Alex quickly used 2 of his free points to boost his toughness, hoping it would keep him alive. Between those two new points and the two he just gained from his new sword, it helped a little.
It took another three hours for Alex to move. He wasn’t fully healed, but the bone reset itself in his leg, and his wounds stopped bleeding.
Before walking over to the chest, Alex went to look for his old sword. When he found it… It was in two pieces. The boss’s final attack must have broken it.
Good thing I just got a new shiny sword!
Alex also went to check the boss, seeing if it had anything useful, because… loot. Beside the boss, he knelt and touched it on the shoulder.
Do you wish to loot -Zhiva the Earth Shaper-?
Yes/No
He got 15 system coins from the boss. Zhiva's items didn't appear lootable, so he would manually have to pick up her staff, rings and any other equipment she wore. The core he found was similar to the others, but it said "unique dungeon boss" on it. Alex then gathered all the items he could find, aside from the boss's robes that were too damaged.
Staff of Earth Shaping (Rare) (Unranked)(★)
This staff improves earth mana channeled through it, increasing its strength while also reducing the mana cost by a small amount. +2 intelligence, +1 wisdom
Ring of Intelligence (Common) (Unranked)(★)
+1 Intelligence
Ring of Wisdom (Common) (Unranked)(★)
+1 Wisdom
Unique Dungeon Boss Core (Unranked)(★)
The mana core created by an unranked unique dungeon boss.
Not sure I’ll use the staff, but I’ll take it. Maybe I can use it sometimes if I fight from a distance. I'll definitely equip the rings, though. I wonder if "looting" people or monsters, only loots their Soul Vault? It would make sense why I got coins, but no items, even though the kobold obviously had some. Though I doubt Zhiva actually had coins, I assume they're just System generated.
Alex put the rings on his fingers, feeling the stat increase along with his new sword. He was worried about the size, but the rings re-sized themselves to fit his fingers perfectly.
That’s a neat trick. I hope all equipment does that.
When he stood in front of the chest, he realized how big it actually was.
It has to be three feet tall and five feet wide. That's a big ass chest, he thought, admiring it.
Alex reached up and lifted the lid. It was effortless, taking no strength to move at all and making no sound. When he looked inside, he stood there like a dumbass with a massive smile on his face.
Now this is how a proper dungeon should be! Look at all that juicy loot!! Pumping both fists into the air in celebration.
There have got to be what.. 7 items in there? That seems high as hell. Was it all those “Dungeon chest loot increased”? That must have added to the quantity instead of the quality.
Alex reached in and pulled out the first item.
Armored leather leggings (Common)(★)
Basic leather leggings with extra protection added to the front and back
Yay for pants. No stats or anything, but any pants are better than no pants! Alex reasoned. He quickly put on his new leggings. And then continued going through the loot, piece by piece.
Boots of the Kobold Kings (Rare)(★)
Boots created for Kobold Kings. They are lined with Kobold scales, providing some protection, especially against fire and earth magic. The boots decrease the noise caused by the wearer's footsteps.
+1 Agility, +1 Perception, +1 Endurance
Ooo, fancy boots. I guess I’m a Kobold King now. He took off his sneakers and put on his boots. They formed themself perfectly to fit his feet. He bent and stretched his ankles to see how it all felt.
They’re comfortable as hell. That's awesome.
Cloak of Zhiva (Epic)(★★)
Cloak created from the infused scales of Zhiva, the Earth Shaper. Imbued with her earth magic to a deep degree and natural protection from kobold scales, the cloak provides excellent defence against magical and physical attacks. Having a strong connection to the earth also allows the cloak to blend into its surroundings, increasing the effectiveness of stealth skills.
+3 Intelligence, +2 Toughness, +2 Perception
Alex held the cloak out and looked at it.
I wonder if these are really her scales… kind of creepy to walk around in my enemy's skin. The cloak looks fantastic with its black scales, and those stats are great. Super good. Epic rarity, too. This items also has two stars, what the hell do they mean? Maybe better quality?
Knight's Halfmail (Uncommon)(★)
A knight's halfmail chestpiece, combining a mixture of chainmail and leather, gives the flexibility of leather and the protection of chainmail.
