Going Back to That Dungeon

Adam, Layla and Salma walked back towards the house.

It was about 5 pm.

"You know, we could be millionaires by now." Salma told them as she looked at her new Artefact.

It was a blue bracelet that added 3 Agility Points.

Adam and Layla chuckled.

"That's true. I wonder what the government is doing now. We don't have an internet connection here. Maybe new rules have been installed in cities. We're pretty lucky to be away from people." Layla said.

'The city, huh? I wonder how it is now. I hope the store's owner is doing okay. Oh yeah, there's Alice too. She had a shift the same day the sky turned red. Wonder where she is now...' Adam thought as he looked at the ground.

Layla gently put her hands on Adam's and Salma's shoulders.

"Let's go. It's been a long day and we haven't eaten since breakfast."

They walked to the house and Adam cooked for them.

"Grandpa and Grandma are out." Salma said as she sat at the table.

"I'd like to go to the city. Pretty curious about how it is there." Layla told them.

Adam stopped cooking for a second.

"Wouldn't it be dangerous? I haven't seen anyone except you guys since going out of that Dungeon. But before that, the city was a mess. People were protesting, destroying property and stealing from each other. Some were even killed." Adam said as he continued cooking.

"We know. We're from the city too. But we can't stay here forever with zero knowledge about what's happening in the country or even the world. I'm not saying we should go soon. But at one point, we will have to. Plus, we've cleared all the [F] rank dungeons around. We're going to have to go further if we want to find any." She added.

...

The next day, Adam woke up at 3 am.

Everybody was still asleep.

It was very dark, both outside and inside the house.

Still, Adam could see clearly thanks to his new "Night Vision" Skill.

'I thank god I have that Sleeping Beauty Skill. Faster Recovery is the best passive boost possible.' He thought as he got up.

Since all the rooms were upstairs, he could get up and start his day before everyone else without being scared of waking them up.

He was wearing Calvin's pyjamas.

Adam got changed and put on the only clothes he actually owned, his military pants and his white tank top.

"Inventory." He whispered.

The usual screen appeared in front of him.

He selected the Artefacts he wanted to equip.

First of all, his Dark Cloak that made him very hard to see in the dark.

The second Artefact he equipped was his Old Assassin's Boots that lowered the noise his steps make.

Then, he equipped two bracelets. Each one appeared on one of his wrists.

On his right wrist, his Goblin Chief's Bracelet that increased his Vigor & Endurance Stat by 5 points.

On his left wrist, his Monster Tamer's Bracelet where his two Tamed Monsters resided, Python and Light.

'Wonder if I should have gotten the Orc instead of Light.' Adam thought as he stepped out of the house without making a sound.

It was raining.

Adam stood outside of the house for a bit.

He looked at the dark sky while drops of rain made their way down his face and body.

[The Fox That Blesses Men is looking at you.]

'The Fox? Salma's Sponsor? Is it mad that I didn't wake her up?'

[The Fox That Blesses Men wants you to be careful.]

'Haven't you already blessed someone? Go away.' Adam thought as he shook his head.

He started walking west, without meaning to.

He entered the wheat field and kept walking.

Adam had woken up early, but he had no real plans about what to do. He didn't even plan to wake up early, but he knew he couldn't lay down for no reason.

'Sleeping is recovering. So I shouldn't sleep more than I have to, right? Might as well get up.'

After a bit, he found himself outside the wheat field.

A huge plain was in front of him.

'Oh.'

He started running forward.

Adam recognized the place he arrived at.

It was where everything began.

Where everything had gone wrong.

"It was this Gate."He muttered.

In front of him was a purple gate.

At his right, a military base. A couple of lights could be spotted.

Behind the gate, a forest.

He wasn't used to his Night Vision Skill, as it made his surroundings look greenish.

Adam raised his head towards the sky for a bit.

He took out his Black Widow's Sword and entered the Gate.

'I want... to go back there...'

He found himself in the middle of a forest.

It was as dark inside the Dungeon as it was inside.

This time, the forest was a lot less dense.

The trees were a lot higher than in The Forest of Goblins and there was much more space between the different trees.

'So it's not the same, huh?' Adam thought as he lowered his gaze to the ground.

Since the Dungeon Gate was purple, he had entered an [E] Rank Dungeon.

Adam heard the sound of leaves moving.

It came for a safe distance away.

He could only hear it thanks to his Extended Earshot Skill.

He finally looked at the screen in front of him.

[ Welcome to "The Orc Camp" [E]

The Orc ' Camp is an E-rank dungeon. This dungeon is filled with Orcs. Orcs [E-] are creatures blessed with great physical Strength and Endurance. Their Senses, however, are dull compared to monsters of the same rank. The Orcs inside the camp are armed with different weapons they have acquired from wars. They also possess many war treasures. Orcs choose their leader by fighting. The strongest Orc becomes an Orc Leader[D-]. The Orc Leader takes decisions for the group.

