Untitled Dungeon Story - 2

For the first time in years Simon was excited to go to work. The mixture of dread and anticipation that brewed in his chest as he rode the train couldn't stop the giddiness. A broad smile crossed his face when he saw that the door was still there. He did his job as usual for the first couple of hours, filling out help tickets and doing random tech support. Simon set up an automated process to run network integrity. The task would take three days if done manually so it bought him some time. He hurried outside before anyone could see him. The smokers in the building had long since discovered the blank patches in the security cameras which he used to full advantage.

Simon stepped through the doors and closed them quickly behind him. He scanned the entry room for any signs of danger. It seemed that this first spot was a safe zone. There was a distinct lack of monster tracks, bones, or anything of that sort. He still kept his back to the wall as he pulled his new equipment out from his Inventory. Much to his surprise, his batting gloves and the pads appeared on his body rather than having to put them on. This really was like a game. He pulled the baseball bat out of his Inventory. It made sense to him to use the blunt weapon against skeletons rather than a blade.

He crept into the next room to find a new skeleton shuffling around the space at random times. It paused every couple of steps and swayed slightly in a breeze that wasn't there. The skeleton was facing away from him. It looked like the monsters didn't respawn, or if they did, it took more than a day.

Simon adjusted his grip on the bat. He switched his attention between the monster and the floor as he crossed the space. Just because he didn't see anything at first didn't mean the path was clear. A loose bit of stone crunched under his foot. The skeleton turned toward the sound, but he was already in range. He aimed directly at the monsters' skull and swung the bat as hard as he could.

The impact sent a painful jolt up his arms and into his shoulders. It felt like he had just hit a brick wall rather than bone. On top of that, the top end of the bat now had a skull-shaped dent in it. A notification popped up. He dismissed it to clear his vision. Just in time to notice the skeleton raise its sword. Simon brought his bat up to block it. The Worn Iron Sword slowed a little as it sliced through the baseball bat.

Simon dropped the broken weapon and hopped back out of range. The skeleton pressed forward, not letting him get a moment to recover. A mental command brought his own sword out of his Inventory. It floated just under his hand, allowing him to grab it and bring it up to defend in a smooth motion. This time, the blades clashed. Both stayed intact after the impact.

With the skeleton so close it only made sense to fall back on tactics that worked just fine before. Simon grabbed a bony arm just below the shoulder joint and pulled hard. The bone popped away from the body leaving it holding the sword with one hand. He stomped down on the skeleton's foot then followed it up with a shoulder check directly in its sternum.

The skeleton stumbled back, now missing a foot along with an arm. Simon tossed the disconnected arm behind him then pressed his advantage. His increased knowledge of swordsmanship guided his strike. The blade sliced through the skeleton's chest at an angle. It dropped to the stone floor, the bones scattering across the tiles.

Unlike yesterday, there was no rest before the next conflict. Another two skeletons rushed into the room. One carried an axe while the other had a sword. Simon dodged to the side, making it so the skeletons were lined up. They couldn't reach him at the same time. The axe wielding skeleton was in the lead. It was the first time he had ever fought against something other than another sword. The axe looked lighter than he expected, better balanced too.

The skeleton swung its axe wide. Simon hopped back out of range letting the monster stumble a step closer. Once the skeleton was off balance he lunged forward, stabbing it through the ribs. The wound wasn't fatal, if that was the right word to use when fighting animated dead monsters. Regardless, the skeleton was still on its feet. It wrenched back the hand holding the axe, smacking Simon across the side of the head with the blunt backside of the head.

His ears rang from the impact. He moved closer, not wanting to give the skeleton room for another swing. The next one might be with the sharp side of the thing. Both of their options were limited so close. Simon brought his sword down, pommel first, on the top of the skeleton's head. He felt the bone give. The monster dropped to the floor in an inanimate heap.

The sword wielding skeleton stepped right up to fill the open spot. It didn't have any hinderance to their range of motion. The skeleton raised the sword and brought it down; the blade whistled swiftly through the air. Simon let his instinct determine his movements. He punched his sword forward, smacking the skeleton's hand at a weird angle. Dropping to a knee, he grabbed the monster's femur and pulled. The skeleton was lifted off the ground as the connection tried to hold strong. Simon hammered the monster down against the floor. The skeleton burst as it hit the stone tiles sending bits of bone across the floor.

Simon waited a moment, letting his heartbeat calm down and listening for any sign of more enemies. He relaxed a little when the area remained quiet. Still, he didn't know when another monster would show up. He moved quickly, looting the two skeletons and picking up the axe.

Worn Bearded Axe - $35
[Scrap – Sell]

He felt the weight of it in his hand. It wasn't as heavy as he had expected. Pop culture always made axes look so unwieldy. He put it in his Inventory along with the other sword and the bones. It would be good to have an alternative. Now that he had a moment, he pulled up the notification from earlier.

[Warning – Mana Void Weapon Equipped]

"What is Mana Void?" He whispered.

[Mana Void – An item or living being without mana. Entities, Tools, Items, Equipment, and Weapons from outside the Dungeon fall into this category.]

"What does that have to do with the bat getting cut into pieces?" Simon asked.

He didn't think talking to this otherworldly entity counted as talking to himself.

[Items and Entities in the Dungeon are suffused with Mana. This makes them superior to items and entities that are Mana Void.]

"I'm not from the dungeon," Simon said.

[Your Soul has a sensitivity to mana. This is why you are able to enter the Dungeon.]

"Are there others?" Simon asked.

