by Aaron Oster
“There’s no way I’m going in there,” Sam said as soon as he saw the entrance. “I won’t be able to see a thing, and I don’t feel like dying just yet.”
“Not to worry. The dungeon only appears to be dark from the outside to prevent others from looking in.”
Of course it was.
“Fine. But if I die in there, I’ll come back to haunt you for all eternity,” Sam grumbled, walking past the dog and approaching the dungeon entrance.
“Unlikely. Ghosts do not exist in Somerset,” Gordon replied, following behind.
Sam felt distinctly uneasy as he walked under the mass of twisting vines. The entire place had an extremely oppressive feel to it, and it made him nervous just thinking about the massive tree sitting right above his head. He was so tightly wound that he nearly swore when a notification popped up.
DUNGEON
You have found a dungeon.
Name: Rodent’s Hollow Age: 10 Years Type: Hollow Difficulty: Medium Recommended Level: 3-7
DUNGEONS
You will find many dungeons throughout Somerset. The age and type of dungeon will determine the rewards.
Dungeons are divided into 5 types. From weakest to strongest they are: Hollow, Cavern, Complex, Maze, Labyrinth.
Well, at least he appeared to be in the easiest dungeon around, though he wasn’t too sure about the level requirements. Shouldn’t he leave and come back when he was at level 6 or 7?
He never got the chance. As soon as he took his first step down the tunnel, a small furry creature came into view and Sam’s vision flashed red. A fucking bunny!
Sam had been slammed with a pretty severe divine curse the previous day, and it was all because of a bunny. Holding his hand out, Sam began casting his spells one after the next, targeting the fluffy bunny and screaming incoherently.
You Deal: -7 Damage to fluffy bunny (Mana Shot).
You Deal: -12 Damage to fluffy bunny (Mana Burn).
You Deal: -15 Damage to fluffy bunny (Mana Flare).
You Deal: -6 Damage to fluffy bunny (Mana Shot).
Fluffy bunny dies! +21 XP
By the time Sam was finished with the poor creature, the fluffy bunny was just a smoldering pile of burned fur. He let out a contented sigh, and allowed his tensed muscles to loosen up. He’d needed that.
Looking over to Gordon, Sam saw the dog had somehow found another stick and was loudly chewing on it, completely ignoring the obviously unhinged human standing just a few feet away.
Sam was actually shocked that he hadn’t incurred another divine curse. He’d been screaming all kinds of obscenities at the bunny.
Was it possible that the Overlord missed it?
DIVINE CURSE
You have broken a rule, and have been struck by a divine curse. Since punishing you seems to have no effect, I’ll just have to shut you up.
Effect: Muted Duration: H 11: M 59: S 59
What the fuck?!
Sam opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. His eyes widened and he gestured wildly at Gordon until the dog looked over to him. Pointing desperately to his throat, Sam did his best to explain what had happened to him.
“So the Overlord finally decided to silence you. That is good, at least there will be some peace and quiet for the next few hours,” Gordon replied, giving him a toothy grin.
Sam gestured wildly, waving his arms in the air and made rude gestures at the dog, but Gordon completely ignored him. The sound of a crunching stick filled the cave as the dog went back to chewing on it.
Sam quickly checked the time and saw that it was 11:27 AM. He wouldn’t able to utter a word until nearly midnight. Blowing out a frustrated breath, which didn’t make so much as a sound, Sam stalked down the tunnel, back rigid and face red with anger.
Overlord dickhead would pay dearly for this!
***
Sam and Gordon spent the next hour and a half wandering through the twisting tunnels, attacking anything that moved. Sam continuously used his Inspect skill, noting that most of the creatures were between levels 3 and 5, with the occasional level 6 thrown in. Their HP was also a lot lower than he’d been expecting for creatures of that level, but maybe bunnies and squirrels just didn’t have that much, to begin with.
“It would appear that we are approaching the first boss room,” Gordon said after their latest killing spree.
