Eliam stared at the entrance to the cathedral dungeon, planning out his next steps. His status was the same as before, except for one major factor. He still had the points he had put in dexterity, but his essence was gone. The bar for the next level was back at zero.
The other issue was that he didn’t know what dexterity did. Originally, he had believed it would improve his speed. That turned out to be wrong. This was a problem considering that if he wasn’t able to use those points, then they were wasted. He wasn’t positive, but something told him that he wouldn’t be getting many chances to reset them.
His only other theory involved using certain types of weapons. Unfortunately, he needed one of those weapons to test that. Eliam sighed, feeling as if he were out of luck.
The main issue was that he didn’t fully understand what he was dealing with. He could comprehend all the stat stuff and that it would supposedly make him stronger. What he didn’t understand was what each stat specifically did and how other equipment like the armor or katana worked into this.
He paused at the thought of weapons. If dexterity was a damage stat, which he wasn’t sure of, then would it affect his base attack? Or was that strictly for strength?
He swung his fist out of curiosity, and strangely, it felt somewhat stronger. It wasn’t in a brute force sort of way but in another. It was lighter, faster, and seemed more impactful.
Eliam smiled at this revelation. He still wasn’t positive, but he had something to go off of. He did notice that his stamina bar went down with that punch.
As soon as he stopped throwing them, the stamina bar immediately began filling up, but at a noticeably slower pace than it would take to attack. This meant he could not attack or run forever, but that was a given anyway. Until he obtained some armor or a weapon, Eliam reckoned that stamina would not be a problem.
He turned toward the entrance to the dungeon and walked inside, awaiting the first skeleton. In moments, its hand shot out of the ground, and Eliam wasted no time in pummeling it.
The red bar immediately appeared this time, and Eliam could tell he was doing significantly more damage than the last time he had tried this. After three hits, the skeleton's health bar had gone down two-tenths rather than one-tenth. By the time the skeleton fully pulled itself out of the ground, Eliam had taken away nearly half of its health.
Unfortunately, now that the skeleton was free of the ground, the fight was going to get much harder. Eliam dropped to the ground, barely avoiding the skeleton’s wild swing. He punched the skeleton’s legs, causing it to drop to the ground. He grappled it down and continued to pummel it as much as he could.
As he was doing so, the skeleton brought up its sword and pulled down, plunging it straight into Eliam’s leg. He cried out in pain as he tried to pull it out. This prevented him from continuing to punch the skeleton, which allowed it to yank itself free. Seconds later, Eliam was able to take the sword out of his leg in this time.
As he held it, he could immediately tell that it would be useless to him. He would be better off using his fists than trying to swing this around. If he had more time, he could likely check with his status, but he didn’t.
He chucked the sword to the side and dodged a punch from the skeleton. He then exchanged blows with it until finally, its health bar dropped to near empty. It was then that Eliam jumped onto it, grabbed its head, and ripped it off its body. The skeleton collapsed, and another +800 showed along with the bell. Two more level-ups appeared as he gained the ability to assign two more stat points.
He quickly pulled up his status in excitement. He was finally getting somewhere in this twisted dream! Yet, after that thought, he paused.
Was this a dream? It had already been odd before, but it was almost incomprehensible at this point. It was more designed and consistent than any dream he had ever heard of before. The more he had it, the more he began to believe that he was a part of something more.
He shook his head, deciding that there was no point in pondering such things. He had no way to find such answers, and if he wanted to change that, then he would have to get stronger.
With that figured out, he glanced back at his status. He had two more points to assign, and he had an idea as to where to put them.
Stat points Availible: 2
Eliam Edward
Level: 4
HP: 50/100
MP: 50/50
Life: 10
Mind: 10
Endurance: 10
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 6
Intelligence: 3
One swing had decreased his HP by fifty percent. If he had been hit again, then it is likely he would have died on the spot. With that in mind, Eliam dumped the next two points into the life stat. As he did, he felt a slight change in his body. It wasn’t too crazy, but he could tell he was stronger.
Afterward, he marched forward into the dungeon. Three more skeletons started pulling themselves out of the ground, and Eliam paled. He had forgotten about them.
