Chương 14: Renewable Food Source

I make my way back through the hallway with a smile on my face as I return back to my base of operations. I slip through the still-open wooden door and push it closed. After some quick thinking, I decide to bring all of my belongings, AKA my last human meal, to the orc room to make my new base. I don't really prefer having all of my downtime next to a giant green corpse, but it's too heavy to move. Also, I don't know how much freedom the monsters have to wander the hallways of their own accord.

In the case that they are able to actually make it to the door and push it open, I want to be nearby to see or hear the door creaking in case I'm sleeping or otherwise indisposed. With the knowledge that I'm finally able to find food in the dungeon, I sit down against the wall and pull open my last chicken salad and cup of water. With a mouth full of leaves, I speak.

"Show me my gains, system." [You have slain Goblin(lv. 2) - (lv. 8) x5] [Partial experience granted x10] [Tamer(lv. 6) > (lv. 7)] [Human(lv. 6) > (lv. 7)] [Control Tamed Being(lv. 8) > (lv. 9)] [Enhanced Skeleton(lv. 0) > (lv. 1)] [You have discovered a reward] [Accept(8) / Bank / Consolidate] My eyes salivate at the sight of so much progress, not to mention how much I've gathered in rewards. I almost drool at the thought of how good my reward will be once I accept it. Regardless, I press consolidate once again.

"Let's see them stats!" I exclaim with a smile. [Vitality: 15 > 16] [Strength: 13 > 14] [Agility: 15 > 17] [Endurance: 13 > 14] [Fortitude: 14] [Intelligence: 12] [Wisdom: 16 > 17] [Perception: 22 > 23] [Unassigned: 1] Ah yes, two agility, one strength and one endurance. Along with my class stats, of course. My perception is towering over the other stats. A small part of me wants strength to be the highest, but I'm already killing all the goblins I meet in one strike to the head.

I could aim for a different part of the body, but at their height of four feet, it's just too perfectly placed not to punch with all of my might. I giggle and grin at the simple fact that I'm quickly developing into something better than I once was. The feeling of not just your body, but your entire existence becoming more, is almost addictive. Scratch that, it is addictive. Putting my life on the line to better myself tickles a certain primal urge I never thought I had.

It brings me a level of satisfaction that I have truly never felt a single time in my life. I finish the salad and lie on my back on the floor with a wide smile stretched across my face. Taking advantage of my content mindset, I lose myself in it. I reach, and reach deeply inside myself, looking for even a whiff of mana inside my body. The minutes of floating I do in my consciousness turns into hours. I feel myself disconnecting from reality and falling deeper into the ocean.

It's like enlightenment on the tip of my tongue. I feel like I'm so very close to touching the mana hidden deep inside myself. The vision fades alongside the sensation. My eyes open slowly with drool trailing down the side of my face. I quickly stand up in embarrassment and wipe my face with the sleeve of my jacket. I bet if I chose one of the magic starting classes, my mana would have been awakened automatically. System, time. [7. 97 cycles until next phase] I growl at myself in anger.

My unawakened mana is like a stain that I just can't get rid of. Does it even matter? It's not like I know if I'll ever see that healing skill again. I slump sadly.

"Oh well, nothing for it." I pull on my gauntlets. System, Health and stamina. [Health: 230(189)] [Stamina: 205] I look at my health and chuckle. Forty health lost when I first got here was debilitating, but now I hardly even notice the missing health. The only thing leftover from my fight with the orc is a slight sense of wrongness in my body after the weakness left, and a small ache in my right arm. Speaking of…

"Kevin, stop feeling pain in your arm" The pain in my arm evaporates, leaving only a slightly stronger weakness compared to the rest of my body. I pull my gauntlets on and knock them together, bringing a sense of satisfaction to my mind. After I psyche myself up, I take one of my gauntlets off to pull open the large wooden door. When enough room is showing, I slip out and return to the large intersection of hallways. This time, I decide to go right.

