Dungeon Salvation

Elias cut through another clump of hanging vines that blocked him from heading deeper into the jungle. Bits of vegetation stuck to his skin as he looked for monsters to kill. Thankfully, there were no mosquitoes in the jungle or the trek would have been downright unbearable. The monsters of the newbie zone hardly posed a threat to the lives of adventurers, not even to new ones with no fighting experience. In fact, it was in effect a training zone to get the adventurers comfortable in the dungeon.

The vines and thick vegetation forced Elias to practice his machete forms relentlessly as he cut a path through them. He tilted his head slightly as he once again heard the noise he’d been tracking for the past few minutes. It was a mixture between the call of a songbird and the hoot of a monkey, sounding out a few times before going silent once more. The call had come from less than a couple dozen steps away this time, forcing him to move slower and quieter to catch the monster by surprise. He soon spotted a small monkey hanging by its tail from the branch of a tree. The monster had a long neck and small head with a beak instead of mouth, and a pair of wings tucked close to its body. Elias used Analyze on the beast.

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Tamarin Macaw

Common

Level 9

The Tamarin Macaw is a mixture of a tamarin and a macaw. It can let out a loud caw that stuns its targets.

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This weak monster was the bane and blessing of newbie adventurers, depending on how prepared and informed they were. It posed no threat to adventurers directly but was often the cause of serious injuries due to their hunting habits.

They can move quickly and quietly through the jungle and are very difficult to spot among the foliage. These small winged monkeys usually stay close to other monsters and wait for adventurers to try to sneak close to them. As the adventurers are about to catch their prey by surprise, the Tamarin Macaw flies by their heads and lets out a deafening caw, stunning them momentarily.

The stronger monster they were about to ambush is alerted to their position, making the ensuing fight more dangerous. On the other hand, better informed adventurers can track the calls of this beast in order to find monsters in the jungle more easily.

Elias spent a few seconds checking if there were really no other creatures nearby, but couldn’t spot anything amiss. He took a few steps to his right in order to get a clear line of sight to the creature, careful not to make any sounds, and slowly sunk his machete blades into the soft soil. He grabbed a couple of throwing knives that were strapped to his vest, calculated the distance, and threw them at the monster one after the other.

The first knife missed the small creature by a smallest of margins. The projectile clearly frightened it as it tried to fly away, but the second knife sunk into its side before it managed to do so. It fell from the tree with a startled caw and flapped its wings to flee once more, but failed to regain its balance with the knife stuck to its side and crashed to the ground. Elias picked up his machetes and ran to where the monster fell, killing it with a quick strike to the neck. A small measure of energy left the carcass of the Tamarin Macaw and shot into his chest, jolting him slightly.

You have gained 90 exp.

The dead monster quickly turned to ash in front of Elias, leaving behind a tiny, translucent crystal. He picked the gem off the floor and held it against a small transparent card similarly made of crystal. Soon, the energy flowed into the card from the small crystal and, when the transfer completed, it crumbled into dust. The card glowed ever-so slightly brighter as the energy from the energy crystal was added to itself.

Commonly used by adventurers and civilians alike, these cards can collect the energy from the energy crystals that monsters drop. Their ability to collect large amounts of energy while keeping the different types separated made them a very convenient option for both new and veteran adventurers. The energy stored can then be transferred between cards, allowing for transactions to be made with the energy as currency. Energy storage cards come in cheap or expensive models, depending on the storage capacity and how many energy types it can hold. The card that Elias bought was among the cheapest models and could only be used to hold small amounts of base energy.

The monsters from the newbie zone can't utilize Skills and possess unaspected mana and energy, also known as base energy. While high level adventurers cannot gain experience points from killing low level monsters, they can still harvest their energy crystals. As a result, base energy is the most common and least valuable energy type, used in most monetary transactions. All other energy types have their value quoted with the unaspected energy as the base currency for similar reasons.

Elias picked up his throwing knives and cleaned them using a leaf he picked from a tree, and then his pants, storing them in their straps in his vest once more. With his latest kill, he finally had enough exp to level his Vitality. He immediately opened his Status and spent the exp necessary to do so.

