The Systemic Lands

Chapter 55: Day 137 – A Wild Dungeon Appears

“This is going to be tricky with two people,” I grumbled as the meerkats weren’t attacking if either of us were looking.

“I think I got a handle on things,” Ruth said.

“Alright, we will split up slightly and clear our way East. You don’t look left, and I don’t look right unless one of us shouts for help. I will veer more North, leave you space.”

“Got it.” Ruth said and I got to work. The new sword was amazing, it was so much easier to cut and swing. It might have been the Body upgrades I had gotten, but there was something easier about using the weapon. Was it worth 5,000 points? That was debatable. It was maybe twice as good as my previous sword but cost ten times as much.

Still, I could only hold one sword at a time. I wouldn’t turn down such a useful weapon. The tower shield also gave me a much greater sense of safety. Thankfully I was able to handle it alright despite the larger size and weight.

I was annoyed I didn’t get a helmet or cloak. Those were definitely on my list of items to purchase next time. I followed the boarder of the deadlands and shadowlands, going from heat to overcast. Oh, that was new.

A large black snake was making its way towards me and not a scorpion from the shadowlands. “Acid Shot.” The monster tried to twist out of the way, but my aim was quite good from all the times I had used the skill. I picked up a 50-point crystal after its corpse turned to dust.

I needed to be more precise in my aim with this monster. Even better target practice for me to improve myself. I kept up a rapid pace, killing striped meerkats and large black snakes. When I said large, I meant anaconda size, over 12 feet, or 3.5 meters long.

Evening came and I made my way back to the cart we had left in the scorpion part of the shadowlands. Ruth was there and her legs looked a bit rough. “Still alive?”

“Yes, those things…I think I finally have the hang of them. But it isn’t fast, can only handle one at time.”

“How many?” I asked.

“Only 35.”

“Not bad, but not that good either. Should aim for at least 50 tomorrow,” I said.

“I know.” I didn’t say I had earned 312 mid-sized crystals today.

“So, anything special?”

“Hmm?” I hummed back.

“You brought up a stat to 100?”

“Ah, Regeneration. Nothing special. No insight or other unique ability.”

“Shame.”

“I did find a new monster to the North in the shadowlands, a very large black snake. Had good dodging ability, but not top tier. Also, decently quick.”

“Could I?”

“No, unless your reflexes are a lot better. I want to check South tomorrow. Figure there will be a fourth enemy in this area. Maybe. I am still trying to work out how this place is laid out. Hopefully find a dungeon or two. Otherwise, there will be a lot more searching.”

“The visibility is alright,” Ruth said.

“Yeah, but the dungeons could be a pit or something equally annoying. With how overcast the area is, it would be easy to miss something like that.”

“You think this area is set up like the starting area?”

“Probably, maybe. Have to do a lot more exploring and you need to keep grinding. You okay?” I asked again.

“Yes, just bit up a bit. I was careful, just tricky to react in time. That is something I need to pick up, the right timing.”

“More Perception or Mind might help.”

“Yes, I figured as much. Same deal as last time?” Ruth asked.

“Yes, an alarm just before midnight and I will go and clear anything nearby before going back to sleep once it has respawned. Unless you have a better idea?” I asked.

“No. This place, it is creepy.”

“Welcome to the shadowlands.”

That night there were no issues as I easily cleared out the nearby scorpions. I went back to sleep after that.

The following day I journeyed to the East and a lot more South on the border between the shadowlands and the deadlands. This time the new enemy was a fly about the size of my head that emitted a green gas as it flew.

The problem was that they could fly out of the way of my sword quite easily. Guess that was why there were called flies. This is where a bow and arrow would have been useful. In the end I went with my skill, Acid Shot. It wasn’t worth the headache trying to strike the venom flies without breathing in the green gas they emitted.

As I was nearing the end for the day, I saw large rocks in the distance. That was a major landmark. We would need to reposition the camp. Time to be a bit reckless and try something out. I rushed towards the rocks. Venom flies rose up from the shadows of the landscape and began to fly towards me.

A larger and larger group of monsters formed up behind me to chase after me as I approached the large rocks. They were huge monolithic things, sticking out of the ground like skyscrapers. No good handholds or way up them. No unique enemy nearby and it would take a while to scout out the area.

I made a curve in the route I had chosen to run. More venom flies began to gather behind me. There were so many that waves of green gas were rolling off from their group. I looped around to my previous path and looked at the horde.

There were at least forty of the monsters. I dropped my shield at my side. “Acid Shot. Acid Shot.” I used the skill with both hands and aimed between the monsters. One use of the skill took out three or four at a time as just a graze was fatal to the monsters. Unlike the scorpions, this monster had no issue grouping up close together and not being chunky.

I soon ran out of energy and there were only six monsters left. I picked up my shield and drew my sword. It was a pain to finish off the remainder with a blade, but I managed it. I also breathed in a small amount of the gas. I felt tired, ill, and sleepy all at the same time, but was still able to function.

Note to self, green gas is super bad. I picked up the crystals and made my way back to the cart. It took about an hour for the effects of the gas to go away. Definitely had to be careful in the future, even more so if the effect stacked on top of itself.

