“You’re a mean man!” Brail slumped back… staring at Alfred. “I… I can tell this woman is only with you for your height! I’ll show her a real man!”
“Enough, Brail,” The Chancellor laughed. “You can’t all be as tall as me… Now… get out of here you three… please come back with some results!”
Chapter 17: Solo Dungeon
Alfred left with Lacy and went back to meet Vera. Green had to go get a few people from Green Everest to prepare for the Dream Dungeon tomorrow. It seemed that Green wanted to complete both Dream dungeons as quickly as possible. If they were able to complete the Dream dungeon under Larimar City first, then it would give them a major advantage when it came to the proceeding Dream Dungeon.
The two moons were high up in the sky as Alfred returned to his mission Center. Lacy returned with him to his room to prepare for tomorrow night’s dungeon runs. Vera was still in her bungalow next door doing missions in order to try and level up and keep her calm after the previous disaster. Even though she suggested she didn’t want to be left behind, it didn’t mean she wouldn’t put her all into doing Normal missions. There was no limit to the amount of normal missions you could do in a day, and at level 25 you unlocked solo dungeons.
Lacy sat down in one of the new chairs Alfred had purchased in his room. For her staying the night, he quickly upgraded his space to have a more private bathroom, putting the toilet and sink combination behind a small wall. The designs for the Mission Center upgrades were already prebuilt making it easy to upgrade. He put down 3,000 experience to change it to a 20 x 20 feet bungalow with a 15 foot ceiling. It came with a private bathroom and an alcove for a kitchen. The Queen bed even had a small bracket that could be closed and there was a pullout wooden lattice for separating the kitchen from the rest of the room.
The two of them were both tired and decided to go to sleep for the night. Alfred talked about sleeping on the floor, but Lacy commented that it “was pure ridiculous” that they didn’t share it together. He pulled into the bed with her like a nervous school kid waiting for his report card. She had on a bright smile as she clicked a few icons on her visual display to change into her night clothes. Alfred saw a flash of light underneath the covers and didn’t dare take a peek.
“So… tomorrow is the big day… We’re supposed to do the first Dream dungeon.”
“I know… It’s a shame, but I agree with Green. If we wait too long, we’ll lose the chance to get what we want…”
“What if… you know… it doesn’t work out…” Alfred grabbed her hand. “I really don’t want anything bad happening to you… You’re only seventeen… maybe you should sit it out…”
“You’re only nineteen… Plus, I’m a higher level than you… After the battle, I’m already level 32… almost level 33…” Lacy stuck out her tongue. “plus… I’m the cleric… I can stay in the back…”
“Well, if anything bad happens to you, I know what I’ll be wishing for… It’s been nice to have you around again Lacy… However, I didn’t think you’d ever be so much younger than me.”
“I’m still more mature,” Lacy raised her eyebrow, rubbing his chest with her fingers gently. She puckered up her lips and leaned in towards his cheek to give him a kiss. A blush traveled up Alfred’s face as her hand rubbed against his abs and began to move down.
Alfred caught her hand and stopped it as she almost went in his pants.
“We… I know we have a lot riding on tomorrow, but… I want our second first time to be special,” Alfred said, “Besides… if you’re just doing it to see what it’s like… You already enjoyed it the first time…”
“Hmmm, so you saw right through me wanting to lose my virginity before we all die?” Lacy commented, leaning in and kissing him on the lips. “You promise we’ll get another chance… because if you do something stupid…. I’m not going to never forgive you…”
Alfred pulled back her hair and leaned into kiss her. Fireworks seemed to burst between the two of them as electric sparks flittered across the room. They locked lips for twenty minutes, and slowly fell into each other’s grasp. They ended up going to sleep after letting out all their fears.
…
Alfred awoke with Lacy staring into his eyes. Her crystalline orbs were shimmering like windows into his soul as she lifted up the covers revealing the lingerie she’d hidden underneath.
“You would’ve had a lot of fun last night… I guess you’ll have to wait till tomorrow to find out what was inside this sexy package.”
“After we complete both the dream dungeons… I promise to unwrap you and maybe take a tip…” Alfred got up and stretched. “However, for now… You mind putting on something more decent… They don’t call it morning wood for nothing.”
“oh… I always knew you had a few secrets, but… I didn’t think it be so huge.” Lacy blushed as she looked down and took a gander at was hiding beneath the covers. Alfred shook his head and gave her a kiss on the lips before rushing up to get ready for the day.
The Hell missions had reset and he also unlocked [Solo Dungeons]. Rexam greeted him with a “Hello Alfred.” As Lacy went to Vera’s to cook her breakfast. The room was left with quiet and a sweet smell from the breakfast she’d prepared for Alfred and left for him on the table.
Lacy had always been self-sufficient. Her parents had always been gone because their jobs required it. They were two famous marketers that were wanted in France, Paris, China, and All across the United States. She grew up amazingly pretty much under just the care of her half-time maid. Rather than griping about it, she learned everything she could from her ‘second mom’, the maid. The food made it hard to do a mission before filling his empty stomach. Alfred ate it quickly before Rexam opened up the Solo Dungeon panel.