+1 Toughness, +1 Agility
Alex immediately grabbed his new chestpiece and put it on. FINALLY something to cover my chest. I spent most of the damn dungeon half-naked.
Warriors Gloves (Common)(★)
Basic leather gloves that are fingerless and have a metal plate on the back. Will help protect the wearer.
Basic, but I like it. Loot is loot, Alex thought as he put on his gloves.
Amulet of Spell Control (Epic)(★★)
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
This amulet increases the wearer’s control over mana, whether it's their own, or an enemy's, helping to bypass the intent and willpower of enemy spells.
+4 Intelligence, +3 Wisdom, +2 Willpower
That… is broken. Combining that amulet with my racial abilities is going to be so overpowered as hell. He laughed with a big smile on his face. There's those two stars again, too.
Vambraces of Deflection (Uncommon)(★)
Vambraces help the wearer with protection and deflection of attacks. These are highly durable and built for blocking or deflecting.
+2 Toughness
No complaints from me. I like loot and protection. It's a win-win. Having equipped all his new items, Alex felt his stats swell. The increase was the largest single stat boost he had gotten at one time, and it felt amazing. He quickly glanced at his new stats with all his loot.
Stats
Strength: 15 (17)
Agility: 14 (18)
Endurance: 10 (13)
Toughness: 13 (20)
Perception: 7 (12)
Wisdom: 10 (16)
Intelligence: 10 (20)
Willpower: 13 (17)
Free points: 10
The first thing he noticed was that it had two stat columns now. It showed his base stats, then his stats with his items equipped. His new gear had drastically altered his stats.
My Intelligence stat doubled! Alex thought, surprised by the changes. That's insane. All my stats got a good boost. Plus, I still have 10 free points to use.
I’ll just throw 5 in willpower, and hold the last 5 for now. That decision brought Alex’s willpower up to 22 with equipment on, making it his highest stat.
Standing there, wearing all his new armor, brand new sword attached to his hip, and the boss's staff tied to his backpack, Alex couldn't begin to describe how he felt.
“I truly feel like I’m in a fantasy world now. This equipment, these stats. Loot makes everything better. That's for sure.” Alex cheered, wearing a wide grin.
“I’m just glad I'm not half naked anymore.”
Having retrieved all the loot and walked towards the exit behind the throne, Alex stood there glancing over the cavern one last time.
I don’t see anything I missed. I’ve got all my new equipment, backpack, and even the remaining compressed marbles and spikes I made.
He walked through the tunnel.
After 10 minutes of walking, he found nothing. The tunnel was smooth, with nothing interesting inside. Eventually, he came upon a blue shimmering curtain draped across the tunnel.
That's not ominous at all… a magic curtain of energy just chilling here.
When he touched it, he got a notification:
Exit dungeon: The Descent
Yes/No
Finally, the exit!! He cheered out with a loud YES.
Immediately, Alex's vision went black, and his body felt as if it were being held underwater. But it wasn’t actual water. The sensation was extremely comfortable to him-- a warmth that sank into every cell of his body. It reminded him of the vision he'd had while floating in space.
It felt very similar.
When the feeling left him, he quickly opened his eyes and looked where he was now.
Oh great.. I’m still inside a cave. Why am I not surprised? Alex sourly thought, as he let out a big sigh.
I’m getting tired of being in caves.
This cave felt different, though. There was no heat or lava here. It seemed like a regular cave. Cool temperatures, water trickling down the walls in some places, and the cave was much smaller overall than the dungeon.
This is actually nice after being inside that lava dungeon for so long. I didn’t realize how hot it was compared to this.
He walked over to one of the walls with trickling water and ducked beneath it. The ice-cold water felt amazing. It slipped inside the cracks of his armor, running down his skin and cooling him off.
Alex continued forward for another twenty minutes. There was a slight incline in the tunnel, and he came to an exit, kind of. It looked like a crevice in the rock, and when he climbed through it, he came out into a larger tunnel. Glancing back behind him, the crevice was extremely hard to see, as it blended into the shadows.
