“Wow! We finished the boss without any casualties!” Kaina pumped her fist.
“Awesome. So this is how dungeons are usually cleared. I heard from Andrew. We are finally one of the clearers!” Sanders high-fived his teammates.
“Andrew always told us about the importance of teamwork, but James is certainly something, being able to clear a floor on his own.” Anderson nodded. “If I may ask, what level are you now, Mr. James?”
“Hm? I am somewhere near level 40.” James lied. Of course, he wasn't good at it. Anderson caught on that he was trying to obfuscate his level. That wasn't his concern. His concern was how James would use his newfound power. If he were to go rogue, the guild would need to dispatch a high-level team to suppress him. Bullets no longer worked on James, after all.
“I see. That's a relief. I am glad to meet such a high-level survivor like you. We need people like you to clear dungeons. Will you continue going solo, clearing the dungeon on your own?” Anderson nodded.
“... Maybe…” James turned away, but then he turned back to Anderson. Part of him grew curious about this guild thing. While living in the jungle and dungeons like this was an option for him, he didn't want to live like this forever. James asked, “So, this guild of yours—what’s their responsibility? Will I get paid if I join?”
Anderson blinked. He thought he had screwed up with how he spoke to James and didn’t want to meddle with him anymore.
“Of course, you will get paid.” Anderson smiled. “As for your responsibility, survivors need to clear dungeons!”
James was intrigued. If clearing dungeons was all that was required of him, then that would be like heaven for him. He could treat clearing dungeons like an extended business trip and then go back and relax. But that depended on how much money he would earn. From how Anderson praised him, James thought he was at a pretty high level compared to other survivors. That meant he should get paid more.
"Was it paid based on how many dungeons you could clear? I don't think I can clear more than four in a year…" James whispered to himself. He had managed to clear dungeon trials in three months. If this dungeon was the same, he assumed four dungeons would be the most he could clear in a year.
Seeing James frown, Anderson added, "Of course! You don't have to clear it on your own! We survivors shall work together to finish it!"
James immediately lost interest when he heard he had to go with other people. Again, Anderson had screwed up.
"Never mind," James sighed.
"Huh?" Again, Anderson was flabbergasted. He wondered whether he had screwed up somehow. But before he could ask further, the loading screen was filled, and white light engulfed the room. When the light faded, James saw water—an endless sea stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Hm? Where are we?" Kaina went to the fence and admired the ocean. They were standing on the deck of a cruise ship, near the aft side, at the back of the ship.
"Forget it, dungeons are mysterious. Sometimes we're not even on Earth. Look, there are two suns here." James pointed toward the sky. Not only were there two suns, but they also seemed to set in different directions. One was in front of James, while the other was to his right.
"We shall call the front of the ship—the bow—the north side, alright? Where are we headed anyway?" Anderson asked.
"We are heading nowhere. This ship is the dungeon. The boss is somewhere inside this ship," James answered.
"Yay! A luxurious cruise ship! We can have proper beds and even a shower!" Kaina skipped along the pool on the deck. As she went down the stairs, she entered one of the ship’s cabins. She had been on a passenger cruise before, and it was a blast. This ship was bigger and more luxurious, so her expectations were high.
Of course, her expectations soon plummeted faster than a falling rock. No matter how luxurious the cruise ship was, it didn't matter if there were no entertainers. Nevertheless, the cabin was like a hotel room—complete with beds and even bathrooms, which the soldiers didn’t mind.
"Well, at least there are beds." Sanders shrugged.
"Let's eat! Anderson, if you would." Kaina plopped herself onto a sofa inside the room.
James was about to offer his supply of tuna and deer meat, but he was surprised as a black box magically appeared before Anderson. Tempura, ramen, and stir-fried vegetables were placed neatly inside Styrofoam boxes. It was just like packed food from restaurants.
"What's that? I didn't know shops offered food," James asked, pointing toward the boxes.
"Ah, this is my unique skill, Enhanced Logistics. I can buy food and water from shops," Anderson answered.
"We would have starved without him. All of you have such useful skills. I’m jealous," Kaina said as she took her portion and ate.
