“Shit. That was dangerous,” James muttered under his breath. He still felt groggy, but he persevered.
“System, how many coins do I have today?”
[You have 100 coins remaining.]
“Well, no upgrades then,” James muttered. He then looked at the corpse of the white stag. “Can I have the meat?”
[You may choose a body part. Will you choose torso meat without skin?]
“Yes,” James nodded. He couldn’t plunder anything useful from the deer since he had destroyed its antlers. Soon, meat lined up before him—a delicious pile of red meat stacked like a mountain. James stuffed all of it into his backpack.
“How many coins do I need to repair my equipment?” The golden portal beside the deer’s corpse didn’t escape James’ notice, but he didn’t want to go there naked.
[You would need 150 coins to repair your leather armor, crossbow, leather bag, and Cloak of Dark Night.]
“I don’t have enough coins for that, right? Crossbow first.”
[That would require 50 coins.]
“Do it. Next is the leather bag.”
[That would require 20 coins.]
“The cloak?”
[That would require 20 coins.]
“Done.”
All in all, James was left with 10 coins. The reason he decided to put off repairing his leather armor was simple—it would just end up breaking again if he used his fire cloak ability. He could limit the fire output to just his hands, but he decided to push that problem for later. For now, he would make do with his boots, vambraces, and gauntlets.
“Ugh. These are rickety too,” James muttered as he examined his gauntlets. The damage was extensive, proof of how hard he had fought.
As James walked closer to the golden gate, he stopped and pondered. Something felt missing. Something important, yet he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“Hm… Something seems to be missing on this floor. Something that should be here but isn’t,” James muttered. A light bulb soon lit up in his head. “Oh yeah! Fuck! I haven’t found a single treasure chest here!”
[Treasure chest locations are classified information.]
“I know. I’m going to wander around until I find them!” James said as he slung his leather bag over his shoulder.
James ventured through the vast savanna, but he couldn’t find anything. The open world provided little cover, making the search quicker than expected. However, that didn’t console him in the slightest. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find the chest.
“Is it in that mountain?” James stared at the only possible location—the lone mountain that stood behind him. After another hour of searching the savanna, he returned to the golden portal empty-handed.
James retraced his steps toward the mountain. The arduous climb took him until sunset before he finally reached the top. There, he climbed even higher until he found a cave—or rather, a pit. It didn’t look like a typical cave entrance. It was a narrow hole, barely large enough for him to squeeze through. Nevertheless, James’s gamer instinct told him this was where the chest lay.
Using his spider web, James rappelled down the narrow pit. At the bottom, the cave opened up. It was still narrow, but just enough for him to pass while crouching. By focusing his fire cloak ability on just his hands, James lit up the dark cave. Unlike the previous dungeon, this cave was completely pitch black.
“Fuck!” James cursed as he felt a lizard bite his skin. The small critter quickly scurried away. He felt his finger go numb for a second before a blue notification box appeared before him.
[Poison nullified.]
“I’m not going to change my mind anytime soon,” James muttered. He was a solo player, and he knew how dangerous it would be if he fell unconscious due to paralysis or poison. Having a golem core that granted poison immunity was a godsend.
Using his spinneret once again, James traversed the cave.
“Shit! DIE! You ass!” A flock of lizards bore down on him. James activated his fire cloak ability. In addition, he unleashed his fire breath for an extra push, frying them all in a fiery blaze.
“Finally! A chest!” James sighed in relief. However, as he approached, a sense of dread crept up his spine. The cave was narrow. If something flew his way, there would be no escape. His gamer instinct screamed that this chest was trapped.
James looked back. The cave was a straight line.
However, he was resourceful. He formed a thick ice shield in front of him. Learning from his previous experiences, he nudged the chest from afar.
The chest sprang open at once, releasing a thick purple smoke that quickly filled the room.
“Shit!” James quickly enclosed the cave with his ice shield, trapping the purple smoke within. “What poison is that?”
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[Information is classified. Please inhale or touch some of the gas before asking.]
“That gas is right in front of my eyes! Are you telling me the information is classified until I actually experience it?”
[Yes. That is correct.]
“Fuck you. I’m not doing it!” James cursed. After sealing the cave tight, he waited a few meters away with bated breath.
This world had its own laws. On Earth, poisonous gas wouldn’t dissipate in a sealed room. However, in this world, every poison had a time limit once it met open air. James could only pray the smoke would vanish.