That dungeon entrance is going to be hard for people to find. I’m going to keep it a secret for now, he decided.
Using some of his Earth Magic, he created a small rock in the tunnel to mark the crevice. He was afraid he might not find it again, without a little hint.
This new tunnel was much more spacious and open, and as he moved forward, he saw it had much more room throughout. There were several small caverns, and even one really large one. All were empty, which felt strange to him.
This whole cave is a good location to camp out and use as my home base for now. I can easily manipulate the stone here too, changing its shape or adding defensive walls.
Finally, Alex saw a glimmer of light in the distance. He became excited and quickly ran to it. Stepping out of the cave entrance and breathing in the fresh air, while the sunlight bathed down onto him, was a moment Alex won’t soon forget.
God, that feels good. The air is warm but not hot, the wind is rustling the trees, and my silver hair... SILVER? Ah shit, I forgot about that. He wished, in that moment, he had a mirror to see his new appearance.
Outside, Alex just wanted to relax. The area around the cave was a forest. Though there were several places it opened into small clearings. He also found the bodies of two dead wolves near the entrance.
That explains why the cave was empty; the wolves were lured outside. Alex considered. If my caving group entered the tutorial near me, they might have started inside the cave or outside nearby. They might still be around here; it's only been a day or two. Not sure how long I was unconscious, though.
He didn’t know how to look for them, even if he wanted to. He didn’t have any tracking skills or a way to look from above. The best he could do was search the mana with his new [Eyes of the Cosmos] ability.
While he didn’t really care about them much, he also didn’t want them to die. After resting for thirty minutes and eating and drinking from his dwindling resources, he decided to scout the area further.
I’ll return to this cave at night to sleep. I can barricade myself into a small area with Earth Magic. That should protect me from any of these wolves, or even other people.
Alex wanted to enjoy his new, increased stats, so instead of using stealth to walk around slowly, he ran. Easily twice as fast as his previous top speed, he ran through the forest nearby. He kept a focus on his Eyes ability, to watch for anything that had mana, aside from trees, and kept his sword in hand.
After fifteen minutes, a wide grin spread across Alex's face. Before the integration, he would have already collapsed from exhaustion. But now, he only felt a little winded. It's going to be ridiculous when my endurance and agility reach new heights. I'll be able to run forever!
Running through the forest, he didn’t find many strong predators. The only ones he found were some weak wolves that avoided him.
Forest Wolf (Level 2)
A basic forest wolf. They usually live and hunt in packs.
Alex ignored the wolves and kept moving. There wasn’t a reason for him to kill low-level monsters. He kept searching, trying to keep the cave in mind and not stray too far. The last thing he wanted was to get lost and not be able to find the cave again.
During his scouting mission, he had found a stream and refilled his canteen and water bottles. Looks clean enough. He took a sip of it. Hopefully, I don't get sick. That would be funny to survive that dungeon only to die from tainted water after escaping, Alex morbidly thought.
Most of the terrain he searched was forest. In the distance a few times, he saw mountains, more forest, and plains, but that was about it. How big is this tutorial? Are we on Earth, on a different planet, or in some pocket dimension?
Coming near some mountains, Alex saw movement in the distance. Unsure what it was, he activated his stealth before moving closer.
Once in range, he started to recognize what they were and cursed to himself.
Goblin Warrior (Level 5)
Goblins are a race considered to be the scourge of any planet. Basic goblins are aggressive and not intelligent. They only care about killing, looting, and breeding. This specific goblin variant is a Warrior type, their most common fighting force.
God damn goblins. Alex spat. Sadistic little bastards. No matter what game, anime, book, or tv show, goblins are always the worst. I’ll enjoy killing them when the time comes, if they're anything like I've heard or read about.
He sat there in stealth, watching them for a while, resisting the urge to run over there and cut them down.
I’m too far to see, but the encampment looks huge at the base of the mountain. And I keep seeing a line of goblins, going to and from the mountain path behind it. There might be a damn goblin city back there.
I don’t feel very comfortable with my cave being only a few hours away from the goblins. Let's just hope they stay over there, Alex thought as he turned and went back into the forest.
I know I’m going to have to deal with them eventually.
