《New Quest: Survive!》 Chapter 1 - New Quest: Survive! New Quest! Exit the Dungeon. Fulfill one of the following conditions to complete the quest: - Find an exit and go back to your world.
I was woken up to a ding and this message ringing in my ears. To say that I was startled would be an understatement. I looked around at the dilapidated stone walled room as an anxiety attack reared it¡¯s ugly head. Had I been kidnapped? Last thing I remembered, I was watching a movie at home with my girlfriend. I had gone to the kitchen to get some more popcorn from the kitchen and then¡­ nothing. As my breath quickened I realized there was, in fact, a bowl with freshly cooked caramel popcorn lying next to me in the floor, the smell barely recognizable over the odor of humidity and stale air. I looked around the room while throwing a handful of popcorn into my mouth in an attempt to calm myself. The room looked like an old basement in some long forgotten European castle you would see in a movie, except for the fact that the only real source of light didn¡¯t come from some good old torches, but from a thick row of what looked like those bioluminescent mushrooms that lined the walls, giving everything a strange blueish shade. The only other things in the room with me was a backpack lying next to the wall closest to me and a door in the wall opposite. I stood up and walked to the door. From the grilled window on it I could see that the room on the other side was also illuminated by the same strange mushrooms. I could also see that it was a hallway. I went to the old styled leather backpack and examined it. Attached to one side was a small oil lamp and a bundle of rope and, inside, I found a couple bundles of what seemed to be food, a pair of worn out shoes that seemed to be my size (which was good given that I was wearing flip-flops) and¡­ what appeared to be a PDA taken straight out of the 80¡¯s. It didn¡¯t have any logo that I could recognize, but as I turned it on, it¡¯s black and white screen came to life and welcomed me into its system. ¡°Welcome, Elliot Kane. I''m your very own Personal Dungeon Assistant.¡± It read on the screen. ¡°I will be your guide through your journey and will assist you in anything I can. In my menus you will find information about yourself, a constantly refreshing inventory of what you are carrying in your person and other applications you will find useful during your exploration of the Dungeon.¡± ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± I whispered as I pressed continue on the screen. ¡°Upgrade Chips are available for purchase in designated stores and can be found in some of the randomly generated chests scattered throughout the dungeon. Please be on the lookout for these chips, as these upgrades might give an edge in this dangerous place you find yourself in.¡± I blinked as text kept on apearing in the screen. ¡°Do you have any questions?¡± It finished as three options appeared below the question. 1. Where am I? 2. Why is this happening? 3. What is my objective? I sat down next to the bowl of popcorn and clicked on the first option and the PDA only answered ¡°Dungeon Sector 14, Floor 84, Fungal Fortress Biome.¡±. ¡°Well that tells me¡­ nothing¡­¡± I clicked on the second question and a single paragraph appeared on the screen. ¡°Someone, somewhere, activated the arcade machine, plunging the world into its next stage of evolution. As per galactic agreement, humans get a tutorial stage for free before fully entering their planet¡¯s second stage. This is said tutorial stage.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked. I did remember hearing something about a couple of kids in China finding an arcade machine deep in some cave, but I thought it was a hoax, another one of those Internet mysteries or art projects, like that monolith in the desert or that one time everyone kept saying there were aliens in the oceans. Was it talking about that? What kind of stupid ass plot was that! I pressed the final question. ¡°Your objective here is simple,¡± it said. ¡°As a step towards the next stage of your planet¡¯s evolution, you will train, improve yourself, and find an exit from this dungeon. Once you leave, you will return to your world with all items and skills you''ve obtained intact.¡± ¡°The next stage of evolution?¡± I muttered. ¡°Is this some kind of joke?¡± The PDA screen flashed again, almost impatiently. ¡°Now, feel free to explore my many systems and prepare to begin your journey. Time waits for no one!¡± I set it down and rubbed my temples. Stress was one thing¡ªwork had been a nightmare lately¡ªbut hallucinating a bioluminescent mushroom dungeon while in my Christmas pajamas? That was a whole new level. I closed the message and I several icons appear in the screen. I clicked on ¡°Profile¡± grimaced at the black-and-white 3D model of myself, complete with striped pants and the words ¡°Oh Deer!¡± emblazoned on my chest. Not exactly armor-worthy. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Next to my picture a set of stats seemingly taken straight out of a DnD Manual: ¡°Strength¡±, ¡°Dexterity¡±, ¡°Intelligence¡±, ¡°Constitution¡±, ¡°Wisdom¡±, ¡°Charisma¡± and ¡°Luck¡±. There was also a number next to each one, which, without much frame for reference, didn¡¯t make much sense to me. Although I did feel some of them were not very¡­ flattering.
Elliot Kane Lv. 1
STR 11
DEX 9
CON 12
INT 6
WIZ 7
CHA 5
LUK 9
Only 6 for intelligence? Sure I wasn¡¯t a rocket scientist, but getting a Phys Ed degree wasn¡¯t a walk in the park either. And a 5 in charisma? Samantha, my lovely, lovely girlfriend, might want to talk with the developer about that one. I grabbed another handful of popcorn and plopped it into my mouth as I clicked back on the PDA and then went into the Inventory app. I found it to be a simple list that, as of now, contained everything I already knew I had. My ¡°Christmas Ugly Pajamas¡± were there under ¡°Equipment¡± and clicking them created a new window with extra information about them. The system made sure I understood that they gave no stats boost at all and that I should probably hurry to get something better to wear. The worn out shoes I found were also there and had some more info to them. ¡°Running shoes (Common). +1 Dexterity. These shoes will grant you better protection than some lousy flip-flops.¡± It said on the screen, totally mocking my current footwear. I put them on and placed the flip-flops on my backpack. They weren¡¯t useful right now, but they might come in handy later. Under ¡°Items¡± it showed the three rations I already knew I had, the rope bundle (15 meters) and the oil lamp (full). But it also showed something else¡­ ¡°Everlasting Bowl of Popcorn (Legendary)¡±. I looked down to the plastic red bowl that laid on my legs as I grabbed another handful and placed it in my mouth. ¡°This bowl of popcorn came into the dungeon with you, how? we are not sure! but it sure is glitchy! It will never run out of popcorn. Eat to your heart¡¯s content!¡±. ¡°Huh¡­¡± I said as I saw how the popcorn magically¡­ popped back into existence inside the bowl, one by one, until the handful I had taken was replaced completely. I munched on another handful as I watched the bowl magically refill itself. It was oddly comforting, a little slice of absurdity that made the fear crawling up my spine feel more manageable. I was pretty sure that this would come in pretty handy later on, but for now, I decided to place the bowl at the bottom of the backpack, having eater enough by that point to feel a bit calmer, and kept on checking the PDA. The other apps were fairly simple, a Leaderboard App, a non functioning Store App, and a map app, but one in particular caught my attention¡­ ¡°The Torchlight¡±. I clicked on the icon, and the screen filled with an endless stream of messages. Names, numbers, words flying by faster than I could process.¡°Filters,¡± I muttered, tapping a button on the top right corner of the screen. A list of options popped up. I selected English and Biome, hoping to narrow things down. Most of the messages vanished. Only one remained: "Anyone out there?" ¨C Samantha My chest tightened. Sam. With shaky hands, I typed a response. "Sam, it¡¯s me! Elliot!" A few agonizing seconds passed before a reply popped up. "Oh my God, Elliot, you¡¯re alive!" "Yeah," I typed, swallowing hard. "Are you okay? Where are you?" "I¡¯m in some kind of stone room," she wrote back. "It¡¯s dark, and there¡¯s these creepy glowing mushrooms everywhere. What the hell is going on?" "I don¡¯t know," I replied, glancing at the bioluminescent walls around me. "Something about a dungeon¡­ a tutorial¡­ I don¡¯t know. Are you hurt? Do you have food?" "I¡¯m fine, just freaked out," she answered. "I¡¯ve got some rations in a backpack that was here when I woke up. What about you?" "Same," I wrote. "I¡¯ve got supplies. Sam, listen. I¡¯m coming to find you." The next reply took longer. "Are you sure? I don¡¯t want you risking yourself for me." "I¡¯m not risking anything," I typed, hoping my confidence would calm her. "If we both start wandering around, we might miss each other. Let me come to you. Please." "Elliot¡­" I could almost hear her voice, the hesitation in it. Sam hated feeling like a burden, but I knew the dark was eating at her. She¡¯d always been afraid of it, even back home. "Stay where you are," I added before she could argue. "I¡¯ll find you. I promise." Finally, her reply came through. "Okay. Just¡­ be careful, okay? I¡¯ll wait." I exhaled, the knot in my chest loosening slightly. "I will," I wrote. "I¡¯ll see you soon." For a moment, I stared at the screen, waiting for her to say something else. But the message stayed quiet, and I knew she was probably doing the same¡ªsitting in some damp, cold room, scared but holding it together. I stood up and grabbed my backpack, but my nerves caught up with me. I stopped, reached in, and grabbed another handful of popcorn, shoving it into my mouth. The crunching helped. "Time to go," I muttered. I opened the door, the faint blue glow of mushrooms spilling into the hallway beyond. Chapter 2 - First Steps and annoying,¡± I muttered, stepping back as it fell and twitched violently on the ground, its legs spasming as it tried to stand up. ¡°Please tell me this is over.¡± Congratulations! You have defeated a Level 1 Cockroach Foot-Soldier! +5 Experience. Item: Stick (Common) added to inventory. Pouch (Common) added to inventory. Chapter 3 - The Inner Inn The hallway stretched on endlessly¡ªor so it felt. The glow of mushrooms lit the jagged walls just enough to keep me from smashing into them, but every shadow seemed to hide something ready to pounce. I gripped the stick tightly, my only companion besides the constant drip of water and the occasional chitter of distant creatures. But as I turned a corner, I saw it in the distance, its pink light illuminating the cavve around it. A neon sign. Its pink and green letters spelled out ¡°The Inner Inn¡±, with a cartoonish key with an eye winking at me from a distance. As I got closed, in utter disbelief, I noticed that underneath it was a simple wooden door set into the stone wall. I blinked, half-convinced I was imagining it. But the faint hum of the sign and the warm yellow light leaked into the stone floor, calling me in. If it was a trap, it was both stupid and genius at the same time. I looked around, making sure no other Gregors Samsas had come to pay me a visit while I looked at the sign, and pushed the door open. A wave of warmth hit me, carrying with it the smell of roasted meat, fresh bread, and something sweet I couldn¡¯t quite place. The room inside was cozy, almost homely, like an inn straight out of Skyrim¡­ If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that the tables were clearly 60¡¯s inspired and that there was a flat screen TV hung above a crackling hearth playing reruns of Seinfeld. Behind a polished wooden counter stood a man. He was middle-aged, with salt-and-pepper hair slicked back and a neat goatee. His rolled-up sleeves revealed muscular forearms, and his vest and bowtie gave him the air of a gentleman who had somehow been misplaced in this hellhole. He was cleaning a glass with a cloth, a gesture so stereotypical it was almost funny. ¡°Welcome to The Inner Inn, traveler,¡± he said with a grin that was equal parts charm and mischief. ¡°You look like you¡¯ve had quite the day.