper. I¡¯m not even sure their goal was to destroy the town. It might have just been in their way.¡±


    ¡°What were they?¡±


    ¡°Armored bison. Or something like that. They had armor covering their head in an upside-down triangle shape. It¡¯s hard to miss. I was on my way back from scouting and saw the whole thing from a nearby hill. The town is just gone. You just can¡¯t fight something like that.¡±


    David wanted to swear. Most of what Connor said had been a lie, but not the part about the town being destroyed. He knew it was likely that some unsavory elements made their way here, but the bad news was outside his expectations. He needed to talk to others about this. If such a horde was roaming around somewhere their current defenses were nowhere near sufficient. It was possible they needed to move.


    ¡°So you then decided to make your way here?¡± David said. ¡°That must have been a hard trip to make alone.¡±


    ¡°I almost died multiple times. Luckily I¡¯m good at surviving.¡±


    ¡°No doubt. I have plenty of other questions, but those can wait for later. Duane, why don¡¯t you take care of Connor? I¡¯m sure he needs some food and rest.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Duane said, locking eyes with David for the briefest of moments. ¡°Connor you can follow me and I¡¯ll get you situated.¡±


    Eyes swirling with complicated emotions, David watched as Duane led Connor out. It was better David wasn¡¯t personally involved, both because of his rusty skills and his position. It hurt to say it, but Duane was expendable. They were both aware of that. Someone always needed to be ready to take the fall, and David needed to retain his position.


    Now that he was alone he slumped back into his chair, massaging his forehead. He knew this would be a hard job. But he was used to hard jobs. This was nothing new. His thoughts turned once more to his daughter, Lily, and his wife, Sylvia. His wife might still be out there somewhere. If anyone could survive, it was her, but the reality was some things couldn¡¯t be faced. Not in this new world. But she might still be out there, fighting, and he had to keep fighting too. Fighting to keep Lily safe in this new world fraught with danger.


    David opened the box in his mind he had thought long closed and shoved his emotions away for another time. He had his part to play and Duane had his. He knew this wasn¡¯t the last time he would open that box. Moving with purpose David stood. He still had other things to do on his ever-growing list. It was time stop the self-pity and get back to work.

 Chapter Thirty-Five

    The plan a success, Levi followed along with the group as they moved forward following Kelly¡¯s directions. Their pace had even picked up a little, the knowledge they were moving towards a concrete goal adding a little spring to their step. Levi could feel his anticipation increasing along with the groups. He didn¡¯t feel any tension from danger, but leveling up always carried its own shot of dopamine, even when it was a virtual avatar doing it. Now that he was leveling up himself the effect was even more pronounced.


    Under Kelly¡¯s instructions the group forged their way through the plains grasses until a scout signaled for a halt, the monster horde in sight.


    ¡°Did you get a good look at what type of monsters they are?¡± Kelly asked the scout. ¡°I couldn¡¯t be sure from the air.¡±


    The scout, Layla, nodded. ¡°More triceratops dogs. It should just be same old same old.¡±


    ¡°Great. Let¡¯s get started then¡±


    Kelly then turned to address the group, putting on her leader aura that she seemed to be able to take on and off at a moment¡¯s notice.


    ¡°Alright you lot, it¡¯s more triceratops dogs. This should be old hat by now, but remember not to get complacent. We still have nowhere near perfect information, and unlike a game, the mobs here could easily change without us knowing about it. Stay alert.¡±


    Levi watched in fascination as the group started switching up their formation, everyone clearly knowing where they were supposed to go. It wasn¡¯t quite the same clockwork precision that armies on Earth had achieved, but it was clear the people in the outpost were more than an unorganized mob. Levi wasn¡¯t worried about their ability to protect him, but their skill did reinforce his decision to join the group. Even if he didn¡¯t need protection, their ability to work together spoke volumes not just for the groups personality, as it was unlikely a group with internal conflict could work together so seamlessly, but also for their ability to pool information and work together to achieve a common goal, and likely use the resources of the many to achieve things no single person could do on their own. Humans weren¡¯t meant to be solitary creature after all.


    Kelly gave one final check to make sure everyone was in position before giving the signal to Layla to aggro the group. The monster hordes were normally aggressive, and it didn¡¯t take much to have them chase you. The normal practice was for the rest of the group get into their combat positions while one person drew the aggression of the monster horde and brought them into Kelly¡¯s range so she could slaughter them.


    It had been decided that Levi would only watch for this battle, his job to stand next to Kelly and protect their backline from any unexpected dangers. Although from what he had heard, it was basically the Kelly show. The amount of times anyone else needed to be involved could be counted on one hand. He was actually looking forward to it. While he might technically have access to magic, who didn¡¯t imagine being able to throw fireballs around as a child? Sure, from what he could glean from the System his power was actually more impressive, but his lack of traditional magic did make him kind of jealous. Part of having awesome magic powers involved showing them off to the adulation of the masses, and that was one department where Kelly had him beat.


    But while he was jealous, Levi knew where his priorities lay. Even if he was given the chance to show off his ultimate move and shatter the sky, he wasn¡¯t in a position to do so. It was called a trump card for a reason, and that reason wasn¡¯t getting into a dick waving contest with people who he still wasn¡¯t sure he could trust. Screaming ¡°look at all my awesome magic that¡¯s the best magic no one has as good magic as I do nyah nyah¡± while sticking his tongue out sounded like a sure way to get into a fight he wanted to avoid. Destroying half the outpost but getting killed in return didn¡¯t sound like it was worth it just to soothe his ego. And besides, he liked to think that, as a whole, Humanity was made up of mostly good people, so he would much rather engage in peaceful relations. But it would only take one or two sour grapes to ruin the bunch, and he wasn¡¯t taking any risks. At least, not any he didn¡¯t have to, so for now he needed to stay low key.


    Levi was brought out of his musings by Layla as she came running to join the group, the horde of triceratops dogs hot on her heels. Levi couldn¡¯t see all of them, but he estimated there had to be more than a hundred, maybe even two hundred. It felt wrong to just stand there and let them come closer, but that was his job, so he calmed himself down with Concentrated Will and settled in to watch the show.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Kelly got started. After letting out a battle cry she started to let loose, rapidly shooting fireballs at the slobbering horde of approaching monsters. Levi had gotten the idea that Kelly was substantially more powerful than the surrounding monsters. He suspected that was in part to her level, which should be rather high after all the monsters she had killed. But still, to see how easily the horde crumbled under her fiery onslaught was a little demoralizing. But it was hard to take it seriously considering how Kelly was being carried on the shoulders of four people.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    He had still found it hard to imagine Kelly¡¯s idea of power leveling would work, and seeing it in action only made him more incredulous. On the one hand, you had dozens of fireballs raining down on the approaching beasts, each one taking out handfuls of them, rapidly reducing their numbers. And on the other, you had the one shooting those balls of flame sitting on the shoulders of four people as if she was on a palanquin, some sort of warrior princess too lazy to even stand as she mowed down small fry.


    It didn¡¯t quite fit Levi¡¯s idea of how battle should be, especially considering his own experiences. But it made sense to grind experience on weaker mobs rather than risk your life fighting higher leveled monsters. Even in games people often spent their time grinding rather than try and engage in truly dangerous fights. After all, why fight the boss now when you could just level up, get a few more magic items, and then steamroll them later on? And there was no save button in real life, so perhaps it was an erroneous assumption to think everyone would have his experiences.


    But as Levi looked around at the group he realized that while he had no desire to relive his life and death battles, they had instilled in him a certain sense of danger awareness. One that was lacking from the group around him, everyone lazily watching as Kelly demolished the threat before it ever really materialized. It made him think; what would they do if something happened to Kelly? If they suddenly lost their most powerful lifeline and safety blanket? He was sure some of them would fight, but how many was the question, and Levi thought they wouldn¡¯t like the answer.


    He could still feel those emotions, the desperation he had as he bashed in his first goblin head, snuffing out a living being like one would stomp on a used cigarette. He wasn¡¯t sure he could describe it. The rush of power was like nothing else, but so was the dread. Because if he could kill something so easily, it wasn¡¯t hard to picture how he could be killed in turn. If you stare into the void it stares back at you. Just because he had survived and was tempered by the experience didn¡¯t mean he was happy with it, but it did show him how far he could go. That was valuable knowledge in this new world, and perhaps not as common as he thought it would be.


    Under Kelly¡¯s blanket fire the monsters soon perished, continuing their charge until the very end. It reminded Levi of his time fighting the goblins. They had kept coming, oblivious to their fate. There was a period when he was little when Levi was interested in medieval battles, absorbing book after book on the subject with a voracious appetite. The phase didn¡¯t last long, and he now forgot most of what he read but he did remember a tidbit from the book his dad had given him. The book was a clear cut above the others, and the contents had been hard to understand. One of the things that stuck with him from it was a fact about battles and morale.


    The triceratops dogs had continued to charge, refusing to break and retreat. According to what he remembered from the book, this was almost the exact opposite of human armies. Battle between armies before the widespread use of gunpower mostly consisted of people running at each other, and, contrary to popular portrayal, they only fought for a very brief time before one side broke, running away while their enemies gave chase. If he recalled correctly, the armies usually broke at around ten percent casualties, or sometimes even less. Compared to that, fighting monsters that wouldn¡¯t retreat had a much higher danger level.


    After finishing off the final survivors, Kelly ordered some people to go check if anything was salvageable from the corpses before walking over to Levi.


    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± she said. ¡°These monsters don¡¯t stand a chance once I open fire. Although it¡¯s a shame that my attacks are so powerful that it¡¯s hard to harvest meat from the corpses.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s something to complain about,¡± Levi said.


    Kelly shrugged. ¡°Of course I¡¯d rather have more firepower, but it¡¯s annoying to listen to David complaining about food this and resources that. He should have more appreciation for my awesomeness. Anyway, get ready to throw me up into the air again. I want to try and find at least another big group like this one before we head back for the day.¡±


    Kelly wasn¡¯t able to spot anything from the current location, but she remained undeterred, urging the group onwards, confident they would be able to find more monsters to fight. Her perseverance was rewarded, as a few hours and multiple scouting acrobatics later she spotted another group. They moved closer, sending Layla out to scout the enemy.


    ¡°This group is smaller,¡± Layla said after she came back from her scouting mission. ¡°Only fifteen monsters or so. They¡¯re those large boar-like things though, you know, the ones that tasted really good?¡±


    Kelly spend a moment in thought pondering the situation before turning to Levi.


    ¡°You still need to hit level twenty-five, right?¡± She said. ¡°Do you think you can take out this group of monsters? If I kill them the meat would go to waste. How about it, can you take them on?¡±


    ¡°I should be able to,¡± He said, nodding.


    ¡°Great! I¡¯m salivating just thinking about roast pork chops. Just give me a shout if you need help though. David would yell at me if you died.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    Levi wasn¡¯t worried about the group of monsters. His rewards for clearing the dungeon made such a small group trivial. It was time to let loose, level up, and have some fun.

 Chapter Thirty-Six

    Levi debated how he should approach the monsters. It took him all of two seconds to realize it probably didn¡¯t matter. He was just going to slaughter them anyway. Yes, perhaps he could try and hold back, but he was sure he didn¡¯t need his full power to destroy them. He didn¡¯t want to reveal all his cards but that wasn¡¯t a reason for him not to let loose and have a little fun. He still wasn¡¯t sure what to make of his rather dramatic personality shift from Aecylic Energy, but his previous personality needed to change anyway to survive. It didn¡¯t make much of a difference if that change was initiated internally or externally.


    He set off towards the monsters at a trot, soon breaking out into a light run. It was nowhere close to his full speed, but with his improved physique it took him a scant few seconds to reach the first monster. It was large, maybe the size of a bison on Earth, but its girth was much larger, its appearance as if an oversized fat plushie came to life. Levi didn¡¯t let that influence him though. It wouldn¡¯t do to underestimate them just based off of their appearance of some video game monster. While he was confident in his power, he was still mortal. Battle always held some risk, and just because he came out on top in the dungeon didn¡¯t mean he was now some godly combatant.


    But as his fist tore through the first monster¡¯s head all his thoughts went away. There was only the thrill of battle, the low hum of Aecylic Empowerment pulsing through him.


    Gone was the hesitation. It didn¡¯t matter that his fist was covered in blood and bits of flesh. He was the predator and these monsters were the prey, and they would bow down before his might. After withdrawing his fist Levi moved onto the second monsters, darting next to it in preparation for a lethal blow. He clenched his fist, reveling in the power contained within. But just as he was about to swing out killing another beast he was forced to dodge, lest he find himself impaled on the tusks of its charging comrade.