Participant(s): 1 Human.

Clear Requirement: Eliminate the Orc Leader.

Minimal individual reward: 8000 Gold Coins + 14.000 Experience Points.

]

'This is annoying. I wanted to go back to that Dungeon. Cleared Dungeons really are replaced by ones of higher rank then.' Adam thought.

'The Rewards are good though. Probably because I'm alone.'

He started walking forward.

'War treasures? Probably Hidden Artefacts, right?'

Adam felt a presence about 50 meters in front of him.

He readied his Black Widow's Sword and sprinted towards the lone monster.

It was an Orc.

It looked the same as the one he had defeated inside The Testing Room.

'It's dark in here. My Dark Cloak is perfect for this.'

Adam was right behind the Orc.

He slashed the Orc's right leg with his Black Widow's Sword.

In one attack, the monster lost a limb.

Green blood flew everywhere as the Orc fell to the ground.

It cried in pain.

Adam proceeded to stab its other leg.

"Python, come out and finish it."

The small Fire Salamander appeared and shot two Fire Balls at the fallen monster.

"How many Experience Points did it drop?" Adam asked.

[ Your Tamed Monster has gained 200 Experience Points.]

"How many was it for Mutated Black Widows?"

[ Mutated Black Widows drop 80 Gold Coins and 160 Experience Points.]

'A pretty big difference for monsters of the same rank...'

"Alright. Python, come back. You guys will level up a lot here."

Adam continued walking.

After a bit, he found the Orc Camp just outside of the forest he was in.

Many many tree trunks were stuck into the ground to encircle the Camp.

The trunks were tightly stuck to one another.

They made a high wall around the Orc Camp.

'The trunks are high. I guess they're not so dumb if they can create defenses. Or is it the Orc Leader? Its rank is [D-], which means that it's considered as a different type of monster all together.'

Adam decided to circle around the camp while staying hidden inside the forest.

At one point, he found an opening in the wall that protected the camp.

'So this is the entrance.'

A space of about 5 to 6 meters was left open.

Two blue Orcs were protecting it.

Behind the entrance, he could see many Orcs.

Most were asleep around campfires.

Adam's hand trembled with excitement.

'I guess this one is like The Forst of Goblins. Instead of Goblins, it's Orcs. And unlike The Spider Queen's Lair, the weather might change here. Maybe the sun will start rising in a bit.'

He readied his weapon.

'I have to finish this quickly. The Clear Requirement is to Eliminate the Orc Leader. It is an assassination.'

Adam started walking towards the two Orcs standing in front of the entrance.

He walked between the two Orcs without being noticed.

'As long as I stay away from the campfires, I should be okay. The Orc Leader might be able to sense me though.' He thought as he entered the Orc Camp.

After taking ten steps into the camp, he heard growling noises coming from his right.

Adam immediately turned towards the sounds.

He found a big cage in which many monsters were trapped.

Some were Gray Wolves and others looked like small bears.

Adam even noticed a One-Honer Gazelle.

'Are those their pets? Or are they food? It doesn't matter either way. Even though the wolves didn't notice me, they're feeling uneasy. They know something is up. Since I'm in the dark, they can't see me. They shouldn't be able to hear my steps either. Maybe they can smell me?' He thought.

As Adam looked around, he found many of these cages.

Each one held about 12 monsters.

'6...7...8. Eight cages. Should I get rid of the caged monsters first? No. I'll go for the Orc Leader directly. Its rank is [D-]. It's going to be extremely strong. But if it's anything like an Orc, its strongest traits should be Strength and Endurance. It should lack in Senses and Agility.'

Adam counted the number of campfires he passed by as he walked deep and deeper into the Orc Camp.

At one point, he arrived at the center of the Orc Camp.

He knew it was the center as there was another wall of tree trunks that encircled a certain perimeter.

The encircled area must have had a diameter of about 20 meters.

'This must be where the Orc Leader is. Or maybe where they hide their treasure.' Adam thought as he circled around the wall.

As the wall was shorter than the one that encircled the whole camp, Adam climbed it and jumped inside.

Once he landed on the ground, an emprisoned wolf started growling.

'What? A wolf? Even inside here?'

There was no light in the enclosed area.

To Adam's right, a cage in which there was a Gray Wolf and what looked like a big pig.

To his left, a big hut made out of tree trunks. In there, was the only source of light, a hanging lit torch.

Adam could see a bed of leaves and a big monster sitting on the bed, looking in his direction.