Chapter 8) A Chamber of Sadists.

"A dungeon? We are in a dungeon?"

"Yes, Xavier. And it's not just any dungeon." Kim Sao leaned closer. "It's a Grade B dungeon, the worst of its kind. Very few Mystics have ever been able to conquer it."

Xavier's blood went ice cold in their veins as soon as the meaning of Master Kim Sao's words sank in.

This could not be happening. He had just barely survived a simulation of a regular dungeon. Well, actually he had not survived since the Boss of the simulation killed him in the end. Now here he was, in a real one. A freaking real dungeon that afforded no courtesy of extra lives.

Won't this strange day ever end? or at least, stop throwing fatal twists at him? Xavier was down to a very thin rope of tolerance at the moment.

"What am I supposed to do now? I only found out I am a mystic this morning." He said to Master Kim Sao in fright, abandoning all sense of pride. There was no need pretending to be brave while staring in the face of death.

Master Kim Sao studied him closely. "What sort of weapon are you good with? I have a couple of them in my System arsenal. The magical artifacts are out of my reach here."

"Emm...I've used daggers before." Kim Sao didn't need to know that Xavier had had no idea what an actual dagger looked like until earlier this morning...in the simulation.

"System, upload weapons inventory." said Kim Sao, his eyes focused on his own System Holographic screen that Xavier could not see. "Bring up the catalogue for Beast blades...Thank you. I'm looking for something small...no, not the Mountain Piercer, that's not compatible with his physique. Ah...no...no...The Soul Tri-Blade is still at the forge for upgrade. The Mana points necessary to use such a weapon effectively is extremely larger than what he has right now...no...not the Invisible Swords, too powerful for him." He paused, probably scrolling down a very long list.

Xavier used the opportunity to look around. He was definitely not inside a street train anymore. Somehow the darkness of before had vanished to reveal the true features of the so called Grade B dungeon.

It was some sort of rotund tunnel with brown rocky walls that had patches of ivies, green algae and funny looking flowers sprouting all over it. The funny looking flowers seemed to be moving distinctly, their colourful petals opening and closing easily.

Xavier felt the urge to touch them, but when he reached out to do just that, the petals snapped shut with a vengeance. He flinched in fright. That was when he saw the tiny sharp fangs and long hooked tongue poking out through the flower bulbs. What the hell? Nothing was ever as it seemed in this dungeons.

"This would do for you just fine." said Master Kim Sao finally.

Xavier looked down at the sleek double daggers presented to him. Its hilt was made of what looked like ivory, carved to fit perfectly into a fist. The blade itself glimmered like pure gold, catching the tiny rays of sunlight that slipped in through holes in the tunnel walls.

[System has identified the weapons as The Gild Gaters created by Astral Level Mystic, Kim Sao Chen using flares from the sun and mana from a Spirit beast. It has the capability to vanquish Astral Level Beasts and every monster below that level.]

[The weapon has been added to your inventory. You can summon and return it at will from any location.]

"Wow, thanks Master Kim."

Xavier collected the daggers. They felt just right in his hands, light and fluid. Power thrummed through the weapons like shockwaves of electricity. The blades looked sharp enough to cut through steel.

Master Kim Sao grinned for the first time since they entered the dungeon.

"That is the first weapon I ever made. The ingredients for it were hard and tough to come by, and I spent several days and excess amount of Mana points to harness power into the daggers. Consider them a gift from me to you."

"It's really beautiful. Can all Mystics create weapons like this?"

Master Kim smiled again. "Sure. Genius perception and knowledge is part of our Mystic evolution. But just like every skill or talent, creation abilities takes hard work and discipline to perfect and properly apply."

Xavier nodded in understanding. "Would I be able to make other stuffs apart from weapons?" He asked tentatively. "I mean...like a medicine or potion of some sort?"

The hope in Xavier's voice must've been great because Master Kim Sao looked at him with a sympathetic expression on his face.

"Yes, you can. With the right ingredients and recipe, you can create potions to heal any illness. You might not even need something like that if you level up to Wizard level. Mystics of that level have the abilities to heal themselves and those they love dearly."

Xavier's eyes widened. This meant he could save his mother. If he could survive the academy and dungeons long enough to either make her a healing potion or become a Wizard Level Mystic, then he could cure her.

Tears sprung up in his eyes as new meaning came to his life. A new hope. Becoming a Mystic didn't seem trivial anymore. It was now an opportunity to save his mother and change their lives forever.

Master Kim Sao patted his shoulders. "When we reach your mother at the hospital, I would give her a health orb I have in my inventory. It would not cure her completely, but would keep her peaceful and painless for some time. I cannot heal her because my heart is not connected to hers. Only you can, and when you are able to, there's nothing you can't do for her."

Xavier nodded and used the back of his hand to wipe his eyes. He would do whatever it takes to level up to Wizard Level. For his mother, he would survive anything. Even this Grade B dungeon.

