“Right,” Chris sighed as he looked at the items laid out in front of him as he sat in the Boss room of the ninth floor, the golden chest open beside him, “What the hell is up with these items?”
From what he knew, each of the six items was from the same set, the only problem was what that set actually was.
“Pontentia Garb?” Chris muttered, “All I can figure out is that they’re equipment that hasn’t reached its full potential yet, whatever that means.”
Shaking his head, he looked over the pieces again.
“I got the boots from the sixth floor,” he said, “Then the gloves from the seventh floor after that forest that was full of plant monsters, along with a ring of Poison Resistance. The shirt and legs came from the eighth floor, which was a swamp full of all sorts of nasty reptiles, and the cloak and hat came from this floor, where everything was made from crystals. What exactly does that mean?”
Chris wracked his brain for a moment, trying to figure out if there was some sort of pattern to the distribution of the items. After a while, he just shook his head, giving up on making sense of it all, simply picking up the items and going to put them back in his Carry-All-Bag.
“Wait,” Chris muttered, looking down at his full set of Emperor Slime gear, the material ripped and burned in various places, the shoes and gloves almost entirely worn out, and the cloak shredded, even the crown was badly dented in a couple of places, “Dammit, I don’t think that my current gear is going to last another floor, even if it’s the last one, and I don’t exactly have anything better.”
He looked back at the Pontentia Garb in his hands, before letting out a loud sigh and stripping off. It took him a few minutes to remove all the items, but once he had, he could only marvel at himself. His slight gut was gone, replaced by firm and noticeable abs, his muscles in general were larger and more defined. His hair was also considerably longer, and he was now sporting a full decent length beard, though it was a bit wild and unkept. He also just felt better than he had in a long time.
Shaking his head, he pulled his last Slime Pouch of water out of his bag, using a piece of fabric he’d cut from some of the myriads of items he’d been collecting to carefully wash himself. Once he was done, he poured the rest of the water over his head, rinsing the last of the grime away.
“I feel like a new man,” he chuckled, stretching a bit, amazed by his own flexibility, “Come to think of it, I haven’t really looked at my Status screen in a while. I wonder how I’m doing?”
Name: Christopher Trevor Sanders
Level: 10
Experience: 139/51200
Health: 350/350
Mana: 150/150
Stats:
Strength: 15
Vitality: 25
Dexterity: 20
Intellect: 30
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 5
Free Points: 10
Titles:
Leader, Explorer, Truly Ambitious, Mage, Giant Slayer, Survivor
Skills:
[Self-Regeneration lv 97]
[Air Magic lv 4]
[Studious Sage lv 1]
“Wait…what?” Chris said as he read over the screen, “When did I hit level ten? And why is Air Magic back to level four?!”
Worried, he quickly checked the Skill, staring at the screen that appeared.
[Air Magic lv 4. Rank B. Utilize Mana to control air.]
“Wait, it went up a Rank? But that only happens when a Skill hits level one hundred!” Chris gasped, “Did I really do that?”
Shaking his head, Chris just closed the screen, rubbing the beard on his chin as he tried to decide what to put his Free Points into.
“I haven’t actually put any points into Wisdom or Charisma since my first level up,” he mused, “So I guess I could boost those, though I’m not entirely sure what they actually do…okay, maybe not Charisma, that’s not exactly useful to me anyway. So…just Wisdom then? I think I’m strong enough in the other Stats to handle this last floor, so it should be fine.”
Nodding at his choice, Chris dropped all ten points into his Wisdom Stat, feeling happy with his choice.
“Now, about this gear,” he hummed, quickly putting the Pontentia garb on.
The entire outfit was various shades of grey, consisting of a shirt with a steel chest guard, and dark leather pants with steel knee pads. The boots and gloves were also made of leather, with steel plates rivetted into them, though they moved almost silently and didn’t restrict his movement at all. The cloak was plain, just a thick dark grey material, and the head piece was little more than a band of steel that sat comfortably on his head.
He was surprised by how well it all fit, like it had been personally tailored for him, though he wondered if that was just more Dungeon bullshit going on. Shrugging it off, he gathered his things and walked to the door, touching it and watching as it opened, revealing the impenetrable darkness behind it. Chris blinked and suddenly found himself standing in the middle of an arena, more like a colosseum actually, the seats all empty as he looked around the sandy floored arena.
“Okay, so what? Combat gauntlet?” he mused, looking behind him as he heard the sound of grinding metal, his eyes widening as he watching a group stagger out of the lifted gate, their clothes ragged and torn, their bodies dirty.