    Monsters were still dangerous, and Levi had no interest in facing one of their charges head-on. There was a small part of him that wanted to match his strength with something that dared to challenge him, but that part hadn¡¯t yet won over his more human instincts. Dodge also helped too, allowing him to use the skill to slip around his charging foe, and instead of punching, sticking a leg out to trip it, breaking one of its front legs with an unnaturally with a loud snap.


    What followed was a dance, Levi weaving in and out of the charging boar-like monsters, flowing like water as they failed to catch so much as his shadow. Each of his attacks were powerful, either killing blows or, more often, breaking legs or spines. As he was fighting he had a sudden urge to leap onto one of them and ride it, taming it to his will, showing his dominance. Perhaps he would have done so if he were alone, just to see if he could, but he had an audience, and while his current display might be impressive, it was only that, not crossing to a higher realm.


    All too soon Levi found himself alone, his last enemy dead before him. It was a gruesome scene, a lone human, splattered in bits of blood and gore surrounded by hulking freshly dead corpses. He hadn¡¯t gone easy on them, and the first one wasn¡¯t the only one missing its head. But despite that he still saved much more of the corpses than Kelly. He hadn¡¯t personally gone to inspect the result of her previous slaughter, but the smell wafting on the breeze told him everything he needed to know. In comparison, this scene was almost pleasant.


    Kelly had been watching him during his fight, trying to gauge his strength. Levi¡¯s display had been impressive. There were a good handful of people who could do what he just did, but probably not quite as easily. Assuming Levi was holding back at least a little of his strength he could make the top ten most powerful people in the outpost easily, and maybe even the top five. It got her blood boiling, also increasing her interest in the dungeon Levi said was across the river.


    She didn¡¯t want to pass judgement, but it was fairly obvious that before the system Levi was a nobody. He hadn¡¯t gone into detail, but it was clear from his mannerisms he wasn¡¯t used to interacting with people. It was the small things, the expressions, the slight pauses in his speech, and of course those mannerisms were made all the easier to spot since they were exacerbated by the situation. Despite her outgoing personality, Kelly wasn¡¯t sure even she would be able to walk into an outpost of hundreds of potentially dangerous strangers and feel comfortable.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    In their group they had people like Alex who had been aiming to be a semi-pro boxer, a few people who were in the military, and even her with the specialized training she received in the circus. Even David had some sort of background, although even she wasn¡¯t brave enough to ask him about it. Compared to that Levi was normal. Or he had been. Despite enduring what sounded like a horrible experience, he had grown from it and he was no longer the office drone or burger flipper he had been before. That got Kelly interested. If someone like that could gain such power, how would someone with a better starting point fare?


    But that was all for later. Despite her outward brash actions, Kelly knew that taking things slow was sometimes the correct choice. She just thought it was the correct choice a whole lot less than other people. This was one of those rare exceptions, and if she wanted to rope Levi in to the outpost she needed to try and cool her jets.


    ¡°Alright people,¡± Kelly said. ¡°Let¡¯s go collect the bodies. Collection team you¡¯re in charge. It looks like we might call it after this one since we got such a good haul.¡±


    The group moved together to join Levi with the corpses, starting to harvest them for both meat and other materials like bone, sinew, and hide. Kelly walked over to where Levi was, standing in front of him as he stared out into space.


    ¡°It looked like you were enjoying yourself,¡± Kelly said.


    The only response she got was silence.


    ¡°Helloooo. Anyone in there?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, uh, sorry,¡± Levi said, snapping out of his daze. ¡°I must have zoned out there. I reached level twenty-five.¡±


    ¡°Oh-ho! I guess that means you got your super skills then? Anything interesting?¡±


    ¡°I think so. I can¡¯t really be sure how it compares to what other people have, but if they are as powerful as you say I have some¡­ interesting options.¡±


    Kelly barely controlled her desire to question him about said options. Because of her position in the outpost she could afford to be overbearing, but while Levi had nominally joined their group he still wasn¡¯t fully acclimated yet. She knew he had secrets. David hadn¡¯t questioned the parts of his story where he had been intentionally vague, and he had stopped her from doing so too. As much as she wanted to take charge, she wasn¡¯t the real reason their group existed. That honor belonged to David. She was just the muscle.


    Even someone as powerful as she was still needed to sleep. She was well versed enough in history to know how dictators met their end. If she was truly in power all she could do would be to rule with an iron fist. David¡¯s ability to differentiate fact from fiction was a godsend in this new world. It was only icing on the cake that he clearly had some sort of management experience. The way he was able to placate the different factions of their outpost was nothing short of a miracle. So as much as Kelly wanted to turn Levi upside down and shake him until he revealed his secrets, she held herself back.


    ¡°Let me know if you want any advice on choosing your skill. It will define your skill set going forwards. It looks like the group will be laden down with the goods from these monsters, so we¡¯ll be heading back after we finish harvesting them. I¡¯ll leave you alone until we head back out, which should be in half an hour or so.¡±


    Levi watched as Kelly walked away after he uncharacteristic speech. He had expected to have to fend off her questions, but those questions never materialized. Perhaps he misjudged her a bit. She might be a bit brash, but anyone who was only one dimensional like that would have a hard time surviving here. He needed to get better at judging people. Without the rather large hint from her recent actions he would likely have continued to think of her as a dumb pyromaniac bimbo.


    With a shake of his head Levi turned his thoughts back to his class skill. He had three very interesting choices.


    [Physical Infusion ¨C A Skill that increases physical abilities and the ability to physically interact with mana.


    Body and Mind ¨C A skill that allows for an increased connection between body and mind, each one supplementing the deficiencies of the other.


    Physical Will ¨C A skill that connects Willpower with physical power, increasing physical control and mental resilience.]


    He had been hoping for a bit more description, but having any at all was better than his normal skill selection. At least this small part gave him something to go off of. And they did seem to be actually useful descriptions. For instance, if he had to guess the first skill would be the best one for combat. But he had already decided pure combat was out, which left him deciding between the other two.


    Truthfully, they were rather similar. He had wanted something that would help with his mental state, and it looked like both would do that to a certain extent. The question was just how they would go about doing so and how much. Based off of his gut reaction, he was inclined to choose Body and Mind. But Physical Will had mental resilience in the description, and that was exactly what he was looking for. It wasn¡¯t an easy choice. But even though he had to choose between two similar skills, he was grateful he had even one skill that looked like it would do what he wanted it to. Now the only question was choosing which one was better.

 Chapter Thirty-Seven

    Levi debated which one to choose all the way back to the outpost, the return trip taking a longer time thanks to the meat they were transporting. Unlike their initial trip the group was unable to run full out while carrying large carcasses. One the one hand, it gave Levi more time to think before his self-imposed deadline of arriving back at the outpost, but on the other hand it just increased the amount of time he could worry about his choice. He had the feeling that no matter which one he picked he would feel regret.


    But he couldn¡¯t wallow in decision paralysis forever. He needed to make a choice. It was just so damn hard. Was one skill better than the others? Were they equally powerful just with different effects? He had no idea, and it was eating him up inside. At least while he was in the dungeon he had the pressure of survival giving him the excuse of not choosing correctly for long term. People weren¡¯t very good at making decisions quickly and under pressure, but now he had neither of those as excuses to fall back on.


    When the outpost finally entered his field of view Levi knew he needed to choose. He just didn¡¯t know enough for more time to make a difference in his decision process. In the end, he decided to go with his only real choice. There was one clear aspect that stood out to him, and without anything else to go off of, he went with the keywords that he felt most accurately described what he was looking for: mental resilience.


    [Unlocked skill: Physical Will! You have bypassed the constraints of your species, your Willpower exceeding the natural limit. For every ten points of Willpower you possess each basic physical stat increases by one. When calculating mental resistance your highest basic physical stat is added to your Willpower. You are able to channel mental energy to temporarily bypass the natural limits of your body, greatly increasing all physical attributes at the cost of immense strain on your body. This skill is associated with: Willpower, Willpower, Willpower, Willpower.]


    Levi slowly went over his skill, taking it in. There was still that voice in the back of his head wondering if he made the right choice, but it was easily squashed. He had decided he wanted a skill to fortify his mental state and this skill looked like it did exactly that. It also gave him a clear direction to pursue, especially if he wanted to try and min/max. Which he probably did, at least for the moment.


    With his skill chosen he mentally checked over his status, dumping his available points into Willpower.


    [Name: Levi Curchman


    Level: 25


    Titles: System Inductee, Inheritor, Slaughterer, Pioneer


    Stats:


    Strength: 28 Constitution: 38 Dexterity: 30 Agility: 32


    Willpower: 67 Insight: 22 Attunement: 49 Charisma: 10


    Concentration: 15 Luck: 7 Aecylic Energy: 25


    Skills: Concentrated Will 52, Survival 39, Improved Awareness 30, Aecylic Empowerment 54, Brawling 28, Slaughter 6, Manabody 23, Combat Sense 23, Meditation 9, Dodge 12, Last Stand 2, Physical Will 1]


    He still wasn¡¯t sure exactly how he compared to everyone else in the outpost, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel he hadn¡¯t done too badly for himself. His Charisma might be a bit low now that he was interacting with people, but he couldn¡¯t be good at everything. Based on what Alex and Kelly told him he had a hunch that the System was set up such that it rewarded specialization. A good example would be his skill in combat despite his lack of proper training.


    During his fight with Alex the combination of Brawling, Combat Sense, and Dodge combined together to create a whole greater than its parts, each skill combining and making up for the deficits of the others. He no longer had to actively think about fighting; it came naturally. This was also particularly import considering Aecylic Empowerment. He knew the skill messed with his state of mind. His new mental resilience should help with that. Having combat be automatic also allowed him to focus on keeping his head rather than not dying. Getting more social skills would benefit him for sure, but not dying or getting lost in bloodlust was higher on his priorities list. He still wasn¡¯t sure mixing in with everyone from the outpost was in his best interest so it would be dumb to focus more on Charisma and social skills if he ended up leaving anyway.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    He hadn¡¯t noticed while he was walking, but Kelly had been watching him from the corner of her eye for the entire trip. Since she was around more people she was able to clearly recognize the glazed look people got when they were focused on the System, so she was able to see when Levi¡¯s eyes cleared up and he came back to reality.


    ¡°Made your choice?¡± Kelly said as she sidled over to where Levi was walking. She was the only one of the group not carrying a monster carcass.


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Any hints about what your skill does? A brief overview? You don¡¯t have to tell me word for word of course.¡±


    Kelly knew she really shouldn¡¯t be asking, but she was just too damn curious. With the exception of a few people everyone in the outpost was very open about sharing skills, and because of her position she had access to all of that information.


    Levi had long ago considered what to tell people about his level twenty-five skill. They knew he had it, so he couldn¡¯t hide it without doing so directly, and he didn¡¯t want to start off his relationship with others by being directly uncooperative and withholding information. But even though he still had some cards close to his chest, it couldn¡¯t hurt to hold a few more, and they probably wouldn¡¯t get too upset with him for only withholding a little information. Giving them a general summary was what he ended up going with.


    ¡°My skill gives me an overall boost to my physical stats and allows me to briefly overcome my bodies limits, but it says that comes with a cost.¡±


    ¡°So an overall buffing skill then?¡± Kelly said. ¡°Hmm, not bad. Raw stats and combat power are probably fairly useful for you since you already have some combat skills. Did you have anything interesting for your other choices?¡±


    ¡°Mostly the same stuff,¡± Levi said. ¡°I think this one might have more focus on the power up ability if I had to guess.¡± Levi wasn¡¯t planning to go into what all of his options were. It had the potential to give away too much about his skill make up.


    ¡°I see,¡± Kelly said, not asking any other questions.


    Neither of them knew where to take the conversation from there but luckily they were saved by Alex calling out from the entrance to the outpost.


    ¡°Quite a nice harvest I see?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Kelly replied. ¡°Why would you expect anything less from my amazing self?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Alex said, a knowing smirk on his face. ¡°It was all you then? Levi didn¡¯t contribute in any way?¡±


    ¡°Well, Levi might have contributed a little bit, but his idea would have been impossible without my skills.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh. Anyway, David called a meeting so your presence is needed. Stuff happened while you were away that needs to be addressed.¡±


    Kelly sensed Alex¡¯s change in mood, going from joking to serious. Whatever happened must be important.


    ¡°All right you lot,¡± Kelly said, addressing the excursion group. ¡°My presence is needed elsewhere. Ya¡¯ll know where to put everything. I¡¯ll contact the people for tomorrow¡¯s group later tonight.¡±


    ¡°Levi you might be needed later on,¡± Alex said. ¡°Try not to go too far, or maybe just stay in the area around central command.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± Levi said.