Sam had killed five more bunnies, netting him a whopping 122 XP. He was getting close to level 5 and was excited to keep fighting. He was also annoyed, however, by the lack of loot. Gordon had promised him that the beasties would be dropping items, but so far all they’d dropped was droppings. The worst part about it was that he couldn’t even vent his frustration, due to the divine curse.
Sam shrugged in response, and Gordon took that to mean he should continue talking.
Damn mutt.
“Hollow type dungeons normally only have one boss, but this one has two. Although, you may consider the first one as more of a mini-boss,” Gordon called back.
He nodded, walking just a little faster as a break in the tunnel became visible up ahead. Emerging from the low tunnel, Sam emerged into a wide open cavern-like room. Sunlight streamed down from up above, through gaps in the thousands of interwoven roots. Looking around the room, Sam could see a small treasure chest against the far wall.
Finally! Loot!
He was about to dash forward when Gordon caught his attention.
“I would not recommend rushing ahead. The boss monster is likely hiding somewhere in this room. If you make a reckless charge, you will just end up dying.”
Sam flipped Gordon the finger but listened to his advice anyway.
Gordon knew a lot more about this world than he did and no matter how much of a know-it-all prick he was, he still needed him. Not that he would admit as much to the annoying dog.
He continued his careful scan of the room until his eyes alighted on a small, irregular bump in the floor. Taking careful aim, Sam used Mana Shot, firing a bolt of blue energy right into it. A second later, there was an angry scream and a gigantic bunny rose to its feet. It was massive, nearly as tall as Sam himself, with brown and white fur. It’s front teeth protruded a good few inches from its mouth and when it turned its gaze on him, bright red eyes flashed in rage.
Oh crap. It’s the Godzilla of bunnies. The bunny king!
Sam used Inspect a moment later and found out that it was not, in fact, called the bunny king.
BOSS MONSTER
Name: Keith the Kicker Level: 7
HP: 250/250
Status: Enraged
A little black skull icon flashed above Keith the Kicker’s head when he closed his screen, and Sam felt his heart speed up. Not in fear, but in anger.
There was no way in hell he was going to be killed by a fucking bunny named Keith.
12
“So, do you have a plan to take that boss down?” Gordon casually asked as the gigantic bunny launched itself at them.
Sam gestured frantically for Gordon to attack so he could stay far enough away to deal damage, but apparently, the dog didn’t get it.
“Very well, I shall stay on the sidelines and cheer you on.” He then picked up the stick he’d dropped and walked back into the tunnel.
Damn you, dog!
But Sam didn’t have any more time to curse the dog. Flinging himself to the side, he felt Keith flash by him and heard the loud boom as he smashed into the opposite wall. Sam got to his feet and began firing off his spells, hoping to get a lucky shot.
He’d turned his damage notifications off before going into this fight, but he could judge how much damage he was doing, based on the red health bar floating over the bunny’s head. Silently cursing to himself at the meager amount of damage his spells were doing, Sam continued firing as the bunny pulled itself free from the wall.
Apparently, it had some powerful attacks, but if it missed, it would be slow to recover.
“Looking sharp, old boy. Keep up the good work,�
�� Gordon called out from inside the tunnel.
Screw you, Gordon! Sam thought, as Keith finally freed himself from the wall, shaking his gigantic head and glaring at him.
Sam took the opportunity to fire a Mana Burn directly into his face. Keith screeched as the attack hit, and bounded forward in a sudden rush. Sam was too slow getting out of the way and felt the wind leave his lungs in an explosive whoosh, as the 400-pound bunny slammed into him. He saw the health bar in the top right corner of his vision drop by almost half and felt his heart rate quicken drastically.
That much damage from just one hit?
He slammed into the ground, rolling a few times before getting shakily back to his feet. His entire body throbbed with pain, like a group of little kids had taken turns whacking him with plastic baseball bats. Not that he would know what that felt like. It wasn’t as though he’d ever been beaten by Neil and his little band of…
Sam shook his head, forcing his mind back to the fight. Keith the bunny-zilla still had about 70% of his health, while he was down to about 55%. The bigger problem was that if he took just 2 more hits like that, he was a goner.
