11
He emerged from the store to see that Gordon had indeed been waiting for him.
“Did you find all of the items you were hoping for?” he asked, standing up and following Sam, as he headed back to the main road.
“Yeah, for the most part,” Sam replied, mind still on the jade stone in his pocket.
I wonder what kind of gear I could buy with 300 gold…
“Sam, are you even listening?”
Sam was snapped from his wandering thoughts and realized that Gordon had been speaking for a good minute.
“Sorry, I wasn’t listening. What did you say?” he asked, turning his attention back to the dog.
“I was just suggesting that we head out into the surrounding wilderness to give you a little boost. You’ll need to increase your level, and the levels of your abilities and skills, if you want to stay alive.”
“Yeah, that’s actually a good idea,” he replied.
Staying alive was definitely on his to-do list.
“Before we go, though,” Sam asked, pulling the Spell Scroll from his back. “How do I use this?”
“Just open it up and the spell will be automatically learned.”
Lazy-ass Overlord.
Sam did as he was instructed and unrolled the aged and cracking paper. As it opened, his eyes grew wider and wider. When it was fully unrolled, he was staring in such disbelief, that his eyebrows were nearly touching his hairline.
The entire page was literally covered in wavy lines, one row after the next.
Extremely lazy-ass Overlord, Sam amended.
There was a flash of light and the scroll crumbled to dust in his hands. Then a new screen popped into view.
CONGRATULATIONS!
You have gained a new ability!
Mana Cloak: Create a cloak of mana defending you from physical attacks
Level: Novice 1 (0%)
Effect: All physical attacks nullified
Duration: 5 Seconds
Cost: 25 MP
Cast Time: 1 Second
Cooldown: 2 Minutes
“Sick!” Sam exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air.
Full immunity from physical attacks for 5 whole seconds. That was awesome!
The biggest weakness with his chosen path was that whenever he faced someone who fought using melee attacks, he would be at their mercy unless he had someone else to take the hits for him. Now, he’d be able to get off about 2-3 spells in the time he was protected.
“Are you not well?”
Sam looked down to see Gordon giving him a concerned look.
“What?”
“You said, and I quote ‘sick.’ Am I to understand that you are not feeling well?”
“It’s just an expression, dude,” Sam said, rolling his eyes.
“What have I told you about addressing me properly?” Gordon said in a very dangerous tone.
“None of that noise, dog,” he replied, waving Gordon’s annoyance away. “Don’t think that I’ve forgotten about you using my full name back at the siren’s lair.”
“I did that to save your life!” Gordon exclaimed, outrage stamped clearly on his doggy face.
How the hell was he so…? Nope, he said he wouldn’t go there anymore.
“Yeah, but you probably could have done that by just attacking her. Using my full name seemed a bit intentional on your part.”
He noted with some satisfaction that Gordon broke eye contact then, turning his head to stare at the road leading out of town.
“I will allow it this time,” he finally said, and Sam was forced to bite his tongue to prevent a string of curses at the dog’s arrogance.
He’ll allow it?!
Sam counted to ten in his head, taking deep, calming breaths. By the time he was done, the urge to beat Gordon to death had somewhat abated, but only just.
“Alright, I’m ready to go now,” he said, glad to hear that not so much as a hint of his annoyance leaked out.
“Very well, then. Follow me.”
With that, Gordon padded down the main road, Sam following closely behind. They passed a few more townsfolk, and this time they seemed to be a whole lot more friendly. A few of them even waved as he passed, and Sam had to wonder if completing the Mayor’s quest had something to do with it.
He found himself wondering if these people were like the NPC’s in video games, or if were they just as real as he was.
“Hey, Gordon. The people in this world, are they real?” he asked, not really sure how to correctly phrase the question.
“Why, yes. The people in this world are quite real.”
“So this world existed before the Overlord decided to drag us all here?”
“Indeed. Somerset has a very long history, and has been in creation for many years.”
So, they’re real people after all.
“There’s something that I never fully understood. How old is this Overlord exactly? You said he was like a god here or something.”
“The Overlord is God. Not a god. He created this world thousands of years ago and it continues to thrive, only due to his divine wisdom.”