    Levi watched as everyone scattered, Alex and Kelly quickly moving off to their important meeting and the others dropping off the supplies they were carrying. Levi couldn¡¯t remember where to put his share, but it was easy enough to follow everyone else to the communal warehouse.


    Once he dropped the meat off at the storehouse he was left with a dilemma. What should he spend his time on? He had spent so much time alone recently that he had trouble remembering what people normally did when they talked to others. Should he just go up to someone? But everyone seemed to have a job to do. The only people not working were the kids.


    Without any better ideas Levi decided to just spend his time training. He still hadn¡¯t experimented with his new skill after all. A few minutes¡¯ walk had him in the training area, finding a secluded corner to try out his new skill.


    Physical Will gave him the ability to empower his physical abilities even further than he already could with Aecylic Empowerment, but without knowing the boundaries of the skill, using it at the wrong time could cause him to prematurely experience its backlash effects before he was ready. His combat skills allowed him to get used to the increase in power fairly easily, but the timing of when to use the ability still relied on his own judgement. He needed to figure out what his skill did beyond its description.


    Levi started slow, first sitting down and slowly activating the skill to feel the effects before ramping up his practice to mock fights against invisible enemies. His first impression was the skill seemed a little weak, but then again he still hadn¡¯t pushed it to the limits. So far he only felt a dull ache in his muscles that went away after a minute or so of rest. After thinking about it, the skill seemed more based towards scaling. Unlike a skill like Brawling that would only ever do one thing, it was likely that Physical Will would continue to improve as his stats went up. The mental defense aspect should only get more powerful as his stats rose, which is what Levi wanted in the first place so he decided not to complain about not having access to immediate power. And besides, if the skill allowed him to safely channel more Aecylic Energy he could get plenty of power that way.


    Levi spent about an hour experimenting with his new skill. He never really came close to experiencing the backlash from it, but that information was valuable by itself as it gave him a rough benchmark for future reference. His practice ended when Alex came out and called for him to join their meeting. His curiosity had been stirred up earlier with Alex¡¯s comment that he might be needed as he wasn¡¯t sure what they needed him for since he wasn¡¯t a core part of the outpost. It was time to find out.

 Chapter Thirty-Eight

    Levi followed Alex to the planning room, the room he had met David and Kelly in before. They were there now too, as well as Agatha who he had met but barely talked to and someone else he didn¡¯t know. They were all seated around the table and as soon as Levi walked in he could feel the serious atmosphere pressing down on him. Alex gestured for Levi to take a seat before sitting himself, bringing the people present at the table up to six.


    Levi was waiting for someone to start talking, but the silence persisted, giving him time to observe everyone. Alex and Kelly were the only people close to his own age. If he had to guess, he would put Alex in his mid-20s and Kelly a few years older, although he was terrible about guessing women¡¯s ages. Alex was by far the person he felt closest to, although it wasn¡¯t just because he and Alex had sparred and talked a lot. Alex just had this approachable aura about him. Perhaps it was his affable air combined with the ridiculous clothes everyone had to wear along with his stubble and short, dark kinky hair. Honestly he looked a bit goofy, although Levi didn¡¯t want to think about his own appearance. It was more impressive that other people managed to look refined while wearing handmade leather clothes.


    Kelly was unabashedly staring as him, and as Levi swept his gaze around the table he tried not to meet her eyes. He believed her that she used to be in the circus. She had that presence about her that performers had. If she wasn¡¯t so over the top Levi would have been a little intimidated. Her fiery red hair and sharp features were a bit overwhelming. She was the kind of person Levi would have been tongue tied trying to talk to back on Earth. He was bad at talking to people that swept you along with their pace.


    David appeared exactly as he had before, somehow exuding a dignity that didn¡¯t fit the situation. Levi would have pictured him in a board meeting for some fortune 500 company, as even with his clothes and his slightly unkempt light brown hair he just had the aura of someone who was used to telling people what to do. He really meshed well with Agatha, who was sitting beside him. If David managed to pull off his unique presence with just his aura, Agatha managed to do so while combining with a flawless appearance that Levi suspected must be the work of some skill. She had the ageless look that only older people of Asian descent had, and while Levi suspected she was the oldest one here and in her 50s, she could have passed for 40 easily but he also wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if she was actually in her 60s.


    The final person at the table, the one Levi hadn¡¯t met yet, was someone else with an unflappable aura. He had an aura similar to David, although his large frame gave him a more intimidating appearance. Unlike Alex who had complained to Levi he couldn¡¯t be bothered to keep his head shaved, this person had both his head and face smooth-shaven. His skin was a bit darker than Alex¡¯s, and while the clothes Alex was wearing made him look like was attending a renaissance fair, this person managed to somehow pull the look off, only falling behind Agatha for style. Even David had his unique aura detracted by the clothes, but Levi felt like this person could attend a fashion show and people would politely ask him which designer made his clothes. His appearance was rather impressive, even more so considering Levi thought he couldn¡¯t have been older than his low 30s. Levi really wasn¡¯t sure where all these people came from, but perhaps it was precisely because they were all so amazing that the outpost was even able to exist in the first place.


    After a short silence David spoke up.


    ¡°Levi, I had wanted to give you more time to decide on whether or not you wanted to join our group but events outside my control conspired change that. While you were out with Kelly we received word that our original group was destroyed. They were overrun by a monsters horde, and by overrun I mean literally overrun by armored bison-like monsters. The person who delivered the news died of his wounds shortly after arriving, and as far as we know he might have been the last survivor.¡±


    David paused for a brief moment, giving Levi a chance to digest the news.


    ¡°Because of that,¡± David said, ¡°we have decided we need to change locations. We are just too exposed. The current plan is to salvage what we can from our current settlement and move towards the mountains, ideally finding a new place to settle that has both defensible terrain as well as sufficient resources. You are a powerful combatant and we would be grateful if you would join us, but that isn¡¯t the main thing we would like your help with. We have realized that, as strong as we are, we are not nearly strong enough. And you mentioned there is a way to get stronger quickly.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°The dungeon,¡± Levi said, realizing where David was going.


    David nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. We would like it if you could accompany some of the members of our group into the dungeon, and of course afterwards we hope you will join us a permanent member. Kelly is powerful, but it is unlikely she could singlehandedly fight such a large group of monsters. She is also just one person. Were something untoward to happen to her we would be facing a serious crisis. If we want to survive we need to diversify our assets, not invest in only one person.¡±


    Kelly jumped in. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t clear, I won¡¯t be coming with you into the dungeon. I¡¯m needed here to protect everyone else. We are planning to leave here as soon as we can, likely within a week. Once you guys get out of the dungeon you¡¯ll have to catch up to us. We¡¯ll make sure to leave a clear trail to follow.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± David said. ¡°We might go ahead with sending people into the dungeon regardless of what you choose, but having someone with some experience with dungeons would make me feel much better about sending a group in rather than them entering blind. I¡¯m aware that you haven¡¯t had that much time to get to know us, but we really need your answer by tomorrow at the latest.¡±


    David stopped speaking, letting Levi mull over everything. It was a lot to take in, but nothing David said really surprised him. If powerful monsters could exist inside the dungeon, there was nothing stopping them from existing outside of it. And while he did think their current location had a lot going for it, creating a town on a plain with known monster hordes was a recipe for disaster should they ever face anything they couldn¡¯t easily fight off.


    Levi took another look at the people sitting around him. His gut told him to trust them. So far they had asked very little of him while providing him with food, clothing, and shelter essentially for free. It was possible they could have some evil master plan or there were a few bad apples, but he was inclined to trust everything he had seen so far, and all the evidence said that he would be a fool for walking away.


    And besides, did he even want to walk away? He had never been the most social person, but having other people around made him relax in a way he hadn¡¯t been able to while he was alone. There was something comforting about having people around. And if he had a hard time describing his feelings towards interacting with people he had no trouble describing how he felt about the things they could provide for him. He would never underrate sleeping on a bed and wearing real clothes ever again.


    But still Levi hesitated. After everything he had been through it was just too hard to commit so easily. He knew he was bad at reading people. Would he even know if Alex was actually a conniving backstabber? Just because he thought Alex was a swell guy didn¡¯t mean he actually was. The same for the rest of them. But as Levi sat there thinking it over he realized walking away wasn¡¯t something he could stomach. It felt like the weak move. If something was going to happen, he would fight it head on. And besides, he could always leave later. There wasn¡¯t actually anything forcing him to stay, not matter what he told everyone else. And there was still the dungeon.


    Levi had been doing hist best to distract himself from the dungeon he knew was across the river. It was actually easier to tune it out after he got his new skill, but he still knew it was there, and if he was truly committed to becoming stronger, entering it was likely his best option. Having other people come with him would be a huge help, as he had a feeling dungeons weren¡¯t made to be conquered alone, hence his soloing achievement. The darker part of his mind also chimed in about how if he got into a sticky situation he no longer had to outrun the monsters, only his teammates.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± Levi said. ¡°I¡¯ll join the outpost.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± David asked. ¡°You can take some more time to think if you need it.¡±


    Levi shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to think over. People aren¡¯t meant to live on their own. And I want to go into the dungeon too, and going with other people is much better than going alone.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± Kelly said. ¡°Let¡¯s all give a round of applause for our new comrade!¡±


    Kelly started clapping enthusiastically, with Alex joining in immediately and everyone else soon after.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve decided to join us,¡± David said. ¡°We¡¯ll be discussing more about the dungeon tomorrow, although for now it looks like the party will be you, Alex, Duane, and Mia and Sam, who I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve met.¡±


    From David¡¯s gesture, Levi guessed that Duane was the person at the table whose name he hadn¡¯t known.


    ¡°As of right now,¡± David continued, ¡°we are going to continue our discussion about what needs to be done to relocate. You are welcome to stay, but don¡¯t feel pressured to if you would rather be doing other things.¡±


    Levi wasn¡¯t too invested in the outpost yet and sticking around for a boring meeting didn¡¯t interest him so he politely excused himself, instead making his way to the dining area for some food. There was still a lot for him to think over and he planned to turn in early after eating. Tomorrow would likely be a big day.

 Chapter Thirty-Nine

    The next morning Levi found himself in the same room as the night prior, but this time with an extra two people, presumably Mia and Sam. The atmosphere was not nearly as dark as the night before, possibly because of the beams of morning sunlight shining through the windows. It was much harder to be all doom and gloom when it was so bright. Once everyone settled down David started speaking.


    ¡°Sam, Mia, I know this is a bit short notice, but something rather important has come up. I will be making an announcement about it later today, but we have deemed the threat of monster hordes too much, and as such have decided to move the outpost. This is in response to the news that the main settlement has been destroyed. There are likely no survivors.¡±


    Levi could tell that both Sam and Mia had questions, but under David¡¯s intense stare neither of them seemed to be able to interrupt him.


    ¡°We have also determined that our previous efforts at raising our combat level is insufficient, so we have decided to undertake a slightly more dangerous path in the hopes of securing our safety. Both of you have been chosen to participate, although of course you are free to refuse. I know you have questions, but please save them until the end.¡±


    David then paused, letting the gravitas of what he was saying sink in.


    ¡°First let me formally introduce the newest member of our settlement. This is Levi, who joined us a few days ago. He appeared by himself and was able to survive up until now. Partly thanks to luck, also thanks to his unique experiences. Alex, if you would.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Alex said, taking over the explanation. ¡°Both of you are familiar with the concept of dungeons, right? So Levi here found a dungeon, which is why he is as powerful as he is. He was able to clear it and got some sweet rewards from doing so. Part of those rewards is the ability to sense the location of other dungeons, a sense which tells him that a dungeon is located across the river. We plan to make a party of myself, Levi, Duane, and you two to go raid it and then catch up to everyone else after we come out.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean exactly by dungeon?¡± Sam said. ¡°If you mean like dungeons in video games there are quite a few different types.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell them about it Levi?¡± David said.


    Levi was caught a little off guard be asked to speak, but thinking about it more it made sense. Telling everyone about his experiences was important not only for them deciding if they wanted to come or not, but also so they had a rough idea of what it would be like inside, although there was no guarantee that all dungeons were similar.


    He spent the next few hours telling everyone about his dungeon experience, this time going into a little more detail. Those details weren¡¯t all that relevant for people not entering a dungeon, but for dungeon divers, knowing was half the battle. Alternatively, having an idea of what a dungeon would hold could lead to assumptions, but Levi made sure to stress the danger of it. He knew there was a risk of people dying, but he wanted to make it as low as possible. He didn¡¯t want another solo clear.


