.
.
.
—
/Clap.../
Philip dusted his hands in the dark and damp cave as he finished reviewing his situation.
He moved to the side, letting the snake devour the carcasses of the creatures they just hunted.
"Let me see… Around a thousand of these creatures were slain by us. But that wasn't all of them."
'A lot either fled or fell down the shaft into the void.'
"The snake ate around half, leaving me with the other half."
'The claws, teeth, eyes, scales, and the strange feathers on top of their heads are the parts that are the most likely to be valuable. Unfortunately, there were no commissions requesting items this deep in the Dungeon… At least from the ones that the girl gave me.'
'So none of that matters to me. They may have a use later down the line, but I can't walk around carrying a thousand pairs of monster teeth. I'd rather sell them and buy more whenever I need them.'
'That said, I have no plans of selling anything. I don't need the money nor the attention.'
Philip walked to the edge of the precipice, checking the time on his pocket watch.
"Barely 10 Pm… Should I continue?"
"I'm not tired in the least… Wardens have no schedule, although it would be a little bad if I just vanished… They may take it as if I'm dead."
"That said, if I do need to return, I'm quite fast."
'I'd rather avoid traversing the dream plane at a whim in this place, but it's a possibility if necessary.'
"... Hm…"
As he pondered over what to do, he felt the wetness in his leather gloves as he reached for his chin.
He looked at his hands, saying, "I always get myself dirty when I do this… Even if I try to shake it off, some always clings to you one way or another."
/Clench/
He clenched his fists, and the blood on his clothes suddenly came to life as it slowly wormed its way through his clothes to his palms, becoming something akin to a red, watery ball.
/Splash… Shaaa…/
Philp threw the ball in the bonfire, extinguishing it.
A metallic smell spread out around him. He wasn't clean, but he didn't look as if he just came back from war.
/Crackle…/
Stretching his neck, he conjured a small fireball, throwing it at the abyss, gauging its depth.
/Swoosh…/
The fireball reached the bottom, bursting like a small firecracker.
Around a second later, the echoes reached his ears.
Cleaning his ears carefreely, Philip smacked his lips with a pensive gaze: "... It's at least a three hundred meter fall… Perhaps over four hundred?"
'... To think I used to be afraid of heights…'
Philip stepped forward and took the plunge.
…
/BANG!/
Philip crashed into the hard floor of the Dungeon, creating a small crack in the ground as dust rose to the skies.
Despite his speed and weight, the impact of his fall against the ground was barely enough to shake the Dungeon's sturdy shell. The only thing breaking being the natural stone the Dungeon excavated or took over as it grew.
"Hum… As expected, the density of energy in the air increased substantially. It's almost like diving into the water."
'High levels of energy in the atmosphere can be just as bad for an ordinary person as stepping in a room full of natural gas.'
"But I feel… Oddly invigorated."
'It seems what I feared is becoming the truth. The more I train and grow, the more energy-dependent my body becomes. Eventually, I may be utterly unable to live properly in a lacking environment.'
'The greater the concentration of energy in my body becomes, the greater the pressure I'll be under when outside. Like a cell full of salt being exposed to a no-salt solution… I'll end up popping.'
'But I could be wrong too, for I can't record anything like this from the books I've read. Although I haven't properly read them all yet.'
'While it's true I may grow weaker or even anemic in energy-deficient regions the longer I spend there, like eating non-nutritious food, it doesn't mean what I'm experiencing is that.'
'What's likely the case is that my body is under the effect of the Dungeon's attraction just like all the monsters inside it are.'
"It could be both, it could be neither, either way, I feel great."
'Although it feels like I'm slowly becoming some sort of exotic endemic creature…'
"Now then? Where to go from here?"
'A few hundred meters below me is likely the Dungeon Core. I should avoid getting near it… But everywhere else is fine.'
/Fiiiu!~/
Philip resummoned the giant python, riding it into the depths of the Dungeon by following the first path he found.
…
/Later…/
His adventure continued as he curiously inspected everything on his path.