¡± I looked down at my pajama pants, the reds and greens hidden behind big splotches of black ichor. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°You could say that¡­¡± ¡°Well, my friend,¡± He said, setting a glass full of water on the counter. ¡°You¡¯ve come to the right place. Here at the Inner Inn we have food, supplies and anything you might want to continue exploring the dungeon!¡± I got closer and sat on one of the tall stools by the counter. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to have, you know, pants or something like that, right?¡± The big man smiled. ¡°Oh, we do sell some equipment as well, although out selection is very limited, you might want to swing by a specialized store if you find one.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good with anything, these pants are done for¡­¡± The man turned back and opened a shelf behind him. ¡°Well, you are lucky, I just so happen to have a starter set of clothes for adventurers like you.¡± He turned back around carrying a folded pair of pants and a black short sleeved-shirt that I could sworn he had taken out of thin air. ¡°There are nothing fancy, they are barely anything better than your pajamas there.¡± He said. ¡°But they are considered equipment and do grant some basic bonuses.¡± I looked at them for a second as he placed them on the counter. ¡°It couldn¡¯t be that you are giving these to me for free, right?¡± I asked. He grinned. ¡°Nah, man, sorry, business is business. Those would be 5 Credits each, 7 for the set.¡± I sighed. ¡°Man, look, I just woke up here, like, five hours ago. I don¡¯t even know if I have money on me.¡± He pointed to the PDA I had placed on the counter as I drank the glass of water. ¡°You can pay with that.¡± He said. ¡°Each monster you kill will add a certain amount of Credits to your balance.¡± He pointed to a number next to the clock in the PDA. ¡°See? You have 19 Credits to your name right now, so you should be able to get both items and a real meal, not just those filthy rations they gave you.¡± I opened my eyes in surprise. ¡°Cool!¡± I said. ¡°So killing that roach wasn¡¯t all that useless! Sure, I¡¯ll take the pants and shirt, I feel like its time to change out of these pajamas.¡± He brought out a device similar to my PDA but with a physical number pad and typed ¡®7¡¯ on it. He instructed me to swipe the PDA over his as some sort of credit card, I heard a ¡®Ka-ching¡¯ and the number in my PDA went down from 19 to 12. He slided the clothes towards me. ¡°These are yours now, you should be able to check their stats on your PDA and you can use the restroom to change. If you want, you can leave those dirty clothes there, I¡¯ll dispose of them later.¡± I nodded and went into the room he had pointed to. The bathroom inside appeared to have been ripped right off of a modern shopping center. I changed into my new clothes that, although looking a bit small for me fit perfectly, and then looked into the mirror. They were basically just a pair of thick jeans and a black t-shirt, nothing to fancy, but they did have some bonuses. ¡°Straight Cut Jeans (common) +1 Constitution. Yes, these are jeans.¡± ¡°Black T-Shirt of Stealth (common) +1 Constitution. No, this does not make you stealthier, it¡¯s just a black T-shirt with a black logo for a rock band called Stealth¡­ It is black, though, so it might help to blend in better.¡± I sighed and looked at my dirty pajamas. Only the pants were beyond fixing, the sweater, though, it was still usable, and with only this t-shirt on it might get colder at some point. I tossed the pants on a nearby trashcan and carried the ¡°Oh, Deer!¡± sweater back into the main hall with me.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Looking good, adventurer.¡± Said the owner. ¡°Functional, durable, and far less¡­ festive than what you had before.¡± I smiled as I sat back down in front of him. ¡°So, mister, what is your name?¡± I asked. ¡°Bennett,¡± He said. ¡°But my friends call me Benny.¡± I hesitated. ¡°Can I¡­ call you Benny?¡± A grin appeared on his face. ¡°Mate, anyone that gives me money is my friend.¡± We laughed as a picture behind him caught my eye. ¡°Is that¡­ a map behind you?¡± ¡°Oh, this?¡± He said, picking it up and placing it in front of me. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a map of the surrounding area. The Inner Inn is a safe haven, but the dungeon outside is vast. This one shows your nearby Sector.¡± ¡°My sector?¡± I asked. ¡°You talk as if you have other maps for other sectors.¡± He shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t, these generate as costumers come in.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve had other costumers? I thought there wasn¡¯t anyone else in this sector other than me an Sam¡­¡± ¡°Oh,¡± He said. ¡°No, sorry, I didn¡¯t mean that. You see, the Inner Inn is in many places at the same time. That door you came in by just so happened to have spawned on Sector 14. A short while before you entered I was just finishing helping another lost costumer from Sector 23.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± I said, clearly not understanding everything. ¡°So these places, these inns are like¡­ a hub of some sort? I could meet other adventurers if all of us came to the same Inn at the same time?¡± He nodded. ¡°Yeah, although it is not common for different adventurers to come at the same time.¡± He slided the map towards me. ¡°This is yours. Once you place it in your backpack the PDA¡¯s map will update to show what¡¯s on the map. And I would try to upgrade the Map Module as soon as possible if I were you, Version 1 doesn¡¯t show as much information as further updates.¡± I squinted at the labels on the map: ¡°Fungal Fortress,¡± ¡°To The Crystal Veins,¡± ¡°To Slagfang¡¯s Ravine,¡± and a few others. Each was marked with little notes in the margins, like ¡°Avoid after dark¡± or ¡°High-level enemies¡ªbring friends.¡± ¡°This is very useful.¡± I said. ¡°Thank you, are you sure you don¡¯t want to charge me for it?¡± ¡°Nah, man.¡± He said. ¡°An adventurer with more information is more probable to survive and come back again, so by giving you this map I am basically paying for at least one more visit later on.¡± I cringed at the mention of survivability. ¡°Consider it a gift for staying here,¡± he continued, smiling faintly. ¡°The dungeon may be trying to kill you, but I¡¯m not.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°And why are you here, exactly?¡± His grin widened. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I¡¯ve been here a long time. Long enough to know how to make a living off new arrivals like you.¡± I grinned at his dark humor and asked for the Menu. I decided to ask for something called ¡°Dungeon Styled-Stew¡± for 3 more credits. The PDA described it as ¡°A hearty stew made with a mysterious mix of local mushrooms, roots, and some kind of meat. (Probably safe.)¡±, but Benny assured me it was safe to eat. ¡°So¡­ would you happen to know where the other spawn points in this sector are?¡± I asked as I placed a large chunk of tender meat and potatoes in my mouth. ¡°I am looking for another adventurer I know, my girlfriend. She is in a room like the one I appeared in waiting for me to come get her.¡± He grinned. ¡°And you are here engorging yourself on food while she waits?¡± He said. I cringed. ¡°What can I say, when I am nervous, I eat, and information is the thing I need the most to find her, otherwise it would be like walking blindly.¡± He nodded. ¡°You are right.¡± He said. ¡°I cannot tell you exactly where she is, but at this point you should have already run into stairs going up and down, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I said. ¡°They were in a small cavern right before the inn.¡± ¡°Well, each spawning floor is arranged in the same manner. There are several spiraling arms that coalesce in the middle into a large cave. In the way, adventurers usually have either an Inn or a Basic Store, a set of stairs moving to the other levels and exiting the spawning floor and, at the end, a large cave where the floor boss awaits.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing that it¡¯s not a good idea to move to another floor when you come to the starts¡­¡± ¡°Why do you think that?¡± ¡°Well¡­ they were before coming to the Inn, a safe space. I am guessing stores are also safe spaces and I¡¯m also guessing the floors right above and bellow this one are a bit harder than this one, and without equipment or anything to deal with stronger threats, you might just die quickly.¡± Benny smiled. ¡°You are not as dumb as your stats would suggest, boy.¡± He said, his voice a tinge darker. ¡°I know¡­¡± I said. ¡°I may look like an idiot, but I¡¯m not that¡­ wait, you can see my stats?¡± ¡°Sure can, Elliot.¡± He answered, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. ¡°Sure can.¡± I looked at the mysterious man as he cleaned another glass and placed it in the counter to dry. ¡°As I was saying, you are right. Once you enter the first cave in a different floor from your spawning point, you can¡¯t go back, blocking you from early experience gain and cheaper items.¡± He slided a glass with water towards me. ¡°Your best bet would be to get to the boss chamber and check the paths that are still open. The only paths that are still open are the ones where Adventurers haven¡¯t either exited their level or died, so your girl might be in one of those.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be that easy¡­¡± I whispered. ¡°It never is.¡± Answered Benny. ¡°If this Sam you talk about is still on this floor, she has to be somewhere along another arm of the spiral. That meant finding the boss, clearing it, and hoping the path to her room wasn¡¯t already sealed, and as you are right now, I find it difficult to believe you will be able to kill the boss.¡± He grinned. I gulped. I would need to work hard to prepare¡­ and quickly, too. Sam didn¡¯t have that many rations, she couldn¡¯t wait forever. ¡°Is there anything else you can tell me?¡± I asked, pushing the empty dish back towards him and standing up. ¡°Like, about the monsters or the dungeon itself.¡± ¡°Stay in safe zones when you can. Rest, resupply, gather information. And if you find a dungeon shop, don¡¯t ignore it. The items may seem trivial, but they can save your life.¡± He said, looking at the TV as the Friends theme song began to play. ¡°And about the monsters, learn their patterns. Every creature has a weakness, and the more you fight, the more you¡¯ll understand them. But don¡¯t get cocky¡ªthis place has a way of humbling even the best.¡± He finished, pointing at a scar beneath his left eye¡­ which I hadn¡¯t noticed until now was milky white in color. I breathed in to calm my speeding heart. ¡°Thank you.¡± I said. ¡°Your help has been invaluable.