Skeletons
Somehow, Rei was enlightened by the information provided by the system. Aside from his name (Rei Kenshin), race, skills, and basic stats. Still, he couldn't recall any other information about himself that could help him figure out who he was. As a result, he decided to wander in the place called the dungeon in order to find answers to all the questions rumbling inside his head.
The term "Dungeon" was well known for all the gamers who were playing VRMMORPG. As it was the location where the players would fight specific monsters. To be exact, killing monsters allowed the players to receive accumulated EXP that would help them to boost their levels. At the same time, they can get items or valuable relics that could improve them as adventurers.
_
To begin with, he placed his palms over the wooden door, then pushed it with all of his strength. However, for some reason, the door didn't move even an inch as it seemed wasn't the proper way to open it.
"Eh? This door is just made of wood so why I can't push it even I used some of my power?" He checked the door before continuing. "Don't tell me, something was blocking the door?"
Meanwhile, he discovered the two metallic rounded handles covered by the thick brown mud that had the same height as his knees. It might be the main reason why he didn't notice them right away. In front of him was the door that had one meter in height and one meter in width.
Rei paused for a second, critically analyzing the current situation. The rounded handlebars were a signal that he must pull the door to open it. So he was thinking if he have to remove the mud first before entering.
He gradually shook his head, "No, I can't do that because the mud here is so thick and heavy. Also, there's no room where I can put them, they're just flowing back in this place."
Hmm...
Kai smoothly kneaded his chin, by this, he became noticed the keen dark nails in his bare hand. Since the door was made of wood he thought that he can easily destroy it with his claws.
"Well, it's way better if I try."
To land his claws in a certain position, Rei straightened and hardened his left arm as you could see his veins were slowly revealing. "I saw my current strength on that screen so I know I have enough strength to destroy this door."
As soon as he spits these words, he didn't make any second thoughts to swing his arm directly to his target.
Swish!
It was creating a sharp sound that signified how does dangerous these claws are.
Clang!
His ears were filled with the sound of two metals colliding with each other. Moreover, a brute-forced propelled his hand into the mid-air eventually carried his entire body with it.
Plok!
His body was half-submerged in the sticky mud along with a shocked expression on his face. "W-What just happened? Why was my body suddenly knocked back by that door?" He muttered and looked at the dark ceiling above him.
Rei was certain that he hadn't struck a metal at that time just like how the clanging sound described it.
To explain, when the moment his claws were nearly hit the target, the door unexpectedly emitted a green light and symbols that he couldn't read. It's releasing a green translucent shield that had durability as the metal.
It managed to block his attack and seemed to be the one who protects this door from destruction for some reason.
He immediately left the mud by pushing himself into a stood-up position. Of course, it was heavy as he felt mud was pulling him back to the ground.
After a few were moments, he promptly sauntered to the door to figure out the meaning of those symbols and shield. He placed again his palm on the door waiting for how it would react but nothing happened.
"Just like earlier, I can hold it without any problem. So what's the reason why this door is pushing me back every time I'm going to destroy it?" He wondered.
To clarify that he wasn't hallucinating back then, he swung again his palm and pushed it forward with some strength.
Thud!
Plok!
Well, Rei was right. The green shield and numerous symbols appeared in front of him that also brought an unknown force to push him back to the mud.
"I guess that explained! Every time I'm using brute force that door, it will be going to release a force that is two times stronger with the power I have released." That was his conclusion.
Just like the other games, all dungeons' doors or gates were protected by magical sealing barriers to prevent the dungeon outbreak that might be happened. It was a dilemma where the monsters could have a chance to step into the mainland to massacres the NPCs, Merchants, Blacksmiths, and to destroy the city where they were peacefully inhabited.
Of course, a lot of monsters existed on this continent. Yet the difference here was, adventures could annihilate the monsters before it reaches a certain city or town. But in the dungeon, it releases thousands or millions of monsters at once that was also had massive power spikes that can destroy a city in just a click of their fingers.
Seemingly these were the reason to cast magical barriers in all the dungeons.
_
On the other hand, Rei felt that he had been in this place before. However, he can't remember when that time and what he did here. "Pictures in my head are still vague. But for some reason, my instinct says that I'm used in this kind of place."
Rei hadn't had enough information to prove if his intuition was right, so he just forgot it to lessen the problems that kept bothering him.
Alas, he discovered it was impossible to destroy the door no matter how much strength he used to it, also he didn't mind himself understanding those symbols as he had no idea how to read that... So he continued his expedition in this dungeon by just simply grabbing the two rust-rounded handlebars, then tugging them without hesitation.
If this was the first task he needed to do in this place, he should do it without skipping since this was how the game's starting point started.
Ehhk!
A groan of the rusty door opening slowly went to his ears as Rei was able to open it a little bit. Yet, the gap he created wasn't enough for his body to be fitted to enter so he just continued while his leg was kicking back the mud to create space for the door.
Ahh!