Each new creature he faced was unique in its own sense. Be it their color, size, habits, diet…
Some… More sweet to the eyes than others…
[Lv 34]
"... Is that a spider or a turtle?" He asked as he looked at the strange abomination in front of him
The creature had a turtle's shell covering its body, but rather than looking like a crab, the shell had ten openings where eight spider legs and its head sprung from.
It didn't have an abdomen, but it did have an opening at its rear where a substance similar to silk was slowly released, covering the walls of the cavern in a faintly luminescent light.
(Image)
'It's quite big for something that lives in a cavern, but its Level is rather low for something so deep in the earth at the inner layers of a Dungeon.'
'Is this one of those cases where its big and scary but lacks substance? Or could it be a creature that, despite its low Level, is very strong? Being of a higher quality than other creatures in the same Level range as it?'
"A spinder? By why does it have a shell?…"
'I'm not a fan of spiders, but that's pretty cool…'
/SCREEECHHH!/
The creature released an extremely acute scream that pierced deep into Philip's ears.
It's powerful breath pushed his hair back as he waved his hands in front of his nose, recoiling at the foul breath.
"Why do these giant creatures have such unpleasant screams?"
"Tssss…"
"Hm… It doesn't seem to carry about me. I expected that much."
'I'm too small for it to care about. It may take me for a light snack but it wouldn't actively hunt me, that's how large monsters usually go.'
'Humans don't hunt ants for food. And unless desperate, they wouldn't go after small rats either.'
'And to this creature, I may as well be one. But my snake, on the other hand… Looks just the right size to hunt it.'
Jumping from the snake's head, Philip landed between the two of them, saying, "Want to have a go at it? Go for it." as he massaged his shoulders
/Boom!.../
Like a bolt released from a crossbow, the giant python sprung forward like a spring, biting one of the creature's legs off as it rolled on the ground.
It snapped like a twig, releasing its inner contents like a pressurized piston in stress!
/Boom!/
The crab-spider retaliated by raising two of its legs and stabbing them at the snake's body as it slithered past it, but it wasn't enough to stop it as the snake bit at its side, throwing it against the cavern's walls!
/Quake…/
The cavern shook as both beasts collided, and dust and stone fragments rained around him as he watched it all unfold.
"It's like a movie."
Philip sat down with a light chuck, pensive.
'By my calculations and memory of the path we took, we should be beyond 600M underground, probably closer to the 700M mark.'
'After the 200M mark, beyond the ravine, this place started to behave and look like a proper Dungeon—Monsters became more frequent and vigorous, their attack patterns more diverse as their shapes and sizes grew exotic.'
'Strange wildlife became more common, probably due to the lack of human contact in the past few years.'
'The average Level of monsters is already beyond my Skills effective range, so this Spider-Crab Low Level is rather surprising. I almost took it as background critters. But its size is quite alarming.'
'At these depths, even ordinary critters like some bugs crawling on the ground are dangerous. Everything here can kill you if you give it a reason to. And if you live, you'll be in quite some pain for a while.'
/BANG!/
/Shake…/
Breaking his chain of thoughts, he was almost thrown off his seat as the cavern shook as the giant beasts clashed.
He focused on the battle, noticing the spider's wounds. Several of its legs had already been bitten off, causing it to lose balance. However, the python was full of stab wounds, albeit neither slowed it down to any degree.
The python's offensive and strange actions were beyond the spider's ability to handle, so with a swift motion, it retreated into its hard shell, one far too thick for the snake's teeth to penetrate.
/BAM!/
This action greatly pissed off the hungry snake as no matter what it tried, it failed to break through its defenses.
This was the first time its size played against it as it was too large to pursue its target.
/Chuckle…/
Philip laughed as he saw the snake fail, finding its efforts… Cute.
"HISSSS!"
The snake hissed in anger as it threw the shell around.
/Quake…/
But after watching it for a few extra minutes, Philip had enough of dust falling on his shoulders, taking a step forward:
"Give up, that shell seems rather sturdy."