What really surprised him though was that they all looked mostly human, with a few being slightly taller with pointed ears, or shorter and very stocky. They were all also chained together, shackles on their wrists and ankles, with chains wrapped around their waists. Several collapsed as they walked forwards, the sudden sound of cheering coming from the empty stands.
“And today, good people!” the voice boomed over the arena, “For the first show, the Challenger will be tested! Will he simply act to survive on his own, or will he fall protecting others?!”
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“Oh, fuck off!” Chris shouted at the invisible crowd and announcer, eliciting a number of boos and jeers right back at him, making him mutter, “What kind of bullshit is this?”
The sound of grating metal drew his attention to the other side of the arena, his eyes going wide once again as the massive creatures stepped out into the light. They looked like a cross between a lion and a Komodo dragon, dull scales lining their legs and sides, with a large mane around their feline heads. They also had spikes down their spines, and long, vicious looking claws. And there were three of them.
“Fuck,” Chris muttered to himself as he gripped the handle of his mace tighter, “How the hell do I do this?”
“Please!” a weak voice called out, making Chris glance back at a girl that looked to be barely in her teens, “Please don’t let them eat us!”
“Dammit,” Chris sighed, turning back to the three creatures, which seemed to be adjusting to the light of the sun above them, before he grabbed his bag, reaching inside and pulling out a number of weapons, throwing them back towards the chained people, “Use those to help defend yourselves!”
“What is this?” the announcer called, “He’s arming these failed challengers? And what good will that do them?”
Chris just scowled at the stands, glancing back to see that one of the stocky men had grabbed a pair of daggers, and looked to be trying to pick the locks on his shackles, though he was struggling with how close his hands were to each other.
“Hold out your hands,” one of the tall pointy-eared women said, lifting a longsword, the man pausing for a moment, before doing so.
She brought the sword down with surprising speed for her thin body, slicing straight through the chains with ease. The man looked at his freed wrists in surprise for a moment, before hopping over to the woman and grabbing her wrists, sticking the point of one of his daggers into the keyhole on her shackles. A moment later, the lock clicked open, the man giving her a wide grin from behind his thick beard, before dropping down and doing the same to the manacles on her ankles.
“Come!” the woman shouted, drawing the attention of the others as she raised her sword, “We shall free you as fast as we can, but be ready to fight for your lives!”
Chris just nodded as he heard the woman’s shout, rolling his shoulders as he saw that the three creatures had adjusted to the light, and were now stalking towards them. Gritting his teeth, Chris took a breath, gathering his Mana in his free hand. Just as the creatures reached the range that they could probably jump on him, he threw the spell out at the lead monster, which dodged back easily, a look of contempt in its eyes as it looked at him.
The spell hit the ground, exploding into a massive plume of sand, startling the creatures as they were temporarily blinded. Chris wasted no time, gathering the air energy around himself, before leaping forwards, sweeping his hand towards the location of the first monster. The blade of air shot out of his hand, cutting through the falling sand, giving him just enough time to see that the monster was already gone. A shadow passed over him a moment later, Chris looking up to see the beast about to land directly on top of him.
The monster slammed into the ground, Chris rolling backwards as it immediately righted itself and leapt at him again. He swung his mace at it, the monster dodging to the side, before swiping at him with its razor-sharp claws, Chris just barely able to avoid them thanks to his magic. A sudden scream made him glance back at the group, seeing that the other two monsters had already gone straight to them, the short man and the tall woman somehow managing to fend them off, for now.
The monster in front of him took advantage of the momentary distraction, swatting him with its paw, throwing Chris to the side as he gasped for air, skidding across the ground for several meters before finally coming to a stop. The monster didn’t give him a break though, immediately pouncing on him again, Chris barely able to get his mace up in time to block its bite, the monster biting down on the shaft, which groaned and crackled under the strain.
“You fucker!” Chris shouted as he swung a fist up, punching the monster in the nose, making it stumble back in surprise, “I like this mace! You don’t get to break it!”
Chris let out a guttural yell as he jumped back to his feet, charging straight at the monster, his weapon raised as a spell formed in his other hand. The monster just jumped back, avoiding the wild swing of the weapon, before jumping forwards again to avoid the spell as Chris thrust out his hand. It opened its mouth as it went for his arm, the look of fear on Chris’s face palpable, before it shifted to a grin.
