This time, as he entered the dungeon, Jay found himself in a cramped stone corridor. Two small green creatures lunged at him, wielding rough daggers made out of bone while screaming about doing something obscene to his corpse. He dispatched them easily, getting a quick Investigate on the second one before crushing its skull with a swift punch. He shook his fist, clearing some of the gore off while happy that his armor had absorbed the force of the blow. He really needed a new offhand weapon.
Feral Goblin: Glaknuk - Level 15
This is a system-created entity.
Jay sighed as he failed to remove most of the blood that still clung to his hand and settled for trying to whip it on the stone wall.
So, is this more what you were thinking for my first dungeon experience, Lan? he asked mentally.
“Yep, the old stone hallways with enemies that slowly increase in difficulty. You should probably get used to this, as this is what most of the dungeons you face will be like.”
Jay knocked on the stone wall. It seems so random and archaic. Wouldn’t it make more sense for it to be like a cityscape, or something more on brand for the tech level? I mean, this seems like something out of a fantasy game, but I have a robotic arm and a revolver.”
“Yeah, that’s not how the system works. It just does its thing, and it doesn’t give a shit if you understand it or not. Rumor has it that the first few worlds to have a Death March were a lot closer to the medieval age of this planet, which shaped the system into thinking that was the norm.”
Rumor has it?
“Mhmm. It’s not confirmed, as those Death Marches took place billions of years ago. No one knows the real story of what happened, and a lot of the things you have interacted with so far didn’t exist back then. Hell, the system didn’t even have a translator at that point, so everyone had to manually interpret what it was saying in its archaic form of speech. It used to be a very valuable skill to obtain.”
Wait, what? Billions of years? Translator? Slow down and explain, please.
“Sorry, Jay, but I can’t give you anything else, for now. All you need to know is that the way the system speaks to you now is filtered through a translator, making it actually comprehensible right off the bat.”
How the hell does that even work?
“I'll tell you another time. For now, focus on getting through this dungeon.”
Jay let out an exasperated breath. Fine. Seriously, though, at some point, we are gonna sit down, and you're gonna explain all this shit.
“When I can, sure. We will sit down, and I'll tell you every little detail about the universe, if you want.”
I'm gonna hold you to that.
Jay raised his pistol as he moved down the small corridor. There were two doors at the end of the hall, both with different symbols on them. One depicted a crown.The other, a large chest.
Uhh, Lan?
“Oh, hey, look at that. I can finally explain this type of dungeon to you. Get ready, this is probably going to be a lot.”
I thought this type was meant to be simple.
“Oh, it is, once you know about it, but this is going to be a bit of a long explanation. So, this type of dungeon generates random rooms. Each room will contain one to five doors, each with different symbols. Each symbol will correspond to a different room type, so the crown might be a throne or buff room, while the chest probably has loot.”
Probably?
“That’s the fun part. Each dungeon contains a different set of symbols that correspond to different room types. It’s up to you to memorize what each of them means.”
Is that fun to you?
“When I first went through dungeons, I normally had a guide made by someone who had already explored that dungeon, but that was pretty boring. Took all the risk and adventure out of it.”
Ah, so you don’t enjoy things unless there is a risk of you dying, huh?
“I know you're trying to make some kind of joke, but yes, exactly. It’s no fun if there isn’t a chance you lose your head if you make a mistake.”
That’s insane…
“Mhm. You're listening to the advice of an insane woman every day, Jay. What does that make you?”
Jay sighed. Also insane.
“Exactly. Anyway, the dungeon has these random rooms. Each time you enter a new room, its event will happen, and you need to deal with it before proceeding to the next room. You can’t go back, and you can’t leave once the event has started. There are normally five to ten rooms before you reach the final room, which normally contains a boss based on the other dungeon residents. Any pressing questions?”
None that are pressing, but--
“Great, then start opening doors and slaughtering whatever is inside.”
Jay sighed. You sure there isn’t anything you can tell me about these symbols?
“Nope. Random means random, Jay.”
Fine.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
He shook his head before making his way to the door with the crown and pushing it. It opened, revealing a room filled with goblins, with a single larger goblin dressed in chainmail armor with a great sword attached to his back, standing in the center of the room.
Uh, is it too late to open the other door?
“Yep. Go get some levels.”
Jay sighed again, raising his gun and entering the room. Goblin after goblin fell as he opened fire, infusing Spirit into the weapon to refill its ammo as he continued shooting. It didn’t take long for the armored goblin to be the only one still standing. It had already drawn its large weapon and had a few scrapes from where bullets had impacted. It snarled before charging, swinging its massive blade in a downward arc toward Jay. He dove to the side just as it passed, causing the weapon to slam into the ground with a large crash. The creature tried to pull the weapon out of the ground, but it was firmly stuck in place, and before it could make another move, Jay delivered a full-power pistol whip to the side of its head, causing its skull to cave in and the creature to fall over dead.
