The last floor
What a surprise, another chapter!
Yup, you didn't see it wrong, two chapters on the same day.
This is because I've been wanting to change the release date, from 12Pm for me, to 12Am, so here I am.
Tomorrow the chapter will be released as always. Peace!
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Dale descended to what he calculated to be 6-7 meters before he arrived at a dark hallway.
He put a small lantern on his waist and lit it up, it wasn't much but with his enhanced senses he could see rather well in the dark.
"So far nothing. Forward."
Dale crouched slightly so his shield could block most of his body and took a step forward.
He wasn't slow or fast, going on his way through the Dungeon.
/2 minutes later…/
"This is quite a big door…"
Dale walked through the long corridor and eventually arrived in front of a heavy door. He noticed that all of the traps had been deactivated, probably by the people that went in before him.
/Creeeeak!/
He used his strength to press the doors and they started to open…
/Shua!/
Faint Dark smoke started to be released from inside the doors, making Dale cough!
"COUGH COUGH! What is this? COUGH!"
[You've inhaled Rotten miasma]
[You've been inflicted with Rotten lungs x1]
[Rotten lungs
Description: The miasma is slowly rotting your body, however, it isn't strong enough to affect your skin yet, but it is slowly crawling into your sensitive lungs.
The longer you stay in it, the worse it will get, and if it passes x10 then it will pass from a simple affliction to a disease.
]
[Your body resists its corruption]
[Sudden Quest, Rotten tomb has been generated]
[Description: The underground labyrinths of Resko used to be nothing but a place filled with simple yet dangerous beasts and mechanical traps, but it's now filled with rotten miasma and death.
The Miasma has been accumulating for years and it has now been released outside of the gates that once sealed it.
Be it a curse, or a blessing, the miasma has yet to reach a critical point, but it will soon start to spill outside and affect the lives of the residents of Resko.
Find the source of the Miasma and purge it before it's too late 0/1
Time until the Miasma descends to the Village: 4 hours, 24 minutes, 45 seconds…
]
"Well then… Fuck me."
Dale immediately took out an antidote potion and shugged it down, and as expected, the affliction gauge disappeared, but it soon came back once he breathed in more Miasma.
"It seems I can't stop it, but I can cure it if necessary and reset its timer…"
Dale pulled his mask up and covered his face, it isn't going to do much but it should have some effect.
"Constitution is a very important stat right now, but so is the Explorer sense…"
'I'll start with the Skill but if it gets too hard I will put on my armor and increase my stats to resist this Miasma.'
"I don't have to waste!"
Dale calmed down his breathing and started marching…
…
/9 minutes later…/
Dale continued to walk through the corridors, he saw rooms of many kinds, abandoned and filled with dust and old things, most of the stuff in them was now rotten, but it was possible to understand these were the dorms of the priests of the Church and where they kept their things.
However, Dale did not encounter a single trap or monster…
/Clack!/
"!"
'Looks like I thought too much.'
In front of Dale was a pile of bones, but the moment he approached it, it started to rise…
Black and white bones with hollow skulls, gazing eerily at him. No sounds, no magical effect, just that eerie stare.
[Rotten Skeletal Beast: Rodent]
[Rotten Skeletal Beast: Rodent]
[Rotten Skeletal Beast: Canine]
Three skeletons, one of a rather big dog, and two of wolf-like rats.
Next to their names were a Skull and 5 bones crisscrossing it. Meaning they were challenge Level's 40-50 creatures…
/FWUSH!/
Without a word, they dashed to him in a messy manner, tripping over each other and they tried to approach him.
"..."
Dale kept a straight face, he wasn't scared, how many times had he delved deep into dark places and fought scary monsters?
However, he was tense, one wrong move meant his death after all…
"HA!"
Dale swung his spear, hitting the open mouth of the Wolf monster, and he kicked one of the rats towards the wall.
/Crack!/
The sounds of bone-breaking and crumbling were heard in the silent corridors…
/1 minute later/
"... Things are starting to make sense. It seems the creatures that once habited this place were turned into skeletons."
"Not only that, I have time to finish this Dungeon else my character may get permanently debuffed…"
'It hasn't been long and I don't like this but… I will change my armor… I hope it works.'