"Now, we have an infamous dungeon on our hands." said Master Kim, regaining all seriousness. "Your System must've information on this dungeon by now."

"System, bring up stats on this Grade B dungeon."

[There are seven grades of dungeons, from A through to G, decreasing in levels of toughness in that order. They each have their specific calibre of beasts and fatality rates.]

[This Grade B dungeon has twenty Master Level beasts, five Wizard level beasts and a Phantom Level Boss. There are traps and obstacles all over the dungeons. Everything in here can hurt a mystic.]

[Mystic Xavier Xerxes is a Novice. The Dungeon is beyond your level. Mystic is advised to abort quest or face possible Annihilation.]

[New Quest: Conquer the Dungeon and vanquish at least ten beasts.]

[Reward for Success: 100 stats points. Mana core and Health core increase to 20 maximum. Elevation to the next tier of Novice Level.]

[Reward for Failure: Terrible Annihilation.]

[System Remark: None.]

"We must begin." said Master Kim Sao. "We have delayed enough.

"Eh...ok." This was happening. This was really happening. He was about to take on his very first dungeon, and although it might've occured by accident and he had extremely low chances of living through it, a thrill travelled down his stomach as he fell in steps behind the Astral Level Mystic.

The light orbs Master Kim Sao had conjured up floated along with them, keeping pace around them to light the way. The tunnel went on for a while before narrowing to a jagged hollow that was completely covered with the funny looking plants.

The plants were larger and more ferocious here, snarling and growling angrily as the Mystics approached. Xavier cringed when he caught sight of two of the plant bulbs fighting before one snapped the other one's head off, spewing yellow sap down the wall.

"Don't let the sap touch you. It could burn as good as acid." advised Master Kim Sao. Something glimmered in his right hand all of a sudden. It was a sword made out of diamonds, what with how regal and elegant it looked. Power oozed from it, filling the tiny space in the tunnel with an electrifying aura.

[The Million Stars of Light, is the name of the sword. Like its name suggests, every atom of the sword's blade came from a different star, each from a unique galaxy. Nothing of its kind exists anywhere else on this planet. Information about the capabilities of the sword is unavailable to Novice Level Mystics.]

Xavier stared at the sword in awe as Master Kim Sao swept it around in a noiseless arch over the hollow. The path cleared up immediately, as all the plants blocking it lost their bulbs and stems in that single sweep.

He ducked through the hollow behind Master Kim Sao and heard the sounds of rumbling thunder before they emerged into a different world.

The sky was a raging storm of bright flashes of lightning and booming thunder that shook the earth. There were more of the funny looking plants everywhere, huger and taller versions of them that were moving about the place like armed men waiting for their enemies. These ones had a couple of sturdy branches on which they stood like legs.

The ground was damp and dark, as if a fire had burnt through it. There was even the faint smell of flames in the air...yes, definitely because of a fire somewhere.

[You have reached the first chamber of the dungeon. Mystic must destroy all Sadist Stalks within sight. Mystic must be careful of the Rain of Doom that happens once every two minutes. There are secret minions in this Chamber... Beware!]

[Stats on First Chamber Beasts:]

[Name: Sadist Stalk.]

[Nature: Master Level Beasts.]

[Health Points: 1500/1500.]

[Mana Points: 1500/1500.]

[Strength: 500/500.]

[Agility: 500/500.]

[Stamina: 500/500.]

[Offensive Skill: Sadist Stalks have razor sharp fangs that can snap Mystic in half. They are quite violent in their use of such weaponry.

[Offensive Skill: Acidic sap oozing from outer layer of stem stalk that causes irritation to Mystic. The sap is capable of burning Mystic fatally if applied in high amount.]

[Offensive Skill: Quick reflexes and a sound sense of vengeance when attacked. Petals are strong as they are sharp to this effect. Sadist Stalks can go into Berserker Mode.]

[Defensive Skill: Shield covering over entire body that's impenetrable by most weapons.]

[Defensive Skill: Widow's Tears.]

[System Remark: Mystic is beyond his Level capabilities, and would fare as such against such opponents.]

There was a lot of confusing things in what the system had just revealed to him, but when Xavier looked up to present those questions to Master Kim Sao, the Mystic placed a finger over his lips in a shushing gesture.

"What?" Xavier had to ask. He just had to say something.

Though he had whispered, his voice echoed out through the entire place as if he had spoken through a megaphone. An eerie moment of silence later, all twenty Sadist Stalks turned around to look at them.

The flashes of lightning overhead illuminated their appearance perfectly. They were a stark difference from the plants in the tunnel, in that those ones had not had eyes on their bulbs and scaly petals that hung low from them like hands. Add an uncountable number of branches to that list and that was the general picture of a Sadist Stalk. Some where armed with swords, others with clubs and tridents. One even have what looked like a gun strapped across its back.

The Sadist Stalks let out a united battle cry growl, and charged towards Master Kim Sao and Xavier in a wild rush.