(Book 1 Complete!) Side Quest [Isekai / LitRPG]

Logan's hands fumbled over the cave's dead-end wall. Situated around the corner where the daylight didn't reach, it was too dark to see much. He found a rough patch of stone where the draft came in and out but couldn't trace any actual gaps with his fingers.

He needed light. His mind went back to the tile, which he pulled out and held as close to the stone as possible, butting up against it.

In this darkness, it generated a halo of illumination an inch in radius. When he peered at the porous patches of stone, he detected a subtle pattern, as if someone had traced a thin line in corrosive chalk.

A flashing notification in his peripheral made him groan. Had he just used up more of his blessing? He thought he depleted his supply.

Using that same instinctive feeling, he toggled the notification.

Congratulations! You have learned a new skill!
Analyze (Common), level 1.
+3 to Perception
You have opened your eyes! Notice what others pass by, and you may just avoid tripping over obstacles. Range and details improve with skill level.

His brain tingled, and suddenly the world seemed a little sharper. It wasn't unpleasant, and in fact felt kind of invigorating. "Huh." He blinked. This was totally like a video game. Now, how could he use this new skill?

He stared at the stone and willed it to reveal its mysteries to him.

Right. Well, I guess not like that. He shifted his feet, feeling silly.

With a quick flutter of his eyelids to re-wet his eyes, he opened them wide and stared at the wall, thrusting his nose almost to touch the gritty section.

Still nothing.

Leaning back and planting his hands on his hips, he spoke. "Analyze."

A new box opened, but it was not at the crack. Instead, it hovered over the stone. The tooltip-like prompt labeled it as a Summoning Crystal and gave him an option to dig deeper into its description.

Name: Summoning Crystal
Type: Item
Lore: A stone with the power to summon a champion from off-world. This stone has already been used to summon a champion as the last hope of a dying race and an expiring land.

Logan read the text a second time before bursting into laughter. A champion? Sure, whatever was happening was exciting, but champion was a bit of a stretch. He was twenty-seven years old and couldn't even afford to pay rent next month.

That thought sobered him. If this all ended up being a dream or hallucination, and if he was still in his room, how long had it been? He would be late for work.

Yeah, he hated his job, and he often thought about quitting, but money was money.

And hey, if it was a dream, he would eventually wake up. Otherwise, why waste time? He might as well be productive.

What else could he analyze? Turning around to face the greater portion of the cave, he engaged the skill. This time he tested just thinking the skill's name.

Analyze.

Dozens of little boxes popped up, drawing Logan's attention to patches of vegetation clinging to the walls.

Name: Gray Cave Moss
Type: Ingredient
Lore: Found near the entrances to dungeons, this moisture-wicking vegetation feeds off ambient mana and provides minor restorative benefits.

Mana? Like capital M mana? Danger or not, a new thrill rushed through him. Could he learn spells?

A quick walk through the cave showed the only stuff nearby was this gray cave moss. He focused on keeping the skill engaged, which seemed to require active concentration.

Analyze is level 2!

A heady rush of adrenaline surged through his brain, and he gasped with a smile. The bump of energy that came with the level up far outweighed the minor headache from the extended concentration.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Any clumps of moss within reach quickly filled his pockets. He imagined it would be nice to have some restorative items, considering he was in a strange cave, and there was a mysterious wind blowing through an ominous crack in the wall.

He wasn't really sure how to use it, though. Was it something he needed to eat, or did he apply it to wounds?

He remembered his scraped knuckles. With moss in one hand, he extended the backside of his other to check. The scraping he had noticed earlier, though, was completely gone.

"Huh." He squinted closer, wondering if maybe it was just the dim lighting, and he even held the summoning crystal up for extra visibility. But no, no sign of scuffed skin remained. Just some dried blood that flaked away.

Maybe he had some type of natural regeneration rate. It should have seemed strange, but now that he was past the initial shock of waking up here, he was ready to keep going. His girlfriend—er, ex-girlfriend—Janie said he was too good at compartmentalizing, but right now that benefited him.