    During this tale of his experiences he received more questions, mostly from the people on the dungeon diving team but occasionally one from David or Kelly. Only two people didn¡¯t speak up. Agatha wasn¡¯t that surprising, but Levi was a little surprised that Duane didn¡¯t have any questions, although it was possible others just got to them first. Levi patiently answered all the questions until he finally got one that stumped him.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Sam said, ¡°Let me get something straight. Why didn¡¯t you leave? From what it sounds like, you only survived due to luck. Why wouldn¡¯t you leave the dungeon as soon as you realized how dangerous it was? You didn¡¯t even know what the rewards would be, or even if there were any. I¡¯m not even sure why you are willing to go into one again, and it even sounds like you actively want to. Something doesn¡¯t add up here.¡±


    Levi opened his mouth to reply before slowly closing it. He realized he had no clue how to answer that question. He had never even thought about it before, which now that the question was asked of him felt rather strange. He tried to recall his thoughts at the time, but he couldn¡¯t remember anything about going backwards. He knew that you could. Susan had made sure they tested that when they entered, but somehow it never came up again.


    The more Levi thought about it the stranger it seemed. He had been very careful to avoid any mentions of Susan in his story, saying instead that he had entered by himself. He had been the one that wanted to enter, but Susan had still come along. And not wanted to leave. They were almost killed by the first trap. Surely they must have at least talked about leaving? Susan had even killed monsters outside, so it wasn¡¯t like they were running from anything or needed immediate shelter. But as hard as he tried Levi couldn¡¯t remember even a single word or thought expressing the desire to leave.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said, a frustrated look on his face.


    ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know?¡± Sam said. ¡°Did the boulder actually hit you on the head or something? You must have at least thought about leaving?¡±


    Levi shook his head. ¡°I can only remember thinking about how to defeat the dungeon. I¡¯m not sure why.¡±


    ¡°That, that right there,¡± Sam said, jabbing her finger towards Levi. ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with that. And why didn¡¯t any of you all pick up on this? Instead you guys all seem gung-ho about entering this dungeon despite having zero idea about what¡¯s inside. I¡¯m all for getting stronger, but something stinks.¡±


    Levi wasn¡¯t sure what to say to that. To be frank, he agreed with her. Something did seem strange about the whole thing, but he couldn¡¯t really figure out why. He remembered that at the time it just seemed so natural to continue into the dungeon. And he had survived, so it couldn¡¯t have been completely crazy. Thoughts kept swirling around his head, each one more chaotic than the last. He could feel his heart rate speeding up. Finally, he activated Concentrated Will, moving his thinking to something else entirely. He would go crazy if he continued his previous line of thought.


    Everyone had lapsed into a brief silence, reflecting on what Sam said. David was the first one to speak.


    ¡°Levi, there¡¯s something you should be aware of. Sam has a skill that gives her resistance to mind altering effects. More specifically, it targets those from the System. So far we were unable to find a use for that part of the skill, but it seems that¡¯s no longer true.¡±


    ¡°Damn straight,¡± Sam said. ¡°It looks like all of you were suckered by the System. There¡¯s obviously more to these dungeons than the System is telling us if it¡¯s trying to force us to destroy them.¡±


    Levi¡¯s mind reeled. There was a part of him that knew what Sam and David were saying made sense, but there was also a part of him that just couldn¡¯t accept it. It was the System. The System did that to him. To Susan. It was a huge bombshell, but Levi new he would have to focus on it later. He didn¡¯t want to freak out in front of everyone. There would be time to reflect later.


    ¡°I think Sam might be right,¡± Levi said slowly. ¡°Now that she pointed it out to me, some things don¡¯t add up. I¡¯ve also had a feeling in the back of my mind that I should go over to the dungeon on the other side of the river and enter it. I wasn¡¯t sure why I was feeling that way, but now¡­¡±


    The group lapsed into silence, each one lost in their own thoughts. A plan that had seemed like a done deal now had a large element of uncertainty to it. A potentially unacceptable amount. Everyone one of them at some point had wondered about the System and what force was at play supporting it. They now had a hint about its goals, and that hint didn¡¯t look like it lead to good things. And it also begged the question that if the System was subtly manipulating them once, what was to stop it from doing so twice?


    ¡°It seems there is still more to discuss,¡± David said. ¡°Setting aside the issue of the System manipulating us in other ways, in regard to our planned dungeon excursion I believe there are two important things to focus on. One, whether this System influence is good or bad, and two, whether this is still our best option for growing stronger.¡±


    Levi had trouble believing what he just heard.


    ¡°Wait, you mean you are still considering this? It¡¯s clear there is something going on here.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s always something going on,¡± Agatha said, speaking up for the first time during the meeting. ¡°It might not be so apparent to you young people, but there¡¯s always a power behind the scenes. Sometimes you need to fight that power, and sometimes you are helpless and can only go on about your life doing the best you can with the situation you¡¯re in. It¡¯s true that it¡¯s probably crazy to enter the dungeon, but I think you should know better than all of us what the potential rewards are. Everything in life has a risk. Our job is determining which risks are acceptable and which ones aren¡¯t.¡±


    Levi settled back into his seat, focusing on using Concentrated Will to calm down. He knew sense when he heard it, even if his emotions were still fighting to cloud his mind. Maybe he had been thinking about things all wrong. It was possible that Susan might have still died if they hadn¡¯t gone into the dungeon. She only had a limited amount of bullets, and Levi had no clue how he would have gone about obtaining combat skills without Aecylic Empowerment as the base. Maybe he hadn¡¯t fucked up completely.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± Levi said. ¡°I guess I wasn¡¯t thinking things through.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± David said. ¡°You are absolutely correct that in the optimal situation we would avoid the unknown if we could, but life is never so simple. Even without this issue, entering an unknown area always contains danger. It¡¯s just that now that danger had risen. Maybe that makes it not worth the risk, but as the people going that is for all of you to decide.¡±


    The conversation continued, with everyone going over the previous discussion in the light of the new information. At first, Levi was hesitant to join in, feeling embarrassment over his blunder and inadequate in contributing on something he so obviously failed in. But other than some pointed looks from Sam, everyone else seemed happy to hear his opinion, even going so far to seek it out. He was clearly being treated as part of the team, and it made him feel things he hadn¡¯t felt in a long time.


    Sometimes being around other people wasn¡¯t so bad after all.

 Chapter Forty

    The meeting had wrapped up before midday and by late afternoon Levi was on a small boat headed across the river to the dungeon. They had decided to go ahead with the dungeon conquering plan, and once it had been given the green light, it felt like the preparations had finished even before they had begun. The packs they had on with food, water, and other supplies made Levi¡¯s first trip into a dungeon seem like a death wish, which, to be fair, it probably was. The trip was getting his blood boiling, and Levi couldn¡¯t wait to start the exploration. He had spent too long doing nothing these past few days.


    ¡°You¡¯re sure you can guide us to the dungeon, right?¡± Alex asked as they neared the far shore.


    ¡°I should be able to,¡± Levi said. ¡°I can somehow feel where the dungeon is. It¡¯s almost like a sixth sense. I can¡¯t really explain it.¡±


    ¡°As long as you can get us there,¡± Sam said. ¡°It¡¯d be pretty shitty if we went through all that discussion and packing for there to not be a dungeon.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s there,¡± Levi said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I believe it¡¯s there,¡± Sam said, ¡°I just kind of wish it weren¡¯t. There¡¯s still a part of me that thinks this is a terrible idea.¡±


    ¡°Well if we get into trouble you will just have to pull us out of it,¡± Mia said, patting Sam on the shoulder.


    It had been decided that if the group got in over their heads Sam had veto power and could make everyone retreat. There was a chance that the dungeon would interfere with their thoughts, making them not want to leave, so Sam, who was resistant to mental influences of the System, could signal a retreat if things got too hot.


    Levi wasn¡¯t really worried about that though. If he was able to clear a dungeon by himself, than it should be easy enough for the five of them to do so. They were much better prepared and equipped than he was, not to mention more powerful. Even if the others couldn¡¯t pull their weight he was confident he could pick up the slack. If the dungeon was impossible for him to destroy, it wasn¡¯t meant to be destroyed. Unless it countered him in some way. While he was very good at punching things, if there were a bunch of puzzles to solve he might be in trouble.


    Soon they reached the other side of the river and found a place to hide the boat. The boat was their only way across the river, so if something happened to it while they were gone they would have to find another way to cross the river. Swimming was always possible, but it wouldn¡¯t be easy to keep their supplies dry while taking a dip.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Levi said, pointing out over the prairie. ¡°It should be over there. I¡¯m not sure how far, but it shouldn¡¯t be more than a day or two.¡±


    ¡°Everyone, follow Levi,¡± Alex said. ¡°But keep an eye out for any trouble. At this point in time we should consider ourselves on our own. It will take a few days for David and Kelly to organize everyone and move the outpost, but right now we can¡¯t depend on them for assistance.¡±


    Levi lead the way forward, and as he was walking he couldn¡¯t help but whistle a jaunty tune. He may be headed into a murder dungeon, but he had been missing the feeling of growing stronger and surpassing his limits. He was confident in his strength, but he could still remember what it felt like to be helpless and alone. He didn¡¯t want to feel like that ever again, and if that required blood sweat and tears it was a price he would pay willingly.


    While they walked along Alex decided they were not using their time efficiently and should talk strategy. They had only briefly touched on it during the meeting, and he wanted to get a head start before they entered the dungeon.


    ¡°Alright people, listen up,¡± Alex said. ¡°We should make sure we have at least some general strategy before entering the dungeon. Who here is familiar with role-playing games?¡±


    Levi and Sam raised their hands, while Mia said, ¡°Eh, I know a little.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± Alex said, nodding sagely. ¡°Well the basic idea is to use the general optimal layout for a party in role-playing games. I will take the position of the tank, being the one to soak up the damage. Levi will be the close-ranged DPS, or the person actually killing things. Sam will take the position of the rogue or thief, doing things like scouting while also contributing to the DPS. Sam, you will also be responsible for lookout duty during the fight. You always need to keep an eye out for other threats. Mia and Duane, both of you will be the ranged DPS, with Mia shooting arrows and Duane using magic. The idea is that both of you should be protected at the back so you will be able to attack freely.¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°DPS means damage, right?¡± Mia asked.


    ¡°Yeah. It stands for damage per second.¡±


    ¡°What about other stuff?¡± Sam asked, voicing what Levi had been thinking about earlier.


    ¡°What do you mean other stuff?¡± Alex said.


    ¡°I mean stuff other than combat. It sounded like Levi faced mostly combat in the dungeon he was in, but there is no guarantee that is the case for this one. You said I was the thief, but I have no clue how to disarm traps for instance.¡±


    ¡°I can take care of that part,¡± Levi said. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything specific for dealing with traps, but I do have some more generic skills that should help locate them. Or we can just send Alex in to tank everything.¡±


    ¡°Hey now, don¡¯t get too carried away,¡± Alex said. ¡°I might be the tank, but we don¡¯t have a healer so I still need to preserve my well-being.¡±


    ¡°About that,¡± Levi said. ¡°Does no one in the outpost have a healing skill? I would think it would be one of the main things people would try to get, what with being in a group and all.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that no one tried,¡± Alex said, ¡°but no one succeeded. There might have been people with more luck in the main settlement, but¡­ Well, none were with us at least.¡±


    It was a stark reminder, bringing up what happened to the main settlement. It really put their situation into perspective. It wasn¡¯t just about them. While increasing personal strength was important, the general idea was to gain more power so they could safely protect their settlement. Even Levi who had just joined felt a sense of connection, even if it was only to a few people. There was also safety in numbers, and the more people the more they could spread the jobs around. Levi would much rather punch monsters than dig sewage pits.


    ¡°Speaking of our lack of healing,¡± Sam said. ¡°How much risk do we want to take?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Alex said.


    ¡°You said we should be in a regular party formation, but that doesn¡¯t give us any idea of what the overall strategy will be. Like if we run into a group of monsters are we going to try and ambush them? Fight them directly? Kite them into a trap?¡±


    ¡°I think safety should be our primary goal,¡± Alex said after thinking it over. ¡°If there is time, we can make a detailed plan of how to go about tackling obstacles, but if something is sprung on us, safety comes first. Don¡¯t abandon the team though. We need to make sure to stick together.¡±


    ¡°What about obstacles in the terrain?¡± Mia asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t Levi¡¯s dungeon have some of that?¡±


    ¡°It did,¡± Levi said. ¡°In particular, the room where I needed to jump over lava. Not only was the temperature exceedingly high, but there was a strange effect on my mind. I was lucky to survive it.¡±


    ¡°What happens if we encounter something like that?¡± Mia said, frowning. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I will be able to jump across lava.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll cross that bridge when we come to it,¡± Alex said. ¡°As long as there isn¡¯t a time crunch we can take our time figuring out how to defeat each obstacle. With five people putting their heads together we should be able to figure something out.¡±


    The rest of their travel passed uneventfully, and it was early the next morning when they finally arrived at the dungeon. Unlike the one Levi had seen before, the entrance to this one couldn¡¯t be more different. Whereas the other one was secluded and set into the side of a giant tree, this one was a standalone gate, lording over the plains surrounding it. It was huge, and must have been at least three stories tall. It was ostentatious too, with the sides made of tall ornate columns and the top featuring detailed frescoes. It looked like something out of a Greek temple rather than a dungeon entrance. But the swirling misty gray almost see-through but not space in the middle confirmed that it was indeed a dungeon.