“And I have to kill him,” Sam said in a flat voice.
“Precisely.”
“Don’t you see anything wrong with that?”
“Not at all.”
“How will this world keep on functioning if the Overlord is dead? Come to think of it, how the hell will I get home?”
“I am sorry, but I cannot answer that question for you.”
“Ahhh!” Sam screamed, feeling his frustration mounting.
He decided against talking to Gordon after that. Instead, he walked silently until they were well outside the town limits.
“So, where’s the best place to find stuff to fight?” he asked, stopping on the path and looking to his furry companion.
Trees now lined both sides of the road, and Gordon turned off of it, heading into the forest. Sam shrugged to himself and followed, walking swiftly behind him. As they walked deeper into the woods, the light began gradually fading as the tree cover overhead thickened. Before long, it became gloomy and he started stumbling over exposed tree roots, banging his calves against sharp rocks.
“Can you tell me where we’re going?” Sam asked when he whacked his knee painfully against the trunk of a tree.
“We are headed to a dungeon.”
“Are you serious? A dungeon?”
“But of course. There is a dungeon around here that the two of us can take on together. It will be challenging, but I believe that in the end we will be victorious.”
“And you didn’t think it was important to mention this beforehand?” he asked, quickly pulling up his map to see if there was any dungeon marked there. There wasn’t.
“Where exactly is this dungeon, and what kind of creatures will we be fighting?”
“The dungeon is just up ahead. As for the types of creatures we will be facing, I am not entirely certain. The dungeon is tailored for those between levels 3 to 7, so you fit well inside the level limit.”
“Aren’t dungeons normally challenged by a five-person team? And how am I supposed to heal myself if I get injured? It’s one thing to fight a single opponent and then have time to recover, but fighting a whole bunch without a way to heal is just plain dumb.”
“Not to worry. Dungeons provide ample rewards for those that deserve them, and healing items will be supplied after a sufficient number of enemies are defeated. Ah, here we are.”
Sam looked up to see a massive tree towering hundreds of feet above his head. Its roots spread outward in a massive tangle, and it split down the center at its base, revealing a yawning black mouth.
“There’s no way I’m going in there,” Sam said as soon as he saw the entrance. “I won’t be able to see a thing, and I don’t feel like dying just yet.”
“Not to worry. The dungeon only appears to be dark from the outside to prevent others from looking in.”
Of course it was.
“Fine. But if I die in there, I’ll come back to haunt you for all eternity,” Sam grumbled, walking past the dog and approaching the dungeon entrance.
“Unlikely. Ghosts do not exist in Somerset,” Gordon replied, following behind.
Sam felt distinctly uneasy as he walked under the mass of twisting vines. The entire place had an extremely oppressive feel to it, and it made him nervous just thinking about the massive tree sitting right above his head. He was so tightly wound that he nearly swore when a notification popped up.
DUNGEON
You have found a dungeon.
Name: Rodent’s Hollow
Age: 10 Years
Type: Hollow
Difficulty: Medium
Recommended Level: 3-7
DUNGEONS
You will find many dungeons throughout Somerset. The age and type of dungeon will determine the rewards.
Dungeons are divided into 5 types. From weakest to strongest they are: Hollow, Cavern, Complex, Maze, Labyrinth.
Well, at least he appeared to be in the easiest dungeon around, though he wasn’t too sure about the level requirements. Shouldn’t he leave and come back when he was at level 6 or 7?
He never got the chance. As soon as he took his first step down the tunnel, a small furry creature came into view and Sam’s vision flashed red. A fucking bunny!
Sam had been slammed with a pretty severe divine curse the previous day, and it was all because of a bunny. Holding his hand out, Sam began casting his spells one after the next, targeting the fluffy bunny and screaming incoherently.
You Deal: -7 Damage to fluffy bunny (Mana Shot).
You Deal: -12 Damage to fluffy bunny (Mana Burn).
You Deal: -15 Damage to fluffy bunny (Mana Flare).
You Deal: -6 Damage to fluffy bunny (Mana Shot).