¡± The door to the dungeon loomed ahead, a stark contrast to the warmth and safety behind me. For a moment, I stood frozen, gripping my stick so tightly my knuckles turned white. The air outside felt colder, heavier, as if the dungeon was waiting for me. ¡°Sam¡¯s waiting,¡± I whispered, forcing my feet to move. Behind me, Benny¡¯s voice rang out, calm and almost playful. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for your return, dear customer. I wholeheartedly wish you safe travels.¡± The door creaked shut, and the warmth of the inn was gone. The faint glow of mushrooms barely lit the hallway ahead, their light swallowed by the darkness beyond. Somewhere in that gloom, Sam was waiting¡ªand so was everything else. Chapter 4 - Go with the Flow ¡°Ok,¡± I whispered. ¡°You did this before, you know how it¡¯s done, you just gotta remember how¡­¡± I swung my arms around, throwing punches into the air as I walked down the hallway, trying to jog my muscles¡¯ memory of my old boxing training. ¡°If Dad saw me, he¡¯d laugh his ass off. ¡®I¡¯ll never need this,¡¯ I said. ¡®There¡¯s already one boxer in the family,¡¯ I said¡­ Why didn¡¯t I listen better¡­¡± I came to a larger cave, lit by the pale blue glow of a massive mushroom in its center. ¡°Alright, mighty foe,¡± I said, pointing at the fungus. ¡°You¡¯re my training buddy tonight.¡± I ducked, mimicking the stance Dad used to drill into me, and lunged forward, throwing a punch at the mushroom¡¯s stem. A cloud of spores exploded around me, clinging to my face and clothes. I stumbled back, coughing and swatting at the air. ¡°Mental note,¡± I wheezed, ¡°don¡¯t punch mushrooms, mushrooms are not training buddies.¡± I brought out my stick and tried moving around. It¡¯s true that I wasn¡¯t much of a fighter back home, but I¡¯m not totally useless either. I knew that the least I could do was move around and try to get a feeling of how my body moved with the backpack on and with my only weapon, the might stick. ¡°Okay, you¡¯ve seen action movies, Elliot. Center of mass, stick low, aim for the legs!¡± I ducked and moved the stick as if I was trying to hit the cockroaches feet, but something felt awkward, as if the stick wasn¡¯t meant for me to use. ¡°That thing was weak on its legs, but just dropping it to the ground won¡¯t do much, I need to do some damage.¡± I passed the stick to my left hand and moved it around. It wasn¡¯t long enough to be used effectively with both hands, but if I used it with my right, I couldn¡¯t use it to punch, which had come pretty handy last battle. ¡°But if instead I¡­¡± My thought was cut short as the sound of chittering reached my ears, louder this time. I moved and pressed my back against the mushroom, the stick tightly held in my left hand, as three cockroach foot-soldiers scuttled into the room. One was larger than the rest, carrying a jagged wooden shield in two of its spindly hands. It pointed toward the room¡¯s corners, chittering commands. The smaller roaches split up, skittering along the walls as if searching for something¡ªor someone. My heart pounded as one passed by my hiding spot, its back turned. Now or never. I lunged forward, driving my fist into the back of its head and slamming it against the wall. I heard a sickening crunch as its head crumbled beneath my hand, but I didn¡¯t stop there. I grabbed on its still spasming body and pulled it back, sending it to the ground, where I stomped on it, crushing its thorax and sending black ichor flying everywhere. I looked up from the body just in time to see the shield-bearing roach rushing towards me, shield raised. I barely managed to dodge it in time, causing the roach to miss and trip over its fallen comrades body, sprawling onto the floor. I wanted to use that opportunity to kill it, but I was stopped in my tracks by the feeling of stones pelting my back. I turned my focus to the third roach, who was coming towards me throwing large pebbles with one set of hands and brandishing a larger, pointier stick than the one I had with another. I gritted my teeth, lowering into a stance with my own stick pointed towards it. As the roach¡¯s stick flew downward toward me, I ducked and used mine to deviate the attack away from me. For a second, the roach didn¡¯t know how to react, and in that second, I planted my right foot, twisted, and drove my fist into the roach¡¯s weak spot, the center of its thorax, black ichor spraying across my face. ¡°Shit!¡± I yelled, stumbling back and rubbing at the burning sting. Before I could recover, the shield roach slammed into me, knocking me to the ground. I rolled away, barely avoiding its stick as it stabbed the ground where I¡¯d fallen. Desperate, I kicked up to stand¡ªbut my body betrayed me, and I fell forward instead. As I moved how long it had been since I last tried doing this, which explained how I could fail so¡­ magnificently. I did manage to go upright, yes, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself and continued falling forward. My hands flailed, grabbing the first thing they found¡ªthe roach¡¯s body. My weight dragged it down, suplexing it into the ground with a sickening crunch.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. The sound was disgusting, but the sensation was even worse. I can say with confidence that feeling my arm buried on bug-meat wasn¡¯t something I had in my bucket list. Still, I could cross it out now. I went back on my feet slowly, feeling sore everywhere. I stood there for a while, panting, my arms trembling with exhaustion and covered in sticky ichor. ¡®Okay,¡¯ I muttered, staring at the crushed mess beneath me. ¡®That was... effective. Horrible, but effective.¡¯ I looked around and saw a large stone next to one of the walls. I sat down, wiping ichor from my face with a grimace. These things were getting smarter. Stronger. And if this was just the welcoming committee, I didn¡¯t want to meet whoever¡ªor whatever¡ªwas commanding them. My PDA dinged, the cheery notification a stark contrast to the carnage around me. I cleaned my hand on my jeans and pulled out the device: Congratulations! You have defeated two Level 1 Cockroach Foot-Soldiers and one Level 2 Cockroach Foot-Soldier! +17 Experience. Level up! You get 3 points to distribute as you wish in a safe zone! Item: Wooden Shield can be obtained. Achievement: Elbow Deep. ¡°Elbow Deep? An achievement? That¡¯s the best name they could come up with? I mean, sure, it fits¡­ but come on. ¡± I muttered, clicking on it. A new message opened up. ¡°Having enough ichor on you to create your own cockroach foot-soldier has its benefits, although I would recommend cleaning your hands before doing anything else with them, it stings. You earn the Skill ¡°Cochroach Lv.1¡±. It brought me back to my profile, where a new tab had appeared ¡°Skill¡±. "Cockroach Lv.1: Roaches are hard to kill, and so are you. If you were to die, you will be brought back to full health once per level. This will reset after spending a full night on a safe zone." ¡°This seems¡­ abusable¡­¡± I whispered. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Benny about it next time I see him.¡± I then stretched my arm and grabbed the wooden shield that had fallen close to me. I looked at it and saw it had two small straps on the back. I placed it on my left arm and stored my stick on my backpack. Maybe I would find a use for it later, but having my hands free felt a lot safer for me than using some flimsy stick to fight. At least I could still use the shield to protect myself and parry attack. I went to Torchlight and clicked on ¡°Global¡± on filters: ¡°Hey, Adventurers¡ªkeep an eye out for achievements, I just got a skill for¡­ well¡­ going elbow deep into a anthropomorphic roach. Trust me, it was as disgusting as it sounds.¡± I then changed the settings to just my own sector: ¡°Hey, Sam. Still holding out?¡± I asked. It took her a few seconds to respond. ¡°Yeah, still here, but my PDA just gave me this weird notification. Said I can¡¯t stay in the spawn room for more than two more hours or it¡¯ll collapse.¡± ¡°Shit¡­¡± I whispered before writing. ¡°I think the Dungeon is trying to force you out, According to that message at the beginning, the Dungeon is a place toimprove ourselves, so I guess it would try to do something like that.¡± ¡°Are you closer? You think you can arrive before the two hours have passed?¡± She asked. I looked at the time. ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s not a difficult path to follow, it¡¯s just a straight path according to the map Benny gave me, but it¡¯s long, and there¡¯s a Boss between me and you. I think you will just have to leave the room.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s outside, though¡ªI haven¡¯t heard anything. It¡¯s just¡­ quiet.¡± ¡°I know, it can be like that here, but listen to me. As soon as you leave, try to find one of the safe rooms. It¡¯ll probably have a sign pointing to it. The one I found had a neon sign and it was called ¡®The Inner Inn.¡¯. Also, most importantly, if you see stairs, don¡¯t go up or down yet. Stay on this floor. The monsters here are weak, but if you go to another floor, they¡¯ll get a tougher and I won¡¯t be able to reach you easily because you won¡¯t be able to come back to this floor.¡± ¡°Got it. Safe rooms and no stairs. What if I don¡¯t find one?¡± She answered. ¡°You will.¡± I said. ¡°The dungeon¡¯s twisted, but it seems to have some sort of¡­ logic. This floor is set as a tutorial stage: spawn rooms, trick stairs, safe zones, and a boss, in that order. Just keep moving, and you¡¯ll find something.¡± ¡°Easier said than done. I¡¯m not exactly a fighter, Elliot.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to fight. Just run if you see anything, alright? Stick to the edges of the walls and stay quiet. And if you find anything useful¡ªsticks, rocks, whatever¡ªgrab them. You¡¯ll feel better with something in your hands.¡± ¡°...Okay. I¡¯ll message you when I leave. Promise me you¡¯ll find me, Elliot.¡± ¡°Promise. Just stay alive, Sam.¡± ¡°Promise¡­ love you Elliot.¡± ¡°Love you too¡­¡± I finished, standing up. ¡°I gotta go fight a boss monster now, see you on the other side.¡± I grabbed a handful of popcorn from my backpack and continued my way towards the center of the floor. As I walked, the skittering grew louder, a constant, maddening hum that seemed to vibrate through the walls. Dark stains streaked the floor, leading toward the looming stone door. The air here was thicker, heavy with the sickly-sweet stench of rot. I heard a ding coming from my PDA and pulled it out as I stopped in front of a closed stone door. ¡°I just left the room.¡± Said a message from Sam. ¡°It collapsed as I left. It¡¯s dark, but I found what looks like a hallway. No monsters yet, just¡­ noises. Following the wall like you said. Don¡¯t you dare die out there.¡± Another ding called my attention. ¡°Boss Proximity Alert: Cockroach Queen ¨C Sector 14, Floor 84.¡± The door loomed before me, ancient and unyielding, carved with grooves and marks that reminded me of insect legs. Behind it, the skittering noise was deafening, a chaotic symphony of claws against stone. I gripped my shield tighter, sweat slicking my palms. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not creepy at all.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Okay, Elliot,¡± I whispered. ¡°Don¡¯t die before you find her.¡± Chapter 5 - In the Lair of the Cockroach Queen ¡°I¡¯m dying,¡± I thought as I ran. ¡°I haven¡¯t gotten anything done and I¡¯m dying.