After getting past his hesitation, he sprinted up to one of them and started pummeling it. Unfortunately, there were two other skeletons to worry about this time. Once they popped out of the ground, they immediately began to attack Eliam.
He was able to dodge one of them well, but it got a lot tougher when there were more than that.
After getting a sizable gash on his arm, he jumped backward, putting some much-needed space between him and his enemies. He quickly tried to come up with some sort of plan, but he had none. He crushed his fists together and roared. He felt a hint of fear touch his heart, but he ignored it. If he wanted to become stronger, then he would have to become comfortable with death.
Eliam charged forward, immediately ducking under one of the skeleton's swings. His body twisted to dodge another, and he grabbed two of their skulls and rammed them together. After stunning them, he kicked two of them backward, giving him a brief window to fight just one.
He dodged its strike and punched it in the throat. It took a few steps back, clutching at where Eliam had hit it. That was a mistake.
He took advantage of this moment to grapple the skeleton to the ground and started pounding on it. The other two tried to swing at him, but all they managed to do was harm the skeleton, boosting the overall damage greatly.
Soon, Eliam slammed his fist into it for the last time, and the color faded from its eyes. The bell sounded, and another Level Up appeared from the 800 essence gained, along with two more skill points. Eliam put the points into dexterity with little thought and continued to pursue the other two foes.
The skeletons swung at the same time, forcing Eliam to take a glancing hit to his arm. He winced as his HP went down in the low tens. If he hadn’t put those points into his HP, he would likely have gotten his arm cut off or something.
Still, he managed to dodge the strike, and he wasn’t going to lose the opening they had created for him. With his head down, he rushed the skeletons and pushed them both to the ground. He used both of his fists to pummel them both at the same time. As soon as one of them began to get back up, he kicked it down.
Moments later, he put down both of the skeletons, gaining another 1600 essence, and of course, the ring of those level-up bells. Eliam wore a satisfied smirk on his face while he pulled up his status. He was beginning to figure out why video games were so addicting.
He now had three more stat points to disperse and was already 70% to the next level. He put all three of them into dexterity and pushed on. Sure, it may have been risky to continue so recklessly, but he was feeling mighty confident after his recent victories.
He marched forward into the dungeon, only pausing when he felt his foot press down on something ever so slightly. Eliam frowned as he looked down to find that he had triggered a pressure plate. Moments later, a with clicks sounded, and Eliam noticed dozens of holes in the wall.
“Aw, shit,” he muttered.
An endless stream of arrows poured out of the wall and straight into Eliam. He tried using his arms to shield himself, but it was not enough to block them all. After a few seconds, one of the arrows lodged itself into his throat, and he fell backward, gurgling up blood. Another few seconds passed, and he died.
***
“Okay, so let’s maybe not be so reckless this time,” Eliam said to himself as he walked into the cathedral.
He took the familiar steps into the basement and didn’t hesitate to walk into the dungeon. As always, the same skeleton appeared. Eliam wasted no time in pounding its skull in. He was now able to kill one of the skeletons in around ten hits, allowing him to finish it before it was ever able to leave fully.
He obtained the familiar +800 essence sign and leveled up again. He smiled, wondering if it would always be this easy.
He put the point into dexterity and kept going. The three skeletons from before appeared, and he once again went into battle. Luckily, the skeletons were largely similar in how they fought each time, which made them incredibly predictable opponents.
After a few minutes of fighting, Eliam put all three of them down, getting a nice +2400 essence and even more level ups. He was level 16 and gained four more points to put down. So far, his stamina had not been a problem at all. His attack was still a little less than what he would have liked, but he could easily say that his biggest problem was HP. He nodded his head at his thought and put all four points into it.
He pulled up his status and nodded in satisfaction.
Stat points available: 0
Eliam Edward
Level: 16
HP: 160/160
MP: 50/50
Life: 16
Mind: 10
Endurance: 10
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 12
Intelligence: 3
Once he was done, Eliam continued. This time, he was much more careful to watch for traps and where he stepped. He would rather not die in such a pathetic way again.