Fluffy bunny dies! +21 XP
By the time Sam was finished with the poor creature, the fluffy bunny was just a smoldering pile of burned fur. He let out a contented sigh, and allowed his tensed muscles to loosen up. He’d needed that.
Looking over to Gordon, Sam saw the dog had somehow found another stick and was loudly chewing on it, completely ignoring the obviously unhinged human standing just a few feet away.
Sam was actually shocked that he hadn’t incurred another divine curse. He’d been screaming all kinds of obscenities at the bunny.
Was it possible that the Overlord missed it?
DIVINE CURSE
You have broken a rule, and have been struck by a divine curse. Since punishing you seems to have no effect, I’ll just have to shut you up.
Effect: Muted
Duration: H 11: M 59: S 59
What the fuck?!
Sam opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. His eyes widened and he gestured wildly at Gordon until the dog looked over to him. Pointing desperately to his throat, Sam did his best to explain what had happened to him.
“So the Overlord finally decided to silence you. That is good, at least there will be some peace and quiet for the next few hours,” Gordon replied, giving him a toothy grin.
Sam gestured wildly, waving his arms in the air and made rude gestures at the dog, but Gordon completely ignored him. The sound of a crunching stick filled the cave as the dog went back to chewing on it.
Sam quickly checked the time and saw that it was 11:27 AM. He wouldn’t able to utter a word until nearly midnight. Blowing out a frustrated breath, which didn’t make so much as a sound, Sam stalked down the tunnel, back rigid and face red with anger.
Overlord dickhead would pay dearly for this!
***
Sam and Gordon spent the next hour and a half wandering through the twisting tunnels, attacking anything that moved. Sam continuously used his Inspect skill, noting that most of the creatures were between levels 3 and 5, with the occasional level 6 thrown in. Their HP was also a lot lower than he’d been expecting for creatures of that level, but maybe bunnies and squirrels just didn’t have that much, to begin with.
“It would appear that we are approaching the first boss room,” Gordon said after their latest killing spree.
Sam had killed five more bunnies, netting him a whopping 122 XP. He was getting close to level 5 and was excited to keep fighting. He was also annoyed, however, by the lack of loot. Gordon had promised him that the beasties would be dropping items, but so far all they’d dropped was droppings. The worst part about it was that he couldn’t even vent his frustration, due to the divine curse.
Sam shrugged in response, and Gordon took that to mean he should continue talking.
Damn mutt.
“Hollow type dungeons normally only have one boss, but this one has two. Although, you may consider the first one as more of a mini-boss,” Gordon called back.
He nodded, walking just a little faster as a break in the tunnel became visible up ahead. Emerging from the low tunnel, Sam emerged into a wide open cavern-like room. Sunlight streamed down from up above, through gaps in the thousands of interwoven roots. Looking around the room, Sam could see a small treasure chest against the far wall.
Finally! Loot!
He was about to dash forward when Gordon caught his attention.
“I would not recommend rushing ahead. The boss monster is likely hiding somewhere in this room. If you make a reckless charge, you will just end up dying.”
Sam flipped Gordon the finger but listened to his advice anyway.
Gordon knew a lot more about this world than he did and no matter how much of a know-it-all prick he was, he still needed him. Not that he would admit as much to the annoying dog.
He continued his careful scan of the room until his eyes alighted on a small, irregular bump in the floor. Taking careful aim, Sam used Mana Shot, firing a bolt of blue energy right into it. A second later, there was an angry scream and a gigantic bunny rose to its feet. It was massive, nearly as tall as Sam himself, with brown and white fur. It’s front teeth protruded a good few inches from its mouth and when it turned its gaze on him, bright red eyes flashed in rage.
Oh crap. It’s the Godzilla of bunnies. The bunny king!
Sam used Inspect a moment later and found out that it was not, in fact, called the bunny king.
BOSS MONSTER
Name: Keith the Kicker
Level: 7
HP: 250/250
Status: Enraged
A little black skull icon flashed above Keith the Kicker’s head when he closed his screen, and Sam felt his heart speed up. Not in fear, but in anger.
There was no way in hell he was going to be killed by a fucking bunny named Keith.