¡± Red flashed in my vision as I vaulted over a broken pillar managing not to fall down at the other side. I wasn¡¯t that much of a gamer, but I sure understood what red in the corners of your vision meant. And it wasn¡¯t ever good. It had all started as soon as I had opened the door. As things had gone so far, I was kinda expecting some music, maybe some time to set up, to get into position, but no, the moment that stone door had opened, I was dragged into the room by a large black mass. And it scratched and bit on my body as it dragged me over the stone floor. I waved my arms and legs around blindly in that dark, trying to grab onto something or to push whatever this thing was away from me, and as I flailed, I felt something squish under my fist with a satisfying crunch. As if reacting to the sound, the mass kind of¡­ released me and pushed away, not for long, but long enough to stand up and begin running away on the opposite direction. The door had closes behind me, so I began moving along the walls taking as much of the situation as I could. The room was big, bigger than any I had been before. It looked a lot like a meeting hall in a large hotel, but a hotel that had been abandoned back in the 60¡¯s and that had been absorbed by rot and water. Pillars and large stones laid on the floor, making it difficult to just run, and the only light source was a large skylight in the ceiling and a lot of the same bioluminescent mushrooms I had seen all over the floor. In the center of the room was a large pile of blue mushroom, like the one I had used as my training buddy before, sending soft blue light all over the place. And moving behind me, like a wave of black destruction, moved a large¡­ huge¡­ indescribable amount of¡­ almost regular cockroaches. I say almost because, although each was, indeed, about the size of my foot, they looked like normal cockroaches. Normal¡­ giant cockroaches. And they worked all together, as one entity. ¡°Shit! Fuck!¡± I yelled, unsure of what to do in this situation. Sure, I could fight a couple foot-soldiers, but it¡¯s not like I could punch my way through thousands of ravenous cockroaches now, could I. Especially not now that my vision was flashing red after being attacked by them for less than one minute. ¡°I fucking hate roaches!¡± I said, jumping over a rock and almost tripping on a mushroom. I had to think of something, and I had to think fast. I changed directions and moved towards the large pile of mushrooms at the middle of the room. The roaches were fast and relentless, but they didn¡¯t seem to be especially intelligent. If half the mas had moved in the opposite direction it could have trapped me in seconds, but seeing as it hadn¡¯t proved that I still had something it lacked. One half functioning brain. I jumped through the mushrooms, trying not to disturb them too much, and went over the hill of rubble and out of the other side. As I had thought they would, the wave of darkness just¡­ crashed through them in its attempt to reach me, sending spores flying everywhere. I grinned. I reached backwards and grabbed the small oil lamp that hung from my backpack. I wasn¡¯t sure about here, but back home there had been an accident back when I was little. I had dropped a bag of flour on the kitchen floor trying to help my mom make pancakes, completely filling the room with flour. My mom had been trying to calm me down when the flame of the oven reached the floating flour.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. My mom never recovered her hearing on her right ear, I still have a scar on my left shoulder. It¡¯s called a dust explosion. ¡°Fuck you!¡± I yelled, spinning in place and throwing my now lit oil lamp onto the floating cloud of spores. The reaction was almost immediate. The flame touched the spores and it expanded quickly, creating a large fireball that exploded outwards from the place of contact. I was pushed back by a surprisingly strong expansive force that sent me rolling backwards onto a half broken pillar. The air filled with the acrid smell of burning spores, and my ears rang like a broken alarm clock. Flames danced across the room, casting wild shadows that made the mushrooms seem alive. From the pillar, I could see the result of my impromptu science experiment. The massive wave had been stopped dead in its tracks, and now half of them laid on their backs, steam still coming from them. The other half had been propelled all over the room, scattering them all over and crushing them against whatever surfaces they had ended up crashing against. ¡°Did I win?¡± I asked myself as the explosion still rang in my ears. As if in cue, I heard a faint ding coming from my PDA. I took it out and looked at it. Congratulations! You have defeated a Level 10 Cockroach Scourge Wave! +25 Experience. Level up! Level up! Achievement: Let there be Light. ¡°Cockroach Scourge Wave?¡± I asked. ¡°Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be the Cockroach¡­¡± My thoughts were cut short as I heard skittering coming from the now broken skylight. I trembled as I looked up. ¡°You killed my children¡­¡± Whispered the thing slithering into the room. The thing let go of the ceiling and fell to the floor a few meters in front of me, ironically crushing a few more of the smaller insects with its six feet. ¡°Now¡­ My next children will grow in you¡­¡± Its form was¡­ strange. My brain could kind of identify it as a cockroach, but at the same time, the large, bulging abdomen made it kind of look like one of those pictures you see online of a ant queen. And worse of all, it pulsated. ¡°Oh¡­ Come on!¡± I yelled, dragging myself to my feet. ¡°That was a mid boss!?¡± The Queen didn¡¯t even let me take a breath before it lunged at me with its pincers open. The thing was large, huge, about the size of a fucking horse, but it wasn¡¯t too fast, probably because its six legs had to move the weight of that disgusting abdomen it carried around. I dodged to one side, the Queen¡¯s pincers closing on the concrete pillar I had been resting against, cracking it. I threw a punch against its unprotected side, but only managed to hurt my own wrist in the process. It¡¯s chitin was harder than anything I had punched, ever. ¡°Don¡¯t run!¡±As the creature turned around, setting its compound eyes on me, I was able to clearly see where it had been speaking from. From within the pincers, I could see a very human mouth screaming at me to stop moving. ¡°Holy shit!¡± I said, dodging another attack and running towards the back of the bug. ¡°That¡¯s just plain creepy!¡± As the Queen struggled to turn around, I took out my stick and stabbed it with all my might on the bulging sack which, to my utter delight, drenched me in transparent liquid and half formed cockroach eggs. I had to give it my all not to puke as the queen screamed in agony. I ran and jumped, landing on top of the now sagging sack and ran until I stood about halfway in the queen¡¯s body. ¡°Sorry, girl, but I¡¯m taken, can¡¯t really stay with you tonight.¡± I raised my left arm, where I had my wooden shield on, and punched with all my might, hitting the chitin not with my hand but with the edge of the shield. Up until now the larger cockroaches had had a weak point in the same place, right in the middle of their thorax, and I was guessing this one would have that too. It cracked. Not enough to kill it, but enough for it to feel it, as it began to move around trying to push me off of it. But I didn¡¯t let it move me. I grabbed onto the broken carapace as I pummeled the back of the insect¡¯s thorax with my shield, breaking through the chitin as black ichor began to pour out of the open wound. But as spine-chilling human screams filled the room, the creature wasn¡¯t dying. Before, a punch or a stick had been enough to destroy whatever core kept these things alive, but this one was too large, too thick, there was still something else I had to do to kill it. I repeated the name of the achievement in my mind as I drove my hand into the open wound. ¡°Elbow Deep.¡± As I drove my hand onto the squishy interior, I felt something snap inside of me and began to puke uncontrollably. I grabbed onto something and pulled, taking out of the beast a large black crystal. The Cockroach queen stopped screaming instantly, falling prone onto the ground, immobile. Ding! I heard coming from my PDA, probably signaling the end of the battle. ¡°I¡­¡± I said, letting myself off of the monster. ¡°I need a shower¡­ or two¡­¡± Every muscle ached, and my wrist throbbed where I¡¯d punched the Queen¡¯s unholy armor. My body was a walking bruise, but I was alive. I looked at my blackened hand, the strange crystal that felt warm in my hand and my overall disgusting clothes as I peeled a roach egg from my drenched t-shirt. ¡°Yeah, maybe three showers¡­¡± Congratulations! You have defeated a Level 1 Cockroach Queen floor Boss! +35 Experience. Level up! Level up! Item: Black Core Crystal Skills: Cockroach levels up to level 3. Your resilience has grown. +4 points to Constitution. Resistance to most poisons and increased stamina regeneration for 5 minutes after taking a hit. Chapter 6 - Aftermath ¡°So many options.¡± I said, looking at the doors lining the walls of the boss chamber. After killing the Cockroach Queen a new problem had appeared. I had no idea where I had come from. First, I¡¯d been dragged in, then forced to run non-stop around the room trying not to die¡ªnot exactly the best time to take mental notes of my surroundings or my entry point. Now I stood clueless about where to go. My PDA dinged, reminding me of an unopened notification. The room was quieter now, but it didn¡¯t feel peaceful. The remains of the Cockroach Queen were strewn across the floor, the black ichor drying into a foul-smelling crust on the cracked stone. I leaned against a broken pillar, wiping my hands on my pants with little success. The Black Core Crystal I¡¯d pulled from its corpse pulsed gently in my hand, warm like a freshly brewed cup of coffee. I had no idea what to do with it, but leaving it behind didn¡¯t feel like an option... So I shoved it into my backpack and promptly forgot about it. My clothes were filthy, and I wasn¡¯t much better. Black ichor and translucent cockroach innards clung to every inch of my hair, skin, and clothes. Even my PDA had joined in mocking me, displaying my profile render with me looking like a slimy, gloopy mess. I walked to a broken pipe in the side of the room, where clean water poured into a small creek. Setting my backpack down, I placed the PDA on top, a blinking red dot still signaling I had unread messages. The water was cold as fuck, but it helped wash away some of the grime.I peeled off my T-shirt and rinsed it in the stream, using it to scrub my body and pants. ¡°As soon as I go into a safe room, I¡¯m getting a proper room to rest and a proper shower, this is¡­ ugh¡­¡± I said, peeling a dead cockroach grub (yes, a grub) off my leg. When I felt I didn¡¯t look like a Garbage Pail Kids reject (and before the hypothermia began to kick in) I stepped away from the water and wrung out my shirt¡­ except it wasn¡¯t dry at all, it stayed drenched. I wasn¡¯t yet sure how closely this place mimicked Earth, but I was sure that wearing that was bound to end up giving me an achievement like ¡°You have died of Pneumonia.¡± I used the shirt to clean the outside of my backpack, emptied its contents in front of me, and assessed my situation. Grabbing a handful of popcorn (somehow impervious to all the insect gunk), I put on my pajama sweater. ¡°Oh, Deer!¡± it still read. Oh deer indeed. Feeling damp and utterly ridiculous, I strapped on my backpack and surveyed the room.