Chapter 15: Encountering a Survivor

The force of this light punch from Nick had increased considerably, not to mention his speed, stamina, and reaction time.

He could clearly feel the changes brought about by the gene potion. Nick took off his shirt. His already well-proportioned physique now had even more defined muscle lines.

"Is this... the change brought about by the gene potion?"

After putting his shirt back on, Nick couldn't hide the shock in his heart. At first, he thought the gene potion would slowly improve his physical fitness in conjunction with exercise.

But he didn't expect the effect to come so quickly. In less than half a minute, Nick's overall physical fitness had improved by 10%.

It was just that the pain during the improvement process was a bit hard to bear.

"If only I could find more gene potions..."

Nick murmured softly. His physical fitness was already above average. With the help of the gene potion, he could definitely surpass most survivors.

At that time, even if he encountered other dungeon creatures, he could deal with them much more easily with his own overall strength.

Nick picked up the shovel from the ground and looked at the three unexplored directions. hints about digging appeared before him.

[Dig 10 meters upwards, you will encounter the dungeon creature Cerberus. Without a melee weapon, you probably won't be its match.]

[Dig 7 meters downwards, you will fall into a stone peak and be riddled like a hornet's nest, an unavoidable fate.]

[You've never lost when it comes to luck. Dig 6 meters to the left, and you will obtain Gene Potion*2!]

When Nick saw the digging hint for the dungeon on the left, he resolutely swung his shovel and began digging. Improving his overall physical fitness was the most important thing right now.

After a brief dig, a new dungeon appeared before Nick. As before, there was no need to worry about safety.

Nick's gaze swept across, finally landing on the faint light in the center. It was also an iron box the size of a palm, but it contained two extremely precious gene potions.

"What should I say?"

Nick's face was a little helpless. Taking this thing was both painful and joyful for him. Even so...

When he took out the gene potions, he didn't hesitate to pour them into his mouth.

The inevitable pain was still there, but this time the intensity of the pain was significantly reduced, possibly due to the so-called resistance.

After enduring the pain again, Nick took the last bottle of gene potion and drank it in one go. The brief pain was greatly reduced.

Also reduced was the improvement of the gene potion on his own physical host.

"I feel like if I drink two more bottles, the gene potion will have no effect..."

Nick felt the changes in his body. He didn't linger. He still had 2 digging attempts left. After the attempts were used up, he could end today's exploration and go back to rest.

He picked up his shovel and looked at the several directions he could dig.

[Dig 7 meters upwards, you will encounter the undead creature Mummy. Killing it may yield unexpected rewards.]

[Dig 8 meters downwards, you will gain nothing.]

[Dig 2 meters to the left, you will obtain 1L of purified water.]

Of the three choices in front of Nick, digging upwards carried a certain risk, while the left side could yield scarce purified water.

He quickly made a decision. After getting the purified water from the dungeon on the left, he would still have one digging attempt left, which he would naturally save for the undead creature Mummy.

This hint was different from the previous ones. It didn't specify his fate, which meant that Nick's current strength was enough to kill it.

"I can use this guy for practice later..."

Nick picked up his shovel and started digging towards the left. With only a distance of 2 meters, the process didn't even take a minute.

But when he came to this brand new dungeon, a wave of heat hit him. After moving away from the abandoned palace, the environment of the dungeon returned to that stuffy heat.

Nick didn't know the reason for this. The urgent matter now was to find the purified water in this dungeon.

Just as Nick was about to look for the purified water, with the falling of soil blocks from the wall, a passage suddenly appeared on his side.

A young man, about twenty years old, walked out of the passage. He carefully examined the environment in the dungeon, confirming that there was no danger before entering.

But when this young man stepped into the dungeon, he noticed Nick's figure in his blind spot. When their eyes met, the atmosphere was indescribably awkward.

"..."

Nick looked at this uninvited guest. He had dyed yellow hair, several obvious tattoos on his arms, and several lip piercings on his face, giving Nick a rather mediocre impression.

But there were a few undeniable points. This young man was not as decadent as the survivors in the trading market. From the short sword on his waist, it could be seen that his dungeon exploration had yielded good results.

Even if the other party wanted to make a move, Nick was confident that he could defeat him at this distance. He loaded the hand crossbow on his waist with bolts, preparing for a fight.

"Hey, hey, hey, whoever you are... I didn't expect to run into you here either!"

Seeing Nick holding the hand crossbow, Tim's expression changed instantly. At a distance of 5 meters, if this guy really wanted to make a move, his fate would probably be to have his body pierced.

Moreover, even in close combat, with Nick's strong physique, he was definitely no match for Nick.

Tim didn't hesitate. He resolutely raised his hands. Faced with a choice between dignity and his life, he chose the latter without hesitation.

"Leave this place. I found this dungeon."

Nick's face was indifferent. He had no intention of giving up this dungeon. Everyone knew the rule of "first come, first served."

If this person really had any greedy thoughts, he would not hesitate to pull the trigger and send this guy to meet his maker.

"I know you found it first... so can you put down your weapon before we talk? We're all trapped in the dungeon world. More friends, more strength."

Tim approached in a rather familiar manner. But seeing Nick's cold face, he stopped. He even felt that if he took a few more steps, this guy would not hesitate to pull the trigger.

"..."

"Leave, now!"

Nick warned again. If the other party didn't pose a threat to him, he could talk nicely. But the short sword on Tim's waist reminded him to be vigilant.

Hearing Nick's words, Tim raised his hands even higher and took a few steps back. After coming to the dungeon world, no one had ever treated him like this.

However, due to the situation, he didn't act out. He hurriedly said, "I'll leave now..."

When Tim picked up his shovel and chose the final direction to dig, Nick also looked at that position. The hint that appeared before him made him twitch his lips slightly.

[Stay away from here. The revived Stone Gargoyle can tear you to shreds!!]

To emphasize the seriousness of the situation, the hint even used two exclamation marks. The danger was obvious. Nick glanced at the young man who was preparing to dig.

"Hey you, just an advice... don't dig in that direction. Something bad will happen."

Tim, who was already full of anger, heard Nick's words as if he had found an outlet. He said with a bit of disdain, "I'm going to dig here. What's it to you?"