"Would you like some?" Anderson asked, but James shook his head and prepared his own food.
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Relying on him now meant wasting his supply of deer meat and fish, and James didn’t like wasting food. Moreover, using coins to buy food when he had an abundant amount felt like a crime. He definitely didn’t want to owe Anderson a single coin.
"No. Thank you."
James opened his leather bag. Thanks to his water magic and Firefur, he could boil water midair and cook his deer meat. He then put the stew in an ice bowl. Afterward, he also charred his fish atop his longsword. Fresh sashimi was delicious, but he had grown tired of it after a while.
"Was that magic? Awesome! Is that your unique skill?"
"No, it is not a unique skill. You can unlock magic once you level up to level 20," James answered.
However, Kaina tilted her head after seeing James use both fire and water at the same time.
"Hm? But Kouki said we could only choose one type of magic. How can you use two types of magic?"
"That's a trade secret." James smirked.
In fact, he could use three types of magic: mind magic as his core, water magic from that Sahuagin princess, and fire magic from his lungs and fur.
James usually ate his food with his hands, but since others were watching, he decided to be more civilized and made bowls and spoons from ice.
"Alright, let's take turns keeping watch…" Sanders said.
"Ehh, there’s nothing here. We just need to block the door, right?" Kaina, who didn’t want to join the night watch, complained.
"This is a dungeon. Monsters might come at you while you're sleeping. Just because we’re in a hotel room doesn’t mean we can lower our guard," Anderson said.
Afterward, James decided to find a place in the corner to sleep. He was about to fix the door using his spiderwebs, but since the group offered to take night watch shifts, he didn’t do it and slept with his weapon instead. The door was still within ten meters of his location. His echolocation skill should alert him if something approached.
The trio didn’t assign any roles to James, as they assumed he didn’t want to be included in their party. They were also unsure whether James would appreciate being ordered around. James was the most experienced person in the dungeon. According to common sense and advice from Andrew and Kouki, they should listen to his orders. However, James never gave them any.
As expected, dungeons were dangerous places. James woke up when his echolocation picked up something moving in the middle of the night.
"Hm? What’s wrong, Mr. James?" Sanders, who had taken the worst night watch shift—the middle one—asked. They had decided the shift order would be Kaina, Sanders, and Anderson.
"I heard something. Probably an enemy."
James reached for his weapons and inched closer to the door. He didn’t wait. James opened the door and peeked into the corridor.
There, an octopus man with ragged clothes and a cutlass approached.
"Enemy sighted! Everyone, to arms!" Sanders shouted, warning everyone.
James leaped in before Sanders could even warn others. A golden glow shone from his sword.
Golden sparks flew when his sword scratched the wall. James thought victory was at hand, as there was no way it could dodge his strike. However, it did. The octopus jumped back by more than five meters. Using its tentacle, it latched onto the railings of the corridor, propelling itself further backward.
The golden meteor hit the wall and bounced back with another golden spark, coupled with a familiar purple flash. James recoiled, losing his balance and slipping down to the floor. He expected to leave a gash on the ship’s wall, just like in the dungeon trial. However, the walls were an indestructible object.
The tentacle man seemed to grin. It didn’t have a mouth, but it realized that James had screwed up. A golden glow shone from its cutlass, and it leaped with the same speed as when it had fled from James’s strike earlier.
"Heh," James smirked. The octopus had fallen right into his feint. James roared, and fire blew out from his mouth, hitting the octopus right in the face. The golden meteor that was coming at James’s head flashed and disappeared as the octopus flailed on the ground. It died soon after James roasted it on high flame, cooking it into fried octopus.
[Congratulations! You have obtained 30 coins! Your Attacker class has leveled up to Level 12!]
"Are you okay?" Sanders came to James as Anderson and Kaina rushed out of the room.
"It's finished already? I guess we set up the night watch for nothing." Kaina, a normal middle school girl, yawned. She had brought her spear, but she couldn't help feeling that their night watch was useless. James sensed his enemies sooner than Sanders. Moreover, he also defeated them faster before the group could rally themselves.