    The gate had been visible from quite a long way away, but the trip up to it couldn¡¯t convey its majesty. When the group of five finally arrived at its feet they stood there in silence, soaking up the sight of the gate. Alex slowly walked over to it, gently touching the columns, almost as if he was afraid it was nothing but an illusion and would evaporate into motes of light at any moment.


    ¡°Ha-ha, a dungeon!¡± Alex said. ¡°A real dungeon! I feel like my life is complete and I can die peacefully.¡±


    Levi smiled to himself. Alex¡¯s reaction was similar to the reaction he had when he first encountered a dungeon. But as he thought about it more, Levi¡¯s smile slowly went away, the reality of what was going on slowly dawning on him.


    ¡°Do you guys know how Alex is feeling?¡± Levi said, probing the others. He was almost dreading their answer, but he had to ask the question.


    Mia and Duane nodded, it felt like almost unconsciously. Seeing their reactions, Levi knew his guess was correct.


    ¡°What about you Sam?¡± he said. ¡°Do you feel the same way as Alex?¡±


    ¡°Why should I?¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s just a dungeon.¡±


    ¡°We might have a slight problem then,¡± Levi said. ¡°As soon as we got here, Alex, Mia, and Duane all are enamored with the dungeon to one degree or another. Sam on the other hand, is not. That spells trouble.¡±


    Sam was the first one to realize what he was saying.


    ¡°The dungeon is fucking with them. I¡¯m not affected, but all three of them are somehow now ardent dungeon believers and want to throw their lives away and waltz right into a death trap.¡±


    ¡°Surely it can¡¯t be that bad, right?¡± Alex said. ¡°I was only happy that we finally found the dungeon.¡±


    Levi shook his head. ¡°The response you had just now was almost exactly the same as the one I first had upon finding a dungeon.¡±


    Everyone quieted down, each lost in their own thoughts. Levi struggled not to let out a large sigh. This dungeon wouldn¡¯t be as simple as he was hoping it would be, he could already tell. They hadn¡¯t even entered and it was already causing problems. And what made it worse was the whole time they had been standing in front of the dungeon Levi could feel a little voice in the back of his head urging him to enter the dungeon and destroy it.

 Chapter Forty-One

    Half a day had passed, and it was now afternoon. The group had decided to sleep on the dungeon situation, so right now everyone was lazing around in their campsite outside of the dungeon entrance, not focusing on the dungeon. Or that¡¯s what they were supposed to be doing. Levi knew he wasn¡¯t doing a very good job of clearing his thoughts, and he suspected it was the same for everyone else, even Sam. It was hard to ignore the dungeon entrance as it towered over them. The longer he sat there the more he adjusted to the insidious pull of the dungeon, but while he got better at ignoring the System¡¯s urging him to enter, thoughts about whether they should enter or not still whirled round his head. It felt like a damned if you do, damned if you don¡¯t kind of situation.


    It was getting to the point where he didn¡¯t even care anymore. Safety wise, it was better to not enter the dungeon. Except the whole reason they were entering it in the first place was to gain more power, because they weren¡¯t safe outside the dungeon. The whole thing was a logic knot that made his brain hurt, and he was now doing his best to just ignore it. At the moment, he knew that if everyone else entered the dungeon he would enter too, and if they decided not to enter, well, he would think about that then.


    Levi knew that his thoughts probably meant that he really wanted to enter the dungeon, but whether that was his true intentions or the System¡¯s¡­ The whole thing was a mess. But everything was a mess, really. They were on some alien world with monsters trying to eat their face off and a somewhat malicious System that may or may not want them to survive. They were probably lucky to even be alive.


    Finally Levi got sick of sitting around and brooding. Part of his reason for finding other people was so they could think about this stuff. Right now, he just wanted to punch something.


    ¡°Hey Alex,¡± Levi said, walking over to him. ¡°Wanna spar?¡±


    Alex seemed to consider the offer for all of two seconds before he responded with ¡°Bring it¡±.


    The two of them moved a little away from the campsite before taking their starting positions. Levi had never been one for fighting back on Earth, but there was something freeing about letting your fists do the talking. There was a sense of control. Back home, Levi had been at the mercy of so many other people. But when he was fighting he could let it all go and fly. On second thought, that might have been the Aecylic Energy speaking.


    He shook his head. Between the System and Aecylic Energy the inside of his head was a pretty fucked up place. All he could do now was to push on and hope it all worked out.


    Levi and Alex ended up sparring until it got dark. Neither of them was giving it their all, but it was still a good workout. They only ended up stopping because Alex collapsed. Levi suspected his stats were quite a bit higher than Alex¡¯s, as he only had a slight soreness in his muscles, and that was without using Aecylic Empowerment. If he had been channeling Aecylic Energy he suspected he wouldn¡¯t have felt tired at all.


    After the spar he still wasn¡¯t that tired and wasn¡¯t sure he could sleep so he volunteered to take the first watch. Truthfully, he wasn¡¯t sure he was going to wake the next person up. He didn¡¯t think he could sleep at all this close to the dungeon. Its presence made it hard for him to relax and let his guard down.


    After everyone had settled down, Levi was sitting by himself next to the embers of a fire when he noticed movement among the tents. He wasn¡¯t sure who he expected, but Duane certainly wasn¡¯t it. The large man walked over to sit next to the burned out fire, his dark skin blending in with the night.


    Neither of them spoke, they just sat there staring at the embers, small flames flickering over the dying coals. Levi felt like he should say something, but he had no clue what to say. He had barely heard Duane speak, and knew almost nothing about him. What would he say, how¡¯s the weather? Levi had never been good at small talk at the best of times, and this certainly wasn¡¯t him at his best.


    But as Duane sat there, Levi felt the pressure to speak melt away. There was just something solid about the man, something that didn¡¯t need words. While others might have a charisma based on speech, Duane had one based on silence. He made Levi feel like it wasn¡¯t his first rodeo, like this was all old hat to him. Perhaps he had been in the army back on Earth.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Right as Levi thought they would both just sit there is silence, Duane spoke.


    ¡°You seem troubled.¡±


    Levi waited, expecting him to keep going. His voice was deep, and it somehow drew Levi in, making him wait for his next words. But they never came, and Levi realized that Duane was giving him an opening. Speak, or be silent. He chose to speak.


    ¡°I guess I am. There¡¯s just a lot to take in and a lot that I should be doing, but¡­¡±


    ¡°It sounds like you are worried about surviving.¡±


    Levi nodded. ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s more than that. I just¡­¡± He wasn¡¯t really able to put it into words. How could anyone describe what he had been through? It was just so foreign to the live he used to be living.


    ¡°Anyone would question their decisions when confronted with something like a dungeon,¡± Duane said, his slow placid voice resonating around the campfire. ¡°But I think you might be too focused on the past. You are alive. You have survived, and that means you won. You made the right choice, whatever that was. And if you could make the right choice in the past, it means you can make the right choice in the future. Sometimes just staying alive is all that matters.¡±


    Having said his piece, Duane got back up and made his way back to his tent, leaving Levi alone with his thoughts. At first, he wasn¡¯t sure what to make of what Duane said. But as he thought about it more, it felt like it boiled down to having more confidence in himself. He had been so focused on his failures that he didn¡¯t think about the fact that he had survived something that would have killed a lot of other people. That had killed someone, someone who by all rights should have had a better chance at surviving.


    Levi activated Concentrated Will and closed his eyes, taking deep breathes. It was kind of amazing that Duane had comforted him without even knowing what was wrong. Maybe he had been too focused on stuff that didn¡¯t matter. Coming back into contact with other Humans had made him pick back up on a lot of the trappings of society, along with all of its baggage. He was alive, and right now, he had to focus on how to continue to be alive. He didn¡¯t have the luxury of focusing on anything else.


    The next morning everyone met together to discuss whether to enter the dungeon or not and, even surprising himself, Levi was the first to speak.


    ¡°I think we should enter,¡± he said, starting off the discussion.


    ¡°Do you have any reasons for that?,¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s just more of a feeling. I¡¯m not too good with estimated how dangerous it is, or what is our statistically best option, but I know that if we want to get stronger we should go in, and I think we need to get stronger.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Alex said. ¡°Anyone else have any thoughts?¡±


    ¡°I agree with Levi,¡± Sam said. ¡°We need to grow stronger. We¡¯ve been taking it easy in the outpost. This isn¡¯t a video game with a starter zone and easy level progression. There¡¯s no save points. If we want to be sure we can survive, we have to take some risks.¡±


    ¡°Mia, Duane?¡± Alex asked.


    ¡°I say we go for it!¡± Mia said, while Duane just shrugged in a ¡®anything works for me¡¯ kind of gesture.


    ¡°I also think we should go in,¡± Alex said. ¡°We knew this might be dangerous, but we also know it is possible to survive and defeat a dungeon, courtesy of Levi. Nothing ventured nothing gained.¡±


    With their plan decided, they spent half an hour going over their formation and tactics again, what little there was, before packing up their campsite. Levi felt a lot more relaxed today then he did yesterday. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was from Duane¡¯s talk or the fact that everyone seemed to be on the same page about entering the dungeon, but he was definitely feeling more positive and self-confident. He had already cleared a dungeon after all. If he could do it once, he could do it twice.


    But as soon as they entered the dungeon that confidence took a rather steep blow. In the other dungeon, Levi had entered through a giant tree into an underground tunnel. For this dungeon, the group entered through a giant dolmen gate in a field into a full-blown forest. There had been some part of Levi that thought that all dungeons would be, well, dungeony. He was obviously wrong, and as he looked around and soaked in the ginormous trees surrounding them he realized this would be a very different experience than his last one.


    ¡°Just to make sure,¡± Alex said to Levi, ¡°but the dungeon you entered before didn¡¯t have a bunch of trees in it, right?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°No, it was all underground tunnels.¡±


    ¡°Maybe dungeons are like, reverse?¡± Mia said, looking around in awe at their surroundings. ¡°Didn¡¯t Levi enter through a tree? Now we entered through a gate and came out in a tree.¡±


    It was true. While the outside entrance was an ornately carved dolmen gate in the middle of a field, the inside entrance in the dungeon was set into a tree, similar to the outside of the dungeon Levi had been in.


    ¡°Focus guys,¡± Sam said. ¡°Levi, any idea what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Not a clue. This is, uh, a bit different. The dungeon I was in only really had one path, but I don¡¯t see any signs anywhere of where we should go.¡±


    There really wasn¡¯t anything around them except for virgin forest. Levi had thought dungeons would all be the same: follow a path towards the dungeon core. But standing there in the forest he realized getting lost might be a bigger threat than monsters. If they ran into trouble, even if Sam told them to retreat back out they might not know the way. His newfound confidence couldn¡¯t help but take a hit. This dungeon was going to be trouble, he could feel it.

 Chapter Forty-Two

    The group¡¯s first day in the dungeon consisted of them waiting around at the entrance for something to ambush them. They had tossed a lot of ideas around, but no one had been able to come up with a satisfactory solution for their current predicament. In the end, they decided to wait and see if any monsters attacked them. None did, and the next morning they were in the same position they were in the previous day, albeit with slightly more information.


    Now that their previous plan of wait and see didn¡¯t yield results, they gathered in a circle to figure out what to do next.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Alex said. ¡°We need a plan guys. If there¡¯s monsters here they don¡¯t seem willing to attack us near the dungeon entrance. I¡¯m not really sure if that means anything or not, but it looks like we are going to have to move.¡±


    Alex then looked expectantly at the others, waiting for them to speak. No one did.


