Elsewhere

Duke quickly read the message and set to work. The first thing he noted was how much his right shoulder stump hurt but, thankfully, the bleeding had stopped. He grit his teeth against the pain and tried to pull the boss’ corpse into his INVENTORY.

***Warning, this object exceeds the storage capacity of your Ability. Increase your Ability’s rank to increase your available storage capacity.***

“Fucking great. Maybe I can cut it to pieces and take the best parts or something, not that I have a clue what the most useful parts that would be. But first, I should go loot the lair, right?” Duke looked around the area quickly and spotted e a massive hole where Chodo must have come from. “And I’m talking to myself again. Brilliant.”

“Duke! I can hear you. Are you alright?” Baslin’s voice shocked him momentarily, but Duke smiled as he had regained comms.

“Well, here’s the sitrep.”

“The what?”

“Nevermind. Fucking idioms. I beat the first level of the dungeon and received a message that dungeon restrictions have been temporarily lifted. I am guessing that is why we have comms again.”

"Comms? Right. Communications. Your vernacular is quite entertaining. Congratulations on completing the level. How difficult was it?”

“I’d give this a six out of ten. It only cost me an arm, not an arm and a leg.”

“Cost you an arm? What are you talking about?” Baslin responded, confusion evident in his voice.

Duke turned his head so that the headband pointed at his right shoulder. He could see the flesh of his shoulder starting to expand, as if a tiny hand was forming from the stump. Guess that answers that question. New arm, here we come. Still hurts like a bitch though.

“I see.” Baslin remarked. “Your ability to heal is quite remarkable. I wonder if you are part troll or something.”

“Just on the internet.”

“On the what?”

“Oh, just ignore it and let’s move on. I have a choice here and dwindling time to make it. First, I have to go loot this thing’s den and then figure out what parts of the corpse I can take with me. It seems that the whole thing is too big to fit in my INVENTORY. So, what parts are the most important for you to craft with?”

“Right. Teeth and claws for sure. It should have a core – that’s probably the most valuable part of it all. Beyond that, some bones, the heart, liver, and the stomach might be useful. Most of the rest of it is really just meat. It might be high-quality meat to eat so consider cooking some up for yourself.”

Duke acknowledged Baslin’s advice and hurried into the large opening that the boss had made. Finding its lair was a matter of minutes after that as it was a straight shot from where it burst out. Duke quickly moved through the lair, pulling everything that looked remotely interesting or useful into this INVENTORY before returning to the corpse and trying to do some butchering.

Duke sighed as he wound up using his sword to carve into the dead boss. At least it’s good for something after all. It took most of the rest of the hour to cut out the parts that Baslin requested, especially since half that time was with only one arm. It all went into his INVENTORY and Duke took a few minutes to consider his options. Should I continue? The only thing there were two things that were difficult for this level. The mobs hid and the boss was immune to my go-to element. Beyond that, it wasn’t that bad. Sure, they bit really hard, and I probably should invest in some sort of armor but my regen fixed me up every time. If I can be mobile and hit and run, there’s not much that I can’t take on from what I’ve seen. I think that makes up the decision for me. One more level and the re-evaluate.

As Duke made his decision, the world dissolved into blackness before he found himself in what appeared to be a room from an inn. There was a bed against the wall with a dresser. There even appeared to be shuttered window. A cast-iron belly stove glowed with a warm light in the far corner and a desk occupied the near one.

***Transportation initiated!

Delver, you have a decision to make. Will you leave the dungeon or will you rest, recover, and return for the next level. Note that for each consecutive level of the dungeon you complete, your ultimate rewards will be increased. Regardless of your decision, you will receive the rewards of the level you just completed. Be sure to decide before your recovery time is complete. ***

Duke chose to continue to the next level and was subsequently inundated with reward messages.

*** Congratulations Delver! Since this level has gone so long without being completed, your rewards have been enhanced.

For slaying 84 Giant Ferrets with an average level of 50, you have received 242,045 experience.

For slaying Chodo, the Lady of the Burrows, you have received 13,300 experience.

For completely clearing all opponents in this level, you have received an additional 25,000 experience.

A prize chest has been placed in your recovery room.

***

Duke stared at the notices as he realized just how much experience he received in the first level. Without hesitation, he lay down on the bed to get some rest and let it all assimilate. He fell asleep quickly and awoke to delicious level-up messages.

***Well, that was exciting! You took on an ancient dungeon. We never could have seen that coming. *wink* Oh, you thought you found this all on your own? You really are full of yourself. Now, on to the bits you have been waiting for.

All that experience has shot you right up to level 26. Since you didn’t bother to spend the Characteristic points from the last level, you now have 98 points to spend. You might want to spend some before moving on to the next dungeon level.

You made considerable use of your OVERCHANNEL Ability. It has increased 5 levels to Initiate 10.

Your LIGHTNING Ability was used well. It increased to Initiate 20.

Let’s talk about REGENERERATION. You regrew an entire limb. That’s pretty amazing, for you, anyway. It has increased to Practiced 35.

Oh, and then you went and used ICE DART so far above its intended purpose that we’re just going to change it to ICE and bring it up to Initiate 10. Well done!

How many times did you REPAIR your clothes? Nobody else remembers either, but it was used prodigiously, enough to move it up to Novice 10.

So, you tried to put an elephant into a thimble…your INVENTORY increases to Initiate 5. Learn your limits, but don’t hold yourself to them.

Ah, and then there is Dodge. You tried to use this Skill countless times. At best, you are marginal at it. Call it Initiate 12.

Every time you pick up a sword, I can’t stop laughing. Really. It’s like you’re intentionally bad at it. Take a bump in Blades to Novice 2 for at least trying. Failing, but trying.