It was a gaming term, where buffs and debuffs would appear in a row or column, called a stack. This would be considered the active effects on me. In most games the same attack or a similar enough attack to the gas would just refresh a timer. If this place was evil, which it probably was, the effect might compound or stack up.

Ruth was waiting at the cart again, this time a lot less chewed up. “Good day?” I asked.

“Yes, much better. I killed 53 meerkats today.”

“Not bad, not bad at all.”

“You?” I told her about the venom flies, gas, and large rocks. I didn’t mention the 347 crystals I had earned. No need to create unnecessary drama. I was sure she had some kind of guess.

“That is why I want to reposition the cart to the South,” I concluded.

“Alright, we move tomorrow?” Ruth asked. I kind of wanted to move now, but that would be pushing it as it got dark. The shadowlands were nearly pitch black at night, which made them quite scary even when one was mentally prepared.

“Yeah. You think Purgatory is on fire yet?”

“Who knows. Why are you asking?”

“The upgrades. They offer a lot of possibilities. I checked afterwards. Once a community item is purchased, it is no longer available. I was thinking about buying the Rod of Control myself.”

“And incite everyone against you,” Ruth said.

“You think that would happen?”

“It is half a million points. That is 200 upgrades for you, right? More than enough time for people to catch up.”

“A bit more than half a million for 200 upgrades, but I get your point. The problem is once again my earning speed.”

“You are getting over 300 crystals a day, 50-point crystals,” Ruth said.

“That is too slow. There is so much that needs to be upgraded and purchased. I am worried.” Ruth was silent as I thought over how to phrase this. “The scaling of this place is insane. What do you think of the difficulty between a wolf and a meerkat?” I asked.

“Night and day. I wouldn’t be able to beat the meerkats without your advice.”

“Exactly, now carry it a step further. What will the next strongest monster be like?”

“Incredibly dangerous, with insane capabilities. The dungeon?”

“Yes, there is probably a dungeon somewhere in those rocks. The difficulty will be on an entirely new level. I may joke about the game like elements, but this place isn’t really a game. If a monster is immune to my skill, then I will be in immense danger.”

“You can wait until you are stronger,” Ruth suggested.

“I have done that in the past. The question is, when am I strong enough? There is a hidden time pressure for me to improve. There are other cities, perhaps other creatures out there ready to compete with humans.”

“Aliens?”

“I wouldn’t discount something like that, in a place like this. The civilization building aspect of the new items in the store is what really concerns me.”

“How much faster could a person or group go compared to you? You rarely take a break. You push yourself every day.”

“Until the day it isn’t enough. People in Purgatory worry about my strength. I worry about the strength of the person I haven’t met yet.”

“Well, that is why you have me.” I looked at Ruth. “I can talk to them, and we can be friends, or at least not enemies.”

“Hah, true, true. I knew there was a reason to keep you around. I can’t let myself fall into a stagnant line of thinking that everyone will want to fight. Still, I would like to not be in a position of weakness. Strength is preferable, but not weakness. It will only lead to pain and suffering.”

“Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

“Thank you Master Yoda, but I get it. I can only control myself, which puts the question of the dungeon right back in my lap.”

“Could you beat a scorpion with a sword and shield?” Ruth asked.

“Maybe. Would be tricky.”

“The way I see it, your close combat skill has lagged behind your skill usage. Your aiming is great, but your sword work, is just work. All hack and slash. I am no expert and even I can tell that.”

“You have a point. But to steal a quote against you, exponential warrior, quadratic wizard.”

“The power scaling.”

“Indeed. I have three skill slots but am only using one. A very good skill. Don’t get me wrong. But I need defense, movement, healing, and utility skills also. I got lucky heading for the slimes at the start. There is nothing to say that this dungeon is within my capabilities.” I was brooding and knew I was brooding, but with my life on the line if I went to the dungeon and I couldn’t help it now that I had someone to talk to.

“Weren’t the other dungeons based on the monsters in the area? So, a lot of those venom flies?” Ruth asked. I perked up a bit at that. I hadn’t considered that and felt a bit stupid. Super flies, fast flies, tiny flies, there were a lot of possibilities.

“Maybe, but this is a dungeon of a higher level. If the area around the city was level one, this is level two. There is probably a twist of some kind.”

Ruth was silent as I kept mulling things over. “I will locate it, but I won’t be going inside yet.” I made my decision. The risk was too high, and I had no light sources.

“So, more grinding?” Ruth asked. I winced at that. Exploration was key. I opened up my book and took a look at the pen. It was metal with a cap, and I was incredibly grateful for it. It was too dark out to map things or do calculations. I let out a sigh. I put the book and pen back away in the cart.

“I don’t know. Find the dungeon and then we turn East and push through the meerkat area. I want to see want is beyond the deadlands. Turn around if things get tricky.”

“Fighting the meerkats at night is impossible,” Ruth said.

“I know, but I want to go East, unless you think another direction is better?” I asked.

“No, East is as good as anything else.”

“Want to give up?”

“No, just tired. Physically and mentally. I can see why people don’t make it out here now. I was skeptical, but the danger is constant and new. Well hopefully Tyrese and Ken figure out a solution.”

“To the overcrowding and lack of crystals?” I asked.

“Yes. The situation is reaching critical levels.” I waved my hand at that.

“I really don’t want to think about that place now. We need to focus on the monsters and terrain in front of us.”