In a flash, Philip reappeared next to the snake, patting its body as he looked at the spider before him.
The shell hole was big enough for him to enter, in fact, he could see the spider's head within its shell, its four pairs of eyes gazing silently at him from the dark.
The massive fangs twice his size twitched, as if waiting for him to get distracted…
"... Only a crazy man would enter this place after seeing such a thing…"
'Good thing I'm a madman.'
/Raise…/
Philip raised his left foot and kicked the air!
/BOOOM!/
A shockwave slammed against the inside of the spider's shell, causing many of its organs to rupture!
/DASH!/
Slamming his foot against the ground, Philip dashed inside the shell like a bullet, piercing through the beast's head and beyond!
/Splatter!/
Philip emerged by punching a hole through the surface of the spider's shell.
"Eww… This blood is super viscous…"
Spitting out some gunk from his mouth, he climbed out from the hole, shaking his shoes as he reached out for his chest.
Covered from head to toe in a sticky blue substance.
"Dammit… What the hell is this? A normal person might drown if this shit fell on their face…"
/Swoosh!/
He skillfully manipulated the arcane forces around him, cleaning his body of the gunk as he read the System notifications. But none of them were worth a second look.
"Its like being covered in egg yolk… Hm?... You…"
"..."
"You aren't planning to eat that are you?"
"Tss?..."
"Give up on it, I'm not going to open it up for you, its not a coconut."
"Lets continue on our way."
"..."
The snake looked at the shell one last time before reluctantly turning around and slithering away.
…
/Later…/
/Splatter!/
As he finished taking down another large monster, Philip swept the sweat forming on his forehead, contemplating what to do.
"It's getting hot…"
He checked the time, and with a grimace, he turned around.
'A little over 11 Pm, It's getting late.'
"I've explored enough. A little underwhelming, but I'm not in a rush."
/Tsss…/
"Well, you sure look willing to stay… How about you do so then?"
Philip looked at the Python as it looked back at him.
'I still don't know what this creature is nor what it can become. While it isn't particularly useful to me, I can still use it to learn more about the System.'
'There's no telling what may happen if I leave it unchecked in the Dungeon, but that's part of the process.'
"I haven't see anyone around, so there shouldn't be an issue either."
[...]
Philip looked at the strange series of notifications he received in the past few hours and wondered: 'Above all, the System seems to be reacting to something. Maybe it's trying to fix itself, or my actions are stimulating some sort of routine. Either way, keeping them coming for now is not outside my interests.
'I have a lot of time to experiment, but all of that will be for naught if I can't recover the System.'
After thinking for a little longer, he patted the Python's head, taking a step back as he returned from where he came.
"You're free to act as you wish from here on out, but avoid these things…"
After giving the Python a few rules in the simplest ways he felt appropriate, he left after witnessing it slither away into the depths.
He couldn't tell how much of his words it had understood, but even if something wrong were to happen, he'd know through their faint connection.
It was time to return; he'd spent a bit too much time playing around.
…
/Around an hour later…/
/Creaaak…/
The golden doors in the Dungeon shop slowly opened as Philip pushed them away.
"Cough!"
Stepping out of the Dungeon, Philip coughed due to the excessive dust.
The air of the outside world felt so clean and fresh… It was always a wondrous feeling.
/Crunk…/
He carried a massive sack on his back bigger than himself on his back, gently putting it aside as he observed his surroundings.
Immediately after, he noticed the presence of the guards, who seemed different from before.
He whispered to himself as he moved to the entrance, of the shop: "Night watch?"
However, the guards stopped him. Not out of malice, it seemed:
"Excuse me, sir, but Dungeon-related items aren't allowed to leave this facility without proper verification."
"Usually, the manager would process the materials for you, but you've arrived at an awkward time. If you dont mind, allow me to help you process your things."
Feeling no bad intentions coming from the man, he followed him silently.
The guard reached for the counter, pulling a small wooden box from the side, "Let me see… Can I have your identification code?"