It had just been two days since their breakup. Her criticisms hadn't bothered him. They paled compared to his father's. But when he came home early to surprise her for her birthday and saw that guy in their bed…

It definitely wouldn't hurt to have this on hand. He stuffed the clump of moss back into his pocket.

"Now," he said, turning back to the crevice in the wall, "time to figure you out."

With one hand, he held the faintly glowing crystal tile up to the pumice-like stone, and with the other hand, he tried to dig a finger into the thin mortar-like substance. It was definitely softer stone, but it still wouldn't give way to his skin. His fingernails were freshly trimmed, which he didn't recall doing, but that also meant that he had little advantage picking at the wall.

If I use two hands to pry, it might go a little more easily.

He wedged the crystal's corner into the looser stone and laughed as a small amount crumbled apart. As a test, he scraped the tile against the strip of porous wall, and sure enough, it gave way.

Before continuing, he checked the tile for any cracked or dulled edges. Despite having the look and feel of glass, the sturdy crystal had maintained its shape.

As he pressed further, he loosened more scree. A small mound of it sat in a pile at his feet, and now, anytime the wind swept through the wall, it was less of a howl and more of a whoosh.

He had to stop a few times to flex his stiffening fingers, but when he eventually stood ankle-deep in small stones, a heavy crash sounded as a massive chunk of the wall fell away. It sounded like the damage was on the far side of the wall, though. He rapped a knuckle against the seemingly unbroken facade facing him, and compared it to a section of wall further away.

He was right. The wall he had been chipping at was now far thinner and made a hollow sound as he tapped it. Its backside had collapsed, and now it was merely a veneered facade he had to take down.

Logan smirked. "Perfect." He freed the summoning crystal from its wedged home and ran it over the face of the stone.

He had enough of a gap to wriggle his fingers in and wrap around the lip of weakened stone. To get better leverage, he put one foot on the wall and yanked his shoulders back. Two cracks followed one after another, sounding like ice hitting warm water. He grunted with the effort. Then, after a third crack, the veneered segment broke away. Logan, foot still pressing off the wall, suddenly skidded back on his butt as a slate-like slab flew free.

His tailbone struck the stony cave floor.

"Ow."

Right after that, the freed stone slab flew past his arm, slicing it at the elbow.

"OW!"

The sharpened stone fragment had torn a jagged gouge into his forearm.

"Crap, crap, crap…"

As dark blood flowed freely from the deep cut, he reached into his pocket, pushing past the pain. "All right, moss, time to do your thing."

He wadded up a ball of the springy vegetation and crammed it into the cut. The brief sting only hurt more and the blood flow didn't stop.

His analysis had called the moss an ingredient, so maybe he needed to eat it.

He tore the blood-soaked clump free from his cut and threw it to the side. Plucking a fresh piece, he tossed it into his mouth and chewed.

The taste equally met and didn't meet his expectations. It had the sour, metallic, alkaline-like taste he might expect from something growing out of stone. But there was also a sharp jolt that fizzled on his tongue like an overly carbonated soda. It definitely was not comforting.

He hissed, unsure if that feeling was good or bad. Had this strange plant just poisoned him?

He looked back down at his cut and saw the skin miraculously stitching itself back together before his eyes. The blood flow slowed until it barely pumped out of the cut, and then finally, when the cut closed completely, it just sat there pooled in the crease of his elbow.

"Whoa." He rubbed at the blood just to make sure the cut had healed. He used the bottom of his shirt to clear away the smear, and he checked the casualty-inflicting hunk of loosened wall beside him. Residual blood coated it, which made him feel more sane.

Propping himself up, he walked to the new hole in the wall.

Now the breeze came in and out in an airy sigh, sounding like a snoring giant. Faceted gemstones glistened deep into the cave. Around a corner, an ambient red glow provided added illumination.

At first he thought the red-tinged light came from lava, considering this was a mountain. He decided against it, though. There was a notable heat coming through the new hole, but there was no way it was enough to attribute to magma.

Then again, there were plenty of other inexplicable things happening right now.

A shadow flickered in the light and Logan grimaced. Something alive was in there.

He patted his moss-filled pockets. Yeah, I'm gonna need this.

With a settling breath, he climbed into the opened chamber.