The hallway isn't any different from the left and contains the same eerie, light level as everywhere else in the dungeon. The system mentioned traps, but I haven't seen evidence of any, and I've been keeping a close eye out for them. Like the last hallway, I only need to walk for a minute before I spot the shine of another cell door. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

I step quietly, slinking up to the side of the doorway and peeking an eye through the gaps in the door. Identify Living Being [Hobgoblin lv. 8] [Identify Living Being(lv. 1) > (lv. 2)] [Hobgoblin lv. 7] This time, I don't get a chime as the message simply pops up on the interface. The room looks the same as the others, bones and sticks littering the floor. In the room are two hobgoblins sitting next to each other and muttering in harsh tones.

They look similar to the ones in the tutorial, but the biggest difference is the equipment. One hobgoblin wears actual cloth pants with a single greave covering its left shin. Next to it is a sword, but not the same sword I've seen before in the dungeon. Instead of a wrecked state pulled out of an ancient burial site, it only has some grooves eroded from rust and some structural damage. The other has a simple leather cap combined with the same cloth pants.

Next to it isn't a hatchet for cutting wood, but an actual axe with an elongated head and sharpened ends for fighting. It has the same damage from the rust, but it doesn't affect axes nearly as much as swords. But the only thing on my mind are dollar signs. Armor, oh my sweet, beloved armor. I need you so badly. They may only have a piece of a set each, but if they have some, then that means that there will be more to come from future fights. I don't try to think of a plan and just go for good old reliable.

Shock and awe.

"Kevin, focus, hit as hard as you can without injuring yourself, go for weak points and avoid or deflect all attacks." I reach over slightly and tap my gauntlet against the cell door, causing a ringing sound and ripping it back to hide. The muttering of the hobgoblins stops abruptly. I am once again surprised by my level of perception as I hear them pick up their weapons and stand. I breathe quietly as I hear them take cautious steps toward the door. My heart rate picks up in anticipation as I hear them get closer.

I fix my posture and tense as the cell door begins to move inwards. The second I see green, my muscles explode. My fist moves like a crescent, curving around in the air towards the sword hobgoblin. It realizes the danger and jerks its head back, but it's too late. My fist crashes into its right cheek with all of the spikes penetrating. It drops its sword from the strike and stumbles backwards onto the ground while clutching its face.

The axe hobgoblin moves swiftly, slipping around its falling friend and lunging at me. It slices its axe from above towards my shoulder. As usual, my own reaction astonishes me as I jerk my left hand up and block the axe. I feel the blow reverberate in my entire arm as I stop the weapon in its tracks. Chime The hobgoblin also looks surprised at how fast I reacted. I hardly get to study its face as my right arm comes around and collides with the hobgoblin's neck.

The spikes dig deep as my fist moves unimpeded, blowing out the front of the hobgoblin's neck in a splatter of blood and gored flesh. The hobgoblin opens its eyes wide in shock and steps back, dropping its axe and gripping its torn-open throat. Not knowing what to do, I stare at the hobgoblin in shock likewise. It gurgles once before starting to choke, coughing and splattering its own blood out of its open throat. I watch as it falls on its side, choking powerfully on its own blood for over half a minute.

Eventually, it slows down, and its eyes grow unfocused. Chime I don't take my eyes away as I stare at the blood flowing like water from its neck. Nausea and fear hit fast and hard. I crumple to my knees, feeling like I'm about to vomit. I shudder on all fours before pushing out a command, not wanting to lose my last human meal.

"Kevin, stop being nauseous." The pushing bile gives in immediately and retreats back down my throat. With the loss of the awful feeling, I take deep breaths and roll over onto my side.

"Kevin, don't acknowledge the trauma" I know in my mind that it's cheesy and something a bad therapist would tell someone, but the effect is impactful. My hammering heart slows down. The shudders stop, and color returns quickly to my growing pale skin. I take a few minutes to lie on my back and let my breathing control itself. In. Out. In. Out. Iiiiiin. Ouuuut. I close my eyes, and the scene replays itself. This time, it feels like I did nothing more than go outside for a quick jog. I frown with a worried face.