    ¡°C¡¯mon,¡± He said, ¡°doesn¡¯t anyone have any ideas? We can¡¯t wait around here forever?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re our leader, right?¡± Sam said. ¡°Isn¡¯t it your job to create a plan?¡±


    Alex¡¯s face twisted. It was obvious that he, like everyone else, didn¡¯t want to be stuck with the job of dictating their actions going forward. It would have been one thing to lead the team through a linear dungeon, but exploring a giant forest was something else entirely.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just explore?¡± Levi said, filling the awkward silence. ¡°We have no better ideas, right? This is still a dungeon, so there must be something here. As long as we can keep our bearings and systematically explore the forest we should find something eventually.¡±


    ¡°Right, good idea Levi!¡± Alex said, as if Levi¡¯s idea was something special and not the obvious thing to do in the situation.


    With their plan decided, they then worked out the kinks, figuring out exactly how they were going to explore the surrounding area. The basic idea was to mark the trees, making clear paths through the forest that even the most directionally challenged person could follow while also simultaneously showing where they had already been. Their biggest worry was getting lost. Despite the unknown, they all still felt confident about facing whatever the dungeon threw at them. Facing starvation from being lost in a forest was a different story, and being without a path of retreat was one of the main things they were trying to avoid.


    With a plan of action, the group then set out to explore the forest. They had created a special marking method to record their progress with the aim of systematically exploring their surroundings while also leaving them a clear path back to the dungeon entrance. A week later and they had made significant progress, but despite that, they had no real results. The forest seemed to be infinite.


    ¡°Are you guys sure we are doing the right thing?¡± Mia asked as they were eating dinner back at their base camp near the entrance.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Alex said. ¡°What else could there be to do other than explore?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t disagree,¡± Sam said, ¡°but I¡¯m starting to wonder if we¡¯ve missed something. We¡¯re supposed to be inside a dungeon, right? This forest shouldn¡¯t go on forever, but there seems to be nothing here! There¡¯s not even any animals. Maybe it actually does go on forever and there is something else we need to do.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve had this conversation before,¡± Levi said, sighing internally. ¡°If we can¡¯t find anything after a month we¡¯ll try and figure something else out, unless you have any new ideas?¡±


    Sam shook her head, showing her defeat. Levi understood her frustration, but he was starting to get a little frustrated himself with his companions¡¯ impatience. They had only been there for a week. He knew how dangerous dungeons could be, and if that danger was substituted with then having to spend time exploring instead of facing life-threatening situations, he was all for it.


    ¡°Cheer up guys,¡± Alex said. ¡°At least we are trapped in a beautiful forest. We could be wandering around in desert environment instead.¡±


    Levi was profoundly grateful for Alex being there. Since Alex was the leader, a lot of the complaints went to him, sparing Levi from dealing with them. Alex also took on the job willingly, seemingly having no problem giving continuous pep talks. Levi wasn¡¯t sure how Alex did it. If he had been in Alex¡¯s position he would have long ago lost it on someone.


    As it turned out they only needed another week and a half of exploring before they found something, bringing their total time in the dungeon to about eighteen days. They had been exploring as normal when they found a clearing in the forest. Cautiously making their way towards it, they group came out of the woods, finding themselves standing before a giant vine-covered monument weathered by the passing of time.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Levi had seen some incredible sights during his time under the System, but nothing had prepared him for this. It looked like the ruin of some ancient civilization, a hulking monument of stone rising up even above the towering trees of the forest. It was made out of a dark grey stone, the swirling patterns engraved on it mostly hidden by legions of vines crawling up its sides. Wanting to see the whole thing, it took the group multiple hours to circle it, revealing a structure not unlike those square-based pyramids that had been built in Central America.


    There were four sets of stairs leading up it, one set for each side. Circling it, the group had not been able to differentiate between the sides, so they just chose the closest set of stairs and began to climb. They mostly remained silent throughout the climb, the sheer grandeur of the structure overwhelming. It made Levi feel small and inconsequential, climbing a building this big. He couldn¡¯t help but have a feeling of reverence sweep over him. He knew that this might just be something that the dungeon had created, but the sense of age and time the building radiated gave him a strange sense of peace. They had started climbing in the early afternoon, but by the time they reached the top it had begun to get dark according to the day and night cycle of the dungeon.


    When the five of them crested the top of the pyramid it was well and truly dark. Luckily the dungeon was fully simulating nature, so there were stars in the sky, barely providing them with enough light to see by. Upon reaching the top, the first thing their group did was make sure there weren¡¯t any hidden dangers. They planned to stay the night and do a full inspection in the morning, but if there was even a scent of danger they agreed to retreat back to their base camp.


    The top of the pyramid was flat, with an open-air temple built on top. Levi could tell that the markings on the pyramid were even more detailed up here, but with the low light he was not able to make out anything more. After an inspection no one was able to find anything other than the stone of the pyramid, so the group made camp, ate dinner, and set a watch for the next day when they would have natural light to inspect the top of the pyramid.


    Levi volunteered for watch duty, with the intention of not waking anyone else up. This wasn¡¯t an uncommon occurrence during his time in the dungeon, as since he had a higher Constitution than everyone else he didn¡¯t need to sleep as much. The reason Levi kept watch by himself was so he could have some time alone. During the day, everyone was together. They even had bathroom buddies. They had all agreed that it was safer to stick together in case something happened. But Levi wasn¡¯t used to spending so much time with people. If he didn¡¯t have time to himself during the night he thought he might have gone crazy.


    Soon everyone else had turned in, leaving Levi alone under the faux stars. The view was quite breathtaking, the whole seemingly endless forest stretching out around him. He understood why people had loved traveling back on Earth. It made him regret never leaving the small area he grew up in if he had been missing out on sights like this.


    Just at Levi was adjusting to the quiet vista he noticed Sam getting out of her bedroll. He assumed that she decided she wanted a drink or a snack before going back to sleep, but instead she moved over to where he was sitting.


    ¡°Can I join you?¡± Sam said in a low voice, careful not to disturb the others sleep.


    Levi was strongly thinking about just saying no, but in the end he nodded his assent. She likely had a reason for joining him, and while he valued his alone time, he knew that keeping good relations with his teammates was of paramount importance. He had slowly been opening up to everyone, and while Duane still kept mostly to himself, it was clear that everyone was much closer together after their time in the dungeon. Levi still wasn¡¯t quite used to it, but it wasn¡¯t a bad feeling, being part of a group like this.


    Sam sat down next to him and Levi kept his silence, waiting for her to talk. She was always one to take the initiative, something which he appreciated. If she had something to say she would say it, and if she didn¡¯t, no amount of prodding from him would make her open up.


    ¡°It¡¯s truly a spectacular view, isn¡¯t it?¡± Sam said, starting up the conversation. ¡°The stars and the trees. I never really thought I would ever see something like this¡­ I¡¯m getting off track.¡±


    Sam took a deep breath before continuing.


    ¡°Back on Earth, let¡¯s just say my life wasn¡¯t the best. It was looking up, but I never really felt like I could get ahead, y¡¯know? Like I would always be under someone¡¯s boot. Then I came here, and for a little while, I hoped things could change. But despite everything I still felt powerless. How could I ever compare to someone like Kelly? I mean, David and Kelly and everyone are doing a great job with the outpost, but I never really felt like I could truly be free. It¡¯s¡­¡±


    Sam paused, thinking about what she wanted to say.


    ¡°But then you came. I¡¯m sure you had a rough time of it, but it felt like you were just able to waltz into the outpost and bend people around your finger. You had power and knowledge, and even though you don¡¯t speak much, people listen to you. I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but it doesn¡¯t feel like you were anyone special before all this happened. Maybe you got lucky, but you weren¡¯t born with a silver spoon. It made me realize that my dreams of achieving true independence might not be too far away after all.¡±


    Levi was stunned. He wasn¡¯t quite sure what Sam meant. People listened to him? Of course they would listen if he knew something they didn¡¯t, but beyond that? It felt like she made him out to be this gritty survivor on some TV show where he survived heavenly tribulations and came back to lead a plucky band of misfits out of some sort of trouble. It honestly felt like she was talking about someone else.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Sam said, ¡°I guess I just wanted to thank you. I was stuck in a rut before, and it feels like you showed me the way forward.¡±


    Levi felt like he should say something, but he had no clue what that was. What did people say in this situation? He didn¡¯t know, his thoughts going in circles.


    Sam stayed awake with him the entire night, neither of them talking, both just sitting there with their own thoughts. When morning came Levi felt like his thinking was just as clouded as when the night began.

 Chapter Forty-Three

    There was a subdued excitement within the group as they ate breakfast the next morning. By some unspoken unanimous agreement they had decided to eat and clean up their camp before exploring the top of the pyramid in the light of day. After shoveling down their food and quickly packing up their campsite they split up, wandering around and inspecting their surroundings, this time with an eye for detail. Levi wasn¡¯t sure what he thought they would find, but he knew they would find something. He could just feel it. The dungeon he had been in before might have tried to kill him, but he didn¡¯t get the sense that it was in any way impossible to get through. This dungeon felt the same way. He knew there was a way forward somewhere, and this felt like that way.


    Despite the top of the pyramid being infinitely narrower than the base, it was still rather large, large enough that you would need to shout to hear someone speaking if both people were on opposite sides. Each of their party members seemed to have their own idea about what part of the pyramid to inspect, and they set about it with gusto. Levi chose to inspect the top of the temple. He didn¡¯t really think there would be anything on the roof, but it was better to get it out of the way beforehand so that he could then start inspecting everything else.


    Gathering his power, Levi jumped, his leap easily making the seven or eight meters distance to the temple roof. Once up there, he had figured he would look around to confirm there was nothing there. Instead, he found himself slack jawed, staring at a huge mural all made in bas relief. It covered the whole temple roof, and Levi wandered over it in awe, trying to take everything in.


    It seemed to depict one scene, but the scale of that scene was immense. It showed a battle, one that appeared to have four sides. There were three different armies made up of various humanoid figures and they all were fighting a mass of tentacles and darkness. Levi got the feeling what they were fighting wasn¡¯t what was literally depicted, but rather the relief was a representations of some greater power that was unable to be etched into stone.


    For the sheer size of the mural the detail was impeccable, and Levi found himself lost in the story the relief was telling. Each small section seemed to tell a tale all on its own but also seamlessly blended in with the greater whole. He had never been to any famous art museums, but he had seen pictures online, and he had a feeling nothing on Earth could compare to what he was looking at. The roof of the temple had to be at least the size of a small sports field, the scope of the mural truly mind boggling.


    It must have taken him hours to take it all in, and he got lost in his appreciation, completely forgetting what his original purpose was. When he finally remembered why he was there he had painstakingly looked over the whole mural. It was a beautiful piece of art, but thinking back over the whole thing there was nothing that seemed helpful for their dungeon run. Sighing, Levi jumped back down from the roof, joining everyone else in their search.


    While he had been on the roof no one else had any luck, and as Levi came down he saw them all still searching for any clues. Duane was off towards the edge, while Sam was inspecting the pillars that held the temple roof up. Alex and Mia were towards the center of the temple, inspecting the floor. Levi decided to join them there. The temple was barren, the part of the pyramid under the roof just as flat as the rest, but he figured if there was a clue it would likely be in the center. Or at least that was as good a place to start as any.


    ¡°Find anything up there?¡± Sam said, looking up from her inspection.


    Levi shook his head. ¡°Nope. There¡¯s an amazing mural, but nothing that seemed like it had any clues about the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too bad,¡± Sam said. ¡°So far it¡¯s the same down here. The art is amazing, but so far no secret doors or convenient directional signs.¡±


    Levi nodded and continued on his way over towards Alex and Mia. He wasn¡¯t discouraged in the least by no one finding anything. He was sure something was here, they just had to keep looking or it. Just as he was thinking that he heard Mia mumble something.


    ¡°Huh, these holes look kind of strange. Almost like something is missing here.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    Levi would have missed it if he didn¡¯t have improved senses, but Alex who was closer was able to hear it more clearly. Mia was clearly talking to herself, but Alex responded anyway.


    ¡°Missing? What do you mean?¡± He wasn¡¯t even paying any attention to what Mia was looking at, focused on his own section of the pyramid.


    ¡°I mean these circle things here. If you compare it to the pattern everywhere else doesn¡¯t it feel like there should be something in them?¡±


    At this point Levi joined her, taking a look at what she was talking about. Similar to the roof of the temple, the top of the pyramid was covered with inscriptions and sculpted murals, and although the detail was a bit more subdued, it was still impressive and a lot to take in. The part Mia was talking about was almost in the direct center of the temple, making it close to the center of the whole pyramid. Levi could understand why she was focusing on this part. It would make sense for something of interest to be located here. Or at least sense to a human. He wasn¡¯t sure the System would agree.


    The specific things she was talking about were three circular depressions, spread in a perfect position to form an equilateral triangle. This part of the pyramid had more detailed designs, but there were plenty of other locations where there were rises and falls in the sculpting, so Levi wasn¡¯t quite sure what Mia meant.


