System Change: Chapter 26

After the pair left the confines of the village, Derek stopped, pulled out his makeshift map, and looked at the various dungeons. Hmm… This dungeon gives a support skill. Maybe I could get a beast-taming skill or something, and then I wouldn’t have to worry about Silvi killing everyone we meet. We’ll probably only be able to run two of the level 25 ones before I out-level them. Derek put the map away. He seemed to have made a decision.

We’ll go to the support one first, then the skill point one if I haven’t broken 25 yet. After that, there is the level 50 scrolls dungeon. That could give anything from a one-time-use spell to a hidden skill. Derek looked at Thomas. “Follow me. We’re moving fast, so try to keep up.” He started jogging, which was basically a sprint to Thomas. “We’re going to make use of every last point that you put into dexterity.”

The dungeon they were traveling to wasn’t too far away from Rayna’s Village, and it wasn’t in the forest. It was to the northwest, supposedly in the grassy plains. It was also the dungeon where Thomas’s parents had met their doom. According to Richard, the city led expeditions twice a year to this dungeon for the nobles and others who paid. It was quite the popular dungeon.

Luckily, it was not time for the expedition, so the chance of running into any others looking to complete the dungeon was small. What he was most worried about was people claiming a dungeon and charging for use. Derek had seen this too many times on Earth. When he mentioned his concerns to Richard, the man assured him he didn’t have to worry. As long as he was in the Kingdom of Cydaria, it was illegal for an individual or organization to use a dungeon to profit off others.

The only time there would be guards around a dungeon would be to prevent an overflow from wiping out the surrounding areas. So this only happened with relatively high-level dungeons. Derek also found out that dungeons could be completed more than once, but one would only receive the completion reward for their first completion, and the enemies in the dungeon would not give full experience to those who had already completed it.

People who completed the dungeon couldn’t ‘carry’ others through it, either. If there happened to be somebody who had already run the dungeon in a group, the entire group would fail to receive a reward at the end. This was just another thing that Derek chalked up to the stinginess of the ‘Great System.’

Derek also found out a bit about the kingdom during his downtime in the village. The kingdom’s name was Cydaria, along with the capital city of the same name. Torith was only a sub-city within the kingdom. It was currently in a state too big to be considered a town and too small to be a city.

Throughout the kingdom, there were six cities, and twenty-two sub-cities, along with one capital city. Teleportation circles connected each city to the other cities, and the sub-cities were all close enough to a city that they did not warrant a costly teleportation circle.

Being a sub-city, Torith only held branches of different guilds and organizations, with the headquarters being in the nearby city. Derek also learned that the lord of Torith was one of the weakest among the lords, but because of his father, who was an official in the capital, no one said anything.

After traveling at a quick pace for seven hours, taking only two breaks for Thomas in between, they arrived at the dungeon. It was as Richard had said. There was nobody else around. “We’re here,” Derek said. He turned to look at Thomas, only to see a range of emotions play on his face. I guess he figured out where ‘here’ is. 

“W-why are we here?” Thomas asked, his voice cracking.

Derek smiled. “Isn’t it obvious? We’re going to run a dungeon,” he said, and Thomas’s sadness seemed to evaporate, being replaced by shock and confusion.

“We?” he asked. “How are you going to run a level 25 dungeon?”

“Remember those secrets that you can’t tell anyone? Well, you’re about to see the first one. Come on, place your hand on the sphere,” Derek said, then he walked over and put his hand on the dungeon orb. Thomas hurried over and place his hand on it too.

The two waited until the notification popped up.

Derek chose “View Dungeon.”

So this is what an already completed, normal dungeon looks like. He put away the dungeon status, then spoke to Thomas. “Are you ready?”

“H-how? How are you only a level 18? There’s no way,” Thomas interjected. Then the boy mumbled incoherently to himself for a moment. He seemed to think of something, then it was as if a bright light went off in his eyes. “This means you can run all the lower-level dungeons. And at your strength, there won’t be any trouble.”