Fear travels down my spine. Not from the scene, or the future, or even the life or death fights I have like clockwork every day. But at myself. Fear of what this skill is doing to me. Fear of what kind of person I'll be in the future after I remove every single thing that inconveniences my mind. All it would take is a few words, and I could lose sadness as an emotion. Or even fear. Or anger. Like they had never been there.

My close friend could die in front of me, and with only a few words, it could be nothing more than just another morning. The thought is terrifying. And with a system that's entirely based on growth, who's to say the skill won't grow stronger alongside me? It only lasts hours, but what if that turned into days, weeks, or even more? One slip of the tongue, and I may not even realize what I do to myself. I shake my head and stand up. At the end of the day, I will always be me. I will not treat myself like a puppet.

I look down at my still red arm.

"Not too much, at least," I chuckle. I walk around the room and greedily sweep up the goodies that I earned. I equip the leather cap and the leather greave, pleasantly find a bread sash on both hobgoblins, and a small wooden box hidden under a pile of sticks. After opening the box and hearing the chime, I toss it over my shoulder and turn to one of the biggest decisions I might make since entering the dungeon. Should I stick with my trusty gauntlets, or switch weapons?

I think as I sit in front of a rusted sword and axe. The system has mostly forced being a brawler on me, with the collar and the gauntlets both being rewards from it. At that time, I had nothing else to use as a weapon except for my fists, which is no longer the case. First of all, I have absolutely zero skill with the sword and have only used axes to cut logs once or twice on occasion.

Along with that, I've wielded my hands for my entire life and know their reach perfectly, even if I've never fought before entering the dungeon. I chuckle to myself and stand up, it wasn't even a competition in the end. Combined with my control skill, having two weapons that can both attack and defend while also being somewhat maneuverable is too powerful. It truly is a weapon that can do it all.

Except for having reach, but once again, my control skill makes me excellent at blocking and dodging, making that far less of a demerit. Making up my mind, I stand up without having anything else to do and leave for the hallway. After entering, I continue my path away from my home base and continue on. Walking casually, I enjoy the diverse scenery of mossy cobblestone in every direction. Like clockwork, after a minute of walking, I notice another opening in the side of the wall and walk towards it.

As I get closer, I see a dead end in the distance with no other openings. Slinking up to the side, I peek a small part of my head past the doorway. Same room, two hobgoblins. Identify living being [Hobgoblin lv. 9] [Hobgoblin lv. 8] More of the same, just a little stronger than before. I check the weapons. One has a single shoulder guard along with a mace and a shield.

As usual, the quality of the weapons is better than the tutorial, with the shield having an actual metal rim with studs instead of just being a repurposed wooden board. Further, the shield is an entire foot wider, putting it at a solid three-foot circle. The mace is rusted, but not enough to matter on a weapon like that. I look at the second hobgoblin, and my blood runs cold. It has a gladiator-style metal plate that covers its heart, kept there by a long leather strip.

But on its shoulder, is a bow slung across its chest by the string, along with a quiver of arrows. I 'tch' in my mind and stand up, turning around to go home. I think as I walk. I've grown a lot since getting here, but I still have no way to counter a bow and arrow.

My best bet is to try a different route, or possibly go back to base and get one of those shitty shields so that I can- Click Terror shoots down my spine like lightning as the cobblestone I step on lowers an inch into the ground, similar to a button with a mechanical click. My body, still powered by my command, jerks backwards, but it's too late. A five-foot executioner's blade swings out of the wall in a blur, only a foot off the ground. I brace as it slams hard into my leg. The one without the leather shin guard.

The blade slices through my muscle like butter, feeling my entire leg shake as its momentum is halted after slamming into the bone. My scream of agony echoes down the hall.