He held out a hand as the bunny changed him again, and fired off two Mana Shots, shaving off a bit more of its health. In return, Keith slammed him for a whopping 35 points of damage, knocking him down below 10% of his health. Getting once more to his feet, Sam began firing his spells as fast as he possibly could, but another problem presented itself to him. He was running out of MP, and fast.
His Ring of Wisdom was helping to mitigate that somewhat, but at his current rate, he would be out in just a few more spells. Firing off a Mana Burn , Sam leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding Keith’s flying ninja kick of death, and ran around him to buy himself some time. As he passed the tunnel mouth, he spotted Gordon, sitting there and calmly observing him.
Sam wildly gestured for him to come in and help, but Gordon seemed content to just sit there and watch.
If he got out of this alive, he and the dog were going to have a serious chat about what it meant to be a dick.
Sam slid to a halt, turning his attention back to the monster bunny who was getting ready to attack again. Judging by its health bar, it only had about 40% of its HP remaining. The problem was that if he took just one more hit, he was done for.
Sam cast frantically around for some way to increase his damage, when he remembered his Basic Wand. He was such an idiot. The wand would give his spells an additional 3-5 damage per attack.
Quickly sticking his hand into the bag, which oddly enough, didn’t seem to be impeding his movement in the slightest, Sam pulled the slim wooden wand from inside. Keith chose that moment to attack, but Sam had also remembered another thing when he’d grabbed the wand. His new ability!
Blue light flared around him just as the bunny attacked, and Sam grinned as the gigantic bunny merely bounced off him, without doing even a single point of damage. Quickly raising the wand, he cast three spells in rapid succession, noting that the damage dealt this time had significantly increased.
Now the problem was that his Mana Cloak timer was about to run out, and the bunny still had about 20% of its HP left.
Well, it had been fun while it lasted, he thought as his cloak vanished and Keith-the-jacked-up-bunny turned his baleful red eyes on him.
Sam raised his wand, preparing for a final heroic stand. I probably look like such a tool right now.
Just as Keith was gearing up for an attack, Gordon shot from the tunnel, slamming into the bunny with such force that it was sent flying across the room, and crashed into the opposite wall. Sam watched wide-eyed as the dog landed on the boss monster and proceeded to tear its throat out.
Keith the Kicker let out one last pitiful squeak. Its HP then hit 0, and he died.
BOSS DEFEATED!
Congratulations! Your party has killed Keith the Kicker!
Rewards: +427 XP, Lucky Rabbit’s Foot, Healing Herb (X3)
TITLE GAINED!
Through your excessive and brutal murder of fluffy bunnies, you have gained a new title!
Butcherer of Bunnies Effect: +10% Damage against bunnies, and bunny-like creatures Secondary Effect: All bunnies will become enraged, and attack you on sight
LEVEL UP!
Congratulations! You have reached level 5! You have 5 new attribute points to distribute.
Would you like to distribute them now?
Yes/No
Sam was monetarily stunned by all of the new messages and he felt a wide grin spread across his face as he saw his new title.
Damn straight! All bunnies must die!
Something else stood out to him, though. The message had said that his party had killed the boss, but he never remembered forming a party with the dog.
Maybe we have formed automatically? He would have to ask Gordon when he could talk again.
He then turned his attention to the dog in question, who was licking his paws to clean away any remaining blood. He wanted to ask why he’d suddenly decided to help him, but seeing as he couldn’t talk, that would have to wait as well. So instead, he walked over to the corpse of the boss to examine it. To his surprise, he discovered that it had begun rapidly decomposing. In the span of a few seconds, Keith the Kicker was gone and a small stack of items sat in his place.
How strange, Sam thought, squatting down next to the items and using Inspect on each.
ITEMS FOUND!