Derek grinned. “Who said I was going to be the one running them? I’m just watching. You’ll be the one doing everything. No better training than fighting something that will kill you if it has the chance.” Derek laughed as the boy’s eyes dimmed, and the glee he had before changed to horror.

“I will be fighting?” Thomas asked.

“What are you so scared of? You’re carrying high-level daggers, and you have armor on that was made from higher-level hides. And if you’ve been listening to me, which I’m not sure you have been, after your little class selection fiasco, you should have enough vitality to survive a couple of clean hits. Don’t worry, I need to raise my Rejuvenation skill, anyway. So, it’s a win-win for both of us.” Derek chuckled. “So, are you ready?”

Thomas seemed to blank out, but after a few moments, he finally nodded.

“Okay, here we go,” Derek said, eager to see what a dungeon in this new world was like. He focused on ‘Enter Dungeon.’ A message popped up, asking if he was sure. He selected yes, and a new notification appeared.

“Focus on ‘Enter Dungeon.’ Let’s go,” Derek commanded. Soon, Thomas’s status changed to ‘Ready,’ and a countdown began.

A white light flashed, and the pair disappeared.

After the blinding light, Thomas found his footing. He looked around to see Derek standing beside him, acting like nothing had happened. They were standing in a cave-like chamber. It was warmer inside the dungeon than it was outside. Thomas could see well enough with the glowing stalactites. The chamber was around 20×20 feet and connected to a door directly in front of them.

Beside him, Derek spoke. “Don’t forget to use Inspect on everything you can. It’s an excellent skill to level.”

Thomas could only nod at that. I can’t believe he expects me to clear this dungeon, he thought. Thomas was still shaken because of the weird day he was having. First, he disappointed Derek, which led to some harsh words. Then he found out that Derek was only level 18, which he still couldn’t wrap his head around. Now, he had to fight in a dungeon 15 levels above himself.

“You will probably gain levels quickly in here. So, the first thing I want you to do is figure out how you want to spend your stat points so you don’t get caught with your pants down and you are always as strong as possible,” Derek explained.

Thomas assented and began to think. I definitely need more health in the beginning. I already get four dexterity and three endurance per level. For the future, I think I’ll go two strength and three vitality with my free points. “Okay. I know what I’m going to do,” Thomas explained his plan to Derek. After earlier, he didn’t want to disappoint him even further.

Derek nodded. “Mhm… that’s fine. Now, check your equipment. Make sure everything is properly equipped and doesn’t hinder your movement much.”

Thomas did just that. The hide armor was a little loose, so he tightened it the best he could. He drew his two daggers from his hips. Then he looked at Derek. “I think I’m ready.”

“Okay, I’ll go through the door first, just to make sure there are no traps to instant kill you, but after that, the rest is all yours.” Derek walked up to the door and pushed it open. Then he disappeared inside. After a second, he poked his head through the door. “Seems fine to me.” He smiled that menacing smile that always sent chills up Thomas’s spine. “Man, you are going to have so much fun in here.” He chuckled and disappeared from Thomas’s sight once again.

Thomas took a deep breath and walked forward. He walked through the door into the next room, nearly squealing at what he found waiting for him. The cave was much bigger than the one he started in. This time, though, it was full of enemies. Black ants were crawling along the floor, and beetles crept along the walls. Other than the clicking noises being made by the beetles, the most disturbing thing was the size of the insects. The ants were the size of both his fists together, and the beetles were twice that size.

Thomas gulped, then felt a slap on his back. “Like I said, you are going to have so much fun.”

Thomas reached for the daggers on his hips. With slow movement, he drew them from the sheaths created by Brandi. Looking at the disgusting insects creeping and crawling ahead of him, he tightened his grip on the weapons. Thomas’s thoughts were racing, so much so that the boy himself could not keep track of them.