[Solo Dungeons] (Shadow Walker)
Street Riots in Hermia Kingdom, level 25 (normal)
Burning Tower, level 26 (Hard)
Black Ocean Seal, level 27 (Hell)
Hell missions are limited to two times a day in solo dungeons. Solo Dungeon Hell type missions do not affect Hell mission availability in Kill and Story mode.
Alfred grimaced and clicked on Black Ocean Seal prompt. He knew Vera would kill him if she discovered he did another Hell mission. However, the higher the level he got to, the safer he would feel in the Dream Dungeons.
Black Ocean Seal – (Hell)
A large doorway has appeared in the small ocean of Enrile. Because of the gateway, the ocean has frozen over, and large amounts of creatures have appeared charging towards the shore. Only a true idiot has a chance of stopping the darkness from spreading… Close the doorway to end the encounter
Mission Difficulty: A-
Reward: Choice of one of three spells for Shadow Walkers.
Bonus Reward: Complete this mission in under 25 minutes to get access to a second spell
Would you like to accept the mission, or have you finally learned to play it safe?
Alfred clicked accept, disregarding the prompts sarcasm with a grimace. A small tear appeared in the center of his room rather than the normal blinding flash of light. Alfred looked at it with a miffed expression as Rexam’s voice pervaded the space.
“It’s safe… Just take the portal, and you’ll get to where you want to go.”
“Thanks… However, why no blinding flash of light this time?” Alfred almost preferred not having to wait and ruminate on his decision. “What’s the deal?”
“I’m not sure… Maybe this is actually occurring further off the continent rather than in an instance dungeon… You’ll find out when you get there…”
Alfred nodded his head and walked straight into the portal. A darkness seemed to spread in his gut and upset his stomach before he appeared on a body of sheet ice extending for miles. Latticed fences had been erected behind him blocking out the beach. There were tons of small, low level creatures surrounding him on all sides. TO make matter worse, there appeared to be a large settlement on the beach with dumbstruck villagers. The
monsters already started climbing the fences as Alfred saw a man guarding a gate full of ice and darkness.
“Ah… so they sent someone barely the size of an insect to stop a second coming,” The man in a black cape said. “You aren’t even close to my level…”
Alfred felt glad the mission’s goal had made itself so apparent. The creature in front of him had a black set of armor with spiraling horns and Green skin and orange eyes. It looked like an overgrown gremlin that had fused with a devil.
The winter skies were overcast by large clouds above them as the two of them locked eyes. More and more creatures flocked out of the gate behind the horned monstrosity. The levels of the creatures slowly increased from level 3 to level 5. Alfred only had a few minutes before it seemed higher level creatures would start rushing out of the doors.
The Gremlin charged towards him as a large spear manifested out of the air and into his hands. The Gremlin named Sizzle slashed down at Alfred as he drew his daggers to riposte. With the first attack, he got sent skidding back as he flipped into the air.
“Hah… not bad for an Assassin… However, you’re nothing compared to the darkness!”
“We’ll see who wins,” Alfred said, dodging ten more strikes from sizzle’s blade. Alfred then flipped back and dodged another set of slashes as he slid against the ice. The gremlin let out all of his rage and sent out a broadside stroke before Alfred began to mutter a chant. Three shadows began to transform into Shadow NPC guards as he activated [Shadow Whisperer]. They immediately charged towards the Gremlin and brandished out with their spears.
“Not bad! SO… you’re a shadow walker?” The gremlin’s hands started to burn with a cold fire. “However, you’re a little bit too naïve to think the darkness can be beaten by the shadows…”
The gremlin kicked down with his foot causing a mass of ice spikes to rise from the frozen ocean. The Gremlins magic attack caught Alfred off guard and took out all of his Shadow Soldiers. He tried to dodge the attack himself, but the point of a spike went straight into his calf.
Alfred rolled onto his side, breaking off the ice shard, as the Gremlin rushed forward to finish him off. Its orange eyes started to dilate as more and more creatures headed over the fence. Blood dripped down Alfred’s leg as the rising sun pierced through the clouds and dragged out their shadows. The gremlin stood firmly over him with a smile as he raised the spear over his head and got ready to swing down.
“You’re foolish… may darkness welcome you with endless death.” Sizzle said, swinging down the sharp point at the tip of its spear. Alfred used his hand to jolt off his side causing the spear to sink through the ice. He immediately sent out three daggers from his sleeve that went directly into the creature’s throat. It gushed out blood as the gremlin tried to cover its neck to stop the bleeding.
It died as it held onto its throat. Alfred knew he’d gotten lucky on the last attack because Sizzle had severely underestimated him. Unfortunately, the creatures rushing out of the door were already level 9.
‘So… I guess I just have to shut the door. And then the mission is over… It would’ve been nice if the door just shut after I killed this green creep.’
Alfred slashed through the dozens of low level creatures with ease, and made it to the doorway. It had a black miasma coming out of it that made him feel strangely warm. It felt like something was calling him from inside the door, however, he didn’t give in and grabbed the handle. After shutting it, he wiped of the cold mist that had spread across his body, looking back at the the dozens of creatures lying dead on the frozen ocean floor.