Unfortunately, this would prove to be easier said than done, as some of the traps were hidden well. There were several plates hidden throughout the various paths, and he wondered how he had managed not to set any of them off when he had first come through here.
Thoughts aside, everything was going decently until another skeleton crawled out of the dirt. Eliam smirked, ready, or at least until he saw what he was going up against.
This skeleton was fully equipped with a set of heavy armor and a large double-sided battle axe. All and all, the look the skeleton gave was quite menacing.
Still, Eliam prepared himself for the upcoming battle as it would not be easy. Once the skeleton fully emerged, it immediately charged him. Eliam smirked and dodged the slow blade of the axe. He then socketed the skeleton in the chest, not damaging it in the slightest. The health bar didn’t even show up.
Eliam’s face paled as the skeleton prepared to throw down its axe again. He tried to jump out of the way but wasn’t quick enough. The axe slammed down into his leg and didn’t stop until it hit the ground. Needless to say, his leg was gone.
Eliam began to scream in pain as he fell to the ground, clutching at his stump. The skeleton mercilessly marched up to him and raised the axe over its head. The last thing Eliam heard was a smooth slice, and everything went dark.
***
Perhaps things weren’t going to be so easy after all. That thought was all Eliam had on his mind as he walked toward the cathedral for what felt like the millionth time.
He walked past the same rooms, the same design, the same art, all the way to the entrance to the dungeon. He pummeled the sole skeleton that was already coming out of the floor and moved on to the place in which the next three would come.
As he fought them, one of them caught him off guard, causing him to trip. He stumbled backward, narrowly avoiding a blade to his neck. He paled as he finished off the skeletons. He was getting too careless.
While fighting, he had ignored the notifications that he had leveled up. This time around, he had gained 4 more levels, leaving him at a grand total of level 20. Since he didn’t know what would happen to the points if he died, he immediately spent them on life and dexterity. Specifically, he put two in each.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Eliam glanced down the hall that led to the armored skeleton. For some reason, it was on a completely different level than these guys. Clearly, the armor wasn’t just for show.
He walked back and forth, trying to come up with some sort of strategy to fight it. He could always die and continue to farm these skeletons, but he felt as if he would be losing a lot of time doing that.
Eliam pulled up his status and carefully analyzed all of the clues it gave him. That was when he noticed his endurance. He had never paid close attention to it since he never needed to worry too much. He knew that would eventually change when he needed to wear armor and actually use a weapon.
He froze, realizing that he had just thought of his answer. Sure, the skeleton had loads of armor and a strong weapon, but its endurance would be drained every time it moved. Originally, Eliam had run in there without thinking, and that had gotten him killed.
He smiled a little too widely as he marched back down the hall. After almost triggering a trap, he patiently waited for the skeleton to appear. As it did, he backed up, forcing it to come to him.
As soon as it fully pulled itself out of the ground, it immediately charged Eliam. However, it was much slower than the other skeletons. Eliam grinned, ecstatic that his hypothesis was right.
He allowed the skeleton to get close to him and jumped back as it swung. The axe carved through the air and slammed into the ground with a rumble. It had been swung so hard that it was now lodged there.
Eliam took advantage of the skeleton, trying to pull it out, and started a rampage of attacks against it. Even though he had hit it a plethora of times, its HP was still nearing 80% full. The skeleton finally whipped the axe out of the ground and brought it back over its head.
Eliam rolled to the side as the axe smashed into the ground once more. He snorted as he rushed in to attack the skeleton again.
Unfortunately, the skeleton did not swing as hard as last time because the axe was out as soon as Eliam got close. He panicked and slid, which turned out to be the right choice as the skeleton swung the axe horizontally. It barely missed the top of his head.
Eliam pulled up to the skeleton and started swinging, dealing another ten percent to its health bar. He waited for the skeleton to swing, but it was hesitating. Slightly concerned, Eliam also paused; however, he quickly realized that it was out of stamina.
He grinned and continued to punch the skeleton. Once it regained enough stamina to attack, its health was 50 percent.