He was going to have to fight these things. Derek was only there to protect him from catastrophe. Thomas knew that there was almost no chance of him dying, but the chance of him being hurt or injured was great. In fact, looking at the bugs, he knew he was going to be injured. He also knew that he would be healed, then injured again. Just thinking about what he had gotten himself into sent chills down his spine.

He looked over at Derek, who was still standing there with a smirk on his face. “A-are you r-really not going to help fight?” he asked, a small tinge of hope still in his voice. He was looking for reassurance—reassurance that Derek would help him before it came to injury. Before he got hurt.

All he got in return was confirmation that he was basically on his own. “I told you before. This is your fight. Like I said, you will not die, but you will suffer. And, because of your choice of weapons, and ignoring my advice, you will suffer greater. You will not be able to rely on reach with your daggers, as you would have been able to with a spear. You will have to get in close, and with the way you swing your daggers and the bad habits you have when fighting close, you will get hurt. But I will not allow you to die, and you will go in, again and again, until you clear the room,” Derek said.

“Now, I already think we will be in here for a long time. Who knows, if you take too long, all the work you do may respawn. You don’t want that, do you? Suck it up and fight. The quicker you fight, the quicker you get stronger, and the faster we get out of here.” Derek’s words made sense to Thomas, but he still had a hard time bringing himself to initiate the attack.

Thomas breathed in deep and let it out. He surveyed the room, looking for an opportunity to attack. Soon, he found it in an ant that had wandered away from the group. He used Identify, which was currently level 2, on the ant. The skill allowed him to see the insect’s basic information. Level 21 Soldier Ant, Thomas read.

If he could have gripped his daggers any tighter, he would have. The ant being 11 levels above his own didn’t seem like a giant hurdle when he thought about it, but when he thought about how it was over double his level, he was scared. No, he was terrified. He would be relying on his equipment and basic training, or beatings, that he had gone through with Derek.

“What are you waiting for?” Thomas jumped at the voice, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Finally, Thomas summoned what courage he could and slowly paced toward the lone ant, not noticing Derek shaking his head in disappointment behind him.

Soon, he arrived at the insect that was almost 10 inches long and half that in width. Up close in the dimly lit cavern, he could make out the fuzz covering the ant’s body. Luckily for Thomas, the ant seemed to have not noticed his approach.

This is a chance. Thomas lunged forward at the unaware monster. Thinking this the opportunity he was looking for, a slight smile formed on the boy’s face. Unfortunately, with Thomas’s lunge came noise, and with noise came vibrations, which alerted the ant.

His dagger was inches away from the abdomen of the creature when it reacted. It turned faster than Thomas could’ve imagined, and Thomas’s weapon, which was about to make contact, missed the abdomen of the ant and sliced through its antenna.

He was off-balance after delivering the blow. Thomas had been expecting his dagger to bite into the creature, so when there was no tension with his blow, he lost his footing. Soon, Thomas was face down on the cold floor of the cavern. Realizing his mistake, and the ramifications, he quickly rolled to his side.

Staring directly at his face was the ant. The giant mandibles protruding from its head made Thomas scream internally. The ant dashed towards Thomas’s face. Again, surprised by the speed of the creature, Thomas could barely raise his arm up to block.

The ant didn’t care what it met. With its antenna cut and senses a mess, it was pissed. The bite found purchase on Thomas’s armored forearm. The armor did well in not allowing the mandible to break through, but it wasn’t able to prevent the pressure of the mandibles coming together.

The crack of his arm breaking rang throughout the room, and a blinding pain shot through Thomas. He screamed. Frantically, he gripped the dagger in his left hand and stabbed at the ant. He stabbed over and over, well past the notification appearing in his vision. He was still screaming when his body was lifted in the air and then dropped.

The pain was still blinding, but he was finally able to return to his senses. He surveyed the room. Both of his weapons were on the ground beside him, and Derek was leaning against the door with a frown on his face. That was when he noticed he was in the room they first spawned in.

