The narrow pathway curved sharply, revealing a chamber illuminated by faint magma veins stretched high along the ceiling. Ash and scorched dirt littered the floor, but it was otherwise silent. Nolan paused and exhaled slowly.
“Alright,” he murmured. “Let’s see what my hand looks like.”
A soft pulse of mana flared from his chest as the cards responded. One by one, five translucent cards shimmered into existence in front of him.
-
[Summon Rock]
-
[Wooden Shield]
-
[Wooden Spear]
-
[Wooden Spear]
-
[Wooden Plank]
“Not bad,” he muttered.
A low growl echoed from the other end of the chamber.
He turned.
Three monsters emerged from the shadows. Their skin cracked with fire, veins glowing like molten lines under stone. Two walked upright, brandishing flaming claws. The third skittered on four limbs, a molten hound with glassy fangs.
The dungeon had noticed him.
Nolan raised his hand. “[Summon Wooden Spear], [Summon Wooden Shield].”
The cards dissolved in golden light. In a flash, a crude spear slid into his right hand, and a curved wooden shield strapped itself to his left. He stepped back, body shifting into a balanced stance. Then, from the side, he summoned [Summon Rock].
A fist-sized rock appeared in his palm. No bigger than a skipping stone.
But Nolan adjusted his footing, twisted his shoulder, locked in the posture, and with perfect control, hurled it like a trained Olympic pitcher.
The rock cracked straight into the forehead of the closest bipedal monster, shattering against its skull. It stumbled back, dazed.
“One down.”
The others surged.
Flames gathered at the clawed hands of the second upright monster. Nolan ducked low, his foot pivoting into a backward slide. A fiery projectile screamed past his head, sizzling the wall.
The hound leapt, jaws open.
Nolan lifted his shield, timing the movement perfectly. The beast slammed into it. The shock transferred cleanly through his arm—but he was already turning, reacting faster than thought.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
“[Pierce].”
He lunged, driving his spear through the monster’s chest. The wood cracked under the heat, but the strike landed. The beast gurgled, legs twitching.
The last one advanced again, its hands glowing.
Nolan rushed forward. The monster swung—a burst of concussive force slammed his shield. It shattered instantly.
His body rolled with the blow. He hit the ground, bounced once, and came up in a crouch. Another swing came.
Nolan ducked beneath it, drove the point of his spear into the monster’s knee. It buckled.
Then, using momentum, he reversed the spear, jumped, and rammed it down into the creature’s chest. Both monster and weapon cracked.
The spear splintered. The monster fell.
Silence.
Nolan stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by dead monsters, breathing hard. The shield and spear were both broken. His arms ached, and sweat dotted his brow.
“That… went better than expected.”
“Because you’re a machine,” said the familiar dry voice.
The Akashic Records shimmered into being beside the corpse of the molten hound.
“So that’s Full Body Control,” Nolan said. “It felt like I already knew what to do.”
“You did,” she replied. “It replicates biological instinct—high-end athletic movement without the training. You have the reaction time of a racecar driver, the posture of a martial artist, and the coordination of an elite soldier. You can execute anything your body can reasonably do.”
Nolan flexed his fingers. “Feels like cheating.”
“Feels like efficiency.”
He eyed the fallen monsters. Flames no longer pulsed beneath their skin, but their bodies still steamed faintly.
“So,” he said. “How do I harvest these?”
The Akashic Record pointed. “The bipedals? Crack the skull or open the chest. Get the core. For the hound? Just take the core behind the neck. You don’t have butcher skills, so don’t waste time.”
Nolan crouched beside the nearest corpse and took a broken plank fragment as a makeshift knife. One deep cut, and he cracked the monster’s chest. A glowing orange orb—the core—slid out from the ribs.
He repeated the process twice more, placing the three cores beside him.
“I could get used to this,” he muttered.
The Akashic Record flicked her fingers, and a side panel opened in his status window.
[Practical Knowledge – Monster Dissection: Beginner Level]
“The system has all the training you need,” she said. “If you want to learn how to skin or dissect properly, just study. Also, Full Body Control means you can memorize procedures with a single viewing. Photographic memory.”
Nolan blinked. “Seriously?”
“Your body is under full control. That includes your brain.”
He grinned. “Now that… is cheating.”
He sat down, laid out the monster cores and loose materials: a cracked claw, singed fur, bone fragments, and broken ashsteel bits.
He opened his deck screen.
“Biggest issue so far,” he said aloud, “was card availability. What if I don’t draw what I need next time?”
He pulled a Blank Plank card from his crafting memory.
“Let’s try this.”
He scratched out the new description:
[Plank: Graveyard Draw] Summons a wooden item from the graveyard. Item must be previously destroyed. Only wooden items qualify.
A system ping. The Akashic Record hovered over it.
“Hmm. Plausible. Functional. Accepted,” she said.
The card shimmered and settled into his deck. Nolan smiled.
“I’ll make more of these. Plank variants. They can act like my emergency kit.”
With one of the fire cores and some claw fragments, he crafted a crude tool:
-
[Fire-Core Torch]: A reusable wooden torch ignited by a monster core shard. Moderate illumination. Fire element affinity: Low.
-
[Ashsteel Bracer]: Scrapped ashsteel bound with monster tendon. Fire resistant. Light armor.
-
[Claw Hook]: Rough climbing tool fashioned from monster claw and wood. Limited use.
Each item glowed briefly before solidifying into cards.
He packed his things, reshuffled his cards mentally, and stood.
“Let’s see what the next floor has for me,” he said, stepping forward.
Behind him, the Akashic Record nodded, vanishing once more into flickers of cosmic light.
The dungeon stirred.
And Nolan was ready.