"21-A78"
"Give me a minute... I see your commissions now."
"Just leave them on the table, and the system will evaluate them."
/Clack!/
Doing as he was told, Philip spread out the items on the table as the guard moved to the side, pressing a button bellow the counter.
/Crunk!/
With a light mechanical crunk as gears moved underneath the counter, a large plate extended from the side of the table.
"Just put the items in there. The System will handle the rest."
"Okay."
'Finally someone reasonable.'
Philip put his large sack on top of the plate and opened it, revealing its contents: Fangs, claws, scales, and other strange parts were all stacked on top of each other.
There were even some vials filled with strange substances, all neatly stored within the sack.
"Hm…"
'This guy isnt your normal Warden. How lucky of me, the handling fee will be quite generous. The first time working in this forgotten corner has given me anything.'
"..."
Philip frowned as he looked at the guard, but said nothing as he focused on the counter as a System window formed before him.
/Nod…/
The guard nodded at Philip before typing in the air.
{Processing request accepted}
Suddenly, a voice resounded near the two, and a small green ball materialized on top of the items.
/BZZZ…/
A green beam was released from the ball as it slowly scanned the items. After a few seconds, the beam disappeared, and the ball vanished.
{Processing has finished}
The guard eyes went back to the system window and it noded.
"Alright, no problems here, just put your badge on the small compartment… Exactly, right there."
Inside the wooden box was a small crevice, it was hard to miss.
"There are a few excess items, according to the rules, they can't leave this place." The man added as he looked at the window
"You can choose to sell them immediately or put them on display, if the item is not considered as dangerous or your reason is within the codex of rules, you may take it with you after paying a small fee since these items are still considered Academy property."
"Ill just sell everything at face value."
'Putting it on display? To who? You all? No one comes here, and I doubt someone with enough resources to buy this would pass through this place anytime soon…'
Even if he had to sell it a 10% of its actual cost, Philip would rather get rid of it then leave it be to rot.
{Credits have been transferred into your account}
Philip suddenly heard a message from the Academy System in his ears.
"Alright, all done."
The guard removed his badge from the wooden box and placed it on his armor before removing Philip's and giving it back to him.
"Just one thing, it's already late in the night, staying out of your room without a pass is a breach of the rules."
"While Wardens are given the authority to move around whenever they wish, a permit is still required to prevent misunderstandings. So take this: it's a pass only effective for half an hour, so make your way back to your room."
Philip nodded, but he asked:
"What happens if someone is seen out of his room at this time?"
"It depends on the time, place, who, and what the person was doing. The penalty may range from a few credits fee and a warning to immediate expulsion." He replied without looking at him, focused on the System window
"I understand."
Philip nodded to the guard and left. Thinking about what his next move would be…
But that was something for tomorrow.
…
/The next day…/
"Yawwwnnn…"
Philip rubbed his eyes as light pierced through his window, yawning lightly as he stretched his legs.
He looked at an old, vintage grandfather's clock, surprised: "It's 7 Am already? I'm late…"
"... I guess this is what I get for not resting properly for several days…"
Aside from his few short naps, this was likely Philip's first sleep in the last three or so days.
{+ 1092 Blood Echoes}
"Hah... He's still at it… What a hard-working guy."
"Now… Back to the library."
'However, this time, I won't be working. I got a rather generous amount of Credits by finishing over three dozen commissions and selling some materials, it should be enough for me to Rank up and have enough left to spend for a few days.'
'This is a prime chance for me to focus on increasing my repertoire of knowledge. In the meantime, I'll gather more credits by working in the library. And once I finish incorporating one library, I'll move to another.'
'Hm… Now that I think about it, I should delay Ranking Up for now.'
'Library tasks are meant for Rank 1 personnel and my responsibilities would increase as well, or should I say, they would have more weight since I would be assigned to Rank 2 tasks instead.'
'If I delay things here, I can spend a few extra deys gathering Credits, enough to maybe a surplus so I can move around without worrying about working for a while.''
