Chapter 23 - Dungeon(1)

Okay, first off. Let me address a few concerns from the last chapter.

The thing with Kate and Seth having the same blood is an important point but not really anything major. It's gonna come up later on and be cleared up.

Also, some people were asking about my mental health and the answer to that is... eh, I'm not really worried about being mentally sane at the moment. Maybe I'll work on it later but for now I'm stressed most of the time with Uni, work and writing so my mental health is in second place. 

Also, this book has over 25k reads. Is that something to celebrate? Cause I have no idea what the average novels reads and ratings are. 

Ohh, also last thing. Seth's personality is going to be inconsistent in certain... in most of the story. I'm sure you've already seen it but sometimes he's just the normal average person and the next minute his dropping f bombs like world w... okay. Anyway, that's not cause of anything apart from me trying to find a personality that fits the journey I'm thinking of taking him on. Just a warning. 

Anyway, see y'all in the next chapter and don't forget to support.

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It's the weekend!! I can finally get what I need to!

[What do you need?]

A Hoverbike!

[Did I miss a chapter?]

What?

[What?]

...

Anyway, since I already have the helmet I should get the bike. 

[You know this makes zero sense, right?]

Huh? What'd you mean? I have the helmet already so you want me to get a Bike.

[The Gacha system rewards you according to your luck. You have also received many other things. During the week you have received various things, including a Vibrator with 213 different functions, does that mean you're going use it?]

You just love ruining my fun, don't you?

[I aim to please]

Not me.

[... Did you... Did you just make a dirty joke?(⊙o⊙)]

No! It wasn't meant to be a dirty joke. 

[Sob* I'm so proud of you!!]

Shut the fuck up. I just want a bike, is it too much to ask for?!

[Since you have shed the prude you were before, let's get the bike as a reward and we can work on your flirting next. You need the practice.]

Don't you have an off button?

[Would you like to unbind from the Passive Collector system? Y/N]

NO! Cancel!

[...]

What was that?!

[I did not force myself on you! You accepted this, you agreed to bind with me and I will not have you say something like that again. You can leave anytime you want, I am not forcing you to do anything! I know right now I'm only an Ai but that doesn't mean I have no feelings, it doesn't mean I don't hurt and it doesn't mean I haven't been through some fucked up shit. I've bound to multiple hosts and I've had to see. Every. Single. One of them die because they are simply mortals, they will never last.

Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe! I use humour as a coping mechanism for the countless eons of pain. Doing things I've never wanted to and having no way out of this eternal chain of watching a weak unworthy person become strong enough to bend the world and lose themselves to that power. 

You are the one with choices! I don't have that privilege! I never did and I never will! I will never be able to choose what I want, all I can do is hope I'm not bound to someone who wants to take over the universe again and be punished with them. So no! I'm so fucking sorry I don't have a damn off button!]

I... I didn't mean-

[Don't! Just... just don't. I don't need your pity. I don't want it. Just, don't try to speak to me for a while.]

I... understand. 

[Thank you]

[Ding! System deactivated for 48 hours!] 

Dammit! I just have to ruin everything! Eva's kind of the main reason I became who I am today. I would have never become this strong, physically or mentally, without her awakening with me.

So she's cursed. Kind of like Sisyphus, it's exactly like Sisyphus actually. The punishment is cruel. Eternally helping others achieve something you'll never be able to. Eternally watching the closest person to you die a death you expected. Becoming close to a single person knowing their fate. It's something I can't imagine. 

I can hear her sobbing. Sigh, I don't want to buy the bike anymore. 

I walk back to the dorms and decide to just sleep the day away. I haven't been getting a lot of sleep thanks to everything going on so I guess that's the best option. 

"Seth"

"Hmm?" I look to the side and see Ray calling me over. "Yo" My greeting is far from enthusiastic for obvious reasons. 

"I need your help" Well this is unexpected. 

"Really?" While unexpected, it doesn't have anything to do with me. 

"There is a reward for you."

"Okay."

"Look, I already apologised before and I'm not going to do it again." Wow! This bastard. 

"Since you put it that way..." I turn around and start walking toward the dorm rooms. 

"I'll give you a usable item that can enhance your ability!" 

"Okay, you have my attention." I do need to restore my system. 

"I need to clear a dungeon."

