by Dakota Krout
A single level one skeleton hitting him in the face over and over had reduced his health by half. Every single blow must have been a critical hit, and Jaxon was feeling it. He resumed his position on the floor, once more closing his eyes and attempting to achieve a proper meditation. Yet again, as his health reached full, there was no notification of success. This cycle repeated several times as he worked to study a left fist hitting him in the face. By the time he was satisfied that he had learned all he could from a closed hand, he was almost ready to move on. Only by forcibly calming himself did he realize that this may be the only opportunity he really had to study moving skeletons in detail. He would not squander this.
For his next test, Jaxon used a leather thong to tie the finger bones back and into a rigid position. While this was not an ideal solution, he could not think of another way to stop the skeletons from punching instead of slapping. Once again, he suffered several hours of pain and regeneration. For his study, for science, he would do far more than this. When he held a firm grasp on the potential bending movements of fingers, he removed the hands from the next skeleton before animating it. From there, he allowed himself to be struck in the face with elbows, forearms, and shoulder strikes.
He must have spent over a day allowing himself to be attacked, and twice, the flaming eye had appeared in the room with him and stared for a few minutes before vanishing. Even a random construct was judging him; he just knew it. By the time he had finished allowing himself to be kicked, kneed, tackled, pushed, and head-butted, he really and truly believed that he had learned everything he could from this method of study. He checked the skill, pleased with the advance.
Skill increased: Human anatomy (Expert VII).
This was progressing slower than he had wanted it to, but it was understandable as human anatomy is more than just skeletal structure. If anything, it was a much more advanced skill. Jaxon assumed that if he wanted to achieve the Master ranks naturally, he would need to study everything from bones to nerves to the meaty portions of a body. That was without understanding the deeper things, such as how food would affect metabolism and bodily processes. Unless he wanted to spend years learning every fact he could, he would need to finish off the progression of the skill with skill points. He was not yet ready to do that for this non-main focus, but depending on his specialization it may be beneficial to do so in the future.
Jaxon stood and crushed every skull that was waiting in the pile. Only then did he get actual notifications of experience gain, in total and counting the skeletons he had defeated before: one hundred points. This meant there had been a full century of enemies to fight. Would the next room also contain a hundred enemies? Would they be level two? If so, even if he were able to defeat that room, he would have a lot of trouble very shortly. As he approached the door, a screen appeared in his vision.
Congratulations, Challenger! You have set the record for the slowest ever recorded traversal of the first solo survival room. There is no benefit for this. We simply thought it was prudent to let you know. Before opening this door, be sure you are rested and prepared for what lies ahead. Rarity of final reward increased by 1% for completing the room.
"Well, what does lie ahead?" Even though he was sure he asked the question out loud, Jaxon received no answer. He was quite tired and was thankful for the reminder, so he decided to take a short nap before entering the next room. With his stamina and health maximized and any fatigue debuff that may have been creeping up on him taken care of, he stepped forward and opened the door. Jaxon saw what was waiting for him and screamed bloody murder.
"I hate bugs!" Jaxon screeched even as he charged forward. Scarab beetles were pouring from holes all throughout the room, moving toward him in an orderly fashion which made the entire room appear to rock and wave. "Great. Disgusting, filthy bugs with a side of seasickness. I had wondered why these trials were supposed to be so difficult. Finally, I understand!"
His fully justified rant complete, Jaxon ran into the room and started stomping. Never before had he been so grateful for the entomologist title and its bonus damage to bugs. Before long, he was covered in ichor, chitin, and juices that he had no name or understanding for. His boots were shredded from the sharp exoskeletons and pincers; checking their durability revealed that they were down to two points remaining. He really hoped the next enemy he faced would be something more suiting his skills. Perhaps there would be another room full of skeletons? He perked up at that thought and started toward the door.
Exp: 100 (2 * Scarab beetle x50).
Congratulations, Challenger! In a surprising turn of events, you have set the record for fastest time through the second solo survival room. Rarity of final reward increased by 5% for completing the room with a record.
Chapter Sixteen
“This is where the trail went dark. I don't know what is going through her mind, but Jess is going to pay for trying to run off on us.” The leather-clad Rogue stood back up, reaching his full height at just over six feet tall. His mouth was tightened with displeasure, and his narrow eyes revealed the depths of his anger. "Bring me the animal.”
A female Wolfman covered in blood and wounds was dragged to the front of the group. The Rogue looked at her with a sneer, then reached forward and forced her to look into his eyes. "What are we getting into? What is this place, and where would they go from here? Jess is a gold digger. There has to be something in this area she would want."
The proud Wolfman had been reduced to a mere traveling guide after being captured away from her war party. Her sorry state had been accrued over several days of meetings and light torture. Something though... something was different today. There was a defiance in her eyes that had not been there in previous days. The party leader did not appreciate the shift. "Filthy human, the only thing waiting for you in the testing zones is death. I only hope my clan is the one to find you after your inevitable respawn."