Eliam rinsed and repeated this strategy until the skeleton's health bar was down to a sliver. With one final push, he rushed it and slammed his fist right into its face, dropping its final HP to zero.
He grinned as the bell noise sounded in his head but frowned at the number it displayed. He had only received 800 essence from slaying that skeleton. How was that even fair? It had been significantly more difficult than the others.
He continued to grumble as he assigned his two points to his dexterity and moved forward. The only idea he could come up with was that the skeletons he fought were the same, and it was the armor that made the difference. In that case, he would be at a severe disadvantage, considering he didn’t have any.
His mind went back to the set of armor he had found hidden in the cathedral. There was no doubt that it was powerful, but at a deadly cost. Eliam had died mere moments after he put just the helmet on.
A slight shuffle from behind him caused Eliam to jump forward. Moments later, a skeleton in a dark cloak appeared behind him. This one hadn’t dug itself out of the ground; it simply appeared out of nowhere.
Eliam prepared himself for the unexpected fight and charged, not wanting to give the skeleton a chance to do so itself. He crashed into it, easily knocking it to the ground. He punched the dagger out of its hand and smacked down on it.
After around ten hits, the skeleton’s eyes dimmed, and it died. He sighed in relief as he gained another 800 essence and leveled up. This guy gave the same amount as well. He plugged the extra stat point into his dexterity and kept on going.
Killing that skeleton seemed to confirm his theory about gear not having an impact on essence. He still wasn’t sure about all the details, but it seemed like skeletons were just skeletons and gave out a certain amount of essence despite their gear.
As he walked down the path, a skeleton started pulling itself out of the ground from behind him. He turned around to find another one of those heavily armored skeletons facing him. He groaned as he prepared himself for a long fight.
He was about to dodge the incoming skeleton when a sharp pain started in his leg. He crumpled to the ground, noticing a sharp arrow sticking through it. He groaned as he glanced at a skeleton holding a bow in the distance. What a cruel trick. Moments later, his head was sliced off.
***
Eliam stared at the sky, his back flat against the floor of the canyon. He had just had a long shift at the station and was trying to enjoy himself. At this point, Eliam could soundly say that this was no dream. Whatever this was, it was something bigger than he could have ever comprehended. If he wanted answers, then he would probably have to become strong enough to defeat either the blue-haired woman or that creepy nun thing. At this point, both of those feats still seemed impossible.
He still struggled to comprehend how that woman had moved so fast. The other important factor was that she was the only other person he had seen in this place. She was also the only being that didn’t immediately try to kill him, even if she did in the end. Perhaps she could be reasoned with.
Unfortunately, getting to her would require Eliam to fight off the skeletons in between. As he was finding out, that would not be such a simple task. How he had managed to run through the first time was beyond him.
He threw himself up and dragged himself in the direction of the cathedral. As he did, the path to the right caught his eye. The bronze death statue was there, but there was also a chest. One that he had never searched before.
He knew that the bronze death statue was strong, but Eliam was starting to become competent in his own right. Also, if the item in the chest was valuable, then it could make all the difference.
He fully turned toward the path and hesitated. He would likely die multiple times before even standing a chance. He would need to learn how the statue fought, its weaknesses and strengths.
He clenched his fists and moved forward. At this point, he needed every buff he could get. The dungeon under the cathedral would only be getting harder, and he needed to even the odds.
Eliam carefully made his way down the path to the small cave. He stared at the statue for a few moments, wondering what he could do to harm it. The armor looked impenetrable, but he knew there must have been something he could do.
He stepped forward to analyze it further; however, it noticed him and pointed its sword in his direction. Eliam paled but held his ground. He was stronger.
The statue charged him and swung. Eliam fell to the floor, barely dodging it. He then slammed a punch into the statue's legs. All this succeeded in doing was damaging his fist.
He rolled back, dodging another strike from the statue. Next, he watched it do something odd. It held its sword back for longer than usual and then struck toward Eliam with rapid speed. He dodged it, but the swing itself slammed into the ground and created a small shockwave, causing Eliam to stumble.
The strength of that attack had been unbelievable. It wasn’t like any of the armored skeleton attacks, but something much more powerful.