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Twenty-nine doors. That meant that if there was a spawn room somewhere behind each door, at some point, there had been at least twenty-nine adventurers on this floor. Now, apparently, it was just Sam and me. The nearest door was closed. I placed my stick in front of it to mark my starting point and moved on. Door after door, all the same¡ªclosed¡ªuntil I reached door 27. It opened. A jagged rock hallway stretched beyond, glowing faintly with bioluminescent mushrooms. I recognized it instantly¡ªthe large rock near the door was where I¡¯d briefly rested to check my map. This was my hallway. Leaving the door open, I checked door 28, the one next to it. Closed. ¡°Which means¡­¡± I murmured, glancing at the last remaining door. I went and grabbed my trusty stick, tucking it into my backpack. It wasn¡¯t the mightiest weapon, but it could come in handy later. Taking my chance to pop another handful of popcorn, I approached the final door and finally opened the unread messages on my PDA. The first came from Sam. ¡°Found the safe room. It looks like a weapon¡¯s shop, you are gonna love the name.¡± She said. ¡°I had to fight with a big roach on my way here. I managed to kill it. It was disgusting.¡± ¡°Tell me about it¡­¡± I wrote. ¡°I think I found your hallway, I should be on my way to you now. Are there showers in the safe room?¡± It took Sam a minute to answer. ¡°If you¡¯re not here by nine, I¡¯m coming to find you. I¡¯m tired of waiting. Yes, there are showers and one small room for rent, but I think it¡¯s the shop owner¡¯s room and that he¡¯s just being polite. His name is Ronnie, by the way.¡± I smiled and wrote back. ¡°Ok, wait for me there¡­ I seriously need a shower.¡± I went back to the main menu and switched to my profile: You have 15 unspent skill points to distribute among your attributes at your next safe zone. You have a new achievement: Let there be Light. You killed a strong enemy with one explosion¡­ and almost killed yourself at the same time¡­ but you survived! Unlocks skill: Spark (Lv. 1) . Under Skills, ¡°Spark (Lv. 1)¡± appeared. Clicking it, another small window popped up. ¡°Let¡¯s you ignite small fires. Congratulations, you have become fire, lighter of torches.¡± I extended my hand and whispered, ¡°Spark.¡± A small flame flickered to life in my palm. It wasn¡¯t much bigger than a lighter¡¯s flame, but it would be useful for making a fire later so I could dry my clothes¡ªor roast some bugs. I put my PDA away and opened the last door. It swung open smoothly. The hallway was eerily similar to the one I had explored before, but there were slight differences that made it clear it wasn¡¯t the same. The lights were slightly dimmer, the rock was less jagged¡­ and it was completely silent. I hadn¡¯t noticed it until now, but where before I could always hear the sound of skittering coming from far away monsters, now the only thing that reached my ears was the sound of dripping water. ¡°This feels¡­ wrong¡­¡± I whispered, my voice loud in the silence. I walked cautiously, my eyes scanning the edges of the hallway for any signs of movement. But the path was clear, and the tension in my shoulders began to ease. Until I saw something that stopped me dead in my tracks. There it was¡ªa bright neon sign hanging above a wooden door. The letters, glowing obnoxiously in pink and yellow, spelled out: ¡°Dungeon Depot.¡± I blinked, half-convinced I was hallucinating. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be shitting me,¡± I muttered, staring at the cartoonish sword-and-shield logo next to the words¡­ and to the giant dead roach just underneath it. Chapter 7 - Dungeon Depot: Gear Up, Don鈥檛 Give Up! I opened the door behind the dead roach with caution. It was obvious Sam had been talking about this ¡°Dungeon Depot¡± place in her messages, but it wouldn¡¯t kill me to be cautious. ¡°I would kill me to not be, though¡­¡± I whispered, hearing the door close behind me. ¡°Welcome to Dungeon Depot!¡± I heard a voice howling next to my ear, sending me flying backwards in fear. ¡°Where you Gear Up so you don¡¯t Give Up!¡± A clown. A real, motherfucking clown, screaming at me like I owed him money. ¡°Jesus Christ!¡± I yelled as the clown kept approaching me. ¡°What the fuck!¡± ¡°Are you interested in some Potions of Mild Inconvenience?¡± He produced a sickly red bottle out of thin air and shoved it in my direction. ¡°It can heal minor wounds but it tastes awful!¡± I tried pushing the thing away as I walked into a shelf that clinked furiously. But my hands went right through it. ¡°Aaaaaah!¡± I screamed. ¡°What the fuck!¡± ¡°Elliot¡± I heard as I crawled into a ball in a corner while the damned clown from hell showed me something he was calling a ¡°Bottle of minor disillusion¡± ¡°Sam!¡± I screamed from beneath the ghost. ¡°What¡¯s the fuck is this thing!¡± She stood there, a funny smile in her face. ¡°Well, that would be Ronnie.¡± The clown smiled a smile too wide for a normal creature and moved away from me. ¡°Ronald, at your service.¡± He said, changing his demeanor in an instant. ¡°What the fuck, Sam.¡± I said. ¡°What the actual fucking fuck, Sam¡­¡± Sam bent down with laughter, grabbing her stomach as that jovial sound I loved so much filled the place. Her long red hair flowed down her shoulders and she looked at me, a mischievous glint in her green eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± She said between laughters. ¡°I know you don¡¯t like clowns but¡­ But I thought it might help you deal with the stress¡­¡± I sat up as the clown moved further back. I really did hate clowns, but I couldn¡¯t help myself from smiling at seeing her like this. She was alright, I had managed to find her. ¡°Sam¡­¡± I said, beginning to stand up. ¡°Did you really tell the clown to scare me?¡± Sam giggled like a little girl as she looked at me and nodded. ¡°Well, you suck.¡± She looked up, her expression worried for a second, but I didn¡¯t let her have a moment to let that thought linger. I rushed in and hugged her. Hugged her so hard I felt myself melt into her body. ¡°You suck so much Samantha Hayes.¡± She stiffened for a second before melting into me and hugging me back. I felt her face rest in the crook of my neck. ¡°I missed you too, silly head.¡± I planted a kiss in her red hair. ¡°I must smell pretty bad, though, so I think it might be good to¡­ you know¡­ let go of each other.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t wanna.¡± She said, snuggling deeper into my neck before snapping back and pushing away from me a bit. ¡°You do smell like shit, though¡­ And you look like shit too, what the fuck happened to you?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ That¡¯s one hell of a story, you see I¡­¡± ¡°Ahem¡­¡± I heard someone say behind me, interrupting our lovely reunion. ¡°Might I offer mister Elliot a shower?¡± The fucking clown. I let go of Sam and turner around slowly, trying to avoid eye contact with the thing. ¡°Look man,¡± I said. ¡°I want you to know I don¡¯t have a problem with you specifically, it¡¯s just¡­¡± I waved, pointing to his whole body. He nodded. ¡°I understand.¡± He said. ¡°Childhood trauma can be a bitch, but showers are free for adventurers!¡± I couldn¡¯t avoid face-palming. It was clear Sam had told this dude everything about me. ¡°Sure¡­ sure, I could use a shower. Do you do laundry too? My whole outfit is covered in black slime¡­¡± Ronnie rubbed his hands together. ¡°For a small fee, everything is possible here at Dungeon Depot!¡± He said. ¡°The cleaning service comes as an extra for the shower service, it would be just 3 credits to get your gear cleaned.¡± I nodded as I brought out my PDA. ¡°Yeah, I should have en¡­ ough¡­¡± I stared silently at my screen. Last time I checked I had 9 Credits left to my name. Now I had 338. ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± I whispered. ¡°Is this for the boss?¡± Ronnie moved his hands as if he was looking at invisible windows. ¡°It should be¡­ 12 for each killed roach foot soldier, so a total of 48, minus your expenses at The Inner Inn, so 38, plus 100 for the mid boss solo battle, so 138, plus 200 for the Boss solo battle, so 338.¡± This time I had to look at the clown. ¡°How¡­ How do you know all that?¡± I said. He smiled that eerie smile of his. ¡°Well, sir, we can see things you can¡¯t.¡± I sighed, looking down. ¡°Whatever, man. Just take me to the showers, I really need a place to relax for a bit, I feel like I¡¯ve been up for forever.¡± ¡°29 hours.¡± He said without hesitation. ¡°Well, technically, 29 hours, 4 minutes and 34 seconds¡­ 35¡­ 36¡­ but who keeps count, right?¡± ¡°I¡­ Uh¡­ Yeah¡­ Just¡­ Shower, cleaning, resting, please¡­ We¡¯ll check the store after that¡­¡± ¡°Access to the resting area would be an additional 2 credits per person.¡± He said. I nodded. ¡°Just, please, dude, you are getting on my nerves.¡± He smiled as he pointed to a door at the back of the store. ¡°Just walk in there and you will find yourself in a room with a shower, place your clothes in the basket and they will be cleaned once you finish washing yourself.¡± Sam took my hand and guided me. I hadn¡¯t really noticed how tired I felt until now. ¡°It¡¯s been hard, hasn¡¯t it.¡± But it was obvious to me that I wasn¡¯t the only one feeling the weight. Her spark was still there, but it was dimmer, smothered under the dungeon¡¯s pressure. We both were. ¡°You don¡¯t even imagine¡­¡± I said. ¡°I know there¡¯s no, like, HP gage in this place, but I¡¯m pretty sure I was about to die a couple of times out there.¡± Sam squeezed my hand. ¡°But we are together again.¡± She said. ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s important, we found each other.¡± I bumped my shoulder on hers. ¡°Yeah.¡± She squeezed a bit harder. We walked into the room together and I heard a faint Ding coming from my PDA. Probably telling me the cost for the room had been deducted from my credits. Sam helped me undress, taking the pajama sweater off me as she pressed her hand gently over the many bruises that were beginning to show in my chest and back. ¡°Oh, god¡­¡± She said, touching one of the many bruises in my chest and making me flinch. ¡°You¡¯re so beaten up¡­¡± ¡°I had to fight hard to make it here¡­¡± I touched a small cut underneath her left eye. ¡°But so did you¡­ I saw the bug outside, are you alright?¡± I caressed her hair, passing my hand through those red, usually silky strands of hers.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. They were tangled. She began to sob as she hugged me, pressing her head against my chest. ¡°I was so scared¡­¡± She said. ¡°The thing sneaked up on me, I thought for a moment I wasn¡¯t going to make it.¡± She looked up at me. ¡°All I could think of was that I needed to live long enough to see you¡­¡± She tapped on my shoulder with her fist, almost as if she was relieving a memory. ¡°It just¡­ didn¡¯t die¡­¡± She said. ¡°I had to stab it over and over again¡­¡± ¡°I know¡­¡± I said as I kissed her forehead and held her in my arms. We stayed like that until her sobbing subdued. We got into the shower together. We woke up after what felt like a whole day and my body felt¡­ hurt all over. When we went to sleep I had thought maybe the dungeon would, I don¡¯t know, magically cure our wounds, help us feel better, but as I woke up to searing pain in my side where I had hit the pillar the day before, I was reminded of what Bennie had said at the Inner Inn. ¡°The dungeon is trying to kill you¡­¡± And I was starting to believe it was true. Sure, it had said our purpose there was to become stronger, or something like that, but up until now the dungeon had done little to actually help us, it had just provided the minimum needed for us not to die. It was still too early to come to conclusions, but I already had my suspicions. ¡°I could sleep a few more days.