The white room soon turned into an endless corridor of abandoned buildings. However, none of the scenery entered James’ eyes as he thought about what had happened today. He had killed a man, then cops chased him all over the street. They brought guns and even missiles from a helicopter to chase him down.
“I am screwed. I am no longer accepted by them,” James said. After the adrenaline and rage he felt against Franklin wore off, the stinging pain from his back started to bother him.
“System, how many coins do I have?”
[You currently have 450 coins remaining.]
“All right, how much do I need to fix my weapon again?”
[You would need 60 coins to fix your leather armor, war axe, and your mask.]
“All right. Do it.” James nodded. He took a few deep breaths before the pulsating pain surged in again.
[Reparation complete.]
“Do I need a health potion for my back?“ James didn’t expect the system to answer him for that question. However, the system actually answered. Moreover, it answered extensively.
[The bleeding has stopped. You do not need any health potion for survival needs. However, slight discomfort and pain might persist until two days later; using health potions now will remove the discomfort and the pain in ten minutes.]
“No need then. That thing costs 100 bucks,” James muttered.
As if on cue, squeaking noises resounded in the dimly lit corridors. He turned to find a humongous rat glaring at him. Its red eyes were menacing. However, James, who had faced countless monsters, including the alpha wolf, didn’t even spare it another glance.
“What do you want? I am busy. Get lost,” James snarled.
The rat was a monster. It didn’t care about James’s feelings. An enormous hatred surged within the rat when their eyes met. It charged, baring its two pairs of incisors at James, ready to gnaw at his neck.
“I said I am busy! Asshole!” James held its snout with his iron arm. The razor-sharp teeth were inches away from his face.
He then slammed its snouty face into the wall. The wall cracked under James’s rage and power. As the bloody rat breathed its last, a notification appeared before James.
[Available body part:
Giant rat's fur (skin slot)
Giant rat's tail (extra slot)
Giant rat's incisors (STR +10%) (mouth slot)]
[You have earned 5 coins. Your remaining coins are now 405 coins.]
James kicked the body aside. As he was about to throw the corpse away, his stomach growled. After another curse, he drew his Waterspout Dagger and skinned the rat, taking its meat and heart. Only after he skinned the rat and took out its heart did he raise a question.
“System, can I use Chimera to take its meat out?”
[Your current Chimera level is too low for that. The current level only allows you to improve yourself. It cannot be used to butcher animals for their parts.]
The system didn’t explain further. James was aware that further questions would give him the usual “information classified” response from the system. So, he could only grudgingly skin and split apart its corpse. Thankfully, he had everything he needed—from an axe, a longsword, and a dagger.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
James had never cut meat from an animal before, so his work was rough. But with a rat the size of a cow, even its legs were enough to last James for two days. After washing himself and the meat with water from his dagger, James continued his journey.
“Hmm… 1000 coins… that’s going to be tough for a novice dungeon, isn’t it?”
[Information classified]
“I missed that remark already!” James chuckled. He then pondered in the corridors. Unlike the medieval look the trial dungeon had, these alleyways looked like they were from the modern era. “How many floors does this dungeon have?”
[This dungeon has 10 floors in total.]
“What? That’s double from the previous!”
[That is correct.]
“Is this really a novice dungeon?”
[This dungeon is classified as a novice-level dungeon. Its exact difficulty compared to trial dungeons is classified information.]
James shuddered at the system. He was getting good at catching where the system might lie. And this time, he sensed it was lying.
James walked about, his steps getting heavier as his footsteps echoed in the empty hallway. Squeaking sounds sometimes mixed in with the echo, adding to the eerie atmosphere of an abandoned building.
Footsteps, unlike James’s, were heard. However, since they echoed, James didn’t know how far the enemy was. One thing was for sure—those footsteps didn’t sound like they came from rats. The flickering light bulbs revealed a shadow at the end of the corridor.
James held his axe at the ready. The shadow revealed a bipedal monster. The beast squeaked, its grey fur dirty as some kind of scraped leather armor adorned it. It wielded a sword in its left hand.
“So, this is a rat floor? First an actual rat, and now a ratman?” James muttered.
As if James had insulted its mother, the ratman charged with its sword. James drew his axe and kept his sword on his back. He thought he would kill it with a single swing, only to be surprised moments later when its sword began shining golden.
“What the fu…” James leaped to the side, only to realize moments later that this corridor was too narrow for any meaningful evasion. James cursed as he made the mistake he had sworn not to make—parrying a weapon skill without one.
James braced himself for the impact as his axe clashed with the beast monster’s sword. James knew weapon skills would hit hard; he didn’t fight against it. Learning from Kouki, who slid his sword against James when they fought on the fifth floor, James tried to do the same. However, James wasn’t as proficient as him, and he used an axe, not a sword.