James had come to understand this world. True to his belief, the purple smoke dissipated after ten minutes. A part of him was curious about what poison it was, but he wasn’t about to risk his body to find out—even if the golem core supposedly protected him from all poison.
“Is the information still classified?” James dispelled his shield and carefully approached the chest.
[Yes. The information about the purple fog is classified until Survivor James is hit by it.]
“Hah… whatever.” James sighed. He now looked inside the chest and widened his eyes at what he saw.
“A gun!” James was surprised to find a handgun with a polished wooden grip. The elongated barrel made it closer to a rifle than a typical handgun. Beside the gun lay three .45 caliber rounds.
[Congratulations. You have obtained a Thompson Center Contender. A .45 caliber round has been added to the shop function. It costs 10 coins per round.]
“What? That’s a ripoff!” James muttered as he looked at the price.
[On a side note, firearms will receive no assistance from weapon skills. There is no mastery of firearms in the skill tree either. However, by increasing your dexterity, your aim will be more accurate.]
The exhilaration James had felt earlier vanished all at once. After securing the gun and fashioning a makeshift holster with his spinneret, he ventured deeper into the cave.
The passage opened up again, revealing a small clearing. This time, he didn’t find just one, but two more chests, side by side.
“Damn system. They put all the chests on this floor here!” James cursed. Using the same method as before, he nudged one chest with his ice magic.
This time, the chest didn’t react. James then opened it from a safe distance using his spider web. If there was one thing James was more grateful for than his golem heart, it was his spinneret. The ability to create ropes was a massive advantage. He wondered why fire was considered more essential than ropes.
Peering into the chest, his heart leaped with joy at the sight of silver coins.
[Congratulations! You have found 300 coins!]
“Alright! Next chest!” James eagerly moved to the second one. Taking extra precautions, he sealed the cave entrance shut with his ice magic. Then, using his spinneret, he carefully nudged the chest open.
An explosion rang out from inside.
“Yeah!” James clenched his fist in victory. His heart soared as he watched the sprung trap hit nothing but empty space. His unique way of opening chests certainly raised an eyebrow, but that was precisely why it was so difficult for traps to hit him.
[Congratulations. You have obtained a frag grenade! A frag grenade has been added to your shop. It can be purchased for 50 coins per item.]
“Are we really using modern weapons now?” James muttered. He wondered how effective these guns and grenades were. This gun looked obsolete, and bullets had done nothing to him when those policemen had shot at him before. Moreover, the ammo was ridiculously expensive.
Seeing no more chests in the cave, James felt satisfied. He climbed out and headed for the portal.
By now, the sky had turned dark. The twin red and blue moons shone brightly, reminding James that he was in another world. He had acclimatized to this world faster than anyone else. In truth, he felt more at home here than in his old world.
The golden portal glowed before him. But before stepping in, he decided to rest once more. He had slept safely here the night before, so he assumed it would be fine again.
However, while the tigers and deer feared him, they were also hungry. And the white stag meat inside James’ leather bag was tempting enough for them to take their chances.
“Fuck!” James jolted awake as fire engulfed him in his sleep. Thanks to his new fur, he was immune to the flames. However, his leather bag wasn’t as fortunate—it was once again damaged.
James was not the sharpest tool in the shed, but his decision to rest on this floor wasn’t entirely wrong. It was safer to sleep here, where he had the advantage over familiar enemies, rather than in an unknown area. Nevertheless, he had to pay for his carelessness.
With a scowl, James retaliated, firing Mind Flay magic coupled with ice spears at the incoming beasts, swiftly dispatching them.
[Would you like to pay 70 coins to repair your leather armor and leather bag?]
The system prompted him. He accepted the repair while grumbling.
Name: James
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 38
Coins: 240
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STR: 130 (↑3)
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DEX: 122 (↑2)
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MAGIC: 77 (↑3)
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MANA: 820 (↑20)
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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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Mana Sonar
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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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Leather Armor Set (+10 DEX)
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War Axe
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Longsword
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Crossbow
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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 (x3)
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Frag Grenade (x1)
His drowsiness vanished with the baptism of fire. With nothing else to do, he donned all of his armor and cloak before stepping through the gate.
The white world briefly flashed before his eyes, giving him a few seconds of briefing before transporting him onto a beach, where a vast lake stretched endlessly before him.
“Shit! A water stage! I already threw away my Sahuagin lungs!” James cursed the heavens as he took in the scene before him.
This time, he knew he was at a disadvantage.