First Dungeon Part 1

It took him a couple of hours, but he finally found a place suitable for his current needs. Truck-kun explained a bit more about the <Training Crystal>, the <Dungeons>, and how they worked.

The <Dungeons> were parts of other actual Realms, or in most cases, they were pocket dimensions, meaning artificial Realms created by someone. Truck-kun didn't get much to say about these individuals other than that they were beings of great power Mark had to stay away from.

Fortunately, they didn't mind others visiting their pocket dimension, as he didn't annihilate it. But once more, Truck-kun seemed confident that Mark was far from able to do something like that.

As for the <Training Crystals>, it was a tool to allow him to open a way to access some of those places. Because as the name indicated, it was a crystal meant to open low-level <Dungeons>, meant for beginners to train, which was perfect for Mark in his current situation.

But opening a way couldn't happen anywhere, as even if those pocket dimensions didn't exist in this Realm, they had a connection with it. The closer he was to that connection when he used the <Training Crystal>, the more stable the entrance, and the safer the trip into it.

With some tips coming from Truck-kun, Mark used his <Minor Energy Manipulation>, but instead of controlling some energy, he used it to detect it. Apparently, those spots he looked got would be leaking some of the unique energy of the place they were connected to, which was different from what energy there was in this Realm.

Mark considered it weird how Truck-kun kept mentioning different Realms, as it was a usual term in games. When he asked Truck-kun how many Realms existed, he got a single answer—- 'you will know when you truck someone.'

That was another piece of information Mark learned about what trucking someone involved. It was like killing them, but also, he didn't kill them. Instead, they would move into another Realm, given a System or abilities similar to what Mark could earn. Although their abilities would be more limited, and they depended on each person.

As for his worries about not being able to defend himself in the <Dungeon>, Truck-kun assured him he had it covered. Mark had no reason not to trust him as if something had happened to him; who knew what would happen to Truck-kun. He didn't know, as Truck-kun decided not to answer that question.

As Mark finally found the place, he took out something from his [Inventory] for the first time. Until now, items were removed from it when he used them, but he didn't get an option to use them when he pressed on them.

To remove it, he had to push his hand into the slot of the item he wanted, grab it and pull it out. As he did so, he had a white crystal big enough to fill his entire palm.

Following Truck-kun's direction, he started chanting something in a strange language. It was a very short chant, but he needed to keep repeating it repeatedly until Truck-kun told him to stop.

After repeating the chant the third time, he started feeling weaker, but not in a very rapid state. It was like he was exercising and beginning to lose some stamina.

Quickly Mark focused on opening his [Status], but he continued the chant. He noticed his SP was falling without him doing something that usually would have that effect, so he was confident that the strange chant was why.

But Mark didn't stop, as he understood it was powering whatever ritual Truck-kun had him to do. After all, his <Minor Energy Manipulation> Skill was using his Skill when he used it, so it should be the case for other abilities, too.

But before he reached the dangerously low level on his SP, a panel appeared.

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Crystal is charged with the user's power.

Do you want to open an entry point to the <Slime Field>?

YES/NO

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"Oh… Slimes. That's perfect. You should be able to handle them quickly enough. You just need to destroy their core."

Mark accepted to open an entry point without worrying about being found out, as Truck-kun, that only the crystal's user could interact with entries created by it. But, of course, Truck-kun could also see it because of his contract with Mark.

"So now what? Do I need to do anything else before entering it?"

Mark still wasn't sure how he would defend himself as he was certain that leveling up in a <Dungeon> wasn't a peaceful act. Especially when he saw the name of the <Dungeon>, he felt like a beginner adventure into a few of the RPGs he used to play, as Slimes were common starting monsters.

"Just get in. Since it is a low-level one, as expected, I will use my genuine power for a bit to boost you. But it won't last for long, but it should be enough to at least be able to have the ability to handle it yourself."

Mark took a deep breath as he finished looking around the alley he currently was, making sure that nobody was around. Then he walked through the portal, which was a purple hole in front of him.

Going through it was so bright that he had to close his eyes, but it didn't last long, as he appeared in a dark place. Mark checked his surroundings and noticed that he was in a cavern or something similar. The air was quite tense and full of dust, and he tried not to breathe too much, or he would sneeze mud.

Mark kept using his <Minor Energy Manipulation> to detect any surrounding energy sources, but he quickly stopped doing so. The reason was that a massive one appeared right next to him, bringing him a headache like he had taken too much information in very little time.

As he closed his eyes and shook his head to clear his mind, a strange amount of noise was happening near him. It sounded like metal interacting with other metal, not violently, but like what a machine would do while in action.

By the time he reopened his eyes and had his eyes open, he saw the source of the noises—- his truck.

"COME ON. We have monsters to truck."

The driver's door opened, and Mark got inside without a second thought. There was actually some excitement in him as he, indeed, would have an easy way to level up.

He was currently in a vast space in which many ways were connected, and fortunately, some were wide enough for his truck to fit through. So he started driving through one of them while he tried to see if he could speak with Truck-kun while he was in this form.

"Yeah, I can hear you."

The voice came out of the radio but stayed the same robotic one as always,

"So we are just going to slam enemies with you, which will help me level up? Is it like you are a weapon then that I use?"

As he finished that sentence, the whole truck rose and fell, like he had gone over a bump, which Mas was certain wasn't the case.

"I am nobody's weapon. I am the one who earns the exps, and through our contract, we share the benefits. Same if you get to deal with any foes yourself. That way, our progress will be the same no matter what."

Mark nodded, as he also kept in mind not to make any more jokes like that with Truck-kun. After all, he wasn't confident about how getting hurt in his current situation worked. He could feel that his body wasn't the same as before, but he couldn't tell what the difference was. Other than vomiting 'blood oil', that is.

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You killed a <Blob> and gained 18 EXPS

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You killed a <Blob> and gained 18 EXPS

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You killed a <Blob> and gained 15 EXPS

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Out of nowhere, those couple notifications appeared, surprising Mark, and he almost lost control of his truck. Fortunately, Truck-kun seemed to have some control of the wheel, making it harder for him to turn it at that moment.

They surprised Mark because he had noticed nothing in front of him, even with the lights on. But he knew that Slimes in games could blend with the environment, so he should have been luckily going over three of them, and it was enough of a blow to kill them.

"How much do we need for each level?" Mark asked, as there wasn't any information like that on the [Status].

"First one should be 100, and then need double that. But <Blobs> are relatively weak monsters. But compared to the current you, they could melt your skin and bones."

Mark swallowed some of his salivae as he didn't like the sound of Turck-kun's last sentence. So he had to focus on finding more and leveling up, as he would need to fight them on his own soon.