None of those were of his doing.
Who else was out there? When could’ve it happened?
When I obtained the domain pedestal… I slept. How much time has passed since?
Frail could only guess.
### Humans - Damon ###
[Three Dungeons have been cleared.]
[The first four parties to clear the dungeons will receive additional rewards.]
What?
“ABOVE YOU!”
The moonlight glinted off its crescent tail, shrouded by the darkness and leaves. It crashed against Damon’s tower shield, emitting specks of incandescent particles as the beast landed on its feet.
Heavy. He winced as he shoved the beast back. “SARAH!”
“GOT IT!” Her voice trembled as a bright spark electrified her hands. “[Lightning bolt]”
Two additional arrows trailed the forked lightning. The beast whimpered from the jolt of electricity, then whined when the arrows pierced its thick fur. It attempted to flee, but Damon caught it in its path.
Face me. Damon scrunched his nose from the stench of charred fur.
A quick slash and another round of projectiles battered the beast dead. Its sable coat glistened from blood and its mouth slackened, lifeless.
Elites. Damon grimaced and blitzed toward the limping creature. His blade had grown ponderous once night unfolded over the sky.
[You gained 150 shared experience points.]
“That’s way too close.” Agil wiped the sweat off his forehead, “How about we call it a day? I don’t want to be swarmed by these.” He nudged on the dead beast. “And let’s pray we don’t come across their dens.”
At night, the goblins seldom breached the safety of their camps. Darkness was a natural deterrent: The dark beasts, nature’s barrier.
How long had they hunted in this forest? Hours? The passage of time blurred without the help of a watch.
“We’re pretty far from the camp…” Sarah bumped his shoulder with the end of her bow. “Guess that’s one disadvantage we didn’t think of—there’s not enough monsters for everyone.”
“Hold it,” Sarah squinted, “Do you see that? Between the trees… Agil?”
He followed where she stared—sure enough, he saw a dark opening beneath a natural rock formation below the cliffside.
“I do.” Agil took a deep breath. “Yo. It has a name.”
“A name?” Sarah quizzed him, “What do you-“
[The Glistening Caverns — Recommended Level: 10]
“What is that?” Sarah stepped forward, her curiosity trailing her footsteps, “A dungeon? Can it be?”
Damon pulled her back.
“No.” He looked the other way, “We report this.”
“Yeah…” Sarah slumped, brushing her hair. “You’re right. What am I thinking?”
Damon sheathed his blade. One dungeon left…
###
The camp bustled with life as the three entered through the wooden gate. Campfires roared and blazed, providing ample heat to clad those around with comfort. The musk of ash subdued the rankness of sweat.
Damon found exhaustion—and sometimes melancholy—bouncing off their faces.
Arthur… Damon searched for the camp’s leader. There.
Arthur leaned on a table in the shade of a small tent. Around him stood Judas and three able-looking folks, each carrying serious, thoughtful expressions on their faces, their eyes unblinking. Their gazes met when he approached. He smiled.
The message…
“You’re back… Uh, I believe you haven’t met.” Arthur gestured at his friends, “This is Damon, Sarah, and Agil, the newcomers. Damon, this is Desmond, Adrian, and Justine. I believe you’re well acquainted with Judas already.”
The three exchanged a brief greeting. Desmond—an elderly man with thick brows and deep blue eyes, long, frayed hair, damp from sweat and humidity, worn over a fit body for someone his age. The staff he held leaned slightly shorter than he—a mage, like Sarah. His seniority didn’t deter the strength in his calm gaze. In fact… he felt… almost too alive.
Adrian held a pair of innocent hazel eyes and brown frazzled hair with a somewhat stocky body. Innocuous described him best. He didn’t speak, content with listening, and a hell lot of idle nodding.
“You look strong-” Justine—the other female in this group—spoke. Her tied-back, dirt-stained hair from her adventures outside, glinted from the sweat as she gave his party a quick look-over, “Arthur said you come from where the Goblins are?” She stood taller than most women Damon had met, her lean frame complementing the longbow dangling behind her back. “We’re planning to comb that zone soon. Is there anything else I must worry about? Any points of interest? Places to avoid? Landmarks?”The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Damon and his party approached the table. “No… the beasts and goblins aside, there isn’t much to speak of…” Then he shifted his gaze in the opposite direction, “But there…”
“There?” She asked, her eyes raised.
“We found an opening to a cavern. It has a name; The Glistening Caverns, and a recommended level: 10. It’s a great distance away from here, about an hour’s walk…” An hour was just an estimation, he didn’t have a watch to confirm.
Justine and the rest shot a look at each other.
“A named location…” Arthur’s eyes sank.
“A dungeon?” Justine said.
Apprehension, or excitement, filled the space between where they stood. Nobody blinked.
“Get some rest,” Arthur spoke. “Judas… walk with me.”
He gave them a nod as Damon and his friends headed to their tents.
“What do you think will happen?” Sarah said, crossing her arms, “They look proficient. I mean, bonus rewards? Who’d miss that?” She sighed, “I just hope we get to be a part of it.”
Agil yawned. “Cool. For now… I wanna crash.”
### Arthur ###
“Most are close to level ten.”
Most. Not all. And not enough.
Judas and Arthur sat on the highest spot in their encampment, studying the faces and the eyes of their allies. Most displayed what he expected; worry, uncertainty, concern. “How many are ready?”
“For the cavern?” Judas confirmed. “About… sixteen or so. Twenty, technically, but some are…” He scratched the back of his head, “…prone to panic.”