    ¡°Can you explain more?¡± Levi said, taking a look at the three depressions. ¡°Is there a reason why you think something is missing?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a feeling,¡± Mia said. ¡°Just something about the pattern makes me feel like there should be something there. It doesn¡¯t make sense for there to be three perfectly round circles in the ground and for something not to go in them, right?¡±


    ¡°You mean like blood or something?¡± Levi asked. ¡°Maybe we have to perform a human sacrifice to fill each hole with blood.¡± He was thinking back to the Aztecs. Maybe the four-sided pyramid was the clue?


    Mia shook he head. ¡°No! I mean like something should go in them. Maybe some sort of sphere or something.¡±


    ¡°You mean like an orb? Now that you mention it, I think I saw something about three orbs on the roof of the temple.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Alex shouted, running over to them. ¡°Of course! It¡¯s so obvious!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so obvious?¡± Mia said, scowling. ¡°You can¡¯t just shout ¡°it¡¯s obvious¡± without telling us what it is.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right, Mia,¡± Alex said, his excitement radiating off him in waves. ¡°These holes are the key. I should have thought of it sooner. Those perfectly circular holes are too suspicious. I bet we have to collect three orbs and fit them in the holes, opening up some secret tunnel or something.¡±


    By this point Sam and Duane had noticed the commotion and came over to join them.


    What¡¯s all this about?¡± Sam asked, looking over the three depressions.


    ¡°It¡¯s the key!¡± Alex said. ¡°I¡¯m sure of it. All we need to do is find the three orbs which will unlock the secret tunnel!¡± As he continued speaking he seemed to grow even more sure of himself. Sam wasn¡¯t convinced though.


    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± She said. ¡°And what makes you so sure of this? It sounds like you would have us go off on a wild goose chase. And how are we even supposed to identify these orbs anyway?¡±


    ¡°I think he¡¯s right,¡± Levi said. ¡°I saw something on the roof that might be a depiction of the orbs we need.¡±


    ¡°What are we waiting for?¡± Alex said. ¡°To the roof!¡±


    The group made their way to the temple roof by way of Levi tossing them up there before he led them to the center to the mural.


    ¡°Look, right here. This is the main scene. There are three armies fighting some monster of some sort. Right here, here, and here, look, each of the commanders has an orb.¡±


    When he had looked at it before the orbs didn¡¯t appear to be that important, appearing as merely one of the many things the generals were carrying. But now they appeared more mystical, powering the weapons each of the three generals were holding, producing the power to fight off their foe.


    ¡°So we just need to take these orbs down to the holes below?¡± Mia asked.


    ¡°No, I think these are only depictions,¡± Levi said, as Alex moved forward to take a closer look at the orbs. He inspected all three of them, before activating his defensive skill and giving one a good punch, resulting in some stone flaking off of it.


    ¡°Levi¡¯s right,¡± Alex said. ¡°It looks like these are just sculptures. We need to find the real thing.¡±


    ¡°And how do you propose we do that?¡± Sam asked.


    ¡°There should be a clue somewhere,¡± Levi said, looking around. ¡°If we really do need to find those orbs, and I think we do, this seems like a test by the dungeon rather than some impossible task. There must be clues as to their location hidden somewhere. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s up here or down on top of the pyramid, but there should be something.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s split up and start searching then,¡± Alex said. ¡°Look for anything that might have a relations to these three orbs.¡±


    The five of them split up, now with a clear goal to pursue. But even with an idea of what they were looking for the area they were searching was vast, and the amount of detail they had to sift through could drive even the biggest hidden object fan crazy. Just as the light was dimming and they were about to have to call it quits for the day Duane called everyone over, saying he might have found a clue.

 Chapter Forty-Four

    Duane had been searching near the edge of the pyramid, and everyone hurried over to his location after he called them, huddling around him in a circle. Duane still barely spoke, so Levi was partially expecting him to continue to remain silent and just point at what he found, but contrary to his expectations Duane didn¡¯t hesitate to speak up.


    ¡°Right here,¡± Duane said, gesturing to the inscriptions on the ground below him. ¡°I think this might be what we are looking for.¡±


    The group inspected the ground, poring over the details, searching for some clue.


    ¡°I give up,¡± Alex said. ¡°What are we supposed to be looking for?¡±


    Duane pointed to a particular section. ¡°Here. See this person? I wasn¡¯t sure at first, but take a look at what they are holding.¡±


    ¡°You mean the bag?¡± Alex asked. ¡°Is that relevant?¡±


    Duane nodded. ¡°I believe so.¡± He then launched into a full-blown explanation of his thoughts.


    ¡°At first, I also thought it was just a bag someone was holding, but after looking at the surroundings, I noticed that all the figures in this area for from one of the factions. Most other areas have an intermingling, or people who could be from any of the three factions, but this area only had the one. Then I saw the scene over here.¡±


    The group shuffled after Duane as he led them a short distance away to show them another scene.


    ¡°It¡¯s the commander,¡± Levi said, inspecting the scene closely. ¡°He seems to be making a final stand of some sort. And he doesn¡¯t have the orb.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what clued me in,¡± Duane said. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have the orb. Which got me thinking, what if the orb were something precious, and knowing he was about to fight in a battle that he could lose, the commander sent the orb away to be hidden somewhere?¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you think that bag is the orb?¡± Sam asked, skepticism heavy in her voice. ¡°That seems like a long shot to me.¡±


    ¡°No, what he says makes sense,¡± Mia said. ¡°But I agree that it is kind of a long shot.¡±


    ¡°You have other reasons though, right?¡± Levi asked. He didn¡¯t know Duane all that well, but he didn¡¯t think Duane was the kind of person to spout things off randomly. There was likely another piece to the puzzle.


    Sure enough, Duane led them along a path, running from the scene of the final stand by the commander to the person fleeing with the bag. It clearly showed a progression, each scene relating to the others and forming a picture that heavily backed up what Duane said. Of course, it was impossible to know for sure, but based on how the commander didn¡¯t have the orb and then following the trail of breadcrumbs it appeared that the person fleeing with the bag was certainly protecting something, and without any better ideas, the orb seemed to be it.


    ¡°Now feel the bag,¡± Duane said, after they came back to the original scene.


    Levi was the first to kneel down and run his hands over the carving. Despite it being made out of the same stone as the rest of the pyramid, the bag almost felt like it was truly a piece of cloth. And that it contained a sphere inside.


    ¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Levi said. ¡°You guys should feel it too. I know it¡¯s just a sculpture, but something tells me that is supposed to be the orb that the leader was holding on the roof.¡±


    After everyone else did the same as Levi they were also convinced. The orb was in the bag.


    ¡°Okay, so assuming this is one of the orbs we need, what next?¡± Sam said. ¡°It¡¯s clear this is just another depiction of the orb and not the real thing. Assuming this orb is even what we are looking for how does this help us find it? I don¡¯t mean to be a downer, but why can¡¯t this just be another scene of the orb? It certainly doesn¡¯t look like directions to me.¡±


    ¡°Sam brings up a good point,¡± Alex said, ¡°but why don¡¯t we call it a night and sleep on it. It¡¯s getting too dark now to really inspect the sculptures anymore.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± Levi said. ¡°There might be something we are missing. Of course, it¡¯s possible this doesn¡¯t have anything to do with clearing the dungeon, but I have a feeling it does.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Sam said. ¡°Let¡¯s regroup tomorrow.¡±The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Sam and Mia then went off to the side of the pyramid that was designated as the women¡¯s bathroom while the other three set up camp. Dinner was a quiet affair, everyone lost in their own thoughts, no one wanted to break the illusion of progress in the dungeon. Levi was trying to hold his excitement down at the possibility that they were finally making headway. It was possible they were going on a wild goose chase, but at this point anything was better than what they had been doing before, which was basically wandering around a forest and hoping they stumbled on something. At least now they had a lead to follow.


    The next morning everyone gathered back in the same area they had been in the previous night.


    ¡°So what next?¡± Sam asked. ¡°If we assume that this is the orb, what does that mean?¡±


    Everyone turned to Duane, since he had been the one to find the clue.


    He frowned, before opening his mouth. ¡°If we are supposed to be looking for the orbs, then this should be a clue for that.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Alex said. ¡°Let¡¯s spread out and try and see if there¡¯s anything else here. We can¡¯t let Duane do all the work.¡±


    Everyone nodded, Alex¡¯s words making sense, before spreading out and searching for any follow up clues. It wasn¡¯t long before Levi found something.


    ¡°Guys, over here.¡±


    Levi pointed to something on the ground. ¡°I think this might be what we are looking for.¡±


    The group flocked over, looking in the direction of Levi¡¯s finger. He had found a picture of a tree, although it could almost be considered two trees, as it was two trunks squeezed together. There was a shadowy figure sneaking away from the tree, and while not much could be seen about it, there was one things that stood out, and that was an empty bag hanging at its waist.


    ¡°See the bag?¡± Levi said. ¡°I think that this must be the same person as before, except that now their bag is empty and they hid the orb in the tree. It also makes sense if you try and meta-game it. I think that the dungeons are made to be solved, and if you are hiding something in a forest, you have to do it in an easily recognizable place if you want it to be found. It¡¯s not like we are geocaching or something.¡±


    ¡°But what makes you so sure the dungeons are made to be solved?¡± Sam asked, frowning. ¡°I mean, I agree that your logic is sound, but I¡¯m not convinced this asshole System has our well-being in mind.¡±


    ¡°Does it matter?¡± Mia said, chiming in. ¡°You said it yourself, the logic is sound. And besides, do you have anyone else to ask about dungeons? Levi is our resident expert, and if he says dungeons are solvable, I believe him. Or else what are we even doing here if the dungeon is impossible to complete?¡±


    ¡°I guess¡­¡± Sam said, clearly not sounding convinced. While she thought what Levi said made sense, it also sounded like a recipe for more traipsing around the woodlands, something she wasn¡¯t looking forward to.


    ¡°Great!¡± Alex said. ¡°It sounds like we are all in agreement then. Without any better ideas we search for this tree. And I think even if we had other ideas this one seems right.¡±


    ¡°Um, we still need to find the tree,¡± Levi said. ¡°We spent weeks searching before, and we didn¡¯t see it. I think if we are going to find it we need a better plan than searching blindly.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably in that direction,¡± Duane said, gesturing out into the forest. ¡°All the scenes seem to make a line going that way.¡±


    ¡°You can just find it, right Sam?¡± Mia said sounding hopeful. ¡°You¡¯re the lookout, so it should be easy, right? I don¡¯t want to wander around the forest again.¡±


    ¡°I should be able to, but it might take a little while.¡± Sam thought she should be able to see that far with her skill, but finding one tree in a forest was no small task.


    Alex clapped his hands, drawing everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Okay, the plan is for Sam to search for the tree, while everyone else should continue searching the pyramid. Even if we are on the right track this is only one orb, so we still need two more.¡±


    Everyone set about their tasks, although Levi thought he wasn¡¯t the only one stealing glances at Sam, waiting for her to find something. It was one thing to think you were on the right track, but after weeks of being in the dungeon Levi wouldn¡¯t be fully certain until they had an orb in their hands. Assuming they were even looking for orbs. There was still that tiny voice in the back of his head saying the dungeon was screwing with them and there was just some secret door somewhere they had yet to find. But he did his best to shut that voice out. At least they had a plan, even if it didn¡¯t end up working out.


    Hours later and they were all still searching. They broke for lunch, but the conversation felt forced, and they quickly finished eating, letting Sam get back to her search. It was obvious that except for Duane the others were just waiting on Sam to find something. They were still better off than when they were wandering blindly around in the woods, but waiting was waiting. Unlike normal forests, the trees here were uniform, and because this was a deciduous forest they had been unable to find a tree taller than the rest to climb to scout out the surroundings, partly why it had taken them so long to find the pyramid. They had tried, but the branches at the top of the trees were too small to support their weight.


    Levi never thought he would think it, but he was beginning to hope the dungeon would suddenly throw a horde of monsters at them. He was pretty useless in the current situation. Or at least as useless as his other party members. It was frustrating. He knew he had valuable skills, but right now it didn¡¯t feel like it, and he didn¡¯t like the feeling of helplessness he had.


    It wasn¡¯t until the next morning that Sam called them over, alleviating Levi¡¯s circular thoughts.


    ¡°Did you find it?¡± Levi asked. He had been waiting impatiently the whole time, and almost as soon as Sam had opened her mouth he had ran over.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t actually see it, but there is a tightly knit group of trees that I can¡¯t see through. I wouldn¡¯t think anything of it, except that it seems to be a perfect circle. Maybe that could happen naturally, but it seems suspicious.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Levi said. ¡°I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    ¡°How sure is sure?¡± Sam asked, cocking an eyebrow.