The axe slid out from his arm as James and the rat monster passed each other. James realized that he had taken one huge gamble with this maneuver. If the beast had used a two-hit strike instead of one, James would be finished. Thankfully, James won this gamble. The golden sword didn’t curve or chase after James.
James reached out for his sword on his back. The ratman turned around only to find a blade entering its throat. James’s stats were much higher than the ratman’s—it had lost the moment James survived the sword skill.
James didn’t stop. He grabbed his dagger with his golem arm and stabbed the furry beast right in the eye. It soon breathed its last as life faded from its eyes.
[Congratulations, you have leveled up to level 31! You have earned 10 coins and an unknown key.]
[Name: James
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 31
Coins: 415]
Stats:
STR: 110 (up 2)
DEX: 105 (up 3)
Magic: 56 (up 3)
Mana: 680 (up 20)
Skills:
-
Novice Axe Mastery Level 2 (Powerstrike, V-Slash) (up 1)
-
Beginner Sword Mastery Level 6 (Hurricane)
-
Beginner Bow Mastery Level 7 (Quickshot)
Magic:
-
Mind Flay
-
Mana Sonar
Unique Skill:
Chimera:
-
Goblin Stomach (Iron Guts) (Stomach Slot)
-
Mana Core (Water Spell: Ice Spear, Water Manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000) (Extra Slot)
-
Orc’s Left Arm (STR +10%) (Arm Slot)
-
Eyes of Mana (Mana Sense) (Right Eye Slot)
-
Golem Arm of Valhalla (STR +30%, Physical Resistance +30%, Negative Trait: Repairable, Mana -200) (Right Arm Slot)
-
Sahuagin’s Webbed Feet (+10% Dexterity in Water) (Leg Slot)
-
Sahuagin’s Lungs (Underwater Breathing) (Lung Slot)
-
Golem Core (Poison Resistance) (Negative Trait: Mana -250, Magic -10, Repairable) (Heart Slot)
-
Orc’s Torso (Torso Slot)
-
Orc’s Head (Head Slot)
-
Shadow Snake Fang (Intermediate Life Leeching) (Mouth Slot) (New)
-
Jumping Spider’s Spinneret (Thread Creation) (Extra Slot 2)
- Elder Komodo’s Scale (Physical resistance +20%) (Fire resistance)(skin slot)
Equipment:
-
Leather Armor Set (+10 DEX)
-
War Axe
-
Longsword
-
Crossbow
-
Waterspout Dagger
-
Mask of Identity
-
Leather Bag
-
Cloak of Dark Night
-
Unknown Key
[Do you wish to modify your body? Y/N]
[Available body parts:
-
Ratman’s Fur (Skin Slot)
-
Ratman’s Legs (Leg Slot)
-
Ratman’s Arms (Arm Slot)]
James breathed a sigh, knowing the beast had died for sure. His heart almost leaped out of his ribcage when the ratman used a sword skill. He hadn’t expected a sword skill to be used by mobs on the first floor of a novice-level dungeon.
The beast parts were useless. However, the key was another matter entirely.
“System, it says ‘unknown key.’”
The system didn’t answer with the usual ‘information classified’ phrase. However, it answered with something similar.
[It means it can unlock something.]
“And that something is classified?”
[That is correct.]
“At least you tried.” James shrugged as he stuffed the key inside his bag.
James was exhausted. He had been through a lot today and didn't feel like exploring the labyrinth. So, he found a corner to hide in and slept. Thanks to the narrow corridor and the echoing footsteps, he should notice if there were any enemies nearby.
James wondered whether time inside the labyrinth was slower than in the outside world. It truly didn’t feel like two months had passed in that dungeon. Yet, it had.
“Am I going to live here for the rest of my life?” James pondered.
The world had turned against him. He had changed so much that the only thing that could describe him was monster. He wondered whether it was all worth it.
“Maybe I should just level up and kill them all,” James whispered to himself.
James recalled that bullets were no longer effective against him. The bullets from a machine gun could still wound him, but none of them were fatal wounds. If James leveled up just a bit more, could he face off even against tanks?
The answer was yes. James knew it was possible, but he hesitated.
As he drifted into the dream world, the memory of his mother resurfaced.
His mother lay on her deathbed due to cancer. It was possible to cure it. However, due to the insurance company rejecting her plea, she died.
Her words still rang in his head even today. “Please be kind to others. Death is not the end. Live with hope, and you will have a future.”
James had betrayed her words. He had tormented a man before his family and killed him in front of his son. Their horrified faces were imprinted on James’ memory. He knew he wouldn’t be able to forget them.
“Am I a monster?”