Embarrassed at his performance, but more concerned about his arm, Thomas grabbed at his injury. Greenish brown liquid coated the armor on his forearm, which confused Thomas. Still, he grabbed at the armor and loosened it, only to see a monstrously swollen forearm. He touched it and whimpered.

Derek was looking at the boy, whimpering over his broken arm. He had expected an injury like this to happen eventually, but the speed at which Thomas accomplished it was mind-blowing. In fact, he didn’t know where to begin when thinking about the ‘fight.’ On a scale of ‘A’ to ‘F,’ I would have to give the kid an ‘F.’ And that’s only because the scale doesn’t go any lower.

The boy chose the lone ant as his first opponent. This was the only good decision that he made. The reason Derek was shaking his head as soon as the boy began his approach was that he had not even thought to activate his Stealth skill. If he would have done so, even with his clumsy lunge, Stealth would have reduced the vibration and sound coming from him, and he still would have landed a blow.

Then, he thought about the placement of the blow, which was on the abdomen of the ant. Sure, the dagger was big enough to deal serious damage if he would’ve hit, but Derek didn’t believe that it would have been instantly fatal. Derek knew some ants could live on for hours, even days, after losing their abdomen. The ant still would have been able to turn and attack, unless Thomas got lucky and pinned the creature. Thomas should have gone for one of the connecting points of the ant.

If he would have aimed between the thorax and head, it would have died instantly if he connected. But none of that mattered because the boy missed.

Thomas was so sure of his hit that he put everything he had into it. This was a fatal mistake that caused him to fall and allowed the ant a counterattack. Then, Thomas took too long on the ground, letting the ant, which wasn’t even 10 inches long, attack his head. Derek could only shake his head.

If the falling wasn’t enough to get him killed, then the scream he released because of his injury was. What Thomas obviously didn’t see was the attention he attracted because of it. While the boy was stabbing away at the ant’s corpse, a dozen more ants, and even a few beetles, had gathered around him. That was when Derek finally stepped in and saved the boy.

The boy was still whimpering and holding his arm. A broken arm which barely caused him any damage to his overall health, only crippling him a bit for the battle. Derek figured this had gone on long enough. “Stop crying,” he said. Then, he cast Rejuvenation on the kid, and the bone healed right away. With Thomas’s current vitality, it would have only taken 10 or so more minutes before it healed naturally, anyway.

The pain must have stopped because the boy started moving his arm and no longer sobbed. He looked up at Derek. “Now, we are going to go over that spectacular performance you just gave. Really, it was top-notch.”

Thomas furrowed his brows, but before he could say anything, Derek spoke again.

“What do you think is the first thing you did wrong?”

“Uhm… I put too much into my swing?” Thomas answered.

“Are you asking me or telling me?”

“T-telling you. Yes, I put too much in my swing, which left me off balance when I missed.”

“You are wrong,” replied Derek. “You were wrong before you even got to the ant. You have the Stealth skill, yes?” Derek waited for Thomas’s nod. “Why didn’t you use it? Were you waiting for some grand reveal? What do you think skills are for? You were approaching a single enemy from behind. There is no better opportunity to use the skill, but you just dove right in.”

Thomas’s jaw dropped. “I-I forgot I had it.”

“You forgot about the only actual skill you have? From the class you chose against my suggestion? Are you serious?” Derek was indeed flabbergasted.

Thomas said nothing. He just looked at the ground.

Derek shook his head and continued. “Well, you won’t forget about it again, will you? But yes, the other thing wrong was your swing and choice of attack. The ant’s abdomen is vital, but they can survive for a very long time without it. They can survive without a lot of things, so, with a sneak attack, you really need to make sure you go for the right place.”

“Finally, after you started screaming, do you know what happened?” Derek asked.

“No, I was just trying to get my arm back,” Thomas replied.

“Oh, then you didn’t see the dozen other insects coming to kill you then? Good vigilance, kid. Top marks,” Derek said sarcastically. “Okay, good review. Time to go again.”

Thomas paled.