¡± Said Sam, raising from within the covers. ¡°This bed is pretty good.¡± I nodded, combing my hand through her hair. ¡°I want to go out soon-ish.¡± I saw her expression darken at the idea of leaving. ¡°I know you don¡¯t want to go, but I have a strange feeling the same thing that happened to your room will eventually happen to this floor.¡± She trembled a bit. ¡°You think it¡¯s gonna collapse?¡± I nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡± I said. ¡°This is supposed to be a tutorial stage, right? And it¡¯s clear the dungeon didn¡¯t want you staying in your room for too long. I¡¯m guessing it also doesn¡¯t want us to stay in this floor forever.¡± I looked to the door. ¡°But we can ask Ronnie,¡± I say. ¡°I met a Benny before, the owner of the Inn I passed through before, and he knew a lot. Ronnie also seems very knowledgeable¡­ creepiness notwithstanding.¡± She smiled. ¡°You seem¡­ pretty good at this whole adventuring thing¡­¡± She said. I shook my head. ¡°Nah¡­ I think I¡¯m still in shock, like I haven¡¯t processed things yet.¡± I said. ¡°It all feels like a dream¡­¡± I placed my hand in my side. ¡°A nightmare¡­¡± She placed a hand in my back as she sat besides me. ¡°But we are together.¡± She said. ¡°We can do this.¡± I nodded, kissed her softly, cupping her head in my hands. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got my brains back, so everything¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Brains?¡± She asked, a skewed smile in her face. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°Like always. I¡¯m the brawns, you are the brains.¡± Her smirk bloomed into a full on smile. ¡°You trying to earn good points?¡± She said. ¡°Because you are doing a good job.¡± I smiled. ¡°Good to know.¡± I said, standing up and grabbing my black t-shirt from the basket next to the bathroom. ¡°Oh, they are pretty clean.¡± I dressed up as I waited for Sam to exit the toilet. ¡°We should get going.¡± She said. ¡°Yesterday I saw a few things in the store that might come in useful.¡± I nodded. ¡°Yeah, we need some supplies.¡± I opened the door and was immediately greeted by Ronnie The Clown¡­ to my total discomfort. ¡°Hello, sir, madam. Did you have a good night of sleep? You slept for 12 hours straight!¡± He said. I looked at the clown feeling a shiver run down my spine. ¡°What even are you, how do you know so much¡­¡± Ronnie smiled as his whole being flickered in and out of existance. ¡°Well,¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯m a hologram, of course!¡± I blinked. ¡°Well, that¡¯s¡­ not very fantasy of the dungeon.¡± Sam came behind me. ¡°But it is pretty Sci-fi of it.¡± ¡°You knew?¡± I asked, pointing at Ronnie. ¡°Yes, I noticed when I entered that he flickered a bit.¡± She said. ¡°I thought he might be a ghost, but it turned out he was, well¡­ that.¡± I sighed, the dungeon kept on surprising me. The store itself was a mix and match game gone wrong. Some shelves were metallic, taken straight out from IKEA, some where wooden and looked as old as time. There were signs written in several different languages and, in one corner, was an actual small arcade room with tables that looked like vintage pinball machines. I got closer to them and notice one of them wasn¡¯t actually a game machine. It had a title on top that read: ¡°Allocate your unused attribute points here!¡± ¡°Oh! Right!¡± I said. ¡°I have some of those!¡± Sam got closer. ¡°You too? I level up once when I killed the roach. Ronnie taught me how to use this yesterday. You just place your PDA there and then click on the arrows next to each stat on the machine to adjust the points.¡± ¡°You did?¡± I asked. ¡°I had to kill three roaches before leveling up, maybe they were different types?¡± She shrugged. ¡°Dunno.¡± I did as she said, placing my PDA in an indentation that seemed perfect for it. I saw the screen come to life as it showed all my unspent points in a large number. 15 unused points, I was now in level 5. I looked at the stats I hadn¡¯t really looked at since the beginning¡­ and saw they had changed on their own.
Elliot Kane LV.5
STR 12
DEX 9
CON 12
INT 6
WIZ 7
CHA 5
LUK 13
¡°What?¡± I said. ¡°Some of them went up on their own!¡± ¡°Well, of course!¡± Said the clown manifesting next to me and scaring the shit out of me. ¡°Same as in your world, while you train, you will improve on your own. Every time you level up, one point is automatically assigned to the stat you¡¯ve been relying on the most. The rest are yours to distribute however you like.¡± ¡°Shit!¡± I yelled, containing a punch. ¡°Thanks! Please¡­ don¡¯t get to close¡­¡± I asked before looking back at the machine and clicking on buttons as I saw fit.
Elliot Kane LV.5
STR 15
DEX 12
CON 15
INT 6
WIZ 7
CHA 5
LUK 16
¡°You sure about that?¡± Asked Samantha. ¡°Nope.¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯m pretty sure I don¡¯t need Intelligence as much having you here with me. And I think Luck might come in handy later on.¡± Sam smirked. ¡°No pressure.¡± I finished. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± She said. ¡°Intelligence and Wizdom are my highest stats¡­¡± I smiled. ¡°See? Brains and Brawns.¡± After I finished allocating my points, we looked around the general store and found a few interesting items that might help us. A few more rations because, apparently, safe rooms were not as common in other levels, a couple of those sickly red Potions of Mild Inconvenience so cure small wounds (I drank one and a few bruises disappeared instantly¡­ although it tasted like shit). In one of the isles I found a knuckleduster that I could wear on my right hand without impeding hand movement much and I thought would fit my style of punching stuff I¡¯d been using pretty well, so I bought it. It didn¡¯t give out any bonuses, but it would protect my hand when punching stuff, and after punching the queen I welcomed the added protection. But by far the most important thing (and the most expensive) was something we found next to the counter. A wooden staff that the system cataloged as ¡°Wooden Staff of Water.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a magical item.¡± Said the clown. ¡°It¡¯s a good beginner staff to learn and use simple water based magic.¡± Sam¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Like¡­ actual magic?¡± ¡°Yes, when you equip it, it will teach you the magical skill Water Bullet, which will let you launch a water ball at high speeds from the tip of the staff.¡± ¡°How much is it?¡± I asked. Sam glanced at me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sam. Whatever magic is in this place, it¡¯s probably tied with Intelligence or Wisdom, and we both know I suck at those.¡± Ronnie smiled. ¡°It is pretty expensive¡­¡± Said the clown. ¡°IT sure is an easy way to speed start your journey into magic early on, but this wand right here will run you down 200 credits.¡± I winced. With everything we had gotten so far, we had already eaten about 50 credits of my 338 credits, leaving me at 285. Using 200 more for the wand would leave 85 for future meals and other essentials¡­ but at the same time, it looked pretty useful. ¡°Nah,¡± said Sam. ¡°That¡¯s to expensive right now¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll buy it.¡± I said. ¡°200, right?¡± I extended my PDA towards Ronnie. The clown put on a wide grin and nodded, accepting payment. I heard a Ding and saw my credit score drop to 85 credits. ¡°Elliot, you didn¡¯t need to, it was too expensive.¡± I took the staff and waved it around before giving it to Sam. ¡°No, we needed it.¡± I said. ¡°Credits we can get more later, but we lack a strategy, and this gives us just that. I am an in-fighter, you will support from behind. You can bonk enemies in the head with the staff if they get too close and launch water bullets to the ones I¡¯m fighting to break their focus. Then, I can use that break to do extra damage or kill them.¡± She gripped the staff tightly, her eyes lighting up with a mix of awe and determination. ¡°I guess it¡¯s time I learn some magic, huh?¡± Ronnie nodded. ¡°I like your way of thinking, sir.¡± He said. ¡°Your intelligence is, most certainly not reflected on your stats.¡± He vanished and appeared in our side of the counter. ¡°Now, dear costumers, as much as I¡¯ve enjoyed your presence in my establishment, I would encourage you to move on. The tutorial floors will announce their incoming collapse in about 3 hours, so you need to move quickly if you want to reach the other floors before it falls down on you.¡± Sam gasped. ¡°So it will collapse¡­¡± ¡°Shits.¡± I said, I had been to engrossed in the shopping that I had forgotten to ask about that. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I told Sam. ¡°We need to move.¡± She nodded, turned to Ronnie and waved. ¡°By Ronnie, hope I can see you again!¡± I jogged to the door, hearing Sam¡¯s steps behind me as I got closer to the door. ¡°Goodbye, sir, madam.¡± I heard Ronnie¡¯s voice behind us. ¡°Just so you know,¡± He said. ¡°This floor was just an appetizer. You will be heading into the real dungeon now, and those other places are leagues harder than this one.¡± I gulped at his words before opening the door. ¡°Thank¡¯s for the advice!¡± I yelled before stepping out into the dungeon. I felt a sense of unease as I left the safety of the Dungeon Depot, the same I¡¯d felt when I left the Inner Inn. But there was something different this time. I look beside me at the redheaded woman giving a disgusted look at the dead roach. I was not alone anymore. Chapter 8 - Down to the Crystal Veins ¡°3 hours until floor collapse.¡± Read my PDA, the red light beeping incessantly in the corner of the device. ¡°We need to hurry.¡± I told Sam. ¡°We should probably go to your set of stairs.¡± Sam nodded. ¡°They were not too far away, we should be able to make just in time.¡± We began moving, but something stopped me dead in my tracks. A glint in a corner of my vision, something shinning down the corridor. I turned around to face it, but it wasn¡¯t there anymore. ¡°Did you see that?¡± I asked. ¡°See what?¡± Answered Sam, stopping a few steps ahead of me. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not sure, but I get the feeling we should be going back¡­¡± I said. ¡°Back where? The only thing that way is the Boss Chamber.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I know. But maybe I missed something. It¡¯s closer anyways, we should be able to go and if there isn¡¯t anything we can turn around and go to your set of stairs.¡± Sam looked down the hall towards her stairs and then towards the Boss Chamber. She then looked at me. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡± She asked. ¡°No¡­¡± I said. ¡°But something is telling me we should be going there.¡± She sighed, turning around. ¡°Ok, I trust you.¡± I held her hand ans smiled at her. ¡°Thanks, I know.¡± We began running, and it wasn¡¯t long before we arrived there, barely 5 minutes later. The door was closed, and faint rumbling could be heard all around us. ¡°Are you sure the boss is dead?¡± She asked. ¡°It should be, I killed it. Also, I noticed that ever since I did, no enemies have been spawning in the floor.¡± I pointed back at the hallway. ¡°Did you notice how quite everything is? Other than the rumbling, I mean.¡± Sam nodded. ¡°Yeah, things are quieter than when I left the room.