He let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding and made his way through the room, looting the crude metal greatsword as he passed the large goblin. He walked up to the next set of three doors and sat down.
That was easier than expected.
“Hmm. You might have outgrown under-leveled dungeons already.”
What does that mean?
“Check your notifications. Did you get any levels?”
He frowned as he did. One in Firearm Mastery, but nothing else.
“Yeah, that’s about what I expected. This dungeon doesn’t really pose a threat to you anymore, which is probably inflicting you with an experience penalty.”
What should I do?
“Leave. That’s another nice thing about this dungeon. While you can’t go back, you can leave the dungeon entirely while within a cleared room.”
He looked at the next symbols over before sighing. Lan was right. He only had a limited amount of time, and even if he could learn the layout of this type of dungeon, it apparently wouldn’t help him in the next one. Without a second thought, he turned and left the way he had come in, finding himself on the staircase once more.
So, a Level 16 dungeon or a Level 17 one?
“Level 18.”
Really?
“Yep, you are two skill levels off from being Level 17, and we want you to make as much progress as you can. I would even say to do a Level 19 one, but that might prove too intense of a challenge for you.”
Oh, yeah? Why is that?
“Well, you just asked me if you should do a dungeon at the same level as you when you are a sneeze from leveling up. I just assumed that you were suddenly scared, or you were fine with mediocrity.”
Jay inhaled deeply. I know what you are doing.
“And?”
And I hate that it's working. Alright, fuck it. Level 19 it is.
“Good boy.”
Go fuck yourself.
“Love you, too. But do be careful. Faster leveling isn’t a reason to get killed.”
Hey, I thought you were only gonna throw me at meat grinders. You think I will survive?
“Oh, I do, but this is still going to be very dangerous. You're going to need to stay focused.”
I will, don’t worry.
“Who said I was worried?”
Uhh, you. Like, five seconds ago.
There was a long pause before Lan finally responded. “Shut up.”
Jay burst out laughing.
**New title received: Coward**
A new notification popped up as he left, making Jay grumble.
What the fuck, Lan?
“What? I don’t control the title system.”
Yeah, but you sure as hell know about it…
“Oh, shush. It isn’t going to hurt you.”
He sighed before opening his title menu.
Titles:
[Candidate], [Winner of a duel - 2], [Dungeon Diver], [Usurper], [Candidate Slayer], [Skilless Slaughter], [Coward]
Oh, yeah.
Seeing the list reminded him that he hadn’t checked the last several titles he had gained, so he started reading them from where he had last left off.
**Dungeon Diver: Clear a system-created dungeon**
**Usurper: Fight against an opponent at least one tier of ascension above you and survive. Reward Granted: Attacks against an opponent that is at least five levels above you deal 25% increased damage.**
**Candidate Slayer: Kill five candidates on purpose. Way to kick the Death March off right!
Reward Granted: Candidate Store**
**Skilless Slaughter: Kill a candidate without leveling a skill.**
**Coward: Leave a dungeon of a lower level without defeating the boss. What a coward.
Reward Granted: All dungeons you enter are now 5% harder!**
Oh, fuck off. I left because it was too easy.
Lan burst into laughter. “What a coward,” she repeated between fits of laughter.
Lan…
“What?” she asked, still laughing.
Ah, whatever… Have your fun.
“Aww, you ruined it.”
Jay let out a long sigh as he finally made his way through his menus. He hesitated as his finger hovered inches above the words that read Candidate Store. He let out another sigh before steeling his resolve and finally clicking on the button.
Candidate Store
Candidate Heads Available: 5
Categories:
Armor >
Weapons >
Skills >
Temporary Items >
Buffs >
Misc >
Jay shook his head and closed the candidate store. It was awful. He had killed five people, and this system was rewarding him for it. It was terrifying. How many people had realized this store existed? How many people had died just because someone wanted another reward? It was only going to get worse. They were being incentivized to murder each other, and for as much faith as he wanted to have in his fellow man, this wasn’t something he could ignore. All of their lives had been thrown into turmoil. When the difference between death and survival was someone you had never met before, he could see many people choosing to cut down any and everyone they came across.
This Death March thing really is fucked up.
“I thought you knew that already. Didn’t I explain? This is a war for your planet, Jay. It’s kill or be killed. Either fight and survive, or lie down and let the invaders that are coming next month do what you couldn’t.”
I… He blew out a long breath and rubbed his forehead. I know, but I still don’t like it.
Lan let out a sigh. “Jay, I know, but you have to look out for yourself. I get how you feel. I understand how unwilling you are to kill, and if I'm being honest, you don’t have to right now. When the invaders come, though, if you don’t fight back, you will be struck down.”
Jay stood to his full height and exited the staircase, fully walking back into the woods. That’s fine. He gripped the handle of his revolver tightly. I've never had any issues dealing with someone dumb enough to threaten my life.
“Good.”