Name: Elias Oliveira

Exp: 7050

Spirit: 8

Skill: None

(17.000 exp to level)

Wisdom: 7

Skill: None

(15.000 exp to level)

Intelligence: 7

Skill: None

(15.000 exp to level)

Charisma: 3

Skill: None

(7.000 exp to level)

Agility: 6

Skill: None

(13.000 exp to level)

Strength: 4

Skill: None

(9.000 exp to level)

Vitality: 3

Skill: None

(7.000 exp to level)

Congratulations! Your Vitality has risen to level 4.

It had been a long morning of trudging through the jungle hunting monsters and Elias was finally gratified by his first ever level increase. Warmth spread from the base of his spine to the rest of his body, revitalizing him. It was like standing close to a pyre on a cold night or hugged by a thick blanket on a sick day. It was like his body had been in pain for so long that it could only be felt now by its absence. His eyes grew heavy with emotion and tears sneakily tickled his cheeks before he managed to gather himself.

Elias has had a sickly constitution since he was a child and it was only through his training efforts and strict eating habits that he was able to live his life somewhat normally until now. However, he’d always been exceptionally skinny and weak compared to his peers, easily bedridden due to sickness. Through years of brutal training efforts and the use of expensive medicines, he’d been able to raise his Vitality score to level 3 naturally, from his initial level 1. Now, in less than a day of grinding the monsters in the dungeon, he had raised his Vitality once more already. He felt that the end to his suffering health was finally in sight.

Elias took this opportunity to rest, drink water, and eat to replenish his energy. He’d found a small stream a while back, so his canteen of water was full. He had also stuffed quite a few cereal bars and strips of beef jerky into his small backpack, as well as his lunch and dinner. Reminiscing on the difficulties he’d had growing up due to his health, he ate his food quietly while listening to the sounds of the jungle.

He was glad to be alone for this first step of his journey, that no one could see as began to let go of the pain and bitterness he felt for so long. The benefits he’d received from his training sessions had always been minor compared to others, despite putting in many times the effort. He would get tired more easily, so he pushed harder. He’d get sick often and it showed in his haggard appearance. He’d sacrificed so much to get an advantage for when he became an adventurer, but it still hadn’t been enough. He hadn’t been invited to any of the newbie adventurer parties.

The current state of his social life was mostly his own fault, admittedly, as was clearly implied by the startlingly low level of his Charisma attribute. Elias had never dealt well with the limits imposed on him by his body, making him prickly. This led to many rivalries and antagonistic relationships throughout the years, which snowballed into his current situation.

He was about to put his canteen back into his backpack when he was pulled out of his thoughts by something forcefully jerking his right leg.

“Ahhh!” Elias yelped.

He barely managed to grab onto one of his machete’s handles despite his surprise, but still went sliding down the ground on his butt. He looked at his right leg and saw that a vine had wrapped itself around it all the way to the knee. He realized the thing must have slowly inched closer to him while he was distracted. Following the length of the vine in the direction it was pulling him from with his eyes, he spotted a small tree. The innocuous sapling stood waist high and vines flowed from its crown, one of which was currently grabbing his leg. He used Analyze on the monster.

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Hanging-Tree Sapling

Common

Level 10

This monster can control its cord-like vines to grab its unsuspecting victims, strangling or bashing them against other objects.

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Looking in the direction that the sapling was pulling him into, he noticed that he was about to brush against a medium sized tree just slightly to its left side. Elias used his left leg to leverage himself to the right, so that he would pass by the tree’s right side instead.

The cord-like vine made a half loop with the tree’s trunk, abruptly arresting his momentum. Using the brief moment of respite, he quickly stood on his unbound leg and swung his machete at the vine with all of his strength, cutting in a single strike.

Elias growled and ran in the tree’s direction with his machete raised. Another vine swung at him from the right and above like a whip, but he adjusted his posture to intercept it with his blade. The vine met the blade and was sheared off by its own momentum as he continued to run towards the monster.

As he was about to reach the sapling, he tripped on a vine that was set up like a tripwire. The monster tried to capitalize on his mistake by swinging at him from his left side but he fell into a roll, dodging the incoming appendage. The maneuver deposited him within striking distance of the creature.

With a scream of adrenaline imbued rage, he hacked at the trunk of the sapling with a horizontal sweep. His strike cut halfway into it and the wood cracked and bent. Another swing of his blade and he cut the sapling’s trunk in two pieces.