‘Is that really it? Where’s the boss?’ Alfred yawned, looking around for any signs of movement. ‘It’s a solo dungeon… don’t tell me Sizzle was the final foe?’
Alfred turned around and noticed a small fire that had erupted in the city behind the steel lattice fence. The dozens of remaining creatures seemed to have started a little rampage. He tried to hide the resentment he had for the mission prompt and jumped over the fence to begin to clean up the creatures. After cutting through a dozen of low level creatures, he began to feel unsettled. He’d already closed the doorway, and the mission hadn’t finished.
The streets were narrow in the small town and he went through each of the points to put out the fires. The timer had gone way past an hour, and he began to get scared he’d never find the boss. As he walked into a smoke filled room, he found a few level 1 goblins that were sacking the house and scaring a few nearby NPCs. He tossed his daggers forward, and lodge the escaping green goblins against the wall.
[You’ve learned the new passive skill, Throwing Tactician, novice]
Skill level: 1
Effect: When you throw a weapon, your damage will increase by 2.5%, and your accuracy will be increased by 5%.]
“It’s still not over!” Alfred kicked away the goblins bodies incensed at the result. He sat down on a chair before he turned and saw some NPCs shivering in the corner. A woman’s clothing had been torn, and her two children were huddling between her legs.
“Are you three okay,” Alfred asked… “I’m stuck here for a little bit… If you need anything, please tell me…”
“Who…. Who are you… what is happening to Earth?”
“What?” Alfred said, patting the girl on the head… “We are in Heaven’s Gate… what are you talking about…”
“no we’re not! This is England!” The little girls said… “MY father… He hasn’t come back yet… please help him!”
“Wait,” Alfred said, holding out his hand. “This can’t be Earth… How is this eArth? What year is it…”
“2025… The girl said… Who are you… what’s your na—”
Alfred tried to mutter his name before a hand seemed to pluck him out of the air and pull him back to his mission center. His face blistered with anger as he slammed down his fist into the table. He didn’t even care to look at the prompt. Tears fell down his eyes as he tried to grab hold of what the hell was happening!
“Rexam…. What is happening with eArth… tell me now!”
“That information is classified,” Rexam said… “However, I can promise you this… What you saw was most likely a well constructed level… They most likely created a replica of Earth in order for the mission to happen… It’s why you needed to take the portal…”
“They duplicated the entire Earth?” Alfred felt miffed trying to wrap his head around it… “ ISn’t that too much for a game?
“Well… it sure motivated you didn’t it…. Anyways, you received a message from Green… plus you leveled up twice…”
Chapter 18: Killing Shield
[Solo Dungeon Complete! Black Ocean Seal]
[Completion Time: 1:06:57]
[Mission Grade: A-]
[You found the piece of information you needed to return. Sorry, but not everything can be given to you in a little box with a bow on it. The ocean of Enrile has been protected, and the doorway to the second coming has been shut… I wonder what would’ve happened if you didn’t close the door?]
[You’ve gained 30,000 (+15,000) experience for competing the Quest! You received the bonus for completing the mission even though you wandered around like a worm without its head. Luckily, the bonus was based on just the first part of the mission… You’ve leveled up 3x and reached level 28!]
[New Spells are now available: Please choose two]
[Dagger Storm] (level 25)
Effect: When you throw a single dagger, it will turn into five. Damage is only 33% of the original daggers attack.
Cooldown: 3 minutes
[Shadow Duplication] (level 25)
Effect: Lets you create a copy of two non-boss monster enemies that are within 20 meters of you. Their attack is only one third of the original. Time limit for each shadow is ten minutes.
Cooldown: 5 minutes
[Shadow Shift] (level 25)
Effect: Lets you move back two meters instantly to dodge an attack. Wouldn’t this have been useful when you almost
died?
CoolDown: 10 seconds
[Killing Shield] (level 25)
Effect: When the skill is activated, your defense will increase by 3 percent for every life taken. Max increase in defense is 33%... Skill will stay for 10 minutes.
Cooldown: 10 minutes
Alfred was surprised by how useful all the skills seemed. Usually, in other games, there would always be a path contaminated by useless skills. He knew he needed shadow shift, and it was a toss up between shadow duplication and Killing Shield. He chose to go with [Shadow Duplication], and [Shadow shift]. They had the most use in a team dungeon in his opinion. Killing shield would help if he was doing solo dungeons, however, he’d rather just purchase armor than use a skill for defense.
The skills took him a second to learn after selecting them from the window. He opened up his chat window and found a chat message sent from Green.
Green: You aren’t going to like this…. We got to do the Dream dungeon now… we’re waiting for you at Krab’s Keep.
Sent: 3 minutes ago
Alfred: What? Doesn’t that seem a little bit risky?
Green: Well… we either do it now… or we wait until Krab hears about what Avery did…
Alfred: You’re kidding me? You mean the innocent looking sword Tempest? What could he have possibly done?
Green: Well… he screwed us over by telling Hermia Kingdom Everything about what’s underneath Krab’s KEep…. So… you coming, or are me and Lacy going to have to solo it?
Heaven's Gate: Volume 1 (A LitRPG Adventure) Page 13