'I could eat them all. Get infected and drink the Super Life Elixir.'
That would be one way to solve this level.
‘But I don't feel like eating them. And it would take too long... But the biggest downside would be that I'd lose a big portion of my Super Life Elixirs.’
'That, and I saw that the potion doesn't do anything to them. What if it just cures me repeatedly while the zombie I ate infinitely infects me from the inside?'
I shivered at the thought. I was lucky to have such a broken skill as Rotting Soul. Thinking maybe even the downside of me aging was all worth it.
And with that, only two realistic choices remained.
Give up and use Dungeon Gateway OR find a way to clear the level.
And the more I think about it the more the first option seems like the most reasonable one.
'....'
“Let’s look at what I solved. What I have.”
I opened my bottomless inventory.
I scrolled.
And scrolled.
Nada.
Nothing that could give me an edge, or with certainty clear the level without me draining my resources. I even took out the Abyssal Knight’s Book to see if I could use magic… But:
[YOUR LEVEL IS TOO LOW FOR THIS ITEM!]
[PENALTY APPLIED: Unable to use magic using this item!]
‘Just an indestructible book. Maybe I could use it to bash them to the shadow realm?’ I chuckled.
'Hrm...' I stood at the edge of the 7th Circle again, pacing as I looked down.
'That skeleton mage I killed was not a true undead, was he? He was just a puppet controlled by Lord Azhar that sustained itself with Mana... But those...' I looked at the door to the sixth Circle.
'...Safe to say those are true undead.... True undead... True... Undead... Undead... Not alive…'
Then, a certain skill I had flashed in my mind. My eyes widened.
'...Worth a shot. But first...'
"200 points to DEX."
Stat Points Available: 290 → 90
STR: 810
INT: 430
DEX: 810 → 1010
VIGOR: 430
RES: 430
[YOU HAVE SURPASSED 1000 DEXTERITY POINTS!]
[You begin to feel your perception widen. Your instincts and coordination elevated to a god-like level!]
Everything was clear to me. I could see dust particles falling off the granite walls. The vibrations on the ground created by my breathing...
And more importantly, as I opened that door to the seventh level where I previously killed myself...
I could see the individual zombified dust particles as they drifted towards me, slowly, through the air.
'Let's try this out...'
I opened my Bottomless Item Storage (EX).
And then, I moved with the interface open towards the zombified dust particles...
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination (Ground Dust) x12,624 (SSS)]
'Fucking YES..!!'
Bottomless Item Storage (EX)
Description: A bottomless item-storage that suspends anything non-living within it. Each stored item may be up to 7x7x7 meters in size.
[...THAT SUSPENDS ANYTHING NON-LIVING WITHIN IT...]
'Undead count as nonliving...!'
'YOU'RE FUCKED!'
I stepped fully into the sixth Circle, my enhanced perception tracking every shambling corpse, every drifting particle of dust.
Now I could see everything.
The way their joints locked and unlocked. The micro-movements before they lunged. The exact trajectory of their clawed hands.
I didn't even need to fight them.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
I just walked forward, interface open, and... Let them walk into it.
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x1 (SSS)]
The first zombie vanished mid-step, sucked into my inventory like it had never existed.
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x1 (SSS)]
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x42 (SSS)]
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x79 (SSS)]
I started moving faster, weaving through the horde. A zombie lunged at me from the left—I sidestepped and let it lunge into my Inventory window.
Gone.
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x123 (SSS)]
Another one reached for me from behind. I pivoted, letting it simply fall into the interface.
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x164 (SSS)]
It wasn't even a fight. It was cleanup.
I grabbed another zombie by the torso, as though I was picking up vegetables from the supermarket and punted it into my inventory.
Having already learned their movements, I began to just do that for every zombie. Like I was digging some dirt, tossing it into a bag.