'Also, I need to start preparing by gathering information on the students and the academy's environment. I still have some time before the academic year starts for real and things grow busy, I should try to finish things before that happens.'
{+6912}
"... This is going to get annoying really soon…"
Philip opened his System interface and muted those notifications, but as he did so, he noticed something interesting:
'Wait… Does this work?'
'Everything the Python experiences applies for the Simulation Room? That's unexpected.'
While muted most of the time, Philip knew whenever his Skill updated.
If he kept his System unmuted, he'd be constantly flooded by notifications. It was something all Heroes shared and grew to learn to deal with.
The System molded itself to fit its user's requirements, and right now, Philip didn't want to hear those things.
While his control over it was dubious at best, he was happy that at least these details were within his power to change.
A small but well appreciated luxury.
"That's an upside for this little experiment."
'Maybe I'll be able to make use of this… But not today.'
…
/Several hours later…/
As planned, Philip spent his entire day reading books like a maniac before returning back to his house when the day was close to ending.
Throughout the night, he spent his time inside the Simulation Room, training as he faced off against the monsters he and the Python found in the Dungeon.
While he had mastered the techniques given to him, it would be wrong to assume that was all there was to it.
Training is a never-ending slope; mastery of a technique today becomes the foundation of a new discipline later on.
He may have mastered some aspects but there was always something to improve, or at least, that was how he saw things.
There was still space for him to grow.
When he first began training in the Pthumerian Combat Art, Philip was soon faced with a wall: His lacking Human body in the face of a martial art near alien-like.
To master it within the Simulation, unable to change his physical body, he had to grow creative, to think outside the box, to minimize his movements, and make them conform to the limits of his bones.
Adaptation… It could be used to explain much of his actions.
It was his greatest strength from a certain perspective…
[...]
"Hm…"
The System had yet to vanish, and it was still too early for him to move.
With those things at the back of his mind, Philip dived deep into his routine… From morning to dusk…
…
/A few days later…/
"209… 210… 2… 2…"
/PLOFT!/
After another lengthy day of training, Philip, who could be seen training in the garden, fell face-first on the ground due to exhaustion.
"Harf… Harf…"
/Ding dong…/
At that moment, a small alarm clock resting on a table nearby began to ring.
"Huff… Just in time. I had enough for today."
He got up to the ground, moving to the table where he poured himself a cold cup of water as he read the time.
"6 Pm… It's time to Rank up."
He grabbed a towel on the side and dried himself, taking a deep breath as his heart settled down.
'One week… Around a week ago, I left for the central mountains. Time sure pass quickly.'
'I've blended in quite well with the routine of a Warden. And honestly speaking, it's not so bad.'
"It doesn't compare to the convenience of living in the Palace, but it's not as bad as I first thought. The freedom is quite invigorating."
'Not having to worry about anyone spying on me is quite good too. Although that's only partially true since I'm still under the Academy's Spirit monitoring.'
'Either way, I've progressed quite well in all my goals and also gathered some extra credits in case of emergencies. This is the time to move on with my plans.'
{+7824}
'It's still going at it even now. It sure is having fun…'
Ever since he first left it there, Philip never once returned to the Dungeon, leaving the python to its own devices.
It kept hunting day in and night with a seemingly never-ending endurance. Albeit there were times where he received no notifications for hours on end.
At the same time, in his experiments, Philip learned he could use the Bath Messengers to monitor the python from afar, collecting whatever loot they could in between its ceaseless slaughter.
He hadn't had the opportunity to experiment with the changes to his Skill in the time he was stuck inside the Simulation room, so in these last few days he spent a portion of his time to toy around with it, limiting his actions to small experiments.
He learned a lot about them, but at the same time, the more he did, the stranger they became…
Creatures unbounded by physical reality, existing within the imaginary. The way they interacted with the world was as confusing as it sounded.
But as Dae warned him before, he avoided stepping too far into their realm, focusing instead on his self-training and studies.
For his body, he kept sweating everyday, pushing it to its limits.