¡± I checked my shield was well strapped to my left arm and I slid my new knuckleduster on my right. ¡°We should be ready in case there is something back there.¡± I reached out for the door. ¡°You got your staff?¡± ¡°I do¡­¡± She said. ¡°Although I still don¡¯t know how this magic thing works.¡± I smiled. ¡°Just bonk whatever we find real hard, that thing looks painful.¡± I said, looking at the staff her size made out of dark brown wood curved and twisted over itself with what looked like a large knot at one end of it. She smirked. ¡°Alright then, we¡¯ve got a plan.¡± I pushed the door, which slid easily to one side, and I was left speechless at what laid before me. Where before there was a chaotically arranged room with broken pillars and a pile of rubble with big mushrooms growing on top, now was a beautiful art modern room that looked remarcably like the entry hall of some high end hotel. The pillars (not intact) were made out of marble and lined with gold, the floor was covered in checkered tiles. And in the middle, where the large pile of ruble used to be, where I had killed the Roach Swarm, was an elevator door built into a large, semi-translucent crystal. ¡°What the fuck.¡± I said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t like this before¡­¡± A female voice resonated in the room coming from hidden speakers. It was cold and mechanical, but it didn¡¯t completely sound like a computer voice either, it was more like one of those AI storytellers you could find on Youtube, those that sound almost human until you notice they just never stop to breathe. ¡°Welcome Adventurer Kane and Adventurer Hayes. You are the only ones left in this floor, and thanks to Mr. Kane''s accomplishments at defeating the trial of the Cockroach Queen, you have earned the right to use the Secret Route out of this floor.¡± The doors to the elevator opened. From where we were standing, I could see a small table with a package on top. ¡°Please go into the elevator and take your prize in the following 5 minutes or lose your chance to do so.¡± A red number popped up in the screen at the top of the elevator. 300¡­ 299¡­ 298¡­ It was counting down. I looked at Sam. ¡°Do we do this? We can still go back to one of the stairs.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not too sure about that.¡± She said, pointing back. ¡°The stone in front of the door we came in collapsed, I don¡¯t think it will be opening again any time soon.¡± I looked back and, indeed, the door had been, somehow, covered in stone when I was not looking. ¡°How did I not notice.¡± I said.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. 250¡­ 249¡­ ¡°I don''t think it was a natural collapse, I think the dungeon is forcing us to go down with the elevator.¡± Sam Said. ¡°All the other doors are the same, all closed.¡± I looked around, confirming what she was saying. 213¡­ 212¡­ 211¡­ 210¡­ ¡°So,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s either we go down through here¡­ or we don¡¯t go down at all, we die with the collapse.¡± I hated this, I hated being forced to take a decision without being given an option. 190¡­ 189¡­ 188¡­ 187¡­ ¡°It seems so.¡± Said Samantha. ¡°Shall we go now? We have less than 3 minutes left.¡± I sighed and nodded as I grabbed Sam¡¯s hand. ¡°We should go in together, avoid any possibility of this thing separating us.¡± She nodded and we walked to the elevator. We stopped right in front. The lift was bright, made out of what seemed to be only mirrors. The only thing breaking the endless repetition was the wooden tall table in the middle holding a pair of red gift boxes. One had a green lace and the other one had a blue one. 100¡­ 99¡­ 98¡­ ¡°Okey¡­¡± I whispered. ¡°At the count of one¡­ Two¡­ Three!¡± We both jumped into the elevator at the same time, the door immediately closing behind us. Ding! Went off both of our PDA¡¯s in our pockets. I looked at her and smiled, she looked gorgeous in her jeans and black turtleneck... even after you noticed the tear in her left arm. ¡°I hate that I was the only one of us in pajamas when this shit happened, you know how ridiculous I felt for those first hours?¡± She smiled back. ¡°Well, mister lazy pants, you were the one that decided our movie night should be spent in that silly Christmas pajamas.¡± I heard a small rumble and that classic feeling in the pit of my stomach as the elevator started a quick descent. Without much fanfare, I reached out and grabbed the box with the green lace around it. ¡°Why did you choose that one?¡± Asked Sam. ¡°They look the same.¡± I looked her in the eyes and grinned. ¡°Well, I just love this shade of green.¡± She blushed slightly and looked down at her own gift. ¡°I¡­ I like blue¡­¡± I smiled sheepishly. ¡°My eyes aren¡¯t blue, though¡­ but, on the other hand, yours are green.¡± She punched me softly in the shoulder and I laughed, pulling on the ribbon and opening the box. Inside of the box, all I found was a microchip, one with the traditional icon of a planet. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Asked Sam, looking into my own box. ¡°Oh, you got the same?¡± ¡°No.¡± I said, the smile widening in my face. ¡°This one looks like its a map module, yours looks like¡­ a Camera module? There isn''t even a camera on the PDA¡­¡± I brought out my PDA. There was a new message. ¡°Achievement: Wayfinder. Find a secret way out of a floor. You lucky, lucky bastard. Reward: PDA Module.¡± Sam looked at her own PDA. ¡°We got the same achievement,¡± She smiled. ¡°Mine doesn¡¯t call me a lucky bastard, though.¡± I sighed. ¡°I think it¡¯s my luck stat.¡± I said. ¡°Remember back then? When I saw something you didn¡¯t? I think I managed to trigger some event thanks to my points in Luck or something. That¡¯s why it¡¯s calling me the lucky bastard.¡± She nodded. ¡°Yeah, that sounds possible.¡± She took the chip in her hands and asked. ¡°So¡­ how do we use these?¡± As I looked through the menus trying to find something, she grabbed her own PDA and turned it around in her hands, finding a slot in one of the sides similar to those in cellphones, the place where you put an SD card. ¡°I think I found it.¡± She said, taking her chip and pushing it into the empty slot. It moved freely for a second before stopping, Sam being unable to push it forward, but then it just¡­ got absorbed into the PDA and a small camera materialized itself at the back of the device. "Huh..." We said in unison. "So that''s how that goes." "It just... appears." I finished. ¡°New App Installed: APPraiser! Find out what things are worth and what things are worth trashing using your new camera! Just point it to whatever you want appraised and wait for a calculation. Piece of coal? One credit, Random stick? 45 credits, The silly man in the christmas pajamas? Priceless.¡± ¡°Why is it even your PDA mocks me?¡± I asked as Sam laughed next to me. I sighed and took my own module. I turned my PDA in my hands until I found my own slot (Which funnily enough wasn¡¯t in the same place as in Sam''s) and inserted my module. ¡°App upgraded: Map Module! Now your PDA will update your map with interesting points around you without you having to find them yourself. At entry on every floor, you will get a random assortment of interesting places added into to map. You can also write notes on the map and point places of your own now!¡­ It won¡¯t help you find your way out of student debt, though, that¡¯s still on you.¡± ¡°Ok, not that was uncalled for.¡± I said, Sam still laughing besides me. ¡°It¡¯s funny¡­¡± She said. ¡°I swear it¡¯s never talked like this before we found each other.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Apparently the dungeon finds it incredibly funny to act all sarcastic with me¡­¡± As the elevator showed no sign of stopping and there was no indicator telling us when we would arrive, I pulled out the bowl of popcorn and placed it on the table. ¡°Want some? They are still warm.¡± I grabbed a handful and placed it in my mouth. They were still crunchy. Sam looked at me with her mouth agape. ¡°What¡­ is that?¡± I looked at her and, matter-of-factly, said. ¡°A bowl of popcorn.¡± ¡°No,¡± She said. ¡°I can see that, but, like, why?¡± I grabbed another handful and placed it in my mouth. ¡°Would you believe me if I said that I have no idea? It¡¯s endless, too.¡± ¡°What?¡± she said. ¡°Yeah, endless.¡± I said. ¡°I grab one handful from the bowl, and they reappear slowly, crunchy and fresh as ever. It¡¯s an¡­¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°Everlasting Bowl of Popcorn, a Legendary item.¡± Sam grabbed a handful and placed it in her mouth. ¡°I had it with me when everything happened. Apparently it got in even though it shouldn¡¯t have, so now it never empties.¡± Sam munched on the popcorn as she looked at me. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± I smiled. ¡°Welcome to my world.¡± A bell and the sound of the door sliding open behind us brought us back into the real world. I grabbed the bowl and placed it into my backpack. We stepped out together, surveying the area. It was a large cave made of dark stone similar to that in the previous floor, but on these tall walls there was no bioluminescent fungi, instead, there were large shinning crystals that protruded from the rock in every direction. This looked more natural than the long hallways from before, less manufactured. A Ding from my PDA made me pull it out. ¡°Welcome to Dungeon Sector 24, Floor 85, Crystal Veins Biome. 13 points of interest have been added to you map. New Quest: Find a way down, Survive.¡± Chapter 9 - The Crystalline Maze ¡°Well, that¡¯s not ominous at all.¡± I said looking at the New Quest on my PDA. ¡°I know,¡± Answered Sam. ¡°It¡¯s not like we already knew we had to survive, that¡¯s, like, our first directive.¡± I nodded as I looked around the room. ¡°This looks a lot larger than the rooms in the previous floor.¡± I pointed at several passageways outside of the cavern. ¡°There are also a lot more options to move to.¡± I looked down at my PDA and opened the Map App (The Pathfinder). I was met with 13 small notifications and 13 points appearing in the black of the map. I noted seven of them were labeled as ¡°Resource Gathering Points¡± while the remaining 6 had names specific names. Of those six three had names that didn¡¯t tell me much but the rest were labeled with names that did feel useful, ¡°Boss Chamber¡±, ¡°The Inner Inn¡± and ¡°Dungeon Depot¡±, although we wouldn¡¯t be going to both in this floor, as the Inn and the Depot were in opposite directions from each other and only the Inn was in the general direction of the Boss. ¡°Looks like you might be able to meet Benny soon.¡± I said. ¡°Though something called ¡®The Crystalline Cliffs¡¯ is in between here and The Inner Inn.¡± Sam didn¡¯t answer, which prompted me to turn towards her. She was looking at her PDA worryingly. ¡°Sam?¡± I asked. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± She pointed at the PDA. ¡°There are seven other adventurers in the chat for this section.¡± She said. ¡°Or at least, there were¡­¡± ¡°Were?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± She looked at me. ¡°Only eight of us are shown as active in the Chat¡­ and someone called Louis just wrote she found the dead body of a woman in one of the caves¡­¡± ¡°It could have been a monster, right?¡± ¡°It could,¡± she said. ¡°But he also wrote the wounds looked like stab wounds.¡± I gulped. ¡°Well, that¡¯s just¡­ peachy.¡± Not only monsters, now we had some sort of murdered in our hands. I opened my own Torchlight app, a heated conversation was being held between six people.