Be mindful of the dungeon difficulty. It won’t get any easier but I’m…er, um, yes…we’re sure that you were aware of increasing difficulties by level. There. I said it? Happy now?

You are still transmitting, fool.

Never you mind that last bit. System glitch. Carry on. ***

Duke shook his head at the oddness of the final section of the message. I wonder what that was all about. Are there two entities… Duke saw a flash before his eyes and when he was done blinking to get his vision back, he continued right where he left off – spending points after leveling. Yes, that’s exactly where he left off.

Baslin, you there? I could use some advice.” Duke asked hopefully.

“Oh, you’re done sleeping. Excellent. How were the rewards from the dungeon?”

“Rewards? Pretty sweet so far. I got enough experience to more than double my level. How’s that for you?”

“That is an impressive jump for certain. How many kills did that take?”

“I think the count was about 85.”

“Wow. What level were they? Even 85 monsters should not have been enough to double your level.”

“Um…they were all around level 50 except the boss which was closer to level 100.”

“There’s no way you should have been able to take them on at your level. None. You should be dead. No question about it.”

“I’ve told you before. I’m not the average person. I’ve always performed above spec. I work harder and refuse to lose. That’s just who I am. I shouldn’t have walked away from the crash but somehow, I’m here. I should not have survived the fight in the arena, yet here I stand. That level should have killed me, and it would have if I didn’t pull it out in the end. The next level? I’ve all but been told that it will be harder still, but I’ll walk out of it because that’s who I am.”

“That is quite the level of self-confidence. I’m glad that we are on the same side then, right?”

“Right.”

“Now, Duke, what was it you needed advice on?’

“I have almost a hundred Characteristic points to spend. I have some ideas, but I wanted your take on it to see if there are some hidden landmines I should avoid.”

“One, what is a landmine? No, on second thought, I understand the context. Two, how in the world do you have a hundred points to spend? You gained, what twelve levels?”

“Fourteen, but I already had a level’s worth banked and waiting to see if I needed them in a specific stat. But now, this is too many to hang on to. I don’t want to stunt my growth after all.”

“How many points are you getting per level?” Baslin’s tone had changed from incredulity to fascination.

“I get six per level. I could peanut butter them, but I don’t think that is my best course. Might be, but I just don’t know.”

“Six! At a Tier one! That is…wow, just wow. Most Tier ones get two or three per level. A few, if they have an especially rare class might get four at the top end. Six is just unheard of. I can’t wait for you to hit Tier two and see how many you get then. I hypothesize that it will be between nine and twelve and that is going to accelerate things to…Wow. Yes, it is good that you have me to guide you. What is your current breakdown?”

Duke relayed his stats. Smiling as he realized that he was already well beyond baseline human limits before he even added any more points.

Baslin whistled. “Add ten to everything to start. That will leave you with-” Baslin paused for a calculation. “Thirty points left to spend?”

“Yep. Spending them now.” Duke spent the points and promptly collapsed to the floor as his body was wracked with absolute agony as muscles stretched thinner, grew thicker, and returned to stronger muscle tone. Sinews twisted in on themselves, tightening and stretching as well. His clothes shredded, soaked with blood and other unidentifiable fluids. His body tried to scream but his muscles were too taught to move. He twitched on the floor gurgling drool and what may have been the contents of his stomach.

His mind froze as thoughts, feelings, and perceptions flooded his consciousness. His senses scrambled. Colors assaulted his taste buds, smells made his skin itch, and the feeling of himself gurgling made his eyes ache. It lasted for a matter of less than a minute but for that time, Duke was floored.

Baslin chuckled on the other end. “Bet that hurt.”

“Hurt, motherfucker? That about tore me apart!”

“Don’t worry, any damage should be fleeting, and you are in a secure location. What effects have you noticed?”

Duke climbed to his feet to realize that what remained of his clothes fit a bit too tight now and were covered with blood. He used REPAIR and CLEANSE and was thankful to see that his clothes adjusted to his new frame, even growing longer as he seemed to have gained a centimeter or three in height. He examined his sheet and noticed a few things that stunned him.

His Health was now over 3,000 and his Mana had topped over 5,000! His Mana regen had jumped to over 1,500 per minute and his actual REGENERATION was over 1,300 per minute! He relayed these findings to Baslin.

“Outstanding. Now we are going to take it to the next level. You know, because the next level is going to much more actively try and kill you. Add eleven to Endurance and Psyche both.” Baslin’s sense of anticipation was palpable.

Duke braced himself and added the points. The changes did not hurt nearly as much this time and he was able to endure the pain now that he was getting used to it. He quickly noted and relayed that his Health nearly hit 4,000 and his Mana was now closing in on 6,000. His regens had also jumped.

“Perfect. Spend the last eight however you like. I might suggest even more into Endurance but that is up to you. It would likely push your Health above 4,000 and give you a chance to survive a few hits before you are in trouble.”

“That sounds reasonable, perhaps even advisable. Thanks for the advice. You know, with all this Mana, I can OVERCHANNEL every Ability I use. I wonder if that is what they had in mind?’

"They?” Baslin inquired.

“Whomever sent me to this world. There had to be a reason for it and maybe this is part of their grand design. I don’t know but I have to have some sort of faith that there’s a reason for all this.”

“Find your own purpose in this world, Duke. Do not rely on others to set a purpose for you.”

“Good advice, Baslin. I suppose I already have my PURPOSE. Time to get to the rest of my loot and get ready for level two. I’ll connect with you later. Thanks again, Baslin.”

“Anytime, my apprentice.” Baslin chuckled at the thought.