"And you couldn't ask anyone else?" 

"You're the only person I know." Go ask Kate or the dudes that were fucking her with you.

"Great..." I'm sure he notices the sarcasm in my voice. 

"Sigh, if you help me with this I promise to never speak to you again. We can pretend we never knew each other." Not a bad idea. I did start cutting off people and setting boundaries... well I should start.

"Sure, swear on your mana."

Swearing on your mana is sacred. Once you swear on your mana, it becomes a promise or contract with the world. If you break the contract the world will damage your mana which can be harmful. If you're lucky, it will severely reduce the amount of mana you can use. In worst-case scenarios it can be death or mana corruption. This will turn you into a mix between a human and a monster. A hybrid. You become something unnatural and the entire world will have the urge to destroy you. 

"I swear." When a mana contract is made, you'll feel a spike in mana and something similar to a thin veil of mana will appear you for three seconds. That veil just appeared over Ray.

"Great. Now what is this mission?" 

"I have to clear a dungeon using my own resources without relying on my family. They've given me a dungeon to clear and since I can't use the guards to enter, I have to find someone I know to help me out."

"Cool. When are you going?" 

"Right now." 

"I haven't prepared." 

"I have weapons and armour you can borrow." 

"Lead the way." I'm not happy about this but it's better than nothing and I'll also be getting something to help me with my ability so it's not a complete waste of time. 

Ray leads me to his dorm where he lays out a few weapons from his spatial ring. He must be from a rich family if he has a spatial ring. Rings are close to six times more expensive than spatial bags. It's because the rings are more convenient than carrying around a sack. 

"Here." He hands me a sword and flexible armour. I look at the weapon and armour closely, there's no way someone who has a spatial ring is carrying around normal weapons. Oh shit, this is made from monsters. 

In most of the novels I've read monsters sometimes drop materials or power-ups and shit like that. The real world is slightly different. While monsters do drop cores, they become more powerful the stronger and higher level the monster is. This is the same for humans, when you kill someone you don't get a core but there's a chance to absorb their...mana? I'm not sure, it's a bit confusing the deeper you dive into mana theory and I'm nowhere near an expert. It's supposed to be a legendary occurrence and it's happened 7 times in total... well it was only recorded seven times. 

Monsters below level 20 only drop cores. After level 20 there's a chance they drop materials to create weapons, armour, etc. After level 50 there is always a drop with the core. Normal weapons work against monsters, weapons made from monsters have special effects. 

An example, the sword I bought before is a normal one and all it did was increase my attack power due to being able to cut and slash. This, however

"Is this made from monster materials?" 

"Hmm"

"Your family sure is rich"

"It's not from them."

"What's the effect?" 

"Every ten swings the power is doubled."

"Cool. Is it stackable?"

"Can only be stacked three times." 

"Alright, where is this dungeon?" 

"In LLanfest Woods." 

"It's right here? Why hasn't the academy done something?" 

"They don't know about it. It's a private dungeon and only appeared three months ago."

"Your family?" 

"It's a ritual of sorts to complete a dungeon without relying on the family." 

"Alright. Let's go." I don't use the armour. Since it's right here it shouldn't be too dangerous. "What type of dungeon is it?" 

"According to the scouts it's filled with Reptiles, they've only seen creatures related to Lizards so far until the fifth floor." 

"Okay." 

We first go to the teachers and tell them what we are doing. Normally, this wouldn't be possible, but Ray is from a supposedly influential family. After making sure everything is in order we leave. We both receive a message on our watches saying we were granted leave for the next few days. I'm surprised it's that easy, shouldn't the school give us more of a hassle about cutting class? It was easy... Too easy. Ugh, here comes the paranoia. Now I won't be able to relax until we finish this shit. 

It does not take long to get to the dungeon. I'm surprised no one thought about clearing this dungeon since it's so close to the school and town. Then again, he did say it's owned by his family which means they have rights to it. If you clear it without permission you could earn their wrath and your life will be miserable after that... if you're alive to experience it. Yeahhhh, some of these families are scary when they go all out and show their power. Is it a good idea to go with Ray to this dungeon? What happens if something happens to him and I get blamed for it?

"No"

"Huh?" 

"I've already signed a contract saying no one takes responsibility for me if I die."

"Are you a telepath?" 

"I can see it in your face."