Torchlight Chat Log: [Floor 85] [Crystal Veins] Louis: I told you, the wounds were stab wounds. This wasn¡¯t a monster¡ªit was someone like us. Ivy: And you¡¯re sure about that? How do we know you didn¡¯t do it? You were the one who found her. Louis: Are you serious? I¡¯m warning you all, I don¡¯t take kindly to accusations like that. Damien: Everybody, calm the hell down. This isn¡¯t helping anyone. We¡¯re all in this together, remember? We are survivors, we need to work together. Ivy: Oh, please, Damien. Don¡¯t give me the ¡°teamwork¡± speech. Someone here is a murderer. Keira: If Louis says it wasn¡¯t a monster, I say we should trust him. He¡¯s been honest so far. I managed to arrive at the Inner Inn thanks to him. Right, Louis? Louis: Damn right. I¡¯m just trying to keep us alive. But I¡¯ll tell you this much¡ªif someone here¡¯s killing people, I¡¯m not going down without a fight. Milo: Guys, can we not? This whole situation is already bad enough without us tearing each other apart. Let¡¯s just focus on surviving, yeah? Valerie: Agreed. We don¡¯t have proof of anything yet. Let¡¯s not point fingers until we know more.
I glanced at Sam. "They''re already at each other¡¯s throats. This is just perfect." She sighed, her green eyes scanning her own screen. ¡°Do you think we should say something? Or just¡­ stay out of it for now?¡± Before I could answer, a new message appeared.
Torchlight Chat Log: [Floor 85] [Crystal Veins] Louis: Who the hell are ¡°Sam¡± and ¡°Elliot¡±? You just joined the chat. Where¡¯ve you been?
Sam gave me a pointed look. ¡°Well, I guess we¡¯re part of it now.¡± ¡°Fantastic.¡± I muttered, typing out a message.
Torchlight Chat Log: [Floor 85] [Crystal Veins] Elliot: Hi. We just got here. Not looking to stab anyone, thanks for asking. Ivy: Real funny. But if you¡¯re new, you should know the rules¡ªstick to your own corner and don¡¯t trust anyone. Damien: Ignore Ivy. Welcome to Floor 85. Just¡­ stay alert. Apparently it¡¯s not just monsters you need to worry about. Milo: Seriously, stick together. The dungeon¡¯s bad enough without us turning on each other.
The chat slowed down for a moment, giving me a chance to breathe. I looked at Sam. "This is going to get messy." She nodded, her grip tightening on her staff. ¡°We should try to avoid them if we can. At least until we figure out who we can trust.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± I said, looking back at the chat as the conversation picked up again.
Torchlight Chat Log: [Floor 85] [Crystal Veins]You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Keira: I say we set up a meeting spot. Why don¡¯t we meet at the Inner Inn? We¡¯ve all been there at different times, maybe we could meet there at the same time?. Louis: And if the murderer shows up? Great idea, Keira. Let¡¯s just make it easier for them. Elliot: The Inner Inn is supposed to be a Safe Area, I guess the dungeon won¡¯t just allow someone to kill the others in there. I know where it is, it¡¯s marked in my map, so it¡¯s an easy place to get to. Ivy: Ha! Like the killer won¡¯t find a way. I¡¯m not meeting anyone unless I know it¡¯s safe. Milo: Then don¡¯t come, Ivy. The rest of us are trying to survive here. Damien: Alright, enough. Let¡¯s vote. Who¡¯s in favor of meeting at the Inner Inn in 2 hours? 3 hours tops to allocate extra time for those that need to traverse difficult terrain.
A series of ¡°yes¡± and ¡°no¡± messages followed. I watched as the votes tallied, and in the end, it was six to two in favor of meeting, including us. After some colorful choice words from Ivy and an excuse from Valerie saying she was too far away to make it in time, the chat went silent. I closed the app and looked at Sam. ¡°What do you think? Should we go? I know we voted yes, but we could just¡­ not go¡± She hesitated, chewing on her lip. ¡°It might be useful. We could learn more about the others, maybe figure out who¡¯s trustworthy. But it¡¯s risky.¡± I nodded, gripping the knuckleduster on my hand. ¡°Yeah. Risky feels like an understatement. Let¡¯s gear up and see how this plays out.¡± Sam fidgeted with her staff, I checked my shield was strapped to my arm and we set off toward the Inner Inn, the tension in the air almost as sharp as the crystals around us.
I looked at my map and chose the opening in the cave closest to the Inner Inn. The cave opened up before us and I just stood there, staring. This whole place¡¯s feeling was different to the hallways from the previous floor, this place felt¡­ organic, natural, as if we had been dropped in the middle of an actual cave system. In the jagged rock of the walls, I could see glowing veins of crystals, exploding into clusters of bright blue crystal, their sharp edges jutting out like frozen shards of sky. Pale light poured from those lines, bathing the entire space in an eerie, pulsating with unseen energy. The whole place was filled with a constant, barely perceptible hum of energy coming from the crystals, but it was more a feeling than a sound, like the cave itself was breathing beneath my skin. The air was dry, with a faint metallic tang that clung to the back of my throat. Every step felt cautious and deliberate; the ground was uneven and movement slow, although we weren¡¯t that far away from our destination. It was clear to me why they had given us several hours to reach the Inn, I just hoped it would be enough. Sam adjusted her staff and pointed it in front of us. ¡°Water bullet!¡± She said¡­ to no effect. Only a drop of water falling from the ceiling answered her call. ¡°It¡¯s not working.¡± She said. ¡°Why does this thing not have instructions?¡± ¡°Because it would be too easy.¡± I said. ¡°Magic is not a normal thing, so maybe the dungeon wants you to learn something else before being able to use it.¡± I pointed at her head. ¡°What, you think I also need a pointy hat or something?¡± She asked, grinning. ¡°Or do you just want to see me dressed as a witch?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± I answered. ¡°I mean, it wouldn¡¯t be bad, but I was saying you might need concentration, that¡¯s a fairly common thing for magic users in games and stuff, and this place feels, for a lack of other terms, fairly generic.¡± She stopped for a second. ¡°Ok,¡± She said, closing her eyes and lifting her staff. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± I stopped next to her and sat on a rock. ¡°I¡¯ll be right here.¡± I reached into my backpack and pushed some popcorn into my mouth. ¡°It¡¯s not like we need to be at the inn in three hours or anything.¡± But she didn¡¯t answer. I¡¯d seen it happen before from time to time, so it wasn¡¯t completely new to me, but it still surprised me when it happened. Sam had the uncanny ability to hyper focus in one specific activity for long periods of time, that¡¯s how she had pulled off getting a masters while she studied her undergrad. She stood still, unmoving, as if she was looking for something inside herself. The hum of the cave¡¯s energy grew louder as I leaned back against the jagged rock, popping another handful of popcorn into my mouth. Sam stood motionless, her eyes closed and her staff raised like she was listening to something I couldn¡¯t hear. The faint metallic tang in the air seemed stronger now, and the vibration from the crystals felt like it was crawling under my skin. Then, I heard it. A deep, rhythmic thudding, like a heartbeat made of stone. The ground beneath me trembled slightly with each beat, sending a jolt through my bones. My head snapped toward the nearest glowing crystal vein as the sound grew louder, more insistent, the light from the crystal pulsating like a beating heart. ¡°Sam,¡± I whispered, the popcorn suddenly forgotten. ¡°Something¡¯s coming.¡± She didn¡¯t answer. She didn¡¯t even flinch. The crystal vein closest to us suddenly flared brighter, the blue light bursting out in sharp, jagged streaks. Then, with a sound like shattering glass, a mechanical hand began to crawl out of the broken crystal, dragging a large body behind it. The thing that emerged was massive¡ªtowering at least three heads over me. Its body was a crude amalgamation of jagged crystal and tarnished metal, cobbled together into a humanoid form. Its head was resembled that of an ancient automaton that had been covered in clear crystal, two pinpoints of harsh white light stared directly at me. Each step it took made the ground shake, and the crystal veins in the walls pulsed in time with its movements. ¡°Sam,¡± I said again, louder this time. ¡°We¡¯ve got company!¡± Still nothing. The automaton''s moved its arms like clubs, hitting the ground and walls around it with them. It stomped forward, and before I could think, I was on my feet, shield raised. Its first swing came fast¡ªtoo fast for something that big. The metallic fist slammed into my shield with a deafening clang, the force sending me rolling backward. My arm throbbed from the impact, but I had barely enough time to recover as the automaton followed up with another strike. I ducked, the monster¡¯s left arm slicing through the air above me with a high-pitched whine. ¡°Anytime now, Sam!¡± I shouted, swinging my knuckleduster into the automaton¡¯s leg. The blow landed with a dull crack, but it barely seemed to notice. It turned toward me, its glowing "eyes" narrowing as it raised both arms for a double strike. I rolled to the side, its arms slamming into the rock where I¡¯d just been standing. Shards of stone flew in every direction, one slicing across my cheek. I felt warm blood trickle down, but I pushed the pain aside and launched myself at its side, sending a straight with my fist into a joint where crystal met metal followed by a left in the same spot, hitting the crack with the edge of my shield. This time, it staggered, the glowing in its crystals dimming momentarily. ¡°Okay, maybe I can hurt you,¡± I muttered, darting out of range as it swung its arm wildly, gouging deep grooves into the rock wall. The thing roared¡ªa sound like grinding stone¡ªand lunged again. This time, I used my shield to deflect the blow, pivoting to land another strike at its leg. The crystal cracked further, and the automaton stumbled, one leg dragging awkwardly as it turned to face me. ¡°Sam!¡± I shouted, desperation creeping into my voice. She still stood perfectly still, as if nothing was happening. ¡°This is not the time to be zen right now!¡± The automaton raised its blade arms again, and I braced myself, shield up. But just before it could strike, Sam¡¯s voice rang out, clear and confident. ¡°I think I got it!¡± Her eyes snapped open, and she leveled her staff at the automaton. The crystal at its tip flared to life, glowing with an intense, swirling blue light. ¡°Water Bullet!¡± she shouted. A sphere of water erupted from the staff¡¯s tip, slamming into the automaton¡¯s chest with the force of a cannonball. The exposed metal buckled under the force, pushing the creature backwards. The automaton froze mid-swing, the light in its "eyes" flickering before fading entirely. With a final groan, it crumbled to the ground, a heap of metal and shattered crystal. I lowered my shield, panting heavily. ¡°Great timing,¡± I muttered, wiping the blood from my cheek. Sam turned to me, a triumphant grin on her face. ¡°Told you I¡¯d figure it out.¡± I stared at her for a moment before laughing, shaking my head. ¡°You really like to cut it close, don¡¯t you?¡± She shrugged, twirling her staff with newfound confidence. ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m a natural.¡±