After speaking these words, she released a hideous snarl and lunged for the human’s throat. Unfortunately for her, as soon as she began moving toward the Rogue, his dagger pierced her heart three times. If her expression weren't so gleeful as she collapsed, the man was sure he would have been fine with witnessing her death. He spit on the furry corpse, giving it a kick for good measure. "What a waste. Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we are going to find our little runaway the old-fashioned way. Be ready for anything."
JAXON
The third open room was similar to the first two, the only real difference being the type and number of enemies available. Twenty-five duck sized horses shrieked a high-pitched whinny and stampeded toward him. Jaxon had a minor ethical dilemma; did he feel terrible about punching tiny ponies? When the first of them reared up and kicked with a sharp metal hoof, he realized that he had very few qualms about attacking such adorable foes. He was worried that later in the temple there would be a horse-sized duck, but that was an issue for a later time.
Realistically, they were not an overly difficult enemy to defeat for someone with his levels of strength and dexterity. More than anything, he wanted to hitch them all to a cart and have the cutest mode of transportation in the game. Unfortunately, that option was not available to him. Instead, he reached down and did his very best to snap their necks as quickly and painlessly as possible. A few of them he stomped on, being mindful that the durability of his boots was getting extremely low. He was able to use the extendable needle of his glove on a few of them to great effect, the length of the needle being longer than the distance from the surface of their skin to the brain.
Besides the initial attack on his body, he had not taken any wounds from these creatures by the time they were all defeated. They simply did not have the natural weapons, size, speed, or strength to even land a blow. Jaxon was fairly certain that this was supposed to be more of a blow to the morale of the Challenger than an actual challenge. He left the room without expecting to gain a record but also hoping he wasn’t the slowest to have gone through here.
Exp: 10
0 (4 * Tiny Horse x25).
Congratulations, Challenger! You have set the record for most brutal massacre in the third solo survival room. Others have done it faster, but not many people used a tiny horse to beat another horse to death. Rarity of final reward increased by 5% for completing the room with a record.
Jaxon thought that he was beginning to see a pattern for the amount of enemies and experience he would gain. He went to move on and collapsed to the floor. "What the... oh... hunger and thirst debuff at maximum..."
He gulped, really feeling the dry throat, and looked at the bodies of the tiny horses next to him. Jaxon tried not to think about it, but his stamina was no longer regenerating... he pulled one of the horses closer and used his needle to open a small hole. He bit down and chewed, trying to talk himself through the process. "It's sushi, just really moist sushi. That helps with the… with the thirst too…"
He ate a good portion of two of the small beasts before his stamina was returning normally. Jaxon would normally worry about getting sick later, but he doubted he would survive long enough to get into gastrointestinal distress. Moving into the next room, the fourth room, showed that from here things would not be so simple. There were ten people in this room besides Jaxon, and it was obvious that these were non-player characters. If anything, these were peasants, militia at best. When Jaxon walked into the room covered in blood, gore, looking and possibly smelling like death incarnate... the people in the room became terrified.
"P-please, sir! Please don't hurt us!" The first person to speak just had to say words that would make Jaxon hesitate. Unfortunately for the terrified serf, this was a trial, and Jaxon had no intention of failing to progress. The Monk ran at the nearest human, fist cocked back and prepared to swing. His blow came down hard, and at the last second, Jaxon barely stopped himself from following through. He looked down, noticing a wet stain spreading across the man's pant leg. Jaxon took a calming breath and walked across the room through the small crowd of people, who, in turn, shied away as he came near them.
He laid his hand on the door leading to the next room, hoping that he had gauged this test correctly. Jaxon pushed, and the door leading to the next room opened. He released a sigh of relief before turning back to the others with a wide smile, "Thank goodness. I am very pleased that I did not need to murder you all in cold blood. That would have certainly reduced my enjoyment of this process."
Stepping into the fifth room, he was spared the sight of matching stains traveling down the pants of every other person in the room.
Congratulations, Challenger! You have set a ‘Pacifist’ record by passing through the fourth solo survival room without giving or taking a single blow. Rarity of final reward increased by 5% for completing the room with a record. Rarity has reached a minimum of ‘Rare’.
Skill increase: Intimidation (Journeyman IV).
"What a silly skill!" Jaxon shook his head with a chuckle, sobering quickly as he saw what awaited him in this room. Primates, monkeys similar to the version surrounding the temple, came charging at him as soon as they noticed his intrusion. There would be no peaceful resolution this time, but Jaxon was almost thankful for the opportunity to fight an enemy he understood.
The monkeys were thankfully unable to use their stealth capabilities, and in a straight-up fight, Jaxon could overpower one of them easily; the problem was that there were around a dozen moving toward him at the same time. Jaxon settled down, centering himself and joyfully joining combat. Monkeys, especially of this size, are typically much stronger and more agile than a human. However, thanks to his incredible stat increases, Jaxon was able to fend off the first few blows and put his back to a wall.
Now that he did not need to worry about one direction, he was able to fully focus in front of himself and dedicate himself to battle. He ducked, and four claws tossed out sparks as they made parallel grooves in the wall. As the arm passed over his head, Jaxon drove stiffened fingers into the animal’s armpit. The limb was rendered useless and simply dangled at the monkey’s side. Jaxon grabbed the uncontrolled arm and swung the beast into another that was jumping at him. They both landed in a jumble, and Jaxon used the opportunity to drive his hands deeply into the neck muscle of another who stumbled over them. With a pinched nerve, that creature fell to the floor in agony.