“That’s not a lot.” Arthur chuckled.
“Takes time. We’re not swimming with resources here… Enemies are limited and we can’t go past a mile from this zone. Then there’s his lot, too. I haven’t seen them, but things will be ugly if we stray too far.”
Arthur’s gaze fell on the frost-tipped mountain.
“Do you think we should go?”
“Yes.” Judas said, “It’ll be tough… but we can do it.”
Arthur’s eyes widened. He’s confident… That’s a first.
Judas continued. “It mentioned recommended level—ten. The eight of us—ours and Damon’s—are strong enough.”
“We’ll bring a few others. That… sixteen guys you mentioned, can we bring them?”
“They meet the level requirements.” Judas pursed his lips, deep in thought. “But there’ll be a degree of babysitting involved.”
Babysitting. What a word.
“We’ll deal with it. We’ll retreat if things get too dangerous. I’ll convene with the others come morning.” Arthur stood and tapped Judas’s shoulder, “Thank you.”
“Just helping out,” He smiled.
With that, they both retreated to their tents.
Arthur sat under the shade of his camp. The silence gave him a glimpse of peace, a short stillness he grew to appreciate.
Leading was hard. To lead well with lives at stake? That was a whole different story.
Life used to be much simpler.
Arthur. A name given by his parents in hopes of his great success. The name of a predestined king, who retrieved a blade stuck atop a giant rock. It was nothing but a fantasy—in reality… he lived a comfortable life, separated from the harshness of the real world, sheltered from its evil and misgivings. He realized that very early in his life… that made him excel in different ways compared to his peers.
Arthur understood his privilege. Well, his father made sure he knew that.
The system’s apocalypse happened. The world as Arthur knew it vanished overnight. What replaced it was hell. A hell under the system’s guidance, a world based on numbers and power. All those pesky, irrelevant problems like money and all earthly matters were just remnants of the past.
Tutorial, the system said. Does this mean that what’s out there is even worse?
Arthur yawned.
Status.
<table style="border-style: solid" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Drifter — Name: Arthur Cross | Class: Valkyrie’s lancer | Credits: 4163
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Level: 14
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="2">
Progress to next lvl | 51%
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Attributes | Free attributes : -
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Strength: 28(+15)
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Dexterity: 18(+12)
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top" width="33.3333%">
Resilience: 26(+5)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Resistance: 9
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Magic: 8
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Skills
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Repeating Thrusts - 3
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Deadly thrust - 2
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Haste - 3
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Spear mastery - 5
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Valkyrie’s might - 1
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Traits
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Regeneration - 1
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Iron body - 1
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Seed - Unknown
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top" colspan="3">
Achievements
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Survivor
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Valkyrie’s disciple
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top">
Slayer - 1
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Hasn’t changed much.
He thought back to the ones who relied on him here. His office mates, the newcomers, and the rest of his group slaving away outside, risking their lives to grow.
What business did he have leading them? A guy so green like him, who had lived a comfortable life, was thrust into a world so unkind to the human norm. He recalled how much his hand shook when he arrived here, how much his stomach churned as he drew blood, the relief washing over him when he took his first life.
Paralyzing fear. He, and everyone else, were given the luxury to taste that experience.
Without his friends… He wouldn’t be alive to moan about his weaknesses today.
Well, and also…
Her.
Valkyrie. The Goddess of Spears. She came before the eve of his fourth night—when he claimed this beacon as their own. Her visage… Arthur had never seen someone as pretty as her—Golden blond silky smooth hair that bounced whenever she turned her head, her glowing golden eyes, her perfect complexion, devoid of flaws, a shapely figure exposing her feminity, containing the inner strength within…
He couldn’t forget that sight even if he lost his memories.
They spoke; She wished him to enter her service as her chosen. Didn’t ask much of him—simply requested him to survive the system’s ordeal.
And to blossom his seed afterward. Seed…
Not that seed, Arthur chuckled. Bedding a Goddess was not something he’d ever dreamed of doing.
To improve his chances of surviving, She gave him a blessing.
[Valkyrie’s might—level 1]
[Improves all your physical attributes by 10. Increases your affinity toward all spear-based weapons: all spear attacks deal 20% more damage. You gain 10% more experience points from foes slain with your spear.]
With power, came responsibility. He swore he’d heard that line somewhere.
Arthur found his bed and shut his eyes. Tomorrow…
###
“We’re going?”
That term wiped the sleep of everyone involved in their meeting.
“Yes. We’ll bring a few more with us,” Arthur placed his hands on the table, his eyes unflinching, “I’ll come with you, of course; do not worry, we won’t bite more than we can chew.”
“What about the beacon?” One raised their concern.
“We have more than enough men stationed here.” Arthur gestured toward the encampment, “This is an opportunity we must take. Judas, Justine… bring your best with us. We’ll leave in five minutes.”
The two nodded.
“Damon…” Arthur said, “I want you three to come with us. Do you object?”
Damon studied his friends’ eyes—Sarah looked excited. Agil appeared nonchalant.
“We’re good.” He smiled, “Are you sure? We’ve just met yesterday.”
“We’re all brothers in arms in this desperate situation,” Arthur said. “We’ll share the spoils… if there are any. From my experience, this world operates eerily close to a game. I didn’t play them often, but enough to draw a few choice comparisons.”
“We’re here!” Justine shouted, “Ready?”
“Let’s go.” He said, looking away. “Damon… Lead the way.”