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x198 (SSS)]
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x351 (SSS)]
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x431 (SSS)]
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x502 (SSS)]
The notifications kept flooding in as I tore through the room. Punch. Kick. Shove. Touch. Every contact sent another zombie into the void that is my inventory.
A severed arm crawled toward me. The message this time was different as I tossed it into my inventory.
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination (Limb) x1 (SSS)]
A torso dragging itself with its hands.
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination (Torso) x1 (SSS)]
'This is...'
I started laughing.
'This is fucking beautiful.'
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x552 (SSS)]
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x601 (SSS)]
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x721 (SSS)]
I wasn't tired. I wasn't scared. I wasn't even careful anymore.
The itch—the hunger—it was screaming now.
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x759 (SSS)]
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x789 (SSS)]
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x801 (SSS)]
I reached the halfway point. Then three-quarters.
The horde was thinning. The room clearing.
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x821 (SSS)]
[Item Obtained: Abyssal Abomination x842 (SSS)]
And then—
Silence.
I stood in the center of the sixth Circle, breathing hard, grinning under my helmet.
Empty. Completely empty.
Not a single zombie left.
Just me, the door ahead, and a notification counter ticking in my peripheral vision:
[Abyssal Abomination x847 (SSS)]
[Abyssal Abomination (Torso) x421 (SSS)]
[Abyssal Abomination (Ground Dust) x1,241,753 (SSS)]
[Abyssal—...]
...
'...Hah.'
I looked at my hands.
'I should've invested in DEX earlier.'
[You have Slain————...]
[ERROR.]
'...?'
[Please stand by...]
“The fuck?”
[Dear Warrior,]
"..!!"
'It's like when I was upgraded to Knight... Is it going to give me a heartfelt speech now as well?'
[...]
[This is unexpected. Oh well.]
'...What?'
[Here is a reward for completing five levels of the Abyss Dungeon, and a reward for your creativity in this level in particular. You may choose only one reward, so make it count.]
- [Skill: Immunity (EX+)]
- [Item: Recess (EX+)]
'Plus...?'
'A rank beyond (EX)...' I gulped.
I clicked the first option. A description window opened:
[Skill: Immunity (EX+)]
[Description: You are passively immune to ALL diseases, poisons, infections, curses (excluding your own), venoms, mind-spells, runes, etc.]
'Did it just say "etc."...?'
I stared at the description.
'Holy shit.'
No more Lord Azhar mind control. No more zombie infection risk. Nothing I'd have to neutralize by killing myself.
'This is the perfect skill.'
There had to be more than one mind control spell in this dungeon, or in this world.
‘What if the next one stopped me from killing myself? What if it locked my body before I could activate Hard Swing?’
This would make me unkillable. Uncontrollable.
I glanced at the second option.
[Item: Recess (EX+)]
I clicked it.
"...There's... no fucking way..."
[Description: Return to your original world for 3 hours, then you'll be teleported back to {Crucibulum} at the location where you used the item.]
[NOTE: Location will NOT be saved in your Dungeon Gateway skill!]
My breath caught.
I hadn't even considered it would ever happen.
"Mom..."
I shook my head.
'No. I can't let that get to me.'
I looked back at Immunity.
'I might be able to go back, but it's only for three hours. I'm not going to spend those three hours seeing her all happy like I know she would be.'
'....'
'So click the immunity already.'
'....'
But my finger got stuck.
'... what if she's hurt?'
The question came unbidden.
'What if she's waiting for me?'
'What if she needs me?'
I opened my stat window.
'No. She doesn't... Not me, anyway.'
STAT PROFILE
Stat Points Available: 90
STR: 810
INT: 430
DEX: 1010
VIGOR: 430
RES: 430
Right.
But I'm not Makoto anymore.
I'm Van.
And Van...
'Is strong.’
It may have been the dumbest, most immature decision I've ever made. Immunity would've rendered levels like the Sixth Circle a school break.
But I did it anyway.
I chose option 2.
[Item Obtained: Recess (EX+) x1]