The statue easily pulled its sword out of the ground and swiftly moved toward Eliam. He was beginning to think that he was in over his head. He needed to do something otherwise, he would be dead in a matter of moments.
The statue had to have a weakness somewhere. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he looked, there were obvious signs as to where.
Another swing caused Eliam to stumble back to dodge it. The statue quickly recovered and swung down. Eliam didn’t have enough time to fully get out of the way, and his arm went flying. He cried out in pain, headbutted into the statue’s hand.
He was quickly brushed away and left with his face in the floor, waiting to be killed. However, Eliam had a smile on his face. Even as the sword swung into his neck, he maintained his demeanor. The statue’s hand had cracked. The weakness was in its hands. Moments later, Eliam’s head was sliced off.
***
Eliam smiled devlishly as he walked to the bronze statue’s cave. Upon entering, he immediately charged. The bronze statue proceeded to reenact the same motions as always, meaning that it still pointed its sword at Eliam despite the immediate threat.
He wasted no time in punching the statue’s hand and watched it crack heavily. Another punch shattered it, and the statue dropped the sword. Eliam moved to punch the next hand, but he was too slow. The statue had already recovered.
He jumped backward but wasn’t quick enough. The statue slammed its fist into him, and he slid backward. It was surprisingly weak. His HP displayed 157/180. It seemed that the statue relied on its sword for a lot of its power.
Eliam dodged the statue’s next strike and swung his fists at its other hand. The second punch shattered it, and the statue fell to its knees. Eliam sent one final punch to its forehead, and it crumbled into pieces.
He smiled wildly as a +900 essence showed up. This guy had given more, although not by much. He shrugged and pulled up his status. There were no other enemies nearby, so he figured it would be a good time to check.
Stat points available: 1
Eliam Edward
Level: 24
HP: 180/180
MP: 50/50
Life: 18
Mind: 10
Endurance: 10
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 17
Intelligence: 3
He had one point to assign. He quickly put it into dexterity to make it match nicely with his life.
Despite having won, he was curious about the statue. Specifically, that power attack it had done. He had never seen anything else like that. Was it something unique to the weapon or a feature?
He shrugged, having no idea nor a clue. He would try to learn more after he died and came back.
Eliam paused, somewhat concerned with getting used to dying. Sure, he seemingly had infinite lives in whatever this world was, but that would be true in his actual world. The last thing he wanted to do was something reckless there.
He sighed, deciding to put this topic off for later. At that point, he wanted to investigate the chest he was finally able to dive into.
He walked up to it and carefully lifted the top off. He was somewhat worried that there would be some sort of trap or something else of a similar nature. Instead, there was a small ring inside.
Eliam carefully picked it up, wary of any curses or special effects that it would cause. The helmet incident was still fresh in his mind.
Fortunately, after holding it for a few moments, nothing happened. It appeared to be safe, at least for the moment. He twirled it around in his fingers, wondering if it did anything. His status didn’t seem to show anything.
He slipped it on one of his fingers, and that quickly changed. He felt an immediate boost in dexterity. His status showed this to be true.
Stat points available: 0
Eliam Edward
Level: 24
HP: 180/180
MP: 50/50
Life: 18
Mind: 10
Endurance: 10
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 18 (22)
Intelligence: 3
Equipment:
Ring of the True Hero→A ring of a forgotten time. +25% dexterity, +25% intelligence.
Eliam gleamed at his new dexterity. He figured that his actual with the ring was 22 while his own by itself was 18. He was also confused about his intelligence since he was supposed to get added stats to that. He figured that it must not show decimals, but he wasn’t sure if he got any fraction bonus or if he needed to pass a certain threshold to get any at all. Either way, if he put a point into it, he would likely receive the 25% bonus.
He wasn’t crazy about video games like some people he had known, but he did know that this was a significant power boost, especially considering that it was a sole ring. Finding this was a huge boon.
He left the cave and headed toward the cathedral. His next goal was to find out how to get back to that blue-haired woman and ask her some questions.
He paused at the beginning of the dungeon to ensure that he was ready and entered. He crushed the skeleton in five hits and the next three in a similar amount.