Within the Simulation Room, while everything inside felt real, at the end of the day, it wasn't his real body in there. For him to train his muscles, he had to do it outside.
Which led to this situation.
[
Name: Philip Vinten
Race: Type 1 Pure Human (+)
Home World: Earth (+)
Registered World: Eden (+)
Level 0
Class: None (+)
Title: Apex Evolver(Martial Enthusiast) (+)
/Resonation Effect: Focused Spirit/
All Titles:
Exterminator of Nightmares; Hunter Genius; Ancient Archeologist; Jack of all Trades; Scholar; Martial Enthusiast; Magical Enthusiast; Mental Lord; Blessed; Apex Evolver; Soldier; Contender; The Silent Legion
-Vital info-
(+)
Mind> 168.1 (199.9)(+) Previously: 167.2 (199.9)
Physical> 139.2 (166.8)(+) Previously: 137.8 (165.4)
Energy> 125.3 (+) Previously: 124.3
Spiritual> 110 (130.4)(+) Previously: 109.6 (130)
Mystique> 50 (+)
Abilities:
Mental Force Lv18 (Hybrid)
Mental Force Manipulation Lv22 (Hybrid)
Mental Domain Lv10 (Hybrid)
Arcane Manipulation Lv16 (Hybrid)
Draly-Apyer Secret Sword Arts LvMax (Hybrid)
Falling Fist of the Beast LvMax (Hybrid)
Pthumerian Combat Art (Modified) LvMax (Hybrid)
Skills:
Gamerverse (???)
Advanced Skill Fusion Lv8 (Hybrid)
Western continent language Lv8 (Hybrid)
Scholar Vision Lv7 (Active)
Combat Genius LvMax (Passive)
Predator's presence LvMax
Somnium Courier Lv2 (Hybrid)
Simulation Room (???)
Traits:
Castle Town ***** (Weakened)
Hardworking
Unyielding
Incorruptible
]
Not much had changed, but it was impressive that anything changed at all.
At this point in the run, any growth was a blessing, if not a miracle.
While Philip did have methods to train and base himself on so he could push his body far beyond that of a Superhuman, he had nothing but himself to rely on.
Dae had left behind methods and possible guidelines for him to follow, and he was thankful for that. His notes, coupled with his experience and the knowledge within the Phantom library, were working wonders for his self-development.
Having left the Palace too soon, he could not learn more complex subjects from the royals, leaving him stranded without a path to hold on to.
Carving a path was easier said than done. It took time and lots of experiments, and while he did try his hardest to do so, there was only so much he could do.
[...]
[... All parameters have been recalculated]
[Missing directives; scenario calculation has been postponed]
[Data has been restored; filled processes have been restored; waiting confirmation…]
[Mnemosyne sub-routine has been terminated]
[Confirmation received… Cannot proceed]
[***** Mode cannot be terminated]
[Condition… *****]
[Initiating Iapetus sub-routine…]
[Consulting… Analysis completed]
[Incomplete parameters have degraded calculation accuracy, leading to *****]
[Conclusion… Cannot process due to lacking directives…]
[Seeking solution…]
"What…?"
[DING]
[...]
[You already achieved your Class maximum potential!]
[You already achieved your Class fate!]
[...]
[Activating Skill Gamerverse]
"What?! This is too sudden!…"
'Why are there gaps in the…'
/Sha!/
Darkness enveloped his body, a feeling he was all too familiar with already.
As he lost all sense of touch on his body, his mind was brought into the void.
Adrift in nothingness, his first thought formed:
'Is this?...'
/Silence…/
'System?'
/Silence…/
'Arg… Fuck… Not this again…'
[Gamerverse has activated]
…
.
.
.
Notes
Smaller than usual chapter, but that's because a lot of this chapter became redundant or straight out wrong due to the changes in the story.
Ultimately, I thought about expanding more but realized it was better to end things there than to bloat.
Philip will be rewarded for his actions in the Simulation Room, even if his status is only updated to reflect his actual abilities.
It'll come, but it'll take a while to do so.
Peace!