You have gained 100 exp

Elias could hear his blood pulsing in his ears like the beat of a drum as he panted. He felt like his heart might leap off his chest from sheer fright. As he regained his composure, his blood seemed to flow from his ears to his cheeks in embarrassment.

The fact was that the tree monster had caught him unawares and that made him outraged. He made a quiet vow that he would cut down every sapling that crossed his path from now on, monster or otherwise.

Logically, he understood that he was actually angry at himself for allowing his mind to wander in such a dangerous location like the dungeon. Such actions were contrary to all of his training and he expected more from himself. Emotionally, however, he knew that the trees of this dungeon would rue the day one of theirs crossed him.

Elias returned to hunting monsters after his introspection was interrupted by the Hanging-Tree Sapling. He was now in the deeper areas of the newbie zone and the monsters here were closer to level 10. On the outskirts of the jungle, weaker monsters close to level 1 could be found, making it the best spots for adventurers without any training. Those areas also had a lot more people in them, making leveling much slower. It took him many hours to reach the central areas of the zone, but his leveling speed should be a lot faster now. He set the goal of gaining enough exp to raise his Vitality to level 5 before he needed to return.

It took him the rest of the day grinding the monsters to level his Vitality again. It was already nighttime outside when he began his trekk back to the dungeon entrance, although that could hardly be noticed within. Crystals of shining white light decorated the cave ceiling above the jungle, illuminating it at all times. This allowed adventurers to grind monsters both day and night just the same. His parents shouldn’t worry about him arriving late either, as they knew there was little danger to him in the newbie zone.

True to his promise, he made a point of cutting down all kinds of small trees and saplings as he carved a path through the jungle. By the time he reached the edge of the jungle, Elias was completely covered in bits of foliage that had stuck to his arms, face, and clothing throughout the day. He’d found a couple of streams and brooks along the way, but taking a dip hardly made a difference. Shortly after cleaning himself he’d be dirty again. At least his increased Vitality made his skin less prone to irritation.

It was with pride that Elias left the boughs of the jungle after a long day of grinding. He was stronger and healthier than ever before, if exhausted, and richer too, thanks to the energy he collected from the monsters. At the rate he was gaining exp, he’d reach level 10 in all his attributes in no time. Therefore, he was particularly upset when he felt a blade press against his neck and heard the sound of a gun cocking.

“Give me all your stuff. No one needs to get hurt tonight.” Said a male voice from behind him. “Drop your weapons on the ground and slowly raise your hands up. I have a gun.”

Elias did exactly what the man asked of him, making a point of being particularly slow in doing so too, as to not startle his robber. His efforts were not helped by the fact that his hands were already trembling slightly. One needs to be notably stupid or arrogant to think that they can bring a pair of blades to a gunfight and win, at least below the Novice ranks.

Guns became functionally useless past a certain level in the dungeon, rarely used by adventurers even in the early ranks. Their users often rely on them like a crutch, resulting in the formation of bottlenecks in their Skill growth. In turn, this made reaching past even the Novice rank difficult. However, for newbies like him, they ruled supreme.

After he dropped his very new and expensive machetes and raised his hands up in the air, the man started to shakily and hurriedly remove his backpack and vest. It was obvious he had very little experience in his chosen profession and Elias found that to be a very disconcerting part of the situation he found himself in. A panicked robber was far more likely to actually shoot him than an experienced one, given that he didn’t react. At this point in the robbery, his own mind was in a loop of panicked profanities as his legs started shaking as well.

They both tensed even further when the man’s hand passed by the throwing knives strapped to the vest, but the man continued after hissing out a curse. His own nerves actually seemed to make the other man’s shaking worse too, in a ridiculous manic loop. The robber soon managed to remove the vest, going as far as removing the contents of Elias’ pockets. When palpating him finally resulted in nothing other than the clothes he had on, the man relaxed slightly.

“A-alright, take your shoes off as well,” said the man suddenly. Elias groaned at that and opened his mouth to complain but the man shut him up with a hushed “now!”. While removing his shoes he briefly wondered if the man would take his clothes as well. However, before he could finish removing his left boot, his vision darkened as he was hit in the back of the head.