"Three down momentarily, how to capitalize on this?" Jaxon muttered to himself as howling balls of rage closed in. Seeing no other option, he dove into the scrum and began dealing as much focused damage as possible. Surrounded on all sides, it actually became harder for the monkeys to attack using their typically wild blows. When they tried, they damaged their own comrades at least as often as the human. Thanks to his quick thinking, Jaxon was swiftly able to whittle down their numbers.
When there were four remaining, Jaxon was able to practice his adjustments and acupressure to great effect. He twisted bones, misaligned vertebrae, poked holes in tendons and muscles, and essentially had fun with the process. As the last primates fell, Jaxon found that he was down to a quarter health. He grabbed one of the fallen and used its fur as a mop, possibly as a squeegee, to clear the floor of any liquid that he may accidentally sit in. Then he settled in the area and, after weighing the cost and benefits, decided against using one of the warmer bodies as a pillow. He had not encountered lice or fleas in the game, but that did not mean they didn't exist.
Congratulations Challenger! You have passed through the fifth solo survival room. Rarity of final reward increased by 1% for completing the room without a record.
Jaxon's vision returned quickly as he woke up, and the first thing he saw was the burning eyeball floating in the air above him. As soon as it realized that it had been noticed, it vanished with a slight *pop*. The Monk stood and stretched, ruminating over the fact that he had once again slept on a hard, stone floor. This was not the best way to maintain health, but realistically, he had no choice. As prepared as he could be, Jaxon opened the door to the sixth room and stepped in.
There were only ten enemies here, but watching them was a confusing sight. This was some form of connected group, with each of the creatures wearing a manacle on one ankle that was connected by a chain to each of the others. They were some form of demi-human, specifically a humanoid cat. With Wolfmen being the main opponent for Humanity, other types of demi-human were distrusted and rarely seen. Retractable claws popped out of their paws, and they moved together as a unit to charge at him.
No matter how well-trained or coordinated they were, they got in each other's way. They had also spread out so that Jaxon was not able to leave them alone and go toward the exit door. Obviously, this was a group of enemies that wanted to fight. Jaxon used a few precious moments to study their physical structure, confirming that they had similar enough anatomy for his skills to be useful against them. Just before he began his assault, one of them spoke to him.
"Our freedom is at hand!" the Cat Man hissed triumphantly. "The life of a single human in return? Not even a question!"
Jaxon immediately realized that some of the creatures in this place were not here willingly; they were not a test of morality nor were they created by the temple as some form of mindless construct. At the same time, he was unwilling to simply allow them to slay him. Jaxon sidestepped out of range just before an attack that would have flayed him missed by less than an inch. Initially, he kept his hands up to defend himself, but as a set of claws tore into the door and wall behind him, he realized the only way to defend was to dodge. Taking an attack from one of them would be incredibly dangerous, and so he resolved not to be hit. Jaxon’s next movement forced him to slam his back into the wall, but he moved forward immediately and drove his fist into the Cat Man's gut.
"I'm going to enjoy slashing you to ribbons," the Cat Man wheezed as he sucked air.
Jaxon had felt the movement of his opponent’s ribs as he landed that single blow and realized that their bones must be extremely fragile but were most likely very flexible as well. He cut forward and to the side, shifting
his arm out of the way as the other cats attempted to release a flurry of slashing attacks on him. To test his theory, Jaxon put all of his strength behind a single backhand with his gauntlet-clad fist and crushed the skull of the chatty Cat Man.
He was not expecting the air to shudder nor the body to vanish instantaneously. Jaxon nearly lost his balance thanks to his surprise but turned the movement into a forward roll. This allowed him to dodge the dagger-like claws that had attempted to tear his face off, but as he came to his feet, he was forced to dodge again and again. One of their members disappearing had some effect on the others. Whether it was a magical buff that gave them higher speed and dexterity or if it was the simple fact that there was one less person to get in their way; their accuracy, speed, and ability to dodge had increased by a significant margin.
He landed another full-powered strike, and another fell. The third time that Jaxon attempted to do this, the attack was easily dodged. Uh-oh. The creature countered in the opening presented by stepping forward with his hand and tearing a bloody handhold into Jaxon's arm. With his arm being gripped, Jaxon's ability to dodge or roll away was severely impacted. Luckily for him, the Cat Man holding him was also going to have a hard time getting away from Jaxon. Using his left hand was not ideal, but after three attacks into his opponent's neck, a thin needle punctured its jugular vein. It began taking severe damage-over-time and quickly fell.
When that one vanished with the customary *pop* and the others once again moved faster, Jaxon knew that he might be in trouble.
Chapter Seventeen
Jaxon coughed and sprayed a mix of blood and phlegm onto the floor. He was down to three opponents, but each of them was moving so quickly that he was having a hard time keeping up with dodging their attacks, let alone making any of his own. Frankly, he was nervous that defeating any more of them would cause the others to be able to tear him to shreds with ease.