“I don’t remember releasing my spell!” he shouted, pointing the palm directly down the monsters open throat, “Eat shit and die!”
The spell shot straight into the creature’s maw, making it stumble as it snapped its mouth closed, dodging to the side, before it shuddered, blood spraying from its mouth as the spell exploded inside it. Chris roared again as he charged in, bringing his mace down on top of the beast’s head, a horrible squelching sound echoing over the arena as he crushed one of its eyes. He continued to beat on its skull for several minutes, slowly wearing it down, even as it continued to cough up blood.
“Just fucking die!” Chris screamed as he swung his mace down again, the sound of shattering wood filling the air, the creature growling as the man slammed his mace down so hard it broke the shaft, sending the head spinning into the air.
The monster, a look of rage and excitement on its face, leapt at him again, as if trying to ensure that he was taken down with it, Chris just screaming as it charged. It slammed into him, closing its jaws around his chest, before Chris drove the broken shaft of his mace into its crushed eye, making it yowl in pain. His free hand shot up, somehow grabbing the head of his mace from the air, before bringing it down with all his strength on the end of the shaft, driving it deeper. He did it again and again, until the piece of wood finally pierced through the monster’s skull and into its brain, killing it.
The creature collapsed as Chris stumbled back, looking over his shoulder to see how the others were faring. They weren’t doing well, the tall woman had one arm covered in blood hanging limply at her side, while the stocky man was only just able to keep dodging the other monster’s attacks.
“Fuck this!” Chris shouted as he spun on his heel, reaching into his bag and pulling out a long pole, the end tipped with a steel point.
He gathered the elemental energy around the spear, hurling it as hard as he could at the creature fighting the woman, the beast turning its head to look at him. The woman immediately took advantage of its distraction, slashing it across the nose, making it reel as the enhanced spear slammed into its side. Chris charged in, grabbing the spear and willing more magical energy into it, focusing it into a cone around the tip.
The spear had barely managed to pierce the thick scales of the monster before, but with his full weight behind it, as well as the magic tearing at its skin, Chris managed to bore a hole straight into the monster’s chest, piercing its lungs as he let out another guttural roar. Yanking the spear out, he shoved another spell into the hole he had created, blood spraying out onto him as he let the orb explode inside the beast.
The creature fell a few seconds later, Chris about to celebrate before the warning shout caught his attention a moment too late, the final monster already bearing down on him. With a frustrated shout, he grabbed the monster’s jaws as they tried to close on his neck, barely able to keep them from snapping down on his throat. He quickly found himself losing in this contest of strength, the teeth of the beast already on his neck as he fought to stay alive.
Just as he was sure he would die, there was a flash of silver as the tall woman and stocky man appeared on either side of the monster, slashing at its eyes and neck, making it rear back in pain and let out a bone shaking roar. Chris took advantage of this as he shoved his hand down its throat, using the last of his Mana to fire yet another ball of air straight into it, the monster gagging as it started to throw up blood.
Exhausted and in agony, Chris stumbled back, his legs ready to give out on him as his head pounded like he’d just been hit in it with a sledgehammer. Darkness started to creep around the edges of his vision, the beast already leaping at him again. Chris closed his eyes, swearing under his breath that he’d made it this far, yet still failed.
The wet squelch made him blink, opening his eyes to see the two other fighters with their bodies between him and the monster, both having jammed their arms down its throat, their weapons missing. With an almighty battle cry, they each yanked their arms out of the creature’s throat, spraying blood everywhere as the monster finally fell.
“Sorry, kid,” the stocky man chuckled as he stumbled back, collapsing to the sand, “We stole your kill.”
“It was a necessary slight to save your life, however,” the woman laughed as she stabbed her sword into the ground, clutching her still bleeding arm, “I am sure you can forgive us.”
“Of course,” Chris smiled back, “Thanks for the save.”
“No,” the woman shook her head as she started to glow, Chris looking around as all the chained people started to glow as well, “Thank you. You have freed us from a millennium of torture at the hands of this place. We are finally free to seek our loved ones in the afterlife.”
“What?” Chris blinked as the woman started to fade.
“What she means is,” the stocky man chuckled, “You freed our souls. Thanks, kid.”
“You souls?” Chris blinked as the group of people suddenly faded away, the invisible crowd cheering and booing in equal parts.
“Well, that was unexpected!” the announcer shouted, “But that’s not all we have for you today, good ladies and gentlemen of the audience! No, our Challenger will now fight the Champion for the right to his very soul!”