"Don't be like that. We can't let James handle everything," Anderson tried to placate her. His words were laced with his intention to raise their value, showing their willingness to cooperate.
Of course, such words went over James's head. He ignored them and went to the corpse.
"What does the Chimera say?" James queried the system. They showed the parts he could plunder immediately.
[Would you like to modify your body? Y/N]
[Available Body Part:]
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Mollusk Pirate Mob’s Ink Sac (Skill: Ink Spray) (Extra Slot)
"I see. So it still had a trump card that it hadn't used during its battle with me," James muttered.
He found another use for his Chimera skill. Unlike Kaina’s team, James’s battles against mobs were quick. A single clean hit with a skill often ended the fight. Since James often went solo, a single mistake could cost him his life. So, this information was precious to him.
"Hmm? Is that all? What about the tentacle that it used to dodge my attacks?"
[Chimera couldn't plunder a damaged body part.]
"I see. But could you list its parts?"
[Apart from the name, Chimera couldn't provide information about the damaged body part. The damaged body part you mentioned is the Mollusk Pirate Mob’s arm tentacle.]
"Arm? Could it use weapon skills with that?" James was interested. A third arm that could stretch like that was extremely useful.
[Information classified. Please find an undamaged body part for the Chimera to analyze.]
"Alright."
"Um… James? Are you talking with the system?" Anderson probed. He didn't hear him talking, but he heard whispers coming from James's mouth.
"Huh? Oh yeah. This guy had an ink sac. Next time, be careful. It didn't use it during my battle, but the system said it had such moves," James warned them.
"How did you…?"
"Don't ask questions about my skills," James said as he returned to the room. However, he was no longer sleepy, so he decided to explore the cruise ship.
[Name: James]
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 42
Coins: 200
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STR: 138
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DEX: 134
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MAGIC: 89
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MANA: 900
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Novice Axe Mastery Level 4 (Powerstrike, V-slash)
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Beginner Sword Mastery Level 7 (Hurricane)
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Beginner Bow Mastery Level 7 (Quickshot)
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Beginner Dagger Mastery Level 1
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Mind Flay
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Sense Alteration
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Mana Sonar
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Attacker (Level 12) (10% bonus when attacking, STR & DEX +1 per level) (↑1)
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Goblin Stomach (Iron Guts) (Stomach Slot)
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Mana Core (Water Spells: Ice Spear, Water Manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000) (Extra Slot)
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Orc’s Left Arm (STR +10%) (Arm Slot)
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Eyes of Mana (Mana Sense) (Right Eye Slot)
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Golem Arm of Valhalla (STR +30%, Physical Resistance +30%, Negative Trait: Repairable, Mana -200) (Right Arm Slot)
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Ratking’s Legs (STR +25%) (Leg Slot)
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Flaming Tiger’s Fire Lung (Fire Breathing Skill, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Lung Slot)
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Golem Core (Poison Resistance, Negative Trait: Mana -250, Magic -10, Repairable) (Heart Slot)
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Orc’s Torso (Torso Slot)
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Orc’s Head (Head Slot)
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Shadow Snake Fang (Intermediate Life Leeching) (Mouth Slot)
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Jumping Spider’s Spinneret (Thread Creation) (Extra Slot 2)
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Flaming Tiger Lord’s Firefur (Fire Cloak Skill, Fire Resistance, Physical Resistance +15%, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Skin Slot)
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SwordShark’s Gills (Water Breathing, Negative Trait: Waterbound Respiration) (Extra Slot 3)
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Rock Crab Shell (Physical Resistance +90%) (Extra Slot 4)
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Land Shark’s Ear (Echolocation: 10 meters) (Ear Slot)
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Leather Armor Set (+10 DEX)
- Lightning War Axe
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Longsword
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Crossbow (x12)
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Waterspout Dagger
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Mask of Identity
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Leather Bag
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Sphere of Fethusiane
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Cloak of Dark Night
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Thompson Center Contender (x2)
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Frag Grenade (x1)
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Flashbang (x1)