Name: Lucky Rabbit’s Foot Durability: 50/50
Rarity: Epic Quality: Enhanced Effect: +10 to Luck Attribute Name: Healing Herb X3
Durability: 4/4
Rarity: Common Quality: Basic Effect: Restores +25 HP when eaten
Now, this was some truly epic loot! Pun intended.
Sam did a little dance, completely ignoring the judgmental dog, and tied the Lucky Rabbit’s Foot to his belt. He didn’t feel any changes, but he was sure that the rabbit’s foot would make a difference.
He quickly popped one of the Healing Herbs into his mouth, breathing a silent sigh of relief when his HP moved out of the danger zone. Even though it had been slowly regenerating, he hadn’t felt completely at ease until his saw his health jump past 40%.
Walking over to the small chest in the corner of the room, he pulled it open. Two items sat at the bottom, and Sam eagerly pulled them out.
ITEMS FOUND!
Name: Quality Stick Durability: 85/85
Rarity: Rare Quality: Sturdy Effect: None It’s just a stick, maybe a dog will like it…
Name: Casting Orb Durability: 30/30
Rarity: Rare Quality: Good Effect: +5-8 Damage when casting spells
Sam let out a snort when he saw the stick, or at least he tried to, but the curse stifled any sound before it even left his lips. He immediately equipped the Casting Orb instead of the Basic Wand , happy that his damage output had increased, if only slightly. Turning to Gordon, Sam waved the stick a few times, then tossed it to him.
Gordon’s eyes went comically wide, then he bounded forward, leaping into the air and snatching the stick up in his jaws in a truly spectacular catch. Then, oddly enough, he walked back over to him and placed the stick at his feet, looking up at him with huge, pleading eyes.
No fucking way! Does Gordon want to play fetch?
Sam slowly bent down, keeping his eyes on the dog the entire time, and curled his fingers around the stick. Gordon’s eyes followed him and as soon as the stick was in Sam’s hand, his tail began wagging back and forth, tongue lolling out of his mouth.
He threw the stick, and Gordon was off like a comet. Within seconds, the stick was back at his feet. Sam gave the dog an odd look, but Gordon just shrugged unapologetically.
“What can I say? Everyone has their weaknesses and I must admit that mine would be playing a sporting game of fetch. Now, are you going to throw the stick, or not?”
Sam considered, just for a moment, walking away and leaving the pompous dog hanging, but his large brown eyes and the soft whining that was coming from his throat, we
re just too much for him to handle. Cocking his arm back, Sam threw the stick.
They continued on for another ten minutes, until Gordon grew bored of the game, and went over to sit in a corner to chew on his new stick. Sam, who had been growing tired of the game himself, took the opportunity to open his status and assign his attribute points. He already knew where they were going, so he assigned them right away.
CHARACTER STATUS
Name: Sam Race: Human Level: 5
XP: 54/1,800
AP: 1
Class: None HP: 100/100 (Regen 1.0 Per Second) MP: 220/220 (Regen 2.3 Per Second) STA: 80/80 (Regen 0.8 Per Second)
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 5 (6)(3)
Constitution: 10
Agility: 6
Endurance: 7 (8)
Intelligence: 22 +3
Wisdom: 19 (23) +2
Charisma: 12
Luck: 9 (19)
ABILITIES
Mana Shot: Novice LV - 7 (8%) Mana Burn: Novice LV - 5 (78%) Mana Flare: Novice LV - 3 (2%) Mana Cloak: Novice LV - 1 (52%)
SKILLS
Sprint: Novice LV - 7 (10%) Stalker: Novice LV - 3 (19%) Inspect: Novice LV - 8 (83%) Mind Over Body: Novice LV - 2 (90%)
TITLES
Butcherer of Bunnies
EQUIPPED ITEMS
Clothing Farmer’s Canvas Shirt Farmer’s Canvas Pants Farmer’s Leather Boots Total Armor Rating: 7
Set Bonus: +1 Strength & Endurance Other Items Basic Leather Bag Carry Capacity: 6/10 Slots filled Casting Orb Damage: +5-8