A screaming man's voice echoed in this long straight dark path as Rei was totally having a hard time pulling the door. It feels like, he was carrying a six-wheeler truck.
"Shit! This is hard! H-How I can supposedly open this door if this is too heavy for me-" He was gritting his body and couldn't help his skin tone changed into a dark red one.
Click!
The clicking sound of the door brightened his face as his arm now can enter the gap. He stepped forward a bit and used his right arm to stop the door from closing again. He then changed his position so he can gather more strength.
Ehkk!
Swish!
When the size was perfect, he quickly entered inside of it, knowing the thick mud would push the door and close it again.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
He rolled to the ground several times, completely oblivious to the danger that awaited him here. His face was pointing at the wall, indicating that he couldn't see what was going on around him.
"Ouch! That hurts!" he grumbled angrily as he slowly regained his footing.
He patted the dirt that plastered his body before lifting his head and taking a quick look around.
Around him, was a vast golden brown vast platform where he can some torches mounted on the posts, and the thing that piqued his attention was the dark path next to this platform.
"What is this place-?"
And all of a sudden, his eyes were widened after hearing an unfamiliar sound and saw creatures appearing in the blind spots.
"A-A skeleton?"
The Skeleton warriors proved to be adequate in close combat and mid-range combat. Also, as it was an aggressive type of monster, they were more likely to attack him right away.
Four skeletons were heading to his location and each one of them was utilizing a different kind of weapon. The two had swords, the third one had arrows, and the last one had a spear.
By this point, Riku was well savvied these monsters had a huge advantage in this fight. Since by looking at their numbers, he had no idea how he was going to approach them. On top of that, these monsters can be sufficient in close combat and mid-range combat.
To describe the monsters' outward appearances, it had the resemblance of human skeletons, yellow gleaming eyes, and 89 centimeters tall.
Swish!
The battle between Rei and the four skeletons began when one of the skeletons fired an arrow at his location.
"Why am I not surprised or scared to see them? Why do I feel accustomed to it?"
Swoosh!
Rei quickly changed his location to avoid the oncoming attack. The arrow landed exactly where he was standing at the time as it seemed this monster had high accuracy.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several arrows flew at him at breakneck speed, but he easily avoided them all. He had just come to a halt when the monster with the spear intercepted him.
Swish!
Skeleton thrust its spear forward, intending to stab him in the chest. He saw it coming as this attack wasn't too fast for his eyes to couldn't see.
He barely titled his body before swiping the spear's handle away from him. However, the monster had complete control of it because it was able to regain its fighting composure.
Spear's endpoint was almost touching his ears, and he felt the handle passing to his shoulders. Fortunately, he only received a minor scratch on his right shoulder.
Furthermore, his distance was close enough for him to use his claws to attack the monster. So he straightened his arm and pushed it forward.
[Slash]
After Rei stabbed the monster's head, there was a sound of bones cracking. Despite this, he knew the monster was alive as it continued to resist. He swung his arm vertically again once his hand was inside its head.
Ordinary moves could also consume his stamina but not that high to drain his stamina. To explain it, his stamina would just decrease once he was using a skill that related to his physical ability as it will enhance the skill in an instant.
Argh!
The monster was groaning in pain as the skeleton's head was shattered into pieces. "Eh? How I could do that?"
Although he was clueless about how he learned those moves. Still, he quickly erased that thought as it wasn't his main problem as of now after seeing the skeletons were coming at him.
[You've received 100 EXP from killing the skeleton warrior!]
[Level up!]
[+1 to all stats!]
[+2 free attributes!]
[Level 2 (0/210)]
A blue light screen appeared right before his eyes, showing the rewards he received after increasing his level by 1.
Swish!
-8
[HP: 32/40]
The blue screen suddenly turned into a red screen after the arrow hit on his upper chest. It appeared that the skeleton used that opening to inflict high damage.
"Ahh!" He yelled in agony as he took out the arrow that punctured him.
Swoosh!
[Charge!]
Rei enhanced his movement speed to reach the two skeletons that were charging at him in an instant. The distance was around 7 meters before he decided to slide on the rough surface and used [Slash] skill to disable those monsters.
Swish! Swish!
Bam! Bam!
Before the skeletons fight back they were already fallen to the ground after Rei cut their legs. When he stopped he came back to the two monsters and stabbed their heads to end their lives.
[You've received 186 EXP from killing the skeleton warriors!]
Swoosh!
[Charge!]
To end this sudden fight, Rei went to the remaining skeleton and didn't hesitate to use his [Slash]. Yes, the monster was able to fire his arrow but it couldn't land a hit and died in just the blink of an eye.
[You've received 86 EXP from killing the skeleton warrior!]
[Level up!]
[+1 to all stats]
[+2 free attributes
[Quest(s) received]
[Survive for 5 days!]
[Reward(s)]
•+120 EXP
•+2 skill points (SP)
• Obtained first evolution
"W-Why do you invade our habitat and kill us!"