[Chapter 32. Where is the rest?]
Searanox entered the chamber keeping its distance from the pools of orange liquid, his eyes landing on a massive grub like creature. It was roughly two and a half meters long, its pale white, segmented body glistening with moisture. It had short legs or arms at its front, on its top half was a dark carapace its color almost black. One its side were a few holes that leak a liquid similar to the orange stuff in the pools. It was then that his drones were forcefully dismissed, as his TP was not sufficient to pay the upkeep.
─ [0/4 Active Drones]
"Fuck, just in the worst moment..." he muttered while brandishing his rifle.
Searanox carefully moved closer to get a better look, the system window opening in front of him as he got within a few meters of the creature.
[System Notification]
─ NAME: Flame Spewer
─ TYPE: Larva
─ VARIANT: Greater
─ LEVEL: 6
After he was close enough he saw that the holes in its side where probably the result of his assault drones, with the verification that it was dead. He relaxed again, his eyes scan the walls of the chamber finding the exit relatively fast.
It was on the other side of the pits with the orange liquid, with a mental sigh he walked along the pits towards the exit. The heat of the pits was nearly unbearable as he walked between them, he slipped into the crack in the wall that lead further down. Dead beetles and centipedes where littering the floor, they were not as numerous as in the other on but still in a large quantity.
The walls were similar to the ones in the tunnel before, but they were smooth.
About twenty minutes of walking later he came across a small group of living beetles and centipedes. They were the same as his drones fought before, their black shells shimmering with a metallic luster in the dim light.
He raised his rifle and fired, the violet beam striking the lead beetle and carving a path through its body, the smell of burnt carapace filled the air as the other beetles turned to face him, their mandibles clicking. He fired again, another beam of violet energy lanced through the darkness, striking another beetle and piercing its body. The remaining beetles charged, their mandibles snapping as they closed the distance between them. Searanox summoned one offensive drone.
[System Notification]
─ [1/4 Active Drones]
─ [-7 TP]
─ [+4 TP/min]
It came into existence and shoot at the critters, its violet beam pierced right through them. While he fired his rifle, the smell of burnt carapace filled the air as another beetle fell to his drone. Another beam of violet energy lanced through the darkness, cutting a centipede in two.
He kept walking and shooting, the beetles and centipedes falling one after another to the combined fire of him and his drone. The corridor was narrow, the ceiling low, and the air was thick with the smell of burnt chitin. With his drone once again flying ahead, he saw the violet flashes of its beam emitter cannon in the distance. Not even five minutes later there were multiple System windows in front of him.
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[System Notification]
─ Congratulations! You are the first to clear the Dungeon: Burrowing Depths
─ Reward: [+5 All Stats]
─ [+5 All Stats Applied]
─ [x10 Dungeon Reward]
[System Notification]
─ Alert! You achieved first clear of Burrowing Depths without a party
─ Reward: [+5% All Stats]
─ [+5% All Stats Applied]
─ [x4 Dungeon Reward]
[System Notification]
─ You have cleared Dungeon: Burrowing Depths
─ 120x Lesser Carapace Crawler
─ 77x Lesser Venom Lasher
─ 1x [Elite] Greater Venom Lasher
─ 1x [Elite] Greater Flame Spewer
─ 1x [Boss] Greater Depths Devourer
─ [+8,000 Exp]
He ran through the tunnel a few minutes later he reached the chamber and seeing the massive centipede like creature. Its black armored shell was cracked and scorched, the creature's many legs curled beneath its body. Its head was a mess of blackened flesh and shattered chitin, the beam must have struck it right between the eyes. His mouth was open as he looked at the corpse, the sheer size of it was impressive, it was at least twenty meters long. As he got closer a System window opened up.
[System Notification]
─ NAME: Depths Devourer
─ TYPE: Centipede
─ VARIANT: Greater
─ LEVEL: 7
`So the boss of this dungeon is just dead, and it seems to be a level 7... This dungeon is a joke.´ He thought while looking around.
"What kind of joke is this? That motherfucking monstrosity of a Lesser Broodmother was level 15 and this dungeon has a Level 7 Greater beast as its boss!" He shouted in frustration, his rage rising.
"Bullshit!" he called into the darkness of the dungeon while looking at the chest that had already materialized next to the corpse, the dark wood and silver inlays shimmering in the dim light. He opened it, inside was a small pouch of coins, a red Skillstone and a silver ring.
Inside the pouch where twelve of the familiar silver coins, he took the small pouch and placed it into his bag. Then he took the silver ring between his fingers and looked at the ring, it was a simple silver band with no stone set in it, nor writing. After putting it on, the ring adjusting to his finger size perfectly.
[Item]
─ NAME: Minor Storage Ring
─ TYPE: Accessory
─ RARITY: Uncommon
─ LEVEL: 1
─ The Minor Storage Ring is a fundamental utility item, a gateway to the personal inventory systems granted by the System. While its capacity is limited to 1m³, it represents a significant step up from carrying physical burdens. The ring's enchantment is exceptionally basic, connecting the user's consciousness to a tiny, stable pocket dimension.
Searanox took the Skillstone, it was the same as the others he found in the previous dungeon. Searanox hold the crystal, in his hand and thought about it entering the rings space.
But what ever he tried nothing worked, until he hold the item towards the ring itself and thought about storing the Skillstone. It vanished from his hand in a cloud of faint blue light, he then focused on the ring and a small mental window opened in front of him.
[Minor Storage Ring]
─ Size: 1m x 1m x 1m
─ Items: E-Grade Skillstone x1
He looked at the massive corpse once again and kicked it, the chitin was hard and unyielding. With another frustrated kick he turned around and walked towards the exit, a swirling blue mass. He stepped through it, the world twisting around him for a brief moment before he found himself back in the forest. He looked at the dead tree, its hollow trunk still glowing with a now darker blue light. A new System window opened in front of him.
[Dungeon]
─ Name: Burrowing Depths
─ Level: 5
─ Status: 7h 58min
`What a joke.´