As always, these guys never failed to satisfy him in terms of levels. He received a nice boost of 3200 essence, which translated to four more levels. He did notice that with each level gained, it became somewhat harder to level up. Things would eventually slow down, but not yet, it seemed.
He put two points into life and the other two into dexterity and kept going. It wasn’t long before he encountered the armored skeleton again. This was the one that was alone, so he wasn’t too concerned. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to be careful.
He took care of the skeleton as quick as he could, but ended up inadvertently moving a little further down the hall when doing so. Sure enough, the assassin skeleton struck from out of nowhere. Thankfully, Eliam was prepared and dodged the strike.
He punched the skeleton in the head, and it stumbled backward. A few swings later and it crumpled. Satisfied, he was about to turn to continue his campaign when the skeleton’s body caught his eye.
Up to this point, he had been ignoring them since he wasn’t able to use the first few skeleton’s swords. Upon further thought, he realized that this may have been an oversight.
The skeletons were wearing armor, and this one in particular had a weapon. He picked up the dagger and immediately knew that he could use it. He did the same for the cloak. With this new equipment, he opened up his status.
Stat points available: 2
Eliam Edward
Level: 30
HP: 300/300
MP: 50/50
Life: 20 (30)
Mind: 10
Endurance: 10
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 20 (25)
Intelligence: 3
Equipment:
Ring of the True Hero→A ring of a forgotten time. +25% dexterity, +25% intelligence.
Unholy dagger→ 10 damage added with dexterity and 100 bonus damage if target is hit in the back.
Unholy cloak→ +10 life, -10 damage intake.
Unseen→Temporarily makes the user invisible while out of combat.
MP cost→25
Eliam gaped at the sudden increase in stats and the other bonus he received. Needless to say, it was impressive, and he felt rather stupid for not having realized this sooner. He also took the time to put his two extra points into dexterity.
Once he was done gawking, he looked forward to the next battle with a newfound confidence. He was also trying his best not to dwell on the fact that he could have had a much easier time around if he had paid better attention.
So, Eliam pushed forward and straight into the battle in which he encountered his most recent death. This time, as soon as he heard the skeleton behind him, he sprinted forward. Sure enough, another skeleton popped itself out, and with a bow at that.
He pulled out his newfound weapon and slashed at the skeleton’s face. It visibly staggered, allowing Eliam to unleash a flurry of three more swings. It was just after four swings that the skeleton collapsed and died.
He then turned his attention to the armored skeleton behind him. It was charging wildly at him, likely burning up a lot of its stamina. Eliam easily dodged and managed to maneuver himself behind it. He kicked its legs in, causing it to fall forward onto its face. Eliam then plunged his dagger like a madman. After the fourth swing, the armored skeleton died.
Eliam looked at the weapon in shock. He specifically went for the back because he knew it would cause more damage, but to that extent? He was laughing as he put the two points he received into his dexterity.
He looked further into the hall and watched as it split into multiple paths. He took a moment to try to remember which way he had gone while he was running, but it was hopeless. There was no way he was going to remember, considering the panic he was in then.
So, he walked forward and took a left. The saying may have been that right is always right, but he felt differently.
He cautiously walked forward. He may not have remembered which way he went, but he did remember the various horrors he had seen. From flame throwers to large skeleton rats, he knew there was much more to this dungeon than just regular skeletons.
He also remembered that the way to the woman was not obvious. He had to fall through a small hole to proceed to the room, which was naturally unituitive.
The hall opened up into a large room, and he knew that he hadn’t gone in the right direction. He let out a groan as a gate slammed down behind him and several skeletons thrust out of the ground.
He readied his dagger, but he knew that things were not looking good for this run. At the back of the room, he could see multiple skeletons with bows and even wands. At the front was a layer of the armoer skeletons, and in between were other skeletons, except they wore a different armor. Eliam wouldn’t have been surprised if multiple assassin skeletons were waiting to jump on him from behind as well.
He glared at all of them and prepared for death. For a moment, everything was still. In the next, he roared as he charged into the fray. He killed a single skeleton before he was instantly ripped apart.