Dale grabbed his rune blade and checked if it would give him the bonus for being in a ruin… And the result was a success!
He quickly put in the entire set and enjoyed the bonus stats…
[…
Strength: 70(112); Constitution: 70(114); Dexterity: 70(110); Mental Power: 45(85); Reflexes: 45(87); Mana: 20(60)
Temporary Skills: Glyph Activation 2-Star (Active); Glyph Ignition 3-Star (Active)
…
Current Effects:
Aspect of Might -> All Stats +15
Body Reformation -> Natural Healing and Stamina recovery speed have been increased
Commander of the Vault Guardians Set -> All Stats +15 while in a Ruin
Ruin's Guardian Glyph Blade -> +10 to all Stats while in a Ruin
Black Iron Spear -> Strength and Constitution +2
Black Iron Shield -> Constitution and Reflexes +2
Rotten lungs x1 -> Minimal decrease in stamina recovery and slight impairment to breathing
…
]
[Ding]
[Rotten lungs x1 has been purged due to your body's high constitution]
Dale looked all around him and smiled.
"I knew I was right for keeping this set despite its gargantuan value in the early game…"
'I don't know how long my body will resist the miasma, and I lost my Explorer's sense, so I need to be careful…'
Dale, clad in heavy armor, with a glimmering sword on his back, a black shield on his left hand, and a black spear on his right hand continued on with his conquest!
…
/3 Hours later…/
/Clang!/
Dale could be seen fighting in a large hall against a skeleton clad in heavy armor just like him. It had a large chipped sword and its armor was broken in many places, showing its bones.
Like the others, there was no shining soul or flame-like other classic skeletons, just a walking skeleton rising in the darkness.
[Rotting Undead Knight
Challenge Level: 60-70]
(I will put the challenge Level like this from now on unless it's a specific situation)
"Ha!"
/Clang!/
/Fwoosh!/
/Crack!/
"Haa… Fucking hell… It's over." Said Dale as he sat on the ground tired
'Being a HardCore player is both good and bad, killing trash mobs is simple, but when I meet a strong mob it becomes a battle of life and death…'
'If I get cut in the neck it's game over 90% of the time, and it hurts like hell to be grazed by a sword... The same can be said for the creatures I fight but...'
'Worse, some creatures won't even take normal damage, forcing me to use other tactics…'
'For example, this guy, he had armor, if attack his armor… Nothing happens, while a standard player would simply deal reduced damage.'
'Unless I am strong enough to bypass the armor, or if I am precise enough to hit its weak points, it well... Does its job as armor.'
"There are many things to consider… In any case…"
'I went all around the place, I explored the first, second, third, and fourth floors, the Dungeon got more and more rundown the deeper I went, and the monsters started to get stronger and the miasma thicker.'
'The first floor was only a few big animal skeletons, the second floor was where insect exoskeletons started to attack me… It was bizarre but it happened.'
'On the third-floor things got a bit bad since the miasma started to affect me again, and Human skeletons started to appear.'
'And here on the fourth floor, the miasma got so thick it formed puddles on the floor, if I touch it my meter will rise by a rather significant amount.'
'Armed and stronger skeletons also started to appear… Overall, the danger level fo monsters rose by 5 on every floor.'
"There were no traps on the way here, literally everything was either broken or rusty, so that didn't become a problem… However, there was no loot for me to grab either…"
'But really man, who would go all the way down here to store such a thing…'
[1 hours, 3 minutes, 5 seconds]
"Just over an hour… If things continue like this, I should be able to do at most 1 or 2 more floors."
After resting for a little while, Dale got up and made his way down the stairs to the next floor.
The first thing he noticed was that the stairs were covered with a dark mist…
[You have entered an area filled with dense Rotting miasma]
[You've been inflicted with Rotten skin x1]
[Rotten lungs x3 -> x6]
[Your stamina recovery has considerably reduced]
"COUGH! FUCK!"
'I feel as if I breathed 5 cigars at once… And I never smoked.'
'I need to get away from this fucking place… Just how was someone supposed to finish this Dungeon?'
Dale removed his helmet and placed a bandana around his face, it was little, but he hoped it could improve his condition a little.
"Dammit…"
…
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Notes