    ¡°100% positive.¡± He wasn¡¯t really, but at worst they would make the trip out there for nothing. It couldn¡¯t hurt to at least check it out.

 Chapter Forty-Five

    Less than half an hour later they had their camp packed up and were on their way down the pyramid. Levi had been looking forward to getting going, but he had forgotten how high up they were. It took multiple hours to get down the pyramid, dampening his excitement to be doing something. Based on how far Sam estimated their destination was they were unlikely to reach it in one day anyway, but tramping down thousands of steps could wear at anyone. At least on their trip up there was the mystery of what was waiting for them at the top.


    It took the group all of the first day and some of the next until they reached the circular grove. Seeing it for himself, Levi had to admit it did look suspicious. He had a feeling trees didn¡¯t actually grow that close naturally. In the rest of the forest there was a good few arm lengths between the tree trunks while this grouping of trees barely had room for a person to squeeze between them. They were so close their branches were intertwined enough to make it hard to tell when one tree left off and the next began. Levi still had that small doubt in the back of his mind that this was the wrong place, but it was clear at this point that something was here. The question was what.


    ¡°Can you see anything inside?¡± Alex said to Sam.


    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s too dark. The branches of the trees are covering whatever is in there so there is almost no light. If we want to know what¡¯s inside we will have to go in.¡±


    ¡°I should be the first one to go in then,¡± Alex said. ¡°If there is some sort of danger I can take a hit or two. I¡¯ll poke my head in and see what¡¯s inside, and if it looks like it¡¯s safe you guys can follow.¡±


    Levi thought Alex¡¯s plan made sense, as did the rest of the group. It was common sense to let the tank go first after all. Alex activated his level twenty-five super skill and inched his way forwards, clearly wary of any traps or monsters. Slowly and carefully Alex made his way into the copse of trees. Once he was halfway inside he paused, letting his eyes adjust to the gloom of the covered grove.


    ¡°Guys, I think this is it.¡±


    ¡°You mean the tree in the picture is in there?¡± Sam said.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Alex said, moving fully past the perimeter and disappearing from view. ¡°I think it¡¯s safe for you all to come in.¡±


    One by one the rest of the group followed Alex and slipped into the grove. It took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust, but once they did they saw a reasonably sized area with a single tree in the center, or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it two trees. Either way, it was clear it was the tree depicted in the bas relief on the pyramid.


    As everyone else came in Alex was already busy inspecting the tree, looking for any openings in its trunk. Seeing what he was doing, Levi joined him, soon followed by the rest of the group. They spent a few minutes swarming over the tree, but were unable to find any openings or orb-like objects.


    Mia was the first to give up. ¡°It¡¯s probably inside,¡± she said. ¡°Or it¡¯s not here.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep searching,¡± Alex said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to destroy the tree and miss some crucial clue. It might be a treasure hunt style thing and we need to get the clue to go to the next location.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself,¡± Mia said, shrugging.


    She wasn¡¯t the only one to stop searching, as soon Sam stopped too, followed shortly by Duane. Levi tried to persevere, but even climbing the tree didn¡¯t yield any clues. After about twenty minutes he stopped as well, leaving Alex the sole person poring over every single divot and edge of the tree trunk. It took an additional twenty minutes for Alex to admit defeat.


    ¡°Okay, there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything here. I guess you guys think we should destroy it then?¡±


    ¡°What other options are there?¡± Levi replied. ¡°While you were busy poring over the tree we took a look around the rest of the clearing and it looks like there are three options. The orb is in the tree, it¡¯s buried underground, or it¡¯s not here. My vote is in the tree.¡±


    Mia and Duane nodded in agreement, while Sam said ¡°We could have already found it if you hadn¡¯t been groping the tree this whole time.¡±


    ¡°Hey, the tree could have been a valuable clue!¡± Alex said.


    ¡°Except that it¡¯s not, so just let Levi destroy it.¡±Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Alex reluctantly moved out of the way, giving Levi clear access to the tree. Levi hadn¡¯t actually tried destroying a tree before, but unless it was some magical tree it should be a piece of cake. He was actually more worried about destroying the orb along with it.


    Walking up to it, Levi pulled back his fist and using a small percentage of his strength struck out. His test punch shook the tree with a dull boom, creating a swoosh as the upper branches rubbed against each other. His next punch contained a hint of Aecylic Energy, and with a crash his fist penetrated one of the twin trunks of the tree sending splinters flying. He had to close his eyes to avoid the debris. It was lucky his skin was no longer the same as a normal person, as if it had been he would have looked like a porcupine from all the splinters stuck in him. As it was they all just bounced off.


    Disappointed with his results, Levi thought over his approach. He was hoping to destroy the tree in one punch, making it burst into smithereens. But thinking about it logically that kind of thing could only happen in anime. Instead, he went with the much more stable approach. He channeled a large amount of Aecylic Energy along with Physical Will and instead of punching the tree he starting ripping it to shreds in search of the orb he thought it contained within.


    At first he was a bit worried about ripping away the base and having the top of the tree fall down on him, but the upper branches were so intertwined with the surrounding trees that they were supported even without the trunk, allowing Levi free reign to unleash a wood shredding frenzy. He started reasonable high up on the trunk and worked his way down, systematically dismantling the tree. It made a deep impression on everyone else. They had somewhat adjusted to life post System, but seeing someone rip a tree to pieces with their bare hands really drove home their new reality.


    A small time into his tree shredding Levi reached the part of the tree at his chest level, and when he reached the center of the tree where the twin trunks were intertwined he felt something hard, something that clearly wasn¡¯t wood. With trepidation, he used his hands to clear out the surrounding wood before pulling an orb about the size of a toddler¡¯s head out of the tree.


    The orb was a pure light grey color, but it looked more like some magical crystal ball than a precious stone or rock. The color looked consistent, but also seemed to writhe and swirl within the orb, creating the impression that there was some sort of grey mist struggling to break free. The rest of the group, seeing Levi remove the orb, crowded around, staring at their prize. They too were mesmerized, the convoluted grey drawing their eyes in. It felt magical, like watching snow falling outside lit up by a spotlight while you were safe indoors with a blanket in front of a fire. It was something you could watch forever and lose yourself in.


    ¡°We found it,¡± Levi said, breaking the spell.


    ¡°So do we just take it back now?¡± Mia asked.


    ¡°We should,¡± Alex said. ¡°It¡¯s not one hundred percent that this is what we are looking for after all. We still need to check if it fits.¡±


    ¡°Oh, shut up,¡± Sam said. ¡°Are we looking at the same thing? Of course this orb is what we¡¯re looking for. I¡¯ve never seen a more obvious ¡®this is a magic artifact¡¯ in my life.¡±


    ¡°How many magic artifacts have you seen though?¡± Levi said sounding confused.


    Sam shoved Levi¡¯s shoulder, which didn¡¯t move him at all, and stormed off in a huff. ¡°We¡¯re wasting daylight. Don¡¯t stand around here all day.¡±


    Everyone was in high spirits for the trip back. No one actually though they had the wrong orb. What Sam said about its appearance was what they all though too, and the idea that they were one third of the way to solving the puzzle on top of the pyramid gave them boundless energy and a sense of accomplishment. But once they got back to the top of the pyramid they were faced with a dilemma: where to actually put the orb.


    Levi was still the one carrying the orb, and as soon as the group made it to the top of the pyramid they beelined for the center of the temple where the three indentations for the orbs were. But as soon as they reached central area they realized the problem.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Alex said. ¡°Where are we going to put the orb? There¡¯s three spots.¡±


    ¡°Does it matter?¡± Mia asked.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Alex nearly shouted. ¡°By putting it in the wrong area we could trigger a trap, or worse destroy the orb!¡±


    ¡°Or worse?¡± Sam muttered under her breath.


    ¡°Alex is right,¡± Levi said. ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought about it, but part of solving the puzzle might be figuring out which orb goes in which slot.¡±


    ¡°How big a chance do you think there is that something could go wrong?¡± Duane asked.


    ¡°Honestly? I have no clue. But it¡¯s a non-zero number, and Alex is right to bring up consequences.¡±


    ¡°Levi knows what¡¯s up,¡± Alex said. ¡°But now that we have the orb there¡¯s no need to rush. There must be clues somewhere as to where each one goes.¡±


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t it just go in the slot facing the direction we found the orb?¡± Duane said.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a great idea!¡± Mia said.


    Alex wasn¡¯t sold. ¡°Maybe, but there¡¯s no need to rush.¡±


    ¡°Do you mind if I see the orb for a sec,¡± Sam said, stepping towards Levi.


    He handed it over to her, and then faster than everyone could blind, she quickly leaned over and slotted it into the indent Duane suggested. Levi stared at her in shock. If he had been on guard he was fast enough to have stopped her, but it was beyond his expectations that she would take a such a reckless approach.


    ¡°Oh fuck,¡± Alex said.


    The group held their collective breath, waiting for something to happen. The pyramid was silent, the orb sitting innocently in its slot.


    ¡°See? You¡¯re all a bunch of pansies,¡± Sam said. ¡°It¡¯s obvious Duane was right and it went in the slot facing where we found it.¡±


    ¡°But you couldn¡¯t have been sure,¡± Alex said. ¡°What if something bad happened?¡±


    ¡°But it didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°But it could have.¡±


    ¡°But it didn¡¯t.¡±


    Levi was just about to interject when he felt something from near his feet. Looking down, the orb seemed to tremble for a split second before a blinding flash covered the top of the pyramid and all Levi could see was white.

 Update

    Hey everyone, sorry this isn''t a chapter. To be honest, I''m having a hard time writing new chapters of A Place to Belong, and because my health isn''t the best, I have limited time and energy to devote to writing. Becuase of this, I''ve decided to move chapters of this story to a "whenever I can write them" basis and focus on my new story, To Conquer Fate, at least until I get the new story up and running.


    I''m sure some of you want me to focus on this story, or even Exponential Mana Regeneration, but since I''m still learning and growing as a writer the best thing I can do is continue to put chapters out, and if the best way I can do that is to focus on my new story, that''s what I''m going to do. Hopefully you guys understand.


    I think a lot of you will enjoy the new story though, and I''m excited to be writing it and can''t wait to start posting. I''m currently aiming for a mid-March release date after I build up a good bank of chapters to ensure a good release rate early on, but if you want to become a Patron the first three chapters are currently up on my Patreon as a teaser. I also plan to release most of the chapters on there all at once when I start posting. Most of those chapters in the initial posting, and the current three teaser chapters, will be available at the $1 tier for those interested. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    I know it doesn''t always seem like it to me, but my health is slowly, very slowly, improving, and I look forward to the time when I''m better able to keep a schedule for all my loyal readers on Royal Road. In the meantime, thanks for sticking with me and reading my stories, and I''ll try my best to write as much as I can.


    -Root Greevil


    Synopsis for new story: To Conquer Fate


    The Dimension Wars almost broke the very fabric of reality, each dimension and race struggling for supremacy in the fight to obtain the resources located in the void between dimensions. Under threat of their home worlds disappearing into the void, the major races and dimensions gathered together to form a truce, stopping the endless conflict. After decades of meetings and deliberation The Tower was born. A colossal structure formed in the void, The Tower would act as a proving ground, a place where each race could send a champion to compete. The higher their champion climbed, the more resources their race had access to.


    Waking up naked with his memories sealed, Tormacc must climb The Tower. Left with only vague impressions of his people and a sense of duty to guide his way the only thing he knows is he has to move forward and get stronger. But without any actual memories of his home planet he has no idea what his life was like before entering The Tower, or what those memories would reveal to him once unsealed.

 New Story Up

    Hey everyone, my new story, To Conquer Fate</a>, is now live! I''m really excited about it, and I hope many of you will be too. I have a few chapters backlogged, so expect one chapter a day for the first week or so until I slow down. Alternatively you can read ahead on my Patreon if you want to support me on there.


    The writing has been going smoothly for the story so far, so I''m confident I''ll be able to keep up a good pace for the releases. As an example I was able to write two chapters on the plane ride back to Japan. Once I finish releasing most of my backlog I can only guarantee two chapters per week, but I''ll be aiming to try for more than that. I still plan to release chapters of this story, although for the moment I want to continue to focus on To Conquer Fate to ensure a smooth release of that, so it might be another few weeks before I post a new chapter of this story. I will continue to release chapters here though, but right now they will be slow in coming. Hopefully my new story can tide you guys over.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    As always, thank you guys for reading my stories! It really means the world to me to have people supporting me like you guys do. You''re all awesome.


    -Root Greevil