He waited a moment, but no answer came. There must be some limitations to the information the system could give him. Bringing anything in from outside was a bust. He took off his elbow and knee pads but kept the batting gloves on. It may have just been in his head, but he thought they helped with his grip. He scrapped the remains of the bat, the machete, and the pads. The components he kept. He took their existence to mean there was a crafting portion to the system that he was yet to find. If nothing else, he could sell the junk before he left the Dungeon today.

The swordsmanship skill helped him understand how to use the weapon. It was the experience that he lacked. Still, it made him hesitant to try the axe. The sword might not have been the best against skeletons, but he didn't know how much longer he would be fighting them.

Simon adjusted his grip on the sword. He felt the contact when the blade hit the skeletons, but it wasn't anywhere as rough as the bat. His shoulders were still a little sore from it. It was a good thing that he hadn't tried to use a gun. He'd probably be dead or deaf by now. Probably both. The only gun he'd think would be good against skeletons would be a shotgun. Seeing one of them take slug after slug would have been terrifying.

According to tabletop RPGs, swords were horrible against skeletons. His worn blade didn't have a problem slicing through bone. They were a lot lighter than expected too. There was some sort of magic that held them together so that he could disconnect with a good effort.

His eyes flicked to the corner of his vision and the user interface popped up.

[150/2000 Experience]

Three skeletons would mean fifty experience a pop. He would need another seventeen if he wanted to level up today. There was just something about numbers going up that just made the dopamine flow. The readout faded away once he stopped looking at them. It probably wasn't a good idea to have it up all the time. He knew he'd get too distracted by the numbers and probably push himself too much for just a little more Experience. It wasn't like he could just Re-Spawn if he got carried away.

Simon moved forward into the next area. It looked exactly like the other two rooms with skeletons except they were empty. There were doors on either side, splitting it into a T-Section. He stayed close to the doorway to the previous room. Standing in the middle with an opening on both sides didn't sound like a good way to stay alive.

He shrugged and went to the left. His sword led the way, staying close to the wall. It didn't take long to find another room guarded by a new creature. It wasn't a skeleton, but it clearly wasn't a person. The thing wore damaged chest armor, one bracer, and carried a two-handed sword. Leatherlike strips of flesh hung from the skull like morbid strands of hair. He could see fibrous strands of something like tendons around the joints. Ripping the bones out of the sockets didn't look like a viable option with this one. He had killed plenty of digital Draugr in Nordic Tombs, but this was the first one he had encountered in reality.

Simon summoned the Worn Bearded Axe in his other hand. He would need to improvise without a shield. The axe actually felt better in his hand than the sword. He swapped the weapons to the other grip. It was roughly the same size as the sword, but it felt good in his hand. He dismissed the Worn Sword. The Inventory system was truly amazing. Having both weapons out at the same time felt wrong.

The thing was turned a little away from him. He waited until it had its back towards him. Simon crept forward with the axe ready to strike. He slipped closer, lining up his strike. Simon raised the axe and brought it down hard on the monsters' head. The blade wedged itself deep into the skull. He tried to yank it out, only to discover it was stuck.

An iron-hard grip snapped onto his forearm. Its touch made patches of frostbite pop up along his skin. Simon let go of the axe to focus on wrenching his arm out of the grip. The monster rocked a little but didn't let go.

Simon summoned the Worn Sword in his other hand and stabbed it through the monster. The blade burst out from its chest. It didn't seem bothered with the addition. He braced his foot on the monsters' lower back and wrenched the sword with all his might. This thing was much heavier than the skeleton.

The sword slid out faster than expected. He stumbled backwards, barely keeping the weapon in his grip. His new instincts kicked in. Basic Weapon Proficiency didn't make him a master swordsman, but it did install a decent foundation of training. Leaning into the stumble transitioning into a shoulder roll. He popped up to his feet with the sword at the ready.

It charged at him. The axe lodged in its skull disrupted its uneven strides. It raised the large sword, the swing clacked against the handle, forcing its head to look away and the swing to miss. Simon took advantage of the moment. He hacked down; his aim focused on the extended arms. The sword sliced through a forearm. Even detached from the body the hand stayed latched onto the grip. The creature tried, and failed, to lift the sword.

Simon took a step back, planted a foot, and swung for the fences. The blade sliced smoothly through the rotted neck sending the head rolling across the floor. It suddenly stopped as the axe-handle propped it up.

He groaned as he stomped over to the head and retrieved his axe. The armor couldn't be salvaged while the two-handed sword vanished into his Inventory. A bit of concentration summoned the User Interface.

[+200 XP]
Worn Great Sword - $55
[Scrap – Sell]

Simon waited for something more to pop-up. After a moment, it became clear that the User Interface wasn't going to give any more information. One of these things gave him two-hundred experience rather than the fifty from a skeleton. The axe to the back of the head may not have killed it, but it did provide an unintended bonus. It would probably work better against monsters that were alive rather than undead. He didn't plan on using a Great Sword. If anything, he needed a ranged option. A bow would be amazing right now. Armor was important too.

+$55

The adrenaline from the fight started to fade. He could feel all the aches and pains that he had ignored in the midst of the chaos. The knee and elbow pads had worked well enough. They were still intact, so they already proved to be better than the bat. At most, he had probably been in the dungeon for no more than half an hour. He leaned against the wall to catch his breath. It felt like a waste to leave now.

He scanned the room now that he was alone. It was a classic ten-by-ten square, but the monster hadn't been guarding a treasure chest. The hallways continued on at the other side of the room. His attention came to rest on the creature. It was undead and tougher than a skeleton. Going by gamer logic, it was not a zombie. Even the fantasy versions weren't smart enough to use weapons. Draugr seemed like it fit the best.

Simon pushed off the wall and continued down the path. It was too early to stop now.